Star Wars: Heroes of Another Kind

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 194: Torn

As fast as their legs could propel them, Shadow and Akan ran through the trees after the Mrrakesh. He couldn’t be far off. They could hear the movement, even thought they weren’t able to see him. And though Akan was charging on as fast as she was, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d be of any use with his lightsaber gone. But he went on anyway, deciding to do whatever he could, no matter how small it may be.

“He’s heading for his ship,” Shadow growled as she jumped over a small patch of downed limbs and continued on.

“And you know this...how?” Akan asked through his heavy breathing. Sure, the body was stronger and could take more than a Human’s, but running constantly like this was still tiring.

She gave him a sharp look before moving around a tree, “Trust me.”

Not that he didn’t, of course, so that was the end of it. The thick trees slowly began to spread out, leaving more room and less of a need to worry so much about tripping. Shadow, still leading the way, was the first to hear a soft noise in the distance...it was like an electronic sizzle, and while she knew she heard it, she didn’t take time to think about what it was. And then she realized what it was.

Near panic crossing her face, she spun around to attempt to stop herself, reaching out and pushing Akan back hard enough that he nearly flipped over before hitting the ground hard. She had been moving too fast, though, and didn’t have someone to stop her like she’d done for Akan. Instead, she hit it.

It, specifically, was impossible to see until her body impacted with the normally invisible wall of energy. When she ran into it, there was a loud sizzling noise and the entire thing pulsed a soft red colour, out and as far as both of them could see. In the moment of impact, an intense and indescribable pain wracked through her body, so much so that when she opened her mouth to cry out, there was no sound as she hurt too much. It was only for a half second, but the pain was so intense that it felt like it lasted for hours before Shadow was thrown back from the barrier, hitting a tree and falling limp to the ground...limp, but conscious, and still hurting.

Akan blinked. Not only had he nearly landed on his tail, but a moment later he felt the echoes of Shadow’s pain and had frozen from it, gritting his teeth and trying to fight it back. And then, it was gone. It was gone, and yet he still felt Shadow there. He looked up to see her slumped against a nearby tree, and quickly crawled over and asked near frantically, “What happened?!”

Shadow’s eyes managed to move to look at him, but nothing else did. He could tell she was trying to force her mouth to move, but soon gave up on that and tried another form of communication. [...morph. Morph Mrrakesh and go after him...]

Akan looked over his shoulder towards the distinct scent he’d identified as the Mrrakesh. After a short moment, he turned back and shook his head, “I can’t do it without you.”

[Beat him...to the ship...] Shadow was straining to even think the words through their link.

“I’m not leaving you here,” Akan stubbornly stated, putting a hand on her shoulder(though she was too numb to feel it) to emphasize the point.

Her eyes managed to glare at him. [Go. Find the ship...stop him from leaving.]

But, of course, Akan didn’t move. He looked as torn as he felt. He did need to go. He needed to stop this because right now, he was the only thing that was standing in the way of the Mrrakesh and the ship. And yet...he couldn’t just leave her there, helpless. He couldn’t.

“No...” Akan said again, shaking his head, “I can’t leave you here. I...I can’t do this on my own, and you know it.”

Somehow, Shadow gathered up the strength to move her arm, grabbing his tightly as her expression sharpened. She also forced the words out through the echoes of pain and numbness, “Go! If...he gets away, it won’t matter!”

Akan stared at her for a long minute...a long minute that gave the Mrrakesh more time to get away. A long minute that didn’t do anything but work against them. And yet he let it pass, fighting with himself over what he should do. The whole time, he knew there wasn’t a right choice. But there was one that had to be made. And it was inevitable, with his fighting it only causing things to work out worse in the long run.

A mix of anger, confusion, and determination on his face, Akan stood up. It took every bit of willpower he had to turn around and head towards where the Mrrakesh had gone. It took even more to find the form within his mind to will his body to change...and once on the other side of the barrier, which had allowed him to pass through as a Mrrakesh, he immediately returned to his Alraxian body. One last time, he looked over his shoulder to Shadow. Biting his lip to stay silent and mentally kicking himself onward, Akan turned and went forward into the trees and let the Force guide him to the ship.

((Sorry for the lack of update yesterday...had a rough couple of days with lots going on. Things should be evening out some more now.))

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 195: Ultimatum

Within five minutes, Akan had found the ship. Or at least, he was pretty sure it was what he was looking for. It was not, in any way, anything like a Kanyak. In fact, it reminded him more of a small, but probably very old, bulk freighter design. There were even hints of a Corellian design to it. At first he started to come up with wild ideas of how that would be possible, but then it dawned on Akan how little he really knew of the Mrrakesh. But now he knew something new. They had ships with designs he could sabotage. Or at least...that was the idea. Reaching out with the Force and finding that he could sense nothing nearby, he carefully approached the ship and headed around to the back to tear apart the drives.

Back behind him a good distance, Shadow sat trying to get feeling back in her body. She still couldn’t move, but her thinking was at least less fuzzy and she could focus on Akan through the link. But that was about it. As Shadow focused on trying to move her legs, her ear twitched. It twitched, and then swivelled to the side to find the sound she thought she’d heard.

No...no she’s just imagined it. Or...yes, she’d heard it. That crackling noise again. Which meant that...no, it wasn’t Akan, he was off...off...trying to do something at least. And if it wasn’t Akan...

“Ahhh, thought I smelled something,” the heavily accented voice of the Mrrakesh commented as he stepped out of the brush in front of her. Slowly, the large creature walked over to her, a smile on his lupine features.

[Akan...do what you’re doing quickly. He’s here...] Shadow sent through the link, and at it, she was surprised to see a surprised look on the Mrrakesh’s face.

It then formed into a glare as he reached down with one arm and yanked her up by the neck, “I can sense your thought-speech, ‘raxian.” he glare at her and she returned it as best as she could.

