Star Wars - Episode I Adventures 004 - Jedi Emergency

by Ryder Windham

  After the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Learner Obi-Wan Kenobi battled reprogrammed droids and Bartokk assassins on the planet Esseles, they traveled with Bama Vook and the droid Leeper to the ice planet Rhinnal. The Jedi Knights Noro Zak and Vel Ardox had transported the wounded Jedi Master Adi Gallia to the Jedi Chapter House on Rhinnal, and Qui-Gon wanted to check on Adi’s condition. The good news was that Adi Gallia had almost fully recovered. The bad news was that a magnetic storm left the Jedi temporarily stranded on Rhinnal, and prevented them from pursuing a Bartokk freighter to the Corulag system.

  At this time in history, the Jedi believed the evil Sith had been extinct for over a thousand years. In truth, the dark order had survived in secrecy, and two Sith Lords were very much alive on the planet Coruscant.

  After the Sith Lord Darth Sidious was informed that fifty Trade Federation droid starfighters had been stolen by Bartokks from an Esseles factory, he sent his apprentice Darth Maul to hunt down the thieves and retrieve the starfighters. During his pursuit of the Bartokks, Darth Maul learned that twenty-five droid starfighters had already been destroyed by Jedi Knights.

  Maul also learned the Bartokks had been hired by Groodo the Hutt, the father of young Boonda. Groodo had been angered because the Trade Federation had refused to pay him for building the droid starfighters’ prototype hyperdrive engine, and he was further enraged when Corulag Academy rejected Boonda’s application. Desiring revenge, Boonda had contracted the Bartokks to steal the Trade Federation starfighters and use them to attack the Academy.

  Because of Darth Maul, Groodo’s plan failed. The ruthless Maul destroyed an entire fifteen-member Bartokk hive, blew up Groodo’s cruiser, and returned the remaining twenty-five starfighters to an area controlled by the Trade Federation. Groodo and Boonda survived the assault, and their escape pod landed in the dense forest outside of Corulag’s capital city Curamelle.

  Meanwhile, on Rhinnal, Qui-Gon was informed that the missing twenty-five droid starfighters had not reached Corulag. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were preparing to leave Rhinnal when Qui-Gon received a message from Jedi Master Yoda at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Despite the fact that the Bartokks had failed their mission, Yoda urged Qui-Gon and the other Jedi to meet him at Corulag Academy. Yoda did not offer any explanations, but Qui-Gon knew it had to be a matter of great importance.

  As the Jedi and their allies raced for Corulag, they were unaware that a vengeful Groodo was hatching a final, desperate plan.

  Thirty-four kilometers southwest of the city Curamelle on the planet Corulag, the young Hutt named Boonda lay slumped against the outside of the escape pod. It had only been about fifteen minutes since the pod had ejected from Groodo the Hutt’s lavish cruiser and safely delivered both Hutts to the Corulag forest. Since the cruiser had been blasted to bits, Boonda’s thoughts turned to a more immediate concern: his growling stomach.

  Just before the cruiser’s destruction, Boonda had eaten seven bowls of lizards. He usually ate twelve bowls of lizards for lunch, so he was still quite hungry. Boonda wanted to break into the pod’s emergency food provisions, but he didn’t want to interrupt his father, Groodo, who was inside the pod, talking on the comm unit. With nothing better to do, Boonda pressed the side of his wide head against the pod and listened to his father’s conversation.

  “Now, listen here, you bug-eyed swindler,” Groodo said, speaking to someone on the other side of the galaxy. “You Bartokks failed to steal the starfighters, and your error has cost me my starcruiser. The Trade Federation doesn’t interest me anymore, but I’ve spent a small fortune on your Assassins Guild, and I demand results! You assured me that Corulag Academy would be blown sky-high. Unless you wipe out the Academy, I’ll want all my money back!”

  Having heard enough, Boonda pulled his head away from the pod. He couldn’t believe his father had gotten so worked up over Corulag Academy’s refusal to let Boonda enter the Science Service.

  Boonda saw something out of the corner of one of his large eyes. It was a beautiful multicolored six-winged insect. It flew past Boonda’s head, then stopped and hovered near the escape pod. The insect had never seen a Hutt before, and it flew back for a closer inspection. It neared Boonda’s face, and the Hutt smiled as he admired the small creature’s wings. He opened his wide mouth and unleashed his tongue, lashing out and snagging the insect in midair. His sticky tongue darted back into his mouth with a loud smacking sound, and he felt the insect squirm in his mouth.

