The Ryder’s Revenge jumps out of hyperspace just outside the Coruscant system, far enough away from the battle to not be detected by the Republic or the Mandalorians. I check my chronometer to make sure I am on time for the meet up, and a few seconds later, another ship appears on the radar; a beat up looking freighter. I signal them to prepare for docking procedure.
Once the umbilical tube has been connected between the two ships, I head back to the airlock. I arrive just in time for them to hiss open, and a very familiar face looks down at me. I bow before her. “Welcome, Master.”
Grimaces, then waves Jude hastily to his feet. “None of that. I ain’t your master anymore, kid. I’m not a Sith anymore either.” I walk past him, looking around at the fancy ship. “Where did you get this thing?”
“It was Naberrie’s, but I took it after she came down with a case of brain dead. Curtesy of Zar’kun Je’and.”
“My dad’s Master, and HJ’s grandpa. Never had the pleasure of extended contact with him. Mostly just holidays and family get togethers. But if Uncle Jerus was a pain in my neck, I can bet the old man is probably worse.”
Shrugs. “Personally, I prefer Zar’kun over Jerus.”
“Whatever.” I give Jude a look that says I am done with conversation. “Where is she? The girl, I mean.”
“Down here, locked in the crew quarters.” I lead Hayden down the hall. “Just... be careful. She doesn’t look like much, but the baby is extremely powerful. It’s already killed at least once before, and if the rumors that this is Vitiate are true, than it is far worse then that.”
I hold up my hand, and my fingers flow yellow. “I can handle it. I haven’t used my Force Dispersal powers in a while, but if worse comes to worse, I just cut the kid off and pluck the sucker out.”
I give a nervous look. “Is uhh... is that the plan?”
“It’s Plan B. I don’t know what Plan A is yet, but I’ll figure it out once I see her. Now open the door and leave me to it. You just get us to the planet’s surface.”
I nod, pressing the button to unlock the crew cabin. “Good luck.” I head back to the cockpit and begin the procedure to undock from the ugly freighter. A moment later, we detach and the freighter floats away, abandoned.
Meanwhile, I walk into the small cabin and see the girl curled up on one of the bed. She is smaller than I expected, and it makes her pregnant belly look even larger in comparison.
When she looks up at me, it is with eyes full of sadness, and I can tell it is not only for herself. “How are you feeling?” I ask. “Comfortable? I hope Jude hasn’t roughed you up too much.”
I have the urge to make a snippy comeback about feeling better if I hadn’t been kidnapped, but then recognition dawns on me. “You... your Hayden Teilight, aren’t you? I’ve seen your face in holos. You tried to assassinate Chancellor Sucal a year ago.”
“Yeah... but obviously it didn’t take.” I pull up a chair. “For that, I’m sorry. Maybe if I’d gone for the head, you’d still be a normal little girl from Naboo and none of these horrible things would be happening to you.”
Little girl? I’m 23, and if m my math was correct, Hayden was only 18. Yet... I couldn’t help but seeing her point. Hayden was tall and powerful, while I was small and... well, not a fighter like her. I guess in that regard, I was a girl compared to her.
“If your sorry, you should let me go. You don’t have to do this.”
“No, I do. I really do.” I sign. “You see... you weren’t Sucal’s first choice. I was, and I refused. Because of that, he chose you for some reason, and now I feel responsible. I need to make this right... not for you though. For everyone. We both know that baby is anything but normal. Whether it actually is the Sith Emperor or just a really powerful kid is still up in the air for me, but what I do know is that Sucal wants it BAD. From what I gather, most if not all of his plans hinge on it.”
“Which is why I was being hidden. I was safe until Jude kidnapped me!”
“No, you weren’t. You were protected, but you weren’t safe. From what Jude tells me, you have been hounded every step of the way by agents of Sucal. That’s going to keep up for the rest of your life, and the rest of the kid’s life. I don’t care how good the Sith Hunters are. Not even my mom can protect you forever. Hell, she couldn’t even stop a 12 year old from taking you away!”
“Yeah, but she did protect me from Gendry and his gang. It was only Jude’s betrayal that slipped past her.”
“And that was her fault. You gotta expect everyone to eventually betray you for one reason or another because that’s just how people are. Everyone has an agenda they want to follow, and if another person stands in their way, they are going to find a way around them... or through them. Just like eventually, Sucal is going to find a way to get you, and there’s nothing at all to be done about that.” I pause a moment. “Well, I mean, there are one or two things, but you won’t like them.”
“Like what?” I lean closer. “You aren’t the first to threaten to kill me or my son out of fear. That was how Ryder died.”
“I’m not Ryder, and I’m not threatening you. Not yet, at least.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“I don’t know yet. I was hoping you could help me figure it out. Personally, I’m not in the business of hurting innocent people, but then again, you aren’t the only innocent person. There are over a trillion people on Coruscant alone. If I had to choose between all the people on all the planets in all the galaxy or one girl and her potentially extinct level powerful son.... the choice is obvious.”
“Then why haven’t you done it yet? You know the simplest way to end my child as a threat, yet you and Jude have been beating around the bush about it.”
“Because I really... REALLY don’t want to do that. That’s why I’m hoping beyond hope that Plan A goes well... whatever Plan A turns out to be.” I stand up. “We’re meeting some old friends of mine on Coruscant. We can figure out what to do from there. Until then... just sit tight.”
I pilot the ship towards the Mandalorian’s Blockade, and as expected, they immediately ping the ship demanding to know who we are. “Jude. I’m a friend of HJ Twilight. He said you guys could use a hand. Code phrase: Haat, Ijaa, Haa'it.” I smile to myself. HJ told us all that code phrase just in case any of us ran afoul of the Mandalorians. It was supposed to signify us as a friend of Mand’alor.
As expected, the Mandalorian comm Officer ran my name and the code phrase up the chain of command, and within a few minutes, I am given clearance to land, along with an escort of fighters. “Thank you so much.” I pilot the ship towards Coruscant, a fighter coming in on either side of us. I didn’t know how in HJ’s pocket the Mandalorian’s were, but I made a mental note to keep Korre’s identity secret. Chances are, they wouldn’t all be on board for what Hayden and I had planned...
END OF SCENE
