Disclaimers: See Part 1
The Fallen Beginning
by
AJ Marks
Part 10
Ri-Jun had found himself as the playmate of the three-year-old Ame. She kept calling him 'her knight', and he was not bothered by it anymore. If the kid wanted to call him that, then she could. Regina at first had tried to get her to call him by his real name, but the child had steadfastly refused, so now they were playing one of Ame's favorite games on the computer.
"I lost again!" Ri-Jun said in disbelief. He could not believe that the three year old had beaten him almost every time. The others around him laughed at his plight and Ri-Jun was forced to join in.
"Again," The little voice said.
"How about we try something else," Ri-Jun said trying to put his bruised ego back together.
The child was about to protest until her mother mentioned that it was almost time to eat, but that she had to put up her toys. The child quickly jumped down and gathered her toys and stuffed them into the box rather haphazardly.
"Don't worry too much about it Ri-Jun, she can beat all of us at that game," Petra said to Ri-Jun. "The girl is a natural when it comes to games and puzzles, it's really amazing."
"Why do you think none of us would play it with her. I gave up trying to let her win six months ago," Wedge told him with a grin and Ri-Jun felt a bit better.
"After lunch Jessica and I will escort Wedge over to the council room and see what's been going on today," Petra said from where he was sitting.
"I guess we're to stay here?" Regina correctly guessed. She could only hope that she could get her rebellious daughter to take a nap that would take care of most of the afternoon.
"I'll leave Ri-Jun in charge of the security here," Petra said shocking everyone. "Ame seems to like him, and that's good enough for me. I would like for Tillis to be our courier for important information that can't be passed over the communications lines."
"I can do that," Tillis said glad that he was involved somehow. He had felt like a fifth wheel on a four-wheel vehicle.
"Has there been any new developments with the rift between the Ossasians and these who oppose them?" Ri-Jun asked.
"No, today the reports are that all is quiet, but that could change in a moments notice," Wedge said hoping that nothing else would happen and that the situation would be able to diffused before total war came. "Do you have any insight into what is happening?"
"Nothing firm, just a vague sense that its already to late to stop war," Ri-Jun said quietly.
"I hope your wrong my friend," Wedge said as everyone looked on in silence except Ame, who just looked confused but when back to eating.
The young man walked into the dark room again to meet the mysterious cloaked man who had given him his orders.
"Were you successful?" The cloaked figure asked with a calm voice.
"Yes, it was quite easy." The young man replied.
"Good, then I have another mission for you, my apprentice is getting a bit out of hand, follow him and learn, my new apprentice," The cloaked figure told him.
"As you wish, my master," The young man said feeling the rush of excitement run through his blood making it hot with anticipation.
"You are now Lord Taurus," Lord Dugous said emerging form the shadows. "Hide in the shadows and do not engage in anything without consulting me first."
"Yes my master," Lord Taurus said with a grin and walked out of the room.
Lord Dugous watched the man go. Here was an apprentice who would learn, and only grow stronger until he was stronger than their rival, Ri-Jun Aldi. He had purposely not told Lord Darth about what was now know as a lightsaber to see if he would find out about it and build himself one, then it would be time to replace Lord Beasta. Everything was going as he had foreseen, and soon he would be master of everything.
Wedge walked into the meeting hall and noticed that several ambassadors were huddle together in a corner of the room. He wondered what was up and knew that he would probably find out soon. The Ossusian ambassador walked up to him as he was still looking at the corner.
"They've been there for the past hour, and its making me nervous," The Ossusian said truthfully. The news brought Ri-Jun's statement at lunch back into his mind, and knew now what the man had been talking about. Something had happened and now war was the only course to take.
"I think we should prepare for the worst," Wedge said to the Ossusian who nodded his head in agreement as they made their way to their area. They saw several others who had seemed to be neutral at the moment. Wedge did not think that anyone would be able to remain neutral for very long unless something happened to stem the tide of the upcoming war.
Wedge sat down waiting for the meeting to begin. These meeting had begun as a way to begin a galactic government, but lately it had evolved into a council meeting area between representatives of different races to solve their problems. Perhaps that was a beginning for this new government, the first step. Wedge thought that this council already was acting like a council, why not make it official? He decided to bring it up in the meeting today.
When everyone was seated a diplomat from a race that was close to Ossus took the center of the room. He gave a deadly glance to the Ossusian diplomat and Wedge had to wonder what had happened.
"I have just learned that an unknown ship tried to make its way past my planet's defenses. The ship did not respond to any hails and was on a collision course for our largest city. Our intelligence has determined that the origin of the ship and the ship itself was Ossusian." The diplomat said leaving a stunned Ossusian looking on.
