Chapter 62: Pay Back
Rey was already gracious for the insight the man had shared with her but couldn't help but ask, "Any advice, as a Jedi."
Primidian's face grew hesitant, then torn, and finally distant as though he wasn't looking at Rey but at someone else from his memories. Just as it seemed he might speak, the computer system on his wrist made a sound, and his head turned to inspect a message. His eyes grew wide, and he remarked, "Our world sure works in mysterious ways." At this point, he stood up and looked to his Goddaughter, "My apologies, my fellow Admirals are trying to make a scene at a Hearing on political term limits." His gaze grew exacerbated as he added, "We're doomed without them."
The Jedi lurched up but then controlled herself and bowed respectfully, "Thank you for the insight."
The Admiral smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, his expression warm, "Rey, there is much I can't tell you, but someday I know you will come to know the truth for yourself." He moved over to the transport door and looked back, adding, "Consider my words and reflect on yourself…" His smile turned confident as he finished, "You'll be fine."
At this, he opened the door and leaped out boldly; Rey rushed over and saw him fall 50 or so feet into a speeder that he landed inside of. He waved back at her as he took a seat and zoomed back the way they had come. The Jedi shook her head and returned to her seat as Emi remarked, "He's rather insufferable, isn't he."
Rey smiled at this and responded, "Completely."
They finished their journey home, and that night, Rey meditated long and hard on what her Godfather had told her. She began to see the issues more clearly and realized for the first time that she was far more flawed than she had believed. Because she had great power, she always believed she had excelled as a Jedi, but now it was clear to her that compared to the expectations of the Old Jedi Order, she was severely lacking. Rey was not devastated or believed by this but rather calmed. It was better to look one's faults in the eye and fight to resolve them than to remain ignorant and suffer for it.
Rey was so deep in her own mediation when Fama came to check in on her she decided on her own to leave her Master alone for the evening. The Jedi used this time well and eventually retired to bed, hoping that when she woke, the base of the Dark Apostles would have been found. In the end, her dream came true, and a familiar face woke her early in the morning.
Poe, looking serious, shook her shoulder till she lurched up and declared, "Rise and shine, let's go catch some cultists."
The Jedi staggered up as a set of robes was tossed at her as her friend exited the room; she changed frantically and stumbled out in time to hear Fama complain, "But I've helped hunt cultists before."
Rey was happy to see the girl but remembered Primidian's lesson and considered herself a student. After thinking of the situation like this, she grew calmer and spoke firmly, "Not this time. We can't have others worrying about you." The child opened her mouth to complain, but her Master raised a hand, "This is not up for debate."
Her tone startled the girl, who crossed her arms and plopped down on a chair, complaining, "You guys get to have all the fun."
Rey walked by her and put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry; you'll grow up soon." Thinking about everything she had recently come to terms with, she added, "We all have to someday."
Poe crossed his arms and asked, "You're not talking about me, are you."
The Jedi shrugged and clarified, "There are rare exceptions."
The man rolled his eyes and gestured with his head to the door, "We'll bicker later. The raid is in twenty minutes."
Rey gulped but steeled herself and responded, "Good, let's go."
As they ran down the hotel's halls, Poe looked over at her and smiled, "Nice job finding these guys; your report was 'amazing.'"
He exaggerated the last words as though to insinuate she had not been the primary Force behind this achievement. The Jedi rolled her eyes and responded, "I did find the lead that made all of this possible."
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Poe nodded as they rushed onto an armored shuttle and shot back, "Which you neglected to tell anyone."
Rey retrieved a blaster and holster from a stockpile and responded, "It was needed to know. I was within my rights."
Poe grabbed his own weapons and nodded to a friend from the Resistance days who had volunteered for the Security Force. He then gripped back, "Your favorite Admiral happened to be on that list?"
The Jedi snorted and responded, "He's the only one around here who seems to be able to get the job done."
Poe rolled his eyes and countered, "I'm just sour you didn't let me in on any of the fun."
Rey smiled at this and nudged his side, "You were busy, and you're here now."
He smiled back and toasted his blaster against the women's lightsaber, "Wouldn't miss it."
The Jedi felt relieved at this but had to ask, "Finn anywhere."
