“What of this Lady Sarc Crimos?” Queen Amidala asked.
“She was once a padawan learner and before she could earn her knighthood she deserted the Order and went rogue. She became a bounty hunter, a mercenary until all trace of her disappeared. It was only until we spotted her yesterday on the coronation that we learned that she still lives and are now somehow on a scheme involving the Chommell Patriots. We are not yet sure of her role in this but we leave it to Master Sifo-Dyas to unravel.” Dooku explained.
“One of my Royal Handmaiden is still missing. Do you have any news about Nagé?” Amidala asked in general.
“We are still unable to find her. I pulled out the holos for the palace and saw a suspicious looking handmaiden moving about the hallways a few minutes after the explosion on the garden, but the monitors lost track of her although we strongly believe it was the Lady Crimos, as for Nagé I have no intention of stopping until I find her alive… or recover her body.” Panaka said firmly.
“My Queen, leave now we must.” Master Yoda bowed at Queen Amidala and she returned the farewell bow with grace.
“May your journey home be smooth and safe, Master Jedi.” Queen Amidala said as the Jedi Council started to leave followed by Governor Bibble and the Advisory Council.
“Captain Panaka, I trust there is more that you wish to convey without wanting the others to hear it.” Amidala regarded her new captain.
“There is, Your Highness. This was indirectly suggested by Lieutenant Hoff Siege here, and aside from that, this astromech has something very important to show you.
“Even in the safety of the palace, the eyes of the enemies lurks. Let us convene on my bedchamber. Aluva,” Amidala nodded at the Emberlene warrior and she went ahead of them as the other handmaidens flanked the Queen. Panaka moved in front of them and Hoff and Artoo put up the rare.
Aluva was standing by the blastdoor when they arrived and was the last to go inside, once the blastdoor was closed the Queen turn to face Captain Panaka.
“You may begin Captain.”
“The Royal Handmaidens has been for generations served as the most loyal and closest followers and protectors of the Queens of Naboo. They are trained on the basic skills of warfare and physical combat. I wish to suggest that we set up a secret program to further hone those battle skills. Teach the Royal Handmaidens not just how to basically learn how shoot or fight but to become weapons masters and deadly weapons themselves. I suggest that we train them of astronavigation, hyperspace calculations, ship repairs, data slicing, games and theories, zero gravity combat, outdoor survival, underwater battle techniques and a lot more.” Panaka said.
“Interesting, Captain. How do you propose we do that secretly? Who will train them and where?” Amidala asked.
“Our world is rich with unexplored regions of jungles, plains and mountains. Hoff here has been working on the search for suitable locations all afternoon with the help of his astromech droid. They have already compiled a number of perfectly hidden and defensible training grounds. As for who will teach them, I for one can teach the technical and some physical lessons. I am also seriously considering asking Aluva to be among the trainers.” Panaka said.
Amidala and Aluva looked at each other and then the Queen addressed the droid. “Show us the holomaps.”
Artoo beeped an affirmative and displayed the first three locations they believed suitable for the training grounds. Aluva leaned closer and studied the places and checked their coordinates. After only a few seconds she stood up and spoke to Captain Panaka.
“There is a small sect on the Kadalaran Archipelago in the southern region. Captain Panaka, are you familiar with the Order of Sanctuary?” Aluva asked.
“There are stories about them, legends… or myths to some, about a tribe of women who chose the life of isolation, away from the changing modern world. There was no record of their existence ever found.” Panaka said.
“My Bond-sister is a member of that Order.” Aluva revealed.
The other handmaidens gasped in disbelief. Even the Queen was taken aback. Hoff frowned in confusion and Artoo merely took in what he was seeing and hearing and processed the information in his computer brain.
“Impossible!” Panaka gaped.
“It is true. I was taken there, a year prior to my service to King Veruna. I trained there and learned the local geography, culture, history and technology. I was paired to a Sister of the Order, and we are branded as Bond-sisters. We can train the handmaidens there.” Aluva said.
“Can they be trusted?” Panaka frowned.
“I am one of them. Do you trust me?” Aluva stood straight and took out her robe. She stood naked before Panaka and Hoff who both looked away.
