Beyond - Legends The Aperion Principle - Chapter 7 posted: Drex and Nika on the run / Jacen recovers and remembers

Yikes! You caught me lurking!

Loving this so far.

 

And we're back after several weeks. I have Chapter 7 posted below. Sorry I was late but Darth Real Life intervened once again. Also below, just before the chapter, is a short summary so far, since it has been a while. When I started this epic, I was always nervous about writing a fan fic epic with primarily OCs rather than basing it on the Solos or Skywalkers. Somehow I think that could be why it doesn't get reviewed often. I have plans for this epic which means many twists are coming. In the meantime, enjoy and review as you see fit. Thanks for reading.

The story so far.....​

X-Tec Corporation attacked the suite that Drex, Nika, Cilghal, and Jacen were in by surprise. The lab was destroyed after all data was collected by the militia, ordered by X-Tec Head of Security, Ciser. Drex faced Ciser in a showdown until Jacen Solo intervened and defeated all of the soldiers. Ciser rammed Jacen into the wall repeatedly until he was down. Drex used the Force to throw Ciser backwards, since he couldn't sense the Head of Security in the Force. Ciser got up anyway. Nika appeared outside the suite in an air-speeder. She blasted the viewport open, which also hit Ciser in the chest knocking him down. Wires and circuitry were exposed under Cisier's skin. A droid?​

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Meanwhile, Drex uses the Force to jump into the air-speeder and escapes with Nika. A chase with the X-Tec militia and Nika ensues around the nightlife of Coruscant. A chance to end the chase came to Nika in the form of she and Drex jumping off the speeder just before it crashed deep under the Vong mist in the Industry section of Coruscant. This creates the illusion of their deaths to the X-Tec soldiers. Nika and Drex find an abandoned break room of a factory and stay the night. Nika and Drex are officially on the run and have to adjust to their new situation. ​

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Chapter 7​

Drexal Connick opened his eyes to the blaring Coruscant sun shining through the office window. He lifted up his neck to be greeted with a crick in his neck, courtesy of his position on the sofa. He looked down at the ebony curls that belonged to Nikala Jordana. Her head rested peacefully on his chest. He savored the moment of bliss for a brief moment. Who knew when he would experience it again?

After they found the entrance to the abandoned factory, they rummaged through the rest of the floor and found an enclosed office. More likely the former owner had been a manager or a foreman. Inside was a desk and to the side against the opposite wall was a small sofa. It was barely large enough for the both of them. After they cleared the debris and chased the critters away, they laid down together. Both of them fell asleep immediately.

When he awoke, Drex was surprised that he could sleep at all with all that had been going on the previous day. The homemade lab that Jacen Solo and Luke Skywalker helped him set up was gone. More importantly, the research into the mysterious genetic protein was gone too. Add to the fact that X-Tec, his former employer, had their own private militia who were now hunting them. He was forced to admit that this was their life now. All of those years of his living the quiet mundane lifestyle were ruined by the discovery of a secret lab he found at X-Tec. The real secret was that the company was using the lab for secret experiments that involved injecting a Force-infused DNA protein which created Force abilities into people with no Force potential. Eleven volunteers had been injected. The twelfth was himself, though he suspected his was not planned. Nine of the volunteers had been killed from the counter effects of the protein. X-Tec made their deaths look either accidental or by natural causes.

Despite everything Drex had on his mind, there had been one constant in his life for the last two years. Nika. She had stuck with him. In many instances since he came home early from work that day he found the lab, Nika had helped them escape. Always in surprising ways. How she knew to do the things she had done since they left Taris was a mystery to Drex. He knew she was raised on the street, but nothing this extensive. She never liked to talk about her past much. Now that he gained Force powers, he could sense that she was holding back large chunks of her past. She gave him small details but never enough to understand the real her. Maybe he was never supposed to.

Without warning, Nika let out a yawn and lifted her head off his chest. She took her hand to massage her neck. "Oh, that wasn't the best position."

He uttered, "Guess I don't make a good pillow."

She reached up and planted a kiss on his lips. She pulled back and said, "I was referring to my awkward position I slept in. If not for you playing the role of a cushion, I would have never gone to sleep." She sat up and lifted herself on the couch and started stretching. He repeated the action without stretching.

She let out a big sigh and uttered, "Oh, what I wouldn't give for a large hot cup of caf right now. I'm sure the caf in those break room machines are rotten."

Never one for small talk, Drex asked her, "So...what's our next move?"

"I told you yesterday during our escape."

"Oh, the escape that involved a speeder chase, a crash through a restaurant sign, and a drive through a dangerous conduit?"

"Boo Hoo. You're still alive. You're welcome, by the way."

"You mentioned getting off Coruscant."

"That I did."

"We'll have to book another star cruiser flight. Would we use the same scheme you used on Taris?"

"No. We won't be able to use the same public transport as we did before."

"Why not?"

"Well, Drex, there's a huge difference now. We were unknowns then. We could still use our own ident cards. I'm sure our pictures and names are plastered all over the space ports on Coruscant by now. We need new looks and credits. We'll have to use my stash."

"You mentioned that last night. Where is it?"

"Hopefully in the same place I left it. Lower Coruscant."

Drex gulped. "Lower Coruscant?" Drex started pacing around the office. "Are we sure we can't contact Luke or Jacen?"

"The Jedi? We've done that and look where it got us. The X-Tech militia still found us and defeated the Jedi who were supposed to protect us. They killed one guard to do it. No, we can't go back to them. That would be an open invitation to X-Tec to say, 'Here we are.' Unless, of course, you feel the need for another Force lesson."

"Don't patronize me, Nika. You don't know what this is like for me. It's unknown to me."

"And we both know how much you hate the Unknown."

"Yeah, well, sorry for my need to know how and why things work." He let out a breath of frustration. "Look, let's not fight. I don't have the energy. Let's just keep going."

"Fine," she said as she started to gather her items into a small carrier. After a long pause, she said, "You do know that we have no endgame right now except to survive."

"I know. I don't care at this point. All of the research Cilghal and I did is gone. We were at a stand still at finding out what this protein is and how it was produced. Not to mention what X-Tec plans to do with it. Our little adventure last night made me believe that X-Tec will stop at nothing to find us. So, as of now, I say the plan is to keep ourselves alive."

Nika froze in place and asked mockingly, "All right, who are you and what have you done with the real Drexal Connick?"

Drex seriously answered back, "Like a nucleus of a DNA strand, I evolved."

She smiled, which made his morning complete. She picked up her carrier and said, "All right, Mr. Evolution, let's go run and survive."

The lower Levels of Coruscant were always dark. The deeper the Level the darker and more dangerous. The Yuuzahn Vong had affected some of the Underworld of Coruscant. Since the Reconstruction most of it had been cleared of the dangerous spores the Vong had spread around the planet. The seedy areas of entertainment and crime were slowly returning close to normal. Only the major cantinas and casinos of the upper Underworld had been reconstructed. Human and alien alike went back to their gambling and partying, yet there was an underlying sense of dread knowing that the Vong's pods were not entirely liberated.

As Nika and Drex walked through the dimly lit streets, they passed by many of the establishments that were darkened with abandonment. Ghosts of their former glory. There were a few places that returned. Not nearly as many that Nika remembered. She just hoped there was still one place in particular that was still open. Drex had been to Coruscant years before the Vong invaded. He attended a Genetics Convention during his previous life as an X-Tec employee. But that was held in the bright lights of Upper Coruscant. He would never dare set foot near the Underworld. He was too afraid of the unknown. Now he was part of the unknown. Now with his ability to use the Force, he could sense the fear of the beings around him. It was strange to him that he was now starting to purge his own fear.

Just like a Jedi.

"What, Drex?" Nika broke his thoughts.

"What?"

"You looked like you were somewhere else. Distant. This place too much for you?"

"Actually, I was thinking the opposite."

"Guess that's good. This place used to be so crowded. Thriving with nightlife."

"But it's still morning."

She chuckled. "Down here, Drex, it's always night. You sure you're all right?"

"Yeah. There's just a lot on my mind."

"Understood. All I can tell you is to be patient."

Drex said, "That sounds like something a Jedi would say."

She laughed. "Oh, savor that irony. I'm no Jedi."

"I don't know, Nika. You are confident. You are patient in a crisis. Yet..." He stopped speaking.

"Yet, what?"

"Nothing."

She stopped walking to look at him. "No, what were you going to say?"

"Maybe later. Let's just get going. Where are we going anyway?"

She continued to walk. "It's just up ahead. If it's still there."

After a few more minutes of walking, they came upon a large establishment that looked to be a combination of cantina, casino, and an office. Even at this early hour the place was almost packed with humans and aliens. They were either busy at the Sabacc card tables or at the bar drinking. Nika breathed a sigh of relief. "This is it. Glad it's still here. Now let's see if they still have my box."

"Box?"

"You'll see. Come on."

She started to head towards the left end of the place where it looked like an office. There was a counter with a yellow-skinned Twi'lek attending it. His eyes were glued to a nearby HoloNet screen. Behind the counter was a closed doorway.

Drex looked around and asked Nika, "What is this place?"

"A place for all your sinful needs. You have your gambling, betting tables, and card games. I see there's some sports games going on. Of course, the bar is full. No shortage of drinks after the war. But I'm headed over there. The lockboxes is where my stash is."

"What kind of things are in your stash if you have to keep it in a place like this?"

She turned to him with a raised eyebrow and a mischievous grin and said, "Wouldn't you like to know?" She took her arm and locked it around his and said cheerfully, "Let's go find out, shall we?"

She approached the counter with Drex beside her and she had to slap the surface to get the Twi'lek's attention. And then Nika did something to add to the list of many surprises she performed since he left X-Tec that day. She started speaking Ryl, the Twi'lek spoken language. The Twi'lek didn't acknowledge her though. She spoke again in Ryl. Her tone sounded like it was a question.

No reaction.

Nika then lifted her carrier on the counter and fiddled inside of it until she found what she was looking for. She slapped what looked like a strange data card with a jagged edge on one side onto the counter. She started shouting in Ryl again but this time the Twi'lek interrupted her. In Basic.

"All right, that is enough. You made point! I speak Basic. And you cannot speak Ryl worth damn."

Taken aback by his insult, Nika explained, "I was asking if you still carried security lock boxes here."

"No, you ask if we secured hairy dishes here."

Nika shrugged and smiled sheepishly, "At least I got one out of three words right. Sorry, my Rylothean is a bit rusty."

"It is fine. I knew your meaning. Especially with that old codekey. That is model we use before those space bugs invaded."

"So my box is still intact?"

"Of course. Nothing can penetrate our security door."

"A hint of confidence. I like it. Now, if you would be so kind to lead me to my box, please."

"Yes. Three-hundred credits."

"What? Where did you pull out that figure?" cried Nika.

"I figure you have not seen box in long while, which means you have not paid monthly rent to keep it. Three-hundred is generous."

Nika countered with, "Two-hundred."

"Three-hundred."

"You're supposed to negotiate and say two-fifty."

"I know not of this rule. Three-hundred."

Nika hesitated and finally said, "Fine." She then took out the money and handed him the right amount.

The Twi'lek took the credits and said, "And many thanks for your patronage. This way." He turned and fiddled with the side controls on the wall and the door slid open. Nika and Drex had to go around the counter to follow him inside. Past the doorway was a small corridor that led to a dead end. In front of them was a large safe door. He turned to Nika and said, "Place your codekey in slot next to safe door." Nika did as he instructed and he typed in a code on a console near him on the wall. Then the heavy thick door started to raise open. Beyond this door was a small room consisting of lock boxes of various sizes fitted on each wall. He led them to one of the larger boxes on the end and said, "Here is your box. Your codekey will open it. I will be at front desk if you need me."

"Excellent," said Nika. After the Twi'lek left she inserted her codekey in the lock and the lockbox lid opened. Inside was a much larger case than her current one and she pulled it out. She set it on the floor on its longer side and entered yet another code on the front. The case opened.

Drex looked inside and saw various items. Clothing of multiple fashions, disguises, wigs, fake prosthetics were inside one side of the compartment. On the other side were a series of small blasters, several credits stacked in neat piles, and various pass permits and ident cards-probably all illegal.

"What is all this?" he asked.

"One of my survival kits." She grabbed the pile of credits and a few ident cards. She handed Drex the cards. "Here, be useful." She then grabbed some of the disguises and clothing. She set them aside and reached into the case for a few blasters. She placed one in her outside pocket of her shirt and the other she hooked onto her belt."

"You think we need those?" asked Drex.

"You never know. Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them." She placed the clothes and the disguises in her smaller case and closed the larger case to put it back into the lockbox. "Let's go."

"Where to now?"

"Now we find a hole in the wall motel. Shouldn't be hard to find down here."

They exited the cantina and returned to walking on the streets. They came across a small marketplace that was selling jogan fruit. Nika stopped and bought two and threw one of the purple and white-striped fruits to Drex. "Here you go. Happy breakfast." They ate and continued to walk. Finally, Nika stopped in front of another building and looked it over. She tossed her jogan core away on the ground and said, "This will do."

Drex finished his fruit but dropped it in a nearby waste can that hadn't been emptied since before the war. Probably the Galactic Empire war, Drex figured. He looked at the building and said, "This is a dump!"

"Sorry, hun, no suite this time. Come on." He followed her inside as she went to the counter. This time a human male was attending. "We'd like a room."

Without a word, the dark-haired man tore himself away from the HoloNet to pick out a cardkey on the wall behind him. Before he handed her the key, he said, "Fifty a night."

Nika sneered, "Wow, such a bargain. Do we get room service?"

"There's an old food dispenser on the 2nd floor."

She handed him credits and said, "How quaint. We're only staying one night."

He took the credits and handed her the key. He glanced at Drex and grinned. "We, uh, do have a special for an hourly rate."

Nika scowled and went into character. "Hey! That's my brother! Who do you think we are?"

The man shrugged. "Hasn't stopped some."

"You space nut," she cried. She turned to Drex and said to him, "Come on, brother, let's go." She was about to turn to leave but she just caught the man look back at the HoloNet screen. He watched for a while before his eyes went wide. He quickly glanced down at her. She then heard the HoloNet newsman announce, "Nikala Jordana and Drexal Connick. They are wanted by Taris authorities and are considered to be armed and dangerous. If you spot them, please contact the authorities at the comlink code on your screen."

She immediately acted before he could. "Oh, and another thing." She quickly approached the counter again and said, "We do not want to be disturbed for any reason." She quietly set a generous pile of credits on the counter and said, "Understand? Just act as if you never saw us." She eyed him and made sure he followed her eyes as she looked down at the blaster on her belt.

He grinned and slid the credits into his hand and said, "Saw who?"

She nodded and walked back to Drex and they proceeded to their room. They took an ancient turbolift to the second floor. They found their room and entered. It wasn't much better than the factory office they slept in the previous night.

Drex looked around as Nika set down her carrier. "Not exactly a suite. The bed looks more comfortable than the sofa last night."

"Drex, a bed of vibroblades would be better than that sofa."

He flopped backwards onto the bed. "Ahhh. And much softer. Not to mention less critters and insects."

"Don't be too sure about that."

He lifted up from the bed and said, "Nika, I can feel that you are exhausted. I know you didn't get much sleep last night. Come over and get a good rest."

"Can't. Have to set up. We need to dye your hair. And change mine."

"Right this minute? Look, I heard that announcer too."

"Yes, our appearance on the HoloNet. So much for our fake deaths. X-Tec must have taken over the HoloNet's jurisdiction. Nothing the Jedi can do about that. I guess Skywalker's influence didn't help. We're fugitives again."

"How long do we have to keep this up?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I never timed any of my escapes before. I just ran on the fly. No sense of time." She stopped and went over to the bed to sit on its side. Drex sat up beside her. She said, "Drex, I'm used to this sort of running. Or at least I was. I'd run a con or pickpocket my way into trouble and then I'd be off. Hiding. Disguises and living in run down places like this were a part of it. I know you're foreign to this life. As long as X-Tec and their own militia keep after us, we keep running. You just have to trust me."

Drex paused for a beat and then smiled. "It's amazing, Nika. I've known you for the past few years. I've always known you were holding back your past. I only knew what you told me. Orphaned at an early age. Bounced through several foster families. Lived and survived on the streets working as a con artist. It's funny that the con refers to confidence. But I think you're confusing confidence with arrogance. And arrogance is the illusion of confidence." He paused and continued. "Now with all of these new Force abilities I can feel your emotions. You can't hide them from me anymore. You can run all you want and they'll still be there. I don't need the Force to tell me that you are lying to yourself."

