The Gul'dan Chronicles Episode I

by TrevorGuldan

One year after QuiGon Jinn's death in TPM The Phantom Menace, a young padawan is nearing the end of his apprenticeship. This is his story. Original characters in the Star Wars Universe, which belongs to Mr. G. Lucas

12. Chapter 12

THE HUNTERS

The medical wing was silent early the next morning. The night staff of the Jedi Temple MedCorp watched their newest charge fidget in his bed. He'd slept most of the night, but he seemed to be wanted to be doing something other than sitting up. The medical students were amazed at the speed of the Jedi's recovery, but what was even more amazing to them was the fact that this was the first Miraluka to come into the Medical Wing in some time. They noticed that the Jedi Healer Dahai had been talking to Masters Mace Windu and Ki-Adi Mundi in the corridor to the Med-wing.

"He's going to be fine, but I would suggest that he rest the shoulder for a couple more days. He is in remarkable shape, considering that his worst malady was exhaustion. The numbness of the shoulder had to do with the laceration of a lightsaber to the nerves in his neck. As I said, he is remarkably strong. He will make a full recovery," Dahai whispered

"Good news this is. Released shall he be?" a wizened voice asked from around the corner. Yoda limped with his gimer stick towards the trio.

"Yes, Master. I believe that he can be released at any time."

"Good. Let's not assign anything to him for a while. He's had enough fun for a while." Ki-Adi Mundi made a point of looking at Mace. Windu nodded solemnly. He knew the potential of the Miraluka and wondered if he pushed too hard. Yoda stared at his former padawan, and the two shared another one of those hard-to-read looks. Mundi thanked the doctor and left the corridor, heading off on another errand. Yoda and Windu walked toward the meditation chambers, each lost in their own thoughts.

Trevor's mind raced. Now that he'd finally recovered the artifact that lost on Alderaan, he recounted the difficult time on Alderaan and the fact that now he could handle four times as many and not be any worse for wear. It didn't matter that their weapons still packed a punch. What made Trevor nod most was that he had handled the mission exactly as he was told. Knowing that grabbing the artifact was the priority and not getting killed by a patrol of some sort was really remarkable.

He meditated on the outstanding questions that were floating around in his mind. Who was behind all of this? What are their intention? Where are they running all of these strings from? What was that Chev, an apprentice or Master of the Jedi Arts? How does Yendis fit into all of this? Trevor mulled over these questions, over and over again. He tried to find the strings that bound every question together. Trevor assumed that the Council sent an ExploriCorp team out to Necropolis to gather up all the remaining items that were in the crypt. Trevor's mission was simple: recover the artifact. Easier said than done, thought Trevor. If there were any patrols, or even other Dashade coming to relive those on Necopolis, he most likely would not have made it out alive.

Other questions cropped up. I wonder who Kimber's new padawan is going to be? Why does Shudo need to be there? What about me; am I ready to train someone? The last question was easily answered. Even though there had been times in the past when a Master / Padawan pairing had been made during times of distress, Trevor felt that to give a padawan the type of training he received, he should be able to give his complete attention to the training. There was so much to learn about the Force even Shudo and Yoda were still but students to the Force. He felt comfortable about his padawan answer, so he put that off to the side. He returned to the initial question: Who was behind all of this? It did make a sick kind of sense that one person had to be behind it, but who, why, and more important, what was the next move in this intricate chess game.

Dahai studied the monitors hooked up to the Miraluka from the healer station. He noticed the heart rate of the Jedi actually slow down even more than usual. Dahai looked up and saw a stoic Miraluka face. The blindfold was left on, more out of courtesy to the staff than to the patient. Most had never seen under the blindfold of a Miraluka, though the Jedi Healers expected it, the new medical residents had not been exposed to all the species in the Temple yet. The breathing rate of the Jedi slowed even more.

"Yes, I think he's ready to be released," she declared.

The Bith Jedi Healer walked into Trevor's private room, and informed his patient that he was free to leave with doctor's orders to take it easy for a couple of days to give the shoulder a chance to finish healing. Trevor thanked the healer, and promised to follow her instructions to the letter. He gathered up his tattered cloak and headed directly to his apartment. The small confines were dark when he arrived. He left the lights off, disrobed, and changed into a clean set of garments. The scars, burns and tears probably could have been fixed, but Trevor decided that it would be better to give the robes to others who might need it instead. He wore a white shirt and tan lapels draped over his shoulder with dark pants. Trevor brought the torn garments to the nearest tailor, and left instructions with the protocol droid who answered the door that these robes were to be fixed up and delivered to the poor. He then headed to the Council waiting room, and walked out onto the balcony overlooking the city. He faced towards the rising sun, that had just started to crest the horizon. He breathed deeply, gathering relatively clean air, surprising on a city-planet like Coruscant.

The sun slowly rose, a beacon of hope and life rising against the darkness. Trevor watched the sun and realized that the situations he had been involved with recently were beckoning with the Dark Side. He felt that he was nearing the end, knowing that one or two pieces would like these puzzles together. He might not be the one to bring this puppeteer to justice, but he would assist the Order to find this rogue.

As the sun's first rays hit the Temple, Trevor walked back into the Council Spire. The doors were closed to the Chamber, but Trevor knew that he needed to work on his report. He wasn't quite ready to face the Council yet, so he headed to his apartment and began to write his report. He spent nearly three hours reworking the details of the report. He did not shirk away from the details of the battles, but he needed to give all the information he had. He reviewed the report, made some semantic changes, and sent the report to the Council. He stretched out gingerly, trying to get the kinks out of his back. He grabbed a quick meal, and headed down to a Jedi instructor's office to get a list of species that an advanced Jedi would study. The instructor thought it was rather strange for a full Knight to ask, but Trevor sheepishly said that he thought he'd brush up on species he might run into on missions. The instructor smiled, handed Trevor a datapad of twenty species, and told him to return the datapad with detailed information on fifteen of the species on the list. Trevor laughed and thanked the instructor.

Trevor spent the afternoon in the archives, working on the list, blocking out his questions, letting his unconscious self deal with the outstanding questions he had run over. He returned to the instructor's office and returned the datapad. The instructor droid that was there thanked Trevor for returning the assignment and said that his score would be sent to him. He returned the thanks, and headed back to his quarters. He made himself a quick meal, and decided to get some more rest. He examined his shoulder and noticed that there was a slight scar where the red lightsaber had hit him. It did not hurt to the touch, but Trevor vowed to not let that happen again. He washed his face in the refresher and headed off to bed.

The next day, Trevor realized that he needed to change his power cells. Every Jedi took the chance to keep a full power cell in their lightsabers. Trevor went directly back to the merchant who sold him his first cell, and was greeting like a conquering hero. The merchant had such a good run of Jedi coming to the store that he gave Trevor the full tour of the store. The owner, upon hearing a request for another couple of power cells, nearly fell over in gratitude, trying to get Trevor to take the cells for free. They bickered about price for a few moments, but in the end, Trevor paid the same price he had many months earlier. He took the rest of the morning, walking around Coruscant and visiting shops and vendors as a way of relaxing. Some of the Nexu Clan were around, but Trevor decided that he needed to clear his mind. At midday, he returned to the Archives to study some more. With the amount of studying he had done in the past two days, he felt that he would tip over in boredom. Now I know why I did so poorly in classes. He returned to his room, made a quick meal, and decided to get to bed early. It took him a while to get comfortable, but once he found his center, he drifted off to a troubled sleep.

