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The
Adventure Begins 2001 short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-seven years after Episode IV – A
New Hope Blake slammed his fist on to the control panel in frustration. His
eyes were wild with the anger he was trying to contain. Letitia Arkensaw
looked on impassively, reminding herself that he was a Jedi Master, not a
padawan learner. “Don’t they see why I’m
doing this? Don’t they understand the reasons involved?” He turned to face
Master Zeboden, who stood a little further away from where Letitia was seated.
His face was grave. “I fear I have led you down
a false path my friend. Without the support of the Jedi Council we will be
branded as renegades. I only wish they would see the situation for what it
is.” Zeboden barely stifled a laugh. “They are a young council
Blake, and terribly wary. They fear what might come about and have enough
trouble controlling the rest of the younger Jedi. The last thing they will
want is for two Jedi Masters and a group of experienced Jedi Knights playing
to their own song.” Blake nodded his understanding and sat down wearily opposite Letitia,
leaning onto the desk. She reached across and placed a calming hand on his.
He pulled back in surprise. “Blake. If what you say is
true, that Ranth contacted you through the Force, then why has he not
contacted me or any of the other Jedi Masters? They want to believe you, they
really do, but it is hard. They want you back in the fold, they don’t trust
your instincts, and they think them polluted by the dark side. What’s more, I
can’t help you in this. I’ve been told to act as a liaison only. I’m supposed
to let them know every move you make.” Blake stood up and slowly walked over to the window. He looked out
upon the lush sub tropical vegetation of the island below them, using the
site of the beauty to calm him. “What do you think Master
Zeboden? Should we go back in to the
fold? We’re close to running out of essential supplies.” He paused. “What should I do my friend.” Zeboden was silent for a moment, considering their options. “The cost of running the
base eats up much of our available funds and is indeed a luxury we can’t
afford. I suggest we find a more suitable location for our headquarters. That
would allow us more flexibility financially. After all, that was the original
plan, wasn’t it?” Blake nodded. Letitia interrupted. “I’m afraid that they’ve
also asked you to leave the base at the earliest opportunity. They wish to
send another complement of Jedi to restart the training here.” Blake frowned, but did not loose his temper. “So be it. I’ll contact the Dawnrider
and ask Captain Cree if he wouldn’t mind giving us a ride. Can you inform the
rest of the Jedi that we will be abandoning the base within the next
twenty-eight hours?” Zeboden nodded and left silently. Letitia looked surprised and folded
her hands together inside her robe sleeves. “Did you misunderstand what
I said Blake? I’m not allowed to offer you, or allow you, any assistance from
the Galactic Alliance Fleet. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to find another way
off planet.” Blake smiled at this and clicked his data reader on. He rotated the
viewer and brought up the communication he had received whilst Letitia had
been in hyperspace. “Signed by Governor Gabe
himself. As of this morning, by unanimous decision of the crew and general
staff, the Setnin Council now officially controls the Dawnrider. They
are now detached to provide support and transport for the Jedi Knights of the
Setnin Sector.” Letitia looked dumbfounded. “How? Gabe is not that
stupid. He wouldn’t try and interfere with an internal Galactic Alliance
matter. When did you talk to him?” Her calm veneer expressed a frown and
Blake felt that she wouldn’t underestimate him again. “On my way here. I made a
detour to Chancai. I asked the Governor for a private meeting, and he was
only too glad to see me. He’s an intelligent man, and when he saw how we
could help him, he agreed to assign us the Dawnrider, for a short
period only, and some limited basic supplies. Most of the crew of the Dawnrider
are of Setnin birth or descent; the ship is leased from the Setnin Sector
Navy. It was just a matter of asking the Captain whether he wanted to remain
neutral with the Galactic Alliance, or get involved with the Setnin Jedi.
