Chapter 8

Tellasor was a massive, bustling city. It was located below the Jibari Mountains, below the equator of Alderaan. Surrounded by huge walls to protect against the wind, the city had seven long docks that stretched out, affording easy and manoeuvrable access for the ships and shuttles delivering. The huge city was the hub of Alderaan's shipping and receiving. Although it was larger than the capitol, most people still travelled back to the capitol by a series of shuttle buses. Most of the city's citizens worked on the port, unloading the cargo freighters that came in. Even now the ports were bustling, and the skies were full of ships waiting to be allowed to land.

Bail and his wife, Breha, stood on the end of one of the docks, craning their necks towards the sky, trying to peer through the grey cloud cover. Behind him stood a company of his personal security force, and his bodyguard/confideant, Satele Mypas.

"Is that them?", asked Breha, pointing at one of the ships.

Bail smiled at her. He truly loved his wife, but sometimes she asked the most ridiculous questions. Even with the sky full of hundreds of ships, Jedi starfighters tended to stand out. Especially with the sheer amount of the lithe craft scheduled to land on Alderaan. "No dear. Look for small flying triangles."

Forever his loving wife, she responded by sticking out her tongue.

Satele grabbed his shoulder suddenly, if a bit harder than he preferred her to. She was pointing up, and slightly to the left. "There, sir."

Bail followed her finger. It took a little while for him to see what she had, but when he did, he was stunned by the sight that greeted him. Four huge Pelta-class medical frigates dropped through the clouds, their pilots aiming for the ports they were currently standing on. Behind them was a huge, dagger-shaped cruiser, hovering in the upper atmosphere. Bail recognised it from the blueprints he had seen in the Senate. A Venator-class cruiser. As the smaller ships got closer, he saw six small starfighters flying alongside, guiding the medical frigates as they came in for landing. One of them peeled away from the group, flying straight towards the small welcoming committee. It swooped gracefully to the nearest landing pad and gently touched down. The darkened canopy opened and Master Windu leapt out, saying something to his astromech, snugly fit in its socket. Bail hurried over to greet his old friend, shielding himself from the wind.

Satele continued to stare as the huge medical frigates lowered themselves beside the docks. The starfighters zipped around like flies around a swamp, until slowly coming to rest on the small, suspended platforms meant for the single pilot defence craft the Alderaan security guards used. Out of each leapt a hooded, robed Jedi. She noticed that each had a silvery hilt of a lightsaber on their waist, though each had a different design, and she assumed, a different use. The ramp of one of the cruisers slammed down on the dock, and another group of Jedi walked down to join their brethren. Satele's frown grew deeper, and she marched over to her boss, standing at his shoulder.

"Master Windu, I trust you had a pleasant trip.", Bail grinned at him, "I don't believe that this many Jedi have been in one place outside the Temple for years."

"You would be right, Senator.", Mace replied. "The trip was quite pleasant, thank you for asking. The Venator cruiser's accommodations are quite comfortable. Are the crates ready?"

"Indeed they are.", Satele answered. "Tolman, our foreman, has guaranteed full capacity in only two hours."

Bail nodded at her, appreciative, "In the meantime, I am allowing you and your associates to have free roam of Tellasor."

"Although we are thankful, Senator, I would prefer for us to remain here and watch the cruisers while they loaded.", Mace answered.

"I on the other hand, have business in town.", a young voice interrupted. Satele watched as one of the robed figures removed their hood, revealing a youthful face of a… boy? She blinked in surprise. His face was not only young, it was scarred by a long and ragged cut down the cheek. He noticed the bodyguard staring and gave her a small smile. "And I could use a guide."

"Business?", Windu asked, turning to stare at the boy, "Tell me, Caloc, what does a padawan have to do that they classify as business?"

The Halenjo was a small diner in the lower part of the Tellasor. Located on the east side of the central park, it was a small, squat building shoved between two tall hotel skyscrapers. Satele piloted the speeder down to the nearby parking garage and glanced back at her passenger.

"How did I end up on babysitting duty?", she muttered quietly.

"Senator Organa told you to.", the boy answered as he shuffled through his satchel, which was laying on the seat next to him. He looked up as he fastened a pouch to his belt, "And I really needed a lift."

She bit her lip, slightly embarrassed by the fact he had heard her. She didn't know if the Jedi would reprimand her or report her to the senator. "Sorry."

Caloc vaulted over the side of the speeder and looked back through the window at her. He shrugged, as though not really caring, "Don't worry. I get why you said it."

"Really?"

"No. I've never been hurt more than by your insult. I am wounded for life.", his mouth twisted up at the corner. His tone was full of sarcasm, but it took her a while to actually sense that he was joking. He barked out a short, humourless laugh, "Trust me, that was nothing. My best friend once tried to kill me, so I'm sure I can handle an insult or two."

Satele frowned at him, "Why is that funny for you? I would be really insulted."

