Chapter 2

Bonds

They were taking the walkway Czerka set up. Since the predators of the upper branches would attack intruders, they had closed the way to casual tourists, but allowed those who came armed. They'd already brawled their way through a pack of kinrath spiders and several giant bats before they'd walked a kilometer.

A Czerka patrol, sporting the orange and green security uniforms, was huddled around the unmoving form of a dead Wookiee. The manner of death was brutal - the torso covered in blood from multiple blaster wounds.

"This isn't good. I can't afford this," said the first guard.

"You think I can?" The second guard shook his fist at the first. "Do you know what they get for a healthy one of these things?"

The patrol captain held up his hand. "We'll work it out later, men. We've company." He folded his arms and glowered at Kairi. "What do you want, spacer? I'm Patrol Captain Dehno, and you're interrupting Czerka corporate business."

The Wookiee's agony was over, but these bastards hadn't a whit of regret for what they had done. Kairi crossed her arms and gripped her biceps until her fingers were numb. She took two deep breaths, mentally reciting the Code. From what leaked through her shields, Juhani was doing the same. "What happened here?"

"This Wookiee slave got a little rebellious. We had to put it down."

"Put IT down? We are not animals!" Zaalbar shouted.

"You..." Juhani's voice was barely controlled. "You are not only slavers, but murderers as well!"

My thoughts exactly, but these animals aren't worth forty more Wookiees dying like that one. "Zaalbar, Juhani, please. Let me handle this."

"Their disregard for the life of this Wookiee is too much!"

"Please, Zaalbar. I don't want to see you hurt, too."

"Careful now," warned the first guard. "That growl sounded pretty threatening. Keep your slave on a leash, or we'll have another accident..."

Mission stepped in front of Zaalbar, her hand going to her holster. Juhani's hand went to her belt, her face darkening. The Cathar Jedi was keeping her rage in check, but it was taking considerable effort. The only thing keeping Zaalbar from tearing them apart was the life-debt. Their outrage mixed with her own, and thinking through it was difficult. A few wrong words were all it would take to start a fight that the Czerka patrols would definitely lose...and as much as Kairi detested their actions, she wanted to attack it at the root, not hack away at branches.

She heard Bastila, a blessed beacon of Jedi reserve amid all the barely-restrained, justifiable outrage. "There is no passion..."

Kairi nodded, acknowledging she heard Bastila, and then looked back up at the towering Wookiee. "Honor my request."

"I'll do so...for your sake, not theirs."

"Shut up, you trigger-happy idiot!" Dehno shouted at his soldier.

"Do your superiors approve of you killing Wookiees?" she said, her words coming out far more icily then she wanted.

"No, of course, they don't. Why are you asking me that? Are you some kind of inspector?" He huffed. "Trying to get me to admit incompetence, aren't you. Not going to happen - I stand by my patrol. This Wookiee did attack, and had to be put down. We'll find another easy enough."

Bastila's hand danced in front of Dehno's eyes, and her voice became lower, the Force added to her melodic voice. "This posting is trouble, friend," she said gravely. "Get out while it's possible."

He blanched. "You make a lot of sense. I wonder...your Wookiee isn't on a collar, and you understand their language, obviously. What do you know about what might happen here?"  Dehno turned to his men. "Men, we should petition for a transfer. The corporation will survive a fight here, but us frontline guards certainly won't."

"Captain?"

"Move out. This place is not worth the trouble."

They all but bolted back to the space dock. Zaalbar knelt by the fallen Wookiee and closed its unseeing eyes, letting out a low series of howls that were obviously a death chant. They stood in respectful silence until the young Wookiee rose and continued on his way, None of them dared to look back.

****

It was a long and sullen walk across the great pathway, punctuated only to chase away a pack of the native beasts or the cry of a forest bird. Zaalbar had been keeping to the middle of the party, surprisingly quiet and sullen. As the torchlights of Rwookrrorro became visible in the distance, Zaalbar ran ahead and halted their progress.

"I...I am sorry, Kairi, but before you approach the village, you must know something. I should have prepared you, but I don't know if I've prepared myself."

"Prepared yourself?" Kairi asked. "What do you mean, Zaalbar?"

"Buddy, you told me - you were fleeing from slavers," Mission said. "Did...did you..."

A heavy huffing sound - the Wookiee equivalent to a sigh. "Czerka slavers found me, and I broke free of them before they could sell me to a Tarisian noble. I ran and lived deep in the sewers. That was true...but not the whole story."

"You are among friends, Zaalbar," Juhani reminded him. "Friends who will do our best to aid you."

"I...I am an exile among my people.  I will not be welcomed back, and my presence can only hinder you."

"Zaalbar?" Kairi knew he did not care to speak about his past, and she hadn't wished to pry into what was undoubtedly a painful subject. "Zaalbar, please, explain what happened."

Zaalbar explained. "I discovered Chuundar's deal with Czerka, the plans to enslave our people. We...we fought. I became enraged...I still do not remember our battle, but when my father confronted us both, Chuundar told him that I attacked with my claws."

Juhani looked up at him, a furry brow raised. "I would have done worse than claws," she admitted.

"No, you do not understand! It is different for Wookiees than Cathar. Our claws are tools, not weapons. To attack with them makes one a mad-claw, a beast. Because I could not remember the fight, I could not defend myself. I was exiled, and Chuundar sent the slavers after me, knowing none in my village would come to my aid."

