It was as Relsor had described: Trylia and Alegna were bound together very tightly with what appeared to be some sort of complex rope.  It looked like an immense arena; perhaps it had been used as a staging area. There were empty cages within the arena that shimmered of pristine metal.  Talyc could only guess the beasts those cages had contained; some were rather large.  All around the arena, in a great ring, were ysalamiri, placed in a spiral a good few meters out.  There were also ysalamiri within the arena and scattered along the area for a good distance.  Armoured Sith stood around the ring, guarding it, and within the centre of it all, stood Vax, overseeing the operation. Talyc noted he was no longer dressed in Mandalorian armour, but instead was garbed in Imperial gear.
            Talyc passed the macrobinoculars to Shadie who was huddled closest to him as they all crouched by the edge of the ridge, looking down.
            ‘I don’t like the look of those empty cages,’ said Shadie.  ‘What do you think they were for?’
            ‘I’m not sure,’ said Talyc. ‘There are more cages than can contain a few hundred ysalamiri. That means there are other beasts nearby.’
            ‘As you can see,’ said Relsor, ‘the area is heavily guarded and the amount of ysalamiri is even too great for me.’
            ‘Yeah, and you’re supposed to be able to use the Force even in an ysalamir’s bubble,’ said Knarf.
            ‘Like I said before, I can if there are a few, with a dozen it’s more challenging,’ said Relsor.  ‘There are gaps between their bubbles. However, hundreds are a different story.’  He pointed towards the arena.  ‘The Sith have placed them strategically.  Even if Trylia tried, she would not find any gaps from where she could draw on the Force.’
            ‘We can shoot them,’ said Nriwe.  ‘Kill enough of them, create some sort of opening.’
            ‘With two ranged weapons and hundreds of Sith alerted to our presence?’ said Perce.  ‘We can’t even reach them with our powers while they are in that area.  These ysalamiri are as much shrouded from the Force from which they draw their power as they are protected from those who wield it outside that bubble.’
            ‘We’re going to have to draw them out,’ said Relsor.
            ‘Lure them far enough from the ysalamiri so we can fight them,’ said Fane, ‘and that way you can reach them with your powers, Relsor.  We can fight them and you can do…what it is you do.’  Fane looked at Relsor.  Talyc felt Fane tense up.  ‘You can immobilise them, use your malady, we can all use lightning, wind and such, and that way the few of us can defeat all those Sith.’
            Relsor nodded.  ‘I do not intend on fighting you today, Jedi Fane.  Your wariness is unnecessary.’
            ‘Even with Relsor’s powers on our side, there is no way we can defeat an army of Sith,’ said Usharr.  ‘These are specially trained and highly skilled. They are not the mere acolytes the Empire was willing to sacrifice when they sent you a supposed army of Sith.’
            ‘What do you suggest then, Usharr?’ said Perce.
            ‘We need to draw them out, as Relsor says, but we need to separate them, scatter them.’
            ‘How do we draw them out?’ said Brenum. 
            ‘Maybe we just wing it,’ said Nriwe, taking the macrobinoculars and scanning the area.
            ‘There are a few details we need to figure out, I agree,’ said Shadie.
            ‘Nriwe and I don’t have the Force,’ said Talyc, ‘and thus we are unaffected by ysalamiri.  I don’t like the idea of drawing Sith out while Vax stays behind to maybe move Trylia and Alegna.’  Talyc was conflicted about the situation. While he did not want to see the day arrive when Fane would have to duel Relsor, Talyc would have preferred to see his clan fight Relsor than play happy allies with him, but he would have to play along for now and allow the Chiss to help them.  ‘Can you draw them out far enough for them to not detect two Mandalorians creeping towards the arena?’  Relsor nodded.  ‘Nriwe and I can get in and help untie Trylia and Alegna.  Once that’s done, they can join the fight.’
            ‘What about Cypher Five?’ asked Relsor.
