Information
Chapter V | Episode IV | 12/13/2019
The message ended, and Rath spoke up, “Twil, we need to talk.”
“Huh?” The Zeltron replied, clearly still dazed by the message left by Duke Irbian.
“I need to get back to my base. There’s a lot of new information I need to look into. Not the least of which are the locations of those planets shown to me in that bizarre vision. But I know you will want to head straight for that Irbian character, guns a blazing.”
“Exactly!” Twil replied, “He’s got Aklee! I can’t just abandon her! What are you talking about? Going back to your base? What?”
Rath could tell that his friend was still clearly too riled to think or speak clearly. “Calm down for a second Twil. There are resources at my disposal, resources provided by Teemo’s own information. I might be able to find out more about Irbian. More about Project Aura. More about my family. About everything. But I need to get back to my base first, where I can research this safely.”
“Rath, I can’t just abandon Aklee!” Twil replied, defiantly, “We don’t abandon my people!”
“What do you think I did, eight years ago, when my house fell?” Rath countered cooly.
“You left.”
“Exactly. I abandoned everyone and everything I ever cared about.”
“And do you regret it?” Twil asked, incredulously.
“No.” Rath replied, shocking himself with the truth behind his own answer. “If I had run back to them, tried to save them. I would be dead now. Or at the very best, captured as a slave or experiment.
“I ran. And because I ran, I’m here today. I have a chance of saving them. I’m asking you to make a similar sacrifice. I know how hard this decision is, but I’m pleading with you, make the right call here. Don’t play into Irbian’s hand.”
Before Twil could argue more, the Zeltron noticed that the holocron in his pocket was unusually warm, almost hot. Yet not in a physical way. It had a warmth Twil couldn’t quite explain. Pulling the holocron out, it sprung to life.
“Captain Twil,” The holocron’s gatekeeper greeted him, “I must commend you. Your actions as of late showed great courage, leadership, and an impressive display of control of your powers of the Force.”
“Thank you, Master Warde.” Twil mumbled, a little surprised by the sudden shift in discussion.
“I believe you are now ready to understand the true purpose of this holocron.” The gatekeeper continued, “When Master Suljo Warde constructed this holocron, he separated it into multiple data crystals, and hid them across the galaxy. When recombined, the data crystals will unlock the teachings held within this holocron. Teachings that only a very select few Jedi have ever learned. Master Warde had the uniquely powerful ability to foresee into the future. More so than any ordinary Jedi’s insights, these visions were almost always concrete, these futures were not fluid. It is not a power easily obtained, and even more difficult to master. But in you, I see the potential. If you are able to find the data crystals, you will have the opportunity to learn this gift.”
“Master Warde… that would be amazing!” Twil replied, excitedly, “Where are the data crystals?”
“I know not.” The gatekeeper replied, “I know only that one such data crystal was given to Master Warde’s padawan learner. A Mirialan named Gel Marcolf, his last known location was the planet Arbooine.”
“So now you’re being sent on an intergalactic scavenger hunt?” Rath asked, annoyed.
Twil heard the implication in Rath’s words. He was suddenly being pulled in multiple directions. Did he agree with Rath and head back to his base? Did he chase after Irbian and save Aklee? Did he search out Gretta and Solomahal, whom he had also seen attacked in his visions. Did he go to this Arbooine, in search of a Jedi most likely long since dead? Or did he abandon it all and continue his quest in following the compass?
“I don’t know what to do!” He finally yelled out to no one in particular, “Master Warde, my friends are in danger. Should I really abandon them and seek out this power?”
“A power that could be immensely helpful.” Rath added.
“A power that the Empire would want.” Twil responded, sudden realization donning on him, “That’s why Irbian has Aklee. He wants this holocron back. He knows what it has in it!”
“It’s a possibility.” Rath nodded in agreement.
“Crap.” Twil replied, “Master Warde, what should I do?”
“I am merely a gatekeeper.” The gatekeeper replied, “But if Master Warde were here, he would warn against the dangers of physical attachments, especially to people. Remember, young Force wielder, There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.”
“Now it’s spouting logical paradoxes?” Rath chided.
“I think I understand.” Twil replied, ignoring the Chiss. “I shouldn’t rush headlong into this danger. I shouldn’t let my emotions cloud my judgement. Okay, Rath.” He said, turning to face his friend, “You’ve got your wish. We’ll go to your base. You can research everything you need. Hopefully you can find some info on Irbian too. I’ll be thinking more about what we should do, and make some calls.”
Rath looked slightly taken aback, but said, “Wonderful. But be warned Twil, there’s a lot I need to look into, and a lot of work that needs to be done. I’m not sure how long it will take.”
“I’m willing to help.” Twil replied.
It was then that Rath got an idea. An extremely unpleasant idea, but if it meant finding his family faster, he was willing to give in to the foolish notion.
“Twil.” He began, “You’ve mentioned in the past that you can use your… abilities, to find people, right? I mean, you were able to sense Ealiza’s presence on that dead planet, after all.”
