Legends of Darkover

Chapter 10

-oOo-

Kirk hailed Spock as the commander was jogging down the hall after Qui-gon.  The Jedi had his lightsaber out and was scouting ahead, checking side corridors warily.

“Bad news about the shields, Spock,” Kirk said, and added details.

“Jim, I believe I can program some temporary interference with the shields via my tricorder. The signal may hold long enough for us to beam over.”

“Good,” said the Captain.  “It's either that or destroy their backup command post, and since we don't know where the latter is, we'll try the former.”

Qui-gon, who had overheard the conversation, called back, “A moment, Captain.  I can send Obi-wan to destroy the shields.”  He spoke into his comlink.  “Padawan?  Are you anywhere near Darth Tyranus?”

“Very much so, Master.” 

“We need to bring down the Raptor's shields via its console.  Try to destroy it.  I'm assuming it's where Tyranus' new command post is.”

“All right, Master.  One full-scale bridge assault coming up.”

“May the Force be with you, and remember our journey, Padawan.”

“Does he need help?” Kirk asked.  The Captain thought he detected a hint of nervous bravado in the apprentice's voice.

“My Padawan has his skills,” Qui-gon assured them.  “Droids!” He called warningly.  A trio of skinny battle droids had swung into position to block the hallway.  They began to fire.  Qui-gon's lightsaber swung rapidly, deflecting the closer shots.  Spock and Freeman sprinted forward until they were almost level with the Jedi, and they quickly blasted the remaining droids into jagged, broken metal. 

A fast glance down both side corridors revealed something very disturbing to the Vulcan.  Two columns of droids were paralleling them, marching as if under orders towards some unseen goal.  They'd cut Spock's party off from Kirk's. 

“Which direction is Dom Regis in?” Spock asked the Jedi.

“He's almost straight ahead on this floor,” said Qui-gon. 

“We must run,” said the Commander.  “They all appear to be converging on Catriona and Danilo.”

-oOo-

Regis' laran warned him whenever he was approaching people and he was able to hide from them around corners, but he had no protection against droids.  Blaster poised, he shot a squat one that chirped and rolled—it didn't seem to be particularly dangerous and he felt a little guilty about destroying it--but then he was running inside a warehouse-like area on level A. 

Immediately he knew he was among the stations that operated the emplaced batteries.  Fires were burning and the room was thick with gases and smoke.  Shattered machine parts were  fanned all over the floor, which was ankle deep in water from the sprinkler systems.  Everywhere there was so much chaos Regis thought he had a chance of making it past unmarked in the thick smoke.  As he crouched, hidden beside a curved housing blown off one of the emplacements, he realized the main problem was air.  His lungs were stinging from chemicals and smoke and he started coughing.  Up ahead billowing clouds hid the view completely, but Danilo and Catriona were on the other side of the fumes.  He held his breath and dashed forward, sending water spraying with every step.

-oOo-

The smoke was worrying the two escapees as well.  Danilo and Catriona had fled down the hall with no idea of where they were going, and had chosen to halt.  The hallway widened up ahead and they could see fires burning.  Water had crept up around their feet and they were crouching as low as they could, their heads below the worst of the smoke.  Both were coughing.  Lord Plagueis' face on the walls was ignoring them for the moment, seemingly occupied with something else. 

-We'll need to run for it,- Danilo sent to his cousin.  -We have no time to analyze every danger.  This smoke will kill us before either captors or rescuers can reach us.-

-Shouldn't we head in the other direction?-

-No.  Regis is this way.  I can feel him getting closer. Wait!  He is lost in the smoke, blinded.  REGIS!-

They felt Regis trip over something he could not see and fall, too disoriented to find his way out of the black cloud. 

