The Fog of War/Part 6

Aldayr found it a little odd seeing drab brown and gray in place of his master's usual Corellian green, but there was no denying the subdued Jedi robes drew less attention. They feigned an inspection of the shuttle that had brought them from Corucant, ignoring the ExplorCorps members and crewmen milling about the hangar bay while they waited for the decision.

"If Tirien decides no," Mali said quietly, "this is going to be very dangerous, Aldayr. I'll understand if you want to sit this one out."

Once, Aldayr reflected, he would have been incensed at the very suggestion—the notion of a Corellian sitting out a good fight. But that was before Ondar Vargh's blade had sheared off his pridefulness in the same stroke as his arm. He reflected on Narasi's stinging criticism as he merely shook his head. "I'm with you to the end, Master."

Mali smiled and clapped him on the shoulder of his real arm. Aldayr smiled, but it felt wooden to him; Narasi's words made him hyperaware of himself in an uncomfortable way. "If he comes, will he bring Narasi?"

"I don't know," Mali admitted. "She's only fifteen, and full Knights might be unequal to a mission like this."

"Maybe it would be better if he didn't," Aldayr offered.

He tried deliberately injecting some emotion into his voice. Mali seemed to notice, but Aldayr wasn't sure he had achieved the desired effect, because his master frowned.

"You two still have issues?" he asked.

"I…" Aldayr frowned too, unsure how to put his disquiet to words. "She's kind of hot-tempered. Abrasive."

"So were you, once," Mali pointed out.

And what am I now, Master? "I've changed."

"That's true."

Was the concern that shadowed Mali's words real, or just something Narasi had made him imagine? Aldayr scowled; now was the wrong time to be jumping at shadows. He turned away from the shuttle in time to see the group coming through the door. "Master…"

Mali turned and his eyes tightened. Tirien Kal-Di was in the lead, his normally calm expression twisted. Narasi was at his right hand, but Aldayr didn't have time to worry about it, because Slejux Nissatak was on Tirien's other side.

"You said he wasn't going to stop you," Aldayr whispered.

"That's what he said," Mali replied without looking away.

Tirien led his companions up to the shadow of their shuttle, then stopped, his expression still torn. As Aldayr tried to get a sense of their purpose from Narasi, Mali nodded guardedly. "Slejux."

"Hello Mali," Slejux replied through his collar vocoder. His lack of a face threw Aldayr. Narasi's frown and narrowed eyes helped divert his attention, but she looked from Aldayr's master to her own, and Aldayr followed her gaze.

Tirien sighed. "This is a mistake, Mali…but if you're committed to it, I will help you."

Narasi nodded. "We're with you, Master Darakhan."

"Myself as well," Slejux noted.

Mali hadn't told Aldayr Slejux might be coming, but a glance at his face showed Aldayr that no one had bothered to tell Mali, either. "I'm…honored, Slejux," the Corellian Knight said. "I'd never ask you to disobey the Council for me."

Tirien gave him a dry look. "What does that make me, I wonder?"

"My friend," Mali answered with a rueful smile.

Tirien gave one silent laugh; Aldayr wasn't sure whether he was amused by the suggestion of friendship or where that friendship had gotten him, and Tirien did not comment. Slejux, however, said, "Your discretion does you credit, Mali, but so does your commitment. The people of Milagro are not Republic citizens, but they are still people."

Mali clasped Tirien's forearm briefly, clapped Slejux on the shoulder, and gave Narasi a tight smile. "All right. There's no time to waste, so let's do this.  Our ship—"

"—couldn't run a blockade with the Sith asleep at their stations and a thousand-kilometer head start," Tirien interrupted wryly. "And you accuse me of having an old beater. We're taking the Second Chance."

Aldayr glanced at Narasi, wondering if this too would be an invasion of their sacred space, but she seemed to have only the nerves that accompanied illicit action. Mali nodded in gratitude. "Let's go."

Aldayr made a point of looking casual, hoping no Jedi wondered why three Knights and two Padawans were convening in the hangar bay in what was, for most of those aboard, well into a rest cycle. He remembered his conversation with Narasi beside the Second Chance only hours before. Coming to her side, he asked, "Are you sure you got that coolant thing installed right?"

