The journey went a lot faster once we had something to fill the time. A large portion of the trip became teaching Ahsoka lost Force Techniques and sparring. The fights were done in starts and stops to address issues, ask questions, and try new techniques. I am not too proud to admit I had some fresh bruises by the end of it. Ahsoka was fast, intelligent, and experienced where most of my skill came from knowledge downloaded into my brain. Each spar with her helped me connect to techniques that I knew without really knowing.
Carrie had joined in on the training as well. She was stronger than me even with my boost, faster than Ahsoka, and tougher than she looked. On top of that she had access to a combat suite with quite a few Earth techniques. She had used the Dwarven Forge to create her own suit of armor at some point. Her Beskar was Orange with red highlights along the visor of her helmet and a black undersuit. Orange, a lust for life, Red, honoring a parent, and Black, for justice. A rough translation meant that she was dedicated to adventure, honor, and justice.
"Captain," Carrie called over the comms. "A word?"
She had a habit of changing how she addressed me depending on the reason. Captain was for business and Kiskin was for personal, or off-hours.
"Go ahead," I replied.
Carrie sent a few packets of information to my helmet, "We are on approach to Rattatak. I've narrowed the distress call to a small village."
"Great work," I said. "What else?"
Carrie chuckled, "The village is swarming with activity. It looks like we are arriving in the middle of a fight. One that has been going for a while."
"How long is a while?" I asked.
Carrie sent the information to my helmet, "We're not talking about hours, this is an extended encounter. This is guerilla survival that turned personal."
"How did you get that idea?" I asked.
A few new images scrolled along the bottom of my HUD. They went from standard signs of battle with scattered damage on the buildings and streets. Corpses dotted the street that looked normal enough with lightsaber damage. Occasionally there was a missing hand or arm, but most were efficient without extraneous damage. Then the corpses began to show signs of a shift in approach. Bodies were missing limbs in a greater numbers. The cuts weren't as clean either.
"Messy," I muttered. "That is definitely personal." I thought for a moment. "What do we know about Ky Narec? This doesn't look like something an experienced Jedi Knight would do."
Carrie shook her head, "We don't have access to the Jedi Archives and Knight Narec doesn't appear to have been active elsewhere. At least he hasn't been credited for anything. The distress signal was a couple of years old, but we don't know how long it took him to get that one working. He did say that the other channels were being blocked. The distress message was sent on a frequency that hasn't been used in long, long time."
"What's going on?" Ahsoka asked.
I turned to face her and realized that she wasn't part of this conversation. She hadn't seen the images and the conversation with Carrie had been over comms.
"We need to get you a helmet," I muttered.
"I'm not a Mandalorian," Ahsoka stated.
I chuckled, "We'll see."
Ahsoka crossed her arms.
"Carrie," I said. "Could you put the information and images up for Padawan Tano to see?"
Ahsoka kicked me in the shin. Her metal-capped boot clanged against my armor. She turned her attention to the images. Ahsoka studied the pictures with a critical eye.
"They were definitely fighting angry," Ahsoka said with a nod.
She squinted at one image, then ran them back from the beginning. The expression on her face hardened.
"They went from one saber to two," Ahsoka stated. "Both full size. Not a good idea."
"It sounds like you have personal experience," I teased.
She glared at me, "You can tell by the placement of the bodies and the wounds." She tapped an image. "This is from a spin that didn't account for the length of the other blade." She moved to another. "An overhead chop with both sabers." Then another. "They started to get a feel for it. You can see the cuts are starting to get tighter. Part of the difficulty of two sabers is learning that you have to actually adjust your style. You can't add another full-size saber without changing how you fight." She cycled through the rougher images. "It looks like a good fit for them." She paused again. "There's something familiar here."
I waited for her to say more. She didn't.
"Let's go say hello," I said.
The VI version of Carrie flew the ship down to the surface. Even a backwater borderline criminal planet had air control. We arranged a docking berth in the closest town to the action. The guy in charge of landing didn't seem eager to get that arranged. One version of Carrie would stay on Red Dawn while Ahsoka and I would get a better look on the distress signal.
