[FIN]The Adventures of Jolee Bindo

[Jae Onasi]

The Story of the Firaxan

 

 

“We’re meeting with De’layn again,” Jolee announced the next morning.

 

“I certainly hope it’s at a different cantina. I’m not looking forward to another episode like yesterday."

 

“Yeah, blaster fire does tend to have a bad effect on your hairdo. Thank goodness I don’t have much to lose.” Jolee rubbed the top of his bald head and grinned.

 

“What has she learned?” Talin asked.

 

“She has a contact in Norelden’s organization, and he’s going to meet us to discuss some of the recent happenings. He thinks there’s something bad going on, and he’s thinking of getting out.”

 

“If he’s seen with us, he’ll be out his life instead,” Talin warned.

 

“I’m betting a certain captain could help us out.” Jolee looked over at me with a smile. “I have a plan.

 

“I think I’m learning to be scared of your plans, Jolee,” I said.

 

“Your faith in me is underwhelming.”

 

I grinned back at him. “Count me in.”

 

* * * *

 

“Sure, I would love to help out,” Carth said. “What do you have in mind?”

 

Jolee delineated his plan. “Well, I was thinking that you have a little problem with a sailor named Rineldo who has gone AWOL a long time ago, maybe when you were still a normal person and not a captain of a big ship.”

 

“I shudder to think what your opinion will be of me once I make admiral.”

 

Jolee grinned at Carth’s quip and went on, “One of your men sees him in the cantina, calls you, you come and make a big production of how long it’s been, Admiral Dodonna will be glad to see him in the brig, you might consider airlocking him, blah, blah, blah.”

 

“Do I look like the kind of guy who would airlock someone?”

 

“Well, come to think of it, no. You’re too damn nice. Make something up, then.”

 

“We’ll need to know how long he’s been with the Exchange and on Telos. If we’re going to do a little play-acting, we have to make it good.”

 

A little later the cantina, the three of us met up with De’layn, who had found a table before us.

 

“Jolee, dear, do come sit next to me,” she said in her sultry voice.

 

“I’m delighted as always. Carth has the information,” Jolee said, sitting down next to De’layn.

 

Talin and I sat down oppposite them and looked around the cantina. A small Bith band played some quieter music as background, suitable for a room that was not filled with people. We discreetly noticed a couple of off-duty sailors, one of whom was twice the age of the other. They walked in and found another table in a corner where they had a good view of the room. They ordered a round and appeared to be chatting like any other off-duty service members. It took me a few moments before I realized I recognized one of them.

 

“Carth must think this is really important, because he put Raxton on the team,” I observed. “His disguise is pretty good.”

 

Talin said, “Not surprising, considering how badly they have been trying to break the Exchange open on Telos and eliminate any threat of Sith involvement.”

 

Jolee continued, “De’layn, you get to go do a little flirting with your contact. We’re just going to sit and talk a bit here first before you pretend like you have to find the refresher. Jae, you’ll stop and chat with those sailors a bit, and after you leave the table, they’ll get up and ‘discover’ he’s an AWOL sailor. Now, I have to get something to drink—all this talking makes my mouth dry.”

 

“Where are my manners? Would you like me to order the same for everyone?” De’layn pointed to her drink. Talin and I nodded yes.

 

Jolee answered, “No, just juma for me. I never drink anything blue and fizzy before dinner.”

 

“Always the jokester.” She turned her eyes to us and smiled. “You should have seen him when he was a Padawan.”

 

“Please, do tell us.” I said, leaning forward to capture every last detail.

 

“You’re not going to tell them that story, are you?”

 

“Why of course I am, my dear.”

 

“I’m never going to live this one down.”

 

She began, “Jolee, Mik’oth, and I had a night off one time, and we decided to go see a new holovid that came out. We went out to dinner, had a few drinks, and before you know it, those two were quite sauced.”

 

“De’layn had to help the two of us walk, as I recall. The three of us meandering down the sidewalk must have been quite the sight.”

 

“We finally made it to the theater, and sat down. Actually, Jolee collapsed down.”

 

“I must have had a defective chair.”

 

“Uh-huh. Just what did you do to the chair, Jolee?” I asked.

 

“Well, let’s just say I sat down a little too hard, and the seat dropped out under me, but the sides stayed put. I ended up sitting with my arms just about over my head resting on the arm rests, though I could sort of swing my hands around a bit.” Jolee demonstrated his position in the chair. “I couldn’t figure how to get out of there, and I thought I was comfortable, so I decided to stay that way, kind of folded up.”

 

De’layn continued, “He was happy there, we were happy that he couldn’t get up at all to go wander anywhere, life was good. We were watching some kind of horror holovid. What was it about again, Jolee?”

 

“It was a show about a killer firaxan. It’s a pretty good holovid, actually, but I think we ruined it for some people by laughing all the time. I’m surprised we didn’t get kicked out.”

 

“Some time in the middle of the holovid, the firaxan came up to attack one of the minor characters. Jolee got Mik’oth good there.”

 

“So what did you do?” Talin asked Jolee, a mild smile on his face.

 

“Picture a giant firaxan who has eaten several of the extras already. Here he comes again, mouth wide open and full of huge razor-sharp teeth, taking up the screen. He was about to chomp down on another poor soon-to-be-dead minor character. I got a wild idea. Just as the firaxan’s teeth bit the guy, I grabbed Mik’oth’s leg.”

 

“Oh, no, you didn’t!” I said.

 

“Oh, yes, I did. It was hilarious. He screamed ‘I’m being eaten! I’m being eaten! I'm being eaten!’ and then he nearly wet himself. Ever hear a Twi’lek scream like a gizka that’s just been stepped on?”

 

“No, and I hope I never do,” Talin said.

 

“There was just a little problem with that, though,” De’layn explained. “Some Twi’leks emit certain pheromones when they experience extreme emotions. Mik’oth must have created a huge cloud of them. That generally would not have been a problem because there were only a couple Twi’leks in the theater, and they were the only ones who could have a reaction to the scent. If they had been far enough away, they might not have even been affected.”

 

“However, sitting right in front of us were a couple of Twi’leks, one of whom was about as pregnant as you can get and still not have the baby in your arms.”

 

“I think, Jolee, that she was actually a week overdue at that point. The pheromones made her go into labor, and it was her fourth child so we knew things would happen fast,” said De’layn.

 

Jolee went on, “We were about to call for an ambulance when the male Twi’lek, her husband, informed us in no uncertain terms that we were not going to call the authorities and that he was going to take her to her doctor for care. I told him that baby was about ready to come out and insisted that she needed help now. Well, he was immune to our persuade attempts and insisted with his blaster that we were not going to call anyone, and that now we were going to come with him while he got his wife to safety.”

 

“And you went with him?” I asked, surprised.

 

“We could have gotten out of the situation easily enough, but we knew that the baby was coming very soon, and her dear husband didn’t have a clue about what to do. We couldn't abandon her to whatever he had in mind,” De’layn said.

 

“We got in the back of his transport with her and used the Force to sober up and help her with her pain. It was a very nice transport, I might add, with plush seating and gold plating on anything metal, wet bar, linens, about as richly appointed as it gets. Husband drove like a maniac to their home, calling the doctor and everyone else he could think of while weaving around and dodging traffic. The baby decided he couldn’t wait any longer, and out he came, right into De’layn’s hands.”

 

“He was a handsome little thing—had the cutest lekku, too. The only problem was that he didn’t want to start breathing, and then the mother started hemorrhaging,” De’layn smiled at the memory of the baby, and then frowned at the images of a severely bleeding mother.

 

“Here we were, still in the back of the transport while all this is going on, and the idiot husband refuses to listen to us telling him to stop at a hospital. Mik’oth held the mother’s hand, I worked on the baby, and De’layn focused her Force powers on stopping the bleeding. When we got to their mansion, the doctor met us with his bag, took one look at all the blood and me using the Force to breath for the baby, jumped in, and ordered the husband to get over to his hospital immediately. He told me to keep doing what I was doing while he worked on saving the mother’s life. You have no idea how relieved I was when the baby finally started crying a few moments later.”

 

“We all smiled at that one, including the husband. We got to their hospital, mother and baby were rushed inside and all turned out well after a few hours."

 

“What could possibly be more important than stopping at the nearest hospital?” Talin asked.

 

“He was one of the senior leaders of a crime syndicate on Coruscant with ties stretching all over the galaxy, and he knew the authorities were looking for both his family and him. He didn’t want his wife to give birth in a holding cell,” De’layn replied. “‘His’ hospital was private and the staff there knew how to keep quiet.”

 

Jolee continued, “The doctor explained to him how we had saved both his wife’s and his son’s lives. This crime boss was so grateful that he just about offered us the entire planet in thanks and asked us what we wanted.”

 

“So what did you ask for?” I inquired.

 

“Mik’oth and I looked at each other and said, ‘Help with stopping the Ukatis blockade.’ ‘That’s it?’ he asked. We nodded yes. He said, ‘Done.’ About three days later, a packet arrived for us at the Jedi temple. It was full of juicy and very detailed gossip about the Ukatis king, his ties with a rival crime ring, and what he was doing to his people. The Senate was forced to act after that. They sent in the cavalry and broke the blockade. Then they captured the king and brought him up on charges of crimes against sentients. The crime boss also gave all three of us more cash than we knew what to do with. When we tried to refuse, he told us that refusing his gifts would offend him, and offending him had rather nasty consequences. So, we decided to invest it and use it for our favorite charities and pet projects.”

 

“You single-handedly broke a system blockade because you played a practical joke on Mik’oth?” Talin could not contain a chuckle.

 

“Well, when you put it that way, that’s pretty much how it went,” Jolee replied.

 

“I can’t believe it."

 

“I can’t believe I’m going to have to write this up for my history project. How in the world am I going to write‘Jolee got plastered, scared the bejeezers out of Mik’oth who passed enough pheromones to send a woman into labor, which eventually led to the Ukatis king being deposed’ in a way that is inspirational to future Jedi?”

 

“I'm sure you'll do just fine,” Talin said, putting warmth and reassurance into his voice and gave my hand a tiny squeeze. I smiled back.

 

Jolee looked at De’layn and said, “Aw, aren’t they cute?”

 

De’layn gave Jolee a small indulgent smile. Her eyes shifted abruptly to the door. “Riki is here.”

 

“OK, people, here we go,” Jolee said, eyes bright with excitement.

 

Riki ordered his drink and sat down at one of the more secluded tables. De’layn got up, smoothed down her close-fitting dress, brushed her lekku back, and put on her seductress act. She walked slowly, hips swaying, ordered a drink at the bar, and then pretended she had just noticed Riki. She glided his way, smiled brightly and said a few words. He looked her up and down with appreciation and a certain longing look, and then he motioned for her to join him. She batted her eyelashes at him as she settled slowly into the booth, and he waved to the server for another round of drinks before turning his attention back to De’layn, gazing at her in rapt attention.

 

About ten minutes later, Jolee motioned to me. I stood up from our table and walked over to the Republic sailors.

 

“Good evening, gentlemen. Always good to have a Republic presence in a cantina. It makes me feel safer,” I gave them an admiring but vapid smile.

 

“Thank you, ma’am. I was wondering if you had tried the same drinks as they have,” Raxton asked, turning only his eyes to indicate Riki and De’layn and asking in this coded phrase ‘are they the ones?’

 

“Yes, I especially recommend his drink,” I replied with the code that told them that it was indeed Riki.

 

“It’s very kind of you to stop by to talk to us, ma’am. We’ll have to give your recommendation a try.”

 

“Keep up the good work, sailors,” I said, moving on to the refresher lounge.

 

Not too many minutes later, De’layn came through the lounge door. She went to the mirror to check her outfit, and I joined her.

 

“I have some news. Riki has good evidence that points to just who the Sith Lord may be in Norelden’s organization.”

 

“It can’t be Norelden himself, since you said he has no Force ability.”

 

“Riki is pretty sure that it is Antin Thorn, his second-in-command.”

 

“Now we just have to make sure it’s him and figure out a way to draw him out,” I said.

 

We heard the commotion of some shouts and a table falling over outside the lounge door.

 

“It sounds like the Republic’s men have found their AWOL sailor,” De’layn noted dryly.

 

“I hope that they don’t play too rough with Riki.”

 

I opened the door to the lounge, only to be assaulted by the cacophony of flying blaster bolts and more falling tables.

 

“We’d better go help,” I said, and both of us pulled out our lightsabers.

[Jae Onasi]

Searching for Thorn’s Ship

 

De’layn and I ran towards Jolee and Talin, who were fending off several mercenaries holding vibroblades. Raxton was behind a table, picking off other mercenaries. At his feet were Riki and the other sailor, dead. The Bith musicians had scattered into hiding. The bartender popped up from behind his bar from time to time to squeeze off a round from his blaster, missing his targets more often than not. We had to dodge his ricocheting blaster fire more than once. There were eight more mercenaries—the three trading blows with Jolee and Talin, and the other five hunkered down behind more tables, trying to shoot at all of us.

 

“De’layn—I’ll take the big blond over there,” I yelled over the noise of blaster bolts and crashing furniture.

 

“I’ve got that green Twi’lek behind that table.”

 

I jumped over behind the blond, who was focused on shooting at Jolee and Talin, taking him by surprise. My lightsaber hummed towards him, dropping him with one blow.

 

De’layn ran towards the Twi’lek merc, deflecting blaster fire before engaging him in a duel so short it was almost a one-shot.

 

The other three thugs dropped back and regrouped after seeing their companions cut down so quickly, and we followed after them. Raxton picked off one of them with sniper skill. The other two tried to pull out their vibroblades, but their lack of practice made them slow. I whirled my blade twice before one of them fell. The other fighter decided to surrender, putting his hands up just as De’layn was ready to strike him down, her blade stopping only centimeters from his head.

 

I looked over towards Jolee and Talin. Their opponents had more skill and so the battles had taken a little longer, but all three were down on the ground, one dead and two injured. The smoke hung heavy from the ceiling but was starting to clear as De’layn and I put away our sabers and walked over to Jolee and Talin.

 

“What is it about you ladies going to the refresher together? Both of you missed all the excitement,” Jolee said.

 

“Jolee, dear, we had more than enough excitement saving you from being shot by these brutes over here.” De’layn pointed at the ones we had taken down.

 

Jolee inspected my work and then said to me, “You took them out fast. Good. They can’t attack you back if they’re down.”

 

“Thanks. What happened while we were gone?” I asked.

 

Raxton joined us at that point, holding his arm. “I noticed the mercenaries drifting in one or two at a time during the meeting with Riki. When Jer and I went over to Riki to ‘arrest him for being AWOL’, Riki pulled a blaster.”

 

Jolee added, “Riki shot at Jer and Raxton, and Raxton had to fight back. Once the blaster fire started, the mercenaries joined in.”

 

I looked at Raxton still holding his arm. “Do you want me to look at that for you?”

 

“No, no, thank you. I’ll be fine, it’s very minor. We need to get these three into custody so we can question them. Maybe we can find out more information.”

 

“I wonder how these mercenaries knew about this meeting.” Talin asked, steepling his fingers and then tapping them together in thought.

 

Raxton replied, “It could have been anything that tipped them off. Maybe they followed us from our ship, maybe they just saw you in the hallways, and maybe Riki decided he wanted a little backup. This is a small community, so intelligence would travel fast. Norelden is so well organized that he could probably field a small army in a day or two. Sending out a squad immediately would be no trouble at all for him.”

 

“The information from these three and the ship registries should give us a pretty good idea where to go next,” Jolee stated.

 

“My team is working on the registry information as we speak. When you meet the Captain tonight, I should have some solid data for you,” Raxton said.

 

De’layn added, “I’ll go back to my office and see if any of my contacts can shed some light on this.”

 

The authorities arrived, and Raxton spoke with them to arrange for the arrests and questioning of the survivors.

 

“Let’s go back to our ship for a bit. I can’t stand the smell of smoke in my robes,” Jolee said.

 

 

* * *

 

The three of us sat in the common room at the table, reviewing the events of the last two days.

 

Talin said, “Jolee, I know you hold De’layn in high regard, but I have to be frank about my suspicions. Any chance she’s involved in Norelden’s organization? Even though she fought with us, you have to admit the attacks have been rather convenient, and she knew about both meetings.”

 

“I’ve known her too long. If she’s the leak, then I’m young with a full head of hair again. I’d have tried to get the information through other routes if I had any suspicions, and I don’t.”

 

“What’s the possibility that she’s being used by someone in the organization? Could some kind of double agent be feeding her bad information or getting intelligence from her?” I asked, sitting back in my chair a bit to think.

 

“There’s always that possibility, but De’layn isn’t a brainless twit. She’s a master at teasing out information and using it in the right places at the right time. I think she’d recognize if someone was trying to blow stardust her way,” Jolee answered. “She knows how to keep her mouth shut. Well, except for that damn firaxan story. But I forgive her for that.”

 

Talin frowned and shook his head as if trying to clear a thought.

 

“You don’t trust me, then?” Jolee asked, tilting his head in question but not offended.

 

“I trust you. I’m not ready to trust her,” Talin replied.

 

“Something just doesn’t feel right,” I added.

 

“Hmmph. When you go poking around a Sith Lord’s home planet, not a whole lot is going to feel right. I suppose I should be happy that you both are actually using those brains of yours to think this time. If I didn’t know her so well, I’d probably feel the same way. All I can tell you is it’s not her.”

 

* * *

 

“All right, if De’layn is right, Jolee, then we know that Thorn is our prime suspect.” Carth said at our meeting that night.

 

“If De’layn says it’s Thorn, then it’s Thorn,” Jolee said, as sure as I had seen him sure of anything. “She’s never been wrong yet.”

 

Commander Aichon put a data chip in the projector, and the results were displayed for all of us to see. “This is the list of ships that have docked around the same time as the Fujita.”

 

“That’s a pretty big list,” I said, scanning through the dozens of names. "There’s no chance that Thorn or Norelden are listed as the owner or captain of any of these, is there?"

 

Aichon tapped that in, and no ships were displayed. “Good thought, though. You never know when someone might make a mistake. We’ll have to do this the hard way, then, and weed things out.”

 

Carth said, “Let’s pull out any ships that have only been here once at the same time as the Fujita. I’m making the assumption that Thorn wouldn’t switch ships every single time.”

 

That whittled down the list by about two-thirds.

 

“I’m pretty sure he’s not one of those folks who likes hanging out with others. Can you see a Sith Lord sitting in a seat next to a mother with a crying baby? He’d probably fry the poor kid.”

 

“Jolee, that’s terrible,” I said, wrinkling my nose in distaste.

 

“What do you expect from a cranky old man?”

 

“Uh, I haven’t received any reports of electrocuted children,” Carth said. The corners of his lips twitched up but he was otherwise serious. “Take out all the larger transports.”

 

“And take out any major merchant ships,” Jolee said. “He might have a bigger ship, but if he wants to get around discreetly, he’ll have to use a small ship. Otherwise, too many people will know his business.”

 

Another fifteen ships dropped off the list, leaving nine ships left.

 

“At least this is a little more manageable,” I noted. “Can we rank them according to number of times they were present when Dycen’a was here, too?”

 

“Sure.” Carth punched in some data, and the names rearranged themselves. Two ships had docked every time that the Fujita had come in.

 

Talin asked, “Is there any way to confirm that Thorn was on Telos station during any or all of these times?”

 

Aichon tapped in some information on his datapad. “Raxton’s gathered some good intelligence, but I doubt it’s 100% complete. We can’t know everything, even if Thorn and Norelden receive a lot of our attention. Let’s see….” He frowned in concentration as he watched the data come up on the screen. “OK, here it is.”

 

“Cross-reference that to our list,” Carth ordered.

 

“Aye, sir.” Aichon said, putting another data chip into the projector. This time, only one ship remained.

 

Carth sat back, brushing a strand of hair back out of his eyes. “So, it’s most likely the Rapid Vengeance.” He looked up some other data. “It’s not docked on Telos right now. Aichon, any chance we can get some info from Norelden’s group on just where Thorn is and when he will be back?”

 

Aichon smiled. “That’s the kind of challenge Raxton relishes, sir.”

 

“Good. Let’s get it done, then. Jolee, as soon as I know anything, I’ll contact you,” Carth said, standing as the meeting concluded. “Jae, I’m not going to tell you to stay out of trouble--I know you won’t listen. So, I’ll tell these two to keep you out of trouble instead.”

 

“Very funny,” I replied, as we kissed each other good-bye on the cheek.

 

“Don’t worry, Carth. I’ll make her work so hard practicing, she’ll forget all about trouble,” Jolee assured him with a grin.

 

* * *

 

Jolee wasn’t joking about the practice. After spending several hours of study on the Xi-ro form and meditation on the holocron, we worked on blaster bolt deflection. Three practice droids swirled and flew around as I concentrated on deflecting the energy bursts. The sweat started to drip into my eyes as I worked to repel all the bursts in time, turning this way and that, dodging the floating droids.

 

“Don’t just watch them, Jae, feel them. You can sense the energy the moment they shoot, even before you see it,” Jolee yelled over all the noise.

 

I opened my mind to the Force as much as I could, trying to feel for the energy signatures. As soon as I had deflected a number of the little blasts effectively, the droids sped up.

 

Talin stopped the droids a few minutes later. “You’re working harder at this than you have to. Don’t swing your blade over so far. The only bolts you have to deflect are the ones that are going to hit you. Don’t make big swings with your arms if a little wrist motion will do. Keep it fluid, not choppy.” He did a quick demonstration with his saber before turning the droids back on.

 

I practiced for several more minutes before the holovid chime sounded. “Got it,” Jolee called out, leaving the room.

 

For a few more moments, I managed to maintain control before I thought of what that call might represent. “Ow, ow, ow, stop!” All three droids hit me as my concentration broke. They stopped and returned to a ready position when I gave the order to cease.

 

“What happened there?” Talin asked, with a bit of a frown. “You let your concentration break.”

 

“The call happened.”

 

Talin tipped his head and his brow wrinkled in momentary confusion. “I’m missing the significance. Why would you let a little call distract you?”

 

I took a deep breath and wiped the sweat off my forehead. “It’s not the call itself. It’s that it might be the call about Thorn, and we’ll be heading out.”

 

“Ah, I see,” he answered, walking over to take me in his arms.

 

“I’m all sweaty,” I protested.

 

He held tight anyway. “That’s OK. I know you carry the burden of this vision, and I can’t take that weight off you. But I’ve been working hard with the holocron, and so has Jolee. I’m not going to let him take you from me.”

 

Jolee came back and seeing us, said, “If you both need a few minutes….”

 

“No,” I said, breaking gently from Talin's embrace. “Tempting as that is, if your lives could depend on something I have to do right, then I need to get back to work.” I looked over at Talin. “Thorn’s not going to take any of us without a fight. I intend to give him one hell of a battle.”

