Chapter 10

Mace stared up at the hologram before him. He stood in the bridge of the Resurrection, Admiral Yularen's newly christened flagship. The smell of newly welded metal and recent paint still hung in the air, but he knew it would soon be mixed with the smell of busy soldiers and clean blasters; scents of missions and men who would call this place home for a tour. The hologram spun as he fiddled with the controls, until it focussed on the planet he wanted.

"Looking at the stars again?", a voice startled him, and he turned to see Kit Fisto standing a few feet behind him. The aquatic Jedi's big eyes shifted to the map, "Ah, just a single planet, I see. That is new for you."

"How can I help you, Kit?", Mace asked stiffly. As much as he liked the Nautolaun, he had a job to do. His fellow Jedi laughed at him. Kit had a sense of humour not often found in a Jedi, and his expert skill with a lightsaber meant that he could prove a challenge to almost anyone he faced.

"The ships are almost loaded.", Kit gave a grin. Mace had put him and Bultar Swan in charge of the reloading of the medical cruisers. It had already been two hours since they had landed, so they were running slightly behind schedule. That was mostly because the Alderaan foreman had not considered the amount of room already taken up by the medical personal, and was now trying to redistribute the load to fit the supplies.

Mace raised an eyebrow. "With all due respect, I doubt you would take a shuttle here from the surface to simply tell me that we are almost ready to depart."

Kit gave him a sideways grin, "Stass and Caloc have returned. You were right, as usual. They brought back something good."

A datacube slid across the table, clattering against Mace's hand. The older Jedi Master held it up and studied it. "You trained Caloc during his recovery, didn't you? How did you find him?"

"I only occasionally trained him. Aayla would be the person to ask. She did most of the duelling and studywork."

"How did you find him?", Mace asked, "Would you say he has healed?"

"The boy fights well.", Kit mused, rubbing his chin as he pondered, "He could very well be one of the best of us. He may even take your place in the future. However, I sense there is currently something blocking his connection to the Force."

Mace had to agree, albeit silently. As a member of the Council, he was not allowed to show such favouritism towards any of the younglings or padawans. He pushed the cube into the projector, and watched as the hologram changed. "What am I looking at, exactly?"

Three droids shimmered before him, each a different type and designation. Kit smiled, "This is what Stass brought back. According to her, these droids may be couriers to the men on the surface.", Seeing Mace's confused look, he continued, "These droids have been recorded going to and from Pantora regularly during the bombings. Each are sent from Coruscant's main cargo terminal. Caloc's informant believes this is why we haven't found any transmissions linking back to the terrorists."

"How does that help us?", Mace asked, studying each droid carefully.

"Each of these droids will have had direct contact with both the terrorist coordinator and their employer.", one of the nearby officers answered the Jedi, "If we could get our hands on one of them, we might discover who is really behind this chaos."

"That's right.", Kit nodded at the man, bringing up a schematic of each of the droids. "According to the details given to us, each droid seems to have a particular arrival schedule. The next one to arrive is this one here.", he pointed at a GNK-series droid, "It'll arrive in two days at the Hells Gate Docks in the Capitol, Fortress."

"I can see why they would use that droid as a courier.", the officer said, "No one would give it a second look."

Both Jedi turned to look at the man. He seemed content to have joined their conversation, even without an invitation.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name.", Mace turned to the man, "Who are you, exactly?"

The man blinked at him, as if not understanding, "Oh, my name is Mark. I'm one of the Republic's Intelligence Officers, ensign to Admiral Yularen. It's my job to compile information on this crisis and report it to him. I also lead Green Squadron in battle."

The doors slid open with a loud woosh, and as though he had heard them, Admiral Yularen, dressed in his crisp green navy uniform, stepped out. He was flanked by two soldiers who stood to the side of the doors, blasters held diagonally across their chests. The admiral set the chunky datapad down and looked up. "Why are we looking at droids, Lieutenant Antilles? Do you have another hobby that you need to partake in?"

"These are possible accomplices to the Pantoran bombers.", Mark answered, "We got some information from the Commodore's brother."

"The information broker?", another voice asked. The small group turned to find the admiral's second in command exiting the bridge. "Caloc's mentioned him before. How did he know he was onworld?"

"I honestly don't know.", Mace answered. He glanced around to see if any of the other officers were going to join them. He didn't see any. "But at least he has given us some useful information."

"Indeed.", Mark answered. He was peering up at the screen, eyes narrowed, "Each of those droids came in with a shipment of parts that could be made into bombs or even worse weapons. By themselves, they are harmless and undetectable to scans, but together…"

He let the sentence hang, and everyone took in what he was saying. The second in command, Mace believed her name was Lawell, leaned forward across the projector and studied the men. "So, what exactly is our goal with this supply drop? What do we hope to accomplish during our stay?"

Kit scrolled through a few slides before he found the hologram he was looking for. A form shimmered into existence before them, the Chairman of Pantora himself. The regal expression, as well as the neatly pressed uniform indicated a man who was most at home amongst the rich and wealthy. His expression showed his militaristic history too. He would be ready to control anything with either money or reputation. Clearly, he was someone who craved power.

"This mission has only been allowed because the Chairman himself allows it.", Mace started. He frowned at the Chairman's flickering image, unimpressed, "Chi Cho has been pressured by his people to allow the evacuation of the most severely injured from his planet. Our duty is to shuttle these people onto the Resurrection and deliver them safely to the nearest medical station, Mel Hullt."

"I will be placed in charge of the transfer, along with Master Kenobi. Stass will be taking the cruiser to the medical station.", Kit gave a small smile to the three officers around the holotable, "We will need to move quickly, many of these injured are in critical condition."

"Our engineers will be ready.", Yularen nodded, making a mental note to ensure his men were indeed prepared.

Mace slid another data drive into the projector, a map of the Pantoran Capitol replacing that of Chi Cho. "The medical frigates will be placed in these four locations around the city.", he pointed to four areas, red dots appearing as he did, "Doctor Nema has chosen teams to help her run emergency clinics in these frigates as temporary hospitals for the people. I will be prepared to protect them."

"How do these droids fit into the puzzle then?", Chan Telle asked, her quills showing slightly as her brow furrowed, "Are we doing anything about them?"

Mace nodded to Kit, who slid another disk into the projector. "I had hoped to begin a quiet investigation without the Pantorans or the Senate realising. That was why I brought both Master Quinlan Vos and Obi-Wan Kenobi. They both have different skillsets that can be used in finding these criminals. However, now that these droids have been found, they will have a head start in their hunt."

Yularen studied the plans laid out before him, before meeting Mace's eye. "What if things go wrong?"

"If things go wrong, then we need to be ready.", Kit answered, "I have snuck a few of our Jedi crime scene investigator droids onto this ship. They will be helping us with our investigation. Will your men be able to help Master Windu with security while we are away?"

The admiral answered with a curt nod.

The Nautolaun Jedi studied the faces before him. Mace's was impassive as usual, but the others were anything but. Yularen seemed confident, even though Kit could sense a ripple of uncertainty emanating from him. Mark's expression and posture displayed something that could only be described as excitement, which was worrying. Lawell, on the other hand, seemed both concerned and distracted at the same time. He caught her eye, and gestured to a quiet corner.

"Is everything alright?", he asked her as she joined him.

"No.", she answered, "I only agreed to join this mission because Caloc was on it. I don't know you or your tactics, so with all due respect, I don't know if I can trust you. I am willing to help in any way I can, however be warned, if you do anything I think isn't in line with this mission, I will take you down."

Kit allowed an easy smile to crease his face, "Good to know. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."