  “Yum,” said Boonda.

  Far from Corulag, in a remote hideout on an uncharted planet near the Corporate Sector of space, a lean-muscled insectoid alien switched off the comm unit mounted in the wall of her communications bunker. The alien was a Bartokk Queen, and the leader of the Bartokk chapter of the Assassins Guild. She had just completed a longdistance conversation with Groodo the Hutt, and the exchange had left her seething with anger.

  The Bartokk Queen was in charge of directing the action for every Bartokk assassin squad in the galaxy. She had believed that two Bartokk hives were more than enough to handle the job for Groodo. Despite her confidence, both hives had been eliminated.

  The Bartokk Queen exited the bunker and walked quickly to the training room. It was a wide chamber with a single round window at the center of the high, domed ceiling. Within the room, fifteen Bartokks were practicing their fighting skills against skeletal training droids. The Bartokk Queen pressed a yellow button on the wall and the training droids all stopped in their tracks. The fifteen insectoid assassins lay down their weapons and turned their bulbous, multifaceted eyes to face their leader.

  An unknown enemy has jeopardized the Corulag assignment, the Queen telepathically communicated to her hive. Furthermore, thirty brothers from our Guild have been slain. We will have our vengeance, but first we must honor our contract with Groodo and complete the assignment. It is likely that Corulag Academy is now prepared for an attack, so we must use extreme stealth. Prepare to leave for Corulag at once!

  It was snowing on Rhinnal when the starships Radiant VII and Metron Burner rose up and away from the circular landing bay that bordered the Jedi chapter house. The diplomatic cruiser Radiant VII carried Jedi Master Adi Gallia and the Jedi Knights Vel Ardox and Noro Zak. Within the Metron Burner’s cockpit, the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi were strapped into their seats behind the Talz pilot Bama Vook and the droid Leeper.

  Leeper’s metal fingers tapped away at the Burner’s nav computer. “After we make the jump to lightspeed, we should arrive in the Corulag system in thirty-four minutes,” Leeper informed the passengers.

  Bama turned his hairy head to gaze back at Qui-Gon and joked, “Maybe we should race the Radiant VII through hyperspace?”

  Qui-Gon replied, “You don’t have to prove anything to me, Bama. It’s a safe bet your ship would win that race.”

  The Talz was greatly pleased by Qui-Gon’s answer. His four eyes beamed with pride as he returned his attention to the ship’s controls.

  Qui-Gon looked at Obi-Wan and saw disapproval in his apprentice’s expression. “Something on your mind, Padawan?” Qui-Gon asked.

  Keeping his voice low so Bama and Leeper would not hear, Obi-Wan said. “I’m grateful to the Talz and the droid for delivering us to Rhinnal, but they should have been discouraged from taking us to Corulag. We should be traveling with the other Jedi.”

  Qui-Gon considered Obi-Wan’s statement, then asked, “Back on Coruscant, when Mace Windu advised that you shouldn’t join me on the mission to Esseles, how did that make you feel?”

  Obi-Wan was surprised by his Master’s query. “Before
you locked me on board the Radiant VII, I had every intention of obeying Master Windu.”

  “I’m sure you did, Padawan. But you still haven’t answered my question.”

  “All right, then,” Obi-Wan said. “I admit, I was disappointed when Master Windu said I should remain on Coruscant.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Adi Gallia was in trouble and I wanted to help.”

  Qui-Gon nodded. “There you have it. You wanted to help. Now, tell me. Should the Jedi have a monopoly on the desire to help others?”

  “Of course not,” Obi-Wan said. “But that’s not the point. We don't even know why Master Yoda has asked us to meet him on Corulag. We could be endangering Bama and Leeper.”

  “I think they know the risks,” Qui-Gon replied. “Perhaps you should be more concerned with what Yoda is going to do when he sees you with me. After all, he was in the Council chambers when Mace Windu told you to stay on Coruscant.”

  Obi-Wan was flabbergasted. "But you practically abducted me to Esseles!”

