Gael smiled softly at him and sat down on the hood of the speeder next to him. She passed him the cold carbonated beverage and he noticed her lekku move ever so slightly. He’d never noticed before, but her skin almost glistened in the moonlight. They’d spent so much time together, how had he never noticed that before…The commlink started to beep and Jake noticed that it wasn’t just his. Gael, Dosh, Zan, and Karen were all lit up with the little red light.
“I hope you kids are having fun, but we have a long day at the shop tomorrow.” He heard his mother’s voice call to him over the channel. Dosh and Zan nodded and climbed into the back of the Speeder. Karen swiped the keys from his hand and blew a kiss to the boy she’d been teasing all night.
“I’m driving.” She said with a smirk and hopped into the pilot’s chair. Gael smirked at her and hopped into the passenger seat.
"Oh no, I’m not sitting back there.” He said quickly, staring at the Trandoshan awkwardly holding hands with the Zeltran in the back of the speeder.
“It’s your turn, flyboy.”
“I’ll ride in Niner’s spot.” He said with a firm shake of his head. He climbed up to the framework they occasionally hauled their mother’s droid with.
“Niner hates that harness. He’s threatened to boil us in lubricants every time we haul up on that framework. “ Gael said incredulously. Jake strapped himself into the harness and made sure the magnetic seal that connected his harness to the frame was locked on.
“It’ll be fine, let’s get home before mom starts looking for us.” Karen smirked at Gael and gunned the engines. The Speeder wasn’t the fastest thing on the planet, but when you were strapped into a jury rigged harness, the scenery just flew by. Jake was seriously reconsidering his choice not to sit with Dosh and Zan. The speeder cruised to a halt in front of their house with a gliding skid and Jake almost tossed himself off of the harness.
“You doing okay over there, Jake?” Karen asked him with a chuckle. Gael was watching him ty and right himself. Dosh and Zan had already exited the speeder, and Dosh was trying to help him detach the magnetic harness.
“Just wonderful, sis.” Dosh powered down the magnetic lock and Jake landed unceremoniously on his ass. He rubbed his back slowly as Dosh offered his arm to help him stand up. “Thanks Dosh.”
“No problem, Jake.” Dosh looked up the stairs to the oversized porch of their house and smiled. Mom was sitting in her rocking chair, sipping a glass of something alcoholic. He waved at her, and she waved back. Jake saw the outline of the hunting rifle just within arm’s reach of her. He could never actually remembering her hunt anything though.
“You kids have a fun night at the Wesker place?”
“How did you know where we were?” Zan asked her with a quiet smile.
“Tracking beacon on the speeder.” Jake answered her.
“And i called over to Helen’s place after you left to make sure that’s where you were headed.”
“You don’t trust us?” Gael said with a hint of mischief.
“I trust you, but i don’t trust the galaxy around us. Lot of bad things happen to decent people.”
“We’re fine, Mom, we’re on Qwartar’an, what could possibly happen here?” Dosh said with a reptilian smile.
“Probably nothing. You kids go get cleaned up. We have a long day of inventorying and stacking boxes at the shop.” She smiled at them.
“Oooh, Inventory and Stacking.” Jake shook his head.
“Nothing wrong with an honest day’s work, Jake.” Mom answered him.
“But it’s so intolerably boring.”
“You say that now, but i find excitement to be a pulse raising experience of sadness and potential grief.” she smiled at him.
“Oh, Mom, what would you know about excitement?” he answered her.
“You know, Mom stuff.” She answered him. The teens smiled and did as they were told.
“Ma’am, you know this can not last.’ The protocol droid said quietly.
“It’s been almost 15 years, Niner. He hasn’t come looking for them. Maybe their safe.”
“No problem, Jake.” Dosh looked up the stairs to the oversized porch of their house and smiled. Mom was sitting in her rocking chair, sipping a glass of something alcoholic. He waved at her, and she waved back. Jake saw the outline of the hunting rifle just within arm’s reach of her. He could never actually remembering her hunt anything though.
“You kids have a fun night at the Wesker place?”
“How did you know where we were?” Zan asked her with a quiet smile.
