Chapter 22: The Mystery of the Missing Matale
Calak, Carth, and Bastila made their way to where Canderous and the others waited. It was on the Matale grounds not far from where the estate. The four of them had found something… disturbing. A body, mauled badly with bites. Nearby were other bodies as well, a pack of four Kath Hounds.
"I've seen Kath Hound kills before," Canderous said. "They aren't pretty, but a squad of real warriors is able to take them down no problem."
"Guess I did okay then," Mission said with a grin as she clutched her wounded shoulder.
"You weren't bad kid," Canderous praised with what sounded serious before adding, "For someone that nearly got her arm ripped off!"
Mission looked down.
"Arr!" Zalbaar objected defensively.
"Ha! At least you didn't get knocked down," Canderous said.
Calak approached Mission and put a hand on her shoulder. He focused and the bite healed. Mission gave a breath of relief.
"Thanks," she said before sighing. "I'm always the one getting hurt it seems."
"When we get the chance lets practice with the blaster a bit," Carth suggested.
"Fine by me," Mission agreed.
They examine the body, it was a human man, his face was too chewed up to recognize, but his torso had been somewhat protected by a suit of black Echani light armor that was badly torn up. He also had a blaster and a datapad. Calak went through it and found he was-
"This is Casus Sandral!" Calak exclaimed. "The son of Nurik Sandral who went missing just before Shen Matale!"
"Well, it clearly wasn't the Matales," Bastila said.
She was right, the young man had been killed by Kath Hounds. But it was close to the property that belonged to a man who was reputed to hate the Sandrals with all his might.
"We should probably go and see Ahlan Matale," Calak said. "Ask him about this, as well as his missing son."
They made their way to the Matale Estate. It was a large building with brown walls and a security droid stationed out front with a rifle out.
"This is private property," the droid said as they approached the front door. "By what authority are you trespassing on this estate?"
Calak narrowed his eyes a bit at the condescending tone of the machine but calmly spoke, "I come on behalf of the Jedi Council. I wish to speak with your master."
"You come from the Jedi Council?" the droid asked.
"Yes," Calak confirmed.
The droid connected its built in comlink. "Alert Master Matale that members of the Jedi Order have arrived."
There was a moment of silence then the droid spoke again to the visitors.
"Master Matale is on his way to speak to you."
Bastila looked at Calak. "Be warned, Ahlan Matale has a reputation for being temperamental and impatient. You will have to be the perfect diplomat when you speak to him."
Calak nodded and waited. Sure enough, a couple minutes later, the man stepped outside with a squad of guard droids in front.
"My protocol droid tells me you come on behalf of the council," Ahlan Matale stated. "I was beginning to think my demands were being ignored."
"We are here now," Bastila assured him.
"Thank you, though I think your time would be better spent interrogating the Sandrals as to the whereabouts of my son Shen," Ahlan insisted.
"Your accusations have no proof!" Bastila argued.
"My gut is rarely wrong!" Ahlan snapped.
"Both of you calm down!" Calak said trying to defuse the situation. He took a deep breath and looked and looked at Ahlan. "Why are you so certain that the Sandrals are responsible for your son's disappearance?"
Ahlan glared at him impatiently but told the story regardless. "Over a decade ago, my family and I settled here to escape the crush of the core worlds. Not long after, another family, the Sandrals settled here as well. We've had our share of disagreements and squabbles over the years trying to acquire resources we can find here. He hopes to steal my land for himself I'm sure. I recently found several Sandral droids moving nearby. I don't know what their goal was, my own assassination perhaps, or a simple spy mission. I wasn't about to find out. I sent my own security droids to deal with the invaders and not one of them was left intact."
He certainly didn't waste any time in assuming the worst out of the Sandrals. Maybe there had been some other reason?
"Why does the council insist on stalling?" Ahlan asked impatiently. "Just go to the Sandrals and free Shen! I will pay you ten thousand credits for my son's safe return."
Calak offered a polite smile. "Thank you, but you are aware that the Jedi don't require payment and can't be bought right?"
"Nevertheless, my offer stands," Ahlan stated.
"Very well. I suppose we could use it to help our mission against the Sith. I will do what I can to find your son," Calak promised, hoping to ease his concerns. "But before I go, were you by any chance aware that Cassus Sandral was dead nearby?" Calak asked.