Her friend shook his head glumly, "He's not in good standing right now; he got a little smug with an ex-imperial delegate yesterday."
Rey let out a sigh and grumbled, "When this is all finished, I'll have him meditate for a month."
Poe looked a bit nervous as he responded, "If you can, Marcus has taken a liking to him, and he wants to keep him around."
The Jedi swiftly shook her head, thinking of her deal with Primidian, and responded, "Not happening."
Her old friend became hesitant and remarked, "Well, wait and see then."
Rey snorted and agreed, "Now is not the best time."
The group of battle-hardened warriors circled a hologram that identified their target. Surprisingly, it was a skyscraper on the surface, not even 15 minutes from the hotel the New Republic delegates were at. There was a saying that it was best to hide in plain sight, and this time, it had worked incredibly well. Unfortunately, the cultists had put themselves against a Jedi, and now it was time for their flame to be extinguished.
As they approached the building, a fellow fighter growled, "It's time for some payback."
It wasn't the Jedi way to seek revenge, but Rey couldn't help smiling as the other people in the shuttle let out holes; today wasn't about revenge. It was about justice. They flew up to the 72ed floor and, along with eleven other suttles, broke through the windows and entered the rooms. Their weapons were set for stun, and the first thing Rey saw was a half-asleep man with a steaming mug and a red clock hanging over his shoulder.
As the Jedi stunned the man, she quickly made her way to the door and glanced outside while shouting clearly. She moved through it and into a large open space as a member of the Security Force called out, "Seven in the main room."
Rey spotted the closest one and held up her lightsaber just in time to block a prison shot. She aimed and fired a stun bolt in the same direction and hit her attacker. The battle grew increasingly chaotic at this, and the Jedi saw Cronos and a hooded figure live through some back doors. She tried to chase after them but was knocked off her feet by an explosion that killed more cultists than it harmed the Security Force. Rey springs back up and hears Poe shout, "Go get them. We got this."
She looked back at his confident face and nodded before bounding through the flames to pursue the two leaders. An unexpected fault in her plan was that the door they had gone through was locked, though she managed to cut through its mechanism with her lightsaber. Once, though, she raced forward down a hall but was shot at from two intersecting hallways. She managed to hide behind her own intersection and begin a shootout with these people. By a stroke of good luck, her second shot hit the hand of one of her attackers, allowing her to charge to the next intersection and stun the cultist lurking there.
At this point, the last cultist tossed out a small silver ball and ran in the opposite direction. He clearly didn't know what had happened when a thermo detonator went off in a closed-off space. The blast quickly consumed him while Rey dived deeper into her hall. Once the flames had passed, she scrambled up and sprinted down the burning hallway as alarms blared and various shouts could be heard from every direction. She eventually found herself on a flight deck and saw a covert transport being frantically fueled.
The Jedi wanted to stop this process but a crate of supplies was yeeted at her via the Force. She cut this in half and was then pounced upon by the masked Luca. Rey managed to block his red lightsaber and shout, "You're not getting away this time."
Her opponent snapped back in a wolfish voice, "There's no one to save you this time, Jedi."
He held up a hand, and Rey felt a pressure around her throat, though she countered this with her own control over the Force. The effort gave her a headache, but over the last few days, she had managed to heal a little bit. She then leaped forward, and the two became engaged in a forced lightsaber duel.
Rey had encountered a few wannabe Sith before who had gotten their hands on lost lightsabers, but none of them were as skilled as the man she was facing now. Even compared to being at the ball, his skill with the weapon seemed to have improved. Luckily, although painful, she was able to utilize her most basic level of battle Meditation to aid her.
The two had just clashed and were face to mask when an old voice called, "Luca, retreat."
Rey's opponent let out a grunt and used a Force Push to separate himself from the Jedi before leaping onto the transport that was readying to flee. Rey was ready to follow him, but at this point, dozens of small missiles shouted out from the transport, dealing minor damage and filling the surrounding 1000 feet with smoke. When it cleared, the transport was already zooming away with the Security Force in close pursuit.
The Jedi was displeased she had not been able to capture the leader, but they had taken the base, which was more than enough for one morning. She turned back to the building and returned inside, ready to assist with any remaining cutists or, more likely, clean-up duty.