To get to Rishi—you need to move south of the Galaxy, approximately along the Corellian Run, starting from Coruscant. Then, turning towards Tatooine, at a certain point—you can exit onto a secondary route leading to Rishi... Or not enter Hutt Space at all, but go through Bothawui, turning towards this planet near Drackenwell? Hmm... Bothawui... The homeland of Bothans, masters of espionage and politics. I remember Bothans from the rather "typical politician" Borsck Fe'liia. Like all sentients of his type—he desired only one thing—the maximization of his power. Almost like Palpatine, only without the Force talent. He perceived the New Republic military, well, almost as a threat. He didn't like Jedi very much... And even the Yuuzhan Vong, he preferred to ignore almost until their arrival on Coruscant.
It all ended with his eyes "opening" and he committed suicide, blowing himself up with an army of Yuuzhan Vong. And that's not a bad idea... I sat at the helm of my ship, observing the glow of the hyperspace corridor. I haven't reached Drackenwell yet... And where to go—I have to decide. But most importantly—before arriving at Rishi—I need to look for information about Lotar's group. Otherwise, flying blindly—is somehow stupid. And it so happened that Bothans are masters of information, and Tatooine—a place where all sorts of scum of varying degrees of vileness gather—could also be the place where I can get information about Lotar. But here's the unpleasant part...
Both there and there—information that I am looking for him can reach Lotar himself. And they will be able to prepare better. Of course, I have the Force concealment on my side... A normal sentient might not detect me. But it will be harder to act. Why can't I trust Bothans from Bothawui? Why I don't trust the inhabitants of Tatooine is clear. What can you expect from that riff-raff who in theory can "trade information" there? Almost all servants of one criminal force or another. And as for Bothawui, my doubts are only because Lotar is a rather famous figure.
But, considering his "track record"—he has existed for so long only because he knows the "right sentients." And his connections might even be with someone, plus or minus, strong, from the Mid-Rim. Or not fly to either of these planets at all, but just fly by and scout the situation on site? But again—Rishi... A place where not only Lotar can be found among famous pirates and smugglers. In any case—I need to sniff out at least something, so as not to be too vigilant on Rishi. So... I think the questions on Bothawui will cause much less special stir... Considering the thought "well, a Jedi is asking questions, so what? Who knows where he's flying and what he's going to do there." In addition—they are certainly capable of telling me much more than some idiots from Tatooine... Or at least—not leak the subject of my research to the other side. So as soon as I reached Drackenwell, I turned towards the Bothan sector, specifically to the planet Bothawui. After a couple of days, which I spent studying the necessary material for admission to Alderaanian University for the specialty "Public Administration," my ship appeared not far from the planet Bothawui. And it's quite busy here. Many ships flew past me. And a space station hung in orbit around the planet, near which there were as many as three Dreadnoughts. A Dreadnought is a type of heavy cruiser, designed and built by the corporation "Rendili StarDrive."
This behemoth was a ship, six hundred meters long. Elongated, like a stick, the Dreadnought carried twenty quad-linked laser cannons, ten regular laser cannons, and ten turbolaser batteries, and eight ion cannons, the latter the customer could install at will. A rather fitting ship for our "peaceful times." More precisely—it would be enough to make one think about their intentions regarding the planet, as soon as they saw it. Almost all pirate junk will not survive an encounter with such a cruiser. One of the disadvantages of this ship was its speed. Its speed outside of hyperspace—left much to be desired. On the other hand... Perhaps Rendili could have installed better engines. As well as an engine above class four. But again—they wanted to make a ship for mass purchases.
For themselves—the planets of the Core Worlds can buy ships from Kuat, who don't give a damn about the provisions of the Ruusan Reformation. And if the buyer can convince the Senate of its expediency—then Kuat will build him a decent ship, maybe even two, if there's enough money. But the Senate will never allow everyone to be massively armed with Kuat ships. Especially considering monsters like the Mandator (Author's note—Mandator) and the Praetor (Author's note—currently Praetors are in the Kuat sector. Mandators—will appear a little later), which are now in service and actively scare any of Kuat's competitors to death. No one will be allowed to buy such ships.
