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Darin was sitting in Sorsee's conference room and staring innocently at Prale. He sensed no anxiety from the young man, no fear, no tension, nothing but calm. This irked him. He expected others to feel some anxiety, to be a little nervous when meeting him. Yet here sat a guy who knows full well why he's here, and he's giving no indication of even being a little worried.
"You ignored my orders that nobody is to go to Noreno unless specifically ordered."
He shrugged, but said nothing.
"Why?"
"Master Joren was in danger."
"How did you find out?"
"Grand Master Margos told me."
He nodded as the pieces began falling in place. "So you joined the SIA?"
"Your order would have stopped any attempt at getting to him. They were the only other alternative I saw."
"You brought your troopers with you. Why?"
"I didn't know what to expect. Grand Master Margos' intel was severely lacking. I thought it better to be prepared for anything."
Prale smiled slightly. The jab at Kaidin and his Intelligence unit was not unnoticed. He sighed and asked "Do you know why I said that nobody is to go to Noreno?"
He shook his head, saying "Not exactly."
"We are in a war with the Alliance. A war that stretches across the galaxy. We only have so many resources, and they need to be spread across the galaxy to be as effective as possible. If I let everybody go wherever they pleased, then the war would be a decisive loss for us. Does that make sense?"
Darin nodded.
"There's two issues here: attachment and insubordination. Attachment, as you know, is forbidden in the Jedi code. Now, I'm on your side here. I can easily write it off as a tactical decision. But the insubordination cannot go unpunished. If I didn't punish you, it would set a precedent that anybody can break the orders without consequence. Usually, it would result in revoking your title as Jedi and casting you out. But you did manage to turn the tide on Noreno, and you rescued one of our better Generals. That deserves a reward. So you can see how I'm at an impasse."
He nodded but remained silent.
"I'm putting you on planetary arrest for one month. You can do whatever you want on this planet, but you can't leave the planet without notifying me and getting my approval. That sound fair?"
"More than fair. Thank you, Grand Master."
"You're welcome. You can go now."
-Than-
I held on tightly to a bar on the ceiling of the dropship. Inside were a few rows of Seyley and Burhaj, all of whom wore white armor and had their backs turned to me. They were the Specs, an elite team that were sent on suicidal missions for the Alliance. Rather fitting that I was among them, as my role was virtually the same.
I stood against the far wall, well away from the front. They had their way of doing things, and I did not want to interfere.
A Seyley walked up to me and stood by my side. Ster Bureem was his name, and he was the commander of the Specs.
"Lord Terrias has ordered you to come with us. We are honored to have you among us, but you aren't one of us. Remember, their lives matter to me. Yours does not" he said under his breath.
"Feeling's mutual," I responded. He gave a grunt of respect, and walked towards a weapons crate.
Subconsciously, I traced the large groove on my chest that was not covered by my armor, the edge too perfectly circular to be accidental. When I realized what I was doing, I quickly jerked my hand away from the scar.
I had gotten it not long before I became an adult. I was top of my class, excelling in combat of all forms and in the general studies. My future held nothing but promise. I would make my tribe proud and would be a model soldier of the Alliance. I could have had it all, but it was all taken from me before I had a chance. Before I could officially become an adult, my brother was caught selling Alliance secrets to the Hutts. All living family was branded with the mark of the traitor, a series of crossed lines inside a circle, and sentenced to death. I tried to escape and was almost successful, but was captured and forced to watch the rest of my family die because I tried to run. When it was my turn, I was more than ready for death. I couldn't live with the memories. But death never came. I impressed Lord Terrias with my fighting prowess and then my escape attempt, so much so that he stopped my execution and granted me the rank of Vindicator. I could never rejoin my tribe, or any tribe for that matter. Once you were branded a traitor, you couldn't come back from it. Now I had nobody. I was the last of my namesake.
I didn't attack Ster for his comment about my life not mattering to him. It barely did to me. For some Seyley, my mark was something that could never be undone, and I was a traitor forever. For others, my role as the Vindicator was my redemption.
"Twenty minutes till we reach the LZ" said the pilot over the intercom. I watched the Specs shuffle in nervous anticipation and toyed with the plasma rifle in my hand. It wasn't my preferred weapon, but it would be more effective in the close quarters hallways of the factory they decided to hole themselves up in.