-He can't breathe.  He'll die if he stays there any longer,- Danilo sent frantically to Catriona. -I'm going to get him.-

-Stop,- she commanded.  -Use my dona.  We'll rescue him.-

-What?!  How?-

-Be the keeper.  I can't do it, but I can lend you the Aillard gift.  Remember, once it touches your dona, it will grow dramatically.  Hurry!-

They dropped to their knees in the wet corridor and placed palm against palm.  The noise and distraction were terrible, and Danilo had to struggle to muster enough concentration.  Bewildered, he tried to figure out what to do as Catriona's gift merged with his.  Vibrations of  fear rolled off Catriona as she forced herself to recall the words of Domna Ysabet.  /The ancient skill, so rarely performed nowadays,/ lectured the old leronis in her memory, /yet one that can be summoned under great duress./

It happened so fast Danilo did not even know what he'd done.  The air above them exploded.  Regis fell on top of him, and the two slammed into the deck with a wet splat.   

Regis choked, turning his head to spit out phlegm.  His eyes were streaming from the smoke.  “Lord of Light!  Did you two just teleport me?  Almost no one can do that anymore.” 

Danilo grinned weakly at him from his soggy pool, his hair growing wet from the dirty water.  He was struggling to get the breath back into his lungs. 

Regis noticed the rictus of pain on Catriona's face.  “Domna?”

She let out a great exhalation and a nervous laugh.  “I do not think I ought to try that very often in this state.  That—hurt.”

“I hope you rarely have the need.  Danilo?” said Regis with alarm.  “What--”

Danilo's eyes had drifted shut and he lay still.

“Quick, lend him your strength,” said Catriona.  The two bent over Danilo, letting their laran flow into him.  In a moment he revived. “Use your laran as little as possible,” Catriona cautioned when he sat up.  “Try to preserve it.”

“Did I hurt you when we collided?” Regis asked.  “Was this from me?”  His hand gently brushed Danilo's swollen cheek. 

Danilo lifted the hand aside.  “No.  I will explain later.”

Regis gave him a frown, but Catriona interrupted.  “We need to go,” she said briskly.

“I can tell where Obi-wan and Qui-gon are,” said Regis  “We need to go back the way you came.  I think these halls should be empty since the men have been summoned to their posts.”

With trepidation they started off, Regis leading with his blaster out.  The sight woke Danilo to his duties.

“Hey!” said Regis as the blaster was plucked from his hand.  Danilo took the lead, stuffing a few more pieces of Sith candy in his mouth.  “I'm your paxman and you're the heir to Hastur.  I go in front.”

“But you're also the only catalyst telepath on Darkover,” Catriona argued, “I should be in the lead, as my laran is stronger than either of yours.” 

“Domna Catriona, I swore an oath--” said Regis.

“Stop arguing, someone's ahead,” warned Danilo.  “I don't know if it's one of your friends or a Sith.”

“I sense laran, but it's not familiar,” said Regis.

“Take cover in the doorways just in case,” Danilo insisted.

-oOo-

Gladius paused to generate a Force barrier before he leapt into the junction.  He took aim with the blaster, his lightsaber flaring to life in his other hand.  The apprentice wore a wild grin.

But Danilo was already firing from his cover before the Sith's feet even landed.  The bolts bounced off the Force barrier, but even so, Gladius realized that Danilo's relentless pounding was soon flatten his barrier.  The apprentice returned fire and missed.  

Regis was screaming, “Get the weapons, Get the weapons!” as he and Catriona tried to press themselves flat.  Gladius felt his Force barrier collapse, then his lightsaber and blaster were torn right out of his hands.  Spinning away from Danilo's fire, Gladius reached out with the Force to yank his weapons back and got into a tug-of-war.  With disgust and amazement, he realized his opponent was that freckled chit.  She'd turned almost green with effort, but it was obvious her Force abilities were stronger than his.  His weapons flew to her hands.  Gladius made a lunge towards her, deflecting Danilo's shots with the Force, but Catriona had already handed the blaster to Regis.  Regis added his fire to Danilo's, and the combined pounding became too rapid for the Sith to hold off.

Gladius fled, bolting down a side corridor.  Danilo left his doorway and sent a hail of energy after the apprentice as Gladius escaped.

“Give me the lightsaber,” said Regis to Catriona.  “I have an idea.” 

“Where did he come from?” a voice mused from the wall.  Lord Plagueis was studying Regis. 