And Dreadnoughts—are perfectly suited for all ordinary planets. A Dreadnought hanging in orbit—is a good defender. And three Dreadnoughts hanging in orbit around the planet—are already a weighty argument to think about one's life in general and decide that it is much more valuable. Although, I assumed they could buy something from Kuat. All right... I need to send them a signal to get me from the Orbital Station to the planet.
"Star Path," a female voice was heard, they contacted me. "Please transmit your personal data and state the purpose of your visit to Bothawui."
I sent the data to the dispatcher, and after about ten seconds, she replied:
"Welcome to Bothawui, Jedi Knight. You are cleared for passage, please follow the vector we will send you."
And... They let me through quite quickly. Although not everyone likes Jedi behind their backs. But they don't particularly want to break the laws in our regard. And therefore—they must let a Jedi onto the planet—let him fly. Loading the data into the computer, I allowed the AI to pilot the ship, and I leaned back in my chair. The mission should not cause particular difficulties. And after—I will return to the original plan—namely—searching for planets to create shelters. Perhaps the planet where my mentor brought me for training would be suitable... It was it that helped me at the time—with all my naivety—to kill without hesitation. After all—it's hard to do otherwise when you trained in the jungle, where every fauna and almost every flora—is capable of destroying you.
In the atmosphere, I could finally see the planet not just as a green ball. My ship flew over beautiful valleys, forests, and fields. Finally, I noticed the outlines of a huge city that I decided to visit. Drev'starn. The capital of the planet and the place where I can get information on the topic that interests me. The ship smoothly landed in one of the hangars of the huge spaceport. Stretching, I immediately left the ship. The capital's spaceport was a huge, high-tech building. Technicians and visitors bustled back and forth.
"Good day," a Bothan greeted me. "Does your ship need refueling, Jedi Knight?" he bowed slightly. "Perhaps a diagnostic check? Or an ammunition update?"
"Good day," I replied to the bow. "Yes, please refuel. As for ammunition... I haven't used it up yet."
"Understood," the Bothan smiled slightly. "Don't worry, our best specialists will take care of your ship."
And just in case—I ordered the AI to be on alert. Bothans, after all... Like to gather information. However—they are not the only ones. All right... Here, it's supposed to act according to the scheme: "entered and exited, an adventure for twenty minutes." At least—that's what I planned. According to my data, Bothans have so-called "trading data centers," where for a certain amount of money you can find information about many things in the Galaxy. About many things—but not everything. However—I don't need everything yet. All I need is at least information about the current "internal affairs on Rishi." And the service in one of these data centers—exceeded my expectations. It was completely anonymous.
There were several such structures, belonging to different Bothan clans. I chose the data center of the Liya clan, to which Borsck belonged in those comics... Or did I just latch onto something familiar? It doesn't matter. The data center looked impressive. The building was square, in my opinion, no more than five stories high. The interior decoration was quite rich. Having studied the surroundings, inside the building, I approached the Control Point.
"Good day," a female Bothan addressed me. The woman had similar features to a horse. In general, Bothans could resemble horses, dogs, and cats. "Do you wish to use the capabilities of the Liya clan data center? Or converse with representatives of the Liya clan to obtain exclusive information? Or perhaps you need to systematize and analyze your information to develop a strategy for conducting business in certain sectors of the Galaxy?"
"Good day," I smiled back at the woman. "I need to purchase information."
"Very well. Then choose a service. You can enter your real registration details into the computer, then the operation will cost less. Or choose a more expensive service—then the data center will not register you as a client, and you can keep your research... Secret..."
So that's it. I would, of course, like the Order to reveal all the details about Rishi to me. But stagnation has caught up with our Order, so that I, to obtain additional information on the essence of the matter—must now spend my own money. I am, of course, a millionaire. I bet Yoda doesn't like that.
"Be so kind, an anonymous service," I said.
The woman behind the checkpoint counter smiled. The force field that additionally protected her and closed the entrance—partially deactivated.
"In that case—our employee will escort you to a booth where you can begin your research," a Bothan appeared before me, his face this time resembling a dog more. "You have no more than ten minutes to find the information you are interested in and copy it onto any of your storage devices. Our computers have slots for any type of storage device. You also need to make a prepayment, according to your tariff."
