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"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Krakun Hematological Research Center. My name is Kathrene - you can call me Kathy - and I will be your tour guide today. If you have any questions during the tour, please don't hesitate to ask, and I will do my best to answer them. Now if everyone is ready, we can get started."
Jaina stood toward the back of the group. She was posing as a reporter, though looking at the make-up of the tour group, her disguise hardly seemed necessary. Her ability to make herself look young and innocent to win over her uncle and father was matched only by her ability to make herself look much older. She had only recently developed the figure to make the trick easier, but even before, with the Force, anything was possible.
She had stopped off before coming to the research center to change clothes and grab a reporter databoard, but she realized now, that had been unnecessary. There were two other reporters in the group of about fifteen, but the majority was normal citizens. A few looked a bit wealthier than others, and Jaina understood that the research center was a non-profit organization and depended on hefty grants and donations to stay in business. These wealthy donators probably had doubts as to the stability of the research center after its founder had been killed and wanted to reassure themselves that their money was being well spent.
The rest of the group was simply made up of curious people. The tours were free, and the research center looked at them as a good way to advertise themselves. About thirty people a week normally came through the research center on tours and if even half of them decided to start making small donations each month, the overall impact would be very significant.
The group walked out of the lobby and proceeded down a spotless corridor. On either side of the hallway, windows looked into spacious labs containing expensive equipment and several white smocked workers. The tour guide began explaining what each piece of equipment was for and how each lab had its own function. "Most of our equipment is devoted to research and development, but as you know, we also produce several drugs for public distribution and have space to accommodate continual testing of those drugs and investigation as to how to convert them to other species who suffer from the same conditions."
"What diseases or ailments do you focus on?"
The question came from one of the wealthier looking group members, and Kathy turned to address him. "We like to think we focus on all the diseases equally, but since we have had greater success in some areas than others, we do have specialized departments. Heart disease and strokes are the number one killer in almost every race that lives on Coruscant. Though there are several different factors that can contribute to heart disease, most have to do with the quality of the blood, or at least can be fixed through improvements to blood flow. Our greatest success has come through producing non-inebriating supplements for the blood that either thin it or remove impurities."
"Where have you had your least success?" someone else dared to ask.
Kathy smiled. "I would have to say we have the greatest problem attacking diseases that disable the immune system. We have investigated ways to bolster the immune system to fight against colds and allergies, but repairing a disabled or depleted immune system is still something we're working on."
Kathy paused to accept more questions, but the group was silent for now. She waited a few moments more and then turned to lead the group on. They made a right turn down the hallway and came to another bank of windows looking into a large lab. The floor of the lab was a full story below the hallway, and the door and stairs that led down to the lab were just to the right of the windows. The reason for the tall room was obvious when one saw the huge machines inside.
"This is lab contains our multiple blood banks," Kathy explained. "We have samples of over 100 different races in the tanks you see. Each race has different specifications for blood storage. Most keep well chilled or frozen, but others need to have methane filtered through them, and still others need to be kept at near boiling temperatures."
"What about Verpine blood?" someone asked.
Kathy nodded. "Verpine, Kelsto, and a few other insectoid races have calcitrons living in their bloodstreams. These micro-organisms feed off the nutrients and vitamins ingested by their host. In exchange, they excrete a high calcium supplement that bolsters the host's exoskeleton. We had difficulty at first keeping the calcitrons alive and then even more difficulty in extracting the calcium from the blood samples.
"Now we can do both efficiently and are actually able to market extracted calcium to combat osteoporosis in aging members of the races I mentioned earlier. The calcium is far too concentrated to be useful to humanoids."
"Where do you get your blood samples?" one of the reporters asked.
"There are several blood banks within a thousand kilometers of this research center and together they have samples from every race that has registered with the Republic. We never take more than they can provide, and the hospitals and blood banks get plenty in return."