-Run,- sent Regis to the other two.  -The Sith are too dangerous to fight.-  The three ran madly down the right-hand side of the junction, Regis in the lead while Danilo covered the rear.

-oOo-

An irate Gladius was halted in his retreat by Lord Plagueis.  “One moment, apprentice.  Your performance has been abysmal.  Three teenagers from a primitive culture have just disarmed you.  You are not a youngling.  Do you understand how disgraceful it is for a Sith to lose his lightsaber?”

“I understand and will redeem myself,” protested Gladius, trying to keep from yelling in reply. 

“Of course.  A party of invaders is following you, and they are blanking out my viewscreens as they progress.  You must reach the Darkovans before they do.”

Gladius cursed and ran.  A few battle droids had finally responded and were coming to his aid. “Form a screen!  Attack the intruders behind me!”  He robbed one of the droids of its blaster rifle and switched the setting to kill.  A Sith's first priority was his wounded pride, and Gladius wanted revenge.  Lord Plagueis' wishes could go to hell. 

His face began to stream trickles of white makeup as he began the hunt. 

-oOo-

Regis led them into a dead end.  From the scattering of furniture, the three guessed they had run into a break room.  There was one other hallway leading out, which angled off behind them.  “I think this is as far forward as we can go,” panted Regis.  “We must barricade ourselves with furniture.”  Quickly, he and Danilo turned over tables and shoved them across the openings.

-We cannot hold forever,- Danilo sent to the other two.  -We have two open corridors we must cover.  That Sith is coming.-  He took up a defensive position behind one of the barricades. 

Regis and Catriona hid behind the other barricade, and Regis opened Gladius' lightsaber.  Cautiously, he touched one of the exposed the Adegan crystals.  There was no response, though it felt alive under his fingers.  He unscrewed the crystals' mounts and drew them out, resting them in the palm of his hand.

-That filthy spying face is back,- Catriona sent to the others.  -Shoot it.- 

Danilo obeyed, blasting walls until Lord Plagueis' presence was obliterated.  He did not see one final image imbedded in the strip lighting above their heads.  Plagueis' engineers had been very thorough.

-He's coming!- Danilo sent to the others.  Gladius had entered Danilo's corridor and was dashing towards the break room.

-What are you doing?- Catriona asked Regis.

-Seeing what the Hastur gift can do.-  Regis took a breath and slammed the most violent  backflow he could produce right through both crystals.

Gladius faltered as a burning pain started inside his chest.  A blue flare of energy burst out of him, setting his clothes on fire.  The skin he was clutching crumpled, caving in under his hand.  Pieces of charcoal sprinkled the floor and Gladius emitted as soundless cry, his red clown mouth gasping for air. 

A moment later the Sith fell over dead, a charcoal hole blazing inside his chest.  Even Lord Plagueis gaped a moment at the body—Muun could feel surprise, though it was rare--then turned his gaze back to the Darkovans.

Regis was sobbing in agony.  Danilo smacked the back of Regis' hand, sending the Adegan crystals flying out of it.  The palm of Regis' hand was seared charcoal-black all the way down  to the muscles.  Instantly, Catriona grabbed his wrist and put a nerve block around the hand. 

“I—I can't feel--” faltered Regis.

“It is numb for now.  I will hold the block in place as long as I can,” said Catriona.   

“Bredu,” said Danilo miserably, weeping from the telepathic wash of pain.  “Why did you do it?  This is a terrible injury.”  Catriona took the handkerchief Danilo offered and tied it around the hand.  All three knew it would help little, but it would keep dirt out of the wound.

“So they would have one Sith less,” gasped Regis. 

-oOo-

“Can you bunch the ships together?” Sulu asked Lord Ardais.  “Our phasers will run out of power before theirs do if we attempt to pick their ships off one at a time.”

“I will try,” Dyan replied.  A moment later a cluster of five ships folded inwards like the petals of a flower, responding to their wingleader's command.  Sulu fired into the cluster, disintegrating them. 

“How many are left?” asked Uhura. 

“Twenty-six, Lieutenant,” said Chekov.

