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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.

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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 13

PLANET: TARIS

LOCATION: UNDER CITY

TIME: DEAD OF NIGHT

Aaron Hotchner made his way down a dark corridor… the man who had “captured” him, Cholkumb, told him that if he had managed to make it out of the facility by dawn, he would be free to go. He knew that this would be rigged… and likely full of traps. Apparently Reid agreed, for a moment later, Hotch could feel a Force Aura swirl up around him, protecting him. He didn’t conjure it himself, it had to have been Reid. It amazed him that the boy was able to do this from so far away…

Hotch fake-limped his way down the corridor, leaving a trail of blood spatter behind him from his numerous cuts. He allowed Reid to See for him as he slowly made his way through the compound. He heard doors locking behind him… this place was a maze that did not permit mistakes. He wouldn’t admit to it, but there was a big of a thrill at doing what he was doing… his team may not have made it to the structure yet… he was on his own…

No you’re not… came the soft reminder. He smiled.

Thank you. He replied, sending his sincere appreciation across the Bond.

I will stay with you for as long as I can…. But when they others come for me…

The others?

Yes. I am to be punished for helping Master Virr escape.

Hotch frowned, remembering how Master Virr had told the team, and the Council, that there was pain and suffering in Reid’s immediate future… torture… What will they do to you?

I don’t know… I can handle anything that Trion or Cenar throw at me… but Nocturn…

Yes?

… He scares me… he’s really dark and… twisted… And he’s on his way to Carosi.

Do you know if he’s already left Taris? Maybe we can stop him…

I didn’t even know he was ON Taris… Reid admitted. Hotch sighed. Blsast… well, while their initial reason for coming to this planet was gone, now they had to stop the bastard who was throwing innocent people to the Rakghouls and torturing them to study the mutation.

He turned a corner, burst through a door and ran down some stairs. At the bottom was a dark corridor. At the other end was a door that was ajar. It was lit with red, and there was a putrid smell coming from it.

Go! Came Reid’s cry.

I am NOT going in there! Hotch argued.

Behind you! RUN!!! Came the insistent shout. Hotch whirled. Behind him was a large male Rakghoul. He turned and ran. The breast let out a snarl and chased him. The Knight fought to keep a normal pace of running so as not to give himself away.

He barely made it through the door, turning and slamming it behind him, and then securing it with the dead bolt. He could hear the howling beast on the other side of the door, clawing to get in. Then he turned and faced the room he was in. He felt a wave of nausea over the Bond as Reid let out a horrified cry. Severed limbs dangled from the ceiling… A few heads were seen here and there… Off to his left was the head of a purple skinned Twi-lek female, dangling from one of her lekku. His stomach turned.

After taking a moment, he began to make his way across the room, ducking and weaving between the decaying flesh. In the very middle of the room was a metal table, and on it sat a head. The specimen was fresh, and the eyes of the male Gran stared into his own, his fear and pain echoing long after his death…

Turning away from the grisly sight in horror, Hotch spied another door. He approached with caution and pushed it open, stepping through. Before him was a staircase. He began to make his way to the bottom, and then a breeze wafted over him. The putrid smells of the Undercity came with it… and while that didn’t exactly smell like a basket of florals, it smelled better than the building. But as Hotch picked up the pace, he heard the door closing with a hiss.

“Time’s up.” Said the man over the speakers. Hotch smirked to himself. He still had another hour and a half; this man was cheating. But he wouldn’t let the man know that he knew it. He staggered towards the door, as though desperately attempting to make it through before it closed. But he only made it halfway across the room before it shut with an ominous boom. And then there was a soft hiss…

Hotch looked around. Gas. Gas was misting out of the jets near the floor. He snorted slightly to himself and took a deep breath before utitrlizing the Breath Control technique. Then, he stumbled and collapsed to the floor convincingly. Then he waited…

After a moment, the gas was shut off and a fan cleared out the room. Then, Cholkumb arrived. He seized Hotch’s ankle, beginning to drag him back into the dark facility, whistling an odd tune.

And what, pray tell, is the point of all of this? Reid asked.

Stopping this man.

And you plan on stopping him by playing dead?

Unconscious.

You plan on stopping him by playing around?

Hush. I’m biding my time.

Until what?

Until the team gets here.

Oh. I still think what you’re doing is foolish. You’ve been captured by a psychopath.

