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<blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 4476193" data-attributes="member: 10079"><p><strong>Chapter 598: New Plans</strong></p><p></p><p>Marix’s fist caught the surprised Yuuzhan Vong in the jaw, driving the much smaller man into the wall. The Vong wore short, bright coloured robes and was definitely not a warrior. He was about half Marix’s current size, and though it looked like he had a weapon at his side, he was too busy recoiling from the shock of her strike to grab it. She also noticed that he had a six fingered hand, and each finger looked more like some oddly designed, somewhat disturbing tool. The more she learned about the Vong, the more she didn’t understand.</p><p> </p><p>For the moment, though, understanding was unnecessary. Before the other Vong could do a thing, she hit him again, this time in the gut, which caused him to double over so that she could bring her knee up into his face and knock him unconscious. The Vong crumpled to the floor and Marix looked out the open doorway to see another staring with wide eyes at her.</p><p> </p><p>But the shock didn’t last for long, and this second Vong quickly reached for a weapon at his hip. Marix dashed for him, considering morphing back to her Alraxian body but thinking the better of it for the moment. This Vong did not simply let her attack him, though. He sidestepped her first swing with relative ease and brought a knife down to the back of her neck, growling some guttural words that likely were as rude as they sounded to be.</p><p> </p><p>Marix twisted her body away, but didn’t avoid the blade entirely. Instead of driving into her neck, she got a good, long slice down her right arm. It cut deep, and she had to grit her teeth to hold back any sound. As soon as the blade was gone, she remorphed the wound, which closed before any of the black blood could even escape.</p><p> </p><p>That was immediately noticed by the Vong, who’s eyes widened as he stepped back a moment. Then, he said a word that Marix did understand.</p><p> </p><p>“Alraxian.”</p><p> </p><p>He knew.</p><p> </p><p>With just that little sight, he knew. Which means he’d seen an Alraxian before. No, more than that. Much more. To know the species name, to so quickly identify it. But how much did he know? Suddenly, Marix had a knew objective beyond just getting the samples she’d stolen back. She was going to have to interrogate another Vong.</p><p> </p><p>Immediately, Marix took advantage of his surprise. She stepped inside his guard and swung her arm around, driving her elbow into his cheekbone with enough force to send him spinning until he hit the wall and then slammed into the floor. At which point he fell unconscious, Marix didn’t know. But it didn’t matter.</p><p> </p><p>As quickly as she could, Marix morphed back to her Alraxian body and then knelt down in front of the unconscious Vong. She ripped a large piece of the fabric he wore off, noting that it was quite strong despite being very thin and having a very odd, almost leathery texture while looking much softer than that. Marix then fashioned a crude sash and slipped it over her shoulder then rested the small container in it and against her hip. Hopefully that would hold it so she could have a hand free.</p><p> </p><p>Then, in one swift motion, she lifted the Vong up over her shoulder and got to her feet. It was not a very elegant or inconspicuous way to travel, but she could find little other alternative. She wasn’t about to risk trying to carry this Vong even in the body of the stronger warrior. She had to be sure that she could carry him and fight if it came down to it, which meant being Alraxian and ditching any attempts at subtlety. Time to move fast and get back to Hermes as quickly as possible.</p><p> </p><p>It was truly amazing how things had a way of getting more and more difficult as they went on. One day, Marix was going to speak to someone about that and put a stop to it. Just once she wanted things to go exactly as planned without a single problem. Just once.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">* * * *</p><p> </p><p>An hour passed.</p><p> </p><p>In that hour, Tobias was not mauled by an unknown monster.</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t help but consider that a plus.</p><p> </p><p>Of course, there was a negative, too. Corinna had yet to show up. He didn’t dare reach out with the Force for her, afraid that the creature would find him. It definitely hunted Force-users, so he was keeping himself very much drawn in. He hoped it hadn’t got her, but she needed the Force to see. She couldn’t just shut it off...