Chapter 23: The Rescue

"FOOL!"

The Hand of the Faith grinned as she spun her crimson lightsaber, her large flat teeth turning pink and bloody in the scarlet light.

A hiss of contempt escaped her lips.

"This is the last mistake that you will ever make!"

Jas didn't answer, there was no need, he held a Makashi guard and waited for his opponent to come to him.

A mistake?

The thought made him smile.

He had made a lot of mistakes over the years, coming here, opposing these people…that…was not one of them.

Behind him, V'Lek growled, the Whiphid was on his hands and knees, Jas could not really be sure what condition he was in.

I will need to defend him until he can walk, he realized. Simply defeating the Hand of the Faith would not win this battle.

He could only hope that the rest of the plan was going as smoothly.

The First Speaker stood next to the Tunroth, his cold eyes wide with disbelief and rage. He was a threat too, not to mention the mysterious observer, who, for the moment, seemed content to only watch and smile, the two Yimm sisters at his side.

At least Targo was still down, Jas had hit him harder than he intended, though, he would not dispute the result.

His life is not mine to take, it never was.

Jas knew that, he felt it in every fiber of his being.

The Force was singing in him now, he had never felt so connected to it, so strong.

He faced his enemies without fear.

I can do this, he realized.

I WILL do this.

"Ma…Master Jas?"

He couldn't turn away, couldn't check on the Whiphid, all he could do was hope that he was not too far gone to defend himself.

"V'Lek, can you walk?"

The large alien lumbered to his feet. He called one of the slain priest's vibro-axes to his hands. The Padawan was breathing hard, but Jas could sense through the Force that his strength was not totally gone.

"You…you came back for us?"

Jas nodded, but again, he didn't dare take his eyes off the Hand of the Faith, the Tunroth would strike at the merest hint of weakness.

"Can you walk?" he repeated, "Are you strong enough to defend yourself?"

"Yeah, I…I think so."

Jas nodded, good.

Outside the station, the ships of Jas' allies were still advancing, the station's defenses were down, but that didn't mean that there was no fight to be had.

Collective fighters flashed past the dome, on their way to engage the attackers.

The fight is in our favor, Jas thought, but that didn't mean that they had won…not yet.

The Force was still in turmoil, nothing was decided…yet.

"Go, Padawan," he ordered, "Take the lift down, and find the others, reinforcements will be here soon."

V'Lek shook his shaggy head, blood ran from both his nostrils and the several other small cuts on his flat face.

"How?" he asked, "How…how did you do this?"

Jas smiled grimly.

"Because a Jedi is never alone. Go, V'Lek…go…now!"

"But you…?"

"I said go," Jas repeated, his eyes focused entirely on the whirling blade of the Tunroth, and the dark siders behind her.

He heard the Padawan go, he was limping, but his presence remained strong in the Force.

V'Lek would find the others.

He was sure of it.

"My Lady Hand," The Speaker called out, "Destroy the traitor…this…unbeliever!"

"Like I really needed that order," she replied with a savage grin.

"The Yimm sisters started to advance as well, they reached for their belts, pouches that likely contained the small training globes that their sister had wielded so lethally on Taris.

The observer stopped them; he placed a hand on each of their shoulders. The two girls glanced back only to see the pale man shake his head.

So, it would be one on one, Jas thought, good.

He continued to watch the Tunroth, he had waited years for this moment. He still remembered when the Hand had thrown him and Coop away from Mom's office as children. He still remembered how she had nearly killed Val on…

Val?

The Force shifted, again, Jas saw something.

He saw Val lying on a table, screaming in agony, he saw more of the Collective priests, the Words of the Faith.

He felt Val die, or rather…that she would die.

No, he thought.

NO!

I can't stay, he realized, I have no time for this!

Val's life hung in the balance. If he had a choice between saving the Protector's life and slaying an enemy…well…there was NO choice.

The Tunroth lunged!

Jas sidestepped her attack, turned it to his advantage, all that rage, all that forward momentum; it was useful.

He reached out with the Force.

His opponent was caught off balance.

Xarcce Tatch, the Hand of the Faith, was struck by a hard Force push, not strong enough to kill, but enough to send her stumbling, before she could recover, Jas looked up and tore an air processing unit from the framework above them.

