"What have you done to Juhani?"
"I have done nothing to Juhani."
"I am not blind, Kono. It is obvious to me that something happened to you while you were on Korriban. Something happened to both of you. I want to know what it was."
"Bastila, did you expect our mission on Korriban to be easy or without complications? The Star Map was located in one of the ancient Sith Tombs in the Valley of the Dark Lords. The Sith guard those tombs fiercely. The only viable option was to get accepted into the Academy. I needn't remind you that the only thing Sith respect is power. Drastic measures had to be taken to accomplish our goals."
"Drastic measures? Kono, the Dark Side has taken hold on you! I can sense it from both you and Juhani!"
"What would you expect? We spent nearly a week in that den of hate, surrounded by Sith of all colors, and waded through the tombs of the Sith of old. Were you so naïve as to think it would not affect us in some way?"
"As Jedi we must be on constant guard against the Dark Side's influence. It can be so subtle in its control that you do not even know it's there. Gradually it takes you over and turns you into an abomination, a mockery of everything you once stood for. Look at Revan and Malak, look at Saul Karath; once true champions of justice, now despicable warriors of evil."
"Bastila, did you arrive at any of those conclusions based on facts that you have witnessed first hand?"
"Well, I--"
"Are they based on anything besides the words of the Jedi Masters?"
"Don't change the subject, Kono."
"I'm not changing the subject, this is the subject. Everything you know about the Force, about the Dark Side, has come from the Jedi Masters. The Masters who were not out in the heart of the Sith threat, who instead sat in their chambers while Juhani and I risked our lives and more to find the Star Map. Wise or not, the Jedi Masters are not all-knowing, nor do they fully appreciate our situation. If they did, this war with the Sith would have never happened; the Mandalorians would have been defeated long before Revan and Malak vanished into the unknown."
"How can you say such things?"
"Simple examination of observable facts. But my point is we have to base our conclusions about the way things are on things we ourselves have seen and not on anything we are told. It doesn't matter how wise our instructors are, we must make our own observations and have our own experiences. This is the only way we learn."
"I don't understand what this has to do with the Dark Side."
"The Dark Side is a perspective, a point-of-view that has been indoctrinated into you by your training, as it has been to countless Jedi down through the ages. But you do not truly know its nature; you have only been told of it. And perhaps even those instructors who taught you of it did not know anything besides what they had been told. You believe the Dark Side to be a viewable in black-and-white terms, but this is not the way reality works. For example: If a man kills another, at first glance the situation is very simple: that man has done evil and must be punished. However, if you care to examine more closely, you may discover that there are extenuating circumstances justifying the man's action. In such a case, what had appeared to be an act of evil can, in fact, be not only acceptable, but completely necessary."
"Kono, this is not the nature of the Dark Side."
"You are no more qualified to judge what is the nature of the Dark Side than any of those who came before you who knew nothing of it. The Dark Side is subjective, evil rests with the individual. Place the blame on the murderer, not the murder weapon."
"How can you so easily justify yourself in the face of the things you've done?"
"Because we are engaged in a struggle for survival. If we cannot allow ourselves to do what must be done to ensure our own survival, then we might as well lay down our arms and let the Sith destroy us unopposed. By shackling ourselves with mercy for those who wish to steal our lives we are allowing the enemy to win without a fight. We must do what we must to survive."
"But what is the point of survival if in so doing we become the very thing we oppose?"
"We do not. We fight to protect ourselves. The Sith are not fighting to live their lives, they are fighting to end ours. That gives us the responsibility to protect our lives with whatever means are required."
"I can see you will not be swayed from your conviction, Kono. I'll not press this any further for now. But I expect you to allow me to watch you when we get to Kashyyyk. There may have been valid reasons for me to stay behind at Korriban but none exist in this case. It is my duty to watch and to guide you, and I must carry out this duty to the best of my ability."
"Very well, Bastila. If you feel you must, then so be it."
"This is unacceptable."
"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't make the rules. Your ship was unscheduled, it has to be impounded for the time being until things can be sorted out at the Czerka Dock Offices or Headquarters. The dock has been targeted by a focused disruptor beam that will render the ship's engines inoperable until it is deactivated by members of Czerka Air Traffic Control, so your it's not going anywhere. There's nothing I can do but point you in the right direction."
