Star Wars: Heroes of Another Kind

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 279: Floating in Space

Even without a plan, certain precautions were taken without second thoughts. In a matter of minutes, Tobias had been moved into Loki’s hold with the X-Wing, and then after a heated, but short, talk, was convinced to stay there. When they were out, Loki’s interior shifted slightly, and soon there was no entrance or exit to the hold at all. That was definitely an advantage of Kanyaks: the ability to reshape their interiors(within reason, of course) and resize rooms. Taking away doors was even easier than that, and it looked to be nothing special at all.

“Alright, now what?” Jyren asked after stashing his belt and blaster pistol under their bed.

“Now we wait and hope they don’t come in shooting,” Shadow said flatly, now leading the way back to the cockpit where they could get a good view of what was going on.

[There is a transport that is on an intercept course to us.] Loki chimed in right on time. [We have about...two minutes.]

“Thanks, Loki,” both Shadow and Jyren said at the exact same time.

When they were in the cockpit, neither sat down, but instead leaned forward to peer out the viewport and see if they could spot the ship. They couldn’t. There were too many moving dots out there to pinpoint just one. Jyren sighed, then a thought came to his mind, “What exactly is this bounty on us for, again?”

“You think we can talk out of this,” Shadow idly commented, but took a moment to think, “I’m an Imperial weapon, remember? And you...well, you stole an X-Wing.”

“Borrowed.”

Shadow stared at him, rolled her eyes, then tried to ignore he’d said that, “You attacked New Republic fighters and broke me out of a cell, remember?”

“Ah, right...that is bad, isn’t it?”

Again, Shadow rolled her eyes, “Its also something I doubt we can talk our way out of.”

“Then what are you planning to do?” he asked, again turning back out to see Coruscant dominating most of the viewport.

“Going to try to talk our way out of this,” she said simply, not even a hint of a grin on her face.

“They aren’t going to be sending negotiators,” Jyren grumbled, “In fact, I doubt we’re going to have the chance to encounter any at all. They’re going to come in her with security troops, probably heavily armed considering the whole breakout issue, and they’re going to try to arrest us. And then, we’ll be thrown into cells and probably won’t have a chance to say a damned thing to anyone for at least a month!”

Shadow thought on this, then finally nodded, “We can still talk.”

“Yes, but—“

She silenced him by raising a hand to get his attention, “Let me try again. I can still talk.”

That was let hang in the air as they could finally see the assault transport nearing their ship. It was the usual box shape that all of them seemed to be, and flanked by four starfighters...newer E-Wings from the looks of it. As ugly as the transport they were escorting. And as Jyren watched them close, he realized just what Shadow meant, “Are you sure you can do that? I’ve never seen you try it before and I know it isn’t eas—mmmph.”

She shut him up, this time, with a quick, but unexpected, kiss. She pulled back and revealed her trademark grin, “Trust me.”

“Buh...” Jyren mumbled, still shocked by her actions. He was still a little jumpy about the whole situation between them, too, but Jyren knew full well she was even more lost. But, obviously, she was finding advantages here and there. Namely that it was much easier to shut him up that way(and at least a couple others) than yelling at him or even ignoring him.

“Good,” Shadow laughed and patted his shoulder before heading back out and towards the only section of Loki that could be docked to. Hopefully the New Republic idiots would figure that out and not attempt to blast a hole in the poor ship’s hull. Loki wouldn’t like that, and the last thing they needed was an injured ship. With that thought, she ‘said’. [Loki, try to pull around to angle the hatch to their course. But do it slowly do it doesn’t look like you’re trying to run.]

The mental equivalent of a nod was felt as Loki did his best to comply. Jyren caught up as this was starting. He stood next to Shadow and then asked a question even she was wondering about, “Human?”

It would be interesting. Probably confuse them, too. But...no. No, they probably had at least some knowledge about them as shapechangers already, and it was best not to make the security people any more suspicious than they already would be, “No. This is going to be interesting enough, as it is.”

There was a loud click outside, and Jyren glanced over to her again, “I’m amazed you’re wanting to do it this way.”

Shadow allowed herself a short laugh, but then, with a smile still on her face, she said, “You’re the one who runs in shooting. I’ve decided the best way to train you is to set an example.”


“Oh, thank you,” he grumbled, “Good to know how you think of me.”

Again, she laughed, but this time also reached over(...and up) and ruffled his hair, “Awww...don’t look so depressed! It doesn’t suit you,” she paused, grinned as they listened to the airlock on the other side opening, and added, “Look afraid, though. Might help us out just a bit if they think you’re terrified of me.”

“You mean I’m not?”

The grin faded from Shadow’s face as she prepared for Loki’s hatch to open, but her voice still held the same un-Shadow-like happy quality to it, “Well, you were never a good actor. Decided its best to just have you be real.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 280: Unwanted Guests

To say that the New Republic Security Soldiers were heavily armed was almost an understatement. There were eight of them. Four carrying standard issue blaster rifles, with two smaller hold out pistols on their belts. The other four had weapons that seemed more suited to taking down armored combat speeders than two fugitives. And they were aiming the damned things, too. But someone, despite Jyren staring at each of those huge blaster cannons and the fact that the troopers did not seem to be at all phased by the two near 3 meter tall Alraxians.

When all of the troops had spread out and gotten clear shots, the one in the center(also holding one of the blaster cannons), spoke up in a stern voice that went disturbingly well with the green uniform and face-masking helmet he wore, “Hands out where we can see them. If you move, we will shoot.”

Not that it would kill them, Jyren idly thought to himself...though it probably would hurt a hell of a lot. And if they aimed just right, it would kill them. But really, who aimed for the head?

Shadow allowed herself a very slow look over to Jyren. [They are.]

[Sometimes I wish you would ignore my rambling thoughts.] Jyren grumbled through the link, suddenly realizing that all of the weapons were, in fact, tilted up just at the right(or wrong) angle.

Of course, they both did as they were told. But as they did, Shadow very calmly asked, “What, exactly, are we being charged with?”

Behind the orange visor of the helmet, Jyren knew the man blinked. He could feel it in the pause in the air. Just the way Shadow said it was perfect. And, picking up a second after, the soldier answered quickly, “Working with the Empire to overthrow the Republic, murdering Coruscanti civilians, attacking and killing New Republic soldiers.”

Jyren blinked this time. He nearly opened his mouth to speak, but Shadow shut him up with a quick comment. [Yes, I agree. One of those isn’t true. Just shut up and let me deal with this.]

Just as that was finishing in Jyren’s mind, Shadow said smoothly, “You have evidence to prove this?”

Again, the trooper missed a beat...but this time it was longer. He even opened his mouth to stutter before finally getting out, “Y-yes. Now come with us. Again, any resistance and we will be forced to fire on you.”

Taking his cues from Shadow, Jyren held his ground. She did take a small step forward, almost pretending to follow along, before saying in the same calm, soft(and Force-laced) voice, “But you haven’t searched the ship to find out if we are working alone.”