  Keeping his voice calm, Qui-Gon answered, “You need not be defensive, Obi-Wan.” Qui-Gon closed his eyes and assumed a restful position, then said, “I accept full responsibility for you. If Yoda is displeased that you joined me on this mission, he’ll deal with me.”

  Obi-Wan found little comfort in Qui-Gon’s words. Yoda was a great teacher who could also be a stern disciplinarian. While Obi-Wan found himself almost wishing he’d remained on Coruscant, Leeper declared, “Hang on, back there. We’re ready to make the jump.” Seconds later, the Metron Burner and Radiant VII blasted into hyperspace.

  A fifty-meter-long SoroSuub space yacht tore out of hyperspace and entered the Corulag system. The sleek new yacht had been built as a pleasure craft, and it featured many luxurious details. Twin engine pods extended from the yacht’s main hull, and retractable viewports lined both the port and starboard sides. The yacht had been commissioned for a wealthy Trandoshan, but the owner was not present. Instead, the yacht carried the Bartokk Queen, fifteen Bartokks, and six remote-control-operated X10-D draft droids.

  The Bartokks had stolen both the space yacht and the droids from a starship factory on the planet Sullust. The yacht had been selected for two reasons: The Bartokks wanted to avoid identification on Corulag, and they wanted a vessel with a powerful hyperdrive engine in case they needed to make a quick getaway. Since the yacht wasn’t a combat vessel, the Bartokks hoped it wouldn’t attract any unwanted attention.

  Six Bartokks were stationed on the yacht’s main deck to test the X10-D droids. Each Bartokk operated a handheld transmitter that signaled instructions to a single droid. Standing just over three meters tall, X10-Ds were twice the height of 3PO protocol droids. Unlike protocol droids, X10-Ds could only be operated by remote-control signals. The Trandoshans — reptilian aliens lacking dexterous hands and nimble fingers — had designed and manufactured the X10-Ds for loading freight at interstellar spaceports. The droids were equipped with powerful arms, massive conical torsos, infrared photoreceptors, and treaded roller feet. The six X10-Ds appeared in every way ordinary as they were instructed to walk across the yacht’s main deck.

  But not all of the droids were ordinary. Immediately after stealing the X10-Ds, the Bartokks had opened the torsos of a select number of droids and installed compact plasma bombs. Each bomb carried enough firepower to level a small city.

  The Bartokks’ plan was simple. While they used the non-modified X10-Ds as scouts and decoys, the bomb-carrying droids would be maneuvered to strategic locations within the Academy’s Science Service tower. After the lethal droids were in position, the Bartokks would escape Corulag and trigger the plasma bombs.

  The Bartokk Queen stood on the yacht’s bridge and gazed through a viewport at Corulag. The Queen did not know what had gone wrong with the plan to attack the Academy, and she was still furious about the loss of thirty assassins and the Trade Federation droid starfighters. Granted, Groodo the Hutt had said he no longer cared to seek revenge on the Trade Federation, but the fact remained the Bartokks had failed.

  The Queen would not allow that to happen again.

  The stolen space yacht slipped into orbit around Corulag. Suddenly, a warning light flashed above the sensor console on the bridge, prompting the Queen to glance at the main sensor screen. Two starships had just materialized from hyperspace less than a kilometer away. One ship was a Corellian freighter and the other was a Republic diplomatic cruiser. Since neither ship appeared to pose any threat, the Queen dismissed them as unimportant.

  Prepare to land and deploy the droids, the Queen communicated to her minions. After the droids are in position, we will set their detonation timers and leave Corulag. Clicking her facial mandibles, the Queen added, In two hours, the Academy will be nothing but radioactive cinders.

  Seconds after the Radiant VII and Metron Burner exited hyperspace and entered the Corulag System, the droid Leeper’s keen photoreceptors spotted a distant ship in Corulag’s orbit. Leeper craned his head to get a better view of the ship through the Burner’s cockpit canopy.

  “There’s a SoroSuub space yacht a kilometer off our starboard side,” Leeper commented to Bama, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan. “It looks like the newest model.”

  Bama threw a glance over his shoulder to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, then said, “You’ll have to forgive Leeper. Identifying obscure starships is something of a hobby for him.”

  Leeper turned to Bama and said in a slightly petulant tone, “I only mentioned it because SoroSuub’s newest model isn’t yet commercially available. That ship should still be in the factory on Sullust.”

