The Beacon vessels guided the damaged Republic shuttle through hyperspace.
Kit Fisto kept both hands near the controls as the navigation computer followed coordinates transmitted by the EML-850 ahead of them. The route had been divided into several short jumps, preventing either Jedi from seeing the final destination. It was a simple precaution, and one Kit would have expected from an organization that had survived for two years without allowing the Republic to determine where it operated. Aayla Secura remained at the communications station behind him, monitoring the shuttle's damaged systems while attempting to send a brief report to Master Bayts. The message confirmed that they had encountered Beacon, but the escort's course changes made it impossible to provide a reliable destination.
The stars returned after the final jump.
A green and blue world filled part of the viewport. Thick clouds moved across its surface while scattered vessels traveled between the planet and its surrounding space. A moon rested beyond it, partially concealed beneath the shadow cast by the larger world.
A transmission entered the shuttle.
"This is Travis," the Beacon commander said. "You have entered the Rishi system. The planet ahead is Rishi."
Kit studied the planetary records appearing across the navigation display. "I was beginning to wonder whether you intended to tell us."
"We prefer not to transmit the name until a vessel completes the route."
"A reasonable precaution."
"Our destination is not the planet. Follow us toward its moon."
The EML-850 altered course. Both Z-95 Headhunters remained beside the damaged shuttle as the group moved away from Rishi and toward the smaller body beyond it.
Aayla entered the cockpit and took the seat beside Kit. "I have heard of Rishi. The system is isolated, but several hyperspace routes pass close enough to make it useful to smugglers and independent traders."
"Which also makes it useful to anyone who does not want attention from the Republic."
"That may explain why Beacon chose it."
The moon grew larger beyond the viewport. Its barren surface appeared unremarkable at first. Deep craters covered the ground, and uneven mountains cast long shadows beneath the distant light of Rishi. Then the shuttle moved around the curve of the moon, and the first structures became visible.
Metal towers rose from within several connected craters. Communications arrays extended above fortified walls while hangars had been carved directly into the surrounding stone. Defensive emplacements protected the approaches, their weapons following every vessel entering the area. Lights marked roads and transport paths leading between separate sections of the installation.
The base extended far beyond a hidden repair station.
Kit reduced the shuttle's speed as the navigation display filled with new contacts. EML-850 light freighters moved between the moon and Rishi. Some carried cargo containers attached beneath their frames, while others bore additional armor and weapons similar to the vessel that had rescued the Jedi. Z-95 Headhunters patrolled above the base in coordinated groups.
Those ships were only the beginning.
A large vessel appeared beyond the moon's horizon. Its long armored frame was divided into heavy sections built around a reinforced central hull. Multiple weapons rested along its sides while engines large enough to dwarf the Jedi shuttle carried it into a stable orbit.
Kit recognized the design.
A Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser.
Another rested near an orbital platform farther from the moon. A third appeared upon the shuttle's sensors, partially hidden behind the first.
Aayla leaned toward the display. "Those are capital ships."
"I see them."
"Republic records did not mention Beacon possessing anything of that size."
"Republic records barely confirmed Beacon existed at all."
Kit watched one of the Dreadnaughts turn above the moon. The design was old, but age did not make the vessel harmless. A single heavy cruiser required thousands of crew members, considerable fuel, regular maintenance, and enough supplies to remain operational. Beacon possessed several, along with fighters, freighters, repair stations, and the infrastructure required to support them. This was no collection of local defenders appearing when pirates threatened a settlement. Beacon had built a military force.
Aayla continued studying the base. "If the Senate knew an independent organization possessed this many armed vessels, some members would demand an investigation."
"Others would demand they surrender the ships."
"Which may be why Beacon has avoided the Republic."
Kit did not disagree. The cruisers concerned him, but the activity around them did not resemble a fleet preparing for conquest. Cargo transports traveled openly between the base and Rishi. Repair crews worked along one cruiser's exposed hull, while smaller vessels arrived carrying supplies rather than weapons. Whatever Beacon intended to become, it had already grown beyond what anyone on Coruscant appeared to understand.