"What?" Ahlan exclaimed. "No! I didn't have anything to do with that!"
"I know you weren't responsible," Calak assured him. "He was killed by Kath Hounds."
Ahlan frowned. "This changes nothing, if Nurik blames me for his son's death as well as the destruction of his droids he is sadly mistaken! Now go to him and have him return my son!"
"If he is indeed holding your son," Calak reminded him. "I'll go there now."
"Very well," Ahlan said. "But I will not wait much longer."
"I understand," Calak said, knowing there wasn't anything he could do to change the man's mind.
Ahlan retreated inside with his forces. With that, Calak and the others made their in the direction of the Sandral Estate.
"It seems we have to act quickly," Bastila said.
"Yeah," Carth agreed. "That man looked ready to take matters into his own hands. If we don't intervene there will bloodshed."
"You really don't think that he might be right about the Sandrals?" Calak asked.
"Anything's possible like the masters said," Bastila said. "But I suppose we will have to make sure. Onto the Sandrals then. Hopefully we can at least search the estate and find Shen Matale is not there, then we can assure Ahlan so as to avoid a family war."
"But what if Ahlan is right?" Calak asked.
Bastila hesitated. "Then we must inform the council and let them decide the next course of action."
Calak frowned. If Ahlan was going to take action then they couldn't afford to delay. His time as a soldier had taught him that one needed to respond promptly to a possible threat. The Republic had not mobilized its army against the Mandalorians when they first started invading outer rim worlds. That had given them ample time to build their forces. Had the Republic responded promptly they might have stopped the greater invasion perhaps. The Jedi had also lagged.
"We should also inform of his son's death," Canderous said. "A father worries after all."
Even Mandalorians valued family.
"Okay, we still need to find that droid and the remaining Mandalorians as well," Calak said. "Let's split up again to cover more ground."
"You're right," Carth said. "Same formation as last time?"
Calak hesitated, thinking of everyone's strengths. "No, me and Bastila will take Mission and T3 with us. If we can't persuade Nurik Sandral to let us search his estate for Shen Matale then Mission can sneak in with her stealth field generator and security skills."
"You can count on me," Mission said with a grin.
T3 let out an affirmative beep.
The rest of you can scout the plains," Calak said.
Canderous looked at Carth, forming a small smile.
"You fought in the Mandalorian Wars, right?" the Mandalorian asked. "We might have faced each other in combat. What type of battles were you in?"
Carth however frowned. "I try not to think on my past battles too much. The horrors of war are memories I could do without."
Canderous's gray eyes widened. "The horrors of war? My people know only the glories of war. I thought a warrior like yourself would understand."
"Carth isn't like you Canderous," Calak told him.
"That's right!" Carth agreed. "I'm not a warrior, I'm a soldier. There's a difference. Warriors fight to conquer, to satisfy their bloodlust. Soldiers fight to defend the innocent, mostly from warriors!"
"Ha nice speech. I bet you tell yourself that every night so you can sleep," Canderous scoffed.
Calak put his hands up. "Alright I don't want this getting out of hand! We may have been enemies once, but we need every man… or woman… we can get to help us stop the current enemy. The Sith."
Carth sighed. "Fine. But if I see you killing an innocent person while you're with us Canderous, I'll put you down!"
Canderous scoffed again. "I'd like to see you try."
They went off with Zalbaar and didn't say another word. The other four continued on to the Sandral grounds. But as they crossed the border, they heard something. Growls, and a cry.
"Oh, you wretched beast!" the speaker was a protocol droid, unarmed, being attacked by a pair of Kath Hounds.
That had to be Elise's droid! Calak reached for his lightsaber and ignited it with Bastila following suit and Mission drawing her blaster as well. T3 cocked his built-in blaster and fired a shot first. The small but effective bolt hit the Kath Hound from behind and caused it to cry in pain. That was easy.
"Thank you for saving me Master Jedi," the droid said as they turned to face him. "I am C8-42-GE3 or just C8. Those Kath Hounds did some damage to me, but I'm afraid it was nothing compared to what my owner put me through."
Calak frowned. "Why C8? Did your owner abuse you?"
