"I saw you in the swoop race. Very impressive. You seem like you know how to get results. That's just the kind of person I'm looking for."
Kagi narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the figure seated across the table from him. The man was a born soldier; there was no mistaking the hard lines under his eyes, the creases in his hands as he grasped the tall glass of some unnamed liquor and bolted it down.
On Kagi's left, Carth watched the Mandalorian suspiciously, barely touching the Corellian brandy in front of him. To Kagi's right, Bastila's expression was that of curiosity as she sipped at a very, very light Alderaanian ale.
For his part, Kagi bolted down a shot glass full of Whyren's Reserve, a brand-new whiskey from Corellia that was all the rage in the Core Worlds. "To what do we owe the pleasure of this meeting, Mister…"
"Ordo," the Mandalorian supplied. "Canderous Ordo. I work for Davik Kang and the Exchange." He shrugged his broad shoulders. "The hours aren't great, but they promised me a fortune for them and I have nothing better to do. Mandalorian mercs like me are in high demand."
The man paused long enough to take another pull of his drink, then continued, "But lately Davik hasn't been paying me what he promised. I don't like getting cheated, so I figure it's time for me to break the Sith quarantine and get off this backwater planet."
The three Republic fighters exchanged a glance. "Why tell us this?"
Canderous leaned forward, lowering his voice considerably, yet not quite whispering. "I've got a plan to get off Taris," he said, "but I can't do it alone. I need someone I know can get the job done to help me. That's where you come on."
Bastila leaned close in on Kagi's right side, so close that he could feel her breath on his ear. He suppressed a shiver at her proximity as she whispered, "We don't need to ally ourselves with this…person." At that, she spared a none-too-pleasant glance at the Mandalorian, before turning back to Kagi, her voice considerably softening. "We should leave while we can."
"I ain't talking to you," Canderous snapped at her, regardless of not having heard what she said. "I'm talking to your friend, aren't I?"
The commando's shot glass hit the table's surface hard enough to cause the other glasses on the table to jump. "Watch your tone," he said, a dangerous tone in his voice. "You want my help, and talking down to her is no way to get it."
Beside him, Bastila fought to control her surprise. She only partially succeeded; her eyes widened considerably. This was twice that he had come to her defense. A momentary tremor of fear shot through her as the thought struck her that his protectiveness of her was beginning to surface, and the rest of him could easily follow.
But just as quickly, that fear was drowned out by the elation that he had defended her.
On her right, the Mandalorian shrugged slightly, then changed the subject. "I saw you win that swoop race and I started thinking, 'Anyone crazy enough to race like that is probably crazy enough to break into the Sith base.'"
"WHAT?" Carth blurted, his outburst pulling Bastila out of her internal musings, and drawing the attention of other cantina patrons.
Kagi and Canderous both shot the pilot a withering glare.
"Yes!" Bastila said suddenly, loud enough for the patrons to hear. "That's how you tell that a bantha is pregnant!"
Scattered laughter met that statement and the patrons who had been drawn by Carth's outburst turned away, satisfied that they'd only listened in on the butt end of a joke amongst friends.
Canderous turned an appreciative look on Bastila. "Not bad," he said, smirking.
She paid him no mind. She sank down into her seat, color rising to her face. "I… can't believe… I did that…" she said.
Kagi smirked at her. "You did good, Bastila," he told her.
She looked at him, saw the smirk he was giving her, and her heart skipped a beat. She had seen that smirk before, long ago. Back before the handful of dissentious Jedi had joined the Mandalorian Wars. It was a smirk that carried a hidden meaning. To Carth and Canderous, they saw it as condescending, perhaps amused. Bastila knew it was a private smirk, the meaning of which was only known to her.
What scared her about it was that it wasn't a smirk that Kagi had perfected. He probably wasn't even aware of its meaning, of the fact that it made her heart pound from more than just fear.
"Why exactly would we want to break into the Sith base for you?" the commando asked, noting Bastila's sudden silence for the second time.
"I need someone to steal the Sith launch codes," Canderous replied, his expression suggesting that it was common knowledge. "Without those codes, any ship leaving the atmosphere will be disintegrated by the Sith fleet's automated defense guns."
Once more, Kagi exchanged a glance with his comrades. "So let's assume we get you these launch codes," he said. "We cheerfully hand over the datapad to you, and what do we get in return? A blaster bolt each, perhaps? Or maybe you'll just leave us high and dry while you get away in whatever ship you've got stashed away."
The mercenary laughed aloud, leaning back in his chair. Fewer patrons looked over this time. After a moment, he composed himself. "No, here's the deal," he said. "You bring me those launch codes, and I'll provide you with a ride on my getaway vehicle, Davik's own Ebon Hawk."
