Star Wars: Heroes of Another Kind

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 299: One Thing After Another

Jyren got ten paces before the Darkwing caught up. He was actually able to reach the top of the hill of snow and see the X-Wing in the small ditch below for a short half second. The other half of the second, though, became a horrible moment of intense pain. Much like it had done with Shadow before, the Darkwing raked its vicious claws across Jyren’s back as it flew past...but unlike Shadow, Jyren was attempting to sidestep the inevitable attack.

That meant that instead of having his spine and back torn up as Shadow had, the claws went up from the small of his back to his right shoulder, nearly taking his arm off in the process. It was utterly amazing just how much pain one could feel before the nerves simply gave up. And they did, too. After not long at all, the intense, burning pain of the claws became nothing at all...but somehow, the nothing hurt even more. But like with Shadow before, it didn’t finish him off.

A few seconds later, Jyren found himself face down in the snow, his eyes seeing through a reddish blur that seemed to haze his vision. His entire right arm was beyond any kind of sensation, and Jyren was afraid to look for fear of not finding anything there. So instead, his eyes managed to travel up slightly to see, across the deep red that covered the white snow, Shadow’s body. She was about a meter and a half down the slope in front of him. While she had managed to turn her head to look towards him, it didn’t look like she could move anymore than that.

The link was currently dead. Or rather, unused. Both of them were doing their best to block it up so that the other didn’t have to feel the intense pain that was currently consuming the both of them. Shadow, at least, had her own built in training against the pain, so she was fairing well enough, ignoring the inability to move and the forced resistance to the deep-set impulse to remorph the wounds. But instead of opening up the link to flood even more to Jyren, as he didn’t look to be doing as well as she was, she simply nodded her head upwards in hopes he would understand.

He did.

He looked up as much as he could.

The Darkwing was coming around again. It wasn’t like before...not like when...when Shadow had been one of them. She had simply killed. This was...toying with them. Toying with them like a cat. It was the first time Jyren had ever seen the Alraxian aspects seeping into the horrible creature that it had become. But it was beginning a long turn down again, its huge, black wings easily carrying it through the cold air of Hoth. Against the bright sky, it was the first time Jyren had ever gotten an actual look at the creature before. It was like...like the Dragons he had seen on Alraxia, only smaller. Well, smaller if one could consider its seven or so meter length from sharp-toothed mouth to powerful tail small in any way.

But it was coming back. And he couldn’t move! No! No, he could! Jyren’s spine hadn’t been torn up as Shadow’s had. He could still feel his legs...feel his limbs...but...but something else. Something else was freezing him there in place. Fear. It was fear. Finally, that natural fear of the Darkwing was creeping into him, despite the human body. Coupled with the fact that he was still refusing to look at his right arm for fear of what he’d discover, and Jyren was unable to do anything but watch as the great form of the Darkwing began its dive.

Straight down. This time, it was going for the kill. A black meteor shooting down from high above at such a speed that only its wings could be distinguished.

And then, suddenly, a great, brownish coloured blur cut the Darkwing off, slamming headlong into the creature and literally carrying it for another four kilometers before tilting downwards and driving the creature straight into the snow. There was a huge plume of white that shot up at the same time as the brown one...but the Darkwing didn’t emerge. Jyren did, though, hear a distant roar of pain that sounded like much of the other noises they’d heard from the horrible creature. But that didn’t matter now...his eyes were trying to make sense of the brown blur through the reddish haze that had consumed him.

[I am coming as quickly as I can. Are you alright?] Loki’s voice at that moment was one of the most wonderful things Jyren had ever heard. Shadow, at this point, was willing to agree.

[We’re not alright, Loki.] Jyren called back through something not completely the Force and not completely the link. He still didn’t understand it all, but it worked and that was all that mattered. [Can you get the X-Wing aboard without help?]

The brownish form of Loki began to slow as he neared them, then spun around as the rear hatch where the makeshift hangar was opened. [It will be a little rough, but I can.] there was a pause, and then the Kanyak seemed to take notice of the bright red blood that surrounded the two of them and the fact that neither had moved more than their heads. [Can you move?]

Jyren glanced to Shadow, who shook her head angrily. To her, this was nothing more than outright annoying. It was the worst thing for her to not be able to move. But pushing this aside, Jyren responded to the ship. [I think I can...but Shadow can’t.]

[I will stay down for as long as I can...get into the hangar after your ship is in.] Loki said rather quickly as he began a very awkward form of backing down and partially into the snow to lift the X-Wing into the hangar. From the ‘tone’ of the voice, Loki was obviously not happy, but it didn’t seem to have anything to do with the snow. When the ship went on, though, Jyren found out why. [I would suggest moving quickly.]

[I don’t want to know why, do I?] Jyren asked as he slowly started to get to his feet. They seemed to be intact, and though Jyren’s right arm was also still attached, it was hanging at a very disturbing angle and probably wouldn’t stay on too much longer. He could only hope it was the Force that was helping him through this, and that he wasn’t actually dead already.

[You do not want to know, Jyren.] Loki cut into his thoughts as Jyren began to figure out a way to get Shadow to the ship. [But it is best you know now instead of when we are in orbit...the fleet of starships that fired on me did not seem very willing to negotiate.]

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 300: Out of the Ice

Loki had an interesting time getting the X-Wing into his makeshift hangar, but with the added bonus of a large patch of snow, the ship did manage it. He’d also stayed down just long enough for Jyren to half-drag, half-carry both Shadow and himself in. But they got in. And the second everything was in, the hangar ‘door’ was closing and Loki was flying up and away...and, recognizing the danger in the situation that had remained, cranked up his internal heating system to both melt the snow and make it a good temperature for Alraxians.

Shadow took the cue the second that her spinning brain caught up with what was going on around her. Immediately, her body shifted back to that of her normal Alraxian adult one. Not only did it feel good to be herself again(with the added benefits of being both stronger and, most importantly, taller), but she was no longer losing blood. Alraxians could still die from blood loss, and though her body was still weak as it tried to fix this problem, she knew she would be alright.

Pulling herself up to her feet, Shadow tried to ignore the disgusting red blood that was all around her, flicked her tail and her again-striped hair back, and headed over to Jyren. He hadn’t morphed. He was still human...he was still bleeding badly. Shadow bit her lip, nearly getting sick at the sight of all the red blood...it was just so horrible. Something about that colour made it so much worse. But that wasn’t important right now.

Jyren was unconscious. It was not a surprise, considering how hard he’d pushed himself in such a state, but it was definitely not a good thing. He was still losing blood, and the way his arm had been cut did not look at all good. In fact, Shadow could think of no words to describe it that weren’t underestimating it.

[Shadow.] Loki’s voice echoed in her mind as she desperately tried to figure out what to do. Forcing his body to morph when he was like this could kill him, or rather, them, and she was still no healer. But Loki went on anyway. [Shadow...I believe you should be in the cockpit now.]

Shadow bit her lip again, looking from Jyren to the exit of the hangar. She did need to be up there. Loki could fly himself fine, but with her help it would guarantee their survival. Two was always better than one when it came to Kanyaks, and they never minded the help. But Jyren...

An idea cropped up. Normally, it wouldn’t have ever been there, but the last few weeks had changed a lot of what she had once considered normal. Not only that, but it had a very good chance of working.