Kono cursed inwardly. If his experiences on Tatooine had given him the feeling that he disliked Czerka Corp, Kashyyyk was giving him the impression that he despised them. Worse still, he knew it would be pointless to get angry at the dock officer in front of him; killing the messenger wouldn't solve his problems and regardless there were no Sith he needed to impress. Instead, he inquired for directions to the main Czerka offices, which the dock officer was happy to provide.
A small crowd, Kono and his companions left the docks. He brought everyone for two reasons; unlike Korriban, he had no idea where to start looking for a Star Map on the forest world and would need everyone's help; also, Czerka had just impounded his vessel, making it inconvenient for anyone to remain on board. Kono walked in front, flanked by Juhani and followed closely by Bastila. Carth trudged alongside him, in front of the two droids. Mission and Zaalbar followed the droids, and Canderous brought up the rear. They were all armed and people on the platform-streets made way for them as they passed, not wanting to get in trouble.
The forest was beautiful; towering Wroshyyr trees the width of buses reaching up for miles, the canopy casting green light on the platform cities that dotted the midlayer. Kono did not let himself be distracted by his surroundings, no matter how exquisite they were. He had work to do, questions that needed answering.
Foremost on his mind was the Star Map, but there were other matters that nagged at him as well. Such as the absence of Wookiees.
"Zaalbar, a word please?" He called to his Wookiee companion.
"Yes, what is it, Kono?" Zaalbar answered.
"I need to know just what it was that made you forsake your homeworld. Why did you leave?" Kono asked.
Zaalbar indicated the people passing them by angrily. "This, all of this, is my fault! Czerka have enslaved my people and turned my home into an amusement for outsiders because of me!"
"Slow down, Zaalbar. Start from the beginning. Tell me exactly what happened."
With a mournful sigh, Zaalbar explained. "My brother Chuundar was making secret deals with outsiders. Our father was Chieftain, and when I found out what Chuundar was doing I tried to tell him. But he believed Chuundar instead and disregarded my concerns. This made Chuundar bolder, and he began to gather followers. Soon, he was able to challenge Father for leadership of the Wookiee clans. He succeeded, and soon the Czerka people started to land on our home like flies on a carcass. Father and I were furious, Father more than I because he had believed Chuundar's lies. I do not know what happened between the two of them, all I know is shortly after Father confronted Chuundar he was banished to the Shadowlands. As more and more of the Czerka people came and started taking us as slaves, I left. I was afraid of what Chuundar might decide to do with me, and I knew that it was ultimately my fault that things had gotten as bad as they did."
"So your brother Chuundar sold you out to Czerka slavers? What did the rest of your people think of it?"
"He made sure that all the blame fell on Father's and my shoulders. He told them lies of every imaginable sort. No one believed him but he had powerful friends and many of the warriors were on his side, the High Guard mainly. No one even thought about resisting. I don't know what he has been telling our people all this time, but I imagine it continues to shift the blame from himself. Perhaps he is right, maybe Father and I really are the ones to blame."
"Zaalbar, if you think you are to blame for the actions of others then you will most surely fail," Kono reprimanded. "Perhaps there was more you could have done, but you are not to blame for Chuundar's treachery. Certainly there were consequences for your inaction, but you will have an opportunity to make up for that mistake, I promise you."
"I hope so, Kono," Zaalbar responded, doubtfully.
The Czerka Dock Offices, a complex built into a hollowed-out section of Wroshyyr, was in sight. Kono halted.
"So do you have a plan yet?" Bastila asked.
Kono turned to face his party.
"We need a place to start. Czerka probably has records of their exploration somewhere. We need to find those and start digging through them, looking for any sign or trace of anything that might be useful. Bastila, Juhani, and Carth, you're with me. We're going to take T3 and find these records." He singled out Mission. "Mission, I need you to try to tap into whatever sort of black market they've got going on around here. There's got to be some illegit trade happening and its possible that someone might know something about the Star Map. Canderous and HK-47 will go with you."
"Objection: Master, you do not expect me to follow around this diminutive Twi'lek meatbag!" HK-47 protested.
