The air whisked by along the uneven stone ground like an undercurrent. The sound was soft, whistling, and unnerving as it passed through every curve and crevice of the seemingly abandoned street. Power was either not available or not affordable in this area, as none of the lights were active, though many hollowed out barrels scattered about were set aflame to take their place.
They couldn't see him, not with his ysali-gear: rare and highly coveted anti-force creatures ripped apart by science and grafted into a soldier's equipment. With the creature dead, the effects were minimal, but they were enough to keep him hidden, and shrug off weaker portions of force abilities.
The Captain continued to watch through visors from his perch atop the nearby factory, of which was the source of the dead end the two down below would soon discover.
The first to say something looked human, male. His attire was black, probably leather. A half-length trench coat about him, the man could've been hiding anything under it. Rugged in appearance and rather tall, his confident gate goaded experience- even military prowess. It wasn't until he got a clear focus on the man's face that the Captain realized just who it was- a war hero would be unmistakable: Teerm Mantle.
With his specialized equipment, the Captain could hear their conversation down below for as long as his weapon was directed down there.
Mantle spoke to his companion. "This is it?"
"It must be." She responded. "But no one's here."
The companion looked human as well, obviously female if not by the sound of her voice, alone. Her clothes were dark as well, a small, sleeveless vest about her torso that didn't look able to hide much like Mantle's trench coat could. She seemed nothing like the horror story he'd heard about her- that is, if this was really Mantle's companion. The report said her name was Ceres, and that she was wanted for the massacre of over a dozen men on Nar Shadaa. The face was the same, but there was no look of crazed madness on her face. Her walk was cautious and her expression subdued, if not worried.
"Target confirmed, Captain?"
"Confirmed. It seems Illura's off the hook, for now."
"I'll contact Command and-"
"No. Not yet."
"Sir, protocol-"
”I want no long range communications of any sort. They might have a way of tracking it. We'll contact command when we have them in custody. Understood?"
"Loud and clear, Captain."
***
“That's probably exactly what he wanted," Teerm suspected. “An abandoned building in an abandoned neighbourhood.”
”I don't see Illura as the physical labor type." Elaine commented with her usual fill of sarcasm before asking, “Who filled and lit all these barrels?”
They came to the apartment complex front door. Cautiously, Teerm opened it, noticing the knob was freely turning- broken. "I don't know." He responded. "But I think you're right. It's not his style--someone else must've helped him."
"Or maybe he killed all the homeless people before we got here."
Teerm smirked. Elaine was exaggerating, surely, but it wouldn't surprise him if she was right. Cissero was unpredictable.
The floors cricked and creaked, sounding like old wood. Air shared space with dust, flooding the nostrils. Most of the fixtures and carpet were broken, missing, or ripped right off the floor; probably the work of thieves and scavengers.
The only light to see with was the warm but faint glow of the fire barrels outside, and what little moonlight crept through the cracks in the ceiling. Those faded, however, as the two moved further into the building.
With nothing left to see with but the force, Elaine reached out to Teerm, mentally, using him as a point of reference to stay close.
She found herself whispering, though it probably wasn't necessary. "Room one-fourteen."
"I remember." He whispered back. "And we're there."
With a light grasp on her arm, Teerm let Elaine know to take position on the opposite side of the door. When she moved into position, they stared at each other, waiting. Their eyes had adjusted to the low light, able to see each other at least a little without the force. Teerm nodded to her and she, being on the knob-side of the door, pushed it open.
His eyes passed over the entire west side of the room as Teerm entered, trusting Elaine to cover the east. They combed the small living area, eventually returning to each other's side as they confirmed there were no hidden devices or assailants within the room.
"Clear." Elaine said.
"That's the problem." Teerm muttered. "Where's Cissero?"
***
“Over lap your fire,” Captain Alorn Eln said. He barely had to make it a whisper for his squad of five to hear him. “Take up defensive positions.”
“I thought this was an ambush Captain?” Fend asked. He was standing right next to the captain, dark face camo smeared across his sweating forehead.
“It is private,” Eln responded with very little patience for the newest addition to his team. “But do you fancy taking on two trained Force users?”