Kathy led the group along the hallway and came to another lab that looked similar to the first one they saw. "This room deals exclusively with blood manipulation. Using centrifugal separators and cyclone filters we are able to separate the blood into its different components. We extract white, red, and blue blood cells. We can also test the staying power of any supplement we add."
"So far you've shown us several different labs where you analyze and modify blood, but what about the diseases, or the patients?"
"We try to keep as few patients here as possible, but we do have them. Unfortunately, due to several privacy regulations, I can not show them to you. Mostly we deal with blood infections and only need samples of the infected blood to try and fight the infection, but there are instances where we need patients. For example, to fight hemophilia, all we need is a blood sample, but in order to cure immunity deficiencies, we need an entire immune system."
"So you actually have living patients that you do testing on?" Jaina asked. "Isn't it traditional to use animals as test subjects before subjecting sentients to testing?" She was beginning to think she might have found a potential motive for someone other than her brother to kill Markis.
Kathy looked a little ruffled at the accusatory question. "In most cases, yes, testing is first done on animals, but we've found that to be ineffective. Ever since the New Republic over-threw the Empire, alien races are more welcome on Coruscant, and they have intermingled to a much greater degree than ever before. Because of this, diseases have begun mutating to adapt to different races. This means that a treatment that might be successful with a human patient might prove unsuccessful on a Bothan patient. Once the viruses gained this mutation flexibility, they began to mutate across species as well. This means that a treatment that might successful with a dog or a mouse will not be successful with a human."
"Have you ever lost a patient?" Jaina pressed. The rest of the group began to look at her curiously.
The other reporters were here to paint this research center and its deceased founder as a beacon of light, and inversely paint Jacen as a bringer of death and destruction. The investors were here to find reasons to keep their money flowing. These questions coming from the young reporter in the back of the group seemed to have a much different agenda.
"Yes, we have," Kathy answered hesitantly. "But we like to think that the large quantity of lives we've saved so far out-weighs the few we've lost. Every patient that comes to us for help knows that everything that takes place within this research center is at an experimental stage. They also know that we are their best chance for a cure, and death is a certainty without our help."
Kathy continued to look at Jaina after she had finished, hoping the young women did not have any more damaging questions. Jaina said nothing else out loud, but thought quietly to herself, "It looks like you killed the wrong patient somewhere along the road."
Kathy led the group further on. The next room had very little machinery in it, but was crawling with lab workers. They carried test tubes and slide cubes back and forth across the room. They took test tubes in and out of storage containers and took slide cubes in and out of high-powered microscopes.
"Here we do most of our analysis. While we rarely obtain samples from new races, we are constantly presented with new viruses, diseases, and infections. This room is one of our few hot spots in the lab, meaning security is very high. Some of the blood samples are infected with viruses so lethal that even though we only deal with microscopic amounts, one sample could wipe out an entire starship."
Another motive, Jaina thought. Before she could phrase the idea into a question, one of the other reporters obliged her. "Is there a black market for these kinds of viruses?"
Kathy nodded. "Yes there is. Terrorists and military types posing as doctors often approach our people. We have very strict regulations and check the background of everyone that approaches us requesting a blood sample. To our knowledge, we have never handed out infected blood to anyone outside of the medical community, and have also uncovered at least a dozen terrorist groups in the process."
That was not what Jaina wanted to hear, but she would keep her thoughts private for now. She was sure at least one of their samples had fallen into the wrong hands. Or maybe, she thought, one of the exposed terrorist organizations wished retribution. Jaina was glad she had decided to go on this tour. She had already uncovered several reasons why someone might want to kill Markis Keld, and the tour was not over yet.
The next lab contained more microscopes and test tubes, but it also had smaller versions of the centrifugal machines from the separation lab. "This is where we do most of our blood modifications. Combining additives and supplements to a blood sample in a test tube is not a realistic model. While we might be able to gauge a drug's effectiveness against a particular disease, we can not simulate its effect on circulation or countless other things in a test tube. Here we prepare the modified blood for injection into a patient."