“Tracking beacon on the speeder.” Jake answered her.
“And i called over to Helen’s place after you left to make sure that’s where you were headed.”
“You don’t trust us?” Gael said with a hint of mischief.
“I trust you, but i don’t trust the galaxy around us. Lot of bad things happen to decent people.”
“We’re fine, Mom, we’re on Qwartar’an, what could possibly happen here?” Dosh said with a reptilian smile.
“Probably nothing. You kids go get cleaned up. We have a long day of inventorying and stacking boxes at the shop.” She smiled at them.
“Oooh, Inventory and Stacking.” Jake shook his head.
“Nothing wrong with an honest day’s work, Jake.” Mom answered him.
“But it’s so intolerably boring.”
“You say that now, but i find excitement to be a pulse raising experience of sadness and potential grief.” she smiled at him.
“Oh, Mom, what would you know about excitement?” he answered her.
“You know, Mom stuff.” She answered him. The teens smiled and did as they were told.
“Ma’am, you know this can not last.’ The protocol droid said quietly.
“It’s been almost 15 years, Niner. He hasn’t come looking for them. Maybe their safe.”
“I am more concerned about your past catching up than i am theirs.”
“My people stopped looking for me years ago. That particular legend died in a hail of blaster fire on Nar Shadda.”
“Kal-Hanar still tries to send updates from home, when he thinks no one is watching.”
“He’s a sweetheart, i am sure he is driving my mother crazy.”
“I do not know the answer to that, Ma’am.”
“It’s okay. Get some rest, Niner, it’s going to be a long day at the shop tomorrow.”
“Very good Ma’am.” The droid took the emptied glass and returned it to the kitchen. She saw him plug in to his charging station as she turned out the lights. Peace and quiet, she thought quietly. Who would have thought this would be where things ended up.
Morning
Dosh and Zan were busy unpacking shipping crates while Jake, Gael and Karen were filling outgoing crates to the farms and other households. Niner and Mom were working their way through the backlog and checking to see what was still needing to be delivered or paid for. Niner turned slowly as the door opened and the visitors stepped through the door.
“Well imagine my surprise at what i spy with darkened eyes. The light of the pale moon of Mandalore in all her glory.” The darkly dressed man stepped across the threshold and his three minions pulled the shade down over the window and locked the door.
“Krassit, Imagine that. Gerhedres finally let you off that leash she’s kept your balls on for the last dozen years.” Niners let out a quickly stifled chuckle at her comment. “Be a dear and go gather the fruit from the store room.” She told the droid. It walked slowly into the back of the warehouse area and she smiled as she flipped the commlink open.
“Didn’t you hear the news?” Krrassit said with a leering smile. The Duros came from a long line of hired guns and had lucked into a gig with a Vigo of the Black Sun. “She got herself blown up nice and proper last month screwing a deal with the Hutts.”
“Pity, i always liked her.”
“The Vigo for the Outer Rim territories would like to have a lengthy conversation with you about your last job on Nar Shadda.”
“Well, whenever she wants to show up to ask some questions, i’d be perfectly happy to chat with her about it.”
“You should stay more up to date on current events, I am the Vigo for the Outer Rim territories.”
She threw her head back with a roar of laughter, and spent the next minute trying to wipe away the tears. The three enforcers stared incredulously at her, and then at each other, and then at her again,
“My people stopped looking for me years ago. That particular legend died in a hail of blaster fire on Nar Shadda.”
“Kal-Hanar still tries to send updates from home, when he thinks no one is watching.”
“He’s a sweetheart, i am sure he is driving my mother crazy.”
“I do not know the answer to that, Ma’am.”
“It’s okay. Get some rest, Niner, it’s going to be a long day at the shop tomorrow.”
“Very good Ma’am.” The droid took the emptied glass and returned it to the kitchen. She saw him plug in to his charging station as she turned out the lights. Peace and quiet, she thought quietly. Who would have thought this would be where things ended up.
Morning
Dosh and Zan were busy unpacking shipping crates while Jake, Gael and Karen were filling outgoing crates to the farms and other households. Niner and Mom were working their way through the backlog and checking to see what was still needing to be delivered or paid for. Niner turned slowly as the door opened and the visitors stepped through the door.
