Private Captain's Orders

[Kai Bamarri]

Kai had already plunged his lightsaber into the sealed door, carving a hole in the durasteel.

<No panicking, Iris.>

Pushing the circle of molten metal out of the way with the Force, it struck a few pirates who were standing just outside the door, perhaps trying to secure it. Kai didn’t say anything to Iris about it, but it was obvious the men had been severely injured in the process, if not crushed to death.

Between the desperate prisoners they had armed with blasters and the panicking pirates shooting at anything that moved, things were about to get a lot bloodier anyway.

Kai deflected some of the blaster fire—they were no longer set to stun—from the pirates, causing the bolts to reflect back at them. The pirates went down, shot by their own blasts. Amid the obscuring smoke generated by all the burnt carbon, Kai ducked through the hole. The armed prisoners followed him, and soon the hallway erupted again as they exchanged fire with their captors.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

<No panicking, Iris.>

Her body tensed. Was it really that easy for him? .. No, it should be that easy for them both. This wasn't the first time she'd faced down enemies before. Just the first time she'd been captured. Without her master by her side, was it really this easy for her to devolve into full on panic? She watched Kai Bamarri start cutting through the door. They weren't trapped.

A wave of calm washed over her. Not from herself, but from the gem in her saber.

You're not alone.​

Iris relaxed. Closed her eyes. Took a breath. She wasn't in a cage. She could fight. Her blade lifted in both hands as she waited for the steel to fall. She leapt through the hole shortly after Kai, helping to lead the charge. Through the smoke she lunged out. Domxite kept her calm through their meld, letting her focus. The Force guided her movements as she reached one of the pirates. A flash of her blade cut through the man's blaster, the other severed his arm from the rest of his body.

She'd fought and killed before. Since she last saw Kai she'd even seen open warfare. Her blade came up, deflecting a shot back into the blaster that'd fired it. They'd have to fight their way through, but at least like this she wasn't a hinderance.

 

[Kai Bamarri]

The fighting rapidly devolved into chaos.

Kai was right in the thick of it, leading the charge. His blade never stopped moving, deflecting bolts, cutting down pirates. He split his focus between two objectives: keeping the freed prisoners at his back alive, and reaching the bridge.

They still didn’t know where it was, however. As he reached a lift, Kai piled inside with the survivors and Iris and lo and behold, there was a button labeled BRIDGE. He pressed it, and the doors closed.

When they opened again, they were immediately pelted with more blaser fire. One smartass even lobbed a thermal detonator into the elevator with them. Kai seized the detonator in midair and tossed it away. It exploded elsewhere, the heat vaporizing a pair of pirates.

Kai wanted to know which one was the captain. If none of the others survived the assault, their leader could at least be made to pay for their crimes in court.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

The more she focused, the easier it got for Iris to power forward. There was something liberating in letting the Force move for her. Her body was on autopilot. Her blade catching blaster fire to protect herself and those behind her. Cutting out to immobilize her foes. It was easy, so easy, to keep moving forward. Did she really need to focus? Iris sunk deeper and deeper into the Force's embrace, the swirl of colors. It was more peaceful than the fear she had earlier.

Iris!

She blinked. With that as the only warning she realized just before she struck what she was about to do. Letting herself go, her blade arced in a lethal blow towards one of the pirates. A lethal strike she pulled back from at the last second. Panic filled her mind. What was she doing? In that panic she left herself open, but it was one of the former prisoners that came to her rescue. Blasting the pirate before they had a chance to strike against the panicked Jedi.

Then they were in the elevator. Iris was again shaking. Her grip on her saber tightened. Letting herself go too much was.. It was dangerous. Domxite kept her from crossing a line. She needed to keep control. She took a breath, letting herself try and calm down. They were still in danger, still needed to keep moving. Especially to protect the others. A hand settled on her shoulder. It was the woman that saved her before.

Iris turned her gaze towards the woman, watching. Nothing was said, but she understood. They were in this together.

The door opened, and chaos returned. The Force sent it's warnings, but.. She hesitated to act at first. The thermal came, and she only watched. Too afraid to let herself dive too deep into the Force. Kai acted. He always acted. The Padawan watched her fellow throw the grenade back, vaporizing some of the pirates. He didn't hesitate to protect people. Her blade ignited as she rushed into the room.

Thugs were easier to deal with that military trained soldiers. She weaved through the blaster fire, once more letting herself go to the Force. She needed to, for the people behind her. For their sake she would fight.

