Chapter 6 – New Friends
Location: The Compound Eye, an orbital station above Gand, in the Outer Rim
Time: 17 Years Before the Battle of Yavin, 2 Years After Order 66
The rowdy gang of spacers seemed pretty interested in Denley, who kept his past intentionally vague. He thought the quiet approach was probably the way to go, all they needed to know was that he could handle the job, whatever that happened to be. He also thought going by the name Gerrard Kull was a safer bet than using his real name, given his current relationship with the Empire. Not that these guys were running background checks for their crew, but another layer of caution never hurt anyone.
Together, the five men sat at the bar, chatting it up and running up their tabs more and more, not only in an attempt to enjoy their time between jobs, but also to get to know their potential new recruit before making a final decision on his employment.
"I've seen that look before...", said the Dashade, Mel, "Lose a girl, newbie?"
"Something like that." Denley replied, snapping out of his distant thoughts.
"Ha, that's why you're not supposed to get attached." said Glen, the red haired human.
"That's what I was always told." Denley said before taking another drink.
"Nice E-5..." said Makil, the shorter of the two Niktos, "I haven't seen one of those since the Clone Wars."
"Yeah it's reliable," Denley said as he looked down at the piece in his holster, "it's about the only thing the Seps got right."
"If only they could have programmed their droids better, they might have won." Glen said sincerely, making Denley wonder if he was from a Separatist world.
"They weren't all pushovers," Denley replied honestly, "I wouldn't write them off so easy."
"You ever go up against any?" asked Shafto, the taller of the two Niktos.
"Some of the harder jobs I took back in the day put me in their path a couple times..." Denley said, "Where do you think I got the blaster?"
"Sounds like you can handle yourself, kid!" Mel said as he patted Denley on the back, "You can tag along if you want, we'll see where things go from there."
"What's the job?" Denley asked.
"We'll talk about it on the way there," Mel said, "It's, uh, less than legal."
"I don't give a damn about the law," Denley said sternly as he looked Mel in the eyes, "There's no money in it."
"He's got spunk..." Shafto said with a chuckle, "He's got my vote."
"We'll see..." Mel said as he finished his drink, "Well boys, finish what you've got and let's hit the road."
With that, Glen and Makil raced one another to finish theirs before the other. Aside from brief grunting as they tried to stomach the hard liquor so quickly, the two held their own and stood up to follow Mel and Shafto out the door.
"Are patrons going to pay?" the Gand bartender called out sternly.
"Is Gand gonna make us?" Mel taunted as he turned back to the bartender and patted his blaster on his belt, much to the amusement of the rest of the gang.
After finishing his drink, Denley quietly pulled out some credits to cover the gang's drinks, as well as a nice tip for the bartender. He didn't mind, he'd made a decent amount earlier in the day after selling a bunch of extra Separatist weapons he'd had stashed away on the ship. He made sure the gang didn't see him pay for the drinks, maybe they'd think of it as a sign of weakness and reconsider hiring him for whatever this job was going to be. The bartender nodded his otherwise emotionless insectoid head in appreciation as Denley got up and followed the gang out of the bar and towards the landing platforms.
"Where's your ship, Gerrard?" Mel asked.
"It's the shuttle on D34," Denley answered, "I'll get a few things from there and meet you guys at your ship."
"Sounds good." Mel said.
"We're on C23," Makil said, slurring his words a little, "We won't wait around forever though!"
"Won't be long, see ya in a few." Denley said as he headed towards his ship.
Even as he headed away from the group, he could sense their thoughts. They didn't seem to suspect anything so far, perhaps due to their inebriation, or maybe his acting skills were better than he gave himself credit for. His own thoughts still dwelled on Tika and Dathomir, that was a lot harder to hide than the rest of it, even Mel had noticed it earlier.
Is it written on my face or something? Denley wondered as he lowered the ramp to his shuttle and stepped inside.
He couldn't deny that he missed his life with the tribe of witches back on Dathomir. In a lot of ways, it felt so much more like home than the Jedi Temple on Coruscant ever did. He felt like his understanding of the Force grew exponentially under the guidance of the Nightsisters, it was a fresh new perspective. Plus, love, what an intoxicating feeling, it gave him a feeling of purpose the Jedi just never gave him. He understood the concept of temptation but came to realize the longing of love was something most sentient creatures carried with them, and that no amount of training could truly purge it from themselves. He was done trying to purge it from himself, that much he was sure of.
Denley took one last look at the interior of the shuttle, as he had a feeling he wouldn't be returning to it. He held no attachments to it, and figured his adventure with the gang would probably take him far away from it and negate the need for the shuttle in the first place. It would probably be repossessed by the Gand and either sold or trashed. He didn't care, if anything it was a good thing, one less way for his past to be traced back anywhere.
