posted 02-26-2003 12:53 PM
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Erik, seeming to leave the cockpit in search of him, was no where to be seen as Lo-Ban approached the sith nav board...
Using the force, and as much as his piloting skills would allow... Lo-Ban arbitrarily chose buttons in an attempt to simply leave the Coruscant system...

Eventually, the ship lost itself in hyperspace...

Destination... Sullust...

(((OCC: Follow Erik Kartan and Loban Kenobi to Thusfar the Miles are Measured in the CSWU. Thank you.)))

[ 04-14-2003 11:16 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

Haven't done anything...!

I could bear it no longer. In one swift movement, I was on my feet, the palm of one hand slapping down on the table while my other hand fisted itself, shooting an index finger accusingly in a direct line with Shayla's nose. I tilted my head a bit to one side, gathering my senses before finally forcing down that blind rage which had assaulted me, enabling myself to finally hiss out a purely reflexive disclosure.

"Then what was my daughter doing on Kamino, Ms. Kartan?" I seethed at a constrained boil. "Indeed, she had been taken there by the one called Lord Roan; what was he planning to do with her? Why in the name of Khaandon have the Sith been out after my wife-- my ex-wife, that is, and my daughter, for as long as I have known that they are indeed more than myth or legend?

"What is it about them that is so damned important to the Sith? Tell me, Ms. Kartan! You are one of them yourself!"

The finger I was pointing disappeared from view as I now clenched that hand, slamming it down on the table. There it slowly loosened, joining its companion in supporting my weight, which was still leaning menacingly forward. Taking a deep breath, I straightened a bit, and let time stretch outward while I considered. I then continued in a somewhat more controlled voice.

"Enough game-playing has been afoot, Ms. Kartan," I finally said, reseating myself as I did so. "And the line will be drawn here. As I mentioned, the Empire is powerful, more powerful than most realize. We prefer to keep a low profile as to our true strengths; we do not wish to repeat the fiasco of Palpatine and his Imperial forces, and indeed there are better methods in gaining and keeping a foothold in the political universe.

"But this is not of concern to you, Ms. Kartan. What is of greater interest to you is the fact that we have more than enough power to easily protect ourselves... and my daughter. Yes, as you undoubtedly have deduced by now, she is indeed quite safe with me -- her true, biological father! -- in Imperial City, and there she shall stay to be brought up under the auspices of the Empire. Her life and future will be a far more stable, rewarding one than the one she would live with her mother, on a constant exodus from forces coming after them both, and from all directions."

I settled back against my seat, took a careful sip of my tea, set the cup down gently and laid my gloved hands on the tabletop once again.

"And now, Ms. Kartan, tell me indeed what it is you have been sent here to disclose... and why."

[ 02-27-2003 10:21 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Sorben Tarnus ]

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

...and hard. “I have been sent here to disclose nothing more to you,” she said quite flatly. “ I chose to come here because I didn’t have the authority to take your daughter back from Kamino, where I believed she was at the time. I came here because Galen believes her daughter is still dead, and the only way she’ll believe otherwise is if Darra is returned to her...”

She paused as reality slammed in to her. “.and I came here because I don’t know which Sith to trust anymore and need answers for myself.”

She fell silent with that, her greeny-blues defocusing a bit as memories swam into her mind and her heart along with unanswered questions. And it was then that Erik’s warning niggled into her mind. Shayla had to fight with everything in her to remain calm. Then she looked to Sorben Tarnus once more. “I plan to get those answers which we may all need, but that requires me to make it out of here in one piece...”

“...and my ship and my husband are both currently in serious trouble. I beg that you allow me to leave before matters become worse, and I promise that I will relate to you the truth of the Sith, once I find it. For the moment that’s all I can disclose to you, Lt. General,” she finished.

But then one final point wormed its way into Shayla’s brain. “And by the way, you should be warned that no matter how safe you think it is here your daughter is still at risk. She’s the only human who inherently has the power the Sith hold...

...and Galen Danner is the only human aside from Graysith who can have children with that inherent power...”

So does that mean that Aelvedaar was trying to protect them from Roan back in Prinn’chatka as he said, or does it mean he was trying to keep them for himself...

...or worse...?

Shayla didn’t frown, but she would have liked to. “If anything it’s important you allow me to go free to find the truth about the Sith for them, Lt. General. I have a source who might assist me in finding those answers...

...but it’ll require that I go now, or else I’ll miss him.”

With that she fell silent then, and waited to see just what Sorben Tarnus would choose to do.