So, how much does it cost to buy an elite tariff on Bothawui these days? Thirty thousand? Are you serious? However—all right... The price is unpleasant, but there are no other options. Although, as an alternative—you can look for information on Tatooine, there you can also stumble upon people saying "why are you asking?" and "got any fire? And if I find it?" These, at least, won't start shooting you for curiosity. Transferring the funds to the data center's account, I followed the employee. After escorting me to a booth, the Bothan warned me again that I had ten minutes. The room was furnished austerely. A computer on a table and a simple chair. Queries should be formulated correctly. Sighing, I sat down and began to search. First, I loaded all the current information about Rishi, and then I started typing in the name of the pirate group and the name of its Captain.
There was no time to analyze the information, so I downloaded everything I could, loaded it onto data cards, and rushed to the exit... Or rather—to the cashier, where a bored and clearly dozing-at-work cashier informed me that I owed them another hundred thousand credits. After cursing the Jedi intelligence one more time, because the information from the Bothans turned out to be many times more than what the Shadows presented to me, I paid for the data center's services... In principle—I can be satisfied with the outcome. If I hadn't had to shell out a hundred and thirty thousand for the information...
So, what did the Bothans gather? Currently, on Rishi—there is quite a lot of freedom. Pirates and smugglers, mercenaries... And even slave traders... Who isn't there right now. The natives—flying natives of the planet Rishi—looked at everything... Through their feathers. The main condition—no one touches them and doesn't interfere. Therefore, pirates fought among themselves more often, but they didn't touch the natives. A rather strange social contract... On Tustra, such pirates would have been thrown into vacuum long ago. The laws of Sephi are quite humane, but only towards their own. Currently, about ten different armed groups of dubious legality have gathered on Rishi. Among them is Lotar's group.
Lotar... A forty-year-old Rodian. Commands a mob of two hundred. A ship... I don't even know if you can call it a ship. It's some kind of hybrid of a cargo ship and a pleasure yacht. Obviously—whoever assembled this—was a pervert. According to the information—Lotar obtained the yacht of some rich man who decided to go "vacationing in the Outer Rim." Having obtained the yacht, the bandit decided to pirate on it, only a peaceful yacht was not suited for this. Therefore, he refitted it, attaching entire modules taken from... Apparently, a ship of the YT series and several other ships. Quite recently—Lotar was hired by an unknown employer, he set a rather strange goal for the Captain—to search ruins on some planets. Naturally—the Bothans could not find out who the employer was or more precise goals.
And still, it's far more than I was given at the Jedi Temple. There, they simply informed me that Lothar's group had killed a Jedi Archaeologist and most likely taken the artifacts the Knight had managed to extract from the Sith ruins. I was assigned the task of investigating this situation, clearly implying that the Sith artifacts had fallen into the hands of a pirate.
But... What kind of employer would order a pirate to travel the Outer Rim and search Sith ruins? In truth, pointing fingers at Palpatine and Damask now, shouting that it might be them, is premature. It could be dark cults, collectors, of which there are plenty throughout the Galaxy... Or is it just me realizing that I'm not yet ready to confront either of them? Most likely, that's the case. Both Sidious and Plagueis would leave nothing of me behind. At least, I don't yet feel like someone who can stand against true Sith, not those fakes that any fallen Jedi might call themselves.
I need to be more careful, whoever ordered this has resources. Although it sounds interesting, first I need to deal with Lothar. Better to act quietly.
Rishi... A tropical planet. According to my calculations, approximately the fifty-fourth year before the Battle of Yavin IV. No matter how many calendar reforms they introduce, it's more convenient for me to count as any self-respecting fan of D&D would. The planet turned out to be quite beautiful, as described - a tropical paradise. But the space around it... immediately met me with a battle between two starfighters and one transport ship. A Z-95, as soon as my ship emerged from hyperspace, disabled the transport ship by knocking out its engines. And, judging by the looks of it, the transport ship, or rather, it was a passenger ship, was about to dock with a rather worn-out Gozanti-class light cruiser.
"Are we being hailed from this cruiser?" I pressed the comm button, and a Nautolan figure appeared before me.
