Pergitor was even more dreary than Ordos had described it as being. Even from orbit, the planet was a dull gray, the same gray Calen remembered being the color painted onto trash collectors or the panels of a Star Destroyer. Like the Star Destroyers, it really only looked intimidating because it was a lot of gray. Descent through the atmosphere sent them through equally dull, gray clouds down into a landscape of jagged, gray rocks that were disturbed only by the occasional blue-white lightning strike from the heavens to break up the overpowering mediocrity of the environment.
Also, the rain.
Pergitor was, it seemed, a very rainy planet.
“It’s a good thing we have the sensors going.” Calen commented through the sound of the pounding on the viewport. “I can’t make heads or tails otherwise.”
“The chances of successfully navigating the atmosphere of Pergitor without sensor assistance are-” Beedee began.
“Oh, shut up!” Calen snapped. There was a long, awkward pause between them that was, thankfully, broken up as the rear hatch opened and Ordos entered the bridge.
“What’s our E-?” Ordos began, but it was his turn to be cut off.
“It’s low.” Beedee chirped quickly. “Very, very low.” Calen rolled his eyes and did his best to move on from it. Ordos merely shook his head
“How do people even live here?” Calen asked, moving the ship along the projected path in the nav system. Gehenna, one of the sealed cities that were the only sentient life on this rock, loomed before them. The outline of it was just barely visible through the raging torrent outside. “I read from the Holonet that it wasn’t always like this. Did this happen during the War?”
“No, this planet was screwed up long before any clones or droids landed here.” Ordos shook his head. “Pergitor’s been this way ever since I can remember. Word was it was some kind of accident. Extreme overmining that caused a meltdown of the core. Now you just have rocks and ashy rain.”
“What?” Calen asked, confused.
“That ‘rain’ is liquid ash. Whatever’s left of the old environment being cycled through again and again.”
“...well, that’s not unsettling at all.”
“Don’t worry about getting wet, the cities are all sealed up.” Ordos told him. “Makes it hard to stave off the Perceivers, but most just go about their business.”
“What’s a Perceiver?” Calen asked. “You mean those religious guys you mentioned?”
“The Church of Infinite Perception.” Ordos said. “They rule the cities. Crazy nuts about ‘Ascension’, but they’re mostly harmless. Just don’t be surprised if they ask you to wash the Waking Eye.”
“The what?” Calen asked, but the loud beeping of the comm panel caught his attention. He read the lines on the screen as they came up, welcoming them to Gehenna and giving them clearance and coordinates to land and...giving praise to the Waking Eye. “What is the Waking Eye?”
“Some nutjob religious thing.” Ordos waved him off. “Just...smile and nod and flick the water on the totem if they jam it in your face.” He came up to Calen’s chair, putting a hand on the back. “Of course, we do actually have to land before that happens.”
“Right.” Calen nodded, taking the controls to manual once they were safely within range of the massive dome that it could be seen clearly. A series of landing lights were either being extended or retracted, and either way led the Dawn along the path to several platforms. This looked a bit more like a spaceport, dozens of vessels coming and going, either way the platforms they landed on being pulled back into the dome once their business was concluded. Such as it was for the Dawn, her engines purring like a contented cat as its descended onto one of the seemingly unending multitude of platforms. The landing complete, the platform was slowly drawn in through a lengthy chute, and came to its final resting place with a loud, metallic grind.
“We’re clear.” Ordos said, the sound of a bunch of fans going off heard faintly, much less so than the pounding rain outside.
“Heavy duty filters.” Calen said.
“Atmospheric toxicity on Pergitor is ninety-six point nine nine nine nine…” Beedee chirped,
“We get it, Beedee!” Calen snapped.
“...high. It’s very high. For organics.” Beedee said, turning. “Do you think I like that I’ve been programmed this way by the Captain? Sitting here on this bridge spouting off meaningless facts?”
“I didn’t-” Calen was cut off immediately.
“All this core memory spaced wasted on nonsense! And having to recite them every. Single. Time that my programming gets triggered! And you think it’s bad hearing it?!” Calen was going to respond, but felt a finger tapping him on the shoulder. Turning, he found Ordos gesturing for him to follow him out of the cockpit, and Calen was only too happy to follow his lead and let Beedee have his rant.
“Life!” The droid screeched as loud as its vocalizer would allow. “Don’t talk to me about life!”
Once they had passed through the docking bays, they followed a series of corridors of white walling and flooring into a massive chamber that was set up very much like the inside of a beehive. Coming up in a lift from the docks below, Calen’s eyes were treated to the sight of multiple levels of chambers that been built within the circular curve of the structure, each one of the “combs” containing some shop or other business, the curves ending as the walls drew closer together at the ends only to flair out once more into another curve that extended out beyond what he could see. It was clear that this was only a single part of a much larger whole.
“Pretty efficient, I’ll give them that.” Ordos said. “Then again, I’ve seen the inside of a Wookiee’s mouth that looks better than what’s outside.”
