Private Learning to wind one's neck in

[Makko Vyres]

"Crap."

Makko sensed the disturbance through the Force before he heard the first shot go off. If the sound hadn't sparked a minor panic, he might have felt some pride for his improving awareness.

Head down, he sprinted for the open door. Makko had to skid to a halt as a blaster bolt flew through the opening and splashed a scorch mark across the opposite house.

Makko stepped into the doorway, violet lightsaber held up. The boy who had been tailing him to his left. Colette to is right in cover. A weequay with a serious weapon firing rounds at Colette.

He brought his lightsaber up on instinct to deflect a shot from the blonde woman into the ceiling.

"I didn't say pick a fight!" Makko said.

He stretched out with the Force and targeted the greatest threat. The carbine sparked and jammed.

Makko took a step forwards, but the woman aimed her blaster at the boy. Makko sent out a telekenetic wave that knocked him from his feet.

It left him open and the woman fired three quick shots, low, high and central. It tested his defensive skills and forced him back a step.

Someone had taught her how to shoot at someone with a lightsaber.

 

[Colette]

Makko Vyres

The blonde was the real leader here, 'Norman' was the new recruit, and the weequay was a thug. Colette moved in as Makko drew the fire away from her. He could say something about picking a fight all he wanted, but ultimately it was most likely where all of this would lead anyway. The blonde might have been good with a gun, but that mattered little when there were two saber users and three— well, one opponent really, now that Makko had incapacitated the weequay and Norman was far too panicked to do anything.

"Drop the weapon!" Colette shouted and the blonde turned her way. One-two-three. She had been taught, but the rhythm was the same just like the pattern she had shot at Makko. Foot, head, chest. Two slim targets and one big. Colette stepped to the side and deflected the middle bolt away from herself and into a window that shattered with a violent crash.

She had tried to give the woman a chance. The idea of murder and the ramifications still lingered on Colette's mind, but she had to close the distance. The blonde readied herself for a second volley and Colette quickly stepped in to slice off the barrel and battery from her weapon which she followed up with a sweep at her legs.

The blonde hit the ground with a thud and found a blue saber pointed in her face.

"STAY. DOWN." Colette demanded. Norman whimpered and got down on his knees.

"What are you doing?!" The blonde hissed. "Take her out!"

Norman was clearly far too scared. His eyes were wide open and Colette could practically hear the way his heart wanted to skip out of his chest cavity.

 

[Makko Vyres]

"Norman, don't," Makko said plainly.

He plucked the young man's name from his thoughts. Makko knew that it was easy to take a powerful hold over troubled kids with no strong family.

"Sit down," Makko said.

Fortunately the boy did.

Makko should have watched the weequay. The enforcer dropped his carbine and went for his jacket. He drew out a blaster pistol and a thermal detonator.

"Stop!" Makko called. It was more of a plead than an order.

Another blaster bolt rang out. Makko plucked it out of the air. As soon as he heard the detonator switch, the rest was training taking over.

Two quick steps, a sweeping downward strike that caught another blaster bolt and a thrust. The blade barely slowed as the tip plunged through the weequay. Makko snatched the thermal detonator as he went down, making it safe.

Makko had just killed someone and he would reflect on that later. He had learned to shield himself from the immediate effects.

"Why are you following us and where is Tarn?"

 

[Colette]

Makko Vyres

Makko was used to it, Colette was not. The weequay's flame was extinguished in the force and Colette was clearly frozen in place as it happened. The blonde took this as her chance. One shot struck her in the shoulder, the other whizzed straight past Colette's head as she collapsed backwards in agony.

"T- Tarn?" Norman stammered. "He's—"

"Zip it!" The blonde growled and fired a shot in the kid's general direction. "Grab the girl's lightsaber."

Norman obliged with a silent whimper. The focus was now on Makko.

"We aren't following you." The blonde hissed with a scoff and a chuckle. "We're—"

The signature sound of a lightsaber igniting hissed from behind her back as the blue blade of Colette's lightsaber emerged through the blonde woman's chest cavity from her back. Not shortly after that, the saber fell to the floor with a loud clang as the woman collapsed on the floor, dead.

A clearly panicked Norman stared at Makko and then the injured padawan he had seen at Brennon's place.

"Please don't hurt me." He whimpered yet again. "Please."

 

[Makko Vyres]

"Sit in the corner and stay there!" Makko snapped.

Questions about Tarn could wait. This was entirely his fault. With fear creeping up, like a snake coiling around his spine, Makko deactivated his lightsaber and rushed to Colette.

That double tap had been only a handful on inches from being a bolt in the throat and the brain.

"Colette, let me see, let me see," he hissed. Makko reached for the Force. Starlin had used words to summon the healing power of ashla from flames, but it had never been Makko's greatest strength.

 

[Colette]

Makko Vyres

Call it a matter of pride, but Colette refused to cry. She grunted, and she squirmed, but the tears were forced down the channels they wanted to burst from. She was angry, she was positively bursting with rage, but she had no desire in the slightest to act on it. She had been caught with her pants down because of a fear she had no control over. It was all luck that she was even alive at this point.

