Unlike the former Empire, this one had no Emporer. To some, Admiral Actar was the unnamed emporer, to others it was Admiral Swatzi, and still others farther out in the galaxy, it was the Imperial Officers commanding the massive fleets in their sectors.

For the two Admirals, however, it was an unspoken agreement between two long friends, equal power.

Still, each had their own "thing". Admiral Swatzi still preferred to oversee the development of new technologies, and the deployment of such. Whereas Admiral Actar preferred overseeing the entire military force of the Empire. Together, political decisions were made. They met together every day, whether it be in the Central Command HQ deep inside Imperial City, or in one of the high suites, overlooking the giant city-planet.

It was in the middle of one such meeting that Admiral Actar's private comlink went off. He could sense who was contacting him, and felt the reason wasn't one he would enjoy. "Admiral Actar, this is Sorben Tarnus. Galen and I are headed to Coruscant with the baby. If you're good on your promise, we need protection for a while."

It wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be, but certainly wasn't keen on the idea of housing Galen again, not after what happened last time. "Of course I'm good on my promise," Actar stated, "you'll need clearance from the blockade."

Sorben was quick to interupt, "No clearance needed, Admiral, we're in a Sith Ship." That certainly made things a little more agreeable. Actar, and even Swatzi, who was seated across the room listening, had for some time wanted to get their hands on a Sith Ship. "Alright then, you remember where my personal landing pad is? Go there."

Even a blind jizz wailer in full bore would be able to feel the trepidation screaming out from Galen as she reached out a deceivingly steady hand to close the connection we had made with Admiral Actar. What could I do? I wasn't stupid; in fact I could pretty well imagine what was going on in her head about now. This little gal might be a tough one -- one of the reasons I had fallen for her so quickly, and so strongly -- but even she had her limits. She and the Admiral had tangled on more than one occasion....

I reached out a gaunleted hand of my own and enclosed one of hers in it.

"It's going to be all right, Galen," I tried to assure her, squeezing that hand gently. "You'll see."

She only looked at me, then turned her head to glance at our daughter. Through all the rapidly unfolding brouhaha, JhinDarra had merely grown sleepier and sleepier until she had finally conked out altogether. She now lay snuggled in the comfort of one of the seats this small but deadly craft contained; I drew in a deep breath to see her there, knowing of the sacrifice Galen -- and indeed the others as well -- were making to do what they thought would assure their continued safety. It's not often one is handed a ship one has never even dreamed as existing to begin with, and on a silver platter no less.

I patted Galen's hand again.

"It's about eight hours to Coruscant, babes," I said quietly. "Maybe you ought to get some sleep too."

She just nodded. Then hunkering into her seat, she closed her eyes and proceeded to do precisely that.

I watched her a moment longer before reaching out myself to type in where she had shown me the coordinates to Admiral Actar's private landing pad. Then, still fully enclosed in my Mandalorian armor, I settled in for a little catnap as well.

Some time later....

An alien sort of bleeping wormed its way into a dream I was having, bringing me to alert attention once again. Galen too had awakened, although her eyes weren't quite as bright as I knew they could be.

Wide, yes. But bright and chipper....

I sighed, knowing how all this was weighing on her, then spoke up again. "It will be all right, Babes," I repeated my former assurance. "Trust me."

There was nothing we could do from that point but sit quietly as the enigmatic little ship deftly wove its way through the imposing and deadly blockade Actar had placed about this planet, cutting in and out like a gnat teasing a sleeping rancor. It didn't take long until we found ourselves arrowing through floating landing pads and skyscrapers kilometers tall, whizzed into traffic, and continued on our beeline course to Imperial City to a large and imposing building.

The little ship set itself down as lightly as the last leaf falling in autumn. Then it promptly shut off its systems, making not so much as one muttering growl or hiss as a normal ship would make in venting its excess energies or acclimatizing it's skin to its environment. Not this baby. It just sat down and seemed to go to sleep itself.

I rose and turned to Galen. Her eyes were huge, but she didn't say a word. She merely picked up JhinDarra, then nestled against my armored side, still clothed in her black Sith flightsuit. In this manner, we simply exited the ship to see who would be outside waiting for our arrival.

The tiny little hairs on the back of my neck prickled, and I hugged Darra more tightly against me. "Sorben," I whispered in a small voice. "There's something wrong here; this isn't right." I glanced up to see the thick traffic flying overhead, suddenly feeling very alone and vulnerable, and I shivered.

I couldn't tell if Sorben was frowning behind that T-shaped visor of his or not, but he seemed to tense just the slightest bit. Then he removed his arm from around me, and tapped a wristcomm. His voice came out in a low and barely discernable buzz as he began speaking into it, actually moving away from me a step or two as though seeking more privacy.

Those damned hairs on my neck stood up at absolute attention at that. My eyes widened; he was still talking.

What in Hell's Seven Circles was taking so long? Who was he talking to? One would think his big buddy the esteemed Admiral would have the courtesy to have us met....

This was the straw which broke the ronto's back. Every inner niggle or hunch I had ever had in my life was sitting up screaming at me, warning flags flying, alarms singing. I sidled a bit off toward the ship, took a glance down at Darra, so quiet in my arms. She merely returned that look with a blue-eyed wide one of her own, one which was full of nothing more than implicit trust that her mommy would take care of her.

That did it.

I didn't even stop to think. I just whirled and bolted back to that wonderful little ship sitting in greeny-golden splendor which was trying so hard to look at home here amidst the glitz and glamour of Coruscant and failing no matter how it tried. The fact that I managed to take Sorben completely off-guard--

Hey, you're getting pretty good at this, aren't you Galen ol' girl?

--came to me for the fact that I actually managed to count to three before I heard the squeak of armor behind me, rapidly followed by the sounds of his booted footsteps. But those three seconds were what, as they say, make one pod-racer the winner and the following only second best; I gained the ship, slapped the hatch, leapt inside, and bolted her up just in time to hear his pounding fists on the skin of the door. Or rather, felt the vibrations; this little marvel quite adequately muffled sounds from the outside.

A fact for which I raised my eyes to Khaandon in a hurried prayer of thanks.

Setting Darra in a nearby seat, I threw myself back into navigation and began playing a tune upon the controls. The little ship fired into life in an almost surprised manner, as if to say, "Back so soon?"

"Damn Skippy," I muttered between my teeth, still not really thinking but acting on pure adrenalin as I hit the enable sigil and sat back. Jester IV just shook its head in a mirthful sort of way, and simply leapt for the skies, dodging through traffic and soon thereafter through the blanketing blockade with the ease and grace with which she had come in for a landing. It was only when I had broken through into the clean purity of space and set those glittering stars into hyperdriven smears around us that I sat back with a sigh of relief to analyze my next move. Which was, quite simply--

At first I hadn't a clue. Then inspiration struck.

I knew now I could never go back to Sorben, all feelings aside. The man had given me a second chance, quite astounding in itself for a bounty hunter, actually; I had quite literally taken that and threw it into his face. And I didn't think I could ever go back to my husband after the hurt I knew I had caused him, either. I didn't feel comfortable going back to Phrinnchatka; something inside me quietly closed a particular book I had been reading for far too long regarding my sister. Let her stay there with her Sith and their dream of glory.

But I did know one thing, or at least sensed it with every fiber of my being:

Being under the auspices of Admiral Actar, power or no, was no place for me to be, and certainly no place for my little girl. And sure as there's treasure on Roon it was no place to leave this wonderful little ship laying about.

I drew in a breath, calming down now from that adrenalin burst, suddenly basking in the heady feel of once again being free amidst the stars, a shining ship at my own command. I reached out a steady hand and tapped a final directive into navigation, then sat back with a rueful little wisp of a smile on my lips.

Keep her nose to that particular star, navigator. Second from the left, and straight on til morning.

We howled on through hyperspace, Darra and I, our destination coming closer and closer with every passing second.

This time, he wasn't very interested in Galen, or even her baby, as powerful as she was (if anything, he would kill the baby before he let it off Coruscant, to protect himself in the future). His attraction to giving protection this time was the ship. A Sith ship. He had never seen one, never ridden in one, and obviously never pilotted one. He had only heard of them, and their capabilities, and was certain that, given time, the researches and engineers on Ambria could replicate them.

He walked slowly out onto the platform, where Sorben stood, alone. A grin on his face that said, "I knew it."

She did it to me... AGAIN.

And as if to reiterate those steaming words, a quiet voice I well recognized repeated them silkily in my ears.

She's better off without me? Hell's Seven Circles, Hunter; when are you going to admit it? You're better off without HER.

I stood there literally shaking, trying to get myself calmed down, turning now to the Admiral. A final whistling exhalation of held breath, and his words became clearer, sharper. I tilted my head to him, considering his offer for a bit of time before I finally responded.

"Actually Admiral," I began coolly enough. "No. If the truth were told, I would quite frankly find myself completely bored shoved off onto some remote world like a Twi'lek to a rancor. I've never been the rural type."

I paused; quick flashback to that enigmatic Mandalorian-clad personage who had started me along the long road ending with me being Sorben Tarnus, bounty hunter extraordinaire. I shook off the brief distraction, raising a gauntleted hand to show the Admiral I meant no disrespect.

"I appreciate your offer, sir," I continued. "No disrespect intended, especially now that you appear to be truly laying your cards out on the table. As I said, I'm not one to disappear from the universe, it's not my style. But--"

I let my voice trail off a bit, cocking my head a bit and leveling my T-shaped visor directly into his piercing gaze. Now it was my turn to raise a finger, mimicking his very action.

"But as you know, sir, I'm a bounty hunter by trade. Every mark has its price. I've always enjoyed the good life, I won't lie about that. But I'm no county bumpkin.