We reached the LZ and two openings on the floor opened on either side of us. Quickly, everyone jumped out and landed on the hard ground below. I was the last to jump out, and after I jumped the ship rose and left. I followed the shiny white armor of the Specs as they quietly sprinted towards a wall. A hook was thrown up and caught on a vent cover, which was then ripped off with relative ease.
"Vindicator. You take the lead. We will follow" said Ster. The point position was one that held honor in the Seyley culture. The deference of the position to me was a sign of respect, and Ster's willingness to give up the position that would usually be his was a move that I rarely saw from other Seyley.
I nodded and jogged over. A few Seyley bent down and clasped their hands together. I stepped on the hands, and on three they threw me up. I grabbed onto the ledge and pulled myself up. The vent was large enough for me to stand in, and I quickly crept through until I found an opening. The motion tracker remained quiet, so I jumped down and landed as silently as I could. I quickly looked around, and didn't see anything. I quickly typed '257' and sent it to Ster, telling him it was clear.
Instead of going ahead and scouting farther, I waited until the rest of the Specs showed up. I heard some rumbling, and soon after Ster fell through the hole.
He looked at me, surprised, then nodded at me as he realized what I did. He was expecting me to go on ahead and remain on point. I do have a reputation of being a lone wolf.
Slowly, the Specs started to trickle in. The Burhaj came after Ster, then the Seyley after.
When all the Specs were in the room, Ster motioned for me to lead. I nodded and slowly crept forwards through the dark room until I came upon a door. The motion tracker started showing some red behind the door. I pushed a button, and my shiny dark grey armor disappeared. The Specs followed my lead, and soon all of us had active camo. It wasn't true invisibility. The perceptive eye could still tell where we were by the way that our bodies distorted the images. However, the distortion was the only visual indication, and even to a trained eye it was extremely difficult to track. I pulled out a sleek metal hilt and rubbed a button with my thumb. I held my hand up and waited for the red dot to approach. When the red dot got close enough to the door, I walked towards the door. The motion sensor activated, and I quickly darted through. I took a hiding spot behind a large box and took in my surroundings. The hum of machinery rumbled through the walls. A barrier was in front of me, and to either side were stairs that led to the walkway up top. I spied the one guard, but had no idea how many more there would be. I crept behind the sole guard and activated the hilt. A whitish-blue blade sprang to life. The blade was thinner than the normal lightsaber, and had a slight curve to it. It also had a small blade that stretched from one end of the hilt to the other and curved in the same way the blade did. The two blades could be turned off or on independently. The small blade was fantastic in hand to hand combat. It was like having brass knuckles, but with a blade of plasma. This blade could also protect my hand from other sabers in a duel. I quickly stabbed the guard through the chest and pulled him behind the box. I opened the door and motioned for the Specs to follow. I watched the environment ripple as they quickly darted to my side. We spread out, a few going up on the catwalk and the rest going on the ground around the barrier. The Specs were a very small unit, so it ended up just being two groups of six. I went with the ground force. We got around the barrier to see that it was actually a large covered lift for some large blue energy cores. They were moving on an assembly line and coming from the lift to the opposite end of the wall. On the other side, I could see the power cores entering holes in the wall next to a lift that led down.
Just then a green bolt scorched the wall behind me. I started running, green bolts whizzing behind me. They must have noticed us. I ducked behind a small outcropping in the wall and listened to the sharp thock of the guns.
Carbines. They were using carbines. I would know that sound anywhere. It was my favorite gun. This is just great. Out in the open, and they're armed with carbines. I heard blaster fire coming from the catwalk, and the carbine shots firing in return. I ran out of cover with my rifle and started firing at the Seyley on the ground. I dropped one, but the rest took cover. A quick motion track check showed me that the Specs with me were following my lead, although hesitantly. I sprinted towards where the Seyley were taking cover and ignited my saber. I quickly cut through one, but the others ran quickly and started shooting at me with the carbines. Knowing my shields couldn't withstand two carbines at once, I ducked behind cover before my shield was fully depleted. The Specs started firing at them, and the guards were quickly killed. I waited until my shields recharged, then stood back up.
"All's clear up here," Ster said.
"They'll know we're here. We need to move."