Author's notes: There's a Jaina Solo reference here – it should be easy to find…for those familiar with the EU. Spoilers for anyone who finds it. Yup, Jaina and Mara Jade are my favorite EU characters… except for those from KotOR, of course. Maybe I'll write a fic about Jaina like I did about Mara, who knows?
Dark Lord Daishi – congrats, I didn't think anyone would spot that. Oh, the Mara Jade quote was: "So, you wanna get off me or were you just getting comfortable?" She says that to Luke, somewhere. Sorry, no spoilers for the JK quote. But if you spot the Jaina Solo reference, I might give you a big one as a fitting reward.
Anyways, JK is a cool game… though I have no idea how to get past the purification plant (or whatever they call it there) when you're escaping Sullon without cheats! Boc & Sarris kick ass, though. And yep, Malak´s gonna hear about that forever… at least until Revan starts worrying about more important things. (cough)Mandalorians(cough)
Brynn – Writing Jolee is a challenge – the old coot is one of my favorite characters in the game and certainly my favorite party member (along with HK-47… but that's for another reason entirely :D ). So finding a fitting response to Revan is quite hard… and I have yet to master the gentle art of pissing people off like our very own forest hermit. I also didn't want to copy VMorticia´s route through the KotOR universe – neither of the two. And there are only so many ways you can visit the Star Maps…
Besides, putting Kashyyyk as the first planet would require a fine bit of rewriting. I admit, I'm too lazy to do that. Don't worry though. The Jolee - Revan dialogues will be original (I hope).
X X X
Chapter 14 – Her Servant
X X X X
A dark cave filled with remains of strange looking alien statues suddenly became alive. The sculptor's skill was erased by centuries…maybe even millennia of waiting for the Builders to return, or someone worthy of receiving the gift of their power to arrive. The Star Map in the center was activated and a holographic image of the galaxy appeared. Soft lights toughed the floor, revealing sand and dust. There was little doubt that the statues were damaged due to the harshness of the environment and maybe the cruelty of the beasts that inhabited the world. They had to be drawn to the ancient power that resided within these ruins. The image became clouded, but the dark cloaked figure stood silently, watching. The puzzle was slowly becoming complete, retrieved piece by piece. She found another clue.
X X X
"Wake up! Wake up, Alexa!"
Someone began to shake her and she heard Mission's voice calling to her from the distance. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the young Twi´lek holding her arm with a worried look upon her face.
"Finally, you´re awake! I was getting worried – you were shaking. Bad dreams, huh?"
The vivid memory of the Star Map…was it just a result of the quest? She didn't know. "Bad memories, to be exact. Don´t worry about it. It's nothing." The female crew quarters were empty except for the two of them, though Bastila´s bunk showed signs of tossing and turning during the night.
"We're going to scout the planet a bit, so everyone who didn't have a shift for the past five hours got up early." Mission explained, "You should go eat something too – you look pale. Are you sure you´re okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Revan thought for a moment, weighing the possibilities. But it was always better to know your allies, right? "Okay kid – you can start. How did a Wookiee and a Twi´lek street urchin end up as best friends?"
"Really? You want to know about me?" Mission excitedly asked. "Nobody's been really interested in me before. What do you want to know?"
"Where are your parents? Do you have a family?" It seemed strange that a kid like Mission was living in a slum like Taris on her own. What kind of parents would leave their daughter all alone on an anti-alien planet?
"Big Z´s my family, you know?" said Mission, smiling happily. "My parents…well, I guess they're dead. It was just me on my own until the day I saw Zaalbar in the Lower City. I could tell right away he was in trouble. This was before the gang war had started, but even then, the Vulkars were scum! A few of them were hassling Big Z, trying to pick a fight - but he wasn't looking for trouble."
"They wanted to pick a fight with a Wookiee?" Revan mused rhetorically.
"Hey, nobody said the Vulkars were smart!" Mission noted, half-seriously, "But there were three of them, so maybe they figured they could handle him, I don´t know. Anyway, I don´t like the Vulkars for the best of times. And when I saw them picking on this poor Wookiee – all alone on a strange planet, overwhelmed by the big city – I just lost it." Zaalbar was anything but a 'poor Wookiee'. Mission's sense of compassion was really almost Jedi-like, but thinking that a Wookiee can't handle a fight against three weak humanoids – that was pure naïve. Weakness. "I screamed out "Leave him alone, you core slimes!" and charged right at them. One of them saw me coming and slapped me so hard he just about knocked me cold." She admitted.
"Not very nice."
"Hey – don´t treat me like I´m a little girl!" Mission objected, scowling. "I ain´t no kid – I´m fourteen years old!"
"I´m not saying you´re helpless, but you´re too young to be taking on a whole bunch of Vulkars on your own, kid."
"Hey! Oh, I get it – spending too much time around Carth, aren´t we?" Mission asked with a mischievous grin.
