A Long Term Investment
"No one even comes down here other than the occasional patrol. And if they find us we'll just tell them were were..." he said trailing off and shrugging. Geda frowned at him, not getting his insinuation and then her eyes widened.
"Gross," she said and hit him. "I have standards and they most certainly don't involve you," she protested.Tusta stifled a laugh but his shoulders shook soundlessly.
"Yes, I've heard your tastes are more directed to women," he said wryly. Geda scowled and moved away from him. Tusta always had dirt on someone. Not that Geda's choice in lovers was really a concern but she enjoyed keeping her private life private, a necessity in her work, and having even someone from the Hand know an aspect of her life seemed invasive.
She sidled along the wall towards its edge and then peered around the corner. The adjoining hallway was equally dark and she just caught the leg of the roving guards moving around the corner at the far end. A series of doors small doors lined the hallway on either side, making up the cells of the building. The Hand hadn't held a prisoner in years but past iterations of the group had sometimes been a bit more aggressive in their methods. Elements of the Hand during the Clone Wars still used their extensive resources to influence major political or strategic goals. It wasn't uncommon for a particularly bold senator or diplomat to end up in the Hand's prison block for stumbling onto something they shouldn't have. That was all gone now. That kind of espionage and intrigue which made her heart race. Now it was just annual meetings and tithing percentages to be discussed. She felt Tusta moving up behind her.
"What do you see," he whispered.
"It's clear," she hissed back and delivered a small jab to his stomach with her elbow. He let out a muffled grunt and laughed quietly. He moved around her and strode down the hall. She frowned, wondering why he wasn't moving with more guile or stealth, and realized that if any patrol stumbled upon them, the more casual they were the better their chances. She sighed and strode down the hall behind him, making an effort to not let her heeled shoes tap too loudly on the hard floor.
Each of the cell doors had small lights above them displaying if the cell contained a 'guest'. All of the doors were red with the exception of one green one. They approached the door and Geda leaned against the wall, crossing her leg over the other. Tusta was fiddling with the keypad and seemed to be making little progress. It chirped errors again and again as he hammered in incorrect codes.
"Someone is going to get called if you keep doing that," she muttered. Tusta shrugged and then pulled out a small datacard from his pocket. He swiped the card through the reader and the door panel flashed green.
"I wanted to see if I remembered the code off the top of my head," he said passively and waggled the card at her. "I guess not so I used the key instead".
"Where did you-" she began and then shook her head. That would be giving the Zabrak exactly what he wanted. He thrived on the attention.
The door glided open quietly and revealed a small dark cell. There was a cot built into the wall on the one side with a small pillow and blanket. A refresher unit was built into the wall and looked as dingy as the bedding. She couldn't see anyone in the cell and the bed looked undisturbed. They crept into the cell, Tusta tapping the control to close the door behind them.
"Who are you?" a voice asked from beside Geda. She yelped and leapt away from the old man huddled in the corner to her left. He had been sitting out of sight from the door against the wall. He seemed much smaller than she had seen in the Grand Hall. Tusta moved himself between Geda and the old man and puffed out his chest slightly.
"That is none of your concern," he said, voice laden with authority. "We have some questions for you".
"You could at least tell me who you are," the old man said with a shrug. He hadn't looked at them yet and his gaze was directly at the floor. His eyes were distant. The comment took Tusta off guard. It was so matter of fact.
"We are acolytes to the Hand of Seracco," Geda said from behind Tusta. He flashed her a glare, apparently he had expected to lead this entire conversation with her a hiding meekly behind him. She glared back and moved up from behind him.
"There is nothing left of the Hand. It's a social club now," the man quipped back. "If it remembered its roots I wouldn't be in a cell," he said.
"What was your name. You said your name before," Geda asked.
"Remus," he muttered.
"Remus, we believe you. That is why we are here," Geda replied. She crouched down to eye level with him. His old eyes slowly tracked up to hers. Geda was fantastic at reading people. It was imperative for her work as a lawyer. She was famed amongst her peers for having stellar emotional intelligence. She could see a lot in his eyes: desperation, hurt, fear, anger. There was something else. She could feel an energy with him. A passion and drive unlike something she had felt before. His entire life had been devoted to this. He had sacrificed - everything for this cause only to have it ripped down in front of him. He wasn't giving up though. She could see the determination in him.
"You don't even know who I am," he said.
"Then tell us," Tusta replied. Geda had been worried he would jump in and try to take control of the situation but he seemed to be reading her motives well. She didn't give him enough credit sometimes; she could never tell him that though. Remus considered them both for a moment, his old eyes scrutinized them but she could see a flicker of curiosity and hope in them.
"As I said, I am the Caretaker. My family has defended the tomb of Jedi Master Vinaisa Kriegor for the past 3,000 years. It has been our entire existence since my ancestor, Hato Aessian, took up the cause following her voluntarily entering into stasis," Remus began.
"How does that work? You're clearly a descendant but last time I checked an old man alone in the woods can't really procreate," Tusta asked. Geda scowled at him and flashing him a looked that said "Really".
"There are others who have joined the cause. Jedi Master Kriegor assisted many people in her life and many of them were devoted enough to pledge their support. There are others who seek community and shelter from a galaxy embroiled in conflict," Remus replied.
"So what, you just sat on Rishi and guarded a tomb? Where is Rishi anyways?" she asked and looked to Tusta. He shrugged and shook his head.
"Yes," he said earnestly. "It was our duty to devote ourselves to the cause and defend her while she could not defend herself - the Endless Vigil," Remus said.
"How do you know she's awake?" Tusta asked. Remus glared at him.