Purchasing this ship was one of the best ones yet. Ahsoka and I strolled down the halls toward the hangar. The dropship was already prepped for us. Carrie loved all the extra options for things to do.
"I'm not a padawan," Ahsoka said as the ship broke atmosphere.
I turned to look at her, "Pardon?"
"You called me Padawan Tano," She kept her gaze forward. "I'm not a Jedi anymore."
I tilted my head to the side slightly, "But your lightsabers are blue."
"And?" She asked finally turning to look at me.
I shook my head, "Never mind, my mistake. Sorry about that. I won't call you Padawan anymore."
"Thank you," Ahsoka replied.
We walked in silence for a moment, "I'll think of something."
"Ahsoka will do fine," She said in a calm tone.
My steps faltered, "Did you just try to use a Mind Trick on me?"
She shrugged. I shook my head as we arrived in the hangar. There were a few dropships ready and waiting for us. They were obviously out of date but were still perfectly functional. The older tech had already paid off by finding this distress signal. I was hopeful that the gap might actually be a boon. The systems would be structured differently from modern tech.
A couple of droids were waiting for us. Ahsoka had worked through her aversion to having them around. They didn't have the 'personality' of B1s which made it easier to put some distance between the different versions. Left to their own devices most B1s would talk to each other and do random things that caught their interest. These ones stood still without any trace of independent action. They only spoke in reply and didn't waste words.
The ride down was rather smooth. It didn't register if the landing pad had any issues. The town was empty aside from a few opportunistic scavengers of both sentient and animal sorts. They scattered once they saw us coming. Being a Mandalorian had its perks. The trail of carnage was obvious and easy to follow. It started out as almost elegant with some stretches of ragged mixed it. Then the prior elegance vanished. There were signs of a body being dragged out of the street which led to a nearby home.
A human man had been laid on the bed in the master bedroom with his hands crossed over his chest. The robes marked him as a Jedi. His lightsaber was nowhere to be seen. Everything in the room that could be broken was in pieces. I recognized an uncontrolled emotional outburst from a Force User when I saw one.
"That explains the change in style," I said softly.
Ahsoka nodded, "Rest well, Jedi."
"Why didn't he join the Force?" I asked.
Ahsoka looked at me like I was crazy, "What?"
"Join the Force," I repeated.
She motioned for me to continue.
"Vanish? Leave a pile of clothes behind?" I paused. "Does any of this sound familiar?"
Ahsoka shook her head.
"The Modern Jedi teaching really sucks," I muttered.
She furrowed her brow at my words.
"Joining with the Force after death is, or was, incredibly common," I explained. "It took an act of will not to do it from what I recall."
"Where are you getting this stuff?" Ahsoka asked.
I shook my head, "Same way I know the other techniques I have shown you."
"Which is?" She prompted.
I chuckled, "It's the Force, I don't have to explain shit."
"Has anyone ever told you how frustrating you are?" She muttered.
I nodded.
"Back to business," I said after a moment. "Now we know why the style changed. His padawan went on a rampage once he died. All we have to do is track them down, convince them we're not enemies, and then see if we can get them off planet."
"Let's follow the carnage," Ahsoka said heading toward the door.
A spark in the Force turned into an explosion. The door didn't just burst open, it shattered. A girl stood on the other side of the doorway. Her skin was grayish white with hints of blue, her mouth had two vertical tattoos at the edge, and her ash-colored hair hung wild along her shoulders.
"Get away from him!" She screamed as she leveled one of her lightsabers at us.
Her attention was on me. A Mandalorian in full armor was the obvious threat rather than the seemingly unarmed Togruta.
"Ventress?" Ahsoka asked. "Asajj Ventress?"
I snapped my fingers, "That's why this felt so familiar."
Ahsoka sent me a confused look before turning her attention back to Asajj.
The girl paused, her lightsaber lowered over so slightly "How do you know that name?"
