Dawn of Forever, Part VI

Lopdin IV was a Bith colonial world, one of the first to fall when the Vong emerged from hiding and struck. As on many worlds, the population was rounded up into a few central cities, which were then walled off to prevent escape by the indigenous population. Alema Rar had spent some time in one of them at the start of the war, before she escaped. Her sister hadn't been as lucky.

A Vong warrior walked the perimeter of the enclosed city. He was young and inexperienced, with few scars and minor warpaint. Guard duty of a pacified world was to be expected, but while such work chafes those with dreams of glory and bloodshed, it must be done to the best of all possible abilities. As he walked, he tried to be enthusiastic in his examination of the perimeter. There were few places for an enemy to hide, the Vong having cleared the foliage for a kilometer around the city. Still, he paused. There were faint footprints, and they were far too small for any Vong warrior. He slowly looked up and around the edges of the wall, trying to spot something out of place. There were shadows of course, but not deep enough and dark enough for anyone to hide in. He followed the prints nonetheless; perhaps it was a rebel who had a hidden entrance into the city.

There was a sound that was almost like a micro-lightning strike; it was the sound of a lightsaber being quickly activated, swung, and de-activated in under a second. It was a very precise second, in fact, and for the Vong warrior, a very long one, since it lasted the rest of his life. The head toppled to the ground as the body crumpled up, and Alema stepped over the corpse and deeper into the shadows beyond. Others would find the body soon, but she didn't care. Her hatred burned within her, so that there was no room in her heart for fear of the Vong. But getting herself killed now would stop her from getting revenge, so she took some measure of caution by staying out of sight. That was what this small cloak was for. It wasn't much; it would do little outside of the shadows, but it also wouldn't be picked up by any energy detectors because of its lower power.

A kilometer along the wall was the spot, and Alema carefully cut her way inside. It was the back of a shop, empty save for the stink of mildew. She hid away her lightsaber for the moment, slipped into the main shop without being noticed, de-activated the cloak, and strolled out into the streets of the city. The smell nearly froze her in her tracks. It wasn't that it was particularly pungent, although the scent of overcrowded beings with inadequate sewerage and housing lent a rankness to the air. But Alema had been expecting that; it was the memories the smell stirred in her that had hit her harder than she'd imagined. Not just memories, but the dread and fear associated with her time in one of these cities.

"You won't find what you're looking for here," a voice said in her mind. Alema ignored it and walked on into the prison-city. There was little joy here. Trade had been cut off years ago, hence the empty storerooms in the shops. The Vong provided only enough to keep their prisoners pacified. There was hunger everywhere, and the rage that impotence brings to beings after a while. Fights broke out at random, allowing the pent up hate a target for the moment, since they dare not turn it against their masters.

As she passed the mouth of an alley something grabbed Alema's wrist and yanked her inside. She cursed herself for letting her focus be on the city rather than on the real danger that was all around her. The owner of the hand was a Twi'lek; male, red, and his eyes weren't just hungry for food. "[I thought I was the only one on this stinking planet,]" he drawled in Huttese as he shoved her against the wall. The bile rose in her throat at the sight of him; she reached out. His grip on her instantly loosened as his hands went to his throat. The choking sound descended into sickening cracks, and he crumpled at her feet. Alema left him in the alley.

Sebastian slid the vial of poison out of the tray and carefully inserted it into the hypospray. Taking a steadying breath, he placed it to the rodents furry side and it hissed at the discharge. The beast convulsed, and Sebastian looked up at Morgan, but her eyes were already closed in concentration. He carefully put the hypospray aside and took up the second -the antidote- just in case. The animal was twitching, but Morgan spoke softly to it while her hands stroked it. Seconds turned into minutes, and finally the computer beeped. Morgan opened her eyes with relief and Sebastian dropped the hypospray on the desk, beaming with pride. "That was wonderful," he said as she seemed to catch her breath. He took the animal and returned it to the cage.

"Thanks," Morgan said. "It's getting easier now that I don't have to administer the poison myself... that made the whole thing seem wrong."

"It's understandable," Sebastian said. "But the animal feels no pain in its sleep, and no permanent harm is suffered. It's the least harmful way to learn this technique... even a holodeck can't accurately recreate it, because the light's not really alive."

"I know... but it still feels wrong," Morgan said as she stowed the hyposprays and chemicals away for the time being.

"Your intention is to save the creature, not harm it," Sebastian said. "But your compassion is proper, and I'm glad to hear it." Morgan was focusing more on learning the healing ways of the Jedi, something she'd already showed some skill in. With the continued training she seemed to be tapping into even stronger abilities than ever. The ability to cure poison in oneself was known, but in others it was far more difficult. So far her practice sessions had been going very well. Sebastian washed off the counter carefully. "Are you inviting Ryan to our get together on Saturday?"

