Marai
I didn't know what to believe. The woman that had brought me so far in regaining what I had lost had been the blame for my enemies. She had taught me so much, but she had given that same knowledge to my enemies; made them what I faced.
How could I be different from them? When would I fall?
I didn't speak to anyone. I had to work through this, or simply go to the newly reformed council and beg that they destroy me. I worked on HK47 but quite honestly I got sick of his complaining. We did not have everything necessary to bring him back to full capability, and he knew it.
T3 was much more fun. I tinkered, fixing his motivator, working on his systems. He'd been a long time without a memory wipe, but I had grown to like his eccentricities.
"You've been through some hard times." I said. "How long have you been aboard this ship?" He bleeped and warbled. "Almost six years? You must have seen a lot. How much did Atris get from you?"
He bleeped again, a long diatribe. "I don't think they were being mean. I think they just thought you had information they wanted. Who owned this ship before?" He was silent. "Really, I could check the computer... But you have it voice locked." He sputtered. "All right, whoever that person was had it voice locked. So no one can look at it without your help." I sighed.
"I just wish I knew what was so important about the Ebon Hawk. A smuggler goes a lot of places where the data is confidential. Maybe your owner was-" He sputtered again. "All right, the owner wasn't a criminal. I'll take your word for it."
I finished, and he ran around on the newly repaired systems again. "But there's two of you." He swiveled his head. "Who erased HK's memories? Was that you or this owner?" He paused, then gave a small whistle.
"You did it, but were told by this person to do it?" He whistled again. "No, I'm not angry. I just wish you trusted me." His reply would have been broadly translated as 'It's not you I don't trust'. Whatever that meant.
Telos
The command room was silent. The eldest sister sat, reading the reports. The Ebon Hawk had disappeared as if a stage magician was in charge. One of her younger sisters came in. "Reports from Dantooine and Onderon. They were at Nar Shaddaa briefly, and also at Onderon, but they have disappeared yet again."
"Why does she not report personally?" The elder asked.
"I do not know. Why does she show so much willful disobedience to our mistress?"
"You are surprised?" The elder snapped. "She bears her mother's face and blood. That kind will always fail to stand true."
"Yet she shames us all now." The younger sister had never agreed with her siblings in ostracizing the youngest. Didn't the book of the Goddess also say 'love all those who follow my path'?
"Even in the Art she shamed us. Her stance was always so defiant and passionate. She wanted us to accept her, but on her own terms. She did not accept that a sister of flesh can not be sister of blood merely because it was what she wanted."
"She tried so hard." The younger said softly. "Perhaps..."
"Perhaps what?"
"If we had treated her as sister of both flesh and blood perhaps she would stand here with us now?"
"No. Her blood would tell after all. She has chosen exile rather than be with us, and her own stubborn refusal to contact us is proof of her heart."
"Yes." The younger agreed. But she still felt that failure.
Dantooine
Marai
Dantooine was a pastoral world. The Jedi Civil War had come here not because of position, but through mere chance. When Revan had been redeemed, the woman she had become was brought here. She had left from here to undertake the mission of finding and destroying what she had found before.
Most of the story I still did not know. But Malak's reaction was what I saw below me. There had been perhaps two million people on Dantooine, and every city had been obliterated along with the Jedi enclave. They had been occupied for almost a year. Only the collapse of the Sith assault following Malak's death had finally freed them.
The only remaining spaceport was at Khoonda, a settlement that had been taken over by the government after the occupation ended. They administered to the nine or ten thousand that still remained of the planet's original population.
When we announced our name there was a curious hesitancy in greeting us. I just hoped that whoever had owned this ship before hadn't committed any crimes. We came down, and disembarked. The port officer, a woman named Dillan had a ready smile which slipped the instant she saw my lightsaber. "I would say welcome, but you will find little greeting from the people of Dantooine. The Jedi were blamed for the attack and occupation after all. For your own good, I would speak with Administrator Adare, conduct your business and leave before the average citizen find out who you are."
"Where is the Administrator?"
"She is in the building. It used to be the estate of a man named Matale, but he died during the assault. His son Shen and his wife gave the house to the government and moved into the Sandral estates to the south."
"Not much left." Atton commented.
"If it were not for the Administrator, there would be no one but mercenaries and those damn scavengers here. She was a minor official in the Agricultural Administration, but when she found she was the only remaining member of our elected government, she took control. She has done yeoman work, and we owe our survival to her."
"Then she has done well." I commented. But you said mercenaries?"