Travis contacted them again. "You are receiving clearance for Dock Seven. Our fighters will guide you through the defensive perimeter."
"Your safe port is more heavily defended than we expected," Kit said.
"I imagine there are several things here you did not expect."
"That would be accurate."
The young commander's voice remained friendly, but he offered no further explanation. "Once you land, one of our engineers will examine the shuttle. A member of our leadership will meet you there."
"You will not be joining us?" Aayla asked.
"My patrol still has work to complete. The pirates we encountered were part of a larger group, and one disabled gunship does not remove the threat."
"Then we will not delay you," she said. "Thank you again for your assistance."
"You are welcome. Follow the landing signals and remain inside the marked approach. The defense systems will recognize your clearance."
The transmission ended.
The two Z-95s moved ahead of the shuttle. Kit followed them toward the largest crater, where several hangar entrances opened within the fortified wall. Beacon traffic separated around the damaged Republic vessel without interrupting its normal movement. No ships rushed to intercept them. No weapons locked upon the shuttle. The base had known they were coming and accepted their arrival with the confidence of an organization certain it could respond if its guests became a threat.
Dock Seven waited beyond a wide set of armored doors.
Kit brought the shuttle inside.
The hangar was large enough to hold several light freighters. Repair scaffolds surrounded damaged vessels while loading machines moved supplies between marked storage areas. People from dozens of worlds crossed the floor. Humans worked beside Twi'leks, Rodians, Duros, Nikto, Sullustans, and species Kit could not immediately identify. Some wore armor and carried weapons. Others wore the practical clothing of engineers, pilots, merchants, and medical personnel. Droids moved among them carrying equipment and recording inventory.
Beacon was more than the armed vessels surrounding the moon.
It was people.
Kit followed the landing officer's signals and lowered the shuttle onto an open platform. The damaged stabilizer touched down unevenly before the landing struts settled against the floor. He shut down the engines and allowed the strained systems to become quiet.
Aayla unfastened her restraints. "Master Bayts will want a complete report."
"He may need several."
"The Dreadnaughts will concern him."
"They concern me." Kit rose from the pilot's seat. "That does not make Beacon hostile."
"No. But it makes them powerful enough that their intentions matter."
The two Jedi left the cockpit and opened the shuttle's boarding ramp. Noise from the hangar entered immediately: engines cycling down, tools striking metal, droids issuing warnings, and voices directing cargo toward different sections of the base.
A slim engineer wearing gray work clothing waited near the bottom of the ramp. Protective lenses rested above his eyes, and several diagnostic tools hung from the belt around his waist. He looked past the Jedi toward the damaged side of their shuttle.
"You lost part of the lower stabilizer."
"Pirates objected to our travel plans," Kit said.
The engineer showed no reaction to the humor. "They also damaged the shield generator and overheated your port engine."
Kit glanced toward Aayla. "He found that quickly."
"I can see the scoring from here," the engineer replied. "Leave the vessel powered down. My crew will examine the internal systems once the hull cools."
"How long will the repairs take?" Aayla asked.
"If the stabilizer assembly matches anything we have in storage, tomorrow. If it does not, we will fabricate the damaged sections."
"You can do that here?" Kit asked.
The engineer looked around the hangar as though the answer should have been obvious. "Yes."
He moved toward the shuttle without waiting for another question. Two maintenance droids followed him beneath the damaged hull.
Kit watched them begin their inspection. "I believe he likes the shuttle more than us."
"He knows what the shuttle needs."
"That may be why."
Aayla turned toward the far side of the hangar.
An older man had entered through one of the secured doors. He was tall and broad across the shoulders, with short ginger hair that had begun to fade beneath traces of gray. A scruffy beard covered his jaw. Armor protected his chest, arms, and legs, its worn surface carrying repaired marks from earlier battles. He did not wear a helmet, but one rested beneath his left arm.