He used his power to increase its rate of fall. The Hand of the Faith barely had enough time to respond.

She dove as the heavy machinery came down with a resounding crash., the deck plates on which they stood all jumped from the impact.

It was the chance that Jas Dar Bynn needed.

He ran.

"STOP!" the Hand roared, "COWARD!"

He didn't bother to respond, there was no need.

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY! I'LL FIND YOU!"

Her threat almost made him laugh.

She had things reversed.

Jas had not reason to escape, not with his allies on their way in.

If anything, it was the Hand, the Speaker, and the rest of their party that should have been worrying about fleeing.

Yes, Tatch had it all wrong.

She is not getting away, not this time, he knew that for a fact, even if she and the Speaker manage to get to a transport, and get off the station, our ships out there will make sure that they don't get far.

The deck shook again, not from anything he did this time, but from explosions on the surface.

The fighters they had brought had managed to breach the collective's perimeter.

A battle had begun.

Jas let the Force guide him, there was a large air duct to his left, it felt right to make for it, he didn't stop, he merely cut through the grating with a single swipe of his blade and leapt down, letting his momentum carry him away from the observation deck.

As he slid down, he thought he could hear the Observer laughing. In his mind's eye, he could still see the pale man grinning maniacally; heard the alien's cruel voice.

"Well, that didn't go as expected, did it?"

He still didn't know that one's story, who the Observer served, and what part that person played in the Collective's schemes.

No matter, they would find out everything they needed when they took the Observer into custody. It might take some time, but he would tell them what they wanted to know.

Jas didn't hear how the First Speaker responded to the alien's question; he was too far away at that point. The duct opened before him, he was somewhere between flying and falling, the Force controlling his descent.

His full attention was now turned forward, turned to the Force, and the connection he felt through it.

Val.

He could sense her, she was close by, he simply had to trust his feelings now, let them guide him.

He was not afraid, if anything he felt more confident than he had ever felt in his life.

He would find the right path; he could not fail.

The Force was with him.

I'm coming Val, he thought.

Finally.

IOI

Jas emerged from the air duct with a loud resounding clang, the grate gave way with no resistance, and he landed at the ready, his lightsaber drawn, and ready to ignite.

He felt strong, power flowed unchecked through him.

Jas was prepared, but at that moment, it had not been necessary.

He found himself in a long empty corridor, alarms blaring overhead.

Jas frowned as he reached out with the Force, scanning for threats. Despite the chaos of battle, he sensed nothing close by.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

So far, so good…

He moved quickly, yet carefully, there were many shadows here, even more so now that the station was functioning on reserve power, the emergency lights flashing every so often as he made his way forward.

The fight was in their favor, the plan had gone off without flaw. Coop had responded to his signal, bringing their ships in just at the right time. At full strength, this station might have been a problem, the Cooper/Halcyon organization's armed freighters would not have been able to match this place's firepower, but that was irrelevant now.

Miri had done her job well.

IOI

The plan had been mostly hers, but even Jas had to admit, it was…inspired.

They had both known going in that he would not be able to handle the Collective alone, and he certainly wouldn't have had the opportunity to rescue their allies by himself. Yet, if he didn't come alone, he feared the collective would never let him get close enough to do anything.

Miri had had…an idea about that.

Despite his evening with Vess, Jas had remained in turmoil, the Force still roiled in him, his final alignment…was uncertain. The bounty hunter had decided to use that.

They could turn a weakness into a strength.

"Are you familiar with Jedi trances, Jas?" she had asked him.

"Heard of them, never used them," he admitted.

Fallenstar had nodded, and outlined what she wanted to do.

A Force trance, or hibernation, was used to preserve the Jedi's life when an immediate escape from a desperate situation was impossible. When food and other supplies were not readily available.

A Jedi would just go to sleep, and could remain so for days, sometimes weeks, if they were sufficiently strong in the Force, and the situation called for it.

What Miri had had in mind, would not require her to be under that long, and it was not about preserving her strength.

While in a Force trance, the Jedi's presence in the Force was pulled inward, all their strength was focused on maintaining the body. To another Force user, one who was awake, the sleeper's presence would seem…small…almost undetectable if you weren't actively looking for it.

