The Fog of War/Part 9

Tirien could not help but be impressed by the art in Sil Kadych's style, though a graphic and grisly art it was. They had come on a battle line only after commandeering a speeder and racing down a largely-deserted street. Sith troopers wearing Vedya Gasald's sigil on their armor were firing on the gate of a half-shelled athletic stadium; a few resistors were clustered at the choke point firing back, and Tirien could sense a mass of life inside. A Sith Acolyte in heavy armor was directing the fire and occasionally reflecting a shot back with his lightsaber.

A group of soldiers detached from the rest, creeping forward under cover of their comrades' fire. "Narasi, cut that group off. We'll hit the main—"

"Uh, Master…?"

Following her pointed finger, Tirien saw Master Kadych already ten meters away, ghosting through the smoke and shadows of battle. He was on the Sith by the time they realized he was there, and his blue blade made short work of half a dozen of them before anyone got off a shot.

Tirien saw the would-be ambush party had frozen, exposed in the no man's land between forces but hyperalert because of it. "Help Master Kadych."

As Narasi dove into the fray, Tirien himself stretched out his hands, working to levitate a speeder downed nearby. He drew a deep breath of acrid, blood-scented air, and the Force flowed around the speeder, flipping it side-over-side. All the soldiers turned at the scrape of metal on asphalt, but none moved in time.

Drawing his own blade, Tirien went down to Narasi's aid, watching her take one soldier's arm off at the shoulder then turn to bury her blade in a second one's chest up to the hilt. A soldier took aim at her, but Tirien impaled him from behind.

Master Kadych, meanwhile, had fought his way to the Acolyte. The Human was taller than even Kadych and substantially broader, and he barreled into the Umbaran Jedi with no fear. His armor slowed his blows, but Tirien could tell each was brutally powerful and backed by the dark side. Master Kadych met him without retreating, and the Acolyte's furious confidence crumbled into surprise, which gave way to terror, as Kadych stabbed and slashed in a whirlwind, neutering the Sith's attack and eviscerating his hasty defense. Five seconds after the first clash it was over, and Kadych had turned to bisect a Sith soldier before the Acolyte's severed head bounced on the ground.

The Sith soldiers had been two full platoons before the Jedi descended on them, but the sudden and drastic reversal of fortunes and the death of their own Force-user disintegrated their discipline. Tirien knocked five of them off their feet with a Force Wave, and Narasi cut down two more coming at him from the side. Master Kadych's form blurred as he darted among them at Force speed, opening chests and striking off heads and limbs.

"Focus fire on—!" an NCO started, but as he stood up to give the order he was gunned right back down by the Milagroans across the square; of the numerous shots that came his way, only three struck home, but three was enough. At that the Sith troopers broke and ran, fleeing the square pursued by blasterfire; a lucky shot caught a soldier between the shoulders.

Tirien pulled Narasi down behind cover, but Sil Kadych cocked his arm and threw his lightsaber. Master and Padawan watched the blade hurtle down the street, changing course now and then, striking down one soldier after another. The last survivor turned, tripping over his own feet, and Tirien sensed a flash of raw panic. Then Kadych's blade caught him too, and there was nothing left to sense.

Narasi caught Tirien's forearm with one hand, her sharp nails digging into his arm beneath his rolled sleeves. "Master…"

"Deep breaths, Narasi," he advised, closing down his blade. "It's over."

"They were running away," she protested.

"Do not confuse retreat with surrender," Master Kadych said coolly as he came to their side, extending a hand to catch his lightsaber as it raced home to his grip. "They would have regrouped and renewed their assault; had we given them time, they'd have slaughtered us and these people without mercy. Worse, they would have called in to report."

Tirien didn't like it, but he forced himself to nod, looking at his Padawan and turning his arm in her grip to squeeze her hand. "As soon as Lady Gasald learns that Jedi are onworld, everything we do becomes ten times harder. And these people may suffer if Gasald learns we're here."

