Chapter XX
Sy Myrth System, Outer Rim
Outside the viewport, the azure currents of hyperspace gave way to the familiar star-dotted expanse of space, highlighted by an orange sphere marked by yellow clouds swirling in its atmosphere. Drifting above the gas giant was a large object fashioned in the likeness of giant industrial boxes stacked together, dotted by flickering lights and small swarms of spacecraft – large and small – that floated about it like flies.
"Where are we?" a confused Bao asked as the Nomad approached the ancient space station.
"Starport THX1140," Val declared, "It's a trading hub. Smugglers call it Malor Kel."
"Forgotten Pitstop," Emdee translated, "Val and I have been here three times, specifically within the last five years."
As the Nomad drew closer, Bao could make out more and more of the station, noticing rusted plates and exposing piping; the station's outer shell rotted away, its metal bones bared to the stars.
"That station's pretty old," Riko noted, "It's starting to break apart."
"The place's been around longer than he has," Val gestured to Kali'sto.
"Indeed," Kali'sto remarked, "I have frequented this station many times."
"Incoming vessel," a boisterous voice declared on comms, "Identify yourself."
"Artoo, codes," Val instructed. Artoo plugged into the transmitter and followed his instructions.
"My ship is on their refueling deck," Kali'sto said, "Try to land there."
"Got it," Val said as he answered the call.
"This is the Stuffed Cargo Compartment, berthed out of Taris," Val announced, "We're on a road trip to Phaseera, we need to refuel, and the kids are bugging me for a tuber soda."
"Very well,"the comms officer replied, "You're cleared to dock in hangar two. Hope the kids have fun."
The Nomad flew below Malor Kel's massive forward cube, approaching a large, circular aperture. The bulky vessel then ascended into the maw and entered the vast hangar bay.
Bathed in pale light, the walls of the hangar were dotted by docking ports, landing pads, and cargo bays, some of which were bright with activity, others deserted, darkened. Scattered across the hangar were vessels ranging from medium-sized freighters to large transports the size of exogorths, many of which were covered by rust or corroded by damage. Bipeds and cargo dotted the complex like insects. Below the massive hive, the star-dotted void of space loomed beneath the hangar, separated only by an oxygen shield.
The Nomad extended its mechanical legs and slowly landed upon one of the many landing pads. Bao heard a slight metallic groan as the ship rested its full weight upon the old platform.
"Welcome to Malor Kel, everybody," Val declared.
As he left the cockpit and walked towards the landing ramp, Riko couldn't help but glance towards Jade's room.
Halted in his tracks, Riko's gaze fixed itself upon the door. He stood there, rooted to the floor.
He didn't know what to do. His heart was racing, his hands clenched, he was tapping his fingers, and he really wanted to go in and talk to her, yet he didn't budge. He hadn't felt this indecisive since…
"You alright, kid?"
Riko turned towards Val, who was watching him.
"You're stuck, aren't you?"
Riko opened his mouth to speak, but then paused as he processed what Val was saying.
"Oh," he understood, "Yep. I'm stuck."
"It's a small ship," Val responded, "No wonder you don't know what to do."
"I'm afraid for her, Val," Riko admitted, "I don't know what she saw back there, in the Temple, but…"
"Kid, she's exhausted."
"What do you mean?" Riko asked.
"Give her time, kid," Val replied, "Sometimes, we all need a good cry. Even me."
Riko found it completely implausible that Val Fett would ever cry.
"Okay," Riko replied, "I'll try that."
"Emdee and Artoo'll stay here and keep watch," Val assured him, "When she wakes up, we'll come back."
"Let's get moving," Bao's voice interrupted Val.
Riko turned to see his master gesturing to him from the landing ramp.
"Come on, kid," Val said as he loaded a fresh clip into his pistol before holstering it and leaving the ship.
"Okay, I'm coming Bao," Riko responded. He glanced back towards Jade's room before he and Val joined his master, his father, and his little brother upon the landing pad.
Turning to his left, he noticed that Niner was clutching the railing with both hands. The little droid's gaze was fixed downward towards the hangar's entrance.
"It's okay, Niner," Riko held his mechanical brother's hand, "I got you."
