Chapter Five: A Loyal Citizen of the Republic
There was a sense of almost religious devotion in the way Master Yuon gingerly handled the hilt of the First Blade. As Canlyn and Ashara waited, she just looked at the hilt, turning it slowly over in her hands.
"The folds in the metal," Yuon breathed. "These are lost techniques. There's an art here, beyond the mere functionality of the lightsabers we forge today. It's not just a tool, but an expression of the forger's being. Our lightsabers began here, with this."
Canlyn felt suitably humbled at having delivered it. "It's incredible to be in the presence of something so old and influential."
Qyzen and Ashara exchanged a glance. It was clear that neither of them shared in the sense of awe.
"Please, no encouraging," Qyzen said. "Already Yuon talks and talks of old things."
Ashara laughed – earning her a hard stare from Yuon.
"Master Ryen was looking for you, Padawan Zavros. I believe I heard him musing on the potential benefits of corporal punishment."
"I didn't defy a single order," Ashara protested. Still, she took the cue to leave.
Yuon gave a wry smile. "I like her," she said.
She turned back to the hilt, bringing up a map of Tython on the holoprojector. She studied the decorations, and inputted data into the map. Qyzen and Canlyn waited patiently as Yuon processed the information, both of them knowing better than to interrupt her.
The coordinates on the hilt were ancient, and rendered in terms that were more symbolic than mathematic. Once Yuon understood that, it was an easy matter to match one coordinate to the eastern Tythos Ridge. Another coordinate was a Jedi symbol for wisdom, which both she and Canlyn agreed had to be the library at Kaleth.
"But that leaves this coordinate," Yuon said, clearly frustrated. "We can't triangulate the location of the Fount without it."
The elusive coordinate did not match any Jedi symbol Canlyn had studied. It looked suspiciously like the result of the task Ashara's Master had assigned – stones, with vertical lines drawn in front of them.
"A rock formation?" Canlyn wondered.
"Yes!"
It was Qyzen who had spoken, and he had done so with forcefulness. The two turned to him, startled by his certainty.
"Lines are for waterfall," he said. "Have seen like formations on hunt."
"Possible," Yuon acknowledged.
Qyzen was already walking toward the door.
"Will scout waterfall caves," he said. "Try to find."
Canlyn halted him. "With two of us, the search would take half as long," she offered.
"I know caves," Qyzen said, declining her offer. "Is faster searching alone. Scorekeeper watch you."
He left with a decisive stride. Canlyn had no doubt that he would not stop walking until he reached his destination.
Canlyn went to the mediation chambers. She needed to calm her mind, which reeled with the day's activity. The sense of wonder in the recovery of the First Blade. The bizarrely sympathetic figure that was the first Fallen Jedi. Worry over Nalen, which had been intensified by Allia's descriptions of his behavior. A Jedi must be calm, and she felt anything but.
Each meditation chamber was a plain white room, with a simple gray pattern laid out across the floor. Masters and Padawans alike would kneel in different places in the room, contemplating the pattern. Today, she chose to sit in the center, watching the lines expand from her to the corners of the chamber. Or did they move from the corners to her? Perhaps both were correct – like Force energy, moving from the world beyond into her, then returning from her back to the world.
The doors were sealed when a chamber was occupied. Meditation should be uninterrupted. So when she heard the door open, she knew that only a Master could have done so.
Caecinius entered the room, alongside Master Syo. The Jedi's greatest swordsman and one of the senior members of the Jedi Council. Both looked grave.
"You received a message," Master Syo informed her. "Its contents are disturbing – "
"I think the Padawan should see the message before we interpret it for her," Caecinius said. Without waiting for Syo's assent, he touched a button on his holotransmitter.
Nalen Raloch appeared before them. He looked even angrier than when Canlyn had seen him at his camp. His eyes were wild, even feral.
"Survival," he rasped. "Mine. My villages. Yours, Jedi." His voice lowered to a growl, and Canlyn's fur rose instinctively. "You fooled my people. No matter. There are other routes to the Fount of Rajivari, and other guides." He pointed his finger straight out at Canlyn. "If you interfere again, I will kill you."
The image disappeared as the message ended.
"Nalen has truly fallen," Master Syo said solemnly. "We must think of your safety, Padawan."
"There must be a way to save him," Canlyn protested. "To at least reason with him."
"He may not give you the chance," Caecinius said brusquely. "The look in his eyes? I saw a lot of that look during the Battle of Coruscant. He wants to kill you. If he gets the chance, he'll enjoy it."
