Kamon Vondiranach is a complex person. Besides the obvious things, the fact that he is a wealthy Prince, he is also a Rogue Jedi Master. The current head of the order, Nathaniel Somir, recently promoted him. Kamon has other qualities as well. Some of which are unknown to anyone other than himself. Some of those will ever be only known to him.

He lost his parents when he was but eight. He didn’t lose them in an ordinarily normal way. His brother had aspired to become a Sith. His brother had practiced his power on his parents. His brother killed his parents. His brother is a Sith.

Kamon walked through one of the many halls in his royal palace. A simple but elegant palace it is. It’s decorations were simple yet beautiful. Passing by the office area, he gave a quick smile to Whisper. She was the newest addition to the faction.

He stepped into his office, and sat down in his chair for a few brief minutes. He needed to download a few things onto his datapad. He also wanted to pick up the holocron he was using to record his actions so that future generations would know of his accomplishments.

He linked his datapad to the world database. Typing in a few passwords, he soon had downloaded what he needed. He passed his hand over the palm scanner under his desk, and the single drawer in the desk slid open. Inside, a handful of used holocrons were stored. One of which was one he had filled up with information. The rest had been passed down to him. Picking up a new holocron from the back of the drawer, he stood up and walked out of his office.

Walking down the hall again, he made a last attempt to straighten himself up before going into the council chamber. Satisfied with his appearance, he pushed open the door and walked in. The four people seated in the room rose and saluted him. Kamon saluted back, and motioned for them to be at ease.

He slid into his chair at the head of the table. Once seated, he connected his datapad to the holoprojector in the middle of the table. When he was done with that, he sat back in his chair.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It’s good to see you are all well.”

The four people in the room greeted him and sat back in their chairs.

“As you all know, I have called you here so we can have a last council meeting before I go to Zonama Sekot. I want no objections to my going alone because I know the history of the planet, and its connection to the Force.”

He said this just as one of the others was about to interject. He pressed a button on the datapad, and a holographic image of a planet rich in life in some areas, while others were scarred as if a large battle had been fought there.

“This is the planet of Zonama Sekot. According to documents created by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the planet is hidden somewhere in the left most region of the unknown sector. The planet also has a sophisticated defense system, which was used when the planet was attacked by the Trade Federation.”

“Among these defenses are laser weapons that are far outdated but still deadly, an extremely large amount of fighters, and huge engines that can move the planet around. In affect, the planet is a living warship. But hopefully this will not matter.”

“I intend to start by going to the planet and having them build me one of their living ships. This will cost me quite a bit, and I am taking the money from my personal funds. I intend to go through the rituals, and watch my ship be built. Once it is built, I will offer the inhabitants the opportunity to join us. If they refuse then I will have to use some persuasion.”

“Once the planet is ours, we will have the capability of producing living ships. There are some hindrances to this however. It takes a fairly large amount of time to build the ships, and they can have only one pilot. If that pilot dies, the ship dies as well. But the fact that they are living ships is worth the cost.”

“Any questions?”

“I have one. Who’s going to be up with the fleet keeping the peace? What happens if an invading fleet pops up?” Admiral Mont asked.

“The Commander of the Starfire will be in charge. If the need comes for us to defend ourselves, we will. If the task is to great, we will call for backup. Tholatin is nearest to the unknown sector, so the help will come from there. Any other questions?”

No one spoke up, or raised their hand. Thus, Kamon deduced that there were no further questions.

“Very well. The fleet is preparing to leave as we speak. It will take some time to find the planet, so we intend to leave early tomorrow morning. Dismissed.”

The four heads of the military and navy rose from their chairs, and exited the room. Kamon removed his datapad from the hologram projector, and rose from his own chair. Walking out of the room, he checked his portable chronometer. It read 2100 hours, so he knew he must go to sleep. The fleet was scheduled to leave at 0600 hours.

He walked down the hall, and entered his office. He replaced the holocron, and put the datapad back on his desk. Then he walked out of the office and down the hall a few steps to Whispers office. He had to express his love for her, and he had to do it before he left.

“Whisper, there is something I must tell you. If I die while I am at Zonama Sekot, I want you to know that I love you. I wholeheartedly love you.”

“I’m speechless, Kamon. I know not what to say.”

“Then don’t say anything. I must go. I must rest so I can leave tomorrow.”

With that, he turned and departed from the office. He went to his room, took off his clothes, and went to bed.

Kamon woke up at 0500 hours and got out of bed. He went over and used the fresher, then returned to his room. He opened the door to his closet, and pulled out his Jedi robes. He put them on, and attached his lightsaber to his belt. He combed his hair lightly, and walked out of the room.

