The Liberator/Part 21

Day 71 of the Liberation of Milagro

"I dunno, Boss," the holo of Essely Kalliot reported, "battle is kind of a strong term. We basically showed up and killed everybody."

Mali raised an eyebrow. "Which is not generally what's meant by the word 'raid', Commodore Kalliot…"

"Oh, we just killed the people trying to kill us," she assured him. "We raided, all right. We intercepted a lot of outbound commerce—mostly foodstuffs and luxury goods, but some tech too."

"Were you able to hit any ground defenses from orbit?"

"It didn't look like anything substantial. A couple fighter squadrons did flyovers to confirm, and they bombed what we think was an intelligence site, but most of it was covered by shield generators.  It seemed like more trouble than it was worth to deploy troops groundside."

Mali gave her a look. "And, again, not exactly what a raid is…"

She grinned in the way only a Corellian could pull off, and even then usually only when talking to another Corellian. "Bet Gasald thinks twice before mounting an attack on Milagro, though."

Or thinks about it twice as hard, Mali thought, but he couldn't deny the value of Essely's accomplishment. "How did Aldayr do?"

"Really well," she reported. "They didn't have enough fighters for it to be worthwhile for him to take a fighter command, so he led a boarding party of Marines onto the enemy flagship instead."

"And how'd that go?"

"Well, we brought the flagship back here with us, so…"

At last Mali could give her his Corellian grin in return. "Always a good sign. Casualties in his Marines?"

"A few injuries, but no fatalities. Word I've gotten from my Marine commander is that Aldayr took the brunt of the worst spots himself.  Cut his way onto the bridge and got the commander's surrender personally."

Damn, kid, Mali thought. "Is he available?"

"Stand by, I'll get him."

She was back after a moment, and Aldayr's form took up half the holo with her. He had cleaned himself up in the time it took to return from Essely's raid on Merkat, but Mali could see how his apprentice was flush with his victory even as he bowed. "Master."

"I hear you've brought me a ship, Aldayr."

"Commodore Kalliot's brought more than one, Master," Aldayr noted. "I only got the one."

It was a brave stab at modesty; he still had that contained smile of self-satisfaction, but Mali appreciated the effort. "Well, one's more than zero. Did you bring me prisoners, too?"

"The captain and most of his command staff," Aldayr said with a nod. "Once I got onto the bridge with an active lightsaber, they knew the game was up."

Mali frowned. "The captain…on the enemy flagship? What about the flag officer?"

Aldayr and Essely traded glances before Essely said, "We're still early in interrogations, but Intelligence says it was a Sith."

"Probably an Acolyte, not a Sith Lord," Aldayr threw in. "I didn't find any myself, but a couple died fighting my Marines."

"And we shot down some craft trying to flee out-system," Essely added. "We may have gotten him and not even known it. Or he could've fled downside."

"Or escaped?" Mali asked.

Essely sighed, but nodded. "It's possible. It took us a little while to get the battle cordon up."

Mali considered for a moment, but nodded; it was still a strong victory, and in the middle of winning glory for herself and Aldayr, Essely had achieved the actual purpose of the raid. "It happens. In the end, if one Sith Acolyte makes or breaks us, I've failed as a commander.  Essely, great work.  Get me a battle report within one rotation, plus field reports you think I should look at.  Aldayr, come down the well as soon as you can, I need you here."

"Aye aye, General Darakhan."

"I'm on my way, Master."

Mali's smile faded along with the holo, and he called up his tacmap, which now had its own button for instant access. If Essely had done her job right, some of the captured ships could be used to get Intelligence assets deeper into Gasald's territory, but the extent of her success might provoke a response from Gasald; the Sith Overlord might not take up a fight of questionable odds willingly, but she would certainly not suffer her underlings or the Council of Five to doubt her control over her territory. Mali had to be careful to hit her hard enough to inconvenience and hamper her without calling down the full force of her armada.

The door opened while Mali was still studying the holo, and Renata poked her head in. "Sir? Miss Chun's here to see you?"

"Oh, right. Send her in."