Revan didn't say anything, but concentrated on Mission's feet. A second latter, the Twi´lek landed on her ass with a thud.
"Hey! No fair!" she squealed. "It was just a joke!"
"This was also just a joke… kid." Revan said simply, managing a wink with difficulties. Mission mock scowled, but didn't get a chance to say anything because Zaalbar appeared in the doorway.
"Is something wrong, Mission? We heard a noise."
"No, everything's alright, Big Z – the Trickster here just tripped me with the Force because I teased her a bit." Mission whined.
"She's just been telling me about how you two met, Zaalbar." Revan explained, deciding to ignore the nickname.
"Well, I was just getting to the whole point of the story before you oh-so-rudely tripped me!" Mission pointed out. Zaalbar helped her stand up and she carefully sat on down next to Revan, as if she feared that another jolt of the Force would knock her of her feet once more.
"Well, back to our story. Those Vulkars didn't scare me. They're nothing but cowards. I knew how to deal with them. Of course, I never got the chance. I guess Zaalbar didn't like seeing me get smacked around. He let out this howl and yanked that Vulkar a meter up off the ground and held him there by his throat! The other two screamed and ran off. Can´t say I blame them. The first time you see an angry Wookiee up close it isn't a pretty sight. I thought Zaalbar was going to rip that punk's arms off and beat him to death with his own fists. The Vulkar was so scared, he fainted. Or maybe Big Z´s breath just knocked him out." Mission thought out loud.
"Mission!" Zaalbar howled from the entrance where he stood silently up till this point.
"Sorry Zaalbar, but I keep telling you to brush those choppers once in a while." Mission shrugged, "Why do you think I won't stand downwind when you´re talking? Anyway," she turned back to Revan, "I knew those Vulkars would be back with friends, so I grabbed Zaalbar and we took off. Ever since then we've been a team. We look out for each other, you know?"
"Mission always made sure we had a safe place to stay and enough food to eat. I was more of a lookout." Zaalbar explained. "With some help from the Hidden Beks, we were fine."
"Interesting." One backstory down, weakness effectively found. Five to go.
"I will tell the others that you will join them soon." Although the Wookiee was large, his footsteps were barely heard as he left the crew quarters and closed the door behind him.
"I'll stay here until you´re ready. Like I used to tell my brother – fast talk and slick words don´t get the job done."
"I didn't know you had a brother." Revan said as she began searching for her belt.
"My brother's a touchy subject, you know? I…well, I guess I can tell you. I don´t want to seem snappish. See, I get a little touchy when it comes to Griff. It's kind of embarrassing to tell people about him."
"You don't have to tell me anything you don´t want to." Revan said as she pulled on a boot.
"No, I want to tell you." Mission quickly said. "Zaalbar´s a great listener, but it might be nice to talk to someone who doesn't only reply in growls and grunts. I never knew my parents, I came to Taris as a kid, five or something. Me and my brother Griff were stuffed in a packing crate on a star freighter with just enough water and food to last the journey. Not exactly first class, huh?" she humbly asked.
"Use any means possible. Problems with the law?"
"I don't know the whole story – I was pretty young. My brother owned a lot of money and the only way to get off the planet was to smuggle ourselves out. See, this is why I don´t wanna talk about it! It makes Griff sound worse than he was! I don´t want us to sound like criminals…well, maybe my brother was. On Taris, my brother and I had a pretty good thing going. Sure, Griff had his run-ins with the law, but we got by okay."
"What kind of run-ins?"
"He gambled, he drank…but he had a good heart, you know? Showed me how to slice into a computer, get into a guarded building undetected, pretty handy skills."
"He's family. You have to stick by family. Besides, that kind of skill is handy."
"Yeah, that's what I'm trying to say!" Mission nodded enthusiastically. "Without him, I wouldn't be here with you today. But then Lena came." Mission pulled a face at the memory. "She was a dancer at the cantina where he used to play Pazaak. Griff could be a real smooth talker to and soon, they were dating. After they've been together for a few months, he told me he and Lena were leaving Taris to get rich off-world. He promised me he'd return for me and then we'd all live like royalty! That was two years ago. I really miss him since he left."
"Maybe something happened." Revan suggested.
"Oh, I know what happened! Once they left Taris Lena chunk her claws into Griff but good! She made him forget all about me!" Rage flashed through the girl's normally innocent aura. That highly amused Revan. Mission sighed. "Sorry…I tend to get a little worked out when it comes to this. You see, part of the reason I came with you was the hope that I could find out what happened to Griff. Don´t worry – I won't let it get in the way of things! But now it's my turn to ask questions!" A wicked grin appeared on her face. "Tell me a bit about yourself. How come the Jedi accepted you just like that, even though you´re an adult?"
"I am a Jedi on pure technicality, because they couldn't find a better way to bind me into their little contract." Revan explained, "But I'm allowed to speak my mind and be myself."
"Well, all the Jedi should do that!" Mission proclaimed.
