AN: Here we are with another week and another chapter. Hope you enjoy!
jgschultz15 - a Thank you for your kind words. I'm honored that I'm your second ever review on fanfiction. Very humbling. It's always great to see people really enjoying the story, and I'm glad people are enjoying the trip down memory lane for Jedi Apprentice/Jedi Quest and KOTOR/SWTOR.
Chapter 45 - The Typhadoran Conflict and a Return to the Beginning
"You know, I don't think Kastor ever thought that his 'secret' Jedi ship would become a waystation for Jedi teams," Siri said with a grin, and Obi-Wan couldn't stop the laugh, even if he'd wanted to.
She wasn't wrong. By all accounts, the ship was still supposed to be a cover for "Calo Jurgens" and his mostly Mandalorian mercenaries, who had broken away from Mandalore, but at any point in time, there were at least four to six Jedi on his ship, usually stopping over for fuel or medical aid, being briefed on new missions, or joining Kastor's team for an operation or more realistically, some of Kastor's team were joining Jedi for missions, and Kastor now effectively just had the largest group of ready and able Mandalorians in their current sector to aid Jedi operations, which his Mandalorians certainly weren't complaining about. It gave them adventure, conflict, and often credits.
Something Obi-Wan found rather humorous was that several members of the Council as well as a fair number of Knights and Masters were still a bit concerned with how much of an alliance had been formed between the Mandalorians and the Jedi Order. That didn't stop them, however, from happily using Mandalorians outposts and worlds, fleets, contacts, and even support from Mandalorian warriors and trackers in order to support their missions. By all accounts, the small contingent of Mandalorians that were at the Temple, acting as liaisons, learning about the Order, teaching about their culture, or simply using the Temple as their own way station were warmly welcomed by initiates, Padawans, and instructors alike, not to mention the other Knights and Masters that were enjoying having the Mandalorians around.
Arguments certainly broke out often, the Order and the Mandalorian people having many differences of opinion on a great many issues and ways of life not including their history of conflict. For the most part, arguments were either solved with debate, or many Jedi had found some relief in simply exercising some frustration away by accepting challenges in unarmed combat from the Mandalorians they disagreed with. Regardless of who won, cooler heads could then prevail, and even if neither side would yield, mutual respect could at least remain.
Obi-Wan and Siri themselves weren't helping matters. Both of them had rather thought Yoda was kidding when he said that they should be teamed up more often, but in the past months, they had found their two teams paired fairly often. Often, they'd also been directed to Kastor's ship instead of the Temple if his ship was closer and if they were going to have anything less than four days of refitting before being resent out.
Logically, this ensured that they received a proper amount of rest between missions, and meant that they had guaranteed time to continue Anakin's and Ferus's studies, however Obi-Wan couldn't help but think that Yoda was being a very crafty old Jedi.
Frankly, it had been incredible. Kastor's ship was a safe haven for them to be free with each other when they had time to be alone, but even when they didn't, they were still two dear friends, able to work together and decompress together between missions, something that could be few and far between at the Temple. Now that their Padawans knew about them, something that both were still coming to accept in their own ways, Obi-Wan and Siri were able to be more open and free with each other, something they were enjoying tremendously.
Beyond that, they both thought it was good for their Padawans, even if neither boy would quite voice their agreement. The two Knights generally enjoyed pitting their two competitive Padawans against each other in their studies during the day, which had slowly started forcing the two boys to get along better while pushing them in their own studies.
Of course Kastor was more than happy to have them on his ship, and with him almost permanently on assignment was Taria, and Fay seemed to be present more often than not when she was between her own missions, so they had ample time with other friends of theirs. Additionally, other Jedi teams were constantly being rotated through. Currently, Obi-Wan and Siri were rather surprised but happy to have two of their best friends, beyond Taria, Fay, and Kastor, on the ship: Garen and Reeft.
It felt like it had been a long time since they had all been together. All they were missing was Quinlan and Bant.
"Ah, he loves us here," Taria said with a grin, from across the table.
Their entire group was enjoying a pleasant lunch together before most of them would depart for various locations.
"He loves the rest of us, Ria," Garen said with a grin. "He tolerates you."
"Muln, your own former master doesn't prefer you to me," Taria responded back, her eyes dancing.
"That has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with me," Garen responded, smiling wide, and snorts of amusement left the rest of the occupants while Taria laughed openly.
"Clee certainly did have her work cut out for her," Obi-Wan agreed, and Garen glanced at Obi-Wan.
"That's rich coming from you! Qui-Gon aged ten years in his first two years as your Master," Garen said.
"Yes, but I'm being paid back tenfold by the Force," Obi-Wan said commiseratingly. "The Force punished me by providing me with a certain troublemaking Padawan."
Anakin smiled innocently at his Master.
"He's got a point, Master," Ferus said with a grin. "Maybe you and Master Kenobi need to switch who has Anakin for a couple days to help atone."