“This is the mark of the Order of the Sanctuary.” Aluva touched the tattoo circling her navel down to her thighs. “It is marked by a Scretin Ink, a rare fluid from the gut of a Kaboola panther, an endangered species and believed to be extinct by all of Naboo. The ink appears and disappears following the level of tenseness of the muscles of the being they are adhered. Aluva showed them how her tattoo fades and reappears.
Amidala nodded and Aluva took on her robe again.
“Who is this Bond-sister of yours and how do we get to the Order of the Sanctuary?” Panaka finally asked.
“Her name is Sabé, but you all know her as Nagé.” Aluva finally said.
“The missing handmaiden!” Hoff exclaimed then stopped, feeling chagrined for stating the obvious.
“Yes Lieutenant. That is why it is imperative that we find her. I was blind-folded when I was taken to their hidden monastery and blind-folded again when sent out to serve the King along with Sabé.” Aluva stated.
“What if she’s dead? How could we find the location of the monastery without her?” Panaka asked.
“My tattoo is the schematic of the monastery. Her tattoo is a direction from Theed to there. She is their generation’s Link Keeper. Only a full member of the Order of Sanctuary can posses a title. I am an off-worlder and my training under them isn’t that complete yet to earn full membership. I am still an Apprentice. The tattoo will also be visible even if its bearer is dead but only for a short period of time, the ink will seep into the muscles if there is no blood sustaining it to remain on the skin.” Aluva explained.
“How long will the ink last upon death?” Hoff asked.
“Twenty four hours. Sabé has been gone now for fifteen hours, assuming if she’s dead already.” Aluva replied.
“Five hours! We must hurry then!” Panaka gasped.
“Fetch the narglatchs from our zoo, they are extremely exceptional hunters. I have Sabé’s clothes. They can track her spoor in miles.” Aluva said.
“We have already thought of that but we can’t use the beasts in the zoo anymore, sometime during the chaos in the coronation, the zookeeper discovered all types of predators in there were dead. All wounds were cauterized.” Panaka shook his head.
“Lightsaber cuts leave cauterized flesh. The Lady Crimos must have slain the beasts, anticipating we need those creatures to track Sabé.” Aluva sighs.
“What if I hunt and capture one?” Hoff suggested.
“Even if you manage to capture one alive quickly, can you tame and train a narglatch in a short period of time?” Aluva asked. It was not a reproach but a sensible question.
“Now you got me stumped.” Hoff leaned on the wall and crossed his arms. Artoo moaned feeling helpless as well.
“The Jedi!” Panaka exclaimed.
“What do you mean captain?” Amidala frowned.
“They left one Jedi, Master Sifo-Dyas. I read his report. He and the other Jedi tamed and rode a narglatch when they chased Gantu to the Negotta. He can help us!” Panaka explained to them his idea.
“Eirtaé, Rabé, accompany the Captain to the Jedi. We must get this plan moving, we don’t have much time.” the Queen ordered.
Once Captain Panaka had left with Eirtaé and Rabé, Aluva began giving instructions to the remaining Royal Ha
ndmaidens.
“Yané, Saché and Fé, listen to me closely, the Lady Sarc was a former Jedi and was born a Nightsister, she is dangerous and powerful and I have no doubt that she has no qualms to kill anyone in her path to get her task done. We need to draw her out in the open once Captain Panaka and the Jedi got their narglatch hunting for Sabé. This is what you need to do…” Aluva laid out a detailed plan to the three, thoroughly explaining to them each of their role.
The three Royal Handmaidens listened attentively at Aluva’s every word.
Queen Amidala watched them discuss and scrutinized Aluva’s plan down to the last detail. She admired their courage and devotion to their duty and their loyalty to her. Amidala also feared for their lives.
Chapter 15: A Costly Rescue
Captain Panaka crouched on a knoll in the Keldan Meadows a few kilometers from Theed Spaceport. The ocean breeze on the other side of the thin sparse rainforest of Keldagara gently caressed his face.
