Mission 3 - "The Darkside Nexus"


Mission Brief 01.0811

After the planet of Naboo was liberated from occupation by the Trade Federation, "The Phantom Hunters continued their pursuit of the criminal, Savor Kibbs. Kibbs had escaped Naboo authorities after they arrested him at the Jedi Academy on Naboo for attempting to lead students down the wrong path. Currently he was leading a group of renegades out in the swamps against the Queen. The renegades had been lying low during the occupation.
Now with more immediate concerns behind them and receiving the blessing of the Jedi Council, the special task force launched back into the pursuit, following a trail of clues through the swamps which eventually led to the renegade camp. There they were forced to battle an illusion of the recently defeated Sith Lord, Darth Maul. The illusion had been created by Savor Kibbs himself. Utilizing the energy from a nearby Dark Side Nexus discovered in the swamps, Savor had boosted his power and masqueraded as a Sith Master. As Pent before him, Savor too was captured by the Phantom Hunters and brought back to Theed for interrogation. However, upon return to the capital city of Naboo, Satchal first had to face the Jedi council concerning his new decision to defy the council's orders and fulfill his late master's promise to train Brin'tac Kyen'tir in the ways of the Jedi...


For a more detailed account of these events, read:
The Journal of Lialla Tane Entry #4.





Epilogue: "The Interrogation of Savor Kibbs"


The doors to the meeting hall in the palace opened, and Satchal stepped inside. Pounding inside his chest, his heart felt as though it was about to explode. “You wanted to see me, Master Windu?” he said as he bowed his head slightly in greeting.

Master Windu was not alone in the room. Master Yoda was also with him, and neither Jedi appeared to be affected by his presence. Although Satchal felt as though he were about to be thoroughly reprimanded by them he was amazed that they didn’t appear to be angry at all.

“Expressly disobeyed us, did you?” asked Yoda, and his expression finally gave off a hint of disappointment.

“It has come to our attention that you are still training the Bothan diplomat. Is this true?” asked Master Windu.

Satchal lowered his gaze. “I must fulfill my master’s promise.”

“Promise, your master did,” said Yoda in a scolding tone. “Promise, you did not.”

“You are not a master or even a knight,” said Windu. “You are a Padawan, and although it seems you are learning a great deal, you still have much to learn.”

“Strong the Dark Side is. Dangerous ground you are treading. Already caught you are in the balance of dark and light. Train you cannot anyone.” Yoda’s tone was clearly growing more concerned than anything.

“We are aware of your own inner turmoils, Satchal,” said Windu. “We know of the dreams that you have been having.”

“Revealed your thoughts are,” said Yoda. “Know of them we do.”

“Satchal. It is too dangerous for you to be focusing on another’s training. You mustn’t train him any further.”

“Yet train him, you will, I fear,” said Yoda. “In your heart your determination lies. Nothing can change that.”

“So we have no choice but to have you separate from your friends,” said Windu.

“What!” cried Satchal in alarm. “You can’t. I have to help them find Brin’tac’s family. I won’t go. I won’t leave them when they need me the most. What if what happens to them is the same thing that happened to Master Lo. I couldn’t live with the guilt of knowing that I wasn’t with them when they needed me.”

“Enough,” said Master Windu. “We have decided. Until you have a new master train you, you must return to the temple in Coruscant.”

“Arguing will help not,” said Yoda in a more soothing voice.

“I understand how you feel, Satchal,” said Windu, “but we have no choice. It would be too dangerous to let you continue to travel with them if you are going to attempt to train the Bothan diplomat. We would risk loosing both of you to the Dark Side.”

Satchal lowered his head once more. “I understand.”

“Prepare, you must, to leave with us,” said Yoda.

“I will,” said Satchal, and he turned and left the chamber.





“My friends, I have great news,” said Brin’tac. “After Satchal told us about his dream I began to do some research. I’ve discovered that Creed is actually the governor of Darga Prime, the planet where Master Lo was killed. How much do you want to bet that Creed was working with the same Dark Jedi that took my family and killed Master Lo.”