 

Talin smiled his understanding.

 

Jolee said, nodding in approval, “Controlling passion, mature attitude—good. Not that I’m worried about you. Now, if you were both hormonal teens, it’d be a different story.”

 

“Who called?” I asked.

 

“It was Carth. Raxton apparently found Thorn’s ship. It’s due to dock in three days.”

[Jae Onasi]

Capturing Thorn

 

“Raxton’s found the route Thorn is using to get to Telos. We’re going to intercept his ship when he drops out of hyperspace and approaches the system in two days,” Carth said in his briefing the next day.

 

The officers and senior enlisted were gathered around the table, all eyes on their Captain. “I don’t want his ship anywhere near the planet. It’s a small one, but we’ll have Special Ops going in to secure it.”

 

I picked out the Ops team leader immediately. He had wolf-eyes that ached for the hunt, and the set of his hard-edged features made me glad to have him on our side.

 

“Bernecki, do you need anything for your team?” Carth asked him.

 

“We have all our equipment, sir. We’ve studied the ship diagrams and photos of Thorn that Commander Raxton gave us, and we’re finishing up our attack plans with Commander Aichon. We’re ready, sir,” Bernecki answered.

 

“Good. We’re going to ambush and then tractor the Vengeance in. I want gunners in place just in case their people decide to do something stupid as we haul them in,” Carth said.

 

“Yes, sir,” answered the Weapons commander.

 

“Helm, Engineering, Communications—I know we’re in good shape, but I want to know if there’s anything that could give us trouble if we’re running over 100%.”

 

The three department heads indicated all systems were go.

 

“Ops will go in first,” continued Carth. “The Jedi will go in with them. Watch for traps. I want to take Thorn alive, but if you have no other choice, you have the kill order. If he’s a Sith Lord, guns may not work too well on him. You’ll need the Jedi to take him out.”

 

“Aye, sir,” Bernecki replied. “No offense sir, but will they be able to keep up?”

 

Jolee’s grin slowly spread across his face. “The question you should be asking, son, is if you can go fast enough to stay ahead of me.”

 

When Bernecki looked dubious, Carth said, “Trust me. I’ve fought with Jolee. You won’t have any worries about the Jedi.” He looked around the room, and then asked, “Any questions?”

 

Everyone indicated no.

 

“Good. Keep me updated on any status changes. We’ll finalize all plans tomorrow. Dismissed.”

 

* * *

 

Talin’s lightsaber flashed against mine as I blocked and then circled the blade up quickly, trying to dislodge his hold on my blade. We were back on our ship the evening before the mission, practicing some of the fine points of the Xi-ro form, but the movements felt stiff and slow. I tried to speed up my defense to compensate and got soundly smacked when Talin’s blade hit my shield.

 

Jolee sighed from the edge of the room. “Jae, you’re trying to force it too much. Think river, not dam.”

 

I nodded and got back into the ready position, trying to relax, trying to feel the Force flow more freely.

 

Just as Talin stepped in for the attack, Jolee called out, “Stop, stop, stop.”

 

We pulled back from each other and returned to our ready positions.

 

“You know what, we all need a break,” Jolee decided.

 

“I need to practice this sequence more to get it down,” I protested.

 

“You’ve been working on it how many weeks now? If you don’t know it by now, you won’t in the next few hours. Go do something fun and get your mind off tomorrow. For heaven’s sake, do something lovey-dovey—I hear the Ithorian vivarium is nice. Life’s too short not to enjoy it.” Jolee took both of us by the arm and shooed us off our ship.

 

“What are you going to do?” I asked, looking back at Jolee standing in the hatch.

 

“I’m going to go visit De’layn, of course. We didn’t finish our little chat about my godson.” He grinned and waved us off. “Don’t come home early.”

 

Talin and I walked off down the corridor, our hands slipping together almost as if they had their own minds.

 

“Any place you want to see?” Talin asked.

 

“You pick. Last time I picked, we got attacked.”

 

Talin grinned down at me. “I didn’t appreciate their interruption.”

 

“I’m sure we can make up for it.” I gave him a coy look.

 

“Ah, Jae, you know how to make me laugh,” he chuckled, putting an arm around my shoulders briefly as we walked along.

 

“I hope that’s a good thing. I hate being the butt of jokes.”

 

“That’s a very good thing, dear.”

 

My heart skipped a moment and I blushed at the word ‘dear.’ “I think I like how that sounds,” I said quietly.

 

He lifted my hand to his lips and brushed a kiss over the top. Even his eyes smiled at me. “Good. I liked saying it.”

 

We toured the vivarium, admired the Ithorians’ work on Telos, and talked about those things that might normally be meaningless except to two people wanting to learn more about each other. Anyone watching would have seen a smiling couple holding hands, looking at each other with that special softness, and speaking in those low tones that meant the conversation was reserved for only them.

 

Talin found the quiet spot he had been looking for—a secluded place where we could sit and be alone, uninterrupted. We had a view of the vast blanket of stars arcing over us, and they sparkled the magic of the evening. I slid my arm around Talin’s waist as he put an arm around my shoulder and drew me in close.

 

“Jolee was right. I needed a night off.” I relaxed against Talin’s shoulder.

 

“How often is he wrong?” Talin stroked my hair, and then with a feather touch, traced a line down the length of my neck and over my shoulder. He leaned in close, his breaths coming rapid like mine. I shivered a bit at the pleasure of his touch.

 

“Not very often.” I closed my eyes and held him tight, meeting the passion of his kisses. I willed time to slow down so we could share this bliss just a little longer.

 

* * *

 

“De’layn is missing,” Jolee announced when he returned to our ship the next morning.

 

His frowning dark eyes and set lips emphasized the depth of his worry. I’d never seen him pace the floor before.

 

He continued, “I looked for her most of the night, but no one seems to know anything. I have a bad feeling about this.”

 

Talin and I glanced at each other, sharing the same suspicion. Jolee caught our look.

 

“Damn it, she’s not cavorting around with a Sith Lord. She’d never betray me like that.”

 

“It’s a little convenient, that’s all,” I said.

 

Jolee stopped pacing for a moment, forehead furrowing as an idea struck him. “It is convenient, isn’t it? Somehow, the mercs knew to follow her. But how? Did Thorn have her com bugged? I’d love to know how he got that info.”

 

“They might have been ordered to keep her under surveillance and followed her anywhere,” Talin said.

 

“De’layn can spot a tail a kilometer away and shake it without a second thought.”

 

The call from Carth stopped our discussion. “We’re leaving in half an hour to meet Thorn’s ship. Be on board in ten minutes, please,” he said.

 

“Will do,” Jolee answered and then signed off without mentioning De’layn to Carth. “I just hope De’layn will be all right while we’re gone.”

 

* * *

 

The wait for the Rapid Vengeance was anything but rapid. The three of us meditated during the wait. I tried not to disturb the others when my distraction broke the meditation state, but after the third time, Talin finally took my hand. His strength bolstered my focus and the calm returned for both of us.

 

“Jae,” Carth’s quiet voice and his light grasp on my shoulder broke through the focus. “It’s here. Meet me on the bridge in 5 minutes.” He strode out of the room, occupied with thoughts of the mission.

 

“Jolee, Talin,” I called out to the other two in a hushed voice to avoid startling them.

 

Both opened their eyes immediately. We made a quick check of our equipment and left for the bridge.

 

“Captain, there’s no response from their ship,” the Communications officer, Z’yan announced.

 

“Give them the warning once more and then tractor them in,” Carth ordered.

 

Z’yan hailed again, “Rapid Vengeance, stand down and surrender. We will fire if you attempt any other actions.”

 

Carth gave them some time to acknowledge the hail, and when they remained silent, he said to Aichon, “Looks like we’ll need Ops to take their ship. Tell them to be ready in about 15 minutes. We’re sending a shuttle over.”

 

Aichon replied, “Aye, sir. Bernecki’s in the ready room with his team. I’ll let them know to gear up.”

 

“Bernecki’s been looking forward to a good challenge for a long time,” Carth grinned at Aichon.

 

“Here’s his chance to prove his boasts, sir,” Aichon answered as he contacted Bernecki.

 

The shuttle docked with the silent ship. One of the team members sliced the lock on the hatch of the Vengeance and then stood back as it opened.

 

The Ops team ducked into the ship one by one, covering each other as they slipped through the hatch, leaving behind some members to guard the shuttle entrance. We followed after the team boarded, their normally quiet armor and weapons making muffled noises in the eerie silence of the ship. The ship looked absolutely normal, except for having nobody on board. The Ops team split into two smaller groups and moved rapidly through the small ship, darting in and out of doors, hyper-alert for any enemies.

 

That odd death scent curled its way into my nose as we approached the bridge with one of the teams.

 

“Jolee,” I said, “someone’s been using Scourge here.”

 

“I smell it too,” he said.

 

“The Sith Lord may be in there,” I said, swallowing my fear. He gave me that 'no kidding' look, and I realized with some chagrin that Jolee had already figured out the obvious.

 

“Jae, if he’s there, we fight. It’s not like it's your first battle. Relax, let the Force flow. And stop gulping your air. You look like you’re doing a beached Selkath imitation. It’ll give you a nasty stomachache later on.”

 

I chuckled at that image and relaxed. Talin gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze of encouragement.

 

Jolee motioned for Ops to back away from the door to the bridge. He stood off to the side as pressed the switch to open the door, prepared for an attack.

 

The sickly-sweet smell of the dead crew was nearly overpowering. Even the battle-hardened Ops members who had seen plenty of death felt the effects, several of them mouth-breathing to avoid retching. All three of the victims were completely blistered and nearly unrecognizable.

 

“Master Jolee,” we heard Bernecki call over the com. “We need you in the cargo bay.”

 

We ran back. Jolee stopped short and swallowed hard. Lying on the floor covered in the horrible blisters and cracking skin was a Twi’lek, struggling to catch her breath.

 

“Oh, De’layn,” Jolee sighed his heartache, shaking his head slowly, eyes glittering as the tears welled up. He rushed to her, kneeled and cradled her head in his lap.

 

“Jolee. I knew you’d come,” she wheezed through the pain.

 

“I called the corpsmen,” Bernecki announced.

 

I knelt down and started healing while Jolee held her.

 

“De’layn, what happened? Where’s Thorn?” he asked.

 

“Thorn captured me to get to you. He’s on the bridge. Said he wanted to go find Dycen’a. Wouldn’t believe me when I said he was dead,” she swallowed to try to moisten her throat enough to speak and closed her eyes against the agony.

 

“Everyone on the bridge is dead,” Jolee told her.

 

“Oh, he got them, then,” she tried to open her eyes wide to stay conscious, but her lids kept dropping. I held on to her life force as I applied the techniques we had been working on for so long to heal the damage from the Force Scourge.

 

“Did Thorn escape before you went to hyperspace? We were waiting for him when his ship dropped out.”

 

“No, the Sith Lord did.”

 

“What do you mean?” Jolee asked, distracted by his concern for De’layn’s critical condition.

 

Talin’s eyes widened as he put all the pieces together. “Jolee, Thorn’s not the Sith Lord. It’s someone else.”

 

De’layn nodded to acknowledge Talin’s conclusion, then lost consciousness.

 

Talin said, “I’m going to go back to the bridge with Bernecki and see if I can find any more information or evidence. We’ll be back shortly.”

 

Talin left with Bernecki.

 

The corpsmen joined us, pulling out equipment to start treatment.

 

Jolee put the oxygen breath mask on her. “Hold on, De’layn. Just hold on,” he said in a soft voice near her ear.

 

“Jae, we’re going to check the hyperdrive. We’re getting odd readings from the nav'puter. We’ll be done in a couple minutes,” Talin said over the com.

 

“I’ve healed De’layn’s lungs enough to get her breathing stabilized, but we need to get her into a kolto tank as soon as possible,” I replied.

 

“We should be done by the time you get her on the shuttle.”

 

A couple minutes later, all our coms crackled at the same time. “Evacuate! Evacuate! Bomb in the hyperdrive!”

 

There was no time for us to do a textbook patient extraction. The four of us rolled her onto the stretcher, grabbed each of the handles, and ran to the shuttle.

 

“How much time left?” Bernecki called over the com.

 

“Six minutes, thirty-two seconds, sir!”

 

“Shuttle engines firing now, sir,” one of the Ops members called from the shuttle. “We’re ready to leave yesterday.”

 

“Everyone out now!” Bernecki ordered.

 

We heard a dozen pairs of footsteps sprinting towards the shuttle. The hatch sealed, and Bernecki said, “Get us out of here, MacFinlay!”

 

MacFinlay banked and accelerated away so fast that the gravity generator couldn’t keep up. I lurched and nearly fell on top of De’layn, who thankfully did not move since she was now fully secured into the stretcher.

 

Talin came back to see how De’layn was.

 

“You’re working hard,” he commented, noting the sweat on my brow. “Let me help with the healing. Now’s the time for me to see if all my work means something.”

 

Jolee looked up. “Damn well better. I’ve worked with you enough on it. Quit talking and get to work.”

 

With all three of us focusing the healing techniques, we were able to stabilize her condition enough that we knew she would survive. Jolee breathed out his relief, and held his head in his hands, fighting the exhaustion.

 

Carth, seeing the shuttle leaving the ship abruptly, said over the com, “Report, Bernecki. What’s going on down there?”

 

Bernecki answered, “We’re trying to get away before the ship explodes, sir. We found a bomb and we couldn’t disarm it in time. We have approximately 3:12 before it goes off.”

 

If Carth hadn’t keyed his comlink off, we would have heard a colorful string of words.

 

“Thorn was on board with a very small crew, sir. All are dead except a Twi’lek who apparently was his prisoner,” Bernecki continued. “She’s female, approximately 60 years, and was the victim of Force Scourge. The Jedi report she’s in critical but stable condition.”

 

“We’ll have the med team waiting,” Carth said.

 

MacFinlay poured everything into the shuttle engines to maximize speed, and then somehow managed to come up with a little extra. It still felt like the shuttle crawled away from the other ship too slowly.

 

The timer expired, and the Rapid Vengeance exploded, flames racing out and threatening to engulf us.

[Jae Onasi]

Searching for a Sith Lord

 

All eyes were riveted on the orange and red inferno that boiled out from the center of the Vengeance with such speed that it made us feel like we were standing still. A few of the older Ops team members shared grim expressions as they looked out the shuttle windows. The silence hung like a dense fog in the air and was broken only by the engine whine and MacFinlay’s chatter with the Osprey.

 

“Yes, open the fracking bay doors! I can make it in time!” MacFinlay commanded.

 

“If you don’t make it, the entire bay fries and we’ll lose more people,” was the reply from the Osprey.

 

“I don’t have time to argue with you, Riallian. Open the blasted doors!”

 

There was silence on the other end for a few moments. MacFinlay muttered a few choice words under his breath and made a couple of unique hand gestures towards the com.

 

“Steady, MacFinlay,” Bernecki said.

 

“I know I can make it, sir. There’s no way I’d let something happen to that ship.”

 

“I know that, too.”

 

The com keyed on again, and Riallian said, “Captain ordered me to open the doors, MacFinlay. But he says you better haul your skinny rump in fast because he’s charging you personally for any ship damage, even if he has to find you in hell to collect.”

 

MacFinlay grinned. “You tell him not only will I make it in with no damage, but I’ll get a 10 on the landing and he’ll owe me one of his best Dew Mountain whiskeys.”

 

“You’re on,” said Captain Onasi.

 

MacFinlay pushed the shuttle towards the now-open bay doors at top speed, with the wall of fire only seconds behind. He started nodding a tempo to himself. When it reached some point he had determined, he said, “Osprey, MacFinlay. Start closing the bay doors.”

 

“You aborting?” Riallian said. I could hear his alarm even over the com.

 

“No. Coming in now.”

 

“You’ll hit the doors!”

 

“Close them. Now! We’ll argue later.” MacFinlay made another hand gesture at the com, one I’d never seen before. It undoubtedly would cause fights in cantinas.

 

The bay doors started to come together slowly as MacFinlay approached. He gripped the controls tightly as he entered his final approach only moments away from the ship. The doors continued to close together, and it looked like the shuttle would crash into them. MacFinlay finessed the controls with delicate hand movements, and the shuttle slipped through the opening that was shrinking rapidly. The bay doors closed just after he entered, missing the shuttle by a few centimeters. The Osprey’s shields went up immediately. The stream of fire was repelled, curling back on itself and creating swirls that slowly burned out.

 

MacFinlay bellowed out the military cry, “Hoo-ah!”

 

The other members of the Ops team roared “Hoo-ah!” in reply and then clapped so loud in appreciation that the small ship nearly shook.

 

MacFinlay set the shuttle down so perfectly I never felt it stop. The corpsmen were ready to go even before the shuttle doors lifted open. They carried De’layn’s stretcher out to the waiting team, who rushed her to the medical bay.

 

Jolee said, “Carth will want a chat. I’ll go see about De’layn and then join you.”

 

Carth waited for the medical team to take De’layn and then approached the ramp. We all debarked, and the Ops team stood at attention in front of him.

 

“That was some of the finest piece of flying I’ve seen in a long time,” Carth said.

 

“Thank you, sir.”

 

“He’s strong in the Force,” Talin said. “We wouldn’t be here without him.”

 

“Something for you to think about, MacFinlay, though I’d like to keep my best pilots.” Carth handed MacFinlay a small bottle of a greenish liquid and shook his hand. “I don’t get too many of these from Bear, so don’t waste it.”

 

“No, sir. Special occasions only, sir. Thank you, sir.”

 

“Bernecki, I need to speak with you. Talin, Jae, would you join us?”

 

We followed Carth back to the meeting room off his quarters.

 

“What happened over there, Bernecki?” Carth asked.

 

“Sir, we entered the ship approximately 1420. We did a standard search through the ship for any threats. When we got to the bridge, we saw the crew of three. They were dead from that Scourge. One of the men found De’layn and called the Jedi in. They left, I checked the navicomputer, and downloaded the data.” Bernecki handed the datachip over to Carth.

 

“This should have some very interesting information,” Carth said, plugging it into the computer port for processing.

 

“Jedi Talin returned. When he looked at the navputer, he saw something odd in the hyperdrive. I sent Gadaitis with him, and they found the device. Gadaitis saw how much time there was, decided it was too complex to disarm in time, and I ordered the evacuation. MacFinlay kept our butts out of the flames, sir.”

 

“Write him up for an award when you write your after-action report. I better let you get back to your team.”

 

“Aye, sir.” Bernecki stood up and left the room.

 

“Talin?” Carth motioned for him to go next.

 

“I don’t have much to add. When we got to the bridge, we saw the crew lying on the ground, dead from the Scourge. When I looked at the navputer to find out where they’d been, I noticed some of the data had been wiped. The hyperdrive status indicator was off, but I heard the hyperdrive humming in stand-by mode. When Gadaitis and I checked the engine, we found the device. It looks like it triggered as soon as we opened the hatch. Gadaitis saw the time and how little of it we had left. He made a good call evacuating. I don’t think demolitions could have disarmed it in time.”

 

Carth nodded understanding. “Anything to add, Jae?”

 

I frowned at the wisp of an idea floating just at the edge of conscious thought.

 

“What is it?” Talin asked.

 

“Something De’layn said. I’m trying to remember all of it.”

 

“About Thorn?”

 

“No, though learning he wasn’t the Sith Lord is disturbing.”

 

“Thorn’s not the Sith Lord?” Carth’s brows lifted in surprise.

 

“De’layn said it wasn’t Thorn before she lost consciousness. Thorn was one of the three on the bridge."

 

“Just great. We’re back where we started.” Carth grimaced.

 

The door chime sounded, and Carth called Jolee in.

 

“How’s De’layn?” I asked.

 

“The med team got her into kolto and they seem happy with how she’s doing.”

 

Talin and I both scrunched our faces at the mention of kolto, to Jolee’s amusement.

 

“Of course, they’re happy if you can flick an eyelash, so you can never really tell,” Jolee continued. He gave a small weary sigh as he sat down.

 

“We were discussing Thorn,” Carth said.

 

“Thorn’s not the Sith Lord, and we won’t know who it is until she gets out of the kolto,” Jolee replied.

 

“If he’s in the area, we need to know now,” Carth said. “We’re already underway for Telos, but I still don’t want to be a sitting gizka.”

 

“That’s still not it,” I frowned again, trying to recall the entire conversation.

 

“What’s not it?” Jolee asked.

 

“De’layn said something else that didn’t make sense.”

 

“All she talked about was Thorn, Dycen’a, and this Sith Lord.”

 

“That’s it. She said she told Thorn that Dycen’a was dead.”

 

“Because we told her that,” Jolee said.

 

“But Thorn told her he was going after Dycen’a."

 

Carth said, “How would Thorn know, unless…. Damn it, it’s Aichon or Raxton. It’s one of mine. They’re the only ones besides us who knew about Dycen’a.” He shook his head in frustration and bit back a variety of comments.

 

"I'm sorry, Carth," I said.

 

“Pull up the ship list again, Carth,” Jolee said.

 

The single ship appeared once more.

 

“Is that all the ships?” Talin asked.

 

Carth looked over the original list of ships. “No, the Republic ships were left off.” His lips thinned in anger.

 

Jolee reassured him, “Carth, if I were looking for an Exchange ship, why would I include the Republic? You’re not the one responsible. This Sith has been hiding his tracks pretty well for a long time.”

 

“I know, but I dislike the thought of one of my crew intentionally misleading everyone, and I hate the idea of my crew and me being this close to him for a long time. Force only knows what he’s been doing to my crew,” Carth sighed. He tapped in some more data, and another list came up. There were two ships this time, the Fujita and The Nightshadow.

 

“None of us likes knowing we’ve shared supper with him. Bet whoever owns Nightshadow is our bad guy,” Jolee said.

 

“That’s Raxton’s ship,” Carth said. He pulled up some more data. “Looks like he was a little busy when he was supposed to be doing some intelligence work on Telos. He went off-system for a few days.”

 

“He’s been very sneaky so far. I think we ought to have a little chat with Aichon to make sure he's not involved,” Jolee suggested.

 

Carth was about to hit the com to call for him when Jolee added with a wicked grin, “Why don’t you let us get set up a bit and then give him a nice reception and all, just in case it’s him.”

 

When Aichon came to Carth’s meeting room in answer to the summons, he was stunned to find himself surrounded by three Jedi with lit lightsabers and a captain holding a blaster.

 

He looked at all of us, eyes shifting warily as he looked at each of us before looking back at Carth. “Uh, sir, is there something wrong?”