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

As if Darra would be safe with her mother, running from one thing or another, and by Ms. Kartan's very admission possibly from the Sith themselves.

The curl of my lips changed to a near sneer beneath my helmet, and for a long moment I merely looked at where this young woman was sitting, so obviously trying to figure out the situation herself.

Or at least, that was the impression she appeared trying to give.

I rose abruptly to my feet, flicking a padd on my gauntlet. At the far end of the room, a door oiled open, revealing the sturdy form of two orderlies who stood at rigid attention, waiting.

I nodded to Ms. Kartan.

"Thank you for the information you have divulged so far," I said as I stood there, now nodding to the two men. They came forward as a unit, and came to a halt behind her chair, one on either side of her. Both of them stood there stiffly, awaiting a signal. I nodded, and they each took hold of one of Ms. Kartan's arms.

"The information you have divulged will be analyzed. In the meantime, the Empire would be honored if you would remain here as its... guest."

I nodded again, and in no time Shayla was on her feet in the grasp of the two orderlies. The nodded a salute in my direction, then turned and left, taking her with them. I remained in standing silence for a good quarter hour, my eyes vague behind my helmet, my thoughts whirling ferociously, before I finally allowed my knees to bend and lower me to my seat again.

If the only way that Galen would believe Darra is still alive is by actually seeing her...

...then she ought not to have run off from me when she did.

FROM ENSIGN EDGAR:

posted 03-02-2003 11:45 PM
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Edgar's alarm blazed on, as he stumbled out of bed...
Grabbing his rank insignia and cover, he jumped into the Imperial Military Hovertaxi... which was waiting for his prompt arrival, beginning of his shift a mere 12 minutes away...

Edgar approached the security check into Coruscant's Imperial Command Center with 30 seconds to spare...

Saluting the officer on deck, he passed by the room fashioned for Darra's care, on his way to his post... and, yet again, no one was watching her...

This would not do, yet he must relieve the officer at his post before anything else...

Like always, Edgar approached his post right on time...

At his post was a midshipman, lowest officer rank in the Imperial military...

The midshipman stood at attention, saluting Edgar... a sign of respect, even though Edgar had no real authority over this low ranking officer...

Edgar responded with a salute of his own,"At ease, I relieve you..."

A thought then came to Edgar as the midshipman turned to leave...

"Midshipman..." Edgar said... The lower ranking officer turned to face him, hands behind his back...

"I'd like for you to do something for me..."

Edgar requested the naive young officer to bring him the babe of Lt. General Tarnus...

"That's an order, midshipman..."

Sir!

They again exchanged salutes, Edgar took his post as the midshipman took to his new appointed duty...

Moments later Darra was sitting in Edgar's lap...

His other duties could wait, he would watch the babe for now...

Ensign's prerogative...

[ 04-14-2003 11:19 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

She'd come here in open honesty, willingly, answering all questions presented to her...

...only to then be treated as a prisoner rather than a possible ally?!

It was then that Shayla made a decision. She'd completed one of two objectives for this trip to Coruscant: that being to speak with Sorben Tarnus about the possible dangers lurking in the Sith worlds. But there remained the matter of one little baby girl, one little baby girl whose mother thought that she was dead...

...and who was somewhere here or on Coruscant, in Imperial hands.

Shayla wasn't heartless, not by a long shot. She knew she'd have to draw a line right here, a line between keeping in the good graces of a possible ally or possibly bringing some joy back to someone who had suffered much heartache...

Shayla knew something of what it was to believe you'd lost your child. The line was drawn HERE. Too many people were so damned concerned about politics to see the small things that really mattered...

Shayla waited until they reached a corridor of the Star destroyer with a very low population. Then, quietly and rather effortlessly, Shayla reached out with those Force powers she posessed to the two orderlies, stretching out into their limbic systems in much the same manner as she had done with Galen on Sullust. Almost immediately the two fell in unconsciousness to the floor, and Shayla masked her presence in the Force, slipping into the corner of a corridor and waiting til a conveniently short TIE pilot walked by her, probably just getting off-shift. He’d just taken off his headgear when he too fell limp to the ground, suddenly unconscious once again via Shayla’s powers in the Force. Shayla dragged the TIE-pilot into an empty cargo room nearby, appropriated his pilotsuit and Imperial ID, and then hurried for the main docking bay and claimed a TIE under the said pilot’s ID. The moment she got inside the fighter and warmed her engines, Shayla was off into the skies, her mind set with a determination of steel to accomplish her intended goal...

