Thirty-Five
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When the token show of support, a nine capital ship strike-group, sent by Cal Omas finally arrived in orbit around Tatooine, they were surprised to learn that they were the last in a long line of already present allied fleets. A small contingent of Hapan ships had arrived hours earlier. While a fairly large scattering of other vessels, military and civilian, mingled about as well.
The news of Anakin's daring plan had reached the Insiders—a group of old-timers who had come together on Borleias to counteract the pitfalls a burgeoning bureaucracy created for the military force—and they in turn tapped their own resources to help out.
Wedge donated two top-of-the-line Star Destroyers, an Interdictor, and a Nebulon-B cruiser from his fleet, with complete compliments of starfighters, and a thank you to Anakin and Tahiri. Officially, the captains of the vessels, as well as the entire crews, had been granted leave as a reward for their stalwart defenses of Kuat. Unofficially, Wedge had things more than under control in his sector. The Yuuzhan Vong under Wedge's command had proven themselves several times over and were playing vital roles in his defense of the shipyards. Now a commander of the Freed Yuuzhan Vong under Antilles, one of the initial Freed Ones, Czalpak, had become one of Wedge's most trusted advisors. Czalpak and the other Freed Ones had infuriated the Yuuzhan Vong commander tasked with taking Kuat by boarding and stealing the enemy Yuuzhan Vong ships right out from under him. These additions had augmented Wedge's fleet and kept the enemy commander from thinking clearly. So much so that it was evident that Wedge felt safe enough to send these ships during a lull in the fighting.
Also in attendance was a small flotilla of supply ships from the Smuggler's Alliance, provided by Talon Karrde and Lando. These were filled to the brim with ordinance, fuel, YVH-1 battle droids, and everything a full fleet would need to sustain an all-out war. They had learned of Anakin's plan through the Insider's network and wanted in on it for more than one reason. Like Tenel Ka had realized, the Smuggler's Alliance saw the economic and political potential of getting on the good side of the Hutts, who were notorious for taxing and regulating the trade within their space. Talon Karrde had personally arrived with this fleet to handle his own set of negotiations.
And there were still more ships standing by. Though not part of the Insiders, even the Bothans had joined in thanks to Admiral Kre'fey's recommendation. Using his own connections, Admiral Kre'fey convinced his government to help. Though he was restricted from personally sending ships, since it would have needed approval from the Senate, the Bothan government itself had no such restrictions. Not only was clearing out Hutt Space tactically advantageous—doing so would better secure the space around Kashyyyk—but annihilating an entire Yuuzhan Vong battle group would most definitely hurt the Yuuzhan Vong and make the Galactic Alliance stronger. The Bothans were all the more eager to help, since their assistance would further their 'ar'krai,' or war-of-annihilation, against the Yuuzhan Vong. As such, they had provided an eyebrow raising battle fleet of five fully-equipped Bothan Assault Cruisers and four frigates, making them the second largest group outside of the Galactic Alliance forces sent by Cal Omas.
Perhaps the most surprising of the reinforcements, however, was the Alderaan's Fury, one of the latest generation of Mon Cal cruisers, with its escort of three Republic-class cruisers and compliment of X-wings, B-wings and Twi'lek Chir'daki-class fighters. All were from the fleet of General Garm Bel Iblis, the elder statesman, tactician, and leader. He had apparently been contacted by Han and Leia and the two had somehow convinced him to lend a couple ships of his own to Anakin's cause. It was a task that had actually been simpler than it appeared, since Garm Bel Iblis' base of operations was already in the Ryloth system—practically next door to Tatooine—ensuring that the Yuuzhan Vong didn't try advance out of Hutt Space.
Last but not least, the Hapans had brought a sizable force of their own. Though she had originally planned to bring along only herself and Jacen, Tenel Ka hadn't exactly managed to get away in just her Rock Dragon. Even if it was common for fathers to give their daughter some type of communication device, or weapon, for emergencies whenever they left the house, Isolder was not like most fathers. Before Tenel Ka had left, he had insisted that she take a small fleet, and sufficient supplies for a lengthy campaign, with her. So instead of a single frigate, she now had a small fleet of two Battle Dragons, four battle cruisers, a couple of support ships, and a full wing of fighters. Just in case. She was the Queen Mother after all.
Each group of ships wouldn't have lasted long on their own against a full Yuuzhan Vong battle group. Together, however, they stood more than a fair chance at victory. Especially with the devious minds and Jedi in their midst.
"How does he do it?" Corran threw up his hands in disbelief as he stared at the rather large assembly of ships outside the viewport of the shuttle he was in.
"He's Anakin," Alema shrugged, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "I stopped trying to figure it out long ago. It's less painful if you just go with the flow."
"That's a good idea," Jacen's holographic form agreed. He too appeared to be staring at the fleet from his position aboard the Rock Dragon. "I should probably start doing that more often. Someone told me I should loosen up a bit more."
"Thanks Tenel Ka," Alema called out cheerfully. "Jacen's more fun without a stick up his…"
"Okay," Corran cut her off, directing his gaze to the figure at her side.
Alema glanced at Jysella and the two shared the same eye-roll. "Oh, right. My language. Can I swear in Huttese at least?"
Corran sighed in defeat. Something he found himself doing more and more often, coincidentally enough, ever since he took Alema on as his apprentice. He didn't even bother answering his apprentice as he focused on their course. He, Alema, Jysella, and several Galactic Alliance diplomats and officers were on a shuttle bound for the palace that was formerly Jabba the Hutt's. Other shuttles had joined them in formation, along with the Rock Dragon, as the respective leaders of each of the small task forces flew down to meet with Anakin and the others.
"This Anakin Solo is truly impressive to have gathered so many disparate allies," the ranking Galactic Alliance officer, a Bothan colonel by the name of Nek Bwua'tu, commented from the co-pilot seat. Technically, he was only present to show the sincerity of the Galactic Alliance's commitment to a treaty with the Hutt Grand Council. If fighting broke out, it would be Corran, the ranking Jedi and member of the High Council, who would command the fleet.
"Impressive is one word I would use to describe him," Corran chuckled. "A couple other words come to mind as well."
"Sexy," Alema provided brightly.
"Handsome," Jysella added, causing Corran to wince and call upon all of his Jedi training and patience. And to think Jysella was still a year away from beginning her teenage years. He was definitely never going to survive it.
"You see, I told you it'd be fun for you to say it, just to see his reaction," Alema continued from behind Corran.
"He is good looking though," Jysella said pressing her index finger to her chin in thought. "And his eyes do that darkening thing every time he starts brooding.
"Alema."
"Yes, Master Horn?" Alema smiled sweetly.
Corran hung his head. "Never mind."
The Bothan colonel glanced back at the Jedi banter with a raised eyebrow, but didn't comment. Corran offered him a faint smile. "As I was saying. Anakin has great potential, if his daring doesn't get him killed first."
The shuttle touched down in the dunes just outside the palace.
As the occupants of the different shuttles disembarked, they were greeted by Anakin, Jaina, and the others.
"Welcome to Tatooine," Tahiri called out cheerfully.
"The Hutt Grand Council has set up the main room for both planning and other diplomatic negotiations. If the diplomats and those who wish to work out any treaties can follow Zekk and Saba, they'll take you to the Hutts responsible," Anakin directed professionally. "All other captains, commanders, Jedi, and poor individuals who got dragged along for the ride, can follow Jaina, Jag, Tahiri, and I so we can update you on the situation and we can make battle plans."
Corran smiled as war veterans thrice as old as Anakin, seasoned captains, diplomats, and senior Jedi all seemed to respond to Anakin's commands and broke off into their respective groups.
Anakin was definitely coming into his own.
The only group who wasn't sending anyone with the diplomats was the Bothans. Their cadre of an admiral and two colonels walked at the back of the rest of the tacticians in silence.
