Chapter 15

Saturday night comes and Raine is lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She hears a light tapping on her window and looks, seeing Jenos waving at her. Raine gets up and hurries to the window, opening it up for him. He hops in and shuts it behind him. Raine hugs him tightly from behind, nuzzling his back with her cheek.

He smiles and pats her hands. “Hey.” “Hi.” She continues holding him, closing her eyes and breathing in his scent. “It’s been quite a while now.” “Yeah, sorry about that…” Jenos tries to turn to face her. She lets go enough for him to turn before holding him tightly again. “I’m just glad that you’re fine… and here with me…” He smiles and hugs her.

He rubs her back as she rests her head on his chest. “I am sorry about things right now. Please understand though, it’s not that I don’t want to be with you, just that it’d be safer if you weren’t around me.” She looks up at him. “Safer? What are you doing?” He sighs and looks away before looking back at her, his eyes hardening. “I’m trying to get rid of some criminals from the inside. It can get real hairy when I’m going to bust them open.”

Raine looks at him cautiously. “So you are getting involved with criminals…” Jenos blinks and stares at her. “Who told you I was?” Raine bites her lower lip and looks away, not saying anything. “Raine?” She cringes slightly at the edge in his voice. She looks up at him, feeling like a little girl confessing she did something bad. “I was stopped by a man a little over a week ago. He said he knew you were getting involved with some criminals and was going to try a sting operation.”

Jenos nods slowly. “Which is when you contacted me…” Her eyes widen slightly. “I wanted to talk with you again.” She grabs him tightly as she trembles. “I couldn’t take the loneliness. Mom and I talk now, but it just isn’t the same.” Jenos sighs lightly and holds her in his arms. “So did you tell them what I said?” Raine shakes her head. “I didn’t say that you were coming over. I don’t think they are trustworthy.” Jenos nods and hugs her tightly.

“Things won’t be easy, I need to stay out of contact the bulk of the time. Even so, it’s important I do this. The PSS isn’t protecting the citizens, so someone has to.” Raine looks at him, blinking her eyes. “So you will, all by yourself?” “If that’s how it has to be, yes. I won’t let anyone else harm you.” She looks into his eyes, seeing the intensity behind them. “You’ll do anything, won’t you.” He smiles slightly, the fire in his eyes dissipating. “Yeah, after all, you’re the most important person in the galaxy to me.” He kisses her forehead and hugs her tightly. She holds onto him just as tightly, resting her head on his chest while breathing in his scent.

The window explodes, destroying a part of the wall as well and sending shrapnel into the room. Jenos turns his body to prevent the pieces from getting to Raine. He cringes lightly as the glass imbeds itself into his back. Raine looks over her shoulder and sees four men rushing into the room. Jenos lets go of Raine and gives her a shove towards the ground. She falls backwards and watches as Jenos turns around and pulls out a vibroblade.

One of the men fires their blaster, barely missing Jenos and making a hole in the wall. Jenos closes with him and stabs his blade into the man’s midsection; cutting upward, sending blood into the air as the man crumbles. Raine looks around the room, finding nothing useful as a weapon. She gets up and runs at the closet opponent.
Roger sees her coming at him and sidesteps before bringing a roundhouse into her cheek. She cries out and is thrown to the side, hitting a dresser and knocking over the pictures on it. “Raine!” Jenos rushes and charges into Roger, sending both of them into the dresser as well.

Raine closes her eyes at the pain and feels the dresser shake again. She barely manages to open her eyes and sees Jenos and Roger grabbling with each other. “Stop right there Jenos, or she dies.” She turns to look at one of the other men pointing a blaster at her. A blaster bolt goes off and the man is knocked back as it catches him in the stomach. “Raine!”

She turns her head to see her father entering the room with a small blaster in his hand. “Dad!” Rostan surveys the scene and sees the last man bringing his blaster to bear on him. They both fire and hit each other, sending Rostan into the wall and the other falls to the floor. Raine’s eyes widen as she sees her father slumping. She rushes to him and tries to hold him up. “Dad, Dad, say something…” Rostan looks up at her, a slight smile on his face. “I’m glad… you’re okay…” He slacks in her arms and the light in his eyes die. “No, Dad!”

She buries her head into him and cries softly. A yell opens her eyes and she turns to see. Jenos gets stabbed by his vibroblade in the stomach and Roger yells again, driving the blade thru Jenos. Jenos coughs and leans forward. Roger pushes him away and pulls out the vibroblade, bringing it around for a downward cut. Raine snaps and grabs her father’s blaster, firing a shot at Roger. “Jenos!”

Roger screams as he is hit from two blaster bolts, one on each side of him. He crumbles and the vibroblade falls to the floor. Raine blinks her eyes, surprised at what she just did. She looks at Jenos and gets up, letting go of the blaster, and going to her cousin’s side.

“Jenos, say something…” He is twisted in pain and sweat covers his pale face. “Are…you okay…Raine?” She nods and caresses his face. “Yes, hang in there Jenos… I’ll get you to a doctor and you’ll be fine.” Jenos coughs to the side, blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth. “I’m not going to last that long, but it’s okay, as long as you’re alive.” He coughs more, his blood staining the carpet.

Raine holds his head up and shakes her head. “No, you’ll make it. You have to make it… I, I can’t live without you Jen.” Her eyes flood with tears as she can almost feel him dying. Jenos looks up at her. “No, you can. You’re a strong woman, Raine. I know… you’ll be fine… I love…” His gaze wavers and his head dips to the side.

Raine bursts into tears and holds his head in her arms. She cries hard enough to cause her body to tremble. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m lost without you Jen…” She suddenly becomes aware of a figure hovering over her. She looks up and sees a man in dark clothing looking down at her. “Who are you?” The man turns his gaze at Jenos but doesn’t answer her. “Who are you?” She repeats her question, feeling her anger growing.

“I’m an assassin. I was going after these four guys, and finally caught up with them.” She looks at him. “You mean you were tracking these guys and now finally showed up?” He glares at her. “I barely started okay? Stop trying to make it seem like it was my fault your family was killed.”

“Well it is! If you were a good assassin you would have gotten it done with before they could have killed them!” “You’re being irrational. It’s not like people such as them present themselves to be picked off.” Raine gets up and stares him down, her fists shaking in anger. “It’s still your fault.” The man shakes his head and starts walking out thru the hole where the window was. “Where do you think you’re going?”

He turns to glare at her. “I don’t need your permission to do anything.” He continues walking, and hears her coming after him. The man turns and reaches out, grabbing her arm and launching her towards her dresser. “What I do doesn’t concern you. Stay out of it if you want to continue living.” Raine rubs her shoulder and looks down. “I don’t care about living now. He’s dead and there’s nothing for me.”

The man shakes his head and leaves the house, disappearing into the night. Raine looks at Jenos’ body then at her feet, where the pictures had fallen. She picks them up and sees the one of Jenos. She folds it in half and sticks it in her pocket. After picking up her father’s blaster, she leaves the house to where his used ship lot is.

Taking the Starmite-class freighter that had been sitting on the lot for so long, she leaves Corellia behind her. Reaching for the hyper drive motivator, her thoughts go back to Jenos. I love you, I always did. Rest in peace, my dear cousin. She pulls it down and sends the freighter off into hyperspace, uncertain of where she’ll go, or what she’ll do. All she knows, is that she won’t be the same.