Oh really? I couldn’t tell! Shall I point out YOUR situation!? Hotch snorted. Immediately, he felt Reid recoil, and the pain seared across their Bond. Hotch winced.

That’s not fair… I… It was to… protect you.

… I know. And I’m doing this to protect others.

… I know…

Spencer… I’m sorry… Hotch offered, but the boy didn’t respond. Silently, he withdrew. And Hotch suddenly found himself truly alone…

PLANET: CAROSI

LOCATION: DEVIL’S DOME PLEASURE DOME

TIME: PRE DAWN

Spencer Reid sat in his dark prison, with nothing but the sound of his own breathing to keep him company. Tears burned in his eyes, but he would not let them fall. He was done crying and feeling sorry for himself, though the tears were mostly brought on by his emotional agony...

The fact was, as much as he had wanted to stay with Aaron Hotchner, despite the hurtful comment, he was exhausted. Already he had held their link open for far longer than he had thought he would have been able to, but that jab at his heart had made him lose his grip on the Bond, and the link had closed…

He let his eyelids droop and he sighed. He willed rest to come to him, but the fates did not have that comfort in store for him. There were the sounds of boots in the corridor, and then the door to his cell opened. Trion stood there, three sets of eyes staring at him. And after a moment, he saw the vial of Nectar that they had brought. He was guilty to admit that he was grateful, but the withdrawals were upon him. When the vial was lifted to his lips he drank without resisting, savoring the thick, sweet liquid and closing his eyes at the ecstasy that flooded through him as it spread his poison throughout his lithe form. Then he was left alone and he sank into the warm, peaceful embrace that the drug brought on.

He was woken several hours later when the doors opened again, and Darth Cenar stood before him, eyeing him up and down. He blinked silently at the man who had no conscience, no empathy, no sympathy, no mercy… no remorse…

“You know why I’m here.” Cenar said, and Reid nodded silently. “Brings back old memories, doesn’t it, Livion?” Still the boy stayed silent. And then his eyes widened as an interrogation droid floated in. “I’m sure you remember our old friend here. And its Bavo-6.” Reid gave a thick swallow, his eyes transfixed on the needle that hat slid out of its casing. “Time to play…” Cenar smirked, and watched Reid grit his teeth and close his eyes as the needle sunk into his flesh, piercing the femoral artery and injecting the chemical. He watched as Darth Livion wince again, and then squirmed slightly. Another wince, and a gasp. He squirmed again and began to sweat. And finally, a pained whine was heard. He let out a strangled scream as the needle withdrew from his flesh, the Bavo-6 having successfully lowered his pain threshold by a dramatic amount. The droid slowly moved higher in the air and two prongs popped out of its side. It sparked and Livion jumped, eyes wide. And then a long, piercing scream echoed through the corridors as the first volts ran through him…

PLANET: TARIS

LOCATION: UNDER CITY

TIME: PRE DAWN

Aaron Hotchner was amused as he hung limp while Cholkumb struggled to get him onto the hovering gurney. He thought to himself that one would think this man would be smart enough to get a hover gurney that scooped up its own load, but whatever… He had a good internal chuckle when he used the Force to make himself heavier. Cholkumb was cursing up a storm about how Hotch weighed more than he looked. But finally, he managed his task and began pushing Hotch down the corridor, whistling that obnoxious, off key tune again.

Finally, he passed through a doorway and stopped. The man pulled out a needle, and before Hotch could decide what to do, he was jabbed and injected. Then, he was dumped unceremoniously onto the floor. Cholkumb then simply turned and left. Hotch lay there for a long time before he began to once again feign waking up. Slowly, he sat up and looked around.

“Good morning.” Cholkumb’s voice greeted. “Welcome to the experiment.”

“Experiment?” Hotch asked. “What experiment?”

“I am testing a new vaccine that I have been trying to develop.”

“A vaccine?” Hotch asked, looking around. “For what?”

“Against the Rakghoul venom.” Cholkumb answered, and Hotch’s heart dropped into his stomach… the sick bastard… injecting people with an experimental drug and then setting Rakghouls on them!!!

Then, he heard it…the snarling and growling. And he felt the hunger… the anger… and desire to attack and devour… and it was coming from the doors on the other side of the room. He slowly turned and faced it, moving into a crouch. And then the door began to open. A single, solitary Rakghoul, a rather small one at that, lunged through the doorway and sniffed the air. Then it turned and honed in on the Jedi Knight. The man tensed, preparing for a fight.

