3951 BBY, Citadel Station, Residential Module 082
Atton
It shouldn't have bothered him, but Atton didn't like the display Eden was putting on for him now - playing at being some brand of effortlessly calm and cool despite knowing that she was anything but. The meeting with the Ithorians had sent Eden into a subsequent bout of silence that prompted even Kreia to ask Atton's opinion on whether the woman was alright. And then whatever happened with the old witch earlier that day? It was a wonder Eden was even smiling, let alone existing peacefully.
"Can you imagine?" Eden laughed, and charmingly at that. Atton had only half-heard the story she'd been telling if only for the guilt that ate away at him while she spoke, uncomfortable as he shot her a convivial smile as if to corroborate the wildness of her tale and the entertainment it was intended to invoke with its retelling even if he hadn't half a clue what she was saying.
"Hardly," he said, trying to sound convincing though he knew he fell short. "So, where is this droid supposed to be held up, exactly?"
"At the Ithorians' dock, I think it's Hangar Two."
Eden's demeanor dimmed a little but only so much as the occasion called for. The shuttle ahead would bring them to the hangar bay and Atton wasn't sure he could stomach another conversation's worth of acting friendly, pretending as if there were nothing up his sleeve.
"Should be easy," he said, trying to act serious but not too aloof. Normally it wouldn't be an issue, but there was a part of him that knew Eden needed something to balance out whatever energy Kreia had offered her back at the apartment. Not that it was any of Atton's business, nor his responsibility to care at all, but part of him did anyway.
Idiot, he berated himself as they walked the remaining length of the Entertainment Module to the shuttles. Luckily there was a half-full shuttle about ready to take off once they arrived with a queue long enough to leave only slim pickings so far as open seats were involved. Atton chose a spot by the window, a lone seat tucked behind the rear motor. Hopefully Eden saw this choice as Atton taking the shit end of the stick for her benefit, choosing the less desirable seat so she could find a better one, and not simply a means of avoiding further conversation before they reached their destination.
Eden chose a seat in the middle aisle with ample leg room, settling towards the edge without a word. Even though Atton chose to sit apart from her on purpose, he still found himself looking at her - glances here and there, which soon turn to full on stares once the shuttle began moving and he realized Eden was deeply engrossed in the TSF-donated datapad now sitting in her lap. He watched as the woman scrolled through news headlines, at first ones local to Citadel Station and Telos, though soon they made way for more galaxy-wide reports. Atton couldn't see the contents from this distance, only the article headers, and wondered just how far out of the loop Eden had really been since the Mandalorian Wars ended.
By the time he caught himself staring, they were already screeching to an uncomfortable stop at the docks. Atton blinked, redirecting his gaze once everyone in the shuttle car took to their feet as if he hadn't been looking in Eden's direction at all, hoping desperately that she hadn't sensed his staring nor read his mind or something, like Jedi were known to do.
"So, down to business?" he asked, breaking the silence once they regrouped. Eden only nodded; her expression far more serious now than when they'd entered the shuttle. Guess she really has missed out on a lot, Atton thought with a shrug, knowing he shouldn't mind her mood swings nor the awkward silence that followed. He wanted to be aloof, right? And despite his inner monologue talking his own inner ear off, Atton was doing everything opposite to his own advice and only doing whatever he could to try and break the ice, digging an even deeper hole than he knew to get out of. Idiot, he echoed again.
"So, we should just-"
Atton was about to direct Eden towards the end of the hangar bay they'd agreed to retrieve the droid from, as well as where he'd directed Luxa to remain on guard, when the barrel of a blaster pressed firmly into the small of his back.
Before Atton could turn around, hand already on his holster, Eden had beaten him to the punch. Of all the things they'd scored from the Harbinger, the Echani staff was the least eye-catching of them all despite the precision with which Eden wielded it now, gracing Atton's attacker at the neck with nary a glance backward. But her aim had been dead-on. Atton turned to see the end of her staff poking the jugular of a green-faced Twi'lek as another humanoid merc approached from his left, this time meeting the end of Atton's newest blaster already aimed and ready to fire.
"Not so fast," Eden hissed, eying both the man that held Atton at bay as well as the one that neared, barely slowing at the sight of Atton's draw. "Care to explain yourselves?"
But Eden hardly awaited an answer. Neither man made to speak, their mouths instead turning into grimaces of concentration as both made their next move - but before either could act on it, they were on the ground. Eden jabbed and Atton fired - his blaster set to stun. The Twi'lek doubled over while the other slumped in a heap as if he'd gotten a bad muscle cramp, a sight that both Atton and Eden took as their cue to keep moving.
Without a word, the two fell into step again and disappeared into the crowd.
"This is worse than I thought," Eden whispered, eyes darting about the station.
"Tell me about it," Atton rejoined, quickly hiding his blaster beneath his vest as he ushered Eden onward through the foot traffic before anyone noticed. "We should move fast."
Eden nodded, her eyes flashing with appreciation as she took in Atton's expression and retracted her staff so it remained undetectable at a glance, as if she were merely holding a pen. Without another word, Eden shouldered on, and Atton felt all the more guilty for it at her side.
"Hangar Two is this way," Eden muttered as they passed the proper signage, barely pausing as they weaved through the crowd. She glanced back to see if they'd been followed, Atton doing the same, before pressing onward and disappearing through an airlock at the end of the hall.
Once inside, Atton sighed a breath of relief.
"So, they're meeting us here or-?"
"Greetings, Jedi."
