Slayers of the Old Republic

Book VI: Manaan

By Michael Weyer

Breaking into any place in Ahto City was a challenge. Whereas Taris had no real authority, Manaan was tight with authority and thus added to the challenge. The Jedi and T3 had made their way to a side door of the Sith Embassy. It resembled the Republic one but its decorations seemed darker, as did the aura it set off. Buffy couldn't resist a shiver as she went through it. "Feel that?"

Vance nodded. "Dark Jedi. At least a few of them inside."

"It may somehow be tied to the missing youths," Juhani stated as they came to the entranceway. "We should proceed with caution."

"Always love having you around to state the obvious, Juhani," Buffy intoned as T3 extended an arm into the waiting hole by the door pad. "Are you sure this will work?"

"T3 cracked the code on that datapad the Republic recovered in record time," Vance noted. "It should work out." There was a beep and the door slid open. Nodding to each other, the Jedi pulled out their lightsabers and stole inside.

With four Jedi, the ability to go unnoticed was pretty simple. The quartet moved carefully through the halls, their senses alert to any intruders. T3 found an outlet to access the main system. The droid trilled as it downloaded several databases and brought up cameras to show where soldiers were stationed. It also ensured that the cameras in certain hallways would go off at the right times.

Bastila smiled as she watched him work. "Now this droid is one worth having around." T3 let out a whistle at that remark as it disengaged from the system. "T3, stay here and try to keep out of sight," Bastila ordered. "We'll call if we need help."

Buffy threw the little droid a smile. "Don't worry. Being the cavalry is a noble profession." She followed the others down the hallways.

For the first few minutes, they lucked out, avoiding most of the droid and human patrols. That luck, however, changed when they got to a large control room containing a half-dozen soldiers and a fight was necessary. Fortunately, the loud noises from the area cut down on the sounds of blaster fire, lightsabers ands screams.

Vance stepped over the body of a Sith to check a nearby console. "Looks like this is a pressure room area to handle the water intake outside. It also looks like the only way to get at the rest of the base." He pointed to the console. "We have to figure out a way to move the water from one room to another in order to open a path."

Buffy closed her eyes and grimaced. "This is it. The day I always feared. A fourth-grade word math problem becomes vital to my life."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jolee was going through a series of practice moves with his lightsaber in the training area when Canderous entered. "Hey. Have you heard anything from Carth or Faith?"

Jolee shook his head. "Not for a few hours." He paused and turned the saber off. "You don't think they ran into trouble, do you?"

Canderous gave him a look and Jolee blanched. "Yeah, dumb question." He paused and turned his saber off. Grabbing his tunic and slipping it on, he walked into the main hold. "Mission?"

The Twi'lek and Zaalbar were playing a game of pazaak in the main hold as Jolee entered. "What's up?"

"Looks like Faith and Carth haven't checked in for a while. I'm going to go make sure they haven't landed themselves in jail somehow."

Mission grinned. "Maybe they finally got themselves a hotel room to do the deed."

Jolee rolled his eyes. "Girl, you're far too young to have such a gutter mind."

"As I have been telling her since we met," Zaalbar intoned as they rose to join Jolee.

Thanks to the planet's fast orbit, daylight was already rising on this side of Manaan as the trio exited the ship and headed into the city. Jolee was about to head for someone at an information desk when he heard his name being called out. "Jolee! Jolee!"

Turning, he saw Elora racing up to him. Her face was frantic, her cheeks dry with the stain of tears and her eyes still watery. "Jolee, thank the Force!"

"Elora? Calm down, what is it!"

The woman came to a stop, trying to catch her breath. "It…it's horrible. So horrible, I can't believe it…"

"What? What's going on?"

She took a deep breath. "It's Sunry. The authorities just arrested him…for murder!"

Jolee's jaw dropped. "Murder? You…you have to be kidding me!"

