Chapter 89
he Grannd Traveler doesn't have a cloaking device, Leia," Yarnick said, while they stood near the big space ship on Tyr.
"Neither has the transport ship from the Tychorion," Leia answered, "By now it's no longer really necessary to keep our travels between the continent of Palomintar secret. The content of those boxes are the same with the one I took with me, Yarnick, and I also like Ronan's option to use the hoses and the pump to bring water from the lake over the high wall. I'm sure you and your brothers will work out a construction that will do the job. We should to get back to Myr now. There's a lot of work still to be done. I'm going to say goodbye to Toallin and Mugin."
Leia left the ship and took a small speeder to reach Cantamaga. Already near the outskirts of the town she saw a group of Quelans waiting among them the two leaders. She stop the speeder and got over to the waiting group."
"We're leaving again, Toallin. The sooner we'll be back on the other continent the better."
"What you've told us, fills us with the hope that Ribana will soon be freed, so we can return to our way old way of living."
"Our hope lays with the work of Cornell and his men, Toallin. They have done a tremendous lot of work. What has been a dream for year might become reality soon. As soon as Darth Golluth has been handed over to the leader of the council on Coruscant we all will come to Cantamaga and help you preparing your return."
"We're looking forward welcoming all our new friends in Ribana, Leia. Send regards to all of them, when you're back on Myr. The Quelans of Palomintar Four will always welcome you."
Leia walked back to the speeder and got back to the plains where Yarnick and Brion were waiting to fly back. Leia boarded the speeder and went to the control room.
"There's quite a length of solid hoses and a huge pump, which we normally use to clean the Grannd Traveler so she will look decent. Leia. If we can use them to create a water flow along the wall we might not need to tear down the wall. I have also counted thirty five boxes. Each contains not twenty, but thirty liquid explosive," Kieran announced elated.
"Kieran, why did you have such a large amount of those explosives on board of the Grannd Traveler. "
Kieran grinned.
"It's just stock. We're traders, Leia. We bought this load just before we went to Mos Eisley for repairs. Isn't this a great coincidence. "
Leia started laughing.
"You're right, Kieran. Call it also a coincidence that Liane and her Jedi friends were there at the same time, although Luke and I wouldn't call it a coincidence, but the influence of the Force."
"What ever you both think it is, I don't care, Leia. But with this load of explosives we certainly can blow up the wall at the end of riverbed."
"We still have to be cautious when working in the riverbed."
"You mean that those droids could be permanently watching the wall on the other side."
"Might be, Kieran. I have to think things over and discuss with Han and Cornell how we are going to use the explosives inside the riverbed. Not only do we have to remain cautious for those droids, but we also have to prevent that the explosion will collapse the riverbed's ceiling," Leia commented.
Kieran nodded seriously.
"If you need help, Leia, I volunteer to find a way to attach the explosives at the wall in the riverbed and I'm sure that Ronann and Bran will help me. "
Leia put her hand on the youngest of the Grann brothers, before she said thoughtfully.
"Thank you for your offer, Kieran. We'll discuss any possibilities when we're back on Myr."
"Of course. That harvest leader is a very sensible person, as is the old man, his father. They both remind me of Marek, my father, who has taught us to considers any plans or travels we make very seriously."
Yarnick entered the control room.
"We're ready to head back to Myr, Leia. Kieran, strap yourself in."
Kieran made a face to Leia, while he fixed he safety webbing.
"Since I met with a accident while we were fleeing from some opponents, Yarnick always checks if I'm strapped in before the Grannd Traveler leaves," He whispered.
Leia smiled, but didn't comment on his words.
Doran Whain looked at the inactive droids under the half-collapsed roof of what probably once had been a shed.
'I'll leave them here, and head for the clearing at the other side of the hills', He thought, 'No one will find them here and it might very interesting to know if those two Jedi can transcribe the content of those files. There is a risk, that I can't find their space ship, if it is cloaked. It's getting dark already. There is no use to get back to Trevor at. There's nothing to report and I can't bring the woman to him.'
He looked at the inert droids and grinned.
"You can't do any harm at the moment, so stay where you are. I'll reactivate you when I come back with the woman and master Antilles. If by chance you would create havoc again, they'll know how to keep you in check." He said aloud.
He pushed the door which hung crookedly on the broken hinges for the opening and climbed the garden wall to the main plaza. Once outside he hurried to the southern outskirts of Ribana which were stretching out till the foothill of the forested hills. As soon as he has reached the dense vegetation and trees on the hill he began to ascend the slope for the hilltop.
All the while he thought of the circuit boards the woman Jedi had handed him. She had already looked it him in a peculiar way when he had entered the wine cellar, and afterwards Jedi master Antilles had assured him that the secret of his true identity was safe with them. Hadn't Luke also recognized him at their first meeting? It seems that Jedi could easily see through a faked identity. It felt uncomfortable. Before he left Coruscant he had been convinced that he had become Doran Whain. He had thought that his real identity would be thoroughly masked behind his alias. And here on Palomintar Four three Jedi immediately had addressed him with his real name, at least they almost had. He felt some uneasiness, for he knew that if his real identity would become known to the renegade admiral, he might be in danger.
