"It was not my fault."
R3-T9 released a series of electronic tones from behind the cockpit.
Khan looked at the stars beyond the forward viewport. "Well, how was I supposed to know a Jedi Master would be there?"
The astromech answered with several quick beeps followed by a long descending tone.
Khan's expression remained still. "That is not what happened."
R3 repeated the final tone.
"All right." Khan adjusted one of the controls. "It was my fault."
The droid answered immediately.
"There is no need to sound pleased about it."
R3-T9 made no attempt to hide his satisfaction.
The modified Delta-7 moved through the darkness beyond Serenno. The vessel no longer possessed the clean design it had carried when Khan first left Coruscant. Four years of travel had changed it. Dark plating covered damaged sections of the frame. Several original components had been replaced with parts taken from other starfighters. Its markings had faded beneath weather, repairs, and long journeys through systems where the symbol of the Jedi Order attracted more suspicion than trust. The greatest alteration rested behind the cockpit. Khan no longer required a hyperspace ring. A compact hyperdrive had been installed beneath the rear plating, reducing some of the fighter's speed but allowing it to enter hyperspace without depending upon anything waiting in orbit. It had been a difficult modification.
R3-T9 still reminded Khan that the first attempt had nearly destroyed them. Khan opened the navigation records. "We should look into our next source. After what happened, Serenno will not be as easy to enter again."
R3 released a questioning tone. "The Count will increase security. The Jedi will begin searching for the Delta-7. And the masked Sith now knows someone else is following the same trail."
The memory returned. The smooth mask. The red blade. The precise movements. The presence within the Force. Khan had encountered darkness many times during his travels. Cultists. Force-sensitive mercenaries. Artifacts carrying impressions of those who once possessed them. None had felt like the man on Serenno. The masked warrior had been alive. Powerful. Trained. A true Sith.
For four years, Khan had searched for evidence that could lead him to the one who killed Dooku. Most trails ended in abandoned sanctuaries, dead intermediaries, or records destroyed before he arrived. Serenno had been different. A Sith had appeared personally to ensure the information never escaped. Khan had been close. Then a Master Jedi arrived.
R3 gave another series of tones.
"No. I do not blame her." Khan examined the possible destinations displayed before him.
"She was doing what she believed was right."
The droid chirped.
"Yes. It was still inconvenient."
R3 agreed.
Khan moved one of the locations to the center of the display. "Felucia." The planet appeared above the navigation controls. "This is the final world our network identified as a possible source of the disturbances."
The network had not begun as anything organized. A mechanic Khan helped on Ylesia sent him information about unusual repairs requested by an unnamed transport. A group of miners on Vanqor warned him when armed vessels began using routes abandoned by the Republic. Freighter captains, settlers, refugees, and former slaves remembered Khan the Jedi who appeared when no one else came.
Some offered credits. Khan would refuse to him, information was more valuable. Over time, hundreds of separate connections became a network stretching across the Outer Rim. Most reports meant nothing. Some revealed pirates or smugglers. Others pointed toward suffering the Republic had failed to notice.
A small number carried traces of something else. Ships traveling without registered destinations. Cargo purchased through companies that existed only upon Senate records. Entire routes altered to move supplies into unexplored systems.
Khan had followed those reports from one world to another. They had eventually led him to Serenno. Felucia was the last location provided by the same pattern.
"The Commerce Guild began changing its shipping routes several months ago," Khan continued. "More vessels are passing through their Outer Rim network than their records can explain."
R3-T9 whistled.
"I do not know what they are carrying."
Another tone followed.
"That is why we are going to steal their manifests."
R3 responded more loudly.
"Borrow."
The droid continued.
"Investigate."
R3 released one short beep.
Khan looked back toward him. "Now you are just being difficult."
R3's dome rotated away.
Khan entered the coordinates. "We will discover what the Sith are moving and where they are sending it."
The navigation computer confirmed the route. Khan rested one hand against the hyperspace controls. "Ready?"
R3-T9 answered.
Khan activated the hyperdrive. The stars stretched across the cockpit. The Delta-7 disappeared into hyperspace.
Felucia filled the viewport. Clouds moved across the planet's surface, partially concealing forests large enough to be seen from orbit. Colors passed beneath the atmosphere in enormous patterns. Reds, blues, yellows, and deep shades of violet spread across the continents.
