Aaron made his way quickly and quietly behind Yaoksi, also keeping an eye on Jebbua and Link. Unconciously, his blaster had somehow wandered to his hand...

...and he had to suddenly wonder if this was anything like what Terrin and Galen and the boys and gone through, always stealthing, always running from this threat or that.

Maybe things would have been different if he had helped them out more, been there more, instead of keeping a tight check on Eagle Enterprises and never going anywhere...

Aaron dismissed the thought, and focused his mind on the task at hand. He wondered if they had done anything to repair the blast hole in the entrance, and figured it would probably be pretty foolish if they hadn't done something to it.

Yaoksi slowed down in front of him at last, and Aaron found himself gripping his blaster just a little bit more tightly.

"The entrance?" Aaron queried quietly, not seeing anything yet even though his body's kinesthetic memory told him they were close.

[ 06-03-2006 11:02 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aaron Barnes ]

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"Ok, so the plan is for Link to slice into the place and what? search for info and Thea or what?"

I took out my lightsaber but left it off, I would probably need it.

Thats when I felt it, or actually felt nothing.

"Uh guys, we have a problem. I might not be as useful as you think I might be. I think they have some yslamiri in there. Trust me me and Dash ran into them and their prederators before. There is a big bubbe of nothing-ness. No doubt that's where Thea is, but I'm about as good as a baby talking with this lightsaber with no force powers."

So far things weren't going as planned.

--------------------

I whirled about, approaching Jebbua and taking him by his shoulders.

"Don't you see? That has to be where Thea is! Someone has been trying to be cute, and block her in the force, but just by the act of doing this they've practically sent up a flare!"

My spirits reviving considerably, I turned back to the little passageway we had entered and studied it.

"I don't see the hole... but--"

I moved forward toward a place which seemed a little bit... different, somehow. Newer, not quite as weathered, almost as if it had been renewed...

"Hey guys, I don't know if it's my eyes or what, but does this section of wall look any different to you?" I asked, waving one hand to indicate the place I referred to, the other hand busy holding my blaster at the ready.

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...well, they don't."

Aaron arched an eyebrow Jebbua's way, his suggestion clearly evident.

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A sigil on the pad blinked. He raised an eyebrow and pressed a sequence on the pad. A view from the camera in the back alley came up on the screen. The other eyebrow raised, and he pressed another button.

“Mr. Yaoksi?” he said into the pad microphone, conveying his voice to the speaker hidden above the secret hatchway in the alley, recently repaired. “What a pleasant surprise, man! Have you changed your mind? That’s so awesome, man! I was hoping you’d come, dude, it’s just too hard to figure it out without you in the equation, man!”

Crouching, blaster at more than ready now, I raised my head and looked upward and all about, trying to trace the source of Bon's voice.

"Ahh-- yeah. Yeah," I replied, now sending a fast shrug to the others in the party.
Leaning toward them, I whispered, "They know we're here, get ready..." before turning my head upward again.

"I told you we weren't finished yet; wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?"

Falling silent I then turned my attention to the odd patch of stone, waiting to see if it really was more than what it was trying to appear to be.

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"Look, I don't care how dangerous it is; there's a kid in there who's supposed to be under my care. I'm not going anywhere until I have her back!

"Maybe, ahh-- Maybe you can lend a hand?"

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"Well, at least the door will get opened--" I said in a low voice, before turning around again and raising it.

"All right then, pal, c'mon outta there and let's talk. But I hope it won't take all night, there's a kid in there who needs our help."

[ 06-04-2006 12:57 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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“Thanks,” I said. “Get some sleep.”

I left, shutting the door behind me. The hallway was a little dark, just like before, duh. I turned to go back to the room, but paused. Here I was, in some secret base or something, with all sorts of… well, secret stuff to start a rebellion with. I could wander around, check things out… and probably get caught.

Or I could let this bad feeling pass, go back to bed, and stop making myself worry.

Yeah, that sounded all right for now. I turned for the room and took a step.

Then I heard a footstep. I turned around silently and watched Blueberry sneaking down the other end of the hallway. He tapped a panel on the wall and disappeared into a door that slid open for him. I waited a second then padded down the hall and to the panel. It didn’t take a genius to realize that there were only two buttons – OPEN and LOCK. Duh again. I pushed OPEN and guess what happened?

I walked through the open door and into a small tunnel. I followed it, and got to another door as it was about to close. Through it I saw Blueberry’s back as he was walking to meet some other people, whose backs were to both of us. I let the door shut, and was happy to see a peephole in it.

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Again.

