Disclaimer: I don't own the Star Wars universe or Star Wars KOTOR, George
Lucas and Lucas Arts do. They also own all the Characters and Worlds
contained therein. The characters created by me for this story are all
that I own.
Tatooine - Arrival
The night before landing on Tatooine I had another dream. This time it was just a vision of a Star Forge device with the sphere raised and the map projected. It looked like it was in a cavern of some type; there were broken pillars and statues lying around it.
Bastila supposed that it might be somewhere in the Dune Sea, there would probably be many undiscovered caves and caverns hidden there. I agreed and hoped privately that the Force would give us some further help or we could be exploring caverns on Tatooine for years.
Bastila looked as if she wanted to talk more and I asked her if she had something else she wanted to discuss. She said that she did and that I should prepare myself for when we had to face Malak. She looked pained as she spoke and she said she remembered how hard it was for her to face Revan.
I asked if it was true that she had killed Revan. She said "Our mission was to capture Revan, if possible. It was Malak who turned on his own master, firing upon Revan's ship while we were still on board it. It was his desire to kill us and his master both. Thankfully we narrowly escaped the vessel as it exploded."
I commented on how typically Sith it was and she looked at me and nodded. "True, I suppose. And yet the outcome of that battle was... unexpected. To all of us. Revan's end was... unforeseen." She seemed oddly hesitant and unsettled, but I could see how the events of Revan's death could unsettle anyone. Bastila continued "As I said, we were there to capture Revan alive. The Jedi do not believe in killing their prisoners. No one deserves execution, no matter what their crimes. Remember that Revan and Malak were once great Jedi, heroes in every sense of the word. They demonstrate the danger of the dark side to us all. I'm sorry. We really shouldn't speak of this anymore. The memory of my confrontation with Revan is... painful. Let's return to our mission please."
We landed on Tatooine and I went to ask Mission if she wanted to accompany me on our visit to Anchorhead. On the way Zaalbar stopped me to tell me that someone had been into the emergency stash of food and no one on the ship knew anything about it. I nodded to him and went to check myself. I examined the emergency food supplies myself and noticed that there were no partial packages, there were just less packages than there should be. Someone had been pilfering them. I wondered puzzled what it might mean and looked around the storage area for clues. Nothing presented itself though and I resolved to keep my eyes and ears open for something unusual. On my way out of the storage area I thought I heard footsteps behind me but when I turned around I could see nothing. I turned around and went to investigate the sounds they led back to the storage area and as I quietly approached it I saw a young girl slip back into the cargo area. I sprinted into the hold before she could disappear again and she cried frightened "Na abds! Na adbs!!" I crouched down and told her to calm down, that I wouldn't hurt her. She responded to the tone if not the words and asked "You... yooba me na adbs?" I was puzzled because some of what she spoke almost sounded like Mandalorian but it didn't make any sense.
I asked her what her name was and she just looked at me puzzled so I pointed at myself and said "Kait McDonald" and then pointed at her. She said "Waaba soosa Sasha!" and I was surprised, could this be the young girl that Lur had been looking for? I spoke with her for awhile longer slowly getting to understand the words she used. I finally understood that she had hidden in one of the access panels and thought of the ship as her home. No telling how long she had been onboard. She had escaped from Mandalorians and had hidden on the ship. I was certain now that this was the Sasha that Lur had been seeking. I asked if she knew where her home was before the ship and she said Dantooine. I told her that her father was still looking for her and we would go back to Dantooine as soon as we could. She seemed uncertain about this and I told her to think about it. I went and found Juhani and told her about the young girl and asked if she would watch over her for today. Juhani agreed curious and I we went back to the hold and I introduced them. They were playing name that item games when I left and Sasha seemed completely comfortable in the Cathar's presence as well as picking up some words in Basic.
I went and informed the rest of the crew and several of them went back to see the young girl and say hello. Thankfully Canderous was not that interested in saying hello. I asked Mission if she were ready to go into Anchorhead now and she nodded. Carth wanted to stretch his legs and asked to go as well.
