Prologue^[a][b][c][d]

Salik Prime, 21 BBY

The first rays of light crept along the ground. They shone upon the multitude of corpses, streaked with blood and dirt. The village was devoid of life.

Another light shone, this time a bright, white light, instead of the warm sunlight. A ship flew overhead, presumably searching for survivors. Kaedran Canoor blinked and raised a hand to shield his eyes from the blinding light. The ship passed. He groaned and leaned up on his side, resting on his arm. He wiped the blood from his face. He tried to remember what had happened.

About a year ago, the Separatist-aligned Mining Guild had arrived on the small planet of Salik Prime. Salik Prime was the smallest planet in the Wyggyar system. Its only significance was its large amounts of minerals in the ground. It was a rocky, desertous planet with little flora or fauna.

The Mining Guild had quickly established dominance over the poor miners of the planet. 12-hour shifts quickly turned into 20 or more. Life had become a monotonous cycle of boredom.

Then, two days ago, it all changed. In a matter of hours, Kaedran had transformed from a lowly miner to a freedom fighter. The White Army had attacked the headquarters of the Mining Guild. An army of mechanical monsters descended on the planet. Kaedran was in the mines when it happened. He had barely made it out alive before the Guild detonated the shafts to prevent the White Army from reaching them.

He immediately ran to his home, or what could formerly be called a home. The shack was now a pile of rubble. A dead body lay in the corner. It was his mother. She was dying anyway, suffering in this cruel galaxy. Perhaps this was best for her. No more pain.

Along with other miners, they stormed storehouses around the area. They fought for their lives, since the Mining Guild no longer cared. At the end of two days, everyone was either dead or close to it.

He had woken laying on the body of another miner. All around him were bodies. He had nothing left on the planet. Unfortunately, due to the war, there were no ships leaving offworld.

Kaedran pried off the bloody armor of a soldier from the White Army. The face of the man was hardened, with scars all over it. Kaedran felt he should be able to blend in in an army so large and extensive. He boarded a ship with other soldiers, all in bloody, crusty armor, and headed away. Kaedran had no idea what would await him, but he was going to take it head-on.

Chapter I

All around him, time flew. Kaedran was herded on the ship full of the White Army, like a lamb to the slaughter. What shocked him the most, was when the soldiers took off their helmets, they had identical faces. There were scars or other marks on many of them, small differences between the soldiers, but to a miner’s naked eye, it was impossible to tell.

Kaedran hid himself from the other soldiers as they were the same, and if he removed his helmet, he would stick out like a sore thumb.

Just then, a man walked into the room full of the soldiers. He appeared and sounded different than everyone else. This was a species of alien Kaedran had never seen before. On Salik Prime, there were other races of miners. He’d see Twi’leks, and humans predominantly, but there was the odd outlier. The man, Kaedran presumed, was a humanoid species. He had greenish-brownish skin with a bony headcrest, a long reptilian-like chin, and four arms, which he kept behind his back. He walked with confidence and pride that Kaedran had never seen before.

“Troops.” He made the heads around him turn, “Good fight out there. Remember, good soldiers follow orders. Even if it means death.”

“Yes, General Krell!” They all shouted in usion.

The room remained eerily silent until the man named Krell left the room. As soon as he left, frightened whispers were let out from all around him. Kaedran knew he had to leave the White Army as soon as possible.

When their ship docked, Kaedran snuck out last. He headed in the opposite direction of the soldiers. He could tell the planet was Coruscant by the stories the miners had told him. The tall buildings were beautiful, and the air, that wasn’t stained in the smoke from mining, amazed Kaedran.

After Kaedran realized that he couldn’t stand in public too long, he immediately limped to an alleyway stripping off the bloody armour. Taking it off pained him, he assumed he had broken a few bones, but he couldn’t wear the armour that the people who murdered his mother, his friends, everyone that he knew any longer.

Kaedran then looked in the pocket on his bloody clothes. He had only one thing left, his mother’s wood engraved necklace. His mother told him that the necklace was made by his father, who passed away in a mining accident 3 months before he was born. Kaedran put the necklace on his neck and buried it inside his shirt, trying to not think about his past. It was over, there was no sense in dwelling about it.

What Kaedran needed was credits. He searched through the armour, and found a pocket. It was filled with priceless jewels, Kaedran assumed the soldier attempted to steal them before he was killed.

With that, Kaedran found a vendor on the street, and purchased a robe, so he’d fit in better. Kaedran knew from the stories the miners would tell that the lower levels were a safer place for a man of his class, so he continued limping until he found a ship.

“How much for a ride to a lower level?” He asked the man.

The man looked at him. He had green eyes, similar to Kaedran’s and dark skin, with creases in his skin, showing that he was a decade or so older than the 24 year old, Kaedran “You ain’t from around here kid.” The man said.

“No,” Kaedran answered, “Can you just get me a flight to a lower level.” Kaedran removes two jewels from his pocket.

“I’ll do you one better,” he responded, “I’ll take you to my favourite bar. Karno. Jod Karno.” He took his hand out, shaking Kaedran’s hand.

“Kaedran Canoor.” He responded.

“Alright Canoor, to the bar!” Karno exclaimed!

***

When they entered the bar, on one of the lower levels of Coruscant, Jod led Kaedran down a street, to a small tavern. When they walked in, Kaedran saw a blue female Twi’lek manning the bar. She moved swiftly, until she saw Karno.

“Jod!” She ran over, “I was beginning to get worried about you, with the war going on, I didn’t know what happened.”

“My love, I’m all right.” Jod then turned to Kaedran, “Canoor, this is my wife Del’Nika, Del’Nika, this is my new friend Kaedran”

“Nice to meet you,” she flashed a smile at Kaedran, “It’s been a while since you’ve brought a friend here.” Del’Nika said to Jod, “It’s good for you.”

“You mentioned something about a war?” Kaedran inquires.

The bar drew quiet with the mention of the war. Living so far in the Outer Rim, Kaedran hadn’t heard much of the war. He had heard rumours, but Salik Prime knew not of the devastations the Clone War had wreaked upon the wider galaxy.

“Not now,” Karno said in a snappy voice, “Wait until people leave. Why don’t you get us some drinks Nika?” Karno suggested.

She rushed right over and made two identical drinks and handed them to her husband and his friend, and continued to serve others at the bar.

“Tell me about yourself Canoor.” Karno said.

“I’m not very special.” Kaedran responded. He went on to tell Jod his life story. How he grew up on Salik Prime, never leaving the planet. He started working in the mines when he was twelve, to feed himself and his mother, with her unable to work in the harsh conditions, and his father’s money running out. Up until the attack of the White Army, it had been a routine. Wake up, work, go home, go to sleep. That was up until the shifts changed to be much longer, with more people dying in the mines.

Then Jod told his story. He was raised by a rich politician on Coruscant, who he refused to name. That was until his parents started ignoring him more, and more, until he’d only see caretaker droids, and nannies. He left home at 16, stealing money, and a ship, smuggling goods across the galaxy. He then met Del’Nika, and they fell in love, and had a happy life together, with her owning this bar, and Karno, smuggling goods, though on a smaller scale, to spend more time with Nika.

The men bonded over strong drinks, and fun stories, eventually making their way around the bar, learning of others’ stories, and names. Nika had to drag the men to their home above the bar when the night was over. They stumbled over their feet, having drank too much, and quickly falling asleep.

***

Kaedran woke up with a heavy head, from too much alcohol from the night before. He vaguely remembered where he was, but when he saw Jod sleeping on the neighbouring couch, he knew where he was.

“Good morning Kaedran!” Del’Nika smiled from the small cooking area.

“Morning Del’Nika...” Kaedran grumbled, “I’m sorry about this, I don’t usually drink that much.”

“First of all,” she responded, “Call me Nika. Second, don’t worry about it. You’re way more polite than the other men my husband’s drinks with.”

Nika carried over a tray of food to Kaedran with three plates, she took one, Kaedran took one, and another was left over for Jod. When Kaedran tried the food, it was way better than anything he’d tried before.

“Is there anything you can tell me about the war?” Kaedran asked Nika.

“Yes.” She sighed, “What do you already know?”

Chapter II

"You sure you're okay, Kaedran? This is probably a lot to take in, especially for an off-worlder.”

Kaedran rested his forehead on the palm of his hand, trying to beat back the throbbing headache that Nika's revelations had instilled in him.

