"Darkened Descent"
By: Dani
Nieme Yaresh
Ferrig Mullerin

Location: Jadda's Palace; New Plouton
Date: Lythe 20, 4 ABY

***

"I saw her the other day," Dani said, her silken voice carrying an edge of anger with it. "She was going into the beast's throne room. She should be with us, here. Not being paraded around half-naked for all of that worm's entourage. If that sack of filth ruins her before I get my taste of her, I'll use the Force to pull its bulbous, black heart right out of its body." She'd been fuming for some time, carrying on about their arrangement here in the home of the Hutt. "We need a change, and Raeila must be with us."

"We can always come back for her," Nieme told her lover soothingly. She was reclined on their bed, bared and uninhibited. Ferrig's head was pillowed on her stomach and Nieme soothed herself by stroking his damp hair languidly. "Ferrig should be enough until then," she sighed, smiling down at their pet and surprised at how she had come to appreciate his presence.

Dani moved over to sit beside Nieme and Ferrig. "You've grown to like him, haven't you?" she asked. "And, it's amazing how tame he is now. Though, I do think a part of him misses Talara. It's sad that they were never able to be together. Perhaps we can get her back, and tame her just as you have him. They could be our cherished pets."

"Talara turned on us again," Nieme sneered. "If I see her again, the only thing I'll do is slit her throat." She grinned viciously.

"Now, now," Dani said. "Ferrig tried to turn on us too, and look how well behaved he is now. We just need to make sure she gets no chance. We break her spirit and show her what her true place is. Three nights with me, and she'll be as compliant as our dear Ferrig."

"I know you're powerful, my love," Nieme said gently, "but those Jedi are brainwashing her. She'll be tainted, Dani."

Dani gave her a feral smile. "And, I'll break her," she said. "I'll turn her to the Dark, and then bind her to us so tightly that she'll never be free. Together, the three of us will prey upon the Jedi and no one will ever escape us. I just need the time with her, time to truly break her. Do you remember how good she feels, how sweet? I won't just give that up when there's still a chance. If I can't turn her in three days, then she is yours to do with as you please."

Nieme grinned. "Agreed. But first...." She sat up, Ferrig's head rolling from her abdomen onto her lap. "I'm bored and I'm tired of sand. Shall we go shopping?"

"We should," Dani said. "Oh, I could use a lot of new things. And, I think we should get some new toys for our pet." She reached down and ran her hand along Ferrig's shaft, then circled the head of his organ with her finger. "How about a ring for him? He's looking very plain. I think some decoration would be perfect."

"Ferrig," Nieme sang, dragging her hand over the curve of his rear, "would you like to go for a trip, hm? With your two favourite girls?"

Ferrig looked up into Nieme's eyes and smiled. The touch of her hand against his skin was like fire, and Ferrig had decided that he loved fire. "Yes," he said, his eyes caught in her gaze, "I would like that very much."

"Then go get dressed, my sweet," she whispered and leaned over him to kiss his lips fervently.

"I will wear something to please you," he answered as he returned her passionate kiss. Once the kiss ended, she nodded to him that he could leave. He backed away, and bowed low, first to Dani, and finally to Nieme. Then he was off to dress for their outing.

"The change," Dani purred, "is quite amazing. I doubt any who knew him before would recognize him now."

"He was very pliable," Nieme agreed. Her fingers lightly stroked the tops of her breasts as she watched him disappear into the closet. "I wonder if Rae will be so easy to train."

"I think once we get our hands on her again," Dani said, "she'll come around. Especially with Ferrig on our side."

"Between our legs you mean?" Nieme giggled and slipped out of bed. Dani's arms were opened and waiting for her before Nieme reached her lover. They embraced with surprising tenderness considering their dark and violent nature. "Why can't they leave us alone?" she murmured. "Those meddling Jedi... Can't they let people just be happy?"

"Only if it's their brand of happiness," Dani said. "That's all that matters to them. And, Ferrig likes it between our legs very much. And, considering his talents, I'm quite happy to have him there."

Nieme grinned and nuzzled her lips to Dani's throat. "We know how to choose them, don't we? A talent...one of many."

"We do indeed," Dani answered. "He's surprised me. I never would have guessed that he was so good, or that he could be so...devoted."

Nieme smiled up at Dani, then over her shoulder as she sensed Ferrig's returning presence. Her eyes devoured his appearance and unconsciously, Nieme purred. "Oh, Ferrig," she moaned. "Come closer...."

Ferrig obediently obeyed and hurried to Nieme's side. He wore a pair of thick boots that came to just below his knees. His legs were covered in a thin, leathery material that conformed to his muscles, but there were many gaps in the leather to allow his bronzed flesh to peek through. He wore no shirt other than a harness whose straps ran vertically over each shoulder and then across. A collar circled his throat, a sign that he was theirs. He was not required to wear the collar all the time, especially when they lay in their own rooms. But he willingly put it on whenever they ventured out. He bowed low before Nieme.

"Our pet," she breathed, sliding her hand down his back. "You're so good...so loyal.... Why couldn't you have been this way before?"

"Before," Ferrig said, leaning down to kiss her shoulder, "I was lost." He met her eyes. "But, you found me, and saved me."

"And we'd save you all over again," she whispered, "just to see you transformed into such a marvelous creature." Nieme stroked the underside of his chin with one finger, then pointed to the door. "Lead us. We always look especially regal when you're walking ahead."

"As you desire," Ferrig said, his voice earnest and filled with his desire for her, as well as the desire to do whatever he could to please her. And with that, he moved toward the door ahead of Nieme and Dani.

"I get so very warm just watching him," Dani whispered.

"I feel the same way just thinking about him," Nieme added, and slipped her arm through her lover's. Together, they moved to their wardrobe to select attire appropriate for shocking the sensitive citizens of New Plouton.

Dani chose a sheer silvery top and a thong, then added a pair of thigh-high boots that also gave her several extra centimeters of height. Her hair fell in waves down over her shoulders and back. She looked over at Ferrig, who was waiting obediently by the door, and he nodded his approval vigourously. She gave him a lusty smile, then turned her attention back to Nieme.

Nieme's outfit was far more understated than Dani's, but no less appealing. Her long, black robe was all that covered her torso, and only concealed her chest using a single button at the base of her bosom - the remaining length of the cape splayed open to expose her bare abdomen, and purple, clinging shorts cut to the fork of her groin kept hidden that which should otherwise have been. Black boots, much like Dani's, ended mid-thigh, and to one of them her lightsaber was strapped. The two women were ready, and Nieme rejoined Dani with a large grin.

"We're going to wreak havoc today, my love. I can feel it."

"Oh, I can too," Dani said. "Well, we'll certainly let them know we're back. Come, let's go introduce our subjects to their empresses."

Following Ferrig's eager lead, Nieme and Dani strode through the corridors of Jadda's palace with a regal air. If they had their way eventually, they truly would be royalty, with Raeila, Tala, and Ferrig their obedient subjects.

***

"Oh, Nieme," Dani purred as she held up a rather extravagant looking outfit, "look over here at this. It's beautiful. I think we should each have one."

The material was sheer and glistened to reflect a deep red shade as Nieme's fingers brushed over the dress's skirt. She imagined it was best to wear nothing at all beneath this particular garment. "One each," she agreed. "Different colours, though, so we can share!"

"Oh, definitely," Dani answered. "What about this one." She pulled one that was a deep, almost-black purple from the rack. "How about this one? I think Ferrig would like this one too."

Nieme's smile grew lascivious. "Well...why not ask him." She turned to where Ferrig was leaning attractively against a bare wall of the shop, one knee drawn up and his foot resting flat against the surface, while both arms crossed his firm chest. Nieme chuckled throatily. "Ferrig! We need your opinion on something."

Ferrig smiled and quickly pushed himself from the wall and approached them. "It is an honour to be able to help in any way," he said.

"This colour," Dani said, holding up the dress. "What do you think?"

"It is a very beautiful shade," Ferrig said. "It will go well with your skin tone, for certain. It has a regal, imperial look to it. Wearing that colour will draw attention to you for certain. Either of you."

"You mean...we don't normally draw it?" Nieme pouted playfully and hooked a finger under one of the straps running across Ferrig's chest. She tugged him closer, just until their bodies were mere centimeters apart. "Aren't we attractive?" she asked him, her lips brushing over his chin.

"No words could ever describe your beauty," Ferrig whispered. "You surpass all that is beautiful and perfect. Were I blind, you would still draw me to you, as a scakri to a flame. This colour, and the other would heighten that beauty, for certain." He grinned. "I apologize, my empress, if I misspoke. You draw attention wherever you go."

Nieme grinned, satisfied, and imperiously brushed Ferrig away. "Much better. For a moment there, I thought you'd forgotten your damn manners." She sighed airily to Dani, and took the purple dress from the rack. "Lovely choice, my flower."

"Thank you, my star," Dani said with a knowing smile. "I guess he isn't quite perfection yet. Though, look at that face. I think it greatly upsets him that you might be upset with him. How very devoted and loyal."

"Or frightened," Nieme mused. She slung both dresses over Ferrig's shoulder, then gestured for him to proceed out of the shop. "Dani, my love," she drawled as Ferrig obeyed, "care to convince the shopkeeper we don't need to pay?" As she spoke, the young woman was already striding towards them.