He’s a Setnin loyalist, a man of action and a realist. The rest, as they say,
is history.” Letitia sat there, taking it all in and not making a comment. She rose
from the chair and held out her hand to Blake. “As long as you remain with
the light, I wish you well. However, I’m afraid that the Council may not see
it that way. You’re treading a dangerous path Blake, one that might yet leave
you working for the dark side. Be careful.” Blake smiled and took her hand, knowing this was as much as she could
say under the circumstances. “I have friends that look
out for me. I know the pitfalls. I won’t turn again, but if you ever want to
make sure, the door is always open for you to join us.” Letitia shook her head and released his hand. “No Blake, my path lies elsewhere. At least for the moment.” She turned and
walked out of the office. Blake sighed to himself, as the door closed behind
her. When he had heard that she was due to arrive he had half hoped that she
would join them. Then again, she hadn’t exactly ruled it out. He sat down at
the desk and pressed the communicator. “I need someone to get in
touch with Nias Derril, I believe he may be contracting for Jomobol Pocock.
Could you also contact Jan Lomona and Ryath Centaur? Tell them I have a
business proposition.” The desk clerk confirmed the request and closed the channel. Blake sat
back and closed his eyes for a moment, wishing, not for the first time that
day, that his wife was there. She’d taken Trude to Chancai with her. He hoped
that Grabby would have what they needed. Grabby tapped his fingers on the desk and looked at the equipment
request that lay before him. Various articles adorned the list, most of which
he had in stock, but the last item made his eyes widen considerably. “Burin crystals. I thought
those were for lightsabres. Don’t you get those from the Jedi council?” His
curiosity was normally kept at bay, but it was in his professional interest
not to step on too many toes. The older of the two Jedi nodded. “Normally yes, but our supply
has been temporarily suspended. An old friend told me that you would be the
person to procure them. Am I right?” Grabby nodded, trying to remember the last person who had requested
some. Then his memory kicked in. “The last person to buy any
of these from me died shortly thereafter. Did you know him?” The Jedi seemed to concentrate or a moment. Then she smiled. “Yes, Tarr Ranth. He is my
cousin by marriage.” Grabby noted her use of the present tense and frowned. “You say ‘is’ your
cousin by marriage. Number one, I thought he was dead and number two, I
didn’t know he had a cousin.” He felt like he was on even ground now. The
older Jedi simply nodded again. “He is still alive in the
Force.” She held out her hand. “My name is Nera De’Athe, this is my niece
Trude. Blake is my husband. I’m sure you can guess the rest.” Grabby smiled.
Blake De’Athe and his friends, Lomona, Centaur and Ranth had been, and in
some cases still were, good customers of his. “Let’s see what I can do to
fulfil this list then. Give me a couple of hours and come back. I should have
it ready by then.” Nera nodded and Trude gave him a winning smile. He couldn’t help
wondering why the younger Jedi was wearing sunglasses indoors. Ah well. “I like him.” Trude was
always to the point. “I mean, I know he’s an arms dealer and all that, but
there’s a certain level of reliability about the man.” Nera laughed as they walked back to Blakes ship. “Reliability. That’s not a
word I would use, but I suppose it’s as good as any other.” They crossed the
main thoroughfare and entered the docking bay corridor. Soon they were
sitting in the cockpit of Blake’s star ship, the Sabre. The
communications console was flashing a recorded message. Nera hit the play
button and a holographic image of Blake was displayed. “Nera, by the time you get
this message we will have abandoned the base on Rai. It seems the Jedi
Council are none too pleased with our independent streak. They have advised
us that there is no way they will support us and will also consider us as
rogue Jedi. You know what that means. Anyway, Letitia’s hands have been tied
and she can’t help us, so it’s up to you to find the supplies that we need. I
have transferred another ten thousand credits and I’m negotiating with Nias
for a long-term base of operations – remember the old one? With any luck we could have it all set up
by the time that we meet near the Amagad System, so I suggest communications
silence until then, unless an emergency requires it. You know what to do my
love. Give Grabby my regards and I’ll see you soon. Blake out.” Trude looked perplexed. She turned to Nera. “What did he mean by base of
operations?” Nera smiled. “He used to have a converted
Nebulon B frigate that he used as a training base. Ranth and his friends sold
it from under him. As a consequence, some people still owe him a favour; Nias
Derril is one of them. Derril owns a mobile star ship repair operation that
is based around an old Imperial Star Destroyer. I believe he subcontracts to
Jomobol Pocock. If he’s involved then we may be able to get a large freighter
or a small combat ship for a decent price.” Trude nodded her understanding. “If that’s the case then we
would have a training base that could take us anywhere. We wouldn’t have to
rely on the charity of Governor Gabe.” Grabby was not pleased. Somewhere, somebody had put up barriers to his
enquiries. He’d managed to get almost everything on the list, even the
molecule thin cutting blades, but the lightsabre jewels were not available.
