"Leaving"
By: Vincenzo Lapenta - Neurosurgeon

Location: Capital, Russ VII
Date: Selene 11, 5 ABY

***

"Are you guys out of your mind," Vincenzo asked his brother and his 3 companions, "this is terrorism what you just did."

"Something had to be done," Mauricio said, "we can't tolerate this any longer."

"Indeed we can't," Vincenzo replied, "but the government won't tolerate this either, and at the moment they still have more resources then we have."

"Police approaching," one of the other guys, who had been standing watch, suddenly said, "they're coming this way."

"Were you followed," Vincenzo asked.

"No, we were not," his brother answered.

"Clearly not entirely correct," he replied, "well, time to move out."

"We will fight them," one of the others said.

"You can't win," Vincenzo said, "not now. We better run and try again. We may have lost this round, but we haven't lost the war. And I'd rather not see you guys on my operating table."

"You will only see the other guys," one of them said as they produced blaster.

"Well, do whatever you want, but I'm leaving," Vincenzo said. He did as he said, and left the building through a back alley. With the police just arriving, they didn't have a perimeter set up yet, and he quickly found himself on the main roads. It pained him to leave his brother like that, but they had been growing apart for some years now, and Vincenzo didn't want to have anything to do with terrorist actions.

Knowing that as soon as the police sorted out his brother and his companions, they would search for everybody on the membership list of the organisation, so he had to get away before they did that.

After he arrived at his apartment, he put his money on a couple of different cred chips and made a letter of resignation for the hospital. After sending that, he packed his belongings and left for the spaceport. There he secured passage on a ship bound for Commenor. From there he would probably be able to get to Chimaeria and Sarah.

He went onboard as soon as it was possible, to get of the planet. If the police came looking for him, he was on Commenor already because due to some strange law on Russ all starships were considered foreign territory. He wondered what happened to his brother and his friends. Probably nothing to pleasant, he guessed. He would make some inquiries as soon as he was somewhere safe.

"Awakenings, Part 1"
By: Kel Denab

Location: Various
Date: Selene 11, 5 ABY

***

Darkness. He felt complete darkness. Wait, what was that? His mind was starting to distinguish sounds. Suddenly, his eyes opened, and he looked around, the light blinding him briefly. As his eyes adjusted, he took in his surroundings. Where was he? And for that matter, how had he gotten here? He heard a noise, and saw a door slide aside, and a nurse walked in.

"Hello there. Welcome back to the land of the living," she said, checking a monitor beside his bed. "You had us worried."

"Why?" he asked her, looking over to the nurse.

"You were beat pretty badly and left in an alleyway. If someone had not found you when they did, I am sure you would have died there," she added.

"I see," he said, leaning back. "I have a question for you..." he started.

"Yes?" she asked, looking down and smiling gently.

"Who am I?" he asked. "I don't remember anything about my life before waking up here."

"Oh..I see," she said, frowning a bit. "The medical droids must have missed the extent of damage to your brain. You have amnesia," she said, sitting on the side of his bed. "Your name is Kel Denab, and you live on a planet named Tae'Karada," she told him.

"I see..and where is this place?" So, his name was Kel. Interesting name. He wondered what his life was like, and what he did.

"about 5 parsecs away," she told Kel. "You have not had anyone try to contact you, so we are not completely sure what you did there. Any computer records of you just indicate that you are independently wealthy, but that is about all," she told him. "Why don't you rest, and we can talk later."

"Ok," he said, laying back on his pillow. What the hell was going on, and how was he going to get back to the place he lived? Perhaps there would be some clues there. Kel furrowed his brow. This was an interesting set of events. Who was he, what did he do? Did he not have any friends who would come calling on him? What about family, where were they? Not satisfied, Kel got up and went to the computer console in his room. Sitting down, he began looking up information on himself.

After a while, Kel had determined that he owned a ship, and it was still docked in the local spaceport. The hospital had apparently alerted the port authority as to what had happened, and they had been holding it for him. Other than that, he had no additional idea who he was or what he did. Kel stood up, and looked out the window. There was an eerie feeling about this whole thing. His entire life had just been whisked away, and he had no idea about his past. Letting out a long sigh, he laid back down on the bed, and fell asleep.

