CHAPTER 13 - BALMORRA - DEVOTION

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Mara placed Telum gently in his bed, making sure to be gentle with him. She pulled a blanket over him and stroked his hair as he remained silent and motionless. Broken on the inside. Mara felt bad, but she knew he needed space, and so she headed up to the cockpit, closing the ship's ramp as Nico just got on.

"What held you?" She asked.

"You'll see." He smirked.

Mara shrugged and manned the ship, giving it lift-off. Leaving the Imperial capital surprisingly intact, Nico detonated the explosives on the lab as he watched a small orange crater spawn on the surface below. Just before Mara could head for Hutt space – her safest bet currently – the holo went off. She sprung out of the seat and answered it. Much to her shock, it was exactly who she was after.

"There you are. The one who hunts us so desperately." It was Raptus.

"You've got a lot of nerve contacting me."

"And you've got a lot of nerve thinking you are worthy of my attention, yet here we are."

"What do you want, filth?" Mara angrily questioned the leader of the Dread Masters.

"You. Come to Balmorra if you think you have the nerve to challenge me. You have been a thorn in our side too long, so I will deal with you myself."

"Oh, I'd like nothing more."

"I'm sure you would. As I'm sure you're itching to see your dear brother again. He's waiting you know, don't keep him waiting. Oh, how I love a family reunion." Raptus laughed at Mara's misfortune.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you..." Mara growled as she clenched her fist.

"Come then, I'll be looking forward to it." Raptus snarled as he ended the communication. Mara ran to the cockpit and quickly set course for Balmorra.

"Hey, can we talk for a minute?" Nico asked Mara.

"What is it?" She replied.

"Frist, who was that?"

"In case you missed it, that was Raptus. Leader of the Dread Masters. The one who murdered my brother."

"Oh."

"Next question?"

"Where are we going?"

"Balmorra. He invited me personally."

"And you're just gonna go?"

"Yes."

"I thought it was Imperial now?"

"It is. Officially. There is a local resistance that's backed by the Republic. We'll dock with them."

"Are you sure they won't turn on us?"

"They like the Jedi there. The Republic, less so. Besides, I fought there a lot and they respect how much I did for them. Though I wasn't for either Republic withdrawal of the planet, I did what I could while I was there."

"Why don't they like the Republic?"

"They've bailed on the planet twice."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Nico."

"Mara?"

"Are you winding me up with these ridiculous questions?"

"No!"

"Then get to the point! I can tell you're hiding something."

"Well, I was gonna ask if we could take five."

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