Easily carrying her limp body in one hand, he walked back towards the ship, “You will tell me where your companion is.”

While Shadow didn’t say anything(and couldn’t, even if she’d wanted to), she managed to find the energy to growl weakly. At that, the Mrrakesh simply laughed, sounding honestly amused as he came to a stop and smiled, “No matter. I believe he will find us. Feel free to scream, this will hurt.”

Then, swiftly and easily, the Mrrakesh lifted Shadow up a little more before thrusting her forward. In a half second, she impacted with the invisible wall again. It cracked and nearly exploded with noise, and suddenly she could feel her all of her body again. Of course, it wasn’t the feeling she’d like to have returned. To say that it felt like white hot, searing burning inside and outside of her body was a horrible understatement. If her throat hurt from the painful scream she let out involuntarily, she couldn’t tell, as a second later the Mrrakesh yanked her back and she’d gone numb with pain again.

He smiled again and tilted his head slightly, an ear listening closely to the surroundings, “Surely your companion heard that...” the Mrrakesh idly reached up and rubbed his ear with a free hand, “I doubt much of the planet missed it.”

A couple of minutes of silence passed and Shadow found herself back to square one, even having trouble focusing her eyes. Through the link, Akan was sending questioning feelings and trying to ask what was going on without asking(as he seemed to be smart enough to pick up that straight talking through the link was a bad idea), but she couldn’t even find the will to think in just the right way to send the thoughts through the link.

There was a sigh from the Mrrakesh, and he looked back down to her again, “I would suggest bracing yourself. This will continue to hurt...and much more, I expect.”

Holding her off to his side, the Mrrakesh then stepped forward and through the ‘shield’. For him, it was a simple experience in which he felt nothing at all, and the shield simple crackled and changed colour slightly. Of course, for Shadow, it was another excruciating few moments of pain. He allowed her to linger there for about half a minute before completely pulling her through, and then that smile was back, “That one was a bit muffled, I believe...shall we try again?”

Shadow couldn’t answer, of course. But he didn’t move her to it again. Instead, he froze. Shadow couldn’t help but wonder why, and then ‘heard’ the reason. [That ship won’t be flying anymore...almost back to you.]

Her eyes just widened in both surprise and a form of rage. [This is no time for heroics, Akan!]

The Mrrakesh was looking around and sniffing the air slowly. Though he’d probably only detected Akan’s ‘words’ slightly, he easily picked up on Shadow’s response. A dangerous growl in the back of his throat, the Mrrakesh lifted her up and glared. He did not say anything, however, and instead continued to scan the trees and bushes around.

Slowly, Akan reached a place where he could see the Mrrakesh holding Shadow up in one arm. He knelt down carefully behind a larger tree, only about fifteen meters away from them. For a long time, the Mrrakesh only looked around, his eyes passing right over Akan more than once. He even felt a presence reaching out with the Force, but managed to keep himself hidden from that, too.

And then the Mrrakesh roared, “Show yourself! I know you are there! Show yourself or I will be forced to harm the female!”

Akan glared. It was the only thing he could think of doing that wouldn’t give his position away. He had no opening...nothing...had to wait. Shadow could take it. Through their link, he could feel that...it was hard, and it hurt, but she could do it. So as she fought against the pain, he fought against the urge to try and do something stupid.

When no answer came, the Mrrakesh simply thrust Shadow into the barrier again. Though Akan could hear her scream, it didn’t bother him as much as the fact that he could feel it...distantly, so that it didn’t actually hurt him, but instead tingled and flowed through his skin like nothing he could describe. And then it stopped.

It stopped, and the Mrrakesh called out again. And again, Akan said nothing, though his claws dug into the tree, holding him there as the Mrrakesh threw Shadow into the barrier again. Twice more, the events repeated themselves, each time, Akan’s claws digging in deeper to the tree and Shadow’s voice growing more and more hoarse. Then, finally, it stopped.

“Fine!” the Mrrakesh called out, letting go of Shadow and allowing her to drop down to her knees. One of the Mrrakesh’s hands came around and grabbed the side of her head, while the other pulled out an object that Akan recognized far too well...taking Akan’s lightsaber, the Mrrakesh thrust the hilt of the weapon hard into Shadow’s forehead, and called out, “No more games! Show yourself, or she dies!”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 196: All's Normal Here

If it had been any other person in the entire galaxy, Akan would have made an intelligent decision. If it anyone at all besides Shadow with a lightsaber hilt to the skull, he would have found another way. And yet...it wasn’t anyone else. It wasn’t anyone else and it was a Mrrakesh who sounded very, very serious holding the weapon. He shouldn’t have thrown the damned thing in the first place! He shouldn’t have...no. Not the time. The Mrrakesh wasn’t bluffing. Akan could feel it.

And so, he did the stupid thing and immediately stood up from his cover before calling out, “I’m here!”

I’m here. Stupid words to a stupid move. Why didn’t he just use the Force and rip the weapon away? Or throw the Mrrakesh back? Or...or anything?! But no, it was too late now. The Mrrakesh had heard the words and turned to face Akan, a grin on his lupine features. He tipped his head slightly and replied calmly, “Keep your hands in my view and step forward slowly.”

So he had another chance. Another chance to rip the weapon away...to dive forward, using the Force to enhance his speed so that he could reach the Mrrakesh before the blade could ignite. He could...could morph into nearly anything! The possibilities were endless and in each one of them, the result was the same. The weapon away, and Shadow safe. Nothing wrong with it at all...and yet...Akan just stepped forward slowly, his hands out at his sides, palms out and open.

“Three steps to your left, then turn away, and start walking forward,” the Mrrakesh ordered Akan, lifting up Shadow again as Akan did as he was told.

