Disclaimers: See Part 1
The Fallen Beginning
by
AJ Marks
Part 8
Wedge walked into the council room where the hundreds of diplomats were arguing with each other. He noticed that the Ossus diplomat was yelling at just about anyone he could. He understood his rage, but he thought that tempers were just a little to hot right now for anything productive to be done.
"Order please," The meeting leader said banging his gavel against his desk. The buzzing slowly died down as everyone sat down, but Wedge could see that tempers were still hot.
The meeting leader thanked everyone for coming on such short notice. He motioned for the Ossusian to take the floor.
"My People," The Ossusian began, "have suffered a great tragedy recently. Someone is harboring a group of murderers. The cowards come n the middle of the night and killed a bunch of our Prophets."
The Ossusian had to raise his voice as his comments sparked another debate in the room. The tempers again flared as everyone pointed fingers at everyone else for the crime. Wedge noticed that it seemed as if the entire Galaxy was at the verge of all out war.
Wedge sat back thinking about the situation. There was almost no way out of the situation. Perhaps this was one of those times when it was not stopping the war, but deciding which side was the right side to be on. If that was the case, then there appeared to be two sides, one was the Ossusian side, the other seemed to be less defined, and more elusive to him. He leaned towards the Ossusian side, only because the person who was trying to control him was pushing him against the Ossusians.
The meeting went on for a couple of hours, with people doing nothing more than trade insults at each other. He had only been asked once what his position was, he told the truth, that he leaned more towards sympathizing with the Ossusians, and that those responsible should be punished. He missed the look that Lord Dugous gave him when he told everyone.
Both sides were disappointed that Wedge did not fully commit to either side. The Ossusians were slightly encouraged that Wedge seemed to be more on their side than he had previously said earlier.
Another argument started and no one noticed when Lord Dugous slipped out of the room. A minute later some guards come in to help restore order, and make sure no one got hurt. Lord Dugous walked back in, his characteristic swagger was back.
A short time later as Wedge was listening to all of the arguing that was going on Petra quietly walked up to Wedge. Petra tapped Wedge on the shoulder and Wedge looked up. He noticed the look on his friend's face and wondered what was up to cause that look.
"Our mysterious friend just called, and it was not pretty," Petra said with concern in his voice. Petra hated what he was about to tell his friend, but it had to be done. "He told me to tell you that if don't support those against the Ossusians your family is dead."
Wedge looked at Petra with worry in his eyes. Petra saw the conflict going on in his friend's eyes as he struggled to figure out what to do. On one hand the entire universe could be at stake, and on the other hand he would have to sacrifice his family. There was no longer any time left to help save his family.
"I know that its hard Wedge, I can't even begin to imagine what's going on in your mind right now," Petra said putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Right now we must think positive, that Ri-Jun has safely rescued your family, that the information was accurate."
Wedge sighed knowing that his friend was telling him the truth, like he had always done. It still did not make his decision any easier. "I'm not sure that I can make this decision, either way I lose," He told Petra.
"I think that if Regina was here right now she would tell you to side with the Ossusians, because its the right thing to do," Petra replied knowing that it really was not what he wanted to hear.
"You're right Petra, its not the decision that I want knowing that whoever is behind this will kill my family. I think in the long run the people of Alderaan will be even more behind me after this and supporting the Ossusians will be easier," Wedge said having run the possible scenarios out in his mind. The only one his people would have truly supported would have been with the Ossusians.
"I'll go back and see if I can contact the investigators on Alderaan and see if anything has happened," Petra said watching his friend nod his head. Petra would have rather stayed with him, but the situation would not allow him to.
Petra watched the monitor of the meeting in another room waiting for more information. His call to Alderaan had not gone as well as he had planned. There was no information about the royal family or about Ri-Jun or the lead investigator, Reg. The only thing that they knew was that both of them were out in the field on an operation. As Petra continued to listen to the people back at Alderaan he noticed that several other diplomats in the large meeting room put Wedge on the hot seat.