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

Then again, it really hadn't been so much the fact that Ms. Kartan had tried to slip those orderlies the proverbial jedi-mickey, stolen a TIE and run away, for indeed I had expected this. It was rather that I had wanted to be wrong in my hunch about her, but had only been proven right in my assessment. Again, another reason that the orderlies got off as cleanly as they had in the matter... and why my anger was growing in leaps and bounds.

I entered the hangar bay to the sound of feet hitting the deck. The Officer on Deck rushed up, handing me departure papers and assuring me the vector was laid in practically to my landing pad back in Imperial City. I just waved him off, and continued heading toward Ransacker when footsteps sounded behind me and a hand fell on my shoulder.

It was Captain Sarantogo.

"Sir--" he began in an urgent whisper, then moved closer and murmured in a low tone of voice. He then pulled back, standing rigidly at attention while I contemplated what he had just told me. The only indication of my changing mood was the one gloved hand which suddenly clenched into a fist of steel against my leg, and remained that way. Obviously my mood change was not for the better.

I nodded briskly toward him, pinning his eyes through my darkened lenses. While he couldn't have caught the actual look, he certainly did the intent.

"Yes sir," he said, snapping to a stiff attention and saluting smartly. "You can count on it."

He remained thus even after I returned the salute, turning then and closing the distance to my ship. Moments later I was in space, and not too much longer after that landing in Imperial City. My usual private transport carried me to Command Headquarters, where I marched to the CC, still seeing red.

What I saw when I entered at first didn't lighten my mood. The other hand clenched when I saw Darra sitting on Ensign Edgar's lap, reaching out to play with the various buttons and dials on the console in front of him.

Then I reconsidered, and relaxed. I drew up, lifting my head, my voice ringing out into the command center and sending everyone to their feet.

"Ensign!" I barked, then remained silent. He leaped to attention, a difficult enough feat in itself since he was still holding Darra in his arms. I nodded to him.

"Bring her and come with me!"

I then led the way to my ready room and sat down, waiting for him to enter.

[b]FROM ENSIGN EDGAR:[/i]

posted 03-03-2003 01:31 AM
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Although accustom to standing at attention with one hand, or two for that matter, occupied... a babe was an entirely different matter...
Now, cupping the baby with both arms, Edgar entered the ready room post-haste...

He came behind a chair, instinctively fell into the position of attention and waited...

[ 04-14-2003 11:22 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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"Stand at ease, trooper," I said, and was rewarded by him loosening his stance by a few degrees. He never lost that ship-shape look about him, nor did he lose his hold on my daughter. Darra didn't seem to mind being with him; quite the contrary, judging by the manner in which she kept reaching out to grasp the lip of his cover in her tiny fingers, or slapped her pudgy hands over and over upon his face.

He didn't so much as bat an eye... and I really liked the look that came into them when she did that. So I got right to the point.

"As of this moment you are hereby promoted in rank to full lieutenant. Furthermore, having gained this rank by the expression of ability of duty and going beyond it, I have decided to assign you as my personal aide."

I paused a moment, studying him. He stiffened to attention again, his eyes lightening up, but didn't go any farther than that, other than a properly delivered, "Sir!"

I leaned forward then, breaking out of military mode for just a fraction of a moment.

"Lieutenant," I began. "Your first duty, and your foremost one, will be seeing to the continued safety and welfare of my daughter. There are certain... factions with whom the Empire must deal, and who, I fear, are trying to take her from us. While the possibility of them actually succeeding in this is really remote, as an added precaution I want you to be in full charge of overseeing my daughter's safety, every moment of the day. And of course, in the course of that day, I may be calling on you to assist in other duties such as an aide might be expected to carry out.

"Is this understood, Lieutenant?"

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

"So let me get this straightyuo had a dream about some girl yelling at you with pain and you think its a relative of yours" Ruhatt asked Jebbua.

"Yes, maybe my sister" He answered back.

Ruthan looked at the countdown and when it reached zero he pulled back the hyperspace levers. he stared out into real space looking at Coracasant and waited on traffic control to answer him.

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

And so it was that he merely blinked calmly when an ensign turned to him from his position with a barely controlled look of excitement on his fresh, young face.

"Sir!" he had said, a touch less than breathlessly. "Unidentified vessel approaching, mark zero-two-zero-zero-one, Sir!"

Major Katarr gave the ensign a look that merely asked why, then approached him in a languid manner and stopped behind him. The ensign shifted to the side so his superior officer's line of sight to the console was not impeded. There upon his screen, amidst Imperial characters and gridlines, a little red light flashed.

Major Katarr nodded, and touched a control.

