Vals P.O.V.
"It's so dark down here" As the boys pulled out their torches, I smirked and pulled out one of my bright white lightsabers. As the tunnel lit up, Omega said
"That'll work" I said
"Where are we, Cid?" She replied
"Ord Mantell's old mining tunnels. These rails run underneath the city. It's how we're sneaking into my parlour to steal the spice" Wrecker looked at her and said
"Well, why don't we just walk in there and take it? We can handle those guards"
"No one can know we're involved. Roland is one thing, but the Pykes aren't an enemy you want to make. We'll use these carts to transport the crates of spice" Tech went over to the old, rickety carts and examined them. They really weren't stable. When he finished examining them, he looked around and said
"They're not in the best shape, but I can get the motors operational…" Cid quickly cut him off by saying
"No! The motors are too loud. This is a stealth mission. You lot are good at that, right?" She didn't wait for our reply before jumping in the first cart and saying
"Tiny, Goggles, you're with me" Omega and Tech joined her in that cart whilst Hunter, Echo, Wrecker and I got into the other one.
The cart creaked and rattled quietly as the brakes above squeaked
"Now, listen up. When we pass through those doors, not a peep out of anyone. We don't want to wake the hive" Immediately I stiffened. Echo then said
"The what?" Cid replied
"The caverns have a slight infestation problem" I inwardly sighed at the mention of an infestation
"We're not afraid of a few bugs"
I just grimaced at what he said. Everyone then turned to look at me. Hunter let out a small laugh and said
"What? Seriously?" I folded my arms, shrugged and said
"Okay so I've got a thing about bugs" Echo said
"Didn't you grow up in a desert? Aren't they full of bugs and stuff?" I lifted my shoulders and said
"Yeah and? That doesn't mean I automatically have to love bugs. I knew someone that didn't like sand, we lived in a desert…Let's just not talk about it anymore. I don't like bugs, simple as" Cid then said
"Well, it won't be a problem if everyone keeps their traps shut. Big guy, get the door" Wrecker jumped out of the cart and went over to the door. It took some effort on his part, but Wrecker did get the old door open, letting out a dust cloud and a foul smell as he did. He then jumped back in the cart right before we entered the tunnels.
As we made our way through the tunnels we could hear screeching, scratching and wings flapping in the dark. Goosebumps covered my body and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up on end. I mumbled quietly
"I don't like this" When a flapping sound got closer, Wrecker spun around
"Wha... What was that?" The carts come to a stop but as he looked around, the torch fell out of his hand, making a loud crash as it fell the the cavern floor
"Oh" CID looked around and said
"What did I say?"
"It was an accident" The rumbling and screeching got louder for a second before it suddenly stopped. Hunter broke the silence by saying
"Keep moving" We began moving again but a few moments later came to another halt
"We're here"
We piled out of the carts onto a small walkway. CID went over to the corner and said
"This ladder leads into my back office. Up you go" As I looked up the ladder hatch Tech said
"Without eyes on the office, how do we know Roland is not inside?" She simply replied
"I've got that covered" Seconds later a voice came over her coms
"All clear"
I was the first to enter the office closely followed by Echo. He looked around at the mouldy half-eaten food and said
"Ugh. And I thought Wrecker was a slob" I kicked something and said
"This is so gross"
"We can't all live in luscious temples, Princess, so can the commentary. Roland won't be gone for long" Tech and Hunter then joined us. Almost immediately Tech found the crates, scanned them and said
"Six crates of spice confirmed" Wrecker then called up
"Here. Hand it over" One by one the crates were handed down to Wrecker.
