Star Wars - The Clone Wars - Secret Missions #4 - Guardians of the Chiss Key Read online

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  Eleven years before the Clone Wars…

  “The pirate ship is coming in fast, Count Dooku!” said the captain of the patrol cruiser. “It was lucky you managed to get a tracking device onto their hull.”

  “Luck had nothing to do with it, Captain Krempil,” replied the Jedi Master, who had а curved-handled lightsaber clipped to his belt. He stood beside his comrade, Jedi Knight Ring-Sol Ambase, on the patrol cruiser’s bridge. The one-hundred-and-fifty-meter-long cruiser had a tapered bow that bore the yellow-and-blue insignia of the Malarian Alliance and was nestled in the shadow of a large asteroid at the outer edge of a vast asteroid belt that stretched past a cloudy green nebula. Dooku gestured to the asteroids visible through the main viewport and said, “When you have a visual on the Random Mallet, target the primary sensor array.”

  “Sensor array?” Krempil said with obvious displeasure. “But we could direct all weapons to their engines and blow them clear out of the—”

  “No, Captain,” Dooku said politely but firmly. “Just the sensor array.”

  And then the Random Mallet, the McGrrrr Gang’s battered, hammer-shaped frigate, veered out of the asteroid belt and headed for the nebula. The patrol cruiser dropped out of the asteroid’s shadow, sped after the frigate, and fired its laser cannons. The laser bolts struck the fleeing frigate’s large sensor array, which blossomed into a bright explosion of fire and twisted metal.

  Inside the patrol cruiser. Captain Krempil turned to the two Jedi standing on the bridge and said, “They’re making a run for the nebula!”

  “We can see that quite clearly. Captain,” Dooku replied calmly.

  Ring-Sol Ambase, a lean man with silver hair that made him appear almost as old as Dooku, looked past the heads of the cruiser’s pilot and navigator to the port side viewport and watched the space pirates’ frigate weave past several asteroids before it vanished into the nebula.

  “The tracker’s no use to us now,” Captain Krempil said bitterly. “Our scanners won’t work in all that space dust.”

  “I’m well aware of that, too,” Dooku said as he moved behind the navigator’s seat. “Bring us to a stop between those asteroids and the edge of the nebula.”

  The patrol cruiser decelerated and stopped a short distance from the asteroids. Krempil looked at the Jedi and said, “What now? Do we just sit here and wait for the McGrrrr Gang to come out?”

  Dooku nodded. “We’ve already damaged their sensor array, hyperdrive engine, and the starboard directional thrusters. When they grow tired of flying in circles, they’ll come out, and then we’ll have them.”

  “What if the McGrrrr Gang doesn’t grow tired?”

  “They can’t stay in the nebula forever. Captain,” Ambase said. “Even pirates eventually get hungry.”

  “I’m not so certain about these pirates,” Krempil said, “Even without a working hyperdrive, they’ve managed to evade us for almost three days straight and brought us all the way to the edge of Wild Space. I don’t imagine they’ll surrender willingly anytime soon.”

  “I don’t expect them to surrender at all,” Dooku said, keeping his gaze fixed on the nebula. “They’re desperate men. If they can’t escape or defeat us, they’ll die trying.”

  Krempil glared at the Jedi. “We had their ship dead in our sights when they left the asteroid belt. Why didn’t you let me kill them all when we had the chance?”

  Ambase looked at Krempil and said, “The Malarian Alliance requested Jedi assistance to bring the McGrrrr Gang to justice, and we agreed to do that. Jedi only take lives in self-defense or when otherwise defenseless lives are threatened. If the pirates leave us no choice but to destroy their ship, then we shall do what we must.”

  An alarm chirped from the communication officer’s console. The officer switched off the alarm, adjusted her headset, and said, “We’re picking up a transmission, Captain. It appears to be originating from just outside the nebula.”

  Dooku remained at the viewport while Ambase stepped past Krempil and hunkered down over the comm officer’s console. Studying the transmission’s readout on a sensor scope, Ambase said, “Could it be from the pirates?

