Confirmation

Posted on Sun Dec 20th, 2020 @ 6:58am by Spacer Ixur Vex

Mission: Episode 1 - All Roads Lead to Nowhere
Location: Coruscant
Timeline: Not long after General Order 66

The galaxy, more specifically the Republic, had gone completely insane. But Ixur had expected no less. He just hadn’t expected it to happen all at once.

Morgukai Master Ixur Vex was a man out of his time. Born millennia ago, Ixur Vex was frozen in carbonite and used as decorative sculpture for over 3,000 years, before being set free by an elder Jedi Master by the name of Edan Tobis. Edan, and to a certain extent the Jedi Order, rehabilitated Ixur after his long and literal hibernation. For that kindness, Ixur felt a gratitude that could not be easily expressed. To repay this kindness, Ixur swore himself to the service of Edan Tobis. For almost two decades, Ixur served as a bodyguard, courier, operative, and any other job Edan had for him. Ixur served loyally and Edan never failed to reward the Morgukai Master’s loyalty. Edan and Ixur became fast friends and shared a great respect for each other. During this period, Edan took on and taught two padawan. At Edan’s urging, Ixur became a second master to these padawan and helped give them survival skills that other Jedi lacked.

Ixur saw the Republic begin to disintegrate. He wasn’t alone. The Jedi saw it as well, but chose to work in the background to try and save it. Then Clone Wars began. The beginning of the end, as Ixur saw things. The Jedi went from being diplomats to being generals. The war dragged on, the people of the Republic suffered, and public opinion began to turn against the Jedi. People started to believe that the Jedi were driving the war. Ixur knew this could not stand. He knew something bad was coming. But the mass purging of the Jedi, coordinated in such a way that the entire Grand Army of the Republic turned on the Jedi all at once, driving them near to extinction. This was… insanity.

Ixur had been out on an assignment for Edan Tobis when the purge occurred. Edan was getting too old for field work in combat zones. So Edan was without his loyal protector when the clones assaulted the Jedi Temple.

While Ixur’s work with the Jedi wasn’t exactly a secret, there weren’t really many records kept of his involvement. Sure, as a random Jedi and they might tell you that yes, there was a Jedi who had some sort of agent and yes, they’d heard something about the agent being a Morgukai, but he probably wasn’t high profile enough for the clones to go searching for him. That didn’t mean that they wouldn’t kill him if they saw him, especially if he activated the extended light blade of his cortosis staff. Thankfully, Ixur trained both with and without the blade extended, so if he got into a skirmish with anyone, he could pass the staff off as a shock staff, which wasn’t that uncommon of a weapon.

This all worked to his advantage as he moved through Coruscant’s lower levels, half hidden beneath a hooded robe worn over his light cortosis armor. It was reminiscent of a Jedi’s robes, and did draw a few glances, but it was common enough that no one, as far as he could tell, had called the authorities.

Ixur had spent his pre-carbonite living and working in the galaxy’s underworld. Since being thawed out two decades ago, Ixur had spent much of his time in the galactic underworld on behalf of the Jedi. He moved naturally in the lower levels of Coruscant, and he had contacts there, which was the reason the Morgukai Master had been willing to risk returning to Coruscant at all. That and he had to know the fate of Edan Tobis. Had he been killed? Or did he escape? Ixur had to know. His contacts in Coruscant’s lower levels led him to a witness who claimed to have seen Tobis fall. The woman was a supervisor among the Temple’s domestic staff. She helped supervise the Younglings in their chores around the Temple and the Temple grounds, saw to it that meals were prepared, etc. Ixur remembered meeting her on several occasions when he was at the Temple. She was always kind to him, if a bit stern. They formed a connection as two non-Force Sensitives in a temple full of Force Sensitives. Ixur believed that she would not lie to his face.

His contact was part of a network of criminals who had a stake in one of the seedier docks on Coruscant. For a significant fee, this network had allowed him to land there and ‘lost’ the documentation. Said documentation would turn up after Ixur had left, as long as Ixur concluded his business on Coruscant very, very quickly.

Ixur arrived at the house of ill repute run by his contact. He entered and was immediately recognized. He was summoned to the back room. In the room were two of his contact’s thugs, his contact, and the woman he was looking for.

