Using the navigational coordinates provided by Chancellor Palpatine, they had arrived in the Mondress Sector, and then proceeded to the Albanin Sector before they'd entered the Unknown Regions. With six more days of travel still ahead, they trusted that the Chancellor's coordinates would deliver them to Chiss space.
Turning to Nuru, Breaker said, “I imagine you’re excited about seeing Csilla?”
Nuru did not answer, but stared hard at the holographic display of stars.
Breaker said, “Something wrong?”
Nuru blinked his red eyes, glanced at Breaker, then returned his gaze to the holographic display. He said, “I regret my training at the Jedi Temple didn't quite prepare me for this mission.”
Knuckles and Sharp overheard Nuru’s remark. “What?!” Knuckles responded. “You, Commander Nuru? Not prepared? How can you say that after the way you handled yourself on Kynachi?”
Sharp added, “Or after the way you helped liberate Kynachi from those infernal droids?" Glancing at the droid commando on the other side of the cabin, Sharp added, “No offense, Cleaver.”
“None taken, sir,” Cleaver replied.
Breaker said, “Knuckles and Sharp are right, Commander Nuru. Your training at the Jedi Temple probably prepared you for more than you realize.”
“Being able to fight is one thing,” Nuru said. “But going on a diplomatic mission to Csilla? That's another thing entirely.”
Breaker said, “Chancellor Palpatine and General Yoda wouldn't have sent you to Csilla if they didn't believe you were ready.”
Nuru shook his head. “You don't understand, Breaker," he said. “I've never met another Chiss. Ever. I don‘t like to admit this but ... well, nervous.”
Sharp said, “Because you still can’t understand their languages?”
“Thanks for reminding me," Nuru said. “I’m supposed to meet a diplomat whose name I can barely pronounce.” He tried saying the name slowly. “Sev'eere'nuruodo”
Breaker said, “You can‘t be nervous, Commander. Cleaver should be able to translate for you.”
Surprised, Cleaver said, “I should?”
Breaker faced the droid and said, “Weren’t you listening? Your language memory disc now contains Chiss linguistic data, so you can be Nuru’s translator. Go on, let's hear you say something in Cheunh, like ... ‘Thank you for your hospitality.'”
A flurry of alien words came out of Cleaver's vocabulator. When he was done, Cleaver looked at Nuru and said, “I could not ascertain a Cheunh word for hospitality, but I incorporated synonyms for comradely service. Do you think that is a sufficient translation?”
“I have absolutely no idea,” Nuru said, hanging his head. “But it's not the language I'm nervous about. It's ... well, I don't know how I'll react when I see other Chiss for the first time. On Coruscant, I'm afraid I grew uncomfortable with the idea that I was somewhat unique, that I might never meet another Chiss. It's hard for me to imagine being among people who look like me.”
“Oh, if only the boys and I had that problem,” Knuckles said with a chuckle as he made a gesturing wave to Sharp and Breaker.
“Sorry," Nuru said. “You must think I'm being ridiculous.”
“Not at all, Commander." Knuckles shook his head. “But I don’t think you should be nervous that you’ve yet to meet another Chiss.”
“Really?” Nuru said. “Why not?”
Knuckles aimed a finger at Nuru and said, “Because you're Nuru Kungurama. A Jedi. And no one in Chiss space has ever met you before.”
Sharp said, “Nicely put, Knuckles.”
Breaker clapped Nuru on the shoulder and said, “You have nothing to worry about. Everything will go fine.”
“Where's Csilla?” Nuru said.
He was sitting on the small seat that folded out from the wall behind Lalo Gunn and Chatterbox in the Hasty Harpy’s cockpit. The Harpy had just dropped out of hyperspace, and the Corellian YT-1760 transport’s centrally configured cockpit offered a wide field of vision. Based on the coordinates that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had provided, Nuru had expected to arrive in sight of the planet Csilla, a large, glacial world. But as he peered past the shoulders of Gunn and Chatterbox and gazed through the cockpit's transparisteel windows, he saw only a field of distant stars.
“No nearby planets on the scopes,” Gunn said. “And the nearest star is three light years away. Chatterbox, you triple-checked the navi-computer before the last jump, right?”
Chatterbox nodded.
Nuru said, “What's going on?”
