Slayers of the Old Republic

Book V: Tatooine

By Michael Weyer

"Query: Must we walk so far, Master? I am eager to kill something soon!"

"I cannot believe this," Bastila muttered. "I cannot believe you bought us an assassination droid!"

"Are you going to keep saying that all day?" Buffy demanded.

"About as long as you kept going on about me losing my lightsaber back on Taris!" Bastila retorted.

They, Vance, Mission and HK were walking along the streets of Tatooine, HK trailing behind the living beings. Faith had gone back to check with the others, seemingly amused at this new member to their party.

"Statement: I can assure you, as long as my programming blocks hold, Jedi meatbag, I will not attack anyone the Master deems allies."

"Yet I am not assured," Bastila muttered. They were nearing a cantina when a Duros came out, grumbling and brushing past them. HK's arm shot out to grab the alien. "Threat: Mind your place, meatbag, or I will crush your oversized head!"

"HK, let him go!" Vance yelled.

The alien opened its metal hand to let the alien drop. It gasped and rubbed his throat. "First that human woman rails at me, then I almost get killed by a psychotic droid? I'm taking the first ship off this planet!"

"Human woman?" Buffy wondered if Faith had gotten around.

The Duros nodded. "In the cantina. I swear, 'Helena' must be your language's word for rancor!"

"Helena?" Buffy stared at Bastila. "Bastila…isn't that your mother's name?"

Bastila frowned. "Yes but…well, it's a common name, I can't imagine why my mother would be here of all places."

"Oh, she's here all right!" the Duros continued. "You couldn't miss her if you tried! Going on and on about her Jedi daughter and how she's a dying woman yet strong enough to make sure no one gets near her! If you want to look for her, go ahead! Humans! You're all mad!" Shaking his head, he marched away.

Vance was a bit surprised to see Bastila's emotional reaction to this news. He looked at Buffy, who sighed. "Bastila and her mom…never got along. Her father she was on good terms with but her mother…"

"My mother," Bastila broke in. "Dragged him off on one treasure hunt after another, forcing him to cater to her needs. My father cried the day the Jedi came to take me to the Academy but my mother…" She sniffed. "She no doubt was grateful she didn't have to waste any time coddling me on her journeys."

Vance pursed his lips. "Are you going to go see her?"

Bastila shook her head. "Why? I see no reason. We said what we needed to a long time ago."

Buffy bit her lips. "Listen, Bastila…I know you're not close but…she's still your mother. She deserves at least a little consideration."

"Padawan…"

Buffy cut her off. "When my Mom died…we left so much unspoken between us. If I had a chance to do it, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Maybe you should do the same."

Bastila considered her words and slowly nodded. "I suppose I can at least listen." She took a deep breath. "Come then. Let's try to make this quick." She led the way toward the cantina nearby.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You're kidding me, right?" Carth was asking. "They bought an assassination droid?"

Faith nodded. "Yep. Leave it to us to nab one of those."

"An HK model, eh?" Canderous stroked his chin. "I thought they'd stopped making those. Their personality profiles became…eccentric."

Faith raised an eyebrow. "Eccentric as in dark humor or eccentric as in kill us in our sleep?"

"Depends on the unit."

Faith brushed back her hair and adjusted the dark glasses she had purchased to block out the twin suns' glare. "Well, hopefully, if it goes postal, Buffy and Vance will make sure it's in the right neighborhood."

A wind picked up some sand and blew it on them. Juhani hissed as she brushed the grit at her fur. "I understand why Zaalbar did not wish to come here. I am considering rejoining him at the ship."

"Me too," Canderous rumbled. "It's almost as dull as Dantooine around here. I may end up going with the others just to get some excitement."

"Then I've got an alternative," a cold, harsh voice said from not far behind them. The group turned to see a man who seemed to be a Mandalorian glaring viciously at Canderous. He had skin darkened by the sun with short black hair and wore a thin suit of blue armor. "So we meet again, Canderous. It has been quite a long time."

For the first time since they'd met him, Canderous appeared to be at a complete loss for words. He stared at the man, jaw open and eyes wide, utterly stunned. "Jagi?" he finally choked out.

"You know him, Canderous?" Faith asked, though her gaze didn't move from the intruder.

"He... he was a warrior under my command up to the battle of Althir." Canderous told her, "But I thought..."

"You thought I was dead, didn't you!" Jagi shouted, "You thought all of us that you had sent on that attack had perished! You sent us to die in a foolish attack while you directed your forces elsewhere! You broke from the battle plan and let us die for it, so that you could have the 'honor' of being the first to the enemy commander!"

"I... I did what was prudent at the time." Canderous protested. "If I had not done it, the battle would have..."

"The battle would have been won anyway!" Jagi interrupted, "I am tired of your excuses, Canderous. I have spent years tracking you down since the clans were banished, and I will not rest until I have had my vengeance!"

Jolee glared at him, "What are you planning?"

