Episode 5 – Werda Tsad
Near-disaster aboard the Yularen! In an attempt to abduct Dr. Jerine Roa, an unnamed group of pirates and thugs kidnapped and later murdered the family of Republic Captain Gault in an attempt to force his cooperation! In an effort to bring the criminals to justice and identify the mastermind behind the attempt, Bounty Hunter Ailyn Vel has been hired to accomplish this mission and now heads to her people's homeworld of Mandalore to gather a team to help with her investigation!
Keldabe
To say Mirta Gev was bored was an understatement. At her grandmother's insistence, she was being forced to spend the day with her grandfather, famed former Bounty Hunter and the current leader of the Mandalorian people, Boba Fett. Boba himself was at least slightly amenable, letting her sit next to him in his booth in the Keldabe Cantina that doubled as Mandalore's capital building. Boba sat unarmored, looking over a datapad while Mirta was fiddling with a pocket dejarik board, the battery indicator on it starting to flash, signaling a low battery.
"Ba'buir…" Mirta whined softly, catching Boba's attention. He glanced over and saw the indicator and sighed.
"I warned you it couldn't hold a charge." He replied as he set aside his datapad.
"I was getting bored with it anyway." She replied, turning the device off and setting it on the table before leaning up against him, her head resting on his right bicep. Boba made no effort to make her sit up, instead moving his arm so that it was resting on the table.
"You don't like me do you?" she asked pointedly.
"What gave you that idea?" he asked.
"You don't even come by and say hi to me or ba'buir at the apartment. You never talk to me. Ba'buir had to force me on you and you've only said all of five sentences to me, head and hand gestures not included." Mirta said as Boba looked down at her.
"And you automatically assume I don't like you." He stated.
"Well…considering the first time we met I had a blaster trained on you." Mirta mumbled.
"Your stance was off. You'd have missed, especially considering that it was an E-11 you were holding. Those things are grossly inaccurate. I wouldn't even let a suicidal di'kut use one to space himself." Boba replied.
"That didn't answer the question." Mirta commented.
"I don't intend to answer the question." Boba replied, picking up the pad but paused for a moment before looking over to see Mirta's scowling face looking up at him.
"What?" he asked.
"Am I going to have to pay you to talk to me?" Mirta asked back.
"You couldn't afford me." He replied.
"Not if I bankroll her."
"Mama!" Mirta yelped as she leapt out of the booth, colliding into Ailyn, her arms thrown around her waist.
"Mirta, udesii." Ailyn greeted with a smile, tousling her daughter's scruffy black hair. Boba had quietly set down the datapad, looking up at his daughter with an emotionless stare. Ailyn returned the stare.
"Alor." She greeted coldly.
"Ad'ika." He greeted similarly.
"Mom told me you were watching Mirta for a while and that I could find you both here." Ailyn said as she sat down across from him on a stool.
"That's right. I trust things are going well on the warfront? Still traveling with the Jedi?" Boba asked.
"He's on a separate assignment right now and I've got one of my own. Special assignment straight from the Grand General himself." Ailyn said as Boba arched an eyebrow.
"So why are you here?" he asked.
"Can't exactly do much without a ship. Had to hitch a ride on a transport to get here. I understand my special order from Mandalmotors is ready." Ailyn said as Boba gave a slight nod.
"I'd heard you put in a request for a custom order. It seems that working for the Republic is paying off for you." Boba said as Ailyn gave a nod.
"Killing Dar'Jetii can be quite profitable. One kill was enough to afford me a new ship, the second got me enough for a Mandalmotors upgrade. Helps that I killed two of the di'kuts on Rhen Var not that long ago." Ailyn said as Mirta's eyes lit up.
"You've got a new ship? I wanna see!" she said excitedly.
"You will. I'm here to pick it up and to recruit a few people for the team I'm putting together." Ailyn replied, causing Boba to arch a curious eyebrow again.
"Team?" he asked.
"Tracking down a special batch of scum. Republic Officer was blackmailed into helping abduct an important scientist working on a secret project for them. Officer's family was abducted and later killed when the officer failed to complete his mission. I've been hired to find out who the kidnappers were." Ailyn explained.
"For that you need a team?" Boba asked.
"I know a few people here on Mandalore that might be of use. That's if you can spare them." Ailyn said as Boba shrugged while digging into his shirt pocket.
"Take them. Just one thing. I'd like you to keep an eye out for anyone who bears this marking." Boba said as he produced a flatholo and handed it to Ailyn. She took one look at the holo and her eyes flashed with fury.
"Osik. You're serious." She muttered.
"Intelligence only. Don't engage. I know how tempting it might be." Boba said as Ailyn gave a nod.
"Right." Ailyn replied as she stood up.
"Say, Mama, if you're looking for someone to add to a team, I know someone who's anxious to get away from here for a while." Mirta said but Ailyn and Boba both gave her skeptical glares.
"Forget it, Mirta. I'm not taking you with me. I'd sooner bring that psychotic droid we found on Rattattak." Ailyn said but Mirta gave a coy smirk.
"I wasn't talking about me. I was talking about a new friend of mine and Ba'buir's. A Mando'a girl that's a little…behind on the times. Kinda like how ba'buir was when she came out of carbonite." Mirta explained.
"What do you mean?" Ailyn asked.
"Binna Syndrome. Go to sleep and wake up several years later, only this kid's been asleep longer than Sintas. Hyperdrive malfunction brought her from five years before Yavin to here. Sintas has been helping her adjust to the 'new' Mandalore." Boba explained as Ailyn cocked her head in consideration.
"Probably wouldn't hurt. She any good?" Ailyn asked as Mirta smirked coyly.
"She knows her explosives and she gave me this." Mirta said, rolling up her sleeve to reveal what appeared to be a tattoo of a Krayt Dragon along her left arm and what looked like a yellow Republic Starbird on her left hand. Ailyn was incensed.
"What the dar'yaim is that?!" she asked, ready to murder this unnamed Mandalorian.
"Relax Mama, it's not permanent." Mirta said as she rubbed on the Starbird on her hand, the ink smearing slightly. Ailyn took a calming breath.
"It's a temp. You little bes'uliik, you tricked me!" Ailyn said as Mirta giggled. Boba was quietly sipping from his drink.
"She doesn't do permanent tattoos Mama. Besides, I've already got one." Mirta said, pointing at the Vel clan tattoo on her right cheek. Ailyn wasn't upset about this one though.
"That's your qukuuf. That's a tattoo you're supposed to have." Ailyn said as she stood up.
"Yeah I know." Mirta replied.
"Let that friend of yours know that there's Republic work if she's interested and to meet me in MandalMotors Docking Bay 11." Ailyn said as Mirta nodded.
"Sure thing Mama." Mirta said as she hopped off the seat and hurried to find a transmitter, leaving Ailyn and Boba alone.
"Got any sort of well-wishing for your only daughter?" Ailyn asked as Boba glared up at her.
"Should I?" he asked as Ailyn sighed in annoyance.
"You know, I spent most of my life trying to find and kill you. Now that I'm not you could at least acknowledge the fact that I'm here." Ailyn said but Boba said nothing. Ailyn finally turned and stormed out of the Cantina, Boba quietly sipping his drink as if nothing had happened.
MandalMotors Docking Bay 11…
MandalMotors owned a series of docking bays near Keldabe where they sent newly purchased and/or modified ships to await the arrival of their owners when shipping instructions weren't forwarded. Ailyn walked into the docking bay where a heavily modified Pursuer-class Enforcement Ship with deep blue markings and black stripes reminiscent of the Vel clan markings sat. She smiled warmly at the ship, a sense of pride and accomplishment washing over her.