"Try telling this to any other Jedi and you´re just asking for a lecture about the dangers of emotional entanglements and so on. Rather don´t do this – it could leave you scared for life."
"Yeah, well, I guess lectures are inevitable when traveling the likes of Princess Bastila."
"We have to get used to her, though." Revan sighed. "We'll be spending the next few months with her."
"Yeah. Say, I don´t know how old you are and where are you from." Mission asked, grinning widely.
Revan considered that for a moment. then again, there was no harm in telling that. There were far too many people of her age from remote planets, so it wasn't much of a revelation. "As far as I know, I'm 28 and I'm from Deralia."
"Well, since you're being so open, I´m 14 and from Taris, as you already know." The Twi´lek paused. "I…thanks for hearing me out, Alexa." Mission suddenly hugged her. She tensed immediately. This was too personal, almost frightening. "You're probably hungry now. I don´t know if the others left anything, so I brought you some food just in case. You know how Big Z gets when he doesn't get his eight square meals a day – he probably ate your breakfast. So, here you go – I saved you a bit of everything."
The Twi´lek produced a plate of various meals out of somewhere.
X X X
After a few minutes, they walked into the common area of the Hawk, where Bastila was trying to organize the others.
"All right, that's enough! We need to focus on the task at hand, don´t forget that." Juhani seemed to listen, Canderous ignored her completely and Carth seemed to find the wall behind Bastila extremely fascinating. Zaalbar was probably massacring their food storage. "Now, we have to organize if we're going to find the Star Map on this world. I suggest that most of us stay at the Ebon Hawk while two or three others go search for any possible information."
"I should go." Revan noted to get some attention and break the monotony of Bastila´s monologue. "I've scouted all four planets – I know my way around."
"You're probably right. You've proven your skills in organization and strategy on Taris – it would be foolish to ignore that." Bastila commented, nodding. "And at any rate, at least one Jedi must be in the group.
"Mission, T3 – let´s go." Bastila was about to say something, but Revan interrupted. "And if you insist that another Jedi should come, I would suggest Juhani." Bastila scowled, but didn't retort. Juhani stood up and smiled, following T3 out of the Hawk.
The minute Revan's foot touched the sand, a Czerka rep was upon them.
"Welcome to Anchorhead, potential customer." the man said slimily, "Czerka Corporation stands ready to serve, after some formalities, of course."
"Of course." Revan coldly said, forcing calm into her mind. The docking bay was too well protected to give into the temptation to see how well Force lightning goes with Czerka colors.
"First, your ship is not on our list of planned arrivals for today. There is a docking fee of one hundred credits because of this." he explained.
"I don't have to pay the docking fee." Revan said with a Force persuasion.
Juhani twitched a bit, but remained silent as the Czerka rep gave in without problems. "You know... I don't think you need to pay the fee. We'll let it go, this time." He said, his eyes slightly unfocused, "This will cover any future landings as well. It's like a registration, so we can serve you better when you return. Now, as a customs officer, I can provide information on services. Is this visit business or pleasure?"
"Unfortunately, we must be going now."
"As you wish. If you need anything else, I'll be here." he said in the same oily tone.
With the corner of her eye, Revan saw that Mission was already checking out the merchandise at the small shop in the docking bay.
"I'll catch up with you guys later! I'll take Big Z with me!" she added when Juhani wanted to suggest that. The Cathar shrugged and followed Revan out of the docking bay, T3-M4 closely behind them. Anchorhead was crowded with pretty much a mix of species – humans, Aqualish, Ithorians, Twi´lek, Duros… none of them were of any interest to them. They wanted to see what they have to do to get out of the city and how tight the Czerka security was. But Juhani seemed slightly tense in Revan´s presence, which the other woman quickly noticed.
"Something wrong, Juhani? Speak up, you'll feel better when you get it out of your system." Revan brightly said. Juhani gave her an odd look, but then shook her head.
""I...I thank you for your concern, but I am still a but shaken."
"Perhaps you just need more time to distance yourself from the anger you felt."
"More time would do me good." Juhani nodded. "I think that is why the Council agreed to send me with you. They think, perhaps, that in your company I will be able to free myself from it. But I feel I must apologize for the way I acted towards you before, in the grove. It was wrong of me. I am sorry for attacking you. I am sorry for thinking you would only try to kill me… even if you were a disciple of the darkness."
"Don't worry about it, Juhani." Revan said dismissively.
Juhani seemed to brighten up, the paleness of her skin disappearing slightly. "I hope that by helping you in this task I may redeem myself in your eyes… and my own. It is… most reassuring to know that you can forgive me, even though I tried to take your life. I can only hope that, in our time journeying together, I can forgive myself."
They noticed a swoop office on the way, so Revan made a mental note to visit it later. But since they passed the building without much notice, they ran into three fully robed Dark Jedi, who were apparently expecting them.