 

“Yes, there’s something very wrong. One of my top men has betrayed both this crew and me. I want to find out who.” Carth’s voice could have frozen space, it was so cold.

 

“Sir, I’d sure like to know what you’re talking about, and why you all have weapons pointed at me.”

 

His eyes glazed over for a minute as Jolee concentrated on a mind probe.

 

Jolee said, finally, “It’s not him, Carth, though it looks like Raxton’s been tiptoeing through his brain a bit. There are some missing memories and some planted images in there.”

 

Aichon shook his head and rubbed his temples once the disorientation dissipated.

 

“Sorry for the headache, but it was the only way to know,” Jolee said, clasping the man’s shoulder gently in sympathy for the pain.

 

“I’m sorry, sir, but I still don’t understand.” Aichon looked from Carth to Jolee and then back to Carth again for an explanation.

 

Carth explained to his bewildered commander, “Thorn’s not the Sith Lord. Raxton is.”

 

“There’s no way. I’ve known him a long time. He’s a good man."

 

“You think he’s a good man, because he planted those images and memories,” Jolee said. “Raxton is the one.”

 

“Aichon, you have to trust us on this. He’s the only other person who knew Dycen’a was alive, and Raxton is the only way Thorn could have found out. We’ll figure out how Raxton did this, but right now we need to find out where he is.”

 

“He was supposed to be doing some intel work around Telos while we went on this mission. He said he had found some leads on the Exchange that couldn’t get cold, so I had him stay. Oh, Force, what if he’s doing something to Telos?” Aichon said, holding his head again in pain and shock over the revelation.

 

“Carth, I need an image of Raxton and a secure link to the Jedi Temple. I need to contact the masters there for a little chat about this,” Jolee decided.

 

* * *

 

Masters Vandar and Vrook listened as Jolee explained our narrow escape, De’layn’s brush with death, and our discovery.

 

Master Vrook stroked his chin as he looked at the image Jolee had transmitted. “He’s had some facial reconstruction, but I’m pretty sure it’s Ter Miraxton.” He pulled some data up on the man.

 

Master Vandar said, “Yes, it is a match. It would also fit with the facts in this case. He was a Padawan here about 27 years ago. He left the order about 20 years ago after he killed another Padawan in anger. He disappeared a few years later, and we had feared the worst.”

 

“You feared his death. That’s not the worst,” Jolee said.

 

“Point taken,” Vandar acknowledged.

 

“Can you send us any holovids of him sparring, or any other information?” asked Talin.

 

“We’ll transmit any information we have in the archives. We should have something very shortly.”

 

“All right then, we’ll sign off.” Jolee made a move to terminate the link.

 

“A moment please, Jolee. We have something to discuss with the three of you.” Master Vrook said.

 

I detected a subtle shift in his attitude. If I had been sparring and saw that look, I would have prepared for a nasty attack. I glanced at Talin, and he looked back at me, wary of Vrook's tone.

 

Master Vandar continued, “We received an anonymous transmission late this morning. Normally, we discount anything anonymous. However, the contents were disturbing, and analysis indicated it was an unaltered transmission. It is something we feel you must address immediately.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Jolee asked them.

 

“This,” Master Vrook answered, stabbing a button to turn on a copy of the transmission. “Your Padawan and Talin have been a bit busy and less than discreet.”

 

A holovid of the evening Talin and I spent together played on the projector. I looked down and put my forehead in my hand. Talin stood impassively for a time next to me and then placed a hand gently on my back in support. Jolee stood with his chin in one hand, carefully inspecting the holovid images.

 

When it faded out, he looked over at both of us. He smiled broadly and gave a jaunty wink. “You sure steamed up some windows there.”

 

“Jolee! It’s not a porn vid, for heaven’s sake. We just kissed!”

 

“Eh, it’s a good start, anyway. I can recommend a few books on the subject, you know."

 

Talin couldn’t quite suppress his chuckle, and I put my head back down in my hand.

 

“You approve of this behavior?” Vrook’s eyes were wide in disbelief.

 

“I don’t just approve, I encourage it. I’m watching love blossom before my very eyes. Makes my curmudgeonly heart feel like there’s something good in the universe.”

 

“Master Jolee, you know the Order’s stance on attachments.” Master Vandar chastised.

 

“And you know I think it’s a foolish notion that the Order should abandon because it’s a pile of bantha schutta. More Jedi might be prevented from falling if they had someone in their lives to keep them happy and balanced.”

 

“This is very dangerous thinking, Jolee. After this mission is finished, we’ll reassign Jedi Talin, and we may have to discuss your mentoring,” Vrook frowned.

 

Jolee stood tall and leveled a fiery gaze at the Masters. “You go right ahead and do that. I’ve left the Order before, and I can leave it again. I stay because I can make a difference, not because I need your approval. I might even start my own branch of Jedi that believe love is something good, not terrifying. Now if you want to draw the ire of not only me, but also the Queen of Onderon, a Prince of Alderaan, and the soon-to-be Admiral Onasi, then go ahead and reassign them to try to break up their relationship. You know that if the Force wants them together, they’ll be together, no matter what some ridiculous council of Masters decides.”

 

Master Vrook’s face reddened as he tried to control his anger, and Master Vandar sighed, frustrated by Jolee’s defiant attitude.

 

Master Vandar said, “We will meet the rest of the Council shortly and discuss the situation. We will send all the information we have on Miraxton as soon as we can. Master Supat will go to Telos to evaluate De’layn so we can learn more about the Scourge and its effects on sentients. In the meantime, you three need to concentrate on tracking this Sith Lord and either capturing or destroying him.”

 

“Now you’re talking sensible,” Jolee snorted.

 

“We don’t need to be provoked, Jolee,” Master Vrook growled.

 

“I’m a rebel. What do you expect?” Jolee raised his hands in question and gave them a mischievous grin.

 

“Exactly that,” Master Vandar sighed.

 

“We’ll stay out of trouble,” Jolee said.

 

“I doubt that. Trouble seems to find you quite easily. Still, I wish you well when you meet up with Miraxton.” Master Vrook’s face softened a bit as he spoke.

 

“May the Force be with you,” Master Vandar signed off.

[Jae Onasi]

RZ A22

 

“I’m glad that’s over,” I breathed out a sigh of relief.

 

“So am I. Now you can be ‘in cute’ in public like every other normal couple. Watching the two of you act like nothing was going on was like watching a soap opera.” Jolee stopped and thought a moment. “Well, except you two actually talk to each other instead of everyone else. And you don’t bed every other sentient that walks by. And you haven’t fallen in love with Hank’s uncle’s secret-half-brother, stolen at birth by the Mandalorians, who turned into a Sith Lord but then got captured and redeemed. Except when the moons are both full on Corellia, and then the evil side comes out. But that’s episode 12,357.”

 

“Who’s Hank?” Talin asked, confused.

 

“If you get kicked out of the Order, you could have a second career writing those things."

 

“You kidding? They drive me nuts. I’m glad you’re smiling again. It’s hard to have the Masters come down on you like a fleet of warships. The thought of leaving the Order can be pretty scary, but truth be told, there are far worse things in life. I didn’t stop being who I was when I left. Oh, some things were harder, but it also meant I didn’t have to take orders from a few of the twits. How some of them became Masters I’ll never know.”

 

“I’ve never known anything outside the Order,” Talin sat down, the possibility of leaving the Order weighing most heavily on him.

 

I sat down next to him and laid my hand on top of his. He looked up at me.

 

“No one’s asked any of us to make any decisions.”

 

“I know, but it never hurts to be prepared for all possibilities.”

 

“There’s not much to prepare for, Talin. You can’t even control the Force to alter the outcome. Darksiders like to think they can, but they’re a little delusional on the control issue.”

 

“‘You can’t get off the ship til it docks’, eh?” Talin said.

 

“Exactly,” Jolee nodded.

 

“I’d like to know how that holovid ended up in the Masters’ hands,” I said.

 

“Wasn’t me. I was looking for De’layn.”

 

“I didn’t think you did it."

 

“Well, I’m certainly ornery enough for that, but I wouldn’t turn you in to the Masters for a little smooch. Come to think of it, I probably wouldn’t turn you in for anything unless you turned into a baby-eating Sith.”

 

“Who had the capability to follow and film us, and who stood to gain?” Talin asked.

 

“You weren’t exactly paying attention to the fact that you were being followed, so ‘capability’ is hard to judge. Considering the recent attacks, that probably wasn’t one of your more brilliant moves, but you’re both safe and that’s what counts.”

 

“So we’ve narrowed it down to anyone on this station who could carry a holovid camera. That’s helpful,” I groaned.

 

“Nice sarcasm. I knew you’d learn something from me.”

 

“Whoever did this knew enough about the Jedi’s internal rules to know the Masters wouldn’t approve,” Talin noted.

 

“Carth would know, but he wouldn’t do this. As long as I’m happy, he’s happy.”

 

“I doubt you could do anything to make him unhappy,” Jolee said. “He thinks you’re the greatest thing since rain on Tatooine.”

 

I just shrugged my shoulders and grinned back at him.

 

Talin thought a bit and then said, “I think this was done specifically to cause problems for us with the Council and with Jolee. One of the best ways to take down a fighting force is to create dissent in their own ranks and make them fight each other. Why fight them when you can make them fight themselves?”

 

“Miraxton’s in intelligence and he’s an ex-Jedi—he’d understand the psychology and know the Jedi rules,” I said. “This is just the kind of thing someone like him would do.”

 

“Heh, he didn’t count on me supporting you, now did he? He probably thought it would drive a wedge between us. We might be able to use that to our advantage.”

 

“If we trace the holovid to its source, we might be able to find Miraxton,” I said.

 

“It could have been sent from anywhere or by anyone if Miraxton wanted that. Still, it’s better than nothing. Now, I’m very tired from healing and all the excitement, and if I’m right, you both are, too. I’m going to sleep. Don’t stay up too late fooling around.”

 

“Jolee! You know I’m not that kind of a gal!”

 

“Ha! Maybe you should be. Being naughty is fun."

 

“You stay out of trouble if you’re not naughty."

 

“Well, when you put it that way, then, carry on.” He turned and left for his room.

 

“We all should get some sleep,” Talin yawned.

 

I turned where I sat and looked at him.

 

“You know I’d never ask you to leave the Order. There’s time to break it off if you want,” I said. My stomach knotted at the thought of how it would feel if he walked away, but I knew I had to give him that option.

 

“Oh, come here, dear,” he said, folding me into his arms. “I already knew you’d never ask. The Council was going to find out eventually, though I wish it had been from us and not second-hand. I knew from the start they might ask us to leave if we pursued this. I told you I’d leave in a heartbeat. I still would, because I love you.”

 

“Oh,” I said, as I realized what he’d just said. I sat back up to look at him again.

 

“Did I say something wrong?” His brows knit together in concern.

 

“No, no, it’s just…I didn’t…No one’s…I mean--” I finally stopped talking so I could gather my wits. I tried to breathe slowly and calm my racing heart.

 

“You’re surprised that I'd say that?” he asked, tipping his head as he looked at me.

 

“You're sure?”

 

“Good heavens, of course I'm sure. I'm very sure."

 

“You’d be making a huge sacrifice,” I said.

 

“Not for you. In fact, I’m afraid I’m forcing you to make that sacrifice.”

 

I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him tight. “Talin, dear, you don’t have to worry. I love you, too. If we have to leave the Order, we’ll do it together.”

 

He wrapped his arms around me to return the embrace. “You have no idea how much I like hearing that.”

 

“The leave part or the love part?” I grinned at him.

 

He shook his head and sighed. “Now what do you think?”

 

“Kiss me, love.”

 

“That’s the answer I was hoping for.”

 

* * *

 

The Masters had transmitted all the information they had on Miraxton within hours of the call, but they had not been able to track down the source of the holovid. Talin immediately started poring over the sparring vids. Jolee and I combed the other data for anything that would help us find him.

 

After a few hours of studying the information, I went over to Talin to see which sparring session he was watching.

 

“I wonder how the Masters missed his pride,” I noted, after watching the vid for a few minutes. “He’s cocky with his opponents.”

 

“They were watching his technique rather than the overall picture, though attitude is a big part of any fight. They may have passed it off as confidence. Something for us to keep in mind, though. If he was cocky then, he’ll be cocky with us now. There, he’s doing Xi-ro.” Talin slowed the vid down to watch every move in slow motion.

 

“What’s that move? I don’t remember it,” I pointed at his arm.

 

“That’s a wrong move, is what that is,” Jolee said, joining us.

 

Talin added, “And he’s doing it at full speed, which means he’s practiced it wrong a lot. That’s one of the weaknesses we’re looking for. He’ll either do it wrong at that point with us, or he’ll hesitate there a moment to think about doing it right.”

 

“He seems to prefer that form, too,” I said.

 

Carth came into the room to share the information he had learned.

 

“Anything interesting in the other data?” Talin asked, taking a break from the holovids.

 

Jolee replied, “He spent a lot of time with a Bothan Master, and so his intelligence skills are superb. His infiltration and manipulation skills are strong, and his ability to glean information from his sources is excellent. He was able to get into places many others couldn’t.”

 

“No wonder he got as high as he did in the Navy,” I said.

 

“He’s been on the fast track in the Navy for some time. The top brass had their eye on him as future admiral material and he was getting promoted as fast as the regs would allow. We checked out the stolen goods, and we tracked the supply drain to him. It was always small enough to not really be pursued heavily or written off as an Exchange attack. Any time the attention shifted his way, he redirected it or got himself transferred.”

 

“He’s as elusive as a Twi’lek dancing girl,” Jolee said.

 

“If he’d reached one of the top admiral posts, he could have taken over the Navy and done Force-knows-what to the Republic,” I said.

 

“He’s already solidified a position with the Exchange. If we don’t stop him, he could use Norelden’s resources and force a battle with the Navy. We can’t afford to lose any more ships right now,” Carth said. "More importantly, the Republic needs to recover, and it can't with a Sith Lord attacking."

 

“Norelden’s base is still on Telos, isn’t it?” Jolee asked Carth.

 

“It hasn’t moved as far as I know, but I can’t trust my intelligence right now. I’m off to meet with his subordinates so I can start to sort out what’s real and what’s not, but I wanted to let you know what we found so far.”

 

“So, he’s got the Exchange in his pocket, maybe some of the Navy, too, and is running around with a lot of Republic supplies,” I said.

 

“Sounds like something for Mik’oth to check out,” Jolee grinned.

 

The call went through quickly, and Mik’oth appeared at the other end.

 

“Hey, Tail-headed Tornado! Nice outfit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a unique shade of yellow before. How did you manage to get an entire suit made in that color?”

 

“Lekku-less wonder! Isn’t it wonderful? I commissioned it personally.”

 

“It’ll burn my eyes if I look at it too long.”

 

“That’s why I have the turquoise and fuschia accessories. It tones it down a little.”

 

I stifled a laugh.

 

“Oh, it’s my favorite lovely Padawan. How could I possibly have missed you? Hello, dear!” he waved at me, the large rings clinking against each other as his fingers wiggled.

 

“Always good to see you, Mik’oth,” I smiled and waved back.

 

“When are you coming back to Coruscant, dear? The planet is grey and drab without your beauty.”

 

“Keep wearing that suit and it’ll never be drab,” I replied, grinning.

 

“Oh, you say just the nicest things!”

 

It was Talin’s turn to suppress a laugh.

 

“Mik’oth, we need a little help. We thought Thorn was the Sith Lord, but we found out it’s a guy named Miraxton. He’s ex-Jedi, was working his way up the Navy ladder and skimming off a bunch of supplies. He’s in with Norelden’s branch of the Exchange. He disappeared a few days ago and we need to find him fast. We think he’s going to take over Norelden’s fleet and make trouble. Did I mention we need to find him fast?”

 

“Very clearly, Jolee. Give me a little bit and I’ll get back to you.”

 

Mik’oth took just under an hour.

 

“Ah, any opportunity to see your lovely Padawan once more,” he said to Jolee.

 

Jolee smiled. “Stop, you’re embarrassing the poor girl.”

 

“She looks just fine to me."

 

Carth came in just then. “That better not be my niece you’re talking about,” he said, keeping his voice neutral.

 

Jolee said, “Mik’oth, Captain Carth Onasi. I’ve fought with both of you and can trust you both. Anything said here will stay here.”

 

“We think we’ve found Miraxton’s base on Telos—he’s working out of Restoration zone A22,” Mik’oth announced.

 

“What took you so long?” Jolee smiled broadly.

 

“You call 53 minutes long?”

 

“How did you get this in only 53 minutes?” Carth asked. “It’s taken the Navy several days just to track down the leads on our own supplies.” He crossed his arms and looked at Mik’oth in disbelief.

 

“All hyperspace routes lead to Coruscant. Just follow the money. It always leads back to the source. Captain, I have many more resources than the Navy. And I mean many.”

 

“Carth, you might not trust him, but you can trust me. If Mik’oth says it’s in RZ A22, it’s there,” Jolee stated.

 

Carth thought for a moment more, still looking at Mik’oth. He touched a button. “Aichon, as soon as we transfer our patient to the med team on the station, put us on course for RZ A22.”

 

“RZ A22. Aye, sir.”

 

“Tell Bernecki I’ll have a job for him tomorrow.”

 

“Aye, sir. He’ll be very happy to hear that.”

 

Carth turned back to look at Mik’oth. “All right, I’m going on your word. I hope I’m not flying all of us into a trap.”

 

Mik’oth said, “More likely you’ll be trapping them—they won’t be expecting an attack this soon. They’ll be expecting military speed on the paperwork, you know. Besides, I want to see the lovely Padawan Jae again, so you all better take care and get this schutta before he does anything to harm her or the rest of the galaxy. He’s got too much power already. Jolee, let me know if you need anything else. Talin, be good. Jae, dear, do be careful, please.”

 

Talin put an arm around my shoulders. “We’ll all be careful.”

 

Mik’oth smiled widely. “Oh, aren’t you two cute. If you don’t have the wedding reception at my cantina I’ll be very, very upset.”

 

“The only thing we’ve said about weddings is that it’s way too soon to talk about them,” I laughed.

 

“Of course,” he rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Talin, I hope you figure this out faster than you did holding hands.”

 

Talin grinned. “Whenever we have news, you’ll be one of the first to know.”

 

“Wonderful. Now, I’ll leave you to go find this Sith and save the galaxy.”

Mik’oth’s image faded out.

 

Carth opened another link. “This is Captain Onasi. I need to speak with Admiral Dodonna, please.”

 

He looked over at us. “If Raxton’s got access to an Exchange fleet, we’re going to need some help.”

[Jae Onasi]

Chapter 30: The Story of the Wolves

 

 

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Carth announced at the meeting of the senior staff. “Once we get to RZ A22, Admiral Dodonna wants us to do recon on the Exchange fleet. If we get the opportunity, we’ll take out as many ships on the ground as we can. We’ve learned Raxton is the one the Jedi are after. None of us is happy about that, and we want to get the sneaky schutta. However, we know he’s able to kill with the Scourge and I hate losing people. If you see him, call in the Jedi immediately.”

 

“What if we have a clear shot, sir?” Bernecki asked.

 

Jolee answered, “From the data we received from Coruscant, we know he’s had training in deflecting blaster bolts. You’d have to catch him off guard, and that will be very difficult—he’ll be able to sense you long before you could reach him. Even a squad will get eaten alive, and I don’t want to see that. Unless he’s distracted by something else and you have overwhelming numbers, you won’t be able to take him. Even if you do have that, you’re going to take heavy casualties.”

 

“There’s a big difference between courage and stupidity,” Carth added. “No one goes alone against Raxton.”

 

He took a moment to look at each of his officers to make sure everyone understood. Muted ‘yes, sir’s circled the room.

 

Continuing, he said, “We’re going to circle the planet like we don’t know where he is and get a full scan of the area before we send the team down. Bernecki, I’d love to give you more time to plan, but I think we’re going to have to go in fast if we want to get the advantage of surprise.”

 

“I’d like the chance to make a detailed plan, but we’ve had to wing it before. However, more info is always better, sir.”

 

Jolee said, “We could always use more time to figure out Raxton, too. We have a lot of research to look over, but we’ll be ready whenever you are.”

 

“All right. The Admiral’s going to be here with a fleet in 4 days. We’ll get the scans, go over the intel, make those plans, and in 2 days head down. That should give us enough time to get in position and see how much damage we can do before she arrives with her task force. Is that going to work for you, Jolee?”

 

“It’ll have to. We’ll just speed-read, then.”

 

A chime sounded, and a voice called over the com. “Captain, Comm. Call for the Jedi, sir.”

 

“We’ll take it in my quarters, if you don’t mind,” Jolee said to Carth. “We’ll meet back with you later, then.”

 

The call was from Master Vandar.

“Jolee, Dycen’a has come out of the kolto, and we were able to extract some information on Miraxton for you,” he said.

 

“Good, because we found Miraxton on Telos. We’ve got 2 days to get ready to go get the gizka-brain.”

 

“I’m pleased to see you’re taking this so seriously,” Vandar said.

 

Jolee caught the irony. “You know I can be serious when I need to be.”

 

“Since I haven’t found any record of it, I’ll have to take you at your word.”

 

Jolee laughed, “Vandar, did you just make a joke?”

 

“Give me another 100 years and I might be able to come up with another.”

 

“I’ll have to take you at your word, then. I’ll be a pile of dust by that time. What did Dycen’a say?”

 

“Miraxton recruited him several years ago, specifically for his ability to slip through time. Once he saw Dycen’a had Force potential, he started training him. Miraxton had been working on consolidating the Exchange and moving up in the Navy. Once he learned what the Li’adans could do, however, he decided to add that planet to his list of conquests.”

 

“If he had taken over a planet of time-sensitive people, he would have been able to steal more items from Ossus,” I said.

 

“Or alter major events over the last 40 or 50 years,” Talin added.

 

“Exactly,” Vandar nodded.

 

“Speaking of Ossus, what else did he get?” Jolee asked.

 

“As best we can tell, some documents—historical records on some of the more recent Dark Lords--and a couple of holocrons. He couldn’t take anything large with him. He also had to get them out without someone seeing him.”

 

“Maybe he got a library card and took them on loan. Of course, after 50 years, that would be one nasty fine.”

 

“So Miraxton could be running around with something nastier than Scourge,” I said, after giving Jolee an amused look at his quip.

 

“We don’t believe so. Dycen’a didn’t know what he was taking some of the time. We did research on the items that went mysteriously missing from Ossus. It seems the holocrons he did take were fairly innocuous except for the one that dealt with Force Scourge.”

 

“You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that,” I said.

 

“No more than me, Padawan. I would like to see all three of you again. If the Council’s meditations are correct, we see more positive about the near future than negative, but it’s very unclear.”

 

“Did you learn anything else about Miraxton?” Talin asked.

