Chapter Fourteen: Deep Malice to Conceal
"Though we call him 'The Despot,' we must not assume that Xim has been reviled throughout all history. We have uncovered evidence of a millenarian religious movement that took hold in the Tion Cluster during the end of its war with the fledging Republic. Its adherents believed that Xim would return in a cloud of glory to save them from their enemies, and they formed great congregations to plead for his deliverance. Some consider this the pathetic last gasp of a once-great civilization. I find it poignant."
S.V. Skynx, Looking Backward: A History of Ximology
538 LE
When Peacekeeper shuddered out of hyperspace for the last time, Vediah strained in her seat to peer through the ship's window. Anxious breath fogged the inside of her helmet but when it cleared she could see the browns, greens, and blues of Idux filling the glass.
A humble little world, but it was the only place that felt like home since leaving Tython.
"Believe it or not, we held together," Kam'pol sighed from the pilot's seat. "I'm going to open a channel and see who's listening."
"Can this ship land on the surface?" asked Fasol.
"Under normal circumstances, yes," replied the Saheelindeel. "I wouldn't try it in our state. Hopefully we can transfer to another ship…"
As Peacekeeper settled into orbital swing, Vediah checked the scanner. In normal times, a tiny picket of Iduxian starships circled the planet. Her board lit up with one contact after another, and she saw that the Jedi really had withdrawn from the Imperial fleet and reconvened here.
She didn't know what had happened or what the next steps would be, but she was eager to get on the ground and find out. Beside her, Fasol stirred with the same impatience. He'd explained nothing of his talk with Kadenzi, but he was vocal about seeing 'the one in charge' as soon as possible.
"We're getting a response," Kam'pol reported. "It's coming from… huh. A Hutt dromon, identified as the Nemesis."
That sounded ominous, but Vediah asked, "Do they want to open a channel?"
"They do. I'll send it your way."
The next sound in Vediah's helmet was a burst of static, then a voice she hadn't expected to hear, certainly not from the Hutt dromon called the Nemesis. Gruff but kind, it was Koltatha.
"Peacekeeper, report your status," the Noghri said.
"It's me, Koltatha." She grinned in relief. "It's Vediah."
His surprise was clear. "We thought you died at Moralan!"
"I got lucky," she replied, though what wasn't quite the word for it. "What's happening? Are Erakas or Gedor on the planet?"
"Erakas is. How is your ship?"
"Not stable enough to handle atmo, but we need to get down there and talk to him. Can you get us a skipper planetside?"
"That can be arranged."
"Great. We'll head your way. It'll be good to see you, Koltatha."
"Indeed," the Noghri said, and closed the channel. He'd never been one to get sappy.
"Take us to with the dromon," she told Kam'pol. "They'll get us to the planet."
As Peacekeeper adjusted course, Fasol unsealed and wrenched off his helmet. Vediah followed his lead. The air inside the cockpit was cold and stale, but it still felt good to breathe. It meant they were almost home safe.
"A Hutt dromon," Fasol mused. "You have interesting allies."
"Don't we just," agreed Vediah, and she was as curious as him as to what that was about. She looked to Zephian and flashed the other Jedi a grin. After all they'd been through, they were back among their own. Jedi belonged with Jedi, and at the moment she didn't give a damn about Fasol's secret mission.
They'd pulled in sync with the Nemesis and were about to seal airlocks when Kam'pol said, "Um, we may have a problem."
Vediah reached for her discarded helmet. "With the ship?"
"No. But we've got a new arrival."
"Another addition to the menagerie?" Fasol drawled.
"You could say that." Kam'pol turned in her seat and gave a grave look. "Parameters mark it as an Imperial penteconter."
-{}-
The warship was just one ominous dot on the sensor screen, but Koltatha knew it could mean the end of everything. A penteconter wasn't as powerful as the polyreme Xim had used the threaten them previously, but its ship-to-surface missiles could easily wipe out Morning Star and all its inhabitants. Erakas was down on the planet along with thirty other Jedi, not to mention several thousand Iduxians.
Koltatha told the Nemesis's Nikto crew to shield the town. After he'd guided them through the Maw, they took his orders without question. In just a short time, he felt almost as bonded to these Morgukai as his Noghri.
Morguk himself, however, had his red face in a glower. Crossing arms, the goliath warrior asked, "What does Xim plan?"
"He already threatened Idux once," Koltatha said. "He was supposed to let us go this time…"
"Xim lies." Morguk growled. Koltatha didn't blame him for being angry. The Morgukai had been loyal allies of the Empire throughout this war, and for their pains, Xim had destroyed the navigation beacon over Kintan. Their homeworld was stranded now; neither the Hutts nor Empire could reach it without expending resources vital for the war effort.
That was why the Morgukai and all the freed prisoners aboard the Nemesis hadn't hesitated to come to Idux. They had nowhere else to go.
"We are picking up a broadcast now," reported Sakaaf. The Tionese-speaking Nikto had taken a prudent position at the comm station.
