Gray Jedi Ch. 09

"More than ever," she replied.

"Good. Henceforth, you are no longer to be known as Barriss Offee. You are now the First Sister of the Inquisitorius."

"Thank you, my Emperor."

"Come, First Sister. We have much to discuss."

Palpatine led the way down a series of hallways, arriving with Offee in a conference room. Vader and Blut were hunched over a holomap of Coruscant.

"Welcome, my Master," said Vader. "I see that she has chosen the wise course of action."

"Indeed she has. She will serve us as the First Sister of the Inquisitorius, answering directly to our Grand Inquisitor," Palpatine replied. "What news have we from the streets?"

"Our scouts have managed to track the traitors to somewhere in this entertainment district," Blut said. "Still, their movements were erratic enough that we were unable to ascertain their precise location. Most likely they are somewhere in hiding."

"If we cannot track them, could we try to look for their ship?" Offee asked.

"It is doubtful that their ship would be in the area," Blut replied. "Malik Ran is intelligent enough to know that we would track them, and Jax Pavan is resourceful enough to evade our scouts. They will not return to their ship unless they can do so undetected."

"Hmm... do we know when they arrived on Coruscant?" Offee asked.

"I do not know, but it could not have been very long ago," said Blut. "After all, it was only two days ago that we sent out my distress signal."

"So, it is safe to say that they would have landed close enough to the Jedi Temple to make their way there on foot, yet far enough away to avoid attracting attention," Offee surmised. "Bring up the security recordings from this morning. Perhaps we will see some clue of their arrival."

The group watched as a video appeared on the wall taken from an Imperial gunship on its patrol that morning. Soon, the ship passed over an industrial sector near the Jedi Temple. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first, but something caught Vader's attention after a few minutes.

"There. That junkyard."

"Zooming in," said Offee. "I don't see anything."

"I have frequented that junkyard on many occasions, finding spare parts to repair or modify my equipment," Vader said. "I visited there even up to the day of Order 66, and am intimately familiar with its layout. All is as it was... save for that object there."

"Ah yes, it appears to be the ship that blasted its way out of the Jedi Temple the night of Order 66," Palpatine smirked. "You believe it to be their ship?"

"It must be. That ship is of Jedi design, a true relic from the early days of the Order. I would not be surprised for Master Yoda to have hidden it beneath the Temple for centuries," Vader replied.

"Then let's destroy it!" Offee said with glee. "We destroy it, we cut off their escape route!"

"A most interesting suggestion, First Sister. What say you, Grand Inquisitor?" Palpatine cackled.

"Such action would be unwise," Blut replied. "Yes, their immediate escape route would be gone, but they would simply go further into hiding until such time as they could procure another means of escape. Courscant is vast and many shady individuals would be more than happy to assist a group of fugitives... for the right price. No, if we wish to accomplish our goal of hunting down the traitors, we must lure them out."

"The Grand Inquisitor is correct," Vader said. "We must bring them into the open before destroying their ship."

"I shall handle it personally, Lord Vader," Blut said.

"No. You and I must depart at once. First Sister, you shall take command of this operation. Double the patrols around the junkyard. Have them alert you of any movement in the area. You shall take an elite troop of clones and lie in wait for the Jedi. Once they are exposed, you may destroy their ship if the opportunity to do so arises. Still, remain focused. Your goal is their capture or extermination, not merely the destruction of a ship. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Lord Vader," Offee replied with a grin. "I will be victorious."

"I hope so, First Sister, for your sake. You are both dismissed."

As Blut and Offee departed, Palpatine turned to Vader.

"How are we progressing on our other project, my apprentice?"

"Quite well, my Master. The explosives Offee planted leveled the Jedi Temple to the ground. Our construction teams are ready. From the rubble of the Jedi Order, the Imperial Palace will rise."

*****

"Ok, get in," Dex said, opening the back of his speeder truck.

"You're sure they won't suspect anything?" Malik asked.

"Positive. I go to that junkyard pretty often. The patrols in that area know who I am and what I do there, so they won't think any of this suspicious."

After Malik, Serra, Rex, Laranth, and Jax had secured themselves in the cargo hold, Dex slammed the door shut. After climbing into the driver's seat, he slid open a small window, allowing him to see into the hold.

"Keep quiet, ya understand? They won't suspect me, but any funny sounds'll warrant an inspection, got it?"

"Understood," Malik replied.

Dex shifted the truck into gear and got underway, the morning sun just beginning to peek over the horizon in the distance.

