บท 251: Reunion Revamped
I don't own Star Wars.
I stared at the hit contract before tossing it aside in my room. It wasn't long since my Half-aunt, Lacroix Lacine had left… regardless that did not stop Lidia from telling me to meditate again. Not that I saw a difference or a change… maybe I should've gotten a second opinion. But I'll try, following orders is what I was trained for after all…
So as I sat in the 'standard' Jedi meditation position and cleared my head… my mind wandered back to the contract. Who sent it? Why? I had my obvious suspicions… Tuuba came to mind at first, perhaps she was angry enough to send another after me, even though we had hoped she'd cut her losses after we killed Sawtooth, and his sister didn't have such financial backing…
…Deep down I knew who it was… and I strove not to remind myself of him because it only made me angry. And Lidia was trying to get me less angry. But the contract had imperial fingerprints all over it, it was Cromwell, no mistake… but was it him? Daemon wouldn't be so reckless and I had no animosity for Batson or Emilia and apart from being a Kane I imagine it wasn't personal for them either… Alastor was far more practical in his killings, he wanted you to KNOW he was doing it.
"…It's CRITCHER." I snarled eagerly… "Let them come." I added as Lidia coughed.
"If you have time to get angry padawan you're not meditating." She said, sitting in a chair across from me. She sighed, "…Already declaring war on the empire?"
"…I've always been at war with the Cromwells." I said, "Family history and everything." She folded her legs on the chair, joining me in meditation. "I thought you and Oriana were strategizing?" I asked as she continued to meditate.
"A good portion of Nar Shaddaa is inevitably going to try their luck with a deadly 'pit fighter' and his crew. We've called in favors, we talked to some important people. But Rykkr, Ozwin, and Torga will or could do only so much." She said, "…And there's no point in leaving Nar Shaddaa as our ship is not very fast and certainly there will be plenty of faster vessels chasing us." I opened my eyes to stare at her, and almost simultaneously she did the same. "Oriana and Lala are of the impression that if you do enough damage to the rack and file bounty hunting 'scum'. They'll leave you alone the next time whoever is hunting you asks."
"…So fight until they stop coming." I replied as she sighed.
"Well, yes but we don't want that." she replied, "There's no guarantee that you or we will survive a heavy assault." She noted as I got up, and knelt by my bed, retrieving my armor case.
"Can't run. Can't hide. Can only fight… Good."
"You can not be serious." She sighed, looking away as I began to armor up. "We have no help, an old ship, and a handful of people against probably half of Nar Shaddaa." She paused, "Maybe MOST of Nar Shaddaa. What exactly do you expect to do? Because it's probably die from sheer numbers."
"What do you suggest we do?" I asked, legitimately curious.
She heisted, then sighed. "…If I can get you to the Jedi temple back on Coruscant-" she stopped as I stared at her. "…Yes it sounded silly in my head too."
"Kal." Oriana declared shouting up from the hold. She, Nerri, and Lala were all armed and ready. "Rykkr sent a Message. A lot of low rent hunters are making their moves…" I growled quietly and put on my mask.
"How many?"
"A lot." Replied Oriana, "At least 40 or 50. According to Rykkr it's weird that so many have grouped up." Lidia frowned at that and Lala leaned on a large rifle, pouting cutely.
"Oooh this isn't a hunt it's a straight-up assault. Whoever hired them doesn't care who gets it as long as you're cold by the end of it. That's a good sign!" she said, though still looking a little concerned.
"How is that a good sign?" asked Lidia sourly as surprisingly Nerri supplied it.
"It means that they are bait." Nerri said coldly, "The cannon fodder. Once we've killed most of them they'll run off and the real kill team will come in."
"Standard Imperial Hit job really." Mumbled Oriana. "Soften the target and shoot them in the back. It's in the Cipher code book." She added as a joke.
"Okay. I'm a Jedi but I'm not that confident." Lidia noted, "What exactly makes you think that we can find off 40 or 50 desperate hunters and then an imperial kill team?"
"We have a jedi, how many kill teams have you taken out?" Lala asked playfully.
"Again. I AM that Jedi." She said concernedly. "And I've never 'taken out' an imperial kill team. I'm adventurous not a warrior."
