Loyalty/Part 13

As Galera Solo spoke to the crowd, Nevya calculated that a two-second running start, plus four bounds, would put her in striking range; she could draw her short sword on the run, so the whole affair would start and end in less than five seconds. But that calculation relied on attacking in a vacuum, and fate had not been so kind. Even assuming the pacifist Caamasi didn't get in the way and the CorSec agents missed when they fired, there was still the Jedi Master to manage.

Nevya took seriously the unique challenges of serving at the right hand of a Sith Lord who was also Darth Hokhtan's master of assassins, and so she had familiarized herself with her master's likely targets—not only obvious ones like Kal-Di, Rican, and Darakhan, but also stretch goals, among whom were the twelve beings who made up the Jedi High Council. Nevya knew neither Darth Hokhtan nor Darth Alecto would ever give a target like that to any of the brethren, even her, but she had envisioned a supporting role for her master's direct assault, be it intelligence gathering, distraction, or staving off reinforcements. No matter how many times she had played out scenarios in her head, she had never imagined taking on one of the Council Masters directly.

But now there was no choice.

Arodion would fight to protect Galera Solo; it was why she was there. Darth Alecto had made her feelings on failure clear, so they could not scrap the mission. It might be possible to wait for a better opportunity—even Jedi ate, slept, and used the refresher—but doubtless Arodion was smart enough to cover the vulnerabilities that could not be avoided, and at night or in more private settings, Nevya and the Sith would sacrifice the advantage of crowd cover. And it would take only one slip for the Jedi to spirit the Solos away where even Darth Alecto could not have reached them—and a Jedi Master would be perceptive enough to catch the slightest slip.

They had to strike today, Nevya realized, and soon—before Arodion or her subordinate Jedi perceived the presence of the three Sith in their midst.

Keeping her bearing relaxed and trying not to plan out the entire assassination in her head, Nevya glanced at the crowd. Zeff and Shrizzzqadl stood at the range of a whispered conversation; doubtless one or both of them had recognized Nawsa Arodion as well. Dolre was still a mystery, and even the scent of his luck vanished beneath the deep, rich aroma of the Corellian Jedi Master. Nevya knew that, if she could consume that soup, she could stand equal to most of the Sith and Jedi in the galaxy.

She's not a meal, she reminded herself even as she suppressed a moan of desire. Darth Alecto would doubtless be pleased with Arodion's death as a bonus, but even that was unnecessary; the targets were the Solos and the Corellian executives. Able, skillful brethren had fallen prey to their own instincts and failed their missions before out of nothing more than hunger, and Nevya was too seasoned for such an amateur slip.

"The Core and the Colonies are the heart of the Republic and the surest hope for its economic future," Galera was saying, "and Corellia is proud to support its companion worlds in that effort. We encourage collaborative competition—economic competition is the surest way to drive overall profitability, as long as we remember the difference between competitors and enemies.  The smaller systems of the Colonies in particular can only profit by welcoming investment from regional and galactic partners."

Nevya wondered how that tack fit the famous Corellian independent streak, but she couldn't spare it too much attention. Arodion was clearly only listening with half an ear as well, her vigilant eyes roaming the crowd. Across the mezzanine, Satir Solo was within the protective reach of the Selkath Jedi and his Padawan, and well outside Nevya's range. She would have to leave them to the Sith.

Focusing on Galera and keeping Arodion in her peripheral vision, Nevya stepped one stair higher; the easiest way to change the calculus was to shorten the distance. She could tell the Jedi had noticed the movement, so she paid attention to the speech and kept her expression blank, nodding now and then, until Arodion looked away. Some of the CorSec guards were looking down on the crowd, and Nevya seized the opportunity to follow their gaze.

Zeff and Shrizzzqadl seemed to be arguing; Nevya could not hear them, but she saw them gesticulating, and she was sure Arodion sensed something off. Nevya gritted her teeth, containing a hiss with effort. Get yourselves together, you fools!

Whether they heard her thoughts or came to the conclusion independently, Nevya never did find out, but they turned toward the staircase as one. She could tell they realized they were being observed at once, for Shrizzzqadl went back to whirling his prayer wheel as Zeff took out his datapad, typing or pretending to while glancing up occasionally at Galera Solo. It was a decent effort, but too little, too late; Nawsa Arodion drew even with Galera and subtly slipped her lightsaber off her belt.

