Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

Knight of the Old Republic Episode II: Redemption	By : hatochiisai Category: 1 through F > Criminal Minds Views: 2738 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor do I make any financial profit off of writing and posting this work.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Knights of the Old Republic: Episode II

Ahmose Inarus

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Criminal Minds, and I most certainly do NOT own Star Wars.

SLASH WARNING!!! H/R

Chapter 12

PLANET: TARIS

LOCATION: LOWER CITY

TIME: EARLY AFTERNOON

The team slowly moved throughout the room, staring at all of the holograms of the missing individuals that the Tarisian Jedi Watchman Cal M’Gee had been trying to locate.

“All of these people…” JJ mused, frowning. “Missing?”

“Yes.” M’Gee nodded, and sighed. “People who I used to see every day just aren’t there any more… and it happens FAST! I’ll see someone at lunch, and by dinner, they’re gone. Wiped off the face of the planet. It’s happening at a rate of three or so a week! Like here… Aliana…” He pointed to a pale pink skinned Twi’Lek female. “she was here two days ago! And then she just… vanished! I always saw her every day at the same place… and then she just vanished. She has a baby at home… Her mother is taking care of her, but… Aliana just disappeared. No word to ANY one!!! Something BAD is happening out here… I just can’t prove it…”

“Well… I think that the number of people who have vanished does the speaking for you…” JJ said, gently. He looked at her, then gave a grateful nod.

“Alright.” Hotch said. “Let’s split up.” And off they went…

They wandered the lower city all day, talking to anyone who would speak with them… bartenders in dingy cantinas, prostitutes walking the streets, Exchange thugs, though few were willing to talk, Swoop Bike gangs and racers, gamblers and the honest people who tried to scrape by, forced to live there simply because they were not a humanoid species.

But while several of the people they talked to were missing someone, no one could tell them anything about what may have happened to them… After a long day, they all regrouped. When they did, Garcia appeared on the communications panel screen.

“So.” She said. “while I’ve been sitting here orbiting Taris, I did some research. It turns out, there are THREE sections of the city. The Upper City… The Lower City… And the Under City.”

“Under City?” Morgan asked, frowning. “What’s the Under City.”

“I’m not sure.” Garcia admitted. “There’s not much on it. From what I’ve been able to gather, Tarisians don’t like talking about it to Off Worlders.”

“Tarisians don’t like talking about it at all.” Cal said, and slowly sat down, frowning. “I don’t like it.”

“what is it?”

“Just what it’s called. The Under City. Way down there… that’s like… our prison, in a way. People you want to get rid of for good… that’s where you send them. Criminals… political enemies. Once you go down, there’s no coming back. Entire families have been banished to the Under City… they’re cursed to spend the rest of their lives there, as are the generations that follow… entire lineages have been damned for the sins of one. It’s a dark, lawless place, where it’s survival of the fittest. If you can’t hack it…” He trailed off and shrugged.

“… I think we need to… visit this… Under City.” Rossi said after a bit, and Cal nodded.

“I’ll take you there.” He said. ”I have a lift key.”

“Lift key?” Emily asked.

“The only way down is to take a lift. And to access a lift, you have to have a key and permission.”

“Do we need to get permission?” Morgan asked.

“No. I’m the Watchman. The guards all know me. I have complete access.”

“well then.” Hotch said. “Let’s go.”

“Now?” Cal asked.

“You think this can wait?”

“Oh. Right.” Cal nodded, and jumped to his feet, leading the way. When they reached the lift, the guards stepped aside, nodding to the Jedi Watchman, who scanned his pass. The doors opened and the team stepped in and began the long descent.

When the doors of the lift opened, the team had to wait a moment for their eyes to adjust to the gloom of the Under City. Cal M’Gee led them out of the lift and onto the filthy dirt ground. Spattered here and there were occasional plant growths that could survive the harsh, dark conditions on the planet’s surface. Cal, Rossi and Hotch were the only ones in the group who did not make a face as the putrid smell of the Under City permeated their senses. It smelled of mold, mildew, smoke, garbage, earth and human filth.

