3 B.B.Y. – Jalor System
***
The flight to the watery world of Glee Anslem had been long and bumpy. The Pride of the Underworld was an older light freighter, with rusted interiors and loose screws abounding.
It only had room for two passengers, which meant that Lyonel and Kroe got the beds, while Muroi was forced to sleep in the cockpit. The Shistavanen has found this arrangement unpleasant, and he had originally only intended to add Lyonel to “his” crew. However, the duo knew they were just now in their mercenary team prime, and told Muroi that that if one couldn’t come, neither would be entering into any sort of partnership.
It was a necessary sacrifice he had to make, as he was now making an insurmountable amount of credits for someone of his caste, and his name was now associated with a rather venerable team.
Shortly into their trip, Lyonel had realized his elegant, white fur had been matted down with the green blood of the Verpine. His bed was also a bloody mess, and he knew Muroi would be agitated if he didn’t get it cleaned up, despite the constant state of disarray that the rest of the Pride was always in.
The onboard shower had been designed to accommodated creatures approximately the size of a human, and Lyonel had a very difficult time pushing his entire two meter tall, incredibly furry body into the small compartment. However, he was determined to remove the dried, green fluid from his fur, and forcefully slotted his large feline form into the shower. Even if it meant he had to leave a dent in the wall. It would not be the first time.
After a cramped cleaning session, he had made his way back to his small living compartment to gather up his bedding. He was distracted, however, by an alert from his holopad.
It was a message from his father back on Togoria. This was highly unusual, as his father was not at all acquainted with modern technologies, but he had somehow reached out to Lyonel nonetheless.
The large Togorian sat down on the edge of his bloodstained bed as he opened the message, and knew it was probably currently the annual month his parents reunited.
Their culture was very distinct, as the males traveled as nomads and hunters for eleven months out of the year, and left their wives to tend to the farms and the businesses and the politics. The one month a year the men did return back to civilization, however, and they threw grand celebrations. His parents were rather rich, so he assumed his father had just drunkenly sent him images of their revelries.
His breath escaped him for a moment as he looked at the single, four-word sentence his father had left him. There were no additional messages, nor any sort of additional details. Just one phrase that made Lyonel softly lay his holopad down on the soiled sheets and ponder his next course of action.
“Your mother is dying.”
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3 B.B.Y. – Glee Anslem
***
The Pride of the Underworld touched down in Montee Puria as the planet’s sun was rising over the city. Montee Puria itself was one of Glee Anslem’s capital cities. It was well know for being suspended over the harsh planetary ocean, balancing only on a few support beams submerging into the murky depths, as well as anchors attaching it to the nearby mountainous outcrop. Technologically, the city was a marvel, but structurally, it made most offworlders incredibly nervous.
Lyonel and crew stepped out of the ship, allowing Muroi to guide them to their new client. Kroe took a massive gulp as he peered over the edge of the landing pad and down into the deep black ocean below. Lyonel also had an extreme aversion to water, as most feline species did, and had avoided it for his entire life back on Togoria. If he fell in, he would surely drown, as he never actually learned how to swim.
As they started ascending up the many sporadic stairways in the city, Lyonel thought of Togoria and his family again. He had spent most of their trip trying to decide what he should do. He had asked his father how serious it was, but there had been no response. He had also checked his calendar, and realized his father’s month was already well over, so it must be dire if he chose not to leave with the rest of the nomads.
Lyonel wanted to go and be by his mothers side. He had not seen her in nearly a decade, and while he had corresponded with her much more often than with his father, they never spoke about anything worthwhile. Not about the future, or mortality, or if she truly enjoyed being the monarch of their small city-state. He knew if she did pass, his eldest sister would take up her political duties and inherit the wealth, which would mean they technically did not need him to be present. But his father would not have told him unless he had wanted Lyonel to return to Togoria to help comfort his dying wife.
In the end, Lyonel had tentatively made up his mind. He would help Kroe and Muroi with this final job, and then depart from the group to return home. Even if he no longer agreed with their way of life, he longed to see his father, mother, and sisters again. He would at least stay until either his mother passed or recovered from whatever her current ailment was, if not even longer afterwards. He was sure Muroi and Kroe friend would be fine without him, even if they did butt heads from time to time. He just wasn’t sure how to let Kroe know of the situation, or how he would react.
But the first thing Lyonel needed to do was finish this final mission as quickly and efficiently as possible. He glanced around at their environment as they ascended deeper into the city. The streets were now widening and the buildings were much more ornate than back at the docks. When they had initially landed, Lyonel had only noticed a few Aqualish technicians roaming around, but now the street corners and stairways were lined with colorful amphibious creatures from all across the galaxy.
Many were boarding large elevators that dotted the street, traveling down well below the surface of the ocean, and Lyonel wondered just how much of Montee Puria was only accessible to those with gills and fins. The idea of swimming around in a dark, underwater city made Lyonel both disgusted and appalled. But the many creatures around him, dressed in either diving suits or not many clothes at all, seemed to be thriving.
Muroi finally changed their course, turning before approaching the next flight of stairs and heading down a very modern commercial street. Lyonel saw many of the local Nautolans, who seemed to make up the majority of the city’s denizens. But he also noticed aquatic Selkath, Quarren, and even a large Gabdorin making their way down the bustling streets. Never had he seen so many sea dwelling species together in one place, and he glanced around, wondering which one could be their client.
Muroi brought them to a stop in front of a small coffiene shop and checked both directions before seemingly sighing in relief.
“Your friend’s in there?” Kroe asked confusedly, pointing at the quaint little brewery. Lyonel was surprised as well, as most of Muroi’s acquaintances did not partake in such wholesome or peaceful lifestyle activities.
