Unlikely Allies

"Speech"

"Radio or calls"

'Thoughts'

Middle Ring of Port Athor

As the group walked to the location of the imperial agent, Tieria spoke quietly to Lyle, a tear threatening to fall, "I don't know how I messed up so bad. How could I have been so blind?"

Lyle's urge to rub it in his face as he could hear the loss in Tieria's voice. This mission hadn't gone straight, and Lyle wasn't happy either, but Tieria had seemed to take it worse than anyone else. Lyle just shook his head, putting on a comforting tone, "The criminal underworld is never simple. You always have to watch your back."

Lyle put a hand on his shoulder, "And it wasn't just you. I never expected Wang Liu Mei to betray us like that. Or that her agent would help us." Lyle let out a sad sigh, "Hell, the fight against the Empire isn't as black and white as I would like. Most of the stormtroopers we fight think they are keeping law and order."

The Corellian then chuckled a bit bitterly, "Though our hands are tied on that front I suppose. But info gathering should be the first thing we do for any operation, if possible."

Tieria took his words in, nodding, "You are right. Maybe we would have learned those men weren't criminals. Maybe less people would be dead that didn't need to die." The weight of the lives he took hung over his head. 'They were merely in the way. And we were the tool that nearly killed all of them.' He would completely understand if any of those Duros came hunting them.

Lyle could see the weight on his shoulders, and spoke kindly, "Listen Tieria, you are a good soldier. You can command the squad, can adapt to battles quickly and not get bogged down in overthinking. I can trust you in battle." He stopped them, looking Tieria in the eye, "I'll lead the team overall, make decisions about how we go into battle and the like. You can question me behind the scenes, and offer suggestions, but don't question me in public. But you can lead in battle. How does that sound?"

Tieria looked Lyle in the eye, seeing the confidence in the rebel officer's eyes. 'How can he have faith in me after that?' Tieria took a deep, shaky breath, "Alright. I can't say I will always be happy, but I will try to keep my annoyance to a minimum."

Lyle just laughed, "I wouldn't want to miss your surly attitude. It makes it fun to talk with you." Tieria scowled for a second, before a small smile to his face, unable to stop it. The purple-haired soldier let out a breath, and marched forward, intent on catching up with the group. 'I'll show the team I can be a better leader.'

Lyle could tell he was still working through things, but he couldn't help but smile. 'Never thought I would miss that attitude of his. But I'll keep an eye on him just in case.' He caught up with the group, catching Setsuna and Feldt holding hands, their fingers intertwined. It was a cute sight, and he couldn't help but be happy the Kiffar found happiness.

And after a bit of travel, they found themselves in front of three-floor apartment block. It was well-maintained, decently painted and spacious. It was a bit industrial, but Wang Liu Mei had clearly done her best to make it look nicer at least. The group followed the info they had to the apartment that the agent was at, finding it on the second floor.

Allelujah looked at the group, "So what do you think this agent will be like? Can we trust them?" He reached out with his senses, feeling a person inside. They were strangely calm for effectively being a hostage. He let out a breath, "They certainly are not worried."

Setsuna pursed his lips, and Feldt spoke kindly, "Well maybe they were told ahead of time? Nena could have sent a message." Nena's name on her lips still had a bit of venom, but her grip on Setsuna's hand reassured her.

Lyle just smiled and walked up to the door, a casual smile on his face, "We might as well give them a good impression at least." He walked up to the door, knocking, "Hey, we were sent to get you."

There was the sound of a door unlocking, and when it opened, they were presented with the sight of a modestly curvy human woman, lavender hair going down to her upper back. She had red eyes, like Tieria, and she wore a simple shirt and pants, not hiding her fit form. Her beautiful eyes looked at them with cautious curiosity, her voice friendly, "I was given the heads up. Someone said Wang Liu Mei was killed. I'm Anew Returner"

Lyle immediately blushed, a flirty smile crossing his face as he couldn't help but take in the beautiful woman. All thoughts seemed to leave his mind, and he couldn't help but become the 'desperately single' man that Christina teased him over, "I didn't know imperial officers were so beautiful. Maybe I should be shot at more."