No one had any questions, and Kathy led the group on. They made their third right turn since the beginning of the tour, and Jaina could tell they were nearing the end. The last room contained no blood samples or other complicated machinery. Instead it was filled with computers and projection screens. The people in the lab did not have to wear the ever-present white smocks, though several did.
"We do a lot of research on computers," Kathy explained. "There are countless medical databases here on Coruscant that we have access to, but our best information comes through uplinking with databases on alien worlds. By researching the medical history of the many different races that we treat, we are able to find what worked in the past. We are also able to detail the history of a particular alien virus, noting its previous mutations and perhaps predicting what its next one will be."
Kathy turned to the group. "This is the end of the tour, and I'd like to thank you for your attention. If you have any questions about the research center in general, or about anything you've seen, I'll be happy to answer them now."
"What was Senator Keld's role in this research center?" one of the reporters asked.
"He was the founder," Kathy said solemnly. "Without his help and initial investment we would not exist. Your real question is probably, 'Will we be able to function without him?' Senator Keld did not interact with us on a daily basis. His role was to intervene on the research center's behalf when issues involving the Republic or other races came up. He handled all donations made by large corporations and interacted with the medical community when we presented a new drug for approval.
"He will be missed, but his responsibilities have already been assumed by his son, who, most of you probably know, also took his senate position. Martin Keld will be able to handle his father's responsibilities, but no one will be able to replace him. And yes, we will miss him."
Quiet respect filled the tour group, which made Jaina's question seem all the more out of place. "Does Martin Keld or the research center hold any animosity toward the Jedi?" Jaina startled herself as much as those around her. She had not intentionally wanted to ask the question. It had just come out.
Kathy regarded Jaina curiously, wondering what this reporter's angle could be and what would prompt her to ask such an inappropriate question. "We are not in the business of vengeance. The law will punish whoever is convicted of the crime committed against us. We are content with that and see no reason to hold any ill will against those who may be associated with the murderer."
"What about the Krakun Purge?" Again the question came out of Jaina's mouth before she could check it.
Kathy was shaken visibly by the question, and Jaina saw her eyes dart up to the ceiling behind the group. Jaina did not need to turn and look. She could tell through the Force that a security camera was watching them. Was Kathy trying to get the attention of someone who might be watching and listening?
"That was a long time ago," Kathy finally responded. "As a people, we have forgiven. Never forgotten, but we have forgiven."
Most of the tour had no idea what the two women were talking about. It was a big galaxy, and while the Krakun Purge was a huge event in both Krakun and Jedi history, few others cared about it.
Kathy somehow managed to put a smile back on her face and turned to the rest of the group. "If there are no further questions, I'll show you back to the lobby where you can pick up our information packet. In it you will find information about donations and a number you can call for more information about anything you saw today."
The exit was behind the tour group, and Kathy pardoned herself as she walked through the group to lead the way. She did not make eye contact with Jaina, but the young Jedi could feel her uncomfortable emotions through the Force. Jaina let the group file out of the hallway ahead of her, taking up her position in the back. Before she could follow, a strong hand grabbed her arm just below her shoulder.
Jaina spun around and looked up into the face of a man. He let go of her arm and took a step back to show he did not mean any harm. He was a full head taller than Jaina, and very well built. His face was unnaturally handsome and his posture perfect. "Excuse me miss, but I thought we might be able to talk about a few things."
Jaina said nothing for a while but glanced up at the camera Kathy had looked at earlier. This was most definitely the man who had been on the other end of the surveillance equipment. Something about him made Jaina nervous. His smile was disarming and while he looked very strong, he also looked very gentle. Still, Jaina felt some very disturbing warnings coming through the Force.
"Actually, I need to-" Jaina started, turning back to the door to follow the tour group. The door was closed and the two of them were alone in the hallway. Jaina felt suddenly frightened and wished she had not left her lightsaber back in the palace apartment.
"Please, it will only take a few moments. I just wanted to calm your fears. You asked some pretty interesting questions on the tour."