"Maybe you're right, Drex. After I ran away from my last foster home, I was on the streets. I knew the basics of pick-pocketing. One day I swindled the wrong man. Another con artist. He became sorta my mentor. We teamed up on all kinds of schemes for quick money. And for many years, that's how I lived and survived. It gave me confidence with the skills he taught me. That was the arrogance in me, as you said. But I never thought I would be free of that life. I never could pin down how I could escape it."

"Nika, since all of this started I've seen your skills. Yes, they helped us get where we are now. You show that you're strong on the surface. But deep down you are really afraid. And that is the real reason why you keep running."

With watery eyes, Nika responded, "I know you keep wondering why I've stayed with you these past few years. It wasn't just your determination to find the truth in things; not just in science. You have such a strong passion for science and finding out how things worked. It makes you so grounded. I never knew how to be set free of the street life. Until I met you. You never have to run. You already know how to be yourself. You are the most confident man I've ever known."

Without a word, Drex reached in and planted a hard kiss on her lips. She returned the kiss and they both laid back on the bed. They had time together like this on Taris but not for a long time. This was a newfound passion for each other. This passion was doused in truth.

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Coruscant General Hospital

Jacen Solo fluttered his eyes open to whiteness. He finally focused on an image of a face looking over him. Uncle Luke. Jacen let out a sigh. "All right, who kept hitting me with the extra large load lifter?"

"Glad to see your humor back," said Luke. "Good sign."

"What else is good?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

"I thought the load lifter comment pretty much summed it up." Jacen took a moment to breath deep. "Well, that's a good sign." He tried to lift himself up. And was treated to a searing pain.
"Ow..ow..ow. Pain in my abdomen. That's not a good sign."

"You have bruised ribs on that side. Whatever hit you it was only on your side. Those will heal in time."

"Time I expect we don't have. How is Cilghal?"

"She's fine. She was knocked out and has some burns from the fire in the lab. She's awake now. Told us some things."

"Burned lab. Nothing left?"

"Ashes and burned out equipment. And zero data found. Cilghal told us as much as she could for now."

"Sithspawn! They destroyed it all."

"The Taris security force?"

"Try the X-Tec corporation's militia. Their leader identified himself as Ciser. His men tried to take me down but I was able to do it to them first. They hit us quick and hard, Luke. Almost like they knew where to hit us."

Luke nodded. "The Taris lawyer hinted that to us as well. I tried to have Corran get here in time, but we were too late. By the time we got there we only saw you and Cilghal and no Drex or Nika."

"You were too far away. Let me guess. The rep chose the location."

"Actually, I did. I thought an obscure tapcaf would be away from the public."

"Which was exactly how they expected a Jedi to think."

Upon realizing Luke shook his head. "And I played into it."

"Luke, how can a scientific research corporation afford its own militia?"

Another voice in the room suddenly answered, "Securing their research for profits."

"Oh, Aunt Mara. Didn't know you were here."

Mara Jade Skywalker got up from her chair in the corner of the room and came up to the side of Jacen's bed. She gave a sneer of a smile. "That means I still have the silent touch."

Jacen noted, "Don't read much into that. I'm not feeling much in the Force right now. Must be the good drugs."

"Don't want you in too much pain," she said.

"Of course not. What did you mean about research for profits?"

Mara explained, "X-Tec may be a small unknown science research facility but they have made millions in profits over the years. Quietly, too."

"Illegal?" Jacen asked.

"No, nothing that can be proved anyway. But the science of genetics leads into clone territory. Bio weapons like chemicals for poisonous toxins can be used in biological warfare. Not to mention the practical uses like applications in medicine, industry, and agriculture. All of that can make a pretty chunk of revenue. Security for that kind of competition can be intense."

Jacen followed. "Enter a private military to protect their secrets."

Luke said, "Except in the case of Drexal Connick, the security breach was from within the company."

Mara replied, "That's usually the irony when a company tries to conceal a gigantic secret."

"Which is why they want Drex and Nika captured and silenced," Jacen said.

Luke said, "You don't know the half of it. While you were out, the Taris government bought a temporary license to broadcast their names on the HoloNet's Most Wanted List."

Jacen winced. "With which the Jedi have no jurisdiction to stop. So much for the Jedi protecting them." He snickered. "That plan literally went out the window."

"What's that mean?" Mara asked.

Jacen answered, "Nika appeared outside the suite in an air speeder during the attack. Right after my body met the wall hard several times. She shattered the viewscreen with a huge Blas-Tech canon so Drex could escape. He made that jump with the Force. I felt it in him."

Luke noted, "Impressive. Almost too impressive how he's taken to the Force so quickly."

Jacen said with pride, "I taught him some methods before the attack."

Luke agreed. "Very good. Of course, once Nika took it upon herself to escape with Drex, their Jedi protection ended."

"Where are they now?" asked Jacen.

"Not sure right now," Luke admitted. "Last report was that there was a chase on speeders that stretched into the Industrial sector. There was unconfirmed intel that their speeder was destroyed under the toxic mist and they perished."

"Do we believe that?"

Mara answered, "With Nika in charge I'd doubt it. And apparently, X-Tec did too. My guess is that they're both rummaging through the Lower Levels by now. Probably trying to find an unchartered cruiser or salvage transport to get off Coruscant."

"You sure," asked Luke.

"Positive. She's quite the resourceful one."

Jacen eyed his Aunt. "Remind you of anyone?"

Mara flashed her green eyes at her nephew and said, "Hardly. She's just a life long con artist."

"Con artist. Assassin. What's the difference?"

"Survival versus duty, Jacen. Look it up sometime."

Being familiar with changing subjects between his wife and nephew, Luke stepped in to ask Jacen, "What do you know about this mysterious DNA protein that Drex and Cilghal found?"

"Not much more than what Cilghal could tell you. A protein that can alter the DNA of a non-Force user and creating Force abilities in them. That would be something that X-Tec doesn't want out in the public."

Luke questioned, "Are they anything like the power from the Valley of the Jedi?"

"Not sure. I don't think so. It seems to be more permanent." Jacen hesitated.

Mara asked, "Did you find anything more on the people on that list from X-Tec?"

"All we could confirm were their identities and that nine of the eleven were dead from 'accidents' or mysterious sudden illnesses."

"Anything on the missing two?" Luke asked.

"Drex confirmed they are Adan Wari and Jan Thorn. Both were X-Tec Computer Technicians with droids and various equipment. And there's no sign of them."

Mara noted, "Computer techs? Meaning excellent slicers. More likely they've changed ident cards and disappeared by now. I can get Ghent to look into them. Maybe those two can shed some more light on all this."

Suddenly, Jacen groaned in pain. "Ah, I think I need some more of those good drugs."

Luke assured, "Well have O1B get them for you." He padded Jacen's shoulder gently and said, "We'll let you rest. You've been through enough already. We'll check back with you later with an update."

Before the Skywalkers turned to leave, Jacen called to get their attention. He beckoned Luke to come closer. He whispered, "You never asked what hit me to put me here."

Luke shrugged. "I assumed they had some kind of battle droid that rammed you."

"Close. The Head of Security; Ciser. I couldn't feel him in the Force. Neither could Drex. It confused him but I knew. It was confirmed when Nika used that same Blas-Tech canon to blast him direct in the chest."

Mara gasped. "That should have killed him."

Jacen shook his head. "I was down but I could see burnt wires and circuitry where he was hit."

Luke uttered, "A droid?"

"Worse," Jacen said. "A Human Replica Droid. I believe you encountered one long ago courtesy of Prince Xizor."

Luke nodded. "Guri. Never did defeat her officially. Can't believe X-Tec could get a hold of an HRD."

Mara considered. "Well, they are a science research facility."

Jacen said, "True. But Guri was built decades ago. No telling what advances they've added today."

After a small pause, Luke said, "We have to find Drex and Nika. They're in more trouble than we thought."

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Lower Coruscant motel - late afternoon

"Whoops, now we're in real trouble," cried Nika.

Drex answer was muffled from under the running water of the refresher sink. "What? What is it?"

"You are now officially a blonde," Nika said.

"I'm honored."

Drex and Nika tore themselves from the bed after a few hours of being with themselves in that time. Though Nika considered the time practically wasted, at the same time she cherished the time spent with Drex nonetheless. Love was hardly ever practical. It was their first intimate moment in quite a while.

Once they were both up and back to facing their reality, Nika went to work on Drex on his disguise. She worked the dye in his hair to make him a platinum blonde from his usual dark brown color. Next, she reached for the cutters inside her small kit and used them to form a buzz cut look to his hair. She took a towel to dry his hair and then reached for a looking glass. "Here. Check out the new Drexal Connick."

He took the glass and looked into it. "Wonderful," his sarcasm dripped. "Definitely not me."

"That's sorta the point, Drex."

"Did you have to cut it that short?"

"Hey, don't insult your stylist." She took the cutters to tweak her work. "I think I missed my true calling. I've got quite a skill here."

"Among many others. A Jill of all trades, but master of none, right?"

"But better than a master of one. No one ever finishes that phrase. And you would be surprised at what I'm a master of."

"Not anymore, I'm not." He glanced over at the set of multi-colored pants and shirt lying on the bed neatly. "You're not expecting me to wear that, are you? A bit flashy for me."

"Of course, it's flashy for you. But not for Tash Danigo, a popular HoloNet entertainment producer on Zeltros."

"Zeltros? The party planet? Not exactly my style and more of yours."

"Again, Drex, the point. Believe me, your usual drab color scheme would stand out more than this one." She helped him into the colored suit.

"And the name is just as flashy. Where did you pull that one from?"

"Just one of several ident names I made up."

"A male name?"

"It was for a former partner."

"You mean a fellow con artist."

She sighed. "If you must place labels on things..."

"I suppose you have a role in this scenario. A stoic, serene woman? Playing against type?"

"Of course. Danigo's assistant has to be serious." She adjusted his suit accordingly and stood back as if to admire her handiwork. "There. Now don't you look spiffy?"

"I feel like a new man already," he deadpanned. "What is your assistant's name so I can memorize it? Don't want it look like I don't know my own assistant's name."

"Drex, you're learning. That's actually scary. And it's Miash Rendar. A serene but professional aide to Danigo from Borleias. Unfortunately, a bright red strand of hair is unbecoming of Miash."

He pivoted to look at her and gasped, "You're not going to cut it off, are you?"

"No." She handed him the cutters. "You are."

They switched places as she wet her ebony hair under the water in the sink and then she dried it. Drex still looked hesitant with the cutters. She gathered the red strands to separate them from the dominant black and it was ready to be cut. "Be careful. Make sure you cut it close to the roots so no red is showing."

"You sure about this? You've had that strand since I met you."

"Being on the run pays a great price. Do it."

Drex snipped off the red strand as close to her scalp as he could with an audible clip. He held it in front of her. "There you are. You want to have it framed?"

"No, I'll take it," she snapped. She tied it up and placed it in her container. She proceeded to reach for another item from her container along with a few hair clips. She was busy tying her hair into an intricate braid in the back that she made into a side ponytail. She took the end of the braided strand and wrapped it around itself. She took a hair clip to hold it in place. She now looked the part of a professional assistant.

"Nice," Drex said. "But you still look like you."

"Not for long." She opened the first item she grabbed from her container and placed them on her face in front of her eyes.

"Spectacles? That's your whole disguise?"

"You would be surprised how well a pair of dark spectacles can hide a person. Besides, the disguise isn't just physical." She reverted to a more distinct Borleias accent and added a professional monotone to her voice. "It is most assuredly made up of a mental aspect to the masquerade."

Drex raised an eyebrow. "Very well, then. What's next?"

"Well, I have a business suit that I took out but it's delicate. I won't wear that until we're ready to leave. Right now, we need to find transport off this rock. Uncharted travel." She sat down at the HoloNet computer and started typing. "So we can't choose any commercial star cruisers like we did on Taris. Those spaceports tend to ask for ident details that I'm positive the X-Tec slicers can track easily. We need unregistered transports that barely glance at ident cards as long as the price is right. Which reminds me, we need to watch our finances, too."

"You had an abundance of funds from what I saw."

"Won't last long if we keep bribing people and survive. I have a great amount but not enough for two. You have to remember, I collected all of this with only my survival in mind."

"Sorry to be such a burden for you."

Nika sighed and said, "You are not a burden, Drex. Please tell me when your pity party is over."

"That wasn't pity. That was reality."

"Drex, what each of us perceive as reality are two different things. Ah! Here's a salvage ship that takes passengers. For a price that's of course not advertised. It's going to a bantha fodder of a system, but we can get a better cruiser once we're away from here. And it raises ship late tonight. Great. The later the hour, the more inconspicuous."

"So this is what our life will be like now? Endless underground meetings and hitching rides among the salvage and savages? Running from killers."

"Arrggh, not this again. Thought we went over this before we went to bed together."

"Oh, we did. I'm actually not complaining. I'm just saying it out loud for me to believe it more. I've accepted our fate. So much so that I think I may need lessons in your survival techniques."

She turned to face him. "What are you talking about?"

"I think I need to learn the con game, since we'll be surviving for the rest of our lives."

"Don't condescend me, Drex."

"I'm not. I'm serious."

"It's not like you can take a crash course. It took me several years and several more trials and errors before I could learn the con."

"I learned to use the Force in such a short time. Maybe my new abilities can help."

She feigned inspecting him and said with a great deal of sarcasm, "Funny, you don't look like a Dark Lord of the Sith, but that attitude is definitely there."

"Not funny, Nika. And hardly relative. I'm not a Jedi nor a Sith."

"But a corrupt view of how to use the Force can lead to becoming a Sith. Or the Dark Side of the Force, like Jacen Solo and his uncle says."

"Maybe it won't come to that."

"That's a mighty big old Maybe." A silence fell between them as Nika seemed to consider something. She keyed in a last entry on the computer and mentioned, "The salvage ship is leaving at zero thirty tonight. Or rather tomorrow morning on Coruscant time. Think we'll pay in person. I don't trust entering credit data over the HoloNet. Way too many flags for X-Tec to follow." She shut the station down and turned back to face Drex. "All right, we have some time to begin."

"Begin what?"

"Your crash course in Con Artistry 101. A mini crash course. Basics. First thing to know when you begin any con no matter how small or large is why a con scheme works."

Drex shrugged. "Stupidity of the victim?"

"Mark. A victim is the mark. And it doesn't always have to be stupidity, though it helps. Two things that work against the mark together. The mark's greed, and the ability of the con artist to gain the trust of the mark to manipulate that greed. The con artist creates a situation where he seems vulnerable to the mark. The mark usually cares enough to help. Then, once the mark perceives that easy money can be obtained through that help, the con artist has them hooked before the mark realizes it."

"What if the mark can see through that trust? Or they aren't that greedy?"

"Well, that's why the mark is chosen carefully. Some picks take a few seconds and some schemes take weeks of preparation. And before you ask, we tend to avoid any Jedi or Force users for obvious reasons. Any con artist who tries that faces disaster."

"So you would never make me a mark."

She tilted her head and smiled. "Of course not. Especially now with your new Force abilities. A con depends on the mark's greed but there also has to be an element of surprise."

All of a sudden, there was the chirping sound of an incoming call from Drex's comlink.

After a moment of them listening, Nika smiled and cheered, "See? Surprise!"

The comlink continued to chirp in a series of long and short bursts, waiting for someone to answer. Drex looked at Nika with a raised eyebrow. "You did destroy the chips last night that can trace us."

"You saw me do it."

"What if it's Dr Kenzeel. Or his pet human droid, Ciser? They know where we are."

"No, they can't trace the signal without the chip."

"The Jedi? What if it's Master Luke?"

"I only gave them my code for emergencies. But they don't know I took the chips out so they wouldn't risk it." She paused to listen to the chirping. "Besides, that isn't a call coming in. That sounds more like a pattern to a encrypted message. Hand me the comlink."

Drex reached for it on the bedside table and gave it to her. "Who is it from?"

"Shh, be quiet a moment." She closed her eyes to concentrate on the sounds. "It's a series of numbers. The first set are coordinates. After that, I can't make out what the rest of the numbers mean. Hand me that piece of flimsi and I can write the numbers down."