Anew couldn't help but chuckle, the bad line sounding not bad coming from the Corellian. It helped that the man in front of her had a boyish charm, "Is that the only reason you found me?" Lyle chuckled, grinning when he realized she was flirting back.

"Well it's certainly a benefit." Lyle hadn't expected such a casual response, his initial expectations that of some hard ass officer. Allelujah blushed as he realized that the two were flirting, Feldt joining him as she could sense the affection flowing off of Lyle.

Setsuna noted that she had the same strange hair and eye color as Tieria, who was looking at her cautiously. But he cleared his throat, wanting to get back on task, "We came to rescue you. Our commander said to extract you and get info from you."

Lyle was annoyed that Setsuna brought the mood down, and Anew nodded, seeing some of them injured and scarred, "I admit I was expecting a more professional looking group, but I suppose both of us had the same experience." Her eyes looked at Lyle, a slight blush on her face.

But she took a breath, a slight smile on her face, "If you guys don't mind, before I tell you what I learned, would you mind paying for a meal. I haven't been able to really leave this place for a while and need a good meal."

Lyle nodded, gesturing to the group, "This is Setsuna, Tieria, Feldt, and Allelujah." Anew nodded, and Lyle continued, "And I think all of us can do with some food. Your stuff is being sent to our ship, so don't worry about that."

Anew smiled, "Thanks." She looked at the group, "Thank you for coming to find me. You won't regret your sacrifice."

Tieria harumphed, but he didn't say anything to her. He sensed something off about her, but he couldn't place what was wrong. 'Maybe I'm being paranoid.' But his recent failure was tainting his own judgement of his judgement, so he stayed silent.

Tieria turned to face Lyle, "I'm going to go back to the ship, and take all the gear we don't need." Lyle could see it was more than that, but he nodded, not wanting to draw attention to that.

"Good idea. Make sure a bunk is ready for Anew." Allelujah handed over his blaster rifle and his lightsaber, Setsuna handing him his sword. Tieria awkwardly held the weapons, walking off without saying goodbye. The rest of the group watched him go out of sight, and Lyle chuckled, "I think I saw a good pub in this ring."

At the Pub

The five people sat around a booth, Lyle, Feldt and Setsuna on one side, and Allelujah and Anew on the other. It was a quaint pub, surprisingly comfortable for this station. Allelujah, Anew and Lyle all had ale, Feldt and Setsuna going with water. Lyle had been regaling Anew with the story of how he rescued her, Setsuna a bit surprised he gave Tieria so much credit. The story shifted a bit once they got to the truth of their betrayal, and dealing with the mercenaries, hiding Allelujah's status as a jedi.

And as he concluded the story with the death of Wang Liu Mei, Anew just let out a breath, "Honestly, good riddance. She acted like she was treating me like an honored guest." She growled under her breath, "Yet she could have sold me back to the Empire at any time."

Lyle just stretched casually, winking, "Well she's out of the picture, and you are safe with the rebellion." Anew raised her eyebrow, a small smirk on her face, and Lyle blushed, "Well as safe as you can be in this galaxy."

Anew rolled her eyes good naturedly, and Feldt chuckled, causing Setsuna to smile unconsciously. Her laugh was cute, and it distracted him from the flirting going on between Anew and Lyle. Allelujah felt a pang of jealousy as he watched the two pairs have a moment. He spotted Feldt's hand on Setsuna's knee, the stoic warrior's face a bit red.

Setsuna looked at her curiously, "So how did you find yourself here under the control of Wang Liu Mei?"

Anew let out a breath, a casual smile on her face, "Well when I decided to defect, this was the closest place that I could hide out before. But Wang Liu Mei seemed to sniff me out, and I was brought to her office on 'friendly terms'." She emphasized that with air quotes, and Allelujah gave her a sympathetic look. Feldt couldn't sense her emotions strongly, Anew's training might be able to hide her emotions a bit. 'But she seems strangle hard to read, which normally requires knowledge of the force, or at least how to counter it.'

