585. The Heist - Raezyr

"Am I mentally challenged? Is that why I'm not getting this?" Trychon asked in frustration. He noticed Tyr had opened his mouth to say something and instinctively knew it was going to be laden with sarcasm. "Answer that question and you'll regret it."

Both of them chuckled. "Seriously though. How is that that Raez can pick this up but I can't?"

"Are you implying that I'm somehow inferior?" Raezyr said, glowering.

"Well, now that you mention it," the older brother shot back with a grin.

"Hey! How come you get to answer those kinds of questions?" Tyr asked, mock dejection on his face.

"It's because I'm more quick-witted than you," Trychon shot back. "But seriously, we don't have much more time to mess around trying to learn how to alter our facial features. If we're going to Corellia, and I'm still not sure I like the idea, we need to do it and get it over with."

"You can't go if you don't learn this, Trych," the blond Sith girl said a bit poutily. "Let's try it again."

"Let's not and say we did. Look, I'll just hang out on the ship while you guys go take care of things," Trychon suggested.

"You can't do that either, Trych. If the ships are getting a tune-up while we're there, then there will be techs in and out of here," Raezyr explained. "I think I have an idea of how you can still go and not have to learn this trick."

The big Sith warrior walked over to a locker where they kept spare bits of armor. Opening the door, he began to rummage around. "Here we go," he said triumphantly as he stood back, holding out his find.

"There is no way in Kelldonia that I'm wearing that thing... especially not for two days," the eldest Sith said in horror, staring at the battered Echani helm his younger brother was trying to hand him. "I have no idea who wore that last or where it's been. It was on the ship when we acquired it, for Chiss sake!"

"Don't be a baby. You know it's the only way, so just try it on," Raezyr said.

"I will NOT put that on," Trychon said adamantly, crossing his arms across his chest.

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

"How do you see in these things, Raez?" Trychon said, fiddling with the slightly over-sized helmet. "Hell, how do you breath in these things? It's hot as Tatooine at noon in here."

The four Sith walked down the busy avenue in Coronet, the capital city and the Jewel of Corellia. Speeders streamed by in the mid-day sunshine yet the cool breeze kept them comfortable for the most part.

"Stop messing with that thing. You're supposed to be a bounty hunter, but the more you fiddle with that, the more you look like what you really are: Some guy wearing a costume," Raezyr rebuked his older brother.

"I'm just saying..." Trychon began before he was interrupted.

"Yes... we know. You've been 'saying' for the last half hour now. We get it. You don't like the helmet. Now shut up, will you?" Raezyr said.

Trychon shrugged and walked on in silence as if suddenly he couldn't care less.

Raezyr's irritation, however, nearly cost him his concentration. It was getting a bit easier to maintain the illusion that his scar was missing, but he still longed for his own helmet, although wearing his own armor was out of the question, as there had been plenty of good footage of it from their mission on Coruscant. He sighed a bit to himself and worked on maintaining the Force illusion, occasionally checking his reflection in window to make sure it the scar was really gone.

"How much further is it, Anya?" Tyr inquired, bringing Raezyr's thoughts back to their situation at hand.

"Not much, the Blue Sector, where I used to live, is maybe another twenty minutes or so by foot," the blond said. Her demeanor had become more serious the closer they got to their destination.

"You sure you're ready to see your parents again?" Tyr asked her.

"After what they put me through growing up, going home is all I've thought about for years now."

584. The Heist - Raezyr

"Hey, Trych," Tyr called. "I've been having some problems with the Wraith's computers lately. You think you can take a look at them?"

"If you'd stop downloading all those indecent holonet images, you wouldn't be having those problems," Trychon said with a grin.

Tyr didn't answer, but instead scratched behind his ear and gave the other Sith a sheepish look.

Trychon chuckled and rolled his eyes. He picked up his data pad and headed for the hatchway where Tyr's ship was docked to the Twilight Stalker.

Anya stepped around the corner from where she had been listening. "That takes care of him for a bit. Now maybe you can talk to Raezyr?" she asked Tyr, running her fingers across his chest playfully.

"Sure thing," Tyr responded. "I'm sure he's working out somewhere," he commented and they went to find their big Sith counter part. Everything seemed to be going as he had planned. Soon it wouldn't be long and both Raezyr and Trychon would just be used to doing whatever it was that Tyr instructed. Someday they might wonder when the change had come about, but by then it would be too late.

Unfortunately for Tyr, Anya was thinking along similar lines as well.

They found Raezyr in the workout room where they had expected to find him. He had been going through his daily calisthenics/meditation routine when they entered the room. Raezyr let himself down from his one-handed hand stand position, combining Force techniques and his own physical acuity to perform difficult feats. He stood up, grabbed a towel and began wiping the sweat from his body. "You two here to workout? A fit body and a fit mind go hand in hand, you know."

"Maybe later, Raez. Right now I wanted to discuss our immediate plans," Tyr said.

"Well, let's get Trych in here then. He knows what our time line needs to look like and can fill you in," Raezyr informed him and walked over to a bench where his gear was, looking for his communicator.

"Trych's busy working on the Wraith's computers," he informed the big Sith. "Besides, I'm not talking about this little caper he has planned. I mean more immediately."

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Raezyr asked, giving the former smuggler a skeptical look.

"We need to go to Corellia for a day, maybe two."

"You've got to be kidding, right?" Raezyr blurted, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. "Our pictures are emblazoned in every spaceport in the Core, and you want to just take a little daytrip to one of the Galaxy's most prominent planets? I do NOT think so."

"Look, you know Anya has some unfinished business on Corellia, and I know that my ship at least could stand to have some certified astro-techs give her a look, and I bet at least the Stalker could as well," Tyr reasoned.

"It's out of the question. We'll all be arrested on site, and while I'm not worried about a little hand to hand combat, the entire Corellian Security Force would be bearing down on us. Even if we did manage to get back to the ships and take off, we'd be lucky if we even broke out of the atmosphere before we were vaped," Raezyr explained. "No way. Not happening. Anya's little revenge trip will have to wait for another day."