"Yes," Morgan said. "Actually, he's already said he'd come. Should be interesting."

"'Interesting,'" Sebastian said with bemusement. "He's not a lab specimen, Morgan."

"Fun, okay," Morgan said with mock exasperation. "It should be fun."

"That's better." Sebastian hugged her close. "Try to have a little more fun, sweetie. You're working too hard."

"It's only because there's so much work to do," Morgan said.

"You've got to make time for other things in your life," Sebastian said. "You can't-" He stumbled, but Morgan caught him.

"Daddy?" she said with concern. "Daddy, is something wrong?"

"Just got a little dizzy there for a moment," he said, followed by a big yawn. "Must be overdoing it a bit myself."

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, yes it's fine," Sebastian pulled himself up straight. "I'm just going to take a nap, all right?"

"Pleasant dreams," Morgan offered after him, but as he left Morgan still seemed to stare at the door for some time.

Sebastian opened his eyes and stepped out of the alcove. His regeneration cycle had been interrupted - unusual, but upon resuming operations he immediately understood the necessity. The Queen was already examining the situation; Sebastian joined her.

"Korri Rej," the Queen remarked, "is a skilled pilot. She has already evaded eight patrols including one of our own."

"She interferes with our business," Sebastian said, "and is a threat to the survival of the Empire. She cannot be allowed to escape."

"Our thoughts are one," the Queen said.

"What is your opinion, Romal the Attorney?" Sebastian asked. The Devaronian was yawning; the Borg had called him out of bed as well, but he lacked the Borg's ability to push on if the situation demands it.

"The Empire considers you a corporate ally," Romal said. "You can pursue her without worry; just be careful to avoid collateral damage."

"May we cross the border into non-Imperial space?" the Queen asked. "The Mistryl seem to do this on several occasions."

"Be cautious, but yes, you could legally get away with it. But Imperial law doesn't exist there obviously. If they think you're an invading force, they may attack."

"The independent systems are weak, with few ships of sufficient power to damage us," the Queen said. "The risk is negligible."

"I agree," Sebastian said. "We must pursue Korri Rej until capture or destruction."

"Diverting cubes 10672, 53706, 41833, 64909..."

"Yes, fine," Romal said. "If you need me, you'll know where to find me." The Devaronian slumped off to his quarters while the Borg analyzed the Mistryl trajectories and compared it to previous data regarding flight paths and raids and calculated likely avenues of escape. Rej may have intended for her path to be random, but the entire purpose of the Borg was to find order in chaos.

It took the better part of an hour for Alema to spot the rebel. She had to concede they were well-hidden amongst the people, but there were always signs. One of them was the fact that they were being properly nourished; starvation drags the body, saps it of strength, and it's reflected in every movement, every stance. You couldn't hide it all the time, and a soldier weakened by malnourishment wasn't much use to anyone.

Alema didn't walk up to him directly, but she did finally arrive next to him. He was human, leaning against the stoop of a building and watching the crowd with mild interest, at least from outward appearances. She had no doubt he was aware of everything, including her approach. When she arrived, it looked like she'd just stopped for a rest. "I know you're with the Rebel Alliance," she said under her breath.

The man gave a very convincing laugh. "'Fraid not, lady," he said. His tone changed when Alema opened her tunic slightly, revealing her lightsaber. "The Jedi Academy sent you?" he asked in a low voice.

"I'm here to help," was all she offered back.

"Avoiding the answer?" the voice in her mind asked. "You killed the rapist without thought, but you refuse to lie?"

"How many of you are there?" the rebel asked.

"Just me," Alema answered. "But together, that will be enough to liberate this place."

The man nodded, looking off in another direction with a grin on his face, as if she'd just told him a joke. "You've got to be out of your mind."

"There aren't that many guards," Alema said. "We can catch them by surprise and-"

"And what?" the rebel asked. "Wait for them to send more guards, perhaps after killing a few thousand people as an example?"

"We liberate this city," Alema said. "Then we can arm the strong and take the others. We're deep inside Vong space, they'll never expect it."

"Because it's stupid," the rebel said. "What were the Jedi thinking, sending you here? Borda could have sent enough of us here to do this without you, but he hasn't because it will only make things worse. The Vong around here are itching for a fight, being so far from the front lines. A rebellious world is an invitation to slaughter everyone on the pretext of making it an example to other captured worlds."

"So you will stand by and do nothing to stop the Vong," Alema said with contempt.

"Getting these people killed isn't going to solve anything," he answered, trying to keep his voice down. "We smuggle in food and medicine to mitigate things, but it's not the time for armed resistance."