  “It doesn’t resemble any of their earlier transmissions,” the comm officer said. “It sounds like a cross between random noise and atonal music. If it’s a language, our computer doesn’t recognize it.”

  “I’d be surprised if the computer did recognize it,” Dooku said. “After all, we’re in uncharted territory. Few Republic ships have ventured this far beyond the Outer Rim.”

  Ambase pointed to three fluctuations on the sensor scope’s readout and said, “Those look like repeat patterns. The transmission is probably an automated recording. Possibly a distress signal.”

  “Or a warning,” Dooku said.

  “Or a trap,” added Krempil. “The pirates may he trying to distract us.”

  “I suspect McGrrrr would have tried something less sophisticated,” Dooku said. Moving back to the viewport, he returned his gaze to the nebula. He gripped the edge of the viewport’s frame as he tilted his head slightly to the pilot and said, “Incoming missile Divert all energy to deflector shields and hang on.”

  The pilot had no sooner adjusted the controls for the shields when a thunderous blast rocked the cruiser, tossing Ambase and the crew across the bridge. Ambase sailed over a metal railing and smashed against a bulkhead. The navigational console exploded, and loud alarms began blaring. The pilot tumbled across the deck, grabbed a fire extinguisher, and began spraying down the nav console.

  Ambase didn’t need to examine any sensors to know the cruiser had been hit by a concussion missile. Then Ambase heard the viewport window make a terrible cracking noise and felt a sudden rush of air tearing at his robes.

  “Pressure breach!” shouted the communications officer.

  “Evacuate to the life pods!” said Krempil as he stumbled across the bridge.

  “Cancel that command, Captain,” Dooku said calmly as the escaping air whipped at his robe. While Ambase grabbed a cylindrical tank from a bulkhead and began spraying emergency sealant over a crack in the viewport’s window, Dooku moved to an illuminated console and adjusted the controls for the cruiser’s energy shields, redirecting the shields over the breached hull as he increased power to the shield strength. The bridge’s air pressure stabilized quickly.

  “Back to your stations!” Krempil shouted as the pilot put out the fire at the nav console. “Direct all weapons on that frigate!”

  Ambase looked through the viewport and saw the Random Mallet’s aft thrusters fire and then the Mallet rapidly receded toward a distant cluster of stars. “Too late,” he said. “The pirates just jumped into hyperspace.”

  “What?” Krempil said with surprise, but then his face went red with rage. “How?! Their hyperdrive was damaged!”

  “Evidently,” Dooku said, “they either repaired it or had a backup engine.” Turning to consult another sensor scope, he added, “Our tracking device was still on the pirate ship before it escaped. When they exit hyperspace, we’ll pick up their trail.”

  “We’re not going anywhere,” Krempil fumed, “until I contact my superiors on Namadii. They’ll he very disappointed when I tell them about how—”

  Another chirp sounded from the comm console. Th
e comm officer said, “It’s that unidentified transmission again, sir.”

  Krempil said, “Probably just an echo from the pirate ship.”

  Dooku looked through the viewport and said, “I don’t believe the McGrrrr Gang is responsible for the transmission, Captain. I surmise it’s coming from the spacecraft seventy meters off our port side.”

  “What?” Krempil looked out the viewport and saw a small, teardrop-shaped spacecraft slowly tumbling across space. The spacecraft had a single, elliptical thruster and a curved, narrow, black slit that appeared to be a window. “It looks like an escape pod,” Krempil said. He looked at a data readout on the comm console and added, “Why isn’t that pod showing up on our sensors?”

  “It must have some kind of frequency jammer,” the comm officer said.

  As Jedi, both Dooku and Ambase were strong with the Force, an energy field that spanned the entire galaxy. The Force empowered them with great strength and speed and enabled them to lift and move objects without any physical contact. They could perceive their surroundings in ways that ordinary life-forms could not and at times even foretell the future. Drawing from the Force, Dooku said, “I sense a life-form in the spacecraft.”

  “I sense it, too,” Ambase said. Then added. “And… it’s strong with the Force!”

  As the small vessel tumbled past the cruiser, Dooku said, “It’s drifting toward the asteroid belt.” He turned to the navigator. “Lock a tractor beam onto it.”

