Sith Wanderers

760. Behind You - Raezyr

2012-01-24T05:30:00.001-07:00

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

2012-01-20T05:00:00.004-07:00

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

2012-01-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

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

2012-01-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

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

2012-01-06T05:00:00.001-07:00

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.

755. A Sith by any Other Name - Raezyr

2011-12-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Jahn Dhoe looked behind him to the squad that was following him down the street. All were armed with automatic slug-firing rifles, carbines or pistols along with any other weapons the had been able to come up with. All around them the deserted city streets were littered with debris and burned out hulks of ground cars. The opposition had been fierce, the the debtors and mudders that were with him had managed to drive the Vondumian Judicial Forces back. The sheer numbers were just too many for the small army to handle.

Jahn himself carried a slug-throwing pistol in a holster strapped to his left thigh, but in his right hand he carried an unsheathed vibro-sword. Since he had found it in Eli Dipsatch private cache of weapons, he had somehow felt more comfortable with the hilt than with a gun stock. He hefted it, comforted by it's balance and weight.

"Commander, we're nearing our target... another few blocks and we'll be home free," the man standing next to him holding a paper map and an assault carbine told him.

"Thank you, Dael," Jahn replied. Suddenly he had a bad feeling and spoke louder so all his men could hear him. "Keep your eyes open for hostiles."

Gunfire broke out to their right. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, yet leaving him free to move. The big man sidestepped the incoming flight path of the projectiles, then pushed Dael out of the way of another. He watched as his team began diving for cover, but saw they weren't going to make it.

He acted on instinct. Moving toward the slugs he began weaving his way into the barrage and using his vibro-sword to deflect their paths. It took only moments, but Jahn's squad made it to cover and began to return fire.

Rage coursed through his body, infusing him with the raw power that seemed to energize him and fuel his supernatural abilities. Instead of taking cover with his men and women, he charged toward the snipers, using the Power to enhance his movements.

Over the last few weeks since he had killed Dipsatch and taken over the pudgey man's criminal empire, his ability to call on the Power became almost second nature and although it still worked best when he didn't think, but let it come instinctually instead.

It was a good thing too because Eli Dipsatch's captains and lieutentants took a bit of convincing at first. Jahn had only to kill a few of them in the presence of their cohorts for them to warm up to the idea of freeing the debtors. Soon Jahn Dhoe had put Dipsatch's entire criminal network to good use, contacting and organizing the mudders and other debtors, some of whom were treated in atrocious manner, kept in squalor and filth and fed just enough to keep them working at mass production jobs, sewing or operating huge machinery in poor working conditions.

Once the idea caught hold, it had spread like wildfire and the debtors had rallied to Jahn.

The government had also responded quickly, but in a different manner, sending in their Judicial troops to try to enforce the law and return the debtors to their jobs.

The confrontations had quickly escalated to violence as Jahn publicly promised that he'd crush the existing government and bring forth justice whether they liked it or not.

Rumor had it that the debtors had begun referring to their champion as "King Jahn," and his bride, "Queen Jael." The newly weds laughed about it in the little time they had together. "When this is all over we'll get away for a while, just you and I, your Majesty," Jahn had promised her, and they both laughed.

At the moment, Jahn had more perilous things to worry about. His crew covered him as he sprinted across the intersection toward and over turned ground car. The gunfire was coming fom behind it.

When he was still several meters out, Jahn launched himself into the air using the Power to propel his body higher than even he had thought possible. In the air, he twisted himself and landed in a crouch, his sword held wide at the ready.

The shocked looks on the faces of the three Judicials told him this was not what they had expected. To confirm it, they dropped their weapons. "We surrender," one of them said as the others nodded.

"Very well," Jahn said, then ended their lives with three lightning quick slashes.

He reached down and grabbed a scarf from the neck of one of them and wiped his blade clean. "Should have thought about that before you started shooting at me," he said under his breath.

His squad moved up to his position and saw the bodies. Dael looked at his commander. "Sir, I've never seen anything like that... I mean, you deflected those slugs then jumped the ground car. I simply can't believe it... and I saw it with my own eyes." The rest of the squad nodded in agreement.

Jahn didn't answer. He was already thinking about what was to come. They had to move quickly if they wanted to take the Prime Minsister's Palace. Currently, all that stood between them and the end of this coup was the lightly armed Judicial footsoldiers and troopers they had been dealing with.

That wasn't the problem. They could handle the troopers. The debtors vastly out numbered the judicials and had been making steady progress across the city in squads of ten to fifteen, all taking different routes, forcing the Judicials to split up and defend and there just wasn't enough of them to do it.

What Jahn was worried about was the intel rumors which said the Vondumian Elite Troopers had been summoned. They were heavily armed and well trained and if they were to get into place before Jahn and his troops could take the Palace then the chances of successfully taking the Prime Minister's Palace would be slim indeed.

754. A Sith by any Other Name - Raezyr

2011-12-16T05:45:00.000-07:00

Eli Dipsatch had been right. No one would fight him, no matter the odds. One man had died in the ring. A second had died after the fight from the crushing blow he had taken to the sternum, and the third man had slammed so hard into the unbreakable glass that his spine had snapped, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. No one wanted a piece of a man who could do that.

A funny thing had happened though, and Eli had actually come clean about his part: Jahn Dhoe was supposed to have lost that last fight almost 8 weeks ago.

Despite going up against 3 men, Jahn had been favored in the odds. The movers and shakers in Vondume's underground world of pitfighting had all been betting against Jahn, for only they knew his opponents would have weapons.

Even Eli had bet against Jahn. Except the runner who had placed the bet had screwed up. He had accidentally bet on Jahn.

When the fight was over, Eli Dipsatch not only came out the big winner, but half the criminal scum on Vondume owed him vast sums of money, leaving Dipsatch one of the most powerful men on the planet. He had been so exstatic about it he had made the former Mudder his personal bodyguard.

The job didn't pay nearly as well as the pitfighting had, but it was still better than being a Mudder. The only problem was that for the first time, Jahn was able to see the full underbelly of the planet, and he found out that despite the back breaking work, the mudders were the fortunate ones.

Initially he had assumed that debtors were treated like prisoners here on Vondume. He was wrong. Debtors were nothing but slaves and slave labor. Men like Dipsatch traded debtors like currency, then kept them in hovels doing menial tasks and back-breaking jobs while providing just enough food and shelter to keep the debtors alive.

The entire subject happened to be the topic of conversation between Jael and himself. "I don't see how you can stand there and watch Dipsatch treat these people this way, Jahn," she told him. They had just finished supper in his quarters.

The apartment was provided to him by Dipsatch, and since his employer wanted him close at all times, it was right downt he hall from the penthouse suite in one of the upscale apartment buildings in the city center. It was posh and it had a great view.

Jahn walked out onto the specious balcony. He needed some air. "I don't know what you want me to do, Jael. I don't like Dipsatch either, but there's nothing I can do about it right now."

The beautiful dark-skinned woman had followed the big man outside. She stepped up and put her hands on his chest, shaking her head. "That's not true, Jahn. You can use your powers to stop him. You have them for a reason. I refuse to believe that you have this amazing gift and can only use it to protect a man like Dipsatch."

"Jael, I love you, but these people... they did this to themselves... it's their own fault they're debtors and I don't see why I should care," Jahn said, turning away from Jael and refusing to meet her eyes.

"If you don't care, then maybe you're not the man I thought you were."

They stood silently for a long time. Jahn thought he was preparing himself for her decision to leave him, but what she said next caught him by surprise.

"Jahn... They fired me from the Hospital."

It was such a nonsequitor that it took a moment to comprehend. "Why would they do that?"

"Because of you... because of the company you keep," she said. "They told me they don't want employees hanging around unsavory people like your boss. They wanted me to stop seeing you. I told them to walk on."

"And they let you go?" Jahn asked. "No problem. You'll get another job soon."

"You don't understand... all my educational loans came due the instant I was unemployed," she told him.

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

Jahn Dhoe flung open the doors and marched into Eli Dipsatch's office, Jael Thracen two steps behind. "I need a favor, boss."

Dipsatch leaned back in his oversized nerf-hide chair and stuck a cigarra in his mouth, it's acrid smoke rising and encircling his head, making him look almost comical. "Oh, I know what you're going to say, Jahn."

Jahn cocked his head slightly. "You do?"

"Oh yes, and I'm way ahead of you," the pudgy man got up and walked around the big wooden desk. He stopped in front of Jael and eyed her up and down.

Neither Jahn nor Jael liked the famished look in his eye, and she slid her hand in his as if it could hide her from his leering.

"Yes, you're little girlfriend became a debtor today. Oh, don't look surprised. I keep my eye on the lists for interesting names," he explained. Dipsatch then looked up at the big bodyguard. "Don't think I haven't noticed your disapproving looks as of late.

Dipsatch stepped toward Jael and ran his fingers down her bare arm. She cringed at the touch. "Yes, I already saved her from the Mudders for you."

"I guess... uh... thanks?" Jahn said.

Don't thank me yet, Jahn," Dipsatch said. "She doesn't get a free pass. Not yet, anyway. For now, she's going to be my little insurance policy to ensure you stay loyal to me."

"No," Jahn said so quietly only he could hear it. Realization was beginning to dawn on him. His jaw clenched and he began slowly shaking his head, revulsion and rage beginning to take over.

"She's going to be working at the Teegar House," Dipsatch explained further. There was no mistaking the look on his face as he stared at Jael.

"No!" Jahn shouted through clenched teeth. He could feel the anger burning inside him like a fire.

Dipsatch went on in a conspiratorial whisper, seemingly oblivious to Jahn's state. "I always check out the new girls to make sure they're up to standards."

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Jahn shot his hand forward, and bluish purple bolts of electricity shot from his hands, surging through the pudgey man. Dipsatch was blown backwards across the desk and into the wall as Jahn walked toward him, continuing to scream in rage, all the while pouring more energy and rage into the writhing, charring bulk of flesh.

When he finally stopped, little remained of former boss beyond a smoking, stinking pile of burned organic matter.

Jahn turned around to see Jael staring at him with a mix of awe, horror and admiration.

"You wanted me to do something about the debtors? Well, this is the start," he said, his jaw set in determination. "Will you stick by me through the end of this?"

"I will," she said, running to him and wrapping her arms around him. She looked up into his eyes. "I love you, Jahn Dhoe."

"Then will you marry me?"

"I will."

753. A Sith by any Other Name - Trychon

2011-12-14T05:00:00.001-07:00

The wealthy man hadn't been lying. Minutes after he had shown up and left, one of the officers approached and told Jahn to return to his bunk. At first, Jahn thought that it was a trick, and waited in his bunk for the local law enforcement to show up and take him away to a real jail. Instead, an official showed up with papers to sign (he was not given a choice) that released him from his debt to the government and put him in debt to one Eli Dipsatch.

After being taken to his new 'home', Jahn's new reality was explained bluntly to him. Mr. Dipsatch had bought him so that he could be used for entertainment and gambling.

Now, here he sat, several weeks later, trying to mentally prepare himself for another fight. He imagined it would be easier without the muted noise of the crowd chanting and yelling for the fights going on in the dirt arena just down the hall. Of course, Jael's constant prodding his various wounds and asking him how they felt wasn't helping either.

Finally she gave up, frustrated by his silence. "This is insanity Jahn." She threw her hands up in the air. "Five weeks, and you've been put into eight fights already. It has to stop." She waited for a response, but only got a raised eyebrow. "I know we've talked about it, and I don't really have any experience with this sort of thing... but I've done some checking. There's a lot of talk about you around town, Jahn. Because nobody's been put through the sort of thing you are now."

"This is my out." Jahn finally opened his eyes. "I'm paying down my debt faster than any of the mudders can dream, and in time I'll be done with Dipsatch and his games. Whatever training or experience I had in my past, it's giving me the edge I need to get out of this."

"Whatever training you may have had in the past is no better than instinct now, and soon enough that may not be enough. That same instinct is what's causing them to raise the odds against you each time and move the fights closer and closer to keep the bets coming in." She sat down next to him, and grabbed his hand.

When he turned and met her eyes, she pleaded. "They're trying to find your breaking point, Jahn. Everyone has a breaking point, regardless of how special they may be."

"What choice do I have? I..." Jahn started, only to stop as the door handle turned and Eli Dipsatch entered. He was wearing one of his finer black suits, though it fit tightly around his midsection. He also wore a black cape with red underlining that he seemed to think had a slimming affect, though it didn't.

"Jahn! How's my favorite fighter doing tonight?" The large man laughed. "I'm kidding... of course you're doing great! Everyone's doing great... especially my banker!" He continued to laugh.

Jahn could see Jael steeling herself to confront Eli for the man she was growing to love. He glared at her, hoping to keep her from getting herself into a predicament that neither of them could handle. "Mr. Dipsatch, sir.... please listen to me..."

"Yes, yes of course dear." Eli interrupted. "There will be plenty of time to chat later. Now, it's time for our boy Jahn here to go into the preparation room."

Jael started to try again, but Eli wouldn't have any of it, interrupting before she could get more than a word out of her mouth. "Now, now... don't you worry. A lovely woman such as yourself belongs in the best seats in the arena with me. Come along, and I'll get you a drink."

He waved for her to follow him as he turned and left the room.

Jael shook her head. She was furious, but she did her best to control herself. Her being upset was the last thing that she wanted Jahn to think about while he was out there, facing what ever ridiculous match Eli had set up for him. Instead, she needed him to be thinking positive and to the time they'd be able to spend together after the fight. She always took care of him after the fights.

"Oh well." She admitted. "Even if we could convince him, there was no chance in space that he'd postpone a match he already had set up and wagers placed."

She turned to face him directly and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him into a desperate kiss. "You take care of yourself out there. If you could somehow get those instincts to kick in before you've taken a massive beating for once, I could spend less time cleaning you up... and more time getting dirty." She winked at him and gave him another kiss before leaving him to go get ready.

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

Jahn stepped out into the dirt arena to the raucous mixture of cheers and jeers so loud that he could not distinguish them. With a loud clack, the spotlights cranked on him, and he could no longer make out the crowd, but he was familiar enough with the setup by now. Beyond the lights was glass barricades that the fighters wouldn't be able to break through with any of the objects that they may have in the fight.

He looked straight forward and up as he tightened the protective cloth wraps he had around his hands. He knew that the luxury box was up there, and that was where Jael would be now, with his boss. She'd be relatively safe up there from the mob of violence crazed individuals who wasted their money on guessing how much of a beating he and others could take. Hopefully the money he'd made Dipsatch would help protect Jael from the wandering eyes of some of his unsavory friends as well.

One more reason to make this quick, if he could.

The rest of the spotlights turned on, signalling Jahn that his contest was about to begin. As expected, two large men entered through the second entrance. They were both quite a bit larger than he was, but no bigger than his previous opponents. He seemed to be getting the largest the planet had to offer, though it was possible that larger fighters had come and gone. He'd heard the shelf life was pretty short for this profession.

Then a third figure stepped out into the light, slightly larger than even the other two. He carried with him three swords, and he unceremoniously handed one to each of the other men. Jahn had faced others with weapons before... but rocks or blunt objects, not swords. Eli really was upping the ante this time.

Then Jahn noticed something else. The third man to enter was limping a bit. It took a few more seconds for recognition to hit him. The man who brought the swords in was the same man who had attacked him back when he was still a mudder, securing his release to Eli.

The man had likely asked for a chance at redemption, or he simply wanted revenge. It didn't matter to Jahn though, and as soon as the men were in striking distance, he launched his attack.

The large man was starting to say something, likely a taunt, but he didn't get much of it out as Jahn swept to flank them. By attacking them from the left, he put one of the men in between himself and the others, buying himself at least a second where he did not have to worry about the other two.

A quick punch to the face of the man on the left struck before he could prepare himself at all. It was followed with a few quick punches to the midsection while the man struggled to keep his balance. As the other two began to circle around, Jahn had to take his real shot.

A strike to the wrist currently holding the sword caused it to fall to the ground, and a hard hit to the face caused the man to finally stagger back and fall.

It was too late though, as an attempt to reach for the sword would have exposed Jahn to attacks from either side, and he couldn't take the chance against blades like these. Reluctantly, he backed away.

The large man was talking again, but Jahn couldn't hear him over his own thoughts. He was desperately trying to figure out how to stay alive. He tried to swing around quickly to flank one of them again, but they were prepared for it and would not allow it.

It didn't take long for him to be facing all three men again. He was wildly dodging and ducking under their lazy swings, but he knew it was only a matter of time before one of the managed to connect, and things would go downhill from there if that happened.

In his previous matches, he had started out well enough, but ultimately only took full control of the fight when things began looking rather bleak for him. For some reason, his training and experience from his former life only returned when he was under extreme duress, and Jael was right after all... he couldn't afford to wait for those instincts to kick in for him in this fight.

And then it happened. The cold metal bit into his right arm and while he tried to hold in his scream, he failed.

He was barely able to move out of the way of the next few swings, but his opponents gained confidence in seeing the flow of blood down his arm. His left arm took a glancing blow and also began to bleed.

Rather than finish him quickly, they began toying with him. No matter which way he moved or how he tried to get some space to recover, he was met quickly with blows from the hilts of the swords.

His vision began to go, and everything became fuzzy. He may have passed out. He wasn't sure, yet somehow he ended up restrained from behind by one of the men, while the poke in the chest from the tip of a blade brought his head back around.

Now he could hear the taunts from the large man. "Poor little man isn't so good against blades, is he?"

Jahn wasn't sure when he had been struck in the mouth, but he spat blood back in response. "Pitiful big man isn't so good with fair fights, is he?"

The man ignored him. "I think I know how you became so ugly, little man." He placed his blade over the scar that ran down from his hairline through his eye.

Something in Jahn broke, and he felt anger that he hadn't ever felt before. He yelled again, and the man who was restraining him was blown backwards from him inexplicably.

The large man took a step back in shock, his mouth open with confusion. Jahn turned to the third fighter to his right and punched him square in his sternum. There was a sickening crunch and the body flew meters away.

Jahn stretched his hand towards the large man, who had no more taunts for him. Once again, it was as though he wasn't in control of his own body or mind, he just did things. The man began floating into the air, grasping at his throat.

There was a loud buzz that deafened the arena, to signal the end of the fight. All it did to Jahn though was cover the sound of a spine being crushed before the body fell to the ground lifeless.

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

Jael entered his prep room first. He could somehow feel that she was happy he was ok, but it was hidden behind concern for his wounds and whatever else had taken over him in the ring.

Eli Dipsatch followed only seconds after. "Well, Jahn... I think I may have to find another way to take advantage of your... skills." There was a bit of concern on his face as well, though it was more likely tied to the end of a high revenue fight ticket. "Nobody will likely bet against you again." He flashed a smile, as cheesy and fake as Jahn had ever seen.

752. A Sith by any Other Name - Raezyr

2011-12-08T05:30:00.001-07:00

Jahn stumbled into his room and began stripping the dirt and sweat soaked work coveralls from his body, tossing them into the hamper. New sets would be waiting for he and his roomates in the morning. When that was finished, he stumbled into the sanisteam. He stood there for few minutes letting the heat soak into his sore muscles and stared at his hands. They were torn and raw from the brutally hard manual labor he'd been engaged in for the past week. Apparently whatever his former life had involved, it hadn't been manual labor.

Although his muscles were sore, he had really expected them to be much worse. After spending so long in the hospital he had expected them to have atrophied to some extent, but judging by how they seemed to be adapting to the hard work, and the muscled physique he saw in he mirror, he was evidently a firm believer in calisthenics.

When he finally stepped out of the sanisteam, all Jahn really wanted to do was flop on his bunk and sleep, yet that just wasn't on the schedule just yet. It was the weekend, and instead of the usual eleven hour work day that he'd been working for the last seven days, they had only worked seven. Tomorrow it would be the start of the work week again and back to eleven hour days, but for the evening, he had some extra time off, and he had plans.

Jael had invited him over for the evening meal, extensibly to give him a check up and maybe work on trying to get his memory back, but he didn't care much about that at the moment. It would just be nice to relax for a bit and talk.

As he walked out of the barracks and down the steet, he kept thinking that someone should be trying to stop him from leaving, but no one seemed to pay any attention. The fact was that it wasn't a prison. There was nothing really from stopping him from leaving, except that they had implanted a sub-dermal tracking device, or at least that's what they told him.

He wasn't sure exactly what to believe. There was such a mixture of high and low technology that it was often confusing. On one hand, all transactions on the planet were conducted through the tracking chips, and debtors couln't buy a thing for themselves as there was no curency, but on the other hand people in the streets rode horses or drove horse or nerf drawn wagons, or noisey, polluted fossil-fuel powered, motorized vehicles on wheels. There were no air or land speeders, except a few belonging to the uber wealthy.

And everyone carried slug-throwing weapons. Jahn had yet to see a single energy weapon. He couldn't remember specifics, but he was pretty sure none of this would be considered normal where ever he was from.

He finally arrived at the address which Jael had given him over the comm, and it turned out to be an apartment building in a decent neighborhood, yet even here the doors weren't automatic. He looked around for a comm switch, but there was none. Finally he just tried the door and it swung inward with a quick turn of the knob.

In the small foyer he saw a list of last names next to apartment numbers and as he ran his finger down the list, stopping at "Thracen 4F," he caught himself whistling a tune his co-workers were fond of singing. It was some ballad they seemed to sing often; the story of someone named Jayne Cobb.

Apparently sometime in the past someone had tried to stand up to the system, robbing and stealing from the elite only to give it to the debtors. Jahn suspected there was probably a lot of information that the ballad left out, but as of now the song was all that was left of the incident. Still, the tune was not only catchy, but addicting as well.

Jael opened the door to his knock and he was stunned. She seemed even more beautiful than he remembered, even though it had been only a week since he'd seen her. "Oh, man, I missed you," he said a bit breathlessly.

She smiled demurely, then hugged him and gave him a small kiss on his cheek. "It's good to see you too, Jahn."

Supper was already prepared and laid out on the table, and everything smelled delicious. "This smells and tastes so much better than the stuff the Mudders eat," he told her as they began the meal.

"Mudders?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's what the debtors call themselves... I guess it stems from being covered in so much dirt and sweat after a long day," Jahn explained.

They talked quietly throughout the meal, mostly Jahn explaining what he had gone through so far. Finally she commented, "You look to be in pretty good shape for all the poor food and hard work."

"It's getting easier. I think it's this nasty grog they drink... they call it 'Mudder's Milk,'" he told her. "It supposedly has all the protein, vitamins and carbs of your grandma’s best tarkle dinner, plus 15 percent alcohol. Tastes like Hell, but it's satisfying and helps you sleep easy."

After supper they sat and talked for a while, sitting together on the couch. She went over some mental exercises that were supposed to help him bring his memory back, but finally he stopped her. "I'm not sure I want my memories back, Jael."

"I'm not sure I want your memories back either."

Jahn pulled her in close and kissed her deeply. When they finally parted, she whispered in his ear. "You don't have to go."

"I don't want to, but I have to," he said sadly. Every fiber told him to stay, but he stood up to leave. "The work day starts early for a Mudder."

She walked him to the door. "I wish I could pay off your debt, Jahn."

"If you tried, you'd only end up in there with me."

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

The work day did come early, and as usual, the day was hot and dry and the work itself was back-breaking and brutal. They were in the middle of building a large earthen dam, but most of the work was being done by hand.

It was mid-afternoon and Jahn was sweaty and tired. He'd been shoveling dirt all day into wheel barrows and as one was pushed off to it's destination, the next one was arrving to be filled with little break time inbetween.

Suddenly a shovelful of dirt hit him square in the back. He paused and looked over at the guy who had tossed it. He was a huge hulk of a man, standing almost 25 to 30 centimeters taller than Jahn and his shoulders were even broader. The man's shirt was tied around his waist and Jahn could see the man's chest and arms had several knife blade scars on them. Exactly how he knew they were from blades, Jahn couldn't say, but he knew what they were. He went back to work deciding that it wasn't worth making an issue of it.

As soon as he did, another shovelful of dirt hit him in the back. "Hey man, watch where you're throwing that," Jahn said and went back to work, only to have a third shovelful hit him. "You dig like an animal," he said.

He stood up and the man had a look in his eyes that Jahn recognized. Instantly he knew this would only end one way.

"Oh, so I'm an animal, eh?" the hulk said to him, throwing the shovel to the ground and heading in Jahn's direction.

"No, I said you dig like one, or do you have dirt in your ears?"

"And I'm deaf too, eh?"

"No, I just think you're too stupid to realize the mistake you're about to make." Jahn didn't know what prompted him to say that, but prepared for what was now inevitable.

The big man swung a long, lazy, looping punch aimed for Jahn's head. Jahn ducked and struck hard and fast, landing two punches into the man's rib cage causing the brute to exhale.

"You hit hard, little-" a fist slammed into the brute's mouth, staggering him. Jahn had no intention of standing around and talking. Instead he followed up with hard blows to the body.

The brute swung a kick for Jahn's groin. He dodged the kick, but not the fist that came after. It caught him on the side of the head, and lights exploded. He shook his head and backed up, trying to clear the cobwebs and focus.

It was the opening the brute was looking for and he moved in swinging away with haymakers and uppercuts. Jahn tried to dodge most of them, but several landed indirectly. Glancing blows they may have been, but they still hurt, and he went down under the onslaught.

The man kicked his ribs and pain shot through him. The big brute reached down and grabbed Jahn by his shirt front, clearly intending to finish this fight once and for all, but something had clicked inside Jahn.

He didn't know what it was, but time seemed to slow down, clarity returned and he felt and exhilerhating, raw power surge through his body, re-energizing him.

Jahn sprang to life and to his feet, out of reach of the brute. He began throwing puches. The brute tried to counter, but Jahn was too quick, bobbing and weaving in and out of his reach and under and around blows, all the while landing fist after fist.

Finally he swung his leg, kicking the brute in the side of the knee and sending the beast to the ground. Jahn was on him in an instant, continuing his rain of fierce blows.

Suddenly he felt hands trying to pull him backward, up and off the brute. Jahn allowed them to pick him up, but shook them off when he had made it to his feet.

Jahn stood there over the unconscious body, his fists dripping with the brute's blood and barely recognizing the bloody pulp of flesh that was once the bully's face.

"You nearly killed him," a voice came from the silent crowd that had gathered, stunned to silence by the violence they had just witnessed.

"No... I didn't do that," Jahn said, breathing hard as his senses started to return to normal. "The foolish and the weak will always find a way to destroy themselves."

Suddenly the crowd parted and a pudgey man dressed richly, escorted by two big men made their way toward Jahn.

"That was quite an impressive display of skill... Jahn Doh, is it?" the pudgey rich man asked.

"Who're you?" Jahn asked. Somehow he knew he'd regret the answer.

"Why, my name is Eli Dipsatch... and I'm the guy who just paid off your debt."

751. A Sith by any Other Name - Raezyr

2011-12-06T06:30:00.001-07:00

For the next several weeks, Jael worked with her patient on a daily basis, helping him rehabilitate from his injuries as Jahn's leg wasn't the only thing wrong. The blow to his head had also slightly affected his motor skills, but as she worked with him, they quickly returned to normal.

As the rehab moved along, Jael did her best to explain the way things worked on the planet of Vondume. She told him the planet was colonized about 1500 years ago by some long defunct mining corporation, but when the ore proved to be too low-grade to make it worth transporting from so far out on the Outer Rim they abandoned the project, although not before shipping in several large nerf herds.

When the company decided to leave, many colonists chose to stay thinking that the nerf herds would sustain them, knowing full well that they may never see another freighter from the Republic again. The nerfs didn't do very well in the climate as it was warm, dry and arid, with little water or vegitaton, and as ranches failed and farmers failed to grow enough crops in the rocky soil to satisfy their colony, and the number of people who couldn't pay their debts began to grow.

The makeshift government did the only thing they could. They bailed out the people who were in debt, in return for manual labor on government projects, building dams, canals, roads and buildings.

In time, the population grew and a vast gulf began to seperate the wealthy from those who had nothing. The government bailout became mandatory once it was determined a person couldn't pay their debts in order to keep the labor force stocked. Rarely did anyone ever pay off their debts and usually died after years of hard labor, indebted to the government. The debtors became little more than indentured servants.

It didn't take long before the rich wanted in on the action too, and the government was only happy to oblige, allowing private citizens to then buy off an individual's debts from the government, thus making the debtor beholden to whichever person or company bought them.

It had all started out innocently, but by the time it was recognized what had truly happened, only the rich were left in charge and there was no way they were going to change it at that stage. The only thing that ever kept the debtors from rising up and revolting was the vegetable dangling on the end of the string, the hope the could one day pay off their debt for good.

The problem was that the few who actually managed to do so quickly found they had worked themselves out of a job and a home and often became destitute, living a miserable existence on the streets or would find a way to get back into debt, just to have somewhere to go.

Jahn couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Legalized slavery?" he asked incredulously. "That's madness."

Jael shrugged. "It's reality. The thing is, it also ensures that people work hard and get an education so they don't end up a debtor."

Jahn agreed that it might have its benefits, but in his mind he could easily think of dozens of ways to corrupt a system like that, and if occurred that quickly to him, it had probably been thought of by others long ago. He was willing to bet just about anything that there was a whole world under the surface that Jael didn't know about.

As the weeks passed, and Jael helped him rehab, the doctors often came in to check on him to make sure he was progressing and they always seemed pleased. They also seemed to wonder why Jael was spending so much time with this one patient. A few times he caught them asking her if she had other patients to attend to, or they seemed surprised that she was working that day.

The big man didn't mind. The sooner he got out of here, the better he'd feel, and besides, he enjoyed her company and the fact that she was easy to look at didn't hurt matters either.

Finally, the day came when the doctor entered the room and told him he was well enough to leave. "You've made an amazing recovery, faster than we expected."

"I had a good therapist," Jahn Dhoe said, smiling over at Nurse Thracen.

"I know you don't have your memories back, but that's something you'll have to work on from outside the hospital," the doctor informed him. "We can set you up with some therapist appointments in a few minutes but first..." The man in the white coat paused and picked up a stack of paperwork, then looked at Jahn.

"But first, we need to figure out how you're going to settle your bill."

750. A Sith by any Other Name - Raezyr

2011-12-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

"Well, I guess we'll just continue to call you Jahn Doh until your real name comes back to you," Jael Thracen said with a smile.

"What if it doesn't come back?" Jahn said, absentmindedly fingering the scar on his face again.

"Then you can pick a new name, I guess," she replied, putting her hand on his arm reassuringly. "Let's not worry about that right now; Time enough for that later."

The big man surveyed his body, noting the various bandages and studied the cast on his leg for a moment when he suddenly noticed a bit of metal sticking out from the edge of the blanket covering his other foot. He pulled it back and gaped in horror at the metal appendage which was his other leg and foot, all the way up to just above his knee. "What did you do to me?" he asked in disbelief.

"We didn't do that, but it's amazing, isn't it?" Jael said in wonder. "We don't have the technology to do this kind of work here. We've heard of it, but we're so isolated out here that we're lucky to see the random trade ship or freighter but once or twice a year."

"Speaking of 'here'", Jahn asked, "where exacty is 'here' and just how did I get 'here?'"

"You're on a planet called Vondume, located on the edge of the what the Republic calls the 'Unknown Regions,'" she explained, "and as for how you got here, well, once again we were hoping you could tell us. All we know is that your ship crashed."

"My ship? As in space ship?" the patient asked his nurse. "I need to see it. Maybe there's a clue as to what happened."

"Jahn, the ship was completely destroyed in the crash... I'm sorry."

"There has to be something, ship records, computer memory banks, something... I've got to go," he said urgently, once again trying to sit up.

