Robonino’s eyeball rolled with surprise. “You’ve met this Jedi before?”
“He wasn’t concious at the time,” Bane Said. “That’s why seeing him again will be interesting.”
The Galactic Senate building was an immense, elevated, dome-shaped structure, which rested on a cylindrical foundation in the heart of Coruscant’s densely populated government district. After Nuru Kungurama directed the Kynachi pilots to land the Suwantek freighter inside one of the building’s many hangars, he went to the main hold where Commissioner Sommilor stood waiting with Breaker, Knuckles, Gizz, and Cleaver. Nuru said, “Gizz and Cleaver, you’ll remain on board while we bring the commissioner to the Senate Rotunda.”
“Yes, Commander,” Cleaver said.
Gizz said, “How come I gotta stay on board?”
Nuru was afraid Gizz might deliberately or accidentally cause trouble in the Senate building, but he didn’t want Gizz to know that. Thinking fast, he said, “Because I need you to make sure that the Kynachi pilots don’t leave without us.”
“Okay,” Gizz said as he cracked his knuckles. “But don’t take too long. I’m getting hungry again.”
Nuru faced Breaker and Knuckles and said, “Where’s Sharp?”
“In the ‘fresher,” Knuckles said. “He said he began feeling sick again during our descent.”
Breaker said, “I’ll make sure Sharp gets a thorough examination when we return to the Jedi Temple.”
“Fine,” Nuru said. “Sharp can remain on board. Now then, Commissioner, are you ready?”
Sommilor beamed proudly. “Indeed I am.”
Disguised as Sharp, the Clawdite shape-shifter peeked outside the hatch of the refresher station inside the Suwantek freighter. After confirming that no one was standing outside the ‘fresher, the Clawdite shut the hatch and relaxed his facial muscles to revert to his natural state then activated his holocomm unit to contact Asajj Ventress.
Several seconds passed before Ventress’s angry face materialized as a hologram in front of the Clawdite. Ventress said, “You’re late.”
“I couldn’t help it! We left Bilbringi and jumped to hyperspace and—”
“Where are you?”
“Coruscant.”
“Listen carefully,” Ventress said. “Umbrag is important to the Separatists. You will help him escape and bring him to me.”
The Clawdite gasped. “Help him?! But he’s—”
“Do it!” Ventress broke the connection, and her hologram vanished.
The Clawdite stared at his holocomm unit. His lower lip trembled as he muttered, “I’m dead.”
Nuru led Sommilor, Breaker, and Knuckles out of the freighter and down the landing ramp. As they walked toward a lift tube that would take them to the rotunda where the Senate meetings were held, Nuru was surprised to see Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, his guards, and a tall alien Jedi stepping away from a sleek shuttle. The Jedi was a male Anx, a large reptilian alien with a high, tapered head and long, pointed chin.
Palpatine saw Nuru, too. “Nuru Kungurama? At last, we meet in person.” Then Palpatine looked to Sommilor and smiled as he said, “Ah, Commissioner Sommilor. Welcome to Coruscant,”
Sommilor bowed. “Thank you. Chancellor.”
“This is an amazing coincidence,” Palpatine said. He gestured to the Anx Jedi and said, “Nuru Kungurama, I assume you’re acquainted with the Jedi scholar Harro Kelpura? Master Kelpura was just telling me about his research.”
“We’ve never met,” Kelpura said in a low, rumbling voice as he bowed to Nuru. “I was distressed when I learned you left Coruscant, young one. I am glad you returned safely.”
Nuru bowed in return. He had forgotten that Kit Fisto mentioned Kelpura to him on Bilbringi “Master Fisto told me you’ve been studying the escape pod that—”
“Oh, but you must see it to appreciate what I’ve learned,” Kelpura said. “I had to move the pod to my new research laboratory away from the Temple as a safety precaution, but there’s really nothing to worry about. Except perhaps the discovery of a lifetime!”
Palpatine looked at Nuru and said, “I urge you to go with Master Kelpura. My guards and I will personally escort Commissioner Sommilor to the Senate meeting.”
