Chapter 49
Revan insisted the only team to leave by the front entrance were those belonging to Shield. Both Shadow and Basilisk were to fly out the same way the heavy team came in. Thus, it was only the Jedi who were confronted by the Selcath authorities once they vacated the Sith embassy. The three women would have been taken by arrest if not for the intervention of the missing younglings.
Their swift and decisive account of affairs concerning the assault and consequential destruction of the Sith base allowed the release of the Jedi without the need of a court advocate or even a necessity of a trial. The Sith on the other hand were not having such a great day in the court room in addition to losing the Sundry case they now had to explain the torture and death of Selcath younglings as well as the indoctrinated imprisonment of said younglings.
As it was Revan and her Jedi were set free and cleared of any wrong doing, thus the trio were allowed to travel to the Republic Embassy unhindered. Once there, the woman once known as the Revanchist was in full order-mode when she faced Ambassador Roland Wann.
Revan gave a sideways glace to her fellow Jedi that translated as 'follow my lead' to which they had no qualms in agreeing to.
With Revan leading and Bastila and Juhani on the perspective right and left flanks, the former Dark Lord pushed passed the laughable guards into Wann's offices.
Upon seeing them the human stood up and at the same time logged off his computer terminal. "Ah master Jedi, there was news of an attack on the Sith base, can I assume you have the necessary...gaaagh..."
Revan's hands out stretched using the Force she lifted Roland Wann from behind his desk and used slight pressure upon his throat.
"Roland Wann, I name you traitor of the Republic and conspirator with the Sith!" Revan declared boldly.
The guards who raised weapons against the Jedi's sudden aggressive action started to lower them, unsure of what they should be doing. In most part, they stood by the Republic Emissary, but Jedi were Jedi and now the chain of command was not so clear-cut, especially with the Jedi's accusations.
"That... that is... preposterous!" Wann protested despite his fear.
"Is it?" Bastila took the lead. "Let us review. You allowed someone so inept at ciphering to attempt to break Sith codes. He wasted valuable captured resources as if they were candy. He could not break even the simplest of ciphers. Whether due to inexperience, negligence or sheer stupidly- it was your call that put that simpleton in charge of code braking."
Now it was Juhani who spoke. "Secondly, you blatantly blackmailed Jedi into retrieving highly classified information you just happened to 'lose' to the Sith? It's all too convenient. On top of that you allowed a supposed Sith spy to gain access to this facility. He tried to get in... and was so easily caught it is laughable that you did not think it was a set up."
Revan now took the lead; she lowered the man back down to the ground. "Well unless you are so very very very stupid. So this 'spy' tires to get into the embassy and what do you do? You allow him in. It never occurred to you he was never a true spy! No spy, no scout ever takes items of a personal nature on a mission even a suicide mission. Yet this guy did, and of his wife no less.
"It also must never have occurred to you that he might be an insurgent agent with a suicide capsule hidden in his molars to be activated upon him smashing his teeth together or some other way?
"What would have happened if he had such a device, perhaps not intended to simply kill him but release a gas lethal to all humans as in this embassy all I see are humans. But you deliberately ignored this! You also allowed this enemy agent into the exact location he wanted to be!
"Thirdly, the information this supposed captured droid carried was allowed to fall into enemy hands. I mean come on... no remote kill switch? Local data banks within the Sith Embassy have been wiped clean and destroyed but more likely transmissions of that droid's data are now in the hands of Dearth Malak. Something your utter incompetence or complete complicity allowed!
"Either way you are under arrest. Be thankful I am a Jedi and not apart of Military Judicial system or you would be executed on the spot, for treason in a time of war. Guards bind this fucking bastard and arrest him. If he resists, execute him, immediately!"
"By your order Master Jedi!" a trio of guards answered raising a salute to their brows. All of them ignored the protests of Ambassador Wann.
"Justice must be profound and absolute. Arrest this supposed code-breaker as well, and those responsible for the arrest and interrogation of the 'Sith spy'." Bastila added. "Either they are complicit or equally inept. Either way, they are not blameless. Also we're taking the submersible. I gather there will be no protests?"