Two diplomats had asked Wedge point blank about where his allegiance was, either with the Ossusians or against them. Wedge took a few seconds trying to think of a way to stall. If he continued his neutral stand of then he might make enemies on both side.
Wedge took a breath before responding to the question making it look like he was less nervous than he was. "I have received new information recently that has helped me make up my mind," Wedge said getting up to make the announcement. "The Alderaan throws its support with the Ossusians and the injustice that has occurred against them."
The chamber erupted into all sorts of noise as just about every diplomat voiced his or her support to Wedge's comment. The outburst made it impossible to see who was the most upset, and who could have been behind the kidnapping. Wedge had decided for now to not tell anyone about the kidnapping of his family, and now that he had thrown his support with the Ossusians his family was now probably being killed right now.
Three cars made its way to a small farmhouse. They boldly drove right up to the house and stopped. Six men got out of one of the cars and walked to the door. A small man walked out of the house wondering what was going on for him to have so many visitors in one day.
"good morning sir, my name is Reg, I believe we spoke earlier." Reg said as they approached the man.
"Oh yes, I wasn't expecting you until later in the day." The man replied.
"There was a change of plans, we had to move in earlier." Reg told him.
"Of course, its no problem, the Riler house is about a click in that direction." The man said pointing in the direction of their target.
"Thanks." Reg said motioning for the rest of the men to follow him. Three men out of their total of twelve stayed behind to bring the cars in for a quick getaway if needed.
"Good luck my friend." Tillis said as Ri-Jun was about to follow Reg. Tillis had decided that he would remain to drive one of the cars as he had no experience in combat.
"Don't worry, I've got a secret weapon this time." Ri-Jun said patting his side as the two of them shared a knowing grin.
Reg thought that Ri-Jun was crazy to still be wearing the robe that he had on. The brown did not match well into the surrounding area, but the man did not seem to mind. It was, Reg conceded, better than the light tan clothes he wore underneath the robe.
The group of nine men slowly made their way towards their target house. They were being cautious not to alert their kidnappers to their presence until it would be too late. There were bushes and shrubs that littered the entire area witch allowed for both the perfect cover and privacy. The group was also careful to watch out for traps, or alarms.
The house was now in sight as Ri-Jun wrapped his robed closer around him. He was a bit concerned about the color of his robes, but decided that it would be better than if he took it off, which he would probably do in another couple of minutes. The group was communication with hand signals to prevent anything from being heard. Right now they were waiting to see if any movement could be seen from inside the house.
Ri-Jun extended his senses to see if there was anything inside the house that could give them an advantage. He could only sense a few people inside, but something was not right. There was the sense that someone else was also sensing them as well. A quick hand signal from Ri-Jun had the rest on alert as well.
Reg saw the signal from Ri-Jun and knew that something was up. He had not known the man for very long, but the man had special abilities that he could not even begin to understand. It was almost as if he knew the future, and as able to react to it before it happened. If Ri-Jun was being careful then they should be as well. He gave the signal that their cover might have been blown noticing the extra careful attention that his men took.
Reg could feel the tension in the air as they continued to watch the house. It was to the point that he was uncomfortable as he gripped his blaster tighter. He took a look around to see if anyone was trying to come up behind them, but he saw nothing. His own third sense was starting to scream at him as the silence grew and they continued to wait. There was something wrong, he could feel it as well.
Ri-Jun had been trying to figure out what he had been sensing ever since they had gotten close to the house. The only thing that he could think of was they had triggered a trap without anyone knowing, some sort of silent alarm that had sent their target scrambling.
Ri-Jun looked back at Reg to see what the next move would be. They had an entire regiment of army troops at their disposal if needed, but they felt stealth was the best option to saving the royal families life. As he watched Reg seemed to make up his mind and motioned for two agents to go in followed by two more while the rest covered them.
Reg was a bit worried, there were only four men to cover the four that were going in. He knew that Ri-Jun did not have a weapon, even though he had enormous talents, the man was still unarmed. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind as he continued to watch the men head cautiously toward he house.