Elora shook her head. "I wish I were…they came this morning, they arrested him, they say he murdered some Sith officer! It's a mistake, a horrible mistake------"

Seeing she was ready to sob once more, Jolee gripped her shoulders. "Elora, calm down. I'll go to the authorities, I'll talk to them, we'll get this all sorted out."

She smiled and nodded. "Yes…yes…thank you, Jolee. Oh, thank you so much. I…I have to get back, I have to…" She stumbled away, wiping her eyes, obviously in shock.

"Sunry is that friend you mentioned?" Zaalbar asked.

Jolee nodded. "Yes….yeah, it's been a while. I met him just yesterday."

"Was he…" Mission shrugged. "I mean, did he seem like someone who can do this?"

Jolee shook his head. "A man can change in that time. But still, murder….No, I just can't see Sunry doing that." Making an immediate decision, he snapped his head to the side. "Come on. Faith and Carth can handle themselves. I've got a friend that needs saving."

"There is no reason we cannot do both," Zaalbar said. "You can help your friend while Mission and I find Carth and Faith."

Jolee smiled. "Thanks, Zaalbar. I'll check in soon." He walked off, still trying to figure this all out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"How is it possible for a woman so bright and excellent in combat to have so poor math skills?" Bastila was saying as the group entered the hallway. Buffy had guessed wrong on three of the rooms they needed to flood to clear another one. Luckily, Vance and Juhani had figured out the correct way to allow them inside. T3 had already shut down the force field blocking their path so they could continue on their way.

"Hey, where I lived, you were lucky to live long enough to use advanced calculus in your life!" Buffy retorted as the group made their way past the pressure rooms and into the next hallway. "Not to mention having to learn an entirely new math process when I landed here, I might add! I still can't believe I hooked onto that as fast as I did."

Bastila simply huffed. "We shall have to increase your studies there when we return to the ship."

"Oh, lovely, I'm being given homework while breaking into an enemy base. You sure you and Giles aren't somehow related?"

They had come to the far end of the embassy, away from many of the regular patrols when a Selkath walked into the hall before them. Seeing them, it started, then pulled out a lightsaber. The red blade was a bit clumsy in his hands but still lethal as he leapt forward and swung. Instinctively, Juhani blocked his strike with her own saber, then thrust out a palm. A wave of Force sent the Selkath slamming against the wall and it crumbled unconscious to the floor.

The group stared at him in disbelief. "A Selktah with a lightsaber?" Buffy remarked. "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."

Vance frowned. "Denmark? I've never heard of that planet."

"It's not…" Buffy shook her head. "Never mind." She led the way into a small corridor that branched off to four separate rooms. Juhani sniffed as she glanced at one. "There…there is death behind her. Bad death."

"Funny, in all my time, I've yet to ever see good death," Buffy couldn't help remarking.

Hefting his saber, Vance opened the door and entered. Despite all his experiences in war and combat, he gagged at the sight. Buffy felt her own stomach clench as she saw what was inside.

Four young Selkath lay on the floor. This room had once been an infirmary. Now, it was an abattoir. The walls were stained with green-yellow Selkath blood, and sticky, congealing pools of it rested beneath the dead. Spent canisters of drugs, and blood-stained instruments were everywhere - scattered on counters or the floor.

One Selkath let out a gasping sound as his arm flopped. Juhani moved to him. "Wait…relax, we can help you."

Unfocused green eyes opened. "Tell...tell Shasa the Sith..."

"Tell her yourself, friend. Just hold on," Vance said. "Hold..."

With its last ounce of strength, the alien put a small token into Juhani's hand, then convulsed and went limp. Juhani bowed her head and muttered under her breath.

"The Force willed it," Bastila said quietly. "Sometimes there is nothing to be done."

"The Force hadn't a damn thing to do with it," Buffy said sharply. "Come on."

She stormed out, her aura alive with fire. "Buffy," Bastila began.