"Oh, I would be delighted," Dani said with a sly grin. "Hard or soft? She does look a tasty treat, but we do have more shopping to do."

"Just enough, my love, to keep her from pursuing." Nieme smiled ferally at the tall, gaunt woman as she came up behind them and tapped Dani persistently on the shoulder.

"Your animal is stealing my merchandise, alien!"

Dani looked at the woman's hand with a sneer, then turned her gaze on the woman herself. "If it were your merchandise," she said, "of course." She then dropped her voice into a much more hypnotic timbre. "The dresses are ours. We may leave with them if we desire."

The woman's brow creased, and her eyes were suddenly dazed. "The dresses...are yours," she struggled to say. "You--" She clenched her eyes shut and turned her head aside, resisting. Nieme scoffed and with one perfectly placed fist in between the woman's eyes, she collapsed unconscious to the ground.

"Well." Nieme grinned and held out an elbow to Dani. "Shall we?"

Dani slipped her arm into Nieme's and grinned back at her lover. "We shall," she said. "And, I think it's time we had our beautiful animal decorated. What should we have done? He definitely needs our mark."

"Maybe in a matching place to Tala's," Nieme suggested. The shop's door slammed shut as they exited. Ferrig was waiting obediently for them. Giggling, Nieme swatted his rear to get him into motion once more. "So, would you like to bear our mark, Ferrig?"

"It would be my honour," Ferrig said, bowing his head to her.

Dani grinned, and rubbed her hand over his groin. "What about piercing him, Nieme? Should we?"

"My love," Nieme chided, "I thought that was a given." Giggling, Nieme and Dani skipped their way down the street, forcing aside pedestrians as necessary to clear their path. "Dani?" Nieme asked, after a time. "Shall we drop by the palace today?"

"Oh, indeed," Dani said. "And Ferrig needs his tongue pierced too. Oh, he's just going to be a walking bundle of erotic stimulation."

"For today," Nieme mused, "shall we just work towards convincing the Twi'lek to get out of our chair?"

"Yes," Dani purred. "And, I think we should use a different approach with her. We just have to find her right buttons." She reached ahead of them and ran her hand over Ferrig's firm backside. "I think Ferrig can help us in this."

"Ferrig," Nieme sang, "would you like to be our button, precious?"

"If you wish me to," Ferrig answered with a smouldering glance back to Nieme, "it will be my second greatest joy...second only to loving you."

Nieme moaned happily. "Keep talking like that, and I'll be forced to haul you into an alley and make you prove it."

"And, I would willingly do so," Ferrig said. "I will gladly prove myself to you whenever you desire, my empress. I exist to serve you faithfully, and love you without hesitation."

"He makes me wet just listening to him," Dani purred. "Hopefully he will be able to turn those beautiful charms on dear Miss Kovan and help us convince her of her true place."

"At a Hutt's side?" Nieme surmised, then both girls giggled. That was precisely where they planned to deposit Oot Kovan when they were through with her.

"Come," Dani said as she slipped her hand into Nieme's. "I'm sure she misses us terribly. I think it's time we were reacquainted."

With their day of mayhem planned, Nieme and Dani, accompanied by their devoted slave, swept through New Plouton like a pestilence of the blackest evil, laughing exuberantly all the way.

---

"Outing, Part 1"
By: Talara Sorenne
Laedra Vorrel

Location: Jedi Temple; New Plouton
Date: Lythe 20, 4 ABY

***

Talara Sorenne's balance had improved considerably, though she'd always had pretty good balance. She stood on one branch of the tree, balanced on one branch while she reached out with her senses. The concentration required was immense, and she'd already fallen three times since they'd arrived. She was doing much better this time, and was in no danger of falling. Her task was to identify as many unique sounds as she could while maintaining her position in the tree and while using as little of the Force as possible to do so.

"Seventy-three," she finally said, to Master Laedra Vorrel, who waited on the branch back behind her. "Fifty of them are birds, seven were small animals, eight were other Padawans, one was your stomach, and the other twelve were various trees swaying in the breeze."

Laedra was nodding throughout, then stopped to ask, "My stomach?" She laughed gently. "Very good. You're now equipped with the ability to discern when your master is craving lunch."

Talara grinned back at Laedra. "I could almost sense every sound, within as well as with my ears. And I wasn't even using the Force."

"We do not rely on the Force for everything," Laedra reminded her. "During our training, we are able to enhance the senses we already possess, naturally. All it takes is focus, much of the time."

Talara smiled and then turned on the branch to face her master. "I will remember that, Master. What is next?"

"Oh, I don't know." Laedra sighed and stretched out her legs along the length of the thick branch, while reclining against the trunk. "Talara, let us speak. We haven't talked much about your time with Dani and Nieme...and I believe we should."

Talara nodded solemnly. "Yes, Master," she said. "May I sit?"

Laedra gestured for her to do so, and watched with approval as Tasia settled onto the branch with ease and grace. "You've matured so much since I first met you, Padawan," Laedra mused. "Though...that likely has much to do with your time under Dani and Nieme's influence."

Tala looked down at her hands. "They did teach me much about pleasure and sex," she said. "But, I feel I have learned more from you, about how to be a person. With them, it was about manipulations and control for power. Here, I must think and search within myself for answers, not in the bed of someone they've found on the streets. I believe they forced me to mature physically, but what I have learned from you is deeper."

"Truly?" Laedra nodded slowly. "If so...why did you steal away with them a second time, Talara?"

"My body yearned for what they offered," she said, eyes focused into her lap, anywhere but Laedra's eyes. "And...and I cannot fight them, not physically. They would have taken me by force either way, and...and I had to protect...protect Ferrig and Raeila. But, I failed at that too..."

"You did," Laedra answered without accusation or disappointment. "But as a Jedi, one must learn to accept their failures and mistakes. You erred, Tala, but through meditation and dedication to the way of the Force, you can atone for that." She smiled. "Is that what you wish for?"

Talara looked up at Laedra. "It is why I am here now," she said. "It's why I came back. I want to be a Jedi Knight."

"That is admirable, Talara...but with regards to your sexuality, will you abide by the rules we've laid down, or do you wish to be sexually active?"

"I wish to be me," Talara said. "I wish to be as sexually active as the masters who are my examples."

"And when you are a Jedi Master," Laedra explained, "you may be. But that can only detract from your progress and draw attention away from your training. With Ferrig gone...is it even something you still desire?"

"It is a yearning within me, but he is the only one who can truly fulfill it with me," Talara said. "So, if he returns yes, but as long as he is gone...no. But, even if he were here, when I am required to be training, that is what I shall do."

"And will your mind be there, even when he is not?" Laedra asked gently. "There are times when I know you aren't focused on training - you're thinking of him. It is an interference."

"I cannot abandon those I love," Talara answered sadly. "He is trapped there, with them...and...and he doesn't deserve that. No one does. Would your thoughts not go to Master Koran Darr were he held as their prisoner?"

"They would," Laedra admitted. "But not when I'm training or others are relying on me. One can find peace through meditation, Talara, especially when the source of your distress is the man you love."

"I am trying," Talara said softly. "It's...it's not easy though...it's...I'm afraid for him because he can't defend himself against them."

"They will not kill him," she assured her. "If that is what they planned, they would have done it already. You must set aside your fear, Tala. You know a Jedi can't afford such emotions."

"I know," Talara said. "But all we're doing is sitting here and waiting. And...and who knows what's happening to him while we sit."

"Then seek him out." Laedra's smile was kind and a touch amused. "Have I taught you nothing, Tala? Use the Force and seek him out."

Talara nodded, then smiled. She closed her eyes and reached out through the Force. She was still and silent for many long minutes before she finally grinned. "I found him," she said. "I found him and...and he's close. Not in the forest, but closer than the desert. He's...troubled, but happy." She frowned. "I sense enjoyment...and..." She opened her eyes, and they were filled with sadness. She sighed.

Laedra allowed Talara her moment of silence before saying gently, "He is with Nieme and Dani. I sensed them earlier. He is likely under their influence, Tala. Do not despair."

Talara nodded slowly. "Is there anything we can do? They'll be broken, Master. Nieme and Dani will break them."

"Then we," Laedra said fervently, "shall fix them, Padawan." She smiled at the young woman. "Come" --her legs swung over the edge of the branch-- "you require a calming swim." And Laedra fearlessly dropped off the branch towards the ground many feet below.

Talara smiled, and then followed Laedra down, landing lightly once she reached the ground. "I like that part," she said as they started off.

"Do you like it because Cole likes to watch?" Laedra teased with a smile.

Tala gasped. "He does? Oh my... I didn't know he... At least I set a good example."

"Well...just keep your senses open the next time you do wish to swim...unfettered." Laedra chuckled and winked at her young Padawan.

"Oh, I don't mind if he sees, I guess," Talara said. "He swims that way too. It's just my body...it'd be different if we were doing something naughty."

"He swims that way...with the girls?" Laedra asked, slightly troubled.

"Well, not really," Tala said. "It was only once with me and Zeezee, but it was fine. We just swam and stuff. I was almost disappointed because he barely even noticed me."

Laedra stopped, releasing a heavy sigh. "Tala" --her tone already held an air of disapproval-- "you will refrain from swimming nude with Cole Slaton. Is that understood?"

Talara nodded. "I understand, Master."