"Yes. Dantooine is on one of the corridors fought over during both the Mandalorian and Jedi Civil Wars. A lot of men who fought no longer feel comfortable in normal society, and a lot of mercenaries have met here. They used our station here as a hiring hall for a while, but when the government tried to disarm them, they moved out into the latifundia. We can no more get rid of them that wipe out the Kinrath."
"Problems?" I asked.
"The difference between a Mercenary and a bandit is as thin as a vibroblade's edge, you know that. We do not have the troops necessary to take over a thousand of them into custody, and even knowing they are the seat of our problems, we can do little to stem their depredations.
"Worse yet, the farmers are too frightened of them. Those that are too outspoken tend to have fatal accidents. The rest give up food to the mercenary patrols. Until we have enough complaints, the Administrator cannot ask for assistance from the Republic so she can do nothing. Not that the Republic has been of any help!" She added acerbically. "Those idiots in the Senate passed the Scavenge and Reclamation act!"
"But I thought Dantooine wasn't part of that?" Bao Dur protested. "After all Telos isn't."
"But Telos is still being reconstructed isn't it?" Dillan snapped. "Scavengers can only operate on planets with viable atmospheres not at present under reclamation. And the way it's written, salvage is anything you're not holding in your hand at the time they come by! And you have to buy it back rather than just beating them to a pulp!
"So we have mercenaries forcing tribute and mangy scavengers stealing property and selling it back at inflated prices." She snarled. "And when we do protest, the Republic answered that the Scavengers are a 'local problem' and must be dealt with by us!"
I saw that she had a real problem with the entire world, not just with me. I thanked her, and looked at the Handmaiden, Mira, and Visas. They slid the weapons back farther on their belts without my saying anything.
"Greetings!" The voice was brittle and overly cheery. I turned, and there was an old B4 protocol droid standing there. Rather it was leaned back against the wall as if he were a mannequin, and just trying to turn his head to look at us was causing him to wobble alarmingly. "On behalf of the Khoonda settlement and Administrator Adare, I wish to welcome you to our planet!"
"Why you poor thing." Bao-Dur said. "What happened to you?"
"The last thing I remember is the invasion by the Sith. This unit was at the Jedi enclave when it occurred, and was refurbished and assigned these duties."
"And no one had bothered to do anything but switch you back on, I assume." He looked at me, and I nodded.
As we left, I heard him saying. "All right, run a self diagnostic and report."
Handmaiden
The settlement around Khoonda was sparse, and I was sad. I had heard of the great beauty, the huge sky rays that flew harvesting aerial plankton in the green skies, the Blba trees. But the area had been cleared with a brutal hand, and the scars of war had not been erased.
The receptionist took one look, holding out his hand. "Scavengers have to register with the central authority. I need to see your license."
"I have no license." Marai replied. I-"
"Now see here, it's bad enough the Senate rammed that Scavenge and Reclamation act down our throats, but the rules are clear. No license, no scavenging!"
"We are not here to scavenge." She replied slowly. "I came to speak with the Administrator."
He harrumphed. "All right, wait a moment. I have to check her schedule for today." He checked his schedule, hissing because an icon was flashing. He tapped it, then froze, looking at me. "You came in aboard Ebon Hawk?"
"Yes."
"It's a good thing you decided to come here. She had orders passed for the militia to ask you to come immediately."
"Then it is good we had her on our schedule isn't it?"
He gave her the look you get from every petty bureaucrat who suddenly realizes that you're above his pay grade. He signaled a page, spoke to her in a whisper, and sent us off.
The office was a small room crammed with three desks, piles and piles of files, and three people when we arrived. Administrator Adare took one look, and excused herself from the two people. She had the look of someone far out of her depth, and we were the plank she had seen floating by. "Welcome to the madhouse!" She said enthusiastically. "You are the one who... owns that ship?"
"We came in the Ebon Hawk, yes."
"Good! Unless I am mistaken, the Ebon Hawk was owned by the Jedi, and was used to transport some of their people. Is this still the case?" The question was a plea.
"Yes I was a Jedi. But considering most people's reactions-"
"Madam, I do not care if you were a Jedi, and if truth be known these people should be thankful the Jedi were here! It is sad the state they have been driven to, but I for one will be happy to see them restored to their former positions.
"In fact in the last few months I have been maintaining a discreet alliance with a Jedi. I assume you came because he asked you to?"
"No. I came seeking a Jedi. I doubt he would have known where I was to call."
"Oh dear! That does make my problem more poignant, does it not?"
