Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Cold
Chapter V | Episode X | 4/10/2020
“Nox.” Rath uttered, mostly to himself.
“What about him?” Twil asked, on edge.
“He may be in danger!” Rath shouted, a little louder than intended, “If Dac knew where to find Zoroc… that should have been impossible… I contacted him from my base. There is no safer location in the galaxy to send or receive communications. No one could break through my defenses. If Dac knew where Zoroc was, my base may be compromised.”
“Could there be another explanation?” Twil asked, clearly leading to something.
“There could be dozens. There’s no time Twil!” Rath shouted again. Ending the discussion, Rath punched in astrogation computations into the Sovereign as quickly as he could.
“Whoa, whoa.” Twil said, putting a hand on Rath’s shoulder, “Let’s get somewhere within range, and contact your base first. If everything’s okay, we’ll head straight there. If it isn’t…” Twil trailed off.
“Fine.” Rath replied, in no mood to argue, knowing time was of the essence. Quickly changing the calculations, he said, “Punch it.”
In his computations, Rath had somehow stumbled upon an unknown, or possibly just forgotten hyperlane, allowing the ship to travel much closer to Brentaal IV at a much faster rate than anyone had anticipated.
The second the ship returned to realspace, Rath made the holocall to his base. To his brother.
Much to his relief, Nox answered almost immediately, “Did you find them?”
Breathing a quick sigh of relief, Rath replied, “They’re here with me. But first, I need to ask, is the base secure?”
Nox’s expression quickly changed to one of confusion, “What do you mean? Of course it’s secure.”
“The Empire knew about Zoroc. They knew where to find him. The planet where the Rebel base was located is in shatters. Zoroc was captured. Dac Diggersby left a threat and a set of coordinates on a prerecorded message for us. No one should have known about that planet. No one should have known Zoroc was there to meet us. And yet, they did know. And now Zoroc is once again a prisoner of the damned Empire.”
Nox’s expression changed once more to shock, “Rath… there is no more secure place in the entire galaxy than here. You know that better than anyone. However they found out about Zoroc, it could not have possibly been due to any breach in our systems.”
Rath turned to look at Twil, and loosely translated the conversation, “The base is secure.”
“Okay.” Twil replied, with a simple nod.
Turning back to the holo, Rath said, “We’re heading to base. Have the medbay prepped and ready. And Nox… brace yourself. They’re in a bad way. A very bad way.”
Nox simply nodded, and ended the transmission.
Despite their newfound route, Rath knew the trip would take at least a couple more hours. So, with the time he had, he decided to go speak with a certain droid for a very overdue chat.
“R5.” Rath called out to the little droid as it tried it’s best to maneuver around the crowded ship.
The droid beeped in question as it rolled over to Rath.
Rath knelt down to meet the droid, face to face, so to speak, and said, “How much do you remember before you were shut down?”
The droid answered in a series of beeps and boops.
After he finally finished, Rath replied, “Interesting… You remember the Immobilizer, you remember me capturing Thrawn and taking him into the base, but after that, all you remember is waking up on the ship the other day.”
R5 bepped again, indicating he wasn’t even aware that he had been disabled.
“Yeah… yeah.” Rath replied, thinking hard of how to edit the story, “Do you remember the box that was welded inside of you? The box that I couldn’t figure out what it was, nor could I remove it?”
R5 beeped in confusion.
“Not a thing, huh?” Rath replied, “Interesting… Well, turns out that box was a Sith holocron.”
R5 interrupted with a confused twirl.
“A very bad thing.” Rath corrected, “Anyway, when Zanroy, er, removed it, it caused you to shut down. You’ve been out for months. And I’ve been working tirelessly to restore you to working order.
R5 beeped again.
“Yeah, you’re welcome.” Rath smiled, “But, I need to ask. Now that that… thing, that holocron is out of you… in the past, you’ve had strange memory glitches. You’ve done things, and don’t remember doing them. And you never had any recollection of your past. Do you remember anything, now that that holocron is out?”
R5 let out the most sarcastic boop he could muster.
Rath rolled his eyes, and said, “I mean before Vorn Tel Ovis.”
For the first time, R5 needed a moment before he responded, the sound was much less sarcastic, and yet much more sad this time around.
“Nothing at all?” Rath asked, slightly despondent, “You don’t remember who put that holocron in you or why? You still don’t remember who created you, or even your full designation? You don’t know why it took a kyber crystal to restore you to working order?”
Again the droid was silent for a moment and replied with another sad bleep.
Rath sighed, and patted the droid’s head, “Well, that’s okay, buddy. What really matters is that you’re back, now. And it’s good to have you.”
R5 let out a slightly happier beep, but he could tell the conversation was weighing on the little droid. Unfortunately, it was weighing on him just as much. It would seem the answers he sought would still elude him, perhaps forever…
As Twil landed the ship, Rath was already in action. He watched as Rath barked orders to Vex and K9, while Nox and Axel appeared at the foot of the boarding ramp with a small fleet of repulsorlifts.
One by one, the Chiss were loaded up and led into Rath’s base.
The only one that was able to stand on his own strength, Twil noticed, was the Muun. As he set foot off the ship, and into Rath’s base, Twil was presented with yet another vision of the future.
This had been happening more and more frequently, lately, yet the Zeltron was still not accustomed to the sudden jolt into the future. And the vision that awaited him was not one he wished to see, in the first place.
The Sovereign was in flames. The hyperdrive was absolutely destroyed. The Muun was holding a blaster to the backs of Twil and his crew. And then, encompassing his whole vision was an emblem, one he knew he had seen before.
Just as always, the vision ended as abruptly as it started. And yet, Twil knew he had to act, fast.
Running into the base, the scene was ordered chaos, as Rath was attempting to maneuver his family into the medical bay. Looking across the room, Twil spotted Zanroy and shouted, “Zanroy! Binders!”
Without missing a beat, Zanroy tossed Twil the binders. Catching them in mid air, Twil grabbed hold of the Muun and restrained his arms with the binders.
“What is the meaning of this?” The Muun weakly asked, although it was clear to Twil that his rage was intending his voice to sound much more menacing than it was capable of at the moment.
Ignoring the Muun, Twil shouted, “Rath, you’ve got holding cells in this place, right?”
Rath turned to look at Twil with a quizzical look on his face, “Down there.” He said pointing down a different hallway than the one he was currently headed.
“Thanks.” Twil said, forcing the Muun ahead of him as he made his way toward an area of Rath’s base that he had never had reason to visit before.
Throwing the Muun into the nearest cell, Twil activated the energy fields, ensuring the alien could do no harm to himself or his crew.
“I demand an explanation!” The Muun shouted weakly, “Why have you rescued me from that hell just to throw me in prison?!”
“Yeah, I’d kinda like to know that too.” Rath interrupted.
Twil turned to see Rath, Idozzi, and Zanroy standing in the entryway.
“I had a vision.” Twil replied, “It was hasty. The Sovereign was destroyed. He was holding us up at blasterpoint. And… I saw something… an insignia, an emblem, a symbol of some sort… I think it was Zann’s. Zann has a symbol, right?”
Rath rolled his eyes, and said, “All the big time crime lords have one. Gotta have a calling card to show you’re the biggest, baddest bad guy out there.”
“Does it look something like this?” Twil asked, as he hastily pulled out his datapad, and began drawing freehand with his finger.
“That’s the insignia of the Zann Consortium.” Rath confirmed.
“Wait. Zann… do you mean Tyber Zann?” The Muun interrupted.
Twil and the others stopped and looked at the imprisoned Muun.
“What do you know about him?” Zanroy asked.
“He was one of the names…” The Muun replied, seemingly deep in thought.
“I think you’d better start at the beginning.” Rath said.
