Chapter 68
Family Ties
Carth drew his blaster the moment he heard movement behind him, rolling to one side he lined up on the figures that crept up on him. With a sigh he engaged the safety on his blaster and holstered the weapon.
"Next time com me." He said, exhaling deeply
"But how else are you going to get your cardio in, especially while you are stalking a woman and two toddlers." Terri wisecracked
"You know on most planets this type of behaviour would be reported to child welfare or the local law enforcement." Juhani added
Carth looked to the third
"Not going to say anything?" He asked
"Just that I am proud of your restraint, if it was me I would have been knocking on the door." Melissa replied
Melissa nodded to the residential unit
"I sense Dustill is in there, how long ago did he arrive?" She asked
"About an hour ago." Carth replied
"And no sign of other activity?" She asked
"Nothing." Carth answered
"Then it is time for you to talk to him." Melissa said firmly
"But you are surely not finished at the Academy." Carth objected
"You are basing that on what?" Terri asked
"Not enough explosions or people trying to kill us." Carth replied
The three paused to look at each other on hearing that statement. Both Melissa and Juhani nodded slightly on thinking it through
"True enough." Terri shrugged
Melissa knelt down closer to Carth and placed her hand on his shoulder, looking him straight in the eyes. Carth threw a longing glance at the residence before meeting her eyes again
"The thing is if I can sense him, he can sense us and you as well. From the lack of troopers running around I believe he is willing to at least talk to you." She said gently and softly
Terri and Juhani also knelt down, adding their encouragement to Melissa's attempt
"Melissa is right, Juhani and myself will keep watch. Go in with Melissa, Dustill is unlikely to start anything with the kids and the girl there. Melissa is just there if he starts being stupid." Terri suggested
"And to relay the juicy gossip, of course." Juhani added, smiling jokingly
"Not forgetting that, we need our soap opera fix." Terri smiled
Carth wiped his sweaty hands on his pants before lifting his hand to the comunit button. He dropped his hand and breathed out deeply, he turned to walk away. Melissa laid a hand on his shoulder and gently but firmly stopped him
"You got this." She said encouragingly
"It has been years, And we did not part happily last we spoke and then… Telos." Carth breathed out
Melissa placed her other hand on Carth shoulder.
"Carth you did not bomb Telos. Saul Karath did that. If you were there you could not have stopped it from happening. And for not being there afterwards again it was not your fault, you were detained in a cell by the people who should have gone out of their way to help you. You are getting a chance not many get. You have a chance to get your family back, don't let self imposed guilt of the past take it from you."
"When did you get so wise?" Carth gave a watery smile
"Jetti classes, there is an entire class on sounding wise when you are talking out of your ass." Melissa grinned at him
"Thanks."
"The most important thing you can do now is to listen to Dustil and hopefully he will listen to you as well."
Reaching past him she pressed the call button of the intercom as she enveloped him in a quick hug
"Now as you told me on Taris. We are Fleet stiff upper lip and back at all times." Melissa whispered in his ear.
Melissa felt Dustil as he approached the door and she could also sense he was furious. She twisted slightly and manouvered Carth behind her. The door opened
"The fu…" Dustil started
His tirade stopped as his nose started bleeding. Melissa absently shook her hand
"Normally people say hello and how can I help you when greeting someone at the door." She said pedantically
She pushed Dustil in the chest to move him back as she entered the residential unit. The blond woman rushed to a desk and reached under it. With a flick of her hand Melissa pulled the blaster to her
"Normally I would give a lecture about kids and gun safety but this being Dreshdae we will skip it for later." She said
Melissa pushed Dustil towards a chair and turned to Carth where he stood frozen in the door.
"Are you coming in?" Melissa asked.
Carth stepped in and the door closed behind him. Silence filled the room Melissa turned to the blonde woman as she was staring between Dustil and the bassinet in the room, she was aware of another set of eyes watching from under the kitchen table.
"Seeing as the boys have lost the ability to speak I guess introductions are up to me." She said with a smile
Melissa waved at Carth
"Racal meet Carth Onasi." Melissa introduced Carth
The woman threw an incredulous look between Carth and Dustil. Melissa grinned slightly
"You will see the resemblance clearer when Dustil's nose stop swelling and Carth loses the skin dye. But the stubborn silence should already tell you a lot."