“Toby!!” Shadow called out, knowing the little Alraxian would most definitely be within hearing distance.

“Whaaaat?” the voice came from around the corner that the corridor at the other end of the hangar was at. A moment later, the child scampered in, looking happy and excited, and charging straight for them. Tobias got about halfway before noting the absolute mess...and he came to a sliding stop, eyes wide and looking to be nearly on the verge of panicking. He had, rather quickly, skipped the crying stage. That was actually a good sign.

“Tobias, come here quickly,” Shadow said in quieter, but still very urgent voice. It was also one that sounded hauntingly like her mother’s. If Jyren had been conscious, he’d have been teasing her about it...and, of course, she’d get angry. But in the end they would laugh because she’d find some way to get revenge and everything would be fine...but he wasn’t conscious. Which was the whole problem.

Tobias very carefully followed her orders, padding over to them and looking worse and worse as he got a better idea of the situation. His eyes quickly went from Jyren’s body to her eyes and he pointed to Jyren, “Fix him!”

“I can’t,” Shadow admitted, “I have to go and help Loki. We aren’t out of trouble just yet.”

“But he’s...but...but!!” Tobias was never very good at arguing, but he sure tried.

Shadow shook her head, bringing an arm to Tobias’ back to push him closer to Jyren, “We’re not going to let him die, Toby. We aren’t.”

“But you said you can’t help him!!” he was nearly crying this time, which was worrying...but he was still resisting the urge to fall into that. As long as that kept up, Shadow knew this would work.

“I can’t,” Shadow repeated, “But you can. I want you to focus, Toby. I know its hard, but you have to. Focus on how much you want Jyren to be okay. Focus so hard that you make it happen. And don’t you dare stop until you do make it happen! Understand?”

For a long moment, Tobias sat in front of Jyren, shaking slightly and staring blankly. Then, a hardness appeared in the child’s eyes. Something that almost made Shadow smile, if not for the rest of the situation. If he’d gotten anything from having two Tam-Day-U parents, at least he’d gotten the strength and stubbornness. Considering everything else Toby could have gotten, it was definitely a goo thing.

When the look appeared in Toby’s eyes, he nodded but said nothing. Shadow could feel the Force being drawn to him. Such a natural at such a young age. It could be dangerous...but it was something to deal with later. Right now, Jyren was going to live. Now Shadow had to make sure that all this wasn’t for nothing.

Getting to her feet, and glad to feel all those old muscles were back where they should be, Shadow ran for the cockpit.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 301: Hope

“In the name of the Force!” Shadow called out in surprise as she reached the cockpit. It was just about the same time that Loki had gotten them out of the atmosphere, so she was being given a very clear view of what Loki had mentioned earlier.

In a flat voice that he’d obviously learned from Shadow, Loki replied. [I told you that you would want to be up here.]

As she dropped down in the pilot’s chair, Shadow rolled her eyes and tried to get a better assessment of the situation beyond the blurred but intimidating sight out of the viewport, “Loki, do you have a sensor reading yet?”

[Its waiting for you.] he answered in nearly the same voice. Sometimes she just wanted to kick him...but she figured he felt the same way about her a good amount of the time. It seemed to be how things always worked out in the end.

The still-Shadow part of her brain pushed back the Marix part, getting her into the business mode she needed to be in. Quickly pulling up the sensor display, Shadow got exactly what she was looking for...and immediately decided it was much worse than it had looked from the viewport. It was a fleet alright. A serious fleet. At least five capital ships strong, two smaller support ships, and at least a couple of faster cruisers. So far, Shadow couldn’t see anything that looked like they could be any kind of starfighter. That was something, at least.

Though she didn’t have a very great eye for exact designs of starships, Shadow had spent enough time with smugglers that she knew enough. The ships weren’t any kind of distinct design she’d seen before, but they had a few features that were definitely Kuati in design. The sharp lines, slightly odd cargo sections, and the Star Destroyer-like deflector shield towers on the largest of the ships and the cruisers helped to solidify their maker. And with a Kuati design, it was just too coincidental for these ships to have arrived. It was the missing piece in the trail...except they’d found it a little late.

[They are attempting to box us in and prevent a hyperspace jump.] Loki announced as Shadow noticed all of the ships beginning to spread out around their possible courses. [They attempted to use tractor beams before. I...do not believe I can escape more than one if they attempt it again.]

Shadow’s eyes scoured the situation and she reached forward to take hold of the controls. This was going to be rough...her eyes locked onto two of the mid-sized cruisers. They were vaguely vibroblade shaped, roughly about the size of a Corellian Corvette, and from the looks of it, just as fast. Which brought an idea to mind, “Can you tell how well armed those things are?”

That one took a short while for Loki to respond to. Short...but long enough for the ships to all set up a perfectly designed defensive position. There was just enough space between all of the ships to tempt the enclosed starships to make a run through...but they would have their weapons and tractor beams ready for any angle that was taken. Then, Loki said. [The five capital ships are as heavily armed as a Victory Destroyer. The two patrol ships are not very well armed, but they look to have very strong tractor beam systems...and the two cruisers are fairly lightly armed for their size. They are likely very fast, though.]

Though the ships had held their positions, Shadow continued to eye the two cruisers, “Could we make it through?”

After so many years of being with Loki, she knew that he could see where she was looking at. But despite all that time, she still wasn’t all that sure how he knew that. Maybe it was the Force...maybe he could actually see. It was one of those questions she’d never, ever thought of. And, in fact, Shadow would probably never have thought of it if not for Jyren. The link had a way of causing parts of him to rub off on her, and she had started to find more and more very random questions like that popping up lately. At first, Shadow had just thought it was the Marix part of her, but Marix wasn’t all that terribly different. Well, except for the fact that she seemed to have more people skills beyond Shadow’s usual tactics of breaking limbs and asking questions through the screaming.

[Where should I plot the hyperspace jump to?] Loki interrupted her thoughts with an ever-important question. She was glad he spoke up, as that might have been forgotten thanks to that random question.

But at least the answer was simple, “Anywhere close but not too close.”

If it had been anyone but Loki, the response would have been ‘What?’ Even Jyren would have asked, despite the link. But Loki knew exactly what she meant. By the Force, she’d missed him. Why she ever left him on Corellia for so long was beyond even Marix. Loki was the one person who’d been with her through everything...well, until she left him on Corellia, at least. And then it felt like he’d missed everything. Rarely did Shadow ever feel depressed, and she blamed it on the link, but hearing her ship speak their destination instead of a question was all she needed to smile. [It will be a rough jump, but I can get us to the Sluis Sector.]

“Perfect,” Shadow did smile. Yes, it would be rough. There were no hyperspace routes from the Ison Corridor, where they currently were, leading to the Sluis Sector which was a good distance away. But it could be done. It could be done, and Shadow trusted Loki to pull it off. He’d done crazier things. And now it was her turn to do something crazy.

“Alright, Loki, here we go,” she gripped the controls tightly for a moment before using a calming technique. A few careful exhales later, and she angled Loki straight for the two vibroblade-like cruisers. Hopefully he was right. Hopefully they were lightly armed. Hopefully, they could gun it through fast enough to dodge the tractor beams. And...hopefully, Toby was going to succeed in keeping Jyren, and her, alive.

