Disclaimer – all original Star Wars characters in this fanfic (excluding my OC's) are the property of Lucasfilm and Disney.
Chapter 36 "Mission on Corellia."
The war has begun! After the battle of Geonosis, the Republic and the Separatists have officially started a galaxy-wide conflict. Seven days after the first battle, the Republic received a message from Ratri Tane, a former researcher of the Techno Union, that the Separatists plan to build new and more deadly battle droids, which could prove superior to the clones. The researcher stole the datapad with the schematics and went into hiding on planet Corellia.
The Jedi Order send Jedi Knight Aayla Secura and Jedi Knight Ylenic It'kla to planet Corellia to find the researcher and retrieve the datapad before the Separatist could get it back and begin the mass production.
Planet Corellia, Coronet City, Blue Sector, Treasure Ship Row, Homestar Cantina.
Corellia was a planet located in the galaxy's Core Worlds known for its ace pilots and large starships. This terrestrial world possessed a breathable atmosphere, a temperate climate, standard gravity, and a moderate hydrosphere. The Corellian weather was characterized by warm, sunny days separated by long, severe rainstorms. Like every other planet in the Corellian system, Corellia had a planetary repulsor, an engineering tool beneath a planet used to propel it to a different location.
Corellia's surface contained rolling hills, dense forests, lush fields, vast seas, beaches, mountain peaks, crystal swamps, and an eastern ocean and a western ocean. Corellia also featured urban terrain, which was designated as an industrial world and was considered a highly developed planet.
Three large continents were present on Corellia; the planet's capital of Coronet was located on the coast of the southernmost and primary continent, near the eastern ocean. Outside of such cities, the landscape hosted small towns and farms. Corellia was an exporter of alcohol, starships, and agricultural goods, and imported luxury items, raw materials, and weapons. Its starship construction facilities had been moved into space, leaving its surface largely rural. The shipyards of the Corellian Engineering Corporation were located in orbit around Corellia, and facilities fitted with warship docks were on the planet.
Often referred to as "The Jewel of Corellia," Coronet City was a bustling urban metropolis and the capital of Corellia located on the coast of the southernmost continent. It was a technologically advanced city with beautiful architecture.
In keeping with Corellia's spacefaring heritage, Coronet spaceport was second to none. Coronet was also home to the headquarters of CorSec and was heavily patrolled, although patrols were somewhat lighter in the Blue Sector, a rough section of town filled with cantinas, tattoo parlors, casinos, and fences, where offworlders tended to congregate. The most famous bazaar called Treasure Ship Row, was located there.
It was a large, open-air shopping mall that was always filled with crowds of people, as Treasure Ship Row offered everything for consumers. From food shops to clothing stores, to antique stores, to cantinas.
Aayla Secura, a female Twi'lek, and Ylenic It'kla, a male Caamasi, headed towards the Homestar cantina, where they were supposed to find the researcher. The building stood a quarter of the way along the Treasure Ship Row, on the south side. It could have been mistaken for a planetarium on any other world. The music issuing forth might have dissuaded some from making that mistake, but otherwise, the cantine seemed plain. It did not excite the senses and, save for the odd collection of people coming and going, could have been described as unremarkable.
As Aayla and Ylenic entered the place, however, unremarkable gave way to impossible. The doorway opened on a tall and broad set of stairs leading down into a round pit floor. A circular bar dominated the center, with concentric rings of rounded and curved tables spreading out around it. All around the walls and hanging from the ceiling were platforms and cages in which dancers undulated the music. The band played on a stage directly opposite the stairs, and the area in front of their stage had been cleared for patrons to dance.
And dancing they were, in combinations of species that defied cataloging. And how they danced sent a shiver down Aayla's spine. She knew enough of the art to pass as a dancer, and she had a Twi'lek's delight in the sensuous movements a body can make. Those beings on the dance floor might well have been having fun, but to her eye, they appeared to be writhing spatially as the result of some excruciating poison.