            Talyc sighed.  ‘I can deal with Vax.  He doesn’t possess the Force.’  He closed his eyes.  ‘I thought I could trust him.’
            ‘You can use that anger to fuel your attack when you fight him,’ said Relsor.
            ‘Don’t!’  Talyc pointed a finger at Relsor.  ‘Don’t think you can advise me.  I’m not Knarf, I’m not your apprentice.’  He looked at Knarf.  ‘No offence.’  He paused.  ‘Relsor, I am your enemy, you tortured me, and if it wasn’t for Fane, I’d be swinging at you right now.’
            Relsor laughed.  ‘Do you really think your fist would reach my face before I would stop you?’
            Talyc just couldn’t anymore; he swung at Relsor and punched him in the mouth. ‘It just did!’
            ‘Talyc!’ said Fane. Talyc shook his hand, shaking his anger and the momentary pain off. Relsor wiped his mouth, keeping his head low, gazing up and looking menacing.
            Shadie put herself between Relsor and Talyc.  ‘Relsor, please, just allow him this moment. We are united by this one cause, but it does not make any animosity disappear.’
            Shadie and Relsor exchanged a stare for a good while.  The silence was broken by an excited squeal from Nriwe.
            ‘Look what we have here!  Over there!’  She pointed at a large cage that housed a massive beast.
            ‘A rancor?’ said Shadie.
            ‘I think we just found how to draw the Sith out.’ Nriwe smiled widely.  ‘One of you Jedi can use the Force on it to make it want to go towards the ysalamiri, right?  We get it out of its cage, we use it to draw the Sith out, Talyc and I sneak up on Vax, you send the rancor our way, it crushes a few ysalamiri.’
            ‘One rancor will not make much of a difference once the Sith have cut it down,’ said Relsor.
            ‘That’s why we’re going to free them all!’ said Nriwe, grinning widely.
            ‘All?’ said Perce, sounding unsure.
            ‘Yup, I count six.  Just make sure one of them reaches the arena.’
            ‘Six could work,’ said Relsor.
            ‘Yes, excellent plan,’ said Talyc, smiling.
            ‘Hey, there’s a reason I’m the clan’s second leader.’
            ‘And what are you going to do with the rancor once it reaches you?’ asked Brenum.
            ‘You leave the rancor to us,’ said Nriwe. ‘Focus on the Sith, we’ll take care of that rancor.’

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Brenum was pacing to and fro, frantically awaiting a reply.
            ‘Trylia, come in! Trylia, please respond!’ His heart sank and the realisation came to him. It had only been a couple of hours.  ‘How did he get to Nar Shaddaa so quickly?’
            ‘His shuttle must have some high capacity hyperspace capabilities,’ said Talyc, ‘like going to hyperspace while still in orbit.’
            ‘How is that even possible?’ said Knarf.
            ‘You’d be surprised what Imperial Intelligence is capable of,’ said Usharr. ‘And it’s all probably well disguised so no one would ever suspect his ship’s capabilities.’
            Shadie’s comlink chimed. She opened the call. Through her comlink came Lian’s voice.
            ‘I can’t feel Trylia in the Force!’ he exclaimed. ‘She’s disappeared.’
            ‘Disappeared, how?’ said Shadie.
            ‘I always sense the five of you, but her presence feels…shrouded.’
            ‘There’s only one thing I know that can shroud the Force presence of another being,’ said Knarf.  ‘Ysalamiri.’
            ‘This is all my fault,’ said Talyc, bowing his head.
            ‘No, it’s not,’ said Fane.
            At the same time as Fane spoke, Wapita said: ‘Yes, it is.’
            ‘Hey, you’re the one who recruited him,’ said Fane, pointing a finger at Wapita.
            ‘He’s the one who invited him into his bed,’ said Wapita, pointing at Talyc.
            ‘That was more than ten years ago!’ said Talyc. ‘Let it go.’
