Chapter II- The Dantooine Job
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Aboard the Grey Shade, space above Dantooine.
30.7 ABY
By the Force, I was actually here.
I refrained from grinning, knowing that'd be a dead giveaway. After all, nobody smiles at a funeral.
I shuffled to my right, stepping out of the walkway and retreating behind a row of pilots in orange jumpsuits, each with a bowed head. Six men, all humans, were dressed similarly to me, in grey mechanic's outfits. We, falsely in my case, were the personally appointed mechanics of the recently deceased Prein Lafvad, a revered Galactic Alliance Captain from the insect-like peoples that dominate the planet Hevedara, a Mid Rim swampy world in the Elrood Sector. I, impersonating the "newly appointed" mechanic that oversaw the hyperdrive on his personal shuttle, was required to stand by for his funeral. It would appear, I noticed as New Republic troops walked past carrying a closed casket, that the Captain wished to be given a cremation. They intended to do this by launching his body into what I'd been told was his favorite sun over Dantooine.
I personally didn't care.
I was here for something else, something that the "great" captain had kept a secret from both his men and those above him: The Jewel of Dathomir.
I'd learned of the Jewel five years ago, while I was studying the history of the galaxy. The jewel, so I'd read from Imperial records, was a mythical Sith artifact that could, in legend, allow one to read into people's minds. After reading stories of similar objects or beliefs, I was brought to the Scepter of Ragnos, which was the prime tool of the Ragnos Crisis in 14 ABY. This scepter could store residual Force energy, and be channeled to people (in the case of the Reborn) or other items. The Jewel was the same, I believed, and would allow Force-empowered insight into the thoughts of anyone who made physical contact with the Jewel. If Imperial records were anything to go by, then the Jewel became lost on the planet Stracheblu, the same planet that Captain Lafvad made his naval debut. So, I spent a week diving into the old New Republic records that the Empire had stolen fifteen years ago, and was lucky enough to have stumbled across the de-briefing for the Assault on Stracheblu. Apparently, Lafvad had personally led a team of marines into a small temple occupied by monks, as to peacefully remove them without bloodshed. A freak explosion had torn the temple apart, and when New Republic forces tore the rubble away, they found Lafvad intact, and suddenly able to read the minds of the combat medics that oversaw his care. Since then, the humanoid had kept it hidden from everyone, friend and foe alike. The only reason I knew it must have been in his possession, was because two months ago a young Jedi Knight by the name of Jaina Solo, made a random detour on her way back to their secret Academy, and had a conversation with Lafvad that ended in the Captain shouting at the Jedi, demanding she leave the Grey Shade. My only conclusion was that Solo had sensed some disturbance surrounding this Jewel, and had gone to investigate, handing me what I considered irrefutable proof of the Jewel's location.
And now the Captain was dead.
I had, of course, no hand in his death. I'd merely spent a long time waiting for him to kick off so I could take his Jewel, and ransom it to the Jedi. I had a lot of credits, the last of my earnings in fact, wrapped up in this job. Between buying a black market Alliance mechanic uniform, falsifying my records to get on the Captain's team, purchasing the tools needed, and paying off the right people to find the location of the Grey Shade, I had nothing left. I'll have it all back, I thought to myself as the new Captain said moving words about his predecessor from the podium, If I can sell this jewel to the Jedi, under the threat of selling it to the Empire, I could get half a million credits for it. That'd be enough to do almost anything I wanted.
But I have to get to it first.
For over an hour, I sat quietly alongside the other mechanics, trying to hide my nervousness at being in a room full of Alliance troops, having just tried to assassinate one of their members a few weeks previous. After another hour where several military leaders, including Wedge Antilles, said their farewells and a respective piece each, a hooded figure took the podium, one even I hadn't noticed. The man was of average height and weight, though I couldn't gain any other details, due to his shrouded face. From within the cloak, two gloved hands extended, removing the hood. The man had a mask that covered the lower portion of his face, from his eyes down. This too, he removed.
The man was Talos Secura, Jedi Knight and hero of the Galactic Alliance.
In the Empire, we knew him as "The Hunter" for the tactical genius he displayed while preying on the enemies of the Alliance, both rogue and Imperial alike. Though he was not as popular during the Yuuzhan Vong War as the Solo children had been, he'd earned his title during that time, as a Padawan. Secura, as the Imperial spies had informed us, was the son of a pair of legendary Clone Wars heroes, and Jedi Masters of the Old Republic. Aayla Secura and General Rahm Kota, so it seemed, had a secretive relationship that lasted a single year before their destruction during the Great Jedi Purge of 19BBY. Fearing that their newborn child would be hunted as well, they hid him on Dantooine in cryostasis, perfectly preserved until such a time when new Jedi would locate him. Just two months after giving birth, Secura was sent to Felucia, where she was killed. Kota had been killed some years later by Vader himself, and never got to see his son again. When Talos Secura had been found and, technically born, in 5 ABY, he spent ten fifteen years living with a middle class family that repaired speeders, until he was found by Jaden Korr on his mission to settle a border dispute. Since, he'd been as much a nightmare for the Imperial Remnant as Katarn or even Skywalker himself.