Narasi's face twisted, but she swallowed and nodded back. "Yes, Master."

He stood cautiously, wondering if they would draw more fire from the stadium; he sensed emotions ranging from wariness to borderline panic, but no one was yet at the point of intent. Glancing at Kadych, he said, "I can handle negotiations, Master."

The Umbaran stood with the fallen Acolyte's lightsaber in his hand, examining it with a critical eye. "Hmm? Oh, yes, that's probably best.  Consulars and diplomacy, and all."

He resumed his contemplation of the dead man's weapon as Tirien raised his hands and advanced slowly across the square, Narasi a few steps behind. When he was fifty meters from the stadium gate he stopped and used the Force to amplify his voice. "We're not here to hurt you. We're not Sith.  I'm Tirien Kal-Di; I'm a Jedi Knight."

There was silence for nearly a full minute, but Tirien waited them out, sensing the debate behind the walls; he thought there was a little bit of hope mingled with the fear now. Eventually a voice called, "Y-You can advance. N-Nice and easy now!"

He did, keeping his hands raised; he sensed Master Kadych strolling after them at his own pace. At the gate, Tirien lowered his hands to his sides. "May we enter?"

"Slowly!"

Tirien obliged them and stepped inside, where he found himself facing a dozen boys and young men, as well as a pair of girls, all Human and all armed, although only one man wearing a police uniform and one boy who looked younger than Narasi had rifles. Apart from the policeman, all were in civilian clothes, and two of the children were actually wearing school uniforms. They looked the Jedi over, and Tirien sensed a flash of panic.

"It's a trap!" one of the boys cried.

"I'm not gonna be a slave!" a girl added.

After a year and a half, Tirien realized where their minds had gone in time. As the two who had cried out raised their weapons, Tirien laid his sword hand on Narasi's shoulder to restrain her and waved his left. The Force swept the guns from their hands, and the boy and girl fell back, eyes wide.

"That's not necessary," he said, trying to sound calm; the remaining defenders of the gate did not look at all pleased by either Narasi's presence or the way Tirien had disarmed their comrades. "I told you, I'm a Jedi Knight. This is Narasi Rican, my Padawan learner.  And this is Master—"

"Zygerrians are with the Sith!" the girl insisted.

"Open your eyes, child," Master Kadych said impatiently. "If we were Sith why would we have killed your attackers?"

"There's two types of Sith here," a young man countered. "Empire and somebody else."

"Zirist Lakalt," Tirien agreed. "But we're not with the Sith, and Narasi is as much a Jedi as me. We're here to help."

Confusion and suspicion reigned in the Force, but eventually the motley crew all turned their eyes to the policeman, who made a face. "I've never heard of a Zygerrian Jedi."

Tirien was preparing a response when Narasi herself spoke up. "I'm the only one," she agreed grimly. "Not just now; the only one ever. But I want to help you."

The policeman hesitated, and Tirien resisted the urge to ease his suspicions with the Force; genuine trust did not start with mind tricks, and he sensed their sextet of Jedi would not get far without help from the locals. But eventually the policeman shouldered his rifle. "How can you help?"

"Do you command here?" Master Kadych asked.

The question seemed to take him aback. "I guess I do? As much as anybody does.  I'm Officer Dorni Kossaboyt, Tarbunt City Police."

"Is this a resistance?"

Some of the kids seemed surprised by the idea, others emboldened, and one puffed out his chest. "We're not gonna let them take our homeworld without a fight."

"Quiet, Avyn," Dorni scolded, and the boy deflated. Looking at the Jedi, Dorni continued, "We have a lot of civilians here, we're trying to keep them moving. It started out with just me and a couple people I picked up, but we keep finding more and more."

"How many?" Narasi asked.

Tirien did not miss the way some of their eyes tightened, probably because Narasi was the one asking the question. "Quite a few."

