Star Wars - The Clone Wars - Secret Missions #2 - Curse of the Black Hole Pirates

by Ryder Windham

  Then Gunn noticed the young, blue-skinned Jedi. He was easy to miss because he was the only one in the room who wasn't moving a muscle, and his dark tunic helped him blend in with the cabin’s drab interior. The boy stood by himself, head slightly lowered. hands clasped behind his back as he faced the cabins far corner, apparently oblivious to the troopers. Gunn shouted, “What in blazes is going on back here?! ”

  All four troopers and the droid commando froze, then turned their necks to look at Gunn. For a moment, the only sound in the cabin was the steady hum of the hyperdrive engine. The young Jedi did not flinch and kept his back to everyone.

  Gunn shifted her angered gaze at the trooper who’d been doing sit-ups. The trooper held Gunn’s gaze and replied, “Sorry, Captain Gunn. We're just exercising.”

  Still holding the hydrospanner, Gunn made a sweeping gesture with her arm and added, “Does my main cabin look like a gymnasium?!”

  “I'm sorry, too, Captain,” said the trooper who’d been sparring with the droid commando. He pulled off his helmet, revealing swarthy features that were identical to the other troopers. Gesturing to the droid commando beside him, he continued, “Cleaver and I didn‘t mean to be so loud. Right, Cleaver?”

  The droid named Cleaver nodded. “That is correct,” Cleaver said through the grilled vocabulator at the base of his head. “Our only intention was to strike each other with blunt instruments.” Although he appeared to be a standard-model Separatist droid commando, Cleaver was actually a refurbished unit, built from scavenged parts, including logic and behavioral circuits salvaged from the brain of Gunn’s ruined navigation druid, Teejay.

  The two other troopers got up from the deck where they'd been doing push-ups. “Please accept our apologies, Captain. If the boys and I don’t keep up our physical training, we can get a bit restless.”

  “Oh, knock it off with the apologies already,” Gunn said. “If it weren't for you guys, I’d still be stuck on Kynachi. But when I agreed to haul you off that rock, I didn’t know I was signing on for such a long haul! We're going to be stuck in this crate for over a week, but time will pass a lot faster if you learn to relax a little.” Then she looked at the one clone who hadn't spoken and she added, “As for you, Chatterbox, I'm just disappointed. You could’ve been sitting in the cockpit with me, enjoying the view of hyperspace, but instead, you’re back here doing push-ups with your pals. Honestly!”

  Chatterbox was baffled by Gunn's remark. He glanced at his three allies and saw they all wore similarly confused expressions.

  Before any of the troopers could respond, Gunn continued, “Why is the Jedi facing the corner? Are you guys punishing him or something?”

  Without turning to face Gunn or the others, Nuru replied, “I'm meditating.”

  Gunn laughed. “Meditating, huh? Kid, if you could tune out the racket these guys were making, you must be very good at it.”

  Breaker, the trooper who’d been sparring with Cleaver, said, “He’s been standing there like that for over an hour.”

  Looking away from Nuru, Gunn returned her attention to the troopers. “We'll be dropping out of hyperspace in about fifteen minutes," she said. “It'll be just a short layover in the Fakir sector, but everyone should be belted into their seats when we exit." Then she looked directly at Chatterbox and added, “The hyperspace routes that the Chancellor provided for the next two jumps are kind of tricky. In case you didn’t notice, my ship is minus one navigator droid, so I’ll need another set of eyes to monitor the navi-computer.”

  The trooper who'd been doing sit-ups said, “I'd be happy to help, too, Captain. My eyes are good. Our former commander named me Sharp because he thought I had sharp eyesight.”

  Keeping her gaze on Chatterbox, Gunn replied, “That‘s a nice story, Sharp, but I ain’t talkin' to you.” Then she winked at Chatterbox and added, “See you in the cockpit.” She turned and stepped out of the cabin, heading back through the passage tube.

  Chatterbox once again surveyed the expressions of the other clones. Sharp said, “Did I miss something earlier?”

  “Yeah, you did,” said Knuckles, the trooper who had been competing with Chatterbox to see who could do the most push-ups. “On Kynachi, before we rescued you, when Commander Nuru introduced Chatterbox to Gunn, Gunn mentioned that she liked men who keep their mouths shut.”