 

“He was always a brash student, confident and talented. When we started reviewing his case, we learned that he may have murdered more than just the Padawan. There were several unsolved homicides during the last two years he was on Coruscant, but there was no evidence other than the most circumstantial linking him to any of the crimes. He was never a suspect in them, but comparing the information we have now with those homicides, we begin to see very disturbing coincidences between his movements and the timing of the crimes.”

 

“What kinds of murder?” I inquired.

 

“Just about any kind—they all died in different manners, but all died vicious and unpleasant deaths. The only common thread seemed to be that they were all Exchange or Hutts. The prevailing thought at the time was that it was a rival gang war.”

 

“He may possibly believe he’s killing for righteous reasons, or he just hates the Hutts and the Exchange. That makes his current association with the Exchange very unusual,” Talin said.

 

“That’s something we also wondered about.”

 

“How’d he ever make it through the psych profiling?” Jolee asked.

 

Vandar ticked off the answers on his fingers. “He’s smart. He lied. He arranged to have the profiling done by another Jedi who knew him and thought he was a charming man. Then he altered the records. He’s a cunning man, Jolee, and if he was involved in those homicides, he’s calculating and ruthless. Something all of you need to remember.”

 

“I don’t understand how he got to be a Sith Lord. Don’t they typically apprentice to another one to learn those dark side powers?” I asked.

 

“Yes, he would, and we’ve been trying to find out who he worked with so we have some insight on what he’s learned. Darth Chilopos and Darth Traya are both possibilities. Both were active at the time in different parts of the galaxy, and both disappeared rather mysteriously about 10 to 15 years ago. However, he’s covered his tracks very carefully. We know what we’re looking for now, but it’s going to take time for us to sort it all out, and we may not have that information for you in the next two days.”

 

“Send us what you have on both, then. Try Mik’oth, too,” Jolee said. “Tell him I sent you. He might come up with something. He’ll give you the family discount, too.”

 

“He does seem to have unusually extensive connections, doesn’t he. He has quite the network."

 

“Some things I just don’t ask about,” Jolee smiled.

 

“I’m transmitting the data now. May the Force be with you.”

 

* * *

 

“Here are some stims based on the research I did with De’layn,” Master Supat said, handing one to each of us. He had arrived on Telos not long after we had transferred De’layn to the med center. He had taken care of her and then shuttled up to the Osprey.

 

“That was fast. I didn’t know you could get De’layn evaluated and then these made up that quickly,” Jolee said.

 

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t work that fast, because I could only make one for each of you. I started the research with the holocron, but I couldn’t develop them until I evaluated De’layn and saw its effects first hand. I believe it’s only going to be effective if it’s used right at the time of attack. It’s not going to stop it, either—it’s only going to blunt some of the effects.”

 

“So, it’ll keep us alive, but not much else, eh?”

 

“Precisely. I don’t think it will work if you are attacked multiple times. The best way to deal with Scourge, of course, is not to allow yourself to get hit with it in the first place.”

 

“That’s my line,” Jolee said.

 

“It’s every Master’s line,” Master Supat answered with the Ithorian equivalent of a smile. The smile faded as he added, “Please, come back safe. May the Force be with you.”

 

* * *

 

“We’re going to insert teams here, here, and here,” Carth said at the briefing the night before our attack, pointing to a holovid map of RZ A22.

 

Everyone listened in rapt attention, leaning forward slightly. The tension coiled through everyone, aching to be released. Even the veterans of many battles breathed just a bit faster, adrenaline beginning to flow in anticipation of the mission.

 

Carth continued, “You’ll make your way to your respective buildings. Red team is going to take out their communications, which is in this building, here, and then take out hanger bay 3. Yellow team is going to have the demolitions people and will take out these other hanger bays. Blue team is going to go into this building, which is serving as their command center. They’ll support the Jedi.”

 

Bernecki said, “Blue team, when we get to the building, we’ll secure this entrance here. Ettelson is our best cracker—he’ll be in charge of accessing the computer systems, downloading intelligence, and shutting down whatever he can. MacFinlay’s going to keep the shuttle warm for us and keep us updated on anything unusual going on outside the building. Sal’ton is on demolitions—she’ll handle anything that needs serious blowing up. The Jedi will do their thing, which is get Raxton. The rest of us are going to do what we know best, which is go in and take out those schuttas.”

 

The other team leaders gave their instructions.

 

Carth said, “You leave tomorrow at 0600. Your team leaders will tell you when to muster. Anyone late owes dinner to his teammates. Jae, Jolee, Talin, if you could come to my ready room after the meeting I’d appreciate it. Everyone else, dismissed.”

 

We all filed out of the meeting room, with everyone else heading to their quarters to make final preparations. I watched as they all left, the higher pitches and volumes in their voices giving away their excitement even when they appeared calm. We made our way to the ready room.

 

Carth turned to look at me. “I don’t suppose there’s any way to convince you to stay on the ship here where it’s safer, is there?”

 

“The only way to stop Miraxton is to work as a team. I have to do this.”

 

Carth sighed. “I know, I just had to ask. Miraxton’s smart as a fox. I just don’t want to see you hurt.”

 

“We just have to outfox the fox,” Jolee said. He thought a moment, and then continued, “You know, that reminds me of a story.”

 

All three of us sat down.

 

“You know, one of these days I’m going to get a complex from you all doing that,” Jolee snorted.

 

We grinned back and waited for him to go on.

 

“Let’s see—I was on Irowanol. Planet’s in a system not too far from Yavin. I think they’re making a resort planet out of it now, but at the time it was a little hole in the galaxy, even if it is gorgeous.”

 

“There seems to be a common theme in the planets you’ve visited. All lush or tropical types….” I said.

 

“Pfft. Ever been to Korriban? Nar Shaddaa? The scenery puts me to sleep. Oh, wait. I forgot about the red light district on Nar Shaddaa. Never mind.”

 

I held up a hand. “I’ll pass on the red light stories.”

 

“They have services for women, too, you know. The Hutts don’t discriminate when it comes to making a credit.”

 

“We were talking about Irowanol?”

 

“Oh, I suppose I should get back to that. Elorri’ani and I were sent there by General Motani to scout out any Sith camps or bases. Well, we found one, all right. We followed a soldier into the middle of the forest where we found an entire garrison. We thought we’d even the odds a bit and called for Motani to bomb it before we went in. A patrol got lucky and heard us talking to her. We took off into the forest in our speeder, and they followed close behind in theirs.”

 

“How many were chasing you?” I asked.

 

“Does it matter? Oh, for your history thing I suppose it does. Well, I think it was about 7 or 8. But you can put down a dozen or 15 or something like that.”

 

I tipped my head at him and cocked an eyebrow.

 

“Don’t you give me that ‘Now, Jolee…’ look, missy. I’m not asking you to lie, just maybe embellish a little.”

 

I continued to give him that ‘Now, Jolee…’ look.

 

“OK, tell the truth, though I think it’ll be boring.”

 

“Jolee, nothing about your adventures has been boring,” Talin said.

 

“Heh, at least someone appreciates my little tales. Where was I? Oh, yes. We dodged over, under, around, and sometimes almost through the trees, trying to get away from that patrol. One of them must have been a Force user, because he got in a lucky shot that made our speeder lurch out of control. We bailed out just before the speeder kissed the tree. I landed, rolled, jumped up on my feet, and ran into some brush. Their speeder was still going full speed, of course, so they shot past us and had to circle back around. I found Elorri’ani. He’d fallen hard on his shoulder and face.”

 

“Was he hurt bad?” I asked.

 

“Bad enough to dislocate a shoulder and tear up a knee. He got some nasty cuts, too, and was bleeding like no tomorrow, though not bad enough to kill him. I only had enough time to heal the bleeding when those speeders came back and started searching for us. Elorri’ani got this brilliant idea. He’d play dead, since he couldn’t walk much anyway, and that would lure them over. Then I’d jump down out of the tree on top of them in a nasty little surprise. He’d get them in the legs. It was perfect, except we didn’t count on the wolves.”

 

“Oh, no. Elorri’ani’s wildlife problem strikes again. He gets along with them about as well as a blaster bolt gets along with jet fuel,” I explained to Carth and Talin.

 

“Hey, I’m going to have to use that some time,” Jolee said.

 

“So just how bad was the wolf attack?” I asked.

 

“Pretty bad. For the troopers, that is,” he replied.

 

“What?”

 

“The wolves didn’t attack Elorri’ani. When he went down, they smelled the blood and slipped in around us. I was up in the tree when I saw the mama wolf sniffing him. She was big, almost man-size, and had sharp, pointy teeth. I was about ready to throw the lightsaber at her when she started licking his wounds.”

 

“He must have nearly had a heart attack,” I said.

 

“He said it was all he could do not to laugh after he realized he wasn’t a chew toy, because she was tickling him. One of the soldiers, not seeing the rest of the wolf pack sitting in the bushes, came over to see if Elorri’ani was dead. Mama wolf apparently decided he was her new baby and laid down next to him. When the soldier got close, she growled at him and her hackles raised up. The soldier thought she was trying to protect her kill. He ignored her and poked Elorri’ani with the end of his rifle to make sure he was dead. Well, she didn’t like that at all. She jumped up at him while he still had his rifle down, hit his chest, bowled him over, and went for the jugular. That was the end of him. The rest of the pack went after the other soldiers.”

 

“You’re not making this up?” Carth asked.

 

“Do I look that creative? No, don’t answer that. Anyway, the soldiers were so busy trying to attack this pack of wolves that they didn’t notice at first that I was picking them off by throwing my lightsaber. I had to even up the odds for the wolves, you know. Well, maybe not—the soldiers were outnumbered to begin with, and these wolves were pretty feisty. I took a bunch of those soldiers out just sitting on that branch before they got it through their thick skulls to run away from wolves and a lightsaber-throwing Jedi.”

 

“So you never even had a chance to get out of the tree?” Talin asked, starting to chuckle.

 

“Are you kidding? Jump down in the middle of a snarling wolf pack doing its job? I didn’t have ‘get eaten’ on my ‘to do’ list that day. I waited till they all ran off chasing the soldiers down.”

 

“Did any soldiers make it?” I asked.

 

“No. They all ended up as wolf dinners that night. With that armor they had on, they were extra crunchy on the outside, too.”

 

Talin grimaced. “My life would have been complete without that image, thank you.”

 

Jolee grinned. “I was healing Elorri’ani when mama wolf came trotting back and saw me. I held still, hoping I wasn’t going to end up as dinner, too. She walked slowly towards me, growling softly. Just when I thought I was going to get pounced on, she sniffed me, decided I was OK, wagged her tail, and laid down next to Elorri’ani again. When I finished healing him, she gave him another lick on the face and bounded off into the forest to join her pack. We grabbed the soldiers’ speeder and went to our rendezvous point.”

 

“I can just imagine what General Motani said after that,” Carth said.

 

“She gave us an award that she made up special for the occasion. It was for something like ‘coordinating attacks with indigenous life forms and displaying admirable sneakiness.’”

 

We couldn’t help but laugh at that.

 

“She must have really liked Elorri’ani playing dead,” I said.

 

“Hey, that’s it!” Jolee said.

 

“What’s it?” Talin asked.

 

“I have a plan for dealing with Miraxton.” He gave an evil little smile that even the devil would have appreciated.

[Jae Onasi]

The Mission Begins

 

Two hands dropped down gently on either shoulder, breaking my meditation.

 

“I came to wake you, but you were already up,” Talin murmured, trying not to startle me. He stood behind me, and we both looked out at the pinpoints of twinkling starlight.

 

“I didn’t mean to wake up early. Probably nerves. I thought I’d meditate.”

 

He circled his arms around and gently pulled me back to him. I sighed and closed my eyes again, smiling as I leaned on his strength.

 

“Promise me you’ll stay in the Order if something happens to me,” I said in a quiet voice after the long, calm silence.

 

“Is that how you see the vision? Because it’s not the way I see it. Anything could happen there. ‘The future is always in motion’.”

 

“Jolee left after Nayama was killed, and he wandered around for 20 years until he could sort it all out. I don’t blame him for leaving, but if he had stayed in the Order, they could have helped him get through it much faster. The Jedi may have their faults—we all do—but they do far more good than harm.” I turned in his arms and looked up at him, taking in the details of his face--his deep blue eyes, straight nose, and the set of his lips. I burned the image into my memory.

 

“You’re serious,” he said, looking down at me, searching my face.

 

“Very.”

 

“All right, I will, on two conditions.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“First, if something happens to me, you stay in the Order, too.”

 

“Done. And two?”

 

“You give me a kiss that I’ll remember forever.”

 

I obliged. Our lips met in a desperate fury, nearly bruising in force. We held each other so tight I couldn’t breathe. It was a raw passion and paradise all at the same time, and when we finally broke apart, we both had to take a moment to catch our breath.

 

“You can’t die. You’re not allowed,” Talin said in a ragged voice.

 

“Why?” I asked, after finally quieting my breathing.

 

“Because if I don’t get more of that, I’ll die.”

 

I smiled up at him.

 

Jolee gave a discreet knock on my door. “Time to move out.”

 

* * *

 

The strike was on. Our three assault shuttles launched out of Osprey’s bay and headed to the restoration zone on the surface of Telos. MacFinlay flew our shuttle through the shield surrounding the RZ.

 

“MacFinlay, Yutan’s going to stay here with you. Stay sharp while we’re gone.”

 

“You guys get all the fun,” MacFinlay said with a mock pout, but he couldn’t restrain his grin for long.

 

Bernecki retorted, “We get all the fun? What’d you call that little maneuver through the closing bay doors?”

 

“Fun, of course.” He announced loudly to everyone else, “Two minutes to landing. Pack up your toys, children.”

 

“Remind me not to go to a party with you if that's your definition of fun,” Bernecki replied, double-checking his gear and straps.

 

Everyone grabbed their gear and inspected their armor, making sure everything was secure. I double-checked to make sure my lightsaber was on my belt, and Jolee looked amused by that. Talin gave my hand a squeeze just before the door opened. I gave him a quick kiss, and then we dashed off the shuttle one by one. We made our way over to the rendezvous point, and Bernecki gathered us all around.

 

“Strike teams Red and Yellow are going to come in on the flanks and wait for our signal. We’re going to all stealth in towards the command center. Once we’re all in our places, Ettelson’s going to slice the door, but if he can’t, the Jedi are going to open it for us. Geordel and Fa-Meng are going to take out the guards in front of the doors, the rest of us are going to get positioned to move in quickly. Our stealth is shot as soon as the door opens or a lightsaber appears, so be ready to attack. When we’re in, the other two teams are going to start their attacks. The Jedi’s objective is the Sith Lord. They’ll keep him busy and take him out while we lay mines to blow the place. Sal’ton will coordinate the demolitions. Jolee, once we’re done with the mines, we’re going to contact you so you can get out.”

 

“If we don’t answer, it’s because we’re too busy to acknowledge. Give us 15 minutes from then to get out. If we’re still in there after the 15-minute mark without saying anything, it means we’re probably dead. Do not come after us unless we call. I don’t want anyone running head-long into a Sith Lord while trying to play hero. If we don’t take him out, the building coming down around his ears should do the trick.”

 

“We know he’s an intelligence expert and a calculating murderer. Expect anything, including traps,” Talin added.

 

I continued, “Raxton’s profile tells us he’ll likely confront us. He has tremendous confidence that he can beat us. We’re his target rather than anyone else, so if you see him, stay out of the way. He’ll likely send a team of soldiers after you instead of attacking you himself, because he won’t think you’re important enough. If you get in his way, though, expect him to try to take you out. He could also try something unusual like sneak out in another soldier’s armor, so be ready for anything.”

 

“Everyone got their gear?” Bernecki scanned the team members, all of whom shook their heads and acknowledged him with “Yes, sir.”

 

“Any other questions or suggestions?”

 

No one had any.

 

“Ok, let’s move out. Watch your back and your buddy. May the Force be with us all.”

 

* * *

 

We made our way quietly towards the small base. Bernecki’s team was skilled and moved nearly as soundlessly as we Jedi did through the trees and brush. We approached a clearing and saw the hangers that marked the southern edge of the base. I sensed a couple Sith troopers patrolling the perimeter of the clearing. Silently, I pointed them out to Bernecki and we edged up towards them. When we got close enough, Jolee put one in stasis and I stunned the other. The team grabbed both of them and pulled them quickly back under cover. Jolee put a strong enough stasis field around them that they’d be out for hours, and we secured them under some brush.

 

Bernecki pulled out their weapons and equipment. “Always good to know what the enemy is saying,” he whispered with a malicious glint in his eyes as he handed a comlink over to Jolee.

 

“I think I’ll send out an order over the com and put some of them on a wild goose chase into the woods when this all gets started,” Jolee grinned.

 

“Thank the Force you’re on our side,” Bernecki replied in low tones. He assigned us designated points for all of us to go to and then gave the signal for us to go in stealth mode.

 

We made our way slowly over to the command center, silent ghosts. Ettelson was about to slice the door when it suddenly opened and a trooper walked out. Ettelson slipped in while the door was still open. I tripped the man in the doorway so it couldn’t shut, and Jolee stunned him. It looked all the world like he’d injured himself in a bad fall.

 

“Medic!” one of the guards yelled into a comlink, bending down to help his fallen comrade.

 

The communications center exploded in a large bloom of fire that made the other guard run to see what happened. The guard helping the trooper tried to pull him through the door to safety but was flattened by Talin’s Force stun. We dropped out of stealth as a unit, and the two guards in the lobby found themselves surrounded by a large team of grinning Republic soldiers before they could even reach their guns. They surrendered. Ettelson found a computer terminal and started working.

 

Bernecki watched as the building schematics came up. “Download that. Change the access codes so only we can get in with our code.”

 

“Done. Looks like the armory’s here, sir.” Ettelson pointed to a room on the lower level. He tapped some more keys. “Oh ho, look what we have here, sir. Gas lines going everywhere.”

 

“Gas everything you can, then disable the entire system. I don’t want someone gassing us accidentally while we fight a Sith Lord,” Jolee instructed.

 

We watched as numerous troopers collapsed before they could get to their gas masks. There was only one section of the center that was unaffected.

 

“That’s where Raxton’s has to be,” I pointed on the screen. “There’s no gas there.”

 

Ettelson pulled up some exterior camera shots. “Our teams have hit the buildings,” he noted, watching our soldiers picking off the troopers and dashing inside the hanger bays and communications building.

 

We heard urgent chatter on the comlink asking for backup in the communications center. Jolee got on our comlink and told Red team, “We’re going to send some of them into the forest. Be ready.”

 

Then he took the comlink we took from the perimeter guards. He said in an excited voice, “Got some Republics escaping in the forest east of the comm center. We need backup!”

 

Another couple of blasts rocked other buildings.

 

“Roger. Sending backup now,” came the reply.

 

We watched as a platoon of troopers left the communications center and dashed off into the forest.

 

“Nice. Where’d you pick that idea up?” Bernecki asked.

 

“Saw it on a holovid one time. There’s some good stories out there."

 

I shook my head and smiled as Bernecki just stared at him in disbelief.

 

Then Jolee explained, “The holovid happened to be based on the Battle of Keer-wallen. We had one sneaky schutta for a commander. I couldn’t believe how many platoons he got to run all over high heaven. Some of them started shooting each other, thinking the other was the enemy. Best misdirection I ever saw.”

 

“You were in the Battle of Keer-wallen?” Bernecki asked, eyes wide in surprise.

 

“I don’t have enough breath left to waste it telling lies, son.” He keyed the enemy’s comlink again, and in a slightly different voice, but just as excited, said, “More Republics! We’re getting invaded from the southeast!”

 

“Roger,” came the reply. Another platoon dashed out to look for a non-existent enemy.

 

“You’d think they’d at least remember to ask for the security code,” Jolee snorted. “How many more do you think I can send out?”

 

“Force have mercy on us all. The enemy doesn’t stand a chance with you around. Not too many more—we have to trek back through the woods to get to the rendezvous point, and I don’t want to come up on 5 platoons.”

 

Jolee sent another platoon off to the northeast. “OK, enough talk. Time for us to get moving.”

 

We heard another explosion outside, and the images on the exterior cameras all disappeared.

 

“Good job, Red team,” Bernecki smiled to himself. “Communications is down, people. Let’s get to work. Geordel, you’re with me and the Jedi. Sal’ton, get to the armory and set the charges with everyone else.”

 

We ran down the hallways, passing troopers lying unconscious on the ground, and made it to the section that was unaffected by the gas.

 

Bernecki found a terminal and tapped in our code. We saw several camera shots of soldiers. In one room, there was a lone figure, standing with his hands behind his back, seeming to peer serenely out the window as he watched the chaos erupt around him.

 

“There’s the son of a schutta,” Bernecki spat out. Several rooms filled with Sith separated us from Miraxton.

 

“We all know what to do,” Jolee said.

 

Talin and I nodded in response. Bernecki shut down the terminal and we all arranged ourselves. The soldiers prepared their grenades. I keyed the door, and they threw their charges towards the troopers. The plasma grenades exploded in large fireballs that charred everything in their paths. Only a few soldiers survived the initial blasts, but they were well armed and started shooting at us. Talin and I ducked around the door and started deflecting the blaster bolts as we steadily approached the shooting soldiers. Jolee took off for the two troopers on the other side of the room. Bernecki and Geordal backed all of us up, trying to pick off the Sith troopers. When we got closer, their team of three pulled out vibroswords.

 

Talin saw the opening as the center trooper lunged towards us, and he sliced out and down, catching the trooper’s arms and sword. He screamed as he fell to the ground, his arms and sword falling away from him.

 

I concentrated on my opponent, watching his eyes closely for any signals. He feinted a lunge and then threw a flurry of blows that initially pushed me back and forced me to counter with defensive moves that had my saber moving in a blur of light. I remembered to relax and let the Force flow, and I could start to feel what moves he was going to make just before he slashed or parried. He tried to swipe at my head. I blocked it, blades crackling, and sensed that he was going to swing his blade down towards my hip. I stepped to the side and his blade flew by millimeters from my leg. He never saw my blade hit him as it came down the side of his head into his shoulder. He collapsed in a heap at my feet.

 

Talin had finished off his other trooper a few moments before me, and we both looked around for other troopers. All of them were down, and most were beyond hope.

 

“Nice dodge after that last block. I could tell you were feeling what he was going to do next. Keep that up,” Talin said.

 

“My Padawan did well, eh?” Jolee said, joining us to look over our fallen troopers and catch his breath.

 

“No singed hair, either,” I added proudly.

 

“Great job. Don’t let your head swell up,” Jolee said.

 

Bernecki sliced the door to the next room. Inside were several troopers and a team of dark Jedi.

