Black Spire Outpost, Batuu
Huc put his hands in the pockets of his flight jacket and stepped out of Oga's cantina and back onto the streets of Black Spire. It was now after midday, and the denizens of the outpost were milling about in greater numbers, most of them giving any Stormtroopers that they happened to come across a wide berth.
The simple life that was the everyday for the people of Batuu was something Huc appreciated. The planet had largely been too remote to be touched by the war, and too forgotten for people to go out of their way to use as a base of operations or training ground. It was a gateway to Wild Space and the Unknown Regions, but there were hundreds of worlds like that. Batuu was special in that it was forgotten.
Well, at least until now.
He made his way through the markets of Black Spire on his way to Doc Ondar's, perusing the wares as he went. He passed the creature seller where Yu'Li had purchased Fuzzball, the precocious Loth-cat that was at this moment probably scratching Huc's pillow to ribbons. He'd love to get rid of the beast, but he'd never do that to Yu, who'd be heartbroken in that case. As much as he found the animal annoying, he'd never do that to his friend.
Above the skyline of the Outpost, the tops of the vast forests that covered most of Batuu could be seen, and above them stood the great, dark spires of petrified wood that gave Black Spire its name. Once, long ago, Batuu's great trees towered higher than any beside the great wroshyrs of the Wookiees. Some great calamity struck them long ago, and now they stood as great pillars of stone hovering over the Outpost like the bones of the planet.
Heading through the market, he nodded to the merchants he knew. One of them tossed him a piece of fruit in payment for some medicine Huc had brought to the planet on their last stop. He bit into it appreciatively, the blue, sweet juices flowing freely.
At the end of the crooked marketplace street sat the large, round, windowless building that housed Doc Ondar's Den of Antiquities. It honestly was Huc's favorite shop on the planet. It contained more history than he had ever seen before. He couldn't afford any of it, but he always loved sifting through the Ithorian's stock. A lot of it was junk, but Doc assured him some of it was priceless beyond measure.
The doors to the store slid open, and Huc entered. Immediately the stale, slightly-damp smell of the store hit him, like if time itself if it could be distilled into a scent. He rounded the corner and the familiar sight of Doc's merchandise greeted him. Piles of rugs, tapestries, and textiles from countless cultures littered one corner. A stuffed wampa from the ice planet Hoth rose menacingly over a counter full of carved trinkets. A second floor terrace held shelves of ancient blasters and weapons. On the wall behind the main desk, helmets of various warriors were hung, a Mandalorian one shone in the light. Above him, snaking around the ceiling of the rotunda was the skeleton of a great see creature of some unknown world, its serpent-like head staring down towards the floor as if it was poised to strike.
Huc wished it would, for standing in front of the desk and speaking to the Ithorian proprietor was a short, pale man flanked by two stormtroopers. Huc moved as if he was looking at the merchandise, but did his best to get a good look at the man. He was small, and frail looking. He looked to be at least seventy cycles old, and his pale skin hung on the bones of his face as it it was to fall off at any moment. He was clothed in velvet robes of dark purple, and a hat to match. Huc assumed he was some sort of old Imperial dignitary that managed to get a hold of a Star Destroyer and was now shaking down anyone he saw fit.
"<These are my wares,>" Huc heard the Ithorian shop keeper, in the species' trademark low, rumbling voice, assured the Imp. "<There is nothing of the matter which you speak of.>"
So the bastard was looking for something in Doc's stocks. Made sense. The Imperials were always after weird crap. The rumors were Palpatine was a fanatic for old Jedi relics. For what reason, Huc could never figure. The Jedi were little more than stories across the planets. Some of the older guys in the Corellian Resistance claimed they saw Jedi during the Clone Wars, but few believed them. Jedi were generals in the wars, and then the Empire got rid of them. That's all even the most informed person knew.
"Hmmm," the shrill, high voice of the warlord came like the whine of a busted engine. "I have been told the map was on Black Spire Outpost. I will not leave here without what I seek. I will return tomorrow, and I hope that you manage to find what I'm looking for. For your sake."
As the man turned to leave, his cold, grey eyes caught Huc's. They narrowed menacingly, and he snarled as he exited the shop.
Once the Imperials had gone, Huc turned to Doc, "Didn't know you were expanding your clientele."
"<The have forced themselves upon us,>" the Itorhian was irate. "<I do not know how long I can refuse them.>"
Huc felt his ears perk up at this, "So you do have whatever they were looking for?"
The Ithorian sighed, the flaps on its neck it used for speech rumbling as it did so, "<Yes. But I cannot give it up. It may be better if I let them kill me.>"
"To hell with that," Huc shot back. Doc was nothing but a kind old man running a junk shop. There was no way he was going allow the Imperials to kill a friend. "You have something the Empire wants? I have a very fast ship that can take it away from here."
Ondar looked behind himself towards the back room, where the old Mon Calamri that helped him clean the store was moving some boxes around. The Ithorian lowered his voice, "<Come back after I close. We can talk then.>"
Later
"So you took a job. Without finding out what we'd be carrying," Yu chuckled as the three members of the Dawn crew made their way back to Doc's.
"Or how much we're getting paid," Gor added in.
"That's a very good point," the Togrutan agreed. "Your bleeding heart is gonna get us killed one day."
"Hey, I'm not gonna-" Huc cut himself off as some Stormtroopers passed by. He continued in a quieter voice, "I'm not gonna let the Imps get what they want. And I'm certainly not gonna let them kill Doc. Besides, Oga paid us an Emperor's ransom for those weapons. We got money enough to spare for a while."