  Sharp said, “Really?” He looked straight at the silent trooper and said, “Chatterbox, are you deliberately keeping your mouth shut so Gunn will like you?”

  Chatterbox shook his head.

  “Well,” Sharp said, “clearly, it's not Chatterbox’s fault.”

  “Yeah, clearly," said Knuckles. “I thought Gunn was just joking about how much she liked Chatterbox, but I sort of get the impression she means it.”

  Breaker sighed. “They didn't teach us how to deal with situations like this back on Kamino.”

  Sharp stroked his chin thoughtfully, then said, “I think I know why Gunn really likes Chatterbox.”

  Breaker, Knuckles, and Chatterbox all turned to face Sharp. Speaking at the same time, Breaker and Knuckles said, “Why?”

  “Isn‘t it obvious?” Sharp said. “It’s because he's so much better-looking than the rest of us.”

  The clones looked at one another, and then Breaker, Knuckles, and Sharp burst out laughing. Chatterbox just rolled his eyes. The three troopers were still laughing when Cleaver said unexpectedly, “What is meditating?”

  The troopers looked at Cleaver, who had turned his white photoreceptors to gaze at Nuru’s back. Before any of the troopers could offer an answer to Cleaver, Nuru replied, “To meditate is to relax the mind as well as the body. To relax my mind, I think of nothing.”

  Cleaver said, “This helps you fight your enemies?”

  “Yes,” Nuru said. “And also helps my allies.”

  Cleaver shook his head. “I do not understand,” he said. “When you look away from all others, and you are not holding a weapon, are you not more vulnerable to an attack?”

  “Commander Nuru has special abilities, Cleaver,” Breaker interjected. “He’s a Jedi. He draws his power from some mystical energy called the Force.”

  “The Force?” Cleaver said. He shook his head again. “I've never heard of that before. I have so much to learn.”

  Breaker said, “Begging your pardon, Commander Nuru, but I wonder if Cleaver has a point. That is, about you being vulnerable while meditating. For example, how could you stop an assassin from shooting you in the back?”

  Nuru answered calmly, “If you were an assassin, how fast could you fire your blaster?”

  Cleaver and the other troopers looked at Breaker, waiting for his response. Breaker kept his own eyes fixed on the back of Nuru’s head as he said, “Begging your pardon again, Commander Nuru, but ... well, even with the Force, I don’t see how you'd stand a chance.”

  Nuru said, “I suppose there’s only one way to find out. I'll continue standing here, facing the corner, while you set your blaster pistol to stun. For safety’s sake, I suggest you put your helmet back on. Then you may fire whenever you’re ready.”

  Looking from Nuru to Breaker, Cleaver said, “Commander Nuru, may I ask how you knew that Master Breaker had removed his helmet if you did not see him do it?”

  “Because when he wears his helmet, he speaks through a comlink microphone,” Nuru answered. “One can hear the difference.”

  “Oh,” Cleaver said. “I must listen more carefully.”

  Ignoring the droid, Breaker said, “Commander Nuru, you're not serious, are you? I mean, about me shooting at you?”

  “I'm quite serious,” Nuru said. “Consider this a test. If do you strike me, I'll only be knocked out briefly. If you don't, we’ll all learn a different lesson. Go on, Breaker. Reset your blaster, then draw it and fire. Give it your best shot.”

  Breaker at the other troopers. Sharp said, “I don‘t think this is a good idea.”

  Knuckles said, “I don't, either, but ... if we’re to learn a lesso
n, I’d rather learn it here and now than under less controlled circumstances.”

  More confused than ever, Cleaver said, “Does meditating usually lead to people firing blasters inside starships?”

  “Maybe just this one time, Cleaver,” Nuru said. “Breaker, I’m ready when you are.”

  “All right, Commander," Breaker said. “But I sincerely hope you know what you‘re doing.” He put his helmet back on, then said, “I'm reaching to my pistol now, but only to reset it." He moved his right hand to the holster secured against the armor that covered his right hip. After using his black-gloved thumb to set the blaster on stun. he shifted his hand away from the holster. The other troopers and Cleaver moved away from Breaker, giving him room.

  Breaker gazed through his helmet's T-visor, keeping his eyes fixed on the back of Nuru’s tunic, at the area between the boy‘s shoulder blades. Nuru’s hands remained gently clasped behind his back. Breaker did not have to look at the optical readout in his visor to estimate the distance between him and the young Jedi. He could clearly see it was barely three meters.

