VI
"Master, I am sorry to disturb you," Saul says. The dimmed lights of Darth Vang's private chamber gradually adjust to the presence of the intruder, filling the room with an eerie red light. Saul kneels before the robed figure who sits perfectly still on his throne chair, his arms extended as if inviting the very universe to pass through his being.
"I cannot feel them," Vang says without looking up. He shakes his head. "No. It's not that I cannot feel them. They are here—I know it. Yet their presence is distorted . . . fleeting." He opens his eyes. "Interesting." Vang motions for his subject to rise.
"Their shuttle has not been maintenanced since they fled from Rios, so it is leaving a distinct clouded ion trail. It disperses rather quickly, so we have only been able to pick up scattered traces of it. The traces, however, prove they have recently been in this system."
Vang motions toward the large monitors filling the walls of his chamber. "Let me see the results of your scan."
Saul walks over and taps a few buttons, causing the walls to burst into multiple displays of the Geonosian system with its speckled, brightly colored planets revolving around a brilliant red sun that ripples and shoots solar flares thousands of miles into space. But the brilliance of the display is lost on Vang who sees only capital and strategic positioning. The planets, to him, are merely pawns on a holo-chess board.
"As you can see," says Saul, pointing to the bits of data flashing across the screen, "none of the habitable planets show signs of Isis or the Jedi. There are a few small settlements, primarily on Geonosis, but preliminary scans turn up no signs of their shuttle. They could be hiding it or may have abandoned it altogether, though it is unlikely they are either resourceful enough to cloak it from us or desperate enough to strand themselves in such an isolated system." Saul pauses with reluctance. "We can take a closer look if you like. It will take time, though, and if they aren't here, we'll be giving them opportunity to once again distance themselves from us."
Vang steeples his spindly fingers, examining the images carefully. "What about this planet here," he says, pointing to a small planet on the far edge of the system. "Nede' Fo-Nedrag. Why were no scans performed?"
"We tried, master, but all were inconclusive. The planet has a crust rich in a highly charged ore that distorts our scanners, so we can't get an accurate read."
Vang narrows his eyes in contemplation. "That is where they are, then. Their own cleverness betrays them. I can feel a ripple in the Force—a distortion. They are using that planet's unique pull to mask their presence. That is why I cannot clearly perceive them. But they are there. Set a course and call in the other Destroyers. Have them seal off all direct routes out of the system."
"As you wish." Saul turns quickly and heads back to the bridge, relieved to be out of the calculating view of Vang.
"You stay here," Raun says, pausing a moment from gathering weapons and supplies to point a finger at his nervously pacing companion. "I'm going after Sahria and I don't want to have to worry about you, too."
Padawan grimaces. "But I saved your backside back there. If it weren't for my detonators . . ."
"I said we'll talk about those later." Raun continues shoving supplies in a large backpack. "Frankly, I don't care if you carry around a mini ion cannon in your pocket, but Sahria feels quite differently.
"You know I can help," the boy pleads. "I'm a good shot and you know it."
"You are. And I hope you're a good pilot, too, 'cause that's what I need right now." Raun reaches over and pushes a button on the intercom to summon KP-3, who lumbers back into the common room with a huff. "While I'm gone, I need you to give Padawan a primer course on how to fly this thing. My com link won't work in this charged atmosphere, so when I find Sahria, I'll send up a flare. I need you two to keep a constant vigil downriver and come pick us up as soon as I signal."
KP-3 throws up his hands in anger. "Now I'm a Governess droid, tutoring the whiny little protégé?" He glares at Padawan, whose mood has lightened at the thought of learning to fly the shuttle.
"I don't have time to argue, KP. Just do what you're told."
"I will if I must, but I will not change the little brat if he soils himself."
"Don't worry. I think he's potty trained by now," Raun growls, pointing to the cockpit. "Just watch the monitor, OK?"
KP jerks around, purposefully banging into everything in his path as he makes his way back to the cockpit where he slams into his seat.