I spoke to the Czerka Customs officer and got some information about who might know about antiques and some of the history of the planet. He told me that Tatooine used to be a lush planet a long time ago and he told me of the difficulties the Czerka were having with the native Sand People. I was stopped on my way out of the landing bay by a Jor Ul Kurax saying that my order of gizka had been delivered to the ship. He said that the crate might have split open and a few of them might have gotten loose. He quickly retreated and disappeared as I looked back at the Ebon Hawk and groaned. Gizka were not dangerous and were often kept as pets but they had a reputation for rapidly breeding. I decided rather cowardly to let Bastila deal with the problem for now while we went ahead to find the Czerka Office.
We found the office, inside a Duros male was arguing with a woman about corporate policy, something about the company having no accountability. With a final wave of his fist he exited. I went over and asked the woman about Griff. She hesitated and then denied knowing anything about anyone named Griff. I could tell she was lying and I asked if she was certain of her information. She finally admitted to knowing Griff and went on to say how he had been a poor worker, always late for his shifts, faking injuries, and suspected of stealing supplies. I had to agree that that sounded like Griff, and she told me that he had been captured by the Sand People.
I questioned her more about these Sand People and she told me that she would give me a hunting license in exchange for my assistance in stopping the Sand People attacks on their employees. I was to get her the gaffi stick of the chieftain of the tribe that was attacking them. I had to have a license to even get out of the settlement, so I reluctantly agreed to the contract.
The Duros male who had been in the office earlier intercepted me as we were leaving the office and introduced himself as Sayso Cooh a conservationist. He asked if I had been hired to kill the Sand People chieftain and I grimaced and said yes. He told me that the Sand People were not animals, they were intelligent. I mentioned that the Sand People had attacked first and he agreed but asked me to look at it from their side. The Chzeka had come in with sandcrawlers and tearing up their desert without any attempt to contact them and discuss mineral rights or any treaties. I nodded and agreed that I could see how the Sand People probably saw it as an invasion of their territory. I asked if he had any ideas on how one would go about communicating with them and he mentioned that a local droid dealer claimed to have a droid for sale that could speak the Sand People dialect. I agreed that I would make an attempt to find a peaceful resolution.
We were still standing outside the office after he left when my attention was drawn to a desperate looking woman. I extended my force senses and could tell that she was worried and anxious. I went over to introduce myself and she begged me for assistance. I said that I would help her if I could and she told me that her husband had been killed while hunting and she was now destitute but she had a wraith plate that she could sell me that was worth 500 credits. She couldn't sell it herself because she didn't have a license but since I had one I could sell it. She was alone and had children and I only paused to ask her what she knew of her husband's death. She said the Gamorrean hunters laughed when they saw her and she had her suspicions that they were responsible.
I gave her 700 credits since we should have more than enough for the droid. Mission and Carth smiled at her joy when I gave her the money and I could tell they felt good about helping her as well. I smiled at her when she wished us well. I also resolved to check out the Gamorreans to see if her instincts were correct. I entered the Hunting Lodge and was able to sell the plate for 500 credits as the woman had said. I also asked around with the hunters about antiques and about the Gamorreans.
Without exception they all implied that the Gamorreans hunted two legged prey and if you were wise you would not turn your back on them. They also said only the Sand People and Jawa's might know about old ruins on Tatooine. One of the men in the lodge was quite forward, even though Carth threatened to loosen some of his teeth for him if he wasn't respectful. I had to chuckle, I didn't need Carth protecting me but I let him have his testosterone moment. I rebuked the hunter for his advances, but he just grumbled about how his wife didn't understand him. I pitied the unknown wife.
Finally I went over to the Gamorreans and asked them some questions, it was very clear from their comments about how it wasn't their fault that some of the hunters didn't come back that they were attacking the hunters away from the Anchorhead walls. I finally asked them outright if they had killed the woman's husband, they said that he had gotten lost in the dunes and perhaps I would get lost as well. I extended my force senses and knew they had killed the man. I told them that they would not escape justice and they told me that the dunes had no justice. I just smiled at them and they decided to leave suddenly.
I decided it was time to go check out whether or not Sayso was correct about the droid he mentioned. We were making our way over toward the shop when we were accosted by three dark Jedi. I sprang ahead of Carth and Mission to engage all three hoping that the two would be able to quickly bring down one of my attackers. I focused on defending against all three until Carth and Mission brought down one of the dark Jedi then I went on the offensive and we quickly finished off the other two. I had been wounded in several places but my implant had kept me from being weakened during the fight and after a few moments of rest I declared that I was fine and ready to continue. I stripped the three bodies of any useful items and stopped at their lightsabers. One of them had a short lightsaber, the crystal had been changed out to a foul red crystal but other than that there was nothing wrong with it. I took out the crystal and crushed it and put the now empty handle in my pack. I could use it to replace the vibroblade I had been using in my off hand. One of the dark Jedi carried a datapad, in it were the details of the bounty Malak had placed for our deaths.
