Power and Betrayal: Chapter 6

Night had fallen on Nar Shaddaa a few hours ago, but that didn't exactly mean that it was dark. In fact, it was a commonly-held urban legend that all those garishly-bright lights--the ones that constantly competed with each other to grab your attention--actually lit the Smuggler's Moon brighter than the Nal Hutta system's own daytime sunlight.

Nar Shadda had long been a lot like Coruscant in the way the entire surface was a continuous cityscape, but the similarities ended there. Coruscant was planned and orderly, with precious few structures allowed to tower above the standard altitude where over 99% of the rooftops were built. It had neat "valleys" for traffic lanes that formed precise parallel and perpendicular lines, and very predictable traffic patterns.

Nar Shadda, on the other hand, was absolute urban chaos. With no central planning of any sort, the buildings followed no pattern at all except for those that came about due to the whims of those willing to spend the money during construction--and those that were dictated by practical necessity.

One of those practical necessities was that the spaceports were among the tallest structures on the moon, so that the traffic of the large and slow spaceships above need not mix with the traffic of the small and fast personal vehicles below.

For Dianiss and Kinnan, the view of it all below them from way up here at this altitude was simply breathtaking.

Then again, that also could have just been the thinner air and the smog.

At least that particular problem was rapidly solving itself. After a few seconds of free-fall, they were quickly back into a more hospitable air density and able to breathe easier--if, admittedly, in a bit of a panic.

That left the other, more obvious problem: the moon's bright neon surface that was rapidly rushing up to meet them and bring their fall to an all-too-abrupt halt.

Dianiss' arms were still wrapped around Kinnan's chest and she compulsively held tight to him. Meanwhile, she was using the Force to reach out and see, really see, all the activity below, looking for something she could use to stop their fall safely.

The best option she could find in the limited time they had was a distant vehicle--a small passenger car, maybe a taxi--headed towards them from below, evidently just leaving the spaceport itself.

"Hold on to me." she yelled. Despite the fact that her mouth was only inches from his ear, she still had to shout to be heard over the rushing winds. "I need to use my hands."

He responded by nodding and then wrapping both arms around her waist, still clutching the briefcase in his left hand but using his right hand to grasp his left wrist.

She, in turn, wrapped her legs tightly around him so that she could let go with her hands. The warm feeling of his body pressed against hers was comforting in all this panic and excitement. In fact, it was also a little bit exciting for her to be feeling his head held against her chest and his waist clutched tightly between her legs. She was trying not to be distracted by that, but in all the craziness she did catch herself involuntarily rubbing herself against him a couple of times without initially realizing it.

But self-control was really difficult when she was like this, engulfed in Kallig's power and opened up to his influence. And right now, she needed that power to save both of their lives, even if it was more driven by passion than by peace. She hoped she could also muster up the precision that would be needed, because she'd have to solve three different physics problems--all while still falling--in order to land on the car safely enough.

First, they needed to actually land on the car, which would be no small feat, but actually the easiest of the three problems to solve. She could use the Force quite easily to direct their trajectory toward their target, even one as small as this one, which expert accuracy.

Second, they would need to slow their fall enough so that they wouldn't be fatally injured on impact. This, too, was not too terribly difficult.

But third, they would also need to be moving laterally at the same speed and direction as the car rather than free-falling (mostly) straight down, so that they didn't just tumble off the back right after landing. At the moment, they were still in front of it, but would have to accelerate quickly to keep it from passing under them and heading away.

At the rate they were falling, she instinctively felt that she could accomplish any two of them, but not all three.

With her hands now free, she cast a powerful wave of Force in front of her so as to push herself backward, towards the path of the approaching car below them, and building up some momentum.

She did this repeatedly, sometimes with that same wave of Force and other times by throwing a sphere of Force power out in a different direction to give them a smaller but more accurate counter-thrust for "steering".