What would someone expecting Jas' arrival on this station be looking for? Sensors would be searching for lifeform readings, and any Force user they had would be reaching out too.

That is where the Force trance idea had come in.

"I'll go into a trance in close proximity to you, my life signs will be minimal, barely noticeable to sensors." she had said, "Plus, my presence in the Force will be much smaller while asleep."

"Ah," he had replied, finally getting it.

"It will be the equivalent of holding up a candle to a torch, the brightness of one will hide the presence of the other."

"Exactly," Miri had grinned, "The Hand, or any other Force user, will expect a troubled Jedi to arrive, and that is what they will sense. Two will appear as one, if I'm close enough to you. You will shield me, and once were down, I will wake up, and see about making things…interesting, for the Sunset Collective."

Jas had nodded, it seemed feasible, could work…

Mirax Fallenstar flashed one of those unstable smiles of hers.

"It is a good thing neither of us are completely in the light, this plan wouldn't have the chance to work otherwise."

Once he would have argued about that, but given what had happened on Taris, he knew she was right, and in that moment, another thought came to him.

Perhaps you needed to have that breakdown on Taris, had it not happened, you might not have been in the right frame of mind for this plan to work.

An interesting thought, perhaps the Force had taken a larger role in this than he had thought.

Perhaps.

So, that is how they had done it, they had met up with Coop and the rest of their fleet at a decided rally point. Coop had sent a pilot aboard to tend to the Claw, and brought Vess and Claude aboard the Folly.

The girl had been decidedly nervous about all this, but Jas had done his best to assure her that this was likely the only way to save the others.

Vess had trusted him, she had given him a quick kiss on the cheek for luck and let him and Miri go off to prepare the next stage of the plan.

Jas had contacted Coop over their private channel before leaving Dantooine. Giving him the location of the collective base, and explaining to him what they planned to do. He had been…skeptical, but had learned to trust Jas over the years, the fact that Miri had backed him up only helped further sell the plan.

From there, they had finally gotten started, Miri had boarded the Night Fire, and placed herself within a trance. She had lay just behind the pilot's chair, with just enough room for him to move around her, if he needed to.

Once they had landed, before, he had risen from the pilot's seat, Jas had gently touched her forehead, both with his hand, and through the Force, that had been all that was needed to awaken her.

He had sensed her stirring as he had left, but could not acknowledge it, all his senses had been turned to shielding her presence. Once she was awake, it would be too late stop her.

From there, she knew what she had to do.

Temm Yimm had said the collective base was a space station, Miri's job had been simple, disable the shields and weapons, and from there, locate and free their friends. Coop's ships would be standing by, watching with their own scanners, once they detected that the shields were down, the organization ships would move in.

They had still needed to be careful, the ships had to stay just out of sensor range, and Miri had been certain that she would be able to handle the stations defenses, it was risky, but it was their best chance.

Fortunately, the Force had been with them.

The plan…had worked.

IOI

He continued to move forward, tracking Val through the Force. It was at that moment that his commlink beeped, since none of the collective had his private frequency, he felt safe in answering.

"Yeah," he said, bringing the small device to his lips.

"Hey Jas," Mirax Fallenstar said sweetly, "Whatcha' wearing tonight?"

"Not collective robes, if that is what you are worried about," he replied with a chuckle.

"That is good to know. I felt a sudden shift in the Force. Was that you?"

Jas blinked.

A shift in the Force?

Has there been one?

"I don't know, what did it feel like?"

There was a brief pause.

Jas frowned.

"Miri?"

I'm still here. I was just…trying to describe it."

"Describe it later," he advised, "We still have work to do. How are things on your end?"

"Shields and hyperdrive are down, but you probably already guessed that. I've been to several computer terminals, tried sealing off sections of the station that would aid in making repairs. It would have gone faster had we had an astromech, but…you can't have everything, right?"

"What about the others?" he inquired, "You sent the signal that they were safe."

"They are all in the detention block, locked in individual cell. I can feel pain, but I don't think they are in any immediate danger. I sealed the entire section off from the rest of the station, dealt with the guards, too. Our people aren't free yet, but they aren't under any threat, not at the moment."

"And, Val," he asked, "Do you have eyes on her?"

