The four ships were burning fuel as they headed for the edge of the galaxy. They couldn’t make any hyperspace jumps because if they did there was a possibility that they would overshoot their target or run into it. Besides, as they soon found out, their target had not gone completely straight.
The ships were nearing the rim of the galaxy when the scouts reported that the path took a sharp turn left. The ships turned and they headed back toward the Core. Their course would take them right near the black holes at the center of the core. Fortunately for them this did not transpire, because they turned yet again.
The long-range scouts began to move really far ahead of the four capital ships. Eventually, they were 20 clicks ahead of the capital ships. They gradually got farther and farther away. Eventually, they turned back and reported that the trail ended and a large mass was in their path.
Kamon deduced that this was their target. The ships advanced cautiously toward the mass. When they were near enough to get a visual, Kamon let out a small gasp. Zonama Sekot was right in front of him and from his vantage point he could only see the top half of the planet.
It was surprisingly green. They halted their progress and watched as the planet completed one of its rotations. The planet showed them its southern hemisphere and Kamon saw what Master Kenobi had said in the holocron was true. It was a mottled scheme of browns and blacks with deep gashes in it.
Kamon smiled at the fact that he would soon have the ability to build living ships. Not many of course, but still, the concept was awe-inspiring. He composed himself and told the Captain to take over until he returned from the planet.
He entered a turbolift and shot down to the hangar bay. His personal shuttle was waiting for him there. It was an old Corellian YT series ship, but it worked extremely well for its age. He entered it and sat down in the pilots seat. Twenty Royal Phalanx Guard Corp troopers took seats in the ship.
Kamon piloted the craft out of the hangar bay and through the MagCon shield. Two Tie Defenders formed up as his wingmen. They shot toward the planet and once they were within a few clicks they were hailed.
“Unidentified freighter. You are entering restricted airspace. Leave immediately or you will be shot down.”
“I think not. My name is Kamon Vondiranach. I am the Prince of the planet Tholatin and the leader of the Tholatin Drive Yards. I am also a Rogue Jedi Master. I am here to do business with you. I wish to purchase a ship.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Vondiranach. We no longer have a ship building business. We stopped commercially making our ships decades ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I was willing to pay you 1.5 million credits.”
The person on the other in paused. For a few minutes all they heard was the sound of an argument. Five minutes later, someone spoke to him again.
“Very well, Mr. Vondiranach. We will build you a ship. Proceed to our newly installed docking areas at our main living area.”
“Thank you.”
The YT and its fighter escort shot down toward the planet. They entered the atmosphere just above the northern pole. They skimmed along the surface, and headed for the landing area. Circling it once, Kamon was satisfied that there was no danger. He turned on his repulsorlifts and set the ship down gently. The two Tie Defenders set down on landing pads near the one the YT had landed on.
Kamon walked to the landing ramp after shutting the ship down. He motioned for his troopers to wait until he had departed the ship. He walked down the ramp and was greeted by two beings that he didn’t recognize.
“Greetings. We are the greeters.”
“I noticed.” Kamon said.
“When you talked with our control station, you mentioned that you were a Rogue Jedi Master. We are unfamiliar with the term Rogue Jedi. The last Jedi we had here were just called Jedi.”
“Yes. You speak of Jedi Masters Kenobi and Skywalker. They belonged to the regular Jedi Order. The term Rogue Jedi refers to the Rogue Jedi Order. We are a new breed of Jedi. Instead of only being able to defend, we are allowed by our code to attack.”
“I see.”
Kamons twenty troops walked down the ramp and fell into a straight line behind Kamon. The two fighter pilots stood behind and to either side of him. The greeting party blanched at the site of the new comers.
“Have no fear. They will not harm you.” Kamon said.
“Yes. We’re sure they won’t. We aren’t accustomed to having armed ground forces on our planet.”
“These men and women are part of my field security force. They will be working with you to make sure that I stay alive.”
“Very well. If you will follow us, we will take you to the guest housing area.”
Kamon nodded his assent, and fell in step behind the two aliens. His troopers and the two pilots also followed. They entered a sky car, and it took them up the valley a little ways. They stopped at a large building built into the side of the valley. The TDY people and Kamon stepped of, and followed the two guides as they showed them their quarters.
They finished by showing Kamon his. Before they left, the two guides told him that in the morning the process of building his ship would begin. Kamon took off his clothes, and got under the covers of the bed.
It was decidedly warm outside, but the temperature of the room was fairly cold. The warm blankets on the bed felt good compared to what he had to live with on the Starfire. He lay back in bed and closed his eyes. Before falling asleep, he thought back to what the holocrons had said. He used those teachings to prepare himself for what would come. Then, he fell asleep.
