Chapter 21
When in doubt, Improvise
It had been three weeks since the Uhumele left the planet, and since then they had taken their new ship to the other side of Nar Shaddaa, making contact with Cristo's allies, who were upgrading the Will of Fire with everything a potential smuggling vessel could need. They then rented out a small apartment about ten minutes away from the dock. The head starship mechanic, a burly whale-like Herglic named simply Shelov, had told them that it would take three weeks to fully upgrade the Will of Fire with what they wanted.
Aayla and Celeste had taken care of the majority of the list of upgrades, considering Naruto's first choice was to outfit the ship with a cloaking device which was way over budget and didn't work half the time. In the end the upgrades consisted of improving every single system from life support, to radar systems, jammer systems, targeting systems, ray shields, installing high-grade deflector shields, hidden compartments, two quad-laser ball turrets on the dorsal and ventral sides of the ship, a quartet of frontal laser cannons and twin hidden proton torpedo launchers. It all came to a total of fifty thousand Imperial credits, which left them with ten thousand credits in the bank.
Celeste frowned as she looked around, dark eyes scanning the crowd of sentient beings all around her, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
She had been sensing a nagging disturbance in the Force since she woke up. Celeste didn't know the cause of the disturbance, but something just felt wrong. She walked down the crowded main street, a bag of groceries in her arms as she navigated the packed mass of people with grace and skill. So far her little excursion to the local market had gone by without incident, so why did she feel like she was being watched?
Her eyes quickly looked up at the rooftops above, not seeing anything out of the ordinary there either. So after a moment she shrugged and decided to keep moving. Celeste was only a block away from her shared apartment now, and with Naruto's stomach the way it was she guessed the food would be needed pretty soon.
The crowd began to thin out as she turned a corner, leaving the main street behind her as she walked down the alley towards her apartment, located on the twelfth floor of a ninety floor block of flats. The skyscrapers stretched up all around her: simply-designed structures, each of which hundreds of people called "home"…including herself and her two friends, for now.
The three weeks had passed quietly and without incident. The three of them had fallen into a routine of relaxing and living as normally as they could. Naruto had passed the time by scribbling notes onto his scrolls, as well as teaching both Aayla and Celeste about chakra, though the Twi'lek seemed to be ahead of her in training.
Naruto had opened up her tenketsu points about three days after they had moved into the apartment. He had asked her if she would like to learn how to harness and manipulate chakra, and Celeste admitted that she was curious. She had no idea that there was such a reservoir of energy inside of her, and when he activated her chakra pathways the feeling of her chakra coursing through her for the first time was indescribable. She felt warm and tranquil when she attempted to harness her chakra, which was a healthy sensation, according to Naruto. On top of this, it was found that her raw, untrained chakra reserves were nearly as strong as Aayla's own.
He had spent the next few weeks teaching her the basics, how to make clones of herself, how to disguise herself and how to substitute her form for another solid object. He had begun to teach her how to walk up walls, though she admitted that she could barely make it more than a few steps before she lost control. Naruto was a good teacher, she would admit that much. His table manners weren't perfect, he was a little hyper, and he ate like a starving Bantha…but he was a good teacher.
He had been teaching Aayla this for some time, considering there were times where she would get in on the lessons. Naruto had even asked the Twi'lek to walk up the wall to give Celeste an example, which Aayla did with finesse and almost expert control. He had put both of their training on hold until two conditions were met, one being Celeste catching up and the second being a nice backwater planet with plenty of open space and few people.
Celeste had lived with these two for almost three weeks, and she had begun to see them as siblings in a way. Naruto was strong-willed and stubborn to a fault, and didn't give up on things easily. He could also be kind, gentle and tender, though with obvious rough edges. Aayla was also quite strong-willed, but in a more subtle sense; she was someone who won her arguments with reasoning and diplomacy, though when it came to Naruto and a few of his more idiotic ideas, she simply put her foot down and stood her ground. Naruto would always give up; she had yet to see him win against Aayla in this manner of conflict.
There was also the fact that she was sharing an apartment with a couple. The two of them seemed to be more than happy in showing affection to each other, both in public and in private. Snuggling together when they watched a holodrama, kissing each other and holding hands whenever the mood took them in that direction. There were times when they would just lay together for hours on the sofa, Aayla idly playing with Naruto's golden locks or Naruto idly caressing Aayla's lekku.
The two of them had made the evolution from best friends to a couple quite well. Celeste didn't mind the transformation; in fact she was happy for the two of them, but sometimes, just sometimes, she felt like a third wheel.
She knew she wasn't unwanted by the two of them, in fact she enjoyed the girl-talk she shared with Aayla and the training she had with Naruto. She enjoyed the three of them just acting normal, like they weren't fugitives being hunted. She enjoyed the times when the three of them shopped together, ate together, lived together and occasionally argued with each other over many different things.
The Force barked a warning, and the young woman obliged without hesitation, sidestepping to the right and stretching out her leg to trip the man who had rushed right at her. She saw a vibroknife in his hands, and by the outstretching of his right arm, she knew he was about to stab her in the back. He landed in a heap, rolling to a stop before hastily getting back to his feet, looking at her with angry eyes.
"You Jedi bitch!" he snarled before lunging at her again, and Celeste fell back on her years of training. She ducked his desperate swing, sidestepped a diagonal downward stroke and landed a perfect spinning heel kick to his chin, feeling the bone give way before he was thrown off his feet, landing on his back and groaning in pain.