“Well imagine my surprise at what i spy with darkened eyes. The light of the pale moon of Mandalore in all her glory.” The darkly dressed man stepped across the threshold and his three minions pulled the shade down over the window and locked the door.
“Krassit, Imagine that. Gerhedres finally let you off that leash she’s kept your balls on for the last dozen years.” Niners let out a quickly stifled chuckle at her comment. “Be a dear and go gather the fruit from the store room.” She told the droid. It walked slowly into the back of the warehouse area and she smiled as she flipped the commlink open.
“Didn’t you hear the news?” Krrassit said with a leering smile. The Duros came from a long line of hired guns and had lucked into a gig with a Vigo of the Black Sun. “She got herself blown up nice and proper last month screwing a deal with the Hutts.”
“Pity, i always liked her.”
“The Vigo for the Outer Rim territories would like to have a lengthy conversation with you about your last job on Nar Shadda.”
“Well, whenever she wants to show up to ask some questions, i’d be perfectly happy to chat with her about it.”
“You should stay more up to date on current events, I am the Vigo for the Outer Rim territories.”
She threw her head back with a roar of laughter, and spent the next minute trying to wipe away the tears. The three enforcers stared incredulously at her, and then at each other, and then at her again,
"What’s so funny?” Krassit said slowly.
“That’s the best joke i’ve heard in years, thank you. Now run along before your master comes looking for you.” She said with a dismissive turn back to what she was working on. One of the enforcers, a tall angry looking Duros stepped into her personal space. “Poor choice, blue boy.” The vibroknife buried itself quickly in the Duros’s throat and a spray of alien blood filled the air. The blaster pistol came up and she was firing shots at the other two enforcers. Krassit was throwing himself through the front window to escape. Blaster fire rang through the shop.
In the Back
“Quickly now, all of you!” Niner bellowed throughout the sealed warehouse. “Grab your things, get to the Speeder out back.”
“What’s going on?” Jake asked him.
“Your mother needs you out of the building now.”
“Why?”
“An old enemy of hers has shown up and you are all in danger.” The old droid said quickly.
“Yeah, right. Who would want to have Mom as an enemy?”
“Vigo Krassit Pryce of the Black Sun Crime Syndicate.” Niner answered the question as he hurried tried to push them towards the back of the building. “
“This is a good joke.” Zan said with a smile.
They heard her voice over the Commlink and everyone stopped when the blasters started to go off. Jake headed back towards the front room of the store. “Jake, Please. Your mother gave me very specific instructions to get the five of you out of here. We Must Go!” The old droid opened the rear door and pushed Dosh and Zan outside. Gael followed them and Karen stared at her brother.
“What are we going to do?”
“We do what Mom wants. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Niner opened the hangar doors and powered up the Speeder Truck. “We must hurry.”
“Where are we going?”
“In order, Your home, then the spaceport. From there i am not certain.”
“Why are we going to the Spaceport?” Gael asked the droid.
“I Must get you all offworld before the Black Sun shows in greater numbers. The Vigo won’t stop with just killing your mother. He has a heavy grudge to settle, and i personally do not want to see what his plans for you all are.”
“Does he know about us?”
“I do not know, but i do not want to find out.” The droid turned his gaze slowly to Karen. “I need you to do something for me.”
“What?” He handed her a note.
“As the oldest, you have authority over me when your mother is absent or in danger as she currently is. I need you to say that phrase in order to better assist you in this time of crisis.”
“Uhm...okay. Nine R Seven Z, I authorize Armorer Protocols.” The droids eyes turned bright red for a moment and it stretched its neck on points of articulation she didn’t know that it had.
“Thank you, Karen, this will help.”
“Niner, what were you to mom before you guys settled here?” Dosh asked quietly.
“I was an armorer droid, built to the exact specifications of the House of the Moon on Mandalore.”
“Why would the Mandalorians build mom a droid?” Zan asked quickly.
“Your mother is...was...hopefully still is a Mandalorian.”
“What?” Jake asked him.
“No way, Mom said she was from Chandrila.”
