Cody and Mirta both tried to put the kiss behind them. It was something that was the spur of the moment, brought on by a burst of emotions, at least that's what they told themselves and each other. The fact was, however, that they had bonded in some kind of way the very first day that their ships had crashed here. He had tried to defend her when Qoureal accused her of murder, though he was shaken in his confidence in her before Samedi showed up. Still when the camps had been divided she had been the first person he'd gone to in Samedi's camp. He also knew that she was very supportive of him when Nightscream handed power back to him. Still, all of this could have been the result of simply seeing each other as allies, the way she did with Samedi. What he could not deny was that he thought she was beautiful, but that didn't necessarily mean he felt anything…but he did. If she wasn't a criminal on Concord Dawn, he could actually see a future with her, but then she belonged in the Republic and he belonged in the Milky Way. Even if their ancestors were from the same galaxy, they themselves belonged to two different ones.
Cody was quickly filled in on all that had happened while he was gone. The wormhole opened cyclically, and the Chiss bounty hunter had joined their group. Apparently, she was related to a famous admiral in the Galactic Civil War. Cody had mentioned that her daughter was a powerful Sith acolyte, but this Chiss's response had been heartless.
"She is Sizhran's daughter. He used his Falleen pheromones and the Dark Side to rape me. I never had the chance to be her mother. All she knows is his world, and because of that she must be destroyed!"
Even Mirta, the ultimate Sith-hater, thought Thrawn went too far.
"You don't want her to turn to the Light Side?"
"She has been trained in the Dark Side since birth. None of those Dark Side users who came back were born in darkness!"
"You can't kill your own daughter!" Cody interjected.
Before Thrawn could answer, Rukh, Cody's rescuer, spoke for her.
"Yes, she can. She is her mother. You have no right to stop her."
Cody looked puzzled. Rukh was someone who had risked his life multiple times in their cause to help Muni and Cody himself.
"I thought you were a being of honor, Rukh."
"Noghri honor, not human honor."
"There should be no difference!" Cody shouted when he suddenly remembered his own words to Uxils: Morals come from society. It was the only answer to Uxils's superstitious belief that there was some supreme being who ordained morality.
"Are you saying that Chiss and Noghri should adopt human ways?!" Rukh had shouted back.
"No! It's just morality based on reason…"
"You are arguing from empathy," Thrawn said. "Reason says we should kill her."
Mirta put her hands on her forehead. Thrawn was right about reason but why shouldn't empathy count?
Evening and night had passed with unresolved tensions about romance between Cody and Mirta and the morality of eliminating Sizhran Sura. Early in the day they had made it back to the camp to find it divided once more. Most of the beings from the Milky Way, along with Quoreal and Durga were on one side of the beach under Samedi's leadership. Most of the rest were on the other side behind…a Quintesson warrior?!
The Quintesson swiveled on its jet motor and looked at Cody.
"Greetings, Mr. Jones. I'm Commander Atrilo of the Quintesson military. My government, in cooperation with the United Planetary Government of Cybertron has sent my ship to rescue you."
Cody stared at her for a moment, trying to piece together everything he knew about the Quintesson presence on Dathomir with what she had just said.
"You had installations here, and warned if the two galaxies became aware of each other you wouldn't be able to prevent heat death of the universe."
"We've already solved that problem," Atrilo threw her uppermost tentacles up in…was that mock relief or genuine relief…she was harder to read than the Sith he'd just been rescued from.
"Remember, Cody," Samedi said, causing the camp's leader to look toward the Yautja, "They sent Krang here."
That was right.
Cody boldly stepped forward, "I was a captive of the Sith, and Krang still is. They know you sent him!"
Atrilo hesitated—again Cody couldn't tell if it was genuine or a bluff.
"The Sith are a Force-sensitive cult? Yes? One of our judges did send Krang here, but he has been indicted for corruption."
A Quintesson judge indicted for corruption? That was hard for Cody to believe, but Mirta was eager to find a reason to trust. Hope beamed from her face.
"That means they aren't all alike, Cody. We can trust her, get rid of the Sith, and all of us get back to our homes."
Cody knew that once, when the Quintessons had control of Cybertron they had dealt with corrupt individuals (by their standards) by banishing them to alternate dimensions, but that was always when they were deemed a threat to the Quintesson race's overall plans. That could've happened with Krang. Should they—
"We should trust her," a bat Maximal in beast-mode landed on the beach between Cody and Atrilo, "At least for now. The Sith are the bigger threat."
This was what Mirta had been saying all along, but it was coming from Nightscream, a Cybertronian, who had more reason to distrust the Quintessons than anyone there.
"I flew to the mainland last night, outside what we thought was the Sith's jamming radius while the wormhole was open, tried to contact Cybertron, and my signal was still blocked. The Sith's network is bigger than this island. It may even cover the whole planet! Quintesson frequencies are unaffected, so for the time being, Atrilo contacting her ship is the only way to get messages off the planet."