“Good idea.” Twil chimed in, “This is a little late, but my name is Captain Twil Pinn. Who are you, exactly? And what were you doing… there?”
The Muun glared at Twil for a moment, but spoke up eventually, “My name is Morrow Cantillis. I’m an archaeologist. Or, was… I had recently left my friends on Spintir after finishing an… expedition, that did not pay as well as I had hoped. I was heading back to my family on Muunilist, when I was contacted by the Empire. They were in need of archaeologists. Or, so they said… They offered credits. More credits than I had ever seen. I was desperate. My family needed the money. I accepted their offer…
“The rest is a blur. I remember them injecting me with that serum… My mind… my actions… were not my own. I had no choice but to obey every command they gave.”
Upon hearing this, Twil decided to see for himself, the details Morrow was reluctant to share. Reaching out with the Force, it was a simple matter for him to see, vividly, the experiences the Muun was reliving.
He saw the Muun examining kyber crystals brought to him by slaves of every race. He watched as the Muun shouted and whipped any slave who brought crystals that were not of good enough quality. He watched as Morrow delivered vials upon vials of the mind controlling toxins into dead-eyed slaves. He watched as Morrow himself was beaten and whipped, repeatedly, on countless occasions. Finally, he pulled himself out of Morrow’s head, not wanting to see any more.
“What do you know of Tyber Zann?” Zanroy asked again, from behind Twil.
“He was one of the few names I came across quite often. He was the man responsible for delivering slaves to Project Aura. Thousands upon thousands of beings…” Morrow replied, trailing off again.
“That’s the connection.” Rath whispered, just loud enough for Twil to overhear.
“You mentioned he was one of the names.” Rath continued in a louder voice, “Who were the others.”
Morrow shook his head, “I came across only a few others. Others that seemed important enough to have their names on any number of documents. One was a… Barris? I think he was a Moff?”
Twil could hear a smattering of curses raise up from behind him. “She.” He corrected.
“And the other…” The Muun continued, “Was someone named Tessala Corvae.”
“What?” Twil asked in shock as his heart sunk down to his stomach.
Morrow shrugged, “She was just one of the names that popped up quite frequently. I never met her. I don’t know her.”
“Were there any other names?” Zanroy asked.
Morrow’s eye’s grew even darker, as he said, “Oh, yes. There was one name in particular. The man in charge of the entirety of Project Aura. The man responsible for the agony and torment I have suffered. Dac Diggersby.”
Twil let out an involuntary laugh, “Oh, yeah, we know all about him.”
“You know about Dac Diggersby?” Morrow asked, his energy somehow multiplying tenfold, “Do you know where he is?!”
“We know where he was.” Twil replied.
“Where is he?! If you know where he is, then why are we not racing to meet him this very instant?! Why are we wasting time talking?!” Morrow shouted, almost reaching a tantrum level of hysteria, “If you know where he is, tell me! I’ll go there immediately, and end him myself! He owes me blood and I will kill him for what he’s done.”
“Get in line.” Zanroy scoffed.
“Hey, calm down!” Twil said, with more force than he intended, “I said we know where he was. Not where he is. He was most likely hovering over that planet we just rescued you from, in some big, impenetrable Star Destroyer. And even if he was still there, if you went there on your own, to ‘end him yourself,’ you’d die the second you left hyperspace. You can’t just storm a Star Destroyer. Shut up.” Twil said, holding up a hand before Rath could make the snide comment he was sure was coming at that last statement.
“Let me help you! I have access to things you would not believe. I guarantee that not everyone in the Empire assumes I’m dead, yet. I can be of use to you! I can get you in any ship you want!”
“We need to talk about this, first.” Twil replied, “We can’t just go rushing into danger.”
“Let me out of this cell!” Morrow shouted, “I need to kill him!”
The Muun had entered full blown hysterics, as he began beating the walls of the cell with his shackled hands to the point where he was causing himself to bleed.
“Calm down!” Twil yelled, using the full power of his Force abilities to calm the mind of the Muun.
It worked instantly as the Muun stopped shouting and banging the walls with his fists. It worked almost too well, as the Muun slumped to the floor with a look of defeat in his eyes.
It was in that moment that Twil realized what he had been doing all these years. Was he truly any better than the Empire with their mind controlling neurotoxin? Without another word, Twil left the room.
“Twil?” Rath asked, as he found the Zeltron slumped in his couch in the lounge.
“Sorry. It’s been a really long day.” Twil replied, wiping his eyes.
“It’s been a long eight years.” Rath muttered, but sat down next to him as Idozzi and Zanory joined them in the room.
“We need a plan.” Rath said, “Dac’s waiting for us at those coordinates. He’s got at least three hostages.”
“It’s a trap.” Zanroy said, his voice hollow.
“Yup.” Rath agreed, just as despondent.
“We can’t just go there on our own.” Idozzi spoke up, “We need back up. We need help.”
“Well, we can try raising an army.” Rath replied, his voice laden with sarcasm.
“Who’s even left?” Zanroy asked.
Rath shook his head, “The Rebels are in tatters. Elaiza’s who knows where. Draven refuses to answer his comms, in the most irritating way possible…”
“Could you try Draven again?” Zanroy asked, “Even one extra ship could give us a little wiggle room. Plus, that bastard’s crazy, so who knows what he might be able to pull.”
Rath sighed, walked over to his comm station, dialed up Draven’s comm frequency, and let the recorded message play on speaker.
The unmistakable, tone deaf voice of Draven began to sing, “Believe it or not, Draven isn’t at home. Please leave a message at the beep. I must be out, or I’d pick up the comm. Where could I be? Believe it or not, I’m not home!”
Rath ended the comm. “Like I said, most annoying way possible.”
Twil suddenly got up from the couch and said, “We’ll figure it out in the morning.” And headed off towards the guest quarters.
Rath checked his chrono, and noted just how long it had been and said, “Yeah. Might not be a bad idea to sleep on it. Like he said, it’s been a long day.”
The next morning, Twil was feeling better, but he knew there were some things he’d have to do to really make amends. But first, he needed to know more from Rath, regarding this sudden prisoner they had on their hands. Naturally, he found Rath already at work on his suite of terminals. While Zanroy and Idozzi were eating breakfast in the lounge.
“What’re you up to?” Twil asked. He then felt the wave of sadness emanating from Rath, and saw the images of the piles of corpses they had seen on Ilum.
“I was analyzing these images, to see if any were matches to the members of my family that are still missing.” Rath replied.
“And?” Twil asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
“None of them.” Rath replied.
“Well that’s good news!” Twil said, feeling hopeful.
“Good?” Rath asked, as he turned to face Twil, “Look at this.”
Rath then hit a keystroke as dozens of names and faces, file images, Twil assumed, flew across the screen.
“These men, women and children are confirmed dead. Each one is a life lost. They all had families. Hopes. Dreams. And now they’re dead, because I failed to protect them.” Rath said.
“Rath…” Twil replied, “None of this is your fault. You’re doing everything you can to stop this. To save who you can. You start bearing the weight of the galaxy on your shoulders, it’s gonna crush you.”
Rath shook his head and sighed, but said, “Yeah, I know. It’s just a very painful reminder of everything to see this. To know their names and faces.” He cleared his throat, and said, “So, what do you want from me?”
“Getting a little Force power yourself?” Twil asked.
“I just know you.” Rath replied.
“What can you tell me about that Morrow guy?” Twil asked.
“Well, I can tell you he’s pissed off at having to spend the night in a holding cell.” Rath begun, “But I assume you mean, what’s his history. Well, like I said, he’s one of my former clients. He was with a couple others… you saw them once on a holocall, Verin Psi and Akory Zaal.”
“Oh, right, the Jedi.” Twil replied.
