Travelling to a not too distant part of the city Aelly, Link and Captian Rico arrive and the Emperor's Palace Hotel.

THe building is constructed in the most elegant manner. Beautiful paintings adorn the large walls in the main entrace. Couches and chairs arranged in various spots for people to have their own little gatherrings as they wait for a room or transportation. Family reunions, corporate meetings, tired travellers all a part of the Hotel's abilities to accomodate.

Aelly looks tot he front desk and spots the escort she had dispatched earlier to arrange the room. He nods to her as she approaches.

The front desk attendant smiles broadly at her. Though the smile is just part of his job he tries to make it seem genuine.

"You're room is ready for you Miss Ssyn. The presidential suite has been prepared for you"

A gentle nod to the man. "Thank you very much."

She turns and gestures Link and Captain Rico to follow her as she heads for the turbo lifts.

They arrive at the suite and upon opening the door ther are welcomed by an immaculate view of the city. Fruits and refreshments await on the table.

"Please come in. Help yourselves to the refreshments and when you are ready we can continue our talks."

Feeling a bit hungry herself she grabs a small plate and tops it with a few fruits and cheeses and sits on one of the chairs.

((OOC: This thread ties in with Sorben Tarnus's posts, of approximately the same date, in My Enemy, My Ally in the "Jedi/Sith" forums, as well as with the thread Even Smugglers Get the Blues in the "CSWU" forums, again of approximately the same date, thank you.))

"Many thanks for the food."

"You are most welcome. If you want more just let me know and I'll have more food brought up. I do what I can to look after those who will in turn look out for me. Whether it be through favors or services."

She ate a piece of fruit and looked to Rico to see if he was having anything or if he was just waiting to get to business.

"Maybe something with some meat on it if it isn't to much."

"Feel free to order what ever you wish. I like to take care of my employee's the best we can. Especially if I know they have skills that are useful."

“Well,” I started, sitting down on a chair. “Like I was saying back there, about my previous experience. It’s pretty extensive.” Yeah, and so was my life experience, but I didn’t say that.

“I’ve been piloting for a good many years, running risks where some others might not. I also was careful to keep a legit side, too, which really paid off on some big easy money here and there. In fact, the job I was doing here was a legit run, or so I thought. I got hired to deliver a load of warheads to the empire, right up into the bowels of an SSD. Seems the order manifest was a little off from the delivery papers I had, though, because according to my log I’d be pulling in sometime around 16 hours from now. The order on the ship, though, which I saw in a panic this morning, put me in the SSD right about 08-hundred… right about the time our little furry friend there was having a hairball about her ship burning up.”

"So you were hired by the Empire, or by someone else to make the delivery?"

She gave him a rather curious look.

"So how were yu going to get your cargo aboard the SSD? Would you tell them you were transporting warheads?"

"Do you need a specific kind of cargo or you can take anything? Also, where is this SSD stationed? Is it part of a blockade?"

If I can get things set up for Captatian Rico here to take a special cargo tot he SSD maybe I can get those transponder codes after all.

This is what I get for assuming that everyone knows as much about slicing as I do.

"They wouldn't be dumb enough to leave the codes on every SD. Your only hope of the codes being on a SD would have to be the suppreme commander of the Imperial Forces flag ship, and even then the terminal would be heavly guarded and they would never let a ryn within 200 feet of it."

Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way, I don't need the master codes themselves just enough codes to make my own.

"Here's an idea, If you can download the data from enough trasponders I might be able to reverse enginere the codes, and the best part is that a SD should have enough transponder information stored in its loggs for me to work with."

[b](((OOC: Sorry about that, I hope this is a better reason then, as to what the Ubiquitoral Agency is its in the star wars guide to the universe and is reffered to in some books, I'll try to avoid things like this in the furture if it isnt a well known fact.)))[/b}

The officer in charge of the scan turned to the acting commander.

"There she is," he stated, zooming in on Sullust to show a large cruiser in geostationary orbit about it.

"This one is registered to... the organization Dark Star. Her call sign is Black Nebula."

The acting commander strode to his side, peered down his nose at the boards. He raised his head quickly.

"That's it," he stated simply, then nodded.

Once.

Immediately Sormontato ravened forward, roaring in upon Sullust with all the latent ferocity of one of the volcanoes which dotted it's surface.

A brief announcement squirted planetward to the Sullustan authorities, then the gravity well generators went into action, that the cruiser would not be able to depart from orbit, to flee into hyperspace.

Massive shields were raised. High energy scans leapt out, punching through the first-line shields the ship had raised as easily as a hot knife slides through butter.

Sormontato hovered over the Black Nebula like impending death, as remote links sprang online, reached out, sliced into the smaller ship's computers, and and begin ripping out all the information stored in its databanks.

The acting commander smiled coldly.

There were many slicers in the galaxy, as there were spies. It was to the credit of the Empire that they employed only the very best of the best...

Shields redoubled, more power sent to triply back up the gravity well generators, the enormous SSD calibrated her weapons, readied them, and trained them upon the cruiser, while within the data already gleaned from it began to be quickly and quite thoroughly analyzed.

“So, anyway, you were saying something a job maybe?”

Suddenly an emergency beacon sounded. It was the Black Nebula.

"Mistress an Imperial SSD has just arrived from hyperspace and it is currently sitting over us. It's defenses are activated. We've raised our shields as soon as we deteced their ship but we're out gunned head to head. We aren't sure of their intentions, but they seem to be getting into our databanks."

Her face remained calm as she was always thinking.

"Activate the EW systems and blind her. Have the mauraders flank the aft of the SSD with all defenses and weapons ready. Have them Target the engines of the SSD. Then I need you to send down a squad of fighters as well as Viraga to my location. Have the fighters act as an umbrella for Viraga. Also do what you can to prevent them from taking too much information, and find out what ship that is and who commands it."

She pauses for a moment, but only briefly.

"IF things start to get out of hand get yourselves out of there and I'll contact you when it's safe."

Looking back to Rico and Link. It would seem we have some unexpected company.

"Sir!" he called, returning his gaze to his console.

"The Nebula is sending out a fleet of Marauders; they seem to be going to our aft--"

He pulled back instinctively as a blinding flash erupted.

"They've used an electromagnetic pulse to try to overload our sensors, Sir! Coming back online, visual on screen, Sir--"

Now he looked up, as did every crew member on the massive bridge of the even more massive SSD. Ahead of them the view split, the left showing the cruiser from which tiny specks were being spit, the right showing their own aft section.

The acting commander wasn't in the least bit ruffled.

"They haven't the power to penetrate our shields, and with the gravity well generators in operation, they can't go anywhere either.

"Hold fire, but keep objective targeted. Block all communication frequencies but one standard, so they can be polite and contact us if they wish. Continue downloading and analyzing, but make damned sure our own firewalls are in place and backed up.

"And let me know when you have something."

Falling silent he crossed his arms, studying the the screen ahead while the bridge crew fell back to work again... until one raised his voice in warning again.

"Sir, there seems to be a ship heading planetward; wait, Sir, make that several..."

The acting commander strode to the ensign's side, stared at the blips on the screen, the little red flashing dots informing him that there was a lead ship with what looked like flanking--

"Fighters. They seem to be accompanying that lead ship."

His finger reached out to tap the screen.

"Track them," he said simply, then watched while his order was put in effect.

"Mistress they aren't doing anything aside form retreiving files from our databanks."

"Delete any and all files linking Dark Star to Black Sun and quickly."

How did they know where we were and what gives them the right to invade my privacy? She thought to herself.

"Yes Mistress we are doing so as we speak. We have found that the SSD is the Sormontato. We are attempting to make communication with them to see why they are doing this. I didn't think the Empire invaded other ships databanks upon arrival into a system." answered the Nebula.

"They must have some kind of reason otherwise I will personally turn them in to their superiors, and don't think we don't have connections." she responded. then continued. "Don't force their hand. Keep yourselves positioned as I stated earlier, and keep me informed."

"Bingo!" he breathed to himself as the data he had been slicing into suddenly quit saying things about Dark Star and began naming names and places and objectives for something far more ominous--

Black Sun.

"I have it, Sir!" he stated loudly, still manipulating his keyboard. More information began rolling in, folders holding hundreds of files...

...and then, abruptly, the data stream stopped. He cursed, his fingers flying like mad across the keys, the rat-a-tatting nearly drowning out the sound of booted footfalls as the acting commander approached and came to a halt by his side.

He turned angry eyes upward.

"They've jammed the data stream, Sir!" he snarled, angry that he wasn't able to complete his job.

A sharp hand fell upon his shoulder as the acting commander leaned forward, scrutinizing what they had managed to find.

"You've found enough, Son," he said, then straightened.

"Back these files up, now! I want triple redundancy; and send a copy with my private encryption code directly to Lt. General Sorben Tarnus on Relentless, his eyes only."

He turned his gaze to the screen, where the group of Marauders were buzzing about like angry hornets.

"We'll let the Lt. General make the next move."

"Aye, Sir," came the smart reply, and in moments the order had been carried out.

The acting commander smiled, for nothing and no one could stop that comm. There was no time to try to slice into the encrypted code, none whatsoever, and this was a code he changed every day.

"Yes?"

"Mistress we've managed to keep them from getting everything but They may have downloaded enough to incriminate us. They also just sent a coded messege. Possibly to their superiors. What should we do?"

Hmm... Well, we're obviously out gunned but lets see how this plays out anyways.

"Hail the Sormontato and ask for the commander. I wish to speak with him or her. Have the signal bounced down here to the hotel and to my room. Has Viraga and the fighters made it yet?"

"Yes Mistress the Imperials didn't even try to stop them. Viraga's systems seem to be in top performance. They have gone to the planet, where they are awaiting your order."

Well, at least we should have a way out of here should things get ugly in orbit.

"Very good. Redirect the communcation to my personal device if you are able to get the commander online. I'll be heading for my ship in the mean time."

She looked at Captain Rico and Link with fake smile.

"Shall we go"

Oh man, I hoped my suspicions didn’t turn out to be right, but I had a sudden feeling that they were pretty darn close. Unexpected company, my ass! She was under attack, and that wasn’t the kind of trouble I needed right now.

But then again, if I got a ship out of this…

He had barely settled down at his desk, his usual cup of tea before him, when his comm beeped for attention. With a sigh he responded, discovering the message was coming in from the bridge.

"Yes?" he asked flatly. But the neutral look upon his face spread out into a serious sort of smile when he heard what the acting commander was telling him.

Quickly he assimilated the information, assessed it, decided upon a course of action while they waited to hear from Tarnus. He hit his comm with the side of his hand.

"Who is in charge of Black Sun; did you get that information?"

There was an embarrassed sort of pause, before the acting commander replied.

"No Sir... but we have them incontrovertibly linked with that ship."

Ahem cocked his head to one side.

"And this vessel belongs to the Dark Star organization; have you discovered the CEO of that?"

This time the answer was immediate.

"Yes, Sir. A Falleen, by the name of Aelly Ssyn."

"Very good; I trust you sent this information to General Tarnus, along with the information gleaned from the databanks?"

The affirming reply came even faster than the last.

"Very well. You stated that a vessel departed planetward, accompanied by-- fighters?? Hmmm-- this certainly bodes no good."

He paused, debating to himself as to the best course of action.

"Notify Sullustan authorities to keep an eye out for them, and to be prepared for possible hostilities. Inform them that we are standing by, ready to assist if necessary.

"Meanwhile, don't let that lead vessel from your sight. Keep an eye on her, and please ask the port authorities to inform us as to who comes and goes into that ship. I want her tracked the moment she puts her nose back into atmosphere."

"Aye, General."

Ahem considered a moment longer.

"Has Black Nebula messaged us yet?"

There was another, lengthier pause.

"No Sir, we've yet to receive any message from Black Nebula."

Ahem frowned at that.

That's very odd. Why this stubborn silence?

"Hail her. Request that she remains in orbit, as well as that she resumes our file transfer. Let me know how they respond to this, if they do, or when Lt. General Tarnus replies.

"Make certain our own firewalls are on random rotation, and put more power into the shields, especially those around the gravity well projectors. Go to Yellow Alert, but make no outward hostile move until I deem it necessary.

"Are the orders clear?"

A quick affirmation snapped across the link.

"Good. This is General Ahem, out."

Sighing a bit, he reached for his cup, leaned back in his seat, took a careful sip of the by now cool liquid.

First Tattooine... and now Sullust.

It never rained but it poured...

The ship commander stopped as the messege was sent. Waiting now to see what their response will be.

Meanwhile down on the planet...

"Ohh sith, this is extremely toxic fo..."

So we could get as much information from you as we need before you jam the connection, or delete files? he thought to himself.

Let them play the innocent; it's obvious they are not.

Reaching forward he tapped in a return.

"Black Nebula, this is Sormontato. Our reply to you is the observation that if you have nothing to hide, you will resume the data transfer, immediately.

"Again, stand down from any aggressive action and remain in orbit.

"This is Sormontato, out."

Hell yeah! Woo hoo! Yeah baby!

The call from Communications captured the acting commander's attention.

"I have a reply from Sullustan officials, Sir. They thank us for the head's up, state they will comply with any request, and send their thanks for the offer of assistance.

"It appears there has been some sort of altercation breaking out in the capitol city of Piringiisi, Sir, and that several people, both native and tourists, have been killed."

The acting commander frowned as he came to Communications.

"Do they request our assistance with this?" he asked, then fell to as the younger officer relayed that query planetward.

It was soon answered.

"At this time they decline our formal assistance, Sir, but ask that we standby.

"Just in case--"

The acting commander drew in a deep breath, let it out in a sigh.

"Advise them that we are standing by, both for any further information on the vessel heading their way, and in regards to the unrest breaking out in Piringiisi."

Catching a glimpse of Link collapsing she ordered one two of her escorts to take her to the room they were just in and keep an eye on her.