Setsuna had an odd sensation hearing her words, like something was off, but his relatively untrained senses couldn't figure out what it was. But he listened carefully to her words as she continued, "Wang Liu Mei politely invited me to be her guest, a gun in my back. I spit on her desk after I agreed, knowing my life was more important than trying to be stubborn. I was actually planning on escaping on my own before I heard a group of rebels was coming to get me."

She lightened up a bit, but there was still a bit of annoyance in her eyes, "I wish I could have shot her myself, but it seems there was a list of people that wanted to kill her."

Lyle laughed, "It takes guts to spit on the desk of a woman who is threatening you. Especially for a woman who was seemingly as powerful as Wang Liu Mei."

Anew grinned, "Well I was an imperial officer. I have dealt with people like her before."

"I like a confident woman." Lyle's words came out instinctually, not realizing what he said until he said it. But he rolled with it, Anew smiling at him, a coy grin on her face.

"Can a flyboy like you handle a woman like me?" She winked, and Lyle's heart skipped a beat, unable to stop from chuckling as he heated up at her words, a slight purr in them. Anew saw his face go red, and she noticed Feldt had gone red at her words, Setsuna's arms around her.

Allelujah couldn't help but laugh, enjoying the calm after the storm. It still hurt a little, but he couldn't get mad at yet another crew member finding happiness. That would be selfish, and he didn't want to hoist his worries on another person. And the fact it was three of his crew that seemed to be finding someone is something to be celebrated.

The meal continued casually as they all talked, only interrupted by Tieria calling, saying he was back at the ship and all their gear was stowed. Anew was still guarded, but she seemed to loosen up as the conversation continued, some hints of flirting with Lyle continuing. Setsuna still had that odd feeling about her, but Anew seemed genuine and her complaints about the empire treating her as lesser because she was a woman.

Lyle meanwhile couldn't control his heart rate as she talked to him, her laugh beautiful and hearty, and her disarming frankness got to him. He could tell she wasn't telling him one hundred percent, but he hoped that it was just because they were in an area where that could be dangerous. She didn't seem like a normal imperial officer, her claim of belonging to the ISB not ringing completely true.

After a bit into the meal, Allelujah once again felt that connection he hadn't sensed in a long time. And he swore it was nearby. Feldt also sensed a faint force presence a relatively short distance from them, and she wondered what that was, but more importantly she could sense a trace of anxiousness coming from Allelujah. She looked at him kindly, "Are you ok?"

Setsuna looked at the two talk, curious what was wrong, but Allelujah shook his head, subtly strengthening his wall, "No, it's fine. I just realized I wanted to do something here. You guys don't mind if I step out?" He had already finished his food and the only thing left was to pay the bill.

Lyle nodded at him, "Sure, go ahead. Just be back on the ship in two hours. We have to debrief and get the intel from Anew." The imperial agent smiled as she nodded, and Allelujah stood up, nodding at the group as he followed the trail of his old force bond. Weak as it was, he could sense just enough to follow it.

Middle Ring of Port Athor

The trail winded through the middle ring, headed towards a warehouse district. There were strong flare ups as he walked, picking up the pace with each flare. He feared it was Marie using her powers, and as he moved closer and closer, the trail got stronger. He was definitely getting looks from people as he tried to hide his desperation. He knew his team needed to know this, but he wanted to make sure Marie was safe. 'Is that officer that's hunting us Marie?'

Allelujah eventually found himself in a small warehouse near the dock they were parked at, and there was the sound of a fight. Grunting and an impact on a wall put Allelujah into action, opening a door to see a familiar white-haired officer, though not in her uniform. Around her were around six men, looking like thugs or pirates. She looked bruised and on the defensive, constantly fending off attacks on all sides. One man already looked knocked out, leaning heavily against a crate.

Everyone's heads turned, and Marie swallowed heavily, memories flowing through her mind as she looked at the now scarred and older version of her old flame. Her voice was weak as she knocked a man into another one, "Allelujah…"

Her instincts kicked in as she deflected another blow from behind, quickly dropping low as she swept out the leg from under the man, a grunt of pain coming from him. Allelujah jumped into the brawl, realizing he only had a blaster on him. But without much fear, he punched another man in the gut, sending him stumbling back.

