The terrace at a cafe in Iziz, the capital of Onderon, buzzed with activity. Waiters moved round the small crowded tables hauling large trays with caf and tea. Some of the loud patrons smoked water pipes, while others conversed or played table games. Nobody paid attention to Lor San Tekka coming up the stairs. He searched the diners until he spotted a green-skinned Mirialan sitting by herself near one of the edges.
Anyone who looked at Addia Wex would assume she was too young to be as accomplished as she was, and too pretty to get her into the kind of trouble she usually found herself. Yet, the geometrical, facial tattoos—traditional to her people—showed off her notable achievements and her purple eyes were windows to a sharp wily intellect. She wore a utility vest and belt, high boots, data googles held back her purple-black hair, and gloves; the DG-29 heavy blaster on her hip holster spoke of action.
"Doctor Wex." The man approached the table.
"Oh please, Lor. You're the only one who calls me that," Addia said.
"Well, you sure earned it. And I'm sure the university would take you back, if you chose to return." Lor San Tekka squeezed his tall frame in a chair across from her.
"You know why I can't go back. Not after what happened." She sipped her steaming caf, keeping an eye on the stairs.
"Addia, you can't spend the rest of your life running away, hiding in ancient ruins in some Force-forsaken place."
"You're one to talk. I tried settling down once. It didn't work. Plus, I'd rather deal with real mummies than the ones in academia."
Lor laughed. "Well, the offer remains standing—Caf, dark, with nothing in it," he said to the Bivall waiter and then turned to Addia. "It's good to see you."
"Same here. Though, these meetings are never social. What do you have for me?"
"Imperial trouble."
"When is it not?" Addia groaned. "Smugglers and gangsters are easier to handle."
"Well, this one's big." He glanced around. "Recognize this?" Lor produced a palm-sized object from inside a heavy metallic box in his coat, and slid it towards her.
Addia removed the lip and found a faceted yellow crystal about thirty centimeters long by eleven centimeters thick; it had a large crack crossing its center. Faint pulses of green light came from within. Addia could feel a strong concentration of the Force emitting from it. But this wasn't a kyber crystal, or a gem at all, it was a sentient lifeform, trying to contact her mind.
"I feel the Force inside you," said a deep, male voice inside Addia's head.
She broke contact. "What the Void is this?"
"A member of a silicon-based sentient species called Shards." Lor lowered his voice. "They come from a planet called Orax in the Outer Rim. Apparently, some of them can become enlightened, like him."
"Apparently? How do you know?"
"He told me about it. He's quite chatty." Lor drank some caf, enjoying the Mirialan's bafflement. "It's good to know I can still surprise you."
"Where did you find this?"
"Him. And my name is Ilum, just like the planet. I am a Jedi Knight." Ilum penetrated their minds.
"Ilum, this is Doctor Addia Wex. A friend from my days at the University of Alderaan."
"Pleased to meet you, Doctor Wex," Ilum said.
"I found him at a black-market auction in Nar Shaddaa. I almost ended up paying with my life for it too. A Kage Inquisitor, a woman called the Fourth Sister—whatever that means—was trying to acquire him. I had to smuggle him out in this neuranium box to avoid detection."
"You outbid the Empire?" Addia studied the Shard.
"No, I outbid Grakkus the Hutt—though, I certainly had no money to back my bluff. I outright stole Ilum from under their noses The Kage wasn't happy, to say the least." Lor paused while the waiter brought back his order. "Thank you."
Addia uncovered the compass and spoke in a low voice when the waiter walked far away enough. "What in the eternal blue blazes did you get yourself tangled with this time?"
"San Tekka is trying to help me," Ilum said.
"Are you familiar with Quinlan Vos?" Lor sipped his caf.
"No. Should I be?" Addia said.
"I got an urgent message from him, telling me to go to the underground auction in Nar Shaddaa and secure an item for him at all cost. I haven't heard from him since. Anyway, when I was examining the items to be auctioned, I ran into Ilum among them."
"What are you supposed to do with it?"
"Him. And that's where you come in."
"Me?" Addia didn't like what she heard.
"As you can see, I am damaged," Ilum said. "Thus, my abilities in the Force have been greatly diminished."
"I'm an archeologist, not a crystallographer."
"I have learned of an ancient Jedi book the Empire has been looking for. It is said that within its pages lay an alternate use of Force healing that can repair damaged kyber crystals. It is my wish to retrieve it and use its knowledge to restore me to my full abilities."
"The Chronicles of Brus-bu?" Addia didn't know how many more surprises she could take in on conversation.
"You know of it?" Lor said.
"I've read about it. But nobody has seen it for centuries."