"What do I really know about the Jedi Knights and their order. I have never met Jedi Knights before. Can I be really sure they will keep my identity secret. Will they keep that promise," He mused half aloud, "I've only heard about the purge and the way the Emperor once activated the code that turned the clone army against their Jedi commanders. While I grew up on Coruscant there weren't anymore Jedi Knights, although there were enough rumors that not all them had been eliminated. Those rumors must have been true, for one way or another Luke Skywalker must have gotten his training and education to become a Jedi from them. I would love to work with my new Jedi friends, for they probably are exceptionally highly intelligent people. When this mission is over I will ask Luke or master Antilles, and maybe also miss Liane Solichor who seems to be a Jedi, too, if they would be willing to team up with me, working as intels for both our governments. "
Muttering his thoughts under his breath, he reached the top of the hill. Still keeping cover among the trees he looked down at the forested other side. It looked difficult to find the clearing where he had met Luke and master Antilles before. Then he suddenly grinned as he remembered the coordinates Luke had once given him. He took out his infocom and scrolled through the stored data. Using the coordinates he would be able to find his way to the clearing where he, Luke and master Antilles had discussed Luke's daring plan the last time
"Let's assume that master Antilles has used the same clearing to land his space ship," He murmured.
He activated the coordinates. Immediately a small dot appeared on the display which pointed to the left. More at ease Doran began at descending the steep slope to the valley behind the forested hill. It was now completely dark, but the display provided enough light to help him find his way downhill.
Meanwhile Wedge, Liane and the droids had reached the clearing where the cloaked Astræga had been hidden. Liane deactivated the cloaking of the ship relying on presence of the ship she clearly felt through the Force. The Astræga became visible and Wedge lowered the ramp to lead Threepio and Artoo inside. Liane followed them and raised the ramp behind her. Once inside Wedge activated the cloaking again to avoid unwanted attention of any unexpected surveillance.
In the control room Wedge took out a box from under the couches and handed Liane a sophisticated card reader. Liane grinned.
"Luke's ship still has a lot of hidden treasures to discover," She laughed.
Wedge had taken a second reader. A more ancient model, but still useful for the task they needed to fulfill.
"You take the latest model to display the file probably recorded in the Sith language. Do you really expect you can transcribe what's recorded on it?"
"I hope so, Wedge. It's years ago that I saw any lines written in the dreadful language. I was forced to learn it. Anakin relentlessly pressed me to rehearse the content of the Book of the Sith over and over again. Sometimes he woke me up unexpectedly and then I had to recite the chapter he wanted to hear. If it wasn't correct, he let me repeat it, until he was satisfied, but let's look at the files on the datacron. We don't know in what language the second file is recorded. Artoo, please, hand us the datacron" she said.
Artoo slit the compartment in his dome aside and Liane took the tiny datacron and slit in the slot of her reader. Two files appeared on the display
"Look, Wedge. One of these files starts with an 's'. That's probably the one with the recording in the Sith language. Let's copy the other file to the second reader."
"Shaayla-Car, are you postponing to look at the content with the recording in the Sith language?" Wedge said, looking at her.
Liane nodded and held the second reader near her device to transmit the other file.
"I feel uncomfortable with the idea that Luke expects me to use the knowledge I had gained in my past. He always took great care to avoid any reference to my past as Anakin's apprentice, because he felt how upset I became if I had to remember the evil things I had seen, learned and done in the past. I feel unsure, Wedge, to confront the knowledge Anakin taught me, despite I know he regrets all the evil things he forced me to learn."
Wedge nodded and activate the reader she handed him. A blue transparent screen started to hover above the device and a list of pages were displayed. Wedge displayed the first page on the list. It only showed a title in capitals, but Liane and Wedge immediately recognized the language.
"It's a recording in Jedieese!" they both exclaimed and then they started to laugh.
"That's going to be an easy one, Wedge. You can transcribe the content of this file probably easily, right? You've practised in the Jedi Archive cave on Na'ctaMagh'Ba."
"Only a few times, Shaayla-Car, but I remember you taught me and Yarmod to use the Force to understand what's written in the language of the Jedi."
"Exactly. Let's each of find a place in the ship where we united ourselves with our powerful ally and rely on her power to make a transcription in Basic. Maybe Threepio can help you to record what you are reading, saying it aloud in Standard Basic. He can't read Jedieese, but is very fluent in Standard Basic, according to Han."
"Shall I help you to find a quiet place, Shaayla-Car?"
"No, thanks for your concern, Wedge, but I want to do a Jedi mediation in Leia's former quarter. Since Luke and I left Endor, her quarters have been more or less the place where I stay while on board the Astræga. Maybe you have a look at Luke's private quarter which has a very sober furnishings. Exactly what a Jedi needs to become one with the Force."
Wedge started to laugh.
"Didn't I initiate you to Jedi Knight, Shaayla-Car? Are you still doubting the decision I made? "
Liane shook her head.
"I don't, Wedge, you know why I said it. Let's get going, the sooner this task is over, the better I think it will be, so we can discuss what Luke had in mind, charging us with the content of these files."
Wedge and Threepio left. Liane was left deep in thought, but suddenly she jumped up, grab her reader beckoned Artoo to follow her and walked with certain steps to the niche in the middle of the ship. She sought her union with the Force to open the door to the meditation room. She helped Artoo to the platform, closed the door and pressed the bottom to open the protect cover of the transparisteel bulb. She sat herself in the middle of the heightened floor and beckoned Artoo to stay close to her.
"Stay with me, Artoo. I might need your help."
"KKDKJIWLN-DKKILSKK-DDAILMDDI-HWKKKDIS" Her astromech friend beeped.
"I know, you're not a interpreter. I need your company I reassure me, that I'm doing the right thing. Wedge is right, Artoo. I don't like this. It doesn't feel right to make use of knowledge Anakin forced me to learn. I wonder why Luke has asked me to do this. I only want to get inside Trevor's underground abode and see if everything is alright with Luke."
She grabbed the reader and activated it. The blue screen hovered above the display. Liane opened the file and the first page became visible. For a moment she looked at the words with raising disgust, then she filled her mind with the help of the Force to read the content.
