My ship was in a nondescript spaceport. There were no such structures in Aldera, the capital of Alderaan, at all. The Alderaanians were a bit too obsessed with creating an ideal, natural environment, so starships over Aldera itself were a rarity. They mostly belonged to aristocratic Houses, and even then, only one per House, located on their estate grounds. So, I had to head out of the city to the spaceport. It was a separate district, fifty kilometers from Aldera, which also had public transport. It took about ten minutes to get there. We left after lunch, taking transport.
I looked closely at where my ship had been delivered. The Jedi Shadows had brought it a couple of days after my arrival on Alderaan, put it in a spaceport bay, paid for its maintenance, and left. The Star Path was needed on Alderaan for the simple reason: if I suddenly had to make a quick getaway. My ship was much faster than many ships currently flying through space. Although I planned to order an upgrade. My ship currently had a second-class hyperdrive. Which is good, I don't argue, but there's better. It would be good to find a hyperdrive of class zero point something. Here, the lower the number, the faster the ship in hyperspace. It would take my second class a week to reach the outer reaches of the galaxy via known hyperspace routes. But a first-class one would cover the same distance in about four days.
Although it's worth remembering that hyperdrive technologies are constantly improving. In other words, there are sometimes "class shifts." What was once considered first class might become second, and so on. Therefore, one must keep a finger on the pulse. And, at least, constantly update the hyperdrive. It's a matter of survival, and survival for me is one of the top priorities. Enough deaths for me... Arriving at the spaceport station, we headed to the section where the ships were kept. The guards, by the way, briefly inspected three strange beings: two Matukai, who carried their glaives on their backs, and a strange man in a hood. However, after confirming that we posed no threat and that I was, in fact, a client, they quickly let us go.
"Your glaives attract attention," I noted.
"We are Matukai!" Shayjen gritted out. "Warriors. Warriors have no reason to hide from anyone. We always face danger head-on!"
"Oh," I chuckled under my hood. "But sometimes – you should act stealthily, without disturbing the enemy's peace. Creeping up quietly, like a snake to its prey."
"So you'll strike from behind?" Shayjen asked me.
"It's the best place for an attack, Shayjen. A stab in the back will allow you to finish the fight quickly, if successful."
"That's low and cowardly," Shayjen said haughtily. We approached the door leading to hangar forty-seven, section D. Before that, we had wound our way through corridors, among crowds of beings of various races.
"Only losers lose and complain about life," I said, stopping before the door, taking out a terminal card, and swiping it through a special slot. "You can use any excuse you want. Like you acted honestly, fought honestly. But that won't change the fact – you lost the battle, lost the war. Losing can cost lives," the hangar doors opened, "of beings you love, who are dear to you. You can suffer defeat in war, and the beings who believe in you will also suffer. And all because when you could have used all means to destroy the enemy, including a sneak attack – you said you wouldn't do it that way."
"You can win," we entered the hangar and finally saw it... The Star Path stood in the center, its ramp lowered. The ship was clean and ready for flight, if the message that arrived on my datapad was to be believed. Armament and fuel – loaded. VV-7, letting out a joyful trill in binary, started towards my ship. "But what about your honor? How will you restore it?"
"I'll write a book," I replied. "Where I'll write that all the most vile and pathetic tricks were used by my enemy, Shayjen. He's already dead. His allies lost. And who believes the losers? Hmm? Winners don't get judged. And winners have a unique monopoly on writing history. Do you understand now? I'll just write that I used honest tactics, like the bravest and best of the Jedi Knights. And beings will believe it. Because I will be the one who remains in that case. And I will have no qualms about it."
"A rather pragmatic view of things," Theodore said with a satisfied tone. "Perhaps – this pragmatism of yours will help us."
"Master! But he..."
"Calm down, Shayjen. Light is right about some things."
The interior of the ship hadn't changed, except...
"Master," VV-7 addressed me. "Diagnostics show that three tracking devices are hidden inside your ship."
VV had many diverse programs built into it. Programs for hacking, also known as ice-breaking, surveillance... As well as detection, including electronic devices. He had already managed to hack into my ship's terminal and analyze, as well as detect all interference.
"Hmm... Interesting," I said.
"Nothing unusual," Theodore shook his head, who also, apparently, knew mechu-deru. "How well do you know Jonal Ezar, Light?"
"I don't know him very well," I admitted. "And I assumed he would plant beacons in my ship. He really doesn't want to sacrifice 'valuable Jedi'..."
"Jonal Ezar doesn't want to sacrifice those around him," Theodore snorted. "Good joke, I'll remember it."