And so, in silence, Akan led the way back to the Mrrakesh’s ship. He knew the way, now, but did his best to walk slow enough to take directions from the large creature. From the sound of things, at least the Mrrakesh didn’t seem to know his ship wasn’t going to fly. Hopefully...Akan pulled what he assumed were the right things, though it was of such an ancient design that he couldn’t help the urge to just rip all the parts out. But it was definitely a sublight drive, and he’d done everything he could to make sure it wouldn’t work short of blowing it up...which he’d have done if he’d had something to do it with.

When they reached the ship, the Mrrakesh ordered him to stop. Of course, Akan did. He could feel a slight annoyance from the wolf-like creature, and Akan figured it had to do with being stuck carrying Shadow’s still numb body. Or at least...slightly numb. Akan could feel through the link that Shadow was biding her time quietly...focusing, getting ready, but not moving anything at all as to give anything away. They weren’t dead yet, at least.

“Stand here, and do not move. If you move, she dies,” the Mrrakesh said simply before walking over to a side of the ship and hitting a small switch. With a loud hiss, a boarding ramp descended, and the Mrrakesh stepped up. A couple of moments later, he returned, still holding Shadow, but also carrying a small circlet like object in one hand.

He let Shadow drop to the ground with a thud, and she lay there, eyes open and watching carefully. She knew what it was. The link told Akan that...but she still didn’t say anything. Still staying silent...waiting...waiting and hoping he didn’t make another stupid move.

Still standing next to Shadow’s body, the lightsaber hilt held down so that the blade would activate and still reach her, the Mrrakesh threw the object to Akan, “Put it on your head and press the switch on the right. I do not need to tell you the consequences if you do not.”

Akan caught it, but didn’t nod. No, he didn’t need to be told. What he did need to know was what it was. And yet...that just didn’t matter. There wasn’t nothing he could do. Akan couldn’t take on this Mrrakesh alone. And so, he slipped the small circular band around his head. It was small, and feeling around he did find the tiny switch under his right ear.

His hand over the switch, he looked at the Mrrakesh, eye to eye, trying to find any hint. But there was nothing...nothing but a silent warning. And Akan knew how little choice he really had at this point. And with little choice, that left the only thing he could think of. Shadow would find a way...she had to. He had no idea what was going to happen anymore.

“Akan, wait no!!” Shadow suddenly screamed, her voice scratchy but back. It was, however, too late. He’d pressed the switch, and from the circle, a shroud of soft green(at least it wasn’t blue...) Energy descended down from it and encased his skull. Akan felt a sudden jolt, and then fell into blackness, collapsing to the ground.

So not only one stupid thing in that second, but two. Shadow should have stayed silent. Her yell was responded to with a sudden snap-hiss, and she barely had enough time to roll to the side, the blue-green blade singing some of her longer hairs. But she was moving.

Sliding around, her head back and legs sweeping around, Shadow quickly took the Mrrakesh’s feet out from under him. He fell onto his face, hitting hard just as Shadow got up to her feet, shaky but manageable. She still hurt, but was fighting through it, using every shred of willpower to keep her body moving. Wildly, the Mrrakesh swung the lightsaber back behind him, obviously hoping she’d try to pounce onto his back and tear his throat out. But she wasn’t that stupid, and so the lightsaber caught only air.

She did, however, grab his large wrist while it was extended behind him, and twist it hard. There was a loud snap as she broke his wrist, and the lightsaber was wrenched free, falling off to the side harmlessly. A foot lashed back at Shadow, and she had no way to avoid it, and so was forced back by an incredible strength as it caught her in the stomach. When Shadow stumbled back, the Mrrakesh quickly got back up to his own feet, standing up nearly a meter taller than her as his own minor morphing ability healed the broken wrist. That was, essentially, the extent of the Mrrakesh’s ability to morph...thankfully.

“You would have both made good slaves!” he growled before diving forward at her. Shadow ducked under a punch to her face, rolling to the left and underneath the starship. When she got back to a crouched position, she had in her hand the hilt of the lightsaber, but held it back and out of the Mrrakesh’s view.

He was crouched down lower, still not underneath the ship like she was but looking very ready to dive at her again if necessary. He’d tested her speed now. There wouldn’t be any more playing around...this Mrrakesh would kill her immediately. Or at least, he would try.

And then he dove forward again. Shadow ducked and sidestepped just as she had before, which the Mrrakesh had obviously been expecting. His attack was aimed for the dodge this time, a fist swinging in to her face which would easily crush Shadow’s skull. But then there was a sudden snap-hiss and the underside of the ship was suddenly bathed in a blue-green light. But it faded into a bright white blur, which shot right across the Mrrakesh’s face, and sliced off his extended right arm. In another sudden, long white flash, the Mrrakesh felt his other arm being cut off, and the sudden pain and surprise caused him to stumble back just long enough for Shadow to spin the lightsaber around, and jam the but of the weapon into his head, knocking the Mrrakesh out.

The adrenaline rush faded, and all that was left was Shadow’s heavy breathing and the low humming of Akan’s lightsaber, held in a reverse grip in her left hand. She couldn’t resist a slight smile. Even with such an unusual grip, she’s actually managed to take the Mrrakesh alive! But that wasn’t important anymore.

Deactivating the blade, Shadow dashed over to Akan’s unconscious body, dropping the lightsaber to the ground and kneeling next to him. She quickly lifted up his head and found the small switch on the device. After pressing it, the green veil retreated back into the circlet, and she immediately ripped it off of his head and tossed it to the side. Somewhat roughly, Shadow shifted Akan and rested both hands on his face, patting him not so gently, “Come on, you idiot, wake up!”