"Artoo, please, record what I'm reading aloud in Basic," She said in her Force trance.
She didn't hear that her droid friend activated his recording unit and waited placidly to fulfill his task.
'Fifth year of the reign of Emperor Palpatine' Liane said aloud and she swapped to the next page.
'Investigation about the disaster of the Imperial Space Fleet near Solgar. This investigation will personally be overseen by Emperor Palpatine'
On the next page Liane read Trevor Matrik's name being accused of making the wrong decisions at the Solgar planet.
For a moment Liane released herself from the Force and looked at Artoo.
"Anakin once told me that Trevor's action near Solgar has resulted in a total disaster." She said to the droid, "but he didn't tell me that the Emperor has issued an investigation on the matter. Let's see the next page. Oh, that's lot of nasty Sith text. I hope I will be able to read this whole page, so you can record it."
'You need some help of those who once were more familiar with this language than you have been, Liane'. A familiar voice said.
Before Liane the Force ghosts of Anakin Skywalker and another man appeared.
"Father! You will help me with this? Who is your companion?" Liane said aghast.
'Show me the page you want to transcribe in your language' The unknown Force ghost ordered.
Liane turned the reader and in a clear voice the Force ghost translated the Sith words.
"Did you get it, Artoo," Liane asked.
"EIMNDOS-WKKDKSIL-WKKSKID-XXLLSLKE" Artoo confirmed.
'Show us the next page, Liane' Anakin ordered, looking at the hovering blue light above the reader.
Liane took back the reader, swapped the page, and put the reader again so her two Force visitor could read the text. Anakin nodded and translated the Sith text into Basic. Liane took the reader again to get the next page. After Artoo had recorded the text, three other pages were translated with the help of her unexpected assistants. Finally Liane turned up the last page.
"This is the last page in the file, father," She said and turned the device once again.
The unknown companion of Anakin Skywalker read the text in Standard Basic. Anakin look at Liane.
'I once told you I had to go to the Solgar system to solve admiral Trevor Matrik's disastrous failure. This report of the investigation what went wrong under his command must be clear to you know. It also states that Emperor Palpatine did read his verdict in a different language. Did you read the sentence and the proposed execution of the Emperor's judgment. That file is written in Jedieese.'
"Why was that, father? Wedge Antilles is working on that file. And who is the one that helped you?, Liane asked curiously.
'The execution of Palpatine's judgment could only be done by some one who once had gotten is training as Jedi Knight, Liane.'
A long silence followed before Liane hesitatingly said.
"And it was you who had to do that, father?"
Anakin nodded
'Palpatine forced me to execute his judgment. I had to use Sever Force to surround and separate Trevor who was Force-sensitive, from the Force with a wall of lighting. Only the Jedi are able to perform this Force use as the Sith can only use Force lightning to execute. Palpatine wanted to make Trevor suffer for his inadequate strategy that damaged the Imperial Fleet. However, I didn't know that Palpatine had in mind to permanently remind me that I had been Trevor's executioner, for he nominated Trevor to be a staff member on the Morantan domains.'
"Oh, father, how awful. Know it's clear to me why you despised the presence of Trevor on Morantan," Liane said with compassion.
Anakin looked at his foster-daughter and turned to his companion.
'I told you, Ulic, that the offspring of Nomi and you, has become a real servant of the Good Side. You didn't believe my words, for you once has been a Sith, like me. Nomi punished you for the murder of your brother, but you redeemed the Dark Side and became a Force ghost after you died in Nomi's arm. Shaayla-Car Kenobi is the offspring of you and Nomi in a long line of female Jedi.'
Liane looked at Anakin's companion with a gentle look in her eyes.
"Months ago, I've met Nomi Sunrider. She told me about the love between you and her and your daughter Shaayla. My mother Severini Solichor named me Shaayla-Car after a Jedi friend of her, but maybe she knew the name of your daughter with Nomi. I feel very fortunate that my foster-father could convince you too to meet me, like I met Nomi." Liane said.
'You just heard what Nomi did after I killed my brother, Shaayla-Car.' the Force Ghost of Ulic Qel-Droma answered,
'I deserved her punishment, but I immensely regretted that I lost her love. She left me, together with her daughters Vima and Shaayla.'
"It must have been hard for both of you, my ancestral father," Liane said.
For a long moment Ulic Qel-Droma and Liane looked at each other.
'The Force is strong with you, Shaayla-Car Kenobi. You have learned and found your way to become a Jedi Knight. It has been a hard strife, but you succeeded. Support your eternal partner and, who knows, as Nomi and I hope, you will pass on the long line that connects you us.' Ulic said before he stepped back and his Force apparition disappeared.
"Tell him, father, I honor him, like Nomi honored him and forgave him his wrongdoings." Liane said.
'Go and read Palpatine's judgment after you transcribed your helper's recordings, Liane. You now probably know enough to confront Trevor Matrik who will never be a Force-user again, because Sever Force not only raises a wall of Light to block the Force's influence; it also alters a Force-user's midichlorian count so that he is never able to experience the influence of the Force the way he once experienced. ' Anakin Skywalker's appearance said.
"Thank you, father, for your help. Not many people will understand my admiration for you as my foster-father."
The Force Ghost of Anakin disappeared and Liane looked at Artoo. She deactivated the reader and looked at the dark sky, visible through the transparisteel dome. For a while she seemed enthralled by the vision, but then she took out a datapad and held it out to her companion.
"Please, transmit the text to my datapad, Artoo. Next we'll go back to the control room and see what Wedge and Threepio have learned."