"This is Catalytic to unidentified vessel. You are entering Imperial blockaded space. Stand down and identify yourself, please, and your business in being here."

He fell silent then, waiting, one finger lifting to idly scratch his nose as he did so. He was about to repeat the hail when another light began blinking, signalling an incoming message from CHQ. Without giving much thought he flipped open a secondary channel, still waiting for the unidentified vessel to explain herself.

"This is Command Headquarters," a sharp-looking lieutenant was now saying. Major Katarr turned his head, quietly listening to what the message might contain. "As of time mark immediate we are implementing blockade lockdown. No vessels are to be allowed entry to or egress from Coruscant, per the orders of Lt. Gen. Tarnus. Imperial vessel entry per his direct perusal. Repeat, as of time mark immediate we are implementing blockade lockdown. No vessels --"

Major Katarr merely nodded, acknowledged the incoming order, and closed the connection. He then turned back to the other ship, waiting for her to identify herself before he sent her merrily on her way.

[ 03-03-2003 11:12 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by The Empire ]

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

The Sith warship slid smoothly into realspace a ways from the Coruscant blockade, just far enough to be at a safe distance while at the same time near enough for everything to be somewhat in sight. In the cockpit, Erik Kartan stretched out in the Force to grab that sense that was Shayla...

...only to be alarmed with the fact he couldn't sense her at all. He frowned blackly at this, worry niggling at the edges of his mind. Granted there were many possible explanations for this sudden disappearance, but the fact that the last time Erik Kartan had sensed his wife had been when she was speaking with the Imperials, now only for her to disappear from the Force, had certain...

...implications...

...and ones which Erik didn't particularly like.

He slapped the commlink, opening a general and unsecured frequency. "This is Erik Kartan," he said into the comm, "I'm returning to retrieve my wife--

--who came to you willingly and in complete honesty--!

--and would like to speak with someone who can help me find her."

At that Erik fell silent and waited, a disturbing tremor in the Force eating at him all the while.

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

"Belay that, Major!" he said sternly, placing a hand on Katarr's arm and halting him before he could actually speak the words which trembled upon his lips. He signaled to the ensign, who much to the young officer's own surprise managed to stifle his growing wonder enough to turn without hesitation, closing the channel entirely.

Commander Sarantogo straightened, piercing the Officer on Deck with meaningful look.

"Orders from the Lt. General," he said in brief explanation; then he glanced quickly around the bridge.

"Maintain silence," he barked succinctly, before turning back to the Major, who was standing at calm attention although undoubtedly curious as to what new developments were in the works. Sarantogo merely nodded to him.

"Come with me," he said briefly, turning then and heading to his ready room. "We have much to talk about."

With that he said no more, but left the bridge, trailing Major Katarr in his wake. Behind him the young ensign blinked, then sat back at his station, his eyes glued to his screen and the little red light which flashed steadily upon it there.

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

I returned my gaze quickly to Edgar.

"If you would be so good as to see to Darra's needs for the moment, Lieutenant," I said, rising halfway from my seat, my hands splayed on the table in front of me. The newly appointed Lt. Edgar jerked to attention, freed an arm, saluted despite Darra's efforts to grab at that arm, pivoted smartly and departed. The door closed behind him with a barely perceptible whoosh, cutting me off from the rest of CC and allowing me the absolute privacy I needed.

I quietly reached up, removing my helmet and laying it on the table top in front of me. Then I pressed a particular button, and the miniature screen brightened into sudden life, showing the features of a very familiar person I hadn't seen in, oh, quite some time now.

I smiled like a nexu knowing the world where this person was calling from was now among the ranks of those underneath an Imperial blockade, and this one entirely crewed by the most loyal of the Reborn.

"Well, we haven't spoken to each other for awhile now, old friend," I began, leaning back in my seat with a creak of my armor. The fact that he wasn't in any mood to be speaking thus to me now was clearly evident on his face, and my smile became even broader, even more toothy at his expression.

"Perhaps you'd like to discuss terms which might, ahhh... set you free from Imperial blockade?"

He scowled, actually looking down for a moment as if in contemplation. But when he raised his eyes, it was with a certain bit of defeat shining sadly from them.

I put aside all feelings in the matter and pressed him with my demands. Needless to say, he acquiesced.

In under an hour I was aboard a deep-space high velocity shuttle, complete with full escort, arrowing my way to my destination. At the speed in which I was travelling, I'd be there in less than six standard hours....

