Chapter II

Vhaldoq tried to learn a little about each person who came to be under his command, but found himself blocked at every turn with regard to one of the newcomers he'd settled into life on Fornax on the previous day. The man would say little about his past and less about himself. The one fact he divulged readily was his name, Gavis Ideji. D'ukal thought about ordering him to provide information regarding himself, but decided not to press the older man. Something about the way he felt to the commandant just didn't fit.

So, when Ideji disappeared shortly after the start of his first morning of Fornax, Vhaldoq had assembled a small group of his aides to look for him. They quickly showed that he was not within the compound or the area between it and where they had landed. Finding his trail, however, was no trouble for Vhaldoq. They had barely topped the rise to the east of the complex when they sighted Ideji returning and looking questioningly up at the commandant and those accompanying him. "Perhaps you would care to explain why you left the area without notifying me?" Vhaldoq said as the other man approached.

"I thought I saw something over here while we were landing," Gavis said simply, "I was right. There's a carbonite freezing station over there, although it looks to have been abandoned some time ago." "A simple search into the records of the base would have satisfied your curiosity," Vhaldoq chastised, knowing that this man wasn't so foolish as to think such basic information would be restricted. Any who leave this world, D'ukal thought, could be trusted with any secret we wish to allow them to know. "I've heard stories that people could be frozen in carbonite and live through it," Ideji said, "I wanted to see just what such a place was like."

"You should pay more attention to your commanding officer than idle stories," the commandant reprimanded him, "While you stay here, you're to do nothing else without my prior consent. I will be personally monitoring your training and activities. Is that clear?" The other simply nodded silently, although Vhaldoq was certain he caught a flicker of deeply repressed fury from the man. This just keeps getting more interesting, D'ukal thought as the others fell into escort position as they returned to the base.

As Jonas followed Adeyl into the abandoned hangar bay, he spun about and brought two concealed blasters up to face across the empty space before them. "Step out slowly with your hands where we can see them," the droid commanded, and a familiar form rose from concealment behind stacked cargo containers, his hands loose at his sides. "Is this how you greet your clients?" Zol Xarh chided them. "Most of my clients who lie in wait for me don't have honorable intentions," Adeyl snapped back as Jonas expertly searched the bounty hunter.

Shaking his head in bewilderment, the droid produced a shining metal cylinder and handed it to Adeyl. "I've never seen a bounty hunter with so little weaponry," the droid remarked, "Or with such as unusual choice of attire." "This is a lightsaber," Adeyl said, her expression puzzled, "And while I know there is some disagreement amongst certain groups within the Jedi order, I think I would have heard about it if one had decided to become a bounty hunter." "Indeed," Zol Xarh said, "Perhaps you have not heard of me because I have not been a Jedi for a very long time." Adeyl drew her own weapon, motioning for Jonas to step back as she took aim.

"Does that mean you're on the same side as the Separatists? I'd rather not deal with them, thank you very much," she told him. "I am not involved in the current conflict," the bounty hunter told her, "You could say that other circumstances dictated my present line of work. Believe me, I am not threat to either of you." Adeyl lowered her weapon, and Jonas glanced across at her. "You sure we can trust him?" the droid asked.

"He didn't use any cheap Jedi mind tricks to convince us," she said, "And besides, I think we could use someone with his talents." Reluctantly, the droid holstered his weapons, and turned to face their client. "Whoever you are," Jonas said, "You may come to regret ever meeting the two of us once we tell you why we hired you in the first place."

The bounty hunter silently sat at one end of the bay, waiting for the woman to speak. The droid seemed to be watching both him and their escape route, a remarkably good imitation of nervousness. Zol Xarh gazed thru his dark visor at the younger woman, who had just identified herself as Adeyl Rianes, wondering why she looked so familiar. He leaned back and nodded, indicating that he was prepared to hear her out. "For the past 30 years, my father has been the leader of a diverse group known by many names. They are pirates, sometimes mercenaries and always unpredictable.