“The odds are getting better,” said Uhura.  Four scattered enemy ships suddenly blew up.  “Hey, was that--”

“What!?” Chekov exclaimed, rechecking his sensors.  “That wasn't us.”

Uhura and the helmsmen glanced at Dyan, who shook his head.  “Not I,” Lord Ardais replied.

“Twenty-two, Lieutenant,” corrected Chekov with a small, bewildered smile.

-oOo-

“They're massing against orders,” Tyranus told Lord Plagueis.

“I sense telepathic interference from a very strong Force-user on board the Enterprise.  Take direct control of droid ships, and destroy all human-manned ships except Captain Skyms' own vessel, ” replied Plagueis.  “Order Skyms to leave the battle and pull back toward the Raptor to await orders.  We will resume attacks on the Enterprise once this interference is thwarted.  Darth Tyranus, you are patched through on the emergency viewscreens.”  Instantly, images of various important sectors inside the Raptor flashed all over the walls of the makeshift bridge.  Tyranus' eyes were caught by the sight of the fleeing Darkovans, but he was too preoccupied to give them any more attention.

“We don't have enough staff assembled to operate each starfighter from the bridge,” Colonel Makezsh said.  Off-duty crew were still stumbling through the doors of the makeshift command center.

“I know,” Tyranus replied.  “Give Lord Plagueis' orders to Skyms and blow up our wingleaders.”

Four ships exploded.  Tyranus nodded with satisfaction.  “Assume a defensive posture until we have more men up here.”  Impatiently, he assessed the damage to his batteries.  The Raptor's shields were back up, but nearly all his assault batteries had been destroyed by bomb blasts.  The proton torpedo launchers, whose wells were hidden deep inside the hull, were almost the only systems still working.  These had been powered up and were ready to fire when he realized he was facing one of those maddening little quirks of combat.  Some of his own starfighters were in the way.

“Move aside, you stupid bastards!” Tyranus howled into his comlink.  Normally he would have blasted his own ships to flinders in this sort of situation, but he had so few starfighters left he needed to preserve them. 

“Our wingleaders are dead, my lord,” replied Skyms with a hint of chiding over the comlink.  “The droid ships will have to be moved one at a time by direct control from the bridge.  Without our wingleaders we have no ability to guide the ships as squadrons.” 

Wishing Skyms had been included in the kill number, Tyranus paced furiously as he waited for the orders to be relayed.  His eyes happened to stray to the screen monitoring the Raptor's engines. 

“Shut the engines down!  NOW!” Tyranus screamed.  To his relief, the gauges began to drop out of the red.  It was the little things you didn't notice that always got you in this job, like engines about to explode.  And spybugs.

He took a moment to watch the Darkovans, and was amazed by Danilo's transformation.  /Give the boy a blaster and some motivation and he's suddenly much nastier.  And what is he eating?  By all the Gods of the Sith, he's gobbling Coruscant Frutti-Softies while fighting Gladius./  This ought to be symbolic of something, but Tyranus had no time to ponder what. 

Briefly, Lord Plagueis tore himself away from Gladius to scan the halls.  “A dozen unknown--Qui-gon Jinn is here!  All available troopers, head immediately for the Interrogation Center.”

Tyranus whirled, just in time to see Qui-gon make an obscene gesture right at one of the viewscreens.  It was a gesture he himself had taught Jinn many years ago, when his apprentice had asked--in that ever-present guileless way of his--what was the worst nonverbal insult one inhabitant of Serrano could offer another.  Tyranus' fist tightened.  Now he knew who was behind that murderous little bug, and could guess how and why the Raptor's systems had failed.  Tyranus did not appreciate seeing that gesture now, especially since the doors had just swished open to reveal Darth Inculcare.

The High Inquisitor got an eyeful of Qui-gon, and he glanced at Tyranus.  “Just think,” said Inculcare, “you were the one who trained that scruffy little Jedi.  Your former apprentice has really screwed you over, hasn't he?  Tsk, Tyranus, tsk.  Still, I must commend you on your teaching skills--as well as your ability to dodge.”

Tyranus' eyeballs nearly bulged from their sockets.  He would have killed the leering fool on the spot, except he needed the leering fool to help win the battle.