Dustil glared at Carth.
"Do you really think coming here with the weakest at the Academy will help you." He snarled, hand inching to his lightsaber
"You are entitled to that opinion, though it does not explain why I am in the top ten after only a few days." Melissa shrugged
"You barely know how to a lightsaber and you think you are a threat to me?" Dustil demanded harshly
"Dustil. You only know what I wanted you to know." Melissa replied shaking her head
"Are you going to next claim to be able to stand up in combat with Darth Malak or are you so good that you can defeat Master Kavar easily during your morning exercise?" Dustil stated mockingly
Melissa snorted as she suppressed a laugh
"Well I don't know about Darth Dickless, the only fighting I have seen him do is him bombarding defenceless planets with battleships. I was lucky to last five minutes against him and he was toying with me. And I only lasted that long due to the teachings of Master Hissk." She replied
Racal looked at Melissa in shocked surprise
"Darth Dickless?" She mouthed
"Apparently Revan did not just rip his jaw out when she showed him his place." Melissa grinned at her
Deciding to try and deescalate the tension she unbuckled her gun belt and dropped it to the ground before levitating the blaster she grabbed back to Racal, who automatically shoved it back into its hiding place. Melissa motioned for Carth to drop his gunbelt as well, he dropped it immediately and kept his hands in clear view
"As for me I, my real name is Melissa Wren of Aliit Wren."
She looked around the room and her eyes fell on the holocomviewer. Four multicolour beings were cavorting across a technicolour field as irritating music played
"Now I know the Sith and the Republic are both irredeemably evil. Someone should have banned this years ago and killed the characters with fire." She said with a flinch
"They are not as bad as the purple lizard being, that should have been beaten to death a long time ago." Racal replied
"No talking bad about Barney." A voice called from under the table
Melissa exaggeratedly looked around the room
"Do we have someone invisible here? I could swear I heard a little wake angel speaking."
Giggles came from under the table and a face shyly made its appearance, black hair a curly and dishevelled mess. Melissa sat down flat on the ground and placed her hands on her knees, hands open and palms up
"There you are, I am Melissa and you are?" She asked
"Clarissa. I am four."The girl shyly replied
"Wow, you are bigger than I thought, you must be a very good young lady." Melissa said
The girl crawled from under the table and stood by Racal's leg, partially hiding. Her face structure clearly showed she was an Onasi, she did not have any of Racal's features though. Melissa felt the agonised pain from Carth as he did the math and came to a conclusion. Dustil's glare softened for a moment before it returned in full force.
Melissa wanted to sigh as none of the men spoke and the silence became even more tense despite her best efforts. She turned to Carth
"It would be easier if you sat down as well" She said
Clarisse looked curiously at Carth
"Who is he?" She asked
"He is Dustil's daddy. Dustil and he had not seen each other for several years and they don't know how to talk to each other again." Melissa answered gently
The girl scrunched up her nose as she processed that
"That is not right." She said
"I agree. They both need to act like big boys and talk nicely to each other like we girls do." Melissa replied
"Boys." Clarissa sighed shaking her head
"Yeah girls rule." Melissa smiled
Clarissa put one hand on her hip and with her other hand pointed to the chairs
"Sit or naughty corner for you." She said
Carth gave a dry chuckle and made his way to a chair. Dustil scowlingly did the same. Both still refused to speak. Melissa wanted to roll her eyes in exasperation
"Onasi Men." She said sighing
"Tell me about it." Racal commiserated
Melissa turned her attention to Clarissa
"While they are being boys, how about I tell you a story from Dustil's daddy side and then Racal can tell it from Dustil's side." She suggested
"Yeah, story!" The girl sat down eagerly
Melissa shot Racal a look and noticed the woman's hesitance.
"I will try to keep it age appropriate." She said
Melissa cleared her throat
"Now the story does not begin in a house with a mommy daddy and a boy. It starts in a big spaceship where a young girl met a grumpy old man. The grumpy old man being a grump had send the girl to work in the kitchens of the ship for having a loose button on her uniform when she was off duty as a punishment."