"Nice ship, Vod. Must've set you back quite a bit." A voice said from nearby. Ailyn turned and saw a Rodian man in Supercommando armor approaching. His helmet and gloves were specially designed to accommodate his Rodian physiology. This armor had a rusty red coloring with Rodian green lining.
"Hokan Ordo, Su cuy'gar." Ailyn greeted as she and the Rodian exchanged a warm handshake.
"Same with you, Vel. I haven't seen you since we helped the Jetiise evacuate Yavin." Hokan said in perfect Basic.
"I've been busy." Ailyn said, motioning to the ship.
"I can tell. You must've made quite a haul in order to afford this and the modifications." Hokan said as Ailyn noticed three more Mandalorians approaching, all of whom she recognized.
"Skirata! Glad you could make it." Ailyn said as Venku Skirata and his sister Bresha approached along with a third man in forest green armor with blue lining and blue Jaig Eyes.
"Couldn't ignore your invitation Vel." Venku said as he and Ailyn shook hands.
"I owed you one for busting me out of Malachor. Figured I'd try and find a way to pay you back." Ailyn said as Venku gave a dismissive wave.
"The hunt is enough." He replied.
"Good because at the moment, I don't have the credits for a flat sum payment." Ailyn said but Venku shook his head.
"I don't work for credits. I'm no Bounty Hunter. My father was a Republic Commando, and my mother was a Jedi. I feel like I'm honoring their memory by doing what I can to aid the Republic." Venku said as Ailyn shrugged and looked to the third man.
"Bralor. Glad you could make it." Ailyn said as the armored man gave a nod.
"Glad you invited me. Rare honor when the daughter of the Mand'alor invites you on a hunting trip." Bralor replied but Ailyn rolled her eyes.
"Yeah but don't think of it like that. Ah here comes our sixth." Ailyn said as Mirta and Sabine arrived.
"Mama, Sabine Wren. Sabine, this is my mom." Mirta introduced as Sabine smiled and gave a slight bow.
"Thank you for inviting me along on this, Alor Vel. I'm surprised you'd want a demolition's expert who's thirty years out of date." Sabine said.
"My mother's going through the same thing but as I see it, the best way to get reacquainted with the galaxy is to get out into it. Besides, explosives haven't changed much in the past thirty years. Now come on, the sooner we get going, the sooner we get paid." Ailyn said as Sabine gave a nod and quickly put on her helmet, rushing towards the ship where the others were already boarding.
"I'll be back as soon as I can. Behave for your ba'buir and I might bring you something nice." Ailyn said as Mirta smirked devilishly.
"Like a jetpack?" she asked but Ailyn chuckled.
"Not until you're of age." Ailyn replied as she quickly hugged the youngling.
…
A few minutes later, Vel's ship was leaving Mandalore orbit and soon made the jump to hyperspace. The cockpit was a three seater, with Ailyn in the middle at the helm while Hokan sat at the copilot's seat to her right and Venku to her left in the passenger seat.
"This is a nice ship, vod. What've you named it?" Venku asked.
"It's called the Makin, after my ex." Ailyn said, Hokan giving a soft nod.
"I remember him. Makin Gev was a good man, good soldier." Hokan said as Ailyn allowed a small smile to appear on her face.
"We might not have had a successful marriage, but I don't regret the time we had together. But that's enough chitchat. We've got a job to do." Ailyn said as she set the ship to autopilot before turning and heading into the main hold, Hokan and Venku close behind. In the main hold, Bresha was taking inventory of their medical supplies while Sabine did the same with their ordinances. Bralor sat checking a sniper rifle in his hands.
"Alright vode gather around. As I mentioned, this is Republic work but the details are on a need-to-know basis. Can we work with that?" Ailyn asked.
"May not be overly fond of the Republic but it's no big deal to me what the work is." Bralor said as Ailyn activated an imagecaster in her hand which projected a hologram of an arrow shaped skull pointed downward with two menacing eyes and four triangular prongs in a starburst pattern behind it.
"One week ago, a Republic fleet near the Corbantis system was attacked by pirates bearing this symbol. The pirates failed to steal anything of value but they had inside help. At some point, the Captain of the Star Destroyer, Yularen, was blackmailed into helping the pirates with their raid. They blackmailed him by abducting the Captain's wife and son and when the raid failed, they executed them both and sent their bodies to the Captain." Ailyn explained as the Mandalorians all showed visible disgust at the tactics the Pirates used.
"The chakaar. Targeting someone's family is like signing your own death warrant." Hokan hissed.
"But what did the pirates hope to gain with this raid? Were they after the Star Destroyer or something?" Sabine asked.
"That's not important. The point is, the Republic wants these pirates dealt with. The symbol on the pirate ships didn't match anything in the Republic's databases so we've been commissioned to identify them and eliminate them." Ailyn said. The Mandalorians all seemed satisfied with their mission but Sabine and Venku both gave Ailyn suspicious looks as if they could tell she knew more than she was letting on but they both remained silent.
"So what's the plan, alor?" Bresha asked.
"I know someone in the criminal underworld that might recognize the symbol. He's our first stop. He owes me a few favors for some jobs I did for him on credit long ago, back when I was just starting out. He should point us in the right direction." Ailyn said as the hyperspace alarm started going off, indicating that they were approaching their destination.
"What kind of welcome can we expect from this contact of yours?" Bralor asked as he sat forward.
"Warm, provided we have at least one weapon in plain view and you don't eat or drink anything he offers you." Ailyn said before heading back into the cockpit.
…
Within minutes the Makin was touching down within the compound of a pirate stronghold on Florrum, a host of Weequay pirates along with a few other species taking notice of the Bounty Hunter's arrival. Ailyn, Venku, and Sabine then disembarked, Bresha, Bralor, and Hokan standing at the top of the boarding ramp.
"We shouldn't be long. If the locals start getting restless, just shoot them-." "In the head?!" Bralor asked, patting his sniper rifle.
"Yeah, but with your eyes, di'kut, unless they've got a price on their head that's worth more than a used Bantha." Ailyn ordered before she, Sabine, and Venku started to enter the fortress, getting little to no resistance from the guards who recognized their armor. The three were led into a large sort of throne room, the booming sound of an exotic Weequay dance echoing through the hall as a troupe of Twi'lek dancers danced for the pirates, much to the leering and catcalls of the pirates. Sitting on his throne near the back was Hondo Ohnaka himself, reclined back and admiring the dancers with a smile on his face. Sabine let out a sigh, shaking her head.
"Thirty years later and some things never change." She muttered, referring to the dancers and the crowd's reactions. One of Hondo's men then approached and whispered into his ear. Hondo then let out a sigh.
"Once again, I am interrupted by business! Price of doing business I suppose. Very well, show them in!" Hondo said as he gave a couple of commanding claps of his hands, the music abruptly ending and the dancing stopping. The crowd erupted into a roar of confusion and disappointment at the abrupt end of the music. Hondo rolled his eyes, almost expecting what came next. What came next was a trio of blaster shots fired into the air near the doorway, silencing them all instantly. The crowd of pirates instantly parted to reveal Ailyn, Venku, and Sabine, Ailyn with her blaster pointed into the air. Ailyn then holstered the blaster as she and the other two approached Hondo's throne. Hondo immediately stood up.
"Hello, hello and welcome to Florrum! What can I, a humble pirate like myself, do for some of Mandalore's finest, and what will it benefit me?" Hondo asked as Ailyn crossed her arms over her chest.