Ylenic shut his nostrils completely. "No, I do not like how they look, either," he stated. The Caamasi were a sentient mammalian species of furred humanoids known for their compassionate and peace-loving nature. They had a spicy, woody body scent that was similar to that of Corellian whiskey. They had two, long arms with thin, three-fingered hands, and two pointed ears which stuck out from the sides of their heads. They also had extremely acute senses of smell, with their nose positioned at the end of a tooth-filled snout.
The Caamasi Jedi led the way down to the floor and halfway around on the left. In the centermost of the table-rings, they found a small space where they could stand. Ylenic moved around, so he faced away from the bar, and she stood facing him, allowing them to cover the entire cantina. They punched in their drink orders on a small datapad built into the table. Soon a droid brought them two tumblers of Corellian whiskey, which they left untouched on the table.
As she studied people, Aayla could definitely see that Jedi on Corellia had their hands full. The war had exacerbated the situation by bringing in a lot of beings under a lot of pressure and adding to that mix of agents of either side, who wanted to cause trouble.
"He could be anywhere," said the Caamasi Jedi Knight.
"True, but we must find him," replied Aayla. As she kept looking around, a male voice called to her. "Hey, there sexy. How about a little private dance?" A brown-skinned Duros male approached Aayla with a knowing smile.
The Twi'lek shot him a withering glance, but something beyond him caught her eye. Aayla tapped the back of Ylenic's hand. "To your right, fifty degrees. That's him, near the two Mirialans."
Ylenic looked and then nodded. "I see him, and them as well," he replied as he spotted the researcher. Ratri Tane was a human male in his later thirties with black hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. He was dressed in an open jacket over a blue shirt, dark pants, and high boots. The human sat at the table and looked around nervously.
"I have a large sum of credits for you, pretty one," Duros stated with a chuckle. "I can even give a big tip if you let me touch your luscious body."
Aayla frowned at the Duros. "Not interested," she said harshly and began to walk towards the table with the researcher. Ylenic followed her, keeping the eyes on their surroundings. Aayla felt someone grab her right shoulder. She twisted away and, without thinking, flicked her left hand at the stubborn Duros, who clung to her. She gave him only a tiny push with the Force, but that was enough to bounce him back onto their table, splashing their drinks onto a pair of Rodians. The two aliens blinked in surprise and grabbed the Duros.
As the three aliens began to push each other, which quickly turned into a brawl, Ylenic noticed a hooded, masculine figure that also headed towards the researcher. The brawl caught the figure's attention, and as a result, he spotted Aayla and Ylenic. While Aayla wasn't actually dressed like a Jedi, Ylenic surely was. Immediately, the figure turned towards the table with Tane and dashed towards him.
"Not good," commented the Caamasi Jedi Knight. Both he and Aayla reached for their lightsaber and began to push through the patrons. Unfortunately for them, the path of the figure wasn't so crowded, so he reached the researcher before they did. He grabbed Tane and yanked him towards the exit. Aayla and Ylenic quickly pursued them.
Planet Corellia, Coronet City, Blue Sector, Treasure Ship Row.
When the two Jedi left the cantina, they quickly spotted the researcher and the masculine figure in the large, open-air shopping mall. "Stop!" Aayla called out and drew their attention. Since it would be hard to run from the Jedi in this situation, the figure stooped, turned around towards the Jedi, and pulled off his hood.
While Ylenic noticed a lightsaber hilt attached to his belt, Aayla took a good look at the human's face, his green eyes, long, black hair, and the bulbous nose. And then it hit her. "That's... Darth Enigma," she muttered to herself, but Ylenic heard her clearly. "The Sith apprentice of Darth Plagueis?" he asked, and Aayla only nodded in response.
Enigma heard the Caamasi and arched his black eyebrows. "Woah, I'm getting famous," he stated with a cheeky smirk. The researched struggled and tried to free himself from the Anzat's grip, but Enigma looked at him and punched him hard in the stomach. Ratri Tane sunk to his knees and began to cough.
"Stay here, don't try to escape, and nothing bad will happen to you," the Sith promised with a hint of threat in his voice. "I'll be right back."
The Sith reached for his lightsaber and took a few steps towards Aayla and Ylenic. The surrounding clients and shop-owners looked at him and the two Jedi. To Ylenic's relief, many of them began to leave the area, expecting trouble.