"Explain?"
"Jonal will never hesitate to sacrifice any being to achieve his goal. No matter how talented you are, or how valuable to the Jedi, Jonal will sacrifice you if it helps him achieve his goals. The peculiarity of his character is not only that he considers gifted 'non-Jedi' enemies to be destroyed. This wreck even killed the woman with whom he had a Force Bond," I shuddered. It would be like if I had killed Mila Karnur at the moments when a Force Bond had formed between us. I remembered those feelings, those moments we had experienced in those short two weeks. It seemed like two weeks, I had known Amella longer. But those were two weeks that Amella had to try very hard to somehow push them out. "And all this just to kill another fugitive Jedi, who was shouting something like he was a new Sith Lord. In general, the usual stuff. And you still consider Master Jonal a noble knight?"
"Hmph," I snorted, turning to Theodore. "I didn't say that. Although this feature of his biography is interesting."
"You're welcome. He killed that woman, and her son, his son, when he, a gifted one, entered the Order – he deliberately sent him on a mission that was doomed to fail. His son died too. And all because he believes that you, Jedi, must give up everything, and only then will you become true keepers of the Light Side of the Force and order in the galaxy. So keep one thing in mind: even if we destroy our enemy, Jonal may condemn you for a reason known only to him."
"Winners don't get judged," I said.
"And who said," Theodore walked forward, closer to my ship's cargo bay. He stood half-turned. "That we will win? It may happen that we barely escape the Tsai system."
"Is this being so dangerous?"
"It doesn't matter," Shayjen chimed in. "We'll meet him and defeat him. The three of us will manage."
"First, VV needs to remove all the beacons the Order left in my ship. I bet my superiors won't like the fact that I decided to ally with the Matukai and go after someone who, with a certain probability, is almost a Sith Lord. However – I'm interested in who this is. Am I rushing things by trying to act now? On the one hand – the chance is unique, I had a strong feeling that we could unravel the mystery of who this clever and cunning person is. But on the other hand... I am genuinely afraid. He's wiping out Shadow teams. And even if I'm called a unique case, that I'm stronger than many knights. But Shadow teams consist of three Shadow Knights. And that causes concern. On the other hand – I was sure I could escape if something happened. And I've long since gotten used to the idea that my life is literally on the edge of a blade. I've been risking it since I started my padawan training... No, much earlier. Therefore, I'm used to it... Just used to killing, and risking being killed myself.
I had no fear when I agreed to this adventure, that we would have on planet Tsai. Only questions remained, for which my mind demanded answers. Fear? Yes, I can be afraid, but if you ask directly: will I be more afraid than act, you can immediately answer – I will act more than be afraid. The beacons turned out not to be sealed very deeply. Moreover, they were equipped with a trap, so if they were removed, an immediate signal would be sent to whoever placed them. However, my droid easily dealt with this trap, not for nothing that I constantly updated VV and sometimes bought not entirely legal software.
"And what will you do with these beacons?" Theodore asked.
"Well, there's no secret here," I grinned, "VV, be so kind, roll out a couple of empty crates from our warehouse."
"Ahhh," Theodore blinked. "I see. You want to leave them here, in the crates, to simulate their operation."
"Correct," I agreed, looking at the three round discs that I held telekinetically in front of me. "If they are destroyed by ionization, or by another method, I'm sure the Order will become vigilant. And you have entered into an alliance with me, clearly implying that I should not report to my superiors. You are afraid of him. And rightly so."
"That's right," Theodore agreed. "I took a big risk deciding to contact you, Light. You seemed like an adequate Jedi to me. I see my intuition didn't deceive me."
"Hmph," Shayjen snorted.
VV rolled out the crates, into which I placed the beacons.
"And now, VV, leave them in the hangar. I'll pay a certain percentage now so that the Hangar employees 'don't notice anything'," I myself contacted the dispatch center and sent a request for takeoff. The hangar doors, directly above the ship, opened, and the hangar was flooded with the rays of the setting Alderaanian star.
"Mission accomplished, Master," VV chirped.
"Then proceed with pre-flight preparations. Test all systems, check fuel levels, armaments, enter jump coordinates into the computer. And... as soon as we leave Alderaan's atmosphere – activate yellow alert level for the ship," there are three of them. Green, when I fly in safe space and the ship is not threatened. Then the weapons are completely deactivated, and the missile bays are not loaded. In milliseconds, the ship can be switched to yellow mode. When it is ready to open fire and shields are raised. And red mode – it is activated during fire contact with the enemy, in fact – I conduct any combat in red mode. "We're flying into Wild Space," to tell the truth – my ship has another mode, I call it "mirror" in my mind. This is when the ship's cloaking system is activated. It's needed for sabotage and stealth infiltration. I plan to use it when we arrive in the Tsai system.