Anya stepped up to the big warrior, put her hand lightly on his bare chest and looked up into his face. "Raez, please listen for just a minute. You know some of my story. If you had a chance to get revenge on those who had taken everything from you, could you wait?"

Raezyr started to say something, but the blond Sith slid her hands up to the top of his shoulders and continued, "Listen, Raez. You're worried about being recognized, and I understand, but what if I could promise you that wouldn't happen?"

Alarm klaxons were ringing in Raezyr's head. The temptress was up to something. Deep inside he knew it, yet at the same time he could detect no deception in what she was saying. "How is that even possible?"

"Remember that little talent I learned? The one where I can make small objects invisible?" she asked and the big Sith nodded, all the while looking for some hint of what the catch may be. "Well, I've developed that a little further, and I think with a little bit of training, I can teach you to use the Force to alter your facial features a bit."

She paused to let that sink in for a moment. "It's not permanent. It's more of an illusion, but for a while, Raez, your scar would be gone. With practice, you may be able to even hold the illusion with very little effort."

Raezyr pulled her arms down from his face where she was tracing the scar with her fingers and stepped back. The room was silent for a moment before he spoke. "Alright. If you can teach me how to make my scar disappear, then I guess we can probably make time for a trip to Corellia."

583. Sith Hunt Part Two - Trychon

Val followed Nal down the corridor to the small civilian cabin that had been converted from a two man housing area into a very cramped computer lab that could barely sleep one.

The man who converted it, Geoff Spickolly, was a civilian slicer who largely kept to himself, and was supposed to be one of the best minds that worked for the Republic... for a price. He was also renowned amongst the fleet for being very odd mannered. On the Unity in particular, it was well known that Moklam found him downright annoying. As such, he had reportedly been told to continue to work hard in seclusion, but not to bother to report until he had a solid answer for the Captain.

The Jedi however, had also been told by the other techs that he was the most likely to figure out what was happening, and went to seek out an update of any sort. Until the commander was convinced that whatever was giving the Sith a warning every time they were bearing down on them, the ship would just not make another move for fear of being slowly led to a trap.

The younger Jedi stopped, pointing at the nearest door. "I believe dis is da one." Her Chiss companion nodded, and she touched the control panel. From inside the room, they heard a tired voice call out "Yeah!" and the doors slid open.

They entered, and saw the room was nearly packed with equipment. Actually, that was all they could see until the slicer stood up and peered over the monitor he was working at.

Nal smiled at the blond man. "Hello. Are you da Mista Spickoli? I am Na..."

Spickoli laughed without provocation. "Hahahaha... the pushers! Yeah... hahahah. I knew you'd be coming some time."

Val cocked his head to one side in curiosity. "Did you just call us... 'Pushers'?"

"Hahahaha... yeah... you know... haha... cause you push stuff... and stuff!"

Val nodded in understanding. "Of course. Silly of me to ask." He smiled, showing that he was more amused than upset by the nickname. "I'll get to the point though. We were wondering how your analysis was going. Have you made any progress in discerning the source of these mysterious transmissions?"

The slicer let out another laugh and went on a diatribe that took several minutes, none of which meant anything to either of the Jedi.

"Was dat... a 'no'?" Nal asked, looking very confused.

The slicer shrugged. "Of course not. How can I find it when it's randomly displaced after each use, and I can't get it to reactivate?" After seeing only a slight increase in the amount of comprehension from the Jedi he tried to put into even more normal terms. "It'd be like trying to find a murderer who decided to hide in a completely random spot, leaving no clues as to where... the only way to find him would be if you could find a way to draw him out."

Val's eyes opened slightly as he finally understood. "I see now. You're saying..."

"Hahahaha... Yeah, man... the pusher knows... haha. We have to make another jump if we want to catch it in action."

The Naulatian shook her head no. "Da Captain has already said he would not allow such a ting to happen."

The slicer's smile faded for the first time. "I know that... I was hoping you could maybe convince him. You know. He won't listen to me... but everyone listens to pushers, don't they? Haha."

The Chiss spoke up just as he sensed Nal was about to shoot that idea down as well. "It certainly couldn't hurt if he heard it from another, could it? I'm new here, perhaps my perspective will have a little extra weight for him."

The slicer thanked the Jedi as they left, clearly hopeful that he'd get a real shot at seeing what this invisible program was up to.

As they headed back to the command deck, Nal voiced what was on her mind in the other room. "Da Captain is certain we could be headed to a trap if we move again. You know dis."

Val smiled. "I understand his concern, but we must find the program or we will never be able to move on. I'm certain the Captain will want to find the problem before his secret mission as well."

"Obviously dat would be da case... but what is da risk dough? What CAN we risk?"

"We can only be trapped young Jedi... if we are following the Sith."

582. Sith Hunt: Part Two - Raezyr

"Ataraxiav'a'lajean?" Captain Wash Moklam of the Republic Hammerhead questioned. "That's quite a mouthful. Is there something less... lengthy... we can call you?"

"Val is sufficient. I rarely use my full name for anything other than official business or formal occasions. If I had grown up on Chiss, I might have more use for it, but I didn't, and I don't," Val explained rather matter of factly.

"Please be seated," Moklam invited after shaking hands with the newly arrived Jedi, and sat down behind the desk in his ready room just off the ship's bridge, and the two Jedi followed suit.

"Now, you asked to be brought up to speed, but there really isn't much to tell that I'm sure you haven't read in previous reports... except for the virus," Moklam said.

"Although our civilian programmer has been able to tell us a little about it, I'm not sure how much to rely on his information. He insists that our computer systems weren't sliced, but that someone who has access to the ship uploaded the program directly.

"If it's true, then that means the Sith we are chasing allowed themselves to be caught and they uploaded the program sometime during their escape. Our security is too tight for it to have happened at any other time," Moklam explained. "Personally, I think he's full of poodoo.

"The problem is that pretty soon, the Unity will have to break off it's hunt for the Sith for a few weeks, and you Jedi will have to be on your own until we return," Moklam said.

"What?" Nal Talla said incredulously. "What are we supposed ta do in da mean time? Take a vacation?"

