761. Behind You - Trychon

Sorah sighed as she put on her apron.  The Stardust Diner wasn't much to look at... or even eat at, for that matter.  It probably wasn't going to be a picnic to work at either.  Still, she'd been doing temp work off and on for a while now, and that wasn't stable or conducive to settling down like she wanted to. In between the temp work she'd gotten, she had been forced to eat into the small savings account 'Old Sorah' had set up for 'New Sorah' in the middle of her escape from her old life.

None of the temp jobs ever panned into anything long term as she'd hoped, and she had found that it was incredibly difficult to find a permanent job with no clear job history.  It was hard to explain why she'd never had any real job, but she figured it would be even harder to explain that she was actually a very intelligent, capable worker who could do a number of various jobs and do them well.... but her job history was based in illegal goods.

She'd almost fallen into the trap of going from legal temporary agency work, into doing odd jobs.  She knew that was a dead end though, and it would lead her straight back to the lifestyle she was now escaping.

Several weeks ago after one of the many times she'd been let go of a temporary job, and was out desperately looking for something, her speeder had broken down outside this diner.  She'd gone inside to get out of the rain and like her speeder, her emotional barrier also ended up breaking down for the first time in months.  She couldn't figure out why life had gotten so much harder since she had left the underground world.  That seemed backwards.

She had only sobbed for a few moments, but the cook had taken notice and she looked up to see him sitting across from her.  He was a cute kid, but his wide-eyed demeanor told her he was most certainly a kid when it came to the real universe, whether he was old enough to work in a kitchen or not.

Still, Drae was very kind to her, bought her some caf, did his best to cheer her up, and even promised to put in a good word with his boss about getting her a job.  She politely declined, and set out on her way home feeling much better.  The kid had smiled when she gave him a hug to thank him, even though he'd asked for a kiss.

Two days later, she had resolved to settle for the job at the diner, when she got a message that she had a new temp assignment.  She took that offer, but continued to go back to the diner for a bad meal and a friendly face.  When the temp opportunity turned out to be another flop, she reluctantly accepted a job as a waitress.

There was a knocking at the dressing room door.  It was her boss, and she was needed badly.  In a part of her mind, she thought for a second how good that sounded.  Then reality hit her when she finished putting on her uniform and found him.

There was a mess in the female's sanitation room, and due to previous complaints neither he nor Drae were allowed to enter.

She sighed again and set about cleaning it when mr. handsome cook told her where the supplies were.  She wasn't sure what sort of alien had made that mess, but she hoped that they felt embarrassment and chose to eat elsewhere from then on.  She hoped to never have to clean something like that up again, but her hopes weren't too high.  She needed a sanisteam immediately, and knew that wasn't going to happen.

Sure enough, she was being yelled at from across the room about the number of customers who'd been seated and she needed to get their orders.

After an encouraging wink from Drae, Sorah set after it.  It was going to be a long day.

760. Behind You - Raezyr

Sorah Kavel looked at the woman in the mirror without recognition. Short hair was just something that she had never seen herself with before and she felt like a completely different woman. She knew it wouldn't take her long to get used to, though.

The real change was the life she had left behind, a life of crime dealing with underworld gangs and thugs. It was something she wouldn't miss.

She hadn't chosen that life on purpose, rather it had been sort of handed to her, and little by little she had been sucked into it until she had awakened one day wondering how it had all happened.

A large part of the reason had been her boyfriend. He had slid down the path of crime, and for love, she had followed until everything had fallen apart and she had realized she couldn't go that path any longer. Once that had been decided, she had made a clean break, severing all ties to the past.

She hadn't run from her old life alone. A fellow gang member, her closest friend and the person primarily responsible for helping her to see where her life was headed, had escaped with her. They knew the gang wouldn't let them go willingly, and for each other's safety, they had split up also. Sorah knew her friend was living on the same planet, but not where. She didn't even know if she'd recognize her friend if she came across her on the street, as they had both altered their looks and taken assumed names.