"I didn't see her on any camera feeds, she's probably being held on another level."

Made sense, he thought, and it went along with what he was feeling.

"Thanks, Miri," he answered, "I managed to free V'Lek, if you reach out with the Force, he should be able to sense you, give you a hand."

"Sounds good, where are you at?"

"I'm going for Val. She is in trouble, I can sense her presence, but…"

"Got it," she said, "Is there a computer terminal near you. I could try to send you the floor plans, should make your search easier."

Jas glanced around, he didn't see any terminals, not that he needed one.

It was strange, he felt…different, more...confident?

Not killing Targo had changed something inside of him. He couldn't say what, not right now, but…it felt…good.

"No need to worry about that," he promised her.

"I know where I'm going."

"Um…okay," she replied, sounding a bit skeptical.

He didn't blame her. It sounded a bit strange to him to, but it didn't change what he was feeling.

He didn't need a computer; the Force was with him.

He knew what he had to do.

"I will meet up with you as soon as I can," he promised, "Coop and the others should be landing soon, once the others are free, make of the landing bay, Val and I will meet up with you soon."

"Understood, watch yourself, Jas, these collective guys are in trouble, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous."

He nodded again.

He wasn't underestimating them, yet, at the same time, he was no longer afraid. He was feeling, acting on those feelings, and for once, it felt right.

Everything…felt right.

"Be careful, Miri," he said, "May the Force be with you."

"And with you," she replied, ending her transmission.

Jas picked up the pace, he moved carefully, but with a surety he had never felt before. He even managed to avoid several guards moving down an adjacent corridor, he used the Force, to misdirect them, and then trap them inside a section by sealing the blast doors.

He could have taken them out with his lightsaber, but there had been no need. It had only been a matter of seconds, and now he was free to finally go to Val.

He could sense her presence through the Force, it shone so brightly now, she was…so close. The danger to her was growing, but it would not touch her, he was sure of it.

He wouldn't let it, not this time.

IOI

"OPEN THE DOOR!"

He heard an angry voice up ahead. He slowed his pace, and slipped deeper into the shadows.

He peeked around the corner, and saw them, five collective agents. They stood before a blast door, one of them keeping watch while another dug into the wiring of the door's access panel.

Two more collective priests stood with them, silent as always and armed with various edged weapons. They were the biggest threat here, and would need to be dealt with quickly. The final man in the group was the one who had spoken, he wore collective robes, but these were fancier, they looked more like the priests' robes than the garb of a common acolyte.

An officer of some sort, he guessed.

"Open the kriffin' door," the man growled angrily, "The First Speaker wants the girl and the slicer dead before the enemy gets here. Get this damn door open now!"

Jas frowned.

He had heard enough.

He stepped out of the shadows, his weapon before him, but still not ignited.

"DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND BACK AWAY!"

The five men turned; they had not sensed his approach.

He stood before them, his eyes cold and dangerous, his lightsaber held in a way that it could be brought to bear in the matter of a micro-second.

"Lower your weapons, or be destroyed," he said, "I will not ask nicely again."

The collective agents looked at each other, even the two priests seemed caught of guard. He had no desire to slay these people, but if they…

"FOR THE ETERNAL NIGHT!"

Blasters rose, and…time slowed down.

Jas brought up his weapon, igniting the blade.

He almost shook his head.

I warned you.

The two priests stepped back and raising their weapons, anticipating him charging, the officer and the two other men pulled their weapons and started firing.

Jas let the Force take over.

He parried the bolts back. The first striking the man who had been trying to open the door between the eyes; he fell without a sound. The second struck one of the priests in the arm spinning him around. The fact that he had not been able to parry or get out of the way in time showing the lack of training on the Force sensitive's part.

Jas advanced.

The agent who had been keeping watch lowered his blaster and tried to come in with a stun stick. Jas danced around him, and struck at his weapon arm, the man howled as the lightsaber cut through his forearm, leaving him whimpering on the deck. The uninjured priest tried to engage, their weapons clashed three, four, five time, but again Jas, and the Force, proved the quicker.

He cut the man from shoulder to hip, ending the dark sider's life.