Sommilor thanked Nuru again before he walked off with Palpatine and the guards. Nuru turned to Kelpura and said, “I do want to see the escape pod, but we must return to the Jedi Temple first.” He pointed to the Suwantek freighter. “I have an injured trooper who needs medical treatment.”
“Then let’s be on our way!” Kelpura said as he trotted toward the freighter.
Ring-Sol Ambase and the clone named Sharp sat inside the Corona transport, which they’d landed on a rooftop platform on a skyscraper in the Dacho District. Except for several airspeeders that moved across the sky in the distance, there were few signs of life in any direction, but this was not unusual. Several hundred years earlier, an immense industrial chemical accident had killed more than three hundred thousand beings in the area, and most of the buildings, factories, and warehouses in the Dacho District had been deserted ever since. The district was commonly referred to as the Dead Sector.
Sharp looked around at the surrounding rooftops. One nearby skyscraper had a sharply angled top chat made the entire building resemble a raised sword and loomed over an old air-taxi hub. Sharp said, “Where’s Dooku?”
The Corona’s holocomm chirped. Ambase pressed a button and a hologram of Count Dooku appeared. Ambase looked at the hologram and said, “Decided not to join us?”
“Traveling to Coruscant has proved more difficult for me than I anticipated,” Dooku said. “I ran into some Weequay pirates. But I have not abandoned you, old friend. Stay where you are. Help is on the way, and I’ll be there, too, as soon as I can.”
“Help?” Ambase said. “What do you mean?”
Dooku’s hologram began rapidly flickering, “Something’s jamming… signal and my… can’t hear—” The hologram vanished.
Ambase and Sharp climbed out of the Corona and onto the rooftop platform. Ambase looked up and saw a small, battered ship descending toward them. Sharp saw the ship, too, and said. “Recognize it?”
“A Telgorn dropship.”
The dropship landed on the roof about twenty meters from Corona. Ambase and Sharp watched as a Duros and a Patrolian climbed out of the dropship. The Duros wore a broad-brimmed hat and a long coat, and his belt held a pair of blasters. He carried a satchel in one hand and had what appeared to be weapon-laden gauntlets wrapped around both forearms. The Patrolian’s left eye was covered by a patch, and a padded backpack was slung across his small back.
Sharp whispered, “Bounty hunters?”
“Looks like it,” Ambase said.
Walking slowly across the roof, Cad Bane and Robonino approached the Jedi and the clone trooper. Bane said, “Ring-Sol Ambase.”
Surprised, Ambase said, “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Bane grinned. “I’m working for a client who prefers to remain anonymous. He told me to meet you here.” Bane aimed a thumb at Robonino and added, “My associate and I are to assist you.”
Ambase said, “Did your client tell you how you might assist me?”
“You’re looking to obtain an exotic escape pod that’s in this building. My associate and I have access codes and equipment to get you past the building’s security systems. You’ll need us to help you get the pod out of the building and onto your ship.” Bane put down the satchel he’d been carrying, then kicked it so it skidded a short distance across the rooftop before it came to a stop in front of Ambase. Bane said, “Inside the bag, you’ll find a pair of Republic Navy officers’ uniforms. Put them on. The uniforms will allow you and the clone to get past the guards who are stationed inside.”
Ambase said, “I have some experience with infiltrating buildings. In case your client didn’t tell you, I’m a Jedi.”
Bane smiled. “I don’t hold that against you. But from what I’ve heard, even a Jedi can us
e help, especially if he’s lost his lightsaber.”
Sharp glared at the Duros as he moved in from of Ambase and said, “How do you know General Ambase isn’t carrying a lightsaber?”
Keeping his eyes on Ambase, Bane said, “Because I happened to be on Kynachi during the liberation, and it’s my understanding that another Jedi took your weapon. I heard the Jedi was a blue-skinned boy. Know him?”
Ambase sensed the Duros was dangerous but did not sense he was lying. He looked at Sharp, then looked back at the Duros. “We’re wasting time,” he said as he picked up the satchel. “We’ll change clothes inside, and then you’ll take us to the escape pod.”
Bane grinned. He knew from experience that it was usually best not to tell an outright lie to a Jedi. The reason he was certain that Nuru Kungurama left Kynachi with Ambase’s weapon was because Bane had been the one who’d handed it to him.