Apparently, the White Army, or the Republic, as she called them, was currently the ruling power in the galaxy. They were fighting the Separatist Alliance, who wanted to break off from the Galactic Republic and do their own thing. The Separatists were cruel and unjust, at least from Nika's perspective. They enslaved entire races, executed prisoners without mercy, and used their droid armies to devastate anyone who stood in their way.

But was the Republic any better? It had been them, after all, who destroyed his livelihood and killed his mother and friends. They weren't above instilling civilian casualties, as long as it meant winning the battle.

There was no right or wrong in war, Kaedran decided. Separatists, Republic, the whole thing—he wanted no part of it.

"Nah, Nika, I'm fine," he lied. As nice as Jod's wife was, he hardly knew her or her husband. It would take a little while longer for Kaedran to want to spill his guts to them whenever they asked. Sure, it felt like he had a miniature repair droid banging on the inside of his skull with a hydrospanner, but he had lived most of his life without anyone to talk to, especially in his mother's later years when her mental health had started to decline. Why start now?

The Twi'lek seemed doubtful, but she apparently knew when to let a subject drop. Kaedran smiled up at her, grateful for her respect for his close-mindedness.

He sat there for a few minutes, slowly sipping Nika's hangover-killing miracle draught. The bar was still just as dark as it had been the previous night, as it was still closed. The smell of warm bodies and alcohol loomed over the room like a massive blanket, and the muted hubbub of early-morning chatter wafted in from outside. Kaedran looked around, noticing that someone had cleaned and cleared the tables while he and Jod slept. Every surface gleamed with polish, and all the glasses behind Del'Nika reflected the dawn's light into his eyes.

"You take good care of this place, don't you?" he observed.

She shrugged. "Whatever keeps the customers coming."

Nika dismissed his comment seemingly offhand, but Kaedran could tell that she was secretly glad to have someone compliment her work. She probably doesn't get much appreciation from the patrons, he thought, recalling the rough crowd that had been in the previous day.

"You hungry?"

Kaedran hadn't realized that his stomach was uncomfortably empty, and watched as Nika made him some sort of sandwich from a variety of meats and vegetables she produced from under the counter. Just as he was digging in, he heard the rustling of fabric behind him, and turned around to see Jod rising sleepily from the couch, rubbing his eyes and squinting at the chrono on the wall.

"Morning, sunshine," Nika called from across the room.

Jod groaned and unfolded himself from his seat.

"Kriff, Nika. D'you let me sleep in again?"

She emerged from behind the bar and gave him a playful peck on the cheek.

"You did that to yourself. Want a caf?"

"Sure. But I can't stay long, I gotta get to the shop before oh-nine hundred."

He blinked heavily, then seemed to notice Kaedran.

"Almost forgot about you," he said. "You'll need a place to stay, huh?"

Kaedran hadn't really thought about that. He hadn't necessarily come to Coruscant by choice, but he didn't really have anywhere else he needed to be. Other than off Salik Prime, that is.

"I guess so, yeah," he said. "You know of anywhere I could rent?"

Jod scratched his head. "Me and Nika have a place just up there," he said, pointing at the ceiling. "But it's pretty small as is, and you'll probably want your own room, anyways."

He took a datapad out of his pocket and started scrolling through it.

"I know a guy who could probably rent you out an apartment he owns down on 128. That sound good?"

Kaedran nodded. "I'll take anything that keeps the rain off my head."

Jod scoffed. "Rain? Not on Coruscant, my friend. The only weather we have is sun, all day, every day. Climate control keeps us nice and dry."

Climate control? For an entire planet? Man, was he behind.

Jod gulped down the caf Nika had made and slammed the mug down on the countertop like he had just won a drinking contest

"See you in a bit, love!" He called as he walked out the door. Kaedran followed closely as they emerged into the busy street.

. . .

Kaedran kept his eyes on his new friend's back, careful not to lose him in the crowd. They wound their way through a bustling marketplace and into a speeder garage, which Jod unlocked with a swipe of a keycard. He then waved Kaedran over to a dark blue closed-roof airspeeder, which he piloted through the neat rows of vehicles and out the garage's blast-door hatchway.

Kaedran's stomach did a little leap when they soared over the sidewalk and onto the main airway, where the speeder stayed suspended in mid-air over the void. As they settled into a lane of traffic, he rolled down his window and peered out.

Even though he was a young man in standard years, Kaedran felt like a child seeing the world for the first time when he saw Coruscant's massive skyscrapers in the light of day. Buildings soared upwards for miles, disappearing into smog-coloured clouds. Between them, continuous lines of vehicles zipped back and forth in perfect grid patterns, and Kaedran could make out speeders, spaceships and droids alike travelling side by side. Hovering billboards advertised everything from Alderaanian wine to star-cruises to Zanyar. Below, the same structures that scraped the stars far above vanished into blackness, their foundations lost beneath the sheer quantity of walkways and beings crisscrossing the sky.

Kaedran felt a hand grab his shirt collar from behind, and turned to find Jod at the other end of it.

"Keep your head inside the speeder, or it'll be gone in a minute," he warned, his eyes on the windscreen.

Kaedran went the rest of the voyage with his head securely attached, and they arrived at Jod's parts-selling business within less than twenty standard minutes.

Jod pulled up the metal shutter in front of his store, revealing a somehow beautiful chaos of assorted parts and pieces. He explained to Kaedran that he used the store mostly as a front for his smuggling enterprise, although it did provide him with a more steady source of income for times when his other skill set was in low demand. He then turned to address the store at large.

"Hey! Essie! Get over here," he yelled.

With much clunking, banging and scuffling, an ancient, faded green utility droid made its way to the two new arrivals.

"This is SE-6H2, my only employee. Say hello to Kaedran, Essie."

"Pleased to meet you, master Kaedran."

The droid's voice crackled with static, rising and falling randomly.

"He's, uh..." Kaedran wasn't really sure what sort of compliment he could give the droid. Well-preserved? Interesting?

"A bucket of bolts, I know. But, as you can see, I don't need much help around this little place anyways."

He instructed Kaedran in a few menial tasks he could do to help open up shop, all of which he did with genuine interest. He found all the machine parts fascinating, even though he didn't recognize most of them.

After the store was up and running, Jod made a quick call to his friend who owned the apartment a few levels down. He was told by his girlfriend that the former was out, and that they should contact him on his personal comm.

Jod switched his comm to hologram display, saying that his contact was unlikely to pick up unless they made a big deal of it.

A hazy, trans-blue image appeared over the device, which eventually resolved into the shape of a tall, handsome Zabrak male, who appeared to be sitting in a corner booth of some sort of restaurant. The holoprojector was evidently resting on the table, leaving its owner's hands free to take frequent swigs from a hip flask he held.

"Yaruu here," he said, his voice a rich baritone that rumbled across the airwaves. He didn't look directly at the camera, instead focusing his attention on something behind and a little above it.

"Yaruu, it's Jod Karno. Remember me?" he gave Kaedran a light shove so that he stood out of frame, at the same time waving to catch the Zabrak's attention.

The latter's eyes flicked monetarily downwards, and Kaedran saw a flicker of recognition pass across his face. He took another drink.

"Yeah. You fly the Desert Rose, right?"

"Yeah. We’ve worked together a few times, if I recall."

Kaedran wondered how legitimate a rent was when it was paid to a smuggler. Deciding he'd rather not know, he returned to the conversation at hand.

"Cut to the point, Karno. What'd you want?"

"That apartment on level one-twenty eight. You still own it?"

Yaruu smiled to someone off-frame, making a come here gesture with his right index. "Yep. Why do you ask?"

A scantily-clad Togruta woman slid into the seat beside him, gently caressing his bicep and leaning her head on his opposite shoulder.

Jod ignored this. "I got a friend who needs a place to stay. What would you charge to rent that place?"

Yaruu tickled the woman's chin with his thumb, which was massive by comparison to her tiny head. He seemed not to have heard anything, as he simply gazed fondly at her and drank a little more.

"Kealn. Rent?"

He snapped out of his trance-like apathy. "Oh. I dunno. Hundred a month? Hundred and fifty?"

Jod rolled his eyes. "D'you think I'm stupid?"

The Zabrak raised an eyebrow. "Not at all. I'd charge that to anyone who asked. Probably more if they weren't, ah, professional associates."