"I wouldn't survive even one day," Garen said with a groan, and Anakin mock scowled at Obi-Wan's oldest friend.
Obi-Wan enjoyed seeing how much more open the two Padawans were with each other. The months of being forced to work together had helped soothe some of their irritation with each other as they were forced to find an appreciation for each other's styles. Things were still a bit tense between him and Anakin. The trip to Jedha had helped a lot. Kastor's discussion with Anakin had seemed to help his Padawan, but there was still clearly something bothering him . . . something he hadn't yet divulged to Obi-Wan. Eventually, Obi-Wan knew he would, but he still missed the closeness they once had, and hadn't yet returned to since Anakin's mistake while undercover.
"I'll take him," Reeft said, still enjoying breakfast even though everyone else was long done. "Anakin has the right pallet for me. He and I can explore the galaxy, one delicacy at a time."
Anakin nodded his approval to this plan.
"The Order will be bankrupt in a month," Siri said dryly. "I'm surprised Kastor hasn't put a limit on you two on his ship as is."
Reeft shot a mournful look at Siri for even suggesting a limit on his food, and laughs echoed around the room.
"He's not here enough to limit Reeft," Obi-Wan said. "Asuna however I think is close."
Reeft gave a mournful sigh.
"Torig will never let that happen," Siri assured their friend. "He enjoys having a Jedi with a 'proper appetite' for a change."
"Ah, Torig," Reeft said appreciatively. "A Mandalorian after my own heart."
"More like your stomach," Taria said with a scoff.
"What is this, pick on Reeft day?" Reeft complained. "Go back to sniping at Garen. He at least deserves it!"
"Hey!" Garen protested. "Don't throw me under the speeder."
"You boys need Bant here to protect you," Siri remarked.
"Bant doesn't protect us," Garen said, affronted. "She protects her 'little brother,' Obi-Wan. Taria's no better!"
"Obi-Wan has Siri's protection," Taria remarked with a mischievous grin.
"Which means even gundarks run away at the sight of my savior," Obi-Wan said dryly, getting laughs from Anakin, Ferus, and Taria, while Siri winked in Obi-Wan's direction.
"Then you better go appeal to Asuna to protect you," Anakin said. "She's plenty scary."
"Ah, you say such flattering things," Asuna said, joining them at their table. "There's hope for you yet, young Skywalker."
"How can we help you, Asuna?" Siri asked. "Need someone to help beat up Rhys?"
"No, I'm perfectly capable of that myself," Asuna said easily. "I'm just here to let you know that Shan and Fay have returned, and he was hoping to talk to you, Damsin. I believe he has a mission to go on and needs Jedi backup."
"Hmm, another one of Kastor Shan's secretive missions," Garen said with interest. "Well, Taria. Just remember to send us a holocard when you get there."
Taria snorted.
"If it's like the last place we went together, I won't be sending any holocards because we'll be too busy trying to kriffing leave as soon as we get there."
"Just be careful, my friend," Obi-Wan said, "and watch out for Kastor. I may not know where you two have been running off to, but I'm sure they are not places to tread lightly."
"Don't worry, Obi," Taria said, with a wink. "I'm sure Rhys will watch our backs."
They all watched Taria and Asuna walk out, and the Knights left at the table all exchanged grim looks. Kastor was looking hard for something, and they could all feel it. Soon . . . probably very soon, he was going to find it. The question is whether that would be a good thing or not.
"We have a mission of our own, Padawan," Obi-Wan said after a moment, and Anakin looked at him eagerly.
"And we have a different mission," Siri said, looking at Ferus who nodded patiently.
**The Will of the Force**
"Where's the new destination, Kas?" Taria asked, making her way to the command bridge. "The last two places have been a bust. How about this new place you went to?"
Kastor grimaced, agreeing with Taria's assessment so far, and not having any great news to add, even if he had just visited a planet that Jocasta had managed to uncover the location for. It was one of the planets he'd already known about, but not had a location for.
"Exegol wasn't a complete bust," Kastor said, "but it didn't provide any new leads."
Taria frowned.
"I'm not sure I understand."
"There were signs that someone . . . or something had been somehow living on that dark forsaken world, and there were clear signs of some Sith alchemy experiment having been done fairly recently. Otherwise there was nothing else. Whatever or whoever it was that was there, clearly they did whatever they needed to do before they left."
"So, nothing on Rhelg, Ziost, or Exegol," Taria summed up.
That did sum it up. They'd gone back to Ziost to search for any signs of a possible base but had found nothing, nor any signs of any continued Sith occupation. Sure, they did find some other Sith ruins, but nothing with anything of any worth. Rhelg had been much the same, and now Exegol had shown that perhaps a Sith or at least a darksider skilled in Sith alchemy was active in the universe, but nothing more.
"Correct," Kastor said.
"So, where to next?" Taria asked curiously.
