4 A.B.Y.
2 months after entering the Unknown Region
The shuttle's proximity alarm trilled from the cockpit, indicating that the target planet would be coming up shortly. Sulahaan and Giz were quickly at the controls again. Navigating the Unknown Regions entailed a lot of small short hyperspace jumps to avoid the numerous black holes and navigational dead zones. They had become accustomed to long shifts in the cockpit, especially after they had gotten trapped by a cluster of black holes. It took a week and a half and hundreds of small one-minute jumps to navigate out of there safely.
So far, they had reached and searched over one hundred and eleven locations in the target zone. Many of them were uninhabited, which only required a brief flyover for the shuttle's scanner to check, but there were some that were so teeming with life that they had needed to search below the atmosphere or on foot. In these cases Lieutenant Crest made sure the shuttle's fresh water was restocked. They weren't so low on food that they needed to worry about hunting, there had still been a little over a month and a half of rations left. He marked the easy access habitats on their nav computer that would be best suited for those scenarios regardless.
The shuttle lurched out of hyperspace, a condition it picked up after the shuttle's compressor shorted as they were entangled in the black holes. Giz and Reed patched it up to safe working order, but this little quirk seemed to stay.
The T-6 shuttle accelerated towards the planet now growing larger in the view screen. Deep fissures and cliffs split the amber crust, massive gusts whirling about the surface picked up the sand and small rocks resting there, hurtling them at high speeds. What little water that existed on the planet had turned a sandy brown color, filled with silt and muck from a thousand years.
Giz turned from her console after finishing her initial scan of the planet. "Sir, I'm getting multiple life forms. They appear to be centralized around other thermionic signatures, it could be a city of some kind. Inside the cracks of the planet." she detailed, as she analyzed the ships readout.
Lieutenant Crest taped a display to his left, readings and diagnostics filtered past.
"It seems pretty hot down there. Try and get what we can from orbit for a bit before we decide if we need a landing. Any signs of ships or higher tech. Don't want another Vaneta Prime. Sabine, morning libations?" He motioned to the common area and headed that way.
Over two months of travel many things happen. Bonds were forged, habits formed, leniencies allowed. Over the expanse of the last couple months, Sabin and Lindmon had made a habit of musing over the task at hand with a drink in hand. From time to time Ahsoka would join them, not drinking, or Giz and sometimes Sulahaan. The atmosphere onboard had become lighter. Lindmon had always enjoyed the feel of comradery that came from smaller vessels. As Sabine took her place and the usual drinks were poured, she flipped on the holotable and tuned it onto the info coming in from the scanners. The brown ball of the planet spun lazily over the surface. Small markers began cropping up around the globe, thermal sites, locations of biological signs, danger areas.
"Communications in this sector have been really quiet of late. My hopes aren't up for civilized presence in this zone..."
Sabine took a few sips of the drink, carefully examining the planets readings as they were fed into the projector. So far, she had attacked each search of every new planet with the same zeal as the first. "These temperature readings can't be right, we must be getting residual heat waves from the nebula behind us. Look here, and here." She said, zooming in to a sandy riverbed coming out of the base of a canyon. It's color barely made it distinguishable from the surrounding earth. "If it was that hot down there this would have evaporated entirely."
As they were looking at the readings one popped up different from the others. Tech readings.
"Well. Guess we do have to go down after all." He said, somewhat exasperated. He pressed a button on the console. "Sul, send out some landing requests. If you don't get a response, try and find a good spot near that tech ping." He tapped again on the console and the area zoomed, showing a canyon with a large cluster of life signs.
Sulahaan guided the shuttle around the planet, closing in on the source of the signal as they broke into the atmosphere. The reading indicated that the massive canyon to its eastern hemisphere was teaming with a collection of tech and life signals. As they got closer, a few space craft launched into the air from the hanger inside the canyon. They cruised upward into space, leaving a trail of dust behind them.