Jael grabbed his shoulders gently. "No, you don't understand. There's nothing." She let that sink in for a moment. "Your ship... Jahn... let me put it to you this way: It was salvagers who found you and rescued you. It's a miracle that you were even alive. Not a single thing came made it through the crash but molten and twisted metal... and you.

"The only thing we know about you is what I've already told you, and the fact that you were delerious when you were found and you said a few things before slipping into a coma," she continued. "You wanted to destroy a child's play vehicle... you kept saying something like, 'Die, bike, die."

"That makes no sense."

"I know."

"Well, I still need to go through the wreckage myself," Jahn told her. "Maybe there's something that will trigger a memory or something."

The dark-skinned woman shook her head sadly. "It's already been salvaged. You were in a coma for seven weeks," she informed him. "I'm so sorry, Jahn, but when I said there was nothing, I really meant it."

The realization of what all of that meant hit him like a wall of duracrete. It meant that he was on a planet in the middle of nowhere, with no one who knew him, and no way of finding out where he had come from. The best that he could hope for was that someone had known he was coming here and would eventually wonder what had happened to him.

A thought rose unbidden to his mind, and he knew as sure as the night was black, that it was the truth. "My brother will come for me."

"Your brother?" Jael said with surprise. "Oh good, you're starting to remember already!"

Jahn shook his head sadly. "No, I don't remember anything about my brother, but deep down, somehow, someway, I know that that statement is the truth."

749. The Makings of a Henchman pt. 3 - Trychon

2011-11-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Jenkins and Johnson sat in the debriefing room for nearly an hour, waiting. The red light on the camera wasn't on, which meant that they weren't recording the eventual conversation. That was a mixed message.

Eventually, the captain entered the room. The camera was still off. This was beginning to feel more like an interrogation than a debriefing.

The captain pulled out his chair and sat. He placed in front of himself several papers. He looked as though he was searching for the right words to begin the conversation.

Jenkins started it for him.

"What is going on?"

"It's over."

"What do you mean it's over? We had them!"

"I mean the war, boys." He shook his head. "I tried to comm you. Command's given into the requests of the Alliance. The history books will say that we've lost this battle as well as the war, regardless of what we've done and seen, and paying little mind to whatever concessions the Independents were able to bargain for."

Jenkins and Johnson weren't expecting that, of all things for their Captain to say. After the shock wore off, they began venting very loudly simultaneously. It wasn't often that they spoke over each other, but neither stopped for several minutes.

The Captain let them rant about the evils of the 'Black Boots' and the noble 'Red Shirts' cause and all it and they had stood for. He waited for them to get it out. He couldn't blame them one bit, and was proud and not one bit surprised that they were showing more emotion over the news than anyone else in their entire group.

When they had calmed down and were asking questions that were no longer rhetorical, he was ready to answer them.

"What happens now?"

"In general, most of our soldiers will be absorbed into the Alliance." He allowed another short outburst before interrupting them. "Yes, I know it sounds offensive to work for them after fighting against their control... and some soldiers will be opting out. Others may stay in. I, myself have a family to feed."

There was silence for the first time, he'd shocked them badly. "I know how horrible that sounds, but let me explain." They nodded, still silent.

"We all got in this to protect our planet and to fight against joining the Alliance. We can't fight the Alliance anymore, but out here on the rim and near Hutt space... there's plenty still to protect our planet from. Nobody who doesn't volunteer will be shipped out to 'bring other systems into line'. We won't be part of the conquering force, we'll just be serving our planet all the same. Maybe even bring some good changes from the inside. Who knows."

Johnson looked down at the table, still visibly upset. "We can't do that, Captain. We can't join them."

"No. You can't. You're being charged with the murder of Alliance soldiers in violation of the peace agreement."

"That's insane." Jenkins laughed.

"Yep. And exactly what we'd expect from the Alliance." Johnson added.

The Captain tossed them a security card. "I've informed HQ that you two overpowered me, and have stolen a ship... and won't likely show up for the hearing. They'll have investigators here before too long." He turned to walk out of the room.

Johnson called for him to wait a moment. "Captain... if we're being charged with murder... why were you trying to convince us to join the Black Boots?"

"I wasn't trying to convince you to join me. I was trying to convince you not to hate me. I'm sorry."

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

The various authorities were still not organized and there was no opposition for them as they left the system.

An hour passed as they stared into the streaking stars that represented their unknown future.

Jenkins clenched his eyelids shut against the moisture that grew there. "I would have died for our cause, Johnson."

"As would I. Gladly. That's what we were in for. Now we're not just tossed aside, but outlaws."

"I'm not sure... what to do now."

Johnson stared at the course they'd set in and couldn't find a single system that provided an answer. "We find a cause worth dying for. Worth living our lives for."

Jenkins nodded emphatically. "One that won't compromise and will allow us to serve as we wanted to all along."

"We'll need new identities."

Jenkins smiled for the first time since they left for battle the night previous. "Call me Shirt."

Johnson laughed, and tried to come up with a similar moniker to pay homage to their lost cause, as he would never be referred to as 'Boot' again. "Call me.... Red?"

"Reed." Schyrt amended for him.

748. A Sith by any Other Name - Raezyr

2011-11-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

He tumbled through the black, tossed by the lightless depths beneath what must surely be a stormy sea, yet which way to swim? No direction seemed correct so he picked one, striking out and hoping. When the noise finally registered, he realized he'd been hearing it all along, for what had seemed like forever. A steady beep, beep, beep, never wavering in tone, always steady, forever sounding off since the dawn of time.

But where? Where was it coming from? He turned himself this way and that, looking for the source of the noise. Finally he found it, right there behind him. The droid. It was black, black as obsidian and it was coming for him. He turned and ran down the stark white corridor. He had to get away from it. Had to get away from the noise. He kept looking back over his shoulder and each time he saw it, the black droid, never moving, always following. He ran harder, faster, but the end of the hallway was still so far away. He looked into the rooms as he ran past; each one was filled with people. People just staring.

But what were they staring at? He approached the people. They were surrounding... something. That something was making an incessant beeping noise. Beep, beep, beep. Constant. There was a faint murmur from the vast crowd as he pushed through trying to see what they were staring at. He strained hard to listen to the words. "I can't be sure," one person said. "The chances are slim," said another.

"What aren't you sure about?" the big man asked the crowd around him. "What chances are you talking about?"

A young, dark-skinned woman with raven black hair turned to him. She was beautiful and her eyes were deep pools of dark brown. "Beep," she said when her mouth opened.

"What?"

Her mouth stayed open. Beep, beep, beep. She started moving toward him. He tried to move past her, but there, behind her. A man.. a big man. Broad shoulders, thick chest and arms. He wore the darkest blue armor. He knew this man. The warrior removed the midnight blue helm and to his horror, the face was black.

No, not black... it was... void. There was nothing. A familiar voice beside him said, "It's you. It always has been you."

He looked down to see a beautiful red-haired woman. Somehow, he should know her. He strained to think who she might be, and the lack of remembering was distressing, although he didn't know why.

Then she shoved him.

He tumbled through the air, falling faster and faster. He wildly grasped for the branches and vines, trying to slow his fall. The birds swarming the air around screamed at him. Beep, beep, beep, they called in a steady, machine like tune.

The vines reached out and caught him, wrapping themselves around his wrists, arms, ankles, legs. Spikes from the vines penetrated the skin of his arms and other vines slithered like snakes up his torso and around his head. He closed his mouth as they tried to force their way into his body. Vines found their way into his nostrils and finally forced his teeth apart. He choked and gagged. He couldn't breathe, yet he took deep breathes at the same time.

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

The big man sat bolt upright and looked around him. He was lying on a bed in what appeared to be some sort of sterilized room, possibly a medical room of sorts. Next to him was a machine, it was beeping steadily as lines across the display face jumped up and down in time. He recognized that it was monitoring his heart.

He looked down and saw the many wires stuck to his body, and sticking into his body. There was something in his mouth. He reached up and slid a tube out of his throat and did the same for the tubes in his nose before reaching down and removing the antiquated IV lines from his arms.

As he pulled the patches from his chest, the machine next to him suddenly went into a steady tone.

A woman came running in just seconds later. She was a dark-skinned woman with black hair pulled back tight into a bun and beautiful eyes. Her worried look turned to relief when she saw he was sitting up. "You need to leave those on for right now," she said with a smile, which turned out to be as beautiful as her eyes.

She crossed the room and eased him back down onto the bed. He tried to struggle against her for a moment, but felt weak. For some reason that felt... wrong.

"Don't fight, please," the woman said. "Besides, you're not going anywhere for a while with that leg."

He looked down and for the first time saw that it was immobilized, wrapped in some sort of white plaster and gauze, or so it appeared. He opened his mouth to speak, and a croak came out.

She poured him a glass of water and held it for him as he took a sip. "Easy now."

He finished the sip and tried again. "Who are you?" the big man asked.

She smiled. "I'm your nurse, Jael Thracen. A better question though, would be, 'Who are you?'"

"My name is..." he began and paused. He looked around the room for a moment, finally settling his gaze on the reflection in the mirror across the room. He saw the close cropped dark hair and then fingered the scar running down over the left eye and across the cheek bone. He just kept staring.

"I'm sorry, what is your name?" she prodded politely.

"I'm... not really sure."

747. The Makings of a Henchman pt. 2 - Trychon

2011-11-18T06:00:00.015-07:00

Johnson looked around, knowing full well it wouldn't do him any good. After their planning meeting, they waited until the next evening to execute, as usual. The dark clouds that had become increasingly common since the valley had become nearly lifeless made the night times eerily dark. He could barely see Jenkins, a mere two meters away. Lieutenant Rigger was supposed to be on Jenkins' other side, but he was out of view. Most sensor technology was also rendered useless in the valley, which is why it was so hard to locate the enemy, but also why they had a shot at taking them out.

The upside was that their camouflage was nearly unnecessary. Even without the unnatural cloak of dark, crawling through the mixture of dirt, dust, and ash created a much more effective disguise. Within minutes, they looked more like the dead valley itself than they did soldiers.

At least with the captain still at the base, they didn't have to listen to complaints about the war ravaged landscape or the resulting smell. At least, not unless he decided to radio them about it.

Careful to cover even the small glow of the non reflecting screen they'd brought as a map, they checked their progress. They only had a few more turns to go, and then they would hopefully be taking out any sentry guards they could find before the Captain radioed for the second, larger wave to sweep in.

They headed forward through the black, trusting their ability to remember the map. The one upside to the ashen terrain was that it helped them to move in near silence. One unlucky step at the wrong moment though could mean trouble, and it was a sifter card's draw as to whether they saw the sentries first or they got noticed. Jenkins and Rigger had their blasters pointed forward as they went, while Johnson held a vibroblade, hoping they could be as stealthy as possible.

After counting their paces for several minutes, they stopped. Watching and listening carefully for any sign of the inevitable trouble, they finally let out their collective breaths. Carefully, they took three more steps to the left, and found the landmark rock wall they were hoping to.

Jenkins was about to whisper something when they all barely caught sight of a shadow. Their breaths simultaneously stopped again. The shadow took half a step towards them and as they finally made out the human form, it turned its back to them. They could hear muffled whispers, presumably through a mouthguarded comm.

It wasn't how they planned it, but Johnson struck as quickly as he could as soon as the figure stopped speaking. It wasn't silent, but it was fast enough. The loudest sound of the night to that point by far was the gurgling noise the man made as he bled out through his neck and slumped to the ground. Fortunately, Johnson had the sense to rip away the comm unit as he attacked.

Their own comms crackled in their ears just moments later. The orders weren't making it through the natural jamming of the area though. Rigger cursed quietly, earning himself a nasty look from Jenkins. They knew what it meant though, the Captain realized they had gone beyond range and had given the order to advance prematurely. They had to act quickly.

A quick check of their map confirmed that they weren't far off from the next expected waypoint. They oriented themselves as best they could and headed forward in formation. They had to give up a bit of their stealth for increased speed. It was risky, but they had no other options.

As they neared the upcoming location, they began to hear a fighter closing in on them from behind, and it gave them immediate pause. They were out of time, and if there were other enemy sentries nearby, they would be hearing the noise too. Worse, if they were carrying anti-ship missiles, there would be trouble.

After another curse from Rigger, he turned on his rifle mounted lamp while Johnson quickly switched his blade for his own rifle. They doubled their speed forward, led by the light from the Lieutenant's weapon, and gave up all hope of remaining silent. As they expected, it didn't take long for them to be noticed.

A guard poked his head around a rock outcropping and nonchalantly tried to make out what the source of the light was. He was surprisingly unprepared for the two blaster bolts that greeted him. The first nailed his helmet, jerking his head back, and the second scored his throat as black as the valley night.

As winded as they were already becoming, they put on every last bit of speed they had to get to and turn the corner that guard had popped around. They managed to make it there without incurring any return fire, but they could see that there was light beginning to fill the area. Enemy reinforcements were no doubt about to flood out.

They hastily took cover, prepared for the sound of a few dozen boots double-timing it to them. When the sound hadn't hit them within a few seconds, Jenkins switched his stance so that he could peer over the rock. His inevitable reaction was delayed due to the fact that what he saw made absolutely no sense.

The light was coming from the open hatch of what had to be their bunker, and standing in front of it was one single soldier wearing his signature black boots, simply looking around. He was as unprepared as his compatriot had been, and with less reason to be so.

Jenkins grabbed his rifle, and had time to square his aim before taking the man's life in a single accurate shot.

Dropping back behind cover, he signaled to Johnson to toss him a grenade quickly. After he had it in hand, he prepared to arm it and look over the rock long enough to toss it into the hole leading into the enemy base.

Then their vision went blank as the entire area was overengulfed with light. It only took a moment for them to regain their senses, but when they did, they saw their fighter overhead. It was blaring every landing and flood lights right at them.

Over the loudspeakers, their Captain's voice rang. "Stand down. I repeat: Stand down. Order confirmation Sigma Delta 00963. Stand Down."

746. A Sith by any Other Name - Raezyr

2011-11-16T06:01:00.003-07:00

The shuttle was no where near as fast as the Jet Razor, and the trip was taking much longer than the Sith warrior was normally used to. The problem was that when you're a 'respectable businessman' you're not really expected to be flying around the Galaxy in a heavily armored and armed, highly manuverable starship. Questions were raised, or so his brother constantly reminded him.

So Raezyr was stuck flying around in a luxury shuttle. Actually, he wasn't even flying the ship which would have at least made him somewhat happy. Instead, he was stuck in the passenger compartment while a two man crew flew the ship.

Apparently well-to-do businessmen didn't fly themselves places, either. It wouldn't have been so bad, except that having hirelings on board meant that he was unable to practice lightsaber combat or accessing his holocron. He was reduced to reading and studying tomes if he wanted to continue learning to master the dark side of the Force.

The big Sith sat alone in the passenger lounge, pretending to read his data pad, which currently displayed the text from an ancient Sith tome, a history of Darth Andacon and his exploits which, Raezyr guessed, ended with the Sith Lord dying some horrible death. He had lately noticed that many histories of Sith Lords tended to end the same way, with the servant of the Dark Side finding his or her way to Hell due to some situation the over-confident Sith had put him or herself into.

He was glad that Trychon and he were much more cautious than these fools. Their stories made for good "what not to do" parables.

Raezyr was brought to the present by a sudden change in engine noise. Rather than the usual thrum they normally emitted, a grinding wail now pierced the shuttle.

He reached over and hit the ship's intercom, "Report!"

It took a moment for his call to be answered, and when it did, the annoyance came through as clear as day, "Sir, we're having some minor technical difficulty. We're handling it."

Raezyr had to swallow his retort and remember that the fool had no clue who he was really talking to. As far as the pilot knew, Raezyr was just some upper-class businessman with no real knowledge of ships and such. "Believe it or not, I can be of real use. Please give the details of our situation." It nearly killed him to bite back his real response.

"Sir, something is wrong with the hyperdrive," the man said. "When we attempted to exit hyperspace and change course for the next leg of our trip, the drive jammed into overdrive instead. My co-pilot has gone back to see what he can do." The man's voice sounded calm, but with the Force, Raezyr could sense the panic. He could sense the panic from both of them.

And with good reason, too. The ship had continued on it's course, speeding up as well. They were no longer travelling according to any calculated coordinates. Without the proper calculations they could fly through a star or a black hole and that would end their trip pretty quickly.

Raezyr leapt to his feet and began running down the corridor toward the engine room to help the co-pilot. He only made it half-way when an explosion rocked the ship, knocking him to the floor. Heavy metal panels and conduit fell from the ceiling and struck the Sith in the head.

He layed there on the cold durasteel floor, his vision swam for a moment, then went black.

745. The Makings of a Henchman pt. 1 - Trychon

2011-11-10T05:30:00.002-07:00

Tranquility valley was turning out to be anything but. Not that that was a surprise to Captain Alzo, affectionately referred to by his men as 'Zoe'. This entire area had been nearly razed to the ground in the few months since he'd gotten there. Not in a single devastating attack, but rather through slow attrition from the seemingly endless battle for position. The 'Black Boots' and the 'Red Shirts' had really created a ruin of this place, in the the process of trying to kill each other to prove their point.

What seemed like such a noble fight two years ago, now seemed like a waste of time and life on the rare occasions he was able to look out on the remains of the once lush valley. He tried once, writing his wife, to describe the sounds and smells of the unnatural state his surroundings had taken. The most descriptive word he was able to conjure was 'indescribable'. There simply were no other words, at least not in Basic, to describe what scorched ground was like, after it was scorched three more times.

Not that she'd want to understand anyhow. Nobody would, in their right mind. It was the only thing that kept him from being depressed about the lack of a view in his 'office' as he liked to think of his six square meters of space, even though he also slept there.

A knock at the door surprised him nearly enough to jump. Instead, his eyes simply regained their focus on the map readings that were in front of him. He straightened his red uniform shirt and called the person in.

"Captain Alzo, sir?" Lieutenant Rigger stuck his head through the opening.

"I'm sitting down, Lieutenant. You can call me 'Cap' like everyone else does." He sighed. "Weren't you supposed to be our recon tonight?"

"Negative... er... 'Cap'." The junior officer sat down opposite him. "I said I'd take care of it."

Alzo rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me."

"Jenkins and Johnson volunteered." The Lieutenant confirmed. "You know how they are." He cut off the rebuke before his Captain could fit it in.

Unfortunately, he did. Everyone did. Those two were about as giving as you could ever want in a soldier. They took the meaning of 'Volunteer' to a whole new level. Everyone in the bunker was a volunteer. Jenkins and Johnson volunteered for everything though, not just their service.

Yes, they were all volunteers at one point... though there was no getting out now. Yet the more the unit's outlook was bleak, the more those two would offer to do anything to help. In confidence, they told him that they figured every small bit could help morale, and every bit of morale was needed to win. They would nearly literally do anything and everything for the good of the group.

He had to admit that it had worked. Everyone may have given up by now if it weren't for those two. "You know I worry about them getting taken advantage of. You should have checked with me." Deep down, he knew that they were probably the best ones for the job. Nothing seemed to shake them, and they were the most likely to come back alive or with results. They spent all their time trying to help everyone else's morale, yet theirs remained like the duraplast bunker they were all stuck in. "Even those guys deserve their downtime. Hell, those guys especially deserve their downtime."

"And we'll get it too!" Jenkins busted in the door and stood at a salute.

"Kriffin' a... We all will." Johnson followed in the same manner.

Alzo could never get over how similar the two were, at least not considering they hadn't met but a year previously. He wondered sometimes if they sat in their bunk and planned out some of their interactions and such, like they did their little skits they performed for the company, as Shirt and Boot the loveable but mishap prone mascots of the two warring factions.

He was looking at the two now, and they were as excitable as their two comedic alter egos. They clearly had something to say and were merely waiting permission to share. He waited a few moments until they looked ready to burst, before giving them an at ease order and suggesting they sit down. They refused to sit, so he asked them for their report.

"We found it." Johnson started. "We think it's the big one!" Jenkins finished.

Alzo looked at them intently to make sure they weren't pulling his leg. It would be too good to be true. "Do you think you were seen?"

Jenkins shook his head no. Johnson shrugged as he answered. "We're here, aren't we?"

They were right. If the 'Boots' had seen them, they probably wouldn't have made it back alive. Several soldiers had gone missing on similar missions, and that was what had most likely happened to them as well. The enemy was entrenched in portable bunkers similar to their own. Placed in the middle of the night under the cover of a lot of air cover and misdirection, once such a structure was placed, they were darn near impossible to find. To take one out, you had to know exactly where it was, and that was the trick.

It still wouldn't be easy, but with knowledge of where one of the enemy bunkers was... or even a command center as they thought they'd found... perhaps they had a chance to finally turn this battle.

He grabbed a cigarra and rolled it between his fingers before sticking it between his lips and getting just a hint of its sweet spices. "Alright. You boys stay. Rigger, assemble the rest of the officers. We have some planning to do."

744. The Accidental Escape - Epilogue - Raezyr

2011-11-08T05:38:00.000-07:00

The bearded man looked up from his cook fire to the night sky. He could visibly see the glowing ship moving across the sky. It couldn't be missed, really. It was the biggest, brightest object up there, standing in stark contrast to the rest of the stars and space junk.

He'd seen many ships orbiting various planets in his time, but this one was massive, and that was unusual for this back water planet.

He picked up his crutch. It was old and almost polished, worn smooth from years of use. He placed it under his good arm and hobbled through the entrance of his home then struggled up the wooden stairs and into the cargo bay of the old space craft.

The ship hadn't moved in years, not since it first landed, and it was nearly covered with jungle growth, both inside and out. Once it would have taken him anywhere in the Galaxy had he chosen to leave... but the reality was that this had been just as good of a place as anywhere else.

He knew that eventually they would come for him, he just thought it would be sooner than this.

Jonas sat down at the controls in what once was the shuttle cockpit and wiped away the grime from the main computer screen. He began entering the start-up sequence, not to fire the engines as he knew that would have been useless although it did cross his mind anyway, but just to check the scanners. He wanted to double check what he was sure he already knew.

It took a few moments to coax the circuits back to life after lying dormant for so long, but eventually the readouts came. Sure enough, the ship overhead was a Republic... Imperial now, he corrected himself, star cruiser... a large capital ship which identified itself as a "Star Destroyer," whatever that was.

He sat watching the readouts for a few minutes, noting that the Imperial ship's sensors were now scanning his location. He had forgotten that active scans of a ship, as opposed to passive, usually got its attention. Especially one that big which had crew working around the clock.

The crippled man sighed. No sense in lying to himself. He hadn't been careless about the scans. Deep down, he had known exactly what he was doing. There was really no sense in delaying the inevitable at this point. All he had done was shorten the waiting period. The man struggled to his feet and made his way back down to the main living quarters, crawled into bed and, his mind no longer worried about how long it would take to them to find him, he went to sleep.

The sounds of the repulsor lifts passing overhead woke him from his restful slumber a few hours later. He sat up, scratched his beard and reached for his ever-present crutch, then made his way down the stairs and outside. He watched the shuttle land a few kilometers off and noted that it wasn't all that different from his, despite the years.

They came a short while later. The clone troopers. No, not clone troopers... at least not dressed like he remembered. The armor was similar, yet different. He wondered if those faces underneath the gleaming white helmets were all the same or if there were real people under there.

They were led by a massive man dressed in nightmare black armor with a flowing cloak billowing behind and he could hear some sort of respirator assisted breathing coming from him as well, but what stood out the most was nothing visual. The man... or thing... was a Force user. Except not a Force user like any he'd ever sensed before.

Somehow the Force surrounding the figure, while powerful indeed, was tainted and twisted, coated in corruption. Just the mere presence nauseated the crippled man, although he tried not to let it show. Yet there was something familiar about the man that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

He stood up as they approached. "May I help you with something?" he asked, still holding out some slim hope that maybe they weren't here to arrest him. His body had never healed right after the fall and the explosion, and he knew he'd never be able to handle prison.

The black figure stopped several meters away. "Zan Jonas, I presume." It wasn't a question.

"Do I know you?" Jonas replied.

"Once perhaps," the black demon said waving his hand, dismissing the subject as of no consequence. "You disapoint me. I was expecting much more of a challenge from someone who has managed to elude me for so long."

The ever present intake and expulsion of each breath was disconcerting. "Challenge?" Jonas said, confused. "I offer no challenge. I will let myself be arrested, I'm in no condition to resist."

"I'm not here to arrest you," the man in black replied.

Jonas let out a sigh of relief, misunderstanding the meaning of the statement.

Suddenly, realization dawned on him. He knew who this was... but it couldn't be! "I know you!" the crippled Jedi exclaimed. "I recognize you now... but why?"

At the same time, the black figure raised his gauntleted fist and slowly began pressing his fingers closer together, making a squeezing motion.

At the last second, Jonas tried to defend himself, shielding himself with the Force, but the Imperial representative blasted through his defenses almost as if they weren't there. He was entirely too powerful.

Slowly, Jonas could feel his windpipe and trachea constricting. Breaths were harder and harder to draw until his air supply was completely choked off. He pulled reflexively at his throat as if he might be able to loosen the grip of the unseen force that was slowly killing him.

Finally, unable to struggle any longer, Zan Jonas felt the world around him slip into darkness.

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

Darth Vader held the grip for a few minutes more until he felt the life force completely leave the pathetic Jedi's body before finally dropping his hand. Wordlessly, he gestured to the Storm Trooper squad leader to clean-up before spinning on his heel to head back to the ship.

"All too easy," the Sith Lord said to himself.

743. The Accidental Escape Pt. 2 - Raezyr

2011-10-28T05:15:00.000-06:00

The time at the landing site was mid-morning, and the clone trooper set the shuttle down in a grassy clearing near the top of a large hill. All around were small, but steep mountains with deep valleys in between. The steepness was softened a bit by the jungle that covered almost everything the eye could see, making everything seem a bit more even.

Zan Jonas went back to the cargo bay and began putting together the equipment he would need to capture and transport the specimens, as well as checking over the cryostasis pods. If those weren't in working order, there wasn't much use trekking out into the jungle.

He hoped it wouldn't take more than a couple days to meet the quota they had given him. On Republic affiliated worlds, he tried to stay in hostels and inns as often as possible, but a trip like this would force the Jedi to camp out, especially if he wasn't able to make it back to the ship for the night.

He glanced over as the clone trooper entered the cargo bay and began going over his equipment. Mostly weapons, Jonas noted. "I doubt you'll need all that hardware, Corporal," he said, voicing his thoughts.

"Never hurts to be prepared for the unexpected, sir," the clone said, continuing his preparations. He finished his packing and began donning his green and brown mottled armor.

When they had finished, they pushed the control button which dropped the whole cargo bay to the ground under the fuselage of the shuttle and stepped out. Already the heat and humidity was oppressive and Jonas had to resort to Force techniques to compensate. He wondered briefly how the corporal could stand wearing that helmet and armor without passing out.

"I won't tell if you want to leave that armor here at the ship," he said, trying to give the clone a way to be a bit more comfortable in this climate.

He laughed underneath his helmet. "Good one, sir."

Apparently he thought it had been a joke.

Jonas shrugged and closed his eyes. He stretched out with the Force, ranging farther and farther, concentrating on the insects he was looking for. Generally, the smaller and less intelligent the creature, the harder it was to sense with the Force. Right now, all he was getting was a vague sense that he out to travel in a Northerly direction.

"That way, Corporal," he said, pointing the way he wanted to go, and they both strode out.

The going wasn't easy, and often the Scout Clone Trooper had to pull out his machete, or Jonas had to use his lightsaber to clear the underbrush to make a path. It was the most use the Jedi weapon had seen in a long time.

By mid-afternoon, the pair stopped at the top of a tall steep hill to take a breather and for Jonas to get his bearings. He had yet to come across anything but faint sensations and his hopes of finding the insects quickly were growing dimmer by the minute.

The Jedi stood there on the edge with his eyes closed, sensing that he should still move forward. He opened his eyes and looked down, calculating the possibility of navigating straight down. It was even steeper than he had imagined at first, but there were enough saplings and underbrush that it might be possible. One misstep and that would be it, though.

He was also taking into consideration the fact they'd eventually have to come back up, and wondering if an easier way down might be close by when it dawned on him that the trooper standing just a couple meters to his side was talking.

Jonas looked over and realized the soldier was getting some sort of a communique through the comm in his helmet.

"I copy you. Order 66. Roger that. CC1558, out," was all Jonas was able to catch.

"Something up, Corporal?" Jonas asked.

Time slowed to a crawl for the Jedi. Several things registered at almost the same instant, and his brain processed it nearly as fast. First, he sensed in the Force a sudden aggressive feeling from his escort. Second, he felt the Force trying to warn him of imminent danger, and third, he saw the corporal grasp his carbine and begin to swing it up in Jonas' direction.

Jonas' first thought was that the trooper was going to shoot him, but just as quickly he dismissed that as ridiculous. The clones were allies of the Republic and the Jedi worked side by side with them, commanding them and fighting with them. That assessment of the situation just wasn't possible.

Jonas' second thought seemed to be the correct one. Some dangerous beast had come up behind Jonas when he had been concentrating on finding the insect, and the trooper was attempting to do his duty and protect the Jedi.

Time seemed to speed back up as the Jedi acted on instinct, spinning to face the danger and drawing his lightsaber at the same time.

As he spun, a rock rolled under his foot, throwing the Jedi off balance and to the ground. The only problem was that at the point in time when he expected his body to hit the dirt, he kept falling instead.

Two things he noticed then. One, he had fallen down the hill, and two, the clone trooper had swung the barrel of the carbine once again in his direction and was sending a salvo of blaster fire his way.

As he hit and bounced for the first of many times, the only thought running through Jonas' mind was that the trooper really was trying to kill him.

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

How much time had passed, Jonas didn't know. He opened his eyes and tried to look around and his head screamed. He forced himself to sit up and assess his situation. He was pretty sure his arm was broken, as was a leg and several ribs, and he guessed he probably had a concussion, from the his head felt and the waves of blackness that kept threatening to wash over him.

He had to remind himself that if it weren't for the clumsy tumble down the hill, he'd be dead right now, although he wasn't sure that death wasn't preferable to his current situation.

Jonas looked down in his hand and was surprised to see himself clutching a familiar metal cylinder, and then he vaguely remembered doing his best as he fell to try and cushion himself using the Force and concentrating on holding on to that lightsaber.

At the same time he flicked it on to see if it would still work, he noticed a crack running down the side of the hilt. He tried to flick it back off, but it was too late. A high pitch whine began to build, getting louder and louder. The core of the powercell had been damaged and it was going to blow.

Jonas tossed the tube as far as he could and gathered the Force around him to once again protect himself from the concussive impact.

The explosion was huge, and the Jedi suspected that if not for the Force, he'd have been killed despite the toss.

Suddenly it dawned on him, that through the Force, he had felt... something... die. A big something.

He began to crawl as best he could toward the site of the explosion. He started to crawl over a log, then stopped.

It wasn't a log. Rather, it was the charred remains of a human.

No, not a human.

A clone.

742. The Accidental Escape Pt. 1 - Raezyr

2011-10-26T05:22:00.000-06:00

Zan Jonas sat in the passenger compartment of the small shuttle and dozed. He wasn't at all happy. Master Yoda had insisted that he take along an armed escort. The little green Jedi Master had explained that the war between the Republic and the Trade Federation led Confederation of Independent Systems had spread far beyond imaginable reach, and a lone Jedi on a planet in hostile territory was not safe, no matter how remote the world was, or how peaceful the mission of the Jedi was.

Who knew that collecting some rare herb samples for scientific study could turn out to be such a hassle?