At his side was a long-time companion of a rather unusual nature, since few of his kind are among the fringe. This being was in fact a Duinuogwuin," Adeyl said. "And your mother?" Xarh asked quietly, noticing the brief pang of emotion that was almost instantly repressed. "That is part of the reason I sent for you," she explained, "My father and mother were settling a deal in another system a few months ago when they were caught in the edges of one of the minor battles of the war. They made an emergency jump into hyperspace and haven't been heard from since. When my father's friend refused to launch a search and rescue mission, I decided to find them myself. That's where you come in."

"I don't normally handle this sort of mission," Zol said, "You haven't even provided me with any names other than your own." "You're right," Adeyl said, "My mother's is Sonya and my father's is Cayn." The bounty hunter sat up suddenly, startling Jonas. His eyes narrowed in concentration and he nodded as the pieces fell into place. "Tell me," he said slowly, "Your father's friend, would his name be Xlc'r?" "How did you know that?" the droid interjected, its mechanical voice adopting a suspicious tone.

"I know them from a long time ago," Zol Xarh explained simply, "and I in many ways owe your father a debt of gratitude, even though we never met." "So you'll help me?" Adeyl asked. "In any way I possibly can," the bounty hunter replied.

In another part of the spaceport, a deep rumbling grunt shook the cargo bay of a dilapidated freighter nestled in an abandoned section of the city. "You were right, boss," a grizzled human said to the enormous creature who stood by him, "She's going looking where she shouldn't." [Then we shall have to be certain that she finds nothing,] the alien declared, smiling icily, [I believe you are already aware of our destination.] "Aye, boss," the other said, "Though getting around isn't as easy as it used to be." [Few things are,] the alien said, [I wonder what past connection this bounty hunter and Cayn could possibly have. I certainly don't remember him.]

"Just say the word, Xlc'r, and we'll put all your worries about them behind," his pilot said. The Duinuogwuin shook his armored head and said, [Not yet. I want answers to at least some of my questions first. She may yet prove useful to us. And none of them are aware that we are watching their every move. Take us out, my friend, there is much yet to do.] The freighter rose silently into the sky with surprising grace, headed for a rendezvous whose outcome no one could anticipate.

The room Cyfik led the Wookiee to was littered with debris of all shapes and sizes. As he knelt among the wreckage of what had obviously once been a laboratory, Rkvzlnmara pieced together the clues as to the nature of the research being performed. His scarred visage narrowed in concentration as he ran his hand over one demolished console. Abruptly, he stood and faced his guide. [This facility was conducting experiments in cloning, wasn't it?] the Wookiee asked. Cyfik nodded, stating, "The Empress felt that to make ourselves dependent upon outside forces would only lead to our downfall. With much of the populace favoring the Republic, it was decided that we would not construct a droid army."

[I do not understand,] the alien told him, [Growing a clone army would take many years. By that time either this conflict would end or your world would become caught up in it in one way or another.] "That is precisely the dilemma that was laid before our scientists," Cyfik informed him, "However, we were able to secretly obtain information on both the cloning and growth acceleration process used on Kamino, and came to the conclusion that there were factors they had overlooked. It was determined that it was possible to create a clone in a much shorter period of time."

[Given the recent conflict at Kamino, the discovery you possessed such knowledge could make your world a prime target for the Separatists.] Rkvzlnmara said, understanding now why they had wanted this investigation to be kept secret. [Has all the research been lost?] he said at last, [Will you provide this information to the Republic?] "That decision is up to the Empress," Cyfik replied, "As for the research, several potential prime clones were preserved. It was because of the actions of our first subject that this facility was damaged as you see it now." The Wookiee turned back to the devastation behind him, his eyes noticing something unusual about one of the cuts into a display.

[How is this possible?] he said softly, then turned to Cyfik, [This cut... was it made by a lightsaber?] "Indeed," the other said, "When we decided to draw upon cell samples and mental imprints of potential clones, our first selection as a potential source was Ruusan. One of the samples was from Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth." [So, why did he do this?] Rkvzlnmara said, facing his guide again, [A Jedi Master would never engage in such wanton destruction.] "Our scientists have been able to reach only one conclusion," Cyfik told him, "They believe that due to the accelerated growth process, this has caused an unexpected side effect in the subject. In essence, he is quite insane."