Rath scoffed, “That’s what they claim, but I’m pretty sure there are no Jedi, not anymore. Just old crones like Elaiza, and people like you.”
Twil refrained from commenting.
“Anyway. Morrow was with this group when they contacted me for information. They needed to know about some ex-inquisitor Dathomiri. I didn’t ask the details. From what I could gather on her, I assumed they’d be long dead by now. Guess they won the fight.” Rath said with a shrug.
“Wait.” Twil spoke up, “If he was one of your clients, how did he recognize your face? Don’t you always use a fake identity to keep yourself protected?”
Rath nodded, “Normally, yes. They contacted me through some very unusual means. I thought it was a Rebel cell contacting me. A cell I’d just done some business with, as myself. So I din’t bother with the whole disguise thing.”
“Bad luck on your part, eh?” Twil asked, laughing slightly.
Rath shrugged, “They had no idea who I really was. I used a different pseudonym, ‘Red-eye.’ Not very original, but it worked.”
“What’s the pseudonym you normally use?” Twil asked, realizing he had no idea.
“Oh, right, I never told you that.” Rath replied, with a laugh, “Guess it slipped my mind. But, most of my clients know me as ‘G’ecnsi Morcasi,’ or, as most of the galaxy likes to shorten it, ‘The Morcasi.’”
Twil’s jaw dropped, as he heard audible gasps from the adjoining lounge. There wasn’t a soul alive in the entire galaxy that hadn’t heard rumors of the legendary Morcasi. Rumored to be the most powerful and influential information broker in the history of the known galaxy.
“You’re the Morcasi?!” He shouted in shock.
Rath looked at him with an arched eyebrow, and said, “I am.”
“You’re a legend!” Twil shouted again, “You’re more famous than me! You’re beyond legend! You’re a myth!”
Rath let out a laugh and said, “You truly underestimate my work, here, don’t you?”
Twil shook his head. He couldn’t believe that Rath was the same person he had heard countless stories about. He’d never admit it to Rath, but he found that he was actually jealous of the Chiss’s notoriety and fame. All the business Twil had done, all the book deals, the clothing lines, the worldwide party on Bespin… it all paled in comparison to how well known Rath had become. Even if no one actually knew it was him.
Once the shock wore off, though, he remembered their current situation, “So, back to the Muun. You don’t know him personally?” Twil asked, half wanting to get back on track, but also trying to ignore the jealousy he was feeling.
“Oh, no. Not really. He didn’t speak much in our interactions. Actually, they all seemed a bit scared of me.” Rath replied, chuckling at the memory.
“Could you contact his friends?” Idozzi asked as she and Zanroy joined the conversation.
“If we could offload him onto them, that’d be one less loose cannon to deal with.” Zanroy added.
“I could give it a shot.” Rath said with a shrug, “I sent them to those two coordinates we didn’t have time to investigate ourselves. Back when we thought they might be concentration camp sites for Project Aura.”
Twil watched anxiously as the comm came back with nothing.
“They’re not answering.” Rath said.
“There may be another way.” Twil replied.
Reaching deep within himself, Twil once more implored with the Force to grant him the power he needed. Suddenly, he was granted a vision. Not of the future, but of the present. He could see Verin Psi and Akory Zaal, standing back to back, with lightsabers drawn. They were fighting off some unseen, unknown enemy. They seemed bombarded, yet fully in control. Soon, the vision faded, and Twil’s mind returned to Rath’s base.
He let out a laugh and said, “Yeah, they’re a little preoccupied.”
“The Muun said he had Imperial access. Do we believe him?” Zanroy asked.
“It’s possible.” Rath replied, “Their network is too vast to be so efficient as to delete access of every little grunt that dies right away.”
“But do we trust him?” Zanroy asked again.
The room was silent.
“Ugh!” Twil let out a groan, “I wish there was someone out there, anywhere, that could help us. Or even off up a distraction, so we could sneak on board the Solicitude.”
“If the Solicitude is at the coordinates he gave us.” Idozzi added.
“At this point, I’m sure Dac wants to see this done himself.” Twil replied, “But we can’t just go there without backup.”
“I have an idea.” Rath chimed in, faintly, “It’s a long shot. But it’s something I’ve been wondering about for years.” He then got up from his chair and headed towards the medical bay.
Intrigued, Twil followed.
As Rath entered the med bay, he saw Nox, Axel, K9, R5, and Vex all hard at work tending to the injured, malnourished, tortured Chiss.
“How are they?” He asked Nox, in as gentle a voice as he could muster.
Nox was at a loss for words. Finally, he said, “Recovering.”
Rath nodded, understanding his pain all too well. “I need to speak with them.” He said, “At the very least, Azlan, Mother, and Ar’alani.”
Nox shot a look at Rath that needed no accompanying words.
“I know. But of all of them, she would know the most.” Rath replied.
Nox shook his head, and said, be careful. He then wandered over to some of the other siblings, to tend to them.
Rath approached the three beds, where the three he had mentioned were conveniently stationed. Adjusting their medicine inputs slightly, he waited as the three awoke from the medically induced comas.
“Brother.” Azlan greeted him weakly, “So, it wasn’t a dream.”
Rath let out a hollow laugh, “I’d say it was more a nightmare.”
“Rath.” Vala greeted him, attempting to reach out her hand.
“Please rest, Mother.” Rath replied, “I only need to ask you a few questions. Then you can get back to your sleep. I need to know… are there any of our people left out there? And if so, where would they be hiding? How would I contact them?”
“There were countless numbers of our people there…” Vala replied, “I couldn’t make out faces though.”
Azlan simply remained silent, unsure.
“So many dead…” Ar’alani spoke up for the first time.
“I don’t mean on that wretched planet.” Rath replied, “I mean, when… when our House fell. When the Ascendancy was invaded by the Empire… did anyone escape? Any of the Phalanx or the Expansionary Defense Fleet? Would any of them have survived.”
“Rath…” Ar’alani spoke up, but her eyes fluttered.
Rath held back his anger, and procured a stimulant. Knowing too much could kill her, in this weakened state, Rath measured out the precise amount before injecting it straight into his aunt’s thigh.
Instantly, Ar’alani sat up, as the color returned to her face, and the light returned to her eyes.
“I feel… What was that?” She said, in shock.
“It won’t last long. You need to answer my questions, Ar’alani.” Rath began.
Before Rath could react, Ar’alani was on her feet. She threw her arms around Rath, pulling him into the most surprising hug of his life.
“Rath, I’m so, so sorry!” She began, weeping, “I know we never had the best relationship in the past. I’ve made some terrible mistakes, and I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I’m so sorry. Thank you for rescuing me, along with with the others.”
Rath was in shock. He had no idea how to process this. This was not the woman he had known his whole life. This was beyond out of character. For years he had suspected Ar’alani was responsible for the fall of his people. For years he had fantasized about what types of cruel vengeance he would enact on this woman. But now… he had no idea how to proceed. Still locked in Ar’alani’s temporarily strong grip, Rath simply patted her, awkwardly, on the back and said, “We can talk about that later. I need you to answer my questions. Now.”
Ar’alani finally relased Rath from her hug, and sat back down on the bed. After glancing around at the other bed-ridden members of her family, she looked to Rath and said, “I was a fool.”
“This I know.” Rath replied.
“I trusted Thrawn. He promised me more power, strength, and skill than I could imagine. And at first, he was right. The serum worked as he promised. I felt more powerful than ever. I felt like I could take on anything. But slowly, I began to realize that my mind was no longer my own. BY the time I had realized what was really happening, it was too late. I could no longer control my own actions. I was a puppet.