Two Royal Phalanx Guard Corp troopers fell into step on either side of him. He didn’t need them truthfully. They were mostly there because protocol required all of the higher ups of the Tholatin Organization to have guards from the Corp with them at all times. They were only equipped with a standard blaster rifle. Noted the rifles weren’t exactly useless.

They walked down the hall to one of the many turbolifts in the castle. Kamon pressed his palm to the scanner, and entered the lift when the scanner had recognized his palm. He keyed in the code for the lift to take him down four floors and to the hangar bay. The lift started moving shortly after he had keyed in the code and they shot down four floors to the hangar bay.

They two men and one woman exited the lift and headed four the three ships centered on a platform in the bay. One of the requirements of the Royal Phalanx Guard Corp is that the members be able to pilot a ship. Thus, they could escort their official anywhere the official had to go. Since Kamon preferred to fly himself up to the fleet in a starfighter, this meant his two bodyguards had to fly two other starfighters up with him.

They got into the ships, went through the preflight checks, and shot out of the hangar on a spaceward trajectory. They were hailed by the Tholatin Control and were given clearance to pass through the two Gencore type II shields that surrounded the planet. They passed through the openings that opened up for them. Once through they headed for the Starfire, and set down in the hangar bay.

Kamon and the two troopers exited their fighters, and walked toward the pilot ready room. They entered it and walked over to their respective lockers. They stripped off their flight suits, and placed them in their locker. Then, they headed out of the ready room. They didn’t need to change their clothes since their normal outfits could be worn under the flight suits.

They entered one of the turbolifts just outside of the ready room, and shot up to the level that the bridge was located on. Walking down the hall, they passed many areas where inspections were being held. They passed through a set of blast doors and onto the bridge. There, Kamon sat down in his command chair, and looked at the Captain.

“Are the two Defenders and the Tholatin ready to depart? We must leave immediately.”

“They are ready, sir. They await your signal to make the jump into the unknown region.”

“Give it to them.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kamon watched as the three ships moved away from the planet, and jumped into hyperspace. They would be given a ten-minute lead so that if they encountered a hostile Force, they would be able to take care of it.

Ten minutes passed and Kamon again turned to the Captain.

“Take us out, Captain.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Starfire moved away from the planet in the general direction that the other ships had departed from. Once there, the Captain turned to Kamon.

“We are ready to make the jump, sir.”

“Captain, you have my permission to jump.”

“Yes, sir.”

The ship lurched a little as the stars outside elongated and became a field of endless light as they shot into hyperspace. It would take four days to reach the area that was designated as the starting point for their search. Kamon relaxed in his chair and went into a deep trance.

Four days later, Kamon was sitting in the same place he had been when they left Tholatin. The only difference was that they were now sitting inside the unknown region of the galaxy. This place was only traversed by the peoples that inhabited this sector. The three other Tholatin ships sat in place two klicks away. The captain of one of the Defenders hailed him.

Kamon responded after the communications officer had given him the ok.

“Yes, Captain?”

“According to the charts, this is the location from which the planet was found by Master Skywalker and Master Kenobi. This was a long time ago, however. The traces from the huge planetary engines are very, very faint.”

“Are you saying we will be unable to follow the trail in order to find the planet?”

“No, sir. All I’m saying is that the trail is still here but will be very difficult to follow. We have already sent a dozen Tie Defenders out to scout ahead of us. So far, the course is clear of unwanted troubles.”

“Very good, Captain. Your ship will lead the way.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kamon nodded to the communications officer and he cut off the link between the ships. Kamon turned to the Captain and gave him the ok to follow the lead Defender. The other Defender came in on the port side of the ship, while the Tholatin came in on the Starboard side. This provided the Starfire a V shaped shield of ships in front and on its sides.

The four ships turned and headed toward the edge of the galaxy following the trail of the huge planetary Ion engines. The Captain of the Defender had been right. The trail from the engines was very faint. It was follow able, and Kamon was determined to find Zonama Sekot no matter what. He didn’t care if it took him months, he would do it. Thus, he began a long and tiresome search for the planet.

The four ships were burning fuel as they headed for the edge of the galaxy. They couldn’t make any hyperspace jumps because if they did there was a possibility that they would overshoot their target or run into it. Besides, as they soon found out, their target had not gone completely straight.

The ships were nearing the rim of the galaxy when the scouts reported that the path took a sharp turn left. The ships turned and they headed back toward the Core. Their course would take them right near the black holes at the center of the core. Fortunately for them this did not transpire, because they turned yet again.