If the Jedi apprehended Zeff or Shrizzzqadl, let alone both, the game was up; there was no way Nevya could kill the Solos with their bodyguards forewarned, much less with only Dolre for backup. Taking care to keep an armored Skakoan between her and Arodion, Nevya brushed her coat back from her left hip and loosened her short sword in its scabbard. She knew the key to fighting both Jedi and Sith was relying on instinct, not planning too far ahead. She was a master hunter—she had survived six levels of the Abattoir—and she would know when the time was right…

Arodion set her free hand on Galera's shoulder and whispered in her ear. The younger woman's discipline was admirable; without a pause or a change of expression, she pivoted off a point about tariffs on Expansion Region goods and said, "And speaking of the Maladi sector, I'm due for a meeting with their trade representative. But my brother Satir and I look forward to attending breakout sessions throughout this conference, and I encourage you to approach us as well as the representatives of the Corellian firms here.  May the Force be with us all."

Amidst polite applause from below, Nevya threw caution to the wind and glowered down at Shrizzzqadl and Zeff again as if she could will them into action. Zeff turned his helmeted head toward her; Nevya thought he was trying to send her a message, though she had no idea what it might be. Shrizzzqadl, by contrast, nudged his way through the crowd, ringing his bell with one hand and shaking his prayer wheel at a couple passers-by while mouthing what seemed to be a blessing over them. He stopped beside one of the Corellian Engineering executive's bodyguards and rang the bell over the man's head. Looking nonplussed, the guard bowed his head respectfully, and in that instant Shrizzzqadl dropped prayer wheel and bell, skipped nimbly forward, drew out his lightsaber, and hacked off the executive's head.

As screams erupted and the mass of conference attendees dissolved into a stampede, Shrizzzqadl threw off his robes and whirled on the spot, striking down the bodyguards who were within reach and reflecting blaster bolts back into the ones who weren't. Some fool with more courage than sense tried to tackle the Zanibar from behind, but Shrizzzqadl sent pieces of him flying. On the far end of the mezzanine, the near-Human Padawan leapt down to engage him, ignoring the Selkath Knight's cry. Shrizzzqadl turned to meet the threat, and Zeff ignited his lightsaber.

Nawsa Arodion activated her blade too, pressing Galera Solo back with her free hand, and Nevya seized her moment. She shorted herself on the sprint by half a second, but her first bound carried her far enough that it didn't matter…she drew her sword on the second leap…as she touched down for the third, she saw Galera's eyes widen in fear…

But as her blade speared for the woman's face, Arodion spun and deflected the stab. Even as Nevya was touching down, Arodion swept Galera off her feet and into the arms of her CorSec guards with the Force; before Nevya had her balance, Arodion brought that Force push back the other way with ten times the power, and Nevya flew across the mezzanine, rolling several times before she turned her momentum into a somersault and a handspring to her feet. When she turned, Arodion was already there, her green blade a whirl of fire.

Nevya charged into the fight rather than let the Jedi dominate it, using the forte of her shorter blade to push the Jedi off balance, jabbing at her face, slashing at her wrists. Her cortosis-woven sword sang in the air and hissed against the Jedi's lightsaber, but did not fail. After her initial onslaught failed, Arodion fell back into a defensive posture, blade held to a tight guard in both hands, blocking or parrying all of Nevya's attacks without counterattacking. Nevya had seen and combatted the Jedi style before, but never so expertly done. She was a few centimeters taller, and she knew in the first few exchanges that she was much stronger, but Arodion defended herself without any sign of effort, her face cool and tranquil.

Nevya feinted a stab, then ripped a throwing knife from under her coat and hurled it at Galera, but Arodion took a hand off her lightsaber and reached for the knife. Though it was already meters away, it froze in midair, then spun and speared back at Nevya, who had to drop into almost a full backbend to avoid it. Arodion cut at her legs, and only an ungainly backward dive saved her.

In the second it took Nevya to backroll to her feet, Arodion spared the rest of the room a look, and that gave Nevya enough time to get the gist. Across the mezzanine, Zeff dueled the Selkath Jedi as the CorSec agents tried to shield Satir Solo with their bodies and press him toward the exit. Nevya saw at least two bodies around Zeff and the Knight's feet. Below, a ring of corpses surrounded Shrizzzqadl and his near-Human Padawan opponent; Nevya wasn't sure what had happened until the near-Human retreated to regroup, and Shrizzzqadl immediately pulled a Rodian in with the Force and cut him in half. The Padawan gulped a breath and dove back into the attack.

Arodion raised a hand toward them, and Nevya seized the opening. Palming three throwing knives this time, she hurled them all in Galera's direction. She had spent the better part of two decades perfecting knife throwing, and though she was at a considerable distance and off balance, the blades looked to be on target. Abandoning Shrizzzqadl, Arodion thrust her hand back, and for a second Nevya thought she had seized all the knives—two of them stopped in front of Galera, one only centimeters from her startled face. But Nevya realized the Jedi must have erected some sort of shield around Galera, because the third knife—farthest from her palm in the stack, and hardest to aim—struck a CorSec agent in the gut. He sank to his knees, clutching the wound as blood overflowed from his mouth and Galera screamed.

