Chapter 7: Clan Ordo

The Blue Eagle punctured Dxun's thick atmosphere and entered almost immediately right into a heavy rain storm. Almost immediately the ship was pushed around by heavy turbulence. Zaalbar fought at the controls to keep the ship steady. Bastila looked through the cockpit's window and saw a thick soupy jungle with many marshes. She had heard tales about Dxun, most revolving around Meetra's and Revan's actions. Many Republic soldiers as well as Mandalorian soldiers had died fighting here in the last few bloody days of the Mandalorians war on the Republic. The force was clouded by a near impenetrable and almost suffocating darkness. Bastila centered herself and mentally forced the darkness out. Took keep her mind occupied she focused on aiding Zaalbar in landing the Blue Eagle.

After scanning the navigation screen Bastila spotted the landing area of Clan Ordo. Bastila pressed the pre-set communication button declaring a landing request. Even though it was directed towards Clan Ordo's landing center, Bastila saw a light come from an advance base about eight miles away from Ordo's base. A long way from Clan Ordo's base in a jungle filled with many creatures desiring any form of flesh.

"This is Dxun landing center. Nice to see you have returned Mr. Sothe. Unfortunately a strong storm has knocked out many of the landing pads at Clan Ordo's base, your premium landing dock being one of them." A deep voice stated over the sounds of turbulence inside the cockpit. Bastila realized they thought this ship was still owned by whoever it belonged to prior. She would have to remember to inform Carth later on. "However, your business partners have instructed I reserve one for you here at the forward base. They said you would pick up the tab."

"Do not say a word. Let us try to keep the element of surprise while we can." Bastila stated as she held her hand on the mute microphone button on the com. Mission and Zaalbar nodded in response. Bastila looked out over the view port and surveyed the small station. It was surrounded by deep forest and very dense trees. Rain partially obscured her view as it was very heavily coming down and the Blue Eagle's energy based windshield wipers had blown a capacitor causing the much older manual ones to kick in.

Zaalbar engaged the thrusters and touched the ship down on an empty landing area. The ship rocked slightly as the turbulence was a little less on the immediate surface. She hoped there would be no qualms with their choice of parking and her hopes were affirmed when the same voice said it would be arriving to pick up the required credits for the premium parking spot.

"The ensign and I will go to Mandalore's base. Mission perhaps in this downtime you and Zaalbar can take and fix many of the Blue Eagles problems, starting with the windshield wipers." Bastila said as she hit the pre-programmed button that alerted the Ensign to report to the center of the ship. "Williams, we will have to trek through Dxun's dense forests. Almost every creature out there is out to kill you. Prepare accordingly."

"Already ready to go ma'am." Williams replied as he hefted his gear onto his back. Inwardly he chuckled at Bastila's surprised face. She noticed he was also in a scouting armor, a long sniper rifle hung over his shoulder. "I kept track of our location. If you had checked my service record you would know I fought here beside many Jedi during the Mandalorian wars. Of course, I am to below you to deserve that kind of attention." He exclaimed, ribbing Bastila with his final statement. Yet, despite the joking, the ensign's body language said he was still at odds with himself over the fighting that occurred, but who could blame him? Bastila made a mental note to check on his service records later. It seems it would prove to be an interesting read.

The discussion ended there however as a credit hungry Mandalorian knocked on the outer hull of the ramp. Bastila pressed the ramp release button this time anticipating the half-way release. Instead of having to use the force however, the Mandalorian pulled the ramp the rest of the way down.

"Still haven't got that fixed yet eh, Mr. Sothe?" The Mandalorian said as he looked up. Any surprise he had towards Bastila and Ensign Williams was hidden by his helmet. "Where is Mr. Sothe?", the Mandalorian angrily demanded, "Is Mr. Javsh Sothe on board with you? Don't play tricks with me!"