"Just stopping by to say hello to an old friend, Hondo." Ailyn said in a friendly tone, Hondo recognizing her voice and smiling with a delighted laugh.
"Vel! My friend! So you've come to see old Hondo again after all these years, yes?! It's been, what? Ten-fifteen-twenty years, no?" Hondo asked as Ailyn removed her helmet, putting it under her arm.
"About that long." Ailyn said as Hondo sat back down.
"Ah, how time flies when you are having fun! So then, we both know you didn't come all the way from…wherever to say hello to old Hondo. You want something from me. I hope it isn't to collect a bounty on my head…is it?" Hondo asked but Ailyn tapped her chin in thought.
"There is a bounty on your head, a pretty hefty one put out by the Hutts, but that would be a conflict of interest for me. The Hutt who posted the bounty is on my poodoo list and so I wouldn't-…okay I would take his credits but then I'd kill him. You understand right?" Ailyn said as Hondo smiled, chuckling in amusement.
"Ah, my friend-my friend. Time has not changed you in the slightest. So, what is it that you want?" Hondo asked as Ailyn pulled out the imagecaster, activating the hologram of the pirate icon.
"I'm looking for where I can find the pirates that use this symbol. They don't show up in any Republic databases so I was wondering if you knew. Their leader has some…information that's worth quite a lot of credits to me." Ailyn said as Hondo leaned forward, looking at the image for a moment, rubbing his chin thought.
"Well, I might know something but, what is in it for me?" Hondo asked, sitting back in his seat, earning a slightly annoyed glare from Ailyn.
"Try I don't haul you in and collect that bounty? You owe me already for some jobs I did for you roughly 25 years ago, or has your memory failed you? I could always find out where that Azmorigan sleemo is locked up. Last I heard, he's still kicking around out in Oovo IV and I have contacts that could get him sprung." Ailyn threatened as Hondo curled his lip in annoyance at the mention of Azmorigan, leaning forward for a moment before his scowl turned to a smile.
"Just like old times, my friend! It so happens that the leader of those pirates owes me so, consider this my gift to you. They are known as the Grave Robbers and are based out of an old outpost in orbit over the burial moon of Bogden." Hondo said as Ailyn smiled appreciatively.
"Much appreciated, Hondo. A pleasure doing business, as always. I'll let you know if there's anything worth salvaging once we're through at Bogden. Consider it a gesture of my appreciation." Ailyn said as Hondo gave a small salute.
"And you, my dear, are welcome here anytime." Hondo said as Ailyn bowed away with a graceful smile, putting her helmet back on her head as she and the others headed out. The music almost instantly started up again, the dancers retaking the floor.
"You think the information's good?" Venku asked.
"Hondo's got enough scruples not to cheat his customers with bad merchandise. I've worked with him on several occasions and his information's always been reliable. We just need to be extra cautious. He always tends to leave out one or two crucial details." Ailyn said as they started to approach the Makin.
…
Soon the Makin was leaving Florrum's orbit, headed for Bogdan. Inside the main hold, shortly after making the jump to lightspeed, Ailyn was briefing the rest of the team.
"The moon of Bogden, Kholma, is quite literally a dead planet. Billions of Bogden's dead are buried there. Fortunately we won't be going planetside. There's an old Imperial Listening Outpost located in orbit over Kholma. That's where the Grave Robbers are headquartered." Ailyn explained.
"So we go in, blow them up, get out?" Bralor asked.
"That's the idea." Ailyn replied.
"Then what are you not telling us? You told Hondo that they had information that you needed. Information that, apparently, someone wants enough to pay for it." Sabine commented. Ailyn glared at her for a moment before glancing away slightly.
"I can say this. The Pirates knew about something that they shouldn't have. Something which implies there's a security breach within Republic Intelligence. Our mission is to trace the leak back to the source." Ailyn said as Hokan removed his helmet.
"You say that the Republic fleet was attacked in the Corbantis system and that the pirates are based out of a moon of Bogden? That's really out of the way for them. It must've been a highly valuable prize for them to strike so far out of their territory." Hokan commented.
"Must've been. For pirates to stray so far from their territory must mean that the prize was especially worth it." Bresha added.
"What were the pirates after?" Bralor asked Ailyn.
"That's something I'm not completely sure about myself. I know the what, but not the why. But as I've said before, this is on a need-to-know basis. So let's focus on our strategy." Ailyn said as she brought up a hologram of an old Imperial Outpost. The outpost was a Cardan-II Class Space Station but with at least three large docking arms attached to the long span beneath the main station area. There were several additional communications array dishes set up along the edges of the station's main hub.
"The Grave Robbers operate out of this old Imperial outpost. Cardan-IIs are strong enough to repel an attack from several fighters and a few corvettes but the Makin was designed especially with engine bafflers, energy dampeners, and static jammers so we should be completely invisible so long as no-one looks out a window." Ailyn explained as the hologram zoomed in on the station's hangar, a red arrow representing the Makin flying into the hangar.
"We'll land in the hangar, opening fire on any docked fighters and transports once we're within range. By the time they get to the guns, we'll already be inside the hangar. After that we'll split into three teams of two. Wren, Bresha, you two will head for the reactor core located here. Set the charges somewhere the pirates can't get to them and get back to the ship. Bralor, Hokan, you're tasked with guarding the ship, not letting any di'kuts get aboard or sabotage it. The Makin's got some automated defenses too so be sure to keep those on. Venku and I will hit the command deck, take out their leader." Ailyn explained, the hologram showing the specific areas to target.
"Seems pretty straight forward. Doesn't seem like much of a challenge to me." Bralor commented.
"Yeah but we have no idea what these pirates have up their sleeves. Don't get reckless and keep your heads." Ailyn said as they heard the hyperspace alarms going off.
"We're getting close. Arm yourselves." Ailyn said as the Mandalorians started checking their weapons, Ailyn heading back into the cockpit, Sabine following after her.
"You know you're not fooling any of us. We know that there's more to this than you're telling us." Sabine said as she sat down in the passenger seat.
"Won't argue that point. Fact is, there's some stuff you're just not meant to know, vod'ika." Ailyn replied, checking the controls.
"Like what? What is the big secret here?" Sabine asked as Ailyn turned slowly towards her to glare at her. Neither noticed as Venku stood outside the door, out of sight behind the doorframe, listening into the conversation.
"Keep your nose out of it, kid. If the pirates know what I think they do, it might turn the tide of the whole war and not in our favor." Ailyn said as Sabine removed her helmet.
"Our favor? You mean the Republic's favor?" Sabine asked as Ailyn gave a nod.
"Gar serim. The Republic has a lot riding on this information. We need to find out how much of this information is loose in the underworld and find out how it was leaked." Ailyn said as the controls started to beep.
"We've reached the station. Activating sensor camouflage systems." Ailyn said before pushing the hyperspace lever forward, bringing the Makin out of hyperspace near Kohlma, the sensor station in sight and with two pirate cruisers docked, bearing the symbol of the Grave Robbers on their hull.
"There it is. Looks like they're home." Sabine said but Ailyn furrowed her brow suspiciously towards the station.
"I'm not so sure about that. Run a sensor sweep of the station. Scan for life signs." Ailyn ordered. Sabine quietly turned to one of the consoles as Venku stepped inside and sat at the copilot's seat. Sabine then looked at the readouts in confusion.
"That's strange, I'm not picking up any life signs. The station looks like it's suffering a massive power failure too. I'm also picking up some heavy damage on the arm." Sabine reported as Ailyn and Venku both looked at each other.