Three other figures appeared from the darkness of the alley, all of them looking like they came from the rougher side of the neighbourhood. They wore ratty long-coats with dirty tunics and pants, two of them held vibroknives while the other was drawing a hold-out blaster. Celeste looked around her, and saw that she was completely surrounded.
Celeste sighed before throwing her paper bag of goods into the air, just as the three new thugs charged her with their weapons. She ducked one stab, sidestepped another and jumped, spinning her body in midair and spreading her legs to deliver a kick to the side of the heads of two of her assailants. They flew in different directions, landing in unmoving heaps. She landed perfectly and raised her hand in the direction of the final thug, ripping the blaster from his grasp and tossing the weapon to the side.
The bag landed in her arm and she began to walk.
The young man in front of her took an involuntary step backward before reaching to the small of his back and pulling out a vibroknife. He then roared a battle cry and charged her. Celeste didn't even make a move to dodge. She simple grabbed his wrist with her free hand and twisted it to the point of snapping. The blade fell from his suddenly lifeless fingers as the thug screamed in pain, grabbing onto his broken wrist and falling to his knees. A chop to the side of his neck sent him falling face first to the ground, unconscious.
The former Jedi shadow continued to walk, sighing heavily. "We've been found."
She rummaged into her pant pocket, pulling out a tiny ear piece, a miniature comlink device which she placed in her ear and pushed the rune. There was a beep, and then the accented voice of her Twi'lek best friend filled her ear, "Celeste?"
"I was ambushed by a few thugs in the alley," she said simply as she entered the foyer to their apartment block and walked to the turbolift.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. All four of the little delinquents are unconscious, with either broken cheekbones or wrists, but I'm fine," she smiled as she entered the lift and pushed the rune for the twelfth floor. The double doors closed and the turbolift gave a sudden lurch. It took two seconds for her to reach her designated floor. The apartment she shared with her two friends was down the main hall, fourth on her left, "I think we've been found."
"I know."
"You know?" Celeste repeated with a sigh as she rummaged through her jacket pocket, producing her security card and swiping it over the electronic lock, hearing a click as the door to their flat opened. The Jedi shadow entered the room. "How do... you... know?"
The living room was a mess, the glass table was smashed, chairs and sofa were overturned, vases and other fragile pieces of art were in pieces all over the floor and the main window overlooking the Nar Shaddaa cityscape had been completely shattered, a cold biting wind assailing her. Aayla's head peeped around the corner, smiling a little nervously.
"Let's just say we had some uninvited guests," the Twi'lek sighed as she pulled her own earpiece from her ear.
"Was this Naruto?" Celeste asked immediately.
"I resent that," the blond barked in reply, out of her sight.
"Actually, it was me," Aayla replied, flinching at Celeste's glare, "It was instinct. They entered through the window and I simply sent them out again."
"Force push is awesome," Naruto called as he rounded the corner, looking at the destruction and whistling in what seemed to be immense respect, "We Shinobi have mastered all of the elements, created illusions and made complete clones yet we cannot simply telekinetically throw people through the air, well a few can but they usually have some weird bloodline limit."
"How many were there?" the black haired woman asked.
"Four," Aayla replied. "All of them looked like your common thugs, which is strange considering the equipment they came in here with."
Celeste saw descending cords by the window, probably tied to something on the roof. She also noticed what looked like a military grade blaster carbine lying on the tiled surface of their balcony, "Local thugs parasailing down a ninety-storey building…with military grade weaponry?"
"Most logical conclusion: they weren't local thugs," Naruto finished as he looked at the two of them, "We're dealing with mercenaries or Imperial troopers, and considering we're still in Hutt Space, I would go with mercs."
"Most likely under contract from the Empire," Aayla added, already moving to the room she and Naruto shared.
Naruto continued, "Ladies, it's time to pack up and leave. The ship should be ready sometime today, so we'll just go to the docks, pick her up and get the hell out of here before things get any worse, and in this system, it always seems to when bounty hunters get involved."
Celeste clucked her tongue before putting her hands to her hips and shaking her head, "Hutt Space hasn't changed much since my time it seems."
"I feel sorry for the landlord," Naruto murmured, "Looks like he's going to miss the next payment."
Celeste scoffed, "The landlord's an ass."
"Which is why he's going to miss the next payment," Naruto smirked.
The Reprisal was a kilometre-and-a-half long warship built for the sole purpose of obliterating its opponents. One of the newly commissioned Imperial-Class Star Destroyers,it was half a kilometre longer than its Venator-Class counterpart and carried almost three times the firepower. In time, Imperial-Class Star Destroyers like the Reprisal would completely overtake their Venator-Class cousins as the mainstay of the newly-reformed Imperial Starfleet.
The Reprisal was also Lord Vader's flagship. Almost all of her crew was handpicked by him, from the actual crew to the marines and stormtroopers, and they all knew the price of failure. Of all the men and women serving on board, whether enlisted personnel or commissioned officers, there were only a handful that Vader had not chosen personally.
Those eleven, whittled down to seven, were the warriors in black armour, similar in appearance and stature to those of the Emperor's revered Red Guard except for their choice of weaponry. While the Red Guard was known for carrying specialised blasters or their renowned force-pikes. These Guardsmen carried only one item, a double bladed lightsaber hilt, strapped to their black utility belts, hidden away by their black cloaks.