"Greetings, visitor to Rishi. Today only - an exclusive offer from the 'Axes of the Outer Rim' team. Pay for passage... Or take our prize crew aboard, who will find a way to pay you if you refuse. Passage - one hundred thousand credits!"
"Go to hell," I said, pressing the button to activate stealth mode.
"What... Oh..."
He didn't manage to issue the order. The next second, realizing one of its functions, my ship disappeared from all sensors. The downside is that not only do I disappear from their sensors, but mine also become useless. Though who cares? It doesn't affect the Force. I closed my eyes and concentrated. The Force will help me bypass everything possible to get to the planet. Suddenly, a strange feeling pierced me... On that transport, which the starfighters were tearing apart - I now felt two Force-sensitives. And quite strong... Trained.
The place where my ship was, literally a couple of seconds ago, was hit by turbolasers. How nervous... But what kind of Force-sensitives are they? I don't feel the Dark Side of the Force from them... Grey Jedi? Or someone else... Hmm... It seems this transport ship was bringing them to Rishi. Only they refused to pay and are now undergoing a forced docking with a pirate Gozanti. And judging by the sensations - there are not only two Force-sensitives, but also other sentient beings, clearly not wanting to become pirate prey... What to do? Although that's a stupid question...
"VV-7, prepare yourself, we'll dock with this transport and help them fight back."
The droid didn't answer, just connected to my ship's computer. Docking with the ship, I headed for the airlock. The hatch opened, giving me a view of the transport's interior. I pulled up my hood and drew my lightsaber into my right hand. The transport ship had clearly seen better days. Exposed wires sparked slightly on the ceiling... The emergency light was on.
"VV - don't let anyone else on our ship. Don't worry, I can handle it."
The droid beeped a warning and wished me luck. A good droid. The corridor was empty, but I could hear the sound of fighting to the right, in the next compartment. Opening the entrance to it, I froze, slightly amazed. At least twenty pirates were trying to surround two men in strange, form-fitting clothing, and one of them had a strange tattoo above his eyes. Both men were moving, quite quickly, simultaneously trying to get close to the pirates and impale them on their spears... Too fast for ordinary sentient beings. So these are those Force-sensitives? One of the men looked older, with wrinkles and graying hair. He was not tall, but broad-shouldered. The second was a teenager of about fifteen, with short, light, golden hair. Already broader in the shoulders than the older one... The pirates were firing too densely... Hmm... These movements, the use of the Force and the staffs... Matukai. Jonal Ezar, commander of the Shadows, is known for... Ahem. A certain radicalism, preferring to say something like: "A good Force-sensitive, not a Jedi, but a member of another Force tradition - a dead Force-sensitive."
But... That's his opinion, different from mine. I waved my left hand, and the pirates were thrown back by a wave of telekinesis. The Matukai simultaneously turned towards me, sensing the Force...
"Who are you?!" asked the golden-haired youth. He was about a head taller than me. He aimed his van-shen at me, which is a glaive they use instead of a lightsaber.
"Shayjen, calm down," said the old man, leaning on his van-shen as if for support.
"You son of a bitch, what did you do to us?" asked one of the pirates, barely getting to his feet. "What was that?! It felt like a rancor kicked me!"
"Fucking Jedi!" I turned my attention to the speaker. The man drew a vibroblade. "I'll cut you to pieces, boy."
What an idiot? Or has he never heard of Jedi? He jumped at me, swinging his sword. I dodged and pressed a deactivated lightsaber to his back. A moment, and a green blade pierced the pirate's back all the way through.
"What a foolish act," I remarked reasonably. I twirled my lightsaber in front of me. "Well?" I asked, aiming my lightsaber at the pirates. "Are we going to stare at each other, or are you going to do something?"
"FIRE! Kill him!"
Hmm... They're not hopeless, these Matukai. While I was attracting attention, at least the old man decided to attack the pirates. The student joined him a couple of seconds later. I, on the other hand, focused on the other sentient beings, cowering in fear. Clearly peaceful sentient beings who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Blaster fire initially flew at me, but I began to deflect it. And then the pirates suddenly had no time to try and get to me, because the Matukai, finally, were among their parody of a formation. And immediately heads, limbs flew upwards, blood spurted... Pirates moaned, cursed, and died quickly. I deactivated my lightsaber and watched the unfolding spectacle with curiosity. It's interesting, sometimes, to observe the actions of other Force-sensitives. Maybe I'll learn something interesting... Finally, the pirates were gone, and the Matukai began to wipe the blood from their monstrous glaives.