Ri-Jun loosened his robe waiting for the unexpected to happen. He felt his entire body tense as if it was preparing for battle, which he concluded it was. He allowed the robe to open as he continued to watch the men.
Two of the men were now almost at the house where they would be able to look inside. The other two had taken up positions where they could cover the other two in case anyone came running out of the house. A few tense minutes later as the two were cautiously looking through the windows.
Ri-Jun was not surprised when the report came back that the house appeared to be empty, at least what they could see. The occupants could have been in another part of the house. The amount of time that everything was taking was beginning to take a toll on the men and their nerves. Blasters were being held tighter and their eyes were darting around looking for an invisible threat that so far had not appeared.
Ri-Jun did not have time to yell out a warning as the first shots came out form both sides. Two men dropped almost imminently as another one was injured in the leg. The forth was in a little protected area along the side of the house.
Reg and the rest of his men opened fire at the area where the shots had come from. An exchange of fire started to take place from hidden areas as the two groups tried to gain the upper hand.
Ri-Jun felt his hand go the cylindrical object that was at his waist. He seemed to be having second thoughts about using it. The moment his hand touched it however, it felt so natural to him. He shrugged out of his robe to allow greater mobility and throwing the robe down he jumped out into the clearing activating the weapon.
Reg watched in disbelief as Ri-Jun calmly took off his robe and tossed it to the ground. Then with something in his hand he jumped, quite quickly into the middle of the clearing. A click-hiss sound was heard as a light appeared from the object he was holding. It looked like a sword, or saber, that was made out of light. Reg wondered what a sword made out of light could do, it would not take long for him to find out.
Ri-Jun landed on his feet as the purple blade sprung from his weapon. It took a few seconds as everyone thought that he was crazy, but they were brought out of by Ri-Jun's charge toward one of the groups that was hiding.
Garret had watched from his hiding spot as the targets approached the house. Thanks to Lord Beasta's warning they knew that the men were coming and had locked the hostages in a room upstairs. When most were out in the open he gave the order to fire, they had killed at least two men, wounding a third. From the blaster fire he knew that there were at least two men still in the bushes, and one by the side of the house.
No one was more amazed when the target he had been trying to track jumped out into the middle of the clear area. Garret knew that the man did not use any blasters, but his thinking changed a bit when a purple blade appeared from the object he was holding.
Garret spent a few seconds wondering what it was his target had in his hand when the man started towards him. Garret recovered from his shock and raised his weapon, getting the man in his sights and fired the weapon.
Ri-Jun allowed himself to act without thought, as that would have been to slow. He was amazed to see time seem to slow down as blaster fire started up again. He watched in amazement as his hand shifted the blade in front of him to intercept a blaster shot aimed right at him.
Garret's blast impacted the purple blade that Ri-Jun was holding and everyone was amazed when the shot was deflected away from Ri-Jun. There were a few more shots that Ri-Jun deflected again as he continued to close with those hiding in the bushes.
Reg seeing that Ri-Jun was now holding his own told his men to concentrate their fire on the other side. Reg and the others opened fire effectively giving cover fire to Ri-Jun's backside.
Garret saw that his blast had been deflected along with his following shots and was beginning to panic for the first time in his life. The man kept coming toward him deflecting his blaster fire regardless of how fast he shot.
Ri-Jun continued to close the distance with the enemy group gaining confidence in his abilities as the blaster shots were deflected. He was approaching the bushes and figured that there were at least three men in there.
A quick jump brought him over the head of one of the men and a quick force push knocked the man out against a tree. Quickly spinning in time to deflect two more shots that were fired upon him by the remaining two men.
Garret watched as the man jumped over one of his men. The man was then thrown against a tree and slumped down. Now Garret could get his target, the man had his back turned to him, just a quick shot and it would be finished. Garret fired and watched as the man turned in time to block both his shot and his comrade's shot.
Garret watched as if in slow motion as his own shot was deflected right back at him. He did not have time to move as the shot impacted him in the chest. It threw him back and the pain washed over him quickly like he was standing under a waterfall and he slumped motionless on the ground.