"What problem is that, pray?"
"Well I have this friend, let us say, we shall call him Vrook, all right?" I nodded. "He was my friend back when I was a middle level bureaucrat, and happy to be, and that friendship has transcended our more recent problems. He came here in search of a Jedi they had exiled, yet when he discovered our mercenary problem he felt honor bound to assist us."
"What manner of problem? I have heard that there were a lot of mercenaries here-"
"They are our problem. When I tried to stop their depredations, they refused to come near the settlement again. However in the last few weeks, they have encamped quite nearby." She pulled out a paper map, and drew a rough circle with a fingernail. "This is where we are, but over here and here, they have set up camps, and for a while at least, tried to be secretive about it. My militiamen have gone to check, but have been shoved aside by them.
"Vrook was worried that they were getting ready to attack us, and went to investigate. He sent off a signal to Onderon just a day or so ago, then went to the old Jedi Enclave. He said he had to gather the records and what he could save from it. The Scavengers have been trying to find a way in for the last two years, but he felt that he could get in where they have not. However he has not returned. Perhaps... Maybe you can find out what happened to him for me?"
"I will make it my first priority." Marai told her.
Enclave
Marai
We were on our way back to the ship when we met Bao-Dur. "Say hello to my friend." He said. The B4 was standing on it's own feet, and appeared to be mobile again.
"Hello, B4." I chirped.
"Welcome back, Padawan." It replied. "It has been several years, but I am sure the rest of the Jedi will be happy to know you have returned."
"Padawan?" An old man working on some equipment looked up, his face narrow with suspicion. "You're a Jedi?" He demanded.
"I was, but-"
"Stay away from me, you witch!" He shouted, running. I stared after him, my heart falling. How could the Jedi regain their position when so many hated us?
"Shall I report your return?" The droid asked.
"To whom? The enclave has been destroyed, only Master Vrook is here!" I snapped. "Beyond him what do you even know about me, let alone the Jedi?"
"While you never had direct interaction with me, you are a part of my records." The droid replied levelly.
"Oh really." I turned, crossing my arms. "And what record of me is there?"
"You were the subject of a debate between Masters Vrook and Vandar not long before the Jedi went off to fight in the Mandalorian wars."
"I was?"
"Accessing." A hologram of the two masters appeared before us.
"...Today I heard her in a heated argument with my Padawan! Her master refuses to properly discipline her! Master Vandar, what are you going to do about this?"
"Master Vrook, while I appreciate your concern, she is not your student, therefore she is not your problem."
"But she is completely uncontrolled! It is like dropping a pet animal in a playroom! Some follow her slavishly. Whatever she tries, they also try! Others loathe her on sight."
"It is true she is an average student when it comes to the Force. However she is a natural leader. A unique strength tied to the ability to form ready links to others."
"That is the whole point! She can form these links even to Jedi much superior to her in capability. While you consider her average I would be lying if I did not say she is a mediocre student. Zhar tells me that her primary ability is this ability to form bonds, and if that is all she has, what stops her from falling to the dark side?" The recording abruptly ended.
So I was mediocre. Nice to know. I looked at Bao Dur. "Finish any repairs you intend. I am bound for the Jedi enclave."
I trudged aboard the ship. It is always painful when teachers you had known decided you weren't worth the effort. I had spent three years before my master and I went to Manda'lor here, and to think that Zhar and Vrook had felt it a waste of their time!
I had been a problem, true, because I was a highly athletic person. I will admit I was able to do a lot of things my fellow students could not. How was it my fault when people tried what I had done so readily, and failed in their own attempts?
Everyone was gathered, and I decided. I would take Mira, because she was our best at traps and mines. The Handmaiden because she was our best warrior. I mollified myself by knowing that we did not expect to go into combat, so my promise to Visas was saved.
We came down the ramp and there was a nattily dressed militiaman standing there.
"I am Lieutenant Berun Modrel, executive officer of the Dantooine volunteer military." He announced unctuously. "You are a Jedi?"
I sighed. I had never been reinstated, but everyone seemed to think I had to be a Jedi. I was sick and tired of trying to explain that fact, so I let it slide. "Can I help you, Lieutenant?"
"Have you met our commander, Captain Zherron?"
"I have not had that pleasure."
"I doubt you would find it one if you had. Our captain takes a very hands on control of our operations."
I heard alarm bells at that. As many times as I had dealt with incompetents in command, I had not done what this man was doing. Going out of the chain of command to complain. He should have voiced any misgivings to the administrator, not me.
