Slayers of the Old Republic

Book IV: Kashyyk

By Michael Weyer

"I keep expecting Treebeard to pop up," Buffy muttered as the group made their way through the forests. "Andrew would just love that."

Faith gave her a baffled look. "What are you talking about?"

"Lord of the Rings." Buffy frowned. "You never saw that?"

"I was in the slammer, remember?"

"Ooooh, yeah," Buffy said. "Forgot about that. I know it's a minor thing but I do regret I never saw how it all turned out."

"If I may interrupt," Bastila haughtily stated. "I would suggest the less talk, the less chance of drawing more attention to ourselves."

Faith just rolled her eyes at Buffy who suppressed a chuckle. They walked a few more steps before Juhani held up a hand. The Cathar's nose twitched as she gazed into the shadows ahead. "They are over that hill there," she said, nodding to it. "I sense..five in all."

Bastila stroked her chin. "Hmm…we shall have to handle this delicately. Perhaps if we circle around and pounce, give them a chance to see they are outnumbered…"

"Relax, Shan," Faith stated. "Me and B got this."

The Jedi stared at them. "I beg your pardon?" she asked.

"Now, no need to beg, it's undignified," Buffy said in a dry voice. "Don't worry."

"With you, I cannot help it," Bastila retorted.

"Chill, Shan," Faith said as they walked off. "We have black belts in thinking on our feet."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Bastila muttered as she watched the two young women march away.

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"So what's the plan?" Buffy asked.

Faith shrugged. "We see when we get there. We can figure out if you need to use those Jedi wiles or if it's gonna get physical."

"Hmmm…" Buffy paused and smiled at Faith. "Speaking of getting physical…any boyfriends since you got in this galaxy?"

Faith gave her a bemused look. "B…I don't think we ever got as close in girl-bonding to swap tales of love lives."

"That'd be a no, then."

Faith snorted. "B, need I remind you just what type of folks hung around in Taris?"

"Sorry, sorry," Buffy said defensively. "Just forbidden from romance of my own so I have to live vicariously through others."

Faith smirked. "Tell you what. I get lucky, I'll rub it in your face as much as you'd like."

"Thanks, appreciate that."

They came to the small clearing where the five men in Czerka uniforms were working. One was wearing a darker suit with a cap, marking him as the commander. There were several containers of supplies along with four tripods, each holding what looked like a small radar dish turning around.

"Hurry up, you fools!" the commander was yelling at the others. "I want out of this hellhole as fast as possible!" He became aware of Buffy and Faith coming up and frowned at them. "What are you doing here? Who are you, another civil merchant like that coro-slime up on the docking ring? This is my territory. I don't make deals and I don't persuade easy, so go back topside. Mess with my profits, and I'll see you dead."

"I'm here at Chuundar's request," Buffy explained.

"He's got no authority with me. I'm with Czerka Corporation, and he's just some pet we keep so that the locals stay in line. As long as you don't get in my way, you can wander where you like. I've a job to do."

"Oh," said Faith dryly. "So, you're with the slaving operation?"

"What? No, I don't do much of that. It's too much of a headache. I'm in the business of harvesting animals. Some of the more exotic species have organs that can be removed and put to some surprising applications."

"Have you seen anything odd down here?"

The commander scoffed. "Aside from you? Besides any number of predators that can kill you in seconds? We've got a repulsor field to the east so not much passes through this valley now. We've set up those sonic emitters to keep the larger predators away. It's worked so far and makes the harvesting a lot easier. Permanent placing, too. We'll be fine for years."

Faith and Buffy exchanged a quick nod. Buffy moved a bit away so she was facing the emitters as Faith kept talking. "Listen, we're representing the interests of a Jolee Bindo."

"Oh, so that crazy old man is sending someone to do his dirty work, eh?" the commander sniffed. "Well, go back and tell him we have the right to be here!"

"I think the Wookies might argue that point," Faith said. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Buffy concentrating on one of the emitters, the dish slowing to a stop.

The commander snorted. "Like those savages matter? The rights of a planet go to whoever can hold it, girl, remember that. We have the power, not them."

"Right," Faith said as she saw another emitter shut off. "That's why you're hiding behind these things."

"We are not hiding!" the commander yelled. "We are simply making sure we are not bothered while we do our work. So if you have nothing to say…"

"Sir!" one of the technicians yelled out. "We've lost the signals in the emitters!"