Code-Name Fend wasn’t usually this nervous, sure the git was a little nervy but he was really on edge. There was something about taking down not one but two high priority targets that was really getting to him. Who was Eln kidding? It was getting to all of his team.
Tens, one of the Captain’s oldest and most trusted crewmen even seemed a little apprehensive. Captain Eln was starting to second guess whether it was all true, or if it was just his own misgivings about rounding up Jedi. It was ironic, he though as he tracked Mantle and Ceres through the thin walls of the abandoned housing complex, that he—Captain Alorn Eln—leader of Bastion-Zero-One was iffy about tracking Jedi targets considering they had captured or assisted in the capture of more Jedi then any other Acquisition Team.
It wasn’t that Eln felt bad for the Jedi Order, it was that he just didn’t like attacking them. He’d lost more men on Jedi assignments then he had on any other missions. The bodies were mounting up. Sure some of them came quietly, but others—others didn’t.
With all the stories of Mantle and the footage of Ceres from Vertical City, Eln didn’t want to take any chances. “Shoot to incapacitate men. We’ll see if we can’t take them alive.”
“Set for stun Captain Eln?” Hex asked from his position in a stair well.
“No, lethal rounds gentlemen,” He replied. “Just make sure you bring ‘em down. If they start struggling then we’ll look into stun rounds.”
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Eln.” Joab said. He too was waiting with primed charges on the floor above Mantle’s position. The room was locked so hopefully the two Jedi didn’t go snooping. Joab was the oldest member of Bastion-Zero-One; he was here before even Eln and stayed around after the team had been reassigned from the Commonwealth Navy as a boarding team to the Commonwealths new Jedi Oversight Department.
“Get ready, they’re on the move.” Eln said quietly. During moments like these, he would think of the men he’d lost and the men that were with him now. He hoped, because he had no one to pray to, that those with him now; Fend, Tens, Joab and Hex would make it through this. “Weapons free. Move on my signal.”
***
“I don’t like this.” Elaine said dubiously as she moved with Teerm to check the maze like hall ways. “Where is he? Or his rep.”
“Illura doesn’t strike me as the type who has a representative.” He said leading her through another nondescript room with another torn and haggard lounge. “Don’t get jittery.”
“You’re probably right,” She said stopping and kneeling to inspect a small table. The contacts of which had been emptied, probably some time ago. “Get a look at this, Teerm. Teerm?—oh bloody...”
He was still there, but he’d sunk into the Force giving Elaine nothing really to clamp on to in the darkness, but she kept her eyes on his silhouetted form, watching him as he took long slow breaths. He came too a moment later.
“I hate it when you do that without warning.” Elaine said.
“Sorry,” He said. “I think there’s something wrong.”
“What do you mean; I think there’s something wrong.” Elaine asked as he led her from the room and through a large open kitchen complete with broken taps leaking water all over the floor. “The phrase doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence?”
“Reach out,” He said, turning back to her. She practically ran into him. He whispered, coming close to her. “Feel it? Feel them? There’s pockets—bubbles of air that are void of feeling, life energy. Void of the Force.”
She’d done as he asked and instantly noticed it. It was so obvious when you knew what to look for. But that was why it was so sneaky. Just like on Denon, where Illura had shut the Force down inside his home. “Just like Denon.” Elaine said looking up into his eyes. Teerm wasn’t looking back at her though, he was staring past her—behind her at the source of the footsteps echoing on the wood floor. They were closing in.
“No, this is worse.” He said darkly. “Get behind me.”
“You don’t have to protect—“
“Cover our flank—now is not the time.”
The man approaching had a shaved head a rough patchy beard that was beginning to grow along his jaw line and up his cheeks. He identified himself as Alorn, here on the request of Mr. Illura. Apparently. Teerm eyed the man suspiciously. He didn’t have the characteristics of a man that would be under the employ of Cissero and he certainly wasn’t wearing an outfit that Illura would don.
In fact, Teerm thought, as the man stopped short about six or seven metres away—too far—he looked distinctly military, perhaps a former army grunt with the Empire.