Several Commerce Guild vessels occupied the space surrounding the planet. Cargo transports moved between orbital stations while smaller security craft followed fixed patrol routes. Sensor platforms monitored the primary approaches.
The Delta-7 emerged far beyond them. Khan reduced the engines. "Activate the masking system."
R3-T9 connected with the fighter. The lights inside the cockpit dimmed. A low vibration moved through the frame as the modified systems came alive. The vessel did not become invisible. Light still reflected from its dark hull, and anyone who looked directly toward it would see the starfighter. Its sensor signature was another matter.
The masking system disrupted active scans, altered the Delta-7's transponder, and scattered enough false readings to make the small craft appear as little more than debris moving through Felucia's orbit.
Khan guided the ship toward the planet. One of the Commerce Guild patrols passed several kilometers away. Its sensors moved across the Delta-7. No warning followed. Khan continued toward the atmosphere.
Heat moved across the forward plating as the starfighter descended through the clouds. The endless fungal forests of Felucia appeared below. Towering plants rose from the jungle. Their enormous caps extended above the canopy while smaller forms gathered beneath them in layers of shifting color. Spores filled the air like drifting snow.
R3 displayed the Commerce Guild's controlled territory. A fortified agricultural station rested several kilometers from one of the largest nysillin fields. Landing platforms extended from its walls, allowing transports to receive processed crops before carrying them into orbit.
Khan avoided it. He followed the deeper valleys until the jungle concealed the Delta-7 from every visible tower.
R3 identified a narrow clearing between several enormous fungal trunks. Khan lowered the starfighter. The landing struts pressed into soft ground. The engines became quiet.
Khan opened the cockpit. Warm air entered the vessel. The scent of moisture, spores, and growing vegetation surrounded him. He removed the cloak folded beside his seat and pulled it across his shoulders. Dark clothing covered the rest of his body. Reinforced sections protected his chest and arms without restricting his movement. Nothing he wore resembled the robes of the Jedi Temple.
Years had changed more than his starfighter. The sixteen-year-old Knight who left Coruscant would have entered the station searching for a way to avoid every confrontation.
Khan still preferred not to be seen. But he no longer feared what would happen if he was. He climbed from the cockpit and dropped to the ground.
R3-T9's dome rotated toward him.
"Keep the ship ready," Khan said. "I may need a quick escape."
The droid answered with an uncertain whistle.
"I will signal before that happens."
R3 released several skeptical tones.
"Yes. This time."
Khan looked toward the distant lights moving between the jungle growth.
"I promise."
The droid did not appear convinced.
Khan pulled his hood over his head and entered the forest. The Commerce Guild station remained several kilometers away. He moved quickly. Roots thicker than his body crossed the ground. Translucent plants folded away from his steps while small creatures disappeared beneath the surrounding growth.
Khan reached toward the Force. Felucia answered immediately. Life surrounded him. Every plant. Every creature. Every breath taken beneath the enormous canopy. The Force moved through the world with an intensity few planets possessed. It could have overwhelmed someone unprepared for it.
Khan allowed it to pass through him. His awareness spread beyond his body. He felt guards moving along distant paths. Wild creatures resting beneath the soil. Droids crossing the station's outer platforms. He also felt the darker impressions left by fear, exploitation, and violence.
The Commerce Guild had transformed part of Felucia into a source of profit. Nysillin grew throughout the surrounding fields, cultivated for its medicinal properties before being processed and shipped across the galaxy.
The crops did not interest Khan. The vessels did. Several months earlier, the Commerce Guild had begun allowing more transports through its routes. Official records described increased agricultural shipments, but the numbers did not agree.
More vessels arrived than the Felucian stations could fill. Some departed without declaring cargo. Others continued beyond established trade routes and disappeared into parts of the Outer Rim where the Guild possessed no recognized holdings.
Someone was using the Commerce Guild's network. Khan intended to learn who. The forest began to thin. He lowered himself behind the curved root of a massive plant.
The station waited ahead. Metal walls cut through the living landscape. Searchlights moved across the ground while guards watched the paths leading from the fields. Cargo platforms extended from the higher sections, and heavy doors allowed harvesting transports to enter through the fortified exterior.Workers crossed between processing buildings. Armed Guild guards stood near the entrances. Droids patrolled the walls.
