Slayers of the Old Republic

Book VI: Manaan

By Michael Weyer

"Finally," Buffy breathed as the four Jedi made their way out of the courthouse. "I close to blowing my mind on that."

"At least we managed to settle it easily," Bastila stated. "The Selkath now know the truth of what the Sith have been up to."

Vance smiled. "Did you see the look on those Sith-supporting judges when they came back? Something tells me they won't be as popular around here soon."

"Neither shall the Sith," Juhani noted. "The Selkath shall be keeping a close eye on them. And their declaration the Sith shall no longer receive special protection from the local authorities does make our jobs somewhat easier."

"Speaking of which," Bastila declared as they walked along. "We'd best get to the Embassy at once. The sooner we give this information, the sooner we can reach the Star Map."

"Fine by me," Buffy said. "I go on record now, however, by predicating it won't turn out well."

"Can you sense that through the Force?" Juhani asked with a frown.

"Nope. Just my natural history at work."

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Faith knew Jolee could feel the tension coming from her as they made their way to the same hotel she and Carth had been at the night before. If the Jedi knew, he didn't show it, his face more stern as usual as he mulled over what to do.

"So are you good cop or bad cop?" Faith asked as they crossed the threshold. "Cause I'm usually at my best when I'm at my worst." Seeing Jolee not responding gave Faith a tiny shiver as she realized just how big this was for him.

The proprietor was a human man with a glare that could sour milk. "I'm Ignus. I own this hotel, at least in theory. You're the one defending Sunry now, eh? Well, the hotel's open for you and I guess I got to answer any questions you want, too." He paused as he saw Faith and a slight leer came onto his face. "Unless your gal here wants another hot night to herself."

As Faith's face flushed, Jolee tried to keep his own calm. "Now, now. Sooner I get this over with, sooner you can go back into business. You were at this hotel, and who else was here that could have seen the murder?"

"There were only two other people in the hotel when it happened. One was a Rhodian named Gluupor. Seems like a really dirty, shifty type. Normally, I don't allow his kind in here. I'm a reputable businessman, you know!" He seemed to not notice the scoffs his visitors made. "But there weren't many people here, so I decided to take a chance. The other is a regular known as Firith Me. He's a Pazaak player, probably an addict, but he claims he's big in some circles. Don't know anything about him past that."

"Maybe I could challenge him to a game or two while I'm here," Jolee joked. "Did any of them - or you - know Sunry or the victim...Miss Huros?"

"Elassa used to rent rooms here every week or so. Then Sunry would come by a couple hours later and stay all night. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what was going on."

"And you prove that," Faith remarked. She gave Jolee a quick "told you so" look.

Sunry, this had better be what you said. If you were hurting Elora...He made a couple notes on his datapad and turned to Ignus. "So, what happened the night of the murder?"

"The night of the murder, Elassa rents a room in the hotel. An hour or two later Sunry comes in and goes to her room, like usual. A couple hours later, I hear a blaster shot and see Sunry running." Ignus elaborated, "He can't run good 'cause he's a cripple, but still he was going pretty fast. I would swear he started after the shot, though. I mean, it's possible, just barely, that it went off after he left, but I'd not tell that to the courts."

"Sure you can't be persuaded to say otherwise?" Jolee asked. Faith shot him a look of surprise as Ignus seemed interested. Grabbing the Jedi's arm, Faith gave the owner a fast smile. "Thanks for the help, we'll be back later." She dragged Jolee away, the smile vanishing. "What the hell are you doing?" she hissed.

Jolee frowned. "I'm trying to help Sundry."

Faith rubbed her face. "I know this may sound like the ultimate case of pot calling the kettle…" She looked at Jolee's skin. "Never mind…I don't think bribing for perjury is gonna help your buddy out."

Jolee shook his head as he walked away. "Then let's find something that can."

For a supposed high-roller, Firith was dressed in rather shabby clothing and Faith didn't see any luggage around his small room. He was playing with a deck of cards when they arrived and didn't seem happy to be interrupted. "You here with the Selkath? You here to see me about the murder, too? I told the damn fish everything I knew. What more do you all want from me?"

"Just the facts," Faith said. She smiled at Jolee. "Always wanted to say that."

