Ask Naboo The Heretic

[Asuka Hino]

Chapter 1

THE HERETIC

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Naboo was as far Coreward as Asuka Hino had been in many months, and she was already regretting it. The Outer Rim was so much simpler than the bustle of the Mid Rim. There, news traveled slower and people kept their heads down. Minded their own business—for the most part. Out there, she could almost forget about the conflicts the Order was embroiled in. Forget the Sith had returned. Forget that most of the galaxy couldn't care less whether the Jedi Order lived or faded back into the waste bin of history.

Communications from Ajan Kloss came less frequently now. When they did, they were increasingly depressing. A battle on Ryloth. Debates in the Senate. Each one made her grateful she had been assigned to keep an eye on the Outer Rim. To watch out for gangs and cults, and all sorts of other bad news that could turn into worse news. She told herself the job was important. The last thing the Council needed was some shady moof milkers showing up to make bad situations worse. The resurgent Sith Order was already bad enough. But she knew, in the end, it was a laundry assignment. Something to occupy her so he didn't cause trouble at home.

Fine, she thought, bringing one humming white blade up above her head so that she could see better through the dense fog making it difficult for her to see the path through the woods ahead. Its not like I want to be there, anyways.

She was content to do her thing. Even if they were to call her home, she wasn't certain she'd go. Not immediately, at least. Besides, something interesting had come up. And if her hunch about it was right, the Council would have to cut her some slack when she finally went back.

At the edge of the woods, the fog peeled back, revealing a glittering city against the night sky. Moenia. From this distance, it looked just like the capital of Naboo, Theed. But the undercurrent was different here. The people, too. And, more importantly, if the rumors she'd been following were right, so was the religion.

One didn't stumble upon the name 'Darth Sidious' in casual conversation anymore. The name was taboo, and on Naboo, so was the name of the man who'd used it: Palpatine. Yet, she'd heard the words not a fortnight ago while undercover in a gambling den on Canto Bight. The mention made her ears perk up. By the end of the night, she'd gleaned two things. One, something called 'The Alternative' was rising up in the Rim. Something with sympathies to the old Sith Emperor. And two: she could find out more on Naboo, the Emperor's homeworld. It had taken her awhile to piece together where on Naboo, but now she was pretty sure she had found the right place.

Half an hour later, she was strolling up to a cantina in the market district, lightsabers hidden in a kimono she'd chosen to wear instead of her traditional Jedi robes. In the off-chance her targets were lecherous, this was advantageous to her. Fate had long since dictated that she drew creeps to her like swamp flies to a lamp. She had no more than stepped through the threshold of the bar than she spotted her two suspiciously dressed subjects sitting on the far side of the bar in a booth. Both were wearing the same necklace she'd seen around the necks of the patrons on Canto Bight. The insignia of the Final Order.

Subtlety, they knew not.

She went to the bar, leaned against it. "Spotchka, please," she said, slapping a few coins down on the metal. "As much as this'll buy me." She eyed the men again and set a few more coins down. "Might as well thrown in a round for them too."

"Theysa pallos of yousa?" the Gungan bartender asked.

Asuka couldn't help it. The slightest smirk tugged up the corner of her mouth. "Oh, we're about to be real cozy," she said.

Whether the answer satisfied him or he just didn't care, the Gungan shrugged and went for the drinks. Minutes later, he handed her three shot glasses of glowing liquid. She picked up all three, tipped her head to him in thanks, and went for a walk. @Feng Mian

 

[Alek Lantsov]

When he landed, all Aleksander could think about was murder. He wanted nothing more than to track down the next sympathizer, squeeze out what information they had, then the remainder of their life along with it. He didn’t care if they had no hand in Nina’s death, because in the end, they were complicit. All of them. Any association with the Alternative was a brand, a mark that could only be removed with the end of his lightsaber or his fingers around their throat. Death was his reason for living.
Crossing through the tangled shadows of trees along the open boulevard, he gravitated to the closest female street vendor he could find. A young woman with honeyed skin and a practiced smile, she stood quietly at a market stall selling plums and pickled fruits. When their eyes met and she turned them shyly away, he knew then he’d picked the perfect target.

