"What are you getting ready for?" Kiana asked, her arms folded. She was standing between Locke and the door to his office in Kel Rasha. It wasn't even as if he were about to leave, he still had to make sure he had everything.
"A mission," he said. "You can come." As if she would give him a choice. Kiana was hellbent on not letting him out of her sight, especially after she had learned that he had flown a TIE Bomber at San Korinar. Locke was still trying to figure out how Kiana learned that particular detail.
"To where?" she asked. He could sense a slight bit of mirth in their sibling bond - apparently, she also knew that he wouldn't be able to stop her if he had wanted to.
"The Clan needs guns, so I'm going to go...procure some."
Kiana's mouth twisted in distaste. "You mean steal them."
Locke paused for a second, but he was well past trying to sugar coat the Clan's activities for his sister. She had her beliefs about what was right and wrong, and they had theirs. That wasn't going to change. In reality, he somewhat disagreed with this mission, but the Clan did need the equipment to outfit the Warhost. It seemed in their recent campaigns logistics had been given something of a back seat. "Yeah, pretty much," he said finally.
"Where is it?" she continued. Was that irritation he sensed? Kiana was quite good at hiding her emotions. He still had no sense of what had really happened to her at the hands of the One Sith.
"Coruscant."
"Well, there's no way this could go wrong. Lightsabers and Force powers on the same world as the Jedi Council. At least there's billions of beings to lessen the chance they'll recognize me before they sense you channeling the dark side."
"I won't be using the dark side," Locke said," or my lightsaber, and you shouldn't either."
Kiana's voice lost all emotion for a moment as she replied. "I don't have one, remember? The One Sith have it."
"It's just a tool, I can procure an armory saber." He regretted the words almost before they were out of his mouth. He tried to make his voice softer. "I'm sorry, I know how you feel." Please don't give me another lecture on 'a Jedi's lightsaber is his life.' he thought.
"I can be of use without a 'saber anyway," Kiana said. She flashed a smile at him, but it wasn't one of her usual warm ones. This was just teeth. He caught the glint of a blade in her hand and then it disappeared."
"Surely the pure Jedi Knight would not sully her hands with blood," he intoned, trying not to sound surprised. When had she begun carrying those? Now I have to worry about that too
Suddenly he heard Amelia's voice, though she was not visible. "Don't be silly, she loves you as only a sibling can. Kiana won't try to hurt you."
"Perhaps not," he mumbled. But what happens when she discovers just how far I would go to support the Clan?
"What was that?" Kiana asked.
"Nothing," Locke said. "We should go."
Kiana frowned, but said nothing.
---
Shuttle
Coruscant System
Five Minutes Before Touch Down
"Stop doing that," Locke said, piloting the shuttle toward one of Coruscant's many starports. Behind him, Kiana was tossing a data chip up and down in her hand.
She ignored his command, of course. "So this will reroute standard shipment routines to an area near Orian, so your allies can ambush them and take their stuff? I'm mentally adding 'piracy' to the list of things to let mom know you've been up to when we see her again."
"Whatever," Locke muttered, crushing the ball of ice that had arisen in his stomach. Kiana occasionally mentioned their mother, but Locke wasn't looking forward to meeting her again. He wanted to see his mother, but he didn't want her to know what he had become.
"Yes, that's what the datachip does. I'm going to sneak in. According to my contacts, all I have to do is find their central data terminal and put it in the drive." At least, that's what Methyas had said, and Locke trusted the old man and whatever SHADOW remnants he commanded.
"I'll let you down near their facility. Whose is it?"
For a moment, Locke was a little shocked. Kiana was going to let him go in on his own, after her usual insistence to accompany him? "Blastech," he said, recovering.
"Oh," Kiana said.
That's right, sister, Locke thought. There really is no way to justify this in any lawful kind of way. It's theft, it's piracy. Still, the Clan did need the resources.
She dropped him off at a civilian landing pad some distance from the facility. Locke wasted no time slipping through the city until he found the alley he wanted. It was a dead end, but above that was a ventilation duct some distance up. It was probably too high for most people to reach, but Locke wasn't most people. He summoned the Force, thinking that small usage such as this shouldn't alert the Jedi, and leaped to the grate, ducking inside it's slowly moving fan blades.
"I'm in," he whispered, pulling his comlink headset up to his ear. "Heading for central databank."
Locke tried to be quiet, managing to pass by multiple guards. His cloaking ability made it easy, but after awhile, the Krath heard the distinct whine of a stun blaster charging up behind him.
"Turn around," a female voice said with an air of command.
Putting his hands over his head, Locke slowly turned, regarding the being before him. She was a human woman, with short, dark hair, and a long, green-trimmed longcoat of some sort. Locke could see at least one sheathed knife-like weapon at her waist, as well as a few thermal detonators.
"Bounty hunter?" he asked.
"I'll ask the questions," she said. "Why are you here? Give me the truth; you're obviously not a tourist."
"Right," Locke said. He hadn't really thought of a cover story. The Krath had never assumed he might be caught. His mind raced as the thought of what to say. "I'm exploring...I'm a hunter myself, thought I could find some useful weapons here."
The Bakuran flinched as a knife stuck itself in the floor at his feet in the blink of an eye. The woman already had the blaster steady again. Who was she, that she could move so quickly that one such as Locke wouldn't be able to anticipate it? Did she use the Force?
