CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Should we be worried about all those droids down there?” Kuruk asked.
“No,” Kylo Ren said, standing once more behind the pilot’s seat. “Just find this Queen Kestora so we can get this out of the way.”
“I think I’ve found her,” said Ushar, sitting at the ship’s scanners. “She’s just outside the star yacht, with some other woman. She seems to match the visual that the Supreme Leader provided us.”
“Land us as close to her as possible,” Kylo ordered. “I want this to be over with as soon as possible.”
Without a word, the Knights of Ren complied with his commands and Kuruk piloted the ship down towards the city of Worlport. It found a spot close enough to Queen Kestora and her companions to catch their attention as the black vessel touched down. As soon as they had touched down, Kylo Ren turned to head for the landing ramp only for Vicrul to step in his way.
“Wait, master,” the other Knight of Ren said. “I believe he might be down there.”
“Who?” Kylo asked.
“Captain Solo.”
The name gave Kylo Ren pause, though it lasted only for a moment. “So be it,” he muttered, shouldering his way past Vicrul. “If he stands in the way, then he shall pay the price.”
Vicrul watched him head for the ship’s exit before motioning for the other Knights to follow him. Cardo, Ushar, and Trudgen took the lead with Vicrul, while Karis, Kuruk, and Ap'lek made up the rear of the group. They followed their master down the Night Buzzard’s ramp, stepping out into Ord Mantell’s blazing sun. Already waiting for them there, weapons drawn, were Queen Kestora, her dark-haired companion, a terrified older man with a gray beard… and Captain Solo himself.
Upon seeing Kylo Ren, Han Solo faltered in his stance, his blaster pistol trembling in his hand.
“You,” he breathed.
“Han Solo,” Kylo Ren icily replied. “It’s been some time.”
Karis frowned in confusion as she glanced at Kuruk. “Does Master Ren have a history with—”
“Quiet,” Kuruk hissed sharply.
Ignoring the whispered conversation behind him, Kylo Ren continued to speak. “As much as I would love to indulge in myself, I am not here to bring you or anyone else harm.” He held up the datacron that the Mayor of Kor Vella had given him. “I am simply here to deliver this to Queen Kestora.”
“Ah,” the pirate queen herself spoke, carefully stepping forward. “I had almost forgotten about that.”
“Wait.” Han roughly grabbed her arm. “You arranged for them to be here?”
“I arranged for a family heirloom to be delivered to me,” Kestora said, pulling her arm out of Han’s grasp. “I wasn’t told who would be doing the delivery.”
Once again, Kylo Ren’s body tensed up. “Did you say ‘family heirloom?’”
“Of course.” She held out a hand for the datacron. “Here. I’ll show you.”
“Actually, can this wait?” asked the dark-haired woman who had been accompanying the pirate queen, dodging a blaster shot coming from one of the many droids she and the rest of Solo’s party were dealing with. “These droids still aren’t relenting.”
Kylo Ren did not pay her any mind. Instead, he slowly handed the datacron over to Kestora, placing it in her outstretched hand. With her other hand, she undid the clasps of her mask before pulling it off, revealing her face. She seemed to be an ordinary woman in her early-to-mid-fifties, brown hair tinged with silver. She then pulled off one of her gloves as she switched on the device, causing it to split open as a tiny blue hologram materialized.
“This record may only be viewed by a member of the House of Solo bloodline. Please provide a blood sample.”
“No,” murmured the scared bearded man — Kylo Ren recognized him as Han Solo’s cousin, Thrackan Sal-Solo. “This is preposterous. This can’t be happening.”
“For once, we agree on something,” Han muttered.
Without a word, Kestora extended a finger towards the device. A small needle extracted from it and prickled the tip of her finger, enough to draw some blood. It then retracted back into the device and the blue hologram turned green.
“Blood sample accepted and recorded. You may have access, heir of Solo.”