The crew had already called these Guardsmen by several names, some called them the Black Guard, others the Shadow Guard and others still simply called them Shadows. Their official name was still unknown to the crew, but one thing was certain. These Guardsmen were the same as Lord Vader, capable of using the force and more than adept enough to fight and kill with a lightsaber.
Darth Vader knelt before the holographic visage of his master, head bowed and long cape draped over his form. The Emperor raised a hand, "Rise, my friend."
Vader did so, rising back up to his full indomitable height.
"What news have you to report on your assignment?"
"The presence you felt was that of a man, quite powerful, with abilities I have never seen before. We were able to capture him, my master, but four of your soldiers were killed in his capture," Darth Vader reported in his usual flat tone, taking great care to show no sign that he had seen underneath one of the helmets of his master's new troopers.
"The loss of four Guardsmen, while heavy, is acceptable," Palpatine was silent for a moment, looking at Vader with a piercing gaze behind the darkness of his hood before he spoke again, "So the fugitive has been captured?"
"Yes, my Master," Vader replied with a nod.
"Then there is little time to waste. He must be delivered to Coruscant with all due haste," Sidious said, almost as if he were deep in thought, "How soon can you arrive?"
Vader inclined his head, "I should arrive within the week."
"Excellent."
"What is the importance of this man?" Vader asked, looking up at the holographic image of the most powerful man in the Galaxy.
"If delivered to us, I foresee the end of an old era, and the beginning of a new," Sidious simply replied, "All will be explained in due time, my apprentice."
Vader didn't like the answer, but he didn't press the issue any further, "Yes, my master."
The holographic image faded from view, leaving Vader alone in darkness. In the galactic centre of the known galaxy, on the planet Coruscant in the former office of the Chief of State, now the temporary offices of the Galactic Emperor, Dantius Palpatine sat in his chair, hands clasped together as the blinds opened, spilling sunlight into his private domain.
The old Sith Lord didn't utter a word or even the slightest sound. He rose from his chair, robes shifting as he circled his impressive desk, running a pale, gnarled hand along the polished material as he walked into the centre of his chamber to a small holographic table, recently installed. He twitched his hand, activating it and watching as the room was bathed in light. Images exploded into the air, each showing faded and blurred images of the young man recently captured.
"One down," he muttered, twitching his fingers again.
An image appeared in the foreground of all the others, one taken from a high up bird's eye view. It showed a desolate, pocketed landscape with a single small figure standing in the middle. He magnified until he began to make out details about this man. Blond hair, tanned skin, wearing strange clothes and capable of such a disturbance in the force that it was, for lack of a better word, intriguing.
He magnified the image again, watching as the image zoomed in until he saw his face, whiskered cheeks, tanned skin, blue eyes which seemed to be locked with the screen, as if he knew the spy drone was there. This man looked like a soldier, a warrior and out of the two disturbances that the gnarled old man had been sensing in the last few months, it was this one which caused him the greatest intrigue…and the greatest concern.
It might have been best to wipe this man off the face of the planet.
The Force was what stopped him from giving such an order. There was something about this man, something that told the ancient Sith that if he could be captured…then the possible benefits could be immense.
He looked at the image for a long moment before finishing his sentence, "One to go."
"This is a lot more than a small gang of bounty hunters," Aayla muttered as they closed in on their destination. She had used her Henge to transform into her favourite alias. Her skin changing colour from cerulean blue to a deep maroon red, black tattoos covering her exposed flesh and deep black eyes.
"I agree," Celeste muttered, herself using the advantages the Henge offered to transform into someone else as well. She now had the look of young Mirialan woman with shoulder length black hair, tanned skin and diamond like tattoos running along the bridge of her nose down to her cheeks.
Naruto had to admit that she was also learning how to mould and channel her chakra almost as quickly as Aayla did as he looked over at the checkpoint, transformed from his usual look to that of his late friend Shikamaru Nara. There were at least six mercenaries at this checkpoint, two Rodians and four Trandoshans all armed with basic armour and blasters. It was the third such checkpoint they had seen during their journey from their ruined apartment to the dry docks where their ship was being modified.
"Do you think Shelov sold us out?" he asked in a low tone.
"Either him or one of his crew," Celeste nodded, "He may be a contact of Cristo, but I doubt all of his crew are."
"So you think one of them blew the whistle and now every hunter within fifty kilometres will be converging on this spot," Naruto sighed.
"No, they're more organised than that," Aayla said as she pressed her form into Naruto's side, his arm around her protectively. "My guess is that somebody tipped off one of the Hutts as to our location, and said Hutt is expecting a payday in Imperial credits."
"How many mercenaries can one of these Hutts possess?" Naruto asked. Aayla and Celeste had told him plenty of tales on the Hutt crime lords, none of them flattering. The Hutts ruled this area of space, and they were neck-deep in every illegal and criminal act in the galaxy from slavery to racketeering, from drug-dealing to smuggling. They didn't look all that enticing; they were in fact the ugliest things Naruto had ever seen…but they were smart, they were rich, and they were powerful.
It was never a good idea to piss off a Hutt.
"Depends on the Hutt," Aayla whispered into his ear. "The weakest crime bosses usually have a few dozen mercenaries under their employ, but the more influential they are the more people they have. The strongest Hutt crime lords probably have hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions under their employ."
