Serving the Pau'ans (Solo)

[Garik Reed]

Utapau​

Rael started out the bridge’s window on his ship, admiring the planet as he came into the atmosphere. Of course, the Jedi wasn’t piloting the ship. His long time companion, Sunrele, a young twi’lek girl, sat at the controls. She pressed a few buttons on the console, sending out a frequency to the Pau City Spaceport. “Go ahead.” She whispered to Rael. “Jedi Knight Rael sul B’an requesting permission to land. I received a message that your government needed my assistance.” There was a long silence, followed by a quick crackle. “Permission granted. Welcome to Pau City.” A voice said through the comm. Rael just shrugged, and got out of his seat. “Put us down, Sun.” Rael walked out of the bridge, and started heading for the hangar door. He pressed a button on the wall, and the door slid open with a loud, whoosh. Rael started walking down the bridge, looking at the surrounding area.

The Pau’ans and their laborers, the Utai, had a very interesting thing going on. They lived partially underground, which was interesting enough. What was more interesting, was that they essentially had a slave caste, that wanted to be slaves. A group of the short Utai greeted him, running up to the ship. They began going about refueling the ship. Sunrele followed Rael down the ramp a few steps behind him. As Rael was walking away from the ship, Sunrele was moving to the Utai. She started yapping at them in some language the Jedi couldn't understand, and he just kept walking.

As Rael stepped off the ship, he saw a lone Pau'an walking towards him. Per usual, the being was a pale shade of grey. Tall, with elegant robes. As Rael met him, the Pau'an smiled, revealing a set of sharp, carnivorous teeth. "Greetings, I am Si Tah'na. You must be Knight B'an. Thank you for coming at short notice. We have a..." He glanced over Rael's shoulder at the Utai, who were still arguing with Sunrele, apparently about what Fuel to put in the ship. "...situation. It'd be better if we spoke in private." With that, Si briskly turned around, and began to walk away. In the encounter, Rael hadn't said a thing. The Jedi Knight just shrugged, and began following the Pau'an.

 

[Garik Reed]

Rael followed the Pau'an through the corridors of Pau City for a while. Eventually, they reached a rather large elevator, and Si stopped right in front of it. He tapped a small button, and waited for the elevator. "So, what's the problem?" Rael asked. Si kept looking at elevator door. "You'll be told in a few minutes. It's too....sensitive." He responded. Rael just shrugged, and watched as the elevator doors opened. He stepped inside, and crossed his arms behind his back. The elevator was open to the air, and Rael walked to the railing. He stared out over the city. For a hole in the ground, it was bustling. Cargo ships flew in and out, dropping off and picking up products. Rael's eyes drifted to a section of the hollow cylinder. Strange howls and whooping sounds came from it, and Rael could barely see the colorful motion of large creatures. The noises reminded Rael of the war cries of his people.

As his mind drifted back to Kalee, he was distracted when the elevator stopped. Rael turned around, realizing Si was already off the elevator. The Jedi started walking as quickly as he could, trying to keep up with the long, graceful strides of a Pau'an. They walked along a short hallway, at the end, two large wooden doors stood before them. Si opened the both of them at the same time, revealing a large, beautiful room. It was oval shaped, with one wall entirely glass, and facing the inside of the city. On the other half, sat a variety of couches, chairs, and a large conference table. At the other end of the oval sat two more of the large doors, presumably to a bedroom. Near the window stood a another Pau'an. This one was much taller, and wore a long, elegant brown robe. It stared out the window, arms folded.

Rael turned to see that Si was leaving the room, slowly closing the doors behind him. Rael walked over to the window, but the Pau'an did not turn its head, instead keeping a steady gaze into the city. "It's lovely to meet you. I'm Jedi Knight Rael sul B'an. I heard you require services only Jedi can provide." Finally, the Pau'an turned to Rael. "Lovely to meet you, Rael. I'm Wi La'hool. Tell me, Jedi; have you ever taken down a rebellion?"