"Your buir was a Jetii Kad, you've got that Force of theirs like I do. You getting that same feeling I am?" Ailyn asked as Venku gave a nod.
"Yeah and I don't like it." Venku replied as they came around the station, moving so they could see the rest of the station's lower span, immediately noticing that one of the docking arms had been obliterated and there were large chunks of debris floating around the remains of the docking arm.
"There's enough debris here to build a whole cruiser!" Sabine commented in awe of the destruction.
"Probably where all the debris came from in the first place." Venku said as Ailyn brought the Makin towards the station hangar, taking note of the fact that the shields over the hangar had failed. The station's artificial gravity generators were still functioning but numerous cargo containers and a few bodies were floating in the vacuum of space outside the station.
"Everyone seal your helmets! We're going to be operating without atmo." Ailyn said as the Makin touched down in the hangar. Ailyn, Sabine, and Venku reached the airlock where the others were gathering.
"Alright new plan. Hokan, we're leaving you here with the ship alone. Once we're off, take it out of the hangar and keep an eye out for any uninvited guests. Bralor, you're with Skirata and I. Wren, Bresha, we're putting the demo work on hold for now. See if you can find anyone still alive or anything that might indicate who did this." Ailyn said as the airlock forcefield activated behind them before the airlock itself opened up, revealing the darkened hangar. The Mandalorians started to jetpack out of the airlock, Sabine hitching a ride with Bresha as they all jetpacked to one of the hangar doors, touching down in front of it. The doors seemed to be sunken further into the hallway than normal. They all heard the Makin taking off behind them, heading out of the hangar.
"These old Imperial stations had one thing going for them. They built their stations with emergency airlocks in case they had to depressurize the hangar. If the pirates did any sort of maintenance on this place, the airlock should still be functioning and we won't have to worry about working in a vacuum." Venku commented as he stepped up to the airlock controls. They all stepped inside the airlock segment, the door to the hangar closing behind them. After a couple seconds, they heard the mechanical hissing of the airlock re-pressurizing before the doors opened. Almost as soon as the doors opened, the body of a dead Gran came tumbling through the door, a large blaster hole in his back. The Mandalorians looked at the body for a second before looking down the hall. Lights were flickering in the hall and bodies were strewn about the halls.
"Whoa." Sabine commented upon seeing the damage.
"Wren, Bresha, while you're looking for survivors, head for the main reactor. See if anything can be done to get it back online. We'll head for the command center. Ordo, any sign of trouble?" Ailyn asked into her comlink. Outside the station, drifting with only life support, sensors, and communications functioning was the Makin with Hokan at the controls.
"Nothing on sensors. I am picking up some kind of signal. It's very faint. Can't get a trace on it." Hokan replied as he checked the controls.
"Keep us posted. I have a gut feeling that we're not alone in here." Ailyn said.
"I'll alert you if something comes up." Hokan replied. Back in the station, Sabine and Bresha were having to crawl through emergency access corridors to reach the main reactor. As they headed down the hall, Bresha motioned to stop, spotting something. She then knelt down and crawled towards one of the walls which was covered in heavy carbon scoring. There were several large holes where the scoring had burned clear through the wall.
"Something put a hole in this wall. Heavy blaster fire, powerful rounds at that." Bresha said before turning to look back down the hall, taking note of the bodies.
"Something that made them all run in fear." Sabine said as they noticed the bodies were all lying face down or on their sides, facing towards where the two Mandalorians were standing, implying that they were all running away from the source of the blaster fire.
"We should probably take a look, see where whatever it was came from." Bresha said as they started down the hall. On the upper levels, Ailyn, Bralor, and Venku had reached the doors to the command center, Venku having to cut open the doors with one of his lightsabers, cutting a large hole in the door before kicking the severed segment of the door open, the door fragments hitting the ground. Ailyn ducked inside first, followed by Venku and then Bralor. The Command Center was reminiscent of a Star Destroyer's bridge in terms of layout but was in one of the station's corner, the center's windows only on two walls. The insignias of the Grave Robbers were scattered about on the walls while the bodies of more pirates lay strewn about.
"What a mess." Bralor muttered as they took notice of the other door leading into the Command Center. It had been blown open by explosive charges and the Pirates had attempted to make barricades that eventually failed.
"Hey, Skirata. Why didn't we just use that door?" Bralor asked.
"Didn't bother to look." Skirata replied simply, earning a blank glare from Bralor from under his helmet. Skirata just shrugged helplessly. Ailyn was looking around with suspicion.
"Where's their Captain?" She muttered to herself.
"Probably skipped out when his men got overpowered." Bralor commented.
"I don't think so. My instincts are telling me something else." Ailyn replied.
"I wonder." Venku said, putting a hand to his helmet comlink. "Bresha, come in."
"I read you vod." Bresha replied.
"Can you give us a rough time of death for these poor chakaar?" Venku said as Ailyn gave him an approving nod.
"Good thinking." She complimented.
"From what I've seen of the bodies, I'd say they've been dead for about anywhere between five, maybe six rotations. Mind you that's a rough estimate. Given the temperature in this place, might even be about a week or so. Decomp has been slowed by the temp for sure." Bresha said as Bralor looked towards Ailyn curiously.
"Wouldn't that place their deaths at about the same time that Republic ship got attacked?" Bralor asked as Ailyn gave a nod.
"Yeah, it would." Ailyn replied. Down near the main reactor, Bresha and Sabine had managed to reach Core Control.
"Give Wren and I a few minutes and we should have power restored." Bresha said as they started to approach the main control console but as Bresha reached for the controls, Sabine grabbed her wrist.
"Hold it!" she exclaimed before kneeling down and prying off the panel beneath the console, revealing a flashing cylindrical device wired into the console.
"What is it?" Bresha asked as Sabine pulled out a pair of wire cutters.
"It's a bomb, obviously. It's wired into the controls. Press so much as one button, the whole console explodes. Luckily, whoever did this did a sloppy job. I don't see any trick wires here so…" Sabine said as she snipped two of the wires, the flashing on the bomb stopping immediately. Sabine then quietly pulled the bomb out of the panel and stood up, examining it.
"Nice catch. How'd you know to look?" Bresha asked.
"Panel was loose. Bomb was too big. Pushed the panel out just enough. Imperial engineering is typically very specific. If anything's so much as a millimeter out of place, some poor bucket head would usually get spaced for messing up." Sabine explained as Bresha shrugged and stepped up to the console, flipping her helmet comlink on.
"Hey, Kad." Bresha said into the comms.
"What?"
"Wren just saved our necks. Looks like whoever trashed the place left us a few surprises. Check any consoles for explosives before using them." Bresha instructed as she started bringing up reactor core controls. Back in the Command Center, Venku knelt down and pried off the panel to one of the main control consoles to reveal a flashing cylinder inside.
"Thanks for the heads up, Wren. Remind me to give you some jetpack lessons when we get home." Venku said as he started to carefully snip the wires, disarming the bomb.
"Gonna need a jetpack for that, Alor Skirata." Sabine replied.
"I'll give you one." Venku said as he pocketed the disarmed bomb just as the command center lights and consoles all lit up, the station's power being restored.
"We've got power back." Bresha stated.
"You sure do. The whole station just lit up like the Coruscant skyline." Hokan replied.
"Any luck identifying that signal?" Ailyn asked as Bralor cracked his knuckles and stepped up to the console, beginning to slice into the computer systems.