As they moved away from the lift, the doors closed and locked. A few hundred yards away was a fair sized camp, filled with burning fires. A semi-circle of about half a dozen tents surrounded each fire, and people were milling about. They were hollow looking… thin and gaunt and mean… their eyes followed the group of Jedi with a suspicious air about them.

“This place is atrocious.” JJ breathed, eyes wide. Cal glanced at her.

“I’ve tried to convince the Tarisian government to do something about the conditions here, if not do away with this penalty for good, but they won’t listen. Most of the people down here were part of the rebellion that started the war.”

“What DID start the war?” Emily asked.

“The Tarisians have killed their ocean. Famine followed, and the wealthy hoarded food and left the poor to die. So the poor rebelled. When the rebellion was defeated, its leaders were sent down here with the other criminals.”

“But some of these people are of a completely different generation. Can’t you smuggle them out?”

“They would be executed immediately if they were caught in the Upper or Lower Cities.” Call sighed. “And even my position as Watchman would not spare me from the consequences. I could be banished to the Under City, or even exiled from Taris completely.”

The team accepted this news in grim silence. It was one of those times where they were frustrated by the reminder that even Jedi couldn’t fix everything…

They made their way through the little tent village, people of all species and ages watching them… they seemed a bit more at ease when they saw Cal, but they were obviously suspicious and borderline hostile towards the others.

They approached a fire that was surrounded by elderly men and women, bundled up tightly against the damp chill of the air. Younger people were seeing to their needs. Cal approached, and most of the elderly folks’ eyes lit up. One woman spoke to the young man tending to her and he brought over an old bucket, overturning it and gesturing to Cal. The Jedi smiled and nodded, sitting himself upon the old bucket.

“Cal.” Said a tiny little old man with white filmy eyes. “It has been a while since you have visited us.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been very busy.”

“And what is more important than us, eh Cal?!” Cackled the old woman, batting her lashes at him and grinning. Rossi flinched at the sight of her mossy teeth. Cal just gave her a sad smile.

“I’ve been trying to track down the culprit behind a string of disappearances in the Lower City. This team of Jedi have come to assist me and in doing so, hope to find a Dark Jedi that may be here too. In fact, he may have something to do with the disappearances.” The smiled on the faces of the old folk slowly faded. They glanced around at one another.

“What is it?” Hotch asked.

“We’ve had people go missing, too.” Said the young man who had brought the bucket for Cal. “Random people, random times… We’ve never seen them actually get taken. It would happen when they went out to hunt or salvage… If they got split off from the group… and first, we thought it was the Rakghouls… But too many have gone missing with no evidence of a carcass…”

“When did this start!?” Cal asked, eyes wide. The could also feel that he was consumed suddenly with guilt… had he taken the time to check on these people, he would have known of this sooner. “How many?!”

“A few weeks. And maybe… three dozen?” Cal seemed to sag at that answer.

“Have you noticed anything unusual or out of place lately?” Morgan asked.

The woman with the mossy teeth eyed him up and down and obviously liked what she saw. “Nothing aside from folks goin missin’.” She said with a shrug.

“Hm…” Rossi grunted, frowning in thought. Seaver glanced up at her master.

“Excuse us.” Hotch said, bowing to the elderly people before he and the team stepped aside and huddled. “So now we have people missing down here too…”

“He takes them when they’re alone.” Morgan nodded. “He’s opportunistic.”

“So what do we do?” Emily asked. “Try to lure him out?”

“The question is… did he start hunting down here and move up, or is he still hunting in both grounds…?” JJ said.

“Good point.” Hotch said with a nod.

“It’s so dark down here… they could easily be snuck up on, too.” Emily observed.

“I wish Reid were here…” JJ said, softly.

“No kidding. He’d be perfect.” Morgan grinned.

“What do you mean?” Hotch asked, frowning.

“With his Force Sight, no one can sneak up on him. And the moment someone tried, he could alert you over your bond.” Morgan explained. Hotch blinked, and then nodded his agreement with that statement.

“Well… He’s not here. And he hasn’t been for two years.”

“… We’ll get him back, right?” JJ murmured.

“You bet we will.” Rossi said, firmly.