With a sigh, Firith stepped away from the door and motioned them in. "I'll tell you what I told the Selkath, though you seem a friendlier sort than they do. On the night of the murder, I was in my room minding my own business with the latest copy of Pazaak weekly - checking out listings for the big tournament that's going to be held here next month. That's when I heard a blaster shot. Being still alive - and therefore smart enough not to stick my head out immediately - I didn't go out right away."

"So, you didn't actually see the murder?"

"No," he admitted. "One of the things one learns as a professional gambler is when to look the other way. Men wind up dead, otherwise. Anyway, I looked out after a minute and saw Gluupor in the hall by Elassa's room, and Sunry running like the wind. You can't tell me that someone who was running like that - and he was pretty fast for a cripple - isn't guilty."

"Do you know much about Sunry?"

"I only heard of him once or twice in passing. Some sort of old-time war hero against the Sith. Seen him around in the hotel, too. Going to Elassa's room always, of course. Kept the rest of the building up half the night with their damn antics, usually."

"Antics?" Jolee said sharply. "Let me get this straight - Sunry was sleeping with Elassa?" Damn you! You told me this was an assignment for the Republic, not...What else did you lie about that I had better not learn?

"I'm not saying anything like that - part of my trade, remember? What they did in that room, in private, is their business. And there isn't a rule against Sith and Republics seeing each other for...personal reasons." Firith gave a knowing leer at Jolee. "Although if you think her Sith Master didn't know, you must be fooling yourself."

"Sith Master?" he asked.

This seemed to make Firith very uncomfortable. "Um...well, Elassa was a Sith, so of course she'd have to have someone above her. Yeah, I didn't see anything..."

"Sure you didn't," said Faith. "Why else would you be squirming like someone stuffed a gizka in your shorts?"

"You learn things in my profession, too, son. One of them is that when someone's tongue slips like that, there's something under those words." Jolee fixed him with a glare.

The man swallowed. "Well...there was that one time. I saw Elassa coming in wearing this big cloak. I was on my way to my room, and she normally wears stuff like that, so I didn't pay her too much attention. But that one time, I brushed up against her - accidentally, of course - and her cloak fell open. Now, I don't have problems with the Sith! I leave them alone and they leave me alone. And seeing as how Elassa had a Sith lightsaber under her cloak, I'm not going to poke that hornet's nest."

"A Sith lightsaber, you say?" asked Jolee. "Miss Huros was a Dark Jedi?"

Firith shrugged. "Seems so, but I'm not getting myself further in with the Sith. I know how ruthless they are. Now, that's all I'm going to tell you. I'll testify it to the court, but you aren't going to get anything else out of me."

"Thank you for the help. I'm starting to understand what went on here," Jolee said. He turned and headed out, his face more drawn than before as he muttered under his breath. "You better not be guilty, Sunry…because I might kill you myself."

The last witness, Gluupor, fit Ignus's description of a shifty Rhodian. His accent was thick, and his dialect was a little hard to translate, even with aid from the Force and their translators.

"Gluupor tell everything to Selkath. You not know? Gluupor have no reason not to say. Gluupor tell everything. Everything about murder, everything about Sith lady's room."

"Why were you at the hotel? Seems a little fancy," Faith asked.

"Gluupor staying at hotel. Gluupor not very rich - hotel much too rich for Gluupor to live at, but Gluupor save for weeks and have enough to stay here for a few days. Gluupor not see murder, oh no. Gluupor did see Republic guy...the cripple...Sunry his name, Gluupor thinks. Gluupor see Sunry running away from scene of the crime. Gluupor see nothing else. Nothing else at all. Especially in Sith lady's room!"

"Sure," Faith said suspiciously. "So you didn't see anything."

"Gluupor just curious...just curious to see what had happened. Gluupor have no reason to go into room...no one pay Gluupor to do it."

Faith looked over at Jolee and nodded. Gluupor just talked himself into a trap, and Jolee was going to play it for all he had.

Jolee crossed his arms. "Someone paid you to do something in that room, Gluupor."

"How you know someone pay Gluupor?"

"Well, first," Faith said. "Never bring up that someone 'didn't' pay you if the issue doesn't come up. Go ahead and talk. It's not like the Sith are here."