  “We’d better run an identification check on it,” Bama said.

  Leeper trained the Burner’s sensors on the yacht to identify its ownership and origin. “According to the ID profile, the yacht’s owned by a trader named Ausec Grogle of Trandosha.”

  “Maybe the manufacturer is taking it for a test flight,” Obi-Wan muttered.

  “Perhaps,” Qui-Gon said as the distant yacht angled toward Corulag. “But we’re an awfully long way from Sullust and Trandosha ...”

  Qui-Gon was interrupted by a quick series of beeps from the Burner’s communications console, followed by the voice of Adi Gallia. “Radiant VII to Metron Burner. The Academy Spaceport reports they haven’t sighted any Bartokk freighters. We’re cleared for landing in Docking Bay 39-G. Master Yoda has already arrived, and he’s expecting us.”

  “Well, he’s expecting most of us anyway,” Qui-Gon answered as he looked at his Padawan. Obi-Wan grimaced.

  “One more thing,” Adi Gallia added. “The mission to Corulag is more important than I’d imagined. Yoda came with Mace Windu.”

  Hearing this information, Obi-Wan’s face went red. There was no longer any doubt in his mind that he should have stayed on Coruscant as Mace Windu had instructed. Obi-Wan had already been uneasy about confronting Yoda, but the prospect of also facing Mace Windu filled him with something resembling dread. He looked at Qui-Gon and said, “I don’t suppose you’ll let me off here?”

  Qui-Gon seemed to ignore Obi-Wan’s question as he ordered, “Take us down, Bama.”

  While the Metron Burner followed the Radiant VII in a descent to Corulag, Leeper realized he couldn’t shake thoughts of the SoroSuub space yacht from his positronic brain. If he were an organic creature, he might have confessed he had a bad feeling about that yacht. But because he was a modest droid, Leeper tended to keep his feelings to himself.

  Leeper scanned the area with his photoreceptors for one more glimpse of the space yacht.

  It had already vanished from view.

  Among the other planets in the Darpa and Bormea Sector, Corulag had long been considered insignificant. Unlike Esseles and Ralltiir, Corulag did not have centers for high-tech research or intergalactically famous banks. Its terrain would never match the agricultural capacity of Chandrila or the icy beauty of Rhinnal. Corulag’s climate was more hospitable than the dry planet Brentaal, but then Brentaal had the advantage
of being at the strategic intersection of both the Perlemian Trade Route and the Hydian Way.

  Everything changed for Corulag when the Academy began scouting for a planet on which to build a new institute. For years, the Academy had to turn away applicants from the planet Raithall because they had too many students. Corulag seemed to be the perfect solution. Academy representatives were delighted by Corulag’s almost undeveloped quality and its proximity to the popular Brentaal. They knew they could transform Corulag for the Academy’s needs, and rely on Brentaal spacers to spread the word of the new facilities.

  Within two decades, Corulag’s population had increased over a hundred times, and the planet’s face had changed as well. Flat plains had been terraformed into canyons to create obstacle courses for flight training, and the once-small city of Curamelle had become a great metropolis,

  It was dusk as the Radiant VII and Metron Burner descended to Academy Spaceport. The spaceport was a vast network of open-roofed hexagonal structures interlinked over twelve square kilometers at the outskirts of Curamelle. From the night sky above, the spaceport resembled a gigantic illuminated hive.

  Docking Bay 39-G had ample room to contain two medium-sized starships. The Radiant VII was the first to land, followed by the Metron Burner. Adi Gallia, Vel Ardox, and Noro Zak disembarked the Radiant VII, and walked to the wide garage doorway that led out of the docking bay. There, a droid-chauffeured repulsorlift transport hovered in the air behind the welcoming party of Mace Windu and Yoda.

  Qui-Gon stepped out of the Burner and down the landing ramp to the tarmac. He was followed by the hesitant Obi-Wan, who had some difficulty returning the gaze of Mace Windu and Yoda. Adi Gallia was speaking to Mace Windu and Yoda, but all three Jedi Council members looked directly at Obi-Wan.

  Qui-Gon strode directly to the small group of Jedi Masters and said, “I accept full responsibility for taking Obi-Wan to Esseles and ...”