Jaina turned back to look at him. "My name is Martin Keld. Please?" He held out his hand toward her.
This was the reason she had come to the research center in the first place, but now she wished only to leave and be as far away from this place as possible. Instead, she took a deep breath, adjusted her Force disguise, which had begun to slip, and nodded her head. "I guess I have a few minutes."
Martin's smile nearly connected his ears. "I'm glad. Please, follow me." He led the way through a side door in the hallway. Jaina followed, clutching her databoard tightly to her chest. The door opened onto the landing of a descending stairway. The stairs were not as brightly lit as the hallway, and Jaina let her eyes adjust. They went down one full level and came to a second door after a short trip through a dim corridor.
The room through the door appeared similar to the labs upstairs with the exception that it looked to contain a few pieces of equipment from each of the labs. There were several computers scattered around the room. A pair of microscopes stood on a table amongst a scattering of half filled test tube racks. Along one of the walls were a few fluid processing machines and a cyclone filtration system. Against another wall were several tanks and chilled storage cells. A large projection screen hung on the wall to Jaina's left, and she saw several large databoards hanging on the wall beside her as she passed through the door.
"This was my father's private lab," Martin said as he walked over to one of the small chilled storage cells. "Please have a seat."
Jaina did as she was told as she watched Martin. He opened the door to the storage cell and removed an opaque pitcher. He poured some the contents into two cups and returned the pitcher to its storage cell. He turned to look at his guest. "Care for a drink?"
Jaina blanched at the idea of drinking anything that was stored next to blood samples. Martin chuckled at her expression. "Trust me, it's fruit juice." He placed the drink on a counter next to Jaina and took a stool a few meters away. He took a sip from his cup and grinned. Jaina took her cup in hand slowly, smelled if briefly, and then took a sip as well.
"What do you know of the Krakun Purge?" he asked her.
Jaina still did not feel comfortable in this environment, alone with this man, but she tried to put that aside. "Thirty-five years ago the Sith invaded your planet searching out some Jedi that were hiding there. In the fight before the Jedi gave themselves up many Krakuns lost their lives."
"And?" Martin prompted.
"And your mother and sister were among those who died," Jaina obliged.
"I never knew my mother or my sister," Martin said, getting up from his stool and walking about the room. "Do you think this means I hate Jedi?"
"It is not my job to think," Jaina responded. "I ask questions and report the news."
Martin laughed. "And what news group do you work for?"
"CHC," Jaina responded. The Coruscant Holocasting Company was the largest media organization in the galaxy. "I'm one of the reporters assigned to cover this trial."
"And you are curious about the motive," Martin said, finishing his drink and placing the empty cup in a sink. "Why would a young Jedi student kill a harmless senator? Could it be because of the senator's public statements concerning Jedi? Does this mean Senator Keld really does hate Jedi despite his statements to the contrary?" Martin stopped his rhetorical speech and looked hard at Jaina. "They are good questions, and you have come to the right place to have them answered."
Martin walked over to a computer terminal and hit a few keys. The lights dimmed slightly and an image appeared on the room's large projection screen. It was a space shot of Krakus. "We are a very peaceful people who shun war. There is no place for violence in an advanced society. So how do you suppose we reacted when this happens?"
The image on the screen suddenly changed to chaotic destruction. Jaina gasped audibly as she saw huge buildings topple like building blocks. People were falling out of the windows and disappearing under the waves of rubble. The images jumped from one scene to another, as buildings exploded and majestic structures toppled. The sound was absent from the pictures, and for that Jaina was grateful, for people could be seen screaming and dying everywhere. Human shaped flames ran about, seeking someway to put themselves out. Others dragged their bodies across the broken ground with their arms because their legs had been crushed beyond recognition. Mothers screamed as they came upon their crushed babies and dead children. It was a blood bath.
"How should we react?" Martin asked while the images continued to flash by on the screen. "The natural response would be outrage at the injustice levied against us by the Jedi."