The Suwantek freighter climbed away from the Galactic Senate building. Inside the freighter’s main hold, Nuru Kungurama was introducing Harro Kelpura to Gizz and Cleaver when an alarm chirped from a small box-shaped datapad on Kelpura’s belt.
“What’s this?” Kelpura plucked the device from his belt and flipped it open to display a datascreen. “Must be some kind of technical error.” He adjusted the image on the screen, and his large eyes went wide with surprise. Turning his tapered head to face Nuru, he said, “We must change course for the Dacho District this instant.”
Nuru said, “Master Kelpura, I know you’re eager to show me the escape pod, but—”
“Change course now,” Kelpura said. He held out the datapad so Nuru could look at its screen. “Two ships have landed without authorization on my lab building’s roof, and the alarm system has been disabled. Someone must be trying to steal the pod!”
Examining the datascreen, Nuru saw that one of the ships was a Corona-class transport.
Ambase.
Nuru grabbed the datapad and shoved it into a socket. He pressed a button and said, “Kungurama to the bridge. Get a lock on the location of this building in the Dacho District and take us there now.”
The pilots obeyed. As the freighter dropped out of its flight path to the temple and angled off toward the Dacho District, Cleaver said, “But, Commander Kungurama… shouldn’t we take Chatterbox to a medical—?”
“We’ll get him to the temple as soon as we can,” Nuru interrupted. “Master Kelpura, I have reason to believe my Master, Ring-Sol Ambase, is already at your laboratory.”
“Really?” Kelpura said. “That’s good news!”
“No, it isn’t,” Nuru said, “because I don’t think Ambase is on our side anymore.”
No alarms sounded within the building that had been converted to Kelpura’s research laboratory. Walking ahead of Bane, Ambase, and Sharp, Robonino made quick work of unlocking doors and deactivating sensors as they moved deeper into the building.
Both Ambase and Sharp were wearing the dark gray uniforms and black leather boots of Republic Navy officers. Ambase’s uniform had a rank badge that identified him as an admiral. Sharp’s badge identified him as a commander.
They soon arrived at a makeshift checkpoint where four human guards were stationed outside a large, locked door. Seeing a Republic admiral approach, the guards snapped to attention, opened the door, and allowed the group to pass. If the guards thought it odd that a Republic officer and clone trooper were accompanied by a menacing-looking Duros and Patrolian, they didn’t see fit to mention it.
The door closed behind Ambase’s group. Robonino immediately reached into his backpack, pulled out a magna lock, and slapped it across the door so it would be impossible to open from the other side. Bane said, “No way for the guards to follow us now.”
Sharp said, “I’m guessing we won’t be leaving the way we came.”
“You guess right,” Bane said. They proceeded through another corridor. Bane pointed to a connecting corridor and said, “We turn left here, and we should arrive at the entrance of the room where the pod’s kept.” But when they turned left, they arrived upon the unexpected.
“Sentry droids?” Robonino muttered as he observed the three weapon-laden automatons that stood before a large, metal door. He glanced at Bane with his one good eye. “Your client say anything about them?”
“No,” Bane said. “They must be new. Just keep walking toward them so they don’t suspect anything.”
Seeing the four figures approach, one droid stepped away from the others and said, “Halt.”
Bane’s right hand made a casual dip to his holster. He brought the blaster pistol up fast and shot the droid twice through the head. The two remaining droids made rapid clicking sounds as they lurched forward and trained their own weapons at Bane, but Bane’s left hand had already yanked his other blaster out. He squeezed the triggers of both blasters at the same time, and he fired again. The droids’ heads exploded simultaneously, and all three droids collapsed to the floor like broken puppets.
“So much for doing things quietly,” Bane said. He looked at Robonino, tilted his head toward the metal door, and said, “Open it.”
Robonino reached into his backpack again and pulled out two small thermal detonators with magnetic edges. While Bane motioned Ambase and Sharp to follow him back into the adjoining corridor, Robonino planted the two detonators on the metal door, then walked quickly to catch up with the others.
The explosion was very loud.
The dust was still settling as Bane and Robonino returned to the door, or rather what was left of it. Ambase and Sharp followed the bounty hunters and saw a gaping, shredded rupture in the middle of the door. Bane led the way through the rupture.