"That would be one way of putting it."
"Are you Elise's droid?" Calak asked, finding it hard to believe from the sadness the woman displayed she was a droid abuser.
"Did she send you to find me?" C8 asked in a panicked voice. "Please don't tell her you saw me!"
"Are you running away from her?" Calak asked, confused.
"Yes, but I have my reasons!" C8 said. "I'm afraid my owner became a bit too attached to me! Obsessed even!"
"Attachment can lead to terrible things and emotions overcoming logic," Bastila said. "That's why we Jedi must rid ourselves of it and avoid suffering. That is a path to dark side. Enough suffering and you will eventually break and become something terrible."
Calak wasn't so sure. True Elise's attachment had led to suffering, but not every case of it had to be that way. Much happiness could come out of attachments. Calak had wanted a wife and maybe children of his own someday, to be able to watch them grow and live happy lives. But for now he had to focus on stopping Malak and doing whatever other good he could for the galaxy in ways great and small.
"Maybe we can talk to her," Calak suggested.
"Please, I think it would be best if I were no longer a factor," C8 said. "I beg you, destroy me."
Calak's eyes widened.
"My owner is too attached, if she believes I am destroyed she might meet other people. Real people."
Calak thought for a moment. "No, misguided though she maybe she cares for you. It is your duty as a droid to serve your mistress. Tell her how you feel when you return. If she loves you as an owner should, you'll be able to get through to her. Tell her that it is what her husband would have wanted as well."
The droid pondered his statement. "You are right. I should not have caused her pain. I will return and speak with her. Thank you for saving me and helping me realize my mistake."
Calak nodded and C8 began the walk home.
"Think we should let him go on his own?" Mission asked.
"I think he'll be okay. He didn't run into any Kath Hounds until now after all," Bastila said. "And he'll not be seeking them out now."
Calak however, noticed a cave that had been blocked by C8 moments ago. It seemed to call to him.
"Do you feel that?" Calak asked.
Bastila noticed the cave as well. "That place is strong with the force. I think it maybe a crystal cave!"
"Crystal cave?" Calak asked.
"A place where lightsaber crystals grow," Bastila elaborated. "There were rumors of them here on Dantooine. These crystals can increase your connection to the force as well as alter the color of your lightsaber."
Calak was tempted to go in now, but they had a pressing mission at hand.
"We'll come back here later," he said.
Bastila nodded. They turned the other way along the path to the Sandral Estate. But soon they sensed a number of sentients close by. Humans or humanoid, about seven of them, and a few beasts further down. The humans or humanoids gave off strong emotions of… bloodlust. They had to be-
"Mandalorians," Calak said, growing accustomed to sensing the intentions in a being.
He and Bastila drew their lightsabers once more, and activated their energy shields they still had. However, Calak noticed his was down to its last charge. He'd need to get a new one as this shield was spent now. They crept along the path and toward where they could sense the bloodthirsty sentients. Mission activated her stealth field generator and vanished from sight while T3 hung back. Two Mandalorians and three Duros stood in front of a campsite with a pair of speeders nearby. They were talking and one of them gave a chuckle.
Calak hesitated. He remembered killing the Sith on Taris in the Undercity when he could have simply walked away. But these were murderers running wild and hurting people. He had to stop them. Taking a breath, he activated lightsaber the snap-hiss drawing the attention of the enemy.
"Jedi!" one Mandalorian exclaimed making to draw his blaster.
Calak however was too quick for him. He threw his lightsaber, the blue blade spinning and cutting the Mandalorian through the neck. The head and helmet fell, but as Calak's lightsaber came back to him the other raiders had already drawn their weapons. They fired, and Calak felt his life flash before his eyes. He remembered his early training on Derallia, surviving the jungle and ocean world with his comrades as he honed his skills against beasts and savage sentients like these raiders. But he also saw, Darth Revan holding his lightsaber at ready.
Fortunately for him, Bastila put up a barrier around him and that absorbed the bolts. This gave Calak the split second he needed to grab his lightsaber and charge forward at the other Mandalorian.
Then something flew at the Duros off to the side. A grenade. It released a cloud of poison gas, the Duros coughed as it entered their lungs. Bastila ran over and used her lightsaber to cut two of them down, while Mission did the other, and Calak used the force to knock the last Mandalorian off his feet before killing him too.
