Star Wars: The Old Republic: The Mandalorian Wars
Chapter 14

Avner moved so he stood before the Republic soldiers. His lightsaber hummed to life seconds before blaster fire echoed through the night. The blots shot off in random directions, some deflected by the blade and others through the force.

Avner sent a wave of the force towards the two. They skidded back several inches, staggering as they tried to keep their balance. In the next moment blaster fire sounded from behind Avner. The soldiers fired on the shorter of the two, trying to take him down first.

Racing forward, Avner needed to get to one of them before they were both killed. He leapt into the air as he slashed down with his 'saber. Sparks flew as the blade sliced through the barrel of the blaster. He landed on the taller mandalorian just as the other fell beside him.

Avner flicked his blade up so it pointed at the mandalorian's neck. "Are your forces stationed on Dxun?" he asked. "Why are you recruiting now?" he used the force to make certain the mandalorian would answer the questions.

"Y-yes," he muttered, eyes glazed. "The order c-came in from Mandalore to-to recruit new blood to the ranks, for a full sca-scale attack."

So they were going to attack after all. But, when? He doubted even this grunt knew. Sighing, Avner sheathed his lightsaber before he pulled the mandalorian to his feet and bound his arms. "Here," – he pushed the mandalorian towards the two soldiers – "you should take him into custody."

"What abut you, Master Jedi?" asked one of the soldiers as he took the mandalorian from Avner.

"I'm going to head for Dxun," he told them, "see if I can find the base."

"Alone?" the soldier's eyes widened.

"I'm not planning on attacking the base besides it's more to just see if what this one told us is true or not."

"The base will move before you can stop us," spat the mandalorian.

"I'm well aware of that," Avner stated.

"But how will you look over an entire moon?" demanded one of the soldiers stepping towards Avner.

"That is something I'll have to figure out. Thank you for your help and I am sorry about earlier." Avner bowed to them. "I hope the rest of your evening is peaceful." With those words, Avner left the group, heading back through the city to the landing zone.

He'd left his robes on the shuttle he'd been able to acquire for the trip. In all honesty, he didn't have the credits for a room here let alone a good meal this evening. He wasn't here on "official" business from the Order so he wouldn't be able use that to gain aid as it was from the government. What little credits he'd had he'd used to blend in while in the cantina as well as to buy this armor, which had been lowered in prince only because he was Jedi.

If a base was discovered here… well, Avner would just have to tell the queen and hope she believed him then head for Coruscant and tell the council. They were even less likely to believe him. Even still he had to try at the very least.

Once Avner was back in the shuttle, he was more than grateful to return to his robes. He knelt down and pulled a ration from the small bag. At least he'd had enough to sense to take a few with him.

Sighing, Avner moved to the cockpit and sat down in the pilot's seat. He only hoped that Dxun would hold the key to convincing the council that action was needed. If not… well, then he would try a few more ways before entering the war. There was away to do so without going against the council. It was to enter one of the corps in the military. Avner hadn't yet contacted their leader, but he would in the days to come and depending on the outcome of his next meeting with the council.

When Avner had finished the ration, he started up the shuttle. It was for the best to head out now. He steered the shuttle from the hanger and took it up towards Dxun. The fuel in the shuttle was just enough to get him to Dxun and back. He wasn't certain how he would get to Coruscant afterwards, let alone back to the others.

The trip to Dxun was a short one. Soon the shuttle was entering the atmosphere of the moon. Heavy fog hung over the trees, covering them in a thick, gray blanket. It took Avner some time to find a clearing to land the shuttle in. He cut the engine and sat back in his seat. Closing his eyes, he reached out with the force, spreading out his awareness.

Life covered the moon in the form of dense jungle and animals that would be less than happy to see Avner there. He couldn't see far beyond the shuttle thanks to the density of life here, but it would have to do. He would just have to be careful while looking for the mandalorian base.

Avner stood and made certain his lightsaber was on his belt. Here went everything. He took a deep breath before he left the shuttle. He made certain the hatch was sealed before heading off into the thick jungle. Life moved all around him. He was able to steer away from it from time to time. Soon Avner found himself with his lightsaber out.

A cannok was pawing the ground before Avner. It was getting ready to charge him down. Avner lift his free hand, reaching out to the beast with the force. Master Kae had once taught Avner how to calm the mind of such animals. He moved towards the cannok. Soon it stopped pawing the ground and looked around before it lumbered off.