We found the droid shop and I asked the proprietor about the droids he had in stock. He told me that he just had one droid in a HK-47 and said that it could translate the Sand People dialect. He mentioned that it had some odd mannerisms and that he had tried to wipe its memory but could not as those circuits were too well protected. I went over to talk to the droid and see if it could confirm that it could translate the Sand People language. For some reason I found the droid rather amusing though I was starting to suspect it was one of a few illegal assassination droids. It did claim to be able to translate several languages however, including the Sand People dialect. At least if I purchased the droid, I would be able to make sure it stayed out of more dangerous hands. I finally managed to talk down the asking price to 2500 credits and purchased the droid. I decided it was probably wise to return to the Ebon Hawk and check over the droid before heading out to the dunes on the following morning.
Back onboard the Ebon Hawk I put a blue crystal in the short lightsaber and switched out my vibroblade in favor of it. It was lighter and of course easier to carry. I also cleaned up HK-47 and did some upgrades. I questioned the droid while I worked and found out that it was indeed an assassin droid. It had assumed that the restraining bolt was stopping it from accessing its memory but informed me that it had been incorrect and that tampering and repair attempts had damaged some of its functions. I asked if I could restore its memory and it replied in the affirmative and asked that I be careful. Amused I asked the droid if it was implying that I was inept. It replied that it had not meant that but that I was limited in my skills by not being a droid. I assured it that I happened to be very good at robotic repair. And I had to laugh at its appeasing "Yes, master of course master."
I finished up the repair and HK-47 assured me that it now had access to some new memory. It now remembered its previous owner. His last owner had been a low ranking officer of Systech Corporation; he had been purchased from a previous owner that he could not identify. HK-47 said that the man had been terminated by the droid prior to system shutdown. I stared at it and asked "You killed your own master?" HK-47 assured me that the termination was accidental; he told me that his former master had discovered his assignation protocol and proceeded to instruct him to kill all those responsible for the production of a competing product. He had been unaware though that the competing company was also owned by Systech. The droid had killed 104 corporate officers when his master became aware that both companies were owned by Systech. He went into a rage and had attacked the droid with a pen, managing somehow to puncture the assignation protocol actuator and electrocute himself.
I shook my head after the recitation and asked the droid if he had accessed any other information due to my repairs. He said that he now had access to the memory of some actuators that would enhance his performance and was activating them.
I decided to attempt another repair since it was still early in the evening. It didn't take me very long and the droid was able to access more memory. It now remembered the owner prior to the Systech officer. His previous owner had been a senator on Coruscant. His assistant discovered his assassination protocol and informed the senator insisting that the droid be scrapped. The senator promptly ordered the droid to eliminate the assistant and had made extensive use of the droids skills.
I had to chuckle over the droids comment that he was proud of having participated in the political processes of the galaxy, it was dark but it was funny at the same time. I thought it was probably a good thing that Bastila had been avoiding me; the droid would probably irritate all her Jedi sensibilities. HK-47 went on to tell me that all would have probably been well and the senator would have made Chancellor if he hadn't set the droid on his own wife. It seemed that his wife was cheating on him and ordered the droid to kill his wife and any male companion he found her with. Apparently right afterward he had realized that this murder would be directly linked to him and had followed the droid. The droid had gone to the senator's summer estate and had launched his attack just when the senator had arrived and had thrown himself in front of the droid. He had of course died and the droid had promptly shut itself down. The senator's wife had then sold the droid to the Systech officer.
I asked if he had found anything else and he told me he had found more programs that would enhance his performance. I decided to break for dinner and then attempt one more repair. This repair was also successful and the droid was able to remember his owner before the senator.