“So where exactly are we gonna find this guy?” Calen asked as they descended in the lift.
“Beebus. He has a shop on the habitat ring in this section.” Ordos said. “Or, at least, he did last time I was here. Wasn’t too long ago.” Calen nodded, taking it in. The lift finally stopped, opening up into a commercial area. There were stops, cantinas, and...the Imperial Garrison, so marked by the symbol of the Empire hanging over it.
“I thought you said the Church was running things here.” Calen hissed, ducking so that he was not facing the place as they passed it, and a formation of Stormtroopers marched on by without giving the duo so much as a second look.
“What?” Ordos asked. “Stop standing like that, are you trying to draw people’s attention?”
“But, the Storm-”
“The whole Minos Cluster is still under Imperial control. That’s no different, even here.” Ordos said, shaking his head. “Palpatine’s fingers stretch out far, kid.”
“Oh. Great.” Calen muttered, sighing.
“Just...relax.” Ordos said, Calen giving him a look that pointed this out as the contradiction that it was. “Don’t be drawing attention to yourself, just...be casual. These aren’t the Imperial officers who will be looking through the Holonet for bounties, if you know what I mean.”
“...what do you mean?” Calen asked as they approached a shop, a sign in Basic reading ‘Vaen’s General’.
“Exactly what I said.” Ordos said, stepping with him through the wide, open archway and finding a shop cluttered with scrap droid parts, some various supplies, and a Rodian who suddenly went a slightly paler shade of green when his black, pupil less eyes met Ordos walking through his door. “Beebus! Good to see ya! Let’s talk!”
The green humanoid bolted, mowing toward the back door and moving through it. The door slid shut behind him just as Calen reached it, having bounded up to catch him. There was a loud, metallic click as the door was locked from the other side.
“Magnetically sealed. Hang on.” Calen muttered as he reached over to the door’s control panel, tearing it off. Reaching through the wiring, he felt around for the override switch to get the door to manually unlock and open...and grinned as he found it, flipping it and unlocking the door. It slid open with a hiss and he was through it before it had fully opened up into what looked like a back alley. Instead of the same clean, white clinical look of the docking bays, the back alleys here were very much like he had seen of the low-levels of Coruscant.
Dark, smelly, trash-filled, and with a Rodian running for his life through them.
...that last part, at least, he presumed. Regardless, Beebus was running as fast as his life depended on it away from them. Calen took on down the path after him, the path following the curve of the mini-dome within the dome as Beebus was soon out of sight...and then in sight again as Calen rounded the corner. Beebus was, as far as he could tell, not a runner. The member of the usually rather lithe species was both older than he and very much overweight, with the time and distance he’d had from the locked door quickly being stripped away from him.
As he made his way along a catwalk and back into the marketplace proper, Calen could see Beebus overturning a few metallic barrels and then a sign to try and stall him. The young man leaped around the barrels, only kept away by them for mere fractions of a second. He pushed himself onward, the gap narrowing more and more. Another corner was turned, another group of shopkeepers most perturbed, and then came a wide-open area where Beebus forced himself into a crowd.
“Excuse me! Pardon me! Excuse me!” Calen said as he forced his way through a menagerie of all sorts of beings from the humanoid to the not-so-much to the droid and beyond. Avoiding a rather gnarly-looking Wookiee, Calen finally got through the crowd just in time to see Beebus ducking into another alley. He charged in after him, drawing his blaster along the way. He kept his eyes peeled, watching all points of entry as he passed and checking behind him at regular intervals in case Beebus doubled back.
“<You picked a bad time to get lost, friend.>” A voice chirped to him in perfect Huttese, and Calen turned to face it just in time to see Beebus standing not too far from him with a blaster. “<Set the blaster on the ground. Nice and slow, human.>” Calen gave a scowl as he tossed his blaster to the alley floor. “<Good. Now. Here’s what you’re going to tell Ord->” The Rodian was suddenly cut off by the sound of a blaster’s safety being taken off.
“Tell me yourself. I’m old, not deaf.” Ordos had arrived and had drawn his own blaster in Calen’s defense. The Rodian’s eyes flicked between the two humans.
“<Think you can still shoot me before I fry the young one, Ordos?>” At Beebus’s words, Ordos’ face broke out into...a smirk? Calen’s body, already tense, now had a face marred with confusion.
“Don’t think I have to, Beebus.” Beebus was suddenly struck rigid as electricity coursed through his body, blue lightning arcing along his form before he collapsed to the ground.
“ROOOOOOAWRRRR!!!”
“Thanks, Rook.” Ordos said to the tall, black furred creature that made itself known, lumbering into view.
“...I...what?” Calen blinked a few times.
“He’s a Wookiee. His name is Rookanonah or, as I call him, Rook.” Ordos said.