Melissa shot Carth a dirty look before turning her attention back to her audience
"Now the girl was sad about it because she felt did not do anything wrong but in the kitchen she met another old man who would change her live…"
Clarissa sat enraptured till Melissa finished her tale. Melissa coughed to clear her dry throat. Clarissa eagerly shifted forward
"What happened next?" She demanded
"First Racal has to tell her part and then we can see how the rest of the story goes." Melissa replied
Racal retrieved a bundle from the bassinet and sat down on the ground as well. She gently swayed as she rocked the bundle.
"My story starts on a planet that was beautiful and green. The girl in my story did not have a nice daddy. He was mean and spitefull but to others he looked like a nice man. Then one day a very bad man came to the planet and did terrible things and the planets was not beautiful any more. The girl was helping to look for people who was hurt when she found a boy holding a baby. The babies mother had been hurt very bad and could not stay with her boy and her little girl. Then the girl 's father found her as she was helping the boy and the baby. He was angry at the girl but when he saw the boy he became happy for the boy could be a way for him to be seen as more important, especially to his friends who were not very nice. The thing was the boy had magic…"
Melissa leaned back as Racal continued her story. The basic outline they had received from Berek being filled in and matched what they had known before. More importantly she could sense Dustil was drifting away slightly from his anger towards Carth.
The little girls attention was starting to drift and she became sleepy. Curling up with a blanket she soon fell asleep. Racal kept up with the story despite the primary audience not paying attention any more.
Finishing the story silence descended on the room again. Melissa got up from the floor and sat down on a couch with a relieved sigh
"I am really getting too old to sit on the floor like this." She remarked
Her joke fell flat as the two men looked at each other in silence. Carth broke eye contact first. Tiredly he rubbed his face, his skin starting to clear as the Morph reached the end of its lifespan. He looked at his hands before looking up at his son
"I understand if you hate me and want nothing to do with me. Now matter what my mind and my companions say, my heart is telling me I failed you. I failed your mother and I failed Clarissa. Now matter how illogical it is I failed you and that is something I will always regret to the end of my days. The only thing I can say is that I love you, nothing else matters."
"You love me? You think that saying that will fix everything?" Dustil demanded angrily
Carth looked his son in the eyes.
"No it will not fix everything, nothing can do that. All I desperately wish for is a chance to be in your lives." Carth said softly
"With me being a loyal servant of the republic, of course. House Onasi will have its first Jedi." Dustil retorted
"Sith, Republic, independent, Force sensitive or not. I don't care which one. All I want is to have my family back if they will have me." Carth replied
Dustil pointed to Melissa
"And I am supposed to believe it with a Jedi sitting next to you." He said
"Melissa is not a Jedi. She is Mandalorian." Carth replied
"Don't lie to me! There is no such thing as a force sensitive Mando." Dustil snapped
Melissa laid a hand on Carth's arm to silence him before he could reply. She turned her attention fully to Dustill
"Before the war that would have been the truth, the ones who were force sensitive would not have known about it. The tales are full of Mandoade who were curiously lucky in battle. However when the war came, that changed after the first time they engaged in combat with Jedi. Mandalore tried to breed his own force sensitive forces, you are looking at the result of his plan. There is a clan called the Vesalik's who actively forced themselves on Jedi prisoners to breed a new type of Mandalorian, though if we were to actively search among the clans and the civilians I wager we will find quite a few who are sensitive." Melissa said
She leaned forward
"I did get training to be a Jedi, that is true. What is also true is that I got kicked out when my Mandalorian heritage was more important to me. And I learned one thing there is more to the Force than the two sides that the masters on both sides profess there to be. At est Mandalore, and yes I can use the force. Just because you have been told that there is only two sides and you have to choose a side does not make it so."
"Yet you are here on the orders of the Jedi council." Dustil rebutted
"Yes I am. But it does not make me a Jedi or a Republic agent. Malak needs to be stopped, I am not doing it because I believe the Republic is the only way, I am doing this for the people who are suffering in this dick measuring contest between the fools in the Senate and on the Council and Malak and the Sith, not that Malak has one anymore."