Whirling, it was to discover the blue Bothan just standing there, a grin planted on his furry little face, looking for all the world like he had come out to announce the winner of the Tattooine Pod Racing Nationals.

I scowled, and moved up to him. Stopping a couple of meters from him, I widened my stance, placing my hands on my hips.

"Don't do that!" I growled, waiting for the others to come up behind me. When a quick glance around ascertained that they had all arrived within this latest cozy little circle I turned back to Bon.

"You were saying?" I said, casually showing my blaster and then pointing it at a position about half a meter above his head.

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“It’s good to see you all again!” he said. “I was afraid you didn’t want to be involved after all. You see, I sought you out, you and Rico. I spent a long time studying that book, man. Oppression is everywhere, man, and it needs to be fought! So, like, when things were looking down, man, I took it to a psychic. Don’t laugh, man, they’re in tune with the cosmic wholeness of the whole big psychic cosmic… thing. Anyway, I got some useful info from this dude, right? He put his hand on the book and started telling me that the dude was named Panthar, and he was an archeologist, right? But then he goes off on something else, man, something that was just, well, weird. He started spouting off on random stuff like Dark Lords and rebirth and Warriors and Sorcerers and returning from time, and that got freaky. Then he went bonkers and started saying stuff about humans and adepts and threw out some names, man. He said they’re all in danger, man. I don’t know what he was talking about, believe me, but I wrote them down.”

Bon unrolled a small scroll from his sleeve.

I worked my mouth, the blaster lowering without my even being aware of it. Likewise I hadn't a clue as to what the others were thinking at this point, for I sure as hell wasn't the only one to recognize damned near every name the Bothan had just listed.

Slowly it dawned upon me that Bon was still patiently waiting for an answer.

"Y-yeah, I'm Yaoksi--er, that Yaoksi," I muttered, swaying a little. A small sound echoed from the stone walls, the sound a blaster makes when it falls upon something hard. I scarcely noticed it; suddenly I was against the wall, shaking my head in disbelief. After a few more minutes passed in this manner, I finally managed a deep breath, and yanked myself back under control.

Bon just stared back at me, a strange admixture of fanaticism and naivete planted on his face. I stared back a moment or two, and then managed to stand upright, took a step toward him.

"What about these people?" I asked, coming closer, squatting down to meet his eyes straight on.

"What else do you know? Why did this psychic--"

I wonder if it was a Jedi?

"--send you to me?"

Daggers suddenly began burning holes in my back; I waved a hand behind myself toward Aaron and went on.

"Did he say where these people were, particularly the one called Galen?"

I finally shut up, realizing I was coming close to babbling. Shaking my head, I retrieved my blaster with one hand and holstered it. Then I just remained squatted down, hoping this little guy knew more than he thought he did.

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Bon showed Yaoksi the paper. On it, below the names, were several dots. Four of the dots were joined by lines.

“I did a lot of figuring and refiguring. I figured these could lots of things, like chemical symbols, molecular structures, or plans for a summer home. But then it dawned on me, man, maybe it’s star positions! So I ran about a billion combinations, man, then found a spot in the galaxy where this combination might take place. There’s a system, man, binary stars, remote area, and the like. Well, I did some more digging, man, but found out that the oppression had already begun there! I asked myself, now why would the oppressors set up ships in a remote part of the galaxy, man? In a place where there’s like no life?”

Bon pointed to the paper.

“That’s my quest, man. That’s where I’m going. And the psychic wanted me to find you, man, and that tells me that you need to go too. Like I said, man, maybe I’m crazy like they say, but it’s all fallen together so far.”

Traveling with Terrin and Galen, the little gal was pregnant as I recall, very pregnant. And they had told stories, weird stories, about the Sith who weren't the sith; I mean, they were not like the Jedi, they were different, and they were after the little gal, and had sent something from hell to rip off Captain Danner's arm, and it was on my watch, dammit, my watch...

I shuddered, struggling against the horrors of that day, trying to remember more of what they had said.

Hadn't Cella said she was after Shayla, that Shayla had been taken from the Praxeum, before it had been destroyed? How did she fit into all this?

I shook my head at the memories, now grown fogged by the passage of the years and being a father to Thea.

Thea.

My eyes flew open, pinned themselves to Bon.
Flicked back to the others, returned.

"Our Jedi here--" I stuck a thumb over my shoulder to indicate Jebbua.

"--was knocked out and imprisoned after Aaron and I left the base; hell, after we escaped from the base you call home. I truly can't see that the little girl who was with us is being treated any better.

"Look."