Muroi just laughed, “of course not.” He leaned into the alleyway beside the shop and whispered something. A moment later a short, green Patrolian wearing both an eye patch and a crooked grin stepped out of the shadows.
“This is my friend, Bannamu,” Muroi said, his smile boldly revealing all of his fangs.
“That’s more like it,” Kroe said rolling his eyes and looking up towards Lyonel to see what they should do next. Lyonel extended his hand as a greeting, “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
The squat, fish-like creature just stared at the feline’s large paw for a moment before looking back at Muroi and whispering something behind the back of his own his hand. Muroi laughed and patted Bannamu on the head, much to the Patrolian’s dismay. “He’s just a little shy, but he says the pleasure is all his.”
Bannamu glanced at the three, nervousness clearly present in his one good eye as it darted back and forth. He motioned for them to follow he and Muroi back down into the alleyway, the duo looking at each other and shrugging as they followed his wordless request.
After a short, very dark and very cramped walk, the group reached a small door, which Bannamu opened with a key from his rather large key ring. They stepped inside, and Lyonel had to crouch as he dusted his fur off. “I love what you did with the place,” Muroi said looking around, and Bannamu lit a few lanterns on the far end of the table.
“This is just a maintenance room for the city’s power grid, isn’t it?” Kroe asked, clearly unimpressed, and Bannamu just shook his head. “You call it city property, I call it home. Plus, they kicked me out from underneath, so where else was I supposed to go?”
“Great…” Kroe sighed, leaning his rather large blaster up against the wall and looking around at the assortment of dusty trinkets and artifacts spread out across the room. “So what is it you actually need us to do?”
Before the Patrolian could answer, Lyonel noticed two objects on one of the nearby tables and quickly dusted them off. “Are those…?”
“Lightsabers? Yes,” Bannamu said, rubbing his hands together greedily. “You see, I’m an… explorer. And I love to get my hands on rare artifacts.”
“Show them the map,” Muroi said, pointing the Patrolian towards a bin in the corner before continuing to explain. “You see, Bannamu here has discovered a map to a temple we believe was once used by the Jedi. And legend has it that this temple is just filled to the brim with old lightsabers. Do you know how much the Empire is willing to pay for the relinquishment of lightsabers? It’s more than we’ve collectively made altogether.”
Lyonel was now intrigued, but skeptical. If what they were saying was true, they could very well be sitting on a motherload of valuable artifacts. But if it was just a wild Bantha chase, then he would simply be wasting time that he could be spending with his mother.
“What proof do we have that these rumors are true? Couldn’t it simply be a trap set up by pirates, or even the Empire, to capture greedy travelers or Jedi sympathizers?” he asked, finally speaking up.
Muroi swiped a hairy arm across one of the tables, sending half a dozen “artifacts” flying to the ground. Bannamu looked at him frustratedly for a moment, before laying the crumpled up map out as flat as possible on the table.
“This,” he said in his throaty voice, plopping a book down on top of the map.
“And that is?” Kroe asked, waving his arm around as he leaned up against the cabled wall. He was clearly growing unamused by the entire situation.
“This, my loud mouthed friend, is the journal of the famous treasure hunter, Kyp Tabbane.” Kroe just shrugged, but Lyonel stroked his bearded chin. “I have heard the name before, his exploits are still told among many of the guilds. Is it true that he recently perished?”
Bannamu glanced at Muroi and smiled. “Well, you see, I happened to bump into him a few months ago,” the Patrolian said, opening the book, “he gave this to me shortly before he was taken away by the Empire… and executed.”
Lyonel knew “gave” was probably not the right word for how the Patrolian had obtained the journal. Something smelled fishy, and it wasn’t just Glee Anslem’s salty sea air. But if this did happen to pay off, it would really pay off big time. He would just need to keep an eye on Bannamu and make sure the fishman didn’t try to pull anything dirty.
Kroe leaned forward, “I don’t know, man. I think-“
“We’ll do it,” Lyonel said, cutting the Drabatan off. Kroe looked at his Togorian partner surprised, and Lyonel knew he was acting unusually brash. He just felt a sense of urgency that he couldn’t explain to his team quite yet.
Muroi glanced down at the journal, “Did we mention that Tabbane encountered some strange entity in the temple? He was so scared that he was only able to grab one lightsaber before he ran.”
Kroe’s face perked up, “well then, what are we waiting for.” He patted his rifle and Lyonel walked over to the map. “Where is this temple located?”
“Vassek,” Bannamu said, pointing at the map. “This will show us where to land, and how to access the temple doors. There’s a lot of dangerous cliffs surrounding it.”
“The Pride can get us there,” Muroi boasted while picking up the tattered book, “once we’re inside, Tabbane has mapped out the way to the lightsabers via short journal entries. Should be like stealing candy from a Rodian.”
Lyonel glanced over at the twin lightsabers one more time while the group packed up their few necessities. Bannamu led them out of the maintenance room and back down the dark alleyway. He stopped the group as a squad of Nautolan enforcers strolled by, and moved his eye patch from the left eye to the right, exposing the fact that his other red eyeball was completely intact as well.
After the patrol had passed, the group exited the alleyway, Bannamu continually glancing around in fear. However, they quickly descended back down to the landing pads with relative ease, and before they knew it, they were off.
Lyonel debated whether to go ahead and tell Kroe and Muroi now, or wait until the job was done. He still had yet to hear back from his father, so he decided that telling them now would only distract the team and possibly make them second guess their actions. And the more time they spent deliberating about such a simple job, the longer it would take. He would just wait until they either found the lightsabers or proved that it was all a myth, and then inform the group that they would be going the next few months without him.
He needed to keep his focus on the task ahead. And create a contingency plan for anything the Patrolian may try to pull. Lyonel wanted to be trusting and give him the benefit of the doubt, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.
He just needed to stay one step ahead.
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