He made sure to grab his backpack, which one of the witches had made for him. He loaded it up with as much clothes and food as he could, leaving just enough room for his lightsaber, which he tucked away at the very bottom just to be safe. Before leaving, he made sure to wipe the navigational data from the systems, then abandoned the shuttle and headed towards the Corellian style lightweight ship docked on C23.
The gang wasted no time taking off and plotting their course for hyperspace. It seemed like these guys had seen a lot of lightyears, not even strapping themselves in for the jump or admiring the view. In fact, they let their droid take care of it for them as most of them headed off to bed to sleep off the effects of their drinks. Only Mel stayed up to sit in the ship's main hold, which had a very basic kitchen and an entertainment section with some very dirty tables and various holographic games. Denley sat down at the least dirty of these tables.
"We're heading to Byss," Mel said, "It'll be about six hours, we've programmed the route to avoid the sectors with Imperial presence."
"Byss, never heard of it." Denley said honestly.
"There's not much there, or really anything in that part of the Outer Rim..." Mel said, "The Hutts control a lot of the area, that should tell you about the type of business that goes on in those parts. Byss is very backwater, there aren't any signs of civilization there, no cities, no spaceports, nothing. Only thing worth noting about it is the heat."
"Sounds like a pretty discrete job then." Denley noted.
"It is, the Hutts have some cargo they need us to pick up for them," Mel explained, "It's not a particularly dangerous job as long as you have the right guys with ya, that's why we wanted to have a fifth set of hands on deck for this one."
"That's why you brought him aboard?" the pilot droid called out, "I thought he was just some drifter. We don't need a fifth crewman for a pickup job."
"I already told you I'm not interested in a droid's opinion!" Mel called out, "That's X2, we won him in a card game on Taris, not often you come across a GE-3 these days."
"I'm still pissed about it." X2 called back.
"You've got quite a crew here," Denley said, "I'm ready to see you guys in action."
"Same goes for you, droid killer." Mel said with a smile.
"Droid killer?" X2 asked from afar.
"Just some battle droids, X2..." Denley said, "They had it coming!"
"Well we should have you well rested by the time we get there," Mel said as he stood up, "Sleep off those drinks, we got a spare room, it's the one on the left in the middle. I'm gonna call it a night myself."
"Alright Mel," Denley said, "Thank you for the accommodations."
Denley wouldn't exactly call it a good night's sleep. Not even due to the quality of the room, it was everything else in his racing mind, it wasn't enough for even the most disciplined Jedi to overcome. His time on Dathomir, the thought of being caught by the Empire, his current spot in a crew of spacers on an illegal mission flying through hyperspace. He'd have to just take what sleep he got, which was just a couple of moments of drifting off here and there.
The bed, which was a cushioned metal plate that could be folded and slid into the wall for storage, was one of the only noteworthy things in this room, aside from a metal wardrobe that was built into the floor. Every now and then, some of the ungrounded electricity could be heard in the ceiling above the bed, which didn't help the sleeping situation.
Might be better if Tika was here too... he thought.
He could sense that they were coming out of hyperspace, time to get serious. Shortly after this realization, two light knocks came at the door.
"Gerrard," X2 called out, "Time to earn your keep!"
With a short groan, Denley got up out of bed and began gearing up for the mission. With his blaster in its holster on his belt and short sleeved shirt to accommodate for the planet's heat, he started to head out, but hesitated for a second, pondering whether or not to bring his lightsaber along for the journey. It was out of the question to have it out in the open where the gang could see it, but it might be better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
With the blade still sitting safely at the bottom of the bag, Denley picked up the backpack and put it on, just to be safe. A quick tap on the wall panel and the door slid open for him, right as Glen was passing by through the hall on his way out. Everyone amazingly seemed to be ready to go, even after a night of drinking and then sleeping on this ship, on those beds. Just another routine day for these guys, and Denley knew if he wanted to survive, he'd probably have to get used to things too.
Together, the five spacers all left the ship and were immediately hit with just how hot and dry this place was. The earth beneath their feet was dusty and loose under their weight, cracked in all directions with a consistent light tone. The ship was parked on top of a hill that, if it were a building, seemed that it would be at an elevation of maybe three stories. There were large, jagged rocks everywhere, the same color as the ground, dotting the entire hill and most of the ground below.
"We wanted to put her down somewhere away from the action," Mel said, "Keep her away from prying eyes, you know?"
"There's no one out here." Denley said.
The spacers laughed, Denley didn't get the joke. Nobody explained anything as they set off down the hill, careful not to slip and tumble down for a world of hurt. Denley's keen senses allowed him to overtake the group with ease, still minding every step but clearly showing off his superior agility and balance. He reached the bottom of the hill as the rest of the group was only halfway down, giving him plenty of time to survey the area alone, just enough to see that a smaller hill was only a short walk away. At its base, what looked to be a large stone slab was crudely placed in front of an entryway.