"The Dromund System," Fay answered.
Taria grimaced.
"So, we're finally heading back to where your life detoured."
"Yes," Kastor said quietly. "It's time to check out the system though. It has five planets and a moon worth checking out, and that will knock off another six of the seventeen planets identified if we find them empty . . . however, something's telling me that this will yield results."
"Which is why all three of us are going?" Taria asked.
"Partially," Kastor admitted with a wry grin. "Partially because Dromund Kaas has other evils besides possible Sith, and I believe we could use safety in numbers."
"Well then, where first?" Taria asked.
"We'll start with Dromund Ixin," Kastor said. "It's barren, so we should be able to determine quite quickly whether there's anything present on the planet. The same should hold true for Dromund Fels, and Dromund Tyne. Dromund Kalakari is a gas giant, so as long as there isn't a space station bordering it, it should be a quick scouting mission as well. It will be Dromund Kaas and Kalakar Six that will take some time . . . and hopefully reveal a way to our enemy."
**The Will of the Force**
The ship eased out of hyperspace with barely a shudder. Instantly the surveillance equipment hummed to life.
"Nothing to worry about," Anakin said, setting his next course.
"Yet," Obi-Wan muttered.
Anakin plotted a course that would keep him well away from space lanes. They traveled in watchful silence. The Typha-Dor moon, so obscure it hadn't been named, loomed. It was known by its coordinates — TY44. Anakin saw it on the radar and then received a visual sighting. He could not see the moon itself, only the atmosphere around it. The clouds offered no glimpse of the satellite's surface.
The planet of Typha-Dor had pleaded for the Senate's help. They were the last holdout in the Uziel system against the aggressive invasions of the largest planet in the system, Vanqor.
An army of resistance fighters from the other planets in the system had found refuge on Typha-Dor and formed a coalition force to protect the last free planet. So far Typha-Dor had managed to hold out against Vanqor's colonization efforts. Yet they knew invasion was imminent.
One of the successful tools the Typha-Dor forces had used was a surveillance outpost on a remote moon. The outpost had been able to track the secret movements of the Vanqor fleet. Recently Typha-Dor had learned that Vanqor was targeting the surveillance outpost for attack. The outpost was in a remote area of the moon, hidden by heavy cloud cover. The land was packed with snow and ice for months, which also meant that it was almost impossible to get crews in and out.
Reliable information had come to the Typha-Dors that the Vanqors were close to pinpointing the location. It was imperative the news get through to the crew to abandon the post. There hadn't been word from the crew in several weeks, and the fear was that the comm units were down, or the worst had happened and the post had already been attacked. Anakin and Obi-Wan had been sent to discover what was going on and, if they were still there, to bring the crew back safely.
Stealth was the main objective of their flight. They needed to get in and find the outpost, gather the team, and then leave as quickly as they could, hopefully without alerting the Vanquors.
They hadn't spoken for many hours, not since they'd left the Darasuum. Anakin had kept his focus on the dashboard indicators, while his master pored over star charts. Normally, Anakin admired his master's thoroughness, but this time it had been irritating.
Obi-Wan truly was doing everything he could to help Anakin deal with Yaddle's death, and Anakin appreciated it . . . truly . . . but at the same time, he didn't want the help . . . and he didn't fully know why. He understood what he'd been told . . . and that time would help.
He knew part of it was just the guilt, and part of it was that he didn't feel like Obi-Wan could truly understand. Obi-Wan made logical conclusions and plotted strategies based on what he studied. Sure, Anakin had recently learned that Obi-Wan had been a bit reckless in his youth, something that had almost resulted in him not being a Knight, but at the same time, that was early in his apprenticeship, and that had been him attempting to save children's lives, not having a dream and making a decision that resulted in the death of a Jedi Master . . . a mentor. No, Obi-Wan just didn't understand.
It didn't help that Obi-Wan had seemed to have moved on from Yaddle's death while Anakin was still racked with guilt. While he'd certainly seen Obi-Wan's grief and guilt when Qui-Gon had died, the man had been able to move on eventually. It made Anakin wonder whether Obi-Wan felt things the same way as he did, and whether that meant Anakin had what it took to be a Jedi at all. Kastor's talk had both helped and exacerbated that dilemma. Anakin didn't know if he had what it took to be the perfect Jedi, like his master tried so hard to be. Nor did he know if he could handle attachments like his master did. It seemed too foreign at times, and again made him question whether they truly felt things the same way.
"Radar sighting," Obi-Wan said suddenly. "Looks like a large gunship."
Without slowing his speed, Anakin reversed and dived. If they could get out of radar range, they might not get spotted. The Galan starfighter was small enough that it could be mistaken for space debris until the ship got closer.
"Hasn't noticed us," Obi-Wan said. "I think we dodged this one."
Anakin maintained speed, flying slightly erratically to mimic space debris. The gunship suddenly changed course.