“My employer, regrets that he couldn’t come in person.” He said, “However with the current climate the way it is, you understand.” He smiled politely.
That was, Teerm determined almost as soon as he saw that man flash it, a forced and very fake smile. Mantle considered himself a brilliant judge of character after all. To go along with his military swagger, Alorn spoke like an Officer too. His articulation was clear and precise—audible even over the sounds of war and when you couldn’t hear hi mover the sounds of thermals detonating in your ears; you could still read his lips.
“What has Illura got to say?” Teerm asked short and abrupt. “The message we received made it sound as though he had some information for us.”
“He does,” Alorn said, his face erasing that all too friendly smile, very quickly returning to a blank cold state. “But he has instructed me to ask you first, why you seek him.”
Teerm could feel Elaine, she wasn’t behind him, forever refusing him peace of mind when it came to her safety. “If you’re under his employment then surely you know of his home’s destruction on Corellia. Tell him we’re sorry for its destruction.”
Alorn smiled. “You’ll be pleased to know he’s already forgiven you for it, Ms Ceres.” He said. “Mr Illura has advised me he will rebuild it in due time.”
Teerm watched Alorn’s face drop as he realised he’d said too much--too specific.
But just Alorn suddenly knew it, his brain like military precision went to work and produced from behind him, a blaster pistol. Alarms sounded in Teerm’s head. “Elaine—down!” He shouted.
But she was already on top of the situation, diving for cover behind a large work bench. Teerm dashed for the side door, effectively splitting Alorn’s fire. Teerm watched as Elaine, ducking behind the bench flinched as blaster bolts—high powered and very accurate shots, peppered the piece furniture.
Up until right then, Teerm had forgotten about the others—the voids in the Force—that was until he heard an echoing thunderclap vibrate through the building, dislodging the dirt and dust from over head rafters.
It was a classic breach and trap set move. It all seemed to swim into the Jedi’s mind’s eye when he realised what was unfolding. He—Teerm Mantle, one time Captain in the Imperial helped pioneer these types of tactics and now here he was being ambushed with the very moves he helped create and perfect.
He hated being ambushed, let alone with his own moves. He knew Elaine was about to be blind sided and subsequently trapped between to advancing forces. He had little choice but to intervene. Both lightsabers came alive as he swung himself into Alorn’s line of fire. The man’s blaster fire tracked seamlessly across to Teerm as the Jedi advanced.
Mantle knew he had to give Elaine to space to breath and so pushed the advance. Alorn, smarter then he looked, began his slow retreat, aiming his shots wide enough to force Teerm to defend, but not so much that they could be hurtled back at him.
Alorn fell back with ease, for a moment, the fight turned into a monotonous routine of Mantle advancing to the gunman’s faltering ambush.
The Force tingled the base of Teerm’s skull, and knew immediately what it meant. Danger.
A flash bang from a newly create hole in the ceiling dropped between the twelve metre distance Alorn had made on Teerm. The Jedi saw the gunman’s visor click into place—decidedly military—Teerm thought instantly. The visor darkened and Teerm dived for cover behind another torn and disused lounge.
He landed awkwardly, the air in his lungs forced from them, he was left momentarily undone.
He heard the shouts from Alorn and his accomplices. “Behind the lounge!”
“Slow advance! Shoot to incap!”
They were definitely well trained and too coordinated to be anything less then commandos. But who had sent them was the real question. Subconsciously he was hoping it wasn’t the Commonwealth—this was just too much.
He had no time to ponder. He stuck a hand up, calling on his power to Force Flash the group, he heard their advance stagger and took the opportunity to attack. With his own vision a little hazy, he had to use the Force more then normal to see. The outline of the closest man was quick to hit the deck, Mantle slashed through the man’s repeater blaster and then smashed his head straight into the wall. He fell to the ground, limp.
With his vision returning, he knew theirs would be too. Two men remained, one—Alorn was recovering quickly. He’d forgone his side arm prizing his own repeater, opening fire. Teerm with a sudden burst of Force speed dashed behind Alorn’s comrade, using him as a human shield.