"Insults may affect others, but I've been stabbed through the arm before. I heard every insulting thing about incompetence, recklessness, and uselessness while I was recovering in the medical halls. Most people forget that you can hear them in a coma", Caloc answered, tapping at his wrist commlink, "I'll be about half an hour. You can come in if you want, or you can wait here. It really doesn't bother me."

Satele vaulted over the side, bending her knees to absorb the impact. "I'll come in. I need to see what this is all about."

She thought that she heard the boy mutter something akin to, "Curiosity killed the Lothcat", under his breath, but decided to ignore it and follow him as he turned to walk into the diner.

The diner's door dinged pleasantly as they entered, and she looked around to see a series of booths against the far wall. Caloc marched straight towards the farthest one, where a black-suited man was casually chomping into a burger worthy of advertising. Sliding in across from him, she studied this mysterious person for some kind of clue as to who he was. He was taller than them both, and had thin grey spavaat around his neck. His suit jacket was loose and unbuttoned, and she saw the grip of a blaster hidden in its folds. A dangerous man, perhaps, but one who didn't like getting his hands dirty. His eyes flicked between them as well, clearly studying them with similar intent.

"Caloc.", he nodded at the Jedi.

"Terran.", Caloc smiled thinly, "I heard you had moved your activities to Alderaan."

The man, apparently named Terran, huffed loudly in annoyance as he put the burger down on a plate, "From that witch Akka, no doubt. Since you ruined my investments on Menach, I needed a new hunting ground. Figured here, I could at least get something from the cargo port.", he looked over at Satele, "Who's the girl?"

"My babysitter.", Caloc's words showed no humour or hatred as he gestured for Satele to sit. She gave him a hesitant shake of the head, and he shrugged before he turned back to peruse the holographic menu cards, "How are the chips here?"

"They're too salty in my opinion.", Terran continued to study the menu, "But the reek tortilla is great."

"What do you want, Satele?", Caloc handed over the thin board the menu was displayed on, which she gingerly received. This was not what she had expected when she had been selected to accompany a Jedi.

Confused, she slid into the booth beside him, "I'm sorry. Who is this man, exactly?"

"Didn't he tell you?", Terran asked, wiping his fingers on one of the nearby napkins, before folding it up and placing it on the table. He still didn't look up, seeming disinterested in the conversation. "I'm Caloc's estranged brother."

Satele stared at the two men. They could not have been more different. Even their accents were polar opposites. Terran spoke with a foreign lilt, his tone both deliberate and measured. It was like he was hiding something behind each sentence. Caloc's seemed to be more… active. More alive. He kept his emotions in check, but still allowed his tone to show a hint of what his emotions.

"Before you ask, the estranged thing is a long story.", The padawan turned back to man before him, steepling his fingers above the table, "Now brother, what information do you have about Pantora?"

Terran's eyes flicked up to stare at him, "Why would I tell you?"

"I take it you don't get along.", Satele mumbled at them. It was about time that she joined in on the casual ambiance, "I think I just want to have the meiloorun smoothie."

Caloc gestured the waiter droid over and started ordering.

Satele stared at Terran. "What do you do, Caloc's brother?"

"I'm in acquisitions and intelligence.", he answered, before taking another bite of his burger.

A snort of laughter burst from beside them, and Satele turned to see Caloc carrying over a large bowl of red chips. "He works for the Information Bureau."

"I thought they were a rumour.", Satele raised an eyebrow. The Information Guild was a shadow society rumoured to be able to know everything through their resources. They had no morals, but each faction of the guild had a speciality. Some planets knew them as librarians, other as torturers, and even more knew them as crime lords. But no one would ever admit to actually having proof of their leaders or their whereabouts.

Terran frowned at her statement, "We are. Though I will admit that I am finding my clientele rather… tedious these days. It's refreshing to have a nice conversation with my brothe…ahh. I thought she wouldn't find us for another minute or two."

Satele watched as Terran began to float a metre off the ground. She peered over her shoulder at the doorway. A Tholothian standing with her hand outstretched, wearing similar robes to the boy sitting beside her.

Caloc gave a casual wave and grinned at her, tossing a red chip up in the air and catching it in his mouth, "Hey, Stass. How's loading the cruiser's going?"

"Slowly.", the Jedi answered, keeping Terran suspended in air. "Definitely slower than the dock foreman thought. I snuck away to find you and see if you needed help here."

"Terran was about to give us some information.", Caloc answered as he had another chip, "He knows who's behind the Pantoran bombings."

"I do not know who is behind the Pantoran bombings.", Terran interrupted, seeming perfectly at ease floating above the booth.

Caloc raised a finger. "Stass and I are talking. Please respect that and zip it without giving us any disappointing news."

"If he doesn't know who's behind the bombings, what kind of information does he have?", Stass asked.