T3 softly beeped. On the other hand, Revan and Juhani weren't surprised at all. The tremors in the Force were visible. Sith assassins – how predictable.
"Lord Malak was most displeased when he learned you had escaped Taris alive." Revan arched an eyebrow at the semi-threatening tone "He has promised a great reward to whoever destroys you."
"Malak´s never displeased. He's irritated, angry or furious, but never displeased." she shrugged. "On the bright side for him, he won't have to pay you."
Two of them were immediately paralyzed by the fear Revan implied into their minds, collapsing to the ground and holding their heads. The remaining one seemed shocked and suddenly even frightened, but nonetheless drew two lightsabers. It was suicide and Revan could have defeated them on her own without breaking a sweat. Still, Juhani attacked the remaining Dark Jedi, kicking him in the stomach. Then she effectively decapitated him and proceeded to deal with the other two, who were clutching their heads in mental pain.
"What was that about?"
Revan didn't answer Juhani´s question. She crouched near the body of the Dark Jedi. They had several things with them, including grenades, credits and, of course, their lightsabers, which Revan took just in case. What caught her interest was a datapad their leader had with them. There were extremely detailed descriptions of her and Bastila there, including something that seemed like a cryptic message. It read:
Bastila has escaped from Taris. Anyone who finds and disposes of her and her Jedi companion will be rewarded greatly by Lord Malak himself.
Revan figured it would be only a matter of time before Malak finds out about Bastila´s escape. But the datapad included a description of her…that was disturbing. There was only one possible logical conclusion – Malak somehow already found out that she was alive. And the datapad referred to her as Bastila´s 'Jedi companion' – no name or anything pointing out who she was. Those Dark Jedi had no idea who they were facing.
Most intriguing.
She handed the datapad to Juhani. " 'Dispose of her and her Jedi companion?' The message speaks of you, does it not? I suppose we shall encounter more Sith assassins on the other planets."
Revan nodded, her thoughts still elsewhere.
So he knows that I´m alive. This is bad… who could have told him? Taris was destroyed and that was the closest he had ever gotten to me…
"Alexa?" Juhani broke Revan´s line of thought.
"Sorry Juhani, just thinking. This isn't probably the last we've seen of these guys. We should move on." That was when Mission, Zaalbar caught up with them. T3-M4 beeped happily once again. The droid probably noticed that the two women were handling the Sith well on their own, and decided not to interfere.
"Hey guys!" Mission chirped happily. "Have a look at this!" she showed them a double vibroblade she obviously bought from the vendor in the docking bay. It was of a cold green color. "The merchant said the Echani who made this vibroblade was the best of the Echani warriors, fighting against villainy…until he encountered Darth Revan." Mission explained. "When he heard that Revan killed an Echani senator, he tried to inform the authorities, but fell to the Sith Lord's powers, despite his skills and the cortosis weave of the vibroblade. It's kinda hard to believe someone who used to be a Jedi could do such things, huh?" Mission asked.
"The Dark Side is alluring, Mission." Juhani explained. "You would have to feel its power to understand. No one is immune to it."
The scoundrel shrugged, which effectively said that she didn't understand, but still thought turning to the Dark Side was an evil thing to do. Tatooine was really sand, sand and more sand. Exploring Anchorhead wasn't as interesting as one would think it would be – the sight of the Czerka guard standing in front of the gates told them enough.
"Y´know, I don't think the sand's good for Teethree´s circuits." Mission noted. "How ´bout we go to the droid shop – they might have something useful there. Maybe some better plating?" The others agreed, partially because it was extremely hot, despite their light clothing.
The shop was a dump. Mostly incomplete or rusted droids and such. As Revan´s sight became used to the shop that was way darker than the sunny town outside, she noticed an Ithorian merchant.
"What's this? A customer I don´t recognize? You must be an off-worlder. Perhaps you bring off-world money to Yuka Laka?" He was a bit over-zealous about money. Revan decided to silence him with the obvious question.
"What do you have in stock?" That was what he was waiting for.
"You're in luck. I have a droid ready for purchase. An HK-47. Just brought in."
At the sound of that, Revan´s eyes widened. HK-47? Wha-?
The Ithorian pointed to a darker corner and Revan couldn't believe her eyes by now. The Force, apparently, had a sick sense of humor, but Revan´s companions were surprised to find her face brightening up most unusually as she gazed at the human-like figure in the corner.
A tall droid, obviously custom made, judging by its advanced construction, silently stood there. The planting of the droid was of a deep blood red color and the droid´s eyes were also red, bright and shining, obviously searching for preys. Yuka Laka mentioned something about translations and Sand People dialect.
But still, Mission and Juhani and Zaalbar simply didn't understand the strange look on her face. it was distant, but… was that affection?
That was when the droid noticed the group, its matrixes immediately firing up to evaluate the situation. It had been stuck at this damnable droid shop for ages, because it always managed to scare the hell out of any would-be-buyer. But it wasn't its fault. HK-47 was simply very specific when it came to owner preferences.