"Until now." Lor produced a palm-sized object from inside a metallic box in his coat and handed it to her. "This is the item Quinlan wanted me to obtain in the auction. It turns out, Ilum was after it too."
Addia recognized the object immediately when she opened it, a graduated bezel with plasma-encased supraluminite lodestone, and astromeridian lines engraved on the lid. "A Jedi Star Compass," she said. Before the advent of navigational computers, Jedi attuned the lodestone to specific hyperspace points to navigate to a desire location, much like a wayfinder would.
"That's right," Ilum said. "I was able to get a hold of it prior to my misfortune."
"Eh... how?" Addia looked at the Shard.
"Long ago, my people leaned to use specially modified droid bodies to interact with the world. Mine was destroyed when I was injured. I would like to procure one after I'm healed. Any good droidsmith will do. I have the schematics required."
"Where's the loadstone attuned to?" Addia checked the compass.
"That's what I want you to find out," Lor said.
Addia slid the box back to Lor. "No, sorry. I have no problem retrieving ancient artifacts from forgotten temples and dangerous criminals, but this is different. I'm not getting involved in anything that has to do with the Order of Inquisitors. Ask someone else."
"Who?"
"Someone that has the combativeness needed for this kind of business."
"You did during the war."
"Because I had no choice. Everyone became militarized when things got tough. I went from saving priceless artifact and works of art from behind enemy lines, to fighting combat droids. I hated it then, and my feelings haven't changed since."
Lor knew members of the defunct Jedi Service Corps didn't use lightsabers. "But times have."
"That's what my former bosses said too." Addia looked away, drinking her caf.
"You know what I'm asking you to do requires someone with your talents," Ilum said. "Otherwise, Lor would have helped me."
"It's true," Lor said. "I may have faith in the Force, but I wasn't touched by it like you both have been."
Addia rubbed her forehead with one hand and said after a moment. "Let's say I help you... then what?"
"I would go searching for Quinlan Vos and you do as you please," Ilum said.
"I know I'm going to regret this... fine, I'll help you."
"I am indebted to you, Lady Wex. Thank you."
Lor smiled and slid the box back to Addia. "I knew I could count on you, Addia."
"If you really want to thank me, don't ever ask me to do anything like this again." Addia finished her caf. "This fondness of yours for getting involved in Imperial matters is a sure way to joining the Force."
"I'll take it under advisement."
"No, you won't."
"I think your words might have proven prophetic," Ilum said. "Look to the stairs."
A squad of purge troopers came up into the café.
"Did they follow you here?" Addia reached for her pistol under the table.
Lor did the same. "They probably tracked my ship from Nar Shaddaa."
The sergeant in charge spoke to the Togruta proprietor.
Addia tucked the compass and Ilum inside her backpack. "They don't look local. Do they know who you are?"
"I doubt it," Lor said. "They probably just have a description."
The owner pointed at their table.
"Tuck the lid of the box inside your coat." Addia unholstered her gun.
"What?" Lor frowned.
"Do it."
The purge troopers headed their way.
When Lor obliged, Addia shot him, knocking him to the ground. The impact dropped Lor backwards, but the dense box stopped the blaster bolt. Flipping the table over, she protected herself from the incoming fire from the purge troopers, killing two of them before jumping off the roof.
As Addia predicted, the soldiers ignored the injured human. Some soldiers rushed toward the edge of the building, while others ran downstairs. A couple of Imperial scouts saw Addia fly away and gave chase.
Addia landed on a colorful awning and rolled off to the ground, displaying the gracefulness and agility proper to a member of her species, and of someone with her training. Blasts from the stormtroopers above hit the ground around her, as she straddled her BARC speeder bike parked a few meters away. She sped off as the rest of the purge troopers came out from the café, firing at her.
The commotion had left the startled patrons stunned. Recent memories of the protracted violent resistance by the Partisans against the Separatist army, and later the Empire, remained fresh in their minds. Most of them failed to react when Lor stood unharmed and slipped away unnoticed by the stormtroopers. Others mumbled to themselves, watching in disbelief. Preferring to avoid more shooting in his establishment, the owner kept silent. This was Imperial business, not his.
Bystanders jumped out of the way, as the speeder bikes raced. The scout troopers fired at the Mirialan with their vehicle cannons. Addia swerved to avoid being hit, dodging people, animals, carts, and vendor stands.
"I don't think you'll be able to lose them riding in this manner," Ilum said.
"Well, feel free to take over whenever you want to." Addia looked over her shoulder.
"That is not funny."
A shot hit the right engine as the scouts accelerated to catch her. Addia used the Force to throw a carpet from a stand at one of the troopers, making him crash against a pottery kiosk—the Twi'lek merchant managed to jump out of the way in the nick of time.