"Dank Ferrik," Ahsoka growled. "Of course, it's you."
"HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME!?" Asajj screamed.
Ahsoka summoned her own lightsabers. The blue blades emerged with the ever-so-lovely crack-hiss that still gave me goosebumps.
"I know more than that," Ahsoka said through grit teeth.
"Wait," I barked. "We're here to help."
They both shifted their attention to me.
"What?" They said in unison.
I motioned to the dead Jedi, "We intercepted his distress signal."
"We sent that two years ago!" Asajj shook with anger now.
I nodded, "We only got it because we had an older communications system active."
"They've been jamming signals off-planet," Asajj raised her lightsaber back to its previous position. "Get out of here before I kill you both."
I nodded to her, "You're blocking the door."
She didn't take her eyes off us as she moved out of the way. Ahsoka kept her lightsabers ignited without making a move yet. She gave us enough room to step into the street. It didn't escape my attention that we were now in an open area lacking anything she cared about.
Asajj sprang into motion once I was outside. She had both lightsabers over her head aimed to chop down onto my head. Her mismatched colored blades were intercepted by Ahsoka. The Togruta planted a kick in Ventress' stomach. She followed it up with a spinning kick that connected with Asajjs' cheek.
To her credit, Ventress stayed on her feet. Her eyes were unfocused, but she didn't fall. Asajj tried to fight back. Ahsoka knew all of her tricks and had years of battlefield experience. Asajj had been spending her time fighting pirates and thugs. At most, she was a talented amateur without the experience against an actual warrior. The only point in her favor was the reach of two full-sized lightsabers against Ahsoka's shoto.
"Don't kill her," I called to Ahsoka.
"I won't," Ahsoka replied.
She easily blocked a wide strike, parried the follow-up, and closed the distance. Her elbow slammed into the center of Asajjs' face. She was rewarded with an audible crack of bone breaking and a spurt of blood. Asajj wobbled, somehow still upright. Ahsoka used a controlled Force Push send the opposing lightsabers away then followed with a sweeping kick. Ventress landed hard on the ground. Her arms went out straight trying and failing to reach for her weapons. Ahsoka deactivated her lightsabers, planted a knee between Asajjs' shoulders, and had her subdued with efficiency.
"Binders," Ahsoka didn't ask.
I unhooked them from my belt and tossed them to her. They stopped a few inches in front of her as she caught them with the Force. She clicked them shut tightly. Asajj was out of the fight before she even knew.
+100Captured Asajj Ventress+100Bystander Syndrome[Bank – Roll - Shop]
I narrowed my eyes at the words. Whatever, points were points.
ROLL.
[COST: 100 FP][TALENT: Mordor, Born And Razed][This is not a misspelling, considering the Orcish culture. You have been born or created in a harsh environment, and you can certainly survive in it. Raw meat, freezing blizzards, scorching volcanic environments, disease and hardship… well, it really isn’t that hard for you to live in it. You might not be comfortable in it, but you’ll survive the environment and need to keep an eye out for the inhabitants that are just as well adjusted as you are.][Purchase – Dismiss]
Damn. That was a tough one. Being able to survive in harsh environments was a nice boon. I had my armor, my Warehouse, and my ships. There wasn't a reason to ever be in a situation where I would need something like this. Then again, I'd be an idiot to pass up on something that helped me survive.
PURCHASE.
I could feel something inside shift. It wasn't like I suddenly had two stomachs or an extra heart. I felt hardier, if that made any sense.
[Balance: 550 Forge Points][Roll – Dismiss]
Why not?
ROLL.
[COST: 200 FP][ITEM: Glove of Myhnegon][The gauntlet is indestructible, unremovable, unless you take off the arm, and works as a magic super taser/ lighting shooter.][Purchase – Dismiss]
No thank you. I'll take that as a sign to hold off on further rolls.
DISMISS.
"Let's get back to the ship," I said as I stepped closer to the two.
Ahsoka glared up at me, "You're serious? She's a war criminal!"