So why? I knew instantly why. He was executive officer. If I found that his commander was incompetent, and said so, who would step into that command slot? "Isn't being a hands on commander a good thing?" I asked. Mira looked at me sharply. She had never seen my airhead act before.
"Well just between you and I he seems to think that everyone should obey all of the laws!" He laughed as if that was a good enough reason.
I admit that some laws are stupid, but as a famous man once said 'the ballot box decides the laws, the jury box determines how good they are. But if all else fails, and bad laws survive, the ammunition box removes them'." As much as this man might have disagreed, I didn't. "I can see where that might be a problem." I said.
"It's worse because most of the mercenaries that have come here are core systems men. They are used to more cool judgment." He told me. "They are veterans that are looking for work, not ragamuffins that can be pushed around. The men follow him because quite honestly, a man who was a sergeant seems to be a professional, but you and I know that officers are not so bound by the rules."
You arrogant little son of a bitch. I raged. Sergeants are called the backbone of an army for a reason! "Can't someone do something about this?" I asked innocently.
"If someone looked at what he was doing with a professional eye, perhaps it could be fixed before he pushes the mercenaries into overreacting." He said smoothly. "I have friends among them, and all Zherron is going to do is cause unnecessary damage."
"I will keep an eye on him." I promised.
We walked away, and once out of earshot, I growled. ""My boss is incompetent, so why don't you get rid of him for me'? I snarled.
"Was I right when I thought that guy was slime?" Mira asked.
"You had him pegged." I agreed. "One of those damn incompetent officers that made my life hell during the Mandalorian wars. Politically astute, and dumb as a post when it comes to his duties."
We jogged along, heading North and west to the Jedi enclave. We dropped to a walk to rest, Mira beside me.
"Why did Hanharr hate you so much?" I asked.
"Sure you want to hear this?" She asked me.
"We have time for it, yes."
"Well Hanharr was a total lost cause. He took me prisoner on a refugee planet, locked me in slave bracelets, and dumped me on Nar Shaddaa for sale. But he didn't get paid for me, because I escaped. He came after me. I was hiding in the tunnels near the Jekk'Jekk Tarr when he found me. I had a bunch of mines I had collected, and I'd surrounded my hidey-hole with them. He tripped one, and it blew out the air supply for the cantina. He was floundering around, trying to stay alive, and when he collapsed, I suddenly felt sorry for the big fur pile. So I pulled him out, and he lived. Worst mistake I ever made."
"How so?"
"Hanharr is from some mid rim world that is owned by a Corp. Something with a lot of K s and Y s that nothing human can pronounce. From what I hear, Revan kicked Czerka off the planet, but that was after Hanharr was enslaved. He'd been declared a 'mad-claw'. Something to do with the claws they have. He'd gone really mad, and when Czerka caught him, he'd tried to buy his freedom by telling them how to get to his village. They attacked, and all of them died rather than be slaves.
"Of course, they had been lying, so he ended up as a slave anyway. He murdered the entire team that caught him, but he wore those damn manacles as if they were a badge of honor. He decided to make sure that every human he met got a taste of what he'd gone through.
"Have you ever heard of Dersonn III? The Iti cluster colonies?"
"Both settlements were destroyed."
"Yeah. They met up with Hanharr. He made what Czerka did to his people look like an act of the Republic Social Welfare Society. If you're human, your some kind of animal he has to cage.
"To him, I was prey. I had gotten away, cost him money, and then I had to save his life. Really bad. You see his society has what they call life debts. If you save someone, they become your servant until the end of time. I don't pretend to understand it, but he should be my servant and protector. But I am human and prey can't be a master. If he had spent more time in the outside world, it might have helped, but the sanctity of the life debt is ingrained. As long as I live, I'm his master, and he won't accept that a human can be. To him a life debt is a death sentence. Once I am dead, he is free, not before. Hell, in his religion, he can't even go into the great feast at the end of life if I am still alive.
"So he spent the last years on Nar Shaddaa pushing me when I was on a bounty. Shooting at my target to force a reaction, planting mines he hoped I'd trip. He kept wishing I would die." She smiled sadly. "I didn't even hate the big lug. After the first few months I just felt sorry for him. So twisted up inside, and nothing could change that. He's dead, and like you I'll mourn what he might have been. But I won't lose any sleep over it."
We came over the hill, and below us I saw a sight that tore at my heart. The Enclave had been the target of a massive bombardment. The mesas around it had been shattered, and the buildings had been pummeled into the ground as if by an angry hand. It was like leaving home for three or four decades, and seeing your father after all of that time. The once strong man you had grown up with now withered.