"There is no Mr. Sothe on board. In fact, I do believe he skipped out on your deals since I bought this craft from a space merchant." Bastila said as she fished in her pocket for credits, taking advantage of the situation and also preventing an angry Mandalorian from fighting with them. "I do need a guide to clan Ordo's base though and I would be happy to pay." She flashed a hundred credit chip in front of his face as well as influencing him through the force. She felt into his mind, gauging his simple desires. Bastila cringed inwardly.

"Normally I would ask your business and direct you to someone who cares, but for some reason I am in the mood for helping today." The Mandalorian said as he greedily eyed the credit. Bastila held it out for the man to take, wondering if the force persuasion was even necessary. Even now she could hear herself hounding Revan in the past for pulling the same trick at many a docking port.

"How are we going to travel to Clan Ordo's camp?" Bastila inquired as they followed the Mandalorian to what appeared to be the entrance to a path on the edge of the clearing. The Mandalorian briefly looked away from his credit chip and at her before returning to his gaze to the credit in his hands. Nearly a month's worth of pay. He pocketed the chip and unslung his rifle bringing it to waist level.

"Seeing as you have yet to procure a speeder bike, I am going to assume that you don't have one. Also all of ours are currently in use. I do believe we will have to walk." The Mandalorian said as he stared ahead and kept walking. It really would not have mattered if he had bothered to look at them as he spoke, they could not see his face anyways. "I advise you stay close to me at all times. I know these forests better than anyone," he voiced arrogantly, "Despite the short distance of about eight miles, it will take about six hours to make it through the dense jungle. Keep on your feet and we might all make it there alive."

Ensign Williams, bringing up the rear, stared at the Mandalorian. If only he knew. This area was very familiar. Williams forced himself to focus, his personal bias mustn't get in the way of the mission.

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Bastila swatted at what felt to be the millionth insect to bite her in the last ten minutes. Next time I choose to go on a mission, I need to remember to buy clothes that breath. How did I even survive in these hot clothes? The heat was unbearable and caused her to sweat profusely. She felt drenched in an already dark and musty forest. This situation was only worsened by the heavy kit she was carrying. Reason being, Bastila figured they would be digging in for a while. Even with favors owed, nothing was every completely free. Despite her Jedi training, Bastila found it difficult to center herself in such a deplorable environment. After Bastila had her child, her exercise routine slackened. Anybody else would have admitted that they had let themselves go but Bastila who would only grudgingly accept that she was only slightly out of shape. Vaner must be missing me now. The thought came from nowhere and struck Bastila fast. She forced it out of her head just as quickly as it came and focused on other things instead.

Bastila was jealous of Ensign Williams who was moving silently over the forest floor. His body in shape and fit for duty, while she herself was not used to this much physical movement. On top of that, Williams fit right into the forest, his scout camouflage was dented yet functional aiding his ability to stay hidden from predators. Bastila's near orange clothing screamed for attention from every living creature with an eye. Mentally she made a promise to get back in shape and become more color neutral. Despite the situation, they kept trudging forward. The forest seemed endless and as if to exacerbate the issue, it started to rain again.

A chill ran through Bastila's spine, not from the rain but from the feeling that she was being watched. The entire time they had been walking, Bastila felt like she was being trailed. Instead of worrying the group, Bastila decided not to raise a warning. She tried to probe with the force, extending her sixth sense to her surroundings. The force, ever a two way road, showed only dark energy that attempted to push its way into her mind. Bastila quickly closed that door and picked up her pace realizing she had fallen behind Ensign Williams. His armor, a dark green, naturally blended in with the terrain giving him a slight advantage over the Mandalorians who chose silver metallic and dark red.

Ensign Williams turned around to see if Bastila was going to pick up the pace. Carth instructed him to keep Bastila alive to meet Revan again and Williams intended to see that happen. He realized Bastila hadn't kept up with her physical maintenance after she had run out of breath in the first mile. He decided to keep his mouth shut though as she did have a baby and must have sacrificed a lot to raise him. Williams holo-visor drew a circle in his field of vision alerting him to a moving animal behind Bastila. He held up a closed fist, bringing her to a stop.