Before Talon Karrde broke off to join the rest of the diplomats, he clapped a terrified Lilmit on the shoulder and appeared to give the former gun-runner authority to act on the Smuggler Alliance's behalf.
Tenel Ka likewise joined the diplomats, bringing with her a small retinue of followers. A single female aide was left to join the 'schemers'—as Corran had mentally labeled Anakin's group—though at first glance the aide didn't seem at all capable of scheming. She stayed at Jacen's side, whether to protect him or to be protected by him, Corran wasn't sure.
Colonel Nek Bwua'tu was the Galactic Alliance's military representative within the 'schemers,' as a whole array of diplomatic corps personnel shuffled off after Zekk and the others. While a female colonel, one Kadra Bres, represented General Garm Bel Iblis' group task force. She was already chatting up Kyp Durron, who had come down on the second shuttle with Valin, Bazel, Seff, and Yaqeel.
To Corran's surprise, the representative of Wedge's group was none other than Wes Janson. Who, to Wes's dismay, had been promoted to the rank of colonel by Wedge. While another member of the Insiders joined the diplomats to create some under-the-table deals with the Hutts, Wes brightly went up to Corran.
"Some party," Wes said exuberantly as he shook Corran's hand in greeting. "Those Solos really know how to throw a bash. I haven't seen a mishmash of this many different units and commanders since…well…come to think of it, ever."
"Good to see you too." Corran grinned. It was hard not to be unhappy around Wes. He just had that bright, joyous attitude no matter what the situation. "If you're with Antilles' group, does that mean the Yellow Aces are also onboard?"
The Yellow Aces, an all-volunteer squadron Wes had led during the Battle of Borleias, had gained quite some fame as an elite squadron since then. Wes nodded mournfully to answer Corran's question. "The bad thing about volunteers: all they have to do is hear that someone is in great need of their help, and they're stumbling head over heels to be the first ones to get there. As their commander, I can't do anything but stumble along after them. At least military pilots wait until their ordered before happily going off to their deaths."
"Hey, Anakin's going to pull us through this," Alema interjected. "Then we can all go happily to the bar and get even happier."
Wes flashed Alema a bright grin and took one of her hands. "I like the way you think. I'm Wes Janson, pilot extraordinaire. Where have you been all my life?"
"Taking care of my grandfather." Alema paused, as if struck by an epiphany. "Say, come to think of it, he's about your age. Maybe you'll know him."
Wes staggered backwards, imitating a mortal wound. While Jysella giggled and cheered Alema on. "Again! You have him on the ropes!"
"Corran, what have you been teaching these kids?" Wes said in mock terror.
"Still haven't got around to the 'respect your elders' lessons. It might be the grey hair, it makes you look older than you act." Corran patted Wes on the back sympathetically. Wes looked betrayed, and Jysella only laughed all the more at the veteran pilot's antics.
At the front of the line, Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin were sharing stories of their own adventures over the past week; from Jacen's excursion with the Queen Mother, to Anakin and Jaina's adventures on Barab I and Tatooine. All the while, the Queen Mother's aide walked almost timidly behind them.
"Oh, by the way, this is Jana," Jacen introduced the aide. "She's actually helped me and Tenel Ka out a lot over the week. She somehow managed to cram as much fun as possible in that brief period of time."
"I did it for the Queen Mother's sake, not yours," Jana said dryly, though her eyes sparkled. "For one not used to the burdens of the crown, it looked as though she needed a break. Though I still do not know why she had me come with you and not one of the military officers."
"We have enough of those already," Jaina said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder. "Military officers, Jedi, Lilmit."
"Thanks a lot," Lilmit muttered, still shrinking away from the variety of famous figures he was walking amongst.
"Tenel Ka probably thought we could use a different point of view," Jacen agreed. "And from your organizational skills, you might be able to help us best use the few ships we have."
"Few ships?" Kyp called out from behind them, temporarily halting his conversation with Colonel Bres. "We have close to three dozen capital ships, five wings of fighters, and enough supplies to keep them all going for at least three months!"
"Which is a good thing," Anakin muttered. "Considering Gorga only knew about the reinforcements Cal Omas was sending."
The turncoat Hutt had departed from Nal Hutta three days ago and had yet to return or send word of any kind. Anakin knew that Gorga would betray the number of ships in the Galactic Alliance fleet, had been counting on it in fact. The Yuuzhan Vong commander was going to be in for one unpleasant surprise when he found over twice the number of ships he expected waiting for him.
The 'schemers' were brought to a room that had once housed Jabba's torture operations for droids gone bad. It had been completely cleared and refurbished with chairs, a long table, and several holographic projectors. The walls had also been cleared of grime so that they gleaned a sandy-white glow in the light from the fixtures that had been installed in the ceiling.
Already in the room was Hutt Grand Council representative Vedo Anjiliac Atirue, reclining on a hover platform with a translator droid next to him.
"Vedo," Anakin bowed his head politely. "Thank you for hosting us."
The Hutt murmured approvingly and motioned to the others. The translator droid quickly provided a response. "The great Vedo the Hutt welcomes you all and looks forward to the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong at Nal Hutta. He says that he will provide whatever assistance you need and will help coordinate your forces with that of the Hutt Underground. Until then, the illustrious Vedo will simply sit back and listen to your plans."
"Great, thank you," Anakin smiled at the Hutt. He then motioned towards the chairs and everyone took a seat. "First of all, thank you all for coming out here. It's a lot more help than I expected, but we'll definitely need all of you for this to succeed. Gorga the Hutt has gone to Nal Hutta under the pretense of betraying the Jedi, namely me and Jaina, to the commander of Yuuzhan Vong forces in Hutt Space, a Shith'rii Choka, relative to the new Warmaster. We expect him to come out here personally for the honor of capturing Jaina and I."
"So you intend to fight a battle over Tatooine?" Corran asked.
"Better here than in Hutt Space," Anakin nodded. "Also, if we draw the Yuuzhan Vong fleet out of Hutt Space, this allows for the Underground as well as Taan's people on Ylesia more freedom to act."
"You have already thought this battle out, haven't you?" Colonel Kadra Bres of the Bel Iblis taskforce commented with a whistle. "The general told me you Solos were impressive."
"Jaina, Jag, Zekk, and Tahiri have helped me refine the plan somewhat. My basic goal is to take out as much of Shith'rii's fleet here as possible and then chase the survivors all the way back to Nal Hutta. Anyone he leaves behind to hold the fort will have trouble from the Hutt Underground and Freed Yuuzhan Vong. Before the month is out, I want to give the Hutts their planet back."
"Ambitious." The admiral for the Bothan forces clapped his hands in approval. "I must admit I was dubious when Kre'fey informed me of the prowess of the Jedi, but I am convinced now. My forces are most definitely at your disposal, Jedi Knight Solo."
"Thank you," Anakin said respectfully. "I promise to do my best to keep your people alive, admiral."
"Well then," Wes rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Let's get started. Remember people, Anakin, his brother and sister, and their friends, are technically still on leave. Let's finish this so that they can enjoy the rest of it without the worry of death."
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Alema stared out across the desert, sitting on an outcropping outside of Jabba's Palace. There was something calming about watching the twin suns of Tatooine slowly sink below the horizon. Without any city lights or sky full of congested traffic, the array of stars that appeared in the retreating glow of the suns was truly breath taking. The arid, warm climate of the planet, and the rocky cliffs all around her, reminded her of her faint, yet happy memories of her and Numa's time on Ryloth.
Before everything went all wrong.
"Wish you were here, Numa," Alema said whimsically to the orange and purple sky. "It's never seemed right, you know; going on without you. It used to be just us, sisters, partners, apprentices. We were dancers, pleasure girls, Jedi, anything we had to be to survive. We went to the darkest pits this galaxy had to offer, but we always had each other. Always watched each other's backs."