“Sure.” Twil replied, pocketing the holocron, “The better I know someone, the easier it is to trace them. I can usually find a general direction, at least.” He said, gesturing his hands to point one way or another.
“I see.” Rath replied, “So, if I told you about my family, you might be able to assist me in pinpointing their locations? Like I said, I saw in my vision, various planets. But no names, no coordinates. I intend to narrow that down with a massive search of every planetary database on the holonet. But if you could assist in pinpointing direction, that might help me in my search.”
“I actually know a bit more about your family than you think.” Twil replied sheepishly.
“What?” Rath asked, his blood running cold. “What do you mean?”
“Well, that time aboard the Immobilizer.” Twil replied coyly, “I saw more than you intended.”
“You went digging?” Rath asked, rage welling up within him.
“Not on purpose!” Twil said, holding his hands up in surrender, “I still don’t have a great grasp on all this Force stuff, it just sort of showed up.”
Rath’s rage cooled instantly as he realized all this was a moot point. He shook his head and said, “Doesn’t matter.”
“Whoa, wait, what?” Twil replied, his emotions running a gamut of surprise and confusion.
“If the better you know someone, the easier it is to find them. Then I’m willing to let you know them as well as I do.” Rath replied, shifting uncomfortably in the co-pilot’s chair.
“What are you saying?” Twil asked.
“I’m saying, you’ve got full access. Have at it. Search every memory I have if you wish. Get to know every one of my family. I’m lowering all mental defenses this one and only time.”
Twil couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but couldn’t deny the temptation. To be able to see within Rath’s mind, to truly understand it all would be an incredible experience. Something he’d been wanting to do for some time.
Realizing that Rath meant what he said, and was obviously bracing himself for the experience, Twil decided to act before the Chiss could change his mind.
Reaching out with the Force, Twil launched himself into Rath’s memories, breaking through the unusually sophisticated mental barriers that were normally impenetrable. Deciding to start from the beginning, Twil sought out Rath’s earliest memories.
He saw an incredibly young Chiss being tutored by a Chiss that he thought was a younger Nox. As with all of Rath’s species, Twil had trouble telling one Chiss from another. They all looked the same in his eyes. But through Rath’s mind, the distinctions were easier to point out.
Various other visions flashed before the Zeltron’s eyes. All of a very young boy being trained, tutored, and taught. Mostly by Nox, but also by other siblings. The big one, Thex, seemed to be often involved in Rath’s training, however, he was not nearly as gentle as Nox, often leaving Rath battered and beaten after combat training sessions. Others he’d come to know as Taven, Crystala, and Larunae would also assist in Rath’s training over time, but none so much as Nox. Nox seemed to Twil like a father, brother, and mentor all rolled into one for Rath, which would explain the incredibly close bond Rath felt towards the older Chiss.
Twil searched further, understanding the relationship Rath had with his other siblings. All fourteen of them. He was clearly closer to some than others. Although, in the Zeltron’s eyes, they all seemed particularly cold and distant as a species. All except for Rath’s sister, Larunae. She seemed unusually warm and caring. Twil lingered on Rath’s memories of her for quite a while.
He watched Rath’s memories of his parents. They were not nearly as close as Twil would have expected parents to be. He saw them often in meetings with other important looking Chiss, not really a huge part of Rath’s life. Yet, there was an undeniable pride in their actions when they did spend time with Rath.
He examined Rath’s relationship with Ar’alani. The woman seemed more like a high ranking officer addressing a soldier in her army, when she spoke with Rath, which wasn’t often.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Twil then decided to examine Rath’s home. It was, for lack of a better description, an opulent mansion, mixed with a gigantic office building. Which made the Zeltron chuckle, because it was exactly as he had imagined. There were grand entryways, and lavish rooms for various purposes, but also massive floors dedicated solely to combat training, stealth training, and live mission simulations. Rooms filled with computer terminals and other technological equipment that Twil could only guess at. Libraries full of datafiles. Living quarters. Recreational quarters. A gigantic kitchen, or rather, mess hall might have been a better term. And more Chiss than Twil could count. Rath usually only focused on his immediate family, but it was clear his extended family was even larger. Twil also noticed a vault of sorts, containing treasures, ancient weapons, more secured datafiles, and curiously, an ancient parchment made out of actual paper, sealed behind transparisteel. Whatever was written on the paper was literally alien to Twil, he couldn’t make out any of the elegant scrawls.
Deciding to get back on track, Twil sought out Rath’s proudest memory. He saw some sort of small ceremony, in which Rath was the center of attention, wearing a rather lavish uniform. Some of his family were present, and cheering proudly.
Twil then decided to seek out Rath’s worst memory of his childhood. He saw a young Rath failing some sort of crucial combat training. Thex was yelling at him in a language Twil couldn’t grasp. But the yelling didn’t seem angry, more frustrated and an attempt at motivation. It clearly wasn’t working though, as Rath was losing the fight, badly. Before it went any further, Nox stepped in and dragged Thex away. Rath was left on the ground, in tears, angry with himself. He then saw Larunae enter trying her best to console him.