The mindless beast charged, shrieking out a battle cry as it leapt for the man. Hotch managed to catch the creature’s shoulders and allowed himself to topple backwards, bringing the beast down with him. He planted his food into the beast’s stomach and kicked, flipping it off and sending it flying into the wall. Then he leapt to his feet and whirled, turning to face the Rakghoul again. The mutant beast screamed at him and charged. Hotch lunged forward to meet the attack, then leapt into the air. The Rakghoul had jumped at him… the Knight sailed over the Rakghoul, twisting in the air and delivering a sharp kick to the back to the creature’s head. There was a dull POP! as his boot struck the base of the skull. The Rakghoul crashed to the ground, shuddered, and then lay still… Hotch slowly stood, not even sweating at his exertions.

“Hmmm…” Came Cholkumb’s thoughtful hum… But then, there was a buzz. Another door opened. Hotch turned at the snarls, and watched grimly as a whole pack of Rakghouls emerged. There were six of them, and they were all targeting him.

“Let’s see how long you last with these, filth.”

“Longer than you think.” Hotch growled, and a moment later two gleaming amethyst blades erupted from the hilts of the Lightsabers that he had taken into his hands. Then he faced the beasts.

Suddenly, alarms began going off. Red lights were flashing… there had been a security breach and Hotch knew that the team had entered the facility. All he had to do now was keep the Rakghouls from biting him, and everything would be okay. But the Rakghouls had other ideas… they charged at him, letting out battle cries, and he met their attack with one of his own. He met their attack with equal ferocity, and as the blades spun, the creature fell to the floor.

“Die, Jedi…” Cholkumb growled, and another alarm sounded. Other doors began to open, and nearly six dozen Rakghouls poured into the room, and Hotch knew that the bastard was making a run for it… that was fine. His team would catch him. But now he was concerned that they may not make it to HIM in time…

He backed away from the advancing army of Rakghoul, who seemed wary of the glowing blades in his hands… They sniffed the air, snarling and snapping their jaws at nothing…

Hotch shifted his weight and bounced a few times on the balls of his feet before he leapt forwards with a battle cry and attacked the mass of Rakghouls surrounding him. They blazed through the mass of snarling, howling bodies, severing limbs and ending lives right and left. There was no guilt in these slayings… these people were no longer who they used to be. They were stumbling, drooling monsters who felt nothing but the lust to kill and devour. As each life was snuffed out, Hotch could feel the darkness around him lessening ever so slightly.

He thrust his hands out and with a massive blast of the Force, Rackghouls were sent flying into walls and into each other, toppling them to the floor. Hotch took the opportunity to regroup, and make his way back into the corner so that none could sneak up behind him.

He wished heartily that Reid had maintained their Bond a bit longer… he could really use the boy’s Force Sight right about now… but he had hurt the sensitive young man, and he had withdrawn.

Hotch frowned and felt his anger with himself bubble up, and he lunged at a brave Rakghoul in a merciless attack. He then scowled and mentally berated himself for attacking in anger. Nearly two dozen of the beasts had fallen, but another four dozen were still in attack mode, and getting angrier by the moment. Their rage seethed and spittle flew as they screeched their anger over their fallen comrades, and as one, they closed in.

I am with you, came the sudden voice in Hotch’s mind. And they will not harm you! And suddenly, Hotch watched his hand lifting, a heat in his arm and a burning in his fingertips. And then, to his shock, Lightning burst forth, crackling through the air. The Rakghoul let out hideous shrieks as they were struck, and many of them fell to the floor, twitching. They did not get up again.

The others were stumbling over one another to escape now, and Hotch stood stiff in a amazement, and after a bit, he slowly lowered his hand.

Spencer? He called, barely daring to hope.

… I am with you… Came the faint reply, and Hotch frowned… Reid sounded weak… in pain…

Are you okay?

… I… am fine.

Spencer, what’s wrong?!

Tired… I’m so tired… I’m sorry…

For what?

… I must go… can’t… must rest. So tired… And he faded away. Hotch frowned as he felt the aching in his body fade away as well, and only then did he realize that the ache had come up with the sudden re-establishment of the Bond… he had been feeling echoes of pain from Spencer. His eyes darkened and he grit his teeth, turning and facing the Rakghouls once more. They fell over one another, attempting to escape his wrath. But there was no way out, as Hotch already knew.