Aleksander was handsome, and he knew that well, having used it shamelessly to his every advantage. Women fell to his easy charm like winter leaves. Didn’t matter if he ended up stepping over them, long as he got what he wanted.

“Excuse me beautiful,” he said, flashing a wolfish grin, “I happen to be a little lost and I thought you might be able to help me. I’m looking for an old friend, no one special. Goes by the name of Dryden.”

The girl flushed a bright pink. “Why, thank you,” she said, looking at her toes. “I don’t know about a Dryden, but there’s a cantina down the street. Popular with the locals. I’m sure the bartender there might know a thing or two.”

“Think I might be able to catch you there later tonight?” At this point, he was just toying with the poor girl.

She gawked, a finger twirling corkscrews in her hair. “I… I don’t know. Maybe.”

“I’ll be waiting.” He wouldn’t.

A few minutes later, Aleksander was facing the entrance into the cantina. He never left his ship without his lightsaber, wrapped neatly under a black shawl, but he traced a hand over the weapon if only to be sure again. If things turned sour, he was prepared to see it through. For Nina, he reminded himself. For me.

Without a second thought, he strode through the front door.

Finding a seat was the easiest part. At the bar, he ordered a shot of spotchka, not for nerves but for the sake of blending in, before he casually eyed what patrons he could. Instantly, he spotted his next target: two men in the same necklaces he’d known members of the Alternative to wear. Neither were the high-ranking officials he’d hope to find, but he would make good use of them and what information they could give. They'd the breadcrumbs that would lead him to a feast.

 

[Asuka Hino]

The shot glasses brought their gazes up from the table, but neither man looked shocked to see Asuka slide into the seat across from them. In fact, if she wasn't overthinking things, they almost seemed to be expecting her. She stole the opportunity to take a swig from her glass. The glowing liquid burned the whole way down—a fire that spread to the rest of her veins, steeling her for what needed to be done.

"You know," she said, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono, "most people would be alarmed at a stranger barging in on their booth with extra drinks."

"We are not most people," one of the robes said.

"I gathered that much."

"You ask too many questions," said the other. "Questions in Theed. Questions in Jan-gwa. These did not escape us."

Asuka took another sip of her drink. She had hoped her questions might flesh out her prey. So far, so good. "You guys cast a wide net," she replied. "Impressive. Then, you know what I want."

"The Apparat. You will not find him."

Asuka's fingers twitched. The urge to use the Force to loosen their tongues strengthened. She resisted. Cutting corners was one thing, but bending minds was a bridge too far. For now. "I will find him. The question is, will you tell me where he is politely? Or am I going to have to slide over to your side of the booth?"

She slid the two remaining shot glasses over to them while she waited for their answer. Drink up, gentlemen, she thought. It's gonna be a long night for us both. @Feng Mian

 

[Alek Lantsov]

Aleksander downed his drink and waited. While the occasional body would approach him, seating themselves at the vacant chair beside him before making poor attempts at flirting, he’d wave them off like nothing. They were nothing. The only thing that mattered to him right now were the Alternative sympathizers clustered in the dark corner of the bar. Had the cantina been empty, he might have already lunged to strike, because it didn’t matter when or where, just that he did.

But to his surprise, a girl had wormed her way into their booth with three glasses of spotchka. Her skin looked soft, too pale for someone used to the springtime warmth of Naboo, and by the looks of her outfit and lack of a necklace, he had every reason to believe she was a stranger to the men. In fact, they eyed her unwarily, filled with a cold unfamiliarity that he'd get if he ever stepped foot by their table. A rival or a friend, Aleksander could only guess.

He hated guessing.

In his mind, he settled for obstacle, and like any obstacle, he'd either force them to move or run them through. But as he listened in to the conversation, and only through a bare inkling of the Force, did he catch the name he'd been seeking out for the last year. The Apparat. You will not find him.