Yes, Twil decided, he liked that one.
Twil then searched all of Rath’s memories to see if he’d ever fallen in love. He found no such evidence, saddening him greatly.
Fast forwarding, Twil watched the fall of Rath’s House, through Rath’s memories. He saw him conscripted in Zoroc’s service and his time spent with the Shistavanen pirate. He saw Zoroc forcing him to abandon ship, and Rath entering into Garalug’s service. Finally, he saw Rath running down a familiar dusty street, the vision snapped to an end as Twil saw himself, running into a run down cantina in Mos Shutta.
As Twil’s mind is sent reeling out of Rath’s and back to the present, he readjusted his sight, to focus on the Chiss sitting across from him in the cockpit. Tears were streaming down Rath’s face.
“Thorough, weren’t you?” Rath asked, staring down at the floor, “You’ve no idea how difficult that was for me.”
“I know.” Twil replied, solemnly.
“Find anything interesting?” Rath asked, still staring at the floor.
“Everything.” Twil replied, “I finally, really understand why you do what you’re doing. I understand that you feel like you owe your family everything. It’s like you owe them a life debt, and you’re determined to pay it back, because in your mind, you owe them everything. Everything you are. Everything you know. It’s because of them. And that’s why you’re so tireless in your search for them.”
Rath let out a hollow, humorless laugh, “You gain full access to every memory I have, and yet you still don’t understand. You misconstrue the word ‘love’ for ‘debt.’ I do not do what I do because of debt. I do it out of love.”
“I think our definitions of love are very different.” Twil replied, “Where I’m from, we love freely. We raise our children in the community, everyone helps each other, and no one owes anyone anything. We act out of love. And we have an infinite space for love and family. Family is not just blood. Family is anyone who we grow close to. You’re my family. Everyone aboard this ship is. Aklee, Gretta, Solomahal. They’re all family. But for you. No one but your blood is family in your eyes. And no one can replace them. And I find that incredibly sad.”
“Again, I think you misunderstand.” Rath said, shaking his head, still not looking the Zeltron in the eye.
“Maybe.” Twil said, still not able to fully wrap his head around it all. For all he’d seen, for all he knew of Rath, the Chiss were simply too alien in certain regards for Twil to fully grasp. But at the very least, he was grateful that he understood him better, if not fully.
“Thank you for at least letting me in.” Twil finally said, breaking the silence between them.
Rath nodded.
“I’ll do what I can to help. But first we need to get back to your base.”
“Right.” Rath said, wiping his face with his hands, “Well, we’re already en route.”
“Yeah, but it’ll take us two weeks to get back there, right?” Twil asked.
“Well, yeah. I mean, Twil, we’re in the Unknown Regions. Who knows how many light years away from any civilized planet. It’s going to take time.”
“Is there any way to move faster?” Twil asked, hopefully.
“Faster than hyperspace.” Rath stated more than asked.
“I mean, we both know time isn’t on our side. You need to do research, I need to figure out what to do about Aklee and the others. If we can get back faster, that would help everyone.” Twil goaded the Chiss.
Rath sighed, “You do realize the risks you’re putting on the ship and us if we try this?”
“If it was anyone but you, I wouldn’t ask.”
“The overheating alone would kill us all.” Rath started, “How do you expect us to supercool the ship?”
“What about the hot tub?” Twil asked excitedly as an idea formed in his head.
Rath stared at the Zeltron for a long moment, and sighed again, but Twil recognized the sigh of defeat, “Fine. But if we blow up, melt, or age rapidly into dust, I’m gonna kill you.” Rath said, heading out of the cockpit.
“Thanks buddy!” Twil yelled after him, turning his attention to the monumental task of piloting a ship that was about to break hyperspace.
“Hey everyone!” Twil called out over comms, “We’re heading back to Rath’s base to regroup and collect more information before we decide on the next course of action. But, we’re going to be getting there a little faster than normal, so… you might want to strap yourselves in so you don’t go flying into the walls or something.”
“Twil, what are you talking about?” Idozzi asked as she and Zanroy entered the cockpit.
“No time to explain.” Twil said, as he went to work overriding every saftey measure the Sovereign had in place. “Strap in and get ready for the ride of your lives!”
Zanroy followed the order and secured himself into one of the ship’s passenger chairs. Minutes after Twil had begun his prep, the ship finally took off. The familiar blue blur of hyperspace quickly shifted to a pure, blinding white light as the ship lurched through space at an unprecedented speed. Zanroy and the others were forced into the back of their chairs, unable to so much as move an inch against the tremendous gravitational force.
After a solid fifteen minutes, the ship’s gravity systems finally kicked in, allowing the crew to move around normally once more. With a breath of relief, Zanroy released the restraining belts and got up from his chair. As he glanced at the ship’s displays, the estimated time of arrival changed from two weeks to one and a half days.
“Unbelievable.” He muttered as he headed back to his room.
