10/06/2025
Outer Rim Trail
Issue III
Kabel
PRIME DAY, PRODUCTIVITY DAY, 0 BBY
0500
Productivity was easily the theme for the day - not only in spirit, but theory, practice, and reality. For the last week all of Bracca has been humming in preparation for today’s holiday. It seems as though the economy of the entire galaxy hinge on days like these now. Emperor Palpaltine - along with the rest of the Senate - has manifested a weeklong, galaxy wide celebration, dubbed ‘Productivity Day’. The circus of it all generates enough frenzy and pressure that people seem willing to forget their previous oppression, in the fear of missing out. We managed to pull a hefty bounty for the Malraas we caught during our last hunt. It turns out the female Nighthunter was pregnant! The prospect of a large litter of cubs increased the value of our poach. It’s unfortunate we lost the male but it explains his violent demeanor and outburst. After her near death encounter with the beast, and subsequent heroic rescue by TEENY, Mave has been keeping the droid close like a comfort blanket. They’re an odd pairing, but they do keep each other out of trouble. The two of them have even managed to become quite skillful at cooking during our sojourn. They’ll have plenty of practice to hone their skills during the next leg of our trip to the Rim. After our last hunt we have more Jakobeast meat than we can carry. On the way back from collecting our bounty I’ll swing by the market and trade for cooking supplies to jig onto the T3 droid.
1420
The force may be with us after all! Passage off planet has been secured. We negotiated a ride with a Zabrak Ranger, turned glorified smuggler - goes by the name of Rodn’a. He runs a transport ship through Braxant and the Veragi Trade Route systems. He’s guaranteed us transport as far as Merj. There we can connect with our old friend - Chord. According to the Clone Nebulous Network (CNN) he’s now a merch dealing in exotic pelts and other black market novelties. Even he can’t resist a set of undamaged Jakobeast horns. This exchange should afford us passage to the Corporate Sector. Once we make it to the Cantonica System we’ll have loads of places to finally retire. Who knows, maybe we’ll make it to one of the moons of Mytus in time to celebrate our birthday.
2100
Dinner tonight was actually well prepared! Mave and TEENY put together quite a feast for us. Even our adopted Merkaats enjoyed their share of Jakobeast Stew. Sitting with the group filled us with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. It was hard to not reminisce over our time together, brothers. Our 10th birthday was the last time I can remember enjoying a meal so wholeheartedly. We had just graduated from training. The Kaminoans had regaled the clones with an impressive buffet of food. Although the menu lacked variety we greedily filled our bellies with protein cakes. We’ll never forget the charge of electricity in the room when we stayed up past curfew to discuss our deployments. By that time the War had been raging for some time. We had all heard the rumors of the mighty Jedi’s prowess on the battlefield and could not wait to fight alongside our masters. Admittedly, it was a shock to learn of our station. As the rest of our brothers loaded up massive star cruisers, the four of us boarded a private cruiser with a short list of supplies and two appropriated T3 droids. Our ultimate destination - Jedha - was a small moon kept in order by Jedi dogma. Upon landing in the city of Jedha we were warmly received by the Sister of the Whils. The real shock of our circumstance came upon being introduced to our Jedi commander, Sisus. At the time Sisus couldn’t have been more than two years our senior. Little did we know how much in common we had with him. Here we were, four boys in grown men’s bodies, and there was Sisus - a grown man in a little boy’s body. He was still a bit juvenile then. Ordering us to our knees and then ceremoniously knighting us was unexpected yet somehow appropriate. We couldn’t help but be set a back when he ignited the saber. The glow of indigo embraced and consumed us. The almost purple glow surrounded us and bound us together. After that moment the five of us were the Knights of the Whils.