"But do you agree?" she asked.

"I understand that you do not wish for me to do so," Talara said. "But I do not understand why I shouldn't. But, you have told me not to, and that is enough."

"Then what is the point of ordering you to do something if you aren't certain of its purpose?" Laedra inquired.

"Initially, to stop me from doing something I shouldn't," Talara answered. "But, without knowing the reasons, I will not learn."

"Then you shall know the reasons," Laedra declared. There was silence while she contemplated an in-depth explanation. All she came up with was, "Because it's simply not right, Padawan."

"Why is it not right, Master?"

"Because there will be temptation," she stated decisively.

"I understand, Master," Talara said.

She sighed. "Of course you do, Talara," she muttered, then turned and resumed their trek towards the falls.

Talara grinned up at Laedra. "Thank you, Master."

Laedra smiled uncertainly. "For?"

"For speaking to me openly about this," Talara answered with a smile.

"I hardly have," Laedra admitted. "I am...not exactly comfortable discussing things of this nature, if you can forgive me."

"Of course, Master," Talara answered. "But you have given me guidance in this, despite your discomfort."

"Truly?" Laedra smiled and stood visibly taller. "I am glad I could provide assistance, Talara. You are my Padawan and...and you are very important to me."

Tala grinned. "You are important to me too, Master. I...it's...with Master Andro gone...I'm glad you are the one to train me now, Master." Thankfully she was walking ahead of Laedra, and her master wouldn't see the tears shining in her eyes.

"I don't expect to replace him, Talara," she assured the girl. It was a hesitant move, but Laedra reached forward and laid a hand on Talara's shoulder. "I know we have and will have our differences, Talara...but I really do wish to give you the best training I can. I want you to trust me."

"So do I," Talara said, then looked up and smiled at Laedra. "And, I do, Master. I was happy with Master Andro as my teacher, but I don't think I could have asked for anyone better than you after him."

Laedra chuckled. "But you didn't ask," she pointed out.

Tala laughed. "No, I didn't, and I wouldn't have known to ask for you if I did. But, I am happy with how things have worked out."

"I'm glad. Now" --they stopped before the reservoir, Laedra gesturing towards it-- "go on. You've done well for today."

Talara glanced to the water, then back to Laedra. She reached out with her senses, then smiled. "I do not sense Cole Slaton near."

Laedra chuckled. "Well...then feel free to bathe as you wish, Talara. When you are finished, return to me and we shall go through some teachings."

Tala quickly stripped out of her Jedi robes, waved to Laedra, and then ran and jumped into the water. The sounds of her cheerful splashing filled the area for nearly forty-five minutes before she returned to Laedra looking very refreshed. She grinned at her Master and flopped down onto the ground next to her clothing.

"Enjoyed yourself?" Laedra asked, eyes still closed as she slowly emerged from her meditative state.

"Yes," Talara answered as she lay back slightly to soak in what little sun was present and to dry herself before putting her clothing back on. "It was very refreshing."

"I'm glad." Laedra sighed and rose tall. "Now, dress. We're taking a trip."

"Yes, Master," Talara said as she quickly began to put her clothing back on. Once she was dressed again, she turned to Laedra. "I am ready, Master."

"Good." Laedra strode towards the Temple, calling back, "We're going into the city. I imagine Kael would appreciate some company."

Talara hurried after Laedra, still pulling her clothing on. After hopping for a few steps trying to pull on a boot, she decided the boots could wait, and ran after her master to catch up. "We're going into the city with Kael? He's...he's pretty amazing, isn't he?"

"He is," Laedra affirmed. "He has come far in such a short time. You should look to him as an example, Talara."

Talara nodded. "I will, Master," she said. "Thank you, Master. I am certain with your guidance and example, and Kael's example, I will do really well. I'll be able to become a Jedi."

"That, Talara," Laedra said, "must come from you, not others. We can only provide you with tools to help in your journey; the drive and talent comes from within."

"But it is so difficult to get lost without good guidance," Talara answered. "And, you and Kael will be my guides on the path to becoming a Jedi Knight."

Laedra smiled, and slowed for Talara to catch up. "You truly admire Kael, don't you, Talara?"

"I do," Talara said, then blushed. "And, not just because he's so attractive. He's...he's a good Jedi, and I want to be like that."

Laedra sighed. "Do you find most men attractive, Talara? Jedi normally should not be so moony."

"Not most men," Talara said. "But...is it wrong to find a man attractive? It's not like I really want to sleep with them all...but they are nice to look at."

"All?" Laedra quoted, then sighed wearily. "We have much work ahead of us, do we not, Talara?" she teased.

Tala giggled. "I'm trying to be good!'

Laedra gave her a stern look. "Try harder, Padawan." Then softened the rebuke with a smile and led her towards the speeder. "At least you can fight," she consoled the girl. "That's something."

"I can also hear your tummy when it growls," Talara said as she bounded toward the speeder. She stopped just short of it and quickly pulled her boots on, then hopped inside.

Unseen to Talara, Laedra took a moment to send a prayer up to whatever gods inhabited the Temple, asking for the stamina she would require to train Talara to completion. Exhaling deeply, Laedra took her place beside Tala in the speeder and set it into motion.

They made good time reaching the city and parked the speeder just at the forest's edge. A long walk would do much towards expending some of Talara's excess energy. The sidewalks were sparsely occupied that afternoon, and many of the pedestrians who recognized their Jedi robes nodded their heads in greeting. It was a pleasant change from being reviled and shunned; Laedra found herself smiling much that day.

"Where are we going to meet Kael?" Talara asked as they paced their way through the city streets. She hadn't spent much time in the city with Andro, and now, as they moved along at a leisurely pace, she could truly wonder. There were no cities like this one on Naboo, and it was remarkable. Her eyes seemed to be everywhere at once as she tried to take in everything at once. "I couldn't imagine living at the top of one of those..."

Laedra followed Tala's gaze to the tall building standing high above all the others, and smiled. "That is the Estri-Casren Tower," she told the young girl. "An acquaintance of ours owns a portion of it and runs his business from one of the offices at the very top. We can drop in later if you wish for a tour."

"Really?" Tala asked, her excitement bubbling. Then she quickly constrained her enthusiasm. "I would like that very much if it is acceptable, Master."

Laedra chuckled. "It is." She gestured her padawan to follow as they turned a corner onto a street offering shops of many varieties. Talara's eyes were larger than the Tae'Karadan moon in its full phase. "If you desire something, Tala, you will tell me?"

"Of course, Master," Talara answered. "Right now...I just want to see more. It's all so...so tall. I think if I stood on top of one of the buildings, I could touch the station in orbit."

Talara's wonderment reminded Laedra of her own as a youth. She smiled fondly at the girl, and knew that in this moment, she would give her anything she asked for. "One day, we shall visit the station as well. Would that be acceptable, Talara?"

Talara grinned up at Laedra. "Yes, Master," she said. "That would be very acceptable."

"I am so very glad, Padawan," Laedra teased, but all humour vanished as a fluctuation in the Force tugged at Laedra's senses. She glanced down at Talara to gauge if her Padawan was perceptive enough to detect the same.

Talara closed her eyes briefly, and then opened them. "There," she called, then pointed toward an alley across the street from them. "They're there!"

"They certainly are, Padawan," Laedra replied grimly, and without the need for a vocal command to her Padawan, Laedra and Talara rushed towards the source of distress. Even in their haste, they were careful to avoid jostling pedestrians, all of whom followed the two Jedi, robes flaring out behind them, as they dashed to the rescue. "Remember all you've learned, Padawan," she advised Talara.

"I remember," Talara called as she bounded across the street after Laedra.

They reached the other side of the street without incident, and once they arrived at the head of the alley, they could see the source of the trouble within. A group of six thugs had a woman cornered in the back of the alley, and were advancing menacingly upon her.

Laedra and Talara shared an unamused look - it seemed the men of New Plouton had little else to do other than harass defenseless women. Sighing, Laedra called out to the men, who halted and, as one, turned their heads to observe Laedra and Talara at the alley's entrance. Their collective smiles were leering.

"Back away," she warned.

One of the men laughed, and immediately the others sounded off with their own laughter. "Why don't you go back to minding your own business like the rest of the rabble that live here," he called. "This doesn't concern you. It's between us, and our lovely little whore."

"Judging from her look of repulsion," Laedra quipped, "it doesn't appear she wishes to have any relations with you, young man."

Another of the thugs cackled with catty laughter, while proceeding to rub at his groin lewdly. "The chick's jealous. She just wants some of this for herself."

"I want the little girl," one of the others said as he pulled himself out of his pants and began massaging his erection. "Fresh meat."

Talara frowned and then made a face that indicated her own disgust.

"Step in line ladies, and we'll get to you," said the apparent leader.

The woman screamed and thrashed as hands gripped her waist, and others stealing beneath her skirt. Laedra could tolerate no more. Two of the more feisty participants staggered away at Laedra's tacit bidding, much to their surprise, allowing the woman a route of escape. She took it, with the rest of the brutes quickly in pursuit. Laedra raised her hand in a staying gesture, and the boys were pushed back. The woman stumbled in her frantic flee, but Talara was close enough to catch her.

"Send her on her way," Laedra advised her Padawan.