"I challenge you Canderous. I challenge you to fight the fight you fled that day above Althir," Jagi declared. "In the dune seas, I will be waiting for you. I have spread the news of the challenge since I learned you had landed on this world. All the surviving Mandalorian clans know of what I do here, and that we shall meet on the Dune Sea to settle this debt of vengeance once and for all. If you fail to meet me there, you shall be stripped of all honor and forever cast out of our society. It will be you and me alone in the dune seas of Tatooine: a final battle that can only end in death. I shall be waiting for you there, Canderous." With a final arrogant glare, Jagi turned and left.

As one, everyone turned to focus on Canderous. The warrior was getting over his shock, his face now set hard. He knew what they wanted to know and spoke. "Jagi was a warrior under my command up to the battle of Althir."

"It was one of the last planets the Mandalorians destroyed before the Republic declared war on them." Carth said. "You were there?"

Canderous nodded. "Yes. In one battle, my unit managed to defeat a force of Althiri ten times our own size. That battle gained me command of an entire sub-sect of my clan. For five days they had managed to hold off our forces, keeping us to the outer rings of their world, preventing us from attacking it directly." Canderous lit a cigarra and took a slow, deep drag. "My task was to assault one of their flanks with a false attack. The Althiri would be drawn out by the units I had sent in. Once they had surrounded those units, the bulk of my forces would attack from the rear and defeat them."

"Not a bad plan," Jolee noted. "What happened?"

"Things did not go as I had planned. I saw an opening - a mistake they had made in the disposition of their forces - and took it! While fending off our main force, they had let their fleet split in two! The center of their entire fleet was left exposed! I turned my forces and assaulted the center of their fleet, decimating them!"

"You disobeyed your orders." Carth said, disapproval displayed by the hard line of his jaw.

"It was a chance given to a warrior once or twice in a lifetime. The chance to change the course of history in a single act. Their slow, ponderous ship could not turn to face us without being overwhelmed. Their command vessels were destroyed in seconds. Their ranks were thrown into chaos."

"If you won, then why does Jagi want to kill you?" Faith asked.

"Because when he turned his forces to attack the middle, he left his own men without cover. Those men he sent in, on the false attack, must have been slaughtered." Contempt dripped from Carth's voice.

Canderous stood and faced off against Carth. "If I had not attacked when I did, the battle would not have been won so easily! The Althiri were fighting hard. I saw a break in their defenses that left their center exposed. I had to take the chance. I stand by my decision."

Carth took a step forward, itching to fight. "You were given direct orders and were part of a plan! You had a responsibility to…"

"You've been in battle!" Canderous shouted. "You know that you have to take advantage of every opportunity that is presented to you! You're going to tell me you've never broken rank or taken a chance against your superior's orders to win a battle!"

Faith held up her hands as she stepped between them. "Settle down. So you're gonna go fight this guy?"

"I must," Canderous stated. "It is a matter of honor."

Faith nodded. "All right, we're going with." As Canderous opened his mouth, Faith cut in. "I don't trust him to keep his word."

"She is right," Juhani stated. "When he said he would be alone, I felt his aura flash with deceit."

Canderous thought and slowly nodded. "Fine. I must prepare for it." He headed to the ship, leaving the others to reflect on how seriously their companion took his honor.

"Just when I think I've got that guy figured out…" Carth muttered.

Jolee smiled at him. "So, realizing not all Mandalorians are murderous monsters? Just as he's realizing a lot of Republic soldiers have backbone. Almost as if we're been made to see each other in a new light." He chuckled. "Isn't the universe an amazing place? Me, I wouldn't live anywhere else."

Faith and Carth gave each other slightly baffled glances at the old man's statement.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The cantina was a bit darker and not as clean as the ones on Taris. It was much cooler inside, a combination of air machines and the architecture of the building. As the group entered, Vance turned to HK. "HK, maybe you'd better stay outside. The customers may not like having you around."

"Statement: Oh certainly, Master. Mistreat your poor droid."

Vance looked to Mission. "Mission, stay with him and make sure he doesn't kill anyone."

"Complaint: Master, must you muzzle me so?"

Vance just rolled his eyes and followed Buffy and Bastila. They were coming to the rear of the cantina where a woman sat at a table. She resembled Bastila but her face seemed older than she really was, wrinkled and lined, her light brown hair pulled in a severe bun and she wore light tan clothing. She glanced up at the newcomers and frowned. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"I am here, Mother," Bastila said curtly. "Or don't you recognize me?"

The older woman's face furrowed in confusion before turning into surprise, which quickly turned bitter. "What you do expect, when I've not so much as had a picture of you since you left? Do you even realize how long I've been trying to find you?"

"You knew that communication would be impossible once I joined the Order," Bastila's tone could have frozen the desert. "Now, what is this about? Where is Father?"

Helena couldn't fake the paling of her cheeks, or the stunned blinking. "Then… you've not heard. I should have known."