“As promised, Vex,” said Trocha Ren, the Devaronian gangster who was Ixur’s contact. “I brought you your witness. I have to thank you. Her family is paying good creds for me to smuggle her off-world.”

Ixur pulled back his hood. “Which you will do,” he said. “Because if you don’t, I will devote my life to killing you.”

“Relax, Vex,” Ren said. “I ain’t stupid enough to cross you. My guys are too scared of you to be of any use to me if you come looking for me. I’d have to fight you myself, and I ain’t interested in that. Too much to live for.”

Ixur nodded. “And if you do keep your word, I will consider it a favor that I owe you. The usual terms, of course,” he said. “May we have the room?”

“Yeah, but make it quick,” Ren said, pleased at the thought of the Morgukai owing him a favor, even if that favor would have to meet Ixur’s exacting standards. “Security is tight. You gotta get back to your ship and off the planet faster than a Jawa can junk a droid, savvy?”

“Understood,” Ixur said. Once Ren and his thugs were out of the room, Ixur turned to Nainn Kuarot, the Bothan female domestic from the Jedi Temple. “Nainn, do you remember me?”

“Yes, Master Vex, I do,” Nainn replied. “You’re taking a big risk coming here. Everyone is saying that Jedi are traitors. Them and anyone connected to them. If they figure out who you are….”

“Shhh…” Ixur said. “You know that I am too careful to be easily caught. Unless they are specifically looking for me, or unless I am extremely unlucky, I will be gone before they know I’ve even been on Coruscant, and they’ll never connect me to you even after they find out. And Ren’s word is good. He’ll get you out.”

Nainn sighed. “I know what you’re here about,” she said. “It was… it was AWFUL. The Jedi were suddenly declared public enemy number one and the clones turned on them. I’ve heard rumors that all of them did. All the clones everywhere.”

Ixur sighed. “I have heard the same rumors,” he said. “I’m still trying to confirm them, but it is not looking good. Nainn… I need to know. Master Tobis… Edan… did you see him…”

“Fall?” Nainn said as tears welled up in her eyes. “Yes. He was trying to protect the Younglings and some of us domestics, he and a group of the older Jedi, the academics, the clerics, the librarians. Jedi who were either no longer suited for combat due to age or infirmity, or were never suited to combat at all. And yet they fought. I saw him fall just as escaped through a passage he had led us to.”

Ixur closed his eyes, took in a breath, let it go, and opened his eyes. “You’re sure?”

Nainn nodded. “Yes,” she said. “He was shot several times through the torso and one… one in through the head. He could not have survived.”

Ixur was silent a moment, then spoke. “Thank you,” he said. “I wish you safe travels. I fear we will not meet again. It has been an honor knowing you, Nainn.”

“The honor has been mine, Master Vex,” Nainn replied. “Go. Be gone before those awful clones find you.”

Ixur nodded. After Nainn had been hidden away to await her transport off-world, Ixur turned to Ren. “Thank you.”

Ren nodded. “Safe travels, Vex,” he said. “You always done right by me, you and Tobis. He was a good guy, a realist. He didn’t deserve to go down like that. He was the kinda guy who shoulda died of old age. He didn’t deserve… all this.”

“No,” Ixur said. “No he did not.”

“Where ya gonna go?” Ren said. “I know guys that could use a Hunter like you.”

“I don’t know where I’m headed,” Ixur said. “Anywhere that’s not here, I suppose. And besides, it’s probably better that I don’t tell anyone here where I’m actually headed. The more people who know a secret…”

Ren laughed. “You’re a smart one Vex,” he said. “You keep those clone bastards guessing. Farewell, Vex.”

“Farewell, Ren,” Ixur pulled his hood back over his head, hefted his cortosis staff, and headed out for the dock where his ship was waiting for him. Ixur hadn’t exactly exactly told Ren the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The Morgukai Master had received a cryptic message telling him that trouble was coming and offering him refuge. Ixur had been on his way to try and get Tobis out before the trouble started. He’d owed the Jedi that and more. But he’d been too late. With Tobis gone, there was little left for Ixur than to head to the coordinates given to him in the message and hope it wasn’t a trap.