Revenge of the Jedi/Part 46

Gaebrean Kaivalt hit every step on the way down; by the time he landed at the foot of Gasald's flamboyant staircase, every part of him ached. The best he could say for himself was that he had remembered to deactivate his lightsaber in the fall and kept the hilt in hand; one of the White Guards had tripped over him, but he could hardly take credit for that. He got to his feet, groaning, only to have to duck the next instant another White Guard swung a lightsaber pike at his head.

Under other circumstances, Gaebrean might have tossed off a witticism—at the very least, an accusation of unsporting behavior was in order; he had not even dusted himself off. But having just dueled a man he had considered a brother Jedi, if not a particularly close friend, with each trying to kill the other, Gaebrean found his easy smile somewhat harder than usual. He called forth his purple blade and parried the White Guard's follow-up stab. His countering slash landed on the man's helmet, but though it turned a line of the white plating smoking black, it simply glanced off.

That's how I can pay back dear old Dad's "wasted credits", Gaebrean thought as he retreated. ''Invest in cortosis mining. How much of the bloody stuff does the galaxy even have?''

Yan Razam appeared from nowhere, slashing at the guard's neck. She missed, and her blow bounced off his helmet too, but the Arcona put so much force behind it that the guard staggered, and she blew him off his feet with a Force push. "Do something about them!"

"I'm trying!" he said, a bit miffed at her tone. "Their armor's hard to—"

"Not the guards, you idiot, them!"

She grabbed his shoulder and turned him around, and Gaebrean apprehended the problem at once. Narasi and Zaella dueled around the horseshoe platform below Gasald's dais, Zaella's face lit by her red blade and Narasi's blue in the gloom, and Gaebrean saw at once that Zaella was in a bad way. Her Juyo style was not made for sustained defense, so she was giving ground as fast as possible, but Narasi pounded her blocks with ferocious slashes, always on the attack; soon Zaella would run out of room, and her only options would be to try to kill Narasi, or die. Gaebrean thought the only reason she had survived so far was the two Sith prowling around the edges of the moving duel; unsure whether to take a shot at Narasi or Zaella's exposed backs or just hope one would kill the other and make their jobs easier, they were feinting and jabbing without really committing. Part of Narasi must have realized Zaella wasn't a threat, because she abandoned her assault each time to defend herself, but Gasald had twisted her enough that she didn't sustain her counterattack against the Sith, returning to Zaella every time.

And Zaella…

The latest woman you've used, he thought. The latest toy to be cast aside when you grow bored of playing with her.

Gaebrean's stomach turned. Was that what he was? If Narasi cut Zaella down, would the scarlet marvel of a woman die thinking she had been nothing more than his latest conquest? Had she been? A novelty of sorts—a Twi'lek, and a former Sith to boot? And had he only chosen to conquer her because, unlike the many women he'd left in his wake, there was no chance he'd leave her a little Jedi boy or girl to dispose of once he was gone?

Nausea didn't do Gaebrean's feelings justice—it was a spiritual sickness. He wondered only whether it had contracted it just now, or if the disease had been rotting him from the inside and he had only just received the scans.

"GAEBREAN!" Yan roared.

He started; Zaella had tripped over a fallen White Guard; Narasi kicked the man in the helmet, stepped on his back, and came down on Zaella with a jumping Falling Avalanche. Zaella braced her lightsaber hilt with both hands, but in the face of Narasi's brutal strength, her elbows buckled.

"No!" Gaebrean shouted, hurling himself toward them, dodging a red blade and slapping a Sith aside on the way. He could not let her die, with so much left unsaid, when he had treated her so ill…

"AMAANI! NO!"

Gaebrean heard the scream from above him, and the sorrow and death that rent the Force staggered him for one step, but Zaella's blade was only centimeters from her nose now. Gaebrean flung himself forward, seizing Narasi by the back of her belt. Momentum carried him on, and he spun and tossed her to the deck nearby. Of course, the young Sith nearest could not resist that bait, and so Gaebrean had to fly to Narasi's rescue, blade whirling. The lad met every one of Gaebrean's slashes and lunges, which vexed him, but Narasi snarled from the ground and gouged a chunk out of his knee. As he wailed, Gaebrean cut his throat, and the sound faded into a squeaking whistle.

Narasi kipped up and snarled, "Thanks?"

"You're welcome." Gaebrean threw a Force push at the other Sith to give Zaella time to get to her feet. As Narasi bared her teeth and turned back that way, he said, "Just one more thing!"

"Later!"

"Won't be but a second!"

She whirled around. "What?"

He set his saber hand on her shoulder, careful to keep the blade away from her. "In my great-grandfather's name, on my family's honor, for all that I am as a gentleman—I'm so very sorry."

She shook her head and stared like he had gone mad. "Why?"

Gaebrean swung his other forearm up and smashed it into her face. As she reeled, dazed, he wound up a hook punch that knocked her to the floor. The White Guard she had kicked was stirring and groping for his lightsaber pike, so Gaebrean stabbed him in the head. The straight lunge did what a slash could not, melting through the white armor with only a tug and a rattle on the blade, and the guard lay still.