"We're coming down too fast!" she heard Kinnan yell out to her. Evidently he'd figured out what she was trying to do, but couldn't stop to answer. She had to keep pushing harder, keeping them on target, getting them moving faster as the car caught up to them, and slowing their fall.

But she was failing.

As they had fallen, she had gradually tilted herself from falling feet-first to lying flat, looking upward. She could no longer see the car below, but knew that they were about to hit it.

As expected, she'd managed to guide them to the car and gave them enough momentum to hit the car while moving just fast enough to stay on it. But in the last few seconds, she knew--she and Kinnan BOTH knew--that they were still falling too fast and were going to hit it way too hard.

All she could do now was hope they survived the impact. As a precaution, she cast a powerful healing circle on the top of the car and put a protective bubble of Force around the both of them.

...and she braced for impact in:

4...

3...

2...

--

Nar Shaddaa: Mezenti Spaceport Hangar Bay DF-0142

Confounded by the force fields, Tangress had climbed into the ventilation and maintenance shafts to find an alternate way in, using her small size and Cathar agility to her advantage. She'd found her way into a duct above the hangar designed to draw exhaust fumes out of the hangar and into the outside air during takeoff and landing . . . and since the systems were temporarily stuck in takeoff/landing mode, the vent opening from the hangar into the exhaust duct was NOT blocked.

She had just reached the vent and was preparing to drop in and rescue Kinnan when Dianiss had jumped out of the hangar--which suited her just fine. But Tangress nearly screamed at the sight of Kinnan being yanked off his feet and out of the hangar with her.

The only thing that made any of this bearable was that Tangress knew that Dianiss had actually engaged that legendary secret power of hers--and although Tangress was still up in the ductwork at the time, she was close enough to feel it when it happened.

It was everything Tangress had hoped for: it felt just like a Sith Lord in action. Dianiss wasn't so devoted to the light after all.

Tangress still wanted to sink her claws right into Dianiss pretty little face, but at least she knew that Dianiss' secrets were starting to come unraveled. Her time would come soon enough.

--

Nar Shaddaa: Just above the civilian vehicle traffic lanes

2...

1...


...


1...?



0?!?



At the last moment, Kinnan had surprised her by using the Force to give the car itself a harsh push downward, giving them those extra couple of seconds before impact and effectively lowering their own downward speed--compared to the car at least, which was all that really mattered--by forcing the car to move suddenly downward at the key moment. Dianiss realized that she should have thought of doing that herself.

They struck the top of the car with a heavy, painful THUD. It would have been much worse but for Kinnan's quick thinking. The protective bubble absorbed a lot of the impact, and the bruises and broken bones they both sustained were quickly mended by the healing circle that was there waiting for them. The car reacted to the sudden down-draft by pulling up sharply to avoid colliding with another larger car below it, but that upward momentum actually helped them by pinning them down to the roof momentarily. They did start to slide towards the back of the car, but it was slow enough that they were both able to grab on.

After a few seconds, they were both able to stand. Kinnan still had the briefcase in his hand.

Dianiss pointed toward a larger vehicle ahead of them, and jumped off the car they'd just landed on to another, then another . . . making her way forward over the traffic. She took a moment to look back, and saw that Kinnan was following.

As she made it to the mass-transit vehicle she'd originally pointed at, she looked around and found an emergency exit hatch near the front that she was able to open with a little bit of help from the Force. Kinnan made it to the top of the bus as she swung her feet into the hatch, ready to hop down inside.

"You seem like you've done this hopping on moving cars thing before!" he yelled, trying to be heard over the traffic noise.

"Actually, yes, I have!" she yelled back. "Funny story! Remind me some time to tell you about how I helped track down The Shroud!" And with that, she disappeared inside the bus.

Kinnan followed right behind her.

There weren't many passengers at the moment, but ALL of them were staring directly at the two newcomers who joined them in a most unconventional way.

"What do you think you're doing?!?" the driver shouted at them in Huttese.