CENTAXDAY, PRODUCTIVITY DAY, 0 BBY
2111
Transport to Merj took most of the day. We should be tired but taking the reigns of this group has filled us with nervous energy. It doesn’t help that, since his accident with the Jakobeast, Sisus has been more distant than normal. He meditates through most the day and barely speaks, let alone eat. His wounds are healing but it will be a time before he’s back to tip-top shape. Unfortunately the state of his light saber is different matter. The conflict with the Jakobeast severely damaged the kaiber crystal housed in the saber, making it unstable. We managed to fashion it into a walking stick, making it easier to conceal and help his ankle heal. Any way to avoid attention from the Empire will save us from any unwanted conflicts. It’s unclear if the loss has affected him or if it’s something else. Regardless, his current state has made it clear that we’ll need to take command of the troop temporarily. Since we can’t count on Sisus to guide us with the force we’ll have to rely on the droid to guide us while we’re about, wearing our disguise. The bandages are an unfortunate necessity, but wearing a clones face would warrant unwanted attention. The kids are exhausted from the journey. We’ll put them to bed now then be on our way to meet with Chord - alone.
2350
We’ve paid for passage to the Corporate Sector. However, we may have paid more than we can afford. We went alone to avoid any more unsavory interactions with our clone brethren. Seemed like the best idea considering our last CNN contact on Jedha nearly r***d Mave. It’s unfortunate but most of the surviving clones from the war seem irrevocable affected by trauma – including us. Chord was no different. Paranoia has crippled his ability to function even on a basic level. He’s now arrested himself from participating with the rest of society and has forsaken any semblance of hygiene. Negotiations were like pulling teeth. It wasn’t until we removed our bandages that Chord dropped his defensive demeanor. Seeing a familiar face must have been disarming enough to assuage him. The scars on our faces lead to a volley of war stories. Oddly enough the abrupt end of the war was as unclear to him as it has been for us. We’ve been under the impression that the Confederacy simply forfeited their endeavor; however, Chord insists that there was more to the story. The last incursion he participated in took place on Rakata Prime. Intel implied that the Confederacy was attempting to develop a weapon to track and destroy ships while in hyperspace. A small battalion was dispatched to patrol the Lehon territory when an unusual signal was discovered emanating from planet Rakata. Chord’s squad, along with their Jedi master, went to investigate. Upon entry the squad separated in an attempt to perform a pincer move on their mystery combatants. Unfortunately, defensive systems were activated during the approach of the outpost factory broadcasting the signal. Chord’s troops carrier was shot down but managed to crash land on the factory platform. Him and his troop were left for dead but somehow Chord survived. He limped his way to the rendezvous only to discover his battalion massacred. Here’s where things get suspicious. Chord insists that their Jedi master turned on their fellow clone troopers. The remains of his fallen brethren were marred with scorched marks that could only be administered by a light saber. Chord even shared a holo recording with us. On it was a projection of Emperor Palpaltine, face utterly mutilated, addressing the senate - stating that the Jedi were responsible for his current condition. That the Council had turned on him in an attempt to wrestle power over the senate and essentially enact a coup on The Republic. It made no sense. The Jedi have only ever wanted peace in the galaxy. Why make such a violent, uncoordinated attempt to take over. Chord persisted, as if fact, that the Jedi were not to be trusted. Chord asked of my account on how the war ended for us. Sadly our recollection of the war’s end was not quite as clear as his. Wanting to keep Sisus and the children’s presence a secret we quickly ended negotiations and retreated back to camp.
TAUNGSDAY, PRODUCTIVITY DAY, 0 BBY
0340
Change of plans. Sisus has finally awoken from his trance. He seems to have gotten over the hump and is on the way to a full recovery of his injuries. Enigmatically he’s called for an alteration in our trajectory. Admittedly, it’s a weight off our shoulders to be relieved of command, but now we’ll need to renegotiate for transportation to Dantooine. Our initial destination, in the Corporate Sector, is along an entirely different trade route. Sisus’ sudden change of mind has us uneasy. His anxiousness to travel to Edge Rim Space has us even more curious now than before. Chord warned us not to trust the Jedi after his mission in Edge Space. We can’t help but question Sisus’ sudden eagerness to venture back to a section of space so close to the Unknown Region. Especially considering our last eventful visit there.