The commander's eyes widened in shock. "What are you…get them back on, dammit! If we don't have them back-------"

A loud roar filled the small valley and everyone looked up to see a lumbering shape headed toward them. The Czerka men immediately turned and fled. Their commander seemed ready to yell at them but upon seeing the flash of light on giant fangs, elected to follow his men's example.

Buffy and Faith immediately took off running, not wanting to be anywhere near whatever was coming their way. They found themselves back with the rest of the group, catching their breath. "What was that roar?" Juhani asked.

"No clue," Buffy admitted. "But it helped get the job done."

"We saw them rush by," Carth said as the group began to walk back to Jolee's home. "It sounds like a safe bet they won't be coming down soon."

"Let's get back to the old folk's home," Buffy stated. "Hopefully, Mr. I'm Not A Jedi will be a bit more open to helping now."

Jolee was sitting on a log outside his hut, eating from the bowl in his hands. He nodded to the group as they came up. "Back so soon?"

"We got rid of them for you," Buffy stated.

"Yes, you did," Jolee noted. "And I don't sense the taint of death around you. Interesting." He finished his meal and rose up. "Well, you kept your end of the deal so I'll keep my mine. I think you'll find some answers there. Including some of the ones you seek."

As he ducked inside, Buffy and Faith exchanged a look that related how much they hated the cryptic.

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They walked past the Czerka camp and deeper into the Shadowlands. Jolee was in front, appearing quite calm as if not at all bothered by the odd sounds and smells around him. After twenty years, he knew enough of this forest to know when trouble was coming and at the moment, it was pretty clear.

Vance leaned in toward Buffy and whispered. "What's your read on this guy?"

"I'm still figuring it out," Buffy whispered back. "I think he's trustworthy…but he definitely knows more than he's letting on. Whether it's about the Map or the planet, I don't know."

"I can tell neither of you has been polishing up the telepathy," Jolee suddenly stated. "I may be old but the ears are still sharp."

As Bastila followed, her foot hit something round and metal. She frowned and picked it up. It looked to be a droid's head, burn marks on the skin and wires flowing out of its broken neck. "Hmmm," she said as she fiddled with it. "This seems out of place."

"Let me see," Carth said, taking the head from her. He frowned as he reached in to play with the wiring. "Looks like its memory is intact…let's see if there's a record in here…"

There was a burst of static and then a man's voice came on. "..Don't like waiting here this long. Once Matton gets back we have to be going. I just don't get why Eli wanted us to come here…Oh, here he comes. Hey, Eli! Eli…what….wait…what are you…you bast-----"

There was the sound of blaster fire and then the recording ended. "Eli…" Juhani said in comprehension. "The shop owner who was keeping that Matton under his thumb…"

"Until Matton's crew got back," Buffy remembered, her face tight in rage. "That son of a bitch! He killed those people just to get some free work out of Matton!"

"Padawan, calm yourself," Bastila immediately said. "Remember, anger is the path to the Dark Side."

Jolee let out a loud snort that got her attention. "So the Council is still beating students with the idea that a natural emotional reaction will be their downfall? I'm quite happy I never finished my training."

Bastila frowned deeply. "I am attempting to give her and Vance the guidance they need to use the Force properly."

Jolee turned to face her. "I've lived in this place for twenty years. No Council, no Knights, no Masters, no one to help me train. Guess what? I manage the Force just fine. Training is good but I think you'd be amazed at how well one can do when they're allowed more free rein."

Bastila shook her head. "I disagree. We need to keep the training tight or else we shall lose more to the Dark Side."

"As I recall, Revan and Malak had more than enough training," Jolee dryly noted. "Didn't really help keep them out of the Dark Side, now did it?"

"How do you know about them?" Carth interjected. "I thought you've been living down here for twenty years."

"I do go topside now and again," Jolee said. "The Wookies know a lot more of what's going on in the galaxy than they're given credit for. I heard enough to know that those two are a good example of how too much control can be a bad thing."

Bastila sniffed. "I do not think you are in a place…"

Jolee turned and marched away. "I believe it's just around this next corner here." Bastila was left sputtering at being insulted in such a fashion. The others all snickered as they followed them away.

They came to a large repulsor field that was shimmering with purple energy. "There, you see?" Jolee stated. "Beautifully subtle, isn't it? At least, compared with the rest of the trash Czerka's dumped down here. Only been here a short while, or the Wookiees would have disabled it. They wouldn't have had an easy time of it, though."