Kadelle appeared a moment later. Since her sister had taken the Rogue's Gambit and most of her wardrobe, she had gone shopping with part of Mali's down payment on Nal's delivery. Today's outfit was sleek blue and black, though with the familiar sidearm on her thigh and the familiar smirk on her lips. "Hey Jedi."

"Hey smuggler," he retorted with a smile. "Got any bites from your contacts?"

"What, about your plan to hire a bunch of pirates?" She pulled off looking offended, though only by a little. "They're a little skeptical when the offer comes from a Jedi Knight."

"That's hurtful, Kadelle; piracy is illegal," Mali corrected, putting a wounded note in his own voice. "The Republic would never condone illegal actions, and certainly, as a champion of justice in a galaxy that's running short of it, I would never stoop so low. Privateering, on the other hand…"

She rolled her eyes. "I put out feelers. Give it some time."

"Time's not a commodity I have in infinite supply here," Mali hinted. After the incident in Derresor that morning, he was eager to keep the population happy.

Kadelle smirked. "Well, just send Commodore Kalliot on more raids, then."

Mali blinked; an instinctive denial sprang to his lips, but he sensed that she knew. "And where did you hear that?"

"Oh, you know…" Kadelle said, shrugging and gazing innocently to the ceiling. "I know people coming in every day…had to reach out and find you some pirates—"

"Privateers."

"—so they told me some stories…and even some people close to the command structure…"

Mali thought for a moment, then squeezed his eyes shut, sighing. "RENATA!"

"Be nice," Kadelle said. "She's just a kid."

Mali grumbled, but the door opened again before he could get a real reply out. Renata's eyes were wide. "I was just coming to tell you!"

"Well, that's honest of you, I guess," Mali said, giving her a glower for effect.

She blinked. "Sir?"

Mali started to sense they were traveling down different hyperlanes. "Wait, what were you coming to tell me?"

"The holo. It's Master Cazars."

Of course it is, Mali prevented himself from saying aloud, though only just. "Oh. Yeah, okay, send it in."

"Yes sir."

"Oh, and Renata?" he called.

Her head reappeared. "Yes sir?"

Mali walked forward, laying a hand on Kadelle's shoulder. She looked at him, smiling in a just-slightly-cautionary way, but she didn't shrug off the hand. "Renata, this is Kadelle. She's an ally to our presence here just now, she's doing some good work for us, and she's a very nice person.  She's also wanted on a dozen systems and not a Jedi.  We don't discuss classified military operations with pirates."

"Privateers," Kadelle whispered.

"Yeah, that's—oh, shut up!" Mali snapped, and Kadelle snickered.

Renata's eyes bulged and she flushed. "Oh…oh, General, I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking.  We were just talking, and…I swear, I didn't—"

"I forgive you, Renata, just think a little more next time."

"Of course I will, I never meant—"

"Out, Renata."

"Yes sir." With a last agonized look, she vanished.

"Poor thing," Kadelle said, sticking out her lip. "She looked like a scared Kushiban."

"I knew I should've sent her and Raven with Essely too," Mali grumbled as he returned to the holoprojector.

Elata Cazar's face appeared after a moment. "Mali."

"Master. I'm here with Kadelle Chun."

"What a coincidence—I have a Chun with me, too."

The holo frame widened, and Nal Chun was visible at the Council Master's side. "You all right, Kadelle?"

"I'm fine, Nal," Kadelle assured her.

Nal looked her over and admitted, "You don't look like you've had it too rough."

"Really, Nal, I'm aurekay," she promised. "We've been working on some new business opportunities."

"Have you." Nal's narrow-eyed gaze shifted to Mali for the first time. "What've you suckered my sister into this time, Jedi?"

"Hey!" Mali and Kadelle said at once. They looked at each other, then Kadelle spoke alone.

"Just doing a couple favors, Nal."

"Paid favors?"

"We're working out a retainer," Mali said. "And speaking of you being paid…?"

"In full," Elata confirmed. "And every gravity mine accounted for."

Nal crossed her arms. "I held up my end of the bargain, Jedi."