            ‘And here was thinking I wouldn’t be stuck with your left overs again,’ muttered Wapita. He pointed a finger in Talyc’s face. ‘Every time.’
            ‘It’s not my fault we have the same taste in men!’ exclaimed Talyc.
            ‘Oh, believe me, we do not have the same taste in men.’ Wapita looked at Fane. ‘Thankfully.’
            ‘Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?’ Fane said defensively.
            ‘Stop it!’ shouted Brenum.  ‘Look, this is no one’s fault. Not Talyc’s, not Wapita’s,’ Wapita mouthed a “thank you,” rolling his eyes, ‘not anyone’s fault.’
            ‘Lian,’ said Shadie, ‘there was a recruit on Mandalore, Vax, a Rattataki, and it turns out he’s from Imperial Intelligence. He left the planet some few hours ago and we believe he’s the reason Trylia is shrouded by ysalamiri.’
            ‘Why would the Empire want Trylia, though?’ said Fane. ‘This makes no sense.’
            ‘Shadie,’ said Lian, ‘can you take this to a private room?’
            ‘Give us a moment.’
            Shadie took the lead, Brenum right behind her. Talyc and Fane followed with Knarf behind them.  Nriwe stayed behind, keeping Wapita at bay. When they arrived at a secure and private room, Shadie gave Lian the go.
            ‘I have connected the calls,’ said Lian, ‘go ahead Lord Void.’
            ‘Hello, Shadie.’
            ‘Lord Void,’ said Brenum, ‘what have you done with Trylia?’
            ‘It is not what I have done, and that is the reason for my call.’ Lord Void seemed very calm.  ‘I have just been told by the Head of the Dark Council that the Sith Empire is going forward with its coup against Relsor.  I was not privy to any plans.  There is rumour of an informant that had gotten back to Imperial Intelligence. I have already made plans to secure my name should I be questioned.’
            ‘What else can you tell us?’ said Shadie.  ‘Do you know why an Imperial agent has taken Trylia?’
            ‘Yes,’ came in Void’s voice.  ‘She is to be used as bait to lure Relsor to Ziost.’
            ‘Ziost!’ exclaimed Fane and Brenum together.
            ‘No Jedi I know has been there before, as far I know, but I will be the first,’ said Brenum.  ‘We must go.’
            ‘Lord Void,’ continued Shadie, ‘do you know anything else?’
            ‘That is the extent of my knowledge.’
            ‘Could a ship fly into Sith space without being shot down?’ asked Lian.
            ‘No.’ Void’s words rang true.
            Brenum cursed under his breath. ‘Sithspawn!’
            ‘What about a Sith Meditation Sphere?’ asked Shadie.
            ‘Yes, that I can do.  No Sith will want to take down one of those and I can ensure from my ship that your sphere is ignored.’  There was a pause.  ‘I must go.’
            ‘Then we know what we must do!’ said Brenum.

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Mandalore finished his debrief and closed the hololine with the Supreme Chancellor.  A few plans had been devised, but nothing could be determined until everyone knew what was going to happen with the Sith and who they were going to target. The Republic decided to not engage the Sith during their coup against Relsor, instead, trusting that their enemy would end up crippled. Emain had expressed hope that they could take advantage after the fact.
            Talyc looked at Usharr who was still looking through files and files of data.            ‘Are those records of some kind?’ he asked the old Sith master.
            ‘Sith database files,’ replied Usharr. ‘The Dark Council has privileged access to everything recorded by the Empire: from failed acolytes to the latest Hutt scheme that made its way into Sith space.’
            ‘But you’re not of the Dark Council,’ said Talyc.
            ‘Not anymore, because of my exile, but that doesn’t mean my access to these files was ever revoked. I still have friends in the Empire.’  Usharr looked up and winked.
            ‘Clever,’ said Talyc. He was startled when Nriwe came up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders from behind him.
            ‘So I’ve got an old contact on Nar Shaddaa looking for refuge,’ she began.