On his way, he realized two things. One, the ship was growing incredibly hot, the door to the spa was even glowing red. And two, there was an unusual amount of noise coming from the engine room as Rath seemed to be constantly tinkering and adjusting who knows what to keep the ship from tearing apart. Among the mechanical noises, there was also a near constant stream of shouts in a language he couldn’t understand. He could only assume they were Chiss profanities.
Shaking his head, Zanroy left the corridors and locked himself up in his room. Stripping down to his underwear, to weather the unbearable heat, he prepared for the thankfully short journey, and hoped they all made it out alive.
After what seemed like an eternity to Rath, the ship finally re-entered realspace. Unfortunately, at that exact moment is when everything in the ship powered down. The strain they had put on the Sovereign clearly drained every fuel tank on the ship. They were dead in the air.
Rushing to the cockpit, Rath could see Twil trying in vain to steer the ship through the tumultuous atmosphere of Brentaal IV’s frozen Northern hemisphere. The ship was so overheated it was melting the frigid air around it, only for it to refreeze, coating the ship in ice as it plummeted towards the surface. Rath watched as the ground came closer and closer into view, and he panicked as he realized where Twil was attempting to land. Directly below them was an array of solar panels Rath used to power his base.
“Damn it Twil! Not there! Not again!” Rath shouted.
The Chiss tried in vain to alter the ship’s course, but with no power there was nothing that could be done. As a last chance attempt, Rath jammed one of his mechanical arms into one of the ship’s power ports. Issuing a burst of electricity to the ship allowed him to make a last second correction, causing the ship to glide safely over the solar array. Before Rath could even breathe a sigh of relief, though, the ship finally touched ground, sending the entire crew tumbling to the ground or crashing into the ship’s interior walls.
“We did it!” Twil shouted happily.
Rath just rolled his eyes at the Zeltron’s giddy idiocy, got to his feet and headed towards the boarding ramp. With no power, he had to force the ramp open manually, but he was able to do so without much effort. He then made the trek back to the heavily concealed entrance to his base.
Once inside, he was revealed to see Nox and Axel were still safe. With all that had happened to Twil’s Good Trader, Rath was nervous about what he might find when he got back. Even though he knew this location was hidden to the point of perfection.
“It’s good to see you’ve returned safely, brother.” Nox said in greeting, walking up to Rath, “You have a message I think you should see.”
“What’s going on?” Twil asked, just entering the base with the others.
“Nox says I have a message.” Rath translated.
Wasting no time, he played the recording. The image of Aklee showed up on the holocom. “Twil, they’re here. Someone is here. I don’t know who they are, but they’ve stormed the Good Trader. They’re looking for me but I don’t know what to do! Rath, if you get this message, please relay it to Twil, I don’t have much-” Her sentence cut short as the sound of a door swooshing open interrupted her.
“There you are!” A strange gruff voice interrupted.
Aklee screamed as the holorecorder was dropped to the ground.
The recorder then showed the masked face of some unknown thug, a bounty hunter most likely. The feed then suddenly cut off.
“Twil, remember our conversation.” Rath said, hearing the Zeltron’s horrified gasp behind him, “Do not act rashly. Let’s gather more information before we rush headlong into a trap.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure.” Twil said, his voice shaking, “You get to work, I need to talk with Idozzi.”
Rath was pleased to hear the Zeltron agreeing with him, but he knew the calm right now was just a calm before the storm. He knew he wouldn’t get the time he needed. So he would have to work fast.
“Wait, so, how long is this going to take?” Zanroy asked.
“As long as it needs.” Rath answered.
“A day or two, max.” Twil countered.
Rath could see that Zanroy had a bundle of parts with him and could guess as to the reason. “If you wish to attempt to make a new lightsaber with that crystal we found, you may use one of the spare rooms.” He said, gesturing down a hallway.
“Great.” Zanroy said, disappearing down the hall.
“Now I can work.” Rath muttered to himself, noting that Twil and Idozzi were lost in conversation in the lounge area. Heading to his computer stations, Rath dug around until he found an incredibly old piece of equipment. He never thought he’d need it, but when the base was built, he made sure that his base was prepared for any eventuality, and that eventuality had finally arrived.
Hooking up the machine to one of his computers, Rath inserted the ancient datatape and held his breath as words began to fill in the screen. The language was familiar, yet strange. It took Rath a minute to realize that the words were written in an ancient Cheunh dialect.
After a short time, Rath was able to decipher the ancient text, reading, “To those who dare defy the colonies: swiftly may death overpower and their kindred may not live through generations. Long live the Ascendancy.”
“What the hell?” Rath muttered, “Nox, am I misreading this?”
Nox joined Rath and read the text himself, “What is this?” He asked.
“I found it on that planet.” Rath explained, “It was clutched in the mummified hand of someone wearing this.” He then produced the incredibly ancient cloth sporting the symbol of the Chiss Ascendancy.
“Is there anything more?” Nox asked, curious.
“I’ll have to rework the tape.” Rath said, recognizing that the datatape’s casing was simply too old.
Carefully dismantling the ancient artifact, Rath took the tape from it’s casing and hand fed it into the old machine.