"Why put it here?" Vance asked.

"Probably to block things larger than katarn, making it easy for Czerka to plunder uninterrupted. It's all very calculated, very precise." He knelt over it. "Now how did those Czerka engineers do it? Ah-ha!" The purple field wavered before fading away entirely. Jolee motioned the others to follow. "Keep moving, folks. These are the most dangerous depths of Kashyyyk."

The group took the hint and pulled out their various weapons. They made their way through the forest which now seemed much darker. They hadn't gotten far when they saw the body of a Wookie lying on the ground with a blaster mark across his chest. Vance frowned as he knelt by and picked up a piece of metal. "Looks like part of a blaster casing," he muttered. He held it up to study it and his frown deepened. "From a bowcaster."

"A Wookie did this?" Juhani gasped.

Buffy was by the other Jedi, studying the body and finding a datapad. Bringing it on, she looked at the contents and let out a deep sigh. "Before you start handing out a eulogy, I don't think this guy deserves pity. Meet Rorwoor."

"The Wookie who went missing?" Faith asked.

"Yeah," Buffy said sourly as she rose up. "And it doesn't look like he was nearly the hero they thought he was. This is a contract between him and Czerka regarding the sale of a batch of young Wookies."

Carth's eyes widened. "He was selling out his own people!" He shook his head. "Even a Mandalorian wouldn't stoop that low!"

Canderous smirked. "Why, Carth, that's the nicest thing I've ever heard you say about my people."

"Don't quote me on it."

"Looks like another Wookie found out about the deal and decided to get some payback," Faith noted.

"We'll figure the specifics out later," Buffy said as she put the datapad away. "Come on, let's find this map."

They didn't have to look too far. Jolee led them back up a forking path. The faint outlines of ancient ruins far in the distance seemed to beckon to them.

"Those look a lot like the style we saw on Dantooine," Vance said. "That Star Map has to be there."

"Oh, it's there," Jolee said. "Accessing it might be a different matter."

A hole in the right wall was blocked with a mess of crumbled stone and jungle overgrowth, easily cut away with lightsabers and moved with hands. By the light of sabers they entered a large clearing. Standing in the middle of it was a large raised platform with a console. Next to it was a device the Jedi recognized as matching the same device on Dantoine that had held the Star Map.

"Still standing after all these centuries?" Vance whistled. "Whoever built these things built them to last."

"Life forms detected. Determining parameters. Initiating neural recognition." Everyone started at the strange voice that spoke out of thin air. Standing on the dais was the image of a strange creature. The shape of its body was vaguely humanoid, with a teardrop shaped head and eyestalks . Its three-fingered hands gestured and waved.

"Yes, there's the thing," Jolee said. "Obstinate machine. I've no doubt it holds what you seek, but good luck in getting it operational"

"Primary neural recognition complete," the hologram said in a dry voice. "Preliminary neural match found. Greetings!"

"Match found! What the...?" Jolee shook his head in disbelief. "All I got when I tried was some muttering about rejected patterns!"

"Begin socialized interface Awaiting instructions. This terminal has not been accessed for quite some time."

"Who has last tried to access this installation?" Buffy asked.

"Three attempts at access by the Wookiee Freyyr. One hundred forty-two attempts at access by human Jolee Bindo. Last successful attempt 4.3 years prior to current date."

"One hundred and forty-two times?" Faith couldn't suppress a chuckle. "Persistent. I knew I liked you."

"Well, there wasn't much else to do here," admitted Jolee.

"We've questions about this installation," Buffy said. "What is its purpose?"

"The original purpose of this installation was to monitor planet-wide agricultural reform. Malfunction occurred 241 years after last Builder communication...29,642 years before current Republic standard."

"That would fit with the data we gathered in the Dantooine ruins," Bastila said.

"Speculation: This planet's resources were insufficient to sustain levels of production. It can be theorized that produce was being exported to supply a larger demand. It can also be theorized that the super-growth of Kashyyyk's forests can be directly linked to the malfunction, as well as hastening evolution of both native and bio-seeded species."

Jolee whistled. "So, there is something to those old legends after all. Doubt any Wookiee would truly believe it."

"Why have you acknowledged us?" Buffy asked.

"Error. Subject displays unfamiliarity to environment. Behavioral reconfiguration will be needed before access. I am sorry. I did not mean to confuse you. I will answer questions to the best of my programming limitations. Likelihood of restriction by previous user 100."

"Previous user?" Juhani stroked her chin.