Alema sniffled and her lekku twitched sympathetically to her distress. "I'm so lost, Numa. Master Horn says that I need to find my own way. But I don't know where to begin. Have no idea what to do with myself now. Where do I go from here? What do I do? I don't even hate the Vong anymore, so I can't go off killing them all. I can't even be angry at you dying."
Silence answered her, but she was okay with that.
At one time, that silence might have been painful, a dismal emptiness once filled by Numa's teasing responses. But now, now things were different. It hurt, but it didn't. Alema was both happy, but also said. The myriad of emotions still confused her. One thing was clear though; the anger, the hate, and the despair she had once felt at Numa's death, no longer existed. Any pain she still felt was just a dull echo, replaced by the happier thoughts of their time together.
She exhaled, her green eyes fluttering close as she just randomly reached out through the Force in an attempt to calm herself.
The warm desert breeze that washed over her was comforting in its own way, soothing away her distress as she smiled whimsically.
"I have the greatest friends, though. Anakin and Tahiri," Alema continued softly, opening her eyes to stare up at the darkening sky. "And Jysella's cool too. You definitely would have liked them all. They don't judge like most of the others do. But I don't want you to feel like I'm replacing you though. It's just…nice, not being completely alone anymore, you know."
Alema reclined fully out across the rocky ground, resting her head in the palms of her hands. "Hey. When the war is over, what do you think we would have done? Would we have stayed good little Jedi, helping to put this galaxy back together?" Alema chuckled at that very idea, she could practically see the incredulous look on her sister's face. "No, you're right. Probably not. Maybe we'd go back to Ryloth and help our people. Though that might get boring after a while, no? Settling down probably isn't in the cards for us. Let's go our own way instead, seeking fortune and adventure. Yeah, I'd like to think we'd do that. Just you and me again, exploring the galaxy, having fun, and freeing other little girls like us. The Rar sisters making the galaxy our playground. That would have been a blast."
Alema's throat closed up as tears ran down her cheeks. "Force I miss you Numa. So, so much. We could have had a whole life full of fun and adventure together, now I have to live it up for the both of us. It's just so hard. A part of me doesn't want to ever move on. But then, the rest of me starts remembering all the good times we had together. All those little things. And then I know that you'd want me to get on with my life."
"Alema?" a voice, soft and timid spoke out.
Alema frantically tried to wipe away her tears. "Oh, hey Sella. I was just having a conversation with my sister."
"I know," Jysella said softly. "She told me to come out here."
Alema froze. "Numa…"
"Well, the Force did," Jysella took a seat next to the Twi'lek. "But since Numa's a part of it, it was most likely her."
Alema emitted a weak chuckle. "Yeah. Definitely. Probably telling me to stop being so weepy and depressing."
"Or she could have been giving you permission to move on," Jysella offered slowly, staring off into the desert. "You said it. You have the rest of your life ahead of you. You've spent the last year grieving. She'll always be with you, in the Force, so you'll still be doing all those fun adventures together."
"I like the way you look at the universe," Alema smiled, closing her eyes. "Don't ever lose that bright outlook, Sella. No matter what happens. It's a heck of a lot happier than what I grew up believing in."
"So are you going to do it?"
"Do what?"
"Live your life," Jysella asked softly, turning her gaze to the Twi'lek next to her. "Instead of living in the shadows of your past."
"When'd you become so wise?" Alema said with an affectionate nudge.
Jysella made a face. "Hello, I have Corran Horn as my dad. I get to hear Jedi wisdom on a daily basis. Fortunately my mom's more fun."
"Yeah." Alema pulled out a tiny holo of her sister from her vest and activated it. She set it down on a pile of nearby rocks and took a moment to just stare at her sister's image. It had been recorded just before New Plympto, showing the Numa Alema had always remembered—happy and full of life. Tears fell silently as the last of the twin suns vanished below the horizon.
"Goodbye, Numa," Alema whispered softly. "Hopefully I won't see you again for a very long time. I have both our lives to live after all."
Alema rose, took one last look at the holo, then turned to Jysella and held out a hand. "Come on. I'm sure the Hutts haven't had any good dancers since this war began. Let's give 'em a show for morale's sake."
"Not sure what that'd do for my dad's morale," Jysella commented with a smile, taking the offered hand. "But I'm all for keeping everyone else happy."
"Great," Alema grinned. "Jabba probably has some of the old dancing outfits stored away. We can make use of those."
"My mom is so going to kill my dad after he kills you," Jysella grinned broadly.
"What's life without a few thrills?"
Together, the two walked hand in hand back to the palace, never once looking back.
)-(III)-(
For Sannah, as far as jailbreaks went, she didn't think she was off to a good start. Then again, this was her first time trying to jailbreak someone.
"This isn't good, right?" Sannah called out to Malinza as the klaxon alarms blared loudly throughout the penitentiary. "I thought Salkeli was supposed to cut the alarm system."
"Supposed to!" Malinza yelled back. The two were sprinting through one of the many corridors within the prison. "It looks like something went wrong. Where's your partner?"
Sannah took a moment to concentrate. "We're getting closer. Doran should be in the next cell-block."
Off in the distance, the two heard a volley of blaster fire.
"They knew we were coming," Malinza cursed. "It's the only way they could have detected us so early."
With the help of Sannah's lightsaber, they sliced open a thick door separating the two cell-blocks. In the next room over, however, a dozen security droids immediately raised their blasters and opened fire. Sannah quickly stretched her arm out to pull Malinza out of the doorway, shortly before the air was filled with a blaze of red.
"Great, now what?" Malinza muttered. Sticking to their code of non-violence, none of the members of the Freedom had brought blasters with them.
Sannah scanned the area and saw a ventilation shaft in the ceiling above the door. "We go up there."
"There?" Malinza glanced upwards. "And just how do you expect us to get up…there."
Sannah had leaped using the Force to assist her and was now clinging to the grate. With a skilled slash of her lightsaber, she removed the covering. Once inside the shaft, she pulled out a cable from her utility belt and dangled it down for Malinza.
"Let's go," Sannah said. This close to Doran, she was more than eager to see that he was safe and firmly berated for making her worry.
The two crawled through the shaft into the other room.
"There's still a matter of all those droids," Malinza whispered loudly.
Sannah closed her eyes and searched each of the droids for the cables that connected their power-cells to their CPUs. When Anakin had been in the academy, she and the other students had learned a lot about how droids worked, and that information was definitely coming in handy. Sannah deftly disconnected the droids from their power sources, and one by one, they all went limp.
Malinza, peering through the grate, sent Sannah a dirty look. "Show off."
Just as they were about to kick out the grate, however, real live security forces entered the cell-block. They held Zel, Jjorg, and Vyram at blaster point. Salkeli was nowhere to be seen. Leading the large force of security guards was the commander of Cundertol's personal forces.
"Malinza!" The commander called out tonelessly. "I know you are here. Come out or I execute your friends one by one."
"You wouldn't dare!" Malinza yelled back.
The commander pulled his blaster and fired a shot before anyone could do anything. Zel pitched forward lifelessly to the ground. "Wouldn't I? Come on out. The Jedi too!"
Malinza looked sharply to Sannah and pressed a finger to her lips, then responded. "She took off the moment she felt your guards enter the other cell block and left me alone!"
"Is that so?" The commander fired another shot, this one hitting Jjorg in her right leg. The blond woman fell to the ground, writhing in pain. "You wouldn't be lying to me, would you?"
Malinza grit her teeth and looked to Sannah again. "I'm counting on you, Jedi Sannah. Don't let me down." She then shouted back out the grate. "I'm not! I'm coming out! Don't hurt them anymore."
Malinza kicked out the grate and slid out. She landed awkwardly on the floor, and the security forces quickly moved in to apprehend her.