"We don't need to defeat him," Ylenic whispered to Aayla. "We just need to get the researcher. I can distract him while you take Tane to safety."
"It will be better if we stall for time," Aayla replied. "With the brawl inside the cantina, the local authorities will be her shortly. He won't be able to deal with so many opponents at once and he'll surely retreat."
"Before you start doing anything stupid," Enigma began, drawing the Jedi's attention. "I just want the datapad with the schematics from the researcher, nothing more. I won't even hurt him if he cooperates with me."
"Do you really think we'll believe you?" Aayla asked with a frown. "You killed Master Koth."
"Actually, that was my Master, Darth Plagueis," the Sith pointed out. "I beat the crap out of your precious Chosen One though. You don't stand a chance againts me, but if you wanna attack me, go ahead."
The Sith turned around and began to walk towards the researcher. Aayla and Ylenic needed to act quickly since it is evident that the Sith would not stay and chit-chat with them as they planned. The Twi'lek activated her blue blade and dashed towards the Sith to rescue Ratri Tane, while Ylenic activated his green blade and followed her.
Hearing the sound of Jedi's weapons being ignited, Darth Enigma turned around and activated his own lightsaber. He blocked a vertical strike and smirked to Aayla. He pushed the blue blade aside and quickly leaned back as Ylenic swung his lightsaber at him.
The Sith took a few steps back and assumed a battle stance: a simple middle guard position with the lightsaber hilt held low in two handed-grip, the blade was pointed upwards, and the feet were close to each other, and the toes faced forward. It was a basic stance of Shii-Cho, the first form of lightsaber combat.
Aayla and Ylenic were slightly surprised by that form, expecting more ferocious form like Juyo or Djem So. Then again, Shii-Cho was meant to fight multiple opponents, so it was useful in this two-on-one situation. However, while Aayla jumped towards Enigma, Ylenic dashed towards the researcher, but when he reached him, he spotted a group of Gotal males and a heavyset human with red hair, freckles, and crooked teeth. The group ran towards him with blasters in their hands and took cover behind one of the stalls.
Without warning, the Gotals and the human opened fire at the Caamasi Jedi, who began to deflect the shots into the air. He guessed that the group worked with the Sith Lord and wanted to get the researcher as well.
While Ylenic protected the researcher, Aayla fought Darth Enigma. As she swung her blue blade horizontally, the Sith backed away with a spun. When he stooped and faced the Twi'lek, he performed a Makashi salute, signalizing the change from first to the second form of lightsaber combat. He placed his left hand on his hip and walked forward.
Aayla spun and swung her blade, but Enigma gracefully dodged to the side. She followed up with a roundhouse, but the Anzat dodged that as well and attacked with a quick slash. Aayla jumped over the Anzat and landed behind him. "Hmmm... beauty and skill," the Sith commented as he turned around and blocked another slash from the Jedi. "At first, when I saw you, I took you for a smuggler or a mercenary."
"What, not a dancer?" Aayla asked sarcastically. She pulled back and quickly performed a leg-sweep. This time, Darth Enigma jumped over the Jedi and landed behind her. Aayla turned around and promptly blocked a strike. As she pushed her blade against his with both hands, she noticed that the Sith was able to keep his blade in place with just one hand.
The Sith smirked, shook his head and replied. "Nah, you have too much fire in you to be a simple, meek dancer. However, I didn't expect a Jedi Knight to be so beautifull."
Aside from looking into the piercing, green-colored eyes, the Twi'lek noticed that Ylenic slowly gained the upper hand against the attackers. She decided to continue the conversation so that the Caamasi Jedi could deal with them. "A female Jedi cannot be good-looking?" she asked, arching her painted eyebrow.
"Oh, she can, but you don't normally see female Jedi running around with tight pants, low necklines, and their mid-riffs exposed," the Anzat pointed out. "Not that I'm complaining of course, you look simply ravishing. I'm sure deep down, you enjoy all the attention."
