"E-5?" Syrran caressed the blaster scar on Theleema's toned abdomen while they laid in bed. He took a sip of a spice stick and passed it to her. This particular mild blend of refined ixetal cilona, extracted from the balo mushrooms, enhanced sounds, colors, and touch.
"I can't believe I got nailed by one of those kriffing metalheads." The embarrassing memory irritated Theleema. "Seen a lot of them?"
"Too many."
"What about this one?" She touched a blaster scar on his strong, left shoulder. He had yellow Kiffar tattoo on his left arm. "DL-44?"
"DX-13."
"Exotic. Who pulled the trigger?" Theleema handed him the spice stick.
"I had a disagreement with a bounty hunter. How about these ones?" He caressed three scars on her thigh.
"Baby rancor. Accidently bumped into a nest when I was hunting as a little girl. Almost lost the leg, if it wasn't for my clan's Mother healing magick. I made a nice collar with its teeth, though... and I never made that same mistake again. This one was a lightsaber, wasn't it?" Theleema ran her fingers over a long scar on Syrran's right side. "You don't see many of those. Whose?"
"Count Dooku."
The name riled her. "You crossed blades with Count Dooku and survived?"
"By the will of the Force... and a plasteel armor over armorweave. I was a Padawan in charge of protecting a senator. Ironically, she's the one who ended up saving me."
"Seems like women are bad for your health," she teased.
"A bad habit I'm unable to kick." He half-smiled at her.
Before things heated up again, the alert from the navigation computer broke the cabin's silence. Theleema rolled away from Syrran's arms and sat on the edge of the bunk, picking up her clothes from the ground. Syrran propped himself up on his elbows.
"We're here." Theleema got dressed.
Moments later, they took the lift up to the cockpit. The ship had come out of hyperspace and was flying toward an asteroid field.
"Is this the place?" Theleema checked her monitors.
"It's inside the asteroid field." Syrran looked through the viewport. "Mind if I pilot?"
"I hope you know what you're doing." She waved at the seat.
"I thought you liked to have fun." Syrran sat behind the controls and began to steer the ship among the giant rocks.
"I would, if we were being chased through it. This Dredge of yours is pretty concealed."
"It's an underground space station used by pirates and smugglers. I'm surprised you never heard of it in your line of work."
"We tend to leave Hutt Space alone." She stood next to him. "We only venture here when strictly necessary and under the Hutt's consent. Gang wars are bad for profits. How do you know about it?"
"It's a good place to lay low, repair your ship, gather information, recruit talent, fence wares, get healed—everything a scoundrel would ever need. The owner is an old friend."
"And you can find Jedi here?"
"You can find anything you want, if you have enough credits."
As the Thorn flew deeper inside the asteroid field, Theleema felt a powerful presence in the Force.
"Do you feel that?" Theleema stared into space.
"That's the Dredge." Syrran continued to focus on flying. "The station uses a large kyber crystal as a power source, keeping it operating for long stretches of time without the need of refueling. Something that is needed when you live in the middle of nowhere and want to keep a low profile."
Soon, a Munificent-class star frigate appeared in the distance, drifting among the rocks. As they got closer, the Nightsister could see the battle-wrecked ship had been repurposed as a space station. The communications array had been enhanced by a number of dishes, antennae, and advanced sensors. The fueling tanks replaced its propulsors. Its long wings served as shipyards where droids serviced vessels. Other ships entered the magnetic containment shield through the gap in the middle of the bow to transport goods or dock.
After berthing, Syrran donned his cybernetic eye coverings before the boarding ramp lowered. A young male Mon Calamari with green and orange skin approached them.
"That's Onkya, the dockmaster." Syrran pointed at him with his chin.
"I'll talk to him." Theleema walked over to him.
As Syrran watched her walk over to the droid, he sensed an incoming attack. He sidestepped enough for the cable hook to miss him. Syrran stepped on it. A purple Twi'lek with white markings in her late teens wearing a jumpsuit and toolbelt stared at him in disbelief, as she tried to free the pinned-down hook.
"How did you hear me?" Zilvara couldn't shake off her disbelief.
"Your intention gave you away. You have to clear your mind, Zil. Don't think about the action, just do it... also, I heard you drag your feet." Syrran relaxed. "You've grown since I last saw you."
"It hasn't been that long. New ship?"
"My friend's."
"Who is she?"
"A partner."
Zilvara's expression soured. "A partner or a partner?"
"The ones you do business with."
"Oh, that kind of partner."
"Hey, be nice. She's helping me out with a job."
"Why do you waste your time with people like her when we can be partners?"