"Eighty a month. You owe me, anyways."

"Owe you? From what? I owe quite a lot of people, Jod."

"That botched job on Duros. You'd be dead if I hadn't taken care of those Black Sun flunkies for you."

He was silent for a while, apparently considering the offer.

"I suppose I could pay you back some. Ninety creds a month, cash, nothing less."

"What if I was to say that my friend doesn't have a job or credits at the moment?"

Yaruu shrugged. "Not my problem. If he's your friend, lend him some money."

Jod sighed. "Fine. Ninety it is. What's the address?"

The Zabrak rattled it off. "I'll be by in a few hours with the key. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got, umm, business to attend to," he said as the Togruta leaned in for a kiss.

The line went dead.

"I bet his girlfriend's gonna be happy," commented Kaedran.

Jod snorted. "Kealn Yaruu goes through about ten women each rotation. If I were his girl, I wouldn't have my expectations set very high."

Kaedran recalled something Jod had said during the call.

"You went up against Black Sun? That takes guts."

Jod snorted. "What it takes is luck and a whole lot of stupid. I had a joint job with Kealn, and we split up on the way out. Apparently, something we took was of interest to the syndicates, and they sent a coupla' goons after him. I saved his sorry ass and blasted ‘em out of the sky, but I've had to look over my back every waking moment ever since."

There was an uncomfortable silence, in which SE-6H2 could be heard servicing a customer at the front of the store.

Kaedran finally asked the question both had been dreading. "So... credits?" he said hopefully.

Jod sighed. "I'll lend you three hundred. But I expect you to pay me back, hear me?"

Kaedran nodded vigorously. "Yeah, for sure. I'm a man of my word."

"You better be."

The smuggler led Kaedran into his office, where he unlocked a coded safe and removed the promised amount. Kaedran placed it in a pouch at his belt, which he then tucked into his pocket and tied to his belt loop. You didn't have to be from the worst sections of the Core to know about pickpockets.

Jod offered to take Kaedran over to his new home, just to show him where it was. After instructing Essie to watch the store, Jod and Kaedran got back into the airspeeder and started going downwards.

As they descended, their surroundings became increasingly dirty and shady, with the beings around them doing the same.

"Your apartment is only a few levels up from 113," said Jod. "You're gonna have to be careful of anyone from down there."

"Why?"

"Bounty hunters, thieves, murderers, addicts—Level 113 is their home court. It's less painful to get eaten by a Rancor than to get on the wrong side of those people."

Kaedran nodded nonchalantly. He knew the sort of people Jod was talking about. Salik Prime had had its fair share of lowlifes, criminals and other bantha fodder. Lots of them had been sent there to do penance in the mines for their wrongdoings. They tended to cause a lot of trouble, but the feelings of the honest citizens of the planet were rarely taken into account on decisions about that sort of thing.

They arrived at the apartment without any hassle. The building looked decent compared to its surroundings, some of which Kaedran was surprised were still standing. They tried to get in, but the door required a resident's card, something that neither man had. Kaedran was able to meet a few of his neighbours: an old Ithorian who went by Scraps (why, no one knew) was on his way out as they arrived, and a human female about Kaedran's age stuck her head out of the third-floor window to say hello. For such a shady neighbourhood, the residents of Kaedran's tower seemed to be friendly enough.

On their way back to the airspeeder, which they had parked a good fifteen minutes from the apartment, Kaedran noticed three beings talking in raised voices. He looked more closely and saw that a Trandoshan and some sort of breath-mask wearing alien had a young human male pinned up against a wall. He couldn't hear what was being said, but from the victim's expression, the exchange didn't seem to be going well for him. Kaedran started towards the trio, wanting to intervene, but Jod grabbed him by the shoulder and steered him towards their destination.

"Why'd you do that?" Kaedran exclaimed. "We could've taken them!"

Jod kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead of them, careful not to show any interest in the holdup going on behind them.

"No, we couldn't have. That's Bossk and Zuckuss, two of the galaxy's best bounty hunters. You'd be full of blaster bolts in two seconds flat."

The speeder came into view at the edge of the walkway.

"Stay out of that sort of thing. No one ever got anywhere good by fighting someone else's battles."  

Kaedran wanted to protest. It wasn't fair, after all. That man had no chance against those two thugs, and it didn't seem right to leave him to fight for himself. But throwing himself into the fray would probably just get him killed, like Jod had said.

He opened the door to his side of the speeder and got in.

It's a cold, hard world. And only cold, hard people survive in it.

As the speeder took off, Kaedran heard the sound of blasterfire echoing through the alleyway behind them.

Chapter III

Kaedran sat back in the bar, deep in thought. The lighting was dulled, simplistic; patrons wouldn’t be coming for at least another couple of hours. He could hear the city outside. The people, the ships, the droids. All of them going on about their lives while people in the Outer Rim suffered and were killed by the White Army. By the Clone Army. Their army. He pondered how much these people knew of the atrocities their protectors inflicted as well as if they’d even care if they were exposed.

Things could be worse, however. He had a place to stay, and Jod and Nika seemed like decent people. Well, Nika did. Still, he needed more credits, a job to give a steady supply. Was there any mining on Coruscant? He doubted it. The sprawling city was so different to Salik Prime, he barely knew where to look. Jod was in the shop and Nika was in the back, sorting stock. He still hadn’t adjusted to the new gravity yet; he really wasn’t looking forward to the new time-zones on Coruscant.

He needed to find a doctor; he couldn’t work in this state.

“Hey Nika,” he called the Twi’lek

“Yeah,” she replied, poking her head round the doorway

“I need to see a medic, where do I go?”

“You’ll wanna go see One-Bee on 129. The droid’s mad as a nexu, but he’ll fix you up well enough for cheap, maybe free. Droids don’t need much to sustain them.”

A few minutes later, Kaedran’s shuttle pulled up outside the clinic that Nika had recommended. He shuddered as he stepped out; this area was different to where he’d been with Jod earlier. Sentry turrets lined the walls of the clinic and the surrounding area.

‘What sort of doctor has this much security?’ Kaedran almost didn’t want to know as he walked through the door, as long as they didn’t shoot at him he was alright.

“Excuse me,” he walked up to the droid behind what he assumed was the counter. “I’m here to speak to the doctor…. One-Bee?”

“What is your injury?” the droid didn’t look at him, continuing to enter data into some sort of system.

“I don’t really know. I…” Kaedran paused. Should he really tell strangers his situation? He’d told Nika, but he’d still been partially in shock from the attack, now he wasn’t sure. “I was in an accident and a building fell. I might have broken something, I don’t really know.”

“Non-life threatening. You are now number thirty two in the queue. Please wait here in the lounge.” Kaedran sighed and sat down, this was just what he needed.

After an hour, a medical droid came through and called him in. Once in the operating room, Kaedran saw One-Bee, and his heart jumped in his chest. A black IG unit, modified almost beyond belief with an assortment of both medical and weapon-based attachments. White accents ordained the droid, whose green eyes stared at Kaedran unnervingly.

“Liar.” The droid interrupted. “Be honest or leave. You won’t get back in. I have turrets to stop the gangs, but they’ll stop you just as easily. More so even.” It spoke fast and monotonously, though at a slightly higher pitch than most humans.

Kaedran paused. “My name is Kaedran Canoor. I’m a miner from Salik Prime and a survivor of the Clone Army’s attack on the planet. The only one, as far as I’m aware. They were pretty brutal.” The flashes and noises from the battle began to grow, and he had to force himself to shut them out.

“Good. Was that truly so difficult?”

Yes, thought Kaedran, You didn’t watch everything you know burn around you.

The droid didn’t wait for a reply though, instead picking up some sort of scanner. “Lay down on the table. We’re ready to begin.”

Kaedran lay there for half an hour while the doctor scanned and prodded him. He could hear vague voices, but the drugs he’d been given blocked them out for the most part. He heard ‘broken’ a couple of times but wasn’t able to distinguish much else. When the procedure was done, One-Bee explained to him something about being lucky and risk of internal bleeding, but that Kaedran would be fine provided no more buildings fell on him.

“How much do I owe you?” Kaedran asked the droid.

“Nothing,” One-Bee replied. “This entire clinic, turrets and all, runs itself. I provide free medical assistance to those who need it. So long as they don’t lie, I respect their privacy.”

Kaedran was confused. “But you made me...”

