| Entry Two, Continued |
| Ryan was working like a madman. "Yeah, mine's off, it's in my upper arm. I've got Louis's, and Chad's, and I'm working on Justin's. I'm almost done..." "Well, hurry up!" I told him impatiently. "We've got maybe fifteen minutes before we've got to be back in the main hall. That freak's supposed to be back in twenty, and you know how Glar'll get if he thinks that that guy�s gonna show up before we do!" Ryan turned Justin's off, and reluctantly got out of the system. He presented his arm to Joe, who quickly disinfected his scalpel again and sliced out his implant. It was a tiny little thing, thin as a wafer and barely as large as my pinkie nail. No wonder Joe had had a hard time feeling for it! Looking at it, it was hard to believe that something so small could blow someone up. We got out of the control room as soon as Joe had Ryan stitched back up. Joe went off to find the rest of the boys, while Ryan and I took off for the main hall. We relieved our replacements on the stage just before Glar re-entered the room; we had about ten minutes to spare before the stranger was supposed to be back. Glar was talking with his accountant, and he did not look happy. He started issuing orders for all of his bodyguards to prepare to kill the stranger as soon as he walked through the door. We had the droids set to blast him if he got too close to the Hutt; Ryan and I were a bit closer to the floor than usual. If this guy had any sort of instincts, he should have been expecting trouble from the moment he left. The stranger made his presence well known before he entered the hall. The droids along the ceiling blew up simultaneously, and the door was wrenched off of its hinges. The stranger walked in imperiously, looking at us from underneath his hood, as though daring us to attack him after such a display of Force-use. *I guess that settles it* I told myself. *That guy is definitely NOT normal* The stranger looked my way and grinned; my heart stopped. Black tattoos ran wild over his red-skinned face; his teeth appeared to be chipped, stained and broken to a human eye, but were actually pointed and quite sharp; and his eyes were like looking into fiery molten gold. Chalk another one up to Lucas; this guy was not only a Sith, he was a Darth Maul-look alike in the flesh! I looked at Ryan, and his startled eyes met mine. I may have been a Star Wars fan back on Earth, but when it came to Star Wars lore, Ryan was a Jedi Master to my Apprentice. He knew as well as I did that we were in trouble, even as Glar's other bodyguards started firing at the Sith. He ignited his saber, deflecting the blast-bolts, as Ryan and I drew our knives, though I didn't know how effective knives would be against that dark warrior. Ryan and I stayed back, and began to warily circle the warrior after he had taken out every other guard that was thick enough to keep firing at him. Most of them were either nursing what was left of their arms, or they were stains on the floor. Glar howled at us as the Sith put away his saber. The warrior raised his arms, and I felt the sand swirl at my feet, which happened to stay very firmly planted to the ground. The Sith's grin turned into a snarl; for all his Force power, he couldn't pick us up. Before I took the time to really wonder about this, Ryan charged him, trying to tackle him. The idiot had put away his knife; I'm afraid that Ryan had a very juvenile sense of fair play, and our opponent was a lot smaller than him. The warrior ducked and caught Ryan, rolled him over his shoulder, and I heard the sound of Ryan's newly stitched arm breaking as the dark warrior pinned him to the ground. I jumped on the warrior's back, my knife at his throat, and he caught and threw me, laughing as I hit the ground rolling, then snarling when I landed on my feet and turned to face him. He'd had to let go of Ryan to deal with me, but so much for the plan of trying to get the dark stranger to ignore us and kill Glar! Ryan was hissing under his breath, but he struggled to his feet. As it was, I could tell that I'd be bruised the next day, but only if I lived to see the next day! "Ryan, go!" I hissed. He looked at me in shock. "Get the others and get the hell outta here! I can take this guy!" He looked at me in disbelief, but we both knew that, with him injured, we would both be better off if he got everyone else the hell outta Dodge. He faded into the crowd as the warrior and I began circling each other again. The Sith started to speak to me in a low voice. "Pretty words won't do you any good if I can't understand what you're saying, pal." I said quietly, even though I had no hope that he would understand me. *Pretty words, hmmm?* I looked at him in shock, and had to force myself to keep warily circling him. *Telepathy knows no language boundary* His mind-tone was almost smug... no, I take that back. Judging by the look on his face, it was smug. Telepathy, hmmm? I narrowed my eyes, and thought at him *Oh, really?* in my best sarcastic tone. *Let's dance then, you and I* He threw his head back and laughed before he rushed me. He threw a kick at my head, and I ducked; he tried to sweep my legs out from under me, and I jumped. I threw a punch at him, and he sidestepped, caught my arm, and before I knew it, he had me on my knees, holding my own knife to my throat. *Now, little human, how is it that you are immune to the Force?* His hood had fallen down; he had his mouth next to my ear, and I could feel his hot breath on my neck as he exhaled. That's when I realized that he'd only been trying to capture me; he wanted to know why he hadn't been able to toss Ryan and me like ragdolls! With his scent filling my nostrils, and his breath tickling my skin, I thought as calmly at him as I could. *I don't know; that's the first time someone has ever tried to use the Force on one of us.* *Well, little human, how would you like to leave this hellhole?* I narrowed my eyes. *What's it going to cost me?* He threw his head back and laughed. He stood up, forcing me to move with him. "Glarkeesh!" I heard his voice in my head as he talked to my 'master', providing a sort of translation. I glanced around the room; Ryan and his boys were gone, and I kept myself from sighing as I realized that, for once, the stubborn man had done what I had asked him to do. The dark warrior continued to talk. "I like this slave's spirit! Give her to me, and I will forgive you the insult of trying to kill me!" *Oh, great, just take me from one owner to another, hmm?* I thought sarcastically. His growling mind-voice filled my skull. *Do not try me, little human...* Glar's voice, booming and slick as an oilly rag, filled the air. "Hohoho, she is my best bodyguard! Why should I just give her to you?" "Because if you don't...� and the warrior pressed the knife closer to my throat, "she will die, as will you, for insulting me and trying to cheat my master. For the price of this slave, you shall live. Deny me, and you both will die." *Well, gee, that's comforting. What if he calls your bluff? * *BE QUIET, LITTLE HUMAN!* the warrior roared inside my skull. I winced, and Glar seemed to make up his mind rather quickly. "Take her." *You do realize that he is planning on blowing you up as soon as we leave?* the warrior thought at me. I smiled viciously *Let him think that. I just had my STI removed* The Sith looked at me with a mixture of surprise and respect, and slowly smiled. *Well, in that case...* |
| ~ Continue ~ |