Despite her small stature, Talara easily caught the woman and whispered soothing words to her. They backed slowly away from the alley, leaving Laedra to fend off the thugs for the moment. Even though she was moving away, though, Tala kept part of her attention focused on her master.

"Surrender," Laedra told the gang as they regrouped before her.

"Kiss it, Jedi bitch," one of the boys spat, gesticulating with a thrust of his hips. The others mimicked him, supplying catcalls and jeering laughter for additional taunting. Laedra sighed wearily.

"Go home," she told them, "or I will call the New Plouton policing taskforce."

"And tell them what?" a particularly short, hog-nosed member snorted. "That we're misbehaving?"

"Maybe we just need a spanking," another interjected, and bent over, rear-end waving in the air. More snickers and laughter erupted.

Rolling her eyes, Laedra summoned a slat of wood littering the ground with the other rubble, and sent it hurtling towards the tactless brute, whose waggling rear it connected with in a resounding clap. He yelped and sprang upwards, hands going to his throbbing backside. The rest of his cohort took offense for their wounded friend and charged Laedra.

"Here we go," she muttered, and took up a defensive posture.

---

"Outing, Part 2"
By: Talara Sorenne
Laedra Vorrel
Dani
Nieme Yaresh
Ferrig Mullerin
Kael Selrid

Location: New Plouton
Date: Lythe 20, 4 ABY

***

Laedra was quickly into the thick of the melee, and it was only a moment later when Talara was back and helping her. They were just thugs, and not particularly adept or dangerous, not against two Jedi. Tala tripped the feet out from under one, and then proceeded to use the Force to pull one of his friends away from Laedra. It seemed as if none of them could touch Laedra, who wielded the Force masterfully against the hooligans.

"Oh," a voice suddenly called from the edge of the alley, "what a yummy little fight this is."

Without peering back, Laedra knew things had gotten worse. Dani and Nieme were directly behind them, and she had failed to sense their approach. Swatting one of the clumsy hoodlums in the rear with her boot as she sidestepped him, Laedra gained a free moment to spin around and face the two girls. Ferrig was with them, and the sight of him - subjugated and leashed - pained her.

"I wish I could say this is a pleasure" --she paused to blindly thrust back another of the thugs behind her-- "but that would not be honest."

Dani's hand dipped down between her legs and she moaned. "Give us a few minutes, and I'm sure we can make it quite pleasurable."

"No," Laedra replied dully, "that's quite alright." The ponderous veil of darkness already falling over her dulled Laedra's senses and weakened her link to the Force. Laedra turned back to the battle in time to avoid receiving a crack to the skull from a metal rod procured by one of the thugs. Although her perception was being affected by Dani and Nieme's presence, her reflexes were still intact. She caught the pipe, her hands absorbing the blunt impact; suppressing a wince, Laedra wrenched it from the boy's grip and shoved him away with the flat of her boot.

"Ferrig," Talara gasped once she'd turned to see him there with Nieme and Dani. "Oh gods..."

"Talara," Dani cooed. "If you come with us, he won't be harmed. Defy us again, and you won't want to see him after this. So tragic. Come with us, and he'll be safe. Defy him, and he'll wish he were dead."

Tala sobbed, and turned back to Laedra. She kicked out one leg and tripped up one of the thugs before he could attack Lae. "Master," she sobbed.

"Retain your focus, Padawan," she instructed sternly. The felled ruffians were tenaciously rising for another round. "Secure your emotions and ignore them, Talara."

Nieme snorted. "Impossible! She's crumbling before your eyes, Laedra. Your training means nothing in the face of what we offer." She ran her fingers over the curve of Ferrig's shoulder, grinning slyly. "Come with us, Tala. You can be together."

Talara closed her eyes tightly, pulling the Force into herself, fighting against the black temptation Nieme and Dani offered. "Help him," she whispered for only Laedra to here. "Please..."

Talara's entreaties struck Laedra to her core - otherwise emotionless, Laedra's sympathy was piqued and she was unable to suppress it. Still refraining from drawing her weapon, Laedra squared off with Nieme and Dani, and bowed her head. "It seems I cannot allow you to leave with Ferrig."

Dani laughed. "Oh, you can't, can you? And, how, my dear frigid Jedi Master, do you propose to do that?"

"Oh, I know," Nieme drawled. She chuckled throatily. "She wishes to fight us."

"Are you going to fight us over our little pet, Laedra Vorrel? Are you going to fight to save poor little Ferrig? And, what if Ferrig prefers it here with us? Will you force him away from that?"

"Ferrig," Laedra called to him. He barely met her gaze. "Ferrig Mullerin, do you wish to remain with these two women?"

There was a hesitation before Ferrig answered. "What I want is irrelevant," he said. "I am theirs, and my needs and desires are secondary." He brushed a hand against Nieme's thigh. "If my desires mattered, I would desire to remain."

Nieme smiled proudly. Laedra frowned. "And does your love for Talara mean nothing? Does her pain?"

"If she were to come with us," Ferrig answered, "she would be without pain."

Laedra inclined her head at him, ignoring Nieme and Dani's smirks. "Talara," she called to her Padawan. "Do you wish to go with Dani and Nieme?"

"No," Talara said softly. "But...but I don't want him to be hurt."

Dani laughed. "Oh it is quite a dilemma, isn't it? The choice is yours, Laedra Vorrel. Let her go to save her lover...or keep her away, and Ferrig suffers."

"The choice is hardly mine," she replied. "You will, in the end, do what you like, no matter what I decide. Is that not so?"

"It's true," Dani said with a laugh. "But I'm not dear Talara's master yet. That honour is still yours. So, will you allow her to go with us? She can become our devoted pet like Ferrig. But, most importantly, she can be with him. Will you fight us on this, or will you allow her to come to us freely?"

"There is no freedom involved at all in this," Laedra informed them. "This is coercion and I will not allow Talara to go, and I will not allow you to leave with Ferrig, no matter what the fool says."

Nieme chuckled throatily and drew Ferrig into her half embrace. "Don't be stupid, Laedra Vorrel. Ferrig likes sleeping in our bed, as does Talara. Now are we going to have to kill you, or will you let the girl come with us?"

Laedra gave no reply, save for the barest of smiles directed at the two. She stood her ground, and Nieme sighed. "My love," she said to Dani, "I think she wishes to die."

"I think she does too," Dani answered. "And, I think she wishes for Ferrig to die as well. How very mean, she is." She raised a hand, and clenched a fist. In response, Ferrig dropped to the ground, his hands immediately going to his throat. "So be it."

"Release him," Laedra ordered calmly, even though she could feel Talara's terror mounting. "You do not wish to test me, girls."

"Oh, don't we?" Nieme jeered, and whipped out her lightsaber to quickly place the ignited blade at Ferrig's chest. "Try us."

Laedra obeyed with a stiff nod. "Talara, you will go to them."

"Yes, Master," Talara answered. Her eyes found Laedra's and she nodded. Then meekly crossed the distance toward Nieme and Dani.

"That's a good girl," Nieme cooed, and opened one arm to Talara. "Soon you and Ferrig will be together."

"Perhaps," Laedra said. "Will you now release your hold on him?"

Dani glanced to Nieme. Her concentration was on holding Ferrig without killing him, and she lacked the talent to determine if Laedra was planning something duplicitous.

"We will release him once we are safely on our way," Nieme answered with a reassuring nod for her lover.

Laedra bowed her head in acknowledgement. "If you so wish."

"We wish," Dani said. "Come, Talara. By our side."

Tala moved between the two, tears filling her eyes. "Ferrig?"

"I'm alright," he rasped, then choked. "Fine..."

"Now, back away," Dani called back to Laedra.

"I will not interfere," she assured them.

Nieme smirked. "You know, my love," she told Dani, eyes narrowed at Laedra, "she's actually telling the truth. Much appreciated, Laedra."

"I doubt that," she quipped.

Dani blew Laedra a kiss. "Now turn around, Laedra my dear," she said. "We're going to leave now, and I want your attention elsewhere when we go."

"Except if it's on our backsides," Nieme giggled.

Laedra, however, obeyed, turning to face the subdued thugs now scattered about the alley. Calmly, and shielding her thoughts from the girls, Laedra relayed the message she'd been waiting to express: Now.

In response, from above, the telltale snap-hiss of a lightsaber sounded through the alley. A figure dropped from above, twin glowing blades held firmly in his hands. One verdant, one cobalt, both held ready in defense against the two dark Jedi. With a Force-aided shove, he pushed Talara out of the way, but couldn't get to Ferrig with Dani's protections around him. The presence he radiated in the alley was phenomenal. Dipping into a crouch, he prepared for them both. "Ferrig stays with us."

"No he doesn't," Dani answered, "we need him for when we get dear Raeila back from the Hutt. I'm sure she'll be craving some human cock then."

Nieme smiled viciously as her eyes ranged over Kael's body. "Just as I do.... Put the weapon away, Kael and we can have some alone time."

"No," Laedra stated firmly. Her blade had ignited simultaneously with Kael's, and was now aimed at the two girls. "Give up Ferrig, Dani. You are outnumbered." Presuming Talara was capable of fighting, Laedra hoped.

"Never," Dani cried, then raised her hands and sent arcs of blue-white fire into the alley. "Go," she called back to Nieme. She sent another burst of fire outward, keeping the Jedi at bay. "This isn't over! Not even close to over!"