“Your fathers were from Chandrila, but your mother was born on Mandalore. I suspect this will be a longer conversation at a later time, but right now we need to hurry.” The Droid gunned the engine on the speeder. It came to a spinning halt in front of the farm house. The droid turned its head slowly to them, and said softly, “Look, this is going to turn into a very complicated, very ugly day. You may not ever see this place again, so i need you to grab anything you absolutely cannot live without and bring it to the truck. We have maybe twenty minutes before the rest of the enforcers figure out i am not in the building and then they’ll be on our tail.”
“Twenty minutes?” Gael asked him, concern etched across her soft features.
“That’s why we need to be out of here in ten, It’ll be fifteen minutes to the spaceport, and then we can stop to catch our breath.” The droid answered them.
“What are you going to do?”
“Arm up. This situation requires an escalation of violence to see you to safety. I will be in the barn for the next 8 minutes. Go.”
7 minutes later the kids had grabbed everything they could think of needing from their rooms and had gathered in the small kitchen they shared. Dosh was disconnecting the droid brain from the house’s systems.
“Why are you grabbing that?” karen asked him as tossed her duffel out onto the porch.
“All the recipes, all her recordings, everything that made this place home. I will not leave that behind.” The Trandoshan said while he was reaching under the house’s primary console.
“Here, let me help you.” Zan said with a smile. She slipped under the console, and started disconnecting the components Dosh couldn’t reach. Karen tapped her brother on the shoulder.
“Jake, we have company.” She pointed through one of the windows at the speeders that were heading towards the house. They didn’t look friendly.
“Gael, toss me that rifle!” Jake caught the rifle and tried to line up a shot from the window. His hands were shaking and he couldn’t quite squeeze the trigger. The passengers in the speeders had no such problems and started shooting at the house. Jake let out a slow breath, lined up a shot and squeezed the trigger on the hunting rifle. The speeder in front of him exploded in a gout of fire and every head in the room turned to stare at him.
“What did you do?” Zan asked him. She and Dosh had finished disconnecting the droid brain and Dosh secured it in his pack.
“That’s the best joke i’ve heard in years, thank you. Now run along before your master comes looking for you.” She said with a dismissive turn back to what she was working on. One of the enforcers, a tall angry looking Duros stepped into her personal space. “Poor choice, blue boy.” The vibroknife buried itself quickly in the Duros’s throat and a spray of alien blood filled the air. The blaster pistol came up and she was firing shots at the other two enforcers. Krassit was throwing himself through the front window to escape. Blaster fire rang through the shop.
In the Back
“Quickly now, all of you!” Niner bellowed throughout the sealed warehouse. “Grab your things, get to the Speeder out back.”
“What’s going on?” Jake asked him.
“Your mother needs you out of the building now.”
“Why?”
“An old enemy of hers has shown up and you are all in danger.” The old droid said quickly.
“Yeah, right. Who would want to have Mom as an enemy?”
“Vigo Krassit Pryce of the Black Sun Crime Syndicate.” Niner answered the question as he hurried tried to push them towards the back of the building. “
“This is a good joke.” Zan said with a smile.
They heard her voice over the Commlink and everyone stopped when the blasters started to go off. Jake headed back towards the front room of the store. “Jake, Please. Your mother gave me very specific instructions to get the five of you out of here. We Must Go!” The old droid opened the rear door and pushed Dosh and Zan outside. Gael followed them and Karen stared at her brother.
“What are we going to do?”
“We do what Mom wants. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Niner opened the hangar doors and powered up the Speeder Truck. “We must hurry.”
“Where are we going?”
“In order, Your home, then the spaceport. From there i am not certain.”
“Why are we going to the Spaceport?” Gael asked the droid.
“I Must get you all offworld before the Black Sun shows in greater numbers. The Vigo won’t stop with just killing your mother. He has a heavy grudge to settle, and i personally do not want to see what his plans for you all are.”
“Does he know about us?”
“I do not know, but i do not want to find out.” The droid turned his gaze slowly to Karen. “I need you to do something for me.”
“What?” He handed her a note.