“It’s going to take time to process.” Rath said, disappointed.
Nox nodded, and said, “Then you’d best move on to other tasks. Your pink friend looks like he’s ready to blow.”
Rath glanced over towards Twil. He was deep in conversation with Idozzi about his latest business venture ideas, but he could see the strain underneath the facade.
Shaking his head, he returned to his work. He got more than just an old tape from the latest excursion after all. Producing the Imperial datapad he had swiped from the Imperial Twil had hypnotized, Rath sliced into it, easily. Unfortunately, the information was sparse at best. Not what he was hoping to find on an Imperial in the Unknown Regions.
The datapad had information on troop positions and numbers. Various references to Project Aura but absolutely no mention of what Project Aura was. Warnings to evacuate the planet. Orders to report back to “the Admiral.” And orders to assist in protecting and defending “the route.”
“Well, that was incredibly unhelpful.” Rath said, tossing the datapad over his shoulder.
With a deep breath, he focused on his next task. Hooking his implant up directly with the computers in his base, he uploaded the information he received in his vision, and then attempted to do a reverse image search across the entirety of the holonet to see if any planetary database records matched the planets he saw.
Only after the fact did he realize the planet he saw with Ar’alani was Csilla. He didn’t need to do a search on that. Another dead lead. He wasn’t going to Csilla anytime soon. And Rath doubted she would still be there, anyway. So instead he attempted the others. The only planet that he found any sort of information on was the one that had shown Thex in an Imperial concentration camp. It was a jungle planet. But besides that, there simply wasn’t enough information for him to go on.
“Damn it!” Rath shouted, slamming his fist against one of the terminal’s keys. He was hoping for something, anything. And he was finding little to nothing. That trip to the dying planet seemed more and more like a complete waste of time.
“Rath?” Nox asked, approaching him once more.
“I can’t do it.” Rath muttered just audible enough for Nox to hear him, although he knew the others wouldn’t be able to understand what he was saying, even if he shouted it, “I can’t find them. I thought I finally might have had some leads, and I’m coming up with nothing. I feel like I’ve been chasing ghosts for eight years now, and I’m sick of it. The only good thing I’ve accomplished in this entire time was rescuing you, and that was just a fluke more than anything. It’s like, no matter what I try, I can’t make any headway.”
“Ah, ch’ith vuhn.” Nox replied, using the nickname Thex used to call Rath by, “You give yourself, and your friends too little credit. This isn’t easy for you, and it’s not easy for them. As you told me, they’re all searching for something, and if you’re correct in believing they’re all connected, perhaps you should follow their paths to lead you to yours.”
Rath was dumbfounded at Nox’s calm. How he wasn’t just as aggravated or not more so than Rath was beyond his understanding. But he saw the wisdom in his words. There was a chance that by following leads unrelated to his own family, that they would still lead towards the same goal. It was then that he remembered what Idozzi had said, seeing some Muun being forced to concoct the neurotoxin in her vision. And he had recently learned that a Muun had been captured by the Empire. A Muun he was familiar with, in a sense.
“Thank you, brother.” He said to Nox.
Walking over to his comm terminal, Rath attempted to contact an old client, one he never suspected to see again. As the call was answered, the image of an Arkanian Offshoot appeared over the holoterminal.
“Verin Psi.” Rath greeted him.
“Red-eye?” Verin asked, surprised and suspicious.
Rath ignored the misunderstanding of his name, figuring one code name was as good as any other. “Hello Verin, I’m contacting you to inquire about one of your, I’m assuming former, compatriots, Morrow Cantillis.”
“Morrow? He left after all that business on Dathomir was completed.” Verin replied, “And to be quite frank, I’m glad to be rid of him. Guy was a colossal pain in the butt.”
“Hey! Morrow was a good guy!” Rath could hear another voice call out in the background. He could only assume it was Akory Zaal, the Togruta that was always with Verin.
“So you have no idea where he went or what became of him?” Rath asked, disheartened.
“I think he went home to Muunilist.” Verin replied scratching his chin in thought, “Why do you ask?”
“Because he’s been captured by the Empire.” Rath replied, “It might also interest you to know that the Empire is keeping tabs on the two of you as well.”
“Wait, what? Why?” Verin asked, panicked.
“I’ve no real idea.” Rath said, “But I suspect Morrow was taken so they could force him to work on Project Aura.”
“Wait! Project Aura?!” Verin replied, “Draven said my wife and child were taken for Project Aura! What do you know about it?”
“Not enough.” Rath replied, irritated.
“You know something Red-eye!” Verin accused, “You know something about it or you wouldn’t bring it up!”
“I don’t know anything!” Rath almost shouted, “I have a million suspicions, but no facts! I think it may involve mind control. I think it may have something to do with slavery or creating an army of cybernetic warriors. I think it may involve the creation of weapons capable of planetary destruction. I believe it involves a number of planets spread throughout the galaxy each with Imperial concentration camps containing its victims. But I don’t know any of that for sure.”