 

[Garik Reed]

"Wait, what? Did you say rebellion?" Rael looked at Wi in shock. He crossed his arms, waiting for the Pau'an to answer. Wi just looked back out the window, thinking about how to answer the Jedi. "Yes. Unfortunately, a small group of Utai I command." Rael paused, thinking about what he'd just heard. Slaves were rebelling, and the Pau'ans wanted a Jedi to stop them? Rael's stomach churned at the thought of trying to keep slaves in check. If anything, he should help them escape! "You want me, a Jedi, to help you enslave people." The Pau'an turned on him sharply, his eyes glaring. "They are not slaves. The Utai choose to serve." He waved a long hand, calming himself down. "Plus, these ones have become violent. I believe they've been poisoning my fellow politicians. Jedi do frown upon willing workers killing their bosses, yes?" Wi glanced at Rael, arching an eyebrow.

"Fine. Fine. Just, give me the info, and I'll decide what to do with it. If you're right, you've got nothing to worry about. If you're wrong..." Rael just shrugged. Wi reached into his long robes, and pulled out a datapad. He handed it to Rael, and gestured to the door. Rael took the pad, and looked one last time at Wi. He stalked out the door, and got back into the elevator. Once he was back down on the original floor he landed on, he saw that the ship was still there. He walked up to it, and walked back up the hangar door. "Sun! Meet me in the conference room." Rael called out into the ship, hoping she would hear him. He walked into the conference room, and sat down.

He placed the datapad down on the table, and started browsing through it. Multiple files about the societal structure of Utapau, most of it focusing on Wi. Apparently, he was one of the more high ranking leaders. He was in charge of making sure thousands of Utai performed their jobs smoothly, and efficiently. Then, he got deeper into the files. A group of Utai, under Wi's command, had been suspected of poisoning higher ups. Well, suspected was enough for him. Just then, Sun came walking in, wiping grease off of her hands onto a rag. "What's up?"

 

[Garik Reed]

"Some Utai causing trouble. Take these coordinates, they're a bit deeper in the city, but they'll get us there." Rael held out the datapad, a series of numbers showing on the screen. The Knight was being a bit cold, but his mind was racing with what would come next. He barely even registered the rumble of the engines firing up, or the ship lifting itself off of the ground. Rael shook his head, and stood up, stretching. As he did so, he felt a twisting in his gut. A feeling he'd felt before. One that warned of coming danger. Suddenly, Rael remembered the Utai who were working on his ship. Just then, a ventilation panel flew open, clanging to the floor. Rael spun, saber flying into his hand.

Out of the vent, jumped an Utai, a blaster in one hand, and grenade in the other. Rael's blue blade came to life, stopping some incoming fire. He hit the third shot back, and it slammed into the Utai's chest. Rael rushed forward, leaping over the table. He pointed his blade at the Utai as it gasped for breath. "I had hoped Wi would be wrong....why did you come here?" In response, it raised its hand, showing off the grenade. Which had a flickering red light on it. "We...will be free..." Rael brought the Force to his aid, creating a thick barrier between him and the incoming explosion. It flew Rael back, slamming him into the opposing wall. The ship rocked, and Rael heard a faint scream.

Even with the barrier, the blast had still nearly knocked him unconscious. Rael's vision was blurry, and as it came back to him, he saw the destruction. The walls were burned to a crisp, and various fires were ablaze around the room. Rael blinked, wincing, as the emergency fire extinguishers came to life, covering the room in a thick foam. Rael crawled to his feet, and rushing out of the room. Thankfully, not too much foam had covered him. "Sunrele..." He called out, coughing.

 

[Garik Reed]

"In the bridge!" The blue twi'lek called back. Rael stumbled to his feat, flicking foam off of his armor. He tromped into the bridge, looking around. Warning lights were flashing, and an alarm was slowly beeping on and off. Rael watched Sunrele hit a few buttons, and the conference room door slammed shut, and the alarms went off. "What in Yoda's name happened back there!? Be lucky it didn't hit anything important." Rael fumbled his way to the copilots seat, plopping down in it. "Utai...Wi was right. One just tried to kill me. How close are we?" Rael took some deep breaths, trying to recover from the attack. "About a minute out. You still wanna do this?"

If anything, the Utai assassin had only strengthened Rael's resolve. He nodded, and silently stood up, walking out of the bridge. He felt a gentle tap as the ship set down, and he knew Sunrele would handle the damage. "Don't let anyone fiddle with the ship!" He called back to her. As the ship's hangar door opened, Rael walked out, observing the surroundings. It was certainly different than where he'd come from. A bit more run down, and industrial. Ships and speeders buzzed back and forth, bringing cargo to the upper levels. This looked like the exactly place a criminal would want to live.

