The Devils Inside the Walls/Part 2

"How are we ever going to find him in this?!" Narasi demanded.

"We've located fellow Jedi before," Tirien pointed out. "We found Master Emfal on Bilbringi."

"Bilbringi doesn't have a twelve-digit population," Narasi protested.

Though he had lived much of his life on Coruscant before becoming Suwo's Padawan, Tirien had visited hundreds of worlds, so he was familiar with parks, and had envisioned a tree-lined grassy space. Colonists' Park was, instead, several square kilometers of flat white pavement, interrupted only by a few relay antennas and a commemorative statue or two. The expanse swept so far that multiple events were taking place simultaneously; as they milled about, he had seen both a concert and a political rally for a local candidate. The park was not as crushed with sentient beings as Coruscant's walkways, but there were easily tens of thousands. At the edge of the park, towering buildings stood as a vanguard for the rows of skyscrapers beyond, and past that, cloudcutters extended into the stratosphere. The whole of Byblos City gleamed white in the cloudless day, a warm wind slipping through the thin spaces between park-goers.

"A hundred-odd billion," Tirien conceded, "but only three Jedi, and two of them are us. Stretch out with your feelings, Narasi."

She sighed, but Tirien sensed her obeying the directive all the same, reaching into the Force. He allowed her to search for both of them, keeping his own eyes and senses attuned to their immediate surroundings. Byblos was a key technology and arms manufacturer for the Republic, so most of the beings who noticed them and identified them as Jedi evinced respect. A couple gazes lingered on Narasi, but no one spoke to their disquiet.

"I think…" Narasi said, opening her eyes and nodding across the park. "Over there?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?" Tirien asked.

Narasi grimaced, but touched the Force again, sharpening her focus. She repeated in a firmer tone, "Over there."

"Good," Tirien replied. "Be sure the first time; you won't always get a chance to double-check. Let's go."

They eased their way through citizens of various species toward a statue of some Human Tirien didn't recognize—likely one of the Corellians who had first colonized the planet in time out of mind and given the park its name. Letting the Force guide his attention, he felt his eyes drawn to a Shistavenan wearing dark pants that cut off halfway down his digitigrade legs, a matching tunic belted around the waist, and a black jacket. Tirien called on the Force, strengthening his presence in it, and watched the lupine alien's glowing eyes turn to him and tighten with recognition.

The wolfman did not nod, but set off across the park without waiting for them. Narasi frowned. "Is that…?"

"Yes," Tirien said. "Come along and try not to draw attention."

He closed his robe to cover his Jedi attire and lightsaber, and Narasi did the same, throwing up her hood to shadow her features for good measure. They trailed the Shistavenan across the park and into the wide streets at the base of the surrounding buildings, threading through pedestrians as speeder traffic roared past. When they stood at the base of a skyscraper, the Shistavenan diverted into an alley, and Tirien gave Narasi a nod before following.

They found a few droids offloading foodstuffs into the cargo entrance of one of the buildings, but no sentients. Tirien and Narasi slowed to a halt, and Tirien folded his hands over his abdomen and called, "Well?"

The Shistavenan did a good job of concealing his presence in the Force, but Tirien's eyes still shifted before they actually registered movement. Stepping from a side door whose shadow had masked his dark fur and clothing, the man growled, "Who sent you?"

"The Crescentia 's Council," Tirien answered. "I'm Tirien Kal-Di, and this is my Padawan, Narasi Rican. You're Javrin Flek?"

Javrin's lips peeled back from his sharp teeth, but he nodded. "Were you followed?"

Narasi started to turn; without looking at her, Tirien caught her shoulder with one hand. "Now is the wrong time to be alert for that," he chided, then added to Flek, "No. Did you expect to be?"

"Can't be too careful," Javrin answered, his glowing eyes sweeping both ways down the alley before returning to them. "Jedi robes? Really?"

Tirien's eyes narrowed. "Byblos is a Republic world, is it not?"

"Doesn't mean we don't have enemies here," the Shistavenan retorted. "Come on. But keep your distance; I've gone to a lot of trouble not to be marked as a Jedi."

Narasi looked up at him as Javrin turned and walked away, but Tirien merely shrugged. When they had given the Jedi Shadow enough of a head start they started to tail him, Tirien keeping his senses alert for trouble but perceiving no danger. The three Jedi followed a long, meandering path through the dense downtown as the buildings stretched up into the clouds and traffic thickened until speeders were flying both at ground level and in parallel lanes some fifty meters up, the latter of which had to avoid pedestrian bridges linking skyscrapers. The towering structures shadowed the streets and causeways as the planet rotated away from high noon.