It was killing her, not being able to see her friend, but what was even worse was not seeing her boyfriend. She still loved him fiercely, but she knew it was for the best. He'd pull her right back into her old lifestyle if  he ever found her, and she didn't know if she'd have the courage to break free again.

She didn't have much time to think about it at the moment. Right now, she had to get to her new job. It was her first day and it wouldn't do to be late. She gave one last look around her tiny living quarters, surveying the small kitchen area, the bed and the door to the tiny refresher, then punched the door controls.

The door whisked to the side with a whoosh and she stepped out into the hallway as it whooshed closed again behind her. She moved quickly toward the lift and took it to the ground floor.

The lift doors opened to the throng of people scurrying about their daily lives. The ground floor of her domicile building was made up of various shops and stores, and the building itself was so big that if one wanted, they never really ever had to go outside. Still her job required her to leave as it was a couple kilometers away from where she lived.

She stepped outside into the heat of midday and a throng of even more people, only this time mixed with various speeders, swoops, gravsleds and ground cars. Sorah pulled a small cloth from her small waist pouch and mopped her forehead. This city was in a little bit warmer than the climate she was normally used to, but adapting to her new life was a challenge she welcomed with open arms, and the warmer weather was just a part of that.

Part of the reason she had chosen this city was because she had family here. Granted, it was family she hadn't seen in many, many years, but they were family still. At first, she had hesitated to contact them, but she had always told her cohorts that her family was dead any time she was asked, so she felt relatively confident that it was safe to go to them.

At first, they had been reluctant to accept her. They had thought she was dead and weren't sure if it was some sort of scam, but when they had seen her, they said she looked so much like her mother that it had erased all doubt. Of course, they had her DNA tested anyway, 'just in case,' they told her.

As happy as they had been to see her, she still held them at a distance, and despite their invitations into their lives they had extended, she tried to see them as little as possible.

Even though she figured things were safe, she still couldn't help but look behind her.

759. Hutt-slime in space - Trychon

Shadel Littles looked outside her cockpit off to port, glad to see another XJ7 X-Wing lagging only slightly behind her.  Her instruments showed her wing was in perfect formation, but she still preferred to use her own visuals whenever possible.

She'd been given the Rogue Nine designation for this run, which placed her as the head of her group, and she wasn't going to mess up.  Everything had to be perfect, because that's what the Rogues did, and to excel among them, she had to be the absolute best.

This was a simple mission though, and it would be hard to shine enough to prove to her commander that she was right for the open spot as a wing-leader.  She knew that it would probably be impossible to show enough on this run, but if she handled the responsibility well today, she'd definitely get another chance to shine.  If not... well, she didn't want to think of what that would mean beyond utter embarrassment.

It was just the four X-Wings for this particular flight, so while she was only in the temporary wing-leader position, she was also the mission's commander.  She bit back her smile and pride, calling her attention back to what laid ahead.

"Form up, Rogues.  The freighter in question should be popping up on sensors any moment now."

Her comm crackled to life.  "We are formed up, Nine."

"Cut the chatter, Eleven."  Damnit, Goran... don't make me look bad. She thought to herself.

As she had warned, the blip showed on her sensor panel.  "Let's get in for a visual and make contact."  She ordered.

She banked and turned slightly to starboard, and was happy to see that her fellow pilots kept their formation perfectly.

As they closed in, her eyes confirmed what her computer likely would shortly after.  It was an old Kuat medium freighter that even with some defensive modifications, stood no chance against four XJ7s straight off the production lines.  Actually, she figured four freight skiffs could take it out with Rogues piloting them... even if it was green Rogues like her and her group.

"Rogue Leader to unidentified freighter - You have crossed into a no-fly zone.  Please identify your name and purpose here."

She wasn't sure if she would get a small rebuke for identifying herself as Rogue Leader, but she figured that the title was more likely to get a amenable response out of the crew of the freighter.  Everyone knew about Rogue Squadron, and while the leader varied over the years, it was always unmistakeably one of the very last people in the galaxy you want centering you in their crosshairs.

