Chapter II

Table 44, Perr'ig'n's Pint, Erkot Station

"Ohai, Val!"

The dar'Manda turned and saw his contact.

"Grab a seat, Moro."

With bright prosthetic eyes, a floating elliptical droid assistant, long silver hair, and the weirdest personal style in the sector, Moro J'onni was undoubtedly the most flamboyant–and friendly–information broker Val Fett had ever met, and that was saying something. Especially in this tavern, full of lights and loud, retro music.

"How's business?" Val inquired.

"They after me, Val," Moro explained nonchalantly as he sat down across from the masked ex-Mandalorian, "I lose some ships this week."

"Any chance they'll find us?"

"No. They never find us here."
A large saucer suspended above the primary mining facility on a planet in the heart of Consortium-controlled space, Erkot Starport was, well, the next Wheel, the next Mos Eisley. Under the loose supervision of the saurian race native to Eqalz's parent world, Heptooine, Erkot was a perfect haven for people of all types; rich, middle class, poor. Druglords, smugglers, assassins. People who had to break the rules just to get by, and the true scum that took advantage of them. Thankfully, Moro had enough of a presence here to keep people away and give the crew of the Nomad a place to refuel and repair.

"I've heard there's more patrols in the next sector," Val said, "Just be ready to haul ass if it comes to it, okay?"

"They never find us, they're just rontos." Moro's laid-back manner didn't assure Val in the slightest.

"Can I get you anything?" A waitress, a Twi'lek, asked them both.

"Mocoa, please," Moro requested.

"Spotchka, Tuber soda, and a fruit fizz," Val ordered, "All in the bottle, to go."

"Alright. Anything to eat?"
"Rodian platter, please," Moro declared.

When the Twi'lek turned to Val, he shook his head.

The waitress spent a second fiddling with the keyboard on her menu, and showed them the price.

"Who will be paying?"

Moro turned to Val, moving his arms back against the seat as he said, "Can you please pay her, Val?"

Val, grumbling, took out forty-three credits. The Twi'lek took them and said, "Have a pleasant morning."

As she walked away, Moro asked, "You're not eating?"

"Not here," Val responded, "I already ate."

"Why all the drinks?"

"They're for my crew," Val explained.

"Why wear the mask now?"
Val didn't say anything.
"Oh," Moro clapped his hands, "Hahaha. You're not scary, Val."

Indifferent to his remark, Val asked, "Was that the price? Buying you breakfast?"
"Yes," Moro clarified.

"So," Val summarized, "I park my ship in your garage and ask you for intel, and all you want me to do is buy you food?"
"You're not like most customers. You're friend, Val."
"I see. So, any new sightings?"

Moro turned to his droid. A compartment opened in its elliptical body, revealing a comlink with a holoprojector.

Val took the device and activated it.

"There's been ship stolen on Ambria," Moro explained, as an image of said ship appeared, "It's Skysprite. One of the Consortium's best."

"An Arrow?" Val commented as he looked at an image of the nimble, but well-armed Acus class corvette, "That's no easy feat."

"Yes indeed. People say they spotted that Jedi man there."

"So, that's our lead?"

"Maybe it leads somewhere."

"Maybe."

"Here are your orders," the waitress had returned. Val quickly deactivated his holoplayer as she laid a tray with one mug and three bottles down on the table.

"Oh thanks Keni," Moro responded as he took his mocoa.

Val said nothing, simply taking his drinks and putting them into his bag.

"He says thanks," Moro assured Keni.

"I'll be back with your Rodian platter," she responded, "Probably five minutes?"

Moro pulled out another credit, "Can you make it three?"

"It'll be here straight away, sir."

"Thanks, bye!"

Once she left, Val declared, "Well, that settles it. I think I have everything I need…"

"Come on, stay a while," Moro asked, holding his arms outward, "This a nice place. Let's eat…"
"I'm not working for you again, Moro. Not right now."

"Val, come back, things are better now. I'll pay you more…"
"There's more to it than that," Val moved his hand towards his sidearm.

"More? Hahaha," Moro laughed.

"I'm serious, Moro," Val responded, his hand grasping his pistol, "I'm not taking any additional jobs yet. Right now, I'm preoccupied."