  The navigator consulted a scope as he adjusted the tractor beam controls, then said, “I can’t get a lock on anything, sir. The pod is invisible on our sensors, so the tractor won’t—”

  “Then operate the tractor beam manually,” Dooku said impatiently.

  “We can’t, sir,” the navigator said, embarrassed. “The controls are … well, they’re fully automatic.”

  Dooku looked at Krempil and said, “Ambase and I require your shuttle.”

  Krempil raised his eyebrows. “You’re going after that pod?”

  “Precisely.”

  “But what about the McGrrrr Gang?”

  “We’ll go after them later,” Dooku said as he and Ambase swept off the bridge.

  Dooku steered the box-shaped shuttle after the unidentified vessel, which was visible in the distance, still tumbling toward the asteroids. Seated beside Dooku in the shuttle’s cockpit, Ambase familiarized himself with the docking-tube controls is he said, “Let’s hope the pod’s passenger isn’t hostile.”

  ‘We don’t even know whether the vessel is a pod,” Dooku said. “It could be a spacious ship, built for a small species. Well find out soon enough. We should reach it in about a minute. Are you ready to lock on?”

  “Yes.” Keeping his hand near the docking-tube controls, Ambase said, “Captain Krempil didn’t seem very happy to let us borrow this shuttle. He was so eager to go after the McGrrrr Gang, I wouldn’t be surprised if he decides to leave without us.”

  “Krempil is a coward and a fool. He won’t go anywhere until we’re back on board with him.” Dooku shook his head. “It’s bad enough that the Galactic Senate expects the Jedi Order to server politicians, but that we must also answer to paramilitary organizations is insulting.”

  Ambase glanced at Dooku. “Insulting? Do you mean personally?”

  “Not at all,” Dooku said as if the thought had never occurred to him. “It’s insulting to our ideals. The Jedi Order should serve the will of the Force, not the whims of corrupt bureaucrats. For all we know, helping the Malarian Alliance capture the McGrrrr Gang might end up more disastrous than what happened on Galidraan.”

  Ambase shook his head. “I still can’t believe we lost eleven Jedi in that battle.”

  “Jedi weren’t the only losses,” Dooku said. “And all because we believed we were doing the right thing when we went up against those Mandalorians.”

  “The circumstances were unfortunate.”

  “No, Ring-Sol. The circumstances were avoidable.”

  Ambase almost questioned Dooku’s comment but decided against it. He and Dooku had been friends for years, and he was well aware of Dooku’s concerns and opinions about the Galactic Senate. At the moment, he was more intent on preventing the unidentified vessel’s destruction than engaging in a debate.

  Dooku expertly guided the shuttle into an orbital path around the teardrop-shaped spacecraft. Testing a switch on the control console in front of him, he said, “The vessel is invisible to the shuttle’s tracking sensors, too. We’ll have to do this the hard way.” He maneuvered the shuttle closer to the vessel.

  Ambase eyed the vessel’s exterior and said, “That triangular panel must be the hatch. I don’t see any external controls or locking mechanisms, but we can…” Ambase’s head jerked back as he once more sensed the Force’s power radiating from the spacecraft. “Do you feel that?”

  “Indeed,” Dooku said. “The mysterious traveler is as strong with the Force as a Jedi. This day is turning out to be full of surprises.”

  As the shuttle continued to rotate around the vessel, Ambase deployed the shuttle’s docking tube. The tube was still extending from the shuttle when a dark shape slapped against the cockpit’s window, surprising Ambase and causing him to accidentally hit the wrong control lever. The docking tube struck the vessel harder than intended, sending it faster toward the asteroids.

  “Mynock,” Dooku said, identifying the creature with tapered, membranous wings and a large, round mouth that had already suctioned to the outside of the window. Dooku made a sweeping gesture with his fingers as he used the Force to push the energy-eating parasite off the window. The Mynock fell away, leaving an ugly suction mark.

  Dooku punched the shuttle’s accelerator and raced after the vessel. Ambase saw a wide asteroid looming directly in the vessel’s path and said, “Hurry!”