It took a few minutes before his eyes opened and she started to feel his mind coming back through the link. Allowing herself a sigh of relief, Shadow let Akan’s head rest in her lap again, tired of holding half of him up anyway. A couple more minutes passed before Akan seemed to catch up with the situation, and as usual, he put on an idiotic grin as he asked groggily, “...so’d I do good?”

Shadow rolled her eyes before glaring down at him, “No. No you didn’t. I did.”

“Ah...right...” Akan’s grin grew and his eyes even showed it, though she was pretty sure he still wasn’t all there...if he ever was, that is, “Nothing new, then.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 197: Never Lost

The palace had gone crazy upon their return. Honestly, Akan couldn’t blame them. He knew little in general, but the idea of a Mrrakesh on the planet even worried him at this point, so he could at least imagine how they all felt. Immediately, the unconscious Mrrakesh had been taken to a holding room, with four guards in the room and another six outside. Considering how fast and strong the creature was, again, Akan wasn’t surprised.

They had just finished a long talk with the Empress. Or rather, Shadow had, and Akan had stood around as they spoke in Alraxian and tried to learn what he could through the link. But that wasn’t even working all that well. Shadow was blocking him out. It was easy to tell. So instead, he’d just stood there trying to look like he wasn’t as bored, or annoyed at being left out, as he really felt.

Now, walking down the corridors of the gigantic palace, Akan noticed something else. It was in Shadow’s walk. Stiff. Formal. Like...like she’d acted before. Before that whole incident on the facility when she’d been freed. Her face was that emotionless blank again, and it was, to say the least, annoying.

After stepping into their room, Shadow walked over and removed a few clothes from the wardrobe before stepping into the small washroom to change. Standing around, still comfortable in his clothes, Akan finally asked, “So what’s going on?”

“I will interrogate the Mrrakesh,” Shadow’s voice echoed back into the main room, flat and straight to the point.

“Somehow, I doubt he’s going to be cooperative,” Akan commented, idly tugging at the high collar of the jumper he wore. Why all the clothes had such high collars that itched so much he’d never understand...

“You are correct,” her voice echoed in a second time, “But I will not speak with him.”

Akan caught onto that one, at least, “Well, I guess the Force is one way to interrogate a prisoner.”

“It is the only way with a Mrrakesh,” Shadow said as she stepped out of the washroom, now wearing a formal looking, jet black and gold piped tunic, “He will not reveal his contact, otherwise.”

Akan nodded at that, noting that Shadow was putting a belt on that had the small dagger attached to it. He half grinned upon noticing that, but instead asked, “How could he possibly have a contact among the Alraxians? I mean, I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know the intricacies of the system here, but that just seems...impossible.”

Shadow’s eyes locked with his, just as emotionless as before but a very unique, Shadow-esque stength behind the colour of them, “It should be. However, it is obviously possible, as there is no other way for him to have found this planet.”

“Could it be Ket?” he asked as she started to leave the room and Akan fell into step with her.

But Shadow shook her head, “No. No, Ket is still out near the border. He is not here on Alraxia, and the Mrrakesh was waiting for a contact here.”

“Ah...” Akan’s voice was mostly drowned out by the soft noise of the door closing behind him.

They walked in relative silence down the hallways, passing frantic Alraxians here and there. Through the Force, Akan could feel the panic. It was hard to keep his own mood calm, but with a little help from the Force, he was able to. Alright, so that was a lie he was telling himself. The real reason was that he was too busy being bugged by Shadow being back to her old self to even think about any of the important ramifications of what else was going on.

And then she stopped. It surprised him, and he nearly walked into her(which would have meant walked over her), as he knew the room wasn’t anywhere near from the lack of guards within the cream coloured hallway. Raising an eyebrow, he looked to Shadow, “What is it?”

Slowly, she turned to face him, looking up with the same calm nothing in her eyes. Slowly, Shadow said, “If you are not prepared for what is about to happen in that room, do not come in. It will not be pleasant for anyone, and could very well be dangerous.”

Akan bit his lip and nodded. But she didn’t start walking again. Why...? Ah, he could sense it. She knew he wanted to say something. Though Shadow was blocking him through the link, he wasn’t doing the same to her and she had fairly free access to his thoughts.

Upon realizing she’d silently asked ‘what is it?’, Akan shuffled his feet and finally spit it out, “What’s wrong with you, Shady?”

She blinked, and looked genuinely confused, “Nothing is...wrong.”

“Yes, there is!” he suddenly snapped, loud enough that at least one Alraxian down at the opposite end had stopped to watch. Lowering his voice and trying to calm himself, he said quietly, almost grinding the words out, “Listen...it took me long enough to get you to the point where you’d at least pretend to smile. I...I don’t think I can pull it off again and I...I just...” he trailed off pathetically, before finally mumbling in the general direction of the floor, “...I can’t lose you to that again...”

For the longest moment, there was nothing. She simply stood there, blankly watching him again. And then, in an instant, the ice melted and Shadow smiled again. Carefully, she reached up and rested a hand on his face, looking into his eyes, with the smile as bright in her eyes as it was on her face, and said softly, “You always look past what’s right in front of you and try to see the worst. You’ve never lost me, Akan,” she paused, and slowly the smile changed into a slightly more worried expression, “Its going to get nasty in there and I...I know I can handle it. But I...I don’t want you to have to see me like I’m going to be in there. I won’t stop you if you want to come in, but I...I don’t want you to.”

Another silence. A silence in which Akan became keenly aware that the one Alraxian who had been watching had become about five. Pushing that away, he managed to nod, “Alright. I understand. Just don’t do anything stupid.”

That got a grin on Shadow’s face as she turned to continue onward towards the interrogation room, “Come now, that’s why I’m the one mother asked to interrogate him and not you.”