"You can handle yourself." I said as I approached the ramp to the ship, "…Rattletrap?" I spoke, but oddly Rattletrap didn't pop up out of anywhere. That's new. "Rattletrap?"
"YES! Yeah! Sorry!" he declared, almost chipper. "Yeah, what?" he asked rather good naturedly as if he didn't realize we were about to be under heavy assault.
"…Are you going to man the guns?" I asked as he blinked.
"Oh! Yeah the attack. No worries I got it!" he said happily, before opening up a nearby vent and dropping in.
"I'll be outside." I said, "…If they trap me in here that's worse for everyone."
"Be careful Kal." Oriana ordered as I sniffed, and nodded.
There were crates in the far corner of our dock, an obvious hiding spot for a wise man but not a greedy hunter. Hid myself behind them, and sat down. Closing my eyes… and Meditating. Can't run. Can't hide. Can only fight… Good.
Lidia told me that meditation was an internal process. I didn't know what that meant, to relax the mind and not just the body. But not go to sleep, that was something she was very specific on… I could hear the hum of Nar Shaddaa, the smell of its polluted air, someone was cooking nearby, perhaps a ship in the next dock over.
If I gave Meditation anything… it added my already heightened senses a little further. But there was too much anger in me… luckily I'd have the opportunity to express it. I heard them and smelled them before I saw them… counting the different sets of footprints and clunking… there were hunter droids with them, and some of them needed baths…
For 40 and 50 so-called hunters there were a little more than thirty… the rest must be setting up some ambush. I opened my eyes, and glanced around the crates… sawing them stretching out in a thin line and cutting off our escape into Nar Shaddaa. We'd either take off, or fight through them. Grans, Rodians, Weequay, Duros, a couple of twi'leks, humans, and even a slightly less monstrous trandoshan, quite the hodgepodge.
"Come on out KANE." Hissed one of the weequay as I quietly moved out of my meditative stance. "Don't make us come in for you." The priming of their blasters, bowcasters and carbines hissed to life as they aimed at the ship.
There was silence, but a few circular disks slid down to the base of the ramp. A few of the trigger-happy hunters blasted the ship, the bolts singing the ramp as a rodian shouted. "Hold fire! Hold your fire!"
"You're not making a compelling argument to come out." Declared Lidia, which was surprising I thought it would be Oriana. "Kallus Kane is not here." She declared… "As a Jedi of the republic I will ask you to stand down and disperse." The crowd laughed, but she sighed. "I thought that wouldn't work. But at least I tried." Her lightsaber hissed to life as she held it in a prepared Jedi stance. "If you will not disperse. I'm afraid I will make you."
"I was hoping to spare the women." Declared the Weequay who had ordered me to come out as I moved silently from the crates towards the closest hunter, his eyes focused on Lidia's lightsaber rather then me. "Try not to damage them too much."
The circular disks that had slid down the ramp suddenly erupted in a clear blue tinged bubble that surrounded the ramp and it's entrance as blasters started firing, Lidia stared in amused surprise as the 'bubble' deflected or absorbed the blaster bolts and the battle truly started as the ship's shields were activated and hit's guns began blasting at the hunters, taking out a couple as the rest took covered and kept firing as Nerri, Oriana and Lala descended the ramp, firing wildly into the crowd. They pierced the bubble with their blasters, firing out of it as it protected them from return fire…
My turn.
"Wha-GUCK!" my claws ripped right through the closest hunter, a weequay. He gaped down at the claws barely penetrating his armor as the surrounding hunters realized I was here.
"ROOOOAAARGH!!" with a howling roar, I ripped into their ranks, their screams and shrieks of horror as I came among them like a rabid animal, several limbs and opening gaping wounds on their bodies and used what was left as a shield to get closer.
"Reinforcements!" Roared the weequay, "Move! MOVE!" and blow those shields!"
A brave hunter, a twi'lek activated a thermal detonator and hurled it towards the shield bubble, strong against blasters as that was a close enough detonator would be trouble… would be. If Lidia didn't look at it angrily and force push it back towards the twi'lek with a rather terrified. "Aaaargh!!"
BOOM!
"Deploying explosive." Declared a hunter droid, its wrist bending forward revealing a rocket.
