The Captive, the Crystal, and the Clone
Chapter V | Episode VII | 2/7/2020
“Secure the prisoner, secure the ship. We’ve got the intruder.” The lead stormtrooper could be heard shouting over his comlink.
Zanroy had taken cover behind some rather large intake vents on the roof of the small barracks. During his entire time scouting out the place, he hadn’t seen a single trooper enter or exit the small bunker, so he was quite shocked to see the nearly two dozen guards suddenly spill out of the place. Still, he wasn’t terribly worried. Pulling from his pocket, his last thermal detonator, he eyed the small sphere in his hands. Touching the deadly weapon to his lips, for luck, he chucked the silver ball of destruction over his shoulder. Using the Force to guide its path, the explosion sounded, shaking the building.
“Did I get em all?!” Zanroy shouted over his comlink to Rath.
Rath watched in stunned silence as the tightly packed group of soldiers had just been rendered to burnt chunks of flesh and armor. He was about to respond, when he saw Zanroy get back to his feet. He was looking out on the destruction, completely unaware of the sole stormtrooper that had somehow materialized on the roof behind him.
Rath was about to comm back to warn the Human of the danger he was in, when Zanroy took his lightsaber hilt in hand, thrust it up behind his shoulder, and ignited it, driving the blade straight through the head of the unsuspecting stormtrooper.
“Now you did.” Rath muttered to himself, unaccustomed to seeing the former bounty hunter in such control of the situation.
With the immediate threat dealt with, Rath made his way toward the back of the bunker, where the impound lot hangar was supposedly located, according to the schematics he had acquired from Irbian’s datapad.
“Don’t shoot!” Twil yelled, raising his hands in the air as a sign of peace.
The droidekas remained stationary, just in front of the two, preventing them from getting any further into the Sankar Palace.
“Look, we don’t want any trouble. We just need to get past here.” Twil continued, trying his best to somehow charm a droid.
As he inched closer into the building, making his way toward the sole turbolift that he could see, the droidekas seemed to ready their weapons, training their sights on the Zeltron.
“Okay! Okay.” Twil said, backing away slowly. Much to his relief, this seemed to cause the droids to relax, if ever so slightly.
“Well, now what?” Idozzi asked.
“I don’t know.” Twil muttered, “We need Rath and Zanroy here.”
Twil watched as Idozzi pulled out her commlink and contacted Rath, “Rath, what do you know about droidekas?”
There was a rather long silence on the other end, but eventually he responded, “Well, I’ve never encountered one myself, but from what I’ve read they were widely feared during the Clone Wars, and rightly so. They were built to annihilate entire squadrons, even capable of taking on small tanks.” There was another pause before he continued, “I know I’m going to regret asking this, but, why do you want to know?”
“Because there’s three of them down here staring us down, blasters ready.” Idozzi replied, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Another long silence followed, before Rath responded, “Get out of there. The two of you versus three of those war machines? You stand no chance.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Idozzi replied, switching off her comlink, she then turned back to Twil, “Well?”
“We can’t leave.” Twil protested, “I know the crystal is down there. I’m not going to just give up now.”
“Then we fight.” Idozzi replied, readying her blaster.
Twil nodded in response.
The two lined themselves up against the walls srrounding the open entrance to the Palace, and agreed that on the count of three, they would take simultaneous shots at the first of the three droids. If that one was taken down, then at least they stood a chance at rushing past the other two to get to the turbolift.
“One.” Twil sounded off.
“Two.” Idozzi continued.
“Three!” The two shouted together.
The two flung themselves into the entryway, and took their hasty shots.
Much to Twil’s pleasure, his strike landed true. But the bolt did not seem to phase the droideka much at all. At the same time, he heard Idozzi cursing his name. In his eagerness, he had inadvertently knocked into Idozzi, screwing up her aim, missing the mark.
Upon this sudden hostility, the droidekas activated their shields, and began opening fire on the two, quite literally. Flames spewed forth from the terrible droids.
Thinking quickly, Twil made use of his cortosis weave jacket like a shield, blocking the brunt of the damage. Unfortunately, Idozzi was not so lucky or as well armored. Consumed by the flames Idozzi let out a shriek of pain, before passing out.
“Idozzi!” Twil cried out, dragging her back to the relative safety behind the wall of the palace. Luckily, it seemed the droidekas were content to stand guard within the palace, so they did not give chase.