"That was better," Ilum said.
"Hey, doorstopper, can it. I'm trying to save our hides here." Addia shifted to a higher gear.
"I fail to see how that applies to me."
The other scout slammed his speeder against Addia's, looking to make her collide before she could reach an arched gate between sections of the city. Then, he unholstered his pistol. Addia kicked the speeder away to give her enough room to slam her BARC against it, throwing the scout off balance. Buying herself a few seconds, Addia shot a grappling hook to a corner building, and fastened the firing device to the frame of her bike. The liquid cable solidified on contact, getting taut, allowing Addia to take a sharp turn into a side street. Steadying himself, the Imperial scout tried to veer off, but he flew too fast, and didn't have enough room to avoid being smashed against the stone wall. Cutting off the cable, Addia rode around the block.
Coming around the corner, Addia stopped when she saw a figure in black armor standing in front of the gate. The Fourth Sister's face was covered by her helmet and her cape flapped in the wind. The red blade of her long-handle lightsaber fired up.
"This is not good," Ilum reaching out with his mind. "The Force is strong with her."
"You think?" Addia opened the throttle, heading straight for the Inquisitor, firing at her with her pistol. The Fourth Sister deflected the shots with a single-bladed lightsaber pike—a long-handled version of the regular weapon.
"When has that ever worked?"
"Just watch." Addia jumped off the speeder, and fired at its power cell. The bike exploded as it reached the Inquisitor. The Fourth Sister's armor and use of the Force saved her from perishing in the explosion.
"That was creative. I'll give you that. Watch behind you."
Both of them felt a great surge of rage as Thirteenth Brother attacked Addia. She ducked the lightsaber twice before kicking him away and firing at him. The Inquisitor blocked the shots, but left himself open for Addia using the Force to throw a large basket filled with spices at him from a nearby stall. When the Inquisitor slashed through it, he became engulfed in a blinding ochre cloud. Addia ran away and bounced off a stand and a few walls to reach the rooftops.
"How are you planning to escape without a vehicle?"
"Oh, I don't know. Why don't you go fight them off while I find a new one?" Addia leapt over the roof.
The Fourth Sister landed on the roof to intercept the Mirialan. Her armor had been damaged by the speeder's explosion. Avoiding the fight, Addia slid down the side of the rooftop over the blue tiles, slowing herself down with her folding knife, and Force-jumped to the next building.
The Thirteenth Brother leapt in front of her, still covered in spices, and swung his lightsaber violently at her. Addia dodged every strike by millimeters and blocked the last blow with the cyan blade of her lightsaber.
The Thirteenth Brother's aggressive style made it difficult to deal with the Mirialan's superior command of Niman, her natural agility, and use of the martial art, Zavat.
As part of the Exploration Corps, the Academy of Jedi Archeology was comprised of a Jedi Knight Consular with chosen academic specializations, rather than the Initiates and Padawans who had failed to attain knighthood, and were reassigned to the other branches of the Jedi Service Corps.
Enraged by frustration, the Thirteenth Brother deployed the second blade of his weapon, making it spin to overwhelm his opponent with a continuous assault. Addia kicked the Inquisitor away from her. She slashed some rooftiles and turned the shards into projectiles with the Force, hitting the scarred side of his head. Thrown off by the injuries, the Inquisitor tried to keep her away with a wild strike. Addia parried and lapped off his arm, Force-pushing him off the roof, as
the Fourth Sister landed behind her.
Unlike the Thirteenth Brother, the Kage possessed great mastery of both lightsaber and hand-to-hand combat. She disarmed Addia and kicked her down, threatening her with her blade.
The Inquisitor's mask retracted. "This is the Fourth Sister," she said into her communicator. "The Jedi killed the Thirteenth Brother and escaped. Send a search party outside the city. Alert all patrols. I will continue pursuit on my own."
"Yes, sir," a voice came from the other side.
The Fourth Sister depowered her lightsaber. "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you."
"What do you want?" Addia said still trying to process what had transpired.
"The Chronicles of Brus-bu; same as you."
"Why?"
"I have my reasons. Do this and I'll let you go free." The Fourth Sister offered her hand.
"Sure. Like I'm going to trust an Inquisitor."
"You can't. But you also don't have a choice."
"Losing a battle is not the end of the war," Ilum told her.
"I hope you're right." Addia got up without the Fourth Sister's help. "Well, if you put it that way—Shall we?"
The Fourth Sister pulled the Mirialan's lightsaber into her free hand. "After you."
As the two women walked away, the hand of the Thirteenth Brother twitched.