I immediately forced myself to clear my mind, lest he discover my ruse, focusing intently on the head of the man in front of me.
After a brief speech outlining Secura's personal respect for the Captain, and the respect of the Jedi Order, he stepped down, and the troops began moving his body towards the ray shielded hangar door behind them, which had opened. I could see clearly out into space, and the sun in the distance. One of the soldiers tapped a few icons on a keypad, then saluted, and stepped back from the plastoid casket. The hum of repulsorlifts filled the hangar, which was silent as a tomb. Sliding forward as if lifted by the Force, the casket rocketed out into space, heading directly towards the sun. Wedge Antilles took the podium, saying, "Rest in peace, Captain, and may the Force be with you. I'm ordering liberty for the next three days, for the entire ship. Celebrate the life of our brother."
Every soldier saluted in unison, and then began to file out of the hangar, silent all the while.
Now is my chance.
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I was in the special hangar now, posing as if I was fixing the hyperdrive aboard the Diamond Setter, the personal shuttle of Captain Lafvad. The other mechanics had all gone to their quarters, or to the few transports that would take them planetside, where a few hundred troops had the brilliant idea of going "camping" on their weekend off. If I was the leader here, I thought as I eased a makeshift bomb onto the fuel cell unit, I'd never have left Dantooine undefended, even if thereweretwo dreadnoughts alongside the destroyer. Although, it would be nigh on impossible for the Empire to attack Dantooine without being detected beforehand.
I sighed, and slipped the tools back into my belt, satisfied that the ship would be destroyed once I flipped the switch on the detonator. Next, I made my way to the service terminal. Here, I would test the falsified records I arrived with, which permitted me to access restricted files regarding the maintenance reports for every single ship inside each hangar. Keying the service orders, I entered the code that I'd paid so much for. A screen appeared on the holomonitor.
Service Order: 00223
Security Code: 16714243698831900 – Accepted
Order Summary: Deactivate hangar doors to prevent boarding. Order stands until properly belayed.
That'll keep the fighters from pursuing me, I thought with a grin, now to the Captain's office.
I made my way down the length of the massive Mon Calamirian Star Destroyer, past the quarters, up the turbolift, and past the bridge access. The entire trip took over an hour, and by the end of my march, I was getting impatient. The mechanics could look over the shuttle at any minute, and I'd be in some serious trouble. As good as I was, there was no way I could fight my way out of the ship, against a few thousand Galactic Alliance marines.
The blast door to the Captain's office was to my left, and, making sure nobody was watching, I made my way down it, slowly removing the door slicing tool from my pocket. I knew there were cameras that were watching me, so I had to move fast. I drove the slicer into the door panel, and it opened a few seconds later. I stepped inside, locking the blast door behind me. I whirled around, eyes scanning for the safe that contained the Jewel.
Instead, they fell on someone else. The new Captain.
"Who the hell are you?" he barked, his hand resting on his blaster.
I had to act fast. My training overrode my fear. "Sir, I'm from Alliance Intelligence, under code three-two-two. We have reason to believe your life is in danger."
The Captain's demeanor changed from cautious, to puzzled. "Three-two-two? That's the code for the garbage launch-"
I drew a holdout blaster and fired before he could finish his sentence, my Stun bolt striking him in the chest. I swore violently, my plan never including leaving any witnesses. Do it, you have no choice. He's seen your face.
I flicked the selector lever to "Fire", and pressed the barrel against the human man's forehead. This man was innocent...
No. The Empire's plan was to makeme do things like this. I was free for a reason.
I switched the pistol back to Stun, and shot the man four more times, confident that the electrical shock would erase his memory of my face, and probably the entire past week. Moving over to the desk, I began searching for the safe I knew was there. I was so confident that the Jewel was in a safe, and aboard the Grey Shade, because when I was studying the Jewel while in the Empire, I learned that after Secura's arrival, Captain Lafvad ordered a Securi-Pro MK 1193. The safe he ordered, was essentially a box. This box had two feet of solid durosteel in every direction, and a door lock that was "impossible" to crack. Fortunately for Securi-Pro, I agreed with their lock mechanism being too difficult for me to crack. I never was very good at cracking safe codes. However, I was always the best at improvising creatively. My fingers slid under the lip of the desk, striking an obviously hidden switch. I pressed it, praying it wasn't a panic button.