Akan tried just rolling his eyes, but he couldn’t fight back laughing after only a few more steps.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 198: Contact

The Mrrakesh was seated in a small, blank room. In each corner, an Alraxian guard stood with a sword at their side. A metal sword. Not that it would have the same effect on a Mrrakesh as it would on an Alraxian, but they were still sharp, and they could still hurt. He was sat down in a simple, boring chair, arms, legs, and neck all strapped down. He didn’t struggle. He couldn’t. The straps were more for show, as he could have easily broken them if he could move. But there was another force holding him down, a simple energy field on the chair itself that simply couldn’t be fought again.

In front of him, stood Shadow and Kyren. Akan had remained outside, which kept the tension down at least slightly more for the both of them...though for completely different reasons. Kyren was there to assist, though even he knew his presence was just like the straps that held the Mrrakesh. Superficial. Just for appearances. Marix could do it all by herself, and likely would, but as a Knight, it was his duty to be there.

The room was silent to their ears. To all of their minds, however, there was a flurry of activity. Even the guards, with only a touch of sensitivity to the Force, could feel it. While Marix attempted to probe the Mrrakesh’s mind, Kyren attempted to distract him. It was almost like a game, but there were two sides. With their minds prying into the Mrrakesh’s, they were both left open, and the Mrrakesh was not lost to that. And so he probed them at the same time, taunting and prying...trying to weaken their resolve.

And it continued to almost work.

‘Who is your contact on Alraxia?’ Shadow pried deep for that answer. Deeper and deeper, finding only blocks and mental walls, funneling her probing to the exact wrong place each time. And at the end of it, she always heard the same thing.

‘You are the Fire.’

She had growled the first time, but seeing the grin that got on the Mrrakesh’s face, she resisted each other time. He didn’t deserve the pleasure. Kyren wasn’t doing so well, and Shadow could see it on his face. He reacted too much, and so the Mrrakesh was still grinning.

An hour of this passed. A long, rigorous hour that, in the end, confirmed nothing. Nearly on the brink of ordering the guards to beat the answer out of the Mrrakesh, Shadow grabbed Kyren’s arm and calmly dragged him out of the room. Outside, she let out a angered growl and started to punch at the wall, only stopping when she felt the Palace perform the equivalent of wincing.

“I assume its not going too well,” asked Akan in an off hand manner as he stood off to the side, curiously eyeing the two of them.

Shadow just sighed, and Kyren only shook his head. Still, they both remained silent. Akan tried questioning Shadow through the link, but got only annoyance at his attempt at what she’d been fighting with for the past hour. Sighing, himself, Akan leaned back and looked up to the ceiling in the hallway they stood in, “Going to try again?”

Again, Kyren shook his head, this time grumbling under his breath, “It wouldn’t do any good.”

To Akan’s surprise, Shadow nodded, “It will require more time...too much more. And he’s enjoying it far too much.”

“So, may I suggest something?” Akan said, finally stepping forward slightly.

Both of the other two looked to him with raised eyebrows, but it was Kyren who asked, “What do you mean?”

“Well,” he replied, a grin slowly growing on his face, “We could try figuring this out the old fashioned way.”

“What do you mean?” Kyren asked again, almost sounding like he was taking out his annoyance on Akan at the moment in trying to get answers to something.

Akan’s grin only grew and his eyes fell on Shadow, who was figuring it out through the link, “Well, you can’t rely on the Force for everything. Sometimes, you have to stop and think. So...help me out here. We know, with absolute certainty, that the Mrrakesh has to have a contact here on Alraxia to even be here in the first place, correct?”

“Correct,” Shadow answered, already knowing where this was going from the link, but talking it out anyway. Doing this out loud just seemed to help, and Kyren might catch something one of them didn’t.

“Alright,” Akan nodded and raised two fingers, “Second, the Mrrakesh’s contact would have to be someone with enough influence and power to hide the landing of the Mrrakesh. Now, I don’t know the planetary defense here, but I highly doubt a metal ship would get anywhere near here without something being tampered with.”

Kyren slowly nodded, “Yes, but we already figured that.”

Akan’s hand opened up to tell Kyren to wait, “Just work with me on this one. So, knowing only those two things should limit the amount of possible suspects in this.”

“Of course,” Kyren answered quickly, “But like I said, we figured that much out already. It still doesn’t narrow it down enough to do us any good.”

Again, Akan just nodded, looking between both Shadow and Kyren while saying slowly, “I understand that. Again, I don’t know every detail, and I sure as hell don’t know every possible person with enough power to pull off what needs to be pulled off, but I still have an idea.”

Silence. A short silence in which Shadow was waiting to see if Kyren would say anything else. He didn’t. So far, he was keeping up. After the few seconds she waited for, Shadow turned to look at Akan and nodded, “Keep going.”

“There is one Alraxian that I know of who likely has that kind of power, is on this planet as we speak, and who I’ve just had a bad feeling about since I first saw him,” after finished, Akan looked straight to Kyren.

Kyren blinked. It only took him a few seconds before realizing what Akan was actually suggesting, and his eyes went wide with surprise, “No! No, that’s not possible!”

When he looked to Shadow for an agreement, she simply nodded. Seeing that, Kyren stopped and calmed down slightly. There was another short silence and he looked back to Akan, disbelief still on his face, “You can’t mean who I think you mean.”

“I’m willing to bet my life on it,” Akan stated simply, “It fits perfectly.”

“But...but no...” Kyren mumbled, shaking his head again, “Not Faban Sunrunner.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 199: Answers to Questions Never Asked

After it was pointed out how late it was getting, any further interrogation attempts for the night were put aside. The suspicious and speculations could be worked out in the morning when everyone had gotten sleep. Especially Shadow. She was just tired. Mentally and physically. After a short goodnight to Kyren, she ushered Akan down through the hallways until reaching their room and quickly moving off to change.