Scanning new sentient arrivals…
Subject 1
Species: Twi´lek
Gender: female
Chemical scanning…
Hormonal and pheromone output scanning finished.
Age: 14
Personality: overly cheery, bubbly, talkative
Nickname: Sentient gizka meatbag
Subject 2
Species: Wookiee
Gender: male
Chemical scanning…
Hormonal and pheromone output scanning finished.
Age: 143
Recognition: negative
Personality: quiet, reserved, shy, unsure
Nickname: Oversized Ewok carpet
Subject 3
Species: Cathar
Gender: female
Age: 25
Chemical scanning…
Recognition: negative
Personality: fiery, easily grief-stricken, regretful, critical
Nickname: Kitty-cat meatbag
Subject 4
Type: T3-M4 astromech unit
Recognition: negative
Nickname: Tin can
Subject 5
Species: human
Gender: female
Chemical scanning…
Hormonal and pheromone output scanning finished. CAUTION: failure
Age: zzt… beep…
Recognition: Zzt…beep…core mal…function… unable to identify sentient… supposition: data erased through memory lockdown.
Personality: zzt… unable to determine…. Bzzt…Nickname: Dark enigmatic meatbag
Conclusion: Most suitable owner: Dark enigmatic meatbag
"Greeting: Hello to you, prospective purchaser. I am referred to as HK-47, a fully functional Systech Corporation droid skilled in both combat and protocol functions. Query: Would you be so kind as to purchase this model from Yuka Laka? It would serve my purposes to be removed from his ownership." It begged.
T3-M4 began frantically beeping.
"Objection: I am not dangerous, you bucket of bolts!" Juhani nearly had a heart-attack when something close to fondness appeared on Revan´s face. "My former owners are, indeed, alive… or at least I believe so, having no access to my memory." HK amended. "I therefore make no claim to that designation, prospective buyer. I am a law-abiding droid. Yes, indeed, law-abiding, that's me."
Mission snorted at that statement, since she clearly didn't believe it. But once the beaming red predatory eyes of the assassin droid darted into her, she rather stopped and hid behind Revan.
"HK-47, I am Lord Darth Revan, your creator. Respond. " Revan said in one of the ancient Sith languages… one of the few she could be sure no one else in the room could speak. "Command: Reactivation of homing system, deactivate security memory lockdown. Say my name and I'll permanently delete your special protocols, you bloodthirsty pile of junk." But her tone implied that it was no more than an idle threat.
"Observation: Homing system restoring memory..." There was great excitement, even more than when killing meatbags, in HK-47´s voice. And happiness…sheer happiness when the normally vicious eyes observed the human woman, recognizing her as the Master that created him – the one with the familiar designation of 'Revan'.
Activation of homing system: initiated
Memory lockdown deactivation: proceeding
Security memory lockdown: deactivated
Update: Subject 5: Dark enigmatic meatbagRecognition: positive
Designation: Darth RevanStatus: Dark Lord of the Sith, creator of this HK-47 type unit
Nickname: Master
"I have returned to you…and my full functionality is now under your personal control. I exist to serve as your personal battle droid. Greeting: It is a distinct pleasure to see you again, Master."
"Thank you. I trust you´re ready to eliminate any meatbag opposition, correct?"
"Observation: Naturally, Master. I do hope we shall engage together in combat soon."
For the first time since they set out on this journey, Revan felt satisfied. If only for this, coming here, to this dusty rock, was worth it. Yuka Laka watched the whole scene, apparently stunned.
"This…this droid belongs to you?" he asked fearfully.
"Wonderful, isn't it?" Revan asked, her eyes beaming at HK-47. "And before you ask, the designation means 'hunter-killer', for obvious reasons. I would strongly advise you not to anger me while we talk price."
Yuka Laka nodded frantically, but then regained his business-like behavior, although he constantly kept eying the droid warily. "It's a fine machine, in solid shape. I won't give it for less than 5000 credits."
"HK-47 units were permanently damaged junk that nobody would buy." Revan said with a wave of her hand. "I am doing you a favor. Give me the droid for free."
"You're right. You´re doing me a favor to get this junk out of the shop. It's yours for free."
Juhani glared at Revan, who shrugged innocently when the Ithorian gave her the droid.
"Observation: I must congratulate you for your effective use of aggressive bargaining, Master." HK noted brightly. "My restraining bolt will be deactivated once you take possession of me. Query: Shall I travel with you now? May I kill something for you, Master? Statement: I am most eager to engage any kind of unadulterated violence, once again under your command, Master. Explanation: Your beloved cruelty is most refreshing."
Revan turned to say goodbye to the Ithorian. He wasn't paying much attention, so she tapped his shoulder. From what she could tell, he smiled, as if he had completely forgotten that she was there. She could tell that it had been his technique of ignoring HK-47 whenever the droid dished out one of its impressive insults. "Oh, hello again. I´m afraid I don´t have any other complete droids at this time, but you've already pleased me very much by buying that worn out HK-47, so that's one less problem. You'll get excellent prices once I´m restocked."
