A Father's Blade: Chapter Sixteen

Rand is leaning against one of the tree branches, twined to make a pole, a few yards away from the Rwookrrorro Council Chambers. With a bang, Waroo opens the door, and stalks out of the chambers, his shoulders hunched, and frustration and anger pooling off of him. Waroo looks around, and catches sight of Rand, and ambles over to him.

"So, how did it go?"

The young Wookiee growls something about old timers who like the status quo, and turns away, walking down the broad wooden path, which hangs between two of the great woshyr trees. Rand falls into step beside him, quietly keeping him company.

They make a few turns, which appears somewhat random to Rand, but as they enter a darkened stretch of the path, a massive, shaggy shape looms up out of the night.

Rand lets out a yelp of fear as the shape finally resolves itself into another Wookiee. Waroo introduces him as Pollitichuk, and then goes on to explain that he is another Wookiee who believes as Waroo does.

Rand grins. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Let's go find a nice cantina to talk."

Pollitichuk growls that Ackmena's Catina is around the corner.

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Noelani sighs as she looks at the literal-minded security droid standing watch over her and Chase, his metal form standing just outside the energy bars to their cell.

"I'm a Jedi Apprentice, please let me get in contact with Ossus."

The droid's photoreceptors focus on her, glowing with a yellow internal light. "This unit is programmed to recognize all active Jedi Knights. You are not in my databanks."

She lets out a growl of frustration. "Listen you tin can, I'm not a Knight yet, now as an Alliance citizen don't I at least get to speak to a lawyer or something?"

"Pursuant to the Treasonous Activities Act persons caught illegally traveling on any spacecraft are classified as terrorists to be held for interrogation by the Galactic Alliance Guard. You are being detained without communication until a Galactic Alliance Guard unit can arrive to collect you."

She can feel her anger growing, a tight ball settled in the pit of her stomach. She turns her head, to see Chase lounging on one of the wooden cots provided in the cell.

"Do you have any more bright ideas?"

Chase's head twists towards her, a solemn look on his face. "Not right now. You?"

She clenches her fists, and stomps her feet, letting out another burst of frustration, this time directed towards her cell mate rather than the security droid. She looks down at the bacta patch placed over her broken arm, and works it back and forth happy that the sharp shooting pain has been replaced by just a dull ache.

She probes the healing break with the Force, and growls as she notices that the knit has happened slightly off-center.

"What's wrong now?"

She looks up from her arm, her features twisting into a scowl. "I'm in jail and now I find out that my broken arm healed wrong so they're going to have to re-break it when we get out of here."

She turns back to the droid. "I want to contact the Jedi Order. And I mean now!"

The droid impassively watches her, driving Noelani's anger higher and hotter. She begins pacing, walking back and forth the eighteen steps from one wall to the other.

Finally she stops in front of the cell, growling at the door. A part of her is aware that Chase is sitting up on the cot now, looking at her with worry-filled eyes.

She can feel the Force gathering around her, clear and clean, begging to be used. Whispering how easy it would be to escape, if she would just let go of her control.

"Last chance, tin can. Let me contact the Jedi Temple or else."

"Threatening a security droid is a class-three felony, punishable by a minimum of one year in a maximum security penitentiary."

Noelani screams in anger, and stretches out her hand, calling the Force to her. She wraps the droid in a tight embrace and begins to squeeze, happily watching as the machine's arms and legs crumple in towards the torso, the head slowly being crushed down – all while she clenches her hand into a tight fist. The sound of stressed metal squeals in the confined detention area and electricity arcs out from the droid striking the walls around it.

Finally the sound stops, and Noelani has a ball of useless metal gripped in the Force. The exterior door opens, and two Wookiee security officers step into the room, looking at the floating orb of metal and Noelani can feel their shock at what they're seeing.

She flicks her fingers and the former droid shoots down the hall slamming into the Wookiees, knocking them both back through the door, and taking a large part of the door frame with it.

Stepping to the side, she swings her arm towards her stomach, and the ball comes shooting back towards them, crashing through the cell's door, the electrical beams erupting in a small explosion.

She holds the crumpled ball of metal and energy in mid-air in front of her for a few heartbeats, smiling at it. Then she hurls the ball into the back wall of the cell. It warps slightly, but the ancient wood stands up to the onslaught. Noelani growing even angrier pulls the ball back into the hallway and sends it slamming into the wall again. The wood buckles, and gives way, allowing the hunk of metal to careen out into the night air.

She walks to the edge, looking down into the black abyss of the jungle, and allows the ball to drop into the depths. She watches the silver orb as it disappears from sight, and then turns to find Chase staring at her, a mixture of awe and fear painted on his face.

She looks up to see an YVH entering the detention block, and she regrets dropping the ball. Edging closer to the hole, she stretches out her hand towards Chase.

"You coming?"

His hand grasps hers, and she can feel electric fire running up her arm at the touch. She smiles for him, and then takes a running leap out of the hole, dragging him out into the abyss after her.

