CHAPTER SIX
By the time Toah and the others returned to Tuanul, with Unkar Plutt and his thugs in tow, the sun had already begun to set. Much to the surprise of the Jedi and their Resistance allies, Unkar and his gang were rather quick to get to work, with the Crolute junk boss barking out orders as Bar'derro and the others set about scouring the sands for the map. Chek Urhed provided everyone with tools to help them in their search and within less than a hour, they had already dug up a good percentage of the village.
“Credit where it’s due,” Poe Dameron said to the masked thug he was working with. “You guys have a pretty admirable work ethic.”
“Shut up and keep digging,” was all the thug would say to him.
The rest of the search carried on in silence, save for the gruff commands of Unkar Plutt. As the sun started to disappear behind the horizon and the sky began to darken, Poe and his teammates brought out tools that would help them see in the dark. Despite this, however, Unkar seemed to be growing more anxious by the minute as he glanced furtively between the setting sun and the work site.
“Can’t you guys work any faster?” he growled.
“I doubt working faster will turn up the map any quicker,” said Toah Jarsan. “Especially since we’re not even sure if its here.”
“It has to be here! Otherwise, we’re just wasting our time!”
“Relax,” said Snap Wexley, wiping sweat away from his brow. “The desert will still be there tomorrow. I say we take a break for now and wait until—”
“No!” Unkar bellowed, causing everyone to stop and look at him. “We can’t stop now! We must keep looking!”
“Somebody sounds eager,” remarked Poe. “I didn’t think you guys wanted the map that bad….”
Unkar did not respond to him, continuing to look towards the horizon. By this point, the sun had completely vanished, plunging the village of Tuanul into the dark of night. The Crolute’s breathing became more erratic as he turned back to his thugs and resumed barking orders at them, which they hastily complied. Toah and the others watched them oddly before returning to the task at hand.
No sooner had they resumed working when Toah saw Rey suddenly stop and perk up, her hazel eyes widening. Frowning, Toah set down his digging tools and walked over to her. Master Nira Maren paused as well, looking on in concern.
“Is everything all right?” Toah asked quietly.
“I… I thought I sensed something.” Rey turned her head to look in the direction of the starship graveyard that took up much of Jakku’s desert. “Something approaching us. Didn’t you feel it?”
Toah shook his head. “I didn’t sense anything. Then again, you are more attune to this world than either me or Master Maren. Perhaps….”
He paused, his words trailing off as his eyebrows came together in consternation. At the same time, Nira Maren shifted, her green hand drifting towards the lightsaber hilt hanging from her belt. Toah and Rey mimicked her, dropping their digging tools and replacing them with their lightsabers.
“Never mind,” Toah murmured. “I can sense it now.”
“What’s going on?” asked Poe. “What are you guys—”
“Whoa, hey!”
The exclamation came from Snap Wexley and everyone turned to see Unkar Plutt pointing a blaster at him. Finn and Jessika quickly dropped their tools and drew their own weapons while the thugs did the same, pointing them at the Resistance operatives.
“The hell do you think you’re doing?” Poe snapped, leveling his blaster at Unkar.
“I’m sorry,” the Crolute said, though Toah wasn’t sure if it was a genuine apology. “I didn’t realize the deadline would be so soon. Maybe I can buy myself some time by framing you… but I’m not holding my breath.”
“You’re not buying yourself time either by turning on us,” Poe said. “Drop the weapon, now. Same goes for all your goons.”
Unkar did not budge, keeping his blaster aimed at Snap’s head. His arm shook as he wrapped a pudgy finger around the trigger, beads of sweat dripping down his bloated face..
Toah took a step forward. “There’s no need for this, Unkar,” he said calmly. “We can sort this out. I can sense that there’s something troubling you. Talk to us and maybe we can—”
“No,” Unkar croaked. “It’s too late for that. Too late for all of us. He’s here now.”
“Who’s here?”