"And not just mercenaries," Celeste added as she mirrored Aayla's move, sticking close to Naruto and allowing him to put an arm around her, eyes carefully scanning left and right for any mercenaries going incognito in the streets, or taking up sniping positions in windows or atop the surrounding buildings. To anyone who bothered to look, Naruto appeared to be a bored playboy, and she and Aayla were his exploits for the evening.
Celeste continued, "Drug dealers, criminals, informants, thugs, assassins, slaves, even members of the civil service can be under the employ of a Hutt. They have their grubby fingers on everything, both legal and illegal."
"You two don't have a very nice outlook on the Hutts," Naruto quipped.
"I haven't met a decent one yet," Aayla replied, "My people are considered an enslaved race to the Hutts. A girl like me would be considered a prime candidate as one of their trophies chained to their thrones. It would have probably been my fate if Quinlan and Tholme hadn't saved me."
"They haven't changed much from my time, then?" Celeste sighed as she continued to look around. "I spot three hidden away within the crowd, and another two on the rooftops. There might be more."
"How far away is the dock?" Aayla asked with a sigh.
"Another block or so," Celeste replied lowly. "We're probably going to find a little resistance when we get there."
"Sith me," Aayla muttered as she took out her little earpiece and secreted it into her ear. She pushed the button lightly and there was a beep before someone answered.
"Hello?"
"Master,"
"Aayla?"
"Plans have changed," she whispered as she looked around, "We were visited by a merc wet team."
"Are you alright?" Vos asked in a low, dangerous tone.
"We're fine, but the wet team can't say the same," Aayla affirmed as they turned a corner, the docks now in sight, "We're taking this chance to bug out before they realise we're gone. Thank you for everything Master, and please give my love to Tholme, T'ra, Khaleen and Korto."
"Understood,"Quinlan replied, pausing for a moment before speaking again. "When the three of you are free and clear contact me on the private line. There is something I need to talk to you about."
"Understood Master," Aayla confirmed, before shutting off the line with a simple word, "Out."
"Should we just walk in?" Naruto asked.
"Not a chance," Celeste replied, giving him a look.
"Figured as much," Naruto sighed before giving Celeste a wry look, "What, did you think I actually would?"
"Into that side alley," Aayla whispered and the three of them made a sharp right turn, walking into a dark alley. Naruto looked up to his right, seeing the huge form of the docks where their ship was situated. Aayla undid her Henge, followed closely by Naruto and Celeste as the three of them looked up.
"Time for a little exercise," Naruto muttered, pumping chakra into his feet and knees before launching high into the air, hands gripping onto a steel girder and using his bodies weight as momentum swung a full hundred and eighty degrees, landing on his feet and crouching down with his hand held out. Aayla used the force to jump high, her slender hand reaching out for his. He grabbed it and pulled her onto the girder with little effort before mirroring the move when Celeste made her jump.
The three of them ran in a straight line down the girder, looking to their right and left to see the majesty of the sector's dockyards, made up of huge multi-storey hangers, each capable of holding dozens of starships of different shapes and sizes. Naruto pumped chakra into his limbs again and took off, zipping up another ten meters to make it to the next flat surface, another grid of steel girders, Aayla and Celeste following his lead.
Finally he saw something he needed: a window with the glass shattered through. He remembered that there were quite a few of these built into the hanger where the Will of Fire was docked, and most of them were missing glass. He jumped high, hands grasping onto the ledge and once again, using his momentum, he flipped onto the frame and stepped onto the structure's main support system between the walls and the roof: a grid of thick, crisscrossing transparisteel girders. He helped Aayla and Celeste up, then led them on a deceptively peaceful-looking walk along the central girder, looking down at the bustling mass of people far below.
It didn't look like much had changed in the docks. Ships were still in place, and the majority of them were still being worked on by the Chief Mechanic's deck crews. It wasn't until he activated his Sage Mode and looked at the scene with the enhanced eyes of this state that he began to see those who shouldn't be there.
There were at least fifty mercenaries in the docks, all of them armed to the teeth. None of them looked like they were in the mood to mess around with anyone. His eyes picked up the emotions of the surrounding crews simply by body language: many were scared, and many were agitated by the presence of these thugs in their work place.
"Naruto," Aayla whispered. "What do you see?"
"At least fifty mercenaries and a lot of scared people," The blond sighed as he looked around, noticing Celeste look at his eyes with a mix of worry and trepidation. He only remembered then that she had never seen him in Sage mode before.
"What's wrong with your eyes?" she asked.
"Don't worry. I'm not turning Sith on you." Naruto joked as he deactivated his eyes. "It's just a kind of special ability I have, called Sage Mode. I'll explain it to you once we're off this rock."
Celeste nodded her head, knowing that when Naruto made a promise he kept it, no matter what. Clearly there was a lot about the Shinobi people he came from that she didn't know.
"First things first," Aayla broke in quietly, "We need to find Shelov."
Naruto nodded, "Probably in his office."
Shelov had been in the business of starship modification for close to fifty years. He knew the dangers and cautions of his trade, and he knew how to survive this lawless planet without gaining the ire of the Hutt crime lords. However, Shelov liked to consider himself of an honourable sort: if someone came to him wanting a Starship modified, whether legally or illegally with no questions asked, then he was happy to do so…as long as they made their payment and didn't run their mouth off about his more unsavoury activities.