Armed personnel moved aside as he approached.
Not out of fear.
Recognition.
The man stopped several steps from the Jedi and examined them before speaking.
"On behalf of our organization, welcome to Rishi Moon. My name is Sion Halcard."
Kit inclined his head. "Kit Fisto."
"Aayla Secura," Aayla said.
"I know you are here because your shuttle requires repairs," Sion said. "I also know your presence in this region is not an accident."
His directness removed any need for polite uncertainty.
"We were assigned to travel through the surrounding systems," Aayla replied.
"So I have heard."
Sion gestured toward the secured doors behind him. "My office will provide us more privacy."
Kit looked toward the engineer working beneath their shuttle, then toward the armed personnel positioned throughout the hangar. Refusing the invitation would gain them nothing.
"Lead the way," he said.
Sion turned and left the docking platform. Kit and Aayla followed him into the base.
The corridors had been constructed within the moon's stone. Reinforced supports surrounded exposed sections of rock while power lines and communications cables passed behind protective panels. Some areas remained unfinished, with engineering crews expanding rooms or opening new routes deeper into the crater.
Armed men and women moved through nearly every level. Patrols watched the entrances connecting the hangars to the residential sections. Others carried equipment toward training rooms visible through open doors. Their armor lacked the uniform design of a Republic force, but they moved with discipline and understood the responsibilities assigned to them.
Kit saw civilians as well.
Families passed between living areas. Children followed instructors into a classroom built beside one of the medical sections. Merchants recorded supplies arriving from Rishi, while workers distributed food and replacement components among the different departments.
The base felt like a military installation because it needed to protect itself.
It also felt like a settlement preparing to survive without anyone beyond its walls.
Aayla kept her voice low as they followed Sion. "This could not have been built in two years without considerable support."
"No," Kit replied.
"The heavy cruisers alone would require several shipyards."
"Or someone willing to sell vessels without informing the Republic."
Sion glanced back but did not interrupt.
His office occupied one of the quieter levels. The room contained little decoration. Regional maps covered one wall, while reports from Beacon patrols waited upon several displays. A worn helmet rested beside the desk, and the only objects that appeared personal were a small collection of identification tags placed carefully within an open case.
Sion lowered himself into the seat behind the desk and gestured toward the two chairs across from him.
Kit and Aayla sat.
Kit looked toward the regional maps. "You have built an impressive operation."
"I know you are searching for someone," Sion said.
The attempted conversation ended before it began.
Kit's expression remained controlled, but the speed of the statement caught him off guard. Aayla showed less surprise. She had already seen enough of the base to understand that Beacon's knowledge of the Outer Rim might be as developed as its fleet.
"Our information network is larger than the Republic believes," Sion continued. "Jedi teams arriving at Ryloth, separating into assigned regions, and questioning port officials about one pilot did not remain unnoticed."
Aayla folded her hands. "Then you know that the person we are searching for is sensitive to the Force."
"Yes."
"Master Bayts received information suggesting your founder may carry a weapon resembling a golden lightsaber. If those reports are true, it is possible your founder and the man we seek are the same person."
Sion said nothing for several moments. His attention remained upon Aayla, measuring the purpose behind her question.
When he finally spoke, some of the severity left his voice.
"I will tell you this. We know who the man is."
Kit leaned slightly forward.
"But we do not currently know where he has gone," Sion finished.
That answer created more questions than it resolved.
"Is his identity something you are willing to share?" Kit asked.
Sion tapped one finger against the surface of his desk. "Before I say anything more about him, I want to know your intentions."
"We intend to find him," Kit said.
"That much is obvious."
Aayla answered more fully. "A Jedi Master encountered him on Serenno. He was searching private records belonging to Count Ramil when a Sith appeared and attempted to take the information from him."
Sion's finger became still.
