Star Wars - Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Wayside ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

The Wayside

By Gan Xingba

Chapter Five

 

Force sensitive beings all have what has been sometimes referred to as a “danger sense”, that is, the ability to sense when they are in a dangerous situation or where danger will come from. However, there are also situations where this sense is simply stating the obvious, and is essentially useless. As I stand glancing nervously back and forth from Mandalore to Bastila, it becomes apparent that this situation is the latter. Evidently, the two know each other. Unfortunately, this doesn't appear to be a positive thing from my standpoint.

 

“Well, what could bring a Jedi princess like yourself to stand the presence of a `barbaric Mandalorian thug'?” asks Mandalore smugly, causing one of Bastila's eyebrows to twitch.

 

“You know perfectly well why I'm here, Mandalore,” she replies icily, putting a rather unflattering emphasis on the Mandalorian's title.

 

“I'm afraid we Mandalorians can't read minds,” Mandalore quickly retorts, and I see Bastila's lip begin to curl out of the corner of my eye as Mandalore lets out a deep chuckle. “Come to try and beg me into working for the Republic again, perhaps?”

 

“Begging? You were lucky to even be considered for the offer,” scoffs the Jedi, clearly trying, and failing, to keep a calm demeanor. “In fact, I'm glad that you refused. The Republic doesn't need reckless, Mandalorian rock-heads in its army.”

 

“From the looks of things, you need everything you can get. Not that I'd accept anyway,” comes back Mandalore, not missing a beat. “But if that's not what you've come here for, then explain now. Unlike you, I do more than hide from the rest of the galaxy all day.”

 

Bastila's fists are clenched now, and I can almost see them trembling slightly as she puts an increasing amount of force into the motion. The expression “fiery eyed” doesn't even come close to the inferno that is raging behind her gaze as she glares at the large armored man standing before her. If this confrontation was ugly before, it is going to become positively perilous now. I think that it is about time I intervene before someone loses a limb or two.

 

“You were traveling in the company of the exiled Jedi Vagus Machaera up until you parted ways after a battle at Telos, correct?” I interrupt, drawing an unpleasant glare from Bastila and the hollow gaze of Mandalore's helm.

 

“It's rude to interrupt adults when they're having a conversation, kid,” said Mandalore coolly, and I quickly restrained myself from responding to the mocking statement. “But then again, at least you get to the point, unlike certain Jedi. Yeah, I traveled with him shortly, what of it?”

 

Bastila may look like she wants to filet me with her lightsaber at the moment, but at least this is getting somewhere. That is, it's getting somewhere if Mandalore keeps answering my questions. If he doesn't I'll just let him and Bastila spar one another verbally for a while and try again. Patience is the key to good interrogation.

 

“Vagus' whereabouts are currently unknown, and it is urgent that we locate him soon. Where was he heading when you left one another's company?” I continue, mentally crossing my fingers.

 

“Why do you want to know?” returns Mandalore. “If you're trying to recruit him, I doubt he'd accept.”

 

“This is a far greater issue than recruitment. That is all that I'm allowed to say on the matter,” I answer simply. “Now please, if you know where he went, I implore you to tell us.”

 

“Typical answer right out of the textbook,” grunts Mandalore with contempt. “I take back what I said, I don't like you.”

 

I'm about to move forward with the interrogation when suddenly the sound of an object hitting the metal floor rings loudly from Bastila's direction. Seeing as nothing is lying on the floor, I'll assume that the sound came from Bastila stomping her foot onto the ground. Her anger is clearly not leaving anytime soon.

 

“Stop playing games, Canderous!” she snaps, and I quickly file away the name “Canderous” for future reference. “You know as well as I do the direness of the situation. Now tell us what you know, and I wont take `no' for an answer.”

 

From what little I know of Bastila, that last piece was not necessary. I doubt she ever takes no for an answer. Mandalore's chuckle tells me that he is also quite aware of this.