*****

"Patrol five, this is First Sister. Any sign of them?"

"Negative, First Sister. All quiet."

"Roger that, keep me posted."

"Will do, ma'am. Wait, got something here. A truck approaching. Standby."

The clone waved the truck down, indicating for it to slow. As it stopped, he sauntered up to the driver's side window.

"Mornin'!" called a large Besalisk.

"Dex? Hey, good to see you!" the clone said upon recognizing the driver. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, just came to do some salvaging. Ya know me, I'm a sucker for a good scavenge," Dex replied.

"True enough. Let me see your ID; it's protocol, after all."

"Sure, here ya go."

After inspecting the ID card, the clone scanned it into his logbook and handed it back to Dex.

"Alright, you're clear. You be careful out there, old man!"

"Always am!" Dex called back as he drove into the junkyard.

"Patrol five, any news?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just an old man come to scavenge for spare parts; I've seen him here a lot before."

"Copy."

Meanwhile, Dex continued his normal route through the junkyard, slowly making his way towards the ship.

"Nice going, Dex," Malik whispered through the window.

"Like you ever doubted me," he chuckled.

Turning to their new friends, Malik continued, "You didn't have to come here, Jax. This could turn dangerous; you two have done enough for us."

"Save it, Malik. We're making sure you get off this planet in one piece."

"It is the least we can do," Laranth agreed.

"Ok, ship's about a hundred meters away. I'm gonna pull off here," Dex said from the cab.

"Looks like this is goodbye," Serra said, giving a quick hug to Laranth. "You guys be safe. If you ever need anything, look us up."

"We will," the Twi'lek replied.

*****

"They've got to be somewhere," Offee muttered, scanning the junkyard from a rooftop with her electrobinoculars.

"Maybe they've decided to stay in hiding a while longer?" one of the clones suggested.

"No, they're close. I can feel their presence."

Though the checkpoint below had cleared the truck a moment ago, Offee decided to take one more look. Tracing the path through the junkyard, she saw that the truck had pulled off to the side near a large pile of scrap. At first, nothing seemed amiss, but then she saw that the Jedi ship was hidden just around the bend from where the truck was parked. Zooming in on the vehicle, she saw a large Besalisk walk around the truck and lift up the door to the cargo hold. A moment later, a young man, a dark-haired woman, and an unmasked clone soldier exited from within.

"It's them! All troops converge on the truck! GO GO GO!"

The soldiers below began to enter the junkyard from all sides, knowing they could cut off the fugitives with proper timing. Looking to join the fight, Offee and her elite troop of soldiers blasted down on their jetpacks.

"Time to end this," Offee said with a grin.

*****

"There they go," Jax said, watching the trio head off towards their ship.

"You think they'll be alright out there?" Laranth asked.

"No doubt. Malik and Serra are two of the best, and we all know what Rex is capable of."

"True," Laranth giggled. After watching a moment, something in the distance caught her eye. "Jax... do you see that? On the top of that building."

"Huh... looks like... jetpacks! It's an ambush!"

As soon as he had spoken, a group of clone soldiers appeared on the pile of junk surrounding the ship and opened fire on Malik, Serra, and Rex. The two Jedi sprung their lightsabers from their hiding spots and formed a shield around Rex, deflecting any blaster bolts that came their way. Rex did the best he could to pick off enemies from a distance, but there were just too many.

"We must help them! They will be cut down in moments!" Laranth said.

"Agreed. Dex, stay in the truck! Be ready for a quick getaway!"

"Got it!"

Drawing on the Force, Jax and Laranth sprinted at top speed towards their friends. Jax took the lead to deflect any blaster shots that came their way, but the soldiers were primarily focused on the trio near the ship. Soon, the two of them arrived to help, forming another layer of protection.

"Fancy meeting you like this!" Malik quipped.

"We can hold out for a bit while you get to your ship!" Jax said.

"Got it! Serra, get the ship powered up; we'll cover you!"

Serra broke off from the group, flipping through the air and deflecting shots as she sprinted to the ship. Once she was on board, Malik and Jax took up defensive positions to allow Rex and Laranth the best opportunities to return fire. Rex did well to take out several sentries on the piles of scrap surrounding them, but soon his eyes widened at what was about to happen.

"Repeater rifle! Incoming!" he warned.