The long-range scouts began to move really far ahead of the four capital ships. Eventually, they were 20 clicks ahead of the capital ships. They gradually got farther and farther away. Eventually, they turned back and reported that the trail ended and a large mass was in their path.

Kamon deduced that this was their target. The ships advanced cautiously toward the mass. When they were near enough to get a visual, Kamon let out a small gasp. Zonama Sekot was right in front of him and from his vantage point he could only see the top half of the planet.

It was surprisingly green. They halted their progress and watched as the planet completed one of its rotations. The planet showed them its southern hemisphere and Kamon saw what Master Kenobi had said in the holocron was true. It was a mottled scheme of browns and blacks with deep gashes in it.

Kamon smiled at the fact that he would soon have the ability to build living ships. Not many of course, but still, the concept was awe-inspiring. He composed himself and told the Captain to take over until he returned from the planet.

He entered a turbolift and shot down to the hangar bay. His personal shuttle was waiting for him there. It was an old Corellian YT series ship, but it worked extremely well for its age. He entered it and sat down in the pilots seat. Twenty Royal Phalanx Guard Corp troopers took seats in the ship.

Kamon piloted the craft out of the hangar bay and through the MagCon shield. Two Tie Defenders formed up as his wingmen. They shot toward the planet and once they were within a few clicks they were hailed.

“Unidentified freighter. You are entering restricted airspace. Leave immediately or you will be shot down.”

“I think not. My name is Kamon Vondiranach. I am the Prince of the planet Tholatin and the leader of the Tholatin Drive Yards. I am also a Rogue Jedi Master. I am here to do business with you. I wish to purchase a ship.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Vondiranach. We no longer have a ship building business. We stopped commercially making our ships decades ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I was willing to pay you 1.5 million credits.”

The person on the other in paused. For a few minutes all they heard was the sound of an argument. Five minutes later, someone spoke to him again.

“Very well, Mr. Vondiranach. We will build you a ship. Proceed to our newly installed docking areas at our main living area.”

“Thank you.”

The YT and its fighter escort shot down toward the planet. They entered the atmosphere just above the northern pole. They skimmed along the surface, and headed for the landing area. Circling it once, Kamon was satisfied that there was no danger. He turned on his repulsorlifts and set the ship down gently. The two Tie Defenders set down on landing pads near the one the YT had landed on.

Kamon walked to the landing ramp after shutting the ship down. He motioned for his troopers to wait until he had departed the ship. He walked down the ramp and was greeted by two beings that he didn’t recognize.

“Greetings. We are the greeters.”

“I noticed.” Kamon said.

“When you talked with our control station, you mentioned that you were a Rogue Jedi Master. We are unfamiliar with the term Rogue Jedi. The last Jedi we had here were just called Jedi.”

“Yes. You speak of Jedi Masters Kenobi and Skywalker. They belonged to the regular Jedi Order. The term Rogue Jedi refers to the Rogue Jedi Order. We are a new breed of Jedi. Instead of only being able to defend, we are allowed by our code to attack.”

“I see.”

Kamons twenty troops walked down the ramp and fell into a straight line behind Kamon. The two fighter pilots stood behind and to either side of him. The greeting party blanched at the site of the new comers.

“Have no fear. They will not harm you.” Kamon said.

“Yes. We’re sure they won’t. We aren’t accustomed to having armed ground forces on our planet.”

“These men and women are part of my field security force. They will be working with you to make sure that I stay alive.”

“Very well. If you will follow us, we will take you to the guest housing area.”

Kamon nodded his assent, and fell in step behind the two aliens. His troopers and the two pilots also followed. They entered a sky car, and it took them up the valley a little ways. They stopped at a large building built into the side of the valley. The TDY people and Kamon stepped of, and followed the two guides as they showed them their quarters.

They finished by showing Kamon his. Before they left, the two guides told him that in the morning the process of building his ship would begin. Kamon took off his clothes, and got under the covers of the bed.

It was decidedly warm outside, but the temperature of the room was fairly cold. The warm blankets on the bed felt good compared to what he had to live with on the Starfire. He lay back in bed and closed his eyes. Before falling asleep, he thought back to what the holocrons had said. He used those teachings to prepare himself for what would come. Then, he fell asleep.

When he woke up in the morning, someone was knocking on his door. Kamon got out of bed. He walked over to the mirror, after putting on his clothes. He straightened his hair, and attached his lightsaber to his belt. Then, he walked over and opened the door.