"Unknown so far.", Satele mumbled as she ripped open one of the jellied fruit packets supplied to each table, tossing the tiny snacks into her mouth a handful at a time. "You interrupted before we got to that part."

Stass turned to her, eyes narrowing. "Who's this?"

"My babysitter. We already covered this.", Caloc chuckled, before turning back to the suited man on the other side of the booth. "Now, I need to ask you a few questions."

The waitress droid rolled back over and deposited a round tray of drinks on the table. "That will be fifteen credits, thank you."

Rifling through one of his pouches, Caloc located the needed credit chips. Tossing over the units, he grabbed his drink and took a long swig, before letting out a long sigh, "That is a really good smoothie. Now, brother, talk! When I asked Akka for information about the Pantoran bombings, she told me that the Raven is the only broker with any information. You already sold it to someone. That is why I got in contact with you."

"It's true.", Terran shrugged, "No one else knows what I do about the targets."

"Great.", Satele pulled out her blaster and twirled it around her finger. "What do you know about the targets?"

The broker stared at her, "I'm still unclear on who you are."

Caloc took another slurp of the drink, smacking his lips together as he swallowed, "Would you just answer the question? This whole delaying thing is getting annoying."

"First I need to know what you can give me.", Terran grinned.

Stass suddenly released her grip on the man, and he fell back into his seat, a whoof of air expelled from his lungs. He regained his composure, and straightened out his suit again. When he looked back up, Stass had leaned over the table, smiling right in the man's face. It was not a nice smile. More like the bared teeth of an anooba, "I could give you a quick maiming."

Terran smiled patiently at her, then turned back to his brother. "Well?"

A datadrive landed on the table, spinning over to the man's waiting hand. He held it up to study it, then gave his brother a questioning look.

"That holds the last year's trade and commerce of the Pyke Syndicate.", Caloc frowned, "I hope it is illuminating."

"It will be. I have a few clients who can put this information to use.", Terran smiled thinly at him, the first genuine one Satele had seen yet. It was full of greed, but still real. He pocketed the drive, then spread his hand on the table, "Now down to business. I know only two things from about the Pantoran bombings. One is that whoever is supplying them with their materials, they have ties to the Techno Union. I wouldn't be surprised, since Pantoran CSI droids have found no trace of any casings or residue. They are using a helox power core, which can only be traced back to the Pykes so far. Hopefully, I can get more information from this.", he hefted the datadrive.

"You said two pieces of intel.", Caloc's eyes narrowed as he took a long sip from his drink.

"I did.", Terran's smile dropped slightly, "I know that there are no communications to track back to the terrorists. I've had every contact of mine try to find any trace and fail. If I had to guess, I would say that this could be why."

A hologram flickered to life above the table, several dozen cargo manifests appearing. They dated from three weeks before the bombings started to two days in the future. Satele frowned at them, perplexed, "And what do these show us, exactly?"

"If you read them carefully, you will notice that these three droids have been transported between Coruscant and Pantora quite frequently.", Terran pointed to the manifest, "I believe that these droids are courier droids, sending messages back and forth between the bomber and the master planner."

"Anything else?", Caloc asked. There was always one more card his brother hid up his sleeve.

"There is one more droid regularly visiting Pantora. A ground survey droid.", Terran pulled out another disk. "This droid comes from the planet Gonadti. It holds one of the main centroplex facilities for the Mining Guild. They may have a stake in this whole event."

"That seems a bit… farfetched.", Stass frowned.

Terran glared at her, "Fine, you want real intel? There have been more mining guild activities expanding across the galaxy. Their activities are being hidden by the chaos around the galaxy. That isn't the weird part though. Their transports have been going missing, half of the product disappearing into thin air."

Satele raised a hand, munching on one of the chips, "Could the products be going to offworld safehouses?"

His glare switched to her, "I don't think so. My intel tells me that the cargo is going to one of the three corporations, the Techno Union, the Droid Gotra, and the Talis Corporation. I don't know what the guild wants, but I know that this droid will be somewhere on Pantora. It will have the answers you seek."

A loud clink drew Satele and Stass' attention to the other member of their group. A few of the other diners, the cook and a waitress droid were also looking in his direction. Caloc had a spoon and was using it to unceremoniously scrape the last remaining dregs of green smoothie from his glass. He stopped as they looked at him, slowly placing the glass back on the table. He cleared his throat and stood up, placing another three silver credits on the table. "Thank you for lunch, brother. We have to get going. Stay away from our sister, will you?"

Unsavory information from unsavory characters? It wouldn't be Star Wars without the slime of the galaxy.

Hope you guys are going well. I really liked bringing Satele into this book. Ever since the tiny glimpse of her behind Bail Organa in 'Revenge of the Sith', I have thought that she had to have a more creative back story. Hopefully, this will not be the last we see of her.

Anyway, besides that, I hope that you enjoy the next couple of Alderaan chapters and the rest of the book.

May the Force be with you,

Phil.