Our unsanctioned mission to map the unknown region of the galaxy didn’t go as we planned. The Jedi council was suspicious of actions taken by the Confederacy of Planets along the Rim’s edge. Thus the Knights of the Whills were entrusted to investigate. Our expedition was cut short, however, due to a hyperspace mishap. The covert spacecrafts we piloted were meant to slip through subspace radar scans undetected. The T3 droids we appropriated were modified and jigged with old astromechs to help navigate existing shipping routes incognito. The tech was experimental so, we wrote off our hyperspace collision as an accident caused by an unknown mechanical malfunction. The initial collision blew a distributor relay coil. The explosion in the ship’s main cabin knocked us out cold. When we finally woke - one entire week later - we were back on Jedha, with a fresh gash across our face. Sisus explained our circumstance. He hypothesized that the other spacecraft’s T3 droid initialized a malfunction in the hyperdrive that caused the collision, which then knocked us out of hyperspace. After Sisus dressed our wounds we limped our way back to Jedha. The good news, on the other hand, was that the war had unceremoniously ended. Since our division was a secret from the start of the war Sisus proposed we consider ourselves lucky to have survived and to seriously consider early retirement.
ZHELLDAY, PRODUCTIVITY DAY 0 BBY
1030
Happy Birthday, brothers! We are officially old. A full day of trading Jakobeast pelts, nails, teeth, and various organ bits has us completely taxed. Fortunately, we’ve managed to scrounge enough credits to convince Rodn’a to transport our crew to Dantooine. We’re still clueless as to what our ultimate goal is but Sisus is more determined than ever to reach Edge Space. Regardless of our present circumstance we’ve decided to make the most of it. With the remainder of our reward we bought presents for everyone, in celebration of our anniversary. Our hope is that some levity will lighten the sour mood the change in plans has cast over everyone. As a reminder of our prize we had the pelt of the Malraas quartered and fashioned into an assortment of items. Its hide makes for a nice baby wrap for Aloken, plus leather linings for T3’s infant carriage. We also had their claws molded into Lehon Sticks. Mave loves their versatility in being either hair picks or eating utensils. We then had a ring especially made for Sisus. The entry wound of the Jakobeast, created by Sisus’ light saber, left a small hole in its breastplate. We included an engraving of the Knights crest on it. This should suffice as a replacement for the one he left behind on Jedha.
After learning of your passing we built a memorial on Jedha, to honor your service during the war. We kept out of trouble and secluded ourselves to the sanctuary of the temple. News of the Empire’s progress was slowly drip fed through the Clone Nebulas Network. Jedha’s remoteness and insignificance gave us a false sense of security. We slowly stopped most, if not all, communication with the rest of the galaxy and continued on with our lives. Sisus even married and became a father. For nearly two decades things were mostly peaceful. Our fortune eventually waned, however. Shortly after childbirth Aloken’s mother, Asha, passed away. Sisus had her remains buried at the memorial site. He left his ring atop her grave - a penance for his loss. Shortly after the burial Sisus was ready to leave. The Empire’s increased interest in kaiber crystals drew too much attention towards the temple. Travel restrictions became more difficult to bypass without providing proper Imperial identification. Then word came that the Empire was on the hunt for force sensitive individuals. Knowing this, Sisus feared for Aloken’s safety and hastily planned our exodus to the Outer Rim. Before we left the Sisters of the Whils implored Sisus to take Mave along with us. They insisted that her fate was the same as ours and that her safety was now Sisus’s responsibility. As soon as Sisus gave in to their demands we departed on our weeklong trek through the desert. We never thought those nights hiking through the desert would ultimately get us to here. We just hope this journey has a happier ending than our previous one.