The cockpit received a dull confirmation tone and landing coordinates were given, the walls of the canyon seemed to have been carved out to create landing pad sections away from inclement weather. The ground level of the planet hung over the crevice like many twisted teeth. Sulahaan took care in positioning the shuttle between the earth, twisting the T-6's large ray like wings vertically, flattening out the profile of the ship as it slipped in.
Within the canyon, lining it's miles long walls, hung a precipitous open-air market. Sheets of durasteel and outcroppings of carved rock were strung together with twisted cords of iron cable that created the labyrinth of pathways connecting the hidden city.
Rugged alien renegades huddled over their weather worn gambling tables, betting the lion's share of the credits they had earned stealing and bounty hunting in the fringes of space. The bottom of the canyon was filled with the splinters of flipped game tables and the skulls of daring cheats.
Wealthy gangsters and notorious hunters had private quarters carved into the inside walls of the canyon. Their reinforced metal doors sometimes hidden behind market stalls they had purchased for cover, run by prudent locals willing to keep inquisitive minds away in exchange for an area to place their hanging gorg stalls.
The T-6 whipped around inside it's assigned hangar, the wings twisting back to their horizontal landing position, and set down inside before lowering the entry ramp with a hiss. Several Aleena were scattered about the bay, slaves of the hangar owner. They futilely attempted to sweep the sand spray that continued to settle in the hangar, others scuffled in a corner over a small portion of spice, using their tiny claws to tear at the leathery hide of their fellow slaves
"Well... they look nice!" said Giz enthusiastically. Reed let out a nervous chirp in response.
"Seems prudent to dress down for this excursion. Sabine, Ambassador, Giz, with me. Sulahaan, stick around, scare off any locals that get to close. See what more we can do with that compressor too. I don't expect a good quality replacement here."
The large Annoo nodded, unbuckling himself from the pilot seat. Giz hopped up excitedly. "I'll go get changed right away, Sir!" She trilled as she rushed to her quarters. Lindmon followed suit, changing out of his now dusty uniform. He donned a long trench coat and slung his blaster around underneath. A strange itching in the back of his mind told him to keep his guard up. He'd been having more of these inclinations since coming aboard the ship.
Ahsoka wrapped herself in the familiar white cloak she came aboard the shuttle with. She lowered the hood of her cloak and let it drape down behind her shoulders showing her striking blue and white montrals prior to walking down the exit ramp beside Lindmon.
Already at the bottom of the ramp, Sabine strode into the hangar bay to look for the lift down to the main city. Getting geared up took her mere moments as she rarely wore anything besides her Mandalorian shock trooper armor. Lindmon observed that she only took it off to sleep and one other occasion in which she didn't bother to put it on. This time though Sabine had her helmet on, which Lindmon learned after several nights of drinks was a fairly powerful computer controlled by voice commands that assisted with things such as flight controls and targeting. This is the first time she had armed herself as well, two Westar-35 blaster pistols rested in the holsters at her hips. Behind one of the pistols on her belt hung a small cylindrical device with a red switch near the center. Colored black and silver, the metal had carefully machined grooves etched into it.
"So Lieutenant, how do you feel about this place?" Ahsoka asked, walking in stride with Lindmon.
Lindmon looked around the bay as they reached the bottom of the ramp. "Nervous, the whole area feels hostile...Heavy, is a good word I can put to it. I don't want to stay here longer than we need to."
Giz skipped past them, dressed in a pair of ratty capris, boots, and a long shirt. A scarf headdress wrapped gently around her head, and a pair of DL-44's hung from her hips bouncing listlessly with her motions. Several of the small aliens squabbling nearby watched as the crew disembarked.
"Any ideas where to start our search here? I would say Cantinas, but I'm worried the people here may be a bit touchy about questions."
"You're very perceptive." Ahsoka said with a smile "Sometimes where you want to go, isn't where you ought to go. Feel, don't think. Trust your instincts to lead you down the right path." she finished cryptically, observing how Lindmon interpreted this advice.