I must have appeared distraught. The Handmaiden touched my arm. "It is almost dark. We should wait here, make our approach by daylight."
I nodded wordlessly
Mira.
It was quiet around our fire. Marai looked as if her last friend had died, and the Handmaiden was so solicitous I wanted to barf. Hey, it was gone, in the past. Why spend so much emotion on something dead?
We had a meal, relaxing, and looking at the fire. Marai wasn't letting me slack on my lessons, and as much as I hated my newfound capabilities, I was happy we'd found something else for her to worry about. I was extending my senses, learning to find things and beings around us when I noticed someone watching us. I treated it like I was supposed to. It was a human. He was armed, but not heavily compared to the average merc. A lot like a scavenger or bounty hunter. I told Marai.
"Yes." She replied. "I noticed him when we stopped. Perhaps he watches us hoping that we will lower our guard, but I sense no animosity toward us personally." She looked to the Handmaiden. "Do you think she is ready?"
"Yes, my sister." The ash blonde woman replied. "She could slip up upon him and find out what he is thinking."
"Hey, wait a minute." I protested. "You want me to what, hunt this guy?"
"Just go up as close as you can without being noticed. And if he dose notice you, ask him to join us."
"Well all right then." I stood, and used some of the skills I had honed. A lot of them were natural. I could always vanish into a crowd before if I wanted; I had just found out that it was an ability linked to the Force. I slipped out heading away from him, and did a wide loop.
I came up behind him silently. He was a large man with a haircut that looked like they'd just trimmed it even with a bowl they'd stuck on his head. He was watching the fire, and as I stepped up behind him he spun, clawing for a blaster on his hip. I dropped the lens of my lightsaber so that it aimed at his chest from half a meter away. He froze. Obviously he knew one touch and the blade would pierce him if he moved.
"You know, we have a fire and food. If you want you can come down there." I told him.
He looked at me, then back at the fire. "I had considered it. But what of your fellow travelers? Will they be as amenable?"
"Our leader actually asked me to extend the invitation." I replied.
"Then such politeness deserves a response." He stood, brushing off his clothes. "I assume I should go ahead, and you may follow?"
"After the life I have led, that's a pretty smart assumption."
The Disciple
I cursed at my stupidity. I had not assumed Marai Devos would be here, nor had I taken into account that she might have such efficient followers.
The girl that had slipped up on me was wearing what I would describe as Nar Shaddaa 'I don't care how it looks'; it's comfortable' leather and silks. Yet her grip on her saber staff was firm, and if I had wanted to fight, she could have ended it with one flick of her thumb.
The two women at the fire looked up as I came forward. I gave my courtly bow, and Marai Devos merely nodded. "Sit." She said. I took the seat, and accepted a cup of tea. "Is there a reason you follow us?"
"It is not you personally I have been watching." I told her. "Since I have come I have been watching many people."
"Why did you come here?" She asked.
"I am an historian and scientist, though my contemporaries would consider me more the former than the latter. I am Mical. I came from Coruscant to search the temple below."
"So did a lot of scavengers." Marai replied sourly.
"Madam I am not a scavenger. I was trying to rescue the records held below. I have spent a lot of time and money doing so." I sighed. "Do you know how important the archive of the Jedi will be in the future? I found that too many of those Scavengers below, " I pointed at one of the fires, "Have been using priceless books to light their fires! I bought the entire local supply of fire lighters to rescue them, and still had to pay to retrieve the volumes!"
"Such cretins." The blonde woman said sarcastically.
"Since by definition, a cretin is subhuman in intelligence, I must agree." I told her. "I rescued priceless works but in so doing I found that those below were not the only ones stealing them. Obvious thugs had stolen a lot of the records I searched for, but some had been taken from places where only those familiar with the enclave would have even looked. As if the Jedi themselves had stolen them."
"Stolen?" The blonde looked at me with a gaze just above absolute zero. "I think that you underestimate the cunning of those beasts below." She jerked her head toward those distant fires. "Even at their height, the Jedi could not protect their records from men that will search anywhere in the hopes of gaining more coin. Besides, most of the Jedi that lived here died in the destruction and those that did survive would not be stealing if they rescued their records."