Val reached over and calmly put his hand on her arm. Almost immediately the Nataulan Jedi felt more at ease.

"Captain," the Chiss began, "might we inquire as to the reason?"

"All I can tell you is that the Unity has been tasked for a highly classified mission. More than that, I'm not at liberty to say," he informed them. "I am authorized, however, to allow you to stay aboard during our mission, if you so choose, but you would have to remain aboard this ship at all times during."

Nal and Val were silent a moment, thinking it over. "No, Cap'n, if da Sith were to turn up, it would do us no good to be stuck aboard your ship," Nal concluded. "However, would it be a'right if we talked to dis civilian ourselves, cap'n?" Nal asked. "Maybe he can give us some leads to check out while you are on your mission."

"Be my guest," the ship's captain said, rising from his chair. "If you need anything, Val, let my first mate know."

The two Jedi shook the officer's hand and made their way to the door. Once in the corridor, Nal spoke,"I don't tink it is a good idea for da cap'n to dis miss what dis programmer is saying. He's supposed to be very good, although I 'ave not met him."

"I agree. Let's go talk to this slicer and see what he has to say," Val said.

581. The Heist - Trychon

The two Sith stood by the docking entrance, flanked by Schyrt and Reed. Trychon stood with his hands casually clasped behind his back, while Raezyr crossed his arms in front of his chest. The two mercenaries stood at attention, not really sure what to expect.

Finally, a hissing and some heavy mechanical noise began to emanate from the hatch, which opened shortly thereafter, revealing Anya and Tyr on the other side. Anya was tapping her foot impatiently. Tyr was leaning against the bulkhead and seemed to be doing nothing other than observing Anya being impatient.

Anya muttered something under her breath before putting on a large smile. "Hey boys! How are you? Anyone need some stitching up? Feels like it's been forever since I had to clean a battle wound." She giggled to herself, not actually making any sound.

Raezyr snorted. "We've managed fine somehow, believe it or not..."

Feeling that things were already headed down the wrong road, Trychon jumped in. "Not that we never had an obstacle or two to maneuver." He added a small smile. "You know what they say though... anything that doesn't kill you obviously wasn't too hard to deal with afterall..."

Tyr raised an eyebrow. "They actually say that?"

Trychon shrugged. "I'm hoping it will catch on. Come on in, make yourself at home. Let's have a drink and catch up. Haven't stayed in touch as much as I'd planned."

Everyone began to turn to head to the common area when Schyrt and Reed looked at each other, unsure whether they had permission to move. Raezyr turned and saw both of the soldiers staring at them... and Anya. "Oh... right. Schyrt and Reed, this is Anya and Tyr. They're with us, they've just been handling other parts of our mission. Should the need arise, handle any order from them almost as though it was handed down from us. Anya, Tyr... this is Schyrt and Reed. They're going to go find work. Now."

The two men didn't argue, merely nodding their understanding and presumably heading off to find ways to stay busy.

The other four made their way to the common area. Trychon zealously overacted the part of the waiter, taking orders from the others and providing drinks and glasses with a cheesy smile.

"So guys... did you have fun finding your tablets and ancient secrets? I know it sure sounded like a blast." Tyr laughed.

Anya slugged him softly in the arm. "Tyr, don't be like that. They were off doing their part just like we were. I'm sure they not only did a great job, but had plenty to deal with, right Raez?"

Raezyr was surprised to see Anya smiling at him again. "Yeah, I guess. There were a few moments where it got interesting."

"But nothing that you two couldn't handle, of course..." Anya continued. "I knew you would be able to do Master's missions and make it back. I didn't expect you to be gone so long though. Are you glad to be done?"

Trychon also noticed that she was smiling at Raezyr more than usual. "Well, more than anything, we're glad that we got some holocrons and a few other things. You're really gonna love Master Daxon Var... he's the only holocron that seems to work. He's even more personable than Raez here." Trychon winked and raised his glass towards Raezyr.

Anya frowned at Trychon. "Look... I know I had my issues with Raez in the past, but I'm past that now. I realized that his advice has really helped me along the way with lots of things, and he was doing it for all of our good." With that she stood up and got herself another drink and one for Raezyr, ignoring Tyr and Trychon's glasses, which were also nearly empty.

Trychon used the Force to bring a few more drinks for himself and Tyr. "So now I'm the bad guy, I guess?" He followed the jest with another wink.

Anya took a drink while looking at Raezyr. "Don't be silly. It wasn't a slight at you... I just wanted to show my appreciation to Raez here for doing what was best for the group. Enough of this talk though... I'd like to hear some stories. Tyr and I will share after you guys do."

With a shrug, Raezyr motioned for Trychon to tell the tales, as he enjoyed storytelling so much more than Raezyr himself. The four Sith sat around for hours sharing stories, mainly Tyr and Trychon, though Anya and Raezyr interrupted when they began their normal exaggerations.

After Tyr and Anya headed off to move some of their belongings into the larger living quarters aboard the Stalker, Raezyr shot a concerned look at Trychon.

I have a bad feeling about the way Anya's acting. Something's up.

Yeah. Trychon thought back. It worries me when women are nice to you too.

You know what I mean. I think there's more to it than her just suddenly seeing things my way.

What's the worst she can do... sleep with you? Oh no! Look out! She's undressing! Oh wait... I'm actually enjoying myself for once!

I know where you sleep, Trych.

580. Sith Hunt: Part 2 - Raezyr

Both Nal Talla and Caecilius Kostek were in their private workout room meditating when the comm unit on the wall began buzzing. Nal hopped up and strode over to it to answer. Her prosthetic leg clanked on the floor as she walked.

"Jedi Talla here," she said as she pushed the answer switch.

"This is Captain Moklam. You two may want to get down to Docking Hangar Four right away. We have company, and I believe it's for you," the captain said.

"We're on our way," acknowledged the Nautolan Jedi.

The two Jedi strode down the corridors of the Republic warship side by side. "Who do you think it is? I sense it's a Jedi, but I don't recognize him," Caecilius said as they walked.

"Neither do I," replied Nal. While she hoped the new arrival was here by coincidence, she knew deep down it was not.

