[Solved] [Episode III, pt. i] Where the Jiffalos Do Roam

This entry has earned 8XP

  Deep holes of standing water were as common as mud-fleas on a Gundark here on Manpha. Hayk wasn't really sure what that meant, or if they even had mud-fleas on Vanqor, but apparently the phrase that one of the local Shawda Ubb had told him meant that there were a lot of them. Even here in the northern marshlands, he felt he had to watch his step to avoid getting a good booter. Naruun had once told Hayk that if there seemed to be trouble, he should search out an old friend, Jul Ti, on Manpha. It had taken a few days of asking around to find this proverbial frog in a mud-bog.

  From what Naruun had said, Jul Ti had been someone he had known briefly during the clone wars, a lesser-known Jedi who had fought in the Battle for Mandalore at the end of the war. Thinking about this brought many memories of Hayk's former founder to his mind, which drifted and flowed like the bubbles on the murky water. Suddenly, as Hayk turned around a bend in the path he'd been following, he saw a woman with poofy dark hair, wearing humble, yet elegant robes, tending to an animal in the swamp. Without turning, the woman addressed Hayk with a fairly warm tone in her voice.

  'Good morning. You've come a long way from Shanpan to get here. What brings you out to this part of the swamp?'

  'I'm looking for someone, an old friend of someone I once knew. At that time, he would have been only a young boy on Mandalore.'

  The woman's eyes went wide.

  'You must be Hayk. Naruun sent word that you would probably come here some day. I am sorry for your loss.'

  'Thank you. I try to live in a way which would honour his memory,' Hayk's words started to falter, so he changed the subject. 'What is this creature? I'm not familiar with it. Is it from Manpha?'

  Hayk reached out and rubbed the creature's head, and the creature didn't seem to mind.

  'This is a jiffalo. They aren't a well known creature, but they are a form of livestock that typically live in swamps and eat swamp grass. I do not believe their kind is native here, but I have cared for these animals here for many decades, and this one was born here many years ago now. They especially like these plants with the flowers. I can't blame them, they are quite nice in a good Bog-Stew.'

  Just as Jul said this, the beast meandered over to a different area of the swamp and began eating some of the flower plants.

  'Naruun would have wanted you to have this,' Jul stated, producing a small box, and removing it's lid. 'Back on Mandalore, when we were both younger, Naruun gave this to me for safe keeping. It is a template for making a Mandalorian laser-sabre hilt, not entirely unlike the weapon of a Jedi. He hoped that one day, this item could be used to make a weapon that would fight for peace for his people, where a weapon like the Darksaber has only brought much in-fighting and death.'

  'You have made one of these yourself, these laser-swords, right?' Hayk inquired.

  'A long time ago, yes, but I have hidden it for now, in trying to keep from attracting unwanted attention.' Jul stopped, pondering, then added, 'Why now? What has brought you here now?'

  'It is a long story,' Hayk began, 'but I will tell you the short of it.'

  He told Jul of the recent battles and struggles of the galaxy, and told her about UniStar, and how their actions and dealings in the shadows had many leaders worried.

  'They aren't exactly subtle, but it is hard to say what their motives are, or if they have any agenda beyond their company's gain. It does seem strange how a company that had been presumed to be out of business a long time ago is suddenly reappearing and seems to be pulling so many strings both in the corporate/industrial sectors of the galaxy, and in the less 'legal' underbelly of many worlds across the Outer Rim. Naruun told me to come find you if there ever seemed to be trouble, and it seems like the galaxy is sitting on the tip of a dagger, but no one knows which way it will tip.'

  'I'm not sure what I can do to help. I have become a simple mud-farmer, and much of who I once was is lost. Besides, I have responsibilities here,' she said, gesturing towards the jiffalo nearby, 'These creatures' lives matter too.'

  'I understand. I would even say I understand better than most... many people look down on droids, or treat them poorly, but I try to give them a better life, and always try to find a good home for the droids under my care.'

  'Thank you for this,' Hayk said, receiving the box with the template. 'It has been nice to meet you.'

  'Even just from our first meeting, I believe Naruun would have been proud. Farewell.'

  Hayk turned to leave, then turned back to the Jedi.

  'If you ever get tired of the life of a mud-farmer on Manpha, the galaxy will still be there, and I'm sure there would be a place for you in it.'

  'There is someone else, who you might seek out. My former master always found it hard to live a simple life, and he was also much more skilled in the making of laser-swords. Last I had heard, he was living on Celanon.'

 'Really?' Hayk said with a smirk. 'It really must be a small galaxy, after all.'