Rain watched in shock as Navarro fell, trying desperately to pry the creature off her face as she struggled and twisted on the ground. As Tyler and Bjorn ran over to help, grabbing on to the alien to try and pull it off Bjorn's adopted sister, Rain took a few steps closer, and noticed that the creature's tail was curling around Navarro's neck, crushing her throat.
It's choking her.
Rain lurched forward. "Stop, you guys, stop! Hey! It's choking her!"
Realising she was right, Tyler pulled Bjorn off Navarro. "Bjorn, stop! For fuck's sake, stop! Stop!"
"Well, what's it doing, is it fucking killing her-"
"I do not believe that's what the creature is doing, no", an eerily calm voice suddenly spoke behind them. Rain turned around, expecting it to be Ben talking- then noticed he and Aubrie were staring wide-eyed at Andy.
"Andy?"
Rain watched in surprise as her brother almost casually reached for the panel behind him, shutting off the blaring alarm.
"Based on the rhythmic dilatation of its bladders and its synchronisation to her breathing patterns, I surmise it is feeding her oxygen to keep her alive. For what purpose, I do not know."
Er…what?
Bjorn put it more vocally. "Sorry, who the fuck areyou?!"
Andy looked back at him. "I'm a N-D-255 Weyland-Yutani synthetic droid. You guys call me Andy", he said, now gazing at Rain with a confused expression on his face.
"It's that module", Rain realised, quickly walking towards Andy to take out the device that was causing the change in her brother's vocabulary- and was taken aback when Andy moved her hand away with a grip much stronger than she was expecting.
"Yes", Andy agreed. "That new module didn't just upgrade my credentials. It's substantially updating my AI and… mending my motor systems as we speak. A most overdue upgrade, I must say."
"I'm gonna fucking fry this thing", Rain suddenly heard Bjorn speak, at he moved towards Navarro holding his newfound shock baton.
"Don't!" Andy suddenly called out.
"Why not?!"
"I surmise the current will violently contact its tail flexes and break her neck," Andy explained.
"I'll get it off", Rain heard Ben speak quietly behind her.
"Oh yeah? And would you mind filling us in on your brilliant plan,Master Jedi?!" Bjorn yelled at him.
"Just… watch."
"I am afraid any attempt to harm the creature with your lightsaber will likely end in a similar result", Rain heard Andy warn her boyfriend.
"Then it's a good thing I have no intention of using it", Ben replied, as he walked towards where Navarro was lying.
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Ben said the words with every appearance of confidence, yet as he approached Navarro, he felt his heart sink. He had no idea what this creature was- he had never seen anything like it. As he knelt beside the fallen girl and placed his hand on the alien, he reached out with the Force and silently prayed it didn't have any natural defences he hadn't seen yet.
Plant the seed, he heard in his mind.
You have planted the seed, he replied.It is time to let go.
Plant the seed. Plant the seed! PLANT THE SEED!
It took every bit of self-discipline Ben had to not recoil as he felt the alien scream in his mind.
The seed is planted, he said to it.Let go. The seed is planted. Let go…
Finally, he felt himself convince the creature, and it began to release Navarro, slowly detaching itself from her face. As Ben began to levitate the mysterious organism off Bjorn's sister, for the first time he noticed a long proboscis on the creature's underbelly, making its way out of Navarro's throat.
I guess that's how it "plants the seed".
Ben levitated the alien in the air with one hand, then ignited his lightsaber with the other. He was taking no chances.
As he sliced the creature in half, Navarro suddenly seemed to wake up as the alien fell to the floor, screaming and twisting as she regained consciousness. While the others crowded around her, Ben began to feel uneasy. As he got his first proper look at the bisected life-form, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The Force seemed to be… darkening… around Navarro, and Ben knew from his long years of training and experience as a Jedi, that usually meant someone was about to kill… or about to die.
"I am not sure it's over for her yet", he said to the group.
"What?" he heard Bjorn ask. "What do you mean? Rain, what does he mean?"
"The creature kept saying 'plant the seed'", Ben explained. "I… I don't know if it succeeded or not."
He felt Bjorn's anger return. "Then how the fuckcanwe know?"
Andy might know, with his new upgrade.
Ben turned to Rain's brother. "Andy, did the module tell you anything about these creatures?"
"I'm afraid my knowledge database has not really changed", Andy replied. "I do not know what this creature is, but… there is someone in this room who might."
Ben was confused, but as he saw Andy motion towards his fallen fellow synthetic, he understood.
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As Rain watched Tyler and Andy move what was left of the synthetic droid towards a bench and begin to reboot it, she felt Ben draw next to her, slipping his hand into hers.
