Happy Friday, Force Fans.

So, this chapter takes us off of Tython to a place that holds a special place in my heart. Knights of the Old Republic is still, to this very day, my favorite video game of all time. And revisiting it is always a joy.

Chapter Fourteen

A loud beeping noise woke Aedan in the middle of the night. He slowly crawled out of bed, put on a shirt, and exited the Captain's Quarters, which brought him right into the path of a half-asleep Kyra.

"Incoming transmission?" she asked.

Aedan nodded groggily, "Yes, and it better be good," he said, as he sat down in the Navigator's chair, activating the holotransmitter, while Kyra leaned against the back of his chair. The blue light flickered on showing a Cerean male.

"Lumaro," Aedan said, surprise in his voice.

"Kahl, we've got something for you, but it's extremely time sensitive."

Aedan leaned back in his chair, "I'm all ears."

"Yea," Kyra said, then yawned loudly, "Me too."

"In a few days Trellan Luk is publicly releasing his brand-new, state of the art central processing units on Taris."

Aedan and Kyra stared at the blue-lit Cerean.

"What's a Trellan Luk?" Kyra asked

Aedan covered his face with one hand, "What on Nar Shadaa does that have to do with us? I told you only contact us if you have something good."

"Central processing units designed specifically for droids. Even Combat droids."

Aedan's head snapped up. "Oh."

"Oh," Kyra echoed.

"Exactly," Lumaro said. "Apparently, he's onto something big, revolutionary even, and boasting they're the fastest chips ever. He's going to make a big event of it on Taris."

"And if Sa'kard wants to make the deadliest droids in the galaxy, he's going to want those CPU's."

Lumaro nodded. "I don't think he's going to miss this."

"But why wouldn't Sa'kard just wait until later, and steal the chips from the production location?" Kyra asked.

Lumaro shook his head, "Because Luk is pretty much a recluse, never gets in front of the public eye, and keeps all his work locked up tight. Apparently on Taris he's changing things up, and providing a demonstration and everything."

"His company's stocks aren't doing so hot I'm guessing," Aedan said.

"Well...yes. They've gone down, but if he's right about this new tech, they're going to skyrocket, and the public release will garner even more interest from investors."

Aedan looked up at Kyra, who shrugged, "Looks like we're going to Taris." Then turned back to the holoprojected Cerean, "Send us everything you've got," Aedan said. "We'll leave now, and sleep on the way. Taris is not a short trip."

"You got it, Kahl, but you may need some backup on this one."

Aedan leaned forward, and rested his chin his hand. "Yeah, you're right. I'll call in some help."

The Cerean operative nodded, "Good luck."

"Good work, Lumaro," Aedan said, and ended the transmission. He turned to Kyra, "We leave immediately."

"You really think he's going to be there?"

Aedan shrugged, "If these CPU's are legit, then I think he'd be stupid not to."

Kyra nodded, "And Salas isn't stupid."

"No, he isn't."

The Peerless Guile broke through the cloud layer and the city planet of Taris stretched out before them. "It looks a lot like Coruscant," Kyra said, as she stared down at the tall skyscrapers they were skimming over. These super towers, however, were not as tall as Coruscant's, and nearly all of them had rounded tops to their buildings. And unlike the Capital, the tallest buildings all came to the same height. There were small buildings and structures interspersed among the skyscrapers, but no building stood out as the tallest. It made for a very uniform skyline. Large walkways, platforms, and plazas dotted the spaces between the tall buildings, and Kyra could see thousands of people walking around.

Aedan pointed to a building on their right, "That skyscraper, the one with the open courtyard, is called the Advent Tower, and is where Trellan Luk is holding the big release."

Kyra observed this particular building and noted the difference. Not only was it far shorter than the surrounding skyscrapers, it was missing half of its rounded top, as the other half of the roof was an open and elaborately adorned courtyard. People were setting out chairs, and constructing a stage at the edge of the courtyard.

Kyra nodded, "Well, it does look pretty cool," she said. "Plus, it's a little more secure than if he had done the reveal in one of the plazas."