Giz caught up to Sabine in the lift, receiving a friendly shove from the Mandalorian. The two had gotten especially close since the start of the mission, bonding over tech and specialized weaponry. Giz's fresh and excitable nature was a compliment to her new friend's more cool headed demeanor. During the black hole entanglement, they worked together to find the method in which the shuttle would be able to escape. It blew the compressor but they had managed to fix it as a team as well.
"So, what's the plan Lieutenant?" Sabine asked as Lindmon and Ahsoka approached the lift.
Lindmon contemplated What Ashoka said for a moment, looking at the two in front of him.
"Sabine, you and Giz take the Cantina, I doubt any one of these rough and tumbles would care to tumble with a Mandalorian. Giz, while you're out there, see what you can find out about any Imperial dealings in this neck of the woods. Use your head though, if they seem like loyalists, maybe don't ask them this time." He said with a smirk. Giz exchanged a salute and Sabine waved as they departed.
"You and I, Ambassador, are going down to where the excitement is. I have a feeling we may come across something down by the betting rings." He took a sharp turn, tapping the wrist mounted device, which after a short time conversing with the spaceport's systems, propagated a map of the area.
The map did not reveal specifically where the betting ring was located, but Lindmon determined a viable area it may be situated. Far from the hangar, away from traveling eyes, most likely close to a drinking establishment on the lower levels of the many tiered canyon city. He began the long walk to the betting zone, being careful where he stepped. Certain parts of the walkways creaked and swayed from their positions hundreds of feet off the ground. They passed by market stalls selling pendants made of teeth, strung together to be hung in rows, and stalls that served viscous liquids in a pint cup. The stall owner called out to passerby's in his growling native language.
Ahsoka walked beside him, her hands folded neatly on top of each other as her feet deftly glided between the groupings of alien gambling tables and dangerous footing. "Lieutenant. I've been having some concerns that I would like to discuss with you." She said to Lindmon, her face resolute in a manner the Lieutenant hadn't seen before.
"Is it appropriate for open air discussions? Any concerns you have, I'm happy to attempt to alleviate." He tapped again at his device, data streams passing by rapidly. He pressed a few more keys and a path lit up on the map, he started to follow that.
"Thank you, Lieutenant." Ahsoka replied, her voice still firm and serious. She didn't say anything right away, instead letting the noise of the city give her time to arrange her words. "I've been having visions in the Force recently. They're dark...and foreboding. Warning of great turmoil that may yet come to pass. I'm afraid that what's happening here in the Unknown Region is tied to these visions." She spoke carefully and discreetly to Lindmon.
Lindmon stepped a little closer to her as they walked so as to keep his voice down. "That doesn't sound good. I keep getting a feeling like there's something big going on...but I'm not sure how finding this renegade Jedi of yours is supposed to help... it's important that we find him, don't get me wrong but...the Empire is still a threat. The death of Palpatine didn't suddenly destroy the entire Empire, somebody else jumped in to pick up the pieces." They rounded a corner into a long alley which turned into a deep stairwell.
"Don't discount the impact a single Jedi can make upon the galaxy. The Force can be a powerful ally, for good and bad..." She said sternly. They started down the stairwell, it was narrow and damp, carved straight out of the canyon stone. Ahsoka sighed heavily before continuing the conversation, "The more things I discover on this mission, the more I wish I could turn back time and change the way it all turned out."
"The way what turned out?" Lindmon asked, reaching the bottom of the stairwell and turning back onto another small path, the area was getting darker as they progressed lower into the depths of the canyon.
"The Force will sometimes present many different paths in front of you. I thought I knew the one that would be best for everyone." She explained, "But in my arrogance, I left my friends to fend for themselves against the Empire. In doing so I feel I've set them on a dangerous path." Ahsoka said sadly.
"Whatever happened, I'm sure it's not your fault." Lindmon responded, attempting to be uplifting. "You can't change the past, dwelling on it will just bring you down and cause you to slip up when it's crucial that you don't. Mistakes happen, but they aren't irreparable."