"How awful!" Mission said. "Buddy, you gotta realize that none of us would find fault in what you did. You were defending your life!" She walked right up to him. "Even if you went a little nuts, it's ancient history. Surely, they can forgive and forget, right?"

"You have always been better to me than I deserve, Mission, but Wookiees have long lives - and longer memories. I haven't much hope..."

For the rest of the way, Zaalbar took point, Mission stalwartly walking alongside him. He felt a terrible dread as he approached the gates of the village. Tuuvar and Chorraw were once childhood friends. Now, they shook their fists at him.

"You enter the domain of Chuundar, Chieftain and leader! Mad-Claw, you should never have returned! What brings you back to plague our village?"

"Plague?" Zaalbar argued. "Why do you allow Czerka to plague us?"

"You bring outsiders, too. More taint!"

"Stand aside!" Zaalbar shouted at them. "They are with me, and I want access to the home of my people!"

"You've no rights here, mad-claw. This human should not have brought this taint upon our land! You will answer to Chuundar!"

"Taint?" Kairi asked. "What does he mean?"

"He means me, Kairi. I am the taint that you have brought back," Zaalbar admitted shamefully.

"Shut up! You are nameless with dishonor, mad-claw. Yours is a foulness that disgusts me."

"And you trust that slime-bag Chuundar?" Mission fired back at them. "Czerka admitted he's on their payroll."

"You slander our chief, outsider! Chuundar rose as leader despite the tragedies of his clan. He teaches us to resist the invaders! He is a great chief, full of guile and skilled in the hunt."

A third voice called out. "It's all right. Chuundar will deal with them. He knew they were coming." Behind them was a black-furred Wookiee carrying a large vibroblade. "He told me to bring the mad-claw to him."

****

"Nice planet," Carth grumbled as he walked into the armory, holding a cold bottle of water. He needed something to wash the sick feeling out of his guts after that display at Eli Gand's "store."

Canderous was lying on the workbench, bench-pressing a storage cylinder. "I take it the port stabilizers are fixed."

"Fixed, but that guy running the parts shop probably learned business from a Hutt," Carth grumbled. "Already today, I see two Czerka guys trying to sell me a 'slightly damaged' Wookiee, three spaceport whores who tried to strip me on the dock, and top that off with a guy that's uglier than you, and has the ethics of the Tarisian sewers."

"That bad?" Canderous lifted the barrel again. "Slaver?"

"Slave hunter would be my guess," Carth said. "And he doesn't stick to slaves. If that guy came within five meters of Kairi..."

Canderous laughed and lowered the barrel to the floor, picking up a towel to clean off the workbench. "I estimate that if he came near your woman that he would end up with his head ventilated."

Carth rolled his eyes. "Would you cool it with the 'my woman' crap? I was about to say that the guy would probably wreak hell with that empathy she's got. Bad enough that he smells like a rancor's dung heap."

"Planet seems short of decent folk. Good thing we sent the Jedi off. Last thing I would need to hear is either Bastila's sermons or Cathari swearing. Too bad we can't sneak down to the Shadowlands. Rumor has it that there is glorious hunting to be had there."

Carth took another gulp of water. "Yeah, if you're into pissing off the Wookiees and whatever deities they've got."

"Never pegged you as a Gods-fearing man, Republic. You continue to surprise me."

"Pilots tempt fate when they're behind the controls - not off them," he said. "Besides, I've seen two and a half meters of raging carpet headed my direction. No thanks."

"You've a point, I suppose. Wookiees are more than a match for your kind - maybe even for mine. Mandalore was considering this world carefully.  He decided against it, though. Probably not worth the bother. We'd have to clear out the trees to fight in the open, for one thing. Secondly, if this pathetic corporation has the Wookiees under their boots, then maybe they wouldn't present a decent challenge anyway."

"Alert! Unauthorized entry to Ebon Hawk! State your business in ten seconds, meat-bags, or I am authorized to start blasting!" HK-47's tinny voice sounded particularly menacing.

That sent the two of them scrambling down to the loading ramp. A Czerka patrol led by a young punk of a patrol captain was standing at the base of the loading ramp, blaster rifles in hand and pointed straight at them.

"HK-47 stand down!" he said, glad that Kairi had actually instructed the droid to take orders from him if she were not around. Carth pushed past the red-armored droid and jogged down the landing ramp, going right up to the captain, a smug-looking man that couldn't have been more than twenty-five. 

"What's the problem? What is going on here?"

He felt himself get grabbed and snapped into a pair of plastisteel cuffs. "Mr. Onasi, Mr. Ordo...Czerka Corporation is arresting you and the rest of your party on the charge of illegally transporting slave species, and conspiracy to interfere in the delicate balance we maintain with the local leadership. Normally, we just shoot spacers that threaten our operation, but Janos figured that a pair of Wookiee-lovers like yourselves should be granted a more...appropriate...sentence."

Canderous glowered and raised his blaster cannon, but the young punk threw back his head and laughed. "You wouldn't dare...or maybe you would, Mandalorian, but know this - the rules have changed. If one of us is killed, then we take twenty Wookiees in his place."

"Not worth it, Canderous," Carth said.

Canderous glowered. Damn these honorless blood-worms! Sensing there would be more advantageous opportunities to fight later, he lowered his cannon and nodded to the patrol captain, indicating he would go peacefully.