The laboratory had a high ceiling that was laced with metal pipes and exhaust fans. Narrow windows lined the upper walls. At the center of the lab, a cluster of computers and sensor-laden equipment surrounded a wide platform. On the platform rested a small teardrop-shaped spacecraft.
Ambase felt his throat go dry at the sight of the Chiss escape pod. He hadn’t seen it in over a decade, but it looked exactly as he’d remembered. He spotted its most distinguishing feature, the triangular egress hatch that lacked grips or latches, and he remembered how he and Dooku had squeezed into the pod to remove the infant Nuru Kungurama.
Bane looked at Ambase and said, “Something wrong?”
Ambase shook his head. “No.”
“Then let’s get this done,” Bane said. He began tapping at the keypad on the back of one of his gauntlets while Robonino went to the far wall and began planting more explosives.
Ambase looked at Bane and said, “What are you doing?”
“Powering up my ship,” Bane said as he stopped tapping his gauntlet. “After my associate blows the wall, the autopilot will bring my ship to us.”
Sharp said, “You’re going to use a tractor beam to yank the pod out of here?”
“Right again,” Bane said. “And then we’ll transfer the pod to your transport, and you can take it away.”
Ambase said, “Take it away where?”
Bane shrugged. “I was only paid to make sure you got the pod. After that, you can take it wherever you want.”
By the time the Suwantek freighter had left Coruscant’s Senate District and entered the Dacho District, Nuru and Breaker had moved to the seats behind the pilots in the bridge. They had a clear view of the abandoned factories and skyscrapers, and when Nuru saw the gleaming building that resembled a raised sword, he felt his stomach clench. “Breaker, that building… I saw it in my dream.”
“The dream you had of Ambase?”
Nuru nodded. The pilots guided the Suwantek toward the laboratory building on which they saw a Corona-class transport and a Telgorn dropship resting on the roof.
“How did the dream end?”
“Ambase killed me.”
The Suwantek was still descending toward the laboratory building when a large section of the building’s west wall exploded.
The Kynachi pilots, Pikkson and Sunmantle, swu
ng the Suwantek freighter away from the laboratory building to avoid the explosion’s spray of fire and smoke. Sunmantle swatted the ship’s intercom button and said, “Everyone buckle up and hold tight!”
Nuru leaned forward so his head was beside Pikkson’s and said, “Are any life-forms in the ships on the roof?”
Pikkson consulted a sensor and said, “No, sir.”
“Then circle back and put us down.”
The pilots obeyed, steering the Suwantek through a wide curve around the eastern side of the building. Behind Nuru, Harro Kelpura poked his large head through the bridge’s hatch and said, “What happened?”
“Big explosion,” Nuru said. “Please return to your seat, Master Kelpura.”
Kelpura stumbled away from the hatch. The Suwantek angled up for the rooftop, leveled off, and was about to land when the Telgorn dropship leaped unexpectedly from the roof and smashed into the Suwantek’s aft thrusters, knocking the freighter sideways.
The Suwantek’s engines whined as the pilots struggled with controls, trying to right the vessel. Breaker threw one arm protectively in front of Nuru as the freighter lost altitude and traveled over a chasm between skyscrapers. Sunmantle said, “We’re going down!”
As Nuru sensed the approaching impact, he suddenly thought of Chatterbox, lying unconscious and defenseless in the Suwantek. He regretted that he hadn’t delivered the wounded trooper to the Jedi Temple as soon as they’d arrived on Coruscant, and he felt a sense of failure. All he could do was hope that his allies would survive.
And then the Suwantek freighter crashed.
A cold wind rushed in through the large hole that exploded out from the west side of the laboratory building. Inside the remains of the laboratory, Ring-Sol Ambase, Sharp, and Robonino stood near the undamaged Chiss escape pod, while Cad Bane guided his dropship in through the blasted hole. Because of the dropship’s powerful deflector shields, the ship was not only undamaged by the collision with the Suwantek freighter, but Bane didn’t even realize there’d been a collision.
Star Wars - The Clone Wars - Secret Missions #4 - Guardians of the Chiss Key Page 7
