CHAPTER NINE
Jaden ducked as the clone of Kam Solusar swung his lightsaber at him. Activating his own, Jaden clashed blades with him. Over the clone's shoulder, he could see Khedryn moving in to shoot the clone in the back. However, the duplicate Kam seemed to sense this for he craned around to cast a gesture in Khedryn's direction, freezing the smuggler in place.
Jaden then used this brief distraction to push the clone back with his blade. His opponent disengaged from the fight and kept his lightsaber in a battle-ready stance.
"Come, brother," the clone said with a wicked grin. "Surely you must recognize me."
Jaden glowered at him. "I recognize your as that of Master Kam Solusar, but I know you cannot be him."
"Of course not. My name is Alpha. Surely you remember me."
"Sorry, but no." Jaden released a burst of Force energy, which sent the silver-haired clone flying into the wall, momentarily stunning him. Then, grabbing the still-frozen Khedryn, Jaden and Toah moved to run out the chamber.
Only for the door to slam shut in their faces.
"You're not going anywhere," a silky voice echoed through the room. "You belong with us."
The three men turned to see a group of figures approaching them, led by a bald woman. Despite her lack of hair, Jaden vaguely recognized her face as one of the ones from his visions.
Raising his lightsaber, Jaden said, "Enlighten me, then. Tell me why I belong with you."
The woman smiled. "You were the first of us to be created and the most perfect one. You were meant to be our leader, the one who would hold our community- the Community- together. But they whisked you away and we descended into madness."
"That's a bunch of Sithspit," muttered Khedryn, the effects of Alpha's Force stun having worn off. "And I've only just met these guys."
The group of clones ignored him and one of them stepped forward. Jaden nearly gasped; despite his ragged looks, he recognized the clone to be one of his master, Kyle Katarn.
"We speak the truth, brother. Please, come to us. We shall make you remember."
"And even if we can't," another woman said, this one with red hair and green eyes, "then surely Mother can."
Mother. Jaden recalled the name from another one of his visions. Come back to Mother.
To the clones, he said, "Regardless if I am a clone or not, I have no desire to join you. I am content with the life I already have."
The bald woman frowned. "But don't you want to know the past you have forgotten? After all, you did come all this way...."
"Maybe so, but I know for a fact that I am not a clone." Jaden's gaze flickered to the shelves of vials that were all around the room. "I am very sorry to disappoint you... and I'm sorry to do this."
Moved by the Force, the shelves came flying towards the clones from all directions, colliding into them and piling onto each other. Jaden and Toah then spun around and plunged their lightsabers into the closed door, carving out an opening. The process went considerably fast, since the metal had slowly rusted and weakened over the years since its abandonment.
"Get them!" Jaden heard the Kyle clone cry.
Once the opening had been made, the three men sprinted out of the room and towards the facility's exit, the clones not far behind. Out in the cold outdoors, Jaden found that the ice greatly impeded their escape; enough so that Alpha and the other clones were able to catch up to them.
"You must remember!" Alpha cried, flailing his lightsaber. "Or all that the Master and Mother have done will be undone!"
"They're starting to sound like me after I've had too much Jawa juice," Khedryn muttered. "Can I shoot at them?"
"That will only provoke them further," Toah replied. "Then again, reasoning doesn't seem to be doing any good...."
"You will be free to leave," the bald woman said calmly, "as long as Jaden Korr turns himself in."
Before Jaden could refute the clones' demands again, the roar of engines tore through the air as a Corellian freighter emerged from the storm of hail, firing its sole laser cannon. This was enough to scare away the clones while the Junker swooped in with its boarding ramp lowered. Jaden, Khedryn, and Toah jumped on and quickly closed the ramp before the ship blasted off towards the sky.
Khedryn laughed as he and the other two headed for the cockpit, where Marr was waiting in the pilot seat. "Great timing there, Marr! How did you know we were in a rut?"
The Cerean smiled as he shrugged. "I didn't, I just... kinda had the feeling you'd be in some sort of trouble. You usually are."
Khedryn chuckled as he sat in the seat next to Marr. "Doesn't matter to me. As long as those clones are far behind us."
Toah glanced at Jaden and smirked. "Guess you were right about him," he murmured.
Jaden did not reply and slumped in the chair behind Marr's. Despite having repeatedly denied the clones' claims, he could not help but wonder why they had insisted that he was one of them. What if there was truth to their statements?
Toah laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about what they told you, or tried to," he said. "Whether you're a clone or not- and I'm thinking not- you'll still be Jaden Korr and my friend to me."
Jaden smiled. "Thanks, Toah."
Khedryn coughed. "Uh, I hate to interrupt the Jedi-bonding-moment, but shall we head back to Fhost? I mean, you didn't say anything about taking you to other places...."
"Fhost is fine," Jaden said. "Though we may need fuel for our own starfighters."
"Eh, tell you what," Khedryn said. "For helping me beat Reegas, I can-"
He was cut off mid-sentence when a ship came out of hyperspace before them. A heavily modified gunship bristling with weaponry, it approached the Junker menacingly.
"I guess Reegas is a bit bitter about that game," Marr murmured.
"You 'guess?'" Khedryn snapped. "Hit the hyperdrive."
Before his first mate could do so, a second ship came out of hyperspace, far larger than the other two. Heavily armed and in jagged shapes, both Jaden and Toah recognized what it was, having seen it in historic records, and yet still could not believe their eyes.
It was a Sith dreadnaught.
No comments:
Post a Comment