Shelov was of the Herglic people, a race of water-born mammals from the planet Giju in the Tapani sector. Despite their water borne ancestry they were bipedal, with arms and legs instead of fins and flukes. They were large compared to most other races, and much wider too, usually between three and four times the size and mass of a regular humanoid. His people were well-known for being peaceful and gentle, but if they were insulted or the victim of an act of aggression there were few more deadly than an angry Herglic.
At the moment Shelov could be considered agitated by the current state of affairs, one of his newer mechanics had gone and blabbed about his business modifying a starship belonging to a few Jedi to the proper authorities, and now here he was: under guard by an entire battalion of mercenaries sent by several allied Hutt crime lords. The docks of the sector were closed off and monitored, his workers were agitated and scared, and he was considering several different ways to deal with the whistle-blower when he found out who it was.
He heard the unmistakable sound of weight colliding with his floor, and looked up in time to see the blond haired employer sitting on the guest chair on the other side of his desk, looking relaxed and carefree as he put his feet up and placed his hands behind his head. "You seem to be having trouble, Shelov."
The huge Herglic chuckled, his blowhole blowing out air as he laughed. "Some moron decided to go mouthing to the neighbouring Hutt."
"So it wasn't you?"
"I am insulted, considering you know of my reputation," Shelov responded.
"Good point, as long as someone pays what he owes you nothing will go wrong," Naruto shrugged as he leaned forward, "but…something has gone wrong."
"Agreed, and for this problem to be fixed I need you three out of my blubber as soon as possible," Shelov replied, "I don't care how many of the Hutt's goons you have to kill, but don't make it look like I had any part in it. As far as they know I am an unknowing party in all of this…and I would like it to stay that way."
"No problem," Naruto nodded before looking around, "What about surveillance?"
"The room is soundproofed, and I will take care of the cameras," the huge mammal replied.
"And the Will?"
"Ready to go," Shelov smiled. "We finished her a few days ago. I was wondering when you were going to call in, actually. Don't worry about anyone guarding it. I made sure the mercenaries guarded the wrong ship. You're worst fear is a handful of guards, well spaced out."
"Sounds good," Naruto smirked before reaching inside his flowing long-coat, pulling out a small data-card and setting it onto the table, "The last payment for the modifications."
Shelov looked at the card for a moment before taking it and putting it through his holo-computer. He waited for a moment as the funds went through, took out the chip and tossed it back to his client. "I only took half of the last payment. Consider it an apology from my company for such... unruly behaviour."
"That'll come in handy," Naruto quipped as he pocketed the chip, "Anything else before we leave?"
"It'll be nice if you knew the identity of the whistleblower," Shelov muttered before looking up at the human and grinning, "I would have liked the pleasure of firing him in person."
"I'm not that good," Naruto smirked.
"A pity," the huge whale-like mammal murmured as he leaned back into his chair, watching as the blond haired human vanished in a blur of motion, out of sight, "I suppose I'll have to see to it myself then."
There were six of them in a standard guard formation. That was good, considering the security net didn't seem to be centralised around their ship. The Will of Firewas situated at the far end, third closest on the right from the open entrance to the huge hanger bay. There were three mercenaries close to the ship, spread out with their rifles held idle and their eyes alert.
"I see three," Aayla murmured to her companion.
Celeste looked around for a moment before nodding her head in agreement, "Three... yes, three."
There was a thump and a shiver as something else landed on the steel support girder, and both women looked around to see Naruto landing right beside Aayla in a crouch, eyes darting left and right before turning to them, "Three of them?"
There were definitely three near the Will of Fire. The closest was Rodian, armed with a blaster repeater and dressed in light armour skulking around the front of their ship. The next closest was a Duros, walking slowly and carefully with his blaster rifle held rigid and ready, barely ten meters away from their ship. The last one was a Quarren, sitting on a set of mobile steps and looking bored and half asleep.
"Aayla, you have the Rodian," Naruto said as his eyes scanned the area for anymore less than noticeable opponents, but the storage unit was mostly quiet. "I'll take the Duros. Celeste you have the Quarren, let's deal with these guys in a few seconds, got it?"
"Got it," Aayla agreed.
"Yeah, don't worry," Celeste added, already calculating her rate of trajectory to her target.
"Ready?" Naruto asked as he tensed.
"Yes," his two companions replied in unison.
"Let's go wild."
They dropped from their perch in unison, each with a different target and each willing to finish that target as quickly and quietly as possible. The three crewmembers of the Will of Fire dived towards their enemies. The first one to hit their target was Naruto, narrowing himself out into a perfect swan dive. Just before touching down, he released a breath of concentrated wind chakra from his lungs, slowing his fall. His target didn't know what hit him: Naruto grabbed the back of his head and slammed it down against the concrete floor, crushing his target's head and killing him in a single, quick movement.
The Quarren Celeste targeted didn't have a chance either. The force push she released to buffer her fall also hit the mercenary head on. Slamming him to the ground with such force that the three of them heard bones shatter. The Quarren was dead just as quickly as the Duros Naruto had dealt a lethal blow to.
Aayla's had been more difficult because of his position, but she didn't let that stop her. Pulling a trio of kunai knives from the pouch Naruto had given her she aimed carefully and let them fly. The three knives hit their mark with almost medical precision, two into his right and left shoulders while the third pierced through his forehead into his brain. The kill was quick and the victim felt nothing.