"Thank you for cooperating," the command said with false sympathy. "Sadly, I have orders to kill the others. Only you are needed."
"What! But I came out!"
"I promised not to execute your friends one by one," the commander raised a hand, and his guards all trained their blasters on the other members of the Freedom. "So I will execute them all at once instead."
"Who gave you that order?" Malinza said through clenched teeth, green and grey eyes burning with indignant rage. "What gives you the right to murder loyal children of Bakura?"
"Since it is doubtful that you will ever see the light of day again," the commander said with a sadistic leer. "I take my orders from Deputy Prime Minister Harris."
"Harris?" Malinza gasped. "But he was helping us!"
"How foolishly naïve you children of Bakura are. This has always been bigger than you thought." The commander turned his back on the members of the Freedom. "Men, take aim!"
Sannah squeezed her eyes shut, her heart pounding with fear and a feeling of helplessness. She had to do something, but in her terror, she couldn't think of what to do next. She couldn't believe she was going to watch the members of Freedom get murdered in cold blood. Think, Sannah. Think! She wracked her mind as the seconds went by at a painfully slow crawl.
Just as the commander's mouth began to form the word 'fire,' one of the cell-doors blew out with a powerful gust of wind. The solid metal door mowed down several of the guards and momentarily stunned everyone. Two blaster pistols were summoned from a pair of incapacitated guards and disappeared back into the cell. Another second later, blue stun bolts began to strafe the bewildered guards.
"Doran," Sannah breathed, grinning wildly.
The blond-haired, dwarf-Wookie-sized, sixteen year-old emerged from his cell and continued to fire stun bolts at the rest of the guards. Being in the middle of the cell-block floor, there really was nowhere else for them to take cover. In another couple of seconds, all the guards save the commander were unconscious on the ground.
"And that's how a stun bolt feels," the disgruntled young Jedi glowered. He then turned his attention back to the commander, noting Jjorg's writhing form and Zel's dead one. "You really do have a bad habit of killing unarmed prisoners, don't you?"
"Surrender," the commander said calmly, seemingly not at all fazed by the loss of his squad. "You cannot hope to beat me."
Doran fired stun bolts from both his blasters. The energy washed over the commander, but the man didn't fall to the ground. Doran was gob-smacked. "What?"
The commander began to walk forward, and Doran fired again and again. The bolts didn't seem to do anything.
"What are you?" Doran blurted.
The seemingly unstoppable soldier gripped Doran by the collar of his shirt and roughly hurled the tall teen into a nearby cell door. Doran's body literally left an impression in the reinforced metal, and the teen coughed out blood as bones shattered on impact. The commander stalked forward, but a hail of blaster fire peppered his back. The remaining members of Freedom had picked up the blasters of the fallen soldiers and had opened fire. But the blasters, even in their lethal mode, didn't seem to do anything either.
The commander ignored them, drew his own blaster, and began to level the barrel on Doran's crumpled form.
Sannah immediately dropped down from out of the vents, her lightsaber flaring as she severed the man's outstretched arm. With a vicious Force shove, she hoped to send the commander flying. All she did, however, was stagger him back another step. She reached out through the Force to determine who or what he was, and frowned.
"You're a droid?" She blurted incredulously.
The commander began to pick up another blaster from the ground, but this time a shot from Malinza fried the fallen gun before he could reach it. Sannah followed through with a swipe that severed both of the commander's legs. He still began to push himself up on his one remaining arm.
"You'll all regret this," The commander said evenly, finally beginning to twitch as the blaster bolts broke through whatever armored plating he had. "There are things in play that you cannot possibly hope to comprehend."
"Get into Doran's cell!" Sannah yelled out in warning to the members of the Freedom. At the same time, she bodily hauled Doran against her and pulled the both of them into his cell. Sannah quickly went back out and tried to save as many of the unconscious security guards as she could, but there were still too many. Sensing the buildup of energy reach its zenith, she dived back into the jail cell.
Only a moment later, the commander erupted in a brilliant fireball that scorched the walls and charred the doors.
Eyes wide, breathing heavily, the two Jedi and the members of the Freedom exchanged looks of disbelief. Not even the annoying blare of the klaxon sirens in the background, or the heavy stomping of boots as more security forces poured in, shook them from what they had just experienced.
)-(IV)-(
Tyria Sarkin Tainer did her best to hide her anxiety as she traveled with Prime Minister Cundertol, General Panib, and Deputy Prime Minister Harris to the Salis D'aar Penitentiary. The reports that they had received had been confusing and contradictory. A malfunctioning security droid had apparently gone on a rampage and killed several prisoners as well as guards. On top of that, both Doran and Sannah had been found in the maximum security wing at the epicenter of a blast that could have only been caused by a military-grade explosive. They were found along with several domestic terrorists. All had been in too much shock to give any believable story and were sedated for security purposes.
The transport shook as it docked on the roof of the prison.
Filing out, an honor guard met them.
"Prime Minister," a warden greeted with a curt nod. "Jedi Knight Sarkin Tainer."
"Report," Deputy Prime Minister Harris said shortly.
Tyria glanced at him. In that brief moment, she had detected an unusual amount of fear and anxiety coming from the man. It was the same impression she and Doran had seen many times across their adventures, one of a politician trying to hide something. She filed it away for later, wondering what would have caused such an unusual spike of fear.
In the meantime, she kept her face impassive as the warden pretty much reiterated everything in the report. The alarms had been tripped, the terrorists had deactivated all the security cameras within the prison before they were captured, and they had no information as to what went on in the high security wing or why the Jedi apprentices were there in the first place.
"Take us to them," Tyria ordered, showing none of the worry and concern that was threatening to overwhelm her.
"As the Jedi says," Cundertol said amicably.
They were led through the prison into the medical wing. Tyria was surprised at how full it was. Badly burned victims in uniforms of the Bakuran Security Force filled the beds, as well as some members who were simply unconscious. At the very end of the medical wing, guarded by a dozen heavily armed soldiers, were the members of the domestic terrorist group and two Jedi apprentices.
"You may stand down," Cundertol acknowledged with another nod.
"Sir?" The warden said.
"Jedi Sarkin Tainer can handle any problems. I doubt they'll try to do anything after everything that's happened." General Panib reinforced.
"Sir." The warden saluted and motioned to the soldiers and they departed the medical ward.
Tyria bypassed the curtain that separated the guarded section of the med-wing from the rest of the room.
"See to it that the Jedi apprentices are awakened," General Panib ordered.
Tyria moved to the front of their beds and waited with baited breath as the medical technicians injected both Sannah and Doran with the counter to the sedative they had been given.
Doran was first to wake, followed by Sannah. The two blinked wildly as they looked about the room, their eyes finally settling on Tyria.
"Oh," Sannah's expression went from confused to sheepish in a heartbeat.
"Errr…hi?" Doran tried.
"I believe this is the part where I ask for an explanation and the story of exactly how the two of you ended up here," Tyria said with a raised eyebrow.
"Well," Sannah began, but the next few words died on her tongue when she saw that the Deputy Prime Minister was among the gathered officials.
"It's a long story," Doran quickly covered for her. He glanced at his mom and used the Force to send her a unique signal. It was a simple code they had developed during their adventures. The galaxy was full of treachery and hidden agendas. So, when Doran was younger, Tyria had come up with a way to indicate if someone was 'bad' by highlighting them with the Force. Unless the individual they were highlighting was Force sensitive, they didn't feel a thing.
Tyria felt Doran shimmer the Deputy Prime Minister with passive Force energy and inclined her head a fraction to indicate she understood. "You can get to the full details later," Tyria said, not missing a beat. "For now, I think we're most concerned about the company you were found in. I am told the people you were found with were leaders of an armed insurrection against the Bakuran government."
