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Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.
While Galidraan was hectic and certainly a mess, this was a different battleground altogether. We Jedi weren't technically doing the heavy fighting in that battle.
The massive table Tyvokka flipped on its side was doing a good job of forcing the pirates to move around it to line up shots. It gave us a bit of cover. Then Tyvokka threw the entire table at the pirates, crushing at least two. By the Force, the Old Wookie didn't even need his power to do that. I moved up, redirecting shots at the pirates to great effect. Plo-Koon moved in beside me and we found ourselves back to back as more pirates flowed in the room. Gotta to give Iaco some credit for being prepared.
"You know I think I learned something." I said while deflecting more bolts.
Plo replied and we quickly switched sides. "That being?" He asked.
"Keep an eye on both sides of the negotiation table." I summarized.
I could sense Plo's amusement and he let out a force wave catching more pirates as they kept filing into the room, knocking them against the wall. "We'll make a diplomat out of you yet."
"Hah."
I took an opening and used the force to chuck a chair at Stark. Who was taking pot shots at us. Little Shabtaab (shitheel) dodged out of the way. He was clearly shaken and smartly got the hell out of there.
"No you don't." I shouted. "Cover me!" Before I could even make the Force Jump to cut him off, I was told to stand down.
"No, cut us a way out of here!" Tyvokka shouted as he moved in next to me. More pirates just kept rushing through the doors. I barely could keep from getting shot so it was probably for the best.
I saw Adi Gallia covering Valorum while Quigon and Obi-Wan were covering Gunray. Where was Chut? A brief scan revealed he was no longer with us. His head was shot cleanly through the skull. Shab, but I didn't have the time to feel sorry right now.
"Kill them all," Gunray shouted. There was no malice in his voice just terror. Well maybe a little malice. The battle droids went berserk and started shooting at us Jedi too. A weequay man jumped me and I had to parry a vibroblade in that crucial moment. The bolts of the droids sailed toward Plo-koon's back.
Growling in alarm, Tyvokka stepped over, putting himself in between the droid's bolts and his former Padawan. He used his lightsaber to save Obi-Wan as well. His large form became a shield for the two Jedi as his body soaked the bolts up. He fell.
"Master Tyvokka!" Plo shouted and rushed to his old Master's side. I had just sliced through the pirate and stepped over to cover him. I sensed Valorum going to aid in helping the old wookie to get back up with Plo-Koon on the other arm. Swell guy.
Tyvokka was out of the fight, but still alive. We managed to fight our way through the halls back the way toward our ship. Obi-Wan fell in beside me and we both covered the group. Green and blue lightsabers whirling, we were a bulwark, flinging bolts back at the pirates who were moving up slowly but steadily, getting wary of return fire.
When we had just reached the airlock a warrior with a T-visor sauntered into view among the pirates. A Mandolorian woman in dark gray armor with blue accents. Deathwatch.
She didn't wait long and fired her jet pack's missile. I thought she was crazy firing that thing in an enclosed space like this. That was until I saw she was standing by a blast door. If the airlock was blown apart it threatened the entire Jedi vessel and all the pirates had to do was close off their section. Shab, I knew what I had to do.
"Watch out!" I called out. I used the Force and pushed Obi-wan through the airlock. He was caught unaware, not expecting his fellow to push him back. He flew back into the airlock and landed in the ship. I hit the button closing the doors.
"Lumin-" I heard him scream out as the airlock's sealed shut.
I couldn't believe what I was doing. Regardless I stepped forward and pushed against the rocket. I wasn't yet powerful enough to send it flying back the other way like Starkiller, but I put everything I had into it and managed to stall its progress enough so that it stopped midway down the corridor and exploded. I barely had time to cocoon myself with the Force as the fiery blast wave hit me, sending me flying back against the now shut airlock. The wind was knocked out of me as I impacted hard against the airlock door. I somehow managed to stay conscious as I crashed down to the ground. My back felt like a giant bruise as well. I didn't think anything was broken. However, the oxygen must have been used up in the fireball. I gasped for air only to find none. Damn Deathwatch.