Try me, he thought. Then, he rose from his seat and descended onto the table. There was no joy in eavesdropping, so instead, he dropped right in, sliding into the open spot in the booth, just where the girl had threatened to seat herself. Plastered with a broad smile, he said, "I hope you don't mind if I do first."

Both men tensed. Had they recognized him, the man that had been slowly, painstakingly, dismantling their little movement for the last nine months, one cell after another? He hoped so.

 

[Asuka Hino]

Asuka liked surprises. Good or not, they kept things interesting. But she particularly liked surprises she could anticipate, and this wasn't one of them. No robes, no necklace. He didn't feel like one of them. The way they tensed told her that, whoever he was, the three of them were not on friendly terms. So, who was he?

Play along.

It was Rhonan Fel's voice in her head. The man, her Master, was still alive, yet his voice haunted her like a ghost. Still teaching her, even when he wasn't there.

"This booth's getting a little full," she said to the newcomer, arching her brow. "What do you boys say we take this outside? Talk in the fresh air."

"No," one of the robes said. The one closest to the stranger.

The Force trembled in her fingertips. She did not want to have to spring her lightsabers here, but—

Steady, said the voice of Rhonan Fel. A little risk may result in a big reward.

She breathed. "Your friends seem tense," she said to the newcomer. "Why don't we help them outdoors? Put 'em at ease."

It was a risk, trusting a stranger. But she wasn't stupid. He didn't like them, and they didn't like him. Enemy of my enemy? It was her best bet at getting them out of here wihtout dicing something up on the way out. @Feng Mian

 

[Alek Lantsov]

Aleksander liked the way she thought. Throwing hands in a cantina would be too messy, public, and most of all, a cliche. It would not be the first time he’d bash a nose into a table, but it would serve him better if it were against a brick wall in a secluded alley. At least there, no one would be watching—other than his new partner. Hopefully she didn’t mind the sight of blood.

“Excellent idea,” he answered. “What do you say, gentlemen? Let’s take a breather.”

He placed a hand on the closest man’s shoulder and squeezed. He doubted the man would respond how he wanted him to, but if anything, he hoped exactly for that.

“Here’s my answer for you,” said the man, and suddenly, Aleksander felt the press of a blaster against his hip. A little action under the table? He expected as much.

So, deciding to be bold, he clamped his fingers around the muzzle. Like a paperclip, he bent the weapon at an upward angle, and to his amusement, the cheap blaster splintered in two. He raised his half up for the man to see, dropped it onto the table, and frowned. “My bad, I didn’t mean to break it. It's such a fragile thing.”

He leaned in closer, his hand on the man’s shoulder tightening. “I wonder, if I squeeze hard enough, do you think your arm will snap off too?”

 

[Asuka Hino]

Asuka rolled her eyes. What was it about men that they just needed to show off their muscles in public? Still, she couldn't deny the stranger's effectiveness. Fear thrummed like fingers across the strings of a violin, and she knew it was from the robes.

"Even if we go with you—" He was struggling to keep his voice low, to avoid attracting attention. "—we will tell you nothing, Jedi."

And there it was. Her secret revealed.

Dank farrik.

She leaned further across the table. "That's fine. Makes the job easier, even. Now walk."

Neither robe moved. She was growing tired of this game. Did they think she really wouldn't do anything? That just because they had figured out why she was looking for them, she was undone?

"Unless you'd rather my new friend here to twist both of your arms out of their sockets—" They moved. She smirked, then winked at the newbie.

She still wasn't sure he had her best interest in mind. But she could let things play out a bit longer. He wouldn't pull anything until he had what he wanted from them—and she was as interested in figuring that part out as she was in finding the Apparat.

I told you, her Master's voice hummed.

Shut up, she thought, and followed the trio of men out the door. @Feng Mian

 

[Alek Lantsov]

Jedi. The word reverberated in his head like a chimed bell, or more accurately, a knife in his gut. He should have anticipated the girl was a member of the Order, else she wouldn’t have been so bold, but she seemed so unassuming and weak, at least on the surface. Aleksander thought about Nina and her white smile. She'd been weak too.

