CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
--Jakku--
"Well, here you are."
Atha Prime climbed off of Rey's speeder and stared at the wreck of the Ravager. Most if it was buried beneath the sand, with only its port sticking out from the ground, exposed to the heat of the desert. Its rear thrusters gaped like caves and Rey could see the movement of critters deep within.
She waited for Atha to move or say something. When he did not, she cleared her throat. "Well, I did what you asked. If you don't mind, I'll be leav--"
"Wait."
Rey shook her head. "No, sorry. There's nothing else I can do for you. You asked me to bring you here and I did, so--"
"No. Listen."
Rey frowned but did as told, raising a hand to her ear. Sure enough, she soon heard the low rumble of landspeeders coming from the distance.
"Could be Bar'derro's gang. They usually travel in speeders, and the Graveyard is a major hot spot of their's. They don't take to others visiting their territory well."
Atha stared off in the direction from which the speeder sounds were coming from. He then tilted his head back towards Rey. "I have no means of defending myself."
"That's too bad," Rey said, revving the engine of her speeder. "You should have thought about that before asking to be taken here. A lot of scavengers here are complete savages."
Atha gazed at her with his tiny red lights for eyes. "And just how would leaving me to my death reflect on your character?"
Rey stopped to look at him, her foot centimeters from the accelerator. "What?"
"What would people think? That a young woman who had every means of warding off assailants left a defenseless old man to his fate out in the middle of nowhere."
Rey sighed, closing her eyes as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Right. You're right. I'm sorry. It's just that... it's getting dark and...."
"Do you have someone waiting for you?"
"No; I'm the one waiting. For my family." Rey let out a wistful sigh. "They left me here when I was very young."
"And you think they will return?"
"They will," Rey said, looking up hopefully at the sky. "I know they will."
Atha did not speak for a moment, looking deep in thought. Then he said, "Perhaps I can help bring them back."
Rey looked back at him, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Really?"
"There is a device on the Ravager that can send out signals, summoning other ships to its position. It doesn't matter where in the galaxy they are, it will reach them. Do you happen to have their hailing frequency?"
Rey shook her head, still unsure if Atha was being truthful. "No, I don't. If I did, I would have tried it ages ago."
"No matter," Atha said, waving a hand. "We'll find a way. Trust me."
Rey wasn't sure she did. Regardless, she powered her speeder down before dismounting the vehicle, coming to stand before Atha. She stared at the armored man for a moment before slowly nodding.
"All right. Let's go."
--Mandalore--
Kadar awoke at the sound of blaster fire.
The white Mandalorian carefully got to his feet, his head hurting like heck. Once he had gotten a grip on his senses, he saw that he was standing on the rooftop of a building in Keldabe. Basilisk war droids flew closely overhead and he could see his fellow revolutionaries several feet below him, waging war against Atinar's followers.
He could not identify anyone from where he stood. He could not tell if Goran, Mirta, or the others had landed safely. He did not know if Vessin was down there.
He did not know if Vessin was even alive.
Kadar inhaled sharply at this thought but quickly recomposed himself. No, Vessin was not dead. She couldn't be. He was not going to have her die on him after all his efforts in reconciling with her. He would not have it.
Vessin is alive.
Running to the edge of the roof, he prepared his rocket pack and jumped....
* * *
"Tral, he's here!"
Huddled behind cover, Tral Vizsla raised his head to his fellow Mandalorian Morgot. He then moved his gaze in the direction the Togorian was pointing and saw a white-clad figure descending onto the battlefield from atop a building.
"Well, I'll be darned," Tral murmured. "I never actually thought I would see him here...."
"Never mind that," Morgot said, slapping Tral on the shoulder. "Now's your chance to bring him to justice. You have the Darksaber, yes?"
"Yes," Tral said softly, subconsciously touching the weapon that had been passed down through his clan for generations. He had never once used it in battle. He was not sure he was ready to do so now.
"Don't worry, we shall provide cover fire," his companion said. "Now go out there and rid our clan of his filth."
Tral stayed in place for a moment before slowly rising to his feet. Drawing the Darksaber, igniting its black blade, he turned on his jetpack and blasted off into the battlefield, heading straight for his brother.
--The Resurgent--
"Captain! We've lost our shields!"
Nadine was in too much silent fury to respond. She could not believe what she was witnessing: a Mandalorian ship firing upon them. As if the unexpected attack from the Resistance wasn't already enough....
"Divert all power to the turbolasers!" she finally barked. "I want those traitors erased from my vision!"
While the bridge crew did as ordered, another officer poked her head from her pit station. "Captain, we have intruders in hanger one--"
Nadine whirled and stormed up to the edge of the pit, leaning down towards the ensign. "Bring me their heads," she snarled.
The ensign stared at her wide-eyed as she slowly nodded. "Y-yes, captain. Understood."
Satisfied with this response, Nadine returned to the viewport and huffed. She swore that if something else went wrong in the next five minutes, she was going to lose her mind....
* * *
Alarms blared loudly as stormtroopers rushed down the corridor, white armor clacking as they headed for the hangar bay.
Tired eyes watched them pass by from the shadows. As soon as the last in the group had passed, Starkiller emerged from where he hid and grabbed the soldier by the arm. A carefully placed Force grip on their throat prevented the stormtrooper from crying out as he pulled them into his secluded corner.
Keeping his hold on the stormtrooper, Starkiller leaned in and glared menacingly into their visor. "If you so much as scream, I will not hesitate in killing you. Understand?"
The stormtrooper nodded as best as their present condition would allow. Starkiller then released them only to then pin them against the wall.
"Where is Kylo Ren?" the former Sith growled.
"I don't know," the stormtrooper hissed. Starkiller pressed harder onto his shoulders, causing the trooper to grunt in pain. "Really, I don't! I swear to you!"
Starkiller scowled. "Then do you have any idea on where he could be? Surely someone on this ship knows."
"He... he could be seeing Darth Taral. I-- I know he's some kind of Sith, so he could be...."
"Good enough." Starkiller released his hold on the stormtrooper but still stood before him, eyes narrowed. "Of course, I can't exactly just let you go free and have you warn your fellow--"
The ex-Sith was cut off by the sound of blaster fire, followed shortly by a Wookiee roaring and screaming. Before Starkiller could stop him, the stormtrooper rushed out into the corridor... only to stop and swear.
"Don't shoot! Please!"
Starkiller stepped out from where he hid and found the stormtrooper holding his arms up in surrender, while being held at blasterpoint by Han Solo, his wife Leia, their children Anakin and Jaina, the Wookiee Chewbacca, and six Alliance soldiers.
"Well," Starkiller said. "Looks like things just got a lot more interesting."
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