Koltatha gestured to continue, and a new voice rasped over the bridge's speakers. "This is the penteconter Vigilant. We have come to assert Imperial authority over this world."
They didn't articulate a threat and didn't have to. The Nikto looked to Koltatha for guidance.
"Just wait," the Noghri said. He didn't know how to respond and was hoping Erakas would.
Sure enough, the human's voice 'cast up from Morning Star with a reply. Erakas said, "Vigilant, you have no right to be here. Xim swore we could leave his service unmolested."
"Xim lies," Morguk muttered again.
The Vigilant said, "We are following our orders. The Iduxians will lend their services to the Empire of Mankind, or no one at all."
There was the threat. Erakas's voice grew tight with anger. "We have thousands of civilians here. Is Xim that much of a butcher?"
"Xim will not leave his back exposed to any threats—especially yours. All magicians will present themselves to the Vigilant for service, or we will take action."
As soon as the words were out, Sakaaf reported, "Missile fired!"
There was nothing Koltatha could do, even with the Force. Despair and anger filled him. The Nemesis's scanners tracked the single warhead as it fell toward the planet, accelerated through the atmosphere, and finally impacted.
He held his breath until Sakaaf reported, "Detonation was one-point-five kilometers southwest of the village. Looks like a febrillium warhead."
"Damage to the town?" asked Koltatha.
The Nikto shook his head, uncertain. The Vigilant was going farther than the Termagant to show how deadly serious this was.
"See if you can put us in position to block the next missile," Koltatha commanded. Morguk didn't object and the crew obeyed, warily.
That was when Vediah arrived on the bridge. The petite white-furred Devaronian was followed by the other survivors from Peacekeeper: an elder Saheelindeel, a young human, a Mirialan Jedi unfamiliar to Koltatha.
"What are they doing?" Vediah asked immediately. No time for well-mets now. "Have they made demands?"
"The same as before. They've just fired on Morning Star."
She gasped. "Are they—"
"I… do not think Jedi were killed." Yet, he left unsaid.
"Why did Xim let you go if he was just going to do this?"
"Xim lies," Koltatha said before Morguk could. But that wasn't a real answer. He didn't understand what was happening, only that the Vigilant was deadly serious.
"Can we fight that polyreme?" Vediah pressed.
Koltatha shook his head. "All our ships together, maybe. But not before it destroys Morning Star."
Helplessness was especially hard for Jedi. Koltatha, Vediah, and Zephian all stared at the sensor screen's lights, unable to stop doom from falling on their comrades. Some things weren't possible, even with the Force.
Then a new light joined the scene.
It was massive. The sensor screen didn't even know how to interpret it. Sakaaf flustered, "It is… like a small moon… but metal!"
The Star Forge had arrived. The Rakatan machine fell from the edge of orbit toward Idux. It moved slowly but was like doom bearing down on the suddenly-miniscule penteconter.
"What the hells is that?" gasped the human who'd come with Vediah.
Koltatha was surprised; most Iduxians at least knew of the Star Forge, even if they'd never seen it. Vediah told him, "Our secret weapon."
Weapon. They'd tried to avoid that term with the Forge. They'd called it an Object, or a foundry, or a tool. But right now it was a weapon, and a weapon they needed. They'd made enemies of the Hutts and now Xim had turned his wrath on them. The Jedi could only survive if they met might with might.
The Nemesis received another broadcast, this time from the Forge. Koltatha had expected Kayn or even Shen, but it was Gedor. "Pick on someone your own size, I suggest you do," the Prophet warned. "Otherwise, drastic action must I take."
The Vigilant, understandably, did not reply right away. The penteconter held where it was, like it was frozen in fear. The Star Forge continued on course. Koltatha knew the behemoth had been armed with missile launchers for defense, and they'd be enough to destroy the Vigilant.
The bridge had gone silent. Everyone watched, wondering whether the penteconter would run, whether it would fire on the planet, whether the Forge would destroy it first.
"Your last chance this is," Gedor said. "Flee to your master, or the consequences face."
The penteconter held.
The Star Forge fired.
Eight missiles from separate launchers converged on the Vigilant. And then, all nine lights disappeared. Koltatha felt (faintly, briefly) lives flare out in the Force.
Just like that, it was done.
The bridge remained silent. Anticlimax, too, could stun.
The next voice was Gedor's again. Softer now, comforting, the Prophet said, "Ended, the threat has, but raised the stakes are. Much to discuss, we have."
And that young human inexplicably whispered, "We certainly do."
-{}-
Daylight trembled through clouds of dust and ash still drifting over Morning Star. Relief and grief eddied through the towns-people like competing winds. They were safe for now, but minutes ago they'd been helpless against orbital bombardment. The missile had impacted beyond the edge of town but its concussive wave was strong; buildings had collapsed and the injured were still being tallied. Sixteen were confirmed dead, all civilians, including two elderly and five children.
People were confused, frightened, and angry. They looked at the Jedi in their midst as pillars of safety. How Erakas wished that were true.