“Crap…” Twil said, gingerly handling the unconscious Twi’lek.
An idea born of desperation then struck him, handling his comlink, he contacted Rackett, who surely had to be nearby by now, “Hey, Rackett, buddy, where are you?”
Rackett beeped out his response. The comlink translated the noise to say that he was flying over the Undercity, as ordered.
“Awesome.” Twil replied, “Look, I need you to get to the entrance of Sankar Palace. Idozzi and I are here, and we need a lift.
Rackett booped out an affirmative, and within seconds, the Sovereign appeared overhead.
Understanding that there was no safe area to land within the dilapidated city, Twil took control of the ship with his datapad, and did his best to get the ship as low as possible.
Once it was within reasonable range, Twil opened the boarding ramp, took Idozzi in his arms, and leapt up towards the ramp.
“Master Twil! Mistress Idozzi!” Vex called out upon seeing the duo enter.
“See what you can do for her.” Twil said, handing the Twi’lek off to the med droid.
“Yes, Captain.” Vex said, carrying the unconscious Twi’lek off to the ship’s makeshift medbay.
“New plan.” Twil said to himself. Taking control of the ship from the cockpit, Twil flew to the very bottom of the Sankar Palace. Following the energy emanating from the data crystal, he could tell that it was located at the very tip of the inverted spire.
Upon reaching the top? Bottom? Twil wasn’t sure how to describe this strange upside down city. But he knew he had reached his destination. The darkness that he had felt form the beginning was all the more prominent here. It was incorporeal, but he could sense it was there. What’s more, he could sense all was not as it seemed, much like in the temple from the shattered planet they had just come from.
Using the Force, he could see through whatever illusion was there. Although there was no physical cloud of darkness present, whatever had been lifted, made everything seem clearer.
Twil shook his head, lamenting the fact that there was so much about the Force that he still did not understand. Elaiza had hardly been a thorough teacher, and with all the other Jedi dead, this data crystal may be his only chance to truly understand these powers better.
With the immediate threat outside eliminated, Zanroy decided now would be the ample time to enter the barracks, and finally find Aklee. Making use of the open hatchway that his latest attack had used in a pathetic attempt to sneak up behind him, Zanroy dropped down into what appeared to be nothing more than a utility closet.
The door to the closet was left open, and Zanroy could see a narrow, curving hallway ahead. Without a trooper in sight, Zanroy headed down the hall. As he reached another door, this one closed, he was suddenly grabbed from behind. His right arm was twisted behind his back in an aggressively string hold, and he felt the unmistakable jab of a blaster pistol being pressed into his back.
“I don’t want to hurt you, boy.” An old man’s voice whispered into Zanroy’s ear, “Tell me what I want to know and you’ll live.”
Zanroy rolled his eyes, but decided to pay along, “Alright, what is it you want to know?”
“Are you with them?” The old man asked.
“Them? You mean the people responsible fro the trouble outside?” Zanroy asked.
The blaster pressed harder into Zanroy’s back, “I don’t give a damn about that!” The old man hissed, “Are you with Suljo Warde?”
Rath had reached the hangar, but found that it had been completely locked down. Unsurprising, considering the state of emergency the Imperial Palace was in at the moment. But annoying all the same, seeing as the control panel to the hangar was now sealed away behind a ten foot thick durasteel blast door.
Rath sighed in annoyance, and looked over to the adjoining barracks, noting that the walls of the structure were much less protected, made of simple duracrete mixed with plasteel.
Taking hold of his goo gun, Rath activated an acidic cartridge and drew a large circle into the wall of the bunker.
After waiting a few minutes, the acidic goo did its job, and the section of wall crumbled onto the ground. Gingerly stepping through, Rath found himself in the holding cells of the barracks. The place was seemingly deserted. No doubt due to the chaos outside. As he walked casually down the hallway, Rath noticed only a single individual held within the holding cells, a beaten and bloodied, slumped over Rodian. Noting that it was clearly not Aklee, Rath continued on.
But if Aklee wasn’t in the holding cells, then where could she be? Rath thought to himself. Checking the newly acquired datapad’s schematics once more, Rath found an unusual marking. Something that wasn’t officially part of the barracks but connected all the same.