"As will I," Mali said. "You've got your credits, and we'll be here whenever you get back."

"As soon as I can get the Gambit refueled," Nal growled.

"Actually, Nal…" Kadelle said, then paused. "Could we talk privately for a minute?"

"No." This time it was Mali and Elata speaking in unison.

Kadelle rolled her eyes. "All right, fine. Nal, you remember the being that we had the incident with at Taris about two years ago?"

Nal frowned, thinking for a moment before nodding. "I do."

Kadelle explained Mali's idea of hiring privateers to harass Gasald, then said, "Do you think you could swing by…where that being might be on your way back and run the idea by…that being?"

Looking very put-upon, Nal grimaced at Mali. "What kind of retainer are we talking about here, Jedi?"

"A fair one," Mali said. "Plus, if people you link us up with turn out to be worth anything, some percent of the proceeds of whatever they deliver."

"Ten percent."

"We haven't worked out yet—"

"Good, ten percent."

Mali rolled his eyes. "Five."

"Seven."

"Five for quantities delivered that value less than a hundred thousand credits, ten percent of any value over that."

"Five percent for quantities under a hundred thousand, ten percent of all value for quantities over that."

Elata and Kadelle's heads swiveled back and forth as they followed the exchange. Mali made a show of considering, but if the Chun sisters could actually hand him enough pirates delivering quantities worth over a hundred thousand credits, it would be worth the payout just to hurt Gasald that badly without expending his own forces. He extended his hand to Kadelle. "Done."

She shook with a smirk. "Pleasure doing business with you, such as it was." Lowering her voice, she muttered, "Swear, she thinks I can't bargain my way out of a space crate…"

"What?" Nal said.

"Nothing. Good luck!" Kadelle called cheerily.

Elata cleared her throat. "That was fascinating, but now I'd like a private word with Jedi Darakhan."

"We didn't get a private word," Nal pointed out. Elata gave her a look, and though her face showed no emotion, after a moment Nal quailed and looked at Kadelle. "I'll be back soon. Don't sell him the Gambit before I get there."

"Try not to crash it," Kadelle fired back, tossing her hair as she strode out.

Once they were alone, Mali said, "The gravity mines should throw a 'spanner in Seldec's operations."

"They'll keep him hemmed up for a while," Elata admitted, "but it won't be enough. I need reinforcements, Mali."

So much for the gravity mines buying her off. "We just captured a bunch of ships from Merkat, I could send you some of those."

"Merkat?" she frowned. "What were you doing at Merkat?"

"I sent Essely Kalliot there for a raid. Disrupt commerce, get us some extra supplies, that sort of thing.  In and out in a day."

"Mali, the Republic authorized your campaign against Milagro, not a whole second front against Gasald."

Mali stared. "Master, you were the one who suggested expanding to nearby systems!"

"I asked if you had, I didn't say it was a good idea."

"We didn't conquer Merkat, it was a raid. They're already back."

He did not voice his own reservations, but he did not need to, because Master Cazars did it for him. "And if Gasald thinks you are planning to branch out? What happens when she decides you're more trouble to leave free than to challenge?"

"Well, that's the day I'll be glad that the very understanding Jedi Master who trusts my judgment and appreciates the gravity mines I sent her left me my whole fleet to fight Gasald off," Mali said, conjuring up his winningest smile.

Elata looked like part of her wanted to smile in return, while another part wanted to reach out through time and space and slap him upside the head with the Force. She chose a middle road. "I have enough forces to hold the line, but I can't press Aresh without more. I have to have ships from somewhere."

"What about Master Nar—"

"Darth Saleej is testing Narfulk and Admiral Ok-Majan at dozens of points; the moment he finds a weak spot, he'll widen it into a crack and flood his forces farther into the Inner Rim."

"Well, what about—"

"There's nothing else, Mali," Elata said, exasperated. "We thinned a number of fleets to support yours as it is."