"As you order Master Jedi," a young corporal leading the squad tipped his head.
"You can't do this!" Roland protested hotly, pulling against the arms that held him. The guards were far stronger than a soft politician accustomed to sitting behind a desk getting fattier by the day.
"It's already done," Revan calmly retorted. "A Republic tribunal will determine the extent of your guilt or your utter incompetence. Rest assured, no matter how they find you, you will never hold office again, Roland Wann."
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With the authorities came both Carth Onasi and Jolee Bindo. The former looked sullen and contrite. It was an expression that truly puzzled Revan.
"From what I hear you won your trial, so why do you look like a mourner at your own funeral?" Revan said taking a seat in the café they had all agreed to meet.
"Because it was a bloody kriffing mess!" Carth hissed. "A farce of justice!"
"Yeah I got that from the look. This is the part where you start explaining that bit." Revan said evenly.
"The evidence against Sunry was all circumstantial and hearsay." Jolee started. "A stolen badge placed on a corpse by a spineless Rodian. No one 'saw' the murder. They heard only a blaster shot. Our witnesses knew of Sunry's war wounds prevented him from taking direct action against someone armed with the Force—a Dark Jedi. Of course, it was in our favour that it was the prosecution that pointed out his war wounds and not us. In fact it was their main argument.
"Elassa was a spy, admitted by Sunry himself. He had attempted to turn her into a double agent. He admitted to his own disability, to the affair he had with Elassa and to the fact he had sought to end it. It was back and forth but none of the hotel witnesses actually saw the murder. Of course, the Sith tried to sway the Court that Sunry left the scene—thus in the area of the crime.
"They tired to paint him with a grudge against the Sith for his war wounds he gained while fighting them and Quell Drono. They said he hated the Sith so much he sought revenge against a single woman. Of course, when we introduced the fact that Sunry's medal was planted by the corpse it caused a bit of a stir in the Sith's defence.
"The Sith had to make a very valid point that they were not seeking to kill their own for not turning Sunry or failing to continue to harvest information from a man who was ending the affair. Sunry was exonerated and set free."
Carth looked as if he wanted to vomit.
"You have a position on this, Carth?" Bastila asked. "One might assume you would relish the death of a Sith, however it came to be."
The duty-bound officer gritted his teeth. "Death yes, on the battlefield- be it in space or groundside- absolutely but to uplift a cowardly murderer who tarnished everything that medal of honour Sunry supposedly won. I'd say he got away with theft and murder. He is no hero - he is a fraud," said a man who saw one to many of his heroes fall. "Another one. First, it's the Revanchist and her trusted generals Alek, now calling himself Malak, and the woman now known only as the Exile." Carth had had enough of false heroes. May they all burn.
"You have a healthy scepticism of those who are raised up by other as heroes," Revan said honestly. This time she was not baiting the Commander as she had done so often in the past. It was no secret the two not only disliked one another, but held no trust for one another. For the greater good however, they both chose to serve together as a means to an end.
"The law might have been served but there was never such a disingenuous act of justice that was served in that courtroom," Carth spat. "The Republic is supposed to be better than that! WE are supposed to be better than that!" he glared at Jolee. "That goddamn sleemo in jail. He acted like he brought down Revan, killing that Sith whore. And after the trial he paraded around like he won it on higher moral ground. If you have any sense of justice old man, then go to your 'friend' and you better fucking serve it. Or I will."
Jolee turned and looked at the younger man. "And how will you do that son?"
"Don't call me that, old man. I am not your son! And don't try to push this off with one of your rambling stories. That fetcher has to pay for what he did. For what he made us do, made us cover up for him? Justice: old man. One way or another," Carth leaned forward staring the old former Jedi in the eyes. "It's gonna happen, I don't care if I have to hire her former Night Sisters to do it," Carth pointed a thumb over his shoulder to Revan. "Or someone else, like those throat cutters that wanted us to hunt down those names for them. It will happen, old man. You take care of that cunt or I will!"