In the mean time Aelly, Captain Rico and the remaining two escorts made their way through the streets to rendezvous with the Viraga and the other fighters.

"Commander ensure all files regarding sensitive material are copied to data crystals then deleted from the main databank. After the data has been deleted fix the missing space by reconfiguring the data storage memory. Once that is accomplished release all remaining data for them to view. Hide the information somewhere they will never look. Myself and Captain Rico are heading to the ships at the eastern edge of the city."

"Yes Mistress it wil be done. We also found out the commander is General Ahem."

"Not a name I'm familiar with. Keep the shields up but power down the weapons to show some compliance."

I don't like this one bit. How did they know where to find us. I have to think of something to do should things get worse.

"Contact our associates here on Sullust. We may need help."

"Aye Mistress."

A secret coded messege is sent out to Sullust. Everyone with ties to Black Sun gets the signal. It is a predetermined order to cause chaos and confusion in Piringiisi. Along with that order comes a secondary one to key Black Sun and Dark Star Industries personnel, advising them caution in entering the main space port, and directing them to the smaller one on the eastern edge of the underground city.

"We are getting data once again, but it is inconsequential, Sir, definitely not the same as what we had been receiving before.

"But Sir... hostilities have escalated on Sullust. They are requesting our assistance, Sir."

Ahem sighed heavily.

So that is the way they wish to play it, ey? he thought to himself, not without a little sorrow at the waste which surely would ensue now. For there was simply too much of a coincidence that this had happened smack on the heels of the private little altercation currently in play between himself and the Black Sun ship.

This is what Actar wishes to eliminate in the galaxy, he thought further as the realization struck him that he couldn't wait to receive Lt. General Tarnus's orders. There was simply too much at stake now.

Lives were being lost.

He slapped the comm angrily, waited a moment to get himself under control, then proceeded with his orders.

"Tractor that cruiser -- now!" he stated succinctly. "Disable it's engines, try to knock down it's shield generators. I don't want it to move so much as a millimeter... nor do I want it to let a single ship from it, or into it."

He paused a moment, considering the data they had analyzed.

There was enough to incriminate the ship.

"The crew of Black Nebula is under arrest for drug trafficking, black marketing, pirating, assault on innocent citizens, murder, destroying public property and creating public havoc. They shall be held responsible, until we find the people who are truly behind this all."

More than likely this Aelly Ssyn...

He paused again, lowering his gaze to his boots a moment, for he never relished giving this kind of order.

"Prepare boarding squadrons, to go on my command only -- heavy personal weaponry and armor. It would appear that these people are not going to be easy to play with."

Again he paused for a deep breath, again punched the comm and continued.

"Target all ships which exited Black Nebula. At the slightest hostile move from them, disable them.

"Send a full battalion to the surface to assist in the restoration of order, with back-up ready to assist, and start digging up every speck of information you have on Dark Star Industries. I want to meet with this Aelly Ssyn in person--"

As, no doubt, will Lt. General Tarnus.

"--and if she wants her ship back, that's exactly what she's going to have to do."

The acting commander turned back to the bridge crew, snapping out the orders given to him. In moments, the cruiser was in the clutches of their massively generated tractor beam, the generators themselves being trebly shielded as were their guns, which now targeted the engines of the Black Nebula, as well as aiming themselves Sullustward. A steady barrage of ion cannon fire ensued, which beat remorselessly upon Black Nebula's defensive shielding.

It would just be a matter of time. Physics holds true in vessels just as it does upon planets or within the cold reaches of space itself.

Sormontato simply had more power. The end was inevitable.

Meanwhile, they called out to the cruiser.

"Black Nebula, you are under arrest. Drop all shields and defensive posture, lay down your weapons, and prepare to be boarded."

"Do as they say commander. Don't resist them even if they do board you. You know what to do. Once Captain Rico and myself get to the ships we will be departing the area via the planet's atmosphere until we reach the far side when we will push out into orbit and head to a hiding spot until we can figure this mess out. In the mean time I will send the shuttle into space on your side of the planet as a distraction. I will remain in contact."

"Aye Mistress all orders will be carried out per your instruction."

"Well Captain Rico are you up for an adventure on your first day?"

--which, obligingly enough, did so.

The docking bay was a tad slow on the uptake, however, and needed a little persuasion for the fighters to enter and drop off their troops. But eventually enough had entered to swarm throughout the ship, placing its crew under arrest, and locking them up in their own emptied hangars -- after, of course, a careful search determined there would be no surprises such as hidden weaponry or one-man fighters.

The the process reversed itself, and bit by bit the crew was then transferred to Sormontato, there to be placed in her detention units after each individual was subjected to a thorough full-body search for weapons and communications devices.

Finally, when an point-by-point search proved the cruiser to be emptied of life, the last of the troops departed, and every port she possessed was remotely opened to the hard vaccuum of space, a solid assurety that there would indeed be no surprises.

Then the ship was pulled into the hangar bay, and placed under heavy guard while Empire detonation teams scoured through her, dismantling weaponry, and in particular finding the gravity well generator she possessed to be most enlightening.

Bit by bit the Sullustan authorities were augmented by more and more troops, who quickly set up a perimeter throughout the spaceport to make certain no more havoc was raised there.

The Major in charge of the ground troops frowned to see the amount of damage therein, grimaced at the number of ships either destroyed or maimed by what he thought to be due to the recent actions of Black Sun.

"Send troops out into the city!" he barked to a nearby Captain.

"Sullustan authorities are going to need all the assistance they can get, judging from the amount of damage I see here."

"Yessir!" came the crisp reply, and soon even more troops were spilling out into the warren of the underground city.

The Major turned to his other officers.

"Make certain no one comes or goes without proper identification and docking codes. We don't need anyone trying to loot or destroy any more of these personal ships."

"Yessir."

This order too was immediately carried out, until at long last a modicum of order returned to the spaceport.

She turned and smiled at her clawdite escort. She instructed the clawdite to morph itself to look like Aelly and head for the shuttle in which they originally arrived in. If she was stopped she was to play the part of Aelly to the best of her ability. This too would prove to be a distraction.

Then She remembered something else. She called up to the two maurader corvettes sitting peacefully at the SSD's aft. As far as she knew only the Nebula had been captured.

"Maurader One this is Aelly Ssyn do you copy?"

"Yes Mistress we are here. What are your orders?"

"I want you both to split off in opposite directions as fast as you can. Should you escape you are to head out into open space where the Empire has little influence and await further orders."

Clawdite? Maruaders splitting off?

“All right, sister,” I said, eying that comm link she had on her wrist. “This is getting’ deeper than maybe I wanna stick my favorite neck into, ya know? Time to come clean, lady, before I jump into a fighter and find myself dusting the outside of an asteroid. Just what the hell is going on here, and why the big adventure all of a sudden? IS somebody taking your ship up there? And who?”

She looked him over..standing there like a kid who was demanding candy.

"I am the head of Black Sun and currently an Imperial SSD has taken orbit over Sullust. It has captured my flagship and arrested it's crew. Why they have done this I do not know yet. The SSD is commanded by a General Ahem according to my ship before it was taken. Ahem was slicing into my databanks without any request before doing so. They may have had previous orders to do so but I cannot tell at the moment."

Her deep lavender eyes looked into his eyes as she was trying to read his reaction to all of this.

Planetary systems scrolled beneath his touch, each one implicated in dealing with Black Sun in one manner or another, whether it was in providing hard-to-find materials for ship manufacture, contracting to purchase goods obtained undoubtedly through piracy, or offering personnel to the ganster corporation in return for high-level corporate secrets they could glean from other systems. The hands-on goods alone dealt with anything from illegal Kessel spice running, taken over from the fall of the Hutt's stranglehold on that market, to the manufacture of synthetic Krayt dragon pearls with which to control market values by flooding or withholding practices.

Ahem shook his head with a sigh.

This was going to be difficult to stop, he thought to himself as he packaged up all the data they had received, his analysis of it, added a personal status report, and squirted the lot in heavily encrypted code to the far-off Relentless, for General Tarnus's eyes only.

Capturing this Aelly Ssyn for questioning is one thing, something I'm certain Lt. General Tarnus will demand. But is that enough to fell this new Black Sun empire? The wheels might have already gained too much momentum...

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, savoring the spicy aroma of the hot tea he had sitting in front of him.

I'm glad mine is not to question why, but mine is just to do or die, he thought wryly as he then reached out and took a careful sip, waiting for the reply he knew was coming soon.

((OOC: Please go to My Enemy, My Ally in the "Jedi/Sith" forums, approximately this date, to see Gen. Tarnus's reaction to this post, thank you.))

Right.

Black Sun.

So, was I happy to be right in my suspicions? Wait, did I even believe her? I mean, she could been some psycho lady with a mental disorder, for all I knew. Come to think of it, that had to be it. I mean, come on, the head of the galactic mafia sitting in a blown up bar on Sullust? That just didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, and I was suddenly finding myself more than little leery about this whole thing.

“Right,” I said, trying to contain my cynicism. “The head of Black Sun. Well, what exactly are you planning on doing right now? If you’ve got the Empire up there in orbit, then they’ll be looking for you to be blasting out of here, right? Surely you have people here who would hide you or smuggle you out, right? And what about your ship up there? Do you have a remote self-destruct you can activate?”

I was trying not to laugh, this was precious. I wondered what mental institution this lady escaped from, then thought of something else.

"I'm sure they are looking for me. I'm pretty sure of that. As for the remote detonation device. I'm sure they've already swept the ship for any possibly threats as well as removed all of my ship personnel."

She looks around making sure there are no signs of local authorities nor storm troopers around before continuing.

"Tell me more about this person you are talking about."

I looked into her big mysterious eyes and was just about to tell her about the little guy when a big old flash of light cut the mood in half, and a percussion wave sent me flying backwards. I heard shouting and yelling, and feet moving fast in all directions, followed by blaster fire.

My eyes were not working, and that was a pisser. I was laying next to something cold and hard and big, and just pressed myself against it and made myself as small as I could. After a while, the blaster fire vanished into the distance, and the sounds of people stopped.

My eyes began to clear. I still don’t know exactly what it was, but my guess is that a stun grenade of some kind went off right in front of me. That’s good for Miss Pretty, since I took the blast for her, but not so good for me. I saw that I was behind a slab of building material, I got knocked a good 40 meters from the site and ended up in a pile of stuff that hid me.

No bodies or anything were to be found, so either Miss Black Sun got away or she was in custody… either way sat fine with me.

slowly the effects of the toxin was wearing off and luckuly for cel she only ingested a small amount. looking around the room she noticed it was the same room Aelly Ssyn had been in boefore they fled, and that one of her escorts was still there.

what was it that we where running from... what was it?

craning her head to look out the window and then she saw it.

Thea picked a new direction and walked on a few steps before faltering and stumbling. She had no money and hadn't eaten in days. The panic that had threatened to overcome her since her release to her own care finally won out. She forced herself to get out of the street and collapsed sobbing and shaking against a nearby door. She sat down in the doorway pulling her cloak around her and leaning hard against the door. She allowed her emotions to overcome her for the first time since her parents left her at the Praxeum.

Great, that’s just what I needed now, a concussion.

I cursed at nothing particular and hauled myself up off the ground. I managed to miss being taken by the Impies, but now I was still stuck on Sullust with no ship, no friends, and no hope of getting off this rock.

Or did I? Think, man, think. You still got lots of credits. You still got friends in the business… maybe not here, but they’re out there. Right now there’s probably still some Impie ships in orbit anyway, so maybe a little extended R&R in the bowels of Sullust won’t be such a bad thing. Credits are in the bank, ship was insured… I think… and warm waters and hot honeys are just a hotel room away.

I began walking back through the urban tunnels, and actually found myself cheering up a bit. My head still hurt, but I was beginning to think there might be a way out of this. Sure, file the claim, a few days of relaxing, then blast out of here on a transport and head out to buy a new ship. Maybe Tattooine… or someplace warmer, heh.

Then there is that matter of finding the scumbucket who set me up in the first place. That little furball back at the bar sure seemed to know what was going on, and if Stern hadn’t killed him by now then I sure was going to. This whole deal had been a disaster, and now that I walked my way back into the populated tunnels it was all coming back.

People were walking around like nothing happened. Fine by me. Life goes on, and old Rico is just one in the crowd. Just like the lady with the shopping bags, the guy fixing the droid, the couple necking on the corner, and that little girl crying in front of the door of the hotel I was trying to get into.

Crying? What the…?

My head gave a sharp pang. I looked around, the edges of the shapes starting to blur. People didn’t seem to care that I was stumbling suddenly, and as I tried to say something to the kid, the world started spinning and I went to one knee in front of her.

I grabbed my forehead and closed my eyes, trying to keep a grip on being awake.

With renewed determination to escape cel managed to gather her belongings and head to the window. Though they where on the third floor it was her only chance.

Pulling her blaster from her holster she fired it into the transperisteel shattering it. Taking a running start she flung herself from the window into the street below. If it weren't for the effects of the toxin cel may have landed with out to much injury, but she lost control and landed on her leg and cel could hear the snap reverberate throughout her body.

Just perfect now how am I going to get away.

Looking ahead she saw someone she didn't expect to see so soon Rico and an unknown human girl.

"Ahh crap not you again."

I shook my head to clear out the cobwebs, first wondering why this girl was knocking on the door of a hotel, and then trying to figure out if that was what I thought it was hanging at her side…

“Howdy, Cel,” I stammerred. “I’m um… Rico.”

I shook my head again, then like a bad dream caused by too much blue drink comes someone from the sky…

Someone slightly familiar, too. I shook my head again, then suddenly that face came back to me. Oh crap, back in the hangar, right before—

“Hey!” I shouted. “You! You were back in the hangar with a bunch of creeps around Yaoksi’s ship before mine went kablooey! I got some questions for you, lady!”