Throwing the hopes out of the way, Shadow sent them in full speed and head on with the nearest of the ships.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 302: We're Away Again

[They are shooting at me!!] Loki yelped, his calm from only a few seconds ago suddenly gone as something beeped to indicate the two smaller cruisers were both firing their meager assortment of laser batteries and attempting to lock onto the ship with their tractor beams.

Shadow’s hands gripped the controls tightly and allowed both her natural reflexes and the Force to pull the thing up and guide Loki over the fairly random shots from the vibroblade shaped cruisers. There were only two batteries on each of the ships; one at the midsection and one near the drives at the rear. The problem was the tractor beam emplacements, which seemed to have been set up in a perfect, overlapping pattern. So far, both she and Loki were managing to keep one step ahead of the beams, but they were getting closer.

“How much longer until we’re out of the planet’s gravity well?” Shadow asked through gritted teeth as the viewport went red from a laser shot that passed right in front of them.

There was a pause, the ship rocked slightly, then continued its fast shot for the edge of the system before Loki responded. [One minute...but they are becoming more accurate with their tractor beams!]

So that was the shaking was. Shadow had figured as much, but had decided it was best not to ask. When being shot at, Loki had a habit of getting at least slightly panicky. Like most of his species, he’d never liked weapons...whether they’d been on him or firing at him. For a short while, she had managed to install some meager laser cannons but that had never lasted very long. In fact, between the time they’d retrieved him from Corellia and the current moment, they had mysteriously disappeared. Shadow decided it was best not to ask the exact circumstances that led to the loss of the weapons.

[The other ships are attempting to come around.] Loki announced, sounding like he was talking through teeth that he didn’t actually have. Shadow risked a glance off to the edge of the viewport and caught sight of one of the largest of the ships heading straight towards their current course.

And then the ship rocked again...but this time it was much more violent. Shadow nearly dug her claws into the control yoke to stop from being thrown forward. She growled a curse and tried to find a way to get more power to Loki’s engines. This time, the tractor beam had them...but not completely. They were still very slowly inching forward, pushing against the invisible, iron grip.

“Loki, divert all power from the life support to your engines!”

Even Loki was taken aback by that. Sure, it would work, but...[You’ll all die!]

Shadow rolled her eyes, feeling as if she was talking to Jyren all of a sudden, “You’re going to turn it back on as soon as we’re free!”

[Oh.]

And without another word, he diverted the power. It was an odd sensation to know that one was breathing the last of the recycled air and that it was going to run out after only a few more breaths...but Shadow ignored it and immediately took advantage of the new boost in power. They suddenly wrenched free of the tractor beam with a very violent jolt that probably even did some damage to the ship that had attempt to hold them, and then shot forward at an incredible speed.

They weren’t out of range of the weapons, as evidenced by the red lances that were still far too close, but only a couple of seconds later the stars began to stretch and Loki made the jump to lightspeed. In the rush, Shadow hadn’t even noticed the life support returning. And as the swirling blue surrounded them, Shadow let out a long, tired sigh before slumping back into the pilot’s chair to pat the armrests gently, “Good job, Loki.”

For a long few minutes, she just sat there, closing her eyes and allowing even a partial smile, very proud of her ship. No matter what happened, Shadow knew she could always trust him to keep them safe. Them. That was a new one. It had always been ‘her’. But no...not anymore. Now it really was ‘them’. And with that thought, she realized that she was not, in fact, dead. That was strong evidence towards Tobias having succeeded in keeping Jyren at least mostly alive. But that wasn’t enough...and asking Loki wouldn’t be the same either, so without a word, she got up and headed for the cargo bay at an extremely fast walk. It wasn’t a run, because a run would mean she was worried...and she wasn’t worried. Of course not. Just...concerned. Yes. Concerned.

Unsurprisingly, Loki did not buy into any of this, and continued to watch with interest.

Shadow arrived at the cargo bay to find the scene pretty much the same way she’d left it. The X-Wing was still there, surrounded by a small puddle of water that hadn’t remained snow for very long. The red blood was still pretty much everywhere, causing her stomach to turn again...blue coloured blood wasn’t bad. That was normal. But that stuff...it was just wrong.

It also didn’t help when she knew how much of it there was and how much of it should have been inside the figure that was still laying on his back not far from the X-Wing. Jyren hadn’t actually moved from the look of it...but Tobias had. The little Alraxian was now perched up on the sensor cone on the nose of the X-Wing, peering down like a hawk at Jyren.

“What are you doing up there?” Shadow asked as she slowed her pace to attempt and look even unconcerned.

The voice surprised Tobias, getting a yelp out of him and a jump that nearly caused him to fall of the X-Wing. Thankfully, for him at least, claws kept him rooted well enough. After sitting back into his spot, he mumbled something that Shadow couldn’t understand. The only reason she didn’t ask ‘what?’ was to stop and kneel down next to Jyren. His arm wasn’t attached by only a few tendons anymore. In fact, it looked fine. Most of him did...except for maybe the torn tunic.

Suddenly forgetting that Toby was even there anymore, Shadow leaned down and gently rested her forehead on Jyren’s. [Come on, Akan-jai...wake up.]

In holodramas and fairy tales, that was when the person would wake up. They’d wake up, smile, and everything would be alright. But, annoyingly enough, this was not either of those. It would have made everything so much easier. And, of course, that was not allowed. Distantly, Shadow thought she heard a whimper from Toby, but she was doing her best to push and nudge at Jyren through the link. So far, it wasn’t working all that well. He was far too stubborn sometimes.

After a few minutes, there was a groan. Everything went silent afterwards and no one moved. That could have been imagined. Shadow’s eyes very carefully watched Jyren, still gently resting her forehead against his. And then there was another groan, a cough(an unpleasant thing to experience just inches from the one doing the coughing), and another groan.

But for some insane reason, Shadow found herself smiling. When his eyes began to half open as he groaned again, Shadow laughed and rubbed her cheek against his. It took a long time for him to finally be somewhat coherent, and Shadow very calmly waited until that moment to whisper, “If you ever do that again, Jyren, I’m going to kill you.”

There was a short pause, another groan, then Jyren whispered back, “Bet you twenty credits you won’t.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 303: The Past

In most ships, no matter how many people were on board or how many droids there were, hyperspace was lonely. It was hard to explain really why that was, but it was something that everyone experience in the confines of a metal ship traveling from one planet to another. But then there was Loki. Somehow, he made it all different. Maybe it was knowing that this wasn’t just an empty shell, and that if you went far enough back his organs were back where most vital systems were in most ships. Maybe it was the way he talked and conversed...but no, computers and droids could do that, too, even with personality. Then maybe...maybe it was the Force. The ability to feel life around and protecting from the utter emptiness around. Yes...maybe that was it.

Jyren opened his eyes again and let out a deep breath. It felt good to be Alraxian again. He may have been born Human, but now he knew he was Alraxian and there was no denying that he’d gotten far too used to it. He was laying back on the bed, still feeling a bit weak from the very close call on Hoth. Tobias was curled up and sleeping on the pillow next to him, and Shadow sat cross-legged to his side, one hand curiously close to scratching Tobias’ ear but managing to not do it and just rest there on the pillow next to the little Alraxian.

“You going to be alright?”

