Star Wars: Offspring

Chapter 4

From Brine’s perch, he had a head-on view of the Trandoshan caravan approaching him. He visually confirmed the numbers. The curved part of the road in front of him would be ideal though for an attack. He was shrouded in the apex of the turn, able to see a great distance down both ends of the road. If he had the rest of his Platoon with him, it would be a merciless kill zone. But it was just him and his Jedi friend and the drone buzzing overhead, inaudible to the human ear.

Jace gathered what would amount to a bad holodrama costume. He’d been watching some history holo presentation on some Jedi that survived the great purge. He’d try the Dass Jennir look. He’d look curious enough to stop an Imperial war procession. He reached out with the force and jarred the scuttled speeder from its dusty grave.

Huhunna gazed intently at the view screen through the electronic eyes of PD-3. She wished this thing could detect vital signs or heat signatures. Not knowing the condition of her offspring was troubling her and the haughty manner the enemy was strutting down the dirt road aggravated her to no end. How could she let her child … the thought was interrupted but a sudden realization. She didn’t know where Leelah was. The child had dismounted off of her shoulder … or had she been thrown off when she was raging? She put PD-3 on auto mode and bounded out of the bridge in a panicked search.

Syysskryl and his men pulled around the bend with their prizes in tow. They were neither jubilant nor celebratory but anxious. Anxious for the hunt, anxious for the kill, anxious for … what was that smell?

“Father, up ahead.” Kyssylyk’s arm sprang up and pointed ahead.

As the procession rounded the curve, there was a human sitting on the side of the road, cross legged in a meditative pose, hands pressed together in front of a bowed head. He was wearing a pointed disc of a hat that was as wide as his shoulders. The covering was strapped to his head with a chin strap and obscured the view of his eyes. He had long, dirty robes that hid his body, but what was visible was covered in grease and grime. An old looking and defunct speeder lay behind him, obviously gutted as if he’d been trying to fix it. Syysskryl lifted his right hand in a fist and stopped the procession, yet still unsure how to address the strange being before them.

She wasn’t anywhere. Huhunna began to panic. She couldn’t smell her. Leelah was gone. On a desperate whim, she burst through the hatch into the med bay. Not here either, but the med fridge was hanging wide open. A quick look froze her Wookie blood in her veins. The stim-syringe pack was gone.

She jumped back into the navigator’s seat and took control of the drone again. Huhunna cranked the control stick and brought the drone’s cameras back towards the ship. She frantically scanned the holes in the forest canopy for movement. The man Jace Diran’s offspring was trouble, wild unpredictable trouble.

She saw a streak, a blur really, and then a rustling of leaves, birds lifting off into flight. The series of events seemed to be making their way towards the conflict zone.

Jace Stood up in such a rapid manner that everyone pulled out and aimed a weapon of some kind at him. With arms stretched out to his sides he walked towards the dewback with long dramatic strides. He deepened his voice and tried to sound mystical. “Friends. I knew you would come.” He stepped forward. “Do you speak basic?”

Syysskryl hacked and spit out a Trandoshan curse and hissed “Of coursssse we ssspeak your dull language, human. Why are you on our moon, interrupting our travelssss?” The two guards began to move to flanking positions, rifles at the ready.

“I have come on a spiritual journey … to find … myself.” That sounded stupid, he thought.

“Only humansss lossse themselvesss and cannot find them.” Kyssylyk proclaimed as the guards chuckled with him. Perhaps the hunt would start early.

“Friends. I am almost at my destination, but my speeder has broken and I am in need of a hydrospanner and a few spare parts to complete my journey.” His eyes scanned

“You better have a good reason for being the only human in our system.” Syysskryl’s voice became menacing. “I’d say you’ve found trouble for yourself instead.”

Brine was temporarily distracted by the rapid tones coming from his mobile scanner broadcasting in his ear. Every life form detected made a normal tone, like the ones droning away in his ear for the last twenty minutes. When something was rapidly approaching the scanner the tones were higher pitch and more frequent. Something was inbound, quickly. It was right on top of them.

“Any day now.” Jace stated out loud partially nodding his head. The Trandoshans looked at one another in confusion. “Yep, any day now.”

“What is Ahh-nee Dah-noh?” Syysskryl had an incredulous look on his already puzzled reptilian face. He signaled the rear guards to come forward. They had special blasters fitted with Tranq-darts. They turned and drew near to their new target.

Jace stole a glance down the road and thought he saw a puff of dirt settling just behind the legs of the guard on his side of the road … as if something had just slid underneath the wheeled crates.