Atton and Eden spun around towards the far corner of the airlock, still a ways away from the actual hangar access panel. From the darkness, five figures emerged, each one bearing their weapon of choice as they entered the light. Atton noticed Eden taking stock, sizing each of them up as Atton wholly committed to at least taking out the two in the back. Hand still on his concealed blaster, with another on his hidden pistol, Atton nodded at Eden and she in turn. Within the span of a moment, two of the mercs laid groaning on the floor while the other three nursed what Atton could only assume were concussions.
"Not bad," he choked, though he truly wanted to say more. Holy hell, was more like his inner monologue, admiring Eden's handiwork on the three Czerka goons nearest them but knowing better than to say anything. "Hopefully this is the last of them."
Hopefully, he said, mouth full of lies. He knew there were more, both Czerka and Exchange alike, but hoped Luxa would show up as promised before he could play pretend much longer.
"I'm not so sure about that," Eden muttered, a pain in her voice resonating somewhere deep within Atton that made the remorse feel worse somehow. Like something rotten gone even more sour. "Let's get this over with."
Eden rushed over to the access panel and commanded the hangar door to open. On the other side sat two harrowed Ithorian attendants and one perky droid shining in the luminescent light of the hangar bay, its eyes glowing an unnatural white in anticipation as they approached.
"Has Moza sent you?" one Ithorian asked in near-perfect basic via voice modulator, its eyes near-full with tears as Eden drew close. "Can we leave now?"
"Yes, and yes," Eden breathed, suddenly out of breath though Atton assumed it was more so due to the state of the welcoming party and not the obstacles they'd just jumped getting here seeing as it had only taken an inhuman three seconds to make it past five armed men. "Are you alright?"
"Fine, fine, though tired. And hungry."
Both Ithorians looked on appreciatively as they stood, weak but eager to finally leave. The droid simply jerked its attention from Eden to Atton, and back again, saying nothing but looking as if it had multitudes of questions waiting to escape its mechanical mouth.
"We'll get you all out of here," Eden promised, "Have those guys just been camped outside this whole time?"
The other Ithorian nodded and muttered something in Ithorese, no modulator to be found on her person. Her large blue eyes looked from Eden to Atton as she explained something that was beyond what Atton could understand, other than the pure exasperation that pained her expression.
"I don't understand how the station can allow Czerka to do this," the other Ithorian added, his modulated voice the prim and proper cut of a diplomat. "This is absurd."
"I agree, though I can't say the TSF has proven to be anything less than a sham," Atton offered, "It's a wonder this place hasn't already-"
Atton was about to say fallen apart, before realizing that in a way, it already had. And not only that, but that these very Ithorians were working tirelessly to assure that such a thing would not happen. At least so far as the planet itself was concerned. He couldn't say what they thought about the way the Telosian government ran things otherwise. So long as the plants survived, right?
"Doesn't matter, we'll get you out of here in no time." Atton flashed them as convincing a smile as he could muster, which must not have been successful judging by Eden's judgmental furrowed brow in response.
"Stay close," Eden instructed as she led them out of the hangar, waving away the impatient dock officer looking at them pointedly through the glass as they passed, no doubt asking that they pay the insurmountable parking fee the Ithorians had likely racked up in their unwanted stay here. "We'll get out of here."
Just as Eden nodded with practiced reassurance, one Atton imagined Eden had used often as a Jedi, the door opened. Only instead of the usual traffic, they were met with an eager audience. And one that didn't look too happy.
Well, fuck me.
Atton grimaced. His eyes wanted to dart about the gathered crowd come to see them die or cashed in for profit, wishing desperately for a sign, any sign - but he was granted none. Instead, they were met with a laugh and a great big plume of smoke as all hell broke loose.
"Smoke grenade," Eden hissed at Atton's side. Atton could barely see a thing but he could still make out Eden's shadow, her silhouette moving to shield the Ithorians and their droid behind her. Atton had a hand on both of his blasters, squinting against the nothingness as he willed the horde to reappear through the fumes. But he didn't need them to reappear. He began firing on instinct - aiming what seemed to be at nothing though he felt his aim were true. And it was.
"Nice shot," Eden said, flashing him a surprised smile through the lifting smoke. Her Echani staff was already fully extended, a newly-bought pistol poised in her other hand and firing away.
Before Atton could relish in the compliment, his vision was finally clearing and the view wasn't good. As many bodies as they'd taken down, more were on the way. Several looked to be hired guns, but the rest were -
"Exchange," Atton grunted.
Three attackers approached from their right while two sharpshooters took aim from across the hangar bay, laserfire ricocheting too close for comfort as another four men rounded on Eden - one of them with the droid dead in its sights. Czerka.
"Eden!" Atton shouted, trying his best to maim the three attackers on his right, ducking and maneuvering in a way he hadn't in years. I'm going to feel this tomorrow.
Atton did what he could to hold their right flank, already alarmed at the crowd beyond - gasping and scattering to find cover from the blasterfire, when Eden swung at one, two, three attackers and then reached for the fourth…
And all time stopped.
Atton's eyes widened. Or at least, he felt them widen. He'd willed them too, involuntarily. The surprise flooded him even as his limbs stilled, everything slowing except for Eden. Wild-eyed she spun with her staff in one hand, pistol set on stun in the other, as she took down four, five, six hired guns before she faltered. A surge of something penetrated the space, Atton feeling it somewhere in the very core of him before time sped up again and all air in the room seemed to catch up with Eden from behind and send her forward…
"Hey, hey, hey!" Atton shot one more round to his right and another at one of the sharpshooters, almost blindly, hearing a satisfying yowl as he rushed towards Eden who fell in almost equal slow-motion towards the floor beside him. He caught her, but only just, holding her shocked form in his arms as they crouched there on the floor of the hangar bay, each of their blasters still firing away as they regained their footing.