Han let out a sigh. “Well, I guess that cinches it. Can’t wait to explain this to Leia….”
His eyes then drifted to Kylo Ren. The dark warrior remained rooted to the ground, silent and unmoving. Behind him, the other Knights of Ren shifted restlessly, exchanging glances. For a long moment, no one dared to speak a word or even so much as move.
Then, quite abruptly, everything went quiet.
The droids had stopped shooting.
Everyone looked to see the strange disfigured cyborg that had been commanding them walk through the crowd of remaining droids, his eyes drawn towards the sky. Kylo Ren followed his gaze but saw nothing… yet, somehow, he could sense that something was there. Something familiar.
“Finally,” Mal Banvor’s voice spoke through Rothgar Deng’s mouth. “Thought I must admit, he responded relatively quicker than I was expecting.”
He then rotated on his feet, standing in a way that allowed him to face both Han Solo’s group and the other Resistance members that had been fighting his army of droids.
“Thank you all for helping me put on that fantastic display. There is still much more to be done, but I will allow you to rest for the time being.” Rothgar’s head angled back to look once more to the sky. “Of course, I can’t guarantee that you won’t have more problems to deal with.”
The instant the last word left his mouth, Rothgar fell backwards onto the ground, his head hitting against the cement. At the same time, the droids that he had been controlling started to shut off, their bodies drooping down and becoming lax, with some even toppling over or falling into one another. As the droids continued to fall, a portly Duros ran out of a nearby shop and rushed over to check on the unconscious Rothgar.
As he watched all of this unfold, Kylo Ren heard Vicrul speak from behind him.
“Master? Are we done here?”
Kylo Ren’s gaze drifted to Queen Kestora, who had already turned away from him and was now walking towards the scene unfolding before them, the datacron still in her hand. The woman with the dark hair followed her, looking lost and confused, as if her mind was dwelling on a different matter entirely. Only Han and Thrackan remained where they stood, with the former staring straight at Kylo. The Knight of Ren had no idea how to interpret the look on his father’s face, whether it was one of anger, sorrow, disappointment… or all of the above.
He also no longer cared.
“We are done here,” Kylo Ren said curtly, turning on his heel and storming back up the ramp to the Night Buzzard. After a few moments, the other Knights of Ren followed him, leaving everything else behind them.
* * *
Kadar stepped down from the ramp of the Queen’s Hammer, unsure if the battle had been won or simply put on pause.
All of the droids that Mal Banvor had been controlling had shut down, littering the streets of Worlport. Civilian workers were already picking them up and dismantling the machines, lest they suddenly come back online again. The disfigured cyborg that Banvor had been using to control the droids — Rothgar, Kadar believed he was named — was being looked after by some Duros and a Devaronian medic, probably one of the resistance fighters that had initially come to Corellia with Poe Dameron and his team. Poe himself and the other members of his team were gathered nearby, trying to explain the situation to the planet’s governor.
After some looking around, Kadar finally found the other Renegades sitting in the Duros’ droid repair shop, drinking from mugs of caf that a Twi’lek girl had supplied them. Kyla and Ace were chatting with the Twi’lek in question, while Wiskin and Zarin were drinking from their mugs in silence, with Bedo sandwiched uncomfortably between them. Making his way down the table, Kadar sat himself next to Vessin, removing his helmet as she passed a drink over to him.
“I was worried where you had gone,” Vessin murmured. “What was the hold up?”
“Just tying up a loose end,” Kadar answered after taking a sip from his mug, savoring the taste of the warm cocoa. “Though I doubt it will stay tied for long, knowing him.”
Vessin stared at her father in confusion for a moment before the realization dawned on her. “You mean Tyrius?”
He nodded. “He didn’t have much to do with what happened on Metalorn, at least not that I know of. But after hearing Banvor’s voice again, coming from my mouth… I needed to find some catharsis. Besides, he told us himself that he was just a clone. I’m sure we’ll see him again.”
