Chapter Twenty: Aggressive Negotiations
Malak could have escaped a long time ago.
He'd noticed several mechanical errors in his cell that could be exploited. The small, rectangular cell had certain flaws in the mechanics of the walls. He'd sensed them within and knew just how to break them.
Instead of doing so, he'd engaged in dialogue with his guards, figured things out. Like where they were storing his lightsaber. But, the Jedi code ordered patience, and he'd known that a direct breakout would get him killed.
So he'd waited.
His general idea had been to spring himself during Revan's attempt at a rescue. Then he'd meet him halfway, and they could make their way out. Unfortunately, Revan seemed to have been captured alongside everyone else.
So, it was time to go with plan B.
Sitting up, Malak moved over to the door and motioned with the force. Inside the wall, the mechanics shattered, and the door slid open. Walking through, he turned and saw the guards.
"What the... how did you get out?!" snarled the guard.
"You would do well not to underestimate a Jedi," said Malak.
The guard went for his gun and fired at him repeatedly. Malak raised a hand and caught the bolt. The energy surged into him, but he dissipated it with his will. Even so, the heat was bad, like touch a pan on the stove.
Pulling with the force, he drew the guards gun to him, spun it around, and shot the man in the leg. He keeled over, and Malak moved forward, kicking him in the head. Kneeling down, he unslung the lightsaber off the belt.
"Right," said Malak, "now to kill everyone between us and the exit." Then he saw the ventilation shafts. With a sigh, he undid the screws with the force. "Then again, I suppose all life is sacred."
Aedal had never considered taking an apprentice until now.
He'd largely given up on the Sith system and focused on the Mandalorians. The ideals of Adjaunta Pall were far more important than lightsaber training. Still, as he looked at the dark-haired boy before him, he had to admit he was impressed.
Revan had an ability to maneuver and move that was well befitting a Mandalorian. Not that Aedal had any intention of making him a Sith Apprentice. But if Revan became a Mandalorian, Aedal could see himself giving him some pointers. A Mandalorian Jedi Order might be worth considering.
"So... I'm told you have an offer for me," said Aedal after a moment, rubbing the side of his helmet. He stood ready to pull his lightsaber at any time, of course. "Something about an army of hunter-killer assassin droids?"
"The army hasn't been made yet," admitted Revan. "But I think I can create one."
"Using a chip that we were about to throw in the trash compacter?" asked Aedal, impressed at his guts.
"That chip has an AI that learned an entire language very quickly," said Revan. "It also demonstrated the ability to kill off miners that were a threat to it. Now imagine what it could do if it was trained to use battle droids."
Aedal smiled in amusement. Not very up to date on droid tech, was he? "Battle droids are a nice theory, but they never work in practice. Even top of the line security systems are finicky. And they are incredibly expensive.
"And anyway, I don't see why I should have you do the training?" Now how would he make his argument?
"Several reasons," said Revan. "Firstly, nobody else even thought about trying to train a droid army before me. I've already come up with several ways to do it, and I've already proved my power. I'm here, aren't I?"
"That you are," conceded Aedal. Appealing to previous achievements was worth doing. "Any other reasons?"
Revan shrugged. "I'll prove it to you.
"Give me transportation to the nearest mining complex you want to be destroyed. With this chip and my equipment, I'll wipe it out. I'll free the slaves and bring them here to become new recruits. You need all the help you can get.
"If I succeed, you lose an enemy and gain new recruits. If I fail, well, you lose an enemy."
"Interesting theory, Revan," mused Aedal. "What do you want? I suppose you'll want the release of your master."
"There must be some mistake, I'm part of the Agricultural Corps," said Revan with a confident smile. "I have no future once I get off here. If anything, I'll be reprimanded for going off-script.
"No, what I want is Malak with me. And, once I've proven myself an asset, I'd like you to consider releasing Bastila."
Aedal paused. "...Why Malak?"