“Based on Satchal’s dream I’d say that was obvious,” said Tarrsk gruffly. “So do you think we should go to Darga Prime and talk to Creed?”

“Definitely,” said Brin’tac, “but first I’d like to talk to our friend Savor Kibbs. The Republic has graciously given us permission to speak with him before he’s shipped off to a prison world under Jedi supervision.”

“Excellent,” said Nyarchagga. “I think we’re finally getting somewhere here.”

“Will you still be coming with us, Geldar?” asked Brin’tac.

“I spoke with Master Windu about that,” said Geldar. “Since my master is still on some sort of special mission, the Council would like me to continue to aid you in finding your family.”

“I’m with you too,” said Tarrsk.

“I’m always with you,” said Tso. “I want to find this guy too.”

“Well then. That’s just about everyone,” said Brin’tac. “All we have to do now is wait for Satchal to come back, but I’m sure he’ll be coming with.”

The door opened and Satchal stepped inside. His face told the whole story. “What happened?” asked Geldar.

“I must go back to Coruscant,” he told them. “The Jedi Council is afraid that I will continue to train Brin’tac, and they’re afraid that since I’m still a Padawan that I will lead us both to the Dark Side.”

The room was silent for a moment until Brin’tac finally stepped forward to lay a hand on Satchal’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, my friend. I did not mean to bring this upon you. I withdraw your debt to me to train me. Perhaps if I speak with the Council I might be able to persuade them to change their minds.”

Satchal gave him a weak smile. “Thank you, Brin’tac, but I doubt it will do any good.”

Geldar shook his head. I tried to warn them, but they wouldn’t listen, he thought. Now we’ve lost a valuable member of our team. I wish they would have listened.

The door opened again, and in walked Lialla with a smile on her face. “Hey! I’ve got great news. I spoke to my father, and he’s willing to give us a ship as a reward for all the work we did for the Underground.”

Everyone turned to look at her. “What makes you think you’re coming with us?” asked Tarrsk with a sneer.

Lialla’s expression fell. “What do you mean? I thought we were all friends here. You mean to tell me you’re not going to let me go with you? I even faced my father’s wrath in order to get his permission and his help. Now you mean to tell me you don’t want me to come along?”

Brin’tac turned toward her. “Nonsense. You must forgive my friend’s ill-mannered behavior. He is simply upset with the news we received about Satchal.” “What’s going on?” she asked.

“Satchal cannot come with us,” said Brin’tac. “The Jedi Council has decided he must return with them to Coruscant.”

Lialla was clearly appalled. “That’s absurd. How could they do that to him? His master was killed by that Dark Jedi. He has to be able to go.”

“Don’t worry. I will talk with them,” said Brin’tac. “After we interrogate Savor Kibbs I will talk with the Council about the whole thing.”

“As for you coming with us,” said Geldar. “You are more than welcome. Any help you may give us is always accepted.” His smile seemed to lighten her mood. “Particularly the help of giving us a ship,” added Tso with a wide grin. “I will pilot her to the best of my abilities.”

“Just try not to crash this one,” commented Tarrsk with a smug grin, and Tso gave him a nasty look in response.

Lialla looked at Tso and smiled. “I’m sure you’ll do a great job.”

“I still say she shouldn’t come,” said Tarrsk grumpily. “She’s going to be a liability more than an asset.”

Lialla walked over to look him in the eye. “Listen,” she said to his face. “The ship is now mine. My father has put it in my name. If you want the ship you have to bring me along.”

“We could always take the ship and change its I.D.,” remarked Nyarchagga. “I could do it easy enough.”

“It’d still be stealing,” said Geldar. “I don’t think we want that, do we?” Everyone fell silent for a moment until Brin’tac stepped in and changed the subject. “Well. We shouldn’t waste any more time. Let’s go and talk with our friend, Savor. I’m sure we’ll find out some interesting information from him.”






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