Dianiss produced a standard Nar Shaddaa credit chip, one about five times the value of the normal fare, smiled, and calmly asked, "Does this bus go to the Haven's Blaze Casino?"

With the ship parked (an understatement if ever there was one), Prowler's team and the spaceport staff were able to override the force fields and tractor-beam the ship completely back inside the hangar.

Saffire had joined them to assess the damage and to prevent anyone else from entering to see it first-hand. It was remarkable, but not surprising. Now she had to do damage control.

"Prowler . . . just what sort of imbecile to you take me for? You had them both in custody, and then you let them both escape . . . with the package?!?"

"He took us by surprise, Mum. He was a Jedi, like you said."

"Oh no." she shouted back. "You don't get to sweep away your incompetence THAT easily." She pointed at the ship, and all the damaged sections. "Look at this. LOOK!  AT!  THIS! You expect me to believe that ONE Jedi summoned the kind of power capable of doing THIS?!?"

Of course, she knew full well that this was exactly what had happened.

"With respect, Mum, you weren't here to see--"

"YOU don't seem to understand the magnitude of what you are trying to claim here." she said, interrupting him as if he wasn't even speaking. "Have you EVER seen a Jedi do something like this? Have you ever even HEARD OF a Jedi doing something like this??? There are maybe 3 or 4 Sith Lords in the galaxy with the kind of power this would require. So you'd better come up with a much more believable story than this one, because unless the Emperor himself comes forward to admit that that Jedi was really HIM, you're in A LOT of trouble.

"And now *I* am going to have to clean up your mess."

Behind her facemask, she was smiling a parsec-wide.

"And might I remind you..." she added, "...that we have a blood sample from this Jedi, one which PROVES that he couldn't possibly be that powerful."

A few minutes later, Agent Saffire was back on her own ship again. It was time to report back to Dromund Kaas.

The holo-transmission was highly-encrypted, with voices and faces altered. It didn't matter, she knew who he was on the other end, and he knew it could only be her using this very non-standard communications channel.

"Hello talk-dark-and-blurry. This is Samael. I'm pleased to report that this little detour you planned worked out perfectly. You may now commence with your customary smuggery."

"Excellent. Did she recognize you?"

"No. She only knows the codename Saffire. And by the way, I didn't get the opportunity to shoot her THIS time, either. I'm quite disappointed by this and I expect you to make it up to me."

"We'll discuss THAT when you return. How much time?"

"Four weeks, five at the most. I've already given her the protocols for the dead drop, and she won't be especially hard to track down if it becomes necessary."

"Longer than I'd prefer, but acceptable. In the mean time, I'm retasking you to shadow Master Sig-lapp. I don't trust him."

"Mmmmmm, delicious. Should I get close? He's rather sexy, you know. Reminds me of you."

"Just keep tabs on his movements and activities, but don't let him know that you're there."

"You never let me have ANY fun."

"Well that's something ELSE we can discuss when you return. If I'm right,--"

"...and I do hate it when you are..."

"--then this is headed in a disturbing direction and your particular expertise will be required."

"Guardian Angel out."

The adrenaline rush of their escape was just starting to wear off for both of them, partly prompted by the psychological relief of having made it 'home' as they both entered Dianiss' condo. Dianiss just rushed in and leaped onto the couch in the main room, landing flat on her back and kicking her shoes off behind it. She was partly giggling with giddiness and part sighing with relief. Kinnan followed her in, but at a much slower pace. As he reached the couch himself, Dianiss sat up and patted the seat next to her, signaling him to sit on the couch with her where she'd just moved her feet out of the way. That desire to be close to him was as strong as ever--and after the way she'd continued to use her dark power during their free-fall, the desire to be more than just close to him was growing stronger.

"Can we please never do that again?" he said, mostly seriously, as he sat.

"You're the one who wants to go . . . you-know-where." she responded playfully, and made the hand motion to signal a command for the in-house control systems. "Engage privacy mode, level Alpha-3." After the confirmation chirps, she added, "That was just a typical night here on Nar Shaddaa."