When he woke up in the morning, someone was knocking on his door. Kamon got out of bed. He walked over to the mirror, after putting on his clothes. He straightened his hair, and attached his lightsaber to his belt. Then, he walked over and opened the door.
“Sir, the two guides are waiting for us downstairs.” One of his Security Officers said.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
The two men walked down the hall and entered a turbolift. They hit the button that would take them down to where the two guides were waiting.
“Is everyone up and ready to go?” Kamon asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Make sure that they all have their weapons set on stun. If anything happens I don’t want our attackers to be harmed.”
“Yes, sir.”
The turbolift stopped and Kamon and the Officer stepped out onto a platform that extended over the valley. There the twenty-one mean and women of his security force waited. Standing in front of them was their two guides.
“Come. We will take you to the seed chamber.” One of the guides said.
Kamon nodded to them and walked passed them to the sky car. He entered the car, and took one of the seats toward the rear of the vessel. The rest of his group sat down throughout the vessel, while the guides entered the pilot chamber.
The ship detached from the platform and they sped down the valley toward the equator of the planet. Kamon turned on his tracking signal so that his small armada would no his exact location if it was necessary for him to get a quick pickup.
They exited the valley on the right side and the ship settled down on a platform. To his right Kamon saw a large building that was closed off. Outside of the building a large group of people waited for him to enter the building. Kamon and his people exited the ship and stood at its base.
One of the Sekotians approached him from the group that had been waiting. He proferred his hand and Kamon took it and shook it.
“I am Hark-la. I am the leader of this planet. Before you enter the seed chamber, you must pay us.”
“Greetings. I am Kamon Vondiranach.” Kamon took the pouch containing the money off of his belt and handed it to the man. “Here you go.”
“Very good. You may now enter the chamber.”
Before Kamon headed for the chamber, he turned to the Captain of the security forces. The man saluted him and Kamon motioned for him to be at ease.
“You and the rest of the team will remain here until my ship is made. If I need you I will signal you through the comlink.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kamon turned back from talking to his Captain. He took a deep breath and began to walk toward the building. Its large doors began to open silently. He walked right through the middle of the group of beings that stood at the door to the building. He entered and the doors closed behind him.
All of a sudden, he could feel thousands of tiny beings in his mind. They called to him and probed his mind. They searched for the goodness in him. Kamon knew that these beings were called seed-partners and that they searched out the goodness in beings. This is what attracted them.
Kamon took a deep breath and held it in as the large pile of the seeds fell down on top of him. He was smothered by the seed-partners. He was briefly knocked out, but woke up almost immediately. He stood up, and walked toward the large doors that would let him out.
He stepped through the doors and into the sunlight. The group that was gathered outside gasped as he exited the building. Hark-la approached him with a smile on his face.
“We have not had someone get so large a number of see-partners since last time a Jedi was on this planet. I count 17 seed-partners attached to your body. This is a most excellent number. A beautiful ship will be created. You must go to the designers now.”
“Very good. Let us go then.”
Kamon followed the man to a gondola that was tethered on the platform that hung over the valley. He got in it and the two men headed for a small building sitting at the base of the valley. The Gondola landed just outside of the building and Kamon stepped out.
Hark-la led Kamon inside. They passed by a few people that appeared to be reading some type of paper. Kamon’s seed-partners expressed joy at the sit of the tables in the inner area of the building. Kamon was led to an aged and balding man at one of the tables.
“Greetings,” The man said. “I am Carsi. I am the head designer. Take a seat and we will design a ship for you. First you must tell me what kind of ship you want.”
Kamon sat down in the chair offered to him before he spoke.
“I wish to have a shuttle style of ship. However, it must be armed. I am a well-known person and sometimes people will attack me when I don’t have my fleet with me.”
“Very well. Sit back please. It will take me approximately twenty standard minutes to complete the design.”
Kamon sat back and watched as the man’s arm suddenly began to move rapidly. After one minute of designing, Carsi had already completed the basic shape of the ship. Kamon turned his attention to his seed-partners. They were hatching out of their shells, and proved to be a soft creature that liked to play around.
He watched as the 17 seed-partners began to wrestle with one another. They turned their attention to Kamon as Carsi announced that he had finished the design for his ship. The seed-partners hopped up onto Kamon and sat in his lap and on his shoulders. They expressed jubilation at the site of what they would be formed into.
Kamon smiled, and looked at Carsi.
“It’s perfect. It’s so sleek. My friends will be jealous.”
“I am glad you like it. Hark-la will take you to the valley where your ship will be built.”