"Yes and no. The signal appears to be some kind of transmission signal. I don't recognize it. It looks like it's coming from the cargo bay." Hokan replied as Ailyn and Venku exchanged suspicious looks.
"Bresha, Wren, head for the cargo bay but stay alert." Ailyn said
"On it." Sabine replied as the console Bralor was slicing, beeped.
"Mar'e! We're in." Bralor replied.
"Anything of interest so far?" Ailyn asked.
"It's what's not here that's interesting. The whole system's been purged of all data. Sensor logs, communication logs, all personal records, supply manifests…everything." Bralor said as Ailyn stepped over to the console, looking over his shoulder.
"Our mystery attackers have been thorough. Any chance of recovering any data?" Ailyn asked Bralor scoffed.
"Any chance? Please. I didn't get these Jaig eyes for nothing, Alor." Bralor replied as he started working on the console again.
"You got the eyes for being a marksman, not slicing." Venku commented.
"Let the man work." Ailyn mumbled as she headed towards the windows, looking out at the black space around the station in silence.
…
Down in the lower levels of the station, Sabine and Bresha were cautiously checking through the halls for any survivors or any clues as to what happened to the crew. They were nearing the station's cargo bay but as they approached, they saw the cargo bay doors were jammed open, one whole door warped around so it was curved out and away from the bay as if it had been blown open.
"What hit this place?" Sabine asked as they looked inside the cargo bay. The bay itself could function as a secondary hangar as the back bulkhead could be opened to allow direct loading and unloading of cargo with ships that were too big to fit inside the hangar. What puzzled the two Mandalorian women was that the bay was completely unscathed save for the door. No bodies, no damage, just a bunch of empty cargo containers.
"Wren, help me check these containers but be careful." Bresha instructed as Sabine gave a nod, both women with their blasters handy. Bresha stepped towards one container and looked inside but found a series of strange overhead racks that were all empty. Sabine was looking into one of the crates but found what appeared to be a large transmission system.
"Skirata, over here!" Sabine called, Bresha hurrying over.
"What is it?" she asked as they looked at the transmitter, Sabine removing her helmet.
"This is an old Separatist DCSR, or Droid Control Signal Relay. They were used during the Clone Wars to relay command signals to the Separatist Battle Droids on the field from either ships in orbit or bases on the ground. After the war, the Empire snapped them up along with most of the droids. I remember they had one of these as a backup relay at the old Imperial Base on Mandalore back in the day." Sabine explained as Bresha looked up slightly, confused.
"There was an Imperial Base on Mandalore?" Bresha asked.
"It was in Sundari." Sabine replied as she examined the transmitter.
"Ah yes the 'true capital' of Mandalore." Bresha commented while shaking her head and making air quotes.
"Hmm, this transmitter isn't the source of the signal but it is relaying it. Thing is, the range on these relays are relatively short, meant to work in conjunction with several relays if necessary." Sabine explained as Bresha looked towards her.
"Which means something else is sending the signal." Bresha said as Sabine scratched her head.
"If only Chopper were here. He could probably translate what this signal was saying." Sabine said as Bresha crossed her arms over her chest.
"If you're talking about an astromech, then we don't need it. We've got something better." Bresha said, flipping on her comlink again.
"Bralor, come in." Bresha said into the comlink.
"Bralor's busy trying to restore the station logs, vod. What do you need?" Venku asked.
"Tell Bralor when he's done to patch into the transmission signal and translate for us. It's an old droid signal of some kind." Bresha replied but this time Bralor replied.
"That's all you need? Osik I can do that for you right now. Give me a minute." Bralor said as the transmission started broadcasting through their comlinks.
"Hmm…it sounds like a droid distress call. Can you trace it?" Bralor asked as Sabine gave Bresha a nod.
"Affirmative. We'll let you know what we find." Bresha replied as she and Sabine started heading out of the cargo bay, unaware that a small droid remote had been watching them the entire time. Back in the command center, Ailyn was standing near the windows, looking down at the black clouds of Kohlma below them. Bralor was still slicing into the controls behind her when Venku walked up to her.
"I was just taking a quick look around in some of the adjoining rooms and I think I might've found something." Venku said, earning Ailyn's attention.
"Go on." She said, curiously.
"It's more like what we haven't found that's interesting. Haven't you noticed that there's something blatantly obvious that we've overlooked?" Venku asked but Ailyn shrugged.
"Like what?" she asked.
"These Pirates didn't go down without a fight but I can't find a single weapon on this station. That bomb we recovered from the console was the first weapon of any kind that I've seen here." Venku said as Ailyn took a brief look around the room and noticed that Venku was right. All of them were disarmed. Blaster holsters were empty, ammo belts were empty, bandoleers and entire weapon containers were emptied. Even grenades and other weapons were missing.
"That's interesting." Ailyn commented.
"There's something else missing too. All we've found are pirate corpses but that's it. Whoever attacked them had to have sustained casualties too, and I've found a few bloodstains with no bodies to prove it. So what happened to the bodies of their attackers?" Venku asked as Ailyn removed her helmet, a look of contemplation on her face.
"Whoever did this didn't want to leave any trace that they were here. And they wanted to make sure no one got an opportunity to do so by leaving bombs in the consoles." Ailyn explained as Venku looked at her curiously.
"You have any suspicions who it could be? Sith perhaps? I'd heard rumors that they'd been using pirates and mercenaries to do their dirty work prior to the war. When the Sith came out of hiding, the pirates were turned loose." Venku said but Ailyn shook her head with a look of contemplation.
"I don't get that feeling. The Sith wouldn't go to all this trouble just to cover their tracks. This is someone else." Ailyn said as Bralor's console beeped.
"Mandokarla! We've got it! Partial records but it's something." Bralor said as Ailyn and Venku approached the console.
"What've we got?" Ailyn asked as Bralor started scrolling through some of the restored files.
"It looks like the pirates were contacted by an unknown party. This group wanted to trade them three newer cruisers in exchange for their existing old ones. The pirates appear to have been accessing schematics on three different ship classes, two of them match the ones we saw docked with the station. I'm guessing those are the new ships. Probably a safe bet that the third one is that debris field out there." Bralor explained.
"So that means the Grave Robbers weren't the ones responsible for the attack on the Republic Ship at all." Ailyn said as Bralor and Venku looked at her curiously.
"You sure about that? They could've been using the new cruisers during the attack." Venku said but Ailyn took a breath.
"I know for certain these weren't the cruisers. I know because I was there when they attacked." Ailyn replied as both men looked at her in annoyance. Bralor then removed his helmet with a look of annoyance on his face. He was a Pantoran man with short black hair, a strong jaw, and the Jaig eyes tattooed on his forehead in green ink.
"You've been holding out on us. You know more than you've been letting on." Bralor said as Ailyn glared at him.
"I told you already, the information is classified. The Republic would put a bounty on all our heads if word got back to them I let that information slip. Besides, there's more riding on this than credits, Felun." Ailyn said as Venku looked at Bralor curiously.
"Bralor, tell me something. Were you with the strike team that joined the Republic on the attack at Thule?" Venku asked, earning a confused look from the Mandalorian slicer.
"No I wasn't. I was assigned to stay behind on the homeworld." Bralor replied as Venku looked back at Ailyn.
"You think it was them, Ailyn?" Venku asked but Ailyn shook her head, seemingly understanding who Venku was referring to.
"Not even Death Watch is this thorough." Ailyn said, alarming Bralor.
"The Kyr'tsad? They're still alive?!" Bralor asked as both Mandalorians looked towards him.