Letting out a breath, Avner sheathed his 'saber. He needed to move fast. The animals here weren't the only things that would rip off his head if he were caught. He kept moving, senses on high alert for anything that would attack him. Here, on this moon, he knew he was the prey and just about everything that moved was the predator. The moon hadn't gotten the reputation it had for nothing.

Voices came through the jungle to Avner. He hid himself behind a tree and listened as the voices approached. By the sounds of it, they were speaking mando'a. Right then he thanked the force he'd been studying the langue since his time on Tarnith.

"I hate patrolling," one of them was saying.

"It's better than standing around waiting for our next orders. Soon though we'll be in battle."

Avner heard them pass his hiding place and started follow them, using the trees for cover. This was the only chance he really had at finding their base and he wasn't about to pass it up. Each step was light and quiet as he moved after the two mandalorians. Before too long they stopped and looked around before entering a system of cliffs.

Avner hesitated. There might not be any place to hide from them in there. But was he really willing to risk giving up this chance? The answer to that question was "no," he wasn't willing to risk it. Avner slipped from his hiding place and edge to the entrance. Not too far ahead of him the two continued on their way unaware that Avner was following them.

He raced over to several bushes and knelt down before waiting for another chance to continue on. It was over an hour before the two mandalorians reached their destination. Avner leapt up onto the cliff side and edged forwards until he could see below.

What greeted him made his blood run cold. It wasn't a small base like he'd expected to find, not at all. Instead it was massive. Several battalions worth of mandalorians were below and that was just the tip of it all. A ship was docking in the distance and several basilisk war droids thrummed through the air. The sheer numbers pointed to the fact that this base was one of their major operating centers. There was no way the queen could have her forces take care of this… it would take a massive army, more forces than this system could ever really have on Onderon.

Avner swallowed and pushed himself back a bit. If the council didn't act on this, there was no way Avner could just sit back. Not now, not with this level of threat pressing down on the Republic. His hand was shaking, but not from the fear at this sight. It was something else that made him shake… excitement? But why was he excited? This was bad. Perhaps it was his own thoughts on what needed to be done, finally being cemented into place.

For several long moments, Avner just sat there, staring at the ships docking. His mind still racing through all that could be done and all that would need to be done. There was so much at stake now. Far more than he'd originally believed. The council had to act. If they didn't… if they refused to do so once more, then it was up to those few who followed Avner to act, but how?

Giving himself a small shake, Avner shoved these thoughts away. His first priority was to get back to Onderon. From there he could get back to Coruscant and speak with the council. Then he could decide on what to do after that. Acting so irrationally would only hurt the group in the end.

By the time Avner arrived back at the shuttle, the light had dimmed on the moon. It was almost like night planet side; though he knew that it would be day by the time he got down there again. He entered the shuttle.

When he docked in Iziz the sun was well above the horizon. Despite this Avner felt drained, yet, his mind raced unable to leave what he'd seen on Dxun alone. He sighed and shook his head. He needed to rest, to figure out how to get some fuel, and to speak with the others before making a time to meet with the High Council. It would be a good week or two before any of that could happen.

Sighing, Avner stood and stretched. He'd best figure out how to get the shuttle refueled before anything else. He tugged up his hood, making certain shadows hid his features before stepping off the shuttle. Glancing around, there was no one around to even notice Avner. He sighed again. Where the heck was everyone?

He left the hanger and moved into the larger port. There was no one there either despite the fact the sun was well up. Only a few droids tend to the area. He moved over to a holo which would give him the news. In moments of turning it on, he knew why no one was around. The queen was out today and all of the security in the area would be assigned to protect her. This also meant that everyone was flocking to get a look at the queen.

For several long moments, Avner weighed the thought of going out into the city dressed as he was. Finally he decided he should and left the cities port. There were a few people in the streets when he appeared, but none who really looked like they'd have a legal way to get fuel or would even talk to a Jedi. They eyed Avner as he passed them, giving him looks that ranged from dirty to suspicious to downright angry.

The few other people there were racing away to get to wherever the queen would be. Avner followed those, though at a slower pace. All his wishes to speak with the queen where gone at this point. He didn't want to tell her about the base so that she could throw away countless lives to try and stop the mandalorians… or, worse, she thought Avner was completely ridiculous for having even mentioned such a thing.

