Chapter Six: A Race in the Rain

It was mid-morning as Caecinius, Kalisa, and Allia followed the mountain path back to Kalikori Village. Allia kept looking nervously over her shoulder, while Kalisa spoke eagerly about her findings to her stoic colleague.

"Based on the markings surrounding the altar, I believe the Flesh Raiders see us as animals," Kalisa said. "They hunt the Twi'leks and other settlers the way a Trandoshan might hunt game."

"Trandoshans aren't shy about hunting sentients," Caecinius replied. "I think they actually get more points for bringing down smarter prey."

"True, but Trandoshans are not mindless beasts. They can be reasoned with. Even befriended, as Master Yuon befriended Qyzen Fess."

"So you think we should befriend the Flesh Raiders?"

"Of course not, certainly not as they are now. But they have culture, and rudimentary speech. They cannot be entirely dismissed." Kalisa mused to herself. "I think the three idols might represent their hunting patterns, and the offerings suggest a deity or deities. With more research and study, we may finally learn what motivates them."

Allis cut into the conversation harshly. "They like to kill. They hunt us, they torture us, and they eat us. I don't need to know more than that."

Kalisa's expression darkened. She was remembering her murdered padawan. Her fear and pain before the end, which Kalisa had directly felt.

Caecinius spoke before Allia could dig the knife in even deeper. "The Jedi Code teaches us to let go of attachments," he said. "We're meant to forgive the wrongs done to us."

"Do you do that?" the Twi'lek challenged.

Caecinius evaded the question. "Jedi discipline runs deep. But we're people, not machines, and we've had our losses too."

He stared up at a ridge opposite them. Allia turned to follow his gaze.

"Flesh Raiders," she hissed.

"They've been following us all morning," Caecinius confirmed. "We should not linger."

No one argued. All three quickened their pace, remaining silent as they focused on getting back to the village as quickly as possible.

Twi'lek scouts sent word of their return, and they were directed to Matriarch Ranna's home upon arrival.

"Thank you for bringing Allia back to us," Ranna said.

She extended a hand toward Caecinius, a gesture he forcefully ignored. "Jedi don't harm innocents," he said gruffly. Then he switched the topic, reporting the Flesh Raiders they had seen on the way back. "They're still holding back. But I doubt for much longer."

Ranna's manner changed in an instant. All anxiety vanished, replaced by fierce determination.

"We will step up preparing our defenses," she said. "And no one will leave the village unaccompanied." She directed a hard look at Allia.

"We can help," Satele offered. "With your permission, Matriarch, I would like to set up a permanent Jedi outpost here. A small one – a couple Masters, with rotating groups of padawan learners. They won't help you hunt Flesh Raiders, but they can assist in defense as needed. Helping your people build up defenses will be good training, and a Jedi presence should make the Raiders less eager for conflict."

Ranna nodded. "I thank you, Grandmaster. Any assistance is welcome."

Caecinius glanced at Allia. The young Twi'lek was standing, head bowed, shifting her weight nervously from foot to foot. Apparently, sneaking into an encampment took less courage than speaking up in front of her Matriarch.

He cleared his throat. "Grandmaster." Satele turned to him. "This young lady had a question."

Allia flushed. Satele smiled gently at her. "Go ahead. Allia, is it?"

The Twi'lek bit her lip, glanced at Caecinius. He gave her a nod.

"What – I mean, when…" She drew a breath. "Nalen. When will he be back?"

Satele blinked, surprised by the question. "Nalen Raloch?" Allia nodded. "He is physically well. The wounds he received at The Forge are healed. Unfortunately, even for Jedi, there is no easy fix for a mental breakdown. His mind is more settled, but he remains fragile, and he still has much to learn about controlling both his emotions and his new abilities. I wish I could say otherwise, but it will likely be several months before he can leave the Temple."

Allia nodded. She was blinking furiously – holding back tears, Caecinius suspected.

Satele smiled again. "That said, there is no reason he cannot receive visitors. Indeed, a few familiar faces may aid in his recovery."

Allia's eyes widened.

"It will be up to his healers, of course," Satele told her. "But if you give me your contact information, I suspect we can set up a visit for the two of you in the very near future."

Allia stammered her thanks. Caecinius took his leave, stepping out into the fresh air to wait for the meeting to end.

Satele joined him a little over ten minutes later.

"Master Gehnso is going to stay at Kalikori Village," she said. "She wants more opportunities to observe the Flesh Raiders in person. What is your view?"

He was surprised by the question. "You are the Grandmaster," he said.

"And I have granted my consent," she said. "Nevertheless, I would like your analysis."

He reflected a moment. He recalled Kalisa's excitement as she pored over the Flesh Raider relics, painstakingly recording every detail of them. He also thought of her anger over her dead pupil.