The Ord Mantell alleyway seemed rather familiar. The café that he had met Yendis for the first time was around the next corner. He turned the corner and was surprised to find an underground tunnel, similar to Silais Torr's underground lair, bending to the left. He followed the corridor and it came out into the Sith-Jedi exhibit on Alderaan. He turned around and he was facing the arena on Umgul. Every time he turned, he was in a different location. Metallos. Coruscant. Tatooine. Fractured pictures of places he'd been. The Necropolis crypts, even the training room in the Temple. After the first couple of turns, he heard someone faintly calling his name. "Trevor!. Trevor. Trevor. Trevor" He searched high and low, racing around a corner, and unable to find the source of the voice. He turned a corner, and was on a huge starship. The voice continued to call him, but alarms went off each time he reached a door. He knew that he was in big trouble, and he needed to call someone. But who to call? The anxiety of the situation continued to eat away at his willpower. Trevor went through the list of people who'd respond and decided on Yendis. He turned around and noticed a communication terminal.. His com terminal, against the far wall. He walked up to it, punched in a code that he thought might have been Yendis'. "Yendis, I'm on .." the rest of the conversation seemed mumbled. Trevor thought he knew where he was, but gave some sort of gibberish answer and knew he was right. He got the encrypted message signal from his com terminal……

Trevor woke from his dream with the hairs on his arms raised. That signal was REAL. I didn't imagine that. He looked around, senses going on high alert, trying to spot anything out of place in his apartment. The sound of encrypting a message was very clear. He listened carefully, but could not hear any movement. The lights on the com-terminal blinked, indicating that there were two new messages on his terminal that he had not answered yet. There was also an indicator showing a newly sent message within the last hour. He cocked his head, knowing that he'd been asleep the entire time. He changed his vision, looking at the comstation. There was a fist-sized device plugged into one of the access ports on the side of the terminal. There was also a slight singed smell. A light glinted off of the device, which showed it to be the slicer droid he had recovered from the Chev. He looked over to the drawer he had locked it into, and realized there were exposed wires showing that it had sliced the lock. Trevor's face squinted in concentration, reached out with the Force, and pulled the droid out of the slot. He pulled it towards him, and slowed it down as it neared the middle of the room. Small panels opened and closed, trying to grip on something. Trevor realized that he'd made a major mistake keeping this droid in his room. He walked over to his utility belt and pulled out his comlink.

"Security, report to room 1154."

Trevor put the comlink down, and concentrated on the droid floating in the middle of the room, reminding him of a training session when he was a youngling. Within three minutes, a security team of three Jedi opened the outer door of Trevor's apartment and entered the room. The first Jedi to enter the room noticed the droid floating in midair, and reach out to grab it from Trevor's Force-grasp. Trevor felt the tug of the other, and released the droid to the security team. The second Jedi walked up to it, and immediately identified it.

"It's an espionage droid. What happened?"

Trevor walked over to the human Jedi standing near the door.

"This droid just sent a couple of message from my com unit."

"Where did it come from?"

"It was recovered from one of my missions. It was inactive at the time. Please take this down to the analysis room immediately."

"Certainly, sir."

"I also need the services of an Jedi investigator proficient in tracing com-messages immediately."

"Yes, sir. We will send one to your room."

The fact that an espionage droid was loose in the Jedi Temple would definitely cause a stir. When the Jedi Security team left, Trevor went to his stash of datacards, placed it into one of the other available slots, and copied the messages to the datacard. Putting the datacard into his datapad, he was able to dissect the message enough to know that one of the sent messages and the received message was encrypted and transferred from a hyperspace relay station. Trevor knew that he could not break the code on his own. The destination of the communication was a generic alphanumeric name that made absolutely no sense to the Jedi. The receiving message was also from the same relay station. So whoever received the message also sent a message recently.

Trevor pulled his com-unit from his belt, and contacted E5 back to his room. The droid responded affirmatively. Trevor figured that E5 might be able to crack the code. He turned his attention to the second sent message. The message was sent to Xeddon Nine. Trevor felt a cold chill go down his spine, when he read that the message was sent directly to Princess Azulia Ulosa, his charge from his Trials. The message was identified as a High Priority, and the droid used Trevor's name as the sender. The short message made all the hair stand on Trevor's arms.

I have run into a nasty tangle here on Coruscant. I desperately need the help of someone of your station and influence. Meet me as soon as you can at Transit Port 67.

Trevor looked at his com-station, and realized that there was no response back. He knew right away that he was in some serious trouble now, and he only had one course of action: admit his mistake. He gathered his robes and headed to the Council chambers. Not knowing who would be there, he decided to bring it to the attention of the Council before any more damage could be done.

E5 rolled up to the door and Trevor strode up to him.

"I need to know if you can decode these message on this datapad."

The droid whistled at him, in a slightly condescending manner.

"Look, I need to know if you can do this without any lip."

A sheepish coo eminated from the droid, and Trevor slid the datapad into E5's console. "When you get it translated, interrupt me. Now follow along. I need to talk to the Council." Trevor exited his room and noticed that a analysis team was headed towards his room. He motioned them inside and prepared himself for a berating fit for a Jedi who royally screwed up.

The doors to the Council Chambers opened as Trevor approached. He expected one or two of the Council members might be awake and in the chambers; he did not, however, expect the crowd he did, though upon quick reflection, it made sense. Four Jedi Masters stood in a loose group in the middle of the room; Oppo Rancisis, Jedi Commander; Saesee Tiin, the best Jedi pilot; Yaddle, the historian who was in charge of dangerous and tricky artifacts and Mace Windu, the head of the Jedi Order. Trevor realized that these people were the first responders to priorities like this. Windu turned towards the open door and Trevor got the full force of his 'this-had-better-be-good' look. The Miraluka knew he never wanted to be on the other end of that look with a lightsaber. Yaddle's expression was one of guarded anticipation as if she were to witness a huge argument. Rancisis and Tiin's expressions were totally unreadable. Trevor walked up to the group and immediately began to explain the situation. Yaddle leaned her head to one side, noticing that E5 was following the Jedi. Her eyes squinted slightly at this break in protocol, but turned her face back to Trevor as he began to explain the situation. Trevor worked at keeping his voice even and calm, which belied the sinking butterflies in his stomach.

"Masters, I have a problem."

"So it would seem."

Trevor swallowed, soothing the sinking feeling slightly.

"One of the items that I have picked up during my recent mission to Umgul was an espionage droid. I brought it back to Coruscant, placed it in a locked drawer, and didn't think anything about it, until last night when it activated. I woke up from a dream and found it sending and receiving these messages. It is currently active and I gave it to the investigation team to bring to the analysis room for further study. These are the message it had," and Trevor showed them his datapad with a copy of the messages. "As you can see by this display, two of those message are encrypted. The analysis team, I am hoping, is working on it, I will follow that up."

Trevor's voice slowly sped up and by the end of his monologue, he'd built up such a head of steam that Yaddle bent her head down to prevent the smile that creased her face. She'd seen many a padawan admit a mistake and seeing a full-fledged Knight act like a padawan was extremely humorous.

"But we have a, uh, problem. A high priority message was sent from my station to Princess Azulia Ulosa telling her to meet me at Transit Port 67. Where is that location?" Trevor looked between the senior Jedi, and Saesee Tinn responded.

"That's a mass public docking station. Hardly the sort of place one would expect to receive a princess."

"Exactly, and I am hoping that with your permission we send another priority message with another's signature to tell her to disregard this. I will volunteer to …"

E5 interrupted Trevor's fierce diatribe with a series of incessant twittering. The droid wheeled forward, pushing into Trevor, trying to catch his attention. The younger Jedi placed his hands on the droid, silencing it for a short time. He connected his comlink to the datapad, and received a one-line translation.

YOU JUST RECEIVED ANOTHER MESSAGE.

"Display it."

The timestamp on the message was twenty minutes after the original message. All it said was:

TREVOR. I AM SENDING THIS FROM ORBIT. I AM ON MY WAY. AZULIA.

Trevor felt his face turn three shades of red. In thinking about the message she received, it made sense that someone of her station, after saving her life by dropping nearly five kilometers from an observation post to fall on a podracer and take down a bounty hunter that was tasked with killing the princess, who was the renowned podracer Zynonyx. Knowing her impulsive nature, he shook his head and exclaimed, "This is not good."

The Council members each looked at one another, listening to the semi-silent defeat in Trevor's voice. Mace Windu looked at the Council members and all nodded at him. The four knew that the Jedi had learned his lesson. There was no need to berate him at this point; the Jedi was doing more than any of the Council could have done. Windu's uncharacteristically gentle voice turned Trevor's attention back to the circle.

"Until the analysis of the coded signals is complete, we can only assume that these were sent to the mystery individual connected with the attack on Umgul. This has to be part of some kind of a hostile plot."

Trevor nodded, "That is my feeling as well."

"A mass public transit docking terminal will be extremely busy, extremely difficult to observe and defend."