Inside the hangar, they watched as the small spacecraft settle down onto the deck. The landing gear compressed a bit and a Chiss male exited the craft.

He was big, bigger than either Nal or Caecilius expected. He was nobody they knew, yet still, he seemed familiar. He strode over to meet them.

"Greetings, Jedi Knights Nal Talla and Caecilius Kostek," the giant blue-skinned alien said, bowing slightly in greeting.

"Val? It seems like forever since I've seen you!" Nal exclaimed.

"I feel the same way, Nal," the big Jedi said, smiling.

"So tell me, do you still teach da padawans how to defend demselves against dat evil Sith weapon you prefer?" Nal said a bit teasingly.

"Yes, although technically a weapon is a tool, and is not inherently good or evil. It is he or she who wields said tool that makes the choice of whether to use it to help or to hurt," the Chiss corrected.

"Ever the instructor, I see," Caecilius said with a smile.

Val chuckled. "Yes, I've been doing it for a while now, so it's sometimes hard to take that particular hat off."

"Can we take you to da mess hall to get some ting to eat?" Nal asked. She didn't know why, but there seemed something calming about this newcomer.

"Alas, refreshment will have to wait a moment. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?" Val asked.

"Our workout room slash meditation chamber is not far. Come," Caecilius said and motioned for Val to follow.

Once they arrived, Val wasted no time in getting down to business. "Jedi Kostek, I have orders for you to return immediately to Coruscant," he said, pulling a small sheet of flimsiplast from inside his robe.

"No! Why!" cried Nal. "Why would they do this?"

"It says they have a mission for me to undertake, but it doesn't say what it is," Caecilius said aloud, reading the sheet of flimsi. He looked up at the newcomer. "Do you know anything about this?"

"All I know is that you were chosen for your particular skill-set and that you were to return immediately. I'm sorry I can tell you nothing more at this time," Val informed him, shrugging his shoulders a bit.

Nal could feel her anger rising. So many questions began to run through her mind. How on earth was she supposed to face several Sith by herself? Why would the council take away her only moral support?

Val must have sensed her boiling emotions. "I am to stay here with you, Jedi Talla. Master Taisun and the others felt that my abilities would suit this mission better at this juncture."

Thirty minutes later Nal and Caecilius hugged at the base of the ladder leading to the cockpit of his starfighter. "Tank you for you're help. I won't forget it."

"I'm just glad I can say I helped track down Nylan's murderers. You be careful," Caecilius said, then turned and climbed into the cockpit.

"May da Force be wit you, Caecilius Kostek!" the Nautolan called as the canopy lowered.

"And with you, my friend!"

A few minutes later, the Miralukan gave Nal and Val a thumbs up through the canopy window, then floated out of the hangar bay into the blackness of space.

Nal let the Force creep into her vision and tried to see into the future. She looked to see when she her friend again, but the future seemed cloudy and uncertain.

Val put his big hand on her shoulder. "Come, introduce me to this ship captain."

579. The Heist - Raezyr

Trychon sat down alone in the large exercise chamber with the pyramidal holocrons set in front of him. One by one he probed them with the Force. As his brother had noticed, some felt cold and dead, while others radiated energy, although he was unable to access them either.

On the 4th one, the room quickly filled with an ominous presence. Trychon could see nothing but a shadowy figure, as if someone were standing in a thick fog. The voice echoed as well, as if from a distance. "You are one who is worthy. To you alone, shall I impart the darkest, most powerful secrets I have learned."

"Who are you, my Lord?" Trychon asked the figure. "When did you live?"

"Names are meaningless, time is relative. The power of the Dark Side is all that matters," the voice in the fog instructed. "I shall teach you all that I learned, and with that knowledge you will rule the Galaxy."

Trychon felt giddy. This was what he had been hoping for. He'd been excited to complete his lightsaber, but hand to hand combat was more Raezyr's forte. Unlocking the secrets of the dark side of the Force and becoming as powerful as one could was what interested him. Trychon spent the rest of the day, drinking in the new knowledge.

The following day, Trychon wanted to go back and access that mysterious holocron again, but his brother talked him into learning his new weapon. Two hours went by when suddenly the communications panel on the wall started beeping.

Trychon kept practicing what he had learned so far while the younger Sith answered. "Raezyr here."

"My Lord, you asked to be notified when the Nefarion Wraith arrived in system," said the voice on the speaker.

"How far out are they, Schyrt?"

"Approximately two hours, my Lord."

"Make ready the ventral docking hatch on the Stalker and maintain radio silence unless absolutely necessary. We don't need to attract the attention of the Corellian Security Force," the big Sith said before turning around to his brother.

"I guess that's it for now. Anya and Tyr will be here shortly. Should give us just enough time to sani-steam up grab an ale," Raezyr said, picking up a towel and wiping some sweat.

"It's different that I thought it would be, but I like it," Trychon commented.

"It shows. You're picking up on it pretty quickly," the younger brother said.

"Just remember, the wielder of a double bladed lightsaber has the advantage over someone using a single blade. You'll be able to hold your own against most single blade users who are twice as good as you. It's why the Jedi will rarely ever try to take you one-on-one with it. They aren't glory hounds. They'll wait until they have the advantage of numbers if they have that luxury. Make sure you don't provide them with it."

Trychon nodded and tucked away his weapon.

___________________

The Nefarion Wraith exited hyperspace in the Corellian System and almost immediately a blip appeared on their scope, beckoning to them. "There they are," Anya said, pointing to it. "Way out on the edge of the scope."

"It'll take us a couple of hours to get there at least," Tyr informed her. "They're quite a long way out."

"Good, it'll give us time to get cleaned up," Anya commented, getting up from the co-pilot's chair.

"I've been thinking," she continued. "Trychon won't care when you take over. His nose is always stuck to his data pad and he may not even notice, but I'm worried about Raez. He won't like taking a back seat to your experience and leadership abilities."

"True," Tyr said, following the blond back toward the living quarters of the ship. "We'll just have to deal with that when the time comes, I guess."