"You can manually translate an encryption code?" He handed her the flimsi and she gave him a look. "Of course you can. Is there anything you can't do?"

"Shockball. Complete mystery to me. Now, be quiet again." She began dictating the numbers down. She stopped and said, "It just repeats itself. I don't think whomever is sending this knows where we are. But they reached through to your comlink code somehow." She turned to work the computer again and started to type. "As I said, the first set are coordinates. This will give me where."

Drex glanced at the numbers she wrote down. He studied them for a moment until his eyes widened.

Nika noticed and asked, "What?'

"I know what these last numbers are. They're X-Tec login codes."

"Oh, kriff! They do know we're here!"

"No. I've seen these logins before. They were on that list of employees who were subjected to the protein in the lab. Remember, we found nine of the eleven employees were dead."

"And the last two disappeared," Nika finished.

"The X-Tec computer technicians. And excellent slicers. Adan Wari and Jan Thorn. We found them."

The computer beeped, indicating it found the coordinates. Nika stared at them for a moment, not believing them. "Drex, these coordinates are here on Coruscant. A few blocks from here." She turned to look at Drex. "I think they found us."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Chapter 8 coming soon​

 

Superb developments. Very riveting and great teamwork with Drex and Nika. I think they're being more upfront with one another. Nika - - she reminds me of Parker from Leverage.

 

I know it's been a while since a new chapter, but I was letting this simmer for a while before I started it back again. The idea was there but wasn't sure about demand. Any interest?

 

There's definitely interest...even if it's just from me and a few other! (I'm pretty sure Ny is up for more.)

 

Hi there.
I just reskimmed over Chapter 7 and got all eager for the great blend of snark and riveting action! Drex and Nika are one interesting team! And I'm always up for Jacen-With-Sense

 

Cool guys. Thanks so much. Will be gathering my old notes and work on it soon. I'm unemployed again (no fault of my own this time; the site where I worked shut down. I am geting benefits for now.) I should have some more time in between job searching. And Ny, keep that idea of Nika and Drex being an interesting team in mind. Things are about to change for what I originally had in mind.

 

Uh-oh...that never bodes well for our protaganists!

Right! Man, I forgot about that show...it was such a fun show to watch!

 

Still liking this.

 

In the immortal words of (Heath Ledger's) Joker: And here we go!

Finally adding to this epic which I let go for a while. Was never sure of the interest until I heard from people recently. Let me just express my appreciation for your interest. I realize that this story is 90% OCs with very little actual Star Wars characters. That is why I think sometimes my stories are not the most popular. Without much feedback, I can't tell for sure. So thanks again to those who are reading this.
Now I do have a plan to reach the end so not much longer. I'm back to unemployed again due to a layoff so I will have some extra time in between job searching. And this is the chapter that I consider to be the game changer. You'll see what I mean. Enjoy and review as you see fit!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Aperion Principle
Chapter 8​

Lower Coruscant

Drex and Nika proceeded down the alley of the lower levels of Coruscant They were following the coordinates provided by the mysterious message on Nika's comlink. Each of them were getting used to their new looks. The price for being on the run. Drex never saw himself as a blonde but now he couldn't not think of it. Nika still wore her hair in a tight bun of an assistant. She already missed her one strand of fire red in her hair. She almost felt naked without it. She did ditch the glasses. It took them well into twilight to find the place.

It was in a dimly lit area of run down apartments. The dull grey siding was speckled with brownish rust courtesy of age. It had been once painted probably before the days of the Empire. The paint had all but completely peeled off over the decades. The block where it was situated in was void of beings. No brightly lit clubs or liquor stores. The place was less than a last thought.

"I don't like this," said Nika.

"Now you know the feeling," replied Drex.

"Do you trust them?"

Drex shrugged. "I trusted them for years at X-Tec. They kept my systems and lab droids up to date. Never had the chance to trust them on covert missions."

"First time for everything." She hesitated on asking, "Do you...feel anything in the Force about them?"

Drex took a moment to focus. "I do feel them inside. I don't suspect any ill will from them, if that's what you mean."

"Just making sure there's no hint of betrayal."

Drex shook his head slightly. "Always on the defensive, aren't you?"

"Can't get through life if you aren't."

Drex reached for the controls wordlessly and sounded the alert at the door. It slid open halfway to reveal a man with olive skin and weathered face. His dark hair was dotted with hints of grey. Drex recognized him immediately and began to cry out, "Ada-"

"Colzen Bin! Long time ole buddy! I see you brought the missus with you. How you doing, Berta? Still putting up with this joker's antics?"

Knowing a fake greeting when she detected one, Nika fell into character. "You know it! We were in the neighborhood. Thought we'd come by. Colzen insisted."

"Of course he did. Well, come on in, you two. Get out of that damp Coruscant thing they call air."

They both entered the dwelling. It was basic with no decorations and little furniture. A small corridor led to a main area that was both a living area and kitchen. The place served its purpose. Somewhere to escape to. Quickly.

The man told them, "I do believe we would be more comfortable in the lower room." The man led them to a door to their left that he opened. They followed him down a small flight of stairs. It opened to another room that was quite different from the upper floor. The room was filled with tech equipment in almost every corner. A red lined astromech droid sat in one corner next to a computer mainframe station. Next to it sat a thin, tall woman of middle age with honey-brown hair that was cut just above her shoulders. Both her and the man were wearing drab and tattered grey tunics. All part of their disguise, Nika figured.

The man slightly nodded to the woman and she flipped a switch on the computer console.

"There," the man said. "We can talk freely now. Hello, Drex."

"Adan. Jan. Last time I saw you two was before you both left for vacation together."

Adan Wari corrected, "Well, on the books it looked like we left on vacation separately."

"Really?" questioned Drex. "Even I could see through that."

The woman, Jan Thorn, spoke in a chuckle. "I think everybody at X-Tec knew we were an unofficial couple except X-Tec. As if you didn't know by now, Drex, it was more than a vacation. It's an adventure."

"We have different definitions of adventure, Jan."

"And we now have different colored hair. Never saw you as a blonde, Drex."

He ran his hand through his short-cropped newly blonde hair. "Me neither. We are in disguise. I'm supposed to be some wacky entertainment producer."

Nika added, "And I'm his assistant. Hi, I'm-"

"We know who you are, Nikala," said Jan. "You've been with Drex for the last couple of years. And you've helped Drex to reach this far. We've read the reports on both sides. And we saw the holo footage. Nice flying with an air speeder, hun."

"Thanks. Interesting how you have access to reports of X-Tec and the Jedi."

Adan answered, "Oh, we make our own access to those."

"Uh huh. And that brings me to my next question. How did you find us? How did you get that code to my comlink?"

Jan explained, "We couldn't trace your comlink since you destroyed the chips. Nice thinking, by the way. We had to triangulate our signal to a specific range in Lower Coruscant."

Adan offered, "We figured about a kilometer wide area and we sent our code directly to that area."

Nika thought a moment and said, "But that means any comlink in that area received those codes."

Jan said, "And they would see a series of numbers that they would just ignore. I knew Drex would recognize our login codes."

Adan said, "And we knew you would seek us out. So, in a way, you found us." He addressed Drex and asked, "How are you feeling, Drex?"

"You mean how am I feeling all of you in the Force?"

"You still have the affects?" Jan asked.

"Yes. It seems to grow in power every minute."

"Amazing," said Adan. "Ah, where are my manners? Come, sit down both of you. Do you need any refreshments?"

"Thank you, no," replied Drex as he and Nika sat on a nearby sofa. "Now, I can feel the both of you, but I can't detect the Force in either of you. Weren't you two the last of the experiments?"

Jan replied, "I guess that answers how much you know. Adan and I were the last subjects of experiments that X-Tec has been conducting illegally over the past standard year."

"Unfortunately, we weren't aware of the experiments until after all the deaths. Of the nine who were affected, Jan and I are the only ones alive."

Jan said, "At first, X-Tec disguised the injections as routine shots for Idolian Fever. Standard procedure at most companies, so we didn't think anything of it. A few days later, we could feel the effects."

Adan said, "And she means that literally. We could feel things in the Force. It was amazing. We could feel other peoples' feelings." He looked over at Jan in loving admiration. "And we could feel each other. Sharing our minds with each other." She traded the same look and padded his leg with her hand.

Nika asked them in an almost child-like glee, "Were you able to move objects?"

Adan replied, "No, they never reached that level."

Jan added with a wry smile, "Not to say we didn't try."

Drex asked them, "What did they really inject you with?"

Adan sighed almost embarrassingly. "That's what troubled us. Genetics isn't exactly our area of expertise. We were afraid we couldn't figure it out. You found the secret lab, Drex. You would know more than we would. We could only say we were injected with a new artificial DNA."

"You're half right. It wasn't DNA itself, like a nucleic acid. It was an artificial protein that altered the nucleotides to create a strand that gives the ability to use the Force. They're called midi-chlorians, according to Jacen Solo."

"You studied this protein at the lab that the Jedi set up for you?" asked Jan.

"I did. Unfortunately, that lab and the data on the protein was destroyed."

"Thank you, X-Tec soldiers," quipped Nika.

Adan spoke in an assuring voice. "Within the data dump we took from X-Tec, we found some data that we couldn't decipher. I'm sure its data that X-Tec doesn't want exposed."

Nika asked, "How did they not suspect that you took that data?"

Jan smiled and stated, "With Adan and I as techs at X-Tec, we were in a good position to collect data about the experiments. Not to sound arrogant, but we both are quite excellent slicers. What we don't want people to know about what we do stays unknown."

Adan addressed Drex. "Did you or the Jedi come up with any theories about the protein you found?"

"I had a theory that the protein was made up of nano machines. They may have been capable of changing the nucleotides."

Adan nodded. "You're closer than you think. Nanotechnology is what X-Tec exposed us to along with the others."

"Wait," cried Nika, "if I have this nano thingy straight, that means there are little droids inside of you that make you use the Force?"

Without sounding condescending, Adan gave a chuckle before he replied, "That's a crude way of putting it, but essentially, yes."

"Keeping with layman's terms, Nika, the nanobytes in the protein were reprogramming the nucleotides to create enough midi-chlorians. Those cells gave the user the ability to use the Force." Drex turned to Adan. "If you two still have those nanobytes, then how did you survive?"

Adan said, "Well, we knew we weren't versed in the area of genetics. But nanotechnology was something we were familiar with. Through the data we had, we found that the original nanobytes that we and the others were injected with were unstable. They began destroying the nucleotides instead of making new cells, or these midi-chlorians. The subjects couldn't adapt...and they eventually died."

Jan continued. "Of course, X-Tec covered up their deaths with terminal illnesses and accidents."

Nika realized something and asked in a low tone, "Does that mean...you both are still affected?"

Adan breathed and replied, "We once thought so. After the last death, we began our 'vacations' to disappear."

Jan smiled and looked at Adan with admiration. "Until you came up with a solution."

Adan nodded. "I figured because the nanobytes were essentially microscopic droids, as you referred to them Nika, they would be vulnerable to the usual ways to disable droids."

"How?" asked Drex.

"Ionized particles," replied Adan.

Nika gasped, "You shot yourself with an ion canon?"

Adan laughed. "Not quite that extreme. But similar tech on a much smaller scale. We used an ionic pulse that we sent through our bodies. Low frequency, yet effective."

"It disabled the nanobytes," Jan completed.

"Of course, that also disabled our use of the Force. It just wasn't meant to be."

"But we were, dear. Force or no Force." Jan reached out to Adan with her hand and he took hers in his.

Drex then asked the obvious. "Would the ion pulse work for me?"

Adan let go of Jan's hand and answered sadly, "No, Drex. There's more that we found out from the data. First, do you remember how you were injected?"

"No. I remember finding the lab, taking the data strip from there, and going back to my desk. Dr Kenzeel and his security head, Ciser, was waiting for me with his team. They grabbed me and I struggled to break free."

"Maybe you were injected then," suggested Jan.

"No, I would have felt it."

"Maybe you couldn't," said Adan. "It would have had to be an intradermal injection. Something that would inject into the muscle."

"Again, I would have felt a needle-" Drex stopped and realized. "Unless there was no needle at all."

"What do you mean, Drex?" asked Nika.

"A gene gun. That's why I couldn't feel it. It injects particles and disperses them through the skin in a way that they are just absorbed. It's a biolistic injection of genes. I can't believe they would use a gene gun. We only use those on plants. No wonder I never made the connection."

"Trust me, son, that company would do anything to hold this secret. Once X-Tec wants something done, it's done." Jan nodded in agreement.

Drex shrugged and smiled innocently. "Except for me."

"Oh, they'll get to you," stated Jan. "Eventually. I would suggest keeping with this one." She motioned to Nika. "She seems to be keeping you alive, Drex. I mean she obviously has the skills to survive, however she learned them."

"I can hold my own."

"I'm sure you can, dear. I would keep with your disguises. Give fake names wherever you go. Use small demonization of credits. Hide."

"Like we did, Jan? There is another answer. We can expose them."

Jan scoffed. "They're a corporation with a military team, Adan. We've been over this. We're a couple of techs who stole their data. They already defeated the Jedi. What chance do we have?"

Drex said, "We have a greater weapon. Information. That can do more damage than any blaster."

Adan said, "The information we have is too damning to the company, Drex. X-Tec would do anything to keep it hidden from the galaxy."

"What, they were trying to make Force users out of ordinary people?" Nika cried.

Jan told her, "The result of which meant death. We would have succumbed to the nanobytes failure if Adan hadn't figured it out."

Drex asked, "Why am I not affected the same way? Why wouldn't an ion pulse work on me?"

Adan hesitated as Jan changed the subject. "We can fix up a bed for you both upstairs. You're welcome here, but as I said, it would be best if you leave as soon as possible."

Adan said, "Jan, we have to tell them."

"No! The risk is too great. Once they know, they would be more dangerous to X-Tec."

"Isn't that what we want?" Nika asked.

"No, you don't," Jan said. "You think your con artist past will save you from them? They'll find you if you stay in one place. They will never stop looking. It's too risky for the both of you."

"Let us judge that for ourselves," Nika shot back.

Drex stood up. "Hey! We're the ones who've been taking risks since we left Taris. You two stole some files and hid without a word. You haven't been shot at, chased, threatened, or are being tracked down by a whole corporation. You two have your tech to hide behind. Some of us don't have that luxury. We've sacrificed our appearance and our status for this secret. And I believe we deserve to know all of it."

Adan warned. "You're not going to like it."

Jan added, "Neither will the galaxy when they find out."

"Find out what?" Drex demanded.

Adan let out a full breath. He finally explained, "We looked further into the X-Tec files, and we found something...terrifying. The reason the ion pulse won't work with you, Drex, is that the nanobytes that they injected you with...are not mechanical. They're bio-mechanical. In other words, they are living nanobytes."

"Bio-mechanical," Drex repeated. "How did X-Tec get that kind of technology?"

"There was only one possibility that Jan and I could think of. And we eventually found evidence that proves it. The technology came from one species." Adan hesitated before he said, "The Yuuzahn Vong."

X-Tec Main Lab office on Taris

Dr Kenzeel completed the final preliminaries for the injections. Everything was ready for the initial phase. Except for one thing. Research on Subject #1. He cursed under his breath. These new experiments would never have been necessary if they had Drexal Connick in their lab now.

Kenzeel set the last of the prototype gene guns back into its case. There were a hundred to each case and a total of a thousand cases. These gene guns were more streamlined than the usual ones they used regularly in the labs. They were smaller and pen-shaped making them more efficient and easier to distribute. Yet again, they were useless without the research they needed from Drex. He was the first of their experiments of their kind. It was a new type of bio-tech courtesy of Nom Anor, the Yuuzahn Vong outcast.

Drex was not supposedto be the first subject. It all happened so fast. They needed a subject, but the consensus among the employees at X-Tec were leery of routine injections. Especially after the deaths of their coworkers within the past Taris year. Drex happened to come upon their secret lab. He tried to get away but Ciser's men held him down long enough for Kenzeel to administer injection. Dr. Kenzeel misjudged the will of Drexal Connick. He thought he would calm down after the injection. It turns out that Drex may not have felt it at all. And then he escaped. Along with his resourceful girlfriend. A bit too resourceful.

