Chapter 17
After a mind trick and a few illusions to ensure he was not followed, Jacen made his way to a less prominent bar in Mos Eisley's where he told his companions to wait for him. Noting the place was empty of everyone, including the barkeep, he sat down at the table where the Jedi were enjoying a few drinks. "Nar Kreeta. That's where the main guy's operating out of."
"Good job, Jace," Jaina said sarcastically. "Guess what we found out?"
Jacen thought for a moment, but shook his head.
"There's about a hundred Sith-loyal Mandalorians buzzing around this spaceport, and half of them followed us here," Nelani started.
"And half of them are pointing their blasters at us because they want to kill you before you could spread any information about their leader," Karth continued.
"And they told us to sit here and lure you to them so they could kill you before letting us go. Oh, and they took our lightsabers," Eriana finished dreamily. She alone seemed unconcerned.
"Ah, they're probably after the bounty on me, too," Jacen said. "So, I guess by me telling you guys about this Urik Ragash, you're targets too?"
"You got it, little brother."
"Oh."
"Oh?" Jaina asked angrily. "That's all you have to say? The Great Master of the Force Jacen Solo can't think up anything better than 'oh' when he finds out he just condemned his friends and only sister to the Mandalorian slaughterhouse? Did you forget your vocabulary when you were learning about the Force? Did your brain evolve to the point where it could get up and…"
"That's pretty rich coming from a stuck up snob like you," Jacen shouted at his sister. "How many times did you nearly get us killed with your stupid machines and stupid ideas? If I had a credit…"
"Who needs a credit when you need a brain!" Jaina shouted, standing up and knocking her chair over.
"I need a brain?" Jacen jumped up, pointing to himself, and then pointed at her. "I think you got deprived of oxygen when they were waiting for me – the better kid – to be born!"
"Oh, bring that up why don't you?" Jaina sneered. "How very adult of you crying about being born second again! Here's a news flash Jacen: You'll always be second best!"
"Well, in some cultures the first born is considered the youngest because the oldest told them to get out to make sure its safe. You're nothing but a whiny decoy!"
"I may be a decoy but I'm the one who's been taking care of your sorry tree-hugging existence since day one!"
"NOW!" Jacen shouted. An astromech-sized hole appearing in the roof, followed by Womprat blasting himself through the hole on repulsor lifts and four active lightsabers appearing in Eriana and Jacen's hands. A second later, Astro leaped through the hole in the ceiling to follow Womprat, and blaster bolts started to rain down at the Jedi. One bolt grazed Jaina's shoulder, and another pierced Nelani's leg by the time the armed Jedi could move into defensive positions. Nelani went down with a cry of pain and Jacen tossed his spare lightsaber to Jaina. Karth received Eriana's second and moved to defend Nelani.
"Great distraction, Jaina!" Jacen said with a smile.
"Just doing my part!" Jaina smiled back, deflecting a dozen blaster bolts with ease. Jacen tossed Nelani a canteen from his belt.
"Pour this on the wound!"
Finally having a second to think as he reflexively deflected blaster bolts, Jacen noted that there were at least two Mandalorians at each of the windows and many shooting through holes through the roof. Their armour was highly protective against most forms of projectile and energy based weapons, and had surprising resistance to some Force based techniques. Jacen heard Karth grunt and could sense the pain from a blaster bolt that got past his guard and dispersed itself in his chest. A moment later grenades started rolling in, but Eriana was already tossing them back out the windows with the Force. Unfortunately, the grenades might only stun the Mandalorians.
"This is going to get ugly," Jacen told Eriana.
"No other way out of it," Eriana agreed.
"Up or down?"
"My turn for up."
Eriana jumped through the hole in the roof, and Jacen dove out the nearest window in a single bound. On his way through the window, two Mandalorian heads hit the ground while their lifeless bodies continued to fire out of reflex. Jaina's concern for her apprentices and herself rose with the other two Jedi gone. She was glad that whatever Jacen gave Nelani made her coherent enough to wield the lightsaber Karth had dropped, but Karth's injury concerned her. He had just collapsed to the floor and Nelani crawled over to protect him. A moment later, the only sound to be heard was the hum of several lightsabers.
"Jacen?"
"Over here," Her brother appeared at the front door of the bar, quickly moving towards Karth. He looked like someone who stopped by on a walk through a park. He called a bottle of water from behind the bar with the Force and began to pour it on Karth's wound while he murmuring something incoherent with his eyes half closed. Eriana's head appeared through the hole in the roof.