</p><p> </p><p>But he’d been too busy to really worry that much about her up until the point where his internal clock told him it had to have been an hour since she’d left. Until then, Tobias had sat in the same place in the warehouse, not bothering with the lights, and trying to keep himself calm and focused rather than dwelling on what had happened. Not that it was easy to do. Just the thought of Master Ral would cause his concentration to waver. The problem with that was the very techniques he was using were taught to him by Master Ral, so just a slip of a thought to that and things began to become difficult.</p><p> </p><p>Tobias knew what was truly bothering him about Master Ral’s death.</p><p> </p><p>They had set a trap to find the thing killing Jedi. It had been simple. Master Ral would be out in the open, projecting himself in the Force to get attention from anything hutning Force-users, as their target seemed to be. Tobias and Corinna would wait a few blocks away, keeping themselves as withdrawn in the Force as possible, and wait. It should have worked fine. And it did. But they hadn’t realized what they were trying to find.</p><p> </p><p>From the moment the creature found Master Ral, he had to have known how dangerous a situation they had gotten in to. That had to have been why he ordered Tobias away after barely a minute. But Tobias had neither the perception nor the understanding to analyze the creature in such a short time. So he was left confused as to why they couldn’t have at least tried, rather than giving up so quickly. And then, just to make things worse, he hadn’t even seen what had actually happened to Master Ral. Some part of Tobias told him that if he’d seen the fight, seen all that the creature was capable of, he would have understood.</p><p> </p><p>But that would have meant seeing Master Ral die.</p><p> </p><p>That would have meant being close enough for the monster to come after him next.</p><p> </p><p>Master Ral had been right.</p><p> </p><p>Tobias didn’t question that anymore. In fact, he didn’t even question himself. There was nothing he could have done. Nothing. The poison in that creature’s tail had been strong enough to nearly kill him within minutes with only a scratch, and it was using its claws and sharp teeth at the same time. And despite being so large, it was impossibly fast. It seemed, to Tobias, that the creature was built to kill Jedi.</p><p> </p><p>It was a terrifying notion, and one he continued to return to. But it did not cause him to feel doubts or fear or even anger. Instead, it solidified his determination to warn the other Jedi. They had to know. Master Ral was right. Tobias had barely had time to see anything of it, but Master Ral was right. Warning the Jedi was the most important thing Tobias had ever been tasked with. If no one knew...if more of those creatures got out into the galaxy...</p><p> </p><p>At that point in Tobias’ thoughts, he realized how long he had been waiting. It was then that worry finally began to grip him. Had Corinna been lost, too? If she had, could he do what had to be done by himself? He would have to. He was a Jedi. It was not a path for those that took the easy route. That he’d learned months before thanks to Master Ral. But he could do it. He could do it alone if he had to. Tobias hadn’t learned everything, but Master Ral had taught him enough to keep him alive. There would be much, much more to learn...but for the moment, at least, his Master had done him well.</p><p> </p><p>Getting to his feet, Tobias headed for the exit to the warehouse. The poison had finally worked itself out of his system, thanks to constant attempts to remorph the area and then even some not-completely-failed uses of the Force. His head still hurt some, but at least he could walk without falling over. He did his best not to think about what might have happened to Corinna, and instead focused on the goal ahead. He needed to get off the planet immediately. She’d suggested stowing away on a ship, but Tobias would at least have a look around the spaceport just in case there was anyone that might actually be willing to help. One never knew, and he couldn’t help but be hopeful on that end. He may have seen many examples of selfish beings, but he truly felt that it wasn’t the dominant attitude in the galaxy. Marix would have yelled at him for that, but Tobias knew that Jyren would have stood back and just smiled proudly until she hit him, too.</p><p> </p><p>Once again, he removed the lightsaber from inside of his jacket, realizing that Corinna must have put it back at some point without him actually noticing. Keeping the hilt in hand, Tobias took a series of deep, calming breaths and then hit the switch to open the door. When it opened, he was greeted with a rush of cool air and some dust, along with a smell unique to Bestine that he couldn’t put a word to...though it definitely wasn’t pleasant.