Moro was silent, his artificial eyes surveying the tavern. Val was ready to draw…

"Very well Val," Moro agreed, "You can go."

"Great."

Val stood up and warily began to walk away.

"Bye Val."

Val kept his eyes peeled as he left the club and walked back into Erkot's gloomy hallways. Once he was a few corridors away, Val asked, "Did you catch that, Bao? Ambria. That's a Force planet, right?"

"Ambria was subjected to an ecological cataclysm by the Sith, a long time ago. A famous Jedi was trained there," a different voice – lighter than Bao's deep, commanding demeanor – explained.

Val smiled as he asked, "Riko, how'd you get on this comm?"

"I invited him," Bao Sklar-Pierce clarified unapologetically.

"Well, nice." Val responded before adding, "I got your order. One tuber soda."
"Thanks, Val!"

Val couldn't help but smirk beneath his helmet in response to Riko's remark.

"I'll meet you back at the ship." Val closed out the comn channel and continued towards the hangar.

As he advanced forward down the gloomy corridor, he could tell that something was off. It was too quiet.

He was being watched.

Val carefully placed his bag against the wall. Moving his hand to his wrist control, he set his visor to thermal. He quickly made out the heat signatures of multiple humanoids hiding behind the wall ahead of him.

Val pulled his heavy rifle off of his back.

"Come on out, guys," he requested as he set his weapon to rapid-fire mode.

A trio of mercenaries stepped out from behind the wall. All of them were mercs of various species. One of them, an Aqualish, sported a vibroblade in her hand, a second in a sheath on her thigh. Another, a Nautolan, brandished a metal rod that Val recognized as an electrostaff. The third, a Klatoonian, wielded a pair of blaster pistols.

Val lowered his rifle.

"Hey Mando!" the Nautolan spoke up, his head-tails swinging, "Can we have a chat?"

"I'm not Mandalorian," Val responded, "Moro sent you?"

"Moro J'onni? His days are done. We're here for the bounty," the Nautolan activated his electrostaff. Electricity flashed across the rod's tips with a sizzle.

"I don't know if you're aware, but Asharr's dead," Val responded. He moved his left hand towards his belt, grabbing a flash grenade.

"Consortium's still around," the Nautolan reasoned, "And there are plenty of people who would be happy to see the Red Wound's helmet on their wall."

"So that's what they call me," Val responded, stepping back, "That's pathetic."

"You Mandos stick out," the Nautolan responded, "And I want a prize."

Val flicked the switch on his flash.

"Yeah, I don't think so." Val threw the grenade. As it clattered to the ground, it exploded, blinding everyone who wasn't wearing a helmet.

Val shot the Klatoonian before he could fire his blasters.

He turned to the Nautolan, only for the Nautolan to charge into him, knocking him to the wall. Val grunted as he impacted the surface, his rifle falling from his hand. He narrowly dodged the electrified tip of his opponent's staff, which impacted the wall with a clang!

Val moved back, facing his opponent. Apparently, the Nautolan was trained for this type of situation, probably tracking him through sound, smell, or something. He raised his electrostaff, grinning.

The Nautolan lunged. Val grabbed the staff with his left hand, and used his free one to deliver an undercut punch that impacted the Nautolan in the face, his electrostaff falling to the floor. Val then proceeded to whack him in the forehead with his alloy vambrace.

As the Nautolan crumpled to the ground, the Aqualish, apparently starting to regain her sight, lunged at Val, her blade clanging as it hit the chestplate.

She kept swiping and swiping, attempting to cut Val's neck.

On the third pass, Val grabbed his assailant's arm and reached for the knife. The two struggled, the blade pointed at Val's neck. Val hoped that the Aqualish would be too distracted to reach for the other blade on her belt.

Val moved around and wrapped his arm around his assailant's neck. The Aqualish flailed as Val squeezed. Eventually, the Aqualish dropped the knife, allowing Val to let go of her arm, grab the other blade from her sheath, and stab his opponent in the stomach. The Aqualish grunted and gasped as she fell to the floor.

Val stood there, panting. He looked down, and noticed a large tear on the fabric on his right bicep. He looked and saw that the Aqualish had delivered a successful cut.