“As the oldest, you have authority over me when your mother is absent or in danger as she currently is. I need you to say that phrase in order to better assist you in this time of crisis.”
“Uhm...okay. Nine R Seven Z, I authorize Armorer Protocols.” The droids eyes turned bright red for a moment and it stretched its neck on points of articulation she didn’t know that it had.
“Thank you, Karen, this will help.”
“Niner, what were you to mom before you guys settled here?” Dosh asked quietly.
“I was an armorer droid, built to the exact specifications of the House of the Moon on Mandalore.”
“Why would the Mandalorians build mom a droid?” Zan asked quickly.
“Your mother is...was...hopefully still is a Mandalorian.”
“What?” Jake asked him.
“No way, Mom said she was from Chandrila.”
“Your fathers were from Chandrila, but your mother was born on Mandalore. I suspect this will be a longer conversation at a later time, but right now we need to hurry.” The Droid gunned the engine on the speeder. It came to a spinning halt in front of the farm house. The droid turned its head slowly to them, and said softly, “Look, this is going to turn into a very complicated, very ugly day. You may not ever see this place again, so i need you to grab anything you absolutely cannot live without and bring it to the truck. We have maybe twenty minutes before the rest of the enforcers figure out i am not in the building and then they’ll be on our tail.”
“Twenty minutes?” Gael asked him, concern etched across her soft features.
“That’s why we need to be out of here in ten, It’ll be fifteen minutes to the spaceport, and then we can stop to catch our breath.” The droid answered them.
“What are you going to do?”
“Arm up. This situation requires an escalation of violence to see you to safety. I will be in the barn for the next 8 minutes. Go.”
7 minutes later the kids had grabbed everything they could think of needing from their rooms and had gathered in the small kitchen they shared. Dosh was disconnecting the droid brain from the house’s systems.
“Why are you grabbing that?” karen asked him as tossed her duffel out onto the porch.
“All the recipes, all her recordings, everything that made this place home. I will not leave that behind.” The Trandoshan said while he was reaching under the house’s primary console.
“Here, let me help you.” Zan said with a smile. She slipped under the console, and started disconnecting the components Dosh couldn’t reach. Karen tapped her brother on the shoulder.
“Jake, we have company.” She pointed through one of the windows at the speeders that were heading towards the house. They didn’t look friendly.
“Gael, toss me that rifle!” Jake caught the rifle and tried to line up a shot from the window. His hands were shaking and he couldn’t quite squeeze the trigger. The passengers in the speeders had no such problems and started shooting at the house. Jake let out a slow breath, lined up a shot and squeezed the trigger on the hunting rifle. The speeder in front of him exploded in a gout of fire and every head in the room turned to stare at him.
“What did you do?” Zan asked him. She and Dosh had finished disconnecting the droid brain and Dosh secured it in his pack.
“I don’t know, i didn’t think Blasters did that!”
“That wasn’t you, look.” Karen said with a open mouthed stare. Niner had emerged from the Barn and she wasn’t quite sure what she was staring at. Was he wearing a suit of armor? Had he upgraded his frame? The droid lined up another shot and a second projectile sped across the yard into the speeder. With a tortured groan of twisting metal, it shattered into a thousand pieces. They watched the droid move over to both wrecked vehicles and in a hail of blaster fire, finish off the survivors.
“Did Niner just gun those guys down?” Gael said incredulously.
“I believe so. He’s coming back this way.” Dosh said slowly as he grabbed his bag.
“Uhm...I don’t think this is a good idea.” Zan shrank into Dosh’s shadow.
“We must move quickly now, Children.” The Droid said with a commanding voice.
“Niner, you need to tell us what’s going on, now.” Karen said firmly.
“Can i explain while we move?” The droid countered.
“Acceptable.” Karen answered him.
“Good, now do you have everything you think you need?” The droid answered while walking back towards the barn. They all nodded to each other and Karen gave him a thumbs up. “Wonderful, now get in.”
“Get in what?” Jake answered him slowly.