            ‘Refuge?’ asked Talyc.
            ‘She’s a good fighter, from back in my slaver days.’ Nriwe took a singsong voice and batted her eyelashes. ‘She needs to get away soon and would be a great asset to Clan Kandera.’
            ‘What did she do to need to get away from the Hutts?’ Talyc looked at the Mandalorians leaving the room. Many clans remained, but the room looked much less clustered now.
            ‘Refused to dance!  Believe me, she’s loyal and we can trust her. She needs transport though.’
            ‘All right, well let me run a quick background check on her. What’s her name?’
            ‘Alegna. Togruta, Kaki coloured lekku.’
            Talyc nodded and began looking through his datapad for a Togruta named Alegna via the Holonet. 
            He heard someone’s com chime.  Brenum yelped.  The small holoimage of Trylia came into view as Brenum took the holocall on his comlink.
            ‘Trylia, my sweet!’
            ‘Brenum, I’m all right.’
            ‘Where are you?’
            ‘In a shuttle, on my way…to you.  I’ll explain when I get there, it’s a long story.’
            ‘Oh, Trylia,’ said Brenum.
            Talyc saw a tear run down Brenum’s face, as the others exclaimed sentiments of joy into the transceiver so Trylia could hear them all. Talyc felt relieved, he could only imagine how Brenum felt.
            ‘So tell me where you are so I can enter the coordinates.’
            ‘Mandalore,’ said Brenum.
            ‘Hang on!’ said Talyc, approaching.  He looked at Nriwe and smiled. ‘Can you make a quick stop by Nar Shaddaa?’
            ‘Why, hello, Talyc,’ said Trylia. ‘It’s good to hear everyone’s voices.’
            ‘We’re recruiting a Togruta,’ Talyc explained. ‘Former dancer, greenish lekku. Her name is Alegna.’
            ‘I’ll be happy to. Tell her to meet me at the Promenade, near the market stands.’
            ‘Thank you!’ exclaimed Nriwe.
            Brenum chatted a while longer with Trylia before ending the call. The blue-haired Jedi sat back down sounding and looking very relieved.
            ‘I told you,’ said Shadie.
            Talyc noticed Wapita walking past.  He took his arm and stopped him.
            ‘We’re not done discussing, Wapita,’ Talyc told him.
            ‘There is nothing more to discuss,’ said Wapita.
            ‘So you’re going to keep denying sending your recruit to spy on us just because you want to keep tabs on the Jedi and our Sith compatriot?’
            ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ said Wapita, shrugging and shaking his head.  ‘Mistrust you? Mistrust Clan Kandera? Maybe. But even Dargoza wouldn’t stoop so low as to spy on other Mandalorians. We spy, we win what?’
            Talyc shook his head.  ‘Where is he anyway?’  He looked around.  Vax had been there earlier, had spoken to them, and now he was nowhere to be found.  ‘It’s convenient that your recruit disappears the minute I’m confronting you about him. What are you plotting?’
            ‘I’m not the one who’s been to bed with him,’ said Wapita. 
            ‘Oy!’ Fane approached.  ‘Don’t talk to him like that.’
            ‘What? It’s true.’ Wapita crossed his arms. ‘Maybe the old lover has a problem with your new lover, Talyc. But I know nothing about it.’
            ‘So you never sent him to spy on us? To keep tabs on us?’
            ‘Mandalore’s honour,’ said Wapita. ‘I know nothing of it.’
            ‘I found it!’ exclaimed Usharr.  Talyc turned around, as the attention of all who were present – the Jedi and several dozen Mandalorians – turned to the old Sith. This one looked at Talyc and Wapita.  ‘Everyone is going to want to see this.’

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Several weeks later.

Brenum sat on the lounge in the Mandalorian bunker, staring at his datapad.  Shadie couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her friend.  He had sent messages to Trylia’s datapad, hoping she would reply.  They had all sent messages, at a few days interval, and had been consistent about it. There had not been any replies.