"Malak wishes to destroy the incompetence and corruption of the Republic. Usher in a new type of government that will help all of its people" Dustill replied
"But what about the rights of the individual. Malak wants to establish an Empire where all freedoms are granted at his whims. Also ask yourself if he truly wanted a better live for all, why bomb Taris? Why bomb Telos?" Melissa countered
Melissa leaned back into her seat
"Also ask yourself, if his ideals are about freedom for all why is the great majority of his soldiers droids or humans. Apart from the Academy I have seen none non humans in the officer school or enlisted in the army. And those in the Academy? Freedom for all is the last thing they want." She continued
She looked over to the four in front of her.
"It may seem as if I want the mess that is the Republic to stay in place. Even if Malak would achieve victory the conditions leading to the current corruption will not be destroyed, it will be business as usual just under a new name."
"What would you see as a perfect form of governance?" Racal asked
"I know this may seem naïve and simplistic, but I believe planets should follow their own rules and paths. There should be a Senate for all beings to sort out their differences in it but no over reaching legislature. The bigger the organisation the more chances of corruption and power grabbing there will be." Melissa stated honestly
"So you are a separatist." Racal pointed out
"I am a Mandalorian first and foremost. My people believe strongly in independence. If that makes me a separatist then yes I am one." Melissa replied
"What is your plans once this war is over? Returning to your Jedi training, setting yourself up as a warlord on some backwater planet?" Dustil demanded
"Once Malak is dead and gone I fully plan on following my own path. If it means I wander the galaxy I will do so or sit on the porch of my beach property. One thing is certain I want to be as far as possible from politics and politicians as I can be. As for being a warlord, nah, too much politics and don't even mention the amount of time I will have to spend doing administration" Melissa concluded
Carth looked at Dustil
"I am likely to be at her side when she does so, though I hope more for the beach idea than the wandering around. Just so you know, I resigned my commission in the fleet, this is my last assignment. And I only stayed in as it gave me the best opportunities to find you."
Dustil scowled but said nothing. One did not have to be a force sensitive to hear the truth in his words.
Racal stood up from where she had been seated and walked over to Carth. She placed the bundle in his arms
"This is Juno, your granddaughter." She said simply
Dustil looked at her in surprise
"You never let your father close to Juno, yet you allow him to hold her." He said
"Unlike Jares Silvior, I do not think your father will do anything to endanger our daughter or your sister. Us being here on this cesspit of a planet already proves it, you father came looking for you, mine send us here." Racal stated firmly
"Badger, I am only here to be taught how to protect you and our family." Dustil objected
"No, honey. You are here because we are pawns in a game between several old men that wish for power and domination." Racal replied
Racal turned to Melissa and crossed her arms as she stared her down
"Assuming I believe you are honest with us, what do you want from us?" She asked
"To let Carth have the opportunity to be with family. Wherever that is and whatever form you allow it." Melissa replied
"You consider Carth to be family don't you?" Racal stated
"Yes, I see him as my grumpy uncle. I think of him as family, that is true as well for the rest of the crew. Well not Bindo, he is just an irritation forced on us." Melissa answered
"Bindo is dead." Dustil interjected
"Is he? Or did I just show you what I wanted you to believe?" Melissa responded
Racal studied her for a while longer before coming to a decision. She looked at her family and stiffened her shoulders as she commited to a path.
"What do you want from us and Dustil?" She asked
"To be safe and out of reach for the confrontations that is to come." Carth replied
"How?" Racal asked
"By staying out of this, I also believe Dustil would be better of here with a case of Andorian flu than returning to the Academy." Melissa answered
"And conveniently letting you take my place in the Academy." Dustil remarked, his sneer half hearted
"Considering we will probably have to destroy the . Damn it Dustill stop thinking with your pride and think of your family." Melissa snapped
"Master Wynn…" Dustil started
"Send those four after your family. I know it, you know it." Melissa stopped him
Melissa turned a furious gaze onto Dustil
"How many times has he told you that having a family is a weakness? How many times has he told you to break away from that what holds you back? Do you really think that someone who tries to embody the Sith Code will truly take on an apprentice with a weakness that can be exploited" She snapped
"You do not know anything about the Sith or the dark side." Dustill responded
"I know the Sith code is all about selfish gratificatioin at the expense of all. As for the dark side? I stood on the edge and nearly went over, you have not even come close to that edge. Being taught "dark" techniques does not equate to being dark. Are you really willing to throw away the best things in your live just to please Wynn, to chase an ideal that will see you eventually abandoning all who make you who you are?"