"Because we both know that Sage will hang me by my toes. It's good to see you, though." Syrran walked away, greeting an indifferent Onkya as he and Theleema headed to a turbolift. The long strip of hull between the wings and the bridge had been turned into a bustling marketplace known as the Shadow Souk, where pirate, forgers, fences, smugglers, and spice runners hawked their illicit wares. A second turbolift took them to the cantina in the former command bridge. When they stepped out, a young Togorian tossed an Aqualish clear over their heads right into the elevator. The creature shook a fist at the large feline bouncer, while groaning curses in his native language.
"Yeah, well, he doesn't like you either," replied an unflapped Syrran, before sending the lift down. "Nice throw, Lofar," he turned to the Togorian. "I believe you broke your record."
"I knew you'd come back," Lofar said.
"You know I don't come here unless it's truly necessary."
"It's so good to see you." Lofar hugged Syrran almost lifting him off his feet.
"All right, all right. It's nice to see you too."
"Did Zil ask you again?"
"You know she did."
"And?"
"Same answer."
"Boy, she's going to be in a foul mood for the next few cycles." Lofar scratched his head. "Well, come on in. The boss is working the bar." He opened the door for them.
Every level of the bridge had been outfitted with tables occupied by patrons. The panoramic windows offered a great view of space. A quenk jatz band of Garindans played on a small stage in the corner on the bottom floor. A Skakoan and a Whiphid were tending the bar.
"Nice place." Theleema surveyed the joint from above before heading downstairs.
The Whiphid conversed with a young Bith who had his bulbous head resting in his hands. The Whiphid's robust hairy physique and small slanted eyes contrasted with his client's pink average build and large eyes.
"Sorry, kid. You have talent, but I can't hire a band leader without a band." The Whiphid dried off a mug with a rag. A toothpick swayed in his long snout between his protruding tusks as he spoke.
The crestfallen Bith said something.
"They said you're overbearing and that you're not particularly crazy about their ideas. In fact, they joked that the only thing you seem to be mad about is yourself."
The annoyed Bith replied with a question.
"That's what they said before they left. Listen, why don't you try writing some tunes of your own. See how that goes. Then put another band together and come back. I'll give you another shot."
"I'd listen to him if I were you." Syrran rested his hands on the bar. "They don't call him the Sage for nothing."
"Well, look who's still breathing," said a hostile young tanned-skinned Zabrak with black hair.
"You sound disappointed, Jiro."
"What gave it away?"
The Sage put the mug away while tossing the rag over his massive shoulders. "I thought I told you never to come back," he said.
"That's what you always say," said Syrran. "I always thought it was a Whiphid farewell."
"Just like I'm sure you think this passes as charm. Who's your friend?" The Sage grabbed a couple of copper cups.
"Theleema Nosche," she said.
"You must be something to have broken this guy's loner streak." The Sage mixed a drink as he spoke.
"I'm putting a band together for a special gig." Syrran's words surprised the Bith. "I need some gifted players."
The Bith spoke to the Sage.
"They don't play your kind of music, kid." The Sage placed a new drink in front of him. "Why don't you go check out the band? That one is on the house. Think about what we talked about."
The Bith took the hint and made himself scarce.
The Sage placed two smoking cups, containing an ice blue cocktail, in front of Theleema and Syrran.
"What's that?" Theleema liked the effect of the smoke.
"I call it a Wampa Slap: Shesharilian vodka, Ryll Beer, a splash of Membrosia, and a twist of Roonan lime, chilled with carbonite and served in codoan copper cups. Cheers."
"He likes to test new drinks when I come visit." Syrran took his. "I think he hopes one of them will make me blind."
"It's too late for that."
"Actually, this is pretty good."
"Of course, it is. Let's talk in the office. Why don't you wait for me there? Your friend can stay here." The Sage turned to his fellow bartender. "Jiro? We're going upstairs to talk business. Anything the lady orders is on the house."
"You got it, boss," Jiro said. "Let me know if you need help taking out the garbage." He gave Syrran a crossed look.
The office above had nice view of space, a comfortable living room, and a small bar. Concert posters of Melodic Order, "Smooth" Banjaxx Wab and the Scundereds, Kang and Lubrichs, Calcified Lichens, D.T. Spool and the Skroaches, and Plexo-33 hung on the walls.
The Sage closed the door behind him. "Dank farrik, Syrran. Tell me why I shouldn't have Lofar toss you out like the sack of druk that you are? How can you bring a dark side user to this place?" diversity
"She can't sense anything other than the kyber crystal helping power this thing." Syrran took off his fake cybernetics.
"Still, this is low; even for you."
"Maul is alive, K'Kruhk. He's the real leader behind Crimson Dawn."
K'Kruhk was stunned. "How do you know?"
"He's hiding in Dathomir. I met him. The Nightsister is his new apprentice."
