"The transmission was sent successfully, with no detection," was all Garrison said, still standing at attention.

Aaron smiled at this, then waved the man to sit at the desk chair in front of him. "You can relax, Taylor," Aaron said.

Taylor did so with some effort, and sat in front of Aaron. Only then did Aaron comment on his report. "I trust Pallaeon notified you that he did indeed recieve the warning?"

Taylor nodded. "His fleet is safe. And probably in the last place anyone would look for it, for that matter."

Aaron nodded, satisfied. "And what of the overlay technology?"

"Ready for usage, sir. Now that we have the correct emissions signature for the Hornett, we can at any time make any ship send off emissions that would clearly identify it as the Hornett. Several of our ships now have the technology, and are only awaiting the point when using it might become necessary."

"Very good. And EE headquarters?"

"Safely relocated, also in the last place anyone would look for it. The Eagle has flown the coop successfully.

Again, Aaron nodded, his eyes defocusing as he thought. Then, "So we will wait here in the Maw and see what happens. For the moment, no overlay technology should be used; I don't want anyone suspicious. Sitting in the Maw, meanwhile, will allow us to keep track of any approaching ships since no one can hyper to us in such an area. They'd have to revert and travel via realspace. And anyone using cloak would be noticed with the ghost trail technology.

And I sincerely hope Pallaeon is ready for whatever might happen next. This could get ugly."

"I thought we had to discontinue communication with any of our contacts, Captain," the assistant said in confusion.

"That was the agreement," Aaron confirmed. "However I'm not one who appreciates the art of turning on true allies. I don't believe Actar will be as kind to Pallaeon and our other allies as he was to us."

"What about the treaty?" the young man asked.

Aaron looked him dead in the eye, a glimmer of amusement somewhere in the depths of his own eyes. "There is something you'll learn about this business my young assistant, and that is this: Never trust a scoundrel." Aaron paused for a moment, then leaned forward, whispering to the younger man, "I lied. And if the truth was known, our Admiral friend did just the same. We'll know in time, because Actar missed something small but very important. He asked me who my allies were. What he didn't ask was if Pallaeon has allies of his own."

With that he sat back again, as though nothing that might be construed as treachery had ever been stated. Taylor smartly followed suit and nodded, standing almost in tandem with Aaron.

Aaron issued one final directive to his assistant before departing from his office. "Return to the main command center and keep an eye on things. I will be there shortly, however there is someone in the medcenter I owe a visit to..."

[ 08-12-2002 11:30 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]

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However, Aaron knew the mental wounds remained.

He frowned at that, approaching the other man quietly.

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. Too many good guys had been subject to terrible whims of Fate recently.

It's a wonder anyone decided to continue on living. The only things that seemed to be worth it were those moments of sheer joy that interrupted all the sorrow...

Aaron placed a hand on his shoulder and considered how to word his next statement so that it wouldn't come across as meaningless. Then, he spoke up softly. "Cella's body has been tended to, so that she may have a funeral among some of those who cared about her," he said simply

Aaron then paused. He was not looking forward to what needed to be said next at all, for he knew only how much more it would hurt Yaoksi. Sitting down, he sighed. "The medics...believe it will be some time before Naisra'len recovers from her wounds," he started as carefully as he could. "We're about to step into a war here, my friend, and I think for both her safety and continued healing it'd be best if she was taken back to her home planet of Ryloth, til she has come to herself again.

"Should you wish to take her there yourself, the medics have deemed you perfectly capable to depart from here to do that. You may take any ship you wish to; though your own Devil-May-Care is fully repaired and operational."

Again Aaron quieted, his look reading empathy.

No one deserves to go through this...

Then he thought to add, "I don't know what your plans are after your journey to Ryloth, but please know that we could most certainly use you and your engineer here--your skills are hard to come by. The Galaxy's in turmoil all around, and I'm afraid if someone doesn't take a stand the turmoil might just swallow us all whole. Please know that we'd be more than happy to have you, at any time."