It seemed the apparent leader of the group wasn’t as cold as to shoot his team mates—but shields worked both ways. Alorn couldn’t shoot Teerm and Teerm couldn’t get to Alorn.
“We’ve got your girlfriend Mantle,” Alorn said. “Let it go. We’ve got the building surrounded.”
“You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you,” Mantle spat back over the shoulder of Alorn’s friend. “Who sent you and your team?”
“Commonwealth Jedi Oversight Department.” Alorn said surprisingly frank. “My job is to round you people up, don’t make this any harder then it is.”
“Harder then it is?” Teerm said darkly. “I’m just warming up, Alorn.”
Teerm called on the Force and hurled a wave of energy at Alorn in a split second. Teerm knew it wouldn’t do anything but dissipate in a weak puff of air, Alorn though still flinched. Teerm snapped the human shield’s neck with brute strength and charged Alorn knocking him over before the man could train his weapon on Teerm.
The man was quick to right himself, almost as fast as Teerm. Mantle pounced landing a fierce swinging right punch that decked the man again before he could get up.
Danger spiked and Teerm turned, a third commando, this one wielding a dangerous looking shatter rifle took a knee and aimed down his sights. Teerm launched himself up through the cavernous hole in the ceiling, as he did he heard the sound of the slug being fired from the shatter gun and heard the wind of its plasma round woosh beneath him.
He sprinted in the general direction of Elaine, judging by the distance he moved facing Alorn and where he could feel Elaine right now, then plunged two sabers into the wooden floor, burning himself a new entry point.
Without hesitation he leapt into the opening and once again, into the danger.
The drop was barely five metres. Without his normal dark Jedi robe, the entrance was hardly as spectacular as usual. When he came up from his crouched position, alarms rang in his head/ Teerm wasn’t interested if they were real or not, every one of his senses went into overdrive.
He felt Elaine a little way away, about seven or eight metres, she was in ok shape, slightly panicky, but it was more then adrenaline then anything that figured into these equations. Elaine, Teerm thought was at home saber against saber or with non-energy based weaponry. She held her own though—and did so quite well.
In front of, and advancing on her were two more commandos.
He wasn’t surprised; in fact he was expecting it to be two more. He could only see one though, but the other, he could feel, there was a strong wave of hatred seeping from him—it was almost distracting. Elaine was batting back bolts from the visible commando’s weapon.
He’d noticed the new entrant into the contest though. Now, firing at Elaine from the hip, he trained his side-arm and exotic looking pistol, a little oversized and began firing at Teerm. The bolts packed a punch and with a little added strength from the Force, he smacked them back at him. Clearly he hadn’t through his defence through because now the commando himself was being bombarded with bolts. He stopped firing at Elaine, and turned all of his firepower on Teerm.
Teerm brought both blades around to deflect the shots, but when he felt the other commando’s seething hatred intensify, he knew something bad was about to happen.
“They’re flanking us,” Elaine said, moving in beside him.
“They recover fast,” Teerm noted abruptly between deflections.
Then the other one appeared. Teerm knew instantly that this was the one he felt when he first entered into this melee. He was wielding a Merr-Sonn LZ6 back-mounted chain-gun.
“Shit, I can’t deflect that.” He said quietly alarmed.
There were shouts coming from behind them now—getting closer—it definitely was time to go. With a last ditch effort, he directed a shot right back at the Commando wielding both weapons. He watched the man’s head snap back as a puff of red mist sprayed the wall behind him, he dropped.
The almost finished spooling when Elaine had suddenly grabbed Teerm’s wrist, yanking him about to his right. He took the hint and ran. They were heading toward a ceiling height window when Elaine threw out her hand and shattered the window with a Force push.
Elaine jumped first, Teerm was close behind.
***
The rain had stopped, at least. If he was going to die, it didn't need to be quite that dramatic. He could hear the unsubtle plunking of a dozen pairs of boots into puddles down the alleyway, followed by curses and generally unfriendly name-calling.
Suckers. He thought. They didn't like the soaking wet chase anymore then he did.
