Chapter XI – Turning of
the Tide – Part II
“Looks like we’ve been found out,” Irgan commented,
shining his hand light on the shattered lock.
“More
like the wench gettin’ nosy,” Yurrn retorted.
“Then
it’s a sure bet she found the datachip. She probably
already knows what’s on the thing.” Garen stated as
he lit the torches.
“Then
she won’t show. Our leverage is gone!” Yurrn angrily
pounded his fist on the container cover.
“Oh,
she’ll show,” Garen announced. “Depending on what
she found she may want some silence.”
“Silence?” Irgan asked puzzled.
“Ya
know, kill us!” Yurrn rolled his eyes.
“Yeah,” Garen slyly said, “but not before we get her
to talk and then off her!”
Garen
waited in the shadows, his blaster at the ready,
while the Uyllt brothers tried to appear nonchalant
as Mara Jade finally approached them.
“Miss
Mara,” Yurrn casually greeted her.
Mara
nodded her head, her eyes never leaving the duo
before her.
“Where’s yer sidekick?” Yurrn asked with a lecherous
grin.
“Her
presence wasn’t required,” Mara quipped.
“A
pity – nice little thing to gaze upon.”
“Yurrn, I’m not in the habit of housing prostitutes.
Those are plentiful elsewhere if you have the need.”
Yurrn
snickered and leered at her. “Shall we get down to
business?” he asked, elbowing his brother in the
ribcage, hoping to make Irgan’s ridiculous smirk
disappear.
“Absolutely.”
“And
what did the vial contain?” Yurrn asked politely.
Too politely.
Mara
played along as she took a deep breath. “Nothing I’m
afraid – completely worthless.”
“Impossible!” Irgan shouted, rubbing his sore side.
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Mara replied, her tone
light, “but it was nothing more than colored water.”
“Looks like a lot of trouble to go through for
something so simple.” Yurrn stated, his eyes
narrowing as if he didn’t believe her.
“A
ruse for credits. It’s done all the time. You get
paid, drop your cargo, and head for hyperspace
before your customer opens the merchandise. Of
course, it’s not a way to build a client list but
it’ll work for quick money.”
Yurrn
and Irgan exchanged looks – they didn’t know what to
think. Was she telling them the truth or lying?
Nothing in her persona gave any hint of the former
or the latter.
“So
it’s completely worthless! Every bit of it!” Irgan
stated angry and disappointed.
Mara
slowly nodded her head.
__________________________________*****__________________________________
Sakoya and Obi-Wan reached the mouth of the cave and
carefully went inside. They wound their way around
the stalagmites and stalactites, ever aware of the
slippery rocks beneath their feet.
Before long, they had caught up to the last person
who had entered the cave who happened to be staring
straight ahead. For the moment she was oblivious to
the Jedi behind her – until it was too late.
*I’m
tired…* Sakoya used her mind to reach into the
young woman’s mind. *Sleep. I need sleep. Must
sleep.*
Trying to stifle a yawn and failing, Cela’s hand
reached up and covered her mouth.
*So
tired…* Sakoya pressed into Cela’s mind. *Just
a small nap. It’ll be okay.*
Cela
stirred and stretched and then crouched down,
wrapping her arms around her tucked legs. “Just a
little nap,” she cooed.
*Yes,
sleep. Slip into a dream…* Sakoya coached into
the girl’s mind.
Before Cela could think she was fast asleep, curled
up next to one of the formations.
“I
get the feeling you enjoy employing the Jedi Mind
Trick,” Obi-Wan commented.
“Only
when necessary, my darling.”
“Let’s go, I hear voices not too far ahead.”
__________________________________*****__________________________________
“This
can’t be!” Yurrn fiercely shouted. “You’re lying!”
Mara
stood her ground, her face passive and displaying
nothing of the secrets she held. “Think what you
want, I couldn’t care less,” she said
contemptuously.
Irgan’s face contorted as he snarled with rage and
suddenly lunged forward, intent on strangling Talon
Karrde’s proxy.
Having a mentor the likes of Emperor Palpatine, Mara
had learned to become quite familiar with the
tactics of self-defense and the ability to employ
them. In one fluid movement, she shifted her body,
took a step back and to the side and caught one of
Irgan’s arms. He howled in pain as she twisted it
painfully behind his back, pinning him in place.
“Take my advice – don’t repeat such a stupid move or
it will be your last,” she growled into his ear.
His
brow beading up with sweat, he turned his head and
spat in her face. “Go to hell!” he groaned
acerbically.
Casually wiping the spittle from her cheek, Mara’s
eyes narrowed menacingly, her lips spreading out
into a dangerously thin line. The anger radiated
from her as if she was on fire and the sweat on
Irgan’s brow began to trail down his face. As she
stared into his eyes he felt his knees begin to
buckle. Suddenly Irgan Uyllt was afraid – and he
screamed.