"It was a poor choice of words, and for that I apologize. But records were missing, and some of them are priceless. Look at this." I opened my pack, and pulling them out. Holocrons, data pads, even antique paper books. "This is what they left. The teachings of master Arca who taught Ulic Qel Droma, and this, the works of Master Bossk who died stopping his student Exar Kun. The collected works of Masters Kae, and Zhar of this very Academy.
"I found copies of the Adventures of Jolee Bindo on his Rimward missions. But these copies I save might be all of what remains throughout the galaxy. This devastation of their records is only rivaled by the destruction of the entire archives of Ossus in the Crom Drift during the Great Sith war of a millennium ago.
"There has been an organized operation by my organization to gather these together, but a number were taken by ruffians, or stolen to be hidden in some hoard for someone to gloat over."
"We will not gloat if we find anything." Marai said.
"I wonder, might I ask a question?" She looked at me, then nodded. "Why do you come to the enclave?"
"Because a man I respected for over a decade si missing, and might have been killed there."
"Master Vrook I assume?" They all looked at me. "I saw him taken by the mercenaries yesternight. He was taken toward their camp to the east."
"Then we need not bother with the Enclave." Marai sighed. "Go to sleep, man. We have a busy day ahead of us."
The next morning, they began to jog eastward. I watched them run then I myself ran for Khoonda. I had to report.
Rescue, sort of...
Marai
I tried to send Mira back to the ship, but she was adamant. If the mercenaries had Vrook, she was not going to run home. I was distraught because I was seeing the gentle girl I had met changing.
We bellied down on a mesa, and scanned the mass of people ahead of us. I watched silently as soldiers exercised, cleaned their weapons, and relaxed.
"I make it just over six hundred." I said.
"As do I." The Handmaiden commented. "But I see no holding facility of any kind."
"There isn't one." Mira commented. "If they had one it would have made sense to put it right there." She motioned toward the center of the camp. "But there's nothing bigger than a tent anywhere. Did you notice them?" She motioned toward one end of the camp. Four score Mandalorians. "Maybe we should tell Manda'lor?"
I nodded, and we moved back from the crest. I contacted Manda'lor, and I sat considering. "If they thought the Bounty was still active, they might separate him."
"Yeah, but Goto pulled it!" Mira said.
"Perhaps the word has not come down." The Handmaiden said.
I lifted my comlink. "Ebon Hawk, I would like to speak with Goto."
"Wait one." Atton replied. Goto came on a moment later.
"Sorry to bother you, but wasn't the bounty on Jedi pulled?"
"Mine was, but that was only one of three such bounties. One is undoubtedly the Sith, however the other appears to be a Republic military bounty for information on verified locale rather than capture. The first is sizable, but smaller than the one I had started. Perhaps ten percent of what mine had been The Republic one, as the wording suggests, is much lower."
"So we're still hunted." Mira sighed. "You know just for once I'd like to have someone not trying to kill me!"
"The Sith bounty is for living Jedi only." Goto replied.
"That's good at least." Mira agreed.
"But condition beyond living is not specified. They could no doubt remove all limbs at the major joints and still get paid. Unlike me, they probably don't wish to merely talk with a Jedi."
"Oh."
"We'll just have to be faster and smarter." I said putting it away. "So, where is he?" I considered trying to feel him, but as yet I was still having trouble. I signaled the others to watch, and tried to hear and see him.
It was dark. I could feel movement, but see nothing. I felt pressure, the weight of tons of earth. Then I felt the sting of an electro-cage. I was staring out of it, glaring at the bustle of movement of the mercenaries. They ignored me.
I was pointing, gasping for breath. "Five kilometers. A cave."
We moved around the mesa, staying out of sight of the mercenaries. We moved fast, flying across the latifundia in leaping arcs.
The cave was there, and Mira stopped me. She slid forward, and one by one cleared us a path through the minefield she had felt. Then we moved into the darkness.
I found that the walls gave off a phosphorescent glow. We moved on, and came to a side cave. It had been turned into a command post. A dozen mercenaries were gathered around a panel of monitors, checking the disposition and equipment of scattered teams. From what I heard, there were more than a thousand of them assigned to this mission.
"Section four is still behind on equipment, sir." The mercenary Captain was telling a man via a holo vid. "They'll be equipped by 1400 hours day after tomorrow. I also received a communication from our friend. He has assured that their defense is neutralized."
"Better than I anticipated at least. How is our guest doing?"
"He's still adamant that he sent for no assistance. But he gave me a name for this baby Jedi that our friend reported. Marai Devos."