“Especially now that we know where he is.” Hotch added with a nod. “Now let’s get this guy and we can go get Reid.” And the team turned and spread out, scouting the area to see how they could best find and capture the culprit.

PLANET: CAROSI

LOCATION: DEVIL’S DOME PLEASURE DOME

TIME: EARLY EVENING

Reid opened his eyes and looked up when he sensed his Master approaching his prison cell. A moment later, Darth Reaper stepped through the door as it opened with a SWOOSH. He stared at his servant for a long time, then slowly approached.

“Good evening, Livion.” He greeted. “… Have you thought about what you have done?”

“Yes, Master.” Reid responded, softly.

“And?”

“I have no regrets, Master.”

The Reaper narrowed his eyes at the brazen statement, and the defiance he saw in the eyes of the young man before him. “You attitude will not be tolerated.”

“I’m afraid that all I feel is apathy at this point, Master.” Reid responded, looking away. The Reaper stared at him for a very long time.

“Perhaps you should start caring about what consequences you may be facing soon.”

“Can’t be worse than what I’ve gone through already.” Reid snorted. The Reaper’s eyes flashed and he lunched forward, pressing a palm to Reid’s forehead. Immediately, Reid tensed and arched his back, gritting his teeth and hissing as if in pain. The next think he knew, he was on Korriban two years ago, suffering the months or torture that it had taken to break him down and build him up into the Dark Lord that he had become. He suffered hours of pain… those hours turned to days, and those days turned to weeks… It was complete and utter agony. He screamed and cried, begging for mercy that would never come. And then, suddenly, it ended. And he was back in his cell on Carosi, with Darth Reaper standing over him. And with a start, he realized that the weeks of torture had just been relived in their entirety within the span of minutes…

“You see what I can do to you?” The Reaper asked, staring down at the boy he had christened as Darth Livion. The reluctant Sith Lord stared back, shock in his eyes. “This is what you will face, over and over again if you do not improve. And by that, I mean that you will be the Sith Lord you were a year ago, with the power that you have now.” Reid averted his eyes. “I have business to attend to off-planet.” Darth Reaper continued. “I will be leaving you in the hands of Trion, Cenar and Nocturn, when he arrives. And should you fail to meet my expectations with you, I will take over your… re-education. Considering this every moment…” And he turned and left the room.

Reid watched the door close, and then he sagged back into his restraints, closing his eyes and letting out a ragged breath. But he refused to cry. It had now become a waiting game. He knew that Hotch and the others would be coming for him. He just had to hold on until then, and hope that the Reaper did not return before the team came to his rescue.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to relax and calm his mind. Then he reached out with his awareness, seizing the strands of his Bond that was slowly returning. And then with all his heart and strength, he reached out, desperate to make contact with his lost mate…

PLANET: TARIS

LOCATION: UNDER CITY

TIME: NIGHT

Aaron Hotchner silently made his way through the dark landscape between the foundations of the city high overhead. He was dressed in the rags of the Underdwellers, his usual Jedi robes and tunic left back at the village. He had to appear to be an Underdweller to lure out their prey. He did, however, have his Lightsabers tucked within the folds of the rags. His team followed his every move from a distance, constantly scanning the area for anything that may target their leader.

According to the Underdwellers, the biggest dangers were the Rakghouls. They were horrible mutated humanoids with a voracious appetite. Anyone that they attacked and bitten, but had not completely shredded and devoured, was infected and would mutate into a Rakghoul themselves. But it was not the Rakghouls that Hotch was trying to lure out… they were hunting the hunters, and he had volunteered to be the bait. Cal had wanted to do it, but they had argued him out of it with the point that as the Tarisian Watchman, it was likely that the individual who was abducting people knew who he was and what he looked like. And so Cal had reluctantly accepted this and backed down.

Hotch had been wandering the Undercity for well over an hour when he felt it… a tingling at the back of his mind…. A brush against his consciousness… As he opened his mind to figure out what causing this, he was suddenly overcome. He gasped and stumbled, and then stood there in amazement. His Bond with Spencer had suddenly awakened, and they were connected. And all of a sudden, he could See. He didn’t know how, but he could. And he knew that this was how Spencer could See, with his Miraluka Blood… And it was amazing.

