Star Wars Invasion: Episode III, Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

  Much to Kyle's relief, the city of Ahto was indeed still intact, stationed in the middle of Manaan's vast, oceanic surface. And according to the ship's scanners, it was still populated. The only problem was, no one was answering the ship's hailing beacon.

  "This is Rogue Shadow to Ahto City," Arek said for the third time, using a name for the ship found in its very few accessible computer files. "We are requesting for a port to land in. Do you copy?"

  Still no reply, not even a blast of static to signify that something was interfering with the broadcast. Plus, Arek had had Reeda and Jasel check the communications array on the ship at least five times, making sure it was working.

  "Look, if you want us to leave, that's fine," Arek went on. "I was never practically that fond of Manaan. Seasickness, you know."

  Still, nothing but silence. Arek turned to Kyle and frowned. "It's no use. Either their comm systems are down, or the Selkath aren't in a social mood."

  "Find us a place to land in the city anyway," the Jedi Master replied. "If there's people there like the scanners say, then they obviously had to have gotten there somehow."

  "Unless they're all Selkath," Jasel pointed out. 

  "But then, why make a surface city?" Reeda asked. "The Selkath are amphibious, aren't they?"

  Kyle nodded. "I believe so. Which means there are likely species other than Selkath in the city."

  "Including Glorians, I'll bet," Arek muttered.

  Kyle smirked. "Well, of course. Why else did we go all the way to the Inner Rim for?"

  Arek shrugged. "Get ourselves killed, I suppose."

  The Rogue Shadow made its way down towards Ahto City, which, from above, appeared in the shape of a flat, circular shell. The ship descended onto one of the city's many landing zones which, to Kyle's surprise, was not being supervised by a dock officer.

  "Can anyone explain why I'm weirded out by the fact that landing here is free?" Arek asked. No one chose to answer him.

  Once the Rogue Shadow had landed, Kyle, Arek, Commander Jokar, Reeda, Jasel, and Tahiri Veila walked down the boarding ramp to find not only the spaceport but the entire city itself desolate. Kyle gazed at the lifeless scenery before him, staring at the silvery buildings and facilities that made up the city, looking as if they had been polished rather recently.

  After a moment, he turned to Arek and said, "Are you certain that the scanners said the city was populated?"

  "If I wasn't, I probably would've only tried hailing them once instead of three times," the pilot replied. "Unless the blasted thing is broken, this place should be swelling with people."

  "Maybe they're all hiding," Reeda muttered, looking around the city. "Don't ask me why they would be doing that..."

  "Only one way to find out." Kyle gestured for Arek and the others to follow him. Lining up in a single file, the four troopers and Tahiri followed the Jedi Master into Ahto City, readying their weapons in case the Glorians gave them an unpleasant welcome.

*  *  *

  From the view of Wallen's GA-class light freighter, the world of Christophsis appeared as a crystalline sphere in green-blue colors. Scattered across the planet's jagged surface, Wallen could make out the cites of various cities, giving it a surface pattern not unlike Coruscant's.

  As he drew closer to Christophsis, his ship's comm radio buzzed and the gruff voice of a Kerkoiden spoke through. "Alliance ship SJ7, speak your business."

  "This is Captain Wallen Nix of GA Security and Intelligence. We're on officially classified Alliance business."

  "Does it have anything to do with Senator Ulur's negotiations?" the Kerkoiden asked. "Lord Creno told the Senate that he wished to negotiate in private, with no one else supporting Ulur."

  "I can assure you that this has nothing to do with the negotiations at all," Wallen said. "We simply wishes to speak with Senator Ulur once he's done."

  The Kerkoiden responded with a low grunt. "Fine. You may land at docking bay 228, on the outskirts of Crystal City. You'll have to get there by foot. If you're fast enough, you might be able to reach Senator Ulur in time."

  Typical, Wallen said to himself. Aloud to the speaker, he said, "All right. Thanks for your permission."

  Powering up the engine, he flew the ship towards Christophsis, entering the atmosphere and passing through the low dark clouds. Below, he could see the planet's crystalline terrain and the many tall, jagged, crystal-like buildings that made up its large cities. Eventually, he found a small, lone spaceport located on the edge of Christophsis' capital city, Chaleydonia, which was more commonly called Crystal City by off-worlders.

  Once the ship had landed in Docking Bay 228, and after Wallen had paid the Rodian dock officer, he and Xemer began waling towards the city, moving as quickly and swiftly as possible.

  "I guess the Christophsians care about their visitors' physical fitness," Xemer said with a chuckle.

  Wallen smirked. "Are you kidding? The Christophsians live under an oligarchy government, where they care only about wealth. If someone on this planet, visitor or otherwise, isn't wealthy or can benefit the Christophsians in any way, they couldn't care less about them."

  "I see," Xemer muttered. "Well, if that's the case, why is the Senate even bothering in trying to get Christophsis to join the Alliance?"

  Before Wallen could answer, a loud boom sounded from the city and the ground shook beneath their feet. Up ahead, Wallen could see one of Crystal City's many tall buildings on fire. Given that it was located in the city's center, and given the odds, he had a gut feeling that Senator Ulur and Lord Creno's negotiations were taking place there.

  As he and Xemer quickened their pace to running speed, Wallen heard his Kel Dor partner say, "I'm going to guess negotiation didn't go very well."

  Even while running, Wallen managed to give him a dirty look. "I wouldn't joke about something like this, especially around Christophsians."

  "Who said I was joking?"

  Just as the two of them finally reached the city, the ground shook again with another resonated boom. Christophsians, Rodians, and Kerkoidens ran for safety as large pieces of the central building broke apart and fell to the ground. Ducking for cover, Wallen crouched behind a fallen statue in order to get a good look at what was happening. 

  From what he could tell, there was a large gap in the central building, allowing him to see into what appeared to be a meeting room. Squinting his eyes over the glare of Christophsis' sun, he could make out the figure of what appeared to be a cowering Rodian, which he realized was Senator Moog Ulur himself.

  Standing before the Senator however, was a tall, armored being of a species Wallen did not recognize and could not describe. The sun's light reflected off of their silvery armor, giving the being a bright aura glowing around them, making it hard for Wallen to distinguish any features.

  Before he could comprehend what was going on, or before he could think of how to save Ulur, the strange being spoke, loud enough for the entire city to hear.

  "The negotiations are over."

  And with that, he made a small gesture with his hand, and the Rodian senator was sent plummeting to the ground thirteen feet below...