Kai Bamarri

 

[Kai Bamarri]

Over the course of the slaughter, Kai found someone cowering behind a console. At first, he couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman, since the person was wearing some sort of cloth headdress and had their head down. Then, as he approached, the figure moved. It was a man, flamboyantly dressed in the full garb of a desert sheik. With superhuman speed, he raised a gun and fired at Kai.

The blue-white disruptor bolt streaked past the doppelganger, who narrowly dodged a direct hit. It singed his arm instead—which proved rather unfortunate anyway, given that Kai was wearing polyweave. His clothes promptly crumbled into a fine gray dust, shocking his closest neighbors.

Even then, the bolt continued its destructive path, disintegrating one of the prisoners behind Kai. With a snarl, the unclothed doppelganger knocked the disruptor out of the man’s hands with a sweep of his blade that somehow failed to sever his hand or fingers. Did he have a cybernetic arm?

Upon his next strike, Kai’s lightsaber connected with a vibrocutlass. Despite his superhuman strength, his opponent gave no ground. Clearly this guy was no ordinary pirate.

“Are you the captain?” Kai demanded.

“Why, yes!” the man replied—then proceeded to headbutt Kai with enough force to knock the doppelganger flat on his ass. “Captain Rhett Valentino. You killed many of my men. I think that entitles me to at least one of yours.”

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

In her corner Iris continued to cut a path through the remaining pirates. Two Jedi, even if they were Padawans, were just too much for the thugs. No, it was the addition of people helping to fight that let the Padawans stand up against them. Without the others, this probably would've gone the way it had originally. The way that had Iris and Kai captured. The battle for the bridge seemed to be going well.

Until reinforcements arrived. It was hard to know how many people were on board, but the door snapped open to show another wave of pirates coming from behind, blasters ringing out.

Iris was too slow. She turned, trying to get between the captives and the new wave, but several had already fallen. The group of would be freedom fighters were just farmers. They could handle a blaster, but they weren't soldiers. Their numbers were dwindling. Iris's saber cut through the first pirate. A lethal strike through their chest. It wasn't out of anger or desperation.

The illusion that not killing was something she could still do had shattered. If she took the time to incapacitate instead of kill, the pirates would only kill more of the people. She wasn't skilled enough to save everyone. If she wanted to save those she could, well. Without that limit of preserving life she weaved through the crowd, letting the Force guide her.

 

[Kai Bamarri]

Only vaguely aware of the battle raging around him, Kai was laser-focused on the captain. He leaped to his feet, resuming their duel.

He could sense the Force within Rhett Valentino, though it was unrefined. Wouldn’t stop his telepathy, though.

<You took us prisoner. We’re fighting for our freedom. What are you fighting for—the profit you’d gain from selling us as slaves?>

“What is this, an attempt at one of your Jedi mind tricks?” Rhett slashed at Kai, who ducked. His vibrocutlass hacked into a nearby console instead, sending out a flurry of sparks. “Don’t be ridiculous. I wouldn’t have sold you. I only wanted what was inside your lightsabers. A rainbow gem and a piece of Chaldean marble—do you have any idea how valuable jewels like that are? And to think you risked their destruction, using them as focusing crystals for a weapon!”

<It wasn’t yours to take.> Kai thrust his blade at Rhett, successfully scraping his shoulder. The man hissed in pain, backing away. Kai advanced upon him, only to receive a slice across his bare chest. The wound bled black, foul-smelling ichor.

Rhett managed another smile, moving away again. “Well, what did you expect? I am a pirate.”

He was leading Kai toward the thick of the fighting, in hopes of making an escape. And Kai, in his single-minded desire to defeat Rhett, had taken the bait. In seconds he was surrounded—and being attacked on all sides.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

There were too many.

No, there weren't too many. Iris's eyes narrowed as the realization settled in. Through the harsh clash of colors she'd started to notice it. Weariness. Fear. The pirates didn't want to risk their lives for this anymore than they had to. Too many of their crew had already been taken out. If this was anywhere else but the bridge, they certainly wouldn't of been fighting this hard. Now they were thinking of fleeing?

Iris honestly didn't mind that. Less violence in them escaping the ship. At least on the bridge they could keep control of it. She watched for a moment, her blade coming around for the next, only for them to start to truly flee. Running away, firing with the intent of forcing people behind cover so they could. Her blade flashed, knocking away one of those wild shots. She didn't move after them, there was no reason.