"You okay?" Atton asked, shouldering her weight just as he had on the Harbinger. Eden blinked, though it hadn't stopped her from moving, from fighting. She blindly jabbed her staff at another oncoming attacker as she shook her head.
"I… I don't know what that was just now."
Genuine shock painted her face, fear creeping into her eyes as she glanced at Atton before sizing up their opponents again. She slowed, as if both losing focus and energy, her strength waning with every swing of her staff though her blaster pistol fired with the same middling accuracy as earlier.
"I didn't-" but before Eden could finish, more blasterfire joined the fray. Only this time, it wasn't aimed at them.
"What the-?" Eden balked, almost stopping completely as she reassessed the situation. Atton didn't blink, relieved to know their reinforcements were finally here. Instead of letting his relief give him away, he took a moment to pause and find Luxa in the crowd - her red hair unmistakable as she gave a Czerka thug a roundhouse kick in the face - hoping he did a convincing enough job of painting his expectation as surprise.
In a matter of moments, the fight was over. A heap of unnamed mercs lay either injured or unconscious on the floor of the hangar bay as Eden ushered the Ithorians hurriedly over the threshold and back into the main throng of the traffic gone unperturbed on the other side of the promenade, though she was careful to steer them in the direction of their unlikely savior as well.
"Thanks for the help back there," Eden said. She gave Luxa a nod with a look that told Atton Eden was as appreciative as much as she was still suspicious of their enigmatic rescuer. Luxa was flanked by two Weequays who looked on smugly, their black and gold eyes scanning the crowd for further threats.
"We should move. Quickly," Luxa said, grabbing Eden by the elbow. Eden's eyes flashed towards Atton, as if for help, before returning to Luxa's seductive but serious gaze. "For a Jedi, you sure don't hide well."
"How did you-?" Eden was about to ask how Luxa knew she was a Jedi, and while Atton knew the answer to that, it would have already been plain on Eden's face even if he'd nothing to do with it.
"Doesn't matter," Luxa whispered loud enough for them both to hear. "Do you want to get out of here safely or not?"
Eden looked from Luxa to Atton, to the Ithorians and back again. Atton watched as the cogs worked their way in her head, trying to make sense of this conversation with what little information she had. Atton willed a look of suspicious surprise on his face, unsure if he succeeded seeing as Eden did not glance at him again before answering.
"Why are you helping me?" Eden asked in a whisper. A shiver ran down Atton's spine, thinking back to the display of false confidence Eden had put on for his benefit earlier as well as her more than capable exhibition of prowess both at the hangar bay entrance and exit. She felt guilty when the only person here warranting that burden was Atton. But Atton could only look on and act clueless to it all.
"Because I'm the only person around here smart enough to know how best to use a Jedi to my advantage without cashing her in," Luxa said in a hushed voice, a sly smile gracing her crimson lips as she sealed the deal with her trademark smirk.
Whether she was taken with the woman's grin or her unabashed candor, Atton did not know, but he watched as Eden processed this and took Luxa at her word.
It was just like when Atton would count cards for his father. Lying and scheming, and all in plain sight. So long as their opponents were none the wiser. Atton was smug then, but sick now.
"Lead on, then," Eden said, to his dismay.
This was it. His ticket out of here and out of debt. It's what he wanted most, right?
Right?
3951 BBY, The Sojourn, Orbiting Onderon
Carth
"It should be all there," Carth assured, doing his best to appear as professional via comm as possible despite the pure adrenaline still coursing his system.
"I see," Supreme Chancellor Irulan muttered as she opened the first of the files Carth and his team had sent along, "This is troubling indeed."
Carth tried not to watch with too rapt of an attention as Irulan examined the footage Ensign Aurin had captured, imagining just which part the Supreme Chancellor was up to as he examined her expression. It was difficult, especially when he saw her eyes go slightly wide just when he thought she reached the section where the Harbinger disappeared from view. He could not see what the Chancellor saw, but after having reviewed the footage several hundred times himself in the last few hours he knew every moment of the recording by heart now.
"You will be happy to know that agree with you Admiral, this is certainly disquieting to say the least," Irulan said after a long-awaited moment, Carth exhaling a breath he'd been holding on purpose lest his heart race too much as she looked on. "And I concur that this is worthy of further investigation. Regardless of how bad it could look for a rogue Republic cruiser to be traipsing about doing Maker knows what, now that we know the ship is still abound it is my solemn duty to find out what happened to those crew members and if they are indeed gone then we must bring them to justice."
Carth could only nod in agreement, finally pleased to hear the Chancellor on his side though he didn't like the circumstances.
"I would be more than happy to direct such an investigation," Carth said, "but as I have previously put forth, I-"
But before Carth could continue, the Supreme Chancellor put up an iridescent hand, her blue-white hologram shuddering with the motion.
"No need," she said. "I have just the person for the job. They will confer with you on the matter, of course, but what I really want is for you to continue your work on Onderon as previously discussed."
Carth pursed his lips, dissatisfied with the answer but taking in stride anyway.
"Understood, Chancellor, however I do have a small favor to ask-"
"A favor?" Haskell cut in, the Supreme Chancellor's personal assistant. The young Mirialan's face spirited over the comm screen as the program registered his speech before Supreme Chancellor Irulan's face took over as she shook her head.
