Greater Than the Sum of Their Parts: Chapter Eight

Noelani struggles in the arms of the two bulky warriors, kicking as they drag her forward so she has a good view of the fight between her Master and the largest of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors.

Then the unthinkable happens. With a grunt, the warrior shoves his amphistaff into Tahiri’s stomach. She can feel the scream burning the back of her throat.

Then the dream dissolves, reality slamming back into her with the force of a Yuuzhan Vong gauntlet.

Noelani whimpers slightly, the taste of blood filling her mouth.

Awareness of the rest of her body comes slowly. Her legs splayed out before her, feet fastened to the floor by lumps of blorash jelly, with another glob of it holding down her arms between her thighs, covering them from elbow to wrist. Her back strains, aching from being forced to hold the curve for so many hours.

Strong fingers grip her jaw, squeezing it harshly and lifting her face up. She tries to pull her face away, but the Vong before her refuses to let her go. She relents, and looks up into the face of a female warrior. Tattoos sketched across her face, her nostrils turned into tatters that flap with every draw of breath, her canine teeth replaced with larger versions, a strip of flesh removed from her cheek, the muscles beneath glistening sickly.

Noelani wants to scream at the horrific sight before her, but instead grabs control of her emotions and speaks in an almost calm voice.

“What do you want?”

“It’s not what I want with you. It’s what my Mistress wants with you.”

Noelani tries to get her chin out of the Vong’s hand again, when she is unable to do so, the woman warrior laughs.

“Your fire is good. You could have a lot of anger. Give into it. Join me; with you by my side we could defeat my Mistress.”

Noelani squeezes her eyes shut, refusing to look at the warrior any longer. “My Master will save me.”

The Vong thrusts Noelani’s face away, one of the warrior’s claws digging into her chin, leaving behind a thin long gash.

Noelani has to fight back tears.

“That’s a shame. Especially since your Master is dead. The commander of my troops killed her.”

Noelani shakes her head, and screams. “No! I don’t believe you!”

A new voice laughs from out of the darkness and Noelani gaps as a human woman walks out from the depths of the shadows, her silver body armor gleaming in the dim lights.

“Welcome to my home, little Noelani. I am Lumiya. Dark Lady of the Sith. And you will be my new apprentice.”

“No! I won’t.”

Lumiya smiles at her. “Good, your anger serves you well. But your defiance I can’t allow.”

Lumiya makes a subtle gesture, and Noelani shivers as the spine of a thin cold blade slides up her back, and with a jerk and a ripping sound, her tunic falls open, revealing her bare back to the cold air of the cave.

Fear settles around her, driving out her anger and despair. “What’s happening?”

Lumiya smiles again – a cold, heartless gesture. “You’re being punished.”

Then fire wraps itself around her back, ending on her throat next to her cheek. A lash of energy which burns and activates all of the nearby pain receptors in her back at the same time.

Noelani screams.

Lumiya hunkers down. “It’s a nuerowhip. Pure energy – leaves no marks or cuts behind. I’m being nice to you; Ulya wished to whip you with her amphistaff.”

Noelani can do nothing but pant, the pain still burning across her back. Then the fire wraps around her again, this time starting at her mid back and writhing across and over her shoulders, crossing across her sternum.

Noelani screams again.

Lumiya walks away, her armored heels clapping on the rough-hewn stone beneath them. The lines of fire and pain being laid out across her back in time with those steps.

She doesn’t have time to scream anymore.

She is reduced to crying and cringing, her jaws locked tight against the pain. She struggles through it, struggles to keep herself from giving her captors the satisfaction of her screams.

Finally it is over.

She shivers; the muscles in her back quivering in pain. The muscles in her shoulders and legs aching from her attempts to pull herself free from the blorash jelly.

She struggles to raise her head, and looks around, seeing the female warrior – Ulya, Lumiya called her - walks around to stand in front of her.

Ulya smiles, and her fist cocks back and slams into Noelani’s temple.

Pain blossoms out from where she was hit.

And darkness quickly follows.

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Tahiri pushes her way into the security office; Lieutenant Samren is seated behind his desk, a stack of flimsies spread out in front of him. He looks up at her abrupt entrance, and a smile flickers on his face.

“Jedi Veila, a pleasure to see you again.”

Tahiri drops into the seat, her hand wrapping protectively around her wound. “I need a transport, a fast one. My apprentice was kidnapped.”

Samren bobs his head once, and stands up quickly. “We just recently impounded a smuggler’s yacht. A Clone Wars vintage, J-type star skiff. Minimum crew is one, but it can hold more people. She’s old, but still works beautifully.”

Tahiri nods her head, and passes over a credit chit. “The Jedi Order is purchasing it.”

Samren hesitates, looking as if he is about to argue. But he stares at her for a moment longer, and then just nods his head, running through the transaction. He digs through a pile of datapads, and pulls out one, plugging it into a specialized component of his terminal. A few moments later, he passes the pad to Tahiri.

“You’re now the proud owner of the Stolen Star. Enjoy, Jedi Veila.”

Tahiri nods her head, and follows Samren out to the impound hanger. He pushes open the door, and there before her is a white star ship with a tear-drop shaped hull and sweep-backed wings extending from the bow. She grins slightly, as she slowly walks around the craft, stopping at the aft egress hatch; she confidently walks forward, and looks around.

Samren pokes his head in. “She should be stocked with consumables and fuel.”

Tahiri walks out from the medical suite, and glances up the short ladder to the cockpit. “Thank you, Lieutenant. May the Force be with you.”

Samren nods his head, and retreats down the hatch. Tahiri hits the close button, and climbs the ladder, settling into the pilot’s station.

Familiarizing herself with the controls, she pulls out the datapad, bringing up the filed flight plan of Jacen’s shuttle when they left the planet. Wincing slightly, she activates the repulsors, and slowly lifts the ship up off the hanger floor.

She inches forward, and with a squeal of metal, rips through a portion of the hangar door. A little different than flying an x-wing.

She sits up a bit straighter, and looks over at that wing, noting the cosmetic damage done. Grimacing slightly, she continues forward slowly, until the thirty-meter-long starship is out of the hanger entirely. Tahiri looks around, and then punches the throttle. The ion engines roar to life, and the Stolen Star rockets upwards, quickly breaking atmosphere. The comm snaps to life, with Lorrdian Ground Control demanding her to turn around and land.

She ignores them, and enters in her course into the navicomputer. As soon as the indicator turns green she pulls down on the levers, and the stars elongate, as the powerful engines propel the ship into hyperspace.