Following the schematics, Rath found himself in the barracks’ refreshers. Dodging a half naked stormtrooper who had just emerged from the showers (what he was doing showering during this time of crisis and lockdown was anyone’s guess…), Rath reached the end of the hallway, where there stood a small control panel.
Rath smiled as he hacked into the device with ease. Most of the paths led to uninteresting or unimportant commands for the barracks, but Rath was able to find two items of note, access to the hangar, and access to some sort of secret VIP prisoner holding cell.
“Hmm.” Rath mused to himself.
He first unlocked the hangar bay, which was followed by the entire barracks shuddering as the he could hear the blast doors lift and the blast canopy slowly open up once more.
He then unlocked the access to this secret holding cell. Much to his surprise, the very wall before him opened, revealing a secret pathway leading further down into blackness.
Knowing his own priorities, he commed Zanroy informing him of where Aklee was most likely being held, and headed back the way he came toward the hangar.
Reaching the impound lot hangar was a strange, albeit unexpected experience. The place was deserted. Except for the Purple Pearl, docked there, looking as ludicrous as the day Twil had painted it. Unfortunately, it was also sporting some new footwear. Each of the three landing feet had placed upon it, a heavy grade electromagnetic docking clamp.
Glancing around the impound lot, it was clear that whatever controlled the clamps was not here. “Guess we do this the hard way.” Rath sighed, calling to life his extra mechanical arms.
“I don’t want to hurt you, boy!” The old man hissed again, “Now tell me what I want to know! Do you know Suljo Warde?”
“In a sense, yes.” Zanroy replied.
“What the hell does that mean?” The old man asked, putting pressure on Zanroy’s caught arm.
“It means that I know of him.” Zanroy replied.
“How?” The old man pressed.
Zanroy shook his head, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Zanroy could feel his arm straining even further as the old man responded, “Try me!”
“Alright, fine.” Zanroy replied, “My companions and I have a special, magic box that contains a part of Suljo Warde’s consciousness within it.”
“Are you trying to make me shoot you?!” The old man hissed, “Tell me the truth!”
Having had enough, Zanroy reached out with the Force and flung the old man into a nearby wall pinning him to it, causing his blaster to scatter across the floor.
“That is the truth.” Zanroy replied, looking upon the man for the first time. He certainly was an old man, wearing the armor of a stormtrooper. But his armor was the most tattered, broken down armor Zanroy had ever seen. “Who are you anyway?” He continued.
The old man let out a hollow laugh, “What kind of fool question is that? You never seen a stormtrooper before?”
“Aren’t you a little old for a stormtrooper?” Zanroy countered.
The old man spat, and said, “Please, just tell me what I want to know. How do you know Suljo Warde?”
“I already told you, we have some sort of box that somehow has his consciousness contained within it.” Zanroy replied.
“Do you know where Suljo Warde is?”
“No.”
The old man seemed a bit crestfallen, “I need to speak with him. That’s all I want. If you can take me to him, I can make sure you get out of here alive. Like I said, I don’t want to hurt you.”
Zanroy looked at the old man, and felt a slight twang of pity. He seemed genuine in his request, “If you help me find my friend and our ship, then I’ll let you see what little I know of Warde.”
Just then, Zanroy’s comms lit up with a message from Rath detailing his findings of the secret prison hold.
“We have a deal? Or am I going to have to take you out right here?” Zanroy asked.
The old man got to his feet and replied, “Deal. As long as you’re with me, none of the other troopers will give you any trouble.”
Zanroy cocked an eyebrow at this, finding such a claim to be less than believable, but stepped aside regardless, and let the old man lead the way.
Much to his shock, the old man was apparently telling the truth. The two had no issue traversing the barracks, despite multiple troopers running past them from time to time. None of them even seemed to have looked Zanroy’s way. If nothing else, this certainly seemed to be the easier option as opposed to his original plan.
Eventually the two made it to the secret holding cell. There, unconscious and in a stasis field was Aklee. The room was otherwise empty, and the control panel was left unlocked.
“Well, that was easy.” Zanroy said, mostly to himself, as he went to power down the stasis field.
“What are you doing?” The old trooper asked, “That’s a dangerous rebel criminal!”
“She’s my friend, and the whole reason I’m here.” Zanroy replied, “If you want to see Suljo Warde, you’re just going to have to deal with that.”
The old man said nothing but was weary all the same.