Kamon thanked the man again. Then, he followed Hark-la out of the building. His seed-partners clung to his robes as they entered the Gondola. The ship took off and they shot out of the valley and toward a ridge of dark mountains. They set down at the edge of the mountain range.
Hark-la led Kamon out of the ship and into a cave. They climbed down many flights of stairs and entered an underground cavern. They entered a small boat and were taken down the river. There they exited the ship and walked up many flights of stairs. When they exited the mountains they were in a dark valley.
In the valley, he gave his seed-partners to a man who took them and threw them into a fiery pit. Kamon felt the seed-partners brief moment of surprised then they began to feel good. Kamon heard seventeen large bangs as the seed-partners changed form. They were taken out of the pit and handed to a man.
The man led Kamon to an area where the superstructure of his vessel had already been created. He was instructed to sit inside. He jumped up into the structure and sat down. The structure began to move as large machines passed it into an assembly line. Kamon watched as the innards of the ship were installed.
When the pilot seats were installed, he sat down in one of them. The controls were installed, and he began to study them. They were normal and he determined that it would be easy for him to pilot the ship. The rest of the required parts were installed. Then the important part came.
The flattened seed-partners were formed into the hull of the ship. They conformed to the superstructure and were sealed together. Once they were attached, they were passed to the weapons appliers. They installed two blaster cannons and two proton torpedo ports. The last things to be put on the ship were the shield generators. They were military grade and could withstand a lot.
The ship was set down on a landing pad, and Kamon climbed out of the ship. He did a thorough round of the ship then turned to the approaching people. When the men exited the gondola that was carrying them, Kamon smiled.
“It’s the prettiest ship I’ve ever seen. I congratulate you on your success. Before I take it on a test flight, I have something to ask of you. Would you gather your leaders at the seed-partner building?”
“That can be done, but I don’t see the purpose.” Hark-la said.
Kamon nodded.
“You will when I get there.”
“Very well.”
Kamon nodded as he boarded his new ship. He closed the boarding ramp and sat down in the pilot seat. He powered up the engines and heard the pleasant sound of high-speed engines whine. He put on his belt, turned on the shields, and kicked in the repulsorlifts.
The ship rose off the ground, and Kamon turned kicked the engines into gear. He immediately shot forward. He was amazed at shear speed of the ship. It was like lightning. He had only to go for a second and be long out of range of the manufacturing valley.
He put the ship through loops and other high-speed maneuvers. He knew that the ship would perform better in space. He was pleased with the quality of the ship. He decided that he would name her Hope.
He flew toward the building where he had first gotten his seed-partners. He set the ship down, opened the hatch, and walked out. His security team was amazed at the site of the ship. The Captain came over to him.
“She’s beautiful, sir. I’ve never seen a ship like her.”
“She is beautiful. If all goes well, you will see many ships like her.”
He looked around and noticed that Hark-la had gotten the leaders there in time for his arrival. He stood where he was for a few moments. He needed to phrase what he was going to say. When he had decided on what he was going to say, he approached the group.
“I am very happy with the quality of the ship. She’s beautiful and very fast. She can easily outmaneuver many ships.”
“We are pleased that you like her. However, I am sure that is not why you sent for us.” One of the leaders said.
“You are correct. I called you here to make a proposal. I would like you to join the coalition of planets that is the Tholatin Drive Yards.”
“Why would we want to do that? We don’t want to have our planet attacked and destroyed anymore.”
“I wouldn’t want that to happen either. I know the reason you don’t build ships anymore is that you don’t have the parts. I can supply the parts with ease, and you can continue to build ships. We will also build two orbital shipyards along with a construction yard. We will build a fleet of fifty ships to protect the planet. We will also build planetary defenses to help.”
“Yes, but then people would know the location of Zonama Sekot.”
“No they wouldn’t. I plan to keep the planet hidden here in the Unknown Region. No one ever comes here. And, if they did they would never be able to find you.”
“Will you assure the protection of the planet and the continued supply of resources for us to build ships?”
“I will.”
“Then we are agreed. We shall join your coalition for the protection of our planet.”
“Very good. I will leave three of the ships with me here, and will send more from my planet of Tholatin. I must get back to Tholatin because I have business to attend to. I go in peace.”
Kamons security force had already left in the ship that they had flown down in and the fighters. Kamon boarded the Hope and headed for the Starfire. He docked the ship in the docking bay, and exited it. He made his way to the bridge and sat down in his command chair.
He turned to his Captain and spoke.
“The Tholatin and the Defenders are to remain here. Captain, take the Starfire to Tholatin.”
“Yes, sir.”
The ship turned in space and headed away from the planet and toward the escape vector for a direct jump to Tholatin. The stars outside elongated and they were on their way home.