The juncture up ahead consisted of a two choices, continue forward or turn left. Being that his pursuer’s had guns, he decided to turn left, immediately, but once he did, he stopped in his tracks, hearing the same splashes. No good. Not one to doddle, he immediately took the straight-away he'd turned down at first, hoping the others wouldn't get line-of-sight before he reached the open street far ahead.
What he didn't expect was how quickly they'd actually encircled his position as he'd made his way through the suburban alleys.
”Sith spit!” He tried to stop as he saw what was up ahead, but the wet floor made him slip. His ass hit the floor and he slid a whole two meters across the slick rocky ground, halting only because the man up ahead planted his boot in the way.
With his mid-section wrapped around the gargantuan and muscled leg of an angry mercenary, he began wondering just where his day had gone so horribly wrong.
Must've been the pizza this morning. Mushrooms are bad luck.
His thoughts were cut short by his own involuntary grunt of pain. He'd been grabbed by his own bright red hair, and it hurt like hell as he was lifted up to his feet. The one who'd brought him up wrapped his equally muscled arms around his victim's upper torso, trapping his arms in place and immobilizing him.
Of the other pursuers, one in particular moved forward while the others stayed back. She was human, though he had qualms about that fact at times, and very familiar to him. He should know, she was his ex.
”Ran. Deary.” Sarcasm wasn't Letta's only forte, he knew, seeing her favourite blaster pistol as she pulled it from its' holster, levelling it at his forehead without delay. “You really shouldn't have done that.”
Her finger tensed against the trigger and energy exploded from the barrel... er, rooftop. She hadn't fired, no, not yet. But the source of the actual explosion revealed many broken pieces of what was once a double-doored window falling down around them from above.
Two figures fell after the broken glass, landing in the midst of the dozen-gang members in the alley with grace and, amazingly, without injury. Neither of the two newcomers looked interested in staying for a chat, but they were, effectively, surrounded by a situation alien to them.
The prettier one, a blonde woman with unnaturally bright colored turquoise eyes, spoke up first as she moved hastily. "Out of the way!"
"No," Letta answered, stepping in their way.
The other dark-haired and determined man who was with the blonde moved forward, brushing Letta aside. When she resisted, trying to pull her weapon on him, he ducked beneath her firing arm and launched his knee into her mid-section with a surprising speed that left her breathless and falling to her knees.
Responding to their leader's need, the others pulled their pistols and weapons. Even the brute who was holding Ran let go of him, paying more attention to the newcomers. At the earliest opportunity, after being thrown to the ground, Ran made for the end of the alley, swinging around the corner until his back slammed into the outside wall.
Frell, that's much better. He said as he stood out in the open street, feeling not only better but fantastic. He was wet, he was bruised, his hair was completely ruined, but he was alive. I knew that horoscope was wrong.
Bang. Fizzle. Scream.
***
They turned the last corner, seeing the welcoming sight of their ship. Despite being old, used, and having no name, yet, it was a good ship, a YT freighter in its' golden years.
The ramp lowered by remote as they approached and their boots clacked loudly against it, both coming to a heavy and tired halt at the top.
"Cissero." Elaine caught her breath. "He must've... sold us out."
"Not exactly... surprising." Teerm responded, holding his chest. They'd been running the whole four kilometre trip back to the ship at top speed, not teleporting back for fear of an ambush.
"Hey, wait!" Ran called out behind them, sucking in air like he was having some sort of asthma attack. "Take me with you!"
Elaine exchanged a confused look with Teerm, both of them unsure what to think of the unarmed, frantic civilian rushing for the ship.
"Who the hell's this, Elaine? Another random friend?"
"What? No!" She protested, "I've never even-"
As they argued, he ran past them, up the ramp and into the ship.
"—fuck’s sake," Teerm hissed.
"Hey, I'll go get h-"
"No, we don't have time." Teerm cut her off. "Close the ramp, we're leaving. We'll deal with him later."
***
“We’re clear, punch it.” He said casually subdued.
“Cheer up, we’re out of danger.” Elaine said engaging the auto pilot. Her chair swiveled toward him. “We’re safe.”
“And have no leads for Toron.”