“You lied. Not only that, you lied about the nature of your injury, which could have made it harder to treat.”

“Why the turrets?” Kaedran was curious.

“Gangs. Free healthcare. Protection. I offer these to all. Gangs don’t like it. Try to attack. Especially when treating a rival gang member or victim. Also want me. I do more than just heal. Used to be an assassin droid. Gave it up. Too messy.”

Chapter IV

“Careful that you don't face yourself too late,” One-Bee called in a burst of eloquence as Kaedran turned to leave the clinic, “There’s a spark for revenge within you that will only grow if you continue to deny it.”

The droid cast its head downwards and returned to its simple speech patterns abruptly, “Seen it before. People want to hurt people that hurt them. Messy.”

        “What?” Kaedran asked, shocked. “I don't want to hurt people!”

        “Liar.”

        Liar. The IG's monotone voice still rang in Kaedan's head as he waited outside its turreted clinic for Jod to pick him up. Was he really so wrong to want to distract himself from his trauma? And... he didn't want to hurt anyone!

        “One-Bee patch you up good?” Jod called out from his speeder as he pulled up, jerking Kaedran from his thoughts. The weary man simply opened the blue speeder door and slid in with a wordless sigh.

        Jod chuckled. “Yeah, One-Bee will do that to ya.”

        Kaedran did his best to put the incident out of his mind, distracting himself with the stark beauty of Coruscant's glittering architecture. It seemed like all he'd been doing since fleeing his homeworld was distracting himself- since he boarded the White Army shuttle, he'd been caught up in a whirlwind of one-note adventures. This little medical run was simply the latest in a list of ways to keep himself from processing all that he'd lost. Ironically, thanks to that bizarrely clairvoyant droid, his losses had only resurfaced.

        So, Kaedran resigned himself to the speeder window, losing himself in the dazzling skyscrapers of Galactic City as they raced by at breakneck speed, and absentmindedly fondling his wooden necklace.

        Kaedran found himself drawn out of his trance as Jod pulled into his shop's garage.

        “Shoulda known we'd need a keycard to get into that apartment, y'know,” Jod said, reminding Kaedran that he still didn't have a permanent place to stay. “Yaruu isn't one to leave his property unlocked, even a shoddy old place like the one he's offering you.”

        The man seemed unaware that he'd just labeled Kaedran's future residence as a dump. Not that Kaedran minded- he knew it wasn't untrue, and that he was lucky to be set up with a low-rent roof over his head anyway. The riches from the dead clone he'd looted could only get him so far here- even with One-Bee's free healthcare and the kindness of Jod and Nika.

        “I'll call the lousy Zabrak up again,” Jod went on, already strolling away from Kaedran, “He won't be thrilled, but I think he'd be even less so if we busted into the place ourselves. Essie! Where's my comm?”

        “Just let me know what he says!” Kaedran called after him before glancing around the shop, searching for his next distraction and finding it in the form of a rusted protocol unit in the far corner.

***

        Jod swiped his comm from his workbench, casually tossing it into the air and snatching it, waving it at Essie.

        “This is not where I left it,” he scolded the droid, who indistinctly muttered her apologies as she trundled away.

        Jod shook his head with a slight smile as he dialed up Kealn Yaruu. The visage of the burly Zabrak flickered to life in his palm.

        “You again?” he grunted in his baritone, eyes squinted. There was already a new woman on his knee, a curvy human with luminescent pink locks, slowly stroking one of his many horns. It was true- Yaruu sure had a quick turnaround time on the ladies.

        “Me again,” Jod grinned, pushing a lock of black hair behind his ear, “Afraid we can't get into that nice place of yours without a keycard, pal.”

        Yaruu rolled his eyes, a gesture Jod couldn't help but be amused by. It wasn't his fault the Zabrak didn't think all of his deals through.

        “Just drop by my club on 1300,” Yaruu sighed disinterestedly, “I'll have it for you here.”

        “Lovely, my friend and I will be there in-”

        “Oh, and there's one more thing, Karno,” Yaruu interrupted, “I was thinking...” he trailed off as he abruptly turned to the girl on his lap, as though he had forgotten she was there. “Shoo!” he said to her, gesturing her away dismissively, “I've got real business to attend to now, hun.”

        The woman flitted away with an indignant hmph!, and Yaruu leaned closer to the holorecorder, inspiring the briefest waiver of confidence in Jod. Even as a fist-sized holo, the Zabrak exuded an intimidating air.

        “I've got a job cooked up, you see, and I would love to enlist your services for it, my friend. I think that your unique-”

        “Cut the flattery, Kealn,” Jod interrupted with a signature crooked smile, confidence back and on full display, “I'm in.”

***

        Kaedran was jolted from his inspection of the ancient protocol droid by Jod's triumphant return from his call with Yaruu.

        “You ever been to a dance club, Kae?” the man called out to him as he sauntered over.

        Kaedran frowned, “Can't say that I have. Salik Prime isn't exactly known for its good times.”

        “Well, it's already a day for firsts, how ‘bout one more?” Jod grinned charismatically, jerking his head in the direction of the speeder. “Yaruu's got your keycard over at his club. Real seedy place, you'll love it.”

        Kaedran found that last bit somewhat doubtful, though he was eager to get the keycard debacle behind him to truly begin his new life.

        The two men climbed once more into Jod's midnight-blue speeder and pulled out of the garage.

        “Isn't it a little odd for a club to be in business during daylight hours?” Kaedran posited as the speeder dipped into the Coruscant underworld.

        “Heh, you really are new here, aren't ya?” Jod chuckled. “No club ever closes on Coruscant, least of all one run by Kealn Yaruu. Besides, when you're as low as 1300, you can hardly tell night from day anyway.”

        Kaedran turned his gaze to his window, watching level after level fly past. He slowly turned his necklace over in his calloused palm.

        Jod continued casually, ignoring Kaedran's silence, “Hey, I never really offered my condolences about your world. Really sucks what the Republic, or, -what'd you call them?-, the 'White Army' did there.” Jod seemed fidgety- an odd behavior for the smuggler, usually a picture of confident charisma.

        Kaedran was caught off guard by Jod's sudden sympathy. “Well, it wasn't just the Republic that ruined my life there, I have just as much thanks for the Separatists. Maybe even more, since their machines were the ones to show up first.”

        “I don't know,” Jod went on. He didn't glance at Kaedran at all, his emerald eyes glued straight ahead. “Seems to me that if the Republic hadn't swooped in, it all would've calmed down in no time. There'd be a droid occupation, sure, but a little law and order never hurt anyone.

        “Well, except for me of course,” he added with an odd laugh.

        Kaedran found himself put off by Jod's shift in demeanor. What was his angle here?

        “I don't have a stake in the war, Jod,” Kaedran replied, “Frankly, I'd prefer not to think about it. All I need is my next distraction.”

        “Sure, sure,” Jod went on, still not looking Kaedran's way, “But if I were you, I think I might like a little revenge. Why not get back at the guys who sent your world - literally - reeling?”

        Kaedran paused. Jod had a point. What if he could even the score a bit? The White Army took everything from him- but how could he possibly return the favor? The more he dwelled  about the pain inflicted on him by the Republic’s troops, the more genuine, seething hate began to boil in his blood.

        “Eh, just somethin' to think about,'' Jod said quickly. The sound of bassy club music was echoing below them, and flickers of neon strobes began to illuminate the passing levels. The speeder slowed its descent before pulling into a parking spot in front of the most garish building Kaedran had ever seen. The establishment pulsed with a blinding spectrum of color, beams flashing in every direction. Below an enormous arch hung a sign reading “Zabrak's Haven”.

        Jod finally turned toward Kaedran, noticing his look of mixed awe and horror.

        “Ha!” he laughed. “And you haven't even been inside yet.”

        Jod led Kaedran through the entrance of Yaruu's dance club, pushing open the doors with a flourish. Pink and blue strobes bloomed in Kaedran's vision, music thundered in his bones, foreign aromas danced in his nostrils. All thoughts of revenge were forgotten, quelled immediately by sheer sensory overload. If Nika's bar had been like a zoo, this place was a den of gundarks.

        “You stay here!” Jod yelled above the bass, “I'll be back in just a few!”

        “Huh?” Kaedran replied, dazed, “Oh, yeah, yeah, I'll be here.”

        Jod had already sashayed away to meet his associate.