Leia looked at the two young Jedi friends.
"I want you to go to the end of the underground riverbed again," She said, "Take Chati with you, for she knows her way through the cave system behind the wall. Use your lightsabers to widen any of the fissures so the three of you can pass through. Before you enter the cave system you have to attach some liquid explosives all over the wall. When the water flow will be released I hope that those explosives will break the whole wall and force the water into the cave system. Take good care of Chati, but follow her lead inside the caves, for she knows where to hide. Here is Luke's lightsaber. He trusted her with his weapon and has instructed her how she can wake him up. So her presence inside the caves is really important. I send the two of you, because you will be able to make use of your skills as a Jedi in case the three of you will have an encounter with those droids. One last warning: avoid an encounter with Trevor Matrik, wait until you are sure that Liane is inside the cave system too. If you're sure, or even have spoken to Liane Chati should wake up my brother from that Jedi hibernation state. Maybe you will also meet Wedge Antilles. Ask him to take care of Chati and Doran Whain and help them to get out of the cave system safely. The two of you, together with Liane and Luke have to deal with Trevor Matrik. How an encounter with him will work out I can't tell. Remember that Trevor is a Force-sensitive person, so he might make use of his Force skills to fight back."
Yarmod and Ian nodded. Leia grabbed under the thick pile of nagawa fleece that served as a mattress on her bunk. She handed Ian the lightsaber of her brother.
"As you are worrying about your sister, Tama-Hinn, I am worrying about Luke. That's why I want you and Yarmod to support those both daring Jedi Knights who want to end Trevor's reign and bring back happiness to the Quelans of Ribana. May the Force be with you."
Leia put her hands on the shoulders of the two friends.
"Leave for the riverbed tonight or tomorrow night. Now go and inform Chati. Give her Luke's lightssaber as a token of my trust and my brother's."
Ian and Yamod left Leia's tree house. Yarmod and Ian looked at each other with a grin.
"This is the opportunity we've been waiting for, Ian. Ever since our walk through the riverbed with Chati and the encounter with those droids on the other side of the wall, I wanted to know what's behind it and you felt the same."
"Yes, I wanted to get inside the cave system, before the wall will be blown away through the explosives? Do you think, that ma... Leia sensed both our wishes, for I wanted to know if Shaayla-Car has already been brought inside those caves."
"Leia probably sensed our thoughts, for she knows you're worrying about Liane. Come on, let's find Chati and asked her to join us tonight."
Yarmod pulled Ian to the rope ladders that lead to the plateau. They descended and looked around. Many of the harvest men were digging out the bedding that has to lead to the inlet of the underground riverbed. They welcomed the two Jedi with cheers. For a while Ian and Yarmod helped them to crumble the rock layers inside bedding so Cornell's men had an easier task to remove the rock. Ian saw Chati who was still busy, together with Cemall and Chewbacca, to improve the wall with the pieces of rock the harvest men had dug out. As a result the wall along the edge of the plateau had now reached a considerable height. It would certainly contribute to the success of project. Although the wall consisted of all kind of different pieces of rock, those pieces has been cemented together with many layers of durasteel cement.
Chati looked up and saw the two Jedi. She spoke to her two companions and left her chores.
"Thanks for your help in canal. I saw how you helped the others to crumble the underlaying rock. Cornell says that he wants to see if the water from the lake will reach the inlet to the riverbed."
"When does he want to do that test?" Yarmod asked and looked at Ian.
"As soon as those six brothers have constructed the pipes of the hollowed branches to siphon the water from the lake. I've heard that they will be ready tomorrow or the day after. Why are you asking, Yarmod?"
Yarmod shook his head. Ian addressed Chati in a whisper.
"Can you meet us at the clearing immediately after we have had our evening meal?"
Chati looked startled, but nodded, then she started to grin.
"The two of you are up to something, right?"
"No, we have to carry on an order from Leia and we need your help." Ian said still whispering.
"From the Jedi lady. Wow, that must be important. We'll go to the clearing as soon as we've finished our meal tonight. See you, guys."
Chati went back to her work on the wall. Yarmod and Ian ascended to the camp site.
"We need to take enough of those explosives balls with us, if we're going to enter the cave system tonight. Do you know where those boxes from the Grannd Traveler are stored?" Yarmod asked.
Ian shook his head.
"We'd better ask Leia. Perhaps she knows."
They walked to the community tree house where a group of harvest men were preparing the evening meal.
"Fernall, have you seen the female Jedi?" Yarmod asked.
"She was here a couple of minutes ago. She went up to the lake where your other friends are preparing the test with those branch pipes. Those guys are doing a great job. I've heard that their first test with a small section of those hollowed out branches is working perfectly. I can't wait to see the whole construction siphoning the water from the lake down the wall."
Yarmod and Ian left the tree house and walked up the steep hill to the lake. Halfway they met with Leia who was descending again.
"Come with me. I know what you needed. I've talked to Yarnick and I can provide you with those liquid explosives. Did you talk to Chati?"
"We will meet at the clearing after the evening meal," Ian said.
"Good. I will hand you some thirty of those liquid balls when you're back at the camp site. I don't have to tell you, you have to keep them dry."
"We can divide the balls in three portions, if Chati is willing to join us, Leia." Yarmod said.
"Fine, now come with me to the Grannd Traveler to get those explosives," Leia said.
It took Doran several attempts to descend the steep slope he thought would lead to the hidden clearing where he had met Luke and Wedge before, but when he finally thought he was getting near, another steeper slope appeared in front of him. He sighed, as he remembered how Luke had warned him as Luke dived at high speed into the valley. With some dismay Doran looked down the steep edge looking for a way to descend, but in the darkness he couldn't find a secure path.