Jolee looked to Revan and saw the same resolve in the former Dark Lord's eyes as burned brightly in the Commander's. For once they agreed on something. Once more Jolee realized he had outplayed his hand just as he had on the Shadowlands when he toyed with Revan's tenacity to solve the situation with the poaching Sith. She of course made him play the servant, demanding his obedience in the most humbling manner by picking up a cup she had let fall to the ground. His old bones creaked when he bent knee to the former Dark Lord both figuratively and literately.
Beware hubris.
And as the old Jedi had toyed with Revan in the Shadowlands, he had toyed with Carth's dedication to the Republic in order to save his oldest friend.
Beware hubris: indeed.
"The matter will be settled Commander Onasi." Jolee promised.
Revan looked to Onasi then back to the old Jedi. If this was his reaction over Sunry what then will his reaction when the truth of who she truly was came to light?
"Jolee, make your peace with Carth," was all she said. To the Commander she turned and looked at him. "Justice and Law-they're a bitch. You did your duty Onasi. No one can ask more of you."
"I can ask more of myself." He seethed. His anger not reserved for the woman before him but for the whole perversion of it all.
She looked at him and saw a man not crushed but hungering for justice, the dire need to make it -right. She thought for a moment… "Carth, I know this isn't something you want to hear when you see heroes fall. You more than most know this to be true. The Jedi do not believe in execution if redemption can found."
"You think Sunry can be redeemed? Ideal thought. You didn't hear what he had to say when he was in that holding cell. He actually thought he was doing the Republic a service. He was killing a Sith for the glory of the Republic!" The last word was spat out like he was trying to rid his mouth of a foul taste. "But he killed her because he couldn't turn her into a traitor to her own cause," he sneered. "In part, I'm grateful she didn't. You can never trust a turncoat."
"This isn't just about Sunry is it?" Indeed, Revan realized that it was what this decorated hero's fall represented, what Saul Karath's fall meant, what Revan's and Alek's (known then to all as Squint) now Malak's fall meant, what Meetra Surik's exile meant: the destruction of belief in greater things.
"No, guess it's not. The closer we are to getting to ending old Tin Jaw, the more anxious I become. Like an amateur swoop-racer before the season opener with an experimental accelerator."
To this Revan smirked and very playfully elbowed the Commander in the gut with a roll of her eyes. "Funny."
"I thought so."
"Carth, look I know this outcome of the trial isn't what you wanted. Hell, I couldn't have done better- not if I wanted to protect Republic interests. If Sunry was convicted it would have had very heavy repercussions for the Republic. Isn't this why you took on the case to start with? The Republic's kolto trading agreements with Manaan are solid now due in no small part to your actions in that kangaroo court."
"So for kolto for our guys on the front we trade our dignity and honor."
"Sucks, doesn't it?"
"You're not telling me anything I don't know, sister."
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"Now we have the submersible and the location of the Star Map. It is time perhaps to go below the waves of Manaan," Juhani said once everyone returned to their ship where they were less likely to be overheard.
"I definitely agree." Revan said.
"I assume you're just taking your Jedi," Canderous snarked with a touch of good humor colouring his voice.
"Pretty much," Revan nodded. "But considering the trouble we found in the Shadowlands, having the rest of you come down into the processing center seems to be a fairly wise decision.
"The Sith will have their own processing plant down there and by now after their defeat in the courtroom, the Arbiter will not want to admit his failure to Malak but they will have told someone in the chain of command so by now Malak knows. We have to take extreme precautions," Bastila said.
"Which is why we need Plan B," Revan came in.
"Plan B?" this was asked from Carth.
Revan smiled a crocodilian smile. "Bait."
"Sarcastic riposte: And I suppose anyone not a Jedi is Bait." HK-47 snidely responded.
"Isn't that what you're built for?" Revan answered back just as snidely. "T3 will stay with the ship and take her to safety if needs be. Once more I trust T3 to return my ship to me when I need it."
The small astrodroid bleeped loudly and proudly in response to the affirmation he was so very trusted.
