Revenge of the Jedi/Part 6

Zaella gaped. "There's so much water."

Tirien glanced up from the sensor readout. "It's primarily an oceanic planet. There may be spits of land here and there."

"But…there's so much water."

She knew the three Jedi—and Jirdo, whom she counted separately—were staring at her, but she couldn't help herself. Ryloth had its subterranean oceans, and of course she had seen lakes, rivers, and even seas on other worlds, but Pelagon was a blue marble hung in space. After a youth on Ryloth, including training expeditions and punishment sessions of days at a time in the desert, her mind refused to process so much available water.

The comms board beeped and Narasi said, "There's the transmission from downside; that didn't take long."

They had switched their normal seats, so as Narasi guided the Second Chance forward, Tirien opened the line. "This is the Republic freighter Second Chance."

"Second Chance, this is Pelagar Central Control," replied an authoritative female voice with a crisp accent not unlike Tirien's. "We detect an abnormal energy signature from your craft.  Declare your cargo and purpose immediately."

Tirien reached for the transmit button, but paused when the sensor display flashed. "Incoming, Narasi. Looks like some kind of patrol craft."

Zaella leaned back off Narasi's pilot's chair. "Want me—"

"No," Tirien cut her off. "The Tapani are Republic, we're not shooting at them. Shields up, though."

As Narasi dialed up the shields, Pelagar Central Control demanded, "Respond, Second Chance."

"This is Tirien Kal-Di—Jedi Knight of the Republic and special envoy of the Supreme Chancellor. We were invited to Pelagon by Raven of House Kaivalt—we were given to understand that the Jedi Lords of the Tapani sector would offer safe haven to their fellow Jedi at need."

"Stand by while we verify that claim."

Narasi took the Second Chance into a lazy arc toward Pelagon's exosphere—close enough that she could set up an orbit if the conversation took too long, far enough out that detonating the bomb in the cargo hold posed no risk of incinerating anything on the ground or bathing the planet in radioactive fallout. Even that distance was apparently too close for comfort, because the Tapani patrol ships took up pursuit formation off the Second Chance ' s tail. But they slowed to pace; given Control's tone, Zaella thought it was an accomplishment no one had shot at them yet.

"Second Chance, we are in receipt of a confirmation of your invitation by Baron Miklato of House Kaivalt," Control said, stunning Zaella with the revelation that someone could take more words to say something simple than Tirien. "Prior to approving your landing clearance, we require clarification on your cargo."

"It's a weapon we confiscated from the Hutts."

"A weapon? Baron Kaivalt made no mention of this."

"Presumably because he doesn't know. But it's too dangerous to abandon."

"What is the nature of this weapon?"

"I can't discuss that."

"Then neither can the Tapani accept the risk of this…device on a capital world."

"We wrested this weapon from the Sith and the Hutts at great personal risk," Tirien said. "And we bring it with us to protect others from it, not to use it."

"Be that as it may, it is the height of arrogance to expect House Pelagia and its constituent families to simply accept—"

"House Pelagia and House Kaivalt are both governed by Jedi," Tirien snapped. "I was given to understand that our brother and sister Jedi trusted us as we do them. Are you a Jedi?"

"No, but—"

"Are you a noble?"

"No."

"Then why don't you talk to someone who is one of those? We'll wait here."

He flipped off the comm before Control could respond. Narasi whistled. "Dang, Master. You sure the deck's not too uncomfortable for you?"

Tirien took a deep breath and blew it out his nose. "I suppose that was harsh, but it's ridiculous to imply we're here as a threat to them—Raven's father already said he invited us! Not to mention the hypocrisy of a Tapani lecturing anyone else on arrogance."

Zaella snickered, and Yan Razam laughed from the back of the cockpit. She had offered to fly the Second Chance; when Tirien had assured her that Narasi could handle it, even if the Tapani were feeling territorial, Yan had shuffled to the back. She seemed to be making room—she was much taller than even Jirdo—though Zaella wondered if she just couldn't stand watching anyone else fly a craft she was on.

Zaella hadn't had much time to assess the Arcona starfighter ace, though even in the few hours since Eriadu it had become clear Yan Razam was a very different kind of Jedi than Tirien, or even Narasi. Then again, even Tirien probably wouldn't be a pillar of light after six days with insufficient air and no food.

They drifted along through space for a few minutes, the Tapani patrol craft shadowing them a hundred kilometers back, before the control panel beeped. No one moved, and after a moment, Narasi said, "Master…?"

"I heard it. Wait." Only when it beeped again did he flip the switch. "Second Chance."

"Second Chance, Baron Kaivalt has approved your request to be given landing clearance."

"Understood. Prepared to receive landing coordinates." When they arrived, Tirien said, "Received. Second Chance out."