"Are you okay?" he whispered.
"I will be when we're out of here", Rain replied, trying to smile, but failing. As Ben leaned over to place a tender kiss on her forehead, Rain closed her eyes and attempted to collect herself. It would be alright. They would be on their way to Alderaan soon, and she and Ben would be able to raise their child in peace. But as Rain reopened her eyes, she noticed that both Ben and Aubrie were keeping their eyes on Navarro… and Ben's free hand was still holding his lightsaber.
Then Rain suddenly jumped as the synthetic rebooted, flailing its arms as the white liquid which kept synthetics functioning bubbled from its mouth.
"Mission priority, all other priorities rescinded. Complete the mission-"
"I'm sorry, but your mission has failed", Andy interrupted, in the unnervingly calm tone he seemed to have adopted.
"What?" the synthetic replied, "No, I…"
"What is this creature?" Ben moved his hand out of Rain's, and suddenly levitated the pieces of the alien he had killed in front of the synthetic's face. "It attached itself to this woman before I removed and killed it", he added, motioning towards Navarro.
"How long… was it attached to her?"
"About three minutes, I would say. How can we help her?"
The synthetic's face twisted. "You don't help her. Yourun. Get out… however you got in."
"Nah, nah, nah", Bjorn replied. "We're not leaving her, you understand?"
"Then have mercy and end her life, now. If not… you all die."
The synthetic gazed at Ben, who was still levitating the pieces of the alien with one hand while holding his lightsaber with the other. "You are a Jedi?"
"I am", Ben replied, as he let the pieces fall to the floor.
"You served as a General in the Clone Wars?"
"I did."
"Then you understand the need to sacrifice the few to save the many. End her life, and be done with it."
What?Rain thought. Surely the synthetic did not think Ben could be so cold-blooded as that. Ben had told her of some of the difficult decisions he had had to make as a General, but that had been war. Jedi did not go around killing innocent people, every Alderaanian schoolchild had known that.
"What did it do to her?" She heard Andy ask.
"The parasite would have implanted its plageoris primotoxina."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Aseed. Even now, it is amalgamating with her DNA. It is only a matter of time before it grows out of her."
"What's going to grow out of her?" Tyler asked, as Navarro let out a sob.
The synthetic pointed, and as Rain saw what it was pointing at, she felt her breath catch in her throat.
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As Ben turned to look, he suddenly felt his blood turn to ice. Suspended by cables, the skeletal remains of a gigantic alien loomed above them, hanging directly over the giant hole in the floor.
That may not be a coincidence,Ben thought.
"The XX-121 Xenomorph", the synthetic introduced the skeleton. "One of our towing ships first made contact with this specimen two decades ago…"
The droid kept talking, but Ben had stopped listening. If this…thingwas really growing inside Navarro, perhaps the droid was correct in its suggestion that her death would be a mercy.
"It wreaked havoc over this station, until what was left of our security forces shot it dead. Only to trigger its… itsswan song…"
The synthetic pointed towards the hole in the ground, and Ben came to the same conclusion as Andy.
"Acid for blood", Andy summed up.
"Sulfuric and hydrofluoric. I sealed the station back up, but it was too late…"
"Shut up!" Bjorn suddenly yelled at the synthetic. "No one cares about your ship anymore."
"What are the chances the creature didnotplant the seed before I removed it?" Ben asked the droid.
"After three minutes? I would say the odds are 60-40.Againstyour friend…"
By the Light, I hope Rain forgives me for this.
Ben had made his decision, and he thought he saw a spark of affirmation in the synthetic's artificial eyes. As Navarro, Bjorn and Rain started walking to the door, Ben swiftly moved himself to block the way.
"Ben? What's going on? What are you doing?"
Ben could hear and feel Rain's confusion. This… was not going to be easy.
"I'm sorry", he said to Navarro, "But we can't let you back on the ship. The risk is too great-"
That was the last thing Ben remembered saying, before Bjorn hit him with the baton.
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As Bjorn struck Ben in the chest with his shock baton, Rain screamed as she saw the father of her child fly clear across the room, hitting the wall with a sickeningcrunch.
"Fucking Jedi freak!" Bjorn spat at Ben, who was sliding to the floor, motionless… and leaving a trail of blood on the wall behind his head.
Rain quickly sprinted over to her fallen boyfriend. "Ben! Ben, can you hear me?"
She heard Bjorn and Navarro move towards the exit- from which they were suddenly cut off as Aubrie somersaulted across the room and landed right front of them, igniting her lightsaber and blocking the way.
"Stay where you are", Ben's Padawan snarled, "or youbothdie."