"But how will you find her?" Padawan asks distractedly, his mind already running though heroic scenarios involving him at the controls of the shuttle, making death-defying maneuvers around large, hostile life forms.
"Simple," Raun replies, pointing out the hatch. "Just follow the river."
Sahria raises her head and rolls over, unaware of how long she has been lying on the ground. Her robes are soaked and her muscles ache from the battle to stay afloat in the rapid current. She had not thought the situation through before jumping into the river and had struggled for her life for nearly an hour before managing to grab a limb from a fallen tree and heaving herself onto dry ground. Crawling to the bank in search of a place to collapse, she had surmised that she was at least a good day's walk from the shuttle before succumbing to a sleep of utter exhaustion.
Now awake with alertness slowly returning, every move brings a gasp of pain. Through her anguish, hunger beckons and she struggles to scan the shoreline for food. Spotting a cluster of familiar berries, she reaches to see if her lightsaber is still attached, sighs in relief to feel it bulging at her hip, and unfastens it from its harness. After slowly crawling to where the fruit is hanging overhead, she pulls herself to sitting and ignites her weapon, sending a ripe cluster of berries falling into her lap with a quick stroke. Greedily she scoops the berries into her mouth, undeterred by their richly metallic taste. She eats till red juice flows down her face leaving a wide, blood-like stain on the front of her robe.
Replenished with nourishment, she collapses and drifts back to sleep. Some time later she returns to consciousness with a start, aware that the sun is quickly sliding into the distant horizon. Realizing she has slept away most of the day, she reaches for the strength to pull herself to standing and starts down the river back in the direction from which she had come, hobbling along while using her lightsaber to clear a path though the thick, tangled undergrowth.
A flurry of Sneats hurry into the large, square landing craft that fill the hangar deck as Riddick approaches Saul and Darth Vang, firing a subtle look of disdain at the former before addressing the latter. "Master, have we chosen a landing site?"
Vang nods at Saul, cueing him to speak as Vang himself cared not to explain himself to a subordinate. Saul turns and points to a map of the surface. "This continent here is their most likely landing point, having the greater resources and providing the most cover. It is also the most treacherous due to its unpredictable wildlife." He touches the screen and the holograph focuses in. "We're scanning for scorch marks or breaks in the tree line, but have yet to find anything conclusive. Because our sensors are scrambled, we cannot differentiate between ion scorching and lighting strikes." He zooms the screen in further. "This region here provides the flattest terrain, however making it their likely landing point. We'll land in the middle and let the Sneats comb the forest for signs of the fugitives."
Riddick looks him in the eyes, sneering in contempt. "And if we find them, will you kill them or simply attempt to make love to an old friend?"
Saul's face goes rigid, but he restrains his anger. "This mission will be successful. I'll see to that personally."
"Personally? Getting personal is your weakness."
Saul maintains his composure, refusing to be baited in front of Vang. "Get to your ship and save your posturing for the cowardly Sneats who will be more impressed by your second-hand skills with the Force than I." He turns and walks crisply toward his own craft, leaving Vang smiling at the aggression of his attack dogs.
With a loud thud Raun hits the ground, his foot caught in a tangle of thorny vines that writhe and pull at him with snakelike fluidity. "Damn," he says, wondering what the plants would do if they actually managed to wrap him up. He gropes for his knife and attempts to free himself in the waning light, careful not to draw blood. In a few moments he is loose and off again, but quickly finds himself entangled in another clump of the clingy vines.
This time he is able to wrestle his foot free without his knife, but sighs in defeat at the futility of fighting such hostile and unfamiliar terrain in the growing darkness. He had hoped to find Sahria before nightfall and didn't like the idea of leaving her alone to face the night in whatever shape she might be in, but he figures things will only get worse if he trips and falls in the river himself or stumbles into some unseen snare in the dark.