Before Aayla could reply to that remark, a sudden sound of footsteps from above drew their attention. At first, the Twi'lek spotted figures, who seemed to stand in the air, but a silver-colored ship suddenly decloaked itself right above them. With the ship now visible, Aayla noticed that the figures stood on a lowered ramp and began to jump down.
"Oh, great its them," Darth Enigma muttered under his nose. He recognized the Silent Shadow and the Sentinels. With heavy thuds, the droids of the Kingdom of the Force began to land on the marketplace behind Aayla and Darth Enigma, drawing the attention of everyone around.
Ten in total, the Sentinels, turned to face the Sith Lord and Aayla and activated their yellow, transparent shields. One more figure jumped down from the ship and landed in front of the Sentinels. It was an orange-skinned female Togruta. She wore a helmet that covered her face and montrals but left the ends of her lekku exposed, a sleeveless tunic, a knee-length skirt over dark-grey pants, and a pair of leather boots. All her clothes were mainly white but had violet, red, yellow, and blue patterns and add-ons.
The Togruta reached to her belt and grabbed a thin, rectangular object. "Avelon!" she called out, and high pitch sound came from the object. A flat, curved, black-yellow blade emerged from it. The edge of the blade seemed cracked, and lightning sparks surrounded it.
Darth Enigma took a step back and broke the blade-lock with Aayla, who stood between him and the Togruta. The Twi'lek moved to the side and began to glance back and forth at the Togruta and the Sith. By the appearances of the 'Knights' and the rumors she heard at the Temple, she assumed those were the members of the Kingdom of the Force.
"It's been a long time, ArchKnight," Darth Enigma stated with a smirk.
"I told you that the Force would put you in our path once again, Avelon," the Togruta replied. "You betrayed and stole from us. You won't escape punishment!"
"I wanted revenge and justice for my parents," the Anzat pointed his crimson blade at the Togruta. "But the balance in galaxy was more important for you than anything else, so I've left and took something for my wasted time. And to be fair, I don't really have the datapad anymore." The Sith pointed with his thumb towards Ylenic and the researcher. "The human near the Jedi stole the datapad from the CIS so we want it back."
"It's not yours, let's start with that," the Togruta stated.
Aayla listened to the conversation closely. While the situation put the Sith and the Separatists, who attacked Ylenic, in a tight spot, she had a strange feeling their mission just got more complicated.
The ArchKnight leaned her head slightly to the side and glanced at Ylenic and Tane. Afterward, she looked over her shoulder at the Sentinels. As if reading her mind, the Sentinels pulled out their swords and formed a straight line. The Togruta looked back at the Sith, and in one moment, she lunged at him.
Aayla backed away and ran towards Ylenic while the ArchKnight and the Sith fought against each other. When she glanced at them, she immediately noticed how fast they were. The Twi'lek was shocked and slightly annoyed since it was now apparent that the Sith toyed with her earlier.
"Any ideas?" Ylenic asked, keeping his focus on the Gotals and the human, who were also confused by the situation. The two Jedi were prepared for anything, but they didn't expect what happened next.
The researcher, who stood behind Ylenic and Aayla, was suddenly yanked into the air by his jacket. Startled, the human screamed and waved his limbs in panic. As it quickly turned out, HK snuck behind Ylenic and Tane, grabbed the researched by the jacket, and used his rocket booster to fly towards the Sentinels. The Caamasi Jedi was surprised, but he reacted quickly. He used the Force to grab the human. At that moment, the Gotals and the human decided to open fire once again.
Aayla lunged towards them, deflecting the bolts so that Ylenic or Tane wouldn't get hit. The Caamasi held the human with a telekinetic grip, and HK's boosters had trouble flying. Tane struggled around, and suddenly, he slipped out of his jacket while HK jerked forward. Ylenic pulled Tane towards him, but the human pointed at the jacket. "The datapad is in the pocket!" he exclaimed.
The moment he said that the datapad fell out of the pocket and began to fall towards the ground. Ylenic extended his hand and grabbed it with the Force before it hit the ground and broke. Before he could pull it to his hand, however, the datapad was suddenly crushed into a tiny ball. The Jedi gasped and looked towards Darth Enigma, who had a smirk on his face. The Sith quickly ducked under a black-yellow blade and jumped away.