Starships had descended to fill Morning Star's landing pads. One small rocket had brought passengers from the Nemesis, including three Jedi and an apparent guest. Another had just landed, and Erakas watched as the docking tower's arms locked it in place, the gantry extending to its mid-section, and the hatch opened.
Gedor stepped out alone. The Prophet looked especially tiny as he walked across the gantry and rode the lift cage to ground level. Erakas was there when it opened, and he couldn't help his relieved smile. After their brush with the Vigilant and losing Talyak, it was solace to see his teacher unharmed. He needed something in this universe he could rely on.
"You made quite an entrance," he said as the small, green figure approached. "Was that timing a coincidence, or did you plan it?"
Gedor wagged his head. "An urgency I felt from the Force, and from your last message. Surprised, I am, that Xim changed minds so soon."
Erakas was too; not the changed mind, but the speed of it. He'd hoped to gather all the Jedi on Idux, hold a council, and decide what to do next, but Xim had sprung before he could do even that. The townspeople were a mixed of emotions but Erakas was, above all, angry.
He gestured to the cooling rocket. "I expected Kayn and Shen to be with you."
"Away they are, with the one called Moorai. Alone I was on the Star Forge, for a time, but useful it was. Feel… closer to the machine I do now. Easily the Force flows between us."
Erakas had wondered what a being of Gedor's power would make of the Rakatan creation, but they had more pressing issues. "Where did they go?"
"Time it will take to explain, but necessary their mission is. Now more than ever. To the others take me, please."
They walked together across the pad, toward the field where the Hand of Light rested on its landing struts. Erakas slowed his strides to match Gedor's small ones. The Prophet explained in brief how Shen, Kayn, and Moorai had secreted themselves onto a freighter carrying supplies to Abraxin. Their goal was to infiltrate the research compound and find something to use against Xim's robots. Their actions seemed almost prescient.
"Have you heard anything from them since they left?" Erakas asked.
"Nothing. But… a feeling I have. Successful their mission was."
"A feeling or a vision?"
"A 'sense' you can call it." Gedor chuckled. "Imprecise words are when it comes to the Force. No solution to that have I found in all my years. But optimistic I am. There, let it rest."
"That's good news. Great news, actually." Erakas's spirits lifted, then fell. "Master Talyak is dead. Ashar too."
Long ears wilted. "A tragedy this is. Learn how, have you?"
"No, but some of us, well, sensed it. Essan and Jecca are off looking into it now."
"'Looking' where?" Gedor asked with soft urgency.
"Karsabeth, apparently. Jecca said she got a message from Ashar before he died. He asked her to look into it and we couldn't let Jecca go alone. They're taking the Dream since Karsabeth lost its beacon."
"Hmm…." A frown creased his green face. "Dangerous that may be, in more ways than one."
"It's dangerous everywhere nowadays," Erakas said bitterly. Thoughts cascaded: Jecca and Essan, Ashar and Talyak, Sohr and Sohren. No place was safe. "I'm glad you're here, Master. We're going to need your help for what comes next."
"Glad am I to give it. Enemies, it seems, we have on all sides now."
They boarded the Hand of Light and went to its main hold. The scene recalled another meeting after Xim's first coercion attempt, but there were fewer Jedi and one additional guest. Standing between Vediah and Koltatha was a human male younger than Erakas.
The man's eyes lit on Gedor with surprise, but he quickly composed himself. "I am Captain Fasol Indrathi. I represent the Tionese Free Navy under Admiral Krenn. Thank you for hosting me."
"And thank you for rescuing my people at Moralan." Erakas knew it hadn't been that benign, but he wasn't going to turn this into a confrontation.
"I came here to convince you we have a mutual enemy in Xim," Fasol said, "but I think you know that already."
"We do. What do you propose we do about him?"
All eyes were on the two men. Even Gedor kept silent. He'd told Erakas long ago that, by simple virtue of being human, he was the Iduxians' leader and their face to the Tionese. That had been difficult at first, but he was past hesitation now.
"Admiral Krenn has an agreement with the Hutts," Fasol explained. "Our aim to remove Xim and restore the Tion to rightful Argaian rule."
"You're not Argaian," Erakas said. "I've been in the Tion for over a decade. I've learned accents and you sound… Livien?"
Fasol blinked in surprise. "The Free Navy draws from all people who want to be rid of Xim."
"Does that include Admiral Kadenzi? Vediah told me about your little meeting. Little and private."
"I met with Kadenzi alone so I could get to the point. He's sick of the war and sick of Xim. He thinks the third battle at Vontor will be the Empire's doom. If we can guarantee that Xim is removed from power and eliminated as a threat, he'll withdraw his forces to Imperial space and sue for a treaty with the Hutts."
"He said all that? It's a lot for a short talk," Erakas said, though it matched his impression of the admiral.
"Kadenzi gets to the point," Fasol said dryly. "So do I. We all view Xim as a danger and want him removed. Naturally, so do the Hutts. It's fertile ground for an alliance."
