Having arrived on Kashyyyk with the newly freed wookiee slaves Mazer Val’Zian was worried about his friend Galen Argyus. Galen was in surgery and it was touch and go. His survival was far from assured but the bacta tanks at the medical facility were his best bet. Before going into surgery Galen had made sure to give Maze a pad with information on it.
The pad held detailed documents and well forged identity papers on a Twi’lek named Jarlezek Zemay who worked for a Hutt named Porbota. It also had some general information on Porbota. It seems that the Hutt was well known for his mercurial personality and his zealous pursuit of sensual pleasure. Apparently he rarely, if ever, left his pleasure barge on Nal Hutta and was famous for his wild parties and the blood sports he hosted that led to the deaths of many sentients. Maze consulted his allies, Jaden Windu, Cortree Tincove and Gisaku Saberota to see if they had any additional information on the Hutt. They had little to add but Jaden assured them that the Hutt was not known for ever leaving Nal Hutta nor had he ever shown any particular interest in artifacts like the ones offered in the auction on The Wheel. Which meant there was almost no chance that any agents of Porbota would show up and interfere with the bidding for the ancient ship. It was certain that Galen intended for Maze to assume the identity of Jarlezek Zemay and act in the guise of an agent for the Hutt to acquire the ship.
Cortree left the hospital to repair the General’s cybernetic systems that had been damaged by the Trandoshan slavers. The wookiees of the Kashyyyk Liberation Front offered him access to a fully equipped workshop and he was able to make repairs in record time with the advanced facilities. Jaden had retired to the Crucible to consult the ship’s extensive archives about the mysterious Infinite Empire and it’s ties to the Ancient War Droid that had been unleashed on the galaxy. He was unable to learn much. He eliminated several lines of inquiry but found no new data that was related. Solving this mystery would take a great deal of time and effort on his part. He eagerly continued his research on the ship.
Meanwhile, Maze, with the newly repaired General and his apprentice Cor were discussing their plans when Maze got a call on his comlink. It was his former teacher, Master Tosh Diath. The Jedi Master informed Maze that Garek Malon had been dispatched to Kashyyyk by Grand Master Veshraan to ensure that they returned to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. He informed his apprentice that they should stay exactly where they were so the Jedi could collect them and that in fact he would be there any moment. Maze thanked his old master for giving him the warnin…er, the information and ended the connection.
They hastily made their way to the docking platform where the Crucible was parked and Maze tried to raise Jaden on his comlink. But all he got was static. Could they be jamming his transmissions?
Perhaps Maze and Gisaku spotted them first because they had been alerted by Master Diath. Or maybe it was because the cloaked and hooded Jedi Knight striding purposefully right toward them on the docking platform was arguing with a Republic Army Lieutenant who was leading a fully armed squad and was distracted. How else could a 7 foot tall cyborg be able to go unnoticed? The General was standing almost in plain sight next to a large stack of crates his bulk barely concealed by them. Meanwhile Maze vanished in the blink of the eye scampering up on a crane to perch like some stealthy bird of prey at its apex.
The Jedi was ordering the female officer to shoot to kill if there was any resistance. They were dealing with dangerous criminals and if they refused to cooperate her duty was to remove them as a threat to the Republic. The young officer was having nothing of it though. She argued back that she damn well knew what her duty was or wasn’t and that the Jedi had no authority over her. She had been sent with Garek as a courtesy and would use her own discretion on shooting to kill. That was when Cortree accidently knocked over a crate with his elbow sending ball bearings crashing to the deck and all over the platform. For several long moments Garek Malon and the soldiers stood staring in surprise, shock apparent on their faces, while Cor sheepishly raised his hands in surrender.
The General stepped out from his concealment announcing his name with his hands not quite raised. Garek Malon, known for his arrogance, demanded that Master Saberota and his allies surrender immediately or he would be forced to destroy him. Tensions mounted as the Jedi General bristled at his abrasive manner.
Lt. Mira Torwyn announced herself telling her men to hold their fire as the two Jedi faced off. She was very upset that Malon had apparently deceived her telling her that he was hunting criminals. She wasn’t going to involve her soldiers in an internal Jedi matter. Tensions spiraled out of control as the two Jedi argued and finally unable to tolerate being treated with so little respect any longer Saberota slammed a massive kick into a tower of crates. As the crates fell they knocked over another stack which in turn knocked over still more crates. The chaos of noise and debris caused the soldiers to scramble back. The Lieutenant ordered her men to hold their fire in a commanding voice.
Garek Malon, a master of Juyo and widely regarded as Grand Master Veshraan’s right hand man, used the Force to easily flip over the cascading boxes as they fell to the ground landing behind the Jedi General igniting his lightsaber and swinging it at his unprotected back. But Gisaku was a warrior of the Clone Wars and a Jedi Master. His body may have been slowed by the cybernetic systems that kept him alive and his connection to the force was minimal yet he was a veteran of many battles. Without even looking in Malon’s direction he skillfully parried the flurry of blows that rained down upon him from behind.
Before anyone else could get hurt Maze chose that moment to make his presence known. Dropping from his perch like a wraith, his cloak flapping quietly, he landed behind Garek Malon and launched his own attack with surprise almost total. However, Garek was able to dodge and parry the flurry of jabs from Maze’s short lightsaber blades in his own display of martial prowess. Just as Maze had anticipated.
The Twi’lek had cunningly maneuvered the Jedi Sword Master into position for a swift kick to the stomach to knock him into the path of the tumbling crates. Garek was an exceptional warrior and would likely have been able to escape the attack despite being totally surprised but for the small toolbox that hit him in the head giving him a mild concussion. Stunned he was unable to escape the large crate that fell onto his legs. They all heard the snap of bone as his leg was crushed under the heavy carton.
Maze ran to the fallen Jedi immediately to make sure he wasn’t too badly wounded. Garek tried to push him away but was too weak to do so and the Twi’lek was able to stabilize him through the Force ensuring that he wouldn’t be crippled.
The soldiers converged on the three Jedi nervously until Lt. Torwyn commanded them to halt. Her men paused and followed her gaze into the surrounding branches of the tree that the landing pad was in. Twenty or more wookiees of the KLF surrounded them weapons not quite aimed at the Republic soldiers. She stood down her troops and allowed the Jedi access to the Crucible’s docking platform.
The Lieutenant turned to the former Jedi General and explained that her grandfather had fought alongside him at the Battle of Telos during the Clone Wars. He had always spoken of the General with a great deal of respect and she was honored to have met him. She stood at attention and saluted. Jedi Master Gisaku Saberota gravely returned her salute.
One of the KLF approached them and assured the Jedi that Galen Argyus would be treated fairly. They could not prevent the Jedi Knight from arresting Galen but they could lobby on his behalf with the Senate.
With that the Crucible took off from Kashyyyk and Cortree plotted a course for The Wheel.
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