Her wingman followed her as she did a flyby the canopy of the freighter, as the Rogue Eleven and Twelve took up a position behind the ship.  She was met with nothing more than static on the comm.  The canopy was blacked out, so she couldn't get a visual on the crewers.

As she was beginning her loop around for another pass and perhaps a warning shot to let them know she was serious, she tried again.  "Rogue Leader to unidentified freighter.  Please identi-"

A small explosion shook her ship and she broke into a hard turn and quickly noted on her sensors that there were still four XJ7s running optimally.  She breathed a sigh of relief as she tried to figure out what just happened.

The freighter was gone.  The scanners and her R5 unit were working quickly to scan the debris to figure out the cause.  It didn't take long, but it took Shadel a second to understand.

There were four older model X-Wings flying out of the debris of the freighter.  Her first thought was naturally that they had come out of nowhere and blown their way through it.  She immediately knew that didn't make sense either, but her R5 had the real answer for her.

The old X-Wings had blown out of the freighter.  It was a shell.  A trap.

"All pilots break by wings, and come around and try to find a solution!"  She managed to order into her communicator without yelling.  As she finished her loop she managed to catch the flare of light from the second half of her wing falling prey to proton torpedoes.

Stupid.  She berated herself.  They knew that we would leave fighters behind the freighter.  They never had a chance.

Turning towards the nearest two targets, she put her thrusters to full and switched to forward shields.  They closed quickly, and her target immediately began jerking erratically when she attempted to get a target lock of her own.

They're good... but not good enough.  "Switch to lasers.  I've got lead."  She ordered as she followed the twisting dive of the older model in front of her.

Pulling out of the dive again, she managed a few quick shots, each passing just off the wing of her adversary.

She cursed again as she was led into another slower loop.  "Ten, we're going to have to try to herd them into a better position if we're going to get them."

Her droid whistled at her.  Ten was gone, and behind her was the other two X-Wings.

Pulling back hard on her yoke, she began a tight loop to buy herself a minute to think.  Her forward canopy was filled with a pair of proton torpedoes.

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

Her simulator roof cracked open automatically, and she had to squint to adjust to the difference in lighting.

After climbing down, she half walked half jogged to the man chuckling on the other side of the simulator.

"Colonel Celchu!'  She pointed her finger at him "Was that you?"

The man just shook his head and chuckled.

"Then where is the Hutt-slime that hijacked my mission?"

"Easy there, Littles."  He held up his hands gesturing for her to calm down.  "General 'Hutt-slime' Antilles is probably in his personal simulator in his office, laughing like the Hutt-slime he is."

Shadel nodded in understanding, still fuming about her utter failure on this mission, and how it would affect her chances at a promotion.  She gave a brief salute and when Tycho returned it, she turned to storm off to her quarters.

"Littles?"  Her commander called after her.

She stopped and turned, back at attention.

"He's laughing because I was Rogue Ten on this exercise... and he got me before he got you."

Shadel understood his meaning, but she didn't find it as funny as the legendary General did.

"Now if you'll excuse me..."  said the Colonel as he dusted off his flight suit.  "I have to get started on procuring a particularly rare Corellian Whisky the General is fond of."

758. A Sith by any Other Name - Raezyr and Trychon

Jahn sat in his throne, fuming and absentmindedly fingering the fresh tattoo around his wrist. It was an exact copy of the fresh tattoo around his queen's wrist. They were marriage tattoos, just now healing up. She had told him it was old tradition on Vondume to get matching bands after a couple had been married, but that it hadn't been used much since the old monarchy had been abolished a few centuries ago. They had decided to revive the tradition, hoping to make a visual connection for the people to those past times.

At the moment, Jael was sat next to her king, a concerned look painted on her face.

She was used to his outbursts by now, as over the past several weeks, Jahn had become more and more restless and unhappy with his new position on the planet, as its leader.

She wasn't worried for herself, or for the questionable future of her home with her now as Queen, but rather for Jahn.

"You alright?"  She asked quietly.

"You know the answer to that.  I hate this.  It's ridiculous, and I never wanted any part of it."