Dustil did not respond. Racal placed a firm hand on his arms
"She is right." Racal interjected
"But Badger…"
"No buts, how many times have you complained to me about his comments about family? Dustil ever since you came here you have slowly been changing and it has not been for the good. I love you, but I do not care for what you are becoming. I will not have you become like my father or even worse." Racal stated firmly
Dustil withered at the glare Racal send his way as she crossed her arms, starting to tap one foot. She stared at him for several minutes before turning her attention back to Melissa
"And when we are done, you want us to leave with you?" Racal asked
"If you want to, or you could take one of the abandoned ships littering the airfield and do your own thing. I would not recommend staying here though, this is no planet on which to raise kids." Melissa replied
Racal threw another look at Dustil and he raised his hands in surrender, making it clear who really was in charge of this household. Carth hid a smile as Clarisse, his wife, was also the ruler of the house while she was alive.
"Not that I disagree with Dustil staying out of that place, but I do not think Wynn will believe him when he calls in sick." Carth pointed out
"Which is why we have a medi droid capable of synthesising medication that will give you the symptoms of Andoran Flu without getting the virus, and I know a doctor who can be bought to say it is the real thing." Melissa grinned.
Wynn looked up from the artefact he was studying as his terminal chimed to let him know he had a message. Cafrefully he laid the relic down and crossed the room to his terminal. The message was from his newest project slash protégé. Opening the message he saw his student in the confines of the residential unit he had the boy use for his family, his weakness. The boy looked like a rancor vomited him up. He was pale and covered with sweat, swaying as he tried to stay upright. In the background he could see a figure in a hazchem suit moving around. The boy bowed to the camera and was wrecked by a coughing bout
"Master, I apologise, I will not be returning to the Academy tonight. My wife contracted Andorian flu and she passed it on to me. I dare not return to the Academy to endanger you and the rest of the students." Dustil stated
Wynn looked closer at the suited figure and recognised the settlement doctor through the clear portion of the suit. He snarled as he closed the message of. He opened up the channels to Bann and the Commander of the officer academy
"Recall all students, till further notice all visits to Dreshdae are supended."
"At your orders, Master." Bann replied
"I will send the recall immediately." The Commander echoed
"May we know what this triggered this?" Bann asked
"Seems some spacer carried Andoran flu into the settlement." Wynn replied after a moment of thought
"Shall I place medical teams on standby?" The Commander asked
"No. They will stand or fall by themselves. We will expend no resources on that pathetic settlement." Wynn declared
He closed the channel and returned to his work desk. He gave a dark chuckle
"All that effort in priming that boy, only to be stopped by a silly little virus." He said to himself
Sitting down at his work desk he turned to the thought of who to replace the boy with as his apprentice after Ban finally tries to overthrow him. To have the boy kill his family after killing his father would have been amusing, but the boy did not have the power or drive Wynn wanted from his apprentice. No the boy would have been killed the moment the entertainment value stopped. He flicked the on button to his terminal. The faces of the top ten appeared in front of him.
"Starwind will not stay here long, she is also too powerfull. Best recommend her to the shadow academy on Malachor for further training, Lord track I think." He mused, swiping Terri's image away
Juhani's file was the next opened
"Too loyal to Starwind, also only suited to combat, another one for Malachor. Marauder training for her."
Melissa's image was next to be studied
"She is powerful, but too inexperienced. Her skills are closer to Assasin, not really suited as an apprentice. Another semester for her before making a final choice."
The last was a black haired male
"Shaerdan. Not ideal but the closest in the group. Pity Lashowe was killed. She had the drive and the power, not forgetting she was quite good in bed as well, really enthusiastic." Wynn reminisced
Wynn chuckled for a moment as he remembered Barlor's disappointment in not being to be able to get access to Lashowe's corpse despite his generous offer to Barlor to go and gut the animals to get the bodyparts. Really one must get ones entertainment wherever you can in this dreary place.