Niner glanced away from the gaping maw and turned towards Riko. He stopped twitching and slowly relaxed.
"Thanks, big brother," Niner replied, relieved.
"No problem," Riko smiled.
"Look there," Val declared, "There's your ship."
He pointed down towards an arrow-shaped vessel berthed on a long landing pad one level below the Nomad.
"So it is," Kali'sto replied, "We'll stop there first. I'd like you to meet my crew."
As they took a lift towards the larger corvette, Riko took in its details.
Older, stripped-down versions of the famed Acus class "Arrow" corvette were sometimes found in Consortium space, used by planetary defense militias or pirates. This one – Skysprite – had seen its base grey paint scheme supplemented by the scarlet and crimson highlights common to Consortium warships, with a blue coat covering the keel.
Approximately seven times larger than the Nomad, the thin, aggressive corvette was inspired by the iconic blockade runners of the Rebel Alliance, but featured the sharp, angular aesthetic characteristic of its former Imperial affiliation. The ship was most prominently distinguished by its sharp arrowhead-shaped bow and the sextant of engines protruding from its wide, fletching-shaped stern, capable of propelling the ship to great speeds at sublight. But its speed was supplemented with teeth: the vessel was armed with a pair of missile/torpedo tubes that flanked the cockpit – capable of unleashing heavy salvos in an instant – supplemented by a pair of turbolasers and array of point-defense cannons arranged at the aft of the ship. The ship's fast, aggressive profile matched its intended role perfectly.
"Arrow corvettes were built for war," Riko observed, "Why'd you take this ship?"
"We were in a hurry," Kali'sto explained, "And I needed a ship that was fast and dependable. Skysprite suited that role perfectly."
"Padawan, look," Bao declared.
A hooded, cloaked figure quickly descended from the corvette's landing ramp. Riko couldn't help but notice that something was...off about the way they moved, the person looked almost like they were gliding across the floor.
The being's hood lowered – without the usage of hands, curiously – to reveal herself as a forty-something human woman with sharp hazel eyes and a faint burn scar that ran across her the dark brown skin of her face and neck.
"It's good to see you," Kali'sto smiled warmly.
"Thank the Force you're okay," the woman replied. She turned to Riko, Bao, Val, and Niner.
"I'm Orra Jen," she casually introduced herself, "Captain of Skysprite."
"Orra Jen," Val recounted, "Were you captain of the Falcon's Match?"
"That was a long time ago," Orra Jen replied.
"You know this woman, Val?" Bao asked.
"Only by reputation," Val explained, "She used to do smuggling runs for Moro, almost twenty years ago."
"I'm not the only one with a reputation, Red Slash," Orra Jen commented, the corner of her mouth moving up into a slight grin.
"Well, it's always my pleasure to meet another legend," Val replied.
"I'm Bao-Sklar Pierce," Bao greeted.
"Riko Nai-Jal," Riko added.
"I is Niner!" Niner introduced himself.
Orra Jen glanced at the droid with confusion.
"He's my brother," Riko commented innocently.
"You have a droid brother?" Orra Jen said in disbelief.
"My son built him, several years ago," Kali'sto replied fondly.
"Oh, right," Orra Jen replied, "So you're the kid who tried to make his own power converter with emradite crystal lattices."
"Dad told you about that?" Riko lowered his head, embarrassed.
"He loves to tell stories," Orra Jen shrugged. There was something...off about the way her cloak moved in response. Frustratingly, Riko couldn't explain it.
"What's with the cloak?" Val asked. Evidently, Riko wasn't the only one who noticed.
Orra Jen glanced towards Kali'sto.
"You didn't tell them?" She asked.
"No," Kali'sto responded.
"Right," Orra Jen responded, "Follow me."
Riko and the others followed her up the ramp. In classic Imperial fashion, Skysprite's interior was spacious, yet practical and simple. Save for a few flickered lights and exposed panels, its decor had experienced no changes since it entered private hands.
"Alright," Orra Jen explained, "I'll show you, while we're hidden from the public eye."
Her cloak unbuttoned itself and fell to the floor. Riko's jaw dropped.
In place of arms and legs, Orra Jen had four stumps of varying length. Dressed in a modest flight suit with a blaster at her hip, her head and torso floated above the ground, roughly one head higher than Riko and eye level with Val.