Jonas sighed to himself and absentmindedly fingered the metal cylinder clipped to his belt. It had been years since he'd activated the standard weapon of the Jedi, and he'd never killed anyone with it. It wasn't that he'd been inept, although at times he wished he had been, he'd just spent most of his time with his nose in the books, studying. Had his lightsaber skills been deemed "lacking," he would have been delegated to the Jedi Service Corps or Educational Corps by the Council of Reassignment, which was really what he had hoped might happen.

Still, his role was a useful one. Often, as was the case now, samples needed to be collected from some remote, yet dangerous world and those in the Educational Corps would come to him for an escort, or to go retrieve the items or specimens himself.

Normally he liked to bring the academics along for some intelligent conversation, but this time all he had was a clone trooper. Jonas couldn't remember exactly what his designation was. CC15 something or other. The clone was a corporal in rank, so that's what Jonas had been calling him.

He had tried to talk to the... being (he wasn't sure a clone classified as a person)... in the beginning of the trip, but the clone wasn't inclined to idle chit chat, and even when Jonas had gotten him to open up, all he talked about was field stripping his DC-15S and other mundane military topics. The Jedi soon stopped trying to engage him in any meaningful conversation.

Jonas looked down at the lightsaber again. He tried to think back to the last time he'd even turned it on. One of these days he'd have to practice with it... on the off chance he actually needed to use it.

Of course, he doubted he'd need it on this mission. All he had to do was capture several insect specimens that were only found in the tropical forests on SaDarval, a remote world which was about half water and half land, and had a vast array of climates and terrain, ranging from dry and rocky to wet and icy, from flatlands to tropics, to mountains, to deserts.

He'd have to put them into the cryostasis containers that he had brought along and stored in the cargo bay as nobody had successfully transported live specimens off planet, as far as anyone knew anyway.

He still didn't understand why he needed a clone trooper. There was nothing on SaDarval that was particularly dangerous. Most of the native species of plant and animal life were no more dangerous than anywhere else. There were no gundarks or rancors to watch out for, and as long as he stayed away from the human settlers, he should have no trouble at all.

The comm crackled to life bringing the Jedi's thoughts to the present and the corporal's voice came across. "Sir, we've just exited hyperspace."

"Thankyou Corporal. I'll be right up," Jonas replied. He shut off the comm and sighed as he got out of his seat. He looked down at the paunch that had accumulated around his mid-section and decided that maybe he should attempt to lose that one of these days.

Yoda as well as his old Master had always stressed that being physically fit directly correlated to one's mental capabilities. Jonas always meant to exercise, but somehow seemed to be too busy doing other things all the time.

He pushed the button on the door and entered the cockpit. He slid into the co-pilot's couch wordlessly and pulled up a surface map of SaDarval without even glancing at the bluish-green orb hanging in the blackness ahead.

Finally Jonas found what he was looking for: a remote tropical forest, big enough to possibly contain the insect specimens he was looking for, but far enough away from any settlements so as to avoid any contact with locals who might take a disliking to a Republic shuttle landing on their CIS affiliated world. He transferred the coordinates to the navcomp, and pointed it out to the clone trooper.

"Here's a good spot," he said. "See if you can find a decent place to put down around there, Corporal."

"Roger that, sir," the trooper responded.

Zan Jonas sighed.

741. Night Flight - Raezyr

2011-10-21T05:15:00.000-06:00

The young blonde haired boy looked around the corner quietly. He listened carefully to the even breathing coming from within the room, indicating its occupants were fast asleep. The boy breathed a sigh of relief and slipped stealthily toward the garage.

Once securely seated and strapped into the cockpit of the Incom T-16 Skyhopper, the nine year old Luke Skywalker began the preliminary engine run-up. Thankfully, the hangar was sound proofed and he knew he didn't have to worry about waking up his guardians. Luke was sure that Uncle Owen would skin him alive if he knew what Luke was about to do.

Still dark, the boy piloted the air speeder across the desert sands to the outskirts of Tosche Station. Luke cautiously peered out the door and into the darkness. A figure emerged from the shadow of a building.

"So," the person said, "you did have the guts to show up."

"Of course I did, Biggs," Luke replied to the older boy. "Hurry up and get in. Uncle Owen will have a fit if I'm not back before he wakes up."

The dark haired 14 year old climbed up and into the ship and they both sat down in the cockpit. "Let's see what this old hunk of junk can do," Biggs Darklighter said. Despite their difference in age, the two boys had become great friends, fueled by their extreme competitiveness when it came to piloting.

So far in their lives, they had primarily been limited to landspeeders like the beat up old X-34 SoroSuub landspeeder which he often matched against Biggs' XP-38. Tonight was different, however. For the first time they were going to make a few time trial runs in an airspeeder through the easiest part of Beggar's Canyon.

Biggs had goaded the younger boy into "borrowing" his uncle's T-16, rather than run the risk of getting himslef in trouble for borrowing one of his father's. He grinned to himself, wondering just how much trouble Luke was going to get into when he got home.

As the young blond-haired pilot approached Beggar's Canyon, he slowed up and began a high fly-over of the area.

"What's the matter, Luke?" Biggs taunted goodnaturedly. "You getting cold feet?"

"No way," he said. "I'm just makin' sure I get a good look at the first part of the run."

The two boys stared intently at the scanner readouts, depicting the entire canyon. The canyon itself had been formed millennia ago by the junction of three rivers, back when Tatooine had been covered with plenty of water and vegetation. Near the end of the canyon lay a rock formation that was known as the Stone Needle. It was a jagged hole in the rocks at the top of a spire which was just wide enough to allow swoops and speeders to pass. All the older kids talked about threading the needle, but only the craziest and bravest pilots ever attempted it during a race. Every couple of years some hotshot young pilot would get killed trying to pass through it.

Biggs and Luke checked out the deadly formation on the scanner as they passed near. "One day I'll thread the needle," Biggs boasted.

"Can I have your swoop after you try?" Luke ribbed him back.

The dark haired boy ignored the comment. Instead he grinned. "Quit stalling, farm-boy. Time to make your run."

They had agreed on running the first leg, since it was night time and up until the first junction the canyon was a bit wider and the turns not quite as sharp. The one with the fastest time would get bragging rights.

Someday they'd run the whole thing, but not now, not at night.

Luke Skywalker flipped his shaggy blond hair out of his face as he strapped into the pilot's couch. He noticed Biggs do the same, and Luke gripped the controls.

"Here we go... aaaand, START!" Luke yelled and punched throttle the same instant the Darklighter boy started the timer.

He dropped low, mere meters from the bottom of the canyon, as sweat began beading on his forehead. It was nearly all instrument flying as it was a pitch black night and not even the moonlight reached the bottom of the canyon.

Suddenly a small signature appeared on the scopes, clinging to the wall of the canyon. Luke recognized what it was instantly and dropped his cross heirs on the object which was barely 2 meters in size. He squeezed off a shot from the T-16's blaster cannon and the energy bolts struck true, obliterating the womp rat.

"Bullseye!" Biggs yelled from his seat. He looked over to see a grin spread across the face of his younger friend despite being locked in concentration on the manuevers.

The blond boy banked hard around corners, increased his throttle coming out and slowed up just enough to make the next tight corner. Finally as he came up on the junction, he slowed and pulled up out of the canyon. He exhaled long and hard, realizing he must have forgotten to breathe as he manuevered the course.

"Not bad, kid, not bad," Biggs said looking at the timer, "but now it's time for me to show you how it's done."

"Yeah, yeah," Luke replied. "It's all talk until you've made your run." Luke set the air ship to auto pilot and the youths switched seats, with Biggs taking over the controls.

The dark haired youth flew back to the start and gave his friend the signal to start the timer as he began his run.

Immediately Biggs saw another womp rat on his scopes and he tried to replicate Luke's shot but missed wide to the right, but not by much.

"Oh, man," Luke said with sincerity. "Almost."

Biggs said nothing but continued to concentrate on flying the best course he could. Although the two were competitive, they were still friends and enjoyed cheering each other on and seeing each other do well.

Finally, the elder boy came around the final corner and pulled up as he reached the junction. They both looked down at the timer.

"Yeehaw!" Biggs yelled. "Beat you by two and a half seconds!"

Luke crossed his arms across his chest. "It's not fair! You got to see me do it first and learn from my mistakes!"

"Oh, quit whining, Farm-boy," Biggs said haughtily. "I beat you fair and square."

Luke suddenly grinned. "But you missed that womp rat by a mile, while I bullsye'd it!"

Biggs conveniently ignored the comment, but looked at his wrist chrono. "Oh, dang, Luke. We gotta get home!"

Luke looked down at his own chrono. They had been out much later than they had planned. "Boy, am I gonna get it!"

Luke dropped his friend off at Tosche Station, hovering just long enough for Biggs to jump to the sand below and run for his land speeder before taking off for home.

Skywalker set the T-16 down in the small hangar and shut all the systems down. Hopefully his aunt and uncle hadn't awakened and he could slip back into bed. He exited the ship and slipped as quietly as he could back into the house.

As he tip-toed silently through the main living area toward his bedroom, the lights flickered on.

"Do you mind explaining where you've been for the last 3 hours?" came the stern voice of Luke's uncle, Owen Lars.

Luke's shoulders sagged and he hung his head as he turned to face his uncle, the man who had raised him for as long as he could remember. "I took the air speeder out for a night flight," he admitted, not wanting to lie, yet feeling it was probably better not to reveal the full truth that he had flown Beggar's Canyon.

Luke's aunt, Beru Lars, came into the living room, cinching the tie around her robe. "Luke, we were so worried about you. It's dangerous to fly at night, you know that."

"I know," Luke admitted.

"Then why the hell were you out there, if you knew?" Owen barked.

"I just wanted to have some fun, a little excitement, I didn't think you'd even notice," Luke replied.

"Damn it, Luke," his uncle continued, "you've got your head in the clouds. What if you had wrecked? Even had you survived, how do you think we would have replaced that speeder? It wouldn't fix itself, you know."

"I know," the boy said. "I'm sorry."

"Damn right, you're sorry," the moisture farmer finished. "Now, get cleaned up for breakfast," he added in a lighter tone.

Luke trotted out of the room and down the hall.

Once the boy was out of ear shot, Owen walked over and put his arm around his wife. "I just don't know what we're going to do with that boy."

"Luke's just not a farmer, Owen," the dark haired, middle aged woman said. "He has too much of his father in him."

Owen scratched his thin beard, thinking, then kissed his wife on the top of her head. "That's what I'm worried about."

740. Omicron Delta Facility - Trychon

2011-10-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

Dianna stared at the video in silence as Raezyr, Trychon and Rhox all waited for her reaction. She was silent for several moments after shutting it off. She could see expectation, hesitation, and anticipation in the faces she found when she finally turned around. They were all unsure how she'd react, and rightfully so. She wasn't sure how she wanted to react herself.

Dianna found it odd that in the moments of her greatest crisis ever, both personal and professional, and while feeling completely lost... she found herself able to read her companions so easily.

Raezyr kept glancing over at his brother, likely hoping that he knew better than to fire off one of his smart remarks, or even a joke hoping to cheer everyone up. Her lover was truly sorry for the losses that she'd had and for letting her down.

Trychon, for his part, was mostly staring at the ground and not saying a word. As much as he got on everyone's nerves with his poorly timed jokes, and for the bad taste they often showed... he too felt hurt and guilt over what had happened, and did not seem to be in the mood to joke. Even if he was, the hidden care and intelligence in him held him in check.

Rhox had a look of simple concern for her friend and boss. She knew she'd probably already thrown in too many comments and looks with 'I told you so' behind them to add anything of the sort at this point. Now she simply was with the Sith that she largely reviled, in wishing she could help the pain disappear.

Dianna looked back to her lover, Raezyr. This wasn't his fault. Rather, it was partly his fault though he would never intentionally hurt her or those close to her. He had tried to help her in the ways he knew how best. Yet, she wasn't sure how things would have turned out for her without him. Part of her never wanted to leave his side, and the other part wished that they'd never met and had a chance to fall in love.

Since the latter wish was impossible, she really was tempted to give up control and just follow him. Give up control, she nearly laughed at the thought of her, Dianna Kingsdoom giving up control. Yet though she never wanted to find herself in this horrible situation, here she was. What made more sense than to go with a man who would always love her, always protect her, and always do his best to ensure that she was taken care of. She'd probably never have to work another day in her life, if she could allow herself to relax that far.

Yet, she was still torn. She felt as though everything and nothing was suddenly clear to her at once. She loved the man underneath the mask, but no longer knew if that kind of safety was truly safe.

She was reminded of a story her father used to tell her.

A solayan scorpion once came out of the desert to the banks of The Great River, whereupon he accosted a drocodane. "My dear chap," he said to the drocodane, "could we form an alliance to get to the other side of the The Great River?"

The drocodane answered, "Do you think I am stupid? I would be at your complete mercy. You could sting me and kill me at any time during the crossing."

"Of course not," said the scorpion. "I could not sting you, because if I did, I would drown."

The drocodane thought for a second and then agreed this made sense and took the scorpion on his back.

About midstream, the scorpion became agitated and stung the drocodane.

As the two were about to go under, the drocodane turned to the scorpion and said, "Why did you do that? Now we will both die."

"I cannot help it," said the scorpion, "It is my nature."

Was Raezyr like the solayan scorpion? Would he bring nothing but death and destruction to even those closest to him, simply because it was in his nature? In her heart she did not feel that it was so, but in her head, she was unsure.

In the end, that was what settled it for her. She was unsure what to do... but she knew she couldn't really come to a decision when she was around him. She opened her eyes, only half aware that she'd closed them.

"We're done here." She spoke firmly. "We have nothing else to stay here for."

She could see the continued hope in Raezyr's eyes. She knew what he wanted, and she knew she couldn't give it to him now. "I have a few things I'd like to fix and clean up here before we leave, but you should go."

Everyone in the room knew who the 'you' referred to. "I'll walk you both to the airlock."

Dianna did not wait for acknowledgement from either of the Sith as she walked past them and towards the docking area. She could hear them following her. The clanking of boots behind her was the only sound for the next minute.

Finally she turned around and locked gazes with Raezyr, her friend, her confidant, her lover.

Trychon also looked to Raezyr, who nodded ever so slightly to show that they were indeed going to acquiesce to her demands.

Raezyr and Dianna stood there while Trychon entered the airlock and began putting on his airtight helmet to give them some privacy.

"When..." The Sith began to ask her, but stopped knowing that she knew his question, and would not answer.

"Don't write, don't call, don't try to find me." She told him, tears now streaming from her eyes as though a dam had broken. "I can't tell you where I'm going or for how long because I don't know."

"I..." He started, as a million things he wanted to say raced through his mind.

"I love you, Raezyr." She finished for him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and embraced him as she buried her lips on his. It was as passionate and meaningful kiss as they'd ever shared. It was too long and too short. It threatened to break her resolve, so she pulled away.

Raezyr took a step back into the airlock. She reached into her knapsack and retrieved a small package for him. She tossed it to him and hit the button on the wall, shutting the airlock and beginning the cycle of the air release. Raezyr fumbled to get his helmet secured before the atmosphere was gone entirely.

Dianna walked away.

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

Both Sith pretended to be all business as they flew the Jet Razor away from the secret Omicron Delta Facility. Sensors and computers beeped, sometimes on their own and sometimes in response to the typing of programs and coordinates that Trychon was entering.

"We're about ready...." Trychon began.

"Just do it." Raezyr responded as he reached out and touched his hand to the transparisteel viewport, reaching out towards Dianna one last time.

As the stars stretched into lines and the distance grew exponentially between the Sith and the secret base, Raezyr looked at the parcel in his lap and finally decided to open it rather than wait until he had a private moment.

As he opened it, he felt a soft cloth covering something much harder. Withdrawing it from its container, he recognized the cloth immediately and its contents were obvious. Still, he had to finish uncovering it and see with his own eyes.

He unfolded the dark velvet liner and saw the only thing it could have been, though not exactly as he'd expected it.

Dianna Kingsdoom had returned to him the Tingel Governor's Blade he'd given her. His heart finally broke as he searched the parcel for the missing piece. It was not there. She'd returned the blade to him, but she'd kept the sheath.

She had given back to him the object and the promise that went with it that was greatest between them. Yet she had kept a part of it.

Trychon had tried to provide privacy, but he could not help but glance over. Immediately, the customary meaning was as clear to him as it was to his brother. More uncertainty.

Announcement - Things Change

2011-10-14T07:55:00.002-06:00

We apologize for not having a post ready for today. There's one that's nearly finished that will post next week.

After this, we will be changing how we do things for a short while. We have come to a stopping point of sorts in our story, and we will be making a jump forward in time. We will be taking a break from our main story in the meantime while we work on really preparing to continue the story.

In the interim, we will continue to post some short stories just to keep the blog active and give our readers something to read. We won't necessarily be following our regular Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule but we will try to keep updates fairly often. Some of the stories we post will be related slightly to our own universe, but for the most part we plan on spreading our wings a little and doing a bit more general fanfic style stories... not even necessarily in the same timeline as our own characters.

We are doing this in hopes of really outlining our plans and giving ourselves a bit more direction. Our hope is that by doing this, we can improve our story, our writing, our experience, and of course the experience of our readers.

Originally we'd hoped to do this without taking a significant break, but time constraints have made that hard, and we feel that the temporary break will be worth the final product.

Thanks for sticking with us!

Erik and Rex

739. Omicron Delta Facility - Raezyr

2011-10-12T05:00:00.000-06:00

Dianna wasn't sure she wanted to examine the ship, afraid of what she might find, so Rhox came out to help Raezyr and Trychon. They moved carefully about the interior of the Twi'lek's ship. She had been an assassin, and as such, was prone to being wary of intruders. It didn't appear as though she had left any traps, or hadn't set them if they were present.

They found two bodies in the med bay. It appeared that Teera and Dek had spent the last few moments using the medical oxygen tanks.

"Frakking Republic bastards," Trychon muttered inside his enviro-suit as the three looked down on the bodies of their friends.

"What was that?" Raezyr asked, not quite catching what he had said.

"Nevermind," he said brusquely before turning to his brother. "Raez, can you get their remains inside the base? I need to check the computers and figure out what happened here."

At that moment, their suit comms crackled to life. "Guys, I'm in the engine room. Come take a look," Rhox said.

They both arrived a moment later. The blackened mess had melted almost everything in the room. Raezyr ran his fingers across the back soot and examined it closely, noticing a crystalline structure to it. "Plasma fire... burned up all the Oh-two and destroyed the oxy-scrubbers as well."

"Can you tell what caused it?" Rhox asked.

"No, but maybe there's something in the logs," Raezyr said and looked at his brother.

"It was probably the kriffing Si..." Trychon started to mumble before catching himself and the glares headed in his direction. "I'm on it," He said and headed for the cockpit.

It only took him a few minutes to access the proper logs, most of which was spent decrypting his own algorithms. Seconds thereafter, his datapad had analyzed the data.

"Hmmm." He said to himself before keying the comm. "Alright... I've got the results. Nothing surprising, for what it's worth. You can come take a look though."

Rhox and Raezyr arrived seconds apart. Trychon didn't look up immediately, but continued his work as he held up a hand gesturing for them to wait.

"What's the deal? I thought you had it already." Rhox tapped her foot impatiently.

"Hang on to your tauntaun.... I'm going to do even better. I hope."

As if he had timed it on purpose, the display nearest him began playing back a video log.

The screen showed nothing but static at first, but the audio had alarm klaxons as well as the static. As the picture began to resolve, they could make out a shadow of what seemed to be a humanoid in front of the camera. They began to hear coughing and muted cursing over the blaring computer warnings.

Slowly the video began to focus. It was still dark and grainy, but they could make out Dek's face obscured by an oxygen mask.

"Finally..." He gasped, breaking into another coughing fit. "I'm not sure how long I have now, so I'll get to the point. We're not doing so hot." He paused to continue trying to clear his lungs. "We got hit as we made our jump out of the system. We tried to feign compliance and get out without any further damage, but it didn't work."

"The hyperdrive took some damage, but our first jump was locked in. When we came out of hyperspace, the alarms... only got worse with the wear and tear. We knew we were taking a risk... by making the second jump, but with the Republic possibly right on our tail, and the course already locked in... we were risking more by staying. We couldn't risk everyone else."

"When the fire started, I was able to lock it into the engine room and contain... it. I don't know how the drive survived to keep us going, but it all happened... so quick. I think my lungs are..." His eyes began to water and he went into a long coughing fit. "I think they're scarred. My lungs. Teera took a nasty hit on the head and has been unconscious. Probably for the best, because her air just may last her long enough. I'm... wasting mine at least twice as much as I should. Not... not for long though."

"Di. I'm sorry. I'm sorry... about... Teera. I'm sorry about everyone else." His eyes began pouring out water, and it was more evident that it was emotional, not physical damage that was causing it now. He was holding in his sobs as best he could. "I don't... know why they did this. Why... did they do this to us? I didn't do anything to... to them. Not... my fault. Please... please... save Teera if you... can. Save yourselves."

"Good...bye."

With his last words spent, he unhooked the oxygen canister from his own mask and walked over to Teera's unconscious form on the table behind him. Barely able to hold himself up, he connected what oxygen he had left to the secondary input on her mask before collapsing.

738. Omicron Delta Facility - Raezyr

2011-10-10T05:00:00.000-06:00

Dianna struggled to remain calm, fighting the panic that threatened to overwhelm her as she and Raezyr made their way to the control room. The big Sith was walking briskly, and it was all she could do to keep from breaking out into a run. The fear that the Republic had found them here was all to real, and she was sure that someone had been followed or tracked somehow.

Yet somewhere deep down inside, despite whatever this turned out to be, she was thankful that she had been able to get out of her discussion with the man she loved, because she wasn't sure she could give him the answers he wanted. She wasn't even sure what the answer even was yet.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was in reality only a few moments, they arrived. She spoke before the door had even whooshed closed behind her. "Is it the Republic? Were you followed?"

Trychon was seated at the control terminal with Rhox leaning over his shoulder, looking intently at some readout on one of the display screens. The Sith slicer turned his head and spoke over his other shoulder. "Ship entered the system, and it's markings match that of the Arctic Seduction," he explained, referring to the single ship which had slipped through the Republic's grasp, escaping to hyperspace just before the Twilight Stalker had succumbed to it's wounds.

"That's Teera's ship," Dianna stated. "Why are you calling me up here for that?"

"She don't appear to have any power to her ion drive. Your Sith maintenance guy here," Rhox said, indicating Trychon with a jerk of her thumb, which was met with a brief glare from the aforementioned," managed to get the communications array up and running. We attempted to hail them on the Kingsmen's emergency comm frequency, but haven't gotten any answer."

"Something's wrong," Dianna surmised.

"Excellent deduction, Captain Obvious," Trychon said with a chuckle. His joke was met with glares all around.

Not the time, Raezyr thought to his brother, who returned a silent acknowledgement.

Trychon cleared his throat. "Uh... Di... um, you want Raez and I to go tow them in?" the older brother suggested, attempting to get past the awkward silence.

"That's probably a good idea," the pirate captain answered. "Don't try to get in, just tow them in."

The Sith brothers headed for the door simultaneously, and the women watched them go. Once gone, Rhox turned to her captain. "Everything okay, boss?" In reality, she had begun to think of the red-haired woman as much more than an employer, rather a friend, and a close one at that.

The reverse was true as well. Dianna collapsed into the chair, and looked up at her friend. "I don't know, Rhox. I just have a bad feeling about this."

"About the Seduction?"

"About everything."

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

As soon as the control room doors had closed behind them, Trychon asked what he'd been dying to ask in the room. "How'd the talk go?"

"Shut up, Trych," Raezyr growled.

"Whatever, man," the older Sith replied. "Just remember that I'm on your side. There's no call to snap at me."

The two were silent for a few moments, their sound of their boots contacting the durasteel walkway echoing down the corridor. Finally Raezyr spoke. "You're right. Tensions are high, but our priorities haven't wavered. Dianna is going to do whatever she needs to do. I want that to be coming with us to Den Var, but right now she's messed up, Trych. She's lost everything, including her focus on what's important. She may need a few days to clear her mind."

Trychon thought about it for a moment. "She'll come to us. It's not like she has any other options at this point, right?"

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

The Jet Razor drifted closer to the other vessel as it tumbled on it's slow roll.

"Sensor readings are inconclusive, showing minimal power readings although it could be enough to sustain the life support systems, but all power to the drives is out," Trychon was saying into the comm, "and we can't see any lights in the cockpit either." He didn't need to extrapolate on what that indicated. The person on the other end of the transmission knew very well that the probability of anyone being alive was next to nil.

"And they're not answering your comm?" Rhox's voice replied over the speaker.

"No, and we've tried flashing landing lights at them in Standard Galactic Communication Patterns but there's been no reply either," Trychon said.

Rhox clicked back on. "Captain says to bring it in if you can."

"Roger that," the Sith said, then turned to his younger brother. "I'll use the tractor beam to stabilize the Seduction's roll while you suit up." The tractor beam aboard the Jet Razor was only a small one, useful for hauling in small objects or rescuing a being who's tether had snapped while outside the ship. Trychon was going to see if he could use it to alter the other ship's course enough so they could clamp on with their landing claw and piggy back the ship in.

Of course, that would mean someone had to go out there and make sure it was secure. It'd be a nightmare if the landing claw slipped and the ships came unhooked at the wrong time.

Raezyr nodded and headed toward the cargo area where they stored the space suits. It'd been a while since he'd been out on a "walk." Zero-G wasn't something he was particularly fond of, but his old Master had made him practice a lot of Zero-G sports, and he'd been good at them.

Donning an enviro-suit and going outside of a space ship was a much different prospect than playing grav-ball. Grav-ball was in a controlled environment with an arena and plenty of breathable air. A little tear in your exercise close wouldn't wouldn't kill you. Out here, there wasn't much besides some being-made materials between you and death, and beings were plenty fallible.

The big Sith shrugged into his suit, double checked the seals, and ran a self-diagnostic on the power cell and air system. All systems reported nominal, with green indicator lights showing on the forearm display readout of his suit.

After getting the "go" signal from his brother, indicating that he had indeed stabilized the trajectory of the other ship, Raezyr cycled the airlock.

The outer door opened to reveal the brilliant view of a nearby planet devoid of any life, the milky glow of the galactic disk could be seen beyond. He took it in for only a brief moment before he pushed out into the black void.

His comm inside his suit crackled to life. "I'm picking you up on sensors and I've got a visual as well," his brother's voice said into his ear.

It didn't take long for Raezyr to cross the expanse. He took his time and even tried to peek into the view ports of the cock pit, but the interior was dark and he was unable to make out any details.

Once he had guided his brother in, and secured the landing claw, he crossed back over to his own ship, happy to be back inside and not having the invisible weight of the expanse surrounding him.

They were already underway when he slid into the seat next to Trychon. "How'd it look?" his brother asked.

"I couldn't get a good look inside. Everything is dark."

"I couldn't sense any thing living on board," Trychon said flatly. His thoughts drifted back to that last night back on Hoth, to the party and the excitement, and to Teera, the owner of the Arctic Seduction. Deep inside he didn't know whether he wanted to find her inside the ship or not. Not finding her meant she had been one of the ones captured while trying to escape the King's Lair, and as far as he was concerned, death was probably preferable to that.

"Neither could I," Raezyr responded.

737. Omicron Delta Facility - Raezyr

2011-10-07T05:00:00.000-06:00

Raezyr's face went red. All his training told him to release his anger, lash out, destroy, but this was Dianna. He strained to keep his emotions in check despite everything he had been taught, because patience was also a quality a Sith was supposed to possess.

All he could manage to say was a single word. "Why?"

"Do you mean, aside from the fact that you punched me in the face and then convinced my second in command to do the very thing that you knew I didn't want? Do you mean, 'why,' aside from that?" She said coldly and calmly.

"You never would have gone willingly, and had you not, you'd probably be dead right now, or worse: in a Republic prison cell awaiting trial," the big man said. Her words had robbed him of a lot of his indignant anger. He had stupidly assumed that she'd get over the physical assault once she came to and realized that this was best, but he should have known better.

"Look, this way the Kingsmen can carry on. You can set up here or somewhere else and start over again," Raezyr reasoned. "But without you, it's over."

"It's over anyway," she said.

"Trych and I can help you out," Raezyr offered. "Our investments on Den Var were sound and they're flourishing like mad. You'll never believe how well they're doing. We can stake you again."

"No, I still owe you two more credits than I can ever repay now," she said sadly. "It's over."

"It's not over," the big man insisted. "Forget about those credits you owe..."

"You're not getting it, Raez!" Dianna exclaimed. "It's over. Not because I don't have money. Not because I already owe massive debts, it's over because of you. It's over because of Trychon. In the end, it's over because of me."

Raezyr opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted. "I failed in my judgement. I never should have allowed the Sith to stay at my base. Since then there's been nothing but trouble with the Republic and the Jedi. You've been the only redeeming aspect of that failure."

The Sith's eyes grew cold. "Now you're sounding like Rhox."

"Yeah, well I trust her judgement, and she's had you Sith pegged as trouble makers from the start!"

"So did Zanz," Raezyr retorted. "Where did trusting him get you?"

Dianna turned her back to Raezyr but said nothing.

"Look, babe. Just come to Den Var with Trych and I," Raezyr said calmly. "This whole thing was a major blow to all of us, and we're all upset right now." He stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders.

She shrugged away from his touch. "Just go, Raez. I need time to sort this out."

"Absolutely," he agreed. "Take a few days, then come and meet us in Den Var. Things will look better once you've been able to get some perspective."

She spun around to face him again. "You're not hearing what I'm saying, Raez. I need time. Not a few days. Not even a few weeks. I need to sort my life out. I need to figure my future out, and I have no idea how long that will take."

Raezyr nodded slowly. "Take as long as you need, just promise that you'll come to me on Den Var when it's all over."

Dianna closed her eyes tightly in a wince for a moment, then looked up into her lover's eyes before she began. "Raez... I..."

Suddenly she was interrupted by the squawking of the comm box on the wall. "Di, Raez, you two better come up to Main Control. A ship just popped into the system."

736. Omicron Delta Facility - Raezyr

2011-10-05T05:00:00.000-06:00

Rhox Vegha stood with her hands on her hips and a determined set to her jaw.

Raezyr ignored her and continued to remove his eviro-suit. "Nice to see you again too, Rhox," the big warrior said sarcastically.

"I mean it," she said. "You're not welcome here." Her hand moved almost imperceptibly closer to her M-45 blaster pistol in it's drop holster at her hip. Still it was enough for Raezyr and Trychon to notice.

Their movements became slow and deliberate as they removed the last pieces of their bulky space-wear. Raezyr stepped closer to her, testing her. He wanted to see just how serious she was.

"Go ahead, Rhox," Raezyr said carefully. "Jerk that plasma wagon and see what happens."

For a tense moment, both the Sith thought she might actually be foolhardy enough to go through with her unspoken threat, but in the end she relaxed, her shoulders slumping just slightly and she moved her hand away from her pistol.

"Captain Kingsdoom said she didn't want to see you," Rhox said, the defeat evident in her voice.

Raezyr pushed on passed the security officer. "Then she can tell me that to my face."

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

Rhox followed a few steps behind Raezyr without speaking. Despite his lack of familiarity with the enormous facility, he didn't need anyone to guide him. There was only one other life force in the complex and it called to him.

Initially Trychon had considered just loading up the supplies and staying out of the way, but with the probability of entertainment at his half-brother's expense, there was no way he was going to miss it.

The three finally found the former pirate captain on her knees and up to her elbows in wiring in a room filled with various outdated electronic equipment. All of it was covered in a thick layer of dust just like everything else in the base.