"Without Xim, the Hutts would have an easier time conquering the Tion. I don't know if the rest of us would benefit."
Fasol shook his head. "The Hutts don't want this war. They only got involved after one of their Thrones was killed."
"Xim insists he didn't want it either." Erakas crossed arms. "Tell me truthfully. How much do you trust the Hutts?"
"Little. But they're not a united force. There are different competing hosts, some in favor or war, some not. Their leader, Ardustagg, was old and didn't unite them either way."
"Was old?"
"Ardustagg is dead. The Hutts have no leader officially, but Kossak the Clever pulls the most weight."
Erakas knew that name. "Kossak is a warmonger."
"Yes, but you can reason with him. Moreso than Xim." Fasol saw his skepticism. "Xim is a danger to you, me, and the Hutts, not to mention the billions of Tionese he rules over. After what just happened, that should be obvious." He gestured to Vediah. "Your people say you're moral. All you want is peace. Xim's been ruling since before I was born and there hasn't been a single year of peace under him."
"I have no love for Xim." Erakas said, "but I don't have any for Krenn or Kossak either."
"I'm sorry, but for all your weird powers, you Iduxians are just a tiny few. If you don't pick a side, you'll be crushed."
The Vigilant had just driven home that awful truth. Erakas felt trapped; the Jedi had a responsibility to protect the galaxy, but the galaxy tried to thwart them at every turn. He looked to Vediah and Koltatha, begging for suggestions, but neither had any to give.
Gedor, however, did. The Prophet cleared his throat and said, "A word may we have, in private?"
Erakas was happy to retreat from the room with his teacher. Once the others were no longer in earshot he said, "He's right, but I don't want to quit Xim just to get chained to the Hutts instead."
"Understand this, I do," Gedor nodded. "Vile creatures the worms are, more destructive even than Xim. But wrong the young man was. A side you need not pick, when you can become a side yourself."
"We've tried that, Master. We can't ply a third way. There's just too few of us."
Gedor shook his head, adamant. "Possible all things are with the Force. Stop fearing, Erakas, and think. On their way back, Shen and the others are. A tool to cripple Xim I believe they have. In alliance with the Scorned, destroy Xim we can. Rid the galaxy of his blight."
Erakas had once balked at the idea of outright removing Xim. Essan argued he was reasonable though cruel; more, chaos might be unleashed if his fell. But the bombing of Idux had destroyed all doubt. Either Xim fell or the Jedi did, and Erakas would never allow that.
"If we can remove Xim, fine," he said. "What about the Hutts?"
Voice low, very grave, Gedor said, "A weapon against them we have also, I believe." He raised one finger and pointed to the ceiling, past the sky.
The Star Forge isn't a weapon, Erakas nearly said, but the old refrain felt weak. Of course it was. That weapon had just saved his life and thousands more. It was potent and dangerous but perhaps, like the ancient Je'daii Forcesaber, it could be tamed and used to bring justice.
Gedor waited patiently as Erakas accepted it. He asked his teacher, "How can we use the Forge against the Hutts?"
"Talk to Shen and Kayn you must on their return. Its full potential we have not yet reached, but soon. In meantime, consider the young man's offer you should."
"You think I should negotiate with Krenn?"
"With Kossak. The worm's tool, Krenn is. Dangerous it will be, but through danger must we pass to victory."
Gedor was right, as always. With so many hyperlanes shut down getting to Hutt territory would be difficult but not impossible, so long as he had the Force and the Hand of Light.
"It might be worth it," he conceded, "but if we do all that—get rid of Xim, end the war, stop the Hutts somehow—we'll have changed the galaxy in a huge way. We can't just wash our hands of things. We'll be responsible for—"
"Always responsible, you have been," Gedor insisted. "Accept that you must. Supreme above equals, the Force has made us. Our duty it is reign over others, for who else can? Around you, look. See you anyone who deserves to tip the scales of fate? Xim? The worms? The Scorned?" He shook his head. "Vicious, stupid animals are they, blind to the Force. Know true justice, only we do. Deliver it we must, for only we can."
His rasping voice resounded in the metal corridor. Gedor heaved a sigh and said, "For a long time have I seen this truth inside you grow. Accept responsibility. Accept burden. Only then may we save the wretched from themselves."
It was a burden, and it had been crushing him since Santossa Station fell and his quiet life burned with it. He thought of his son and the millions of other sons dying in pointless wars waged by worms and despots.
It had to stop. Only he could stop it.
"In the Force you must trust," Gedor whispered. "In yourself. The final miracle you can work, if you believe."
Erakas stood straight and breathed deep. Every word Gedor said was true. Xim was their enemy. Kossak was their enemy. The only way to save the Jedi—to save the Force—was to defeat both foes by whatever means necessary,
He turned and walked back to the chamber, where Fasol waited with expectant eyes.