The Sith looked towards the Gotals and the human. Many of them were injured or knocked out by Aayla. As the Twi'lek glanced at him, the Anzat winked at her and used the Force to enhance his speed. The Sith reached a teen on a speeder and pushed him off, mounting and stealing the speeder. He quickly left the Treasure Ship Row and headed towards the spaceport.
After a few minutes, the local authorities arrived. After Aayla and Ylenic explained everything, the police droids under the command of a human Inspector slowly began to cuff the Gotals. The Inspector actually wanted to know who was the strange, knight-looking group, but he decided to leave that to the Jedi.
Ylenic and Aayla looked at the members of the Kingdom of the Force, especially the Togruta, who talked to the black-platted droid. The Jedi decided to ask them a few questions. They didn't appear to be hostile towards them, but it was better to be on guard. The Togruta proved to be very strong.
"Excuse me," Ylenic caught the Togruta's attention and cleared his throat. "We would like to ask what's your business on Corellia?"
"Well, just like you said, it's 'our' business," the Togruta replied with a somewhat harsh tone. "Ehh... then again, we need to send a message, so since you're here, do you happen to know a Jedi Padawan named Anakin Skywalker?"
"I do," Aayla answered, squinting her hazel-colored eyes.
"Good," the ArchKnight nodded. "Tell him we completely healed his mother and now, she lives on Corellia close the Blue Sector. Unfortunately, the whole Lars family that remained on Tatooine was killed by the Tusken raiders. Those were the consequences ArchKnight Deiven warned him about. Skywalker will know what I'm talking about."
Aayla squinted her eyes but nodded. "I will," she assured.
"Was he datapad with the schematics really yours?" Ylenic asked, changing the topic.
"Yes," the Togruta answered. "We would manage to retrieve it if you hadn't interfered. Still, it wasn't that important, but the theft was something we couldn't tolerate."
Ylenic wanted to point out that the Togruta could tell them that the droid wasn't trying to hurt the researcher, but he didn't want to argue. "Well, at least the Separatists and the Sith failed," Aayla pointed out. "No one will get the schematics inside the datapad now. I didn't expect Enigma to be a sore loser and destroy it."
"Avelon isn't a sore loser," the Togruta said and crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you really think, he would have the datapad for so long without making a copy of it?"
Ylenic and Aayla looked at each other and back at the Togruta, who continued. "Avelon is very clever, and I can bet anything that he made a copy. The whole fight, the act, and the destruction of the datapad was just to make sure you wound't get it and to make you believe you have won. He's powerful, but also very clever."
"Did Darth Eni... Avelon was once a member of your group?" Aayla asked curiously.
"He was," the Togruta confirmed. "Avelon Karkko, or Darth Enigma, was a member of the Kingdom of the Force, but he betrayed us and as it seems, he joined the Sith."
Aayla's hazel-colored eyes widened when she heard the Anzat's last name, Karkko. That name brought terrible memories. "Is he related to Volfe Karkko?" she asked.
"Volfe Karkko was his grandfather," the Togruta replied. "His parents, who weren't Force-sensitives, were killed by a Jedi. That's why he wants revenge."
The Silent Shadow, which hovered over the marketplace, was lowered, and the Sentinels began to board it. "Wait, what's your goal?" Ylenic asked. While the Kingdom had some things to answer for, such as the theft of kyber crystal with the list with the Force-sensitive children, the Jedi didn't want more enemies during the war. Quite the opposite. "The Republic and the Jedi Order could use your skills against the Sith."
"We don't work for the Republic and the Jedi," the Togruta stated flatly. "And neither for the Sith and the Separatists. We only follow the will of the Force." With those words, the Togruta and HK boarded the ship, which took off immediately after.
The Jedi Order surely had many questions for them, but Aayla and Ylenic weren't stupid to try and take the Togruta to Coruscant by force. They could only watch as the ship flew away. With Ratri Tane save, their mission was over. The two Jedi turned around and decided to return to Coruscant.
Please R&R ;)