Chapter 62
Family Issues and gaining Prestige
Melissa kept watch as Dustill entered the residential unit. As the door slid to a close behind him, she switched to thermal to keep on observing the family. She saw Dustill place the toddler down in what could be a sitting area, before following the woman into a room. The figures blurred for a moment before a lighter signature was left by itself. The two larger signatures stayed blurred in a frenzy of movement before going horizontal. Melissa hurriedly switched back to normal vision once she realized where that was heading.
She turned her attention to the surrounding units as the force gave her a warning, a movement caught her eye. Four grey uniformed recruits were slowly approaching the house and from the way her Force sense was screaming alarm they were not there to sell Sith Guide biscuits. She knew she had to act not only to protect the two innocents in the house but to keep Carth's family alive as well, though how she was going to break the news to him eluded her at the moment. She moved along the roof of her current position to get into an ambush position.
The four were so engrossed in their approach to the residence they did not sense her presence. From the fact that all four were armed with lightsabers told her that they were from the main academy. She pulled her lightsaber from where it was hidden and gripped it tight. She set her voice modulator to metallic and amplified the sound.
"This is my bounty, you are intruding on an active and private hunt." She spoke
The four below her spun around. They craned up to look at who addressed them. They scoffed as they saw the crouching female Mandalorian
"Get lost vermin. You are no match for us." Their leader spoke
"It case it has missed your attention I have the high ground." Melissa replied
"Okero, get the bitch." The leader retorted
On of the followers lit her lightsaber and jumped. Melissa swivelled and lit her own blade. Okero's boots barely touched the roof before she was bisected from groin to chest, The two halves dropped to the ground, a look of surprise on the Arkanians face the pupiless eyes frozen in shock, paler in death than she had been in life. Her lightsaber dropping from her three fingered hand. Meliisa idly noted that the claw like nails had been painted blood red. She turned her attention to the remaining three
"Last warning, this is a private hunt. Leave before I have to add you as collateral damage to the hunt report like your friend here."
Melissa spun and dodged the Force Lightning thrown at her. Two split of presumably to try and flank her. She threw out a force grip and the lightning wielder grabbed his throat. She twisted sharply and the man dropped like a marionette whose remote has been disabled.
She dropped of the edge of the roof and grabbed onto the lintel of the edge, bracing her feet on the wall.
"Where is she?" A voice called
"Use your eyes, Schutta. She is not here." His friend replied
A face appeared on the edge looking down. Melissa struck out at it. The vambrace blade deploying as she triggered the blade. She caught the green skinned Twi'lek in the throat. Using her arm as a lever she pulled back pulling the dying man with her. She disengaged the blade and gravity took control of the body.
She flipped herself back onto the roof to face the last opponent, The man was kneeling on the roof, the tip of a red lightsaber showing through his chest. Dustill was behind him, a snarl on his face. The light slowly went out of the man's eyes. Dustill jerked his blade back and the man toppled over. Dustill pointed the blade at Melissa
"I am here, hunter scum. Do you have what it takes to get me." He snapped at Melissa
Melissa kept her hands in plain sight
"I am not here to hunt you, I am here to protect you." She said, calmly
"Lies!" Dustill shouted
"What is it with Onasi men not being able to listen before blowing up?" Melissa asked looking up
"What are you on about?" Dustill demanded
"The intelligence must have gone to the female side." Melissa replied
Dustill threw his hand out in a force choke
"Speak mando trash." Dustill snarled
Melissa responded with a force push, and Dustill was thrown back. She pulled his lightsaber to her.
"A word of warning, if you want someone to speak choking them will be counter productive, you know being unable to speak." Melissa spoke lightly
She inspected his lightsaber before throwing it over her shoulder.
"Mass produced crap." She gave her opinion
Dustill got to his feet and tried to rush her, another push had him flat on his back, this time she kept the pressure on to keep him down.
"Are you willing to listen now?" She demanded
Melissa sat down on the roof.