He sighed. Business was just not the same since the Setnin Sector had become
a part of the Alliance. He pulled out a handwritten notebook from his desk
and looked at his list of clients and contacts. Surely there was somebody he
could call? Letitia Arkensaw sat down at her desk and looked at the list of
communications she had received whilst she had been away. One of them caught
her eye, a name from her mothers past. She pulled up the recorded number from
the database and activated the call back option. The face of an old man
appeared on screen, cigar in mouth. “Hello Miss Arkensaw. My
name is Grabby Cap; I used to supply your mother with certain specialised
equipment. Thanks for calling me back so promptly.” Letitia nodded and came straight to the point. “What can I do for you
Mister Cap?” Grabby smiled. “Well, your mother was a
good customer and I was sorry to hear about her death. Anyway, I didn’t want
to contact you about this, but I’ve found myself in a situation and I need
your aid. You see, your mother was a friend of mine and I considered her a
close friend, at least as far as she would let me. We often did each other
favours. Now I would like to do you one, for old times sake.” Letitia frowned at this. She had distanced herself from her mother and no longer wished to have anything more to do with that part of her life. “I’m sure that if you provide the relevant information, that I will be able to look into it.” Grabby smiled at her and nodded. “That may be so, but the information is extremely sensitive and I would like to meet with you to discuss it. It might be to our mutual advantage.” Letitia wondered what this stocky little man was after and frowned again. “Mister Cap, whatever friendship you may have had with my mother has little to do with me. However, if you can convince me that it requires my attention, then I may be able to put some time aside this afternoon.” Grabby smiled again. “In that case, let’s just say it concerns a request to supply somebody with something that I might otherwise only be able to get from the Jedi Council.” Letitia’s senses became more alert at this. “I’m listening Mister Cap.” Nera smiled as she saw the forty-five crystals sitting in their padded box. She looked up at Grabby. “Thank you Mister Cap. I, and my colleagues, am in your debt.” Grabby nodded, and brought out a bill from underneath the counter. “Call me Grabby, Miss De’Athe. There were some problems getting hold of the crystals, that raised the price slightly, but I think you’ll find the price fair.” He handed over the bill and Trude and Nera examined it closely. Trude ran her hands slowly over the document and her eyebrows rose. Nera saw her about to say something but cut her off. “Indeed, a very fair price.” She handed over the credit stick and Grabby deducted the amount on the bill. He handed the credit stick back. “It’s not often that I have such a long list to deal with. The rest of the goods will be delivered to your ship within the day. It’s a pleasure to do business Miss De’Athe.” Nera smiled her warmest smile and picked up the smaller objects, placing them in her backpack. She held out her hand to Grabby, they shook hands. “Please call me Nera, and yes, it has been a pleasure. We’ll be in touch again soon.” Grabby nodded and watched the two Jedi exit the shop. When they had gone he relaxed and sighed a genuine sigh of relief. There was some rustling behind him and Letitia Arkensaw moved out from behind the curtains at the back of the store. “Let me know whenever you get an order. I want as much information as you can supply me about their dealings with you.” Grabby nodded. “Do you think they detected you?” Letitia shook her head. “Unlikely. The technique I used is known by few Jedi and only a handful of Jedi Masters. I doubt it.” Nera De’Athe waited until she was well out of visible range of Grabby’s Gun Shop before she turned to Trude. “Did you feel her too?” Trude nodded. “Yes, she was like a opaque area in the Force. It was an unusual experience.” Nera smiled, looking