  Breaker‘s right hand wavered beside his holster, and then his arm went slack. He sighed. “I don’t think I can do this, Commander Nuru,” he said. “Shooting a Jedi goes completely against all my training on Kamino.”

  “You’re still assuming you'll hit me, Breaker,” Nuru said. “Remember, this is only a test. A stun won‘t kill me. Trust me.”

  “I do trust you,” Breaker said, “but I can’t do this. It just feels ... wrong.”

  “What if I gave you a direct order?”

  Breaker shook his head and said, “I don‘t know.”

  “Then I order you to draw your weapon and shoot me.”

  Breaker moved fast, and without hesitation. The fingers of his right hand were still racing toward his blaster’s grip when Nuru — having already sensed the movement from behind — sent his own hand flying to his belt. Nuru seized his lightsaber, leaving his Master's weapon dangling from its clip.

  The blaster leaped into Breaker's hand. At the same moment, Nuru activated his lightsaber, igniting its blue blade of pure energy as he spun to face Breaker.

  Breaker‘s arm swung up and he squeezed the blaster‘s trigger, launching a fiery laser bolt at Nuru’s chest. Nuru kept his red eyes locked on Breaker’s T-visor as he shifted his wrists slightly, rapidly adjusting the angle of his lightsaber to meet the oncoming bolt.

  The bolt struck the blade and bounced back at Breaker, smacking into the armor plate that covered his upper left arm. Although the stunning bolt carried a diminished charge, the impact made Breaker flinch and his left leg buckled under him. He squeezed off another shot before he went down on his left knee.

  Nuru‘s blade flicked through the air again, smacking the second bolt into the metal deck as he leaped forward. Holding tight to his lightsaber with one hand, he lashed out with the other and plucked the pistol out of Breaker’s hand. Breaker’s response was pure reflex as his own hand launched after the pistol and clamped around Nuru‘s wrist.

  Breaker gasped, “You ... you're all right, Commander Nuru?”

  “I'm fine, Breaker,” Nuru said, his voice eerily unemotional as he deactivated his lightsaber. “If this had been a real assassination attempt, I wouldn’t have just taken your weapon away. You can let go of my wrist now.”

  Only then did Breaker realize that he was still gripping Nuru's wrist. As Breaker released his hold, Sharp stepped over beside Knuckles and Chatterbox and muttered, “I had no idea Commander Nuru move so fast!”

  Cleaver said, “Perhaps I should try meditating?”

  Gunn came running back into the main cabin. She bellowed, “Don’t tell me that wasn't blaster fire I just heard!” Then she noticed the helmeted trooper kneeling in front of Nuru. She also saw that Nuru held the trooper’s blaster pistol in one hand and his lightsaber in the other.

  Gunn shook her head with disgust. “I'm not even going to ask what you two were up to,” she said. “I want you all to grab a seat and get belted in now! Everyone but you, that is.” She stepped over to the three standing troopers and grabbed one by the arm. “Let’s go, Chatterbox,” she said. “You're coming to the cockpit right now!” She hauled the astonished trooper toward the passage tube.

  As soon as Gunn and the trooper had exited the cabin, Cleaver said, “Unless my short-term memory is faulty, I believe Captain Gunn has mistaken Sharp for Chatterbox.”

  Knuckles said, “Cleaver, you took the words right out of my mouth.”

  He looked to Chatterbox, who was in fact still standing beside him. Knuckles said, “Chatterbox, maybe you should have said something before Gunn dragged Sharp off with her?”

  Chatterbox shrugged.

  Breaker was still kneeling on the deck beside Nuru. As Nuru handed the blaster pistol back to him, Breaker said, “I’m sorry.”

  “You've no reason to be.” Nuru said as he clipped his lightsaber to his belt. “I owe you an apology. I didn’t mean to make you fall on your injured leg. Here, let me help you up.”

  “Thanks,” Breaker said as he placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. Rising to his feet, he said, “I’m glad to know you can defend yourself, Commander Nuru, but ... I hope you never give me an order like that again!” He removed his helmet, then reached up to rub the side of his head. “Going against my basic training makes my brain ache.”

  Just then, Gunn’s angry shouts echoed down from the cockpit.

