Sola had never good at hiding her emotions. It was something she'd been admonished for her entire childhood as rude and uncultured. But try as she might, she never could rein them in so that she presented the stiff upper lip of a proper Imperial lady. So, when she saw the purple, felinesque being in the cell, she had been unable to stifle her gasp.
"I thought the lasat were extinct," she breathed.
"You thought wrong," the lasat said.
"Obviously," she retorted, drawing herself up to her full height, which was not that considerable. "I'm glad of it. It is a shame for a species to stop existing."
"It will when I'm gone," he said with grim humor. "I'm the last one. Take a good look."
"Which will be soon, I imagine by your attitude," Uriellien said. He took a step into the cell and looked at the two humans. "And you are?"
"Your mother," answered the man.
The woman sniggered.
"Bernjer Straims and Irivig Berbail," one of the stormtroopers provided for him. "Known rebels on Astarrax, sir."
"I know who they are," Uriellien said, nodding. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you face to face."
Sola stole a quick glance at her brother. He stood tall, with his hands clasped behind his back in an at-ease position. He knew the names of insurgents on the planet? He hadn't told her that.
"Pleasure's all yours," Irivig said, her gaze shifting from Uriellien, to Sola, to the stormtroopers, and back again.
"I'll take that," Uriellien replied. "So tell me, what supplies are you so desperate for that you dangered board my ship?"
All three of the rebels were silent.
"Or perhaps it was information you were seeking," he continued. The two humans glanced at each other. Uriellien turned to the lasat. "And you, you're out of your neck of the woods. What brings you to our hospitable little world?"
"The lace," the lasat said.
"I daresay you might look good in it," Uriellien chuckled coldly. "But the lace production of Astarrax hardly needs your help."
"There are other people who do," Bernjer said.
"Really?" Uriellien asked. "They need help by people who aren't even their race? What makes you think the Astarraxi want your help? Two humans and a lasat, none of you native, have the gall to make that decision?"
Uriellien had spoken what Sola's mind had been screaming. Who were they to decide what the Astarraxi needed? At least she and Uri were half Astarraxi and grew up on the planet, fighting for its freedom from the Separatists. They had family on both sides of the war, which sharply divided the royal household. She'd worked hard with the Imperial Senate to make sure that the school system on the planet was one of the best in the outer rim. She'd helped at hospitals in the capital city. She had done something to help the Astarraxi.
"All you do is hurt people," she hissed.
"The Empire will go down," Bernjer seethed. "And you with it."
"All empires fall," Uriellien said with little concern. "But this one won't in your or my lifetime. That, I can promise you." He took a step back. "I will let you think about your sins for a while longer, while I prepare a place that might make you more…amenable…to talking politely." He smiled predatorily. "Unless you want to talk now?"
Silence was his reply.
"Very well, then," he said, turning his back on them and stepping out of the cell.
Sola was at his heels, and no sooner had the door closed behind them then a deafening claxon went off. Sola winced.
"Go to your room!" Uriellien yelled over the siren.
"But—!"
"Your safety is my priority," he said firmly. The look on his face made it clear there would be no arguing. "Go to your room!"
Sola licked her lips, staring at him a moment, the urge to argue pushing at her mind. But then she turned around and began to hurry down the hallway toward her cabin.
When had she become such a liability?
She admonished herself. She was on a star destroyer when she probably shouldn't have been, seeing things she probably shouldn't see, and knowing things she probably shouldn't know. She was untrained. The last time she had fought any kind of physical battle was more than twenty years ago. It had been more than five since she'd shot a gun. Of course she was a liability.
Just as she was about to set herself another berating, she turned a corner and froze.
At the other end of the corridor was a tall human male, a mask over his eyes. It was painted with a fanciful feathery pattern, almost like someone was doodling on it. His brown hair was held back in a ponytail. But what sent terror through Sola's entire body was the fact he was holding a lightsaber. He slid to an abrupt halt, as if he could see her through the solid mask.
A Jedi!
The thought filled her with panic. The Jedi, who stole small children from their families never to be heard from again, brainwashing them into leaving any familial ties behind, and then sending them out to fight like cannon fodder. The order had been eliminated for a reason. Because they were too dangerous to continue to exist.
And one was standing right in front of her.
He took a step forward and said tentatively, "I'm not here to hurt you."
The movement sent fright through her body like an electric shock, causing her to only hear her only heartbeat in her ears.
"Stay back!" she shouted, reflexively pushing with her hands as if he were standing in front of her and she could push him away.
The Jedi went sprawling backward, surprise on his face. "You're a Sith?!" he exclaimed.
Sola didn't answer him or stop to wonder how he'd fallen over.
She ran.
She wasn't even sure where she was running, she just wound through corridors, the claxon blaring all around her. Finally, she recognized where she was and managed to make her way back to her cabin. The door slid open and as soon as it was closed behind her she turned and stared at it as if at any moment a monster would come through.
At any moment a monster could come through. She knew enough to know a lightsaber wouldn't be held back by a door.
She gulped in air, her lungs burning. She'd run the entire way. Her body shook with the aftershock of adrenaline and tears sprang to her eyes. What the hell was a Jedi doing on Uriellien's ship?
Uriellien!
The Jedi had said he wasn't there to hurt her, and why would he chase her anyway? She was a nobody. But Uri was the grand admiral of the 12th fleet. That's who he'd be after.
She groped in her belt for her comm, her fingers not wanting to cooperate. She finally got a hold of hit and dialed in her brother's frequency.
He didn't answer.
She tried again. He still didn't answer. She stared at it as if it had betrayed her. She knew his military frequency, but had never used. Had never dared to use it. Should she now? This was a military matter, after all, he couldn't lead if he didn't have all the information. She changed the frequency.
"What?" Uriellien demanded. The siren echoed in the comm.
"Uri, listen to me—" she began.
"Sola? What the hell are you doing on this frequency?" he demanded, his voice harsh.
"There's a Jedi onboard!" she yelled into the comm.
All she could hear was the siren from the other end.
"Uri?" she asked.
"I heard you," he said, his voice much calmer. "Are you in your room?"
"Yes," she breathed, dropping her shoulders as she did.
"Stay there," he commanded. "I'll take care of this." He ended the call.
She stared at the comm again, as if he'd call back and say something else, but it remained silent. She put it back in her belt and took a deep, shaky breath. What could she do now, but wait?