DISCLAIMER: This chapter contains depictions of torture and mild sexual content. Reader discretion is advised. This chapter also contains direct quotes from the Knights of the Old Republic comic series by Dark Horse. I do not own these comics.
CHAPTER TWELVE: THE SECRETS OF FLASHPOINT STATION Part II/V (chapter is too long for one post)
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The Revanchist had left Opela and Fiolli on Deralia under Talon’s watch and had continued to the location foreseen in her vision. Onderon was a very green planet, full of a wide variety of wildlife. There was only one large city on its surface, and that was Iziz. While it was not a part of the Republic. Onderon was important in trade and commerce, much like Taris had been even before joining the Republic and gaining a seat in the senate.
Over a hundred years before, the Dark Lord of the Sith, Freedon Nadd, had subjugated the planet and ruled from Iziz as its king for more than one hundred years. He was buried there, below the palace, and for this reason, the dark side had a very powerful presence on Onderon and its moon, Dxun. The current planetary royals were his direct descendants, though the bloodline was mixed now and the family name far less sinister after a marriage alliance with the beastriders, who had been previously cast out of the city of Iziz for their refusal of allegiance to the Sith.
The Revanchist stepped from the
Stalwart Nightingale onto the landing dock at the Iziz spaceport. The city was an ancient one, founded by the Sith Lord Freedon Nadd during his reign. A residual Dark Side energy radiated from the planet itself and from the moon Dxun, surely left over from the time of the Dark Lord. It sent shivers down the Revanchist’s spine, making the jungle seem unusually cold.
The moon was so close to the planet that it could be seen clearly in the sky, even midday. There was a strong and proud military presence on Onderon. Customs officers stood at attention throughout the landing pads of the spaceport. Many of them eyed the Revanchist with suspicion. She supposed she should have expected so much, considering the planet’s past experience with Force wielders…
“Halt!” one officer said, stopping her at a checkpoint. “What business does a Jedi have on Onderon?”
“My business here is personal and is not sanctioned by the Jedi Order…”
“You’re going to have to be a little more specific than that. Everyone has heard of the rogue Jedi defying the Council and entering the war. We’ve already dealt with the Mandalorians once, and we will not tolerate your kind bringing the war back to Onderon… Or perhaps you're here because of the Dark Jedi that used to reside here. Are you looking for artifacts of our royals?”
The Revanchist blinked in a moment of brief confusion. ‘
So the Mandalorians have been here already…’
“No, no… I assure you that this is merely a pleasure visit. I’ve come to see the wildlife… Tell me though, was this attack recent?”
“Recent enough. We dealt with the Mandalorians during the Great Sith War, and we would rather not be involved in the current…”
The Revanchist shook her head. “No, I cannot imagine that you would… I assure you though, my intentions are not to bring the war here in any way. It is the duty of the Jedi to promote peace… to end wars….”
“Sure,” the officer said, seemingly unconvinced. “All right Jedi, I suppose you check out enough. Try any funny business though, and General Vaklu will be all over you.”
The Revanchist bowed fervently. “Thank you. I assure you, I will cause no trouble for Onderon…”
While the Mandalorian presence on the planet had not been recent according to the officer’s reports, the information did not serve to put her at ease. She was certain that something was here. If not on Onderon itself, then perhaps on the moon Dxun. The moon had been held by Mandalorians in the past. It was quite possible that some remnant would be there which could give her more information about the Mandalorians’ current plans.
Iziz was a grand city. Its ancient walls stood tall and proud, with a sort of old air turret seen every now and then, historically for repelling Drexyl-Mounted beast riders. The white stone buildings of the city matched the tall white marble palace where the Onderonian royals lived.
As beautiful as Iziz was, the Revanchist had a feeling that what she sought would not be located within its walls. After all, in her vision, it was the moon, Dxun, which had cast a shadow of darkness over the planet. Whatever dark presence it was that the vision had warned her about, it was surely on Dxun…
Having just come through customs, it would be suspicious if she were to leave in her own ship, headed for the moon. She would need to board a shuttle headed for the place… Perhaps she could find a private pilot to take her there. After all, she didn’t want to attract any unnecessary attention which might interfere with her investigations. For now, at least, the movements of the Revanchists were to remain as covert as possible.
It was a few blocks of roaming through Iziz before the Revanchist came across one of the local cantinas. She figured it would be a good place to lay low for the moment, to gather information, and to possibly find a pilot who could take her to Dxun. She removed the hood of her cloak as she entered and let down her hair. She had found that, in places like this, the best way for a Jedi to blend in was to appear as casual as possible. As far as anyone was concerned, she was there to relax, have a drink, and maybe watch the swoop races, just like any other patron. For now, she was ‘Halin’ again.
The Revanchist took a seat at the bar, accepting the menu from a waiting droid when it came and glancing over what the place’s specialties were. All of the space travel hadn’t allowed much time for a proper meal recently, so it would be a nice shift to try some of the local cuisine. Food capsules and ship rations did the job, but they got boring after a while
No sooner had she placed her order than a man in civilian dress came and sat beside her. She could tell from his clothing and from his features that he must have been an Onderonian local. She did her best to continue a cool and casual appearance.
“Haven’t seen you around here before,” the man said. “The name’s Wezz Dole. And who might you be, pretty lady?”