“Sir, the two guides are waiting for us downstairs.” One of his Security Officers said.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

The two men walked down the hall and entered a turbolift. They hit the button that would take them down to where the two guides were waiting.

“Is everyone up and ready to go?” Kamon asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Make sure that they all have their weapons set on stun. If anything happens I don’t want our attackers to be harmed.”

“Yes, sir.”

The turbolift stopped and Kamon and the Officer stepped out onto a platform that extended over the valley. There the twenty-one mean and women of his security force waited. Standing in front of them was their two guides.

“Come. We will take you to the seed chamber.” One of the guides said.

Kamon nodded to them and walked passed them to the sky car. He entered the car, and took one of the seats toward the rear of the vessel. The rest of his group sat down throughout the vessel, while the guides entered the pilot chamber.

The ship detached from the platform and they sped down the valley toward the equator of the planet. Kamon turned on his tracking signal so that his small armada would no his exact location if it was necessary for him to get a quick pickup.

They exited the valley on the right side and the ship settled down on a platform. To his right Kamon saw a large building that was closed off. Outside of the building a large group of people waited for him to enter the building. Kamon and his people exited the ship and stood at its base.

One of the Sekotians approached him from the group that had been waiting. He proferred his hand and Kamon took it and shook it.

“I am Hark-la. I am the leader of this planet. Before you enter the seed chamber, you must pay us.”

“Greetings. I am Kamon Vondiranach.” Kamon took the pouch containing the money off of his belt and handed it to the man. “Here you go.”

“Very good. You may now enter the chamber.”

Before Kamon headed for the chamber, he turned to the Captain of the security forces. The man saluted him and Kamon motioned for him to be at ease.

“You and the rest of the team will remain here until my ship is made. If I need you I will signal you through the comlink.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kamon turned back from talking to his Captain. He took a deep breath and began to walk toward the building. Its large doors began to open silently. He walked right through the middle of the group of beings that stood at the door to the building. He entered and the doors closed behind him.

All of a sudden, he could feel thousands of tiny beings in his mind. They called to him and probed his mind. They searched for the goodness in him. Kamon knew that these beings were called seed-partners and that they searched out the goodness in beings. This is what attracted them.

Kamon took a deep breath and held it in as the large pile of the seeds fell down on top of him. He was smothered by the seed-partners. He was briefly knocked out, but woke up almost immediately. He stood up, and walked toward the large doors that would let him out.

He stepped through the doors and into the sunlight. The group that was gathered outside gasped as he exited the building. Hark-la approached him with a smile on his face.

“We have not had someone get so large a number of see-partners since last time a Jedi was on this planet. I count 17 seed-partners attached to your body. This is a most excellent number. A beautiful ship will be created. You must go to the designers now.”

“Very good. Let us go then.”

Kamon followed the man to a gondola that was tethered on the platform that hung over the valley. He got in it and the two men headed for a small building sitting at the base of the valley. The Gondola landed just outside of the building and Kamon stepped out.

Hark-la led Kamon inside. They passed by a few people that appeared to be reading some type of paper. Kamon’s seed-partners expressed joy at the sit of the tables in the inner area of the building. Kamon was led to an aged and balding man at one of the tables.

“Greetings,” The man said. “I am Carsi. I am the head designer. Take a seat and we will design a ship for you. First you must tell me what kind of ship you want.”

Kamon sat down in the chair offered to him before he spoke.

“I wish to have a shuttle style of ship. However, it must be armed. I am a well-known person and sometimes people will attack me when I don’t have my fleet with me.”

“Very well. Sit back please. It will take me approximately twenty standard minutes to complete the design.”

Kamon sat back and watched as the man’s arm suddenly began to move rapidly. After one minute of designing, Carsi had already completed the basic shape of the ship. Kamon turned his attention to his seed-partners. They were hatching out of their shells, and proved to be a soft creature that liked to play around.

He watched as the 17 seed-partners began to wrestle with one another. They turned their attention to Kamon as Carsi announced that he had finished the design for his ship. The seed-partners hopped up onto Kamon and sat in his lap and on his shoulders. They expressed jubilation at the site of what they would be formed into.

Kamon smiled, and looked at Carsi.

“It’s perfect. It’s so sleek. My friends will be jealous.”

“I am glad you like it. Hark-la will take you to the valley where your ship will be built.”

Kamon thanked the man again. Then, he followed Hark-la out of the building. His seed-partners clung to his robes as they entered the Gondola. The ship took off and they shot out of the valley and toward a ridge of dark mountains. They set down at the edge of the mountain range.