"But on the other hand," Trevor interjected, "if they are looking for a reason to bring out these droids out into the open than what better way than a public assassination of a ruling family?"

"Interesting point." Windu's eyebrows shot up.

"And who better than to bring out a public figure than the Jedi who saved her life?"

"In the past, these droids had been concealed as mere guard droids or some sort of common labor unit, yes?"

"True, but on Ord Mantell," Trevor countered, "the one 'super droid' was killing people methodically, testing itself for some sort of future action. If that Chev was controlling it, whoever was the Chev's master, or client..."

Windu nodded. "We need to investigate the Coruscant security force for unexplained disappearances, especially near the transit docks. We need to investigate around the docks where these droids, or controllers, might be operating.

"E5, get that started." The droid whistled an affirmative response and rolled out of the room. The four Masters looked with a bit of surprise at Trevor's brashness.

He sheepishly continued, "I wanted to get a head start. Masters, I apologize for the interruption, but I felt it was important that you hear it from me directly."

Yaddle's face had a strange expression on it as she spoke to Trevor. "Perhaps, in the future, when storing confiscated technologies, remove the power cells you should."

"Yes, Master." Trevor watched her face, and he noticed the slight smirk on her face. He figured she could find humor in just about any mistakes. Windu stole Trevor's attention.

"I assume that you will be wanting to head up the investigation around the docking facility."

Trevor thought, Well, let's see how bad I screwed up. Out loud, "I bow to the will of the Council."

"You know these droids best. May the Force be with you."

Trevor bowed, turned and nearly ran out of the Chamber. He headed back to his room, and knew that he wasn't going to be able to sleep. E5 was already back into his room, accessing the holonet. Trevor walked by him, noting that the security and investigation teams had long gone. He placed his head on his pillow on his bed, and immediately crashed, trying to gather a few more hours of sleep to prepare for the next days' preparations. E5 heard the snores coming from the other room, turning his dome to see what kind of animal they let into the Temple these days.

Trevor awoke after just a couple of hours, enough to settle the nerves. E5 rolled into the room as soon as he heard Trevor stir. A datacard was extended from one of E5's maipulator arms. Trevor reached out and thanked the droid. He quickly dressed and walked into the main living area to review the information E5 had gathered.

There was a summary of what activity there was during the time that Trevor fell asleep and when he contacted them. A notation was made that the security team tore out the door to get a better idea of what it did exactly. The timeline showed that the droid sliced the lock on the door, used a small repulsorlift to maneuver over to the comstation. It plugged in, hacked its way into the panel. Due to the security within the Temple, it could not use Trevor's code or his voice. Once it sliced in, it immediately sent the encrypted first message to the relay station. The technicians noted that they could not follow the message from that point.

The contents of the first message were noted and Trevor reviewed those notes. The message was a self-diagnostics, status, a download of all the most recent mail Trevor had received or sent. It also included the origin within the Temple. A simple message of AWAITING ORDERS. The recipient was none other than the mysterious TALON. Trevor had this feeling that he was getting very close to revealing who this mysterious individual might be. He read on.

The second message, the only received message, contained a list of tasks that the droid was to accomplish. If anyone could have seen the look on Trevor's face, it would have shocked them at how white his face got as he continued down the list. The technicians had made a notation of the tasks directly below.

- Slice into the system and attempt to set up a remote access link to the computer system in the Jedi Temple (A technician noted that the droid actually tried twice, unsuccessfully,).

- Send a message (text was included in the download request) to Princess Azulia.

- Cover tracks and erase evidence of tampering.

- Disengage from unit and kill the occupant of the room.

- Once occupant was killed, proceed to Room LE-253 and eliminate occupant.

A few things jumped out at Trevor as he read the list three more times. The droid never sent a schematic of the Jedi Temple. Someone who had a familiarity with the Jedi Temple would know that the Room LE-253 was the quarters of Master Shudo Laan. Trevor noted that the droid was only able to complete two of the five tasks. The fact that someone had knowledge of the living quarters shook the reality of the situation. Talon isn't playing sabaac really well. One doesn't show their cards, unless they think they have the upper hand. He dropped the list on the kitchenette counter, and paced the room. He paced for nearly fifteen minutes, wondering who would cause harm to Shudo.

Suddenly, a memory sparked in Trevor's mind, causing him to grab his cloak and head out of his quarters. I need to visit the Archives. The idea flashed into his mind so fast that he did not even realize he was halfway down the turbolift to the Jedi Archives. He entered the main entrance, looking up at the volumes of data in the myriad of shelvings. Jocasta Nu noticed that he was standing in the main accessway.

"Master Jedi, I know you have been here many times," chided Nu.

"True Master Archivist, but never on such a mission of importance." Trevor turned his face towards the ancient archivist. "I need access to the Jedi Order's records, particularly to the records of all of Master Shudo Laan's padawans.

Nu cocked her head to one side. "I can get you the public records for that information, but the remained is stored in the Great Holocron. I am sorry but you will not be able to access that without permission from the Jedi Council."

Trevor nodded and followed Nu's beckoning wave. He was shown to a private screening room and Nu closed the door as she left. Reaching down, he punched in the request for Shudo Laan's padawan list. Even though his master had been in the order for quite some time, he only had three padawans to his name. Trevor knew that Kymber and himself were not the antagonists, because both succeeded in the Trials. Even though the temptation to review those records, he pushed the list down, and opened the file labeled VIKO TALAAN.

Upon reading the name, a cold chill gripped his spine. Talaan… Talon… The semantics of the pronunciation caused Trevor to pause slightly. He opened the file, and began to study the logs of Padawan Viko Talaan, a male Togruta whose physical strength was equally offset by his lack of patience. A notation under the file caught Trevor's attention:

Viko was a very promising padawan Physically powerful. Excellent duelist. Problems keeping it reigned in. Lacked control and discipline. Extremely impatient. Moderation of impatience causing nearly violent impatience. Trials should be an interesting test..

Insight serve Trevor best. Before he even got to the section on the Trial, he realized that the Trial must have involved something that required patience first. Trevor opened the Trials section, and was surprised to find that he was correct. The details of the mission showed that Viko was sent to a planet where two different cultures took part in fostering, the exchange of two children to the other's family and culture and raised within that culture to better understand the differences between the two. Viko was sent to the planet, which surprisingly was unnamed, to oversee the reintegration of the fostered children into their birth family. The political situation made the entire exchange volatile, even after extended diplomacy. The exchange was a very touchy subject. Viko's objective was to keep the situation smooth. Unfortunately, a number of people were injured during the exchange, and one almost died. Shudo's notes were very harsh and truthful. Shudo gambled on this mission for Viko, and his gamble failed.

Soon after his dismissal from the initiate ranks, Viko was sent to the ExplorCorp, which was sent out to explore newly discovered archeological sites for ancient Sith and Jedi artifacts. He went off for three years with the Corp, out on the outskirts of the Unknown Territories. Contact between Shudo and Viko was extremely short and terse, giving Trevor the feeling that Viko was trying to cut off all ties. Problems even cropped up during his tenure within the Corps as Viko tried to do things that an ExploriCorp member should not do. Specifics were not given in the file, but the tone of the notes seemed to indicate that Viko's impatience seemed to get the best of him yet again. On his last mission with the Corps, Viko had commandeered a ship and vanished. It was assumed in the notes that he stole a small two-person shuttlecraft, but there was no evidence to prove that he did indeed steal it. Records show that Viko told his supervisor he was using the ship to go across the planet's surface to help another team out and he'd return in "a couple of hours". After two days, there was no sign of any evidence that he crashed or got lost. The issue did not get the full attention of the investigation team due to another event, but Trevor's access was denied.