"You destroyed one of our ships?" The Ossusian replied not really believing what he was hearing.
"Yes we did," The diplomat replied not backing down a bit. "The ship did not reply to any hails, nor did it change its course when it was asked to, so we had no choice but to destroy the ship."
Wedge could see that now it appeared that no hope was left to regain peace, and that war was going to happen. It would suck in almost all other races in the largest war ever seen. He could only hope that this 'council' would not disband.
Wedge watched as the argument heated up between the two ambassadors. There would be no peace as he watched one storm out of the room in anger. He would have to inform his military to be on a war footing, as his newly close ties with the Ossusians would probably suck his people into the war.
Wedge would also have to contact Petra about a possible replacement as he was going to speak with the others in his group as using Coruscant as a central meeting area for their ambassadors. He wanted Petra's input as to who it should be.
Wedge looked over the now quiet room seeing the split in the races. There was a clean divide in the races. Some were against the Ossusians because they viewed them as a weak species that should not be allow to survive, others felt that the Ossusians had a right to send the ship, even if they denied it.
It was the shortest meeting they had. The room just broke up into different groups as they left the room. Each group was interested in making its own allies. War had been coming for a long time, and it seemed that the incident on Ossus would provide the spark that would ignite the entire known universe.
"You've been quiet my new friend," The Ossusian said as he neared Wedge. "What are you thinking?"
"It seems like this war had been brewing for a while. On the surface when we all arrived here everything seemed peaceful but it was all an illusion," Wedge said looking up at the Ossusian as he stood right next to him. Wedge stood up not really sure about the future for the first time since he had arrived.
"It seems like almost everything will be destroyed," The Ossusian replied and was silent for a moment before continuing. "Perhaps we need to burn the house down so we may rebuild it better and stronger."
"True, the question becomes how much do we burn down and still remain able to rebuild," Wedge said as they walked out of the room in silence each in deep thought.
Regina, Tillis and Ri-Jun were seated about the table along with an abandoned game that they had been playing with Ame. The girl had been put down for her nap and the three adults were now able to just sit and relax.
Regina told them everything that she had seen and heard while she had been held captive. Unfortunately it did not shed any more light on the mystery of who was behind all of this. They had then switched topics and were talking about their different lifestyles when Wedge, Petra and Jessica came into the room surprising the rest of the group at the suddenness of their appearance.
"That was quick," Ri-Jun stated knowing that something had happened to make the council meeting disband that quickly.
"It looks like war will be inevitable," Wedge said grimly looking at the three at the table.
"Are we going to be headed back home?" Regina asked watching Wedge's face.
"Yes, its no longer safe to keep any of you here," Petra replied already thinking of ways to keep the royal family safe.
"I'd like to go with you," Jessica said looking right at Petra while she said it. They both knew that she was not talking about the royal family, but to Petra.
"Well," Petra said thinking about it. He really wanted her to come with him, but she had a job and a life here. He would just be taking her away from her work. "What about your job?"
"Something's strange is going on there, and I no longer feel like they are keeping the interests of the people that they are to serve in mind. It's a private company, and that makes it questionable as a security force. It's been the only police force on Coruscant, but I feel that it's trying to be the galactic police force," Jessica said. "That's too much power for a private citizen to have."
"She's right," Ri-Jun said from where he was sitting. "There is already a leak in the company, if one person can infiltrate it that easily, then it's a security risk."
"What about you and Tillis?" Regina asked, speaking up for the first time.
"I was hoping that they would agree to protect you and Ame," Petra said looking directly at Ri-Jun waiting for the man's answer.
Ri-Jun looked at his friend to see what he thought about the idea. Tillis just nodded his head and Ri-Jun turned his attention back to Petra. "Well, I've got no where else to go, I'll take it, but I can't speak for Tillis."
"You think that I'm going to miss out on more of this adventure, then you're crazy, count me in as well," Tillis said from where he was sitting.
"Then it's decided, I'll notify the military, and have them ready for anything," Petra said.
"I'll have to go to headquarters and turn in my resignation, then I'll come right back," Jessica said turning to leave the room when she heard Petra tell her good luck and to return safely. She nodded her head at him then walked out the door.
Wedge informed the rest that he needed to appoint a new ambassador and contact the Ossusian ambassador and notify him as to what was going on. Regina just watched as everyone went about their duties. Tillis had to go back to his flat to pack for a lengthy trip and would be back as soon as he could. Ri-Jun meanwhile had decided to take a nap while he could get sleep, he had the feeling that he would have to be rested for their trip, and he was still tired from their trip from Alderaan to here.