He had been owned by one Bochaba the Hutt on the planet Sleheyron. I asked what gruesome fate had awaited this owner. The droid replied that I was being unfair that he had nothing to do with Bochaba's gruesome death, or very little at least. Bochaba had used him extensively and he had terminated 322 sentient meatbags in one year, making Bochaba very wealthy. Bochaba had eventually overstepped and the Exchange retaliated. HK-47 had not been present when his old master had been assassinated and said that he had appreciated the artistry behind his demise upon his return. Hesitantly not sure if I wanted to know I asked "Why, How was he killed?" HK-47 replied "Allow me to say that I have little doubt the residents of that sector were fishing pieces of Bochaba out of their soup for weeks afterward." I had to chuckle at that though it was definitely a disgusting image. A rival Hutt had claimed Bochaba's possessions and had sold the droid to the senator.
I told the droid "I should dismantle you" though I didn't seriously mean it. HK-47 said "Supplication: Please, master, have I not pleased you? I cannot control the acts I have performed... perhaps that is why my memory is erased? At any rate, I act only as you instruct me... even if it means being..." the droid hesitated and then said "...non-violent." I had to chuckle at this and said "How very self-sacrificing of you HK-47" and then noticed that Bastila had come into the bay. She gave the droid a hard look and inquired as to what it was. I told her that it spoke the Sand People dialect and we would need it to attempt a peaceful compromise with the Sand People. She nodded and asked if I was going to attempt another repair but I said that I needed to think about how to do the next repair as it was much harder than the previous ones. Besides I suspected she might insist on scrapping the droid if she knew its capabilities and for some reason I had grown attached to the homicidal thing. I found it amusing to listen to and had no doubt that with the proper upgrades it would be a powerful combat droid.
She glanced at me and I put on an innocent face, and told her I was going to bed and would she like to accompany us tomorrow? She agreed and I asked if Carth had told her about the dark Jedi? She blinked and said that no he hadn't what was I talking about. I handed her the datapad and she examined it and grimaced. "This means that every dark Jedi will be looking for us to collect this bounty. I guess I should be flattered at the amount." Bastila said. I nodded and showed her the short lightsaber I had gotten; she complemented me on how well I had set in the new crystal and handed it back to me. I decided that she seemed in a talkative mood and decided to see if I could get her to tell me more of her past.
I asked casually "Bastila, how did you come to join the Jedi?" She glanced at me and said "I was found to be strong with the Force at a young age, as most Padawans are. As a girl I was given to the Order to be trained. When I joined the Order I left my family on Talravin, as all Padawans do. My family is still there, the last that I heard. I have had little contact with them, as it is discouraged."
I was puzzled and asked why; Bastila replied "Relationships with family members are fraught with powerful emotions. Such extremes are to be avoided. Anger and hate are the worst, but even love can lead to folly." I remembered how my team mates had groaned over their counseling sessions and agreed to some extent.
I asked "You aren't allowed to love?" Bastila said "Emotional entanglements can be dangerous. They can impair rational thought; they can lead to outbursts of uncontrolled emotion. A Jedi must be above such things." I asked her "Don't you miss your family at all?" I was caught by the sense that no matter what she was saying about accepting the Jedi and letting go of her attachments to her family that she had done nothing of the sort. She still obviously thought of her father fondly and idolized him and she blamed her mother for insisting that her father hunt and how she had whittled away her father's fortune. She also blamed her mother for giving her to the Jedi.
I wondered if she realized what she had just told me, she still had that child's understanding of her family frozen in time, she had never been permitted to find out if it was accurate or not. From listening to my team mates discussions of their families I had knew that a child's understanding of their parent's relationship was seldom correct as it was simple and one dimensional. Adult relationships were complicated, and often both partners fell into roles that, healthy or no, both of them to some extent agreed upon, even if it was unconscious.
I also realized that whether she realized it or not she resented the Jedi for taking her away from her father. No matter what her words of understanding the wisdom of their policy, and of sacrificing personal desires, the emotions I felt through the bond were ones of suppressed resentment.
I was not surprised when she said that she really did not want to continue the conversation. I nodded and paused and gave her a hug, and told her she could talk to me at any time if she wanted to discuss it more. I put forth all the acceptance and non-judgment that I was feeling into the words and could see that it was making an impact on her. She nodded and said that it was definitely past time for us to go to bed if we wanted to be well rested for tomorrow. In the night I heard her tossing and got up and went over and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She never woke but settled into a more peaceful sleep. I brushed my lips over the shoulder I had touched and went back to my own bunk to try and find some sleep for myself.