Uxils looked at Lwothin who glanced back at him. They both realized what a dangerous situation this was. Shalx saw the look on Uxils's face and realized that something was seriously wrong.
Lwothin and Uxils had walked to the clearing just inside the jungle from the camp. Everything that Primus had said was playing out before their eyes. The Sith had both Shredder and Muni, and the Quintessons controlled all of their groups communications off planet. Likely, the Quintessons would soon be talking to the Sith as well. Then everything would be in place to enact Unicron's final plan.
"We have to find where the Sith are jamming our communications and destroy it," Uxils said.
Lwothin snarled and whistled which LKD-9D9 translated as, "My master agrees but says that that's easier said than done."
Uxils grimaced. "Right, we don't even know where to start looking."
A twig snapped, and Uxils and Lwothin both turned.
It was Shalx.
"Shalx?" Uxils asked nervously. He liked her, but ever since his spiritual awakening, she'd thought he was crazy. He then noticed that her baby was gone.
"Where's Shlizet?"
"She's with Durga. The bellows of a breathing Hutt actually help her sleep. They're both napping."
Uxils tried to think of something to say, but couldn't think of anything before Shalx said, "I think it's heroic what you're doing."
Uxils turned from a shade of pink to purple as he tried to think of what she meant.
Shalx giggled and touched his face with her tentacle.
"None of us from the Milky Way trust the Quintessons. It's scary having to rely on them for our only communication off world. If you can blow up the Sith jamming network, or at least part of it, we could contact home ourselves. You willing to risk everything like that to help us…that's what heroes do."
Uxils felt his main heart flutter. The girl that he liked was finally feeling the same way.
"And to think, it doesn't have anything to with religion this time." She said.
Uxils froze. It didn't have to do with religion, but it did have to do with God.
"Shalx, this still goes back to what happened on the beach. That Voice that gave me purpose said—"
He didn't get to finish. Shalx stepped backward.
"So, this is still about some fantasy being that gives you images when you sleep? I thought you actually cared about this community!"
"I do, but don't you understand, the universe is not going to last forever. Whatever meaning we give ourselves ends when we die, and whatever meaning those who come after us gives us ends when they die. That was why I was so miserable that I was addicted to pain-killers before!"
All the points that he made bounced off the emotional wall she built around herself.
"You mean our feelings aren't valid unless they've been pre-programmed like robots! You're as bad as the Quintessons!"
Uxils felt a tear trickle. He'd never said feelings weren't valid, just that they weren't eternal.
Durga the Hutt came to his senses when a tentacle, forceful and gentle at the same time, tapped repeatedly at his tail.
"Ugh.." he mumbled as slowly opened his eyes. He registered the beach in front of him, and tried to piece things together. Another tap on his tail led him to turn his massive head. Shalx was there—she must be here for the baby resting on his tail's tip. Only now, a few minutes after his resonant snoring stopped, did the baby Utrom awake. It immediately began crying only to be shushed as its mother took it back into her tentacles. The cries turned into "oohs".
"Thank you for looking after Shlizet," Shalx said.
"It's no problem. No one yells around her, so win-win."
Shalx smiled.
"I think you are the only person here who isn't crazy."
Durga winced. He had seen his own father killed before his eyes, and may have inadvertently sent the woman who killed him on suicide quest in search of redemption.
"I don't know. I may have gotten Tala killed."
Shalx was confused by that comment.
"I thought that was the Sith."
"I kind of said something to her before she started hanging out with Sanjay."
Shalx was confused.
"Why would you say anything to her? You didn't know her."
Durga shook his head, "Actually I did." He saw that Shalx's interest was only piqued further.
"My dad was a crime boss, head of the Besadii Kajidic. Tala was briefly one of his employees."
Shalx mouth hung open. "You…don't seem like a criminal."
"I'm kind of the black bantha of the family."
Shalx did some quick thinking which she immediately put into words, "So you were trying to lead her out of crime. I'd say that's good."
Durga shook his head, "No, I yelled at her for…" he paused. Should he go further? "For being a monster."
Shalx was confused once again, "She couldn't have been more of a monster than your dad."
Durga remained silent. He looked away.
"Durga, what's wrong?"
Durga truly wasn't fit for life in the gangster culture that Hutt society had become. He couldn't lie to save his life.
Reluctantly, he turned his head back to Shalx.
"She killed my father in front of me."
He waited for Shalx's response. It was surprisingly calm.
"Durga, you had a right to be angry. You can't blame yourself if she was really trying to redeem herself."
Durga actually felt better for the first time since Tala's death. Maybe just maybe…
"Do you think she's in a better place now?"
"No, but she may have become a better person."
That was partially comforting, but it exposed another raw nerve.
"You think there's nothing after?"
Shalx drew her baby back, with defensive tentacles.
"There's only right now, following you dreams no matter what's in the way, and being happy," she said in response to something her parents had once told her.
"Funny. Except for the 'only now' part, my dad said exactly the same thing."