"Go ahead, Admiral Onasi," she said, shooting a hard glance off-screen at her subordinate. "You were saying?"
"I hear that Dantooine is facing some issues from mercenaries, as you may expect," he said. "What with the recent bounty placed on Jedi, the price of Jedi artifacts has also risen considerably and places such as the old Jedi stronghold are under attack. If we could provide reinforcements, we could-"
"But Dantooine is Outer Rim," Haskell protested. "They're not under Republic jurisdiction any longer, they've been-"
"Haskell, hush."
The young man shut up and began typing furiously, his gold skin darkening as he obeyed his chief supervisor.
"Dantooine has likely been hurting these last few years," Irulan said. "And while we cannot afford much with the civil war raging on, I believe we can afford a squadron or two to aid in the effort. I fear this issue may only grow worse. It could likely spread to other planets, Onderon included. They have some history with the Jedi, no?"
Irulan looked off-screen to Haskell again, who likely nodded with reluctant resignation before returning to keeping the meeting's minutes.
"I'll give you the clearance to authorize such mission once your talks conclude with Queen Talia about this mysterious weapons shipment."
"Excellent!" Carth sighed with relief. "I will be happy to deliver the-"
"You may lead such a squadron, Admiral," Irulan cut in. "Given your history with the place, and your interest, I believe there is nothing barring you from doing so once your meeting on Onderon is completed."
"I-" Carth balked, unsure of what to say. This was the best-case scenario, all things considered. It meant that he would likely pick up with the Onderonian government about their , Carth still had the matter of the Jedi Exile to deal with on Telos. But instead of protesting, Carth nodded sagely. "I appreciate the go ahead, Chancellor."
"In the meanwhile, I will continue to examine what you have provided me with," Irulan said, "Like I said, this is more than concerning and I do agree that this is more than worth looking into. But the meanwhile, please do update me on how your talks on Onderon fare and inform me when you leave for Dantooine."
The comm system picked up Haskell tsking loudly enough for the camera to pan to him again before returning to a serene but severe looking Irulan once more before the Supreme Chancellor signed off.
Carth sighed again, not knowing if he should feel more relieved than he already did, which was surprisingly little.
Better than nothing, right?
Still bootless, Carth padded over to his room's porthole, looking out at the expanse of space that spanned from Onderon to its jungle moon of Dxun. Ships littered the area, all waiting in a matter of either deadlock or exceptionally long waitlist. Knowing he was already at the head of the queue, even if he didn't want to be, Carth felt guilty looking out over the sea of impatient and decidedly unlucky starcraft that cluttered his view. Onderon glittered a bright, luminescent blue in contrast to Dxun's deep green, storm clouds darkening its sky as it hovered like a marble encased in resin as it slowly spun in Onderon's orbit. Fewer ships hovered there, only a few cargo freighters lingering nearby as they no doubt often did in the usual symbiotic nature of the planet and moon, awaiting the regular shipment of natural resources stalled only by wartime deviance. Carth counted three freighters in total, one, two -
But just as his eye registered the third, it vanished from sight.
"No."
It wasn't the Harbinger, that was for sure. But bigger. As if the bulk of a warship hovered just beyond the moon so only its nose peered out from the other side before disappearing entirely. At a glance, it had seemed just as big as any of the other ships, but it was only once it disappeared completely did Carth fully register the thing in all its monolithic grandeur.
"Ensign Aurin, do you read me?" Carth asked into the comm clipped to his uniform. "I know you're tired of hearing from me, but-"
"Need me to check the ship's recordings, sir?" Aurin answered before Carth could finish his request. He sighed, knowing he was putting this ensign through enough hell to give her a promotion as soon as he was able.
"I do," he sighed, "Can you please check anything from the portside cameras?"
They'd been recording incoming and outgoing ships around the clock, checking the ID signatures of every vessel that entered this system as well as any that exited, documenting every few seconds lest anything escape their sight. It was taxing on the ship's limited memory storage, a naval vessel not entirely equipped for an intelligence sweep as a more covert operation might be, but in Carth's eyes it was worth it. Especially if they found something - no, only if they found something.
"There are three ships by the Dxun moon but-" Aurin began before stopping short. "Wait, no, two ships. I'm sorry, I-"
"No need for sorry, Ensign," Carth found himself saying into a smile. "Just send me the footage, okay?"
"Aye, sir."
He could hear the confusion in her voice as well as the faith, trusting Carth on command though he didn't like it. It came in handy in wartime, sure, trusting your superiors could mean life or death. But Carth had followed a man to war once, and revered him to the point that he almost didn't believe he was capable of betraying him. Not that Carth had any plans of betraying his crew anytime soon, but the thought worried him nonetheless.
"Thank you."
Within the span of a moment, Carth's datapad pinged pleasantly with the alert that a new file had been delivered to his device. Crossing the room towards the food replicator in the far corner, he ordered a large caff from the dispenser just before sitting down with the footage again.
He glanced back at his porthole window before sitting down, making sure he witnessed just two freighters in the distance before he settled down and committed to counting not two, but three ships in Dxun's orbit, and finding out exactly why that was…
3951 BBY, Dantooine Grasslands, Khoonda Headquarters, former Matale Estate
Lonna Vash
"Someone hold the east entrance!"
"Blasterfire coming from the south!"
"Brace for impact!"