Tatooine - Arrival
The night before landing on Tatooine I had another dream. This time it was just a vision of a Star Forge device with the sphere raised and the map projected. It looked like it was in a cavern of some type; there were broken pillars and statues lying around it.
Bastila supposed that it might be somewhere in the Dune Sea, there would probably be many undiscovered caves and caverns hidden there. I agreed and hoped privately that the Force would give us some further help or we could be exploring caverns on Tatooine for years.
Bastila looked as if she wanted to talk more and I asked her if she had something else she wanted to discuss. She said that she did and that I should prepare myself for when we had to face Malak. She looked pained as she spoke and she said she remembered how hard it was for her to face Revan.
I asked if it was true that she had killed Revan. She said "Our mission was to capture Revan, if possible. It was Malak who turned on his own master, firing upon Revan's ship while we were still on board it. It was his desire to kill us and his master both. Thankfully we narrowly escaped the vessel as it exploded."
I commented on how typically Sith it was and she looked at me and nodded. "True, I suppose. And yet the outcome of that battle was... unexpected. To all of us. Revan's end was... unforeseen." She seemed oddly hesitant and unsettled, but I could see how the events of Revan's death could unsettle anyone. Bastila continued "As I said, we were there to capture Revan alive. The Jedi do not believe in killing their prisoners. No one deserves execution, no matter what their crimes. Remember that Revan and Malak were once great Jedi, heroes in every sense of the word. They demonstrate the danger of the dark side to us all. I'm sorry. We really shouldn't speak of this anymore. The memory of my confrontation with Revan is... painful. Let's return to our mission please."
We landed on Tatooine and I went to ask Mission if she wanted to accompany me on our visit to Anchorhead. On the way Zaalbar stopped me to tell me that someone had been into the emergency stash of food and no one on the ship knew anything about it. I nodded to him and went to check myself. I examined the emergency food supplies myself and noticed that there were no partial packages, there were just less packages than there should be. Someone had been pilfering them. I wondered puzzled what it might mean and looked around the storage area for clues. Nothing presented itself though and I resolved to keep my eyes and ears open for something unusual. On my way out of the storage area I thought I heard footsteps behind me but when I turned around I could see nothing. I turned around and went to investigate the sounds they led back to the storage area and as I quietly approached it I saw a young girl slip back into the cargo area. I sprinted into the hold before she could disappear again and she cried frightened "Na abds! Na adbs!!" I crouched down and told her to calm down, that I wouldn't hurt her. She responded to the tone if not the words and asked "You... yooba me na adbs?" I was puzzled because some of what she spoke almost sounded like Mandalorian but it didn't make any sense.
I asked her what her name was and she just looked at me puzzled so I pointed at myself and said "Kait McDonald" and then pointed at her. She said "Waaba soosa Sasha!" and I was surprised, could this be the young girl that Lur had been looking for? I spoke with her for awhile longer slowly getting to understand the words she used. I finally understood that she had hidden in one of the access panels and thought of the ship as her home. No telling how long she had been onboard. She had escaped from Mandalorians and had hidden on the ship. I was certain now that this was the Sasha that Lur had been seeking. I asked if she knew where her home was before the ship and she said Dantooine. I told her that her father was still looking for her and we would go back to Dantooine as soon as we could. She seemed uncertain about this and I told her to think about it. I went and found Juhani and told her about the young girl and asked if she would watch over her for today. Juhani agreed curious and I we went back to the hold and I introduced them. They were playing name that item games when I left and Sasha seemed completely comfortable in the Cathar's presence as well as picking up some words in Basic.
I went and informed the rest of the crew and several of them went back to see the young girl and say hello. Thankfully Canderous was not that interested in saying hello. I asked Mission if she were ready to go into Anchorhead now and she nodded. Carth wanted to stretch his legs and asked to go as well.
I spoke to the Czerka Customs officer and got some information about who might know about antiques and some of the history of the planet. He told me that Tatooine used to be a lush planet a long time ago and he told me of the difficulties the Czerka were having with the native Sand People. I was stopped on my way out of the landing bay by a Jor Ul Kurax saying that my order of gizka had been delivered to the ship. He said that the crate might have split open and a few of them might have gotten loose. He quickly retreated and disappeared as I looked back at the Ebon Hawk and groaned. Gizka were not dangerous and were often kept as pets but they had a reputation for rapidly breeding. I decided rather cowardly to let Bastila deal with the problem for now while we went ahead to find the Czerka Office.