Once Aklee was free, Zanroy lugged her over his shoulder, and said, “Where to?”
“Hangar’s this way.” The old man said, opening another door within the secret room.
Rath had sinished his work with the docking clamps, managing to even salvage two of them, along with a couple transponders that had been shabbily hidden on the Pearl.
Being within the old ship brought back a slew of unpleasant memories. The early years of his adventures with this rag tag crew had been harsh, and he was in no mood to revisit those painful moments. Luckily, his train of thought was broken when he saw Zanroy, carrying Aklee, enter the hangar bay. His spirits were dashed quite quickly though when he saw that Zanroy was being accompanied by a stormtrooper of all people.
He rushed to the boarding ramp of the ship. Just as Zanroy entered, the old man was stepping onto the ramp. Wasting no time, Rath let loose a shot of adhesive goo. the white sticky substance entangled the old man, wrapping him up like the web of a rakazzak beast, the webbing also caused the old man to fall flat on his face, the goo pinning him there, unable to move.
“What the hell is going on?! Get this crap off of me!” The old man began to protest.
“Who is this?” Rath asked Zanroy in a hushed whisper, still stealthed, “What are you thinking letting a stormtrooper on the Pearl?!”
“He said he knew Suljo Warde.” Zanroy replied, as the old man continued to yell in protest.
“So?!” Rath replied, “He’s a stormtrooper!”
“He helped me get through the barracks and rescue Aklee.” Zanroy replied, “I told him I’d show him the holocron in return for his help.”
“I’m not letting any Imperial anywhere near my base. So you’d better deal with him before we regroup.” Rath hissed.
“I’ll take care of it.” Zanroy said in Rath’s general direction, unable to see him, himself.
“See that you do.” Rath replied, “I’m heading back to my ship.”
Twil was just about to lower the boarding ramp of the Sovereign, when he received a call from Rath over comms, “Twil, Aklee and the Pearl have been secured.”
“Yes! Excellent work!” Twil replied, overjoyed.
“But there is a problem.” Rath interrupted, “Zanroy has decided to bring along a new Imperial friend.”
“What?” Twil asked, confused beyond reason.
“He’s just a stormtrooper.” Zanroy cut in, “He helped me free Aklee. He said he knows Suljo Warde. I agreed to show him the holocron, in exchange for his help getting Aklee and myself out.”
Twil listened to the explanation, but could also hear the protests of an old man coming from somewhere else in the distance over Zanroy’s comms.
“And where is he now?” Twil asked.
“Well, at the moment, he’s stuck to the Pearl’s boarding ramp, thanks to Rath being trigger happy with his little toy.” Zanroy explained.
Twil couldn’t help but chuckle, whether this stormtrooper was a threat or not, he wouldn’t be going anywhere for quite a while, so, if nothing else, Zanroy, Aklee, and the Pearl were in no immediate danger.
“I won’t allow him anywhere near my base.” Rath cut in, “If you want to do business with this old man, you’ll have to do it elsewhere.”
Twil knew that Rath would never relent on this issue, so he asked, “Is there somewhere we can all regroup before heading back to your HQ?”
Rath was silent for a moment, and then said, “Meet at these coordinates. It’s just a barren asteroid in the middle of nowhere. We can dock up, take care of this hitch, and then figure out what to do from there.”
Twil read the coordinates sent to him and said, “Sounds good, Zanroy, you should head out now. I want Aklee and the Pearl as far away from here as possible. Rath, stick around. We haven’t found the data crystal yet, and we may need back up.”
“Let me know.” Rath replied, ending the call.
Feeling invigorated by the news of Aklee and the Pearl’s safety, Twil refocused his sites on the task at hand. But was interrupted once more.
“You’re not going without me, are you?”
Twil turned to see Idozzi back on her feet, her wounds almost completely healed. “Idozzi!” He shouted, pulling her into a hug.
“Easy Twil.” Idozzi replied, gently pushing him away.
“Oh, sorry. How are you feeling?” Twil asked.
“Just a little sore. Vex does good work.” Idozzi replied, rubbing her shoulder.
“You ready to do this?” Twil asked.
Idozzi just nodded in response.