-{}-
It was a long way from Abraxin back home. The Neffer made a discrete rendezvous with an Iduxian shuttle at Pasmin, which in turn ferried Kayn, Shen, and Moorai to the place they'd started from. All three braced themselves for major changes, but they were still shocked by what they got.
The Star Forge loomed like a third moon over Idux. The shuttle quickly set course and docked there, and as soon as the Jedi disembarked they were met with a flurry of news: Xim abandoned, new alliances in the offing, an Imperial penteconter destroyed, and a great battle gearing up at Vontor. They already knew that Ashar and Talyak were dead, and unfortunately not even Erakas could explain.
But they'd brought good news with them, scribbled on a piece of paper.
When they met Erakas aboard the Star Forge he took the paper, held it in his hand, and waited nearly a minute before asking incredulously, "This is it?"
"I retrieved this from the mind of Director Loreac," Shen said. His voice creaked at remembering.
Kayn backed him up. "It's a shut-down code that will trigger the self-destruct mechanism inside the brains of every robot to hear it. We can kill Xim's entire army right there."
Erakas looked at it anew; skeptical, but straining for hope. "I don't suppose there's a way to test this."
"We compelled it from Loreac's mind," Shen insisted. "This is what we require. This, and a command-level Imperial transmitter."
Erakas looked at the paper again. "You're sure that's all?"
Kayn nodded. "I don't believe we went all that way for nothing. I believe the Force guided us to Abraxin. We need this right now, more than ever."
Erakas didn't argue the point. The appearance and destruction of the penteconter had spurred them all to drastic action. As he led Kayn, Shen, and Moorai deeper into the Star Forge, he explained that they were using the largest transports they had to lift the population from Morning Star up to the Forge, where they'd undoubtedly be safer. It was a lot of people and would take time, and in the meanwhile Erakas was about to take the Hand of Light for a rendezvous in the Supremacy.
That brought them short. Kayn asked, "Is that a smart idea? We just broke free from one 'partnership.' Won't the Hutts be even worse?"
"We have a weapon to use against them. We're standing on it." Erakas saw their expressions but was adamant. "That's what the Forge is. It's time we admitted it."
"It's true the Forge has missile launchers," Kayn allowed.
"It's got more than that. It's got the fire of a star inside, and we can use them for more than just smelting ships. What we need to decide now is, what are we going to do with it? Gedor has ideas, and you should talk to him."
Erakas had no more time to spare and was off. Yet his words struck to the core. The Forge was indeed a weapon and had the capacity to be a great one. Now, with enemies on all sides, they might be forced to use it.
Kayn and Shen sought out Gedor. They found him in the chamber above the core where they'd once soothed the Forge's violent heart. Heat still rose from the grates, but it was comfortable to sit on as they joined Gedor in the center of the floor.
The Prophet asked, "Talk to Erakas, have you?"
"We didn't realize how much has happened," Kayn said.
"Successful, your mission was?"
"I think we have a way to shut down the war robots. If we can get access to a command-level Imperial transmitter, if Loreac's code works, it will actually be quite simple."
"Good," Gedor smiled. "Slay an entire army you may, without ever lifting a sword. Aided you, the Force did."
"I plucked the secret from Loreac's mind." Shen's voice was gruff. "It was… a violation."
"Yet a great thing you have accomplished. Saved the Jedi themselves, you may have. A great deed you've done and a step further to your destiny."
Shen stirred at the word. Kayn understood the Rakata was upset by what he'd done, and he'd been unsettled too, but on the journey back he'd made peace with whatever sin they'd committed. The drastic state they'd returned to only firmed his conviction.
He put a hand on Shen's long arm. "We did the right thing. Xim is our enemy, just like the Hutts. One penteconter nearly wiped out all our people. We must be able to defend ourselves."
"And defense you have gained," Gedor said. "Owe you a debt, all of us do."
Shen drew himself straight. "I know in my head this is true. But when I remember the violation in my heart, I feel dirtied."
"Dirty, destiny can be. Learning that Erakas is now, as will you all, before over this is."
He spoke with clean portent. Kayn said, "We have a weapon against Xim. Erakas implied we have a weapon against the Hutts too." He put a hand on the grate. "How can we use the Star Forge? I know they've placed some missiles on it, yes, but it can't fight off an entire fleet."
"Can it not? Did you not say that, if properly operated, the Forge can empty its core?"
"We've… found a procedure to eject the stellar matter. We saw it as a safety measure, in case the core became unstable."
"But if released, incredibly powerful the matter is, yes?"
"As powerful as the depths of a star." Kayn's head spun as he tried to grasp Gedor's question. "You could burn an entire planet to a cinder with a quarter of what's in the core now. But I can't picture it being used against a spread-out fleet, unless you get them to sit right under the mouth of the Forge."
"A silly picture that is," Gedor agreed. "Still, neglect this power we cannot. Review the ejection process you should, yes?"
Silly as it was, it started to seem like a good idea. "I'll review with the engineers to make sure they know the procedure, just in case."