We found the office, inside a Duros male was arguing with a woman about corporate policy, something about the company having no accountability. With a final wave of his fist he exited. I went over and asked the woman about Griff. She hesitated and then denied knowing anything about anyone named Griff. I could tell she was lying and I asked if she was certain of her information. She finally admitted to knowing Griff and went on to say how he had been a poor worker, always late for his shifts, faking injuries, and suspected of stealing supplies. I had to agree that that sounded like Griff, and she told me that he had been captured by the Sand People.
I questioned her more about these Sand People and she told me that she would give me a hunting license in exchange for my assistance in stopping the Sand People attacks on their employees. I was to get her the gaffi stick of the chieftain of the tribe that was attacking them. I had to have a license to even get out of the settlement, so I reluctantly agreed to the contract.
The Duros male who had been in the office earlier intercepted me as we were leaving the office and introduced himself as Sayso Cooh a conservationist. He asked if I had been hired to kill the Sand People chieftain and I grimaced and said yes. He told me that the Sand People were not animals, they were intelligent. I mentioned that the Sand People had attacked first and he agreed but asked me to look at it from their side. The Chzeka had come in with sandcrawlers and tearing up their desert without any attempt to contact them and discuss mineral rights or any treaties. I nodded and agreed that I could see how the Sand People probably saw it as an invasion of their territory. I asked if he had any ideas on how one would go about communicating with them and he mentioned that a local droid dealer claimed to have a droid for sale that could speak the Sand People dialect. I agreed that I would make an attempt to find a peaceful resolution.
We were still standing outside the office after he left when my attention was drawn to a desperate looking woman. I extended my force senses and could tell that she was worried and anxious. I went over to introduce myself and she begged me for assistance. I said that I would help her if I could and she told me that her husband had been killed while hunting and she was now destitute but she had a wraith plate that she could sell me that was worth 500 credits. She couldn't sell it herself because she didn't have a license but since I had one I could sell it. She was alone and had children and I only paused to ask her what she knew of her husband's death. She said the Gamorrean hunters laughed when they saw her and she had her suspicions that they were responsible.
I gave her 700 credits since we should have more than enough for the droid. Mission and Carth smiled at her joy when I gave her the money and I could tell they felt good about helping her as well. I smiled at her when she wished us well. I also resolved to check out the Gamorreans to see if her instincts were correct. I entered the Hunting Lodge and was able to sell the plate for 500 credits as the woman had said. I also asked around with the hunters about antiques and about the Gamorreans.
Without exception they all implied that the Gamorreans hunted two legged prey and if you were wise you would not turn your back on them. They also said only the Sand People and Jawa's might know about old ruins on Tatooine. One of the men in the lodge was quite forward, even though Carth threatened to loosen some of his teeth for him if he wasn't respectful. I had to chuckle, I didn't need Carth protecting me but I let him have his testosterone moment. I rebuked the hunter for his advances, but he just grumbled about how his wife didn't understand him. I pitied the unknown wife.
Finally I went over to the Gamorreans and asked them some questions, it was very clear from their comments about how it wasn't their fault that some of the hunters didn't come back that they were attacking the hunters away from the Anchorhead walls. I finally asked them outright if they had killed the woman's husband, they said that he had gotten lost in the dunes and perhaps I would get lost as well. I extended my force senses and knew they had killed the man. I told them that they would not escape justice and they told me that the dunes had no justice. I just smiled at them and they decided to leave suddenly.
I decided it was time to go check out whether or not Sayso was correct about the droid he mentioned. We were making our way over toward the shop when we were accosted by three dark Jedi. I sprang ahead of Carth and Mission to engage all three hoping that the two would be able to quickly bring down one of my attackers. I focused on defending against all three until Carth and Mission brought down one of the dark Jedi then I went on the offensive and we quickly finished off the other two. I had been wounded in several places but my implant had kept me from being weakened during the fight and after a few moments of rest I declared that I was fine and ready to continue. I stripped the three bodies of any useful items and stopped at their lightsabers. One of them had a short lightsaber, the crystal had been changed out to a foul red crystal but other than that there was nothing wrong with it. I took out the crystal and crushed it and put the now empty handle in my pack. I could use it to replace the vibroblade I had been using in my off hand. One of the dark Jedi carried a datapad, in it were the details of the bounty Malak had placed for our deaths.