 

One of the dark Jedi stepped forward, lightsaber lit at his side, dangerously casual. “You’ve done enough damage for one day, I think. Your little mission is over. You’ve failed.”

[Jae Onasi]

The Command Center

 

“I think the party’s just getting started. What do you think, Jae?” Jolee asked, as our lightsabers all ignited as one.

 

“I think they’re mad because we didn’t send out invitations. We’ll have to remember to do that next time.”

 

The dark Jedi’s face turned red with rage.

 

“Gentlemen, we’re more than willing to have you join us if you’d like,” Talin offered, projecting calm. “This doesn’t have to end up in a battle.”

 

One of other dark Jedi smiled thinly, the kind of self-satisfied, treacherous smile an assassin might use as he looks into the eyes of his prey while killing him. “I think they mock us, Master Xerel.” The quiet restraint of his tone warned me how dangerous he was.

 

“I think bringing their charred bodies to our Lord would make him very happy,” the third one said.

 

The dark master smiled as bolts of electricity snaked from his hands towards all of us. Talin and I repelled the electrical strike with our lightsabers, while Jolee deflected the current back towards the last dark Jedi who spoke, stunning him instantly.

 

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the grenades that Bernecki and Geordel launched fly overhead towards the troopers behind the dark Jedi. Shrapnel exploded out, taking down several troopers before the firefight began in earnest, the two sides trading a hail of blaster fire as the smoke started to fill the air around us.

 

The two remaining dark Jedi charged us, hate emanating out in waves of heat. Talin and I took on the master while Jolee engaged the other one, their sabers whirling in a brilliant light show.

 

The dark master swiped sideways at us, and I jumped out of the way as Talin made the block and then tried to trap his blade. I slashed down to take advantage of the opening to his head, but he was too fast. He caught my saber with his in a shower of sparks. His blade slid down the edge of mine as he tried to clip my arm, but Talin attacked. Xerel had to break off to deflect Talin’s blade in time. I saw his open arm and lunged for him; Xerel whirled his blade to catch mine and almost stopped my progress. I nicked his shoulder, and he howled in pain and fury.

 

A fire ignited in his eyes, and he threw a flurry of blows, blindingly fast. Talin and I were pressed back by his aggression, both of us on the defensive parrying his attacks and simply trying to stay alive as the blaster fire flew around us.

 

I willed myself calm to allow the Force to flow better. A thin link formed between Talin and me as I concentrated, and it broadened to bridge our thoughts and feelings. I could feel the moves he was about to make against Xerel and adjusted my attacks. We stopped his press, and Talin took the offensive, swinging his blade with an efficient grace that prevented Xerel from finding any openings.

 

Just as Talin caught his blade against his, I lunged forward. Xerel was forced to step back to break the blade lock and parry my blow. Talin knew through the link where I would attack, and during the split-second opening that Xerel had, speared his lightsaber through the dark master's chest. Xerel’s eyes and mouth opened wide more in surprise than in pain, and then the life-light in his eyes went blank as he fell to the ground.

 

There was no time to rest. I turned around to see how Jolee was doing with the last dark Jedi, and our enemy was lying in a pile of robes on the ground, lifeless. Jolee had run over to help Bernecki and Geordel take on the Sith troopers.

 

Talin and I ran after them and entered the fray of shouts and lightsabers clashing against vibroswords. Our link stayed, and we fought together against the troopers, often times with one of us parrying a blow and the other driving in an attack before the trooper could free his blade to guard himself.

Geordel’s agonized scream ripped through all the other battle sounds, and I couldn’t help but look over at him as he collapsed, badly injured by a vibrosword strike.

 

“Focus. Stay on our target. We’ll help Geordel when we stop the troopers,” Talin said through the link.

 

I grit my teeth in concentration and tried to ignore the cries of pain. We all worked our way through the rest of the enemy fighters, and when they were all dead or incapacitated, I dashed over to help Geordel. He was lying on the ground in a pool of blood, shaking from the pain and shock.

 

Bernecki ran over to help his fellow soldier. “Oh, Force, Geordel, you have to hold on,” he said to the fallen man.

 

Geordel turned his pale face slowly to look at Bernecki. “I’m cold, sir.” He could only manage those few words in a broken voice.

 

“Shhh. Hold still. We’re here to help now,” I said in a soothing voice, placing a hand on his forehead and sending a healing force through him to stop the bleeding and mitigate some of the pain. Talin applied one of the lifepaks, and the kolto it contained helped stabilize his condition.

 

“That cold feeling will go away soon, son,” Jolee added. “You’re going to be OK.”

 

“We need to get him back to the ship,” I said.

 

“Blue 2-0, this is Blue 1,” Bernecki called to Gadaitis. “We have a casualty. I need several troops and the corpsman to section 1-5-6.”

 

“Blue 1, Blue 2-0 acknowledges troops and corpsman to 1-5-6. ETA 3 minutes. Out.”

 

“Blue 4-2, Blue 1.”

 

“Blue 4-2 here,” MacFinlay said. “We’re warming up to come get our buddy.”

 

“Hold till I give the order.”

 

“Aye, Blue 4-2 will hold position until orders to move are received. Just make it fast, please.”

 

“He never pays attention to my comm lectures,” Geordel smiled weakly.

 

Bernecki gave a small squeeze of encouragement to his uninjured arm. “When we get back, I’ll make sure he has to sit through a lesson, just you and him. It’ll be fun watching him squirm trying to sit still for more than half an hour.”

 

We waited the few minutes for the other team members to arrive.

 

Bernecki said, “We’ll take him to that spot just outside that first room. Once Sal’ton has all the charges in place, she’ll give us a fifteen-minute count. Then we’ll all evac out as a unit—we’ll have a better shot of making it across the open section that way.”

 

Jolee added, “We’re getting to the point where we Jedi should go it alone, Bernecki. We’ll meet you near the front of that building as soon as we get Sal’ton’s signal, if we aren’t busy. Don’t wait for us.”

 

“May the Force be with you, then,” Bernecki saluted.

 

The teammates rolled Geordel carefully onto the stretcher and lifted him away towards safety.

 

“If you both have any injuries, now’s the time to heal them,” Jolee advised, applying a medpak to himself. “Damn, but that dark Jedi I fought was one tough guy. Smart, too. Reminded me of Revan when he was storming the galaxy. But we don’t have time for stories right now. Like you could copy them down in the middle of a battle anyway.”

 

Talin and I exhaled.

 

“You don’t have to sigh that loud in relief, you know. At least wait till I turn around so you can do it behind my back,” Jolee snorted in mock annoyance. He tapped on the datapad, pulling up the schematics of the building. “Looks like we have one more section before we get to Miraxton’s quarters. Let’s get moving.”

 

We stood to the side as Talin tapped the control to open the doors. We peered around the corner of the doors. The long, sunlit corridor was empty, except for someone lying on the floor, a victim of the Scourge. The unmistakable scent wafted towards us.

 

“I’ll never get used to this kind of senseless evil. The Sith have many ways to kill, but this is one of the most cruel I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen plenty,” Jolee said, shaking his head.

 

The victim moaned and moved a bit before falling silent again.

 

“Oh, Force. He’s alive! Jolee, we have to save him!” I called out and started to move down the corridor.

 

Talin and Jolee each grabbed one of my arms.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Wouldn’t be a trap now, would it?” Jolee asked Talin, a wicked glint in his eyes.

 

Talin replied, “No, not at all. Who’d expect a Sith Lord who’s a spy to be sneaky and plant traps?”

 

“I hope you’re wrong,” I said to both of them, frowning, but knowing they likely were right and that I nearly had done something very foolish.

 

“So do I. However, none of us wants to find out the hard way if I’m right,” Talin said, looking at me with warmth, and a touch of…fear?

 

“I’ll be more careful. Promise,” I told him, giving his hand a squeeze.

 

“How about you two quit making moony eyes at each other and help me find the damn traps—ah, I think I found it. Or rather, them.”

 

I squinted, looking down the corridor, trying to find anything unusual. Jolee went back and picked up the empty lifepak container.

 

“Stand back,” he said. He tossed the package at a particular spot on the floor about eight meters away, halfway between the Scourge victim and us.

 

It landed on the floor, and the floor exploded, sending the remnants of the shredded lifepak and shrapnel in all directions. We were far enough away not to get hit, as was the victim.

 

“‘I’m just a new floor tile, not a plastic explosive or anything,’” Jolee said in a falsetto, reaching down carefully to one of the floor tiles that was slightly shinier than the others. He concentrated through the Force, and I heard a click. He lifted the tile, and underneath was a pressure sensitive explosive device.

 

“Good catch. Where’d you get that line?” I asked.

 

“Some movie. Hilarious one. It’s about this guy trying to get some tunnel animal out of his lawn. I saw the new floor tiles and realized they’d just laid these things down, and the only reason could be to lay traps. At least they’re not hard to disarm.”

 

We searched the rest of the corridor, top to bottom, looking for any other surprises. Once I stretched out through the Force, the energy signatures of the floor mines started to shimmer slightly, just at the very edge of my sight.

 

“The mines are there, there, and there,” I said, pointing out all the dangerous tiles. “I don’t see or feel anything else,” I said.

 

“Neither do I,” said Talin.

 

“Looks clean except for all these little bomblets in the floor. Let’s disable these fast so we can get down to the poor guy,” Jolee said, finally seeming satisfied that nothing else posed a danger.

 

“It’s possible that he’s booby-trapped,” Talin warned.

 

“Wouldn’t put it past Miraxton to do that. Jae, go around the tiles and see if you can help, but don’t move him at all. Try to touch him as little as possible. I’ll check him over carefully before we pick him up in case Miraxton’s left us another nasty little present.”

 

I picked my way rapidly around the mined tiles, which had been laid out to be in the spots where we would have most likely walked.

 

“Please, don’t hurt me anymore,” the man moaned as I approached. His face was so swollen and cracked that he couldn’t see.

 

Something in his voice registered, and I scanned my memory, trying to place it.

 

“Jaxin? I'm not going to hurt you. I’m the Jedi who helped you with your arm.”

 

If Jaxin had been able to cry, he would have. He said in a broken voice, “Leave, ma’am, please. Miraxton’s back there. I don’t want you to end up like this. You’re too nice.”

 

“I’m here to help, Jaxin. Hush now. You have to save your strength.”

 

The Force flowed as I concentrated, and the healing started.

 

“I’m dying. Leave me.”

 

“You’re not going to die.”

 

Concentrating on all the techniques I’d learned from the holocron, I started to counteract the effects, but he had been lying there for some time after being struck down. I found him fading faster than I could keep up with the healing. I pulled out the stim that Master Supat had given to all three of us. Master Vrook’s warning about Jedi risking themselves unnecessarily floated through my thoughts, but I shook off that image. Looking at the stim and then back at Jaxin, I scanned his body for a big enough patch of skin to inject it.

 

“Jae, don’t!” Talin called out. I heard him run towards me.

 

I found a spot and applied the stim. Nothing happened.

 

“What are you doing?” Talin asked, a flash of anger flaring on his face. “You’ll be in more danger fighting Miraxton now. You needed to keep that stim!”

 

“He had no chance without it. I had to try. I couldn’t let him die and neither could you, Talin,” I answered, closing my eyes once more in concentration and trying the healing techniques again. I smiled as the drain of his life force stopped, and his body started to heal.

 

“It’s working!” I cried out.

 

Jolee finished his work with the floor mines and joined us to evaluate Jaxin. With our combined healing, his condition started to stabilize rapidly, though he would still need extensive treatment.

 

“Not bad. Old Supat knows what he’s doing. He’ll be happy to hear that it’s working so well. Jae, you sure you had to do that?” Jolee looked at me, searching my intent.

 

“He had no chance any other way,” I insisted. “At least we know it works.”

 

Jolee took a few steps away to call Bernecki for the corpsmen once more.

 

Talin pulled out his stim. “You have to take this one,” he urged, holding out his hand.

 

Closing his fingers back around the stim and putting my hands around his, I looked at him and told him quietly, “No. If my vision is right, you’re going to need it. You have to keep it, and I won’t take it, no matter how much you insist.”

 

I pushed the hand with the stim back to him gently.

 

“And I’m not taking yours, either, Jolee, so don’t even bother,” I said, as I saw him reach for his. “I’m the one who has the healing techniques down best. I’ve practically lived with that damn holocron the last couple weeks, you know.”

 

Jolee snorted and then grinned. “True. You said in your vision your hands were Scourged, though. You need to keep this stim.”

 

“The vision also shows it’s not spreading. Whatever happens, it must have been a mild hit, because it stops there. You’re the one that’s down, Jolee. If you don’t keep yours, I’ll be worrying about it the whole battle. You don’t want me distracted, now do you?”

 

“Don’t give me that coy look, missy. You shouldn’t be worrying, anyway—that’s a sign of fear.”

 

“I see you lying on the ground, Jolee. You won’t have any way to escape his attack. You have to keep it, and you know it.”

 

Jolee grumbled, “I hate it when young people think logically. I don’t like this idea one bit.”

 

“I’m right, and you know it. If it comes down to me or you, you have a better chance of taking him out. I’m not going to take it anyway, even if you order me to.”

 

Jolee had just enough time to say, “Humph! We'll see about that,” before Bernecki arrived with a small group of soldiers, including the corpsman.

 

We searched Jaxin carefully for any booby-traps, and found none.

 

"We're lucky he's arrogant enough to think the tiles would do the job," Jolee commented.

 

“Sal’ton’s about three-quarters done,” Bernecki informed us as we all helped put Jaxin on the litter and the corpsman continued the treatment we had started.

 

“Miraxton’s past that door,” I said. “I don’t think we’re going to be too long.”

 

“You all stay safe. We don’t need any more casualties. Captain would be very upset if I don’t bring you back safe, ma’am.”

 

“Captain would get very upset if someone looked at me the wrong way for a millisecond, Bernecki. But I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

Bernecki grinned for a moment before he returned to a more serious look. “We’ll see you shortly after you get rid of that fregging schutta, then. Strike him once for me and everyone else he tried to screw over.”

 

“Get in, get him, and get out. Got it,” Jolee said.

 

“Yes, sir, you do.”

 

“We’ll be along as fast as we can. Now get him out of here. We can’t go forward until you’re gone and in a safe place,” Jolee ordered.

 

I wiped my sweaty palms on my robe and meditated briefly on the Jedi Code to calm my beating heart as they hurried off, carrying Jaxin. I could feel Miraxton behind the door, his evil presence extending even this far out.

 

Jolee looked at both of us. “Clear your minds of any worry, anger, and fear. Peace and calm. Concentrate. He’s strong, but there are three of us. All our skills complement each other. Together we are more powerful than three separate Jedi, and we’re certainly more powerful than he is. We know his strengths and weaknesses, and we have our little surprises on our side. Now we all know what to do, and we’re going to do it well and get out of here. Am I clear?”

 

“Yes,” Talin answered.

 

I breathed deeply and released the anxiety. “Yes, Jolee.”

 

“What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go get him. We’re not getting any younger, you know.”

 

We positioned ourselves, and Jolee opened the door to Miraxton’s quarters.

[Jae Onasi]

The Battle With Miraxton

 

 

The door slid open slowly, almost as if it was reluctant to admit us into Miraxton’s quarters. Miraxton was facing away from us with his hands lightly clasped together behind his back, standing at the window in a casual stance. I couldn’t decide if that was because he truly felt confident enough to turn his back against three Jedi or if he was using it as a subtle psychological ploy.

 

“Welcome,” he said in an even voice, as if he’d just invited us in to share coffee. “You’ve made a great effort to come to me today.” He slowly turned around to face us. He peered at each of us with his amber eyes, trying to impale us with a mere gaze.

 

“You haven’t made it easy for us,” Jolee replied. “The tile trap was quite ingenious. My Padawan nearly became splatter on the ceiling.”

 

Miraxton smiled thinly and chuckled to himself. “Yes, I rather liked that one. Jedi always want to help, you see. And I knew your Padawan would be unable to resist the urge to try to heal poor Jaxin.”

 

“Why did you do that? What did Jaxin do to you?” I asked.

 

Miraxton shifted his gaze slowly from Jolee to me. “Why, nothing at all, my dear. He just happened to be the slowest of the mercenaries I sent out to greet you.”

 

I forced back the bile that started to rise up my throat. “How can you do such a vicious thing?”

 

“Steady,” Talin thought to me through our link. “He’s just trying to throw you off balance. Concentrate on his stance, his demeanor, and the way he moves, not his words.”

 

“Vicious? Hardly. I bore no malice towards Jaxin. He simply was unfortunate enough to be there. My former master preached utilizing one’s assets as fully as possible, and he would have been pleased by my efficiency. Sadly, he’s not here to see that.”

 

“What a surprise,” Jolee said sarcastically. “A Sith Lord dying at the hands of his apprentice.”

 

“That’s so pedestrian. Chilopos died when his ship was destroyed. He was flying into Nar Shaddaa to meet with some Hutts. Somehow the Navy got information that he would be there, and they attempted to capture him. An ensign misread a sensor, and the Navy thought his weapons were powering up when he was standing down. These things happen from time to time, you see.” The thin smile widened as a smug look crept into his eyes.

 

“I can tell you were deeply affected by the loss. You must have spent hundreds on funeral flowers. I suppose that ensign got removed from duty for that. Did they ever find the sensor you rewired?” Jolee shook his head in disgust. “Betraying someone under your command to further your ambitions. How very Sith.”

 

Miraxton’s chuckle chilled the air. “Betrayal, eh? I’ve studied your career quite carefully, Jolee. Hypocrisy was never mentioned as one of your traits. I suppose there’s always a first time.”

 

He pressed a button and a holovid played. It showed Jolee sending off a data chip to Coruscant. I looked over at Talin and saw his set lips and the anger sparking in his eyes. The fury rose in me and made my face redden with its heat. I allowed it to build.

 

“I arranged to get a copy of that data chip. It showed a rather passionate evening between Talin and your Padawan, Jolee. I wondered why someone would want to send that to the Jedi temple, and I could only conclude that it was betrayal.”

 

Jolee looked at the holovid looping through the action repeatedly as if Miraxton was hammering on the point. “Remarkable likeness. My compliments to the actor. Or did you find some footage somewhere and slice me into the spot where your lackey was?”

 

I poked my finger in Jolee’s chest and went nearly nose-to-nose with him, shaking in outrage. “I knew it. You sent that holovid and turned us into the Jedi Council. You were the reason the Council wants Talin and me to leave the Order. Of course, we’re supposed to help you take out a Sith Lord and then leave, so you can get all the glory. You betrayed me, you lying piece of bantha schutta.”

 

“Jae, calm down. You’re giving in to your anger,” Talin urged.

 

“I didn’t send it, Jae, and you know that,” Jolee insisted. “You need to get control of your emotions, Padawan.”

 

“Padawan? I’m no longer a Padawan, because I no longer have a master,” I fumed. I pulled out a small dagger and cut off my Padawan braid. I threw it down and ground it into the floor with my boot. “When Vrook showed all three of us that holovid, you even pretended to act sad when they pronounced their sentence and ordered us to leave after this mission. How dare you act like you weren’t responsible. I suppose now you think you’ll get a place on the Council, old man.”

 

He took my hand in both of his, and looked at me with his deep brown eyes. “Come on. You know it’s all Sith lies. I didn’t send it, and I’m sure not doing anything to get on the Council."

 

Something stung on my arm momentarily. I glanced down. Jolee had palmed the stim when I wasn’t looking and had just injected me with it. He flashed a wink so subtly, only I could see it. I allowed a look of dismay to break through before I immediately put my hard face back on.

 

Glaring at him, I said, “That’s right. You’re not going to do anything to get on the Council. I’m going to make sure of that right now.”

 

I gathered my Force strength, and with a wave of my hand, I sent Jolee flying. He crashed into a wall and then fell to the ground in a heap. He was very still. Slowly, I walked over to him and knelt to feel for a pulse.

 

“Jae! What are you doing?”

 

I stood up and looked over at Miraxton. “He’s dead,” I declared, and then I was able to let the anger flow out to let the calm return. Turning to Talin, I continued, “I’m preventing him from betraying any other Jedi.”

 

Talin just stood there, eyes wide and jaw slack in amazement.

 

Miraxton’s surprise and pleasure played across his face. “What a very interesting turn of events. When I saw the holovid, Jae, I knew you were a woman of passion. Obviously, I underestimated how deeply that passion runs.”

 

“You don’t know me at all."

 

Miraxton ignored the edge of warning in my voice. He sauntered towards me, and I found myself suddenly unable to move, gripped by his stasis field.

 

“I know you quite well, my dear. Perhaps better than you think,” he said, circling around me once. He stopped, facing me, and smiled. He fingered a lock of hair that had escaped from the band holding it off my face. “Such a lovely color. I wonder what it looks like loose. I bet Talin likes it loose, cascading over your bare skin.”

 

He untied the band and my hair tumbled down.

 

I felt the anger rising in Talin.

 

I thought to him, “Calm, Talin. He’s trying to bait you. He’s not going to do anything. I’m fine.”

 

“He does and he’ll find a lightsaber up his--”

 

“Talin!” I smiled slightly, which was about as much movement as I could make besides breathing while in the stasis field. “He’s all talk. ‘There is no emotion....’”

 

“There is peace.” He exhaled his ire.

 

Miraxton misinterpreted my smile as pleasure at the touch of his hand running through my hair.

 

“I see you enjoy that,” he said. He had the look of a voracious panther. While still peering at my face, he said, “Tell me, Talin, do you think when she’s my apprentice that she and I will share that passion, too?”

 

Talin and I both heard the tiny beep from our comlinks. Bernecki was giving everyone the 15-minute count.

 

“You not going to have a chance to find out. You won’t leave here alive.”

 

Miraxton ignored Talin’s answer. He slid his hand slowly from my hair all the way down to my waist and pulled me in hard against him. He locked his amber eyes with mine once more as a small smirk played across his lips. “I won’t even have to use force, Talin. She’ll beg.” When he saw the anger in my eyes, he just laughed. “You don’t believe me. Let me give you a little taste, my dear.”

 

He tipped up my chin and placed a kiss on my lips that was curiously soft even in its power. There was some reason for that, and I searched. I reminded him of…a woman he had loved? I followed that faintest thread of light through the twisted morass of darkness that was Miraxton, past the hate, the murders, the anger, and even the hurt. The flash of insight startled me.

 

“He is not going to get away with that,” Talin thought. “While his hands are occupied I’m going to attack.” He tensed in preparation for his attack.

 

“I think they’re probably occupied enough, dear.”

 

I felt Miraxton’s arm shift at the same time Talin made a dash towards him, lightsaber glowing.

 

“Watch out, Talin!” I told him through our link.

 

The duel had begun.