"Oh." The girls mumbled, running up the ramp as the rocket blasted the shield, shattering it in energy particles.
"MOVE! GO" the weequay shouted… as the hunters started screaming. "What the-"
Lost in my own angry, and ripping open a Rodian's chest with my claws I didn't realize that hunters were running PAST me… some ignoring me… until one took a blaster bolt in the back and fell dead. Someone was attacking the hunters from behind, their reinforcements had arrived and were quickly routed as rapid and accurate shots cut them down in droves…
"What?!" the weequay managed in horror only to take several bolts in the chest.
"Hello everybody!" declared a familiar voice as I stopped slamming a weequay's face into the wall.
A blood red coat, a wide brim hat, and a charming smile… my uncle slowly walked into view, absently shooting a crawling fallen hunter as he tried reaching for a blaster. PEW! My uncle, Aiden Firemane, didn't even look at him.
Duel wielding his blaster pistols, the impressive force of hunters was… pitiful now. Many of them lost the will to fight, dropping their weapons and surrendering. My Uncle Aiden's green eyes flicked across the remaining hunters, and he then blasted the droid that had shot a rocket at my ship, as it tried to sneak attack him. "I wouldn't try that." he said with a cold smile, "…Now you idiots weren't so STUPID as to pick a fight with my family were you?" he said warningly. "…I don't think my reputation has diminished quite that much has it?" he asked, turning to a human hunter, gazing fearfully up at him. "Do you know who I am?" he asked, calmly.
"…Aiden. Aiden Firemane…"
"Mmn!" Aiden smiled dangerously. "Good! Just checking." He pulled his blasters up and fired wildly at him. The hunter squealed like a terrified girl as my uncle deliberately missed every shot. "Alright! Let's get this out of the FUCKING way." He said smile, "Kallus Kane or whatever he is going by, and his crew, are under MY protection, and by proxy anyone who owes me a favor. Imperial, Republic, or more than likely Torga the Hutt. I will shoot dead any man, woman, or otherwise-" he leveled his blasters on the remaining hunters his green eyes cold, "-DEAD if they are not out of my sight by the time I count to 10. 10. 9. 8…"
By '5' they were gone.
"4. 3. 2…" Aiden then turned his pistol on the corpse of a dead twi'lek. "1." And shot the body, it squirmed and jumped with a dying rasp, before going limp, his blaster dropping from his grip. Apparently, he wasn't quite dead. Aiden sighed… and holstered his blasters at his waist, before turning towards me.. Staring at me… "Kal…" he then smiled, "…Come here!" Holding his arms out, in a hug "Give your uncle a hug! How long has it been!? I haven't seen you since Kavilla sent you to the academy!"
…I couldn't help but smile at my uncle, approaching him and embracing him as he slammed my back hard with hands. "Oh you big bear of a boy! Ha-ha-ha!" he laughed joyously, "I leave you alone for ten years and you got all of Nar Shaddaa gunning for you!"
"…In my defense…" I growled quietly, hugging my uncle as I loomed over him. "It's a Cromwell's fault."
Aiden sighed in my ear, "Yeah I figured."
"Uncle what are you doing here?" I asked him in mild surprise as he rolled his green eyes and removed something from his coat pocket, another contract puck. Before tapping it against my chest irately. "Where did you get that?"
"I got like 8 of them!" he grumbled indignantly, "One from your mother, 3 from 3 different aunts. One from my buddy Urai, and one from Torga. One from your cousin-in-law Killa who shot some hunters causing trouble…" he sighed, "…Son of a bitch Kal, I was celebrating my retirement as sheriff with your aunt Milky and Yura. You couldn't piss off a Cromwell until after?"
"To be fair Uncle, you've retired at least 5 times."
"Pfft!" Aiden replied, approaching the ship and the girls with me. "…Semi-retired then." He grumbled. "Doesn't mean I can't shoot straight." After saying it he immediately drew his left blaster pistol and fired high in the air, an imperial scout droid suddenly crashed onto the floor as he holstered his blaster again. "Right let's go say high before ruining someone else day hmmn?" he replied charmingly as a ball of brown robes talked his leg. Squeezing him joyously.