"Objection: Worn out?!" the assassin droid shouted. "Listen you talentless meatbag! One word from my Master and I'll tear you apart limb from useless limb!"
"Um…you've
gotten yourself a bit hostile there, droid." Yuka Laka
nervously noted.
"I have always been hostile!" HK proudly stated. "Now that I don´t need to rely on your primitive maintenance skills anymore, I don´t need to hide it!"
"Yes, that kind of problem. Good luck
with that."
"Observation: I am not a problem, you useless organic meatbag! You and your lack of any organized mechanical skills are a problem!" HK claimed with a hint of smugness.
"Well, just keep away from me then. I´m just an honest businessman."
"Query: Can I kill him now, Master? I would ever so like to crush his neck, just a little. It has been a long-time fantasy of mine." The Ithorian seemed terrified and gulped.
"Maybe later. We have things to do." Revan dismissively noted.
"Um…is that really necessary, Alexa?" Mission piped up from the corner.
"Query: Who is 'Alexa'?" HK-47 asked, puzzled.
"The meatbags that travel with me know me under the designation 'Alexa Denali', HK." Revan explained. "It's for safety reasons, I'll explain the rules to you on the way to the ship.
Travel with me now." She added, silencing HK before it could spout the meaning of each name.
"You hear that, meatbag?" HK smugly noted, waving his riffle at Yuka Laka, "I will be back!"
Revan shook her head, close to amusement, and made her way back to the docking bay, to find some rest before they enter the vast Dune Sea. The Ithorian was still frightened when they left the shop.
X X X
"So, what does the droid really do, Alexa?" Mission asked Revan along the way. HK-47 was walking beside Revan, blaster riffle in hand. Not that anyone wanted to disturb them anyway.
"Protocol, translator, combat droid… you name it, HK-47 does it." Revan curtly answered. Mission whistled quietly in awe, ignoring the fact that HK´s eyes flashed at Revan, clearly noticing the fact that she deliberately didn't mention its true functions.
"Now, HK, I'll give you a list of people who are traveling with me – that means you aren't allowed to kill them, unless you like the prospect of being melted for scrap and rebuilt as a boring machine commonly known as a standard protocolar droid. No special functions." she added.
"Objection: But Master! Am I not far too useful to be thrown away in such a casual manner?" HK all but whined. Mission's giggles were immediately silenced when the droid´s blood red eyes once again rested on her.
"I could always build a new droid." Revan commented, but she wasn't too serious now. "Three humans – a female Jedi named Bastila. Kill her and I will program you with a concern for life." The droid seemed to be terrified of that prospect, but remained silent. "A male Republic soldier named Carth Onasi and a Mandalorian – Canderous Ordo. Then all those you see here – Zaalbar, Juhani and Mission."
"What about Teethree?" Mission asked.
"Statement: Destroying ex-trash compactors is no fun, blue gizka-like meatbag." HK retorted.
"Um, why the meatbag references?" Mission asked, rather edgily.
"Explanation: The Master's pupil once asked me what I thought of him and I informed him of his meatbag status. He was unimpressed, but the Master found the reference humorous. She changed my programming so that I would continue to use the term. It drove her pupil to extreme lengths of frustration." HK said. The smugness and glee the droid was radiating at this achievement was nearly touchable.
"Pupil?" Juhani asked with a puzzled expression. "I did not know you were a teacher of some sort."
"I told you I am the Master." Revan reminded her. Juhani cringed, but obviously got the hint. Still, she had the sense not to mention it in front of the others – only Mission and T3 knew a bit about Revan´s past. The droid couldn't care less. And Mission seemed to think she had forsaken the Dark Side. Juhani tried to believe the same, though she couldn't help but still be slightly wary in Revan´s presence.
"Who was this pupil of yours, Alexa?"
Revan was spared the effort of telling her a lie when a Twi´lek woman who walked past them turned around sharply.
"Mission! Is that you?" When she came closer, Revan saw that she was young, probably just out of her teens. She was of a light golden color, wearing simple but stylish clothes fit for a dancer. Mission was outraged when she recognized that the Twi´lek was in fact…
"Lena?! What are you doing here? Where's Griff?" Mission demanded.
"Oh, I´m just passing through. Griff and I broke up a few months after we left Taris together. Your brother can be charming, Mission, but he's bad news." She added with a reassuring face. Mission's blood seemed to boil.
"Don't
you start trashing my brother, you cantina rat!" Mission
snapped, anger rolling off her aura in waves, "Take that back or
I'll smack you so hard your head-tails will pop off!"
Revan
instinctively grabbed the Twi´lek´s shoulder. Lena was
obviously not expecting such attitude from her.
"Mission? What's wrong with you? Why are you acting this way?"