"Dani!" Nieme unclipped her lightsaber and charged Kael, who had slipped away from Dani's volleys in an attempt to flank them. Laedra was absorbing the tendrils with her weapon, and from the strain around her eyes, it was proving quite the challenge to control her lightsaber under the onslaught. Ferrig was still standing devotedly by Dani's side, and with a single tug on his chain, Nieme jerked him towards her. She caught him by the throat and bared her teeth at Kael. "Do you want him dead?!"

"If you kill him," Kael answered as he took a step back and assumed a defensive stance, "you lose whatever protection you have. While he lives, you're safe. If he dies, there's nothing to stop me from ending your darkness. Kill him, Nieme, and you will be the next to die."

"That's only if you can kill me," she sneered. "But you won't, will you?" Her smile was unmistakably lascivious. "You love me, Kael," she whispered. "Wouldn't you rather screw me than kill me?"

Kael leveled the cobalt blade and Nieme's throat. "I wouldn't be too sure of that if I were you," he said.

She giggled at him and said, "That's not what Raeila thinks. She knows all about your wedding day, Kael. Why bother pretending to be good for her? She doesn't want you anymore, so just give in," she urged him. "Come with us, Kael."

"I pity you, Nieme," Kael said, unphased by her words. "And, what you've become. Whatever we had before is gone, and will never be had again. I will not go with you, not now or ever again. That is over."

"As is your marriage," she quipped with a weary sigh. "But...if your choice has been made...." Her smile stretched, and from Kael's wary gaze he was conscious that Nieme would attempt something, but precisely what was shielded from him, until she deigned to demonstrate. As vapour carried by the breeze, Nieme had whirled away and thrown Ferrig into Kael. She heard a cry - one male and one female voice in unison - and from the palpable tide of pain washing over her, Nieme was pleasantly aware of Ferrig's injury at the point of Kael's weapon. She giggled as he crumpled to the ground, after which Talara rushed to his side. Nieme then eagerly launched herself at Kael.

Kael's second weapon came around and stopped Nieme's charge in mid-flight, weapons clashing loudly. With Talara seeing to Ferrig, Kael had to focus on defending his own life. He spun away, both weapons flashing as Nieme continued after him. Once they were far enough away, he then changed tactics and pressed his attack.

Nieme had the sneaking suspicion two lightsabers was considered cheating, and she would have said as much if her focus wasn't fully devoted to avoiding both whirling blades. She parried and thrust, Kael's weapons trapping hers between them. With a growl she pulled her purple blade free and flipped back from him. From the corner of her eye she noted pink and purple arcs of light clashing and sizzling. There wasn't a moment to worry for her lover, for Kael had advanced upon her again.

"You're good," she grunted, and slashed towards his chest.

Kael parried her attack aside, and pushed her back with a lunge from the other weapon. "I'm a Jedi Knight," was his answer. "It's not too late to turn from the path of darkness, Nieme. It's not too late to save yourself." He used the Force to somersault over her, but she managed to get her defenses up before he could strike. "Don't force us to hunt you until we've destroyed you."

"That's assuming you can," she riposted verbally, just as her lightsaber swung downwards to do the same. Kael swatted her blade aside, and Nieme spun with the provided momentum to attempt a similar attack on his left side, against which Kael executed the same defense. Nieme whirled in the opposite direction while dropping low to swipe at his ankles with her extended leg. Kael leapt over the predictable attack and Nieme recovered by rolling away, cackling in delight at the exercise in fun.

As Nieme was rolling, Kael reached out through the Force and shoved. Nieme gained speed faster than she could compensate, and with a shriek she crashed into the dense, ferrocrete wall. She was thrown flat on her face from the impact, and her weapon skittered away. Nieme groaned and struggled to collect herself from the now tangled heap she was in.

Kael leapt after Nieme, not letting the moment pass. He knew there would be few other chances to catch Nieme, especially when she was armed. But now... He landed at her side, and started to bring his lightsaber down.

Dani's call, stopped him short. "Another move, and Laedra Vorrel dies." When Kael turned, he saw that the tip of Lae's lightsaber had been sheared off, making the blade useless. Dani's blade was held to her throat, and her glare was focused on Kael. "Step away and we leave. Get up, Nieme."

She nodded sluggishly, and with plenty of grunts, she managed to regain her footing, albeit unsteadily. Holding out a hand, she summoned her lightsaber into it, then hurried to Dani's side. "We should take her with us," Nieme said eagerly. "I've always wondered what it would be like to have her." She passed her eyes over Laedra's lithe frame and moaned happily.

"No," Kael answered, "you'll take yourselves and go."

Nieme smirked at him. "We'll take what we want, Kael, or haven't you learned that yet?" Staring past his shoulder at Talara, holding Ferrig's head in her lap, Nieme called out, "Tala! Get him up. We're leaving."

Talara looked up at Nieme and glared. "No," she said, though it was more of a snarl. "You can't have him anymore. Not...not like this."

"And who are you to decide that?" she snapped. "Tala, don't disobey us! Get up and walk!"

"She will not," Laedra Vorrel stated calmly, despite her precarious situation. "Talara has chosen. You must accept that."

"Oh," Dani purred, "she does, does she? And, who are you to dictate anything with your head so close to being removed from your body? Tala, come with us, and we'll save him."

Tala put her forehead to Ferrig's and whispered her response. Dani's face darkened with the denial.

"Talara, come with us now, or I'll make certain the Hutt himself repeatedly rapes Raeila! And, we'll send you the holo-recordings for your enjoyment! Send her to us, Master Laedra. Send her, or we'll see it happen!"

"I will not," Laedra stated with resolve. "Your petty threats cannot sway us. The end of your vile ways is near, so leave now, while you can."

"Shut up!" Nieme shrieked and reached for Dani's weapon to drive it fully into Laedra's throat. She was thrown back by a single command from Laedra, in the same instant as Dani's arms were flung away, allowing Laedra a timely escape. The two were held down by unyielding vises of the Force established by Laedra and Kael.

"We will let you live...but you are returning with us to the Temple."

"Never," Dani cried. "We're not going back! You can't make us! Let us go, or you will be sorry!"

"As we are now?" Laedra smiled chidingly. "Dani...Nieme" --the girl struggled more violently against her invisible restraints upon hearing her name-- "you have been gripped by darkness and have lost all freedom of will. This is not the life you want, and if you let us, we can help you realize that."

"How can you?" Dani growled. "How can you pretend to be all good and benevolent, and then turn around and give people the life you believe they need. You're just as dark! At least we don't hide what we are!"

"You don't know what you are," Laedra responded. "You've been tainted by the darkness - you've lost yourselves. The Dani and Nieme we know would never choose a life like this. They would never harm those they loved, not as you have!"

"I know that we are the same. I know that we gave people as much choice as you're giving us here. You will force us to be who you think we should be, regardless of what we want. If you are what a Jedi is, I don't want that!"

"What defines a Jedi," Laedra told them slowly, "is our quest to keep peace, to maintain balance in the Force. You both are opposing everything we have strived to do. You condone and perpetrate violence, depravity - you are depriving others of their freedom to choose. Ferrig, Talara.... You are forcing your will upon them." Her eyes narrowed as she whispered, "You are darkness. We are light, and you will be banished sooner or later, Nieme and Dani. Whether it is through death or reform...the choice truly is yours."

"And your forcing us is the highest form of hypocrisy," Dani said, a smile forming on her lips. "You're just a different shade of darkness, Laedra Vorrel. You're just forcing your will upon us, trying to force us to be like you. And, I hope you succeed, because then we'll just be back to where we are now." She raised an eyebrow. "I just hope you don't expect us to be frigid, sexless, humourless droids like yourself. If you think you can tame us, I dare you to try. I dare you, Empress of Ice, to try to make us as chilly and sexless as you. Prepare for failure."

"Then you will come back with us?" Laedra asked.

"No!" Nieme hollered. "Dani, don't!"

"Dani," Laedra said softly, holding her gaze. "Dani...I know you want to try - somewhere within you, you do. You will not be held prisoner, I promise. Just listen to what we have to say, and if you don't approve, you will be free to go."

"I go where Nieme goes," Dani answered. "And, if you don't let us go, there will be no one to make sure that Raeila doesn't end up in pieces. I'm sure that would tear poor Kael up, wouldn't it? I hear she's currently quite the favourite in Jadda's stable of whores."

"Silence," Laedra snapped while maintaining her composure. "You may leave, but I warn you both now: steer clear of New Plouton. You will never be welcome here." She looked aside at Kael, encouraging him to release his hold on Nieme.

Kael waiting for a moment longer, then nodded, releasing Nieme as he did so. Laedra did the same to Dani. "We are leaving, and you will not interfere," Laedra informed them.

"Of course," Dani said with a glare. She glanced to Nieme, then back to the others.

Talara gazed intently at Nieme. "If he dies..."

"Oh, it's just a scratch," Nieme jeered, and collected herself from the ground. "Ferrig," she sang. "Ferrig, if you can hear us, my boy, get up before the bad Jedi take you away."

Ferrig stirred, then struggled to his knees.

"Ferrig, no," Tala sobbed. "Please, don't leave me."