Ri-Jun turned his attention to the other man and using the force pulled the man's weapon from his grasp before he could shoot again.
"Hands up?" Ri-Jun said pointing his weapon at the man. The man wisely raised his arms in surrender.
Reg meanwhile had noticed that the fire from the bushes was dwindling. Perhaps they had gotten a few of them. He yelled out for them to surrender. It took a few seconds before two men stepped out of the clearing, one supporting the other. After quickly tying the two men up Reg went in search of Ri-Jun. He found him coming out of the clearing, one man was carrying another, who appeared to be unconscious.
"There are still three men inside the house, and the royal family is on the second floor." Reg said quickly.
"Stay here and motion for the cars to be brought in." Ri-Jun said tuning towards the house.
He took a look at the house, almost studying it. Seeing a window he knew then where the hostages were. Reg looked on in stunned disbelief as Ri-Jun jumped up and through the second story window.
Ri-Jun felt the impact of the window as it gave way and he crashed through. A quick roll on the ground and he was up on his feet with his weapon on again with what was becoming a familiar click hiss sound.
There was one man in the room along with a frightened woman and her daughter. He knew that they were Wedge's family by their faces.
The man inside recovered quickly and grabbed the girl holding her a shield in front of him.
"It seems like I hold all of the cards, now you'll throw down your weapon." the man said as two other men walked into the room. One had red-rimmed green eyes that seemed to draw him. This man was aware of the force, that much he was certain.
Ri-Jun dropped his weapon, he would get another chance. The weapon clanked loudly on the floor, but Ri-Jun could see out the corner of his eye that the man was having a hard time holding on to the scared little girl.
"You have given me and my master a hard time." The green eyed man said. "Now we will kill you once and for all." The man said raising his hand.
As the man raised his hand the girl chose that moment to bit the hand that was holding on to her. The man cursed and threw the girl down. It was all the distraction Ri-Jun needed. Using the force his new weapon flew back into his hands and the weapon turned on with the familiar click hiss just as the man in front of him let loose with lightning from his hands.
The lightning impacted on the purple blade with a hiss but not doing any damage. Ri-Jun used the force to pull the man away form the hostages and positioned himself between the three men and two females. The one man flew into the wall and was knocked slightly out, so now the odds were one on two.
The other man having seen what just happened decided that the money was not worth it, went running from the room. He only got a few paces when he was struck by lightning and he slumped to the floor, his body still smoldering.
Ri-Jun twirled the blade a few times waiting for his opponents next move. He had not been expecting the man to kill the other two, but it still did not shock him. The remaining man also seemed to have some knowledge of the Force. This made the man dangerous.
Ri-Jun locked into the eyes of the man in front of him. The red-rimmed eyes bored into Ri-Jun's blue eyes as they studied each other. Both men wondered what the other would do next.
The air around the two men seemed to crackle with the power of the Force. Ri-Jun's purple sword hummed quietly between the two men. Behind Ri-Jun two sets of terrified eyes watched to see if this man who crashed through the window would rescue them. Behind the other man were two smoldering bodies that he had killed.
Ri-Jun decided to wait for the man to make the first move so that he would not expose the defensive position he had in front of the two people that he was to rescue. The silence seemed to stretch on forever as the two men stared each other down.
In a quick movement the man in front of Ri-Jun used the Force to push him down. Ri-Jun managed to avoid the two women behind him as he fell and he landed to the side of them. He watched as his opponent raised his hand in a flat motion. Ri-Jun knew what was going to happen next and that in order to save the woman and girl he would have to act faster than he ever had before.
With speed that he did not know he possessed he rose from the floor as he saw the blue energy bolts starting to come from the man's hands. Ri-Jun pushed himself in front of the two intended targets while raising his purple blade in front of him.
The lightning bolts raced from the man's hands and again impacted on the purple blade in Ri-Jun's hands. The man then turned towards the window and jumped out as the sounds of footsteps could be heard coming up the stairway. One barged into the room just as the man flew out the window.
"Shall we go after him?" He asked running to the window looking out confused at not being able to see the man.