I looked around but my head rang. I heard voices. I opened my eyes, blurry as they were, I could see a weequay and a human man cautiously approaching. I managed to take a breath as the air returned.
"Kark, she is still alive." They sounded far off but were only a few meters away from me. Must have been the tinnitus.
"Well, let's grab her and take her to Stark."
I prepared a force push, but the Mandolorian woman brushed past them quickly. Practically sprinting.
"Di'kutese, she is Jet'ii! Only r'or'dinii like you would try to capture her while she is conscious!" She admonished the pirates. The Deathwatch Mando didn't waste time and kicked me in the head, knocking me out before I could do a damn thing.
I awoke later in a darkly lit room. I could tell I wasn't on the space station anymore. The walls were bare durasteel and the only light was above me shining down leaving the rest of the room in shadow. I reached out with my senses, only to be shocked by the cuffs around my wrists. I screamed and dropped on the ground as my body spasmed. They were crudely made, but damn did they pack a punch. They were a pair of force cuffs.
I laid there panting after the shocks stopped. Damn that hurt. My head pounded and lolled like it was full weights, lolling back and forth as I sat back up. This time I looked around the room. I resisted the urge to call upon the Force. It was not easy. Like trying to cover your eyes and find your way out of a maze.
I let my eyes focus naturally. I saw no one at the moment. Best I could do was sit up fully. I decided to meditate. Just as I was going to fall into a trance, the cuffs shocked me again. This time the shocks lasted a little bit longer than the last time.
The door to my cell hissed open. The Deathwatch Mando walked in.
"Now, now, no powers for you evaar'la Jet'ii." She chuckled as she walked around me. "I wouldn't try connecting to the Force. Those shackles are designed specifically for your kind." She chuckled again.
I didn't say anything. I focused on how to get out of this. I remembered Ahsoka grabbing Cad Bane while she herself was getting shocked. I didn't want to risk using that trick too soon. I wasn't sure if the Mandolorian's beskar'gam was insulated from that kind of attack or not. Best to wait. So I decided to keep her talking.
"Well, they seem to work as intended. Where does one even get gear like this? Looks like a rushed custom job." I said with a hint of derision. The Mandalorian backhanded me and I fell to the ground. She hit a button on her wrist guard. The shocks returned and I let out a small scream of pain.
"No talking. I would think you would at least respect your captors," She said.
"I'll give you 'bout as much respect as a dar'manda deserves. I was there as Galidraan. I saw what your so-called Glorious Deathwatch did to those civilians and noncombatants." I grit my teeth in preparation for another shock. Instead I found myself being lifted up and bashed into the wall. Both her hands squeezed around my neck. I could barely breathe. May have tugged the nexu's tail a bit too hard there.
"Mind what you say Jet'ii, I may just get angry enough to do something stupid. Especially when some Jet'ii starts talking like they are Mando'ade." She let go with one hand and a vibroblade extended from her arm gauntlet and she ran the blade down the side of my face. The blade cut and tore flesh open from brow to jaw and getting a little too close to my right eye for comfort. I cried out, nearly falling unconscious again. "That is just a piece of what you deserve Jet'ii."
"Enough!" A somewhat familiar voice rang out. I looked over to see Iaco Stark walking into the room. "I didn't hire you to torture and multilate prisoners. Even if she is a Jedi. We are supposed to be the "good guys," remember. Fighting Megacorporate Oppression and all that." He shook his head.
A weequay pirate beside him threw a cargo box down, Stark sat on it and motioned to the Deathwatch bodyguard. She tossed me down and I landed on my hands and knees a few feet in front of him. A small but steady stream of blood dripped from my face as I looked at the floor briefly as the wound flared with pain. Damn head wounds, always over bleeding. I managed to look up and Stark continued.