Kenzeel glanced at the report from Coruscant on the pursuit of the fugitives. The extraction team failed to capture Drex on so many levels. The official finding was that Drex and his girlfriend perished with their air speeder in the industrial district on Coruscant. Kenzeel did not believe that. He researched Nikala Jordana and her spotty past. Her background had too many holes, as a con artist and grifter would. She knew how to survive. And she brought Drex along for the ride. Both of them could be trapped in the underground section of Coruscant. No credits and nowhere to go. Of course there was no longer a tracer. She would have destroyed both chips in their respective comlinks.

The report also confirmed that Drex was using the Force. Ciser could attest to that fact when a keg of ale fell on him. Drex seemed to be handling his new powers well. Although, he may have had help from the Jedi. That was contrary to their mission's function. Kenzeel gritted his teeth whenever the Jedi were mentioned. It was Jacen Solo who nearly destroyed his second-in-command. Despite the numerous cases of gene guns before him, Kenzeel was still discouraged. What could he use to get Drex to come back here into the lab to study him? The top scientists had already researched the remains of previous subjects. They were different. The research on them didn't matter. And then there was the matter of the last two subjects who were also missing. Hiding, more like. Adan Wari and Jan Thorn. Thorn, indeed. They left and disappeared with much data that belonged to X-Tec. What those two could possibly do with that data was exposure that X-Tec could not endure.

The door to the lab opened and the lead on the extraction team entered. He stoically directed himself to Dr. Kenzeel. He spoke with no hesitation.

"Sir. We have been conducting further research-"

Kenzeel held up a hand and was quick to correct the soldier. "I do believe that my credentials demand that I am referred to as 'Doctor'."

"Excuse me...Doctor."

"Before you go any further, I would like to know the status of my second. Ciser?"

"Yes. The update is that he is being repaired as we speak and will be ready for service in a standard day."

"Excellent. Now, what did you find?"

"Do you remember a program that began a few years ago called Project: Counterpart?"

"Vaguely. Doctors in labs such as myself don't concern ourselves with the politics of the corporation. I leave those to the lawyers and senators of Taris."

"Understood, Doctor. All applicants were paid under the table, so to speak. They were each assigned a certain employee of X-Tec. They were to report any suspicious activity from any of their 'counterparts'."

"Yes, yes, I do remember it. Even I didn't know who the counterparts were."

"We do now, Doctor. We found archive footage of one particular counterpart." He took a small datapad from under his arm and showed it to Kenzeel. He played the footage for him and they watched. It was of the main briefing of the counterpart that presented them with the instructions of the project. Kenzeel watched the screen. And a smile gradually formed across his face. He then began to laugh. He addressed the soldier after he stopped.

"You see, soldier, this is what we like to call leverage."

The swamp was strange to him. He had never been exposed to such an environment. He was always around cities of permacrete and metal. Unnatural. The surroundings here were all natural. Including the Force. It felt the strongest here. The strongest he had ever felt it. He could feel all of the creatures of all sizes and species surrounding him. He even felt the organisms too small for physical sight.

Motion was slow in this realm. He looked off into the distance. Darkness from numerous trees and fog was the background to a small figure standing before it. A creature of green skin and short of stature. He couldn't identify the species. The creature started to walk toward him using a well worn knotted cane. As it came closer, he could feel the wisdom exuding from the creature. When it reached within a meter from him, it began to speak strangely.

"Your true enemy, you must know."

The creature began to dissolve into the atmosphere, and soon disappeared. In its place appeared a larger darkened figure that loomed over him. No face. Only dark. It was about to attack when a bright light came through the figure's midsection. The light consumed the dark figure and it, too, disappeared into the light. Behind the light was another figure. It's hood obscured its face. It then began to remove the hood.

He looked up at it and gasped.

That face...

Drex sat up quick from the makeshift bed. His breathing was erratic. He used the Force to calm him down. Drex could not remember the last time he had dreamed.

Or was it a vision?

He looked over at the empty spot next to him on the bed. He was alone.

That face...

Nika tiptoed on the floor of the borrowed quarters. She intended to reach the back door beyond the kitchen living room. She was about to reach the controls of the door when sudden light brightened the room. Slightly startled, Nika looked over to the right where Jan was sitting at a small table with a drink in front of her.

"Leaving so soon?" she asked Nika.

"No, I just needed some air. Couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind. As you probably can tell all of this is a bit overwhelming. I mean, just two standard weeks ago everything was normal."

Jan scoffed. "Define normal."

Nika gave a small chuckle. "Good point."

Jan took the bottle next to her glass on the table and poured a healthy amount. "Wanna drink?"

"I better not. I'm afraid if I start drinking now, I won't stop."

"Then sit down a moment."

Nika did so taking the second chair at the table.

Jan's voice was slightly slurred from the drink. "If you're so upset then why didn't you have your significant other console you?"

"I didn't want to wake him. He, especially, needs his sleep."

"You know, I remember you from one of the benefit functions that X-Tec sponsored last year."

"Yeah, I was Drex's plus one. It was one of the few times when we could dress up all fancy and look like an actual couple."

"That's nice. Adan and I have been a couple for over three years now. Of course, we had to hide it while we were at work. Not that anyone but corporate couldn't see it. We were in love and we were even more in love when we could feel each other in the Force." She took a sip. "But like Adan said earlier tonight, it wasn't meant to be. Tell me, do you love Drex?"

With raised eyebrows, Nika replied, "Isn't that kind of personal?"

"Someone who's in love wouldn't think so. How did you two meet?"

Nika smiled and began the story. "Purely by chance. A few years ago I was coming out of a merchant store on Taris with a bunch of packages. Here comes Drex around the corner in a hurry and he ran right into me. The packages go everywhere. He kept apologizing while he helped me pick them up. We began talking. He was funny. He made me laugh. He told me about the theory of probability. He said the probability of the packages falling in the same exact position if he did it again was extremely high. We kept talking and he offered to walk me home. I refused but he insisted I come to his place. Truthfully, I didn't want to stop talking with him. I've had many men who flirted with me but Drex didn't use any line. He treated me like a person. Days later I told him I was having trouble with my place and he offered to have me move in. And we've been together ever since."

There was a silence after Nika spoke. Jan wasn't looking at her as someone who just heard a romantic story. Jan looked to be studying Nika. Jan finally spoke to her. "Hun, that was a sweet story. And I think you answered the question of you being in love with Drex." She leaned closer to Nika and whispered, "But that bit about your first meeting with him is utter poo doo."

Nika's reaction was to chuckle. "But that's how it happened."

"Yes, I'm sure that's how you planned it."

"Excuse me? It was fate."

Jan reached into the pocket of her tunic to reveal a small datapad. She set it on the table. She didn't say a word.

"What is that?" asked Nika.

"That is proof that you weren't paid by Fate to meet Drexal Connick. X-Tec did."

The shock on Nika's face was evident. She almost couldn't find words. Almost. "That's absurd. It's not true."

Jan shook her head. "Hun, before I worked at X-Tec, I was a security investigator for another corporation. I interrogated several high-end employees who had secrets. You could say I can spot a lie a parsec away."

"Then I don't have to answer to you. You don't know me."

"I know of you. A child of limited means. An orphan. Learned the con from someone you saw as a father figure. A mark here, a con there. You're no better than a thief. Am I getting close?"

"I'm better than a thief. A thief steals money from their victims. I make my marks believe that they need to give me money."

"If that's what you need to tell yourself." Jan took another sip. "Adan and I looked deep into the X-Tec files. We found the evidence about them working with a Yuuzahn Vong. We also found some information about a certain program they had. Let's call it Project Counterpart. They would hire professionals, bounty hunters...even a con artist or two. They would assign them an X-Tec employee. One that could potentially spill all of the secrets that X-Tec protects. They would befriend them, or even become their lovers. All they had to do in return is report back to the corporate heads on any information that was gathered or leaked by their counterpart."

Nika's voice was shaking. "It's not true." A small tear trickled down her cheek. She wiped it away.

Jan pointed to the datapad. "There's a holo on here that shows an anonymous X-Tec employee briefing one of these counterparts. She's a young con artist and grifter, who just so happened to be running a con on X-Tec itself. She got caught. But instead of going to a prison camp, she's been given an assignment. The employee gives her a name. She has to shadow him. Become his friend. Or girlfriend. The employee doesn't want to know how. He leaves that up to her. And after that, she's free." Jan took a gulp to finish her drink but did not pour another. "Or is she?"

During the entire time Jan spoke, Nika was a crying wreck. Her breathing became heavy. More tears flowed. She had to admit that Jan Thorn was more effective than an interrogator droid. To deny anything now would be useless. She already revealed herself. And that formed a sudden question in her mind. "There's no recording on that datapad, is there?"

"Oh, I'm sure there is. Information about the project itself. Not too much about anyone in particular. Turns out, I didn't need it."

"You're good."

Jan leaned back in her chair. "Look, Nika, don't get me wrong. I'm not revealing you for my benefit. I'm doing this for Drex. I've known Drex since he first came to X-Tec. One of the most brilliant minds there. And by far the most lonely. He would have never proposed the idea that you share the apartment with him, or have you stay the night at his place. We both know he would need at least a few days of research before making that decision."

Nika sniffed. "Oh, a week at the most." They both laughed. Finally, Nika asked her, "What do you want? You have the advantage over me."

"Defensive. Spoken like a true con artist." Jan paused before stating, "You have to tell him, Nika. And not just because you're in the crosshairs of X-Tec. But because I truly believe you are in love. And that is uncharted territory for you. Someone you got too close to for a con. If you don't tell him, that secret will haunt you forever and it will destroy what the two of you have." She paused again and repeated, "Tell him, Nikala."

"Not now. I will tell him. When it's right."

They both heard a noise coming from around the corner. Both Jan and Nika jerked their heads toward the sound. Emerging into the room slowly was Drex. His expression was blank. He focused his stare at Nika.

He breathed out and said, "Too late."

That face...

tbc

 

WOW WOW! That came out of left field in the best most riveting way!! What the injections were, how Drex's was different, how Adan and Jan neutralized it, the Yuuzhan Vong connection, but the capper was NIKALA! Fascinating ...

 

Thanks, Nyota! I had this plot twist in mind from the beginning but didn't know where to place it. Now the game has changed. More to come.

 

Greetings dear readers! Alas, my latest chapter of this epic. Can you believe my first post on this story was six years ago?

I know! Boggles the mind. The next chapter will be the final conclusion. I have another epic fan fiction story that's ongoing. I have decided that these will be my last epic stories in fan fiction. The work I put into these are just not worth the limited feedback I receive.

As far as this story goes, a small summary would be that we just left Nika and Drex at the remaining test subjects that X-Tec had exposed them to. Dr Kenzeel is getting ready with masses of gene guns filled with the protein that creates Force ability in non Force users. To what purpose is still unknown (well, to you readers anyway. ) Jan had just forced Nika into an admission that she was originally hired by X-Tec to spy on Drex. Of course, in a Shakespearian way, Drex overhears the admission. Oops!

As always, enjoy and review as you see fit.

Chapter 9
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Underground Coruscant - Dwelling of Adan Wari and Jan Thorn

Drexal Connick did not remember sitting down. He didn't remember how he was moved to a chair nearby. Sound was almost non-existent1; muffled. He was aware of people around him. Adan Wari and Jan Thorn, his colleagues at X-Tec. And...Nikala Jordana, the woman with whom he established a relationship for the past two years. Or rather, did she develop their relationship for her own purposes? Or X-Tec's purposes? Was the partnership manufactured? Was he just part of her con for two years? He watched as Nika tried to get his attention. He could barely register her lips moving, much less produce sound.

"Drex! Drex, can you hear me?"

Jan Thorn still sat in the seat where she made Nika reveal her past with X-Tec. She was closer to sobriety now. She uttered, "Looks like someone is catatonic."

Nika spun around and snapped at the woman. "Shut up! This is your fault!"

Jan calmly stated, "Technically, it was you who conned him first."

It was Jan's significant other, Adan, who scolded her. "Jan, shut up. We agreed that Nika's secret would remain between us."

Jan snickered. "That was before I was loaded."

Adan turned to Nika and said, "Allow me to apologize for Jan. I really didn't want to reveal your past to Drex. That's your business."

Nika replied absently, "Thanks for that. I would have told him eventually. I wasn't ready yet. I wasn't sure how he would handle it." She looked back over at the silent Drex. "Now I know."

Drex slowly rejoined reality and muttered, "I was your mark."

"No, Drex."

"You pretended to be my friend. And my love."

Nika's eyes began to water. "It wasn't like that. I know it may seem like that now. I was a different person two years ago. My mentor left me and I became desperate. Something a con can't become. X-Tec caught me in a scam and they gave me two choices. Prison or becoming an asset for them. For a while after meeting you–"

"Our fake meet up, you mean."

She ignored his remark and continued. "You were my ticket home. My price for freedom. And then, at some point..." She reached with her hands to touch his. Once they made contact, he reacted.

"Don't touch me!" An invisible force threw her backwards into the opposite wall with a crash. Adan went to help her while a shocked expression spread on Jan. A realization of what she had done.

Nika started sobbing, but not from physical pain. "Drex, please don't shut me out."

"No," Drex snapped. "You don't get to tell me what to do anymore. I'm done with your lessons. I've learned all I need to know about how cons work." Amidst Nika's sobs, Drex turned to Adan. "What are my chances of getting on that freighter tonight alone?"

Adan replied after giving Nika a piece of fabric for her tears, "Oh, you can get on it all right. Keeping under the Taris radar alone is not good. I wouldn't advise it, Drex. X-Tec may be watching all space ports. Regardless of Nika's past, Drex, she has helped you get this far."

Drex dead-panned, "Why give her another chance to betray me?"

Nika cried out, "I will not betray you, Drex."

"How do I know that?"

Jan, finally deciding to be helpful, suggested, "Can't you use the Force? You can sense it."

Drex gave a pause. "I couldn't sense it. I couldn't see it. It took hearing you and Nika admitting it for me to know. Even with my new Force ability, I couldn't sense it coming."

"What do you feel now, Drex?" asked Nika.

Drex slowly replied, "Nothing. I can't feel a thing." He sat with his thoughts for a moment before saying, "I have the Force." He then closed his eyes. He calmed himself in the Force.

"What is he doing?" asked Jan.

"I'm not sure," said Nika. "He's using the Force, I think."

Drex opened his eyes and focused again on Adan. "It's all right. I have a plan. And I need your help."

Nika spoke up, "Drex, please let me help."

He finally looked at her. "No. I'm doing this alone from now on."

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​

Coruscant Med Center, evening

Jacen Solo was still in his bacta bandages around his chest and waist and was propped up in a bed. Every so often he would shift his body and receive a fresh bout of pain. He reached for a cup of water on a nearby portable table. He found the water to be hours in age. He motioned to O1-B, the nearby medical droid.

"Get me some fresh water with ice. And it should be time for my dinner."

Sitting in a chair next to the bed was Jacen's twin sister, Jaina. She watched him and then said, "Wow. Your ribs are bruised, nearly crushed, but nothing stands in the way for food. Typical Solo."

"I'm hungry, sorry."

Jaina shook her head. "Complain, complain, complain."

"I'd like to see you in this situation, sis."

"I have been. I never demanded as much as you. I wasn't in med centers nearly as much as you were, either. Seemed like you were injured almost every week on Yavin."

Jacen scoffed in memory. "Remember when I broke my collarbone during that trial around the ruins? You wouldn't stop teasing me for a week."

Jaina gave the famous Solo half-grin and said merrily, "Ah, happy times."

Jacen laughed but immediately winced in pain while doing so. Jaina pounced on the reaction.

"Hey, what happened to Vergere's lessons in the Vong's tolerance for pain?"

"They're quickly fading away."

Entering the room was Luke and Mara. "Thought we would visit you again before we head out to Ossus. How's our patient this evening?"

Jaina answered for her brother. "Complaining as usual."

O1-B stated, "I have not experienced any problems with the patient."

Jaina said wryly, "You're programmed to say that."

Luke reverted to business. "We verified that Ciser, the X-Tec Head of Security is in fact a human replica droid."

Jaina asked, "Like Xizor's Guri?"

"Not exactly," Luke stated. "That model stopped production by the end of the Empire. Ciser is similar in design but not as human-like as Guri was."

Mara added, "And Ciser is not programmed as an assassin droid, either."

Jaina remarked, "Still pricey for a genetics lab."

Luke shrugged. "X-Tec has the millions to spend. I'm not as concerned about the cost as I am with the necessity."