“Then, the Empire came. All were ordered to submit. Partake willingly, or be destroyed. Thrawn forced me to kill. Any who tried to escape were slaughtered. Thousands of our people mowed down. Thousands of ships destroyed. I killed them all. I take no pleasure in telling you I was very efficient. You know full well just how efficient we can be.” She trailed off, unable to look Rath in the eyes, “I had no choice… I couldn’t control myself… There was only one thing I could do to stop the slaughter. That was to subject them to the same torture I was experiencing myself. Anyone from our House… I forced my own mind to take control as best I could, sending them to labor, instead of…”
“So, everyone here…” Rath replied.
“I spared them from death the only way I possibly could.” Ar’alani said, looking around the room, avoiding Nox’s penetrating glare.
“What about those that are still missing?” Rath asked.
Ar’alani shook her head, “I don’t know.”
“And no one else was able to escape?” Rath asked, again, “Not a single soldier? Not a single dreadnought?”
“I was very efficient.” Ar’alani repeated.
Rath’s heart sunk.
“If any did escape, and it’s possible.” She added, “I wouldn’t begin to know where to look. Rath… I’m so sorry.”
“Get some rest.” Rath replied, walking away.
Just then, the stimulant’s effects wore off, and Ar’alani slumped back into her bed, quickly falling unconscious once more.
Twil knew he wouldn’t be able to understand a word of what Rath would say to his family, but he was curious all the same. Watching the interaction he had with Ar’alani was surprising to say the least. From everything Rath had said about the woman, and everything he had seen in Rath’s memories, this was definitely not how he had expected this particular reunion to go down. And judging by the priceless reaction on Rath’s face, neither did he.
Twil had heard Rath speak in his native tongue plenty of times in the past, but this was certainly the longest conversation he had heard. And as he listened to the unintelligible gibberish, he remarked on just how eloquent, and, even beautiful it sounded. Even when it was Rath doing the speaking. His eyes then wandered towards Larunae. Even in this horrid state, there was something unaccountably beautiful about the Chiss. And he wondered what this indecipherable, enchanting speech would sound like coming from someone like her.
Lost in thought, Twil did not realize Rath had finished the conversation and was standing before him.
“We’re on our own.” Rath said, dejected.
“You okay?” Twil asked.
“Just learning a lot of new information.” Rath replied, walking past him.
“So what’s the plan?” Twil asked, following Rath back into the lounge.
“I don’t-” Rath then stopped dead in his tracks, “That’s it!”
“What?!” Twil asked, suddenly just as excited.
“I am an idiot!” Rath said, smacking his head, “Tyber Zann!”
Twil had been down this road too many times. Instead of asking for clarification, he simply waited for Rath to continue.
“If Tyber Zann is supplying the Empire with all these slaves, then it’s obviously a big credit maker for the bastard.” Rath continued, “And who, among anyone, would want to see Tyber Zann fall from grace?”
Twil finally saw where Rath was headed, a smile played across his lips as he said, “Venlana Sipal.”
“The new Pirate Queen herself.” Rath replied with an equally devious smile.
“You have her contact info, right?” Twil replied.
“I do. My contact on Saelucami, Otto Dane, supplied it some time back, but you never made use of it, as I recall.”
“Well let’s put it to use now!” Twil said, following Rath to the comm terminal.
Seconds later, Venlana’s image appeared. She was a little older, dressed in much finer regalia, but it was, without a doubt Venlana Sipal.
“Captain Twil Pinn…” She began, drumming her fingers on the arm of her chair, “To what do I owe this unusual pleasure?”
“Venlana! So good to see you again.” Twil greeted her, ecstatic to see an old friend, “Now, this call isn’t about this, but sort of about this, anyway, if memory serves, you still ow me a date.”
“Captain, give me one good reason I shouldn’t end this call immediately.” Venlana replied.
“Okay, okay, down to business. You’re always business first, Venlana, gotta say, it’s kind of a turn off.”
“Goodbye, Captain.”
“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!” Twil stammered, “It’s about Tyber Zann.”
Venlana’s posture changed abruptly, as she tented her fingers she said, “I’m listening.”
Twil smirked and said, “Okay, well, so, here’s the deal. I have the potential location of Zann’s biggest client. We’re planning on heading out there to meet them in battle. But… we’re just one ship. It would be a lot easier if we had an army or two backing us up.”
Venlana rolled her eyes, “Captain, Zann has thousands of clients.”
“No, no.” Twil corrected her, “This is the biggest. Zann has been handling slave labor and delivery to the Empire itself. They are paying him massive amounts of credits to deliver them more slaves than you could imagine.”
Venlana’s face soured, and said, “Slave labor? That’s low even for him.”
“So are you in?” Twil asked hopefully.
“Captain, you have the full support of the entire armada of the Veiled Sorority.” Venlana replied.
Twil let out a triumphant laugh and said, “Yes! I’ll send you the coordinates and let you know the second we take off.”
“We’re scrambling our fleets as we speak.” Venlana replied, “May fortune favor you, Captain.” The call then cut off.
“Well.” Twil said, turning to Rath, “That went better than I possibly could have imagined.”
“We have a chance.” Rath breathed a sigh of relief.
“So what’s the plan now?” Zanroy asked.
Rath spoke up, “With the Veiled Sorority backing us up, we can have them act as the diversionary force, while we flank the Solicitude from another angle. With the Sovereign’s stealth capabilities, and with an armada causing chaos, we might be able to sneak on.”
“And from there?” Idozzi asked.
“Well… we’d have to take out anyone in the hangar, obviously. But if we pull the same stunt as on the Immobilizer, we can jam their comms. And from there, we just have to slink past thousands of troopers and find Dac.” Rath replied.
“We won’t need to slink at all.” Zanroy spoke up.
“What do you mean?” Twil asked.
“I mean, we have four sets of death trooper armor.” Zanroy replied.
Almost as if on cue, K9 entered the room and dropped a cargo box full of the aforementioned armor onto a nearby table.
“The armor has been cleaned and sanitized, as requested.” K9 announced.
Just then, Axel’s voice carried from the hall, “Oi! Ya big bucket of bolts, I said to handle that carefully!”
K9 glanced down the hallway, then back to the others. His photoreceptors blinked twice, before he meandered back down the hall, without another word spoken.
“I’ll need to work on him…” Rath muttered, mostly to himself.
Twil smiled, and said, “I like this plan. Once on board, we can just pose as death troopers.”
“What about the Muun?” Idozzi asked.
“Oh, right.” Twil replied. He had almost forgot. “I think we should take him with us.”
“What?!” Rath nearly shouted, “We hardly know him! We can’t trust him!”
“Trust me.” Twil pleaded.
“Isn’t that what you said about Baruda?” Rath shot back.
“Okay, fair.” Twil replied, holding up his hands in surrender, “But this is different. I keep seeing visions of him. He’s holding us at blasterpoint-”
“And this is supposed to make me feel better?” Rath interrupted.
“But I don’t think he means us any harm!” Twil insisted, “I think it’s not what it seems. And I think he needs to come with us.”
Rath rolled his eyes, and said, “Fine, but just expect a big ‘I told you so’ a little later.”
“It’ll be good, trust me. I’ll go talk to him.” Twil said, heading to the holding cells alone.
Twil found the Muun sitting on the ground, in a corner of the cell.
Feeling great guilt, he said, “I want to start off by saying, I’m sorry. It wasn’t right of me to throw you in here without good cause. I just didn’t know you. I wasn’t sure you could be trusted.”
“All I want is Dac Diggersby dead.” Morrow replied.
“Well, then, you’ll probably get your wish.” Twil continued, “We’ve made plans to head to the coordinates he ordered us to go to. We expect to find him there. Our plan is to sneak on board the Solicitude, his personal Star Destroyer, find him, and kill him. We have three sets of death trooper armor, which we will be using to disguise ourselves, one of us has a stealth suit and has no need for a disguise. But I’m not sure what to do about you.”
