A Flow'r, Once Fallen/Part 8

Narasi was breathing hard as she took the stairs into the royal residence wing two at a time; her curato salva had given her just enough back that she could still run, though she was short of her sprinting pace as she went toward the royal apartments. She didn't push it; if it came to a fight, she needed to save some. The halls were deserted, and that struck her as suspicious; the royal guards didn't hover like the Chancellor's Blue Guards, but surely there was a point at which "laid-back" became "negligent"? In their training sessions and when they had chanced to meet in corridors or along with Elyria, Alderaan's royal guards had struck her as casual, but very devoted to their charges.

She reached Elyria's door first. Reaching out a hand, she rattled the Organas' door with a Force push in hopes of waking them, then tugged on Elyria's. It was locked, and though she was sure it would set security alarms blaring, Narasi lightsabered the door handles; on balance, she thought, some security alarms might be of use. She kicked the door open and charged in.

"Mom? Wuzzgoinon?" Elyria asked from her bed, but Narasi saw BD-505's photoreceptors train on her, and by Elyria's nightlight she saw the droid's left hand pop back and expose a circular emitter she recognized as a stun blaster.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Narasi called. "Hold fire, it's me!"

"Padawan Rican!" BD-505 replied, scandalized. "What is the meaning of this violent intrusion?!"

"Narasi?" Elyria called; the raised voices had woken her in a hurry. "What's going on?"

"I need you to come with me right now, Your Highness. It's really important."

"But I'm in bed—"

"Now, Elyria," Narasi said, putting a bit of the Force into her command.

She felt it bounce off Elyria without effect; even at eight, the girl's mind was too strong for an unfocused mind trick. But Elyria slid out of bed, tugging on her slippers. "Okay…where are my mom and dad?"

"We're going to get them now," Narasi promised. As Elyria hastily pulled on a robe and grabbed her stuffed thranta, Narasi ran up to BD-505 and muttered, "There are intruders in the palace, they're coming for the king and his family."

"Skies and stars!" the droid gasped. "Your Highness, we must go at once!"

"Carry her," Narasi commanded. "I need my hands free. Ready kiddo?  Okay, let's go!"

In the hall she found the Organas' door still closed, but sensed them just beyond. Pressing her mouth to the wood, she said, "Your Majesty, it's Narasi! You're in danger, open the door!"

"Mom, it's me!" Elyria added.

The door cracked open, and Narasi saw Rosulus Organa's disheveled hair and narrowed eyes. "Narasi? What—"

"Intruders in the palace," she summed up. "Come with me, now."

The green eyes widened, but the king opened the door without further debate and stepped through, Princess Vamiri right behind him, wearing a dressing gown and a focused expression. "Where are we going?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," Narasi admitted. "Tirien and I just got back, and I saw a couple stunned guards downstairs—"

"I can't get stunned," Vamiri cut her off, and now she looked wary.

"Well, yeah, I'm gonna protect you all—"

"No, I mean I can't get stunned because…because I'm pregnant," Vamiri admitted in a low voice.

"Oh." Narasi remembered studying the biophysics of stun settings; a full-powered stun blast was likely to cause miscarriage in many humanoid species. Swallowing, she said, "Got it. So where…"

She trailed off at the sound of footsteps, lightsaber hilt already back in hand, but then she saw Chief Marsh running toward them with four royal guards in tow. They were all breathing hard, but Marsh said, "Thank the Force! We just saw Tirien and he said there are intruders.  Your Majesty, we need to get you out at once."

"What about the shelter?" Rosulus asked.

Marsh shook his head. "If they've gotten this far, we can't discount the idea that the shelter is compromised. When we get you outside, we can evacuate to the police compound; the intruders can't have compromised the entire city."

Rosulus nodded, and Vamiri extended her hands to BD-505. "Give her to me, Beady."

They fell in step, Marsh and Narasi in the lead, the royal guards boxing the king and his family in. Marsh said, "Tirien went to head off the intruders, Narasi, you'd better go and assist him."

"Tirien told me to stay with the Organas," Narasi said, "and that's what I'm going to do."

He frowned, but something in her voice evidently told him it wasn't worth the argument; he merely pressed on ahead of her. "This way."