"The Sith destroyed the data before either of them could escape with it," Aayla continued. "The Council believes the man may know why the Sith considered those records important."
"And after you question him?"
"That depends upon what we learn," Kit said. "We were not sent to harm him. Our priority is to identify him, understand what he was investigating, and determine whether he poses any danger to the Order or the Republic."
"Would you arrest him?"
"If he has committed crimes that justify detention, that decision will be made after we understand the circumstances."
Sion's expression hardened slightly.
Kit held his gaze. "I will not lie to you to make the answer easier. He entered a secured residence, accessed private records, and refused to identify himself when confronted by a Jedi Master. Some members of the Council believe that warrants detention. Others believe his actions against the Sith give us reason to approach him as a possible ally."
"And what do you believe?"
"I have not met him."
Sion turned toward Aayla.
She considered her response before giving it. "The Jedi Master who encountered him said he had several opportunities to cause her serious harm. He chose not to. That matters to me."
Sion leaned back.
"Only two members of Beacon ever knew his name," he said. "One of them is dead."
Kit looked toward the identification tags resting beside the desk.
"The other?" he asked.
"That is not my answer to give."
"But you know what he was."
"Yes."
Sion looked between the two Jedi.
"The man you are searching for is more like you than your Council understands. He is a Jedi."
Neither Kit nor Aayla responded immediately.
"He is also the reason Beacon exists," Sion continued. "The people who built this base came from worlds no government protected. Pirates took from them. Criminal syndicates controlled their trade. Corporations purchased their leaders and treated every life beyond their routes as another resource."
His voice remained steady, but anger rested beneath it.
"Your Republic sent promises. The Jedi sent help when they could. Neither remained long enough to change what happened after they left."
Sion gestured toward the moon base surrounding them.
"He did."
Kit listened.
"He fought for settlements that could offer him nothing. He broke pirate fleets, removed leaders who sold their people, and taught isolated worlds how to protect one another. The first members of Beacon were survivors because he gave them the strength to survive."
"You called him a Jedi," Aayla said. "Did he tell you he served the Order?"
"He never denied what he was."
"That is not the same thing."
"No," Sion agreed. "It is not."
Kit looked again toward the maps covering the wall. Every marked route, guarded settlement, and supply station appeared to be part of what this unknown Jedi had begun.
"You call him the savior of the Outer Rim," Kit said.
"Some do. He never called himself that."
"And no one here knows where he is?"
"He stepped away from Beacon before disappearing. He believed the organization needed to learn how to survive without him."
"That is convenient," Kit said.
Sion's eyes narrowed.
Kit did not retreat from the statement. "A secret founder creates an armed organization, leaves its leaders with several heavy cruisers, then disappears while investigating something connected to the Sith. You understand why the Council will ask difficult questions."
"I do."
"Then help us answer them."
Sion looked toward the door behind the Jedi. His hesitation suggested that he was deciding whether loyalty required silence or cooperation.
A woman's voice answered before he did.
"That would be my decision."
Kit and Aayla turned.
A Twi'lek woman stood inside the doorway. She appeared to be in her late twenties, dressed in dark traveling clothes beneath a weathered coat. Her lekku rested behind her shoulders, and several data cylinders were secured to the belt at her waist. She carried no visible armor beyond reinforced sections around her arms, but a compact blaster remained within easy reach.
Sion rose slightly from his seat.
"Vania."
"Hello, Sion."
"When did you return?"
"Just now."
Vania entered the room. The exhaustion across her face suggested that whatever journey brought her to Rishi Moon had not been a short one, but her attention remained sharp. She looked from Sion to the two Jedi.
"So you want to learn about our founder."
"It is part of the reason we are traveling through the Outer Rim," Aayla said.
Vania stopped beside the desk. "What are your names?"
Kit found the question strange after Sion had already demonstrated that Beacon knew about the Jedi search. "Kit Fisto."