"He's got us," Obi-Wan said crisply. "Six quad laser cannons, three on each side. Two concussion missile launch tubes. Four… no, six turbolaser cannons."
"In other words, we're a little outgunned," Anakin said.
"I suggest evasion as our best course," Obi-Wan agreed dryly.
Laser cannonfire exploded around them.
"Missile on the left!" Obi-Wan shouted.
"I see it!"
Anakin streamed up, making a sharp turn to evade the tracking device. The missile hugged their path. At the last second, Anakin veered off, and the missile passed them by a few meters.
"Close," Obi-Wan said. "They're speeding up. We can't outrun them, Anakin."
"Just give me a chance."
"Too risky. Just get us down. We'll land on the Typha Dor moon."
"But we're far from the outpost," Anakin said.
"We stand a better chance down there." Another missile screamed past. The small ship was tossed by the reverberations of cannonfire. "They'll send a landing ship, but we'll have a head start."
The explosion was close. Anakin gripped the controls and gritted his teeth. His choice would be to keep flying, but he had to obey his Master. He felt the response of the ship as he changed course. It shuddered, as though it had sustained damage. He glanced at the indicator lights. Nothing blinked at him. There must be superficial damage on the wing. Not a problem for an experienced pilot.
Anakin dipped the ship and dived into the heavy cloud cover below. The thick clouds didn't diminish the effect of the view. The ground was covered in snow and glaciers, and the light bounced and refracted, making it difficult to see. Anakin skimmed over the terrain, looking for a place to land.
"We'll need to engage the sensors," Anakin said. "No telling how deep that snow is."
Obi-Wan had already turned to the starship sensor array. "I'm getting a solid reading. The ice is meters thick. It will hold the ship." Obi-Wan read out the coordinates. "By the lip of that rock outcropping there. We're far enough away that we won't lead them to the outpost, but it will be a bit of a walk."
Anakin guided the ship to a smooth landing. The cockpit hatch slid back. At first, the silence was overwhelming. The cold settled into the cockpit slowly. At first, Obi-Wan felt it on the tips of his ears. Then his fingers. Then the back of his neck. Soon every millimeter of exposed skin felt numb.
"Cold," Anakin said, calling on the Force to help him warm up, or at least to not feel the cold.
"That's an understatement," Obi-Wan said, vaulting over the seat toward the supply locker. He grabbed the survival gear and tossed a set to Anakin. Then he pulled out a white tarp. "If we secure this over the ship we might gain some time," he said. "At least they'll find it hard to get a visual sighting."
After donning survival gear and goggles, they spent a few minutes securing the tarp over the ship and strapping it down.
Anakin glanced at the sky. "How long do you think we have?"
"Depends on how good they are at tracking," Obi-Wan said. "And how lucky we are. However much time we have, it has to be enough."
"I thought you said there's no such thing as luck," Anakin teased, and Obi-Wan grinned at him.
"Of course that's the one thing you learned from me," Obi-Wan quipped back.
"That's not true," Anakin protested. "I've learned many things . . . like tea needs to be hot, but not scorching . . . spinning is not flying . . . and how to lose an argument to Siri Tachi."
Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed.
"How long have you been waiting to say that last part and when did Siri tell you to say that?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about Master," Anakin said, feeling his heart lighten slightly with the banter. The tension between them eased, just a bit. It was the one thing that had helped them in the past weeks working mostly from Kastor's warship, often with Siri and Ferus. Humor was slowly helping them reconnect.
They started out across the frozen landscape. Ice had formed in a thin layer on the ground, making walking treacherous. In their thick-soled boots, the Jedi had traction, but it took concentration to move quickly without sliding over the ice. The Force helped them to find patches to move on, but there were so many frozen patches that even with the Force, it was hard to avoid slipping completely. Both Jedi knew they'd be tired by the end of the journey and could only hope to find a short rest before they continued on, but neither knew what they'd find at the outpost.
The kilometers passed in silence. The outpost was tucked into a mountain range that rose from the glaciers. Land and sky merged in a sea of white. The clouds seemed to lower as they walked, and a few flakes separated from the thick blanket above them and drifted lazily down. Soon the flakes thickened and the wind freshened, driving the snow against their faces. Anakin and Obi-Wan's gaze fell on the horizon. A silvery clump of snow seemed to be falling fast against the white sky. But he wasn't seeing snowflakes. It was a cruiser.
"Surveillance," Obi-Wan said crisply to Anakin. "Drop down."
It was the only thing to do. There was no cover. They dropped to the ground, their faces in the snow. From above, their white survival gear would blend with the landscape. They heard the whirr of the engines above and stayed perfectly still. The ship was going slowly, tacking over the area in a sweep. The two Jedi slowed down their breathing and life processes, a Jedi technique, which would make it harder for a life-form sensor to pick up their traces. The cold would help them, too.