"Better wait until daylight," He murmured and sat down on the tree stump. "If I had a piece of rope I could lower myself along this slope."
He tried to penetrate the darkness around him, but he only saw the huge trees that rose high above him. For a while he sat listening to the noises of the forest that surrounded him. Then he took out his infocom and activated the messaging section. To his relieve his former message to the Tychorion's messaging system had been confirmed and answered. Somewhat amazed he looked at the initials that accompanied the answer.
"Are they too on the Tychorion?" He wondered, but suddenly he got an idea.
"I can send another message, asking to put me through at the infocom of Wedge Antilles or the infocom system of the Astræga. If I could get access to one of those systems I could ask Wedge how I can reach the Astræga safely."
Doran composed a message, encrypted it and send it to Luke's procon system on the Tychorion. To make sure that the receivers would be aware of the emergency of his message, he send it more than onces.
On board the Tychorion the communications officer immediately warned his general.
"General, several incoming messages on commodore Skywalker's partition and again its source is commodore Skywalker's infocom. However, general, the message has been send five consecutive times."
;
"Pass them on, officer," Madine said.
The holo display in the meeting room popped up.
'Urgent. Put my infocom signal through to master Antilles or to the Astræga's comsystem. NTDW.'
Mon Mothma looked a Jerno Thai.
"This comes from your agent, grand admiral?" She asked.
"Certainly, Ma'am. He uses the same type of confirmation we have used on our answer. Those four capitals are his initials." Jerno answered.
"Why does he want to be in touch with master Antilles or his ship? Could it have something to do with his first message? What do you suggest we should do?" Sorjon Tyloban asked.
Jerno looked at Kalip and Valann.
"Can we connect to the infocom our man is using. We'd better talk to him and asked for more information."
General Madine looked at his com officer.
"Set up a direct secure connection with commodore Skywalker's infocom."
"Yes, sir," The officer saluted and hurried back to the communication center.
In the dark forest Doran sat half asleep against the tree stem when his infocom started buzzing. He activated the device and looked astounded at the five holo images.
"Doran, what's the emergency of those five message to send," Jerno Thai asked, "Earlier you send a message to warn us that no space ship should land near Ribana"
"That's right, sir. I'm on my way to meet master Antilles and his female companion. Their space ship has landed at a save spot in a deep valley behind the southern hills of Ribana. I need to contact master Antilles via his infocom or via the com system of the Astræga. Probably the connection with my infocom can be established via the Tychorion. All I need is the access codes of those com systems."
"Why did you send us your first warning message, Doran?"
"I can't get into detail, sir, but our admiral ordered me to contact the Basilisæa. When I told him admiral Vestor didn't answer, he came up with another plan: his droids should confiscate any ship that would land near Ribana. He has in mind to use the ship to get rid of Luke Skywalker who is still inside his cave system."
"Will the location of the Astræga be detected easily?" general Madine asked
"The Astræga probably has been cloaked which will make it difficult to spot the ship."
"Enough, Doran. I will ask general Madine that there will be established a connection between the infocom you're using and both the com systems of Jedi master Antilles or the Astræga. Take care of yourself."
"Thank you, sir, I will."
The holo display went blank. Doran looked at the device and waited. A few minutes afterwards his infocom buzzed again and the holo image of Wedge Antilles popped up.
"Doran, what's so urgent, that you ask the Tychorion to make contact with you."
"Apologies, master Antilles. I'm on my way to the Astræga, but I miscalculated the path I had to follow. In other words I'm stuck on the edge a very steep slope which can't be descended without a rope or so. I understand this sounds stupid, but I was curious if you and your female Jedi have been able to transcribe those weird files."
Wedge Antilles nodded, but Doran saw that he also look suspicious.
"Stay, where you are now, Doran. I have a read-out of the coordinates of you infocom. I'll pick up in a couple of moments and bring you to the Astræga," Wedge answered and disconnected.
Doran sighed. His idea to join the two Jedi again hadn't turned out the way he had thought, but he felt relieved that one of them was willing to pick him up.
Not long afterwards he heard the sound of a speeder and within a few minutes Wedge Antilles appeared.
"Get in, Doran. I'll bring you to the Astræga. We need to talk."
Wedge's voice wasn't unfriendly, but sounded distant. Doran jumped on the passenger seat and Wedge accelerated and dived along the steep vertical sloop.
On board the Tychorion the leaders of the Provisional Coruscant Council and the New Republic looked very seriously at each other.
"Shouldn't we descend to the planet surface, Ma'am?" Jerno Thai asked Mon Mothma, "I think that our agent has miscalculated his position among the Jedi. I don't want him to get hurt in the aftermath of all this."
"I understand your concern, grand admiral, but I have confidence in his abilities and those of the Jedi. It might look now that he might have brought himself in a dangerous position, but there are six Jedi Knights on Palomintar Four, of which two are quite near your agent's last position. I guess that soon we will be in contact with one of our Jedi to get us updated on the situation."
Kalip Ru'undo looked not convinced after Mon Mothma's words.
"Who are those two Jedi that might help our agent, Ma'am?" He asked.
"Are you in for a surprise or a shock, lietenant-general?" Sorjon Tyloban asked.
Kalip frowned.
"What do you mean, master Tyloban?"
"The two Jedi that landed with the Astræga near Ribana are Jedi master Wedge Antilles and a female Jedi named Shaayla-Car Kenobi, the legitimate daughter of former general Obi-Wan Kenobi, but you know her by her other name: Liane Solichor, or less flattering the Daughter of Darth Vader."
The three leaders of the Provisional Council looked at their opponents.