"There's more than just the three of us," Kagi said without a hitch. "A Wookiee and a Twi'lek get passage too, or no deal."
"Fine, fine," Canderous replied. "Good luck, though. You'll need it. The entrance is sealed tight, and getting in won't be easy. The base is protected by an encrypted security system that it would take a top of the line astromech to slice through."
"We have a door-opener," the commando said smoothly, leaving the reference to Bastila's lightsaber unspoken.
The Mandalorian was nothing if not quick-witted. "Lightsaber won't do it. The door has cortosis-weave inlaid into the lock." He offered up a dry smirk to Bastila. "You'll have to do it the old-fashioned way. Luckily, I know just the place to get a droid. Davik was having one custom-built by Janice Nall. Just tell her that I sent you and she should give you the droid for a reasonable price. Then you use it to open the Sith base and get the codes."
"You obviously planned this well out," Bastila said. "Why don't you get the codes yourself?"
"Everyone knows who I work for, lady," he replied, his tone sharp. "If I broke into the base, the entire Sith garrison would drop onto Davik's head in a heartbeat looking for those codes. So that's what you're here for."
Nodding, Kagi finished off the last of his Whyren's Reserve. "Okay, Canderous. We'll get those codes for you."
The three of them stood up from the table and moved away. "Are you sure about this?" Carth asked. "For all we know, he'll stab us in the back the moment we hand him those codes."
Bastila shook her head. "I sensed no deception from him," she said, surprise in her voice. "No, I think this is exactly what we need."
Carth looked at her skeptically, then shrugged. "Okay then, let's get on with it."
"Wait," Kagi said, putting his hand on Carth's shoulder. He turned to Bastila. "Didn't Dia say that Holdan frequented this cantina?"
She paused for a moment, then nodded. "I had almost forgotten."
"Buy yourself another drink, Carth," Kagi said, turning away from the exit. "We won't be long."
With that, the pair turned and strode past the table where they had made their plans with Canderous, ignoring the Mandalorian's raised eyebrow, and entered the next alcove, taken up at the fair end by a stage upon which a handful of female Twi'leks were dancing, to the amusement of the crowd around them.
As the two of them stood there, a partially-drunk man stumbled, right into Kagi. The commando quickly stepped back on his right leg and braced his weight against it, remaining upright.
"Sorry," the man said, regaining his upright position. "Guess I had a little too much to drink. And my attention was kinda focused on those dancers. Look at them waggle those head-tails."
Kagi glanced at Bastila just in time to see her wiping away a smirk at the situation he found himself in. He shot her a look, then turned back to the man, who was still rambling.
"I don't normally go for those alien girls, but I've had some bad experiences with my own species lately. Maybe it's time for a change, you know what I mean?"
"I can see why," Bastila muttered under her breath.
The commando nudged her with his elbow, then said to the man, "Your love life doesn't really concern me. At all."
The man narrowed his eyes and drew himself up, attempting to intimidate the commando. He failed. "I don't like your tone," he said matter-of-factly. "I work for Davik Kang, and I'm used to people treating me with respect."
"That sounds like a personal problem to me," Kagi said flatly.
"This seems to be the right guy," Bastila said.
If the man heard her, he didn't show it. Just about to respond to her, Kagi paused. He hadn't seen her mouth move, and she had definitely spoken loud enough for the man to hear her, and he didn't seem like the type to let comments pass him by.
"You want to disrespect me, do you? I'll have a bounty on your head so fast you won't know what hit you!"
"You like putting out bounties, don't you?" Kagi asked. "Like the one you put on Dia, hm?"
"Oh, that wench that tried to cut me with her vibroblade, eh?" the man, Holdan, responded. "Yeah, I put that bounty on her. I can't let her–"
A bladelike motion of Kagi's hand interrupted him. "I don't want to hear it. I want that bounty gone."
"What?" Holdan shouted. "I can't do that; I've got a reputation to keep up." He paused, as if reconsidering. "Well…it would be a shame to kill such a good-looking gal. Tell you what. You give me two hundred credits and I'll have Zax take off that bounty."
"So you'd trade two hundred credits for your dignity?" Kagi asked.
"What're you talking about?" the criminal hissed.
"If you stick to having that bounty on her, it'll show you're not man enough to do it yourself," Kagi replied, as though reporting on the weather in the Undercity. "I don't know about Davik, but if I was running an Exchange ring, I wouldn't want underlings who couldn't handle their own problems…"
Holdan looked shaken by the commando's words. "Hey, y-you're right. When you put it that way, I definitely should take that bounty off. Besides, I've noticed some of the girls around here have been–"
"Get rid of the bounty," Kagi said, an acid edge to his words.