"Alive and aligned with the Sith Empire. Mand'alor's strike team ran into them during the Invasion of Thule, when we were escorting Mand'alor himself through the capital city. They attacked us and we lost several good men, but we hit them back just as hard. That's why Mand'alor is committed so aiding the Republic. Our blood enemies have chosen their side, and so have we." Venku explained, much to Bralor's stunned amazement and increasing anger.
"As the old saying goes, 'the enemy of my enemy, is my friend.' The Republic is the enemy of the Sith Empire and Death Watch is aligned with them. Therefore, the Mando'ade have aligned with the Republic." Ailyn explained as Bralor slowly stood at attention.
"Looks like Mand'alor picked the right side after all. If the Republic needs the aid of the Mando'ad, there's at least one member of Clan Bralor that is ready and willing to help." Bralor said before putting on his helmet and returning to the console.
"Let's focus on getting this information first. Does it say who their buyer was for the cruisers?" Venku asked.
"No, that information was lost. But it does say that two of the ships were full of old droids. The pirates apparently transferred most of the droids to the cargo bay on the station. The pirates tried to contact the buyers but got no response. There're still some old sensor logs that indicate a ship arrived at the station, stayed for a few hours, then left. Records are too degraded to identify though. The records end there." Bralor replied.
"Wait, what kind of old droids?" Ailyn asked, suspicious.
…
Meanwhile, Bresha and Sabine had traced the droid distress signal to one of the levels on the station's arm. Sabine had tuned her comlink to use the droid relay's signal frequency. This part of the station was heavily damaged due to the explosion of the cruiser so close to the station, turning the entire section of the station into a maze of collapsed corridors and access tunnels.
"Are we getting any closer?" Bresha asked.
"Almost there." Sabine replied. They rounded a corner and as they did, they heard a slow electronic warbling sound.
"Sounds like a droid in trouble." Bresha said as they got closer to the sound. They soon reached a corridor and saw something that made them pause. It looked like an old B1 Battle Droid but its plating was colored a dark grey and its shape was slightly different, more dome-like in shape. The droid was pinned beneath a fallen support beam but still functioning.
"A battle droid? What is it doing here?" Bresha asked. The droid looked up at the sound of her voice and its warbling suddenly changed to a more angry sounding alarm-like warble.
"I don't like the sounds of that!" Sabine exclaimed as her wrist comlink started picking up more signals. Bresha's comlink suddenly activated again.
"Vode, what's going on?! I'm picking up multiple signals coming from within the station! Over five dozen of them!" Makin exclaimed as several additional droids burst out from behind metal bulkheads, leveling blasters at them and opening fire.
"Commando Droids!" Bresha exclaimed as she and Sabine opened fire on the droids while backing away to flee down the hall.
"Where'd they come from?!" Bresha asked as they ducked around a corner, Sabine grabbing her paint sprayer from her belt.
"You're asking me?!" Sabine asked before popping out from around the corner in time to spray paint over one of the droid's photoreceptors, blinding it, and then kick it around to face the other oncoming droids, firing its blaster wildly. The two Mandalorians then turned and continued running down the hall.
…
Back in the command center, Ailyn and Venku were fending off droids from both entrances as Bralor scrambled to download the recovered data onto a data disk.
"I think we found out what happened to the pirates!" Venku exclaimed, mowing down battle droids as they approached the doors.
"And this is why I hate droids!" Ailyn grumbled, prepping a thermal detonator and throwing it through the door, the detonator exploding on impact and eliminating two of the droids.
"We need an exit strategy, now!" Venku yelled.
"Working on it! Bralor, how's the download?!" Ailyn asked.
"Almost done! Keep those droids out just a little longer!" Bralor replied as Venku fired his blaster down the hall.
"Bresha! Come in!" Venku yelled into his comlink. There was no response for a moment before Bresha finally came in over the comms.
"Kinda busy right now, Kad!" Bresha yelled over the sound of blaster fire.
"Can you get to the hangar or to an airlock for Ordo to pick you up?!" Venku asked, downing two droids with two shots.
"Negative! They've locked down the turbolifts to our area and the tunnels are blocked by debris! We're trapped!" Bresha yelled.
"If you're going to do something, do it fast! Those cruisers are starting to power up. They'll be fully operational in less than ten minutes!" Hokan said over the comlink just as they heard an explosion and almost immediately felt the station rumble beneath them as soon as it happened.
"That might be a problem! The droids just collapsed part of the station in front of us! We're really trapped now!" Bresha replied.
"We're not leaving without you, sister!" Venku yelled. Down in the lower level of the station, Sabine and Bresha were holding the droids off from the doorway leading into a hallway that had been blocked by debris. The hall had only three accessible doors on their side.
"Kad, make sure that cloned Jedi knows what happened to me!" Bresha said over the comlink. Bresha didn't notice as Sabine happened to glance inside one of the rooms nearby and did a double-take at something she saw inside.
"Don't be a di'kut! You're getting out of here alive along with the rest of us! We're not going to let these clankers beat us!" Venku yelled.
"He's right! We're getting out of here!" Sabine said as Bresha looked her way and saw Sabine in one of the side rooms, attaching a small red canister to her paint sprayer and start spraying paint around the base of several large green barrels marked with bright yellow warning labels on them. The room was once an Officer's quarters and offered a view of space and the debris field outside of it.
"What are you doing, Wren?!" Bresha asked, firing at the droids. Sabine had since removed the red canister and started spraying a line of paint out the door and around a corner and down towards the debris line.
"Jam the door!" Sabine yelled. Bresha quickly did as instructed, blasting the door controls on the opposite side of the door and then closing the door and jamming the controls before turning towards the younger Mandalorian.
"Now isn't the time for one of your art projects, Wren!" Bresha said as Sabine sprayed a line of the paint into one of the rooms on the opposite side of the hall, the room furthest away from both the door and the room with the barrels. The droids were already starting to bang on the doors on the other side as Bresha hurried after Sabine. Once inside the room, Sabine stopped and clipped the sprayer to her belt. She then raised the red canister up for Bresha to see.
"Paint in itself is flammable until it dries, right? Well this stuff puts a little more pop to any paint color. Perfect for making the really colorful explosions. Those barrels in the other room are full of Peragian Fuel. That stuff is lousy as an engine fuel but makes for a great IED. And in case you didn't notice, there's viewport in there so if we blow that window, we'll be able to escape. We just need a pick up before the droids catch up." Sabine explained as Bresha stared at her through her helmet while putting a hand to her comlink.
"Hokan, we've got an escape plan! Get a lock on our signal and stand by!" Bresha said as she clipped a safety line from her belt to Sabine's, putting an arm around her from behind for added security as Sabine pointed one of her blasters at the line of paint.
"Ready?!" Sabine asked, the banging on the doors getting louder.
"Ready." Bresha replied. Sabine pulled the trigger, blasting the line of paint, causing it to ignite quickly along the trail and within three seconds, the barrels of fuel exploded, blowing a hole in the bulkhead, the sudden depressurization pulling both women out of the room and into the hall towards the door just as the droids broke in, sucking some of them out too. The two Mandalorians were the first out, Sabine firing at the droids while Bresha activated her jetpack, putting more distance between them and the station.
"Makin to Bresha! I'm coming in! Standby!" Hokan said through the comlinks. The audio emulators in their helmets picked up the sound of the Makin's engines followed by the rapid firing of its repeating blaster cannons, blasting the droids out of the air before slowing down to hover in position between them and the droids, the airlock opening up for them. Bresha quickly maneuvered them around so that they were pointed at the airlock, the two landing hard on the other side of the forcefield before the airlock closed. Back in the Command Center, the information had downloaded and Bralor had pocketed the data disk, joining Venku in holding the line. Ailyn then saw something approaching her door that made her pause in alarm.