This time, the trooper looked to the man at his left. They seemed to have a silent conversation, then the leader nodded to him and three of them headed off down the corridor. Three others then headed the opposite direction, towards the cockpit. It left just the leader and one of the troopers with a blaster rifle. The two simply continued to hold their weapons up and aimed at the two Alraxians, and Shadow waited patiently until the other two groups had disappeared down the corridors. Hopefully, Loki would do his job and cause them chaos in the locking and random opening of doors.

“Hasn’t it been a long day?” Shadow said in the same voice, but this time pushing the Force more and more into the words, “Aren’t you getting tired?”

The trooper with the blaster rifle actually yawned. As that happened, the leader took one hand off the large blaster cannon to rub his chin and nod slowly. Shadow then allowed the smallest of smiles onto her face, “You’ve earned a good sleep for all the work you do. Go back to your ship and get some sleep.”

There was no delay. In another few seconds, the two security troopers were back in their ship. Jyren looked to Shadow and grinned. She shrugged, “Six more.”

As they turned and headed first towards the cockpit, Jyren decided it was worth asking, “How do you plan to convince them we didn’t kill their officer?”

This time Shadow grinned, “The same way I convinced the guy he was tired.”

“Ah...” Jyren trailed off, then added quietly, “Hopefully you’ll be able to keep that up. It isn’t easy.”

[Then let me concentrate.] Shadow said mentally, as they could now see the three troopers who were in front of the door to the cockpit and inspecting it very carefully. She stopped a good five meters behind them, and then spoke in a careful way so as not to cause any of them to jump and turn around firing, “Having trouble with the door?”

They did jump, but thankfully they didn’t start shooting. One of them took a small step back while another decided to be the spokesman and asked, while raising his rifle, “What are you doing?!”

Shadow had to take a moment to draw the Force to her to keep her voice infused with it. The smallest slip up could result in simply amplifying their current problems, “Your officer was shot by one of the others! We took them into their ship, but don’t know where the medical equipment is! He needs your help! He said to forget about us!”

The usual pause was there, but the three then suddenly charged right for Shadow and Jyren. Both Alraxians quickly moved out of the way, and the soldiers ran right past. Jyren grinned again, “Forget about us, eh?”

“I told you to trust me,” she smiled proudly and then turned to look up at Loki’s ceiling. [Loki, reshape the corridors so that the remaining troopers have to head back to their ship. Do what you have to to spook them.]

[I was waiting for you to let me have some fun!] the ship laughed. Not a moment later, Shadow nodded to the cockpit, “Come on, now its time for you to help out.”

Sadly, they didn’t get to find out what exactly Loki did to the poor New Republic troopers. They both got to the cockpit and divided up the necessary work. Jyren worked out exactly where the X-Wings were patrolling and got a course ready for them to get out of Coruscant’s gravity well, and Shadow quickly plotted a hyperspace jump.

“Where to?” Jyren asked, halfway through his job.

“Nowhere right now,” Shadow said quickly, “We can’t be far off the trail, but we’ll have to skip this part of the adventure.”

“No argument from me.”

[Airlock is sealed.] Loki chimed in.

“Hang on, Loki,” both Shadow and Jyren said at the exact same time. Everything had to work together just right. It all depended on the pilot of that transport. If he assumed that everyone was onboard then maybe...just maybe, he’d leave when the airlock was sealed. There was a soft blue glow.

Sublight engines.

Jyren let out a sigh of relief as he watched the shuttle and four X-Wings start back for the planet at a slow speed. Wait...wait...wait...

“Go, Loki!” Shadow yelled, knowing that sitting there too long would be a bad idea. In a flash, Loki’s engines powered up and he shot around in a U-shaped course straight out of the system. Jyren could see on the sensors readouts that the X-Wings were peeling off to pursue, but Loki was too fast when he had the jump like that. And, in a matter of moments, they were safely away in hyperspace.

Both of them smiled as they sat back into their respective seats in the cockpit. There were so many questions on what to do now...and the fact that the New Republic was probably even less pleased with them. But that part, at least, could wait until later, they’d just need to keep a lower profile and be more careful.

Finally, Jyren broke the silence, “You’re good.”

Shadow laughed and mock bowed in her chair, “Thank you. I was wondering how long it was going to take you to admit that.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 281: One Word

“So now what do we do?” Jyren asked, leaning back in the co-pilot’s chair in Loki’s cockpit.

No response came, not even though the link. So, letting out a dramatic sigh, he turned from the empty star field outside to where Shadow sat to his right. She was sitting there, staring idly out into the stars. There wasn’t even a slight tilt of her ear towards him to hint that she was at least pretending to pay attention to him. Only one logical idea was reached to get her attention.

Jyren leaned closer, tried to get at least in her peripheral vision, and asked, “Shady? You alive in there?”

That, at least, always got a reaction. First, her ear swivelled around very slightly towards him, and a moment later her entire head followed. In a second, Jyren was eye to eye with The Look. To his credit, he had experienced it enough that it did not melt his face as it could many others in the galaxy. In fact, he didn’t even move back...Jyren just flinched very slightly.

“What,” somehow, that was not a question. Jyren didn’t understand it at all, but he knew it. Her voice hadn’t asked the question, instead it had been demanded, all the while still maintaining The Look.

“We’ve been out here for an hour now,” Jyren said calmly, still only a matter of centimeters away from Shadow’s annoyed, face, “And you haven’t said a word since we left hyperspace. I know you’re thinking on this, but the longer we sit around the less of a chance we have of catching up with her.”

It took a long minute, but slowly, the icy cold of The Look faded into uncertainty and Shadow shrugged, “Its clouded. I...I don’t know anymore.”

“Wonderful,” Jyren said under his breath as he finally sat back into his chair again, “So we just give up and go home, then?”

“Of course not,” Shadow snapped, suddenly annoyed again at Jyren’s attitude, “You should be more patient.”

Running a hand through his hair, Jyren nodded slowly, “I know. I know...but we’re just so close. So close and...and then Coruscant.”

Rolling her eyes and turning to make sure she could see the expression on her face, Shadow said flatly, “I’d have thought you were used to this kind of thing by now.”

“Is it so bad to want a break from it, though?” his voice, at this point, was almost pleading.

Shadow shrugged, “Apparently it is.”

And again, silence. It didn’t last very long, as Shadow decided it was best to try and work this out, “Jyren, we’re going to have to think this through on our own.”

“Sounds fun,” Jyren grumbled, but he leaned forward and asked upwards, “Loki, where exactly are we right now?”

[Roughly seventy lightyears out from Coruscant and near the Perlemian Trade Route.] the ship chimed in immediately, as if he was waiting to be asked the question.

Jyren thought about this. The Core worlds he knew. It was where he’d flown most all of his missions in the New Republic on the road to taking Coruscant. If there was any region of space that Jyren understood, it was the Core. So what was out here?