"I am the Caretaker, boy," he replied defiantly. "I went in there and noticed she wasn't in the stanging stasis cask anymore," he spat back.
"Any chance she was moved?" Tusta asked.
"What you think I lost her?" Remus asked, aghast. He looked to Geda for some support. "Who is he?" he asked and pointed to Tusta. Geda chuckled and a smile crept onto her face.
"No one important but he will never tell you that," she replied. Her smile was infectious and soon Remus was grinning from ear to ear. He held out a hand to her and she stood up and extended her own, pulling him to his feet. She moved him over to the bed where he sat down beside her. Tusta leaned against the wall in front of them and crossed his arms.
"She was gone. A few of our scouts reported movement on the perimeter that evening but thought it was just some creatures - the jungle is full of them. Later we discovered a nest of Womp Rats with lightsaber wounds. She had moved on towards Raider's Cove and likely gained passage from there," Remus said. His face grew serious and he placed an old hand on Geda's.
"It is said that she would only return when her adversary has come back - Malefax," he said.
"So what is your job then? Keep the critters from chewing on the power couplings in her tomb?" Tusta asked.
"Yes," Remus said. "And alert the Hand of Seracco once she has awoken so they can muster a defence against Malefax," he finished.
"Oh," Tusta said. Geda frowned and looked to her companion. They were both thinking about the deluge of old acolytes upstairs, likely still debating about the food service or robe hem length many floors above.
"We have lost our way," Geda said after a long moment.
"That's an understatement," Tusta added. "Listen, that lot upstairs will never listen to you. They have built their lives upon a throne of decadence and complacency. What you propose shatters that existence and they will spend all of their time and resources to fight that while letting our Enemy build his defences," he said. Geda frowned at Tusta. She had never taken him for a devote believer. He was a rational man and was business-minded. She opted to let him continue.
"The way I see it is that the Hand of Seracco was built on an ideal not on people: Defeat the Enemy. We can reform the Hand for what it was before. Become the Sentinels that we were supposed to be. I know of a few still loyal to the cause who can help us," he said.
"And how are we going to do that?" Geda said. Tusta was monologuing again - she hated when he did that. "We have no resources of our own. The Council of Elders will snuff us out right away. Others had tried before and the only thing that collection of crones is good at is defending themselves from extinction. They have the wealth of a small planetary system and the resources to support it," Geda said. Remus raised his hand to interject.
"I can assist with that," he said.
"With what?" Tusta asked.
"The resources. The Caretakers invested in a fledgling group during the days of the Old Republic. The intent at the time was to bring in profits to support our own survival. Food, water, and fuel were all in high demand during the many wars between the Jedi and the Sith. Unfortunately, these funds were forgotten through the ages and were only rediscovered a few years back when a delegate from the group sought us out to ask us what we wanted to do with our fund," he said.
"Who was this group?" Tusta asked.
"Back then they had a different name but now I have been told they are called the Banking Clan," Remus said. Silence fell over the room and Geda could see Tusta was as shocked as she was. He swallowed and opened his mouth to speak, no words came out though. He centered himself and then tried again.
"You have a three thousand year old investment with the Banking Clan?" he asked. Geda watched him calculating the troves of interest in his head. Remus nodded.
"Yes, that's what I just said. I believe they said it was somewhere around a few hundred million credits," he said. Tusta rocked back with the casualness of Remus' words and Geda gaped.
"Well, I can most certainly make use of that," Tusta said. Remus flashed him a knowing smile.
"I'm old but I'm not dumb. I won't let you hustle what my family has devoted their entire life to protect. Those credits are locked so only an Aessian can access them and I'm the last one," he said and jabbed a thumb into his chest.
"Alright, so we have the resources. We just need somewhere to base ourselves out of," Geda said. Remus frowned and stroked his chin. Geda looked over to Tusta who smiled at her. He mouthed the words " Hundred Million Credits," and she rolled her eyes.
"There are the old watchtowers? Stations along the perimeter of Zareca String. A few thousand years back there was a resurgence of cultists fighting in the name of Malefax. They caused quite a stir back then and the Hand built a series of stations along the string to cordon them off. Most were destroyed but there still may be some in a livable state," Remus said. Geda looked to Tusta and shrugged.
"Whatever it takes to defeat the Enemy," Tusta said and held out his hand to Remus. "With you as the face of our movement. We can restore the Hand to it's former glory," Tusta said. Remus shook his head.
"No, I am the Caretaker. I do not lead. But I will provide my support to another," he said and looked to Geda. She frowned and then began vigorously shaking her head.
"Nope," she said. "Not going to happen," she added.
"She has my vote," Tusta said and flashed her a knowing-grin which she replied to with her coldest glare.
"I don't know the first thing about running this group and I have a life, a very good life, back on Imperial Center," she argued.
"Bah, the Imperial Courts are a farce and you know it," Tusta said. "This is something real Geda. Isn't this why you joined the Hand in the first place. All those years ago when you believed there was something more to all this," he replied. She glared at him but stared down at her robes. Deep inside her, that small budding excitement was growing. She had felt it years before when she had first joined the Hand, hoping that there was some truth to the stories. It was something real - something true that she could get behind. She looked to Remus who gave her a warm smile.
"Well, even if I did agree; and I'm not saying I am. Where do we even start?" she asked. Tusta waved the access card at her and then tossed it to Remus.
"We start by getting out of this cell," he said. Remus nodded and moved towards the cell door. Tusta turned to follow but Geda grabbed his arm.
"What is your game here?" she hissed. "I know you kriffing don't believe anything he's saying". Tusta grinned at her.
"Opportunities," he whispered back and pulled away from her to follow Remus out of the cell.
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