Sending a meaningful look into Captain Joao's universe-weary eyes, Aaron let that final rejoinder sink in. Then he stood, motioning for Yaoksi to follow, not at all pleased to lead him to the sights he knew he must...

[ 08-12-2002 10:05 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]

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Tyberius sat in his quarters, pondering his next move... He knew something was wrong, Lo-Ban was taking too long...

The Universe was his, there was virtually no one left... after so many years of war, there was simply no one left...

Tyberius sent his order to the bridge, to make a time warp...

The ship headed for the Kessel system, and the maw, which is actually a time portal... but with out the correct technology, it was as useless as a... black hole...

The Endeavor glided threw the maw like a hot knife threw butter...

Present day...

The Endeavor came out of the maw, and headed toward Tattooine...

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My Characters: Rathal, Narcolm, Freedon Naad

--where I had sat in lonely vigil beside her stiffening body, waiting for the arrival of the funerary droids, a small part of me wondering what in Fates was taking them so long, was something going on...? Then they had come and taken her with only a respectful, "Excuse me, Sir," to act as her epitaph.--

And trying my damnedest not to think of Nassy. How she looked laying so still and pale upon her med-bed, the bandages on her beautiful and once so sinuously alive lekku a mute testimony to the pain and suffering she had probably gone through at the claws of that, that...

Once again the images replayed in my mind, once again my inner ear heard Nassy's cries of sheer torture as those lekku were nearly torn from her head. I shuddered again, aching to take that pain from her, to somehow go back in time and prevent her from being hurt, to take that pain upon myself in her stead.

But you did, didn't you, buddy? a small voice tried to point out. You tried your damnedest, and you have the wound to show for it. That-- thing --whatever it was, was just too blindingly fast. You tried, dammit!... but the long and the short of it is that you both were attacked, only you're the one to be sitting here thinking all this, while she...

...while she....

I jerked again, not liking where my thoughts were taking me at all. Tried to blank them out by giving grief free rein, but that only served as opening a doorway into my psyche. The persistant thought rode in on the back of that grief like a Tusken Raider on his bantha.

You're feeling awful not because she might very well die...

...but because you, buddy, managed to slip through death's fingers once again. It should be you still laying on that med-bed....

Having finally faced that particularly insidious dianoga of my subconscious brought my awareness skittering defensively back to reality. Now Captain Barne's words began to finally sink in.

I looked up at him with a start. Affixed my eyes to his, leaching strength from his obvious empathy.

"If anyone's going to take my gunner back to Ryloth, it's going to be me," I asserted, a sudden determination beginning to jell inside me. "And, please excuse any implications concerning the reliability of the craft this vessal holds--"

Now I spread my one hand out to the side, to indicate the entirety of the great Eclipse-class SSD which had given us haven.

"--but I'd prefer Devil-May-Care and my engineer, if you don't mind.

"And as for after I take Nassy home..."

I paused again as a brief stab of pain arrowed into me. How I had thought my ship would become her home... no, our home.... I clenched my jaws a bit before I could continue.

"As I don't seem to have anything else pressing at the moment, and until I hear from Captain Danner, I really have no other plans lined up. I'd be happy to take you up on your offer to stay with Hornett, that is, if my engineer will comply to that offer as well.

"Can't see the ol Cricket turning down the chance to hang around this baby's engines, though...."

[ 08-17-2002 02:19 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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"Allright, you go take care of your gunner. And if you need anything, give me a comm."

Aaron paused at that, considering all that Yaoksi had said. I'd like to hear from Captain Danner myself, popped up a little black thought. His mind skittered away from that thought like a paranoid Nek, and he jerked his eyes back to Yaoksi. "If I hear anything from Terrin, I'll let him know you are still sticking around. It'll mean alot to him and Galen..."

...maybe moreso than you know, in light of all that has occurred...

"...and I could definitely use a commrade in arms myself. But for now--may the speed and protection of the gods go with you, my friend..."