“Coulag, Chandrila, Brentaal, Ralltir...” he spoke the names of the nearby worlds as he went through a mental picture of the area, “Carida isn’t too far off...what’s left of Alderaan is even fairly close, but that’s backtracking. Why Coruscant to get there?”

“And she might not be going to Alderaan,” Shadow said calmly, “She could easily have gotten there without going to Coruscant. So maybe we should stop and look at that. Why Coruscant?”

It was a damn good question. Why Coruscant? Why the Core at all? Why anything? Stop. Think. One thing at a time. This was Jen. What did they know about her?

“Everything with Sadrak and Nine happened on Coruscant...” Jyren said, thinking out loud more than suggesting it to Shadow.

“Coruscant...” Shadow nodded at what he said, but a thought was coming up, “Wait. Corellia. Corellia to Coruscant. That’s where we went from getting Loki to going after Sadrak.”

Her train of thought seeped through the link and straight to Jyren, “...she’s following the same path?”

“No...no, then why make all the stops in between?”

Jyren nodded. Yes. There was something more to this. Something...else. He couldn’t pinpoint it, though, “Then she isn’t following the same path. Okay...what connects all of those places?”

“Garek V,” Shadow whispered it to herself. Why had she just...? Garek V. Coruscant. Corellia. Shadow’s eyes widened, “Ignore Corellia, Jyren. Its not important.”

“Huh...?” he hadn’t heard her whisper the first part, so he was suddenly lost.

“Coruscant is important,” Shadow said with a nod, “The key is Sadrak. We’re ending up at the same planets we did when we were after him.”

“But she left Coruscant...”

Again, Shadow nodded, “Because there wasn’t anything left there. Which leaves only two other planets that connect with Sadrak.”

It was beginning to dawn on Jyren, and Shadow could see it in his eyes, “The swamp planet...Garek V? You think she’ll go there?”

“She could have already been there,” she said, continuing to nod to encourage this along. She could feel they were close. So close to all of this.

“We have to find out,” Jyren said, more to Loki than to her. And, thankfully, the ship was intelligent enough to pick up on this. Without even a word, Loki was running through system maps to find this ‘Garek V.’ He’d never been there, of course, but it had to be somewhere...

“Why these planets, though?” Jyren asked after they both noticed how Loki was attempting to help them out.

Shadow had to think about this. They both did. It was right there. Right in front of them. Yet...yet they couldn’t pinpoint just what it was. Loki found the system quickly, and was already bringing them around to prepare for the hyperspace jump when Shadow repeated herself, “The key is Sadrak.”

Just as she finished the sentence, something dawned on the both of them. Immediately, their eyes went wide and locked with each other. They couldn’t be right. There was no way that was right. But...what else was there? One of them had to test it...but neither wanted to even speak it. Carefully, though, Jyren mouthed a word. Shadow nodded.

They really were watching the same holo on this one. A shivered breath escaped Shadow before she said quickly out loud, “Loki, get us there quickly.”

The ship made the mental nod just before they jumped into hyperspace. Loki could hear(and feel) the sudden panic and worry in both Shadow and Jyren. It was hard not to notice. He wasn’t sure how to ask about it, though. And, if he had seen Jyren’s lips mouth the word, Loki might not have even taken them to the planet.

The word was one that Loki knew just as well as the two of them. It was one that terrified not only Loki, but all Kanyaks just as it did all Alraxians.

The word was ‘Darkwing.’

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 282: Relaxation...or Something Close to It

The hyperspace trip was another very long one. But unlike their trip to the Core, they weren’t entering and leaving hyperspace every few hours of every single day. The jump itself would only take about sixteen hours, thanks to the fact that Loki was able to plot out a direct course straight from the Core Worlds to the Garek System out on the other side of the galaxy. But despite the fact that it meant some well earned rest, they were both keenly aware that this was a longshot and could be the one thing to throw them off the trail entirely.

But they didn’t have a choice at this point.

“Isn’t it possible that we’re not actually chasing anything at all?” Jyren asked quietly.

There was a shift of weight that he took as a shrug, then a voice from near his shoulder, “Of course its possible.”

Jyren blinked, realizing that was not the answer he had been reaching for. He rolled his eyes(not that this could be seen), and tried again, “No...no. I mean...probable. Is it probable?”

This time there was more of a pause, but then the same shift of weight, “...Jyren, this is not the time to start second guessing all of this.”

“Oh...” he trailed off, then added, “When is that?”

Shadow sat up, shifted again so that she could look him in the eye, and said dryly, “Six months ago.”

She sat there for a long moment just so he could see the look on her face before flopping back down onto his shoulder. They were in her...their room, laying down and trying to get some rest. Truthfully, they had tried things the other way, with Shadow acting as the pillow, but that was quickly changed. Shadow had grumbled something about him being too heavy and then something about certain parts of her being crushed before this was done. Anyway, Jyren made a much better pillow. Something he was actually good at and didn’t even complain too much about it.

“What if we don’t find anything?”

Okay, he didn’t complain, but he kept asking questions that had very, very simple answers. This time, though, Shadow allowed her annoyance to be heard in the form of a sigh, “Then we go somewhere else.”

He stuttered, but didn’t actually say anything else. Yes, Shadow knew that wasn’t exactly what he meant, but sometimes his questions just didn’t have any other answers. Besides, it was at least slightly entertaining to throw him off.

“I hope we don’t find anything...” that was whispered under his breath, and Shadow had the distinct impression he hadn’t meant it to be heard.

She nodded anyway, “So do I.”

Suddenly getting a reaction beyond sarcasm, Jyren tilted his head to glance down at her as best he could, “Its not going to happen, though, is it?”

Shadow shook her head, “Not if our luck holds.”

“And that means we’re probably right about the whole...whole..da...whole...thing.”

There was a sigh of relief this time from Shadow as Jyren didn’t actually say the word that they were both thinking. The very thought of it was bad enough. It brought up too many feelings and memories that she did not want anything to do with anymore. Jyren’s thoughts on it were pretty much the same.

After managing to push all of that out of her mind, Shadow nodded very slowly into his shoulder, “Probably...” as she trailed off, though, another thought came to her mind. Something she knew needed to be brought up again. Carefully sitting up again so that she could look straight at him, Shadow said slowly, “Jyren, we’re going to need everything we’ve got to deal with this if we are right.”

His gaze narrowed very slightly as Jyren became suspicious of what exactly that meant, “...yeeeahh...”

Shadow rolled her eyes. Sometimes he was impossible to speak with. So, she threw subtlety right out the airlock, “Remember last time? Remember what happened? You used the Force, Jyren. You did something...you did something I can’t explain. I have no idea what you did, or how you did it, but I know you used the Force. I can’t do that. Not what you did. And if we’re...we...if we’re really going to have to deal with a...a Darkwing...then you’re going to have to do it again.”

“No!” he snapped, sliding back away from her and glaring, “There has to be another way!”