"Destroyers!" she exclaimed. The other two Mandalorians could hear the metallic ringing of metal on metal as the Destroyer Droids came rolling towards the doors. When they unfurled however, their shields activating, Venku could tell right off that something was different about them.
"Those don't look like the Destroyers my buir fought during the Clone Wars! These look newer!" Venku exclaimed as they fell back to more secure cover, the Destroyers blowing apart what was left of the doors with their repeating blaster cannons.
"Didn't think to pack any Ion Grenades!" Ailyn exclaimed as they took cover in the "pits" that made up the Command Center's lower level. Their comlinks then came on.
"Then I recommend you take cover and grab onto something secure! We're coming in!" Hokan said as Ailyn looked towards the viewports to see the Makin rise into view, turning towards the Command Center and opening fire with its blaster cannons, ripping a hole into the Command Center, the sudden depressurization sucking the Destroyers and most of the droids into space.
"There's our ride! Let's go!" Ailyn said as they quickly activated their jetpacks, flying towards and out the hole, landing inside the airlock. The airlock closed and the Makin started pulling away just as the lights came on inside of the two cruisers. On the bridge, Hokan quickly shifted to the co-pilot's seat as Ailyn entered and took the controls, Venku riding shotgun while Bralor manned the turret.
"We're not going to get very far with these cruisers on our tail! Skirata, get the hyperspace calculations for Mandalore going! Anyone got any suggestions on how to deal with these metal headed di'kuts?!" Ailyn asked as Sabine appeared in the doorway.
"I might have one." She said as she raised a remote detonator and hit the button. Suddenly the station started to explode, a chain reaction ripping apart the lower levels.
"It's blowing itself up from the inside! What did you do?!" Ailyn asked as they evaded the turbolaser fire from the cruisers.
"Remember that bomb I warned you about? I might've rewired the one we found to a remote detonator and set it near the reactor core just in case of an emergency!" Sabine replied as the Makin raced away from the station, one of the cruisers leading the charge. The other cruiser wasn't too far behind when the station finally went critical and exploded, the blast taking the cruiser with it.
"That's one down! But what about that other Cruiser?!" Venku asked as Ailyn spun the Makin around.
"Time to see if my investment is going to pay off!" Ailyn said as they started going towards the cruiser, firing both its repeating cannons and an ion cannon at the cruiser, weakening its shields.
"Let's hope the concussion missiles on this thing will do the trick!" Ailyn said, earning a confused look from Sabine.
"Concussion missiles? Why not use seismic charges?" Sabine asked.
"What are you talking about? We don't have seismic charges!" Ailyn asked, confused, as she continued to evade the cruiser's fire.
"In the back, there's an aft mounted seismic charge launcher!" Sabine replied.
"Ordo!" Ailyn shouted as Hokan checked a weapons display.
"She's right, there's a stellar mine launcher loaded with seismic charges in the back!" Hokan said as Ailyn looked forward for a moment, purse lipped in what they assumed to be concentration.
"Prime the charge! Standby to fire!" Ailyn ordered as she headed for the cruiser's bridge, flying in close before hitting a button on the controls, releasing the charge behind them before pulling up and away from the cruiser. There was a bright blue sphere of energy that burst from the charge before compressing back down and releasing a shockwave of energy, the shockwave cutting through the cruiser's bridge and causing a chain reaction that obliterated the entire cruiser.
"Nice shot, Alor!" Sabine complimented just before Ailyn pulled the hyperspace throttle, the Makin jumping to lightspeed, leaving behind nothing but the exploded hulks of three cruisers and an old Imperial station.
Later on Mandalore…
The Makin touched down in one of Keldabe's docking bays, the team of Supercommandos disembarking soon after.
"I know for a fact I didn't order the mine launcher. Too expensive an upgrade and I had to draw the line somewhere." Ailyn said as they disembarked.
"Well mine launchers fully stocked with seismic charges don't just appear out of nowhere Alor." Sabine said as they spotted Sintas and Mirta entering the docking bay, Mirta running towards her mother.
"Mama!" Mirta exclaimed as Ailyn smiled, picking up and kissing her daughter on the cheek.
"Did you bring me anything?" she asked but Ailyn chuckled.
"Not unless you want a defused bomb." Ailyn replied as Mirta thought for a moment.
"I know a few people who might deserve it." She mumbled with a mockingly serious expression. Ailyn tousled her hair with another chuckle.
"Speaking of which, what happened to the bomb you guys found?" Sabine asked. Venku then pulled the bomb in question from his pocket.
"Right here." He replied as Sabine took the explosive, examining it.
"Looks fairly standard. Military grade work I'd say, but it doesn't have any markings I recognize, but then again, my information is thirty years out of date. But I know a few bomb experts here in Keldabe that might know more. Mind if I ask around about it?" Sabine asked as Ailyn gave a nod, still holding Mirta.
"Go ahead, ner'vod. Report back to me as soon as you find something." Ailyn said as Sabine gave a nod but before she could run off into town, Venku caught her by the shoulder.
"And I meant what I said about jetpack lessons. If you need one, I'll get one for you to keep. Consider it an offering of respect from Clan Skirata." Venku said as Sabine grasped Venku's arm with a look of respect on her face.
"The honor is mine, Alor Skirata." Sabine replied before turning and running off into town.
"Well this was entertaining, Vel, but the next time you need me, make sure it's for something challenging." Bralor said as Ailyn smirked and gave him a nod.
"The mission's not quite done yet but I at least have a fresh lead. You did upload the information to the Makin's computer, right?" Ailyn asked as Bralor looked towards her with a relaxed sigh.
"Left the disk plugged into the computer. Besides, what am I going to do with that information?" Bralor asked before turning and heading off into the Keldabe streets.
"I best be going as well. My wife's making Ronto beef stew. Drop by if you're hungry, Vel." Hokan said as he walked off.
"Thanks again, Hokan!" Ailyn called as Hokan raised his hand, waving as he walked away.
"Come on sis, I know Mesh'la's getting tired of watching her younger sister about now." Venku said as Bresha gave a nod.
"Right. Call us if you need us again, Ailyn." Bresha said as Venku turned towards Ailyn.
"Clan Skirata will answer your call, Ailyn. On that you have our promise." Venku said as Ailyn gave them both an appreciative nod, watching as they walked away. Ailyn then looked at Mirta.
"Hey, go take a look at the new ship for a minute, your ba'buir and I need to have a talk." Ailyn said as Mirta gave a nod, excited to see the new ship.
"Alright!" she cheered as Ailyn set her down, Mirta rushing into the Makin as fast as she could, leaving Ailyn and Sintas alone.
"So, did everything go alright?" Sintas asked.
"I've got a lead and information to send to the Republic. You mind watching after Mirta for a little longer?" Ailyn asked as Sintas smiled.
"Take as long as you need, Lyn. Your father and I can take care of your little Bounty Hunter for as long as you need us to." Sintas said as Ailyn's smile faded slightly at the mention of her father.
"Yeah, you I don't mind so much." Ailyn mumbled.
"You really don't think he doesn't care for you or Mirta don't you?" Sintas asked as Ailyn scoffed.
"I wonder some times." She mumbled as Sintas smirked.