He rubbed the back of his neck reviewing his notes and the files. All indications lead Trevor to believe that Viko was, or is, the essence of Chaos. If Jedi were termed light, and Sith dark, Viko was whatever he felt he wanted to be. The impatience shown throughout the Togruta's tenure within the Jedi Order cause Trevor no small amount of concern. He was a random as a blaster rifle, and not nearly patient enough to realize that he was a thermal detonator ready to go off a the drop of a engine whine. This is not going to be pretty, thought the Miraluka about his fellow Padawan. The pieces started to fall into place. Trevor realized that if Viko was behind all of the droids, Dashade, the espionage droid, the Chev, all of it, he was doing it to exact revenge on Shudo Laan. Shudo had been trying to moderate Viko, changing him into something that he did not want to be. The danger signals went off in his head. If he went after Shudo, he'd easily go after Kymber and her padawan-to-be. Rumor was floating that Shudo and Kymber were negotiating with someone in regards to the newest padawan. Trevor pushed that from his mind, downloaded his notes and cleared the screen. He strode purposefully out of the Archives and directly to the Council chambers. This was information that needed to reach the members and Trevor also did not want to have his master unaware of the danger that he or Kymber might be facing.

Trevor entered the chamber with the entire council present. All heads turned towards the determined face of Trevor as he walked towards the center of the room. The silence of the members added to the gravity of the situation as Trevor began to divulge the information that he just reviewed.

"Masters, I believe I have found the identity of the mysterious contact known as Talon."

Windu cocked his head to one side. "The individual behind the assault on Umgul?"

"Yes. Viko Talaan, Master Shudo's first padawan. Information has reached me that the espionage droid was supposed to eliminate me. The last task that it was given was to kill Master Shudo. It was given Master Shudo's exact room number. No schematics were sent through the droid. It makes me believe that Talaan is behind all of this, including the droids and the Chev and the Essada kidnapping."

"This is a serious accusation against a former padawan."

"It is a hunch. Based on my research, Talaan is impatient, impulsive, and he may even hold a grudge. He may be waiting for the right time to exact revenge. And the best way to this may be to discredit or destroy the one person that destroyed his life. He may think that. If that is the case, we need to get a hold Master Shudo and Jedi Knight Kymber Thomree."

Windu shook his head. "You have no evidence that Talaan is even still alive."

Trevor took a deep breath. "Understood. It is a feeling that I have. Something just is not right. It's been bothering me for months. Not knowing who Talon is, that name has rung a bell in the back of my mind so long that it has finally come to me that it may be him. We don't know where he's gone. We do know that he has disappeared. We do know a shuttle was missing…"

The quietest member of the Council spoke up. Yaddle's voice pierced Trevor's tirade. "Gone he is. Alive he may be."

Trevor turned to the Jedi historian, thankful for an ally. "And that is what worries me, Master Yaddle. If he is alive, I know that he failed his Trials…"

Yaddle nodded, causing Trevor to pause. "Remember we must," she said, turning to the others, "the events that lead up to his disappearance."

Windu slowly nodded his head, as if recalling the events from memory. Trevor, having just studied his file, recalled the events, nearly verbatim of the things in his file.

"Ah!" exclaimed Yaddle. "More to this story, there is."

Trevor opened his mouth to speak, but immediately recalled a blank spot at the end of the padawan's file. He bowed slightly to the historian, and she spoke with surprising steadiness. "The mission the ExploriCorp were involved in, dangerous it was. A ship they found. Very old. Very strange. Part of the ancient Sith empire. Artifacts they found aboard this ship."

Trevor's eyebrows raised up slightly. "Based on this new information, it would make sense that he would hire Dashade to find a Sith artifact at the Museum in Alderaan."

Yaddle continued, "Left he did to find help."

"What happened after he left?"

"Boarded the ship a small team did. A Sith ship. Heavy defenses, many traps. Very dangerous."

"How many Jedi died?"

"Serious injuries, but none dead. The ship, destroyed. Perhaps Talaan found something. Took it with him and fled. Destroyed any evidence left behind."

The silence in the room while she related the events gave credence to the seriousness of Trevor's accusation. He knew he was taking a risk, but there was no other evidence to support his theory.

"If he did flee … And if he took something, he is extremely dangerous. Not only to Master Shudo and Knight Thomree, but to the entire order."

Trevor circled his vision around the chamber. Looks were exchanged, head leaned towards one another in whispered conversation. Trevor refocused his sight on Yoda, who also took note of the uneasiness in the room.

"Agree with you, the council does. Protect the princess, but uncover this plot. Learn what you can. Follow what leads you find. Find this Talon."

Windu interjected, "If he is dead, he is no threat to us. If he had no part in any of this, we will simply be glad to know that he wasn't killed. If he is behind this, he must be found."

"We need to get a message to Master Shudo as soon as possible. He need to be made aware of the situation," Trevor persisted.

Adi Gallia spoke up. "We will take care of it."

Trevor nodded. "Any advice, any knowledge about Viko Talaan that he can impart, have him contact me directly at his earliest convenience."

"We will do all that is possible. Proceed with your investigation of the docks and your preparations of the defense of the Princess. May the Force be with you."

"Thank you." Trevor bowed to the Council, staring at Windu and Yoda for a moment longer. He turned, cloak billowing behind him as he walked out of the chambers. The Council members immediately began discussing options between each other as the doors started to closed. Trevor's stomach started to growl as he reached the turbolift. He headed down to the common area, and ate a larger meal than normal for midday. He reviewed all the information he had and was certain that his conclusion about Talaan was correct. All his training, all of his senses believed that this was the person behind everything that was not closed. He thought back, even to the Senatorial Reception many months ago, and realized that all of these encounters were seemingly related. An hour had gone by while he reviewed and ate. He left the cafeteria and headed towards the common sparring area within the lightsaber training room. A group of younglings were being taught by a large Whiphid Jedi. The Whiphid was just finishing up her class when she notice the Jedi by the door. She turned to her class and had them line up against a side wall. She motioned Trevor forward.

"Master Luthana," greeted Trevor.

"Jedi Gul'dan, it has been a while since you have been in the sparring room. What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you had some open sparring time. It has been some time since I have had any lightsaber training or dueling with someone larger than myself."

She bowed to the young Weapon Master. "I have heard that you have been very busy over the last few months. I have talked with Shudo on many occasions about his fighting style. I'd be happy to assist you. Class, please stay outside the blue line and keep your Force use to a minimum. We will discuss fighting styles in a few moments."

The Whiphid and the Miraluka sparred for nearly twenty minutes. Trevor took on the roll of a training dummy, pumping up his defenses and not retaliating against Luthana. She would make one or two strikes at him, but would stop when a opening occurred. Sweat flowed down Trevor's neck as he got more and more comfortable with a larger opponent. In the last five minutes of the session, Trevor decided to work out his shoulder. Luthana made to attack, but Trevor surprised her with a quick parry of her green blade. His silver one made a swipe across the middle and she blocked it quickly. Luthana nodded to Trevor and both disengaged their sabers. They bowed to one another, returning each other's grins. A student's hand shot into the air.
"Master, what was that move you made on Master Luthana?"

It took Trevor a moment to realize that the student was talking to him. He stood up, turned towards Luthana, seeking her permission to speak. When she nodded her head in his direction, he replied to the student.

"Your fighting style is something you will learn over time and experience. I hope that one day you find your own style. I have been a Jedi for less than a year, and I can tell you that I am constantly learning about style, form, and how to use my abilities to keep balance in the universe. Good luck." Trevor left the room with every student staring at him, wondering who he was to learn such an advanced move.

Trevor took a skycab to Transit Port 67. It was a fifteen minute ride. He wanted to get a quick look around and talk with the harbormaster. The port was extremely busy for the middle of the afternoon. The discussions with the harbor master were simplistic. After explaining general what the situation was, it was agreed upon that Azulia's transport would not be delayed, but there would not be anyone leaving the ship right away. Trevor would be notified when her ship entered the traffic pattern. The security forces were to remove the public from the area if Trevor saw any problems that might endanger innocents. The timing of her arrival was still unclear, but based on average astrogation charts, the earliest that she would arrive would be between midday and early evening. He reviewed and turned things upside down, but still wasn't sure that he had everything set up correctly. He thanked the harbor master, promising to return early in the morning. Upon leaving the security room, Trevor walked down towards the loading platforms.

The public bustled about, jostling and trying to keep from losing their footing. Many beings moved around the Jedi, not wanting to be delayed in getting to their destination. Trevor watched the ship, looked around at the hurried crowds, wondering where at the port Azulia would be landing. As he looked around, he got the sense that he was being watched. He tried to break through the crowds with his vision, but no one figure came to the top. He decided to leave the area, until the next day. He boarded a skycab that had just pulled up and headed back to the Temple. A dark hooded figure leaned against the back wall, watching the Jedi board the cab. A gloved hand reached up and rubbed the chin, as if wondering how the Jedi could interfere with the plans that were already in motion. The figure pulled out a pair of macrobinoculars and watched the cab, wondering if he could take out the cab and get another bounty.