Shouts volleyed through the halls of the Khoonda Headquarters as Lonna raced up the vault entrance back to the foyer, Dillan following close behind with a blaster in hand. Another quaking rumble sent them skittering to opposite sides of the stairway's entrance, bracing themselves against either wall as they waited for the cannonfire to settle.
"Laser canons?!" Zayne groaned. "They have laser canons?"
"So do we, let's get a move on," Dillan ordered as she shoved Zayne from the wall and thrust him ahead of her, making sure they were all out from doorway before another tremor set them askew again. "This way!"
Locking the vault's second and third entrances behind her, Dillan ordered them through various rooms and hallways with impressive precision before they arrived at the foyer, the twin trees swaying as vigorously as if they were outside blowing in the gale of an oncoming storm.
"Mission, Zaalbar, Asra - take the front entrance," Dillan ordered before turning to Lonna and Zayne. "Jedi - you follow me."
Dillan had been a stern girl from the moment Lonna met her but now all her usual bitterness had turned to steel as she ordered Khoonda's guests to posts she already knew by heart were undermanned and just how to bolster them. Sharpshooters like Zaalbar and Asra at the front was smart. But what in the world did the girl want with two Force users at her side.
Mission and Zayne exchanged glances ahead of Lonna as they all came to a rolling stop, eyes wide, before they all ducked - a support beam clattering down before them in a shower of sparks, further separating the group. Zaalbar roared and fired his bowcaster at an unseen foe through the torn open wall while Dillan urged them onward.
"Let's go," the woman hissed. "This way."
Mission shrugged at Zayne over the heap of their newfound barrier, confusion coloring both of their faces before they all finally parted ways. Zayne hurried to a jog at Lonna's side as she followed closely in Dillan's footsteps. Zayne's hand reached for his lightsaber but without thinking, Lonna slapped his hand away. The young man looked at her, eyes wide, and all she could think of was Korath.
Korath. She couldn't help but think of her similarly dark-haired apprentice in his last moments, struck down by blasterfire and only thinking of Lonna and if she was okay before his leg was severed completely, the pain of which she felt in full and the aftermath of it still as if it were an injury she had yet to recover from. She limped with the ghost of the wound alongside Zayne as they followed Dillan, the man flashing her a look of confusion before she whispered, "Be discreet."
Zayne tried to read her expression with a furrowed brow, his eyes scanning her face as the realization finally dawned on him.
Before Zayne could say anything, Dillan came to a screeching halt at a locked room, hurriedly keying in a panel sequence to unlock the thing. Holding an annoyed hand up to bar them from following her, Dillan disappeared into the dark of the room in a huff before reappearing with two high-density vibroblades in each of her hands. Without pretense, Dillan tossed the blades and thankfully both Lonna and Zayne caught them.
"I trust you know how to use these?" Dillan asked before dashing off again without waiting to hear either of them respond. The administrator's assistant ran and skidded before turning down a service hallway that led them towards a hidden exit, opening a panel with a slide of her palm before slamming its adjacent panel once both Lonna and Zayne had followed her outside.
Laserfire was everywhere, lighting up the midnight grasses in all shades of crimson and amber, as if dawn had come early. Lonna ducked and closed her eyes, calling upon the Force in a quick moment of calm to read the space and the energies surrounding them. It took only a moment – a blink – and a map was laid out near perfectly in her mind. There were only two living people she sensed in the tall grasses about them, but there were also a dozen droids. She inhaled, counted to five, and exhaled before turning to Dillan and Zayne again.
"Take out the two on our right," she instructed in a steady whisper, still crouching low as she pointed to a spot in the distance. "Stun them, if possible, and take them in for questioning should Khoonda have the resources. I'll take care of the others."
Dillan was the only one who nodded, likely used to these skirmishes while Zayne looked on in confusion, no less accustomed to these sorts of things but unsure of what exactly Lonna was about to do.
"Let me go with you," he urged, taking a step forward as if to follow her right then and there. "I can-"
Lonna still only thought of Korath, and not just in his final moments but in the final moments they shared together, poring over a half-baked plan not unlike this one.
"No," she said. "Guard this entrance, make sure no one sees it."
Zayne paused, his warm brown eyes still wide as he watched Lonna crouch into the grass. Finally, after a beat, he nodded. Lonna nodded in kind and disappeared backward into the meadowlands.
She finally turned once she entered the grass proper, tall stalks crowding her like a fog fast closing in. Moving slowly so as not to give away her position, she crept through the meadow until she came upon the first battle droid. She paused. New but not too new, she thought, wondering if this was the best the Golden Company could truly do before willing the thing to combust. It stood about a meter away, just out of range. If she had taken another step it would have noticed her for certain and began to fire, no doubt alerting its fellow droids in concert. But instead, the machine buckled in on itself, disintegrating in a shower of sparks and cleaved metal before collapsing into the dirt.
One down, only eleven more to go.
Lonna inhaled and thought of Korath again, but when she opened her eyes she thought of Erebus. And before the thought could dissipate, she felt it - an electric current running through the entire field. One, two, three more droids fell. Somewhere in the field beyond, Zayne and Dillan had taken out the two sharpshooters - the first and then the second falling with a muffled groan - the yard now free of blasterfire. But before the last volley of shots rang through the space, four, five, six, droids fell in voltaic heaps about the meadow. And once the field was quiet again, seven, eight, and nine fell too.
Lonna spun around, reaching out with the Force again, only to find her hands already extended in the direction of ten and then eleven, one after the other dissolving into sparking particles before crumpling to the ground as well. Embers rose above the grass and into the night sky, like a fire dying.