 

[Garik Reed]

Rael looked down to the datapad as he walked off the ship, which closed behind him. He was supposed to meet with a source, someone who'd been supplying info to Wi. Rael pulled up the meeting spot on a map. A cantina, why was he surprised. The Kaleesh began walking to his destination. Thankfully, it wasn't too far away. Rael walked into the noisy bar, and looked around. Off in a corner, he saw his target. A fat, ugly besalisk. Of course, Rael had no right to call someone ugly. He had mandibles and long red ears. Rael walked over, and sat down. "Wi didn't give me a name, I don't need one, all I need is info. Give it too me."

The besalisk took a long slow sip of his drink, and set it down. One of his other hands pulled out a small device, and me slid it over to Rael. Even the technologically illiterate Kaleesh knew it was a data drive. He plugged it into his datapad, and a screen of information came out. One of the besalisks hands brought his cup to his mouth, another two relaxing behind his head. The fourth simply gestured for the door. Rael got the message, and stood up, walking out of the bar. Some people might've been offended by the treatment Rael had just received, but he was a Jedi Knight, and he knew what fights to pick. That wasn't one of them, as there were far more important things to get to.

 

[Garik Reed]

Rael walked for a while, seemingly no destination in sight. The scenery didn't change, still just ships, and Utai and various aliens meandering around. The Utai looked overworked, but Rael didn't hear a single one complain. In fact, in some twisted way, they seemed happy. The whole site was unnerving to him, and he hated it. As we walked deeper into the bowels of Pau City, he eventually came across a large factory. The datapad said this was his destination. As Rael walked to it, he heard a loud boom from above. He looked up, but couldn't see anything. Rael just shrugged it off, and wlked to the door. Thankfully, it was open, but some Utai gave him a few dirty looks.

As he walked into the factory, he saw a group of Pau'ans talking with one another. They looked at Rael, but he waved a hand, reaching out to their mind with his. They all blinked a few times, and went back to their conversation. Rael kept walking, acting as if he was supposed to be there. Soon, though, a group of Utai that were heavily armed came to him, blaster rifles in their hands. The leader held up a hand. "Why are you here, and who are you?" Rael waved his hand again, "I'm right where I should be, my name is of no importance." The group just laughed, and the leader spoke up again. "Alright, I guess that's how it's gonna be, Jedi. Get the kark outta here." The group pointed their blasters at Rael, and the Jedi grimaced.

 

[Garik Reed]

As Rael grimaced, his saber came to his hand. He slashed at the leading Utai, cutting it clean in half. The others yelled, and began firing at Rael. The Jedi dropped into an almost meditative state, his blade becoming like another limb to him, dancing through the air. It twisted and turned, sending back bolt after bolt into the ceiling, or the chests of his enemies. One by one, they all fell, leaving Rael standing in a pile of small, dead Utai. Slowly, Rael took a few deep breaths. Whenever he unleashed that beast inside of him, he became something he never thought he could. That flame sparked in his eyes, and he became the epitome of a warrior. Not a single attack not thought through. But he wasn't thinking, he was just letting out his primal side. The side that knew which attacks to make, where the holes in his own defense and offense were, as well as his enemies. The more it happened, the more it scared the Kaleesh. He looked around, shutting off his saber.

Alarms were blaring, and he saw the shadows of another squad coming after him. Rael's eyes jumped to the ceiling, where beams of metal crossed back and forth. He jumped, letting the Force send him flying through the air. He landed on the top of one of the beams, and watched as a large number of Utai surveyed their dead comrades. One of them yelled a command, and his group ran off. He, however, looked around, before walking back the way he came. Rael began to follow him, until eventually, the Utai stepped up to a thick wall on the factory floor, which had been evacuated. It pushed into the wall, and a hidden door slid open. As it was closing, Rael fell to the ground, using the Force to slowly lower him. Rael slipped inside the passageway, and into a dark tunnel.