"Her emotions with regard to the Flesh Raiders are conflicted," he said. "Her enthusiasm for her studies is genuine, but a part of her would not object to conflict." He smiled humorlessly. "Don't worry, her first duty is to her studies. You won't have another me on your hands."

"You have been aggressive," Satele said. "But even during the incident with Bengel Morr, did you truly seek out battle?"

He reached up and touched his scar, tracing its cross-shaped outline. "Not then," he said. "But back on Coruscant... That was a different story."

"You saved many civilians on Coruscant. I've read the reports."

"The reports don't say everything."

He glanced up at the sky. Clouds were gathering. A promise of rain or a threat, depending on your point of view.

"This assignment was a test." He wasn't asking a question. "Why?"

Satele glanced around at the villagers. None were directly watching them, but Twi'lek hearing was renowned. "Not here," she said.

She bypassed the speeder station, leading the way as they began the journey to the Jedi Outpost on foot. They walked in silence until the village and the Twi'leks were far behind.

When she did speak, it was without preamble.

"I received an update yesterday from Master Orgus, on Alderaan. The situation there is worsening. When Orgus left, disputes were mostly just political grandstanding and squabbling. Now, there have been violent incidents. Isolated extremists so far, but unrest is rising. Master Orgus suspects an outside influence is at work, and I tend to agree."

"That's why you haven't recalled him," Caecinius realized.

"Yes. Master Syo argues that a more diplomatically-inclined Jedi might be more effective. But I have other reasons for wanting Orgus to remain there."

They were on a ridge that overlooked the valley. Caecinius could see the Jedi Outpost. From here, it looked close, although it was still more than an hour's walk.

"There's more," Satele continued. "The Senate has decided to take no action regarding the Imperial attack on the Brentaal Star."

Caecinius grunted. "That was expected."

"It sends a message to the Empire," Satele said. "The first direct military engagement in two decades, and the Republic will not respond. Further aggression is inevitable. Then there is the recent defection of a Republic Special Forces unit. And Master Yuon's illness. And Bengel Morr's attack on us."

"Bengel acted alone," Caecinius said. "I'm sure of that much."

"He may not have been acting under orders, but that doesn't mean he wasn't given a push in our direction. It's all too much, too many things happening at once."

"Do you sense something?" he asked.

She gave a single, curt headshake. "I've told you, I am no seer. My old Master was always skeptical of coincidence. Let's just say I inherited that skepticism."

Rain began to fall. Caecinius put his hood up, but Satele stood in place, lifting her face to receive the water.

"I was not an uncontroversial choice for Grandmaster," she said after a moment. "I was still young, inexperienced compared to others. Like you, I was far from a perfect Jedi. I struggled with… attachments. Many voices felt that Master Syo, with his strong connection to the spiritual side of the Force, would have been a better choice. Some even tried to convince me to decline."

"Then why were you chosen?"

She still was standing in the rain. He reached out to lift her hood over her head. After a moment, she reached up to secure it in place.

"The Order had already retreated to Tython," she said. "One of Grandmaster Zym's last orders."

Caecinius remembered. There had been no Grandmaster for two years, the Council deadlocked on a successor.

"The feeling was growing that the Treaty of Coruscant had been an error," she said. "I had spoken out against it, and I was at Korriban with my Master when the Sith first attacked. I was a symbolic choice." She smiled thinly. "And I was young, and I suspect some believed that I would be easily controlled."

"Well, they were wrong about that."

"Not at first," she said. "The responsibility overwhelmed me. I had no idea what I was doing. If not for help from Syo, Orgus, and others, I would have drowned under the weight of it. Orgus did not support my selection, and he and I have clashed on many occasions. But I could never have done the job without him."

They resumed walking, hunching their heads against the rain.

"In any case," Satele said, "I felt it best to maintain continuity. Grandmaster Zym wanted the Jedi to rebuild on Tython, so I continued his direction."

"You think you made a mistake."

She nodded. "I believe we left a power vacuum," she said. "Zym hoped the peace would hold long enough for us to regain our old strength. I hoped the same. But now, I fear we are running out of time, and we are far from ready."

"I'll crack down harder on my students," Caecinius promised. "I'll make them hate me, but they'll be battle-ready."

"Coordinate with Master Dentiri," Satele said.

Caecinius frowned. "The droid guy?"

She laughed. "I'll admit, his reliance on training droids is a bit…" She trailed off, not completing the thought. "But he is a good teacher. And you are the best we have in combat skills. If my fears come to pass, you will not be serving on the training grounds. Just please promise one thing. Promise you'll get some sleep."

The sky growled overhead, and the rain intensified.