Instinct propelled Nevya into a serpentine charge just before some of the CorSec agents opened fire, and their blaster bolts peppered the floor and walls around her without touching her, but by the time she got in range, Arodion was there to meet her. Nevya struck harder, trying to score a kill, or even a glancing blow, but the Jedi Master just gave ground, deflecting rather than blocking, robbing Nevya of the advantage of her strength and matching her for speed.

Aborting her attack and springing back, Nevya drew a hold-out blaster and opened fire toward Galera. Before the CorSec agents could shield their charge or return fire, Arodion sprang in front of them, her blade a green shield. Nevya crouched and strafed, but none of the bolts returned to her, though they all flew in safe directions and struck no one else, either. Switching to one-handed parrying, Arodion beckoned with her other hand, and Nevya's pistol flew out of her grip.

She thought the Jedi had done no more than disarm her until she heard a whoosh of air and half-turned, ducking. The duck kept her head from being pulverized by the decorative stone vase careening toward her, but it clipped her shoulder, knocked her down, and sent her sword skittering across the mezzanine.

Nevya knew death was at hand; the thin piece of alloyed durasteel and cortosis was her only protection against the Jedi Master's lightsaber. Snatching a handful of smoke pellets from her belt, she hurled them in Solo and Arodion's general direction before scrambling across the carpet and throwing herself toward her blade. In the space of those precious few seconds, several things happened.

Arodion stopped the pellets in midair with the Force, but they all burst with loud cracks and spewed stinging smoke. A CorSec agent who had rushed to Arodion's aid fell back, wheezing. The Jedi herself did not seem affected, but it took a moment before she could dispel the cloud with a wave of her hand.

Below, the Padawan screamed as Shrizzzqadl cut off his arm, then stopped screaming when the rangy Zanibar impaled him through the face. With all the police and guards within range dead from lightsaber blows or their own reflected blaster bolts, Shrizzzqadl immediately leapt to Zeff's level, though Zeff seemed to be holding his own against the Selkath Jedi. At a glance, Nevya did not see Satir Solo or any of his guards.

Nevya got her hand around the hilt of her sword, and as she clambered to her feet, she saw the CorSec guards towing Galera back, one of them rubbing his eyes and coughing. The one Nevya had hit with her knife lay on his side, red and yellow froth mingled on his lips, his body twitching.

Nevya and Shrizzzqadl moved on Arodion at once, but the Jedi parried Nevya's stab, skipped back, pirouetted on the spot, and blew Shrizzzqadl into a column with the Force before completing her spin and facing Nevya again. As the tall Zanibar skidded to a halt near Zeff and the Selkath, Nevya could only stare; she had never seen a Force user fight like that. Arodion glanced at the other fight, and Nevya knew she felt torn, but before she could seize on the Jedi's distraction, Arodion thrust a hand at her, and Nevya flew. The Force push lifted her off her feet, carried her all the way over the now-deserted first floor, and slammed her into the far wall so hard Nevya blacked out for an instant.

The blow might have killed a Human; certainly the drop to the first floor would have broken a Human's legs or telescoped her spine. Nevya was not Human, so she hit the ground and rolled, but her legs ached and her back was a mass of pain from skull to tailbone. She had dropped her sword on impact; she staggered as she went to retrieve it.

Above, Zeff shaved off one of the cephalic lobes that dangled beside the Selkath's mouth; the blow looked like luck as much as skill, but Zeff still pressed his advantage. Arodion was closing in, though, and as Shrizzzqadl moved in her direction, the Force bludgeoned him back again; the Jedi didn't even break pace for a gesture. The surviving CorSec guards towed Galera Solo the other way—doubtless toward one of the emergency exits elsewhere on the mezzanine floor.

Every one of you who fails is a failure of mine, Nevya remembered Darth Alecto telling the adepts early in their time on Lisal. And I do not fail.

What had become of Satir Solo and the Corellian Engineering execs—aside from the one Shrizzzqadl had beheaded—Nevya did not know; they were beyond her reach now. But Galera Solo she could still see, and she knew that only seconds now separated success and failure. Nawsa Arodion would make short work of Zeff and Shrizzzqadl; even together, they were no match for her.

Nevya had fought Jedi before, and sparred Darth Alecto several times, but Arodion wielded her blade and the Force so casually it seemed effortless, and her restrained, defensive style eliminated half of Nevya's tricks for baiting an enemy into a mistake; it was like fighting a wall. She knew her blade would make no difference in the fight either, but if Zeff and Shrizzzqadl could just delay the Jedi a few seconds…

Shaking her head to clear the lingering stars, Nevya ran for the stairs.