"True," he replied, "So where is it vulnerable from?"

Kyra looked down again at the structure, "From the air, for one."

"What else?"

She saw at least a dozen well-armed and armed security personnel stationed around the platform, and saw some would occasionally glance at the two supertowers on either side of the courtyard building. "From the adjacent skyscrapers."

"Exactly. We'll need to be wary of all avenues of attack, but those are the most likely," he said. "Did you learn much about Luk on the way over?"

Kyra bobbed her head quickly, "He's apparently a genius, was putting droids together at the age of six, and has built his company Ascension Engineering pretty much by himself. It struggled early on, but became huge after about a decade. Did you know that he's an Omwati? I've never seen one before, but apparently their culture values intelligence and creativity above everything, so it makes sense. He's somewhat of a recluse, always working, but anytime he is out in public, he seems to be quite personable."

Aedan pursed his lips, nodding. "Good work, Padawan. I'm curious to see what he's like in person."

The 'Guile touched down on a nearby landing pad, and Aedan and Kyra strolled along the elevated walkway to the Advent Tower. Kyra walked over to the side of the duracrete highline, and peered down. Just like Coruscant there were upper and lower parts of the city. But Coruscant had over five thousand levels, its buildings reaching six thousand meters into the sky. Taris seemed to be half that height, topping out at just under three thousand. A couple hundred meters below was another walkway directly under them, but it was still considered the upper city. Unlike Coruscant, however, Kyra could slightly make out the lower city areas, it was hundreds upon hundreds of meters down, but she could see the lights down there, whereas on Coruscant those lower levels were completely obscured by the thick clouds of smog.

"Come on, Padawan," Aedan said, "We don't want to be late for this."

"Of course, Master. Sorry."

They walked briskly towards Advent Tower which loomed over them. Though they were walking through the main entrance, the bottom of the structure was still hundreds of meters below them. Its foundation rooted on one of the many reinforced megapillars.

Four heavily armed guards, all dressed in dark blue uniforms, and wearing brown leather tactical rigs and bronze helmets, greeted them not so amicably. "State your business," one of them said.

"Jedi Knight Kahl here for the meeting with Trellan Luk," Aedan said.

The four guards now stiffened, now revisiting their assessment of the two robed figures. "Sorry, Master Jedi," the guard said, "I-I didn't know."

"No worries at all," Aedan said, hesitating a few meters before the transparisteel double door, waiting for the guard's permission.

The guard shifted on his feet, and scrunched his lips, "Sorry," he said voice breaking, "But, um, can you provide I.D. You see, I'm not supposed to let anyone in without proper identification. They're really making sure security is tight."

Aedan stared at the man for a moment, but nodded, "As they should. We don't carry I.D, but-" he looked back at Kyra, "Care to identify yourself?"

Kyra grinned and shrugged, then looked around the elaborately adorned building entrance, and found her target. Using the force, she lifted one of the lifelike-sized duracrete statues of a Fathier, and levitated it into the air.

The four guards' jaws fell open, as their eyes followed the big statue up into the air.

"Will that do?" Aedan asked, as Kyra lowered the statue to the ground.

The main guard shook his head, coughed into his hand, and said, "Yep, that checks out. Thank you. Walk on in."

The interior of the building far surpassed the exterior in terms of aesthetic design. Marble stone walls and floors were accompanied by dark metal railings and gold embellishments. A fair skinned twi-lek with black hair, wearing a dark black suit greeted them with a pleasant smile. "Welcome to the Advent Building, Master Jedi's. Mr. Luk and his team are waiting upstairs on the terrace, but you can leave your bags here with me." Once Aedan and Kyra placed their small backpacks containing hygiene items, sleepwear, and auxiliary robes, she gestured to their right. "Take the Turbolift up to the 133rd floor."

Aedan bowed, "Thank you, Ma'am," and strolled on by.

They walked onto the turbolift which shot them up the tower and stopped at the Terrace floor. The doors opened revealing a long hallway, with office and conference rooms to either side. They could see the hallway lead to the terrace so they walked toward it, admiring the corridor, as well as noticing a substantial amount of TarSec Guards.