"Food," she scoffed. "These people are starving, you can see it everywhere."

"The Vong know how much food they provide us," the rebel said. "The starvation is deliberate, to help keep people from having the strength to resist. If they don't see evidence for it, at best they'll assume they're giving too much and cut back further, and at worst they'll figure out what we're doing here. We have to be careful with how much we provide to keep from tipping them off."

"He doesn't understand," the voice told Alema. "These people think small, coddle the weak who refuse to help themselves. Tell him about the Vong you killed, and watch his reaction."

"They're already tipped off," Alema said. "I had to kill one of the Vong to get in here."

Now there was no hiding the fury in his eyes. "Do you realize what you've done?" he demanded. "They'll know something's going on here. They're going to go through this city until they find out what we've been doing and how we've been doing it. We'll have to pull out now."

"Or we can fight," Alema said.

"No!" he said. "Go back to the Jedi Academy and tell them that this is not the kind of help we need." He stormed off; Alema was half-tempted to toss him down in the dirt for being so idiotic.

"Don't," the voice told her. "He's not worth it. Save your hatred for the Vong who deserve it."

Who are you? Alema asked as she walked back towards the shop where she'd entered.

"A guide on the path you now walk," the voice answered. "Since leaving the Jedi you've grown in power, but it hasn't been enough, yes?"

Alema glowered at the thought. There's too many of them, she admitted. I'd hoped by working with some of these people I could do more damage...

"But you overestimated their willingness to fight," the voice finished for her. "It was a noble effort, but futile. These people are small, with small concerns; they refuse to look at the larger picture as you do."

Alema walked into the shop, ignoring the protests of the shopkeeper as she headed into the back room. You're one of the Sith, aren't you.

"I am the Sith," the voice answered.

I saw what the Sith did to Jacen Solo, she thought.

"My servant. He can be showy, but he was right about the Dark side. You have seen that."

It has been... very potent, Alema admitted.

"It is but a taste of what you can achieve if you join with me."

Alema considered this. Where are you?

"Come through the wormhole, and I will direct you from there."

Alema paused in her step. You can't be in the Milky Way.

"But I am."

That's impossible! The Milky Way isn't in sync with this galaxy! It's not just the distance, it's the time difference-

"Such things are of no concern to me."

But Jaina said-

"Do not listen to the words of your failed teachers," the voice said. "Learn to know the Dark side of the Force and you will achieve a power greater than any Jedi."

Alema nodded; her power had grown substantially after leaving Anakin and Laudica behind. I will come to you, my master.

"Good," the voice cooed. "I can sense that you will be a powerful enemy of the Vong, my young apprentice."

Three H-wings came up behind the Shadow's Edge as Korri Rej pushed the engines to their limits. Someone had fired off an interdictor torpedo, which meant that engaging the hyperdrive was going to be impossible until she reached the edge of the temporary gravity shadow it generated. In the meantime, the H-wings were pelting the freighter with everything they had, and it was more luck then Rej's pilot skills that were keeping them alive at this point.

Lian, in the co-pilots chair, was more concerned with the source of the interdictor torpedo, which was growing larger and larger on her display. "That Cube's gaining on us," she warned Rej.

The ship lurched as a laser blast connected with their shields. "That we can handle," Rej said through her teeth, hands gripping the controls so tight it was likely one or the other would be permanently deformed. The ship dove, although that was strictly relative, since they were in deep space, where up and down were matters of personal preference. The Shadow's Edge gave a twist as it "dropped," the H-wings turning to track it as Rej pushed onward towards the edge of the field. There was another jolt, and the ship began spinning wildly, alarms sounding.

"We got clipped by an ion blast," Lian informed her. "The lateral controls are malfunctioning. I've got the droids on it."

"We're nearing the edge," Rej said, as if an out of control ship was a minor distraction. "Ready the navicomputer to jump as quick as we can before the Borg try something else."

"Rej, without the lat-"

"Ready the damn computer!" The alarm stopped although the spinning continued; Rej's attention was completely on the instrument showing the degree of distortion, and when she could jump into hyperspace. "Now!" she shouted. Lian sent over the coordinates, Rej pulled back on the controls, and starlines appeared. Seconds later, they dropped back into real space. The two sank back in the chairs, finally allowing some relief to catch their breath. Then another alarm sounded.

"What the hell is broken now?" Rej asked. Lian didn't answer, she just pointed to her display. A Borg Tactical Cube was growing in size as it approached from the right. "Aw, come on, give us a kriffin' break!" Rej roared as she yanked on the controls and headed off, the Cube in pursuit.

Go To Part VII
Back to Dawn of Forever