"My name is Melissa. I know your father. It is because of him that I saved your live and those within the residence."
"How do you know that bastard?" Dustill snapped, trying to break free
"I met him on Taris, together with a few others we got of that rock before Darth Dickless threw his temper tantrum." Melissa replied
"The dark lord will skin you alive for that." Dustill spat out, shocked that someone dared to mock Malak
"A he has to catch me first. B it is the truth, Revan cut off his dick the same time she cut his jaw off, a two for one special." Melissa replied
Melissa released her hold and shifted her position a bit back from Dustill.
"More importantly from your viewpoint. Your father has been looking for clues to your whereabouts on every planet he got to, every outpost every freighter tavern he could find" Melissa told him
"If he is so dedicated to finding me, how come he never found me on Telos, I was there for months." Dustill scoffed, sitting up
"He and everyone that had been in contact with Saul Karath had been placed in quarantine and were grilled for days and weeks by Republic intelligence. Simply put he could not get to you." Melissa said, her tone deliberately calm
"Likely story." Dustill ground out
"Use the force, what does it tell you?" Melissa replied
Dustill took a deep breath and concentrated
"You speak the truth, or what you believe to be the truth." He said, uncertianly
"When he got to Telos he could not find you on the refugee rosters, I believe your friends from the Sons of Telos had something to do with that." Melissa continued
"How do you know of them?" Dustill demanded
"I know a lot, and I also know who really funds them." Melissa replied
She stood up.
"I imagine your break time must be running short. If you want to know more I will be in the cantina for the next few mornings." She said
"And what if I bring my friends from the Academy? I am certain a force sensitive mandalorian will intrigue the Master. " Dustill replied
"Uther Wynn right? Previously a low level knight attached to the temple guard." Melissa said, clipping her lightsaber to her belt
"He is the most powerfull Sith on this planet. He is much stronger than some wild sensitive like you." Dustill objected
Melissa chuckled before speaking
"First of. Sith do not have friends. Secondly if your master is so powerfull why has he not sensed my presence and why is he not here defending his star pupil. Thirdly if you sell me out you lose any chance to punch your father in the face as you clearly want to do. By the way pull your zip up, I really do not like seeing your underwear."
Dustill grabbed at his pants looking down. Melissa sprinted to the roof edge and jumped while he was distracted. Mid air she somersaulted and landed in a three point stance on the far roof. She looked over her shoulder. Dustill was standing on the roof looking at her. She toggled her comlink as she sprinted away
"HK, I need you to meet me in the cantina. I have a job for you." She said
"Delighted response: I am on my way, Mistress."
"Bring as many high calibre weapons as you want, there may be some shooting to be done and I don't particularly care about collateral damage now."
"Happy Acknowledgement: Mistress you are truly an owner worthy of a droid of my skill."
Melissa flicked her laser sight on as the droid approached her position. Shining the light into its photoreceptors had the droid looking up where she was positioned on the roof.
A grapnel snapped into the surface of the roof and rhythmic clanking reached her ears as the droid made its way up the building. She turned her attention back to the checkpoint. Dustill was passing through after speaking to the sergeant of the watch. She saw the sergeant speak into a comlink before retaking his position behind the barricade.
The droid positioned itself prone before crawling up to beside her, its favourite disruptor rifle pointing at the barricade. The droid laid a bandoleer filled with disruptor round down close to hand
"I am sending you a file." Melissa said, not looking at the droid
HK twisted its head to the side as it received the file. She gave it a few moments to process the file.
" Profesional Enquiry: Orders Mistress."
"I want you on overwatch here and at the house, this spot being priority. The two younglings are priority Alpha. No harm must come to them, you are weapons free. If Dustill comes back I want live telemetry, your orders may become subject to change. Till I get the drone functional the cameras I placed will be all that is available." Melissa stated
"Clarification: What are my orders should the meatbag return with reinforcements?"
"As much as I want to say happy hunting we can not risk Terri and Juhani. Report on a secure channel and orders will be adjusted." Melissa replied
"Disappointment: Orders received and will comply."