"I'm not sure whether to be relieved or frightened."

Dianiss chuckled. "Oh, when I do frightening, you'll KNOW it."

"Well, at least we got it." he said, setting the briefcase on the table in front of them and opening it up. "A real-live Gree White Parallel device, one of the most powerful types of multiprocessing computers in the galaxy--and it's small enough to hold in one hand. Amazing." He picked it up with one hand, as if to demonstrate. "With this, the planetary regression model will be done in something like two or three weeks . . . and at least two days of that will be downloading all the input data."

"Kinnan, can I ask you a personal question?"

Kinnan was a little thrown by the sudden change of subject. "I suppose so, . . . as long as I can do the same."

"Deal." she responded. "Why is this stuff so important to you? It seems like it's all just academic research, but you're willing to go to such lengths."

"Hmmm." he said, pondering a moment. "Well, I guess when you get down to it, I've always thought of myself as a scientist first and a Jedi second. Most Jedi are okay with thinking of the Force as some kind of mystical thing, but I've never been satisfied with that. I've always wanted to know WHAT the Force is . . . and WHY the Force is. That curiosity is such a big part of me and, frankly, I don't understand why so many Masters just accept the simplistic answers."

"But why this stuff about Darth Nihilus in particular?"

"Now hold on a minute..." he said with a smile. "It's my turn to ask a question. That was the deal."

"Okay, I guess it was. Go ahead."

"How much do you know about your parents?"

"Hmmm." she said, playfully mimicking the way he'd just said it. "I know they're both Sith Lords . . . Darths, I think. I guess technically I'm a Sith, too, since I was born on Dromund Kaas. I was just a little girl the last time I saw either of them. My mother was cold and obsessed with power--a typical Sith, I guess. My father is a little more like you: very smart, very intellectual . . . yet warm and loving. I think he might have made a great Jedi if he'd been born in the Republic. I cried for a week when he sent us away. But, as I learned later, he did it to protect us. I wouldn't have gotten very far as a Sith."

At the moment, she wasn't feeling much like a Jedi, either. The passion that she had invoked earlier was still burning within her, still longing to be satisfied.

"Now then, why Darth Nihilus in particular?"

Kinnan sat back on the couch and sighed. "I had just become a Jedi Knight when the Empire came to Coruscant. I should have been at the Temple to help defend it, but instead I was off celebrating, thinking that life was only going to get better. By the time I was able to get back, the damage had already been done, the Temple had been destroyed, and SO MANY good Jedi were gone . . . just like that.

"I know, looking back, that I was full of anger and hurt and loss and I wanted revenge. Thankfully, the few remaining masters set me straight. The Jedi defend the Republic. Ultimately, my take-away from that experience was that we can never allow something to threaten the Republic like that again . . . and that the threat--the actual threat--is the Emperor himself, not the Empire.

"So I spent basically the entirety of my Knighthood in search of information about the Emperor and what weaknesses he might have. There's precious little information out there, but there have been a few defectors--Lord Scourge, The General--who've passed along some frightening details about his long-term plans.

"We know that, just like Darth Nihilus, the Emperor is trying to feed off of the Force, and off of life itself, destroying what he consumes in order to sustain his existence. But Darth Nihilus had tried to do that same thing, and yet he was defeated, at the height of his power. And like I told you back on Taris, if we can learn about how he was defeated, we should be able to use that knowledge to defeat the Emperor, too.

"Right now, if we expect to preserve the Republic, there is nothing more important than ridding the galaxy of the Emperor--and I believe that understanding the defeat of Darth Nilhilus is the key. That's why."

Kinnan's serious look broke into a smile. "So, now, is it my turn again?"

"Dare." she responded mischievously.

"I'm pretty sure that's a different game."

"Okay, fine." she said with a mock frown. "Ask a question then."