Syo cleared his throat. "Some members of the Council have concerns about the current direction of your training. You are still a Padawan, not a Knight. You must not risk yourself."
Canlyn bowed her head respectfully, but was not willing to let the matter rest. Nalen was on a dark path, and it was a stolen Jedi artifact that had placed him there.
"Is another Knight being assigned to find Nalen?" she asked.
Caecinius and Syo exchanged a glance.
"No," Caecinius said flatly.
"The Council is concerned about Nalen," Syo interjected. "Still, the prevailing view remains that energies need to be focused on locating Calief. We are debating restricting all padawans to the Temple grounds until he is apprehended."
Canlyn absorbed this, both the implications and the limitations of Syo's phrasing. "If there is still debate, then there has not yet been an agreement to put such an order in place," she observed.
Syo seemed startled by her response. She thought she detected a hint of a smile from Caecinius.
"There is not," Syo acknowledged tensely.
"Is the Council assigning me to a new Master?" she asked. "Or officially overriding any of Master Yuon's assignments?"
Syo frowned. This was not how he had expected this conversation to proceed.
"No, Padawan," he said. "But the central issue is your safety, the safety of all our students."
The central issue is the Order's responsibility for the corruption of an innocent man! That was what she wanted to say. Instead, she stuck firmly to Jedi codes, rules, and principles.
"It is not a padawan's place to question her Master's instruction," she said calmly. "If Master Yuon assigns me to locate the Fount of Rajivari, then I must do so to the best of my abilities and knowledge. Only the Council can override her. It would be highly inappropriate for me to attempt to do so."
Caecinius was failing in his battle to suppress a smile. He turned away, raising a hand to his mouth to cover the expression.
Syo inclined his head. "You are correct, Padawan," he said. "I apologize if this conversation appeared in any way unbefitting."
Canlyn bowed her head to him. "It is always an honor to speak with a member of the Council," she replied. Syo withdrew.
Caecinius remained behind.
"I give it one day before the Council puts that order in place," he told her. "By this time tomorrow, no padawan will be allowed to set foot outside the Outpost."
"In that case," she said, "I will hope for swift developments."
Though Mira Kahl did not find breaching Mannett Point's perimeter to be as simple as Reki had indicated, it was still far from difficult. There were some perimeter alarms, but she had no trouble interrupting the circuit long enough to slip past. From there, she adopted her usual tactic when she was in places she wasn't supposed to be. She moved confidently, nodding and waving at separatists who saw her. A few of them even waved back.
Reki's directions were good, and Mira easily found his home. After a quick check to make sure she wasn't being watched, she inputted his code to gain entry.
The datapad containing the lecher's treatise on the exotic birds of Ord Mantell was right on his desktop, boldly daring any intruder to pore through its tedious minutiae. Mira felt her eyes glaze over even glancing at the title: An Ornithological Dictum on the Avian Species of Ord Mantell, Volume 1 of 12.
If I have to go through 12 of these, she vowed, I am definitely going back to that warehouse and shooting him.
She accessed the datapad's core code as quickly as she could manage, doing her best to avoid accidentally reading anything. She entered his code exactly as he had told it to her.
The text vanished, replaced by detailed holographic schematics of the island. He's a pig, but at least he knows his stuff.
Reaching the central computer unobserved required her to crawl through a few ventilation ducts, which made her glad of her wiry figure.
One of the rooms she crawled over was a large storage vault. She looked down out of curiosity – Then froze in place for several minutes.
The equipment below was far beyond what should have been left by the Republic garrison. From her restricted vantage point, she was able to make out armored land vehicles, including a full-sized Walker. That was only the beginning. Also visible were multiple air cannons, just like the one she had disabled that morning, and they looked ready to be put into operation. Crates were everywhere, and she had little doubt they were filled with weapons. From the looks of things, likely very advanced weapons.
There was no way the separatists had cobbled this together from Republic leftovers.
Mira took a quick recording with her PADD, then forced herself to move on. She was here for a reason, and this discovery had not changed that.
She reached the central computer easily enough. All the separatists' security was focused on potential attacks by sea or air vehicles, with very little internal security. Mira reflected that one good Republic infiltration team could probably retake this island single-handed.
She waited for the room to empty, then slipped out of the ventilation shaft.
Unfortunately, a separatist was standing just outside her field of view. The man raised his blaster at her the instant she dropped to the floor.
"Stop right there, Republic scum!"