“What planets?” Verin demanded, “Look, I’m willing to help out on this. You give me a planet and I will comb it from top to bottom if I have to.”
“I’m willing to help too!” Akory called out.
“I don’t have any coordinates.” Rath said.
“Just give me a name, anything!” Verin pleaded.
“The only thing I know for sure is that one of them is a jungle planet.”
“That’s it?”
“Look, Psi, when I said I don’t know anything, I wasn’t spouting hyperbole.” Rath spat, getting irritated with the Arkanian Offshoot, “If I know something, I’ll tell you, but until then I-” He cut his sentence short as he got an idea. “Give me an hour. I may have coordinates for you by then.”
“Done.” Verin replied.
Rath then cut the comm.
“What was that all about?” Twil asked, breaking himself away from his conversation with Idozzi.
“Former client, guy knows Draven apparently. Guess they’re the same species or something.” Rath said dismissively, “More importantly, one of his former friends is the Muun in Idozzi’s vision. Or at least, I suspect he is. He’s also got family tied up in Project Aura. I’m beginning to think Project Aura’s just meant to tear families apart.”
“So, who are they?” Twil asked, again.
“Like I said, former clients. Based out of some backwater hole on Spintir, in the Outer Rim. They needed information on some Imperial Inquisitor and I provided it for them. Not sure what they were doing chasing after a former Inquisitor/Dathomiri Witch, but that’s none of my concern.” Rath said with a shrug.
He then headed over to Vex, who was currently attempting to clean up the lounge area, and doing a fairly poor job of it. “Vex.” He said.
“Yes, Master Rath.” The droid replied, standing to attention.
“Do you recall some time ago I went into your databanks and erased some memories of your time working for Teemo?”
“Seeing as you wiped the databanks, I, by logic, cannot remember that, Master Rath.” Vex replied.
Rath stared at the droid, annoyed, before continuing, “I didn’t erase the memory of doing that, though.”
The droid simply stared blankly at Rath in return.
“Anyway…” Rath continued, “I need to get back in there. I think there are datafiles stored in you that I had missed previously.”
“How can I help, Master Rath?”
“Allow me to access your memory banks once more, so I can try to find the files I missed earlier.”
“But how could you find something you’ve already erased?” The droid asked.
“I only erased what I found.” Rath replied, losing his patience, “If I never found it, I never erased it.”
“How can I help, Master Rath?” The droid repeated.
“Just let me access your memory banks!” Rath was shouting now, losing all cool.
“Certainly Master Rath, how may I assist you in that?” Vex replied.
Rath stared up at the ceiling beyond frustrated, and said, “That’s it.” He then reached around Vex and manually powered him down.
He could then hear Axel off to the side, mumbling, “Namby-pamby prissy protocol droids…”
“Tell me about it.” Rath muttered back, hooking up his implant directly to Vex.
Rath now knew that Vex was originally Doc Barris’s droid, not Teemo’s. He also knew that Teemo had stored more information in Vex than Rath had originally found. Armed with this knowledge, Rath went digging through every memory bank and datafile in the droid.
It didn’t take long before he had found soome overwritten sectors in the droids memory banks. The files had been intentionally, but sloppily deleted. With a little work, Rath was able to patch the data back together. He had found records of Vex’s original registration, which was covered in Imperial bureaucracy. Files containing a chemical compound that was very similar to the neurotoxin Rath knew all too well. And also files marking severe trauma and repair, all done through some unsanctioned black market slicer. Again, sloppy work. Finally, Rath found a decryption key hidden away in the mess of half destroyed data.
“Got you.” Rath said, triumphantly.
Disconnecting from the droid, Rath returned to his terminals and pulled up the files he had stolen from Teemo’s palace. Making use of the newfound decryption keys, he was able to access information he had never before seen in the files. Two planetary coordinates. One was the jungle planet the crew had infiltrated so many years ago. The other was an unknown. It was not on any official record in the holonet.
Armed with this new information, he contacted Verin Psi once more.
“I have two coordinates for you to search.” Rath said, “Both are planets not on any official record. One is a jungle planet we had investigated years ago, but it’s possible more has happened there since then. The second is a complete unknown.”
“We’ll check ’em out.” Verin promised.
Rath nodded, and cut the comm.
“Mind if I make some calls?” Twil asked.
“Go for it.” Rath replied, “I need to start working on R5’s repairs anyway. It’s my hope that once I get him working again, he’ll have some information for us. I think there’s a reason he couldn’t remember anything. And I think what he knows could prove vital to all of this.”
“Good luck with that.” Twil replied. He thought Rath’s obsession over the droid was a wasted effort. There was no guarantee that it would still be R5 if he got it working again. And that was a big if, in the first place. But he had bigger issues to deal with than Rath’s misguided efforts.
He first made a call to Gretta’s Armory. The call rang and rang, but no one answered. He had almost given up when finally someone answered. Except, it wasn’t Gretta. It was some masked bounty hunter.
“What do you want?” The bounty hunter sneered.
“Who is this?” Twil demanded.
“Psh, I could say the same to you.”