As Makko swept her up she could feel his worry pulsating in the force more so than she could feel any attempts at stilling her pain. For a moment she swore she could feel her skin try to stitch and stretch itself until it was whole again, but that was a sort of pain that she couldn't even begin to describe. Instead she burst with an agonized scream.

Norman began to sneak out from his corner to approach Makko despite the very clear instruction.

"W- we have kolto in the back." He said and pointed towards a room on the other end of the warehouse. "I'll— I'll go get it."

Before Makko could really say much, the kid was already off. He entered what looked to be an office before he leaned out and waved a small canister that he cautiously approached the Knight and padawan with.

"They—" He was scared still. "They wanted me to—"

"Is she okay?"

 

[Makko Vyres]

"She'll be fine," Makko said sharply.

"You'll be fine," he said much more softly to Colette directly. As he spoke his consciousness brushed up against hers. He tried to offer a little respite through the Force, taking the edge off the pain and surrounding her in a wave of calm.

"Getting shot isn't fun. I've been shot once and it is far, far worse than being stabbed," Makko was talking as he placed his hand on her arm, just below the wound.

"Grab my arm as tight as you want," he told Colette.

"I got told it burns all the nerves and leaves them firing. A knife only goes through a few. You can get stabbed enough times to die before you even notice..."

Makko imagined a flickering flame. Healing fire. The Force stretched between them and started to undo the damage from the blaster bolt.

 

[Colette]

Makko Vyres

Makko made a mistake telling her to grab his arm however hard she could. It might not have been evident at first, but it certainly became a lot more obvious once the pain kicked in. It was like a vise that just kept on pushing its nails into whatever stood in its path.

"LESS. TALKING. MORE. HEALING." A very angry screech roared from the ground. Norman was clearly terrified of whatever was going on. The pain began to dull and Colette instinctively pushed her arm to the ground as if to wrestle some control back into her senses and get her back on her feet again. The terrified thug of a kid, Norman, was caught in her war path as Colette grabbed the canister from his hands and quickly began to pour the substance onto her wound with another frustrated grunt.

Of course, at that point it was mostly the adrenaline talking as the pain was now nothing more than a bruise on her ego moreso than her body.

"WHERE. IS HE?!" She shouted, grabbed Norman by the collar and threw him against a wall. "WHERE IS TARN?!"

"I don't KNOW!" Norman pleaded. "Please, we are all just—"

And then, only then did Colette catch herself she let the kid go and put her hands to her head to try and still herself and relax, let Makko handle it.

"You have to believe me, please, I never wanted this. They took us from our homes, they—"

"They KILLED the ones who refused!"

 

[Makko Vyres]

Healing was difficult. It had taken a lot out of him. Makko was slow to react when Colette surged back to her feet.

By the time he was behind Colette, ready to place a hand on her uninjured shoulder to slow her down, she was done.

"I know what that is like," Makko said. He stepped past Colette, glancing at her as he passed.

"We can help," Makko said. He hoped this time, to this child, that the message got through. He hadn't wanted two deaths on his hands to get there.

"Why don't you both sit down," Makko said. Colette could take Norman back to the ship when they were done. He could finish this on his own without putting anyone else in danger.

 

[Colette]

Makko Vyres

Fingers to her forehead, foot tapping away at the ground as she leaned over in her seat. Colette had to push through the waves for the sake of the mission and the lives of others. There was too much at stake to just tap out now. Makko wasn't invincible and the two of them had signed off on this to work together.

"I'm sorry." Colette said and looked up at Norman before she buried her head in her hands again. "You deserved better than that."

The palms of her hands dragged across her face to smear and tear at it for a moment before she let go. A sharp exhale blew from her mouth and the tapping of her foot didn't stop. She was clearly still up at a pace by the time she pushed up from her seat again.

"You mentioned the dock." She said and approached Norman for information. "They take you away. Any idea where we could find them?"

"Uh.." Norman hesitated as he eyed Colette, clearly scared that she would do something to him. "Please, I don't know. They just took us in the night. They killed my friends. Tarn was what they called 'lucky' and, and then they wanted us to run these errands to prove our loyalty. I swear, that's all I know."

 

[Makko Vyres]

"Shit," Makko grunted.

The kid wasn't lying. Who, in the Galaxy, would murder people in cold blood like this. He could only assume that they were so callous that they felt it was easier to hide the bodies than keep the kids without any Force sensitivity captive.

He looked at Colette.

"Lucky."

He gave a shake of his head. This was too much of a coincidence. These people were afraid. They had captured a group of children and called the one already being watched for his Force powers lucky.

Makko opened more questions. Eventually able to get a rough idea of where they had been taken from some of the landmarks Norman had seen.

"You got parents?"

A shake of the head.

"Go to the house where you were watching us," Makko told him. "The man there is called Brennon. Tell him we sent you and you're to stay there until we come back. Go."