"And you brought her here?"
"Because of Quinlan. I need to know where he is."
"Last I heard, he was in Jedha. He commissioned a slice and has been comm-silent ever since."
"What's he doing in Jedha?"
K'Kruhk shrugged his massive, hairy shoulders. "You tell me. You're the ones running around the galaxy looking for trouble."
"I haven't seen him in a long while... we didn't part ways in the friendliest of terms."
"Let me guess, he didn't agree with your revenge plot?"
"He took issue with my methods."
"Hunting down the clones involved in Order 66 to lure Darth Vader into a trap, kill him, and get close to Palpatine as his new apprentice so you can murder him? Feel free to stop me when any part of that sentence sounds crazy to you."
"Running an underground Jedi orphanage won't fix the mess we left the galaxy in."
"I hope one day you realize there's more to being a Jedi than brandishing a lightsaber."
"I'm just doing what I was trained to do."
"By moving closer to the dark side? I think I missed that lesson." K'Kruhk poured two glasses of spotchka from the bar near his desk.
"I don't feed on anger and I'm not driven by revenge."
K'Kruhk brought the drinks to the living room. "No? I notice you're still wearing those." He motioned his head toward the wrappings on his arms. K'Kruhk recognized them for what they were; whom they belonged to. "You blame the Order for its arrogance and blindness, but you're no different. What are you doing dealing with Maul?"
"That's what I want to ask Quinlan. This was his idea."
"The Force spawns them and the dark side binds them," K'Kruhk recited an old proverb used for reckless and problematic pairings of people. "What are you talking about?"
"Apparently, Quinlan has been feeding Maul intelligence since the end of the war, helping him create Crimson Dawn in an effort to disrupt the Empire."
"And you didn't know about this?"
"Of course not."
"As insane as it seems, this sounds like the kind of thing Quinlan would do." K'Kruhk drank. "How can you be sure?"
"He told Maul about me and used a code to convey the mission."
"Ever heard of a trap?"
"Ever heard of the Cloaks?"
"New band?" K'Kruhk tilted his head toward the posters on the wall.
"Jedi spies."
"There were no Jedi spies."
Syrran nodded. "Exactly. Only the two Masters of the Council knew of our existence. When the Sith revealed themselves in Tatooine, Master Yoda and Master Windu knew the Jedi Order had developed a glaring blind spot. Master Windu came up with the idea of recruiting a small group of Jedi with unorthodox skills and methodologies to act as spies. Quinlan and Aayla Secura were among the first to be drafted. But most Knights and Masters were traditionalists. So, Master Windu had to look among Padawans to fill the ranks of the Cloaks. The Senate and the Republican Army were kept in the dark.
"We had a loose organization that answered only to Master Windu. We had no name—the term 'Cloak' was just the way we referred to ourselves—kept no records, and membership was a secret even among us. I only knew of Aayla and Quinlan's association for obvious reasons."
K'Kruhk had to drink again. "You were looking for the Dark Lord of the Sith."
"Or the apprentice; whichever Master Kenobi didn't kill."
"When I first met Quinlan, he assassinated a senator I was assigned to protect, believing he was the Dark Lord."
Syrran let out a bitter chuckle. "Another failure." he took a drink. Quinlan never told him that. Perhaps out of shame or to protect him from his own dark influence. "It wasn't the last time either. The High Council sent him to infiltrate and eliminate Count Dooku near the end of the war, when we thought he was the Dark Lord—a controversial decision, to say the least. But most Masters agreed that ending the Clone Wars was worth the risk. And since the mission would have required disclosure to the Senate at some point, it was done outside the Cloaks."
"And that failed too."
Syrran nodded. "It almost ended with Quinlan losing himself to the dark side, if it wasn't for Asajj Ventress."
"Ventress? What did she have to do with this?"
"Quinlan used her to get close to Dooku and in the process they fell in love. She sacrificed herself to save him. But now something made him change his mind."
"Your mission."
"The code I mentioned. It was our way to relay information from the field quickly and without fear of slicers and code brakers. Only Cloaks know the key. That's why I have no doubt my mission came from Quinlan. C1-0D-PA-T0-42."
"Okay." The Whiphip waited for an explanation.
"The first part identifies the sender, Cloak One."
"Quinlan?"
"He's the only Cloak alive who knows about me. 0D means the level of infiltration, Zero Dark; deep cover. The third part, PA; Priority Alpha, means the message is urgent. The timeframe to launch the operation is limited. Forty-two was a number randomly selected to signify termination with extreme prejudice—assassination."
"Wait. What about T0?"
"That's target designation: Target Zero; the Dark Lord of the Sith."
"The Emperor." K'Kruhk's words hung in the air.