Ahsoka smiled meekly but didn't respond immediately, she continued to walk with Lindmon quietly, her brow furrowed deep in thought. She contemplated what to say next. Would telling him she knew about his latent Force sensitivity be the best choice right now? To tell him about the Force? No, it was too early for that. Ahsoka needed him to understand first, the risks of being so attuned to the Force, and her trepidation with the mission. It could end up entangling him as well if her fears of the future come to pass.
They walked through the city for another minute, Ahsoka paying no mind to the bustle of the city as she thought. On the balcony above them, blaster fire rang out as two thugs killed each other over a botched bounty hunt. The city barely stopped for a moment before returning to its normal routine of swindling and bartering. Ahsoka used this pause to continue the conversation about her worries. "That thing Sabine had on her belt. Do you happen to know what it is?" Ahsoka asked curiously. She attempted to act ignorant, but the serious tone in her voice suggested otherwise.
As the blaster fire rang out Lindmon's hand moved to his own blaster, settling himself almost as fast as the locals. "It looked to me like a thermal detonator, likely a 'just in case' sort of device. Doesn't hurt to have a little heavy ammunition in a back water bantha heap like this." They rounded the last corner and come face to face with a large Gammorean. It growled at the pair. Standing behind him was a thin, lanky human.
"Well well, new faces in the pits! That's rare it is. Come for some games? Maybe to win a few credits before continuing on your way? You have come to the right spot you have." The man snickered to himself before tapping the lumbering alien on the shoulder. It thudded to the side, allowing them through. The lanky man motioned for them to follow. "We have all sorts here, some racing fans bet on the pod races beamed in from Tatooine, others over here playing Sabacc, some dice, some cards, take your pick. But of course, cheat at your own risk. The crevice makes for a simple and easy body disposal system if you catch my drift." He chuckled to himself before slinking away.
"Well...you any good at Sabacc?" Lindmon asked.
Ahsoka shook her head, the best way to be good at Sabacc is being able to play without being called a cheat. With her strong connection to the Force she found it almost impossible not to win at every opportunity. "I'm a notorious cheater, Lieutenant. Perhaps you can show me how to win respectably?" She asked gently, putting aside her previous concerns for another time.
"Respectably? In this den of thieves? Well that sounds like a stellar idea." He said, somewhat jokingly. He walked over to a table where several patrons looked him up and down. A Rodian and a Trandoshian sitting next to each other at the table exchanged a quick glance. The dealer looked over and smiled wide, a significant change from the mood coming from the rest of the table.
"Aaaah! A new player! Come sit please! Credits are the primary betting resource here but uh.." He eyed Ashoka up and down "we do accept any bet, of course."
Lindmon set a small sack on the table. When he spoke it was heavily accented. Obviously Imperial. His normal accent was more subtle.
"Just deal me in, it's been a long week and I simply need to bet. Also, a drink, something nice, bring one for everybody at the table." He said with a snap. The other members of the table shifted uncomfortably. The dealer's smile twitched, the atmosphere around the table had taken an obvious turn. "Did I stutter? I have the credits, bring the drinks." The dealer pulled himself back together long enough to shout an order into the back of the room in an alien language, the slave in the back jumped, startled, and mixed several drinks before bringing them over and setting them down in front of each member of the table.
They have some problems with Imperials...Have they become so prominent in this part of the galaxy? Ahsoka wondered, noticing the shift in mood around the room.
Of course, any group of scoundrels and aliens would have a problem with the rigid structure and speciesist attitude that the Imperials were known for. Yet there was something more she sensed, an unnerving feeling, more than just distaste. She cautiously walked up to the table and stood near Lindmon as he called for his drinks.
The cards came out around the table, bets were placed, hands were won and lost. As the game continued Lindmon struck up a conversation with the group. Before long, even with his heavy accent and the uncomfortable air that came with it, the table loosened up. The Trandoshian and Rodian exchanged jokes and laughed to themselves. After a couple more rounds, and down a fair handful of credits, Lindmon switched tactics. His previously tired and pleasant air turned cold and stoic.