"What was the plan here, Master?" Mali demanded. "We liberate Milagro from Gasald, Milagro joins the Republic…and then what? We give them a few shield generators and wish them good luck?  What's to stop Gasald from blockading Milagro and starving them out the moment we're gone?"

"You'll still have more than half your fleet."

"Yeah, and of the four factions contributing to my fleet, the only one whose job it is to protect other Republic worlds is the one that's trying to cut and run!" On a sudden inspiration, Mali added, "What're the Chancellor and the Council going to tell the Diktat the next time Corellia starts feeling independent? 'You're a Republic world, of course we'll protect you, except when we won't'?"

Elata ran a hand over her forehead and down one of her shiny lekku. "Are you planning to just keep an eight hundred ship armada permanently?"

"I need this fleet as long as I'm on an island here," Mali said. "If the Seventy-Second can finish off Lakalt, then we can team up and open a real second front against Gasald. Master Bnodd can leave Osydro alone for a while and bank hard south, and we can meet in the middle and break up Gasald's entire supply line on the Corellian Run.  And once she's dead we can move the whole front against Osydro."

"This started as a plan to check Gasald's advance on Corellia; now you're trying to turn it into an entire theater of war. The Admiralty's going to balk; even Chancellor Thini may not support this kind of commitment."

"It's an opportunity!" Mali insisted. "We have a perfect opening here, we'd be fools not to take it."

"I can't continue to patronize this campaign," Elata told him. "Not alone. I'll need the support of the High Council for this.  And all of this is going to fall apart if Milagro doesn't join the Republic."

"It will."

It was Mali's turn to flinch under Elata's stern gaze. "You'd better do everything you can to make sure it does. Now, how many ships did Commodore Kalliot capture from Merkat?"

"I don't have the battle reports yet."

"Whatever it is, get them crewed, then send me that many Republic ships back."

Mali blinked. "Where am I supposed to get crews?"

"You've told me there's a recession on Milagro—sounds like you have an entire planet full of job-seekers."

"The Navy doesn't take non-citizens. Only the Marines—"

"Add that to the list of reasons Milagro needs to join the Republic, then," Elata said.

Mali almost pressed, but realized in time that he had probably come out as far ahead as he could possibly hope. "Okay. Thanks, Master."

"This is a reprieve, not a pardon, Mali," the Twi'lek Jedi warned him. "And don't forget that sooner or later I'm going to need you back up here too."

"Yes Master. May the Force be with you."

The afternoon sunlight gleaming through Mali's windows filled his office with warm, cozy light, but he couldn't help feeling a little chilled by the conversation. Every time felt more like a fight, and every fight was harder than the last. When he had wasted several minutes standing at the window, lost in thought, he strode into the antechamber. Renata rose, though Kadelle, who was lounging on a loveseat, did not.

"What can I do, sir?" Renata asked.

"Is Aldayr downside yet?"

She looked back at her screen, fingers flying over the input console. "Uh…his shuttle just left the Soul Diamond. ETA is about ten minutes."

Mali considered waiting but, impelled to action, his spirit would not stand another delay. "I'm going to see the Prime Minister, have him meet me there."

"Yes sir." Renata winced. "Sir, I just want to say again how sorry I am—"

"Drop it, Renata." Mali started toward the door, then stopped, reminding himself that he was a Jedi Knight. "There is no emotion, Renata. Understand the mistakes you've made, get the lesson out of them, and commit to not repeating them, but then move on.  Not moving on is tying yourself to the past, and Jedi don't do that."

Renata closed her eyes and took a breath, and as she blew it out again, Mali sensed her mind had settled itself a little. When she showed her soft brown eyes again, they were steady. "Yes, Master Darakhan. Thank you."

Mali gave her a nod and a smile, then headed out. He was almost to the stairs before it dawned on him that Kadelle was a few steps behind. "You know this isn't one of our 'Mali and Kadelle visit the Prime Minister together' afternoon teas, right?"

She snorted, tugging her jacket. "And here I wore my Benduday best."

Mali half-smirked. "Go get me more pirates."

"Privateers."

"Not until they sign up, they're not!"