The alien swallowed. "Well, Sith man came up to Gluupor after murder, before Selkath arrive. He say he give Gluupor good money if Gluupor put medal into Sith's hand. Gluupor good. Gluupor plant evidence and leave no trace. But Gluupor not recognize Sith man anyway. Gluupor not recognize humans very well."

"Well, that certainly sounds interesting. Why didn't you tell the Selkath?" Jolee asked.

"No use to Selkath, so not bother to tell them. Well, that and the Sith man say he kill Gluupor if Gluupor speaks. Uh...oh, no... Gluupor think... Gluupor think he can't talk more right now. Gluupor feels the need to lie down. Maybe just stay here... "

The Rhodian fell into the bed and pulled the covers over his snout. Jolee sighed and made more notes on the datapad. Mission patted the covered lump as the two of them left the room.

"Well, there's the witnesses," Faith said. "And while we got a lot of useful stuff, it just doesn't solve the case."

"I know, Mission. I know." The pieces were coming together, but Jolee wasn't certain what to make of the picture. Sunry cheating on Elora with a Dark Jedi? The Hero's Cross was definitely planted by the Sith, but Sunry had been seen fleeing the murder scene after the blaster shot went off.

Faith could see the wheels turning in Jolee's mind and sighed. "Look…I hate to say it but the evidence is pretty damn stacked."

"We don't know that he killed her," Jolee bit out.

"I'm not talking about the murder. I mean it's pretty damn clear he was cheating on his wife with this Sith."

"That bugs you?" Jolee asked sharply. "That he'd cheat on her?"

Faith looked away. "I'm not in exactly the right position to judge. I once slept with Buffy's boyfriend."

That got Jolee's attention. "Really?"

"Yeah but to be fair, I was in her body at the time so he didn't know I was cheating."

Jolee stared at her before smiling slightly. "That's what I love about you two. I can never tell whether or not you're serious.

"Try telling now." Faith stopped in front of him. "I know he's your friend, Jolee. I know you want to help him. But if he turns out to be guilty…"

Jolee was looking down, for once not showing any of his usual confidence. "He's a good man, Faith."

"He was," she pressed. "You said it yourself. Twenty years changes people. Believe me, I've changed a lot from the person I once was and so has Buffy. We already know he's cheating on his wife. We know he was consorting with a Sith. You think murder is that big a leap from there?"

Jolee let out a long sigh. "I just…it hurts to see someone like that fall so far."

Faith brushed her hair back. "Well, you could always take my usual philosophy for life. Just assume that every other person you meet is full of crap and you won't be hurt as much."

Jolee looked at her, his lips turning upward slightly. "That work out for you?"

"Used to," Faith admitted as they continued on. "Although this trip is shaking that philosophy a bit."

"Ah, now you show wisdom beyond your years," the elder Jedi said, giving a smile that didn't quite match the look in his eyes.

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Buffy, Bastila, Vance, Juhani and T3 were immediately led into the office of the Republic Embassy's commander. Wann's eyes lit up as he saw the data module placed before him. "Excellent! It does not appear to have been tampered with, so the Sith did not manage to copy its contents yet."

"We have you what you want," Bastila stated in a calm but professional tone. "And we expect our payment."

"Yes...your information." He dropped his voice, almost a formality. "We are not supposed to speak of this, but we have exhausted all other options. I think we can entrust you with this."

"What's gone wrong?" Vance asked.

"As you know, the Republic is fighting for its very existence against the evil of the Sith Empire. As you undoubtedly know, we are doing very poorly. We need much in the way of supplies and material to stem the tide of battle and bring us victory. Manaan is the sole source of kolto, the most powerful medical substance in the galaxy. Frankly, we need as much of it as we can get."

"What has the Republic done?" Juhani asked, though she seemed to suspect the answer already.

"The Selkath conservatives with their neutrality treaties seek to treat the Sith and Republic equally. This includes kolto exports. But a few of the more far-sighted Selkath see that if the Sith are allowed to win, the galaxy would be plunged into darkness and there would be nothing to stop them from taking Manaan anyway." Wann pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "So, we made a deal..."