        Time seemed to evaporate as Kaedran stood in the midst of the wildness, soaking it all in, every one of his senses bursting with stimulation. This sure was one hell of a distraction. Sometime within the next few minutes, or maybe in the next few hours, Kaedran couldn't tell, Jod returned, brandishing a small rectangular item in one hand, a large indistinct object under his other arm.

        “Hey, Kae!” he yelled, “Got your key! Let's bounce from this lousy joint, huh?”

        Kaedran shook his head quickly, returning to reality with a great mental effort. Damn, it was loud in here.

        Once they'd returned to the speeder, Jod tossed Kaedran his keycard with a wink and moved the large object to his lap. It was spherical in shape, about the size of a hydromelon, and obscured by a dull green tarp. Kaedran was about to ask about the thing when Jod piped up.

        “So, Kae, I've done a lot for you in the past few days, wouldn't you say? Hooked you up with a place, and even loaned you a bit for rent. We swapped life stories in the bar, if you were sober enough to remember. And hell, I've practically ferried you across Coruscant and back,” Jod paused. He was drumming on the ball in his lap with his fingers. “You'd consider me your friend, right?”

        It was true, Jod had been a real help for him. He doubted he'd have made it one night without his aid. Still, Kaedran wasn't sure he liked where this was going.

Jod suddenly pulled the cloth from the thing on his lap, revealing a patterned yellow-and-grey ball with three glimmering red spots in its center.

        “You ever seen one of these?” Jod asked, seemingly changing the subject, “It's a buzz droid. War tech- and very useful for getting into well-secured places. Yaruu brokered it from someone called Martez down on 1313.

        “Anyway, there's a job,” Jod went on, making and breaking eye contact intermittently, “And I was wondering if maybe you could help out, just as a way to return the favor a bit.”

        Kaedran slowly inhaled, opening his mouth to politely object, but Jod cut him off before he could.

        “Now, I know it's not fair to make you do this. I hadn't said that I'd demand anything in return for what I'd do for you, and I'm not now. I'm just saying, I'd really appreciate it if you helped me out a bit here too. I really don't want to pass this opportunity up. The score will be real big on this one, but I can't do it alone.”

        Kaedran sighed. He knew that Jod's ventures were hardly ever of the legitimate variety, and his description of the bizarre little droid seemed to suggest the same was true here. Kaedran had been aiming for a clean start on this new world, but Jod had been nothing but kind to him, and he sounded truly genuine.

        Ah, hell.

        “What's the job, Jod?” he asked reluctantly.

        “Oh, I think you'll like it,” the smuggler said suggestively, finally looking Kaedran straight in the eyes,  “You wanna raid a clone supply warehouse?”

        At this, the revelation of a path to revenge, something flipped inside Kaedran.

        Screw a new start. Screw forgetting what it was that drove him from his planet.

        No, Kaedran would remember it all. Not only that- he would avenge it. His home, his mom, his life. It was like Jod said: the White Army was responsible for it all. He wouldn't skirt around that truth any longer. He would make them hurt, just as they had done to him. He didn't just want to steal from them, no, he wanted to really hurt them. And he would.

        Not a liar anymore, One-Bee.

        Kaedran's eyes glinted as he looked back at Jod, seated next to him in the speeder outside Yaruu's booming club.

        “Well?” Jod asked again.

        “Hell yeah,” the off-worlder replied, breaking a smile for the first time since he'd arrived on Coruscant. Kaedran was gonna kill some clones.

        “All right, buddy!” Jod exclaimed back with a huge grin, clapping Kaedran's shoulder excitedly with one hand as he pulled away from the Zabrak's Haven. The two whooped and hollered with jubilation as they ascended from level 1300, and towards the future.

        No more distractions.

        No more lies.

Chapter V

The speeder landed about a block away from the warehouse. The area was mostly industrial, with factories and warehouses. There was little street traffic and the area was quiet.

    Jod turned to Kaedran. The off-worlder was examining his surroundings. Jod tapped him on the shoulder. Kaedran quickly turned around. "Sorry," he apologized.

    "It's fine. It gave me time to gather the plan." Kaedran nodded. "Well, it’s fairly simple. The backdoor guards change shifts every four hours. The two go in and have to reach the barracks and get the other pair. This will buy you about 2 standard minutes. Got it?"

    "Yeah, " Kaedran said. "What exactly am I stealing? "

    Jod chuckled. "Oh you're not even in the building yet."

    Kaedran realized this would be harder than expected.

    Jod pulled out a hologram of the warehouse. He pointed to the back entrance. "Beside the door is the opening console. Plug the buzz droid in it and it'll open it. Get in and head to the refresher off to the left. Close the door and wait until you hear the second shifters to pass by. Open the door and head straight down a hallway. If you see guards, shoot them.

     "The buzz droid will plug into another door at the very end of the hallway. Inside are weapons. Tons of them. Somewhere inside is the inventory console. Look for the DC-19d. Experimental blasters. Very dangerous. Get a crate of those and bring them back to me. You should be back out before security kicks in."

    "I think I got it.” Kaedran was starting to get nervous. He didn’t exactly want to be a criminal, but he owed Jod this much. If it hadn’t been for Jod, who knew what would have happened to him on his first night on Coruscant.

***

    Kaedran headed down the alley leading to the back of the warehouse. Jod had given him a blaster and holster, and a satchel to hide the buzz droid in.

    The alley faced the back left corner of the warehouse. The door was on the left side of the back wall, meaning he had an excellent view of the door from the dark, dingy alley. It had a trash bin and a few womp rats. Other than that, it was empty.

    The warehouse looked like a typical Coruscant building. Only difference was the outside was covered in Republic symbols and propaganda.

    He saw two White Army troopers with maroon diamond markings. They were stiff, yet they watched all approaches and their blasters were at the ready. They looked like they were willing to die to protect the building. Kaedran could tell why Jod wanted to avoid these guys.

    Kaedran ducked behind the trash bin inside the alley and peeked around just enough to see the door without being seen.

    Kaedran waited for the troopers to switch shifts. At the appointed time, they did nothing. They just stood and guarded. Kaedran assumed they had lost track of time.

    Five minutes passed. Then ten, then fifteen, twenty. Soon thirty minutes had passed. Kaedran realized something was wrong.

    Suddenly he saw the troopers move to let someone in. He was a Givin. Kaedran had known a Givin on Salik Prime, who came there for business meetings occasionally. He was extremely smart and very rich. The man approaching the soldiers had tan robes and a metal cylinder hanging from his brown belt. He said something to the troopers. It was hard to hear, but he thought he heard “we got a tip” "security threat” and “stay here."

    Kaedran realized his mission might be compromised. He decided to improvise on the plan a bit.

    He stood up and casually walked around the trash can towards the troopers. They suddenly became alert and pointed their blasters at him. "Freeze! You're not permitted back here. It’s restricted." Kaedran shot up his hands showing he had no blaster in his hands.

    "I mean no harm. Just taking a short cut." The troopers did not lower their blasters.

    "Where are you headed?" One of the troopers said.

    "My home. Across the street. Is there a problem?" He lied.

     "No," the first trooper said. "No big deal."

    Kaedran waved as he hurried off. The troopers watched him go.

    Kaedran turned to the right, down another alley, which took him from the back of the building to the front.

    He knew he needed to get the two troopers away from the door. Soon he saw his solution: Two Twi'leks. It was a mother and daughter. The mother was blue, along with the infant. Kaedran wouldn't hurt them. They were innocent. If he hurt them, they would end up just like him. Homeless. Famililess. Sleepless.

    He pulled out his blaster pistol and shot a green blaster bolt right above their heads. He had no intention of hurting them, he just needed to scare them. The mother shrieked for help and the infant erupted into tears.

    Kaedran put away his blaster and sprinted past the two. As he turned the corner, he heard the troopers come down the alley. Kaedran sprinted all the way around the warehouse, and back to the back door.

    He pulled the buzz droid out of the bag and threw it at the control panel. It just rolled around the ground.

    "C'mon, Buzzie! Open, or something!" Kaedran whisper-yelled as he kicked it. Suddenly it opened. It was strange looking. It had three red sensor eyes and four legs with the half spheres on each side of the sensors.

    "Alright, then. Open the kriffin' door!"

    The droid hopped up and plugged into the panel. Kaedran nervously waited with his hand on his holster. He could hear the commotion in the alley.