Despite being the second person into the room, Rhox was the first one to speak. "Captain, they insisted on seeing you."

Dianna stood up, brushed her dusty hands off on her fatigue pants and pushed a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. "I see you made it," she said flatly.

Raezyr ignored the comment. "What's this about not wanting to see us?" the big man demanded.

"Well, that's not exactly what I said," Dianna said. Raezyr detected a coldness in her tone, but why it was there he wasn't exactly sure.

"Then what exactly did you say?"

Dianna looked into Raezyr's eyes for a moment, then looked away. When she spoke, it was to the other people in the room. "Trych, there's something wrong with the comm system, can you see if you can get it working?"

"Uh, sure," Trychon said, a little disappointed, and walked out the door, headed to the main control deck of the complex.

"Rhox, can you go see if he needs help?" the red haired woman added.

Rhox Vegha hesitated. She wasn't sure she should leave her captain alone in what appeared to her as a volatile situation. Finally she decided that she'd do as she was told. Still, she glanced one last time over her shoulder before she left the room.

When her security officer was finally gone, Dianna turned her eyes back to that of her lover. "Rhox might have gotten a bit zealous, Raez."

"But did you tell her we weren't welcome here?" the Sith pushed for an answer. "Did you tell her that I wasn't welcome here?"

Dianna looked Raezyr straight in the eye, her jaw set. "Your stay here needs to be as brief possible."

735. Omicron Delta Facility - Raezyr

2011-10-03T05:00:00.000-06:00

"Rendezvous Point Omicron Delta" was actually a deserted asteroid mining facility which Dianna's father had purchased many years ago for emergency purposes, such as this. In the past several years the facility hadn't been touched and had probably been forgotten by even the original mining corporation which had built the facility, if it was even still in existence.

Dianna's father had purchased the facility through a front corporation under a fake name, and then let the "company" go out of business. For all intents and purposes the facility was abandoned, unowned, and forgotten about years ago.

The chances of it even being discovered was slim as the system it was located in was not only off the beaten path, but contained no habitable planets, or at least not habitable to any known sentient life form. The system didn't even have a name, only an alpha-numeric designation for mapping purposes. There was no imaginable reason a ship might exit hyperspace here, but here was the Jet Razor, cruising along the edge of the unamed system's asteroid belt as it had been for several hours now.

"Omicron Delta, this is Jet Razor. Do you copy?" Raezyr spoke into the comm for what seemed like the hundredth time, but had yet to receive an answer. The Sith brothers had never really bothered to get an exact location of the facility. They had never really ever expected to have a reason to stop there.

Raezyr tapped the ship comm again, but instead of transmitting out into the black void, his voice traveled to a maintenance tube within the ship. "Hey, you get that sensor adjusted yet?"

His brother's voice came back across the speaker. "No, and I won't get it done any time soon if I have to keep answering that question every five minutes. Just keep your tunic on. You're as jittery as a Kowakian monkey-lizard."

Raezyr ignored the jab and continued. "Something may have happened to them. We have to find that old mining base. If they didn't make it, we need to know that so we can get looking for them."

"You've said that already. You're starting to sound like a shorted out holo-recording," Trychon retorted with a chuckle. The click that followed told Raezyr his brother had shut off the comm, essentially ending the conversation.

For the next thirty minutes, Raezyr continued to send out his hail across a wide range of frequencies in case for some reason they were having trouble monitoring their usual frequency, but to no avail. Finally Trychon stepped through and sat down on the co-pilot's couch and began to fiddle with the sensor knobs.

"Is it working? Did you make the adjustments?" Raezyr asked excitedly. He'd been going crazy not knowing what had happened. They had been forced to take a longer route to get here, and despite the fact the Jet Razor could make point five past light speed, the other ships should have arrived here long before now.

"Patience, my young apprentice," Trychon said. Raezyr could hear the grin in the words even though his half-brother's face was turned away from him and chose to ignore the comment.

The older brother continued to fiddle with the controls until he finally leaned back, a look of satisfaction on his face. "Alright, it's working. If there's a power source big enough to light up a glow stick anywhere within half a million kilometers, we'll know about it."

Trychon had spent the last few hours turning the sensitivity up on the sensors. It had required him to spend most of the time crawling around in cramped access tunnels rewiring power converters and bypassing filters. He'd even had to suit up and crawl around the hull for an hour, slicing into the sensor array.

Normally, sensors were geared only to pick up large power sources such as ships, satellites and planetary settlements, but they had failed to record any signs of a facility after two slow orbits around the entire asteroid ring.

Fearing the worst, Trychon had amped up the sensitivity beyond anything they would normally be capable of. They'd have to turn it down before they left the system, though. If they flew into an inhabited system where ships and other sources of power were common, it'd blow the fuses. It'd be the electronic equivalent of a concussion grenade going off next to someone's ear.

Raezyr flew slowly, hoping the improvised sensor upgrade was really working. Even a powered down ship still had trace amounts of power flowing through it. If Rhox and Dianna had crashed, hopefully it'd pick it up, or at the very least, be able to pick up the minute traces of power that the dormant mining facility would use.

Suddenly Trychon notified Raezyr there was a faint signal on the edge of the sensor. Instantly Raezyer gunned it toward the source, quickly closing in on a huge asteroid nearly 400 kilometers in diameter on the edge of the dangerous belt of space rocks.

They consulted the sensor readouts the closer they came, and located the source of the reading in what looked like a cave in a large crater. Upon closer inspection, the opening was too uniform in size and shape to be naturally occurring, and as they drifted slowly inside on repulsor lifts, they saw the Ice Spectre sitting on a landing pad inside and looked to be in perfect shape.

As Raezyr was setting down, Trychon leaned forward and looked through the transparisteel view ports. "There's equipment set up for a mag-con field, but it doesn't appear to be on," he surmised. "We'd better suit up. If it really is off, then there's no atmo between us and the airlock to the base."

It took Raezyr a bit longer to pull on his Enviro-suit as Trychon had already done it once already today, but they were both ready rather quickly. Neither spoke. They didn't want to think about why Dianna's ship was sitting in the landing bay and appeared to be in good condition.

When they were ready, Trychon mashed the button which activated the ship's airlock. Once it cycled through, purging the oxygen and equalizing the pressure to that of the outside, the loading ramp lowered and they plodded slowly down and toward the main entrance to the mining facility.

They lumbered on in the suits like two huge, ungainly beasts, moving slower than Raezyr would have liked, although they finally made it. He punched in Dianna's standard access code given to all her crew members and the lights on the airlock control panel lit up, indicating it was cycling. Finally the doors slid open silently in the vacuum and they stepped in.

Once again, Raezyr activated the controls and cycle began again, this time in reverse, air filling the airlock and equalizing to the air pressure in the base. They took it as a good sign that there even was air pressure in the base.

Still, anything could be wrong, and they waited until the inner doors had opened, and the indicators built into the wrists of the their enviro-suits told them the air was safe to breath before they began to remove the bulky suits.

The helmets popped open with a hiss, one after the other. They pulled them off and tucked them under an arm as they heard footsteps clanking on the durasteel floor grates coming from down the corridor and around the bend.

Raezyr reached out with the Force, sensing the approaching lifeform. It wasn't who he had hoped. Still he pressed his senses out further, deeper and deeper into the asteroid facility and finally sensed the mind he sought. He sighed in relief.

Rhox Vegha came marching around the corner, a stern look on her face. "Don't even take those off, Sith," she began with a near snarl. "You can fuel up and grab some emergency supplies if you need them, then get out. The captain doesn't want you here."

734. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr

2011-09-30T05:00:00.000-06:00

When Raezyr emerged from his steam, the ship was already in hyperspace. He found his brother in his normal seat, nursing an ale. On the table was several more, with just a few empty.

"Well?" The larger Sith asked.

Trychon didn't make eye contact, which wasn't unusual due to their bond. His facial expression was a bit more rare, as he was clearly upset. He popped the top off of one of the bottles on the table and slid it across towards Raezyr's normal seat.

Raezyr closed the distance to the table and caught the bottle as it reached the edge. He took a drink before grabbing an empty tankard to pour it in and sitting in the chair.

"Well?"

"One." Trychon gloomily whispered.

Raezyr repeated the word back to him as a question. "I don't get it."

"One ship." Trychon finally made eye contact. "One ship got out of the second group. That's all."

Raezyr looked down at his large mug. "Could be worse."

"Could be worse? Could be worse?" Trychon laughed, though his voice was cold. "Things could always be worse. We specialize in that." He downed the rest of his drink and watched the foam settle and dissipate at the bottom.

"We frelled up, Raez. Bad." He shook his head as he grabbed another two bottles, sliding another across the table after opening them and pouring one for himself. He didn't notice or didn't care that his brother hadn't finished his first drink.

Raezyr waited patiently for his brother to continue.

"This whole kriffing mess was our fault."

The big Sith took a swig from his drink and eyed his older sibling questioningly. "How so?"

"We got complacent, Raez. We got so secure and relaxed that we forgot we were vulnerable. When Tyr and Anya ran off on their own, we should have gone after them. We should have tracked them down to the ends of the Galaxy, and either made them pay for their betrayal or at the very least ensured they could never tell a living soul where we were.

"Instead, we let them go, trusting that two frakking Sith who were angry with us and too stupid not to draw attention to themselves could wander around the Galaxy until the Jedi finally caught up with them and that they would not give us up to save their sorry asses," Trychon said through clenched teeth. "No, this was our fault.

"On top of all that, there's the fact that when the inevitable Republic arrival finally happened, we had no better escape plan that to scatter like a bunch of Kowakian monkey lizards. No, there had to have been something we could have done differently on that end as well. Had to be."

"Trych, if you want to play that game, I can do it too," Raezyr responded. "And it all goes right back to the Jedi, in the end. Had they taken a young girl into their Order... had they not murdered my Master... had Tyr's Jedi father given two shakes about what happened to him... had that Padawan not stuck her damn nose where it didn't belong... none of this would have happened. Don't you agree?

"I don't know," Trychon responded. "What I do know is that we let ourselves grow weak, and left ourselves open to attack out of some sort of misguided feeling that we were beholden to someone other than ourselves. What I know is that it won't happen again. It's you and me versus the Galaxy."

In silence, they raised their glasses to each other and to nobody in particular, hoping that they weren't raising them in honor of a friend lost forever.

After a few minutes of silence, Trychon spoke up. "Damn... I just realized that I was so caught up in analyzing what went wrong that I never bothered to ask: How did you fare? Or rather, how did the Jedi fare?"

"Well, the fish did better than I would have liked...." He paused to rephrase his answer. "I mean, I completely obliterated her, but she was annoyingly ok with it. Took her way too long to call her alien buddy down to help."

Trychon chuckled before Raez continued.

"By the time he came down, I wasn't ready for him. He's quite a bit stronger than the girl, and he uses a double bladed saber. I was already pretty spent when he landed, and I didn't realize it. Add in the storm and cold... I wouldn't have lasted much longer. Honestly, he would be a strong opponent even on a fair battleground."

"Here's to next time!" Trychon raised his glass again, and struck it briefly against Raezyr's, "And to not believing in fair battlegrounds!"

"Uh... yeah," Raezyr added. "Next time!"

Then he took his turn staring into the dissipating froth at the bottom of his mug while trying to ignore the nagging doubt in his head.

The hesitation wasn't lost on Trychon either.

733. Hoth: King's Lair - Trychon

2011-09-28T05:00:00.000-06:00

Trychon worked furiously on getting the ship airborne again. He'd needed to set down briefly to let Raezyr onboard, and he was sure he'd set a personal record for shortest landing period. Now that his brother was safely in the ship, he could really put the Jet Razor through her paces again.

He'd have loved to have taken his time and a few more shots at the Jedi, but the space battle didn't seem to be going very well, and that meant that they could have company very soon. The blue-skinned Jedi who was still fighting would have been a hard target under the best of circumstances, and he couldn't see where the other had gone. He'd been forced to settle for a short strafing run and a few quick shots on the landed fighters. With any luck, he hoped they'd freeze. Slowly.

Raezyr appeared at his side as the ship accelerated towards the far side of the planet.

"What are you doing?" Raezyr gasped, as he pulled off his helm. "We have to engage the Republic to get the rest of the crew out!"

"Too little to late, bro." Trychon pointed to the long range sensors. "It'd likely be over by the time we break atmo. We have to run."

"But..." Raezyr wanted to debate the point, but he saw the look on his brother's face as the shields failed on his prized possession, the Sith Stalker. The ships were nearing the edge of the gravity well, and it was going to be very close.

"How long until we're clear? Can they catch us?"

"Only if they have another fleet waiting on the other side of the planet."

"I'm going to go take a hot sani-steam."

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

Moklam couldn't hide his smile as he sat in his command chair, watching the final enemy ships being tractored into his docking bay. One small shuttle had tried to make a last minute dash to escape, and had in fact made it to hyperspace. Unfortunately for them, there had been an explosion of some sort right as they entered hyperspace. Without knowing what exactly had exploded, their fate was up in the air, but it didn't look good. The rest of the pirates surrendered without further issue. He would look forward to taking them back to Coruscant for punishment. He could never erase his errors and the taint on his career that the pirates and Sith had created. He had now done the next best thing though and that was to bring them, or at least some of them, to justice. A victory counted as a victory.

Though he was troubled by the lack of response from the Jedi, they were technically not in his chain of command. One ship had escaped to the far side of the planet as they had rounded up the pirates, and he could only hope that the Jedi survived the encounter, as one or both Sith clearly had. Still, it wasn't his responsibility to bring in the Sith, as the Jedi had reminded him countless times. Only if it coincided with the rest of the battle, which it only had briefly.

His Lieutenant cleared her throat to get his attention before him the early battle reports. He thanked her with a nod and perused the numbers. Minimal damage to both capital ships, expectable losses to his fighter squadron strength, and that was despite the brief incursion with the Sith.

Yes, things were going quite well for him now. The Republic Navy was very 'What have you done for me lately,' and with limited incursions lately, this would prove very handy for him.

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

Not long after, a shuttle craft set down on the deck of the landing bay inside the pirate base. Several Republic Commandos rushed down the loading ramp, reported to a superior officer, then marched off down a corridor.

Two Jedi, wrapped in emergency thermal blankets walked down the loading ramp a moment later and took stock of their surroundings. Everything was in disarray. Stacks of crates which had probably stood neatly stacked not long ago now lay strewn about. Gear had been dumped on the floor in the pirates haste to escape their impending capture.

Val had been impressed with his companion. She had taken a brutal beating from the Sith warrior she had faced, but most of the damage had been superficial. He had not only assaulted her physically, but mentally as well, and he was proud that she had not broken, even when it looked like the end was inevitable. She truly had recovered from her near fall to the Dark Side and was now stronger for it.

As far as her physical well being, he could feel the Force flowing through the Nautolan, using the power of the Light to heal and repair her wounds, supplemented by the bacta patches. Still, he knew he'd probably have to insist she spend some time in a tank in the med-bay for good measure.

The Chiss was brought back to the present as a young Twi'lekki commando walked over to them. "Master Jedi, I think there's something you might want to look at," he informed them.

"What is da situation, Lieutenant?" Nal Talla asked as they followed him to whatever it was he wanted to show them.

"There was minimal resistance from the few criminals who had been left in the base, ma'am," the soldier informed her. "Our ground forces sustained no loss of life and only one trooper was injured. Enemy forces sustained two killed and three captured.

"There was however, one body dead before we landed," he added. "Her body is right over here." He turned the corner, rounding a shuttle where three body bags were laid out in preparation to be loaded. He indicated the one closest to the ship.

Val knelt down and unzipped the bag. Somehow he knew what he was going to see even before he laid the flap of the bag open. The blond hair was disheveled, the skin was pale, cold and clammy and the blue eyes were now milky and glazed over, but both Jedi immediately recognized Anya Tachi.

"She matched the description of one of the Sith scum bags you were looking for," the lieutenant said. "We weren't sure though, since she was dee oh ay."

"Yes, dat's her," Nal confirmed. "Tank you, Lieutenant." The young man saluted and walked away.

Nal looked at the puncture wound in Anya's abdomen, and her thoughts were taken back to her friend Nylan. She thought it was ironic that their death wounds looked eerily similar.

It surprised her a bit to realize that she no longer felt the smoldering anger when she thought of her friend's death, but instead a sense of longing for the company of her friend. Maybe she was finally ready to let it go, especially now that Nylan's killer was no more.

"I guess we should send her remains back to Dantooine to be buried," Val said aloud.

"I tink she still has some distant relatives back on Corellia," Nal reminded her friend. "Despite what she became, dey might like a chance to make deir peace wit her."

Val looked up at the Nautolan's thoughtful face. I bet she makes a great Jedi Master someday, he thought to himself.

732. Hoth: King's Larir - Raezyr

2011-09-26T05:00:00.000-06:00

The Sith ship started moving straight toward the Unity, acting as a shield for half a dozen fighters, shuttles and freighters. It had been able to keep the Republic fighters at bay just long enough to allow the second round of escaping ships to assemble and now was going to make another run. Captain Wash Moklam had no intention of letting it succeed.

He had felt bad, denying the Jedi any back up fighters when they had given chase to two ships back down into Hoth's atmosphere, but that had been the deal from the moment they had jumped into system and realized who they were actually dealing with. The Jedi would take care of the Sith and any ships they might have, while Moklam and his task force concentrated on the Pirates. Of course, had he actually had any fighters to spare, he would have sent them.

Their main hindrance so far had been their orders to capture prisoners first, but finally, they had gotten some decent sensor readings to go along with the Jedi's previous assessment. No life forms were detected aboard the small Sith capitol ship.

"Concentrate all firepower on that cruiser!" Moklam ordered. "Turn it into slag, then resume ion cannon fire on the rest of the enemy vessels," he added. Up until this point they had been relying on the ion cannons, but for some reason it seemed to have little effect on the big ship. In return the ship's accurate turbo laser fire had been able to keep most of the Republic fighters at bay.

Within moments, concussion missiles and proton torpedos began streaking from various Republic ships toward the Sith cruiser. Explosions lit up the view screens on the bridge of the Unity as the ordinance slammed into the shields of the enemy vessel.

Still, the ship came on, cannons blazing in the blackness of space, spouting darts of green in all directions.

Captain Moklam watched as it came on, the distance between them closing rapidly. This time his ship and the other Hammerhead-class cruiser, the Protector, were ready for the suicide-like run. Neither ship needed to take evasive action. Instead, they continued to pour laser and missile fire into the enemy.

For a moment, Moklam thought it just might break through as it's shields seemed to be holding up to salvo after salvo. Then all at once, missiles no longer detonated just prior to impact but began striking the hull instead.

"It's shields are down!" cried an ensign at a sensory station, and loud cheer went up from the entire bridge crew.

Moklam sat back in his command chair, breathing a sigh of relief as he watched gouts of flame and debris pour from the gaping holes which appeared in the surface of the vessel which had vexed him during two separate engagements now.

Quickly, the guns aboard the Sith cruiser quit and what was left of the ship began a slow tumble toward deep space, having been knocked off it's course by the explosions and no more engine power to correct it.

"Ignore that ship," Moklam ordered with a slight smile. "Neutralize the remaining enemy craft with ion cannons and issue an order to surrender."

He listened with satisfaction as calls began to come in, asking to surrender even before his orders had been carried out.

The Twilight Stalker continued to tumble out into deep space, even as it began to break apart. Moklam watched as it did so. It wasn't exactly what he had hoped for, but a win was a win.

731. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr

2011-09-23T05:00:00.000-06:00

Raezyr suddenly poured on a flurry of unexpected attacks, driving the Chiss Jedi backward but the momentum lasted only a moment. He tried to infuse himself, draw more energy from the Force, but his last burst had drained him.

Quickly the tide began to turn. Val, sensing that his opponent's fatigue was beginning to overwhelm him, began to make his own careful, well-chosen attacks. The impact was immediate and Raezyr began to give ground as the Jedi's thrusts and strikes came at him from what seemed like all sides at the same time. His two lightsabers moved quickly, but not as fast as the Chiss' double-bladed weapon.

Val's precision strikes weren't aimed to kill, but rather limit his opponents area of maneuverability, drive him back and force him to surrender if at all possible. "Raezyr, please listen," he pleaded. "There's someone you should meet and listen to. Even Tyr would beg you to listen. It will change everything you think you know." He tried to subtly manipulate Raezyr's mind with the Force. He doubted a full on mind trick would work, but hoped the Sith might be tired enough that something like that might at least allow the human to receive what he said with an open mind.

It was of no use. Despite his physical exhaustion, the big Sith warrior's mental defenses were strong although he gave no indication of having noticed the subtle attempt. Raezyr managed to laugh and even speak between panting for air. "As if I'd listen to you, a brain-washed Tyr or anyone else who might spew Jedi or Republic propaganda."

The talking distracted Val's opponent and he landed a well-placed kick to the Sith's midsection, sending him flying backward into the snow. He had hoped the move might disarm Raezyr, but no such luck was to be had.

Raezyr tried to draw on the Force to help him leap to his feet, but it was gone. It was taking all he could muster just to keep his mind focused on anticipating the incoming attacks. He scrambled clumsily to his feet and stood swaying as he flicked the switches on his blades, igniting them once again.

Val allowed a momentary reprieve, and the Sith looked around to take stock of his surroundings. For the first time he realized how hopeless the situation was. The edge of the cliff was only a few meters behind him now and all three ships were on the other side of Jedi. He estimated his chances of getting past the big blue Chiss, but they were nil. No matter which direction he broke, the Jedi could easily cut him off from escape. He thought about trying to leap over his opponent, but he was too tired. The ability to draw on the Dark Side had all but left him.

He glanced over his shoulder toward the edge of the precipice and into the white invisible depths beyond, blotted out by the driving wind and snow. Raezyr had see this place before when the visibility was good and knew it was hundreds of meters to the jagged rocks below.

The Jedi tried one more time. "If you won't listen to me, listen to logic," Val proposed. "You can see there's no escape, but don't throw your life away. If you will lay down your weapon, there's always a chance you can escape and live to fight another day."

The midnight blue helm of the Sith shook back and forth signaling no. "I'll escape, and we'll meet in combat again some other day... but I'll never surrender to a Jedi," Raezyr said, spitting the last word like a curse.

Suddenly he spun on his heels, ran and dove over the edge of the cliff.

"No!" Val yelled, extending his free hand as if to catch the airborne Sith. He moved forward a few steps, then stopped. He began to sense that something wasn't right. He took few steps in retreat from the edge of the cliff just moments before he heard the whine of the repulsor lifts, then spun on his heels and ran.

The Jet Razor lifted from below. Val looked over his shoulder to see the armored Sith sprawled out, clinging to the dorsal section of the hull. Lasers lanced out from the ship's cannons, the sound roaring as the snow exploded all around the Jedi.

And as quickly as it had appeared, the ship was gone, disappeared into the raging blizzard. Val stood up and took stock of his situation. All three fighters had taken severe damage. They wouldn't be flying any time soon.

The big Chiss ran over to where Nal Talla lay, crouching down and gathering her into his arms. He could still feel her life force, and it was much stronger than he had expected. She looked up at him. "Did we save him from himself?" she asked.

Val smiled one of his rare smiles. "Not today, Nal. Not today."

730. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr

2011-09-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

Her answer only infuriated him more. He gathered the Dark Side and wrapped it around the Nautolan's throat and slowly began closing off the air she needed to breath. She had thrown up a pathetic attempt to block it, but in her condition he had blown right through her Force defenses. He planned on dragging this out and he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

A calm voice with a steady, even tone came from behind the Sith warrior over the howling wind. "Raezyr... release her."

Raezyr hadn't heard the ship land, but somewhere in his subconscious, he had felt the approach of another being, one sheathed in the pathetically weak light side of the Force. Unfortunately, he had been too wrapped up in exacting his revenge on the first Jedi to take more notice. "Touching that you should come down and witness the final moment of your little friend here," Raezyr said over his shoulder. "Although it is strange that you should be so eager to have your turn to die, Jedi. I thought your Order taught you more patience than that." He closed his grip in the female Jedi's throat even tighter.

The other Jedi must have sensed it because Raezyr felt the being behind him go tense, as if preparing an attack. Quickly he thrust out his palm and released a wave of Dark Side energy into Nal's body. She flew backward and slammed into the side of her fighter. The impact was forceful enough to pulverize a nerf, but he hand no time to investigate what happened to her. Instead, flipping forward while twisting and drawing his blades. He had just enough time to ignite them and block the powerful downstroke of the big Chiss Jedi as he completed his leap.

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

Val could feel the life force slowly ebbing from Nal. If she were to be saved, he had to act quickly. He was unsure of exactly what was happening, but he could feel sickening taint of the Dark Side flowing form the armored Sith into his friend. She clearly didn't have much longer.

He still suspected some sort of a trap. If not, why had the Sith not killed her yet and allowed him to approach on foot to within ten meters. He stopped and said something, hoping to change Nal's fate, hoping it wasn't sealed already.

The reaction from the man whom Master Solumi suspected was his grandson was about like Val had expected: a snide retort and then further torturing of Nal. The big Jedi did the only thing he could do and propelled himself through the air, igniting his lightsaber and bringing it down on the Sith.

Raezyr had reacted unbelievably quickly. Val had fully expected his attack to be blocked, but he hadn't expected the Sith to take the time to lay one last devastating blow on Nal. Val only knew she was alive because he hadn't felt her death through the Force.

He stood briefly, his blade crackling against the Sith's crossed lightsabers, and then the fight began in earnest.

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

Raezyr was tired. He had expended way more energy on the Nautolan than he had expected. In fact, he had hoped to draw energy from her fear, but had ended up using his own as he desperately sought to elicit a reaction from her. No matter, he thought. He'd make quick work of this one, then rendezvous with Trych and get off this ball of ice.

He furiously rained blows upon the Chiss, who slowly gave ground under the assault. For a moment, if felt almost like fighting against his brother since they both used a lightsaber which had blades that extended from both ends of the unusually long hilt, and since he could often push his sibling into defense mode as well.

It took only a few moments for Raezyr to realize that he was gravely mistaken. This Jedi was much more skilled than his brother, and this defense mode wasn't a desperation tactic to save his life. The parries and blocks were too deft and too sure to be anything but a passive form of attack. The Jedi was going to wait and let the Sith tire himself out, then end it when his opponent was too fatigued to go on.

Raezyr quickly changed his tactics to a more balanced attack, rather than try to over power his foe with powerful blows. He was already too tired from the first fight, and he cursed himself for underestimating this foe who was vastly superior to the last one.

The Jedi noticed the change in tactics as well, and it was obvious that Raezyr couldn't win. "Raezyr, everything you've been lead to believe is a lie. Surrender. Come with me and I can show you the calm and peace you've been seeking," the blue Jedi said amidst his calm defense.

The Sith snarled beneath his helmet. He spat out the Sith code: "Peace is a lie, there is only passion!"

729. Hoth: King's Lair - Trychon

2011-09-19T05:00:00.000-06:00

Trychon stood outside the ship for just a few more moments shielding himself as much as he could from the stinging weather.

Eventually, the Wampa who'd been playing with him landed, and its confusion and life force extinguished. Trychon had tried to push him or lift him out of the way so he could escape the bunker, but the monster had dug its claws in and refused to let go until he was out of time and had to give it a gigantic push upwards. Shame, he thought... it would have made such a nice pet...

Glancing down at his chrono, he became concerned. He took a few steps towards the crater he'd recently created and more recently emerged out of. His walk was interrupted by a gout of flame from the hole there, and Trychon jogged back to the Jet Razor, intent on turning the internal heater on full once inside.

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

Here it was in front of him... the living embodiment of his hate. For a long time now, he had known he'd face her again, and he had looked forward to it like a young Wookie looked forward to Life Day. He had remembered the fear and smoldering anger she had shown back so long ago on Coruscant as he had stood above her and he had relished the thought of drinking in that energy again.

Instead, this infernal Jedi chose to remain calm. It was almost as if she had known that the time of her death was upon her and that it was she whom had chosen it willingly, rather than Darth Raezyr who decided whether she would live or die.

It infuriated him that she should deny him that which he had hungered for for so long. He felt like a man dying of dehydration, only to be denied the liquid which would slake his thirst by some inferior being. He let the rage take control and the Dark Side raged through his body like fire through a dry summer forest.

Raezyr grabbed her by the head-tails and hoisted her to her feet like a tooka doll. Again he slammed his fist into her midsection, letting the Force augment his already great strength and the Nautolan flew backwards, landing in the snow.

He could feel her feeble attempts to use the Force to cushion the blows he rained down upon her, and they were the sole reason she was even conscious, let alone alive. Somewhere underneath the rage he respected her courage, as a lesser being would not have survived.

The Sith trudged through the snow, and grabbed the Jedi by the flight suit, lifting her up once again. Her head lolled to the side, barely clinging to consciousness and blood trickled from her mouth, freezing as it dripped onto her clothes. Raezyr looked into her eyes. "If you will not give me satisfaction, then you are of no further use to me. Do me a favor: Come back and tell me what awaits a Jedi after death."

Nal Talla picked her head up and returned his gaze with calmness and determination. "Dere is no death, dere is da Force," she said, reciting the line from the Jedi Code.

728. Hoth: King's Lair - Trychon

2011-09-16T05:00:00.000-06:00

Raezyr guided his blades to the weakest points of the Nautolan Jedi's defenses. Her sphere of defense was shrinking rapidly as he pushed his advances and she retreated. Each block or parry she made that was less than ideal, which was most of them at this point, had a fitting snowball effect on her future defenses. She was as good as helpless and dead if he so chose, but he refrained for the moment.

Her understanding of her situation was palpable in the Force. She knew her fate lied entirely in his patience. Sith were not known for their patience.

What he couldn't understand was the accompanying sense of calm she exuded as she continually flailed to stay in the Fight. He lunged and planted his heel firmly in her sternum and sent her sliding on her back into a snow bank. He couldn't see her now, but that wouldn't help her calm. Her face was already reddened from the wind and the cold. Her flightsuit was made to shield her from the cold of space, but Hoth was a special hell and her aquatic genetics were doing her uncovered head no favors. Raezyr was glad yet again for his helm and the minimal shielding it provided from the elements.

Do you no longer fear death as you did on Coruscant, worm? The Sith reached out to her mind with his message and sensed her impending counter attack.

Predictably, she launched herself through the air at him with a bland horizontal strike at his offhand flank. He stepped into the attack and with his short saber, he sliced the tip of her weapon off, causing her blade to immediately disappear without even flickering. Her momentary triumph at what seemed a poorly aimed block disappeared as quickly.

His other hand reached out instinctively yet with intent, and caught her by her throat. His lightsaber had nearly landed in the snow when he pulled it to his free hand through the Force, as he shut down his short blade and placed them both in his pocket without removing his glare from her strained expression of struggle. He held her off the ground and increased the pressure to her neck.

She gasped and words came out weakly through her tightened windpipe. "I fear death..." She coughed and drew what air she could. "No more dan I fear you or da Sith."

He twisted his body around and pulled her with him in a half turn. Driving her into the ground by the back of her neck first, she was nearly buried completely in the subzero terrain.

"There are fates worse than death, Jedi." He spat the last word. "Anything I remove from your body here, on this planet... the flesh will shrivel and die quickly. You will not be able to replace what I take from you so easily this time. Tell me... how attached are you to those.... things on the back of your head?"

If she had wanted to reply to his threats, he didn't give her time as he released her throat and instead grabbed hold of the collar of her flight suit. With a grin, he yanked her upwards as hard as he could. As she reached the apex of her sudden upwards flight, he pulled her back to the frozen ground. With a ripping noise, the fabric of her suit gave way by a small centimeter.