Trevor returned to the Temple, still troubled about his plans. He decided to find the foremost authority on tactics, Oppo Rancisis. The Council was not available in the chambers, but Trevor inquired and found that Rancisis was in a meditation room. He walked to the main meditation room hall, waiting at the end for Rancisis to complete the meditation cycle. The aged Jedi Master exited the meditation chamber and noticed the young Jedi at the opposite end of the hall. Rancisis turned in the direction of the Miraluka and hailed a greeting.

"Trevor Gul'dan, what can I do for you today?"

"Master Rancisis, I have need for your tactical experience." Trevor explained everything that he had prepared since he left the Council earlier that day. "I was curious, if there was something that I was missing? Is there anything that I might have overlooked?"

Rancisis' head nodded, listening, analyzing the situation, drawing conclusions and dropping unsuccessful ones. Trevor added comments and thoughts throughout the short walk. He recognized the stern concentration of the Jedi Master, deciding to stop talking and giving Oppo time to think about the entire situation. Rancisis stopped in the middle of the corridor, nearly knocking over a protocol droid as he stopped.

"If he's going to be there," Rancisis started, the 'he' being Talaan, "he'd probably be able to sense you."

"So, it should best to practice hiding wouldn't it?"

"That wouldn't hurt. We don't know if he's going to be there, though."

"No, we don't." A slight pause. "Have I missed anything? Are there any holes in the plans, from a tactical point of view."

Rancisis turned to the newly appointed Weapon Master, adjusting his posture and tone to add wariness to the Jedi's preparation.

"You may want to call in the assistance of additional backup. You don't know what you are going to be facing."

"I may try to find some of the Nexu Clan members."

"Excellent! You have trained together, you should be able to work together well. I expect to have a report on this when you have the chance. May the Force be with you."

"Thank you, Master. And with you."

Trevor bowed to Rancisis, and raced down the hall, wondering who would be available for a Nexu Clan dinner in Trevor's room tonight.

Noa Aquila, R'We'Nok and Dutana sat around Trevor's table, laughing at a story about when the four were younglings in the Temple. Some story about Noa and R'We'Nok getting into trouble of something they did jolted Trevor back to the present. He'd found these three sitting together in the Archives, trying to do some research on one thing or another. Trevor quickly catered a small dinner for the small group, and had it delivered to his room. The cabinet had been replaced earlier in the day, and the security sweep of the room showed that no listening devices were active in his room. Trevor started to clear the table, and was bring the spare dishes into the sink, when Noa pushed an elbow into R'We'Nok's ribs.

Noa whispered, "Here it comes, the real reason we're here."

"Do you think there's something up?" Dutana asked.

"After the alarm last night, I'm sure there is something up. Let's ask Mr. Jedi Knight when he comes back into the room." Trevor and Noa had been friends for a very long time, and the slight jibe was normal amongst the clan.

Trevor walked back into the room, carrying a tray of stimcaf for everyone, except Dutana. She was supplied with a mug of ammonia, due to her unique body chemistry. All of the Nexu Clan learned early on that salt had a narcotic effect on Arcona. Trevor made sure that Dutana had no salt in any of her food. He past out the drinks and was on his way back to the kitchenette when he realized that the room had grown silent. Three heads faced their host, anticipating the next words out of Trevor's mouth.

"I need your help."

Noa nodded his head. "We were kind of figuring that."

"Here's the situation. Early this morning, an espionage droid that I inadvertently brought into the Temple escaped out of that cabinet right there," pointing to the recently replaced door and lock, "connected to my comm-station, sent out two messages and received a third. Based on a message sent from the droid, the Princess Azulia Ulosa of Xeddon Nine is arriving on Coruscant at Transit Port 67 sometime after midday tomorrow, could be anytime between noon and the next day. She believes that I am in trouble. As part of my Trials, I saved her life." Trevor paused slightly, "Twice. She's an impulsive princess with a very bright head on her shoulders." Thinking back to that time quickly, Trevor never realized how impulsive he was in his actions, nearly matching her own impulsiveness.

Returning to the present, Trevor continued. "The reason I am asking for your help is that I believe that I have figured out that Viko Talaan may be behind the super-droids that have been plaguing systems recently." Before continuing, Trevor inhaled deeply, knowing that he did not have the full evidence available to make this accusation a second time. "As you may or may not know, Viko Talaan used to be the Jedi Padawan of Master Shudo Laan. He is a large Togruta, and is impatient; hence the reason for his failure in the Trials. He has never been able to learn patience. When he left the ExploriCorp, the team he was assigned had been sent on an exploration of an ancient Sith ship. We may have an emergence of a Sith. I do not know if he will be here or not, but I need your help in preventing any harm to come to Princess Azulia."

Trevor laid out the rest of his plan to the rest of the Clan, giving them what he had done over the last day or so. "I will be at the docks, waiting for that ship to arrive by midday tomorrow. And if any sort of assassination attempt is to be made, he may not be patient enough to go with one of these droid perform the deed. He may have many of them, and they are nasty."

Dutana leaned forward, mug of ammonia nearly empty. "So, let me clarify. You have a Princess unwittingly flying to a trap that may or may not involve multiple lightsaber wielding super-droids and a Dark Jedi - former student of your renowned master? And you want us to help you with this?"

"Yes."

R'We'Nok sat straight in his chair. "Of course."

Noa shook his head, smile evident in his human eyes. "Well, if R'We'Nok is going to do it, I guess I should too." Shaking his head and smile now even more evident, Noa decided to jab Trevor's Trial, just a little. "I can't believe they gave you a rescue-the-princess thing. And I'll bet you she was pretty, wasn't she?"

Trevor warmed to Noa's complaint, "Noa, you wouldn't believe me if I told you the truth." And with that Trevor pulled up the picture from the original mission assignment he had received. Noa and R'We'Nok gawked at the royal picture and the tension of the moment seemed to be released for just a moment.

"Just to be fair to you, this is for keeps. I don't know if Viko is on a mission to discredit Shudo or exact some sort of revenge plan. I am asking you to place your lives in danger. There is a possibility that you might be killed. If you do not want to do this, I will understand. I wanted that up front first. But it's your choice."

Dutana chided Trevor slightly. "I believe you knew we would accept when you asked us."

"The choice is always yours."

"Of course. When do you need us?"

"I don't know when her ship is going to arrive. Initially I am going to be there early in the morning. I'd like someone to go with me, to set up a command center. Those that aren't immediately with me should show up before noon. I need all of you on your toes. If anyone gets a strong sense of Dark Side energy then let me know. That will probably be Viko."

"Alright," Dutana nodded. "Why don't we all go together? That way we all know what is going on."

"Sure. Let's meet for breakfast tomorrow morning," R'We'Nok suggested.

"Sounds like a good plan. May the Force be with you," Trevor said, giving all a sense of dread.

"May it be with all of us," Noa added.

The early morning light streamed into Trevor's room, waking him as the sun shone in his room. He checked the chronometer and realized that it was nearly six. He dressed in an outfit reminiscent of his time on Tatooine. The white shirt and black trousers allowed Trevor to blend in a bit more with the seedy underside of Coruscant while his cloak covered the rest of his clothing. He performed some stretching exercises to get the kinks out. He also sent a message to the Council that he would be leaving shortly to 'perform his duties.' He did not mention the rest, as he believed that everyone else would have notified the Council what they were doing. He met the rest of his clan in the cafeteria and they all ate a hearty breakfast.

Noa started to ask Trevor, "So, what should happen if…" The look that Trevor gave him silenced him immediately.

"Look, I just want to have my morning meal with my friends and enjoy the morning as it is, ok? We have plenty of time for questions later."

Eight o'clock came around, and the group took a pair of skycabs to the transit port. Trevor and his companions entered the control room, where the harbormaster was just coming on duty.

"Master Jedi, what a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you today?"

"Harbormaster, I was wondering where my friends and I could set up shop? I do not know how long we will be here, and I would like to have a place close by to rest, if you don't mind."