    From the little he could hear, the woman's husband had recently been killed and was overcoming some sort of trauma. It must have been a violent death, too. As she went to the troopers, it was obvious how he had died. He was a soldier of the Republic. He died in the Battle of Jabiim.

    Kaedran thought about the war, how devastating it is. How many had died. Suddenly, the droid beeped and the door opened.

    Kaedran pulled out his blaster and walked in. He heard the troopers from the alley somewhere behind him. He quickly darted into the refresher and closed the door, clicking the "IN USE" button.

    The refresher room was cramped. To the left was a sink, the right the refresher.

    He soon heard people in the hallway outside. “Some sort of trouble outside. You two; keep watch in here. The rest of you; with me.” Peering out through a crack, he could see two troopers standing guard in the hallway. He was trapped.

    Kaedran needed to find another way out. Great, I love improvising, he thought sarcastically. He went to the small section of wall in between the wall and the refresher. He realized there was some sort of panel on that part that hadn't been screwed in. He pulled it off and set it on the floor as quietly as possible. He couldn't let anyone know he was escaping. There wasn't much space between that panel and the wall with the back door he had just entered in.

    He tried to step inside, but he didn't fit. He stepped out. He examined the room more. He noticed the vent on the wall. Kaedran climbed on the refresher and pulled the vent cover off, setting it on the floor. He hauled himself into the vent and crawled to the weapons room. He could see down to the inside of it. Kaedran hadn't seen this many weapons in his life. On Salik, he rarely saw a blaster. He was sure this room had more than triple the amount of blasters he had seen in his entire life. It had racks of them, shelves, crates.

    He hopped down to the top of one of the tall shelves. He could now truly see how massive this room was. It had thirty shelves of weapons. He looked around to find the inventory. As he was looking, he felt the shelf start to shake. He could tell it would break if he as much as stepped. He stayed still, crouching atop the shelf. Suddenly, it broke. He fell through the flimsy shelves, creating enough noise that someone must have heard. Weapons fell. Some went off as they fell, sending blue blaster bolts across the room. This caused another shelf to fall. Kaedran had screwed up big-time. He tried to get up but his leg was hurt. His left leg had a piece of shelf going through the quad and coming out the other side. He had cuts and bruises all over his body. His nose was bleeding. He managed to snatch a blaster rifle and use it as a crutch to carry him out of the room.

    The door opened behind him. It was the Givin from before. Kaedran turned around so fast that he fell over.

    The Givin inspected the offworlder. He was flanked by five troopers. They poured into the room and surrounded Kaedran. The Givin looked at the blaster, then pointed at it. It seemed to move, as if by magic.

    "We should kill him," one of the troopers, an officer, judging by his paldron, behind Kaedran said.

    "No, Fox," the Givin said with authority. "We need him to be alive for questioning. I for one would like to know who he is and what he’s doing here. "

    "Sir, yes, sir!" The men chorused. The officer did not speak with the others, and looked like he was considering arguing with the Givin.

    The door behind the Givin opened. He turned around to see the buzz droid. The droid shocked the Givin and he fell to the ground. The troopers immediately aimed at it.

     The officer, apparently named Fox, gave them orders. "It's a battle droid! Shoot it down!"

    The soldiers opened fire. The buzz droid doged every shot as it slowly electrocuted the troops. They had forgotten about Kaedran. He slowly crawled out of the room, because the door was left open. He crawled all the way out without being noticed. He noticed the Givin's cylinder was rolling around the floor.

    He stretched out his arm as far as possible while laying down. He noticed a piece of broken shelf beside the cylinder. He could use it as a crutch. He reached for it and, grabbing it, used it to stand up.

    When he looked around he saw streaks of blood on the floor. His blood. He was hurt badly. He turned around and bent down to grab the cylinder.

    He examined it. It was far too big to be a code cylinder. It had controls on the side. In procession, he held it away from him and clicked the button.

      A blade of blue light flashed from the hilt. It hummed, as the light lit up the room with blue. Kaedran almost dropped it with fright. This was something extraordinary. Something new. Kaedran had never seen anything like it. He swung it around the best he could, with one arm holding his crutch.

      With his mind on the saber, he didn't realize the commotion in the warehouse had ended. The trooper named Fox held his two pistols aimed at him. He was flanked by the robed Givin and two of the other troopers men.

      Kaedran dropped the saber, turned, and stumbled off as fast as he could, using the shelf as a crutch. A blue stun bolt hit him square in the back. He fell to the ground, his vision darkening.

Chapter VI

   Kaedran awoke to a painful sting in the side of his neck. A moment later, a cold sensation spread from the point of the sting and down into his chest, causing his back to stiffen. The feeling reached the base of his skull, and his eyes flew open as all his facial muscles tensed.

    His first impression was that he had wandered into a nest of glow-bugs. It had happened to him once before on Salik Prime, and the feeling hadn’t been pleasant. When frightened, the critters would flash a blinding white light into a predator’s eyes from special glands in their bodies, confusing the aggressor just long enough to escape.

    This feeling was similar, worse, if anything. The light, instead of buzzing away as the bugs did, persisted, constant and painful to his sleep-weary eyes. He squinted and twisted his head sideways, trying to get a glance at his surroundings, only to find that he couldn’t move it any further than an inch to either side. He was standing almost upright on a flat surface, his back plastered to a solid board of some sort, and when he strained his bicep muscles, he knew by a dull ache in his wrist that he’d been strapped down. Disoriented and confused, he let his head fall back to its original position and closed his eyes tightly, groaning slightly with frustration.

    “Prisoner's up,” came a modulated voice from his left. It was slightly accented, and strangely familiar. As the speaker moved into his field of vision, he realized it was yet another Republic soldier, with markings similar to those of the warehouse guards he had encountered earlier. Leaning in close, the soldier held a small penlight to each of Kaedran’s eyes as he pried them open with gloved fingers, making his headache return with a vengeance. The helmeted man nodded in satisfaction and backed away to where Kaedran guessed a door was situated. He heard a second being enter the room , although from his upturned angle he couldn’t see who it was.

    “He’s ready when you are, General.”

    “Thank you, Pike.” The voice sounded young and friendly enough, but carried with it an air of authority--decidedly not someone who's bad side Kaedran wanted to be on.

    There was a momentary silence. Judging by the sounds, nobody had moved.

    “You can leave now, Pike. I’m sure I can handle a lone hoodlum.”

    “…Yes, sir,” said the guard, somewhat reluctantly.

    A pair of armoured boots click-clacked a quick salute, then receded into the distance. The General, now alone in the room, stepped over to Kaedran. He recognized the Givin that had been present at his arrest, and noticed the strange light-cylinder come into view as the officer reached across Kaedran’s chest to unstrap something on the far side of the restraining platform. Feeling the pressure on his left arm disappear, Kaedran raised it and found he could move it freely, followed soon after by his other limbs. He slumped forward, muscles limp from the stunners he’d been hit with, but was caught by a pair of strong hands under his armpits and half-guided, half-dragged into a chair. He felt his head slump forwards, and realized belatedly that he must look quite undignified. The Givin pulled up a chair across from him, keeping his eye cavities on the prisoner the entire time. Kaedran tried to say something—anything—but managed nothing more than a feeble sort of moan. Damn, those stunners had done a number on him.

    “Ah, yes. Of course. Where are my manners?” Kaedran’s captor placed an outstretched hand on the former’s head for no apparent reason. For a moment, nothing happened, but an instant later Kaedran noticed that his entropy had completely disappeared. The lights no longer seemed so bright, and his body felt energized, as though he had just finished an intense physical training session. Shocked, he looked to the Givin with a disbelieving look on his face.

    “How… what did you…” The words came out in no real order. Apparently, he couldn’t formulate a coherent sentence even with his facial muscles intact.

    The alien smiled—rather, did what Kaedran assumed passed for one in his race—and replied kindly:

    “Sorry, friend. Jedi secret.”

    Jedi? Was that what this guy was? Kaedran remembered a campfire story he had been told as a boy, an epic tale of a noble Jedi Knight who held off legions of attackers using only a flaming sword and his courage. Kaedran hadn’t exactly thought of the Jedi as myth, but he’d never really heard them being discussed outside of local folklore or insane spacer stories. Yet somehow, the simplistically clothed, very average-looking Givin in front of him didn’t quite fit the picture of a great warrior he had imagined.

