Ken looked tensely out of the window of the Ministry-class transport as the terrestrial landscape of Sernpidal stretched out before him.
"Land there, outside the city," he instructed the pilot. "We'll walk the rest of the way so as not to attract too much attention."
The shuttle began to land and the five Jedi walked for about half an hour until they reached the city of Scelest.
"All right," Ken looked at his datapad to get the navigation. "This way," he pointed to the others and they walked along the wide streets.
The houses here were rather small in size, which was due to the harsh climate here. Tall duracrete buildings would not have lasted long here. Clay here was much more resistant to the prevailing dryness and warm winds.
Finally the GPS beeped and Ken realized they had reached their destination. But that surprised him. They were in a narrow side street, between two industrial buildings. There was no way anyone could live here.
"Great," Keero commented. "So our mysterious ally is a homeless man."
"Possessions do not define a person," Hysha admonished him. "Never judge a person's mind by his possessions."
"Forgive me, Master," said Keero.
"Wait," Shesprer shouted between them. "Look there."
He pointed to a blue glow coming from the earth. The little one has really sharp eyes, Ken thought.
He walked over and brushed the dirt aside. Buried underneath was a small holoprojector.
Apparently he had saved a message.
"Come on," said Vangsha. "Play it."
Ken activated it and the blue holoimage of a small, gray-haired man appeared before them, showing his nervousness more openly than Ken had ever done in recent weeks.
"I'm sorry I have to take you a detour, but I couldn't take the risk of sending my address via a message," the man stuttered. "So I left this hologram to tell you that I'm hiding at the east end of town, in a house by the river," he told them. "You actually can't miss it. It is the only one that stands directly on the river bank. I just ask you to come as quickly as you can and make sure no one chases you."
After these words the recording ended. Ken crushed the projector with his hand—and the Force—so as not to leave any trace.
"Come on," he urged the others. "Let's hurry." He quickly buried the sparking projector back underground. Covering tracks was the first thing you learned at every agent school. Not that Ken ever visited one, but it was as clear as wiping your shoes when you went in. You didn't have to learn it to do it.
It took them about an hour to get out of town. In between they stopped at a small tap café when Shesprer lost control of his hunger. Eventually the houses slowly stopped and the group could once again take a look at the rocky steppes of Sernpidal. The sun had already begun to set and a gentle veil of sunset spread over the landscape. This was also reflected in the water mass mentioned. The raging river raged in front of them and waves hit the small rock pillars that rose out of the water. Some residents of various species camped on the banks to earn their living by catching aquatic animals. And just a few meters away from them, at the very edge of the river, Ken saw a flat-roofed, rectangular house. "That must be it," he called to the others and they went there.
Ken knocked on the metal door because it didn't have a bell.
Shortly afterwards the door slit opened and two large blue eyes stared at him.
"W-w-who are you?" trembled the man, whom Ken could clearly identify from the voice as the one from the hologram.
"Don't worry, we are the Republic squad you sent the message to," he tried to reassure him.
The man looked no less frightened. "Didn't anyone follow you?"
"We are Jedi," Ken explained. "If someone had followed us, we would have felt it." This wasn't just talk to calm him down. It was the pure truth. On the way here, Ken hadn't sensed even a hint of danger or hostile presence. His comrades had not noticed anything like this either. Not even Master Hysha. So the whole thing had to be correct.
The man closed the door slot and immediately opened the whole door. Now Ken could clearly see that it was the right guy.
"Hurry, quickly!" he rushed the five Jedi to come in.
Once everyone was inside, he immediately pressed the button on the control panel that closed the door and locked it using every means available.
"You have to calm down," Ken said gently. "I understand your anger, but you are now safe among trustworthy people."
"I'm not entirely sure we're with a trustworthy person here, though," Keero said, still suspicious.
"Hey, there's really no time for that," Ken told him. The last thing he wanted was for Keero to torpedo his efforts to calm the man down.