Mission bristled. "Hey!"
"No, HK, I do. In fact, I want you to protect her if things happen to go bad," Kono admonished.
"Resignation: Very well, Master."
"Canderous, between you and Mission I know you can get into whatever kind of illegal trade they have going on here. Use any means necessary, I need to know what things are like beneath the surface of the shiny corporate utopia Czerka pulls over everyone's eyes," he instructed. "Mission, do you think you and Canderous can handle this?"
"Sure thing, Kono!" Mission replied, enthusiastically.
"What do you wish me to do?" Zaalbar inquired.
Zaalbar was a problem. Preoccupied with his own issues the Wookiee could be a liability. There was really only one thing he could task him with.
"Do you think the Wookiees would cast aside Chuundar's rule if given another option?" Kono asked.
"It would take a great deal to break their fear of Chuundar," Zaalbar answered.
"Well, I was thinking 'revolution'. Would that be sufficient?"
Zaalbar was startled. "Y--yes, I believe it would."
"I'm going to need you to pass along that promise of freedom to those who would resist."
"How can you possibly promise them that?"
Kono smiled. It was a frightening and oddly comforting smile. "Toppling governments is an old habit of mine."
"Can I help you?" The officer behind the desk asked.
Kono launched into his act, tapping into the officer's mind with a slight trickle of Force persuasion to go along with his lies.
"Yes, I believe you can. I have a friend here who works at the archives and she asked me to meet her at work. It wasn't until after I'd agreed that I realized I have no idea where the archives are."
"I presume you mean the Edean Colonial Archives?"
"Excuse me? Edean? My star chart listed this planet as Kashyyyk."
"Yes, well, that is what the locals call it. Edean was chosen as the name for the colony by popular consent among the Czerka beneficiaries."
"I see."
"The Colonial Archives are located at the east side of the port, past the tourist center, next to the warehouse."
"Thank you."
Kono stepped away from the officer's desk and rejoined his companions outside, heading for the east side of the Czerka port. When they reached the archives building, a pair of security guards stopped them.
"Let's see some authorization," they demanded.
Kono slid his sword halfway from its scabbard, startling the two men. His voice was at a deadly level tone when he spoke. "Jedi, on a mission concerning galactic security. I am going to enter if it has to be over your corpses." The look in his eyes alone caused the two guards to back off a few steps.
"Go ahead. They don't pay us to be heroes."
"Good."
He brushed past the security guards followed by a disapproving Bastila and the rest of his party. Entering the archive chambers - no more than a decently-sized room filled with looted texts and a computer mainframe in one corner - he shouted at the various technicians and archivists to get out. Everyone scattered to the four winds when they heard his voice and saw his face.
Kono was showing them no mercy; they had become his enemy. The game had begun.
Paying no heed to Bastila's critical glower, he turned to T3-M4. "T3, run a search-and-process program on the mainframe for anything about Builders, the Infinite Empire, Star Maps, Star Forge, or anything on unidentified artifacts." T3 beeped in acknowledgment. He turned next to Juhani.
"Can you read Sheriwook?" He asked.
"Yes, a little," Juhani answered.
"Good. You and I will search the scrolls. Bastila and Carth," Kono looked at the two of them, "I want you to look through whatever records Czerka might have come across from previous settlers; anything not in Sheriwook or on the mainframe."
"Kono, we need to talk," Bastila interjected.
"Fine, then talk. But please do as I say. Finding this particular Star Map could potentially take a very long time and I'd like to get started," he responded, already starting to poke into the stacks of old texts, examining and disregarding anything not of interest and setting aside others for consideration.
"Just what do you think you are doing?" Bastila asked in an accusatory tone.
"I am searching for the Star Map, as commissioned by the Jedi Council," he answered, deadpan.
"Kono, you are not behaving as a Jedi should. We Jedi do not threaten innocent bystanders merely because we are frustrated at a turn of events. This is everything the Jedi Code warns us against, and you are breaking it time and time again."
"I have to agree with Bastila on this one," Carth added gruffly as he sifted through manifests.
Kono regarded them both. He responded coolly. "Who wrote the Jedi Code that I should obey them? By whom was it written 'there is no passion, there is peace'? The world does work that way, and I will not be blinded to reality by the fanciful words of fallible fools who refused to open their eyes to the truth."