Regina felt the nervousness in her that every one else seemed to not feel. She had watched the interaction between Petra and Jessica and figured that they really liked each other and she found herself smiling over that fact. Her smile faded when the thought of war came into her mind again.
Wedge watched the screen as the Ossusian ambassador came on the screen. Wedge almost hated what he had to say.
"I'm leaving Coruscant and headed back to Alderaan," Wedge told the Ossusian who looked at him a bit confused.
"You're leaving?" He asked in a bit of disbelief hoping that he had heard wrong. "Are you pulling out of the Alliance with us?"
"No! It's just getting too dangerous around here. I've been threatened, my family had been kidnapped and almost killed, I want for them to be safe." Wedge told the ambassador who looked a bit shocked at the news.
"Are they all right?" The Ossusian asked with genuine concern in his voice.
"Yes, thanks to a young man called Ri-Jun, he is one of the mind readers that 'Lord Dugous' said were so dangerous. They were kidnapped by someone with the same abilities." Wedge told the ambassador who had a perplexed look on his face.
"Force sensitive individuals," The Ossusian said. He had seen these types of people on his home planet, and knew a bit of their abilities, but they were more sought after for their ability to read the future. They could sometimes see events and help the government with some of their decisions.
"Force?" Wedge asked a bit perplexed by what the Ossusian had said.
"The Force, its an energy force that surrounds all living things. Some are more sensitive to it than others. It appears that this Ri-Jun is a Force sensitive individual." The Ossusian said. "Will you be sending a replacement back here?"
"Yes, I have not quiet decided on who yet, but I am firmly committed to this cause, I just wish that there was some way to stop it." Wedge said.
"Yes, it appears that my actions have increased the possibility of total war, almost as if someone planed it." The Ossusian said. "We could not sit back idle while our people were slaughtered, and then one of our ships was destroyed, it makes no sense at all."
"And whoever is behind all of this they did not want me on your side, or even here." Wedge said remembering the calls he had received that threatened either him or his family if he did not do what he was told.
"I will keep an eye out, and put the word out of what happened to you to our allies, in case they try the same tactic, although I don't think it will work now." The Ossusian said quietly.
"Now that war has all but started I believe that you are right about that," Wedge replied. "I'll let you know who I send when I get to Alderaan."
"I'll be waiting, and have a safe trip," The Ossusian said signing off.
Jessica walked purposefully to her captain's office. She was a bit nervous about what she was about to do. She had never just quit like this before, and she wondered about the reaction that she would receive by her captain. It was something she found herself wondering about. Why was she giving up her job here to go to Alderaan, but she knew that the choice was actually quite simple. She was in love with Petra, and once he left Coruscant she figured he would not come back.
She walked into her captain's office and waited for him to finish with his call before talking to him.
"Jessica, what can I do for you today?" He asked her wondering what was going on.
"I came in to give you my resignation, effective immediately," Jessica said seeing shock appear on her friends face.
"This is quite sudden," He said getting up out of his chair and closing the door to his office. "Now, what happened?" He asked looking her over to make sure she was all right.
"I'm fine, its just that I've, well, I don't really want to work here anymore and a new job has opened up but I need to go now." Jessica told him, not really telling him the whole truth.
"Does it have anything to do with the last case you were on, if so I can transfer you to another one," The captain said trying to get her to stay. She was the best detective he had.
"There are things that I have uncovered that I no longer want to work here," She said whispering in his ear as he looked up shocked again for the second time in a couple of minutes.
"Are you safe?" He asked her watching her nod her head. "Okay, if it what you want, I'll accept it. I imagine that the boys up top won't like it too much though."
"They don't have a choice, I'm not coming back," Jessica said knowing it for the truth.
"Good luck, keep in touch, Mihah will miss you," The captain said speaking of his wife.
"I will, keep your head down," Jessica said to him watching him nod then she walked out of the office and cleaned out her office. She was glad that she did not have much to clean up and she was out of the building in less than an hour.
When Jessica returned she found that Tillis had returned and Wedge, Ri-Jun, Petra and Regina, holding a sleepy Ame were waiting for her. Jessica had dropped by her apartment to pick up a lot of things for her journey and to tell her landlord that she would be out of town for an extended amount of time. That was not an unusually request as her job required her to be out of town for long amounts of time.
She would still be able to send the rent money until everything had settled out and her future with Petra had been figured out. She noticed that Tillis also had a suitcase for his belongings, while Ri-Jun just had a little bag. She had never asked where the man was from, he was either expecting to be able to return or he left in a big hurry.