"Just be patient, with our luck we will be shooting our way out of this colony pretty soon." Melissa said, getting up.
She walked to the edge of the roof and dropped the two levels to the alley between the buildings. No one gave her a second glance as she melded into the foot traffic of the colony. She made her way out of the colony to the airfield. Approaching the Hawke she noticed Carth standing by the cockpit window looking toward the colony. She sighed knowing he will be by the boarding ramp demanding news the moment she stepped on board
Terri and Juhani joined their platoon for the mid morning parade. Various gaps were visible in their ranks. No move was made to cover the gaps. She shot a glance at the other platoons and noticed the same thing.
"Seems it was a busy night." Jolee remarked behind them in grim satisfaction
His tone of voice indicated that he was still resentful for the upbraiding he had received this morning from Terri when he had attempted to maintain his slovenly appearance.
Uthar Wynn made his way from the officers quarters, Yuthara behind him to his left and the Zabrak male to his right. Terri suppressed her disgust as she noticed that he perked up by seeing the gaps in their lines. He stopped in front of their platoon. The Zabrak whispered in his ear. Wynn looked at Terri
"Recruit Starwind, care to explain as to why you used explosives inside my Academy?" Wynn asked mildly
"To help drive through the point that I like my sleep to be undisturbed, Master Wynn." Terri crisply replied
"Then why not simply cut them up as they enter your room?" Wynn continued
"Two to six are manageable odds, but why give them a fair fight when I can dictate the terms to be in my favour?" Terri replied
"You will fight without honour?" Wynn demanded
"Master, are we not training to be Sith? An honourable fight is for Jedi, a Sith will use all means to be victorious. The dead can have their honour while I am happily alive." Terri answered
Wynn clapped his hands together on her answer
"An excellent answer, recruit. Yes. A Sith will use any and all means available to him. Congratulations recruit you are one step closer to the trail."
Wynn's attention drifted to the side as Dustill made his way onto the parade ground. Dustill stepped up to Wynn and bowed deeply
"My apologies for my tardiness, Master. I was delayed on my return." Dustill said, not looking up
"And what form did this delay take?" Wynn demanded
Dustill extended a clear plastic bag to Wynn, four lightsabers clearly visible. Wynn chuckled as he took the bag.
"You are falling behind in the tallies, my student. Starwind is currently ahead by two." He lightly said
Dustill fell into place in the platoon and Wynn continued his inspection. Giving Jolee a glance he gave a smirk as he noticed the improved appearance of the old man. He seemed to enjoy the discontent Jolee was pushing into the force.
Terri was approaching Dustill once the parade was dismissed when she felt a ripple of warning in the force. Two petite Atoans were stepping closer to Dustill with a Pantoan seemingly drifting behind them. Dustill spun and lit his blade, barely able to block the overhead slash from one Atoan. Terri jumped closer, blocking the blade of the second one. A blur of movement went past as Juhani moved in to take on the Pantoan
"I can handle this myself." Dustill snapped at Terri
"Against most here I would let you fight alone. But you will not survive two Atoans at once." Terri replied, blade flashing as she rapidly parried attacks
"What makes them so special? Stab the heart and they die like anything else." Dustill retorted
"Stab one heart you have thousand others to worry about." Terri retorted, using a blade flurry to make space.
The Atoan she was facing gave her a pout as she fell back from Terri's slashes. Cockily she pushed her black hair back from her face, giving Terri a smirk
"Not fair, giving the humie advice like that, Elvie. Don't you know we aliens have to stick together?" She said in a singsong voice.
"I think the both of you are rather weak. Superior speed and reflexes and you still have to double team to take down one human. Now shut and fight, pinky." Terri retorted.
A cry rend the air, and Terri heard Juhani give a snarl of triumph. Terri moved in a blur of movement using her natural speed , strength and reflexes to the maximum. The joy of battle was beginning to sing in her head. The Atoan gave as good as she got as they moved backwards and forwards, blades flashing almost to fast to see.