"Womprat's almost here with the ship," She called down. "Better get up here; you know how bitter he gets when he misses a good lightfight."
"We're good to go," Jacen said, taking his hands off Karth's stabilized injury and looking up. "Eriana, quickly get some of that Mandalorian armour off the bodies and find the missing lightsabers. We'll need at least six sets of armour, weapons, and any ID you can find. Take the bodies if you have to; we have to move fast and make them disappear."
"Gotcha," She called back and her head disappeared.
"Jacen, what are you planning now?" Jaina demanded, angry about the injuries her apprentices received from his crazy idea of a rescue.
"I'm planning on infiltrating the Mandalorian ranks," Jacen responded. He held up a device in his hand. "I got this off their leader. It has information about all the Mandalorian and Sith bases."
"When did you have time to read that?" Jaina said incredulously. "You jumped out of here, killed thirty Mandalorians, found a data card, and walked back in, what, twenty seconds?"
"What makes you think I have to read it to know what's on it?" Jacen asked back, looking slightly confused. He heard a familiar sound from above and gestured to his ship hovering above the bar. "After you."
-! #$%^&*()
The Falcon came out of hyperspace with a loud thud and the grace of a wounded Hutt.
"What was that?" Han and Leia both shrieked at the same time. Han sprinted out the door and Leia immediately took over piloting. She activated the sensors and used them to search for Saba's emergency frequency. A few moments later the sensors started bleeping in tune with the emergency transmissions and Han came back in.
"Kriffin' Jedi don't know how to warm up a ship properly," He said, dropping into his seat. "The whole backup life support system has to be replaced."
"Add it to the bill," Leia said, guiding the ship towards the homing beacon. "I'm sure Luke will cover it."
"He'd better. Okay, what have we here?"
"Saba's ship is about a hundred kilometres ahead," Leia responded and consulted the sensors again. "I'm picking up another ship in close proximity, but there are no signs of power. It looks like there was a fight. Saba's ship is barely putting out the homing signal."
"Alright, I'll give 'em a ring," Han flicked on the comm. "Saba, its Han. Ya hear me?"
"Would it hurt you to be less cranky?" Leia asked. "It's not like she isn't our friend."
"Talk to me after a full night's rest," Han growled and hit the PTT button. "Hey lizard-breath! You there?"
Only silent static answered him.
"Something's wrong," Leia said.
"Probably their transmitter."
"No," Leia protested. "There's something else going on. I sense danger."
Han looked at the HUD, watching the distance close below seventy kilometres, and then consulted the sensors. Unsatisfied, he fed more power into the sensor array and performed a thorough scan of the area.
"Got it," Han said, tagging two locations on the HUD. "Two ships behind the larger asteroids. Wouldn't have seen them without the particle drift sensor package Lando found."
"What shall we do?" Leia asked.
"Keep flying like we don't know they're there," Han advised. He retuned the sensors to scan for lifesigns now that they were within range and detected two on Saba's ship. "Looks like we're down two Jedi."
"I sense four," Leia disagreed. "Saba and Tesar must be in hibernation trances to conserve oxygen. They won't appear on sensors in a trance."
"Wake 'em up and let 'em know we're here," Han said. "We'll swoop in, dock, get 'em over here and take off before the pirates can get us."
"It doesn't work that way," Leia said helplessly. "Luke might be able to…"
"Fine," Han said irritably. "I'll be in the missile bay. Time our arrival to dock in fifteen minutes."
Han left Leia in the cockpit and nearly knocked over Threepio as the droid attempted to get into the cockpit.
"Just the professor I was looking for," Han grabbed Threepio's arm and dragged the stuttering droid along. "Time to earn your keep."
-! #$%^&*()
Queen Tenel Ka Chume Ta'Djo sat in her throne barely listening to the rambling of a representative from Charubah, one of the planets in her cluster, as he argued against the need for the Hapan defence fleet. After a few moments of Jedi meditation, she tuned back in.
"…and in addition to the cost of maintaining this fleet, we believe that the queen should not control a fleet of ships that dwarfs a GA battlegroup! Hapes does not need that much firepower in this time of galactic peace."
Tenel Ka realized that was her cue to speak, but she had forgotten this diplomat's name. Jarvis? Jaren? Jaden? It didn't matter.
"I ask of you, how many capitals ships did we have before the Yuuzhan Vong war?"
"Approximately three hundred ships," The man replied.
"And what are we up to now?"
"Nearly four hundred and sixty."