Hoping to get him to open up to her, she probed him a little more.  "Still, you don't think you may have overreacted a bit?"

Minutes earlier, a small dispute between two women had come to him for a decision over a baby.  There had been a storm, and one baby had died, both women laid claim to the surviving child.  Jahn approached them with his favorite sword, and told them the logical solution was to cut the baby in two, and give both a half.  One of the 'mothers' immediately cried out against the idea and said she'd give it up.  Jahn had cut the other 'mother', who had hesitated to protest the idea, from hip to shoulder.

"The child thief?" Jahn laughed, before catching the look Jael was giving him.  "It was better than she deserved."

"Perhaps."  Jael nodded. "She was overtaken with grief at the loss of her own child though, and was not herself."

"That doesn't matter.  It's not the point anyway."  Raezyr stood from his chair, throwing down his sword.  "Ruling this place is such a drain of energy, and with no point to it.  Yes, I know I agreed to it and it was the only way to achieve our goals."  He began to pace.  "I never expected that part of my 'duty' would be to decide the color of sidewalk paint, or the proper width for entryways into the constable building."

Jael stood and approached him, lightly draping herself on his shoulders and kissing him on the cheek, praying he would begin to calm down.  "And per your orders, they are working on solutions to weed out some of the more menial tasks.  It was you who insisted we start from scratch, leaving nothing of the corrupt government behind."

"Even the King can make flawed decisions."  Jahn sighed.

Jael pulled his shoulder to turn him to face her, and had just begun to kiss him deeply when the doors to the throne room were thrown open and a servant came running in, clearly under distress.

"Your majesty, there's two men here who...."

The doors opened again, this time thrown from their holdings entirely, clanging off the floor as they bounced across the room.

Two men stood at the doorway, both wearing all black.  One was diminutive, wearing a dark mask with blinking lights on his forearms and torso, and no flesh showing.  The other was taller, though a few centimeters shorter than Jahn.  His face was showing, though covered in the shadows of his cloak's hood.

Two of the elite guards tried to attack the men from behind.  The taller man spun and blocked the shots of energy from the advanced weapons with some sort of energy sword.  One of the guards was struck by his own shot, the other seemed to trip over his own feet and fall unconscious. The intruders stood at the ready for a moment, ready for another attack, but none came.

Jahn swept his sword up off the floor and pushed Jael behind him in single fluid movement. He didn't know if his metal sword would stand up to that 'laser sword' the taller intruder was weilding, but he wasn't about to go down without a fight.

"Who are you?" Jahn bellowed. "I'd like to know what names to put on your graves."

The two men straightened up, and the taller of the two shut off his weapon. "Um, wouldn't you like to know what we're doing here?" he said, clipping the metal cylinder to his belt.

"I assume you're assassins come to kill the King of Vondume," Jahn replied walking slowly forward, sword held ready. "Except I don't plan to die today."

"Put that thing down... it wouldn't do you any good anyway," the stranger said, chuckling.

Somehow Jahn knew he was telling the truth, and he eased his stance a bit, but still wary. "What do you want?" he asked quizzically.

"You don't recognize me, do you?" the intruder said as if the thought hadn't occurred to him before.

General Rizen suddenly burst in with a squad of troops, energy weapons leveled at the two intruders. Instantly their blades were ignited and at the ready.

"Stand down!" Jahn yelled. Somehow he knew that Rizen would pose no more threat to the strangers than the two guards had just a minute ago.

"Your Majesty?" Rizen questioned. He and his men stood their ground, weapons still leveled.

"Rizen, just do as I say," Jahn told him. "Put away your weapons and stand down."

"As you wish, Sire,"

When they had done as he asked, the strangers lowered their weapons as well. "You know, I came here to rescue you, but I should have known better. Even with amnesia, you took over the planet like a good Sith should," the tall intruder chuckled.

Jael came up behind Jahn and put her hands on his shoulder. "Jahn... what's going on?"