“What are you doing in Gretta’s shop?” Twil demanded again.
“Gretta’s shop? Gretta’s shop?! This here place is my shop now.” The bounty hunter replied haughtily.
“What are you doing there?” Twil asked.
“Oh, you wanna see?” The bounty hunter asked, he then swiveled the feed to show the shop proper. It had been thoroughly trashed. It also showed a few other hunters, all sporting the same mark on their shoulders. A mark Twil recognized easily. The mark of the Zann Consortium.
“Oh, so you trashed the place, good job.” Twil replied, “But what have you done with Gretta?”
“Oh, she’s right were she needs to be.” The bounty hunter replied.
“Look, I’ve got Zann on the other line, and he wants to know hwat you’ve done with Gretta. I know he hired you lot to capture her, so where is she?” He lied.
“Wha? You know Zann?” The bounty hunter asked, “Psh, doesn’t matter, we already got paid. I don’t care what Zann says now. Gretta’s taken care of.”
Twil could see he wasn’t going to get anywhere with these thugs. But he knew one thing for certain, if they had Gretta or killed her, they would have said that outright. The fact that they were evading his questions made him think that she was still safe. At least, safe from them.
“Right, well, It’s been a pleasure talking with you gentlemen. Oh, before I go, I must warn you, don’t press the big red button under the main counter, there, okay?”
“Wha? This button here?” The hunter asked.
Twil could tell he had indeed pushed it, as the sound of a dozen hidden turrets materializing could be heard over the comm. The feed cut out just as the sound of bolts firing and screaming started. And Twil smiled to himself, smugly.
“Alright, next call.” He said to himself.
Zanroy had been in the spare room for hours, meditating and focusing in on the Force. He would craft a lightsaber with his own power. He would not fail this time. Expunging all negative emotions from his mind and body, he focused solely on the Force.
After literally hours of focusing the parts before him slowly started to rise in the air. To his shock, the crystal rose in the air as well. As if being handle by the most skilled hands in the galaxy, the parts formed around the crystal, fitting perfectly, as if made for each other. And before he knew it, in his hands was a fully functional lightsaber.
Hesitantly, Zanroy ignited the blade. With a triumphant shout, he jumped to his feet. The blade was a pure white. Not red, not bleeding, not dark. He had finally succeeded. What’s more, the blade truly felt like it was his, an extension of himself. Not a mere weapon, but like an extra, yet crucial appendage.
There was no answer at Solomahal’s shop on Cloud City. That was either a very good thing, or a very bad thing.
Twil racked his brain trying to think of some way he could confirm whether his friend was alright or not. It was then that inspiration struck like lightning. Making another call, this one was answered almost immediately.
“Captain Twil?! It that you?!” Merl Terll asked, answering the call.
Twil almost couldn’t believe that the man in the holo was the same person. He was dressed in lavish clothing and adorned with jewelry made from only the most precious metals.
“Merl! Old buddy!” Twil greeted his old friend and racing partner, “It’s so good to see you again!”
“Is that Twil?” Another voice called out. Soon enough, Babs Terll appeared alongside Merl, also dressed in lavish finery, “Well hey there darlin’! Long time no see!”
“Babs!” Twil greeted her, grateful but not surprised by the woman’s sudden shift in attitude towards him. After all he clearly made them rich beyond their wildest dreams.
Twil couldn’t help but feel a rush of emotion seeing old friends that were actually doing well, “It’s bee too long you two, how have you been?!”
“Oh we’re doin’ just fine, Captain Twil.” Merl replied, smiling widely.
“Course, them stormtroopers haven’t been making it easy.” Babs added.
“Stormtroopers?” Twil asked, concerned.
“Oh yeah.” Merl replied, “Dang blasted Empire’s all over Cloud City these days. Don’t cause much trouble, really, but they scare away the tourists, y’know?”
“I hear ya.” Twil replied, “Look, there’s actually a reason I called. Do you know about Solomahal? He runs a clothing store there on Cloud City. I do a lot of business with him.”
“Oh, sure, that Lutrillian down in the financial district.” Merl replied.
“RIght!” Twil continued, “See, I’ve been trying to get a hold of him, but he’s not answering any of my comms. Do you guys think you could head over there and see if he’s okay?”
“Sure thing, hon.” Babs replied, “We’ll head over there this afternoon.”
“That would be great!” Twil replied.
“We’ll be in touch soon, Captain Twil!” Merl said, before ending the call.
Twil leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath, considering what to do next. “What do you think, Rath? Should I call Zann and demand an explanation of his actions?” He called out to the Chiss who was arm deep in droid at this point.
“Huh?” Rath replied, not taking his eyes off the droid. “Why would you call Zann? Call Venlana. At least she might give you the time of day. If Tyber Zann really is behind the attacks on your company, I don’t think he’d be willing to chat.”
“Good point.” Twil conceded. He then stared at the holotermianl and said, “I have no idea how to get in touch with her though.”
Rath sighed, and set down his tools. “Axel, get me Otto Dane.”