The whirr of the engines softened and waned. They waited until they could hear nothing.
Anakin rolled over. Ice had caked in his hair. He blinked the snow off his eyelashes. "I feel like a frozen jujasickle."
"You look like one, too, but it's better than being shot at."
"If you say so." Anakin stood and dusted the snow off his legs, and then he started using the Force to warm himself up again.
"They'll be back. We'd better hurry." Obi-Wan consulted the map on his datapad. "We're close. We have to be careful now. We don't want to lead the Vanqors to the outpost."
"Let's hope they don't find the — "
A loud explosion suddenly sounded. Obi-Wan and Anakin turned back the way they had come. Obi-Wan put the electrobinoculars to his eyes. He saw a thin plume of smoke.
"They blew up our ship," he said.
They didn't need to say out loud what they were thinking. If the ship at the outpost wasn't operable, they could be stuck on the moon for some time. If the outpost was destroyed, they would have no shelter.
They found the strength to move faster. There wasn't much daylight left, and traveling in the darkness would be difficult. The snow continued to fall and then turned into a blizzard. The falling temperature transformed the flakes into icy pellets that stung their cheeks, even with the Force helping them.
"The shortest route will be over the glaciers," Obi-Wan yelled over the noise of the storm to Anakin. "It's also the hardest."
"Let's do it," Anakin shouted back. They both knew that the sooner they found shelter, the safer they would be.
The glaciers loomed ahead, tall blocks of ice hundreds of meters thick, some rising up to create mountains of ice. They began to climb upward, using their cable launchers to haul themselves directly up the sheer face of the ice. Despite their thermal gloves and the Force, their fingers felt frozen. It was hard to grab the cable and find purchase on the ice. Obi-Wan saw the effort and strain on his Padawan's face, and he felt it in his own body as he pushed forward, every meter a battle now, drawing on the Force more and more to calm his muscles and give him strength.
After several hours of hard climbing, they were close to the coordinates of the outpost. The climbing was more gradual now, and they were able to move faster. The darkness grew around them.
Obi-Wan checked the coordinates. "The outpost should be right here. I can sense several life forms nearby."
"I know where it is," Anakin said suddenly, striding forward, and his master followed him.
Ahead, what at first appeared to be a sheer ice cliff was really the wall of the outpost. Obi-Wan could now see that ice had completely covered the structure, which was made of a thick white material able to withstand extreme cold without cracking.
There seemed to be no entry, and no way to alert anyone inside that they were there. Anakin pounded on the wall. There was no response.
Just then the ice began to groan. A door slowly eased open, pushing against the ice that caked it. It stopped halfway. A slender human woman stood, her hands on a blaster pointed at them.
"We are Jedi, sent by Typha-Dor," Obi-Wan said. "You must be Shalini."
Anakin remembered from the text docs that Obi-Wan had studied religiously. Shalini was the crew leader, and her husband Mezdec was one of the communications officers.
Slowly, the blaster lowered. Shalini's silvery eyes sent them a sharp glance. "So our leaders have remembered we exist."
"They could not reach you. Your comm unit is down."
"I'm aware of that. It's been down for over a month. Glad they decided to check on us." She stood aside. "Come in."
Obi-Wan and Anakin ducked their way into the structure, finding themselves in a small room. The lights were at half power. A weapons rack stood to one side. On the other was a console with surveillance and data equipment. There was another console near the doorway that was damaged and had scorch marks, which Anakin knew meant close blaster fire. Positioned around the room were four other crew members, all with blasters pointed at the doorway.
"It's all right," Shalini said. "They've been sent by Typha-Dor." She tucked her blaster into her belt.
One man leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He looked weak and pale. "About time."
A tall, muscular woman slipped her blaster into a shoulder holster.
"Past time."
Then a tall man in a thick pullover strode forward. "Don't mind us. It's been a long haul. We're very glad to see you."
"This is Mezdec," Shalini said. "He's our first officer. I am Shalini, the leader of the group. The others are Thik" — the weak-looking man nodded at them — "Rajana, and Olanz." The muscular woman nodded curtly at them, and the other man, bald and as tall as Mezdec, raised a hand in greeting.
"But where are the rest?" Obi-Wan asked. "There are supposed to be ten of you."
"Not anymore," Shalini said. "We had a saboteur in our midst. Samdew was the other communications officer. We discovered that he was a spy for the Vanqors. He destroyed our comm system right after we were able to intercept the Vanqor invasion plans."
"He also disabled our transport," Mezdec said. "So we've been stuck here. We're almost out of food, so we're especially glad to see you."
"In that case, let's begin with a meal." Obi-Wan reached for his survival pack. "We brought extra rations in case."
Anakin and he doled out the protein packs. The group sat down and split up the food. While they ate, Obi-Wan scanned the equipment. He took a second look at the damaged comm control console. "What happened?"