The man's face froze. "Devos. I remember her. If it is she this might be a problem, but I think I have a way to control that. I wil contact our friend. Move the Jedi to the camp. I'll send a skimmer, and we'll take him out immediately." He grinned at her. "The Exchange might have removed the bounty, but we'll still share a tidy sum."
"Yes, sir." The vid went off, and she walked over to face Vrook. "All right, old man, you can come quietly, or my friend there will see what stun setting we need to make your life miserable." A man brought over a slave collar.
"Sith design slaver's collar. It detects any attempt to move, and if it's outside the parameters we set, it locks the muscles down. If that happens, we'll just stun you and say to hell with it." She motioned, and the cage came down. Vrook allowed them to lock the collar on him. The woman took a control, and hit a button. The old man spasmed, collapsing on his side "See? It works!"
I leaped forward from the shadows, and the woman's hand with the control flew aside. The second blade split her in half. I saw a flash of blades to my right and left, and the others were down and dying before I turned.
I got the control, locked it on safe then Mira began picking the lock. Vrook looked up. "Oh, it's you." He said with disgust.
Most people need a lot more words. When he said it, I immediately translated it as; I'm sent on a stupid mission to find an ungrateful wretch, find the entire planet is going to be taken over, end up in enemy hands, am planning my escape, but you have to show up right now. Hello, you.
"Always leaping in without thinking, Apprentice." He snarled. I stiffened. I had forgotten my demotion before the trial. He saw my look. "What, you expected thanks? Khoonda is in danger and you have just ruined the best chance we had for a peaceful settlement!"
"I apologize for interfering, Master Vrook. I was only trying to help."
"Your 'help' might have doomed the people of this planet, Devos. If Khoonda falls, the entire system may be lost to the Republic. Actually I am surprised how well you have done. perhaps some of your Jedi training is still usable."
He glared at me. "But just like before, you are ignoring the consequences of your acts. Did you learn nothing from the carnage of the Mandalorian wars?"
"Master-"
"I will not hear it! We told you that there were unexpected ramifications, and you all blindly charged in anyway! The Mandalorian Wars set the stage for the Civil War, and look at it what it has cost! No matter how pure your motives, you caused more grief than the Mandalorians would have caused if they had won! Telos, Taris, Dantooine, all have suffered because of you!" His glare centered on me. "The way most feel about the Jedi is your fault too; don't forget that. The people of Dantooine hate us because we acted no better than the Sith."
I said nothing. He would not have listened even if I had spoken.
"At least I discovered what is happening. An Exchange official named Tagreth has hired these men to stage a coup. By this time next week, they will be in control, and the Exchange will move in and own this planet. I had hoped they would send me to this man so I could deal with him directly, but you had to 'rescue' me. Since they have lost their captured Jedi prize, the only thing they can do is attack, and quickly.
"I am going to Khoonda. I suggest you board your ship, and get out of here before you destroy even more." He stalked away.
"Marai." I felt a hand on my shoulder. Mira shook her head. "I remember men like that from when I was a kid among the Mandalorians. No matter what you do, he'll label you a failure."
"Yes." The Handmaiden added. "His stance is defensive. He assumed you would resist, take him to task for what you perceived as his own failures. We should go, but the people here still need us."
We went through the papers, including a copy of the plan. The commander, a man named Azkul was going for a two pronged attack, catching the small garrison in a vise. He would kill the Administrator, place his own puppet in charge, and fade away again. Worse yet, the contract he had agreed to gave them a lump sum for succeeding, and would be divided among the survivors, so they were motivated to attack even if their losses were horrendous.
The holo vid chimed. We froze, then it lit as the man on the other end activated it. He had once been handsome, but a scar had ripped down the left side of his face, and the left eye was now a white ball.
"When Harken didn't report as she was supposed to, I felt it was probably
you, Devos."
"Azkul I assume."
"Yes." He looked at me calmly. "When I heard you might be here, I looked at your record. The files I took with me when I left the Sith were extensive. An exiled Jedi stripped of your powers by your own people. May I ask what you think you are doing? It's not like the people of this benighted planet want help from the greatest mass murderer in history.
"But you seem to have that same stubborn streak that I have found in every Jedi I have killed even without your powers. I am committed to this operation, and you have only three choices. You can leave immediately, surrender to make up for the money you have cost us already, or you can help them in their vain hope of surviving. However I will warn you that if you do the first or the last, there will be repercussions."
He leaned forward, smiling. "We're not paid to murder the innocent, but there are almost ten thousand civilians. Farmers, scavengers, personnel at the Star port, what have you. They are all now my hostages, woman. If you and your two friend do not come here and surrender yourselves to me, I will order the deaths of all of them. Those lives will be on your head."