"Not yet," I shook my head. "She's just a scared kid right now. Mandalorians have a soft spot for lost and scared kids. We call them Foundlings."
Ahsoka grumbled as she stood, "You're carrying her."
"Fair," I lifted Asajj with the Force and draped her over my shoulder. "Lead the way, Great Kicker of Asses."
She leveled a stern glare at me, "You better not forget it."
People started to emerge as we walked down the street. There were more than I expected. I hadn't bothered searching for signs of life considering we were following a trail of bodies. They seemed perfectly fine to let us pass. I had to wonder exactly how much damage Asajj had managed to cause such a reaction. The people here were a rough bunch. Criminals, pirates, smugglers, and the like. There wasn't a brig on the dropship. We had to settle for strapping her in a chair where we could both keep an eye on her.
Having Asajj over my shoulder and a pissed off Ahsoka beside me was enough to keep anyone from approaching us. Even the dockmaster was happy to see us leave. There was a momentary blip on the sensors.
"Carrie," I said over the comms. "What was that?"
There was a click as the VI reconnected to my helmet, "They disabled a tractor beam. It looks like they have been using one every time someone tried to leave the planet."
I sighed, "Please do a broad scan for other distress signals."
"Roger, roger," She replied. "I have found ten. Make that thirty."
"That was fast," I said with appreciation. "Where are they?"
A hologram of the planet appeared in the air above the console. Red dots appeared all over the planet.
"Yikes," I muttered. "Can you filter them from most recent to oldest?"
Carrie let out a single dry laugh, "Easy."
A time stamp appeared over the dots. I narrowed my eyes as I read each one. They were clusters that shared time stamps.
"Are these all on the same broadcast frequency?" I asked.
Carrie sighed, "No, Captain. There is a variation of four different distress calls that repeat across multiple frequencies. They match older messages down to the wording. It looks like a trap."
"Why didn't we pick any of these up?" I asked.
"The systems of Red Dawn need to be updated," She replied.
"Goodie," I muttered. "That is not going to be cheap."
Carrie chuckled, "Did you forget about me again?"
"No, why?" I asked.
"I can get started on updating the software," Carrie explained. "I can't do the hardware."
I nodded appreciatively, "Thank you, Carrie."
"You're welcome, Captain," She said.
I could almost hear the wink in her voice. The ride back to the ship was tense. Asajj drifted in and out of consciousness. Exhaustion was a horrible thing. The townsfolk scattered as we returned to the street we had just left.
"What are you doing?" Ahsoka asked.
I paused at the airlock, "I'm not going to leave her master here to the scavengers."
~
Asajj woke on a comfortable bed. The room had been stripped of all but the most basic of furniture. She would have mistaken it for a cell if not for the attach full-sized fresher. The accompanying underlying hum told her she was on a spaceship. She had no idea how the ship managed to break atmosphere with the damned pirates constantly using a tractor beam.
She tensed. That Mandalorian and the demonic Togruta had attacked her. They must have captured her and taken her lightsabers. How she had been unconscious long enough for them to move her to a ship and break atmosphere was beyond her. She had been knocked unconscious before. It was usually for a moment or two before she was back up on her feet.
Asajj groaned as she stood. Her nose hurt, her cheek hurt, her stomach was sore, and her shoulders ached. That Togruta had not held back in the least. She couldn't blame her for that. Given the chance she wouldn't have held back either. Asajj could admit she had been outclassed. That Togruta seemed to know every move she was about to make before she did.
Her brow furrowed as she got to her feet. She felt better than she had in quite a while. When was the last time she slept in an actual bed? More than that, when had she slept more than an hour at a stretch? She shook the thoughts out of her head. That was their mistake. She was well-rested and fully recovered. They wouldn't see her coming.
~
I stood in the hallway outside of the temporary holding room we used for Asajj. Carrie had been monitoring her vital signs the entire time. More than that, I could feel her presence in the Force once she woke up. She had been tired enough to stay asleep until they returned to Red Dawn. I had the medical droid give her a gentle sedative to let her sleep some more. She obviously needed it.