Stepping out of the hallway, Aedan could see the terrace was far bigger than he had guessed, and could easily fit well over a hundred people on it. Tall transparisteel walls wrapped around the courtyard, for safety as well as wind buffering, rows and rows of chairs were lined up facing the red carpeted stage. And there on that stage, overseeing the preparations was a tall, blue skinned humanoid that had subtle avian attributes in its facial structure, as well as feather like gold hair. The rest of his body was covered in heavy looking, tan robes, and a thick red belt going around his waist. He noticed them, and a slow smiled spread across his face. His arms spread wide in a welcoming gesture, but Aedan was getting mixed feelings from him, interestingly enough.

"Let me guess," Kyra whispered as they walked toward him, "That must be...Trellan Luk."

Standing next to Luk was a female Omwati, but her attire was tactical, with two blasters strapped to her hips, and her countenance was quite the opposite of Trellan's, as she didn't bother hiding the sneer on her face. Clearly, she wasn't a fan of Jedi.

"Welcome, welcome, Jedi Knights," Trellan said, "What an honor to have such distinguished guests. I am Trellan Luk."

Aedan and Kyra both bowed in front of him, "Mr. Luk, I am Aedan Kahl and this is my padawan, Kyra Dawnstar. Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice, I know you're very busy."

"Moments can always be spared for the legendary knights of the temple," he turned to the female omwati, "This is my mate and head of security, Mileesha Taw Seera." Both Jedi bowed again to the female, who continued to offer them derisive glances. "Please, come," Luk said, "My advisers and security team are inside. We'll talk there."

They followed the two Omwati back inside the building, and to the right into a large conference room where they were met with more unfriendly stares. Three TarSec officers were there, as well as two other heavily armed individuals in dark gray armor, and two more Omwati dressed also in fine robes. "If we can all be seated, we'll get started," Trellan Luk said, and the varied group of individuals sat down around the conference table.

"I was surprised when I received the notice that jedi were coming to assist in my big public reveal, even though I asked for no such assistance."

"Nor do we need such assistance," Mileesha said.

"My thoughts exactly," the gray armored wearing human said.

Luk cleared his throat, "Forgive my team members, Master Jedi. This is Lieutenant Briggans, foreman of the Grey Beks."

Aedan held up his hand, "Beks as in the Hidden Beks?"

Briggans gritted his teeth, "The Hidden Beks were a Lower City Swoop Gang. We are elite, highly-trained professionals."

Aedan lazily swung his head back to Trellan, tilting it to the side. "Mercenaries. You hired a team of mercenaries," Aedan said, and then turned back to Briggans. "How did you get the rank? Put up a couple thousand credits? Why not just go all the way, and self-promote to General?"

Briggans was on his feet, his hand on his sidearm, and murder in his eyes.

Silence marked the room, as while the two mercenaries made a show of force, Aedan and Kyra hadn't moved a single muscle, and merely stared at the flustered soldiers of fortune.

Trellan slowly stood up and raised his hand in front of Briggans. "Can we behave like proper individuals," he said looking at his hired gun, and then looked at Aedan who merely responded with one raised eyebrow. The "Lieutenant" slowly sat down, and Trellan continued. "Yes, I did hire the Grey Beks, as they are the best on Taris. I knew this could be a potentially precarious position I'm putting myself in. And that brings us to the real question. Why are you two here?"

Aedan pursed his lips for a moment, then leaned forward putting his elbows on the table, and resting his chin on his clasped fists. "I'm afraid you don't realize just how much danger you're in. There is someone very dangerous who is building an army of droids, and we have reason to believe that he is after your new chips."

Trellan leaned back in his seat. "And who is this someone?"

"Salas Sa'Kard," Kyra answered.

"Never heard of him," Mileesha said.

"Neither have I," Briggans added.

Aedan shrugged, "All the same, we think he's coming here."

"Why?"

"Are your processors the most advanced in the galaxy."