Gunn said, “Our position is correct, except ... no Csilla.”
“What do you mean no Csilla?” Nuru said. “Where is it?”
“That’s what I'm trying to tell you, kid. It ain't there. It's-”
“Look!” Nuru interrupted. He extended his arm past Chatterbox and pointed to the viewport. “Something’s out there!”
Gunn and Chatterbox followed Nuru's gaze to see a dark, triangular object, a silhouette suspended against the starfield. Gunn consulted her sensor scopes and said, “It might be a ship or a station, but I can't tell. My sensors aren’t picking up any signals.” She adjusted the sensor controls and added, “Maybe it’s using a sensor jammer. The scopes can’t even determine that thing’s size or how far away it is.”
A warning light flashed on the Harpy’s control console. Gunn said, “We're being scanned.”
In the indistinct distance across space, the dark object shifted slightly, and one of its sides seemed to swell outward. A moment later, lights flickered on across the object, revealing it had a curved surface, and that its true shape was not a triangle but a cone. The cone rotated and came to a stop so that it appeared to be inverted, with its sharply tapered end pointing “down” from the Harpy’s perspective.
Another light flashed on the Harpy's console. From the comlink, a strangely neutral but synthetic voice said, “Chiss Expansionary Defense Force Station lfpe’a to unidentified starship. State your purpose.”
Gunn glanced back at Nuru. “I am Nuru Kungurama of the Jedi Order," he said. “Supreme Chancellor Palpatine of the Galactic Republic sent me here in response to a request from an ambassador of the Chiss Ascendancy, Aristocra Sev'eere'nuruodo.”
After a brief silence, the synthetic voice replied, “Shut down sublight engines and all weapons systems. Await docking procedure.”
Gunn muttered, “Not exactly a warm welcome.”
The clone said, “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Who asked you?!” Gunn said as she threw a quick jab at Chatterbox’s shoulder.
Nuru said, “I'm surprised that the voice from the station spoke Basic. From the data I examined, I thought the Chiss were so isolated that they‘re not conversant in any languages from Republic space.”
“Thanks for the history lesson,” Gunn said sarcastically. “So, what do we do now?”
Nuru thought hard. He was disturbed that their exit from hyperspace hadn't delivered them to Csilla. Finally, he said, “Follow their instructions. Shut down the engines and weapons. And let's keep in mind that we’re invited guests, even if we didn't arrive where we expected.”
“You're the boss,” Gunn said.
While Gunn and Chatterbox pushed buttons and adjusted controls, Nuru kept his eyes on the conical vessel. The Harpy's engines powered down, and the freighter began to drift. A moment later, the Harpy lurched forward, heading toward the Chiss station.
Nuru said, “Tractor beam?”
“Yup,” Gunn replied, scowling.
As the invisible tractor beam drew the Harpy closer to the Chiss station, Nuru, Gunn, and Chatterbox realized the station was much larger than it had appeared from a distance. Gunn glanced at her scopes again and said, “Scanners are still coming up empty, but by my eye, that station's about a thousand meters tall.”
A wide, triangular door slid back on the station’s side, and the Harpy slowly glided in through the open door and into a docking bay. Dimly illuminated by yellowish lights,
the docking bay consisted of an oval landing pad enveloped by a curved, pale green wall that was smooth and without windows. As the tractor beam deposited the Harpy on the landing pad, the bay‘s triangular door slid shut, sealing the bay.
The Harpy's sensor scopes crackled with activity, surprising Gunn and Chatterbox. “Whoa,” Gunn said. “We’re picking up lots of strange energy readings.” Looking at a data stream, she added, “I can't make heads or tails out of most of this info, but it looks like this bay has a breathable atmosphere.”
“Let’s tell the others,” Nuru said as he scrambled out of the cockpit.
The Harpy's landing ramp extended to the docking bay floor. Nuru was the first to emerge, followed by Cleaver, the four troopers, and Gunn. The troopers were fully armored and carried their blaster rifles slung over their shoulders.
Gunn lingered at the bottom of the landing ramp, looked around and said, “No one to greet us? Did the Chancellor’s data about the Chiss say anything about a chilly reception?”
“Patience,” the young Jedi said as he eyed the docking bay's smooth walls. “They are probably still scanning us.”