He could See EVERYTHING. The blades of the dark, dry grass that was able to grow down here without proper light… The little creepy crawlies that lurked in the dark shadows… He could See his team, beacons of light in the darkness, and a black, seething presence of a primitive hunger and aggression that had to be a pack of Rakghouls off in the distance. Then, he Heard it in his mind.

Behind you! He jumped, and excitement flooded his soul as he realized that Spencer, his Spencer, was Speaking to him. Behind you! Look out!!! Came the boy’s cry. Hotch jerked himself into awareness and paid attention. He could sense… no, SEE, something stalking him, only a few yards away. He was startled and appalled at the fact that he had not sensed this presence until now, and he wondered how long it had been there.

MOVE!!!! Came the cry, and he did. He whirled and a moment later, his eyes picked up the dark figure in the shadows. The figure froze, then suddenly charged. Hotch’s first instinct was to fight, but he checked himself. He was not a Knight… he was an Underdweller, and he had to act like one. And so he turned and ran. He could See things that he would not be able to see with his eyes. H was able to dodge a trap in the ground that he never would have been able to see. And he could feel the startled surprise, and then anger from the figure chasing him. And he knew, the one chasing him had set the trap. And so when he came upon another not long after, he made a decision.

Look out! Reid called out to him. He did not heed the warning. He charged straight for the trap. Watch out!!!

I know what I’m doing. Hotch said, soothingly, and he stepped onto the trap. There were snaps as the brittle sticks covered in a layer of mud gave way, and with a yelp, he plummeted into the pit. He landed nimbly and rolled, but let himself fall to the ground, limp. He closed his eyes and waited, still and silent, and he Saw his pursuer slowly and carefully approach, then peer down at him.

After a moment, Hotch heard a hum as a craft approached. It hovered over the pit he was ion, and the man up top stepped onto a platform which the craft lowered into the pit. The man stepped off and slowly approached Hotch. He jabbed at him with the muzzle of his Blaster Rifle, then signaled the craft. Large claws descended and plucked up the limp form of the Jedi, depositing him into a small cargo compartment. Then the man clamored up into the seat of the craft, and took off.

The team followed as fast as they could, trying to keep up. Hotch would feel Reid “watching” all of this in mild curiosity. And that made Hotch smiled to himself. He loved that trait in the young man, and it was a comfort and relief to know that he had not lost that bit of charm…

They traveled for nearly an hour, and during that time the team had fallen behind. But Hotch wasn’t worried. He knew that they would not lose track of him. He was wearing a homing beacon. They reached an old crumbling building that looked as though it used to be a water purification plant. The craft entered a docking bay and set down. A small hovering gurney detached from the craft and the strange man guided it through the dark corridors, keeping a close eye on Hotch. But the man lay still and silent, concentrating on keeping his breathing slow and even, continuing to feign unconsciousness.

Hotch could sense another humanoid presence, along with a large presence of Rakghouls. The presence was no Force Sensitive, and neither was the man who had “captured” him, but he did seem to have the ability to mask his presence. Hotch would sense that the man who had captured him was a very skittish personality and had learned to hide himself out of fear.

A door slowly slid open with a, low, grating rumble, and the man guided the gurney into the room, then left. The door slid closed behind him. Hotch still didn’t move. He could See the frightened man slink down the corridor, turn a corner and step into the room with the other humanoid… this one was angry, aggressive, and he seethed with Darkness…

There was a conversation, and then this new man approached the room. The door rumbled open and he stepped in, approaching the Knight on the gurney. Hotch remained as he was…

“Hm…” The man mumbled. “Pretty clean and healthy for an Underdweller… Must have just been banished down here… wonder what he did?”

“I dunno, Master Cholkum…” The skittish man shrugged. “He ran real good, though…”

“Well… we’ll wait for him to wake up, and then we’ll start the new Inoculation trial.”

Hotch could sense Reid’s confusion and concern building… he didn’t know WHAT the Knight was up to, but he didn’t like it. The man, whose name Hotch now knew to be Cholkum, slowly cocked his head as he stared down at the captive Jedi on the table, then turned and left the room. But Hotch knew that there would be surveillance equipment everywhere in the facility, and so he waited for another half hour or so.