Raezyr laughed, as he knew that was enough. She was running very short on time, even with whatever strength she could pull from the Light Side of the Force. Still, her calmness emanating in the Force was getting on his nerves.

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

Val circled the area one last time. It didn't matter how low he went, he could not get a visual on the fight below and the weather made it impossible to get an infrared sensor reading. He couldn't see what was going on below him without going low enough to land or be in the range of a lightsaber throw, but he could feel quite strongly that things were not faring well for Nal.

She had not called for him to help her, but he was getting the distinct impression that she wouldn't, perhaps until it was too late. He was positive that it was more out of naivete or bravery that she did it, rather than a cold sense of revenge or justice, but he couldn't allow her to sacrifice herself under any circumstance.

He took his fighter upwards into the atmosphere for one last distance scan to ensure the other Sith wasn't closing in on them, then he'd decided he'd have to land and help capture the Sith. He wished the Unity hadn't denied their request for support...

727. Hoth: King's Lair - Trychon

2011-09-14T02:00:00.000-06:00

Trychon guided the ship through the canyon until he had covered enough distance that he'd be hard for the Jedi to pick up with instruments alone. He knew his brother would keep the Jedi from following him, but all the better that they don't know exactly where he headed. If they were able to send reinforcements at him, it would slow him down and keep him from getting back and maybe getting a shot at taking out a Jedi himself.

He had a way to go to get to the backup facility now, but as he lifted the Jet Razor out of the giant crevasse and into the blowing winds and snow of Hoth, his sensors showed there was no ships even close enough to notice him, let alone give chase. He increased the power to his repulsor drives in case the low visibility tricked him, then he put the remaining power to his main drives. He wanted to be able to help out his brother as soon as he could.

Must go faster, must go faster...

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

The Sith vaulted to the top of the Nal's fighter as she pulled herself from her restraints. She was barely able to jump out and flip over the engines and away from his sizzling blade before he landed.

There was a soft crunch of the snow covered ice as she landed, but it wasn't audible over the howling of the storm, even for her. She was not equipped for the climate of this hellish planet, let alone a storm. She centered herself briefly as she unclipped her lightsaber from her belt and pulled the Force around her to guide her as well as keep her warm.

The Sith was on her again within seconds, but she was prepared. She ignited her weapon and parried his first attempt easily. He was either being lazy and sloppy, or he was testing her. She decided it was likely the latter, and remained on her guard as she swept aside his next few swings before he pulled his blade back into a guard and smiled at her.

She had to yell to be heard over the wind and ice whipping around them. "You need to give in! You can not win dis fight and escape. Let go of da hate before it destroys you!"

A voice echoed in her head, somehow forced past her defenses. I don't think so.

Then the Sith lit a second blade and began his attack again, with twice the speed he'd displayed earlier.

Nal let the Force guide her arms and her body as she began retreating with every blow from her opponents blades. Though she could not see it, she could feel the evil grin on his face begin to grow. He was still holding back.

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

Trychon pulled the throttle the rest of the way back to set the ship to hover. As he calibrated his sensors to give him a clear look at where the covered entrance should be, he could feel the ship drifting to the side. Swearing to himself, he made a minor adjustment before zeroing in on his target and letting loose several blasts from the forward cannons.

The smoke blew away quickly, revealing what remained of a duraplast grate.

After setting the ship down nearby, he gathered the charges he needed to plant, and prepared himself for the nasty weather outside. That was the one thing he'd miss the least about this place.

He grabbed a heavy jacket and slung it on, pulling up the hood before he finally punched the control to lower the loading ramp. Despite his extra clothing and insulating himself with the Force, the cold still hit him like a wave, sucking the breath from his lungs and freezing his nostrils. He leaped from the bottom of the ramp anyway, landing knee deep in the snow and trudging toward the entrance.

It was cold inside, but not nearly as cold as it was outside. The cave-turned-bunker was heated, but only just enough to keep the equipment inside from freezing up. Still, it seemed worlds warmer.

It took only a minute to place each of the charges in strategic locations to ensure total destruction of the bunker and the redundant data stored within. Trychon paused for just a moment in the entrance that was already filling up with the snow being driven by the howling winds, steeling himself against the extreme cold he'd have to endure on the short trip back to the Jet Razor.

Suddenly he felt the presence of another life form. It wasn't sentient, but his sense of impeding danger caused him to draw his double bladed lightsaber anyway.

It was a good thing he did. He barely had time to get it ignited when the white-fur covered arm tipped in sharp black claws seemed to materialize out of the blizzard driven veil of snow.

726. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr

2011-09-12T04:00:00.000-06:00

Val had replied to the Sith on the same frequency, ordering him to land and surrender immediately, although both Jedi knew that nothing of the sort was going to happen. Still, both Jedi fell in behind the Sith fighter, following at a safe distance to where ever he decided to land.

After a moment, Nal clicked on the private channel. "Val, don't land. Stay airborne and watch our back. I'll take da Sith."

Silence was the only thing that followed for a few minutes. She could feel that Val was apprehensive. At last he replied. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Not only do I want to, I need to do dis. I recognized his voice. It's Raezyr... da one who took my leg," she told him. "I have to face him, Val." Nal Talla closed her eyes and drew in a deep calming breath and realized in that instance, she was never more sure of anything in her entire life.

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

Raezyr started the landing cycle. The ground he had chosen was on the top of a windswept cliff. It was wide and flat, allowing for easy landing, and the wind howled constantly, keeping the rocky shelf mostly clear of snow. Before the ship had settled to the ground, he popped the canopy and blew it open with a wave of Force energy that sent the transparisteel dome sailing into the air and over the edge of the cliff despite the fact he had chosen the landing site farthest from the edge.

He launched himself out of the cockpit and landed in a crouch on giant rock ledge. Immediately he realized exactly why the canopy had sailed so far. The howling wind of the blizzard had caught it and thrown it farther than it ever would have gone on it's own. The driving snow made him glad for his helmet, keeping it out of his eyes, but the rest of him was instantly cold.

He wrapped himself in a layer of the Force, hoping it would keep some of his body heat in. He drew his lightsaber hilts and watched the Aurek Tactical Strikefighter with the Jedi markings land. He noticed the other ship failed to land.

He swore under his breath. Not optimal. He had wanted both ships to land. Clearly they weren't as stupid as he had hoped. No matter, he decided. He'd make them pay for thinking it would only take one Jedi to take him down, and when that one died, he'd either steal the Jedi fighter and have access to all the information and data stored in it's computer, or the other Jedi would land. Either way, both Jedi would die on this frozen ball of ice called Hoth.

The canopy of the figher popped open, and Raezyr flicked on his blades and rushed. No way was he going to give the Jedi time to get ready.

725. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr

2011-09-09T04:00:00.000-06:00

"Warning: Oxygen levels critical," the computerized female voice told him for approximately the tenth time. The turbulence and heat of reentry into the Hoth's atmosphere had not helped his oxygen levels, and even though he was technically surrounded by air, it was still too thin to sustain human life.

Still, there wasn't much he could do. If he broke off and dove for a lower altitude, both of the Jedi might not follow him. If that happened, they might be able to prevent Trychon from destroying the remote data storage site.

Raezyr gritted his teeth, drawing on his anger, and watched his radar.

Thankfully he didn't have to wait too long.

As the Jedi fighters began to close the distance to effective firing range, but Trychon and Raezyr slowly dove in altitude. Finally Raezyr clicked his comm twice, sending two short bursts of static across the speakers in the Jet Razor's cockpit.

Trychon jammed the throttle as fast as it would go. The Jet Razor was extremely aerodynamic, making it excellent not only in space combat, but in atmospheric conditions as well. He easily out distanced his half-brother and the Jedi.

Quickly he dropped down into a snowy canyon in one of Hoth's mountain ranges and reduced his speed to something less reckless. He only need to lose their radar. Raezyr would hopefully keep them from physically following him.

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

As Raezyr watched his own ship accelerate and leave them behind, he watched his radar. Sure enough, one of the two Jedi ships began speeding up in an attempt to pursue his brother. "I don't think so," the Sith warrior said, speaking to the blip on his radar screen and banked starboard into their path.

Suddenly alarms screamed inside his cockpit, warning him that his enemy had target lock on him.. Banking hard to port, he also pulled back as hard as he could on the stick. The old fighter didn't respond as well as he would have liked, but it got the job done, looping around out of danger and dropping in behind the fighter attempting to give chase to Trychon.

He picked up target lock almost immediately on the Jedi fighter and he squeezed the trigger switch, watching the green darts shoot forward. They weren't really all that close to hitting, but scoring a hit would merely be icing on the ryshcate.

Raezyr's goal was to force the Jedi to give up following his brother and focus on him. It wasn't easy, trying to evade incoming fire while pursuing a different ship, but he did it. After several attempts to follow Trychon, both Jedi finally turned and engaged him.

He scrambled around, but despite his superior piloting skills, his older, damaged fighter was not going to be able to evade the Jedi forever, let alone defeat them.

Raezyr flipped his comm switch to an open frequency. One he hoped the Jedi would be able to pick up and keyed up the comm.

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

"Attention Jedi scum," came a male voice across Nal's speakers. "My fighter is unable to continue. I will be landing now. You can either vape me, or come and get me. That is all." Static followed the transmission.

"Do you tink it's a trap?" Nal asked on the secure frequency to her wingman and friend.

"My sensors show his ship is damaged," Val replied calmly. "I think he was only trying to draw us away from that assault shuttle."

"But..." Nal began, about pose her question again.

Val interrupted her. "Yes. It's a trap."

"What do you propose?"

"Spring the trap."

724. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr

2011-09-07T04:00:00.000-06:00

"Firaxa One, this is Two."

"Go Two."

"That fighter and assault shuttle are breaking off and turning back toward the surface."

"Copy Two. Dey won't get away," Nal said into her comm. She and her Chiss wingman banked to give pursuit in perfect unison. They didn't need to give voice to their speculations on who the pilots of those two ships were. Both could sense the sicking waves of the Dark Side oozing from that direction.

They had done their best to engage the two ships, but it seemed that something or someone had always been in their way. Finally they had a clear shot and they both jammed the throttle as high as it would go, doing their best to catch their quarry.

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

Raezyr followed closely behind his brother. They had a momentary respite from the battle and the big Sith finally looked around and took stock of the warning lights and beacons that were flashing and screaming at him from all about the fighter cockpit.

The fighter was an older model, and not nearly as agile or fast as he was used to. Several blasts had landed during the fierce sortie, but he hadn't really paid attention, instead allowing the Force to guide his actions. As he realized just how much damage he had sustained, he swore softly. His rage had swelled since it first began back in the base until it was almost a tangible thing at this point.

He reached over and switched his comm to the encrypted private channel. "Tryst... Blade. You copy?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Go ahead."

"My hyperdrive is gone and I'm slowly venting oxygen," he stated.

Trychon swore, unknowingly echoing his half-brother's words from moments ago. They both knew what this meant. Instead of taking out the facility and making their escape, they were going to have to actually land. He looked at his radar, although he needn't have bothered. He could feel the two Jedi who had peeled off to give chase.

"They're at our six and closing fast," Trychon stated. He knew he didn't need to say who was following them.

"New plan," came Raezyr's voice across the comm. "Once we hit atmo, I'll turn back and engage. Keep the Jedi scum off your back while you take out the target. Signal me when it's finished and I'll land... you come pick me up on the fly."

"They're gonna vape you when you cycle for a landing," Trychon stated. He didn't like the plan at all, but then again, he couldn't really think of an alternative at the moment.

"I don't think so," Raezyr replied. "They've been using ion cannons for the most part. They want us alive. A thousand creds says they land and try to capture me."

"Universally stupid, Blade," Trychon said. "I know they're Jedi, but they've been after us for a long time now."

"No, this might be a good thing," Raezyr answered. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this was a great idea. He'd draw them off from his brother, then land. When they followed suit, trying to capture him, he'd slay them. The Sith warrior began to salivate at the thought of a little revenge.

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

Captain Wash Moklam studied the holographic battle screen laid out before him. The Jedi had broken off their attack to follow two ships. He had to assume those were the Sith they were after, and he was content to let them go. He had bigger problems right now.

That recent arrival of that damn capital ship had played havoc with his well laid battle plans, and long range scanners indicated it was an unmanned drone. Still, he recognized it. This damn ship had haunted his dreams ever since it's involvement in the aurodium hi-jacking.

Right now it was providing effective cover for the escaping freighters, making it hard for his fighters to get in and disable the escaping criminals. Once again the big ship was making it's way straight at his own Hammerhead class capital ships. The difference was that this time he was ready for it.

"Intensify forward shields!" he shouted to his command crew and over the comm to the other hammerhead. "Concentrate all firepower on that cruiser!"

723. Hoth: King's Lair - Trychon

2011-09-05T04:00:00.000-06:00

"How are dey doin dis?!" Nal exclaimed as she narrowly dodged yet another turbolaser blast. "I've never heard of a ship dat size taking out so many of our fighters like dat."

"Reach out towards that ship." Val responded with his voice as calm as ever, though strained through exertion. "You'll feel that it's empty. We're fighting a computer."

Recognition dawned on her. Normally, capital ships such as the one they were facing were loaded with primarily quad cannons or turbolasers depending on whether it was geared towards taking on large numbers of fighters or another capital ship, respectively. The weapons on this were clearly for the latter but the accuracy, speed, and anticipation that the guns were tracking and destroying Republic fighters could only be described as... inhuman.

"Dat's an impressive computer dey must have on dat ship. It won't save dem when Captain Moklam gets here to support us."

"It may not have to." Was all that Val had to say in response to her. She looked down and saw that he was right. The capital ship had been able to maneuver and keep itself in between them and the fleeing freighters. The pinpoint weapons fire had been able to keep the fighters from taking the large ship out of commission as well.

Then the freighters did disappear. The capital ship however, began to turn around and return toward the planet.

"Unity to fighter groups Alpha and Theta... put all power to thrusters and get back to us... that damned ship must be trying to get between us and another wave." Moklam was clearly losing patience. He was already furious about their previous encounters with this group. "NOW!"

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

"Are you sure about this?" Trychon asked as he keyed in the next instructions to be sent to the Sith Stalker.

"As sure as I am that you could have been noticed too early by taking off without the rest of us... even if you were just doing a sweep, Tryst." Raezyr commed back, using the codenames he insisted on picking himself this time. "But yes... the only vector we have a shot of getting the rest of the ships out now is if we head straight at the Unity and it's pal. Any other path and the fighters or the big boys will get to us before the Stalker is of any use."

"That's not enough by my calculations, Blade."

"It will be if we can distract those fighters.... we'll break off in tee minus two."

Trychon sighed. The numbers weren't adding up very well, even if they survived a quick skirmish. He watched the timer count down on his panel, and he broke off on Raezyr's tail when the counter hit zero.

Within minutes, they were barreling through the center of the enemy formation. Trychon managed to score a quick kill on one of the lead fighters, but his celebration was quickly interrupted.

"Don't go for the kill. Get shots off at as many of them as you can. If they die, so be it... but we're aiming to disrupt as much as possible. Don't let any of them break away towards the freighters."

Raezyr let instinct take over and fell into a rhythm of fire and switch. The upside was that it was a target rich environment and each time he flicked the switch on his targeting computer to cycle to the next target, it almost instantly locked on. The downside was that there were so many enemy fighters, that he was never sure if his shots were striking or not as he was constantly in evasive maneuvers.

The arrival of the Twilight Stalker had really seemed to throw the Republic forces for a loop with it's precise maneuvering and targeting. Trychon's customized automation program really was a thing of beauty. The unfortunate part was that the enemy had apparently figured out no one was aboard and were starting to regroup.

The small Sith capital ship had provided cover for the first group of escaping freighters, but if the second group didn't hurry up and form up, the Republic would be ready for the next run.

No matter what happened, Trychon and his brother could no longer stay and fend off the attacking fighters. They had to get to that back up data storage site and physically destroy it. Too much precious information was sitting there and they couldn't let it fall into Republic or Jedi hands.

722. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr

2011-09-02T05:00:00.144-06:00

Raezyr picked up the large duffel and slung it on his back. There had been more stuff than he'd remembered, but it still wasn't that much. He exited the room and trotted down the hallways of the base, memories filling his mind as he went. This place had practically been home since they had barely escaped Korriban many, many months ago. Once again, the big man found himself on the run from the Jedi, being forced out of a home. It had been the story of his life since he could remember.

His sadness quickly turned to anger and he allowed it to consume him, fuel his power. He could feel the familiar burn of the Dark Side as it raged hotter within, and he held it. Soon he'd need every ounce of it.

He stopped outside the control room and hefted the small orb in his palm for just a moment before flicking the timer on and tossing it inside. He slapped the controls to close the door and turned toward the hangar. In about 18 seconds, the computer memory banks would be atomized, as would anyone who was unfortunate enough to be within the five meter blast radius.

In the hangar, people ducked, ran and hit the deck when the tiny thermonuclear detonation took place, shattering the window between the control room and the hangar. Raezyr didn't bother to turn around, instead he continued his steady pace through the hangar as he knew he was safely outside the blast radius.

Shuttles and freighters were just now beginning to take off. The Sith warrior looked around for the Jet Razor, but it was no longer there. Trychon had already taken off. Raezyr let it add to the raging fire already burning inside. He knew he was a minute late, but he had hoped his brother would wait for him as that had been the plan.

He looked around and spotted a fighter off to one side of the hangar that no one was climbing into and trotted over. The ladder was missing, but that didn't matter as he used the Force to make the leap up to the cockpit. Raezyr slung the pack into the storage compartment behind the seat and closed it, then slid into the seat and began punching in the emergency start up procedures.

The Sith forced the ship to take off before the engine warm-ups were complete. Warning indicators screamed at him, but he ignored them. He didn't care about the risk of engine failure at this point. It was paramount that he catch Trychon.

As he neared the hangar doors, he punched the throttle as high as he dared, caring little about the collateral damage it would cause. His final glimpse of King's Lair was crewman, still frantically trying to load various shuttles with emergency supplies, ducking for cover and being bowled over as the Sith gunned the fighter out of the doors.

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

There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no death, there is the Force.

Nal Talla repeated the Jedi Code to herself as she piloted Firaxa 1, keeping tight on the wing of her Jedi companion Val. It had only been weeks since they had finally hunted down the Sith fugitives Tyr and Anya on an uninhabited planet. She had come painfully close to succumbing to the Dark Side during that encounter. Now they were closing in on the other two Sith, one of whom had taken her leg, and she had to keep her wits and emotions about her to keep from making that fall.

"Firaxa 2 to Firaxa 1." Val's voice came in over the comm. "Are you ready for this?"

She knew he wasn't talking about clipping the wings of a few smuggler's fighters. He was speaking to the very thing she was thinking of. Her only question was whether he knew what she was thinking, or if it was a coincidence. "I believe I am, two." She smiled. The older Knight had been invaluable in helping her regain her calm and prepare for such an encounter. "I am ready for 'dis. Tanks to you."

They were closing in on the glaring white of the frozen planet quickly. One freighter had made a quick exit minutes after the capital ships had arrived. Her connection to the Force reassured her that they had not missed out on their targets yet though.

She looked down at her sensors in response to her instruments beeping at her. Multiple contacts were now making their way off of the planet. They weren't in range yet, but they would be well before the pirates could escape the gravity well of the planet. Based on what her readings were telling her, none of the ships would be able to weather any severe harassment to make it to hyperspace. They'd have to maneuver heavily to stay alive, and eventually they would fall prey to weapons fire or the tractor beams of the larger Republic ships when they were in range.

Val and she would have to try to do their best to disable the fighters, especially if they located the Sith. She wasn't sure that the other pilots for the Republic would do the same. She felt it might be the opposite for them.

They had nearly reached long distance torpedo range when the starry space in front of them suddenly shifted. Alarms in her head as well as from her fighter filled the cabin. The large ship that the Sith had used to steal from the Republic had jumped directly in between them and the fleeing freighters.

"Break off! Break off!" She heard the squadron commander in her helm. "Regroup! Where did that thing come from? No one can jump this close into a planetary system. No one!"

721. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr

2011-08-31T05:00:00.122-06:00

Dianna pulled out a data comm and punched a button. Instantly yellow lights began flashing and a klaxon horns began blaring. She lifted the device to her lips and spoke over the intercom system throughout the base. "This is Captain Kingsdoom. Two Republic capital ships are inbound. Ee-tee-ay 30 mike. Abandon base, make for rendezvous point Omicron Delta." She paused a moment before adding, "Good luck everyone."

Dianna yanked the Governor's Blade from the abdomen of the dying Sith girl and wiped it clean on Anya's clothes. The blonde issued a last gasp before her eyes glazed over.

Dianna turned and began walking away from the ships back toward the base and Raezyr hustled to get in front of her. "Whoah. Your ship's that way," he said, pointing in the opposite direction.

"I'm going to make sure everyone gets out, then I'll follow," she said flatly, then reached out, put her hand on Raezyr's forearm and looked him in the eyes. "Please, Raez. If there's anything you can do to hold them off, I'd appreciate it."

People began streaming into the hangar as the massive doors began to slide back once again, allowing the howling wind and snow of the blizzard to be driven indoors. The two looked at each other, not taking notice of their surroundings. Both of them knew the implications of what she was saying. The Republic ships would be here long before everyone was evacuated, and even if she did manage to somehow to get aboard the last ship, the atmosphere and orbital space would be crawling with Republic fighters. She'd either be captured or killed. Yet the look in her eyes told Raez that argument would be futile. Her mind was made up. She wasn't asking Raezyr for permission or his blessing. She wanted his help to delay her death or imprisonment.

That wasn't acceptable. Raezyr finally tore his gaze away and looked over at his brother who was furiously typing away at his data pad. He didn't know what was going on, but he was sure of two things: Trychon was too busy to help him argue and that his brother was already working on a plan to delay the enemy.

He turned back to his lover, noting Rhox running toward them across the hangar. He opened his mouth to argue with her anyway, to convince her to get on the Ice Spectre and go, but she knew him too well. "Stop looking at your brother for help and shut your mouth," she told him, beginning to grow agitated. "If you love me, help me. Oh hell, run away. I don't care which. Just stop wasting the precious seconds I have left before..." she let the final words drift off unspoken, but hanging.

Rhox Vega finally arrived. "Captain, we have to get out of here. I've begun emergency engine start procedures by remote," she said holding up a data pad.

A black cloud crossed Dianna's face. Was everyone mad? Did they think she was going to run and let her crew be caught and or slaughtered? They had served her loyally, and the least she owed them was to give them the best chance to escape. She turned to tell Rhox the same thing she had told Raezyr.

A flicker of movement caught her eye, but it didn't have time to register before something struck her jaw like a hammer. Lights exploded in her head and the galaxy went black.

Raezyr caught her in his arms before she fell to ground, and swung her up into his arms.

"What the?" Rhox asked angrily. "Why did you punch her?"

"She wasn't going to leave. You have to get her out, Rhox," the big Sith explained. He saw argument in Rhox's eyes and headed it off. "You don't like me. You don't like the Sith. I get it. But there's one thing I know that we both have in common. We both love Di."

He let that sink in for a moment before he continued. "No matter what happens here today, this," he indicated the base on Hoth," is over. But there's a chance some of the crew may escape on their own. If she's not there to lead them then all of it is over... for good."

Her hardened features softened, and for just a moment, she allowed herself to believe that maybe this single Sith might be different. "Get her on board and strap her into the bunk. Atmo conditions are pretty hairy right now."

The two ran for the Spectre as the loading ramp began to lower.

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

Raezyr watched as Rhox expertly guided the converted light freighter out of the hangar, then turned his attention to his brother. "C'mon, Trych. Put down the data pad. It's our turn," he said.

Trychon didn't bother to look up. "Raez, we can't leave yet," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"There's too much data in the computer about you and me and the Sith, and there are links to the base on THX as well," he explained. "I've initiated a full memory wipe with my data pad, but we have to physically destroy them too. We can't take the chance they put things back together."

"No problem," Raezyr said, shrugging. "You start the emergency warm up on the Jet Razor and I'll go gather our stuff and toss a thermal detonator in the control room."

"Raez," Trychon said, clapping a hand on his brother's shoulder and looking directly at him. "The remote data storage site has to be physically destroyed as well."

"That's on the other side of Hoth, Trych," Raezyr said. "We'll never have the time."

"If we don't do it, we might as well turn ourselves in," Trych stated flatly. "Don't worry, though. I have a plan."
-------------------

"Damn it!" Captain Wash Moklam, commander of the Unity said, slapping his palm onto the arm of his command chair in mild irritation. "We came out of hyperspace too far away," he said as he watched the battle screen in front of him and the first shuttle blip came on screen, banking away from his task force. They had hoped to catch the Sith and the pirates unaware and engage them on the ground.

"Launch the fighters and order them to contain and disable any escaping ships. We want them alive," he ordered. It wasn't really that big of a deal, he thought to himself. This one ship might be getting away, but the rest of the criminals would be just as cornered. Rounding them up would just take longer than expected.

720. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr and Trychon

2011-08-29T05:00:00.108-06:00

Raezyr and Trychon stood shoulder to shoulder in the center of the hangar. The motors running the giant doors kicked on and strained. The usual loud crack filled the room as the ice which had formed on the outside broke loose.

Snow swirled in through the widening gap. A blizzard was in it's infant stages outside. It was already bad and by the look of it, things were going to get much worse before they got better. It wasn't a good day to be outside on the planet Hoth.

"What do you think she's up to?" Raezyr asked his brother, staring out into the whiteness, searching for any sign of a dark shape approaching.

"I don't know," the other Sith answered, "but it worries me that I can't sense Tyr with her."

"A thousand creds says she either left him in some sort of lurch, or she got him out-right killed."

"If you want a bigger allowance then say so," Trychon chuckled, "because that's not a bet I'm willing to take." He listened to his brother's chuckle coming from under the dark blue helm. After a moment of silence, he was about to comment on the fact Raezyr probably didn't need to be wearing it since Anya already knew what he looked like, but just then a dark shape began to take form out in the white nothingness and the faint whine of repulsor lifts began to grow louder.

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

Anya Tachi was glad to be on Hoth. She knew they'd probably not be the happiest with her, but they could either get over it or stay mad. She really didn't care which. She decided she'd act as if absconding in the middle of the night with the Sith holocron and then losing it to the Jedi was no big deal.

She didn't bother looking out of the transparisteel windows of the cockpit. Everything was vague shapes obscured by a white haze in the surmounting blizzard. Instead, she relied on the instruments, allowing them to guide her into the hangar of the base.

Suddenly she was inside. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the relative darkness inside compared to the bleak whiteness that was the Hothian landscape. Her gaze settled quickly on the two figures standing, waiting. She was instantly nervous. Raezyr had his helmet on, which wasn't a good sign, and Trychon didn't have his usual grin.

The ship settled to the deck, and after shutting all the systems down, she headed for the loading ramp. Tee Seven beeped at her and followed. "Might as well get this over with," she said to the little astromech and slapped the controls to lower the ramp.

"Raez! Trych!" she exclaimed happily, putting away her nervous thoughts and concentrating on pretending she was happy to see them. In truth, she really didn't know where else she could have gone. Back to Korriban, she supposed. But to what end? There was nothing there but an empty building.

"Oh it's so good to see you guys!" she said striding down the ramp and hugging Trychon. After giving him a kiss on the cheek she pulled back just a bit and held him at arm's length. "Wow! You look great! The simple pirate life is suiting you two well!"

Before he could answer, Anya turned to Raezyr. "C'mon, Raez," she said, grinning and holding her arms out for a hug. "Take that helmet off and let me hug you." Raezyr made no move to do so, but she reached up and pulled the protective headgear off and threw her arms around his neck. "I know we haven't always seen eye to eye, but it's truly good to see you," she said and kissed him on his cheek.

Raezyr snatched his helmet back from her and pushed her back. "Where have you been, Anya, and where the niufen is Tyr?"

Anya frowned, before forcing a feminine laugh. "Where haven't we been? Even though we didn't leave on good terms, we figured we could still help out by leading the Jedi on a wild kornack chase through the better part of the galaxy."

"But..." Trychon folded his arms.

"Tyr got sloppy." She frowned again. "He got us shot down on an uninhabited planet, with no way out. The Jedi hunted us down, but they got him before they teamed up and got me. They took us to Dantooine and tortured us to find you. I didn't give anything up, of course... but I'm not so sure Tyr will hold out forever."

"And they just let you go, eh?" Raezyr growled.

"Of course not!" She giggled again. "I was able to escape. I couldn't be expected to break into another part of the compound though. You guys are going to have to come with me to get Tyr out and deal with him."

The two Sith stared at their wayward companion and didn't say a word. Her composure dropped a few notches and she began babbling through more detail than the others probably cared to know.

After several minutes, and more silence from the brothers, Dianna came pounding through the landing bay, clearly upset. Anya turned her cheer back on and welcomed her friend.

"Di! I think I've missed you most of all!" She jogged over to her to close the distance, and opened her arms to embrace her. She wrapped her arms around Di's neck and then gasped.

With a shove, Dianna knocked her to the floor on her back. As she stood over the blonde Sith, small object was barely visible in Dianna's hand which looked like a cloth of some sort.

Anya tried to say something to her, but only a grunt and a gurgle escaped her mouth, followed by a trickle of blood down her lips. Slowly, she looked down at the object she clutched, protruding from her stomach.

She moved her hand and there, covered in blood, was the Tingel Governor's blade.

Raezyr finally broke the silence. "Wo de ma he ta de fengkuang de waisheng dou!" he exclaimed. "Di, we're mad too, but that's a little extreme, don't you think? Or was it the kiss? Because that was still a bit of an overreaction... it was on the cheek and didn't mean anything," Raezyr said. He was about to go on, but something in Dianna's look told him he better shut up.

"She was followed," the pirate captain said.

719. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr

2011-08-26T05:00:00.053-06:00

Raezyr felt a gentle, familiar nudge in mind. A sign his half-brother was trying to get his attention with the Force. He awoke and groaned. "Shut up, Trych," he said to himself and covering his ears with his hands as if he could block out his sibling's voice.

"Is he making dirty jokes again?" Dianna said in a sleepy, yet playful voice as she wrapped her arms around the big warrior and nuzzled her head into his back.

Raezyr didn't answer her. She could tell he was listening to Trychon again. Suddenly the big man swung his feet out of bed and began urgently searching for his clothes. Dianna sat up and pulled the sheet up to her neck. "What is it, Raez? What's wrong?"

"She's back," was all he said, sliding into his trousers.

"Who's back?"

"Anya. She's back."

"How do you know?" she asked.

The big man paused as he slid his boots on. "Di, I can feel her. That's what Trychon was telling me. He sensed her first."

"How can you be sure, Raez? Someone would have commed me if a ship had entered the system," she said.

Suddenly the comm started to beep. She looked over at her lover, who just gave her a quick, "I tried to tell you" glance. She'd have thought she would learn to trust him on these things by now. She hit the comm switch on the nightstand. "Go for Di," she said.

"Captain, we have a Sierra Alpha," came Rhox Vega's voice on the other end.

"Ee tee ay?" She asked.

"Approximately 30 minutes," Rhox said.

"I'll be there in 20." Dianna clicked off the comm and crawled out of bed and crossing to her closet.

Raezyr paused before heading out the door. "What the Sith is a 'Sierra Alpha?'" he asked.

"A vessel has just jumped out of hyperspace and is on course for Hoth," she said slipping into a pair of form fitting black trousers. "You meet her on the deck. I'll be in the control room. She better have a damn good explanation."