They both drank.
"I need to find him," Syrran said. "What did he ask you to find out?"
"A file in the Imperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research in Coruscant about something called Project Celestial Power. I used one of my regular slicers to steal the data from the Imperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research. Unfortunately, he was captured during the job."
"Whatever Quinlan is investigating, it is powerful enough to make him change his mind about assassination, and he's using every asset he has to pull it off."
"What if something happened to him?"
"The mission is a go, regardless. I need Jedi, K'Kruhk. Tano and Genel."
"Forget it. Genel is the center of HoloNet operations; he's too valuable to risk in this suicide mission of yours. And if your plan fails, and Ahsoka falls into the hands of the Empire, that would jeopardize several resistant movements across the galaxy."
"That exactly why. I'm going to need a slicer and someone who can fly, fight, and has contacts in the Senate. With Palpatine and his apprentice gone, there's going to be a vacuum of power. We can't allow a Moff—or worse, Maul—to take over. Why do you think his apprentice is now drinking Wampa Slaps downstairs? There needs to be a transition of leadership."
"I'll ask Ahsoka to arrange a meeting with her Senate contacts for you, but forget about involving her. Go find Quinlan to help you. This is his plan. As for a slicer, I got the perfect one for you. He knows Coruscant, had contacts in the underworld, and I just learned he is a Jedi."
"A Jedi hiding in Coruscant?" Syrran found the idea preposterous. Anyone who could survive right under the Emperor and his Inquisitor's nose had to be quite skilled. "Who?"
"The one who got captured working for Quinlan. He goes by the nickname Jink. He sent a message to Genel before he got captured. My informants in the Droid Gotra tell me the Inquisitors are taking him to the Fortress Inquisitorius in the moon of Nur in the Mustafar system."
"When?"
K'Kruhk went to his desk and clicked on the intercom. "Tek? Could you please come to the office?"
"Right away, boss," said the voice on the other side.
A few moments later, a young Duros entered. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yes, Genel. You remember Syrran?" K'Kruhk said.
"Of course. How's the hunt?" Genel found amusing that Syrran had shared his red eyes and blue skin.
"He's going to rescue Jink."
Genel perked up. "You are? Awesome! I thought he was a goner for sure." He then rubbed the tendrils on his head as a thought occurred to him. "But, er... I think you might be a little too late for that."
"What do you mean?" Syrran said.
"I just learned the Grand Inquisitor left Coruscant with him. So, unless you can intercept his ship when he arrives at Nur. Well..."
"Dank farrik." K'Kruhk put his glass down. "Is there a way you can track the ship?"
Genel sniggered. "Everyone knows there's no way you can track a ship while traveling in hyperspace."
Syrran pondered. "The ship, maybe...but what about the people aboard?"
"Same thing. The crew travels inside the ship."
"But some of them are Force-sensitive. What kind of ship is it?"
"An Arquitens-class command cruiser called the Talon Strike. Why?"
"The Arquitens-class has a Class 2 hyperdrive. If they're going from Coruscant to Nur, they're traveling through the Hydian Way. I can calculate the ship's approximate location and use the Force to zero in on her by using the Inquisitors and the slicer as a beacon."
Genel followed Syrran's logic. "Yeah... that actually could work. That's pretty ingenious." The boy regarded him with awe.
"You're going to board them in hyperspace." An amazed K'Kruhk understood his plan.
"Get me that meeting in Coruscant, K'Kruhk." Syrran headed for the door.
"If you pull off this rescue, I'll make you a senator myself. Oh, and Syrran? Whatever fallout ensues from Quinlan's plan, please keep it away from my doorstep."
###
"You got to be kidding me," said Theleema, leaning on the cockpit's central star map projector back on the Thorn.
"I wish I was." Syrran made calculations on the chart.
"There're no other Jedi you can get that's not captured by the Inquisitorius, and currently traveling through hyperspace to meet a Sith Lord?"
"Not a slicer familiar with Coruscant with underworld contacts, who happens to have information on the other Jedi we need."
"Fair enough."
"There." Syrran projected the star map, showing hyperspace routes. "Based on the time the Arquitens-class left Coruscant and the speed of their Class 2 hyperdrive, we should be able to intercept them somewhere between Denon and Sagar, when they make the second jump from the Corellian Run into the Hydian Way."
"That's a lot of space to cover."
"Not if I can sense the Force-users aboard."
"Ever done that?"
"No. But it's our best chance."
"Then, let me do it. My magick can reveal many things that are concealed. Together with your little navigation trick, we should be able to intercept them."
"Does that mean we're going to be chanting?"
"No, but a blood sacrifice might help," she joked. "There's one problem, the connection works both ways. The Inquisitors are going to be aware of us too."