“I know what he is!” Calen protested, finally finding his motor skills again as he retrieved his blaster from the floor. “Where did he come from?”
“I told you before we landed, I had to step away to check in with an old friend.” Ordos said. He thumbed toward the Wookiee. “Rook’s a bounty hunter, I thought he might like an assist.” The Wookiee gave a growl that sounded, to Calen’s ears, almost like he were giving Ordos grief for the statement. “Yes, I know, I know. This was your hunt.”
“Nice to meet you, Rook.” Calen said. Now that he got a full look at the beastly creature, he could see that it was decorated like many others he had seen. Rook’s fur was shaggy and black, tufts of it covering his eyes. An ammo belt crossed his chest and from it were not only ammo but a few weapons as well - in particular a very wicked-looking, curved blade rested in a sheath. In his hands was not the traditional Wookiee bowcaster they were known for, but a hunting carbine that had several notches that had been carved into the barrel by a blade...or by the Wookiee’s sharp claws.
The creature growled in (at least what Calen took) to be a neutral tone and knelt down, pulling an item from Beebus’s back that Calen hadn’t noticed, a bolt for an electro-stunner. Not enough to kill Beebus, but it had been enough to render him inert for a while.
“So what are we gonna-?” Calen began to ask about what to do with their captured informant, cut off as Ordos gave the Rodian a swift kick to the side. “Hey! What the-?”
“Wake up!” Ordos yelled down to Beebus. The Rodian did not seem to react at first. Calen stared in surprise as Ordos took this as a sign to kick him again. That got his attention, and Beebus rose from unconsciousness mewling pathetically.
“Okay, so...if you’re done with the theatrics, let’s chat.” Ordos said.
“<Someone, please! Help! Call the Garri->” Beebus started, and just moaned out in pain as he was served another kick to the stomach.
“Rook here’s got his license up to date and you’ve got a rap sheet that’s taller than he is.” Ordos said. “Do you really want someone to call those Bucketheads down here?” He received no answer besides Beebus trying to breathe. It seemed he was less than inclined to try to call for help any further. “Fantastic. So, let’s chat.”
“<I don’t know where Daheel is! Honest!>”
“That’s funny. I don’t remember mentioning anything about Daheel.”
“<He’s the only reason you’d come here!>” Beebus protested, coughing up what Calen thought might be a lung. “<Word’s already got out about what he did to your Captain and everything.>”
“Then you must know what he wanted all that mining equipment for. Tell me.” Ordos said. There was a long pause as Beebus breathed. Ordos pulled back his foot for another kick.
“<There’s some kind of mining operation!>” Beebus said quickly, wheezing and clearly fearing for his life. “<Something the Gauntlet and the Church are involved in. Something here on Pergitor.>”
“What?”
“<I don’t know! I swear, I don’t know anything!>”
“That’s funny, I was just looking over your bounty when we got here.” Ordos said. “Combined sixteen hundred credits. That’s enough for fuel, lunch, and tows, wouldn’t you say, Rook?” The Wookiee growled loudly, and Beebus was once more pailing.
“<It’s the Church. Something to do with the Church! They’d know where he is. He’s their middle man!>”
“Sounds good to me.” Ordos said, then turned to the Wookiee. “Rook, take your bounty.”
“<What?!>”
“What? You thought we were letting you go?” Ordos snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“<Please! I can get you things! I can help! Don’t do this to me!>” Beebus was silenced by a smack on the back of his skull by the blunt of Rook’s carbine. The Wookiee knelt down and picked the Rodian up like a crate and hoisted him over his shoulder.
“He’ll be alright.” Ordos said with a tone of blank disinterest. Calen shifted uncomfortably on the spot.
“That was…” Calen began.
“An interrogation.” Ordos finished. “And I told you back on Karideph that this was an all or nothing thing. You may have to see or do some things that make you uncomfortable. You’re out of the Academy, Darkhaven. This is life.” That didn’t sit well with Calen at all, but he knew the truth of the words.
“Alright. Now what?” Calen asked.
“Now, we have to follow the path we have.” Ordos said. “I didn’t want us to have to go through with it, but it looks like we have Church to go to. C’mon.”
“Wait, what about Rook?” Calen asked. Ordos stopped, looking back to him with a raised brow. “Things go south, wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a bounty hunting Wookiee in our corner.”
“The Church is made up of a bunch of crazy people and pushovers. It’s not like we’re raiding the Imperial Palace.” Ordos said. “Besides, Rook has a bounty to collect. C’mon.” He started off, Calen following.
“So...was Rook part of your group?” The younger man asked. “The one with you...and Glin...and the Captain?”
“He was, yes.” Ordos said curtly. “A long time ago.”
“Why di-” Calen started to ask, but he caught the twinge of pain in Ordos’ eye...or he thought he’d done so for a split second before the man’s usually stoic mask resumed its place.
“Nothing lasts forever, Calen.” It was all the old soldier quietly offered in response.
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