The remaining priest fed off the pain of his injuries and rose again, he tried a Force push, but it was nothing that Jas' Force abilities couldn't handle, he stumbled, but regained his footing, and lashed out again with his lightsaber. He cut the priest across the chest, and his enemy fell, his weapon clattering away, no longer a threat.

It was then that Jas turned his attention to the officer, the man's eyes were wide, any sense of dark confidence was replaced by terror, he had likely thought the Words of the Faith as powerful Force users, seeing two cut down so easily…

"No."

The man threw down his weapon and scampered away, leaving his injured ally moaning on the deck, the man finally passed out from the pain, no longer a threat to Jas or anyone else.

The Jedi sighed.

He had not wanted things to go this far, but…he had had no choice.

I warned them, he reminded himself.

I warned them.

He turned his attention to the door, standard design for a Republic station. Yet, easy enough to access if you understood Republic technology.

His past as both a Mandalorian salvager and a smuggler proved very useful once again.

He could see the locking mechanism in his mind, he could have cut through it with his lightsaber, in time, but there was no need. All it required was a little pressure through the Force, easily enough applied. It was amazing that the Collective priests hadn't done something similar, but then again, they might not have had the training or understanding for something so delicate.

Jas reached out, and deactivated the locking mechanism, the door hissed up without further resistance.

Panic filled his senses.

He stepped into what looked like a lab space, his lightsaber drawn.

His eyes narrowed when he saw it.

He had found Val.

The Protector was alive, praise the Force, she was bound into some kind of chair, her head surrounded by screens filled with swirling lights.

Jas looked at those lights for only a few seconds, but they were enough to make his head swim. The swirling patterns seem to want to draw him in.

Don't look at, he thought to himself…

…Focus.

He tried to do just that.

Val stared open mouthed at the screens, beside her head speakers whispered in her ears, saying things that Jas couldn't understand.

She was alive, he could sense it, but she was…confused, whatever the collective had been doing to her…

No matter, he thought, I'm getting her out of here…now.

"Don't hurt her…please."

The plea came from behind the machine, a young man dressed in the garb of the collective. Humanoid, with pink skin and light blue hair, the man brandished a piece of security railing like a club.

He was slim, didn't look like he would be much a physical threat, but Jas understood that looks could be deceiving.

Jas almost cut him down, punished him for what they were doing to Val, but didn't.

The man's words stopped him.

Don't hurt her, please.

He was terrified of Jas, but at the same time, he was trying to muster his courage, to try and…protect Val?

Jas didn't know what to make of that.

Why?

"What is going on," he demanded, "What are you people doing to her?"

"They…they wanted me to help change her, reprogram her. They…they said her mind was not so much different than a droid's now."

Jas almost growled.

"They…the collective?"

The pink skinned man nodded.

"They…they told me what she was, some kind of warrior. I…I disobeyed, I thought she could help me get out of this, that we could both get out of this, they kidnapped me, brought me here. I've been trying to help her, but…

Jas sensed no deception in the young man, that, and a sense of fear of the collective, if he had been disobeying their orders?

"Why didn't they try to stop you?"

"They didn't understand what I was doing. They don't understand the system…this programing that was done to her, that is why they needed me. They were wrong though, this…it isn't like reprograming a droid, it is far more complex."

The man gave him a sheepish look.

"They thought me too scared to resist, that big grey one, the Hand, she said she would kill me if I didn't do what they wanted, but what qualifies as disobeying? I did the work, just…not for them."

Jas stepped forward, his lightsaber still lit, but he didn't attack, his only concern was Val.

The man backed up, he did raise his club, but again, Jas felt only the desire to defend himself, and defend Val.

"I'm not going to hurt her," he told him, "I came here to save her."

The man's blue eyes widened; perhaps finally seeing the lit lightsaber for the first time.

"You…you're a Jedi?"

Jas frowned, many of the old excuses tried to come to his lips, he had been gone from the order for too long, he was a mere acolyte in its service…

None of them fit now, he simply told the truth.

"Yes, I am."

He looked at the prisoner.

"Can you get these restraints off?"

"I've been trying, I don't know the locking codes."

Jas didn't bother looking. He simply cut through them. The manacles fell away, leaving Val to slump down further in her chair, the speakers near her head fell away as Jas lifted the screens away.

"Val," he said going up to her, touching her face.