"So," Stark began, "It seems I have a Jedi prisoner. After that show on the station I thought you and your ilk were going to all get away. Luckily my brutish bodyguard was there to capture at least one of you Jedi scum. After her fellows got massacred at Galidraan, I found her wondering about the galaxy like a stray akk dog pup." The Deathwatch Mando growled in annoyance at the reference, but said nothing. "I believe she has a fixation with Jedi." He pointed, indicating my face.
He looked like he expected a response.
"I don't know if hunting Jedi is exactly the wisest career move." I said. "Or trying to mess with the Republic for that matter."
Iaco rolled his eyes, "Well, everyone has to have a hobby." The shocks returned once more. After my screams died out he resumed speaking. I was getting sick of this.
"I will admit if I had known you Jedi were going to be this much trouble I would have just blown up the station and your ship with you all on it. Alas I neglected to heed certain advice." He cast a glance at the Deathwatch Mando. "Luckily she had those cuffs that were generously provided by a mysterious benefactor." I glared, wanting to hiss at the pain in the side of my face. I also briefly wondered who the benefactor could be. Was it Plagueis looking for another force sensitive test subject? Or a hutt that wanted a Carbonite trophy of Jedi for prestige? Both were not an appealing prospect.
"I assume you want something considering I am not dead." I asked.
"Yes, tell me about your fellows. I would like to know if there was a way I could get them to surrender."
Surrender? Did they not get away? "You'll have to elaborate." Iaco briefly explained the events that had transpired. How the ship the Jedi was shot down. Tarkin's fleet getting blown apart and survivors in escape pods currently wholed up with the Jedi on Mt. Avos besieged by the Pirate army.
"Yeah, I am pretty sure that they'll tell you to stuff it. Not to mention, I doubt they would want to experience your hospitality. One Star by the way." I couldn't help but state with sarcasm. It wasn't the first time I wished I knew what the hell went on during this conflict and how it ended.
"Well then. Maybe I should have you killed like my bodyguard here keeps insisting." I felt the Mandalorian approach and I could hear the faint humming of the damn vibroblade. The wound on my face seemed to pound even more as my heart sped up. "Or I could march you out and hold a blaster to your head instead."
"Yeah, that would help things." I said sarcastically. I received another shock. This time I tried using tutaminus. It was always so easy to overlook this ability being one of the first I learned as a youngling. I still screamed and felt the pain, managing to do kark all. Damn, it was so hard to focus.
Iaco shook his head. "I have to plan another attack. Those idiots will bicker until the Republic builds another fleet and arrives to drop rocks on us if I am not there. Just try not to kill her. We do need any insight she can offer if this siege is to end quickly. In the meantime go get her the medical droid." Both walked away.
"Try not to go anywhere. I'll be right back." She laughed as she hit a switch on her gauntlet. She practically skipped down the hall.
I said nothing. I focused on the Force as soon as the doors were shut, not wasting any time. The shocks instantly returned. I kept trying to focus on the cuffs and redirecting the energy. Everytime I just felt more and more exhausted afterward. I had to get out.
After a while, I just decided to lay there, and just think on how to get out of this. I think I nodded off because the shocks returned. This happened every time I attempted sleep or meditation. Sleep deprivation. What lovely people.
The door opened and a medical droid lumbered in. It moved to work on my face.
"Forgive the lack of painkillers, I was deprived of them before I was allowed in." Why, of course. I glared when I saw the Deathwatch Mando give me a friendly wave as the door to the cell shut.
I hissed when it sprayed antiseptic on the scar and then pressed the flesh together, carefully pulling and resetting the muscles in the process.
"I will now apply the staples. You may experience discomfort." I hissed again with each staple that dug into my skin. I wanted so badly to use the force to dull the pain. I knew the damn cuffs would fry the droid as well as myself if I did. The droid finished and left the room. A pirate threw a ration bar in the room and a bottle of water a little later.
I crawled over and grabbed the bottle I squeezed, only drinking about half before turning my attention to the ration bar. I hadn't drank or eaten since being stuck in this cell. I ate the ration bar. I took small bites in case the damn cuffs went off again. Didn't want to karking choke and used the remaining water to wash it down.