“The tank.” The droid answered with the barest hint of joy in his voice. The barn doors slid back and the hover vehicle slid into view. It passed the primary test of a tank, with a large cannon of some kind sitting on a turret with two sliding hatches on the side. The side hatch facing them slid open and the children reluctantly stepped inside. Evidently whoever had designed it had also planned for it to carry passengers and there were bench seats ringing the central area. They heard Niner climb into the turret mount and the tank started to glide.
“Why do we have a tank?” Gael shouted over the engines.
"What?” Jake answered her.
“Under your seats are ear mounted comms. They will make this easier than trying to shout over the roar of my guns.” They found the comms and managed to put them on.
“So we have a tank because?” Gael reiterated her original question.
“Niner, why do we have a tank?”
“It was assigned to your mother during her first career. She kept it as a reminder, and i believe she knew a day like today could happen.”
“So what is exactly happening?” Jake asked the droid.
“Your mother, before she took you all in was a trouble shooter for one of the Hutt clans and she ended up dealing with the Black Sun a lot. She managed to piss off one of their enforcers and he swore bloody revenge. It’s taken almost 15 years for him to make good on that promise, but he’s here and he brought a bloody army with him.” Despite themselves and the situation they found themselves in, they all burst out laughing.
“Mom’s a troubleshooter for one of the Hutt Clans?” Karen couldn’t help but giggle.
“The Black Sun is coming after her, and probably us?” Gael added.
“I realize that none of you have ever seen what your mother used to do, what she used to be. That was because she made a conscious effort to keep you out of that life. She settled on this planet because it was quiet and peaceful. She hoped sincerely that all of you would be able to grow up in a safe and peaceful life.” Niner accelerated the hovertank’s engines and the sound of blaster fire could be heard bouncing off the hull.
“What’s going on?” Jake asked quickly.
“Some of those Black Sun goons you all seem to think are the funniest things in the universe are trying to cut us off from the spaceport.”
“Can we help?” Zan asked. She was scared, and the noise was starting to get to her.
“One of you can slide open the forward hatch and take up the secondary weapons controls.”
“Why aren’t we heading to the shop to pick up Mom?”
“Her specific orders were to get you to safety. Trust me, if anyone can survive this, it’s her. She’ll meet up with us at some point, if she survives.”
“We can help her.”
“As much as i love your optimism, those are cold blooded gun thugs out to make a lot of cash off of the dead body of anyone who gets in their way. You may mean well, but you don’t have the training, and in my logic circuits, i don’t believe you have the necessary will to end the life of another sentient creature. I don’t hold that against you, but i cannot risk your safety in that sort of environment.” Niner answered Karen. Jake had pulled himself into the gunner’s position and flipped the toggles into the active position.
“All right, Niner, how does this work?”
“Grab the steering wheel, it will control the gun turret, facing. Line up the targeting reticle over the thing you want to not be there anymore, and push the firing studs on the thumb mounts. Be careful, the turret assembly can give you one hell of a bumpy ride. If you’d like to actually start shooting, that would be ideal.”
Jake lined up the shot...going after a swoop that raced past the tank. The shot flashed right and he pulled the triggers. The turret bucked him, and he felt a sharp thump in his ass as the quad lasers went off. The first spray of laser fire missed the target but it did have a secondary effect of moving the swoops away from the nose of the tank. He saw smoke coming from the part of town their store was in, but couldn’t focus on that right now.
“Give them another round, Jake.” Jake nodded to no one who could see him and lined up another shot. This time the shots hit their target and the swoop disintegrated in a hail of smoke and parts. Jake kept up the pace and destroyed five more swoops as they pushed into the spaceport. They pulled into the spaceport, but didn’t stop. Niner lined up the heavy blaster cannon at the Black Sun transport and didn’t stop firing until it was a smoking crater.
“Ma’am, we’re at the exfiltration point.” Niner said slowly. The Commlink flared to life and they all gathered around the holo projection.
“Good boy, Niner. Now i know this is going to be rough on all of you, but you need to get off this planet, now. I wanted this to turn out differently, i wanted so many things for all of you. It’s not going to be safe here, not for any of us. You’re going to have to take the ship and head someplace else. I have some ideas, and you’ll find that aboard this ship in the hangar. I wanted more time to spend with you. You are going to have to rely on each other.” the holo image stepped out of focus for a second and the sound of whirring followed by screams came through.