“If you hadn’t known he was a clone, would you have still killed him?” Vessin asked.
Kadar considered the question for a moment. “Does it matter?”
“It does to me.” She reached over to grab his hand, squeezing it gently. “Because I don’t think it’s what Mom would have wanted.”
Kadar’s throat tightened with emotion but he quickly swallowed it away. He then said, “Where’s that Valrisa girl? And the Pantoran?”
Vessin frowned at his obvious dodging of the subject. Nonetheless, she answered, “They’re over there, in the corner.”
She pointed and Kadar’s eyes traced her finger to where Valrisa and Typha were huddled together at a small worktable. They were holding each other tightly, with Valrisa burying her face in her partner’s pink hair. Her body was shaking, indicating that she was crying.
“Did something happen?” Kadar asked.
“I think someone died,” Bedo piped up from where he sat. “Except I don’t know who. As far as I know, everyone is here.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Wiskin growled. “It’s none of our business.”
“I know, I know.” The Ortolan sighed as he sank down in his seat. Steering the conversation in a different direction, he said, “So, does anyone know what we’re gonna do now?”
“Well, we still need to go back to Corellia to get our ship back,” said Vessin. “After that, I have no idea. You’d have to ask Kyla.”
Bedo looked over to the Mirialan. She was still busy talking with Ace and the Twi’lek.
“Eh, I’ll just wait,” he said. “After the day we’ve just had, it’s probably best not to think too much about what’s waiting for us ahead.”
Wiskin offered a rare smile as he raised his mug. “I’ll drink to that.”
“Yours is empty,” Zarin pointed out.
The Cathar glanced at his empty mug. “Just humor me, will you?” he growled.
* * *
“It looks like Mal Banvor managed to broadcast his speech all across the galaxy,” said Sharr Latt, second-in-command of Wraith Squadron. “Every channel of the HoloNet is talking about it. Apparently he wasn’t kidding about having access to pretty much every droid matrix you can name.”
“Hopefully none of our droids have been compromised,” Iella said grimly, standing beside her husband Wedge and daughter Myri. “If one of General Leia’s droids — such as Threepio or Artoo — were taken over by Banvor, it could spell the end of our Resistance.”
“If it’s any reassurance, the reports from the HoloNet are indicating that it’s only recently produced droids that are being affected,” said Sharr. “I think droids like Artoo are too old and… independent for even Banvor to hijack.”
“Never thought I’d ever be concerned for that goldenrod,” Han Solo muttered. “Still, now we have this megalomaniac to worry about on top of the Cabal. I don’t think we even got anything on them, at least not enough to get the Senate off their lazy ends.”
“Actually, we do.” Iella motioned towards a small white droid with green optical sensors. “We found him near the First Light. Queen Kestora tells me that he was the Dowager’s assistant and might have a fair share of information on the Cabal… provided he hasn’t had his memory wiped recently.”
“I have not received a memory wipe in a quarter century,” the droid spoke up. “However, my data matrix is heavily encrypted. You would have to be depressingly stupid and foolish to even think of trying to access it.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Myri said, patting the droid on the head. “Stupid and foolish is our modus operandi.”
“Your efforts will only end in tears,” the droid said.
Han rolled his eyes. “Great. Another droid with an attitude.” He then looked to Wedge, allowing himself a smirk. “Aren’t you glad you came out of retirement?”
Wedge smiled weakly. “I’m still not fully enthusiastic about it… but it looks like I’m in it for the long run.”
Han clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit. Come on; let’s fetch us some drinks. We’ve still got a long road ahead of us. I’ve got a gut feeling this is only the beginning.”
Wedge nodded. As he was about to follow Han to the nearest establishment, he said, “Before we go, what was that business with those dark warriors all about?”
Han stopped to look at him, his face a stone slate again. “Pardon?”
“I saw one of them hand something to the pirate queen. You were standing there with Thrackan.” Wedge tilted his head. “Anything we should know about?”