"As for everyone else, the submersible will have to be guarded once we dock in the Republic refining center: that's up to you HK, Mission and Big Z. If the Sith or some other reprobates try to take it, it's a hell of a long swim back to the surface and none of us here are natural aquatics." She looked at the men, "as for you gentlemen, you get to watch our six."
"Hell I always like watching the ass-end of sexy women walking away," Canderous chuckled, deliberately trying to get a rise out of the Jedi women. All three of them simply rolled their eyes but didn't say anything to bolster the Mandalorian's crude comment into credibility.
"You think there will be an ambush," Carth said without asking.
"When hasn't Tin-Jaw tried to ambush us?" The non-question was answered with a shrug. "He knows what we're after and he has the fore-knowledge of where the maps are. We're just lucky enough the maps have proven impervious to destruction."
"If I were running his show, I'd let the enemy find what they want then take it from them. Lowers morale and gets what you want. The enemy decimated. During the war our second wavers used such tactics against the civilian population all the time."
Juhani looked decisively away from the Mandalorian lest her boiling anger raise the Dark Side and she take the head of the cocky son-of-a-bitch with her lightsaber. She recalled the Lower-City under the boot-heel of the Mandalorians. How any time her parents managed to stockpile ration coupons the rations to be distributed were either so spoiled they were inedible.
Oh there were lotteries and special dispensation given to any member of the Lower-City citizenship who turned on each other. Their award for being a turn-coat: better food stocks, cleaner water, meds, more time for power to avoid the brown outs. Hell the Mandies even awarded informants with booze and Spice if their leads panned out.
It was a powerful motivator.
"They are not the only ones to employ such tactics," Jolee gave a very pointed look to Revan. "When Revan returned from the Outer Rim she came back with a plan but a plan Malak perverted. He's stuck in a loop."
Revan returned the look. "Stage One: Destruction Phase- the one currently in effect. Revan needed to destroy key points in the power-base of the Republic while maintaining the infrastructure. The Republic needed to be crippled. But not so she could be the Great Dark Empress of the Galaxy. Something happened out there. Something that made a hero—turn.
"Stage Two, Reconstruction: After the irreversible damage to the galaxy that cannot be saved, Darth Revan swoops in to the front and restores the galaxy to rightful order. War is abated. The corruption of the Senate, the malediction of the Republic's military ineffectiveness in protecting the Rim's from the onslaught of Mandalorians, or whatever boogie-man that lives in the Outer Rim. Revan becomes the face of Order and Peace.
"Any uprising they quash in the name of Order; in the name of Peace. Laws are put into effect by subtle means to maintain this façade. Had she been able to enact these stages she would have been very successful.
"Stage Three is Domination: The Sith are now an Empire, loyal servants to the new Empress. By consent, the Republic will have bent the knee to the Dark Lord, now seen as Empress, her rule absolute. The Republic Senate is dismantled. Revan would have appointed Governors to oversee direct control over their territories.
"Fear of the power of the Star Forge would keep the plebs in line. Fear of what darkness lay beyond that the great and powerful Empress was keeping at bay would stay the hand of rebellion."
"That doesn't sound like anything they taught you in the Night Sister's Monastery," Carth said.
Revan smirked good naturedly. "So... you know what they teach there do you? Get a bit of changaroo-surgery when no one was looking? Because if so, if I be you I'd demand my money back. Handsome thug you may be, but as a woman you're ugly as they come."
Carth chuckled. "Back to 'handsome thug' are we?"
Another shrug from the former Dark Lord; it was in a sense a peace offering.
"I'll take it."
"I'll take Sister, but call me Beautiful and well..." she pointed her thumb over to her over. "She might get a tad upset… but as to your question, no not in the Monastery. Jal Shey teachings, or rather the warning signs of such practices against a self-proclaimed Prince, High Chancellor or Dark Lord."
"Yeah? Well I think Tin-Jaw skipped those classes. Revan could have done it but Malak is stuck in a loop of meaningless destruction." Mission growled thinking of homeworld of Taris. Juhani too echoed this thought. Before Dantooine the only other world the young Cathar Jedi knew was Taris.
