Desperate Times/Part 9

Narasi found Aldayr sparring two Padawans at once, though she did not recognize either of them; the female Kiffar was younger than Narasi, and the male Balosar looked young enough to have still been an Initiate. Though Aldayr had once confided that the two blades of his lightsaber brought just as many problems as advantages when fighting multiple adversaries, it was immediately obvious that neither of his opponents was prepared to capitalize on them. Aldayr had actually positioned himself between the two, the most dangerous place to be, and was whirling his blades in sweeping circles to fend the younger Padawans off; Narasi thought he might just be challenging himself.

Narasi fidgeted on the spot, her hands actually shaking from tension. Perhaps Aldayr sensed it, because he looked right at her. Seizing the moment, the Kiffar girl gave a triumphant battle cry and sprang at him. Aldayr turned at once, striking downward with his cybernetic hand on the emitter of his saberstaff and connecting with the girl's blade so hard he knocked the lightsaber right out of her hands. As she stared in shock, Aldayr reached out and caught her by the neck. Dragging her along as she choked and smacked uselessly at his durasteel arm, he pursued the Balosar boy, whose eyes bulged.

Even with Aldayr wielding his ungainly two-bladed weapon in his off hand, it was still no contest. The boy gave it a decent try, but Narasi could sense his intimidation as tall, muscular Aldayr bore down on him while dragging the gasping Kiffar girl along. Eventually the Balosar's nerve failed him, and he froze as Aldayr deflected his awkward stab. Aldayr stabbed too, stopping one blade just short of the boy's chest; he tugged the struggling Kiffar in until her face was centimeters from the other blade, and she stopped hitting him and raised her hands.

"Solah," the Balosar boy said.

"S'laghgh," coughed the Kiffar through her compressed windpipe.

"That will do," said a sharp voice, and with a start Narasi noticed that Tairni Tre'go, the Zabrak High Council member, had been observing the sparring session.

That couldn't be normal, could it? She had heard the now-stale gossip that Master Z'dar had left the Jedi Temple, and the hints that some Jedi Guardians had grown restive. Was this proof of the doomsayers' predictions that many of them would go Gray? Had the Council failed to find a new Battlemaster? Or was she reading too much into the situation? Being Tirien's apprentice had given her a tendency to over-analyze.

Tirien…

Aldayr released the Kiffar and closed down both of his blades. He returned his opponents' bows as Master Tre'go said, "Effective, Aldayr, but be careful. Relying too much on intimidation can lead you to a dark place."

But it worked, Narasi thought, but Aldayr merely bowed to her. She nodded, then looked at the Kiffar. "Now, Jezefree…"

Aldayr turned toward Narasi, buckling his saberstaff hilt back onto his belt. Leading her back into the Temple corridor, he walked away from the sparring room, muttering, "Where have you been? I've been looking for you since last night."

"I only just got away from Slejux!" Narasi hissed.

Aldayr stopped, his dark brows coming together. "What do you mean, got away?"

"He says we're staying here! We're not going after Alecto!"

Narasi was aware on some level that Aldayr was staring at her, stunned, but saying the words aloud hit her all over again. She remembered, ages ago in a cave on Toprawa, a Vanguardian squeezing her with Force Crush, her ribs pressing in on her lungs until every breath hurt; she felt the same now.

"Why not?!"

"He said he's concerned about me," Narasi spat, pacing on the spot. She had been struggling to hold herself together every moment she was in Slejux's presence, but now she ran her hands through her hair, tugging on her ears, clenching her jaw. "That I'm letting attachment to Tirien cloud my judgment, that it's…I don't know, a temptation to the dark side or something."

She stared at Aldayr. "What am I gonna do?!"

Aldayr was quiet for a long time. "Do you think he's wrong?"

Narasi's mouth fell open. "I'm not the bad guy here! I didn't kill all those people, or Master Faltko, or Rhosa and Master Shadeez…"

"Who?"

"…and I'm not the one who…who made Tirien…"

But that was a lie and she knew it. She backed up until she hit a pillar and slid down to the ground, looking at her clawed hands. They were still shaking.

Aldayr knelt at her side. "Narasi?"

"It was me, Aldayr," she whispered. "I did it. Alecto gave Tirien…she said it was the antidote, she had one for herself, but the one she gave him was spiked.  He told me to save the Chancellor, but he was already dead, so I…I…"

She stared, unseeing, at the marble floor, until Aldayr said, "So you gave Tirien the…what she said was the antidote."

