CHAPTER FOUR
It's days like these that make me wish I was still a simple mercenary.
As Kyle Katarn fought through the hordes of Glorians swarming onto the ship's middle deck, his lightsaber clashing against metal swords resistant to it and slicing through armor, the Jedi Master began to wonder where they were all coming from. He highly doubt that they were coming from another ship, for it was impossible for one spacecraft to take another out of hyperspace. Which meant...
"They've hijacked the ship!" he called over the sounds of blaster fire and clashing blades to his companions. "We should head for the escape pods!"
"Does this ship even have any?" Arek cried back as he slammed the butt of his blaster rifle into a Glorian's skull, which only made them briefly disoriented. "Besides, odds are that they're all taken or the Glorians launched them all!"
"Stang," Kyle muttered under his breath as he impaled a Glorian with his lightsaber blade, which strangely only injured but did not completely kill them. "We should head for the main deck then and try to retake the ship."
Despite being surrounded by half a dozen Glorians, Natia Dorn managed to give the Jedi Master an incredulous look. "Are you mad? We'll get killed before we even reach the turbolift!"
Kyle responded with a wide, almost cocky grin. "Hey, this is me you're with. Madness is the only thing that works for me."
Turning on his heel, the Jedi battlemaster began charging towards the nearest turbolift, mowing down Glorians, blocking and evading their attacks. Natia and her master followed suit, with Arek and HK-47 providing cover fire. Once they had reached the turbolift and Kyle had pressed the control to open it, HK brought out a charged thermal detonator and hurled it at their enemies. With the Glorians briefly distracted, Kyle and the others rushed onto the lift. The moment the doors closed, the detonator's explosion rocked the ship.
As the elevator began to ascend towards the upper deck, smooth, easy-listening jazz commonly heard from Bith musicians playing quietly, Arek looked at Kyle with a grim expression. "How much you want to bet on that there will be a lot more Glorians up there once the doors open?"
Kyle smirked. "Jedi don't gamble. But I'm willing to say that you're probably right."
"No," Taana Di suddenly said, prompting the others to stare at here. The Togruta Jedi Master had her eyes closed. "There are only five," she went on. "I believe they are guarding the entrance to the command deck."
Arek stared at her incredulously. "How do you know that?"
"Master Di has a greater control over Force sense than most Jedi," Natia explained. "While most of us only sense beings when danger is forthcoming, she can do so at almost anytime, anywhere, but it takes a lot of strain on her mind."
Arek slowly nodded, as if not fully convinced. "All right then..."
The turbolift slowed down to a stop and the four of them quickly drew out their weapons before the doors opened.
"HK, do you have a sniper rifle that's effective?" Kyle asked the droid.
"Answer: Of course, Master Jedi. I wouldn't be a proper assassin droid if I didn't."
Kyle smiled without mirth. "Good. Once I open the doors and if a Glorian is in range, knock em' out."
HK's photoreceptors glowed with what looked like glee and anticipation. "Statement: It would be a great pleasure."
As the droid readied his sniper rifle, Taana opened her eyes and affixed a stern glare on Kyle. "Most Jedi, if not all, would not encourage anyone- not even a droid- to kill others."
Kyle returned the glare with a grin. "Well, I guess I'm not like most Jedi."
The Jedi battlemaster then ignited his lightsaber and slapped the lift's control panel, opening the doors. HK-47 immediately raised his sniper rifle and was about to pull the trigger when Natia suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Don's shoot!" she cried. "They're Alliance troopers! Look!"
Kyle lowered his lightsaber slightly to see five armored Alliance troopers standing at the far end of the short hallway between the turbolift and the command deck. The lead trooper wore an insignia identifying them as a sergeant.
"Master Katarn! What is going on?" the sergeant asked. "What was that explosion we heard down below?"
"Oh, so you didn't see the hundred dozen Glorians swarming onto the middle deck?" Arek said sharply. "Guess we were delusional."
"Watch your tongue, soldier," the sergeant snapped. "If we had seen whoever was invading the ship, we would've gone down to your lever instead of staying up here."
Before Arek could retort, Kyle said to the sergeant, "Why did we come out of hyperspace? Are the pilots all right?"
"That's the problem, sir," the trooper replied. "The door is locked and we weren't given the security clearance to-"
"Step aside." Kyle moved past the five troopers and up to the door leading to the main command deck. Raising his lightsaber over his head, he plunged its blue blade into the thick metal and began carving out a large circle into it. Once he was done, he pulled his weapon out, letting the carved out plate fall to the floor on the opposite side of the door.
Beckoning the others to follow, Kyle stepped through the opening and onto the main deck. There, at the pilot controls, their head laying on top of the control panel, was an unconscious Bothan male. In the seat next to him was a female human, her head tilted at an awkward angle. For a split second, Kyle wondered who or what had done this to them and if they were still alive.
He quickly put aside those concerns aside however, for he looked up and saw the surface of a planet fill the viewport as flames surrounded it.
The brieft moment of stunned silence that followed was broken by HK-47's dry voice. "Rhetorical Question: Why is it these things happen only when Jedi are involved?"
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