"They were set up," Doran said with a shake of his head. "The…well I guess he'd be the now former commander of the Bakuran security forces slaughtered unarmed civilians and planted guns on them. When I tried to stop him, I was stunned and brought here. They continued to hit me with stun bolts until Sannah and the others showed up. I guess they forgot about how fast Jedi can recover."
"Speaking of the commander," General Panib said. "We have been unable to locate him. The reports we received said that he went to apprehend Malinza and the others, but he was never seen again."
"That's because he blew up," Doran answered with a blink.
"Doran," Tyria said in her I'm-your-mother-so-you-better-explain voice.
"He was a droid of some kind," Sannah answered in Doran's place. "When we damaged him enough, he activated some type of self-destruct and exploded."
"I find that hard to believe," Deputy Prime Minister Harris scowled. "You're saying that one of our most trusted leaders was a robot in disguise and he blew himself up? How convenient."
Sannah reached into her jumpsuit and tossed something at the Deputy Prime Minister. The man caught it, and immediately dropped it when he saw what it was. "That evidence enough? You'll forgive me, Prime Minister, Master Sarkin Tainer, but I've crawled through two kilometers of pipes, ran through more hallways than I care to count, been shot at, faced a murderous robot who executed an acquaintance right in front of me, survived an explosion, and drugged, all in the past day. I'm really not in the mood for your skepticism. "
"Go Fish-Girl," Doran muttered under his breath.
Prime Minister Cundertol picked up the dropped piece of evidence. It was the arm Sannah had severed. "My word! How is this possible?"
"Did this droid imposter say anything to you? Perhaps the real commander is still alive," General Panib said, feeling the artificial arm as it was passed over to him.
"Only how someone high in the government ordered everyone in the Freedom, but Malinza to be killed," Sannah answered. "He killed Zel to make that point perfectly clear."
"No names?" Deputy Prime Minister Harris said sharply.
"None," Doran said, silently communicating to the others to go along with the story. "But whoever it was wanted to destabilize the government, and from the sounds of it, use Malinza to rally support for some cause."
"I'll start an investigation at once, Prime Minister," Harris said briskly. "We can't have traitors within our own government undermine everything we've been striving to build."
"Yes, yes," Cundertol said eagerly. "Start at once. We have only just begun negotiations with the P'w'eck. It will be disastrous if anything should happen before the treaty is signed."
"About that, Prime Minister," Tyria said. "I've invited elements of several Galactic Alliance fleets to be present during the signing. It will be a momentous occasion after all."
"Please," Cundertol looked embarrassed. "That's hardly necessary. I mean, aren't the fleets busy fighting the Yuuzhan Vong? A small, quiet ceremony would be much better for everyone, especially given the schemes that we only just seem to be learning about."
"Oh, but I insist," Tyria pressed with a smile, weaving the Force into her words. "The Galactic Alliance is starting anew, just as the relations with the Bakuran and P'w'eck appear to be. What better way to celebrate new beginnings than by doing so together?"
"An excellent idea," General Panib said. "Your government's show of support will be most welcome as we head into a new era."
Cundertol's smiled looked a bit forced, but the Prime Minister nodded. "Oh very well. But I will of course have to run this by Lwothin and Keeramak. They are a religious people after all."
"Of course. I have been told a New Republic fleet is nearby in any case, so any invitation would not be an undue burden on them," Tyria said congenially. She wondered if Cundertol was just naïve, incompetent, or dangerous, or a combination of the three. "Now, with regards to…Malinza, was it? And her people."
"They are still terrorists," Deputy Prime Minister Harris said.
"But if they were framed them for one act, there could be others that we are not aware of," Tyria pointed out diplomatically. "At the very least can you not just put them under house arrest for now? Whoever wishes them dead will most likely come after them again, and we need to be ready for those assassins when they do."
"That sounds fine to me," Cundertol said, recovering some of his perpetual cheer. "General Panib, can you find a safe-house for these political activists? It will not do for Malinza to be killed on our watch. Not after what her parents contributed to Bakura."
"I'll get right on it, sir," General Panib saluted. He then went off and began consulting in low tones with Malinza.
"Well, I best get started on my investigation," Deputy Prime Minister Harris said. "Prime Minister, Jedi. I bid you good day."
)-(V)-(
The moment they were within the privacy of the Kell Dragon Tyria immediately gathered the two teenagers into a heartfelt hug.
"What did I say about not attracting attention to yourselves?" She said in exasperation, her eyes closed as she tightly held the two of them to her.
"Sorry mom."
"Sorry Tyria."
Tyria exhaled and sat back in the pilot's seat, glancing at the two. "Okay, Doran. Explain why you shimmered Deputy Prime Minister Harris?"
"And why you didn't tell Cundertol about him," Sannah added. "The droid commander, imposter, whatever he was, said he took orders from Harris. Doesn't that mean Cundertol should know his deputy is plotting behind his back?"
"That's answers my question," Tyria said dryly. "But I think I can answer yours, Sannah."
"Another one of the many Wraith Squadron rules," Doran nodded, before his mom could continue. "If the crafty bad guy is backed into a corner, people tend to die. Give crafty bad guy enough rope to hang himself and he'll do most of the work for you."
"Should I just let the two of you talk amongst yourselves?" Tyria arched an eyebrow.
"Sorry mom," Doran said automatically.
"Never mind." Tyria sighed. "I think the situation has definitely become serious enough to call in help."
"What do you mean?" Sannah asked.
"Cundertol's reaction to having a Galactic Alliance observer force on hand wasn't exactly the most positive," Tyria said. "And if Deputy Prime Minister Harris is not only backing the possible treaty, but involved in some shadowy scheme revolving around Malinza, there's more to this than we are seeing."
"That's what Commander Droid, said," Sannah agreed. "He said that we didn't know anything about what was really happening on this planet."
The comm system for the ship chirped.
"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything."
"No, it's okay, Prime Minister," Tyria said graciously. "How can we help you?"
"Well, I ran by your proposal with Lwothin, and he took it to the Keeramak. I'm afraid their superstitions have gotten the better of them. They'll be more than happy to negotiate terms with the Galactic Alliance once their treaty with Bakura is settled, but they don't wish to invite any bad blood to these new beginnings."
"Is that so?" Tyria said neutrally.
"I'm terribly sorry about that. You know how religious the Ssi-ruuk and P'w'eck are. They're even having me go over to their space to work out the initial aspects of our treaty with the Keeramak himself because our planet isn't consecrated according to their customs."
"I'm sorry about that too. When do you leave?"
"To best accommodate the Galactic Alliance, the Keeramak wishes to expedite the treaty signing as soon as possible. I am leaving first thing tomorrow and should be back by the end of the week. After that, it's all a matter of having their priests consecrate our planet for the final signing on Bakuran soil."
"And what about the rest of Bakura?" Sannah said, unable to stop herself. "Don't they have a say in the treaty too?"
"Naturally," Prime Minister Cundertol's voice was congenial. "After I return from the negotiations, I shall put the treaty up to a planet-wide vote. Since an alliance with the P'w'eck would only benefit Bakura, I don't see a reason why it shouldn't pass."
"We'll eagerly await your return, Prime Minister. I hope this treaty really works out for everyone," Tyria said.
"As do I. Cundertol, out."
Another chirping indicated a second communication's link being set up.
"This is the Kell Dragon, we're receiving you, Dancing Droid. Where the blazes have you been?"
Instead of a response from the ship, a HoloNet news feed was piped in over the Kell Dragon's speakers.