"What's it like to be so strong in the Force? I've never met anyone so powerful and I think I've only ever even heard of two or three others who could do what you can do . . . like, for instance, smashing a small cargo ship into a hangar floor so hard that the repairs to both will probably cost more than the value of the ship."

"You saw that, did you?"

"Uh-huh. And so will half the spaceport by tomorrow morning."

"Well, it had to be done."

"Oh, believe me, I understand--and not just because I was the beneficiary of it. But my question...?"

"Well, . . . I'm not sure how to answer that . . . it's not really something I think about. I've just always been able to use the 'Alter' abilities with ease. My training as a Padawan was mostly about learning to focus on the minute details to do precise things at the microscopic cellular level--it turns out that that's a HUGE part of using the Force for healing . . . that and I needed to learn self-control."

That self-control was on the forefront of her mind, as she was trying really hard to hold back the strong desires she was having for him right now--the still-lingering after-effect of summoning Kallig's assistance. She knew that those desires would just continue to grow, unless . . . .

"Beyond that, it's mostly about learning to concentrate on doing two or three things at once. Master Casei was a great mentor." she continued. "I couldn't have asked for better. I'll never forget the day I once overheard her make an offhand remark that I had gotten even better than she was. That was, like, the best compliment I've ever gotten.

"But as far as what it's like? I was born this way. I don't know what to compare it to."

"All right." he responded. "I suppose that'll have to do. It's your turn."

Dianiss was biting her lower lip, struggling against the sudden urge to ask him something very . . . inappropriate. But instead of what she really wanted to ask, she settled on, "What happened to your eyes?"

Kinnan laughed out loud. "Yes, I figured that question was coming."

"Well...?"

"Sith artifacts can be tricky things. The Sith Lords who create them nearly always devise some kind of cruel 'trial' that one has to pass in order to unlock their secrets. About seven years ago I failed one of those trials because I was overconfident and reckless. When I woke up, they told me a week had gone by and that my eyes--JUST my eyes--had withered away as if they'd aged a thousand years in that time. Evidently this particular Sith was a Miraluka and thought that access to his holocron should be limited to his own race.

"Thankfully, I had already been working with the SIS by then and they were able to assist me with some advanced technology that, honestly, makes my work SO much easier now. Observation is key to any scientific pursuit, and I can 'see' in a variety of modes that extend way beyond visible light now.

"So since we're on the subject of body parts and being able to see things, one the observations I've made about you is that . . . you seem to be quite fond of showing off your legs."

"Yes, and I believe I've caught you 'observing' more than once." she said with a grin, and impishly twisted in her seat toward him so that her legs landed right in his lap. "I don't mind." she reassured him, while stretching her left leg out straight and bending her right leg so that her foot rested on his leg. She deliberately positioned her left leg close to his torso so that she could feel it if she was causing him to have a . . . physical reaction. "And you seem to like what you see." she added with a grin.

Kinnan was suddenly unsure of what to do with his hands, eventually settling on placing them carefully on the top of her left shin. Dianiss' grin widened.

"When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time around Twi'leks. In fact, one of my closest friends--the one I share this condo with--is a Twi'lek. They're a bit more open about intimate relations than a lot of other cultures are, and they don't put a lot of stock in physical modesty."

"Does that answer your question?"

"Um, . . . actually, no. That, . . . that wasn't it.  If you recall, ah . . . I haven't actually asked a question yet." Kinnan was clearly nervous because of the physical contact. "What I was . . . ah . . . it gets pretty cold at night during this time of year on Nar Shaddaa, but still you . . . ah . . . 'dress' this way. And . . . rumor has it that you do this even in the coldest snow-and-ice conditions . . . so . . . don't you get cold?"

Dianiss shrugged her shoulders and nonchalantly said "The Force keeps me warm."