Suddenly it was all clear. Like a wave crashing down, clarity came rushing back. The king put his hand to his head, feeling his scar and then running his hand through his black hair. He turned and looked his wife in the eyes. "Jael... meet your brother-in-law, Trychon."

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

The black masked Darth Invictus had already boarded the ship, getting it prepped for departure when Trychon shook hands and said his good-byes, leaving Raezyr at the dock with Queen Jael, General Rizen and Commander Dael.

"Jahn..." she said and paused. "You know I'll never think of you as this 'Lord Raezyr' person, right?" She went on after Raezyr nodded. "Why can't you stay?"

The Sith warrior shook his head. "It's like I've told you all along. I wasn't meant for this. Everything I did here, I did for you. Every decision I made was one I made after listening to your suggestion. You did this. It's yours. This is what you were meant for." He bent down and kissed her lips. "I love you, Jael. I will return."

She stepped back from him. "I know."

Raezyr turned to Rizen and Dael. "Protect her. Protect the crown."

They saluted simultaneously. "By your command," they said in unison.

With a last look at his wife, the big Sith turned and boarded the ship.

Within a minute he had taken his seat in the cockpit with Trychon and Invictus.

"So," Trychon said after several minutes of silence. "You went and got married, and I didn't even get invited to the wedding."

"Shut up, Trych," Raezyr responded dourly.

His brother chuckled, then he looked over slyly. "I'm fine with that answer, but what's Di gonna say?"

"As always, what she doesn't know isn't gonna kill her... besides, we haven't seen her in years," Raezyr said as he stared out the wind screen, watching the Vondumian skies turn from blue to black as they broke atmosphere. "I'm beginning to wonder if we'll ever see her again."

"That's just it, Raez," Trychon told him. "Di showed up a few weeks ago."

Raezyr turned and looked, almost in disbelief.

"She needs our help."

757. A Sith by any Other Name - Raezyr

Jahn Dhoe strode into the Prime Minister's Palace and trailing slightly to either side was Dael and General Rizen of the Elite Troopers. Their boots echoed loudly of the marble flooring as they strode purposefully down that expanse of the Great Hall.

From the other end, a middle-aged human dressed in business clothes came toward them, his hands folded in front of him.

"That's Prime Minister Zrabeth," Dael whispered just loud enough for Jahn to hear.

When they were still several meters away, Zrabeth dropped to one knee. "Your Majesty, please don't see me as a threat. I fully recognize your..."

"Get up," Jahn interupted him. "I see you're buying into the whole, 'king' thing as well."

"Absolutley," Zrabeth said, misunderstanding as he got to his feet, "and I can be of valuable assistance to you. I can provide counsel on governing and insight into policy and diplomacy. I'll even go and broadcast my support to the entire planet right now."

Jahn stood silently, pondering. Finally he spoke. "I've considered what you have to say, and it has merit."

A relieved look came across Zrabeth's face.

In the blink of an eye, Jahn drew his sword and sliced the former Prime Minister in two.

Dael stared in disbelief. "What in the stars did you do that for? I thought he was going to help you!"

"If I'm going to be king, then there can be no threat to my throne," Jahn explained. "And as long as he lived, there'd sure enough be some jackwagon who would want to put him back in power." He looked at the other two men, waiting for them to challenge what he'd said, but they both nodded their heads. Agree with how he handled it or not, the reasoning was sound and both of them knew it.

The big man with the scar wiped his blade clean and sheathed the weapon. He walked off to one side and pulled out his comm unit, punching in Jael's code back at headquarters.

Since this whole thing had begun, they hadn't had much time together. In fact, they'd been so busy that, other than their wedding, they'd barely spent much time together alone. He planned to rectify that soon.

"Jahn, is that you?" came the sweet sound of her voice on the other end of the link. "Are you alright? Is it over? How'd it go?" She blurted out the questions in rapid succession.

Jahn smiled. "My Love, let's just say that tonight, you and I will have a proper wedding night in the Prime Minister's... the King's Palace."