Jacen said, "The need would be for protection of a secret formula for a DNA protein."

Jaina asked, "What exactly did you and Cilghal research in that lab?"

Jacen admitted, "It's a protein that ties into DNA that forms Force ability in non-Force users. It actually creates midi-chlorians from inside the body. Cilghal could explain it clearer. Drexal Connick could explain it even better." Jacen paused. "Do we know of Drex and Nika's whereabouts?"

Luke sighed. "Not an exact location. We know they may be in the Underground. There were reports last night of a speeder chase that involved Taris Security. They went through the old industrial district."

"And damaged a sky rise restaurant sign somehow," added Jaina.

Luke grinned and said, "It fits the time frame with the attack at the hotel."

Mara said, "We tried their comlinks but they're dead. Nika must have taken out the chips and destroyed them."

"Resourceful girl," uttered Jacen.

"A little too resourceful," said Mara.

"I'm sure she's handling their survival just fine," said Luke.

Jacen asked, "What is their status with Taris Security now?"

Luke replied, "They're enemies of the state. They each have a price on their heads. His is larger."

"Of course," said Jacen, "she's not been injected with what gave Drex Force abilities. Funny, we were researching that when we were attacked."

Mara pondered, "Why is a genetic research company experimenting on giving Force abilities to people without them?"

"Unknown," said Luke.

Jaina asked, "This isn't like the Valley of the Jedi, is it?"

Luke said, "That's what I asked Jacen earlier. I made contact with Katarn and he's assured me that the Valley's location has been lost."

Jacen addressed his sister. "This protein isn't like a Force Nexus. It's an injection of a protein that directly affects the DNA. It doesn't have a power source that can be depleted like the Nexus." He turned to Luke. "What about the missing subjects?"

"Missing?" questioned Jaina.

Luke explained, "There was a group of employees at X-Tec who were test subjects without their knowledge. We confirmed all but two are dead. X-Tec covered up their deaths with accidents or sicknesses that didn't exist. No one has heard from the remaining two. Adan Wari and Jan Thorn. They were techs at X-Tec."

Mara said, "They would have the knowledge on how to hide within the system."

Jaina suggested, "We could indict X-Tec on illegal experiments. Subjecting people to tests without their approval is a galaxy-wide offense."

Jacen countered. "We have no proof, Jaina. The lab in the hotel room was destroyed."

Luke emphasized. "Drex is the proof. That's why they're after him. They need him for further studies."

Jaina asked, "Have we tried to contact him in the Force?"

Luke breathed out. "I tried. The problem is he may not know how to listen."

Mara said, "It would be like a one-way convo on a comlink."

Jacen wondered absently. "Why not go after me? Or Cilghal. We both know about their secret."

Luke said, "Unless there's more to their secret."

Mara answered, "Going after a Jedi would bring on too much publicity. The true reason why Taris wants Nika and Drex is not known to the public. Taris is framing them into dangerous fugitives."

Luke stated, "I never saw the Taris officials to tackle Jedi anyway. I saw it with Senator Gavron the other night. Taris has never been supportive of the Jedi, going back to the Clone Wars. Mara is right. They don't want the exposure."

Jaina spit out, "Even though the galaxy knows how they see Jedi." She shook her head and asked, "So, now what? X-Tec creates instant Force users only to turn around and say they have the cure?"

"It may be just that simple," said Luke.

Mara added, "It would certainly boost their profits."

Just then, a human female nurse came in the room with a covered tray. She placed it on the portable table. "Here we are, Jacen. Your dinner awaits. Anything else you need?" Jacen's head gave a nod that he didn't and she left the room.

He uncovered the tray and stared at the food. "Not exactly appetizing."

Jaina quipped, "And he's back to complaining."

"If you want to try and eat that, go right ahead," Jacen said.

Luke grinned and said, "Come on, let's leave the patient alone with his gourmet meal. He needs food and rest."

"I think I'll rest first. I can dream up better food than this."

Jacen's visitors were about the leave the room when something in the Force stopped them all.

Luke asked, "Did everyone feel that?"

Jaina said, "Yeah. It felt like a call for help. No specific location, though."

"Almost like an amateur in the Force," noted Mara.

"It's Drex," said Luke. He closed his eyes to the Force. After a moment he said, "I know where they are."

Coruscant Underground space docks

Drex considered communication within the Force was unique indeed. No tech was needed. He could feel the presence of not only Luke and his wife, but Jacen and another female that had to be Luke's niece. No comlink meant no trace. He spoke to Luke through the Force. The Jedi Master could decipher his location just by hearing Drex. He sent Drex one message.

I'm sending someone for you and Nikala.

Drex didn't want to tell him that it would now be him alone.

Drex felt more at ease with Force abilities. Especially now that he knew he wouldn't die from their cause like the original subjects. Adan and Jan were smart enough to know how to disable their predicament. From the beginning-had it been merely a standard week ago?-Drex first rejected the Force. Now it was becoming part of him. All of his life he had a yearn to find out how things worked. That led him to the field of genetics, which is the science of the body. He was fascinated with the make-up of different species across the galaxy. But the Force wasn't science. The Force just existed. It was the first time that Drex realized that not everything could be explained by science. You just had to have the belief to know it was there.

But the Force wasn't perfection, either. Perhaps that was how the galaxy saw the Jedi. Drex had heard the animosity against the Jedi among his coworkers. He found it also in the leaders of Taris. After the Vong war, most of the galaxy were thankful for the Jedi. On Taris and other systems, the Jedi possessed a certain hubris with a holier-than-thou attitude. Drex never bought into that notion, even before he ever met a Jedi.

He stopped to think of how his first meeting with a Jedi happened. Nika. She broke laws and made the trip with him to Coruscant to set up an impromptu meeting with the Jedi, Luke Skywalker. He winced at the thought. She did help him survive so far with her con-artist past. She risked both of their lives to keep them alive. She had cut off her iconic strand of red hair because it was necessary for their survival. She may have even loved him. Yet, she still lied to him from the start. How they met was a set up. She was spying on him for X-Tec. He could no longer trust her.

Drex breathed in the cold night air. He was flush up against a wide durasteel wall. He was disguised in the flashy clothing of Tash Danigo, the fictional character that Nika created. Even after he rejected Nika from coming along, her presence was still literally with him. He kept hidden by the wall in case X-Tec was watching. After he contacted Luke in the Force about his location, Adan then spoke to the Jedi on his comlink with details. He assured Luke that his signal was professionally encrypted. They agreed on the rendezvous point in a secluded area of the space docks. Drex asked Luke how he would know his contact. Luke's answer was to find him in the Force.

Drex's alertness in the Force was in full as he stood near the wall. Waiting was excruciating. He felt anticipation with every being who passed by him. Who could it be? Finally, a figure approached him. A Rodian. He walked up to Drex.

"Tash Danigo?" the alien asked in broken Basic.

"Yes."

"Come with me. I'm sorry you missed your earlier cruiser. I've secured another transport. Of course, it's not as luxurious as what you're used to."

At first, Drex was confused. Then he realized the Rodian was playing into the role he was dressed as. Just keep acting, Drex. Like Nika would. "No matter. I just want off this system."

"Understood. Where is your assistant, Miash?"

"She went on ahead. You know how she is. Always moving."

"Right. This way."

Drex followed the alien who led with purpose. They dodged through the docks and ended up at one with a medium sized star cruiser. It wasn't much to look at but what choice did they have? The Rodian walked up the ramp with Drex behind him. They entered the ship and were directed to the center area among several other passengers of various humans and aliens. They remained standing as there were no seats with this ticket. No one asked them their names and no one noticed who they were. Then they were off. Drex could feel the turbulence as the ship left atmo and then the sudden lurch as it went into hyperspace. The Rodian stayed silent for a long while until Drex spoke to him.

"Where are we going?"

"Not far. Just stay calm."

It was strange that the Rodian's Basic didn't sound as broken as before. Drex remembered Luke's words about his contact. Find him in the Force. And so, he did. Within the Force he concentrated on the Rodian. Although, he didn't feel an alien. He felt the presence of a human male. Drex was confused. He then heard a voice from within the Force.

Was wondering when you would find out. My name is Corran Horn. I have a unique ability in the Force. I can make people see things that aren't there. We won't be long here. Just a short trip until we land for the second leg of our trip. Just sit back and enjoy the displeasure of this piece of junk cruiser.

Drex didn't dare answer back. He wasn't used to extended communication in the Force yet. He merely gave the man in disguise named Corran Horn a knowing nod.

Horn was correct about their trip being short. They landed somewhere and soon a few passengers started to exit, including Drex and Horn. They walked along the exit ramp into the night again. The architecture was different in this dock, yet Drex couldn't pinpoint exactly where they landed. The fake Rodian told him to follow him in a nearby public refresher. The Rodian checked to see if they were alone. Then he started to change. The figure of the Rodian slowly merged into the form of a grizzled human male with a grey-speckled goatee.

"There. We're finally introduced. Welcome to Borleias."

"This is our destination?"

"Not quite, Drex." Drex gasped at Corran saying his true name but Corran assured him. "Relax, Drex. There is no Taris Security here." He looked him over and said, "By the way, nice digs. Don't know whose disguise was better; yours or mine."

"This was Nika's design."

"Uh huh. So what really happened to her? Why isn't she with you?"

"I'd rather not get into it."

Corran chuckled. "Oh. One of those. I'm definitely familiar. Come on, our journey continues. It's not far."

They walked through the docks to a more secluded area. They came to a large dock that was covered and the entrance was heading down. In the dock was the unmistakable shape of the Millennium Falcon. Even Drex could identify the famous Corellian freighter. As they approached the ramp, Drex could see on the plating of the ship some hints of black against the rusty grey color.

"Was the Falcon painted black?"

"Long, long story," answered Corran.

Upon entering the ship and the main area, Drex recognized Luke and his wife. Standing next to them was a woman with long dark hair. It didn't take long to deduce that the woman was the offspring of Leia Organa Solo.

"Welcome, Drex," cried Luke. "Where's Nika?"

"She's not coming," Drex answered flatly.

"What happened?" asked Luke.

"Let's just say we've had a falling out."

Mara nodded. "Because of her secret involvement with X-Tec?"

Drex went wide-eyed. "Past involvement. Your intuition in the Force is impressive."

"No Force needed," she replied.

"By the way, sorry about pushing you in the Force the other night."

"I'll live."

The younger woman asked Luke, "Are we ready to shove off yet?"

Luke said to her, "Yes, the quicker the better. Oh, Drex, this is Jaina, Jacen's sister and my niece."

Drex gave a nod. "Hello. You're our pilot?"

"Yep. Don't fret. My father is Han Solo. I've learned a few things."

"I wasn't judging. How is your brother? I know he met with Ciser. Oh, and what about Cilghal?"

"My brother is pretty banged up, but he'll survive. Cilghal only had a few bruises." She smiled in a way that was a mirror of her mother. "Thanks for asking, Drex." She turned to Luke and Mara. "Ok, Ossus here we come. Everyone hold on." She proceeded to the cockpit while the rest stayed.

Drex repeated, "Ossus?"

Luke said, "Yes. I figured the safest place you would be is to be surrounded by Jedi."

Drex nodded then relaxed on the bench near a dejarik table. Luke and Mara sat on the opposite end of the bench and Corran sat at the ship's computer. Drex then reached into his pocket to pull out a small data card. He handed it to Luke.

"Here. Adan helped me put the latest information about the research of the protein on here. There's been a new development that Adan and Jan discovered. What's making the protein combine with the DNA are nanobytes."

"Like...small mechanical devices inside the body?" asked Luke.

"Exactly like that. The original subjects rejected them, which prompted their deaths. Adan and Jan found this out in time and they exposed themselves with an ion pulse."

Mara nodded. "Which disabled the nanos. Genius."

They could feel the Falcon's engines shudder and soon they were in hyperspace to Ossus.

Drex continued. "I wasn't injected with the same nanos as the others. First of all, they injected me with a gene gun. That's why I couldn't feel it. No needle. The ones that they injected me with were living nanobytes."

Corran leaned forward in his chair. "How is that possible?"

"I thought the same thing," explained Drex. "The answer is worse than I imagined. You see, these living nanos are based on Yuuzahn Vong technology."

There was a hush between them with shock.

Mara uttered, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Luke questioned. "What is X-Tec doing with Vong biotech?"

"More like bio-warfare," corrected Corran. "What could they possibly do with that?"

"That's the puzzle," said Luke.

Drex said, "I have a theory that they could be mass producing the protein using gene guns to inject them with. When this protein combines with the DNA, it produces midi-chlorians."

Corran said, "Haven't heard that term in while."

Mara suddenly blurted, "Wait! If you have Vong living organisms inside you, why can we feel you in the Force?"

Luke suggested, "Maybe it's not the same biotech. I mean, X-Tec can use the same designs of the Vong, but the physical manufacturing would have to be closer to our own."

Drex was confused. "Why couldn't you feel me in the Force with Vong biotech?"

Luke said, "Sorry, Drex. It wasn't public knowledge during the war. We couldn't detect the Yuuzahn Vong in the Force. In order for the Jedi to know of their presence, we had to find the absence of the Force surrounding them."

Mara added, "We found out later that the Force rejected them."

Drex began to chuckle. "Are you serious? That makes no sense. How can the protein that allows living organisms to exist in the Force decide not to exist in one specific species? Unless that protein doesn't exist in that species. Or in their DNA."

"Drex," called out Luke, "you're thinking like a scientist."

"Yeah, that's what I am."

Mara said, "You should know by now that the Force exists beyond science."

"I know there is a scientific explanation for why certain beings have Force ability."

Corran said, "Sure, it can explain the why. But what about the how?"

Drex considered and said, "The Force allows you to sense feelings in others, levitate objects," he motioned to Corran. "disguise yourself with false images, and have enhanced instincts."

Luke smiled and spoke as if he were speaking to one of his students. "Those are only descriptions of what the Force allows us to do. They don't explain how we use them."

Drex let out a deep breath and placed two fingers on the bridge of his nose with his head down. "I don't know then. I don't know anything anymore."

Luke noticed and suggested, "Look, we don't have to discuss this now. Why don't you get some rest? We have several hours before we reach Ossus."

Drex scoffed. "I tried to sleep at Adan's but I was awakened by a dream and then Nika's secret. I still can't believe she betrayed me. Conned me, more like it."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Corran.

"I heard her admit it after Jan forced her to."

Luke stated calmly, "Not everything is as it seems, Drex." He paused and asked, "Do you still love her?"

"What? How can you ask me that? How can I trust her enough to love her now?"

Luke shrugged. "Usually, it's about forgiveness."

"Oh, I could never forgive her."

Luke smiled and said, "She's not the one you should forgive, Drex." He reiterated, "I suggest you rest. The cot in the back area is more comfortable than it looks."

"Not necessarily as clean as it looks either," quipped Corran.

Luke gave a nod. "That's another story."

Drex lifted himself off the bench and headed to the back. He was feeling tired with all the activity of the night.

"We'll either be in here or in the cockpit," said Luke, as he and Corran walked away.

Mara stayed behind and addressed Drex. "Listen, Drex...as someone who has had their own past come back to haunt them, I remember one thing. There are always two sides to every story. Don't give up on her. Now, go to sleep."

And sleep, Drex did. He considered the words of Luke and Mara regarding Nika. He began to remember the times they had together in the past two years. He drifted asleep in doing so.

Drex awoke hearing his name being repeated. His mind was still in a semi-dream state, so it told him that it was Nika calling for him. It turned out that his mind was only figuratively correct.

"Drex!" Corran Horn called out.

Drex fluttered his eyes open. He groggily asked, "Are we there yet?"

"Halfway. Man, you were out. Come on, there's something on the HoloNet you should hear."

Drex slowly nodded and got up from the cot. "How long was I out?"

"Couple hours."

"Felt like two minutes."

"Been there." Corran walked away and Drex stumbled after him.

He entered the main area to find Luke and Mara. Luke began, "Had a good sleep?"

"Not long enough."

"It never is," joked Mara with a grin.

"What's on the HoloNet?"

Luke explained. "We've been tracking communications coming from Taris Security and Taris authorities concerning you or X-Tec. This came in just a short time ago." Luke fiddled with a portable Holo projector. A Taris news anchor appeared in blue-white. Drex recognized him from years of daily news reports on Taris. The anchor spoke about breaking news.