Those were Jyren’s words, not her’s. Shadow never really needed to ask that question, as the answers were usually plainly obvious to her. The only times she would ever ask it was when some odd sensation told her that the other person needed to hear it, not that the answer mattered to her. That was, of course, the most confusing part of it all, and she was inclined to blame both Marix and Jyren for all of the complication. The blame wasn’t all that misplaced, either.

“No, I’m not,” Shadow also had the habit of stating the truth in more normal situations, which always made it appear that she didn’t understand sarcasm or other subtleties...until she used them herself, of course. To her, though, it was just easier to get straight to the point instead of toeing around the subject like the entire galaxy seemed to be obsessed with.

Jyren sighed and nodded. Shadow wasn’t the only one who asked questions when she already knew the answer. Of course, it was also a very cheap technique he’d learned to use to get her out of her usual quiet self. She wasn’t dumb, though, and knew it every time he tried it, but part of her continued to just push those words out despite the idiocy of asking such an obvious question. When a hand reached over and rested on hers, she was polite enough not to jerk away. This was all sill far too much for her to take in at once...despite everything.

But when Jyren didn’t say anything, Shadow decided to continue her train of thought out loud, “She’s going to kill our people.”

“No,” Jyren shook his head, sitting up a bit but finding his head spinning slightly at the attempt, “She won’t get that far. Ket and Nine were worse.”

A serious gaze fell on Jyren from her, “No they weren’t.”

Silence.

There was much more in that and Jyren knew he was missing something. Sure, he could dig through the link for the answer. But sometimes words were more important. So, carefully, he asked, “What do you mean? What is it?”

Shadow took a long moment, and in it, Jyren noted that her other hand had slipped over and was now gently stroking Tobias’ back. Finally, though, she posed a question for him, “Jyren, who do you think were crewing those ships?”

Before the question finished, Jyren knew the answer. It brought a sense of shock and horror that was only surpassed by the feeling that a Darkwing could bring. There was only one answer, and it was terrifying. Quietly, Jyren whispered, “Clones.”

“Of me,” Shadow...no, Marix finished. After allowing it all to sink in, she added, “A thousand Delta Nines, or worse, and an army of Darkwings. Jyren, that is more dangerous than anything that our people have seen since the Darkwing Wars. It is why cloning is so horrible. It is what the Sith did to us before...and now its happening again.”

That really was Marix. Something in the voice was just so much different. A deep breath later, Jyren said quietly, “We have to stop it.”

Such a naive thing to say, and even Jyren knew it. But it was really how he felt. Maybe that was he was so...interesting to her. Somehow, Jyren felt that everything that was wrong could be righted, and while it might not be his job to fix it all, he was damn well going to try and make it his. It actually brought a smile to her face, despite the words she spoke, “Three of my ancestors thought the same thing thousands of years ago, Jyren, and they couldn’t stop what happened. They just made it worse.”

“But we can’t just sit around when there’s the chance to do something about it,” Jyren said under his breath, more to himself than anything. He was too stubborn to accept the idea that they couldn’t do anything.

The silence that lasted for the next few minutes was at least slightly worrying. Jyren knew that she was working things out...thinking. Trying to figure it all out. Again, she blamed him. But, finally interrupting the constant, soft sound of Toby’s purring, Shadow said, “Its happened before, Jyren...just like this...” but she trailed off, and before Jyren could attempt any kind of response, she quickly asked, “Why didn’t you shoot her?”

The sudden change surprised Jyren so that he was at a sudden loss for an answer. After stuttering for a short while, he finally managed, “I just...couldn’t.”

“One of us is going to have to do it,” Shadow said flatly, now staring straight ahead and at the bulkhead on the other side of their quarters, “If one of us doesn’t...if we can’t...then it is all going to happen again. Everything. And it will spread...it won’t be just our people. This isn’t four thousand years ago when the galaxy was isolated from itself...if we don’t find a way, its going to happen just like before and then its going to spread.”

Very carefully, Jyren took her hand and squeezed it gently. Then, looking up and doing his best to force her to meet his gaze, Jyren said, “Marix...it won’t happen again. You know we won’t let that happen.”

“Its not a matter of letting it happen, Jyren,” she snapped at him, “This is Jen. She is going to try to kill us and then all of our people and then its going to spiral out of control.”

“What stopped it last time?” Jyren asked very carefully, starting to understand the importance of the past in this situation to Marix...Shadow...them. He had never had much focus on the past or history or anything like that...but this felt different. Darkwings made everything so much different.

Shadow sighed and looked down at the bed, “We got lucky. A few Jedi appeared. They worked together with the Jendari and...and together they found a way to defeat the Darkwings.”

There was something in that and it was important. Something that was probably overlooked in the history that she knew. The details like that always were. And so, Jyren said the thought that had come to mind, “Sith Poison creates the Darkwings. It is, literally, a poison. Every poison in the galaxy has a counteragent...something to reverse its effect or just to eliminate it,” he paused, bit his lip, then looked up to Shadow again, “That’s what they found.”

Shadow managed a shrug, her hand finally stopping and simply resting on the back of Toby’s head, “We’re not scientists...Jen is, but we aren’t. And we can’t bring this to anyone else.”

“I know,” Jyren nodded and tried sitting up again. There was one thing, “Can you grab my pack? I think I know something that could help us.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 304: Family Time

The blue-tinted image of Andrea Tavos hovered slightly above where the holocron sat on the bed. It was the first time since...since...since going back to the Capital and breaking Shadow out that it had been activated. While it felt strangely comforting to see and interact with this image of his mother, Jyren still was feeling as if, somehow, he’d messed up everything. But after a while, Jyren had learned that he was just the kind of person that never seemed to be happy with his surroundings, so maybe this was just normal. Besides, there were more important things to deal with right now.

And there was a problem.

“I am sorry, Jyren,” the soft voice of the projection said, “But I cannot allow you access to that information.”

There was always a problem.

Jyren sighed, but did notice that Shadow’s expression had not changed since the holocron had been activated. He had to remember that, while not the first time she had seen it, she hadn’t really seen the amount of interaction that was possible. She was watching the image with her usual neutral caution that was applied to pretty much every situation that she was still figuring out. Currently, though the link, Jyren wasn’t sure if she was extremely positive about this whole thing...and being refused the counteragent to the Sith Poison was not exactly helping.

“Mother, we need the counteragent!” Jyren nearly yelled at the image...but he did keep his voice down. She had already given him a stern talking to about yelling while ‘the child’ was sleeping. The amazing perception of this ‘recording’ was currently being horribly outweighed by the fact that it was a mother. Still controlling his voice, Jyren went on, “There are Darkwings, Mother. I can’t fight them. We need the information on how it was stopped the last time.”

The ‘I’ was definitely not lost on Shadow...but at least he was smart enough to say ‘we’ afterwards. The holo shimmered slightly, something that seemed to happen at random intervals or when it was dramatically appropriate...Jyren was still working out just which it was. But a moment later, the image of his mother shook her head, and there was that unavoidable detail of how the hair actually moved exactly how it should have before she repeated, “I am sorry, but the information you want is not something that can just be handed out.”

“But I’m your son!” Jyren did yell this time before motioning to Shadow, “And she’s the Empress!”

There was a subtle shift of the eyes as the image looked to Shadow. For a short moment, the two shared the exact same look between one another, and then Jyren’s mother looked back to him, “It is not that simple, Jyren. There is a reason this knowledge is so greatly protected, and she knows exactly why. She knows why I cannot give it to either of you.”