The sheer difference nearly knocked the breath out of those at the table. He sat up straight and pulled a small pin out of his coat pocket and placed it on the table. The Imperial sigil, surrounded by an oak leaf and vine, the symbol of Imperial special forces. The table went completely silent. He took his hand and placed it face down.
"This has been fun but...down to business. We're looking for somebody. A gentleman by the name of Bridger, he was in custody and has since slipped his bonds. Any aid you can give..." He placed the satchel in the center of the table. "...will be heavily rewarded." He stared coldly at each person at the table in turn.
The group sat stunned for a moment before they regained their composure. The dealer glared at the badge before narrowing his eyes at Lindmon, "You must be forgetting where you are Imperial..." The Rodian uncliped the blaster at his hip, placing a careful hand over the grip. A loud bang sent chips scattering as the Trandoshan slammed his large rifle onto the table, pushing himself out of the chair as he hissed at Lindmon. "Saqor's a sanctuary for all of us, our port in the storm. Nobody is going to sell someone out for money here." The dealer said gesturing at the rest of the inhabitants of the room. "There's not one person in this city without a bounty on their head."
"Still, tell us what you know." Ahsoka said, stepping up to the table and gently waving her fingers.
The wave of Force encircle the dealer, blurring the edges of his vision and compelling him to reply. His mouth fell open, yet the response was unknown to him, his voice muffled to his ears as if he was submerged in water.
"I heard of him...years ago you were all looking for that Bridger. Asking all over the sector..."
The Rodian and Trandoshan exchanged surprised looks and shouted at the dealer in protest. Ahsoka pressed him harder, blacking out his vision. The disorientation twisted his senses and he struggled against vomiting.
"A few years later you stopped... figured you got what you wanted and killed him." Ahsoka's hand snapped back, releasing her hold over his mind.
The dealer, noticeably more disgruntled, rose up from his chair. He leaned in to Lindmon's face, placing both hands on the table. "You come in here acting like you own the Unknown Region, but there is no Empire out here. Now, you can either end up at the bottom of the canyon, or you can leave the money, and go." He said threateningly, scowling at Lindmon.
"You misunderstand me gentlemen. I am not paying you for information. I was making a bet, of course information would have pushed me to either fold, or play. The situation you find yourselves in is simple." He pulled a small orb from within his pocket. Silver and black. The red button on the top was pressed and flashed gently. He placed it on the table, keeping his finger on the top of the detonator. "We are working, simple as that. Stopped in for some libations and good times and assumed you fine folk would be willing to take some coin, in exchange for some harmless information. If the Bridger boy isn't here, you have no reason to protect him. As our nice dealer has been so kind as to reveal, he isn't here. Now would we care to reveal our hands and split the pot as is customary in these games, or do we decide today has been to wonderful a day to see another." He picked up his pin gently, placing it back in his pocket.
"The Empire has no holds in this area, of this, I am aware. But of course, I'm also aware of the bounties about this table. Three of which could be easily wiped from Imperial record."
He motioned around the table. "I'm sure any one of you would be glad to not have quite so much worry in your lives. But of course, if that's not the case, I will gladly step away with what I've earned."
As he whispered his words to the table, each member leaning in imperceptibly to hear him, each in turn felt woozy. Almost drunk, but of course they only had a couple of drinks. The words the human said seemed...alluring...
A dense pause hung over the table, the detonator beeping and blinking in Lindmon's hand. For a moment even Ahsoka felt unsettled by the showdown.
The dealer barked out a laugh, slumping backwards into his seat. "As far as Imperials go, you're one of my favorites." He said chuckling. With the implication of having one or two bounties removed on top of the threat of the detonator, the dealer folded, tossing his cards into the middle. "All I've heard about that Bridger has been from hacked comms and loose lipped Imperials."
The Trandoshan hissed and threw his cards in the middle as well, "Never heard of 'em." He said sourly. He grasped his large blaster rifle from the table with a thick claw and marched off, upset after being forced to lose the game in exchange for the slim chance Lindmon was actually able to rid the bounty.