Sitting up completely, Shadow folded her arms across her chest, narrowed her eyes, and inadvertently flattened her ears out of annoyance, “There isn’t, Jyren! Dammit, you always have to make things difficult! It’s the same with morphing! You can do it! You just won’t! You’re too damned stubborn!”

“I shouldn’t have to have the Force to survive!” he growled back, “It’s the only way I’ve lived my entire life, but I shouldn’t have to! Billions of people in the galaxy live and survive just fine without it! Why can’t I?”

So there was another part of it. At least that one made a little more sense. Trying to calm herself down, Shadow said more slowly, “You aren’t billions of people. You are one...no, actually, you’re two people. Me and you. And you have as much natural talent with the Force as I do, maybe even more! Don’t throw that away...not just because you messed up once.”

“I’ve messed up more than once...”

“And I’ve messed up even more than you have,” Shadow finished his sentence before he could say anything else, “I’ve lived longer. I’ve had more time to screw things up. But you don’t let one mistake destroy everything you are...especially at a time like this.”

For a very long moment, Jyren stared at her with an unreadable look on his face. Through the link, it almost felt like he might actually starting thinking more clearly again. But something suddenly went the other direction, and he shook his head, “No. No, I won’t do it. I can’t.”

Shadow caught a stray thought fly through the link. When she latched onto it and managed to make sense of it, she immediately knew what had to be said. It was probably at least slightly cruel, but it was important, “What would your mother think of you throwing all of it away?”

His face shifted to a look of shock, partially from the fact that she’d caught the thought and the rest because she’d actually said it. His lip quivering slightly, Jyren opened his mouth to attempt some kind of a response, probably even an argument. But his attempt that would no doubt have failed was saved by a scratching at the door. Jyren’s eyes went wide with sudden relief, and his head immediately spun to the side to look at the door, “Come in, Toby.”

The door irised open, and the little Alraxian padded in, bored as usual. The tension was gone, and so was any convincing Shadow could have attempted. She sighed, but eventually gave in and took out her frustration in helping to torture the little fur ball. There would be other times...and, hopefully, Jyren would stop being an idiot before they got into anything difficult.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 283: Under the...Swamp?

“I really hate this planet.”

Amazingly enough, that was Shadow and not Jyren. He did, of course, nod in agreement as they looked at the deep green planet sitting out in front of Loki through the viewport, “Loki, just look for anything not swamp and head for that.”

A mental nod from the ship, and they were moving again. The planet began to grow larger, and Jyren decided there was something worth asking, “Feel anything?”

For the shortest moment, that question got him a sharp glare, but it faded into her usual blank look before Shadow answered, “Something. But...the planet is very alive, it is hard to pinpoint anything at all.”

Loki did find something. In fact, he found three somethings. One of which was too big to be anything beyond the ruined scraps of ancient crashed ship, which was confirmed when they flew over the area just to make sure. The other two were much farther apart, so they had to make a choice. And the one they chose(or rather, Shadow chose) looked just about right. The top of the bunker was there just as it had been before, though now it was wrecked and collapsed slightly.

After managing to find a clearing to set down in and yet again having to convince Toby that they’d let him explore on the next planet, Shadow and Jyren were out in the swamp. And it was still the same swamp. The smell was probably even worse this time. The only nice thing was that, thanks to being full grown Alraxians, they weren’t waist deep in the muck. Shadow was now knee deep in it, with Jyren fairing slightly better thanks to just being taller.

The two of them silently sloshed across the murky, dark ‘water’ to the collapsed entrance to the old bunker to find it in almost exactly the same shape as they’d left it. Almost, as the durasteel girders were bent in ways that were not in any way good, and there was even an old tree still in the way...but almost, specifically because there was a roughly two meter high section that looked to be literally blasted out to provide access into whatever was left of the place below. In all honesty, neither of them remembered it as destroyed as they found it to be.

“You go first,” Shadow said idly. It wasn’t that she was afraid, simply that it would be best to have him up front. If something happened, maybe he’d use the Force without realizing it and stop being an idiot. That was, of course, wishful thinking.

“Its dark,” Jyren responded in a somewhat hushed voice as he peered into absolute blackness.

Rolling her eyes, Shadow said, “Jyren...you can see in the dark.”

He blinked, looked to her, then back to the black, “...I can?”

Shadow ran a hand through her hair before pointing at the blackness, “Remember how steep it goes down? That’s the ceiling.”

“...if you say so,” he mumbled, inching closer but not actually getting anywhere.

“Jyren, the ceiling is black.”

Again, he looked back at her, but this time when he turned back he stepped closer to the hole in the debris and looked down. Shadow then heard a quiet, “Oh.”

He was smart enough not to attempt any more arguments. If she didn’t know that he was trying to be funny, Shadow would wonder if the lack of using the Force was having an adverse affect on his brain. Okay, that was a possibility anyway, but there was at least the chance that he was trying to make a joke and failing miserably. Not that she was any kind of expert on humour, but one day she was going to have to sit him down and explain to him just how much of an idiot he looked like most of the time.

Without a word, though, Shadow followed him in, ducking under the debris to get to the steep staircase that was still mostly intact. For a human, it would likely have been impossible to see down the entranceway, but thankfully Alraxians had amazingly good eyesight in the dark...another of the feline traits that managed to stay strong despite everything else that was there after thousands of years.

It was more of a climb down than a walk. In many places, the ceiling had completely collapsed in. The only signs of this was the lack of durasteel plating above and the completely ruined stairs below. There were no signs of the plates, as they had probably slid all the way down to the bottom level. It was one of those times that one had to wonder where the turbolift was, even if it probably wouldn’t have been working. A straight climb down would have been much more comfortable than the walk, climb, stumble, nearly fall, slip two steps, and all the other things that happened to the both of them on their way down.

“There’s a light,” Jyren eventually said. It had been about five minutes, and probably only thirty meters.

Shadow’s eyes took a moment to focus on where his hand was pointing, then noticed it was not, in fact, pointing down. Instead, he was pointing off to the left. Her eyes followed the direction until she also noticed a very faint glow down a corridor on flat flooring. She nodded, “We know that place.”

“Yes, but why a light?” she could faintly see him raise an eyebrow as he spoke, more because his hair was in the way than because of any trouble with darkness.

An unspoken(and unthought, even) conversation passed between them, and in a second Shadow had taken the lead. She heard Jyren draw his blaster pistol out of its holster and arm the weapon, but quickly turned all her senses focus ahead of her. There shouldn’t be any light in this place. Slowly and carefully, they walked down the corridor, noting that the light didn’t actually get that much brighter as they, presumably, got closer to its source. But there was a corner to turn, and they stopped at it to listen.

Shadow focused on her hearing. She toned out their breathing and listened around the corner...if such a thing was possible. After a minute, she looked to Jyren and nodded slowly. There was a noise. It wasn’t far from the corner...but then again, if they remembered right, there was a room right there anyway.