"You let me stay here, with you and Admiral Swatzi, remaining topside with you two. I'll be your personal security chief, and liason to all things sith. I've come to find out just a couple things about them which you just might find interesting....

"You two can run the galaxy as you see fit. But take me into your confidence, make me the newest addition in your elite circle of two. You know my loyalties are already with you, Admiral, but you guarantee my position there...

"And you've bought yourself a ship..." The upraised finger now lowered to point directly at him. "...and maybe, just a little bit more."

Although a rather brief immobility; somehow those words didn't surprise me in the least. But even as I began to thaw, an attendant unspoken addendum came creeping insidiously into my brain, hooked more surely to his statement than a ysalamiri to its tree.

He had asked me to kill Galen. And if I refused... did that mean he would simply find another hunter to do the job for him? Or was this a test of my loyalty to him? Or merely something frivolous... although there was something about his demeanor which precluded the latter altogether.

I jolted myself back to find him patiently waiting to hear my reply. That something unspoken continued to pass back and forth between us, finally resolving itself into the simple fact that this was something he had asked of me, and I didn't think I could ever really walk away if I turned him down.

Somehow I didn't think he'd let me.

Not a lick of all this passed through my helmet, although I had a sneaking suspicion he could read my mind before I opened my mouth to answer.

Terrin had been going non-stop from the moment he and Jasyn had headed off the Hornett towards a destination determined by heart alone. This did not mean, however, that his brain wasn’t fully aware of the possible risks this could bring. And after all, Terrin was a sort of a guy who always had a plan; whether it worked out or not was something else entirely.

On the outskirts of the Coruscant blockade, Terrin brought the ZZ’Shzq into orbit and gave the controls over to Jasyn so he could man the comm unit. He dialed in a general comm frequency and prayed like Hell that he wouldn’t simply be shot down the moment his message was recieved.

“This is Captain Terrin Danner of Eagle Enterprises. I would like to speak with Admiral Actar directly concerning a business issue of sorts.”

Business issue?! a shoulder devil piped up. Cute. Real cute.

He quieted at that, somehow knowing the Admiral would reply but not too certain that the reply would be something he would entirely enjoy. Unconsciously he tweaked the shields of the little yacht to make sure they were at maximum efficiency and simply waited.

"Step inside, I'll have someone show you to the main hanger. You can choose a ship that will suit your needs in finding her. As soon as you return, which I hope will be soon, we'll start our talks of the sith, since you seem to be itching to tell what's happening with them." He put his hand on the back of Sorben and continued walking, almost pushing him inside.

Later......

Now in the command center on Coruscant, Admiral Actar was being alerted to a message recieved from Terrin Danner. "This is Captain Terrin Danner of Eagle Enterprises. I would like to speak with Admiral Actar directly concerning a business issue of sorts."

"He's looking for Galen," He whispered to himself. Aloud, "Give him clearance. Have him land on landing pad A-47-Q. I'll be waiting."

Kriffing hell. This guy wants to NEGOTIATE?! Red flags buddy, red flags.

Then again, he really couldn't expect to do any good if he was up here and Galen and Darra were down there. If they were down there...

Taking a deep breath, he guided his way through the blockade nervously, remembering just how much he really hated anything that had to do with the Empire. After landing in the city he stood, taking a vial of something from his pocket and grimacing at it. He eyed Jasyn, who had a vial of his own. "You are sure we are supposed to drink this stuff?"

Jasyn grinned. "Imagine it is Sith brandy. And remember that once you've downed it Actar won't be able to sense you in the Force for a good day. Isn't it nice that I raise ysalamiri as a hobby?"

Terrin rolled his eyes. "And to think you said they were ugly."

With that they both drank, and Terrin cringed. "Yeah...Just like Sith brandy..."

He gulped, hoping to wash away the flavor of the liquid for the moment it would take to begin working. Then he turned and lead the way off the now powered-down ZZ'Shzq to face an Admiral that was entirely too Imperial for his tastes...

When standing in front of him, he spoke, "Mr. Danner," his eyes dashed to the other man, then back to Terrin, "you're looking for your wife. Come with me, and we'll talk." He turned and walked back in, followed by Terrin, the other man, and then the six guards.

Inside now, in a meeting room, Terrin and his friend sat at one end of a table, and Actar sat at the other. Standing back from the table on Actar's side was Admiral Swatzi, and on the other side of the Admiral, a guard. For most, it would be an intimidating sight.

"You're looking for Galen, Mr. Danner. Well, she's not here. She left only seconds after she arrived. I'll tell you what I told Mr. Tarnus. No matter how much time you've spent with Galen, from the limited interactions I've had with her, it's obvious that she is better off alone. Following her will only lead to more personal pain for you, because when you find her, she won't stay. When you find her, she'll run from you again. She's a paranoid, catious woman. And that is certainly to her benefit." Terrin seemed to be listening, but the expression on his face hadn't changed much. "Your interference, or even Mr. Tarnus's interference would only endanger the child. I think deep inside yourself, you know that."

Admiral Swatzi stood, staring at the man sitting next to Terrin. He did it purposely, to make him uncomfortable.

Terrin's look remained completely unreadable as he continued to simply play along, for the moment. "What's your catch, Admiral?" he asked quietly, although his mind was already pretty much made up.

The man got up from the bar stool he had been warming for nearly three hours...

He exited the bar, followed shortly by a being clad in armor...

The man wobbled his way down a dark alley, quickly followed step by step...

The bounty hunter came down on the man, nearly crushing his skull with the hilt of the blaster...

The hunter took a look at the surroundings...

"You, care to make a quick credit?" the hunter said toward near by men slumped up against a make shift fire...

The men converged on the unconscious man and the hunter...

"Now... why would I do that, pal... he's me buddy..."

The 4 men now came at the hunter, without warning... two taking each of the arms, and the other two going for the feet...

Before the men could realize what happened, the hunter managed to back flip kicking the two approaching men square in the jaw, while also escaping the hold the men had on the arms...

Coming into a crouch out of the back flip, the hunter slide-tripped the man on the left...

The hunter came out of the roll, on one knee, and had a blaster steadied between the eyes of the only man left standing...

"Hope you're strong..." The hunter said as the blaster motioned for the man to pick up the one that had been followed into the alley...
Sometime later...

The man was drenched in perspiration, as they finally made it to the hunter's ship...

"Just a bit further... I am parched..." the hunter said, as the ramp came down from the ship...

The hunter jumped up the ramp, as the man pulled the unconscious one up the last few meters...

"Anywhere is fine..." the hunter said, as she took off her helmet to take a drink of water, then dumping what was left...

"Oh, were you thirsty??" Carina said, as the man couldn't even speak, he just stayed there on his hands and knees...

Carina came to his side, and gave him a nudge with her boot...

He rolled down the ramp, and off of the ship...

"have a drink on me..." Carina said, as she tossed a credit down to the man, the ramp retracting...

The ship quickly blasted off, as it headed toward those who had purchased the contract on this pathetic being...

Quickly in her shuttle, she set course for home...

A bleep came over her comm...

hmmm, a written message... good sign of another job...

She read the message, it was a job...

K'eel Doba?? a moon even...

She hadn't even heard of the planet, but the coordinates were right there in the message...

She let curiosity take over, she needed the credits as well...

Cartina shuttled past the blockade, and entered hyperspace...

Aside from that, I make the majority of my money by selling ships to everyday people; only every once in a while does a momentous offer of this nature come in our direction. I'm a guy who likes to keep tight control over his company, I don't think I'd be happy sacrificing that, good pay or not."

He paused then stood, followed by Jasyn. "I don't believe I can accept your offer at this time, Admiral."

For a moment I had just stood there, my stomach still in that icy knot and climbing steadily higher and higher into my throat. It had taken every bit of will-power I had possessed to fight it back down where it belonged, for memories kept sloshing up out of some hidden floodgate which had promptly opened to their touch to let them come raging through.

She had left me... again. Actar was right; she was meant to be alone, was better off alone....

Now before my mind's eye those images grew in size and strength: again, a black-suited figure sweeping off an enigmatic helmet within an even more enigmatic ship; that beautiful face in a panoply of expressions, but nothing more expressive than those big brown eyes of hers...

Sorben, she walked out on you in Dalius City, and you had only just found out about your daughter! And now, she did it again....

...facing Wicked, facing her sister, facing Desolist and the pirates and Gravin Dark, facing those two hellions on Kamino; hell, facing Quee for that matter; her gumption and spunk shone through her occasional tendency to run first and ask questions later like a star outshining a campfire...

But when she cut and ran, it was from you, Hunter. FROM YOU. Get it through your thick skull.

I shook my head, shoving memories to a place backstage in my mind, and took a look around myself.

There; sitting all by it's lil ol specialness was a beautiful Marauder-class corvette. That should do nicely; I knew these things were something to deal with both in atmosphere and in clean space. I went to her and boarded her without any preamble, quickly checking out the myriad modifications she had undergone, undoubtedly at Actar's command. Her hyperdrive had been pepped up to 150%, and she was loaded for bear; there was even a Lambda aboard as an escape craft.

I nodded my still-helmeted head, and then stormed down her gangplank, bursting upon the workers who thronged this place like ants. I grabbed one unfortunate enough to be within reach of my gauntleted hand and yanked him a good foot off the ground.

"You call these modifications?!" I snarled, giving the majority of the anger I was feeling about Galen's imminent demise release in this poor guy's face. "Where the hell did you guys go to school, the Outer Rim?"

They were good, of course; Actar wouldn't have anything but the best working for him.

But then atmospheric mufflers were fairly easy to install, after all.