The man he was with cringed as his fingers dug into skin.

Fortunately for him, the girl had managed to persuade the two to follow them out the door, and like good, obedient dogs, they did. He just hoped they would answer like ones too, because it was that or a raking over the coals. Given his mood, literally.

Once they stepped outside, sunlight bathing him in its warmth, Aleksander guided them to the nearest alley. Nobody would bother him there, and he could interrogate the sympathizers in peace, long as the Jedi didn’t get in his way.

But before he could reach the secluded space, he heard a familiar, unwelcome voice from behind him. “Sorry. Am I interrupting?”

He turned to face the girl he’d been toying with earlier, with freckled cheeks and carrying a basket of wild strawberries. Poor timing, he thought, but he couldn’t have expected what would happen next.

Although he kept his man anchored to the ground, the other somehow tore free from the Jedi, whipping out his own blaster and turning the girl into his personal, human shield. She gasped and dropped her basket as he pointed the weapon to her head. “Nobody move or she dies.”

Aleksander grimaced. “And?”

 

[Asuka Hino]

Honestly, Asuka was glad it turned out this way. Her hand had been itching all night, but each opportunity was mooted by their setting. The Jedi were already hated from one corner of the galaxy to the other. Whipping out her lightsabers to threaten a pair of men in robes would almost certainly make HoloNet headlines from Naboo to Coruscant. And then the Council was sure to call her back to Ajan Kloss. But now? They were in an alley. All bets were off.

"I mean it. Don't move Jedi, or I'll—"

His voice seized as if someone had just shoved a sock into his mouth. Why did they always forget about the Force? Not every Jedi needed her lightsaber to make a point.

In this case, her mind was wrapped around his hand like a pair of irons. His muscles trembled as he tried to resist her, but her grip was solid. Soon, his whole arm was like a wet noodle in her grasp. The blaster trembled, then slowly moved away from the girl until the muzzle was against his own temple. The look on his face said the rest.

"You wouldn't. You're a Jedi."

Her answer was a glance at his fingers. One went to trigger, and she felt his willpower collapse. His free arm released the girl and she ran screaming from the alley. He must have thought she would release him, but she didn't. She held his arm—and the gun—there for a moment. Let the fear wash over him.

"Please," he whimpered.

"Better," she said and released him to an audible gasp of relief. "Try that shit again, and I'll pull the trigger."

She wouldn't. At the end of the day, she was a Jedi. But he didn't know that. After that little display, there was no doubt in her mind he believed the threat.

Who taught you to do that? He just wouldn't quit.

I wonder, she thought sarcastically, then craned her head to look at the stranger. "I know the saying goes 'Ladies first,' but, if I had to be honest, I enjoy your methods better than mine." The truth, for once. "Besides, I have this itching feeling we are after the same thing. They're all yours."

She enjoyed the last flicker of fear in the robes' eyes. She may be a Jedi, but he wasn't. He didn't play by her rules. And she got to figure out what this guy was all about. Two birds, one big kriffing stone. @Feng Milan

 

[Alek Lantsov]

Even as the girl shrieked and fled, his eyes were on the Jedi. She was strong in the Force, and he could feel the air turn around her, the energy shift and fall onto the man. For a moment, she had him believing he might force the sympathizer to press the trigger too, but Aleksander knew the Jedi Order. She wouldn’t dare, being bound and leashed to the Code, but he enjoyed the thought.

“So courteous,” he said to the Jedi with a warm smile. “Loved the performance by the way. Round of applause. But now, for the real thing.”

Without hesitation, he gripped the man he’d been holding and, with a short gust of the Force, he hurled him into the nearest wall. He met it with a sickening crack before he collapsed onto the ground, his blood mixing with the red sap of strawberries the girl had left behind. He hadn’t killed the man, as much as he would have liked to, but with the Jedi watching, he wanted to make a good first impression.

The remaining man never stopped trembling. Aleksander could practically taste the fear he was giving off, and like a wolf, he stalked toward his prey.