Finally, he began to fake a slow, painful awakening. He groaned, rolling his head to the side and wincing before opening his eyes. He blinked rapidly and looked around, then slowly sat up.

“Ahhg…” He groaned, rubbing his head. “Hello?” He called. “… Hello?” After a moment, he stood and began to limp to the door, putting on a show that he was much weaker than he actually was. He laid his hands on the door and then banged on it. “Hey… Hey! Let me out of here!!!”

What are you doing? Came the curious question from the Fallen Padawan. Hotch smiled internally. Then he tried the button to the side of the door and jumped when it opened.

“Oh.” He muttered, feigning a sheepish tone. He stepped through the door and into the corridor. He turned to his right and faced the bright white hallway with an old door painted in red. He approached the old door an opened it. But as it did, an alarm began to sound. He frowned. It was likely that it was designed to do that, to scare the unfortunate victim into running. And so he did. He ran. On the other side of the door was another while hall leading to a red door. This one opened when he reached it, and so he kept running. Down the hall, through another door, down another hall, through another door. But when he reached the next door and ran through, the floor dropped. Only his own intense focus kept him from leaping back with his keen reflexes as was his instinct to do… a common Underdweller didn’t have Jedi Reflexes, and so he must not show them either. He allowed himself to fall to the floor, which he found out all too soon was covered in shrapnel and debris.

“AHHN!” He cried, gritting his teeth at the pain that flooded through him.

Why did you do that?! Came the cry from Reid.

I had to. Hotch answered. I’m okay.

What are you doing!?

What I have to do… He replied, and slowly raised his head as a door opened a couple of yards in front of him. After a moment, hen slowly got to his hands and knees, wincing as the shards dug into his flesh. Using his arms covered by the sleeves of his shirt, he began to sweep debris out of his path and crawl to the door. He jumped the last few feet, allowing himself to tumble to the floor. Then he moved up to sit against the wall and sat there, picking out pieces of debris from his skin and using the Force to do a bit of subtle healing and pain management.

Suddenly, a voice was heard over hidden speakers.

“Would you like to see how your day is going to end?” the man Hotch now knew as Cholkum asked, a twang in his voice. Before Hotch could answer, a holovid appeared in the middle of the room before him, showing an old man strapped down to a table. He was blubbering hysterically, eyes going wide when a man covered in surgical dress appeared, carrying hideous tools. Hotch’s eyes widened when the man who had to be Cholkum began to inspect hideous wounds on the poor old man, that looked like bite wounds. The man began to beg as his captor began to perform what appeared to be a surgery right there, without anesthesia. He screamed in agony… and then he began to scream with something else… something raw and primitive… and before Hotch’s eyes, the old man on the table began to mutate… he was turning into a Rakghoul.

How could the Order have never picked up on this?!

He closed his eyes and looked away… he was being unrealistic. Even the Jedi cannot sense everything… And down here in the Under City, this torture would have been masked by the fear, pain and misery of those living in the Under City and Lower city both… Not even Cal M’Gee living right hear would have been able to glean this from everything else that had the planet humming with energy and emotion… it would take a very powerful Consular a lot of concentration to feel this. But it gnawed at his soul nonetheless…

He felt himself being soothed by a sad Spencer Reid, and he allowed himself to accept this little bit of comfort. And as he did, he became more attuned to the boy… and then he could feel Reid’s own pain and fear… fear that the team would not reach him in time to bring him back from the Dark Side… To spare him from the torture that was coming… and then came the name… Nocturn.

Hotch jerked.

Nocturn?

He’s on his way to Carosi.

… Blast!

What?

Is Rashio still here?!

… I don’t know. Probably not.

Damn. We were supposed to capture one of them.

I see… Well, you are needed on Taris regardless. Stop this man. I will wait.

For how much longer?

As long as I can…

Neither Reid nor Hotch voice the concern that it might not be long enough…
- 11
- 12
- 13
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Knight of the Old Republic Episode II: Redemption