I had taken just enough time to stop by my favorite cantina for a quick drink, pick up a few items I knew I would need and pack them into my ditty, and headed on back to Actar's personal headquarters and hangar. The engineers were just finishing up my private order; I paused before the sleek little corvette and stared dully at her new nom de plume:

Cutthroat.

Funny how something so simple as a name can give an entirely different aura to anything, even an inanimate object.

I shook that off then, and strode to my new ship. Workers scattered like mice ahead of me, and one came up hesitantly to wave his work order in my face that I would officially ok what they had done. I just stalked past him, a quick sideways thrust of my arm sending him stumbling backward, his tablet flying to the floor.

Then I boarded Cutthroat, fired her up, commed for a departure vector, and took off to do what it is that I do best.

In seconds, the door was opened, and the two men were being carried on stretchers to a holding cell not far from the room they had been in.

In the holding cell the men's begain to come to. When they awoke, they would see 4 prison guards and Admiral Actar. "It was the earthquake Terrin, you're under arrest for the attack."

Turning to the four guards, "Strip search them. I want to personally see that they have no weapons on them." They were both stripped to the flesh, no weapons were found on them. Their clothes were searched also, no weapons, then discarded of. The men were given official Imperial prison garb to wear.

Later, they were taken deep inside Coruscant to the to their cell, where, by request of Admiral Actar, the door was welded shut. A small opening in the door was left for food to be slipped in. A vent for air was in the ceiling, 7 feet above them, all solid concrete, 24 inches thick. The vent had no cover to it, but was only 4x6 inches. There was no way out.

The next day, the ship the two men had arrived in was ordered to be dismantled. There was something different about the ship, and the only way inside was the emergency hatch. Once inside, the controls and any self-destruct or tracking devices were disabled, and the men began taking the ship apart. When they were done, the ship was in hundreds of peices, and those peices were later destroyed.

And time passed.....For Terrin and Jasyn, it was probably extremely slow...

He raised his wrist comm to his lips and spoke a rapid-fire order to his blockade.

"Secondary level defense: I want all tractor beams on, every one of them. Lock onto each other and interlace. I don't want so much as a speck of space debris slipping through. Primary defense, stay sharp."

I just let out a little grunt of acknowledgement and guided the corvette down into the atmosphere of the glittering planet-city, soon entering traffic lanes and soon thereafter coming up on Actar's private headquarters.

I brought the ship to a graceful landing in the same hanger I had departed from, slapped her into submissive sleep, and popped the hatch. The air was filled with the hisses and fogs of her outgassing; I strode through them like a thundercloud, wanting nothing more than to find the man who had ordered me to change my life.

I made it to his opulent office, and there didn't have long to wait before he strode inside, a sleek little grin plastered on his face. I just stared at him through my visor.

"I couldn't find the ship," I finally said in an icy monotone. "She hid it. But I know where there's another; I just came here to bring you this."

With that my gauntleted hand flashed out, and something shining and golden flew through the air. Actar's gloved hand flashed out like black lightning and caught it in mid-air. For a moment he stared into my eyes, then down at the locket in his hands. He opened it slowly, now looking at its contents. Captain Terrin Danner smiled devilishly from one side, Galen and her daughter from the other.

I had marked a big black "x" across the features of the latter two.

"Tell the Admiral..." he started, pausing only for a moment, "That I wish to negotiate."

Then he stepped back, waiting to see what would happen...

...if anything at all.

...in exchange for nothing more than the sole freedom of my employee and I from this planet. My only request is that you take the department into the Empire and seperate it entirely from Eagle Enterprises so that I may continue to buy and sell ships as I always have; I'm a salesperson, nothing more and nothing less. Aside from that, I think it's only fair that my employees know they are now priveleged to be working for you."

Again he quieted, waiting.

He gulped, blinking as if to clear the object from his line of sight, hoping like hell that it wasn't what he thought it was. He reached a suddenly shakey hand out to grasp the locket, still clearly recognizing it and suddenly simply not wanting to admit that it in fact was what it was. For a long moment he simply held the the locket in his hand, knowing that there had to be some purpose for its sudden appearance in the cell.

Galen's locket. Why did Actar have Galen's locket...?

The room was dead silent...not that it would be anything other than that in the barracks of a prison ward, but the silence was deafening. Suddenly wanting more than anything to look upon the two faces of those two people that he loved so very much, Terrin struggled with an unsteady hand to open the locket.

Something in him literally snapped when his eyes fell on the image inside...

... of those two people he'd been so longing to see, now covered with a black X.

This WAS Galen’s locket. That WAS their picture inside...

The Universe was suddenly spinning totally out of control, and all he wanted to do was crawl into a hole somewhere and die.

No, no, no. It couldn’t be. He’d know if this had happened, wouldn’t he...?

Try to deny it as he might, the probable reality was beginning to become more and more painful with each passing moment. To the side, Jasyn was looking rather concerned, but seemed to be struggling to determine the best response to the obvious implication as his own eyes dropped to the image. Terrin didn’t struggle to respond for any length of time, however. He closed his eyes, fighting an onslaught of tears as unrelenting despair began to well up inside of him, needing some sort of release.

”Noooooo...” he moaned, leaning into the prison wall for support as his legs suddenly went limp beneath him. He slid to the floor, holding that locket tightly in one hand, tears of grief and agony beginning to fall from his eyes. ”Noooo...”

...but why had it come to this?

He kept his eyes closed, not ready to face the look Jasyn might be directing his way at the moment. He swallowed then forced out the words that were coming to his head. "Tell the prison ward to inform Admiral Actar that he can have Eagle Enterprises...

...all of it."

Rathal leaned back in his seat as the frieghter that had been commisioned to he and Finn cruised through hyperspace. His gaze was fixated on the stretched lines of light that they shot passed, Rathal never grew weary of this sight no matter how many times he saw it, still this was not the time to loose himself in pretty vistas, now was the time for planning.

Anticipating Rathal's request to explain who Dal'mah was, Finn expounded. "Dal'mah was a Bothan Admiral who disappeared a few years back into the Unknown Regions. He's rumored to posess a map and information regarding the systems in the UR. No one knows if he's alive or dead or if he still has this map. Truth is he's dead, and his spy failed to actually acquire the map and info for him from those who colonized the area as separatists and refugees, but the Imps don't know that. Hearing his name again should generate enough interest to hear us out."

The images were so very real, as if they were happening even now. All he could see was Galen in that Kandolorian dress of midnight blue, her big brown eyes meeting his, her hand gently touching his face.

"I-- I think that I love you, Terrin."

Over that image was that of his adoptive daughter...no, of his daughter, her big blue eyes radiating with life and innocence, the light red hair atop her head glistening as her mother played with her in a Sith park. Of the day when he'd first laid eyes on her, laying atop her mother aboard the Sith warship.

Image over image played itself out, and Terrin simply let it. He wasn't ready to face reality; didn't think he could handle the thought of them both being dead. It hurt too much...

So instead, the images and memories just simply played on.

"OK, you've trumped me," Finn replied. He never thought it would come to this. His one thing of value... the ONLY thing, and he was giving it up to a bounty hunter and an Imp Admiral... for what? To attempt (stress attempt) to rescue a guy he didn't even know, who was in trouble over some personal issue...

Taking the chance and trusting people on the fly was all too common for Finn in the past, why should he stop now? Haven't I learned anything over the past ten years?, he pondered for a brief instant. Guess not, or else I'm just a sucker for a mission impossible.

Looking Rathal straight in the eyes, eyes that were true blue again, he spilled it.

Cartina went straight for the cockpit, being as quite as possible in doing so...

The course did not need changing, but Aaron needed to be left to his thoughts...

A few hours later...

The Otana's Rival came back into real space, on the outskirt of the Coruscant system...

Perhaps there might still be a price on Aaron's head, looks like that might be my only way back in... Cartina thought to herself, as she noticed the heightened security of the blockade...

She sent out a general message:

"I have been informed Terrin Danner was last known to be on planet... do you happen to know his whereabouts? I have a few... questions for him... concerning a current bounty... call it professional courtesy..."

She quieted at that, waiting for any lead to follow...

Terrin Danner... left on YT-2200?!

That was all Aaron could make out, but he sure knew one thing and that was that something was fishy here.

"Terrin doesn't OWN a 2200," Aaron yelled from his awkward position on the floor. It was a good thing his hearing was more acute than his ability to move at the moment...

And, it doesn't take a bounty hunter to realize they should have known the direction he was headed...

Cartina tried once more,"Yes, I apologize... but, you must know which direction he was headed?"

Then he spoke into the comm, trying to sound official, "This is the crew of the Castaway requesting audience with his excellency, Admiral Actar. We bring news from the Unknown Regions that should interest him. Request permission to land on Coruscant."

He shook his head, that was an understatment, pay or no pay he was begining to regret accepting Barnes's offer.
Ya shoulda bargained harder he growled at himself, cause from here the potential gain is pretty skimpy compared to the potential loss.

He simply couldn't.

He closed his eyes once more, still holding Galen's locket in his one hand as something that might have been logic or possibly only wishful thinking and utter denial niggled to gain attention. He listened to what it had to say, weighing the logic on a mental scale of sorts. He directed somewhat dulled blue eyes in Jasyn's general direction, pursing his lips, for the first time speaking a word regarding what had been so cruelly revealed to him hours or eons ago.

"I don't believe it," he whispered. Then his eyes defocused once more to stray to images that could only be seen through the eyes of Terrin's mind.

"Castaway, more information is required about the knowledge you have if you wish to gain an audience with an Officer. You can tell that information to me..."