My head began to clear enough to stand up, but it still throbbed. I needed a medic soon, but now was not the time. I grabbed the lady by the collar and held on.

“Where are your buddies? And why are you dropping out of the sky?”

“Hey, yeah, I know Yaoksi. Is he your dad or something?”

That’d be just great, a little Yaoksling here to cause trouble and take off, just like her old man. Then there was this lady who fell from the sky, and that could only mean trouble.

And the kid was looking a little peaked.

“Hey, you better sit down before you fall down,” I said.

“And you,” I said to Cel, “what the hell you doing dropping in from the sky?”

Wait, she couldn’t just be here all alone, could she? Ah hell, something here wasn’t right, and I think it was my head.

"Yeah, there were too many people at the medical center. It was a little crazy and they just let me leave when I was feeling well enough. There wouldn't have been anyone around to take me anyway. I'll find a Jedi to take me somewhere around here, right? I mean they are hinding everywhere, right? Or just around so I have to find one. Then I can start really training again, its been too long."

I’m not sure why that surprised me, except that I thought nobody was a Jedi anymore. Well scratch my butt and call me sniffy, you just never know these days who you’ll run into. I had a little Jedi in training with me here, looking for someone to train her. And she knew Yaoksi… hmmm….

“Hey, what if I hooked you up with my old friend Yaoksi? Last I saw him, he was still here on Sullust. I’m sure he’d be happy to see you!”

"How I fell from the sky? Well you know how the empire was after Aelly, well they have strormtroopers in the hotel right behind us and once they find the room I just escaped from they will be after us."

Cel Tried to put weight on her leg but is sent a bolt of pain through her body.

She whispered, almost afraid to hear the answer, "Yes I'm a Jedi. Don't you know any others?"

Thea glanced away, afraid to lose control of her emotions again. Cel's words caught her attention however and she glance up at the strange creature. She seemed afraid, and was obviously hurt. Thea knew she had to help somehow - if only to rid her mind of the defeatist thoughts that have been running through it. She stood carefully steadying herself by running the focusing exercises she had been taught through her mind, almost reflexively now.

"Sure, why not."

Once they got away from the hotel it wouldn't take Cel long to slice herself a new ID so that the empire would leave her alone.

"It's nice to meet you, Link. Umm where should we go now? If we can't stay here lets get away quickly. I don't think we need anymore surprises."

OCC Ooops forgot to switch Id's... but it's still me promise.

It was more like despised to the point that other people are compleatly oblivious to a ryn's presence, but link found ways to use it to her advantage.

:”Yeah,” I said. “Let’s get the bleepin’ bleep outa here.” I got up and quickly went to the two ladies – well, ‘ladies’ probably wasn’t the best term, but it’ll do for now. I scooped up the white furred Link into my arms and winked at the kid.

“Keep up,” I said. “I’ll find you a Jedi.”

All right, I don’t know why in the seven moons of Dungheap Prime I said that, but I did. Live with it. I then looked the surprised furry lady in the eyes.

“Not trying to get fresh or nothing, I just think we can travel faster this way. I don’t want your friends getting wind of me, if you know what I mean.”

With that I took off walking, quickly, with the kid trailing behind me. She seemed pretty bent outta shape that I didn’t know she was a Jedi, or something. But hey, time enough for that to pass. Right now I had a bead on the Cerulean Protoplanet, another little dive I did some drinking in during my stay here on Sullust. They had a nice back corner table made for just this sort of thing.

Once they got somewhere safe Link could start working on the new ID's. Although finding Thea a jedi wasn't what Link had in mind it was better then doing nothing.

Well, coulda been worse. I could be stuck between two blasters. Count yer blessings, Rico buddy.

We got to the dive with, incredibly, no problems. I slipped the doorman a bill, and he slipped me a wink about having the two beboppers with me, and headed to the back corner. The place was fairly empty, just a couple of blue people – literally – sitting at the bar and a loner in the other back corner sipping his poison.

I gently sat Cottonball in a seat and motioned for Thea to take the other, while I plopped myself in with the wall to my back.

“All right,” I said. “The goons are gone and we’re pretty safe in here, for now anyway. Time to think, that’s what I need, and I did some of my best thinking in this place.”

I punched up an order on the table vid, and looked at Link. I added a couple of sterile drinks to the order, and some “lava chips” to take the edge off the tummy.

Yeah, time to think… think about what to do next.

“So, we all got stories,” I said. “Before we get too buddy I’ll tell you mine. I had a ship, but a little blue furball with a vendetta hired me to carry some cargo that was meant to blow up when I got there. Well, I was late leaving, and the cargo went up in the hangar. I figure he owes me a ship, so once I find the little hairspray he’s giving me one. You help me find him, I’ll help you. Plain and simple.”

I looked at each one of them, then leaned back in my seat. I was ready to hit the street and start askin’, but life would so much simpler if only…

“Don’t suppose either of you know how to slice the registry, do ya?”

Thanks to the marvals of modern technology my leg should heal in no time. I pulled out my data pad and a comm unit. using the comm unit as a transmitter I established a link with the sullest transit authority, it didn't take me long to slice my way in.

Cottonball was a slicer? Oh, now don’t that just figure! No wonder the Impies were after her! And here I go getting’ myself mixed up in her problems…

But if it meant a ship, well, than that’s another story.

“Well, I guess the first place to start would be to see if Sourpuss has a comm link. I doubt it, but you never know. I ran into this guy, Stern, a dock worker, who turned out to be a loony psycho gun totin’ revolutionary nutcase. Then I met a guy who was ten times worse, but I never got his name. Stern, I bet, got that and more. He was furry little blue guy, Bothan probably, sounded absolutely nuts. Well, not Stern... I mean, Stern was human, I think, and butt-ugly. So, like I said, it’s a long shot, but a dock worker named Stern who lives in Block 32, if he has a comm. Frequency, that’s what I need to know.”

Maybe they were just thirsty and in awe of my presence. Maybe they thought Cottonball was cute. Maybe they were child welfare and wondered why I had such young ladies with me in a bar. Maybe not.

They didn’t even try to look inconspicuous. They came right over to the table and hovered, looking right at me.

“Captain Riven?” said one of them. Crap, they knew me. “We were sent by our employer to find you, and extend an offering. A peace offering, if you will. For obvious mistakes.”

I raised one eyebrow at that, and looked over to the Jedling. Then I looked over at Cottonball. Both of them were looking at me, which meant everyone was looking at me.

“Who is your employer?” I asked.

“A small, blue person,” said the other goon. “Who wishes to make amends and offer you something he owes you.”

"I got the information we needed, and some other things as well."

If we have to run there is no way I can keep up. So I casually leaned back and carefully letg my hand rest on the holster of my blaster. I may not be able to run but I can still shoot.

Four standard hours into their trip to Corellia, after giving Yaoksi his own personal bottle of Whyrene's, Aaron was just about to pop the top on his own bottle when something entirely disturbing occurred. The Oasis gave an ugly shudder, something approximating claws grating on durasteel screeched...

...and the ship ungracefully fell out of hyperspace, instantaneously reverting to realspace and standard engines. Aaron never opened his drink, but instead let his feet, which he had propped on the navboard, slide back down to their appropriate location on the flooring of the ship.

"What the...?" he muttered to himself, sitting up and beginning to key frantically on the navboard of the Oasis, knowing from the sound the ship had just emitted that there was something a little more troubling going on than something in their flight path.

Especially considering they had fallen out of hyperspace and right into open space, not a planet or ship in the sky.

"Oh, Hell," he then growled, looking to Yaoksi. "Corellia is a long way off considering I think my hyperdrive--or something in my hyperdrive--just went kablooey."

He scowled. "The navcomputer says we've fallen out of hyperspace about six standard hours away from Sullust, realspace travel. Something minor might be wrong with the hyperdrive, but with the sound this ship just made...

...she's telling me we're gonna have to land to fix anything."

A gigantic, searing flash of deja vu coursed through my body at Aaron's unwelcomed announcement.

Wasn't this where I got on the boat to begin with?

I grunted, tossing back the remainder of my Whyrene's in a single gulp, then leaned forward and studied the navboard as if by that gesture I could intimidate it into telling us what was wrong.

It didn't work.

"Well," I said as I crossed my arms and sat back.

"It could be worse, I suppose. I mean, we could have dropped into the middle of nowhere, you know. At least here we have only, what, a few hours spacetime? Then maybe another couple days getting the ol' babe up and running again, and before you know it it's Corellia, here we come!"

Now I turned a grin Aaron's way, completely heedless to the fact that both my grin and that naive comment were directly due to the amount of Whyrene's I had consumed. How much that was in fact I had no idea, for to tell the truth I had lost count some time ago. But as I moved my feet the magnitude of the clinks and clanks hollered out, giving not so mute evidence as to just how much I had imbibed.

And the first one was probably not really doing good either, actually. Fortunately, the lack of Imperials in Sullustan space made communicating with docking authorities and landing on Sullust bearable. The former havoc that he and Yaoksi had left the planet in seemed to have died down significantly.

Aaron wasted no time getting his toolbelt out and heading for the back of the ship to look at the hyperdrive. Although the engineers and technicians were the ones who took care of the larger problems in Eagle Enterprises, Aaron was capable of fixing ships, and had in the past been quite involved in doing so.

But that was when he actually had the time. Aaron was determined to make the time to look at and possibly fix the Oasis himself, if for nothing more than old times' sake.

And her problem took perhaps fifteen standard minutes to determine.

"The entire hyperdrive is dead," Aaron muttered to Yaoksi, who had headed to the back himself. "I think I can put a new one in, provided I find a good replacement part...

...but it'll take a couple of days. I think we're in for a little stay."

Hanging back drooling over his blessed hydrospanners...

I sighed at this pronouncement. It was one thing to have a subsystem or two go on the fritz, quite another for an entire hyperdrive to bite the figurative dust.

"Oh... yay."

Granted that disheartened exclamation wasn't the most profound I have ever uttered, but it certainly revealed how enthusiastic I was at the thought of staying on this hellhole long enough for Oasis to be repaired.

I got unsteadily to my feet, kicking away the empty bottles that had joined those I had tossed earlier on the deck. I really hated snailing though space at sublight speeds; the only thing to make the time pass at something near to being bearable was the ample supply of liquor Aaron had so generously provided me.

"Right. Lesh go--"

I stopped in mid-word, swallowing thickly, and blinked to unite the three Aarons I was seeing into one. But just as earlier when I glared at the navboard, that didn't work either.

"I'm wi' ya, pal-"

I swayed on my feet, then turned and stumbled toward the opened hatch.

"I know a place whar th' gals r' sooooo..."

The Blue Asteroid.

And Aaron had every intention to just eat, and to avoid drinking so as to keep Yaoksi from doing so. But the place unfortunately reminded him that Terrin had spent several months here, with Galen and the boys...

...and that prompted him to order a Whyrene's Reserve.

Terrin, ever the loyal once you got him to trust you, which took more than just a lot of course, was loyal to the end. Too bad he'd already met his end...

"Hopefully we can get out of this place soon," he said aloud. "I don't know how you and Terrin, Galen and the guys managed to stay on this dustball for months," Aaron observed then, his look defocusing.

I chorused the latter in a loud and jocular voice, for by all the notions in the universe, this place needed a little jocularity. I peered about myself a bit blearily, taking a pause now and again to sip on the tankard of Whyrene's that had so obligingly appeared at my fingertips. Then I took another hard look around.

For some reason the Blue Asteroid wasn't sitting well with me. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, shaky as it was, but there was something... something...

The blasted wall? The few Imperial troopers hanging about, trying to look, well, imperial? The ugly goons sitting in the next booth over, snarling to themselves while tossing credits and vhym chips willy-nilly?

"Thish ishn't th' place!"

I leaped to my feet, weaved a little from side to side, gripped the table to keep upright, and utterly ignored the looks the rest of the clientele were sending my way simply because I couldn't see them for love nor credits.

"Thish izn't wha'r th' gals r' sooooo--"

I broke off with that, downed the last of my drink, gave my vest an authoritative if unsteady yank, and headed for the door.

"Ish thz way..."

Onward and out I went, into the warren of Piriingisi, weaving skillfully in and out of the madding crowd. Perhaps the skill was because I was weaving already, who knows. I only know that time passed in the highly focused manner in which it does for those under the influence, before I suddenly looked up.

Voila. There she was.

"Thish 'z it," I pronounced grandly before I went on in, the blazing neon sign in the window announcing the name of the establishment to all who cared to read it:

The Cerulean Protoplanet.

I moseyed up to the bar, ordered a couple Whyrene's for me and my pal (who, if the truth were to be told, at this point I hadn't a clue as to the whereabouts), overpaid the ugly mug who served me, and plopped onto a stool.

"Tha's better..."

Aaron looked about the establishment they were in,, eyeing the people sitting in booths within their vicinity. His eyes stopped in shock at one particular one.

Kriffing hell, but was that a kid sitting in that booth back there?

Oh dear gods.

"Ah, Yaoksi ole' buddy," Aaron responded with, not quite used to dealing with this as some others in his crew were. "I think that'll be enough. You aren't sounding like yourself, at all."

And there is a kid in here, yeesh!

Stating nothing further than that, Aaron reached out and tried his best to convice Yaoksi to hand him the mug of beverage he had just ordere by placing a hand on it and pulling it away.

Knowing how Jasyn would respond to something of this nature, Aaron braced himself...

I froze, blinking, then let the tankard go and made a fist. The four Aaron's leaned back in an alarmed manner, obviously bracing themselves as--

"Y'r ab-zulootly, pozzivly RIGHT!"

The words thundered from my mouth, undoubtedly drawing looks from all the clientele in this establishment. Not that I cared; I couldn't see them either.

"No respe'ful lady'd wanna have a danz w' anywun whooz three sheets ta th' solar wind!"