A tile on the floor lifted, and then slid aside, revealing a safe beneath.
"There we go," I said aloud, grinning.
I stepped over to the safe, staring at its impressive door lock. Unfortunately for Securi-Pro, I agreed with them so much, that I went to extreme measures. I reached inside my jumpsuit, retrieving the main "tool" that had cost so much. A lightsaber, taken off the corpse of a Reborn by Boba Fett himself. Fett had sold it to me for half its worth, probably hoping to get rid of it before the Alliance tracked it down. In reality, he was the one who made the smart decision. There was a rumor that Tavion Axmis had placed a tracking beacon in every Reborn's lightsaber, so she could find them when she needed to. After the Ragnos Crisis, the Jedi had set about to tracking them down and killing the Reborn who wielded them, as not a single one agreed to train under the Jedi. I, of course, had removed the device from mine.
Now, I was holding one upside down, slicing easily through the door panel. I had to be very, very precise, however, as to not strike the Jewel. I had practiced every day for three hours before this job, growing accustomed to the weightless blade and the difficulty in handling such a weapon. How the Jedi managed to fight like they did with lightsabers, I would never understand. The bright red blade eased through the last section of door, which fell into the safe, tipping on its side. Perfect to get a hold of. Setting the lightsaber back inside my jumpsuit, I reached inside, grabbing what appeared to be a holodisk on a thin cable. In truth, it was a magnetic grappling pad that I had originally planned to use in case I was forced to scale the turbolift shaft. But it would work just fine for removing the cherry red door from the safe. Carefully fastening the pad onto the door's face, I began to tug on the cable, slowly as to avoid swinging the door into my legs once it was free of the hidden compartment. The door hovered above the floor, surprisingly heavy, and I eased it back onto the tile a safe distance from where I was working. Hungrily, almost impatiently, I peered down into the safe.
The Jewel rested on a velvet sheet, its amethyst brilliance captivating my gaze. It had a hundred faceted edges, each angling into the primary face of the jewel, which was flat and bore a carved symbol I couldn't place. I plunged my hand into the safe, seizing the Jewel of Dathomir.
The second my hand made contact with the gem, a rush of pure...energy surged through my palm, like icy water through my veins. I immediately could sense the minds of the pilots in the corridor below the office, the frustration of General Antilles in a nearby room, and one mind so powerful, it recoiled at my contact-
Jedi Knight Talos Secura.
I removed my hand from the Jewel, the strange energy fading instantly. It had felt as if I could feel the world around me, understand it. And I'd also alerted the Jedi of my presence. Removing my boot, I tugged my sock off, and shoved the Jewel inside it. The brief moment of contact with the gem, I noticed that the Jedi was on his way, rapidly approaching.
I needed a plan. My escape route was back out the same door, down the turbolift, then into the main hangar, where I was to steal the shuttle, fly into space, board my own ship, then blow the charges in the shuttle to cover my tracks. That's sure as hell not working now, not with a Jedi pounding towards my door.
I thought of being cut down by a lightsaber was not very appealing.
Lightsabers...That's it!
I darted to the captain's computer terminal, the translucent hologram flaring to life. I keyed the blueprints for the ship, using my mechanic's code. Panning over to the office I was currently in, I scrolled down. Directly below me, was the corridor for the escape pods.
Perfect.
I peeled the mechanic's jumpsuit off, revealing my standard attire: Flight jacket, standard black pants, T-shirt, concealed carry harness for my Imperial E-12 blaster pistol. On both thighs, I strapped on my hand crafted heavy blaster revolvers, preparing for a fight I hoped to avoid. I seized the lightsaber from the jumpsuit, flaring the weightless gyro blade into existence. Its signature hum filled the room.
"Alright, let's do this."
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Talos Secura.
I had sensed the disturbance in the Force.
It was slight, like a ripple on the surface of a puddle, but still noticeable. The only conclusion I had, was that another Force user was on board. Yet, I was the only one here that I was aware of. The ripple had come from the Captain's quarters, and my first thought was of a Reborn assassin. So I'd set off in that direction, both a lightsaber in each hand. The blade of the weapon in my right hand shone the brilliant green-white that Master Luke's did, while the blade in my left was a deep blue, as Katarn's weapon was. This I had done out of respect for my teachers, my only parent figures I had known for the last decade.