"You violated the treaty," Juhani said, scowling.

"Not so loud!" Wann looked about as if expecting a squad of Selkath to storm in at any moment. "Yes, it is a technical violation of the treaty, but it is sanctioned by elements of the Selkath government."

Buffy threw up her hands. "I don't believe it. A totally different galaxy and yet the 'good guys' feel free to break any rules they want!" She turned to Bastila. "I keep telling you, you need a Prime Directive…" She closed her eyes. "Oh, God, I hung out with Xander and Andrew way too long…"

Wann sighed. "I know this is wrong and even dangerous, but to the Senate, it seemed to outweigh the risks. We need only keep it secret from the Sith. We recently began construction of a secret underwater facility to harvest kolto directly at its source. We also hope one day to be able to synthesize it effectively. Current techniques are insufficient for the task, so we must mine it for now. The amount we take would hardly be noticed, since most of it is lost naturally before it reaches the surface anyway."

"And?" Bastila pressed, not happy about learning this.

"We were nearing completion of the base when the digging teams reported some sort of obstruction, an ancient building or artifact. It's possibly your 'Star Map.' Transmissions from the base were cut off abruptly after that, and we haven't heard from the station since."

"What happened down there?" Vance asked.

Wann helplessly spread his hands. "We don't know. We just don't know. As you may have noticed, we are hiring a lot of mercenaries around Ahto City. Ostensibly, they're being shipped off-world to aid in our fight against the Sith, but they really are for another purpose. When we lost contact with the station in the Hrakert rift, we sent our contingent of Republic soldiers to investigate. None returned. We tried hiring mercenaries and sending them down as well, but none of those expeditions have returned, either."

"And no further contact at all?" As she spoke, Buffy saw that T3 had plugged himself into a nearby console. She held her breath, wondering what was going on but deciding to do her best to keep Wann distracted.

"None," the commander replied. "The reason we really sent that droid underwater - and the reason we needed its data back so badly - was to find out what had happened to the Hrakert Rift station. But now that we have the data back, our operation is no longer in danger of exposure to the Sith. And now I must live up to my end of the bargain."

"How are we to get down there?" Juhani asked.

"I took the liberty of having a submarine prepared for your departure. Merely use this card to get past the door behind our kolto packing room and enter the sub therein. It has been programmed to take you down to the station. It has also been programmed to take you to the surface once your mission is complete."

"Very well," Buffy said.

"I would send soldiers to assist you, but we have lost many of ours, and nearly exhausted the mercenary population of this planet. The soldiers we have are barely enough to keep this base secure. Worse, the Sith have noticed our interest and begun to bribe mercenaries away from us. Please, find out what happened to the facility. There may be some survivors left down there, perhaps even the head scientist - Kono Nolan. Good luck in your efforts."

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"Now I remember why I left the Republic fleet," Vance remarked. "I swear, sometimes I wonder if we're not better off with the Sith in charge."

"Do not go down that path," Bastila said sharply. "I admit their methods are not exactly proper but the Republic is trying to help their efforts."

"Back home, you'd get a great job with a cable news station as a spin doctor, Bastila," Buffy remarked. "We're gonna need more firepower before we get down there. Juhani, get back to the ship with T3. Tell Canderous and HK to meet with us."

"Probably a good idea," Vance noted. "Leaving those two up in this city is just asking for trouble."

Buffy glanced at T3. "Just what were you doing in the records, anyway?"

The droid let out a series of beeps that Vance translated. "Looks like he wanted to see if there was anything else the Republic was keeping from us."

"Goody. I always love showing how unreliable people are," Buffy sardonically stated as they walked along. "Come on. Let's get our swim fins on."

The group was unaware of the metallic probe droid that hung above, tracking their movements. In a room in the lower level of the Sith Embassy, a trio of dark-clad men stared at the readouts. "Shall we intercept when they leave, Lord Bandon?" one of the Dark Jedi asked.

The armor-clad Sith Lord shook his head. "No. Whatever the Republic is tracking down there is worth finding for ourselves. Monitor all vehicles leaving the Embassy. We shall let them discover what dangers are below."

Darth Bandon let out a dark smile. "And then…we shall ensure a cold wet grave for all of them."