We found the droid shop and I asked the proprietor about the droids he had in stock. He told me that he just had one droid in a HK-47 and said that it could translate the Sand People dialect. He mentioned that it had some odd mannerisms and that he had tried to wipe its memory but could not as those circuits were too well protected. I went over to talk to the droid and see if it could confirm that it could translate the Sand People language. For some reason I found the droid rather amusing though I was starting to suspect it was one of a few illegal assassination droids. It did claim to be able to translate several languages however, including the Sand People dialect. At least if I purchased the droid, I would be able to make sure it stayed out of more dangerous hands. I finally managed to talk down the asking price to 2500 credits and purchased the droid. I decided it was probably wise to return to the Ebon Hawk and check over the droid before heading out to the dunes on the following morning.
Back onboard the Ebon Hawk I put a blue crystal in the short lightsaber and switched out my vibroblade in favor of it. It was lighter and of course easier to carry. I also cleaned up HK-47 and did some upgrades. I questioned the droid while I worked and found out that it was indeed an assassin droid. It had assumed that the restraining bolt was stopping it from accessing its memory but informed me that it had been incorrect and that tampering and repair attempts had damaged some of its functions. I asked if I could restore its memory and it replied in the affirmative and asked that I be careful. Amused I asked the droid if it was implying that I was inept. It replied that it had not meant that but that I was limited in my skills by not being a droid. I assured it that I happened to be very good at robotic repair. And I had to laugh at its appeasing "Yes, master of course master."
I finished up the repair and HK-47 assured me that it now had access to some new memory. It now remembered its previous owner. His last owner had been a low ranking officer of Systech Corporation; he had been purchased from a previous owner that he could not identify. HK-47 said that the man had been terminated by the droid prior to system shutdown. I stared at it and asked "You killed your own master?" HK-47 assured me that the termination was accidental; he told me that his former master had discovered his assignation protocol and proceeded to instruct him to kill all those responsible for the production of a competing product. He had been unaware though that the competing company was also owned by Systech. The droid had killed 104 corporate officers when his master became aware that both companies were owned by Systech. He went into a rage and had attacked the droid with a pen, managing somehow to puncture the assignation protocol actuator and electrocute himself.
I shook my head after the recitation and asked the droid if he had accessed any other information due to my repairs. He said that he now had access to the memory of some actuators that would enhance his performance and was activating them.
I decided to attempt another repair since it was still early in the evening. It didn't take me very long and the droid was able to access more memory. It now remembered the owner prior to the Systech officer. His previous owner had been a senator on Coruscant. His assistant discovered his assassination protocol and informed the senator insisting that the droid be scrapped. The senator promptly ordered the droid to eliminate the assistant and had made extensive use of the droids skills.
I had to chuckle over the droids comment that he was proud of having participated in the political processes of the galaxy, it was dark but it was funny at the same time. I thought it was probably a good thing that Bastila had been avoiding me; the droid would probably irritate all her Jedi sensibilities. HK-47 went on to tell me that all would have probably been well and the senator would have made Chancellor if he hadn't set the droid on his own wife. It seemed that his wife was cheating on him and ordered the droid to kill his wife and any male companion he found her with. Apparently right afterward he had realized that this murder would be directly linked to him and had followed the droid. The droid had gone to the senator's summer estate and had launched his attack just when the senator had arrived and had thrown himself in front of the droid. He had of course died and the droid had promptly shut itself down. The senator's wife had then sold the droid to the Systech officer.
I asked if he had found anything else and he told me he had found more programs that would enhance his performance. I decided to break for dinner and then attempt one more repair. This repair was also successful and the droid was able to remember his owner before the senator.