A trooper with a DC-15A blaster now stood atop the scrap heap. Planting his blaster on a turret, he opened fire on the group, trying to eradicate them in mere seconds. As Jax and Malik prepared to defend, Laranth suddenly jumped in front of them, firing off shots from her twin DL-44 blasters so quick that the remaining three were blinded from the muzzle flash. When Jax, Malik, and Rex looked up, they saw that Laranth had neutralized the threat by blasting the incoming blaster bolts with her own, then downing the trooper above.

"Woah..." Malik gasped.

"I warned you not to underestimate her," Jax grinned.

With a slight break in the assault, Rex took the opportunity to board the Middle Way and assist Serra with takeoff. Meanwhile, Laranth began to pick off the troops surrounding the ship with frightening precision, whittling down their numbers to more manageable levels. Jax and Malik continued their defensive tactics, deflecting blaster bolts whenever they could. As they busied themselves with the soldiers, Malik sensed an incoming threat.

"Look out!"

Jax barely had time to defend against one of Barriss Offee's lightsabers being flung through the air at him. The three stepped back as the former Jedi landed from her flight, separating them from their ship.

"Nowhere else to run. Surrender, and your deaths will be quick," she seethed.

"Screw you," Laranth spat.

Before Offee could reply, Jax and Malik leapt into action, attacking her from both sides. She defended with her dual lightsabers as best she could, thinking at first that only these two would be credible threats. However, Laranth noticed that the clones surrounding the area had pulled back a bit, not wanting to catch Offee in the crossfire of continuing their assault. She waited for an opportunity to catch her off-guard, and soon found what she needed. Malik surprised everyone by striking Offee with a blast of Force Lightning, forcing her back as she defended with her lightsaber.

"Take this!"

In a flash, Laranth fired a precision shot from one of her blasters at Offee, aiming directly for her chest. The former Jedi was taken aback by this action, yet still managed to deflect the blaster bolt into the dirt. This was exactly the action Laranth had desired her to take, and had already fired off another blast in anticipation of Offee's block, striking her in the hand.

"Ah!" Offee yelped in pain.

"Now! Go!" Laranth said, turning to fire on the clones surrounding them.

The three easily made it around Offee and began sprinting towards the Middle Way. Laranth continued to provide cover fire and Jax made sure nothing struck Malik in the back. With her injured hand, Offee knew she would not be able to continue the pursuit of the fugitives, and instead decided to bring out her contingency plan.

"Lieutenant? Ready the RPS-6," she spoke into her comlink.

*****

Dex sat hunched in his truck, just trying to keep his head down. Though he could probably have made it out unseen with the clones focused on the Jedi, it would also have meant leaving Jax and Laranth behind. No way was he doing that. Peering out the windshield, he saw that the pair had managed to get Serra and Rex aboard their ship and were escorting Malik.

"It won't be long... hurry up," Dex muttered.

As the trio sprinted towards their ship, Dex saw a pair of clones out of the corner of his eye. They stood on the edge of the area where the ship was parked, preparing a large piece of equipment of some sort. Dex squinted, trying to see what they were up to, when it hit him at last: they were preparing a rocket launcher.

"They won't stand a chance if their ship takes a hit from that!" Dex realized. With a heavy sigh, he shifted his truck into gear. "I must be mad... but then, this is still better than what the Empire'll do to me after all this."

Dex slammed the throttle forward and sped into the firefight, aiming to run the clones over with his truck. As he approached, his heart sank at seeing that they would be able to fire long before he could reach them. Seeing no other alternative, he altered course and placed himself between the clones and the ship. While he had a fleeting thought of jumping out and making a run for it, the clones had already fired a rocket straight at his truck. Dex smiled and gave one last belly laugh before the projectile struck.

"NO!!" Laranth screamed, seeing Dex's truck go up in flames. "You bastards, I'll kill you!!"

"Laranth, no!" Jax cried, pulling her to cover.

"Let me go, Jax!"

"He's gone, Laranth! We've got to get out of here, or his sacrifice is for nothing!"

"Jax! Laranth! Get on board!" Malik screamed from the boarding ramp.

After a moment's hesitation, the pair sprinted the remaining way to the ship, boarding the ramp just as the clones had resumed their assault.

"Serra, get us in the air!" Malik shouted.

The thrusters roared and the ship lurched. Moments later, they were rocketing through the atmosphere towards outer space.

"Shit," Offee muttered. "That's twice... never again."

"Ma'am? What now?" a clone asked.

"Get our air patrols after them, and tell the orbital units to be ready; they're going to make a run for it."

"On it!"

"One more thing: get me any available photographs of those five. I'm going to have every bounty hunter in the galaxy after them..."