"Shouldn't too many more Mandlalorians left," Calak said.
He glanced around the camp but quickly dismissed the idea of looting it for information or supplies… for now.
"We'll come back for anything of value," he said.
They continued on to the Sandral house with Bastila leading. A few Kath Hounds were close by, but they didn't attack thankfully. Calak was surprised when he saw a white Albino Kath Hound among them that was a bit bigger then the other horned variants. It looked like a formidable beast.
The Sandral Estate had a similar structure to the Matale one, perhaps it was just how they made buildings on Dantooine? Its walls were brown and a garden of crops was in front stretching for a mile. In front of the door was a droid, again like the Matales. But this was an ordinary protocol droid, unarmed. It was certainly a friendlier welcoming committee.
The droid spotted them as they approached.
"Greetings, how might this unit be of service?" It asked. "Nurik Sandral is not visitors today so I'm afraid you can't enter."
"I'm afraid I must," Calak insisted. "Casus Sandral is dead."
"Casus is dead?" the droid repeated. "Then it is as we feared. I will inform Nurik of this. He left orders he was not to be disturbed but given the circumstances I will make an exception."
The droid got out a comlink and spoke into it.
"Master Nurik, a Jedi has found news of your son."
A faint reply came from the comlink.
"Yes, I'll send him in now."
The droid opened the door and Calak, Bastila, Mission, and T3 walked inside. Soon Nurik Sandral, a dark-skinned man in a red outfit entered the entry way.
"I've been informed by my protocol droid that you have news of my son Casus," Nurik said.
Calak nodded. "I'm afraid your son is dead, I found his body."
"Dead? I was afraid of this, but in my heart I knew it must be true," Nurik stated before asking, "What… what happened to my son."
"He was killed by Kath Hounds after exploring the ruins near our enclave," Calak said.
"Kath Hounds?" Nurik exclaimed. "I was so certain the Matale family was to blame!"
"Afraid not," Calak said. "And there is something I must ask you. Ahlan Matale is convinced you are responsible for the disappearance of his son."
Nurik seemed to shake a bit. "I… had nothing to do with that. For all I know his son is out getting drunk with friends or perhaps he was robbed somewhere. Why should I shed a tear for the disappearance of my bitter enemies son!"
Calak had an odd feeling about this but there was no proof to support it.
"Typical," Bastila muttered. "Anything to continue the feud between your families."
"Please, Master Jedi. I ask a favor of you," Nurik said, ignoring Bastila. "My son had a journal. He always dreamed of being an archaeologist and recorded his findings in that journal. If you could please bring it to me… I would be in your debt. I'll give you five hundred credits for it."
"I have it right here," Calak said pulling the journal out. "I took it off his body. Though perhaps I should have brought that with me so you could bury him."
"I'll have my droids retrieve the body," Nurik said as he took the journal. "Thank you, I can just get you some credits real quick."
"That won't be necessary, Nurik," Calak politely declined. "I'm just happy to have delivered you the truth. I know it might not be what you wanted to hear but-
"I thank you for this," Nurik said before sighing. "We have nothing further to discuss. Please leave me to my grief."
The patriarch of this family turned around and walked down the hall which had two entrances, one on either side. Calak meanwhile turned to Bastila.
"Something feels off here," Calak said.
"I agree," Bastila said.
"Me too," Mission said. "He was really defensive when you asked about the other missing kid."
"Excuse me," a young female voice said.
They turned and saw a young woman that was clearly Nurik's daughter by her skin tone and age.
"You are hear from the coucil are you not? Looking for Shen Matale?"
"Yes," Calak greeted. "Who are you?"
"My name is Rahasia," the daughter greeted. "I'm Nurik's daughter. I overheard your conversation. So my brother Casus is dead, but not at the hands of the Matales. I'm relieved of that at least."
"So you know something of Shen Matale's disappearance?" Calak asked.
She nodded gravely. "Please try to understand, my father is a good man. He loves both me and my brother but he can be rash at times. Casus's disappearance has been causing him to lose his mind for the past week."
Calak frowned. "What has your father done?"
"He's kidnapped Shen Matale!" Rashasia exclaimed.