The harbormaster nodded. "Yes, there is a security office with a couple of cots in it on the main floor. It is directly under the Lilting Dreadnaught, silly little cantina. Not much noise and it isn't anything to write home about, but it should suit your needs."

"Many thank, Harbormaster." Trevor started to turn away, but stopped. "When the ship we talked about yesterday makes its initial contact with you, could you send out a page for Sidney Electra? That way we know when it is nearby."

"No problem." The harbormaster wrote down the notes and placed it in his right side shirt pocket. "You don't take chances, do you, Master Jedi?"

"Not when I am doing my job. Thank you, sir. And good day to you."

The harbormaster waved as a junior harbormaster tapped him on the shoulder. Trevor exited the room, heading out to the main concourse. He looked around, trying to figure out where to go first. The rest of the group spread out, giving each other their own areas to cover. No one even explained what to do, the Jedi training taking over. Trevor knew instinctively where each of his clan was. He walked around the concourse, watching the ships and people intently.

The Jedi spent the next four hours, watching traffic patterns, people movement, trying to get some sense of the flow of the mass of cultures. As the day wore on, Trevor spent more time watching the vehicles landing and taking off, but as midday neared, he watched people more often, watching their movements and gestures. Just after midday, a figure caught Trevor's attention. A female Trendoshan walked through the main corridor. Her cloak billowed out showing Trevor some very well used armor covering her body as well as a few blaster pistols wrapped on her thighs. The quick draw placement gave Trevor the indication that she was a hunter of sorts, probably a bounty hunter. She seemed to be waiting for a ship to arrive, so Trevor catalogued her, keeping his vision on her every so often. The looks she gave to passers-by cause a path to be opened around her.

Trevor walked around a pillar, keeping behind the hunter. He looked around at the placement of the other Jedi, and moved his head, as if looking for a transport to arrive. The Trendoshan stood still for nearly thirty seconds, then slowly wandered away to another part of the dock. A snarl escaped her snout when a child gave her a sidelong glance. Trevor looked around at the others, catching first Noa's attention, then Dutana. Dutana spied R'We'Nok and pointed out the Trendoshan. Trevor went to the main terminal and spent a few moments looking at the schedule of arrivals for the public transports off-planet.

For the next two hours, nothing of note happened. Traffic seemed increasingly busy as large and small transports deposited their cargo and picked up new passengers, heading off to near and distant parts of the galaxy. Trevor noted that the Trendoshan kept making an appearance to the main concourse. He watched her, and the hunter stopped in mid-stride, looking up. Trevor thought that one of the others' was spotted, but realized after a moment that she was looking up towards an approaching ship. The design was not remarkable, but it did resemble a small civilian type of star-fighter. Trevor watched it, thinking that it might be Azulia, but no notice came over the public address. He continued to watch the ship, as the canopy lifted and the occupant exited the ship. The large blaster pistol on the belt definitely meant business, and the Rodian who exited the ship seemed to be lightly armored. The Rodian walked out, looked around, scanning the crowd. The female Trendoshan nodded in acknowledgement when spotted. Trevor looked at the Rodian, noting the light armor covering his entire frame. He realized that these two were bounty hunter, and they were definitely looking for someone. There was a huge bounty for someone, and Trevor had the sinking feeling that they were after Azulia. They have to be…

The Rodian walked into the main open area near Trevor. The Jedi turned his vision to follow the bounty hunter to an access door. About ten minutes later he was seen walking an upper balcony over Trevor's head. Trevor's vision allowed him to move his point of view so that he never had to move his head. The Jedi reached down, pulled out his comlink and contacted the nearest Jedi.

"Noa."

"Yes, Trevor."

"Keep your eyes on that Rodian that's about fifteen meters to your left."

"Thought that one looked a bit in the Trendoshan's league."

"Yeah, probably the same guild."

Noa's smile could be seen from the post Trevor was leaning against. Trevor nodded slightly, and continued to move around the main concourse, searching ships and passengers. An hour later, Trevor was looking at the others on his team when Dutana's head nodded in another direction. Trevor adjusted his vision and noticed a human woman with an extremely short hair style. An ugly scar dominated her facial features, certainly the result of an encounter with some bladed weapon. She had a toughness that transcended the thin and wiry look. The blasters on each hip and a vibrodagger confirmed that this was another bounty hunter. And one more makes three, mused Trevor. The comlink came out again.

"Dutana."

"Trevor."

"Keep you eye on her."

"Bounty hunters?"

"Could be in a strange sort of way."

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Yeah, me too."

Trevor pursed his lips, watching the three bounty hunters. Each one seemed to be aware of each other, but instead of working together, they acted at odds with one another. One would push into another's space, causing the second to move into the third's space, causing a reaction for the third to move towards the first's spot. Trevor's nerves were starting to get the best of him. The Jedi had been out in the open for nearly six hours. Each of the Jedi had taken a few moments off here and there, but with these bounty hunters entering the common area vying for space, Trevor felt that leaving would have been bad manners. A triangular face with tentacles where a human's mouth would be brought with it another bounty hunter into the fray, this time in the body of a Quarren. All of the hunters were here for something. As Trevor looked around again, a I7 Howlrunner landed on one of the civilian landing pads.

"R'We'Nok, there is a Quarren in the concourse. Monitor him."

"Certianly."

Trevor kept his vision on the ship and the Trendoshan. The ship's canopy opened up, and a Kel Dor, bug-like head and masked face marking the species rather easily, departed the ship. The common armor of a bounty hunter gave Trevor the distinct impression that this bounty was extreme. All five bounty hunters continued to vie for space of some sort. This guy's losing patience, thought Trevor. The cloak caught on a counter as he walked by brought Trevor back to the present. A sudden idea hit him.

"Noa, I am going to change clothes. I am dropping my cloak. Something doesn't feel right."

"Ok, I agree with you about it not feeling right."

Trevor moved to the bunk house that the transit security force used, stored it, adjusted his blindfold, and stored his lightsaber into a pouch in his pant leg. He walked back to the main concourse and sat on a bench just under a half-moon area of Transit Port 67. From this point, he could keep his eyes on just about everyone, bounty hunters and Jedi alike. Trevor continued to monitor the area, giving each of the others a couple of hour breaks. Nothing of note happened during the break periods. Each of the Jedi came back slightly more refreshed, ready for action.

Dinner hour had clearly come and gone. The lights inside the covered areas of Transit Port 67 automatically turned on when the outside light would have made it hard to see. Trevor had not moved from his spot for nearly two hours. He made a show of watching his chronometer, checking the arrival boards as if looking for a transport. None of the bounty hunters seemed to give him a second look, as if they weren't concerned with people watching them. Trevor circled his vision, as he had done every few mintues for the last couple of hours. As he reached the upper levels, he noticed a silhouette standing with his arms behind his back, looking out the window. The outline showed armor or a flight suit and a rounded helmet could be around it's head. Trevor came back to it a couple of times, and the figure did not move once. He zoomed his vision in, and noted that the helmet actually had an circular array of scanners and sensors that covered the entire face. The wheel looked like it might spin up in front of the face. Its arms were gauntleted, and weapons littered the body. Trevor reached out with the Force, trying to identify if this is what Viko now looked like.

Unfortunately, this being was not a Force sensitive, but Trevor could get the feeling that this was the most dangerous foe of all the bounty hunters. The figure was certainly humanoid, but did not move. The body suit was uniform grey color, with a black vest on the torso containing pouches, most likely full of power cells. The weapon belt containing two quality blaster pistols looked well taken care of. The entire setup gave Trevor an eerie feeling that he had been bounty hunting for many years and was a professional, which would make him a difficult enemy. Trevor's danger sense went off as he continued to monitor from the upper deck. The Jedi were certainly outnumbered, with six bounty hunters in the Transit Port and too many civilians for Trevor's comfort. Time to even the odds, thought Trevor. He pulled out his comlink and accessed the current harbormaster-in-charge while calculating who was the furthest away from the rest of the group. While waiting for the harbormaster in charge on the nightshift, Trevor spied the Rodian, looking towards the sky with a pair of macrobinoculars. The harbor master came over the connection.

"I need your security forces to quietly detain a Rodian."