I rounded the corner, using the Force to push a pilot out of my way as to not cut him in two by my lightsaber. Without answering his questions, I charged towards the door at the end of the hall, the door to where the Reborn was. I had not sensed the Captain there, yet the assassin may have been laying in wait, scanning the ship for the captain's mind-
No, I thought to myself, the words coming effortlessly from the Force, Not an assassin...a thief! A thief who made contact with the Jewel of Dathomir. If this thief manages to get away with it...
I allowed my connection to the world around me to flow through my legs, pushing me faster than possible. When I was ten yards from the door, I hurled my blue lightsaber at the door, cutting through the wall and the controls on both sides. The door sprang open, and I darted in, rolling to avoid blaster fire I was positive would be coming my way.
I was right. I felt, rather than saw, a male figure firing heavy bolts in my direction, actually singeing my hood. At the speed I'd moved at, aided by the Force, no common thief should have been able to hit me...
I rolled to a kneeling position, deflecting a barrage of shots with my lightsaber, each striking the blade with such force that the weapon rocked in my hands, threatening to break free of my grip. Noticing the unconscious body of the new captain, I pointed three fingers at the desk behind him, hurling it across the room at the thief. The man jumped up and stamped his feet on the floor, which gave way in a perfect square, which he fell through. Before the man, now identified as a Chiss male of larger build, dropped from view, he fired two bolts from a pair of heavy blaster pistols. The first I deflected back at him, striking his shoulder. The second struck me just above my right knee, reducing a fist sized chunk of flesh into a smoldering hole that bored clean through. I collapsed, using the Force to bring my second lightsaber into my hands. I scrambled to a knee, and pressed the bottom of each hilt together, twisting them so they locked into one double-sided lightsaber, as the famous Darth Maul had used.
Limping over to the hole in the ground, I fell through, intent on stopping this thief.
Or die trying.
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Tonak Enos
I fell into the corridor, piling up into a heap.
The damned Jedi was good, better than any I'd seen in Imperial holotapes. Certainly better than any of the Reborn I'd been forced to battle. I'd never seen such speed...
I forced myself to my feet, darting to the escape pod less than a few yards away. I swore to myself, angry for the Jedi's interference. The whole plan had been perfect. Nobody had seen my face, not even the cameras. And if they had, the footage would only reveal a blurred and distorted figure, an effect of the Praetorian program. I'd managed to not kill anyone, and to make it out safe. And then this Jedi shows up.
At least you landed a shot, a solid one too.
I tumbled into the escape pod, sealing the door behind me. I typed in the coordinates for where the DarkRider was hidden, a few miles away from the Grey Shade. Reaching into my jacket pocket, I pulled out the thin cylindrical detonator, and pressed the button.
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Wedge Antilles
I made my way into the Special Vehicles Hangar, hoping to check in on the repairs to my own X-Wing.
Beside me, stood the ship's navigation officer, Quen Petral, a Trandoshan woman from Tyreene. "Apparently the newer ships use the same Navicomputer codes as the older Dreadnoughts."
I nodded, interested in the conversation. "Well, that should provide some piece of familiarity for the astromech droids when they repair the-"
A deafening, cannon like blast rocked the door that I had my hand on, mere seconds from opening. The shockwave shattered the transparisteel windows that allowed sight into the hangar, throwing me and Quen against the far wall. My head bounced viciously against the floor as I landed, and my vision faded to black.
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Tonak Enos
I'd made it out, free and clear.
The DarkRider silently jumped to lightspeed, the blue-white starlines of hyperspace wrapping around the canopy. I'd gotten the Jewel of Dathomir, a near priceless artifact of Sith history, prevented the Alliance X-Wings from pursuing me, held my own in a fight with a powerful Jedi Knight, and done it all without being caught or identified. I had no worry in my mind that the Jedi would be able to describe my other than "a big Chiss". I'd pulled off the heist I'd been considering for five years.
I rose from the pilot's seat, making my way to my quarters. As I threw myself down on the bed, I winced at the pain in my shoulder, my hand instinctively reaching up to prod the Bacta wrap. "Damn Jedi," I hissed, "Always stirring up trouble."
I closed my eyes, confident that I'd be rich enough soon to proceed with my vengeance against Price and Kojuun for betraying me, along with whatever I wanted to do.
Maybe I'll get into the speeder racing game. I could buy one, outfit it, and then make a fortune off it.I felt sleep tugging at me, but my mind was still racing.
Three million, I tossed the number around in my head, that's what it'll cost to buy my own island on Ariannas, and live in peace with every luxury I could imagine. Once I sell this Jewel to the Jedi, I'll be one step closer to that dream.
My ideas faded, drifting into sleep. Though through the haze of jumbled thoughts, one stood out bright and clear.
I am starting to make a life for myself.