He walks a little further till he finds a flat spot beside the river where he clears out the undergrowth with his knife before making a lean-to with the fallen branches and the large, thick leaves from the trees around him. After a brief internal debate on whether or not it is prudent, he lights a small fire and retrieves same rations from his backpack. The nutrition pouch doesn't taste nearly as bland as usual after his exhaustive hike, and he leans back watching the fire and reflecting on his situation.
The night is deceivingly peaceful, with the call of a strange, distant bird lending the thick air an idyllic charm. He is keenly aware he is not lounging in paradise, however, and Raun tries to stay alert as long as he can, listening for any sound of approaching threats. Despite his best efforts to guard against the night's unknown dangers, however, he slowly drifts off as his small fire burns down to a hot bed of glowing embers.
"Get up you lazy, filthy creatures," Riddick snarls as he shuts off the controls to the landing craft and stands. Grabbing a metal rod from a pile of discarded parts in the corner, he walks through rows of slumbering Sneats and starts caning them sharply across the back. Sneats are not nocturnal creatures and quickly fade with the setting sun, but the fury of Riddick's voice and the power of his staff soon has the creatures scurrying and crying out with fear, trying to get in line before being glanced by another harsh blow.
"Worthless vermin," he hisses as he pushes them out the door into the forest where two other landing craft are waiting for him, their crews of Sneats also struggling for consciousness.
As the creatures line up outside the ships, Riddick takes his place at the side of two other Sith warriors who are awaiting commands from their master. "It will be light soon," Vang says in his low, guttural hiss. "There's no use having them start their sweep now, for these creatures are too ignorant to conduct effective nighttime operations." He looks around the forest, contemplating his options for a moment. "When daylight breaks, have them make a broad sweep of the area and work back towards this central point. Though I cannot feel the precise location of the Jedi and her companions, I sense we are close enough to catch them in our net. Instruct your Sneats to seek high ground and search for signs of fire or disturbances in wildlife."
Saul, Riddick, and Betrecius all bow and turn to order their troops into the forest as Vang closes his eyes and reaches out with the Force, trying to penetrate the muddy image presented by Nede Fo'Nedrag's distorting influence.
Sahria opens her eyes and, perceiving daylight, springs to her feet with a sudden burst of adrenaline. Despite the damp discomfort of her makeshift campsite and a stomachache from the quickly-consumed sour berries, she had fallen into a deep sleep which lasted, to her dismay, well past sunrise.
After finding the strength to walk for several hours the previous evening, she had climbed a steep rock wall on the edge of the river and taken shelter on a promontory rock, concluding that it would be a better vantage point from which to spot approaching danger and defend herself if necessary. Before she drifted off to sleep she had spied a light on the riverbank somewhere in the distance which had given her a glimmer of hope. Could it have been a campfire lit by Raun and Padawan coming in search for her, or was it some unknown creature endowed with luminescent qualities meant to lure in curious prey? Friend or foe, it was in her path and she wanted to deal with it as soon as possible.
Her mind slowly shaking off the cobwebs of sleep, she grabs another handful of berries and plunges back into the forest. Progress is slow and she must clear a path as she goes with her lightsaber, but she pushes on steadily, eager to confront the mystery of the distant light.
"Put it down now!" screams KP-3, slamming his fist onto the console. "I'm going to lock you up in the cargo hold if you don't start listening, you insolent little sentient."
"Calm down," Padawan responds as he guides the shuttle above the tree line. "I just want to take a quick peak."
KP leans forward to activate the manual override. "It is not our job to 'take a peak.' We are waiting for that half-witted master of mine to fire a flare and summon us to his beckon call. If he doesn't burn down the entire forest with his pyrotechnics, then and only then will we lift this shuttle off the ground and go pick him up."
Padawan steals a quick look across the forest canopy before the droid wrestles away control of the ship. "I wanna see if I can spot whatever it was that made that string of lights last night."
KP-3 eases the craft back down to the ground. "Have you stopped to think that it might be in our best interest not to be spotted by whatever or whoever made those lights?" The droid turns to Padawan, wishing he had facial muscles so he could scowl. "It defeats the purpose of hiding if we announce our presence to every single being on every last planet we land on."