The combatants ended up chest to chest, a hand each on the wrist holding the other's lightsaber. Terri took a page from Melissa's playbook and delivered a headbutt, followed by a knee to the crotch. The Atoan let go of her hand as she gasped in pain and shock. Terri stepped back and twirled, her blade cutting through the Atoan.
The second was standing on her toes, grasping her throat. Dustill had his hand extended in a Force choke grip. He threw a look at Terri before decapitating his opponent. Terri closed down her blade and crossed her arms across her chest. He pointed to the two Atoans
"What did you mean when you said thousands of hearts?" Dustill demanded
"It would do you well to study up on other races or die ignorant when you fail to anticipate the threat they could be." Terri replied dismissively
"Answer my question, knife ears." Dustill snapped
Terri gave him the one finger salute and looked over to Juhani who had taken her place at Terri's back.
"Good job on the blue bastard, did not want to power fight today." Terri praised Juhani
"Yet you take on an opponent that is nearly as fast as your species." Juhani shook her head
"What the hell makes those two little girls so special?" Dustill demanded angrily
Lashowe stopped at Terri's shoulder, she gave Dustill a mocking smile
"You mean apart from the fact that in that species evolution they are faster and stronger than a baseline human. Or could it be the fact that they have thousands of heart like organs in their circulatory system instead of a single heart?" Lashowe taunted Dustill
"Could be that the two little girls were easily three times his age and had a lot more experience in fighting." Juhani volunteered loftily
Nor that their Pantoan friend was ready to incapacitate you with his pheromones so that they could skin you alive" Terri added, inspecting her nails
"Then have what is left for supper, some Pantoan and Atoan clans are cannibals you know. Oh wait you did not." Lashowe completed
Dustil clipped his lightsaber to his belt, shoulder shaking in suppressed anger from the public mocking he was receiving
"This means nothing, we are still enemies." He told Terri, brushing past
" Believe me I know that, Onasi." Terri replied
"How do you know my name?" He demanded stopping
"Why should I tell an enemy anything?" Terri retorted
Terri clipped her lightsaber back onto her belt, The rest of the students scattering after the entertainment was over. She noted that several were exchanging credit chips. Lashowe looked at Terri
"Come to my chambers later, I believe we can work together." Lashowe said
Terri ran her hands across her body
"Sure you do not just want this?" She asked sultrily
" Work first. Pleasure later." Lashowe said briskly, a slight blush on her face.
Lashowe walked away, a definite sway in her walk. Terri looked around the room, trying to spot Jolee. Juhani leaned closer.
"He left for the room after the parade was dismissed. Said he was going to sleep." She said softly
"In other words he is skulking around the other rooms waiting to get caught by someone." Terri said through gritted teeth
"We really should have brought Melissa with us." Juhani answered, sighing deeply
"What I want to know is why that old man insists on staying with us. He clearly does not trust any of us." Terri stated, running her hand through her short hair
"I wonder about that too. I know he went to the Republic liason office on Arkaxis, thereafter he stuck to us like glue." Juhani said musingly
"You think the council gave him orders?" Terri asked
"It would make sense." Juhani answered
Juhani stiffened
"Yuthara is calling you over." She said urgently
Terri moved over rapidly, Juhani falling in on her rear to the right. Reaching Yuthara Terri bowed slightly to Wynn and then to Yuthara
"Master Wynn, Mistress Bann. How may I be of assistance?" Terri asked
Wynn looked at her consideringly
"A fine display of blademanship. What worries me though is that you rushed in to help another." Wynn remarked
"A strategic decision, Master." Terri answered
Wynn motioned for her to continue. Terri took a moment to find the right words before speaking
"You referred to the human as my student, Master, yet you refer to the rest as recruit. That implied to me that he has your favour in some form. By saving him I can make him indebted to me and gain your favour. More so should they have managed to defeat your student it would mean that I may have to engage them on unfavourable terms later, I had much to gain and very little to lose." Terri spoke.