"Hey I think there's a cave over there." Denley called back to the group.
"He's learning." Makil said with a laugh.
"That's why we're here," Mel explained, "If there is a cave there, we'll start there."
"What do you mean we'll start there?" Denley asked, "Do we not know where we're picking up our cargo?"
"We're getting paid to find it," Shafto explained, "This isn't your first job is it?"
Denley didn't even feel the need to answer, so he ignored the Nikto and continued looking at the cave's entrance. The crew finally caught up with him and looked to where he was referring to.
"Oh yeah," Mel said, now seeing what Denley was seeing, "That's got to be a good one."
"How'd you get down here so fast?" Glen said out of breath as he finally reached the bottom.
"Discipline." Denley said as he followed the gang to the cave just up ahead.
As soon as the team reached the entrance, Mel and Shafto wasted no time in working to move the massive stone that was blocking their path. At first, they pried at it with their hands, but it was no use. Mel then got on one end of the stone and pulled with both hands as Shafto got on the other end and pushed up against it with his back. Still nothing.
"Come on guys," Makil groaned, "Give me some room."
Makil moved in alongside Mel in helping pull, which seemed to make the stone budge a little. This was clearly very deliberately placed there by something strong to keep things out.
"What could have put this here?" Denley asked.
"The locals." Glen answered.
As if on cue, a collection of large shrieks rang out from inside the cave and began to move closer to the entrance. It startled the group and caused them to stop pulling on the stone for a moment, but only for a moment, as the hesitation subsided and was met with joy from the rest of the group.
"Sounds like lots of them!" Mel shouted gleefully.
"Two thousand a head, and I hear at least three of those suckers in there!" Makil added.
"Payday, boys!" Glen said as he readied his gun.
They finally managed to force the stone all the way off its balance and toss it aside onto the ground just before the locals could stop them. Sunlight now poured into the cave, revealing four very gaunt, primitive green skinned aliens, some with facial hair, some not, but all with a single eye in the middle of their foreheads, gazing up at the spacers in horror. Denley had only heard of Abyssins, they were such a rare species in the galaxy that their name hadn't even clicked in his head when he heard they would be going to Byss.
"Uh..." Denley began, only to be interrupted by the shouts of the gang as they raised their guns at the helpless cave dwellers.
"GET OUT HERE GODDAMNIT!" Glen screamed.
"ALL OF YOU, OUT!" Shafto shouted as well.
Though it was unlikely any of the Abyssin here spoke any Galactic Basic, the guns and shouting were pretty universal, so they obeyed. With hands raised, the Abyssin all left the cave and were herded against the outside cave wall by the men. As Denley reeled in disgust at what he was seeing, he noticed a fifth Abyssin up on the hill just above the spacers. Mel noticed him too and raised his gun as the Abyssin readied his spear to defend his people.
"NO DON'T SHOOT HIM!" Denley shouted.
Mel either didn't have time to listen, or didn't care, as he pulled the trigger, emitting a flash of blue light that struck the Abyssin in the chest and sent him crashing down to the ground below like a stiff ragdoll.
"Got him!" Mel said, "He's just stunned, Denley, don't worry, we'll get paid for this one too."
"Holy shit man..." Makil said, "We just hit the bank, boys!"
"So this is what you guys do?" Denley asked, "Slavery?"
"These people barely have access to water..." Mel began as he cuffed the incapacitated Abyssin, "They've never even seen electricity before. They'll prosper more as servants of the Hutts than they ever would here. You gonna help us book 'em?"
"Yeah, hang on a sec..." Denley said as he went through his backpack.
The gang all gave him confused but dismissive looks as they began cuffing the rest of the Abyssin. Mel finished first and raised his gun at the rest of the cyclopes in case any of them tried to fight back. He was standing the closest, so he'd have to be the first to go. Denley found his blade, and in one swift motion, tossed the bag aside and activated his lightsaber at the same time. Mel didn't even have time to process what was happening before he was cleaved in half from waist to shoulder, killing him instantly.
Makil didn't have time to raise his gun before Denley swung the blade back in the other direction, beheading the helpless Nikto. Glen, however, had time to react and focused his blaster at Denley, popping off a shot that would have gotten most folks, but Denley's Jedi instincts kicked in, allowing him to deflect the shot right back at Glen's face, killing him as well. In less than three seconds, it all came down to just Denley and Shafto. Shafto was no fool and knew what he was dealing with. He hid behind one of the Abyssin and pressed his blaster against the innocent cyclops' head.
"Think I won't?!" Shafto shouted with a tremble in his voice, "Don't make me do it!"