 

[Garik Reed]

His yellow eyes slowly adjusted to the night vision, and the tunnel got brighter and brighter the farther he walked. It was entirely dirt, and rather short. Most likely because the Utai made it. Every so often, water would drip down from the ceiling, and Rael would be sure not to make a noise. He could see the outline of the Utai about fifty feet in front of him. It didn't even have to crouch, and was walking at a brisk pace that Rael had trouble keeping up with. After about five minutes, the Utai stopped at a dirt covered metal panel. It tapped it in a few places, and it slid open, revealing a bright light. Rael's sensitive eyes hurt as soon as the door opened, and he blocked the light with one hand. Sure not to get trapped in the tunnel, Rael fumbled his way out, and rolled to a stop.

He heard shuffling, and then a few clicks as his eyes adjusted to the light. As he blinked, and opened his eyes again, he saw the barrels of about five guns pointed at him. They were in a large chamber, probably somewhere underneath the factory. No matter where they were, Rael knew he was in trouble. The room obviously looked like some sort of headquarters, and there were even more Utai spread out at various stations. All of them were looking at Rael. He slowly stood up, raising his hands. "It's okay. I'm a friend."

"I doubt that." The group parted, and an Utai, far more confident in stature than the others. "Who are you?" Rael could tell that this one was their leader. Anyone could. "My name really doesn't matter to you, but you can just call me, Alpha. I'm the, Alpha of our little rebellion. Pun intended." Rael slowly lowered his hands, pretending to be in shock. "Why are you doing this? You're the only Utai who want to kill Pau'ans." Alpha chuckled, and shook his head. "They are blind. We," He gestured to the rest of them, "are enlightened. For millenia, they have ruled with an iron fist. Slavery is a virus. You appear to be a Jedi, you should know that. And we? We are the cure." "Slavery? No one thinks this is slavery besides you and your thugs!" Rael whispered. Speaking, was just a distraction, and his hand whipped down to his lightsaber.

Before any of the Utai could fire, Rael flung out a wave of Force energy in all directions. The Utai went flying across the room, blasters firing into the ceiling. Rael looked around, and saw the nearest computer terminal. He rushed over to it, moving the unconscious Utai off of it. Normally, he would've been surprised about the damage he'd just done, never having done it before. But, he brushed off the thoughts, and started rummaging through the files. Right as a few Pau'ans started waking up, Rael was downloading all of their information onto his datapad.

 

[Garik Reed]

One of the stumbling Utai fired a shot at Rael, and his saber came up, hitting the bolt into a nearby wall. He was trying not to hurt them, but if they were going to kill him, he might have to. He held tightly onto the datapad, and rushed back to the secret entrance. There was no trouble opening it again, and and soon he was rushing out of the factory. Surprisingly, there was no trouble on the way back to the ship. Sunrele saw him running from the bridge, and opened the hangar door. He was running up it before it touched the ground. "Let's go!" He shouted, and the ship lifted up. He ran into the bridge, and she looked over her shoulder at her.

"You don't look shot up. What, did't succeed." Rael just laughed, trying to catch his breath. "I succeeded more than you know. Let's get back to Wi's, and quick." The ride up was a short one, and Rael was in a hurry to get back up to the suite. He hadn't realized he'd spent the entire day out on his mission, and it was about midnight on Utapau. After having a quick argue with Wi's guard, he was let in. To his surprise, the Pau'an was still up. Rael walked over, and handed him the pad. "All the dirty stuff on them is on here. Your people have to take care of the rest. I won't kill any more of them. That's the deal." Wi looked at him, and took the pad. He read over it a few times, and shrugged. "You've done well, Knight B'an. Here's your pay." Rael shook his head vigorously. "I'm not a merc..."

His voice was cut off as Wi pulled a think cloth off of a both that was sitting next to him. Rael hadn't even noticed it, but now, he couldn't notice anything. The box had a glass top and sides, and a velvet covered slab of wood on the bottom. Inside the box, sat a large, green and blue egg. Wi lifted off the glass, and set it down beside him. Rael felt a slight hum in his body. Not unlike when he had gotten his first crystal on Ilum. Something inside the egg called to him, as if he'd already formed a bond with it. Wi went back to reading the datapad, not watching as Rael picked up the egg. It was heavy, but he held it to his face. After a few minutes of just staring at it, Rael left the room, carrying the magnificent egg in his arms.

END