I nodded emphatically, tugged on my vest again.

"CAFE!" I now hollered, thumping that fist on the bar.

"FER ME N' MY PAL! AND FER THE HOUSE!"

For some reason, cafes all around just sounded like a completely natural thing to order. I nodded again as the ugly mug presented me with a steaming cup, and after paying him (altogether too much, I bet he was gonna send me a card come Boonta Eve) I took a great drink.

All that did was bring tears to my eyes. I coughed, blinking them to clear my vision, and when they cleared it was to see a somehow familiar face staring at me from across the way.

Ah, no. No, that wasn't right, that couldn't be Thea now, could it? And who was that sitting with her--?

Abruptly a hot flash of anger sent half the Whyrene's chasing from my body, and my knuckles turned white against the cup of cafe I was holding. It was hard to keep it from sloshing, I was shaking so hard.

"Aar'n, ol' buddy, ol' pal," I began with a cautious nod.

"I think there's- hic!; oops, 'scooz me, but I think there's someone over there I wasn't planning on seeing anytime too soon.

...and shouldn't be here. What kind of idiot brings a kid in a bar?"

At least for the moment, until both (HOPEFULLY!!) combine! Thank you.))

Hey, it was for dinner. And they serve a helluva nerfloaf here.

"No, no, no' th' cutie-pie in the braids," I slurred, leaning into Aaron and breathing heavily.

"Izz th' ugly one, the big one. He's th' one who bloo up m' ship!"

I ended that proclamation with a resounding belch, which sent the image of the four Aaron's to whirling like a kaleidoscope.

"Whoops, scooz me again..."

"Well this turned out to be a profitful venture." Josiah muttered under his breath.

I had come here on request of a new client he paided me to make him a custom blaster rifle. Normaly these kind of customers are rich goverment officals, military commanders or the occisional underworld crime boss. I didn't know which one my newest client fell under and didn't care. he never showed up to claim his merchendice and that was his loss. As I was walking along I came across a local establishment and realized how thirsty I was and decided to drop in for a drink the sign above red The Cerulean Protoplanet.

Yaoksi? Here?

Oh yeah, that was him, all right, and from the looks of it he was as toasty as a piece of flatbread at the Sullust Surface Café.

“You gotta be kiddin me…” I said. I stood, making the goons a little nervous. I kept my eyes on Yaoksi, who hadn’t quite responded yet. “Wait here,” I said to everyone, including the goons. “I’ll take the ship you’re about to offer me but I need to go see an old friend first.”

The place had picked up a few customers in the last few minutes, so the straight line I walked to Yaoksi was mixed with a few bumps. Didn’t matter to me, I kept right on looking at him as people moved for me. A waitress tried to give me a cup of something hot, but I ignored her. By the time I reached him, Yaoksi looked like he finally got some words put together in his head, but I cut him off.

The alley opened onto a secluded section of the underground. A few people shuffled by, but nobody paid the three much attention. Within a few minutes they were back into a more populated area and Bon was almost skipping.

I flew to my feet, my caf sloshing unheeded all over my hand, my barstool sent flying to nearly trip up the waitress who was trying to be helpful in what she probably figured was going to be a rapidly escalating situation.

Going to be?

As a certain little red-headed gal of my past acquaintance was so wont to say,

Sure as there's Treasure on Roon!

"Yoove got yer nerve, pal!" I exploded as I moved quickly away from the bar, giving myself some space as well as allowing Aaron the leeway to move out fast if he had to. The cuppa caf was still in my hand; the other hovered dangerously close to my blaster.

"Blow up my ship; well, here's a drink for ya!"

I threw the cup directly into his smug and ugly ol mug, relishing his instinctive flinch as it hit--

Hey. The stuff was hot!

--then moved quickly to the side, my blaster appearing like magic in my hand. I loved that blaster; it always knew just where and when to move, seeming of its own volition; it was due to this apparently magickal ability that I had managed to get myself out of more than one scrape in the past.

Sobering by the minute, filled with fire and ready for anything, I crouched in preparation, one eye on Rico, the other roving everywhere as the action seemed to trigger an immediate response from the formerly happy clientele.

All hell broke loose...

That son-of-a-motherless-nerf! This guy was as quick to action without thinkin’ as I was! And now he stood there crouching with a blaster in his hand! What a coward!

All of sudden I didn’t care about the blaster. Sure, I had my own, but who the hell needed that when there was a barstool handy!

OK, whoever Yaoksi’s friend was, I’m sure he didn’t mind one bit when I grabbed the stool from under him, sending him to the floor, and flung it at the Yaokster. It hit him in the leg, and lucky for me he was pointing his blaster at the floor when his finger flinched. The shot sounded through the bar as half the crowd hit the floor and the other half hit the person next to them. All at once people were yelling, fists flying, drinks spilling, and tables crashing.

I knocked someone out of my way as I flew at Yaoksi, grabbing him by the shirt as I kept moving. I shoved him against the wall and took a quick swing, catching him on the jaw. He retuned the favor into my gut, and as I doubled over I shifted my weight into him and grabbed him by the waist. We tumbled to the floor in a heap, the spilled drinks soaking into our clothes. It improved Yaoksi’s smell, believe me!

We rolled across the floor, jabbing and biting and kneeing each other, until we thumped up against the back of the bar. I stood slowly, as did Yaoksi, and I was just about to deliver my famous windmill punch and send him flying to space when a long set of fingers wrapped around my neck. I saw the same thing happen to Yaoksi, and then we were both yanked off our feet and escorted to the door.

Something big, it may have been a foot but looked more like a tree trunk, kicked the door open and suddenly we were both flying through it. I knocked over a couple of people on my way down, and Yaoksi landed on something soft that yelled in surprise and pain.

I rolled over and tried to stand, and the behemoth at the door grunted something in a deep language and slammed the door shut. I looked over at Yaoksi, who was holding his head as he lay on top of someone who looked almost familiar…

I shook my head and offered Yaoski my hand.

Where the kriffing hell did the kid get that?

Shaking his head, Aaron followed the kid out, hearing her talking to both Yaoksi and Ugly Mug in reprimanding tones.
Yeesh. A kid???

Aaron shook his head again, then spoke up. "And what're you thinking, kid?" he then queried. "That is not a toy," he continued, pointing to the saber, "And you are not a Jedi. Trust me, I'm enough of an aquaintance with one to know. Put it away."

Then he turned to Rico--otherwise known as Ugly Mug--and frowned. "I dunno who you think you are, but if you ever knock me out of my chair again..."

Aaron trailed, frowning, then turning to Yaoksi and reaching out a hand to help him up. "Hey buddy, why don't we..."

And he stopped. For then it registered that Yaoski had been tossed out on top of something or someone furry...

“Name’s Rico,” I said. “Rico Riven. Pleasure’s all yours, rest assured.”

I looked back for a split second at the girl. “Sorry, ladies, just saying hello to an old friend.”

With Yaoksi up, the little blue furry guy he had been lying on top was able to take a breath.

Wait…

Little blue furry guy? Hey!

I looked at the mound of flesh I landed on, and picking himself up from the ground was ol’ ugly puss Stern and some guy I didn’t know. I let go of the hand I was crushing and bent down, my hand going around the blue guy’s neck. I yanked up and was soon standing with him in front of me.

“Looks like it’s a night of renewing old acquaintances,” I said flatly.

“Cap – ten – Ree – ko – I – have – a – shhhh – ip – for – gack – you,” he managed. Bon’s eyes went to the white furry Link, now standing behind Rico.

“Hell – o – miss,” he croaked.

Gradually the ground began to steady, images began to come into focus. The fresher air or the warrens was starting to work miracles on me as I swayed unsteadily against Aaron, letting it fill me with the attempt to chase away the way too much Whyrene's I had consumed.

I blinked again, this time the slight movement bringing life back to my ears, which up until now had been filled with a loud and obnoxious pounding; whether said pounding was that of my poor head or the blood in my veins, I really didn't much care at the moment.

I swallowed thickly, swayed a little, and peered harder about myself.

"Th-Thea?" I managed in a dry croak, staring at her as if it had been simply ages and not the few days that it actually had been since I had sent her off to live with the closest relative of hers that I could find.

"Aren't you supposed to be with your uncle? And where in blazes did you get your hands on a lightsaber?!"

The last word was uttered a touch wee too loudly; I winced and closed my eyes to allow my head and roiling stomach to slow each other down. Another span of undetermined time passed before I could open them again. That's when I realized Aaron was holding me upright--

Sheesh. How embarrassing!

--and that I was surrounded by way too many peeps. Peeps who were suddenly far, far too familiar.

Stern. What in blazes is he doing here mixed up with Thea, who's waving that lightsaber around like it's some kind of gleeberfly-swatter or something, fer pity's sake!

Her last words roved about inside my head a few moments before finally making sense.

"Sweetie, maybe you'd better put that thing away, and come along with me. After all--"

I stopped at that, suddenly realizing how utterly incongruous all of this was. Not to mention possibly dangerous.

I drew in a deep breath, moved away from Aaron's grip, and gave my vest a yank.

"Maybe you'd better come along with us, honey, and tell me what happened and why you're here. These, ahh-- gentlemen...

"...oops, and fem, sorry Miss!" I added with a nod to the white-furred but obviously feminine being.

"Anyway, maybe they're not really the ones who can take good care of you. You belong with me, sweetie. C'mon with us, and I'll make sure you get to your uncle like you were supposed to."

Nodding emphatically toward Aaron, I then turned back to Thea and waved my blaster-free hand toward Rico and the yammering blue furspot, whose actions were at the moment doing wonders to justify the words I had just spoken.

I looked around at the array of people, now standing off the ground and brushing themselves off.

“Allright, here we go. Yaoksi, this is Bon something, the guy that hired me to haul that cargo. You know, the one that blew up our ships? Apparently he’s come here to apologize. Bon, Yaoksi. I think you met Stern already, and I don’t know this guy. Let’s see, quick introductions… Bon, Yakosi. Yaoksi, Bon. Stern, Thea. Link, Bon. Yaoksi, Link. Ah, heck, this’ll take forever.”

Then it hit me, what Bon had said.

I slid my gaze from Thea to Rico to the jittering little blue ball of fluff.

"You're the one who blew up Devil?!" I muttered in something halfway between a growl and a roar. Utterly ignoring Aaron's attempt to grab at me, I lifted my blaster, which wonder of wonders but true to her magickal lil ol' form had never once left my hand despite this sudden descent from hell, and pointing it directly between the blue critter's beady little eyes took a threatening step forward.

there is something else about her. I thought.

As two of the people drew blasters I knew i had to step in to disolve it.

I stepped in front of Bon with one hand underneath my cloak incase I need my lightsaber.

"My friend has apologized and is offering you something else to make things better, perhaps you would consider it." I said adding a bit of force infulence into the suggestion.

He hopped up, trying to look over Jebbua's head, then finally stepped around him to stand on his left.

“So anyway, mans and ladies, here it is. I got a project, right? It’s gonna be wild, it’s gonna be adventure at the highest max, it’s gonna be traveling the galaxy looking for something. Artifacts, man! I need a pilot, two is better! I need a crew, I need protection, I need comic relief! We got it all right here, folks! I pay well, on top what you lost in that freakish accident, man. Billion to one odds of that, but what can you do? So come on, work for me on this, and we’ll bring down oppression wherever it lives!”

Bon raised his eyebrows.

“At least hear me out, man, before blasting my insides out!”

"Opression?" Aaron spoke up then, his one-word query clearly directed to the blue fuzz. "Artifacts? What the kriffing hell are you talking about? And man, don't offer me a ship, cause I've got plenty of those, in a wide variety."

Frowning, he looked at Jebbua. "And you..."

He paused, frowning, "Don't I know you from somewhere....?"

Trailing, Aaron thought back. The guy looked the part of a Jedi, that much was obvious, but the only real Jedi he knew was...

...no, wait a minute...

"Oh, now that's it," Aaron then said, suddenly. "You were with that Kelderon guy, the one Jasyn didn't like cause he threatened him...

...the last time I saw either of you, you were supposed to be helping..."

Another trail, and even more of a frown followed by a decidedly dark look directed Dahutt's way. "I gotta talk to you, pal."

The ball is in your court. I expect your response, and now, unless you have somehow been discovered. And I sincerely hope not...

Sending off the message, Cardissa sat back and waited...

"Um hello there. Aaron right? Let's see. Me and Dash went off to find Galen, got seperated then wound up here. Then we spilt up because family came first. My sister was here and about to have her baby. Dash went off to find Galen i guess and I haven't heard of him since."

I paused and thought of something.

"Have you heard anything from him, or Galen from that matter. is she ok? Now that I have my familt matters settled I would like to help if you would like.

I glanced at Bon.

"Sorry man, old habits die hard."

I looked back at Aaron and waited for his response.

He had remained silent as he watched the insane banter of Bon, and the covert familiarity between Dahutt and the ship-master. So where do they know each other from?

It made him uneasy to see that so many knew each other, but he was eased by a small fraction to see Rico again, and the arrogant shipmaster, Yaoski. We'll see how this all works out wont we? And if we're lucky, we'll leave the two saber-snobs behind.

He settled himself into his position, still silent as he was.

Suddenly Jebbua's words hit her and she spun to him switching off her saber:
"You know Galen! Are you... You must be... FINALLY! I'm Thea. I was taken from the Praxeum not long before it was attacked. I was training there. Master Petrolu took me in for a while but he said travelling with him would be too dangerous for me then, that I could find him or another Jedi when I was older to finish training. Well I'm 11 now and I've been practicing everything I've learned everyday. I've really been working at it. Look - I made this." She held out her lightsaber to him. "I watched some of the older students making theirs - at the Praxuem - I convinced Yaoski to get me the parts I needed. And I put it together on the Devil. It works. I didn't think it would but it does. I just tested it for the first time! Can I go with you? Will you train me?"