Yurrn
stood by helplessly as the red-haired woman besieged
his brother. Only when Mara shoved his brother into
the wall, watching as he crumpled to the ground,
lifeless, did Yurrn finally react.
“Yo-you killed him!” he angrily shouted and reached
for his blaster.
“Yes,
just as I’m going to kill you,” Mara stated with a
maniacal smile and mentally called her lightsaber to
her hand.
Yurrn’s eyes widened as the crimson blade came to
life and flashed before him. “Yo-you’re a JEDI?” he
asked nervously and then thought, that would
explain the power behind that shove.
“Of
sorts,” she slyly replied.
Still
hiding in the shadows, Garen swallowed hard while
his eyes danced around the cave looking for some way
to escape. He was proficient at assassinations of
all kinds but Force-users were an exception and this
one in particular wasn’t about to be taken down
easily. No, this one is more of a viper, she
probably knows I’m here too, he thought as he
hastily considered his options since their simple
plan was dissolving before him. I have to get out
of here but she’ll see me. Wait, that big oaf is
distracting her. I can still kill her and collect my
money. Ha, that would make me the envy of the others.
Garen
pulled his blaster and expertly aimed in on Mara
just as Yurrn drew his own blaster and began firing
at her. Nimbly deflecting the laser blasts with her
lightsaber, the cave soon erupted into a combination
of smoke, sand, and grit – a virtual smokescreen. It
didn’t take long for breathing to become difficult
and visibility next to non-existent.
Garen
angrily reprimanded himself, he couldn’t understand
why his palms were so sweaty or his hesitation of
killing this wretched woman, but for some reason he
couldn’t think straight and now he couldn’t even see
his target.
Then
he stumbled upon the answer, and dread began to fill
his being. He just realized who this woman was and
wanted nothing more than to get out while he could.
“Damn, I should have done it earlier,” he murmured
to himself. “That’s it, I’m outta here.”
Unbeknownst to the caves other occupants, Obi-Wan
and Sakoya crept up farther, hoping to stop whatever
violence was planned for this night. They had
reached the last point of relative safety where they
wouldn’t be seen when Obi-Wan glanced around one of
the massive stalagmites. What he saw, and felt
through the Force, left him stunned. He witnessed a
red-haired woman physically subdue a man and
subsequently throw him into a wall. He could feel
the Force through that push – there was no mistake
in that. Obi-Wan could only get glimpses of the
woman’s face but her body language was all too
familiar to the Jedi Master. It was when she ignited
her scarlet lightsaber that he fully surmised he was
watching Mara Jade, the Emperor’s Hand and his
wife’s daughter.
“Are
we too late?” Sakoya whispered, tugging on his
shirt.
Obi-Wan retreated from his vantage point but could
not meet his wife’s gaze. Instead, he used the Force
to shield himself tighter and simply commented, “It
would appear so. One man is dead and you can hear
the barrage of laser fire now.” As if to emphasize
the Jedi Master’s words, laser fire whisked past the
stalagmite they were crouched behind.
Suddenly Sakoya moved and ran past her husband,
nearly losing her footing in the process, and ducked
behind another, much smaller, stalagmite that was up
a little farther and across from him. She tried to
peer around the mineral deposit but had to pull back
as more laser fire ripped through the cave.
As
quickly as it had begun, it was over. The blaster
fire stopped and all that could be seen was dirt and
dust everywhere, obscuring even the faintest
movement.
Cautiously, Obi-Wan moved from behind his cover and
maneuvered over to his wife. “Either everyone is
dead or they’ve escaped.”
“We
should check,” Sakoya said with a nod of her head.
The
two Jedi slowly made their way into the more open
portion of the cave. Although the dust was beginning
to settle, it was still irritating to the throat and
eyes.
“There,” Sakoya pointed to the dead body of Yurrn
Uyllt. She walked over to the body, crouched down
beside him and took notice of the wounds. “Obi…this
is from a lightsaber,” she stated, pointing where
Yurrn had been impaled in the chest. “I shielded
myself as you said, but perhaps I shouldn’t have.”
She pondered a moment, “A Jedi wouldn’t have done
this… Did you see who the combatants were earlier?
Maybe we can track down whoever killed him and turn
them in to the authorities.”
Obi-Wan was standing over Irgan Uyllt’s body as
Sakoya’s words reached his ears. “I don’t know if
you’d want to do that,” he replied, barely
audible.
“What?” Sakoya turned toward her husband. “What do
you mean?”
Obi-Wan sighed deeply and slowly shook his head.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
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