"It was the middle of the night," Mezdec said. He swallowed and pushed the rest of his food away. "I was awake, and I heard Samdew at the comm unit. I thought he was doing a sweep — we monitored the channels constantly, and I assumed he was checking to see if anything turned up. I was awake anyway, so I got up to see if anything was happening."
"There was quite a bit of chatter on the system," Shalini said. "The Vanqors knew we had been able to monitor their comm channels. In order to confuse us, they'd flood us with information. That made Samdew a crucial member of our team. He was our senior information analyst."
"I stood in the doorway. He didn't hear me," Mezdec said, his eyes clouding at the memory. "And I saw that he wasn't monitoring transmissions. He was transmitting to the Vanqor fleet. I realized he was a spy. I blasted the console. I didn't know what else to do. It was the fastest way to stop him. I didn't want to kill him. But he turned and moved toward me, and the next shot hit him in the chest."
"It's all right, Mezdec," Shalini said quietly. She put her hand on his arm.
"I heard the blaster fire," Rajana said, taking up the account, as Mezdec had fallen silent. "I heard Samdew fall, and I ran in. While he was on the ground, he tried to shoot Mezdec just as Thik came in after me. Thik was hit in the knee and went down." Rajana looked at Mezdec. "I was the one who fired the fatal blast. Not you."
"Samdew died," Shalini said. "What we didn't know was that before he died, he activated the fire system in the sleeping quarters. The room goes into lockdown, and all the oxygen is sucked out."
"He had disabled the warning siren, but not the procedure. Four of our crew were in there," Mezdec said. "They suffocated. By the time we realized what had happened, they were dead."
"He meant for all of you to be in there," Anakin said.
"Yes," Shalini said. "We imagine that he was sending his last transmission. He didn't need to be undercover anymore, and the easiest thing to do was get rid of us."
"If the Vanqors know your location, why haven't they attacked?" Obi-Wan asked.
Shalini shook her head. "We don't think they do. We think Samdew was in deep cover. He never sent a transmission before that night, and Mezdec stopped him before the transmission went through. All transmissions were coded and timed, so we would have known if he'd been in contact with the Vanqors. We assume that his mission was to remain until we had cracked the Vanqor code and learned something vital."
"Which we did," Rajana said.
"Yes, let's get back to that," Obi-Wan said. "What have you learned?"
"We have the details of the Vanqor invasion plans," Shalini said.
"Troop movements, coordinates, the invasion sites. We have it all on this." Shalini held up a small disk. "It's crucial that we get the information to Typha-Dor."
"We'll have to leave from here," Obi-Wan told her. "We have good reason to believe that the Vanqors have destroyed our ship. I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before they find this outpost."
"Samdew sabotaged the transport," Mezdec reminded them. "I can fix nearly anything, but I can't fix it."
Anakin stood. "Let me try."
**The Will of the Force**
"Nothing on Ixin, Tyne, or Fels," Taria remarked as they initiated their sublight thrusters, leaving Dromund Fels for Dromund Kalakari.
"I guess that's both a good thing and a bad thing," Kastor said. "The Sith probably hid these planets for future uses."
"Our sensors should alert us if anybody comes here," Rhys said. "The Sith won't be secretly reclaiming these worlds."
The Ebon Hawk consisted of Rhys, Kastor, Fay, Taria, and two Mandalorian warriors: Agda and Ramac. So far, the two Mandalorians were unsurprisingly bored out of their minds, and now convinced that this was going to be a bogus mission, which they'd volunteered for in the hopes of it being action filled . . . what with Kastor's sterling reputation on the Darasuum.
Small talk was exchanged and Kastor meditated during the hour journey from Dromund Fels to Dromund Kalakari, but just as Scrappy was alerting them that they were approahcing their destination, Kastor felt the warning through the Force . . . a warning he saw reflected on the faces of his two fellow Jedi.
"Get to the cannons," Kastor ordered the two Mandalorians who didn't even question him and merely rushed off towards the dorsal and ventral cannons while Rhys ran for the hangar and his starfighter.
Kastor, Fay, and Taria got into the cockpit, with Kastor and Taria taking the pilot and copilot's seats respectively while Fay say in the navigator's spot, allowing her to help Scrappy plot an escape route if needed, or giving her the spot to start focusing for battle meditation.
"E chu ta," Taria swore, seeing the orbital construction platform and space defense platform that were orbiting the gas giant.
It was a medium sized platform capable of producing starfighters, corvettes, and light and medium sized frigates. The defense platform was a small orbital platform, with a hangar bay, and based on scans, a standard load out of turbolaser towers and missile tubes. The platform had three medium sized frigates currently in production, with two corvettes and a light frigate defending the platform.
"Fay, get the Darasuum on comms," Kastor said, ensuring that their signature remained cloaked and that they remained undetected by shutting down most of the power to the Ebon Hawk.