"This just in. We have received word about a development into the manhunt for Nikala Jordana and Drexal Connick. We have just learned that Nikala, or Nika, has been detained and taken into custody by Taris Security. It is alleged that she will be questioned about the location of her partner in crime, Drexal. It is reported that Taris Security did not have to find Ms. Jordana as she turned herself in to authorities. We must warn you that Drexal is still at large and on the run. He is still dangerous so be on alert. If you see this man, do not approach him and inform Taris Security immediately. That is all. Good night and good luck."

"Shut that off!" cried Drex.

Corran joked, "Don't blame you. Not a good Holo pic of you." He ignored Luke's glare at him.

Luke addressed Drex. "Are you all right?"

"What was she thinking?"

Mara said, "If you ask me, it looks like she sacrificed herself for your safety. Not a very con-artist thing to do."

Drex looked at Luke. "What are we going to do?"

Luke said, "Well, that's why we awoke you. The way I see it, you have two choices. We can continue on to Ossus to research more about those Vong nanos inside you. Or..."

"Or we can go to Taris and rescue Nika."

"I was going to let you figure that out, but it seems you already have."

Drex considered for a long time. He thought of what Nika did two years ago, what they had both done during the two years, and what she had just done now. When it came down to it, the decision wasn't hard.

Drex stated confidently, "We're going to Taris."

Corran laughed. "I knew there was a romantic idiot inside of you. Don't worry, this ship is now full of romantic idiots."

Luke smiled. "I'm happy you made that decision. Because I think it's high time X-Tec gets a visit by a few Jedi to answer some questions." He yelled up to the cockpit. "Jaina! Lay in the new course for Taris!"

Jaina yelled back, "Roger that! Taris, here we come!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

​

coming soon, the last chapter

 

Super discussion; I always enjoy having Corran in the mix

 

I look forward to the rest of this.

 

Well, technically, the water is as old as the planet. I don't know why, but this line made me chuckle! Good to see that Drex hasn't given up on Nika.

 

I'm working on the 10th and final chapter. Coming soon to a thread near you. Or.....this one.

 

This Story is going to 11!
Ok, I lied. Or, rather I exaggerated. Having written out the last chapter I realized how long it was. So, to alieviate my readers' eyes at one sitting, I've decided to split it up into two Chapters and an Epilogue. Here's the first part and I will post the final Chapters later this week. Have fun, dear readers! And thanks for reading.

Chapter 10​

Taris System – X-Tec building

Nikala Jordana sat in silence in the holding room at X-Tec labs. She had been in a similar room two years ago when she negotiated her prison term in exchange for watching and reporting on an X-Tec employee. She concocted their "meeting" on her own. He was sort of a drab fellow. All work and no fun. Over the next months, she changed that. She got him to open more and enjoy life outside of his work. In doing so, her admiration of him grew over time. That admiration melded into love eventually. There was her impasse. Her former colleague in the art of the con always told her—Never show emotion with your mark. That leads to the greatest trouble known to the galaxy.

She figured since he abandoned her, she shouldn't take his advice.

She originally never wanted Drex to know about her past. Her connection to him over the years gave her pause as to why she hid it from him. She soon felt that by not telling him her past meant that her past never existed, even to herself.

Her past did exist. Now it cost her a life with someone who was no longer considered a mark. Drex was real. No matter how inattentive and boring he was. She tried to wipe away a tear, but her binders prevented the action.

The door to the room swished open and in walked Dr. Kenzeel, complete with his same lab coat over his tunic and data pad. As usual he carried himself as stoic and confident. He sat down at the chair opposite her across the table.

"Well, my dear. Whatever brought you to come here under your own power?"

She leaned into him and replied casually, "It's purely none of your business."

"Isn't it? From my perspective it looks like you turned yourself in to protect Drexall Connick."

"You'd better find a new perspective."

"Actually, my dear, I already have. I'm not sure if you realize this, but your sacrifice created the bait we needed for Drex to come to us."

She scoffed. "Drex wouldn't come after me."

"Why not?"

She hesitated. "We had a…. falling out you might say."

Dr. Kenzeel chuckled slightly. "Would that be because he found out about your involvement with our Project Counterpart?" He took a beat after her eyebrows raised. "Yes, I know you were involved. Though I must admit, I did not know it when we first met in Drex's apartment days ago. The ones we hired for the project were anonymous to most in the organization. It's too bad that Drex found out. I assume you hadn't told him everything about your past."
"You don't know a thing about me," she snapped.

The doctor considered. "Perhaps not. Perhaps you don't know about yourself, young lady."

"Will you stop with your fake pleasantries? It's kriffing frustrating! Let's just say what you really need me for so that I can refuse to do it. You said it yourself. I'm not luring Drex here. He has the Force now thanks to your Yuuzahn Vong biotech, and he's getting stronger with it by the day."

For the first time, Dr. Kenzeel frowned. "So Drex has discovered the origin of our enhanced injections."

"You bet he did." Nika realized at that moment that X-Tec may not know that Adan and Jan were still alive from their failed injections, in addition to knowing that it was them who cracked the code of the Vong origins. Nika wanted to keep it that way.

She asked as a subject changer, "I still don't know why you need to test Drex more."

"Some formalities that need to be ironed out. They do not concern you."

"Look, I told you before, Drex is not coming for me. Honestly, I have no clue where he is. He doesn't trust me anymore. He's already decided. He's figured the mathematical odds in his analytical brain and you can't change it."

Dr. Kenzeel laughed. "Then you don't know your significant other well." He stood up and told her, "You care about him. So much that you sacrificed your freedom to save his. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that is love. So unbecoming of a con artist."

"You sound like you know something I don't."

"Naturally." He bent down to say gently, "We've been tracking the Millennium Falcon and it is heading this way. Now that is a ship that is famous for its rescue missions, wouldn't you say?" He turned and left the room, leaving Nika alone again.

She muttered under her breath, "Drex, you idiot."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Millennium Falcon – en route to the Taris System​

Drexall Connick sat in the booth of the Falcon's main area at the dormant Dejarik board. Everyone had their duties. Jaina Solo was piloting the ship. Corran Horn was fiddling with the ship's computer, which, judging by the condition of the ship, it needed much fiddling. Luke Skywalker and his wife, Mara were in a discussion from across the room. And Drex was alone with only the task of rehashing his thoughts. He couldn't help thinking of his decision to go to Taris to rescue Nikala. She betrayed him. And somehow, he no longer cared. He could feel her regret once he found out that she was hired by X-Tec to spy on him. Maybe she didn't have a choice. As a scientist, Drex knew that there always was a choice. As a newly formed Force wielder, he just didn't know. The truth that he didn't want to admit to himself was that he missed Nika. He missed her spontaneity and free spirit. Maybe that was the basis for his decision to go after her.

His thoughts were interrupted by Master Luke when he called him. "Since we have the time, what do you say about a quick lesson?"

"Uh…sure. What kind?"

Luke reached at his belt to retrieve his lightsaber. "How would you feel to a lesson in handling a lightsaber?"

"I don't know. I've never held any weapon in my life."

"I understand. But the time may come when you may need to defend yourself. You're in a different world now." He handed him his weapon. "Come, try it out."

"Are you sure? I mean this is yours. The Master Jedi Luke Skywalker's lightsaber."

Mara Jade quipped from behind them, "He's a better character than I. I'd never let you borrow mine."

"You're not helping, Mara. And I trust you, Drex. Go ahead. Fire it up."

Drex slowly caressed the weapon with his hands. Then he wrapped them around it. It was heavier than he imagined. He found the activation switch and he pressed it. The famous snap-hiss sound appeared, and the meter-long green blade emitted from its housing. Drex waved the blade around in awe. "It's almost like it's alive. How does it keep the same length to the blade?"

Luke answered, "The focusing crystal works in tandem with the bending lens. Then the focusing vents at the top prevent the blade from emitting the energy too wildly."

"And it contains a regular power source?"

"Yes. Basic power cells in its base."

"Strange. I was always amazed at seeing these in holo-pics. Always wanted to know how they worked."

Mara said, "Leave it to you, Drex, to analyze the technical schematics of a lightsaber."

He shrugged. "The scientist is still in me."

Luke said, "Now let's be more practical. Drex, take both hands on the handle. Spread your legs apart, one behind the other. No, keep your other leg back more. That's it. Now bring up the blade at about a quarter of an angle against your hips. Tighter angle. Good. You are now in a defensive position. Mara here is going to fire at you with her blaster—"

"She's gonna what?"

"Calm down, Drex. I'm sure she'll have it on the lowest setting."

"Of course," Mara said. She pulled out her hold out blaster and switched settings. "I'll only fire one shot at a time. Don't worry, I'll be gentle. Not that I should after you pushed me against the wall the other day."

"Mara," her husband warned.

"Just kidding."

Luke addressed Drex. "I can feel you're nervous. Apart from my wife always joking about her violence, you don't need to be. Focus on the Force and become calm." He watched as Drex closed his eyes and breathe deep to allow the Force inside himself. "Good. Keep your eyes closed."

"What? How am I to see the shots coming at me?"

"Through your mind, Drex. And the Force. Trust your feelings. You can do it. Feel Mara's presence. Now extend that to the blaster." He gave a nod to his wife.

Mara fired a shot wide on purpose. Drex tried to block it, but he missed, and it landed on the metal grated floor.

"Sorry," he said.

Mara replied, "Never fear. This ship has endured much worse."

"Focus again, Drex."

Mara fired again. This time, Drex angled the blade to just barely nick the shot. She fired again. He succeeded to block it. She quickened her pace of firing. Drex managed to block most of them. One of the shots he did miss hit his shin. Drex let out a cry of pain and dropped the lightsaber. It landed with a metal clink with the blade extinguished.

Mara called out, "Sorry."

Luke said, "That'll be enough for now. You did well for your first weapons training, Drex."

"Tell that to my leg," he replied as he rubbed his leg. "That was amazing. I could really see the shot coming at me in my mind. I knew where it was going."

Mara snapped, "Luke, if you tell him he's taken his first step into a larger world, I'll hit you."

Luke shrugged and smiled. "But he has."

Corran said from the computer, "Come now, Mara, let your husband follow the same Jedi clichés."

"Whatever."

Drex said, "Let's hope I won't have to use that lesson anytime soon."

"Actually, you hit on an excellent point," Luke said. "A Jedi uses their weapon only in defense, never for attack."

Mara offered, "I see you're teaching him the basics first. Smart. That was classic Form 3 Soresu."

Drex asked, confused, "The what was what?"

Luke said, "A little too advanced knowledge at your stage now, Drex. Sorusu is one of the seven lightsaber techniques. We can go over those later. Go ahead and rest up, Drex."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

Corran turned his chair around to face Drex. "You okay? Need a bacta bandage?"

"No, it's a light burn. Just an uncomfortable shock."

Mara said, "In that case, you're welcome. The enemy will not be using that low setting though."

Corran shook his head. "Way to motivate, Mara."

Luke replied, "No, she's right. One has to be prepared for the enemy not being forgiving."

Drex asked, "You don't think I can handle it?"

Luke told him, "Drex, I've only known you for a few days and I can already tell that you have a strength that even you don't know you have."

Corran added, "If Luke gets on you too bad, Drex, you can remind him how well he did with a remote on his first lightsaber training."

"Shut up, Corran."

Mara chimed in sarcastically, "I'm sure we can find that same remote in here, Luke, if you two want to be reunited."

Drex smiled. "You didn't do so well on your first time either?"

Luke admitted, "Let's just say, you did much better. Come on, Mara, I think it's time we leave Drex alone." They both left the main area to leave Drex alone with Corran, who went back to work on the ship's computer.

Drex felt more confident in his abilities in the Force. Yet he was still unsure about the mission to save Nika.

"The room feels heavy, Drex," Corran said as he turned his chair around again. "What's on your mind?"

"Just thinking. And wondering."

"That could be dangerous. I suspect it has to do with why we're heading to Taris."

"You would be correct. I mean, I know the science of how I got these abilities to use the Force. I'm still not sure of the explanation of the how. Like you and Luke said earlier."

"Then don't focus on the how. Just accept it."

"But I'm a scientist. It's my purpose in finding out the how."

"You can't be both? Understanding the why and the how? You can't accept the Force for what it is with no technical explanation? If that's the case, Drex, you might as well end all training lessons now."

"I suppose I'll have to learn how to do both. Then there's the other thing that's bothering me. I know that the biotech inside of me is Vong related. The nucleotide proteins could never combine their RNA with ours. Luke was right in saying the X-Tec biotech is closer to our own. Yet, I still have this feeling that these living nano-machines inside of me will make me somehow…inhuman."

Corran scoffed. "Drex, that's insane."

"How do you know?"

Corran leaned closer to him in his chair. "Drex, you chose a mission to a place where you are a wanted man. The opposition there may want to harm you at first sight. But you risked that in order to save your girl."

"So, it makes me an idiot."

"No—well, it does involve a bit of idiocy. It makes you in love. Anyone who chooses love and risk keeping it could never be inhuman."

"Maybe. All I know is that I had no clue for two years as to how to handle a relationship."

"Welcome to the club."

"I was so focused on my work that I didn't pay attention to her. To us."

"Look, Drex, I may be the last person to give romantic advice, as my wife would agree. I do know there will be mistakes. On both sides. The ones that last are the ones who learn from those mistakes and not run away from them."

Drex nodded. "I just don't know what to say to her. I left her so badly."

"You'll know when the time comes. Best not to think too hard on it. Overthinking is love's demise."

"Right. I'm tired of thinking about it."

"How about a distraction, then? How would you like to add another Jedi Force ability?"

"Another training session? This won't hurt, will it?"

"No. I think you'll like this lesson."

Hours later they were approaching the Taris system. Luke gathered everyone in the main area of the Falcon, and he spoke to them. "Does everyone understand the plan?" All nodded in turn. "Good. Drex, are you sure about doing this? You may have the hardest job of all. Plus, the X-Tec Security wants to detain you."

Corran added, "In addition to the Taris authorities."

"Yeah, no pressure." Drex then said in confidence, "I'm ready."

"Very well. Jaina, if you could open a channel and patch the comm through here."

"Jaina was sitting at the ship's computer and she uttered before she turned a switch, "You got it, Unc. You're live…now."

Luke announced, "Attention Taris authorities. This is Master Jedi Luke Skywalker requesting permission to land at X-Tec Corporation. I need to speak to Dr. Bose Kenzeel immediately."

There was a pause before a human male voice spoke. "Acknowledged, Master Skywalker. What business do you have with Dr. Bose?"

"That is for Dr. Kenzeel and I to discuss."

"I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to land without knowing the nature of your request."

Jaina muted the comm. "Notice the emphasis on you."

Corran shook his head. "Showing their Jedi bias already."

Jaina unmuted the comm as Luke continued. "Very well. Tell Dr. Kenzeel that we have detained Drexal Connick."

There was a longer pause before the voice came back with, "You are authorized to land on Platform A of the X-Tec building. Sending the coordinates now."

Jaina waited a few moments and then nodded to Luke. He said, "Coordinates received. Thank you." No reply.

Jaina said, "They cut you off."

Drex uttered, "Glad to see I'm so popular."

Mara said, "They really do want you."

"To what purpose remains to be seen," said Luke.

"Do they want to run more tests on me or just silence me?"

Corran said, "My money's on both."

Luke said, "Perhaps. Come on, let's get prepared. It has to look convincing."

Jaina landed the Falcon at the designated platform on the X-Tec building. The ramp opened and they all exited by guarding Drex in the center with binders on. They walked out onto the platform to be greeted by X-Tec security guards. Senator Adoni Gavron was at the forefront with a satisfactory grin.

The Senator announced, "Alas, it is the Drexal Connick. Finally. The people of Taris and the X-Tec Corporation thank you, Master Jedi. I believe we can take it from here."

Luke said, "Perhaps you didn't hear my message. We need to speak with Dr. Kenzeel."

"I do apologize, but the doctor is preoccupied at the moment. I assure you I have the authorization to take over in this matter. Drexal will be given the most excellent care in his incarceration."

"That's what scares me," remarked Corran.

Luke added, "And I assure you that I have the authorization to leave with Drex under Jedi rule if we don't meet with Dr. Kenzeel. He is our prisoner."

The Senator moved closer and was seething with joy. "Oh no, Master Jedi. You are on Taris jurisdiction now. He is now our prisoner."