"That is because Revan may have taught everything Malak knows about domination, but not everything she knows," Bastila said evenly.
"This is why we can expect Malak to have a few scattered cronies below, just like you prophesied. You know if that is the case perhaps three teams of three are better. Leave HK with the submersible alone with the kids," Carth suggested.
Revan nodded. It was a better plan. "Good idea," she said.
If Mission was going to protest being called a kid- yet again- she thought better of it and kept silent.
"Protestation: Master, why must I babysit these younglings? Surely they can handle guarding a simple submersible."
"Correction:" Revan mocked her droid. "You're not. You are acting as guard tin-hound to our only way back up. You leaked your pistons and moaned about Plan B. Well now you're excluded. Be happy. Guard the ship, droid. Oh, and ah, Mission and Zaalbar have complete command over this task. Saves on the confusion. Obey. Or I will... well... didn't you say there were some micro-fractures in the hull that could do with mundane maintenance?"
The small astromech bleeped a yes.
"Ah," Revan cocked her head maliciously. "There it is. I doubt you wish to become part of the ship, clanker."
"Unwilling but obedient affirmation: Your will, Master."
Revan turned to the others. "You know I think I need to do a bit to tune up the Rust-Bucket."
"I think you need to deactivate him," Carth said with many other head nods following his words, including her lover's. "Then turn him into something useful, like a caffa cup. I like caffa cups. They don't bitch."
"We'll see."
"Subservient aside-barely concealed concern: Master! I am your ever-obedient servant! There is no need to make such proclamations."
"See that you are."
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The waves were a crescendo, a cacophony of sound.
Fathoms below there was only a bleak swirl of sight and sound given life only because of the sub. The fish swum in their meaningless forgetful lives.
For fish have no memories and that block of jutting coral that looks like a little plastic castle is a surprise every time.
Perhaps to say fish have no memoirs is a misnomer. Sharks do. Fraxon sharks especially. Their Progenitor—she most in particular. She recalled when there was a time the waves were quiet. Silent. There were no two-legers skulking in the depths harvesting the life-giving plankton near the breeding grounds.
She recalled a time when the two-legged fish whose skin was as that of sharks rose from the fathoms and started to live upon the surface of false islands. Then the surfacers- the air breathers, aliens to Mother Ocean- came in abundance. And while most air-breathers avoided the spawning-pools, more and more surfacers encroached upon the hunting grounds. They brought with them the hateful sonic stingers that crippled her pups anytime they travelled the ocean's floors. She knew of a time when the metal-monster did not make its horrible noise.
The Progenitor called to her offspring, told them to patrol the deep and to avoid the place of pain the hated metal cave of the raging two-legged fishes and the no-gills. She would have her vengeance. Her deep-song would cause madness to them all.
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The submersible made its near five-hour trip to the bottom of the ocean floor to the Hrakert Station that overlooked the rift of the same name.
"Look at all those sharks!" Mission blurted out, her nose pressed against a porthole as she looked out over the reef. "How many of them are there?"
"As long as they are out there and we're in here, or on the station, I'd say it doesn't matter," Jolee said with aged old pragmatic pessimism. "Unless of course they swarm like the viper kinrath then they become problematic."
"I don't want to be shark-chum! Is... is that likely?" Mission grew worried as the school? The pack? The swarm of sharks swam ever closer to the sub, causing the young Twi'lek to take a healthy step away from the porthole, as if it might save her from being seen and thus becoming a tempting morsel.
"Barely concealed mirth: If the sharks ever breach the submersible's hull or the station's, you will be dead before the fish eat you, youngling. The freezing temperatures of the ocean will cause immediate cardiac infarction, not to mention the pressure of the ocean depths will crush your lungs..."
"That's enough out of both of you," Bastila sternly said, immediately silencing the old Jedi and assassin droid. Mission's blue skin had taken on a very unhealthy parlour.
Taking pity on the girl Carth moved up and uttered softly. "Just stay with the sub. There is an emergency recall button that will autopilot the ship back to the surface if you need to." He pointed to the controls at the helm.