"Excellent." Gedor leaned forward, craggy face in a smile. "In your hands the fate of us all may rest. But worry you should not. Trust you I do, Master Kayn, to bring the Forge to its true purpose."
The Prophet's words left Kayn's spirits lifted, and after he left the chamber he went straight to work. He met Chief Fearey and an engineering team at the main foundry, where new ships were being assembled. The Forge had put out eight new Ranroon-model gunships and, more importantly, was producing equip-ment badly needed to patch up older, damaged ships.
One thing did catch his eye. The foundry drew its raw material from the Forge's core, then cooled and processed the stellar materials into usable metals. Computers reported the foundry's stew was thick with the expected elements: hydrogen, helium, lithium, boron, iron, cobalt. Yet he was surprised by the presence of a chemical compound that simply shouldn't have been there: malterranium. He'd only encountered the extremely rare material in the Tythan system, specifically the namesake planet Malterra. The durable compound was used in the construction of Tythan starships like the Dawnchaser and Hand of Light. Yet somehow, it was showing up inside the Forge.
Kayn couldn't understand how. Perhaps the rare compound had been hidden inside the star all the while, but there was so little of it, and he'd not seen it when he'd checked the core earlier. But the materials used in the foundry didn't necessarily come from the core. The Forge could also melt down entire starships to their most basic elements.
For malterranium to be inside the foundry, someone would have had to melt down a Tythan ship.
"Chief," Kayn called Fearey over, "Did the Forge disassemble any ships when we were away?"
"You mean for replication? No."
"Was anything sent into the smelter and melted down?"
Fearey frowned, like she was trying to remember something, then shook her head. "No, sir. We haven't broken down anything since you left. We haven't needed too. There's plenty of material in the core to draw from."
Her words made sense, and he felt she was being honest. But it didn't explain the malterranium. Kayn decided to go to the main command center and order a new analysis of the core, just to see if there was malterranium floating around with the stellar swirl. Maybe they had taken some off the star, however unlikely
If that failed to get an answer, he'd pose the question to Gedor. The Prophet had been on the Forge the whole time; just maybe, he'd be able to explain this.
-{}-
They sparred now in the bowels of the Star Forge, and it felt different from before.
Opponents met on a lightly-padded floor laid by the Jedi for practice combat. To the untrained eye, there was nothing 'practice' about these fights. Knees and elbows cracked, hands chopped at necks and bodies slammed loudly to the pads. And sometimes combatants broke out weapons and danced around each other's unsheathed blades. The pad had become flecked with blood of different colors, though as yet no one had been seriously injured.
It wasn't just Nikto battling Noghri. The Morgukai had gathered two thousand inductees after liberating the Nemesis. Weequays, Jilruans, Iotrans and more joined to practice new techniques. For all their differences, they were united by their wounds and the desire to return them to the Hutts.
Koltatha watched from the sidelines, feeling pleased.
The fight was not as ill-matched as before. He watched squat Naskrahn battle a tall sleek Jilruan, each with a blade in either hand. Metal clashed on metal as they parried each other's blows perfectly, dodging wherever able. Their bodies moved like liquid. All their senses were alert. Either of them would be a match for a trained Jedi, and Koltatha was tempted to get into the ring with them, one-handed though he was.
The battle ended when Naskrahn dodged a horizontal swipe, fell back onto her knife-clutching fists, and delivered a powerful kick with both feet. The Jilruan lost balance and toppled, knives spilling from his hands. The combatants rose, bowed respectfully, and departed the circle.
"What changed?" asked Morguk.
Koltatha gave a start. The huge Nikto could be shockingly stealthy. He looked at the auburn figure looming over him and said, "I've adjusted my lessons."
"How?"
There were things a non-Jedi could never understand, but Koltatha tried to explain. "Before your people fought from the darkness in the hearts. It was well-earned. I understand that now. I taught my people to fight like Jedi, with pure hearts and minds."
"They won. Always."
"Yes they did." Koltatha couldn't help a small proud smile. "But we could teach your Morgukai nothing. The darkness was too heavy in you to reach."
"What changed?"
Moralan. Koltatha had never felt so much agony so deeply. He hadn't understood until then how vile the Hutts were, and how badly they needed to be removed. After Moralan he'd begun to seriously reconsider what he'd known of Ashla and Bogan since childhood. The Morgukai had swelled with Bogan when they'd liberated the Nemesis, accomplishing light through darkness. And the Jedi's reliance on Ashla had allowed Bogan to destroy a world.
He still believed that a Jedi's role was the work the peace of Ashla. But sometimes, he thought, darkness might be a means for the ends of light.
These were Jedi matters, ones he couldn't explain to Morguk. Instead he said, "The Bogan in your people is earned. It would be wrong to make them purge it, because it would be purging their very selves. But I believe there is another way."
"A middle path?"
"Only more complex. A Jedi's fighting strength comes from the purity of his heart." He tapped his left-arm stub to his chest. "We erase ourselves and move with the Force."
"We cannot know this 'Force.'"