The three of them hit the ground at the same time, their targets dead and with a clear run to their ship. Naruto put a hand on Celeste's shoulder, and his friend listened, "Get the engines warmed up, me and Aayla will cover you."
The former Jedi Shadow nodded before making a beeline for their ship, disappearing up the ramp and into the vessel. Naruto and Aayla backed up until they were within a step to the rampway. Then they waited. The hum of their freighter soon filled the storage unit, and the three surviving mercenaries were soon firing upon them, one of them was definitely calling for reinforcements.
Aayla was in the process of drawing her lightsaber hilt from her utility belt, but Naruto put a hand on hers, stopping her from drawing it and leaned over, whispering into her ear. "I think it's time we tested the security blasters, don't you?"
She nodded hesitantly, "What about you?"
Naruto grinned in response and brought his hands together into his favourite seal, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Six perfect clones of her love appeared in a v-formation between the only breach between the mercenaries and the ship. The central one, who she knew was him, looked over to her and smiled before he spoke, "I'll deal with them. You tell Celeste where the controls for those security guns are."
"You better get aboard," Aayla warned as she turned to the ship.
Naruto shrugged, "Of course I'll get on board."
Aayla looked her mate in the eye for a moment before nodding and making a run for the ramp of their ship, Naruto remained, shared a look with his clones and then smiled. "You guys heard her right. We'll be in trouble if something happened to us."
"Damn right we will," the one to his right quipped.
"We're ready for anything, boss," another spoke up.
"Get your sorry ass aboard, we'll deal with them," the second to his left spoke up.
"Give us a few more hands though," the last on his right added with a grin.
Naruto grinned before once again making the simple cross shaped hand seal, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Another six clones appeared, and upon their arrival all twelve shadow clones burst into action, taking off in opposite directions for the perfect ambush positions. Only one of his clones remained, who looked over at him and grinned. "Get your ass on that ship, boss."
Naruto gave his clone a look before sighing and nodding his head. He then spun on his heel and made a run for the Will of Fire. The last clone watched his master go, before turning back to the entrance of the hanger and the three remaining mercenaries who were obviously now calling in reinforcements.
"Time to rock and roll," his clone muttered before taking off with a chakra propelled leap, "Let's give these clowns a fight they'll never forget."
They moved quickly, Aayla breaking into a running jump over the high back of the pilot's chair and settling in with little fuss, pulling the crash webbing and safety harness over her as the pilot's chair moved into position. The young woman's hands were already moving swiftly over the console, activating all necessary systems and inputting the commands.
Celeste took the navigator's chair, bringing up a map of the system and all of her main and secondary trade routes to other systems as she secured herself with the safety harnesses. The hum of the Will of Fire's engines was slowly rising in pitch to a low roar, a sign that she was almost ready to take off.
Naruto took the co-pilots chair, strapping himself in as he looked through the cockpit to see the skirmish taking place in front of them. His clones had ambushed the contingent of mercenaries pouring through the main hangers, setting upon them with kunai and shuriken. But it seemed that most of the fifty mercenaries were responding to the call, and blaster fire soon zipped and zoomed through the air, leaving scorch marks on the walls and the hulls of the surrounding ships.
"Better get a move on, Aayla. Looks like they're trying to close the blast doors," Naruto said as he watched the skirmish. His clones had already lost half of their number; obviously these mercenaries weren't your run-of-the-mill scum.
"It'll take a few more moments," Aayla replied, hitting buttons and pressing runes with speed. "Naruto, the mechanics should have installed those hidden blaster cannons. Their controls should be on your right."
"Got it," Naruto replied, quickly finding the controls and pushing the necessary runes. A hidden compartment on the Will's ventral section opened, and an automated hidden blaster cannon lowered. The blaster cannon locked onto the nearest mass of life signs and opened fire, spewing beams of crimson light into the surprised horde of mercs. Five of them fell to the hail before the rest were forced to find cover.
"That is so cool," Naruto exclaimed with smug excitement.
"Let's hope Shelov installed everything else or this will be one short trip," Aayla said hurriedly as she finished the last of the preparations before pressing her right hand on the control yoke. "Let's punch it!"
There was a howl as the thrusters of the Will of Firefully activated, forcing her to rise into the air. Aayla piloted the vessel with skill from years of training, manoeuvring her around a boxy shaped TL-1200 Freighter before pushing her forward through the huge double doors of the small holding chamber, her hidden blaster cannon swivelling right and left as she fired small salvoes of blaster fire into any merc stupid enough to leave their cover.
Aayla pulled the Will of Fireout of the hanger, pushing her into a sudden turn which left her rear scrapping across the durasteel of the opposite wall before pushing forward on the throttle, sending her flying through the high ceiling of the main docking chamber, blaster fire lit up the floor as mercenaries opened up, but the fire was not strong enough to do anymore than leave black scorch marks on the armour.
The Will of Fireflew past a blurring mass of docked and landed starships and freighters before exploding through the huge double doors of the main exit well before anyone tried to close them, sunlight spewing through the cockpit windows which dimmed the moment the rays of light hit. Naruto smiled as he deactivated the hidden blaster, knowing that it was even now rising back into its hidden compartment.
"We're going to have to make an illegal exit," Celeste muttered as she continued to sift through the mass of information, trying to find an AEC which was quiet enough for them to force their way into. "We can probably expect some form of pursuit once we break deep orbit."
