Dark Resurrection

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 5

The three moons of Chakar III filled the sky with hues ranging from crimson to indigo. The biggest moon, the one occupying the better part of the firmament, and which the locals had nicknamed “Great Mother”, surpassed the horizon and projected long shadows on the soil and stone ground tread on by the fugitives.

Leaving the settlement, the sparse vegetation had all but disappeared, giving way to a ghostly landscape. Zui Mar walked in front of the small group. His vigilant eyes scanned the road ahead, darting from side to side, from dunes to rocks, looking for any sign of danger. Imperial probes seldom covered that wide a perimeter in their patrols around human settlements, but running into one was still a possibility. Dan-Lee followed, carefree as usual. For him, this was nothing more than another journey in a new world. It was like no one could ever make him falter. The two elder Masters, following them a few steps behind, didn’t seem to share his mood. Zui briefly turned to check on them, then went back to inspecting the road ahead.

Ten years before, those very same women, his superiors in rank, lied to him and Hope, pushing them both into death’s embrace. They sent them on Eron without a warning, convinced by some vague incoherent vision that he and his frail apprentice would somehow defeat Sorran and bring balance back to the galaxy. How could they have believed that? How could they have gambled on their lives that way?

When they realized things hadn’t gone the way they expected, they left to reach the planet, but it was too late, and they were only able to save Zui because the temple had crumbled into the ocean burying his apprentice under tons of stone.

Only much later, after having witnessed the fall of the Republic, and after a daring getaway from the clutches of the reborn Empire, only then, inside the first safe haven, had they confessed what they did, filled with shame. Hope was gone and Organa cried. Zui, peering into those eyes flooded with guilt, decided to keep the obscurity of his emotions in check, trapping them in the deepest pits of his mind and heart, accepting the events that had occurred. Yet, to this day, after a whole life fleeing the Empire together, despite the bond that had formed, he knew a part of him would never really forgive them.

Dan-Lee spoke to his Master, breaking the silence that had reigned in the last hour of their march.

“I don’t necessarily see this as a bad thing... I mean, after all, I was kind of fed up with this hunk of rock. Weren’t you?” He turned to Zui seeking his attention, but the Master, still worried, kept inspecting his surroundings using the Force, ignoring the young man.

“At any rate, if we had a speeder we would’ve been there already.”

“It would’ve drawn too much attention. They’re no doubt surveying all transport from above. Instead, four warm bodies could very well go unnoticed due to the size of the rodents on this planet.”

Behind them, Organa and Nemer clung to their capes. The Seer looked up. She seemed to be waiting for something inevitable to occur.

“Zui Mar, this port... is it very far ahead?”

“It’s not a proper port. It’s a dumpster for noxious byproducts that miners extract from the grallite.”

He raised his arm to point at two small towers emerging from the rock. A crater could be seen not far from there. One the settlers had turned into a makeshift hangar.

“There it is. If our contact didn’t lie, there’s a ship docked inside which could pass the blockade.”

“Damn it!” Nemer cursed through her teeth, but it was enough to alarm the whole group. The pulsing whirr of an imperial probe became increasingly loud from behind a rock ledge, and a metal jellyfish emerged. Its sensors immediately turned towards the fugitives and began scanning. Zui’s reaction was immediate. A precise blast shot the droid’s head off, its severed body falling to the ground in a cloud of smoke.

Nemer looked at Zui, concerned.

“I was hoping those damn things would avoid this area.”

“Nice reflexes, though,” Dan remarked.

“They’ll be of little help. Whether it scanned us or not, assault troops will be here any minute now.”

Ruya finished loading supplies onto the ship, pushed the anti-gravitational cart inside the cargo hold, and activated the magnetic locks. Little Sabine followed her every step and watched her every move with sadness. Three years before, her parents had died in a mining accident. The entire community considered her a burden that some unlucky soul would have had to take care of. Not Ruya. She became close to her with the tenderness of someone who understood the abject nightmare she had found herself in and, with time, she was able to soothe the pain that trapped Sabine’s tiny heart and froze her tears. Gorgeous Ruya, with her rude demeanor, took care of Sabine like a sister would, becoming her whole family.

“How can you not know how long you’ll be away for?”

Ruya shut the hatch and prepared to cross the walkway. She stopped halfway to kneel and touch Sabine’s face. The little girl’s eyes were filled with tears, but the pride in her stare was that of someone unwilling to show weakness or fear.

“I can’t know for sure because I don’t know what lies ahead for me. That’s why you’ll be safe here, you brat.”

Sabine clutched a blaster rifle bigger than herself.

“I know how to fight!”

Ruya tapped the little girl’s chin.

“I know that, that’s why I need you here.”

She took out a purse containing the credits she received in advance from the fugitives.

“Too dangerous to bring these with me. You hold onto these until I’m back.”