"I suppose," Anya said. "You know, it's just too bad that we can't distract him with something. You're a guy... what can no guy resist, that will take up most of his attention and make him less likely to notice other things? Is there even anything like that?"

Tyr laughed. "I'd think you'd know the answer to that better than anyone."

Suddenly an idea occurred to him. "Say, how about you lure him in and wrap him around your finger. Get him so hot and heavy that he doesn't notice anything else?"

"That's a great idea, Tyr baby," Anya said and kissed him. "As long as you don't mind, of course."

"A Sith has to do what a Sith has to do. Besides, I know who you really belong to," Tyr said.

I highly doubt you do, Anya thought to herself. Now, if only Raez is as easy to control as you, my dear. Anya grinned as Tyr closed the refresher door behind him.

"That means they can't know about us, though," Tyr called from the sani-steam shower.

"Of course, my love," Anya said sweetly. Inwardly, she rolled her eyes.

578. Enter Val - Trychon

Name: Ataraxiav'a'lajean - Known as 'Val' for short.
Gender: Male
Species: Chiss
Age: 31
Homeworld: Apatros
Appearance: 6'3" 250 lbs. Muscular and broad build. Standard Chiss short black hair and blood red eyes in contrast to his light blue skin. The only thing distinctive of his appearance for a Chiss or Jedi besides his large size is the various black tattoos he collected growing up in the mines.

Weapon: Due to his upbringing and the teachings of his Master J'onn, Val made the extremely rare choice of a double bladed green lightsaber. While most view this weapon as a symbol (including most Jedi) of the Sith, Val chose it after some time training with the Temple's Saber Master. He managed to convince his masters to allow it as it could be a valued tool for teaching young Padawans of other styles of combat.

Bio: Val was born and raised on the cortosis mining colony of Apatros by his parents who were indentured servants of the mines there. Even on a mining colony, children and adults can be cruel, and Val was subject to quite a bit of bullying due to being the only 'Blue-skinned freak' in the mine. At a young age, Val had quite a temper and even instigated his fair share of fights.

Shortly after Val celebrated his eleventh birthday, there was a terrible tragedy in the mines. An unexplained explosion on the surface of the planet caused a vein in the mines to collapse. Both of Val's parents were in the section that crumbled, and they died with a few dozen other workers. The mining corporation sent him a letter with their deepest regrets regarding the accident, as well as the notice that his parents' debt had passed on to him.

A few weeks later, a middle aged Jedi who was known as J'onn voluntarily joined the ranks of the miners at indentured wages, though he owed the corporation no money. He told the people there that he was sick of wars and fighting, and someone needed to just stand up for the smallest voices in the galaxy sometimes.

J'onn took quite an interest in the young Chiss, who was more sullen than ever. In Val, he sensed not only a potential in the Force, but a very young adult who was on the brink of being lost to personal demons. Nearly universally loved by the miners, J'onn was able to nearly put a complete end to the teasing of Val as his favor towards the child was obvious. Val's growth spurt and quick muscular development from hard labor quashed what was left.

J'onn spent his little free time teaching Val and a few others the ways of the Jedi. He taught them nothing of the use of the Force, but only about the righteousness of helping others and protecting those that could not protect themselves. Val's temper slowly abated, as he looked up to J'onn as much as everyone in the mines.

When the alien miner was fourteen, J'onn revealed to him that he did indeed have quite a potential in the Force. Val was naturally very enthusiastic in desiring to learn everything he could from the Jedi from that day forward.

J'onn spent more of his time with Val concentrating on the Code of the Jedi and the importance of preserving and protecting life at all costs than he did on the use of the Force, much to the boy's frustration. In time, Val learned to control that frustration as well as his every other emotion. J'onn took much joy in the young man's tranquility.

Several years later, Val was given a birthday gift he could have never expected or asked for on his eighteenth birthday. J'onn had secretly been working extra shifts in lieu of a normal sleep schedule as well as passing on many of the disproportionately priced meals given the workers, with the goal of eventually paying off the otherwise insurmountable debt that had been laid on Val. He paid off the Father's debt, and undertook the mother's for himself.

Val left his master reluctantly to seek out further training, with the promise to never forget the lessons he was given about following the code and protecting others.

When he came into contact with the Jedi Order, they took him on despite his age as their numbers were thin due to the actions of the Sith Lord Nihilus, but even then only because he had rudimentary training already and passed every knowledge test of the Jedi Code.

When questioned about his training, Val described his odd master and explained all he'd done for an orphan alien child. The Jedi Council confirmed that the description matched a Jedi Master who was last heard from heading into a dangerous battle in that sector.

Val hit his new training regimen as hard as his hydraulic hammer had hit the cortosis mines on Apatros. His appetite for learning allowed him to climb the ranks of padawans relatively quickly, despite his late start. He concentrated heavily on the art of battle, to hold true to his promise of becoming a great protector of the innocent in danger, hoping to someday help train future Jedi himself about the wonders of lightsaber combat, and the importance of the right mindset for its use.

Upon passing the trials and gaining the rank of Jedi Knight, the council gave him the full truth about his master. J'onn had indeed been involved in a battle on Apatros, and was likely involved in the explosion that caused the tragic cave in... but he had been a Lieutenant for the dark Lord Revan at the time. The council was not sure what caused the incident to change J'onn's heart, but they insisted that they only kept the truth from him because the lesson J'onn learned and imparted so fervently to Val was the important one.

Val did the what a good calm Jedi would... and accepted the wisdom of the council and thanked them for it.

Currently, Val is following through with his dream assignment and spends much of his time as an aid to the weapons master, helping train young Jedi minds and hands. He occasionally is sent off on a mission when the Masters feel that a supremely calm hand is needed... else a very strong one.

577. The Heist - Raezyr

Raezyr wiped the sweat from his chest and face with a towel as he made his way through the hatch to Trychon's quarters on the Jet Razor. He was excited about the new discovery and couldn't wait to tell his brother the good news.

He knocked on the door, waited a second, then entered anyway. Luckily Trychon was just concentrating on the work he was doing. He sat hunched over at a work table, an unusually long lightsaber hilt lay on the desk and a slight bit of smoke rose as the older Sith soldered a part into place.