She raised her hands.
"Stopping," she said. "This is a misunderstanding. I was cleaning the ventilation ducts. Check with Maintenance – My supervisor will vouch for me."
The blaster wavered. He was at least considering her lie.
"What's his name?" he asked.
"Jarak," she said. She didn't know whether there was a Jarak in Maintenance or not, but she was betting the guard didn't know either.
She was right, and it seemed he had bought her lie. The blaster lowered as he started to touch a button on his wrist communicator.
In a single motion, she drew her own blaster and shot him square in the forehead. He didn't make a sound. She doubted that he had even seen the bolt coming.
She dragged the body quickly behind a wall, out of sight. She resisted the urge to run to the console. There was always the chance someone would enter. She just walked to it at a casual pace. I belong here. I'm one of the separatists, aiming to throw off the yoke of Republic oppression. Honest.
She was no slicer, but two decades of experience had taught her some basics. She was able to sync up her PADD to the computer. She placed it inside her pocket, so that it would be invisible as she transferred personnel files to it.
If she was very lucky, she might be able to finish the transfer before anyone came in…
"Come on, 4-SEN. Say it like I taught you."
Blast!
A young man entered with a droid. The droid dutifully parroted the requested phrases.
"The Republic lackeys will drown in lakes of fire and blood." No inflection at all. The droid might have been reporting on light winds or reading Reki's bird-watching treatise. "Death to all who oppose the people's will."
The young man noticed Mira.
"Hello," he said. His tone was friendly. "You're, uh, different than most of us true believers."
Mira turned, giving the boy a lightly flirtatious smile. Hoping she wouldn't have to kill him and disable his droid to get out of here.
"How is that?" she asked, cocking her head slightly.
The boy flushed. "Um… Different's not a bad thing," he clarified.
4-SEN interrupted.
"Master," the droid said. "I detect the presence of a non-functioning human. Specifically, a body over there." The droid indicated the wall behind which Mira had dragged the body. "Setting alert status red."
Mira thought fast.
"By the stars!" she exclaimed to the young man, widening her eyes to mimic shock. "Republic scum have invaded our base!"
She thought she had overdone it a bit, but he bought it.
"4-SEN, activate combat protocols!" he snapped. "We've got to warn the others!"
The droid was less easily fooled. "Master, my sensors detect no evidence of hostile forces."
Mira stepped forward, between the boy and his droid. "When was the last time you calibrated that droid's sensors?" She forced her posture to stay relaxed, but mentally prepared to draw her weapon if the answer was "just this morning."
Thankfully, it wasn't.
"Not recently enough to take any chances," the young man said firmly. "We need to put the base on alert and rally the men. Let's go, 4-SEN! There's no time to waste!"
He all but raced out of the room. The droid sighed a beleaguered, "Yes, Master," and followed.
Mira turned back to the computer. The data transfer was complete. She returned the computer to its home screen, then got out of there, making a beeline back to the safety of the ventilation ducts.
When she returned to Fort Garnik, she found Viidu eating an enormous meal with Syreena and a bemused Corso Riggs.
Viidu greeted her warmly, then indicated the spread.
"Help us finish this Roba steak. Don't let this fine cut of meat go to waste."
"Quit acting like that's your last meal," Syreena sighed. "Rogun the Butcher isn't going to kill you."
"Damn right he isn't," Corso echoed.
Viidu waved away their remarks. "Until I have Skavak and those blasters, I'm going to enjoy all the pleasures available to me," he insisted.
"Well, I don't have the blasters," Mira said, "but I do have the seps' personnel records."
She passed her PADD to Viidu, who beamed at her. "Splendid!" he cried. "Corso, get on this right away!"
He handed the PADD to Corso, who nodded and left the room.
Viidu glanced at Syreena, then gave Mira an embarrassed cough. "Would you mind leaving Syreena and I alone for a bit?" Apparently, there were still some pleasures he wanted to partake of.
"Hint taken," Mira said.
The steak did look good. She swiped a piece. "Don't stay up too late, kids!" she called on her way out the door.
She found Corso downstairs, asked how long the decoding would take. He shrugged.
"Probably a couple hours."
A couple hours. Time enough to report her little discovery.
"Do you know where HAVOC squad is?" she asked.
"Sure. Viidu sometimes has me run underground supplies to Needles." He gave her directions, then asked, "What's going on?"
She replied with a reassuring smile.
"Just something I need to take care of," she said. "Y'know, as a loyal citizen of the Republic."