And Lonna wondered if she'd meant to do that after all, or if she'd taken a leap off the deep end…
She paused, reaching out with the Force again as if it might give her some answers. She knew it didn't work that way, but the seed of fear had already sown its seed and she needed to know.
The field was still, though there was still firefight not far off, but that wasn't what unnerved her. For on the other end of meadow stood a silent pack of kath hounds, waiting.
She opened her eyes, confusion flooding her as she cocked her head. Her Force sight faded until all she saw was nighttime shadow. But after a few moments, several pairs of amber eyes shone back at her through the dark, like pairs of stars blinking into the night sky.
"That…" Zayne approached Lonna now with Dillan in tow, the latter scanning the yard with a wary eye, her blaster still gripped tightly in her hands. "That was incredible."
Lonna tried to shrug it off, feeling the pain in her leg now more than ever.
"It was nothing," she lied. "They were only droids, after all."
Zayne shook his head, the surprise still clear on his face as Dillan still surveyed the area.
"This won't be the last of them," the girl said, unimpressed. "Come on, let's get inside before they get any big ideas about us being fazed by any of this."
Zayne balked, looking to Lonna as if for confirmation that Dillan was, indeed, a little bit crazy.
"No doubt thanks are in order," Dillan said eventually as she led them back to the side entrance they came from. "But I know this is just the beginning."
Zayne shook his head, looking to Lonna again as if in commiseration. But she could not reciprocate.
Dillan was right.
This was only the beginning. And Lonna wasn't sure what else she was capable of if the occasion called for it.
3951 BBY, Dantooine Grasslands, Rakatan Ruins
Mical
At first there was sweet nothingness. The endless black of a profound slumber.
And then there was him.
Him being Erebus.
And Erebus being, well, his usual self.
"What happened back there?" he was already whispering hurriedly as Mical woke. Before the sleep could properly sift away, Mical's new state of consciousness was shaken into him against his will. "Are you okay?"
Are you okay?
Words failed him. Mical was still processing everything, his brain lagging behind the rest of the world as Erebus willed him forward into the now again while time and memory sped to catch up.
The serum. The Force. Azkul. The kath hounds. The universe and everything in it.
But Erebus had asked if Mical was okay. Despite his lack of a clear answer, the fact that the man seemed sincere was the biggest shock to Mical's system at the moment. Are you okay?
Am I okay?
Despite the hopeful look on Erebus' pallid face, Mical was suddenly realizing that he felt far from okay.
And even though a part of him felt as if he wanted to wretch, instead he found himself saying "You look awful."
But what he'd meant to say was Are you okay? Only his mouth was not working in concert with his brain, which had decidedly turned to mush since he was last conscious.
"You're not the first person to tell me that today, unfortunately." The man laughed darkly. Erebus was smiling - no, he was smirking - but he didn't seem as pleased with himself as he usually did.
Mical paused, blinking as he willed himself further awake to look at Erebus more closely. Aside from the deathly pale shade his skin had taken on, Erebus' eyes were sunken, his every angle sharper than Mical remembered. Erebus had prominent cheekbones before, but had the hollow of his cheeks been this gaunt? Mical wanted to say no, but another part of him knew this was part of who Erebus was, a man on the precipice of something he both wanted and rejected, hovering somewhere between life and death, between the diving pool and the unfathomable abyss. At least his eyes were the same verdant shade Mical last recalled seeing them - a calmer version of moss green, though still a bit too inhumanly bright if anything.
"You're hurt," Mical said, suddenly noting how sharply Erebus breathed. He reached for him, Mical's medical sense taking precedence over his other faculties even when the rest of his mind moved like resin. Erebus flinched, retracting just as Mical neared, before ultimately relenting. Their eyes met, unsurely at first before glancing away, only to return again and remain there. They both blinked yet neither of them moved. The man did not speak, but in the silence Erebus' eyes answered Yes.
Mical leaned forward, his fumbling fingers still awkward with sleep, clumsily approaching Erebus from the side. But he tried to be gentle. He tried to grace Erebus' torso with as much of a practiced hand as he treated any of his past patients, yet he still felt strange being this close. It had never been a problem before. It was always so clinical. And it wasn't as if being this close to Erebus were anything new, especially after having been forced to cohabit this cage for the better part of two days. But something about touching him intentionally made an inner part of Mical both nervous and… something else he either could not explain or did not wish to give a name to.
"They're bruised but not completely broken," Mical muttered. Without his outer cloak, the man was much less bulky than he appeared. Though still draped in black cloth, Mical realized that the garment underneath was far more form-fitting, giving him enough of an idea of how wiry strong and lean Erebus truly was. And just how badly he was injured beneath it all. "You should really take that off."
"What?" Erebus whispered, scandalized as he realized that what Mical referred to was his shirt.
Mical reddened and shook his head, finally retracting from Erebus and feeling oddly cold in response.
"Your torso is likely swelling, and all this compression isn't helping any. You'll need a cold compress, and-"
"Oh, is that all?" Erebus' usual sardonic bite made its valiant return, bidding Mical to roll his eyes. "Right, let me just get that, then."
Of course he hadn't expected Erebus to take that sort of basic medical advice to heart. It was only a force of habit, a slew of other recommendations rushing into his head before Mical willed them away to make way for some practical advice fitting to their situation.
"You should rest," was all he could offer, as unhelpful as it was.