“Now that you know I mean business,” he said, and put a hand on his shoulder. He stared him down coldly. “I’m going to ask you a question. For every dishonest answer, I do this—“ His fingers squeezed and he felt bone crack. The man cried and stumbled into the wall.

“So, tell me, where is the Apparat?”

 

[Asuka Hino]

"Say nothing!" the injured man's companion hissed. "If he finds out—"

"You see, the thing about lightsabers—" Asuka cut across him. Her shoto blade fell from her large sleeve into her hand and ignited. A brilliant light lit up the dim alley, accompanied by a faint hum from its blade. "—is that they cauterize the wounds they make. No mess to clean, but very painful." She held the humming blade out and called the robe's hand to her with the Force. "Perfect for cutting fingers, don't you think?"

A bit much, wouldn't you say, little one?

She huffed. I've seen worse.

Besides, it did the job. The robe's protests fell away. He couldn't take his eyes off her blade. "Talk. Both of you. I'm not asking anymore."

"He'll kill us..."

She shrugged. "Should've picked a different crowd to hang with." She held the blade closer, enough to singe the hairs on his knuckles. "Talk."

Silence, but for the hum of her lightsaber, replaced their voices for what seemed like a long moment. She couldn't believe it. He was really going to make her do it. He was going to call her bluff. But, just when she was getting ready to make good on it, the robe's friend—the one the stranger was holding down—broke.

"The aqueduct. A large one, under the city. He holds services there. Should be there tonight."

"Great," Asuka sighed. "I've always wanted to visit the sewers." She retracted her blade and hooked it to her belt. Then, she shoved the robe back down and warned him with a finger. "Sit. You move, I'll do the Apparat's job for him." With that, she whirled to the stranger. "We've got our mark, and I appreciate the help. Truly. But I don't much like the idea of sneaking around underground with three strangers and a whole lot of rock above my head. What's your story?"

 

[Alek Lantsov]

The Jedi was unlike the others he’d worked with. This one had a spine, an understanding that soft words and negotiation would lead them nowhere. The truth was, the best means to get the right answer required the hardest choices: threats, torture, violence. Of course, for Aleksander, those choices had become shockingly easy. Without the Order, he had become ten times more efficient in his work.

And he found how much he enjoyed it, too.

The thought the Apparat was lurking in the sewers underground did not surprise him. It was fitting, really, for a rat clinging to the old ideals of the Final Order. When he found the man, he would set fire to him and everything he knew.

“You won’t be sneaking around with three strangers,” he answered the Jedi, moving toward the man she’d shoved to the ground. “Just one.”

With a swift kick across the man's face, he knocked him out cold, along with a tooth and a wad of blood. Then, he dragged him to a nearby dumpster, tossed him in, and closed the lid. Killing him would have been much easier, and more satisfying, but he was trying to paint a picture of some composure for the Jedi.

If he wanted her to trust him, he was going to have to start acting like one.

“I’m a Jedi like you, just a lot more discreet.” He lifted the side of his jacket to reveal his own hidden lightsaber. “I was ordered by the Council to track down a rouge organization of Imperial sympathizers and root them out. I wasn’t expecting they’d send someone else to do my job.”

Aleksander did his best to sound genuine, slipping into someone else’s skin—his, at least, from before he left the Order. “Let's get introductions out of the way, but you can call me Aleksander.” He reached out a hand. “And you?”

 

[Asuka Hino]

"Name's Asuka," she replied, then bobbed her head towards the dumpster. "Nice pick. Right where he belongs." She glared at the robed man she'd just told to sit, then nodded at the dumpster again.

He hesitated, but she only had to take one step towards him for the coward to scurry into the dumpster after his companion like the rodent he was. He even shut the lid behind himself. What a gentleman. "Have to admit," she continued. "I didn't expect the Council to be so proactive. They're usually... well, not."