"How goes it? You have any questions?" Raezyr asked. He was happy to see his brother's work was nearly complete, but he was more excited about the new holocron.

"It's almost done, Raez," Trychon said, looking up from the desk. "I'm so close I can almost hear it humming now."

"That's great," the younger brother said almost dismissively, "but I've got some important news."

"You got one of the holocrons to open up," Trychon guessed intuitively.

His brother's shoulders slumped just a bit, the excitement suddenly gone. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"I don't know... I just kind of sensed it."

"The thing is, I think it opened because it sensed my talent for the lightsaber. Why it never opened for both of us before, I don't know," Raezyr continued. "I think that you should try the holocrons by yourself as soon as possible."

"That doesn't surprise me," the other Sith replied. "In my studies I've read that sometimes holocrons are keyed to those with certain abilities, or those who have reached a certain level of prowess with the Force. Apparently that one was keyed to open only to someone who has your gift with melee combat," Trychon surmised."

"Did it have anything good to teach you?"

"Trych... I learned so much just in the last couple of hours," Raezyr began. "I didn't realize how little I knew before. My knowledge was just the tip of the iceberg of what there is to know weapons, and even if we can't get it to open up to you or the others, I can pass on what I learn."

"Agreed. Say, you look tired, and I need a break... let's go have an ale," the older of the two suggested.

They didn't say much as they enjoyed their ale. The brief respite was nice, and neither could really remember the last time they had time to just relax and do the things they wanted to do. Sure, they had time in hyperspace, but even then they were traveling to or from somewhere.

Soon enough it would end with the arrival of Anya and Tyr. As soon as their ship emerged from hyperspace, Trych's homing program should kick in and direct the other two to Raezyr and Trychon's location on the fringes of the sector.

From there, they could all travel back to Hoth and fill Dianna in on her part of the plan.

For now though, it was nice to just get in some well needed training time without the worry of other things.

The next morning, Trychon found his brother in the training room going through some of the drills he had learned the day before.

Raezyr looked up as his brother came in. "You ready to try the holocrons?"

"No, I have something else to try first," Trychon said with a grin.

He held out the unusually long lightsaber hilt with both hands, then flicked the switch with his thumb. The black blade sprang forth with a menacing hum. The younger Sith watched in anticipation as his brother reversed his grip, the flicked another switch on the cylinder, igniting the red blade from the other end.

Carefully, he spun the double-bladed lightsaber around and they both watched the red and black blades as they arced in a big circle.

Faster and faster he began to spin the weapon until he nearly lost control and ducked his head just in time.

"Trych, if you cut your own head off with that thing, don't come crying to me," the younger man grinned.

"Who is going to teach me how to use this thing anyway?" Trychon remarked, shutting the blades down.

"I can do that."

"Really?" the older brother remarked, giving Raezyr a skeptical look.

Raezyr sighed then pulled out his own blades. He adjusted the phase out-put of the shorter-bladed blue lightsaber, then lit the both up. He then placed the hilt ends together and twisted. A click echoed just above the humming of the blades as the two lightsabers locked together to create a double-bladed weapon. "Just because I prefer one style, doesn't mean I can't use others. Besides, anything I don't know about using one of these I can learn from Master Vilmax N'vaarq and pass on to you."

Trychon just grinned.

"Now, let's get to those other holocrons," Raezyr said, shutting off his blades and unhooking the hilts.

576. The Heist - Raezyr

On the outer fringes of the Corellian Sector, so far out that the Corellian sun looked like little more than a slightly brighter star, the Jet Razor and the Twilight Stalker drifted, docked together.

On board the two ships the 4 humans and the droid went about their business: the hired hands competently checked ship systems and made repairs where necessary and were assisted by the droid, Trychon worked on his nearly completed dual-bladed lightsaber, and Raezyr sat cross-legged in the center of one of the Stalker's cargo holds.

The hold had been converted to a training room by Delki and Bleetz back on Hoth and this was really the first chance they'd had to put it to good use. In the center of the room the younger Sith sat the row of holocrons and one by one sent Dark Side energies into the information storage devices, trying to unlock their secrets.

Of late, the avatar of Dark Lord Daxon Var had grown more stand-offish and was less forthcoming with new knowledge and teachings as both of the brothers had grown more powerful. They had come to the conclusion that either he was finding them unsuitable as students, which didn't seem likely considering their quick progress, or more likely, the old Sith hadn't been as powerful as his holocron claimed and he was running out of things to teach them.

Either way, it was getting harder to learn anything from it and soon they would have to stop using it. Considering this, they decided it was time to try in earnest to activate some of the other devices.

They had tried to activate the others several times before, but always together, and always with the knowledge that if they were unsuccessful, they still had Daxon Var. This time, Raezyr was trying by himself and Var was a poor fallback plan.

One by one, he searched the devices, poking and prodding, exploring with tendrils of the Force, trying to get a reaction or any sign that these others were still functional.

He'd already been at it for a few hours when one of them began to radiate a reddish yellow light. Raezyr could feel the power emanating from it and drank in the power like an intoxicating aroma.

Suddenly the holocron's avatar sprang to life and before him stood a reddish-brown Devaronian male wearing a black vest and matching pantaloons. His muscles bulged an his eyes blazed as he drew an ancient-looking lightsaber and activated it's crimson blade.

Instinctively, Raezyr sprung to his feet, his own blades springing to life almost of their own volition. For a moment, he felt a bit stupid, reacting in such a manner to a mere holographic image, then it spoke.

"Good. I see you have the instincts of a warrior, one who is born to fight and to slay his enemies. I am Vilmax N'vaarq. In the time of Ajunta Pall, I was but a boy. I was an apprentice to Karness Muur's apprentice and the first Weapons Master of the Sith. Many enemies died at my hands. To whom am I speaking?" the Devaronian Sith asked.

Raezyr bowed, never taking his eyes off the avatar. "I am Darth Raezyr, one of but a handful of Sith left in the Galaxy. I would learn from you, to return our order to greatness."