"The information is of a sensitive nature. I prefer not to discuss it over a comlink, and I prefer to speak to an officer. No offense." He winced, wondering if he just blew their chances of getting clearance to land. "When we land, you'll have our ship and any cargo as bond."

"Thank you, General," the co-pilot replied. "My information concerns the Unknown Regions. I've spent time there and have access to nav charts not available on the open market. I'm interested in finding a suitable buyer, and thought perhaps one of your Admirals would be interested."

Why didn't you take Galen and Darra and head for the hills when the Sith had been cold enough to suggest manipulating Darra's age? Why did you let her go with Tarnus like that?

The answer was simple really. Because he knew that she loved him. But for them to parade off to Coruscant, into the very stomping grounds of Admiral Actar...

Terrin wasn't seeing the outside world again. He wasn't seeing anything really; just a gaping hole in that thing that had once been his heart. He would always love them both, but would he ever get the chance to show either how very much he did? Would he ever be able to atone for how he had failed them? He should have gone with Galen on more than one occasion...

...back in Prinn'chatka after Graysith had taken JhinDarra to the Valley of the Dark Lords...

But he'd let her go to find her own way. Love lets go after all...doesn't it?

Perhaps sometimes love also guides? Terrin didn't know anymore. At the time he'd thought he was doing the best thing, but now...

He didn't know much of anything aside from the fact that he was stuck here for gods knew how long; stuck here with himself and his failures and with the horrible possibility that Galen and JhinDarra were dead.

The Universe was so very, very cold and uncertain...

Rathal seemed even more on edge than before, fingering his blaster. Not that Finn liked the idea of trying to strike a deal with an Imp Admiral either, especially since he would surely have a price on his head after skipping out on his end of the bargain.

Finn let Rathal in on the rest of his plan. "Now to get to the planet, I have to tell the good Admiral that my map information is somewhere down there. Right now that's a lie, and you said Actar can sniff out a traitor with ease." Finn cracked his knuckles. "But I've got that covered once we get down there. I'll have some of it downloaded to a good friend of mine who happens to live on Coruscant."

Finn pulled his sleeve up to access his wristcom, which the Marauders generously agreed to give back to him upon his release. He punched and sent a digital code that sent a cryptic message to Coruscant. The message itself had no meaning and would look like regular nav-noise to anyone scanning transmissions from the Castaway. Upon receiving the code, Finn's friend was instructed to begin the download procedure and retrieve half the map data. Only accessing half was Finn's safety valve. If Actar did manage to get hold of the information, Finn would still have another secret to sell and some insurance to keep him alive.

"The catch is," Finn continued calmly, "I have to retrieve it in person. The information will be downloaded into a droid who will give the file only to someone alive with my retinal scan. Not too many people with eyes like mine, eh?"

Tossing her head, fire in her eyes, she did not look back but stepped through the portal through the All she had opened....

...and into a tiny windowless and for all intents and purposes doorless cell. Upon entry she paused a moment, her lip curling in disgust to see how Admiral Actar treated his prisoners, then with great effort calmed herself and forced the fire from her eyes. The Glyph on her forehead quieted, bathing the two bedraggled and fitfully sleeping men on the floor before her in its soft glow; now she coughed lightly, and announced her sudden arrival.

"The Oath of the Blood is a lifelong one, my friend," her voice broke the silence of the cell, resonating musically against the durasteel walls before fading into echoes. She did not let the ensuing silence linger long.

"Please forgive my tardiness in coming to your assistance, Captain Danner; I have only just learned of your distress."

She then stood quietly, waiting for them to rouse themselves and acknowledge her.

That possibility was immediately discarded when something that seemed to be words came wafting into his ears. Terrin focused on them, trying to clear his mind enough to hear what whomever was saying. The voice was familar, but it somehow didn't seem to belong here.

Finally, the words started making sense. The last line spoken came in clear as day.

"Please forgive my tardiness in coming to your assistance, Captain Danner; I have only just learned of your distress."

At that Terrin's memory jogged. He forced two very unwilling eyelids open, sitting up on his elbows to ascertain if what he was hearing was really real. As the final lingerings of sleep faded from his eyes the image of Graysith swam into focus, along with an image of Jasyn to the side of him sitting up in a similar fashion. For a long moment all he could do was simply sit there in stunned silence, fiddling with something he was still holding in his hand. Then he remembered what that something was.

Galen's locket.

His blue eyes grew vague and distant. HIS assistance...?

She had to know the truth. Furthermore, he needed to know it, or else he was simply going to go crazy. But Terrin wouldn't dare to ask about such things here in Actar's prison ward. He simply had to get he and Jasyn out of this hellhole, and his ticket to do just that was standing right in front of him. So he simply got to his feet, Jasyn standing up in tandem with him, and directed his blue eyes in Graysith's direction, waiting to see what she might do next, somehow eeriely aware that she could sense his every thought and concern.

"Please," she said softly, the Glyph beginning to brighten. "We must go before any guards should decide to come check on your--" Here she paused a moment, her nostrils flaring as she sniffed disdainfully.

"Welfare."

At that she fell silent and stood quietly, waiting for Danner to take his own first steps back into freedom.

And what the kriffing hell was on the other side anyway? Where were they going?

...and stopped.

A slow smile crept across her features.

Let him know....

It was the work of moments to send an electric energy burst ravening out against the wall across from the tiny food-slot. It splashed there in hissing and staticky splendor, weaving and writhing about the cold surface for a moment before finally subsiding and then dying completely away. In its place, inscribed in Sith glyphs, was a single word.

Curling her lips in dark humor, the Chosen Daughter of the Sith nodded to herself in satisfaction.

Step one complete. Now onward...

...which she proceeded to do, stepping gracefully through the portal, and in going reaching out behind her to take it along with her.

All that was left behind was an empty cell, void of ornamentation of any type save for that one word written in the tongue of the Ancient Sith:

Graysith.

A pleasantly muted chiming in the key of B-minor enticed me quietly from the depths of slumber. I jerked my head up from the table in my ready room, wincing and then uttering a little grunt as I rolled it around to unkink my neck. Then I took a quick glance at my chronometer.

Maybe that was Ms. Manth reporting back already, I mused, reaching to open up the channel which was discreetly calling for my attention. We were fairly close to Corellia when we released her, and fates know Bothans are usually pretty speedy....

However it was merely the Officer On Deck, informing me that we were coming into Coruscant space, and that shuttles were being readied and provided with landing coordinates.

"The prisoners are already aboard, and en route to the surface," the young officer finished with a snappy salute that I answered only half-heartedly. Before he could begin to wonder if my lack of finesse was perhaps due to anything other than a touch of fatigue, I flipped the link closed and rose to my feet.

Well now, there's a pity, I thought to myself as I made my way to where my ship was docked. I was so hoping to get affairs underway before actually arriving back at headquarters. As it was Actar had ordered the immediate execution of the impersonator; I had to pull all the strings I could just to keep her alive. No matter how I looked at things, there was more to deal with here than just someone dressed up like a major in the Imperial Forces and traipsing about on a backwater world thus attired; this lady had some connection with what had occurred on Tatooine, I just felt it, and dammit but I was going to use her to get to the bottom of things.

But not without first obtaining certain...

Assurances.

I shook my head and entered the docking bay, and was soon aboard Cutthroat. It didn't take long to slip her out of the belly of the destroyer Actar assigned to me, and make an uneventful arrival outside Imperial HQ.

I wasted not one minute but left for the Detention Center the moment I arrived. I wanted to ascertain for myself not only the physical arrival of Mr. Arakeen and Ms. Corona... but the fact that the latter was still alive and hadn't suffered any untoward accidents along the way. Khaandon knows Actar gets a streak in him at times....

But no. There they were, safely installed within the same heavily reinforced and totally sealed durasteel and concrete cells which once held Captain Danner and his crewman.

Once held? Now that boded no good, that's for certain. I wonder what happened to them; had Actar finally tired of feeding them and ordered their execution? Perhaps; but it was something else to check into, just for my own... edification.

I peeped throught the tiny slit at Paul Arakeen, who was sitting rather morosely upon his cement bunk, still imprisoned in the force-cage.

Good; he's quiet enough....

Then I moved into an adjoining corridor, down another, and into yet a third. I paused at the head of the somewhat lengthy cell-lined passageway: halfway down I found the sole inhabitant, likewise ensconced in a force cage.

I stood just outside her cell for a moment, debating whether to say anything or not.

Oh what the hell.

"You'd better not even squeak a word about wanting to speak with Admiral Actar," I said at length. "He wanted you spaced long ago; you have me to thank that you're alive at all.

"Maybe we'll have an opportunity to have a little... chat, sometime."

I nodded my head to her politely, then turned and went on my way. The esteemed Admiral mustn't be kept waiting, after all.

Something I know they don't and want to get to the bottom of... but what? I told them about Grakko stealing ID... didn't he check on that? Perhaps he is just curious what my connection to Arrakeen is. Not much, not as much as I'd originally wanted.

She shrugged and rubbed her bare forearms. The cell was cold.

The spice shipment... he wouldn't know we were planning to take it, or did he? Maybe he did talk to the Hutt. Or maybe Paul is involved in much more than I know. I didn't have my equipment accessible to check on him after discovering his name. I only had what the Hutt told me.

Is Paul alive or dead? I may never know. I may be next after Tarnus has his "chat" with me. She shuddered a bit. A man with his power surely has everything he wants, besides the information he thinks I have. What else could I give that might keep me alive? Pleading for mercy won't get me anywhere with Imps.

She stopped thinking on that vein.

I'll just have to wait until I know more about what he wants from me.

That being the summary execution of our impersonator, Jazelle Corona.