Mom stepped back into the frame. They got a better look at her this time. She was hurt, and they couldn’t tell how bad. “Jake, Karen, you both have fathers out there that might be able to help you. I really wish that today hadn’t come. I am so very proud of the five of you, and i know that you can do anything you put your mind to. Niner, get them off planet.”
“Affirmative Ma’am.” The droid nodded and started the sequence to open the hangar.
“Mom...what’s going on?”
“No time for that, I love you guys.” She said with a smile and then her face twisted and they could see the blade sticking through her chest. Her body dropped to the floor and the mysterious assailant stomped on the commlink.
“Mom!” Karen screamed.
“No!” Jake roared. They both stuck their hands out toward the fading image and the air got very heavy. The hovertank shifted several meters away from the hangar and started to shake.
“If you guys are doing that, could you please stop?” Zan poked both of them in the shoulder. That broke the moment and the hovertank stopped shaking.
“Well that’s not normal.” Niner said slowly. He drove the tank up into the cargo bay of the ship and locked the cargo grapples. “Find yourself somewhere safe to sit, we’re getting out of here.” the five of them couldn’t remember much of the rest of that day, but they made it offworld into the larger galaxy...
Continued in
Brothers and Sisters (part 1) Here (Warning, Mush ahead)
Decision Points Here (Space Operatic nonsense)
“That wasn’t you, look.” Karen said with a open mouthed stare. Niner had emerged from the Barn and she wasn’t quite sure what she was staring at. Was he wearing a suit of armor? Had he upgraded his frame? The droid lined up another shot and a second projectile sped across the yard into the speeder. With a tortured groan of twisting metal, it shattered into a thousand pieces. They watched the droid move over to both wrecked vehicles and in a hail of blaster fire, finish off the survivors.
“Did Niner just gun those guys down?” Gael said incredulously.
“I believe so. He’s coming back this way.” Dosh said slowly as he grabbed his bag.
“Uhm...I don’t think this is a good idea.” Zan shrank into Dosh’s shadow.
“We must move quickly now, Children.” The Droid said with a commanding voice.
“Niner, you need to tell us what’s going on, now.” Karen said firmly.
“Can i explain while we move?” The droid countered.
“Acceptable.” Karen answered him.
“Good, now do you have everything you think you need?” The droid answered while walking back towards the barn. They all nodded to each other and Karen gave him a thumbs up. “Wonderful, now get in.”
“Get in what?” Jake answered him slowly.
“The tank.” The droid answered with the barest hint of joy in his voice. The barn doors slid back and the hover vehicle slid into view. It passed the primary test of a tank, with a large cannon of some kind sitting on a turret with two sliding hatches on the side. The side hatch facing them slid open and the children reluctantly stepped inside. Evidently whoever had designed it had also planned for it to carry passengers and there were bench seats ringing the central area. They heard Niner climb into the turret mount and the tank started to glide.
“Why do we have a tank?” Gael shouted over the engines.
"What?” Jake answered her.
“Under your seats are ear mounted comms. They will make this easier than trying to shout over the roar of my guns.” They found the comms and managed to put them on.
“So we have a tank because?” Gael reiterated her original question.
“Niner, why do we have a tank?”
“It was assigned to your mother during her first career. She kept it as a reminder, and i believe she knew a day like today could happen.”
“So what is exactly happening?” Jake asked the droid.
“Your mother, before she took you all in was a trouble shooter for one of the Hutt clans and she ended up dealing with the Black Sun a lot. She managed to piss off one of their enforcers and he swore bloody revenge. It’s taken almost 15 years for him to make good on that promise, but he’s here and he brought a bloody army with him.” Despite themselves and the situation they found themselves in, they all burst out laughing.
“Mom’s a troubleshooter for one of the Hutt Clans?” Karen couldn’t help but giggle.
“The Black Sun is coming after her, and probably us?” Gael added.