"Val? Can you hear me?"

So long, he thought, his eyes stung, so many months of searching for her, praying that she was okay.

The Protector's eyes were glassy, she…she didn't even seem to know he was there, she seemed to be looking past him, at a point in time that only she could see, she murmured under her breath, spoke of compliance, and duty.

Now that he was close enough, Jas could hear the words that had been playing over the speakers, the commands that the Collective had tried to force on her.

You will serve our interests. You will serve your leader. The Collective is NOT your master. You are NOT our slave.

Jas blinked, it was the "Not" he heard that confused him, the main voice in the recording was the First Speaker, but the "Nots" were clearly the young man standing before him.

Jas looked up at him.

"You sabotaged their program, stopped them from taking control of her?"

The pink skin man nodded.

"I needed help," he repeated.

Jas nodded, whatever his motivation, he had helped Val, protected her.

He gave him a grateful smile.

"Thank you."

Char Valenthyne groaned, and blinked, she looked around, still confused, but her eyes began to focus.

She found Jas's face.

"Val?" he asked.

"Uhg," she groaned, "I…Um…Jas?"

She blinked and rubbed her eyes, realizing that her hands were finally free.

Her expression was hopeful, but frightened at the same time.

"Um…am I dreaming again," she asked, "Are…are you really here?"

He stroked her face, lovingly, and kissed her forehead.

What he felt for Vess, what was growing between them, was strong, but what he had shared with Val was older. It was part of him. What they shared…he still cared for her.

He would always care for her.

He smiled.

"I'm here. Finally, I've found you."

That was all it took that simple touch. Tears ran down her cheeks and she threw her arms around him, she shuddered and held him tightly.

"You came," she gasped, "You…you came for me."

Then almost as quickly she pulled back, her eyes wide with fear.

"VESS?! IS SHE SAFE? THESE PEOPLE?"

She is safe," Jas promised her, "She is with Coop, aboard the Folly, they will be aboard soon, the station's defenses are down. We will soon…"

"LOOK OUT," the prisoner screamed.

"DIE JEDI!"

The collective agent that had ran was back, the man leapt into the room with a vibrosword in hand, the tip of the blade pointed at Jas' back.

He had no time to get out of the way.

Val acted.

She pushed him out of way, the blade came down, barely missing Jas but grazing Val's side. The pain made her snarl, but also seemed to motivate her. The protector moved with a speed almost faster than a Jedi's; she caught the attacker with a stiff elbow strike, staggering him.

The man lost his weapon, and that was all that it took.

Val was on her feet in seconds, despite enduring so much she stood up and attacked. A quick kick to the stomach, followed up by a hard strike to the throat, her knuckles folded to maximize the damage.

The man gagged as he fell back, struggling to breathe, Val had crushed his windpipe. All the man could do know was lay gagging on the deck, choking to death.

Jas probably could have saved him, but even he had been caught off guard by the protector's speed.

Val is never fully helpless he realized, the Bantoon had made her into a weapon…

…and a weapon…she remained.

"These collective murglaks weren't lying," the prisoner said coming up beside him, "She is dangerous."

"That she is," Jas agreed. It was a bit of an understatement but true.

That…she is.

Val looked up at him, her eyes cool and all business. She recovered quickly, or perhaps the fact that Vess was coming served to motivate her.

"We need to get out of here, Hotshot," she said, "I hope you have a plan."

He nodded.

Yes, the plan was ongoing.

Now, he needed to deal with the prisoner he had found, what were they going to do with him.

He looked at the man.

"Who are you," he asked, "Why did the collective take you?"

"My name is Kyp Tobyn," he replied, "I…I work with computers."

Jas nodded. The memory of Alderaan came flooding back.

He had finally found the slicer that they had been seeking, the one behind the attack on Vess. Though, the man wasn't a threat, not now. Plus, he had protected Val, and at great risk to himself.

Jas was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"I'm Jas Dar Bynn, Mister Tobyn," he said as Val took the weapons off the dead collective agent, preparing for their next move.

He had found Val, and Miri would have the others free soon. The station shook again, more alarms blared in the distance.

This fight isn't over, he knew, but soon it would be.

He looked down at his lightsaber and took a cleansing breath.

He was ready.

It was time to end this.