"And how many of those four hundred and sixty do you want me to mothball?"
"At least two hundred," He said. "With advances in technology we have gained from the war, our ships are more efficient and capable than ever. We do not need as many as before, and the credits saved could help out war infants on Charubah."
"And what, might I ask," Tenel Ka leaned forward a bit. "Would you have to gain from it? Which of my cousins are you trying to help out by making me appear weak so they can try to kill me? There are no war infants on Charubah. They were all relocated to our facilities on Reboam."
The man wilted under her glare. Through the Force she was able to see the truth come out, even though her newfound political shrewdness had unravelled his plot.
"Guards, seize this traitor," Tenel Ka said lazily. A few moments after the stuttering man was removed, one of her newest advisors, Ali, entered the chamber and handed her a report. She took the report and stood up, walking towards the indoor garden attached to the throne room. She paused, having sensed Ali was still by the throne, and gestured for Ali to follow. To Ali's surprise, Tenel Ka hung her silk cape on a tree and kicked off her shoes, apparently taking great pleasure in feeling the soil beneath her feet. They walked together in silence as Tenel Ka read her report, and Ali stumbled along in nervous anticipation trying to figure out what she should be doing. When she finished reading, Tenel Ka sat down on a bench and indicated for Ali to join her.
"What is your interpretation of this?" Tenel Ka asked. Ali was new to working in the palace barely having worked a week, but Tenel Ka sensed loyalty and intelligence in the girl. She was, however, still awestruck and extremely formal around her queen. The request of her interpretation seemed to shock the girl.
"I…um… It means that the Jedi are being more liked in Hapes," She studdered. "Oh, Your Highness. It means the Jedi are more liked in Hapes, Your Highness."
Tenel Ka smiled at the girl's nervousness. "Ali, why are you here?"
"I…sorry, your highness," Ali stammered wide-eyed. "You asked me to follow you…"
"Please, when we are alone, call me Tenel Ka."
Ali looked more and more like a stray animal caught in a bright light, bringing a small smile to Tenel Ka's face. After waiting for some kind of audible, comprehensible response from Ali, she continued.
"You are here as an advisor," Tenel Ka said matter of factly. "Chosen because you scored very highly in your aptitude tests, and because you are the kind of person I can trust with my affairs. That is why you are here."
"I understand, your highness," Ali said quietly with bowed head. Tenel Ka presumed she said that merely to save face, but chose to ignore her suspicions.
"Tenel Ka."
"Tenel Ka," Ali repeated.
Tenel Ka thought for a moment and posed a very painful question for her to ask.
"Ali, what side of an Ewok has the most fur?"
If Ali was confused before, it was nothing to what she was now.
"The…back?"
"The outside," Tenel Ka said dejectedly. She thought some humour might lighten up her new assistant, but it only made herself feel worse. For some reason, her mind had been wandering to thoughts of Jacen for the last month. Thinking of him, the best friend she ever had, while he travelled off on some journey of discovery made her wonder what became of him…and what would never become of them.
"I don't get it," Ali said with the polite tone of someone questioning her boss' sanity.
"Neither do I," Tenel Ka admitted. "Perhaps my thoughts have just been elsewhere today."
She turned and looked at her new assistant, who, for once, looked her in the eye.
Tenel Ka sighed. Suddenly, she didn't appear to be the most powerful woman in the Hapes Consortium, but merely a tired, lonely person.
"I am not someone you need to fear," Tenel Ka explained, smiling sadly. Ali felt the impulse to comfort the queen as she would have comforted her younger sister.
"I am more your friend than your enemy," Tenel Ka straightened her shoulders and looked at Ali squarely. "And I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on this report. Without the formalities."
Ali finally smiled and relaxed. "Well, as you saw, the majority of the planets in the cluster are taking to your leadership very well. The idea of a Jedi running things was once thought to be very questionable, if not out-right unthinkable, but you're viewed as arguably the fairest of all the leaders we've ever had. Obviously your family isn't too happy, as they all want the throne, but they grudgingly agree that you are holding the cluster together better than they ever expected. There are also some holdouts, mostly descendants of the planetary leaders from back when we were a pirate society, but I'd say about ninety percent of the population feels safer and more secure with you in charge than with your parents or your grandmother."
"This is good news," Tenel Ka agreed. "I would like you to…"
"Queen Mother!" One of Tenel Ka's servants rushed into the sanctuary, and she felt dread growing through the Force. "A fleet has just come out of the Transitory Mists and is attacking our defence forces. They're Mandalorians!"