A large mob had congregated at the end of the Sky Ramp. Avner could just make out guards holding people back from the queen. By the looks of it they were trying to clear a path for her. Though, they weren't being very successful.

There was really nothing Avner could do until the hype had died down. He let out a small breath and leaned against the wall at the back of the crowd. His shadowed gaze was locked on the mob and the group guarding Queen Talia. Sometime… okay all the time, crowds like this confused Avner. It was a person of note, yes, but that didn't mean crowds of people had to flock around said person every time they chose to appear. In the same instance it was a rather amusing sight to behold.

He was just thankful that he'd never be a person of note in any way, shape, or form. People thronging around him would get rather unsettling. Granted, he had become known on the holo-net as of late, but this was very different. Hell, most people still wrote him off even as the war drew closer and closer to the Republic.

With a small shake of his head, Avner shoved these thoughts away. Right now he needed to focus on either getting the credits or finding some other way to get the fuel needed to get back to Coruscant. Impossible as it was in that instance. In the same moment he could just head back to the shuttle and sleep for a bit as well. It would at the least pass the time until the hype died down and he could come out to do what was needed.

Turning, Avner was about to head back to the shuttle when he sensed someone moving through the crowd towards him. He turned his attention back on the crowd to see it was the queen. What the…? Avner was caught in a moment of indecision. He wasn't certain if the queen was just heading in this direction or she was really heading towards him. No, he doubted she would have any interest in someone like him. He was just a Jedi… the Jedi who believed war was coming, making his standing even worse. She was the kind of person who had the attention of masters on the council after all.

He looked away from her. Sleep deprivation was getting to him. He rubbed his eyes and started off. Perhaps he should've slept the night before last instead of thinking on matters while he'd been in hyperspace or the night before that one… okay he had slept some that night.

"Master Jedi," a clear voice sounded over the noise of the crowd.

Avner turned yet again and noticed that queen was looking at him. Okay, perhaps sleep deprivation wasn't what had gotten to him after all. "Yes, your majesty?" Avner asked as he bowed to the queen.

"Come, I'd like to speak with you," the queen stated.

He hesitated before he walked over to the queen. The two of them went back through the crowd of on lookers towards the Sky Ramp. Muttering followed them, most seemed to have recognized Avner as the Jedi Crusader. For the reason he was the Crusader, Avner couldn't figure out why the queen wanted to speak with him.

It wasn't until they were on the Sky Ramp away from the crowd that the queen spoke again. "I must admit I'm a little shocked that it was you who was here and not another Jedi," she confessed. "Then to see you still here…" she trailed off.

"I promise I'm not here to cause problems for you or your world," Avner stated with a slight bow.

"I never was going to say you were. In fact I wanted to thank you for your help last night. I thought you'd already be on your way by now."

"I would've been," Avner stated, "but I've no fuel," he confessed. In the long run not telling her why he was still here would hurt more than anything else. He didn't expect to be just given fuel. Something like that never happened to him… at least, it hadn't since he'd started to try to find someway to convince the council to enter the war.

The queen frowned. "Stay the day and the fuel will be yours," she stated.

Avner stopped walking, not certain he'd heard her correctly. "Forgive me, majesty, but you're just going to give me the fuel?" Avner asked.

"If you stay and rest today," she told him. "By the sounds of it you've been up all night and even Jedi need sleep."

"Thank you, majesty," Avner said with a deep bow.

"Now, tell me about your beliefs on the invasion that's coming."

Well over an hour later, Avner was seen to rooms within the palace. He was more than happy to get some much needed sleep. He only bothered with taking off his boots before collapsing onto the bed. He was asleep the second his head hit the pillow.

When Avner woke, the room was dark with only the smallest amount of light coming in through the window. He blinked before he slowly sat up. It was late judging by the fact he could see the moon through the window.

There would be no point in leaving so late. Besides, he'd not really checked up on the news reports since arriving here. This in and of itself wasn't a good thing. While cut off from the rest of his group the news was his only line to the front.

Avner crossed the spacious room and sat down in the chair there. The holo in the middle of the room flickered to life. The holo showed the streets of Taris before the Jedi temple there. It wasn't anything to do with the front whatsoever.

As Anver listened to it, it became apparent that his warning had fallen on deaf ears when he'd been on Taris. The Padawans had been massacred and Zanye was taking the fall for all of it. The child was being a tested in ways that one never should've, forced into a situation by the very person who'd been meant to protect and guide him.