He raised his hand and tried to summon the Lightning again, but nothing happened. He frowned, but at the same time he was deeply impressed that Reid could wield the Lightning over their Bond through Hotch’s physical body. He had never heard of that happening before… he would have to ask the Council when he got a chance.

Fortune smiled upon him, though. For while he was unable to use the Lightning again, the Rakghoul did not know that, and now they fled before him, shrieking their anger and fear. And then, from a door across the room, the blue blade of a Lightsaber appeared, thrust through the metal. It began to carve through and the Rahghoul lost their minds, fleeing to the opposite end of the room. Hotch hurried over to the door and pulled a thermal detonator from his belt, and stood aside as the hole in the door was kicked in.

“Rakghoul!” He shouted, leaping through. “I’m blowing this place to oblivion! RUN!!!” And he, Rossi and Seaver did just that, Seaver calling into the comm unit for the others to evacuate as well.

They fled the facility and met outside, running across the darkness of the UnderCity. The silence was suddenly blown apart as the building behind them exploded in a massive fireball that rose up towards the LowerCity overhead. Hotch could only hope that it wouldn’t reach the lower city and hurt someone…

“That will certainly bring Troopers swarming down here…” Morgan mused, and they all stared up at the fireball mushrooming up over their heads. A moment later, the shockwave reached them… Hotch, Morgan, Prentiss and Rossi all gracefully arched through the air and landed nimbly on their feet.

Cal and JJ ducked down and used the Force to steady themselves as they skidded back through the dirt. Seaver and Garcia yelped as they flew back. Morgan managed to catch Garcia before she hit the ground… Seaver landed with a high pitched yelp of pain on her backside, and sat dazed for a moment before shaking her head and looking around, then groaning as she slowly allowed her Master to help her to her feet, rubbing her aching behind.

“You okay there, kiddo?” Rossi chuckled.

“I’ve been better.” Seaver confessed, and Hotch gave her a tiny smirk, patting her on the shoulder.

“Sorry… should have warned you about the charge I used.” He apologized, and she gave the team leader a smile and nod of forgiveness.

“You’re gonna have trouble sitting comfortably for a while…” JJ said with a wry grin.

“Yeah…” Seaver admitted with an embarrassed look.

“Don’t worry.” Emily laughed. “We’ve all been there at some point.” And JJ nodded in full agreement. Then, they all turned to Cal. The man was staring at the burning remains of the building with a devastated expression on his face.

“… Cal?” JJ called, softly.

“… I’ve failed.” He ,murmured. “It’s my job to protect them… and…”

“No one is perfect. And you have an entire planet to take care of. You can’t protect them all from everything.” Rossi said, firmly. “You know that.”

“But for this to happen right under my nose… how could I not know?!” The team was silent. “I’m the Watchman for this world!!! How can I stay here after this? How can I be the Watchman, when I…”

“You knew something was wrong.” JJ pointed out. “You knew you needed help, and so you asked for it. That’s why we’re here. You did your job.”

“It wasn’t good enough.” Cal said softly, then bowed his head and turned away from the inferno. Slowly, they began to make their way back to the lift that would return them to the Upper City.

“I cannot continue as the Watchman for this world any longer. Not with this failure and all of those souls weighing down on me.” Cal admitted.

“I think, that would be a mistake for you to leave your post.” Hotch said, firmly. “You care about these people. You are the Watchman they deserve. This is where you belong.”

“I’m not so sure anymore.” Cal sighed.

“Well, do what you must.” Hotch said. “But keep in mind that if you ask the Council for a new posting, it will be my recommendation that this is where you are needed the most.” Cal blinked up at the man before giving him a sad smile and bowing his head again.

They returned to the little tent village of the Underdwellers and delivered the sad new that those who had been lost were not going to return. And then they made their way to the lift and returned to the Upper City, delivering their report to the infant Tarisian government.

And then, after bidding Cal M’Gee one last goodbye, they team boarded the Black Asp of Uvena. Seaver headed for the medbay to see about getting something for her aching behind, and the others met in the central room, standing around the large hologram table to observe a 3D map of the Galaxy.

“Where to now?” Emily asked, casually. The team immediately saw the change in Aaron Hotchner. His eyes darkened and his body tensed.

“Set a course for Carosi.” He growled, his voice rough and deadly. “we’re going after Spencer. And this time, we’re not leaving without him…”
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Knight of the Old Republic Episode II: Redemption