Zaella had regained her feet and was mid-duel with the Sith, who slashed at her with two lightsabers. Gaebrean jumped in to occupy one of them, and together he and Zaella drove the Sith back to the edge of the platform. Gasald had thought to put up a railing over the abyss below her throne's dais, but the Sith still sent a pulsar of fear into the Force when her back hit it. She did the only thing possible and leapt, but being the only option did not make it a better one, and as the woman struggled to deflect Zaella's rising slash on the way down, Gaebrean slipped sideways, slashed in, and opened her from groin to skull.

Zaella stared at him, those amber eyes he loved—like two gemstones against the red velvet of her skin—wide and incredulous. "You came for me. You helped me."

The pure surprise in her tone gutted him, and Gaebrean took her face in one hand and kissed her, heedless of the carnage and death all around them. When he forced himself to part from her, he said, "Zaella, I…I'm so sorry…"

She leaned back a little. "You're not gonna punch me too, are you?"

He laughed despite himself, but spun toward Narasi, who was on her hands and knees, shaking her head while a White Guard bore down on her. Gaebrean felt the flash of Zaella's rage before she said, "Help Narasi. I've got this one."

Taking a screen from Narasi's datafile, she got a running start, used Narasi's back as a springboard, and dove into a leaping stab that nearly impaled the White Guard and sent the hulking brute scrambling back; for all its virtues, a lightsaber pike was little use at point blank range. Sliding to a kneel beside Narasi, Gaebrean asked, "Got your head on straight now, my dear?"

She groaned and glowered at him sideways. "You punched me."

"I beg that you'll pardon my ungentlemanliness, but you weren't quite yourself. Are you now?"

Narasi blinked, shaking her head several times; Gaebrean rather hoped he hadn't given her a concussion. He touched the back of her head, trying to send her soothing thoughts, although Jedi holocaust echoed in his mind so much he wondered if he might not be doing more harm than good. But she rocked back onto her heels and looked at Zaella, and her eyes filled her face. "Oh Force…Gaebrean, what'd I do?!"

"It's Gasald," he told her. "She turned you around in your head, but you're all right now, no harm done. Up you get, duels still to be fought…"

"Raven!"

Gaebrean frowned; perhaps he had hit her too hard at that. "Gaebrean."

"No, look!"

On one of the little auxiliary daises above them, Raven dueled a thin Human man. Raven clearly had the better of the duel, but the other man knew the terrain and kept scampering back to preserve his life another moment.

"Go on, I've got this," Narasi said, and her lightsaber flipped off the ground into her hand as she turned to Zaella's fight. "I'm on her side this time."

As she hit the White Guard from the other side, Gaebrean crouched and pulled the Force to himself, but drawing on its energy turned his head without any intention on his part. He saw Kobold Baliss, a little rumpled and worse for the wear but very much alive and armed, bearing down on Narasi and Zaella's fight with the White Guard. Dodging around that conflict, Gaebrean interposed himself between the girls and the fallen Knight.

"Took a tumble down the stairs yourself, did you, traitor?" Gaebrean taunted. "Rather unpleasant, isn't it?"

"If you'd just surrendered, this wouldn't have happened!" Kobold said. "If you'd listened to reason—"

"What? Amaani would still be alive?  That was him dying before, wasn't it?"

"DON'T!" Kobold roared, and Gaebrean had to fall silent so he could bring all his powers to bear in defending himself. Kobold was the superior swordsman and they both knew it, but perhaps, Gaebrean thought, his anger might make him sloppy.

A scream and a wave of darkness rolled over the whole room, and both Gaebrean and Kobold staggered, but Gaebrean forced himself to pick up the attack in the momentary opening.

"You think he'd have been a good boy and surrendered? Amaani Wisté?" Gaebrean asked as he tried a cut. "He was the first to charge!"

"Enough!"

Gaebrean caught him in a saber lock, and he had his next taunt brewing when something occurred to him and cold stole over him. "Kaelora…"

Kobold flinched, and Gaebrean headbutted him through their crossed blades. As the taller Knight staggered back, Gaebrean launched a flurry of slashes and stabs. From somewhere above them came an explosion and a cry of agony, but all Gaebrean could think was bringing his sister the news that her worst fears had been realized—the man she loved was gone.

"It's you!" he snarled, stabbing at Kobold's face. "My sister's fiancé—your friend—died because of you! TRAITOR!"

Kobold screamed too, and it all came down to instinct for Gaebrean—dodge, parry, thrust, attack, riposte, attack and remise… Death flowed through the Force from every quarter, fear and anguish and the cold, black fire of the dark side…Narasi screamed…or was it Zaella?…had he failed her again, failed her in the worst way…used her and thrown her away to her fate…no scion of House Kaivalt to die this time, but a Force-sensitive dead in his wake nonetheless…

The bitter words cut him, clawed him…and distracted him. He overswung on a slash, and Kobold Baliss's lightsaber pierced him through the sternum.

Oh Kae, he thought. I'm sorry.

Kobold flicked his blade sideways to bisect Gaebrean's heart, and he thought and hurt no more.