Only one thing to do then. A silent count. They nodded to each other to confirm they were both, in fact, thinking the same thing. The link was not actually being used, as for some reason it was hard to feel silent and stealthy when you were talking just fine with something else...even if the voice was in your head. So they held their breath...waited...waited...a creaking sound from around the corner caused them both to jump into action earlier than they’d meant to.

In a blur, they both spun around the corner, Shadow ready to tear any limbs that were near her off, and Jyren swinging his blaster pistol around to bear on the room in general. But both of these actions proved to be good ideas, but not very useful.

They only worked so well when jumping into the barrels of at least ten blasters.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 284: Two Hundred

Normally, staring into the face of all of those blasters would not have been too much of a problem. It wasn’t like they hadn’t been in worse situations. However, now, Jyren was being a stubborn fool and handicapping himself by not using the Force. That made him just as likely to get shot as the ten armed mercenaries(or at least, that’s what they looked like to Shadow) were to have Shadow tear them apart. There was no way she could disarm all of them quickly enough to stop at least a few shots getting off.

So she did nothing, instead attempting to look over who these people were. All of them were human(or at least, near-human) and wore clothes that could only be defined as upscale, dirtied shirts that had probably once been armor of some kind. Their weapons were all of different makes, though most of them were rifles...there were a couple of smaller carbines here and there and one of them even had a pair of smaller pistols.

After a short few moments in which nothing at all happened, one of the humans with a rifle(who looked to be female, but that was hard to tell considering the general look of all of them) spoke up with a question that, while cliche and at least slightly annoying, was a necessary one, “Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?!”

Shadow and Jyren exchanged glances. There were many different answers to both of those questions. At the moment, none of the answers to the first one were going to be truthful, and neither of them were sure of how to answer the second one just yet.

“Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?” Jyren eventually asked, though with no force at all in his voice. It almost sounded sarcastic. Almost, because he was at least smart enough to realize that sarcasm could get them shot.

Interestingly enough, that question seemed to throw the group of mercenaries off as much as it had the two Alraxians. The humans all exchanged looks with some of them motioning with their weapons in different directions. Mostly towards the two very large, very dangerous looking feline-humanoids that were staring at them. It was easy for Jyren to forget just how much larger a full grown Alraxian was compared to a Human.

The silence held for only a few more second before the same woman snapped back, “We asked first!”

Childish, but correct. Jyren held back a grin and a laugh, knowing that both it wasn’t a good time to realize just how crazy things had become and that Shadow wouldn’t get it anyway. It was a sadly logical argument, and Shadow was the one who decided this was getting annoying and said flatly, “We are the owners of this little place and we’re here to get some things. So...who are you and what are you doing here?”

It was a very, very bad lie...but it was something. It was something, and it was said in just the right way that made it seem almost truthful. In the pause, Shadow had time to look over the other things in the large room. It was generally empty, except for a table off to the far left and some crates that were scattered all through it. Crates. Dirtied and bad smelling humans. These weren’t mercenaries at all...

“You know what, forget that,” Shadow waved her hand to shut up any lie that was coming. Still completely ignoring the weapons pointed at them, she gave the woman who was doing the talking(who was, at this point, the leader) a sharp glare, “We aren’t here to steal what you’ve got or kill you. We’re looking for someone.”

Somehow, the words seemed to ease some of the tension in the room. This was at least partially due to the fact that she was using the Force to help it along, but also because Shadow simply knew how to deal with her own. The woman lowered her rifle so that she could more clearly be seen. Dark hair was pulled back out of her face, which was currently showing a look much like the one on Shadow’s, “Bounty hunters?”

“No,” Shadow said very quickly, mainly to stop any of the others from shooting on principle, “Just looking for someone...and that someone’s not any of you.”

She was sure of that by now. Jen would be easy to spot in this group, no matter how long it had been.

A few others lowered their weapons, and Jyren looked over to Shadow with a look of surprise on his face. From the feeling over the link, he had been expecting to be shot at. Shadow allowed it to calm a little more before asking a more direct question, “Has anyone else been through here recently?”

One of the guns went up again, but more out of nervousness, hopefully. A couple of the smugglers were speaking quietly to one another...no, that was arguing. Before it got loud enough for Shadow to actually make out what was being said, the leader spoke up again, “Some woman charged in two days ago. A good shot. Dropped two of us before we even knew where she was. She was in and out before we knew what had happened.”

That didn’t sound right. Jyren asked carefully, “Did she do anything other than shoot at you?”

“Some of the old equipment that’s down at the bottom level disappeared, but that’s about it...” the woman trailed off with a shrug, now certain these two weren’t there for her, “You’re sure you’re not bounty hunters?”

“We aren’t bounty hunters,” Shadow growled, angry enough to worry the woman into gripping her rifle a bit tighter...though she resisted raising it up again. She had only even heard those words spoken with such annoyance from other smugglers...maybe that was why she wasn’t trying to shoot at these two.

Jyren tried to ignore this and said quietly to Shadow, “We should head down and see what’s there...”

Shadow nodded, but instead spoke to the leader of the smugglers, “We’re going to go down there...and then we’re going to leave. No one will ever know you’re here.”

Though that got a suspicious look from Jyren, the woman standing on the other side of the room seemed to accept it after a few short moments. Shadow then led the way out, not turning her back but slowly backing away. As Jyren did his best to follow, he realized there was something else. Quickly, he asked, “You don’t happen to know where she went, do you?”

That got a very distinct grin on the woman’s face, “Four hundred credits.”

“Two fifty,” Shadow’s voice sounded from behind Jyren.

“Three hundred,” the smuggler responded sternly.

“Two hundred,” Shadow said with the same stern voice, but added something very special to it that even surprised Jyren. There was a very sharp snap-hiss from behind him, and he looked back to see her holding his lightsaber, blue-green blade blazing brightly and in full view of everyone.

All of the smugglers except for the leader quickly raised their weapon’s again. The leader, though, seemed to consider this for a moment, before saying very calmly, “Two hundred it is.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 285: Searching the Rubble

It was amazing how useful simply displaying the lightsaber had been. Added to the already imposing appearance of the two Alraxians, the weapon that all the smuggler’s knew right away put away most all of their ideas at attacking the two arrivals. And so, Shadow and Jyren let them be to head back down the long stairwell to the lowest level below where, apparently, things had been removed.

But that wasn’t the only reason they’d left the smugglers. It was to stop the argument that was inevitable at her brandishing that lightsaber. Jyren showed amazing restraint, though, in not suddenly yelling at her until they were a good way down and away from that corridor. Or at least, that’s what Shadow told herself...despite the fact that she knew he was just brooding and trying to figure out what exactly he was going to yell first.

It turned out to be, “What the hell are you doing with that?!”

That was, of course, something Shadow had been prepared for, though she truthfully hadn’t expected to get into this so soon. But, oh well, it could have been worse. Continuing down, she said calmly, “What are you doing without it?”

