Chapter Six

Yeah, it's a short chapter. You try going to grad school and writing fan fic at the same time.

Okay, everybody sing with me...It's not my world after all, it's not my world, after all...

Thelea was surprised her fighter had actually taken off, and even now she was sure she was about to fall from the sky. The Interceptor was shaking violently, apparently ready to come apart at the seams, but with all power available drained to the engines, it was staying aloft. A quick glance up and to her right brought the comforting sight of Rurik's Interceptor, and to the left, the not-quite-as-comforting but still reassuring glimpse of Giriad's. Since they were in atmosphere they were flying without the uncomfortable helmets, and she caught sight of Rurik looking down at her. He grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, a silly human gesture she returned awkwardly. At least it was easier than looking down at the airspeeder.

If she looked down, she'd have to look at her.

As if she knew what Thelea was thinking (Who knows? The Jedi witch probably does!) Aleishia turned and looked up at her from beneath the cowl of her hood. Thelea couldn't see her clearly, but she knew the older woman was smiling. That irritated her. Actually, a lot of things about Aleishia irritated her. None the least of which was the name thing-Thrawn had said her name was Mrith'ele'arana...but Aleishia had seemed so sure....

She shook off the feeling. Jedi or not, the old woman had to be mad. She'd been living alone for years, and it must have affected her mind. But if that were the case, how did she know Thelea, and the lightsaber...My mother got hers somewhere...the Republic and the Jedi never reached homeworld, so how else would she have known? She sighed, slumping a little in the seat. There was such a thing as an information overload, and the last few hours more than constituted one. Aleishia seemed to know something about her mother. She had been more forthcoming than the Admiral had, and she was certainly helping to get them off this gods-forsaken world. Thelea would deal with what she'd said later.

They were coming back up on the city now, and so far, no sign of their earlier pursuers. Maybe losing three swoops had convinced them the little convoy wasn't worthwhile prey. The nervous feeling hadn't gone away, though...Aleishia would insist it was some sort of warning from the Force. Against her will she looked down at the speeder. Aleishia was watching her, the enigmatic smile still firmly in place. Thelea kicked in as much power as the engines could manage and shot ahead of the speeder, the other two fighters hurrying to pace her.

The rest of the trip to Seln's lot was disturbingly uneventful. Rurik was starting to wish for someone to take a shot at them. Interceptors weren't designed to fight in atmosphere, but it was still a formidably armed ship, and, as Thelea's demonstrated, much more durable than most gave them credit. He winced as he heard a crunch beneath the wing strut as the little fighter settled to the ground. At least they hadn't promised the ships would be in assembly-line condition.

He popped the hatch and climbed out, this time taking the flight suit and helmet with him. Most TIE pilot's didn't keep much in their ships, anyway. By the time he hit the ground, Thelea was already out and headed for the Infiltrator without looking at either the old man or at Aleishia. Rurik debated following her, then decided to let her stew a little longer. She'd snap out of it eventually--she always did.

"Well, we made it back, safe and sound. And there are three TIE Interceptors, as promised, though I get the feeling that one will only be good for scrap." He grinned at the two. Seln didn't smile, but of course he was Chiss--Rurik didn't like the name, it seemed odd, but at least he knew it now. Aleishia, on the other had, still had that thin, smug little smile she seemed to wear much of the time.

"Excellent." Seln clasped his hands. "Then I suppose you'll wish to leave immediately. The ship is fully prepared, and the navicomputer's been updated."

"We probably will. I think Thelea's about ready to go. No offense intended, ma'am, but I don't think she likes you very much."

Aleishia smiled, an expression that for some reason brought to mind his mother. "Thelea will grow accustomed to me, in time."

Rurik blinked. "You're coming with us?" He hadn't meant to sound as annoyed as he did.

"You sound surprised. Hadn't you realized by now I was waiting for you? More specifically, for Thelea." She smiled, the laugh showing in her eyes.

"Waiting? How did you know we were coming?"