My frowned deepened.

Admiral, I know you've been a bit... "twitchy" with the ladies lately, but perhaps this one would have been of more use to us alive than dead....

I shook my head to myself. I had tried; Khaandon knows how I had tried. I had been bold enough -- or stupid enough -- to open my mouth and actually dare to disagree with Actar on his decision to end the prisoner's life, pointing out that she had gotten that uniform and id from the Hutt Grakko, and that not only was he the one we should be after, but that with her connections with him she would be the best choice of personnel to lead us to him and catch him with his fingers in the cookie jar, so to speak.

Actar, on the other hand, always favored the frontal approach over stealth, and had flat-out refused to even consider my suggestion. And thus, no matter how much I quietly protested, he had reniged on his earlier agreement with me and had ordered that Jazelle Corona would die. And he dumped that rather dubious honor squarely in my lap.

Joy.

Biting back a little sigh, I hit a comm switch in my helmet, connecting with the gaoler's post, and proceeded to pass on Actar's order. Then I paused in my tracks, thinking.

All right... Ms. Corona might have been forced out of play, but there were other gamepieces in our holding. Perhaps that ex-Jedi who we captured with her, who had mentioned something about his own connections with that Hutt....

Thus it was that I found myself in the guarded quarters given to my "old nursemaid," Shawn Petrolu. The Jedi Knight looked up from where he was sitting as I strode into his room without so much as a by your leave, pinning his quiet yet penetrating gaze on me as I did so. I ignored the purposefully unexpressive look he was carefully maintaining, and came to a halt in front of him.

For a moment I just stood there, letting the enigma of my helmet match his look, nuance for nuance.

"So," I finally spoke. "You're a jedi. Tell me what you know about this other one, this 'Paul Arakeen.'"

That's how good Actar was, and how far-reaching were his fingers.

Pike sat back with a little snort of disgust. Then he flicked off his monitor, and casually opened a link to the brig section.

"We have with us a bounty hunter, and a Republic soldier and spy," he said with an authoritative ring to his voice. "See the Lieutenant is spaced -- immediately -- but let the hunter and his ship go...

"...after, of course, implanting him with a remote-controlled destruct device and tracking beacon," he finished smoothly, closing the link with a decisive snick. He nodded to himself with satisfation.... the slavers on Tatooine were helpful upon occasion, and the assimilation of their little slave holders was just one small way the Empire had gained in strength when the new blockade had arrived there.

Pike waited a few moments before contacting the brig once again. He was answered by a snapping young Colonel, who saluted smartly and informed him that both orders had just not only been implemented, but successfully carried out. Pike didn't say anything, but nodded and closed the connection again. He sat back in his comfortable chair, wondering at first about the bounty hunter.

Then he smiled.

"I don't know much of Arrakeen, honestly. Shawn admitted. "However I knew his apprentice, Jakob Renard, at least as an acquantaince. Jakob was beginning to go off on missions about the time I neared the time for my trials, so I lost contact. Not long after I achieved Knighthood--about 4 years ago--rumor spread that, on some mission, Arrakeen killed his own apprentice. The Council acted quickly and took away his title as Master, and last I heard he headed off to live as a recluse on the planet Hoth, which didn't much help substantiate his claims that he didn't kill Jakob, running as he did.

"I have no idea what brought him to Tatooine nor how he got involved with this Hutt, he's been pretty... careful... in not disclosing that information as well. I don't think he much trusts Jedi, but...

...perhaps I can speak with him and get him to clear some things up, considering his current situation. Also, I'd really like to know the status of the two female bystanders that were brought along with us," he ended calmly, simply quieting then and waiting.

...which hadn't really told me anything I didn't already know. At first I thought of taking him up on his offer of speaking with the prisoner. Then I thought better of it.

Whether or not he had indeed nursed me back to health after I took that godawful hit on Kamino, it was just a better thing to keep these two altogether separated.

I merely nodded.

"Thank you for your help, Petrolu," I said succinctly. "I'll be seeing to your release... as well as to that of the young lad with you. And as for the ladies...

"...why, there is absolutely no reason you need to worry about them at all."

...just the slightest, and for even a tinier moment actually considered answering the man.

But I was a careful kind of guy, and this was the kind of thing a bounty hunter doesn't go around applauding himself with... not if he wants to keep on being happy and healthy and sane.

Well... two out of three at least.

I quickly gathered myself together and just continued on, not even bothering to turn around or even send a glance askance over my shoulder.

Jamel swung his legs back and forth, attempting to activated his body from the dull position that he was in. Their was silence in the room since the rustling of the Bothan had exited with her leave, and he was the only being within his settlements other then the men who were settled firmly outside the door. Rubbing is back against the couch seat, he threw his head to the ceiling, falling into a state of unrealistical placement.

Jamel kneeled before a small orb. It was beckoning him to venture closer to it, inching toward it-to simply touch. The feel of the energy that had radiated from the levitating orb had drained the colorization of the room, other then the boy himself. The place was a void of purity, it was the brightest of white. The only source of light colorization was the orb, which shined bright. The orb held more then one color, every moment their was a flavor of green, then it marveled the boy as it manifested into a sudden light blue. Then suddenly a strike touched the orb, and it fell upon the color of dark navy blue. The light radiated much brighter then previous colors. It was a hiss that came from the blare of light, but then it suddenly stopped...

Abruptly the light cascaded the void, and then sunk back quickly. It grasped the being of Jamel and swiftly drew him into the orb which the light orginated from. Sinking into the marble shaped light sphere, he vanished into oblivion and was only to return..

He awoke suddenly, the boy's eyes wide with sweat running slowly down his face. Taking his eyes to the side where the building door was placed he watched as the Jedi had returned. Jamel's eyes narrowed downard, focusing on the being as the sudden heat that glowed within Jamel had lowered his vision as well as the opening of his eyes in such a bright place. Forming the being, and his description after a moment of a blank stare, his expression drew into a form of happiness. Rolling of the couch onto his feet, he welcome the Jedi with a cheerful hug. Throwing him off balance only a bit, Jamel jumped back with glee written on his face.

"Master? Wake up. Master!"

Paul's eyes shot open, and found he was staring at a man's bare feet. He looked up, and saw that he was dressed in an apprentice uniform. The Jedi gasped when he realized who it was...

"Jakob?!" Paul asked, his voice in a blend of anger and fear. The Jedi quickly leapt to his feet, reached down and gripped his lightsaber. He quickly held it out in front of him and placed his thumb on the switch...and stopped.

"I lost my lightsaber weeks ago." he stated aloud. Jakob, so young and bright before the 'situation' at the Praxeum, smiled. "And this isn't real."

Paul lowered the saber and looked around. His surroundings were no longer of the cold, heartless atmosphere of an Imperial prison, but that of a green, lush meadow.

The sun was shining brightly, and he could hear birds in the air. There was a great river behind Jakob, with a waterfall at the end. It was awhile before the Jedi realized where he was.

"Yavin? The river close to the Praxeum?" he asked. His apprentice nodded. "This is a dream then..."

Jakob's smiled faded as he nodded yet again. "Do you have any idea what you're becoming, Master Arrakeen? Do you realize what is happening to you?" His former master shook his head, his eyes still focused in disbelief on Jakob. The last time Paul had seen him, Jakob's face was dark, almost lost in evil. His eyes were devoid of all free thought and life...

"The Force is not leaving you, Paul. You are not losing its power, and the midichlorians are not dying out." he said. The Jedi raised an eyebrow.

"Then what is it? Why doesn't the Force work when I want it to, and when it does, it wields far more power than I wanted?"

"There is a war inside you, Paul," Jakob replied. "A war between Light and Dark, and in each battle both sides have become stronger and stronger."

"Your reaching a point, Master, in which one side will become too powerful for the other. And when that happens, your power will become equal to that of the greatest Jedi in history. However..."

Jakob sighed and looked away from Paul. "If the Dark Side wins, not only will it dominate your destiny...but the destinies of others. Already it has gained advantage over you, using your long-contained despair and rage to influence your judgment and actions."

Paul thought about the two sisters at the cantina...and about Jaz and the other Jedi Petrolu. Had the Dark Side held a grip on Paul the whole time?

"Why...are you telling me this? Who...what are you?"

"I'm a reflection of a memory you have forgotten. And the message I carry...comes from many lost Jedi in the Force. They see the Dark Lord you may become...and the Hero that continues to fight against it."

Paul lost feeling in his legs again, and sat down on the grass. He stared at his hands, wondering about the strength he could wield in the galaxy. "Where..." the Jedi began to ask, not looking up at his Padawan. "Is Jakob...the real one...now?"

His apprentice squatted down and looked at Paul. "He has gone to Coruscant. He seeks the aid of the Empire against the growing numbers of Jedi and the Sith civilization."

Paul looked up at him. "The Sith?"

"Jakob considers them a threat to his goals of conquest. He understands that if only a small group of Force-users exist, he could easily take control."

The Jedi Master sighed and scratched the back of his head. "There's nothing I can do about it now. I'm imprisoned here, and probably facing death."

"Don't worry about it," Jakob said standing back up. "The Force will help you escape..."

Paul looked up at him, and realized his vision began to darken. The feeling of warmth from the sun was gradually replaced by the coldness of his cell.

"Oh, and one more thing..." Jakob began to say, though Paul could only hear his voice as his apprentice was covered in a dark shroud.

"The Imperials killed Jaz."

Paul felt dead at the sound of her name...

Meanwhile...

"Uh, Corporal? We got a situation here!" said the monitor sentry. The officer walked up to him and looked at the monitors.

"What is it?"