That question seemed to catch him off guard just enough to get him to stop. This then forced him to speed up his pace to catch up to her as he growled, “I gave it to my father! He put you up to this, didn’t he?! Dammit, I told him not to fight this!”

After waiting for one of the larger sections that went off to corridors in both sides, Shadow spun around and grabbed his collar roughly. With an icy glare, she looked up to his eyes, “It wasn’t yours to give to anyone, Jyren. And don’t even try to put this on your father! This is no one’s fault but your own, and you know it!”

There was a look in Jyren’s eyes that matched her glare, but had a completely different intensity behind it. She could feel his outrage through their link and through the Force very easily. His hand had come up to grab her wrist, nearly digging claws in and forcing her to retrain herself from doing the same and tearing out his throat. The two of them stood there in complete silence for a very long minute, then Shadow decided she had had it with this, and roughly threw him back and into the stairs behind, wrenching out of his grip in the process, “If you want to keep this up then get out of here. Its not too late for your to run away and go home! You can just run away again because things aren’t going your way and you’re too scared to confront anything!”

If there was ever a time when Shadow and Marix could be distinctly noticed in that one person, it was when she was angry. Shadow always had a way of jumping to the forefront ahead of the more coolheaded Marix in those situations. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t right. In fact, she was very right. So much so that the anger had been sapped from Jyren and quickly turned into a look of shock. His mouth opened and closed a few times before finally finding his voice, but even then Shadow knew what he was going to say and growled to cut him off, answering his unspoken(and stupid) question at the same time, “Of course I still love you! If you think you have to question that then you really do need to get out of here and go actually think. But that doesn’t change the fact that you are acting just like Toby! If we’re actually going to do what you suggested in the first place and find Jen, then you can’t keep breaking down like this. You made a mistake. You still can’t control your emotions. Shunning the Force hasn’t changed a thing except for forcing me to do the work while you tag along and complain.”

To his credit, Jyren did not even attempt to apologize. Slowly and quietly, he got to his feet, and then motioned down the stairs. Shadow sighed. That was better. She didn’t smile, but did the next best thing considering the current mood in the air and simply turned to lead the way. In silence, they descended the stairs, finally reaching the lowest level after another few minutes.

It was large, dark, and a mess. There was little else that could be used to describe it. They could see without too much trouble thanks to the Alraxian vision, but all they could actually make out were tables, desks, and consoles that were strewn about and torn to pieces everywhere. It looked like something had gotten loose in the place and been very, very angry. Surprisingly, there was no sign of any bodies anywhere, though the scent of blood was thick...if not a bit old.

“How are we supposed to tell if anything was taken...?” Jyren asked, his voice barely a whisper. Shadow figured this was not because he was worried about anyone hearing them, but because he was still taken aback by her snapping at him.

Shadow attempted to scan over the area, looking for anything that wasn’t in pieces. It was difficult. What was still up and where it likely was originally placed was either riddled with blaster scorch marks, deep cuts, or simply smashed in. There weren’t any security cameras anywhere that she could see, either. She sighed. There was something here...she could feel it. But it wasn’t going to be easy to find. Quietly, she said, “You start over there, and I’ll start here. Look through everything you come across. Try to find anything not smashed that might give us any ideas.”

And so, they searched. From computer console, to desk, to odd piece of equipment that probably did something very specific, to another console, the two Alraxians dug through everything. It was tedious, but Shadow could feel it was necessary. Of course, it didn’t help that she kept glancing over her shoulder to make sure the smuggler’s didn’t get any ideas and come to sneak up behind them.

A half hour passed with little noise beyond their own rummaging. Then, though, Shadow noticed two things. First, the sounds off behind her from Jyren’s direction suddenly stopped...then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the room light up noticeably in that direction. It was only a matter of seconds before Jyren called to her, “This control console’s barely in one piece but its working.”

“Anything interesting?” Shadow asked over her shoulder as she dug herself out of where she’d been digging and started over towards the bright light in the darkness that was the active console.

She could see him bite his lower lip as he was obviously looking things over, then felt a pang of worry shoot through the link from him. He didn’t need to say ‘yes’ to that, so instead simply said, “Maybe.”

Jyren waited for her to reach him before pointing to the cracked and slightly flickering screen of the console, which looked to have taken a clubbing from all sides, and pointed at some of the symbols, “Files are missing here.”

“Files...?” Shadow raised an eyebrow, curious as to how he’d figured that out so
quickly, and why he immediately went to the plural.

He, of course, nodded and pointed to another of the symbols off to the side, “At least two...maybe more.”

Though Jyren stopped to wait for a reaction, it only got a look from Shadow telling him to stop pausing and get on with it. Running a hand through his hair, Jyren said quietly, “I’m not completely sure what they are but...”

“But what do you think?” she finished his sentence as a question to urge him on, trying to push away the tone from earlier in the hopes that he’d stop toeing around the point.

“There’s a reference to a file detailing Sith Poison in a later file, but nothing on the poison itself,” Jyren mumbled, eyeing the screen as he tried to make sense of the entire mess, then added, “The only other thing that looks to definitely be missing is some kind of order.”

Shadow did her best to ignore the first part, and raised an eyebrow, “What kind of order?”

“There’s a piece of an old text only transmission from Kuat Drive Yards,” Jyren said, reading a small file he brought up to make sure he wasn’t messing anything up, “Apparently, the order is ready and awaiting pickup at Kuat.”

That didn’t sound good. But still, it demanded another question, “When was that transmission sent?”

A pause as Jyren searched, then he said very carefully, “A week ago.”

Silence. Both of them began to put pieces together, though there were still a few hundred holes all over the place. But before any other information could be gleaned, there was a pop, a sizzle, and then the console died right on cue. Slowly, the two of them exchanged a careful look.

It was Shadow who said what they were both thinking, “Sadrak’s been dead for nearly a year now. He left this place empty months before that...it couldn’t be his.”

“I think we need to go Kuat,” Jyren said with a nod.

Shadow sighed and got to her feet, “Its going to be dangerous going back to the Core, but I agree. Hopefully things will start making more sense then, too.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 286: One Last Time

Sometime, it felt like they were always traveling. Over the last few weeks, at least, more time had been spent in hyperspace than actually doing what they were supposed to be doing. But it wasn’t all bad. Not only did Loki enjoy the company, but so did Toby and neither Shadow nor Jyren had much of a problem with it. It was nice to have actual time to relax...even if it was a bit unnerving after they had gotten used to never having a moment to sit down or sleep.

For once, the two of them weren’t sitting up in the cockpit and watching the lines of hyperspace swirl around the ship. Just an hour earlier, Tobias had demanded attention and they had tortured him...which meant that, now at least, the small Alraxian was passed out. Of course, he had the habit of simply falling asleep wherever he was and that had been, unsurprisingly, on Jyren. Having been in a comfortable spot in the small lounge that usually ended up being the place where they ate, Jyren hadn’t moved.