The smile narrowed. "Don't you know anything about Jedi, Lieutenant Caelin? Even your own Emperor can see the future-sometime foggily, but he does see it."

Inwardly Rurik shuddered at her casual disrespect for the ruler of the galaxy, but then, weren't the Jedi enemies of the Empire? "You know we're going back to Imperial space, don't you? You'll be arrested."

"Possibly." Then her eyes grew distant for a moment. "We'd best be on our way. I don't think our pirate friends have given up on us." She turned to the old Chiss. "Seln, forgive us for rushing away."

"I understand." The Chiss looked towards the Infiltrator. "If you would, please, tell the Val'an'lora that I am honored to have been of some small service."

"She will know. Our thanks, old friend." She reached out and took both hands in his. Then, abruptly, she turned and stared in the direction of the street. "Seln, go inside. Quickly."

"What is it?" Rurik asked, but she was already pushing him towards the Infiltrator.

"Get aboard!" He stumbled into Giriad, who had wandered over to listen in. "Hurry!"

He started to run. Thelea was standing at the bottom of the ramp, hand almost absently resting on her blaster. "What's going on?"

"You haven't had another one of those premonitions, have you?" Rurik called on his way past her. "Because I think she has."

"What?" Thelea started towards the Jedi woman. Seln was moving as quickly as his aged legs could carry him towards his shop.

"Thelea!" Rurik spun in mid-stride. "Where is she going? Stay here and get the ship powered up. We'll be right back."

"Sure," Giriad muttered, headed for the pilot's seat, "sure, I'm just here to serve. I don't mind missing the excitement."

Thelea reached Aleishia's side as the Jedi reached the corner of the lot's gate. "What's going on?"

"Get back to the ship." Her voice came out tight and clipped. "I'll be along shortly."

"Whatever's out there, you ought-" and a blaster bolt slamming into the duracrete wall above her cut Thelea off in mid-sentence. "What the-"

"Get back to the ship!" Aleishia's lightsaber was already ignited. "Run! I'll catch up!"

Thelea was already pulling her blaster free of its holster. "Not a chance." A thud against her back announce Rurik's arrival. "Nice of you to join us."

"Didn't we just leave this party?" He squeezed off a shot over her head.

"I think they're a bit put out about us blowing up three of them." Thelea shoved her blaster back into its guard and detached her lightsaber from her belt instead. Aleishia was deflecting what she could, but plenty were getting by. "If she can do it, I can do it."

"Are you out of your mind?" She was already stepping closer to the Jedi. Rurik groaned and kept firing.

Aleishia barely glanced at Thelea. "Very foolish. Brave, but foolish. Get back behind cover, child. I can handle this."

"I know what I'm-" A bolt caught her shoulder, sending her spinning back into the wall. Rurik grabbed her and pulled her clear. "It's nothing," she gasped, trying not to wince at the pain.

Aleishia looked over, stepping closer to cover. "I can keep their attention for a moment. Run. Get her back to the ship. I'll be right behind you."

"No, it's all right," Thelea protested, even as Rurik grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards the Infiltrator. Aleishia began to back up, the silver blade still deflecting the shots aimed at them. When she was almost halfway to them, the shooting abruptly stopped, and she turned to run, waving at them to get aboard, when the back door to Seln's shop was shoved open, and the elder Chiss was forced out, with one of the swoop gang holding a blaster to his head.

"Rurik, Thelea, keep going!" Aleishia stopped and stepped towards the gang leader. "Let him go," she ordered, her voice carrying a powerful overtone of suggestion.

The swoop rider grinned, twisting an already hideously scarred face into an even more grotesque visage. "Your mind tricks won't work on me, Jedi. Now you and your Imperial friends can come quietly, or I can blow this guy's head off."

Thelea stopped, pulling Rurik to a halt with her. "Hey, weren't you listening?" he snapped, but she started back toward the Jedi. Muttering under his breath, he followed, keeping his blaster at the ready.

The swoop leader saw her coming. "Put down your weapons and I'll let him go."