Thea looked up at the Jedi hoping with all her being that he would agree. Her blue eyes wide with anticipation.

Lessee if I have it all right...

This blue spit of fluff says he's got ships for me n' Rico, Rico was not the one to blow up my ship but the furball was, this Jedi knows Aaron and they both know Galen...

...and Thea used the goofy odds n' ends she had been pestering me so much about to build a lightsaber?!? And now it's "sayonara, Yaoksi?"

I didn't know who to blast and who to yell at and whether to try at all or just throw my hands up in the air and stalk off. Something kept me there, though:

Thea. The thought of just handing her off like this--

"Thea, honey," I began slowly, wetting my lips and swallowing thickly. I grunted, clearing my throat. Her image split, wavered, then fused back into one wide-eyed little girl with a lightsaber.

"I don't think it's a wise thing to go off with ahh--"

Hell. What was his name?

"--this nice Jedi," I started, lowering my blaster and moving to squat down to her level. She looked at me with a frown of annoyance.

"Look, I know you didn't want to go live with your uncle, but we've been all through this before. It really is best for you to be with your family; hon, there's no place for you to learn to be a Jedi any longer, and if this Jedi--"

I waved at Jebbua.

"--is going to help find Galen, I don't think it's a good choice for you to be tagging along under his feet. Now, I really think you belong with your uncle; he's expecting you anyway--"

What in all the known universe happened that she wound up back here on Sullust, scarcely two weeks after I had sent her off?

"--but," I amended hurriedly, noting the growing thundercloud on her face, "if you want you can come along with me and Captain Barnes, here."

I smiled at her, then cast a sidelong glance Aaron's way. Straightening up, I then turned to Jebbua.

"I believe that this... person--"

I waggled my blaster toward the bouncing ball of blue.

"--should be turned over to the authorities, don't you think so, Sir Jedi? I mean, he was the reason Rico's ship was destroyed, my ship damaged heavily, the spaceport and Blue Asteroid heavily damaged as well, untold people brought to chaos and injury and confusion, who knows how many dead..."

I ground to a halt, staring meaningfully into Jebbua's eyes, trying to ignore the daggers Stern's eyes were shooting into me all the while.

"I beleive he is right. Now is not the time for Jedi. beleive I've found that out the hardway once or twice. One day we will show ourselves, but until them you should listen to him."

I looked at Yaoksi.

"Like I told her. I am not really a Jedi anymore. I'd call it Rogue jedi. I go where I think is best. And as for turning this guy over to the authorites That is bewteen you and him. Not me."

“Hang on, baby,” he said. “Get ya’ back in 10.”

He tapped the device again, sending the message and flipping to the channel he knew his men would monitor.

“All right!” he shouted. “Enough is enough, man! If you don’t want a new ship, Mr Yaoksi, the captain of the ship that sat next to Rico’s and got blown up, then go fly away with Aaron and Galen and the sister’s baby. I don’t care about that, Mr Yaoksi, who looks like the type who would smuggle for the syndicate! What I do care about is that I got a job for those willing to bring down the oppression of the grand and glorious empirical oppressors, man, and if that ain’t a noble cause then I don’t know what one is, Mr Yaoksi, who is about 2 meters tall and has reddish hair and green eyes. I mean, I’m talking artifacts, man! Ships and things I never seen, and it’s so old that – well, man, it’s old! And I got connections, Mr. Yaoksi, yes I do. I can find a nice Jedi for your little girl, here, man, away from the oppression of the empiricals. But if you don’t care about treasures, and history, and lost civilizations, finding someone to train this sweet little girl, and clearing your name with the Sullust syndicate, Mr Yaoksi, then go ahead, man! Go on!”

Unfortunately for him, that is, for with a quick couple steps I was in his furry little face, plastering the talking end of my blaster up against a spot smack-dab between his beady little peepers. And believe me, when my baby talks, people listen.

"What do you mean, 'clear my name with the Sullustan syndicate?'" I growled, giving my head a jerk towards Thea and hoping the fuzz-bucket caught on. Sheesh, it wasn't helping to get me back into Thea's smiling graces by throwing unfounded accusations at me.

“I’m just saying,” he said, his voice lowered, “that if certain people want certain me to be given to certain authorities, then certain people may find it difficult to leave certain planets, given certain circumstances.”

Bon’s eyes glazed as he spoke further, now in a whisper that only Yaoksi could hear.

“So I suggest we start over, if we may. I have serious connections, and can offer you much to travel with Captain Riven on this quest. I can help you find this person you seek, and I can set up the girl with proper training, where she would be well cared-for. I work against the Empire, and I seek answers to a mystery that my operatives discovered on a distant planet. Please, this is of utmost importance, I know Riven and the others will do their best, but they need someone like you – someone with intelligence. At least speak with me in more detail of my request and your needs before you decline?”

Bon leaned back, his eyes focusing.

“So, like, what do you say, man?”

"Who said we would give you to the authorities, they can't help you if yor dead."

Cel let this sink in as a threat before continuing.

...in more socially acceptable ways. Before he really registered what he was doing, Aaron stepped up and grabbed a fist-full of Jebbua's tunic.

"Look, buddy," he growled. "Galen is not allright; I haven't heard a thing from her in what has probably been at least a year. While you were off dealing with family matters my employees-- and friends --were off trying to find her, and have gotten lost in the process as well. I don't know about you, Jedi, but I've met others of your kind who put you to shame for your lack of concern. Hell, I have about three friends who could work circles around you to try to find Galen, and two that probably did. As for the other one..."

Aaron trailed, something painful icing in his eyes, "...he's not here any longer to do so. I've already lost my business partner and one of my best friends...

...and now I've probably lost three other friends while you were...

too busy to care."

Aaron let Jebbua's tunic go, and backed up, shrinking back to his former, more composed self. He turned to Yaoksi and to Thea, stooping down to be on her level as Yaoksi had done. "Kid, if you want training and want a real Jedi to train you...

...I can get you back in contact with Master Petrolu, he's a good friend of mine..."

Aaron trailed, his look turning a bit vague. "...as soon as we can find him and get back in contact with him ourselves."

Quieting a moment at that, Aaron looked to Yaoksi, intending to exchange a look with him that all but read his hope that Thea was listening...

...only to find that the blue fuzzball was exchanging quiet, fervent words with him.

This guy was really obnoxious.

When Bon leaned back from Yaoksi and asked what he had to say, Aaron butted in. "You seem intent on making grand statements and promises, yet you would threaten us and put our lives at risk for your cause. So tell me again what makes you better than the so-called opressors you speak of?"

I pulled the blaster back a hair, waved off what was going on in the space beyond that which suddenly just Bon and myself seemed to be occupying, and leaned in on him.

"Back up slowly, pal, and don't try anything funny," I said in a voice loud enough that the others could hear me. I hoped they all thought I was going to get him away from dirtying everyone's clothes before I spaced him; with my free hand I frantically waved quickly behind my back towards Aaron, hoping he'd get the message that what I definitely did not want at this particular moment was the other little furball getting all uppity, thinking she was dangerous.

When I got Bon beyond the immediate earshot of the others I reached out, grabbed him by the fur on his chest, and towered threateningly into him.

"What in all the hells are you going on about, and why me?" I hissed in a voice too low for the others to hear.

"Tell me something so I would have the slightest interest in believing you... or more importantly, trusting you."

"A slicer?" he queried, standing from where he had been squatting by Thea and stepping up closer to the Ryn. "That's quite a trade...

...and I'm certain Mr. Opression could use you to slice into certain files, and that you haven't been left out...

...of whatever it is he's proposing. Even so, I am the owner of Eagle Enterprises, a ship-building and repair industry...

...and a slicer could be useful for me, too."

Especially if said slicer could get into any possible computer files that might detail the last places a trio of missing people might have been...

Jerking himself from the not-so-errant thought, Aaron kept his eyes on Cel, trying to gently ease her anger and sudden urge to put holes in the blue fur's head. "Maybe you ought to put that away until we figure out just what in all kriffing hell is going on here?" he then queried, eyeing Cel's blaster. "After all, I'd sure like to know what's going on...

...before any extra holes of any variety are placed into anyone here."

Quieting at that, Aaron momentarily glanced to where Yaoksi was in the furball's face, speaking lowly, then looked back to Cel and the others.

Hell, but he hoped whatever Yaoksi was doing wouldn't take too long. After all, Aaron realized with a sudden jerk, They were all looking rather conspicuous standing out here in front of a bar in a group, blasters being aimed this way and that. Let alone, a lightsaber...

He gave a nod to his partner, and waded quickly into the fray, heading for a group of humans and aliens who seemed to be the instigators of it all. He was beaten to the punch, though, when something huge and hulking that drooled grabbed two of the humans and threw them from the establishment. The others quickly followed; shrugging, the trooper turned back to face the rest of the still-fighting clientele.

His partner nodded at him from where he was trying to break up another fight, then grunted into his receiver.

"Sshtk -- I've radioed for help, they'll be getting -- OOF!! soon, sshtk."

The trooper smiled grimly to himself, let his body armor absorb the punch to it that had come flying in from nowhere, and neatly elbowed the unknown personage behind him who had implemented it. A heavy thump filtered into his exterior receivers, and he let a puff of air escape his lips.

I gave a brief glance towards the party, a commanding urgency in the way I had spoken. "Blasterfire will mean authorities, and last I checked, this wasn't a legal matter betwixt most of you, so move."

Personally, I was inclined to just leave the lot of them behind. But it seemed I had little choice in the matter of just "running off".

Jurrsk was glad he decided to take a break. Killing Jedi was hard, but fun in a way. So far Jurrsk had killed 10 jedi. 6 of those weren't really jedi to begin with. Just some people with a little power called the force and a lightsaber.

Jurrsk grunted. He continued on walking when something caught his eye. Something shiny. It went away as quickly as it came and when he looked al he saw was a bunch of people talking. Jurrsk stoped hid behind a corner watching the people talk. He could only hear bits and peices, but nothing that interested him. Who knows maybe he'd see the shiny thing again, but it looked like there were about to leave. He'd just follow them then.

Oh great, I thought, shaking my head to myself for getting so wrapped up in Fuzzbucket's strange turn-about in locution.

Of course the Impys are due to arrive, yeesh, weren't there a couple inside already--?

I jerked my face back into Bon's, lifted a finger warningly.

"This isn't finished yet," I hissed in a low voice, then released him and turned back toward the others.

"You're right," I said, moving quickly toward the group.

"Maybe we'd better vacate the premises; you have anyplace in mind to go?"

I sure as hell didn't want to be going to my apartment, and since Devil wasn't handily about, wherever we would hole up in would be someone else's choice.

"There's the old hidden base that Terrin set up way back when," he suggested, then frowning. "But I don't know the exact location, I've never been there."

"Ahh-- no." I glared meaningfully at him.

"Actually, I don't really remember where exactly it is--"

Grr. Blast all these loose cannons hurtling around here anyway...

The last thing I needed was to have Terrin's hidden HQ infiltrated by whoever the hell half these peeps now with us actually were; I didn't know what he had removed from there as far as sensitive information went, but I sure wasn't going to take any chances of it getting out if it was indeed still there.

That's the last thing I could do to try to repay the guy for his losing his arm on my watch...

"Actually someone here does know a quiet and hidden place from all of the authorities." I spoke up.

I looked at Bon.

Without another word, I pushed through the group and up the pathway, eyes glancing side to side, the dissuader held in a ready position between both of my hands. Get back to the hab, get the armory, get the feth out of here.

Without looking back to see if they were following me, I continued on my way, adding a quiet note to the back of my head.

I glanced at Stern's rapidly dwindling back, shot a look to the others, ended up staring into Aaron's eyes.

"Oh, hell," I said simply, moved to Thea, scooped her up in my arms (without getting certain bodily parts poked by her blasted lightsaber) and whirled on the spot.

"He's right, time's a-wastin' here, folks; let's move!"

Carrying Thea, who was starting to wriggle in protest, I moved off after Stern, noting with an uncomfortable start the group of all too white and shining armored peeps turning a corner from another passageway about sixty meters distant.

"Uhh-- can we move it faster?" I urged, then breaking into a trot, Thea's braids bouncing and flouncing as I hastened along after the Commissar.

Aaron looked to the other little furball, noting that she was starting to sweat it...

...and hobble as fast as one good leg could carry her.

Oh great, this would never do.

So, fur be damned, Aaron scooped her up.

"I see you are having a bit of...

...difficulty. Hang tight."

"Why are the authorities after us any way?"

Then before he could answer something caught my eyes. Ahead of us chasing Yaoski and Thea.

...and did he or she not realize that stealth was not one of their better qualities?

Aaron frowned, pulling out his blaster while still carrying the slicer.

"I have a guess as to why the authorities are after us," he said, "But as to what that is after Yaoksi and Thea..."

"Questions later, action now."

Squeezing the trigger of his blaster, the stun bolt hit whoever it was before anyone could even realize it, knocking the sucker to the ground, out cold and down for the count.

As everyone took off running I sighed and turned to collect Cottonball, but this jerk already had her. I bit my lip and headed off after everyone else. I thought about bolting, but I really needed that ship, and the blue guy had already taken off with the rest of ‘em.

Just in time to see Jerko pull out a blaster and put down some even creepier thing heading towards Yaoksi and Thea...

OK, maybe he's not such a jerko. Anybody who shoots first and asks questions later is OK in my book, so we'll see...

“I have a place, man, just quiet up and follow me!”

He sprinted forward, catching up with Stern.

“Opression comes easy, my friend!” he said as he caught Stern. “But they shall never have us! Yes, yes! To the Refuge of Freedom!”