"Of course I'm sure," she whispered back. She turned her shoulder against him slightly as if his proximity bothered her. Aldayr sighed, but didn't push her, trying not to imagine being flash-flamed by a superheated engine.

The Givin ship tech, Soolorl Throkhab, was still awake despite the late hour, and he intercepted Tirien's party in his lurching, gangly way. "Hello Narasi," he said. "Can you tell me 6 + 5?"

Narasi missed a step, turning to stare. "Eleven!"

"Too easy," Slejux commented in the mechanical voice his vocoder produced.

"That is reassuring to hear," the Givin replied, then crept away.

"Narasi, get her warmed up," Tirien ordered as he led them aboard. To the rest he said, "We don't have much spare space, so we're going to have to—"

A shadow emerged from the deeper darkness of a bunk area. Narasi bared her teeth and snarled in surprise, Mali and Aldayr drew their lightsabers, and Tirien raised his left hand while his right went to the hilt on his belt. Slejux cocked his faceless head.

"Three distinguished Knights and two Padawans," the cold, detached voice drawled. "It might be a worthy challenge, were I inclined to indulge you."

Tirien swallowed, but found his voice first as he took his hand from his lightsaber. "Master Kadych."

"Kal-Di." The Umbaran looked them over, his pale eyes narrowed. "Now where could five Jedi be going without the consent of the Praxeum Council? Or are you merely meeting in secret to conspire?"

"Master…" Tirien started.

"Spare me, Kal-Di," Kadych cut him off in a bored tone, raising a hand. "Nikodon, either use that blade or put it away."

Aldayr deactivated his lightsaber, feeling foolish as he replaced it on his belt. Mali did likewise, then asked without preamble, "What now, Master?"

"A question I might ask you, Darakhan," Kadych replied. "This is your doing, is it not? No, Kal-Di, don't bother; you are many things, but not rebellious by nature.  And I dare to hope that if Slejux had plotted this folly, it might have been better executed.  No, this reeks of the haphazard heroics of a Jedi Guardian used to triumphing against long odds.  So tell me, what is so very vital about that most well-known and critical of worlds I don't care about, Milagro?"

Mali hesitated, but Kadych stared at him intently for a long moment until Mali grimaced and the Umbaran arched a hairless brow. "Aaah, I see. Master Dumiel, how very naughty of you."

Aldayr looked at his master, confused. He knew of Master Tyson Dumiel, of course; apart from Master Arodion and Mali's own master, he was perhaps the most distinguished Corellian Jedi Master. What had he done, and how did it relate to Milagro? There was obviously something there; the hard set of Mali's jaw confirmed it. What didn't Aldayr know?

"But let the Republic rest easy," Master Kadych continued, "for Mali Darakhan is on the case! Not that he saw fit to share his troubles with a council of Jedi Masters, of course.  Such technicalities are ill-suited to the sweeping epic of Mali Darakhan's heroism.  Why, he hasn't even found the time to tell his apprentice!"

Mali met Aldayr's eyes, winced at the accusation Aldayr could feel in his gaze, then looked back. "Master, we have to act. Now, before it's too late.  I know the Council voted, but surely you must—"

"—see that behind the façade of your recklessness hides a structure that at least vaguely resembles the will of the Force?" The Umbaran shrugged. "Of course. I wondered how much longer it would take; it grows boring inside this ship."

The five Jedi looked at one another, even Slejux. Tirien eventually asked, "You were waiting for us, Master?"

"I concede you were a chance cube toss for me, Kal-Di," Kadych said, sounding bored. "But even if you took a bold stand on the heroic principle of 'deferential submission', you're loyal enough to send Darakhan to his death in your ship so he could be cut down by Gasald's Sith rather than blasted out of orbit in that pitiful excuse for a conveyance he came in. Either your obedience or your defiance put Darakhan aboard the Second Chance."

"And now, Master?" Slejux asked into the ensuing silence.

Kadych shrugged. "Now we'd best be going, or all the good Darths will be taken. I shall be quite cross with you if some self-sacrificing Milagroan soldier with a grenade takes out Darth Kra'all before we arrive."