Ahead on the meadows itself and almost invisible now to the eyes of Panaka was Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas slowly inching his way to a family of narglatch systematically devouring their kill, a full grown kaadu.
Behind Panaka awaits the handmaidens Eirtaé and Rabé by the landspeeder.
Sifo-Dyas moved his way against the breeze to hide his spoor from the predators but when he stopped at three meters from the narglatch, one of the cubs caught sight of his movement and croaked in alarm.
The female narglatch was instantly dragging her cubs away from the unknown threat while the male growled menacingly at the unseen intruder.
Slowly, Sifo-Dyas stood up and exposed himself to the male beast. The female was already in the rainforest and keeping her cubs from running back to their kill.
Panaka raised his macrobinoculars and activated the night vision and watch as the Jedi Master slowly moves closer and closer to the growling alpha male.
Panaka watch in silence as the two stared at each other, for awhile he almost thought the Jedi and the narglatch had turned into statues but then to his surprise the narglatch approached the Jedi and allowed the human to rub his spiky mane.
Moments later Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas was riding the narglatch to Captain Panaka. The soldier took a few steps backward for he has never been this close to a narglatch, especially a wild alpha male.
“We haven’t much time.” Sifo-Dyas only said. Panaka waved at the handmaidens and the two drove the landspeeder towards them. Rabé handed Sabé’s clothes to the captain who placed it on the nostrils of the beast.
The narglatch sniffed and then roared.
Sifo-Dyas nodded at Panaka and the captain joined the handmaidens and drove the landspeeder as the narglatch began to run back to Theed bearing the Jedi and went hunting for the missing handmaiden.
The narglatch ran past startled security patrols and headed straight back to the palace itself.
“Why are we heading back there?” Panaka frowned.
“The Lady Crimos must have had no time to hide Sabé away.” Eirtaé said.
Sifo-Dyas’ ride entered through the palace and went to the main hangar bay where surprised pilots jumped from their siestas at the sight of the deadly predator. They only calmed when they noticed that it was being ridden by a Jedi.
Captain Panaka and the two handmaidens trailed behind on foot. The narglatch was clawing on the closed massive blastdoor.
“What’s behind this?” Sifo-Dyas asked Captain Panaka.
“It’s our Plasma Refinery Complex. There are no people inside there. Our engineers monitor the harvesting of plasma from the control station near the communications center on the other side of the Palace. We only send technicians there for maintenance, about once a month.” Panaka answered and started to punch the codes to open it at the Jedi’s order.
The narglatch instantly leaped inside once the blastdoor was wide enough to admit the beast and ran straight through the walkway to the last pillar at the far edge. Panaka and the handmaidens ran after the bounding creature.
There was a maintenance shaft at the far end and the beast was once again clawing the sealed door. When Panaka finally caught up with them, the Jedi ask him to open the door.
Panaka punched the combination but the hatch did not respond to it. He tried the override command to no avail. Sifo-Dyas dropped off the beast and took out his lightsaber and told them to step back. Igniting his weapon he began piercing it through the thick metal door and carves a cut around the locks. Then with a wave of his hand the blastdoor swung open and he stepped inside. Panaka ordered the handmaidens to stay with the narglatch who were lain down on its belly and began gnawing at the edge of the open metal door.
There were six laser doors lined-up along the corridor leading to the generator’s core, it was a deep shaft running down like a giant empty well to the gargantuan reactors far below.
“The laser doors alternately open and close in every minute or two, allowing a measured control for the unpredictable power outputs and surges caused by the mined plasma energies.” Panaka explained.
Sifo-Dyas waited until the laser doors began to turn and deactivate its lasers. The Jedi dashed in followed by Panaka but the laser doors closed in again before Sifo-Dyas could reach the platform of the generator’s core.
When the laser doors finally opened again, Panaka and Sifo-Dyas stood on the empty platform and look down on the deep drop to the reactors.
Reaching out to the Force, Sifo-Dyas felt two presences below the shaft. One was weak but defiant and the other dark and menacing.
“She’s down there. What can you tell me about the reactor down there?” Sifo-Dyas asked Panaka.