"I love you, Tala," Ferrig whispered, then kissed her. "I...I have to..." He then whispered something that only Talara could hear. She nodded, then he struggled to his feet and limped his way toward Nieme and Dani. The pain he was in was obvious, but his compulsion to go with them was too strong.

"Ferrig, don't..." Laedra warned. "Please, do not go with them."

Ferrig stopped in front of Nieme and Dani. "I have to," he answered, holding her gaze. There was a burning message there, something deep and needful that had nothing to do with sex or slavery. "I must."

Laedra searched his eyes, noted the fierce determination gripping his expression, and simply bowed her head. Nieme giggled and came up beside him to roughly clasp his arm. "Come on, pet. We'll make you feel all better."

Ferrig winced as a lance of pain shot through the wound in his side. "Yes, mistress," he answered, then looked back at Talara once more before being led off. Each step away from her seemed to shatter his heart even more.

Laedra and Kael watched them go, and a sense of helplessness overcame them. Laedra sighed and holstered her damaged weapon, while Talara remained on the ground, watching her lover depart. "Damn them to hell," Laedra muttered.

"We'll get him back," Kael answered. "He's under their spell, but there's enough of Ferrig there to know what's going on. He won't leave Raeila alone down there...that's why he's going back. We have to get them out and soon...before there's nothing left of them to get back."

Laedra knew of the dangers, and also knew the reasons for Ferrig's decision. From the sight of Talara, though, she wondered if her Padawan could accept them. With a heavy sigh, she moved to her Padawan and, smiling for comfort, she wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders. "It isn't over, Talara. I promise."

Talara looked up at her master with tear-filled eyes. "Thank you, Master," she whispered.

She nodded and led Talara away, but not without sparing Kael a glance and mouthing a thank-you.

Kael nodded gravely as he watched them go. Once they'd left the alley, he notified the authorities on his comlink, giving them the location of the thugs still unconscious in the alley. With that taken care of, he disappeared back out into the city to continue his vigil and await Dani and Nieme's next move.

---

"First Steps"
By Kya Ryklos

Location: Space around Chimaeria, Thanatos
Date: Lythe 20, 4ABY

***

The ship dropped out of hyperspace. Finally. She was someplace where she knew there wouldn't be too many problems making a life for herself. The Tae'Remok system. She had heard people talk about it, but never imagined a place this far out in the Rim.

The past two months on the run had been hard for Kya. Finding odd jobs anywhere she could to pay for maintenance on her ship, The Devil's Pride, was hard enough. Doing most of the repairs herself was even harder.

Mathen had taught her how to keep the ship together, but there were still things that Kya was not sure of. Like the hyperdrive. It cost her 12,000 creds on Tatooine to get fixed - and that was having a "friend" do it. "Some friend," she thought to herself.

It was not that money was a problem. After Mathen died a few years ago, Kya gained access to her accounts and transferred all of the money to her own account. And it was a lot of money. The problem was just getting it done in a timely manner. Kya did not like Tatooine. She had to deal with the moisture farmers, and those were people that Kya just did not understand. Of course, being from the Core, Kya had trouble understanding some of the more Outer Rim territories.

Kya knew that the city of Thanatos would offer safe haven - at least for a little while. She had been told by a smuggler that the city would be an ideal place to set up services. She knew that there were Hutts in this system, but wasn't sure if Ondaa had set a bounty on her head yet or not. No one had mentioned it and there sure weren't any bounty hunters on her trail - none that she could notice anyway.

Cruising through the star system, she began to check the system information to find the spaceport for Thanatos. Once she found the coordinates, she set them into the navi-computer and made for the planet. Looking at the information, Kya discovered that the New Republic had set up shop at the Starport and she would have to call for clearance.

Setting the communicator for the proper signal, Kya made first contact. "This is Captain Kya Ryklos of The Devil's Pride. Requesting permission to land."

There was silence for a moment. More than a moment, really. It seemed like no one was there to answer her call. "Could it be that they only allow people to land at certain times?" she thought to herself. The stumbling on the comm brought her back to reality.

"This is Thanatos Starport," the voice started. "Sorry about that. We weren't expecting any visitors today." More silence. Then the voice became serious. "Please transmit your most recent logs as well as cargo information. Note that any attempt to land on the planet without the permission of the New Republic will result in a penalty and the loss of your ship."

Kya knew the officer wasn't joking. She hadn't had many dealings with the New Republic yet, but wasn't so sure they were better than the Empire. Of course, the New Republic didn't have a price on her head.

"Very well, Thanatos, transmitting now." Kya pressed a few buttons on the control panel and the information began transmitting. Now she had to hope that her modifications to the log would be acceptable enough to allow her to land. Without even waiting for an answer, Kya continued toward the planet.

A few minutes later, a voice came on the speaker. "Devil's Pride," the voice started again. "You are cleared to land at Docking Bay 5."

"Roger, spaceport. Docking Bay 5."

"Report to the Officer of the Deck when you arrive," the voice said and then disappeared into silence.

Kya's ship entered the atmosphere just a few miles away from Thanatos. Noting the new coordinates from the Spaceport, Kya maneuvered the Devil's Pride toward Docking Bay 5. Bringing the ship into a slow descent, the Devil's Pride approached the Docking Bay and landed safely.

The ship's engines began to cool down as the hatch opened and Kya stepped out. Looking around, she noticed a control room off the north side of the bay. "I suppose I should talk to these people." Kya walked over to the control room, keeping her eyes open on every door that led into and out of the docking bay. She also pressed a button on her bracelet that caused the hatch to the ship to close.

Kya opened the door and looked around the control room. Leaning against the wall, propping himself up, stood (half-asleep) an officer.

"Excuse me," Kya said as she entered and shut the door.

The officer was startled and stood tall once again. "Yes, can I help you?"

"I need to find the Officer of the Deck, please."

"You found him. Is that your ship there?"

"Yes. The Devil's Pride."

"How long do you plan on staying?"

"Not sure. A while. Long enough to settle, but not long enough to be a memory."

The officer didn't know what to think of that statement. "Fine. The cost is 100 credits per week. The price includes security and access to maintenance droids."

"Fine," Kya responded. She took out some credits and laid them on the desk. The officer took the creds and began to count them.

"There's a thousand credits here," he said, sounding a little puzzled.

"I know. Take care of my ship." Kya turned around and headed to the door. She paused as it opened. "And don't try to look in my ship. It's programmed to accept only my fingerprint to open it manually. I wouldn't want you injured." Kya stepped into the docking bay and walked to the staircase.

Walking up the stairs, Kya had to put her hand over her eyes to cover them from the glare of the blazing sun. "This is just the first step of the adventure," she thought to herself as she began walking toward the shops.

"Why ask why? Try living without knowing everything."

---

"Near Miss"
by Maeren Shivral
Keeve Shivral
Kaysa Zenarr-Tregat
Zale Tregat
and a brief appearance by Moril Astren

Location: New Plouton, Tae'Karada
Date: Lythe 20, 4ABY

***

"So, I was thinking we could stop by that place down on Valreth," Shiv was saying as she walked along with Keeve on one side and Kaysa on the other. "They have some of the best baby stuff from everything I've read. I found a review on the comnet and everyone says that's the one to go to. We can even get one of those floating baby carriers!"

"No floating baby carriers," Kaysa told her with a warm smile. "I won't have my child in one of those things. What if one of the repulsors malfunctions?"

"And you remember my hoverboard incident?" Keeve reminded Shiv.

Shiv giggled. "Oh, yeah," she said. "Well, I'm sure they still have ones with wheels. Oh...names! Have you figured out a name yet?"

Kaysa chuckled. "Not yet. I thought you two could help me think of some...ambiguous ones for the time being. I refuse to find out the sex. This time, it'll be a surprise."

"Oh, don't worry," Keeve told them with a proud smile, "it'll be a boy. A little brother I can teach all my worldly knowledge to."

"If there are any gods up there," Shiv called out, looking up into the sky, "please let it be a girl." She grinned at Keeve. "I don't think the galaxy is ready for another of you, my love."

"And why is that?" He grinned crookedly and reached behind Kaysa to pinch Shiv's rear. She yelped and he laughed. "Is that the reason, my dearest?"

"That's one of the reasons you mischievous little gundark!" Shiv called. "Well, I hope it's a little girl so I can have a little sister, especially since Zari's off at the Jedi Temple now."

"She said she'd visit," Kaysa assured her, and rubbed her back soothingly. "And whatever the baby ends up being," she told them both, "we'll still love it dearly...right?"

Keeve nodded vigorously, wearing a facetious smile as he did. Kaysa elbowed him in the ribs, and he feigned a pained expression as he clutched his side.

"Come on," Shiv said, leading them to the corner. "There's another place around here, I think. I've heard you can really get all your baby room stuff here. They've got the cutest outfits in the window too!"

Linking arms with both Shiv and Keeve, Kaysa skipped lightly alongside the two, in search of the perfect baby shop. Despite her bulk, she was surprisingly spry in her movements, though Keeve did beg her numerous times to slow down. "Oh, don't worry," she assured him. "I'm not giving birth yet."

"You will if you keep bouncing like that," he muttered.

They came around the corner, all three arm in arm. Suddenly Shiv gasped with excitement. "Oh! It's Zale!"