"Liane Solichor has landed on Palomintar Four near Ribana, so all our attempts to prevents she will team up with our admiral have been in vain. Is that what you're telling us," Valann stammered.
Mon Mothma looked stern.
"I understand that the three of you still stick to your believe that Liane Solichor or Shaayla-Car Kenobi will team up with your renegade admiral, who is obsessed with the idea to revive the Empire and who wants to plunge this galaxy in another devastating war. I can tell, you're wrong. Shaayla-Car Kenobi, my dear friend and Jedi Knight, not only is the legitimate daughter of our honored former general and Jedi Knight master Obi-Wan Kenobi, but also the daughter of Severini Solichor, the Jedi Knight and Jedi Healer at the former Jedi temple on Coruscant which I confirmed after your man asked you to withdraw his first mandate to capture Liane Solichor when she would set foot on Palomintar Four."
"Our agent left us a message that he didn't want to carry out his first mandate after he had had a long conversation with Luke Skywalker. We couldn't respond to his report as from the beginning our agent insisted that communication between him and Coruscant would be one way only." Jerno remarked.
"After all the information you have got from different source you still kept your believe that Liane Solichor would be a threat to the peace treaty and to the future of the galaxy," Mon Mothma said still looking stern.
"I have to apologize, Ma'am," Jerno Thai said.
"Ma'am, the advice to our agent on Palomintar was inspired by the thought that after the decades of War our galaxy needed a period of rest. A period of peace an prosperity for both our governments. The knowledge miss Solichor has got from our enemy Darth Golluth seemed a threat to what we thought would be necessary to establish a long lasting peace." Kalip said, and Mon Mothma looked upon his words as a similar, but indirect, apology.
She nodded friendly.
"I always have felt your concern, master Ru'undo. Even I once felt that concern. When master Skywalker and his sister met Liane Solichor after our forces had brought her to Irithim she opposed every attempt to change her behavior."
All the time Valann Namaran had been quietly listening to the conversation.
"Ma'am, could you tell us if the Jedi can read Sith language?"
Some what surprised Mon Mothma looked at polite third leader, also his other co-leaders looked surprise.
"I don't know, commodore Namaran," Mon Mothma answered, "Why are you asking this?"
"Ma'am, before I became an imperial officer I have been working as a historian. In my old profession I recently have been doing a secret in depth research about the relation between Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader and admiral Trevor Matrik. My research included Palpatine's personal archive. Most of the files were encrypted, but I managed to find the codes to decryption the content which contained the many orders Palpatine once decreed, specifically decrees to thigten his grip on all systems. As I told you I stumbled upon two files which were recorded in some unknown languages which our translator droids couldn't transcribe. I kept those files secret hoping I would find a way to uncover their content, but to no avail. However, just before we left Coruscant to meet you on the Tychorion, I did some last check on the log files of the archive and to my surprise I saw that someone has transmitted those strange files admiral Vestor on his request. Could it be that admiral Vestor has send them to our agent, or to former admiral Matrik? Which makes me wonder if our agent has been the receiver has he told miss Solichor about them? My thoughts are all highly hypothetical, but as miss Solichor once has been taught some Sith lore, maybe she also could have recognized the strange language as part of her upbringing."
"Valann, what do you think might be the content of those files," Kalip asked.
"Kalip, although I couldn't decrypt those files I've found out that they have been recorded in the archive shortly after the disaster that happened in the Solgar system. A large part of the Imperial fleet was heavily damaged and almost all the ground forces that had been deployed on the planet, were killed. The responsible admiral of the fleet was no other that admiral Trevor Matrik. The news about the battle near Solgar was made public over the holonet."
Jerno Thai nodded.
"I remember the news, Valann. The Emperor send Darth Vader to suppress the insurrection on Solgar. Palpatine wasn't pleased, but what happened afterwards I don't know. The only thing I learned was that admiral Matrik kept his rank, but was relieved of his duties as admiral of the imperial fleet, but Palpatine accepted him again as a member of his praetorian guard."
General Madine looked thoughtfully at the grand admiral.
"An interesting story, grand admiral. Thank you, commodore Namaran, for sharing your thoughts about this matter. What do you think, Sorjon, about the content of those files."
Kalip interrupted.
"Valann, I remember you told us about a praetorian guard who had a weird experience after he seemed to have lost some special skills he once possessed. Could it be that ... "
"We should speculate to much, gentlemen. We need to focus on what's happening at the moment. As soon as the problems with admiral Matrik have been solved we certainly will hear the details on our Jedi's actions and what information your agent has shared with them," Mon Mothma said, "Leia Organa had informed me that we need to be very cautious regarding admiral Matrik. He wants to become a Sith Lord like Palpatine, so he might be a Dark Force user and a threat to the peace and prosperity we want to bring to the systems in our galaxy.."
Jerno, Kalip and Valann nodded in agreement.
"It is a relief to all of us, ma'am, that the Jedi will help us to handle the Admiral's potentially dangerous skills." Kalip commented.
Yarmod, Ian and Chati were sitting on the tree stump at the clearing.
"That's what Leia want us to do, Chati," Yarmod said and looked at the Quelan woman, "We need your help once we're inside the cave system behind the wall, but we assure you that we will protect you. Before we pass through the gap Ian and I will create with our lightsaber we have to attach those liquid explosives on the wall, probably in several other fissure or chasm. We have to fix them securely because when the water will be led back into its former bedding the explosives have to do their work."
Chati nodded.