"Then, Sith Warrior, show me what you know," said the apparition.

Raezyr grinned and settled into the opening stance of Jar'Kai.

575. The Heist - Raezyr

The Baron's soldiers had responded to the alarms at the detention facility, and after viewing the order signed by their liege, Raezyr and Trychon were released, along with their charge.

Once outside the village, they removed the bonds from Dagus Kolant. "Now I'd like you to answer some questions for me," he said, rubbing his wrists where the shackles had bound them.

"You can ask your questions, but whether we answer them remains to be seen," Raezyr said, stripping away the Jedi disguise. Trychon shot him a glare the younger Sith didn't notice, or if he did, pretended he didn't.

"I'm relatively sure you're not Jedi, since I've had dealings with you in the past, but your performance and expertise with those lightsabers make it hard even for me to believe you're not. What are you?"

Raezyr ignored the question, dropping the cloak and tunic on the ground. It was early fall in this area of Talus and although there was a chill in the evening air, he felt he'd rather endure that be dressed like a Jedi one more minute than he had to.

He ignited his long lightsaber and stuck the tip of the blade into the cloth, holding it there until the garments began burning. Finally he looked up at Dagus. "Let's just say I hate the Jedi and leave it there, shall we?"

"Fair enough," the Zabrak replied. "My next question is why bother to rescue me at all? Don't get me wrong, but most prospective clients would have just found someone else."

Trychon jumped in before Raezyr could continue with his melodramatics. "We did that for a couple of reasons. One, we know you, and we know that you are a being of your word. Second, we hope that our actions are a show of good faith, that you can also trust us in this upcoming endeavor."

"Very well. Let us go somewhere and discuss this 'endeavor' of yours."

They climbed aboard the swoop bikes and made their way through the forests to where they had parked their ship. By the time Kolant's men arrived, the Sith and the mercenary had already gone over the plans several times, worked out any potential kinks, and come to a payment arrangement.

"You understand that timing is everything in this," Trychon said to Kolant as the man climbed into the waiting speeder.

"I understand. I still think it sounds too easy, but you can rest assured that my men and I will be in place at the specified time," the Zabrak reassured his new employers.

Trychon and Raezyr watched as they sped off through the forest. "I have a bad feeling about this plan, Trych," Raezyr said. "It gives me the chills thinking about it."

"No, Raez," Trychon replied. "That's because you're still not wearing a shirt."

"Shut up, Trych."

"I knew you were going to say that."

574. Flight of the Decoy - Raezyr

Anya watched through the viewport in the galley area of the Nefarion Wraith as the planet slid away into the blackness behind them. They were going to have to go pick up the Wasted Rancor and she was not looking forward to it. It wasn't so much the separation from Tyr she cared about but the being alone part.

When she had first arrived on Korriban, there had been a couple other Sith at the academy, but after a few weeks they had left, and she had spent the next several months alone in the giant Sith temple, trying to teach herself the ways of the Sith on her own, and not having much luck. Being alone anywhere reminded her of that and she clung to others to avoid it, although she would never admit that to anyone.

As the disc of Budpock shrank in the blackness, she thought about the numerous worlds she had visited since running away and leaving Corellia. She'd never for get the names of some of them, Korriban, Hoth, Coruscant... while others she already couldn't remember.

How she had longed to travel the stars back when she was stuck on Corellia, and now she was going to be returning. The bitter memories flooded back. Memories that she had blocked for a long time. Memories of the abuse she had suffered at the hands of her parents. The neglect and emotional abuse of her mother and the physical abuse of her father.

Her one hope had been the Jedi. Two had come to test her as a young girl, but they had deemed her to be too weak for the Order. Her parents had blamed her for not being selected and the abuse only became worse. If the Jedi had only accepted her...

After that there was the indentured servitude to the 'escort' service when she was still quite young. The proprietor had taken it upon himself to 'instruct' her personally and she had quickly learned that the better service she provided, the better the clients she was assigned to. In turn, the better clients treated her better and thus she had quickly become one of the proprietor's top girls, becoming whatever each client wanted and playing the role to a tee.

Secretly she had stashed money away until she was able to run away and purchase passage off Corellia and out of the sector. She had sworn that someday she would return and exact revenge on her parents and the owner of the brothel, and she grinned knowing that time was drawing near.

The stars in the viewport elongated and suddenly they were in hyperspace and heading toward the empty expanse of interstellar space where they had left their other ship. Tyr entered the galley a moment later and grabbed an ale from the cooler unit.

"Tyr, don't tell them about us when we meet up with them, alright?"

"Who?" Tyr asked, sitting down and pouring the cold ale into a glass. "Oh, you mean don't tell Trych and Raez... Sure... it's none of their business."

"Good," Anya replied. "They also don't need to know how much stronger we've grown since we left."

"Well, they're going to expect that we've been practicing some. We can't hide all improvement," he said, taking a sip of his beverage. "But why do we want to hide it? Wouldn't it be beneficial to all of us to share what we've learned?"

"Tyr, baby, you know how Raez is. He thinks he's the god's gift to the Sith, and Trychon, while a nice guy, is so naive about the way things work. Our group needs a strong leader, and that should be you," she said matter of factly.

"I'm not sure I'm following you."

"Look, they've been rummaging through old ruins and living with monks this whole time, learning about how to be a Sith while we, on the other hand, have been out being Sith.

"We both know that Raez's big ego is not going to let him subject himself to anyone else, even if they deserve to be the leader, and if we want to succeed in this Galaxy, we need a strong one, and the strong leader is you, Tyr, not Raezyr and certainly not Trychon," she explained.

"If we share everything we've learned with them, it will give them equal footing. Sure, we'll show them a little of what we've picked up, but there is going to come a time when they think they can order us around and we'll have to show them just who is in charge," she told him.

Tyr thought for a few minutes, slowing sipping his ale. "Your right. We'll see what they want, and we may even play along for a while, but when the time is right, we'll step up and take control. Besides money is running low, and it's about time to take over Dianna's operation on Hoth. Force her to work for us."