"Any soldiers?" asked Master Kadych. "Other law enforcement?"

The policeman shook his head with a stricken look. "My sergeant was with us for a while, but he got shot a few hours ago. He told us to…to leave him…"

Regret radiated off him in waves, and Tirien took a step forward, leaving a little space between them. "That was very brave of him. And you did the right thing protecting these people."

He winced, like he wanted to believe it, but one of the girls stuck her gun through her belt and hugged herself. "What if they get him?"

"Shut up!" a boy scolded. "They can only come out in the dark, it's not dark yet."

"It's almost!" she insisted, casting a look of dread at the sky.

Dorni looked like he was going to be sick, and Tirien looked at the girl. "Who?"

They all blanched. The girl who had spoken cast an uneasy look at the Jedi. "We…we're not supposed to talk about them. The more you talk about them…"

"The easier they find you!" the smallest boy agreed. He scuffed the ground with the toe of one boot; though he was armed, his pistol was almost as long as his forearm. "We should go back inside."

"We have to keep moving," Dorni said, recovering himself.

"This place seems relatively defensible," Master Kadych reasoned. "It might be best to hole up here."

"We have to keep moving," Dorni insisted. "If we stay in one place too long, they'll notice the heat signatures from orbit and shell us."

"And the monsters—"

"Stop it, Kara!" a boy shouted.

Tirien felt the fear rising in the group. Raising his hands to still the argument, he said, "We can protect you, but we have to know what we're facing. Kara, is it?" She nodded reluctantly. "What's out there, Kara? What are you afraid of?"

Her chin trembled; she looked a little daunted with all the adults looking down on her, but she swallowed and forced out the words. "They're out there. The…the brain-eaters.  They find you and they suck out your brains!"

Master Kadych raised a hairless eyebrow and Narasi looked puzzled, but Tirien frowned, a hideous suspicion whispering in the back of his mind. "How do they suck out the brains, Kara?"

She hugged herself. Narasi stepped to her side; a few of the kids looked like they wanted to stop her, but thought better of trying. Narasi tentatively laid a hand on Kara's back, rubbing it gently. "It's okay," she said. "Tell us."

Kara looked a little discomfited by Narasi's touch, but didn't push away. After a moment she continued, "They have, like, tentacles. But on their faces.  They stick the tentacles in your nose and suck your brain out!"

Tirien looked back at Kadych, at he saw the Jedi Master was no longer scoffing. The cold, pale eyes studied Kara for a moment—perhaps lifting the images right out of her mind—then shifted to Tirien. "Anzati."

Narasi paled, and Tirien nodded grimly. "That was my thought as well."

"I haven't seen them myself," the policeman confessed, "but some of the others have, from a distance. They're out there.  And they're unstoppable."

"We'll stop them," Master Kadych promised, and several of the children shivered at the cold threat in his tone.

"But what if you can't?!" Kara demanded.

"We're Jedi," Narasi reminded her even as she worked to get her own expression under control. "We're good at stopping the bad guys."

"But they have lightsabers too!" Kara insisted. "My brother saw him before…before…"

Kara started to cry; Tirien wasn't sure whether he or Narasi was more surprised when the girl turned and buried her face against Narasi's shoulder. As Narasi patted her awkwardly on the back, a new suspicion started in Tirien's mind, and his stomach turned. A glance told him he and Master Kadych were still on the same datascreen.

"Kara," he said gently. "What did your brother see? An Anzat Sith?"

She sniffled and nodded. "And he had two lightsabers!"

Tirien knew of only one Anzat Sith Lord, and that one fought with two blades. He took the comlink from his belt. "Mali."

"Good timing," Darakhan's voice came back after a moment. "We've linked up with local resistance. Looks like I'm about…ten klicks from you.  Are you coming to us, or…?"

"We've got civilians here, best you meet us."

"Everything okay?"

Tirien looked back at Kara. "Make it fast, Mali. Things have gotten more complicated."