Bastila was incensed. "How dare you speak of the Masters so!"
"I have simply faced the fact that the Jedi Code was laid down by imperfect mortals; it contradicts reality. True knowledge and reasoned thought are the only things we can allow to guide us," Kono expounded.
"And how is misuse of the Force and open hostility justified by reasoned thought?" She challenged.
"First of all, 'misuse' is a subjective term. It is what you believe to be a wrongful application of the Force. The inherent problem is that you do not think my thoughts and cannot understand my purpose."
"I'm listening, explain it to me."
"Czerka Corporation have enslaved this world, you've seen the evidence of it yourself. More than that, they now have confiscated our ship; the only way we have of getting off Kashyyyk and finding the other Maps. This means that not only are they actively engaging in that which you admit is evil, but they are also obstructing our mission. That makes Czerka, and anyone who consciously chooses to be a part of them, an enemy. Enemies are not defeated by half-measures, you must fight them or you will fall."
Bastila fell silent, assimilating his words, unable to voice further objection.
As they went back to searching, Carth spoke up. "Kono, when you said earlier that toppling governments is a habit, what did you mean?"
Kono shrugged. "Special Forces, Carth. Operation: BLUE SHARD; we instigated a slave rebellion on a Hutt-controlled world. A lot of people died, but millions more would have if we hadn't done what we did."
"How's that?"
"The Hutts there were funding anti-Republic, anarchist terrorists. After the coup the terrorists were exposed and executed, foiling a major attack on Alderaan. It was a messy business, and a lot of high-ranking Republic officials and politicians thought it was a colossal waste of life. But they didn't understand the realities of what was really going on, they couldn't. That's why it was classified and buried; they thought it made the Republic look bad. But the truth was it was done for survival."
"Was that the only time?"
"No. But I doubt you'd even want to hear about the others. A lot more innocent people died and hardly anything came of it, but it always had to be done. The consequences of inaction were too great to risk."
There was again silence as everyone fell back to their tasks. No one talked, the only sounds were of rustling papers, sporadic beeping from T3, and the shuffle of books being moved.
Hours passed. Carth and Bastila came up with a couple of documents pertaining to ancient artifacts, and Juhani found an old Wookiee exploration log. But closer examination revealed nothing of further value until Kono and Juhani uncovered a volume written in Basic buried in Wookiee texts. On the cover was written Conversations with Icon. Inside, Kono found numerous references to the enigmatic Builders.
"T3, search the mainframe for anything related to the volume Conversations with Icon," Kono ordered while he flipped through the pages.
The droid beeped success. Scanning the log pulled up on the screen, Kono came up with something interesting.
"It says on the Czerka mainframe that they found this book by an unidentified relic - possibly an archaic computer system - on the forest floor. This is it, people, we've found our place to start."
"Sorry, kid, but I don't carry liquid plasma explosives. And even if I did, I couldn't sell it to you anyway. There are regulations, protocols to follow... you know what I mean."
Mission was getting frustrated. Her gut feeling told her that this particular guy running a weapons outfit by the docks would be a tap into the Czerka black market. Trouble was, he was being darned evasive. However, she wasn't finished with him yet. She still had a few tricks up her sleeve to get him to open up.
"Hmm, that's fine, I guess. See, the problem is I've got a Mandalorian mercenary breathing down my neck on this one. I have to get him the liquid plaz and I just know you can help me. Please?" She could almost feel the vendor starting to crack. He knew she knew, and he was going to have to drop his act sooner or later.
But if sweet-talking didn't do the trick, Mission could call in the muscle. Canderous and HK-47 were waiting just around the bend in case things went wrong. Mission would have argued that she could take care of herself, but Kono's orders hadn't left room for negotiation. As it stood, she had convinced them to let her handle herself, but if things went bad they could step in.
It had taken quite a bit of convincing to keep HK-47 under control. The droid had quickly become bored with the monotony of prowling for the underground and seemed as if he could go on a killing rampage any minute just to sate his murderous habits. His unrivaled sophistication apparently didn't include patience routines.
"Kid, do you know what Czerka Port Authorities would do to me if I were into the kind of things you're asking for?"