Hark-la led Kamon out of the ship and into a cave. They climbed down many flights of stairs and entered an underground cavern. They entered a small boat and were taken down the river. There they exited the ship and walked up many flights of stairs. When they exited the mountains they were in a dark valley.

In the valley, he gave his seed-partners to a man who took them and threw them into a fiery pit. Kamon felt the seed-partners brief moment of surprised then they began to feel good. Kamon heard seventeen large bangs as the seed-partners changed form. They were taken out of the pit and handed to a man.

The man led Kamon to an area where the superstructure of his vessel had already been created. He was instructed to sit inside. He jumped up into the structure and sat down. The structure began to move as large machines passed it into an assembly line. Kamon watched as the innards of the ship were installed.

When the pilot seats were installed, he sat down in one of them. The controls were installed, and he began to study them. They were normal and he determined that it would be easy for him to pilot the ship. The rest of the required parts were installed. Then the important part came.

The flattened seed-partners were formed into the hull of the ship. They conformed to the superstructure and were sealed together. Once they were attached, they were passed to the weapons appliers. They installed two blaster cannons and two proton torpedo ports. The last things to be put on the ship were the shield generators. They were military grade and could withstand a lot.

The ship was set down on a landing pad, and Kamon climbed out of the ship. He did a thorough round of the ship then turned to the approaching people. When the men exited the gondola that was carrying them, Kamon smiled.

“It’s the prettiest ship I’ve ever seen. I congratulate you on your success. Before I take it on a test flight, I have something to ask of you. Would you gather your leaders at the seed-partner building?”

“That can be done, but I don’t see the purpose.” Hark-la said.

Kamon nodded.

“You will when I get there.”

“Very well.”

Kamon nodded as he boarded his new ship. He closed the boarding ramp and sat down in the pilot seat. He powered up the engines and heard the pleasant sound of high-speed engines whine. He put on his belt, turned on the shields, and kicked in the repulsorlifts.

The ship rose off the ground, and Kamon turned kicked the engines into gear. He immediately shot forward. He was amazed at shear speed of the ship. It was like lightning. He had only to go for a second and be long out of range of the manufacturing valley.

He put the ship through loops and other high-speed maneuvers. He knew that the ship would perform better in space. He was pleased with the quality of the ship. He decided that he would name her Hope.

He flew toward the building where he had first gotten his seed-partners. He set the ship down, opened the hatch, and walked out. His security team was amazed at the site of the ship. The Captain came over to him.

“She’s beautiful, sir. I’ve never seen a ship like her.”

“She is beautiful. If all goes well, you will see many ships like her.”

He looked around and noticed that Hark-la had gotten the leaders there in time for his arrival. He stood where he was for a few moments. He needed to phrase what he was going to say. When he had decided on what he was going to say, he approached the group.

“I am very happy with the quality of the ship. She’s beautiful and very fast. She can easily outmaneuver many ships.”

“We are pleased that you like her. However, I am sure that is not why you sent for us.” One of the leaders said.

“You are correct. I called you here to make a proposal. I would like you to join the coalition of planets that is the Tholatin Drive Yards.”

“Why would we want to do that? We don’t want to have our planet attacked and destroyed anymore.”

“I wouldn’t want that to happen either. I know the reason you don’t build ships anymore is that you don’t have the parts. I can supply the parts with ease, and you can continue to build ships. We will also build two orbital shipyards along with a construction yard. We will build a fleet of fifty ships to protect the planet. We will also build planetary defenses to help.”

“Yes, but then people would know the location of Zonama Sekot.”

“No they wouldn’t. I plan to keep the planet hidden here in the Unknown Region. No one ever comes here. And, if they did they would never be able to find you.”

“Will you assure the protection of the planet and the continued supply of resources for us to build ships?”

“I will.”

“Then we are agreed. We shall join your coalition for the protection of our planet.”

“Very good. I will leave three of the ships with me here, and will send more from my planet of Tholatin. I must get back to Tholatin because I have business to attend to. I go in peace.”

Kamons security force had already left in the ship that they had flown down in and the fighters. Kamon boarded the Hope and headed for the Starfire. He docked the ship in the docking bay, and exited it. He made his way to the bridge and sat down in his command chair.

He turned to his Captain and spoke.

“The Tholatin and the Defenders are to remain here. Captain, take the Starfire to Tholatin.”

“Yes, sir.”

The ship turned in space and headed away from the planet and toward the escape vector for a direct jump to Tholatin. The stars outside elongated and they were on their way home.