"A very Sith approach." Yuthara said in support
"Your third member did not join you in your battle, what are your plans for him?" Wynn asked
"It was always an alliance of convenience with him, and I do not see that alliance lasting much longer." Terri replied
"So you plan to kill him?" Yuthara asked
"I could, but he is more useful to me now as a distraction or cannon fodder. Waste not, want not." Terri shrugged
"How are you planning on ending him then?" Yuthara asked
"Use his weakness against him. He is both a drunk and a misogynist, even better he is a combative drunk. Ply him with alcohol and play the submissive woman and point him at the largest male threat. Alcohol and testosterone will do the rest." Terri laid out her plan
Yuthara chuckled darkly and Wynn had a smile on his face
"Let your enemies weaken themselves before stepping in and finishing them, good." Wynn said in approval
Wynn turned to Juhani
"Recruit Ubisi, having heard of your leaders plan for your third, do you feel afraid?" Wynn asked
"No Master Wynn. As long as I stay useful and loyal to her I am safe for the most part." Juhani answered
"You consider yourself inferior to her?" Wynn probed
"She defeated me easily when we clashed, my life belongs to her as per the code of my people." Juhani shrugged
Wynn merely lifted an eyebrow at her answer but did not pursue his line of questioning further, He turned his attention back to Terri.
"Are you familiar with the code of the Sith?" He asked
"I am, Master." Terri replied
"Recite it." Wynn ordered
Terri cleared her throat
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion
Through passion I gain strength
Through strength I gain power
Through power I gain victory
Through victory my chains are broken
The Force shall set me free"
Wynn nodded in approval
"That is correct, now explain the lines to me." He instructed
"The Jedi would have us believe peace is achievable through lack of emotion, we as Sith embrace our passions, by forcing our emotions into the Force we dominate and strengthen our connection making us stronger. The stronger you are the easier it gets to obtain and keep power. We are the Masters of the Force, we are not slaves to its will." Terri replied
"Explain then why you believe the previous Masters failed?" Wynn asked
"They forgot to use their brains and relied more on strength than cunning in dealing with their enemies. An overly emotional opponent is one that makes mistakes. Cold anger serves you better in combat than blinding rage." Terri answered
Wynn threw back his head and laughed deeply
"An interesting answer. Though the old Masters would dispute your statements. I can see why you would think like that when reading the historical texts. But I have a question on that, do you believe what is written?" Wynn said chuckling
"History is written by the winner, by winning your version is the truth. To the victor goes the glory." Terri replied.
Wynn looked her up and down again.
"Next parade, you will stand beside Onassi, your retainer can stand behind you to protect your back." He instructed
Wynn walked away briskly. Yuthara gave Terri a nod of approval
"I see I chose well, you have gained much prestige today." Yuthara said, before briskly following Wynn.
Terri waited till they were well away from the courtyard before turning to Juhani
"I really need a shower now. Even crawling through Taris's sewers were cleaner than this." She said
"I do not like the questions he had about Jolee. His tone was alarming." Juhani said thoughtfully
"I think he is not buying Jolee as a fallen Jedi. I think Jolee has been marked for death." Terri answered
"And if he distrusts Jolee, our covers are likely blown too." Juhani pointed out
"Jolee is definitely the weak point here. I think it is time for him to die publicly." Terri replied grimly
"We need to contact the Hawk and get our true third in here." Juhani nodded in agreement
"The older students in the academy should have access to terminals, might as well out one or two as Jedi spies." Terri suggested
"A good idea." Juhani concurred
"That means we may have to pretend to like men to get access to their rooms." Terri pointed out
"The things we do to save the galaxy." Juhani said with a shudder
Carth was struggling furiously from where he was tied to a chair, muffled and distorted invective spewing from his mouth having been gagged. Melissa was sitting opposite him, head in her hands.
"Carth, please, be reasonable. We can not let you go grab the children" She begged
Carth bounced in the chair and more muffled sounds came out.
