Star Wars - The Clone Wars - Secret Missions #4 - Guardians of the Chiss Key

by Ryder Windham

  The clone troopers of Breakout Squad noticed that Nuru had not mentioned the fact that the utility belt Cleaver had found belonged to Ring-Sol Ambase. Apparently, Kit Fisto was not curious about the belt or its origin, for he looked at the Suwantek freighter and said, “You’re no longer travelling with Lalo Gunn?”

  “Her ship was destroyed during the fight with the assassin,” Nuru said. “She decided to part ways with us on Vaced, which surprised me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she seemed fond of Chatterbox.”

  Fisto looked at Nuru and said, “Fond?”

  “Yes. Very fond.”

  “Oh.” Looking back at the Suwantek freighter, Fisto said, “You brought the bodies of Sommilor and the pilots with you?”

  “Yes, Master. I anticipated someone would send the bodies back to Kynachi.”

  “Before you left Vaced, why didn’t you send a transmission to Coruscant to alert the Jedi Temple about what had happened or where you were going?”

  “We learned there was a tracking device on Lalo Gunn’s ship. I didn’t know whether the assassin, or someone else planted the device, but I allowed the possibility that someone was still monitoring Breakout Squad’s movements and communications. I chose not to send any transmission that might have been intercepted by an enemy.”

  “That’s practical of you. So you arrived here and found Overseer Umbrag?”

  Nuru nodded. “His yacht and six drone barges are in the adjoining docking bay. It seems Umbrag and a small number of battle droids had seized the depot, but they weren’t prepared for us.”

  “According to my data, Bilbringi Depot is owned by a Hutt named Drixo. Any sign of Drixo or her servants?”

  “No, Master.”

  “Did you inspect the drone barges?”

  “Yes. We only checked to make sure there weren’t any droids on board, but the barges appear to be filled to capacity with construction materials and building supplies.”

  “Do you know what Umbrag was planning on building?”

  “No, Master,”

  “Where is Umbrag now?”

  Nuru pointed to the Suwantek freighter again. “Gizz and Cleaver are guarding him.”

  “Gizz?” Fisto said with surprise. “The swoop biker you mentioned? He came here, too?”

  “If we’d left him on Vaced, his circumstances might have become… unfortunately complicated. I felt obligated to help him. Anyway, after we captured Umbrag, I sent a transmission to the Jedi Council. But then one last remaining battle droid took us by surprise and shot Chatterbox.” Nuru looked at Breaker and said, “I believe that’s all there is to tell.”

  “Not quite,” Fisto said. “I see you’re carrying your Master’s lightsaber as well as your own. How did you come by that?”

  Nuru brushed his fingers against the two lightsabers at his belt. “On Kynachi, we met a bounty hunter who claimed he found Master Ambase’s lightsaber. He gave it to me. I… I’d hoped to return it to my Master.”

  Fisto placed a hand on Nuru’s shoulder. “You, too, are to be commended for your actions, young one. But now, it’s time for you to return to Coruscant while my team secures this facility and—”

  Fisto was distracted by the sudden noise of his entire platoon switching off the safety controls on their blaster rifles. Nuru saw that Fisto’s platoon had trained their weapons at the Suwantek freighter’s hatch, where a skeletal droid with glowing eyes had just emerged.

  “Hold fire and lower your weapons!” Nuru said as Breaker and Knuckles jumped in front of the nearest members of Fisto’s platoon, blocking them from firing at Cleaver. “The droid commando is completely reprogrammed and won’t hurt you. He’s with Breakout Squad.”

  The troopers looked to Kit Fisto. Fisto nodded once, and the troopers lowered their rifles. Knuckles said, “That was a close one. Cleaver. We’ll have to he more careful with you around troopers in the future.”

  “That would be a relief to all,” Cleaver said as he stepped down the freighter’s hoarding ramp.

  Nuru glanced at Fisto and whispered, “Cleaver hopes to become a Jedi.”

  Fisto grinned. “Well, doesn’t everyone?”

  Cleaver came to a stop before the two Jedi. Nuru said, “Cleaver, allow me to introduce you to Jedi General Fisto.”

  Cleaver bowed and said, “It is my honor, General.” He Turned to Nuru. “Commander Kungurama, you should know that Gizz discovered three men hidden in the freighter.”