"Anyways, if the Apparat is holed up in the aqueduct, he'll have protection. Fanatics dressed like stormtroopers is my guess. These types love to cosplay." As she talked, she began to walk. She assumed he was competent enough to follow. "There's an entrance to the tunnels down by the river. Figure we can start there—"

A metallic screech cut through the night and Asuka's hand flew to her saber. One of the men, her's from the looks of it, had popped up from the dumpster. "You can't go!" he insisted. "The Apparat... He's... Not what you think!"

"I think we can handle ourselves. But thanks for your concern." With a flick of her wrist, she brought the lid back down with the Force. The impact, punctuated by a sickening CRACK, knocked him out and closed the lid back as he collapsed back down into the dumpster.

She swept her arm out towards the mouth of the alley. An invitation for Aleksander to take the lead. "After you," she said.

It was going to be a long night.

 

[Alek Lantsov]

His own laughter felt strange on his lips. Unfamiliar. It had been far too long. “Proactive is not the word I’d use for the Council,” he said, glad they were on the same page. “More like afraid of the unknown. They don’t understand the Rim like we do.”

He barely flinched as the dumpster lid flew open and the conscious man made his warning, because Aleksander knew precisely what he was getting into and exactly how he was going to handle it. As for the Jedi, he would improvise.

“Everyone’s full of surprises.” He ran his fingers through his tousled hair. “This won’t be my first.”

With that, and the final slam of the dumpster, he moved in front of the Jedi and onto the main boulevard. Street vendors continued to harass the occasional passerby, but he'd learned to ignore them. Although he didn’t like having to lead, he would do whatever made the girl comfortable. He'd need her help in the fight that was to come.

“So, Asuka,” he continued. “I’m curious. Maybe I might know the man. Or woman. But tell me, who did you train under?”

He drifted along the street, slowing down to match his pace with the Jedi. The river wasn't far, but the last thing he wanted was to look eager.

 

[Asuka Hino]

Asuka was content to let him lead. Ever since Aleksander had declared himself a Jedi, she had tried to probe him with the Force. But to no avail. He was a miasma that was difficult to penetrate. So, she fell back on her human senses to get a read on him.

Yet, so far, she'd learned precious little.

"Oh, you know him," she replied dryly. "Not one Jedi I've met who hasn't heard of Rhonan Fel. He's a real tack in the ass of the Council. So much so that they sent him as far away from Ajan Kloss as they could get him, and made him drag me along for the ride."

I seem to remember you liking those trips, his voice echoed in her mind.

She ignored the voice. She needed to do that more often, anyways. "You could say he's responsible for my... unconventional tactics. Council was really thrilled about that, too, let me tell you."

She huffed again and admired the glittering lights dangling from power poles as they crossed cobblestone streets that gently sloped down towards the waterfront. Naboo was beautiful. It was too bad she had no time to admire it. "The real question is," she continued, folding her arms over her chest for warmth as a cold breeze swept the street, "what got you stuck on this assignment with me? Last time I called Ajan Kloss, they were convinced I was chasing a Twi'lek's head tails down a gundark hole.""

 

[Alek Lantsov]

Rhonan Fel. He was familiar with the name, even spoke to the man on several occasions, but they’d only ever been distant acquaintances. Like most Jedi, they wrapped themselves up in their individual missions, slaves to whatever order the Council would give next. But he understood Rhonan Fel to be different.

“I have a lot of respect for the man,” Aleksander said, a flattering lie. “Not just anyone can resist the Jedi Council without a prompt exile to the Outer Rim.” He paused, then amended, “At least, a permanent one.”

The cool breeze ran over his skin like a salve. He enjoyed the cold, because the summertime always reminded him of Nina, the trees they’d lay under, the fields they’d run through. It was a numbing cold. “They told me the same thing, but you know how the Council is. They’re hypocrites. One moment, they say one thing, and the next, another.”

Aleksander crossed his arms, as if he could hide his growing irritation. “Another Jedi was killed scouting out these Imperial sympathizers. Someone close to me. I was sent to investigate, but her death eventually lost its luster. They moved on. I didn’t.”