"Glad you made it Jessica," Petra said walking over to her and giving her a hug, something he had never done with anyone else in the presence of company. Wedge just smiled to Regina as they shared the same thought, it was about time.
"It went smoothly, but I get the feeling that my captain is not involved in anything, he seemed really shocked that I was leaving." Jessica told them. She had felt a bit guilty that she was leaving, as her captain had been really nice to her, but a new opportunity came knocking and this time she was not letting it go.
"Let's go, the escort is waiting for us," Petra said, he had arranged for their military to escort the group all the way to Alderaan. There was a military ship waiting in orbit for the shuttle and then it would be back to Alderaan.
The armed guards escorted the group to the shuttle station without any incident. Petra stood close to Wedge while Ri-Jun was near Regina and Ame. Neither man would rest until they were securely aboard the Alderaan warship, only then would they feel safe. Jessica and Tillis made up the rear and both were armed, although Tillis was not exactly sure he could use a weapon, but Wedge assured the man that if his life was in danger he could use it.
They got out of the speeder and made their way to the shuttle. There was three guards in front of them ad three behind them with four in the group. It made an impressive sight for anyone watching as the group made their way to the shuttle.
They were halfway there, yet Ri-Jun could not help that something was wrong. His senses were screaming at him yet he could not detect anything out of the ordinary. Petra picked up on Ri-Jun's nervousness and wondered what was making the man so fidgety. He also kept an eye out for anything that might be threatening.
"What's wrong Petra?" Wedge whispered in his friend's ear not wanting to be overheard.
"Ri-Jun's jumpy, that makes me jumpy," Petra replied still not sure about the man, part of him wanted to trust the man, while the other told him that they had just met a couple of days ago.
The feeling was getting stronger to Ri-Jun and he had force himself to calm his mind and think clearly if he was to determine the threat. A second later he heard a noise that he was familiar with, a click-hiss. He was already in motion towards the noise when everyone saw a man yielding a blue lightsaber headed right for them.
The man cut through two of the front guards before they had a chance to react and injured the third on his way to Wedge. Petra fumbled with his blaster as shock of what he had just seen interfered with his thoughts of his duty.
The blue saber cut a path through the air heading right for Wedge's head, as everything seemed to happen in slow motion. There was a scream as Regina turned her daughter's head away from the scene. Petra was looking on in shock as he moved to slow to do anything about it. Jessica and Tillis were still recovering the suddenness of the attack. They were dimly aware of another click-hiss.
The blue blade stopped inches away from Wedge's face as his eyes went wide as he notice another blade, a purple one, and he knew that Ri-Jun had blocked the blade with his own.
Time seemed to speed back up to normal after the initial contact between the two combatants. Ri-Jun looked into the eyes of the attacker and knew that it was the same man he had fought earlier, Lord Beasta.
"RUN, get them to safety," Ri-Jun yelled out keeping his eyes on the opponent in front of him.
Beasta watched as his target ran away having been defended by Ri-Jun. The man had interfered for the last time, it was time for him to die. Ri-Jun watched as Beasta clinched his jaw in determination and he knew that one of them would not be leaving the scene alive this time. They circled each other a few times as the hum of their lightsabers filled the air.
"What about you?" Tillis said from where he was still standing as the last of their group rounded the corner headed for the shuttle.
"Go, I'll be fine," Ri-Jun told him hearing his friend leave the area. It was now just the two of them. They could hear the sounds of running, both away and towards them as guards came running in.
"I'll kill you this time, Ri-Jun," Beasta said shocking Ri-Jun a bit that the man knew his name.
Beasta attacked with a vicious slash headed right towards Ri-Jun's head. Ri-Jun parried the blow and returned with one of his own. The lightsabers threw out flashes of light as they hit each other. The sounds of them clashing made a screeching noise that no one had quite heard before.
Ri-Jun knew that he was in for quite a fight as they crossed their blades several times. The swish and hiss of the lightsabers was the only sound that could be heard as the guards who had come running in were now watching in stunned silence.
Ri-Jun twirled his lightsaber a few times as he watched Beasta. They continued to circle each other watching for a sign of weakness in the others style. Ri-Jun faked a lunge to the left then went right and Beasta almost got fooled as he barely managed to block the blade headed right toward him.
His anger got the best of him as he realized that this man in front of him was more powerful and skillful than he was. His vision went red and he went on an offensive that made Ri-Jun back up and stay on the defensive. Beasta was tapping into the dark side of the Force Ri-Jun realized as the man's attack had intensified.