“On it, boss.” Axel replied, taking over the holoterminal from Twil, pushing his chair out of view.
“Hey!” Twil protested, but did nothing more.
Before Twil’s eyes, Rath used the flesh camouflage system to change himself into a Devaronian. No matter how many times he witnessed it, it still creeped him out.
In seconds, the call was answered, showing a human male with a mohawk.
“Greetings, Otto.” Rath said.
“Greetings.” Otto replied.
“I was hoping you could help me contact someone there on Saelucami, Venlana Sipal.”
“Oh, right, the one who took down the Pirate Queen.” Otto replied, “Shouldn’t be too hard. Course, it’ll take time.”
“I don’t have much time to spare, Otto.”
“Then it’ll take credits.” Otto shrugged.
Rath looked over to Twil, for confirmation.
Twil nodded.
Rath then returned to the holo, “The usual rate then.”
“The usual rate.” Otto nodded.
“Credits have been transferred.” Rath replied.
“Always a pleasure.” Otto said, nodding again.
Rath nodded, then ended the call. “He’ll get back to us within 24 hours.” He said, reverting back to his normal form.
“That long?” Twil complained.
“That’s fast in this business, Twil.” Rath shrugged, going back to his work.
“That’s it, I can’t put it off any more.” Twil said, jumping to his feet, “I’m calling Irbian.”
“Twil, you should wait, we should gather all the information we can first.” Rath chided him, “Like I told you earlier, you rush into this then we lose any chance of handling this on our terms.”
“He has Aklee!” Twil replied, “You saw the messages! She’s in trouble. I won’t just abandon her.”
Before Rath could argue further, Twil made the holocall to Irbian. It did not take long for the slimeball to answer.
“Ah, Captain Twil. Thank you so much for returning my call.” Irbian answered, He was full of confidence, and he had Saral Aenet at his side. He was clutching her arm, but it didn’t seem like she could escape even if she wanted to. She was bloodied and bruised. It was a miracle she was even able to stand, from the looks of it.
“Why have you attacked my businesses and taken Aklee?” Twil asked.
“You have something that belongs to me, just like I have something that belongs to you.” Irbian replied.
“Wait, I’m confused, what do I have of yours?” Twil asked, feigning ignorance, “I don’t even know you. How could I possibly have anything that belongs you?”
“Please don’t play games with me, Captain Twil.” Irbian replied.
“Who’s playing games?” Twil asked, “What do I have of yours?”
“You know very well of what I speak. Now if you wish this girl to continue living, you will show it to me.” Irbian then pulled out a gun with his free hand, and pointed it at Saral.
“Who, her?” Twil asked, “I don’t care about her at all. If you’re trying to threaten me, that’s not exactly a strong bargaining chip.” For once, the Zeltron was speaking truthfully.
“Show it to me, Captain.”
“Show what?”
“Show me the holocron!” Irbian shouted, losing his cool, but quickly recovering.
“The holo-what?” Twil asked, “Oh! You mean that box I found on her ship?” Twil asked, producing the holocron. “This is what all the fuss is about? Why do you care so much about this?”
“It is mine! And you stole it from me!” Irbian replied.
“Hold on. I didn’t steal anything form you. As I understand it, she took this from you, and I took it from her as payment fro rescuing her life. If it weren’t for me, she’d be dead, and your little holobox thingy would have been destroyed.”
“I’m tired of playing games, Captain. You will deliver the holocron to me.”
“Hold up. If I just hand over the box, without any sort of compensation, how is that fair? You ransacked my offices, kidnapped my employee. That’s a lot of credits lost on my part. Now if you’re willing to compensate me on that, then I’ll happily deliver this box back to you.”
“You are in no position to negotiate, Zeltron.” Irbian replied. Then, without warning, he pulled the trigger on his blaster, killing Saral Aenet dead. “If you do not wish for your precious employee to meet the same fate, you will arrive at my palace on Cato Nemoidia by tomorrow, with the holocron.”
“Tomorrow? I’m at least a week’s journey out from Cato Nemoidia.” Twil lied again.
“Then you have one week. Any longer than that, and the girl dies.” Irbian replied, he then cut off the call before Twil could say any more.
“Twil… I warned you, time and time again, to wait. Now you’ve set a deadline. We could have spent the next few days or even weeks planning, and preparing. now we have days at best.” Rath said, annoyed.
“Rath, I’m going insane here, you expect me to just wait, while I know where Aklee is?” Twil asked, compeltely on edge, “If you had the coordinates for one of your missing family, can you honestly tell me you wouldn’t rush headlong into danger to rescue them?”
“I’ve been waiting patiently for eight years! I would have taken the time to prepare, at the very least. I would try my best not to play into the enemy’s hand!” Rath shot back. “But what’s done is done. All we can hope to do now is salvage the situation.”
“We’ve been in worse positions, and we’ve always come out fine.” Twil offered.
“Yeah, fine. Give me until at least tomorrow. Let me finish what I’ve started at least. I think I have an idea, anyway. But it’s gonna take time. With any luck, not too much time…”