"Well I couldn't help but overhear you mentioning that your ship had a mine launcher installed and stocked with seismic charges. I also happen to know that a third party paid the difference to have that launcher added and to have it stocked with those charges. And we both know that there's only one man in the galaxy that uses seismic charges like that. So before you go claiming that your father doesn't care for you, you might want to take some time to put two and two together." Sintas said as Ailyn sighed heavily.
"A mine launcher doesn't make up for thirty years of hatred…although it is a start." Ailyn said contemplatively as she looked towards the Makin.
Later…
A small Mandalorian airspeeder flew across the desolate white desert wastelands of Mandalore's desert region, headed for the ruined city of Sundari, the former capital of Mandalore. The domed city now sat exposed, abandoned, and partly buried after nearly forty years of neglect, much of the dome covering the city having been gradually salvaged and torn away. The scars of the battle that divided the Mandalorians during the Clone Wars still visible even from a distance. The speeder came in and touched down on one of the landing platforms on the edge of the city. Felun Bralor quietly climbed out of the speeder, looking around cautiously as he walked towards one of the old city speeder docks. As he approached, he noticed at least three yellow targeting lasers appear targeting his head, chest, and right leg. There were two more highlighting his jetpack from behind but he didn't notice these. This caused Bralor to stop in his tracks.
"I got your message, Bralor. This information better be worth it." A voice said from the shadows as a trio of Death Watchmen emerged from the shadows, one of them wearing a cloak around his armor with the three black markings over the T visor that denoted him as the leader of Death Watch.
"It's worth it alright. Had to give a copy of the information to Fett's daughter to keep up appearances but it'll be worth the interest of the Death Watch and its allies to know that we might have a third party involved in the war between the Republic and Mandalorians against the Sith Empire and Death Watch." Bralor explained as the Death Watch Leader crossed his arms over his chest.
"Go on." He said as Bralor presented a data disk to the Death Watchmen.
"There's evidence to suggest a possible leak within Republic Intelligence. Apparently, a group of pirates attacked something valuable to the Republic and it's got them riled up. They commissioned Fett's daughter to look into it." Bralor explained.
"And what makes you so sure it isn't the Sith? They might be this third party." The Death Watch Leader suggested.
"Because I know that neither the Sith nor Death Watch are manufacturing old Separatist Battle Droids and sending them against pirates. I know they're new because their plating was just too polished, too new, to be forty years old, and droids rarely talk about who they're working for. Besides, the information says it all." Bralor explained as the Death Watch Leader took the data disk, looking at it curiously for a moment before pocketing it.
"You've performed well, Bralor. Continue your assignment. If anything more comes up, you know how to contact us." The Death Watch Leader said as Bralor saluted.
"Yes sir, Mand'alor Viszla."
Meanwhile in an unknown location…
A figure in bulky red armor stepped into the sole beam of overhead light of a darkened chamber, bowing to a figure obscured by the shadows.
"Sir, we've just received word that the Grave Robber station was recently infiltrated and destroyed. We have reason to believe that the infiltrators managed to escape the station." The figure reported.
"It makes little difference to me. There's nothing to connect the station, the Grave Robbers, or the droids to me. Even if they were to fully recover the data from the station, they still wouldn't be able to link it back to me. We continue as planned. Once we learn the whereabouts of Dr. Roa, we will be able to commence with the second stage of my plan. You may commence with Stage One." The figure replied as the armored figure bowed.
"By your command, sir." The figure replied.
Meanwhile near the Wayland System…
The Makin was docked with a Republic CR90-A Corvette as it and two other CR90s with small starfighter escort patrolled the region. Onboard, Ailyn was escorted into the corvette's conference room where a familiar Holodroid stood, flanked by a pair of Republic troopers.
"Our guest has arrived. You may leave us now men. Initiate Security Protocol: Starkiller Three." PROXY ordered to the men who saluted and left the room, locking the doors behind them as Ailyn approached the holodroid.
"Welcome. My Master has received your message and wishes to speak with you." PROXY said as Ailyn raised the data disk.
"Go ahead." She said as PROXY activated his holoprojectors, taking the form of Galen Marek, immediately putting his hands behind his back.
"What do you have to report, Miss Vel?" Galen asked.
"I can provide evidence to prove that the ships that attacked the fleet in the Corbantis System were originally owned by a pirate group called the Grave Robbers but were acquired and utilized by a third party to carry out the attack. From the information we gathered, the Grave Robbers were subsequently eradicated by what we can assume was the third party." Ailyn reported as Galen scratched his chin.
"Any leads as to the identity of this third party?" Galen asked.
"None yet but they seemed to utilize old CIS Battle Droids in eradicating the pirates. They were extremely thorough to remove nearly all evidence of their presence until their cover was blown. We didn't even know they were there until we stumbled upon them on accident. We barely made it out alive." Ailyn explained as Galen arched a curious eyebrow.
"Battle droids? Are you sure?" he asked as Ailyn gave a nod.
"Positive. But here's something interesting. We managed to collect a souvenir." Ailyn said, raising the defused bomb from the station.
"The droids used this. My team's 'explosives artist' as she likes to call herself, identified the design as a standard Separatist Demolition Charge. The design is forty years old but the components, all of them, are new. Manufactured within the past year at the latest. And the droids didn't look old or worn from decades of neglect like most you'd find nowadays. They were new, almost fresh off the assembly line. Someone went through a lot of trouble to build brand new droids and equipment from a bygone era." Ailyn explained as Galen took a breath of consternation.
"Is there any evidence to suggest Sith Involvement?" Galen asked.
"None. All of the evidence suggests a third party. Either the Sith have gotten really good at covering their tracks, or we're dealing with someone else entirely." Ailyn replied as Galen closed his eyes in meditation.
"The Dark Side still surrounds this whole incident and it still does not feel like the Sith are involved…at least not directly. Continue your investigation and remember to keep the information on a need to know basis with anyone you bring onboard. And as promised, in exchange for this information, your credits are being transferred as we speak." Galen said as Ailyn gave a smile and a nod.
"Much appreciated, General." Ailyn said as Galen smiled and nodded back in return.
"Oh and, I heard you refer to a team in your explanation. I assume you have a team working with you for now?" Galen asked.
"Only six of us for now. Not really an official team to speak of. I'm being very careful about the details and so far they seem fine with the arrangement." Ailyn said as Galen nodded in acknowledgement.
"I see, and does this team have a name by any chance?" Galen asked as Ailyn smirked.
"As a matter of fact yes. We're called the Werda Tsad. It means Shadow Team."
End Episode 5
I own Hokan Ordo, Felun Bralor, and Bresha Skirata as well as the Death Watch Leader Viszla. His identity will be a subject for a later episode.
Also, as of this writing (1/2/2016) I have officially seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But out of continued courtesy to those who have not seen it yet, kindly refrain from saying anything that might be a spoiler in your reviews. PMs to me are fair game though.
As to whether any Force Awakens characters (aside from the cameo by Rey in the previous episode) will appear in this universe is still a matter of personal debate. You'll just have to wait and see on that one. That said, there are a few things that have crossed over into this universe from The Force Awakens. The Sith Empire uses the First Order insignia and TIE Fighters (only in a defensive role and without the aft laser cannons), and shuttle as their own. The First Order Star Destroyer has not crossed over…yet. The new Stormtrooper armor and Stormtrooper transport from TFA have similarly not made the crossover…again, yet.
Again, whether or not characters like Finn, Poe, BB-8, Maz, Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma, Hux, Snoke, or other characters from the Force Awakens will appear is not yet decided. They may be limited to cameos or they may take more active roles, that's assuming they appear at all.