*Image from DarkHorse.com
Issues 13-15
Sitting in a room filled with monitors, a Neimodian named Eejee Vamm with special attachments on the back of his neck sits and is looking for something. Camper appears on the monitors dressed as Baron Margryph and Eejee Vamm contacts Lord Adasca to tell him he’s found what he’s looking for.
In the backwoods on Ralltir, Camper yawns as Jarael and Zayne duel shockstaff against lightsaber. The fight is intense and comes down to Zayne dropping his lightsaber and Jarael coming out on top. Camper has also made vambraces for Zayne that can block glancing blows from lightsabers. Once finished, Zayne and Jarael say their good-byes for Jarael, Camper, and Elbee will be going one direction and Zayne and Gryph will go another. Zayne watches as the Last Resort takes off then heads into town where Gryph is trying to hire a ship for transport.
Once Zayne finds Gryph, Gryph has big plans to make money with the upcoming conflict between the Mandalorians and the Republic. When asked about the ship, Gryph says it will be “delievered” at midnight. Zayne is suspecious but is told “it’s taken care of.”
That night, Gryph and Zayne are waiting when a ship lands at the designated location. A Trandoshan named Slyssk demands to be paid more for stealing the ship for Gryph but Gryph comes up with another idea to get the ship. Gryph lures Slyssk under a light to have a chat. With the Force, Zayne gets the light to fall and Gryph saves Slyssk’s life. Slyssk tells the two that he now owes a lifedebt to Gryph and is so excited to owe someone a life debt, just giving the ship to Gryph (Slyssk isn’t the most ordinary Trandoshan).
Suddenly, blaster fire opens up and the ones Slyssk stole the ship from appear. Zayne, Gryph, and Slyssk get on board and head off the planet. In orbit, a Republic military convoy is waiting for the Little Bivoli, the ship Slyssk stole. The stolen ship turns out to be a provisioning ship. Once they fall into place, the convoy jumps to hyperspace, heading to confront the Mandalorians.
Aboard the Last Resort traveling through hyperspace, Camper is looking over the ship when his illness starts to intensify and an intruder is onboard. Jarael runs to check things out when she hears a noise to find HK-24 armed and standing over Camper.
HK-24 is programmed with kidnapping Camper but Jarael won’t let him go easily. Although Jarael and even Elbee try to fight the HK, the HK defeats them and goes for the kill when Rohlan, the Mandalorian blasts HK-24 to pieces. Jarael and Rohlan then try to help Camper with first aid.
On Serroco, a planet near the Mandalorian front, an ace pilot manages to set his ship down in a place no one thought it would fit. The pilot turns out to be Carth Onasi who immediately heads to the Little Bivoli to have something to eat.
Gryph is running the Little Bivoli very effectively with Slyssk cooking the food (who knew Trandoshans could cook?) and Zayne supposed to be washing the dishes. When a serving droid breaks down again, Zayne rushes out to get the dishes but ends up spilling the leftovers all over Admiral Karath. As Karath walks away, Carth comes up to Zayne. Carth chats with Zayne a bit about the upcoming battle on the planet, finishes his meal, then heads out.
That night, being told the Mandalorians will be arriving the next day, Zayne tries to get Gryph to pull out but Gryph just sees too much money to be made. Zayne storms out when Gryph won’t listen to him.
Outside, Zayne has a vision where the Mandalorians end up destroying the cities of the planet. When Zayne awakes, it is morning and hurries to find Gryph. Zayne tells Gryph about the vision and Gryph decides have Zayne start tearing things down. However, Zayne says he won’t be leaving with Gryph but needs to talk to Admiral Karath.
Gryph goes to get Slyssk to close down the kitchens and head out but the kitchens are open with Republic soldiers wanting some of the flatcakes. After trying one, Gryph decides to stay just long enough for breakfast.
Carth is finishing droping off supplies for the Republic when he notices Zayne. Zayne tells Carth that he needs to see Admiral Karath. Carth doesn’t believe any of Zayne’s story until Zayne shows he is a Jedi. Carth was heading to the Courageous and agrees to take Zayne with him to see the Admiral.
Zayne does put out a call to Gryph and reminds him to get off the planet now. But with money to still be made, Gryph just says they’ll be heading out any minute; in reality, one more troop is just coming in.
Once aboard the Courageous, Karath reveals to Carth that the Jedi with him is Zayne Carrick, the Jedi Killer. Karath continues to put Zayne in cuffs and accuses him as being a Mandalorian spy. Zayne tells Karath to contact Squint, a Jedi Zayne meet on Taris and then rescued from Flashpoint Station. Carth goes to make the call and to inform the Jedi Council that Zayne Carrick is in custody.
Outside, the Mandalorians appear in the system. The surface scrambles for cover and take off, Gryph thinking they shouldn’t have served seconds. The Mandalorians fire nuclear missles that go around the Republic fleet and target key cities on Serroco. Through the Force, Jedi around the galaxy can feel the deaths of the people on Serroco: Zayne cries out, Squint and a hooded Jedi stumble, and Q’anilia informs Lucien that the feeling they’re feeling is a vision coming true.
Looking at the damage, 27 populated places are wiped off the map and only 8 ships manage to escape. When Zayne asks about the Little Bivoli, Carth pulls up an image of the ship destroyed, apparently trying to get away when it was hit. Karath then throws Zayne into a cell to be handed over to the Jedi later as the fleet prepares to find another place to make a stand.
Later on the Courageous, Carth makes a visit to Zayne’s cell. Carth tells Zayne that he couldn’t get hold of Squint but did manage to send out a warning to 17 cities on the surface. Carth leaves Zayne alone, telling him to “hang in there.”
(coming soon!)