“Do you wish me to lead the assault on Jinn's group, my lord?” Inculcare asked.  “That would leave Darth Xiphos to recapture the escapees.”

“Darth Gladius has been dispatched against the former, however we need to consider the possibility that Jinn's apprentice, Obi-wan Kenobi, may be loose on board.  We have--”

“What's happened to Gladius?” Tyranus interrupted.  He'd been following as his apprentice closed in on the captives.

All three Sith stopped to watch.  Gladius faltered, tilting against the wall while holding his chest.  At first none of them could make out what was happening, until Gladius' chest crumpled in and the apprentice fell over.  Even Inculcare went silent for a long moment, trying to digest what happened.  The view shifted to the trio of Darkovans, and they saw Catriona treating Regis' hand.

“By all the Gods of the Sith,” said Inculcare, “this boy has just killed a Sith apprentice.  Through his own lightsaber.” 

/A random boy at that,/ added Tyranus silently.  He was beginning to wonder what they'd gotten into.

“The method is not without injury to himself,” said Lord Plagueis.  “I doubt he can use the technique a second time.  Darth Inculcare?”

The High Inquisitor's eyes had narrowed with a hunter's intensity.   “Yes, my lord.  I'm going after Jinn.”

“Darth Xiphos,” said Lord Plagueis over the ship's intercom.  “Recapture the escapees, and take the additional boy as well.   He appears to be Darkovan.  Keep an eye out for the Jedi knights Jinn and Kenobi.”

As the High Inquisitor left the bridge, a tiny spybug entered the room, fluttering near the ceiling. 

Tyranus shifted attention back to his own assault.  He finally had his idiotic starfighters out of the way and could return fire.  “Lock on target,” he ordered his weapons officer.

“Target locked,” replied the man.

A tiny motion near the shielding console caught Tyranus' eye. 

The flaring bang as the lightsaber hit the console caused all heads to lift.  “Ensign Loell, lock the doors and do not open them for any reason until the battle is over,” said Tyranus.

“What is the cause of your action?”  queried Lord Plagueis.

Tyranus was lifting a gloved hand, a ruined spybug held between two fingers.  He peeled the glove off—it was undoubtedly contaminated with one very nasty neurotoxin—and threw it in the trash disintegrator.  “Just dealing with one of Jinn's pests, my lord.  He's spread spybugs around the Raptor.  I presume that is how he obtained his information.”

“I see,” said Plagueis.  “I will order droids to sweep for them.  Continue your assault, Darth Tyranus.”    

An unpleasant smile crossed Tyranus' face.  The little details didn't get the better of you all the time.  “Fire!” he bellowed.  It was time the Federation ship received a dose of the same punishment it had been dealing. 

-oOo-

“Proton torpedoes!” Sulu called as a pair of white flares left the Raptor's hull. 

“Hard thrust to port, Mr. Chekov,” Uhura said.  Everyone on the ship lurched as the subspace engines kicked in.  Lord Ardais went down with exceptional hardness, and Uhura could not suppress an uncommanderly twinge of satisfaction. 

“They're directional, Lieutenant,” warned Sulu as the torpedoes corrected their angle and headed towards the Enterprise again.  “Wait, they're firing a second set, and a third.”

“Lock phasers on the first set of torpedoes,” said Uhura rapidly.  The missiles were very close now.

“Phasers locked.”

“Fire,” Uhura ordered.  The ordnance collided.  The viewscreen became a cloud of white light as the aftershock hit the Enterprise.  The ship lurched again. 

“We've lost seven percent shielding power,” Chekov exclaimed, “just from the shockwave.”

“Phasers locked on all targets,” Uhura repeated.  “Fire immediately.”

Sulu took out the second pair, then the third.  This time the particle explosions were farther out, but the scatter of energy temporarily baffled the Enterprise's sensors and screened their view.  A fourth pair of torpedoes came flying out of the camouflage. 

“All power forward shields!” Uhura cried as Sulu frantically tried to lock on the target. 

The Enterprise was hit with a massive explosion.

-oOo-