"If this is about controlling the anger, save it," Buffy snapped. "Someone's decided to use these kids as sparring dummies and I'm gonna return the favor."

Bastila sighed but stopped when she felt a flash of darkness around her. "There…that is the place."

The four faced a doorway that was just opening. Waiting for them were two Selkath apprentices flanking a human man in Dark Jedi robes. In a flash, all four had their lightsabers ignited. The Dark Jedi smiled under his hood as he faced them.

"Well, now," he said. "Allow me to introduce myself, Sith Master Gai Davder. You may have thwarted the other traps in this base and the cannon fodder I had on guard, but you have come to the end, now...Jedi."

"You're turning these innocent children into killer for the Sith," Bastila accused as she hefted up her saber.

Davder threw back his head and laughed. "I convinced them to come, and they stay willingly once they have. No one leaves the Sith...alive, that is."

"Master, allow us the honor of helping you kill these intruders," said one of the Selkath.

"As you wish." Davder pulled out a pair of lightsabers, igniting both. He threw out his hands to let a blast of energy knock Buffy back. The others went on the attack. The two apprentices were surprisingly good but against the well-trained Vance and Juhani, they had almost no chance.

Davder was much more capable as he was proving by driving Bastila back. She lunged out but he dodged, slicing his saber at her wrist. Bastila managed to block it and threw her saber back. Davder brought both of his blades up to block the shot. Too late, he saw a blur of motion racing to him and turned to face it. He tried to bring one lightsaber up but Buffy was too fast and he gasped in agony as her blade sliced into his chest. He gripped it, gasping before collapsing in a heap.

Buffy let out a big breath as she turned her saber off. "Well, that was invigorating."

Vance was looking around the chamber the Dark Jedi had come out of. "Hey, look at this!" he called out. The three women entered to see him opening up a large chest and studying a datapad. He held it out to Bastila. "This goes far beyond just some missing youths."

Bastila looked it over. "Corrupt the best and brightest of Selkath youth, use them to establish a puppet government, and basically ensure that Manaan throws in with the Sith."

"Who of course will make sure the kolto stays with them and use the Selkath as slave labor to process it," Juhani noted with distaste.

Buffy whistled. "I'm betting there's gonna be a big to-do when we bring this to the authorities."

"Hold it!" A Selkath voice cut through the room. "Why have you killed Master Gai? What are you doing in his quarters?"

The group turned to see that a half-dozen adolescent Selkath blocked their only exit. Their apparent leader was a female who had a vibroblade in her hand. She looked at them warily, but otherwise waited for them to make a move. Buffy reached for her lightsaber but Juhani stepped forward to address the female. "Are...are you Shasa?"

A scowl. "Yes...and who are you?"

"I am Juhani. Shasa, your father is worried about you. He wanted us to investigate before the Sith turned on us."

"I told you your father would get suspicious, Shasa!" said one of the other Selkath youth. "He always hated the Sith."

"My father does not understand," Shasa said. "He's blinded by his own prejudice! The Sith are teaching us mastery of the Force. Our alliance with the Sith will being strength to Manaan and the Selkath people."

"They lied to you," Bastila said. "What they really want is the planet - and they wanted you to get it for them."

Shasa made a noise of contempt. "Republic propaganda. The Sith are the victims of lies and half-truths. They're not monsters - no more so then the Republic. The Sith have promised to guide us in use of the Force as a sign of good faith. And once the Republic is defeated, the Sith have promised to withdraw from Manaan and respect our independence."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Good God, people still actually fall for that old line? So much for intelligent life elsewhere in the universe."

"What they've taught you is a terrible curse," Bastila said. "If the Republic is defeated, the Sith will enslave this planet."

"Spare us your lies," Shasa said. "The Sith have treated us with respect and honor. You speak as if we're being held prisoner here, but we can leave whenever we wish. Our friend Galas chose to leave and he was returned to his home safely."