Bon then pulled ahead slightly and led the group through several twisty streets and alleys, then cut through an empty storeroom, wound through more streets, the came to a stop at a darkened alley. He stopped just around the corner, motioning each past and into the darkness. As Rico passed, Bon pushed a button on his belt and a small hatch slid open at the end of the alley, shedding a dim light on the street.

Laughing, Bon darted past everyone and stopped at the door.

“In, in! Before oppression finds us! Safety is within, as sure as kriff!”

...only to have her impatience interrupted by a sounding alert.

The secret doorway was opening, via a legitimate code.

Cardissa smiled, and got to her feet...

...then paused.

No need to seem overly anxious. But, prepared...

..that would be good.

Reaching for her comm unit, Cardissa opened a frequency. See to it that the dining area is prepared for guests, she stated directly to one of her now-small group of workers. I believe Mr. Foyagee has returned to us...

...and if he has been up to what he states he has been, he may not be alone. I want his welcome, and whomever else's, to be warm. I will be arriving there shortly as well.

Well, hopefully a sanctuary away from the idiot who had been sizzled behind me, the act causing me to leap like a fleeing ikopi when he was felled by Aaron's serendipitous blast.

Not to mention any snoopy troopers.

Crumpled on the Sullustan ground.

He headed into the door right behind Yaoksi, sensing that Jebbua was on his heels and not entirely thrilled at the thought.

Why is this guy always around when you don't need him, and never when you do? Aaron couldn't help but think, quickly dismissing the thought and putting Cel down once they had reached the safety of the inside of this hidden place Bon had directed them to.

Yeesh, but Sullust must just invite the hiding type, came an errant thought.

“Wow, man, this is so GREAT!” he exclaimed. “This is a secret way into the Fortress of Freedom, man! I’ll explain it all, but for now let’s just say that we’re dedicated to fighting oppression, like the forefathers before us! Those who wanted to live the way they wanted to live, without fear, without illegal search and seizure, without forced homage to an emperor! We’ll all be free, man, free!”

He looked behind him, hearing a noise, then turned back to the group.

“And there will be milk and cookies!”

He turned then and walked briskly down the hallway.

“Come on, folkses!”

“Well,” he said. “Howdy ma’am. Name's Rico Riven. Pleasure, for sure.”

Rico moved across the room and sat at an available seat.

Leaving her words to Rico at that, Cardissa then turned to the others still coming in. "Please, everyone be seated. I am most interested in how you all came to be here...

It must have been the Whyrene's, I muttered to myself as, tightening my hold on Thea I slowed enough to let others pass. Rico bounced on by, following our intrepid little scout into yet another room...

...from whence there came the unmistakable sound of a woman's voice.

I froze like a gandyrak in headlights, quietly setting Thea on her feet and placing a finger on her lips. Looking about, I began counting noses, seeing who had yet to pass into the room beyond with Rico and Bon.

Good, Aaron was here, with the little white-furred fem. And, the gods help us all, there was the fair-weather jedi, too.

"What in all the known hells is happening? Does this sound familiar to you, Jedi? Was there a lady where you were?"

Now I hunkered down to Thea's level, snaking an arm about her shoulders to pull her safely against my side.

Much less a child in my care.

I shook my head, raised a hand to the others to keep them quiet.

“Hey, guys! Come on! Let’s get this going. He got us out of the way of those impies, the least we can do is hear him out.”

Before she had decided what to do Yaoski had picked her up and was running with her after the blue dude. She fought him. He was not offering an alternative she could agree with.

Now Yaoski had finally put Thea down, but he wasn't letting her go. Inside the room she could hear a woman talking about freedom from oppression - just like her dad. A thought crossed her mind, maybe this woman had known him - maybe she knew where her parents had dissappeared to after leaving her at the Praxeum. She pulled carefully away from Yaoski, wiggling out from under his arm the best she could. She walked over to the door way and looked in. She focused her mind the way she had been taught long ago, and in just a split second she had made her descision and ran into the room before Yaoski could stop her.

...and then it disappeared, and she turned sweetly to the child who had eagerly entered and addressed her. "Yes, I seek to bring freedom," she said smoothly, standing and coming to the child, stooping to be on her level.

"You wish to be a Jedi?" she queried then in seeming non sequeiter. She looked up to a man who was approaching after her, concern in his eyes. "You know if you take her out there you run the risk of them, the Imperials, getting her," she said flatly. "They don't understand just how...

...special her talents are, and that they are not to be used in the manner they would like."

But if they were used in the manner that I would like... came an impulsive thought.

Cardissa stood, eyeing the man. "Dare you risk her life?"

"THEA-AA-AA!"

Unfortunately that cry never found voice; it only echoed silently in my head. Right along with Rico's damning call that the rest of us just tootle on in and join him.

I looked at Aaron, my mouth working.

"We can't help her if we're taken too; I'm not certain what in blazes is happening here, but buddy every nerve ending I've got is tingling. I've got a ba-aa-aaad feeling about this!"

Bracing myself for the hardest thing I've had to do for a long time, I took wing, running as fast as I could, retracing the route Bon had led us through. Coming at last to a closed door, I kept right on going, pulling my blaster and blowing an opening large enough to spit us out into the alley beyond.

...and at the moment he was glad of it.

Damn the Jedi, just standing there like there wasn't a thing wrong with all of this. That woman, she just...

...just...

...something.

not even thinking of it, Aaron grabbed the slicer furball then turned tail and charged out right behind Yaoksi, his blaster in his other hand.

Damnitall, she might be mad as hell about it, but I think we're really gonna need a slicer chica! Hopefully a ship in exchange for her help will be enough impetus for her get over it...

He didn't stop running, and all but prayed for a few troopers.

"Maybe now would be a good time for a quiet little base..." he muttered in a hushed tone as he got closer to Yaoksi, unaware that he was still gripping his blaster in his hand.

...but there was perhaps a touch of something not-quite-right about the smile. "Oh yes," she then said, squeezing Thea's shoulder. "You will be trained."

To my specifications.

She glanced down at the lightsaber in Thea's hand. "You...already have the skills to make a lightsaber?" she queried. "How impressive. Come, sit by me to eat...

...and then Mr. Foyagee is going to fill us all in on tales of a distant planet where we may find resources to end the tyranny of the Empire."

Standing, Cardissa lead Thea to a seat on the other side of her at the table, and she motioned for one of her attendants to come to her. "Please," she then said to the attendant. "See to it that this young lady gets whatever she would like to eat."

She turned and looked at the girl, still smiling. "Thea, is it?" she then queried. "Order, whatever it is you want. We will have it made especially for you. Mr. Foyagee, Please tell these gentlemen who have stayed with us what you have in mind to help us all from the opressors, and what they need to do to help."

Bon took a deep breath.

“But it’s got something new, too, man. It’s got new sheets of paper in it, with hand written notes. It was found on a planet, man, way out there where nobody goes. And the damnest thing is, man, that the goofball who found this and brought it to me forgot to log where the heck he was, and then he got himself killed before we could help him remember. So here we got a book with pictures of far out ships, things that could fight the oppressors, man! And we got notes from someone who studied this crap, man. But we got no location, and we got no person to go with the notes, and the notes are all coded, man. All we got is the box it got found in, man, charred like from a ship dusting off.”

“Yeah, so it’s like this guy had this box, but left that planet in such a hurry that he left that box behind, then blasted off in some old ship that really charred up that box. There’s a piece of ID tag left, but most of it is ruined, man. All we can make out is this:”

Bon stood and went the wall, which turned out to be a very large video tablet. Using his fingers he drew out a very close representation of the ruined tag. On it he wrote the letters “DANTARE”.

“The rest is gone, man, gone! OK, but we ran some numbers. From the position of the name on the tag, I figure it is the beginning of a name, and not the end or middle. Cross reference that with the known population, and we get only 6.8 billion potential hits. Now, that is still a few too many, so figure that the person has some interest in something that makes him or her want to scope out a planet like that and dust through old relics. So cross that into the 6.8 and that cuts it way down to 1.4 million. Now, this person must have some serious wealth, or has corporate backing, to have a ship and equipment. Cross that potential and we get down to a workable number. Now, I got folks checking out the other potentials, but nothing is coming up roses. So there is one more that I want to check, and it’s way far out there, man, and I want to do this personally with a team that I pick.”

I turned to Aaron, nodded toward the passageway.

"I think if we just head on out, and act like we belong, no one will notice. There's only the three of us now; why don't we go to my digs and figure out what in blazes to do?"

I began to move out, but paused. Chewing my lip thoughtfully, I turned back to Aaron, only this time it wasn't he I addressed.

"You said you're a slicer, right?" I asked, sticking my face directly into that of the little Ryn.

"Is there anything you can do that might help us get Thea away from-- whoever that was?"

Thea. The very name brought her image to the forefront of my mind, braids shining along with her ever present smile. I smiled a little bit myself into the neighboring middle space, until that image was broken by something a bit less bright.

She sure dumped you like a hot potato, pal, and after all you've done for her...

I shook my head, growling at myself.

She's only a kid, and doesn't know the reality of the universe; keep that in mind, Yaoksi ol pal!

...and on some level, she was. But she also had a keen eye on Thea. She knew it would not take long for her to drift off to sleep from the tranquilizer she was scarfing down. In fact, she was already beginning to yawn...

Cardissa reached over and patted Thea on the leg. "Sleepy, honey?" she asked gently. "It is getting late."

Thea's eyelids were drooping. Cardissa looked to her attendant once more. "We should get her to bed," she said simply. "And we will make plans for your training tomorrow, sweetheart."

Then she turned to Bon. "Tell me about this possibility you speak of...

"Thank you for helping me find someone to help me finish my training. I'll see you tommorrow."

The room she was lead to was comfortable and Thea tucked her bag and saber into her bed under her pillow - she always felt safer with it there. She shrugged out of her robe and fell into bed still dressed. She was asleep almost immediately, dreaming of being a Jedi and ridding the galaxy of Imperials.

“The writings, the drawings, the runes… We ran cross references throughout every known library, and after several weeks of highly intensive automated searches, made possible through the computing power of a rather large corporation, we had a match. A single, solitary match. A single rune, found in no other language, no other artwork, none. I want to visit the planet of origin of this rune, if it still exists. The civilization died several thousand years ago, yet for some reason there is heavy activity by the oppressing empire in that vicinity. I need a team consisting of people who have no knowledge of our operations, no ties to anything we have established, and who are gifted in particular aspects of the mission. Hence, you all.”

Bon’s eyes cleared, as the dumb grin returned.

...and I have connections in order for your ship to be replaced," she continued, now looking at Rico. As she did so, her attendant returned to the dining area. "But if you will excuse me, I have something I must briefly attend to. I will, however, return," she then continued, batting her eyes sweetly at Rico before she gracefully got up from her chair and departed down the hallway, her attendant following behind her. As soon as she was out of earshot, she turned to him. "Bring me the solution to the room," she said succintly yet softly, ensuring that not a soul heard her.

The attendant nodded, and Cardissa made her way into the room where Thea was now sleeping very soundly. She knelt at the bed by the young girl, pushing a braid which had fallen into her face away. "It is surprising to me that a youngling in training to be a Jedi would be so easy to trap," she said quietly, stroking Thea's hair. "If you are all this easy to convince, my work will pass easily."

As she stated this, the attendant stepped in holding a syringe full of a clear liquid. Cardissa looked up at him, smiling darkly, and reached out a hand. The attendant handed her the syringe, and she gently inserted the needle into Thea's arm, and let the liquid run through her veins. Once it had all emptied, she just as gently removed the needle, and handed the vial back to the attendant.

"She is the first," Cardissa said, smiling darkly. "Being the descendent of Hethrir does have its advantages. I was one of the few who had enough clues to find the formula for the technology Fyyr used to control the Dark Jedi, as well as the technology to twist them to the darkside. While the latter might take some time...

...this formula will most certainly achieve the control we need."

Standing then, Cardissa smiled down on the slumbering child, noticing something under her pillow. Reaching for it, Cardissa pulled out the bag and lightsaber...

...and returned the bag, eyeing the lightsaber now in her hand smugly before turning back to the child. "Sleep, my dear one," she cooed softly. "You have a great deal ahead of you to face."

With nothing more than that, Cardissa turned and departed the room, the doors sliding closed behind her with finality. She turned and pressed in a code, locking them...

...and after putting the lightsaber away in an undisclosed location returned to the dining area where the others still waited.

"So," she queried then, batting her eyes once more and leaning forward, placing both hands under her chin and looking to the others, and particularly to Rico. "Are you going to help us stop the opression which enslaves us all?"

Sheesh, what was with everybody? A little girl had just gone in and trusted her life to a total stranger, and everyone was just la-tee-da about it?!?

"Look, I think you have a choice," Aaron pointed out to the Ryn as they began to approach some nearby dwelling places. "You can help us slice our way into something to help the kid and I'll give you a ship in exchange for the help so you can be on your way...

...or you can deal with the authorities. I'm certain they won't be too thrilled to find out there's a slicer running rampant here."

Letting his final words speak for themselves, Aaron didn't say anything else...

The gear that those people had was high tec it might prove to be an interesting challenge.

What is it about me that attracts power? I tell ya, whenever there’s a woman in charge, they gravitate to me. Like that green lady with the Black Sun, she was sure something. Looney, but something.

But there was something in this one too, something different. I mean, yeah, she was good looking, and a nice figure, and sultry eyes… but there was something else. She was confident! Yeah, that was it. I mean, I’ve seen people who had confidence, but this lady just exuded it. There was nothing that was ever gonna get her, and she knew it.

But dang!

I grinned back to the lady, and stretched my arms a bit, making sure the muscles showed.

“Well,” I said to Bon. “I can’t speak for the others, but I know I’m in. But I expect a new ship on top of pay for this, since you owe me that. In fact, I seem to think I was supposed to end up dead on that last haul, by my calculations I would’ve been aboard an SSD at the time the stuff blew.”

I looked at Cardissa… yeah, nice name.