A thin, diagonal strip of light pulsed against a lower section of the wall, where the wall sloped in to meet the floor. The strip of light grew brighter and expanded to reveal an illuminated doorway. A humanoid silhouette stood in the doorway, and then the mysterious figure stepped forward into the hangar.
For the first time in his life, Nuru faced another Chiss. Like Nuru, the unidentified Chiss had blue skin, glowing red eyes, and gleaming black hair. The Chiss was attired in a crisp, black uniform with orange tabs at the collar.
Nuru had assumed that his first encounter would be with a group of Chiss, not an individual. Despite his training at the Jedi Temple, where he had learned much about staying objective and not making judgments based on immediate impressions, his very first thought as he looked at the Chiss before him was, She's beautiful.
The female Chiss moved away from the illuminated doorway and came to a stop in front of Nuru. She was slightly taller than the young Jedi, but she kept her chin elevated as she faced him.
Nuru stared into the girl's red eyes. Her skin was smooth and unlined, and he suspected she was not much older than he. Her facial expression was so neutral that it held no trace of emotion. Nuru felt tongue-tied. He struggled to remember the greeting he had practiced in the Cheunh language. Unable to recall the words, he bowed at the waist.
The girl responded by widening her eyes as she took a cautious step backward.
Nuru had intended his bow as a gesture of courtesy, but realized that bowing might be inappropriate in Chiss space. Fearing that he'd either frightened or insulted the girl, he remembered the phrase he had rehearsed.
“Pavl'cha sertketch Jedi lommeeth'ree,” he said, trying not to bite his tongue. “Nuru Kungurama agad nac’shu Republic depostchu’ukak tah Palpatine. Pavl'cha ferch'sti’onmell Aristocra Sev'eere’nuruodo.”
The girl replied, “You are called ... Nuru Kungurama?”
Nuru was surprised to hear the girl speak in accentless Basic. He smiled and said yes. The girl held his gaze but did not reply. Nuru continued, “I ... I am to meet with Aristocra Sev’eere'nuruodo.”
“I am Aristocra Sev'eere'nuruodo.”
“Oh,” Nuru said, and realized from how she’d pronounced her own name that he had pronounced it incorrectly. “I ...” He almost blurted out, I was expecting someone older, but he caught himself and said instead, “I, um, didn‘t know you spoke Basic. And I hope you aren't upset ... I mean, I hope you will forgive me for mispronouncing your name. I'm afraid I ... I'm having a difficult time learning Cheunh.”
Gunn remained standing beside the Harpy's landing ramp. She and Chatterbox glanced at each other, but quickly returned their attention to Nuru and the Chiss girl.
Keeping her eyes fixed on Nuru, the girl said, “You are encouraged to refer to me as Veeren. It is, you might say, an abbreviation of Sev’eere’nuruodo.”
“Thank you, Veeren,” Nuru said. “And you may call me Nuru.”
The girl winced slightly. “I shall ... consider it, “she said.
Nuru wondered if he had offended the girl somehow. Trying to collect his thoughts, he remembered his mission and said, “Veeren, there is something that puzzles me. My government's leader, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, gave us navigational coordinates that he said would deliver us to the Csilla system. However, the nearest star is light years away from our present position.”
“Your leader misled you,” Veeren said.
“What?” Nuru replied. “But ... why would he do that?”
“I did not say he misled you deliberately,” Veeren said coolly. “I merely said that he misled you. My original communication to him was quite clear, that I wished to meet with a representative of the Republic. I provided data to lead a Republic ship through hyperspace to this station. If your Chancellor inferred that the navigational coordinates would lead to Csilla, he was mistaken.”
Using his Force powers, Nuru sensed that Veeren was not attempting to deceive him. Although he found her voice and manner somewhat off-putting, the way she spoke without a trace of warmth, he also sensed she wasn't hostile.
Veeren gestured to the right of the illuminated doorway. The curved wall slid silently to the side, exposing a transparent window that offered a view into an adjoining, undecorated chamber. At the center of the chamber were two large, inverted cones that echoed the shape of the space station. Hovering a few centimeters above the bare floor, the cones rotated slightly to reveal each was partially hollow and held a round seat. Nuru realized they were chairs.
Veeren said, “You and I shall adjourn to the conference room. Your companions will remain here. They will not be able to hear us, but can monitor us through the window.”