"What's happened to him? Are you going to tell me or not?"

"He is dead, Bastila. That's one of the reasons I was trying to find you."

This hit her, sending her stammering. "Dead? Father?" Bastila shook her head and fired back at her mother. "What happened? What did you get him into that killed him?"

Helena looked up at Buffy. "Well, now. Hasn't this been a lovely reunion? Already flinging insults at me, already accusing me…Tell me, you're one of her friends, I'd suppose. Do you treat your mother this way?"

"My mother is long dead, if you must know," Buffy stated in a cool tone.

Bastila sighed in frustration. "I was told you were ill. Is it the truth, or simply melodrama for my benefit?"

"Such sweet words," Helena threw back. "I hadn't realized Jedi could be so spiteful." She shook her head and sighed. "All right, I'll tell you everything before we start arguing again. You want me to tell you that I brought him here on an expedition and lured him to his death, right? You weren't old enough to understand. Your father loved his treasure hunting, but I was to blame for everything. What else is new?" Helena crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "So, yes. Your father came here to hunt for krayt dragon pearls. He took a party into the desert, and he perished. One of the guides saw it all."

"I…see," Bastila said heavily. "So what do you want from me? Credits?"

"Don't be insulting. I want you to use those senses of yours if you can. I'd like you to find and bring back his holocron."

"Why? So you can sell it?" Bastila asked.

"Is it too much to ask that I have something to remember your father by?" She threw up her hands. Of course it is, isn't it? You can't be bothered."

"We're on a mission from the Jedi council, not on a treasure hunt, Mother. I doubt we'll have the time."

"Bastila, come on," Vance said. "She is sick…"

"It doesn't seem to have anything to do with what she was asking," Bastila said. "Are you actually ill, mother?"

The elder Shan sniffed. "It would make no difference to you, I'm sure. Just find your father's holocron and you won't have to worry about me ever again."

"And that's the response I would expect," Bastila said. "Very well, we'll look if we've a chance. I can't promise more than that."

"The krayt cave is in the Eastern Dune Sea, past the Sand People enclave. I would check along that route. Do please hurry."

The group exited into the daylight, Bastila's face tight. Buffy put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" she softly asked.

Bastila let out a long breath. "I do not know. All this time apart and now learning of Father…it is much to take in."

Bufy was about to reply when she realized they were alone. "Where are…"

They heard a yell from an alleyway, followed by a loud metallic voice. "Warning: Let go of the blue meatbag or I shall crush you!"

There was the familiar sound of a lightsaber being ignited and then HK's voice came back, almost sounding joyful. "Gratitude: Thank you, dark enigmatic meatbags! You have just made my planetary revolution!"

The three Jedi were off in a flash, lightsabers igniting as they entered the alleyway. They saw a trio of Dark Jedi, red lightsabers out and facing HK and Mission. The Twi'lek was lying against the wall she'd been hurled into, holding her side in pain. HK was already moving forward, an attachment coming out of his forearm. There was a flash and then a billow of flame shot out to engulf one Dark Jedi. The man screamed in agony as he raced about on fire. He collapsed in front of Buffy who didn't even pause to look before charging into the fray. She and one Dark Jedi began to duel, their lightsabers clashing. Bastila was behind, attacking the other man who stood up surprisingly well to her dual blades. Vance did his best to press Buffy's opponent, who backed up as he blocked their attempted strikes. He managed to deflect one of Vance's blows but it left him open for a lunging strike from Buffy that pierced his mid-section.

The man screamed as he fell back and hit something hard. At first, he thought it was the wall until a cold metallic hand grasped the top of his neck. There was the whine of servos and the last thing the Dark Jedi saw was HK-47's metallic face as his head was turned completely around.

As the Dark Jedi's corpse fell, Bastila used one of her favored moves, spinning her lightsaber so the dual blades flashed as a distraction. She suddenly stopped it in mid-spin to strike. One blade knocked aside her opponent's weapon and the other sliced through his chest.

As the last of the would be assassins fell, Buffy moved to Mission. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

The Twi'lek grimaced. "Yeah…sorry, those guys grabbed us. Demanded to know where you were and were ready to cut my tentacles off if I didn't tell them."

"Statement: While I admire their methods, I made it clear to these Sith meatbags I would not allow harm to come to one of your party, Master."

"Thanks, HK," Vance said as he examined a corpse. He found a datapad and winced at its contents. "Uh oh."

"What is it?" Bastila asked.

Vance held it out to her. "It seems Malak has put out an open message to any Sith in the galaxy to keep an eye on us. Even gives out our descriptions."

"Nord," Buffy muttered. "Bastard must have detailed it before he went hunting for us. Looks like Malak's covering the bases in case he failed."

Bastila sighed. "Which means we probably have not seen the last of such encounters."

"Rejoiced statement: Excellent! I look forward to more attempts upon us so I may crush your foes, Master!"

HK's circuits couldn't comprehend why none of the others shared his enthusiasm.