It was only a flesh wound, nothing that Emdee couldn't fix.
Val scooped up his rifle and his bag. As he began to resume his path to the hangar, he noticed that the Nautolan was stirring.

Val blasted him in the face without giving him a second thought.

Medical Bay, Wild Nomad

Upon one of the medbay's two biobeds sat a tall Trandoshan with blond-brown scales and red eyes, dressed in a white jumpsuit and tan vest. Upon the other sat Val – still clad in his armor – his wound stitched by a floating droid with a monitor upon her rectangular head and a variety of limbs attached to her shoulders and torso.

"You think that Moro sent them?" Bao asked as MD-D0C tended to Val's wound.

"I'm sure of it," Val responded.

"So, they were meant to pressure you into joining him," Bao reasoned.

"Yeah. He'd love to have a Mando, even an ex, serving his group right now," Val winced as Emdee continued stichting. Bao couldn't help but think, Try being cut open with glass.

"He's going to betray us, isn't he?" Bao responded.

"Yep," Val responded.
"Let's try to stay off Erkot," Bao suggested, "We're stocked enough to last a while."

Bao had set up an account for Val while he had acted as a proxy, through which Bao had discreetly provided funds from the Jedi Order via a third party to supply Val with what he needed for his missions. They had made a complete withdrawal before the account had been frozen, allowing them sufficient funds, with the cost of repairs factored in, to last...approximately five months.

It had been six weeks since the Jedi Council's assassination and three weeks since they had begun their new mission. During that time the Nomad's systems had been repaired, most of her destroyed weapons replaced, her hull patched up, though they hadn't repainted her to save funds. This meant that the dark grey of the repaired plating stood out vividly against the transport's already patched brown/green shell. The vessel was as scarred as Bao.

As ravaged as she looked, the Wild Nomad was still flyable, and still overarmed for its size, even if her more powerful ordinance was no longer available.

During their time on the run, the crew of the Nomad had found evidence of a Jedi loose within Consortium space, supposedly verifying Riko's assumptions on Kali'sto's activities. There were reports of vessels stolen from the Consortium's mercenary patrols and pirate groups, all with similarities to the circumstances of theft. Investigations, interrogations...this master had apparently been attempting to root out corruption within the Consortium's ranks.

The Wild Nomad's mission was to find him. Cut off from the Jedi Order, framed as criminals, this was one of their best chances at finding reinforcements.

Though little more than a month had passed, Bao was worried about what Tau could do, the damage he would cause. The High Council was gone: Grand Master K'Kruhk, Master Yuniah, Master Lowbacca...all murdered by his hand. And with the death of his former partner Thalia and Jade's abandoning him, the new Grand Master of the Jedi Order was probably unhinged by this point, clearly driven to fanaticism. There were hundreds of Jedi Knights, still loyal to the Light Side, who were now in danger.

Bao knew that Kali'sto was clearly cunning, well-traveled, and experienced. He was a Jedi of the Old Republic and a former Jedi general, one of greater experience than any other living master. The Jedi needed a leader: a light around which they could rally others.

And Bao needed someone who understood Tau Skywalker.

"So, are we trusting his data?" Bao asked.

"Moro may send mercs to intimidate you, but he doesn't back out of a deal," Val explained, "It'd be bad for business."

"You told me he'd cave the minute authorities found him."

"That's true," Val shrugged, "I think it's at least worth taking a look. We'll watch for traps."

"Alright," Bao responded, "Let's go get Riko and Jade."

As Bao stood up and began to walk gingerly to the living quarters, Val declared, "I went to all this trouble, and you're not going to touch that spotchka? Do you know how expensive that stuff is?"

As the crew gathered in the galley, Val opened his camtono, revealing their drinks.

"Here, everyone," Val explained, "One tuber soda and one fruit fizz."

In contrast to Riko's obvious eagerness for his new favorite soda, Jade just absentmindedly took her fizz as she sat down next to him. She didn't have the same enthusiasm or energy as the others. Particularly Riko. He was clearly...exhilarated, but he was also nervous. Only this time, it was anticipation and joy, not fear. It almost oozed out of him.

Jade envied him. She herself didn't have much to look forward to…

"Okay," Val sat down and placed a holoprojector on the table. He pressed a few buttons and pulled up a file. A holoimage of a dusky planet with bright rings materialized.