“Ever the pessimist, Teerm,” She joked. “We’re safe—she’ll be happy to know that much. Besides we do have a lead: For one thing, Illura dodged our questions and the second thing is we were ambushed.”
“And not just by mercs.”
“Right,” She nodded. “They were Commonwealth—I saw the insignia.”
“I spoke to one of them.”
“You did?”
“Their leader,” He said. “At least I think he was.”
“We’ll get clear of this place and see if we can tight-beam a message back to Tython,” Elaine moving to the communication array’s controls. “Perhaps she’ll have some good news for---“
Elaine’s sentence was cut short by a ridiculously loud crashing of pots and pans. It seemed for a moment there that both Teerm and Elaine had forgotten about their new arrival. Teerm stood first, storming out of the cockpit. Elaine hurried behind him.
“I thought you locked him in one of the cabins,” Teerm said bounding down the hallway.
“I thought you said you were!?” She shot back.
Teerm had stormed halfway across the crew quarters when the man who’d boarded their ship turned with a startled look on his face. He dropped the large pot he was handling when Teerm grabbed him by the scruff of his collar and wretched him up, slamming him against the big double door fridge.
“What do you think you are doing!?”
“I’m making lunch!” He shouted writhing under Teerm’s vice like grip. “Saying thanks!”
“Teerm!” Elaine demanded. “Let go of him.”
Mantle relented, granting Elaine’s request. This wasn’t the Bane and he wasn’t the sole rule maker aboard this ship, he wasn’t even the sole owner. He had brought it with Elaine; they had split the cost right down the middle.
“Bloody hell!” The man said as Teerm relinquished his hold. “What in the blazes is your problem?”
“He’s not happy you invited yourself aboard our ship.” Elaine said pointedly. “Now who the hell are you and why are those gangsters after you?”
“It’s my ex—it’s a long story.” He said. “You don’t really wanna’ hear it.”
“We’ve got time.” Teerm said angrily. “You on the other hand, don’t.”
“Look pal, I don’t know who you are—“ He stopped mid sentence. “Wait a second! You’re Teerm—fucking—Mantle!”
Elaine had to look away; a smile was forming on her face. She turned back to the man. “I didn’t know that was your middle name, Teerm.”
“It’s not,” Teerm said, deadpan. “You didn’t answer my friend’s question, kid.” Teerm said to the man.
“Oh I’m Ran, Master Mantle.” The man—Ran—said and pulled a blaster on him. “You’re a wanted man.”
Elaine’s hand snapped out and snatched the pistol from Ran’s hands as fast as he had produced it. “You’re not very bright are you Ran?”
“Oh, right. You’re his accomplice, yeah?” Ran said. He slowly raised his hands in defeat. “You both must be Jedi. Boy didn’t I pick the wrong ship.”
You’re telling me? Teerm thought.
"Yeah, you did." She motioned towards the hall with a tilt of her head. "Let's go."
"Hey, now," He said, a grin on his face. "No need to throw me out an airlock just yet."
"Tempting." With a roll of her eyes, she prodded him onward. "Maybe later." She stopped him at the second doorway in the hall. "Here, inside."
The place hadn't been furnished, yet, other then a single cot in the corner. Ran raised a brow at the state of it, turning around after stopping in the center of the room.
"Sit." Elaine commanded.
When he did, she leaned against the opposite wall, crossing her arms as she looked him over more closely. Judging by the soggy clothes and matted hair, he must've been running from the gangsters she saw in the alleyway for quite a while, out in the rain. Beneath the scruff, dirt, and soaked appearance, though, he was rather dashing, decorated with a devilish grin or smirk whenever possible. His eyes were a yellowish green, very interesting and unique for a human. They were filled with blind confidence, though she could see it for what it was: as a mask for his nervousness.
He smirked at her as she watched him. Ran found her intuitive gaze engaging. "So, do you stare silently at every guy you meet, or just me?"
Elaine replied dismissively. "You wish. I'm just being observant."
"Well, you can observe me all you'd like." He teased. "Alright, so, what now?"
Passing up the opportunity to berate him, she answered, "You're going to explain to me just what kind of trouble you've possibly dragged us into by boarding our ship, uninvited."