He got up to get another ale, and Anya watched him. She thought back to her days on Corellia and how she had learned to get men to do the things she wanted. Clay in a scultpor's hands, she thought to herself.

573. Flight of the Decoy - Raezyr

"Where are we again?" Anya asked, slightly perturbed. She was beginning to grow weary of the dives and holes they had been frequenting for months and was beginning to think they may have visited just about every backwater planet in the galaxy, or the inhabited ones, at least.

"Budpock," Tyr replied. "It'll be a good place to lay low for a while and still get a chance to see some action. There are plenty of pirate gangs in this sector." Tyr pulled their speeder up to a decently sized cantina, and even though it was fairly busy for a mid-afternoon they had no problem finding a booth.

"I'll get the drinks, baby," Anya said and gave Tyr a smile that he knew meant she was looking for fun, and when she looked for fun, people could get killed.

He grinned to himself as he watched her walk across the crowded bar, swaying her hips underneath tight fitting leather trousers and the shear, short-cropped tunic she wore left little to the imagination. She's a gundark in nerf's clothing, that one, he thought to himself, but she's MY gundark.

He watched her for a bit, then began following her gaze, trying to see what she was up to. Here and there around the room she was making eye contact with various unsavory looking characters. Inwardly Tyr groaned.

This was one of her favorite games. Anya would catch people's eye, and give them some sort of subtle encouragement. What it was exactly, he hadn't figured out, but soon, she'd have a dozen of them fighting over her.

It amused her to no end to watch the mindless males fall so quickly for a quick smile, a batted eyelash or a feigned blush. Someone was going to get themselves killed, and she was going to love watching it. Tyr usually sat back and rolled his eyes a bit, and it annoyed her a bit that Tyr was so confident she belonged to him that he didn't feel the need to fight for her. This time she had a plan to get him involved as well, though.

It would probably have surprised Tyr to know that she didn't really care if he made it through the fight alive or not. She'd be thrilled if he did, as her bedchamber toy and chauffeur would still be around, but if not, there were plenty of others to do her bidding with just a glance.

Normally the bartender was quick to fill her order, but today it was a droid serving the refreshments and the machinery was immune to her charms, making her wait in line.

"Can I buy your drink, miss?" said a voice at her elbow. She turned her head just slightly to identify the speaker. It was a human, most likely an ex-Mandalorian judging by the pieces of armor he wore.

"You Mandalorian?" she asked.

"Born and bred," he replied proudly. "I'll make it home someday, but for now I do a bit of mercenary work."

"Do you have friends? My friend just loves Mandalorians. Maybe you and your friends could join us. We've been in space forever it seems like, and haven't been around men in forever," Anya said, working her ploy.

"We could sure do that," the Mandalorian said. "Who's your friend?" he asked, looking around the bar.

"Right over there," Anya said, pointing at Tyr and waving.

Tyr watched the exchange between the two. Most of the time, the Mandalorian couldn't keep his eyes off of Anya's barely concealed chest. When they turned and looked his direction, he instinctively returned Anya's wave, and instantly he regretted it.

The Mandalorian turned back to Anya and shoved his finger in her face, his own turning three different shades of red. That the mercenary was pretty angry about something was obvious.

Tyr got to his feet, still watching the exchange. Everyone was watching it, he noticed. Apparently this guy had a lot of friends here.

Anya said something back to him, and the Mandalorian cocked his arm and threw a punch the blond Sith girl barely dodged. Tyr was sure she could have gotten out of the way sooner, but he didn't bother to think about that.

Instead, he lunged across the room, drawing and igniting his orange laser sword. In one quick motion he attacked and the two halves of the Mandalorian hit the ground with a sickly thud.

Tyr turned to face the rest of the cantina, holding the lightsaber defensively while motioning for Anya to get behind him with his off hand.

Slowly, all around the room, beings of all shapes and sizes began to get to their feet, and the murmur that was growing had ill portends.

The Sith warrior let his senses take over as the Dark Side rushed to fill him. He heard the scrape of metal on leather as several blasters were drawn around the room. The bolts began to fly as he took action, blocking and returning the lasers and slashing though limbs and torsos.

Dimly he was aware of a comm beeping, and Anya answering it, rather than igniting her own lightsaber and giving him a hand.

"Hello?" she asked into the comm, which had rung in on an encrypted frequency.

"Anya? It's Raezyr. Is Tyr there?" came the voice over the comm.

"He's... busy," she said hesitantly. "Can I take a message?"

"Put him on."

Anya rolled her eyes and covered the device with one hand so she couldn't be heard. "Tyr... it's the asshole and he insists on speaking with you."

Why he didn't ignore her, he didn't know, but instead, he grabbed the comm with his off hand, continuing to battle the pirates and mercenaries attacking from all over the cantina, while Anya sipped the drink the droid had set down in front of her just moments before it's head was disintegrated by stray blaster fire.

Through gasps for air, he answered the device. Raezyr's voice issued from it. "Tyr, it's Raez."

"Hey guys! How's things?" Tyr replied as if nothing were going on.

"We're fine, thank you. I'll keep this short... I've been informed you have a full schedule at the moment. You've done a great job so far keeping the Republic off our tails, but they have to be close to figuring out what's going on."

"Yeah... it's been closer scrapes lately... but nothing we're not ready for. What's up?" Tyr replied, pausing briefly to cleave limbs from torsos.

"Time's up for these games. We're done with our missions and we need to regroup. Meet us within a standard week in the Corellian system."

"No problem." He laughed, right as a deflected laser struck a blaster, causing it to explode. "Oop... gotta run! Give Huck my best!" He switched off the comm and tossed it back to Anya.

Within another moment, Tyr was standing alone surrounded by the dead and dying... and Anya.

She slipped up behind him as he shut his lightsaber down and clipped it back on is belt. She ran her fingers through his hair and, standing on the tip of her toes, bit Tyr's ear a bit.

A thrill ran though him.

"What did that nerf-herder want?" She whispered in his ear.

He turned around and slid his hands around her narrow waist. Her chest was heaving with excitement. "We need to meet them in a week in the Corellian system which is alright, especially since we can't stick around here anymore."