"He's right Mission. In case of a hull breach, the sub has enough power of seal the breach and auto-launch back to the surface and send out a distress call. But you should have noting to worry about." Revan said on the heels of the Commander. She was seated at the sub's helm having taken the job of pilot when they first barded. "Approaching the docking bay now. Everyone get kitted out and suited up, we leave as soon as we land."
Revan unsuccessfully tried to contact the station's administrative offices and security. Static was the only reply. "I've got a bad feeling about this," she muttered trying again to raise anyone on the comm-channel.
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The sub easily slid into the airlock, then rose vertically to the station's docking bay.
As soon as they all disembarked, the companions felt a wave of unease settle into each of them like silt-covered barnacles coating the outside hull of the station. Where one might have expected a security contingent, the bay was void of any life save for their own.
"I don't like this," Juhani muttered softly. "Something is very wrong here."
"Yeah," Revan nodded. "Maybe there is more to those sharks that are milling around the outside of this place, like they are on the wrong side of an aquarium."
"Or we are," Bastila jibbed.
"Um... you know I think I'll guard the sub from the inside of it. Yeah..." Mission said nodding her head frantically. "Yeah... I um... think that's the best."
Typically the young teen was unfazed by danger, hell she was usually quite eager to plunge headfirst into adventure and dangers. She faced off kinrath and rakghouls, slavers and Spice-addled swoop gang-bangers. She was even willing to sneak past a rancor with a stealth-belt just to blow it up, not to mention slipping into an enclave of sand people just to save her fool brother... but sharks and a place that seemed like more of a tomb then a science faculty were a little much, even for her.
No one blamed the kid.
"The clanker and I will stay out here and keep an eye on the doors," Zaalbar grunted.
"We'll keep you appraised if we find anything," Revan said moving towards the large doors that no doubt led to the station proper.
"You think the Sith already made their move?" asked Carth, but the Nagai shook her head. She was in the dark as much as the rest of them.
"Wouldn't surprise me. Didn't that kriffing tit-mouse Wann say something about more activity form the Sith side? It's why they hired so many mercs to come down here. Find the mercs and we find answers," Ordo reasoned.
Every head seemed to nod in agreement.
The corridor between the two large blast doors was a short one, past the next set of doors the companions were greeted by one frazzled and panicked green-skinned Twi'lek.
"How... how did you get in?!" he stuttered not even registering the fact that two of the males of the intruding party had guns levelled at his torso. Or that all the women had their hands resting upon hits of lightsabers.
He didn't even allow time for Revan's party to answer before he fired off another wave of questions. "Did they send another submersible? Quick, we have to get out of here! We have to get away!"
"Why? What happened?" Revan demanded.
"NO! We have no time! We have to leave, now!" the man screeched.
Carth and Canderous went from flagging the triggers of their blasters to resting upon them. Ready to fire if the crazed tail-head went for their sub.
The action seemed to still the Twi'lek, but only for a moment. "I... I managed to seal the door after they killed everyone, but I don't know how long it will hold!"
"We're not going anywhere, bub," Ordo growled.
"'Killed everyone' Who was doing the killing?" Bastila demanded.
"The Selcath." Greenie said, looking at the human as if she was half-witted. "They went crazy. They started killing anything that moved."
The companions shot one another a concerned look. This was a new development. Something Wann either neglected to mention, or more probably, had no clue about. He knew only that there had been some disturbances in the facility and decided to throw more and more mercs at it, rather than send in a full investigative team. No doubt the man believed it was sabotage or some such action on the part of the Sith.
"I was one of the mercs the Republic sent down to find out what happened," Greenie confirmed Revan supposition. "We came down and secured the first couple of rooms…" The man was unashamedly weeping now. "There were bodies everywhere. Then these Selcath came out screaming and croaking out their fishy-little war cries."
"The Selcath?" Juhani pressed, a little confused.