He returned his focus ahead, to the lapping waves of the river streaked with moonlight. Although he fed the Jedi another lie, it was a half-truth, or rather, a poor imitation of the truth. The Council had never sent him to investigate in the first place, but offered him condolences and left Nina’s body to rot in the earth. Nothing more.

Maybe after he was done with the Alternative, he’d move onto them next.

 

[Asuka Hino]

Admittedly, she was only half-listening. When they reached the waterfront, she put her hands on her hips and scanned the river's edge for the entrance to the aqueduct. She couldn't imagine it would be hard to miss.

"Well," she said as she worked, "expect a lecture from the Council on attachments when you get back. The ghost of Luke Skywalker himself could appear and remind them the power of love and they would probably rebuke him with this scripture or that." She snorted, but she wasn't really kidding. "One time, I—"

A shadow detached from the water and vanished along a ledge where the city hugged the river. On instinct, Asuka crouched to make herself less visible. She waved for Aleksander to follow.

There were more, departing a water skiff. How had she not seen it before? Eight in all, each wearing the same robes as the men they had encountered at the bar. "See that?" she whispered. "We follow them, and I bet we find the Apparat. I hope you brought your church clothes."

She moved like a wraith against the steady churning of the river. Kept herself just far enough so that they wouldn't see her, but close enough to where she could see the tunnel they entered. Just as she had suspected, a pair of guards in black stormtrooper armor guarded its mouth. But they could hardly be trained soldiers, because they didn't see her until it was much too late. [

The nearest one whirled on her just as her sabers ignited. Asuka swept low and her shoto cut him across the ankle, bringing him down on the waiting second blade. The second one made a noise like a shout, and brought his weapon up at her, but she merely had to twist her body and reverse her grip on the shoto to lodge it in his stomach. Her lightsabers winked out, and both men fell.

"There will be more of them," she said, returning her weapons to her belt. She crouched by the tallest trooper. "But if they all fight like that, I don't imagine we'll have trouble reaching the Apparat. Here." She tossed him the trooper's helmet and then started stripping the shorter one of his armor. "We can eavesdrop on their comms in these. Maybe even find out what they're planning before they rat us out. And you can tell me more about this dead Jedi while we walk."

 

[Alek Lantsov]

Aleksander eyed the moving skiff with a dangerous hunger. He had a powerful urge to lunge onto the vehicle, slaughter every man aboard, and crash it into the heart of the Apparat’s lair. But, other than the risk, that would be too easy. A part of him wanted to draw this out, maybe even come to an understanding with the Jedi. He enjoyed her company. It would be a shame to have to kill her.

“I’ve brought that and more,” he said, cracking his fingers, before they dove toward the riverbank, careful to avoid the rushing waters and the perimeter guards.

He reared a foot back like a shadowed creature ready to pounce, but Asuka beat him to the punch without so much a falter or sound. In a blink, both men were dead and on the ground. Just when he thought she couldn’t get more interesting. “Very smooth.” He clapped like he might at the end of a show. “Rhonan Fel taught you well.”

But had he taught her well enough to take Aleksander, too?

When offered the helmet, he slipped it on begrudgingly, switching his jacket for enough armor to pass as a cheap, properly worthless guard. But it was uncomfortable, unlike his style, and did nothing but to narrow his vision and add weight to his step. He sneered. “It smells like something died in here, and not I’m talking about the man you just killed.”

Indeed, he’d grown used to the reek of burned flesh.

Once Asuka was finished, he grabbed a blaster and started walking. Like she asked, he told her more. “Her name was Nina Hendriks,” he said. “Sweet, but only when she wanted to be.” Underground, the water was so loud you could feel it. “Knew how to use a blade, like you. Always spoke her mind. She had to be the bravest woman I’d ever known.”

He shouldn’t have been spilling so much detail to a girl he still had no idea what to do with, but once he started, it was hard to stop. Until, that was, the cackle of a distorted voice shook him out of his reverie.

“Hey, shouldn’t you two be up at the entrance?” It was another stormtrooper.