"Aayla Secura."
Recognition moved across Vania's expression.
She looked at Kit first, then Aayla, taking several moments longer than their names should have required. When she released a quiet breath, the caution in her face had changed into something neither Jedi could identify.
"I see."
"You know us?" Kit asked.
"I know of you."
Vania rested one hand against the back of an empty chair.
"You understand that the person you seek is part of your Order, do you not?"
Kit's earlier suspicion became harder to dismiss.
"That cannot be correct," Aayla said. "If he were carrying out a mission for the Order, the Council would know his identity."
"I did not say the Council sent him."
"Master Unduli confronted him directly," Kit said. "He concealed his face and refused to identify himself."
Vania's expression changed again.
"Your Master encountered him on Serenno?"
"Yes."
"And he did not allow her to see who he was?"
"No."
Vania looked away for several seconds.
The decision reached her before she turned back.
"Then I will not give you his name."
Aayla's brow tightened. "Why?"
"Because he had a reason to hide it."
"You just said he belongs to our Order."
"I said he is part of it. I did not say your Council understands what he is doing."
"That is precisely why we need to speak with him," Aayla replied.
Vania accepted the firmness in her voice without becoming defensive. "Our founder is strong, but strength does not make him careless. He has suffered more than most people here know, and that suffering taught him to hide only when hiding serves a purpose."
She looked toward Sion, then back to the Jedi.
"During his time with Beacon, he never concealed his face. Only two of us knew his name, but thousands knew the man. He walked through our settlements. He fought beside our people. He sat with families whose homes he had defended and listened when they told him what they needed."
Vania's voice became quieter.
"If he refused to reveal himself to another Jedi, then whatever he is pursuing requires secrecy."
"You are making that decision without knowing why he hid," Kit said.
"I know enough about him to trust that he would not do it without cause."
Aayla studied her. "You assumed Serenno before we confirmed it."
"Yes."
"How?"
"Because I was the one who gave him the information that led him there."
Kit and Aayla exchanged a look.
"What was he searching for?" Kit asked.
"I am not certain."
"You sent him to Serenno without knowing?"
"I did not send him anywhere. I gave him several locations connected to unusual activity, and he decided which ones to investigate."
"What kind of activity?" Aayla asked.
"Shipping routes carrying more vessels than their declared trade could support. Large transfers of credits moving through shell companies. Supplies purchased in quantities too large for the organizations receiving them."
The same patterns that had begun concerning the Republic.
Vania removed one data cylinder from her belt and placed it upon Sion's desk. A regional display appeared above it, showing lines between several Outer Rim systems.
"Most irregularities can be explained by smugglers, pirates, or corporations hiding profit," she said. "These could not. The movements were spread across organizations that should not have been working together."
"Serenno was one of these locations," Kit said.
"Yes. Records connected to Count Ramil's trade network contained several transfers I could not trace beyond his world."
"Was Count Ramil involved?"
"I do not know. His routes may have been used without his knowledge, or he may have profited from whatever was moving through them."
"Were there other locations?"
"Yes."
Vania did not provide their names.
Aayla noticed but chose not to press immediately. "Did your founder know you suspected the Sith?"
"I had no idea a Sith was involved."
"But now you do."
Vania looked toward the two Jedi.
"Now I know one appeared to prevent him from taking the records."
The room became quiet.
Kit considered everything Beacon had shared since their arrival. Its leaders had revealed their founder's connection to the Jedi, admitted that he had followed information supplied by their network, and explained the patterns he was investigating. They had guarded his identity while offering nearly everything surrounding it.
"Why are you telling us this?" he asked.
Sion looked toward Vania as though he wanted the same answer.
Vania's expression softened into a small smile.
"Because the person you are searching for is a friend of your Order."
Kit felt something tighten beneath his composure.
Vania had recognized their names.
She knew the founder well enough to understand when he would hide his face. Only two people within Beacon had known his name, and one of them was dead.