</p><p> </p><p>Stepping outside to head for the spaceport, which he was fairly sure was towards the east and not back where they’d run from, Tobias suddenly found himself face to face with Corinna, nearly walking straight into her. For the first time in his life, Tobias uttered an obscenity so foul that even he wondered where he had learned it. He also felt once of his hearts skip a few beats and almost fell back onto his tail from shock. The fact that he didn’t ignite his lightsaber and impale her out of sheer terror was truly amazing.</p><p> </p><p>Though she didn’t react the same way, Corinna did take a quick step back and turned her head slightly to the side as if trying to look at the side of his face...even though her Force-sight was definitely still on him ‘normally’, “Is that how you normally say hello?”</p><p> </p><p>Shaking his head, Tobias tried to catch his breath again, “Gods, Corinna...is it possible to die for a fraction of a second and then return to life more confused than before?”</p><p></p><p>Her mouth twisted into an odd line that matched the confusion in her voice, “Not that I know of...you going to be okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah...” he nodded a few times then waved a hand at her to keep her from trying to help him at all, even though she was keeping a meter or so away, “Just don’t ever do that again. I think I saw my life flash before my eyes.”</p><p> </p><p>“Can you save the melodrama and demands for pity for later? I’ve got us a ship and I uh...got that other thing. Sorry for being late,” she motioned idly to the mostly-empty street around them, “Was just playing it safe. That thing is still out there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good idea...” finally able to breathe normally again, Tobias put his lightsaber away so that he didn’t accidently kill anyone, “Can we leave now?”</p><p> </p><p>Corinna nodded and then motioned for him to follow, “I don’t want to hear any complaints about the ship. I’m not exactly rich...especially not anymore.”</p><p> </p><p>“Not a word,” Tobias fell into step next to her and tried, but failed, to come up with some witty remark. Instead, he turned to a more serious concern, “Any sign of that thing?”</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, then lowered her voice just a bit as they passed by a group of Jawas that seemed to be intensely negotiating with a Trandoshan over an old landspeeder, “Nothing...which bothers me, actually. So stay sharp and uh...” Corinna grinned, “...keep those ears open. They can’t be that size just for show, Jedi boy.”</p><p> </p><p>Tobias had almost forgotten that he was back to being an Alraxian, and went a very slight shade of red at her remark, “My ears are not big. Besides, they’re useful. Good and helpful, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, well then,” Corinna’s smile grew and she patted him on the shoulder before pointing down behind him, “What use do that tail of yours provide other than making me curious as to what you’d do if I pulled it?”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ankh-Morpork Guard, post: 4476193, member: 10079"] [b]Chapter 598: New Plans[/b] Marix’s fist caught the surprised Yuuzhan Vong in the jaw, driving the much smaller man into the wall. The Vong wore short, bright coloured robes and was definitely not a warrior. He was about half Marix’s current size, and though it looked like he had a weapon at his side, he was too busy recoiling from the shock of her strike to grab it. She also noticed that he had a six fingered hand, and each finger looked more like some oddly designed, somewhat disturbing tool. The more she learned about the Vong, the more she didn’t understand. For the moment, though, understanding was unnecessary. Before the other Vong could do a thing, she hit him again, this time in the gut, which caused him to double over so that she could bring her knee up into his face and knock him unconscious. The Vong crumpled to the floor and Marix looked out the open doorway to see another staring with wide eyes at her. But the shock didn’t last for long, and this second Vong quickly reached for a weapon at his hip. Marix dashed for him, considering morphing back to her Alraxian body but thinking the better of it for the moment. This Vong did not simply let her attack him, though. He sidestepped her first swing with relative ease and brought a knife down to the back of her neck, growling some guttural words that likely were as rude as they sounded to be. Marix twisted her body away, but didn’t avoid the blade entirely. Instead of driving into her neck, she got a good, long slice down her right arm. It cut deep, and she had to grit her teeth to hold back any sound. As soon as the blade was gone, she remorphed the wound, which closed before any of the black blood could even escape. That was immediately noticed by the Vong, who’s eyes widened as he stepped back a moment. Then, he said a word that Marix did understand. “Alraxian.” He knew. With just that little sight, he knew. Which means he’d seen an Alraxian before. No, more than that. Much more. To know the