I was left alone for I don't know how long. I curled up in the corner, but I couldn't sleep or the damn cuffs would wake me. So it could have been days or merely an hour for all I knew. Everytime I attempted to reach out to the Force, even intentionally, the shocks returned. It was maddening. I had the power to leave but these damn cuffs were like a chain that held me just below the water's surface. I knew the Force was just on the nearest edge of my fingertips but I couldn't reach it without the pain. All I had to do was break these cuffs.
I would occasionally try to use tuteminus and fail. It shouldn't have been this hard. I did this as a youngling. What was I missing? Was it the cuffs? What if it was me? What if I was the problem? I had placed shackles on myself in some way. Like I did on the ship I realized. I could have sent that missile back, but no I thought only Starkiller could do something like that. I had placed a limit on myself like Luke thinking that lifting the X-wing out of the swamp was impossible. Dammit, that was a facepalm moment. Well live and learn.
The shocks returned, as they ravaged my body I focused. It was easier to do as I knew what to expect now. Do or Do Not. There is no karking try. I directed the current to flow away from me, placing my hands on the floor and grounding the electricity into it. The lights of the cell flickered and the cuffs eventually stopped. They must have had a cut off point to prevent my heart from giving out.
I smiled and proceeded to grimace as my face nearly tore open again. Better keep the facial expressions to a minimum. I didn't want to have that stitched up again.
Whoever made these damn cuffs, would, would… What would I do to them? Kill them? No, No, No, I couldn't kill in cold blood. In that path lies madness, rage, and suffering.
I looked at the door to the room. I saw the control panel and had an idea. I was going to replicate the tutaminus again. The panel of course was powerless. The cuffs were not. I had to figure out how to power this panel. I slowly got up. My legs wobbled, but I managed to stand. I bent down and grabbed my veil. It had fallen off where the Mando had cut my face open. It was a little bloody. I threw it on haphazardly with my cuffed hands, and walked over to the panel. It was powered down as expected.
I knew the basics of how to hotwire these things. Tal'or's time in the underworld saw him learn the ins and outs. Which means I knew a fair bit if not quite at his level. This panel was slide locked to my relief allowing me to simply slide the panel open and pull out the wiring. The cuffs made it a bit difficult forcing me to pull the wires I needed out at an awkward angle.
I took a breath and grabbed the dead power cable. I reached out, calling upon the shocks and redirected them into the panel. I waved my fingers awkwardly with my offhand, unlocking the door. It slid open.
I instantly hopped into the hallway, knocking a mon calla guard's blaster aside and using the cuffs I redirected the shocks into him. Alarms were blaring and red warning lights were flashing. The surprise caused him to scream out. Ahh, Kark. I grabbed his blaster and slammed him into the wall, knocking him out. I briefly positioned the blaster and shot the cuff off my right hand. It shattered. Taking the blaster in my now free hand, I shot the other cuff off. I saw something shine for a moment on the floor. The ruined cuffs had a blue kyber crystal embedded in them. Crudely put together, but well designed. I thought it was a heartbeat monitor that was used in the construction, not this. It must have been programmed to sense the change in crystal's harmonics whenever I used the force. Smart. The Combine's Benefactor knew what they were doing.
I palmed the crystal and ran. With the guards blaster in my left hand. I was a southpaw by the way. Speaking of crystals, I reached out looking for mine. I sensed it down to the right. The ship was huge, and almost empty. Where was everyone? And why was there only one guard? Why were the warning alarms even on? What was going on around here?
I was wary of some kind of trick, but kept on going, eventually, finding an armory and noticed damn near all the weapons were gone. Were they busy with the siege Iaco had mentioned? That had to be it. There sitting on the workbench was my lightsaber. It had a note scrawled on a flimsy next to it that read:
Stark wants this fixed.
The blasted thing won't work.
It doesn't even have buttons.