Morrow looked up at Twil, “As I told you before, I have many credentials within the Empire, that surely still work. If you could find me a science officers uniform, I could get us anywhere you need to go.”
Twil thought for a moment, “That might be hard to find, especially in your size. Hmm… we might be able to make one, though. Can you show me what it looks like?” He then deactivated the energy field, unfastened the binders, and handed Morrow his datapad.
After rubbing his wrists, Morrow took hold of the datapad, and began drawing the uniform and it’s symbols. A few minutes later, he handed it back to Twil, saying, “That’s what I wore.”
Twil appraised the image. It was remarkably well drawn. Speaking up, “Twil said, “Rath, I’m sure you’re watching this, can you make this?”
Seconds later, a voice chimed in from some unseen speaker, “I’m not a seamstress, Twil.”
“Rath?” Twil asked again, drawing out the name.
A few seconds later, “Fine… I’ll see what I can do.”
Twil laughed, and said, “We’ll get you hooked up.”
“This is amazing quality.” Morrow said, admiring the outfit he was now wearing.
“I do good work.” Rath replied with a shrug, “You should rest while you can. We’ll be at the coordinates in an hour, maybe two.”
Morrow eyed Rath, but nodded, and headed off into the corridors of the Sovereign.
Once he was out of sight, Rath headed towards the cockpit.
“Thanks for giving him a chance.” Twil said, as Rath took his seat.
“I still don’t trust him.” Rath replied, “But I trust you.”
Twil smiled, and said, “Let’s do this thing.”
Twil smiled, and stared at Rath.
“What?” Rath asked, annoyed.
“I still can’t believe you’re the Morcasi!” Twil replied, half laughing.
Rath shook his head, and said, “Some of us know how to make better use of our fame, I suppose.”
Twil laughed at the comment, but Rath could tell there was a little bitterness to the laugh.
“So, what does it mean?” Twil asked.
“What? The fact that I’m more famous than you?”
“No…” Twil replied, “Morcasi. What does that mean? I assume it’s some sort of ‘Chenguing’ word?”
“Cheunh.” Rath corrected him, “Yes. It is that. But it’s also so much more…”
“And?” Twil asked, drawing out the word.
“You actually already know about it. But you don’t understand it.” Rath replied with a laugh.
“What are you talking about?” Twil asked.
“When you searched my memories. You lingered in my House vault. You saw an ancient piece of parchment, sealed behind a thick layer of transparisteel.” Rath explained.
“It means ‘paper?’” Twil asked, confused.
“No, it’s an ancient folktale of my people. It was written on that parchment. One version of it, anyway.” Rath explained, “Well, it’s an ancient folktale of my House, to be more precise. Everyone in my House knows the tale by rote. It is one of the first things we are taught. However, it is something we never reveal to outsiders.”
“Does that mean I don’t get to hear it?” Twil asked.
Rath was silent for a minute, then said, “Much as I hate to say it, you’re hardly an ‘outsider’ anymore, Twil.” Rath sighed at Twil’s anxious face, and continued, “Yeah, sure. I’ll tell you the tale. I think it’s safe to say that you are most likely the first non-Chiss to ever hear it.
“The G’ecnsi Morcasi is an ancient Chiss legend, or perhaps a better word would be, as you put it, myth.
“Long, long ago, before my people ever dreamed of travelling across the stars; it is said that the ancient, primitive Chiss lived in tribes. Csilla was a cold, harsh planet full of dangers. The only way we could hope to survive was to band together. In the beginning, it is said that there were twelve different tribes. Of course, different tribes consisted of different people. Different customs. Occasionally disputes, and even territorial wars would break out among rival tribes.
“The wisest of our people, the elders of the tribes, saw that this could not go on. If we as Chiss had any hope of surviving, we would need to unite. And so, any dispute that arose between members of differing tribes would be addressed by a tribunal, composed of the elder of each tribe.
“It is rumored that this was the basis for the Aristocra and the ruling families that ruled our people in modern times. But, again, this is all just legend.
“One day, a stranger appeared before the ‘civilized’ Chiss. He was not of or from any of the twelve tribes. Where he came from, who he was, was a mystery. Despite this, one of the more welcoming and friendly tribes accepted him and took him in, as one of their own.
“This enigma welcomed the companionship of the tribe, he had been alone for so long, after all. He was youthful, strong, and quick. He was made a protector, or warrior, of the village. He found purpose. He was given a proper name, for he had none before. He found identity. Eventually he found a bride, and made a family of his own. He found happiness.
“One day, however, while the stranger was out in the wilderness, hunting for game, or chopping firewood… the tales differ from each telling… but all agree that he was away from his village… Anyway, when he was approaching home, in the dark of the cold Csilla night, he found an unusual and most unwelcome sight in the distance: his home, and many others of the village were alight in flame.
“By the time he reached his village… there was nothing left. And that included his precious, beloved family.
“He searched for hours, digging through rubble and ash. Only to find nothing but heartbreak. However, in his search he did find one clue. A torn scrap of clothing, bearing the incomplete, but unmistakable crest of another tribe.
“Infuriated, he brought this evidence before the tribunal of elders.
“They did not believe him. As members of that incriminated tribe had brought forth ‘evidence’ of their own, placing the blame of the tribe’s death at the hands of this ‘stranger’ that had appeared before them.
“Gifted with strength and speed, the stranger was able to escape the tribunal before the other warriors could wrongfully take him captive. But once free, he realized he was alone once more. Only this time, he was not without purpose…
“A great injustice had been done to this man. This gave his life new purpose and a new identity. And thus, was born ‘G’ecnsi Morcasi.’ or, as this galaxy prefers to call him, ‘the Morcasi.’
“The Morcasi did not seek vengeance. Never that. He knew that finding the perpetrators of this great crime, only to kill them, would bring no peace to his fallen family, or people. No, vengeance was never in his mind.
“Instead, he sought to right the wrongs that had been unfairly committed. He sought justice. But he soon discovered that justice could not always be achieved through just ways. And another problem had arisen, the Morcasi was one. And his enemies were many. And so he had no choice but to work from the shadows. To become one with the dark he had grown to despise.
“Working from the shadows, the Morcasi labored tirelessly to discover the true culprits behind these heinous acts, and to see them pay for their crimes.
“Eventually the Morcasi became a legend in his own time. Rumors of a demon lurking in the dark. Always watching, always waiting. He preyed on their superstitious fears, and used everything he could to find the truths he sought.
“His ways may have been shady and underhanded. But his goal was always pure. He had no bloodlust in him, although he was fine with letting his enemies think such a thing. Fear bred mistakes. And mistakes made it easier for the Morcasi to catch his enemies unaware.
“Eventually, his machinations bore fruit. He acquired the proof he had so desperately sought, and brought the crimes of his enemies into the light. The true perpetrators were tried for their crimes, and the Morcasi was finally able to achieve peace. After years in the dark, his life had finally been brought back to the light, where it belonged.
“As part of the reparations provided to him for the injustices he had suffered, he was made elder of his own tribe, allowed to start anew among his people. Eventually, he remarried, and was able to finally find peace, once more. And thus, the thirteenth ruling family of the Chiss was born.
“You asked what G’ecnsi Morcasi means. In the tongue of my people, it means ‘shadow justice.’ It is the principle that all within my House live up to. We work in the shadows, to bring justice to our people. We use underhanded methods, but we are not underhanded people. We understand that in order to bring the darkest truths to light, you must delve deep into the darkness yourself. But you must never lose yourself in the darkness. You must always remember that you are among it, but not of it. For we are the same as the wrongfully accused stranger in the legends. For he was not a demon lurking in the shadows, but a light hidden in the darkness.