The connections were there, but not enough of them had become proof.
"If he is a friend of the Order," Aayla said, "why not help us find him?"
"I am helping you."
"Without his name."
"A name would change your search into a hunt. Your Council would search its own records, decide what it believed he had become, and send people who knew him before they understood what he was doing now."
Vania's attention moved between them.
"You have enough information to tell your master that the man from Serenno is most likely Beacon's founder. You know that he is a Jedi, that he opposed the Sith, and that he was following movements across the Outer Rim. For now, that is what you need."
"And if the Council demands more?" Kit asked.
"Tell them the truth. Beacon declined to provide it."
Aayla remained silent for several moments. She did not like being denied an identity that could help the Order locate someone connected to the Sith. She also understood the loyalty behind Vania's refusal. If the founder had protected these people when no one else came, they would not surrender him simply because two Jedi asked.
"When did you last speak with him?" Aayla asked.
"Before he followed the information I provided."
"Did he tell you where he intended to go after Serenno?"
"No."
"Does he still communicate with Beacon?"
"Not directly."
"Then he may be in danger."
Vania's small smile disappeared. "I know."
That answer carried more concern than anything she had said before.
Sion looked toward the time displayed along one wall. "The repairs to your shuttle will not be completed tonight. Quarters have been prepared for you near the docking level."
"You prepared quarters before meeting us?" Kit asked.
"Travis sent word that Jedi were arriving."
Vania collected the data cylinder from the desk. "Rest. Your ship should be ready by tomorrow. Once it is, return to Ryloth and report what you learned to Master Bayts."
"You know who commands our mission," Aayla said.
"We knew before you arrived."
Kit rose from his chair. "Your information network may be more concerning than your cruisers."
"Information prevents us from needing to use them," Vania replied.
Aayla stood beside Kit.
Neither Jedi had obtained the name they needed. They had still learned more in one conversation than the entire search had uncovered since leaving Ryloth. The unknown Force-wielder was connected to Beacon. He had once belonged to the Jedi Order and may have still considered himself part of it. He had spent years protecting Outer Rim settlements before leaving the organization he created. He was following the same hidden movements that had brought a Sith to Serenno. The search had changed. They were no longer trying to identify a stranger. They were trying to find a missing Jedi whose own allies believed he needed to remain hidden.
Kit inclined his head toward Sion and Vania. "Thank you for speaking with us."
"You may not feel grateful once your Council begins asking questions," Sion said.
"That will not be the first difficult report we have delivered."
Sion called for a guard to escort them toward the quarters prepared near the docking level. Kit and Aayla left the office without speaking. The door closed behind them.
Vania remained beside the desk.
For several moments, she watched the empty entrance.
"I hope they find him," she said.
Sion looked toward her. "Then why did you refuse to give them his name?"
"Because a name would take away his freedom before they understand why he needs it."
"They already know he is one of them."
"The Jedi Order contains thousands. That knowledge gives them a direction, not an answer."
Sion rested both hands against the desk. "You believe he is hiding from the Jedi."
"No. I believe he is hiding something from the Sith."
The distinction silenced him.
Vania looked toward the regional map covering the wall.
"He would not conceal himself from people he once trusted unless revealing his identity placed them, or what he is pursuing, in danger. For now, he needs the freedom to continue."
"You also said you hope they find him."
"Because soon, freedom will not be enough."
Sion studied her. "What have you learned?"
"Not enough."
"That answer usually means more than you intend to tell me."
Vania gave him a tired look.
He raised one hand and allowed the question to pass. Sion had spent years watching her connect movements no one else considered related. She had become the mind behind Beacon's information network because she saw danger while others still believed they were looking at coincidence.
"I hope you know what you are doing," he said.
"So do I."
Beyond the office, Beacon's ships continued moving through the Rishi system. Somewhere farther into the Outer Rim, their founder followed a trail none of them could see. For now, Vania had protected his name.