Kinnan's facial expression changed to one of disapproval, which also oddly relieved most of his nervousness. "Now, come on. That's not an answer. I may not be as powerful as you, but I'm still a Jedi and I do know what the Force feels like. If you're not going to be honest with me, . . . ."

Dianiss responded by making a pouty face, then looking away as if pondering something important. After a few moments, she looked back to Kinnan and took a deep breath, as if she'd come to a decision.

"Remember when I said that my mother was obsessed with power? Well, . . . I don't really know the details, but apparently when she was pregnant with me, she did . . . something . . . that bound a powerful dark spirit to me--one of my ancestors."

And he's inside me driving me crazy with these urges right now! she thought to herself.

"That's . . . fascinating." he said. There was genuine amazement on his face as the disapproval completely gave way to curiosity.

"And in fact, I can command his power to boost my own, which makes it possible for me to--"

"--to smash a small cargo ship into a hangar floor so hard that the repairs to both...?"

"Exactly."

"That's . . . really fascinating. It . . . it actually explains a lot."

"When I use that power, it feels like my entire body is on fire, inside and out. But even when I don't, the presence is still there--and even at its most passive, it feels like I'm constantly standing above a small campfire. Don't get me wrong, I'm used to it--and I know in my brain that the sensation is NOT actual, physical heat. But going bare like that--and generally dressing lightly--is one of the biggest ways I can feel comfortable. And the weird part is that the colder it is, the more uncomfortable it is to bundle up."

"Besides..." she added, while switching the positions of her legs, which forced him to slide his hands across her left leg as she did, which felt wonderful. "If I go covering them up, then nice gentlemen such as yourself don't get to 'observe' them, and how could I deprive you of that?" This time it was her left foot in position to feel if she was getting a reaction from him . . . and where she could gently rub that area with the bottom of her foot to tease him a bit.

And she could feel that it was working.

"Um . . . it's late and we've had quite a crazy day." he said, the returning nervousness obvious in his voice. "We should go to . . . I mean . . . get some sleep.  I should..."

"That's a good idea.  You can stay here." she interrupted, and slowly stood up in front of him. "Follow me."

"I think I'll be fine on this couch."

"Oh don't be ridiculous. There are three bedrooms in this place." She nodded her head toward a curved stairway opposite the main entry door. "This way."

Reluctantly, he followed her to another room with similar furnishings, but more Jedi-specific decor. In the center was a soft, modestly large bed. Next to it was a small stand where she carefully placed her lightsaber.

"You'll be much more comfortable here." she said, as she pulled back the covers for him and dimmed the lights with a hand gesture. "Sit."

"Thank you." he said as he sat down, almost in a questioning tone.

Meanwhile, Dianiss went back to the door and closed it--while remaining inside--then stepped over to open a wall panel that revealed a closet full of women's clothes. Now or never. she thought to herself. Standing in front of it, she removed her belt and then began to undo the clasps on the back of her dress.

"Um . . . what are--" he started to ask.

"The Twi'lek have a beautiful cultural tradition." she said, interrupting him. "The women have these pheromones that they secrete when they are interested in a man."

"I don't unders--"

"But I'm human, so I can't do that. But what I can do is the second part, where I show my whole self to you; and the third part, where I grant you any request." As she undid the last clasp, she leaned forward just enough so that her dress would slide down off of her and onto the floor. She allowed him a moment to see her bare back before she finished by undoing the clasps on each side of her panties, which shortly ended up on top of her dress. Then slowly--gracefully, like part of a dance--she turned around to face him.

"Dianiss..." he stammered. "You . . . you know what the Jedi teach us about attachments...."

She just smiled. "Why, Master Kinnan Sig-lapp, I think we both know that that's NOT what this is." she answered as she crawled over the bed to sit beside him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"I believe . . . that it was my turn to ask a question." she added as she began unbuttoning his shirt.

"Um...."

"So what I want to ask you right now is: if we HAD been playing that 'other' game, . . . what would you have dared me to do?"

Continue to Chapter 7 . . . .