Nodding back, Twil lowered the boarding ramp. The winds of the Cato Nemoidian Undercity were at their harshest here at the pinnacle of the palace, but Twil had managed to inch his way forwards regardless. Reaching the edge of the ramp, he was about half a foot away from the transparisteel wall that circled the Palace’s peak. Igniting his lightsaber, Twil thrust his blue blade into the Palace, carving an opening large enough for the two to enter.
With great care, Twil leapt into the palace, and aided Idozzi who had followed after him. Once inside, they were met by an unusual sight. They appeared to be in a grand audience chamber. They were perched upon a third tier of balconies that seemed to wrap around the room.
The place was beautiful, opulent, and yet tragic all the same. It’s beauty was marred by age, ruin, and obvious strife. Blaster scorch marks and more than a few scars that could have only been left by a lightsaber adorned the walls and floor of the grand room. Along with the scars of battle were more than a few long since decomposed corpses, almost all of which bore the marks of a lightsaber.
The words of the drunken Nemoidians he had encountered earlier echoed in his head once more. And Twil could not help but wonder if the cause of this destruction was indeed the work of Suljo Warde.
Almost as if on cue, Twil felt a sudden burst of Force energy, the crystal was practically calling out to him. As he surveyed the tragically beautiful chamber, he narrowed the call down to a balcony two tiers lower than his own.
Taking extreme care, Twil traversed the old, decrepit balconies, making use of his handy rope when needed. Eventually, though, he reached the point where the crystal was calling out to him. There, slumped against the wall was a strangely preserved corpse of a man, wearing simple brown and tan robes. One hand was clutched tight, while the other lay to the side, where the remains of a broken, sliced in half lightsaber lay, covered in dust. The man’s chest also showed signs of a hole clean and cauterized. The blade surely pierced directly through his heart, Twil surmised.
The pain in this room was almost too much for Twil to bear. But the call of the crystal was equally strong. And Twil knew now where to find it. Taking hold of the corpse’s clutched hand, he pried it open, finding a small kyber crystal. The prize he had been searching for.
Pocketing it quickly, Twil began to climb the rope. It was then that he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps coming from the opposite end of the hall.
Curious as to who could possibly be down here, Twil took more time than he should have climbing back up to the top balcony. However, he reached it in time, as the owner of the footsteps had only just entered the grand room. Twil looked to see a Nemoidian woman who seemed to fit right in with her surroundings. She was just as opulent, and yet, she seemed just as sad. And, upon closer examination, just as damaged, as her breathing was clearly coming from some sort of respirator.
The woman was accompanied by two magnaguard droids. They walked in unison with the woman, making their footsteps sound as one. Eventually, the woman stopped at the table at the far end of the room. She did not seem to notice Twil or Idozzi. She simply gazed forward, not seeming to be looking at anything in particular.
Curious, Twil reached out with the Force, probing the mystery woman’s mind. Her thoughts were an unorganized mess of pain, suffering, anger, battle, tragedy, and finally, Suljo Warde.
Twil’s heart dropped. This was confirmation enough. Whatever happened here, it was Warde’s doing. Attempting to delve deeper into the Nemoidian’s thoughts proved pointless, as she was simply too consumed with this place to think coherently.
Feeling pity and sadness for the woman, Twil attempted to assuage the Nemoidian. To bring peace to her mind, and to let her move on. Which, in his promptings also implied to move on form this place.
As Twil’s quiet manipulations took hold, he could sense the woman’s anger fading, if only slightly. Without another word, she turned and headed back to wherever she came from.
Once the coast was clear, Twil gingerly made his way back to Idozzi, and the two jumped back into the Sovereign.
The three ships had docked together upon reconvening at the blank spot in space designated by Rath. While the Chiss was preoccupied with Aklee, tending to her with Vex, Twil decided to see what secrets this crystal held.
Slotting the crystal into the holocron, the gatekeeper of Suljo Warde appeared once more.
“Captain Twil, I see that you were successful in Cato Nemoidia.” The gatekeeper said, his countenance turned to one of concern soon after though, “Hmm.” He grumbled to himself.
“Is everything okay?” Twil asked.
“I am seeing more memories of Suljo Warde.” The gatekeeper explained, “This crystal holds memories more recent than when I was created… It seems his time on this planet was… tumultuous.”
“Can you tell me what happened?” Twil prodded.