  “Something must be wrong with your memory, Cleaver. Before we left Vaced, you helped bag and move the bodies of Commissioner Sommilor and his two pilots into a storage compartment. Don’t you remember?”

  “But I’m not talking about the dead men, Commander. Gizz found three men who are alive. They were in a different storage compartment.”

  “Are they… stowaways?”

  “Not precisely. They were bound and gagged. It appears they were captives.”

  Fisto looked at Nuru and said, “You do travel with unusual company.”

  “What’s most odd,” Cleaver continued, “is that they claim to be Commissioner Sommilor and the pilots from Kynachi.”

  Nuru’s red eyes went wide with surprise. Fisto said, “I’d like to have a word with these men.”

  “So would I,” Nuru said as he headed for the freighter.

  Breaker, Knuckles, Sharp, and Cleaver followed Nuru Kungurama and Kit Fisto into the freighter. They found Gizz in the main cabin, his back hunched so he wouldn’t hit his broad head against the ceiling as he handed mugs filled with water to three men who were seated on an acceleration bench. One man wore a blue uniform, and the other two wore green tunics that were adorned with triangular orange insignias, identifying them as KynachTech pilots. All three had gold hair that was a typical characteristic of people from Kynachi. Looking at Nuru, Gizz said, “What took you so long?”

  “Gizz, meet General Fisto.”

  “Another Jedi, huh?” Gizz said as he raised his thick fingers of his right hand in a casual salute.

  Fisto bowed slightly to Gizz, and Nuru noticed Fisto’s nostrils close in a reflexive response to Gizz’s body odor. Stepping back from Gizz, Fisto faced the three seated men and said, “Are you all right?”

  The men nodded. Gizz said, “They’re still a little groggy. I think they were knocked out by something.”

  Knuckles leaned close to Breaker and whispered, “It’s a wonder they’re not knocked out by the smell of Gizz.”

  Gizz’s tapered ears twitched, and he growled, “I heard that, Knucklehead.”

  The man in the blue uniform took a Iong drink of water, cleared his throat, and said, “I’m Commissioner Sommilor from Kynachi.” Gesturing to the two men seated with him, he added, “My pilots, Pikkson and Sunmantle.” He shifted his gaze to the young, blue-skinned Jedi and said, “You… you’re Nuru Kungurama. I saw you on Kynachi. The people of my world are in your debt for saving us from the Techno Union.”

  Neither Fisto nor Nuru sensed that the man was lying, but they also knew they needed more information before they could decide whether he was trustworthy. Removing a small scanner device from his utility belt, Fisto said, “May we transmit a data scan to the Kynachi authorities to confirm your identity?”

  “Of course.”

  Fisto aimed the scanner at the seated men, then plugged the device into the main hold’s comm console. “It will take a few minutes to get a response from Kynachi.”

  Fating the man who claimed to be Sommilor, Nuru said, “Do you recall Chancellor Palpatine introducing us via a hypercomm conference, directing me to meet you on Vaced and escort you to Coruscant?”

  “Vaced?” The man shook his head. “No. No, that couldn’t have been me. You and the chancellor must have been talking with the imposter.”

  “Imposter.”

  The man in the blue uniform nodded. Gesturing to the pilots beside him, he said, “We were on Kynachi, preparing to leave for Coruscant. I was to meet with Republic Senators about an allianc
e. The people of Kynachi want to join your fight against the Separatists.” He took another sip of water. “We were still on the launch pad when three men attacked us. They put on masks, disguised themselves to look like us. They made us swallow doze tablets before they put us in binders and locked us in the aft hold.”

  Nuru turned to Breaker and whispered, “Inspect the three bodies that we brought from Vaced. See if they’re wearing disguises.”

  As Breaker exited the main hold, Fisto faced the man in the blue uniform and said, “Did you recognize the men who captured you?”

  “No. They were strangers, not from Kynachi. Maybe they were mercenaries. Did… did you apprehend them?”

  “Before I answer that, can you tell me whether you have any enemies? Anyone who might have hired mercenaries to abduct and impersonate you?”

  The man thought for a moment, then said, “The only person I can think of is Overseer Umbrag. He must be furious about how the Republic troopers drove his forces off Kynachi. Or … of course! The Techno Union must have wanted to stop me from reaching Coruscant!”