She showed no signs of fatigue or concentration. This was a level of mastery over the Force far exceeding the known abilities of most Jedi.
"You're Force-sensitive," Bao noted.
"Yes," Orra Jen replied nonchalantly.
Riko wasn't sure what to say.
"Wow," Val admired. His body language was neutral, his expression hidden behind his helmet.
Orra Jen smirked as her cloak flew back into the air and reattached itself to her shoulders.
"There's more to explore," Kali'sto declared, "Let's go."
"If I may ask," Bao asked as the crew made their way across the hivelike hangar, "Who are you, exactly? What do you call yourselves?"
"We aren't really a group," Orra Jen explained, "We were friends and allies of Kali'sto that he's called upon. I'm the only one left in the crew, though."
"Was Kali'sto the one who taught you how to…" Riko trailed off. The kid was clearly unsure of how to phrase his question.
"You can ask," Orra Jen assured him.
"Okay," Riko replied, "What happened?"
"It all happened seventeen years ago, on a planet called Bri'suu," Orra Jen began.
"I don't recognize that world," Bao commented.
"You wouldn't. It's in Wild Space, uncharted and uninhabited," Orra Jen explained, "I was a smuggler, delivering a shipment of baradium nitrite to Subterrel. Kali'sto was hitching a ride. But the hyperdrive failed, and we were pulled out of hyperspace prematurely and violently. "
Tilting her head, she gestured to her missing limbs, "We crashed on Bri'suu, and the baradium exploded. Kali'sto was able to save my life, but we were stuck on that planet for months without access to a decent medical facility. Even after we got rescued, the nerve damage was irreparable by that point, prosthetics are out. So here I am."
"That must have been agony to go through," Bao empathized, his throat rattling as he placed his hand on his chest.
"I adapted," Orra Jen replied, "Kali'sto helped me unlock my abilities and learn to move around again. I miss physically touching things, but it's kind of fun floating around."
Val found himself at a loss for a response as the meaning of her words sunk in, recognizing that her casual tone hid something deeper.
"You must be a skilled pilot to evade Asharr's agents for so long," Bao commented, "Have you encountered them before?"
"A few close calls," Orra Jen replied, "But Kali'sto and I are usually one step ahead. Until these Shadows started coming out here."
"What were you doing, exactly, the last three years?" Riko asked.
"Kali'sto has friends in a lot of places," Orra Jen elaborated, "We were doing what you were doing, Red Slash."
"Giving Asharr more paperwork?" Val replied.
"Exactly," Orra Jen nodded, smirking, "Investigating corruption, trying to save planets before she dug her claws into them, all that stuff."
"What happened to the rest of your crew?" Riko asked.
"Several didn't survive our mission," Kali'sto explained, "Those who did had lives of their own. Families. They didn't wish to put themselves in harm's way, and I had no wish for them to do so either."
Val recognized that tone in the old man's voice. Kali'sto was ruminating over something, contemplating an important detail.
"I didn't have anything to lose," Orra Jen shrugged, "My old friend still needed a pilot."
For one moment, Val's curiosity got the better of him.
"How do you still fly?" He inquired.
Immediately, his blaster pistol flew out of his holster. Val reflexively placed his hand on his rifle as the pistol spun through the air, halting in midair near Orra Jen's face, the handle burying itself in the folds of her cloak, the barrel pointed upward.
Val tentatively relaxed as Orra Jen blew on the barrel, as if to blow away smoke from a shot. Within seconds, the pistol flew back through the air into Val's hand. With a smile, Orra Jen winked at the ex-Mandalorian.
Val silently holstered his pistol and patted it nervously.
"Alright," Kali'sto declared, "We have arrived."
Before them stood a multileveled, honeycomb plaza supported by heavy duracrete pillars and bordered by massive walls that had been breached and patched up on more than one occasion. There was a hint of grime on many of the structure's surfaces, empty food containers and wrappings accumulated around the walls. The scent of monotony and languish hung in the air as merchants and sellers went about their business, many of whom were wearing blasters or body armor.
"We have arrived?" Bao replied.