He switched off the comm again and fed Narasi the data. The patrol ships peeled off their tail as Narasi brought the Second Chance down through the atmosphere and over the planetwide ocean. As the uniform blue started to resolve into shades of gray and the white breakers of waves, Zaella saw metallic glints on the horizon, but Jirdo beat her to the question. "Are those cities?"

Tirien worked the sensors for a moment. "Yes. Some sort of platform cities; I can't tell whether they're anchored to the ocean floor or just floating."

"Is the Kaivalt place on one of them?" asked Narasi.

Tirien projected a holographic sphere of Pelagon; a blinking red dot showed their destination. "It may be a platform, but it's nothing near as big."

"So what's the cover story?" Zaella asked as Narasi guided their ship low over the waves. "Would it be easier if Jirdo and I pretend to be Jedi?"

"I am a Jedi!" Jirdo insisted.

"Yeah-huh. Keep telling yourself that."

He rolled his eyes at her side, fuming, but Zaella watched Yan in her peripheral vision. Once the initial excitement of the rescue at Eriadu had died down, Tirien had given Yan the gist of his and Narasi's missions on Circumtore and Guudria; she knew now who and what Zaella and Jirdo were, and though she'd taken it in stride, Zaella couldn't help anticipate the "us and them" dynamic. But Yan only looked at Tirien, leaving Zaella wonder how open the Arcona was to a different definition of "us" than she'd expected.

"Even if a cover story could survive you two sniping at each other…" Tirien hinted. Sighing, he said in a brisker tone, "No. Putting aside the fact that a red blade isn't in vogue on our side, Raven's put himself on the line for us, and Baron Kaivalt on Raven's word.  We owe them the truth."

Jirdo swallowed. "What if…they're not happy with the truth?"

Zaella had time to marvel at a pod of whales breaching the ocean's surface before Tirien answered. "We'll calculate that jump when we need to."

Gizmo's croak echoed down the corridor, and Zaella turned to see him hopping in their direction. He nuzzled her leg and croaked up at her; grunting, Zaella picked him up and dropped him in Narasi's lap. The Second Chance wobbled and she said, "Ooof. Thanks…"

"He'll have to stay aboard," Tirien said.

"Yeah, I figured," Narasi sighed, then arched her neck to grin at Zaella upside-down. "A former Sith is one thing, but a gizka? People have to have standards."

"There's certainly that, although I'd be equally concerned about him leaping off into the ocean. I don't know how well gizka swim."

As Narasi launched into a discussion of gizka swimming abilities—and for creatures with two legs and no arms, it sounded like they were better at it than Zaella would've expected—Zaella mulled over her friend's words. A former Sith. Was that what she was? She had stood with Tirien and Narasi against Chelshgodru Brokkodd's Force ghost, but that was a question of survival; it had been clear that Brokkodd's vision of the galaxy did not include her in it. And the odds of survival on the Jedi side had dropped sharply with the deaths of so many Knights at Eriadu.

Zaella didn't really care—certainly she had been raised to consider the Jedi and the Republic enemies, and she wouldn't lose sleep over a few hundred dead Jedi—but Narasi was her friend now, and she trusted Tirien. She knew neither of them would surrender, even if they were the last two Jedi left in the galaxy. Zaella wasn't about to throw her life away on some damned fool idealistic crusade just so they'd have some company when they died, but the idea of jumping ship and letting them charge off to meet their doom turned her stomach too.

Zaella scowled. For the moment it didn't matter; until she got a lot better at swimming, she wouldn't be going anywhere fast when they landed.

"That must be it." Narasi pointed through the viewport. "Wow! I didn't expect a forest.  Do you think they planted the trees when they first got the place?"

"As opposed to importing adult trees?" Tirien shrugged. "Probably an even chance either way; feel free to ask Raven when we land. The landing platform should be just there."

The Kaivalts' island was indeed mostly dense forest, though Zaella saw a stretch of grass at one end of their platform and a clearing here and there. The…castle? Manor? Zaella wasn't sure what to call the Kaivalts' home, but she could see the wood-and-stone building past towering hardwood trees, set just inside the treeline and shadowed by leafy canopies. It was smaller than Runganna's palace on Circumtore, but more elegant too. Having been born a peasant under Lady Hadan's rule, Zaella didn't set much store by heritage, but she thought she'd never find a better contrast of old money against the nouveau riche.

Narasi set the Second Chance down on a landing platform that curved with the island; she had taken one of the last spots at the end of a row that included a luxury yacht, a pair of shuttles, and a freighter that looked about half a century younger than the Second Chance. As they filed out of the cockpit, Zaella wondered if the Kaivalts could fork over a decent sensor dish. Narasi left Gizmo some food and kissed him goodbye, then Tirien led the way out.