Padawan falls back in his chair and sighs. "I just can't stand the waiting. What if something happened to them?"
"If we discover that something has happened to Master Isis and lady Sahria and they do not return, then I will fly straight to the nearest smuggling port and sell you to the first slavers I can find." KP calls up a training hologram simulating the ship's course out of the planet's atmosphere. "Now see if you can make this ascent without killing us this time."
Sahria stops by the river and splashes some water on her face, letting it drip down her neck and trickle down the small of her back. She sighs with exhaustion. The planet's oppressive humidity more than makes up for its lack of flying pests on the misery scale, and, if the heat were not enough, the magnetic pull of the soil continuously weighs at her lightsaber and boot buckles. To top it off, the high metallic content of the unfiltered water keeps her on the verge on nausea. She is constantly torn between desperate thirst and a strong aversion to drinking due to the wave of cramps each sip brings.
After foraging for food, she forces down some bitter fruit as she rests on a rotting stump and listens to the forest around her. The air is calm. A slight breeze rustles the leaves above and a few strange and distant birdcalls float through the air. She looks up and shutters as she notices the rhythmic swaying at the tops of one particular species of trees. What had been so well-hidden before was now obvious: Those thick, green leaves were actually a mass of writhing, waiting serpents. They did not stir without provocation, however, and Sahria took care not to mess with their closely guarded crop.
A few minutes later she stands to depart, but stops suddenly, listening again to the forest around her. Something is not quite right, though she can't place what. She looks around and struggles to connect with the voice gnawing at the back of her mind, the reason for her concern finally dawning on her. It was the silence. Why so quiet?
Suddenly something pushes through the brush behind her and she swings around, trying to unsheathe her lightsaber. Before she can retrieve her weapon, a man wearing a black robe with a blood red sash emerges from the forest.
Sahria frees her lightsaber and struggles to raise it above her head as the man reaches into his sash and launches a blade at her. Neither foe is able to strike swiftly, their respective weapons fighting against the planet's magnetic pull. The man holds his hand out, working to maintain control of his projectile as it hurtles erratically through the air. Sahria swings her lightsaber, trying to steady its arc. He wins.
The blade strikes the shaft of Sahria's lightsaber, sending it to the forest floor with a thud. Instinct cries for her to dive after the weapon, but she stands sill, stunned to witness the familiar face before her. "Sahria," the man says, lowering his arms in a sign of truce. "I didn't come to kill you. I sought you out to save your life."
Silence hangs heavy in the air as she searches for a response. "Pérdidious Se'ãul, first-born of the House of Sith. After such a long and silent absence, you suddenly appear out of nowhere to offer me mercy?" Her face contorts with disgust. "Like you showed mercy to the Clerics of Rios? My family. Our family."
The man holds her gaze without flinching. "I have left that name behind. I am now simply known as Saul." He pauses. "As for the Clerics, I am truly sorry. I tried to stop it, but there are forces at work here that are beyond your comprehension."
"What? You think I don't understand how Vang has come to distort and exploit the Force." She shakes her head. "Don't fool yourself. There is nothing to comprehend. Senseless massacre defies comprehension."
Saul approaches her, holding out a hand. "They were fools—all of them. They didn't understand the power they were flirting with, so they were consumed by what they failed to comprehend." He pauses and looks into her eyes. "But you—you have felt what they were too blind to see. If you join us . . ."
"Join you! Join what?"
"Join our quest to bring sanity to the universe!" His eyes suddenly blaze with passion. "Peace does not come without sacrifice. But Darth Vang intends to unite the galaxy and end all the fighting. Under his rule, we can help ensure justice—true justice—not this endless litany of meaningless and unenforceable decrees set down on parchment by a bunch of cowardly, self-motivated politicians."
Sahria throws her arms out, her eyes wide with incredulity. "That's what this is about: The arrogant delusions of a jaded cleric who has learned a new magic trick and now thinks he can rule the galaxy?"