"She tends to get a little worked up when it comes to her brother." Revan assured Lena. She didn't want to start a Twi´lek catfight in the middle of a crowded street, ignoring Juhani. Lena nodded.
"Yeah, I know how she feels. Griff can be pretty frustrating. I guess that's why Mission didn't want to leave Taris."
Mission spluttered, "You…liar! Griff told me you didn't want his little sister tagging along!"
"Is that what the Hutt-spawn told you? Now things are finally beginning to make sense! I wanted to take you along, Mission. I even offered to pay for your ticket. Why not? I paid for everything else why I was with that freeloader! But he told me you didn't wanna leave Taris. I said we shouldn't even go then, but he said we'd come back and get you after we struck it rich on Tatooine - just another one of his lies!"
"Griff wouldn't…"
"Well he did." Lena interrupted. "Think about it. If Griff wasn't trying to ditch you, Mission, then why didn't he tell you where we were going? After we left Taris he told me looking after you was holding him back - Griff's always looking to blame other people for his own problems. That's why he abandoned you. He did the same thing to me, too, as soon as I ran out of money. He started blaming me for all his problems. Like it's my fault his get-rich-quick schemes never work out!"
"Sounds like you´re better off without him." Revan commented.
"You damn well know it! He's nothing but a sleazy scam artist! If Mission knew what's good for her, she'd forget all about him as fast as possible!"
"But Griff´s my brother – I can´t just pretend he doesn't exist!" Mission snapped.
Lena elegantly shook her head tails, rolling her eyes. "Ah, hey – if you wanna talk to Griff, go ahead. Last I heard he was trying to make fortune working the Czerka Corp mines here on Tatooine. But as far as I´m concerned, he's out of my life forever!"
"Griff's better off without you anyway, you table-dancing, brother-stealing home wrecker!" Mission snarled at Lena.
Lena sighed, "Guess that's my cue to leave, then. But one day, you'll see that I´m right about your brother, Mission. I just hope it isn't late by then."
With one last wave, Lena walked away, disappearing in the crowds. There was practically smoke coming out of Mission's ears, the Twi´lek breathing heavily until the unexpected visitor vanished from sight.
"Kid?" Revan asked warily.
"Don't tell me you believe Lena´s lies!" Mission lashed out. "She…Griff…" she sighed. "Sorry. I guess…I guess I should thank you for stopping me from really smacking Lena.
Although she deserves it. At least Griff´s free of her clutches. She was probably lying anyway. But maybe…I don´t know. I still want to talk to him, hear his side of the story before judging him."
"We'll find him, Mission." Juhani said before Revan could say anything else.
"I just hope he isn't in any trouble once we do. That looks like the Czerka Corp. office, don´t you think?" she pointed at the formal looking building close to the spaceport.
"Probably so. Czerka runs the entire colony, so I suppose they would have their offices near the docking bays."
Mission grinned. "Time to swoop through the cantinas and let the local Pazaak players make us very rich?"
Revan glared at Juhani for a moment. "I was thinking about the first part, actually – time to swoop. We have a bike stored on the ship, so we could make good use of it." If that wouldn't work, she would just loot a certain Ithorian´s corpse… once HK would be done with him, there wouldn't be much corpse left, however.
The Twi´lek shrugged, "Okay, but I wouldn't mind a bit of Pazaak." Mission seemed to have calmed down a bit, but appeared eager to enter the offices. The interior of the Czerka office was very much like the exterior – sand made walls. A Duros was…having a disagreement…with the protocol officer. The human female kept a calm face as the Duros shouted at her.
"You'll be hearing about this, you Czerka puppet! I´m not about to let this drop! And don't tell me to take my concerns to your corporate kiosk! I know when I´m not wanted!"
"What's going on here? Why are you shouting?" Juhani wanted to know.
The Duros was clearly frustrated. "I am done talking to this office. They aren't interested in listening to me. I doubt they will even acknowledge I was here. Typical corporate evasion. That's what happens when they own everything. No accountability. Don't even bother bringing it up." And he stormed out of the building.
Mission raised her eyebrows, obviously surprised. She watched the protocol officer apologize to Revan.
"I´m sorry about that, ma'am. Disagreements happen sometimes, I´m afraid. Now, can I help you? These are the offices of the Czerka Corporation." No duh. "I trust you have business with the company? If this is about employment, I´m afraid all regular mining positions are full and we no longer sell hunting licenses." Was it just the sound of her voice screaming 'Punch me, I´m an evil Czerka rep' that made Revan want to punch her in the face?
"Well, then we have a problem. Because I´m here about the licenses."
"As I said, we are no longer selling them. There are too many people cavorting about outside the walls as it is."
"Have there been a lot of people leaving the city?" Mission asked. Her point was clear.
"With the downturn in mining, people want any chance at credits they can get. Most wouldn't survive a day, let alone qualify as hunters." she explained, "The last license issued before the ban was given to a woman named Marlena Venn. She'll do fine; she had a mean streak a parsec wide. She also paid double. Exceptions like this are rare, unless it suits the company to offer them."