"Of course I will come with you. I have a rough map of the cave system on my datapad. I only hope that the intruder hasn't made many changes. I suggest that as soon as we're inside we'll seek a cave to hide. I will take nut rations with me enough for a day or two. If we need to stay out of sight longer, because Liane hasn't been brought inside I can found out where food and drinks are stored and I can steal what is necessary. You said that you will deal with any droids we might encounter. When do you want to go?"
"Leia wants us to go as soon as possible. Tonight or tomorrow night for instance."
"Tomorrow night will be fine, that gives me the opportunity to get those nut rations. I also have to ask master Leia to hand me Ben's lightsaber. He entrusted me with his weapon and he asked me to hand it to him once I had woke him up again."
Ian grabbed inside his coat and unhooked a lightsaber from his belt.
"Leia asked me to give Luke's lightsaber to you, Chati. We're in your debt for your help. Although we could widen one of those gaps ourselves our mission will be safer if you can lead us through that cave system."
Chati grinned.
"I'm glad master Leia wants me to accompany you two. I feel that as an honor, Ian. It also will be a great possibility to meet Ben again, maybe even your sister and master Antilles, for I understand that he is staying with her."
"We need to carefully work out further plans without anyone of the harvester, especially Cemall or Lorann, will suspect anything," Yarmod said.
Chati looked at the lightsaber Ian was still holding out to her.
"Hand me Ben's lightsaber once we're inside the underground riverbed, Ian. A Jedi with a lightsaber won't draw suspicion, but a Quelan woman with a lightsaber, like me, will."
Ian hooked the lightsaber at his belt again.
"I'm sure, Chati, that one day you will be a Quelan woman with a lightsaber and no one will look suspicious at you,"
They all laughed.
Liane and Wedge looked at Doran Whain.
"I owe an explanation," He said.
Both Jedi nodded, but remained silent.
"I'm just curious to know if you both have managed to read the content of those two files."
"We told you that we would contact you as soon as we would be ready," Wedge said.
"What have you done with those killer droids?" Liane asked.
"They are still inside the shed. Inactivated."
"We thought that you were about to report back to Trevor, before we would contact you again?" Liane said.
Her voice sounded stern and curtly.
"I had nothing to report, Ma'am," Doran answered, "After I refitted those cards I decided to stay in Ribana."
"We would have come back to Ribana. That's what we agreed upon," Wedge said.
Doran looked at the two Jedi in front of him. How could he convince them that he wasn't deceiving them? Maybe he'd better told them he had send a urgent report to the Tychorion. A warning about Trevor's plan to endanger Luke's life. However, would they believe him? Did the women Jedi know that it has been him who send those spies to her hide-out on Na'ctaMagh'Ba? The thoughtless action of those thugs had caused her flight from a place where she had been safe from Darth Golluth's minions. It wasn't likely that she would trust him if she knew his role in the attack on Na'ctaMagh'Ba. What did she know about him? What did Luke and Wedge tell her about him? Should it be better if he revealed the truth to these Jedi too, like he had done to Luke?
All the time Liane and Wedge had watched Doran.
"Master Thai, you quite unfamiliar with a Jedi's skills, right," Liane said. "Don't try to fool a Jedi Knight, master Thai. We can see through you and know what you have been thinking. Yes, I know, it was you who send those guys to Na'ctaMagh'Ba to find the place the Supreme Chancellor had allowed me to stay, so I would be safe for Trevor's machinations. I can't understand that someone with your abilities would lend a hand to a deserted imperial officer who wants to plunge the galaxy into a devastating war again."
For a moment Liane cast a glance at Wedge Antilles. The older Jedi nodded and smiled.
'Go on, Shaayla-Car. This guy has to know what powers the Force can give us Jedi.'
Liane fixed her eyes on Doran again.
"I know the truth, master Thai, I know why you are on Palomintar Four. The leaders on Coruscant send you here. Not exactly to the planet's surface, for that's was your own initiative and it brought you a lot of trouble, for you had to act against your original mission. You've underestimated Trevor Matrik and his army of killer droids. I understand you managed to reprogram many of those droids, but likely not all of them. If Luke Skywalker wouldn't be inside Trevor's underground cave system I would ask my friend master Antilles to lift off now and escort you to the Tychorion for further questioning. Am I right, that the Coruscant leaders are on board the Tychorion at the moment?"
"They are, Ma'am, and I suggest that you talk to them about my mission. I admit that I had been too confident when I took the initiative to assist Trevor Matrik to fix the damage to his comsystem. However, before I decided to follow you to the place where the Astræga had landed, I have send an urgent message to my superiors, using the messaging system on the Tychorion. Your friend Luke allowed me to use his entry code. Any message to his messaging partition on the Tychorionn which would be aimed at Coruscant would be send immediately to my superiors. I wasn't aware that my last message has reached them on board the Tychorion."
"Shaayla-Car, we can contact the Tychorion and ask for confirmation about any messages Doran Whain has sent recently," Wedge suggested, feeling that Liane's concern for Luke began to stir her feelings.
"We should do that, Wedge. I want to know what's going on and how we can keep Luke's life safe."
She and Wedge activated the comsystem of the Astræga to reach the Tychorion. Almost immediately Mon Mothma's holographic image popped up.
"Liane, are you and Wedge safe?"
"Yes, Ma'am, so far we only have an encounter with some ten of Trevor's killer droids, but Wedge and I have settled that matter."
"Did Wedge get in touch with that Coruscant agent, if you know?" Mon Mothma asked.
"He has, Ma'am, master Nori Thai is on board the Astræga at the moment."
The holographic image of Jerno Thai popped up.
"Miss Solichor, you are endangering our agent's mission mentioning his real name. Why are you revealing his true identity?"