"Shasa, what if they aren't lying? Remember what happened on Taris..." reminded another cadet.

"Yes, certainly you must have heard of the destruction of Taris. It is your 'honorable' friends that committed that atrocity," argued Bastila.

"Taris? How do we know if THAT's the truth, either?" She looked at them in challenge. "If the Sith are such monsters, then prove it to us. Surely there is some evidence of the horrors they are said to commit."

"What of this?" Juhani reached into her pocket to take out the small medallion the dying Sith had given her. "I found a young Selkath dying of torture," she said. "He gave me this. There was...there was nothing we could do for him."

Shasa accepted the pin and held it up to the light. "This…this is the pin I gave Galas when we were children. There is blood on it."

"You could have found this anywhere," another Selkath said. "For all we know, you killed him!"

"The Sith tortured him to death. Shasa. You know this to be true," Bastila said. "The training your master gave you should be enough to let you know we tell the truth."

"Shasa, I believe them. How else could they have found this pin?" the first cadet said.

Shasa hung her head and lowered her weapon. "I didn't want to believe it, but I can no longer deny what I know to be true. Galas is dead and the Sith are responsible."

"There's more," Buffy said, handing Shasa the datapad.

"Shasa - this is the master's own datapad! Look, they're telling the truth," said the second.

She gasped - a rasping, bubbling sound. "I...I cannot believe it, and yet the evidence is right before me. The Sith wanted us to betray Manaan! I must apologize for doubting you. The Sith truly are as evil as you claim."

"We must report this to the Ahto City authorities!" demanded a third cadet.

"Yes, we must report this at once," Shasa agreed. "We thank you, Jedi, for showing us the truth. You have saved us from a terrible mistake."

Bastila smiled wryly. "You have been saved from more than you know. Given time, the Sith would have turned you fully to the Dark Side, and you would have betrayed your world gladly. "

Shasa motioned to the others. "Quickly, my friends, we can stay here no longer. We must flee this foul embassy and warn our people of this plot."

"And that's our cue to get out too," Buffy announced.

"Indeed," Bastila stated as the Selkath hurried off. "Hopefully, we will not run into any more problems."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Your Padawan's luck is rubbing off on you," Vance dryly intoned to Bastila as they found themselves exiting the Embassy only to be facing a group of well-armed and angry-looking Selkath in official uniforms along with a few battle droids. T3 was in the middle of the group, giving a little beep of apology.

"Humans, you are placed under arrest of the Ahto City Civil authority!"

"Whoa, whoa. You've got the wrong folks here!" Buffy said.

The lead officer shook his head. "Though the Sith Embassy here is considered sovereign territory of the Sith Empire, we have been monitoring an alarming number of weapon discharges and detonations from the base. Inquiries to the staff of the Embassy yielded no response. It would seem contact had been cut. Our cameras recorded you and your party entering the base shortly before contact was lost and the fighting began."

"Do you wish us to make a statement?" Bastila said.

"None are needed. It is the conclusion of Ahto City authority that you are responsible for the disturbance here and you are hereby placed under arrest. You will come with us to await your trial. Now, don't attempt to resist or we shall resort to overwhelming force to subdue you."

Vance leaned in to Buffy. "How do we play this?"

She sighed. "Even if we got past them, we'd have to fight the whole city authority and that won't get us any closer to the Star Map. I guess we have to give up."

"I am surprised but pleased, Buffy," Bastila said as she handed her lightsaber to a guard. "You are exercising great restraint now."

"Time to fight and time to talk, Bastila," Buffy noted as she turned her own weapon over. "Hopefully, we'll be able to skip the latter as fast as possible to get back to the former."

Bastila sighed and wondered if she'd be in the right by using the Force to mute her apprentice during their hearing.

I know, no Faith and Carth but they're busy with action of their own G . Next chapter will pick up with them, legal proceedings on Manaan and a trip to the depths. Keep the reviews coming.