The big Sith warrior gave her a grin as he slid out the door.

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

Raezyr entered the quarters he and his brother shared, surprised to find Trychon still in the process of getting dressed. He glanced over at the bed which had clearly not been slept in last night. Remembering Teera's flirtatious nature the previous evening he put two and two together. Raezyr grinned but said nothing, going straight to his closet and began donning his armor.

Trychon buckled his utility belt, lightsaber dangling from the side. Turning to face his half-brother he said, "You're dying to say something, so let's get this out of the way, shall we?"

Raezyr paused as he buckled the breastplate. "Teera?" he asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"It sure as Hell wasn't Rhox," the elder brother responded, his grin almost as big. "Although that might be tempting to try."

"You'd have better luck trying to bed a rancor, I think," Raezyr responded, and they both laughed out loud.

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

"What have you got?" Dianna asked her security officer as she stepped into the control room.

"Standard Vector-class cargo freighter. Hull profile eye-dee and transponder pings both identify the ship as the Wasted Rancor," the dark haired woman replied.

"Did she have a code?" Dianna asked.

Rhox gave her a surprised look, wondering how she knew for sure that it was a female piloting the ship, but said nothing about it. Instead she said, "It's an older code, but it checks out. I was about to clear her." She watched her captain for a moment who was intently studying the radar and other instrumentation. "Shall I deny her access?"

"No," Dianna said. "Give her clearance. This is for Raez and Trych to handle." The leader of the Kingsmen walked over to the window overlooking the entire hangar and the two figures striding out to the middle of the landing deck. When they stopped she hit the switch to open the doors.

"But I don't trust her. Keep sensors on full and if there's even the slightest fluctuation, I want to know about it."

718. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr and Trychon

2011-08-24T05:00:00.307-06:00

The Spectre glided into the hangar on it's repulsor lifts in a swirl of snow. It gently eased to the deck without the slightest jostle. Raezyr turned to Dianna. "That easy enough for you, boss lady?" he asked with a grin. The red haired woman gave him a playful slug in the shoulder.

The occupants of the modified freighter stood at the top of the loading ramp waiting for it to lower. Below stood Dek and Teera who had come out to meet them. "Good news, Captain," Dek said as Dianna led the the others down the ramp.

"Let me guess, the deposit came through as planned?" she asked with a grin. She didn't stop to talk, and the young slicer and the blue Twi'lek fell in beside her.

"It did indeed, Captain," Teera replied. "After paying the last of our outstanding debt, I sent payments to get the supplies we had on held order as well."

"Good job." Dianna commented, still smiling. "Enough business for now though. Let's celebrate a mission going off without a real hitch for once. Running weapons to Alderaan, no less."

"Maybe we should do more of the less enviable runs in the future?" Dek asked, half joking.

"You may actually have a point." Dianna conceded. "Our most dangerous mission was actually primarily successful if it weren't for a few bad eggs." She realized what she'd said after it was already out of her mouth, and she quickly added. "But enough about business. Please tell me some food's hot in the cafeteria, before Trych starts nibbling on our extremities."

Teera shook her head.

"Alright, everyone go put something more comfortable on, order everyone on duty to put systems on maximum automation and join us. We're going to do a hand made meal as a group."

As Trychon turned down the hall towards their room, Raezyr continued to follow Dianna. Depending on the situation, he used both quarters and had clothes in both. Dianna stopped and turned around, holding her hand up to his chest.

"Not this time, big guy." She scolded him, before winking to assure him that she wasn't still mad. "I have to get ready for the party."

Raezyr headed back down the hall to find his brother half dressed in their quarters, tinkering with his datapad which was a common enough sight.

"Quit playing and get ready. I'm hungry."

"Something's wrong. I can't get into the computer system on THX." Trychon frowned, not looking up from his miniature screen.

Raezyr gave off a hearty laugh. "I've seen you look less frustrated cracking Republic encryptions."

Trychon countered with a smile, still not looking up. "Everyone looks less frustrated cracking Republic encryptions than they would cracking mine." He paused, tapping rapidly on his pad. "Seriously though, this is weird and probably a bad sign." There was several moments of silence as Raezyr began getting prepared, finding something casual yet nice to wear. Finally, Trychon spoke up. "Ok, this is definitely bad."

"Yeah, I get it. You forgot your passkeys and that's bad."

"Shut up for a second and listen. I'm in. The system actively fought back against me even after I found a way in, but that's not the oddest thing. It's bad, but I don't know if it's related to this."

"What is it already? Out with it." His younger brother growled, beginning to lose his patience and anxious to get to the cafeteria.

"I've got Mannix's readings here, and everything looks good. Better than we could have reasonably expected. Yet for some reason, the expected finish date on his recovery is now listed as 'indeterminate'."

Raezyr's attention was finally caught. "What?!"

"I don't have the slightest clue what that means, but we're definitely going to have to make a trip out there."

Dianna wasn't going to be happy. "You want to tell Di?" He asked his older brother, half curious, half pleading.

"How about you tell her next time I'm in a different system? I say we wait it out for at least a few days and see if the readings make more sense and then figure it out."

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

As they arrived in the cafeteria, the crew was already joking with each other and sharing humorous stories from their varied pasts. Trychon joined Teera and a few other staffers he didn't know in the kitchen and began looking through the storage cabinets for something to contribute to their rare meal. He found some bethnik noodles and began scrounging to find the right ingredients for a decent cream sauce. He had gathered nearly everything he needed, and figured he would would be able to make a fair approximation when he felt something hit him on his backside.

He turned around to see Teera's lekku whipping around her head, as she'd obviously just spun quickly. She began to whistle a tune to put on an air of feigned innocence, and she giggled when he finally turned back to get a pot to cook his dish.

Raezyr helped bring in tankards and glasses as well as various bottles of spirits and basic ales. As he was pouring drinks for the group, an idea struck him and he excused himself and jogged out of the room.

He returned fifteen minutes later with a few cases in a Force grip following closely behind. He began unloading the more exotic ales that he and his brother usually saved for slightly more special occasions such as this one.

As he opened a bottle to pour for himself he caught sight of Dianna, who must have arrived while he was retrieving the drinks from the Jet Razor. After catching the bottle he nearly dropped, his eyes scanned her from head to toe. She'd put her hair up in an elaborate core-system style, showing her neck as it led to her nearly bare shoulders. Her shimmering blue dress hung lightly from the thin straps on her shoulders, gently flowing over her form. There was no frills or styling to interrupt the contour of the fabric caressing her curves, until a slit formed halfway down her thigh and continued to tease looks at her smooth legs all the way down to the floor.

He watched her as she laughed at Delki and Bleetz's comedic antics juggling fruit, and the smile on her face was the most sincere he'd seen her share publicly since he'd met her. Clearly, the chance to relax and spend some downtime with her crew absent the stresses that had been on her was exactly what she had been needing and it only made her more gorgeous.

Trychon walked over, removing an apron covered in handprints that looked too small to be his own. He grabbed the ale from Raezyr's hand, opening it with his bare hands. "What's that Raez? You think that girl over on the other side of the room is cute? Why, yes... I do believe you should go talk to her..."

Without a word, he walked over to Dianna and embraced her from behind while kissing her on the cheek. Whatever he whispered in her ear made her smile again.

Trychon smiled as he took a long drink from his tankard, and caught a wink from Teera who was also watching the happy couple's brief embrace.

"Alright everyone!" He yelled loud enough to be heard over the crowd noise. "Dinner should be about ready! Someone come help me carry everything from the kitchen!"

Rhox entered the party as though she had been waiting to be called. She was wearing a similar dress to Dianna's in a darker shade and with a belt hung over her hip. Trychon watched her walk by for a moment, but knew better than to let her see him do so.

The next several hours were spent with everyone telling countless tales. Some were of mischief, others of blunders, many stories were of both. They took turns telling about each others' follies, and even Trychon and Raezyr joined in, though hiding a lot of the details that they couldn't or wouldn't share.

The only person in the entire room who did not share stories or have stories about her being told was Rhox, who sat at the end of the table, quietly smiling when it was appropriate. Once or twice, Trychon raised a drink from across the room through the Force and set it in front of her to keep her engaged. She didn't say anything, but even she seemed more and more relaxed as time went on.

As various lips around the table began to split into yawns with increasing frequency, Dianna was the first to stand up and dismiss herself. She grabbed Raezyr by the hand and led him off. Rhox stood up no more than a minute later and headed to her room as well.

As the crowd dwindled slowly, Teera's looks in Trychon's direction became increasingly obvious with her flirtations intentions, until finally she walked behind him and gave him a brief backrub. She slid her hands over his shoulders softly as she pulled away and said goodnight.

The Sith followed her out the door.

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

Raezyr walked into the room, stripped off his shirt and plopped back onto the bed. Dianna came in behind him, closed and locked the door. "You're not leaving that shirt there, are you?" she asked, indicating his tunic lying on the floor.

"I'll get it in the morning, babe," he said with a grin. "You know I'm good for it."

She turned to the mirror and removed her earrings. Her reflection smiled at the big man with the scar. "Don't forget it," she said, and knew he wouldn't.

As she reached behind her back to undo the hidden magnetic clasps on the back of her dress, Raezyr came off the bed in one swift movement catching her arms with his hands and trapping her arms behind her head. She wiggled her arms, trying half-heartedly to escape. "Raez...," she said in a half annoyed tone.

He spun her around, still holding her arms trapped behind her head and pulled her close. She parted her lips, waiting for his mouth to close against hers. She didn't have to wait long. They kissed long and deep before he finally removed the dress completely, holding his bare chest close to hers.

He swept her legs up and carried her across the room, laying her gently down on the bed. She pulled him on top of her as he kissed her again. Gently, she pushed him back to look into his eyes. Raezyr brushed a strand of red hair from her face.

"I love you, Raez," Dianna breathed quietly.

He reached over and switched off the lights. He looked at her through the gentle glow of the nighttime illuminator. "I know," he replied. He pulled her body close to his and for a few hours, they spent a lifetime together.

717. Like Womprats in a Cage - Raezyr

2011-08-22T05:00:00.154-06:00

Tyr stood before the two seated Jedi Masters in the Enclave Council Chamber.

He cleared his throat before starting the small speech he'd been rehearsing and amending over the past several days. "Grandfather, Master Taisun, I've come to terms with the fact that I have spent a large portion of my life dedicated to a hatred built under false pretenses. Much of what I've known in my life is a downright lie told to me by others or myself. Other things that have shaped me I've simply misremembered or misunderstood."

Tyr made eye contact with his grandfather, who smiled at him despite the decorum. He gave a brief smile and nod in return. "As an adult, I have made poor choices and done horrible things. I've also aligned myself with Sith, and received and been receptive to poisonous teachings. I know now that I've made these decisions based on lies, purposeful and not. That does not excuse my actions and decisions, nor does it escape me from the consequences I deserve from them. I am fully deserving of any and all consequences because while misled, I was of sound and able mind."

This earned him a nod from the more feline master, Master Taisun. Again, he nodded in return. "I hope that I am able to make penance for my deeds with further good deeds, particularly on Coruscant. I will accept any other punishments that the Council and Republic deem me worthy though."

It looked as though Tanner was about to interrupt him, but Tyr had to finish. "However." He cleared his throat again. "I cannot give up the location of my two associates who are still at large. They have been my only friends in the past two years, and would not betray me under any circumstances. They are also guilty of horrible deeds, and I am aware of this. They are still my friends though, and loyalty is something that most Sith are not noted for, they are capable of it and the Jedi admire it in each other. I know that this is not a situation where the council will admire my decision, but I hope they can understand where it comes from and what it means to me. If I knew the location of the Sith master known as Eiron who was behind the Coruscant attack, I would likely give that up in their stead, but none of us have the means of reaching him. I apologize."

Taisun and Tanner stood silently for a moment. Finally Taisun spoke. "If given the opportunity, would you dedicate yourself to the Jedi Code, and submit yourself to Jedi training, even if it means becoming a Padawan to someone who may be younger than yourself?"

"I would."

"Then in instances like this, the Republic allows the Jedi Order to take in former Sith, but only if the offender is truly remorseful about their past and earnest in their willingness to change and make amends," Taisun informed him.

Tyr bowed to the pair of Jedi Masters, and a smile grew from ear to ear that he couldn't contain. Weeks ago, he'd have never seen himself here in this spot. What was more surprising though was how great he felt about the new direction his life seemed to be taking. It was not so much as though a load had been lifted from his shoulders as much as it was that he was given a whole new body with which to have a second chance. He felt utterly refreshed.

"I'd like to share something with you before your decision is final." Master Solumni offered. "I do not know if this will sway your view or not, but you deserve to hear this story of two brothers."

"Like a parable?"

"Not exactly." Tanner crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Years ago, there were two brothers, born to a Jedi Father."

Tyr looked confused. "Raezyr and Trychon?"

"No." Tanner frowned. "Please let me finish. One of these brothers was very gifted in the Force, and was trained to become a Jedi. The other was not, and he led a very bitter life regardless of the things that those close to him would do to try to make him happy. He lived on the wrong side of the law often, he drank too much, and he slept with many women jumping from one shallow relationship to another shallow relationship, in between one night stands."

Tyr sat down on the floor and crossed his legs. He had no idea where his grandfather was going with this story.

"As time went on, the wayward brother became a father, unwittingly. He began to come around and tried to become a good father, but he refused to allow the Jedi to meet his son because of his own misguided principals. Fast forward a few years, and now he has two sons from different relationships and his brother has one. Either out of spite of the news that his brother's son will someday join the Jedi, or out of pure greed, he decides to sell his sons to the Sith."

Even new to the ways of the Jedi, Tyr was disgusted by this, but still unsure of how the story was related to him, so he kept his opinions private.

The Jedi master continued. "One of his sons was gone before we got word. When we sent a pair of recruiters to contact him about his sons, worried about their fate, he had already made a deal with the Sith for the younger child. His brother and a Master intervened in the second son being sent off to the Sith, but the Master was grief stricken and decided not to hand over the child to the order either, and she took him off on his own."

Tyr started to think he knew what the connection was. "You believe this child was Raezyr."

His grandfather nodded. "We sent a team after the Sith who had gotten ahold of the older child. We never heard back from that team again, but our spies among the Sith said that the group we had gone after also disappeared. No news was ever found about the boy, but he was presumed dead along with the others."

"Trychon? How can you be so sure of either?"

Solumni swallowed. "We have some footage of your friend Raezyr on Nal Hutta, when he was careless with his helmet. The scar over his eye matches the description of the one received by the child at a later attempt to retrieve him from the ersatz master. That also matches what you told us about him being raised by a rogue Jedi, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does." Tyr had to admit. It was unsettling having these 'revelations' so often. "What about Trych?" He asked, noting to himself that he used the informal nickname for the first time in his discussions with the Jedi. He'd avoided using the familiar terms up to this point.

"He is a little less shy, and we have several good holos of his appearance, including a few where he stared directly into the camera. He looks exactly like his father. Too much to be a coincidence. In fact, we don't really believe in coincidences. Your fate was intertwined with theirs from birth."

That caught Tyr off guard. "Huh?"

"Tyr... the lost son here... the criminal, boozer, womanizer who sold his children to the Sith, only to lose them both to the galaxy... he was your uncle. Your father's brother." He sighed. "My son."

"I..." Tyr didn't know what to say. "I don't know what to say. I have to meditate on this."

Master Taison put his hand on Solumni's shoulder. "Of course. We're done here, and you're free to go."

Tyr turned to leave but turned around at the door. "I'm not sure this will change my opinion. They are still my friends... my cousins. I don't know that I can betray their trust."

"It is of little consequence." Taison responded. Seeing the continued confusion and exasperation on Tyr's face, he told him what they had been undecided on revealing. "Last night, Anya escaped in your ship. We expected this and are tracking her. We believe she will lead us to the Sith base."

716. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr

2011-08-19T05:00:00.071-06:00

The trip back to Hoth was fairly uneventful. Dianna fretted about not being able to find a load to take back in the direction of Hoth to at least cover some of the expenses even though the single run they had just done had been quite lucrative. Not many were willing to take a load of weapons into Alderaan. The risk of getting caught was hardly worth the payoff, and normally not even Dianna would have attempted it, but not everyone had access to a slicer of Trychon's abilities. It had been a simple matter to alter their transponder signal to mimic one of the cargo ships which was actually still docked back at the spaceport. By the time the Alderaanian officials sorted out the mess of why the ship was requesting to leave a second time, they'd most likely chalk it up to a computer malfunction or an operator error, leaving Dianna free of any questions... until the next time she wanted to land on Alderaan.

But that was a problem for another time.

In the meantime, Raezyr was able to successfully keep his broken hand wrapped in bacta patches long enough for it to heal without his lover noticing. He was actually rather surprised that Rhox Vegha didn't go run and tattle on him. He decided that she might not have to die by his hand one day.

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

The four crew members of the Ice Spectre sat in the cockpit of the freighter as the mottled blue swirls of hyperspace turned into star-streaks stretching into infinity, then coalesced into pinpoints. Dianna banked the ship to port and the white orb of Hoth swung into the center of the transparisteel screen, slowly growing as they approached.

After the ship's captain had been cleared for landing and received the local weather report, Dianna turned to Trychon. "As soon as we get back, I'd like it if you'd find out how Mannix is doing," she said. "I'm worried about the kid. I'd like to bring him to Hoth to convalesce as soon as the doctors will allow him to leave the hospital."

Trychon leaned back in his seat, putting his hands behind his head. "That shouldn't be a problem. The last time we checked in with the, uh, doctors... they estimated that he should be nearly ready to begin his rehab by now." He had almost slipped and said "med program." Thankfully, it didn't look like she noticed.

"Wait," she said. "The original estimates said he'd be nearly finished with rehab by now and ready to leave. What's the hold up?"

"Oh, I don't know," Trychon said, blowing off the question. "Things are just taking longer than expected, I guess."

Dianna half turned in her seat. They were about to re-enter the atmosphere, one of the most dangerous parts of landing from space, but she wanted to look at Trychon who was sitting diagonally behind her. "What kinds of 'things?'"

"C'mon, Di," Raez interjected. "We're not doctors. We can't interpret all those charts and data by ourselves." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he was sorry he had said them.

"What do you mean?" Dianna said as she turned back around to watch her instrument panel during re-entry. The ship was beginning to buck and the climate controls in the cabin were beginning to have a hard time compensating for the heat from the friction on the hull. "Didn't you speak with a doctor? Can't they tell you what's on the chart?" the captain asked as they passed the dangerous point and the cockpit began to cool to a normal temperature again.

Trychon spoke. "Di, I'm sorry. We just set it up so we receive his medical data. We check to make sure everything is within normal ranges and if it's not, we look to make sure the trend of the data is drifting towards normal. It's just the last couple times we've checked, the final estimates for each stage of his recovery have been pushed back each time. We haven't been able to see a reason for it at all, but he's getting better."

"Gorramit, guys," Dianna said as she dropped the ship below the last of the clouds. In the distance, up a long valley in the side of a mountain, a black rectangle was opening, growing bigger as they approached, and more square as the doors to the main hangar opened. "You have to contact them, and talk to a doctor as soon as we get back, alright?"

They promised to contact the facility.

715. Hoth: King's Lair - Trychon

2011-08-17T05:00:00.051-06:00

The two brothers had been sitting in their room for a little over an hour when Rhox called them to the cockpit. Trychon agreed that Raezyr hadn't overreacted, he would have handled it the same way except maybe backing down sooner.

They headed up to the cockpit to find Ms. Vegah already going through a pre-flight routine. She continued to work and didn't turn back to address them. "Dianna's going to meet us at the drop point. She sent the coordinates."

"She's riding with them? I don't like this at all." Raezyr growled as he sat down.

"She said you'd say that. She told me to tell you that it's fine, and she just wants to get out of here."

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

As the Ice Spectre finished its approach to the landing pad they were directed to, they could see a second, much larger ship already awaiting them. In front of it, was Dailo and several of his men. Dianna sat on the outside of their little circle, tapping her foot.

Trychon and Rhox walked down the lowered ramp and Dianna walked over to them briskly. As she reached the pair, Dailo gathered his thugs and headed their way.

"Where's Raez?" She asked nervously through clenched teeth.

"He uh... opted to stay on board to avoid conflict." Trychon smiled at the look of relief from Dianna, who seemed reassured that Raezyr hadn't gone off and done something stupid. "Are we all good? Can we bring the stuff out now?"

Dianna nodded and her apprentice and the Sith went to retrieve the two loaded gravsleds from the cargo bay. After they brought them down, Dailo kept glancing at Dianna as his men inspected the crates and their seals, confirming that they were not modified. She ignored him entirely while the process went on.

Finally, she turned to the smuggler's techs. "Satisfied?"

The tech nodded. "Yes, Ma'am." Then he turned and headed back towards the ship, his job done. As he did, he mumbled something under his breath about being the only one satisfied, which caused his boss's face to turn red.

After a little bit of grumbling, Dailo punched a few codes into his datapad, and Dianna's pad gave off a quiet note, confirming that the correct amount she'd been expecting had been transferred.

"Thank you, Dailo." She flashed him a forced smile.

As he turned to walk away without a word, she called out to him. "I may not have your familiarity with this sector, but I do know that not many runners will bring your sort of cargo here. I suggest better manners next time."

Then, the three of them headed back into the Ice Spectre, with Dianna's parting comments not being acknowledged. After closing up the ramp, they headed as a group to the cockpit, which they found empty.

Dianna turned to Trychon. "I thought you said Raez waited on board?"

"I did." Raezyr's voice came from down the hallway. "Why?"

"What... were you doing?" Dianna seemed to hesitate to even ask.

"I was manning the quads, just in case. What did you think I would do, sit and watch the sensors?"

Dianna called him some playfully insulting pet name quietly and headed to her seat to begin their ascent. As she calculated their trajectory, she spoke up again. "I didn't get what I was after, anyway... but he should behave better if there's a next time."

"You mean making me jealous?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, I was trying to pump him for contacts. When he wouldn't open up to me, I tried to use Dek's program for siphoning some from his datapad, but he turned it off hoping to avoid interruptions." She turned to Raezyr. "Business first. I knew I could make you jealous, and I don't need a blowhard like that to do so."

Not much more was said before they headed out of atmosphere and entered hyperspace, looking forward to a little downtime to heal their short-term wounds.

714. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr and Trychon

2011-08-15T05:00:00.087-06:00

Rhox Vega, Trychon and Raezyr climbed into the cab and sat down. The droid cab driver attempted to make small talk, but the former Czerka employee told it to be quiet.

They rode in silence for several minutes. Finally Raezyr slipped off his helmet, slicked back his hair and spoke in a regretful tone. "I should have ripped his throat out."

Rhox burst. "Don't get mad. It's your own go tsao de fault, you hwoon dahn."

"You best shut your xi niu mouth or it will be your throat that gets ripped out, si san ba," Raezyr replied. It would have sounded almost casual if it hadn't been for the menacing undertone in his voice.

"Do it!" she yelled. "I dare you, you chùsheng xai-jiao de xiang huo!"

The two stared each other down in the back of the cab as speed down the dark streets of Aldera, each waiting for the other to make a move. Finally it was Trychon who spoke. "Isn't this the part where you two are supposed to kiss?"

Rhox turned to the window and stared out, crossing her arms against her chest in disgust. The thought of kissing a Sith, any Sith, made her throw up in her mouth a little.

The ride was nearly silent after Trychon's quip. They arrived at the spaceport and headed to the docking bay without any further conversation.

Raezyr was the first one to and up the ship's ramp. He keyed in the unlock code and mishit a button on his first attempt. "Open, gorramit!' he yelled as he smashed his fist into the locked door. There was a hard metallic clang as he impacted the ship with his fist, but Raezyr was fairly sure he was the only one that heard the crunch that accompanied it.

He quickly punched in the code again and headed back to the cargo hold before the others could catch up to him. He was already moving crates when Rhox caught up to him.

She stood behind him and waited for him to put down the crate he was moving and grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around. "You really are as dumb as you look!"

"Don't start with me. I'm sick of this kriff."

"That had to have fractured a bone or two in your hand. If you drop one of those crates or throw them around in your little tizzy, we're either not getting paid or we're exploded. I want no part of either option."

Raezyr flexed his hand in front of his face to show he was fine. Rhox grabbed it and squeezed. The large Sith didn't even flinch, though it hurt badly when she did.

"I know why you're upset, but she's putting you in your place because you overstepped your bounds." She didn't let go of his hand as she continued. She squeezed it enough that his bones were shifting in ways they shouldn't have, and she could likely feel it, too. "You have no real reason to be worried, because for some reason she's completely devoted to you. I've never seen such attachment to... one of you. Doesn't make sense, and I think she may be sick... but trust her, for all our sake."

Raezyr just stared at her.

She finally released his hand, which was throbbing now nearly to the point of numbness, though not quite. "Now go take care of your hand while we take care of this. Otherwise, she's going to think I did this to you."

The look on her face was stern, but the unintentional jest at the end of her tirade cause the corners of her mouth to turn upwards slightly.

Raezyr left without a word, and managed to make it out of the cargo bay before chuckling a little to himself as well before regaining his scowl.

713. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr

2011-08-12T05:00:00.139-06:00

Rhox and Dianna slid into a booth in a small alcove in the back of the club while Trychon took the seat opposite. Raezyr stood by the entrance to the alcove and surveyed the room. A music engineer stood at a booth in the corner just off the dance floor, mixing songs so the dance beats flowed effortlessly. Strobes and lasers lit up the smoke-filled room while scantily-clad bodies writhed and clung to each other in time to the hard bass as it thumped.

A server approached and Raezyr held him up with one hand. He then made a show of patting him down for weapons before he allowed the club employee to take drink orders. The pat down had been unnecessary for the big Sith warrior as he could sense no ill-intent when the man approached, but he knew they were being scrutinized and appearances must be kept and roles must be played. His was the hulking, meat-head to provide physical security in close quarters, a role he was happy to play as it would give him the edge if hostilities broke out.

After an hour a young Rodian female wearing a skimpy clubbing outfit and bobbing to the rythym, bounced up to Raezyr. He held up his hand, indicating she should approach no further, but instead she moved closer and began to dance against him. He expected to feel some emotion from Dianna, anger, jealously, anything, but instead there was nothing. It surprised him for the briefest of moments, realizing that she knew this was a job, and it wasn't as if Raezyr had gone looking for this female.

He grabbed the Rodian roughly by the shoulder and was about to push her away when she slid her hands down his torso and tucked something in the waistband of his trousers. She then danced her way back into the crowd. Raezyr reached down and pulled out a folded napkin with something scrawled on it. At first he assumed it was probably just her private comm channel and he was about to crumple it up and throw it on the floor when he took a second look.

The big Sith turned to the table he was guarding. Dianna was trying hard to look disinterested in what had just taken place, Rhox looked disgusted, and his brother had a grin on his face from ear to ear. He could tell Trychon was about to make some comment so he spoke first. "You better take a look at this," Raezyr said, tossing the napkin on the table in front of Rhox.

"Eww," she said in disgust, holding her hands up and away from the disposable paper product in front of her. "I'm not touching that. I saw where she put it."

Dianna reached over, snatched it up and read the note. "Let's go," she said and slid out of the booth. Raezyr led the way to a side hallway, the entrance to which was marked with the universal restroom signs. The four walked past the doors there and to the end of the hallway where three more doors were located. One was to a storage room, one was an emergency fire exit, and the other revealed a set of stairs going up.

They took the stairs quickly despite the poor lighting. One of the glow rods was flickering and they could see where others were missing, leaving just enough light to see the stairs. They reached a landing, turned and went up a second flight, coming to a halt at a small landing just big enough for the four of them.

A heavy security door marked with a sign that read 'Office' stood in their way. Raezyr knocked, his gauntleted fist rapping loudly on the steel door.

A slot in the door and a camera eye slid out to examine them. "Haku uba naga?" a voice asked in Huttese.

Raezyr, who was standing closest, answered. "We're here to see Dailo."

"Bolla neechu. Hees nopa tah baatu baatu," the voice said.

Dianna pushed forward. "Tell Dailo that if he wants his shipment he better stop playing games."

The camera eye studied moved it's focus from Raezyr to Dianna and studied her for a moment. "Wanga tee-tocky," the voice said. Several moments went by before it spoke again."Dailo stuka chuba ateema." The camera retracted and the door slid open.

A male Weequay stood there with a wide stance, his hand on the hilt a very large vibro-sword sheathed at his waist. "Bolla wata," he said and turned, leading them down a hallway. They passed several doors, some of which stood open revealing supply closets and offices. The alien tapped in a sequence into the key pad at the door at the end of the hall and it swooshed open.

Inside was a large office. Behind the desk was a large wall-sized window showing the entire club. Raezyr assumed it was a one-way mirror or they would have noticed it when they came in. The occupants of the room all sat around a sabacc table. Five beings were playing cards while three ladies seemed to have the appearance of groupies, but all four pirates noticed they didn't move like civilians. They were tensed and ready and it was clear to the trained eye that they were body guards, despite how they were dressed and acting.

"Con tah stuka chuba, Lorda," the Weequay said.

A middle-aged human male with a black vest and gray shirt on the far side of the table put down his cards and gave the guard a rather irritated look. "Ak-sev! What have I told you about the Huttese?" he asked. "This is Alderaan, for Lor's sake. Speak Basic."

The man stood up from the card table and crossed to the desk. He looked back over at the card table. "I fold this hand, boys." He opened an ornate box on the desk and pulled out a big cigarra. "Any of you want one?" he asked the new arrivals. When they declined he lit his own and came around the front of the desk, then sat on the very edge.

He motioned to the Weequay. "Get back to the door," he told the guard. When he had gone he finally turned his full attention to the pirates. "Dianna Kingsdoom," he said and grinned. "I've hear a lot of things about you." Dailo scanned the red-headed woman up and down with a gaze that said he was looking for more than just weapons. "And they clearly didn't do you justice."

Trychon could feel Raezyr's ire starting to rise, and for a moment he wondered whether he'd have to restrain his brother.

"You know, a gorgeous, enterprising woman such as yourself could do pretty well for herself here on Alderaan," Dailo said. "What do you say that the two of us discuss some business plans over dinner... with out the riff-raff," he suggested, motioning to the others in the room.

Dianna spoke quickly. Even she could feel the heat coming off Raezyr and wondered it had been a good idea to bring him along. "I'm here to make this deal, Dailo," she said. "Let's do it so my crew and I can get the kriff off this rock."

Dailo looked a bit sad. "I heard that about you too... all business and no play. If you ever change your mind..."

"Just transfer the creds and give me the drop coordinates," Dianna said, rolling her eyes at the lame pick-up attempts. She'd received better offers from much better people and it hadn't worked before. These kinds of offers might work on regular girls, but she was no regular girl.

"Well, not so fast," the man said. "I think first I need a demonstration. I want to make sure that I'm not paying for a load of junk."

"You're far to naive," Dianna retorted. "Alderaan is much too populated for an effective demonstration... if you'd like a test, a test on a remote planet, then name the system."

Dailo just looked at her for a moment then gave her a mischievous grin. "I'm sorry then. I guess you've come all this way for nothing... unless you could persuade me otherwise." He took a step forward and stroked the tips of her red hair that hung by her neck with his fingers.

Raezyr had had enough. "Get your damn hands off her, scum bag," said reaching for Dailo's throat.

Dailo didn't move, but instantly all his people had blasters out and pointed at Raezyr. Raezyr's hand paused just inches away. Trychon could almost hear his brother's thoughts, but Rhox and Dianna didn't need a Force connection to guess that he was calculating... not whether or not to attack, but how fast he needed to move to be successful.