Gara had be unusually generous with the fence work this time. Huc had no idea why, maybe she had found a motivated buyer for a few crates of blasters. Still, something didn't feel wholly right about the whole thing.
Batuu at night was a sight to behold. Brighter than most planets at night thanks to its two moons which reflected the light from the tri-star system, it was as if the planet at night was in a perpetual form of twilight. Outside of Oga's, which was always crowded, the streets of Black Spire were almost deserted this time of day.
"Always seemed weird that Black Spire shuts down so early," Gor commente.
Yu looked at him out of the corner of her eye, "How would you know? You're usually at Oga's still."
"Well, I mean, it's what I heard," he shrugged.
The three of them made their way to the back of the shop, which Doc had instructed Huc to head to earlier. After a few knocks, the door slid open to reveal the Ithorian, "<Come in. Come in. Did anyone see you?>"
"Don't think so," Huc shook his head, glancing behind himself. "Didn't see any buckheads on the way."
"<Good. Good,>" Doc allowed them access and ferried them past the main shop area and into the back stock room. He slid his hand along the back wall of said room, an grasped a light pole that hung there. With a flick of the wrist, the light turned to the side and an almost imperceptible click could be heard on the other side of the wall. Almost silently, the wall moved back an revealed a tight, rocky passageway that snaked into the cliff that Doc's was built next to.
The four of them pressed through the cold, slightly damp stone, Gor with more difficulty than the others. After a few winding turns, they found themselves in some sort of natural antechamber. The walls curved up into a natural dome, with a hole at the top where the moonlight was filtering in, allowing them to see. Out of the rocks poked crystals that caught the moonlight and reflected it back as brilliant hues of green, blue, violet, and yellow. As soon as Huc passed into it, he felt a surge run through his extremities, almost like the air was charged with energy.
Sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room on top of a tattered tapestry was the old Mon Calamari, eyes closed in some sort of meditation. But he looked different. The simple coveralls and smock he wore to help stock and clean Doc's shop were replaced by a flowing light tan outfit with a brown robe covering it. Beside him, open cases of what looked like metal scraps sat.
His eyes opened as they approached, the light orange skin peeling back to reveal distinctive and expensive Mon Cal eyes. He looked up at Doc, an unsure expression on his face, "These are the ones?"
"<They are more than they appear,>" Doc assured him.
"Okay, wait," Gor shook his head as he stepped forward. "Rask? Rask is the cargo? I've gotten drinks with this guy. What's the Empire want with you?"
The Mon Calamari closed the cases in front of him and folded the tapestry he had been sitting on, "I am the cargo, Gor-Nada. Me and my meager effects."
Huc didn't see anything but credits at this. A simple ferry job was never a bad option, and all he had to do was outrun one measly Star Destroyer? Sounded like an easy pay day.
Yu wasn't convinced, "Yea, Rask. No offense, but you're a glorified stockboy. Why is there some Imp warlord looking for from you?"
The old amphibious alien sighed, he looked to Doc once more, "You are sure they are to be trusted?"
"<They look like pirates, but they are honorable. They always look to do what is right,>" the Ithorian assured him.
"Aw, thanks, Doc. I knew you liked us," Huc chuckled. "He's right. We have the opposite of love for the Empire. And I have the fastest ship out in this whole sector of space. We can get you past that Destroyer. No problem."
Their potential charge stepped forward and looked into Huc's eyes. He wasn't sure what the Mon Cal was getting at, but he looked as if he was peering into the privateer's soul. After a few moments, he signed again and closed his large eyes before beginning to explain, "The Imperial that was here was one of Emperor Palpatine's Sith acolytes. A fanatic to Palpatine's power."
Huc, Yu, and Gor all exchanged glances. Huc shrugged. None of them had any idea what he was talking about.
"Oh, excuse me," he laughed, almost croaking as he did so. "Sometimes I forget most in the galaxy do not know what we knew."
"Who is 'we'?" Yu asked, taking a seat on one of the crates, clearing interested in what Rask had to say.
"The Jedi," Rask responded with a slight smile. "Thought I supposed calling myself on of them has not been true since before the Empire was born. But once I was Rask Char, Jedi Knight and Commander in the Grand Army of the Republic."
Huc's jaw hung open in amazement. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Yu on the edge of her seat and on the other side of him Gor looked like he had been hit with a stun bolt. A real life Jedi was like stumbling on an undiscovered coaxium mine. Most people in the galaxy thought they were nothing more than myth, thought some of the old timers in the Resistance swore up and down they had seen some during the Clone Wars. There were rumors that the Rebel leader Luke Skywalker was one of them, but that's all.
Yet, Huc could almost sense the sadness and bitterness in Rask's voice when he told them his titles. Whatever had caused Char to leave the Jedi had left a deep scar on him.
"I...I don't believe it," Gor chuckled, his large upper body shook with happiness. "I didn't think I'd ever see another Jedi in my lifetime."
"And I never thought I would ever need to reveal myself," Rask admitted. "I came to Batuu to live a peaceful life hidden from the galaxy. But the Empire has found me. And what I know is far too important to fall into their hands. So now I ask you for help."
Huc didn't need to ask the other crew members. He knew what they had to do, and there was no way he was going to pass up the opportunity to travel with a Jedi, "We'll leave now. No need to waste any time. Duck should have the Dawn fueled up by now anyway."