"I can't guarantee how long we can hold him, probably a couple of hours."

"That should be enough."

"Is he dangerous?"

"Yes, if you consider bounty hunters dangerous."

"Ok. I will tell my men to be careful."
Rodians has the reputation of being troublesome. Trevor had heard stories that some Rodians did not even liked having people look at them. Luckily the security force seemed to have some experience with that species. The group's leader stood in front of the Rodian and the indignation that rose from the shouts confirmed the theory. After a few minutes of hollering and complaining, the leader finally convinced the Rodian to follow them towards the station. The Rodian followed, still bellowing.

Trevor nodded to himself, One down, five to go. He turned his vision back towards the most recent addition to the bounty hunter party. Greysuit's sensor array changed position, with a lens extending slightly, as if to zoom in. Trevor decided that this bounty hunter was the male of his species. The bounty hunter moved his head, as if taking in the scene. Trevor watched as Greysuit counted out the remaining bounty hunters. Well, that confirms that we only have five. Nodding to himself, Trevor's senses told him that the others noticed the change in numbers, though none seemed to be aware of the latest addition to the party. Noa caught Trevor's attention and gave a quick wink, indicating a job well done. Trevor nodded slightly, acknowledging the accolade, but still concentrating on the fifth bounty hunter.

The grey suit moved from his position and eventually ended up above the Rodian's last position. The figure was tucked back into a shadow, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. Trevor shifted uncomfortably on the bench. He'd been sitting still for over a half hour. Most people probably would not notice a blind man, but these bounty hunters might be aware of him. If they were hired by Viko, then he might have given them his description. No one seemed to be giving him much attention, so he continued his vigil. Trevor's sense that Greysuit was the most dangerous continued to plague him. He stood up from his place and walked up the nearest set of stairs. As he walked up the stairs, he caught Noa's attention. Trevor motioned slightly with his head. Noa nodded back, understanding that Trevor wanted to switch places with him. Trevor could tell that Noa wanted to take on Greysuit, but also bowed to the fact that Trevor asked him for help in this particular adventure. Trevor smiled slightly. Noa was never the one who liked to duel, but he seemed to want be in out front as he got older.

The night wore on and more people constantly were boarding and exiting ships throught the entire time. Transit Port 67 was constantly busy, with hundreds of civilians moving through the turnstiles an hour. The Jedi continued to take rest periods during the night, each getting a couple of hours of rest where they could. Trevor's rest period ended near mid-night and climbed up from his cot when three words sent electricity through his body.

"PAGING SIDNEY ELECTRA. PAGING SIDNEY ELECTRA."

Trevor calmed himself, took a deep breath and headed towards the area where Greysuit was last. He noted that the others were dispersing themselves near other bounty hunters. Noa was on the main concourse out in the open near the benches that Trevor had sat in most of the day. R'We'Nok was tailing the Trendoshan and Dutana seemed to have the Kel-Dor and the Quarren split. The evening air seemed cooler and there seemed to be electricity in the air. A small starfighter with a long sleek nose, a bubble canopy and huge engines on the back flanked by stabilizer fins closed on the main landing platform. A large blue stripe raced down the middle of the fuselage.

A few of the bounty hunters moved into position but Trevor moved his vision out over the concourse to review the situation. A movement caught his eye and he saw a potential problem to the plan. He immediately pulled out his comlink.

"Noa."

"Yeah."

"Park yourself in front of the ramp. Prepare for hell to be unleashed."

"That's what I've been waiting for!"

"Let the others know. I've got big bad and ugly up … here."

As Trevor spoke, he looked towards Greysuit, who had moved his arms so that the right gauntlet was aimed down towards the concourse. Trevor nearly panicked, wondering which one of his friends was in danger. He immediate moved his vision to look down the arm, and surprisingly, it was the Trendoshan who Greysuit was aiming for. A small puff clouded Trevor's vision slightly as a sudden projectile hurled its way towards the Trendoshan. The female was struck by a quick-acting paralysis dart and immediately dropped to the ground. The Kel-Dor immediately turned around, weapon drawn as he turned around. Trevor watched the grey suited bounty hunter take out the Kel-Dor in the same way. Noa's voice reached out to Trevor from the com-unit.

"What's going on?" Trevor could see Noa whipping his head around, cloak now dropped and lightsaber in hand but not activated. R'We'Nok and Dutana were also in the same position as Noa but not as panicky. R'We'Nok had been known for his calm composure when growing up. The Quarren, realizing that other bounty hunters were being gunned down and he spotted the grey suit against the wall. A bellow echoed around the concourse, causing the remaining civilians on the platform to scatter in all directions. The Quarren raised his blaster and levied a barrage of laser fire towards the rogue bounty hunter. Trevor immediately go on his comlink to the Harbormaster's Office.

"This is Trevor Gul'dan. Get your security forces down to the main…"

Alarms sounded from the far side of the complex allowing Trevor to stop his communication. He looked back towards his assignment, and realized that he was already moving to another location. The Quarren continued to fire upon the other bounty hunter, but R'We'Nok had slipped in front of the Quarren, blue lightsaber blade ignited. Noa's green blade and Dutana's blue were also active. Laserfire and lightsaber hums echoed constantly around the complex as Trevor followed the grey suited bounty hunter around the complex, back toward its original location.

Greysuit reached a point fifteen meters ahead, stopped and aimed his left hand gauntlet out across the open air. An ascension cable lanced out towards the opposite side of the concourse, piercing the paristeel beam. A second ascension cable thudded into the wall behind the bounty hunter. Trevor realized that the bounty hunter was going to repel the wire over Azulia's ship. The bounty hunter latched his belt onto the wire and immediately slid down the wire. Trevor realized that he would not make it by following him directly, so he took two running steps and leaped off the balcony edge to intercept the bounty hunter. He gathered the Force on the first step and pushed off on his second, releasing the Force behind him to propel himself across the open air to the sliding bounty hunter. Greysuit never truly saw Trevor flying towards him until the two bodies collided with one another. Trevor gripped him to try and slow him down, but the bounty hunter would have nothing of it. A gauntleted fist connecting with Trevor's shoulder and the force of the collision force air out of Trevor's lungs. He responded with a fist to the 'sensor face', but knew that nothing would get through the helmet. Trevor realized that he only a couple of moments to make his move.

He twisted his body, trying to force the bounty hunter down the wire first, but the bounty hunter realized what Trevor was doing. Greysuit did not fight the attempt and they turned around in a complete circle. Trevor reached his hand back as if to hit him in the face again. The bounty hunter's other hand pulled out a blaster pistol. As the pistol withdrew from the holster, a noticeable snick-vvvrrrrmmm could be heard as a vibroblade emerged like a bayonet. He slammed his fist into the bounty hunter's face and blocked the counterattack of the blade with his arm. Trevor jerked his knee into the groin area, but was rewarded with only a muffled clang as the armor blocked the attempt. The two slid down the wire, closer and closer to the last point when releasing would land them on the ship. Trevor realized instinctively that only a moment more, and if he released, he'd be dropping to the underside of Coruscant without gaining any new information from the bounty hunter. As he spun around he got a quick glance of Azulia standing in a flightsuit similar to her pod-racing suit with a blaster pistol in hand. She was looking up at the pair, with a look of how-do-I-shot-that on her face. Trevor realized that the decision was made for him. He pushed himself off of the bounty hunter, fell nearly five meters, flipped himself and landed on the walkway, activated lightsaber in hand. The bounty hunter released two seconds later, had pulled out a second blaster pistol releasing five shots in Trevor's vicinity as he flew down. The first shot hit the ship under Trevor's feet, barely grazing his ankle. The rest of the shots went wild, providing cover fire. Azulia jumped down off the ship and ducked underneath.