However, the Ongree stuck to it. "The only thing we don't have time for now is blind trust."
He turned back to the man and pointed a finger at him. "You better tell us now what you are doing here and what happened. And quickly if possible."
"Okay," the researcher collected himself. He took another deep breath in and out before he began. "About a week ago I visited my family on Fondor. When I finally returned to Belkadan, our station was suddenly attacked by a horde of Mandalorians."
"Wait a minute," Keero interrupted. "How could you have found out about the project? It was supposed to be kept secret, right? After all, we only found out about it on the day we were assigned to this."
That was the first time that the question came to Ken's mind. It showed him once again that he didn't question things enough. Without Keero he probably would never have even thought about it. Once again he was happy to have his friends with him.
The man looked anxiously at the ground. "We suspect there are spies in the government," he said. "But who it was, or is, is unknown."
"Great," Keero grumbled. "Treason within our own ranks."
"And we didn't even feel it," Vangsha lamented.
"Anyway," the man continued. "I was able to barely escape. However, the Mandalorians chased me and found my family." He paused briefly as tears welled up in his eyes. "I've been hiding here ever since," he sobbed.
Everyone was silent for a moment.
"Were they killed?" Ken asked, immediately regretting the question.
"That's the worst part of it," answered the man. "I don't know it. I feel bad just sitting there and doing nothing because they could still be alive. At the same time, it feels so pointless to do anything since they might already be dead."
Ken felt his pain. His compassion was so great that the man's grief almost spilled over to him. "Is there anything we can do for you?"
"Wipe out the Mandalorians," the man said, his voice dripping with hate. "Make sure they can never terrorize the galaxy again."
Ken understood how he must feel. The Mandalorians took everything from him. His anger was too understandable. But he was a Jedi Knight. He had to be above something like that.
"I know you have to be hateful towards them, but that won't be necessary."
The researcher just looked at him puzzled.
"As long as nothing has been decided, I will negotiate at all costs and ensure peace. After all, this is my duty as a Jedi. I must not bring about war."
"What?" asked the researcher with audible aggression. "How can you still think like that, after everything that's happened, after everything they've done? They have killed innocent people, implicated us in it, and they will certainly not stop in their madness until their enemies or they are destroyed."
"Listening times. You are upset and as I said, I understand that. But I can't make my decision based on personal feelings. I must always act for the good of the galaxy. As long as the Mandalorians' motives are not revealed and there is hope, I will not give up working for peace."
"That's nothing but naive," the man said.
"Maybe Ken is even right," Vangsha interjected. "Just think about it. The Mandalorians suffered a devastating defeat in the Great Sith War against us. Their ranks were greatly weakened and they lived as nomads again for a long time. It is possible that when they learned of our initiative, they were afraid that the Republic would seek retaliation against them. After all, they were the last remnant of Exar Kun's army. They may have wanted nothing more than to neutralize a potential threat."
This assumption made Ken's hope stronger. If this was really the case and it was just a big misunderstanding, it would be possible to clear it up and start peace negotiations.
"Unfortunately there is another option," said the man. "At the end of the war, their leader died. However, the Mask of Mandalore was never found. So a new one has taken over, which means that they are still formed and their traditions continue. The Mandalorians cannot be defeated easily. For them, a defeat is only an incentive to become even stronger in order to bring the enemy to their knees at some point. It's more likely that they not only destroyed our experiment, but actually stole it. With this weapon in their hands, they will be able to raise a terrible army in just one year, with which they could quickly destroy the Republic."
As quickly as Ken's hope had come, it disappeared again. He was right. The Mandalorians were a cult of warriors. War was their way of life. It would only be logical if they wanted to do something like that. The others apparently thought the same thing.
"Now come," Vangsha said to him. "There is nothing left for us to do now. Flying to Belkadan would be too risky."
"Yes," Keero agreed. "With the information we have now, we can return. We will certainly get the Senate to act quickly and put an end to the whole thing before more innocent people die."