 

“All right, fine,” caves Mandalore with mock reluctance. “If you're in such a hurry, I'll tell you where he was headed. When we left, he and his crew were headed towards…”

 

This is it! Finally, I can find Vagus and determine what this unseen threat is that he is fighting. I'll even be able to join the fight myself. I can correct the mistake I made on Dantooine. Unless…

 

“…Malachor.”

 

…he doesn't answer us. Malachor was all but destroyed during the final battle of the Mandalorian Wars. The planet collapsed upon itself and created a huge gravitational vacuum, destroying the planet and any ship unlucky enough to be in the vicinity of it. What was left of the planet wasn't even habitable for life anymore. This Mandalorian is fooling with us.

 

“You're certain he was headed there?” asks Bastila before I can speak, much to my dismay.

 

I simply stare blankly at the female Jedi for half a moment. Bastila is no fool, but it was clearly stated in the Republic Intelligence files on Malachor that the planet is no longer safe for life. Yet, she seems dead serious about this all of a sudden. She must know something about this that I don't…again.

 

“Not only did he tell me himself, but I managed to get into the Hawk's computer and get a feed of its jump route as it left Telos,” Mandalore answers, the smugness finally fading from his voice as I file away the word Hawk right next to “Canderous” in my mind. “They took a pretty round-about route, but their final destination was definitely Malachor.”

 

There's a pause as Bastila closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. I can't help but feel like I have just been completely isolated from the conversation, but that's really of no consequence. So long as I get the information I need, I could really care less.

 

“His actions thus far are to the contrary, but I'd still like you're reassurance on it,” begins Bastila. “You don't think he'll use it, do you?”

 

“Not a chance,” Mandalore replies, shaking his head to add emphasis. “Trust me, if he was the kind of guy that would do that, he wouldn't have even made it to Telos.”

 

I raise an eyebrow quizzically as my eyes dart back and forth between the Jedi and the Mandalorian. I can only hope that they don't end up speaking cryptically like this for the entire time, or I'm not going to learn anything. Of course, that is probably the very reason that they are speaking in such a manner in the first place. Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder why the Admiral sent me on this mission in the first place if I am going to be so useless.

 

“If he is not going for that reason, then…” starts Bastila, her eyes suddenly growing ever wider.

 

“That's right, someone else is using it,” Mandalore finishes for her, causing Bastila to complete the transformation from deadly seriousness to what appears to be a mix of shock and panic.

 

“How is that even possible?” she blurts out, regaining much of her voice's lost volume. “She didn't tell about it to anyone but us, and the only other people that would know about it are already dead!”

 

I feel the sudden urge to ask the pair just what in the hell they are talking about, but I repress it. Instead, I just slump my shoulders and look at them with increasing confusion, although truthfully, I don't think that this is any better.

 

“Not quite. It looks like she told someone else back during the Mandalorian Wars, an old Jedi woman named Kreia…her first master,” Mandalore continues, pausing a moment as Bastila almost takes a step back in surprise. “My best guess about the whole thing is that she moved in on it towards the end of the Jedi Civil War with some followers. The rest of the story is a bit complicated, and I'm not even sure if most of it's right.”

 

The last thing I need is more complications. It sounds like this “Kreia” is the thing that killed the Jedi on Dantooine, and, to be quite frank, that's all the details I really need for the moment. Vagus and his crew can fill in the details in a debriefing session, but time is of the essence right now. With this in mind, I take a step forward to attract Mandalore's attention before I speak.

 

“This woman, Kreia, is she responsible for the deaths of three Jedi Masters on Dantooine?” I ask bluntly.

 

“Yeah, that was her handiwork alright,” answers Mandalore after a slight pause to recover from my straightforwardness.

 

“You also said she has followers, do you know approximately how many she has?” I query without pause.

 

“Let's put it this way, that gigantic ship that attacked Telos?” returns Mandalore. “Full of `em.”

 

I nod slowly, and then turn to Bastila. I don't need any more information, but she seems to. Judging from the rather cryptic way they have been speaking, I'll only be a hindrance to her ability to get that information if I stayed.

 

“My mission doesn't require any more information than this, so I think I shall head back to the ship,” I inform her, and she nods permissively. “Thank you for your time, Mandalore. I assume that your men will not shoot me if I try to leave the camp?”