756. A Sith by any Other Name - Trychon

They pushed the opposition back several more blocks before they were proven right.  The rumblings of mechanical warfare machines around the corner of the street were unmistakeable.  Jahn turned to his makeshift army and signaled for them to fall back while he and his leadership group ducked into a building to discuss the turn of events.

"We're mud."  Dael cursed.

They had known this was a possibility, but it was a measured chance they were willing to take.  The rumors surrounding the Vondumian Elite Troopers were varied and often bordered on fantasy.  The pieces of the stories that they figured were as good as fact were that the equipment and supplies were nearly always kept in a very secret and safe location when not in use for training, and that their technology was so far beyond the normal bounds of the planet that they would destroy any conventional force.  They had hoped that the government hadn't taken their movement seriously, and a surprise assault would not allow time for the Elite Troopers to assemble.

"I did not come this far to turn back."  Jahn growled.

Dael sat down on the ground and began checking his weapon.  "What choice do we have?  If we continue, your powers will probably allow you to survive, like they helped you survive your crash.  The rest of us will most certainly be killed, and not even you can enforce your will on the entire government with nobody left supporting you."

Jahn merely kneeled on the ground and closed his eyes, attempting to concentrate on his options.  Dael nearly continued his rant, but decided instead to wait it out.

Finally, Jahn opened his eyes and spoke.  "We talk to them.  Ask them to surrender or leave as others have."  Sensing the unease of his group, he cut them off.  "I usually get a feeling of danger when it's near.  Right now, I'm not getting that feeling.  Besides, if all the stories are true, they could simply blow this wall down and kill us while we sit here."

He sheathed he sword and walked out of the building with his hands in the air before any protests could convince him to change his mind.

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

After being escorted for nearly half a click, he could easily confirm that there was enough firepower arrayed against them that they would be crushed.  He was told to stand and wait while the unit commander was called over.

A man approached on an armored quadripedal animal, wearing his own armor and a holster that blinked the readiness of his energy weapon.  "Jahn, is it?"

Jahn nodded.

"Come to surrender?"

He shook his head.  "I've come to collect your surrender.  We're here to crush all those in our way.  There's been enough of your people lost already."

The commander laughed.  "Not my people, I assure you."

Jahn shrugged.  "Regardless, we won't be stopped until our goal is achieved."

"Don't be foolish.  What is your goal?"

"Freedom.  We'll take it however we have to."

The commander stared at him as though he was trying to read his thoughts or even his soul.  "Obviously, we cannot surrender to you.  We have our duty to protect the government and the society as a whole."

Jahn's muscles rippled as he tensed in preparation for an attack.

"I offer an alternative."  The commander held up a hand as if it would calm Jahn.  "Allow us to pledge our alliance to your fealty as the new King of VonDuum.  We will serve you as the rightful ruler of the planet, and do what is best for the citizens here as well."

Jahn scoffed.  "I have no interest in being 'King'.  That was a nickname perpetrated by others, not I."

"Then we have a quandary.  I think you seem intelligent to understand that you cannot affect real change by simply killing those in power.  If that even served you to your goal, how long would it last?  No.  The only way to truly fix the problem at hand is to revive the monarchy and have one deserving ruler in place to make all the right choices for our people."

Jahn was confused, but he tried not to show it.  The support the Elite seemed to be offering would guarantee his success, but he had no desire to 'lead' this backwater planet and make decisions about what color to paint the sidewalks or whether to clean the gutters twice or three times a week.  He still believed that his destiny was beyond the scope of this pitiful place.  He regained eye contact with the Commander.  "Why?"

"Let me tell you a story.  It's a simple story, but understand it's only one example of a widespread problem that many if not all of my men can attest to."

Then he did.  He told the story of his brother Dahn who had fallen into a rather minor debt and was working it off.  It took a few years, which was not long compared to most, but greatly outweighed his original offense.  He was a hard and valuable worker.  He was months away from earning freedom when he was in an 'accident' that only he and the foreman were witness to.  His debt was now triple his original charge, and with interest, he would likely only see freedom at the end of his life, if then.

Jahn understood.  It was indeed a quandary, as the man had put it.