Trellan looked Aedan squarely in the eye, "Absolutely."

"Then he is definitely coming here. He wants them for his droid army. So, if you don't outright cancel the reveal, we urge you to add us to the security detail."

A slow smile came across Trellan Luk's face, "I'm sorry, my friends, but I will not be canceling. This is my life's work. This is my moment, and I won't cower in the face of adversity."

"This isn't some corporate struggle you're facing," Kyra interrupted. "This man is a killer and he will stop at nothing to get what he wants."

Aedan nodded, "She's right. You need all the help you can get."

Mileesha leaned back in her chair, the outright disdain for the jedi still prevalent in her curled lip. "He is more than taken care of. Along with a dozen TarSec Spec Ops and the twenty-five Grey Beks, we have the cooperation of the Taris Defense Force, as they've loaned us six speeders and two starfighters. We are more than prepared for any threat, even this Sa'kard."

"Thank you, Mileesha," Trellan cut in, "As you see all will be fine. But as I am honored by your magnanimous offer of assistance, I shall give you VIP passes to the event, as well as a deluxe room in this building so you can stay close by for the night."

Knowing that was all they were going to get, Aedan bowed his head, "Thank you, Mr. Luk, that is most generous of you. If there is anything you need feel free to contact us."

Trellan inclined his head deferentially, "Same to you, Master Jedi. You are honored guests. My assistant will escort you to your room." Aedan and Kyra stood up while the security officers and Grey Beks remained seated.

A shorter blue Omwati female was waiting for them as they exited the conference room. Both Jedi bowed and the blue skinned female giggled, and bowed back. "Master Jedi's, it's an honor, I am Tinna Veesa. Would you follow me?" she said in sing-song voice.

"Of course. Lead the way," Aedan said.

They followed her to the lift, and watched as she punched in floor One hundred and twenty-five. "Tinna, is this a hotel or an office building?"

Tinna laughed warmly again, "It's an office building, a hotel, and a tech center, as the top twenty floors are where Mr. Luk's labs are."

"I see," Kyra said. "The terrace is on level one-thirty-three, so his labs overlook the courtyard."

"Exactly. There's a total of a hundred and fifty-three floors in the Advent Tower."

Their turbolift was there in seconds, and Tinna lead them out, and down the hallway, stopping at a room. Kyra handed them two silver-plated, square-shaped key cards. "Here are your keycards. Your bags will be delivered to your room, and I'll personally see to all you need. Enjoy your stay."

"Thank you, Tinna," Aedan said, once more bowing, causing the young Omwati's cheeks to turn a slight shade of purple, and then he walked into the room, Kyra right behind him.

The room was nice indeed, complete with dark wooden furniture and an extremely large holoscreen. Aedan then noticed the two full beds. Nice of them to take that into consideration, but the beds were a mere meter apart, and as Aedan lately was spending the majority of his willpower burying these budding feelings for Kyra, the room instantly grew a lot hotter.

Although, it was a likely possibility that Kyra would be facing down her demon tomorrow morning, she was still excited to, for the first time, be in a hotel room. Her smile faded as she noticed the two beds close together, and heat bloomed in Kyra's cheeks. Sleeping in different cabins on the same ship was nothing, sleeping in the same room together, mere meters apart, that was something else entirely.

Oh, Force, I'm in trouble.

Kyra was still staring at the beds when Aedan turned to her, locked eyes with her and then quickly faced the other direction. What on Taris was that look? In the four months they've been master and apprentice, never, not once had she ever seen a look like that. Was Aedan Kahl nervous? What in the world could he be nervous about?

Kyra watched as he moved away from her, and then asked, "Um, is there...do you have a preference for which bed."

He is nervous. "I'll take this one," Kyra said, referring to the one closest to the bathroom.

Aedan nodded, and then looked out the window as the sky outside had darkened. He began pulling off his boots, and Kyra did the same, though she hoped he wasn't getting ready for bed as it was far too early for that. Plus, they hadn't even had dinner.