“And that is from where my House gained its crest of a solar eclipse. For that is what we are: “a light, hidden in the darkness.”
“Cool.” Twil whispered, lost in the story, “What was his name?”
“Hmm?” Rath asked.
“You said they gave him a proper name, before everything went south. What was it?”
“Oh, that.” Rath replied, “It’s rumored that his true name was Ahnk’yl’os, hence my House’s name.”
“So, wait, this guy was like, your ancient ancestor?” Twil asked.
“Possibly.” Rath replied, “It’s just an old legend Twil. How much truth is in it is pretty hard to tell at this point.”
“Yeah, but, man, the similarities in that story to you…”
“Uncanny, isn’t it?” Rath said with a knowing grin, “That’s why I chose to take on the name. It just seemed fitting.”
“Totally.” Twil replied.
“Looks like we’re close” Rath said, breaking the reverie created by the story.
Twil checked the readings and said, “Yup. Looks like it’s time.” Grabbing the ship’s intercom, he yelled, “Buckle up people, it’s show time!”
As the Sovereign pulled out of hyperspace, however, the scene awaiting them was far, far different from what Twil had anticipated. There, floating in the blackness of space was not the Solicitude. But a very unremarkable, non-Imperial, nondescript ship.
“What the hell is this?” Rath asked.
Suddenly, the comms blared with the alarm indicating that the small ship was hailing the Sovereign. With a weary look toward Rath, Twil answered the holocall.
The face that greeted them was not what Twil was expecting.
“Captain Pinn. It’s been too long.” Tyber Zann said, flashing a wicked grin.
“Tyber Zann.” Twil said in reply, “It has been a long time. I hope you’re doing well.”
Zann laughed maliciously, “Oh indeed, Captain. I am having a very good day. For today, is the day you die!”
Before Twil could say another word, an extremely large mercenary warship warped in, along with an entire fleet of smaller star ships.
Again, before Twil could react, yet another voice hollered over the open comm frequency, “Think again you son of a Hutt!” Venlana screeched.
Just as suddenly as Zann’s fleet had arrived, did the fleet of the Veiled Sorority appear. Chaos instantly broke out as the smaller ships engaged in deadly dog fighting, meanwhile, Venlana’s flagship made a beeline straight for Zann’s warship.
“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Twil hooted with pride.
Zann’s face soured, and said, “You’ll pay for this Twil!” Before cutting off the comm on his end.
“Twil, he’s maneuvering to jump to hyperspace!” Rath shouted.
Zanroy rushed from the ship’s upper turret to get to the cockpit as quickly as he could, using the Force to enhance his every step.
“Twil! Get us as close to Zann’s ship as possible!” He shouted upon arriving.
Twil nodded, without a word, and punched the Sovereign’s thrusters to maximum.
“Look out!” Rath shouted.
But it was too late, as Zanroy saw that the Sovereign was charging straight for one of Zann’s smaller fighters. The force of the impact knocked the smaller ship straight towards Zann’s warship, though, somehow crashing directly into one of the behemoth’s engines.
“Twil, hurry!” Zanroy urged. He knew time was of the essence, and he was not about to let this rat slip back to his father’s side.
“I’ve got this!” Twil yelled back, adjusting the ship’s path, and charging forward once more.
Zanroy watched as they drew closer and closer, until finally, they were close enough. He could see that the damaged ship was still prepping to jump, but it wouldn’t. Not if he had any say in the matter.
Reaching out with as much power as he could muster, Zanroy could feel the bridge of the ship in his hands, as if it were one of the Toydarian Toymaker wooden ship models he had as a young boy. With his mind firmly visualizing the bridge in his hands, he made use of his growing power, ripping the bridge, quite literally, in two, with the Force.
Letting out a scream of feral power, Zanroy watched as the bridge tore asunder, causing a massive series of explosions on the mercenary warship.
“Holy crap!” Twil exclaimed.
“Wow…” Rath added.
Once he had regained his composure, Zanroy said, “What are you doing just sitting there? We gotta move! If this trap failed, there’s going to be more coming!”
“Right!” Twil said, shaking his head.
“Kriffing hell… Too late.” Rath spoke up.
As Zanroy looked out the cockpit, he could see that a new ship had entered the fray. “How is that possible?” He asked, seeing the ship that was before them.
“They built another one.” Rath replied, equally stunned.
An Interdictor cruiser loomed overhead. The very same model as the Immobilizer 418. Rath had assumed the Empire had given up on that project, after he destroyed the first. Clearly he was wrong.
“Twil, we gotta move, now!” Rath yelled.
“I’m trying!” Twil replied, clearly struggling.
“The gravity wells must be activated already…” Rath replied.
A new hail came on over comms, “Captain Twil Pinn. This is the Detainer. Surrender your ship and your crew immediately. By the authority of the Emperor, you are under arrest.”
“Rath, what are our chances of getting away from this thing?” Twil asked.
“Slim to none and slim left town.” Rath replied, the only chance we have is in the split second between them powering down the gravity wells to activate the tractor beam. But-”
“I like those odds.” Twil replied with a smile.
Realizing too late what Twil was attempting, Rath shouted, “No!”
But Twil had already activated the hyperdrive. The ship lurched and churned as it attempted to make the jump. It only half succeeded. The ship did indeed jump. Nut it didn’t get far before it was torn back into realspace. Sirens and alarms began to blare as Rackett and R5 started shouting about fires in the engine room.
“Damn it.” Rath muttered. As he rose from his seat in the cockpit, he saw a squadron of TIE Interceptors soaring towards them. “Double damn it.” He said, as he turned to Twil, “I’ll try to fix the engines. You keep those things off of us.”
“I’ll do my best.” Twil replied, flipping switches and pressing buttons in a frantic effort to get more speed to the ship.
“I’ll get on turrets with Idozzi.” Zanroy said, rushing out of the room.
As Rath entered the engine room, it was worse than he imagined. The entire area was on fire. The two astromechs were frantically spewing cryoban in every direction, trying to get the fires under control.
“Alright guys, let’s do this and do it fast.”
Twil knew the TIE’s would be contacting the Detainer any second, if they hadn’t already. He needed to stop that from happening. Pouring juice into the ship’s comm jammer, Twil activated it, to not only disrupt communications, but knock out their communications permanently. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure if it had the desired effect.
As he activated the jammer, a massive EMP blast shook throughout and away from the ship. He felt the Sovereign jot hard and saw the TIE’s shaking from the blast. All comms were down, except for the faint, extremely angry shout from Rath, back in the engine room, “Twil!”
“Oops.” He chuckled to himself.
His humor was soon lost, though, as he saw the Interceptors begin heading toward him, in a clear attack formation.
“Come on, baby!” He whispered the the control panel as he attempted to put as much distance between him and the TIE’s. But it was a futile effort. Too much damage had been done to the engines. And the TIE’s were too fast.
However, perhpas all was not lost. He watched, with hope as one of the TIE’s suddenly got blasted by the ship’s lower guns.
“Yeah! Nice shot Idozzi!” He hollered, sure she wouldn’t be able to hear him.
That was, unfortunately, their only stroke of luck, though, as the remaining ships flew towards the Sovereign, and opened fire.
“Gah!” Rath shouted, as the engine burst into flames once more, as the Sovereign received another salvo.
R5 beeped angrily.
“Yeah, I’d like to know what they’re doing out there, too!” Rath called out over the explosion of sparks.
Rath knew his mechanical expertise was quite possibly unmatched. But even he couldn’t work this many miracles. The ship was taking heavy damage. They were dead in space. One more blast, and it would be over for all of them.