"Ray! That's enough out of you!" Dianna reprimanded him. They decided previously to use aliases for the Sith. "Step back and stand down until you're ordered to do otherwise, got it?" She knew she had to step in before her lover did something foolish.

The big Sith didn't move. He was tired of this fool's insolence and disrespect. Every ounce of his being was telling him to teach this big fish in a little pond just exactly who he was dealing with and who as in charge.

"Remember. Your. Place," she told him through clenched teeth. The tension in the room was so strong it was almost alive. She knew if he didn't back down that it would snap like synth-rubber and people would die. Dianna knew Trychon and Raezyr probably had a good chance of surviving, but Rhox and herself didn't have the benefit of the Force.

Finally Raezyr slowly dropped his hand to his side and stepped back and guns around the room were lowered. "Yes, Captain," calm a quiet but tense voice from the helm.

"Looks like you need to keep your hounds on a shorter leash, Di," the middle aged man said. She noticed that he had dropped his hand away from her though.

"Look," Dianna said, ignoring the jab. "I've got a holo right here," she pulled out a small disc. "It shows the sealed crates being opened, random weapons pulled out, tested, replaced, and the crates resealed. The data is all here. When we make the drop, you'll be able to see that the seals have not been tampered with since the holo was created." She dropped the disc in his outstretched hand.

Dailo smiled. "I see this is not your first trip into the black, so to speak." Dianna didn't answer, just crossed her arms while the man crossed to the holoprojector and watched the recording.

"Fine," he said when it was over. "We'll begin the transaction, but I'll give you the final code at the drop point after I have inspected the crates."

Dianna stood there for a few moments, pondering. "Agreed," she said and turned to her crew. "You three get back to the Spectre and make her ready. I think I'll take Dailo up on his offer for dinner." She let that sink in for a minute. "Any questions?" she asked, although the glare she gave the helmed Sith told him there better not be any.

712. Like Womprats in a Cage - Raezyr and Trychon

2011-08-10T05:00:00.219-06:00

Anya slipped quietly down the dark hallway. She felt vindicated in her actions, knowing that if she just held strong to her beliefs that the Force would take care of her. Had she not fought the Jedi at every turn, she never would have come into contact with that little T1 astromech. From there it had been a simple matter to trick the little droid into getting close enough to short it out, then reprogram it.

As she came to the door at the end, she flattened herself against the wall and the little black and white droid wheeled to a stop behind her. She leaned out just far enough to see through the window in the door. The corridor beyond seemed deserted. Not strange since she wasn't at the main entrance to the detention level yet. She looked around and spotted a data port just below the door controls. "Tee One, plug in and see if you can shut down the alarm systems and unlock all doors. Also check the security cams and see where the guards are posted," she instructed the little droid.

The droid rolled forward and it's data arm extended out from a compartment on the front of it's round, can-shaped body and inserted it into the computer port. It whirred as it spun for a few moments, then suddenly began chirping and beeping.

Anya frantically gestured for the droid to be quiet. "Shhh, TeeOne, not so loud or you'll get us caught before we ever have a chance!"

The droid chirped and beeped again, but this time at a lower volume.

"Good work," the blonde woman replied. "Now here's what you're going to do when we get to the guard station." Anya laid out her plan for the astromech.

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

Rik was sitting at the terminal of the guard station, just surfing the holonet looking for anything interesting when the battered old astromech came wheeling through the door. He glanced at the chrono. The dang thing had been in there for quite some time, but that was becoming more and more the norm. The Sith girl had taken to droning on and on to the little droid about how misunderstood and mistreated she was, playing the victim card to the only thing that would listen to her. Rik thought it was amusing. Her, a victim, and not the many innocent people she had hurt and killed.

"She still babbling away to you?" he asked the droid.

The flat-topped dome swiveled his direction so it's visual sensor could view him. It started to beep, but then made a strange groaning noise and slumped forward slightly and it's lights began blinking.

"Hey, you okay?" the Jedi asked. When it didn't reply, he got up and walked around the terminal. He stood looking at the droid, then banged a couple of times on it's dome with his fist. "Piece of junk anyway." Rik squatted down in front of the robot. He didn't know the first thing about droids, but he looked at it's knobs and buttons anyway in case something obvious stood out.

He was about give up when it suddenly sprang to life. Relieved he wasn't going to have to do the security checks in person, he began to stand up. "You gave me a little scare..." he began, then looked back down as a forked appendage extended from the droid's body and touched his leg. "What the?"

Rik crumpled into a heap as the forks crackled to life, jolting him with a heavy dose of electricity.

The smell of ionization and burned flesh hung in the air as Anya walked through the doors and picked up the Jedi's lightsaber. She snapped it on and the yellow blade hummed to life. She looked at it for a moment in disgust. Of course it had to be yellow, she hated yellow. Things could be worse, she decided. It could have been green. How she detested those colors. Nevertheless, it would have to do until she could get a red synth-crystal or maybe build herself a new weapon.

She plunged the blade into the heart of the unconsious Jedi. His body twitched for the briefest moment, then held still. Anya sneered slightly as she let blade sizzle for a moment before flicking the switch off, and breathing in the stench as if it were a delightful aroma. "I love the smell of burnt Jedi in the morning," she said to no one in particular.

She clipped the weapon to her belt as she stepped around to the terminal and, with a few quick finger taps on the keyboard, found a map of the facility and the quickest way to the landing area. Hopefully she could steal a ship here. If not, things might get a bit hairy as she'd have to hoof it to the nearest town... Khoonda, according to the computer. She'd have to move fast. It wouldn't take long for them to discover the dead Jedi. She glanced at the chrono. Most likely she had two hours before the day shift guard came on duty. She only hoped no one checked on him before that.

Quickly she slipped through the rest of the Jedi base. Thankfully, everyone was asleep. She paused at the door to the landing pad and had TeeOne check the security cams once again. Still no guards. The Jedi clearly trusted the security systems to alert them to any danger from outside.

The Sith opened the door and stared in disbelief. In addition to a shuttle and a couple star-fighters she recognized as belonging to those damn Nautolan and Chiss freaks, there sat the Wasted Rancor and the Nefarion Wraith. She couldn't believe her luck.

For a moment, seeing Tyr's ship made her think of her former lover, and for the briefest of moments she considered going back to rescue him, but it occurred to her that not only would that increase the likelihood of her getting caught, but that if he were strong enough, he could rescue himself.

She felt smug. She was finally proving that she was the the stronger of the two Sith. Besides, if Trychon and Raezyr cared, they could come rescue him themselves. First, though, she'd have to think of some story to tell those two, but that shouldn't be hard. They were easy enough to control.

She quickly boarded the Wasted Rancor, as it was the one she was a bit more comfortable with and she would have access to what she understood of Trychon's programs. Behind her, she could hear the little droid obediently rolling up the ramp behind her, not beeping to question her at all.

She sprinted to the cockpit and pulled up Trychon's security protocols. A quick diagnostic showed that there was no tracking devices added to the outer hull or anywhere detectable inside the ship. No programs had been run other than standard data dumps and checks that the computer was protected against. No malicious programs added.

Excellent. They're as foolish as they are arrogant. She thought to herself, not wanting to admit that she had been worried that the ease of her escape was due to some trap. She started the engine warmup and grinned, feeling the best she had in months. She'd personally bested an entire Jedi enclave, and she couldn't wait to boast to the others. They'd have to respect her now.

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

Val sat with his legs crossed in front of the crackle of the fire and took in its heat as he meditated on his brief mission with Nal. He was a simple Jedi Knight himself, just as she was... but he did feel like a bit of a mentor to the younger Jedi. She had handled herself better than even he had hoped for, and now she was rewarding herself with well deserved rest.

He wasn't sure he'd ever accept a Master rank from the council, as happy as he was with his assignment of teaching combat at the temple. It'd been hinted at him before that he could make the transition to Master soon, and at a rather young age considering when he'd joined... if only he was a bit more ambitious. He found that a bit ironic, given that ambition was frowned upon by their very tenets.

Still, he felt that his place was best served teaching the younglings to protect the galaxy. He'd have a much greater impact in that role than he ever could on front lines with a padawan. He may never have a padawan, given his choices. Yet here he was, away from the temple and teaching a youth of sorts in a one on one basis as he had been for months now.

He was very proud of her, and even in his meditative state the irony of his position now mixed with the pride caused him to smile.

His introspection was cut short as it often was, when a small freighter flew overhead in a vector that indicated it had come from the base. He'd been expecting that this might happen.

He stood and brushed himself off, following with his eyes the trajectory of the ship. He stared into the fire for just a moment, as though it maybe held answers to their future, but it never did. He turned to wake Nal from her slumber, to find her already sitting up.

She rubbed her eyes. "Time to go?"

"Yes." Val nodded as he began gathering his own things and stuffing them into his pack. "I believe that Anya has just escaped. We need to report back to the temple."

"You don't seem surprised at all." She watched his body language carefully as she followed his lead and began packing. He was hard to read nearly all the time, but she was sure she was getting better at it. "You knew she'd escape?"

"I do not pretend to know the future, Nal."

"You knew."

"A wise Jedi prepares for all possibilities."

"You knew." She said, finally looking away to pick up everything she'd packed.

Val began the march back to the Temple, and smiled.

711. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr

2011-08-08T05:00:00.049-06:00

Standing in the open docking bay outside the ship Trychon pulled the cap down low on his head. It was a little large, covering his ears and had only a bill in the front. Additionally, he wore a pair of dark tinted goggles with smart lenses which detected the ambient light levels and adjusted appropriately, as well as popping up the collar of the shirt he was wearing. "I feel ridiculous with all this crap on," he said, looking at his half-brother who was wearing a full faced helmet and mismatched armor.

"It's either that or a helmet," Raezyr replied, wistfully touching the spot on his belt where his lightsaber normally hung. Anya Tachi had taught them the only useful thing she had ever been good at: to use the Force to alter their appearance. And although Raezyr was much better at it due to prolonged use, it would never fool any facial recognition scanners they might encounter here on Alderaan which would see through the image they projected as it only affected the minds of those who were looking at them and had no affect on the holocams.

"Oh, Hell no," Trychon replied, remembering the last time he had tried to wear a helmet and it ended up flopping around on his head like a kid wearing his dad's headgear. "I still can't see how anyone can get used to wearing those things all the time."

"Well, you were the one who had to pose for the camera back on Coruscant*," Raezyr retorted. He wasn't particularly happy with the helmet he had. It was a spare taken from the armory back at King's Lair on Hoth, and while it was serviceable, it wasn't as good has his old one, and bulkier as well.

Finally, Dianna Kingsdoom walked down the loading ramp of the battle-tested space ship followed by Rhox Vegah, their dark green hooded cloaks billowing around them as they moved. "Let's go, boys," she said, striding on past the waiting Sith. Rhox followed her right on by.

Raezyr looked over to his brother who just shrugged. "Aye, aye, Captain," the big man said and turned to follow.

Trychon fell in beside his brother. "Yar," he said under his breath.

Raezyr chuckled.

The woman with the fiery red hair whipped around so quickly that she nearly ran into Rhox, who just barely got out of the way. Dianna shoved her finger in Trychon's face. "I swear by all the dieties in the galaxy... if you start that again, I'll leave you here on Alderaan."

Despite her threat, it was all she could do to keep from cracking a smile.

Dianna and the two Sith brothers stood there silently for a moment, all on the verge of cracking up. Rhox just looked confused and shifted her gaze between the three. Finally she broke the silence. "I don't get it."

That was all it took to break the dam. They broke out laughing while the former Czerka security officer kept asking, "What? What is do damn funny?"

They all turned to head out and Dianna threw her arm over Rhox's shoulders. "It's an inside joke, Rhox, but if you want to know, remind me to tell you about the time the three of us broke out of the brig of a Republic Hammerhead."

Rhox just looked at her captain, unsure as to whether someone was pulling her leg or not.

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

The four walked briskly through the bustling spaceport in the capital city of Aldera, and once outside they hailed a taxi and climbed in. They told the driver to just to drive where ever he pleased and eventually had him set down near a large park. The four got out and walked straight through to the other side and looked for another cab to hail.

"Nobody is following us," Raezyr said just loud enough to for his small group to hear.

Rhox rolled her eyes. "I suggest we continue on a few more maneuvers just to be sure, Captain."

Raezyr's helmed head turned slowly to gaze at tough security officer. Even with the eye pieces blacked out she could still feel his staring at her, but she didn't care.

"We'll make one more little ride just to be sure, then head to our meeting," Dianna decided, taking into account both people's experience and training.

The four climbed into another cab, and after a shorter ride and quick walk through of a crowded market place they headed straight for the small night club that was to be their meeting place.

710. Hoth: King's Lair - Raezyr and Trychon

2011-08-05T05:00:00.163-06:00

The Ice Spectre glided in and set down in the designated docking bay, settling down on the duracrete landing pad with just the slightest hint of a bounce.

"Take it easy with my ship there, Ace," Diana said, grinning and giving Raezyr a playful nudge.

"Are you kidding?" He replied. "I could land this piece of space junk on running tauntaun and the it wouldn't even know I was there."

"Raez, you know how I hate to side with Di," Trychon said apprehensively, "but we all know you wouldn't know a tauntaun if you were swallowed by one."

Raezyr thought about that for a moment, then shuddered. "I don't even want to think about that. Those things smell bad enough on the outside."

Rhox just rolled her eyes, shook her head and headed back to her quarters to grab her gear. Dianna suggested the half-brothers do the same and meet on the landing pad. Before following Rhox to their shared quarters, she reminded the boys that this was Alderaan, and they routinely scanned for energy weapons. If they were caught with unregistered lightsabers or blasters they'd most likely be thrown in prison.

"I think we can take care of ourselves. We once fought off an entire army single-handedly," Trychon objected.

Dianna chuckled. "Shut up, Trych."

Raezyr stood up and stretched after sitting for so long at the controls. "While we all know that Trych is full of go-se 99% of the time, this one is actually true."

Dianna looked back and forth at the brothers serious faces for a moment, not sure whether they were pulling her leg or not. Finally she shook her head. "Just leave the Sith toys this time, alright? Alderaan's a peaceful planet. They don't like people bringing weapons, and we don't need the attention it would bring if you got caught, dong ma?"

She left before they could object again, as she knew they would. She didn't really care what they had to say as long as they listened. Dianna was beginning to grow her contacts once again despite her wanted status here in the Core, and she couldn't afford to have these two screw things up.

She opened the door to her quarters and stepped in. The ship had been modified to carry mostly cargo, and since most of the time she had at most one other crew member with her on a run, she had converted all but two cabins to extra cargo space.

Rhox was just sliding a dagger into each of her calf-high boots. She stood up and flipped her hair over her shoulder, then pulled it back tightly into a pony-tail. "Captain, may I speak frankly with you?"

"Of course, Rhox," Dianna replied. "You're my security officer. I'll listen to anything you have to say."

"What the hell are you doing with those... Sith?" she asked, twisting her mouth and nearly spitting the last word as if she were trying to get rid of a bad taste in her mouth.

Dianna sighed. "I know you haven't had a really good experience with the Sith, and I was pretty apprehensive at first, but I try to take people at face value. They've claimed the Sith are misunderstood and have been given a bad rap by a few bad apples, and so far, they've done nothing but prove that statement correct. They've lived up to their word and they've done a lot for me and the entire crew. You need to give them a chance."

"Captain, it's been my experience that if a Sith is being nice to you, he or she is using you or wants something from you, or you have something that they can't take from you by force," Rhox explained, crossing her arms across her chest. "And I've never seen an exception to the rule."

"All I know is that Zanz, my former security officer and first mate, a man I looked up to and thought of as a father-figure, once thought the same way you do about these two," Dianna said. "In the end, it was he who ended up making off with a dozen lifetime's worth of aurodium and left the rest of us holding the bag. If it hadn't been for the Sith, you wouldn't be here because I would have had to disband the Kingsmen and sell everything I own to try and repay a slimy Hutt."

Rhox snorted. "I heard that story, Cap. Let me guess, it was probably those two Sith who came up with the idea for that heist, wasn't it?"

"I don't see what that has to do with anything, but yes... it was."

"If I had to guess, I'd bet that they worked some angle. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that they ended up with all that money somehow anyway, blamed your loyalest crew member and got rid of the only person who might question them about it in one fell swoop. Then they come swooping in with an 'investment,' using the money that was rightfully yours anyway to do it, and now they own you, lock, stock and barrel," Rhox said smugly.

"Own me?" Dianna's jaw dropped. "You think they own me?"

"No." Rhox's face went a little flush, realizing she'd overstepped not by insulting the brothers, but by insulting her boss. "You know what I mean. I know they seem nice, but I wouldn't put that sort of deception beyond any Sith."

"And if they were just some random Sith who'd hired me to do a job for them, you'd probably be right. Hell, I'll even grant you that possibility given the fact that we'd gone to them looking for some help finding jobs." Dianna paused to let that small concession sink in. "It doesn't explain the half dozen times they've come to my... our aid. Let me tell you more, and you go ahead and give me your theories."

Rhox simply stared back defiantly.

Dianna began. "The time they rescued half my crew from a rival who'd kidnapped them, wiping out my rival in the process? A long time thorn in my side?"

When no response seemed to be forthcoming, she continued. "How about the time that they went with me to confront a Hutt on Nar Shadaa, where they're very wanted, just so that I wouldn't give up my base?" Another pause. "No theory on that? They nearly lost an apprentice on that mission, and from what they tell me, he's still recovering, and may never be the same."

"Well, I..."

"Or how about when these two Sith," Dianna spat the word as an insult the way her officer had. "Took my side and backed me up over their two Sith friends, including a friend of mine who I've known since long before he was a Sith?"

Dianna let that sink in as well. "We haven't heard from them since. I suppose that's a ruse as well?" Dianna put her hands on her hips. "Don't worry, Rhox... I'm not mad at you, and you can continue to voice any concern you may have, but I'd appreciate it if you avoid calling me stupid when you don't know everything."

"Understood, Ma'am. I'm sorry it came out like that."

"And please try to play nice with them unless you have a real reason not to. They aren't like the Sith you've known... but, " Dianna paused briefly to collect her thoughts. "You don't want to be on their bad side either. I've seen people who ended up on their bad side before. Don't let that be you."

Dianna walked out of the room, suddenly a perfect picture of calm again. Maybe she was telling the truth about not really being mad, but Rhox could tell she touched a nerve by pushing the issue on her former first mate. She wondered if her captain's last pause had been to avoid using the phrase 'or you'll end up like Zanz.'

709. Like Womprats in a Cage - Raezyr

2011-08-03T05:00:00.018-06:00

The Nautolan Jedi carefully pried a piece of purple crystal from the rock wall of the cave. She and the Chiss had already found a small handful of crystals: two blues, four greens and a yellow, but this was the first purple. The purple were hard to find, so hard in fact, that she was considering keeping this one for herself.

The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. She would construct a new lightsaber using the violet focusing crystal and it would signify her new start, overcoming the dark side of the Force. She whispered her idea to Val who was standing watch while she worked carefully.

"I think that's a most excellent idea," he replied in whisper, trying not to draw the attention of any more kinrath.

So far they had encountered three of them. Each one had been a tough fight, but through all of them, Nal had kept her cool. She had stayed calm and focused, and Val was impressed. Rarely did a Jedi bounce back so quickly. Some never did.

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

Anya sat on the floor of her cell. Thankfully she had learned a bit about understanding the beeps and boops that a standard astromech droid usually emitted back during her days on Corellia. During her early days at the brothel, she had only been a scullery maid, cleaning and doing menial tasks. She was forced to sleep in a small closet along with the owner's pieced together astromech. Eff Two, was what they called it.

She allowed herself a smile. She hadn't thought about Eff Two in many years. How she had hated that little droid. It had constantly broken down, and she had been forced to repair it, even though she knew nothing about droids.

That one had been nothing like this old Tee One. That had been a conglomeration of parts from several other droids while this was the real thing, old as it was.

It didn't take long for her understanding of the droid's speech to come back to her, and thankfully so. Tee One was her only conversation as no one living even bothered to come to her cell any more. Luckily for her, the droid seemed inclined to talk a bit whenever it brought meals or made it's rounds, presumably to check on her.

Still, she was beginning to go crazy. She he had to get out of here somehow. She just needed to think. "I've got plenty of time for that," she thought to herself wryly.

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

"I thought you were going to get his consent before you did the memory transfer," Taisun growled to the other Master Jedi, clasping his hands behind his back and peering out of the window of the Council Chamber onto the Dantooinian prairie. It was clear the Cathar was a bit irritated. "It's not usual to force that upon someone. It's rough enough even when fully prepared for what is about to happen, not to mention the risk of..."

"I know the risks well," Tanner Solumi interrupted. "Oovo IV wasn't that long ago. The thing is, I don't think it was avoidable, and his mind is stronger than that poor Bothan's was. Besides, Tyr is alright."

"That really isn't the point," Taisun said.

"I know," the human replied, dropping his eyes to his feet. "He's as stubborn as his father was." Tanner chuckled a bit at the memory of his son. "Do you remember the time we had even trying to convince Jaron to give up on the search for Tyr?"

"All too clearly, my old friend," the big Cathar replied. "All too clearly."

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

The tears wouldn't stop rolling down his face, no matter how hard he tried. The memories were fresh in his mind and Tyr couldn't stop them from flooding to the surface.

It felt weird remembering them. It was clear that they weren't his, but he saw them all from his point of view. Holo-reports from his father... older, and worn. Years of tracking down and fighting slavers, looking for his son had taken it's toll, making him look older than he really was.

He remembered first-hand the meeting before the Jedi Council. He watched in his mind's eye as Jaron Solumi stubbornly refused to give up the search for his son, even though it had been going on for years. Only the intervention of Tanner had kept him from being removed from the Order.

All those years he had been wrong. In his own mind he had grown resentful of his father for trying to send him to the Jedi, and it had tainted his memories, making him believe that he had never wanted to be a Jedi, but remembering his own smiling face on the holo-recording, brought back the memory of his true feelings.

After what seemed like forever, Tyr he was able to pull himself together and sit up in the bed. He took a long hot sani-steam in the refresher and got dressed in the Jedi garb they had given him. They had never brought his old clothes back, but that was okay. He had begun to realize just how comfortable these robes were. He crossed to the door and punched the intercom button. When the guard answered, he asked to speak with Val or Tanner.

Within a few minutes, Tanner Solumi was at the door. "You asked for me?"

"Can we talk?"

"Of course, Tyr. Follow me," the old Jedi said.

Tyr held out his hands so the binders could be put on.

Tanner looked Tyr in the eye without glancing down. "I don't think that will be necessary."

708. Hoth: King's Lair - Trychon

2011-08-01T05:00:00.005-06:00

After they were underway Dianna explained that it really was a simple exchange they were going on. As if to prove the point, she brought along only the two Sith and the newest member of her crew, Rhox Vegah.

The trip had been quiet and uneventful, with Rhox and Trychon keeping largely to themselves, and Dianna and Raezyr spending most of their time together.

The entire crew gathered in the cockpit of Dianna's personal small cruiser for the last leg of the trip, so they could be prepared should things go awry at the last minute. Rhox continued to stay quiet and not speak except when Dianna addressed her. Raezyr wondered if that was due to a conversation that Dianna had with her, or if she was simply going to be this cold to them for some time.

Dianna seemed to answer his thoughts by attempting to break the ice. "Trych, I've come to terms with the fact that you guys aren't like most Sith... but even Raez has his moments with his temper. You on the other hand, almost always seem so... optimistic. I don't get it."

"Oh that's simple." Trych said, swallowing the last mouthful of a treat he'd plundered from Dianna's cabinets. "It's just a common misconception about the Sith."

That was apparently exactly what it took to get Rhox to speak up. "Oh, this should be rich. Do tell."

Trych couldn't help himself. Everyone else in Di's crew was used to him and his over zealousness at times. Rhox was like a clean datasheet for him to play with. So as much as he expected her attitude, he put on his best imitation of shock, which was a fairly good one, and turned around to address her. He could feel Raezyr's mirth more than he could see or hear it, but he heard Di snicker. "Well my young lass, it's quite simple. Between the Sith and the Jedi, the Sith are the true optimists. The Jedi are pessimists."

"By the suns, you are so full of it." Rhox glared at him.

"No. I'm serious." Trychon met her gaze, acting as though her words hurt him. "You see... the Sith are viewed as evil... but it takes a true optimist to proclaim 'I am going to rule the galaxy!' where it would be much easier to say 'Gosh, that sounds like an awful lot of work... and they'll probably try to stop me.' Meanwhile, the Jedi are always running around the galaxy saying things like 'I've got a bad feeling about this...' or 'Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate... leads to suffering'."

"You think you're so clever." Rhox spat. "I've dealt with the Sith though. Way more than I liked to during my stint with Czerka. There's something wrong with you."

"You're not the first to notice, either." Trychon nodded sadly as he turned around.

The conversation ended as they exited hyperspace. Raezyr took over the controls and made a direct course for the planet. As they neared orbit, the controls beeped an indication that one of the large frigates was scanning them.

"Are we good?" Raezyr asked. "How do you want me to play this?"

"We should be fine." Dianna mused, staring at her readings. "Just in case, keep your distance. But don't look like you're trying to keep your distance."

"Hunh? How am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know. Fly casual."

"Ice Spectre, You're cleared for landing in landing dock 71511. Please ensure that your weapons remained powered down at all times, and you are not to bring any handheld weapons off of your ship."

"Copy that." Raezyr commed back, before shutting down communications. "I don't like this at all."

"Knock it off, Raez." Trychon laughed as he got up from his seat and headed back out of the cockpit. "You're starting to sound like a Jedi."

707. Like Womprats in a Cage - Trychon

2011-07-29T05:00:00.070-06:00

Tyr felt the Force around him flex as his supposed 'grandfather' began moving a pair of cuffs from the corner of the room towards him. He reached out in the Force to block the maneuver, only to find that he could not budge the cuffs at all, and they were rapidly approaching his arms.

He kicked off from the floor, to push away from the table and jump out of his chair, so he could not be cuffed down to anything, but was completely unable to move. His eyes widened as he felt himself helpless. He'd been around a number of Jedi and Sith since he was reawakened to the Force, but he'd never been trapped like this. Trychon with his Force amplifying gem wasn't this powerful. Perhaps Eiron or the Jedi Masters he'd fought had been... but this was a very disconcerting turn of events.

As the cuffs floated into position and secured him to his chair, Tyr could not move but to stare into the eyes of the Jedi Master, who was exerting no effort that he could discern.

He took a few steps closer and raised his hands towards Tyr's head. "I'm sorry it came down to this, Tyr."

Streaks of blue light leapt out from the finger tips of Tanner's outstretched hands, and immediately made contact with Tyr's temples.

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

Tyr saw himself from a third person perspective. Only he wasn't looking at himself. He was looking at a little boy, who was also him. The little boy was no more than one or two years old. He was bouncing up and down on the knee that was attached to Tyr's own perspective. Only the knee wasn't bouncing up and down with the child. It was as though he was bouncing the child in the Force himself. The child giggled endlessly.

That vision faded, and then he was looking at a vision of his father, only much younger than he remembered from when he had murdered him. His father was yelling at him. The words were hard to make out, the vision was cloudy, like watching and viewing through cobwebs. His father was yelling something about leaving for his family's safety.

That vision faded out quickly as well. These images were flying through Tyr's conscious or unconscious mind quicker than he could easily keep track of, and it took him a second to catch his bearings. It didn't take a lot of logic to figure out he was viewing memories of himself and his father from what was supposed to be his grandfather's perspective, but his recollection of the chain of events leading to this state was even foggier than the reception of some of the senses.

Now he was watching the holovid he'd been told of. Younger Tyr was boarding a shuttle for Coruscant, all smiles. Until the other day, he'd remembered himself as being upset about being sent away, and he was a little unsure after the Jedi Masters' comments. Now he was not sure what to think.

Several images flashed by too quickly for him to even process. Then he found 'himself' with his father again. They were going over various details of an investigation. They were looking for someone. Quickly another memory took over, and they were fighting again. The council had issued orders to call off the search, but his father was refusing, cutting the last ties to the order.

There was a moment of black in his consciousness, then another memory began. This one was more clear, and was not rushed. It was a holocom transmission from his father. Even in the low resolution hologram, he looked much older, more tired. He kept repeating that 'He's alive. He's coming back. I can feel him.'

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

Tyr awoke in his bed in his cell, unaware of how he got there or how long it had been. He sat up and took in his surroundings.

"Blue?" He called out, knowing full well that he was by himself.

"Solumni?" He asked a bit more quietly, after his own echo had died down.

He rested his head in his hands and sobbed.

706. Hoth: King's Lair - Trychon

2011-07-27T08:32:00.000-06:00

Dianna sat in the chair in her office and turned around to look at the empty display stand she'd placed on the mantle just moments before. She grabbed the velvet cloth and slowly uncovered the unique ceremonial blade her lover had given her the previous night. She held the aurodium dagger in her hands and marveled at the design of it. The jewels covering the small hilt were from the standard design, but most models did not have the glowing red jewel in the center. It was the unwritten rule that such a dagger has not made from synthesized jewels, and it gave her a warmth that belied the cold that the metal imparted on her skin.

Silly as it seemed, she was hesitant to place it in the stand until she was positive that was where she wanted it. Once it was in that stand it would seem so much more permanent. She wasn't sure if she could bring herself to move it again after that.

She pulled the object in her hands closer to her face and the smell of recently molded jewelry hit her. She could help but be reminded of the first time she'd seen a Tingel Governor's blade. She was five years old at the time, and her Father had just had one made. Knowing what she knew now, she had no idea how he'd afforded one, even a low grade replica was expensive. She'd hugged it to her body the way most little girls would hold a prized stuffed toy or pet. After several minutes, she gave the blade back to her father to present to her mother.

As she got older, she used to sit in her dad's office and stare at the gilded weapon, sitting on this same display stand, on the same mantle. When her father caught her eying the blade longingly, he wouldn't chide her for daydreaming as he was known to do. Instead, he'd get a twinkle in his eye and tell her one of his many stories. Tales of the various dignitaries and politicians who'd received one with their title, or of the large company mergers that used it to celebrate, even the celebrity weddings who'd been blessed with one.

Even with a holographic memory, she couldn't have count the number of times she'd been told of the origins of the first six Tingel Governors. The tale of how they had managed to come together for independence. The systems had started out as small settlements and trading posts, but had quickly gained notoriety for piracy and other less than savory dealings. The Republic tried to step in and intervene but a large amount of wealth, legitimate and otherwise, had come to the Tingel Arm of the galaxy due to trade. Whether it was through bribes, coercion, or through their own devices, the local governors of the six largest planets came together. Led by Bo-Len Den and Howsam Var, they each passed local legislation to loosen salvage laws among others, effectively decriminalizing much of the piracy in the system. When the Republic would not recognize their new laws, the planets in the Tingel Arm appealed for and was granted independence.

Looking back on the story as she got older, she realized that it was largely romanticized by groups like her Fathers'. This was most evident because part of the lore included the thermal detonation device in the hilt signified by the glowing red jewel in the center. In a treaty between adversaries or groups with no trust for each other, every party was carrying one of these weapons. They were each then capable of defending a small attack or cause an explosion that could destroy the entire room, so backstabbing became much less profitable for all involved.

The Tingel Arm eventually eased back towards more standard laws over the next several hundred years. Pirates and smugglers no longer received any legal protection on Den Var or the surrounding planets than they did elsewhere in the galaxy, but they were looked upon with a bit more sympathy. The smuggler and pirate groups still view it as one of the golden eras of the galaxy, and revere the symbol of independence even more highly than the inhabitants of those planets.