Trevor attacked the bounty hunter, but his blade barely connected with the armor plating. The attacks caused gouges to appear on the exterior while the bounty hunter neatly avoided the three-meter silver blade. The bounty hunter jumped back a couple of meters and opened fire again on Trevor. Laser fire bounced off the silver blade, one rebounding back onto the bounty hunter's armor, a second into the fuselage, and the third shot scarred Trevor's shirt as he twisted out of the way. The lightsaber reached forward, bouncing off the armor yet again. Trevor moved in trying to get a decent attack, and thinking he saw an opening. The armor was starting to break apart as the bounty hunter jumped back after each attack. The bounty hunter, though weighted down by his equipment, moved nearly as fast as Trevor. He moved away from Trevor, reached out with his right arm and an grey-blue mass was propelled towards Trevor. A half-meter away, the mass started to expand into a paristeel-cable netting. He swung his lightsaber trying to deflect it, but instead sliced through the center. The two halves breezed by Trevor, causing some strands to barely catch his clothing. A loud thunk could be hear behind, along with a zap. Trevor realized that the netting was meant to pin him down to the ship, and then electricity would have coursed through his entire body, either stunning him or even killing him. Trevor moved in, swinging his blade through the midsection. His opponent jumped back, nearing the edge of the ship. Trevor chased the bounty hunter again, and connected onto the top of the helmet on a follow through, sparks flying all over. The bounty hunter fired again, releasing a constant barrage of laser fire. Trevor's defense now were fully warmed up as all the shots were redirected into support beams around the complex. One shot was redirected back towards the bounty hunter, hitting him solidly in the left shoulder. A grunt of pain wafted from behind the mask as he moved closer to the edge of the ship that leaned out into thin air. After catching his balance, he brought up the left gauntlet.

Trevor moved in, realizing that he had the bounty hunter on the ropes and he was about to send another electrical net towards him, saw an opening. Time seemed to slow down as Trevor noted that the left arm was actually extending out a hair more than he should have been. An unarmored portion of the arm seemed to scream Trevor's name and the silver blade connected with that section of the arm. Time sped back to normal speed as the gauntlet clattered to the floor. Condensation on the ship contributed to the bounty hunter's feet slipping on the hull. He teetered backwards, ready to fall into Coruscant space when Trevor reached out with the Force and steadied his opponent, preventing him from accidently, or intentionally, falling off. The bounty hunter got his balance back, took a step towards the silver bladed Jedi and fell to his knees.

"Do you yield?" Trevor asked.

A tip-lipped muffled response greeted his ears. "Yes." The lightsaber retracted into the hilt, and the Jedi returned it to his belt.

Trevor gathered up the bounty hunter by the vest. The bounty hunter's head dropped to his chest as the Jedi removed all visible weapons and the vest. He assisted the injured man onto the platform into the waiting arms of R'We'Nok and Noa who help the nearly comatose warrior to his knees. Princess Azulia stood directly behind Trevor, pistol returning to her side while he was giving instructions to the others.

"Take him to the Healers. Get him stabilized. We'll interrogate him after."

"Roger."

"Take the others to the Jedi Temple-"

Trevor turned his head and whipped his vision around to see flashes of light in the night sky. In the distance, turbolaser fire could be heard bouncing off the Transit Port. Small lights were moving in the skies above Coruscant. Laserfire could be seen tracing the sky. An explosion could be seen and the resulting burning could be seen falling into the city below. Engine whines could barely be heard as well. All the clues pointed to a battle in the airspace over the Jedi Temple. Trevor made some quick calculations.

"The Temple is under attack! Get them over to the Temple now! Azulia, I need your services." He turned to find her already boarding her ship.

"Strap in!" Trevor raced up the small stairs into the rear seat of her ship. Barely getting the restraining harness on, Trevor was forced backwards into the seat as Azulia's starfighter raced across the cityscape towards the area of fighting. Trevor had to force himself to the fact that the inertial compensators were turned way down, obviously to give Azulia the feeling of podracing. Trevor immediately opened a communication channel to the Temple. He got the central communication room. As they flew on, the wreckage from one of the small star ships spiraled down through the atmosphere with three other ships following behind with tractor beams trying to slow the debris down so as not to hurt any of the civilians below. A trio of Whitecloaks followed the ship, wondering if they needed to do battle again. The communicator crackled.

"This is the Jedi Temple."

"Trevor Gul'dan approaching from Section 672."

"Do you see any more combat going on?"

The three Whitecloaks moved off, giving clearance to the blue starfighter. Azulia and Trevor both looked around.

"I can't see any, what's going on?"

Azulia confirmed it. "It's all clear. It looks like they got them."

Trevor repeat Azulia's comment, and his own. "It's all clear. What is going on?"

The response was guarded. "We'll inform you when you land. I suggest you bring it on in to landing bay VW-213." Trevor realized that this landing bay was for dignitaries and it was on the far side of the Temple, away from the current action. Traffic control must have wanted to have any airships near the Temple to approach from a more cautious side. No other traffic impeded them and they landed rather quickly. They exited the ship and immediately walked to the main Whitecloak landing bay in the main tower. Trevor kept Azulia close to him as they transitted the Temple. He was not going to allow her out of her site.

As the pair entered the Whitecloak landing bay, Azulia's shock could be heard clearly. "Whoa, you guys know how to set a place up, don't you?" She looked around at the cramped but fully-utilized area for repairs, paint jobs and maintenance. Trevor went over to a group of technicians and Jedi who were exiting from underneath a Whitecloak. The head technician looked over at Trevor, nodded to him and yelled back to another technician while walking over.

"Yeah, yeah. –16 and –13 are OK, but –26 is being brought in by the tug now. Master Jedi, what can I do for you?"

"I want to know who is in charge here."

The whine of a Whitecloak muffled the reply. Trevor turned his vision toward the incoming ship. The canopy was already fully raised as the ship was barely a meter off the ground. Trevor could see Saesee Tinn's face standing up as the struts hit the ground. Tinn noticed the Jedi and the princess standing in front of his ship. Trevor nodded his thanks to the technician, who ran over to where a tug had pulled in the disabled ship.

Tinn received a quick status report from the technician as he ran off and turned to towards Trevor. Trevor reiterated his question.

"What happened, Master Tinn?"

"There was an attack."

"On, on, on who?"

"On us." Tinn paused as Azulia slowly sidled over beside Trevor. "Princess. I am glad to see you well."

Azulia nodded a greeting, but realized that Trevor showed this Jedi tremendous respect, so she kept still behind Trevor slightly.

Trevor showed a slight bit of impatience. "Were my suspicions correct? Knowing that he was there?"

Tinn sighed. "I'm not sure. Their ships were destroyed. There were ten of them, basically Z-95 Headhunters and Malerunners. They ignored all traffic control command and shot down one of the TC patrol ships. They headed straight for the Temple. I dispatched five Whitecloaks, including myself. They all went down. They would not yield, they would not give up. I find this suspicious that this happened immediately while our attentions were focused on the events beyond the Senate Complex over at –67", meaning Transit Port 67.

Trevor brushed his chin thoughtfully, "Odd. It was coordinated."

A young technician raced over. "Master Tinn! Master Tinn! Frequency 836.34."

Trevor bowed to Tinn as he took the communication. The whispered conversation took a turn when Tinn returned.

"You," directing a finger at the young technician who relayed the message, "see that she is taken care of. Do not let her out of your sight. You," looking at Trevor, "come with me."

The Jedi boarded the Whitecloak, Trevor in the second seat, Tinn in the pilot's seat. The canopy was not even on the way down when the Whitecloak lifted off. Trevor experienced true piloting between Azulia and Tinn. There was no way that he'd ever get to be this good. The trip only lasted under five minutes, but Trevor was surprised to find that he was a the wreckage of the small ship that he and Azulia had passed just before communicating with the Temple. A platform had been erected and the remains of a Z95 Headhunter were on display for the security force to see. Trevor and Tinn landed and immediately jumped out of the ship. Tinn took lead, and Trevor was not far behind. They were just taking the body of the pilot out of the wreckage. The body was nearly burned into a crisp, but a three clawed hand could be seen from even the distance Trevor was. Tinn's face looked confused, but Trevor recognized it immediately. He blurted out, "Dashade" and the entire platform went utterly still.

Tinn turned to Trevor, "What did you say?"

"Master, if I am not mistaken, that is the hand of a Dashade."

"That's why I told you to come along."

Trevor paused before continuing. "He's losing his patience. We have pushed him too far."

"You stole his treasure."

"He wants it back."

"Your mission was a diversion."

"I guess it didn't quite work. He knew the Temple's defenses would be there."

"Perhaps it was sent as a message. We have to inform the Council immediately"