This time, Jyren looked to Shadow. When their eyes met, Shadow said calmly, “If you know the counteragent, then you know how to make the poison. You should know by now how easy it is to lose a secret like that...no matter how hard you try not to.”

She didn’t say anymore. She didn’t need to. It made so much sense that he wanted to kick something. But, currently, nothing presented a good target. Tobias would scream, Shadow would probably kill him, the holocron might break, and anything else meant Loki complaining at him and probably a long yelling at from Shadow. So, instead, Jyren folded his arms and grumbled at the bed, “So we’re supposed to just let this all go straight to the Empire and kill everyone?”

Now it was Shadow’s turn to sigh, but it was the holocron that spoke, her voice returning to the usual motherliness that still sent shiver’s down Jyren’s spine, “Just because it is the easiest does not meant it is the only way.”

“Then why keep it locked up and hidden away?!” Jyren growled, not getting angrier than he really should have been.

The calm voice of his mother did not help his mood, “Destroying knowledge doesn’t make it go away, Jyren. Now is the not the time for it, but someday it may be needed, and so it is kept. Even if I had the power to access it myself, I would not give it to you. Anger fuels it, Jyren. Foolish anger is not something that befits a Jedi...nor my son.”

Silence.

“Thank you for that,” Shadow broke the silence quietly before nodding and reaching down. Her fingers searched the small cube before finding the small switch to deactivate the device. Before the holo faded, the image of Jyren’s mother bowed her head...and there looked to be a smile on her face, too.

But then it was gone, and they were left, again, with the only noise being Tobias’ soft breathing/half-purring on the pillow behind them. Jyren sat brooding for a few minutes before finally breaking the silence and shooting Shadow an accusing glance, “You did that on purpose.”

“No,” her answer was as quick and simple as usual, “It was your idea to use the holocron. We should have known that it was too easy before even asking. But we tried, and now we know we’ll have to find another way.”

A pause. It was just enough time for Jyren’s anger to subside a little more, “You could have waited to turn it off after at least getting a suggestion.”

Shadow shook her head sternly, “One day you’re going to have to stop relying on everything else. Might as well start today.”

Jyren sighed and allowed himself a slow nod. After a moment, he asked very quietly, “She was right about me...wasn’t she?”

That was a dangerous question. Shadow took a deep breath before placing an arm on his shoulder, “You have to learn how to control you emotions.”

Slowly, Jyren shifted over and rested his head on her shoulder. Under his breath, he whispered, “I know...I...I try...”

“Its not enough to just try,” her response was slow, but calculated. This was not a time to get back to the problems they’d gotten through more than once already, “It takes time, but you are learning.”

They sat there in silence for a long time without moving. But, eventually, Shadow nudged him to move and stood up to stretch, “Keep an eye on Toby.”

“Why?” Jyren asked, nearly getting up but instead deciding to sit back and eye Tobias, who was now on his back and idly pawing at nothing every few moments.

Without any expression, Shadow started for the door and said over her shoulder, “I’m going to go think about things and try to find a way out of this.”

She didn’t say that pinning him with Toby would stop his thinking. Right now, that was the last thing he needed. She knew by now that his thinking usually meant he’d tear himself apart...so it was best to occupy him until he was ready to stop trying to find a way to beat himself down. And besides, she needed some time to take all of this in and really figure things out.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 305: Just Try

It wasn’t the first time, and probably wouldn’t be the last, that Jyren wondered it all children were like Tobias. It seemed like only had two modes. Sleep and wild. Currently, sleep mode had been switched off, and the little Alraxian was definitely in a stage of wild. They were in the small lounge-type area near the center of the living area in Loki’s cabin, with Tobias bounding around the few pieces of furniture there was to pounce at Jyren and ‘kill’ him.

This had been going on for at least an hour now, and Toby showed no sign of letting up. But Jyren, getting tired of having his legs, arms, and anything that Toby could find clawed up, was looking for a way to put Toby into the sleep mode...or at least something close to it. And there was something bugging him.

So Jyren sat in the center of the room, carefully eyeing the large couch where Tobias had scrambled behind. He was back there waiting for the right time to strike, and Jyren decided the best thing he could do was turn his back to invite the attack and attempt something he’d never tried with Toby before...talk.

Five minutes later, there was the distinctive ‘RAWR!’ and Jyren spun around and reached out, snatching the flying Tobias out of the air before he could reach Jyren. Tobias laughed and made some very unique noises but, for the first time, didn’t struggle. That was a relief, as Jyren’s wrists had taken enough of a beating. In fact, it looked like the little Alraxian was at least slightly tired.

So...carefully, Jyren asked the question that could very well cause another hour of pure energy, “Getting tired, little guy?”

This was it...the moment of truth. Either Tobias would shake his head, scratch the hell out of Jyren’s arms and scamper off again or...or...not. Jyren honestly wasn’t sure what else could happen...and then it happened. Tobias very slowly nodded, and kind of slumped down in Jyren’s grip, mumbling something that didn’t make sense.

“Hang on a second, Toby,” Jyren said quietly as he sat the child down in front of him, “No sleep yet, okay?”

Two big eyes looked up at him through the tired veil that was starting to take over Tobias’ face and he mumbled, “Whyfor...?”

“I’ve got a question for you,” Jyren answered, shifting to a more comfortable sitting position now that he wasn’t waiting for an impending pounce. Tobias tilted his head but said nothing, so Jyren decided to just go ahead and speak, “Earlier in the hangar...what did you do?”

Tobias tilted his head the other way, his ear twitched slightly, and then he blinked a few times, “Huh?”

Of course it wasn’t that easy. Not only was Tobias still a child, so toeing around the point just confused him, but there were still some blocks up against his own natural abilities that had been put up years ago to keep him safe. So, more carefully and knowing that it could be a dangerous question, Jyren tried to be more specific, “When you...when you helped me. What did you do?”

Jyren deliberately avoided the word ‘healed.’ It just felt too strong considering the situation. Tobias didn’t blink this time, and simply stared right back up at Jyren. This continued for a good few minutes, and it took Jyren that much time to realize that Tobias was really doing his best to think. The blank look on his face was just like Shadow’s...there was no thoughtful expression for either of them, instead there was nothing. All of their energy was focused on thought, leaving nothing for the rest of the body, especially for simple emotions.

But then, very slowly, the glazed nothingness began to give way to a whimper. After that, Tobias, on the verge of crying from the sound of it, whispered, “...I dunno...”

He came very, very close to wailing. So close, in fact, that just before Jyren cut in, the little Alraxian made the necessary inhale. But Jyren managed to cut in quickly, reaching down to gently scratch Toby’s ear(forcing a purr, whether the child wanted to or not), and then saying, “Its okay, little guy. Its okay...”

Tobias sat there, tilting his head into Jyren’s hand, on the verge of crying and purring the whole while. Doing both meant not being able to breathe, so the body picked one and stuck with it. Thankfully, the crying didn’t occur. It was, to Jyren, a sign to try a different way. So, after another few minutes, Jyren went on, “Don’t think so hard, okay? Just try to answer really quick before you have a chance to think.”

“You mean...like you do?” Tobias barely managed to speak through the purring.