Luke stated, "Then you will be forced to go through us in order to detain him. I'm not familiar with the skill of your security men here, but I suspect that they have never taken on four Jedi Knights."

"And one Master," added Mara as she grinned at her husband.

The Senator finally scowled. The Senator gave the men his command to stand down. He then snapped to Luke, "Follow me."

They all did so as the Senator led them through the building via a lift to a lower floor. He brought them to a large conference room with an oval table in the center. He spoke quickly. "Wait here." He left the room.

After a few moments of silence between them, Corran said, "Watch the vents for toxic gas."

Jaina said, "They wouldn't dare. Too much publicity in killing famous Jedi."

"My thoughts, too," said Mara. She addressed Drex. "What can we expect from this Dr. Kenzeel?"

Drex shrugged. "Your typical over-confident doctor of high esteem and ego. He has doctorate degrees in Genetics and Physiology, so he demands you use the Doctor title with his name. Always wants things done his way instantly."

"We know the type," said Corran.

The door opened and Dr. Bose Kenzeel walked in. "Greetings. Welcome to X-Tec, Master Jedi and Knights. I should say welcome back to you, Drexal Connick."

"The feeling's mutual. Where is Nikala?"

"All in good time. First we must discuss the terms of your prisoner transfer to us."

Luke stated, "It's fairly simple. All we require are some questions answered. Why are you using Yuuzhan Vong biotech on humans to give them Force abilities?"

Dr. Kenzeel gave a sly grin. "I see Drex has informed you well. It is purely for profitable means."

Mara asked, "How did you get a hold of Vong biotech in the first place?"

"It was sold to us by a Vong male, who came to us shortly before the war ended. He offered us the specs for a considerable sum. He was once a high council member of the Vong before he betrayed them, as I understand it."

"Nom Anor," uttered Mara with malice.

"Yes, that was him. Now, shall we take Drex into custody?"

"Not so fast," said Luke. "Why do you need further tests on him? I can attest the fact that Drex has the Force. As far as we can tell, he has not shown any cellular breakdown of the nano organisms like the first subjects you tested."

"You are not a scientist, Master Jedi. There are tests that need to be run for data that you wouldn't understand."

"Condescending much?" cried Jaina.

Drex called out, "That's why they have me to translate. You're not testing me for molecular breakdown of the DNA protein. That's why the others had fake accidents. They showed signs of breakdown with mechanical nanobots. The DNA sequence that you injected me with is based on living organisms."

"Why would that matter, Drex?" Luke asked.

"Because living organisms can adapt. They can conform to the human RNA strand, unlike mechanical nanos. My strength in the Force grows stronger by the day. I am showing no signs of breakdown, as Master Luke said. No, Dr. Kenzeel doesn't want to run tests on me for what went wrong. He wants to test me for what went right."

Luke turned to Dr. Kenzeel. "Living beings being given the abilities in the Force instantly. Why?"

Dr. Kenzeel grinned. "To knock the Jedi off their pedestal, of course. You almost gave up the entire galaxy to beings from the Unknown Regions. Ironically, they did not possess powers of the Force. And they reeked destruction in their path. Ithor, Reecee, the fall of Coruscant. Over a billion lives lost."

"We don't need the history lesson," snapped Mara. "Get to your point!"

"The Jedi came in to save the day. They were given a new position on the high council. The galaxy adored you. They yearned to be you. Your actions in the war made the ordinary beings in the galaxy feel helpless."

Luke stated, "That is not how it was perceived."

"Oh, I beg to differ. Nom Anor gave us the idea to offer the ordinary the extraordinary. They can experience the Force's power for themselves that only the Jedi could previously possess."

Corran added, "For a price."

"Of course. The extraordinary always has a price."

Drex said, "You've set up injections of the protein serum in gene guns."

"Several thousand. All set to be distributed."

Drex said, "I was wrong. You don't need to test me at all. You need my blood to create more serum."

The doctor nodded. "I thought an intelligent scientist like you would understand."

"Understand?" Drex gasped. "What you're doing is dangerous. There's no telling how an individual's body chemistry will react to the protein."

Mara said, "And you can't just buy the Force like a bottle of azure milk at the marketplace. You may be creating a new race of beings who would treat your Force serum like a drug."

"You underestimate the desire of beings in the galaxy, my dear," countered Dr. Kenzeel. "They want the power of the Jedi, and we can give it to them."

"You're a manic," cried Mara.

The doctor calmly replied, "No worse than your former boss, my dear."

Mara gritted her teeth as she hissed, "He may have set out to control the galaxy, but he did not profit from it. Oh, and call me My Dear one more time and I'll break both your arms!"

"Enough, Mara," said Luke. "I say we move on to the prisoner transfer."

Dr. Kenzeel replied, "Excellent. I believe I have answered enough of your questions. We will detain Mr. Connick. As you are well aware, we cannot keep you here."

Jaina nodded. "More unwanted publicity."

Drex cried, "Wait! I want to see Nika first."

The doctor replied too calmly, "But, of course."

Drex was escorted in binders by two guards to a holding room. Luke and the others headed back to the Falcon, seemingly ready to depart. Drex entered the room with the guards and his eyes immediately to Nika. A rush of emotion washed over him unlike anything he felt before. All of her lies and betrayal disappeared. She sat at a metal table also in binders.

"Drex! What are you doing here?"

Drex shrugged. "You're here. I missed you."

"Oh, no you don't! You don't just leave me the way you did and then smooth it over like you pretend it didn't happen. What are you doing playing the hero and trying to rescue me? I turned myself in to protect you, and you're here making my plan moot."

"Oh, I really missed you. Did I say I was here to rescue you?"

She went silent and uttered an embarrassing, "Oh."

"Look, we don't have much time."

"Wait, Drex, I'm sorry. For everything."

Knowing that she meant it not just for her scolding now, he said to her, "We can talk about it later. Right now, you have to trust me."

"I do, Drex."

He turned around to face the guards. He focused in the Force and directed his words to them. "You will take us to Platform A. Dr. Kenzeel has instructed you."

One of the guards laughed. "In your dreams, prisoner."

Drex breathed in and out and reached deeper into the Force. Be calm and project. Just like Corran said. "You will take us to Platform A as instructed by Dr. Kenzeel." He then felt it. The guards' weak minds shifted to his power.

One guard stated in monotone, "We will take you to Platform A as instructed by Dr. Kenzeel."

"And you will take off both of our binders."

"We will take off both of your binders." The guard proceeded to unlock their binders. Nika stood up as she rubbed her wrists and came up to Drex.

The other guard cried, "Come on. We don't want to keep Dr. Kenzeel waiting."

"Of course not," acknowledged Drex.

Nika spoke closer into Drex's ear and muttered, "You would be handy during a con."

"Doesn't work with everyone."

"I guess not. I assume there's a plan."

"If we follow it right."

The guards led them out of the holding area and towards the landing platform where the Falcon was. Once they reached the door to the platform, Drex stopped and reached into the Force again. He simply said, "Sleep." The guards immediately closed their eyes and slowly tumbled down to the floor, asleep. Drex was forced to chuckle. "Wow. I'm surprised that worked. I wonder if it's how I say it or if the Force is altering their minds."

Nika gave an eye roll. "Don't start analyzing now, Drex. Let's go."

They both entered the roof where the Falcon was sitting with its ramp open. Corran and Luke were awaiting there. Nika entered the ramp first. Drex stood at the base of the ramp.

Nika turned back at him. "Drex, what are you doing?"

Drex said, "This was my plan. You go with them. I have something I have to do."

Corran exclaimed, "This was not our plan, Drex. Get on board."

"No. Keep her safe. I have to end this."

"Drex, no!" cried Nika.

Drex backed away from the ramp and began to run back into the building.

Corran said, "Didn't see that coming."

"Me neither," said Nika. "It's not like Drex to be spontaneous."

Luke said, "I think he had this plan in mind all along. We have to go after him."

Nika cried out as she ran back to the platform exit, "I know where he's going!"

"Nika! Get back here!" Luke shouted.

"And this plan is taking more left turns," said Corran.

Mara and Jaina appeared from behind them and Luke caught her up to Drex's true plan and Nika going back after him. They all agreed to split up to find both of them. They reached inside the building where they were greeted by X-Tec Security. The head Security officer called out, "Release the prisoners or suffer the consequences!"

Jaina shrugged, "I say consequences."

"They don't know they escaped from us," noted Luke.

Mara said, "Let's keep it that way. Drex must know this place in and out. And Nika is all kinds of resourseful. "

The officer shouted, "If you do not comply, we will be forced to shoot!"

Mara said from behind a pillar, "Something tells me they're going to shoot anyway."

"Oh, yeah," said Corran, "this plan officially went south."

The security men began firing at them.

tbc

 

Fantastic snark especially from Mara Loved the teasing about Luke's first training session with the remote!

Whew!! Drex was able to blindside more than one Jedi and a former CorSec officer with his true plans.

 

IT IS DONE!!!!!
My epic is complete after 6 years. I have to admit there were many times when I abandoned this piece. But readers kept coming back. Maybe not in the numbers I was hoping for, but I'll take it. For all of the readers, current and future, I would like to request that you give me some kind of review. This was six years of my life and many things have happened to me and the world in that time. It's not mandatory. Do it only if you desire. I would like to see if I want to continue in writing these long epic stories. I have one more long epic that I plan to end soon.

Another tradition of my epic stories, as those who know me, is a fun treat. I will give the Hollywood equivalent of a cast for my OC characters. These are the actors and actresses who I saw play them. They may not be the same as yours. I'd like to hear who you imagined in those roles, too. I will post that separately soon.

Without further adieu, I present you with the ending of The Aperion Principle.

Enjoy and review as you see fit!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 11​

X-Tec building, Taris

Drex knew the layout of the building, having been employed there for the past seven years. After he reentered the building from where the Falcon was, he quickly hid down a hallway and into an alcove of a lab. He waited until the hallway was clear of employers. It was not long after when he heard the X-Tec Security team marching its way to the entrance of Platform A. They knew he was missing and they're going after the Jedi. Drex figured the Jedi could hold their own. He just hoped Nika was safe.

The hallway was clear and Drex moved to the main labs. One in particular was formerly his own. He saw the many employers in their labs working. They were so focused on their work that they didn't notice Drex looking on. Drex still wore the flashy outfit of Nika's character she designed for him. It was a contrast to the white lab coats that the employees wore. He noted that those employees were him less than a week ago. He, too, had been too focused in his work. It obscured his vision of the true value of life that had been in front of him for two years. Ironically, having the Force opened him to more of what the galaxy has to offer.

He passed by his former lab. It may have been five days ago since he worked there, but it felt like five years. He managed to reach the lower floor and eventually to the infamous secret lab that he accidentally discovered. It wasn't as vacant as it was when he found it. It was bustling with workers and X-Tec Security. Drex quickly hid behind storage crates. He took a peek from behind the crate. He saw that the workers were placing an item in smaller containers and into larger ones to stack them onto crates. He looked closely and saw what was going into the small containers.

Gene guns. No doubt they were filled with the serum that contained the living nano-machines that produced Force abilities in beings. Just as Dr. Kenzeel had said. They were ready for distribution.

Drex was now determined to destroy them all. X-Tec could not get away with abusing bioethics. But how to destroy them all? Drex thought hard on the times that he had used a gene gun to remember their weakness. There was one time when the microchip inside failed. It had burned out due to someone using a flash emitter too close to the gun. A flash emitter was relative to an ion pulse. That was it. If a similar pulse could be set off in the building, it could disable the weapons. It wouldn't kill the nano-machines inside, but it would fry all of their microchips making the gene guns useless. And he knew exactly where he could set one off. The Emergency Electro-Mag Wave. It was an emergency shut off system set in the building in case any equipment, electrical systems, or droids malfunctioned. Yet, Drex cringed. Its controls were housed inside Dr. Kenzeel's main lab.

He had to make his way there. Drex sprang from his hiding place to head for the exit to the upper floor. His elation turned quickly to horror.

Standing in the way of the exit was Ciser, the not so human Head of X-Tec Security.

"Drexal Connick. Going somewhere?"

"I'm going to end all of this. This is not what X-Tec is about."

Ciser's laughed boomed. "It's exactly what X-Tec is about—making money."

"Not this way."

"I suppose you think you're the hero now." Ciser reached from behind him to reveal a heavy blaster canon. "You're not." Ciser raised the blaster and fired.

Drex dodged the shot in time as he scurried to hide behind another storage crate.

"What are you going to do now, Drex? There are no ale kegs to throw at me this time!"

Drex shouted, "I don't need them!" He focused on the Force and directed it at a container above him. He lifted it with the Force and hurled it at Ciser. The humanoid dodged it easily.

"Oh, nice try. Maybe the next one will only graze me. I am so much stronger than you."

"Maybe physically. I have more strength of mind now."

"Is that so? Would that be because of the injection that we gave you? Now you have the Force. You can thank X-Tec for that." Ciser approached where Drex was hiding and made a quick move around it. He fired immediately. Nothing was there. "Where did you go, hero? I will find you."

From his new hiding place behind a support beam, Drex cried, "Every living being has the Force. Except you. You are not a living thing. You are a machine."

"Oh, I am so much more than that." Ciser began to fire at random across the room. When one shot managed to hit the support beam that Drex was behind, he yelped. The sound echoed and Ciser followed it. He came to a corner.

Drex was up against the wall with nowhere to go. He looked back to see Ciser standing before him again. He was trapped against the corner.

"Well, look at this. Nowhere to run now." He raised the blaster.

"I thought X-Tec needed me alive."

"All we need is your DNA. We can take that whether you're alive or dead. It will be more than enough to make more serum."

Drex wanted to use the Force but there were no objects to hurl at Ciser. He tried to focus on the blaster but he could not concentrate in the Force. Ciser loomed closer.

Ciser said, "Ah, I can sense your fear. I may be a machine but I can detect your heart beating faster and your adrenaline pumping. You can't show fear as a Jedi, Drex. Isn't that the path of the Dark Side? You would have never been a Jedi, Drex. You will always be a scared scientist. And that is how you will die. And you will die alone."

"He won't be alone," said a voice from behind him.

Ciser turned to see Jaina Solo in a defensive stance with her violet blade at the ready. Immediately, Ciser started firing at her in rapid succession. She blocked every shot with her lightsaber as she edged closer to him. She quickened her pace into a sprint and suddenly made a move to her left. The move surprised Ciser as he raised the blaster shots at her. Most of the shots went wide, and those that didn't were angled back at him. She ran up alongside the wall and pushed herself off against it. She flew over Ciser's head and performed a somersault in mid-air. Before she landed, her blade went into a wide arc across Ciser's upper body. She landed feet first on the opposite side of Ciser. His head had separated from his body courtesy of her blade, and it landed on the floor near her. Sparks flew out wildly from its cut wires. The rest of Ciser's torso fell over on a delay.

Jaina exclaimed, "My brother sends his regards." She looked back at Drex and said, "Are we done playing hero now?"

"Not yet. I have to get to Dr. Kenzeel's office lab. There's an Emergency Wave that can neutralize all of the gene guns. The controls are in his office."

"Well, it's not going to be pretty getting up there."

"Why?"

A Klaxon sounded at once in the building, telling employees to evacuate.

"Well, there's that," Jaina replied. "X-Tec Security was alerted to your true plan, which is more than I can say for us."

"Hey, I had to do something. I couldn't let X-Tec get away with this."

"Which is why I'm helping you out of admiration. Takes guts. We separated to find you while the Security team fired on us. There's something else, Drex. Nika is missing."

"Missing? Wasn't she with you?"

"Up until you took off. Then she went after you. Once they started firing on us, we lost track of her."

The lift opened and out marched a group of armed Security guards. They spotted Jaina and Drex along with the disabled body of their Head of Security.

"Don't move! You have really done it this time, Jedi. You took out Ciser."

"Seemed easy enough. Proves that even a highly advanced droid can hold an ego."

"Drop your weapon!"

Jaina gave him the Solo grin. "Sure." She dropped her lightsaber to the floor. She then said, "But you didn't specify which weapon." With full use of the Force, she pushed the team backwards to knock each one down to the floor. She turned to Drex after she called her lightsaber back to her hand. "Stay behind me."

They went up the lift to the top floor where the doctor's lab was. They exited out of the lift into chaos. Employees were frantically running towards the exits themselves. Some bumped into Jaina and Drex just to get in the lift.