It didn't take long for Fay to establish a connection with the Darasuum, and soon Kastor and Fay were gazing on Asuna and Des.
"What have you found?" she asked.
"Orbital construction platform and orbital defense starbase orbiting Dromund Kalakari," Kastor said.
"Small starbase, medium platform, with two corvettes and a frigate as escort," Fay added. "Likely a starfighter squadron within the starbase."
"We're nearly a half day's jump from your location," Asuna said grimly. "Can you hold and observe for that long?"
"We should be able to," Fay said. "As long as nothing spots us, we won't engage, and we'll keep our power levels low, with mainly just life support and communication systems active."
"Very well," Asuna said. "We'll get the fleet underway. If we plan this right, you should be able to do some damage just before we emerge from hyperspace, giving us the element of surprise."
"We'll be waiting for the moment," Kastor assured her. "Do we have any guests aboard at the moment?"
"Negative," Des said. "All of our guests, both semi-regular and temporary, have departed for missions or to return to one of your Temples. Frankly, it's rather nice without all you Jedi around."
Kastor, Taria, and Fay all smiled.
"You'd be bored without us," Kastor replied dryly.
"We'd be richer," Des shot back, and Fay chuckled.
"May the Force be with you, my friend," Fay said. "I look forward to seeing you soon."
"May the Force be with you as well, Lady Fay, and may your song continue to be sung," Des said, and Kastor sighed as the transmission cut off.
"Now we wait."
**The Will of the Force**
Anakin disappeared into the transport hangar. Obi-Wan had no doubt that if anyone could fix the vehicle, it would be Anakin. He was a genius for fixing the unfixable.
Shalini looked worried.
"Mezdec has tried for weeks to fix the ship. With all possible respect for your apprentice, he'll never be able to get it up and running. Are you certain nothing can be salvaged from your transport? Maybe we should chance a walk there. We don't know for sure that Vanqor has set an ambush. There might be parts we could use. I'll go, if you can give me the coordinates."
"Shalini, no," Mezdec protested. "It's too dangerous."
"No, it's not," Shalini said. "It's necessary."
"You'd never make it at night," Mezdec argued. "Survival gear can't protect you from that kind of cold. Besides, you know the rule. We only go in pairs." He touched her hand. "As you and I do," he said in a gentle tone.
She smiled, but shook her head. "We should try every avenue. I am responsible for this disk." She touched her belt, where she had tucked the disk into a hidden slit. "I have another idea. We could return to the Jedi ship, expecting an ambush. A few of us could pretend to surrender. Then the others could attack the Vanqor ship. We could get off-planet in their transport."
"That's a highly unlikely scenario," Obi-Wan said. "And a last resort. Let's give Anakin a chance before we make that decision."
Everyone ignored Obi-Wan.
"Maybe we should split the team," Olanz said. "A few of us could go with Shalini at first light. We could take the missile tube and some flechette launchers."
"Our strength is in our numbers," Rajana argued. "We should remain together."
"Thik can't travel," Mezdec pointed out.
"I can travel," Thik said. "Just not very fast."
"And what of the ones who remain behind?" Rajana asked. "We're almost out of heating fuel. Whoever stayed would be facing death."
"We have faced death all along," Thik said.
"That doesn't mean we should invite it in," Mezdec said.
Thik smiled slightly. "Isn't this just like our home-world. We spend so long arguing about what's the best way to do something that we never get anything done."
"That doesn't mean we should be invaded," Rajana said sharply.
Shalini turned to Obi-Wan. "We've been cooped up together for too long," she said. She gave a tense smile. "When we haven't been trying to find a way to get off this moon, we've been arguing about the best way to do it. Thik has a point."
"Typha-Dor is lucky," Thik said. "We are rich in resources. We have abundant sunshine and water. Our world is large and varied. We have a large workforce. Yet we have never learned how to truly manage our resources and turn them into the wealth we need."
"Yes, yes," Rajana said impatiently. "And Vanqor is a small, dusty planet. Yet they have learned how to get the most out of what they have. Their industries are booming. They are wealthier than us, despite their small size. That does not mean they deserve to conquer our star system!"
"I am not defending Vanqor's aggression," Thik said. "You know that, Rajana. Why am I here, if not to sacrifice my life if I must for my homeworld? I am just saying that even Vanqor could have lessons to teach us."
"The Vanqors are greedy and ruthless," Mezdec said darkly. "If they have something to teach us, I have no desire to learn it."
"It is that attitude that sets us up for conflict in the first place," Thik said. "If we had been more willing to negotiate years ago, we would not be facing invasion now."
Mezdec stood. "I am beginning to wonder who the traitor is here!" he bellowed.
Shalini put her hand on her husband's arm. "Sit," she said softly.
After a moment's deliberation, Mezdec sat down.
"Would anyone like another protein bar?" Obi-Wan tried.