He lacked the grace of Marie, which he couldn't help but frown at. 'It seemed she completed her training in the Echani arts.' He pushed back the thought of her previous dislike of violence, knowing life must be rough trying to hide her skills. He could sense happiness and regret from their bond, but now was not the time to be distracted. Allelujah punched another man as be blocked another hit with his forearm. He hadn't been in a brawl like this in a while, but his forces senses guided him as he fended off blows, holding his own as he knocked out a man.

Marie was happy to receive any sort of help, though her heart called out in pain at seeing the soft and kind boy she knew before looking hardened and desperate. She could now focus on a few men instead of six, and that emboldened her as she went on the offensive.

Kicks, punches and strikes came from her, overwhelming the few men she was fighting, one getting taken out of the fight after a flurry of punches knocked him into a crate, a crack coming from his leg. But she was getting tired, the fight against the six men before leaving her breathing hard. And Allelujah wasn't doing as well as her, having a little trouble, hits knocking him back, but he had more energy to fight.

Marie looked at Allelujah in thanks and confusion, "Allelujah, what are you doing here?"

Determination filled Allelujah, "I wanted to find you! After all these years!" Allelujah wanted to say more, but another blocked blow interrupted him, forcing him to engage the man.

Marie rolled away from a blow, punching another man in the sternum, but the sounds of more footsteps approaching them caught both Marie and Allelujah by surprise. They could sense six more men coming and were both knocked back into each other, grunting in pain. Allelujah was more battered than Marie, but she was having to her breath as she had been fighting for a bit.

They connected instinctually through their bond, both understanding how outnumbered and outmatched they were. A few of the men were out of the fight, but the door opening, showing six more men, two of them with blaster rifles. The thugs were waiting to attack again, the few remaining old ones holding their sides.

Allelujah looked at Marie, "Listen, I can call in my friends…" He wasn't dumb, and both of them were barely armed.

Marie instinctually shook her head, "We can get out of this. We just have to fight our way to the entrance." But the unarmed men began to charge in, the two men with blasters taking aim at the two. And right before contact was made, the two blasters shot out with stun blasts, hitting both former apprentices. Both of them hit the ground hard, both of them twitching as they looked at each other one last time, their hands reaching out, barely touching each other.

Desperation and fear filled both their eyes, but they were fading as their eyes closed, both of them hearing one last thing from one of Ali's thugs, "Target secure boss. And we brought you a bonus."

Bridge of the Vagabond

Tieria sat in the pilot's seat of the ship, his mind swirling with thoughts. Now mostly alone, besides Christina who was quietly humming as she worked on a report, Tieria reflected on what happened in the operation. 'I should have gathered intel. I should have made sure our targets were legitimate.' A part of him knew this was hindsight, that he was only following his instincts at the time.

He clenched his fist. 'What would Neil have done? Would he have made the same mistake?' He was starting to realize more and more that he barely knew the man, but he still would always go back to the man who saved him. 'Who would he have shot?' That thought haunted his mind as he was envious of how sure Lyle was at shooting the Twi'lek.

His hands had been trembling at the scene, and shame filled him as he pursed his lips. He had gone into the situation thinking he could kill the enemy and just resolve it. But all he got was innocent blood on his hands, killing people that were fleeing the empire.

'Am I a bad officer? Did I lead my subordinates to kill people who didn't deserve it.' A good officer led his men with wisdom, making sure they fought the right people. That the intel was right. And he had done the opposite. They all survived the fighting, but now that group would have to leave their stronghold, the vault open real estate for anyone who wanted it. And Lyle's words after were barely a consolation.

Lyle's trust was something he felt he didn't deserve. Sure, Lyle was taking off the burden off of him for complete command, but the purple-haired soldier shouldn't have failed the team in the first place. He let out a sigh, not knowing how to think or react. 'But I know I owe Lyle an explanation, especially after what he said to me.'

But his musings were interrupted by Christina calling out to him, looking up from the sensors, "Tieria! Allelujah's been captured!"

Author Note

Welcome back! And just when you think there will be peace, I thrown another curveball into the mix. We have future romance on two fronts, but I'm not going to make it easy for Allelujah. Thank you for reading and I'll see you guys next time!