The Rodian sat quietly, cards still in hand, unmoved by the bounty deal or the thermal detonator. He stared expectantly for a few seconds before nodding his head at Lindmon's cards.
Lindmon flipped his cards across the table, a plus in total. Not a Sabacc but still a damn good hand.
"Tooska chai mani!" The Rodian knocked his chair over in anger, whipping his cards into the air. A minus one, also a damn fine hand. But loses in a tie with a plus one. The Rodian pointed in Lindmon's face, and shouted rapidly in huttese. His green snout squeaking something about 'talking too much' and 'just playing the game'. He scooped up the remainder of his chips and left the table to go play with someone else.
Lindmon picked up the detonator, twisted the top and slid the button back out of position, deactivating the explosive. He slid it back into his pocket and picked up his satchel and the winnings off the table. "When you say hacked comms, what sort of information has come out of that?" He said, sliding a small pile of credits towards the dealer. "Not a bribe here, friend, a tip for your services, of course." He placed the winnings into his pocket.
The dealer scoffed, "You're an Imperial, you know how much valuable info goes through your comm stations. I have a guy that takes their transmissions in the sector and analyzes it. Gives me their Star Destroyer routes. I sell that info to the smugglers around here, so they can slip by the big fish." He said shrugging, "I don't know how he does it, they're meticulous with their logs. It goes back for decades. On some of their routes there may have been a priority on this Bridger kid." He patted his pocket with the credit inside, "And that's all the tip that this tip buys." He finished.
Lindmon offered a slight bow to the dealer who turned back towards the bar. "Well that could have gone worse. We at least know there is somebody here who dabbles in the kind of data we're looking for..." He turned and started to move back towards the entrance to make way back to their hangar.
"It seems like you have won a lot. I'm impressed." Ahsoka said, nodding towards Lindmon's sack of winnings. She took her place next to him and they walked towards the hangar. "Still, I think the information is enough to go on. If we can get the data from one of the Imperial comm stations, we might be able to use that information to narrow our search."
"The data was the primary winning." Lindmon said, "although, the extra credits will go a long way to help with the ship. Let's make our way back up, see if Sabine and Giz came across anything of use." The pair made their way out of the establishment, and back up the previous path. The Gamorrean grunted as they passed by. "So, what was it you were getting at with the device Sabine had on her?"
Ahsoka raised an eyebrow at Lindmon's question, "Did your performance back there make you realize that it was different than a mere thermal detonator?" She asked coyly, "It is Sabine though, the chances of her creating a specialized explosive is high, but what it actually is...worries me".
They walked together for a few paces, before Ahsoka grabbed Lindmon by the arm. She pulled him to the side of the path for a moment, facing the rock and away from prying eyes. Ahsoka now determined to pass this lesson on to Lindmon.
"It is a lightsaber." She said, reaching into her white cloak. What she pulled out Lindmon immediately identified as a similar item to the one Sabine had. Ahsoka held it in her open hand for Lindmon to see. This lightsaber had the same kind of sleek polished metal, and carefully machined etchings as he had seen before. Although with a more curved handle than the other lightsaber's straight form.
"This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. An elegant weapon, it is one of the few personal attachments allowed in the Order. They teach Jedi to treat this weapon as if it were their own life, an extension of themselves in a way. To never be without it. The impression left by those teachings was so strong that even after I left the Order...I couldn't bear not to have one." She said wistfully. "A Jedi's lightsaber can be an intensely personal item, each piece hand crafted by its owner."
Ahsoka tucked her lightsaber away back into the cloak. She looked to Lindmon with an earnest stare, "Now the question is. Why does Sabine, who is not a Jedi, have a lightsaber?"
"I suppose that's the question of the hour" Lindmon replied, glancing over his shoulder. The tingling sensation rearing its ugly head again. "I don't think we should stay here long, I think my performance may have turned some unfriendly eyes in our direction." He turned out of the alley and looked both ways, suspicious. He motioned to Ashoka and they begin to head back towards the shuttle.