Han sighed as he turned to walk off again. “See,” he grunted, “that’s exactly the kind of thing you wait until you’ve had a lot of drinks before talking about….”
* * *
“This is treason!” Thrackan Sal-Solo cried as he was led onto the freighter that had brought Iella and her team to Ord Mantell. “You are all traitors to the Galactic Alliance! The Senate will surely hear of this!”
“Oh, so now you’re friends with the Senate?” Wallen Nix quipped as he helped Xemer and Shadow drag the shackled ruler of Corellia into the ship’s main hold. “I thought you were one of the loudest voices about seceding from the Alliance.”
“Lies! Filthy lies! When the Chief of State hears of this, he will surely—”
“Do absolutely nothing,” Shadow said, forcing Thrackan down into a chair. He brought out two more pairs of shackles and latched them onto Thrackan’s arms, linking them to the back of the seat. “With the absolute lack of action he has taken since taking office, do you seriously think he would give a damn about someone like you?”
Thrackan sneered at him. “Even so, I have powerful allies. You will learn to fear them once they learn of my abduction.”
“I’m sure,” Shadow said. “And once we get back to our headquarters, you’re going to learn to fear me once I’m through with you.”
“I’m not scared of you!” Thrackan cried, his voice wavering.
While Shadow continued to have his fun with the self-proclaimed head of state, Wallen and Xemer entered the cockpit of the freighter, seating themselves in the front seats. It felt like old time’s sake, in Wallen’s eyes, sitting next to his Kel Dorian partner as they prepared for their next adventure, whatever it may be. Even if Xemer wasn’t actually a Kel Dor, Wallen had long since gotten over it.
“God, this makes me feel young again,” he said, kicking back in his seat.
Xemer glanced at him. “Getting shot at by pirates and droids makes you feel young again?”
“Of course. It reminds me that I’m still alive.”
“To each his own, I guess. Though I know as soon as we get back to D’Qar, you’re going to start grumbling about being old again.”
Wallen shrugged. “What can I say? I hate being idle. Even when I was just a detective, I was always itching for a new case. I never liked being cooped up in my office.”
“I know,” Xemer said. “You used to complain about it every single day.”
Wallen smirked at him. “That’s still fresh in your mind, huh? Even after all this time?”
“Always. I don’t miss it.”
Wallen chuckled, turning to stare out the viewport at Ord Mantell’s setting sun. “Neither do I, partner. Neither do I.”
* * *
“So, what do you say? Are you in?”
The six members of the Renegades, as well as the three members of Valrisa’s crew, sat in front of Iella Wessiri and Poe Dameron in Ramun’s repair shop. Behind them, the Duros was helping Rothgar Deng get back onto his feet with the assistance of Nema and Finn.
Poe looked from one Renegade to the other, trying to get a read on their expressions. “I’ve told Fulcrum here about how you helped us deal with the Curator and those pirates,” he said. “Not to mention about how some of you know more about the Cabal than anyone in the Resistance currently does.”
His eyes momentarily fell on Valrisa, who did not meet his gaze. He wondered if she was even paying attention.
“We would greatly appreciate any help you and your crews can offer,” Iella continued for him, speaking directly to both Kyla Kishanti and Valrisa. “And before you ask, we would be more than happy to reward you. We can give you more than you could possibly imagine.”
Poe glanced at her, wondering if the Resistance even had that kind of money. He didn’t say anything though as the Renegades mulled over their choices.
Kyla chewed on her bottom lip, glancing at Ace. A silent conversation seemed to pass between the two of them before the Mirialan returned her eyes to the two people in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she finally spoke.
“All right. We’re in.”
Bedo’s floppy blue ears perked up. “We are?”
Kyla nodded. “I’ve realized that this Cabal business is a lot bigger than any of us could have imagined. There’s not much point in trying to avoid any of it or trying to hide… so we might as well stick with the guys who are trying to make sense out of everything.”