Aaron's frown deepened. "We need a plan if busting in that joint in such a way is going to be the avenue we use to get to the kid."

"I don't know about that guy," I said slowly, pushing down the instinctive growl that was rising inside me at his name.

"I think it's going to be up to us; and whatever plan we come up with had better be made fast."

I stopped a moment, looking at the little Ryn. After a moment I squatted down to her level.

"I'll go one better. You get us into wherever the heck we were back there, and I'll do better than give you a ship.

"I'll give you a job-- aboard mine. Well, once she's repaired, that is..."

What the hey, the more the merrier.

Straightening, I drew the other two into a side niche carved into the stone wall. There a highly polished dolomite bench offered the passerby a place to rest, while a nearby spring bubbled cheerfully from the rock. I sat down, and gestured they follow suit, for suddenly I didn't want to take the time it would to go all the way back to my home.

This will do, I thought, then spoke up.

...who was an apprentice of Vader's. Unlike my grandfather, my Father had no Force abilities, and was treated cruelly by Hethrir. The Republic helped him and my grandmother escape Hethrir's clutches."

The truth.

"And I was brought up learning of the opression the Empire brought to the galaxy. So, when the new Imperials came to surface, I knew I had to help stop them, and their Reborn."

As she finished this statement, another of her attendants stepped into the dining hall and next to her, leaning in and speaking something to her in quiet tones.

Cardissa stood up, a look of surprise on her face.

"Oh dear, I have forgotten something most important!' she exclaimed. "Just a moment, please."

Following her attendant out to the foyer, Cardissa found a stunned man laying crumpled in Jedi robes. "He was with them?" she asked ina whisper to the attendant, who nodded.

"Get rid of him," she mouthed. Her orders were promptly carried out as the attendant opened a door and dragged Jebbua's listless form down steps and into a dark chamber where he was left to sleep on the hard floor. When the attendant returned, he closed the cell door behind him and locked it with a passcode.

Cardissa nodded...

...and once more returned to the dining area, sitting in front of Rico again. "Now, where were we?" she queried to all present. "Ahh yes, I've seen to it that you will all have a place to rest for the evening. After all, there is much work ahead of you. Don't worry yourself about a thing," she said sweetly. "You will be paid and receive ships, wonderful ships. I am a lady of my word, after all."

"Idiot probably dragged me down those." I muttered.

I got up and dusted myself off. Thats when i realized i still had my lightsaber on me.

"Uhoh. someone made a mistake."

I abproched the door and found it to be locked.

"Duh. you think they are just going to keep it unlocked for you buddy." i thought to myself.

I got my lightsaber out and activated the green blade and began cutting through the door slowly. Once I was through I went hrough it lightsaber still on. I was in the foyer. I could hear voices up ahead and there was a door with a big hole in it where I remebered Yaoski blew open with his blaster.

"Think, you can't save Thea by yourself. find the others and tell them what you know." I thought to myself.

I quickly jumped out the door and down the street only to run into the same creature who had been chasing Thea and Yaoski.

"Die Jedi." he snarled.

Setting the crystal down, I adjusted the chair so it did not tip an inch up as it had for the time I had been their, and gave simple voice. "I have no experience captaining a ship, nor do I have a desire to do so. It has always been my belief that those who work best on the ground should leave the flying to those who are suited for it, and vice versa." At this, I gave a slight nod to Rico.

"If I may suggest, put any finances you would have used to give me a craft, and combine them with Rico's, thus, he will be more equiped. A crew for him would not be bad either..." I paused in my considerations, the continued to give voice.

...and we want to avoid the Imperials out there at any cost," she said simply. "But, if your equipment is specialized, perhaps we can make arrangements..."

However, when we had gotten there, I noticed the nicely blasted hole in the wall. This, combined with a suddenly noticable lack of participation in the talks from Aaron, Yaoski, and the runt, things were becomming most aparent.

What I most certainly wasn't was a strategist.

I sighed heavily, lifted my head to look at the others.

"I dunno," I said at last. "I mean, getting into that place isn't the difficulty. You saw how easy it was to get out; they might have some hi-falutin' items at their disposal, but nothing a good ol' blaster can't cure."

I faded to momentary silence, rubbing my hand along my face.

"Maybe I was wrong," I said abruptly, letting my gaze drop back to my boots again.

"Maybe this woman who so quickly popped into the picture isn't the bad egg I'm thinking her to be. Maybe Thea is having the time of her life, and Stern and Rico are at this moment getting jolly plastered with the lady. Maybe I jumped the gun on taking off, but--"

I trailed, then jerked my head upright again.

"Dammitall, it just didn't feel right in there. And trust me, my feelings have saved my skin on more than one occasion."

Being a smuggler on "momentary leave," for want of a better way to put it, just the simple fact that there I was with them, alive and healthy, proved those words to be true ones whether they knew it or not.

I looked to Cel a little more closely now.

"How good are you?" I finally asked her.

"I mean, slicing into control panels is, as I said, something any good blaster can do. What we need is a means of finding just what in blazes has been going on inside, and might still be going on inside. If this is such a secret base like Bon kept insisting it is, surely they have security cams all over the place.

"Could you find out if they do have these, and if so, can you access the data they've collected? Maybe we can find out what's happening that way and then--"

I gulped, hating to say it.

This guy better pan out to be worth the risk.

Instead of stating as much, she looked to Rico once more, smiling. Everything about her seemed just as pleasant as it could be as she turned to her attendant, who stood in the doorway to the foyer with a look plastered on his face.

"The Jedi..."

He started, falling silent as Cardissa waved a hand to stop him, a black look momentarily in her eye.

"...has decided to part?" she queried then.

The attendant nodded. Then. "The door..." he then continued with.

Cardissa cut him off. "Needs to be repaired immediately, and secured more effectively. I hold nothing against the others for departing...

...but I do wish that they had but asked."
Yeah, right.

"Fortunately they have brought to my attention a severe security hazard. We would not want the Imperials to discover us so easily."

Quieting a moment and tapping a finger to her lips, Cardissa thought. "A temporary repair will suffice, and must be completed immediately. I would, however, like to further secure the door on the outside with better durasteel backing and cortosis."

The attendant nodded. "On it, Mistress. The initial repairs will be completed in 30 standard minutes. And the ore will be ordered for immediate delivery."

...but we do at least have the blue furball's name. Foyagee something, wasn't it? And her...

...Mitra somebody?"

This just wasn't going according to plan.

It had been fairly easy, determining the deception of the decoy Ssyn had sent out from her ship during the chaos on Sullust. What had been a touch more difficult had been discovering the means by which she had in truth left the planet, but the intelligence he had been given by Sullustan officials combined with that of his own crew had not let him down. Following the last known vector of an unassuming little shuttle, one which apparently had the capability to move far faster and for far greater distances than any normal shuttle, he had at length come to a Nexus of sorts.

For Ssyn, operating under stealth and guile, had not blasted immediately into hyperdrive. Instead, true to her normal modus operandi, she had tootled along at sublight ion velocities, laying down a clear trail, one he could only assume to be planted as a sort of decoy. For surely a criminal would not announce his flight plans in so blatant a manner now, would he? Thus the ion trail he had been hounding simply could not be that from her ship now, could it?

He assumed the trail would have finally petered out as, far enough away from the Sullustan system and now wanting to get the blazes outta there, Ssyn would have made the jump to hyperdrive.

But there's the rub.

His thoughtful frown deepened, and he took another sip of his tea.

That ion trail had indeed disappeared, but it had not done so in the normal blaze of particles associated with the thrust to super-light velocities.

Instead it had terminated in another ion trail, one much larger, one which cut it off as cleanly as a med-droid's surgical appendage.

It was almost as if--

He set his tea down on the desk in his ready room, staring into middle space as he thought. His orders had been to seek out Aelly Ssyn and take her into custody. Logic would have him begin a vector analysis judging from the relative density of the truncated ion trail, to determine in which possible direction she had traveled, and thus toward which possible system.

But that cut-off was just too keen.

He took in a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and quickly ran through a silent, quieting mantra. When his eyes flew open, it was because the solution had popped in front of them like a blazing street sign on Coruscant.

He reached out, opening a connection to the bridge.

"Have you gotten anything on the signature of that new trail?" he queried almost before the answering, "Bridge" came into his ears.

"Negative, Sir; still working on it. It's rather strange, we're not finding it as coming from a ship associated with any known shipyard. All we can determine is that it was laid out by some kind of yacht."

Ahem considered no longer.

"Follow that ion trail," he said succinctly, then rose to his feet. Nodding to the ever-present aide who saluted and then gathered up the dishes, yet full of his morning meal, he tugged on his uniform to straighten out an invisible wrinkle. Reaching out with one finger he then opened a link to his personal logs, entered verbally his choice of direction and why he had chosen it, likewise avowed he would take personal responsibility should this action prove to be in error, and closed the logs. Then he went forth to the Observation Deck, for it wasn't often his great ship travelled at slower than lightspeeds.

He just had a sudden urge to see the stars.

"Yeah, it was Mitra. Cardissa Mitra; glad you got the surname, 'cuz I sure missed it somewhere along the way."

I quieted then, leaning back against the cold stone wall at my back, letting the tiny trickle of water that flowed down it dribble onto the top of my head and from there down and over my face. It dripped, steady and cooling, from my chin to then start trying to soak the front of my vest.

"The thing is," I went on, my eyes closed now. "Is that the possibility exists that we simply do not have the time to dig around. Hence our friend here."

I straightened up, gave Cel's shoulder a comradely pat.

"We can't be certain that we'd find anything about whatever that place is, following normal procedures, I mean. I mean, wasn't it some kind of secret base? Wouldn't it be isolated from everything other than it's own connections?

"I would think that if Cel here is as good a slicer as she says she is, she should be able to access anything that's inside that base, wouldn't you think? And then, although everything within me is screaming to get inside and grab the kid--

"Rico can go to the Seventh Circle of Hell, for all I care--!

"I think it more prudent to use whatever information we can glean and do this the legal way.

"That is, if what I suspicion pans out. If not--"

I shrugged, sighed.

"Well, we can always just stoll on in. I've always been pretty good at apologizing to the ladies."

It made a satisfying click, as within I saw the armor and weapon that I had left behind. I pulled the shimmering blade out of its sheath only a half inch to assure the blade was there, then sheathed it again.

I put it down, and picked up the uniform. I looked over its polished silk and black leather surface, feeling the small slivers of Cortosis within reminding me of its purpose. A purpose it had once served well.

I undressed from the work-clothes I had scurried about in all day, and donned the armor, securing every last bit with a perfect and precise military precision.

Afterwards, I put on the real holster for the dissuader, and placed it neatly, along with attaching the sheath for the blade, and then finally afixing the black stormcoat to cover these things, the final touch a high peaked officers cap, marked with a nostalgic symbol, which I had polished every day; though I had not worn it in many years.

I closed the case, having no more need for it, and crossed over to a small blanket covered cage in the corner, only about four meters cubed, and pulled the cover off.

"There you are my pet... it's good to have you here again you know? It's been a long time since we worked together..." I smiled and attached the small neutrient frame to my right shoulder, and then opened the cage, picking up my personal, and choice weapon against force users and their scum.

A ysalamiri, which I gently placed upon my shoulder, where it curled and began to feed off of the neutrient unit, which it could not survive without.

"Ahem," he said succinctly, then falling silent.

"This is the Commander on Deck," came the immediate reply.

"Sir, there is still nothing on the ownership of the yacht that laid down that ion trail, but we have determined its vector."

The Commander paused for reply, then went on when he received only an expectant sort of silence.

"Our analysis shows that trail has a 99.9997698% probability of having a Sullustan destination, Sir."

Ahem closed his eyes.

Sullust. From whence Aelly Ssyn had departed. Only to be apparently taken on by another ship. Whether or not that ship was one of her own, or that of another player new to this game of intrigue, only time would disclose.

All he was certain of was that in either case, the trail led to the system he had just vacated.

Interesting...

"Thank you," he said softly, to no one in particular, before flipping the comm-link to transmit once again.

"Lay in a course for Sullust, full speed. And find out if anyone there, anyone at all, has seen anything or knows anything about any yachts entering Sullustan space.

"Ahem out."

Closing the link, he opened his eyes, stared out at the stars once more.

This is not going to be a piece of cake, he admitted to himself as he pondered.

There are many, many yachts, and many, many peeps fly in them to Sullust. The planet was a vacation hot spot, after all.

But mixed up in all the general traffic was one in particular, one which more than likely bore with it forged identification. That sort of thing could be easily, if tediously, followed up on.

I started going through my equipment hoping I still had it, with all the action that has been going on today I might have lost it.

"Here it is."

Out of my equipment I pulled out a specially made visor, a pair of gloves, a comlink, and a second comlink attached to a computer access port.

"This is what we need, I doubt that even if we pretended to join them that they would let me near any computer terminal that has the information we need, however one of you might be able to. From there all you have to do is plug in this computer access port and I can slice my way in remotely from a distance."

Especially not if she's actually smart. And, as legal as I'd like to be about all this, I think we're gonna have to start out on the dirty end of things. We suspect these people, but we've got no concrete data to take to the authorities. We're going to have to get some, however it is we do so. Comlink transmissions, computer files, spying and stealthing..."

"Yeah," I finally ventured, leaning forward now and dangling my hands between my knees. All the while, though to a casual passerby I appeared to be contemplating the stones between my toes, I kept a stealthy eye glancing about us.

"We're going to have to get our hands a little dirty, I think. Here I thought you'd be able to access something via that control panel; oh well. Nobody's perfect, I suppose."

I fell silent a moment, thinking, then brightened a bit.

"You know," I said slowly. "Judging from the voice, that lady ain't no Sullustan. I mean, did she sound Sullustan to you guys?"