"Where is this lab?" Jaina asked.

"Just ahead on the right."

Jaina led him there and found the lab, but another group of Security guards blocked it. They were about to fire on them when Jaina used the Force again to push them back. Some did manage to fire but Jaina blocked the shots. They passed by the fallen men to enter the lab. Drex looked back and saw that one man down was about to fire on Jaina from behind. Drex quickly called on the Force and concentrated more precisely on the weapon. The blaster was ejected out of the guard's hands and flew across the room. Jaina looked back at Drex and smiled. She gave a nod of approval.

Drex went to the doctor's desk to a terminal and started typing at it. "I'll need a few minutes to get the Wave set up."

"I've got you," she assured.

Drex gave the commands to activate the Electro-Mag wave. After a few moments, a panel on the opposite side of the room slid open. It revealed a heavy lever inside of the wall. Releasing the lever activates the Wave. He walked over to the lever and was about to reach it when he heard a cry of pain from behind him.

Drex turned around to see Jaina enveloped in electric shockwaves for a few moments. They disappeared and she limped to the floor. Her lightsaber extinguished and laid beside her. The electric shock came from the phase-pulse pistol held by Dr. Kenzeel. One arm held the phase-pulse and the other was wrapped around Nika by her neck in a chokehold. He dropped the phase-pulse blaster and replaced it with a traditional pistol that he retrieved from his pocket. He aimed it at Nika's head.

The doctor said, "It is my belief that in a battle of warriors, it is wise to take out the strongest one first. Don't you think, Drex?"

"Let her go!"

"Oh, no, I want to see you finish what you were about to do. Destroying the gene guns. Go ahead. We can make more. Nikala, on the other hand, can never be duplicated. A rather unique individual, is she not? It would be a shame to destroy such a creature."

Nika called out, "Drex, don't you dare stop! You can't let this animal get away with this! Destroy them all!"

Drex called on the Force to remain calm. He spoke to the doctor in a soft even voice. "Thanks to your own experiment, Doctor, I can feel the Force within me. I suppose I do owe you for that. It's opened my eyes in a way that science never could. Stronger. The Force doesn't act against science. It is part of it. As you know, science is the art of finding how things work. We deal in facts. Sometimes the facts don't reveal the mystery of how the Force works. Maybe that should remain a mystery."

"You're stalling."

"And you're bluffing."

"Am I? Drex, we could have shared the wealth that is coming to this company. To you. Think of the people who desperately want to use the Force for themselves. They want that power. The Jedi do not share their power."

"You're delusional. The Jedi share their knowledge, not their power. Power is not what they're about. I only learned that in the last few days. The power of the Force is shared by all living things."

"But not all can manipulate the Force like the Jedi do. They can't levitate objects or sense feelings in others. Think of the power that would give the whole galaxy. And you, Drex, would be the first artificially manufactured Jedi."

Drex shook his head. "That's not how it works. Funny. You're telling me exactly what you think I want. If I'm not mistaken, that's what a con artist does. Right, Nika? But I don't want any part of wealth or power, Dr. Kenzeel. I only want Nika."

Nika uttered in disbelief, "What?

"Science blinded me, Nika. You were right all along. I was so focused on the facts of science. I'm overly analytical. The greatest mystery in this galaxy is not the Force. It's love. Love is the miracle, and no form of science can explain it. I could never see the miracle in front of me for so long. It took the Force to make me sense your feelings enough to finally notice."

Nika cried, "But I betrayed you, Drex. I lied to you about what I was and what I was really doing."

"It doesn't matter anymore. You fell in love. You could have left me at any time. You didn't. You tried to con your way out of it, but your love was too strong. I repaid you by ignoring you. I can repay you now with forgiveness. I don't care about your past mistakes. We can work together to learn from both of our mistakes. I can do that, Nikala Jordana. Because I love you."

Nika's voice cracked as she said, "I love you, Drex."

"Touching moment," interrupted Dr. Kenzeel. "May I remind you that I have a blaster at her head."

"What is your purpose here, Doctor? What do you plan to accomplish? Killing her won't change anything. You're only threatening her to get to me. All I have to do is pull that lever and your plans are gone."

"I swear, Drex, if you touch a finger on that lever, I will kill her!"

Drex smiled in confidence. "Who said I need a finger?" Drex called on the Force and focused on the lever behind him. He could see it in his mind in the same way he could see the blaster shots on the Falcon. He called on the Force to pull the lever down. And it did.

An electrostatic charge surged through the entire building. Sparks flew at every terminal. Lights had dimmed. It shut everything electrical down in an instant. Emergency reflector lights that did not require electricity came on.

In the semi darkness, Dr. Kenzeel let out an emphatic, "No!" of disbelief. Taking advantage of his distraction, Nika broke free of the doctor's arm. Instead of firing at her, he aimed his blaster at Drex. Drex swerved to avoid the shots as he sprinted forward towards the doctor. He spotted Jaina's lightsaber and he dove to grab it. His momentum lurched him forward. Dr. Kenzeel kept firing. Drex ignited the blade to block the shots. Drex came at the doctor with such ferocity that the doctor backed away too quickly. The doctor lost his footing and started to tumble backwards. At the same time, Drex angled the blade outward. Before the doctor landed to the ground, the blade impaled him through the chest. Drex ended up on top of the Doctor.

Barely alive and with a look of horror, Dr Kenzeel could only mouth his words that would no longer have sound. Drex removed the blade from his body. He then said to the dying doctor, "Your experiment on me worked, Dr. Kenzeel. Only not the way you intended."

Doctor Bose Kenzeel began to fade away and his eyes stared upward. Never to experience sight again.

Drex turned to see Nika looking on. In the semi luminescence, he thought she never looked so beautiful. She had tears in her eyes as she ran towards him. He welcomed her into his arms. They kissed wildly and with purpose. Each of them proclaiming their love for the other in between kisses.

Nika separated from him but kept in his embrace. "Drex, you did it! You stopped them! It's over."

Drex smiled at her. "It may be the end of X-Tec. It's only the beginning for us."

They kissed again.

Epilogue

The effects of the Electro-Mag Wave didn't last long. The technicians of the company worked to restore systems, lights, and machinery within an hour. The lights were back on but there was more about X-Tec to shine a light on.

Throughout the building, employers learned of the death of Dr. Bose Kenzeel and the Head of Security, Ciser. Rumors also were abounding about the doctor's true plans for the gene guns. As the Jedi subdued the remaining guards of the security team, they also began interviewing the employees. It was found out that to their knowledge, the gene guns were to be used for a new gene-splicing technique. Drex, himself, had spoken to many of his former coworkers who had no clue as to the origin of the protein that gave him Force abilities.

The next step was exposure. Corran was chosen to alert HoloNet reporters on what went on at X-Tec and what they were up to. Dr. Kenzeel's plan to sell the Force to anyone who wanted the power. The Taris government's cover up of X-Tec's plans. The secret experiments in the hidden lab, one of which was found by Drex accidently. Corran planned to also explain that this was the true reason why the Taris government wanted Drex and Nikala captured. To shut them up. They didn't want the facts exposed.

The Jedi were gathered just outside the building as Corran was waiting to go live on the HoloNet to reveal Dr. Kenzeel's true intentions. Drex and Nika were together with their arms around one another. It was then when Senator Gavron marched toward them.

"You will stop this now!" he cried. He faced Luke. "You don't have the proof of any of your accusations. I can sue you for defamation just for suggesting it. I can charge Drex here for the murder of Dr. Kenzeel. Then we will see who gets the last laugh, Jedi."

Mara said, "We will, Senator. Those gene guns still contain the serum that Dr. Kenzeel used on Drex. They were from a design based on Yuuzhan Vong biotech that was sold to them by Nom Anor himself. The serum can prove that easily."

Corran added, "Any bio-warfare of the Yuuzhan Vong has been deemed illegal after the war. That won't look good to X-Tec's value."

Drex said, "As far as Dr. Kenzeel is concerned, he tried to kill me and Nika. She was witness to my self-defense." He had a sudden thought and reached into his vest pocket to reveal a data strip. "Oh, and there's this." He handed it to Luke. "All of X-Tec's plans about the protein giving abilities in the Force are on that strip, as well as its origins in Yuuzhan Vong biotech. Courtesy of Adan Wari, the former X-Tec technician and slicer. He and Jan Thorn were among the original subjects to the first experiments that didn't work. They solved it on their own and are alive and well."

Luke reiterated, "All of that is on this data strip?"

Drex nodded. "Yes, I lost the original one that I took from the secret lab. It was destroyed when we were being chased by the X-Tec team on Coruscant."

The Senator looked confused. "I thought that strip had been destroyed in the fire at the Elite Hotel."

Luke smiled at him and said, "Funny that we never disclosed that information to any press. How could you possibly know about that, Senator?"

Gavron struggled to speak. "Well..I..I heard from reliable sources."

Jaina called him out. "You must mean my brother, Jacen. He's recovering nicely from his encounter with the humanoid droid, Ciser. I'm sure we can access what's left of its databanks to find the original orders from the Taris government to destroy the lab in the hotel and capture Drex."

"As well as the murder of our landlady, Ms. Vandergruff," added Nika.

"You can't do this!" exclaimed Gavron. "This is Taris jurisdiction."

Mara snapped, "I can tell you where to stick your jurisdiction!"

The Senator turned at once and stormed off in a huff.

Corran retorted, "Don't you just love seeing the Mighty fall into the trap of revealing their own guilt?"

Jaina said, "Has a kind of poetry to it."

Mara directed a comment to Drex. "Did I just hear you tricking the Senator into incriminating himself?"

After Drex shrugged, Nika exclaimed, "There's a hidden con-artist inside you after all, Drex."

He looked at her sweetly. "I learned from the best." He gave her a quick peck on the lips.

Jaina asked, "What's going to happen with the X-Tec employees?"

Luke said, "We've pretty much established that they were not part of Dr. Kenzeel's scheme."

"I'm not sure there will be an X-Tec after this," said Corran.

Drex said, "It can be rebuilt. Probably with a new name. I suspect keeping the name X-Tec will be in bad taste after this is all revealed." He hesitated before he looked at Nika. "They will have to replace the Head Genetics Researcher."

Nika's eyes went wide. "You?"

"When I spoke to some of my coworkers, they offered me Dr. Kenzeel's position as soon it's available. They said I deserved it."

Nika cried out, "You do. Drex, that's great!" After seeing his blank look and thinking about it more, she frowned and said, "Or, is it?"

"I'm not sure. I don't want to become so busy at work that I miss out on the things that really matter."

Jaina quipped, "Welcome to our world."

They all smiled and Drex continued. "I want to keep exploring science and genetics. I'm good at it. But thanks to the injections, I've discovered the Force. And that has opened up a much larger world for me."

Mara eyed her husband. He said innocently, "Hey, he said it. I didn't."

Drex looked at Master Skywalker. "I liked the training I received."

Luke stated, "You would be welcomed on Ossus."

Drex admitted, "I may not ever reach Jedi level. I could never lead that adventurous of a life. But I could still focus on the Force as a research project. But that may also mean abandoning science."

Nika said, "If you can't decide, then why not choose both? The Science of the Force."

"Should be interesting," said Corran.

Mara said, "It's one subject that hasn't been discussed in the galaxy for quite a while."

Luke noted, "Something that Dr. Kenzeel said struck me. He said that many in the galaxy yearned for the power of the Jedi."

Jaina said, "In some ways it could be true."

"I think he was half right," said Luke. "I think most non-Jedi in the galaxy yearn for the knowledge of the Jedi."

Jaina asked, "What, like teaching them the Jedi Code?"

Luke replied, "Not so much as teaching them the Jedi doctrine. But the general knowledge of the Force itself. For as much as the Force is a mystery even to the Jedi, it's much more of a mystery to the rest of the galaxy." He looked over at Drex. "Perhaps if we had a liaison to bring together the knowledge of the Force and its science to the galaxy." He glanced at Nika. "The Science of the Force."

Nika chimed with glee. "Wow, Master Jedi Skywalker liked my idea!"

Mara stated, "That's certainly something to think about, Drex. You know, as long as you don't throw anyone against the wall in doing it."

Drex sighed. "You're never letting go of that, are you?"

Corran grinned and said, "Drex, you have now officially met Mara Jade Skywalker."

Drex looked at Nika. "I don't want to think about any of it right now."

"You don't have to decide anything now anyway. Say, we can go back to our old apartment."

"Not sure I want to stay there anymore. We could get a better place. Now that you have all of your con money."

She squinted her eyes. "Drat, I did show you all my stash, didn't I?"

Drex looked deep into her blue eyes. "I know what we can do. We can get away. Go on a vacation. Just the two of us. You always said you wanted more adventure."

"I think we over adventured in the past week."

"Aw, come on. Live a little, Nika," Drex cried. "We could go to the opera on Mon Calamari. Or take in a theater play on Hapes. We can even go to The Outcaster Club down the street from here and dance. We could go to Canto Bight and gamble all day."

"Let's not go that far. That place is a disaster. I will say all of that sounds nice."

Drex took her hand in his and said, "Whatever I choose to do, I want you by my side for everything from now on. And you are dying another strand of your hair red. I miss it."

"So do I."

A HoloNet reporter came up to Corran and said, "Mr. Horn, we are ready for your live report whenever you are."

"Give me just a moment." He looked at everyone and exclaimed, "It's showtime!"

"Good luck," said Drex.

"You too," Corran said.

Jaina said, "I have to get back to prep the Falcon. Drex, Nika, I wish you good luck as well."

"Thanks, Jaina. Guess that's our cue. Until we meet again, thanks to all of you."

Luke said, "Anytime, Drex. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask. Now go and make those vacation plans."

"Oh, there's no plans," said Drex. "We'll just go on a whim."

Nika smiled. "I think I'm gonna like this new Drexal Connick." They began to walk away. "Where else can we go?"

"Oh, I don't know. Hey, how about going to an art museum and seeing that Alderaanian artist you mentioned. Wales?"

Nika exasperated a sigh. "It's Wahls, you idiot! I'm going to have to teach you some culture. Looks like I have my work cut out for me."

"Can I request something when you teach me?"

Nika replied cautiously, "All right."

"Could you use one of your accents?"

"Seriously? Which one?"

"The Coruscanti one was nice."

She reverted to the accent. "You mean this one? People tend to believe I am actually from Coruscant with this accent." She switched to a Correllian accent. "Then there's this one. Lose and lazy is the Corellian way. You got that, kid? Saying kid is big on Corellia." She started speaking like a Neimoidian. "Then there is this one. I had to do this on a con once. Thank the Maker I only had to do the voice and not dress up as one. Hate their mannerisms." She went back to her normal voice. "Hey, why do you want to hear those?"

Drex answered awkwardly, "I think they're sexy."

"Sexy? Oh, when we get back to our apartment, I will teach you sexy, Drex!"

Corran watched the couple walk away in the distance and noted, "That is truly a match made for this galaxy."

The voices of Nika and Drex arguing began to fade away into the Taris night.

THE END!​

 

I really enjoyed this story.

 

Thanks for reading.
And now for my "Hollywood" cast of OC characters. It's been my tradition to include in my epic stories who I saw as the original characters I wrote. Yours may have been different, so I'd like to see them if possible.


Drexal Connick - Eddie Jemison. He is a relatively unknown actor but instantly recognizable in many smaller roles. His most notable was as Livingston Dell, the tech geek in the Oceans 11, 12, and 13 movies. I saw his nervous demeanor and shortness of stature to be perfect for Drex.



Nikala "Nika" Jordana - Mary Elizabeth Winstead. No Seven X's here! Love her in Scott Pilgrim! She has the right slick personality and spirit of
Nika. Just imagine her with black hair and that one streak of bright red.




Dr. Bose Kenzeel - Ciarán Hinds. Distinguished English actor who has played several villains. Most notably in the 2nd Tomb Raider movie with Angelina Jolie. He's been on Game Of Thrones and the later Harry Potter movies, too. His villains have an evil politness to them that I thought was perfect for Dr. Kenzeel.



And finally,
Ciser, the HRD droid and Head of X-Tec Security - Dave Bautista. You know him as Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy.
Ciser had to be a looming and large figure. Mission accomplished!


See if you agree with my cast!

 

Superb action and snark!! Jaina and Mara are amazing in both areas. The Drex/Nika interactions were just adorable.

 

This was a fun read! Thanks!