  “Uh-oh,” Knuckles said. “Sounds like Captain Gunn just sorted out that she's not with Chatterbox.”

  A few seconds later, Sharp returned to the main cabin. Facing Chatterbox, he said, “I tried identifying myself to Captain Gunn before we reached the cockpit.” He aimed a thumb at the passage tube and added, “She’d like to have a word with you.”

  Chatterbox‘s brow furrowed. He turned to face Nuru. Nuru said, “It might be best if you go and listen to what she has to say, Chatterbox. Keep in mind, she is the captain of this vessel.”

  Chatterbox sighed.

  As he stepped into the passage tube to the he muttered, “Duty calls.”

  Nuru gestured to the cabin’s seats. “We'd best buckle up. We’ll be exiting hyperspace soon.”

  Knuckles, Sharp, and Breaker seated themselves on the acceleration couch, a padded bench with a mismatched conform-lounge back. Cleaver looked at the two remaining seats, then said, “Commander Nuru, does one have to stand in order to meditate, or can it be done while sitting?”

  “Either way,” Nuru said. “Why do you ask?”

  Cleaver gestured to the nearest empty seat and said, “With your permission, Commander, may I sit there so I can face the corner? I would like to try meditating.”

  Nuru did not know whether any droid was capable of meditating, but he said politely, “Of course, Cleaver. The corner is yours.”

  As he arranged himself in his seat, Cleaver glanced back at Nuru and said, “I have never thought of nothing before.”

  Nuru smiled. “Take your time.”

  “I do not believe I am meditating correctly, Commander Nuru,” Cleaver said from his seat in the Hasty Harpy’s main cabin.

  The droid had been silent for days, and his voice surprised Nuru. Nuru was sitting beside Breaker on the other side of the cabin, viewing a holographic star chart. The Harpy was once again traveling through hyperspace, on the last leg of her journey into the Unknown Regions.

  Cleaver continued, “I have been staring at this corner for one hundred and forty-six hours, eleven minutes, and thirty-eight seconds and counting, but my behavioral circuitry matrix is the same as before I started. How will I know when I am relaxed?”

  “I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer that question, Cleaver,” Nuru said, ignoring Knuckles and Sharp as the arm-wrestled on the cabin's workbench. “To be honest,” Nuru continued, “I have no idea whether droids can meditate.”

  Cleaver said, “Oh.”

  Hearing the disappointment in the droid's voice, Nuru added, “But you certain
ly looked like you were meditating, Cleaver. You didn‘t even budge when Breaker transmitted the Chancellor's Chiss linguistic data onto your language memory disc.”

  “He did?” Cleaver said, surprised. “I did not know I even had a language memory disc.”

  “For what it's worth,” Nuru added, “I don’t know of any Jedi who ever sat still for so long.”

  Rising from his seat, Cleaver flexed his metal arms and said, “I believe my joints do feel a bit more relaxed. Perhaps I did my time wisely.”

  “Ha!” Knuckles said as he slammed Sharp’s arm down against the workbench. “That's 517 to 483! I tell Chatterbox!”

  “You'll have to wait for Captain Gunn to release him from navi-computer monitoring duty," Sharp said as he unlocked his from Knuckles' grasp. “Maybe we should try wrestling with our left arms for a change?”

  Without looking away from the star chart, Breaker said, “Actually, you two might want to postpone the next match. If the charts and data provided by the Chancellor's office are correct, we'll be arriving in orbit of Csilla in fifty-two minutes.”

  Thanks to their respective training and conditioning, Nuru and the troopers were physically and psychologically prepared for long journeys in relatively confined spaces. Still, after so many days in the Hasty Harpy, all the time sleeping in rotation because the freighter's crew quarters only had three bunks, they were all eager to get out.

  Nuru returned his attention to the star chart to reexamine their path across and beyond the edge of the galaxy. After leaving Kynachi, they had made their way to the Entralla Route and traveled down to Ord Mantell, where they had refueled and picked up supplies. They had proceeded via the Celanon Spur past Vicondor, and down the Namadii Corridor to Dorin, homeworld of the Kel Dor. Up until that point, Lalo Gunn had been familiar with the hyperlanes, but she was not daunted by the loss of her navigator droid, Teejay. In fact, she seemed most enthusiastic about training Chatterbox to help her operate her freighter.