"The date sounds about right if we're talking Revan," Carth said.

"Couldn't have been Czerka," Jolee said. "This would have had to be installed in the strictest secrecy."

"Again, sounds like Revan," Carth said.

"We seek the Star Map," Vance said.

"Accessing. Yes, I have found a Star Map in my original system memory. Access is restricted. Your request requires additional security parameters. There are measures available. Personality profiling will verify the basic structure of your conscious mind. I use a retro-adapted holocron interface. I have been programmed with a limited field of knowledge and must restrict access to those fitting the pattern."

"Who are you comparing us against?" Buffy asked.

"That information is not accessible. It is a pattern I have been given as a baseline for security access."

Buffy and Vance looked to each other and nodded. "Begin this evaluation," Buffy said.

"A suggested situation: You and a member of your party - say this Zaalbar fellow - are imprisoned. If you both claim innocence, you both get one year. If he accuses you of the crime, and you claim innocence, you get five years while he goes free. If you accuse him and he claims innocence, then you go free and he gets five years. Accuse each other, and you both get two years."

"How do you know about Zaalbar?" Faith demanded.

"This unit has many information-gathering abilities. Please answer."

"I trust Zaalbar," Vance said. "He wouldn't accuse me to save his skin, and I'd not accuse him to save mine."

"Incorrect: If you turn on him, you risk two years or none at all. If you rely on loyalty, you risk one year or five. Loyalty is dangerous. Your companion could benefit by turning on you. Zaalbar's family is mired in treachery. What loyalty do they know?"

"Well, that's our final answer," Buffy interjected.

"You cannot refuse. Evaluation must continue. You must match the pattern in memory - your memory. I must demand honest acceptance of proper behavior. That is a condition of my programming."

Vance rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine, continue."

"Your answer does not match the profile that is contained within my database. Here is your next question: You are at war with a fierce and determined enemy. Your intelligence intercepts communications that tell of an attack to one of your cities in a week. The decrypted communication also reveals a significant weakness in your enemy's forces and a window for exploitation will occur in ten days. Should you evacuate the civilians in the city, you will reveal that you have exploited the enemy's codes and they will surely compensate for any weaknesses that they had in their systems. Should you fail to warn the city, millions will die. How would you proceed?"

Buffy opened her mouth but Vance put a hand on her shoulder. His brow was furrowed as he spoke. "I let the attack happen and use it to rally the people against the attack."

Canderous nodded with a grim smile. "Very good. A strategy to make Mandalore proud."

Buffy glared at Vance. "Excuse me? What the hell kind of…"

"Analyzing…correct. You have correctly answered the coded response. The Star Map is yours. This unit has fulfilled its function and will shut down." The hologram faded as the large metal cocoon opened to reveal another Star Map.

Vance gave Buffy and Bastila a defensive look. "I just got the feeling this thing would go for the kind of answers Revan and Malak would give."

Bastila pursed her lips. "I am not happy with your methods…but it did give us the results we wanted."

"Well, well," Jolee said as he took in the shimmering map. "So this is it? You talk so much about the Dark Side, Bastila. This thing is crawling with it. I wonder if that's the reason the wildlife here has mutated the way it has."

Vance was pulling out a recorder to take an image of the Star Map. "We can worry about that later," he stated as he moved around to get all angles of the globe. "For now, we'd better get back and piece this with the section of the Map we found on Dantoine to figure out where we're going next."

"Not so fast," Faith interjected. "We still got to handle this whole Chuundar/Czerka mess before we can get off this planet."

"Then let's find this 'mad one,'" Carth said. "Before he----"

Suddenly, a gray-furred, disheveled Wookiee barged into the clearing, brandishing a double-edged vibroblade. "More of you Czerka core-rats! Is even the heart of Kashyyyk not free from your kind?"

"Damn," muttered Jolee. "After all this time, he's almost feral." He shouted to the Wookiee. "Calm yourself, Freyyr. It's Jolee. Don't you remember me?"

"Freyyr?" Buffy stared at Jolee, jaw open. "Wait a minute…the 'mad one' is Zaalbar's dad?"

Jolee frowned with seemingly honest confusion. "Didn't I mention that?"

"No, you did not mention that!"

With a roar, Freyyr swept out his paw, knocking Jolee back. The black man landed on his back and hissed in pain. "Well, this could prove difficult," he muttered as the enraged and armed Wookie headed toward the group with madness in his eyes.