Igniting the Stars/Part 4

"Oh dear," Lukkad muttered to himself when he saw the other Jedi. "Ooooh dear."

With Kuat's support flagging and the Kuat Drive Yards concentrating production at their home plant, Gyndine Shipyards had undergone a partial shutdown; some docks continued to churn out transport craft and picket ships, but the docks responsible for the cruisers and destroyers lay still. Half of the 'Yards' sentient crew were downside on furlough, with cleaning droids bumbling along mindlessly over sterile ground. Only four days ago, Lukkad had thought it a stroke of good fortune, the Force shining some light through the darkness of Kuat's problems with Coruscant—production was down, but he would have a magnificent and unobstructed view of near space, the better to study the Mosrekky Meteor Shower.

Then came the call, and it seemed other Jedi had shared Lukkad's hunch that the deserted shipyards would make a good rallying point too. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of so many big people, and for a moment he wanted to turn on the spot, march right back to the observation deck, and hide behind his telescope. Then one of the Jedi spotted him and hailed him with a raised hand and a boisterous call, and the moment passed.

You're a Jedi Knight, not just an academic, he told himself. ''We all have to be warriors sometimes. It's just another Trial of Courage.''

"Greetings, friend," said a tall Chagrian woman—although of course, most beings were tall to Lukkad. In fact, of the four beings before him, only the Chadra-Fan, whom he took for a Padawan by her braid, didn't tower over him.

"Hello, hello," Lukkad said, setting down his case of instruments. "Good to see so many of you."

"I was just saying that," said a Human Lukkad thought he recognized. The man had caramel skin and honey eyes, and a beard and goatee that circled his thin lips. "Better numbers, better chances."

"We haven't met," the blue Chagrian woman observed; Lukkad noted she was wearing a red obi around her waist which stood out against the darker colors of her uniform. "I'm Lishedra Nakaana, and this is my Padawan, Bekli."

She laid a hand on the Chadra-Fan's head, but there didn't seem to be any condescension in the gesture; Bekli's chiropteran ears barely came up past Lishedra's waist.

"Very pleased to meet you. I'm Lukkad." He put some extra emphasis on the second syllable, where it belonged, just to head off trouble early. Beings who read his name in print had a dreadful tendency to call him Lukkad, and more often than not that led to the old nickname—

"Lucky?!" The Human's eyes widened, but then he grinned. "Force save me, Lucky, I barely recognized you with all that gear! It's Grayv—Grayv Proscuul!"

The memory clicked then, though Lukkad sighed in resignation. "Hello Grayv. I mostly go by 'Lukkad' these days."

He wasn't sure Grayv had heard him; the Human was explaining to the others, "Lucky and I were in the same Initiate Clan. Haven't seen him since then, though!  Oh, Lucky, this is my Padawan, Krajjey."

Krajjey was a ZeHethbra and one of the most enormous beings Lukkad had ever seen; he had to arch his neck to take the enormous Padawan in. Head and shoulders taller even than Lishedra, Krajjey swelled with enough muscle to carry the four others down to Gyndine by hand. A white stripe stretched from his nose, up his muzzle, down the fur on his head and out of sight into his tunic, a border between the red-brown fur on either side. Lukkad felt even smaller than usual as Krajjey sized him up with intense eyes, but the ZeHethbra nodded and said, "Sir."

"Just Lukkad is fine," Lukkad assured him, hoping Grayv got the message. He had been a Knight for seven years, and didn't appreciate feeling like a little boy all over again.

"So!" Lishedra said, clapping her hands together. "Is this it? Anyone heard from any other Jedi?"

Lukkad tried not to wrinkle his snout in dismay. Against most threats, five-on-one odds would be almost a guarantee of victory; when the five were Jedi, it bordered on cruelty. But when the one was Darth Vandak…

Bekli rubbed her hands together too, but it was a more anxious gesture than her master's. Lukkad felt a pang of sympathy; even he was taller than her by quite a bit. She raised her high, squeaky voice to say, "They'll be here, Master, I'm sure of it!"

Lishedra frowned, then looked at the Human. "What's our time, Grayv?"

He checked his chronometer. "Just under an hour. Krajjey and I ran the calculations: from the time we get in our shuttle to touchdown at the landing strip nearest the site, it shouldn't be more than six minutes.  We've still got plenty of time."

"Some time," Lishedra corrected. "We're talking about Darth Vandak, Grayv, we're not just going to walk right up to him and ask him to put his hands up. We need to get in place before he gets there—we need a strategy."

"You're the general, General," Grayv said easily.