“Halin,” she replied. The man seemed to find her attractive. The situation could work to her advantage. She needed information, and this Wezz Dole might be able and willing to give it to her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Wezz Dole.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” he said, gently taking her gloved hand and pressing a kiss to it. “Tell me, what brings a lady such as yourself out to Onderon. You don’t look like you’re from around here. I’d have noticed you sooner if you were…”
“Safari, mostly,” said the Revanchist. “I’m here on holiday and wanted to observe the wildlife… though I hear the most interesting of it is on Dxun…”
The man scoffed. “Wildlife? Surely there are more…
relaxing activities to do while on holiday than watching cannoks, if you get what I’m saying…”
He looked her up and down with an obvious lusty hunger. It took everything in the woman not to roll her eyes and walk away. There is no emotion, there is peace… “What can I say?” she shrugged. “I like to live dangerously—it’s more fun that way. I’ve heard that the most interesting of the wildlife in on Dxun though, not Onderon…”
“You want to go to Dxun? Too bad you’re not as smart as you are good looking. Dxun is a death wish.”
“And what makes you say that?”
“Place used to be a Mandalorian base during the Great Sith War. Besides that, there’s no civilizations and it’s overrun with the more dangerous wildlife, like those Boma beasts and Drexyls. The turrets you’ve no doubt seen in the city are from during the beast wars when those beast rider scum would use Drexyl to attack Iziz.”
“I’ll take my chances,” she said simply. “Any idea where I could find a shuttle to head there?”
“Only ones crazy enough to go to Dxun might be the beast riders. Even then your luck in finding someone to take you would be slim…”
“I see… and where might I find these beast riders?”
“You’re asking an awful lot of questions, little lady…”
“What can I say? I’m a curious woman.”
“Well that kind of info’s going to cost you a little something extra…”
“Oh? And what might your price be?”
“You let me buy you a drink and we’ll talk from there.”
“Seems reasonable.”
Wezz smirked and called the serving droid over. “A drink for my lady friend here”
“What’ll it be, hon?” the droid asked.
“One Wookie-Wango,” the Revanchist replied, shooting Wezz Dole a challenging glance.
The man’s smirk turned to a grin. “You weren’t kidding when you said you like to live dangerously… Know what? Make it two.”
“Comin’ right up,” the droid replied. And it hurried off.
“I must say,
Halin, you’re just full of surprises… So, uh…. Any men in your life?”
“Just colleagues. I honestly can’t say I’ve been on the lookout for anything more…”
“Really? That’s a real shame…”
“Two Wookie-Wango’s,” the serving droid said, setting glasses on the table. “And for the lady, your special from the kitchen is ready.”
“Thank you very much,” the woman said, inhaling the dish in front of her. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to close out my tab when you have a chance.”
“Sure thing, hon,” the droid said. “I’ll bring your check right away.”
“Thank you…. Now,” she said to Wezz, “about the beast riders…”
“You’re not actually serious, are you?”
“I’m always serious. A deal is a deal. I let you buy me a drink, now you let me know where the beast riders are so I can get to Dxun…”
“You’re bill ma’am,” the droid said, returning with a booklet that it set on the table. The Revanchist turned away from Wezz to settle her bill. However, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed him slip something into one of the drinks.
‘
So you want to play games, huh? All right, Wezz Dole, I’ll call your bluff…’
She handed the bill back to the droid with the credits inside and returned her attention to the man sitting next to her. “I hate to be a bother,” she said to him, “but would you mind passing me a few napkins from the dispenser over there? This looks a bit more oily than I had anticipated.”
“Not a bother,” he said, turning to grab the napkins, at which point the woman rolled her eyes and switched the drink’s positions with one another. ‘
Child’s play…’
“Thank you,” she said, and she took the napkins.
“Here,” he said, handing her a glass also. “If you’re so serious about my side of the deal, I insist it be serious both ways. A toast!” and he took the other drink. “To living dangerously.”
“To living dangerously.” And, looking him in the eye, the two touched glasses and drank. “So, the beast riders,” she continued.
“Ah, yes. The beast riders…”
“Oh come now! Look, I’ll even finish it for you,” and the woman downed the rest of her drink. “Now will you tell me?”
Wezz Dole smirked. “The beast riders… Most of them you’ll find just outside of Iziz. Their kind still isn’t fully welcome here…”
“Aren’t they? I thought that the marriage between the Queen and the Beast Prince changed all of that…”
“We’re not in any civil war since… but that doesn’t mean that the people of Iziz have forgiven them. They were cast out to begin with for their crimes, and then they surprised us by taming the wild beasts and using them to attack our city… History doesn’t just forget itself you know…”
“I know…”
“But new histories,” he said, touching a hand to her knee, “new histories are being written all of the time…”
“New histories?”
“Like between you and I,” he said, slipping his hand slowly along her thigh. “What do you say we ditch this place and find somewhere quiet…”
“Oh, I’d like nothing more than to get out of this cantina,” she said, resting her hand atop his.
“I can show you all of the wildlife you could ever dream of seeing, if you catch my drift…”
The woman guided his hand, encouraging it higher. “I’m sure you could…”
Wezz Dole leaned in closer to her. However, as he did so, his face began to pale and become clammy. His addition to the drink must have been starting to take effect… Calmly, the Jedi guided his hand to her side, just enough for him to distinctly feel where her lightsaber hung at her belt.
“A word of advice, Wezz Dole… Never try to drug a Jedi. You just might end up regretting it.”
And with this, she stood, leaving him leaning against the bar for support as he began to fall under the influence.
“Waiter?” The Revanchist called to the droid, “Can you bag this to go for me?... Oh! And this man might need some help getting home later. I don’t think he’s feeling quite well.”
The man looked at the woman with a sickly and startled expression as she waited for the serving droid to finish boxing her meal. The Revanchist gave one last look at him and patted his hand chidingly. “Goodbye, Wezz Dole. Unfortunately, I won’t be needing your assistance in my wildlife viewings… Thank you for the drink.”
With this, she re-bound her hair, replaced the hood of her cloak, took up the to-go box in her hand, and left the cantina.
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