"Let's hurry to the Outpost," he said. "Otherwise, we're going to end up swimming back."

Unexpectedly, the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order grinned, an expression that made her look ten years younger. "Race you?" she offered.

Caecinius found himself returning her grin. "Deal."

The two Jedi laughed aloud like younglings as they sprinted through the rain, racing to make it home ahead of the coming storm.

"As requested, Senator," Mira said as she passed a holochip to Senator Kayl. "Proof that the Migrant Merchants' Guild have the weapons, and evidence of their location."

"Pass that to the SIS," Cress added, "and they should have the matter in hand by the end of the day."

Kayl nodded her thanks. "You've done exactly as I asked, and quickly. I can promise that you both have made a friend today." She glanced at Mira. "Darmas will receive full compensation, including all of his expenses. Generous payment has been included for you specifically."

Mira smiled crookedly. "I'll make sure he knows that I know that," she said.

They all stood in place for a nervous moment. Then Cress cleared his throat. "I should report to General Garza," he said.

Cress withdrew. Senator Kayl turned back to her holoscreen, clearly expecting Mira to show herself out. When Mira failed to withdraw, she looked up.

"Was there something else?" Her neutral tone did nothing to disguise her displeasure.

"Just one thing." Mira activated her wrist-holo. An image appeared over her hand. Senator Kayl, speaking with a heavily scarred Nikto. It was not a friendly conversation.

"You accepted our friendship, Senator, and our credits," the Nikto announced. "It's time you paid us back."

Kayl's face betrayed no reaction as she leaned forward, watching her holographic counterpart's response.

"Your contributions were appreciated, but I never agreed to any quid-pro-quo," holo-Kayl said. "I said that housing projects in the Old Market are a personal priority, and they are. But nothing in the Senate happens quickly."

"That's not good enough," the Nikto growled. "You need to start delivering, Senator. Unless you want people to start talking about your opponent's pre-election problems, and exactly where those came from."

The holographic Kayl drew herself up. "I don't think you're going to do that. You know that I'm your best chance to see progress on those projects and others like them. I'm trying, and I'm making progress. Would any of my potential replacements be able to say the same?"

The Nikto had no response. Kayl scowled at him, a dark tone entering her voice. "Your extortion attempt has failed. Do not contact me again. If you push me, I will destroy you."

The screen flickered and went dead as the recording ended.

Mira gauged the senator's reaction. There wasn't any. No surprise, no anger.

"Your friend recorded the whole thing," Mira said. "He used it as leverage, to get you to hook him up with a contact who would get him the Republic weapons. That's how a second-rate gang like the Migrant Merchants' Guild ended up with top-grade military equipment. The only way anything gets done on this gilded sewer of a planet: By blackmailing a senator. He just didn't count on you making good on your threat."

"Who else knows?" Kayl asked. "Did you share it with Sergeant Va'Shann? Or Darmas?"

Mira shook her head. "Cress would have been obliged to report it. As for Darmas... Well, I wouldn't bet my life or career on what he knows, but I didn't tell him. Aside from a few insurance arrangements I made last night, the only people I can vouch for knowing anything are you, me, and the data slicer who recovered this file for me."

"So how much do you want?" Kayl didn't even miss a beat.

"This one's on the house," Mira ejected the holochip and tossed it to the senator. The startled woman flinched as it landed on her desk, directly in front of her.

"That's my only copy," Mira said. "It's possible that the Migrant Merchants' Guild has more. But I'm sure you've already arranged to make sure anything incriminating gets destroyed during the SIS raid, and that your Nikto friend 'resists arrest' so that he can't turn on you. That's what he gets for trying to shake down a senator, isn't it?"

Kayl said nothing. Mira nodded at her, then moved to the door.

The senator finally spoke as she moved to exit.

"Why not turn me in?" she asked.

Mira glanced back at her. "You helped me, and you've promised to help my friend. Maybe your hands aren't as clean as you pretend, but you seem to be at least trying to help people. In this floating hive of scum, that makes you as close to an angel as anybody." She shrugged. "Besides, I can always use a friend in high places. Someone else might turn on you, but it won't be me. You have my word - and contrary to popular opinion, my word does mean something."

Mira opened the door and left, not waiting for the senator to reply.

After the door slid shut, Kayl lifted the holochip, staring at it. Such a tiny object, to be so potentially devastating.

She brought it down on her desk with as much force as she could manage, smashing the fragile crystal to dust.

In General Garza's office, Cress and Jorgan were briefed on the current situation.

"The SIS is already following up on Senator Kayl's information," Garza told them. "I anticipate a recovery of the full weapons cache by the end of the day. The ensuing crackdown will make sure that the Guild never poses a threat to internal security, ever again."