"They will not." I hissed. "Throughout history monsters have threatened the innocent and blamed others, and it has always been false. If they die, your men will have killed them, and you yourself will be to blame. Giving into a brute only gives the brute what he wants; a cheap victory. You will not get one as long as I live."
"Ah and what of your friends?" He smirked. He motioned toward a small box before him. "When I push this button, your ship will be destroyed, and you friends killed. I will no longer negotiate. Come to my camp now, or they all die."
I thought of Visas Kreia Bao-Dur Atton even T3. "Push it. It will not change my mind."
He sneered, slamming the button flat. "Remember you could have saved them all."
Preparations
Mira
It was a nightmare. It was almost ten kilometers to Khoonda. We ran, knowing we were too late.
We were almost there when I waved for them to stop. I walked ahead, scanning left and right. "Republic mines, but they're laid out wrong."
"We don't have time-"
"Remember that woman said 'our friend'? How much you want to bet what defenses they have were buggered?" I asked. "You lay mines wrong they don't do any good."
"We can worry about that when we arrive." Marai said.
We ran on. The building looked as if they had never heard of war. I looked at the turrets facing east. They should have been tracking us, but weren't. More proof.
We were amazed to discover the ship and our friends uninjured. Bao Dur had been suspicious of a package someone had set against the forward landing strut and had removed a thermal detonator triggered bomb that would have blown the ship and the docking bay apart.
Administrator Adare listened to us, and nodded. "We can't defeat them; our militia is not trained for a full scale battle against hardened troops."
"Madam, it is a matter of repairing your defenses." Marai told her. "And getting all of the farmers in where it will be safer."
"But we have no space for all of them! I'll have them surrender-"
"We can't do that." Marai sighed. "The commander tried to convince me to to surrender myself and these two. I refused. He threatened that if we did not, everyone on the planet dies."
She stared at Marai. "And you couldn't do it?"
"And allow him to slaughter everyone already here after I had?" I asked. "As much as he claimed they had not been paid to slaughter the innocent, he lied. Once the Republic discovered what he had done they would have come in and arrested or executed everyone of them. Maybe-maybe they would have left the farmers alive, but did you want me to take that chance with all their lives as well?"
Adare shook her head after a moment. "I think not. But now they definitely will be slaughtered If the farmers are left at their homes, there is no way to protect them even if we had a thousand troops."
"But here they have a chance. We have to get the defenses back on line." I said. "The turrets weren't tracking, and the minefield to the east were improperly laid." Marai motioned to me. "My friend is an expert of sorts on mines." She commented.
Adare called in the militia commander Zherron. He looked at the defenses, and shook his head. "The turrets have been off line with mechanical faults for the last three months. We have droids, but they are down. As for the mines, Modrel took a team out just yesterday to lay them."
"He did." The Handmaiden replied levelly. "How long has this man been your executive officer?"
"Five years now. He didn't like it. He was riffed by the Navy right after the Jedi Civil war ended. Thought he should have had my job." He sighed. "Ever find yourself in command of someone you would have had to call sir before?"
"Yes I did." Marai told him. "More often than I wish to remember."
"So what are you saying? That he set this up?"
"It would appear so. He was hoping we would convince the Administrator that you were incompetent."
"That..." He picked up his com link. "Control."
"Control, trooper Kastan here."
"Find Lieutenant Modrel and have him report to the Administrator's office."
"Sorry sir, the lieutenant has checked out for the day. He had vacation time due, and decided to take the next four days."
He looked at Marai. "I hear tell you're 'The' Marai Devos."
"Yes, I am." She said softly. I could feel her worry. If all this man remembered was Malachor...
"I have about two hundred men. More warm bodies than anything else. They're armed, but with whatever they kept from the war, and a couple of stashes this Sanderal guy had never reported. They're slow, overweight, and most have never faced an enemy in their lives. Our systems have been systematically screwed up according to you, and if we fail everyone dies.
"Heard you performed miracles during the war." He waved toward the building. "Can you do it again?"
She sighed. "It looks like a case of have to rather than can I."
"You have my full support." Adare told her. "Save us, please."
Marai seemed to shrink, then stood tall again. "Mira, get everyone from the ship. Leave T3 Goto and Kreia there, but that includes HK.
"Sister, look over their positions. We have to change them and don't have a lot of time. Captain Zherron, I hope you men know how to operate a shovel..."