Until she saw Kai Bamarri in the thick of them. She blinked, watching the clothingless Jedi continue to fight. Did he not realize where he was? Another of the pirates seemed to take note too, turning to fire at his back.

Without a second thought Iris threw her saber. Domxite soared, near guiding themselves through the torso of the pirate taking aim at Kai. Saving him from a bolt to the back, but leaving Iris open to the bolt that slammed into her chest. She blinked as she was thrown back. She felt numb at first, laid out on the ground. Confused, she looked around. Weight on her shoulder. Then.. Dragged?

The woman from before was dragging her back behind cover. Then the pain finally hit.

 

[Kai Bamarri]

Kai cut through multiple bodies, his claymore-like lightsaber cleaving them in two. But he was rapidly becoming overwhelmed.

A spike of pain from Iris rippled through the Force even as he saw her thrown blade. She was down. Was it his fault?

He fought his way through the mob, fleeing down the hallway, deflecting blaster bolts as he ran. Rhett’s face, smiling ghoulishly, haunted him as he retreated with the rest of the prisoners.

Once they were hidden from view, his first order of business was finding Iris. He followed the ripples of pain to their source. One of the prisoners, a woman, had dragged the girl away from the fighting. He gave her a look of gratitude, but found that he no longer had the courage to speak aloud.

There were no medkits around for him to use, but he had other ways of treating wounds. Tearing open her shirt, he pressed his hands to the charred flesh on her chest, his palms secreting a substance that was milder in its effects than bacta, but would help her heal in much the same way.

He was angry and frustrated, mostly with himself. The bridge was too heavily defended—he should have known better than to try and take it immediately. Now several of the prisoners and Iris had paid the price for his recklessness and impatience.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

This was far from the first time she'd been shot, but it was by far the most lethal. Shock settled in quick as she laid on the ground. Too much pain for her body to cope with. Fear and panic were the only things on her mind. She couldn't tell what was going on. Hell, she was barely conscious. The woman by her side watched Kai Bamarri with quite the degree of concern. Mostly because his clothing was gone, but also because he was pressing his hands to her wound.

Applying pressure to burns was a terrible thing to do. Yet she could tell there was something else going on. Enough that she didn't question him. They were Jedi. Children, yes, but they were still able to kill these pirates and help them escape.

Around them blasterfire faded. The once prisoners quickly set about securing the bridge best they knew how. Pulling up systems, making sure the pirates weren't able to come back to take it over. The woman watched for a moment longer, glancing between the padawans. Another spoke up about where they should go. The next suggested sending out a distress beacon.

The beacon would at least incentivize the pirates to flee. Sure enough they seemed to be, taking to the ships within the hanger to get out. There was probably something sabotaged along the way, but hopefully nothing too major.

"I'll get us on route to a medical station." The woman spoke low to Kai before draping a cloak from one of the pirates over his shoulders. Then went off to helm the ship. She seemed to be a competent enough pilot to get the ship on course to the nearest Alliance Medical Flotilla.

 

[Kai Bamarri]

<Iris,> Kai tried to rouse the girl, his telepathic messages growing more insistent, more forceful. <Iris. Wake up. Please.>

Trying to secret as much off-brand bacta as he could, he was barely aware of the coat laid over his shoulders, or the fact that they had actually taken the bridge. The pirates were abandoning ship, yet all he could think about was Iris and whether she would live or die because of his mistakes.

Trying to escape his guilt, he resorted to faux-threats. <Iris, if you don't make it, I'll... I don't know what I'll do. Just stay alive, then. Stay alive.>

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

There was no answer from her. Even with the bacta like substance to help treat the wound and keep her from dying the pain had been too much. She laid there, still warm but out cold. Yet she at least had a calm expression, all things considered. Perhaps Kai Bamarri 's voice was reaching her, or perhaps it was Domxite. The crystal's housing rested beside them both, seemingly coming from no where. Iris hadn't called the blade back.

Yet there it was. From it, a wave of calm. Not just for Iris's sake.

She'll be okay.

A single voice of reassurance before the gem fell silent again. The bridge was bustling with activity now, and soon the lights of hyperspace would streak by. The woman returned, glancing between the two padawans.

"One of the others found the medbay. No one here's a doctor, but Tim knows how to run a bacta tank. We can bring her there, provided there's no other pirates on the ship. Or traps. Otherwise it'll be a couple minutes till we get there."