One more push, that was all she needed.
Mission snapped her fingers over her comlink, sending a message to her two watchdogs. Canderous and HK-47 sauntered around the corner, laden with guns.
Mission smiled and crossed her arms defiantly at the vendor. "I'd wager not as much as an angry Mandalorian and a bored assassin droid."
That did the trick.
Soon the vendor was offering all sorts of smuggled goods, some legit some not so. None of it was cheap, but being that none of it was on the public market, mostly illegal and often only in prototype, everything was top quality and cutting-edge. Expensive as it was, Kono had given her a practically unlimited budget for restocking their supplies. And that was a good thing; because buying expensive new weapons was the only thing capable of placating HK-47, aside from letting him kill things indiscriminately.
There was one more thing, however. Kono had given her special instructions to inquire about one thing in particular.
"So, do you know of anyone who could get a ship out of impound, hypothetically speaking?" Mission asked, innocently.
The vendor thought for a moment. "Not off the top of my head. Usually, impounded ships get marketed off to passing traders before anyone can get their hands on them."
"You mean, Czerka sells people's ships behind their backs?"
"Like I said, usually. Not always. I don't have anything to do with that. I only occasionally look and see what's up for sale, and I never buy anything."
Mission was worried now. Kono wanted to see if someone in the Czerka underground could help spring the Hawk, but it didn't look like that was possible. In fact, things were worse than he might have expected.
She abruptly turned to Canderous and HK-47.
"We have to contact Kono, right now!"
"What's the matter, kid?" Canderous asked.
Mission was getting more and more flustered by the moment. This was not good.
"We have to tell him that Czerka are going to sell the Ebon Hawk!"
Zaalbar grunted in pain as he was shoved to the floor in the Hall of the Chieftain.
Nothing had worked out the way he had hoped and Kono expected. Chuundar's people were everywhere in his village. The slavers hadn't ravaged the village as brutally as they had the areas immediately surrounding what was now their port; some of his people still remained, but the village was infested with Chuundar's spies.
As Kono had suspected, there were some who wanted nothing more than to strike back at their oppressors, but fear of Chuundar had kept them restrained.
And then he had been spotted...
The Chieftain's enforcers had recognized him instantly and set upon him like kath hounds on prey. Zaalbar was strong, but even he was not able to hold off six of the Wookiee High Guard, the sect of warriors loyal to the Chieftain above all else - there were very few who could. He had been a fool to disregard the danger of being spotted by the High Guard.
He bled from a dozen injuries on his face and arms, souvenirs from his struggle. Blood dripped to the wood floor of the Chieftain's hall.
Zaalbar heard the sound of a door opening, and another entering the room. Struggling upright, he face the newcomer. It was Chuundar.
"So, my brother, you have decided to return at last. I suppose I should have expected that you would try to sow the seeds of rebellion against my righteous rule. How could you do this to me, your own brother? I have always been just and fair to you as I have to our people." Chuundar's speech reeked of so many lies it was almost beyond belief. Zaalbar wanted nothing more than to crack open his traitorous brother's head.
"Righteous rule? Just and fair? Chuundar, you sold us into slavery at the hands of Czerka. You are a disgrace to to our father's name," Zaalbar retorted.
His brother clouted him in the face with a black-furred paw. "Liar! I did the only thing that has kept our people alive all these years. What do you think would have happened had we not submitted to Czerka? We would have been destroyed! There was no other way! And as for Father, he refused to change with the times, it is he who has disgraced us."
Zaalbar seethed at Chuundar's self-righteousness. "No other way? You never look for another way! Especially not when you can gain power at the expense of another. You willingly blinded yourself to the fact that we Wookiees are strong, together we could have driven Czerka away from our world. But instead, you went behind our backs and made sure they would conquer us!"
Chuundar grabbed his brother's face and raked his cheek with his sharp claws in anger. Zaalbar understood the message; Chuundar considered himself above even the most hallowed of Wookiee traditions. The use of one's claws as a weapon was a crime punishable by banishment and he was blatantly ignoring that sacred law.
Chuundar turned his back to Zaalbar, and he saw the open door from which he had come. Inside glowed a spherical representation of the known galaxy floating above three elongated chevrons.