Narasi nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. She waited for Aldayr to say something—to blame her for the calamity that had befallen Tirien or, worse, to offer empty consolation that it wasn't her fault, was even the will of the Force somehow—but the silence stretched on and on, and finally she spoke instead. "When I was out there chasing Alecto, at least I was doing something, but now…now I can't help. Now Slejux expects me to just sit here and wait for you and Mali and whoever else to find her, if anybody can find her…"

She sensed a faint tremor in Aldayr's mind and opened her eyes. He was making a face. "I don't know why we're still here. Mali said Corellia…well, it's a political thing." He shook his head. "We can't be wasting time with this nonsense, we need to be hunting Alecto, like you said. Or at least fighting Aresh.  But no, he's meeting with Corellia's senator today…"

"Corellia's senator?"

"Like I said, a political thing. It's insane; we've got actionable intel on Alecto, and he still—"

"What?!"

Narasi sprang to her feet; Aldayr held her out with his cybernetic arm as she lurched toward him. "Take it easy! I just got the tip last night."

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I've been looking for you, remember?"

She waved this off. "Where is she?! How'd you find out?"

"I…know a guy. A junior Intel agent who owed me a favor.  He didn't have everything in the database, but it's a lead from inside the Sith Empire.  Apparently we've used it before, too."

Narasi nodded. "Good enough for me. Where am I going?"

"Whoa, whoa!" Aldayr took a tighter hold on her tunic as she tugged back uselessly against his durasteel grip. "What, you're just going to take on Darth Alecto by yourself?"

"I can't just do nothing!"

"Narasi, do you remember Milagro? Remember watching Tirien fight Alecto?  At the end there, when he really cut loose—remember how good he was?"

How good he was. Not anymore… Narasi swallowed. "Of course, but so wh—"

"Remember how that wasn't good enough to beat her? And now you're going to take her on alone?" Aldayr stared at her like she had lost her mind. "Narasi, I'm all for doing something instead of just sitting around here playing politics, but Alecto'll destroy you."

Narasi gritted her teeth and had a retort half-formed, but when she thought about it—when she really forced herself to consider his words and not just the fact that he stood between her and saving Tirien—she knew he was right. It burned her inside to admit it, but she had survived both her duels with Alecto because Tirien had been there to save her. In the end, she was just a Padawan, and Alecto was a fully-trained Sith Lord, skilled enough to kill Jedi Masters.

"Okay…" she forced out. "Okay, I can't beat her alone. I know that.  I need help."

"Slejux—"

"Slejux isn't gonna help me," Narasi said flatly. "He's more concerned about attachment than saving Tirien."

"Well, Mali's too busy being a messenger between Corellia and the Council to…what?"

He frowned, and Narasi realized she was staring, but she couldn't help it. With her true master unable to use the Force, her temporary master against her, Kenza out of contact, and Mali apparently unwilling to focus on the task at hand, Narasi was down to one last hope. "What about you?"

"What about me what?"

Without thinking about it, Narasi lowered her voice further to say, "You and me. Let's go."

"You and me against Alecto?" Aldayr asked, eyes widening. Narasi noted randomly that he had blue eyes like her, though a darker shade, almost indigo. For some reason she thought of Prince Taylo's even darker eyes, and the burning memory put fire in her tone as she answered him.

"We could do it!" she insisted. "You were just fighting two-on-one—"

"Against those two?" Aldayr shook her. "Narasi, they're just kids, they—"

"—and now it'd be two-on-one the other way—"

"Okay, fine, but even together—"

"—and we've both tangled with the Dark Vanguard," Narasi plowed on. "She can't be that much worse, can she?"

"I've only fought them with Mali," Aldayr said, but he did not sound as if he was arguing anymore. His brows knit together again as an intense look stole across his face.

Narasi had only fought the Dark Vanguard with the aid of other Jedi as well—she would, in fact, have died dueling Vanguardians on Toprawa and Anaxes both had Jedi Knights not come to her aid—but though it caused her a pang of unease, she did not mention this to Aldayr. She could see him beginning to waver at last. "Look, I know better than anybody how frightening she is—"

"I respect her abilities; that doesn't mean I'm afraid of her," Aldayr said coolly. Narasi found his mechanical fingers had unclenched enough that she could slip out of his grip; she wasn't sure he was even aware of the motion. ""Mali's been with me, but I haven't always needed him…this last time…"

"Well, I need you. Please, Aldayr, I can't take her alone, but I have to help Tirien."

Aldayr met her eyes and she forced herself not to look away. For once it was he who broke eye contact first; he looked around at the Temple as if memorizing the architecture, then down at the ground. When he looked up again, his face had hardened. "All right. Let's go."

Narasi's chest seemed to expand; she had forgotten what drawing a full breath felt like. "I'll get my gear."

"Now?"

"Of course now! If Mali's at the Senate and Slejux just let me go, this might be our only chance."

"Right." He started walking, and Narasi fell in step beside him. "You're right. She's not back in the Empire yet, but she won't dawdle on the way if she gets a clear shot."

"Where are we going?" Narasi asked for a third time, and at last Aldayr answered.

"It's a little nothing planet in no being's space; she must've gotten stuck and laid low until they could rescue her," he said. "Skorrupon."