            Brenum sighed and put his head in his hands.  Knarf, who sat next to him, put his hand on his shoulder and rubbed gently.
            ‘Why is it I cannot shake the feeling that something is terribly wrong?’ said Brenum.  ‘I’ve meditated, done everything a Jedi should. This is why we’re not supposed to have any attachments. I can’t function like this.’
            ‘It’s all right, Brenum,’ said Shadie soothingly.  ‘Trylia will be fine.’
            ‘Shadie,’ her blue-haired friend said slowly, ‘it’s been weeks.’  He shook his head.  ‘No, it is not all right.’
            Shadie looked at the others who shrugged.  Mandalore arrived at the bunker.  He had been briefed about a potential coup from the Sith, he had previously explained, and that their coup was aimed towards Relsor, but who knew what the full details entailed. Lian had gotten no news from Lord Void since his warnings a few weeks prior, and no one knew when this coup would take place. Mandalore did not want to be caught off-guard perchance the Sith were planning something greater. Shadie had to agree.
            Emerick arrived with his clan; Nriwe went and sat next to Lashika. Nriwe had been communicating with Lian when Shadie couldn’t herself, keeping him appraised of the goings-on here on Mandalore. The Republic was also ready in case of any attacks from the Sith.
            Talyc shifted, looking about.
            ‘What is it?’ Shadie asked him.
            ‘Clan Dargoza hasn’t arrived yet,’ he said.  ‘Ever since we returned from the Crypt, they’ve been conveniently off-planet.’  He turned to face her.  ‘I have words to exchange with Wapita.  I mean, what was he thinking, having his newest recruit spy on us?’
            ‘You’re still going on about that?’ said Knarf.  ‘Forget about Wapita. He can’t hurt us. Just let it go.’
            Talyc opened his mouth to say something when in walked Clan Dargoza.
            ‘Well, well, finally!’  Talyc walked up to Wapita.  ‘Can I have a word, Wapita? From one clan leader to another?’  The two walked off to one side. 
            Vax saluted Shadie and the others. ‘Wapita tells me your clan is well informed. Got yourselves a Sith insider or something?’ He cocked his head in Usharr’s direction.  The old Sith Maser walked up to the Rattataki and sized him up and down.
            ‘The Jedi, like the Sith, never reveal their sources,’ said Usharr.
            ‘I heard that you were in exile,’ said Vax, ‘so unless you have been reassigned within the Sith Empire, I suspect you have an informant.’
            ‘And what would a Rattataki bounty hunter know about that?’
            Vax narrowed his eyes.  ‘You one of those xenophobes, aren’t you?’
            Usharr looked around.  ‘I aid the Mandalorians, do I not? They are comprised of all sorts of species. Not to mention Captain Zaereg and his companions over there, and I quite enjoy their company.’
            Vax looked at Shadie.  ‘You shouldn’t trust an exiled Sith master.’
            He walked over to join the rest of Clan Dargoza as Mandalore began his debriefing, bringing up battle plans, star charts, and the Mandalorian blockade. Talyc returned and sat next to Usharr.  Shadie took a seat between Brenum and Usharr.
            ‘I do not trust your old friend,’ Usharr whispered to Talyc.  The old Sith took out a datapad and began looking things over. 
            Talyc leaned in closer and whispered: ‘Right now, I don’t know if it’s him I can’t trust or if I can’t trust Wapita.  He denies all knowledge of Vax following Fane, Nriwe and me several weeks ago.’
            ‘One of them is lying,’ said Usharr.  ‘And several of us sense deception. Not just…our informant.’
            Talyc looked back towards Vax. Fane, who was next to Knarf, leaned over and looked at Shadie, shrugging.  Shadie shook her head, pointing at Usharr’s datapad.  Fane nodded understanding.
            Shadie turned her attention to Mandalore, as Supreme Chancellor Emain came in view via holoscreen.

Continue Reading Chapter Seven

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