Good luck.
I smirked. I set the blaster down and called the blade to my left hand and ignited the blade. It felt good to have it back. I also found my belt of standard jedi gear. It was hanging on a rack in the back. I quickly threw it on. I checked to see if anything was missing. I found the fancy stock chit Chut had given me. I guess the pirates thought I wouldn't have anything this valuable on me. Their loss.
I moved throughout the ship looking for the exit. Where were all the pirates? I found myself asking again. As I walked down the exit ramp I found out. There was a full fledged battle going on. It looked like Republic paramilitary forces in their blue uniforms had rallied and led a sorte. I saw Plo-koon's blue blade among them. I looked around. There was a crate of thermal detonators nearby.
I looked at the crate and grabbed the remaining four and lifted them telekinetically. I sent them into the pirates' back ranks.
I didn't wait around to see the explosions. I got out of there. As much as I wanted to wade in. I knew I wouldn't last long once they figured out I had escaped. So I sprinted using the force around the pirate's flank. I wasn't seen and I was about to rejoin the republic troops when I was bodychecked by a living missile of beskar. I hit the ground hard, the breath exiting my lungs. I think a couple of staples popped out of my face. And my lightsaber clattered somewhere out of reach.
Ugh, way to keep your senses sharp Luminara. I admonished myself. Damn cuffs were still on in a way it seemed.
"Looks like someone got out of their cell. I knew Iaco wouldn't take you Jet'ii seriously." I could hear the Deathwatch Mando's irritation.
"I seemed to have misplaced those fancy cuffs you gave me. Sorry about that." I said as I rolled to my feet. I looked for my lightsaber. My search ended abruptly when Mando fired on me with her dual blasters. I backflipped and relied on my precognition to keep me from getting shot. She was smart, staying on the offense like this. I had to focus more on not getting hit then on finding my saber or even risking the use of a force power.
I recalled the direction it fell when I was attacked. It was off to my left somewhere, but the Mando's shots were herding me right until she was between me and the lightsaber.
I risked using the force to knock off her aim ever so slightly. I took a graze to my right shoulder for my effort, but I had my opening. I jumped over her and rolled in the air with a burst of speed. Calling the blade to me. It flew to my hand as I landed next to her, the emerald blade ignited. I brought the saber down as she tried to turn and block it with that wretched vibroblade. I was faster, and my lightsaber's blade found the space inbetween the shoulder pauldron chest plate. I took her arm off. The same arm she used to cut my face open. She shrieked in pain as she immediately flew away on her jetpack.
I knew I wouldn't see her again anytime soon even if she didn't die of shock. I stood there a moment, cooling off and regaining my senses. I looked at her arm. I saw the beskar shoulder pad then I looked at my lightsaber, remembering my thoughts about getting a better material to rebuild it while on the ship. I shrugged and yanked the plate off the arm. I clipped it to my belt via magnet clamps.
I proceeded to get my shebs out of there. The battle was winding down at least. I used what energy I had left and bolted around the enemy flank. I wasn't even noticed. As I made my way toward the retreating Republic forces. I shadowed them, eventually finding the abandoned mine shaft. It was set up on the mountain cliffside which offered a great tactical edge. The republic forces were hunkered up there with some forces covering the Troopers filling back up the mountain side. Some Trooper on guard duty almost shot me when I approached.
"Who goes there?!" He said still wired from covering his fellows return. I reached out in the force and brushed Plo-Koon's senses as I answered.
"Jedi Knight Luminara Unduli." The trooper looked wired and ready to shoot.
"Stand Down!" Plo-Koon shouted.
I saw the tall Kel-dor appear above the ledge a moment later. I waved briefly as I climbed the steep hill. "It's good to be back."
"It is good to have you back. We thought you were dead." Plo nodded.
"I did too." Then I felt the adrenaline begin to wear off. "Damn, I am tired." I mentioned before I blacked out and collapsed from exhaustion.
A/N: Next chapter may take a while to get released.