"It's no delusion." Saul's voice turns suddenly cold. "Vang has tapped into powers you can't begin to imagine, and he's growing stronger. His fellow clerics thought he was delusional, and now they are gone. Soon he will be able to wipe out whole populations that doubt his strength. The only choice is to join him or die."
Sahria turns away, trying to hide the effect his chilling words have on her. "I won't die. And I won't join him . . . or you. Especially you."
"Sahria, don't turn away. I'm the same as I always was—the same person I was when we were children."
Sahria turns back around, her eyes filling with tears. "The same person?" She shakes her head. "You ruthlessly slaughtered every friend and family member we ever knew! And not only without mercy, but with pride and joy in your task. You are a thousand parsecs removed from the person I knew."
Saul tries to put his hand on her shoulder but she pulls away. "I didn't kill anyone on Rios. I didn't want it to happen, but there was no way to avoid it. I had no choice in the matter."
"There is always a choice! Whether you wielded a blade or sat back like a coward and let those hideous . . . beasts . . . do your dirty work, the blood of every man, woman, and child of Rios is on your hands." She throws her arms open. "So if you're going to kill me, do it now. Strike me down while I'm unarmed, because that's how cowards strike."
Saul shakes his head. "I'm not going to kill you, so please just listen to what I'm saying. I sensed your presence and found you when the other couldn't. There is still a bond between us. Join me and I promise we will make things right in the end."
Sahria laughs. "I think you're a big enough fool to actually believe what you're saying." She tries to push past him. "But if you're not going to kill me, then you'll have to excuse me. I'm looking for someone." She reaches for the lightsaber, but he steps on it to keep it from her grasp.
"Your friends will die, Sahria. If you leave now, so will you."
She swings back around. "I'd rather die with a friend than live with a coward. Now kill me or leave."
Before Saul can respond, their attention is attracted by something approaching from upstream. They both turn to see Raun emerge from the brush.
"Sahria!" Raun starts to smile at the sight of his lost companion, but then notices the robed figure at her side. With a jolt of adrenaline, he drops to the ground and draws his blaster.
Saul reaches to his sash for a blade but Sahria lunges, swinging her arm to block his. She pushes through his chest with her other arm, and they both tumble to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Raun hesitates, unable to get a clear shot as the two combatants roll across the damp forest floor. After a few moments of struggle, Saul rolls Sahria over and pins her down. Sahria bends one leg and plants a foot in Saul's torso, sending him flying backwards against a tree. She jumps up and scoops up her lightsaber, retreating to the edge of the clearing where Raun waits.
"I'd be careful where I put my hands if I were you," says Raun, aiming steadily at Saul's chest, holding his blaster with both hands to fight the planet's gravity.
Saul stands up slowly, laughing as he brushes himself off. "Do you truly think I perceive you as a threat?" He smirks. "Besides, even if you could somehow injure me, your time is already up." He motions to the forest behind him. "Can't you hear them coming? There's no time to flee."
Sahria and Raun both pause and listen. The sound of creatures pushing through the undergrowth, unnoticed during their scuffle, is now alarmingly apparent. Raun shrugs. "We still have time to kill you before we go."
"I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere," says a strange voice. Another man clad in the same robes as Saul steps out of the forest holding a blade in each hand, one aimed at Raun and the other at Sahria. "It's too late for that, though you may go ahead and blast my companion if you wish."
"Riddick," Saul says coolly. "I see you've arrived late, as usual."
"And I see you've failed to carry out your mission, as usual, letting these weaklings get the upper hand on you."
The commotion in the forest behind them grows louder and a dozen or more Sneats break through the edge of the clearing with their blasters drawn and blood lust in their eyes. Riddick holds up a hand. "Hold off: Vang wants the prisoners alive. He wants to ensure their deaths are appropriately slow and painful. Fire only if they try to escape. Unless, of course, you'd like to offer your lives in their place."
The creatures snort and hiss in anger, but stop their advance, keeping their weapons trained on their prey.