The man fell to his knees, beside himself. "They swarmed out! There was no way we could stop them!" his breath came in harsh hiccups as he tried to compose himself long enough to continue his testimony. "So we ran. Hardly any of us made it. I locked the door behind us..." he looked up to Revan asking—pleading silently for help—or perhaps absolution for abandoning his comrades. "But the others had already left in their submersible. The sharks... the firaxa out there and... worse. I heard an explosion shortly after the submersible left."
"They didn't make it. Just food for the sharks and the Selcath... like us."
"We can take him back to the surface," Juhani suggested.
"To the surface! Yes!" Greenie climbed to his feet. "No... there's something out there. It got the other submersible already."
"Then how are we supposed to get you out of here?" Carth tried to keep his voice calm yet commanding as that of the Jedi.
"We can't leave until you do something. Blow up the entire station if you have to! That might distract whatever it is long enough to escape to the surface. But... but all the machinery is in the southern half and that's been flooded."
"That's just frigging great," Canderous groused. His finger now retracted from resting upon his trigger and went back to flagging it, just in case this nut-job tail-head got any ideas.
"There might be some environmental suits still laying about," Greenie suggested. His face contorted. "But... but... the Selcath might have laid their eggs in them!
"An unpleasant thought," Revan muttered more to herself than anyone else. "We have to get into the station. It's imperative."
"NO! I locked the doors so the Selcath won't get in. If you open it, we're all done for!"
"We have no choice." Revan said evenly.
"If you go in there, you're dead. You are all dead! The Selcath even activated the automatic defences. The droids are all active! They will shoot at anything!" Greenie was back to screeching. "If you want to die, then go!
"I wasn't asking for your permission," Revan commanded.
"I'm staying here!" Greenie snapped. "You go. I won't morn your death. I'm going to wait for a real rescue."
"Don't get your hopes too high, tail-head. I have no intention of dying."
"Stay here all you want," Revan said, "but we can not allow the risk to outweigh security." She gave a very slight nod to of her head and stepped out of the way allowing Carth to get a very clean shot off.
"Was that completely necessary?" Jolee frowned at the former Dark Lord's actions.
"It was," Revan said. "Relax greybeard. It was set to stun, he'll be alright"
Jolee looked between the Jedi and the Commander and back again. He had not heard nor seen any indication the two had communicated anything other than the slight head nod.
"Onasi is many things; an annoying s'wit is one of them, being a murderer isn't. Carth would never kill in cold blood," Revan said nonchalantly. "We'll put binders on our friend here," she tapped the fallen body with the tip of her boot, "and place him in the care of our three back at the sub. They'll guard him and make sure he doesn't cause any more mischief. Check his pockets for any key-cards and anything else that might come in use."
"Looks like we have more issues than just any would-be-agents of Malak's to contend with. What are we to do with mad-Selcath?" Carth asked, pleased for once for the left-handed complement the Nagai had paid him.
"I doubt they will give us much of a choice other than a martial response," was Revan's pragmatic reply. "Perhaps if we can find whatever is making them and the sharks loopy we may be able to stop it. Whatever it is must work on a vibration frequency none of us can detect."
"The only thing I can think of that links the Selcath and the sharks other than the ocean is their ability communicate using sonar," Juhani said.
Revan smiled. That was right! Juhani had a great interest in xenobiolgy, and though she had never fully studied in the area it was a great hobby of the young Cathar's.
"Go on." Revan encouraged the younger woman.
"The fraxon sharks, like the majority of sea-life, hunt via sonar. They are highly attuned to it. If some sort of sonar is disrupting the normal vibration, it could lead to highly aggressive behavior for a shark, even madness akin to rabies found on land or aerial based lifeforms." Juhani explained.
"They only way to deal with a mad hound is to put it down," Canderous said. "No two-ways about it."
No one was willing to fully admit the Mandalorian had the right of it. Until they found the source of whatever it was that was causing the madness in the Selcath and the sharks, they would have to be neutralized. Lethal force was the most swift, decisively efficient and effective way of dealing with the issue.
"If we can find another way to neutralize any Selcath we encounter we take it. But in their crazed state even nerve toxins designed to pacify the unruly mobs may not work. Do what is necessary in order to secure this station. We need that star map." Revan ordered.
"All right people move out."