"Neither can my Noghri. But strength still comes from purity. They—and your Morgukai—can learn how to release the trapping of ego and devote themselves entirely to a purpose. That, too, is purity."
Morguk watched the next sparring pair—a Weequay and a Esral'sa Nikto—and considered. "You no longer fear dark-ness?"
Fear. Koltatha had never admitted it to himself, but that was the right word. "I believe," he said, "I've moved beyond my fear."
"Will your purity defeat the Hutts?"
"I don't know," he said honestly, "but I believe it's our best hope."
"Necessary hope is, to face any trial," said a small voice behind them. Both turned to see Gedor walking into the sparring room. "Progress are you making?"
"I like to think so." Koltatha gestured to the Nikto. "Teacher, this is Morguk, leader of the Morgukai."
"Name them after yourselves do you? A little vain, is that not?" Gedor asked with a teasing smile.
"They name themselves," Morguk said sternly.
Gedor stepped up between them to watch the fight. "Hmm… much pain have these warriors been through. Like an aura around them, it is."
"I am teaching them to make a calm center in which they can fight," said Koltatha.
"A center of pain, you mean?"
"Of purpose. The Hutts are a horrible enemy. They spread darkness as much as the Rakata. There cannot be peace unless the galaxy is rid of them. I believe the Morgukai can fight best if they forget their personal pain and focus on that center."
Gedor considered. "A complicated philosophy you are making… yet a necessary one. The worms marshal on one side, Xim the other. Difficult it is for to hold, but necessary." He looked up at Morguk. "Even those blind to the Force, made to serve it were."
"I know nothing of this 'Force,'" the Nikto said, "I know fighting the enemy."
There was a cry from the circle. The Esral'sa Nikto staggered, blood dripping from a knife-slash across the inner-arm. The flow was fast; he might have cut an artery.
Several other Nikto were upon him quickly and took the wounded away. His Weequay opponent merely watched, then stepped from the circle without a word.
"A dangerous match," Gedor observed.
"They are warriors," Morguk said. "They cannot be weak."
"Nor should they," he agreed. "Miserable it is to be weak, doing or suffering. Strong they must be for the coming battle."
"Have you… seen this battle?" Koltatha asked.
Gedor wagged his long-eared head. "Nothing has the Force shown me, but discussions have I had. With Erakas, Shen, Kayn. Already begun, a confrontation with Xim has. With the Hutts, I think, only a matter of time."
"We must strike first this time," said Morguk.
Gedor smiled tightly. "Agree, I do. And a wonderful weapon we have in this Star Forge, yes? Powerful enough to bring even worms to their knees."
Morguk cocked his head. "Hutts… have no knees."
"Precisely," Gedor chuckled. "Powerful enough to do the impossible. But possible everything is with the Force."
The Nikto looked confused but said, "I am glad to hear it."
Another pair of opponents were taking to the blood-splattered circle. Both were Nikto this time, and Morguk walked to the ring and spoke to his people. Koltatha and Gedor remained by the door, watching.
"I'm relieved to have your approval," Koltatha admitted.
"Worried, were you?" Gedor looked amused.
He had been. Before her departure with Erakas, Vediah had stopped by the training room and been less pleased. She'd reminded him how, all those years ago on Devaron, right after Master Sohr had been killed, she'd been ready to blast the traitorous Devaronians to ash with their plasma guns. Koltatha had stopped her, insisting it would be an act of darkness.
He'd forgotten about that incident until she reminded him. He'd tried to explain the difference: the Devaronians had already done their crime, while the Hutts would commit more and greater ones. And sometimes, he'd recently concluded, it was necessary to use darkness to work light.
She hadn't been convinced, and had seemed upset when she'd left. Her dismay stung him, and Gedor's encouragement was the support he needed.
"I want a kind of fighting that can win this war," Koltatha said. "The Morgukai can't be stoic Jedi… nor should they."
"Indeed. A hideous thing is war. If affected by it you were not, a lesser creature you'd be."
"The Masters on Tython would have been upset at this kind of fighting," he admitted.
"A long way from Tython you are. A new kind of Jedi you are becoming, because you must." Heavily Gedor said, "Sometimes, spite with spite is best repaid."
Every word rang true. He hoped Vediah understood that one day. But until then, he'd fight this necessary war, and he would fight it to win.
-{}-
For years they'd been experimenting with the Star Forge, exploring its abilities and making careful yet dangerous probes into the unknown. Now they were going to make one big and literal leap.
Shen and Gedor met at the northernmost point on the Forge's globe, beneath a great transparisteel dome that looked onto deep space. Shen had just come from the control center, where a confident Master Kayn and Chief Fearey were waiting and ready. Yet the leap they were about to take was mostly in the hands of the two unique creatures meeting beneath the stars.
Shen lowered himself to the cool metal floor. Kayn preferred to mediate here beneath the cosmos, but Shen normally preferred the room above the Forge's core. Yet he was glad Gedor had suggested the observation dome for today's exercise. His last, brief visit to the other chamber had left him discomfited. He'd caught a short flash of Mal-Oba Talyak there, which was inexplicable, because his Master had never set foot on the Star Forge, let alone that room.
