Chapter 5

The Coruscant air was thick with humidity. Kit breathed it deeply, taking the muggy air deep into his lungs before releasing it again. His gills shuddered against his neck as the wind picked up, brushing across the hanger's extended platform. He could hear his companion's almost imperceptible breaths as she knelt on the ground beside him, meditating. A glint of light caught his eye, and he turned to see a derelict space frigate slowly coming in for a landing. A stream of dark smoke streamed out from behind it, and for a moment, he thought it might be in the midst of crashing. He let out a breath as he saw the ship righten itself and come in for a slightly more controlled landing.

He sensed rather than saw Master Fay stand up beside him, her alabaster-skin gleaming in the morning sun, the shoulder-length white hair blowing around her head. She followed his gaze and smiled. The sound of thick boots running across the boardwalk behind them reached the Nautolauns ears and he turned around. Aayla ran up beside them, a dishevelled, black-furred anooba by her side. She stared up as the frigate came in for landing.

"Is that them?", she asked, her accent thicker than usual in the morning air. Kit had noticed that when she got exhausted, her accent returned with vigour.

Fay laughed softly, her own lilting voice amused rather than curious. She pointed over her shoulder at the smoking frigate, "Who else would willingly pilot a ship that run down?"

Kit let out a low whistle. "It is a nice ship, actually. Just need a bit of care. I bet the last owner didn't appreciate it nearly enough."

Indeed he had not. The ship was a classically designed PT-6073 cargo vessel. Boasting a huge cargo bay and two onboard cabins, the ship was designed for long journeys with heavy cargo loads. The bridge, cargo area, sleeping quarters and engine room were all fitted into the main body, a rectangular block with a slope where it bonded to the wings. Some of the plates were missing from the main body, showing the inner workings of the ship. The wing themselves were shaped as two massive wings that curled around the main body, making a huge semi-circular disk. If viewed from above, the ship looked similar to the Starbird. Rotary blaster emplacements sat along the wings, though they appeared to be relatively low-powered weapons at first glance.

Kit frowned. He wasn't a mechanic, but he could see the scorch marks in the metal. There was quite a few of them, he noted. What had happened to Stass and her young padawan? The air picked up as the beat up freighter came in for its landing, and the three waiting Jedi steadied themselves against the rush of wind that blew past them. The clank of the landing gear lowering sounded, and the engines died down to a whine as the ship settled on the platform. Thick smoke emanated from the old, burning metal. Brushing some non-existent dust from his robes, Kit walked up to the ship. He ran his finger along the carbon burns, pulling the ash off the metal with them. It was fresh. Air hissed as the ramp descended halfway, and he moved back to the group nearby. Immediately, the anooba bounded in, sniffing around to find any new scents.

"He wasn't any trouble, was he?", a voice came from behind the group. Turning, Kit found himself face to face with the Tholothian they were waiting for.

"Stass!", Aayla cried out, before enveloping the woman in a hug, "You startled me! How did you get behind us?"

"Sorry, sorry.", Stass patted the frantic Twi'lek's shoulder gently. "I took the liberty of taking the back way out of that rusting death trap."

Fay gave the younger knight a small smile, gesturing to the ship behind them. "And what of your padawan? He is still on board, I take it. Did he fair well on his mission?"

"He was fine.", Stass answered, "Went off on his own as usual."

"Care to elaborate?", Kit grinned. He had been one of Caloc's espionage instructors during his months of rehab, and he was impressed at the level of skill he had displayed. He was also familiar with 'the usual', as Stass referred to it.

Stass made an uncaring gesture. "Oh, he just got us thrown in cells, then got us out of those cells and then… snuck into the head Pyke's office to get this.", She brandished a thin dataspike in her hand, "All the information requested by the Council about Hala's last three years of trade."

"Good work.", Kit took the probe from her, "But where is Caloc?"

Stass gestured in the direction of the ship, a look of disgust covering her face. "He's still trying to fix the ship. Starting with that boarding ramp! I don't know why he's bothering though. It's a literal piece of junk."

"Perhaps he wants to keep it as a… memento.", Aayla suggested.

Fay let out a small giggle, "Perhaps he just wants to rile you up, Stass. You used to do the same thing to your Master. And he did the same to his."

"It is an unspoken tradition now.", Aayla smiled, "Doesn't he still have the sword that destroyed his arm? He displays it on the wall in his quarters, I believe."

"At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Caloc does this just to annoy me.", Stass muttered, before turning to look at Kit, "When do the Council want to see me?"

"Immediately.", Kit answered, then amended with a concerned twist of his tentacles, "But only if you have no injuries."

The Council chamber was full this time. Stass stood behind Master Plo Koon's chair as the debate continued around her. She had given her report, but been allowed to remain until the matter was closed. Master Piell, who had a knack for combing through data, had only given the information a cursory glance so far, but he was already sure that the helox power cores were smuggled through Hala, eventually landing with an anonymous buyer on Raxus. Now, each Council member had their own ideas about how to deal with this new information. They were arguing relentlessly.