Javrin took a ground-level turbolift up to the juncture of three skyways. Following a moment later, Tirien and Narasi tailed him across the open-air bridge toward a cloudcutter.

"What do they do when it rains?" Narasi asked.

"Probably take the maglev," Tirien replied, pointing toward one racing by three blocks down.

"I don't sense anyone following us," she noted.

Tirien frowned. "I'm not sure anyone has been following him, either."

"What do you mean?"

He waved it off as they entered the building, but though he remained alert, he was beginning to find the cloak-and-shoto intrigue a bit theatrical.

The bridge led to a shopping complex, and they followed Javrin through it to a maglev depot. Hundreds of Humans and a handful of other species were coming and going from trains, but Tirien followed the Force with his eyes to a maintenance area, where he saw a door closing. Giving it a moment, he led Narasi through the crowd, waiting until no attention was on them before ducking off the beaten path, waving open the door, and stepping inside.

The maintenance room was cramped, a pipe overhead hissing, but Javrin Flek had spread out a bedroll and a small HoloNet monitor. The Shistavenan himself sat at a workbench, his glowing eyes on them. Only when the door sealed behind Narasi did he peel off his jacket, draping it over the bench. He wore his lightsaber horizontally on his belt so it did not hang beneath his coat, and had a blaster in a shoulder holster.

"You've been living here?" Narasi asked.

"Helps to keep a low profile, and the maglev provides access to the city," Javrin said. When she nodded and Tirien added nothing, Javrin asked, "Well?"

Tirien raised an eyebrow, brought up short by that. "Well, what's the situation?"

Javrin flexed his clawed hands. "I have a reliable lead on Sith collaborators—spreading Sith propaganda and dealing in dark side artifacts. Nothing I can't handle, of course…"

Tirien crossed his arms. "Which Sith faction?"

"Does it matter?" the Shistavenan returned. "They're all the same."

"But…" Narasi stopped herself, but Tirien gave her a nod.

"Speak freely," he told her.

"But doesn't it matter?" she asked. "Wouldn't it be different if it was Lord Lakalt or the Empire?"

"Any type of Sith can get innocent people hurt, Padawan," Javrin growled.

Tirien, who was pleased with his apprentice's appreciation of the big picture, shook his head. "It's not a question of evil, it's a question of scope. Lakalt, Hadan…even Aresh doesn't have the kind of organization and resources the Empire does.  I'd rather any of them have a dozen infiltrators than the Empire have even one agent hiding among us."

He could tell Narasi was reassured by his agreement, but Javrin made a barking sound deep in his throat that Tirien took as a dismissal even before the Jedi Shadow spoke. "A Consular's thinking if ever I heard it. This is why I prefer to work alone."

Tirien felt Narasi's dry look, and glanced at her to preempt her this time, though the corner of his mouth twitched. "I can sympathize with the mindset," he conceded, "but Master Kadych and the rest obviously thought this was serious enough for three of us. So why don't you fill us in?"

Javrin bared his teeth, though it struck Tirien as the same gesture from Narasi, showing annoyance rather than threat. Ultimately, Javrin sat on the floor, and Tirien and Narasi joined him.

"It seems to be a fairly small ring," he said. "Perhaps a dozen of them at most. I've trailed a few of them; they're well-connected.  I know for a fact some of them are connected with executives for SoroSuub and Blastech, and at least one of them has family in the Republic Navy."

Tirien grimaced. "Where are they getting their Sith artifacts?"

"Unknown," Javrin admitted. "I've overheard their plans to exchange them, but I haven't seen the things yet, or I'd have intercepted them. But I think tonight's the night.  They're planning a meeting."

Tirien looked at Narasi and back, nodding. "We'll be there."

Again the Jedi Shadow gave that rasp in the back of his throat, and Tirien's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"It's a fine thing to be a famous hero and parade around slaying Sith," Javrin said. "It's another thing to work in the dark."

Annoyed, Tirien said, "My master was a Jedi Sentinel, we can handle stealth."

"What Jedi Sentinel was that?"

"Suwo Tolp," Tirien answered, and he had the satisfaction of seeing surprise flash over the other Jedi's face.

"A good Jedi," Javrin conceded in a tone of grudging respect. "A man who knew how to deal with dark siders."

The way he said it gave Tirien a touch of foreboding, and he answered carefully, "We're prepared to do what needs to be done."

The Shistavenan barked a laugh. "I suppose we'll find out, won't we?"