We went up to the second floor of my ship, where I sat at the helm and immediately activated the power system, starting the engine check and closing the ramp.
"Dispatch – to Star Path, your flight vector is ready, sending it to your ship, please report when you are taking off," a female voice was heard.
"Star Path – to Dispatch," I looked at VV, he displayed a message on the screen that the vector had been received and that, in general, the ship was ready for flight, "we received your vector. Ready for flight," I pulled a couple of levers, and then pressed the engine start button. A familiar vibration ran through the ship.
"Dispatch – to Star Path, have a pleasant flight, come visit us again, your hangar will be ready at any time."
"Thank you," I simply said, jerking the steering wheel. The ship took off. I activated the autopilot and entered the vector values into it.
"However," Theodore looked forward, into the "windshield." "Quite a fast ship. Where did you get it? Did the Order give it to you?"
"No," my starship smoothly entered orbit and immediately missiles were loaded into the launch missile bays and blasters were activated. However, we hadn't started an attack, so the three peacefully hanging Alderaanian Dreadnoughts remained hanging in orbit. "It's a gift, as a memento, from a Sith Lord."
"I don't understand," Shayjen said sternly.
"A Lord once sent an assassin after me in my childhood. Well, I consider that being a Sith Lord, and someone from the Order later informed me that it was another fallen Jedi, who thought too highly of himself and decided he could abduct a being directly from the palace of the King of an entire planet and, in fact, the ruler of the sector. The assassin was careless... He met Master Yoda in the same palace and untimely perished a brave but foolish death," Theodore smiled, "and King Alaric, to atone for the shortcomings of his Security Service, a joke, a cutthroat appeared right in the palace, and the Security Service didn't even notice, took it, and gifted me this ship. This is something the Order can't take away from me, no matter what asceticism they practice," I stroked the steering wheel. "The hyperjump is ready," I looked at the report, "we need to get onto the Corellian Run and head into Wild Space. Now we'll jump to Cattada, then Commenor, Thalasea, Quellor, at the last one we'll switch to the Hydian Way, jumping to Exodin, and then to the intersection of Hydian and Corellian at Denon. And then we have Spirana, Osarian, and so on, all the way to Christophsis and Ryloth. Ryloth is the last, large, relatively well-known planet we will arrive at. Shall we stop by to see the Twi'leks?"
"Don't joke like that, Light," Theodore said.
"And what about our argument about sizes? Wouldn't it be better if we studied... visual aids, so to speak, in full size."
"Our argument – we can finish it based on our experience. Or do you think your experience isn't enough?" Theodore taunted me.
"Creator," Shayjen sighed. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"Don't talk nonsense," I ignored Shayjen's question. "My experience is enough!"
"There... Now you're not talking like a boy, but like a man!" Theodore said with satisfaction. "But seriously – we don't have time for that, alas. Once we deal with the enemy, we will definitely visit Ryloth. But first, we need sector S-19, the Tsai system. We have the jump coordinates from Ryloth."
"Then – bon voyage," I pulled the hyperdrive lever. The star points stretched, and the ship slid into the blue corridor.
***
The journey with the Matukai was productive. During my rest, when I wasn't in the pilot's seat of my favorite ship, taking it in and out of hyperspace again, I participated in training with the Matukai. Mostly they practiced glaive combat, and I gained unique experience fighting opponents with longer weapons than mine, including learning to counter such enemies. Also, Shayjen and Theodore loved to have full-contact sparring matches without weapons. Such fights looked very spectacular from the outside. Hand and foot combat, I can probably compare it to the animation I saw in some anime series. The blows were beautiful, accentuated. And they also loved to spice up their blows with the Force, directing it from their body into the opponent's body right during the strike.
And honestly, with weapons, giving my all, I can give Theodore a serious fight, the old Matukai defeated me only due to experience and endurance, I simply got tired too quickly... For him. But without weapons, bare-handed, I had problems even with Shayjen. I simply focused too much on weapon combat and the Force, so in pure sparring against Shayjen, I only pulled through thanks to the natural agility of my body, Force enhancement, and foresight. But with Theodore in hand-to-hand combat, I couldn't cope.