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

I arrived at my destination, where the shuttle was allowed smooth entry into the atmosphere, and then provided with landing coordinates for the Tavlorean Guild's private pad. The shuttle had scarcely landed, steam vents hissing as she began bleeding excess heat from her systems, when her hatch popped open and I strode down and onto the tarmac, completely armored, a monstrous Reborn bodyguard hulking beside me.

Seus was waiting there, looking as though he wanted to eat me alive... and knowing damned well he just couldn't. I knew fully that the thought was racing about his head as to when a more appropriate opportunity would arise for just that; smiling, I raised a hand to him.

"Ah-ah-ah, my friend," I tsked, grinning darkly behind my visor. "Such thoughts do not speak well of the... good times we've had together here."

He opened his mouth to answer, but closed it when I waved dismissively at him. Now my tone darkened to match my lenses.

"Where is she?" I grunted.

He stifled a glare, then turned and led me to a transport. Soon we were wisked away to another area of the Tavlorean Guild's landing sites, to where our hangars were maintained. The transport smoothly came to a halt, spilling us out on the tarmac like ants. I let Seus precede me, and followed him into a hanger.

There she sat as she had when she was brought here, completely untouched. For if there was one thing I could tell by Seus' haunted look, it was the fact that in the year that "Jester II" had been docked here, no one had been able to figure out what made her tick... not even to so much as open the hatch.

I however, had an ace up my sleeve... and it had gamin brown eyes and hair the color of a Tatooine sunset. I grunted with satisfaction, and began striding toward the enigmatic little fighter. Beside me, Hulk followed, maintaining silence although I could literally feel the wonder and curiosity falling from him in waves.

Coming to a particular spot I placed my hand on Jester's weird skin... just so, and was rewarded when her hatch promptly opened, allowing entry. Hulk shot me a look, and proceeded inside, to make certain whatever gremlins might be lurking therein would obligingly die at his touch, all to secure my safety.

Now I was grinning fully as I turned back to Seus.

"Thank you so much, old friend," I said smoothly... then raised my arm and shot my needler. Seconds later, he was out like a light on the tarmac.

I strode aboard the Sith fighter.

"You can keep the transport, friend; after all, fair is fair."

I then settled down in the pilot's chair, took a few moments to refamiliarize myself with the alien controls, then fired the baby up.

The hangar disappeared around us as a particularly greeny-golden colored light touched it... and we were airborne. Seconds later, we were in free space, and finally released into the corridors of hyperspace. Behind us the very much still active Imperial ships went about their usual business of maintaining their blockade around the guild world of the bounty hunters.

[ 03-03-2003 03:41 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Sorben Tarnus ]

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Jester II came gliding down to a feather-light landing on the CC landing pad, and proceeded to sit in utter silence. After popping the hatch I strode down to the tarmac, there to be received by a small knot of the best engineers the Empire could produce. While the bounty hunters were no slouches in finagling how things worked, and with coming up with the occasional device to help them in their chosen profession, they were not Reborn. I knew these guys had more than highly boosted darkside abilities; they all had an intelligence equally boosted.

To a one, their eyes glittered hungrily as I motioned to the ship.

"Whatever you do, don't disassemble her," I said evenly, turning my visor from one to the other. "But figure out what makes her tick. I want a full report on my desk in no less than 48 hours, as well as an estimate as to when you might expect the first squadron of these fighters to be off our assembly lines."

The head engineer turned to me and bowed his head, the look in his eye promising me 24 hours, tops. I grinned to myself, turned, and proceeded to head to CC, there to find Lt. Edgar and visit for a bit with my daughter.

[ 03-03-2003 03:43 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Sorben Tarnus ]

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The journey from Sullust was exhausting. Switching transports all over the Outer Rim to get smuggled illegally to the inner systems was tough, but Romanus was finally able to hitch a ride to Coruscant. Being a stowaway in a crate of a cargo ship was actually more relaxing than he thought. A little bumpy at first, with the repeated stops to get scanned by Imperial ships, but nonetheless a smooth ride on the Imperial cargo transport. Yet, Romanus still felt uncomfortable...as if something else on the blockade was scanning the ship as well...

When they landed, Romanus opened the crate from the inside and snuck off the ship. Almost immediately he entered the spaceport, he felt as though he had been surrounded by Jedi. The feeling caused him to feel detached...almost isolated from the world.

Must be the Reborn... he thought, a near disgusted look on his face. He did his best to mask his presence at the port
but against so many minds, he would be stopped eventually. It was intense security, and the guards always noticing a "ghost" being where Romanus was didn't help either.

Romanus was finally able to exit the spaceport's interior and was heading outside to get to a speeder when six men, clad in black suits, approached him. Alarms went off in his head, and his stomach began to feel as if something was twisting it.