"In other news, a powerful virus has apparently infected all models of droids from the factories of Onadax Droid Technologies. It is unknown who unleashed the virus or if it was just a prank, but we are told that the base-code for all the droids was altered so that the only thing the droids were capable of was dancing. Attempts to repair the code or insert new code have failed, leading officials to believe that this was the work of a disgruntled insider with knowledge of ODT's operational standards and programs. At the moment this incident is being treated as a serious crime, however, due to the destruction of ODT's primary droid production factory. This occurred when several of the security droids accidently detonated the building's primary forge when they danced into it while loaded down with munitions. The company's CEO, Stanton Rendar, was not available for comment; though a droid in his likeness was discovered performing the complete works of holodrama actor Tetran Cowall while dancing the Coruscanti Waltz…"
"Okay?" Tyria said, confused. "Aside from showing off and proving that you're once again the best hacker and droid builder in the galaxy, what was that about?"
"The droid in Stanton Rendar's likeness was Stanton Rendar," came the response from the pilot of the Dancing Droid.
"Wait a minute," Sannah said quickly. "ODT is Onadax Droid Technologies."
"Yes."
"Tyria! Malinza said that the commander Cundertol hired to be his head of his security forces was the former head of security at ODT," Sannah said quickly. She looked back to the hologram of the Dancing Droid's pilot. "Did Stanton Rendar look, and for all intents and purposes, act like a real human?"
"I was getting to that. And I'm not surprised if you found another droid similar to Stanton Rendar's. His company was preparing to roll out a whole line of Human Replica Droids."
"Was?" Tyria raised an eyebrow.
"He shot at me so I had his droids walk into the furnace." The captain of the one-man ship pouted. "All I asked was if I could look at his base-code. Maybe I should have waited for the second date to ask that, but still. I was amazed at how non-droid like he was. He seemed surprise that I could tell he was a droid, and began waxing about the benefits of never getting sick, old, or tired. I must admit, I was pretty tempted, but then again, droids can be reprogramed easily, people not so much."
"Yeah, for all his benefits, you still reprogrammed him and made him dance," Doran chuckled.
The hooded hologram looked to the side, as if ashamed. "Yeah, I don't like killing, but I'll do it if I have to."
"Wait, killing?" Tyria blinked. "But it was just a droid."
"Like I said, Stanton Rendar's likeness was Stanton Rendar. The guy deliberately enteched himself into a droid-replica of himself using a modified entechment device of some kind. The only way I got him to dance and re-enact those holodramas was by wiping out the electronic imprint of who he was. In a sense, I killed him."
At that, the cockpit of the Kell Dragon fell quiet.
"entechment. That's Ssi-ruuvi tech," Tyria finally managed.
"I know. I don't know what's happening on Bakura, but if one of the HRD's made it out to there and Ssi-ruuvi tech made it to Onadax, something fishy's going on. I'm still in orbit around Onadax at the moment to see if I can gather any more information. But you won't have to worry about any more Human Replica Droids popping up. Unless Stanton sent out a few more, I completely trashed their production facility."
"Thanks for the heads-up," Tyria breathed. The holopad dimmed, and Tyria looked to the others. "We definitely need to find out what we're missing. Let's talk with Malinza and the others to see if they can shed any more light on this."
"And what about Deputy Prime Minister Harris? With Cundertol off to Ssi-ruuvi space, Harris will be the one in charge," Doran voiced.
"I feel that things are a lot more connected than we can see," Tyria said softly. "For now, the two of you will stick with me. If entechment tech has made it out of Ssi-ruuk space, there's no telling what secrets Harris, and whoever else he's working, with are hiding."
)-(VI)-(
It was the next day, after Prime Minister Cundertol had left with Lwothin and the P'w'eck delegation for Ssi-ruuk space, when Doran and Sannah followed Tyria into the safe-house General Panib had set up for the members of the Freedom. The safe-house was located in the countryside, away from the city, and had two military speeders out in front guarding it.
"You're back," Malinza sounded surprised as she saw Sannah.
"Jedi keep their word," Sannah said. The surviving members of Freedom were seated at dining room table. "Salkeli, you survived?"
The Rodian made a face. "I was stunned by one of the security droids after Zel stupidly set off the alarms. He was always better at bragging about his slicing skills than he actually was."
"Hey, show some respect, he was our friend," Jjorg hissed.
"Who nearly got us all killed," Salkeli retorted. "We're all lucky to be alive."
"Anyway," Malinza said a bit more loudly than the others to cut off their bickering. "What brings you to our prettied up prison?"
Sannah looked to Tyria, but the older woman made a gesture that suggested Sannah should answer the question. "What do you know of Onadax Droid Technologies?"
"ODT? Why?" Malinza blinked in confusion.
"We discovered the origin of droid designed to look like the commander of the security forces," Sannah said. "He was made in an ODT factory."
"Really?" Salkeli sounded skeptical. "Onadax is one of Bakura's major trading partners. The Salis D'aar Penitentiary uses ODT droids for both security and maintenance purposes. Are you saying that ODT is making human-like droids now?"
"I know it sounds hard to believe, but it's true," Sannah nodded. "We even have evidence that they were starting to manufacture what they called Human Replic Droids."
"That's all good and everything, but what does that have to do with Bakura?" Vyram asked.
"You mentioned earlier that it was Cundertol who hired this commander, right?" Sannah said.
"It was his office," Malinza answered. "The man who previously had the position died shortly after running against Cundertol in the last election. Any candidate to that position needs to be approved by the Office of the Prime Minister."
"So you don't know who exactly hired this commander?" Tyria spoke up, keeping note of the expressions and emotions coming from each member of the Freedom.
Malinza glanced back at her friends. Then held Tyria's gaze, as if challenging her. "No. The only thing we knew about him was what Deputy Prime Minister Harris told us, that he was the former head of security at ODT."
Tyria began blinking when she realized that Malinza's thoughts were blaringly loud as she continued to maintain eye-contact. It was as if she wanted Tyria to read her mind.
We didn't tell Salkeli about Harris. We didn't tell Salkeli about Harris. Salkeli doesn't know about Harris.
Tyria raised an eyebrow, but showed no reaction otherwise. "So Deputy Prime Minister Harris has been helping you all this time?"
"He has," Malinza pretended to admit.
"Malinza," Salkeli protested.
Malinza glanced back to the Rodian. "Salkeli, we have to be honest with the Jedi. Thing have gone far out of our control and we need their help to get them back on track. Besides, telling her won't exactly harm anyone. She's a student of Uncle Luke's."
Salkeli huffed, but didn't say anything else.
"Is it possible that the commander was brought in by Harris and approved by him? Harris is a part of Cundertol's office," Tyria asked.
"Now that you mention it," Jjorg spoke up, "That does make sense. Cundertol's always been a little out of touch when it comes to his own people and office. He has his own visions, his way of doing things, which keeps him apart from everyone. He leans heavily on General Panib and Harris to get anything done. Heck, I wouldn't be surprise if they could run the government without him."
"So if anything, Cundertol could be controlled by Panib and Harris?" Doran said.
"He'd be dumb enough to listen to their advice," Jjorg agreed. "Panib's not a bad guy, though. He's just more of a military man than a politician. And Harris has always had the interests of Bakura at heart. He's actually helped to reign in some of Cundertol's more outlandish ideas."
"Making Harris his Deputy Prime Minister was probably the only bright thing he did," Salkeli said with a careless shrug.
"Cundertol chose Harris?" Tyria said.
"Yeah, this past election. The moment he was re-elected as Prime Minister, he insisted that no one else was better for the job."
"Mom?" Doran looked to his mother, sensing her mind work.
"Later."
They heard a speeder pull up outside the house and everyone's attention went to the door. A man in a military uniform entered the house and headed straight for Malinza.
"Malinza Thanas," the man said.
"Yes?"
"Deputy Prime Minister Harris has investigated and arrested several members of the government who were plotting against Cundertol. He believes the threat against you and the others has passed and you are free to go."
"That was quick."
"Deputy Prime Minister Harris takes threats against the safety of Bakura seriously. He has not slept since learning of the potential traitors," the soldier said. "I am happy to inform you that you are safe and free to continue your efforts to reform the government, provided they remain peaceful and within the law."