A rush of rage filled the air as the door opened. I stepped to the side as Asajj launched out of the room. To her credit, she landed feet-first on the wall and pushed off instead of crashing into it. She rolled along the floor toward me then popped up to her feet with her hands raised to fight.
"Are you done?" I asked crossing my arms.
She growled as she charged me. The Force almost made her move fast enough to be a blur. Unfortunately for her, I had access to the Force as well. I ducked instead of stepping to the side as I did last time she charged. She flew through the space I would have been if I had dodged.
My hand snapped out grabbing the back of her shirt arresting her movement. She let out a little urk before slamming flat on her back.
"Ventress," I cautioned. "This is getting old, calm down or I'll toss you in the brig."
She glared at me from the floor.
"We answered the distress call," I clarified. "I understand you've had it hard for a while. I'll give you some time to adjust but if you keep trying to attack me I will fight back."
"Where are my sabers?" She hissed.
I laughed, "I'm a Mandalorian, not an idiot."
"Aren't weapons part of your religion?" She countered.
"Are you a Mandalorian?" I chuckled. "Knight Narec is over here."
That made her stop, "What did you do to him?"
"We wrapped him up and brought him onboard for transport," I replied. "I didn't think he, or you, would want his body to remain on that planet for the scavengers."
I led her to a nearby room and opened the door. She stepped inside to see the body wrapped in strips of clothe similar to a mummy.
"Where did you want us to take him?" I asked.
She took a step forward placing a gentle hand on his chest, "Coruscant, to the Jedi Temple."
"I knew that was coming," I muttered.
She turned to face me, "What?"
"He doesn't have a home planet or somewhere else?" I asked.
Her eyes narrowed, "Why can't you go to Coruscant?"
"I can," I shook my head. "I just don't want to."
I pulled the galaxy map up in my HUD. There wasn't a direct route to Coruscant. At least, no official ones. The path would be a scenic route. We would have to take smaller inter-system lanes before hitting the Corellian Trade Spine which would connect to the Corellian Run which would lead up right to Coruscant. It would put us close to Alderaan as well. On the other hand, if we created out own route we could potentially cut out at least a week of travel.
"Carrie," I said over my comms. "How long would it take to calculate a direct route to Coruscant?"
"Estimating," VI Carrie answered.
"I still don't trust you," Asajj interrupted my conversation.
I crossed my arms, "We answered a distress signal that hadn't been picked up by anyone in years. Who were you expecting to show up?"
"A Jedi," She replied easily.
I laughed, "The Jedi don't usually come out this far."
"Master Narec did," Asajj countered.
I nodded, "Did you encounter any other Jedi out here?"
"No," She whispered.
"Come on," I moved to the door. "Some food will do you some good."
She reluctantly followed me. My helmet had enough of a POV to see her on the edge of my vision. A picture-in-picture window appeared when she moved out of my line of sight.
"Where is that Togruta?" Asajj asked as she scanned the area.
I chuckled, "She's around. The two of you need to calm down before you meet again."
+100Another Stray+100The Collection Grows[Roll – Shop – Bank]
ROLL.
[COST: 100 FP][ITEM: This Is My Stick][Sometimes all you need is a sturdy stick to beat people up. You have gotten your hands on this particular Bo staff. Hard and tough enough that it can match up with steel blades, amazingly balanced for combat, and strangely never becomes unusably slippery no matter what conditions it’s dragged through, this staff will serve you well should you ever get into a fight. And also, it has some magical use, as hitting a victim of a curse with it hard enough to bruise will do wonders to alleviate the curse’s effects, and if whatever malicious magic they’re under is weak enough you could dispel it entirely, such as bonking a charmed person back to clarity. Perhaps it was blessed by a priest before you got your hands on it?][Purchase – Dismiss]
Really? Another crap roll. I guess my luck was bound to thin out eventually.
DISMISS.
[Balance: 750 Forge Points]