The sentry pointed at one of the cells. "The Jedi Arrakeen, sir...well...he ain't breathing. And the life line just went dead on him. No heart beat at all."

The officer quickly lunged forward and switched on communications to the medical center. "We have an emergency situation in Force Cell 1138! Immediate transportation to the health facility NOW!"

He switched the frequency to one of the garrison commanders. "Get me Sorben Tarnus! We have a problem with one of the Jedi..."

"Belay that order!" I barked harshly. "The soldier who carries that Jedi ANYWHERE will have to answer to me personally!"

I clicked off the transmission with a decisive snick, but only after hearing a responding, "Yes, Sir." Then I turned on my heel and proceeded to the cells. I wanted to see for myself what was going on with this other prisoner, particularly since I had just finally come to an idea of what to do with him.

But if he's going to be idiotic and try to pull some kind of Jedi mind-trick stunt, well...

I'll have to renig on my thoughts of release, and order his execution anyway.

"Jedi-I want to become a Jedi!" The young boy excitedly screamed. It wasn't like any boy in hte universe at the time before the destruction of the Jedi Alligence didn't want to become a Jedi. This statement probably would have been discarded quickly with a few reasons why, but the eyes of the boy..

The eyes were a green pale orb, circling along the pupil of the sun. It shined so brightly with passion, it seemed as if it was a weapon that could penetrate even the hardest medal within the galaxy.

"Well can I?" He happily smiled, leaping back on the couch, his faced masked with innocence.

Shawn didn't even so much as bat an eye when he saw the disappointment in the boy's face. He handed the kid a few credits. "Get yourself on board a public transport vessel and get home, wherever that is. We've been freed."

With no further ado, Shawn turned on his heel and left to the streets of Coruscant, all the while pondering just what he might do next. Though he was still very troubled regarding what he believed to be Galen's and Darra's deaths, he didn't quite know where to go to resolve the questions that were still unanswered. He needed time to think this over, so perhaps now was the time to check on things regarding young Thea and Yaoksi Joao. Shawn pondered this then nodded to himself, also making mental note to contact Loban so that he did not feel as though he were not missed. For in fact, as Shawn realized his current situation and pondered the demise of the Jedi, he knew in his heart that the young man was missed more than perhaps he even knew.

The boy, heaving as he walked at the same pace as the man, began to speak, "I'm comin' with ya'. I have no where else to go, I have no home."

He couldn't exactly leave the kid stranded on Coruscant, even though he suspected this "kid" could probably take care of himself. He had been attacking a base on Tatooine, after all.

Shawn considered further.

Maybe it would be a good idea to return to Tatooine first before checking on Thea, anyway. Jamel could then get to his home planet and Shawn could try to contact Loban. Besides, Shawn suddenly appeared to have all the time in the world, so an extra leg in his journey wasn't exactly going to spoil his plans.

His final decision made, Shawn finally spoke. "Allright fine. I'll get you back safely to Tatooine, and then we'll see how things go from there. I haven't really any other place to go myself. And aside from that, I'm not even positive how we're going to get off Coruscant, either."

With nothing more than that, Shawn turned and again proceeded forward with the young Jamel trailing happily behind him, pondering just how in fact they would get successfully off the planet. They were in Imperial City, after all, and therefore were surrounded with businesses. The small matter would be finding a ship dealer. The larger one would be convincing the dealer to sell without cash up front.

But then, Shawn was beginning to get an idea regarding that...

"Our commander believes that it could be a Jedi trick."

The sentry shook his head. "That's impossible! His entire cell is--"
Beep...Beep...

He whirled around in the charge towards the monitors.

"He got a heartbeat...looks like he's breathing...."

The officer nodded. "Good. Then the discussion is over." He turned to walk away.

The sentry, still staring at the monitor which held the Jedi's cell in view, shouted to him. "But he's not moving much! We should at least--"

The door slid shut, cutting him off again.

"It's gonna be one of those days...

Within the cell...

Paul didn't move. He didn't want to. He just laid there, staring at the wall. Many thoughts and ideas were going through the Jedi's mind, but he couldn't ascertain any of them. He wouldn't allow it.

Let them no know mercy, Arrakeen. Let them know pain instead. was one thought he had.

Justice will be done in time, Arrakeen. You are not ready yet, for you have much to do. was another.

Reaching up, Jamel tugged at Shawn's robe, attempting to gain his attention. Shifting his finger toward the man who was carrying the map immeditately after the attention of Shawn was grasped he smiled.

He'd been thinking of bartering his ship back on Tatooine for one here, but he really hated to leave Coruscant in debt, not to mention he'd have to come BACK at some point to pay or else make some sort of arrangements for the other ship to be picked up on Tatooine. With the way Coruscant was these days, coming back here could get messy. And Shawn did hate lose ends...

He turned his eyes back to the map, still considering.

Back in the days of the New Republic, traveling as a Jedi wasn't always pleasant but it was always possible. There were several public transport vessels that would allow Jedi as passengers for free; granted, the accomadations weren't all that wonderful.

And there was always the ole' Ben routine. Find someone who is traveling off-planet anyway and promise them payment just as soon as you get to your destination.

Now that...just MIGHT be a good possibility...

Shawn turned his attention the map again, his eyes focusing in upon a nearby cantina. He nodded once to himself, folded the map, then looked to Jamel.

"We're gonna take a visit to this local cantina called the Blue Asteroid," Shawn told him. There's always someone who might like to get off the planet in those places...

...especially if getting off-planet involves payment. But watch your step, this place could be rough..."

At that final statement he placed a hand on Jamel's back, guiding him forward as they began to travel the streets of Coruscant towards the cantina.

A rough place, I would guess so, it is Coruscant. I think this is the center part of the universe, and all the Imperail sympathizers and soldiers reside here, along with just normal citizens. Shawn is right, I better pay attention, anyways he might end up showing me a force trick or too, he seems nice so far.

Motioning his finger out his mouth, he laid them at his side noticing that the man's arm was placed on his back, guiding him to the entrance of the Blue Asteroid. Jamel's eyes widened in puzzelment, though his feet continued to motion on. He hadn't seen a catina like this, most of the ones he had seen were dirt covered place that sent the visitors down steps, but this one was much more polished and elegent settelement. The building was illuminated by the surrondings of board advertisments of the city and vibrant with the blue and purple colors of its exterior.

"Were's going in a palace like that? Thats a Coruscant catina? It's so pretty..." The boy ended his exciting statement, glancing up at the eyes of Shawn, spectating his observaration of the place. It seemed emotionless, as though the man had seen everything in the world,a dn this was just another particle, but when the man obsereved by the boy a brightening smile came upon the man's face and the two headed toward the door of the catina.

Heading into the bright, exciting scene, but lull in sound, their was an immeditate surveying, attempting to find the one that they seeked. Someone with the attitude, and perception of a traveler, one who wanted to get out this scene. Jamel quickly taking a recess in his gaze, he took his head to stare at Shawn's face.

Sorben wasn't fooled in the least bit. He hadn't risen to become the head bounty hunter of the most elite bounty hunter guild by being gullible; his eyes narrowed and he cocked his helmeted head to one side. Then he abruptly spoke up.

"You're not fooling anyone but yourself, Mr. Arakeen," he announced his presence with the near-mirroring of his thoughts. "I have dealt with too many Force users to be taken in by the attempt you just made to escape from here."

He paused, shifting his weight. His armor gave an ominous creak as he settled himself more comfortably before continuing.

"The Empire doesn't gives a Wookiee's big toenail about what transpired between you and your last apprentice," he said abruptly. "What is of concern to us is the bringing of this benighted galaxy to the kind of order necessary to maintain it successfully, order it has not seen in far too lengthy a time. Spice shipments lost to agents unknown and the shady doings of the Hutts are not conducive to that order, Mr. Arakeen. Neither is the impersonation of an Imperial officer, which is why your compatriot was summarily executed."

Now he paused, letting those last words sink into the mute Jedi's skull, that the quiet message carried with it would be clearly understood.

For the Jedi was not yet targeted for execution. And he very well could be, at a time in the not so distant future.

He voiced that thought aloud.

"You can prevent yourself from sharing Ms. Corona's fate, Mr. Arakeen," he said simply. "And be let free; that is, as free as one can be under certain extenuating... personal circumstances. Free to continue your life, such as it was, searching for whatever it is you have been searching for....

"We all search for things, Mr. Arakeen. In fact, should you decide to comply with the Empire, it might be so grateful as to see into those mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of your apprentice. You could be completely cleared of any wrong-doing.

"If, of course, you prove innocent in the matter."

And if not, then perhaps a Jedi such as yourself, with such darkness hanging over his soul, could be persuaded into joining us at some point down the road. There are... other users of Force out there, Force both strange and familiar; Actar and his new re-born soldiers are powerful, but a purely Dark One is nothing to sneeze at. He just might prove useful to us, more so than Actar in all his self-assurance might understand.

Nodding to himself, he finished with, "There is much afoot on Tatooine, Mr. Arakeen. While the Empire might at first be thought prone to react in a solely militant manner, there is something to be said about one shade slipping into the night to obtain a goal.

"We would offer you the chance to be that shade, Mr. Arakeen. No tricks, no strings. Just certain... assurances on your part that you will live up to your end of the bargain. You may, in turn, be assured the Empire will live up to its own."

"Yah, Im going to be out of here after a few more drinks. Your welcome to come, I got alot of space." The green skinned Rodian stated, his rough clothed over-coating fluttering as he took a quick spin around sipping his drink. The way he was fluent in the speak of the human suggested he wasn't born on the Rodian's home planet, or his language would be of them.