Shadow had wandered off to practice a little, inviting Jyren to join her but knowing he wouldn’t. She was trying, at least. Loki was currently in between two conversations, one with Shadow while she was in the hangar, and the other with Jyren who was still laying back on one of the couch-like pieces of furniture in the lounge with Tobias asleep on his chest.

“I still think you could do with some kind of weapons,” Jyren was saying up to the ceiling, which, for some reason, was the natural way to speak to the ship. It just made him feel less crazy to talk up than straight to a wall across from him, “Just for defense.”

Loki responded with a hurt feeling. [No Kanyaks have ever had any weapons. It would...it would be wrong. And besides, I am much faster than any other ships.] there was a pause, and then Loki ‘grinned’. [Besides, your ship has weapons. It can do the work.]

Grinning, Jyren nodded. Considering that his impression that it was a grave insult to tell a Kanyak he needed weapons, Loki was keeping his usual lighthearted attitude fairly well. The conversation itself had gone on for at least twenty minutes, and now, finally, Jyren couldn’t think of anything to add. The ship just wasn’t going to agree, and there was nothing Jyren could do to convince him otherwise. It could have been worse, at least.

Silence took over the room...except for Toby’s breathing that was beginning to border on snoring. Jyren found himself yawning and wondered if a nap might not be such a bad idea. They were still a good ways out from Kuat, and there wasn’t all that much left he could think of to do.

Then, somewhat quickly, Loki cut in. [Watch out.]

“Huh?” Jyren looked up again, giving the ceiling a confused look. But Loki didn’t have a chance to respond, and it became immediately apparent what the ship was warning him about.

The door across the room irised open and Shadow stepped in. Normally, this would have been fine...but she had that look on her face. It was a determined expression that told Jyren more than the link could in such a short amount of time. Thanks to Loki, he also had a good idea of what the nature of that look was...and what the she and Loki had been talking about. Or, more likely, what she’d been venting at the ship.

Quietly, she walked over and had a seat in one of the smaller chairs that was directly across from where Jyren was laying. For a moment, she looked like she might actually make a comment about him and Toby, but instead she gave him a hard, critical look and said calmly, “This is the last time we’re going to do this.”

It was natural for Jyren to nod to that, even if he didn’t like where this was going.

Seeing his reaction, Shadow returned the nod and got straight to the point, as usual, “We’re going to the Core again, Jyren. Not only will we have to be on constant watch for New Republic Security, but we’re also going to have to watch our backs for bounty hunters and stay on our toes when we try to figure out exactly what is going on.”

Again, Jyren nodded. She was right. Yes, he knew exactly what she was going to say next, but he wasn’t going to argue anything until he was pushed into a corner.

So, Shadow pushed him straight into the corner, “If you hold back the Force there we’re going to get killed. I can’t pay attention to everything at the same time while still having to talk through officials and dig for the information we’re looking for.”

“You know I won’t,” he replied simply and shook his head.

Shadow held his gaze for a long time before saying very slowly, “If you want to be stubborn, then you are going to stay here in Loki.”

“No,” Jyren shook his head again, “I’m going with you.”

“No!” Shadow suddenly snapped, nearly yelling but holding her voice down enough that Tobias only shifted slightly, “No, Jyren. If you come with me, you’re going to use everything you can. Otherwise, taking you is just like taking Tobias with us. If I have to do it myself, I will.”

“But you just said—“

”I know what I just said!” Shadow cut him off this time, “But I’ll do better on my own than having to watch out for the both of us and you know it.”

Jyren went silent. He did know it. That was the heart of the problem, really. He looked down at Toby to avoid having to meet Shadow’s icy gaze, but that did little good. She had the kind of look that could melt faces even when it wasn’t matched. She could stare at the back of someone’s head until they cried. It was a well trained look, and very effective.

Shadow waited a few minutes. As she did so, she pried through the fairly week block that Jyren had been attempting through the link over the past weeks. It wasn’t hard...she knew him well enough to know what he would try. And then she sifted through what she could find as carefully as possible. There was something wrong with all of this that was really bugging her, and she knew it had to do with what Jyren kept saying. She found it with little trouble, but the problem with the link is that thoughts weren’t exactly translated. They were still masses of unintelligible ideas that made no sense. But Shadow had the idea now.

And so, very carefully, she said, “Jyren, stop avoiding this and tell me the truth. What is the real problem? What are you so afraid of? And don’t you dare lie to me and tell me its what happened with Halpak. I know as well as you do that you’ve accepted that you made a mistake and are doing your best to move past it. Tell me the truth.”

There was a silence, but eventually Jyren turned to meet her gaze again. He sighed and thought about it. It was somewhat annoying that she was always so damned right about everything...even with things he’d convinced himself of otherwise. And, at this point, there was no more arguing. It would only make the situation worse. Probably much worse, considering how well he knew Shadow and how serious she sounded.

Taking a deep breath(which forced Tobias to shift again), Jyren finally answered, “I don’t want to screw up again.”

A simple statement that, out of context, wouldn’t have meant a thing. But Shadow knew exactly what he meant, and she didn’t even need the link for that(though, of course, it sure helped). Slowly, Shadow nodded as she put the pieces together, “Its been three and a half years and you still haven’t let go, have you?”

Despite having admitted it, Jyren couldn’t help but feel caught. He bit his lip and nodded, eventually saying, “I can’t lose you, too.”

Somehow, that made Shadow grin. Maybe it was the absurdity of the idea. Holding back a short chuckle, she shook her head, “Jyren, you know you can’t. Its not possible. In fact, that’s the one thing in the galaxy you’ll never, ever have to worry about...like it or not.”

He sighed and managed another nod, “I know...but its just...I still...”

“Jyren, she’s dead,” Shadow said flatly, not really liking that it had come down to that but knowing it had to be said, “It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t screw up. You aren’t to blame.”

“But I...if I had been trained then,” Jyren mumbled, “I could have stopped it from happening. I would have known.”

And there it was, finally. It had taken weeks to pound that simple thing out of him. Shadow sighed, trying no to sound annoyed that he was being help back by something so stupid, “But you weren’t. You didn’t have any training then...there was nothing you could have done to change anything. And holding yourself back from using the Force now to try and prove to yourself that you could have done it then isn’t going to do anything but get the both of us killed. No, I’m not saying you can’t, but right now, we need everything we can use.”

Silence again. This time, at least, Jyren didn’t try to look away. He held the look, and then, knowing it was probably a bad thing to say, spoke up, “I’m sorry.”

Shadow blinked, and let out a sigh of relief. For once, he wasn’t just using that to cut the argument off. She could feel that clearly. It was the first time she could remember him actually apologizing and meaning it instead of trying to work his way out of a corner. With a nod to make sure he knew she wasn’t going to yell at him for saying that, she got up out of the seat and walked over to where he and Toby were. Carefully, she had a seat on the floor, resting up against the couch-like thing and leaning her head back to look up at Jyren.

And, in that odd position, she asked, “So are you going to stop this now?”