Of course, that made Jyren grin. So Shadow had been spending a little time with the child, “Exactly. You think you can do that?”

Tobias nodded again, but did so in a way so that his ear never left Jyren’s scratching. That had definitely been a well practiced move. So, with that, Jyren tried yet again, “What did you do?”

“I just...just...” for a moment, Tobias trailed off and the glazed over look appeared that meant he was trying to think. But, amazingly, it only lasted for a few seconds before Toby shook his head to shrug it away and started mumbling towards the floor, “...I just didn’t want you to die...”

And that was it. Truthfully, it was exactly what Jyren figured he’d get, but hearing it said led to a very important step. Tobias was young, yes...but why not start young? He’d develop the discipline needed for it and wouldn’t run into all the problems that Jyren always did. So... “You want to try something else, little guy?”

Realizing that Tobias assumed he meant stopping someone else from dying, Jyren quickly made a move to show he meant otherwise. His eyes darted over and locked onto one of Toby’s toys...a small cube that changed shape when small symbols on each side were pressed. As quickly as he could, Jyren reached out to it with the Force and pulled it over to them. The object floated across the room rather quickly before Jyren caught it not far in front of Toby so the little Alraxian could see what he’d done.

“You think you can do that?” when Tobias didn’t respond and simply continued to stare, Jyren caught onto the fact that he really needed to push to get anything out of the child, “Just think really hard at it. Think really hard until you just make it happen. Can you do that?”

“I uh...I dunno?” Tobias tilted his head to look back up to Jyren, obviously unsure of what to do anymore.

Jyren smiled and patted his head gently, “Just try it.”

“...okay...” the words were barely spoken, as Tobias had turned down to stare blankly at the block that now sat on the floor between them. He thought at it just like he’d done with Jyren earlier...wanting to move it because he knew it’d make Jyren proud of him.

But then the door to the room opened and all concentration was lost as Shadow stuck her head in and nodded down the corridor, “We’ll be in the Sluis system in five minutes. Need you up in the cockpit with me.”

Jyren sighed but nodded, “You have any ideas on what to do next?”

“I might,” Shadow answered before disappearing down the corridor.

Oh well. But there were things to do. Jyren turned to Tobias and picked up the child as he got to his feet, “Come on. We’ll work on this later, okay?”

((Sorry for the lack of updates. Gods, Thanksgiving is like pure chaos around here. That and its getting close to the end of the Semester(just two more weeks) so had a few papers to work on. Back on schedule(I hope) now!))

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 306: Plan of Action

Though having one of the largest collections of shipyards outside of the Core meant that Sluis Van was a very heavily defended world by whoever happened to be in control at the time, the outer edges of the star system were left generally open. And even though it was the New Republic in control of the shipyards, Shadow wasn’t too terribly worried. There may be a bounty on them, but that didn’t mean they had to be on alert all over the galaxy. Besides, they were far enough out in the system that the incoming traffic likely didn’t even see them. It was a safe system to wait near...just in case that fleet found them, there would be a New Republic fleet to fly into and escape in the chaos that would ensue.

Never let it be said that Shadow couldn’t think like a Fleet Admiral.

“We can’t risk bringing anyone else into this situation,” Jyren was saying. Tobias was in the cockpit with them, but was currently occupied by sitting up on the consoles and getting a good view of the star system...and Loki was being amazingly helpful by pointing things out through a makeshift HUD display, while at the same time paying attention to their plan of action...which wasn’t much at this point.

Shadow nodded, but had to stop herself from glancing over at Toby again. She was nervous about him up on those consoles...he might...press something...or...or something! Shaking it off, she turned her attention back to Jyren, “Agreed. But you know that means we can’t take the direct approach. We don’t have the firepower or the numbers to fight that fleet or the crews or even a Darkwing.”

That word still sent shivers(and sick feelings) through both of them, but sometimes it just needed to be said. Jyren sighed and also nodded, “Ships can be sabotaged. That’s not what I’m worried about...it’s the...it’s the other things.”

Of course, neither of them liked to say the word and still avoided it if possible. He was right, of course, but Shadow had been thinking about this, “There are ways to deal with this beyond the easy route, Jyren. You’ve done it before.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think I can do it again...” Jyren grumbled, “And not...not a thousand times.”

“Likely closer to a hundred,” Shadow corrected him in her old emotionless tone, but then went on in what had become normal for her in the past years, “You’ve done it before, Jyren. You can do it again.”

“I doubt it.”

“Exactly the problem,” she nearly snapped at him, but was currently too busy finishing working things out to get angry. At this point, it was just stating a fact, “How did you do it before?”

Jyren struggled with it for a moment before struggling even more, just out loud, “I just...I...I don’t know...”

When Jyren looked up, he saw Shadow smiling. It made him worry, because even through the link he couldn’t figure out exactly why. And that, despite all that had occurred to change the both of them, was still dangerous when it came to Shadow. And then, quietly and slowly, Shadow said, “Don’t think so hard. Just try to answer really quickly before you have a chance to think.”

That made Jyren freeze. She’d spoken it in just the right tone...and nearly the perfect voice, too. His eyes wide, Jyren asked, “You were listening?! But you weren’t even...”

Shadow’s smile grew into a grin, “I always listen, Jyren.”

“Hey!” he actually sounded hurt now, “That’s not fair!”

Though the smile stayed on her face, Shadow’s tone went flat again, “You do the same thing.”

A pause.

Then...slowly, Jyren started to grin, “Good point.”

And then Shadow went straight back to the business at hand, “That part is on you. Figure it out...feel it out. I can’t help you with that. But...you will need to help me with it once you’ve made sense of it all.”

“You’re sure?” Jyren asked slowly, obviously surprised, “That could take a long time...”

“We don’t have a long time,” she was almost grinning again, “But, yes, I do trust you.”

Jyren mumbled a thanks but it was so quiet that Shadow only heard it through the thought that flowed across the link. After a moment, though, he asked, “So what do we do about the rest of this?”

“Sabotage is what I was thinking,” Shadow said with one of her uniquely unnerving smiles, “Or at least something close,” she paused a moment to wait and make sure Jyren was keeping up, then fleshed things out, “She wants to get to our home. There’s only way to get there. We set a trap that can take care of the ships.”

“I think she’ll be expecting something like that,” Jyren said slowly, knowing that Jen wasn’t an idiot at all. In fact, she’d been the only sane one among them for a long time. Perhaps that was what made all of this so worrying.

Shadow leaned back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling, “Probably, but that also means she won’t be with the fleet. That doesn’t matter. We just need to take that out. Right now, those ships and everything aboard them are our primary concern. We’ll have to take this one step at a time.”

“Alright,” Jyren said with a nod, slipping halfway off of his co-pilot’s chair to lean over her slightly and force eye contact, “How do you propose we get rid of the fleet...exactly?”

Shadow grinned up at him, “I know someone that could probably supply us with a nice complement of very well designed stationary mines.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 307: The Dark Side

Everywhere in the galaxy there were stories about the smuggler and pirate hubs that were cobbled together and held in one piece more by luck than anything else. It was hard not to hear about these kind of places, and while it was assumed some did, in fact, exist few ever actually confirmed this. Jyren had, up to this point, never been sure of it...but obviously Shadow had, considering she’d given the coordinates and done the flying herself, despite some complaining from Loki that he could do it himself and he remembered exactly where it was thankyouverymuch.