"I bet you're wondering what we're doing for dinner," he said, causing Kyra's insides to contract. Were my shields down or something?

"The thought crossed my mind, and my stomach may have proffered a query as well," she said.

He laughed at that, and then gave her a knowing smile. He walked over to the darkly stained wooden desk, and picked up a datapad. "Tonight, we shall be enjoying the splendor of...Room Service."

"Room...service?" Kyra asked.

Aedan nodded, "Room Service," he said, and handed her the datapad.

Which was a menu!

"Really?" she asked, her voice going up an octave. "I mean," she said, speaking dully, "Really, Master?"

Once again, Aedan laughed, and Kyra was loving the sound of it more and more. "Yes, pick two items on there, and I'll pick two items. Then they deliver the food here, and we'll eat it right here in our beds."

Kyra felt her jaw drop. "You mean, they deliver the food to us? Here?"

"Yep. And then will watch a holofilm."

Kyra looked from Aedan to the datapad to the holoscreen and back to Aedan. Then gripped the datapad tightly, and had to stifle a squeal, while Aedan just sat there a bemused smile on his face. "This is so exciting!" she yelled.

"Now pick your two items," Aedan said, smiling still.

"Pancakes, obviously, and..." she scanned the datapad, "The Chandrilan squall tendermeat."

"Fine choices," Aedan said, taking the datapad, "I'll put the order in, while you find us a movie."

"I get to pick?" she asked.

"Well, yes, but I get veto powers if you're too out of line."

"What, like Dark Romance?"

"Exactly."

Kyra laughed, "Got it, got it," she said, using the remote to scan through the titles on the holoscreen. "How about A Shadow Falls or...Dark Journey Light."

Aedan turned slowly back to her, "You know what Dark Journey Light is about, right?"

Kyra nodded, eagerly. "Revan and Bastila, and their quest to destroy the Starforge."

Aedan shook his head, chuckling. "And it all started here on Taris.

"Yea, they even filmed some of it here. It's perfect."

"Okay, okay. You win. Let's watch it."

Kyra raised her hands in the air and cheered.

Thirty minutes later, after the Jedi had changed into more comfortable clothes, there was a knock on the door and in walked a droid pushing a cart. Dishes covered with silver tops were arrayed over a white tablecloth, and Kyra watched intently as the droid pulled the tops off one by one revealing each dish in all its gourmet splendor.

"I love room service," Kyra exclaimed.

"Me too, but don't get used to it. Obviously, this is a rare occurrence."

Kyra waved him off, pulled her dishes onto the bed, and immediately began digging into the pancakes as the opening score started playing.

"Well, that was incredible," Aedan said, as the credits rolled after the movie. "What did you think?" He asked, looking over at Kyra.

But she was looking away from him and the holoscreen, one hand was covering her face. Then he heard her sniffle. "Kyra?"

Now she pulled the covers up over her face. Could she be anymore endearing?

"That was the best movie I've ever seen," Kyra said through the covers, and through near-silent sobs.

Aedan couldn't help but laugh, "You liked it that much, huh?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, pulling the covers down, tears running down her cheeks. "All of it, the story, the theme, Revan and Bastila and their love, Carth, so dreamy, Kashykkk, will we ever go to Kashykk? The freaking Ebon Hawk! And to top it off, that final showdown between Revan and Malak was...exhilarating. Best fight scene ever! All of it was just amazing," she said. "Well, except for the Rakghouls, those things..." she shuddered. "That scene was terrifying. Did they really exist?"

Aedan nodded, "Yes, they did."

"Do they still?" she asked, pulling the blanket up to her nose.

Aedan shook his head, "Most likely no, but I'd wager no one has ventured down to the undercity in centuries."

Kyra shuddered again, "I hope not," then her face brightened again, "Thank you, Master, for all of this. The food and the movie-it was amazing."

Aedan smiled, "You are most welcome, Padawan. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now, let's get some sleep. Big day tomorrow."

Kyra nodded back to him and began situating her pillows. "Goodnight, Master."

"Goodnight, Kyra."