Later, Kel awoke from his sleep, noticing a droid checking on his vitals. "Ahh, good to see you awake sir. The nurse told me about your condition. I have been running a few checks, and have determined that there was some slight damage to the part of your brain that contains the memories. Perhaps in time, you will be able to access them. There also appears to be some sort of chemical block in the way, which may also be impeding the recovery of your memories. After running a few tests, the block does not seem to want to dissolve in any way. I suggest once you return to your home planet to check in with a hospital every few weeks so that they may monitor your progress," it said to him.

"So does that mean I may go?" Kel asked.

"I would say so. You appear to be in normal health, aside from the loss of your memory," it state. "Good luck sir."

"thanks," Kel said, hopping up. He found his only set of cloths in the closet, and quickly got changed. He retrieved his personal effects from the hospital storage, then walked out onto the street. Kel breathed in the air, which seemed much better than the sterile air he had been breathing. how long had he been there...what had the nurse said..4 months? He shivered a little. Four months of his life, completely gone. Hell, his entire life at the moment was completely gone. He turned down a street, and walked towards the port authority. A few moments later, he was at the window, getting access to his ship.

Stepping into it, Kel looked around. It was fairly nice. Small, but functional. It seemed heavily armed as well, which surprised him, from what the nurse had said. He was supposedly independently wealthy, so why would he need this much firepower? Perhaps it was another clue as to whom he was.

Sitting down in the pilot seat, he put his hands on the controls. The touch seemed familiar..it was on the fringe of his memory, but he could not get to it! He hit the controls, wanting to remember. Yet, he seemed to know how to operate everything. Kel pushed a few buttons, and with ease, he was into the outer atmosphere, then into space. He pushed a few more buttons, having the navicomputer set coordinates for the planet that the hospital mentioned to him. soon, he entered hyperspace.

***Next Day***

Kel brought the ship down at the landing pad on the planet. He stood up, and walked out of it, and looked around the starport. It had a vague familiarity, but he could not place it. This was going to drive him insane. What of his friends? Did he even have any? Had anyone tried looking for him? All these questions, and no answers to them. Walking up to a security person, he asked him for directions to what supposedly was his apartment. He took in his surroundings. The information he read on the computer said this city was the capitol of the planet. Interesting place he had picked to live, for whatever it was that he did. Kel shrugged, then found the apartment complex. He looked at it, then quickly found his door. He pressed a button, and the door slid open, letting him enter.

Kel looked around the place. Rather spartan, he thought to himself. He walked around slowly, then noticed a suit of armor sitting in the corner. Was he some sort of warrior? Perhaps a mercenary? Interesting, Kel thought. What was his last name again? Denak? Denurk? Denab..that was it. Kel Denab. He shrugged to himself, then saw a light on the computer console blinking. Walking over, he pushed it. The computer display indicated he had 3 messages waiting. Well, that was a start. He sat down, and pulled up the first one.

The image of a lovely woman appeared, and he wondered who it was. "Hi Kel, this is Marta. I wanted to tell you I had fun the other evening, and want to go do something with you again. Give me a call," she said, a smile on her face. Kel smiled to himself too. Was this a girlfriend he had, or the starting of one? Complex life he had lead..suits of armor, messages about having a good time..he wondered what else there was.

"Kel, this is Marta.. I don't' want to bug, but it's been a month since I heard anything from you. I wanted to make sure you were ok is all. I know you were heading off on a job, and perhaps it's taking longer than you thought. Get with me when you get back."

Hmm, perhaps this person had cared about him. But, she never came looking..which lead Kel to believe that this was a new friend, or a new relationship, where losing contact would not have necessarily meant anything.

"Kel, this is Marta..It's been 3 months now. And, well...if you want to come see me, come to the bar. You know where it's at," she said, the sound of rejection in her voice. He would have to go find this Marta person, perhaps she could fill him in on the information he sought, and he could tell her what the nurse had told him. He cycled through the list of people he had apparently sent messages to before, and saw someone with the name of Laedra Vorrel. He wondered who that was. Pulling up a screen, he started a new message. "Um, hello.. my name is Kel..at least that's what they tell me it is. I saw your name in a list of people that I had apparently sent messages to, and was wondering if you could perhaps shed light onto who I am, and why I am on this planet.Look forward to hearing from you." He shrugged. That would have to do for now.