  Outside the viewport, distant stars appeared to blur as Dooku banked hard to go after the elusive vessel. As they rapidly neared the wide asteroid, Dooku concentrated his Force powers on the pod to draw it closer to the shuttle while Ambase readjusted the docking-tube controls. The docking tube made a loud thunk as it touched the pod’s convex hull.

  “We have it!” Ambase said.

  Dooku sent the shuttle into a steep dive, taking the now-secured vessel with it. They passed so close to the asteroid that the shuttle’s sensor systems screeched in protest. As they angled away from the asteroid, Dooku said, “Now that we’re attached to the craft, are we getting any readouts?”

  Ambase looked at a data display on his console. “The vessel has a pressurized atmosphere that’s almost identical with our own. The passenger breathes as we do.”

  “Evidently,” Dooku said as he brought the shuttle to a stop at a safe distance from the asteroids. He activated the comlink, opened a signal to the patrol cruiser, and said, “Dooku to Captain Krempil, Ambase and I will inspect the spacecraft to determine whether the passenger poses any threat. Stand by for my next transmission.”

  “Yes, Master Dooku,” Krempil’s sullen voice crackled from the comlink

  Ambase followed Dooku out of the cockpit. Dooku opened the hatch to the passage tube, and they stepped into the airlock. After Ambase sealed the hatch behind them, they proceeded through the tube’s next hatch until they stood before the triangular panel that they assumed was the attached spacecraft’s egress hatch. Dooku held one hand close to his lightsaber. Ambase did the same as he leaned forward to examine the triangular panel and said, “No visible grips or latches.”

  “Perhaps the passenger doesn’t have dexterous limbs.” Dooku moved his left hand around the edges of the panel. Unexpectedly, one edge flickered into a length of soft, white light, and then the panel made a hissing sound as it slid back into the hull, leaving a triangular opening.

  Dooku and Ambase gazed into the small spacecraft. The padded interior consisted of a curved seat that encircled an elevated floor-mounted orb containing small, shimmering lights. Ambase said, “It certainly resembles an escape pod. That orb migh
t be the navigational controls. But where’s the life-form? I can still sense its presence.”

  Dooku stepped into the pod and crouched down below the central orb. He found a large ovoid container that was wedged between the orb’s base and the bottom of the seat. The container was roughly seventy-five centimeters long, and its opaque shell appeared to be made of marbled plastic. Reaching out with the Force, Dooku sensed a heartbeat within the container.

  “I’ve found the passenger,” Dooku said. “Give me a hand, Ring-Sol.”

  Ambase moved around Dooku, crawled onto the curved seat, and looked down at the ovoid container. He brushed his fingers over the container, then said, “It’s warm.”

  The Jedi carefully dislodged the container and moved it onto the seat. Before either could ponder how to open the container, two narrow beams of light snaked across its marbled surface, and then the shell opened and unfolded to reveal a sleeping baby, a humanoid male, lying on a thin-cushioned pad with a silver blanket kicked down around his feet. The baby had blue skin and a head topped with flossy, black hair. The baby wriggled, then opened his eyes and looked up at the two Jedi. The baby’s eyes were bright red.

  “Interesting,” Dooku said. “The passenger has dexterous limbs after all. Just very small limbs.”

  Ambase looked at Dooku and said, “Surely, the Force itself brought the three of us to this place and point in time.”

  “I wonder,” Dooku said, but his tone hinted at doubt.

  “How can you be unsure?” Ambase said as he shifted the silver blanket over the baby’s legs and small torso. “What are the chances of two Jedi, traveling through an uncharted sector of space, finding a Force-sensitive infant alone in a runaway pod? This is no coincidence, Dooku.”

  “I never said it was coincidence. I wonder if something other than the Force brought us all here.”

  “Something else?” Baffled, Ambase said, “What are you implying?”

  “Think about it, Ring-Sol. The baby wasn’t piloting this pod. Someone put him in here, someone with technology that can’t be detected by our sensors. Perhaps that same someone was able to determine that the Malarian cruiser carried two Force users and deliberately sent this Force-sensitive baby to us.”