She laughed, bumping him with her shoulder before heading toward the turbolift. Mali took the stairs down, but when he sensed a disturbance in the Force he picked it up to two at a time. The guards outside Zemma's suite of offices came to attention as he approached, but before he could go in, she came out, accompanied by Nissi Enkolfo, Tago Tafen, Baron Obveluus, and several of her staff.

"You heard?" Zemma asked as Mali fell in step with them.

"The terrorist bombing in Derresor?" Mali winced. "Yeah, but I'm hoping it's an isolated—"

"No, did you hear about dar Grosskis?"

As if on cue, his comlink buzzed on his belt. Taking it in hand, he said, "I feel like I'm about to…"

"Eldrin dar Grosskis just committed suicide in his cell," Nissi said.

Mali swore. Dar Grosskis, the former Private Secretary to erstwhile Prime Minister Deordis Bevrelles, had been deep in Bevrelles's council and personally signed off on many of the Arch Collaborator's oppressive orders. Flipped by the prosecution to be spared the enormous sentence he was otherwise sure to get, he had not yet taken the stand to provide evidence. "How did this happen?"

"Apparently he cut his wrists."

"With what?! We scan everyone going in!"

Zemma looked at him darkly. "His teeth."

"Did he leave a note? Anything to make sense of this?"

"We're still getting information, sir," one of Zemma's bodyguards supplied.

Only when she said it did Mali become aware of the comlink still vibrating in his hand. "What, Renata?"

"Sir, we just got a report from the tribunal prison—"

"Already heard about it, Renata." Mali struggled to keep himself focused and calm. "Dar Grosskis killed himself. Give me information I don't already have."

"Uh…they say he wrote on the walls."

"With what—oh, of course, his own blood," Mali answered himself as they reached the turbolifts. "What'd he write?"

"Get out of my head. Just that, sir, over and over.  Get out of my head.  They think he stopped because he…he…"

"Ran out of ink?" Mali suggested.

He imagined Renata's nauseated expression and regretted his glibness, but she answered before he could apologize. "Er…yeah. They found his body next to an unfinished line."

"Well, isn't that nice and gruesome," Mali said. "All right, thanks Ren—"

He stopped mid-word, eyes widening in horror. "Dammit! Renata, where's Kysl Ssron?!"

"I—"

"Order the guards to check on him, now!"

The descent down the few remaining floors seemed interminable; Mali took the opportunity to call the barracks and order a speeder. He was halfway across the hallway by the time Renata's voice came back.

"Sir, Lord Ssron escaped!"

Mali took a deep breath; Zemma and the others were following him, and it was crucial now to project calm. "How bad is it?"

"The Jedi guarding him…she's dead, sir. Shot in the back."

"He had inside help," Zemma said grimly.

"Or twisted somebody's mind," Mali offered. "Anything else, Renata?"

"Not yet, sir."

"All right, keep me informed. And call up to Aldayr, tell him what's happened." Cutting the link, Mali switched frequencies. "Raven?"

"I just heard. I'm on my way to the prison."

"Negative, reroute to the judiciary."

"What about the prison?"

"I'll deal with Ssron. Raina's with the judges, but I want you to back her up."

"Moving."

Mali put the comlink back on his belt and turned to the knot of beings watching him. "Baron, I need you to stay with the Prime Minister."

"Of course," Baron Obveluus replied, drawing one side of his robe back and tucking it behind his lightsaber hilt like a gunman clearing his weapon for a quickdraw. "Should Lord Ssron come here, he will be sorry indeed."

"Great." Turning to the Prime Minister's bodyguards, Mali said, "Seal and secure the building. No, belay that!  Karzded built it; if there are secret ways in, Ssron will know them.  Get the Prime Minister to a secure location."

"I'm not going to run from my enemies, General," Zemma said.

"If Ssron gets in here—"

"I'll have Baron Obveluus to protect me, and all my bodyguards," she cut him off, crossing her arms. "I am the Prime Minister of Milagro, and I don't flee. Not from the Sith; not from anyone."