"Sir, master Wedge Antilles and I are Jedi Knights, as is Luke Skywalker. From the beginning we have known your agent's true identity, but that will not endanger his mission as you suggest. Master Antilles and I only want to know what messages your agent have recently sent to the Tychorion using Luke Skywalker's entry code for his shielded messaging system. It feels odd that your agent suddenly asked master Antilles to pick him up as he got stuck on a ridge near the valley where the Astræga has landed."
"Are you accusing him of spying, miss Solichor?"
"Yes, we are, sir" Liane answered rather bluntly, "After we first met your agent he promised that he would wait until we would contact him again after we had done our task on board the Astræga."
For a moment the holographic images became disturbed as several other persons wanted to comment on Liane's words. Finally the friendly image of general Madine popped up.
"Shaayla-Car Kenobi, I understand that the action of the undercover agent sounds very confusing, if not doubtful, but I can guarantee you that he is trustworthy. Can you tell us why master Antilles and you went back to the Astræga after you met with the undercover agent."
Liane looked at Wedge.
"General, I'm not familiar with all the details, but Doran Whain has got some information about Trevor Matrik. Among the information were two datasets in some unknown languages. Doran Whain has shared the information with Luke after the two became friends and decided to join forces. Doran Whain participated in Luke's plan to get him inside Trevor's underground system. Luke hid the two datasets in the compartment of Artoo. In a recorded message he asked Shaayla-Car and me to have a look at the datasets and transcribe the content into Standard Basic. That's the reason why we went back to the Astræga. After I picked up Doran Whain and brought him on board the Astræga he told us that he was just curious to know if we succeeded the task."
General Madine nodded.
"Thank, commander Antilles. Did you succeed to transcribe the content of those files?"
"We did, and I have to admit that what we found was amazing and troublesome, but it surely will help us to bring this mission on Palomintar Four to an end."
"I understand that you don't want to reveal the content of these datasets yet, commodore, but one of the leaders still has a question about them. Would you mind to answer it?"
"We won't go into details yet, but I will gladly explain the value of these datasets," Wedge said.
The holo-image of Valann Namaran appeared.
"Master Jedi Antilles, I'm Valann Namaran, lieutenant-general of the Provisional Coruscant Council and by profession a historian. Could you please tell me if those files were written in languages only the Jedi can read?"
"They are, sir. One of them is written in the old Sith language. The other one is in Jedieese."
"And you made a transcription of both files?"
"We did, but for the time being the content will remain secret, otherwise the mission of your agent would be jeopardized. If Trevor Matrik will find out that his so-called loyal assistant has got secret content, and especially the content of these dataset, he surely will revenge himself. "
"I understand that you will not only protect and safe the other Jedi who is inside Trevor's caves, but also our agent."
"That correct, sir."
"One last question, Jedi master Antilles. When our problems on Palomintar Four will be solved, one way or the other, and the indigenous population has been restored to their territory, would you share the transcription of both files to the Provisional Coruscant Council?"
"We will, sir, no doubt about that. We will hand out the transcription to the triarchy and will ensure that any other copy will be destroyed."
"Master Antilles, thank you. You're help on this matter is of immeasurable value. Not only for me as an historian, but also for the upcoming trial of Trevor Matrik."
Jerno Thai and Kalip Ru'undo appeared next to the holo-image of Valann Namaran.
"We have listened to your explanation, master Antilles and we agree with your point of view," Jerno said, "I can tell that Doran Whain send us several warnings. In his first urgent message he warned us that no ship must be allowed to land near Ribana. He later explained what our renegade admiral has in mind concerning Jedi master Luke Skywalker. We confirmed his message and you can see the confirmation on his infocom. He contacted us again, using the initial of his real name and those of his alias and asked us to contact you as he seems to be on his way to your space ship and got lost. We can send you copies of both his messages. Master Antilles the triarchy fully vouches for the reliability and integrity of Doran Whain. As your general just said he is trustworthy and has done a tremendous job so far. Without him it might have been taken much more time to bring the illegal occupation of Palomintar Four to an end."
"We will heed your words, sir, and will warn you when your assistance will be needed to arrest admiral Trevor Matrik," Wedge said.
"We rely on your skills and those of Shaayla-Car Kenobi, master Antilles. May the Force be with you."
The connection vanished, but almost immediately, two copies of Doran's messages appeared on the screen. After reading Wedge secured the messages and looked at Liane and Doran.
"Doran, we already promised that we will not reveal your true identity. We know who you really are and we're honored to cooperate with you and bring your mission to an end."
Doran Whain sighed relieved.
"I really believed that you wanted to bring me to the Tychorion, master Antilles."
"That wouldn't has solved anything, Doran. On board we would have got the same information we've just heard. Let's discuss what Shaayla-Car and I have found in those datasets Luke asked us to transcribe. Here is my datapad with the full transcription of both files. Take your time to read them. Their content will no immediately make your mission easier, but this knowledge will give us a head-start on Trevor Matrik."
Doran Whain took the dataset and started reading. After he finished he looked up at Wedge and Liane.
"Unbelievable. Thank you," He said.
Wedge and Liane smiled.
"You're welcome, Doran. Now we proceed. Next step will be that you will bring Shaayla-Car inside Trevor's cave so she can release our friend from his Jedi hibernation status."
"What about you, master Antilles?"
"I will find a way to enter the cave system as well."
"Maybe I can be of some help. Let me explain."
Doran sketched the location near the entrance of Trevor's hide-out and the existence of the lower cave with the hidden stairwell. Wedge nodded.
"Good point, Doran. That lower cave will surely make it possible to enter the cave system unseen, so I still support Shaayla-Car, my friend Luke and you."