She winked, and Sabine grabbed the sack. She wasn’t naïve. She knew full well that Ruya simply wanted to protect her. Nonetheless, as children often do, she decided to play her part and believe those words.

“I got this!” she proudly replied, like a bounty hunter would.

All of a sudden the data pad on Ruya’s wrist started flashing menacingly. The little screen showed images from a camera outside. The clients had arrived and, judging from how frantically they were waving at the camera, they were in quite a rush.

The heavy hatch lifted quickly, revealing the odd panicky quartet.

“You’re early.”

“We gotta leave now,” Zui Mar said. “We’ll have company soon.”

“Damn you! You’ve been followed!?!” Ruya leaned outside, looking over the dunes and rocky ledges without spotting anything. Then an imperial transport flew over the area, veering before hovering in front of the hatch, spewing forth a hailstorm of laser shots from its turret.

Barely dodging the lethal barrage, the group dove into the access tower, cowering behind the lateral post of the hatch. Ruya made sure the little girl was safe. She saw her behind a big crate, halfway down the corridor. She breathed a sigh of relief in finding her unscathed, then turned to the fugitives.

“You brought the Empire here, you blasted morons!”

The ship had quickly landed and, in front of it, a whole squadron of assault troops was assuming combat positions.

Ruya got up, running backwards as she sprayed the soldiers with laser shots, laying down some cover fire. When she reached Sabine behind the crate, the few options that remained all cluttered together in her mind. It was too late to surrender the fugitives. She had aided them. The Empire would execute her, anyway. It took her a split second to decide what to do. She leaned forward and, shooting at the assault goons, shouted at the wanted felons with whom, at this point, she was now an accomplice.

“What the hell are you waiting for? Fall back, I’ll cover you!”

Zui and Dan, without further hesitation, activated their blades. Two lethal beams of blue light lit up the hallway and started deflecting blasts.

While Organa and Nemer took advantage of that improvised shield to reach the containers halfway down the corridor, two soldiers came in through the hatch. The deflected blasts, however, hit them right in the face, taking them out. The other troopers fell back, taking cover.

Ruya stood slack-jawed, bewildered by what she just witnessed. Those four were Guardians of the Republic. She heard talk of them and their powers but hadn’t ever really believed the stories. The two men were brandishing their swords, lightning-fast and with pinpoint accuracy, deflecting every shot as if they were predicting the trajectories. It was astonishing, unbelievable!

The two elder women reached Ruya behind the crates. The tallest one took out a small blaster g*n and started firing, covering the men’s retreat. Zui joined them shortly after, turning off the sword. Ruya stared, admiring him and fascinated.

Dan-Lee, who had remained up front, pirouetted parrying a few more shots. Then, with a spectacular, but completely unnecessary leap, he joined the group. Dan turned towards Ruya seeking acknowledgment, but she completely ignored him.

“We have to drive them out of here or we’ll never get to the ship.” Zui Mar pronounced this like a general in a war room, emotionless and pragmatic, but he was ultimately right.

“There might be a way if we manage to retreat and hit that sensor over there. The system will think there’s a radiation leak and seal off this access to the hangar.”

Dan-Lee stared at the sensor, raising an eyebrow, and pondered.

“Doesn’t seem that far, I can reach it from here,” he said, and he raised the blaster to the target.

“Noooo!” Ruya lunged towards his arm, jerking it down, but Dan’s perfect shot had already been fired. The energy charge shattered the sensor into a million pieces. Both the entry hatch, and also the one behind them that led up to the elevator for the hangar, slammed shut like guillotine blades, completely isolating the whole corridor.

Ruya came out from behind cover, opening her arms in a show of exasperation and defeat.

“You trapped us, you colossal moron! We were supposed to retreat behind the hatch before closing it.”

“I don’t... hey, listen, you should have explained yourself better! The way you formulated the sentence wasn’t at all clear...”

Zui Mar rested his hand on his reckless companion’s shoulder, shaking his head. “You sure made a brilliant first impression, that’s for sure.”

Ruya inspected the space in search of a possible solution. She found the spot she had been looking for on the wall and pointed to it.

“There. We need to find a way to open that control panel. If I get my hands on the right connectors, I might be able to hot wire the controls and open the hatch.”

“Hot wire the...? What are you talking about?”

“It’s quicker to do than to explain.”

“That’s a code-controlled safety door. It’s almost impossible without a droid,” Nemer said, emphatically.

“I’ve done it at least a dozen times already,” replied a cocky Ruya. The woman looked doubtful, but there was no point in arguing. She silently reached the end of the corridor. With a single elegant gesture, she activated her plasma blade and seared the welding off. The panel fell, clanging to the floor, followed by molten metal and sparks.

“That tangle of circuits is all yours now,” Nemer said while she turned off the blade and tucked it away under her cloak.