The Star Map. Kono would never find it now.
Filled with a pointless rage, Zaalbar lunged for Chuundar. He never reached his treacherous brother, a force pike to the back of his neck brought him to the ground. Zaalbar blacked out.
"Kono, nothing on the Star Map yet but we have a new problem," Mission called over the comlink.
"Give it to me straight," Kono responded.
"It's Czerka. According to a black market dealer they're in the habit of auctioning off impounded ships to traders and merchants."
"That's a problem."
"Yeah, that's what I thought. How are things going on your end?"
"We turned up a lead. A book that's going to lead us to some ruins on the forest floor."
"Do you want me and Canderous to go with you?"
"No, I want you to wait around and see if Zaalbar shows up."
"He hasn't come back yet? It's been all afternoon!"
"I know, that worries me. But with this new development every minute is going to count and I don't have time to go see what's up with our friend the Wookiee. I need to follow this lead as far as it can take us, hopefully to the Star Map."
"Alright, Kono."
Silence from the com channel greeted her.
She turned to Canderous. "Let's go see if our friend the black market dealer knows of a good cantina. I think Kono's going to be a while."
A bewildered Czerka employee was only too happy to give Kono directions to the nearest descent-point into the lower forest; a quick eyeful of Kono's pitch black sword had loosened his tongue in no time flat.
The 'elevator' was little more than a basket attached to a counterweight system. It would accommodate them all, but it would be a tight fit.
And it was guarded. Three Czerka Security officers stood guard by the basket, each wearing a dour expression and armed with a blaster rifle.
"Let's see some proper authorization," the man in front demanded.
Kono sighed in exasperation. Czerka had to make everything difficult and they wanted authorization for everything. He simply did not have time for this.
With a growl, he reached out his hand and grabbed the throats of all three security officers with the Force, lifting them up into the air. "You don't need to see my authorization," he commanded, a powerful Force suggestion riding on his words.
He dropped the men.
"We--we don't need to see your authorization," the Czerka officer spluttered as he regained his breath. "Go ahead, do whatever you want. I don't care."
Kono smiled in satisfaction, ignored glares from Bastila and Carth, and boarded the descent basket. Bastila regarded him crossly as Juhani stepped across the threshold to join him, unflinching, followed by T3-M4.
"Come on, Bastila, Carth. I don't want to leave without you," he called to the two.
Silently, they boarded the basket along the others.
"I warn you of misusing your powers and yet you brazenly ignore me," Bastila whispered venomously in his ear while he sized up the primitive ascent/descent controls for the basket. Juhani scowled in disapproval at Bastila's remark, her sensitive ears having picked up the murmur.
"Bastila, we have discussed this," Kono responded, sighing.
"It always bears repeating," Bastila pressed.
The security officer turned his head their way, distracted by their talk. "By the way," he said, "you'd best be quiet on the trip down. Their's lots of dangerous wildlife that'll be attracted by the sound of your voices." He drew a finger across his throat, implying.
Kono nodded graciously. "We'll take that into consideration."
And they began to descend.
Bastila scowled at Kono, still angry that he persistently disregarded her well-intentioned warnings of the dangers of falling to the Dark Side. He couldn't see just how insidious the power of the Dark Side was, he had willingly blinded himself to it. Kono didn't understand the true nature of the Force, instead he made up wild fantasies of how he would like the universe to function and then stuck to them doggedly. He discounted the wisdom of the Jedi Masters on a whim because they didn't fit into his perfect world.
She knew why he had been so corrupted. It was the sword, the black sword that had replaced his lightsabre on Korriban; the sword that gave her nightmares. She had to rid him of it. And what better place and time than where she was, hanging above kilometers of forest in a basket?
Bastila eyed the sword, buckled to Kono's belt not two feet from her. All she had to do was grab it and toss it over the side. Kono would never find it, he would have to hold the Star Map as more important. He would forget the sword.
With one swift action, Bastila thrust her arm out and grasped hold of the sword. Her fingers closed around the black hilt.
It was like grabbing the end of a vibrostaff.
Her fingers locked in place. She couldn't let go. Bastila's eyes widened at the excruciating pain.
And then she screamed.