Before the Crolute could answer him, a small dart whistled through the air and struck Unkar right in the neck. The junk boss let out a small gasp and he dropped his blaster before falling to the ground himself, foaming at the mouth. Toah rushed over to the Crolute but there was no point in doing so; by the time he knelt by his side, Unkar Plutt was already dead.
“Master!” Rey cried out as more saberdarts zipped through the air, striking their targets with sharp precision. One by one, Bar'derro and the other thugs dropped to the ground, meeting the same fate as their boss. Toah, Rey, and Nira all ignited their lightsabers while Poe, Finn, Snap, and Jessika raised their blasters, pointing them aimlessly as they tried to determine which the direction the toxic darts had come from.
“I’m sorry, but those are all the ones I brought with me today,” a voice spoke out, coming from all directions. “Don’t worry, though. I don’t need any of you dead quite yet.”
“Show yourself,” Nira Maren called out, raising her emerald blade. “Who are you and what is your business here?”
As she said this, a figure suddenly emerged from the sands. Clad in an old, worn jumpsuit and a metal chestplate, the figure wore a fearsome mask that concealed his true features, though its eye slits had a yellow glow to them, not unlike that of a droid’s photoreceptors. As he straightened up, grains of sand pouring down from his body. The Jedi and their allies immediately turned to face him, weapons drawn, but the stranger made no move to attack them, instead staring at the eight of them from the narrow slits of his mask.
“I take it that you’re searching for the map as well,” the masked stranger said. “Tell me, just what exactly is your interest in it?”
Toah exchanged uncertain glances with the others before speaking. “From what we understand, the map leads to a Jedi Temple that has been lost to history. Naturally, as Jedi ourselves, we are rather keen on finding this Temple.”
“Jedi, huh? Should have guessed from the lightsabers.” A momentary pause followed, before the stranger resumed speaking. “You’re Toah Jarsan, aren’t you?”
Toah raised an eyebrow. “Have we met before?”
“No, but I’ve heard of you. As the Jedi who defeated Darth Vorath, it would be hard not to.” The stranger tilted his head. “Though I must admit, you’re not much one for publicity, are you? With people like the Skywalkers and Solos, you’re always hearing about them. The HoloNet practically explodes when they find out what one of them had for breakfast. But you? I don’t think you’ve done anything of note in the past sixteen years. Please, correct me if I’m wrong.”
“I guess I’m just a simple man trying to make my way through the universe,” Toah muttered. “But since you know who I am, mind telling us who you are?”
“They call me Ochi of Bestoon,” the masked stranger said. “I’ll forgive you if you’ve never heard of me. Most people don’t live long enough to tell the tale.”
Toah sensed a strange ripple through the Force and he glanced over at Rey. His apprentice was staring at Ochi with wide eyes, the pace of her breathing increasing as she tightened her grip on her saber.
Ochi inclined his head towards her. “You’ve grown since the last time I saw you. How long has it been, again? Twenty years, I’d say, give or take.”
“Rey, do you know this man?” Toah asked quietly.
She shook her head. “No. At least, I don’t think so. Yet somehow… somehow he feels familiar.”
“We can catch up later.” Ochi returned his attention to Toah. “Look, I don’t see a need for us to be enemies. If you’re looking for the map as well, then maybe we can help each other out.”
“You expect us to trust you after you just killed all these guys?” said Finn, gesturing to the bodies of Unkar Plutt and his thugs.
“Unkar Plutt wasn’t the trustworthy sort,” Ochi replied. “He was only looking out for himself and would have surely turned on me if he got the chance. You, however… you Jedi aren’t the type to betray people. At least, most of you aren’t.”
“Not all of us are Jedi,” said Poe. “Just to let you know.”
“I am aware. Still, I don’t think the Jedi would work with you if they didn’t already trust you. Which is why you’re still standing and Unkar Plutt isn’t.”
More glances were exchanged. This time, it was Chek Urhed who first spoke up.
“What is your interest in the map?” the Abednedo priest asked.
“It’s obvious, surely,” Ochi said. “A map leading to the first Jedi Temple? Provided it’s legitimate, I could make a fortune off of something like that. Curators from Bar’leth and Braglon would be climbing over themselves to get their grubby hands on it.”