"Has anyone been downside yet?"

They all shook their heads, and Lukkad said, "I've just been doing research and positioning my equipment up here since I arrived."

"Equipment?" Bekli asked.

"I'm a Jedi astronomer—we're a branch of the Jedi researchers."

"Jedi Consular, like me," Grayv tacked on.

"Yes, exactly," Lukkad said. "I've been here for days, I'm updating records on the…on the, er… Mosrekky Meteor Shower…"

He trailed off as he saw Lishedra's mouth tighten. She was tall and strong—she had the look of a warrior. Consular though he was, Grayv had stayed fit too, and of course Krajjey was an enormous monster. The three of them looked like the kind of Jedi who should be going to confront Darth Vandak—like the stereotypes that would come to a civilian's mind at the word "Jedi". Somehow, Lukkad thought a Snivvian astronomer and his cases full of equipment were not destined for HoloNet recruiting posters.

"Er…anyway, no, haven't been downside."

Lishedra smoothed her face out and nodded. "Then we need to build in more time. We know Vandak will be here in roughly an hour, but nothing says he won't be here before that.  He's probably here now.  The sooner we find him, the fewer people he has a chance to hurt."

By unspoken consensus, they all started moving toward the docks. Grayv came over and took the handle of Lukkad's case. "I can get that for you."

"No, that's all right—"

"Really, it's no trouble," he said, shouldering the case easily. Lukkad contained a sigh and just nodded. "Any idea where we got this intel on Vandak?"

"None," Lukkad admitted. "I just got the Nine-Oh-Five on my beacon."

"Us too," Bekli said.

"Same here," Grayv concurred thoughtfully. He smiled down at Lukkad. "I'm impressed, old friend."

"What do you mean?"

"Jumping in on a mission like this—it's going to be a rough one."

Lukkad frowned. "Well…well of course I came. The Council said any Jedi able to respond and…and I'm able."

"Oh, definitely," Grayv said, but his soothing tone didn't match the curiosity still lingering around his dark eyes.

Lukkad would have liked to remind Grayv that they were both Jedi Knights—and to toss in that Lukkad had been Knighted first, in fact, and after completing the High Council's Trials, unlike someone whose master had Knighted him on his own authority, thank you very much—but he knew that wouldn't be fair. In truth, Lukkad had spent much of the last five hours alternating between meditation and panic. Battle wasn't completely alien to him—he didn't think any Jedi could claim that anymore—but he had spent the majority of his Padawan years and his Knighthood in libraries, observatories, and labs. A gang? Sure, he could have swung down to Gyndine before the Mosrekky Meteor Shower and cleaned up a problem like that, no sweat. A Sith Lord? Well, Lukkad was never the galaxy's greatest duelist, but with four other Jedi even that wouldn't have fazed him.

But Darth Vandak was something else entirely. Vandak, who had butchered whole armies, who was rumored to have fed on so many Jedi at Mizra that their powers had made him truly immortal, all but a god. Vandak, once the terror of Darth Saleej's war machine, now a monster darker still, a beast in sentient skin with a thirst for blood that would never be sated.

Vandak, who only three weeks before had slain Lukkad's master.

For many Jedi, this mission would have entailed a terrible temptation to revenge. Not Lukkad, though. He had mourned his master, certainly, and he wanted the monster responsible brought to justice. But Lukkad's temptation was not bloodlust or wrath—his mind was far more occupied by the fact that his master, a braver, stronger, more skillful Jedi than Lukkad could ever dream of being, had faced Darth Vandak and fallen. Against such an enemy, was victory even possible? Unhinged and deranged, was Vandak all the more dangerous for it?

But in the end, he had decided to go; in the end, he had no choice, really. That, he reflected with a smile, was his master's doing too. A Jedi without courage was no Jedi, and if he sat and watched the meteors go by while other Jedi braved the danger of the Anzat butcher, he would have to lay down his lightsaber and never call himself a Jedi again. And that he would never do—his master had taught him better. He would honor his master's legacy by fighting Vandak, come what may.

They had almost reached the corridor to the docking bays when Bekli froze, then grinned, showing her long gnawing teeth. "They're here! I can feel their presence, Master.  I told you they'd come."

Lishedra stopped, cocking her head to one side; her long lethorns flopped with the motion. Then she smiled and shook her head. "You did. I'm sorry I doubted."