However, After handing him the third crate CID said
"Out of time. Get the last two crates" Echo quickly spoke
"I'll seal the door" As he ran towards the door, I turned to the other two and said
"Move" They stepped back and I lifted my hand. Using the force to move the crates was so much quicker than pushing them. I don't know why we didn't start with this. As the last crate was handed to Wrecker Echo rejoined us
"That's secure enough. Let's go" I looked between the three and said
"Go I'll be right behind you" One by one they made their way down the ladder. I was just about to follow when I heard whispers, just like I did on the cruiser back on Bracca. I turned towards the shelves as Hunter
"Kyrie, Let's go!" My eye caught a small box on the shelf as I shouted back
"I'm coming" I reached out and as I grabbed the box, the whispers stopped and were replaced by a banging on the door. Shoving the box in one of my pockets I quickly jumped down the ladder, using the force to close the hatch behind me. After landing before the others, I felt blood drip from my nose. I wiped it away as Hunter said
"What took you?"
"Don't worry about it. Let's go they're trying to get through up there" Nothing else was said as we climbed back into the carts.
We made our way back through the tunnels but it didn't for us to be found the only difference is they were using the engines.
"Found them!" oncoming blaster fire caused Wrecker to yell
"We've got incoming!" Echo and Hunter returned fire. Not wanting to reveal my identity as a Jedi I grabbed Wrecker's blaster and joined in the returning fire. Cid then said
"I said no blaster fire" I shot back
"Tell that to them!" Hunter slammed on the brakes causing the two carts to collide. Two of them fell into the caverns below as Hunter jumped across, punching the other one and putting their cart into reverse. The final carts collided together falling off the cable into the cavern below. Hunter jumped back into our cart as Cid spoke
"If those laser brains woke the hive, we're all dead"
We were so close to the exit when a weird sound echoed through the caverns and Omega mumbled
"What's that sound?" I glanced at Hunter and said
"I'll say it again, I don't like this" Out of instinct he seemed to talk a slight step closer to me. Hundreds and thousands of flying bugs then emerged from below, swarming all around us and causing Cid to yell
"Power up the engines!" No time was wasted as the carts' engines were powered up. I looked over and saw two more carts heading our way
"We've got more coming!" the bugs quickly ripped apart the other two carts before they started swarming around us. Wrecker took his blaster back as they started firing on the bugs. Tech quickly spoke
"They're avoiding the light. Use your torches" I wasted no time pulling out both of my stark white sabres, lighting up the area around us.
However, before any of us could really react the bugs began grabbing the crates from the side of the carts
"Not the spice!" Echo stopped her from jumping over the side by saying
"Forget the spice. Let's go!" The cart Hunter, wrecker and I were on was somehow knocked off the cable causing us to jump out and join the others at the exit. As we ran through the exit Hunter yelled
"Wrecker, seal them in" He quickly scrambled to slam the door shut, trapping one of the bugs as he did. He slammed the door down on the bug causing it to explode
"Whew!" Hunter then pointed to my shoulder. I looked over and saw green sludge. I groaned and swatted it away while saying
"Gross" Omega then said
"Well, at least we got rid of the spice, right?" Echo looked at me and said
"What held you up back there?"
I pulled the box from my pocket and said
"This" Cid saw it a went to reach for it saying
"That's mine and it's extremely valuable!" Hunter stepped between us before looking at me and saying
"What is it?" I opened the box and immediately knew what it was and why I could hear whispers. I looked at Cid and said
"How did you get hold of a Kyber crystal?!" My voice was laced with anger.
"It was payment for a job" I went to take a step towards her but stopped when Hunter grabbed my arm. I pulled my arm from his grasp and said
"If only you could hear everything I hear holding this… This is property of the Jedi and as one of the last remaining Jedi that makes it mine"
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"Are you sure your parlour's safe?" As we headed back to the parlour CID said
"Bolo and Ketch said the Pykes already came for Roland. I told you they don't take kindly to unpaid debts" I then said
"Just because they already came for Roland doesn't mean they've left with Roland"
We then entered the Parlour. Upon seeing an empty room CID said
"See? My plan worked like a charm. Even better than expected" Roland and a few Pykes then came out from the back. Roland pointed at CID and said
"That's her. She's the one you want" I then mumbled
"Told you so" Hunter nudged me just as one of the Pykes stepped forward saying
"It has come to my attention that you have stolen our shipment of spice. Return it to us, and we will consider this issue resolved" Cid stepped forward slightly as she replied
"Not sure what he's been telling you, but we don't have any spice"
"Kill them all" Out of instinct I reached around and held onto my lightsaber. Last thing we need right now is a firefight with the Pykes.