"Here, switch with me," Narasi heard one of the royal guards say. "You cover the king, I'll hold the back with the droid and Cosimo."

There was something odd about that, and not just the words; the Living Force, the understanding of the here and now that came to her more naturally than meditation ever would, whispered to her in warning. Marsh peeked around a corner, then laid a hand on his stun pistol and led them on. "It's just the next corridor on."

The warning was no longer a whisper; Narasi drew her blade. She sensed danger behind her and heard the wa-zews of stun blasts, but in the split second she had to decide, the Force pulled her the other way and she listened to it. As Marsh spun around, aiming his pistol from the hip, Narasi slashed and cut off his arm between wrist and elbow.

"AAAGH!" he screamed as he fell, but Narasi turned before he even hit the ground. One royal guard was already down, and BD-505 was sparking with electrical discharge; there was a flash of blue and another guard went down, and Narasi saw those in the back had shot the two in front of them. The closer one aimed for Narasi, and he was too far away to strike before he fired.

No! she thought, aware of what was happening a second before it did. She had no technique or training for it, just a desperate desire to not be stunned as the blue circle hit her dead on. Her limbs spasmed and one arm went numb, but she stayed conscious as the royal guards turned their guns on the Organas.

"NO!" Vamiri screamed. "PLEASE! DON'T STUN ME!"

Her scream galvanized Narasi, and she sprang as much as her sluggish limbs allowed. The guard who had shot her clearly had even less knowledge of Resist Stun than she did, because she caught him completely by surprise. With Vamiri's unborn child facing death and the other Organas promised whatever horrors the Sith Lord from her vision could impose, Narasi took no chances. She stabbed the closer guard in the chest and ripped the blade out of his shoulder. King Rosulus threw himself in front of the other pistol aimed at his wife; as the royal guard hesitated between targets, Narasi swept a ferocious blow from chin to opposite temple that cut his head in half.

She could feel the inelegance in her swordsmanship, and even as Elyria screamed, she pitched forward, leaning hard on a wall and not feeling it against her shoulder.

"Narasi!" the king said.

"Stun ring…" Narasi wheezed. Her vision was a little blurry, but she forced herself off the wall. Curato salva was not doing much this time, but if they lingered overlong in the corridor she would have worse problems than dizziness. Limping over to Marsh where he lay groaning on the floor, she kicked him in the ribs. Wobbling for balance, she demanded, "How maaaaa'y more?"

He stared up at her, rigid with pain but stoic in defiance. Narasi was tempted to lightsaber it out of him, but even her fogged mind could remember that was wrong. Instead, she said, "Gimme a…stun blaster…"

"Oh, allow me," King Rosulus asked, then stepped up and shot Marsh point-blank. Marsh slumped, and Rosulus studied him a moment before asking, "Would you consider it very petulant of me to shoot him again, just to be safe?"

Narasi laughed, then clutched her ribs when it nauseated her, but she had a vague sense of danger that she figured was probably closer and more dangerous than she knew. "We gotta go. I can't take 'nother straight shot.  Some're safe?"

The king looked around, then said, "This way."

He turned and jogged off, Narasi trying to limp feeling back into her thighs as Elyria cried, "Beady!"

"She'll be all right, Elyria, we'll get her later," Vamiri whispered.

"I want her now! BEADY!"

"We have to be quiet, Elyria."

Vamiri rocked her daughter as Rosulus led them down the corridor, up a staircase Narasi had to use her arms to haul herself up, and through another hall to a private library she had not seen before. Ushering them all in, he closed and locked the door.

"Rainbow wood," he explained. "It should slow them down."

The library was more of a study, though with enough shelves for a decent barricade. Narasi tried to help the king haul a desk in front of the door, but when her arms absolutely refused to obey, she slumped against it instead. "'m sorry…I can't…"

"You've done more than enough, Narasi," Vamiri assured her. "I'll help with this, you sit with Elyria."

Narasi staggered over to where Elyria sat, clutching her stuffed thranta. Speaking slowly so her words came out clear and distinct, she said, "Hey kiddo…you okay?"

Elyria looked up at her, and Narasi sensed an unexpected burst of fear. Elyria scooted away, and Narasi frowned. "What's wrong, Elyria?"