species name, to so quickly identify it. But how much did he know? Suddenly, Marix had a knew objective beyond just getting the samples she’d stolen back. She was going to have to interrogate another Vong. Immediately, Marix took advantage of his surprise. She stepped inside his guard and swung her arm around, driving her elbow into his cheekbone with enough force to send him spinning until he hit the wall and then slammed into the floor. At which point he fell unconscious, Marix didn’t know. But it didn’t matter. As quickly as she could, Marix morphed back to her Alraxian body and then knelt down in front of the unconscious Vong. She ripped a large piece of the fabric he wore off, noting that it was quite strong despite being very thin and having a very odd, almost leathery texture while looking much softer than that. Marix then fashioned a crude sash and slipped it over her shoulder then rested the small container in it and against her hip. Hopefully that would hold it so she could have a hand free. Then, in one swift motion, she lifted the Vong up over her shoulder and got to her feet. It was not a very elegant or inconspicuous way to travel, but she could find little other alternative. She wasn’t about to risk trying to carry this Vong even in the body of the stronger warrior. She had to be sure that she could carry him and fight if it came down to it, which meant being Alraxian and ditching any attempts at subtlety. Time to move fast and get back to Hermes as quickly as possible. It was truly amazing how things had a way of getting more and more difficult as they went on. One day, Marix was going to speak to someone about that and put a stop to it. Just once she wanted things to go exactly as planned without a single problem. Just once. [center]* * * *[/center] An hour passed. In that hour, Tobias was not mauled by an unknown monster. He couldn’t help but consider that a plus. Of course, there was a negative, too. Corinna had yet to show up. He didn’t dare reach out with the Force for her, afraid that the creature would find him. It definitely hunted Force-users, so he was keeping himself very much drawn in. He hoped it hadn’t got her, but she needed the Force to see. She couldn’t just shut it off... But he’d been too busy to really worry that much about her up until the point where his internal clock told him it had to have been an hour since she’d left. Until then, Tobias had sat in the same place in the warehouse, not bothering with the lights, and trying to keep himself calm and focused rather than dwelling on what had happened. Not that it was easy to do. Just the thought of Master Ral would cause his concentration to waver. The problem with that was the very techniques he was using were taught to him by Master Ral, so just a slip of a thought to that and things began to become difficult. Tobias knew what was truly bothering him about Master Ral’s death. They had set a trap to find the thing killing Jedi. It had been simple. Master Ral would be out in the open, projecting himself in the Force to get attention from anything hutning Force-users, as their target seemed to be. Tobias and Corinna would wait a few blocks away, keeping themselves as withdrawn in the Force as possible, and wait. It should have worked fine. And it did. But they hadn’t realized what they were trying to find. From the moment the creature found Master Ral, he had to have known how dangerous a situation they had gotten in to. That had to have been why he ordered Tobias away after barely a minute. But Tobias had neither the perception nor the understanding to analyze the creature in such a short time. So he was left confused as to why they couldn’t have at least tried, rather than giving up so quickly. And then, just to make things worse, he hadn’t even seen what had actually happened to Master Ral. Some part of Tobias told him that if he’d seen the fight, seen all that the creature was capable of, he would have understood. But that would have meant seeing Master Ral die. That would have meant being close enough for the monster to come after him next. Master Ral had been right. Tobias didn’t question that anymore. In fact, he didn’t even question himself. There was nothing he could have done. Nothing. The poison in that creature’s tail had been strong enough to nearly kill him within minutes with only a scratch, and it was using its claws and sharp teeth at the same time. And despite being so large, it was impossibly fast. It seemed, to Tobias, that the creature was built to kill Jedi. It was a terrifying notion, and one he continued to return to. But it did not cause him to feel doubts or fear or even anger. Instead, it solidified his determination to warn the other Jedi. They had to know. Master Ral was right. Tobias had barely had time to see anything of it, but Master Ral was right. Warning the Jedi was the most important thing Tobias had ever been