Without being told to do so, Romanus stopped in his tracks and waited as the Reborn walked up to him. They gather round him in a half-circle.

He could still feel them probing his mind, trying to figure out what he was and what he was doing here. It was tough blocking them, causing sweatdrops to appear on his head, but he managed to hold them back.
Rookies... he thought.

One of the Reborn, probably their leader, stepped forward and held his hand out.

"Identification." he said simply.

Romanus smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Ah, I'm kinda late for work, y'know. I don't think I have time..."

"You're not wearing an Imperial uniform, Jedi, and you're not one of us. Identification, now! I won't ask again."

Romanus glared at him, pulled a small, gray datapad out of his pocket and handed it to him. The Reborn looked it over carefully...

Minutes passed, and aside from the general city noises, no sound was made from the group. Finally, the Reborn returned his look to Romanus.

"Jedi-in-training? I was unaware they were on Coruscant." he said finally. Romanus reached over and took his ID back.

"Unlike you," he began to reply, pocketing the pad,"Some of us don't want to take a shortcut to the ways of the Sith. Now if your done hacking into my datapad, I'd like to go now."

The Reborn backed away from him and broke the half-circle. As Romanus walked towards a speeder, he heard their leader shout at him. "We'll be watching you!"
Later...

The speeder took Romanus to his hotel...a colossal building, practically a tower, that almost touched the clouds...

After ignoring the driver's request for his fee, Romanus rode in the lift to his apartment, which was somewhere in the middle area of the hotel.

He reached his apartment, opened it up to the same expensive, spotless room he had been living in for over a year. Romanus didn't bother turning on the lights, but before finally getting some rest, he had some work to finish up.

Romanus took a seat near his terminal, switched it on, and entered the code needed to gain access to Imperial communications. These weren't public channels; local garrisons could care less what was going on with the citizens they were suppose to be protecting.

Nonetheless, the communications officer that picked up the transmission still had a shocked look on his face as he failed to recognize the voice.

"Sorry to interrupt your duties, officer," Romanus said into the terminal, his voice carrying to wherever the officer was. "I have to speak to one Lieutenant Auldron..."

"Who are you, and why are you breaking into secured lines?" he demanded. Romanus frowned as he responded.

"I'm a 'special'. Y'know, special people with special jobs. Your officer hired me to eliminate a fugitive defector and gave me this code so I could contact him."

There was silence on the other end. Finally, the officer spoke up. "Hold on, sir, we have to verify this..."

Take your time...I've only been awake for twenty hours straight...

After awhile, his voice returned. "We found the contract...Romanus, right?"

"Aye."

"Ah, good. Unfortunately, Lieutenant Auldron is unavailable."

Romanus tightened his right hand into a fist. "What...what do you mean 'unavailable'?"

"His ship was sent for some sort of emergency to Tattooine a few days ago. We haven't heard from the ship's captain since..."

He leaned back in his chair, and wiped his eyes out of frustration. "Alright, fine. Patch me to the closest, high-ranking officer..."

[ 03-03-2003 07:03 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Romanus ]

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

"this is the Luthan's quest with Ruhatt speaking."Ruhatt said holding a control on the panel.

He let go of the button and looked at Jebbua.

"what should we say about are business?" Ruhatt asked him.
"Tell them we are he to find a contact. You know who." Jebbua said.
"Ok." Ruhatt said.

he pushed and holded the button again and said."We are here to find a contact. Some one by the name Sorben Tarnus."

he released the button and looked at Jebbua.

"I sure hope this works."

"well if you checked everything right on the records at Sullest it should." Jebbua replied.

Ruhatt looked out the viewport hoping they would still let them in.

[ 03-04-2003 12:46 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Ruhatt Luthan ]

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

...and something else had also come to her attention as the hours ticked by: no one had come after her. Granted, a standard Imperial star destroyer didn’t have a tractor beam, but there were always ways...

That landed Shayla to a particular conclusion: A trap was being set for her.

She sat back in the interior of her fighter and thought about this, as well as she considered all that had transpired back on the Catalytic. Only then did it occur to her how covert Tarnus had been about many things...

...and yet he’d ended by telling her exactly where his daughter was, knowing full well that Shayla was hoping to return the baby to her mother...?

This was too easy. It was way too easy...

...and perhaps maybe Shayla had misjudged the former bounty-hunter in his intent. After all, she had been involved heavily in the Sith, and had suddenly popped up claiming she no longer knew if she trusted them, yet still wanting to take his daughter. She knew that would look very susupicious if she actually succeeded in taking the baby, especially considering trust was at stake here...