"That's all?" Erebus seemed genuinely disappointed now. He sucked in a breath only to wince in response. "I thought there was something else you could do to speed this along."
"There isn't much to do for a bruised rib, unfortunately. No tourniquet, no surgery. Only resting for three to six weeks so they can heal naturally."
"Six weeks?!" Erebus hissed, turning away. He moved as if he might stand, but judging by the look of pain that colored his face - visible even just in his profile alone - he thought the better of it. "I have a plan to disable the pylons, mark my words, but it will take even more out of me. I can do it, of course, it's just-"
Erebus sucked in another breath, though this one seemed to soothe whatever pains ailed him now, entering his mouth methodically slow as if he were counting the seconds before exhaling carefully again.
"You're not sure you want to, which means you don't actually have a plan," Mical finished for him. Erebus said nothing, though Mical knew he was right. "How did you hurt yourself anyhow? This was self-inflicted, wasn't it?"
Erebus remained facing away and at first said nothing. After taking another measured breath, the man finally nodded.
"You explored the ruin," Mical said, the realization sinking in. Without thinking, Mical's hand reached for Erebus' shoulder, gently turning him around until they were face-to-face again. "How did you do it?"
His voice was much softer than intended, betraying his inner eagerness more than he wanted to admit but it was too late to take back his question. Erebus only stared at him, unblinking and wide-eyed, and seemingly just as confused as Mical felt right now as he processed everything.
"You know how," Erebus near-mumbled. Pain, he realized. He's drawing power from pain.
But that wasn't all. Erebus' eyes shifted, and Mical knew exactly what it was the man was trying not to say. He fiddled with something deep in his pocket, and while Mical wanted to question whatever that was about, instead he said, "You found him. You found Master Vrook?"
Anger leads to hate.
Erebus glanced at him, his eyes flashing wide as a bashful dog's before narrowing to slits. He looked away and nodded again.
"The old man's alive and well, if you were wondering." Erebus huffed a dark laugh, wincing with the effort. Mical moved to support him, making sure he didn't jerk too suddenly again lest Erebus' ribs reinjure themselves. It was a reflex, all part of the job. And while Mical kept telling himself that, he still had a hard time reconciling whatever feeling it was that flooded him at the thought of being this close to Erebus.
Perhaps it was because he was still a stranger despite how much Mical already knew about the man. Or perhaps it was because he was a Sith. A true, honest to Maker Sith. Mical had never met Revan, nor had he ever encountered Malak. Not even when they had still been prodigious Jedi Knights. Erebus was the first Sith that Mical had ever encountered, and while the man ticked off a few boxes he still left a few unchecked and uncomfortably empty.
Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to…
"I thought you were going to find him when Azkul questioned you again?" Mical asked in a hushed whisper, but Erebus only laughed again, wincing with the effort. "You didn't hurt him, did you?"
"Of course I didn't hurt him," Erebus sucked in another breath and braced himself as he readjusted his position, cradling his torso now as if he could hardly support it on his own now. "And it wasn't just because I promised you."
Erebus' voice was gentle when he said it, the word promise passing his lips with an unusual care as his eyes glanced upward at Mical's before looking away again.
"That man's more powerful than you know. I have no doubt he'll be fine, but I think it's killing Azkul. He can't break him - no one can."
Erebus laughed, shuddering from another wave of pain as he did so. Mical, unable to watch any more of this, reached for Erebus again and helped him lean against their one swath of barrier-free wall. Erebus leaned his head back, closing his eyes after nodding at Mical in thanks, though an unmistakable shame passed over his features as he settled in, a lock of dark hair falling into his eyeline.
"You never answered my question from earlier," Erebus said, his tone softening. "Are you alright? What did they do to you? Tell me everything."
Erebus' enthusiasm returned, his eyes changing again from regretful to keen in an instant. Whatever questions Mical had about Vrook and whatever it was Erebus had done in his time roaming the ruin would have to be saved for later. He wanted to press on and ask anyway, but Mical found himself dying to speak of what he'd just experienced just as much as he wanted to know what Erebus had been up to.
It only took a few minutes, the retelling far less enthralling than Mical imagined it happening in his head, but Erebus remained interested throughout and hung on every word.
"How did it feel?" was the thing he finally asked, despite the multitudes of questions and queries Mical watched take shape on Erebus' face as he spoke. "The Force?"
"It felt…"
He was almost embarrassed to say, as if it were indecent to divulge the wonders of the universe the Force had shown him in such a small window.
"Never mind. I know it's a lot to take in. But more importantly," Erebus pressed before Mical could answer, "What was the serum made of? Did you overhear what it was called? What color was it?"
A poisonous green, Mical thought without saying. Like your eyes.
Only Erebus' eyes weren't the exact shade of bright chartreuse he'd remembered in the moment but something softer. Unsure of what that meant exactly, he continued.
"It was viridescent, and I didn't hear anything about its nature or classification, unfortunately. Have you ever heard of such a substance?"
Erebus shook his head, his excitement fast dissolving into serious concern.
"No, and I don't like that I haven't. It could easily lead to corruption, and I don't mean that in the nonsense light versus dark side sense. I mean that someone could easily mess with powers beyond their understanding and upend the very fabric of the universe. And if such a substance exists, where did it come from? Was it mined? Extracted somehow? And from what? Or was it fabricated?"
"I think it was synthesized," Mical said recalling the bespectacled merc saying as much. "But from what, I do not know."