She moved closer, but Elyria whimpered and scooted farther away. She seemed close to tears, and Narasi raised her hands and backed away. "It's okay…I'm not gonna hurt you…"

Elyria did not answer or move, but continued to watch Narasi warily as her parents piled furniture in front of the door. Swallowing against a sudden feeling of confusion and shame, Narasi turned and sat on a desk chair, taking deep breaths and trying to get her body back with the program. She knew she was in no condition to fight a Sith Lord—she would have to leave that to Tirien—but maybe, if the intruders were delayed enough, she could hold off the—

There was a pounding on the door, then the sound of blasterfire. Resisting the urge to swear in front of Elyria, Narasi struggled to her feet. "Izzer 'nother way out?"

"No," Rosulus said. He still had Marsh's stun pistol, and he was obviously preparing himself for a fight. He and Vamiri had piled three bookshelves and a desk in front of the doors.

"'kay," Narasi said, wiping a curl of drool from one side of her mouth. "You go with the princesseseses. I'll be here."

"Narasi…"

"Me first," she insisted, pulling over a chair and plunking it on the floor facing the barricade. "Imma Jedi."

She sat there in meditation, trying to block out both Rosulus's whispered words to his family and the pounding and blasting on the door, working her body back toward fighting shape. She knew she had exhausted her ability to use the Force for more than meditation; if they came through the door, it would come down to blasters and lightsaber, and she needed enough reflexes to send shots back through the door, or at least away from herself. She felt a little strength coming back, but the sound of splintering wood was getting louder and harder to ignore.

The sounds cut off, and Narasi opened her eyes.

"Please don't," a familiar voice warned, calm and cool. "I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to."

Blasterfire and stun wa-zews followed, accompanied by the spang of blaster bolts meeting magnetically shielded plasma, dopplering slashes, the sizzle of an energy blade cutting flesh, and sentient screams. The melee was over almost before it began; Narasi had forced her way to her feet after two failed attempts, but hadn't even drawn her lightsaber from her belt when the doors rattled. The lock clicked open, and when the doors met the barricade, the shelves and desk slid back and out of the way.

Tirien opened the door, lightsaber in hand but deactivated, and took in the room with one look. Stepping to Narasi's side, he laid a hand on her shoulder, and she felt energized. "Your Majesty?"

"We're fine. All safe, thanks to Narasi."

Tirien looked at her and frowned. "What happened? You look like you had a stroke."

"Stun bolt," Vamiri answered. "She stayed conscious through it, but it seems to have had some effects anyway."

"You resisted a stun shot?" Tirien asked, eyebrows raised. "Well done."

Narasi thought of pointing out how her resistance had fallen short of the ideal, but Tirien's touch had unfogged her brain enough that she could focus on essentials. "Master…it's Marshhhhhhhhhhhe's the inside guy…"

"Yes, I gathered."

She looked up at him, puzzled. "You did?"

"If my own deductions hadn't led me there, his unconscious body with a cauterized stump where his forearm should've been was also a big clue." He gently pressed her back down into her chair. "Rest, Narasi, it's over."

"There were two others with Marsh," Rosulus warned. "Two guardsmen. How do we know we got them all?"

"Their speeder could hold maybe twenty humanoid beings, including drivers. Two I killed at the speeder, plus four downstairs, plus five out here is eleven.  Marsh and the two with him makes fourteen, plus the two of you with Princess Elyria on your lap is sixteen.  They likely didn't know Princess Manae was leaving today; there's no reason to target you and let one member of your family go free, so seventeen.  If Marsh had more, he would have brought them instead of loyal guards he would've had to stun—I assume that's what happened to those two with the droid?  I can't be certain, but I think it's a solid guess."

Narasi had just enough focus now that Tirien had taken his hand away to appreciate that math was involved somehow, but she was used to taking his deductions for granted, so she bobbed her head in agreement. "Yep."

"More to the point, I don't feel any more danger in the palace," he continued. "We'll only know for sure once we've finished interrogations."

"That could take days," Rosulus pointed out.

"The guards should be clearing out the jamming any minute now," Tirien said. "When they do, can you call up a medical team with a stim-shot?"

"Certainly, but why?"

"For Narasi—to get her through the rest of the stun effects. I need her focused, because we don't have days; once we have the prisoners prepared, we'll do interrogations tonight."