It didn’t even require a hyperspace jump, which was probably part of the reason that Loki got annoyed. Lately, he didn’t get to do much flying anymore. Sure there was the adrenaline(or whatever Kanyaks had) rush on Hoth, but that was pretty much it. But Shadow was being surprisingly stubborn, and Loki was forced to give in. It was almost worrying to Jyren, as she was getting back into her old ways of dealing with people. From before...before...before everything had changed.

“I’m fine, Jyren,” Shadow said without even turning to look at him.

“Yeah, but—“

Shadow cut him off before he even knew what the rest of his sentence was going to be, “This isn’t Nar Shaddaa and this isn’t Ord Mantell. You need to keep your mouth shut here and let me do the talking.”

“Right, right,” Jyren nodded, deciding that she knew best at this point and not really wanting an argument anyway, “Stand there and look tough. I know the drill.”

“No,” Shadow shook her head, “Just keep up and keep your eyes open. This is the last place you want to try and look tough.”

Jyren’s tail flicked to the side in annoyance, but he could tell she wasn’t lying. Still, he asked the dumb question, “Its really that bad?”

“It might be,” she responded, this time glancing to him with her old emotionless face before nodding forward, “Look in the moon’s shadow carefully.”

After one last long look at the side of her face, Jyren turned and attempted to peer into the blackness where Shadow was mentally pointing. He couldn’t see anything but black. It was a hard thing to accept the fact that there weren’t even any stars in the view, but after so long in space, one got used to the actual emptiness of the whole thing. But still...through the Force there was a faint...a faint something.

“I can’t see anything,” Jyren mumbled to himself before taking a quick glance behind him, where Tobias was sitting and playing with some of his small, Dragon-shaped toys. At least he was being manageable for once.

Shadow nodded and smiled finally, “Exactly.”

It made sense. They were still in the Sluis system, with the shipyard planet of Sluis Van only on the other side of the system’s single, orange star. They were farther out in the system and heading around one of the medium sized rocks that orbited the star. This particular planet was red and covered in craters, but it was the moon that their attention was set on...the boring, dead looking moon. Somewhere back there was that station, in likely in a stationary orbit to keep it behind both the planet and the moon that did not orbit its mother planet. Cover after cover after cover...it made too much sense.

And now the moon was filling most of the view, yet Jyren still couldn’t see any space station...or even an installation on the moon’s surface. Just nothing. Jyren bit back a question, but Shadow wasn’t a fool. She picked up on it right away and, as she started to slow Loki down, said simply, “I still remember the way in. Don’t worry about that part.”

“Oh, good,” Jyren sighed, “When should I start worrying?”

Shadow smiled warmly before turning back to the viewport and making a few careful adjustments, “Well, they probably won’t be too happy to see me. I’d expect at least ten armed guards. Last time they even had a few disrupter pistols! Made for some very, very interesting times there. I’d suggest doing all your worrying now so you can enjoy it when it starts.”

Silence. Well...no. There were ‘rawrs’ and other noises from behind them as Toby somehow managed to entertain himself. It was a fact they didn’t even speak of over the link, for fear of calling in fate and ruining the relative peace it provided.

Then, as Shadow’s grin began to grow even more, Jyren glared at her and grumbled, “That wasn’t funny.”

Right on cue, Shadow started to laugh, a sound that was still rare but was very nice to hear in Jyren’s opinion...despite the fact that she was being evil. When the laughing stopped, though, she said through the grin, “Oh, it was, Jyren...”

Something about the way she said that...

“You’re serious, aren’t you?!” Jyren yelped, “They actually use disrupter pistols?!”

“I believe I saw a rifle or two, also...” Shadow said before trailing off and putting her ‘I’m working, leave me alone’ face on.

It left Jyren to remember the only disrupter pistol he’d ever seen. It had been roughly the size of a normal blaster pistol, but sleek in design and much more angular. There was no barrel, per se, but definitely an end from which the weapon shot out whatever it was that was shot out. He’d never actually seen the thing fired, but he knew what they did. Blasters, essentially, burned...it was why there was always a horrible, ozone like smell around after a shootout. But disrupters...supposedly they tore apart their target at the molecular level. Those were the pistols at least...Jyren had only heard stories about the rifles. Stories that he definitely preferred to forget. They were illegal for a reason, and most had been phased out well over fifty standard years earlier.

And then he noticed something. The empty blackness around them had a bit more...colour to it. A silvery sheen here and a greyish tone there. After a moment of his brain compiling the information, the view was put together. Not only was the station in the shadow of both a planet and a moon, but it was coated by...by something.

Again, Shadow picked up on the thoughts as they approached the darkness that was now starting to surround them completely, “Stygian-triprismatic polymer, if I remember right.”

Jyren blinked. At first it meant nothing to him, but he started to dig through memories...then, “Wasn’t that Imperial stuff? Kind of like a fake cloaking device?”

“Something like that,” Shadow said just as Jyren started to notice that they were in a hangar. It was dark, yes, but he could see a couple of other ships and a few people moving around here and there, “Helps to decrease the sensor detection. Its why you have to fly in blind.”

“Thank you for not telling me that until now,” Jyren said with a sigh.

Shadow smiled and shrugged as Loki set down and began to power most of his unneeded systems down, “There’s a few other things I haven’t told you that you’ll appreciate later. I’d suggest carrying a weapon or three...they know me, but its always a good idea to keep some protection if you’re a new face...” she paused, let out a deep breath, then got up and said very quietly, “Stick to close to me in here. We’re going to get in, acquire the weapons, and then get out.”

“Acquire?” Jyren raised an eyebrow, “I know we don’t have any credits, but these really don’t seem like the kind of people you steal from...”

“I’m calling in the last favors I’ve got left,” Shadow said before telling Loki to make sure Toby didn’t leave the ship and to stay locked up while they were gone. She then looked to Jyren and added, “The weapons will probably help, too...oh, and you might as well bring what valuables you’re willing to part with just in case.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 308: Unarmed and Dangerous

Generally, the hangar was empty. It was very, very large, and it was hard to get a good view of anything until they were down on the deckplates. The few lights that were scattered around were angled in just the right way so that they were picked up when you were down lower to the deck. In the very large hangar, which was probably three times the size of most hangars, there were about five other ships of various size and design. A few people moved here and there, none really bothering to give the new arrivals any attention.

Not that it mattered to Jyren or Shadow. It was the six men, dressed in some kind of heavy, composite armor and very interestingly designed helmets with black visors, that had their attention. Or rather...it was the weapons.

[Ah...] Jyren said through the link. [So that’s what a disrupter rifle looks like.]

They looked just like the pistols, really, only bigger. It was amazing how doubling the size of the weapon actually made it look that much more dangerous. All six of the ones holding the weapons were human, or at least near enough human that the armor and helmets masked any odd features, and roughly of average height and build. They walked over to the two Alraxians slowly before coming to a stop a good five meters in front of them...probably because, at that point, the six humans realized just how tall these two Alraxians were.

There was a moment of tense nothingness before one of the six, the one of the rightmost edge of the line they formed, stepped forward and aimed his disrupter rifle squarely at Jyren. In a gruff, obviously angry voice, he said, “We told you never to come back here.”