  Gizz aimed a thick thumb at a sealed hatch and said, “We got Umbrag locked up tight in there. He could tell us.”

  Nuru said, “But what if he refuses со talk?”

  “Then I’ll make him talk.” Before anyone could intervene, Gizz opened the hatch and squeezed his bulk into the next chamber. Inside, he found Umbrag sitting on a bench, huddled against a metal bulkhead. The Skakoan was wearing thick-lensed goggles and a protective armored pressure suit. The only parts of his body that was exposed and unprotected were the nip and back of his green-skinned head. Metal gauntlets covered his wrists, which were secured by binder cuffs. A second set of binders was clamped around his ankles.

  Umbrag looked up at Gizz and said meekly, “If I am a prisoner of war, I have certain rights!”

  “Shut up, ugly,” Gizz said as he sealed the hatch behind him.

  From the other side of the hatch, Umbrag and Gizz heard Nuru’s muffled voice shout, “Gizz, what are you doing?”

  Ignoring Nuru, Gizz stared hard at Umbrag and said, “See this?” He held up his massive right hand and made a fist that was almost as large as Umbrag’s head. “This here hand of mine is what I call the lie detector. You lie to me, and the hand gets angry. Then the hand starts pounding whatever’s within reach, and there’s absolutely nothing I can do to stop it. Nothing personal, Umbrag, that’s just how it works. Understand?”

  Umbrag let out a horrified squeaking sound as he nodded.

  “Good. What I wanna know is… do you know a guy named Sommilor from Kynachi?”

  Umbrag looked surprised. “Sommilor? I… I think he was a local politician of some kind.”

  Gizz flexed the fingers of his right hand, making the knuckles pop loudly before making a fist again. “Did you try to stop him from going to Coruscant?”

  “You mean… during the occupation of Kynachi?”

  “I mean,” Gizz said through clenched teeth as he leaned closer to Umbrag, “did you hire goons to stop him from going to Coruscant?”

  “No!” Umbrag shrieked. “No! I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

  Gizz bared his sharp teeth and snarled, “You’re lying.”

  “No!” Umbrag repeated as he raised his manacled wrists tо protect his head, “I swear I didn’t hire anyone to stop Sommilor!”

  Gizz grinned. “Okay,” he said аs he turned, opened the hatch, and squeezed through it to rejoin Nuru and the others. As he sealed the hatch, he looked at Nuru and Fisto and said, “Umbrag doesn’t know nothin’.”

  “Thank you for your assistance, Mister Gizz,” Fisto said, “but the Jedi prefer less violent methods of interrogation.”

  Gizz shrugged, and his shoulders made a thudding noise as they struck the ceiling. “Suit yourselves.”

  Breaker returned to the main hold. “It’s true about the disguises. Commander,” he said. “The dead men are wearing synthskin masks and gold wigs.”

  The man in the blue uniform raised his eyebrows and said, “Dead men?”

  Gizz said, “Synthskin?”

  A loud beep sounded from the comm console. Kit Fisto removed his scanner, studied its tiny datascreen, then said, “KynachTech has confirmed your identity, Commissioner Sommilor. Nuru, tell the commissioner and pilots what happened on the planet Vaced.”

  Nuru said, “The men who impersonated you were killed by a sniper. The sniper tried to kill us, too, but he died when his ship exploded. We don’t know whether he was operating alone or following orders.”

  Sommilor shuddered, then said, “But... was the sniper trying to kill me and my pilots, or did he know he was shooting at imposters? And if the imposters were trying to stop me from reaching Coruscant, why didn’t they just kill me on Kynachi? Why the charade?”

  “Those are very good questions,” Fisto said. “If we can identify the imposters, we might find an answer.”

  Gizz said, “I wanna take a look at those dead guys.” He ambled across the main hold and ducked through the hatch that led to the compartment that contained the bodies.

  Fisto looked at Knuckles and said, “Go with him. Make sure he doesn’t tamper with any evidence.” As Knuckles followed Gizz out of the main hold, Fisto turned back to face Sommilor and said, “For all we know, you may still be targeted for assassination. Do you wish to proceed to Coruscant, or would you rather return to Kynachi? Either way, you shall have a military escort.”

  Before Sommilor could answer, the pilot named Pikkson gasped as Gizz walked back into the main hold with a dead man slung over his shoulder. The corpse was the man who had impersonated Sommilor. Gizz was followed by Knuckles, who caught Fisto’s glare and said, “I’m sorry, General. He just grabbed the body. I couldn’t stop him?”