“You’re an archaeologist, then?” asked Nira.
Ochi hesitated briefly, but long enough for the eagle-eyed Jedi to notice. “You could put it like that.”
“I don’t know of any archaeologists that are comfortable with murdering people,” muttered Jessika Pava, glancing at Unkar Plutt’s corpse.
“You must not know that many archaeologists then,” Ochi retorted. “Besides, I saved you, didn’t I? If I hadn’t interfered, at least one of you would most likely be dead.”
“So what’s your offer, then?” asked Snap. “You help us find the map and we help you make a profit?”
Ochi pointed a finger at him. “Bang. Got it in one. Don’t worry, though; I don’t have much interest in the Jedi Temple itself, so once you find it, I won’t go blabbing its location to everyone else.”
Toah did not believe that last bit for a moment, nor did he think anyone else did. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this Ochi person could be of possible use to them, especially if he knew something about Rey who was a mystery to Toah and everyone else that he knew of.
After a moment of silent deliberation, Toah shut off his lightsaber with Nira following suit. Rey was the last to do so, giving her master an odd look which was shared by Poe, Finn, and the others.
“We’re really doing this, aren’t we?” Poe muttered as he reluctantly lowered his blaster.
“At this point, we could use any help we can get,” Toah replied. To Ochi, whom he was still eying carefully, he asked, “I don’t suppose you have any idea where this map could be buried?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t have been wasting my time with people like that Crolute, would I?” Ochi replied.
Toah sighed in resignation. “We’ll have to wait until sunrise then. It’s too dark to be looking for anything at this point.”
“There’s no need for that.”
Everyone stopped to look over at Chek Urhed. The Abednedo priest hung his head, looking as if he was ashamed of what he was about to stay.
“I know where the map is,” he said quietly.
“What?” Poe exclaimed. “You knew this whole time? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I wasn’t certain if you could be trusted. I knew Nira, of course, but I had not seen her in so long. I had to be sure of your intentions regarding the map before I confessed the truth. My apologies for the deception, but it was for the greater good.”
“Do you trust this guy, though?” Snap asked, pointing a thumb at Ochi. “Because so far, he hasn’t given us any reason to do so.”
Chek lifted his gaze to the masked warrior, eying Ochi of Bestoon carefully. “He has given me reason enough to tell the truth,” the Abednedo finally said.
When Chek did not provide further elaboration, Toah chose then to speak. “Is the map not on Jakku then?”
“No. It is off-world. Lor San Tekka gave it to me before I left on my sabbatical and I hid it on one of the planets I visited in my journey.”
“Christophsis?” asked Nira, recalling the world from their earlier conversations.
He shook his head. “No. Another world out in the Outer Rim, near Mon Cala.”
“Do you have a name?” Ochi pressed, not hiding his impatience.
Chek glared at him. “I do, but if I gave it to you now, you would likely kill us all here and now and leave for the planet yourself.”
Ochi bristled at this but made no further objections. Turning to the Abednedo, Toah said, “Will you lead us there?”
“I will,” Chek said with a nod. “My ship should be large enough for—”
“No,” Ochi interjected. “We’re taking my ship.”
Poe stepped forward. “We have a ship of our own, plus a few X-wings. We don’t need your ship.”
“I refuse to be a tag-along on anyone else’s—”
“Enough.” Toah stepped in between them. “There’s not much sense in leaving anyone’s ship behind. Rey and I will accompany Ochi on his ship. Chek will take his, Nira and Finn will take ours, and Poe, Snap, and Jessika will take their X-wings. We’ll all follow Chek to whatever this planet is.”
Nira gave him a look. “Are you certain this is wise?”
“Not really,” he admitted. “But I think it’s the best way to not make anyone too upset.”
“Fine by me,” said Poe. The others gave their own words of agreement, with Ochi’s sounding the most reluctant.
“It’s settled then,” Toah said. “We leave now.”
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