He didn't have to. Denley reached out and used the Force to pull the gun from Shafto's hand, rendering him defenseless. Before he could make a decision on what to do with the slaver, the uncuffed Abyssin all dove towards Shafto, tearing him apart limb from limb, his blood-curdling screams doing nothing to stop their relentless attack.
I was just starting to get used to these guys too... Denley thought as he turned off his blade and clipped it to his belt where it belonged. He then went over to Mel's corpse and dug around for the key to the cuffs. A couple of credits in his pants pocket, nothing in the back pocket, and in the shirt pocket, the keys! Cautiously, Denley approached the group of Abyssin, who were probably very confused as to what was going on, having assumed he was one of the slavers as well. They didn't currently seem to have any desire to attack him, so he went ahead and unlocked the cuffs on the wrists of the ones who had been restrained. The incapacitated Abyssin began to awaken now and examined all of the dead slavers, as well as their savior who was freeing them from their bonds. All together, they bowed in respect, one of them grunted something in its strange language.
"I really don't know what that means." Denley said, only to be answered by another Abyssin's grunts, "Or that... Follow me, I've... oh what's the point? You probably don't understand me either."
Denley motioned with his hand to follow him, which the Abyssin were all understandably hesitant to do, but decided to obey. Together, they all headed back up the hill to the ship, where X2 was waiting patiently at the ramp.
"Oh snap, look out behind you!" X2 exclaimed, pointing at the group of Abyssin.
"They're with me." Denley said.
"Wow, you managed to get them to go peacefully, huh?" X2 noticed, almost sounding impressed, "Where's the rest of the group."
"They're dead." Denley stated.
"Nice, was it the locals?" X2 asked with no remorse.
"No it was me," Denley explained "Which means you belong to me now."
"Damn," X2 said, sounding disappointed, "And here I was thinking you were gonna set me free."
"Day's not over yet..." Denley said, "I need you to talk to these guys for me."
"What, you think all of us bipedal droids can just be your little translators?" X2 asked, almost offended.
"Am I wrong in this case?" Denley asked.
"Well, no..." X2 admitted, "But do you think we all happen to have Abyssin programmed into us? Out of all the countless widely spoken languages, you think we can translate what these rare cave dwellers have to say?"
"Do you not have that ability?" Denley asked.
"I mean I do..." X2 admitted again, "But if I didn't, you'd be pretty shit out of luck, am I right?"
"You got it man." Denley said with a smile.
"I don't suppose you know where the gang has their restraining bolt clip, do you?" X2 asked, "Unless these primates plan on camping out right here, I'll need my restraining bolt removed. You do know where the clip is, don't you?"
"Not right off, no." Denley said.
"I don't suppose you could have asked them that before you killed them." X2 scolded.
"Not gonna lie..." Denley explained, "You weren't really on my mind when I took those guys out. Besides, I won't need the clip, just hold still."
"That's improper removal protocol, Gerrard!" X2 exclaimed, "If you strip it and get it stuck, I'm going to be pissed."
"Shut up, just stop talking." Denley said as he carefully removed the restraining bolt from X2's chest.
"Ahhh..." X2 said, "Much better. They didn't want me leaving the ramp, said they didn't trust me in the cockpit where I could steal the ship, or to leave the ramp and run off on my own. Anyway, I'll translate for ya, though I have to admit I'd really rather not be doing this, these savages are hardly worth our time. Besides, how are you going to make any money with them? They probably don't even know what credits are!"
Denley looked back to the cyclopes, who were probably trying to piece together what was happening between their laser-sword wielding savior and his chatty metal friend. The looks of awe on their faces was kind of sweet and innocent, just looks of childlike curiosity.
"Uh, tell them these slavers are dead," Denley began, "But there will probably be more to replace them. Tell them I can help them fight back against the next wave of slavers, if they can teach me some things."
Surprisingly, X2 didn't have any smartass remarks, and did as Denley asked. X2's robotic voice almost startled Denley when the barks and growls of the Abyssin language emitted from the protocol droid. The Abyssin nodded as X2 spoke, listening carefully and looking at one another to gauge their reactions. The eldest of the five, the one who had been incapacitated earlier, spoke up first.
"He wants to know what they could even teach you..." X2 translated, "I have to agree with him, I really don't-"
"Yeah yeah I know," Denley interrupted, "Ask them if they can show me how they hunt, and how they spar with one another, how they survive in these unforgiving conditions."
X2 obeyed and translated to the best of his ability. The eldest Abyssin smiled a little and nodded, no need for translation there. Denley smiled back and extended his hand for a handshake, but halfway through realized the cyclopes probably didn't do handshakes. To his surprise, the eldest Abyssin accepted the handshake with a very strong grip, overestimating Denley's human fragility. Out of respect, Denley held in the urge to shriek in pain, though he had a feeling they noticed, but didn't judge him for it.