Williams drew his blaster. Bastila mirrored Williams and drew her lightsaber. The Mandalorian kept walking unaware of the sudden stop. Williams didn't chance alerting him as his visor brought up the profile of the stalking creatures face. His heart skipped a beat as he saw the supposed monster : a Zakkeg. Large and lumbering, these creatures could move silently in a forest with such dense padding like the one they were in. Also, there skin was very thick even to a Jedi's blade. Many of his friends had lost their lives to these predatory animals. The Zakkeg's face snarled as it prepared to pounce on its prey.

Bastila saw the creature before she sensed it. The burly animal charged her, its thick feet making muffled thumps in the forest floor as it discarded stealth for speed. Barely having time to ignite her lightsaber, she rolled to the side as it pounced in her direction. The forest floor was wet however and instead of bouncing to her feet, she slid. She quickly got to her feet and ran head first toward the Zakkeg. Right before the Zakkeg she jumped, aided by the force, over the creatures head. She landed on its back. Her lightsaber slashed down. Bright yellow met with a dull brown only to be deflected. Much to Bastila's surprise, her lightsaber didn't even pierce the skin and was instead pushed to the side. Bastila, back flipped off, landing right in front of the beast.

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Williams had already pulled his blaster-rifle up, flicking away the long range scope for the appropriate red dot reticle. There was no firing solution however as Bastila blocked his shot on the large extremely large Zakkeg. Despite its size, it had managed to maneuver itself head-on in Williams direction. Bastila would be in the center of his reticle if he fired at the creature. Every way she moved, the Zakkeg kept her between William and itself. The only way his troop ever killed a Zakkeg was by lobbing a grenade down its throat. William discarded his rifle, unclipping one of his grenades from his scouts vest. He hoped his plan would work.

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Bastila dodged swipe after swipe from the creature's massive paws. It reared up on its hind legs and let out a roar. Already tired from dodging the creature and throwing punches of her own, Bastila made a final, force aided, stab at its chest. She was rewarded with a small puncture and being thrown off balance as she pulled her blade from the thick hide. She failed to see the thick paw that collided with her shoulder, tearing flesh and throwing her against a tree. Her head collided with the thick trunk as her gaze turned hazy. Through half closed eyes she watched in amazement as Williams jumped on the creatures back, still on its hind legs, and lobbed a grenade down its throat. The creature nearly took Williams hand as it attempted to bite Williams and regurgitate the grenade at the same time.

Williams jumped off and ran to cover Bastila. His scouts armor had enhanced shields that would protect both of them from the minor explosion. Already in a crumpled position, Ensign Williams found her easy to shield, his broad shoulders coming in handy for once. He felt the explosion. It was mostly absorbed by the thick armor of the Zakkeg, however some pieces still went flying. The Mandalorian that had guided them was nowhere to be found and Williams wasn't going to chase him down. He started to apply first aid to the Bastila's wounds.

Bastila started to pass out, her body in agony from a torn up and dislocated shoulder and concussion. The tree she had landed on seemed to supply her with a bed of moss, Best place to pass out if any, she thought as she nearly missed the muffled boom and Zakkeg guts that seemed mixed with the rain.

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Gabel realized his situation was not improving. Somehow they had realized Revan had figured out how to force the drugs out of his system, a technique Gabel had finally been instructed in through telekinesis. Their drugs had been switched to a more painful one that reduce sleep to mere hours and while able to be cleansed from the system burned much worse upon reentry than if it was already in the blood.

Revan still talked to whoever and had yet to tell him who he was talking to. Gabel had become very worried about Revans mental state. At least Revan hadn't conversed in what felt like a very long time with his imaginary friend. There was no way to gauge time however and what felt like days could really be minutes. They both had lost track of night and day and lights were always on in the cell.

Gabel started to drift off to sleep, the drugs burning inside him. This was all about to change though. He and Revan would soon escape.

To all my readers, thanks for getting this far. I appreciate it. I also know I probably made 101 grammar mistakes, but I am working on that. So enjoy the story, I hope it is what you hoped it to be.