"You sat there while we worked, Jedi?" asked the young man called Shayjen, with clear displeasure.
"What was I supposed to do?" I asked philosophically. "I couldn't attack them while you were there. Or I might have hit you. You still want to live, right?"
"That sounded like you want to kill me right here and now, Jedi!" Shayjen aimed his glaive at me. "You overestimate yourself, Consul?"
"Consul?" I asked in surprise. Clearly... He's a victim of an exaggerated classification, according to which blue lightsabers are defenders who supposedly fence better, and green ones are consuls who are better with the Force.
"I'll teach you some manners!" he hissed. The teenager closed the distance. His blow disarmed me. The lightsaber flew out of my right hand, skittering away. He was about to hit me with the side of his glaive, the one without the fancy blade, to stun me, but stopped immediately. My second lightsaber, held in my left hand, was at his throat. Activated... One move, and I'll take his head off. He seemed to understand that. A moment, and behind him, right behind his back, was the lightsaber knocked from my right hand. Also activated, pointing right at his back.
"Are you sure you want to continue your attack?" I asked. "If I don't like your answer, I'll tell you your future. You won't like it."
"Tsk... Hutt..."
"Ah, Shayjen," sighed the older Matukai heavily. "How many times do I have to tell you. Matukai - never let emotions guide them in life. You, apparently, will always forget this, my eternal student... Young Knight, perhaps you could let him go? We are not your enemies, and he," he nodded at his student, "is just a hot-headed youth who will never learn important lessons. Don't hold a grudge against us."
"I actually thought that even the most hot-headed sentient beings should be grateful for help," I said calmly, returning both lightsabers to my hands, and then sheathing them.
"Shayjen will hardly thank you, so - I will thank you, Young Knight," said the man, bowing slightly. "My name is Teydor Loy. I am a Matukai, as you may have guessed. And this youth is Shayjen Joyrit. My eternal student, for some reasons."
"I am Light Flaingstar. Jedi Knight," I introduced myself to the Matukai. "I noticed these scum trying to board the ship and decided to help."
"Commendable... You see, Captain," Teydor addressed the Twi'lek man. "You don't have to pay every piece of trash."
"This boarding wouldn't have happened if you had just paid!" the man in pilot's uniform exclaimed indignantly.
"I prefer not to pay under such terms," Teydor said. "In any case - don't we need to get to the planet?"
"Yes. I'll land the ship now," the Twi'lek gritted his teeth. "And I hope - you will never use my services again," he left the room.
"What wonderful service you have," I remarked, smiling slightly. "I think, in a little while, it will be able to compete with the best carriers from the Mid Rim."
"What can you do," Teydor shrugged.
"Alright," I said, "I need to get back to my ship. Rishi awaits me."
"Hope we don't meet again, Jedi," Shayjen snorted.
"A pity, I thought you liked me," I simply replied. "Especially the part where I almost took your head off."
Leaving the room, I returned to the 'Star Path'... It was interesting... Definitely - the Matukai deserve my attention. The way they moved in combat. More precisely - the way they strengthened their bodies with the Force. It's interesting... The philosophy of the teaching affects the interaction with the Force. Just as it does the spectrum of techniques used. There are techniques attributed purely to the Sith, as well as those attributed purely to the Jedi. The Matukai also have their own peculiar trick in the form of changing their physical parameters with the Force. This fundamentally differs from our Buff. Mentor Lorm wove some elements of training, which he received from a Matukai he met, into my training. But he didn't reveal all the secrets... And even if he had. It's better to observe them from the outside than to listen to the instructions of a sentient being who might have misunderstood something in those teachings.
Hmm... I'll have to rewatch the holorecord of their battle later. Maybe ten times... VV managed to break the computer of the ship we docked with and download the recorded footage. I think this will help in my training. But that's later, after the mission. For now, Rishi awaited me...