"Nyah, Im really just out here to scope the place, had to get away from the kids. I wouldn't wanna just leave without any talk, I love those kids, but they just sometimes get on my nerves, so I just needed a break and a bar is the best place I knew of." The human male replied, placing his hands on the polished glass and gulping down another Correlian Ale and gesturing for yet another.

"Hehe, yah maybe your right- your been drinking to much ale in the first place, you'll end upp in some trouble. Well see ya pal, probably on my next trip back, if I do come back" The Rodian patted the man on his back and headed toward the door as he waved back at the man.

"Hmm..I wonder..?" Jamel pondered outloud to himself, his fist tightening as he looked down, his features exposing his mind was boggling with ideas. Suddenly popping his head up without his ears ranging to the sound of Shawn's voice, he dashed ahead toward the Rodian with a smile on his face, sliding infront of him.

"Excuse me mister, I and my brother Shawn overheard your conversation with the man at the bar and we just wanted to know if we could be boarded onto your ship. We really need a ride to get back to our home." Jamel said in a pleading voice, his hands clasped together as he came kneeling position.

"Oh of course, but where are you going?" Rodian replied in a inquiring fashion.

"Umm...we are heading to Spira to see my mother, but tell him were going back to Tattonie, it's suppose to be a suprise for him." Jamel smiled as sadistic, and michevious pleasure came upon him only in emotion, but asuring himself with a jerk of his face that it wasn't displayed.

"Oh okay, lets go then.." The Rodian came from his hunching position to talk to the youth and headed toward the door, followed by the boy who grabbed Shawn's arm.

The Jedi still laid there, motionless, taking in the officer's words.

...Maybe...

Paul thought about his current situation: he was trapped on Tattooine, imprisoned on a heavily guarded Imperial base (or was it a ship?), no allies, no weapons, and no clear route of escape.

...Maybe...

"Wait," Shawn said, holding a hand out palm outwards to stop the Rodian in his tracks. The Rodian seemed a bit disgruntled at this sudden order but managed to comply, at least for the moment, perhaps because he was seeing credit amounts in his line of sight. Shawn let his calm and cool gaze fall directly into that of the Rodian's, seeming to look right through him. "We will not be traveling to Spira," he said without so much as an explanation concerning his knowledge regarding the deception. "It is very important we return to Tatooine; I have a ship on planet there I am willing to turn over into your hands in exchange for passage there. It is a modest freighter but has only been flown once. I think you'll find it worth taking the boy and I as passengers," he said, his look never shifting.

The Rodian seemed to consider this, then replied. "Tatooine, eh?" he queried. "My ship is in poor repair, I could use a new one," he commented. Then he motioned for Shawn and Jamel to follow him. "My ship is docked this way."

Shawn nodded but once, then motioned for the Rodian to lead the way, only taking a brief moment to turn and regard Jamel, a reprimanding look in the depths of his greeny-blues. With no more than that he began to once again lead Jamel along, following in the steps of the Rodian and wondering exactly why he was starting to feel a slight ripple of unease in the Force with every step he took...

"No!" The boy blurted out abruptly, forcing the two partners to a halt. Throwing his head up, his eyes strenghted with a weird, undetictable anger. His eyes widened, and his teeth gnashed against each other, exposed by his open mouth. Grabbing the hand of Shawn, he rushed ahead beside the Rodian. Jamel's eyes glanced up at the face of the Rodian who seemed to gain emotional disturbance in their equal proportion on the street.

I knew it, something is with this guy and us being behind him has to be some kind of link with it. I'll just have to wait to see what..... The boy thought, looking down into his fist as his idea came to an end.

Taking his eyes upward he glanced up at Shawn who seemed to find confusion in the sudden change of position, but he'd just have to be told about the action's reason later.

Suddenly they stopped at the docking bay where the Rodian inserted his #ID Number for his ship, and as the green creature entered the other hand that was unpreoccupied shifted toward his belt. Quickly the man turned around with an Imperail blaster in his hand, pointed directly toward the two, but with closer inspection he noticed the boy wasn't within his sight.

Then it was pain

The Rodian fell limp upon the surface, motionless on the ground. Jamel was behind him with a knife within his hand, flipping it skillfully as blood dripped simultaneously.

"Come on Shawn, lets get in.." Jamel began, with a frown upon his face, expressing the displeasurment in injuring the man, though it was out of protection it was still sadistic in his youthful eyes. "He'll be okay, he'll knocked out. I hit 'em at his temple point with the hilt. So lets get in.."

Jamel reached down into the pockets of the Rodian and took the accessiors needed in flight of the object as well as the landing. Securing them within his pocket, he rushed toward the door and opened it as he stepped in, awaiting the response from Shawn.

The Force DOES guide us along in life...perhaps there is more reason here that this young boy crossed paths with me than I might have realized. He seems to have some fine skills, and he does want to help...

"I think we'll take our Rodian friend along for the ride. Good or bad, I don't want to...appropriate his ship, it's not an honest thing to do. I just want passage to Tatooine. We'll just...borrow from him and send him on his way after we've made it safely to our destination," Shawn decided, dragging the Rodian on into his ship and closing the hatch behind him. "Besides," Shawn continued, glad to be out of the way of any public scrutiny, "I suspect this guy is the type that just might tell the officials we attacked and robbed him."

With nothing further than that for the moment, Shawn headed for the cabin of the small freighter, leaving the Rodian laying in the floor in eye and ear-shot should he return to consciousness. Then, sitting at the controls with Jamel taking a seat next to him, Shawn called for clearance after telling Jamel to keep an eye on the motionless Rodian. In only a matter of a few minutes, they had hit sky and were on their way to Tatooine in the safe confines of hyperspace. Only then did Shawn turn to regard Jamel, his senses still keenly attuned to the Rodian as well. "You responded quickly to the Rodian's intent to attack," Shawn stated obviously. "Your skills are impressive. You have some experience in fighting, am I right?" he added quietly, then falling silent as he waited Jamel's answer, suddenly curious about his background.

"Yah I do...I know it's weird and freaky, but it happened. I could just tell that something was happening wrong, then I focused more on the Rodian guy-he was going to do something so I had to react. Im sorry for hurting him, I know it was wrong.." Jamel ended with a sudden pause, shifting hsi eyes back down in displearument of his uniqueness amoungst those he was around.

He felt that when one was unqiue they'd be different, and difference was alwys seen as a problem where he was from. It wasn't every day that someone on Tattonie could sense the approach of something almost as easily as actually seeing into the future, and react to things so quickly-even with his Teras training no one in his class was reacting like him, and that was a speck of the reason why left. He hated being an outcast, along with the pain of being beaten by his father. It was too much to handle for anyone, specially for such a young child.

Turning around in his seat as the cast of object of his own ability, tears slowly trickled down his face, as his hands covered his eyes.

"Im a freak." He muttered to himself only loud enough for the Jedi could hear.

Shawn paused at that, pursing his lips a bit as he sensed the Force prodding him along to continue with his next thoughts. He let his greeny-blue eyes fall into the teary and quizzical pair of Jamel's, "I've been the subject of such misunderstanding myself. And so long as you need a friend, I'll be more than happy to make sure you are taken care of."

How could he reply...?

The boy was hesitant on the response, running his hand slowly along his face, drying his tears as quickly as possible. He smiled pleasently and he shook his head as he spoke.

"Yes, I would have the pleasure of staying with you, sir."

When stopping his head from shaking he bobed it back once, attempting to throw away the emotion of joy so he would be polished, and perfect for the great moment. Warmth ran through his bieng as he drew himself to a stand.

"I'm..confused...Wha-What now?"

Grimacing at the gore of his handiwork, Shawn deactivated his lightsaber and returned it to his belt, now turning his attentions to the wide-eyed Jamel, regretting that the boy had to see this. He placed a hand on his shoulder, drawing him towards the back of the ship so that he would not see the extent of the Rodian's injury for too long. "For now we will continue to Tatooine," he said, finishing the answer he had been giving before the Rodian had attacked, all the while leading Jamel to the sitting area in the back of the ship. He let the boy sit at a couch, then once again squatted so that he could look into his eyes. "I have a... friend there I'd like to contact," he explained, "And the Force is guiding me to continue on that quest."

At that he stood. "I'll...clean up the cabin of the ship. The Rodian should recover; although he has been injured, a lightsaber wound does not bleed as does the wound associated with some other weapons. He'll just be... inconvienced a bit due to his harmful intent."

At that Shawn returned to the cabin after retrieving some rags from the back of the ship so that he could clean up the blood before it began to dry. Reaching for the still-groaning Rodian, he placed him in a healing trance and then moved him to a bunk, only then returning to Jamel.

"We will not be bothered by him for the rest of our journey," he said, nodding back in the direction of the now-unconscious Rodian. "Once we reach Tatooine I'll make arrangements for him to recover elsewhere."

Shawn now sat next to Jamel, a question now surfacing in the forefront of his mind. "Did you know your parents well enough to know if either of them were Force-sensitive?" he queried, hoping to draw Jamel's attention towards something other than what had just occured in the cabin. "It's possible, but not likely, that you came upon your ability to react so quickly if the Force is running in your family," Shawn stated, quieting at that and simply waiting.

"I'm not completely sure, but my late mother could have been. It's hard to tell, though she did manage to calm me so easily at times." Jamel responded, his voice whittered by his own confusion and puzzlement that his mother was more than just that of a mom; she was a Force-sensative being.

Jamel had suddenly found interest in this Force. Though he knew it was a gift that he was blessed with, it seemed that their was little that he knew of it since his residence was normally on the Outer Rim. It was much he didn't know even about Jedi's, other then they were spectacular creatures, blessed with great powers that made them a superior, but used this in the path of the good. Blurting out abruptly, he mirrored his voice with his sudden break of action when his head leveled with Shawn.

"Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine were such dark jedi, using the Force to boost their own strengths so that they could mantain control of the Universe. This of course, eventually backfired. Though one cannot lose his Force-sensitiveity, the Force does not remain with those who use it for power and to destroy the very life that makes it grow. Those who use the Force only when necessary and only to protect themselves and others are the ones who succeed. Being such a guardian can be difficult and strenous at times, but the connection one feels with the Universe when acting in such a manner is simply priceless."

He paused at that, letting Jamel soak in his words. "So in truth, the only purpose of the Jedi is to protect and defend life. You will understand it more clearly in time, my young friend," Shawn ended. "But now we should get a bit of rest. You have experienced much in this one day, and we will have much to do and discuss when we reach Tatooine, which should be in about twelve standard hours. You can take a bunk in the back if you wish, I will remain here and keep an eye on the controls. The Rodian will not disturb you, he will not be able to break free of the healing trance until I pull him from it," he assured Jamel. Then he added, smiling a bit once more, "Even those adept in the Force need their rest."

Throwing himself in the bunk, he sat motionlessly looking up the ceiling. His mind drifted into his past, thinking of his beautiful mother, and how she used to sing him asleep. She was the core of his life, and still to that day of jam-packed events she was still his core. He had the feeling she was out there, still watching over him as his sweet guardain.

The thoughts of such stirred him so, like the song that his mother so blissfully song. Remembering every word he happily drowned in the void of delightful illusions, sitting in the..

Castle in the Sky..

"How she died is really no concern of yours, Mr. Arakeen," I finally answered. "She died as one would expect a traitor to the Empire to die: by execution. But since you seem to find some kind of morbid interest in this, I will tell you this much. Her death was painless and... relatively quick."

My eyes narrowed to black slits behind my visor as I looked into the tiny cell occupied by the ex-Jedi. It was not that I was that interested in what words he might answer. Indeed, I was more concerned with what his body movements would be telling me in the next few moments.

How cruel the universe can be... he thought, the only one he had control of now. And yet, I have the strength to change that.

I didn't drop my guard in the slightest.

"Before she died Ms. Corona admitted she had obtained the Imperial uniform she was caught in from the Hutts," I began without preamble. "This is not something the Hutts are normally wont to do, not unless there is something big in the ensuing picture for them. They have been sleazing about the Outer Rim areas long enough, just beyond the reach of any... legalities which might otherwise bring them to their collective knees."

I paused a moment, letting my words sink in. The Jedi hadn't moved a muscle from his position, simply remaining on his knees looking down toward the floor. I continued.

"You may not believe this, but the Empire is not what you think. We do not seek a stranglehold; we only desire order for all. Order comes harshly at times, Mr. Arakeen, but not stupidly. While we are maintaining order by blockades, we are not indulging in the overkill that many might assume we would.

"I want you to arrange that the connection between the Hutts and that missing spice shipment, as well as that of why they would give an Imperial officer's uniform and id to an information smuggler, brought to light beyond a reasonable doubt. The Hutts hold on Tatooine will fall, Mr. Arakeen... but legally, and that missing spice shipment will be found.

It will have to wait until I find a way out of here.

He wiped away sweat and tears from his face as he thought about what the officer was saying.

Grakko must have given Jaz a fake ID...why? The Hutt wanted the spice back, even though he and his 'partners' already have a steady supply...unless...

Paul clenched his fists. "He wanted to get rid of me." he muttered to himself.

The fat slug had me kill the spice smuggler...make me the scrapegoat instead of him. Damn Hutt knew they would kill Jaz, and sent her anyway... The Jedi finally realized what he had to do.

"The Hutts," Paul began to say aloud, each word he spoke with hard control over his anger, "Always work together in spice smuggling, as the profits benefits all their business on Tatooine. But when threatened with being caught, they hide or eliminate all evidence of their contacts...except..."

He turned around and faced the door the officer was speaking from. He stared ahead, his eyes filled with the rage that had replaced his sense of justice. "The Hutt I was working for, Grakko, always had a rusty protocol droid holding all the data records of spice shipments with the other Hutts."

Paul took a step forward. "I'll get the information you need...but no slave-holding implant. The Hutt doesn't allow slaves in his territory...plus I don't trust you the same way you don't trust me."

"But we have a common enemy that needs to be stopped. You say the Empire desires order? So do the Jedi. Though I have given up my duties as one, I still hold onto the principles that I swore upon."

Rusty protocol droid, ey? I mused to myself, silently thanking Mr. Arakeen for that tidy bit of voluntary information. A droid such as that wouldn't be too difficult to get hold of, now that I knew about it. It would really be a prudent move to just execute the man now and be done with it.

But that wasn't how the Empire was working nowadays. Truly I had nothing with which to hold the man, other than his circumstantial connection to the executed impersonator. If I ordered his death at this point I would only be overstepping that fine line between an empire in the truest sense of the word, and a dictatorship.

Which was not what the esteemed Admiral was trying to portray, in spite of the rampant and widespread disbelief so prevalent in the galaxy concerning it.

I nodded imperceptibly.

"Very well, Mr. Arakeen," I replied at length. "You shall go to Tatooine without the slave implant. But know this."

I paused, watching him carefully. He didn't move much, but somehow I got the impression that his every sense was adhered to me, somehow knowing what I was going to say before the words left my lips.

"Should you stray from this arrangement, and not return with that droid, then I'm afraid there will be a very quick and formal inquiry into the death of your padawan. An inquiry which will find you guilty, of course. You will be branded as a true renegade jedi, Mr. Arakeen; every bounty hunter in the galaxy will be on your trail, as will the Empire, to return you to Coruscant to face your summary execution for murder."

With that I turned from the man entirely, letting my booted footsteps ring hollowly in the corridors of the detention center as I returned to its command center. There I gave the necessary orders for his release -- still in a Force cage; I wasn't born yesterday -- and transportation to Tatooine.

"He is to be taken into the out-fringes of Tatooine space, and released in a Lambda-class shuttle, properly denuded of any armament. It is to be set on a course to land on Tatooine; when that shuttle is within half a billion klicks, enable this remote release mechanism."

I held a crystal out to the Captain of the Command Center. It shone in his gloved hand, glittering black as night against the leather.

"You shall immediately depart into hyperspace, and retreat to a safe distance. From there you shall monitor his progress, and retrieve him when he calls. If at that time he does not submit to being placed once more into a Force cage...

"Shoot him."

There it was, plain as the trunk on a Kubaz's ugly face, the letters of it glowing a steady creamy yellow against the ebon of the monitor I was scowling into:

Galen.

Jhin'Dar.

Danner.

Suddenly... alive.

And that named followed soon thereafter by JhinDarra Jhin'Dar, age 16, deceased.

Deceased... and...

Sixteen?

I didn't realize it would hit me as hard as it did until the actual blades of fire and ice those words provoked stabbed deeply into my heart, prompting images of a pair I remembered as if yesterday lining up in my sites, then zooming into closer proximity as I looked down into wide blue eyes and pulled that trigger yet again.

How--?

Then the rest of the information came across, and the fire and ice erupted into something approximating outrage.

Damn that vixen has more lives than a sandcat! I spat to myself, tears suddenly coming into my eyes, not really knowing if they were tears of anger that I had been misled by what simply had to be a set of clones, tears of utter joy that she wasn't dead by my hand after all...

...or tears that the child indeed truly was. At least according to this transmission.

I sniffed behind my helmet, re-ran the transmission in its entirety and scrutinized it carefully. I then saved it to my personal files, and turned to another, much shorter and far more hurried one.

That one was dealt with more easily, granted, although I was beginning to wish Admiral Actar would come out of whatever hidey-hole he had placed himself in to lend a hand. Yes, rank doth have it's privileges, but suddenly the Galaxy was beginning to heat up just a touch.

And I knew I wasn't going to be here for a bit to respond to those flames.

I sent another transmission to Actar, informing him of the surprise attack on Tatooine, and of the fact that I had just ordered the employment of two more fleets of destroyers, accompanied by two SSDs, to investigate and help the beleaguered forces already battling this unknown there. Informed him as well of the shady dealings involving our stolen spice shipment, and that ex-Jedi Paul Arakeen was now acting in our stead regarding it.

Mentioned that I had business to attend to elsewhere, and that I would proceed with all alacrity regarding it, that I could return to Coruscant in all due haste.

Flicked off the transmission entirely, rose, and without so much as another thought departed for the private hangar housing Ransacker.

En route I ran into none other than the little spy I had sent out on a truncated mission. She seemed extremely... persistent in her efforts to speak to me, remaining remarkably close-mouthed as to the subject, and only finally letting one word drip from her lips when it became apparent that I was going to dismiss her entirely in my haste to get to my ship.

Sith.

That froze me momentarily, and I pinned my visor on her. She remained staunchly before me, clamming up once again.

I literally sighed in small defeat, and growled the name of a planet.

"Meet me there," I snorted, then turned and continued on my way.

Soon I had gained both my ship and an emergency departure vector. Then, flanked by twin Imperial fighters, I fled from Coruscant and into the depths of space. Once there, I hit the switch, and stars stopped in their tracks to then smear out into the heart-rending streaks of hyperdriven space.

I had a couple of worlds I needed to visit... personally.

Ransacker howled, but not nearly as loudly as my thoughts.

((OOC: Follow me to If Wishes Were Horses in the "CSWU" forums. For background info pertaining to my arrival on Sullust, please read Knight Takes Queen, Check; also, get background info on Minna in Catch a Falling Star, all in the same forums, thank you.))