[ 08-17-2002 03:35 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]

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He adjusted his belt, he had found two standard blasters among his salvedged property and had replaced his oversized gun with them. The thing he had aquired on Kashyyk was now comfortably laying in his duffle bag. The result of this was that his belt was much heavier and felt aqward. He rounded the corner and headed into Aaron's office ignoring his secrataries frantic protests. Aaron looked up from whatever he had been doing but Rathal didn't wait to hear what he had to say for fear that any delay might cause his courage to give out and he might run tail between his legs back to his room. He strode up to the man's desk and demanded, his voice lacking the athority he would have liked it to have, "I want to know whats going on."

he immediatly regretted saying it like that but whats done was done. He said a prayer in his head.

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My Characters: Rathal, Narcolm, Freedon Naad

Kriffing Hell...

He let the surprise fade from his features, and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms and quietly regarding the man named Jovonar Rathal.

Granted, the man had lead them to Galen, but that didn't mean he could be trusted. Not entirely. Aaron wanted to know what exactly Rathal was seeking answers for before he would budge.

"What exactly are you concerned about?" he asked, waiting to see what else Rathal might have to say before he decided whether or not to divulge anything.

[ 08-17-2002 07:19 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]

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"I want to know exactly what your getting me into," he snapped.

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My Characters: Rathal, Narcolm, Freedon Naad

What was wrong with this Laserbrain? Had he no respect?! Didn't he trust his employers...

Aaron paused and frowned at that. Buddy, how's he gonna trust his employers if you don't trust him?

Aaron didn't let a lick of this realization show on his face, however. He simply stood, meeting Rathal's glare with his own. "Allright, I'll tell you. But if I do and you bail out on us...

...well, I'll simply have to kill you."

Aaron waited for Rathal's response to this. By the look on his face, no one could ever tell if he was kidding...or completely serious.

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My Characters: Rathal, Narcolm, Freedon Naad

You're the employer. You don't HAVE to trust your employees. In fact, it would serve you best not to do so.

"On second thought I think I'll simply have to kill you," Aaron replied, eyeing Rathal suspiciously.

And with that he stood, his hand now falling to his own blaster. "You might wanna recosider your tone, and whether you'd like to keep your job or not, my friend."

[ 08-21-2002 01:10 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Mara1Jade ]

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My Characters: Rathal, Narcolm, Freedon Naad

Maybe he was just overly suspicious after dealings with Actar, but he suddenly had the unnerving feeling this Rathal guy could be a spy. After all, how exactly did he know where Galen was? Sure, he said he knew where Tarnus was taking her, but didn't exactly explain how he'd ended up coming into contact with someone as shady as Tarnus, who appeared to be working for Actar himself.

Aaron suddenly got an idea. Feed the guy some false info...see what he does with it, or IF he does anything with it. And pay attention to how he reacts to any info as well...

"All I'll tell you is that we're about to make an deal with an Ithorian politician to assist in the continuation of the planet's refurbishing from the damage of the Vong occupation..."

[ 08-21-2002 12:44 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]

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"I'm sorry for wasting your time, sir," Rathal replied, suddenly very respectful, "please pardon my intrusion. The rumors I had heard about what was going on have proven entirely unfounded. Sorry." he looked somewhat sheepish and then turned to go.

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My Characters: Rathal, Narcolm, Freedon Naad

And why the heck would a spy come straight to the top to find out what was going on? Then again, if his aim was to appear that there was no possibility he could be a spy, Jovonar Rathal was doing a pretty good job of it.

One thing was for sure, if the guy was really a spy, Aaron didn't want him on his crew. But then, every reason he had to believe that he was was circumstantial. Still, something really did need to be done to assess the true possibility. And something needed to be done quickly. With everything that had happened with Actar, the LAST thing Aaron needed was a nose on board the Hornett.