Everyone ignored him again. The tension was thick in the room, though Obi-Wan wasn't surprised. They had been together for over a year. They had been hunted by the Vanqors. There had been a saboteur in their midst. They were afraid they would never make it off-planet. He understood their testiness, but he wasn't too excited about having to listen to it.
"I think I'll check on Anakin," he said.
The hangar was located in the back, past the utility rooms. There was only one transport and a few speeder bikes that had been dismantled for parts. All Obi-Wan could see were Anakin's legs, sticking out from underneath the transport. Obi-Wan leaned down.
"Any luck?"
Anakin's voice was muffled. "Maybe. But what I wouldn't give for a pit droid."
"Consider me a pit droid," Obi-Wan said. "What can I do?"
Anakin slid out. "You need some servodrivers for hands and a grease pump instead of a nose." He said the words grumpily.
"Well, let me do something," Obi-Wan said. "Have you pinpointed the problem?"
"Sure," Anakin said. "That's the easy part. It's the power generator. The transfer wires from the sublight engine are fused together, which means that the fusion system is completely blown."
"Can you replace the transfer wires?"
"Sure. But then the backup from the power feeds would trigger a response."
"And that response would be?"
"The ship would blow up."
"Not optimum," Obi-Wan said.
"I can see where Mezdec tried to improvise. But he keeps running into the same problem." Anakin tapped his finger on the shell of the ship.
"Here's what I can't figure," he said. "Why would Samdew disable the ship completely? If he killed all the crew here, how would he get off-planet?"
"Maybe he didn't need the ship," Obi-Wan said. "The Vanqors would pick him up."
"Okay," Anakin said. "But if I were a spy stuck on a remote moon, I'd want a back door, just in case. I wouldn't assume that everything would go as planned."
"Things rarely do." Obi-Wan nodded thoughtfully. "Meaning there must be a way to fix the ship."
"I just don't know what it is yet." Anakin ducked back under the ship. "But I'll find it. Hand me that fuse-cutter, will you?"
Obi-Wan reached for the tool. For the next hour, he silently helped Anakin try one route, then another, to fix the ship. He admired Anakin's focus. It was as though the engine were an ailing organism that he was coaxing back to life.
Mezdec wandered out to help, and he and Anakin conferred. Obi-Wan lost the thread of the conversation, which skimmed over fuse switches, overrides, and surges. He knew something about engines, but not nearly as much as Anakin.
At last Anakin replaced the engine plate, entered the ship, and eased into the pilot seat. He hesitated before firing the engines.
"You might want to back up," he told Obi-Wan, who had also entered the ship.
"How far?"
"To the next star system." Anakin grinned. "Only kidding."
He engaged the throttle and the engine roared to life.
Mezdec yelled from the outside, "The kid knows his stuff."
"That he does," Obi-Wan agreed as he exited.
Anakin powered down the engines and leaped out of the ship. "I can get it started, but I can't restore full power. That means no deflector shields. We had to bypass the weapons delivery system to juice up the generator, so we won't have turbolasers, either. In other words, we'll have a slow ride, and we'll be exposed if the Vanqors track us on radar. And then there's the fuel problem."
"Which is?"
"We don't have much. I ran our options through the computer. The only way to get to Typha-Dor is by using the shortest path and getting an assist from the gravity of Vanquor. Unfortunately, that also means we'll be in Vanquor airspace in a ship without deflector shields."
Obi-Wan grimaced. "This just keeps getting better." He looked back at the shelter, where the four crew members waited. "We'll have to risk it. Our only chance is to slip through their surveillance. Space is big and we can hopefully hide among some of the asteroids and other debris in this system."
"Space is big?" A flash of humor made Anakin's eyes sparkle. "That's your strategy? I guess I can stop worrying."
The mischief in Anakin's eyes suddenly lightened Obi-Wan's heart. He saw the flash of a boy he'd once known, a boy who liked to fix things, a boy who had yet to understand the great gifts he had been given. A boy untroubled by those gifts who believed the galaxy would unfold for him, show him the promise of his dreams.
'I can't let him lose that spirit. I can't let him lose the boy he was.'
He grinned back. "Thanks," he said. "I just thought of it."
As they exchanged smiles, something changed. Something lightened, and the tension between them eased, just a bit.
But then, just as the moment passed, Obi-Wan saw sadness in Anakin's eyes. He caught the same feeling. It was no longer possible to fix things between them with a joke, a light moment. Things ran too deep for that now.
"I'll get the others," Obi-Wan said.
There was nothing left of the shelter. It was now an empty shell. The team's instructions were to destroy anything that could be of use to the Vanqors. Shalini and the rest had used soldering equipment and tools to fuse and destroy the comm and surveillance suites. They had destroyed all their files and everything they could not carry aboard ship.
It was a rough takeoff, but Anakin was completely calm, and Obi-Wan trusted him. After a boost of power, the ship shot up into the upper atmosphere.
"Next stop, Typha-Dor."