"But we weren't, uh, the Jedi weren't to blame for the purge. The Sith are the ones who brought the destruction."
If Martin noticed Jaina's slip, he did not let it show. "But the Jedi could have stopped it. Oh, don't worry, there isn't a Krakun alive today who doesn't hold the Sith responsible for this, and we hate them for it. But that is not where the concern lies. Everyone hates the Sith, but the Jedi - the Jedi are supposed to be protectors of the galaxy."
"But-"
"But who were they protecting here?" He motioned to the screen behind him. "Were they standing up for the people who had so graciously hid them and cared for them, or were they looking out for themselves?"
"When they found out what was happening they-"
"They gave themselves in! Is that it? The Krakun Purge lasted three whole days. You can't tell me that the Jedi could have been that clueless. They knew what was going on after the first Krakun lost his life, but they didn't act until after the four hundred thousandth Krakun died. Why the delay? Did they really not know what was going on, or did they feel their precious lives were more valuable than those who were dying in their place?!"
Martin had been walking toward Jaina during this conversation with the violent images on the wall behind him. He stood over her now, his face contorted in barely controlled rage.
"How would you react if it had been your family? If it had been your people dying how would you handle your feelings?"
Jaina quivered under Martin's stare, her lower lip trembling as she started her response. "I - I -"
Martin spun away suddenly. "But like I said, we are a peaceful people, not given to war. Sure, a few people blamed the Jedi, but for the most part, we learned to forgive. The Jedi were scared." Martin spun around quickly, leveling a penetrating glare at Jaina. Jaina nearly jumped off her stool and let go a startled yip. "It's not easy to scare a Jedi. We understand that. We understand they couldn't have been thinking straight, and it is quite amazing that they summoned the courage after only three days."
Martin quickly closed the gap between him and Jaina again. "I dare say you or I would have taken much longer if we knew what awaited us after we turned ourselves in. Don't you agree?"
Jaina nodded, not capable of speech at the moment.
"I want to show you something," Martin said, smiling. "Come here." He turned to walk back toward the projection screen. Jaina slowly stood from the stool, her legs a little weak. Martin pressed a few buttons on the wall next to the screen, and the lights in the room brightened again. The images stopped flashing across the screen and the canvas scrolled upward into the ceiling. Behind it, Martin opened two large doors that were set into the wall.
Jaina was close behind Martin when he opened the doors and was startled by what lay behind them. Hanging inside the huge cabinets was a very impressive display of weapons.
"My father did not hold any animosity toward the Jedi, but he was fascinated by their lifestyle. He liked to collect things, and this is probably his most prized collection." Martin reached up to the wall and retrieved a large cylindrical object. He turned to Jaina with the weapon in front of him. "Do you know what this is?"
Jaina, the Jedi student, knew exactly what it was, but she knew Jaina, the CHC reporter would not. She shook her head.
"It's a Force pike," Martin said, igniting both ends of the deadly weapon. The bright blue blades illuminated the space between them, and Jaina could feel the heat coming off the weapon. Martin spun it in front of him in a skillful motion. "In the hands of a Sith, this is probably the most deadly weapon in existence. It's almost a shame there are no more Sith left. I would have loved to see one of them in battle with a weapon like this."
Martin ended his little display, deactivated the weapon, and returned it to the wall. He looked at the collection, trying to figure out what weapon should come next. He spotted an odd blade hanging on one of the doors and picked it up. Jaina was curious about this weapon. The blade of the long sword seemed to be made of wood. Looking closer, she could see that there were streaks of sliver running through the weapon and its edges were also lined with the precious metal.
"It's a vampiric blade known as 'Eternal Rest.' Since we are surrounded by blood, my father found it fitting that if any vampires came calling we should have a little defense."
Jaina saw a sun gem in the center of the blade's hilt and understood the weapon's effectiveness. Sunlight, silver, and a wooden stake through the heart were the only known ways to kill the mythical undead creatures.