Akan found himself doing the same, but couldn’t help asking a question towards the small washroom where Shadow was, “Alright, I know you told me to shut up for the night already, but I’ve got to ask you something.”

A groan echoed into the room. A moment later, Shadow’s head appeared, and she glared right into Akan’s eyes, “What?”

“Even if I’m right, and Faban is the Mrrakesh’s contact, what does any of this have to do with Ket?”

It was a simple question, really, but an important one. They were here to deal with Ket and Nine. The things they were doing should, therefore, work towards that goal. So far, they’d gotten absolutely no where. In fact, they may have even gone backwards.

Shadow sighed, the glare fading from her eyes as she disappeared back into the washroom. Her voice was muffled as it made its way into the room where Akan stood, “It might not have anything to do with him.”

“But knowing out luck...” Akan trailed off as Shadow stepped into the room and flopped down onto the bed.

She waved a hand idly up in the air, “Yes, yes, it probably does have something to do with it, but I don’t know,” she went silent a moment before lifting herself up just enough to look straight at him again, “Done, yet? Or do you plan to keep me up all night with questions?”

“Fine, fine, I’m done...” Akan grumbled. A few minutes later, the lights were off and both of them were deep asleep. Exhaustion from the long day finally taking its toll. But at least the day was over. Or, at least, by the time they woke up, it would be.

* * * *​

Hours later, Akan awoke to find the sunlight on his face. After grumbling a meaningless series of words, he opened his eyes and yawned loudly. He was keenly aware of the fact that the bed was not as warm as it usually was, and with his eyes open, noticed that Shadow wasn’t there. Why this confused him, Akan couldn’t be sure, but just as he started to look around, he heard a familiar voice.

“Do you realize you missed breakfast?” Shadow asked, a grin in her voice and even seeping through the link.

Akan blinked again before yawning and managing to sit up. Shadow was sitting at the foot of the bed, looking like she was sharpening the dagger or some kind of weapon. She was, of course, grinning over her shoulder, and laughed when his stomach growled.

The laugh only confused him more. Finally, in a groggy and still not completely away voice, Akan asked, “What’s with you this morning?”

“Afternoon, actually,” she raised the dagger idly, as if almost threatening him, “If you keep sleeping like that everyone’s going to think you’re lazy.”

“...I’m not lazy?” Akan asked, doing his best to keep a straight face.

She rolled her eyes, flicking the dagger his direction a little, “Yes, I know you’re lazy but the whole Palace doesn’t need to,” she glanced back in front of her, then lowered her voice, “...they know damned well enough already and we don’t need to give them more ammunition for rumors...”

Akan said nothing on that. It was one of those things he’d already learned to just ignore, and maybe it would go away. So far, it wasn’t, but one never knew what the future would hold. Well, that is, if you weren’t someone who the Force seemed to enjoy playing jokes on. Which meant that he knew exactly what would happen, and there was nothing he could do about it. So, all he could really do was go on pretending it didn’t exist. No matter what. Even if it had been an interesting night a couple days before...

Shadow suddenly turned and glared over her shoulder. Akan’s eyes went wide with surprise, having forgotten how easily thoughts could pass through their link if one didn’t make sure to keep them in check. Being half awake was not the best time for keeping thoughts in check, as was evidenced by Shadow’s newfound annoyance.

And then, suddenly, there was another change. She dropped the dagger, and Akan heard it clank down on the ground. Or he thought he did. He knew it made the noise, but was preoccupied as Shadow suddenly grinned and pounced. He managed to catch Shadow’s wrists before the extended claws reached his face. Looking up, Akan saw that there was a very large grin on Shadow’s face as she growled playfully, “Mother said I was allowed to claw you for missing breakfast for the last two days as long as no one sees the marks.”

Shakily holding up Shadow’s clawed hands, Akan whimpered slightly, “They’ll be noticeable on my face!”

“Not if you remorph!” she laughed again, using her strength to press down more and nearly reaching his nose. Using the Force, Akan pulled a surge of energy through his body, and forced Shadow off of him, rolling them to the side and off the bed.

There were two yelps, a thud, and an ‘oof’ as they fell off of the bed, and when Shadow’s head stopped spinning, she found the situation was reversed. Akan was now pinning her down, claws out and slowly forcing down at her face. He grinned maliciously, “I don’t think she’d mind if I did the same to you!”

Then, suddenly, Shadow decided to cheat. Well, it was only cheating in Akan’s mind. She let go of his hands, shifting slightly so that his claws hit the floor instead of her face, and then attacked. Except not with her claws. Instead, she tickled him.

Caught off guard, Akan yelped, tried to escape, but soon found himself stuck between a wall and Shadow, who was doing a very good job at only letting him breathe just enough. Just as Shadow finished pinning Akan down properly, sitting over him and claiming victory, there was a sound.

With a soft swish, the door irised open, and both Akan and Shadow turned to see one of her younger sisters(probably not that much older than Tobias, actually) eye them both curiously. After a moment of taking in the situation, she said softly, “Momma says you and he go see her now.”

It was then that Shadow realized her sister was grinning. Through the Force, the little girl was giving off an odd feeling of happiness...more so than usual for a child of her age. Suddenly curious, she nodded to her sister and then got up off of Akan. Helping him up, she motioned for him to follow, “Come on.”

“What do you think she wants...?” Akan asked as they started out into the hallway, his voice still somewhat breathless as he got used to being able to breathe normally again.

Shadow just shrugged, not saying anything and trying to figure things out herself. But probing through the Force did no good. Thankfully, it didn’t take long at all to reach the small court room in which the Empress, Emperor, and another Alraxian stood. The two guards at the door stiffened as Shadow passed, but did nothing else.