 

Mandalore confirms this with a nod and I give a respectful bow before turning to leave the bunker. If things are as bad as Mandalore made them sound, I should inform the Admiral of these recent developments immediately. With any luck, we might act quickly enough to stop anything terrible from happening.

 

000000000000000000000000000000000000

 

The fact that I knew where I was going this time made my second trip through the Dxun jungle that much shorter. It did not, however, do anything to relieve the overall unpleasantness of it. My tiny little shuttle looked like a Correllian pleasure yacht when I arrived as a result of this, but at the moment, it feels smaller and more cramped than ever before. Being put on hold to speak to the Admiral when I had made sure to get the urgency of my message across had been irritating enough, but for twenty minutes? I probably woke the COM officer from his nap, and this is his revenge.

 

Finally, the holoprojector image floating in front of me changes from the rotating emblem of the republic and is replaced with an image of Admiral Onasi, sitting at an empty desk. I flash a salute out of instinct, a futile effort to acknowledge the military hierarchy around the Admiral, it seems, as he quickly signals me to be at ease with a wave of his hand.

 

“I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything, sir,” I apologize.

 

“I wasn't doing anything that important. Besides, I was told that this was urgent,” he replies, and I inwardly curse vengeful COM officers everywhere while keeping a straight face. “I take it that you've learned where our exiled Jedi is, then?”

 

“Yes, sir, and his target has been identified as well, sir,” I answer. “He is apparently chasing a woman named Kreia who also is the one who killed the three Jedi Masters on Dantooine. According to Mandalore, she has a rather large group of followers as well, perhaps enough to form an army. Supposedly, he plans to confront her on Malachor.”

 

The Admiral is frowning now, not the scolding kind of frown, but the kind of frown that let's all who see it know that its wearer does not like what is going on. After a pause, he addresses me again.

 

“Do we know what this woman plans to do?” he asks darkly.

 

“I don't know, sir,” I reply, shaking my head. “I did not ask about her exact motives, but I expect that they are unclear. Bastila may have more information then I do, her and Mandalore were discussing the details when I left to report to you.”

 

“So, she managed to meet up with you after all? Good, I was beginning to worry about that,” mentions the Admiral, clearly just trying to put on a positive appearance.

 

“Sir, with all due respect, I don't think that we have any more time to spend on intelligence gathering,” I say hastily, trying my best not to sound overeager. “Based on the information we have now, I think the best course of action would be to eliminate this threat as soon as we can.”

 

“Vagus is already moving to take care of it, you said so yourself,” he says, and quickly raises a hand to cut me off as I begin to protest. “But Jedi can fail just like anybody else, I've seen it myself. We may need Bastila's help for this, so I'll have our navigation officer send you coordinates for a rendezvous with the Sojourn on our way to Malachor when I cut transmission. Get there as soon as you can. Admiral Onasi out.”

 

The transmission cuts out before I get the chance to salute the Admiral, perhaps on purpose, and less than a minute later the Admiral's voice is replaced with a beeping coming from the shuttle's computer as it receives the rendezvous coordinates. At about this time, Bastila enters the shuttle and the landing ramp closes with a hiss behind her. At first, I'm a bit shocked to see her here so early, but then I remember that a twenty minute hike becomes a lot shorter when you're a Jedi.

 

“Have you already reported what you've learned to Carth, then?” she asks me as I move to re-activate the pilot droid.

 

Carth? First she calls Mandalore “Canderous”, then she reveals that she is on a first name basis with the most powerful man in the Republic military complex? To say that this Jedi has connections is a vast, vast understatement.

 

“The Admiral instructed us to rendezvous with him on en-route to Malachor,” I reply, to which Bastila nods in response and proceeds to sit down in the copilot's chair.

 

Even if I am merely being taken along to Malachor because I happen to be on the same ship as Bastila Shan, I still can feel a small bit of excitement growing within me. Finally, the time for me to simply stand to the side and watch things unfold is over. Perhaps, just perhaps, I still may be able to give Vagus the aid that I failed to give him back on Dantooine.