Assassin (A Star Wars Fan-Fiction) Book 3

Chapter Twenty-Three

"I believe that would be the wisest thing to do." Master Fisto agreed with the young man.

"Did I ask for your opinion?" Gerg snapped. "Why are you even here? To gloat over the fact that you and your damned Order have won? That you've achieved your hell-bent goal of killing two of my best friends and destroying a sacred group of rescuers known most famously for protecting their home planet and other defenseless worlds? Like hell, I'm going to let you take those children away for your pathetic group of hippies to taint with delusions and lies."

"They will die otherwise, I can assure you of that." Fisto countered. "And I won't be taking them to the Jedi Temple, I'd take them somewhere the Council would never even assume to look. They don't even know these babies exist and I'd like to keep it that way." Gerg raised an eyebrow in suspicion. 

"And why is that? What do you have to gain from this?"

"Believe it or not, I cared about Denali more than you'd even imagine. She was like a daughter to me and I..." The Nautolan Jedi master broke off from his sentence and inhaled deeply. The guilt was overpowering, the failure truly taking a terrible toll on this man's state. He'd failed her. After he'd trained her, taught her, formed a bond with his student that could never be broken...he let her down. "She was my responsibility. By letting the Council remove her from the Order, I've failed her. I know its far too late to make it up to her, but...I can at least try."

Gerg thought for a moment and began to pace back and forth. No doubt contemplating whether or not this was a good idea.

"Where exactly is this far away place the Jedi Council won't find them?"

"Kamino, there's a cloning facility-"

"Controlled by the Republic. I'm not stupid, Jedi. That's a terrible place to hide them." Gerg argued. "They'd be easy to find. Way too easy. You may as well just give them up if you take them from here."

"I assure you, the Kaminoans are a very private people. Yes, they work for the Republic, but they've worked for many other clients before as well. If we pay them enough, they'd keep Denali's children a secret. Even from the Council. Their code of secrecy is unbreakable, especially when-"

"You don't have the money." Fisto was cut off by the bounty hunter. "Not enough to trump the amount the Republic is paying them. No one has that kind of money."

"Except you." Fisto retorted. "You're disbanding your group, what are you going to do with all those credits this organization has gathered over the years? How many thousands of credits do you have stored up for emergencies? Millions? Maybe even billions? Why not use that to save the last you have of her? Please, let me help you. I can take them right now and you'll never have to worry about them again-"

"On one condition." Gerg's low voice nearly growled. "You have to swear to leave Chewbacca, Sekhmi, and Boba Fett alone. The three are to be pardoned for all crimes they've committed against your Order and travel with me from now on."

"But Chewbacca is Master Windu's padawan-"

"If he hasn't killed him yet, along with all those other troopers he slaughtered today." Kit Fisto's eyes widened at that news. "You can take them, all three of those babies and hide them away. Along with all the money in the Rancor Slayer savings. But only if you let me take the Togrutian, Wookiee, and human boy without being tracked down by your god-forsaken Order. Do we have a deal?" Gerg's words were harsh and powerful, slowly working up in volume to the point of shouting. But Kit didn't hesitate to nod.

"Doctors, you know what to do." Gerg told them. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have funerals I need to arrange."

* * * * * * * * * *

He was so close. The blades were mere inches away from the fiend's neck, so near to the skin that the heat made Mace Windu's sweat turn into steam. The wookiee could feel it, he could feel the Force flowing through him, urging him to finish the demon off. To kill him, to avenge his master. But no matter how much power he put into his hands and arms, Chewbacca just could not push that last inch. The clones were retreating, they'd been beaten. One objective down, now all he had to do was finish off this disgusting burden to the galaxy. But still, something was stopping him.

Or someone.

"Chewie..." Both Mace and the Wookiee followed the direction the voice had come from. Their eyes fell upon someone Chewie had hoped would've arrived sooner, before he'd achieved such a loss that he could hardly feel any emotion anymore. Things would've occurred so differently if only he'd come sooner, if only he'd arrived when Anakin had.

Obi-Wan had his hands held up in a grasping stance and his expression was one of warning. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to. But here he was, Denali's former apprentice, about to murder a Jedi master in cold blood. Cold, vengeful blood.

"Don't do this...you're better than that." The wookiee just smirked sadly at the man's tone. Slowly, ever so slowly, the smirk turned into a sad laugh and he turned his lightsabers off. Chewbacca's arms hung at his sides lazily and he sat down on the floor of the gunship, then draped his legs over the edge of the ship's exit. From the view they had of the child, it appeared as if his shoulders were jolting with laughter, but as a wave of sadness rolled through the air like a storm cloud, Obi-Wan realized the wookiee was shaking with choked sobs.

The tears of a boy who'd lost a mother. 

"She's gone, Obi-Wan..." Chewie cried and set down the lightsaber hilt of his dead master. Denali's lightsaber. "She's gone..."