"Why are you doing this?" Thelea demanded, not dropping her lightsaber. "We haven't done anything to you, and we're not worth any money, not for a bounty or a ransom."

He stared at her, and then broke into a harsh, grating, laugh. "You stupid female. Don't you know who you are?"

Seln, who seemed remarkably calm for a hostage, saw her coming and shouted in her language, "Go, my lady!"

"He'll kill you!" she protested, wondering if she could get off a shot with the hold-out blaster, or get in close enough to use the blade.

Seln gave her a contented smile, and moved his hand that had been hanging at his side. She saw the glint of the short blade concealed along his arm. "Go. Save yourself, and my duty to your House is fulfilled. Run now."

Aleishia had seen the knife, too, and began backing up. "Get to the ship."

"We can't just leave-" Thelea protested as Rurik grabbed her good arm and pulled her back. She could hear the whine of the engines powering up.

"We have to! Now go!" Aleishia ignited her saber again and covered their retreat.

Rurik half-dragged Thelea up the ramp, with her protesting all the way. Aleishia kept moving backwards until her foot touched the ramp, and then she turned and followed them at run. "Take off!" Rurik shouted to Giriad, hitting the controls that closed the hatch. Just before the ramp rose and cut of their view, Thelea saw Seln twist suddenly in his captor's grip, stabbing with the short sword he'd been hiding. The swoop leader snarled in pain and grabbed at his freshly wounded face, bringing his blaster back up. Then the hatch closed and she saw nothing more.

"Are you all right?" Rurik asked. Thelea stared blankly at him, the pain in her arm finally reaching her.

"Why did they do it?" she whispered, the glow of her eyes dulled by pain. "I thought, out on the plain, they were after the ships, but they wanted us. And Seln-"

Aleishia gently took her arm, easing her down to the deck. "Seln was your mother's most loyal retainer, child. Giving his life to save yours was an honor for him, not a sacrifice."

"My mother?" She winced as Aleishia pulled the burned cloth of her sleeve away from the wound. "Then why was he here? How-"

"Don't ask so many questions." She studied the burned skin, then fumbled in a pouch tied to her belt. "I knew for a long time you would be coming here. You didn't think this was an accident, did you?"

"You couldn't have known. We didn't know we were coming." She flinched again.

"Sh." She removed a small vial from the pouch and rubbed the salve into the burn. "Now, this isn't bacta. You're going to need treatment when we get to Telamara, but this should keep it from getting infected." She then placed a hand on Thelea's forehead. "Rest now," she said, in the same persuasive tone she'd tried on the swoop leader. Thelea's shoulders slumped, and her eyes closed. Aleishia straightened. "Sit with her a while," she ordered Rurik. "She needs to rest and give that a chance to heal."

Rurik nodded, looking down at Thelea. "Who is she? Really." Aleishia turned away, looking towards the viewscreen, but Rurik grabbed her arm. "I heard what he said. Who is she?"

The old Jedi hesitated a moment longer. "She is the child of two very powerful people, who made very powerful enemies. That's all you-or she-need to know for now."

Giriad looked back over his shoulder. "We're coming up on that defensive platform again."

Rurik turned and looked over Giriad's shoulder at the sensor readout. "We'd better run for it. You have the coordinates locked in?" The younger man nodded.. "Then make the jump as soon as we're out of the grav well. We don't have time to get into another firefight." He went back to where Thelea sat against the bulkhead, her eyes still closed. He sat beside her and she leaned against him, eyes still closed. Aleishia was watching and Rurik thought he saw a faint smile on her lips before she turned away.

"Here we go," Giriad announced. "Let's just hope we get a warmer welcome on Telamara than we did here." The stars outside blurred into lines, and they were away. Giriad sighed, slumping in relief. When he looked at the others they weren't paying attention. Thelea was, to all appearances, asleep, her head resting on Rurik's shoulder. Rurik was staring at the deck plates, his eyes unfocused, and Aleishia was watching them both, a faint smile on her face.

Giriad sighed and turned back to the controls. Then he smiled. "At least this time I get to fly the ship."