About this time, the Imperial blockade began to open, and Shayla followed suit, still blending in as she pondered just what she was going to do next. The sight that played before her made her gasp.

A sith fighter...headed for Coruscant...?!

To say she had a bad feeling about this would be an understatement. Shayla didn’t sense any familiar presences in that fighter, but she was still keenly aware that the only two fighters she knew of had been on Sith worlds.

This was not looking good, and if anything Shayla wanted to know what was going on. But that required getting through the blockade, and requesting permission to land...

No turning back now. With all the dark bruhaha flying around here, Shayla had to at least analyze the situation. She’d figure out if she was really making the best decision regarding the baby later...

Flipping a general comm frequency open then, making sure the transmission was distorted so that her voice could not be identified, Shayla submitted her “borrowed” Imperial ID and requested permission to land, playing a bit of a Jedi mind-trick on the controller as she did so...

[ 03-04-2003 11:06 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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"This is Erik Kartan," he said into the comm for the millionth time, "I want to speak with someone who can confirm the whereabouts of my wife, Shayla Stargazer-Kartan" he growled.

Then he took up pacing the deck as he had been during the past few hours of what appeared to be comm silence. He was so wound up in his worry and concern and pure anger that he almost missed the sight of a Sith fighter flying by.

But he was an information smuggler, and info smugglers rarely missed anything. He froze in place, and looked wide-eyed at the viewport, blinking occasionally as if not believing his eyes.

But then, he didn't believe them. And now every hair on the back of his neck was inexplicably standing on end, even more so than it had been the past few hours. For it was about this time he picked up the first little niggle that seemed like Shayla. It was there...

...but then in an instant it was gone again.

He reached for the comm once more, and slammed down the send sigil again, this time pursing his lips thoughtfully before he sent his next transmission. "This is Erik Kartan," he started once more, "I want to speak with someone immediately about the whereabouts...and if necessary, release of my wife..."

What the hell was going on...

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Two only.

"All non-Imperial ships are denied access to Coruscant at this time. Your signatures are being retained for future recognition should you choose to come back later. We apologize for the inconvenience this might cause you. Depart immediately, or your presence here shall be considered a hostile one, and you will be fired upon. Repeat: depart immediately, or your presence here shall be considered a hostile one, and you will be fired upon.

"TIE: you shall stand by."

He hit the transmit button, sending the message to the two recognizable ships. To the unidentifiable one, however, he continued to maintain strict communication silence.

The ensign turned in his seat even as Major Katarr straightened up from his transmission. "Sir," he broached the silence. "That TIE is our own, sir. There are no orders for it to have departed Catalytic; shall I forward this on to General Tarnus? And sir--

"I still can't seem to find the origins of that other ship. It doesn't seem to be in our library."

Katarr frowned as he turned to him.

Ludicrous! he thought to himself. Our library has expanded to the nearly infinite, what with the appropriation of the Jedi Library on Coruscant! What kind of ship could exist that even they wouldn't know about?

"Bring up what ship specifications that you can, Ensign," he ordered, coming over to peer over his shoulder at the screen. The ensign nodded, turning back to the task, sending information scrolling across the display in front of me.

Major Katarr's eyes only widened in sudden recognition. He kept his mouth closed, however, per General Tarnus's strict orders.

This crew has enough to keep under their hats. No need adding more fuel to a fire which would perhaps try to consume them....

"Thank you, Ensign," he finally said. "You may transmit the information of the TIE to General Tarnus."

Then he returned to the communications console. There he stood watching the blips hovering on the grid, waiting to see how they would respond to his reply... or lack thereof.

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

So she hadn't left us yet....

Behind my helmet my eyes cut up to meet Edgar's. He was standing at semi-formal attention, finally relieved of the slight "burden" of my daughter. She in turn was happily gabbling about at my feet; I could feel her quick little pats and pawings even through the stiffened material of my pant's leg.

Finally I sighed.

"Lieutenant, there is much we have to speak of," I finally said, nodding with meaning toward the now-dark communications screen. "Much you need to know if you are to be able to fully implement your new duties as they have been given to you."

And that step over the line once drawn begins now....

Before he could so much as return my words with his usual "Yes, Sir!" I reached up and removed my helmet, revealing my features to him for the very first time. Leaning forward now and clasping my hands on the desktop, I proceeded to debrief him of everything I knew of the Sith, of Ms. Kartan's entanglement with them, of that of my ex-wife...

...as well as that of my daughter.