Nuru glanced back at Gunn and the troopers, then said, “But ... well, I'm eager to talk with you, but it‘s been a very long journey. Is it possible that my friends might have some refreshments?”
Veeren's expression remained inscrutable as she said, “Refreshments?”
“Yes,” Nuru said. “Food and drink?”
Veeren hesitated for a moment, then said, “Do I understand correctly, that you traveled here without food and drink? Or do you expect me to provide food and drink?”
“Uh, maybe not you personally,” Nuru said. “Forgive me, Veeren. I am ignorant of Chiss etiquette. I meant no insult.”
“No matter,” Veeren said. “Our meeting will not be long,” She turned for the illuminated doorway.
Nuru realized that Veeren seemed to have no interest in whether he and his allies had sufficient nourishment. Unsure whether Veeren being deliberately rude or behaving like a typical Chiss, the young Jedi was about to follow her into the adjoining room when someone behind him said, “Ahem.” It was Breaker, clearing his throat.
Both Veeren and Nuru stopped and turned to face the helmeted trooper. Nuru said, “Yes, Breaker?”
“Begging your pardon, Commander,” Breaker said, “but Cleaver should accompany you. He is your translator, and would be most useful in the event of any accidental miscommunication between you and the aristocra.”
Nuru looked from Breaker to Cleaver, and then back to Breaker again. Nuru sensed all the troopers thought the same thing, that it was a bad idea for him to become separated from the Breakout Squad. Although Nuru had not perceived any threats on the station, he did not dismiss the troopers’ shared concern. Their job was to protect him, and their ability to do that would be limited if they were separated by even a short distance. Which was why they wanted Cleaver to go with him, not so much to serve as his translator but as his backup.
Nuru looked back at Veeren, whose eyes had never left him. Nuru said, “Yes, of course. My translator must join us.”
The refurbished droid commando stepped up beside Nuru. Without taking her eyes off Nuru, Veeren spoke in rapid Cheunh. Nuru was still wondering whether she had just made a short statement or asked a qu
estion when Cleaver offered an equally fast response. The only word Nuru caught was crahsystor, which meant commander.
Veeren’s red eyes flicked to the droid and back to Nuru. She said. “Your translator will join us.”
Nuru looked at the droid. “You both spoke so fast, I couldn't understand.”
Cleaver replied, “Essentially, Aristocra Sev'eere'nuruodo asked if my commander could be trusted. And essentially, I replied that I trust my commander more than any other Chiss that I have ever met.”
Nuru’s mouth almost fell open. “You didn’t!” he said, aghast.
The droid looked at Veeren and added, “I believe I pronounced every word correctly?”
“You did,” Veeren said.
Nuru shook his head. “Aristocra, I'm sorry if you think my translator implied that he trusts me more than he trusts you.”
“You should not be sorry,” Veeren said. “Your mechanical translator‘s response was immediate and technically accurate. He is correct in that he has no reason to trust me. And had he expounded on your honor, I would have suspected he was engineered to promote you for political purposes."
“Oh,” Nuru said, “I, uh, wouldn‘t have wanted you to suspect that.”
She gestured again toward the doorway. Nuru and Cleaver followed her out, and the door sealed behind them. To the right of the door, the window remained open, allowing those still in the docking bay to see Nuru and Veeren sit in the conical seats while Cleaver came to a stop beside Nuru.
Peering through the window, Knuckles muttered, “Well, I guess now we know that Cleaver was right about something earlier. There is definitely not a Cheunh word for hospitality.”
Breaker said, “Remember, fellas ... different people, different customs. For all we know, that girl was being polite by Chiss standards.”
“That may be,” Sharp said, “but I can‘t say I like the way the Aristocra talks to Commander Nuru. She just seems ... disrespectful.”
Lalo Gunn had remained standing at the bottom of the Harpy's landing ramp. Gazing through the window at the two seated figures, she said, “If you ask me, the Chiss girl has Nuru's undivided attention. Our little Jedi friend may not like her manners either, but he wants to like her. The way he looked at her and stammered, it was more than a little obvious. Chatterbox noticed it, too.”
Star Wars - The Clone Wars - Secret Missions #2 - Curse of the Black Hole Pirates Page 3