Kaysa halted, leaving Shiv and Keeve two steps ahead before they too stopped. Approaching along the other end of the walkway, was Zale, as gorgeous as she remembered him, but stricken with a sorrow she could nearly taste. There was a moment where her body lurched forward, as if to sprint into his arms, but her better judgement stayed her, as did the memory of what he'd done to Merrick. Her face hardened. "Shiv...let's go."

Shiv paused, watching Zale for a brief moment. As she started to turn, time slowed nearly to a stop. There was a whine and pop, followed by a bright flash. In the distance, where Zale stood, he suddenly lurched back. She heard the sound of him crying out as if he were far off. Then she heard herself screaming. Keeve's shout drowned out Shiv's cries, but it was directed not at Zale's collapsing body; rather, he was yelling for Kaysa to stop. Cradling her stomach in both arms, she'd dashed forward, to Zale, fearlessly ignoring the possibility that another blaster bolt might rain from the sky and strike her down next. Her sole imperative was reaching Zale, before she lost the chance to hold him one final time.

Behind her, Keeve was holding an "inconsolable" Shiv, but the smile he gave her was unmistakably cunning. He winked at his wife, and kissed her brow. Meanwhile, Kaysa was now kneeling by Zale's side, cradling his limp head in her lap. She refused to cry, despite the overwhelming guilt and regret she felt in not having reconciled before it had come to this. She sobbed and kissed his brow with trembling lips. "I love you, you bastard," she whispered.

Zale groaned. His shoulder was blistering and raw, the fabric of his long coat and shirt smouldering.

"Kaysa," Shiv called, falling back into her role. "Kaysa! Get back!"

"No!" she shouted, never tearing her gaze from Zale. Her hand covered his wound, but flinched away at the heat still emanating from it. "Zale," she sobbed. "Don't do this... Don't die. Who's going to help me name our child?"

"Kaysa!" Shiv came running up beside her. "Kaysa, we have to get him out of the way before they shoot again. Keeve! Help move him! Kaysa, please!"

Keeve was beside Zale, reaching under his arms to lift him, but Kaysa was clinging fiercely. "Mom...we have to move him," he said gently. She shook her head adamantly, and with a sigh, Keeve pulled away. His hand came back coated in blood, and he frowned at Shiv, mentally noting how expertly the ruse had been orchestrated.

Shiv gave a nod of approval, and then looked around for where Moril had set up to be their assassin. In the direction from where the shot had come, she couldn't see anything. She looked around and suddenly gasped. She nudged Keeve, and pointed. Across the street, Moril was setting up with his blaster rifle. He looked up and noticed Kaysa and Zale on the ground. His face went noticeably pale.

"Dammit," he rasped and redoubled his efforts to pry Zale from Kaysa's embrace. "We have to get him to the hospital!" Keeve hollered at her.

"No!" Kaysa shrieked. "He's...he's fine! Just leave him alone!" Sobbing, she whispered, "Zale...you're okay, right? Please!"

"Kaysa," Shiv said, crouching next to her lover, "we have to get him medical attention or he'll die. Look at his wound. We have to get him help. Please, Kaysa...don't...we have to get him." She leaned her forehead against Kaysa's shoulder. "Please..."

Kaysa whimpered and with great strength of will, she disentangled him from her embrace. Keeve quickly stepped in and hefted Zale over his shoulder. "Get a speeder," he told Shiv, the physical strain audible in his voice. Kaysa remained on the ground, studying the blood on her hands.

As Zale's body was carried off, someone voiced their disapproval by opening fire. The shots weren't accurate, instead eating chunks from the ferrocrete walls and sidewalk. Shiv screamed again, rushing back to where Kaysa still sat. Across the street, Moril quickly reset the power settings on his own blaster rifle, and turned it toward the top of the building from which the blasts were coming. "Go," he shouted. "Get out!"

"What the hells is happening?" Kaysa asked frantically, trying desperately to rise instead of being dragged down the sidewalk by Shiv. Ahead of them, Keeve was stuffing Zale into a hovercab and urgently waving them forward.

"Someone's trying to kill Zale," Shiv answered as she paused for a moment to try to help Kaysa to her feet. A glance back down the street told her that Moril was still keeping the assassin occupied. "Looks like Moril has him pinned down for now, but we need to get going. Come on. Keeve got a hovercab. We have to hurry!"

"What was he doing out here?" Kaysa asked. Her fastest wasn't proving fast enough as the distance to the hovercab seemed to diminish agonizingly slowly; already she was panting heavily.

"I don't know," Shiv answered. "Last time I saw him, he was in his office. I have no idea why he'd be out, except if he had to...I don't know. He's a business person. Maybe it had something to do with that. After this, I'm not about to let him go anywhere. I'll have Moril tie him to his desk."

"Or I'll do it myself," Kaysa said breathlessly.

"Hurry!" Keeve shouted as they drew near. He reached out and pulled Kaysa towards him before redirecting her into the cab's rear seat. Zale was seated upright, and Kaysa pressed up against his side, holding a hand over his wound. Shiv squeezed in beside her, then Keeve, who drummed against the driver's seat to get him moving. They were down the road in a blaze.

"Zale..." Kaysa cooed, nuzzling his cheek with her lips.

Zale gasped slightly, and muttered something under his breath that could have been Kaysa's name. His eyes fluttered open briefly, then closed. Then it was clear, or clear enough. "Kaysa..."

She chuckled tearfully. "You'd do anything to grab my attention, you fool." She kissed his trembling lips delicately. In that instant, she realized it was futile: she couldn't stay away from him now, and not ever, her stubbornness be damned.

"That wasn't supposed to happen," Keeve whispered to Shiv.

Shiv met Keeve's gaze, and it was clear she was afraid. "It was real," she whispered. "That...it wasn't Moril. It was...he was...oh gods, Keeve..."

He sighed and folded Shiv into his embrace. "He'll be okay. We just have to remind ourselves not to develop such stupid plans in the future."

"It started out as a good plan," Shiv whispered. "And, look at her. I think it worked, even though it didn't go completely right."

"Until she finds out," Keeve reminded her.

"We'll just have to make sure we stay quiet about it," she whispered. "And...and it was real, never mind what we planned."

"Too real," Keeve grumbled. "From now on, we're minding our own business."

Shiv leaned close and brushed her lips against his cheek. "Look at her though," she whispered. "I think we did...we did alright."

"But look at him," Keeve pointed out. "He's looking a little pale."

"The doctor will fix that," Shiv whispered. "I just...he'll make it, Keeve. He has to."

He studied Zale's face, and snorted at the barest of smiles he saw there. "Oh, don't worry...he'll be just fine."

Shiv grinned. "He's going to be so happy when he's coherent enough to be happy. We did it."

Chuckling, Keeve kissed Shiv's crown, then gave her an affectionate squeeze. "Success," he whispered, and smiled with self-satisfaction.

***

"Just a little sip," she urged him, tipping the glass of water towards his parched lips. "I promise, it's not poison."

Zale sipped at the glass, savouring the cool, clean taste of the water. When she finally tipped the glass back, he let out a soft sigh, and looked up at her. "Thank you," he whispered. "That...that was very nice."

She smiled wanly and set the glass aside atop his nightstand. "Well...it's the least I could do for an almost dying man." Kaysa's hand slid towards his atop the hospital bed and brushed her fingers against his. "I missed you."

Zale curled his fingers, almost closing his hand around hers. "I was going crazy without you," he said. "I guess I never realized how big a part of my life you were until you weren't there. I don't know how to make up for what I did to Merrick, to you...but I know I want to. I need to for me as much as both of you."

"I just don't understand what the hells you were doing, Zale," she whispered. "What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking," Zale answered. "And, I was. A part of me thought that if I was enthusiastic in what they wanted, we'd live long enough to twist my dear brothers' heads off."

She laughed weakly. "I guess... It's just...you seemed a little too enthusiastic. And Merrick will attest to that."

Zale smiled and then sighed. "Perhaps, though I think once I got going, he enjoyed it well enough as well. But, at least it helped us put all of our joking to rest."

"In exchange for a possibly life-long feud?" Kaysa sighed. "Zale...things are so complicated now.... I...uh..." She cleared her throat, and focused on their hands. "There's something you need to know."

"I'd still like to figure out a way to...to make things better between him and I," he said, then covered her hand with his. "What do I need to know, Kaysa?"

"Well..." A shaky smile attempted to take hold, but it flattened out quickly. "Um...while on Agarra, we ran into someone..." Her voice trailed off and Kaysa closed her eyes to gather what little resolve she held. "It doesn't mean I love you any less," she whispered.

"Kaysa, it's alright," Zale said. "You can tell me. Go ahead."

Kaysa looked up, directly into his eyes, and confessed, "Cadwin's back."

Zale blinked slowly, then nodded. "I heard that," he said. "Maeren stopped by the other day, and she mentioned that. She said she hasn't seen you this happy in a long time."

"That's not true," she told him quickly. "It's just...the happiest I've been since I've been without you. There's a big difference there."

"However it's happening," Zale said, "it's nice to see you happy. I only hope I'm still able to bring some happiness into your life after all the heartache I've caused."

She laughed gently and reached forward to kiss his cheek. "No heartache.... Just a little back pain." She glanced pointedly at her distended stomach.

He reached out and tentatively brushed his fingers over her belly. "You look beautiful," he said. "I know you may not feel like it, but you do. You look alive and happy, and...well, and ready to burst. But, you're looking wonderful."