He had been owned by one Bochaba the Hutt on the planet Sleheyron. I asked what gruesome fate had awaited this owner. The droid replied that I was being unfair that he had nothing to do with Bochaba's gruesome death, or very little at least. Bochaba had used him extensively and he had terminated 322 sentient meatbags in one year, making Bochaba very wealthy. Bochaba had eventually overstepped and the Exchange retaliated. HK-47 had not been present when his old master had been assassinated and said that he had appreciated the artistry behind his demise upon his return. Hesitantly not sure if I wanted to know I asked "Why, How was he killed?" HK-47 replied "Allow me to say that I have little doubt the residents of that sector were fishing pieces of Bochaba out of their soup for weeks afterward." I had to chuckle at that though it was definitely a disgusting image. A rival Hutt had claimed Bochaba's possessions and had sold the droid to the senator.
I told the droid "I should dismantle you" though I didn't seriously mean it. HK-47 said "Supplication: Please, master, have I not pleased you? I cannot control the acts I have performed... perhaps that is why my memory is erased? At any rate, I act only as you instruct me... even if it means being..." the droid hesitated and then said "...non-violent." I had to chuckle at this and said "How very self-sacrificing of you HK-47" and then noticed that Bastila had come into the bay. She gave the droid a hard look and inquired as to what it was. I told her that it spoke the Sand People dialect and we would need it to attempt a peaceful compromise with the Sand People. She nodded and asked if I was going to attempt another repair but I said that I needed to think about how to do the next repair as it was much harder than the previous ones. Besides I suspected she might insist on scrapping the droid if she knew its capabilities and for some reason I had grown attached to the homicidal thing. I found it amusing to listen to and had no doubt that with the proper upgrades it would be a powerful combat droid.
She glanced at me and I put on an innocent face, and told her I was going to bed and would she like to accompany us tomorrow? She agreed and I asked if Carth had told her about the dark Jedi? She blinked and said that no he hadn't what was I talking about. I handed her the datapad and she examined it and grimaced. "This means that every dark Jedi will be looking for us to collect this bounty. I guess I should be flattered at the amount." Bastila said. I nodded and showed her the short lightsaber I had gotten; she complemented me on how well I had set in the new crystal and handed it back to me. I decided that she seemed in a talkative mood and decided to see if I could get her to tell me more of her past.
I asked casually "Bastila, how did you come to join the Jedi?" She glanced at me and said "I was found to be strong with the Force at a young age, as most Padawans are. As a girl I was given to the Order to be trained. When I joined the Order I left my family on Talravin, as all Padawans do. My family is still there, the last that I heard. I have had little contact with them, as it is discouraged."
I was puzzled and asked why; Bastila replied "Relationships with family members are fraught with powerful emotions. Such extremes are to be avoided. Anger and hate are the worst, but even love can lead to folly." I remembered how my team mates had groaned over their counseling sessions and agreed to some extent.
I asked "You aren't allowed to love?" Bastila said "Emotional entanglements can be dangerous. They can impair rational thought; they can lead to outbursts of uncontrolled emotion. A Jedi must be above such things." I asked her "Don't you miss your family at all?" I was caught by the sense that no matter what she was saying about accepting the Jedi and letting go of her attachments to her family that she had done nothing of the sort. She still obviously thought of her father fondly and idolized him and she blamed her mother for insisting that her father hunt and how she had whittled away her father's fortune. She also blamed her mother for giving her to the Jedi.
I wondered if she realized what she had just told me, she still had that child's understanding of her family frozen in time, she had never been permitted to find out if it was accurate or not. From listening to my team mates discussions of their families I had knew that a child's understanding of their parent's relationship was seldom correct as it was simple and one dimensional. Adult relationships were complicated, and often both partners fell into roles that, healthy or no, both of them to some extent agreed upon, even if it was unconscious.
I also realized that whether she realized it or not she resented the Jedi for taking her away from her father. No matter what her words of understanding the wisdom of their policy, and of sacrificing personal desires, the emotions I felt through the bond were ones of suppressed resentment.
I was not surprised when she said that she really did not want to continue the conversation. I nodded and paused and gave her a hug, and told her she could talk to me at any time if she wanted to discuss it more. I put forth all the acceptance and non-judgment that I was feeling into the words and could see that it was making an impact on her. She nodded and said that it was definitely past time for us to go to bed if we wanted to be well rested for tomorrow. In the night I heard her tossing and got up and went over and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She never woke but settled into a more peaceful sleep. I brushed my lips over the shoulder I had touched and went back to my own bunk to try and find some sleep for myself.