Cress grunted, looked away.

"Do you have something to say, Sergeant?" Garza asked.

Cress straightened back to attention. "No, General."

Garza didn't let him off that easily. "Speak freely. Please."

Cress took a nervous breath. "It's a good result, under the circumstances. But the only real winner will be Black Sun, and other competing gangs. The aliens and displaced humans will be forced to move on again, and a lot of them will end up joining those gangs just to survive. A lot of others won't survive."

"Unfortunately, it is not a soldier's job to effect social change," Garza said. "We leave that to the politicians. Usually with less than ideal results, but it is an imperfect system."

She paced back to her desk and picked up a small box. When she turned back, she smiled at Cress.

"Fortunately, Senator Kayl's support is assured, meaning that HAVOC Squad will remain a part of the Republic military. With a new commander. Cress Va'Shann, in recognition of your valiant service, I hereby promote you to the rank of Lieutenant in the Republic Special Forces division. From this day forward, you will be the official commander of HAVOC Squad." She opened the box, inside of which were a pair of lieutenant's ensigns. She leaned forward to pin them to Cress's lapels, then saluted him. "Congratulations."

He returned her salute. "I'm honored." He felt like he should say something more, but his mind reeled at processing this turn of events.

Garza turned to Jorgan, and her smile faltered. Jorgan's posture grow even more rigid, bracing himself.

"My next duty is a less pleasant one," Garza said. "Aric Jorgan, you failed to anticipate HAVOC Squad's betrayal, and you signed on to their final operation, the one in which they defected. You also failed to protect the Imperial defector known as 'The General' from Imperial assassins. There are those, both in the military and the Senate, who have called for your dismissal from service."

Jorgan closed his eyes, waiting for the final judgment.

"However," Garza continued, "you acted quickly in coordination with Lieutenant Va'Shann to end the separatist threat, and you directed him in the sabotage of the ZR-57 orbital strike bomb. The captain and crew of the Brentaal Star have vouched for your conduct under fire. And you should know that Lieutenant Va'Shann spoke strongly on your behalf to the Senate. With these factors in mind, we are limiting your discipline to a simple demotion. You are no longer an officer in the Republic armed forces. From this day forward, you will carry the rank of sergeant, working under Lieutenant Va'Shann as a member of the new HAVOC Squad. Do you have any questions, Sergeant?"

Cress stared in shock. It was exactly as Jorgan had predicted.

"No questions," Jorgan said. His voice sounded distant.

"General," Cress spoke up. "I must protest – "

"Don't." Jorgan held up a hand. "This is actually better than I was expecting."

Garza nodded curtly, then turned back to Cress.

"Do you have any questions, Lieutenant?"

Cress had nothing but questions. He pushed down his frustration over Jorgan's treatment, and focused instead on his new rank. Command of HAVOC Squad.

"A squadron is more than two people," he said. "What about rebuilding HAVOC?"

"That will have to wait. Your image, and your recent heroics, will be attached to the HAVOC name for recruitment purposes. At a later date, when the political climate is more in our favor, we will meet with Senate oversight to request funding to rebuild HAVOC as an active unit. In the meantime, I suggest you and the sergeant enjoy a well-earned rest here at the capital."

Cress drew a breath to protest again.

Garza did not allow him the chance. "Dismissed."

Her tone invited no argument. Dispirited, Cress and Jorgan withdrew.

Only when the door slid shut behind them did Cress manage to breathe freely.

"You were right, Lieutenant." He felt as if he had been tossed about in an anti-grav machine. In the course of a little over five minutes, everything had changed.

"I'm not a lieutenant anymore," Jorgan grunted. "You are."

Cress shook his head, trying to clear it. "I'm not, though," he said. "I'm what you called me when we first met. A fake soldier. A poster boy for the holonet."

"No, you're a real soldier. Commander of HAVOC now."

"For propaganda purposes," Cress said. "You were in there, Jorgan. We're on the books, but practically speaking, there is no HAVOC Squad."

Jorgan bared his teeth. "Kixi got us information about Tavus and the others," he said. "What say we sift through it? Like Darmas said, Tavus probably won't leave Republic space empty-handed. If we get lucky, if we find something we can use to track him… Well, General Garza won't argue with results, even if the Senate might."

Cress felt a surge of shame. He was the CO, but he was already failing at the task. It was Jorgan - the man who had just lost his rank - who was coming up with a way forward for them.

Still, Jorgan was offering something resembling a plan. Or a hope of a plan, at least. He recalled Jorgan's conversation with the Trandoshan, Qyzen. The two men agreeing that though they had failed, they would not do so again. It was up to Cress to live up to their example.

"Very well," he said. "Let's see what we can do."