I drew in a breath, let it out, laid a hand on my blaster, not as a threat, but a promise.

"You help us get Thea out of there, and I'll go with you on your quest. And since I just happen to know my friends here are a touch wee concerned about some of the peeps you named, it wouldn't surprise me if they came along for the ride as well."

[ 06-04-2006 02:44 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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I was shocked at what Bon had just said, besides the fact that he had just named a list of names of half i knew.

"You're kidding right." I wanted to turn my lightsaber on and slice this guy.

"I was standing in the foyer looking around and listening to the conversation in the dining room when someone stunned me with a stun bolt and knocks me out. first you invite me in and then you stun me."

With the force I picked up Bon off his feet and dagnled him a foot off the ground.

"Now WE want Thea back now and you're going to help us get her back or you'll be joining the fishes real soon."

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Oh hell...

Aaron was having a difficult time coming up with anything intelligent to say, considering the list of names the Blueberry had just spewed, and considering the facts he had just spewed as well, unbeknowst to possibly even him. But Jebbua's ensuing actions were enough to get his thoughts back on track.

"Hey, knock it off and let the blue guy talk!!!" He growled Jebbua's way. "I don't know what is going on in there aside from the fact we need to get the kid back...

...but somehow he's telling the truth, dammit. Only Terrin is..."

He paused, closing his eyes, struggling with himself. "Terrin is dead..."

[ 06-04-2006 09:20 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aaron Barnes ]

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"Sorry."

I sat Bon back on the ground and relaxed my tense shoulders.

"Ok then, now that you have a chance to talk I suggest you do so before you go flying and nothing Aaron or Yaoski says or does will save you."

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"Jebbua, calm down!"

I shook my head a little, waited until there was complete silence at my back. Then I lifted my head again to Bon's beady little eyes.

"Look," I started, pursing my lips as I thought.

"I don't know about any oppression that you keep on hammering on about; there's no oppression that I'm aware of. Ok, so some things have happened, but ya know what?"

I rose to my feet and glared.

"Maybe it's all for the better. The guy with the biggest gun ends on top, right? If ya can't keep up with the Big Dogs, stay on the porch, and all that!"

Suddenly I leaned forward, took Bon by his furry little chest, lifted him up on his tippy-toes.

"I don't trust anyone who imprisons a Jedi, fella! That sounds to me like yet another Big Dog wannabe. Now, I'm not sure who this employer of yours is, but I don't want a damned thing to do with her or your silly little rebellion.

"I want Thea back..., and then I want to go find these people you have mentioned. It just so happens that some of them have gone missing, and most of us--"

I waved my hand grimly at the others.

"--have been hunting for them for years.

"Soo-oo-ooo I'll just have this, thank you buddy--" Here I snatched the paper with the star positions from him, and raising to my full height released the little guy.

"And now we can talk some serious turkey."

[ 06-04-2006 12:34 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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How in the hell was this all possible? Who could this little blue squirt have been talking to that could know all of this stuff?

Aaron just glared at Bon. "Allright, furball, since you said it would be nothing more than us taking her if we didn't like what we heard...

...give us the kid, and we'll be on our way..."

[ 06-04-2006 12:53 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aaron Barnes ]

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I twisted around, leaned into Aaron, spoke in a whisper too low for the Bothan to hear.

"Aaron, he's got no reason to help us rescue Thea if we tell him that we're cutting and running; besides--"

I paused, stared meaningfully at Barnes a bit before turning back to Bon.

"I said I'd help him on his quest if he helps us get Thea back, even if I don't think it's anything either warranted or intelligent. But out there somewhere are two sets of binary stars, somehow connected--"

I rustled the paper that I held.

"And they seem to be the starting point to finding our friends. Massing 'oppressors' or not."

I drew in a deep breath before finishing.

"I just have a reeeeally ba-aa-aad feeling about this Cardissa person; somehow I feel she's not in it to help you. Call me paranoid, but my gut has saved my hiney on more than one occasion, not that you need to know all the particulars about that. And besides--"

I hunkered down into Bon's face, stared deeply into his eyes, searching.

"There's something else going on here, isn't there?" I whispered softly, remembering how the little guy had flip-flopped from Idiot Mittens to Professorial in the blink of an eye.

Yeah. Something weird and spaced out and possibly dangerous but possibly something we could use. Because if what the little guy said was really true, and there really was an inordinate amount of Impys hanging around the unknown worlds indicated within the dots, that fact combined with the other hell I was too aware of only went to prove one thing:

Ships and weaponry and munitions be damned. We were going to need something different.

[ 06-04-2006 01:11 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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