"The Matukai have three levels in their training," Theodore said instructively, we were all together in the warehouse. We should further fence off the warehouse area, allocated for missiles, with a wall. Otherwise, our training was too active. "The first level is mastering the body. We teach so-called kata, movements. This level implies combat, without the use, or with minimal use, of the Force. The second level is mastering the Force. We use the Force as a means of predicting movement in combat, as well as enhancing our natural physical abilities. Based on this, the choice of Matukai techniques aimed at physical enhancement of abilities occurs. And, finally, the third level is the unification of the first and second levels."
"So you comprehend the Force separately from movements?" I asked Theodore. "I always thought you acted the other way around. Directing the Force through movements."
"Hmph, a Jedi misconception," Shayjen snorted.
"In fact – it's not such a misconception," Theodore looked at his student. "The first two levels are passed only by those who have not undergone training as gifted ones before. In other words, esteemed Light, you, having received those kata from the Creator, ahem... since you underwent training in your Order, immediately proceeded to the third level. And I admit – there are successes. Although small, perhaps because you have only been practicing our methods for two years. But successes will manifest. And... if you help us, in case of success of our enterprise, I will give you the guide to the fourth level."
"The fourth?" I asked.
"This is the level that allows you to control almost all parts of your body with the Force. You will be able to, with the Force, transfer the most terrible diseases of the galaxy, of course, if you train. However, even this is not the limit. There is one more level, the last one. The fifth."
"The fifth?"
"It's the same story as your Je'daii," Shayjen explained. "The fifth level, which only the creator Tsai Lin and some of her children possessed. A legendary level... According to some data – one who has mastered the fifth level can even regrow a lost limb."
"What?!" I exclaimed in surprise. "The fifth level will restore a limb?"
"Mastery of the Force and your body at such a level, esteemed Light, allows you to work miracles. It is this level that we can comprehend if we can find the library of the Forbidden City, the capital of the Tsai system," Theodore said.
"And you will give me access to that knowledge?" I asked, looking suspiciously at Theodore.
"I will," the man agreed.
"MASTER..."
"Silence," he snapped at Shayjen. "Young Light can provide invaluable assistance in confronting that gifted one. Unfortunately, our Matukai allies simply don't have time to arrive. A stalemate has developed, Shayjen. If we wait too long, fearing confrontation – we risk losing everything. But if we go against him alone – it's not a fact that we will defeat him. In the current situation," the man crossed his arms over his chest, "we must use all the resources we can," he looked me in the eye. "I swear on my life that I will give you all the information we can find in the library of the Forbidden City, and I will translate it for you. If the Council of Pathfinding Masters condemns me for this – then so be it. Too many sacrifices have been made by the hand of that creature! And I agree to accept any consequences for myself, up to death, just to kill him."
"Theodore..." I looked at the man in shock.
"That is my word, Light. I have laid all my cards on the table. I will repay all your risks worthily, so I will ask again: do you agree?"
"I will not speak high-flown speeches, Theodore," I closed my eyes. "You understand that I am, in part, not such a being. But I will help you."
"Thank you..." Theodore bowed slightly, "for your honesty."
***
A figure wrapped in a black cloak stood on a rise, looking at the old city. Its streets were empty and dirty with dust, apparently the shields that protected the capital of the proud Matukai, or rather their Tsai Kingdom – had been deactivated long ago.
"Tsai Kingdom," a hoarse voice said grimly, "a mythical Kingdom created by Tsai Yan, son of Tsai Lin. Once it was a refuge for all Matukai, a secret subject of politics, hidden from the rest of the Galaxy. However... these idiots destroyed themselves. The Emperor had thirty-seven wives in each generation, selecting a girl from each clan. They lasted only five generations before destroying themselves. Hahahaha... Finally, I, I have been looking for you for so long. And..." the figure's gaze turned to the building on the rise, in the center of the city, "the Central Library of the Forbidden City, also known as the Imperial Library."
"Master," the voice of a protocol droid came from behind him. "A minute ago, a ship was detected entering the planet's atmosphere."
"Display his data on the datapad, who are they?" the man asked, bringing his left hand with the datapad to his face. A Star Courier-class ship appeared before his eyes. "What... Is that... Haha... What is he doing here? However," a lightsaber with a curved hilt flew into the man's right hand, its crimson blade extending, "it doesn't matter. I will fulfill my goal anyway," the greatest treasure was contained in the basement of the library. The scrolls of Matukai techniques, which allowed for the regeneration of limbs and the growth of organs using the Force. "I'm even curious what the coming day will bring us. Haha..."
The blade deactivated, and the figure sprang into motion.