Simultaneously awed and frustrated by her defiance, Mali was left staring wordlessly for a long moment before he could collect himself. "All right, back to the original plan, seal and secure the building. And take her up to my office, Renata's there too."

"You're going after him, General Darakhan?" Tago Tafen asked.

"Yeah."

"Good hunting, sir," the Rodian said.

"Good luck, General," a bodyguard added.

"You've got this, sir."

"The good wishes of the Tapani go with you, General Darakhan."

Mali nodded, mustering a smile for them, and turned to go, but Zemma stopped him.

"Mali." He turned, and her eyes were hard. "I want clear and public justice for Milagro and Milagroans, but if Ssron can do these things… If you can bring him back alive and keep him—and everyone around him—safe, fine.  But if you can't…I'll understand if you can't bring him back alive."

Was there a hint there, Mali wondered, or merely advice on a plan of attack? He didn't know, and he couldn't waste any more time puzzling on it. "Right. Stay safe!"

He found his speeder waiting, but ignored the armored car and took a speeder bike from a surprised Republic soldier who had obviously intended to be an escort. Rocketing off before the man could do more than salute, Mali hit his wrist comlink and held it up to his ear against the rushing wind. "Aldayr!"

"I can barely hear you, Master."

"Yeah, I'm kind of in a rush. Look, Kysl Ssron—"

"Renata told me. I'm en route, three minutes out."

"Good man."

"Want him back in his cell, Master?" Mali grimaced, Zemma's words warring with his Jedi instincts, taking so long that Aldayr finally called, "Master?  Can you hear me?"

"No. I mean, I hear you, but…unless he gives up, kill on sight, Aldayr."

"Got it. Two minutes."

It took more than two minutes for Mali to reach the judiciary complex; he saw Aldayr's shuttle descend out of the clouds, but his own way was barred by jammed traffic and pedestrians massing around the Republic Army cordon. The soldiers were in the middle of a shoving match with Milagroans and even a few offworld journalists, all of whom were demanding answers. When Mali stopped his speeder, several of them turned on him.

"General Darakhan! Can you comment on the reports—"

"What's going on?!"

"Have the judges really been—"

"—mass prison riot—"

"—declare martial law—"

"MOVE!" Mali commanded, and several beings leapt back; judging by their confused frowns the next second, either his command voice had gotten more authoritative than he knew, or he had put some of the Force into his order without realizing it. He didn't waste the opening with reflection, though, bulling through the crowd.

"Down with the occupation!" a voice screamed behind him, and the Force turned his head in warning. "FREE MILAGRO ONLY!"

Mali saw a bottle of fuel flying through the air, a burning rag stuck in one end. Raising a hand, he squeezed it into a fist and burst the bottle at the top of its arc; it erupted in flames in midair and several onlookers screamed. The whole crowd spread, and Mali got through to the Army line.

"Got the thrower?" he called over the din to a sergeant.

"Already on it, sir," he said, pointing.

Mali saw a Human being wrestled to his knees by two plainclothes beings, half a dozen reporters recording the struggle. He sighed; two terrorist bombings in one rotation. "Sergeant, do we have anything on Ssron yet?"

"We've deployed every seeker droid we have, sir," the Selkath reported. "It's just a matter of time."

"Always time," Mali muttered to himself as he moved into the judiciary complex. "Never something I have a lot of. It's just a matter of push-ups, General.  Aldayr and I could buy a whole armada…"

It was Aldayr himself who broke into Mali's wandering train of thought, and his sharp voice on the comlink refocused Mali completely. "Got him! Maintenance Level Cresh, heading toward the disposal system!"

"Moving!" Mali called back, and he pulled the Force into himself until everything around him slowed almost to immobility and the wind roared in his ears. He passed a group of soldiers, one of whom was in the middle of a running step and seemed to levitate with both feet in the air. Mali stopped only to open doors, but by the time he made it to the third maintenance level, there were still two dead workers in pieces on the floor. Their cauterized wounds could only have come from a lightsaber, and Ssron could only have gotten one from the dead Jedi. Mali gritted his teeth as he ran on, and within seconds he could hear the snaps and sizzles of colliding blades.