    “Are you feeling alright? I can have some water brought in, if you’re thirsty.”

    This was certainly an unorthodox interrogation. Kaedran had once been brought in for questioning after a bar fight back on Salik, and he didn’t remember the patrol officers being anywhere near this cordial.

    “Ah, no. I’m okay. Thanks.”

    The Jedi chuckled. Kaedran must’ve still been wearing his dumbfounded expression.

    “It’s my pleasure. Now… Kaedran?  Am I saying that right?”

    He nodded affirmatively.

    “Good, good. Well, Kaedran, I’m Tryk Vole. I’m in charge of security for this sector of Coruscant. I would say it’s nice to meet you, but unfortunately circumstances dictate otherwise.”

    Head of security? That seemed strange. If the Jedi were truly as powerful as Kaedran had been led to believe, it would be overkill to send one of them to oversee the everyday law enforcement of a couple city blocks. Did the Republic really care that much about a warehouse full of blasters?

    “Anyways. Do you know why you’re here, Kaedran?”

    What was this, preschool? Of course he knew why he was there. No need for this Jedi to be condescending.

    “Wouldn’t have anything to do with the storage unit I broke into, would it?” he said sarcastically.

    Tryk Vale either ignored or didn’t catch the snark. “Indeed. A Republic-controlled military unit, to be precise.”

    Tryk pulled a datapad out of his robes and pressed a few icons.

    “Kaedran, are you aware what the punishment is for such an act?”

    Kaedran raised his eyebrows in inquiry. Tryk swiped up twice on his datapad and keyed in a few words before responding.

    “Let’s see here… that makes: Three hundred and sixty-five rotations in a penitentiary here on Coruscant, plus a seven hundred-credit fine.”

    He turned off the display and set the pad on the table. Pressing his fingertips together in a triangle, he looked straight into Kaedran’s eyes. Avoiding the Jedi‘s gaze, he sat still at that revelation.

    A year in prison? He hadn’t even gotten his hands on anything before being arrested! But that was only half of it. Seven hundred credits would not come to him easily, especially if he somehow managed to keep his low-rent apartment after finishing his jail time. As an illegal immigrant with a criminal record, it would be almost impossible for Kaedran to find work anywhere respectable, and he knew he couldn’t count on Jod’s generosity forever. Though, there were plenty of employment opportunities of questionable legality, with the innumerable crime organizations. But those jobs were not exactly what Kaedran’s favorite option.

    Less than a week in the galactic capital and his life was already in the pits. He half-wished he’d stayed on Salik Prime—at least the dead locals wouldn’t have had him arrested for an attempt at petty theft.

    “I take it by your silence that the punishment for your crimes is… less than ideal for you?”

    Kaedran scoffed. “Yeah, you could say that.”

    “As I would’ve expected. Well, Kaedran, fortunately for you, today’s your lucky day.”

    He felt his heart soar. Was he perhaps going to get let off with some community service to complete? Surely, Tryk would understand that Kaedran had been all but roped into this mishap, partially against his will.

    “It just so happens that you’re exactly the type of man we’re looking for. You have no history of any sort regarding criminality, in fact, you’ve next to no history at all. You probably slipped past customs illegally—that doesn’t matter right now, don’t worry—and your name is mud in the eyes of any witnesses to your caper last night. That’s what makes you so perfect for the offer I have.”

    Tryk turned his datapad’s display towards Kaedran. He watched a brief altercation unfold, with two masked humans blasting their way through a group of Republic soldiers in riot gear. The two attackers each carried large, metal crates under their left arms.

    “This is footage from a few weeks ago. These two troublemakers stole over two hundred thousand credit’s worth of thermal explosives and slugshooter ammunition, and that’s just one incident.”

    The video footage changed. This time, events were being recorded from the heads-up display of an in-atmo fighter craft, which was in hot pursuit of a light freighter streaking through Coruscant’s busy skylanes with rear cannons blasting erratically.

    “This is a week earlier. We think it was the same group as the other footage—see the green diamond logos on both the ship and the thieves’ armbands?”

    Kaedran squinted and found he could just barely discern a lime-coloured insignia on the freighter’s stern and just above each robber’s elbow. But what exactly did any of this have to do with his being let off the hook?

    “Look, Jedi. That’s all terrible, but it seems a whole lot like someone else’s problem.”

    Tryk gave him a thin smile.

    “Ah, but not for long, it isn’t. Based on intel gathered by Republic moles inside the halls of Separatist power, their spending on small arms has increased drastically over the past few months. That started almost on the same day that we got wind of the first weaponry theft in this region.”

    Ah, so that was it. Tryk had been dispatched for a very valid reason, in that case—if the enemies of the Republic were purchasing their own tech off them, it made perfect sense to send an elite force down to investigate.

    “We think,” continued the Jedi, “that those two events are related. We don’t know why the Separatists would be interested in having so much Republic matériel on their hands, but we do know that our local shock troops will start feeling the effects of this racket if someone doesn’t stop it soon.

    “That’s where you come in, Kaedran. We need a pair of eyes and ears on the movements of these thieves—what they’re planning next, who they sell to, and so forth. Since it just so happens that you were caught stealing from one of the warehouses we expected them to hit next, it’s a safe bet that you either work with these guys or can find somebody who does in your criminal circles. Either way, you’d be a tremendous asset to this investigation, and if you choose to help us out, I can have all outstanding charges against you dropped.”

    Kaedran was torn. On one hand, he had less than zero experience in everything he’d have to do to succeed in that role. He couldn’t manage to burgle anything himself, and he’d have to pretend to be some sort of expert burglar in order to get in close to the masterminds of the big plot. Plus, who knew how long this inquiry would last? He could be stuck playing cops and robbers for way longer than he could maintain a fake personality—and risk slipping up and revealing himself the whole time. As the old saying went: Snitches get stitches.

    On the flip side was an ungodly amount of time in a lonely prison cell. While he was sure to be safe there, Kaedran was not a fan of the idea of doing nothing at all for such a long time. Plus, he had his future to think of, and jail time didn’t look good on a resumé.

    He made up his mind. He was an adaptable sort of guy, so it shouldn’t be too hard for him to get used to living among the riff raff. And it wasn’t as though he was completely helpless—Kaedran was pretty good with his hands, and could shoot a blaster with reasonable accuracy. He took a deep breath before announcing his decision.

    “I’ll do it.”

    Tryk looked relieved. It probably wasn’t every day that a perfect opportunity fell into his lap, almost literally in this case.

    “Perfect. Here’s all the info we have for now,” Tryk said as he slid a second datapad across the table.

    Kaedran picked it up gingerly. At a glance, he saw files upon files of information. Locations, security footage, witness testimony. The home page looked like an entire security department had dumped its filing wing on it.

    “Great,” he said as he pocketed the device. He’d check out the case files once he got back to his apartment.

    “Of course, you’re sworn to secrecy if you want the pardon. Not friends, not family, not anyone, can know about this assignment unless they’re given express permission from myself or Commander Fox.”

    He nodded. Hopefully when this was all over, he’d have some exciting stories to tell his kids. If he lived long enough to have any.

    Tryk rose from the table and pushed his chair in. Kaedran followed suit, standing there awkwardly as he waited for further instruction.

    “You’re free to go, Kaedran. Pike will escort you to an airspeeder that will take you anywhere you desire.”

    He was surprised. Just like that, huh? No briefings, no written statements? The Republic must really want this done quickly if they let him go with so little paperwork.

    “Do you have any suggestions? I honestly haven’t got a clue where to start.”

    Tryk nodded understandingly. “Of course. I’d start with one of the suspected lieutenants if I were you. We know the identity of one of them who’s been a key component of a lot of these raids, but we have nothing strong enough to tie him directly to any of it. Could also be a good contact on your way up to the top of the hierarchy.”

    Kaedran felt relieved. At least he wasn’t flying completely blind. “What’s the guy‘s name?” he asked.

    The Jedi pulled up the file on his datapad. “Let’s see here. Ah, yes.”

    He showed Kaedran the frozen hologram of a middle-aged man, taken through a crowd at some sort of bazaar.

    “Meet your first target… Jod Karno.”^[e][f][g]

Chapter VII

Kaedran was shocked at the huge revelation. Jod? Jod would never! It had to be wrong.