"Ambria," Val explained, "Moro tracked a stolen cruiser to this planet. It's the same one that's been popping up all over this part of the galaxy."

"We have a lead?" Riko asked eagerly.

"Probably. Emdee and Blue here…"

"Vreet dee deep!"

"Sorry, Emdee and Artoo double-checked the database. Moro's info is solid."

"Let's take a look..." Riko began.

"Wait, Padawan," Bao responded, "We don't know what else is out there. There might be something waiting for us."

"Ambria's a fairly small colony," Val explained, "It shouldn't be too hard to find any useful intel."

"Let's hope," Riko replied.

"Well, since we should get off Erkot for a little while, let's take a look," Bao finished.

"Let's take a look," Jade repeated halfheartedly.

"Very well," Val replied, "I'll go get the ship started up."

As Bao and Val left for the cockpit, Jade finished her fruit fizz and moved to her feet.

"Are you okay?"

Jade turned around to find Riko.

"Riko, I'm fine."

"Jade," Riko responded, "Just tell me."

"Alright," Jade explained, "I just feel kind of useless."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you and Val have been out more. You've been training, we're literally looking for your dad…"

Jade took a deep breath.

"While I've been healing up, I just sit here and wait to fly us out. My arm's better, but I haven't even left the ship in weeks. I feel restless. I need to be out there, doing something."

Riko listened intently. Jade could tell that he had been fighting the impulse to speak up again. Thankfully, he waited.

"I need to do something important," Jade finished, "Something meaningful."

It was the first time in a while that Jade had revealed anything this personal.

"Okay," Riko began, "Let's talk to Val and Bao. Maybe Emdee can fly the ship or something."

"Thanks," Jade said without joy.

A moment of silence passed, neither of them knew what to say. They just stood there together in the Nomad's empty galley.

"So," Jade began, slightly more optimistic, "I was thinking…"

"Jade," Bao declared from down the hall, "We need you at the helm."

Silently cursing Bao, Jade said, "I better go."

"I suppose," Riko said, with a hint of disappointment, "We'll still talk to him, right?'

"Yes," Jade agreed.

"Great!"

Jade ran over to the Nomad's wide, rectangular cockpit. She passively took her usual seat. Val took on the co-pilot's seat, Bao occupied the gunner seat on the right, and Artoo usually handled navigation using an interface console in between the pilot and copilot seats.

With her left hand, Jade grabbed the control yoke. With her other, she engaged the repulsors and retracted the ship's landing gear, lifting the vessel off the ground.

"Durazsteel Drexl," the station's docking officer called over comms, "this izs Erkot Zstation control. Pleazse confirm you're leaving the hangar."

Val opened a channel.

"This is the Durasteel Drexl, we're leaving now."

"Tranzsmit authorization codezs."

Artoo always handled that part.

"Confirmed. Have a zsafe journey."

Jade engaged the engines, directing the bulky vessel's movement with the control yoke, keeping the ship at 50% speed with the other hand.

As the Nomad left the hangar, Jade caught a glimpse of Eqalz's icy, oceanic vista before she directed the ship upward. Within minutes, Eqalz's gas and cloud-filled atmosphere gave way to the red sphere of Heptooine, surrounded by a familiar sea of stars.

"Riko, are we go for hyperspace?" Val asked.

"Yep. We're ready," Riko commented from the engine room.

"Alright," Val said, "Jade, if you'll do the honors…"
With her primary hand still on the control yoke, Jade engaged the hyperdrive.

There was one benefit to always being the pilot. Jade always enjoyed the beauty of hyperspace.

Author's Note:

First, there's a video called "Tommy Wiseau in Star Wars'' that inspired me to model one of my characters off of him. If you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend it.

Second, the concept of Eqalz came from a friend of mine, who helped me design this moon's environment, and I loosely modeled the Heptoonians and Erkot Station on her ideas for its inhabitants. Though I shall not name her here, if you're reading this, thanks so much for your help!

And third, while I was reading this chapter out loud with my family, my mother decided to reinterpret the Zs I wrote into the reptilian/saurian dialect of Erkot Station's docking official and read their lines in a mock french accent. I now declare it canon that Heptooinians have french accents.