There was a flash and a burst of sparks as Mali rounded a turbine, and for a split second Aldayr and Ssron were silhouetted against the electric glare, their blades shining with brighter plasma light as they dueled. Mali stopped; it was an eerie sight, yet somehow impressive. Then the charred remnants of the switchboard stopped sparking and Mali charged.

Ssron had only the single green blade and Aldayr was much taller, but the Sith Lord was clearly a competent duelist and Aldayr's face was rigid with focus. The jabs and slashes with his right blade, driven by his cybernetic arm, knocked Ssron around the room, but the Cha'a touched down and recovered at once from each impact. His blade passed within centimeters of Aldayr's face, and Aldayr almost lost his remaining hand when he flinched away from the blow and Ssron cut down.

Mali came at Ssron hard, igniting his blade on the run, and the duel toppled off its knife's edge and fell to the Jedi. With two of them in the mix, they could cut off Ssron's retreat every time he danced away, and, distracted fighting Mali, Ssron finally allowed Aldayr to go on the offensive, slashing with both his blades. When he tried to block Mali's slash and got knocked off his feet, bouncing into a transformer, Ssron realized the game was up.

"Enough!" he hissed. "I yield!"

And he threw down his stolen lightsaber at their feet.

Mali stared, dumbfounded, as Ssron raised his hands and dropped to his knees, and Aldayr was so deep into the duel that he lurched to an awkward, unbalanced halt as he cut himself off mid-strike. He and Mali traded glances, and Mali saw in his apprentice's eyes all his own doubt and disbelief, with even more disgust.

Mali pulled the fallen lightsaber into his grip with the Force, showing Ssron a look of loathing. "Didn't get too far, did you?"

"I did not," Ssron answered, glowering up at Mali. "You win this round, Jedi."

There was something in his reptilian eyes, a gleam that gave Mali great disquiet. Aldayr, who either couldn't or didn't see it, said, "You're lucky Mali came along, or you might not've had any more rounds after this one."

"Or you might not," Ssron retorted.

Aldayr looked at Mali. "What do we do, Master?"

''If you can bring him back alive and keep him—and everyone around him—safe, fine. But if you can't…''

Mali remembered the murdered Sith guard at the prison with a wince; he took a deep breath and closed down his lightsaber. I am a Jedi. "We take him in, of course."

Aldayr's eyes narrowed. "And do what with him?"

"Put him in the strongest cell we have—"

"You have a cell stronger than the one I was in?" Ssron taunted. "I wasn't aware."

Mali gritted his teeth. "From now on, nobody interacts with him but droids and Jedi."

"Ah yes, droids," Ssron said, nodding, as boots clanked on metal outside and Republic soldiers came into view. "So very resistant to the Force."

"He doesn't need his sword hand, does he, Master?" Aldayr asked.

Ssron and Mali both looked at Aldayr; the younger man's blue blades were still glowing, and Aldayr had angled one toward Ssron's face. Mali hoped it was just to keep the defeated Sith Lord at bay. "No emotion, Aldayr."

"There isn't any, Master," Aldayr insisted. "It's just logic. If he escapes again—"

"He won't," Mali said.

"I will," Ssron stage-whispered with a reptilian grin.

Aldayr's lips pulled back from his gritted teeth, but by then the soldiers were surrounding them all. Mali waved a hand down, and with what looked like great effort, Aldayr smoothed his expression and deactivated his blades, returning his lightsaber hilt to his belt.

Mali glanced at the soldier in the lead. "Lieutenant, let's get Lord Ssron secured. Aldayr, go back to the government center and brief the Prime Minister on what's happened.  I'll join you once we have Ssron back in his cell."

Four soldiers got stun cuffs and a collar on Ssron, who did not resist, but snapped his teeth at Aldayr. "Until the next time I escape, boy."

"May I be the one to catch you then too, my lord," Aldayr retorted.

"Go, Aldayr. Lieutenant, get Lord Ssron on his feet.  There's a dark, windowless hole upstairs with his name on it."