"Well..." He took a moment to collect his thoughts before blurting them out all at once. "It goes a little like this: I married a woman who joined a gang that killed a guy who owned a joint that hosted the parties that entertained a crime lord who put a bounty on whoever was responsible. Naturally, I ratted out my wife."
“Fantastic,” Teerm said. He was standing in the door way, leaning against he archway. “So we can safely assume you’re going to rat us out too?”
“What?—No, why would I?” Ran genuinely looked quite hurt. Teerm suspected he was a good actor. “You guys saved me, I’m indebted to you.”
Teerm glanced to Elaine. “That is of course, until we turn a profit.”
“Well, you can just drop me somewhere outside this sector.” Ran said, “You don’t need to leave me locked in here. I was only trying to be polite—you know cook you guys something.”
Elaine winced. “Really it’s fine. No need. We’ll drop you off somewhere out of the way.”
Teerm chuffed. Elaine glanced to him, eyeing him with a concerned frown. He stared back disbelievingly. Elaine Ceres was a brilliant swordsmen and a fantastic pilot, but boy—she trusted total strangers at the drop of a hat.
Teerm looked at Ran. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re stuck aboard this thing now, Ran. I’m not going to let you run off and tell everyone where we are and where we're going."
***
"What do you think you're doing, Teerm?" Elaine exclaimed. "We can't just keep him here!"
Teerm stopped, not turning around but to answer, "Yeah, we can." Then kept walking. "He's not going anywhere until we're done with the Jedi investigation."
She stopped at the cockpit entrance, her arms crossing disapprovingly as she leaned into the frame. "Do you really think that's
necessary?"
Teerm stopped in his tracks, just before the co-pilot chair was within reach. He turned about, ready to tell her just how ignorant she was being when he decided against it. "The hell's your problem, Elaine? It's not like we're torturing him. Do you know this guy or something?"
She shook her head. "What?
No." she'd realized just how high her voice had raised and frowned as her body untensed. "It's not that, I just- I don't like the idea of keeping him around. He could cause trouble."
“Agreed.” Mantle said as he came to a stop in the cockpit and sat. “But, he could cause us more trouble out there.”
The pair had left Ran behind in his small cabin, door open. Teerm was sure that he couldn’t quite cause too much trouble; he had locked down the escape pods, access hatches and ramps earlier and from the cockpit he could monitor the engine compartments for any attempt at sabotage.
“You think he’d rat us out?”
“No,” Teerm said. “I know he would.”
“You can’t possibly know that for certain, Teerm.” Elaine said reasoning. She sat next to him. “He’s only going to slow us down.”
“I didn’t want him aboard in the first place.” He reminded her. “And you only need to look at him and see what a snake this guy is. He’ll comm. a Commonwealth info-line the first chance he gets—all for a small reward.”
Ran appeared at the door to the cockpit. “Is this a bad time?”
“Yes.” Teerm said, utterly deadpan. He spun his chair back around to the controls.
Elaine scowled at the back of his head. “No it’s not Ran. What is it?”
“I noticed while I was back there,” He thumbed the direction of the aft sections, “there’s a few rusting conduits and an older model ion capacitor bolted onto the hyper drive.”
“Yes Ran, what’s your point?” Elaine said tiredly. “We’ve just picked this thing up.”
“Right, well I uh—I might be able to help.” He said edging into the room. “I can see I’m not really wanted here and I don’t really fancy being filleted by you guys or my Ex.”
“No one is going to kill you, Ran.” Teerm remarked.
Ran may have ignored the comment, but Teerm wasn’t sure. “I can’t do much about the rust on the conduits, but I can tell you it’s probably slowing your acceleration speeds.” He said.
“Tell us something we don’t know, Ran.” Elaine said turning back to the ship’s controls.
“I was a part time electronics technician on these things when I was younger.” He said. “The ion capacitor can be bored out if you’ve got the right tools; give the old girl a good kick in the back side.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Ran said nodding enthusiastically.
“Show me, and maybe you’ll have some use after all.” Elaine stood and followed Ran aft.
Linear Mode