Hunter stepped forward and said
"Wait. We don't have the spice on us, but we know where it is" The Pyke leader looked at him and said
"My patience is wearing very thin. If you know where the spice is, then you should have no problem retrieving it. Until you do, the child stays here"
"Not happening" I grabbed Omega's shoulder and pulled her behind me more. As I did this the Pyke looked at me and said
"You misunderstand. This is not a negotiation" Cid then stepped in between us
"If I may... You all don't realise who you're dealing with. If you don't lower your blasters, we're all gonna wish we were dead. Let me handle this"
Hunters P.O.V.
"We can't leave Omega with them" I looked at him and said
"We don't have a choice, but we know where the spice is," Cid said
"We'll return it, and the kid will be fine" Kyrie then stopped suddenly. I turned around and saw her hand trembling again. I stopped and said
"Keep going, get the ship ready" They kept going as I turned and headed back over to Val.
As I got in front of her, the trembling stopped. She bawled her hand into a fist in front of her face before saying
"It's nothing"
"It's something… They're getting more frequent since Raxus" She dropped her hand and said
"It's nothing Hunter, just leave it" She went to walk past me but I grabbed her arm turning her back to face me. When I felt her attempt to pull her arm back I tightened my grip and said
"How long has this been going on for?"
"I've got it handled" I pulled her closer to me as I said
"Kyrie you passed out! Your heart stopped for a minute! You don't have it handled" She looked at me and said
"I've got it more under control than I did. I've just been overdoing it a bit" I tightened my grip again and said
"How long Kyrie?!" she dropped her gaze before saying
"Just before I left Rex and went into isolation. That's when it started and that's why I left him. I thought I had it under control but…" I let go of her arm as I said
"But what?" She met my gaze again before saying
"I've let my focus slip" She then took a step back and said
"If it gets worse, I know someone that can help. For now, we need to get the spice and get Omega back from the Pykes. Everything else can wait"
As we walked onto the ship we heard Tech say
"The ptero-creatures we encountered in the cavern are Irlings. They are nocturnal insects with visual sensitivity to thermal registers. Our best chance is to strike before nightfall" Cid looked at us and said
"Nice of you to join us. Here's the plan, Muscles and I will rappel down into the cavern and locate the crates. I got the kid into this mess, and I'll get her out" We quickly took off towards the entrance to the caves.
Once in position over the caves we set up the winches and got Cid and Wrecker in their harnesses. As they hooked up to the winches Wrecker looked down into the cavern and mumbled
"You've gotta be kidding me" Cid pointed at him and said
"And this time, don't drop it" As Cid began her descent, Val looked at Wrecker and said
"Hey… just breathe. You'll be fine" He nodded before starting his descent into the dark caverns below.
Valkyries P.O.V.
It didn't take long for the crates to be found. We've already got a couple onboard when the third and fourth were sent up. Hunter and I reached out to grab them before saying down the Comm
"Crates three and four are aboard" I took note of the sunset before heading back inside and saying
"It's almost night. Those things are gonna wake up" Without looking up from the device in front of him Tech said
"I am preparing for that possibility"
I rejoined Hunter just as Cids voice came over the comms
"Final crates secure. Bring us up" I turned and pressed the button for the winches. However, moments later Wrecker screamed over the comms
"Get us out of here!"
"Wrecker. What's going on?"
"Irlings. Lots of 'em!" Blaster fire and Wreckers screams could be heard from the caves
"Help! Help me! Help me!" Both Hunter and I turned around and yelled
"Tech!" He quickly got up and ran over with the device in hand.