Ken knew this would be the safest option. But it would also mean there would be war. And he would be responsible for it. He simply didn't want to and couldn't bear this guilt. He looked over at Hysha, who was clutching his heart, alluding to their conversation earlier on the Starscraper. This gave Ken more determination again. He closed his eyes and tried to listen to the Force.
"We can't give up now," he announced as he opened his eyes and tore himself away from Vangsha. "Until I know the whole truth, I will not risk war. So we will fly there." That was what his heart had told him. He just felt it, This was what had to be done.
Vangsha looked at him seriously. "I hope you realize that if this fails and we fall into a trap, not only will we be doomed, but the Republic will never be warned."
"And if we succeed, we will have peace, no matter what," Ken contradicted him.
His two friends finally gave in and Ken turned back to the researcher.
"Can you tell us where exactly we should conduct our investigation?"
"There is a highly secured vault in the rear center of the complex. The blood samples were probably stored there. Even though they won't be there anymore, if you can find clues anywhere, it's there."
"Thank you," Ken bowed. "I promise you, when this is over, we will take care of your family."
The man started shaking again. "T-t-t-t-thank you," he stuttered, more violently than before.
However, Ken didn't question it any further. Finally the five Jedi left the hut and made their way back to their shuttle.
…
In the cool breeze of the night, Stug stared at the pitch-black sky. Between the starlights and Sernpidal's moon he then saw the shuttle that flew the five Jedi Knights back out into the galaxy.
His conscience still didn't calm down. He just sent them to certain death. They who trusted him - at least partially - who saw in him hope of being able to save the Republic and who were even merciful enough to offer him help with his family. He had lured them into a trap.
"Come on," he said to himself, shaking his head. "You did the right thing. Nothing is more valuable than family."
He knew it wasn't right for his family to start a war, but what good was a peaceful galaxy if he was alone with nothing to live for? They were the only thing he had left and he had to protect them at all costs.
He looked at his datapad and saw that it was time to go to the agreed meeting point.
He walked into the city, sneaked inconspicuously past all the residents and finally turned into a narrow side street between two abandoned houses. At the end of the alley there was a large rock wall. He had arrived at the other end of town.
"Jendri!" he screams, with both hands next to his mouth. His desperation could be heard. But now it was too late for regrets. "Jendri!"
"I'm here," a grumpy voice came from behind him. When he turned around he saw a Mandalorian in his blue Neo-Crusader armor. "Now stop screaming so loud. After all, we wanted to remain inconspicuous. So how did it go?"
When he asked this, Stug fell to his knees and burst into tears. "I did it," he sobbed. "I betrayed the Republic. I helped you with your war plans and brought death to the galaxy. Are you happy now? Can you finally leave me alone now?"
He didn't need to see his face to know that Jendri was smiling contently.
"In deed. You have fulfilled your mission," he told him.
Stug calmed down a little. Now he was finally a free man again. Now he could settle down on some third-rate planet with his wife and children and hopefully lead a normal life while the Mandalorians and the Republic butted heads with each other.
"Thank you," he said, still in tears. "Now finally take me to my family so that I can put this whole thing behind me."
"We Mandalorians are of course true to our word," Jendri replied.
He didn't notice much more. Before Stug could get up, Jendri shot a hole in his head and he was dead.
The Mandalorian walked over to the lifeless body and knelt in front of it.
"You were a brave and honorable man. You sacrificed your principles and everything you believed in. Everything for your family. That deserves the utmost respect. Wherever you and your family are right now. I pray you see each other again."
After burying him, he took out his holoprojector from his left hip pocket and called Mereel.
"What is it?" came his voice.
"The Jedi were successfully lured to Belkadan. They should arrive there in a few hours. I eliminated the researcher as ordered."
"Well done," Mereel praised him. "Is our small force ready to strike?"
"They are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Jedi, General."
"Very good." Ornan rubbed his hands happily. "Once they get there, they won't have a chance. Force or not."