"Thank you," Malinza said carefully, her eyes briefly flicking to Tyria. "Please tell Deputy Prime Minister Harris that we are grateful for his hard work. If he does not object, we will inform the people of Bakura of the plot that threatened their safety as well as the treaty the Prime Minister is attempting to negotiate with the P'w'eck."
"He anticipated that you would ask this, and he grants his full blessing," the soldier nodded.
"He always does what's best for the people," Malinza said with a forced smile. "Thank you again."
The soldier inclined his head and then left on the speeder he had come.
"That was surprising," Salkeli blinked.
"That's an understatement," Jjorg said.
"Do you really think the threat's passed?" Vyram looked to the others.
"It doesn't really matter now, does it," Malinza shrugged. "We've just been evicted from this safe-house."
"If you want, we can escort your group back to your headquarters," Sannah offered.
Malinza agreed. "That would be helpful, Jedi Sannah. But then, we must part ways there. We have helped you, you have helped us, the Balance is satisfied. The Freedom must create change on Bakura on their own."
)-(VII)-(
"Tyria, come in, damn it!" The frantic yell of Alex Winger greeted the three Jedi as they re-boarded the Kell Dragon later in the evening.
Tyria quickly moved to the communication's console. "Alex?"
"Finally! Listen, the Webley II's lost long range communications and propulsion . We were lucky enough to make the jump to hyperspace as it is!"
"Alex, wait a minute, what are you talking about?"
"The Ssi…. Not overthrown! … peace-treaty…trap!"
"What?" Tyria shouted. "Alex, there's a lot of static coming in with your transmission!"
"The Ssi-ruuvi Imperium still exists!" Alex shouted, desperate to get her point across. "A full battle fleet mobilized this morning shortly after the Prime Minister's ship left Bakuran space. The peace-treaty is a trap! I repeat, the peace treaty is a…"
"Captain! The Ssi-ruuk followed us out of hyperspace!" A voice yelled in the background.
"Sithspawn! Abandon ship! Tyria, warn the Bakurans! The Ssi-ruuk are coming!" With that, the transmission went dead.
Tyria, Doran, and Sannah stared in horror at the communication's module, momentarily transfixed by Alex's message.
"Will she be alright?" Sannah whispered hoarsely.
"She will," Tyria swallowed. "She's been in worse scrapes than that. What we need to do is warn General Panib and Deputy Prime Minister Harris."
"But the Ssi-ruuk can't attack," Doran frowned. "They haven't sanctified this planet."
"They have," a voice called out from outside the open hatch of the ship.
They glanced out the hatch to see Malinza and the other members of Freedom, minus the Rodian Salkeli, their expressions grim.
"Malinza?" Tyria emerged from the ship.
"This planet has already been sanctified," Malinza held out a datapad. "Zel came across some old recordings when he was in the Salis D'aar's systems. Deputy Prime Minister Harris has been planning this for a long time."
"Is that why Salkeli isn't with you?" Sannah asked.
"Yeah," Malinza nodded with a clenched jaw. "Zel wouldn't have tripped the security alarms. He was too good. After we were let go from the safe-house, Vyram and I went back to the penitentiary to see if we could uncover anything else."
"According to this, Harris made a deal with the Ssi-ruuk nearly eight months ago when he was the Minister of Commerce," Tyria scrolled through the data with a frown. "As a 'gesture of good faith' he began exporting prisoners to the Imperium for the purposes of entechment. Mostly those on death row, or ones who wouldn't be missed. He was the one who arranged for ODT to obtain the entechment tech for their human replica bots. Shortly after the P'w'eck made contact, Harris smuggled a Ssi-ruuk priest onto Bakura for a secret sanctioning?"
"Yeah," Malinza said grimly. "Everything Cundertol has been going through, the talks about a possible treaty, is all just an act to make the Bakurans happily welcome the Ssi-ruuk ships."
"And this data was just sitting in the prison database?" Doran said with a frown.
"No," Malinza shook her head. "A Ryn technician at the prison made a backup copy of the data before Harris had his lackeys delete it. When Vyram and I went back to investigate, the Ryn found us and warned us things weren't what they seemed. He then gave us that data."
"The Ryn?" Tyria blinked. "That's surprising. Anyway, according to the data, Cundertol is just a puppet being used by Harris. And Harris is in league with the Ssi-ruuk."
"Worse," Doran said, his voice filled with anxious dread. "If Harris already had Bakura sanctified, the Ssi-ruuk are free to attack."
Tyria spun to Sannah. "Contact General Farlander and let him know we need his ships ASAP! Then tell General Panib to mobilize the Bakuran Defense Forces."
"On it!" The Melodie teen sprinted back into the ship.
"Doran, stay with her and prep the Kell Dragon for space battle."
"What about you, mom?"
"I'm going with Malinza. We need to have a talk with Harris."
)-(VIII)-(
After some preparation, Tyria, flanked by Malinza, Vyram, and Jjrog, ascended the steps of the capital building just as night fell. The street lights were all in the process of turning on and the lights from the buildings around them began to shine as the last rays of the sun dipped below the horizon. They passed through the glass doors of the atrium and walked up to the front desk.
"Please inform Deputy Prime Minister Harris that Jedi Tyria Sarkin-Tainer is here to speak with him," Tyria said to the droid receptionist.
"One moment please." The receptionists' optical sensors flicked on and off in an imitation of a blink. "Deputy Prime Minister Harris will see you now."
"Thank you."
They filled into a turbolift that shuttled them to the top of the building. When the doors opened, the group entered a spacious office occupied by three individuals and a translator droid. A fine carpet covered the floor and stately drapes covered windows that would have otherwise give the office a clear view of the city.
"Salkeli," Malinza acknowledged one of the three in the office.
"Malinza?" the Rodian seemed surprised to see them and he anxiously looked over his shoulder towards the Deputy Prime Minister.
"Jedi Sarkin-Tainer," Harris said congenially, straightening in his chair. "What can I do for you?"
"You can explain why you've sold out the people of Bakura," Malinza hissed, stepping forward and shrugging off Tyria's hand. "You too, Salkeli. I thought you were for a brighter future for our people!"
"Don't get so high and mighty, Malinza," Salkeli retorted. "I am doing this for the future of Bakura."
"Really? Because giving us up to the Ssi-ruuk isn't exactly a future," Jjorg said, her anger at being betrayed making her clench her fists. "When Malinza first began suspecting you, I backed you up. Said that there was some other explanation. How could you do this to all of us?"
"Deputy Prime Minister," Tyria said, using the Force to silence the others. She then motioned to the third individual in the room, the P'w'eck representative, Lwothin. "We have reason to believe that the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium is still in existence and is on their way to Bakura at this very moment."
"Is that so?" Harris said. "And how do you know this?"
"We had elements of the Galactic Alliance patrolling the border since we became aware of a possible treaty between you and the P'w'eck," Tyria stretched. "They were engaged by the Ssi-ruuk and heavily damaged."
Harris swallowed nervously and folded his hands, hidden in the folds of his scarlet robe, on the desk in front of him. "Perhaps it's a misunderstanding."
"Harris," Tyria tried a different tactic. "We have evidence that you've made a deal with the Ssi-ruuk and tried to erase all records of your meetings. We've already sent General Panib a copy of the evidence, and he's informed Prime Minister Cundertol."
At that, Harris let out a laugh, his demeanor changing in an instant. "You Jedi, always sticking your noses where they don't belong. You really think you have the full story, do you?"
"Why don't you tell me the full story then?" Tyria said patiently, keeping her senses attuned to any danger.
"You too, Salkeli," Malinza said. "You were responsible for those rallies that went out of control, weren't you? Why? Why try to frame us and destroy everything we've tried to do?"