A quiet beep sounded from the desk. Dianna opened her eyes and returned from her reverie to find herself clutching her gift like the little girl so many years ago. She wiped her eyes and placed the dagger in her father's stand before hitting the button on her desk.

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

Dianna walked into Trychon's quarters and found herself amidst a few dozen floating objects ranging in size from credchips to luggage cases. After brushing aside a small collectible of some sort, which floated away harmlessly, she saw the two brothers in the back corners of the room. Each was sitting in mid-air with their legs crossed and eyes shut.

She walked over to the luggage case she'd seen amongst the other junk and pulled it out of their mystical grasp.

"Time to pack, boys. Short trip. Need you to come with me."

Raezyr stretched his legs out and then set himself down. "Trouble?" The redness in her eyes didn't escape his notice.

"The only trouble will be if you think you can say no." She tossed him the bag. "You must learn the art of acquiescence... if you're to come with me to Alderaan. We take off at thirteen hundred hours."

705. Like Womprats in a Cage - Raezyr

2011-07-25T05:00:00.002-06:00

Tyr's mind was reeling. This couldn't be happening, could it? He wracked his brain, trying to wring out any memory of this man sitting across from him, but he was drawing a blank. He tried to reject the notion, logically he had to. This was just a Jedi trick to get him to cough up the information. It had to be. Deep inside, he knew it wasn't. He could feel it, but there was no way he was going to accept this. Not without hard proof.

"That's a laugh," Tyr said, his cool exterior not giving away his inner turmoil. He had spent too much time negotiating deals with smugglers to let his thoughts show on his face. "I could pretend I built something of yours and call it mine."

"Indeed, you could," Tanner replied. "But Tyr, how would I have known that you got this from your father and didn't build it yourself?"

"Easy. You probably knew him and recognized it," Tyr theorized. "You may have actually built it and given it to him, but that hardly qualifies you as any sort of relative."

Tanner could see that this line of proof wasn't going anywhere. His grandson was correct that something like this was merely circumstantial. "Your father loved you very much, Tyr."

The Sith chuckled. "Yeah, Val already tried that one on me," he informed the wizened Jedi. "But if he loved me so much, then how come he let me rot in slavery, doing hard labor?" He stripped off his tunic and spun around, showing the Jedi the mass of hideous scars criss-crossing his back from the energy whips. "If he loved me so damn much, how come he let me suffer this? Where was this loving Jedi dad?" Tyr's anger seeped through despite his having tried to hide it.

The old man winced and dropped his eyes at the sight of the scars. "I'm sorry, Tyr. Jaron told me about vivid dreams of your torture." He paused, almost as if searching for what to say next. Finally he spoke again. "Your father failed you... and I failed you... but not in the way you think."

Tyr pulled his tunic back on and plopped down in his seat again. "I suppose you'll enlighten me now, right gramps?"

The Jedi Master ignored the snide remark. "Do you remember the day you left for Coruscant? The look of joy and wonder and excitement on your face was truly something to behold."

Tyr's eyes narrowed. He remembered that day clearly. He had been so excited to travel on the small passenger star liner all by himself all the way to Coruscant and the Jedi Temple. The memory was vivid in his mind, despite his young age. It was also pretty clear to him that the only one there to see him off was his father. "How would you know what my kriffing face looked like?" he asked, his anger beginning to get the better of him as his patience for this pathetic Jedi trick wore thin.

Tanner smiled knowingly. "You're right. I wasn't there, but if you remember, your father used to take lots of holovids. Who do you think those vids were for?" He paused for a moment, letting it sink in. "I was essentially there for every big moment of your life: your first steps, your birthdays, and every other event your father recorded."

Tyr shook his head in disbelief. "No... no... you Jedi found those recordings after I avenged myself on him." In truth, the Sith was bombarded with doubt that he struggled not to express. What if this were all true? What if he had murdered the only person in the Galaxy who hadn't given him up for lost? What if he murdered the man who had loved him? What if every drop of hatred had been misplaced for all these years? But despite the fact that he knew the answers to these questions deep down inside, he couldn't let himself believe it. Not without some undeniable proof.

"No, Jedi, without some ounce of real proof, I'm not buying your little charade," Tyr replied.

"Very well," Master Solumi said. "I had hoped you'd see the truth in the things I had to say, and the documentation I had to offer, but I can see that you need something more duracrete. Something irrefutable." He looked deeply into Tyr's eyes as if searching for something. "I can offer you that proof."

"Then do it, if you can," Tyr replied. At this point in time he had to know the truth. "I just wonder why you haven't brought this forth earlier."

"Because the truth lies in my memories," the older man replied, pointing to his temple.

Tyr snorted. "Okay, just go ahead and download them to a data pad and I'll have my people look them over and get back to you in the morning," he chuckled, laying on the sarcasm so thick it had to be cut with a vibro-knife.

Tanner's expression didn't waiver. "I'll do you one better... I'll download them straight to your mind."

704. Hoth: King's Lair - Trychon

2011-07-22T05:00:00.156-06:00

Things were cold on Hoth the next few days. So cold, that Trychon suggested that they head outside the base for a stroll to warm up. After a nasty look, his brother decided it wasn't a bad idea, and they took one of the base's specially fitted land speeders to go run a few routine checks on security sensors outside the base.

As they made their rounds to get away from the new tension in the pirate group, they were able to relax for the first time nearly since they'd landed. While only Dianna was truly mad at them, and hadn't spoken to either Sith in days, the rest of the crew could pick up on her feelings easily enough, and were being a little less social than normal. On top of that, it was hard to tell what sorts of idiotic things the new malcontent in the crew, Rhox Vegah had been spewing.

"So what do you want to do?" Trychon asked, as they loaded back into the speeder after checking the last security marker.

Raezyr shut the canopy and powered up the lifters. "I don't know. I'm sure she'll calm down eventually, and she's already a little less upset from what I feel from her in the Force... but she'll blow a gasket the next time we leave for a mission."

"Probably." The older brother conceded.

"Not that how I handle my relationship will ever be up to you in the slightest way, but what do you think?"

"Well, you know that I love Di like a sister. A beautiful sister whom I would gladly console very deeply should anything eve..."

"Try it and be decapitated by a Force ghost." Raezyr growled. He knew his brother was joking, mostly. He also knew that he made jokes like this to get under his skin. He just wasn't above showing that it worked.

Trychon put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "We have managed to do everything that we set out to do in the short term. We can spend some time nurturing this part of our life, if that's what's needed."

"What about our other plans?"

"They're all long term plans that require a bit of caution in not making waves too big too quickly. We can afford to be patient with them. Unless something comes up, we can wait things out a bit and see where we're at with the Ice Queen after some time. Maybe she'll eventually come back with us."

Raezyr shook his head. "I don't think her love for me is enough by itself to get her to abandon her life here. I don't know if anything is ever going to be that powerful. If we have the time though, then that's what I'd like to do." He gave his brother an appreciative smile.

"I know." Trychon returned the smile. "We're done out here. Let's go head in and tell her that...." He paused as they saw a meteorite fall from the sky and impact on the surface in the distance. "Oh, cool. You think we should check it out?"

Raezyr stared in the direction of the small cloud of dust and ice for only moments before returning his attention to his tools and continuing straight back to the base.

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

The signature subtle hum of a lightsaber blade was greatly magnified when there were actually four total blades whirling and clashing in otherwise near darkness. The two Sith were far beyond the days when they'd use powered down blades only capable of stunning and they relied instead on their own ability to keep each others attacks at bay and to pull their own attacks back if they were in danger of slipping all the way through the others defenses.

Such defensive holes were rare between them, as they knew and could read each other so well.

Raezyr relished the opportunities where not only could he slip one of his two blades through, but were also big enough to fit his fist through, or even a kick as he did now.

As Trychon faltered back from the solid connection from his foot, Raezyr was also thrown back by a reflexive Force push. They normally avoided many strong Force maneuvers due to the confined spaces in which they sparred, but the exception was in response to a successful attack. Lashing back instinctively in the Force was a habit they wanted to nurture.

So was keeping awareness beyond the battle. Trychon held up his hand to indicate a stop, though he didn't have to as his brother had already paused. They both faced the doorway, where they'd also turned off the lighting. They could sense a presence there, and with a flick of a finger from Raezyr, they could also see her.

"Dinner's ready." Rhox Vegah said as she turned and left.

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

After cleaning themselves up fairly quickly, they joined the rest of the crew in the mess hall. As usual, those who weren't on duty were split pretty evenly between two tables right next to each other. There was no grouping of age, or seniority apparent, and there was a few available spots at each table.

After grabbing some of the spiced meat and toppings from the small buffet set up, they headed towards the group, but sat at a third table near by to avoid causing any commotion if they could avoid it. The eyes of Ms. Vegah were followed them with a measure of contempt.

After a few minutes, Dianna grabbed her tray and took it over to sit next to Trychon, across from Raezyr. She didn't say anything and the brothers followed suit. She didn't make eye contact, merely focusing on her meal in awkward silence.

Trychon stuffed what was left of his flatbread into his mouth, and headed over to get more. He took a seat at the adjacent table, next to Dek.

"Come on...." Dianna sighed. "I'm trying to mend shields here, but I won't apologize for what I said."

Raezyr finally made eye contact with her. "He moved for me."

"More secret conversations? You know I don't appreciate that."

"No... he just knows me very well." Raezyr stood up and walked around the table so he could face her. "I have something for you. Before you judge, I obviously picked this up before you were upset with me. There's not many stores here on base."

Dianna considered pointing out that her response to his injury wouldn't have been hard to predict, but instead she folded her arms and raised an eyebrow, while she waited expectantly.

Raezyr bent down onto his good knee so he could reach into his smaller smuggling department in his artificial leg. From a distance, it would appear as though he was merely reaching into his boot. He pulled out something wrapped in a fine black cloth, and remained on his knee to look up at her as he handed it to her.

She took it from him tentatively, and reached into the cloth to withdraw an aurodium plated dagger by its jewel encrusted hilt. She gasped involuntarily. If it was what she thought it was...

"Is that a..." She started, but couldn't bring herself to say the words. She had not seen this coming. The entire room had become very hushed, though whispers cut through the silence. She wasn't the only one who recognized it or its potential meaning.

"Yes. It's a Tingel Governor's blade."

Nearly a millenia ago, a small group of planets in the Tingel Arm formed a loose alliance that stood to this day. There were six blades, identical to the one that Raezyr now gave to Dianna, each worth a small fortune, to symbolize their union after withdrawing officially from the Republic. Many things had changed in the years since, but the symbol was still a powerful one often given to heads of state in the system as well as for large company mergers and weddings.

Dianna choked on her words again, before standing up and pulling Raezyr into a passionate kiss with him. After the kiss and the hooting and hollering died down, she embraced him tightly with tears rolling down her cheek, and she whispered into his ear.

"This doesn't mean I forgive you."

703. Like Womprats in a Cage - Trychon and Raezyr

2011-07-20T05:00:00.126-06:00

Even with the Force and the Dark Side as his ally.... Tyr would have had to have been inhuman to have not reacted emotionally with some shock at the declaration that the Jedi Master in front of him was his grandfather.

Dozens of thoughts went through his head faster than he could keep track of them. Among those fleeting mental processes, he tried and failed to remember his father mentioning his own father... or his mother's father. Also, Tyr noted it was fairly rare for Jedi to have children to begin with... let alone two generations of Jedi ancestry.

He did his best to hide his instinctive reaction by belting out a quick laugh. It was ridiculous. It had to be. "Fabricating lies is hardly a new interrogation technique, though it's surprising to see from a pair of Jedi Masters. You must be really desperate."

The Cathar Master Jedi gave a slight bow. "I will leave you two to talk. You have much to discuss, I am sure."

Tyr shouted at him as the door shut. "I have no interest in discussing fairytales!"

The white bearded elder Jedi managed a smile, albeit a rather humorless one. "I've also been chided for my ill timed use of wit. I hope you don't mind if I have a seat."

The Sith shook his head and gave the man a nasty scowl. "It's been ten seconds, and already I'm sick of your manufactured family resemblance spiel."

Master Solumni ignored the chiding remark and continued to to pull a chair over and sit across from his grandson. When no further comments came forth, he reached into his robe and withdrew Tyr's lightsaber.

"You're a brave man, bringing a Sith his lightsaber during an interrogation." The look of hate on his face would not subside. He had not been this full of anger since his capture. He had gotten to a point of relaxation even, as it was clear the Jedi were going to treat him well as long as he played by their rules, even while withholding the information they'd been trying so hard to retrieve from him. This was foul play, and he did not appreciate it one bit.

"I brought what I believe could easily be seen as my lightsaber, young man. I built it. It was a gift to your father. As he chose not to expose you deeply to way of the Jedi, your claim on his weapon is weak."

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

Nal Talla spent the night in meditation. It wasn't quite as good as sleeping, but it was restful enough for her body to recuperate from the long hike across the hills and plains of the Dantooinian country side.

They stopped short of the cave entrance by a kilometer or so, according to their positioning devices. There was no sense in tempting the kinrath spiders into coming out of their nests in the middle of the night. They knew that with daybreak and a quick meal would come the time to venture into the darkness and the lair of the giant arachnids.

When the orangish yellow early morning sun peaked over the horizon, Nal opened her eyes and began to prepare their breakfast. It wasn't much. Dried grains cooked in hot water to make a kind of mushy goo, but with some added sweetner it was good and nourishing as well.

Val opened his eyes from his own meditation as Nal brought a bowl over to him. He thanked her as he took it and she sat down next to the big blue Chiss Jedi. "Are you ready for this?" he asked her after he had swallowed a few spoonfuls of the hot cereal.

"I doubt very much dat I could be any more ready den I already am," she replied with confidence. When her companion had first informed her of the mission she had been a bit hesitant, but as the time had passed and she had time to meditate and get her mind right, she knew she could do this.

"Good," Val replied. It was good to see the young Nautolan spring back so quickly. He'd felt confident that with time, she would come around. Not every Jedi did after so close a brush with the dark side of the Force. He knew of two such that had become permanent fixtures back at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, taking care of the important, albeit much less exciting tasks there. In fact, they were happy to do so rather than risk falling to the Dark Side again.

It worked out all around. The last thing the Jedi needed was scared Jedi running around, swelling the ranks of the Sith.

Once they were finished and had their breakfast things cleaned up they tucked their packs underneath some nearby bushes. Locals rarely came near the caves and the last thing they needed in the confines of a dark cavern was a pack hindering their movement.

They climbed in and around the rock formations with only the faint illumination from a small glow rod. They didn't need to attract the attention of the kinrath even more than they would already. Finally after almost an hour, they came across their first set of crystals.

The crystals were glowing a brilliant blue and stood out in sharp contrast to the blackness around them. Nal carefully pulled a small tool out and worked one or two loose that appeared as if they would work well as a lightsaber focusing crystal.

Val hissed quietly just as she was tucking her tool away, and she sensed it almost immediately. Something was near. A being, yes, but it wasn't sentient as far as her senses could tell. Within moments it came around the corner.

Sure enough, the four-legged insectoid came skittering toward them. Normally Nal's first instinct was to attack, trying to catch her opponent off guard. This time she snapped on her lightsaber and waited. A Jedi was supposed to use their weapon for defense... never to attack.

She filled her mind with peace and tranquility as the beast crashed down on them.

702. Hoth: King's Lair - Trychon

2011-07-18T05:00:00.092-06:00

Ms. Vegah avoided the Sith for the next two days, which wasn't overly taxing. They spent most of their time in their room for privacy, when they weren't training or eating. They even would take ales back to their room at the end of the day. They were social with the crew during meals, but they kept mostly to themselves.

The crew offered small apologies for the incident in the control room, explaining that she didn't really know better even though she'd been filled in a little about them. In all, they simply reassured the brothers that they were happy to have them back for a few days or a few weeks. It always ended up being interesting when they stopped in.

When Dianna returned, Trychon headed to his room and allowed Raezyr to go greet her alone, or at least without his ribbing since the crew would also be there. That would allow him to sweep her away sooner.

When her small personal fighter shuttle landed and she came down the ramp, the crew rushed to greet her. The exceptions were Raezyr and Rhox. They had been standing on opposite sides of the now dispersed crowd, but even with only a gap between them now, they did not look at each other.

Raezyr found it odd that she had gone on her own, and he planned to point out that she should at least bring someone for backup. None of the crew had been able to give him details on her whereabouts or purposes, just that she'd said she would be gone a few weeks, and she'd let them know when she was on her way back.

Raezyr simply stood there, smiling as he waited for his lover to wade through the crowd. He even allowed the new girl to talk to her briefly without interrupting or trying to humiliate her again. He was sure Dianna would hear about the ordeal that they encountered when they landed, but now wasn't the time.

As he'd hoped, Dianna excused everyone and waited until they dispersed before she finished approaching him. Some of the crew milled about the landing bay, pretending to work. With such a small crew, there was seldom anything fun for them to gossip about.

They didn't mind. They embraced each other and shared a series of passionate kisses. When she pulled away, she told him she had missed him and gave him a melting smile. "How was your 'trip'?"

"You first." He forced a smile. "I told you everything was fine. You're not usually gone on secret missions."

"Oh my god. Something's wrong, isn't it?" Her expression soured immediately, and she gave him a push to create distance between them. "I can tell you're hiding something from me. What happened?"

"Now, calm down... you haven't even..."

"Raezyr!" She shouted, the humor quickly disappearing from her eyes.

He met her gaze, hoping her fuse would extinguish. "Schyrt and Reed didn't make it."

"Is that all?" She begged skeptically.

He gave in. "Not entirely. I was hurt, and they came to my rescue."

"Walk with me." She turned and headed down the hall.

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

Trychon could feel them coming down the hall well before they reached the door. A quick flick of the hand towards the control panel unlocked and opened the door. The two mingled clouds of emotion would have been enough to rouse the entire Valley of the Dark Lords.

He stood from his meditation stance on his bed and walked toward the middle of the room to greet his guests as they came in.

Dianna didn't want or ask for a greeting. She stormed into the room and didn't slow down until she was inches from touching her nose to Trychon's chest. She stopped just long enough to slap him.

Trychon allowed his head to roll with the force of her hand.

"YOU were supposed to look out for him." She yelled, not worried about who could hear them.

Raezyr simply watched, knowing that his brother would be more than capable of handling the situation, whereas his interjecting would likely infuriate her more. She needed to let this out how she needed to let it out, and any attempt to even direct her anger would only frustrate her, because it was her right to be upset.

"Don't even start with me about how he can handle himself." She was able to keep herself from shaking, but her mental state was not holding up as well, and it showed in the Force. "I don't know why I thought I could trust either of you on your stupid little Sith missions. I knew this would happen!"

Trychon stood his ground and didn't say a word, as her hand met his cheek again.

"Never again, Trychon. I can't afford to let you two out of my sight. Not once. No more games, no more rancor crap. Understood?"

She took his continued silence as understanding.

Finally, she lowered her voice, and suddenly she was barely more than whispering. "I don't want to see either of you for the next twelve hours."

She walked towards the door, turning around at the last minute, voice finally quivering. "He would die for you. I know that. I also know that it runs both ways. It's about time you grow up and stop putting each other in those situations."

701. Like Womprats in a Cage - Raezyr

2011-07-15T05:00:00.146-06:00

Jedi Knight Nal Talla double checked her gear as she packed it neatly into her backpack. It wasn't going to be a long trip, and Jedi usually traveled lightly, but they still had to eat once in a while. She hated eating the food pills. It felt almost like cheating to her. Instead, she liked to pack her food even if it meant taking a little extra time at meal breaks.

Once she was sure she had all the basics covered, she hoisted the pack onto her back, then flipped her head tails over it so they wouldn't get caught, and headed for the Main Entrance to the Enclave where she was supposed to meet Val.

The Dantooinian Sun was just peeking over the horizon when she got there, and Val was waiting for her sitting on the edge of a large planter. His eyelids were closed over his blood-red irises, but they popped open when she drew near. He drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Early morning sunrises are always calming," he noted.

"As if you aren't calm enough already," Nal kidded. She was rewarded by Val's every so slight grin of amusement as they strode off toward the rising sun which the locals called Dina.

They walked for a couple of hours then veered off into a wide grass valley. Once, ages ago, it had been a watercourse, but for some reason or another had long since dried up. As they came around a bend she saw a pack of wild beasts only a couple hundred meters off. They were dog like creatures with stubby horns and cloven hooves.

Val held up his hand in a signal for his companion to halt. "Kath hounds," he said quietly. "A fairly rare sight on Dantooine these days. Fortunately these aren't the horned variety or they probably would have attacked already. These shouldn't be aggressive unless they're provoked. But let's not take any chances," he explained and led the way up the steep slope of the valley to the top of the hill, circling around the beasts.

They decided to stay up on the ridge of the valley as they continued on their trek. As they day and kilometers passed, Nal could feel her stresses and worries melt away. It was a good day to be alive, she thought.

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

Anya Tachi sat in the corner of her cell, glaring at the bars of her prison. She hadn't seen a living soul in days, and slowly her burning rage had turned to ice cold hatred.

She hated the Jedi now more than ever, and their treatment of her was only justifying her belief that they were the ultimate evil in the Galaxy.

Her hatred only grew stronger every time that ancient T1 droid brought her meal to her. The droid could understand her but it didn't have a vocabulator, instead only emitting beeps and boops. The least they could have done was send her a droid that she could converse with.

The endless hours she was spending alone was only giving her time to plan and to strategize her next escape attempt.

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

The Jedi guard led Tyr to the usual interview and interrogation room just the same as yesterday and the days before that. The guard left and the Sith leaned back in his chair just a bit, waiting for Val. Despite the mutual impasse they had come to, he had begun to look forward to these talks with the big blue Jedi.

Tyr could feel the presence of a Jedi outside the door, and when it opened it was the Cathar Jedi, Master Taisun who entered.

"Where's Val?" Tyr asked.

Taisun sat down opposite from Tyr, his feline like eyes taking in the Sith warrior before him. "Val is off on another errand at the moment, to answer your question. Now I have some questions for you." The Jedi Master began going through the same questions that Val had asked him, and Tyr gave the same answers he had been giving the Chiss each and every day.

He quickly grew bored, yet careful not to be complacent and give anything away. Val had promised him a change of pace the next time they had a talk, and he decided to say as much once this cycle of questions was drawing near to it's usual completion. "You know, the last time I spoke to Val he said that the next session wouldn't be the same old thing. Asking the same questions with whiskers is hardly what I'd call, 'changing things up.'"

Taisun breathed in deeply and gave what Tyr assumed was a slight smile. "You are correct, but before we get to Val's 'change of pace,' we just needed to get the formalities out of the way."

"Okay, so what's the change of pace?"

Taisun stood up and walked over to the door. "I'd like to introduce someone to you, Tyr. Someone very important. Not just to the Jedi, but to you as well."

Tyr rolled his eyes and looked at the Cathar skeptically. He couldn't imagine anyone that would be important to both him and the Jedi. If such a person existed, his first thought was that it was only the Jedi who thought this person should be important to him.

The door to the interrogation room swooshed open and Tanner Solumi stepped into the room. "Tyr," Taisun began the introduction," I'd like you to meet Jedi Master Tanner Solumi."

"Far be it from me to point out the oversight, but we've already met," Tyr said. He was doing his best to remain polite, but these stupid Jedi games were wearing thin on his patience.

"Indeed you have, young Sith," the Cathar said. "But I'm not introducing you to Tanner Solumi, the Jedi Master."

"Please stop beating around the bush," Tyr said. This was growing old quickly.

"Very well," Taisun said. "Tyr, I'd like you to meet Tanner Solumi... your grandfather."

700. One Foot In the Door - Trychon

2011-07-13T05:00:00.091-06:00

After a short discussion with Helwae and his supporters, they agreed to honor Trychon and Raezyr's request. They were a little stupefied by it, but figured they owed them at least that much. After a brief session of getting a story straight, in which the group as a whole overpowered the guards (because none of the individuals would be believable by themselves for the role), the two Sith crept out the side exit.

After a rather long walk back to their suite, they began loading up the supplies they'd picked up while they'd been on Den Var. After they'd gotten everything loaded up, Trychon went to his room to start packing, and Raezyr excused himself to pick up 'one last thing' before they went.

It ended up being morning when Raezyr returned, and he found his brother asleep on the couch with the holonews on. Before rousing him from sleep, he caught the tail end of a report on the attack on the newly elected Representative Helwae the previous night. Based on the brief time he watched, it seemed that there was a lot of support from the commentators as well as the general populace for Helwae and those that saved him. A poll showed that constituents who disagreed with Helwae's politics were a little less supportive, but still overwhelmingly proud of the citizen action that saved the politician.

Trychon awoke on his own, feeling his brother's presence. He got a brief recap of the news report and then he helped Raezyr pack some belongings. With new security measures in place, they headed to their docking bay with their HK droid and set course for Hoth.

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

Leaving the Sith Stalker in low powered sentry mode outside of deep orbit, they took the Jet Razor down and landed inside the King's Lair Base. Dek had told them when they came in-system that Di had gotten in touch and gotten Raezyr's message. She was on her way back as well and would be there within the next day or two.

They were greeted by some of the normal welcome crew, Delki and Bleetz were hyper as usual. Dek was particularly happy to see Trychon, who had hinted that he'd bring a long a few cool tech toys for the young man to play with.

Dek and Teera led them towards the command center so they could get a general update on how things had been progressing since they'd been away. He gave them some brief details, but knew they'd want access to some records until Dianna got back and could fill them in entirely.

When they arrived, the two Sith headed straight for an unoccupied console and Trychon began to pull up records. He hadn't gotten very far when an unexpected voice tried to interrupt them from behind.

"Excuse me, but you can't just log into our system and start poking around." The female proclaimed, not yelling, but clearly upset at the intrusion.

Simultaneously, they turned enough to look. Raezyr immediately recognized the source of the voice as the new crew member he'd had a brief discussion with when he'd contacted the base from Den Var. Rhox Vegah stood and was walking towards them from across the room, as though to impose herself between them and the computer. The tint of her long brown hair, and her darker skin tone were among the few distinguishing characteristics that separated her from Dianna. They did not look anything alike in the face, but she carried herself with the same confidence and was roughly the same size and height as the smuggling group's leader.

The older Sith turned back to the computer and laughed. "Sure I can... it's not that hard, really." He tapped on the screen to access the main database, but was halted by a security measure that hadn't been previously.

Dek appeared at Trychon's side, apologizing. "Guys, this is Rhox Vegah. She hasn't been here long, but Di's been having her spend a lot of her time reviewing security protocols, etc. because of what went down with... you know."

They did know, of course. Dianna's second in command had disappeared with a shuttle, two other crew members, and a lifetime's worth of credits. Or at least that was what everyone in the smuggling group had been lead to believe.

Dek tried to get in close to log in to the computer himself, and told Vegah to settle down and be nice. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail to cultivate her serious demeanor, but she couldn't hide the giant smile on her face as she was clearly enjoying the fact that Trychon had been wrong about how easy it was to access the computer.

Trychon brushed off the younger slicer, and simply tapped away at the controls much quicker. Within seconds, he had gotten to the main database control screen.

"Hey! I can't even get in there without the captain's approval!" Rhox turned and jogged back to her terminal to kick Trychon out of the system. She found that her console had been shut off. A quick glance around showed that hers wasn't the only one. She tried to say something, but the words failed to come.

The Sith started walking towards the door, and a few taps on his datapad later, the screens around the room restored themselves.

"We're going to go review these in the privacy of our room." Trychon belted loudly, as though he was addressing the entire base... though his gaze met Rhox's squarely and didn't waver.

Raezyr followed him out of the door. He paused at the last moment. "If there's a new lock on our door, it will be replaced with a smoldering hole. Hope we don't have to borrow someone else's door."

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

699. Like Womprats in a Cage - Raezyr

2011-07-11T05:00:00.101-06:00

Jedi Masters Taisun and Tanner Solumi strode along the paths of the botanical gardens just outside of the Enclave. Once well tended when the Enclave had more Jedi stationed there, now they were somewhat overgrown, although still effective in it's intended use.

"So, what do you think, Tanner?" the big Cathar Jedi asked his companion.

Tanner Solumi stopped and picked a small flower with a orange and blue bloom and inhaled deeply, taking in it's surprisingly strong aroma. "I don't think it will be necessary to send her back to Coruscant. Not yet anyway, if that's what you are asking," he replied, knowing full well that it was.

Taisun paused for a moment, thinking before he spoke. "But do we take the chance of letting her continue? Despite all her progress, her future is still hard to see."

"I agree, but it's a chance we'll have to take," the gray haired human said.

They walked in silence for a minute before Taisun spoke. "We should test the waters, so to speak."

"Indeed," Solumi replied. "Have Val set something up."

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

Nal looked up from her meditation at Val walked into the room. The blue Jedi was carrying a bowl of some sort of steaming soup.

"I know you don't particularly need it while you're meditating, but it's been a while since you've eaten last, I thought you could use it," he said in his usual calm manner.

"Tanks," she replied as she took the bowl from her companion and checked her chrono on her wrist. "I'm actually surprised at how hungry I am, especially since it's only been a few hours since lunch."

"Actually, the last time you ate was about 30 hours ago," Val informed her.

"What?" the Nautolan asked, not fully comprehending what the Chiss was telling her.

"You've been in meditation for over a day now," he told her. "The last time you ate was the midday meal yesterday."

Nal took another spoonful of the soup before replying. "It seemed mere moments... I guess the meditation techniques you've been teaching me are really paying off."

"Indeed they have," he agreed. Val came right out and told her about the mission they needed to go on. There were some caves several days journey to the south in which lightsaber crystals could be found, if one looked hard enough and long enough. The catch was that the caves were inhabited by kinrath, a very large insect-like creature.

Nal looked a bit unsure. It would be her first time going into combat since her brush with falling to the Dark Side, and any activity of an aggressive nature would put her newly rediscovered inner-peace to the test. Val could sense her uneasiness.

"Just remember we're not there to attack the spiders, but rather to find the crystals and defend ourselves if that is what is needed."

"But how come dey want us to go and get da crystals?" Nal asked, still not one hundred percent confident.

Val allowed himself the rare hint of a smile. "For one, it's probably not the best idea to send unarmed Younglings into a cave infested with kinrath," he said, then added more seriously, "and two, they like to present new Padawans with a crystal as sort of a graduation present so they can begin construction on their first lightsaber."

Nal took a cue from her partner's confidence. "Den when do we start?" she asked, smiling.

"I thought we could get a good night's rest and a good breakfast, then start out on foot," the blue-skinned Jedi replied.

"On foot?" Nal asked in surprise. "Wouldn't a speeder be faster?"

"Oh sure it would... but the weather has been beautiful lately. I thought we could take in some of the countryside as well. We should be there by nightfall," Val estimated.

"Alright, den. A hike it is." The green-skinned Nautolan smiled as she got to her feet. Things were really looking up. She had thought for sure that Taisun and Solumi would send her back to Coruscant to spend her days working mundane tasks back at the Jedi Temple.

Sure, they needed Jedi who mediated and delved into the mysteries of the Force, Jedi who tended the library and studied, and Jedi to work in the infirmary, but Nal had trained to be a Guardian, not a Consular. Her talents and abilities were better suited to a life of defending the Republic and protecting the innocent, rather than a life of boring study.

Instead, Val was taking her out on a mission. Maybe not an important one, but a mission nonetheless, and that could only mean that the Enclave Council was confident that she wasn't in danger of falling to the Dark Side.

It was said that most Jedi had to confront and defeat the dark side of the Force on a personal level at some point in their lives. She was pleased to know that her time had come... and she had passed with flying colors.