"We need to force them to tell us where they sent it!", Coleman Trebor shouted, "We could stop any future attacks."

"No!", Shaak Ti argued, "We need to prepare to defend the planets willing to accept our help."

"I disagree with you both.", Plo Koon spoke calmly, "We still don't have any idea about who purchased the batteries, nor what they plan to do with them."

"Or who provided them to the arms dealer.", padawan Turn Hullt spoke up from where he stood near Trebor's seat. The older student had been apprenticed to the Vurk for a long time, and was a welcome addition the Council meetings.

Finally, Master Windu stood up. "That is enough!", his stern voice carrying around the room. Every other Jedi in the room stopped. "Fellow Council Members, we are the head of the Jedi Order. Our actions here determine which course the entire Order takes. We are supposed to be leaders, but instead we are squabbling like younglings over whose ideas are better. You should be ashamed of yourselves."

"I agree with Master Windu.", Ki-Adi Mundi stood up and walked into the centre of the room to address everyone, "The actions taken here have repercussions. This is indeed disturbing news. But we should have prepared for anything like this. After the crisis that occurred in the Mon Cala sector, the incident on Devaron, even the devastation on Ryloth, why are we surprised that a crime syndicate is smuggling bomb components. These are difficult times. With the Force being harder to see through every day, we need clear and decisive action to lead this Order."

"So then, what do we do, Master Mundi?", Coleman asked, "I, for one, see this news as troubling. We need answers."

Before the Cerean could answer, Master Windu spoke again. "I was summoned to the Senate earlier today. Chairman Cho is finally allowing Republic Forces in to evacuate the more critically injured Pantoran civilians to our Medical Outreach centres. I am wanting to organise a team of specialised Jedi to protect the transports. I also managed to convince the Chancellor that we should gift the Pantoran's emergency medical aid and portable hospitals. He wants me to stay on world as additional security for the personal being sent there."

"Who are you suggesting join this… escort?", Oppo Rancisis asked, his long tail flickering in anticipation.

Windu glanced up, "I have already made a list of the specific skillsets I require."

"And what are they?", Plo Koon asked.

"I shall summon these Jedi when the time is right.", he answered, "But the Chancellor told me that the Chairman would only allow us there if we would not intervene with local livelihoods. Therefore, I have decided that it would be better if we had two teams. Team 1 will be with me protecting the cruisers. I will be needing people used to unpredictable and dangerous circumstances. I also need healers to assist the personal to prepare for the evacuation. Therefore, I want both Quinlan Vos and Doctor Nema. She is not used to leaving the Temple, but I believe that we will need our best healer with us. I also want Master Fay to join us."

"Master Fay?", Kit Fisto rubbed his fingers through his tendrils, "Are you sure that is wise? She is more of a free spirit, following the Force at will. I don't think she even owns a lightsabre. She may not agree to join you."

"Fay has a complex history.", Stass spoke up, "But she has been around for longer than any of you. She may very well be the best Force user in the Order. She sees more clearly than any of us. But she follows her own path. I think we can only hope she will join us.

"Exactly.", Windu answered, "It never hurts to ask. I also want Ord Enisence. He may not be the best healer, but he has a strong connection to the Force and is a skilled negotiator. If the Pantoran Assembly ask us to leave, I am certain that he can change their minds."

"Very well.", Ki-Adi spoke up. "You mentioned another team?"

"Indeed.", Windu answered. "They shall be transporting the critically wounded. We need experts in crowd control and piloting. Since I won't be able to help, I am relying on Master Allie to lead the team. Bultar Swan will be joining you."

"It would help to have both Master Unduli and Master Kenobi.", Stass mused.

"Hmm.", a deep, thoughtful hum came from Plo Koon, "And what of their padawans, and of the boy?"

"They shall join us…", Mace began.

"No!", Ki-Adi shot out of his seat. "I can understand sending Skywalker and Barris. They have more experience and have been on more missions. But Tiac is not yet ready for this. The boy is not yet fully healed."

"He got us this information pretty easily.", Even Piell countered, still studying the data on his holocube, "That included fighting a Gigoran and escaping a Pyke stronghold. I do not see how he is not ready. This mission sound straight forward. A simple escort mission before returning home."

"He is healed.", Stass stared at them both. How dare they try and debate about her student without even talking to her. She gave a small smile, "And I would bet that he could easily take you out in under a minute, Mundi."

Ki-Adi seemed to have found himself at a loss for words, and Mace took the opportunity to step in. "I have chosen them both for this team, Master Mundi. I would ask you to respect my decisions."

"A good team, you have chosen, Master Windu.", Yoda tapped his cane against the side of his chair. "Adjourned, I believe we are."

I decided to bring in a few more characters in this time.

Legends Characters like Master Fay, unexplored characters like Coleman Trebor, Bultar Swan and even Ord Enisence. More will be popping up through the next few chapters. I really hope that you will enjoy the fleshing out of these characters.

That's all,

Phillip