 

Talin stepped slightly to the side at my warning, and Miraxton’s thrust towards his chest missed him by less than the thickness of spider silk. Talin’s lightsaber swung around and clashed against Miraxton’s in a sizzle of sparks. They circled away from me, trading attacks and parries.

 

I concentrated, and the iron grip of the stasis field broke. Igniting my lightsaber, I ran at the pair, taking a powerful swipe at Miraxton just as he tried to attack Talin. Miraxton broke off his lunge at Talin to block my attack. He looked almost disappointed that I was fighting alongside Talin, but the hard gleam of hate returned to his eyes, and he stepped forward, sliding his blade along mine and pushing it away as he thrust his blade toward my heart.

 

I jumped back to escape the attack while Talin countered with another whirl of his blade, trying to take advantage of the opening. The tip of his blade caught Miraxton on his cheek, and while it was a very minor wound, it infuriated him. He jumped and used his momentum to bring his blade crashing down on Talin’s head.

 

Talin blocked high, but the power in Miraxton’s attack pushed both their blades down, threatening to slice down into Talin’s head. I threw my blade up to help Talin keep Miraxton from pushing down further. The blades stopped dropping and we held that position for long moments, arms shaking in our efforts to break the stalemate.

 

The link between Talin and me strengthened again, and we coordinated our attacks. Talin disengaged his blade and dodged while I whirled mine in the opposite direction, both of us trying to catch Miraxton on his flanks. Miraxton jumped back. He caught Talin’s blade with his as my attack swished through the air, missing him. His anger and frustration drove him to make fierce attacks, and it took every bit of energy for both of us to counter the power of his blade as it pounded against our sabers in loud crackles. We traded blows back and forth, sparks flying everywhere, dancing sabers carrying the promise of death at any moment.

 

Then Miraxton saw the opening. He caught my lightsaber with his, and I pushed against the blade, trying to break the lock. He shifted his lightsaber abruptly, and my blade shot out away from him as he swirled his blade to attack Talin. Talin parried the attack. Miraxton held that parry and gave me a brutal kick in the stomach that threw me back several feet and knocked the breath out of me. I curled up on the ground in pain, trying to catch even the tiniest bit of air for a few minutes until my stunned lungs could recover.

 

Talin and Miraxton continued to trade blows, circling and whirling their blades, the loud hums of the lightsabers echoing throughout the quarters. They locked their weapons together once more. I saw the little wave of the fingers on one of his hands, and Talin went flying back. He hit the ground with a loud thud and lay still. I was relieved when I saw him take a breath.

 

Miraxton saw it, too, and took a step towards Talin to finish him off. I scrambled to my feet to try to cut him off before he could reach Talin.

 

“Tell me who Constance is,” I yelled across the room.

 

Miraxton stopped. He turned abruptly to glare at me, eyes narrowed. “How do you know about Constance?”

 

“Tell me who she is,” I insisted, taking slow steps towards him.

 

“I never want to hear you speak her name again! You couldn't possibly be worthy enough to say her name,” His knuckles were white as he gripped the lightsaber and pointed it at me. He shook with fury.

 

“She’s the reason you’re what you are today. You were just a young boy when you watched her murder. Who killed her? The Exchange? The Hutts? Or was it Chilopos himself?”

 

Had I not put a mental block up, Miraxton’s howl of pained rage would have flattened me.

 

I pressed the questions. “Who killed her, Miraxton? Who gutted her while you were hiding behind the pantry door, praying they wouldn’t smell your fear or see the puddle on the floor when you wet yourself? Who butchered her so badly that you could hardly recognize your grandmother when they finished?”

 

“The Hutts killed her, the bloody sons of fracking schuttas,” he screamed.

 

The fragile constructs in his mind connecting him to reality were starting to break down as he relived the long-suppressed memories.

 

He took a moment to collect himself and then continued in a more normal tone of voice, “Chilopos heard my cry through the Force and arrived while they were still hacking on her, even though she was dead. He cut them down in seconds, and when the authorities came, he told them the Hutts had killed her and the Exchange had killed the Hutts in a gang fight. Mind tricks work very well on the unsuspecting.”

 

“What did Chilopos do?”

 

“Chilopos found me in the pantry and took me in. He saw my Force potential and made arrangements for me to be trained by the Jedi. We would meet now and then and discuss how I would get my revenge and how I could hide my true feelings from the Jedi. Jedi, just like everyone else, see what they want to see many times. They wanted to see a smart but compliant child, and I showed them that side.”

 

“But then you killed a Hutt one day.”

 

“I killed many Hutts, and I killed anyone in the Exchange who tried to collaborate with them. Chilopos fed me the information until I learned enough intelligence techniques from my Bothan master to find it myself. He made sure to teach me Force techniques that the Jedi would never teach so that I could avenge her one day—one of the filthy giant slugs for every cut they gave my grandmother. I still have hundreds left to go.”

 

“And then you had a lightsaber duel with a Padawan who happened to also be a Hutt.”

 

“I killed him. At that point, I left the Order and joined Chilopos as his apprentice.”

 

“I don’t understand why you joined the Navy.”

 

“It’s very simple. If I control enough ships, I can destroy Nal Hutta. With the combined ships of the Navy and the Exchange, I command enough fire power to take out any planet I want. Then the slimy quivering bags of schutta will finally be exterminated. Join me, Jae. Join me and I'll show you what power and control really is.”

 

“You need to know something,” I said to him in a quiet voice.

 

“There’s nothing more I need to know except how many more of those Hutts I have to kill before they’re extinct.”

 

“The Council found a record of Chilopos meeting with Hutt bounty hunters just before your grandmother died. They never found out who he had put the death mark on. Now I know it was your grandmother. Chilopos ordered her death and made sure you were there to see every last stab that they made. You must have suspected, too. That’s when you had his ship blasted out of space. You did it because you knew he was the one guilty of your grandmother’s death.”

 

A tidal wave of both sonic and psychic sound crashed in all directions as he screamed his pain and hate at both the Hutts and Chilopos. The brittle grasp he had on sanity strained with his howls.

 

He drew up his Force strength, and streams of a greenish-yellow light flew from his hands. It hit me, and the pain nearly dropped me to my knees. I gasped as my hands started to blister and the skin began to crack as the Force Scourge took effect. My mind scrambled to find the defense techniques just to stop the agonizing fire burning through my hands. It was all I could do to keep hold of my lightsaber. The blistering got only as far as my wrists before the defenses and the stim were fully active, but the pain was overwhelming enough to make me nearly want to cut off my hands. The streams kept flowing, but the effects went no further.

 

“Oh, no, Jae!” I heard Talin yell. I realized he hadn’t seen what Jolee had done with his stim.

 

“NO! Talin, don’t do it!”

 

Talin launched himself into the air, throwing himself between Miraxton and me in an effort to break up the stream between us. The Scourge hit him full force, and he dropped to the ground, breaking out in the lesions, skin splitting everywhere. His throat was so cracked he couldn’t even scream. The stim flew out of his hand and clattered away. He could only lay on the ground, quivering as the pain coursed through him.

 

Miraxton picked up the stim. “What’s this?” He started laughing. “Stims don’t work. I know, I’ve tested them many times.” He tossed it down on the ground, like so much garbage, and then looked at me again. “You must have studied the holocron extensively to protect yourself like that. Too bad your precious Talin was too foolish to do the same. When he dies, you will be mine.”

[Jae Onasi]

The Vision and Miraxton

 

Even through all his agony, Talin sensed my worry for him. “Relax, Jae. I took the stim.”

 

The relief was nearly overwhelming. “Thank the Force. The defense techniques will work. Concentrate on them, and the pain will decrease.”

 

I wanted to bend down to help him so badly my heart ached, but I had to turn away to focus on my adversary before he destroyed us.

 

“It’s not just an ordinary stim,” I told Miraxton. It took very little of the Force to make it fly into my hand. “It combats the Scourge. We’ve found a way to stop you and your horrible attacks.”

 

He attacked as I feinted a move towards Talin with the stim. I dropped it to put both hands on my lightsaber, preparing for the first powerful strike. I slipped to the side a bit and parried his blow. His lightsaber glanced off mine, sliding off to the side. I swung around to slash at his open side. He twisted to stop my blade and then launched a blinding series of attacks that forced me back as our sabers flashed and snapped with each blow. Our blades locked in front of each other, and we circled, trying to find each other’s openings and weaknesses.

 

“Chilopos was the one who killed your grandmother, not the Hutts. You already killed him. You don’t have to avenge her anymore. The fleet is coming in to stop the Exchange ships that manage to make it through our attacks.”

 

Miraxton sneered, “I don’t care who was responsible anymore. The Hutts are a plague. The galaxy will be a much better place without them.” What was left of his connection with sanity began to crumble.

 

“The Republic won’t let you exterminate an entire species. Neither will the Navy.”

 

“How you underestimate me. Not all of the Navy swears allegiance to the Republic. I have friends in influential posts, and I’ve managed to see that sentients loyal to me captain a good number of those ships. Admiral Dodonna is going to have quite a surprise when some of them suddenly turn and start attacking her. Your precious Uncle Carth is first on the list.”

 

I swallowed hard as the despair sank heavy in my stomach, threatening to make me ill.

 

“Concentrate, Jae. Now he’s baiting you.” Talin noted. I could still feel the intensity of his pain, but it was improving slightly.

 

“You won’t be around to give the order for them to attack."

 

Miraxton made a little laugh, darkness somehow coloring even that. “My fleet knows what to do, and I’ve already given the order. You see, I anticipated that Carth would call in the fleet to take out my forces down here.” His hungry amber eyes locked on mine once more. “You’re not strong enough to kill me, Jae. And I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to turn you. We will destroy the Hutts and make the galaxy in our own image. I might even make you my wife.”

 

I grimaced at that thought. “You really are delusional. You might take me, but it won’t be alive.”

 

His eyes darkened with rage. “I will take you whatever way I please. If I want you to kneel and kiss the floor at my feet before you pleasure me, I will make you do it. You will be unable to resist me.”

 

He gave a furious push with his lightsaber, and I fell back on the floor. I rolled out of the way just as he slammed his blade down on the floor behind me. I jumped to my feet and immediately had to leap over his lightsaber as he swung the blade low, trying to strike me while I was still on the ground. I kicked hard while still in the air, catching him under the chin and sending him flying back. He landed on the ground with a loud grunt but was immediately on his feet again, screaming his rage as I rushed in for the attack. I lunged, and he blocked it and circled his blade, trying to lock up my saber and pull it out of my hands. He had stopped thinking and started to throw fierce blows randomly. I dodged and blocked, fighting fatigue as the blows rained down relentlessly.

 

“Use the Force, Jae. He’s reverting to Xi-ro,” Talin thought to me. He sent the tiny bit of strength he could through our link, and though it was not much, the encouragement alone helped bolster my strength and resolve.

 

Miraxton slashed and lunged as he began the pattern of the form. I nearly missed the initial blocks because of his speed, but I caught up and began to anticipate his moves. Our blades continued to swirl and then crash together in loud hums and snaps. My heart raced as I recognized the pattern from the vision, but I had to put the vision aside to concentrate just to survive each slicing attack.

 

He swung his blade around to try to hit me in the head, and I threw up my blade to catch his saber in front of me. He circled the blade down. I parried and tried to slide my blade up his to stab him in the chest. He stepped back and caught my blade before I could hit him. He went for my head again and I blocked.

 

"Join me, Jae. Join me or die."

 

I felt his attempt to draw my mind to his, trying to claw at the inside of my head to force me to his side. I fought it, pushing back against his will, pushing him back out of my mind.

 

"No."

 

He made a move to strike my legs, and I snapped the blade down to catch his.

 

It was a feint.

 

He dropped his blade slightly but then whirled it up above his head. My blade was still traveling down. I had no time to bring my lightsaber up to block him, and no room to dodge out of the way.

 

“NO!” Talin could hardly cry out loud, but I heard the psychic wail as he saw what was happening and realized I was going to be cut down.

 

“I love you,” I thought to him.

 

A violet lightsaber whirled through the air.

 

Miraxton’s eyes widened in surprise, and he looked up. I followed his gaze. Jolee’s lightsaber had severed his hands at the wrists, and they fell away, the lightsaber extinguishing itself automatically.

 

I took a deep breath, relief pouring through.

 

He looked back at me, pain filling his eyes and the hurt pinching his face. He cocked his head at me and said, “You lied to me. You said he was dead.”

 

I winced as I felt his sanity shatter. He roared in torment and struck out blindly with the Scourge. The spring-green waves shot out, deadly in their beauty. I fought through his Force attack and drove my blade in and up, hitting him in the hip and slicing all the way through to his opposite shoulder.

 

The screaming and all the streams of green light stopped simultaneously, extinguished by Miraxton’s mortal wound. He tried to take a breath but could only manage one more gasp. He collapsed, dead before he ever hit the ground. I could only stand there, trying to catch my breath and shaking with fatigue.

 

When I looked over to Talin, Jolee was already there, employing his healing techniques.

 

“Come on, Jae. I know you’re exhausted, but we only have about five more minutes before this place blows. Help me get him healed enough so he can get up.”

 

Both of us concentrated, trying to counteract the effects of the Scourge before the lack of time forced us to haul Talin to his feet. We put him between us, one arm over each of our shoulders, and half-jogged, half-dragged him towards the front of the building. Talin grit his teeth against the agony and put all the effort he had into just moving his feet along with us.

 

“Nice piece of acting there, Jae. You almost had me believing you were mad at me, and I’m the one who made up the whole damn thing,” Jolee said, breathing heavy as we moved down the corridors.

 

“The braid thing--perfect,” Talin said, his voice croaking but starting to return.

 

"I was worried that cutting it off might be a little over the top. It came to me right then, but I thought it might just work.”

 

“Oh, it worked, all right. Remind me to nominate you for Best Actress at the next Holovid Awards.”

 

As we approached the rendezvous point in the building, Bernecki saw the three of us and signaled to his team for another stretcher. We dropped Talin onto it as gently as we could.

 

“Move, people, now! This place is going up in 2 minutes!” Bernecki shouted at everyone. “Everyone not carrying a stretcher, surround those who are and lay down suppressive fire. I don’t want to see one single Exchange head popping up, and if one does, you better take it off.”

 

We dashed out of the building, and streams of blaster bolts started flying all around us. The soldiers on the team laid down such a heavy layer of fire I almost couldn’t see separate bolts anymore. An entire squad of Exchange mercenaries dropped, taken out by the furious shooting, their shouts no longer contributing to all the battle noise. Smoke and dirt plumed in the air as the grenades hit the ground or their targets and exploded.

 

MacFinlay was just setting the shuttle down, and Yutan manned the large guns on the shuttle to provide extra cover fire while we ran across the field.

We clattered onto the shuttle and secured the injured. I went back to the entrance with a blaster to cover the soldiers still pouring into the shuttle. Bernecki was the last to jump up the ramp.

 

“Everyone’s on. Go, go, go!” Bernecki shouted forward to MacFinlay.

 

MacFinlay took off before the hatch had even started to close. Bernecki and I kneeled and stayed at the opening to shoot any Exchange troopers that might try to attack us.

 

The shuttle jerked as MacFinlay dodged a rocket grenade. “Strap in and hold on tight, boys and girls!” he called back to all of us.

 

The shuttle rocked again as MacFinlay banked sharply to avoid another explosion. Bernecki lost his balance and slipped out the hatch opening. The tether caught him, and he swung around furiously in the whipping winds as the shuttle accelerated.

 

“MacFinlay!” I called out. “Lower the hatch! Bernecki can’t get back in!”

 

“Hatch is jammed. I think the tether’s caught,” he yelled back.

 

I looked down, and the line keeping Bernecki connected to the shuttle was stuck in the hatch opening. I pulled out my lightsaber, ignited it, and leaned out the opening.

 

“I'm not letting you go. Grab my arm. I have to cut the line!” I yelled, trying to be heard over the wind. My hair whipped around and I could hardly catch my breath because of the speed.

 

“Just let me go so the hatch can shut! If I grab on, you’ll fly out, too.”

 

“Trust me! If I can take out a Sith Lord, I can haul you back into a shuttle!”

 

He took my arm. I sliced through the cord, and used the Force to pull him up over the opening and back on the ship. The tether released and the hatch was able to shut. We both fell to the deck, breathing hard.

 

The command center blew up a few seconds later. I heard the boom even through the armor of the shuttle. I thought about Miraxton’s body being there in the middle of the fireball, and it brought me no joy. Instead, there was only relief that such a tormented soul could no longer torture anyone else, and that the battle was over.

 

After lying there a minute to catch our breath, Bernecki said, “Ma’am, you can be on my team anytime.”

 

“Thanks, Bernecki.” He helped me up off the deck and then took a hard look at my hands, turning them over briefly to make sure there were no serious injuries.

 

“Fa-meng!” Bernecki called aft.

 

“Sir!”

 

“Make sure you take care of her hands. And don’t take ‘no’ for an answer from her!”

 

“Yes, sir!”

 

Bernecki looked back at me and grinned. “Captain said the Onasi women can be stubborn sometimes, ma’am.”

 

“The Onasi men are just as bad.”

 

“If anyone says I agree with you, I’ll be required to deny it, of course."

 

“As soon as we can get good communication, we have to let Captain know that Miraxton said the fleet’s compromised.”

 

“What?” Bernecki said, face darkening with anger.

 

I told him what Miraxton had said during our duel.

 

“I’ll let him know as soon as we can get a secure line. Now go aft and let Fa-Meng take care of those hands. Ma’am.”

 

Jolee and one of the corpsmen were working on Talin. He looked terrible, blisters still covering the skin, but he was beginning to show signs of healing.

 

“You look a little better, dear” I said to him.

 

“Not enough to escape the kolto tank. I despise the taste of kolto.” His voice was still a bit hoarse, but at least his throat had healed enough to have a voice.

 

“I’m just glad you’re OK. I wanted to help you so bad when Miraxton hit you.”

 

“Jae, you took him out. That was a whole lot more help than anything else. By the way,” he stopped for a moment.

 

“What is it?” I asked, concerned that something was wrong when he stopped talking.

 

“I love you, too.”

 

Jolee smiled at that one and then said, “Talin, I’ve gotten about as far as I can. We’ll get you and Jae back to the ship and then to Telos station where Master Supat is. You two will be up and smooching in no time.”

 

“When you put it that way, Jolee, I’m feeling better already."

 

“You men!” I snorted, sitting down to let Fa-Meng treat my hands.

 

He applied the medpak, and the kolto in it started to heal up the raw areas of skin. Jolee sat down next to me. I rested my head back, closed my eyes, and breathed out a sigh, as much from the pain relief as from the fatigue.

 

“Our ruse worked pretty well, didn’t it?” I smiled. “How did you know he was going to have a holovid like that?”

 

“I didn’t right away. I ran into my ‘double’ in one of the cantinas when I was searching for De’Layn. He didn’t see me, thank goodness, and at the time I thought it just was an odd coincidence. However, I filed that away because ‘odd coincidences’ and the Force working its way usually end up being the same. When the vid of Talin and you showed up at the Jedi Temple, I put two and two together and came up with an educated guess. I would have figured out some other way to get ‘dropped’ if he hadn’t played that vid of ‘me’ sending off the transmission. Maybe a heart attack or something, since I’m so old, you know.”

 

He rolled his eyes, and I smiled again.

 

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

 

He made a show of rubbing the back of his head. “Not too bad, but I’ll definitely feel it tomorrow.”

 

“About that stim—I thought I told you I wasn’t going to take it.”

 

“I exercised my prerogative as your master to override your decision. I was the only one in the vision not hit with the Scourge. It made sense for you to get it instead.”

 

“I suppose you were right.”

 

“Of course I was right. I’m the only one running around without any blisters decorating my skin.”

 

“I’m just glad you got that lightsaber throw in perfectly. I thought I was dead.”

 

“Believe me, I was watching very carefully. Vrook would never forgive me if I allowed something to happen to you. Besides, I’ve gotten rather used to having you around. You’re a good fighter and a good friend.”

 

I smiled. “Thanks. I’ve grown rather fond of you, too.”

 

We enjoyed a few moments in quiet. Fa-meng finished the treatment and went over to see if the corpsmen needed more help.

 

I started to think about the report we’d have to give to the Council. “I don’t know if the Council will ever believe that we play-acted sections of a vision. That has to be a first in Jedi history.”

 

“We’re a ground-breaking team, that’s for sure,” Jolee replied.

 

“Then we have to deal with the relationship between Talin and me.”

 

Jolee gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze as he got up. “There’s plenty of time to think about that after we all get a little rest. Besides, if you can deal with a Sith Lord, taking on the Council will be a piece of cake. And you have me in your corner.”

 

“Refresh my memory—is having you in my corner good or bad?” I grinned.

 

Jolee affected a look of disdain and sniffed. “You young people are never grateful.”

[Jae Onasi]

A Question of Loyalty

 

“What do you mean, we can’t raise the Osprey?” Bernecki asked Yutan.

 

“I’m getting chatter from the other strike teams, sir, but I can’t reach the Osprey. Her communications system is out,” Yutan said.

 

Jolee and I looked at each other when we overheard that and went forward. Yutan tried to contact the ship once more.

 

Bernecki said to MacFinlay, “Tell me if we’ve got enough fuel to make it to Telos station. We may have to fly in there if we can’t dock with our ship.”

 

“What’s the situation, Bernecki?” Jolee asked.

 

“Comm appears to be down. We don’t know why. Since Miraxton had been on board for quite awhile before we figured out the schutta was a traitor, sabotage or even mutiny has crossed my mind.” He looked over at me, sad eyes softening his normally hard features. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I hope nothing’s happened to Captain.”

 

I closed my eyes and concentrated. “He’s not in distress. It feels like he’s still in charge.” I opened my eyes again. “I wish I could give you better information, Bernecki, but we’re too far away for me to sense anything more.”

 

Bernecki looked from MacFinlay to Yutan and back to us. “Options?”

 

MacFinlay frowned, “I’m not sure we’ll have enough fuel to get to Telos station, and I don’t want to try to coast in on fumes with casualties needing care. If Captain’s fine, then we want to get to the ship.”

 

“MacFinlay, I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen you play it safe,” Bernecki said.

 

“Hopefully the last, too, but our fuel is just too low. If we were all fine, we could take that chance. If we ran out of fuel, we’d sit around for a while until someone came to help. The injured can’t wait, sir. I sure don’t want to be a sitting duck if Dodonna comes in with some wolves in sheep’s clothing, too. We’re not going to lose anyone while I’m flying, thank you.”

 

“Understood. Yutan?”

 

He pressed on an earpiece, straining to hear anything from Carth’s ship. “I’m still not getting anything. It’s not looking good, sir.”