Sahria turns to Riddick. "So this is how you're going to conquer the galaxy? With these mindless vermin? Vang must be more desperate than I thought."
Riddick snorts. "You may have felt glimpses of the Force, but you still don't realize its infinite power. But you will. In your last dying thoughts, as Vang tires of your insignificant suffering, you will come to understand the enormity of his power and the inevitability of his control of the galaxy."
"Control of the galaxy?" Raun blurts as Sahria and Riddick hold each other's gaze. "That's what this is all about? I feel like I'm trapped in one of those melodramatic holo-vision features from my childhood. I guess now we just wait for the cackling mastermind."
"Don't worry," Riddick replies, "your curtain call will come shortly."
"Speaking of curtains," Sahria says, looking up, "it looks like the curtain of trees above us is ripe with fruit." She looks at Raun, who puzzles at where she is going, then back at Riddick. "I haven't eat all day. Could we at least grab a few pieces while we wait for Vang? A last supper?"
Raun hides a smile.
"You can't possible be concerned with food in these last moments before your death," Riddick says, looking at her suspiciously. "If your mind is not focused, I can give you a preview of what's in store."
"It is an honorable request," Sahria continues, pointing to a large, red bulb hanging from a distant tree with her unengaged lightsaber. "Just a few pieces. If Vang is as powerful as you say, then I need marshal my energy before facing him. If I am to die, I don't want die dishonorably, without a struggle."
Riddick's eyes narrow with anger.
Sahria ignites her lightsaber, causing the Sneats to flinch.
"Disengage your weapon," Riddick warns.
"I only want to cut down a branch." She waves the lightsaber at a limb hanging above Saul and Riddick. "I wouldn't expect such a great warrior to be intimidated by such a simple request."
Riddick and Saul follow the trajectory of her lightsaber with their eyes. As soon as they break eye contact, Sahria hurls her weapon at the branch and she and Raun dive for cover. The heavy limb crashes down on the Sith, taking several Sneats with them. The remaining Sneats fire in Sahria and Raun's direction, but only get off a few shots before a barrage of large, green serpents begins to rain down on them, knocking them to the ground. Before Riddick and Saul can free themselves from the branch, they find themselves under attack. The Sneat around them cry out in panic as they are overwhelmed by the sudden army of angry reptiles.
Raun and Sahria plunge into the forest, not pausing to watch as the serpents latch onto the fallen Sneats, intent of crushing them for their disturbance. Once secure with their distance from the serpents and the Sith, they head away from the river in an erratic path to evade pursuit. Without Sahria's lightsaber, they struggle to penetrate the thick vegetation, ignoring the cuts and scrapes they acquire as they bull their way through the thick undergrowth. The sharp green and gold leaves snap back and cut their faces, blurring their vision as a mixture of blood and sweat pours into their eyes.
"We've got to find a clearing," Raun screams as he pushes on. "Padawan is watching for us to send up a flair so he and KP can pick us up."
"Vang will be watching too," Sahria replies, dropping and rolling under a log then springing back to her feet in a single motion.
"It's our only chance." Raun tries to leap over the fallen tree but stumbles, lacking her sharpened reflexes. He tumbles onto the ground but quickly regains his feet and speeds to catch up with her. "We've just gotta hope that KP is quicker."
They push on blindly, alternating their path frequently to elude pursuit. Behind them, the sound of laser blasts and screaming Sneats soon fades away, indicating that either the serpents have finished off their pursuers or, more likely, the survivors have freed themselves and taken up pursuit. Reinforcements will likely have been notified by now as well, Raun thinks with a frown.
After nearly a half hour of random flight, Raun points off to the right. "Look over there. It looks like the sun shining through."
They veer right and soon spill out onto a narrow meadow bordering a wide, still pond. After a quick look around to ensure the clearing is wide enough for a landing, Raun digs his flare gun out of his sack. "Time to place our bet and hope Padawan is the first to call." A brilliant burst of color explodes into the air from the nozzle of the gun, alerting all prying eyes to their presence.