Jyren’s eyes immediately darted to Shadow, though his head stayed facing forward and his hands remained calmly at his side...though ready to move at a second’s notice. This was one of those times that the link was very, very handy. [I should have known!]

If Shadow could have presented a weak smile, she would have...instead, she held her neutral expression and just sent the feeling, along with a feeling of a shrug, through the link. [You should have. Some days I just think you’re never going to learn how things work with me.]

It took a lot of effort for Jyren to force himself not to roll his eyes. [Oh, of course. Is there anywhere in the galaxy we can go without getting blasters, or worse!, pointed at us before we have a chance to speak a word?!]

The pause that resulted here was really only a few half seconds, but it felt so much longer considering the situation. [Probably not. Corporate Space is probably our best bet for a blaster-less vacation, but word travels fast from their border planets...probably no where, actually.]

She didn’t wait for a response. It had been long enough of saying nothing and these men didn’t look very happy. By now, all six were aiming their disrupters. Slowly, Shadow raised her hands up to show she had no weapons...not that she needed any, a fact of which these guards would know, especially if they could recognize her after all these years. But really, even though she was an adult now and much taller, Alraxians had a distinct look to them. Even the other feline races of the galaxy didn’t look all that much like Alraxians, which had too much human in them to really be feline. So Shadow wasn’t too surprised to be noticed.

In the calmest voice she could put together, Shadow said, “I’m not here to kill anyone. In fact, I just want to see Garrol and then I’ll leave.”

“You said that last time,” the same guard answered, motioning at her with his rifle.

Shadow sighed. It wasn’t any surprise that the same guards were here...it was a good job that paid far too well. And besides, they got to use disrupters. What mercenary could turn that down?

“This time, I mean it,” Shadow knew it was pathetic but she was starting to get annoyed and was working out a way to fight through to where they needed to be, “You can follow us if you want. Just here on business, and then you’ll never see me again.”

Another long, tense moment passed, but eventually the guards stepped to the side to allow the two Alraxians to pass. The guard that had stepped forward nodded towards the other end of the hangar, “You have half an hour to get finish your business and get off the station.”

Shadow simply nodded and them made a mental poke at Jyren to get him to walk next to her instead of a step behind as he usually did when she knew where to go and he was just tagging along. But as they passed the guards, he couldn’t help asking a question. Thankfully, Jyren was intelligent enough to just ask it over the link as the walked towards a pair of doors at the opposite end of the hangar. [If they’re so picky about people coming and going, why not have some kind of docking control or security measures beyond guards just standing in the hangar?]

Through the link, Shadow sent the equivalent to a shrug. [This has always worked here. Besides, would you have ever found this without knowing exactly where it was and exactly how to land?]

[Good point.] Jyren couldn’t argue with that logic.

The door slid open in front of them as they approached thanks to a small sensor that was above it, opening up into a large, circular shaped corridor that looked to be centered around a small cantina of sorts in the very center. Shadow nodded to the left, and they headed along the circle that way, passing all sorts of creatures along the way. The place was surprisingly well kept up compared to what one would have expected. Sure, there were the necessary crates and other small pieces of junk scattered in the corridor, but other than that, it really was left clean. Well...except for most of the doors having some kind of graffiti on them...years and years worth of graffiti, from the looks of it.

They got probably about a fourth of the way around the main circle before Shadow stopped and mentally motioned towards a door towards the outside wall. Jyren stepped over to it with her, noting that this had some much graffiti on it that it was more like a single layer of colour rather than any distinguishable symbols. There was a sign of sorts above the door, but it was in a language that Jyren didn’t even recognize.

[This guy may be a bit...jumpy.] Shadow said through the link before pressing the small button to open the door. [Just don’t do anything to make him call the guards. It would be nice to get through all of this without getting shot at.]

Jyren agreed. So, of course, he nodded. Taking that as a signal, Shadow hit the switch and the door slid up and out of the way. It revealed a rather large room filled with a thousand times more junk than what was strewn about the corridor. Shadow stepped in first, with Jyren just a step(a careful one, of course, as some of the things on the ground looked very sharp) behind.

“Yes...yes...what do you want?!” the voice came from...somewhere. Jyren was only able to identify the source of it through some movement off to the left side of the room where what could have been a desk sat. Behind it and facing the other direction was a slightly small humanoid figure that had a very slight hint of a tail, purple coloured skin, and impossibly scruffy white hair hat seemed to go every direction. It was a...a...Jyren wasn’t actually sure.

[He’s a Ryn.] Shadow commented through the link. That triggered Jyren’s memories. Yes, he’d heard stories. Wanderers...merchants, musicians, scouts. Generally considered trash amongst the galaxy and, from the smell that seemed to be emitting from this Ryn, Jyren understood why that was.

The Ryn was turning around during this short interchange, and when he turned around to reveal his face(which was much like any humanoids, just with the added features of a bushy, white mustache and a long, beak-like nose) his eyes went wide and he let out a loud screech. Two hands scoured the ‘desk’ in front of him, and in a second a blaster was up in the air. Through the screech, the sound of a blaster bolt rang out.

“DOWN!” Shadow suddenly yelled, grabbing Jyren by the shoulder and literally yanking him down so that the completely unaimed shot didn’t make a lucky hit. There wasn’t a second shot, though, and Shadow hadn’t stopped yelling, “Dammit, Garrol, put the gun away! I’m not here to kill you!”

There was the sound of shifting metal and Jyren looked up to see the small Ryn, who was trembling violently, not pressed against the wall behind him and aiming the blaster that looked ready to shake out of his hands, “Y-y-you said that last time!!!”

Shadow rolled her eyes. It would just be easier to get all these people in one room instead of having to repeated herself, “I mean it this time,” the words did nothing, and so Shadow did the same motion she’d made to the guards and raised her hands to show she was unarmed, “I just need your help on getting a hold of some equipment...that’s all.”

“I-I-I think you’re li...li...lying!” Garrol stammered, his eyes now darting around the mess of a room, “And now you’re...you’re all...big! Bigger! Don’t need weapons!”

[He’s got you there.] Jyren couldn’t help it.

Shadow shot him a quick glare. [Shut up.]

Then, she turned back to the Ryn and tried again, this time talking much more slowly, “The sooner you tell me whether you have the things I need the sooner I’ll leave...and besides, you’re more likely to shoot yourself at this rate. I don’t think you were ever very well known for your aim.”

“I...I was!” Garrol mumbled, slowly peeling himself off the wall, “Mostly for my uh...um...lack thereof.”

“Exactly,” Shadow said with a nod, very slowly attempting to step a little closer to the Ryn, “Now, are you going to help?”

“What....what do you need?”

Shadow took a moment to give Jyren a quick glance before turning back to Garrol. This was it, really. If he didn’t at least have an idea of where to find what they needed, Alraxia was pretty much already gone. Forcing back the stupid emotions for the moment, Shadow just said, “I need a hundred orbital mines and I need them now.”

The Ryn’s eyes had gone wide again, “...now?!”

“Now.”

Silence. It was an insane thing to ask, truthfully.

In the silence, Garrol was very slowly putting the blaster pistol back down on the pile of...of...things on the ‘desk’. Then, after he gripped another something to attempt to stop the shaking, the Ryn very carefully said, “I could take some work...but I might be able to get you what you need.”