Before they could reach for their comms, Aleksander raised a hand and the trooper’s arms and legs froze to the spot. Suddenly, they were flying toward him, stopped only when he had his fingers wrapped around their helmet.

“I hate being interrupted,” he sighed, then smashed the guard’s head into the wall. Pieces of their helmet shattered like glass against the brick, and the man collapsed in a broken heap on the ground, blood pooling out from where their jaw must have been.

Aleksander took out a cloth, wiped his hand, and stepped over the guard. Dead or not, he didn't care. Like nothing happened, he just continued, “She wasn’t stupid enough to have died from men like these. Not even to a hundred. Whatever happened, it either has do with the Sith, or something worse.”

 

[Asuka Hino]

A shiver ran up Asuka's spine just then. When Aleksander opened himself up tot he Force, she felt a familiar coldness—but only momentarily. It was gone as fast as it had come. She averted her gaze to the wall that he had used to dash the trooper's head. There, a smear of fresh blood painted over something older. A symbol, the hex charm of the Sith. She traced her fingers over it, over every bump in the cobblestone.

"Hate to break it to you," she said grimly. "But its much worse. This Alternative the Council sent you to track? It isn't your ordinary Remnant."

She shivered. She wasn't just feeling the cold from him anymore. It was coming from further up the tunnel, and she knew it wasn't a draft. Nor was it the water rushing back towards the river. It was a stain left behind by someone far worse than the Sith of their time.

Her concentration was broken by the faint sounds of chanting coming from deep within the tunnel. Which was good—it meant the Apparat wasn't far. It also meant things were about to get really ugly.

"Party's about to start. Word of caution though?" She nodded towards the dead troopers. "Try not to dash the Apparat's head. I didn't track these musty priests all the way to the Mid Rim to lose my trail in a sewer. Now, follow my lead."

She ran.

The tunnel opened up into a wide, round cistern fed by four streams of water. A dozen robed men stood in a circle around one man adorned with crimson ones. The Apparat. He was much younger than she'd imagined.

"Halt," barked one of the troopers on each side of the tunnel's mouth. "You two should be up front. What are you doing here?"

"Trouble, sir," Asuka lied, trying her best to sound out of breath and panicked. "Caught some armed locals snooping around. Already lost two men. We could really use back-up."

"So, why didn't you call it in?"

Karrabast.

The troopers raised their blasters. "Identify yourselves."

"That's quite alright, lieutenant." The voice came from the crimson figure. For one so young, his voice was low. His faithful parted so he could speak. "Take their weapons, but let them pass."

 

[Alek Lantsov]

“Thanks for the warning,” he said, “but I make no promises.”

Asuka had a point, though. He had dismantled smaller cells like these on other planets in the Rim, and he’d been so thorough, so overcome with rage, he was often left with nothing to follow. He always had to start back on square one, searching for the next Alternative parasite to quash. If he had any hopes of tearing the whole organization out from the ground, he would have to at least practice some sense of self-control.

However, that came as a challenge to him, especially once he laid eyes on the Apparat and his menagerie of robed cultists. Fury coiled in his stomach. His lightsaber was practically screaming for use. In the open, it would be so easy, so quick. No, he thought. Questions first, murder later.

But with the Apparat’s suggestion, he could no longer resist the temptation.

“I have a better idea.”

With no hesitation, and a burst of unnatural speed and accuracy, Aleksander shot what troopers were posted around the tunnel. He hardly blinked, never once shifting his attention away from the Apparat, as his hand moved on its own accord, hammering into whatever obstacle stood in his way—other than the circle of a dozen robed men, who stood there frozen and motionless. They would be next.

He aimed his blaster at the Apparat. “My friend and I were hoping more for a private tour. So, if you could very nicely hand over your weapons and show us around, I might be inclined not to kill you where you stand.”

Aleksander expected Asuka to go along with his flagrant attempt at a standoff, because he didn’t give her any other choice in the matter. In that moment, she could either join him, or surrender and die like the Jedi cowards she’d known back on Ajan Kloss.