"I promise you the moment it looks like things are going south I will bring them to you. I take full responsibility for them." She promised
"We take full responsibility." Canderous said, pointing between himself and Melissa
They had been trying to calm Carth down for several hours now. Melissa felt like a wicked stepmother for having to keep Carth from his daughter and what she guessed to be his granddaughter. Ever since he heard of their existence he had been like a bull nerf in a Naboo crystal shop. Here however letting him go on a rampage would be beyond detrimental to their overall mission and keeping him drugged and out was not an option either, nor was withholding the information from him.
Melissa rather hopefully thought that Carth was finally starting to struggle less, but every time he seemed to calm it was if he was recharging for the next round. She rubbed her forehead, a migraine pounding away.
T3 whistled and warbled as it entered the lounge. Melissa looked at in surprise
"Message from Terri? I thought we agreed on total coms blackout." She said
Carth ceased in his struggles to hear the news as well. T3 warbled and bleeped as it recounted the message
"What is the garbage bin saying?" Canderous asked
"Terri wants me to assassinate Jolee when the recruits get their town pass and take his place." Melissa answered, surprise strong in her voice
Canderous snorted and shook his head
"Not asking for a lot are they? The old Jetti is probably unable to play his role
Carth made muffled noises and Canderous ungagged him. Carth gave a few coughs before speaking, his voice raspy
"Sounds like a desperation play. Terri would not break com silence unless it was a major emergency."
"That is true." Canderous nodded
"That is also more reason to get the children onto the ship." Carth pushed his agenda
Melissa lifted her hand for quiet
"How about a compromise. We let you loose and you and HK take overwatch on the house. First sign of trouble we pull them out and we find a way to rescue Terri and Juhani." She suggested
"I see you are not mentioning the Jetti." Canderous observed
"Honestly, I don't trust his intentions in being here, especially after HK shadowed him to the Republic offices on Arkaxis." Melissa confessed to having spied on Jolee
"Using the droid as a spy in your place?" Canderous asked, mildly disapproving
"Force users struggle to detect droids, with them having no emotions or a force presence. He would have picked me following him up quickly." Melissa explained
Canderous thought about her answer for a moment before nodding
"I can see your reasoning." He said finaly
"I know I am being a hypocrite for saying this, but suspecting your crew mates is not conducive to good relations." Carth said
"It is not as if he is trying to assimilate with us, the only one to get something personal out of him was Terri. That too is not conducive to trust." Melissa objected
"Ad has got a good point there, Carth. First he could not wait to get away from us, later he was near to begging us to let his stay. Hearing he was at the Republic Liason offices makes his turn around make more sense." Canderous added his input.
Not having a rebuttal Carth changed the subject.
"Just how are we going to pull of an assassination without truly killing him?" He asked
"Paint round with a contact anaesthetic mixed in?" Melissa suggested
Canderous shook his head.
"No. A special round is a good idea but we have to fill it with real blood. The smell and colour has to match and somehow slip him a laxative to create the full effect of a kill shot."
"Have a person on the ground give him an injection moments before taking the shot?" Carth suggested
Canderous looked consideringly at T3. Said droid slowly started backing up.
"You said something about Jetti not really being able to detect droids." Canderous said, an evil grin forming on his face.
Terri and Juhani made it back to the room before lights out. Jolee was snoring away in his bed. Juhani moved closer and jabbed him with a sedative dart. Terri produced a bottle of alcohol they had stolen from another room and doused Jolee with it.
Terri looked firmly at Juhani
"Before we get to the next stage. I must inform you that I will tell Bastila about this the moment we meet up. I will take full responsibility and hope she forgives me." Terri said, a catch in her voice
Juhani moved in and hugged her quickly
"I was going to do the same with Belya. And we will face their ire together." Juhani said comfortingly
"Thanks." Terri said, giving a few sniffles
Juhani stepped back and gave Terri a mock lecherous leer.
"Now show me the goods." She said teasingly