"What can we expect?" Naruto asked.
"For a ship this small, probably a few patrol boats, nothing that can keep up with her," Celeste answered, pushing a few runes and allowing a smile. "I've got one, twelve kilometres southwest, designated AEC 51."
"Got it," Aayla replied as she looked at the needed change in position and altitude before making those changes. There was a voice crackling through the main comlink, 'in Huttese' Naruto thought, 'probably telling us that we're entering an exit canal without permission.'
Aayla switched the comlink off with her free hand.
"What was he saying?" Naruto asked.
"The usual crap," Aayla replied with a grin. "You are illegally entering an exit canal, divert your course, land and prepare to be boarded."
"Like hell we will," Celeste scoffed from her seat, "Entering canal in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Punch it!"
Aayla did so, bringing the Will of Fire into a steep climb. The sudden extension of G-Forces forcing all three members of the crew crashing into the back of their seats, but the Twi'lek Jedi pilot held firmly onto the yoke, and within mere moments the smog covered sky made way for the starry darkness of space. Naruto whooped in delight, enjoying the ride before the G-Forces subsided.
"We've got company," Celeste called a few moments after they broke orbit. "Looks like a trio of patrol boats are coming right at us."
"Time to move," Aayla murmured as she pushed the throttle forward as far as she would dare. The Will of Fire exploded into motion, going to its ultimate speed within mere seconds of the throttle being pushed, "How's that?"
"They're struggling to keep up with us," Celeste grinned from her seat, enjoying the adrenaline from the chase.
"Then I'm going to need coordinates for a hyperspace jump," Aayla replied.
"Got it," Celeste nodded as she began to work. "Give me thirty seconds."
Naruto grinned before something got his attention, a very large blip on the radar screen, "Uh girls, there's something up ahead."
"What kind of something?" Celeste asked as she continued to input a possible course.
"It's something very big."
"Maybe it's a freighter," Aayla thought out loud as she began inputting commands, "Bringing up a visual."
"A freighter…this far away from the official traffic lanes?" Celeste muttered.
"It's a bit too big to be a freighter as well," Naruto said to himself.
"Bringing it up now," Aayla finished, inputting the last few commands and watching as a holographic image appeared in the middle of the main flight console. The two Jedi's eyes widened at what they saw. There was no mistaking that arrowhead-shaped form, the separated bridge and control towers, even if it's colour scheme had been changed from the Republics red and gold to the stark gray of the Empire.
"That's no freighter," Naruto muttered.
"It's a Star Destroyer," Aayla finished with wide eyes, "A Venator-class Star Destroyer."
"Take evasive action!" Celeste called.
Aayla was about to reply, when the controls on her side of the console dimmed, signalling a change in control from the pilots side of the main console to the co-pilots side. Her head snapped to her right to see Naruto take the yoke with wide eyed shock, "Naruto, what are you doing?"
Naruto grinned, "Improvising."
He grabbed the throttle on his side of the cockpit and shoved it forward past the recommended safety speed, and both girls found themselves shoved into their chairs from the sudden acceleration of G-Forces. The ship flew forward with almost-blurring speed, heading right towards the Star Destroyer blocking their escape.
The warship was already firing at them, long lances of green light flashing from her secondary gun emplacements. Naruto moved the ship, zigzagging and corkscrewing in wide angles and arcs, dodging the first few beams of the salvo. He then took the ship into a full barrel roll, and Aayla watched as a beam of turbolaser fire streamed by overhead, just missing the Will by a few meters.
Then they passed the bow of the impressive warship. The Will of Fire's form hugging so closely to the dorsal armoured hull that none of her anti-fighter or low level armaments could get a lock on her. Aayla and Celeste could only watch as the turrets swivelled, spewing beams of turbolaser and ion fire in their general direction.
The two towers were closing fast. Both women screamed as they closed the gap rapidly, unprepared for when Naruto initiated a ninety-degree spin, putting the Willon her side and passing by the gap between the two towers with barely a meter between their hull and the armoured surface of the towers. Aayla felt her heart stop for a second before the ship passed right by the engine nacelles and out into space.
"Firing chaff missiles one and two," Naruto spoke up, flipping a few switches. Aayla and Celeste could only watch the rear-view cameras as the two missiles launched from the rear launchers, burning through space before exploding a few meters away from the closest rear cannon. There was silence for a second before Naruto called over to Celeste, "Do we have a clear path?"
Celeste, thankfully, recovered quickly, "Yes."
"Coordinates locked in?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm punching it," Naruto whooped as he grabbed the hyperdrive throttle and pushed it all the way forward. The stars turned into long lines of pure white light, signifying that the Will of Fire had entered the relative safety of hyperspace, leaving their pursuit behind.
Silence prevailed for the longest moment with the only sounds being the hum of the instruments. Finally Celeste spoke, having to force her hands from her instruments and speaking in a shocked murmur, "He can't even land without potentially killing everyone, but he can outmanoeuvre a Star Destroyer?"
"What can I say?" Naruto replied as he leaned back, put his hands behind the back of his head and grinned widely, "I have selective learning."
He heard the unmistakable sounds of harnesses being undone, and looked over in time to see Aayla rise from her chair, towering over him with her arms folded and the most murderous glare he had ever seen on her features. Naruto actually found it rather sexy in a feral sort of way. Her hand moved with quickness, slapping him on the back of the head with enough force for him to feel it.