"We work well together, and I'd rather not take out an entire facility without his help," admitted Revan. "That said, there is something else I can do for you."
"And what's that?" asked Aedal.
"I can talk to Zegil on your behalf," said Revan. "You Mandalorians are a formidable threat, and he's going to be in no hurry to start a fight. But when he does, you'll be fighting him and the Republic.
"Zegil is smart. He'll probably try to get a coalition to attack you together with Melinda, and you'll lose the whole colony. But, if you negotiate the release of some hostages, you could probably get the Jedi on your side."
"Really?" asked Aedal, looking for the lie here. "And why should I-" He sensed the coming of his men before the door opened and turned to them. Soon the door slid open, and armed guards came in.
"Chieftain, we have a problem. The boy, Malak, he's escaped!" said the guard.
"Really?" asked Aedal.
"We have no idea where he is, but he's injured two guards," said Actava. "If they hadn't been wearing armor, they'd be dead.
"Also, we received news from Canderous, Melinda aren't taking the bait. They've taken a defensive posture."
Aedal considered it, then looked at Revan, impressed. "...Well, it looks like someone knows more than it first seems." Then he glanced back to Actava. "See to it that he finds his way here." Then he returned his gaze to Revan. "Now then, what can you do about Zegil?"
"I can soothe his anger a bit," said Revan. "If the Jedi do make a deal with you, it will need his cooperation. They will probably make an agreement to have no separate peace if they're smart."
"Who says we care?" asked Aedal. "Maybe we want to wipe them out all at once?"
"You're in the empire business, Aedal. And you need time," said Revan. "This entire war wasn't supposed to happen for years, was it?"
Aedal was even more impressed. "Observant for a rat, aren't you?
"So, I transport you and Malak to some Melinda mine, you wipe it out and then bring me back recruits as a show of good faith? How do I know you won't backstab me?"
"What am I going to do?" asked Revan. "Not wipe out the mine? I'll be miles away. And if I die, you don't have to worry about me anymore. That's one problem down, at least."
"And how am I supposed to maintain leverage over Bastila without Malak?" asked Aedal, calculating.
"Well, as it turns out, there's another student down here in the woods named Yuthura," said Revan. "If you were to capture her, I'm sure Bastila would keep working for you out of fear.
"Of course, you could keep Malak under lock and key, but well..."
And then the wall exploded inward as Malak stormed through the wall over the prone forms of two guards. He surged toward Aedal, who drew his lightsaber and blocked it. Thrusting and parrying, Aedal got out of his seat, before force pushing Malak away.
The boy slid to a halt and tossed Revan his lightsaber.
Aedal sighed. "That's coming out of your pay."
"...It might be difficult." finished Revan.
"What is going on here?" asked Malak. "Come on, Revan! If we attack him now, we can kill him and free the others!"
"Malak, stop," said Revan. "I have this handled."
"How?" asked Malak.
Guards came to the gap, but Aedal waved them off.
"I'm cutting a deal to save as many skins as I can," said Revan. "Now, Aedal, you capture Yuthura, probably while she tries to rescue Zaz-Kai Ell from the mines. You get a hostage."
"You're selling out one of our own?" asked Malak, sounding furious.
"What do you want from me, Malak?" asked Revan. "Yuthura is alone, trapped behind enemy lines and hundreds of miles away from civilization. If she tries to free Zaz-Kai Ell on her own, the Mandalorians will fry her, and she'll be dead. If she makes a run for it, she'll starve to death in the wilderness.
"At least this way, she'll be taken alive and then be safe in prison until she's released or freed. You don't really think that Aedal is going to keep Bastila forever? He'll probably ransom her back; she's an unreliable piece at best."
Aedal laughed. "Don't worry. With this many hostages, I'm certain I'll be able to arrange a peaceful solution. Still, what if Yuthura actually succeeds in freeing Zaz-Kai Ell?"