Shaking his head, he said, “See what you can do to stabilize this thing.” Then rushed out of the engine room.
Reaching the cockpit, he saw that Idozzi, Zanroy, and Morrow were already there.
“What’s going on?” He asked.
“Twil just sent out the surrender.” Idozzi replied.
“What’s the plan?” Rath asked.
“This!” Zanroy yelled.
Rath watched in awe, as Zanroy reached with both hands outstretched. The TIE’s, who had just come within range, in an attempt to prevent the ship from moving, suddenly began flying as if they were a child’s ball being tossed across a room. The ship’s collided with one another, creating fiery balls of explosions right before their eyes.
“He’s getting good at that.” Rath muttered to Idozzi with both impress and concern.
“Rath, what’s our situation?” Twil asked, after he was done celebrating with Zanroy.
Rath shook his head, “It’s gonna take some time to get the engines working. We don’t have the parts we need. And we just ran out of time.” He added, as the blood drained from his face.
From the cockpit, he, and the others could see that the Detainer had found them. There was no hailing frequency this time. They knew that the ship was floating, unable to move, unable to fight. They were caught. For the first time ever, there was no escape in sight.
“Captain. I think it’s time for that plan we discussed.” Morrow spoke up.
“Plan?” Rath asked.
“Morrow’s going to bring us in.” Twil explained.
“What?” Rath asked.
“Posing as an Imperial himself, he will pretend to be a traitor, bringing us in to see…” Twil’s speech trailed off.
“Twil?” Idozzi asked.
“Barris and Tessala are on that ship.” Twil said.
“Wait, you… you can sense them?” Rath asked.
“Yes.” Twil replied, still staring off into the distance.
Rath then immediately understood the implications of what he had just said. Barris was on that ship. Barris, who was last seen being transported to a Rebel base on Krait by Kor Zoroc. Transported with another prisoner, Grand Admiral Thrawn…
“Twil… If Barris is on that ship.” Rath started.
“It means we have an idea of how they found Zoroc.” Twil finished.
“She must have escaped. Which means Thrawn could be there too.” Rath continued.
Twil was silent for a moment, but said, “No. No, Thrawn isn’t there.”
Rath sighed. This meant that Thrawn was somewhere. He knew he should have killed him when he had the chance. There’s no telling what kind of damage that monster could be unleashing on the galaxy now.
“Okay, guys, game time.” Twil said, jumping from his seat, “We’ll be pulled into their hangar in a matter of seconds. Zanroy, you got your sabers locked up?”
Zanroy patted his leg in response.
“Good. I’ll leave mine with R5, just in case.” Twil continued, “Rath, stealth up.”
“I’m gone.” Rath replied, activating his suit’s stealth tech.
“Morrow, take this.” Twil said, handing him a heavy blaster, “We’re trusting you.”
“I understand, Captain.” Morrow replied, gripping the blaster, “And just know, that whatever happens, whatever I do, I’m on your side.”
Just then, the ship shook hard as it was unceremoniously dumped in the hangar.
“Show time.” Twil said, leading the group towards the boarding ramp.
Rath followed from a distance. Twil may have trusted the Muun, but Rath still had his doubts.
As he watched the group disembark, they were flanked by two rows of at least twenty stormtroopers each. at the end of the two rows was a captain. Upon seeing Morrow Cantillis exit the ship, however, the troopers lowered their weapons, and stood at attention.
“At ease, Captain. I’ll take it from here.” Morrow announced in a voice much more authoritative than anything Rath had heard from the Muun previously.
The stormtrooper captain nodded, and simply stood at attention, without another word spoken.
“This way!” Morrow shouted, shoving Zanroy along, “Move it, you scum!”
Rath followed the group, still maintaining his distance. He stopped, however, when he saw that they were all sprayed with some sort of unknown mist. Almost pulling his weapon, he saw Morrow whisper something to Twil, and Twil simply nodded, and continued moving.
Weary, Rath followed.
The more they traveled, the more impressed Twil was with Morrow’s access. Not a single trooper or officer dared intervene, and the three of them were led quite quickly to the bridge.
However, he also noticed that something wasn’t right. Something was off. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he knew something was wrong.
Finally, they reached their destination. The massive doors slid open to reveal a very familiar Imperial star destroyer bridge. Identical to the one, where he and the others encountered Thrawn. However, it was not Thrawn standing at the head of the bridge, but, just as Force had warned him, Moff Barris and Tessala Corvae, along with four heavily armed death troopers.
“On your knees!” Morrow shouted, knocking them down to the ground. “Moff Barris.” He continued, “I’ve brought you some gifts.”
Barris and Tessala both turned at this to face the group. The snide, wicked smiles across their lips made Twil’s stomach churn. Even though he knew Morrow was on their side, this still felt like an uphill battle.
“Well, well, well…” Barris began, walking slowly towards Twil, “Look who it is Tessala, our old friend Captain Twil Pinn.”
“You’re right.” Tessala joined in, in an equally mocking tone, “I warned you long ago, Captain, it would have been so much easier for you if you had just given in to my demands.”
“But now, we get to do things, the hard, painful way.” Barris continued, “Oh, Twil, we have so much catching up to do. The stories I could tell you. Like about my time on Krait.” Her voice grew much sharper, “The stories I could tell about salt. Salt everywhere. Salt that I shall shove down your throat until you asphyxiate on it!”
“Now, now, let’s not be hasty, Barris, we have more guests to greet.” Tessala interjected.
“Too right, Tessala.” Barris replied, straightening herself up, “What have we here? Twil’s little Twi’lek arm charm! Idozzi’vas, isn’t it?”
“Don’t we know her parents?” Tessala asked.
“I think we do!” Barris replied.
Upon hearing this, Idozzi spat at the two women.
“Hmm.” Barris hummed, “I can see the family resemblance.”
“Ah, and here’s the grandest prize of them all.” She said, moving on to Zanroy, “Your father is very cross with you young man.”
Zanroy had had enough of this pathetic show. It was time to end these women, once and for all. Reaching out with the Force, though, Zanroy was horrified to find nothing there. Somehow, some way, his connection had been lost.
Kneeling there, he was frozen in shock, unable to process this strange phenomenon.
“Can you believe this scum is responsible for disrupting the entire project?” Tesala asked.
“It is unbelievable.” Barris agreed, “That three insignificant… Wait a minute. Where’s the other one?” Barris asked, she turned her attention to Morrow, “Where’s the Chiss?”
Morrow simply shrugged.
“Oh, him? He bolted ages ago.” Twil replied, coolly.
Barris let out a smug laugh, “Only one smart enough to get away from you, hmm? But wait, there was another, wasn’t there? Bring him out.” She said to one of the death troopers.
Zanroy watched as the trooper walked to a nearby door, opened it and led another individual into the room. The shock was almost too much to bear.
Twirling his pistols in both hands, he began to speak, “Well hey there, Twil. Zanroy. Idozzi. Did you all miss me?”
“Draven?!” The three of them spoke in unison.
Draven let out a sick laugh, “I can’t believe you people ever fell for that act. Did you really think I was ever on your side?” He laughed again, “How gullible are you people?!”
Blind, unrelenting fury began to build up within Zanroy, as he watched this man that he had once called friend, mock him and the others.
“Wait, where’s Rath?” Draven asked.
“Obviously not here.” Zanroy replied, through his teeth.
Draven shrugged, “Chiss are a pain, anyway. Scream real nice, though, when you kill em.”
Rath watched the ensuing scene with great confusion. At one point, Tessala and Barris were mocking their “prisoners,” but now, Twil and the others were having a conversation with… no one? Rath couldn’t make heads or tails of it, but it was clearly upsetting them, whoever they thought it was.
He then overheard Twil sigh and say, “Those are really nice blasters. And I don’t regret buying them for you.”