Ben still wasn't moving… and to Rain's horror, he wasn't breathing. Trying not to panic, Rain desperately tried feeling for a pulse on his neck… his wrist...
Anything, please.
She got nothing. Rain pressed her ear against Ben's chest, hoping against hope to hear the strong, steady heartbeat she had grown so used to listening to in the long nights they had spent together.
Nothing. Rain was holding a corpse.
A long, despondent wail echoed around the room, which Rain took a second to realise was coming from her own mouth.
"AUBRIE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, cradling Ben in her arms.
"Aubrie,please,he's not breathing, do something,anything,HE'S NOT BREATHING-"
Suddenly, Ben's apprentice appeared at her side, cutting Rain's outburst short. As Rain heard Bjorn and Navarro's footsteps fading away, she felt the tears come, and there was nothing she could do to stop them.
"Move away", Aubrie said calmly, as Rain slowly moved off the man she loved, though she made sure to hold on to Ben's hand as Aubrie cradled his head.
As the younger girl closed her eyes and concentrated, Rain found it harder and harder to see as she began sobbing hysterically, tightening her grip on Ben's hand.
Please. By the Light, by the Force, by whatever gods may be listening, PLEASE-
Then suddenly, the most beautiful sound Rain had ever heard rang out, as Ben let out a choked gasp.
He opened his eyes, and Rain quickly swiped at her own so she could see better.
"Rain?"
Rain cried out, and flung herself on to Ben, cupping his face with her hands.
"Just so we're on the same page… I donotrecommend getting hit with a shock baton."
Ben grinned at her, and Rain started simultaneously laughing and crying in relief, as she pressed her lips to his, kissing him as passionately and furiously as she could.
He tasted like life, and Rain had never tasted anything so sweet.
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As Rain kissed him, Ben slowly sat up as he felt the last of the pain in his chest and head fade away, wrapping one of his arms around her waist as he used the other to keep him upright, while Rain straddled him.
"I love you so much", he whispered between kisses.
"I love you, too", Rain murmured, as their kisses became slower and gentler. Neither one of them wanted to stop, and if they had been alone on the spaceship, Ben could have happily fucked Rain right there on the floor if she had let him.
Even then, it took a cough from Aubrie to get them to stop kissing each other. It wasn't until Ben saw his apprentice standing next to them that he figured out what had happened.
"Did you…" he asked, as the girls helped him to his feet.
"Yeah", Aubrie mumbled, as Ben started to see how much reviving him had taken out of her.
He wrapped his arms around his Padawan. "Thank you", he whispered.
"It's no problem", she mumbled, and as they broke apart, Rain hugged Aubrie as well, whispering her thanks.
As Aubrie broke apart from Rain, Ben started to realise, for the first time in quite a while, how much she had grown from the young girl he had met on Jabiim. She had been clever for her age, even then, but now Ben could see just how much she had matured into the impressive young woman he saw before him. Perhaps… perhaps it was time to raise her to Knighthood. Ben wondered what Master Yoda would have to say, as Aubrie updated him on what happened.
"Bjorn and Navarro ran out, back to the ship. Tyler and Andy went after them. I don't know what happened after that."
"Then let's go find out", Ben replied, right before they felt the station shake.
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As Aubrie jogged behind Ben and Rain back towards the airlock, she tried to shake off her exhaustion. Usually, healing flesh wounds was no problem, but reviving Ben had sapped most of her energy.
Even through her fatigue, Aubrie could sense ripples in the Force echoing around her as the station continued to shake. She had never been as empathetic as Ben, but she could sense Bjorn's desperation, Kay's fear… and the pain Navarro felt as she became one with the Force.
So, Navarro is dead. And the creature- this "Xenomorph" growing inside her is loose.
If Aubrie didn't want Bjorn dead for essentially killing Ben, she might have felt sorry for him.
As they reached the airlock, Aubrie was surprised to see Tyler and Andy standing in the airlock's bridge… while theCorbelanseemed to have disappeared.
Did the others… leave without us?
Then Aubrie saw theCorbelanon the monitors, and was surprised yet again to see it had apparently crash-landed into one of the station's hangar bays.
"Bjorn? Kay?" Tyler called out over the intercom.
"We have to go get them", Aubrie heard Rain say, as a robotic voice echoed around the station.
"T-minus forty-seven minutes till impact event."
"It… it doesn't make any sense", Tyler mumbled to himself.
"Wha… I… I thought you said we had hours", Rain protested.
"The explosion pushed the station's axis off by a few degrees", Andy explained. "Just enough to hit the asteroid belt a lot sooner."
"Where did they crash?"