"Speak truth or the next is through your heart, Sadowan scum." The emphasis on the word 'Sadowan' was the only part that changed in her icy voice.
Locke froze. How did she know? Still, he wouldn't release everything. "I'm on a mission to procure weapons for...the people I work for. Who you apparently know of. Who are you?"
She ignored his question. "You have a data chip. You're intending to use it to change the directives in the BlasTech mainframe. Your goal is to provide your Warhost with weapons."
Tensing, Locke's mind raced. How much did she know? Who did she work for? What in the bloody nine hells of Corellia was she doing on Coruscant with that knowledge?
"Yes," he said.
She nodded. "Marc said you weren't brainless. Since you will likely run, fight, and die if I simply make my demands, I will tell you something. I work for Hazard. Our mission is simple: to ensure the Orian System's safety from the likes of the Dark Jedi who follow in Naga Sadow's footsteps. You most of all should be aware of what chaos your presence has caused in the system."
Hazard...Marc….yes, Locke knew that name. Marc was an agent who had caught up with him the last time the Clan had visited Nar Shadaa and charged Locke with ensuring the mission didn't go haywire. His story had been similar.
"Hazard?" Locke asked. "What a strange name."
"It emphasizes the situations we face. High Active Zone, Aggressive Recon Division."
"Division of what?" Locke asked.
"We were members of Shadow," the woman said," but now we operate on our own."
"Shadow...so that's how you knew about this." Did Methyas' people have a leak? He would have to ask when he got back.
"Perhaps, I'm sure you'll question your sources when you get back. That doesn't matter. What does matter is that you let me finish this mission and return to your Clan and report your success. Don't worry, you will still get your supplies, but some will go directly to the civilian police forces of the Assembly."
Locke nodded slowly, but he didn't like this plan at all. How could he trust them? But then again, Marc had not done anything to show he was not honest about his intent.
"We already manage the Assembly's police forces," he said. At least, as far as Locke knew that was being handled. He had not been privy to the specifics in some time.
"Not as we do," she said. "We will ensure they have the means to keep their system secure when their secret overlords are too preoccupied with their own quests for power to take care of them."
"I see," Locke said. "But why even tell me this, then? Why not just kill me?"
"Because there are those that see something in you. You were Consul when catastrophic disaster after disaster wreaked chaos on the Orian System, but you do not seem to crave power as the others do, and we are not fools, so we believe you may care more about the people who live under your rule than it seemed."
Locke chose his words carefully. This was straying far from being about supplying weapons, but still, he had no choice but to have this conversation. It might be useful as well. The Orian System's stability was always important, and probably something Malik would care about beyond just procuring weapons, but how could he tell the Consul about this alteration?
It was difficult to let his feelings surface, but once he did, the words came out quickly. Locke knew he spoke honestly, despite having to pull each word from the depths of his heart. "It's true. I wanted to be a good leader, to serve those who were my responsibility, but...a Clan of Dark Jedi is no easy group to manage. I don't like things that sound like excuses, and I do feel responsible, but what can I do now besides support those who followed my rule? I never wanted power before, but Macron could not be allowed to stay in his position as Consul, the chaos that would have followed…" would not have been as bad as what happened when I became Consul.
There it was. He had always wondered, what would have happened if he had not betrayed Macron. Would things have gone any better? No, Macron was a warmonger, he would have never brokered the uneasy peace with Scholae Palatinae that had allowed the Clan to rebuild with relative ease after the Orian Incursion. The following Crusade was outside their control, Macron would have taken the entire army, and likely thrown all of their exhausted forces into a campaign to reconquer the system immediately upon their return. It would have been a worse disaster, rather than rebuilding from the safety of shadow, the Clan would have been weakened so far that any of their rivals could have obliterated them.
The woman spoke again, thoughtfully. "You did what you could with your resources at the time, yet there is still so much blood on your hands. If you want to atone for it so badly, work with us. We can help you, and you can help us. We have the same goal. For the people of the Orian System."
"For the people…" Locke agreed. "Very well, what would you have me do?"
The woman smiled slightly. "Let me finish your mission and report your success to your superiors. You will still receive your weapon shipments, and a relatively small amount will be diverted to the Assemby's civilian authorities."
Authorities...that reminded Locke. "But the Proconsul appointed Dark Jedi to establish that force. Won't you be putting weapons back in their hands?"
"They don't know about everything that goes on there," the woman said. "We have contacts who, well, I'll tell you more as our relations deepen. For now, this meeting is at an end. Until we meet again, Locke Sonjie."
He turned as if to leave, but stopped. "I didn't get your name."
"I didn't give it, but you may call me Lily for now."
"Right, Lily, you don't remind me of the plant at all, even with the green trim."
Lily didn't even blush a bit. Locke doubted that was her real name. She just gestured with her blaster. "Get out of here before I decide to shoot you anyway."
Locke nodded and made himself scarce, his mind in turmoil. What could he do? He wanted to laugh at the possibilities. His mission would be a success, he had prospective allies his superiors didn't know about. He might actually have help in redeeming himself one day!
When he was back onboard with Kiana, Locke was a lot more positive about the future than he had been in a long time...despite the political quagmire if intrigue he had just landed in the middle of.
Fin