In the observation dome he could push thoughts of his dead teacher aside and focus on the Star Forge, the people aboard it, and the stars he was about to guide them through.
Since being resurrected by Ranroon engineers a decade ago, the Forge had only taken a handful of leaps through hyperspace. All of those had been guided by the Tion's beacon network. Yet the Forge was a Rakatan machine, which meant it had origin-ally navigated lightspeed by use of the Force.
For the first time in five hundred years, they were going to move this thing the way it was meant to be moved.
Hopefully.
Shen and Gedor joined minds. Once twined, they expanded outward. Shen could sense all the thousands of lives now aboard the Star Forge, included those rushed up from Idux. He felt the confusion and concern of those people but also their adamant faith in the Force they couldn't know. And by extension, their faith in him.
Shen was paired to Gedor, but the ancient master was the stronger, guiding power. Once they'd encompassed all the minds aboard the Forge, Gedor reached deep into the ever-smoldering core. Shen felt as though they'd joined with the Star Forge on a physical level. He almost believed he could feel vacuum-cold on his metallic skin, see gamma rays, taste dark matter, hear solar wind and swallow stellar fire.
Was this how his ancestors felt when they worked their evil?
Shen hoped so, because he could finally match their power and set things right.
Ready we are, Gedor spoke to him. The Forge we have become. Now leap we must and bring those in our care to safer shores.
Shen had navigated hyperspace with the Force often during his years with Ashar and Talyak. He told himself the Forge was like the Hand of Light, just on a greater scale. Together, he and Gedor scoured nearby stars until they felt the Force beckoning them to safety through lightyears.
Believe in this path, you do?
Yes.
Then take it we shall.
The Star Forge began to move. No leap through lightspeed yet, but its powerful sublight thrusters flared to life and oriented the massive machine to the safe heading. Shen realized that it wasn't Fearey's people commanding the engines, nor Kayn and the Jedi.
It was Gedor himself.
The Forge we have become, he repeated. Put limits on yourself, you cannot. With the Force, possible all things are.
Shen followed Gedor's lead and discovered, with awe, that he could move the Forge on his own. It felt as joined to his mind as his flesh-and-bone body. This giant had been an extension of Rakatan will once, and it was now again.
They'd planned to find a correct course in hyperspace, then relay the path to Kayn in the Force, and he in turn would command the engineers. But Shen and Gedor had achieved such union with the Forge that they could perform the leap by themselves.
It was intoxicating. He'd heard Gedor's maxim countless times, but he'd never wrapped his mind around it until now.
Jump, shall we?
Jump, Shen agreed, and they did.
The Star Forge shuddered into hyperspace. It breached lightspeed, then cut smoothly through the dimensional void. Though both had closed eyes, Shen could see the stream of hyper-real light and feel stars slip past like rain. He was the Forge the Forge was him. It was like he'd transcended space and time, body and matter.
When they fell out of hyperspace (he had no idea how long it took, it didn't matter) Shen opened his eyes. He looked at the stars above them. Gedor released his mind, their twine unspooled, and Shen returned to his physical body.
Only then did he feel exhausted. He tipped back, his legs unfolded, and he lay face-up on the cold deck, staring at all those stars.
He heard a voice on the chamber's intercom. Had it sounded before? He hadn't noticed.
"That was a successful jump," Kayn said. "We're still trying to calibrate position but we're in deep space. The nearest nav beacon we're reading is over sixty light-years away… Hold on… We're near the Ethellum beacon. Repeat, Ethellum. Are you all right up there?"
"Indeed we are," replied Gedor. "Congratulate the crew, you should."
"I will, but it's all thanks to you two. Next time, though, could we get a warning?" Kayn added with a laugh.
"A problem, that is not. Wait, please, while our next course we decide."
The comm clicked off. Shen was still on his back, looking at the beautiful stars, when Gedor appeared, wrinkled green face bent over his.
"Operable, are you?"
"I just needed to rest." Shen propped himself on an elbow. "That was… impossible."
"Possible all things are," Gedor smirked.
"I know. But I felt like I was… more than what I am."
"More than flesh and bone? Pah, of course you are. Realized that long ago, you should have."
"I felt like I was the Star Forge."
"True that was, and why should it not be?" He pinched blue skin with green fingers. "Flesh and bone, crude matter, that is part of you, and that part was born to command the Forge. Reclaim your just inheritance of old you must."
It was the destiny his mother had urged him toward all along, finally within his grasp. "Yes. I understand now… I'll reclaimed it and redeem it."
"Exactly," Gedor bent close and smiled again. "Build, we shall, the happy seat of a new race. A glorious galaxy, where supreme the Force is and supreme we are. Doubt, danger, sorrow, grief and fear: all shall we banish from our happy fields."
It was the most beautiful idea Shen had ever heard. Staring into Gedor's eyes, he smiled back.