"Owe!"
"You're an ass!"
Naruto thought about a retort as he reached to rub the back of his head, but decided to just try and calm her down instead, "Alright, I'm an ass."
She sat on his lap, and when he looked up her face was barely a few millimetres away from his own. Their noses were touching as her furious expression gave way to a loving tender look, "But you're my ass."
She darted forward, mouth sealing over his in a chaste kiss before he knew what hit him. It was over in an instant, and Aayla leaned into him, feeling an arm fall onto her outer hip, keeping her in place as Naruto placed a soft kiss against the nape of her neck.
"I'd like to see your ass," Naruto quipped playfully.
"Naruto," she whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Hush."
"I see you all got away safely."
Aayla smiled at the holographic image of her master. Celeste had opted to remain behind to make any course alterations to the ship if needed, meaning that Aayla could contact her master like she promised. "Yes, there were a few small problems, but we made it away free and clear."
"I am relieved," Quinlan smiled, "When we heard there was a Star Destroyer in orbit we began to get worried."
"No need too," Aayla smiled. "So did you all get away?"
"Yes, the five of us managed to hitch a ride on a transport bound for Teth, and as far as we know nobody suspected us,"Vos explained, "Where are the three of you headed?"
"Naruto thinks we should stay quiet for a while until the hype dies down, and we agree with him," Aayla explained as she folded her arms, "He wants to travel to Boz Pity, and complete my training in the Shinobi arts."
"The graveyard Planet,"Quinlan frowned, hesitating for a moment, "Yeah, you could vanish there pretty easily. There are no settlements or colonies in that system, and it's been deserted ever since the Confederacy was forced from it last year."
"It's the perfect place to hide…" Aayla nodded in agreement, "…at least for a while, anyway."
Quinlan nodded before looking back up, "You three be careful, you hear?"
"Always master," Aayla nodded, "So what was this important thing you needed to tell me?"
"It's about a potential gathering,"Vos replied after a moment of thought, "In six months time, several Jedi Knights and Masters will be meeting at a location as of yet undisclosed to discuss what our next actions should be, and how we are going to survive. I want you, Naruto and Celeste to be there."
"We will," Aayla replied with a nod, "When will we know where to go?"
"You'll be contacted in six months, with a simple single-word message for the system where we will meet,"Quinlan replied.
"Okay then," Aayla looked at her master for a long moment, "We'll see you in six months. Please, be careful."
"You as well," Quinlan replied with a soft smile, "I'll see you in six months."
The hologram fizzled out, leaving Aayla alone in the lounge of their new ship. She leaned against the table, sighed and cracked her neck before walking back towards the cockpit. Naruto and Celeste were waiting for her, both looking her way when she entered, waiting for her to speak about what Master Vos wanted.
"There's going to be a gathering of Jedi in six months to discuss what to do," Aayla informed as she leaned against the door frame and folded her arms under her bust. "They're taking every precaution with the coordinates, including withholding the location until the time of the conclave."
"A meeting of so many Jedi will be risky," Celeste murmured.
"But it needs to be done," Naruto interjected as he stood up, "The Jedi are scattered and confused. Most of them are dead, and the rest are alone, lost and frightened. The higher echelons of the Order need to get something together if they are to survive the coming few months, let alone the next few years."
There was silence in the room for a moment before Celeste spoke up, "Well its six months away, so we can't worry about that for now. What's our next move?"
"We're going to Boz Pity. I hear it's a quiet little backwater system with no signs of civilization; the perfect place to settle down for a while." Naruto answered. "We'll use the next six months for training. I want to start teaching Aayla the Shinobi arts again and I need to get you completely caught up with her."
"To live six months on a deserted rock we'll need provisions," Aayla spoke up, "I say we take the Ootmian Pabol trade route to Nar Bo Sholla, pick up provisions and supplies then push on to Boz Pity."
"Sounds good," Celeste nodded.
"We have a plan then," Naruto smiled.
"Yes, we have a plan."
"Then let's do it."
Author Note 1: I've gained a few reviews from worried readers about Sasuke's strength when he was fighting Vader and his Shadow Guardsmen. I agree with them that I weakened Sasuke for that battle, but look at it this way. He had been on the run for months and because of this he wasn't getting much sleep, scavenging for food wherever he could, haunted by the ghosts of his past which would obviously have an effect on his fighting ability. I simply wrote the battle the way I would see it go down between Vader and a broken version of Sasuke Uchiha. If some readers still find that Vader should have been beaten, then I cannot argue with you, but I can disagree.
Author Note 2: The poll is next in this author alert. As of the moment this chapter was posted I am closing the Lemon poll, and the results are in. A total of 289 people voted in this poll, so thank you everyone who took part. The result was not an unexpected one, and most of you probably already know the results and who won, but I will put the poll results down here anyway:
The question was; In the Good Left Undone, do you want to see Lemons?
Yes – 244/84 percent
No – 20/6 percent
Not Sure – 25/8 percent
So the winner of the poll is obviously 'Yes' and keeping to the ideas of most of the reviewers, as well as my own thoughts at the beginning the Lemons will be placed in separate one-shots, located on my fanfiction home page when any such chapters come up. I'll leave messages in the Author Alerts for the chapter when the uncut version would be published.