Ace nodded. “I concur.”
While the others in Kyla’s crew expressed their agreement (Bedo with a bit less enthusiasm), Typha nudged Valrisa with her elbow, prompting the dark-haired woman to snap back to reality. “Yeah,” she said. “We’re in as well.”
“So am I.”
All heads turned to look at Finn. The dark-skinned man had broken off from Ramun’s group and was now standing behind the Renegades, his thumbs hooked through his belt.
“Sorry,” he said. “I couldn’t help but overhear a lot of what you guys have been talking about. I know some things about the people you’re working to stop, and I think you might get some use out of my help.”
Iella raised an eyebrow. “Are you talking about the Cabal?”
“No. I’m talking about a different organization; one larger than even the Cabal. You might remember them from the Battle of Mandalore.”
Poe and Iella exchanged glances, realization dawning on them both. “Were you… there at Mandalore?” Poe asked.
Finn hesitated. “It’s… complicated.”
“Isn’t it always?” Iella remarked. She meant it, too. Her eyes roved over the assorted members of the Renegades, all coming from different species and cultures from all across the galaxy. It reminded her of the diversity prominent in the Rebellion and even now in the Resistance. Everyone had a different reason for fighting the fight, but it did not stop them from working together towards victory.
It was complicated, yes. The galaxy was complicated.
But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
* * *
“Have you told her yet?”
“No.” Danielle Kieran shook her head, staring out at the night sky. The moons of Ord Mantell were shining bright tonight, its two largest taking prominence. Her mask — the face of Queen Kestora — laid next to her on the building top she was sitting on. “I thought about it — even came close to it… but I wasn’t expecting her reaction to the Dowager’s death. I didn’t think she cared about her.”
“I don’t think she did,” Toah Jarsan said quietly, sitting beside her. “But relationships like that tend to be pretty complicated. Things aren’t always as black and white as they probably should be.”
Danielle sighed. “I feel that I went too far by having her killed,” she murmured. “But I was just so consumed by my anger towards the Dowager, for stealing my own child, that I just couldn’t… couldn’t….”
A warm hand fell on hers. It was a sensation she hadn’t felt in a long time.
“I understand,” he said.
“Do you?” She looked at him, her eyes meeting his. “I thought Jedi weren’t supposed to give in to their emotions.”
“We’re not,” he admitted. “But just because we aren’t supposed to doesn’t mean that we can’t slip up once in a while.”
Her lips twitched into a smirk. “I suppose that was a stupid question on my part. I forgot who I was talking to for a moment.”
Silence lingered between them. In the distance, laughter could be heard coming from a nearby cantina.
“You don’t regret it, do you?” she asked quietly. “The time we spent together?”
He shook his head. “I never could.”
“I know it was brief, and it was never meant to last for the long term… but I still cherish those moments every day.”
“So do I.”
More silence. The twin moons shone down on them, glowing almost brightly as a pair of suns.
“Are you going to tell him?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “Not yet. He’s probably still reeling from what he just learned today. Then he has to tell his wife and… yeah. Now is not the time to tell him about that.”
“He’ll have to find out eventually though. They’ll all have to.”
“I know.”
The buzz of a comlink broke into the silence threatening to fall between them again. Toah detached the device from his belt and raised it to his mouth.
“Yes?”
“The others are all ready to go, master,” Rey’s voice spoke through from the other end. “Where are you?”
“I’ll be in there a moment, Rey.” He returned the comlink to his belt before pulling himself up to his feet. He extended a hand to her and she took it, letting him pull her up as well.
“It’s been nice seeing you again,” she whispered, pulling him into her arms.
“Likewise,” he replied, holding her back.
Their embrace lasted less than a minute. Then, they pulled apart, possibly for the last time.
“May the Force be with you,” she said.
“And with you.”
With these simple words, the two once-lovers went their separate ways, returning to their respective paths among the stars.