"This should distract them. Incoming!" He threw the device into the caverns and soon a blinding bright light filled the cavern and it didn't take long for the cavern to grow quiet. I turned to the others and said
"It's working. The bugs are hiding from the light" Hunter patted my shoulder and said
"Good, let's get Wrecker back up here," Echo said
"And Cid" I replied
"Yeah her too"
It didn't take long for Wrecker and Cid to get back up to the ship. As we got them up Cid looked at Wrecker, Who was covered in bug sludge, and said
"See, Muscles? That wasn't so bad" I rolled my eyes at her before saying
"Wrecker you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm okay. Phew!"
"Good, Let's go get Omega"
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Hunters P.O.V.
Once the Pykes inspected the Spice and were happy that it was all there, the leader gave the single to let Omega go. She quickly walked back over to us with Ruby tucked in her arms as the Pyke spoke
"Since the spice has been returned, the matter between us is resolved. But not with you" With his dagger in his hand, the Pyke lifted his hand above Rolands' head. Ruby squealed right before Omega stepped forward, stopping the Pykes actions
"Don't! He made a mistake. That's all" Surprisingly Cid stood in front of Omega and said
"She's right. Kill him and you'll be starting a war with Isa Durand. Do you want that heat right now? Call this a bad deal and walk away"
"We do not accept bad deals" He then quickly swung his blade back down cutting off Roland's horn
"Our business is finished. It would not be wise for our paths to cross again"
When the Pykes left the port, Omega went over to Roland and said
"Are you okay?" He took Ruby from her and said
"It's a small price to pay" Ruby whimpered and panted before Roland said
"I'll be going now" he then left the port. After he left Cid said
"Come on, boys. First round's on me" As they started walking away Cid said
"You owe us way more than that"
"Don't push your luck" Wrecker, echo and Tech ran ahead of Cid, to get the to parlour first. I then looked down at Omega and said
"Why did you stick up for him after what he did?" She shrugged and said
"I don't know. Ruby likes him. Maybe he's not all bad"
She then ran to catch up with the others. I was about to follow when I noticed Val hadn't come off the ship with us. I didn't hesitate as I turned around and headed back to the ship. As I walked up the steps I heard Val speaking
"Okay, I'll meet you on Bespin by the next rotation"
"I'll send you landing coordinates when you enter the system" It was Rex
"Until then stay out of sight and keep your head down"
"Yeah you too"
I lingered in the doorway for a moment until she said
"You know it's rude to listen in on someone's conversation" I stepped around the corner and said
"Sorry, didn't do it intentionally" She smiled and said
"Hunter, I'm joking. It's fine" I leant against the console and said
"So you're heading out?" She froze for a second before saying
"Uhh yeah, an old friend of mine has reached out to Rex. They need help so i'm gonna meet up with Rex and go check it out"
"How long will you be gone?"
"Not entirely sure, hopefully not too long" I dropped my eyes to the floor as I said
"Are you coming back?" I didn't look up at her as I heard her walk over.
She unfolded my arms, held tightly onto my hand and wrapped her other arm around mine. She then rested her chin on my shoulder before saying
"I spent so long fighting to come back to this squad. I've got nothing stopping me now. I'm coming back, Okay... You're stuck with me now, for the long haul" Without even thinking I turned and pressed my forehead against hers. I opened my eyes as I said
"It's gonna be weird not having you here. I finally got used to having you around again"
"Time will fly by. You'll see…"
"Are you going to be okay? You know with them trembling?" She moved one of her hands to the side of my face and as she ran her thumb across my cheek she said
"I'm gonna be fine. If it worsens, I know some people who can get me in to see a doctor, under the radar. If it comes to that you'll be the first person I tell. Besides you and I both know Rex will have my back, that's gotta calm your mind, surely?" I smiled and said
"Okay, that makes me feel a bit better"
She then stepped back and said
"I've gotta head out soon"
"You gonna come say bye to the others?" She gave me a small smile and said
"Probably not a good idea. You remember how Wrecker got last time I left" I returned the smile and said
"Yeah, he was a wreck for days" Just before she started to walk down the steps she looked back over her shoulder and said
"Tell the others I'll see them soon. Stay out of trouble"
"Funny, I was just about to say the same to you"