The gatekeeper shook his head, “These are not memories I wish to recollect.” He replied, “But within the crystal is the beginnings of Master Warde’s teachings. Master Warde’s powers of foresight went far beyond any normal Jedi. Whereas many Jedi trained in the belief of the Unifying Force, a destiny that tied the galaxy together. There were those who studied the Living Force, the raw power that binds all life together. Through tapping into the Living Force, one can rely more and more on instinct, as the Force will guide them, not only in their actions but the actions of those around them.
“Master Warde was so adept at this that he was able to perceive an individual’s plans and actions before the individual was ever aware of it themselves. Using this power Master Warde was able to stop countless atrocities across the galaxy.
“However, be forewarned, even through the Force, the future can never be certain. Actions, thoughts, the slightest change can alter the course of the future in ways that cannot possibly be known.
“This power is also fraught with danger. The path you seek is a path of great power and great temptation. It is an easy path to the dark side, should you not maintain absolute control. That said, are you ready to take your first steps down this path of Master Warde’s powers of foresight?”
Twil said nothing, but nodded solemnly.
“Then let us begin.” The gatekeeper said.
Twil left the cockpit after his lessons with the gatekeeper had ended. He was without words of what he experienced, but he was eager to continue learning. The only way that was possible though, was to find the other two crystals. And thanks to Rath and Zanroy, he may have a lead on that.
Heading to the still docked Purple Pearl, Twil approached the Pearl’s boarding ramp, which was up, and had an old stormtrooper still plastered to it, hanging him on an uncomfortable upside down slant. Off to the side, Zanroy simply stood guard, ignoring the troopers continued protests to be freed.
“You the guy in charge?” The old man asked, annoyed.
“Captain Twil, nice to meet you…” Twil said, leading.
“Name’s TH-313, you can call me Tacker.” The old man replied, care to get me down now? What the hell is this stuff anyways?”
“Sorry. Security measures.” Twil lied, “Zanroy, can you help him?”
Zanroy glanced over at the old man, and reached out with the Force, peeling him off the boarding ramp. The adhesive was so strong though, that it peeled a portion of the ramp up with the trooper, bending it out of shape.
Twil grimaced at the thought of one of his ships being damaged, but he continued on, once the man was upright, still covered in goo, unfortunately, “So sorry about that, again. I wanted to thank you for helping Zanroy and my other friend.”
“Said you knew Suljo Warde.” Tacker replied, gesturing back towards Zanroy, “That true?”
“Sort of.” Twil replied, pulling out the holocron and activating it, “This is the Suljo Warde I know.”
Tacker’s eyes grew wide as he stared at the holoimage, “Is this a holocall from Suljo Warde?”
“No, it’s more of a… how do I explain it? This is a recording of Master Warde’s consciousness. An imprint of his mind when it was created.” Twil replied.
“Oh, so it’s just a holorecording?” Tacker asked, disheartened.
“Kind of, but it’s intelligent, it will respond to you.” Twil explained.
“Hello Tacker, my old friend. I never thought I’d see you again.” The gatekeeper greeted the old man.
Tacker jumped in surprise, “Master Warde? Is that really you?!”
The gatekeeper nodded.
“I never dreamed… after the incident… I thought you were gone for good!” Tacker stumbled over his words.
“Wait a minute, what incident?” Twil interjected.
“It wasn’t his fault.” Tacker replied, defensively, “Master Warde saved billions of lives that day. Damn Jedi were just too stubborn to see it!”
“Slow down, please, what happened? Does this have anything to do with Sankar Palace?” Twil pushed.
“It wasn’t his fault.” Tacker replied, shaking his head.
“It was at the height of the Clone Wars.” The gatekeeper intervened, “Suljo Warde and a retinue of Jedi and Clonetropers were sent to Cato Nemoidia to discuss a ceasefire, potential peace talks.”
“But it was a trick.” Tacker tacked on, “The Seps were setting us all up, if the ‘peace talks’ had taken place as they planned, the Republic would have lost countless worlds, and countless lives. Only Master Warde could see the potential danger. He could see the future. The other Jedi didn’t believe him, labeled him a renegade, a traitor, dangerous. It wasn’t his fault. He only defended himself. He was saving more lives than they could imagine.” Tacker then turned to the gatekeeper, “After the battle, you were wounded. What happened to you after that?”
The gatekeeper looked down, and said, “According to the memories stored in the crystal provided to me by Captain Twil, Suljo Warde knew his injuries were life threatening. He decided to flee to Moraband.”