   He walked to the speeder lost in his thoughts. When he got the speeder, they handed back his belongings. The credits, key card, and some knick knacks he had borrowed from Jod's shop.

   He settled down. The driver turned back to him. "Where do you wanna go?" Kaedran thought about it. He wanted to wait to see Jod until after he got this sorted out. He just wanted to get off the planet at this point. He figured the closest thing to that was the upper level.

   Just then, he looked out the window and saw an ad. "SHUI'S SPEEDER RACING" the ad bladed in big purple letters.

   "Let's go to Shui's Speeder Racing."

***

   After what seemed like hours of flying across the sprawling city, they finally arrived at the huge race track. The speeder landed in a huge lot.

   Kaedran got out and made a long trek through the lot.

   He finally arrived at the gate. It had a large line of various aliens. After standing in the line for about 20 minutes, he noticed something about the woman in front of him. She had a green diamond on her belt.

   He thought about fighting her but not here. It'd make a scene. He decided on an alternative: find out about her. He tapped on her shoulder.

   She turned around, revealing a young girl. She was shockingly familiar.

   "Hey… um, I'm here alone and I felt kind of, uh, lonely. Want to hang out?"

   She smiled. "Sure! What's your name?"

   "My name's Kaedran. I'm new around here."

   "Well, welcome to Coruscant. I'm Zarnui. I know, it's a crappy name. Call me Nu."

   Kaedran nodded toward Nu. He would never admit it, but he knew he liked Nu. He swore to himself he wouldn't kill her or even bring up the Green Diamond Gang, as he had dubbed them.

   The two walked into the huge arena. It was loud and vibrant. Kaedran knew he was going to love this. A barrage of speeders blitzed past them, met with the roar of the crowd. Kaedran yelled, "This is awesome!" Nu laughed at the amazement of the newcomer.

   They made their way to their seats and sat down enjoying the races. After several hours, the races were over and a horde of people rushed to the exit.

   Kaedran decided not to go back to his apartment in case Jod or Yaruu had stopped by. "I actually don't have a place to live right now. Can I crash at your place?" Half of the reason he asked was to spend time with her. "Sure!" Nu replied.

***

   A few hours later, Kaedran had settled in. Nu talked about her life. She was born and raised on Coruscant, just as Kaedran was on Salik Prime. Her parents were strange artists. They were obsessed with the Force. Apparently, her father once mentioned sacrificing her to the Force. She ran away, stealing a bunch of credits. She then asked Kaedran about his story, and he told his. He even hinted at him being on a mission. They sat around and talked for a little while longer.

   "Sitting around is boring. I know a good bar down a few levels. My boss owns it." Kaedran panicked. It was either Yaruu's or Jod's and surprisingly enough he favored Yaruu's.

   He decided to be proactive and he asked to borrow a cloak. He simply stated that he was in a fight with a former friend and needed to lay low. She let him borrow a cloak.

   They arrived at a bar. Kaedran was relieved when he saw the familiar "Zabarak's Haven" sign. They both got out of her speeder, which also had the green diamonds.

   "I've been here before."

   "Good. People don't have as much fun when they're seeing this place for the first time," she joked.

   The two walked in. It was as much of a sensory overload as it was the first time, maybe even more so. It was busier and more lively. Kaedran could smell a familiar smell that reminded him of when a smuggler brought drugs to Salik. He assumed he was also smelling drugs.

   Nu led Kaedran over to a bar where they sat down. Beside them was an Ithoran. Kaedran noticed he was drinking using a strange device attached to the side of his head.

   Kaedran had stared at him a little too long, but the bartender refocused him.

   "What can I get you to drink?"

   Kaedran thought about it, but he didn't even know what was available. Asking for a menu would be too lame. "I'll take whatever she's having."

    "Two Gorcelin Punches coming up!"

    Kaedran felt a chill down his spine. The drink sounded like it was going to be strong.

    The bartender of an unfamiliar race sat a drink in front of Kaedran. It was redish orange and was fizzy. He was pleasantly surprised that it looked tasty.

   He grabbed it and took a long sip and slammed it down hard. While it looked pleasant, it tasted like Bantha crap. It was so spicy it felt like his tongue was flying through hyperspace. He spit the drink across the bar. He had to hold back from vomiting. This caught the attention of every single patron in the bar.

    An enraged Yaruu bursted out of his curtained pleasure room shirtless. He rushed over to Kaedran.

   "Hey! You're that guy Jod was helping. You don't like my drinks, ay?" He forcefully grabbed his Kaedran's shoulder. He pulled him out of his seat. Yaruu looked silly with his shirt off. Kaedran almost wanted to laugh, but he was getting choked.

   "I'm sorry, Yaruu. It's just not my cup of Blue Milk."

   Yaruu was visibly offended. "Jod said he wanted to see you. I went ahead and called him over when I saw you come in. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some more… business to attend to." A grin came across his face as he let go of Kaedran. Yaruu turned back to his pleasure room. As he neared, strange, alien-like giggling was heard.

    A worried Kaedran turned to his new friend. "Nu, we need to leave. Remember that friend I got in trouble with? Well that's Jod."

   Nu thought about it for a second. "Me and Jod are friends too actually. We can leave, but don't tell him. Deal?"

   Kaedran nodded. "Deal."

   Nu then told Kaedran of a secret back exit. The two made their way to the back of the bar, through a stockroom, they climbed on a shelf, crawled through a vent, and came out into an alley.

   "Hey, Kaedran," said a voice hiding in the shadows. The offworlder immediately recognized it as Jod's voice. Jod came out of the shadows, apparently wounded from a battle.

    "Jod? What happened to you? Asked a worried Kaedran.

   "Got into a fight with the 'White Army'" Kaedran noticed this addition. Jod must have liked that name. "But more importantly, what the kriff happened to you?"

   "Well, I got captured. They decided to release me so I could find out information about some gang." On the way to Zabarak's Haven, he decided he wouldn't tell Jod about which gang.

   "What gang?" Jod pressed.

   "Um… well..."

   "WHAT WAS THEIR NAME?!" A now angered Jod asked.

   "Black Sun! What's wrong?" Kaedran said in a rush for answers.

   Jod took a deep breath in and looked down. He prepared for what he was about to say. He looked up at Nu, who had been watching their exchange intently. "Nu. How did you meet him?"

   Nu, who had been slouching, straightened up like a soldier before their commander. "I met him at Shui's."

   Jod took a deep breath of relief. "Kaedran here is my friend. Kaedran, I think it's time I tell you something. Yaruu's in charge of a gang. We sort of control the lower levels. I didn't want to tell you in case you wanted to sell us out. Please, promise you won't."

    "Of course I won't. We're best friends," Kaedran said, still upset by the criminal turn his friend had made.

   Jod continued talking about his gang. "I found Nu here running around 1313 causing a ruckus. She was running from the Klatooinian Mob. I saved her and hired her. Remember Level 113?" Yeah, Kaedran remembered it. The home court of bounty hunters, thieves, murderers, and addicts. "Well what I told you was a lie. 113 is where we're based. I didn't want you to find our base, but I guess I'll be taking you there."

   Surely it'll be easier to get information from a base. Thought Kaedran.

   "What's your gang called exactly?" Asked the curious newcomer.

   "We call ourselves The Diamond," said a prideful Jod.

   Nu, Jod, and Kaedran walked to Jod's speeder and all crammed in. The speeder was only meant for two. It felt "like an Ithoran in a mining helmet," as they said on Salik.

   Jod blasted off towards Level 113. He looked at Nu. She was looking out her window, bored. Kaedran didn't understand how someone could possibly be bored looking at Coruscant. Every level was different and incredible in it's own way. He looked forward at a relaxed Jod who was driving the speeder.

   "Jod?" Kaedran called for his former friend. Jod turned back at him slightly, while still keeping his eyes on the road.    

   "Yeah?" He prompted Kaedran.

   "What does The Triangle want?" Asked Kaedran. This caught Nu's attention.

   "We want to control the planet. We're planning at first to bargain with the Republic. Convince them that the surface will suffer. Once they give us some rights, we take over the planet and control it," said Nu, with a bit of vengeance in her voice.

   Jod kind of liked the sound of this. Getting revenge on the White Army? That's what he wanted. He changed his mind again, thinking about now joining The Triangle. But then he remembered the video he saw. The violence. He didn't even know what he was going to do at this point. What he did know, is that nothing would ever be the same after this.