"—Even before the controversial departure of many knights to join the war. A crusade from which some are already missing in action!"

Avner stared at the holo-news. The rest of the report was falling on deaf ears. Blood roared through his ears as a rush of heat. He should never have left the others on the front. He should never have left them at all.

Standing, Avner shut off the report and moved to call the transport. For several long moments nothing happened. Then, finally, Darious answered the call.

"Master?" Darious said, looking rather shocked to see Avner calling.

"How many are missing?" Avner asked, skipping pleasantries and getting straight to the point of the call.

"How—?" Darious shook his head before told Avner. "About three scouting parties worth, around fifteen," he told Avner. There was a long pause before he said, "Alek is among the missing."

Avner felt as if his blood had gone cold as the full weight of what Darious had said sank in. Alek wasn't dead though, Avner knew he would've felt his friend's death if it had happened. Taking a deep breath, he recited the code in his mind before ordering, "You and Master Kae gather those who remain and had for Coruscant. We'll regroup there before heading after the others. They're still alive and we're not leaving them behind."

"Yes, Master!" Darious straightened, smiling. The call ended and Avner collapsed back into the seat. So much for foresight, so much for all that was discovered here and on Suurja. With Alek and so many others missing, the masters were bound to be more focused on that rather than the war. He would never leave Alek behind, but this was… all of this situation hurt. There is no emotion; there is peace, he repeated the phrase over and over until he finally started to feel calm once more.

xxx

Alek struggled against the hold several of the mandalorians had on him. This earned him a quick, sharp strike to the head. He gasped. It was the second time this had happened in the past day. The second time he was to see Demagol. His body still ached from the tests the mad man had run on him earlier. No amount of the force had helped with that.

Those holding Alek, strapped him into the bench upside down. He could just make out Demagol in the background preparing for his "latest" test. The mandalorian backed off and stood in the dark corner by the entrance to watch. Alek tested the bindings as he had the last time he'd been back here. It would take a lightsaber to break these and his lightsaber had been taken with all the others.

"You are by far one of the most interesting Jedi I've studied to date," Demagol stated as he looked through the tools before him. "You were the last one captured on Suurja and far heartier than the others." He pulled up a syringe, tapping it several times.

Alek eyed the liquid within the syringe. A nasty feeling filled him. He had a pretty good idea what was going to happen and had a feeling that the syringe contained some poison or another.

"There are reports from the last war which state that Jedi have a very high survival rate when it comes to chemicals and poisons." Demagol turned to Alek. His mask and armor still covered in dried blood splatter. "Let's see how much you can survive before it kills you, shall we?" He moved over to Alek and knelt down. "This vial contains just enough to kill a human of your size. We'll start with that."

The sleeve of his robes was torn way. A cold, sharp feeling of the needling sinking into his skin sent a jolt of pain through his arm. The next moment the jolt was replaced by fire. Alek cried out involuntarily as the poison entered him and began to work. His eyes rolled as the force filled him.

"Amazing," Demagol was muttering in the background, but Alek could barely him as he struggled against the poison, a struggle to hold to his life.

Alek trashed, gaze unfocused, body screaming in pain. He tried to focus on the force and what Avner had told him about getting poison from the body. The pain began to ease. Alek went limp, his head hitting the bench. His entire body was shaking from sheer exhaustion.

Demagol was kneeling before him again. Perhaps the insane mandalorian hadn't even moved through all of that. Alek didn't know and didn't care to.

"Let's see the effect that had on you," Demagol stated, sounding almost pleased by what had happened.

Pain shot through Aleck as the mandalorian set to work. He forced himself not to struggle but it didn't make it any better. It took all of his training to keep himself awake. There was no telling how much time passed before Demagol's assistant unstrapped Alek and caught him before he'd strike the ground.

"Bring that one back in the morning. I'm very interested in him and his abilities," Demagol instructed the other man.

Alek was passed to two other mandalorians who dragged him back to the waiting room. He was tossed to the ground.

"Squint!" Ferroh was beside Alek in an instant.

"I'm fine," Alek muttered, not feeling the least bit fine. The poison was still in his system though it wouldn't kill him he'd been feeling the affects of it for days to come. All that he could do was hope that, perhaps, the force would guide someone here to help rescue all of them. By now Avner would know that Alek was missing, but would he be able to do anything about it? In the end, there was really no possible way to answer that question.