Khan closed his eyes. His presence within the Force became smaller. He drew it inward until the light surrounding his life seemed to disappear among the millions of other living things covering Felucia. Then he reached toward the guards. He did not control their thoughts. He guided their attention. Their eyes moved toward distant sounds. Their minds accepted the empty spaces between the lights. Unless someone looked directly at him, they would find no reason to believe anyone was there.
Khan stepped from behind the root. A searchlight passed across the path ahead. He waited. When it moved away, he crossed the open ground. Two guards spoke near the lower entrance. Khan passed within several meters of them. Neither turned. He reached the wall. The metal surface rose far above him. Khan lowered one hand. The Force gathered beneath his body. He jumped. The ground disappeared below him. His boots touched the upper wall without making a sound. Khan moved before the nearest security droid completed its turn. He crossed the top of the wall, dropped behind a storage container, and waited.
The darkened sky helped conceal him. Felucia's enormous plants blocked much of the remaining light, leaving deep shadows across the station. Khan followed them.Guards moved through the corridors between buildings. He advanced only when their attention shifted. Every movement carried purpose. No wasted steps. No unnecessary confrontation. He passed processing rooms filled with nysillin. Workers operated the machinery beneath the observation of Guild supervisors. Khan could feel their exhaustion without needing to see their faces.
He continued. The control center stood near the eastern side of the station. Communications equipment covered its roof, while protected data lines connected it to the cargo platforms and orbital traffic network. Two machines guarded the only visible entrance. Their four mechanical legs held rounded armored bodies above the ground. A blaster cannon extended from the front of each frame while the exposed photoreceptors moved constantly across the surrounding area.
DSD1 dwarf spider droids. Khan watched from the roof of a nearby structure. The Commerce Guild did not use machines like these to protect ordinary crop reports. That made his information more valuable. It also meant the control room possessed other defenses. Khan reached beneath his cloak and activated his communicator. A signal passed through the jungle.
R3-T9 answered.
"Prepare the ship."
The astromech released a worried series of tones.
"I found the control room."
R3 replied.
"Yes. I know that was fast."
The droid answered again.
"I intend to be faster."
Khan ended the transmission.
He looked toward the nearest security camera. The Force closed around it. The lens cracked. Metal folded inward. Khan turned his attention toward the others. One after another, the cameras collapsed. An operator somewhere inside the station would notice within seconds.
Khan dropped from the roof. His boots touched the ground between the two spider droids. Their photoreceptors turned. Weapons rose. Khan continued walking toward the door. Both cannons began to charge. He raised one hand. The Force closed around the first droid. Its armored shell bent inward. The legs tore free from the ground as the entire machine collapsed into itself. Khan moved his fingers. The second droid suffered the same fate. Metal struck the ground behind him. Khan did not look back.
The control-room doors were locked. He extended both hands. The metal entrance shook. Internal mechanisms resisted him. Khan stepped forward. The doors tore apart and folded into the walls. Several Guild workers turned from the surrounding consoles. A security officer reached for the blaster at his side.
Khan released a wave through the Force. The pressure crossed the room. The officer struck the floor before drawing his weapon. Workers collapsed across their stations or fell unconscious against their seats.
Khan entered. No one had been killed. He approached the central console. The alarm had not yet begun. That would change soon. Khan removed a small data cylinder and connected it to the station. Security blocked the first attempt. He bypassed it. Cargo manifests appeared across the display. Thousands of shipments moved through the station each month. Nysillin. Medical cultures. Processed spores. Equipment brought in to support the fields.
Khan began copying everything. A warning appeared across one side of the console. The destroyed cameras had been detected. "Come on." The data cylinder continued filling. Khan searched the manifests while the transfer progressed. Most routes led toward recognized Commerce Guild worlds. Several did not. They had been concealed beneath ordinary crop shipments. The same transport identification appeared across multiple records, entering Felucia without cargo before departing with quantities the station's agricultural reports never listed.
Khan opened one of the files. A specific Felucian plant had been separated from the normal nysillin harvest. Living samples. Root systems. Pollen. Processed compounds. Each shipment traveled under a different commercial designation. All of them reached the same location. Khan attempted to open the destination. The records contained no planetary name. Only coordinates beyond recognized trade lanes.Khan's attention sharpened. "There you are."