"Right, right," Holdan said, paling considerably. "I'll go talk to Zax right now and get the bounty cleared up."
And then the man did just that.
"Impressive," Bastila said. "You managed to convince him to remove the bounty without resorting to threats or violence."
He raised an eyebrow. "Just because I'm a soldier doesn't mean I like to kill senselessly."
She smiled. "Good."
"That guy would've been a waste of my time anyway," he said with a smirk.
For a moment, she regarded him with shock. Then she realized that the smirk was meant to parlay the statement as a joke. She sighed theatrically. "Whatever shall I do with you, Commando?"
He grinned. "You'll just have to send me back to whatever facility the Republic uses to stamp out its forces," he joked. "I'm obviously defective." He sobered. "Well, let's go get Carth and break some Sith heads."
As the commando passed her, her smile faltered. No factory could stamp you out like a machine, she thought. And whatever defects you have mean nothing to me…
---
They met up with Mission and Zaalbar shortly out of the elevator in the Upper City.
"Where have you guys been?" Mission cried, waving her arms theatrically.
"We found transport off the planet," Kagi replied, moving the group away from the elevator.
Once they were well away from any Sith patrols, Mission turned to the commando, hopping from foot to foot excitedly. "So where is it? Let's get out of here!"
"Well, it's not that simple," Carth told her. "There's something we've got to do first."
"We have to break into the Sith base and steal their launch codes," Kagi said, not mincing any words.
The Twi'lek couldn't have looked more shocked. "Say what?"
He shrugged. "Part of the deal. We get the codes, Canderous Ordo provides us the ship."
"That…that's nuts, you know," she stammered. "You guys aren't going to come out of there. The place is crawling with Sith."
"We can handle them, Mission," Zaalbar growled in his language.
Kagi looked up at the furry figure and smirked. "I figured you wouldn't let me go in there without you," he said.
"Of course not," Zaalbar replied. "I have pledged a life debt to you. It would forever shame me if I did not do everything I could to keep you alive."
"If Big Z's going with you," Mission said, "then I'm going, too."
"Mission…" Kagi began.
"No!" she cut him off. "You're not cutting me out of this. I can handle myself. And I already told you that I'm not going to risk losing Big Z again."
For a moment, he was going to argue. But then Bastila laid her hand on his shoulder and shook her head slowly. He sighed, then nodded. "Okay, Mission, you can come with us."
She grinned. "So what are we waiting for?"
"We need to buy an astromech droid that could slice the base's security system for us," Bastila replied.
"You and Zaalbar wait for us by the base," Kagi said. "We'll get the droid and meet you there."
"You got it," she replied with a nod. "Come on, Big Z, let's go."
The pair made their way back toward the elevator, and the Sith base beyond. The remaining trio looked around the plaza.
"Where's the droid shop?" Carth asked.
Kagi pointed to the building right in front of them. "Probably that one. It's about the only one we didn't go in."
Carth nodded, and the trio approached the building. As they walked toward it, Carth looked over at Bastila again.
"Bastila, did you ever think about running off to join all the other Jedi who followed Revan and Malak when they went to fight the Mandalorians?" he asked.
She hesitated, her pause once more drawing the group to a halt. As Kagi turned a curious expression toward her, she quickly turned her back to him. In truth, she hadn't cared about the war or the Council's order that no Jedi enter the war. She had only wanted to be by his side, but he had left without telling her, without giving her the chance to join him.
"That was nearly five years ago," she replied hesitantly, her mind working overtime to try and figure a way out of this situation. "I was still an apprentice. My Battle Meditation hadn't even manifested yet." She paused, knowing that there was no way she could reveal the truth. Sighing, she lied, "Even then, I had enough wisdom to obey the will of the Council. Unlike Revan."
The words stung her, causing her to wince almost imperceptibly. She tried to hope that Kagi wouldn't catch it, but she knew it was a futile hope.
"I guess," Carth said with a shrug, oblivious to it all. "Still, do you ever wonder if things could have been different? Would Revan and Malak still have corrupted if the Council had supported them instead of dragging its feet?"
Hot anger surged through her. In truth, it was because she often considered Revan's fall a failure on her part. That if she had been with him, he would not have turned.
She found herself hissing, "Do not blame Revan's corruption on the Council! Your Republic saw only the threat of the Mandalorians, but the wisdom of the Masters saw something beyond the immediate threat."
Kagi noted all-too-acutely that she had not mentioned Malak once, but decided to spare her any questions that would agitate the pain of the man she loved dying in front of her. Instead, he asked, "What did they see?"
"There was something lurking out there," she replied, her tone softening almost immediately. "Something that devoured Revan and Malak. Had the Council sent us all to investigate, how many more would have been lost?"