"This weapon is believed to have been responsible for killing over a hundred vampires," Martin continued, turning over the well-balanced sword in his hand. He looked at the weapon a little while longer and then returned it to its rack.
"Now this," Martin said, heaving a heavy piece of armor off the wall, "is perhaps the most recognizable piece my father ever obtained, but it is still magnificent. Mandalorian armor. This armor is totally impenetrable, even by a lightsaber. The Sith hired the Mandalorian warriors to kill the Jedi, and they did a very thorough job."
Martin put the armor back and retrieved a short sword that hung next to it. "One of the more famous Mandalorian warriors, Kroshin Harth, had a pet vornskr to help him hunt down the Jedi. The vornskr was killed during a battle from which Kroshin was barely lucky enough to escape. He swore he would kill every Jedi alive to avenge his beloved pet, and so he forged this sword."
Martin held it up in front of him so Jaina could get a good look at it. The blade was only half a meter long, but looked razor sharp. The crosspiece was made from two halves of a vornskr jawbone, with the two large canine teeth pointing up parallel with the blade. In the center of the hilt was a deep red ruby.
"It is said that he forged this sword in the blood of his dead pet."
The idea sent a chill down Jaina's spine and she took a step back. Martin took two steps forward. "It's called 'Biter,' the idea being that Kroshin would shove the weapon deep into his victim's chest up to the hilt so his dead pet's teeth could taste the blood of each Jedi he killed."
Jaina took several more steps back, coming up against a counter. Martin continued to close the gap. "It is also said that the ruby in the center of the blade can detect when a Jedi is near. If it senses a Force presence it begins to glow and thirst for the Jedi's blood."
Martin was on top of Jaina now, the gruesome weapon only centimeters from Jaina's face. The young Jedi was staring transfixed at the ruby in the center. Martin rotated the weapon slightly, letting the gem sparkle in the room's light. Jaina could see her warped reflection in the ruby and she was terrified that at any moment it would come to life and Martin would be compelled to thrust the blade into her chest.
Martin suddenly exploded in laughter. "But it is only a legend." He turned around and walked back to the cabinet. He hung the blade inside, and closed the doors.
Jaina was still leaning heavily on the counter when she realized the threat was over. Breath came flooding back to her, and she inhaled deeply. "So you see," Martin said, standing in front of the closed cabinets, "we hold no animosity toward the Jedi. We merely hold a childish fascination toward them. Yet at the same time, we know that the effectiveness of the Jedi purge was a direct result of Palpatine being in power. Because of that, we feel it is best if Force users continue their role of being the galaxy's protectors, but they should leave the governing up to us."
Jaina was now fully back in control of her fear. "Well, thank-you for clearing up some of my questions, but I really must be going now."
"As you wish," Martin replied gesturing toward the door. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't leap to any conclusions on your own. I wouldn't want to see my father's name smeared by CHC. Do you want me to call a private cab for you?" he asked, pointing to a com system in the corner of the room.
Jaina looked at the system as she approached the door, but shook her head. She pushed open the door and scampered up the stairs to the well-lit and comforting hallway. Martin stared at the door after she had gone, not hearing the door that opened to his left.
"Are you sure that was wise?"
Martin spun around and looked at the speaker. "What do you mean, Vester?"
"Scaring her like that. Are you sure that was wise?"
Martin shrugged. "She intrigued me."
"In what way?" Vester asked.
"I thought she was cute."
"Indeed," Vester responded, not buying his boss's response for a moment.
Martin shook his head clear of those thoughts. "The trial starts tomorrow. I will be in attendance. I hope you can take care of things here while I am gone."
Vester nodded. "You needn't worry. I'll take care of everything."
"Is that what you told my father?"
Vester recoiled at the obvious rebuke.
Martin did not press his point. "It doesn't matter. That is behind us now. This trial will be very important. It's absolutely imperative that the truth does not get out until we are ready."
Vester nodded. "I will not fail you."
"It is not you I'm worried about," he said, his eyes returning to the door Jaina had just walked through. "It's someone else."
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