He stood mutely in the wake of that debriefing, as though trying to assemble the right words to say. I granted him the time he needed, now flicking open the comm to transmit back to the Catalytic.

"Voice recognition on that TIE?" I asked simply, even though I knew fully it was Ms. Kartan piloting it... just as I knew exactly what kind of ship was hovering at the extremes of our sensor range. The answer was swift:

"Unable to fully identify."

I pondered a moment, then answered with a rather vague, "Catalytic, stand by." I then turned to my new aide.

"Your thoughts on this, Lieutenant?" I asked him, settling back in my seat and lacing my fingers together on my lap.

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No ships. What! now what are we going to do. I thought.

"Well, now what?" Ruhatt asked me.

"I don't know... lets back up out of firing range of those stardestroyers and just wait I guess." I replied.

He acknowledged my order and brought the ship back out of firing range and waited.

This is not our day I thought.

FROM ENSIGN EDGAR:

posted 03-04-2003 02:35 PM
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"Code 13-A, when voice recognition is not verified... they are to be treated with extreme prejudice... Sir!" Edgar sited the regulation, as if the code book were a second bible to him...

[ 04-14-2003 11:25 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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I paused now, shifting in my seat, steepling my fingers against my lips as I tilted my head a bit to one side in consideration.

"Our book seems to have something of an addendum, lieutenant," I went on through my fingers, then lowered them and relaced by hands on my stomach once more. "Regulations serve well for the immediacy of the moment; we, however, have been granted something of greater knowledge regarding this TIE than what its apparent image would have us believe.

"Your thoughts?"

I quieted, narrowing my eyes then as I regarded Lt. Edgar; the question of whether I perhaps had misjudged this young officers capabilities now niggling quietly in the back of my mind.

FROM ENSIGN EDGAR;

posted 03-04-2003 03:23 PM
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Edgar was happily surprised...
As regulations dictate, Junior officers are to quote regulations only...

But...

He was no longer a junior officer, and his opinion did count for something...

It was a stretch for a Lt. to give advice to an officer of such rank as Lt. General...

But...

Edgar couldn't help but love it...

"I suggest a preemptive strike, Sir, eliminate the ongoing threat to your daughter... I shall do everything in my power to protect her, as well... Sir!"

He quieted, waiting...

[ 04-14-2003 11:27 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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"Indeed, this would seem to be the first best way to eliminate an immediate threat, lieutenant," I agreed, shifting in my seat. I leaned forward then, suddenly earnest.

"However, we have no real clue as to how deeply Ms. Kartan is associated with the Sith, and that I find of greater concern than just her appearance here. If they are behind her being here, attacking her could be seen as an act of war... and one in which we are not quite... ready to engage in.

"No, lieutenant," I rose to my feet, tempering the words with a small smile. "In this case the continued front we are now presenting is the best road to travel upon; there is a large Sith ship in the extreme edge of our sensors, and from that warship she has come. Her husband is aboard it, and has been hailing us steadily for several hours now. She has a place to return to; I think the exchange of a mere TIE for the maintenance of the current status quo is indeed a fair trade, don't you agree?"

Nodding to him for his input, for indeed it was appreciated--

He could only improve over time, this I felt certain of....

--I flicked the channel open to Catalytic once again.

"Entry into Coruscant space is denied the TIE," I said smoothly. "You may inform Ms. Kartan that she had the opportunity to discuss fully and openly what she came here for, and at that time apparently neglected in being entirely honest with me. If she delays in her departure, then you may fire a warning prompt across her bow.

"Lt. General Tarnus, out."

I flicked off the comm, settling back once again and shooting the lieutenant a little look, my eyebrow quirked, complete in the knowledge that even as I did the Catalytic was obeying my orders to the letter.

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

They never took this long to answer back! Maybe I need to charge them extra...

Romanus grimaced at the monitor, running low on his already strained patience.

Whatever their doing better be worth this.

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"Access to Coruscant is denied. Lt. General Tarnus sends word that you had the opportunity to discuss fully and openly what you came here for, and at that time apparently neglected in being entirely honest. Divert from your present course immediately, or you will be fired upon."

Shayla frowned even more darkly.

What the hell else does he really think I am here for? I told him everything...

...EVERYTHING!!!

Damn Imperials...

Still, Shayla obeyed the comm. She backed off from the blockade, opened herself up to the Force to quest out for her husband...

...and found him right in the vicinity.

Good timing. Hope he isn't too worried...

With that she simply turned towards the warship, sent a signal that she was coming aboard, and that they needed to get to Chandrilla...

...and fast.

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