"No, he's long gone," Ri-Jun replied knowing that he would see the man again, and next time the outcome would not be the same. "I doubt though that it will be the last time we see him." Ri-Jun told the man as he put away his weapon.
"Your Majesty, are you and princess Ame alright?" Reg said as he came into the room headed straight to the woman with the girl in her arms.
"We are now," She replied hugging her daughter after watching the events that had just unfolded in front of her.
"Momma?" Ame said looking at her mother in confusion.
"We're safe now," She said looking down at her daughter's face noticing the confusion.
"Bad man gone?" Ame asked now looking at Ri-Jun.
"Yes sweetheart," The mother replied to her daughter's question. "That man got rid of the bad men."
"My knight momma," The little girl said still looking at Ri-Jun and now everyone was waiting for an explanation.
"She likes stories about knights and damsels in distress," The woman said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Are the cars here?" Ri-Jun asked changing the subject, watching as Reg nodded his head saying that they should be hear in a couple of minutes.
"Your majesty, I don't think that your safe yet, I would like to take you back to Coruscant with me," Ri-Jun told them watching their faces for any reaction.
"Do you think that's wise?" Reg replied wondering what else was going on that he had not been told.
"I have the feeling that this is not over, and with you having been rescued they might try another assignation attempt against your husband," Ri-Jun said wishing that the man had not gotten away.
"Petra would feel better and if you leave now, we might be able to catch whoever is behind all of this. If just the four of you leave quietly it would probably not cause much concern," Reg said already thinking of ways to let Petra know what was going on. He was sure the Petra would agree with him.
"Okay, my name's Regina, in case no one told you, and this is my daughter Ame," Regina said as her daughter continued to look in fascination at Ri-Jun.
"My name is Ri-Jun Aldi," He replied with a slight bow. "My friend, Tillis will be joining us on our journey."
Regina was about to reply when her daughter cut her off again. "He's gwot a lightsabwer momma. He's gotta be a knight," The girl said pointing to the object on Ri-Juns belt.
"Now Ame, that may not be what's its called," Regina told her daughter.
"Lightsaber, that could work," Ri-Jun said not having even thought of a name for the weapon. The more he thought about the name the more he liked it. The blade was made out of light, and a saber was a more elegant name than sword. "I like it little one," Ri-Jun said giving the girls hair a bit of a ruffle. She just beamed with the biggest smile anyone could give while turning her head into her mother's chest.
"Well, it seems that the two of you have bonded," Regina said in a bit of wonder. "It usually takes longer for her to warm up to a stranger."
Ri-Jun was about to reply when the announcement came that the cars had arrived and the group went downstairs to head to a spaceport to head to Coruscant.
Regina watched in fascination as Ri-Jun transformed from the joking character to one of high alert keeping an eye on anything close by. His eyes were constantly moving around, scanning the area for potential danger. She knew that the man, who called himself Lord Beasta, was still out there. She also knew that Ri-Jun was one of the few men, or woman, who could stand up to the man. Her kidnappers had been afraid of the man when he arrived, but she did now know if he was the top man or not.
"Is there anything you can tell me about your kidnappers?" Ri-Jun asked when they were in the car and Tillis was driving off.
"Not much, the man's name that you were fighting is Lord Beasta, I don't know if he is working for someone else or not. They did not talk to me too much, except to keep Ame quiet, feed us or move us," Regina said.
"That's okay, its what I thought anyway," Ri-Jun told her, at least he now had a name for his opponent. "I'll bet that we'll probably know more after we arrive at Coruscant and talk with Petra."
Tillis just nodded his head as he kept an eye on the road, and his escort in front and back of him. There was a small transport that would be headed to Coruscant and they would be the only passengers.
Reg had taken the survivors to the interrogation rooms to begin the questioning process. He hoped that there would be some information that would come from them. He was not too hopeful however, as it had become apparent that the leaders had been killed and the headman had gotten away.
He really wanted more information at hand when Petra relied. They had sent out the call that they had rescued Regina and Ame and he knew that the news would be well received.
End Chapter 8
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