"Colette," Makko said, turning towards her. "We got to call this in."

He looked at the two bodies. Someone else would need to handle the diplomatic side.

"But I need to see if I can find these people. Find Tarn. I think you need to go to the ship and radio home."

 

[Colette]

Makko Vyres

"No way!" Colette said and defiantly crossed her arms (despite the pain) as she stood up again. "I am not leaving you alone to get shot or something stupid like that over all this. If we have to call this in, then we call it in together with Norman as our witness."

"I will report you to Valery if you even think so much as think about going it alone on this."

 

[Makko Vyres]

"But you've already been shot!" Makko said.

His stubborn streak was showing. It might not have been as wide as Colette's but it was there.

"The boy could be in real danger and one of us has to try and get him. It should be me."

He felt wretched for sending her to chase their pursuit. It had not been the worst idea, but he had failed to grasp the danger of the situation and should have backed them both out of it sooner.

 

[Colette]

Makko Vyres

"You are going to die if you go alone." Colette countered yet again. "We have someone who can help point a small group of Jedi in the right direction. We have no idea of their numbers. Together, you and I can protect Norman easily. If you go alone, I am alone. If I am alone, they can take us down a lot easier."

"You stay here, you stay with me, and we call in a strike team so that you can fix all of this in one go. I am not negotiating."

 

[Makko Vyres]

"Not negotiating?" he said, rocking back at her stubborn retort.

He became very aware that his response was about to be shaped not by logic, but by a need to front up to her attitude.

Makko took a few seconds to look at that aspect of himself. It was not a pretty picture.

He should have taken this action some time ago.

"You're right," he admitted. It clearly pained him to do so. If she hadn't already been shot because of his decisions, he might not have listened.

"And we need to get you to a doctor who can make sure that heals right. Lock all the other doors. We walk back together. Norman you stay close, we can't protect you if you run."

 

[Colette]

Colette was nothing if not stubborn. Once her mind set on what she believed to be the greater good there was usually no changing it unless your name was Valery Noble. In Makko's case he was very much not said individual.

"I know." She added to Makko admitting defeat. "Stay close, Norman."

The kid looked at the others as they closed up the building and left through one of the back entrances. Her focus was on their captive-and-or-friend. He was a big question mark but he seemed to genuinely want to help. As far as she could tell there was nothing deceptive about why he was helping them.

"We need to stay out of sight." Colette muttered. "I think, if they spot us with Norman…"

 

[Makko Vyres]

The walk back to the ship was relatively uneventful. It was tense, but no one ambushed them. The law enforcement were slow to respond to the sound of blaster fire. Assuming that anyone would call them for a few shots here. Makko had read that some of the smaller outposts towns and cities could be remarkably lawless. Sometimes a marshal or ranger would ask for payment to help.

The issue was called in. A team dispatched from a nearby Alliance Star Dreadnought.

Makko left Normal in the cockpit with everything disabled. The droid brain wouldn't let him cause any trouble.

Makko sat down and turned to Colette.

"You did well," he admitted. "But I shouldn't have sent you to tail that kid, even if I didn't know what you'd get into. I can only imagine this is a Sith operation. Like ours but with less quiet meetings with Brennon and more kidnapping. Kark."

 

[Colette]

"No point in focusing on what we should have done." Colette said and shrugged, again, despite the pain, also again. "It was either that or we drop the trail entirely. With Norman safe we have a good idea how to approach this."

It was mostly pride driving Colette at this point. She refused to have been bested by some blonde cityborn moron with a laser pistol. This pain was just a setback, and setbacks were good. She could cling to that sentiment to an unhealthy degree if it was necessary to do so.

"Actually, wait, let me try to say that again, but better." Colette said and cleared her throat. "You had no way of knowing that this was a Sith thing. I barged in on a thing to save Norman's life because I didn't want anyone to die, and… Well, that didn't quite work out."

"Life is just chaotic. We all survived. That is all that mattered. Now, I need medical attention. Can we please get off-world already?"

 

[Makko Vyres]

He took a moment to digest her words. Colette clearly thought it was important enough to try and express herself twice, so he listened.

Makko had always been empathic. He had used it subconsciously to get what he wanted back on Denon. He had manipulated people and their feelings.

It had taken him some time learn that he needed to understand himself too.

"I was a bad padawan," Makko explained. "I'm just worried about being a bad Knight."

She didn't need to hear any more. It drew a line under what had happened, without putting anything else upon Colette's shoulders.

"You know," Makko said, turning back to the controls of the ship, "You're going to be a very bossy Jedi Knight to someone someday."

 

[Colette]

Makko Vyres

A stray laughter blew from Colette's lips.

"Yeah, maybe in ten years or so when I actually know what a Jedi is." Colette said and straightened her back. "Look, I get it. I mean, not really, but I never really belonged with my old family because of who and what I was. But that's not me anymore, and you…"

"Well, you're not a bad knight." Colette reassured Makko, or at least tried to. "To me you appear to be a leader, and that's all a Knight really needs to be."