 

“Do you Jedi have any suggestions?”

 

“If Carth’s not in distress, then I think we have to go to the ship. The only problem we’ll have is getting their attention so we can get back on board,” I said.

 

“Not a problem,” Jolee said with a wide smile. “Mik’oth and I had something similar happen after escaping from Ukatis. Except it was our comm system that was out. Actually, pretty much everything was out. We’d taken a few bad hits. We couldn’t talk with the Republic ship. Imagine our surprise when they powered up their weapons.”

 

“How’d you handle that one, sir?” Bernecki asked.

 

“We activated our distress beacon. Then we flew close enough for them to see us, but stayed outside our weapon range so we weren’t a threat. I don’t know any military types that like someone getting in strike range, unless they’re fools. Anyway, when we got to where they could see us, we started blinking our lights on and off. Once they decided we weren’t going to try to blow them up or something equally idiotic, they got someone who could read the light-flash code. We had a very nice conversation, and the Republic ship sent over a team to greet us.”

 

“Heh, I bet they sent over a team. Complete with weapons armed and ready. Now, flash code just might work. Only problem is, I haven’t done that since basic training,” Bernecki said.

 

“Not a problem. Leave it to me. Carth should be able to figure it out, or get someone in there who can,” Jolee replied.

 

“I don’t know how you manage to know all this stuff.” Bernecki shook his head slightly in amazement.

 

“I’m old, dammit. You pick up a few things along the way.”

 

* * *

 

“Talin told me he’s going to be OK. That’s not just bravado talking, is it?” Carth said to Jolee as he walked down the shuttle ramp after the injured had been unloaded and whisked off to the medical bay.

 

“Well, knowing him, I’m sure some of it is, but he’s better than he was even a little while ago.”

 

I followed Jolee down. “He should be fine, especially after Master Supat treats him,” I added.

 

“And what happened to you?” Carth asked, taking both of my hands to look them over. He scanned both of us up and down to make sure we weren’t injured further.

 

“Miraxton hit me with the Scourge, but he only got that far. I’m OK. You have to get communications back up, Carth. Before Miraxton died, he said he put his people in place on some ships in Dodonna’s task force. He seemed to think they had taken control of them. He ordered them to take you and the Osprey out.”

 

“This just gets better and better.” Carth’s face darkened with anger. “I worried about sabotage, and we had to comb the life support and weapons systems before we could tackle any others. We just ran out of people and time to check everything. Blasted Miraxton set up charges in the critical parts of the comm system and wiped nearly everything. It’s out until we can dock for repairs because he so nicely stole the repair parts. The fleet’s coming in about 30 minutes, and I have no way to communicate with Dodonna or track who might be trying to attack us.” He ran his hand through his hair, trying to contain his frustration.

 

“She’s well aware of the situation with Miraxton. If you’re running silent, she’s going to consider the possibility of sabotage and maybe even mutiny,” I said.

 

Carth nodded his agreement. “I know. I could do shuttle to shuttle communication, but she’s going to be suspicious of anyone on my crew right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t even trust you Jedi, Jolee.”

 

“Hmmph. She’s the one who pinned that damn Cross of Glory on my robe. She better trust me.”

 

“We’ll go to her, then. If we’re the only ones she can trust right now, then we’re the ones who need to fly to her ship,” I decided.

 

“We?” Jolee lifted an eyebrow. “We aren’t going anywhere. You are going to go to the med bay and soak those hands in a nice little kolto bath. I will fly over to her flagship and have a little chat with her. It only takes one of us to do that. She knows me, after all.”

 

“Who’s going to do the shooting if you’re flying?”

 

“I can pat my head and rub my belly all at the same time, thank you. They teach you these things in Jedi School.”

 

I crossed my arms and tilted my head. “You know if things get hairy, like if one of those ships decides to attack or the Exchange manages to get some ships off the ground, that having a gunner will be a good thing. My hands are healed enough to shoot.”

 

“Can I stop you?”

 

“Um, no.” I grinned.

 

Jolee looked at the ceiling, shook his head, and then looked back at me. “Come on, then, before you start tapping your foot in irritation, too.”

 

“You can use that fighter over there—we’ll get it ready for you now. Bernecki will be our liaison,” Carth said.

 

“Sounds good. We’re off,” Jolee said. “We’ll call in as soon as we can.”

 

* * *

 

Like most admirals, Dodonna was punctual. The fleet dropped out of hyperspace at the precise spot and time that she had specified.

 

“K2 fighter, identify,” came the order from Dodonna’s flagship, The Crusader.

 

“K2-7799. Requesting permission to board. Jolee Bindo needs to speak to Admiral Dodonna about the Osprey ASAP.”

 

“Negative, 7799. Hold position until we confirm the status of Eye of the Osprey.”

 

“Her communications are down, and we’re a little concerned you all will get the wrong idea about what’s happening over there. I’m here to tell Dodonna just what her status is.”

 

“The Admiral is not available at this time. Maintain position.”

 

“I need to talk to someone—anyone--about what’s happening over there right now.”

 

“Hold your position, 7799, or we will be forced to fire.”

 

Jolee keyed off the com and breathed out a frustrated sigh. “I hate, loathe, despise, and otherwise bear negative sentiments for anything remotely resembling idiot bureaucracy.”

 

“Tell me how you really feel, Jolee.”

 

“Don’t you get sassy, too, Miss I-Just-Took-Out-A-Sith-Lord.”

 

“You don’t think Miraxton compromised Dodonna’s ship, do you?” I concentrated and tried to feel for her presence. I was relieved to sense that she was occupied but not in distress. “No, it feels like she’s OK.”

 

“Good. I figured she would have picked her senior staff long before Miraxton was on the scene.” He keyed the com again. “Listen to me, sonny. This is Jedi Master Jolee Bindo. Find your supervisor. Tell that person that I need to chat with the Admiral before someone accidentally blows Carth’s ship out of space. You can either follow that request, or you can explain to the Admiral why you threatened to fire on someone she personally pinned the Cross of Glory on.”

 

“Please hold, sir.”

 

Jolee muttered a few choice words.

 

“Master Bindo. Dodonna here.” The Admiral herself was calling.

 

“Forn! About damn time that kid got off his butt to go get you.”

 

She laughed. “You’re Jolee, all right.”

 

“Listen, Carth’s communications system is down—our favorite man left him a little going-away present. I have a couple other urgent matters I have to discuss with you in private, too.”

 

“I’ll see you as soon as you dock. Dodonna out.”

 

We were given clearance and ushered to Dodonna’s office with remarkable alacrity.

 

Admiral Dodonna shook hands with Jolee, smiling. “It’s good to see you again, Jolee. You’ll have to forgive my over-eager ensign. It’s his first cruise and he’s a by-the-book type. We're educating him on this incident.”

 

“I bet you are. Admiral, this is my Padawan, Jae Onasi.”

 

She was about to shake my hand when she saw the bandages and deferred. She asked, “You’re all right?”

 

“Yes, Admiral. Thank you.”

 

“She took out Miraxton earlier today. He put our partner Talin in the medical bay and gave her one hell of a fight.”

 

Dodonna looked at me and nodded her admiration. “Congratulations. We’ve been learning just how dangerous he truly was to the Navy and the Republic.”

 

“Forn, we’ve got a problem over at the Osprey. Miraxton set charges that took out communications and stole the replacement parts. Even worse, Miraxton told us he had some ships in your fleet that are now loyal to him, and he gave the order to take out Carth’s ship. We don’t know how many or how they’re planning to do it.”

 

Dodonna sat down at her desk and started inputting data. “I’m pulling up a list of all senior officers who’ve had any contact with Miraxton. Hmm, there are a lot of officers here, but that's not surprising since he was supposedly a rising star. Let’s see what ships they’re all serving on.”

 

Her fingers flew over the computer screen.

 

“Damn, that’s quite a list.” Jolee said.

 

“Half of my task force might be compromised.” Dodonna shook her head as her lips tightened.

 

“Admiral, bridge. About fifteen Exchange ships flying directly towards us.”

 

“Raise shields. Fire if fired upon, otherwise keep them from escaping. Give explicit orders to every ship here that they are not to fire on the Osprey unless I give the order personally.”

 

“Yes, Admiral.”

 

She keyed off the com.

 

“Not bad,” Jolee nodded in appreciation. “There used to be about 4 or 5 dozen before the teams went down to Telos and had a little romp in their hanger bays.”

 

“One-to-one odds are definitely better than four-to-one odds. Now we have to figure out which ships might mutiny. I don’t know how we’ll be able to do that immediately. If I know which ones are going to be trouble, I can get their shutdown codes from Command. However, they’ll be dead in space when I do that. I don’t want to put innocent people in danger, and I don’t want to lose any firepower unnecessarily.”

 

“I think you’ll have to shut them down all at once, too, or some of those ships might flee,” I said.

 

“Exactly,” Dodonna nodded.

 

“Well, we can’t just call them up and ask who they like better. I think the only way we can find the defectors right now is if Jae and I fly in close to sense who’s on our side and who’s not.”

 

“I’ll never say no to help from you, Jolee.”

 

“We’ll check through this list of ships. We’re off, then.”

 

* * *

 

“All right, two more ships to check,” I said.

 

“Only one ship that Miraxton poisoned so far—the DeRecho. Let’s look at these last two and get back to Dodonna. This firefight is getting a little nasty.”

 

The Exchange ships had started targeting the Osprey, and the fleet had engaged them. We had been dodging the fire and the dogfights.

 

Our com crackled. “Admiral! This is Storm Rider. Osprey is targeting my ship! We’re being attacked!”

 

“Storm Rider is on the list, isn’t it?” Jolee asked.

 

I scanned the datapad. “Yes, and it’s one of the last two we have to check.”

 

“Not any more. They just gave themselves away. They’re pulling something funny here.”

 

Storm Rider’s captain said, “Admiral, I’m uploading the attack runs to you now as proof. We have to take that ship out!”

 

“We saw no attacks. You will not fire on the Osprey. Anyone disobeying that order will be relieved,” Dodonna ordered.

 

“Jolee, the captain’s going to disobey those orders,” I warned him.

 

Jolee tried to call Bernecki several times. “Damn, too much interference. I think they’re trying to jam communications now.”

 

I reached out to Talin. “Storm Rider is about to attack. Can you warn Carth?”

“I’ll do it.” Talin replied.

 

Jolee flew us to the last ship, the Hoth Crystal and slowed enough to try to sense the officers’ intent. “This one’s bad, too. All right, let’s get back.”

 

“Look out!” I called to Jolee.

 

He pulled up to get out of the line of fire of two Exchange fighters, and I fired. The first ship disappeared in a stream of fire and I tracked the second ship, shooting it as soon as it was in my crosshairs. It exploded.

 

I looked back at the ships that Miraxton had contaminated. Storm Rider and Hoth Crystal powered up their weapons and fired on the Osprey.

[Jae Onasi]

Storm Rider

 

 

Talin, Hoth Crystal’s attacking, too. I warned him.

 

Carth has shields up. I’ll tell him.

 

I sighed my relief. “Talin says Carth has the shields up, Jolee.”

 

“Good. That should buy them some time. Tell them not to fire on any Republic ships. He does that, and they’ll really think he’s a defector.”

 

I relayed that to Talin.

 

He’s holding fire.

 

Jolee tried to raise The Crusader.

 

Dodonna was waiting for him. “What’s the word, Jolee?”

 

“Three ships—DeRecho, Storm Rider, and Hoth Crystal. We’ve told Carth to hold fire.”

 

“We’ll do our best to protect him. I’m going to shut down those ships. Until I can, see if you can take out the weapons on Storm Rider.”

 

“Done. Bindo out.”

 

Dodonna sent an announcement to all the Republic ships. “DeRecho, Storm Rider, and Hoth Crystal, you are ordered to stand down immediately. Raxton is dead. The Exchange fleet on Telos has been decimated. Your plans will not succeed.”

 

Three ships detached from the task force and arranged themselves around the Osprey, facing off their combatants to protect Carth’s ship. Storm Rider and Hoth Crystal continued their attack on the Osprey as the DeRecho and the remnants of the Exchange fleet joined up with them.

 

“Nice try, Dodonna. I see quite a few ships here already, and it really doesn’t matter if Raxton’s dead,” replied the captain of Storm Rider.

 

“Timan, those are the only Exchange ships that made it off Telos, and they’re freighters, not warships. They won’t survive long in a fight. Cease your fire on the Osprey and shut it down right now. There are a lot of people on your ship. You’re putting them all at extreme risk.”

 

“Planning on blowing my ship to bits, Dodonna? Go ahead. My people understand their orders, and so do the people on DeRecho and Hoth Crystal. Every one of them made their choice to be here. You might have that steely reputation, Dodonna, but I’d like to see you try to take us all out.”

 

“If you know my ‘steely reputation’, Timan, then you know that I will not hesitate to fire on your ship as traitors. You can stop this right now. Save yourself and your people.”

 

Timan’s response would have made even a smuggler blush. He broke off the attack on the Osprey, but he turned towards The Crusader. The other ships allied with him followed suit. Admiral Dodonna transmitted the shutdown codes. The shields dropped on the DeRecho, and her progress slowed as her engines cut out. The other two ships continued to accelerate towards Dodonna’s flagship. Jolee spun our ship around and sped towards them.

 

“Expecting something, Dodonna?” Timan mocked as the codes failed to disable his ship.

 

“Your surrender,” Dodonna retorted.

 

“Nice try with the shutdown code. Unfortunately for you, Raxton anticipated your move and made a little suggestion to us to change the program. Some of us even followed that suggestion. Enjoy your last few minutes of life.” Timan opened fire on Dodonna’s ship.

 

“All ships, your targets are Storm Rider, Hoth Crystal, and any remaining Exchange ships. Fire to disable. You have kill orders only as a last resort. You will not fire on DeRecho or the Osprey,” Dodonna ordered.

 

“Timan’s obviously the leader in this group,” Jolee noted to me. “Let’s go see what kind of fun we can have harassing his ship.”

 

“I can think of better ways to have fun.”

 

“Yeah, well, he’s a little too injured for ‘fun’ right now. At least give the poor boy time to heal.”

 

“Jolee!”

 

“You really have to stop leaving me openings like that. Ah, here we are. Let’s see how many turrets we can take out and then get out of here.”

 

Jolee accelerated and I targeted their weapons. Little explosions of fire mushroomed out as we strafed the length of Timan’s ship.

 

The proximity alarms rang. “We’ve got one on our port and one on our six,” I called out.

 

“I see them,” Jolee said. He dove down closer to Storm Rider, skimming the very surface. The fighter behind us followed, but flew too close to the ship. It hit a turret, shearing off one of its wings. The fighter crashed into Storm Rider, and fire erupted from the hull breach. The other fighter started to shoot at us. Jolee turned sharply and ducked under the bottom of the ship, the other fighter following.

 

“Have those guns ready,” Jolee said. He did a rapid deceleration that pushed me forward hard against the seat straps. The enemy fighter, not seeing us slow down abruptly, shot past us. I fired on him as he entered my crosshairs. One of his engines took a hit, and flames streamed out behind him. He lost control, his ship spinning wildly around. The fighter collided with another fighter flying in to engage us, causing the fiery explosion of both.

 

I looked out the canopy and saw several dozen ships and fighters in battle, their blaster fire filling the blackness of space with constant flickers of light. Battle chatter continued to pour out of the com as Republic fighters engaged the defectors. Storm Rider and Hoth Crystal traded blaster cannon fire with The Crusader, great bolts of laser fire crashing into the shields and threatening to tear into the ships.

 

“Looks like Dodonna’s shields are holding, but with two ships firing at her, it’s going to be a tough fight,” I said.

 

“I think we need to get on board Storm Rider and take out Timan directly. If we shut down his ship, Hoth Crystal might surrender,” Jolee said. “You up for another fight? And answer me honestly. I don’t need you playing hero and then collapsing ten feet inside his ship.”

 

“I’m hurting, but not bad enough to stay back.”

 

Jolee opened a com channel to Dodonna. When she came online, he said, “Forn, I need the schematics of Storm Rider. We’re going to infiltrate and see if we can make Timan rethink his position.”

 

“Jolee, you’re crazy. We’re firing on that ship.”

 

“I’m old, Forn, not blind. It’s kind of hard to miss laser cannon bolts. Go mess with the other bullies for a while and do an occasional token shoot towards Timan, as long as you make it a miss. I don’t want your ship taking major damage, and I don’t want to see a bunch of innocent sailors and soldiers go up in a fireball just because Timan can’t figure out where he left his brain last. Maybe if he stands down, Hoth Crystal will, too. You know we can take care of it.”

 

Dodonna sighed, “I don’t like it, Jolee, even when I know you’re right. Schematics are being transmitted now. Do you need anything else?”

 

“Some troops to back us up would be very nice.”

 

“I’ll reassign a couple squads. Give me a few minutes.”

 

“We’re going to head in. They can catch up. We’ll draw arrows on the walls so they can find us.”

 

Dodonna chuckled, “They can just follow your path of destruction. May the Force be with you.”

 

Jolee found an open landing bay and flew in, surprising the small group of soldiers who were not expecting to see any ships so soon. I shot at them, and a number of them fell in a heap right away. Those that ran were just as quickly cut down.

 

“Hope that’s all there is here,” I said.

 

“With that kind of welcome, I’m sure we’ll see more.”

 

“I looked over the diagrams. We need to get from this bay to here,” I pointed at the bridge. “What about this route? Looks like it’s the fastest.”

 

“‘Fastest’ isn’t always ‘best’. They could have troops waiting for us in the two cross corridors. If we go this route--” he paused as he traced a line on the datapad, “it’ll take a little longer, but we won’t get flanked. Now grab those packs and we’ll get going before the hospitality committee arrives. Look sharp.”

 

Jolee jumped out of the cockpit and gave me a hand down. We raced across the empty hanger bay floor to the door and stood on either side.

 

“Got your shield up?” he asked.

 

I nodded, and he opened the door. We jumped back as a hail of blaster fire flew through the doorway. Jolee gave me a silent three-count, and I followed him as he ducked through the door, deflecting blaster bolts along the way. The six soldiers were all at short range, and we closed on them so quickly several of the troopers didn’t have time to pull out any melee weapons. Jolee cut through two of them in one shot each and engaged another who had pulled out a vibrosword. One of them shot at both of us while the last two drew their vibroblades and ran towards me. I ducked under the swipe to my head by one of them and blocked a blow aimed at my arm by the other. I twisted my blade up and severed one of the trooper’s arms. He dropped to the ground, howling in pain. I turned to put the second trooper between the gunner and me, then flurried a number of attacks at him. He kept making the blocks and parries until I feinted to his head. He raised his guard up, and I dropped my lightsaber down, the blade melting through his armor and legs.

 

I turned to see where Jolee was. The soldier with the vibrosword was on the ground, eyes staring away. Jolee was disarming the gunner, who had surrendered. After he was secured, we continued our run down the corridor towards the bridge. Jolee stopped at a corner, peeked around it slightly, and just as quickly pulled his head back. Laser bolts peppered the wall opposite us, and I turned my head, closing my eyes instinctively to protect myself from the shrapnel.

 

“Droids—three smaller ones and one big nasty-looking one. HK would probably go out bar-hopping with that one.”

 

“HK?”

 

“Revan’s assassin droid. Remind me to tell you about it when we get out of this jam and back to Telos. I’m going to Force-disable those droids. You go and take them out.”

 

“Got it.”

 

He closed his eyes and concentrated. The blaster fire suddenly went silent. “Go!” Jolee urged, focusing on holding the droids in stasis. I rushed over and neatly sliced through the three small droids. The larger droid took several strikes, but it clattered to the floor in pieces as well. Several datacards spilled out on the ground. I plugged one of them into my datapad as Jolee rounded the corner to join me.

 

“We can’t stay here too long. What have you got there?” he said.

 

“Where’s the nearest computer terminal?” I grinned.

 

Jolee looked at the schematics and turned around. “Right here, actually.” He stood to the side to open the door, prepared for a fight, but the room was empty. He motioned me in and then closed the door.

 

“These are the programs that Timan took out to disable the shutdown routine. I think we should upload them again.”

 

Jolee chuckled, “Heh-heh, I love it. We’re going to have to keep Timan busy while it loads, though. We’ll shut down all the cameras, upload that program, and go get Timan.” He stopped and thought for a moment before giving me a devilish smile. “Ever pull the fire alarm to get out of class at school?”

 

“Are you kidding? I would’ve gotten in big trouble.”

 

Jolee rolled his eyes. “You really need to live a little.”

 

“Today doesn’t count?”

 

“I suppose I’ll count today. Trip the fire alarms in a couple of compartments away from the bridge. The combination of that and the hull breach should get a lot of the troopers out of our way.”

 

“That’s wicked. I love it.”

 

“You don’t get to be my age without being a little ornery. I don’t want to kill or injure them unless I have to.”

 

I programmed in the fire alarms, cut off the cameras, and uploaded the shutdown program while Jolee spoke with Dodonna to let her know what was going on. We heard the fire alarms sound through the ship and a number of sailors running to fight the non-existent fire. After slipping out of the room and down the hall, we headed to the bridge. Our comlinks beeped.

 

“Good, the marines have landed. They should be following along soon,” Jolee said as we turned the corner to the short corridor that lead to the bridge.

 

I stopped. “Something’s not right. There are no guards at the door.”

 

“You’re right. The danger is making what’s left of my hair stand on end, which means we should back up a bit and wait for the help--”

 

The door to the bridge opened. A squad of soldiers was waiting on the other side, weapons trained on us. Another squad ran up behind us.

 

“Come in, please. I’m a civilized captain, no matter what Dodonna may have told you,” Timan said. “I think you should hand over your weapons to my XO, however. Don’t worry, he’ll take fine care of them.”

 

I gave my lightsaber up, and Jolee slapped his into the XO’s hand. We walked onto the bridge.

 

Timan was sitting in his captain’s chair. Like most Echani, he had the pale hair and eyes, and that only made his icy stare worse. “I don’t appreciate losing an entire platoon of soldiers and some very specialized droids to a couple over-zealous religious fanatics who think they have to save the universe.”

 

“We’re not trying to save the universe. We’re just trying to save your ship,” Jolee said.

 

Timan said, “My ship will be just fine. We’ve made a few modifications. As soon as Dodonna’s ship is nothing more than glowing space dust, we’ll gather our ships and continue our plan to take out Nal Hutta.”

 

“Raxton’s dead. You can stop all of this right now if you surrender,” I said.

 

Timan looked at me and then laughed. “Do you really expect me to believe you?”

 

“Do you think I would be standing here with Force-scourged hands if he were still alive?” I answered, holding them up to show him.