towards her niece as they crossed into the docking bay area. “You’re going to find that the Force offers a lot in the way of unusual experiences.” The Dawnrider exited hyperspace near Amagad. Her sub light engines came up to full power as she angled away from the planets surface and headed out to her prescribed coordinates. Onboard, several members of her crew scanned the space around them, wary of any attack. Amagad had a reputation that they didn’t want to see enhanced. Captain Cree looked over the shoulders of his crew and smiled as he noticed the alertness in their postures. He reflected how he had taken the decision to transfer allegiances from the Galactic Alliance to the Setnin Council, and felt no regret. His crew also seemed to be at ease with their situation. He was interrupted in his reverie by a slight cough to his right. He turned to see his first officer waiting. “Yes number one?” His officer handed him a data pad. “Sir, we have detected a large freighter moving towards our coordinates from the edge of the system. It appears to be a converted Corellian Heavy Transport, should we warn them away?” Cree shook his head. “No number one. Inform Master De’Athe that his delivery is on schedule and arrange to dock with the freighter at the earliest opportunity.” His first office nodded and moved towards the communications controller. The freighter Setnin Legacy slowed down to a crawl as she approached the Nebulon S frigate. Nias Derril adjusted the slaved systems and readied the secondary airlock for contact. Her saw the frigate approach and brought the freighter to a full stop. Seconds later there was a slight bump, and the two ships locked magnetically. Nias Derrill exited the bridge and took the turbo lift to the docking level. Taking a number of small transponder units off of a rack near the airlock door, he deactivated the security systems to the ship and cycled the airlock. Blake waited impatiently as Nias cycled the airlock and wondered why it had taken him so long to get there. Master Zeboden, standing beside him, placed a hand upon his shoulder. “Patience my friend. You’re acting like a first year padawan again.” Blake relaxed at his friends touch, feeling the support that the other Jedi Master was offering him. “It’s not that easy Master. All our plans rest on whether this craft is suitable for our needs.” Zeboden nodded and his face betrayed his concern. “I understand your alarm. It is an ugly looking starship, but the Force still guides us. I’m sure this is the vessel.” At that the hatch finished cycling and the door slid open. Nias smiled as he old colleague walked into the main docking area. His smile widened as he saw the look of distaste on Blakes face. “She’s got a lot of potential. What do you think?” Blake stayed silent for a moment, obviously struggling with some internal conflict. Then he calmed and looked at Nias. “Are you sure this is the best we could get for the money?” Nias sighed. Why was it was nobody trusted him; he’d been a legitimate businessman for almost fifteen years now. “Well, she may not look like much now, but when I’ve connected a new power core, some heavy turbo lasers and changed the cargo bay into a docking bay, she’ll be fine.” Blake’s eyebrow rose at the last sentence. He thought for a moment and walked past Nias towards the turbo lift. “Okay, then give me the grand tour.” Nias looked towards Master Zeboden and they both smiled. This was going to be a good day for business. The
Adventure Begins 2001 short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-seven years after Episode IV – A
New Hope Histories – The
Setnin-based Jedi begin to assert themselves while
realising that the path they have chosen will not be an easy one. Led by Blake De’Athe, the Coruscant-led
Jedi, represented by Letitia
Arkensaw comes to an
agreement with the Setnin’s. By Louis
Turfrey, this tale leads into a new storyline. Cast of Characters Blake De’Athe Letitia Arkensaw Master Zeboden Grabby Cap Nera De’Athe Trude De’Athe Captain Cree Nias Derril |