"Interesting," Erebus muttered, a look of mingled interest and horror overcoming his face. "But still… from my understanding of the Mandalorians, what they were interested in was finding a Jedi weakness so that they could exploit it and defeat them, not create a shortcut to making Force users more powerful, as they seem to have perhaps done with you. That was Demagol's goal, anyway. Which tells me that emboldening you wasn't quite the Golden Company's intention, either…"
"I couldn't see them, but there were charts, readings. They were testing something and were apparently quite pleased with whatever it is they saw when I tried to use the Force."
Erebus watched Mical, gears turning in his head as he nodded almost absently.
"But you say the pylons were active when they did this to you, correct?"
Mical nodded, unnerved when Erebus only smirked in response.
"And what time would you say this was at?"
"I don't know, I -"
"That may have been my doing," Erebus admitted, allowing his smile to grow wider as he spoke. "But that being said… I think this is all quite interesting, if not unnerving. They open you up to the Force without expecting you to use it?"
Erebus paused, putting a finger to his lip in thought.
"So, what were they testing, exactly? What weakness are they looking to find, and thus exploit?"
The question felt hypothetical so Mical said nothing, though he allowed the thought to similarly rattle around his own brain as he let it steep. What indeed?
"What did you do?" Erebus asked after a beat, his voice still soft, gentle in its probing. "You said you tried to use the Force… well, what did you do with it?"
Erebus smiled, but this time it was a small smile. A genuine smile. One that betrayed an earnest interest, his curiosity getting the better of him in a way that Mical could empathize with - were it not for the guilt that ate away at him at the memory of what he'd done with his last moments fully intune of the Force.
"I… I tried to… I don't know. Reach out? With my senses?"
Now it was Erebus' turn to roll his eyes, but before he could complete the expression, Mical was already upon him shooing away his disdain with a wave of an impatient hand.
"I reached out with the intention of gathering intel. Better?"
"Better, he says." Erebus muttered to himself, wincing in stride with his amusement as he now begged Mical to continue. "Do go on."
"You had gathered that Azkul answers to the head of the Exchange, no? Well, I found that whoever it is may be stationed above a large city in Hutt Space. Huddled somewhere amidst computers and such. Not just a crime lord, but a strategist of sorts. I know it doesn't narrow things down much but-"
"Hutt Space, huh?" Erebus repeated, his gaze looking somewhere in the middle distance as he considered it. "Interesting. Well, it certainly fits. Only thing left to do is narrow it down some more. Which I hope to do before we get out of here."
Erebus flashed Mical a smile full of false bravado. Mical wondered if Erebus knew just how Mical retrieved this bit of information, and if this was his way of gloating about it, if so.
"Was that all you sensed?" Erebus asked again. With one hand draped over his chest, his other remained deep in one of his pockets. Mical tried not to look, and he tried not to wonder. Sensing his unspoken question, Erebus retracted his hand - his palm disappointingly empty - and carefully leaned forward. "Anything that might help?"
Mical bit his lip. There was the matter of the voice that spoke to him just before he was brought back to the force cage. Make sure these trespassers don't return to the old temple, the voice instructed. Make sure they stay away. And I will come back for you.
But whether Erebus counted as they, Mical was not willing to bet yet. So instead, he shook his head.
"I felt the memory of this place," Mical said in lieu of what had truly crossed his mind. "I sensed Revan and Malak as they roamed these ruins years ago, as well as the ancient peoples that built this structure. The birth of the planet and-"
"Normally I would want you to go on," Erebus cut in, "But as interested as I am in the birth of the universe or whatever it is you're about to ramble on about, I think we should stick to whatever it is will get us out of here sooner rather than later."
"They're planning another attack soon," Mical confirmed after sighing, trying not to feel too embarrassed for revealing so much, even if he was still lying by omission. "You're right, we should get a move on."
Erebus nodded and shifted positions again, this time so he could sit up straighter, and winced – this time going paler than the before as another wave of pain washed over him. Without thinking, Mical reached for the man again, this time his hand resting somewhere along the length of his upper arm rather than his torso as he held him steady, forcing him to stop jerking about and making his injury worse. Whatever they did, Erebus was no use as an escape artist if his ribs were this hurt. Whatever his plan was, or ending up being, it better be good.
"I've mapped out a few possible exits, but what we really need to work on is an actual escape. I have an idea, I really do, but it still relies on successfully disabling the pylons. Ideally, I'd be taking at least one of them with me for further study, but I'm not sure it will be possible. Maybe if I can manage to swing by the Sandral Estate before leaving for the Japrael System…"
"The Japrael System?" Mical repeated. "What's out there?"
Mical didn't think it were possible, but Erebus blanched even more, his pale skin turning almost bone white.
"Some unfinished business," he said quickly before his usual vigor returned as his eyes lit up, a plan formulating in his mind as he spoke. "Wait, I think I have an idea."
The part of Mical that was growing uncomfortable with just how easy it was for his hand to remain on Erebus' shoulder quickly made way for an unnerving fear that gripped him as a whole new expression took hold of Erebus' face. His angular eyes alighted with a diabolical air more intense than Mical had seen so far - more sinister than he'd been back on Nespis and more unnerving than when they shook tentative hands on the loading ramp of Erebus' Star Forge ship.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Mical asked. Erebus only smiled.
"Good," he said. "That means it will work."
Notes:
Not sure if this is my best work - I definitely need to work on action scenes, that's for sure. But that's also why I'm here at all: practice. I'll probably continue and edit this chapter in the future for wordiness, but since I didn't want to slow my writing momentum down I did with it what I could and here we are. As usual, thanks for being here :)