“Moraband?” Twil asked.
“Homeworld of the ancient Sith.” The gatekeeper replied.
“Sorry for interrupting.” Rath’s voice called over the comms, “But overhearing this conversation, do you have the coordinates of this Moraband?”
“No. The only record I know of it that may still exist is in the Jedi Temple.” The gatekeeper replied.
“Well, who’s up for a trip to Coruscant?” Twil asked, cheerily, already forming a plan in his head.
“Twil, no.” Rath cut in, “I will not continue this fool’s errand, searching for lost ancient artifacts. All of this is in the past. We have more pressing matters to deal with and you know it!”
“What are you saying?” Twil asked, affronted, “You’re just going to abandon me?”
Before Rath could respond, a gasp of air could be heard over the comms and Vex chimed in, “Master Twil, you may want to come to the medbay.”
Shutting off the holocron, Twil turned to Zanroy and said, “See what you can do to get him untangled.” He then rushed back to the Sovereign.
Rath watched as the second Aklee got to her feet, she was ambushed by Twil who had rushed into the room. The two hugged as Twil said, “Aklee! I’m so glad you’re safe! I was so worried about you!”
“And I was worried about you!” Aklee replied, clutching the Zeltron, “I’m glad you’re safe! But what about the others? Idozzi? Rath? Zanroy?”
“They’re all fine.” Twil said, releasing her, “Why would you be worried about us?”
“The things Irbian said…” Aklee shuddered, “The things he was going to do to you.”
Twil let out a laugh, “Irbian is dead.”
“I saw to that personally.” Rath cut in.
“Oh! Rath! Didn’t see you there!” Aklee said, putting out a hand, “Thank you.”
Rath shook the woman’s hand, and said, “It’s good to see you well.”
“So, wait, what did Irbian say? What did he want?” Twil asked.
“He just kept raving about the holocron he said you stole. Wouldn't shut up about it, actually. But it’s not like I was around him much. They mostly kept me locked up.” Aklee explained.
“Aklee, I am so sorry you got dragged into this.” Twil said, emotion overflowing, “But what about the others? Gretta and Solomahal?”
“They got away.” Aklee explained.
“Wait, you were with them?” Twil asked, taken aback.
“Sure.” Aklee said, matter-of-factly, “They were on Coruscant to help with a delivery. That’s when the Imperials came. I held them off as long as I could so they could escape.”
Twil hugged Aklee again, apparently at a loss for words.
“You see Twil?” Rath cut in, “This is what matters. Not some wild bantha chase across the kriffing galaxy for some ancient crystals. This. Family. Friends. Helping those that are in desperate need. This is whay I’m putting my foot down. This is why I refuse to go to the Jedi Temple just so you can find some other lost planet to look for some ancient crystal.”
“So you are going to abandon me?” Twil accused.
“Me abandon you?” Rath asked, infuriated, “How can someone who has seen so much understand so little?! Twil, I have never once been unclear in my goals and my desires. Now that I have a lead on my own family, and now that yours is safe.” He gestured towards Aklee, “It is my utmost duty to go to them and try to help them. And I will not be sidetracked by some long dead Jedi. I will save them, whether I you help me or not!”
“And what happens then? You’re just going to leave us to fend for ourselves?” Twil shot back.
“What the kriffing hell are you talking about?” Rath asked.
“I know where your loyalties lie. It’s with them.” Twil gestured behind him to nowhere really in particular, “When you rescue them, you’re going to disappear. You’re just going to leave us. Leave us to deal with the Empire and all this stuff that’s happening.”
Rath’s countenance changed from one of fury to sadness, “You truly do not understand at all, do you? Yes. I want to rescue my family. Desperately. Why the hell wouldn’t I want that? You must understand the desire. Aklee was gone for all of two weeks, and you acted like a complete madman until she was found. Now imagine how I must feel after all these years of being apart from my family? Of course I want to rescue them!
“But that is hardly the end of things. Thrawn made it quite clear that my family were not the only ones targeted by the Project Aura nonsense. The entirety of my people are in danger from the Empire. And until I can unsure they are all safe, I will not rest. I swore an oath to my people. I am honor bound by birth to serve them. To protect them. And I will die before breaking that oath. Rescuing my family is only a small step down a much larger path, Twil.