The room itself was not what Akan would consider small. Sure, it was smaller than the gigantic dinning hall, and most of the other rooms, but it was still huge. There were a few interesting columns that set out a pathway leading to the Empress’ throne, which was more of a comfortable looking chair than most thrones that Akan always imagined. The Empress was smiling, her soft eyes showing the same kind of happiness that they had seen in Shadow’s younger sister. At her right, in a similar chair, sat the Emperor, a very large grin on his face, not at all hiding the fact that he knew something the two of them didn’t and was enjoying watching them try to understand what was going on.

But Akan found his eyes locking onto the third Alraxian. This one stood on the Empress’ left. He had short, if not a little scruffy looking, hair composed of about every shade of brown. His skin was as tan as most Alraxians, and his two, pale green eyes watched both Akan and Shadow with an interesting sense of curiosity. Through the Force, Akan could tell that this Alraxian was the only one in the room that looked to be as curious and confused as he and Shadow did.

“Who is this, mother?” Shadow asked once the two of them had stepped close and done the usual bowing thing.

The Empress’ smile only broadened as she rose. Her eyes fell onto Akan, and an arm motioned to the Alraxian at her left. In a very motherly, happy voice, she said, “I believe this is someone you need to meet. Cole has done his own checking, so we are sure of this. Akan, this is Navik Keros...he is your father.”

 

[Angcuru]

On, snap!

 

[DethStryke]

On, snap!

Indeed. The snap heard 'round the world.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 200: My Son

Silence. Slowly, with a completely lost look on his face, Akan looked to the Alraxian that the Empress had just called his father. The man...Alraxian, whatever, looked just a shocked and surprised at what the Empress had said as Akan figured he looked. After a short moment of staring at him, Akan slowly turned to look to Shadow. She was grinning. It was a very big grin and she was obviously trying not to start laughing. When he looked to her parents, Akan noticed they had the same expression.

Numerous times, he opened his mouth to try and say something, but couldn’t ever manage to get anything out. They weren’t playing a joke on him...despite the grinning, they were serious. And it had been checked on...and his...his...and Navik looked just as he did, which meant he wasn’t in on it, which meant they definitely were telling the truth...which meant...

And then his brain popped again and stopped working. Akan had only ever thought about his parents when he’d been very young and jumping from ship to ship alone. But that was near twenty years ago, and since then, Akan hadn’t once ever even thought about either of his parents. They were there, he lived, it was all that mattered. Sure, he’d been resentful for those first few years, but surviving meant focusing on more important things.

Which is why he just stood there looking at the rest of them, especially this Navik Keros, for any answers. They’d all obviously expected some other reaction from Akan, especially Shadow, but instead he’d reacted in a way that would have been expected from her. But what was supposed to say? Or do? What if the Alraxian really was his father?! That didn’t even make sense! He wasn’t Alraxian, he was Human...changed species only from a simple mistake when it got right down to it. And yet...through the Force...there was something...

Navik Keros blinked, slowly recovering from his own shock at what had just been said. First, he turned and looked straight to the Empress, and managed to speak, “This is...Jyren? My little Jyren...?”

The Empress’ smile couldn’t grow anymore, but she simply nodded. It was Cole, though, who leaned forward to say, “I checked it out. Ever since I saw the kid, I thought there was something, so I decided to see.”

Slowly, the shocked look on Navik’s face faded into a smile as he looked back to Akan...Jyren...whatever his name was now. He then took a step forward and suddenly brought Akan into a very strong hug, actually lifting him up slightly in the process, “My little Jyren! I never thought I’d see you again!”

He laughed before placing Akan back down onto his feet, Navik’s hands still on the young Alraxian’s shoulders as he looked him over and smiled. When he remained silent, though, the Empress also took a step forward and looked to Akan, “Aren’t you going to say anything to him?”

Again, all eyes fell onto him. A few more moments passed before Akan finally managed remember the basics of speaking, “I...I don’t know what I’m supposed to say...”

“You aren’t supposed to say anything,” Navik said, shaking him very gently.

Slowly, Akan looked into the other Alraxian’s eyes. He almost didn’t speak again, but then said, “I’m sorry but I just...I just don’t have anything to say to you. Maybe if you’d been around fifteen years ago I’d at least have yelled at you but...but I just don’t have anything to say.”

There was a short silence, and slowly, Navik nodded, the smile fading from his face, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there for you.”

“I was, too,” Akan said flatly, almost a hint of spite seeping into his tone, “But that was along time ago. I fought in a war when I was just a child. I watched someone I loved die in that war, and I grew up. I watched myself kill a man that should have taken my life. And you know what? Through all of that, only once did I ever wonder where my father was. I wanted to know why he wasn’t there to make things right like a father is supposed to do. But he wasn’t. For all I knew...for all I hoped he was dead. So I moved on, and it never mattered anymore.”

Another silence. Even Shadow was stunned by how harsh Akan’s words and tone had grown. Navik sighed and nodded again, a look of despair coming over him, “I deserve worse. I know that apologizing won’t change what happened, but I did what I had to.”

“What you had to?!” Akan suddenly snapped, pushing the older Alraxian back forcefully as his voice reached a yell, “You had to abandon a small child in the middle of a galaxy caught in a war without anything?! You had to just throw me away without even a place to go?! I lived on the streets of so many planets I can’t even remember all the names, anymore! That wasn’t living! It surviving, but it wasn’t living! And you had to?!”

Akan’s words echoed through the chamber, and even the two guards had tensed, glancing between each other and wondering if they needed to do anything. Biting her lip, Shadow glanced from her parents and back to Akan. [Calm down...]

“You shut up!” he lashed around, growling at Shadow. This time, the guards did take a step in his direction, but the Empress waved them back. Slowly, though, Akan did calm down. It started, at least, when the Empress turned to him, her usual calm and soothing eyes also assisted with the Force to push him along gently.