"So there's no way I could leave Anchorhead?"
"Well, normally we charge two hundred credits, but I could make an exception if you agreed to perform a task for us. It's similar to hunting." The woman said, sizing Revan up.
"Get to the point." Mission snapped. The Czerka didn't cringe.
"Of course. The Sand People are becoming a problem. They destroy our sandcrawlers and kill our miners. One particular tribe is the worst. It's as if their chieftain has decided to wage a war against us. I would like their attacks... terminated. Bring me their gaffi sticks as proof. If you agree to do this, I'll give you a hunting license now and pay a bounty for each stick later. I'll give a bonus for the chieftain's. Are you interested?"
"Yes." Revan answered without question.
"Excellent. Now, just so we understand each other, this is an enforceable contract." Mission tried hard not to snort. "Czerka Corporation takes this very seriously." the Czerka rep said, "Here is your license, and a few directions." She went to her desk and then handed Revan a hunting license and a map, "We believe one of their enclaves is in the far south of the Dune Sea. You might try following one of our sandcawlers. They are regularly attacked. I wouldn't mind you escorting them."
"I´m looking for a miner named Griff." Mission interjected.
"Griff?" Clear panic. "Um…no I´m afraid there's no Griff here." She said far too quickly. An obvious lie.
"But you want to tell her about Griff." Juhani noted, refreshing her memory a bit with the Force.
It worked. "Can you spare me a few moments? I have something I want to get off my chest. I want to tell you about one of our workers. His name was Griff. We hired that Twi'lek some time ago. Not a good worker according to his crew chief: always complaining and faking injuries to get out of work. He entered false time sheets and slept through his shifts. We even suspected him of stealing Czerka Corporation supplies, although we could never prove it."
"Yup, that would be Griff." Mission muttered.
"We would've fired him but we needed workers." the Czerka rep continued, "It would have been better for him if he had been fired. Then the Sand People wouldn't have gotten him. He was lost in a Sand People raid we suffered not too long ago. There were prisoners taken, but our rescue parties never found anyone alive. In the end it just wasn't cost effective to keep searching. All miners sign a waiver absolving Czerka Corporation of liability in these circumstances."
"So you're workers are all expendable." Juhani said flatly.
"Czerka Corporation cares deeply for all of its employees." she said, her tone slightly insulted, though it was an obvious lie. "That's why we've started a bounty program to thin the Sand People numbers."
"So he's dead?" Mission trembled slightly.
"We didn't find his body so we have to assume he was taken prisoner. Whether he's still alive, I couldn't say." the Czerka said calmly, "That's all I can tell you. I shouldn't even have said this much; this is all privileged corporate information. I could lose my job!"
And outside the Czerka offices, the other side of the argument was waited to be told by the Duros that had stormed out of the office, apparently eager for allies.
"Query: Is this misshapen organic bothering you, Master? Shall I blast him?" HK asked hopefully at once.
The Duros ignored the droid. "The Sand People aren't animals. I've watched them, and they are intelligent. There must be a way to peacefully stop the attacks... I know it." he said, determination in his voice, "But no one will try, of course. You can't even leave the city without Czerka approval and they want the Sand People dead."
"We
will do out best to attempt a peaceful solution." Juhani said
quickly, but the Duros didn't appear to be satisfied. Revan decided
to leave the pointless discussion to the Jedi and turned to walk
away, Mission and HK following quickly.
After some won Pazaak games in the cantina, stocking up on supplies and the fun in watching HK-47 scare the hell out of the unfortunate residents of Anchorhead, Mission suggested they return to the ship. It didn't go as smoothly as Revan would like, however. An Aqualish holding a datapad of some sort stopped Revan as they entered the docking bay.
"Hello there, captain. Let´s see…" he looked down at his datapad, checking something. "Ah, yes. Here it is. It looks like the shipment has been delivered to your ship, as requested."
Revan frowned, "Whatever you put on my ship, I want it off. Now."
"If you want the cargo removed, you'll have to fill out another requisition. I have one right… wait." He searched his attire, but didn't find the item he was looking for. "I thought I had one. Oh, well." He shrugged. "At any rate, the gizka are yours. One of the loaders said the crate split open once he put it in your hold… some of the critters might have gotten loose. That happens, I´m afraid. We don't accept liability… and we certainly couldn't take the cargo back. Enjoy." And he scurried away before she had the chance to electrocute him. Revan gritted her teeth and prepared herself for the worst. Of course, the ship was overrun with gizka.
"Disgusting little vermin." She hissed as three of the creatures happily hopped past her.
"Query: Would you like me to exterminate these intruders, Master?" HK asked. Revan didn't need to think about the answer.
"All yours, HK." And she blasted a few of them with Force Lightning, before heading for the swoop hold to check out her new bike and improve it a bit.