Chapter 7

Kyp made his way to the Jedi Temple which had been built over the ruins of the ancient Temple of the past that had been destroyed nearly sixty years prior. The new structure was roughly a reproduction of the old one but not as large since the Academy was on Ossus and not at the Temple. The design was taken from memories of people who remembered the original structure and from the footprint that was uncovered beneath the rubble. The inside though was a modern office building with conference rooms, training areas and living quarters for visiting Jedi from Ossus or elsewhere. And of course, the Jedi Council Chamber was at the pinnacle of the building.

Kyp stopped at his office which was on the tenth floor of the building to drop off his cape and to pick up the data chips he had copied for the meeting; then he headed down the hall to the large conference room at the end of the hall. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He knew what he was about to tell the Chief-of-State and Intelligence could very well lead to yet another Galactic war. One the Galaxy really could not afford. One he and Jaina could not afford. They were both too tired to keep on fighting and if he lost her now to war…

He shook his head to clear the thought from his mind. His only priority right now was to provide the information that if acted upon quickly could prevent the trouble from escalating to full blown war. He had to hope the government would do that and not sit on the information until it was too late.

Kyp entered the spacious room greeting Masters Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker with a nod and took a seat in the center of the round dark wood table that took up most of the space. The large windows allowed the midmorning sun in to brighten the space but did nothing at warming the atmosphere. Kyp realized when he met Mara's emerald eyes that the Grand Master and his wife were not happy at not having any advance knowledge of the information before the government got hold of it.

"Um—I'm sorry about this morning. A friend needed my assistance last night. I didn't mean to sleep in this morning," Kyp offered as way of explanation.

Mara's gaze became more piercing as she narrowed her eyes, "This friend in sudden need just wouldn't happen to be female, would it, Durron?"

Kyp looked at Mara and smugly smiled, thinking, You would be surprised if you knew just who. Aloud he only allowed, "I believe that is my business, Jade."

"Not when it affects the mission of the Jedi," she countered.

Luke finally put an end to the discussion by laying his hand on the smooth wood tabletop and interjecting, "The point is that you missed the meeting, Kyp, and you should know how important this new threat is." He met Kyp's gaze and continued, "I don't have a good feeling about this. Not that I would keep anything from the government, but if it involves the Jedi I want to know."

Kyp was thankful when the door slid open and the young human male administrative assistant announced the arrival of the Chief-of-State Cal Omas, Tame Mixel the Sullustan director of Intelligence and Quu L'Nox the human assistant director of Military Intel. He took a deep breath and stood, greeting the head of state and the heads of Intelligence.

After the pleasantries were through Cal Omas said, "Well, Master Durron, what have you discovered from your anti-smuggling friends?"

Kyp remained standing as the rest sat and began by passing out the data chips he had copied. He waited until everyone had theirs plugged into a reader before starting, "The Outer Rim from former Hutt Space to as far as the Corellian Spice Spine is systematically being bottled up by a very large and very secretive pirate organization. It seems that they have the credits and/or the fire power to coerce smaller groups into joining their ranks. Even governments are not infallible. Tatooine's new democratic system is being taken over by representatives who are favorable to the Moorex Pirates. Giving them shipping privileges they shouldn't have because they are an illegal entity." Kyp paused and took a sip of the water from the glass before him. He never shied from speaking before a group of people but he didn't relish speaking to the Chief-of-State.

Omas took this break to state, "This is information we already received from Talon Karrde, Master Durron."

Kyp couldn't help but hear the frustration in the older man's voice. Kyp also knew the Alderaanian Cal Omas cared very little for him. He nodded and continued his voice showing none of his own frustration. "I'm sorry if that wasn't new information. But I believe this is. My sources point to a Naboo banking firm as being a financier of the Moorex and the base from which they are working out of appears to on Geonosis."

"Geonosis?" Tame Maxel repeated surprise evident in his voice.

"Yes," Kyp touched the buttons on the datareader before him and above the table appeared a hologram of the planet Geonosis. He went on to say, "I took this data from my astromech droid. As you can see for a planet that is supposed to be desolate and nearly abandoned there is a great deal of activity." The holo showed hundreds of ships varying from starfighters and small frigates to large battleship size.

"Kyp, what does this mean? Who is in charge of this gang of pirates?" Luke couldn't take his eyes from the flicking image but met Kyp's gaze when he began to speak.

"What it means, Master Skywalker, is that this is no ordinary gang of thugs and thieves. This group is becoming highly placed in the governments of the Outer Rim and being financed by them. The source of mine on Naboo related that he believed the Moorex are interested in Geonosis because of the droid and weapon factories that are still there."

"From the Clone Wars?" Mara's stunned words filled the room. "But I thought Paplatine destroyed the factories."

"Apparently, not well enough. My sources indicate that the leader of the Pirates, a cyborg by the name of Marolosa, has reestablished the place and has decided to build and equip an army."

Luke looked at Kyp and quietly said, "Is that the same Marolosa that you killed twelve years ago?"

Kyp turned his attention to the Jedi Master, "Yes, I guess that is how he became a cyborg. When I hit his ship and it exploded, he somehow survived well enough to be rebuilt."

The meeting concluded and Kyp felt the weight his information placed on the members of it. Speculations of what the Moorex Pirates under the leadership of the smuggling kingpin Marolosa were up to expounded and Kyp wondered what Cal Omas would do with the information.

As Kyp picked up his datacards after saying his farewells to the government officials, Luke came over and laid his hand on the younger man's shoulder, "Kyp, I just wanted you to know that you did good work on this mission."

Kyp looked astonished and stammered, "Thank you, Master Skywalker." Then he was left alone as Luke and Mara left the conference room.

X

Kyp was headed back to his office desperately trying to put the memory of the meeting behind him when an idea blossomed in his mind. He knew Jaina was planning to spend that night with him and he smiled. He had long fantasized about what he would do if she ever did come to him. Now he could put some of that plan into motion. Entering his office he grabbed his cape from the hook by the door and headed for the administrative assistants' open office by the turbolift.

There he turned to the mildly Force-sensitive blond, blue-eyed Hapen male and gave him instructions concerning his absence. Then with a swish of his cape he turned to the lift and was gone. Leaving Ma'lil wondering what inspired Master Durron to give him instructions concerning comm calls from Jaina Solo being forwarded to his personal commlink. Because one thing was sure Master Durron never left instructions on how to find him. He shook his head thinking, Jedi Masters, who can figure them out?