A minutes passed before Akan ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. He was about to say something, when Navik stepped forward and hugged him again, speaking quietly, “I’m sorry, Jyren...it was a cruel thing I did but I didn’t know what else to do, and I couldn’t go back once it was done. I...when you were very young, your mother died when a Dragon attacked the settlement we were building. It was foolish to think we could encroach on the creature’s territory but we did it anyway...”

Akan started to notice that the older Alraxian’s voice was becoming more tense, and he was obviously fighting back the painful memories, “When your mother died, I knew this place was too dangerous for you. Humans are too fragile to live here...so I did what I thought was right. I...I took you away from the Empire and to the Humans of the galaxy. I thought you’d be safe...I didn’t know anything of the politics there. Not the recent ones from after you were born, at least. I just thought you’d be safe there...”

Somehow, Akan managed to nod, pulling back slightly from the older Alraxian and looking him in the eyes, “My mother was Human? I thought...thought it wasn’t possible for Alraxians to breed with other species without one of the two giving up their species...”

“It is...possible,” Navik nodded, giving the Empress a sideways glance for a moment, “I am the Ambassador for the Empress to the other species of the Empire. Obviously, I could not give up my species. Your mother...your mother was a strong, determined woman. If I had asked her, she would have joined us as Alraxians, but I never could. And so...well, you are living proof that its possible. But um...” he laughed slightly, “You were ah...human last time I saw you.”

Finally, Akan grinned, “Its been a long time.”

Navik Keros laughed and nodded, “You still look like your mother, though. I could pick you out in a crowd no matter species you are. You have her eyes.”

“Um...” Shadow raised a hand to cut in as politely as she could, “Could you both, ah...morph human? I’m a bit curious.”

Both of them nodded and complied. When it was done, there was much more of a resemblance to be seen than when they were both Alraxian. Akan looked mostly the same, actually, but Navik had almost the exact same colour hair, and their faces were constructed almost like copies. For the second time, Navik looked Akan over, grinning again, “My little Jyren...not so little anymore.”

“How...how did you meet my mother?” Akan suddenly asked, completely forgetting that anyone else was in the room and trying to put all the pieces together. Slowly, they were falling into place and things were making sense, but there were still at least a few pieces missing.

“She found us, actually,” Navik nodded to the Empress, “It would be about thirty years ago by the calendar she used. She was a Jedi Knight, running from something, though she refused to ever tell me anything about it. Only that the she’d fled from a place that she could never go back to. When she found out that we had a history with Jedi, she dug up everything she could. Without your mother’s efforts, we wouldn’t know half of the things we do today. But when she died...I...well, I told you that much, already.”

And the last piece of the puzzle finally fell into place. It explained why he felt like this place was familiar. Why it had that odd feeling of being home. It wasn’t because of the link with Shadow, it was because he really was home, and at least some part of him knew it. It brought a smile to Akan’s face as he thought of something else, immediately making another connection. Slowly, Akan reached down and detached the lightsaber from his belt.

Taking it in two hands, he held the weapon up to show...to show his father. At that, Akan saw a smile on his father’s face like nothing he’d ever seen on anyone in his entire life. He reached down and slowly took the weapon from Akan’s hands, saying quietly, “It was your mother’s. I left it with you because I thought you have at least something. She always said you should have it when you were old enough,” still smiling, Navik handed the weapon back to his son, “You don’t know how proud I am to know you kept it.”

Once Akan had clipped the lightsaber back onto his belt, his father brought him into another tight hug, and said, “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you when I should have been.”

“You did what you had to do...” Jyren replied quietly, finally returning the hug.

Off to their side, Cole very carefully wrapped an arm around Shadow’s waist. Leaning down a little, he whispered, “Sorry I wasn’t there for you, either.”

To his surprise, Shadow put an arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder. It almost made her father jump, and that only got a short laugh from her when she whispered back, “You’re forgiven this time.”

Pulling back from the hug, Navik smiled and said, “Tomorrow, we’ll all be traveling the to the Capital for a celebration of...of...” he trailed off, something suddenly dawning on him, “Jyren...can you...you morph back to Alraxian again?”

Nodding, though slightly worried at this point, Akan...Jyren...he...did as asked. Slowly, his father looked from him to Shadow, and a look of surprised washed over the man, “My lady!”

He started to bow. Started, only because Shadow escaped her own father’s grip to run over and stop Navik halfway. Standing him up completely again, she shook her head, “No formalities...please.”

“Of...of course,” he nodded, and then looked to his son one more time, “Jyren you’re...you’re the...” a sudden, huge smile grew on his father’s face, “You are the one everyone’s been talking about! My son! My son and the Empress to be!”

That again...always that, but for some reason, it was impossible to escape this time. Still surprised, Navik laughed happily and rested a hand on Jyren’s shoulder, “My son! Please, will you come with me to my home for the night? You’re uh...ah...” he nodded to Shadow, “She is welcome to join us, of course.”

Shadow shook her head, stepping back slightly. But Akan reached out to her through the link, literally pleading. [Please don’t leave me alone in this one.]

After a moment, Shadow sighed and nodded. When she did so, Navik smiled and carefully put a hand on her shoulder as well. He then looked past her to the Empress and bowed, “We will be ready to join you in the morning for the journey to the Capital.”

The Empress nodded, but said nothing. As Navik Keros led his son and Shadow out of the room, both the Empress and Emperor heard one last thing from the proud father, “My son!”

They couldn’t help but smile.

((Couple things. This is update #200, so I thought I'd throw out a few stats. This Story Hour has been going for almost exactly 6 months now. With Times New Roman, Size 10 Font in Wordperfect, the document is now 351 Pages long with 335,576 words.))

 

[trexmaster]

Hahahahahahaha !
Man, what can I say ? You keep it as good as ever !
Thank you so much for one of the best moments of my days