Aaron leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, mulling over an idea. He had been intending to leave the Hornett for a short mission to find a Major Carlos Davidov who, by Aaron's last reports, had been stirring up some trouble for the New Empire on planets like Endor and Corellia. Aaron thought he could use a contact like that, and would hate to leave someone whom he thought was a spy on his main ship while he was away.

He could always explain the objective of his mission a bit differently and take Jovonar Rathal with him. This way, Rathal would be right under his thumb, and at least couldn't do any damage. And perhaps his bounty hunter skills could be put to use...

Smiling at this thought, Aaron sat forward and hit a comm button on his office desk. His secretary answered. "A man named Jovonar Rathal just left my office. Please stop him and have him return here immediately, will you?"

The secretary replied in the affirmative, and Aaron turned the comm off, leaning back in his chair once again and waiting.

[ 08-22-2002 04:58 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]

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"Mr. Barnes would like to see you in his office," the man said. Rathal sighed, so much for trying to run and hide. He was gonna have to take the rancor by the teeth. Right now he would have prefered to do that literaly. Ah well, thats how it goes old pal. He just nodded at the man and alowed himself to be led back to the office.

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My Characters: Rathal, Narcolm, Freedon Naad

"I've been considering the fact that your job does not fully utilize the skills which you might have," Aaron started, drawing a surprised look from Rathal. Aaron merely smiled at this reaction, and continued. "I'm going to take leave to make contact with a Major Carlos Davidov, a man whom I have been wishing to pursue as a potential buyer. He might, however, be difficult to find; by my last reports he was on or near Endor. I think I could use your bounty hunting skills on this trip..."

Aaron paused, grinning further. "Unless of course you'd have a problem with a pay increase, and taking a trip with yours truly..."

[ 08-22-2002 07:40 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]

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"No, sir" he began, triping over his words, eyes shining like a childs on christmas morning, "I would be delighted to accept, I mean, yeah, uh.. definatly sir. Um god, to be quite frank I thought you were calling me in here to... erm... fire me. Hehe" He caught himself before he could make himself look like more of an ass than he had already. Even still, he couldn't contain a tiny smirk from crossing his face. A pay increase, maybe he should act beligerant more often. No, he decided, he was lucky this time... he wouldn't risk his job like that EVER again.

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My Characters: Rathal, Narcolm, Freedon Naad

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"Well, if you plan on heading towards a backwater world like Endor, you might want to get yourself a translating device. Other than that I'd say your set with what you have." he paused, wondering if there was anything he missed, "If that is it, I have a bag to pack sir." he waited for Aaron to dismiss him.

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My Characters: Rathal, Narcolm, Freedon Naad

And of course I'll have databases and so forth to sift through if Davidov isn't where I think he is--it's just a matter of making sure I'm covered when we go in...

"See you in 4."

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My Characters: Rathal, Narcolm, Freedon Naad

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My Characters: Rathal, Narcolm, Freedon Naad

Was it just him, or was this guy trying awfully hard to make a good impression?

File that under observations to be noted.

"Follow me," he said at length, taking the lead. As they walked, a myraid of ships could be seen from X-wings to corvettes to light freighters. Aaron paused a moment as they walked past the ZZ'Shzq.

One of these days he'd have to get her back to Terrin...

He headed on, passing yet more ships: a wing of TIE-fighters and a rather impressive squadron of A-wings. Finally he came to a halt in front of a sparkling white Lambda-class shuttle, her hatch yawning open in invitation. He smiled again, this time at the care that he saw taken in the upkeep of his personal ship, the Raptor. To each side of her were two other Lambys that Aaron knew well; Terrin's Eagle, and Matt's Falcon. The other two ships, just like Aaron's own, were quite obviously maintained with the utmost care.

For a very long moment, Aaron simply let Rathal take in the sight of their transport, keenly aware that the man had had a rather interesting experience with a ship of this class not too long ago. He reached up a hand to cover the grin spreading on his face. Then, without further ado, he headed for the still-waiting ramp of his ship, knowing that Rathal would follow behind him.

[ 08-26-2002 10:51 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]

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