They waited in place until two more Jedi emerged from the docking bay. One was yet another big person—a female Selonian almost as tall as Krajjey, but sleek and graceful, with fur of light brown and deep black eyes. She wore only a light tunic belted around the waist, her tail swaying in the air behind her. A little Drall Bekli's height walked in the Selonian's wake—a third Padawan, wearing only a Jedi sash from which his lightsaber hung. He walked up to Bekli and they embraced.

"It's good to see you, friend," the Drall said.

"And you, friend," Bekli squeaked back.

Grayv bowed. "Master Kirthi."

Lishedra and the Padawans bowed, and Lukkad hurried to copy them, thinking their chances had improved already. Kirthi was tall too, and a Jedi Master to boot, and now the odds were seven-against-one. Vandak was undoubtedly worth three or four Jedi by himself, maybe even five, but seven? Lukkad dared to hope.

Introductions went around the group. Kirthi's Drall Padawan was named Elmir, and it turned out Elmir and Bekli had been members of the same Initiate Clan. Unlike Grayv and Lukkad, Elmir and Bekli had stayed in touch throughout their apprenticeships, and their close friendship had forged a bond between Lishedra and Master Kirthi as well, who had worked together on a dozen missions over the years.

"What is our strategy?" Master Kirthi asked as they set off toward the docks. When Lishedra hesitated, Master Kirthi shook her head and smiled, showing her needle teeth. "Only a fool stands on rank when competence opposes it, particularly against a threat like Darth Vandak. You are the general, Lishedra, and the senior Jedi Guardian here.  What is our strategy?"

"We can't fight him seven-on-one," Lishedra said. Lukkad stole a glance out the half-transparisteel corridor connecting them to the docking bay—there was a magnificent view of Gydine's bright moon—but returned his attention to the Chagrian when she continued. "There just isn't enough room, especially with Bekli's Form IV. It'll depend on the surroundings, but off the top of my head, I recommend the better swordsbeings engaged him directly while those who…aren't as adept at bladework hang back and throw him off balance with the Force."

Lukkad had nothing to contribute, though it sounded like as good a plan as any. Grayv, however, asked, "Anybody here read Kal-Di and Darakhan's reports from Milagro?"

"Yes," Lishedra said.

"Me too," Lukkad added, and the memory gave him new doubts. He had only met Mali Darakhan once in passing, and he knew Tirien Kal-Di only by reputation, but both were rumored to be among the best swordsmen in the Jedi Order, certainly among the Knights, at least. Two-on-one, they had forced Vandak into what had read like a stalemate, but it still wasn't all that encouraging.

"Jedi Kal-Di and Darakhan were both tired," Bekli offered. "We're going in fresh, and there are more of us."

"I'm not sure how much of a dent I'd make in Darth Vandak even with a full night's sleep and a belly full of drutash grubs," Lukkad muttered glumly.

Bekli and Elmir both laughed, but Master Kirthi gave him a calm look that made Lukkad feel small in a way that had nothing to do with her height. "We can only do what we can do," she said, "and that is what we will do. We will trust in the Force.  We will be Jedi."

Lukkad nodded, reassembling his courage. Whether his master had thought he could beat Vandak or not, Lukkad could never know, but he had faced the Anzat regardless. Lukkad would do the same.

Grayv was leading them toward his freighter when a voice called, "Seven? Better than I had hoped."

Lukkad whirled around, half-expected Darth Vandak lying in wait for them, but the man before him was definitely Human, though a Human in spacer's garb so nondescript Lukkad probably would have walked right past him even if he had been in the way. He was shorter than Grayv, though still a head above Lukkad and then some. He wore black hair tied in a ponytail, and though he seemed not even middle-aged for a Human (as much as Lukkad could discern; telling one Human from another was tricky enough), he had a weathered countenance and the signs of hard experience in the set of his green eyes.

"Hello, friend," Master Kirthi said. "I'm Jedi Master Kirthi. These are Elmir, Lishedra, Bekli, Lukkad, Grayv, and Krajjey.  And you are…?"

"Cienis Favand," the Human answered. "Jedi Watchman of the Circarpous sector."

"You received the Nine-Oh-Five as well?"

"Yep." Cienis held up a transceiver beacon. "Just because I spend my time fighting the war here instead of checking in for roll call whenever the Council misses me doesn't mean I don't pay attention to the messages that really matter. Vandak, right?  Let's get him."

"You were waiting here for us?" Grayv asked.

"I was waiting here for somebody," Cienis shrugged. "Would've gone down alone if I had to, but I don't mind telling you I'm happier I don't."

They all looked at Master Kirthi, who nodded. "We come from different paths and different lives, but the Force has brought us all together for this. We can only follow the Force's lead.  Let's go."