Beasta's flurry of activity made watching the beautiful yet deadly match very hard. The lightsabers were a blur of light as each man acted and reacted to the others attacks and counter attacks.
Beasta and Ri-Jun's blades met in front of them and for a moment they seemed locked as each tried to force the others down. Beasta took this moment to push Ri-Jun down. Ri-Jun felt the force push and went flying before he could do anything. As he landed his lightsaber went flying from his hand landing with a loud clank on the tiled ground.
Beasta did not allow his opponent any breathing room as he jumped with his lightsaber headed for a killing blow. Ri-Jun saw the attack as much as he felt it managing to roll away just in time. He finished his roll on his feet facing Beasta who had plunged his blade deep into the tile where Ri-Jun had just been. It was then that Ri-Jun realized that he had rolled the wrong way and his lightsaber was on the opposite side of his attacker.
Beasta realized this as well from his position. His lightsaber was still in the ground, but a bolt of lightning would finish the job. He raised his hand aiming for a man he now hated. Lightning flew from Beasta's fingertips but Ri-Jun was no longer in the path.
Ri-Jun had figured out what his attacker had planned knowing that he did not have his lightsaber this time to block the lightning. Instead Ri-Jun went for jumping over the attacker and using the Force to pull his weapon back to him. The blade ignited with the click hiss as he landed and rushed his attacker.
Beasta managed to dodge the blow as he rolled out of the way. His blade reignited and the battle was underway again.
"I will not let you get in my way again, I will fulfill my mission to kill Wedge Organa," Beasta screamed lunging at Ri-Jun against who blocked the saber time and again. Beasta was losing control and Ri-Jun figured that he might be able to use this against the man.
"I've stopped you once before, I'll do it again," Ri-Jun said speaking for the first time. He had noticed that the guards were still staying back and no longer seemed concerned with him. A quick parry and the two were back at again. Their lightsabers clashing again and again as the flashes of lights indicated that the blades were indeed hitting each other. The movements were so quick that the guards were not sure that the blades even hit each other.
Beasta tried again to push Ri-Jun back hoping to knock the lightsaber out of his hands. Ri-Jun felt the familiar Force push against him, this time he used the Force to block the action and he remained on his feet. In desperation Beasta used the Force lightning again. Ri-Jun blocked the lightning headed toward him, but Beasta's dispersement of the lightning was wide spread and a few guards were caught. They fell to the ground in agony from the pain of the lightning.
A few of the guards opened fire on Beasta who blocked the shots like Ri-Jun had done. The blaster fire went back to a few of the guards and a few of them dropped either hurt of killed. The rest wisely backed off retreating to covered positions.
"Where were we?" Beasta said as he turned his attention back to Ri-Jun before attacking again. The lightsabers flew again. Ri-Jun had hoped that he would have been able to stop the attacker without killing him, but he knew now that it was an impossibility. Beasta would continue to attack until more people were killed, and Ri-Jun could no longer allow that to happen.
Ri-Jun went on the attack, this time with one difference, he was going for the kill as well. Both men seemed to sense the difference as Beasta fought to keep up with Ri-Jun's attacks.
A short jab to the left that Beasta managed to block, but his left was now exposed. Ri-Jun took the advantage and managed a quick spin and put all of his strength into the strike. Beasta's block did no hold and his lightsaber moved allowing Ri-Jun's blade to bite into his chest.
Beasta stumbled backwards with a feeling of disbelief as he had felt the pain explode in his chest. He fell to his knees staying like that for a few seconds before his lightsaber fell to the ground with a resounding clank that echoed off the walls. He fell forward and lay there motionless.
Ri-Jun cautiously approached the attacker and with one foot taped the body. Ri-Jun picked up the lightsaber of his opponent, but still had not lowered his yet. Another nudge and still nothing, he rolled the body over and noticed the blank stare that the man had. A quick check of the pulse and he was now sure that the man was dead.
A couple of the guards were now closing in and Ri-Jun knew that there would be questions, and he did not have the answers.
"Want to tell me what just happened, and who this was who killed three of my men and injured five others?" One man questioned. "And who are you?"
"His name's Ri-Jun and he is the royal body guard of Queen Regina, and Princess Ame of Alderaan. And he was performing his duty." A voice said from behind all of them.
The guards all turned around to look seeing a man emerge dress in a formal uniform. "I'm Petra, head of security for the royal family of Alderaan."
"Then you'll explain what's going on here?" The man said.
"Quickly, yes," Petra said as they all made their way to a small area to talk.
In the shadows a set of eyes never left Ri-Jun slowly disappeared from where he had been watching.
End Chapter 10
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