Blaster fire struck the damaged entrance. Khan turned. More dwarf spider droids had gathered outside. Red bolts crossed the room. Khan raised one hand. The broken doors tore free from the walls and slammed together across the entrance.
Blaster fire struck the metal from the other side. The transfer continued. Seventy-three percent. More impacts shook the doors. Khan returned to the console and isolated the hidden shipments. The plants alone did not explain why the Sith cared about Serenno's records, but the routes matched the unexplained movement his network had detected.
Eighty-six percent. The metal barrier began to glow beneath the droids' fire. Khan copied the coordinates into a separate file. Ninety-four percent. One of the doors bent inward. The first blaster bolt passed through. The data cylinder completed its transfer. Khan pulled it free.
The doors exploded into the room. Khan moved aside as metal passed him. The spider droids advanced through the opening. He could not return through the station without allowing them to surround him.
That left another direction. Khan faced the outer wall. He gathered the Force. The air inside the control room pressed toward him. Loose objects lifted from the floor. Consoles shook beneath the pressure. Khan thrust both hands forward.
The wall broke. Metal erupted into the night. A wide opening appeared above the outer fields. Alarms spread through the entire station. Red lights began flashing across every structure.
Khan ran. He jumped through the opening as blaster fire crossed behind him. The ground waited several levels below. Khan landed against the side of a processing building, pushed away, and dropped onto a lower platform.
Dwarf spider droids turned toward him. Their cannons fired. Khan moved between the bolts. One passed close enough to burn the edge of his cloak.
He extended his hand. Power gathered across his fingers. Light-blue lightning crossed the platform. The first arcs struck a spider droid. Its photoreceptor shattered. Electricity spread across its frame before passing into the machine beside it. Both droids collapsed as their internal systems burned apart.
Khan closed his hand. The lightning disappeared. More security droids emerged from the lower buildings. Guards appeared behind them. Khan could sense others moving along the walls, attempting to block every path leading into the jungle. He activated his communicator. "R3."
The droid answered through the speaker.
"Now would be an excellent time."
An engine awakened somewhere beyond the station. Khan almost smiled. The guards raised their rifles. He lowered himself slightly. The Force gathered around him. Not anger. Not hatred. Purpose. Khan released it.
The shockwave spread across the platform. Droids lifted from the ground. Several struck the surrounding walls hard enough to break apart. Others rolled across the metal surface as their legs folded beneath them.
The guards were thrown backward. Weapons left their hands. Those closest to Khan lost consciousness before striking the ground. Those farther away remained stunned and unable to rise.
The sound of the approaching engine grew louder. The Delta-7 passed above the outer wall. R3-T9 guided the starfighter between two enormous fungal growths and toward the station. Blaster fire followed the vessel, but its small frame moved too quickly for the defensive cannons to track.
The cockpit opened. Khan ran toward the edge of the platform. The starfighter passed below him. He jumped. For several seconds, nothing waited beneath his feet. Then the Delta-7 rose. Khan landed against the open cockpit, caught the edge, and lowered himself into the seat.
The canopy began closing. R3-T9 released an angry series of tones.
"I warned you."
The droid continued.
"I said I might need a quick escape."
R3 whistled sharply.
Khan secured himself as blaster fire passed around the starfighter. "You knew what I meant."
The Delta-7 turned away from the station. R3 transferred control back to him. Khan placed his hands against the controls and accelerated. The starfighter passed over the fields. Commerce Guild fighters had begun powering up upon the distant landing platforms. Khan activated the masking system. The Delta-7 descended into the fungal forest. Enormous plants passed on either side of the cockpit as he followed the valleys away from the station. The Guild's sensors attempted to follow. False signatures separated in every direction. Khan remained low until the base disappeared behind the jungle. Only then did he begin climbing toward Felucia's atmosphere.
R3-T9 gave a questioning tone.
Khan removed the stolen data cylinder and connected it to the fighter. The hidden manifests appeared across the navigation display. Every unusual shipment led to the same unidentified coordinates. "We found what we needed."
R3 replied.
"No, I do not know what they are building."
The droid made another sound.
"I do not know why they need living Felucian plants either."
Khan looked toward the coordinates. "But someone hid these shipments inside the Commerce Guild's routes."
He remembered the Sith destroying the data on Serenno. One trail had ended. Another had begun. "Let us find out where they lead."
The Delta-7 left Felucia behind.