“What?” Jyren asked, a grin appearing on his currently upside-down face, “I’m comfortable here, and I don’t think Toby would be very happy if I moved.”

Shadow rolled her eyes, which was an interesting sight for Jyren at the current angle, and tried to hold a flat tone, “You know what I mean.”

He nodded, and said through a deep breath, “I don’t think I much of a choice...so I’ll just do my best.”

“When was that ever good enough?” now she was having trouble fighting back the grin.

Though Jyren opened his mouth to say something, he was cut off by Loki. [It seemed to me that last night it was enough.]

Silence. Jyren fought back a horrible comment...if, of course, anything could have been horrible compared to what Loki had just said. Shadow had, naturally, gone a deep red, and what was left of Marix was now completely in control. And so, immediately, she yelled up at the ceiling, “Shut up, Loki!”


((A short little thing that's actually unrelated to the SH. If you haven't done so already, go check out this thread and vote on the 2006 ENnies Judges. This is my first year running, and, yes, I'd like it if you'd vote for me, but I won't stop updating these SHs if I don't win. ))

 

[Angcuru]

Zinged by your own ship! That's got to sting.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 287: More Interesting Than Planned

Kuat. The ugly sphere sat there in the small star system on the edge of the Core with an artificial metallic ring of shipyards in orbit above its equator. Ships were everywhere, as were random pieces of half-built ships, so much so that it felt like there was more traffic here than Coruscant could have ever managed.

And it all looked the same. Near three...no, nearly five years and still that damned planet looked the same. Jyren could close his eyes and see the view of the planet from the cockpit of the old X-Wing. He could see Mare’s X-Wing off to the side at his wing, and the sensor board alight with TIEs on their way in. Was it really that long ago?! It was almost terrifying how quickly it could all come back with a simple closing of the eyes...

“Hellooooo...? Jyren, wake up. This is no time to go all glazed over,” Shadow’s voice snapped him out of the odd moment a little too quickly.

His eyes shot open to see a hand wave in front of his face and he nearly jumped into it out of surprise. Thankfully, he managed to grip the seat and shake off the memories. Taking a deep breath, Jyren sat back and tried not to focus too much on the view that was far too similar to the one all those years before, “Hm? What is it?”

Shadow was giving him a careful look, but pointed out the viewport to the planet, “I sent a signal to the place that the message originated from in the shipyard ring. Loki’s locked onto their beacon, but this place is a mess...”

“You want me to fly him in manually?” Jyren asked after a moment.

There was a strange sound in his mind that almost could have been Loki trying to say something...but Jyren knew full well that it was impossible to hold a Kanyak’s mouth shut as it spoke for the simple reason that they didn’t have mouths. Either way, it had that sound to it. But Shadow simply nodded.

Something was up...Jyren was sure of it. Yet, for some reason that was completely beyond him, he shrugged it off and sat forward to take the relatively unfamiliar control yoke. Though he had never actually taken direct control of Loki, from the looks of it the controls were pretty much the same as every ship anywhere in the galaxy was. The yoke worked the same, and the few switches and interesting looking bubbles that were probably some form of gauges or buttons likely were the same too, it simply too figuring out which was which. And, thankfully, Jyren had the help of the link which gave him access to Shadow’s knowledge of all the workings...and it was all very easily accessible. More so than anything usually was through the link.

Shadow sighed quietly to herself and sat back to watch the approaching planet. They’d just gotten past Jyren’s problems with his old wingmate and this was not the time for them to reappear. No, Loki wasn’t particularly happy about being painted as an idiot, but Shadow had given him a sharp talk and the ship had complied. Now, according to the whining in the back of her head, Loki was stuck being assault by a barrage of questions from Tobias, who was now awake and, as usual, wild. But at least he was contained for now. That little brat was just one more thing to worry about and Shadow still couldn’t believe that Jyren had talked her into bringing him along.

But it seemed that the crisis had been averted. With a little help from the Force, she had managed to keep Jyren’s mind away from any questions he’d normally have asked. Sure, it was manipulative, but it could have been worse. He could have gone back into his childish state and hidden himself both in the Force and from the link again. Maybe, finally, they could track down whatever this was that was going on.

“They didn’t say anything else?” Jyren asked as the ring of shipyards grew much larger in the relatively small viewport ahead of them.

Shadow blinked, then realized what he was talking about, and answered, “Nothing...well, nothing except the usual ‘we’re so glad you’ve stopped by’ and other talk that most of these administrators try.”

Jyren sighed and shook his head, “I’m not sure I like that.”

It didn’t take much effort to pick up on his train of thought. Thinking out loud, she said, “Whatever it is, it hasn’t been delivered. Probably not finished either. I used the confirmation code we found.”

“You actually remembered that?!” his voice didn’t hide any shock at that, nor did his face.

Shadow grinned and shrugged, “It looked important. But either way, it means whatever we’re looking for is probably still here. And...”

“...and Jen might be, too,” Jyren finished. That sure sounded good, but something was bugging him. When he figured it out, and after maneuvering Loki around some of the nearby space junk, Jyren asked, “We should know already if she’s there, Shady.”

“Not necessarily,” she said quietly after a short while, quietly watching the large mass of shipyards encompass their view. There were so many different things out there, half finished hulls of ships and beat up pieces of junk that were being dismantled, that it was hard to tell the ships that were moving in to the ones that were going out. Glancing back to Jyren, she went on, “This entire thing is a longshot. You know as well as I do that she should be dead. But...this chance that she’s not feels very dangerous. And...and if she can survive that fall on Nar Shaddaa, I don’t think hiding from us here would be very difficult.”

“You think she knows we’re here?” he asked, finally entering the main bulk of the Kuati Division 37B-9 Shipyard where they had been headed the entire time. It was not the circular tube-like thing that Jyren had encountered years earlier...those were mainly only used to built the great capital starships. This reminded the both of them more of an old Golan Orbital Battery, and it may have well been an old converted one. A spire in the sky, with a huge, main section on its ‘top’ like the great floating cities that populated so many gas giants throughout the galaxy.

“No, I’m not saying that,” Shadow said as Jyren brought Loki in to the docking bay that was now straight ahead of them, slowing the ship down carefully and getting the angle just right. Shadow looked a bit closer and noted a large number of figures scattered in the bay that looked to be just barely large enough for Loki to set down in, “But someone sure knows we’re here.”

“What do you mean by that?” that question caused him a momentary glance away from what he was doing, and normally that would have meant flying straight into the edge of the docking bay thanks to the lack of a tractor beam. However, at this point Loki very carefully cut in to make sure this didn’t happen. He was smart enough to do so just gently enough that Jyren still didn’t notice.

Shadow nodded back out to the figures that were station all around the grey and blue docking bay they were slowly entering, “There’s about thirty security troops out there and all of them are holding blaster rifles...” trailing off, Shadow allowed herself a grin, “This may get more interesting than just talking with some boring administrator after all.”