The breeze sent a thrilling shiver up Zaella's lekku, and she inhaled deeply. "What is that? That smell?"

"Salt," Narasi said. "You've never…oh, right. Yeah, all oceans smell like this."

"Most," Yan corrected; her voice was still a little raspy, though even Zaella, who had never even seen an Arcona before, could tell she had improved substantially. "If it doesn't, maybe don't swim in it."

Narasi chuckled while Zaella savored another ocean breeze. She missed the sharp desert creosote sometimes, but this had a different appeal altogether. She wondered how long they could stay.

"That's Raven," Tirien said, and Zaella opened her eyes to see a dark-skinned man jogging their way, another figure behind him. "Let's go."

Raven Kaivalt's mahogany skin and neatly trimmed goatee amplified his good looks, and his tailored attire highlighted his fit physique better than the bulky garb most Jedi wore; Zaella draped her lekku down her chest before she could help herself. But the Human's dark eyes showed only relief and profound surprise as he took in the group. He slowed pace a few meters away, and his arms twitched as if he had considered hugging Tirien and thought better of it. Recovering himself, he extended a hand to Tirien. "I thought I'd heard the last of you."

Tirien shook. "Not yet."

Raven offered his hand to Narasi as well, but she swatted it out of the way with a smirk and hugged him. Raven looked surprised but touched as he hugged her back. When she drew away, she said, "It takes more than a Sith planet and a thousand-odd bounty hunters to kill us!"

"Clearly." Raven's teeth gleamed against his dark skin as he grinned, but his face turned thoughtful as he studied the motley crew. "And you succeeded…?"

Tirien gestured. "Raven, this is Yan Razam, our sister Knight."

"Yan Razam…" Raven repeated, his brows drawing together. "The one who took out the gravity mines for our invasion of Milagro?"

"That's me," Yan said. "If only the rest of my squadron had been around for Tirien and Narasi to rescue."

The bitterness in her voice wiped away the last of Raven's smile, and Narasi lowered her head. Before anyone could speak, the older man tailing Raven drew up to the party, an armored droid in tow. Gray-haired, cool-eyed, and full-bearded, the man wore rich garb with a crest on each breast, but he looked so unlike Raven that Zaella assumed he was a visiting fellow noble until she saw that Raven had the man's thin nose. The droid had the androgynous features and permanently complacent expression of a protocol droid, though Zaella had never seen a protocol droid with that much armor.

"Raven?" the gray-haired man asked.

Raven cleared his throat. "May I present my father, Miklato, Baron Kaivalt. Father, these are Tirien Kal-Di and Narasi Rican."

Tirien bowed. "Your Honor. We're in your debt for safe haven."

Zaella expected the baron to offer some condescending acknowledgement, but he returned the bow instead, if not quite as deeply. "Jedi Kal-Di. My son speaks very highly of you.  And Padawan Rican, Raven has praised your valor and your commitment to duty.  You're both welcome at Inimă Eserzennae."

Narasi smiled. "I'd be dead if it weren't for Raven, Your Honor. It's great to meet you too."

"My children are great Knights," Miklato agreed, laying a hand on Raven's shoulder. Raven smiled, but Miklato scrutinized the group. "Forgive me, I don't recognize your companions. Raven told me of your mission to Eriadu; I confess I thought it a fool's errand, but perhaps you've proven me wrong…?"

Raven presented Yan Razam, then gestured to Jirdo and Zaella and paused. "And these are…"

Zaella gave Raven a sultry smile, but apprehension drew her eyes to Tirien, and she saw at once that Jirdo, Narasi, and even Yan Razam were looking to him for guidance as well. He took a deep breath, then said, "This is Zaella Sabir; she's a former Sith apprentice from Tarni Hadan's empire on Ryloth. And this is Jirdo Yushari, a deserter from the Service Crops.  They've proven their mettle and value to us and worked beside us to save and preserve lives; they're my wards, and I'll answer for their conduct here.  If any of that is going to be a problem, tell me now."

A former Sith apprentice, Zaella thought again, but she watched the Kaivalts. Raven's eyebrows shot up, and the droid positioned itself in a way that made Zaella think, bizarre as the notion was, that it might hurl itself in front of its master. Miklato Kaivalt himself arched a brow and said, "…your candor humbles me."

He glanced at Raven, who nodded. Miklato set his mouth in a line as he studied them each in turn; Zaella felt the judgment behind those pale blue eyes and tried not to flinch—or to stick out her tongue, as she wanted to do. When Baron Kaivalt's gaze got back to Tirien, he said, "I take you at your word, young Jedi, and I open my doors to you all. Come.  We have much to discuss."