Standing up, Kel walked outside. Now to find that bar.

"Illegal Merchandise"
By: Selena Rellik - Death Dealer

Location: Lath's Bar, Yallder District, New Plouton
Date: Selene 11, 5 ABY

***

Tae'Karada. Perhaps the main planet on the Tae'Remok system, just on the border between the Mid Rim and the Outer Rim. A planet known to be a haven for commerce and for those who wanted to escape. After all, it was, for many years, a planet that had set its policies on neither the Empire's side nor on the Rebel Alliance. It was clearly the summer time and most people seemed content to just roam on their own lives and do whatever they used to do on their daily lives. She had only arrived a couple of days earlier and had decided to set herself in the large financial city of New Plouton. After all it was the planet's commercial and economical heart, and where most people lived. However, she decided that Yallder, being more rough, was better to avoid questions.

Already had Selena learned of the recent past. The Empire had conquered the planet and killed off it's former rulers, which seemed quite the Imperial standard. And they had almost succeeded in dominating it, only to lose all against a rebellion that seized the planet in only a few days. But that was not all, for then the throne was usurped by what Selena had figured out to be either Jedi or Sith pupils or Witches from Dathomir. Now, however, things seemed to be in peace once more.

Having heard a few local tales concerning a Jedi Temple somewhere on the planet, she figured that the Jedi could be present. But she would believe that once she saw it. For the moment, she had only to concern herself with setting up shop and doing her work. She was at Lath's Bar when she first came across her new target. A man, human, in his mid-forties had come inside and was talking to a Rodian at a booth, not too far off the stool where Selena stood. He seemed nervous enough and had said something about the slave trade having arrived and them having to move it before the director caught them. He had talked in Rodian, but that was not a problem for Selena.

Slave trade... Definitely not permitted by common laws, she thought to herself. And even if they were permitted, she would not abide by it. Must be a local crime baron, or perhaps merchandise for the Hutts. Too bad they're going to lose it... she smirked. Selena paid off the Rodian Ale she had asked at the bar and left, much before the man and the Rodian walked away.

The Rodian followed the man to a nearby warehouse that seemed to belong to a shipping company. There were a few landing pads, surely used for the transports that came and went there. Amidst the shadows of a dark alley, Selena was able to see them quite well as they went inside. She had little doubt that the slaves were also inside, probably being held captive before they were shipped off to somewhere else, or delivered to those who had bought them. She read the sign from the shipping company... Zenarr Inc... I wonder if the director is aware of the illegal smuggling operations that run here, just under her nose... Selena thought. Nonetheless she was about to ruin the whole operation.

"Coona tee-tocky malia?" (What took you so long?) a twi'lek sentry asked the human and the Rodian as they approached him. He was guarding the ship and its cargo. "Outmians!" (Outlanders!) he complained.

"La yama beestoo," (There they are), the human told the Rodian, pointing at the ship. He completely ignored the twi'lek's complaints... They had just to ship the cargo off and win a bundle of money. Now for the Rodian to fly it off. He could see that he still needed some convincing. "Sa jah wah nopa na foonta?" (Is the reward not satisfactory?)

The Rodian smirked and gave a nod of approval. "Coos ka murishani. Jee mo da!" (You've got guts. I like that!)

The conversation was interrupted by the muffled sound of a blaster shot. The only guard standing in the hangar bay fell to the floor, lifeless. Selena now had the two other males in her sight, and there was no place for them to run. At least not before she could pull the trigger and kill them too.

"Koona t'chuta?" (Going somewhere?) she asked them in a sarcastic tone. "Chosky nowy u chusu." (I'm lucky I found you first.)

"Hi chuba da naga?" (What do you want?) the human male asked.

"Kee chai chai cun kuta?" (What are you doing here?) the Rodian demanded.

Selena frowned. Perhaps they thought that she was someone sent to steal their merchandise. "I'm here to set things right..." she told them, not caring whether the Rodian understood Basic. "Mee jews ku!" (Goodbye!) she told them as she shot them both. Selena knew that she had little time before someone else would show up. There shouldn't be anyone else involved, unless they knew. She decided that simply letting the slaves out would not let her ascertain if there were more culprits in this matter. Instead she would wait and see what the director for Zenarr Inc. would do, and whether someone would try to stop her or help her out.