"Yes," Kali'sto replied, "This is our destination." He gestured to a large, empty nook. From what Bao could tell, it had once been a shop of some kind, only to have been ransacked and abandoned. The dusty nook was dotted by a small number of shelves, all mostly bare save for a few pieces of glass and a layer of dust. A small bar adorned one wall, dotted by pieces of glass and scrapped machinery.
"What happened here?" Val asked.
"This place has since closed down," Kali'sto replied, "The shopkeeper was forced to flee to Taris to find safer work."
"This is the place where you met Tau?" Bao asked.
"What did you expect?" Kali'sto asked.
"Tau told me he went on a spiritual journey decades ago," Bao responded, "Perhaps I was expecting a temple or ruins, a place where the Force runs strong. Not…"
"A space hub?" Kali'sto replied, "You'd be surprised by what you find when you cease looking for something. What did you assume we were here for?"
"To refuel," Bao replied as he contemplated Kali'sto's words, "Was that why Tau came here?"
"He came to restock his food supplies, actually," Kali'sto corrected, "But yes. He had been traveling the galaxy, seeking out the mysteries of the Force. This was many years ago, long before you were born, Riko. Bao, you would have been but a child then."
"Tau's told the story of his journey many times," Bao replied, "But he never mentioned you, or this place."
"I wished to keep my anonymity," Kali'sto explained, "As for why he didn't mention this place…I cannot explain why. Vanity, perhaps?"
"Unlikely," Bao replied, "For whatever reason, Tau's kept other secrets. Whether it was his connection to you, or his lover. His response was always, 'They wanted to keep their anonymity, Bao, and we must respect their wishes.'"
Kali'sto stopped for a moment. The old man's head lowered as he suppressed a sob.
"What's wrong, Dad?" Riko asked.
"You have a surprisingly good impression of him, Bao," Kali'sto replied with barely a hint of humor in his voice. Bao said nothing in response, letting the true meaning of Kali'sto's words sink in.
"I knew that Tau had a daughter," Kali'sto said, "But he never told me who her mother was. Was she Empress Thalia Fel?"
"Yes, actually," Bao replied, "How did you know?"
"I managed to attend Tau's speech," Kali'sto explained, "I can always tell when he's hiding something."
"Wait," Bao replied, "You were there for Tau's speech? How did you…"
"Kali'sto has a talent for sneaking in and out of places," Orra Jen replied, "They barely knew he was there."
"Why didn't you try to do something?" Bao interrogated, "Why didn't you try to take him out?"
The old man turned to face the Trandoshan in the eye. For all his difficulties reading humanoid behavior, Bao understood the meaning of the glare in the old man's eyes, the way his brow arched, the tightness of his breathing, the way his hand clenched his staff.
Kali'sto relaxed, slowing his breathing and calming himself.
"Bao, Riko," Kali'sto declared, "I'd like you both to go out and explore the station."
"How come?" Riko asked.
"Is this our first lesson?" Bao inquired.
"If you prefer to call it that, yes," Kali'sto replied, "I want you to go out and listen."
"Listen?" Niner asked. Bao found Kali'sto's words familiar, though he couldn't quite place their context.
"Yes," Kali'sto replied, "Try to really understand this place. Meet me back here when you feel ready."
"What should we do, Dad?" Riko asked.
"That is up to you, Riko," Kali'sto answered.
Somewhat confused, Bao glanced towards Val, and then Riko, silently contemplating Kali'sto's instructions. Val was clearly skeptical, while Riko was confused but willing to follow his father's request. Niner's emotions were a complete mystery to Bao.
"We'll follow your instructions," Bao declared, "Come on, let's go...listen."
"I'll see you soon, Dad," Riko declared as Kali'sto smiled and lowered his head to face him.
"Likewise, Riko," Kali'sto smiled, "If you need anything, do not hesitate to contact me."
Riko nodded. Kali'sto glanced towards Bao, communicating the same instinct a Trandoshan mother gave her mate when she left to grab food for her brood.
As they left the old wanderer behind, Val asked, "You certain you want to try this?"
"You're the one who tells me to learn through experience," Riko commented, "I'm sure Dad is trying to do the same."
That's what I'm afraid of, Bao thought.
"Come on, Padawan," he declared, "Let's see if we can unravel this mystery."