His scream echoes through her ear, and she reaches out with the Force, anchoring it to a platform – a broad expanse of wooden boards, a large square between a few buildings built into the tree trunks – a dozen meters away and a bit further than that down. She pushes against the platform; even as she drags them closer – using the platform's own inertia to slow down their fall.

They land, and she drops Chase, tucking herself into a roll to absorb the remaining kinetic energy of the jump. Standing, she looks back towards the detention center, and can just make out the glowing red eyes of the YVH droid staring at them.

As Chase stands, the eyes disappear and then a flash of metal appears in the distance, following their trajectory – coming towards them.

Noelani grabs Chase's hand and begins running away, once again dragging him behind her. He stumbles trying to keep up with her.

"Hey! Slow down a bit would ya?"

She shakes her head, her blonde hair billowing around her. "No time. That Hunter is gaining."

The droid lands on the platform, causing it to ripple from the force of its impact. The sudden movement knocks both teenagers off of their feet, sending them skidding across the walkway.

The droid's step sound heavy in Noelani's ears and she looks up to see the hunter closing, his repeater blaster being raised as he draws near.

A deep masculine voice speaks out in Basic. "Halt. Surrender yourselves or I will be forced to fire."

She looks from the droid to Chase, noting that he's already reached his feet, and clambers to her own.

Then a flash of metal bisects her vision and Chase is flying away from her, the droid taking up position where he had just been. She takes a couple of steps backwards, running up against the railing with her butt. She takes a last look at Chase where he's lying on the far side of the platform, his face bloodied from the strike he took from the YVH droid, and then she flips herself up and over, letting gravity take its course.

She is falling through the trees, flying past the various levels of the Wookiee city – flashes of wood and light barely perceptible as she falls. Then she slams into a branch, her abused body screaming in pain. Something heavy lands on the same branch, causing it to sway from the sudden increase in weight. Just enough movement to start her sliding again. She begins slipping off, and she rolls over casting her arms wide. Her hand clasps around an unexpected protrusion from the wood – a pommel of metal. It halts her slide for a moment, until the pipe starts to work itself loose, and she realizes that it's not firmly seated into the branch. A warm, masculine voice seems to whisper in her head, a calming voice, telling her to center herself, to not panic. To reach out with the Force.

She opens her eyes, and looks down at the abyss of darkness beneath her, suddenly afraid.

She glances up to see the red-eyed, skull-faced hunter droid standing half a meter away on the branch. It takes a step towards her, and the branch shifts, bending downwards slightly.

The metal pipe pulls out, and she is falling once again.

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Kyp brings his saber up even as the warrior dives towards him. He bats the amphistaff away, and slams his fist into the warrior's side – ecstatic that the warrior isn't dressed in the usual vonduun crab armor.

The warrior grunts, and twists with the blow, bringing his elbow up and into Kyp's ear. The blow jars his head, and he can feel a tooth trying to work itself loose. He rolls away from the warrior, bringing his saber back up just in time to catch the amphistaff once again.

Kyp's foot darts out, aiming for the warrior's kneecap, hoping to break it, but instead, the warrior dances out of reach, and then darts in once again, the scales of his weapon flashing in the arc-sodium lights which line the landing area.

Kyp dances back a few steps, creating a space between himself and the warrior. The angry buzz of his blade and his own slightly labored breathing are the only sounds on the landing field.

He slashes in, and the warrior flicks his wrist, transforming his amphistaff from bladed weapon to whip. Kyp backpedals as fast as he can, and throws himself to the side, but the warrior is faster and the whip slashes in, slicing down Kyp's sword arm.

He drops his saber, cursing as it rolls in the opposite direction he himself goes.

He lands, and uses the Force to push himself into a backflip. Landing once again, he drops to a crouch, watching the warrior advance. He looks around for his saber, and then glances down at his feet – noticing for the first time, the odd blaster which the warrior dropped.

And notices that it is slowly inching its way back to its owner.

Without hesitating, he reaches down and picks up the weapon, frowning as it squirms in his grasp. He points it towards the Vong and grins as the look of shock appears on the warrior's face.

Kyp squeezes what he hopes is the actuator and the animal spits out a ball of plasma which strikes the warrior in the middle of his chest.

The warrior flies backwards, and lands in a heap, a thin wisp of smoke coming from the smoldering hole in his chest.

Kyp looks in disgust at the blaster biot and then tosses it away. Shaking his head slightly, he asks himself, "Why the kriff can't they use real blasters?"

Calling his blade back to hand, he notices the blue and white logo barely visible above the burn marks on the tunic which the warrior is wearing. The logo for BioTech Industries.

He looks up, and sees the gleaming building off in the distance, towering over the other structures in the city. That same logo outlined by spotlights adorning the side of it.

He reaches out with the Force, and can feel Tahiri off in that direction, and without stopping to think, he begins running that way, looking for a speeder he can commandeer.