A quick glance at them confirmed the direction in which my thoughts were heading; they both sat there a moment, then offered tenative shakes of their heads.

"Me either," I went on. "Thus, she's more than likely someone from off-planet, and had to get here somehow, and if she's as deeply into whatever it is going on inside that base as I think, her ship would probably be more than just a simple transport, wouldn't you say?

"Something that might hold more than what it looks like it should be holding? Something with maybe a connection to the base somewhere in it?

"Something just sitting around at the spaceport looking innocent, heck, maybe damaged in the explosion and thus unable to leave; something we could maybe discover, and sneak into more easily than we could into that base, and then maybe slice into said base from there?

"What do you think, Aaron? Link?"

Since I knew Aaron, his force signature was stronger than the others. When I knew I was close I shut my lightsaber that i still had on and concentrated. It was then that I saw them in an alley sitting on a bench talking.

I ran over to them and stopped to catch my breath.

"Guys... Thea... woman...evil..." I tried talking but was to out of shape.

I need to get back to running more.

Once I caught my breath I continued.

"I knew it!" I exclaimed as I jumped to my feet.

"There's something nasty going on there, whatever that might be. It's more important than ever to get in there and get Thea out; as for Rico and Stern, well...

"... they're big guys. They can take care of themselves, make their own decisions, right? But Thea--"

And Bluebell. What about him? Did he or did he not seem to be wanting to tell you something, something other, something important?

Was he a nut case, or not? Did he need any help getting out of there as well? Or was he a Judas, a plant, a decoy to try to lure us in?

Pushing the image of the beady-eyed little puffball to one side I shook my head and sat back down, blowing out a puff of exasperated air through my lips before jerking my head back up to face Jebbua.

"Getting in has never been a problem, nor has how we'd go about the actual accessing of information once we've gotten in. It's the stuff in between that we're having a touch of a problem with."

Quickly then, I repeated my earlier suggestion concerning the possibility of finding the ship I was by now positive that Cardissa owned--

I hope to all the gods it's got the biggest hole in it's hull--!

--then drew to a close with a final repetition of, "Well guys? Whaddya think?"

This deal better be worth it.

"I think I have an idea. You know that creature that was chasing you and Thea?" I said to Yaoski. "Well he's a Trandoshan, I ran into him a again and he said Die jedi, but i just tripped him and continued on, i think i know why he was chasing you. My idea is for one of you guys, since he knows me, say there is a jedi inside that base and he goes in first as a distraction."

I looked at everyone to see if they liked it.

"Well-lll..." I said slowly. "That might work, er, that is it more than likely will provide us with the distraction that we certainly are going to need. But how long can one Jedi-hunter--"

Hey, anyone who goes around snarling, "Die, Jedi!" has to be a Jedi-hunter, after all!

"--hold off who the heck knows how many peeps she might have at her disposal? Not to mention Stern and Rico, who are most certainly not going to be stupid enough to think it's a simple, oddball event. Just by the incongruity of it, they've got to suspect that we'd be behind it, and would immediately go hunting for us, quite possibly one of 'em going after Thea--"

I paused, debating as to how realistic the terminus of where my own thoughts were leading me actually was.

"--which might lead us to her after all. Or then, might not."

I shook my head, sighing.

He trailed momentarily, "Before I had to take the whole company over myself, I was more into the technology. The workings and repairs of the ships. If we're talking about busting into this woman's ship to get a probable connection to her base, cause I'd assume there would be one there, I definitely have resources at my fingertips--and my own fingertips--to help."

Pausing a moment at that, Aaron pursed his lips in thought. "As for this jedi-killer Trandoshan, if this lady has Thea locked away somewhere, she might actually like having an available Jedi killer."

Aaron frowned. "I don't know how much I like the idea, but it could potentially keep them all busy for a while."

"I like the 'find the ship, then send in the Trandosan' idea, myself. If only for the fact that, once we're into the base, we're not going to have to hunt down where Thea is, but a simple computer console as well. I mean, who knows how big that base really is, and where the heck the command center is located? This is Sullust, after all, and everything is underground, and there are klicks and klicks of mazes, all connected.

"So who knows how big that base really is?"

I paused again to assimilate everything before speaking up a final time.

"Ok, Link here has to have access to a system in order to slice into anything useful. Our earlier need for this was simply to determine whether or not Thea was actually in danger; thanks to our Jedi here--"

I nodded to Jebbua.

"--we now know that to be a very great probability. Now the need to slice into information would be to simply gain anything that we could, to show the illegality of this gal (anyone who whacks and imprisons Jedi ain't a law abider, that's for certain!) to the Impys, who can then take her down and get her out of our hair."

I hope.

"Link says she can slice into the system, one that Aaron thinks has a clear link between ship and base.

"The thing is this: finding the ship might take time. The impys more than likely would have some kind of information if it's here, as would the Sullustan officials, right? But we can't really go waltzing to them either; not without proof of this lady being a nasty canasta.

"The Trandosan angle would certainly create havoc, hopefully giving us enough time to at least get Thea? Then we can somehow lie low, and find the ship, and go to the officials, and keep her off our backs--?

"Unless anyone has a way to coordinate all this so it happens at the same time."

She woke up screaming, only to find she could barely move. Terrified she shakily, slowly shifted her other arm under her pillow - reaching for her lightsaber and a hint of safety. Her panic deepened when she discovered it was no longer there and she clutched her bag, dragging it out to cover her chest. Her hurting arm felt like lead and she couldn't move her legs. Fear and regret clutched her heart and she buried her face in her bag sobbing.

"I would love to show you where I...

... want you. That is, if you would like to join me..."

I stood and took her hand, darting a look to Bon. He was preoccupied with a data pad, punching in numbers or what-not like a womp-rat on stims. I looked back to the lady.

I strolled down the hallways, finding it surprisingly easy to navigate, until I came to the door I was sure led into the dining hall. The pressure-plate under the floor accepted that I had approached, and the door slid open to reveal the dining hall and its occupants.

...immediately noticing the nutrient frame and its occupant upon his back.

"Ysalamiri?" she asked him simply, still smiling. "I shall have to introduce you to my pet Sauda. But--" she then continued, looking to Rico, "Tomorrow, perhaps. It is time to retire."

She motioned with her free hand towards the hallway beckoning beyond. "This way," she then stated, stepping forward with Rico and leading them down the corridors, just past where Thea was locked in a room, unbeknownst to anyone else. Cardissa stopped at the adjacent room to Thea's, knowing that the ysalamiri would block any Force-senses of the child with it's 10 meter bubble.

"You will find these quarters small yet sufficient," she said to Stern. "Feel free to go back to the dining area at any time. We will discuss further plans at 0800 hours."

Leaving Stern to enter his room, Cardissa lead Rico onward, further back into what was a more extensive little hideout than first it appeared. She came to a halt in front of one particular door of rich, dark greelwood, letting go of his hand and leaning in the door frame, her long hair falling softly on her shoulders as she cocked her head to one side, her smile equally as soft. "I would so love to get to know you a little better before business carries us to...

...other ventures."

this would streach them thin considereing that they would have to split up to accomplish all these tasks.

I stepped forward, moving my arm around and taking her by the waist. I pressed in, forcing her to step backwards. Her eyes widened, her smile turning even more upwards. She pressed in closer to me and her hand reached back and wrapped around mine, forcing me to hold even tighter. I reached back with my foot and found the door, swinging it closed.

I narrowed my eyes, and took her face in my hands.

“There’s no need to be lonely, not ever again,” I said. Hey, it sure sounded romantic to me! I think she must have to, because within a second we were kissing again. I could get use to this.

“And I’m up for whatever you need,” I added.

And what she thought he needed to hang around and want a little more.

She smiled softly at him. "A little at a time, my dear," she cooed softly. "It has been a long day, and there is much ahead of us. I do want to get to know you in every detail...

...but I want to take a long time doing so in order to relish every last moment."

She pulled away, taking his hand. "My suites are large, and few have the privelege of resting within them," she said sweetly, taking his hand and walking him to one of the doors within. "We both need to rest, for there is much ahead, and I want to be ready...

...as I also want you to be ready."

She left, almost floating across the floor. I watched her leave, and even though my body was burning for her, everything seemed all right. When the door closed, I just stood there. Finally I blinked a few times, took in a deep breath, and cracked a smile.

Hail to the King, baby!

I still had it, oh yeah. Never mind I may have promised something that I wasn’t too sure about. That’ll sort itself out later, it always does. For now, I had a lot to look forward to.

Strange, being the type a guy I am, and the business I'm in, I had my share of easy scores. I never had one make me wait, though. I think I kinda liked that...

I sat down on the most comfy chair I had ever experienced in my life, and dozed off pretty quickly.

I think I did dream about her that night, but I’m not too sure what it was about. There was something in that dream that bothered me, though, and wished I could remember it. Ah well. My instincts hadn’t failed me yet, I’m sure they’d come through in the end.

I trailed off and cleared my throat.

this idea is a long shot it might not even be him, but if it is he might have all the fire power we need.

"I think i need something to drink to cool off."

Jurrsk headed to the nearest bar and the waiter came over.

"Yes sir?"

"Strongest thing you have." Jurrsk said.

"Yes sir."

I got up slowly at the second round of taping, and approached it slowly. A third round of taping came, and I fingered the open panel, and found my disauder in the face of Rico.

I pushed past Stern and into the room.

It's in the middle of the night, fast approaching that hour when life forces run low, as does the mind's ability to think clearly...

"I don't know," I said slowly, standing up to stretch out the kinks a guy can get when he sits too long on a stone bench. It's a wonder the Imps hadn't come wandering over to see why in all the known universe we had been hanging around this bench for hours--

I pushed the thought away, tried to focus on the task at hand.

"What will work best? Stealth, backed with information? Pure havoc? If so, now's the time, guys; nothing worse or more discombobulating than fracas and mayhem in the wee hours of the morning."

I fell silent, stifling a yawn, then turned to Link.

"I've got some credits, but I don't know what your Corellian friend will want, or if I even have enough.

"And anyway, does anybody know where either he or the Trandoshan is? It has gotten kinda late, you know, and I doubt they'll still be hanging at the bar."

I placed my hands on my lower back, bent backwards with a little creak. Then straightened with a long indrawn breath.

"Maybe we should just sneak off, slice our way in, and go find her ourselves-- now.

"Whaddya guys think of that?"

Aaron trailed, looking to Jebbua, "We might need you, Force-abilities and all, especially considering we're talking about a young Jedi padawan. Your expertise will be needed."

I smiled at this.

I picked the gun up and turned it over in my hand. "Time is made of two parts. One part is made of peace, and guile. The other, is made of conflict. It is the parts made of conflict that are remembered. Now, one can argue ideologies all day, and get absolutely no where, because everyone sees the world how they want to, and they'll be damned if their minds are changed..."

I racked the slide, looking at the lethal shot sitting in the chamber, before letting the slide fall back into place. "... War, in the end, is about killing the other side to get what you want. Tactics, faces, weapons change, but the cold and hard of it remains the same. We all have a part. Some of us shoot, some of us fix, and some of us mark down the deaths on dogtags. It all remains the same in the very simple principal."

I flicked the safety off, and looked down the length of the gun, aiming it at the far wall.

"Now. You think of this as an odd situation, because you only look at the players. You're looking at the squad around you, not the tactical map. If you were to look at the tactical map, you'd see everything how it was, with small bits of confusion here and there. This, is what makes everything so confusing to you."

I turned the gun and pointed it at his chest. "Now, right now I can kill you. Single casualty, friendly fire, intentional, whatever. I could easily probably take out everyone in this hallway without much trouble, but in the end, what I've done is change the field. You can ponder over their motives, but in the end, you, pretty boy, are only here because someone told you to be here. Whether you decide to keep following the path with that ever so charming nose of yours or not, is your choice."

I pulled the gun up, flicked the safety off, and set it down.

"Do we necessarily need the Trandoshan now to create havoc and mayhem?" I asked, a touch of curtness now lacing my voice. Shaking my head at myself, I cleared my throat, tried to speak more calmly.

It wasn't easy, considering the time and all we had just gone through.

"I mean, remember, Thea might be a kid, but she is force-sensitive. Not to mention the fact that our own private Jedi is going to be coming right along for the party; do you guys think its wise to send in the clown? He might backfire on us."

I paused, looked at each and every one of them.

"As far as her ship goes, I don't: (1) know for a fact that she has one; logic just suggests she would; (2) know which one it is, so finding it would be something perhaps we might try later, if we want to gain information?

"Maybe our slicer friend here can use her abilities after we've burst our way back into the base, or snuck in, whichever; if we can get her to a wall panel or something, maybe she can create a little electronic mayhem of her own to help us along?

Some drunky gave him the location of a small blackmart place that had explosives.

Jurrsk weaved in and out of streets and turned to take a shortcut and saw the jedi. Jurrsk quickly hid and hoped the jedi or anybody saw him.

It was too early.

Aaron shrugged. "If we're gonna do the late night stealth thing...

...we should just go back and see if we can get Link to a terminal on that base. The entrance was fairly indescreet and well-hidden, but with a hole being blasted through it earlier today, and us already having been there once, we should have a better chance of finding it again.

I say we move, and now. And if Ms. Pretty has a ship...

...well maybe that should be our next avenue. But we need to get moving, while darkness can hide us. The time is now."

Buddy, when it comes to a little gal's life, I was hoping for something a bit--

--more assertive. That's what brain-storming is all about.

But I didn't say anything aloud; thank the gods in the universe that I still had the wit to recognize the fact that I was running on beyond empty, and that was probably clouding my thoughts considerably.

Which didn't help Thea any.

"All right then," I finished, checking my blaster and then holstering it.

"It's time to leave. Jebbua, you take good care of Link there; I think you're our best bet when it comes to keeping her safe, and I have a really strong suspicion we're gonna need her.

"Really quick."

I turned to her and just smiled.