“Maintenance Droids pretty much dominated that area. We have emergency exits below there that leads out to the cliff face walkways. We only send techs there once a year.” Panaka answered.
“The missing handmaiden is there, I can feel her and she’s alive but probably weak from drug or torture. There is another one with her, and I am pretty much sure who it is.” Sifo-Dyas said.
“Should I call for back-up?” Panaka asked.
“Just get some men on that cliff side exit you were talking about, Crimos might flee on that direction, unless there is another way out of here.” Sifo-Dyas instructed.
“There are exhaust shafts, about several dozen of them extending from one side of the reactor walls to the other side. A human could fit there but the surface leading to each of those exhaust shafts are surging with plasma energy, any life-form who touches it would be burnt to cinders.” Panaka replied.
“I’ll bear that in mind then. Get those men on the other side, let’s get this over with.” Sifo-Dyas leaped into the chasm and use the Force to control his fall.
He landed with a loud thud and was instantly assaulted by the Lady Crimos, her pair of lightsabers swinging and swirling left and right, up and down. Sifo-Dyas allowed the Force to guide his parries and blocks and matched her ferocity with his calm speed.
There was a low opening on the side of the shaft’s curved wall where the Lady Crimos had come, Sifo-Dyas heard a scream from the inside and was relieved to know that the Royal Handmaiden was alive and conscious.
He changed his tactic and began an elaborate tricky combination of witty lightsaber skills augmented by the Force to slowly drive the Lady Crimos back into the low exit door.
It was a chest high short tunnel and the two awkwardly continue swinging their blades against each other while bent on their backs and arduously making their way to the larger storage area where they could both stand erect again.
Once through, Sifo-Dyas instantly spotted Sabé tied into a large metal column struggling to loosen her bound hands and legs. Her face was bruised and her undergarments torn and bloodied. The Jedi was slightly surprise to notice a striking resemblance of the handmaiden to the Queen herself.
His thoughts were snatched from his mind as the Lady Crimos increased her strength and hammering him with her lightsabers. Sifo-Dyas fainted left in his slash and went right though
when Crimos rolled to the other side to avoid the strike, the blade of the Jedi cut through the bound hands and feet of the handmaiden.
Once freed, Sabé moved surprisingly fast despite her numerous cuts, bruises and broken ribs. She lashed out her steely fingers into a deadly chop and hit the left shoulder blades of Crimos. The cracking of the bone sent a searing pain on the Dathomiri-born Dark Jedi and as she fell down on her knees Sifo-Dyas whirled his lightsaber to disarm her.
Crimos’ blue lightsaber fell and roll and was almost caught on the flashing surge of plasma energy from the giant reactor behind them. Crimos Force-shoved Sifo-Dyas and throwing him hard at the panels of metal tubes and wirings that startled the spiderlike maintenance droids.
Crimos reached out and summoned her ignited blade but Sabé intercepted the weapon and caught it in her hands. Crimos adjusted her position as Sifo-Dyas renewed his attack on her with force while the handmaiden swung her lightsaber like a harbinger of death.
Crimos strained at the combined attacks of the Jedi and the handmaiden. Even though Sabé is not a Force-sensitive she was exemplary versed with sword fighting.
Crimos laughed like a demon and use the Force to deactivate her lightsaber in the handmaiden’s hands. The blade winked out and as Sabé tried to ignite it she learned that there was no buttons at all on Lady Crimos’ pair or lightsabers.
Sabé threw the useless lightsaber and it almost made contact with the reactor. Crimos then let go of a concentrated Force-lightning and hit the handmaiden.
Sifo-Dyas spins around and placed his lightsaber blade through the surging lightning. The force of Crimos’ strike dissipated as his lightsaber absorbs the energy.
“There’s an exit down there, go!” Sifo-Dyas shouted at Sabé who was groggily trying to get up. She looked at the eye of the Jedi and nodded. Crimos tried to use the Force to choke her but Sifo-Dyas slammed his entire body on the Dark Jedi allowing the handmaiden to escape. Crimos instead summoned her lightsaber and ignited it and began moving like a blur with her two lightsabers striking on every possible direction.