Rath arched an eyebrow. There was only a few people that statement could apply to, that he knew of, and one of them was already here, on the floor with them.
As the name of the only person Twil could possibly be referring to came to the forefront of his mind, Rath happened to glance out the massive viewport of the bridge, only to see his very ship careening straight for them.
Twil could not touch the Force. He did not know what was happening, but he had to trust in his friends. Even the one who was about to shoot him straight in the head. As he prepared for the worst, he suddenly heard an echo of grinding metal in the distance, the reverberation shuddered deep within his bones.
Visually, the world around him began to distort and warp, the cool air that had been surrounding him burst into a heat wave that crashed over him.
He looked up to see Barris stop dead in her tracks and look to her side, seemingly at nothing. She looked horrified as she muttered the following words, “Oh no… It’s you…”
Suddenly a blaster shot rang within his ears and his vision snapped to black.
“Twil! Twil! Wake up! This is no time for sleeping!” Twil could hear Rath’s voice echoing in the distance, getting louder and louder.
Finally, his eyes reopened. His surrounds were very different from just a few moments ago. The bridge was covered in small fires, scrap metal, and unconscious bodies. A smaller, yet somehow familiar Correllian freighter was now lodged firmly into a large portion of the bridge’s viewport. Near the crashed freighter was the body of Moff Barris slumped on the floor with a gaping hole in her head, and standing beside her holding a smoking barrel, was Draven.
“Hey!” Draven called out, elongating the word over multiple syllables.
“Wait a minute! What just… you were going to kill us!” Twil shouted, completely confused.
“You were all drugged, Twil.” Rath said, grabbing the Zeltron’s shoulder, “Whoever you thought you saw, they weren’t really here. That, however, is.” Rath said, pointing towards Draven and his crashed freighter.
Twil could not contain his happiness, Draven, the real Draven had rescued them. Again. And not only that, but he killed Doc Barris in the process.
“Draven!” He shouted, “Good to see you again, buddy!”
“Not now, Twil, we gotta go.” Rath interrupted.
As if on cue, the ship lurched, knocking them all to the ground, causing them to tumble into the next large room of the ship.
As Rath and the others got to their feet, he noticed that the tossing also caused Tessala and her death troopers to regain consciousness. After briefly examining the situation, she shouted, “Kill them!”
A firefight immediately broke out, and Rath reactivated his stealth suit. He watched as the others handled themselves ably. And noticed an E-Web turret just off into the distance, when an idea occurred to him.
With a smile, he rushed to the huge weapon, and quickly tinkered with it.
“That should work.” He said with a smile.
Twil had grabbed one of Zanroy’s lightsabers from the secret compartment, happy to see that his connection to the Force had been restored. And, alongside his fellow Force user, the two deflected the powerful blasts of the death trooper’s heavy blaster fire.
One deflected shot, intended for Tessala, however, simply splashed off of her, as a secret force field flashed briefly into existence.
Seeing the battle going poorly for her, Tessala ran past the group, still occupied with two death troopers, and manned the heavy repeating blaster turret.
Twil readied his lightsaber, but watched in shock as the turret exploded the second Tessala attempted to fire. She let out a hideous screech as the blast sent her careening into a nearby wall. Seeing that she had somehow still survived, Twil causally approached her, held the red blade to her throat, and asked, “Any last words?”
Tessala simply spat at him.
“Hmm, nice epitaph.” Twil nodded, he then readied his borrowed lightsaber, and said, “This is for the Good Trader.” He then swung the blade hard, cleaving the wretched woman’s head from her shoulders.
“Think that’s the last of them.” Zanroy said.
“There’s more comin’!” Draven replied, pointing down a hallway.
Without speaking, Twil chucked a frag grenade down the hallway, and said, “Let’s move!”
“This way!” Morrow called out.
The Muun reached for the access panel, but Zanroy was in no mood to deal with that. Using his power to it’s fullest, he pushed out a wave of Force energy, causing the thick blast doors to blow outwards.
Zanroy watched in satisfaction as the doors turned legions of troopers on the other side into piles of white and red glop.
“Okay then…” Morrow continued, “This way.”
As Zanroy and the others followed, they were quickly stopped by yet another legion of stormtroopers, headed up by two two troopers in black armor, wielding what looked to be very powerful stun batons. Just then, a second legion of troopers arrived to flank them.
Before anyone could react, Morrow suddenly produced a thermal detonator, and chucked it at the flanking troopers. After the dust, and corpses, settled, Morrow, yelled out, “Get going! I’ll hold them off!”
Zanroy watched as Twil stood beside the Muun, lightsaber drawn, and said “I don’t abandon my crew.”
“That’s all the motivation I needed.” Zanroy replied, standing at the Muun’s other side.
“I’ll stand with you.” Idozzi replied.
“Psh, we got this.” Draven said.
With a smile, Zanroy and the others leaped into action.
“Where did you get that droid?” Twil asked, as he watched a tiny, humaniod shaped droid, that had leaped out from under Draven’s armor, pummel a stormtrooper to death.
“Oh, A-1? Yeah, it’s a long story.” Draven replied, as he took a shot at another trooper.
Twil looked back to see that the two main, black armored troopers had been finally dealt with. Idozzi sucker shot one, straight to the face, and Zanroy had apparently used the Force to crush the windpipe of the other. As he looked around, he realized there were no enemies left. They had actually finished off the entire army that had come to stop them.
“Okay, let’s keep going!” Twil shouted.
“Wait!” Morrow called out, rushing to a terminal, “This is too good to pass up.”
Rath watched with great curiosity as Morrow called up the holorecording. Appearing over the holocommunicator was a very angry Dac Diggersby, “Crew of the Detainer.” He began, “Your failure today shall not go unpunished. All surviving crew are to report to these coordinates and rendezvous with the Reaper, immediately.”
The Reaper… Rath had heard that name before. He had dismissed such as ship as just Imperial propaganda, something to scare civilians. Such a thing could not possibly exist. And yet…
As Zanroy watched the recording, a sudden thought occurred to him. Using the Force, Zanroy sought out his mother, Aari Diggersby. The vision was brief, but all too clear. He had her… “Shit…” He muttered to himself.
They had reached the hangar. Rath was currently busy tearing apart a nearby TIE Interceptor for parts, and, Twil hoped, some semblance of vengeance for what those things had done to his ship.
He was about to head inside, when he suddenly noticed the hangar doors fly open, and three bazooka equipped stormtroopers ran inside.
Twil watched as they fired rockets of death towards the Sovereign and it’s still vulnerable crew.
“No!” He shouted. Reaching out with the Force in the most visceral, primal way he could, he grabbed hold of the rockets in mid air, and flung them back towards his attackers. The resulting explosion ended just barely within a safe radius.
“Okay, I’ve got the parts!” Rath shouted, just in time, he then rushed past Twil, towards the engine room.
“Okay people, let’s go!” Twil shouted.
Rath put his expertise and speed to its limits as he worked furiously to repair the Sovereign’s engines and hyperdrive. The Detainer would surely blow any minute. And who knew what kind of back up the Empire might be sending.
Quicker than even he expected, Rath had the engines fixed, or so he thought. “Okay Twil, hit it!” He commed to the cockpit.
The engines flared to life, only to sputter and blink out.
“Oh, come on!” Rath shouted, smashing his hand against the engines.
Somehow, despite all logic, that actually worked, much to Rath’s shock. The engines whirred to life, at full power, and the ship shot out of the Detainer’s hangar.
Within seconds of getting clear, the Detainer exploded in a series of blasts, leaving nothing but twisted metal chunks floating through space.
Rath could hear Twil holler from the cockpit, then, over comms say, “Next stop, Rath’s base.”
