Part 14: Surprised

"What do we do?" Kote asked rubbing his head while glaring at Tro.

"We let the Jedi make the first move," Calhava replied while he keyed up his mike. "Maylaine… …Maylaine? Come in Maylaine."

"Yes? Yeah, I hear you!" She said hurriedly.

"Is everything ok?"

"I'm helping Vuhlg and was away from the console."

"We just spotted a Jedi heading into Berggia. Tell everyone to remain alert."

"Roger. Winded and Vulgh stayed behind but Afshan and Opia have left already."

"We're going to wait?" Tro asked.

Calhava thought about it, "No, we're evading him. I don't believe in coincidences but there's a chance he has nothing to do with us. He may miss us and there's no reason to look for trouble. Let's get a look at Berggia and we'll act accordingly. We'll wait for Afshan and Opia and go in together."

They nodded and turned their attention back to the ship. A few moments passed in silence before the two women joined them.

"I'm still coming with you," Afshan said before he spoke. Opia folded her arms.

"We'll talk about that later," Calhava filled them in. "Let's stay together."

Afshan nodded and Opia said, "Very well."

They walked past sand-blasted warehouses, with mounds piled against the walls. The lift was guarded by two Nikto and a heavily muscled Gamorrean with broken tusks.

"Welcome to Berggia," the Nikto said. "Start trouble and you'll die. Mess with Berggia or any other Hutt and you'll die horribly. Got it?"

"Absolutely," Calhava told him.

"Is that a yes?" Calhava nodded and he accepted it. He just about opened the doors when the Gamorrean squealed. "Oh, I almost forgot. Newcomers must leave their weapons with us. Sorry, it's Berggia the Infinitely Kindhearted's orders."

Calhava could only blink before Kote said, "No. The Gamorrean said greet us."

The Nikto puffed up and blustered before the Gamorrean gave him a dark look.

"What can I say? I had to try," he smirked at the Gamorrean. "I guess they're not as dumb as you look. Hah hah hah!"

Just as his friend began laughing, the Gamorrean slugged him. Thump! The hit spun him before he crumpled into a pile at his friend's feet with a cloud of dust. The second Nikto drew his blaster but the Gamorrean only laughed at him. The Gamorrean punched a button and flicked his thumb at the turbolift. Calhava politely bowed his head for the Gamorrean before they rode the lift down.

"Gamorreans: stupid and brutish," Opia declared.

"Perhaps, but all the intelligence in the world is meaningless if someone crushes your skull with a rock. Gamorreans lack educations but they're loyal and brave."

"Only because they're too stupid to understand the situation," Opia claimed.

Descending rapidly, metal I-beams held back tons of stone. The air cooled quickly and soon the harshness of the Rylothian twilight faded. Then they reached Berggia.

Afshan gasped and Tro was awed, "It…it's a whole city!"

Calhava was equally impressed. The cavernous city stretched for kilometers in every direction. An extensive latticework along the ceiling provided lighting to the city. The lift was the center of the metropolis, surrounded by towering buildings and businesses. Both speeders and ships comfortably traveled from the edges to the center, on the ground and above the buildings. To the far west was a tunnel, beyond the spaceport full of ships. The further from the center, the buildings became more humble, and much of the edges were little more than squatters and shanties.

"It's no Coruscant but I'll admit I didn't expect…this," Opia gestured.

The turbolift slowed as it reached the ground level before it came to a stop. The doors flashed open and the group stepped off. A gathering of hundreds listened to a speaker nearby, but he was too far off for them to make out his words. A brutish human confronted them and spoke in Twi'lek. Then he repeated himself.

"Why isn't topside answering? Did the Gamorrean hit the Nikto again?"

"Yes he did," Calhava answered.

"Again? Again?! The other Nikto doesn't understand Gamorrean or Twi'lek," he sighed. "Welcome and don't mess with the Hutts. You all got that up top right? Good."

"Excuse me, I realize you're busy but I wanted to ask," Calhava pointed to the gathering. "What's that?"

"Some Separatist is saying people should rise against the Republic. Some lizard. He speaks good too, prettier than his kind anyway. Zursurr, Surskur-"

"Zurskur? You mean the Zurskur?" Calhava cut him off.

"Yeah, I think you got it."

Afshan looked rapidly from the crowd to Calhava, "What is he doing here?"

"Zurskur has joined the Confederacy?" Kote reflected. "I like our odds."

"I met him once, back when he served House Organa," Tro mentioned.

"Who's Zurskur?" They stared at Opia. She blushed and became self-conscious at their attention. "What?"

"He's a legend," Kote gestured with his hands at the crowd.

Afshan gazed distantly. "He fought my people long ago."

"Zurskur's tactics on Kalee and across the mid and outer rim are famous," Calhava told him. "He disappeared ten years ago after defeating the rogue General Tersona. He's fought everywhere from the core to beyond the rim."

"How can you not know Zurskur?" Kote was shocked.

She shrugged, "I'm from the inner rim. That stuff doesn't bother us."

"This is what the Republic will never understand," Afshan scowled. "That is why it must fall, so that we can be free."

The brutish human listened to their conversation, remembered what he had to do, and headed to the lift. Calhava politely said goodbye before he joined the crowd. Before they even reached it they could feel the magnetic pull of the speaker; his words were stunningly potent. The Trandoshan was powerfully built, even among his species, enhanced by his silver plated armor. His scales were of the darkest green around his face, almost black along his crown of three green fins. A streak of lime green scales ran under his chin and down his neck. He spoke boldly with his hands folded behind his back. His words were so compelling that his companions faded into the background.

"Never before has the decision been so clear. The people of the Rim can continue under the Republic, ignored and disregarded, until the Senate decides we must pay even more for their excess. I've served the Republic. I've served the Jedi and fought shoulder to shoulder with them. I can tell you they are not the guardians of peace and justice they once were. My father fought the Bitthævrians; he fought on Kalee alongside my brother and me. They died serving the Republic.

"The Senate squabbles; like younglings, while justice and freedom are sold to the highest bidder. This is not democracy. The people of this galaxy deserve better. We can do better. We deserve the freedom and dignity that every-one is born with…but deserving it will not make it so.

"This is where each and every one of you can make a difference. I know you're asking, 'What can I do? I'm not a soldier.' The Confederacy doesn't need mindless automatons. We need pilots, engineers, and officers. We need veterans to train and lead others into combat. We need linguists, negotiators, and doctors just as much as we need scouts and hunters. If you dream of making a better life, then only your commitment will hold you back. Your current status does not matter. We will buy out contracts, emancipate slaves, and break your chains. There is a place for you, for everyone."

The ending came so suddenly the crowd was left speechless, Calhava among them. There was no immediate clapping or cheering because everyone was holding their breath. They hung on his words so utterly that the silence shocked them. Then the crowd erupted in cheers and roars, thundering across the city.

"…wow…," Calhava turned to the Jedi standing an arm's length from him. The Padawan lowered his hood to reveal close cut dark hair with a single braid. Then he looked at Calhava and said. "He makes quite a case."