“I realize that none of you have ever seen what your mother used to do, what she used to be. That was because she made a conscious effort to keep you out of that life. She settled on this planet because it was quiet and peaceful. She hoped sincerely that all of you would be able to grow up in a safe and peaceful life.” Niner accelerated the hovertank’s engines and the sound of blaster fire could be heard bouncing off the hull.
“What’s going on?” Jake asked quickly.
“Some of those Black Sun goons you all seem to think are the funniest things in the universe are trying to cut us off from the spaceport.”
“Can we help?” Zan asked. She was scared, and the noise was starting to get to her.
“One of you can slide open the forward hatch and take up the secondary weapons controls.”
“Why aren’t we heading to the shop to pick up Mom?”
“Her specific orders were to get you to safety. Trust me, if anyone can survive this, it’s her. She’ll meet up with us at some point, if she survives.”
“We can help her.”
“As much as i love your optimism, those are cold blooded gun thugs out to make a lot of cash off of the dead body of anyone who gets in their way. You may mean well, but you don’t have the training, and in my logic circuits, i don’t believe you have the necessary will to end the life of another sentient creature. I don’t hold that against you, but i cannot risk your safety in that sort of environment.” Niner answered Karen. Jake had pulled himself into the gunner’s position and flipped the toggles into the active position.
“All right, Niner, how does this work?”
“Grab the steering wheel, it will control the gun turret, facing. Line up the targeting reticle over the thing you want to not be there anymore, and push the firing studs on the thumb mounts. Be careful, the turret assembly can give you one hell of a bumpy ride. If you’d like to actually start shooting, that would be ideal.”
Jake lined up the shot...going after a swoop that raced past the tank. The shot flashed right and he pulled the triggers. The turret bucked him, and he felt a sharp thump in his ass as the quad lasers went off. The first spray of laser fire missed the target but it did have a secondary effect of moving the swoops away from the nose of the tank. He saw smoke coming from the part of town their store was in, but couldn’t focus on that right now.
“Give them another round, Jake.” Jake nodded to no one who could see him and lined up another shot. This time the shots hit their target and the swoop disintegrated in a hail of smoke and parts. Jake kept up the pace and destroyed five more swoops as they pushed into the spaceport. They pulled into the spaceport, but didn’t stop. Niner lined up the heavy blaster cannon at the Black Sun transport and didn’t stop firing until it was a smoking crater.
“Ma’am, we’re at the exfiltration point.” Niner said slowly. The Commlink flared to life and they all gathered around the holo projection.
“Good boy, Niner. Now i know this is going to be rough on all of you, but you need to get off this planet, now. I wanted this to turn out differently, i wanted so many things for all of you. It’s not going to be safe here, not for any of us. You’re going to have to take the ship and head someplace else. I have some ideas, and you’ll find that aboard this ship in the hangar. I wanted more time to spend with you. You are going to have to rely on each other.” the holo image stepped out of focus for a second and the sound of whirring followed by screams came through.
Mom stepped back into the frame. They got a better look at her this time. She was hurt, and they couldn’t tell how bad. “Jake, Karen, you both have fathers out there that might be able to help you. I really wish that today hadn’t come. I am so very proud of the five of you, and i know that you can do anything you put your mind to. Niner, get them off planet.”
“Affirmative Ma’am.” The droid nodded and started the sequence to open the hangar.
“Mom...what’s going on?”
“No time for that, I love you guys.” She said with a smile and then her face twisted and they could see the blade sticking through her chest. Her body dropped to the floor and the mysterious assailant stomped on the commlink.
“Mom!” Karen screamed.
“No!” Jake roared. They both stuck their hands out toward the fading image and the air got very heavy. The hovertank shifted several meters away from the hangar and started to shake.
“If you guys are doing that, could you please stop?” Zan poked both of them in the shoulder. That broke the moment and the hovertank stopped shaking.
“Well that’s not normal.” Niner said slowly. He drove the tank up into the cargo bay of the ship and locked the cargo grapples. “Find yourself somewhere safe to sit, we’re getting out of here.” the five of them couldn’t remember much of the rest of that day, but they made it offworld into the larger galaxy...
Continued in
Brothers and Sisters (part 1) Here (Warning, Mush ahead)
Decision Points Here (Space Operatic nonsense)
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