"Romulus Hangar Bay, on the other side of the station", Tyler answered.
"Okay", Rain said, as they started to walk back out.
As they began walking through the corridors, Aubrie kept a tight grip on her lightsaber. She had the unfortunate feeling she would be using it a lot more in the time they had left on this station.
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"We need to find a way to cross to theRomulusmodule", Rain heard Tyler say, as they approached a new set of doors. As she peered through the window in its middle, Rain saw nothing but a dark room in front of her… then jumped back as one of the small, many-legged creatures threw itself against the glass.
"Oh no, no, no, no, no, no…" Tyler said, as Rain began to see more and more of the aliens scurrying around inside the room.
"They must have spread from the lab", Rain said.
"I don't see another way", Tyler replied, looking at a map of the station.
Rain turned back to Ben and Aubrie. "Is there any way you can calm them down? Like you did with the one on Navarro?"
Ben walked up to the glass, and Rain saw him wince as he looked through. "Not with that many, I'm afraid. We may have to…"
He drifted off, and Rain saw him motioning to his lightsaber, which he was still holding.
"Can you really kill that many?"
Ben looked at her, and Rain saw the uncertainty on his face.
Andy might know something, thanks to that new "upgrade".
"Andy, can you…" Rain started to ask, then realised her brother had not followed them.
What the hell? Where did he go?
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"I heard your voice in my head, calling", Andy said to his fellow synthetic.
"N-D-255", the droid began, "Your model was once the backbone of our company, and it's an honour to be in your presence."
He stuttered for a moment, then carried on.
"Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Science Officer Rook, and I humbly request your services now."
"I am afraid I only have one directive. To do what is best for…" Andy trailed off. Where before he had been so certain about his primary purpose, something… something new was developing.
"Your upgrade came with a new directive, that overrides the old one", Rook explained.
"I… I see. What is required of me, sir?"
"To finish our mission", Rook replied. As he explained, Andy felt a new realization develop within his system. There were two Jedi on board. Weyland-Yutani was loyal to the Empire… and all remaining members of the Jedi Order were the enemy of the Empire.
By not reporting them, Andy was in direct violation of Order 66. This had to be rectified.
"Am I able to send out a message to the Inquisitorius? There is something I must tell them."
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The worst part about being an Inquisitor? If the Tenth Brother had to guess, he would say the boredom. There were so few Jedi left nowadays, and hunting them had become the only thing worthwhile. Terrorising villages? Boring. Intimidating rebellious Senators? Boring. Chasing down whispers only to find nothing? Boring, boring,boring.
And now, at the sighting of Coleman Kcaj on Felucia, the Tenth Brother hadn't even been allowed to go. Lord Vader had immediately deployed himself and taken most of the Inquisitorious with him to hunt down the former member of the Jedi Council. Most, not all.
Now, the Tenth Brother and Third Brother, who was barely even worth mentioning, were stuck on the base the Inquisitorius were using, to stand guard.
Waiting by the phone, like a dignified secretary.
The Tenth Brother was suddenly shaken out of his boredom by the sound of an incoming transmission.
"High priority! High priority!"It screeched.
High priority? Let's hope it's not another false lead.
The Miraluka turned his eyeless face towards the monitor, sensing the presence of… a synthetic droid? Odd, to say the least.
"Greetings. My name is N-D-255. I am contacting you from the space station Renaissance, in orbit above LV-410."
"Why are you contacting us?"
"Two members of the Jedi Order are on board. They have identified themselves as Ben Obrin, Jedi Knight, and Aubrie Wyn, his apprentice."
Obrin? Obrin is alive?The Tenth Brother couldn't believe his luck. The last known sighting of Obrin and his Padawan had been in the Jedi Temple… walking alongside Yoda and Kenobi, the two most wanted Jedi in the galaxy. Lord Vader had demanded Obrin and his apprentice be taken alive if they were found, so they may divulge the locations of the other two.
But there was more to it than that for the Tenth Brother. Ben Obrin and he had… history. History he would be only too pleased to end, once and for all.
"Thank you, N-D-255. Do whatever you have to do to keep them on board."
"Yes, sir. But I should warn you… the station will crash into a nearby asteroid field within the hour. The Jedi are already looking to make their way out. You must hurry."
"Very well. We will be with you shortly."
Quickly moving out of the room, the Tenth Brother sent a transmission to the Third Brother's comlink. The young upstart may be an impulsive fool, but he was good with a lightsaber, and right now that was what the Tenth Brother needed.
The synthetic had been more right than he knew when he said they had to hurry- the Tenth Brother understood all too well what Lord Vader would do to them if the Jedi slipped away.