  Fisto said, “Mister Gizz, what’s the meaning of this— ?”

  “No need for mister. Just call me Gizz,” Gizz said as he lowered the corpse onto a table near the seated men. “I should’ve thought of this when Breaker mentioned the synthskin masks, but it was all that babble about who knows what or doesn’t know whatever that really got me thinking. Only one gang I ever heard of does everything that sneaky and confusing.”

  Nuru said, “Gizz, you’re not making any sense. What gang?”

  Gizz pushed up the sleeve on the dead man’s right arm to reveal a smooth area of flesh. “See there? That’s synthskin, right?”

  “It appears to be,” Fisto said as he moved closer to the corpse.

  “Let’s see what it’s covering.” Gizz pinched the smooth flesh and yanked it away, revealing a black, circular tattoo on the man’s forearm. The tattoo had an outer ring of pointed spines.

  Kit Fisto’s eyes widened at the sight of the tattoo. “Black Sun.”

  “Yep,” Gizz said. “I guessed right.” He looked at Nuru. “I don’t even want to try to imagine what these guys had planned for you, kid. If you ask me, the sniper did us all a favor.” He tossed the synthskin over his shoulder, and it hit Sharp’s armor with a wet, slapping sound.

  “I… I think I’m going to be ill,” Sharp said.

  “Go see the medics, Sharp,” Nuru said. “You can check on Chatterbox for us while you’re at it.”

  As Sharp shuffled out of the freighter, Knuckles muttered, “Sharp’s really not himself lately.”

  Sommilor said, “General Fisto, can you tell me… what is Black Sun?”

  “A criminal organization. Very secretive, and very powerful.”

  “Do you think the Separatists hired Black Sun to kidnap me?”

  Fisto shook his head slightly, making his tentacles jiggle. “I’m not sure what to think. If the Separatists hired Black Sun, then who hired the sniper? And was the sniper really a Mandalorian or just a rogue in Mandalorian armor? All we know for certain is that we’re dealing with deadly adversaries. So tell us, Commissioner… how do you want to proceed?”

  Sommilor looked at Pikkson and Sunmantle, then said, “This experience has been most distressin
g, bur it has also made me even more resolved to secure an alliance with the Republic. I don’t know why the Separatists took such extraordinary measures to prevent me from reaching my meeting with the Senate, but they must be behind all this skulduggery, and I won’t allow them to scare me off. I wish to proceed to Coruscant.”

  Fisto bowed. “As you wish. But first, I must secure Bilbringi Depot.”

  Knuckles said, “Excuse me, General, but… even though Chancellor Palpatine and General Yoda were unaware that they were dealing with impostors from Kynachi, they did entrust Nuru Kungurama and Breakout Squad to escort the commissioner to his meeting. Unless anyone objects, I for one would like to finish that assignment.”

  Fisto looked from Nuru to Sommilor and said, “Any objections?”

  Nuru said, “Commissioner Sommilor, I was unprepared for what happened on Vaced. I will understand if you would prefer to travel with a senior Jedi.”

  Sommilor smiled. “I don’t think anyone could have been prepared for what happened on Vaced. But without you and Breakout Squad, the Techno Union might still be occupying my world. I would be honored if you escorted me to Coruscant.”

  Fisto smiled. “So be it. And Breakout Squad can also deliver Overseer Umbrag to the Republic authorities for further questioning.”

  Nuru said, “Master Fisto, do you know whether reports of Commissioner Sommilor’s death have reached the Galactic Senate?”

  “I’m not certain, but news does travel far these days.”

  “Then I request that you don’t notify anyone that the Commissioner and his men are still alive, that we allow others to believe they died on Vaced. That way, we have a better chance of delivering them safely to the Senate because, well… assassins don’t try to kill dead men,”

  “A wise move.” Fisto began to turn away, then he stopped and said, “Oh! I forgot to tell you earlier, Nuru … when you arrive at Coruscant, you should contact the Jedi scholar Harro Kelpura in the Jedi Archives. He wants to talk with you about the escape pod in which Master Ambase found you. He said he’d deciphered some significant data.”

  Wondering if the data were related to his heritage, Nuru said, “Did he mention what type of data?”