"AIDEN!" Rattletrap squealed, "I'm so happy to see you!" Aiden laughed, Rattletrap has always been something of a fan of my uncle. All the stories his father 'Short-round' told him.
"Aiden." Breathed Oriana in surprise as Aiden grinned at her holding out his arms.
"Come on where's my hug! The jawa can hug me but not my niece? Get over here…" he said playfully as Lala suddenly tackled him and squeezed playfully. He blinked. "…This is new." He pointed at her, glancing at me and Oriana, "Whoooo is this?"
"Lacroix Lacine's daughter."
Aiden stared back at me wide-eyed, "…Ah… well alright, then don't make this weird." He then hugged her, patting her back. "Nice to meet you-put my wallet back in my pocket." He ordered as Lala smiled at him, pulling away.
"I figured you owe me like 20 birthday presents." She added, as he stared incredulously at her, before smirking and giving her a 20 credit chip.
"Down payment." He replied cheerfully "Ori my hug." He demanded as Oriana complied and hugged the husband of her Aunt. "That a girl." He declared cheerfully. "Alright! Who's up for shooting some more people? I got to get back to Milky before the bed sheets get too cold."
"Seriously." Lidia asked surprised, gazing at the odd but handsome man before here. "…Who is this?"
"Aiden Firemane." I introduced. "Aka Aiden Kane, aka Former Sheriff of Luna IV aka, my Uncle Aiden." I replied as Lidia realized who this was, Aiden Firemane did have something of a reputation if not a picture.
"That's comforting." She replied honestly as Aiden winked at her.
"Hello Master Jedi." He elbowed me. "Nice Kal." He added as Lidia looked insulted for a brief moment and sighed.
"…Thank the force Kal is not like him." she mumbled, if the rumors of Aiden's prowess with a blaster wasn't well known his abilities in the bedroom were… compelling to say the least.
"Aiden." Nerri said as Aiden eyed her up and down for a minute, "Do you have a plan?"
"What? Oh. Did I not mention?" he pulled out another contract, "Yeah I need to take Kal's corpse here." He gestured to the building that appeared in a holomap. "I borrowed it off a particularly drunk hunter who… couldn't hold onto it." he winked at Lidia who cleared her throat at the silver fox. "I figured we go to them before they come to us right?" he replied casually as I growled. "Right." He pocketed the device again. "So you girls get back in the ship." He pointed, "Fly to dock 6GH-F and meat us at the building…" he then eyed my mask device. "…Can I borrow that?" he pointed to my ear.
...….
Uncle Aiden, his face that of a Shistavaanan, pushed the trolly ahead of him as I lied on top of it… my armor still smoking over my heart as I lied awkwardly on it. I had removed my armor, and my uncle shot it, before I put it back on… now that I was 'dead' we didn't get much trouble apart from a couple of rodian's trying to claim the bounty… that went about as well as you could expect after my uncle had warned them…
I could still smell the burning flesh and he only shot them a few minutes ago… I decided to get some meditation in. Or as much as I could in this awkward position. On most planets transporting a corpse so openly might get a few questions but not on Nar Shaddaa… My uncle's hands drummed on the handles of the trolley as I managed to growl quietly. "Mind not doing that?"
"Dead bodies don't talk." He replied subtly, but he stopped. "MMn the smell of Nar Shaddaa… oh the have a Jewel of Tattooine here now. Sweet… wait wouldn't that make it a Jewel of Nar Shaddaa?" he mumbled to himself as I just sighed… I suppose meditating through my Uncle's musing might be something close to training.
I suppose it helped, because before I knew it we had arrived at a docking bay… troopers in black armor glared at us through their helmet. "…A hunter is here. Orders?" said one, tapping his helmet. "…Yes sir." He said, waving us in as the door opened slowly, "Take him in."
Not even bothering to check the corpse… how lax. Aiden pushed us into the docking bay, there was a lone transport vessel, but it was surrounded by black troopers… then I heard it. The voice that I needed to rip the vocal cords out of. "Thank you for your service."
Critcher. Definitely Critcher. I will kill him.
"It was my pleasure…" came an accented voice I didn't recognize, and since my eyes were closed I couldn't exactly see who it belonged to…
"Deal with them both." Declared Critcher angrily as the blasters primed. "Get. UP. Kal." Critcher ordered angrily, I didn't move. "Fire upon Aiden Kane in three. Two."