“I will not abandon my family or my people. And much as I am loathe to admit this to you, you and the rest of this bizarre crew are included in that.”
“YES!” Twil shouted out, shaking the very ship itself with his boisterous cry. Before Rath could react, Twil had him in the tightest hug the Zeltron could muster. “You finally admitted it! I knew you loved me!”
After far too long a time, Twil finally released his grip and let Rath back down to the ground, to which Rath simply rolled his eyes. “Twil. I want nothing more than to return home. And maybe one day that will be possible. But I won’t abandon you simply because one small goal has been reached. Until the threat the Empire poses to my people and my family is annihilated, until Project Aura is thoroughly crushed, and until all these loose ends that we have accumulated are all tied off, that won’t be happening.
“However, when that day does come. You must come to terms with it. I have not nor will I ever swear to you a life debt. I will not be slaved to you and your ship for all time, gallivanting about on half baked schemes. I have other responsibilities, responsibilities that are far older than my friendship with you.”
Rath could see the Zeltron begin to protest, and Rath held up his hand to stop him, “That does not mean that you will never see me again. It simply means that life will be different. Different, but better.”
“I just needed to know that you weren’t going to up and leave the second your family was rescued.” Twil replied, when Rath had finally said his peace. “The Empire is still a huge threat to us. The galaxy is in turmoil. And honestly, we can’t do this without you. We need you.”
“I understand that.” Rath replied, “I probably understand that better than you. But understand this: once my family is free, wo betide this foolish Empire for ever thinking they could take down House Ahnkylos. For our justice shall be swift and merciless. You say you cannot do this without me. But consider this: you cannot possibly lose with me and my family at your side.”
Twil grinned, “Sounds good.”
“So, we are agreed? Our next destination is the second set of coordinates where you sensed them?” Rath asked.
“Deal.” Twil said, pulling Rath into another hug.
Rath quickly pushed him away and said, “That is not becoming a thing.”
Twil simply laughed.
“That said, I need to get back to base. If we are going there, then there’s some supplies I need to procure first.”
“I’ll meet you there.” Twil said beaming.
Rath just shook his head and rolled his eyes as he headed back to his ship, the Crescent Blade, which had been dock alongside the Sovereign.
“Well, that was something.” Aklee said, once Rath was gone, “So, you’re going back into the unknown regions?”
“Unfortunately, yeah.” Twil replied, “Which reminds me. You might want to lay low for a while, until the heat dies down from all of this. The Good Trader is obviously no longer safe.”
“Yeah.” Aklee agreed, “I can probably hole up in a Rebel shadowport. I’m sure they’d be happy to see me, it’s been a while.”
Twil smiled, “I’m sure they would. But while you’re there, you’re probably going to want to get the ship repainted and renamed. The Pearl is too hot, the Empire will be searching all over for it.”
Aklee pouted a little, “Aw! But I love that ship’s color! Whenever I fly to Cloud City they treat me like a celebrity.”
Twil frowned a little, “And it’s that celebrity status that got you mixed up in this mess with Irbian in the first place.”
“Yeah. I guess…” Aklee agreed, deflated.
“Oh, and while you’re laying low, try to find out what happened with Greta and Solomahal. I’m glad they escaped, but I’m more than a little worried that they haven’t contacted me yet.”
“Sure thing, Twil. And good luck.” Aklee said, hugging Twil. She then headed back to the Purple Pearl, just as Zanroy and an only slightly sticky Tacker appeared.
“So, what’s next for you?” Twil asked Tacker.
“Well, I guess I’ll head back to Cato Nemoidia, to serve my Empire, as I have always done.” Tacker said.
“Why?” Twil asked, unable to understand how anyone could be so loyal to such a corrupt regime.
“I’m a clone.” Tacker shrugged, “It’s what I was made to do. It’s all I know.”
Twil looked upon the old man with sadness, but said, “Yeah, well, you helped us, and for that I’ll be forever grateful. Least we can do is give you a ride back. Won’t be on the same city bridge, but I’m sure you can find your way well enough.”
“Suppose I can. Thank you, Captain Twil. And thank you for letting me speak with Master Warde again. Even if it wasn’t really him.” Tacker said, “Oh, and if you ever do see Master Warde, in the flesh, tell him Tacker is waiting for him and always will.”
“I’ll do that.” Twil replied with a smile.