"Destroy everything?" Salkeli chortled. "Malinza, you've got me all wrong. I'm trying to do the job we set out to do; unite Bakura against the Galactic Alliance, ensure that it's as safe as it can be from outside invasion. Harris was the only one who had the foresight needed to make our plans come to fruition."
"You're insane," Malinza said with wide eyes.
"Really, aren't you being a bit harsh on your friend?" Harris said with a smile. "With the Ssi-ruuk helping us, Bakura will govern our own destiny forever. The only difference is that instead of rallying around you, Malinza, they shall unite around me."
"I can't see them supporting someone who's sold them to the Imperium," Malinza seethed.
"You said it yourself, Malinza," Salkeli spoke up. "The people of Bakura are sheep. They'll believe whatever their beloved government tells them."
"And oh will they listen," Harris said in amusement. "Again betrayed by the Jedi who have come to save us. Jedi who murdered the beloved daughter of our former leaders and nearly killed their Deputy Prime Minister. Your tragic death will be the spark everyone needs to rise up against the Galactic Alliance and seize their own destiny."
Harris pressed a button on his desk, and two slats in the wall behind him opened. A squadron of security droids marched into the room with blasters at the ready. "Now, surrender. The alternative is much more unpleasant."
"Indeed," Tyria said calmly. She looked to Vyram, who had stayed silent throughout the exchange. "You get all that?"
"Every pixel, every sound bite," Vyram nodded grimly.
Harris' expression froze in a forced smile. "What do you mean?"
"You see, Deputy Prime Minister Harris," Tyria sighed, running a hand through her hair and shaking her head. "You wouldn't be the first corrupt politician that I've had to go up against. Sadly, you probably won't be the last. But the most predictable thing about corrupt politicians is that when they think they've won, they just have to spill out their grand plan and boast about how smart and clever they are. You politicians love your speeches after all."
"By now, all of Bakura has heard your plan to get them enteched for the greater good of the Balance," Malinza said.
"Surrender," Tyria commanded, injecting the full extent of her Force abilities into her order. "The people of Bakura should decide their own fate, not have their fate decided for them."
Harris' jaw worked as he tried to fight off the suggestion. The security droids were immobile as they awaited further orders. But Salkeli, seeing the situation rapidly deteriorating, acted first. He yanked one of the blaster rifles from the hands of a nearby droid and opened fire.
Jjorg twitched as the ruby red darts pierced her body, dropping her to the ground. Vyram quickly tackled Malinza out of the way, getting hit in the leg by another blaster bolt in the process.
Tyria thrust her hand out, and a wave of Force energy sent the Rodian flying backwards through the bay window. Salkeli let out a terrified cry and dropped the blaster as he instinctively thrust his hands out to grab onto anything he could. He needn't have bothered. Tyria kept her eyes closed, focused on holding the Rodian in mid-air.
This meant that Harris was now free of her Force suggestion, however. He produced his own blaster and aimed it at Tyria. The blond Jedi flung Salkeli back through the window, and the Rodian collided into Harris, the two of them toppling to the office floor as the Deputy Prime Minister's chair flipped over.
Malinza hurried to Jjorg's side, but it was clear that the young woman had been killed by Salkeli's brash act. Eyes blazing, Malinza glared sharply at the co-conspirators. "Was your selfishness worth it all? How many more have to die?"
"As few as possible," Tyria replied softly. She held her comlink up. "General Panib. The situation on the planet is under control."
"That's good to hear. The Galactic Alliance vessels Mon Adapyne and Pride of Selonia have just dropped out of hyperspace to join us. But unless we get help soon, we're in no shape to repel a Ssi-ruuk invasion force."
At that, the P'w'eck representative, Lwothin, stepped back towards the center of the room. He let out an almost musical flurry of sounds. The translator droid, glancing at its heavily armed counterparts, timidly conveyed Lwothin's message.
"The P'w'eck Emancipation Movement representative claims that his people will fight alongside the Bakurans."
"Really?" Tyria looked to Lwothin. "Your people tried to deceive the Bakurans before, how is now any different?"
"[The Keeramak commanded us to deceive you, so we did. But in doing so, he showed us that the P'w'eck can indeed be free of the Ssi-ruuk. The Ssi-ruuk need the P'w'eck, but the reverse is not true. If you refrain from shooting at any of the enteched fighters, we will show you that the P'w'eck will keep their word to the people of Bakura and help defend them from any invasion.]"
Tyria studied the P'w'eck, sensing no deception from him. "Very well. General Panib. The P'w'eck will fight for us. Don't fire on the fighters."
"Are you certain?"
Tyria managed a weak smile. "We're not really any worse off if I'm wrong."
"Good point," the general snorted. "If we survive this, Bakura owes another debt to the Jedi."
"No debts," Tyria shook her head. "Saving the galaxy is our job. You just help bring Bakura into a brighter, happier future and we'll call it even."
"Understood. I've mobilized the ground units as well as we can expect some landing ships to break through."
"And what of Prime Minister Cundertol?"
"No word from his shuttle. I would have people searching for him, but we need every ship we have at the moment."
"We'll worry about him later, then," Tyria said. "Right now, we have a planet to save."
"Galaxies, planets, is there anything a Jedi doesn't have to save?"
"Nope, want to trade jobs?" Tyria chuckled.
General Panib likewise emitted an amused laugh, mostly to defuse the tension of the situation. "Not on your life, Jedi Sarkin Tainer. I'm happy with just looking after Bakura. Maybe when…" A beeping sound could be heard in the background and the good-nature left General Panib's voice instantly. "Jedi Sarkin Tainer, the Ssi-ruuk have arrived."
)-(Chapter End)-(
A\N: For this chapter, I did my best to distill the canon Bakura story-arc to its basic plot ideas, i.e. everyone scheming, people dying, the Freedom yelling loudly and being used as a pawn, and the poor Jedi getting caught in the middle of it all (not in that order and minus the Tahiri-goes-insane arc), but I had always found it the most confusing of the NJO books. The Bakura arc in this chapter was a pain in the shebs to write and if I had been able to come up with a different side-plot for Doran and Sannah, I probably would have cut the entire Bakura plot from this story. Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoyed it. Any type of feedback is more than welcome.
Anon review response:
JediMasterDraco- The challenge you gave me is one I've already set for myself...=). Now for your real review, in numerical fashion... 5. There are SANE Jedi? 15. Too late, idea given. Besides, the 'Hapans and the Sand People' sounds like another band name, maybe they can join up with Abeloth's tour with their hit singles 'Sand Palace' and 'Heated Gaze'. (yes, I already thought up the lyrics for the first verses of each, you really have to stop giving me those kooky ideas, wise o Jedi Master) =p. 22. Capital of Aube is Troye, Lord Denning was a British judge...yeah, a stretch, but I did warn you that the references were obscure. 23. Honestly, I didn't. You didn't call Vergere by a bird name so I just wookiepedia-ed Sith Witches and it gave me the Nightsisters (entirely your fault this time). 30. Can't take credit for homicidal Jawas, I think Luke or Leia run into them chasing after the Kilik Twilight painting on Tatooine in I think its the Tatooine Ghost (by Denning). 34. Not very well, they stick their heads in the ground and hope everyone else goes away. 35. No, yes. 38. Scene actually inspired by KOTOR's desert wraids and those big spiky-hedgehog creatures and the footfall sounds they make as they chase my character around in circles. 43. One of those names is not like the others...unless I somehow manage to make Lestrange into a dark Jedi who gets killed by a red-headed mother protecting her daughter during an assault on a castle-like structure in the sequel (told you you should stop with those kooky ideas). 46. She's already jumped Jag, what more do you want =D...oh, wrong urges? 57. You mean I have to kill him off so he won't ever tell annoying jokes again and then I can get my two male deer? 63. So ends my longest numerically-tallied review to date...thanks again!