tasked with. If no one knew...if more of those creatures got out into the galaxy... At that point in Tobias’ thoughts, he realized how long he had been waiting. It was then that worry finally began to grip him. Had Corinna been lost, too? If she had, could he do what had to be done by himself? He would have to. He was a Jedi. It was not a path for those that took the easy route. That he’d learned months before thanks to Master Ral. But he could do it. He could do it alone if he had to. Tobias hadn’t learned everything, but Master Ral had taught him enough to keep him alive. There would be much, much more to learn...but for the moment, at least, his Master had done him well. Getting to his feet, Tobias headed for the exit to the warehouse. The poison had finally worked itself out of his system, thanks to constant attempts to remorph the area and then even some not-completely-failed uses of the Force. His head still hurt some, but at least he could walk without falling over. He did his best not to think about what might have happened to Corinna, and instead focused on the goal ahead. He needed to get off the planet immediately. She’d suggested stowing away on a ship, but Tobias would at least have a look around the spaceport just in case there was anyone that might actually be willing to help. One never knew, and he couldn’t help but be hopeful on that end. He may have seen many examples of selfish beings, but he truly felt that it wasn’t the dominant attitude in the galaxy. Marix would have yelled at him for that, but Tobias knew that Jyren would have stood back and just smiled proudly until she hit him, too. Once again, he removed the lightsaber from inside of his jacket, realizing that Corinna must have put it back at some point without him actually noticing. Keeping the hilt in hand, Tobias took a series of deep, calming breaths and then hit the switch to open the door. When it opened, he was greeted with a rush of cool air and some dust, along with a smell unique to Bestine that he couldn’t put a word to...though it definitely wasn’t pleasant. Stepping outside to head for the spaceport, which he was fairly sure was towards the east and not back where they’d run from, Tobias suddenly found himself face to face with Corinna, nearly walking straight into her. For the first time in his life, Tobias uttered an obscenity so foul that even he wondered where he had learned it. He also felt once of his hearts skip a few beats and almost fell back onto his tail from shock. The fact that he didn’t ignite his lightsaber and impale her out of sheer terror was truly amazing. Though she didn’t react the same way, Corinna did take a quick step back and turned her head slightly to the side as if trying to look at the side of his face...even though her Force-sight was definitely still on him ‘normally’, “Is that how you normally say hello?” Shaking his head, Tobias tried to catch his breath again, “Gods, Corinna...is it possible to die for a fraction of a second and then return to life more confused than before?” Her mouth twisted into an odd line that matched the confusion in her voice, “Not that I know of...you going to be okay?” “Yeah...” he nodded a few times then waved a hand at her to keep her from trying to help him at all, even though she was keeping a meter or so away, “Just don’t ever do that again. I think I saw my life flash before my eyes.” “Can you save the melodrama and demands for pity for later? I’ve got us a ship and I uh...got that other thing. Sorry for being late,” she motioned idly to the mostly-empty street around them, “Was just playing it safe. That thing is still out there.” “Good idea...” finally able to breathe normally again, Tobias put his lightsaber away so that he didn’t accidently kill anyone, “Can we leave now?” Corinna nodded and then motioned for him to follow, “I don’t want to hear any complaints about the ship. I’m not exactly rich...especially not anymore.” “Not a word,” Tobias fell into step next to her and tried, but failed, to come up with some witty remark. Instead, he turned to a more serious concern, “Any sign of that thing?” She shook her head, then lowered her voice just a bit as they passed by a group of Jawas that seemed to be intensely negotiating with a Trandoshan over an old landspeeder, “Nothing...which bothers me, actually. So stay sharp and uh...” Corinna grinned, “...keep those ears open. They can’t be that size just for show, Jedi boy.” Tobias had almost forgotten that he was back to being an Alraxian, and went a very slight shade of red at her remark, “My ears are not big. Besides, they’re useful. Good and helpful, too.” “Ah, well then,” Corinna’s smile grew and she patted him on the shoulder before pointing down behind him, “What use do that tail of yours provide other than making me curious as to what you’d do if I pulled it?” [/QUOTE]
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