 

The smile disappeared slowly off his face as he considered this. “No matter. I hate Hutts, perhaps almost as much as Raxton does. It will be gratifying to see their planet wiped from the galaxy.”

 

“I’m afraid we can’t allow you to do that,” Jolee said.

 

Timan raised a blaster at us, narrowing his eyes. “Who’s going to stop me?”

[Jae Onasi]

The Final Battles

 

“We are,” Talin said. I turned to look at him, surprised. He was standing next to Master Supat, both of them with lightsaber blades glowing. While he still showed Scourge damage, he was more healed than not. At least one squad of Republic soldiers stood behind them, weapons trained on Timan’s troopers.

 

Talin? You’re OK!

 

For the most part. Master Supat heals fast. Now let’s get this over with.

 

Jolee cocked an eyebrow at me. “I guess Talin wanted some fun, too.”

 

I smiled briefly towards both of them.

 

Timan stood up, blaster still pointed at Jolee and me. “You’re still outnumbered. And now you’re going to be very dead.” He pulled the trigger.

 

Jolee and I dove away, the Force helping us to dodge the blaster bolts. The heat of the blaster fire burned past my arm, but I escaped being hit. I rolled, jumped up, and willed my lightsaber to fly to my hand. The XO lost his grip on it, and it sailed into my hand. I ignited the blade, deflecting several blaster bolts from Timan’s troopers who had opened fire the moment he tried to shoot.

 

Supat and Talin calmly waded into the fray, lightsabers whirling to strike the troopers or deflect their shots. Blaster bolts flew everywhere as Dodonna’s soldiers traded fire with those allied with Timan.

 

The XO ran at me with a vibrosword. I stepped out of the line of attack and he nearly ran past. I whirled my blade around to strike him as he passed, but he whipped his blade up to parry my lightsaber before it could hit him in the chest. He did a half-spin and tried to push my blade away and slip his sword under my guard. I released the hold on his blade and stepped back out of the way as his sword shot past, then thrust straight through his chest. His eyes shut as he fell to the floor. I looked around to assess the battle.

 

Master Supat, Talin, and Dodonna’s fighters had forced many of the troopers and officers that survived to surrender. They were quickly secured for transport to the brig.

 

Jolee was still fighting the captain, the experience of both men showing in the rapid exchange of parries and attacks. I hurried to join the fight when I saw Timan feint high and then trip Jolee. Jolee fell, landing hard on the ground with a grunt. Timan held the point of his vibrosword just above Jolee’s heart, both men breathing heavily after the fierce battle.

 

Timan looked at Jolee on the ground. “Well, Jedi, it seems I have you at my mercy.”

 

“Drop the sword, Timan,” I said. “If you try to kill him, I’ll be forced to kill you. You can still come out of this alive.”

 

Timan kept his sword on Jolee but moved towards his captain’s chair. “Seems we’re at an impasse, then. If I kill him, I’m dead, and I refuse to surrender. There’s only one other option I have, then.” He reached for a small control on his chair and pressed a button before I could move to stop him. Alarms started sounding through the ship.

 

“You’re going to self-destruct,” Jolee stated.

 

“Even better. I’ve just engaged my tractor beam on The Crusader. When this ship self-destructs, it’ll take Dodonna’s ship and all of us along with it.” Timan gave us a self-satisfied smile.

 

Concentrating and using every ounce of Force power I could muster, I engaged a stasis field around Timan. His will was strong, and he started to break down the field. Then I felt Talin and Master Supat join me, and Timan’s movements were stilled. He stood locked in place, glowering at us. One of the soldiers cuffed him.

 

I walked over to Jolee and pulled him up. “Are you OK?”

 

Jolee brushed himself off. “Nothing but my pride got injured there. I knew it was a feint but I went for it anyway.” He looked over to Master Supat and all of the soldiers. “Everyone who can needs to evacuate, now.” Those that weren’t injured grabbed their comrades who were and moved quickly towards the escape pods. Master Supat left, leading whomever he could to safety.

 

I went to the controls and tapped the tractor-beam controls. “Tractor beam’s not shutting down, Jolee.”

 

Jolee called Dodonna. “Forn, we’ve secured Timan. We’ve re-entered the program so you can use the shut-down code, but I don’t know how long it’ll be before it fully loads. Timan locked the tractor beam on you and entered the self-destruct. We’re trying to shut it down, but you may have to fire on the bridge to keep the ship from exploding and destroying all of us.”

 

“Understood. We won’t fire unless we absolutely have to. I’ll see if we can find any bypasses.”

 

“How soon before the self-destruct initiates?” he asked.

 

I looked over at the monitor. “Looks like two minutes. That’s not enough time to get everyone off the ship.” My heart sank. It wasn’t enough time to search every circuit to find the right one to disable the self-destruct, either.

 

Dodonna said, “We’re going to keep transmitting the shutdown code. You have 100 seconds, but I’d really like you out of there instead.”

 

“Can’t do it, Forn. They’re evacuating, but we can’t get people out fast enough. We have to try to stop this instead or a lot of innocent people will die. Now quit trying to change my mind and let me get to work.”

 

Dodonna considered that for a moment, and then said, “I’ll respect your decision, Jolee. May the Force be with you.”

 

Talin felt the wave of my emotion. He walked over, kissed the top of my head, and put an arm around me. “Focus. I know you can get the self-destruct disabled.”

 

I turned and met his eyes. “You need to get off the ship, Talin. I may not be able to stop it.”

 

“I’m not leaving you. We’ll work on it together. Feel through the circuits. We’ll both do part of it.” He gave me a crooked grin. “Besides, I can hardly walk right now. There’s no way I can make it to any of the escape pods. You’re stuck with me.”

 

I took a deep breath to let go of the worry. “All right. Let’s go to work.” We both slipped into a meditation state.

 

I flew along the maze of wires, searching, and saw Talin in a distance doing the same.

 

I could hear Jolee talking with Dodonna somewhere far away. “Sixty seconds. No luck yet, but we’re getting closer.”

 

“Shutdown still hasn’t initialized.”

 

Where’s the circuit…. I can feel it now. Coming closer, closer. Talin’s found it now, too. Thirty seconds left…

 

“They’ve found it, Forn. They’re trying to disable it now.”

 

Oh, so complicated. Trying to pry open the switch, but it’s locked down….

 

“Fifteen seconds, Jolee.”

 

“Almost there,” Jolee said. “Shutdown codes are working! Tractor beam’s down, power’s on emergency backup. I’m using emergency thrusters to move us away.”

 

But the self-destruct is still active! I can’t budge the switch! Time’s up!

 

“Self-destruct is still online. We have to fire, Jolee.”

 

“We’re moving away from each other. Just give us ten more seconds,” Jolee urged.

 

Countdown commencing, ten, nine, eight…Focus, focus…Talin’s power flowing, joining mine, pushing with our combined strength to break open the circuit….

 

“…three, two….”

 

“Hold fire! Hold fire! They shut it down!” Jolee yelled out.

 

Both of us dropped out of our meditation. Talin leaned against one of the workstations and slowly slid to the ground, exhausted. I sat down next to him and pulled him into my arms, gently embracing him. “I’m glad you decided to stay.”

 

He looked up at me and managed a tired smile. “I never want to leave you.”

 

* * *

 

Master Supat looked over my hands and dipped them in a small tub of kolto. “Miraxton did a lot of damage. However, a few hours here and they should be much better.”

 

Jolee said, “Actually, she did pretty darn good. He was throwing everything he had at her.”

 

“And without her efforts, we wouldn’t be here,” Admiral Dodonna said, striding into the medbay with one of her aides. She gestured for everyone to remain as they were.

 

“I saw Hoth Crystal surrender,” Jolee said.

 

“They saw the light when you took Timan’s ship. The captain wisely decided she didn’t want to fight a boarding party lead by Jedi. All three captains and the other officers involved are in the brig, and we’re interrogating them to find out the extent of the plot. I expect more arrests down the line.”

 

“Have the Hutts been warned?” Talin asked. He was resting in one of the medbay beds, the effects of the Scourge dissipating as he continued to heal.

 

“We advised them of Miraxton’s plans and your part in thwarting them. They want to offer Jolee, Talin, and you a freighter and supplies as thanks.”

 

Jolee sniffed. “Probably stolen from the Republic in the first place.”

 

“It’s the thought that counts,” I said.

 

“You didn’t come all the way down here just to tell us this, Forn,” Jolee said.

 

“I came personally to give Jae and Talin the Medal of the Sacrificial Heart for injuries sustained in service to the Republic. I never want to see anyone get hurt in service to the Navy or the Republic, but it is a deep honor to present these to you both. In several days I will be holding an awards formation, and I will be presenting all four of you with the Naval Medal of Valor.”

 

“Forn, I don’t need any more doo-dads on my robe. I don’t need the Navy’s highest honor for doing what a Jedi is supposed to do.”

 

“We would not be here without your work. You’ve saved the Navy, Nal Hutta, and quite possibly the Republic from a terrible plot.” She smiled, “Besides, I don’t recall asking if you wanted it, Jolee. I’m awarding it because it’s the right thing to do. I want to show my people what valor truly means.”

 

“You’re telling me to just say ‘thank you’ and shut up?” Jolee asked.

 

She nodded once. “In a word, yes.”

 

“We’ll be there in our fancy dress robes, then.”

 

“Good. You’ll be informed where and when. I see Master Supat wants to continue his work, and it looks like fatigue has gotten the better of Talin, so I’ll leave you for now.” Dodonna and her aide left.

 

I looked over towards Talin, who was resting in one of the beds. “He’s healing fast. I won’t be able to tell how badly he was injured by the Scourge in a few more hours.”

 

Master Supat followed my eyes. “He’s remarkably motivated. Captain Onasi asked if I would fly up to his ship while you were down on Telos so that I could help with any healing. When Talin learned I was on board and then heard you two chattering about boarding Timan’s ship, he was adamant about getting healed to the point where he could help.”

 

“He hates kolto,” I said.

 

Jolee chuckled and gave me a meaningful look. “It wasn’t the kolto that was motivating him, Jae.”

 

I tried not to blush and failed miserably. “I suppose not.”

 

“I know it’s not.”

 

“All right, Jolee, your turn. Even Masters need attention,” Master Supat gestured for him to sit down and have his injuries healed.

 

I carried the kolto tub with me to go sit next to Talin. He cracked his eyes open a bit.

 

“I didn't mean to wake you. It’s just me,” I said.

 

“You’re not ‘just’ anything.” He pulled me towards him gently, and when I leaned over and laid my head down on him, he cradled it.

 

“Just your love, then?”

 

“Just the one I want to be with forever, if you’ll let me.” He thought a moment and shook his head a bit. “You know, that was not the way I envisioned proposing. We can go out in a few days and I’ll do it right.”

 

“Do I have to wait that long to say yes?”

 

He smiled, tightened his arms around my shoulders, and tilted his head to give me a kiss.

 

* * *

 

The wait to meet with the Council on Coruscant seemed interminable. Jolee sat in one of the chairs, confident and serene. I looked out the window and down at the Thousand Fountains again, trying to center myself. Talin stood next to me, hands clasped behind his back, looking up into the sky.

 

He looked over at me after a few moments. “Pulling on your collar won’t make it any better,” he said, taking my hand from up at my neck and holding onto it. I felt the love flow, and it gave me peace.

 

One of the Padawans called us into the Council chambers.

 

Jolee stood up and winked. “Don’t forget to play it up for Vrook. Groveling will be even better.”

 

He walked into the Chambers. Talin and I followed, and he didn’t let go of my hand. We all made slight bows to the Council. There were more Masters there than I had ever seen before at one time, testifying to the gravity of our situation. Vash, Dorak, Vandar, and Kavar sat in meeting, as did Zez Kai-El, Atris, Zhar, and Vrook.

 

Master Vandar opened the proceedings. “We have gathered today to discuss a most unusual development, one that is very rare in the Jedi Order. We are reviewing the relationship between Jedi Talin and Padawan Jae, and, if they choose to continue with that relationship, whether they should remain members of this Order.”

 

Vrook gave us a severe look when he saw us holding hands. “I see your defiance of the Order’s rules extends even to these Council Chambers.”

 

I swallowed hard and Talin gave my hand a slight squeeze of encouragement. His face remained a neutral mask. I willed the peace and calm to flow in order to concentrate on the words and thoughts of the Council.

 

Jolee looked at Vrook for a moment, and then in a frosty voice said, “Are you always this crabby, Vrook, or is this just one of your good days?”

 

“I do not appreciate comments that border on disrespect, Jolee,” Vrook retorted. “We shall concentrate on the issue of violating the Order’s stand on attachments and whether Talin and Jae should remain in the Order.”

 

“Yes, we shall, because it would be wrong to separate them. Even you can see that both of them are far more centered and in tune with the Force than the last time all of us were here. That can only be a good thing. Yes, they’re in love, and their situation is rather unique. If you’ve read any of the records of the past months, you know it’s the will of the Force for them to be together. They’re connected on a deeper level than even the Sunriders were. The only conclusion you can come to is that they should remain together as members in the Order.”

 

Kavar looked at both Talin and me, leaning forward to address us. I could feel the concern coming from him in warm waves. “Are you sure you want to pursue this? It could turn out to be a very difficult path for both of you. The path of a Jedi can be hard enough without adding extra challenges.”

 

Talin and I looked at each other briefly and then back at Kavar. We answered in unison, “Yes.”

 

“You are aware that pursuing an attachment can and has led to expulsion from the Order?” Atris said, her severe look nearly matching Vrook’s.

 

“Yes, Master, we are,” I answered.

 

“They’re Jedi, Atris, not idiots,” Jolee snorted. “They read the rule book a long time ago.”

 

“I would like to know why you allowed this to continue once you knew what was happening,” Atris accused Jolee.

 

“Because I think the rule on attachments is stupid, made up by some clueless Jedi who never understood love. Yes, passion can be dangerous, but answer me this—how many Jedi would have turned to the dark side in the Mandalorian Wars if they’d been grounded in the love of those back home? How many would have destroyed planets full of families if they’d had families of their own? Yes, we need a certain detachment to do our job properly, but we need more empathy and understanding, not less, and we have failed in that more often than we like. We should be teaching Jedi how to handle the responsibilities and challenges of their relationships, not avoiding them altogether because we think those challenges are inconvenient.”

 

Vrook said, “By asking us permission to allow this relationship to continue, you are asking us to change generations of tradition. These rules were not put in place without reason.”

 

“We don’t know what reason the Masters had when they created that rule. For all we know, it could have been a Jedi who was rejected by someone he loved and decided to make some idiotic regulation in response. Laws certainly have been created for less reason than that.”

 

“As Jedi historian, I researched the origin of this rule. It does not specify one way or another, Jolee. It’s impossible to speculate on the intent of the Masters who created that rule,” Dorak said.

 

Jolee conceded that point and went on. “Understand, Vrook, I am not asking the Council permission for the relationship to continue. They have already decided they will continue their relationship, and more power to them. I’m asking that they be allowed to remain in the Order. There's nothing you can do to their love.”

 

Vash said, “This is a difficult situation. Very few of our Order ever marry or have close relationships. We are not prepared to give appropriate guidance because of our inexperience. Our mistakes could have deadly consequences.”

 

“And what would you do if this request is refused?” Zhar asked, looking at all of us.

 

“Be mindful of your thoughts,” Zez Kai-El added. “There is a fine line between defending your decisions and outright rebellion.”

 

“While we are very committed to this Order and have no desire to leave, we would unfortunately have to resign,” Talin replied without hesitation. “However, we will continue our work because the need for help won’t go away. The galaxy doesn’t care if we’re members of the Order.”

 

Kavar said, “Your actions defeating Miraxton, saving two battleships from destruction, and uncovering the mutinous plot within the Navy were commendable. It required a great deal of skill to accomplish all this, and you’ve done what good Jedi are supposed to do. It would be detrimental to the Order to lose any one of you, much less all three.”

 

Vandar, who had been contemplating the proceedings, finally spoke to us. “Your case has created considerable controversy. We have done a great deal of research in the archives, and we reviewed your reports of the Miraxton affair. We have spent much time meditating and discussing this. We have concluded that the connection between Jae and Talin cannot be denied. It has strengthened as their relationship deepened, and it has saved them and quite possibly the Republic from disaster. Few Jedi have ever had, for lack of a better term, this love-bond. The histories have shown that when separated, the Force brings those with this type of bond back together, despite all efforts to the contrary. It would be foolish for us to try to violate the will of the Force in this matter.”

 

Kavar looked at Talin and me and added, “We agreed that asking you to separate would be wrong. However, the truth remains that we are not well-equipped to train you two on how to balance your relationship with the needs of the Jedi and the ways of the Force.”

 

“Despite my better judgment, I am forced to agree with the Council’s decision that Jolee is the only one who has the experience necessary to guide you in this area,” Vrook said.

 

Vandar continued, “Jae and Talin, the Council has decided you will remain in the Order under the guidance of Master Jolee. Jolee, we hope you will continue their training. It is your responsibility to develop the great potential that we see in all of you.”

 

“I’ll be glad to have them stay with me. Are you seriously worried about me giving it anything but my best?”

 

Vrook growled, “We’re not worried about you not giving your best. We’re worried about what strange ideas you’ll be planting in fertile young minds.”

 

“I understand. I’ll try not to corrupt them too much. By the way, even you are invited to the wedding.”

 

Vrook lifted an eyebrow but held his peace.

 

“The Council is adjourned,” Master Vandar said. “May the Force be with us all.”

 

I managed to contain my excitement until the Council doors shut, and then I wrapped my arms around Talin, joy radiating out to all of us. He picked me up in a bear hug, set me down again, and planted a solid kiss firmly on my lips. It deepened, and we didn’t let go until we had to breathe again.

 

He looked in my eyes, brushing a lock of hair of hair to the side, then kissed my forehead and murmured, “I love you.”

 

I hugged him tight. “I love you, too.”

 

Jolee had wandered over to the window to look out at the Fountains, but finally cleared his throat to get our attention. “This is probably not the best place to get all kissy-face,” Jolee pointed out. “You already made them nervous enough just holding hands. Let’s go see Mik’oth and give him the news. If we’re lucky, he might not even charge us for dinner.”

 

The reception from Mik’oth was no less effusive than any other time, and he was as colorfully dressed as usual.

 

“Hey, Tail-headed Tornado, didn’t anyone tell you that orange and purple plaid is a little over the top?” Jolee called out.

 

“Ah, it’s the Wonder! You know how I love to try the latest styles. And here is my favorite Padawan!! And my dear friend Jedi Talin!” Mik’oth came straight over to us, hugging Jolee and Talin and then kissing me loudly on both cheeks. “You both look no worse for the wear. What’s this?” he spied the ring on my hand.

 

I gave him a shy smile. “A betrothal ring,”

 

“Ha! I knew it the moment you two came in.” He took my hand and peered closer at the ring. “Alderaan Blaze Sapphire, eh? A rare gem for a rare beauty. It matches the color of your eyes, you know. He chose something worthy of you. I approve. And I’m very happy for you.” Mik’oth hugged me, then turned and poked Talin in the ribs. “You devil you, you’ve taken one of my greatest dancing possibilities off the market. Let’s go sit down and celebrate. When’s the big day? I have to clear my calendar for the reception!" He found a table for all of us, and then dashed off for meals and drinks.

 

“We don’t have a choice on where the reception is, do we?” Talin asked Jolee.

 

“Not unless you really want to upset Mik’oth,” Jolee answered.

 

“If he’s like this when he’s happy, I hate to see what he’s like when he’s mad,” I said.

 

“It’s very scary, trust me. I know.”

 

Mik’oth returned, poured us all champagne, and then sat down. “It’s Telosian, very rare. The vineyards in the Restoration zones are still small, but the Ithorians have cultivated an amazing wine grape that creates this exquisite delight for us. Cheers.” We raised our glasses and then sipped the champagne, savoring the subtle flavors.

 

“So, have you decided on a date yet?” Mik’oth asked.

 

“Six weeks. The Council has a mission for us in two months, and we want to have time for a honeymoon,” Talin told him.

 

“My, you took me at my word when I said I hoped it wouldn’t take you too long to figure it out.” Mik’oth pulled out a datapad and tapped on it a couple times. “Perfect! I’m free that day! Someone can marry you at that stuffy Jedi Temple, and then you can come straight here and have some real fun.”

 

“We’d like you to join us in the ceremony, too, as one of Jolee’s best friends,” I said.

 

Mik’oth was overwhelmed. “What a wonderful honor! Of course, anything! Oh, dear, now I have to find something to wear!”

 

“You look like you’re going to cry, Mik’oth. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you quite so emotional,” Jolee said.

 

“If they name their children after me, I will cry.” He smiled broadly and looked at Jolee. “You know, we’re going to have to take bets on how soon the first little one comes along.”

 

“Come on, Mik’oth, you’ll embarrass them,” Jolee replied. Then he grinned. “Put me down for two years.”

 

Mik’oth studied us for a few moments. “I say nine months after the wedding.”

 

“Six months,” I chimed in, smiling broadly.

 

All three of them were stunned motionless, mouths agape in silence, staring at me.

 

I couldn’t contain my laughter any longer at their looks of utter surprise. “I’m joking!”

 

Talin shook his head, smiled and then drew me in close. “I think I’m going to be selfish and keep you all to myself for awhile.”

 

“Jae, it’s against the Jolee Jedi code to give your master a heart attack like that! You could kill me with that kind of joke.”

 

I grinned back at him. “Jolee, you’re way too ornery to die. Besides, I have a feeling the Force is going to keep the three of us busy for quite some time to come.”

[Jae Onasi]

Acknowledgments and Big Thank You's....

My hubby Jimbo and my kiddos, who put up with me being absolutely consumed at times writing this story. They also sat down to read it (or let me read it to them) and laughed at my jokes. There's true love.

Cutmeister--you gave me some great ideas. I appreciated that a lot, and the time you took for this.

JediMaster12--the civilization info was helpful for the Li'adin chapters. Your encouragement kept me going, especially when a chapter was frustrating me and made me want to pull out my hair.

Pottsie, RenegadePuma, Hallucination, and everyone else who took the time to read and make comments here and at kfm--your support meant a lot. Just reading it means a lot. It's not hard to write something up, but it is hard to post it publicly for others to see, especially the first few chapters. You all were patient with the good and the bad, gave helpful feedback and were never unpleasant about pointing out mistakes. I was grateful for that.

Jiara over at kotorfanmedia--you make me see the chapters in ways I never conceived and you've taught me quite a bit in a short time. Thank you.

My nemesis, Emperor Devon--your beta-reading of the later chapters during the revision process was very helpful and very informative. Thanks much.

Bioware--for creating Jolee in the first place and making him so much fun!

And I totally apologize if I've missed anyone.