The question was an academic one to her, and had no meaning. She knew in a single, searing moment of insight that she would have gladly followed Revan down the dark path, and not thought another word of it.
"So you're saying we should have done nothing?" Carth asked. "Just let the Mandalorians conquer us unopposed? I mean, the Republic was under attack, and the Order abandoned us!"
"We did not abandon you!" Bastila shot back. "But the Council was not about to throw lives away foolishly! In time, we would have aided you against the Mandalorians. But you couldn't wait." She turned her eyes to Kagi, and he caught a fleeting look behind them that he couldn't identify. "Revan and Malak offered a quick answer, and the Republic chose to walk the easy path rather than the path of wisdom. Now we see the results all around us."
She sighed, and looked back toward Carth. "You ask me if things could have been different. I know they could have. If Revan had only listened to the Council…" If he had only taken me with him. "…millions of innocent people would still be alive."
"Yeah, right," Carth said, disgust evident in his voice. "And every single one of them would be speaking Mandalorian. I think we're done here. Let's just get back to the task at hand."
Kagi shook his head slowly. "What am I going to do with you two?"
Rather than watch them struggle to compose a reply, he crossed into the infrared sensor beam of the droid shop's doors, watching them slide open before him. Inside were all manner of plasteel cylinders and metal boxes, doubtless filled with droid parts. There were also several work tables with droid parts scattered across their surfaces, as well as three mostly-complete protocol droids against the far wall. To the right, near the counter, were two T3 model astromech droids. One was rust brown in color, and looked quite battered. In comparison, the other model, white, looked almost new.
"A customer?" a woman's voice called out in Basic, tonal inflections indicating that Basic was not the female's first language. "Come in, come in! Janice Nall at your service. Welcome to my droid and droid supply shop."
Kagi led his companions up to the counter, looking around at the shop as he did so. The woman behind the counter was a Twi'lek, and obviously well-versed in her trade, as the grease stains on her face and clothing testified.
"Always good to see a new face," she continued. "Customers are hard to come by. A lot of the Taris citizens won't even come in here. They refuse to shop at a store run by a Twi'lek."
"The anti-alien bias is that bad around here, eh?" Kagi asked her in her own language.
Her eyes widened in surprised pleasure. "You speak my language!" she said, reverting to her own tongue. Then she remembered his question, and her tone became bitter. "No, they don't like aliens in the Upper City. They tolerate Twi'leks, but they'd rather see us as dancers in the cantina than successful business owners."
"You would think people would be more tolerant of others in this day and age," Bastila said sadly. Unlike Carth, she understood the Twi'lek merchant language, which was the dialect that Kagi and Janice were speaking in. A momentary pang hit her upon the memory that it was Revan who had taught her the Twi'lek merchant language.
Carth shrugged in her direction. "I guess stupidity and ignorance will never go out of style."
Both Kagi and Bastila turned condescending expressions to the pilot, but said nothing.
"You'll see a few aliens around," Janice said, "but most of the non-humans stick to the Lower City. I've learned not to dwell on it, though. I try to stay focused on running my store." She put on a business smile, and reverted to speaking Basic. "My selection is limited since the Sith confiscated all my assault droids, but I've got a utility droid you might find interesting."
"Excellent," Kagi said, smiling pleasantly. "That's just what I've come to inquire about. Canderous Ordo sent me to pick up a droid."
"He did?" she asked. "It's about time he sent somebody; I've had his droid ready for him for a week. That'll be two thousand credits."
Kagi turned to Carth. The pilot shrugged neutrally. He glanced next to Bastila's also neutral expression, then turned around and fished a pair of one thousand credit chips out of his pocket, laying them on the counter.
"Here you go. The white one, right?"
"Yes, T3-M4," Janice replied, examining the credit chips. After determining they were authentic, she said, "A pleasure doing business with you."
"Come on, little guy," Kagi said to the astromech droid. "We've got work to do."
The astromech droid let out a series of whistles and beeps, then rolled forward to join the trio. Without another word, they all exited the shop, crossing the plaza again. They bypassed the elevator completely, continuing on the walkway toward the Sith base.
Once there, Mission and Zaalbar crept out of the shadow of a Sith interceptor landed nearby. Nodding to them, Kagi pointed T3 to the door.
"Okay, little fellow, get that door open for us."
Whistling happily, the astromech extended a combination computer probe and slicing tool, then set to work on the security while the others kept watch for any approaching Sith.
After a few moments, T3 hooted triumphantly and backed away as the blast door slid open. Tweeting happily, the astromech droid moved to the back of the formation that was assembling at the door, with Kagi and Bastila in the lead.
"Stick close to me," he told her, then advanced into the Sith base, blaster rifle primed.