I opened my eyes, and sat up. Snarling at the holo projection of Critcher Cromwell as Aiden sighed. "What gave me away?" Aiden asked, turning off the mask as I got off the trolly, to stand beside him.
"The fact that I'm not a FOOL!" declared Critcher as I growled out an-
"Arguable."
It was then I saw the owner of the force, a tall, fit man in a suit and wearing a colorful mask. I've seen him before but I couldn't place his masked face. Critcher sneered at me. I smirked, seeing his face for the first time in months… and proud of my 'work'. "Did you ever thank Patch for saving your life?" I snarled, "…You won't be so lucky next time."
"…Rey Asesino give my regards to Tuuba." He said coolly as the masked man nodded his head. "The rest of you prepare to fire." He smiled at me with his mangled face. "Ready…" but Aiden raised a hand.
"Excuse me… question." He asked as Critcher was taken aback, glaring at my Uncle. "Well We're going to die anyway…" he said, resting his hand on the trolly. "But where are you right now?"
"I wouldn't answer that even if you weren't about to die." He replied, "Ready-"
"Well it's just if I was about to kill my mortal enemy I'd want to do it with my bare hands." He suddenly clenched his fingers, wiggling them before his face as if strangling somebody before dropping them again… onto his blaster hilts, but nobody seemed to be paying attention to his hands… a common mistake with those dealing with my uncle… in bed or in the field. "What kind of feeble pussy orders a hit, sets a trap, and doesn't even bother to contribute to the killing?"
"He is something of a coward." I replied, "This is more his style."
"Ah… I've never dealt with a Cromwell before so I always imagined them to be more… imposing." He shrugged casually. "Are they all this boring? I fought a damn sith lord now THAT was-" he slapped one hand on the handle of the trolley and the other on the edge facing us before flipping it up into cover as the blasters began flying.
Aiden had enough time to draw and fire, killing two troopers with one blaster before drawing the other. Killing two more… Blaster fire filled the docking bay as Troopers either moved for cover or began shooting at us as I quickly moved across the ground to the closest trooper.
He screamed as my claws raked across his throat, using the body as a shield I lifted his blaster arm and fired into more troopers as Critcher screamed impotently. "Kill them! KILL THEM BOTH!!" I fired at his holo-system, destroying it as 'Rey Asesino' sighed, adjusted his suit, and entered the transport. I ignored him for now, he would either run or hide in an unarmed ship. So I continued killing troopers. The heat of blaster fire narrowly missing me as I moved out of the way of them… calm… collected…
Huh… maybe meditation is helping… I hurled a used shield at living troopers before grabbing a blaster rifle and closing the distance with more, making them keep their heads down as more and more blaster fire echoed around us… until there was less, and less of it…
My uncle blasted troopers left, and right, never missing and always hitting a target, he took a bolt through the coat, but continued on as the hole was still hissing near his leg. The door we came through opened further, as several more troopers arrived… but they were quickly dealt with as OUR reinforcements did the same. Oriana and Lala blasting them down from behind as Nerri's spear reaped through them, what she didn't stab she blasted. As I roared…
Battle was on, my blood was boiling, the troopers screaming and howling in agony as I dashed towards the transport… "NNNGH!!"
....I stopped, and fell forward… I couldn't move my leg… I cringed, glancing down… I've been shot.
There was no more blaster fire. Only the screams of a horrified Oriana as I growled, pushing myself upright… The transport ship was moving… but the side door was still open as a woman stood kneeling down in the opening, aiming a Sniper rifle at me…
…It couldn't be.
"…KATE?" I breathed as the woman, her once beautiful face marred with cybernetics and hollow eyes, gazed through the scope at me. Her face unfeeling and almost unrecognizable, her limbs had been replaced with advanced combat cybernetics and most of her torso as well, they had to have been she lost them or were mangled beyond regular repair when CRITCHER bombarded her from orbit… she leveled the rifle at me as I rose up to my feet ignoring my pained leg, watching in awe as the transport turned to escape… and she fired again…
…KATE doesn't miss… I felt the hole in my armor… and I fell. Remembering nothing more.
End
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