"That doesn't sound like either my responsibility or my problem," said Revan flatly. "I'm just telling you what you need to do to replace Malak. If you're men can't capture one thirteen-year-old twilek, that's your own business."
Actually, that was a good point.
"Fair enough," said Aedal, before looking to see the mechanic who brought Revan. "Ren, get these two outfitted and arrange transport. I'll get you the coordinates later. Actava, you stay."
Out they went.
When they had gone, Aedal looked sadly at the hole in the wall. He'd like that wall, he'd gotten the Republic to pay for it. Working as mercenaries for various corrupt figures to deal with 'inconvenient' people. Sabotaging businesses in raids, work as mercenaries. Anything to make a living.
Also, having all those mercenaries working jobs as security and thugs had other benefits. Like giving him good information on the worlds they visited and what kind of defenses to expect. Of course, the attacks on those places wouldn't happen for years.
But when they did, the Mandalorians would wash over them with ease.
"What's your plan?" asked Actava.
Aedal considered his position. He figured he was either in a strong position or only had the illusion of strength. Best to be careful and cut the conflict short before anyone could find out. "...It seems the Jedi have done a better job of organizing this place than I thought."
"So what do we do?" asked Actava.
"We're bribing a Coruscant Senator, aren't we?" asked Aedal sarcastically.
"Lobbying, Chieftain," said Actava.
This again? "What's the difference, Actava?" asked Aedal.
"Bribery is paying a foreign official to act against the interests of the state," said Actava. "Lobbying is legally paying a foreign official in secret. To act against the interests of the state."
"So we're bribing a Coruscant Senator," said Aedal flatly.
Actava paused and finally conceded the point. "...Yes."
"Then don't call it lobbying," said Aedal. "If it is done in the same way as bribery and performs the same function, it is bribery. Buzzwords like lobbying are distractions made up by corporate fatcats. They don't actually provide any context or meaning to language.
"Far from it, they confuse the issue. Which is, of course, the entire point.
"Which brings me to Senator Holdo. She's a very influential member of the progressive movement, big on cultural tolerance. Recently proclaimed that anyone who objects to our attack on that Republic fleet is a Sith.
"I'll get to get in contact with her. Explain our side of the story and get the Republic to intervene on our behalf."
"What?!" said Actava. "How could you...
"How is that even an option?
"What are you going to do? Pretend as if we're a persecuted minority because the enemy are responding to our attacks?"
Aedal looked at her flatly.
"Oh," said Actava.
Aedal was reminded why he hated politicians.
Yuthura had felt a presence urging her forward. It pressed her to go and rescue Master Zaz-Kai Ell and Master Kreia. Yet... she knew that if she just rushed in, she'd lose. The Jedi Code taught patience, and Yuthura had seen her flaws when she fought Revan.
If she charged in like a loose cannon, she'd be captured for sure.
So she didn't heed the urge. Even so, it helped her think, helped her stay motivated. The first thing she had to do was get into hiding, and so she'd quickly found a set of tree roots to go under. From there, she'd piled underbrush and plants over herself and went still. As she did, she sensed outward and felt the Mandalorians coming out to look for them.
Patience.
Yuthura would wait until the Mandalorians let down their guard. Then she would strike to save the Masters. As she worked, she reached out with her mind and sensed them being brought to the cave. Yuthura tried to sense in more detail, but her mind recoiled as she met pure darkness. It seemed to claw at her, and she was forced to withdraw. What she felt was...
Rage.
The purest and most incredible rage.
Even as she felt it, memories came to her of stabbing the Hutt that owned her. Yuthura remembered what happened to her mother. And she remembered how slavery was something the Jedi should have shut down years ago.
Yet they hadn't.
Why not?
Didn't they care?
No, that darkness was effecting her mind. Yuthura drew her mind back to her hiding space. There was no emotion, there was peace. And even if there was emotion, Yuthura couldn't let it drive her right now.