"I feel wonderful," she admitted, her face beaming. "Zale...we're going to have a baby soon. After all we've been through, how wonderful is that?"

"I can imagine few things in life that are more wonderful," Zale said with a grin. "We can be a real family...if you'll have me again..."

Kaysa sighed ponderously, knowing what conflict his presence would create with Merrick...and Cadwin. But she couldn't deny her heart's desire. "I never wanted to give you up to begin with," she whispered. "But...I don't know if Merrick's ready to accept you again." Kaysa smiled, though. "But that doesn't mean I can't still see you outside of the home. We still haven't had a proper homecoming."

"We'll have time for that," Zale said. "And, I don't know how, but I have to find a way to patch things up with Merrick. After our homecoming and patching up, of course."

She laughed softly and echoed, "Of course," then caught his lips tenderly with hers in an ardent kiss.

"Oh Kaysa," he whispered once the kiss ended. "They'd probably kill us for it, but would you like to join me in here? I can hold you for a bit if you'd like, and we can...get reacquainted."

"Will I even fit?" she asked, chuckling, though stood up and prepared to do so. As he lifted one side of the sheet, Kaysa sat down with great effort, and exerted even more lifting her feet and sliding her legs beneath the covers. With the arduous task completed, Kaysa sighed and snuggled against Zale. "This is better," she sighed.

"Much better," Zale said as he slipped an arm around her. He kissed her forehead. "Comfortable? Well, as comfortable as you can be while carrying our baby?"

"Very," she replied, and closed her eyes as her head found the crook of his neck. "Merrick will be so angry...."

"We'll figure a way to help him get over it," he said with a smile as he let the tension of his body melt away. "Don't know how, but maybe we can come up with something together."

"Don't we always?" Kaysa grinned slyly and turned her lips towards Zale's throat. "This," she mused dreamily, "is much better than hating you."

"It is, isn't it? I think I could really get used to this again. I've missed it."

"Yeah...I bet you did," she grumbled.

"Never again," Zale said. "I never want to do anything again that will take me away from you or separate us."

"Like today?" She frowned. "Who would've done that, Zale? Who's after you now, and why?"

Zale frowned. It had been intended to be a ruse, a stunt that would spark Kaysa's love for him. But, the shot had been real and not delivered by Moril as intended. Someone truly did want him dead. And, he had no idea who. Finally he shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "I thought all of my enemies had been taken care of...but...but someone is still out there." He sighed. "Thankfully whoever it is is a bad shot."

"Perhaps that was on purpose," Kaysa suggested ominously. "A warning?"

"Perhaps," Zale said softly. "Perhaps so...I'm going to have Moril start investigating, see what he can find out."

"Later," she murmured, slinging an arm across his waist and curling against him. "Business can wait until after making up."

"I couldn't agree more," Zale whispered. "It's good to have you back in my arms again, my love."

"And what strong, comforting arms they are," she sighed, and contentedly remained there for as long as the nurses would allow.

As they lay together, Zale knew that things were heading down the right path again. The only mystery appeared to be the identity of the assassin who had tried to kill him earlier. There would be time to unravel that later; for now, his focus would be on his family and making certain they were cared for.

---

"Starting Over"
by Rylaa Lyssander

Location: Drogen Shipyards
Date: Lythe 20, 4ABY

***

It had taken long enough, to be sure. It was almost five full months since the day Rylaa left the Manaan system. Not only going from one side of the galaxy to the other, but having to dodge through the core worlds and skirt his way around made it even longer. It was a rather eventful trip. After escaping from the Manaan Port Authority Star Destroyer, Rylaa jumped into the nearby Yavin system for a rest. Several jumps later, he found himself on a little planet called Hope. Misnamed, he assumed, by the original human settlers before they found the indigenous life already had claimed the planet as their own. Barely escaping a tavern brawl gone wrong, Rylaa found himself drifting from one port to another, scamming or conning enough money to buy food and fuel, before finally coming to rest here. And here was a good enough place to start. Liberated from Imperial rule, a decent system of government set up (or so they said) and an orbital shipyards where he could ply his trade, it was perfect. Though, he needed to try a new path.

He was a good administrator, and a good businessman. Why not try going legit for a little while before buying his way back into the world of crime. It was actually a good idea, a way to build up his reputation and a hardworking and upstanding citizen of this wonderful planet. Yeah. Right. He began laughing at the ludicrous thoughts and didn't stop until called by the Drogen Port Authority. Yeesh, everyone calls themselves the such-in-such Port Authority, it's a bit repetitive, don't you think?

"Unidentified Star Fighter approaching Drogen Shipyards, this is Carrol Flanders of Drogen Port Authority. Identify yourself and state your purpose."

"This is Captain Rylaa Lyssander of the good vessel Getaway, I am here on business and request permission to dock. I submit to any scans you wish to perform. You can look at anything you want to." Fun, he thought. First day here and I'm already flirting with the ladies. Oh yeah, this place is mine for the taking.

"Getaway this is Port Authority, I am less than amused." Or maybe not. "You have been entered into the docking queue and the coordinates fed into your Navcomp. Good day." The transmission cut off as abruptly as it had started.

"Hey, Credit!" he called to his little R2 unit. The droid's head turned so the view-lens faced him. "Are you done changing my records yet? The last thing I need is for them to see an unauthorized Holonet transmission coming from my ship." Rylaa had paid a lot of money to have the droid programmed with a Slicer subroutine and to have a universal jack installed. It had better work.

The droid chirped a couple times before wagging its dome from left to right in a fair resemblance to a human shaking his head. "Well hurry up, grease bucket, I haven't got all day! You have four hours before we land, so jump on it." He paused and mouthed the words four hours to himself while Credit whistled something uncomplimentary about Rylaa's ancestors. "Four hours? Sithspit! Stupid shipyards and their stupid docking cues."

Four miserable hours later, Rylaa landed his snubfighter in one of the expansive bays on level 342. Rylaa hopped out of his fighter with a dexterity that belied his obvious bulk and snagged his carry pack from behind the seat. A man walked up with a datapad in his hands. "It's fifty a week, one hundred flat if you want minor repairs and/or are planning on staying here longer than a month." The man spoke with a nasally, bored voice. Obviously Rylaa was not his first customer.

"Give me the full treatment, my boy," he said to the dockworker, who was obviously almost as old as Rylaa himself. "Fuel, repairs, droid space. And I'll probably be here longer than a month. You know a good place to get some grub? Maybe a spot I can crash for the night? Ohh yeah, I know, what about a good gambling den? I need to make a little extra credit," Rylaa said, turning the full force of his charm on the man.

"Alright, sir, let's see...works... That'll be 1,500 credits," the dockworker replied, obviously oblivious to the forces at work against him.

Damnit, that's almost all my money. Well, I suppose I can make more later. "Alright then, here you are." Rylaa handed the man a credit chip with the required amount. The man took the chip, scanned it quickly, then wandered off to find some other person to bug.

With the press of a button, Credit came sliding out of his hole and plopped onto the ferrocrete. The droid whistled happily at being freed after such a long time plugged into the space fighter and spun around in a circle. "Alright, you, let's go find someplace I can change and then maybe get some credits back so we can eat and find a place to live. And I'm sure you'd like an oil bath."

"Beep bloop boop."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Alright then. Let's get out of here, huh?"

Rylaa hefted his pack up on one shoulder and proceeded towards the hangar exit. A hoverlift brought him down to the 204th level where he promptly began looking for a place to change into his work clothes and out of his flight suit. Credit, of course, took up the rear. This level of the shipyard did not seem to be as well lit as the others. Shadows played along the bulkheads and seedy people wandered around in filthy looking clothing. The buildings seemed to have been placed haphazardly in this area, with the streets not quite matching up and walkways ending at walls. Seedy bars, porn shops, lone sharks, all the waste of society you expected to see in a docking area. A perfect place to con some poor bastard out of his cred.

As Rylaa was walking down the street, a nagging feeling began to itch in the back of his mind. Something was going to happen.

---

"Awakenings"
by Hiroshi (Hiro) Kan-Ba - Freelancer

Location: New Plouton
Date: Lythe 20, 4ABY

***

Hiro eased the stabilizer controls as New Plouton came into view through the duraplast view port. Gambit's Run was still a bit sluggish with maneuvering thrusters but Hiro was sure his newly purchased R7 droid would be able to lock down the problem. Unfortunately, Hiro left Thanatos before the droid could complete the repairs so he had to deal with it. Only having adequate piloting skills made it a bit edgy but Hiro was confident he'd be able to dock without crashing into the space port deck. He did notice he was sweating a bit but shrugged it off.

The large skyscrapers of New Plouton reached to the sky and the vast amounts of pollution caused a thick haze to meander through the tall gleaming buildings. Hiro could see space craft traffic easily doubling the amount he was used to in Thanatos. Hiro rubbed his chin in a slight nervous reaction to the view.

According to his navicomputer the space port dock was located in the Yelldon district. Hiro slowed the ship's thrusters and guided the ship on course. As he approached the port he started thinking of what exactly his first area of business would be. He wasn't skilled at tracking so finding his quarry, Yemmick Zennel, would probably not go quickly. Zennel's wife, Allura, gave him this ship plus 1500 credits to find her lost husband explained to Hiro that her husband's point of contact was a man named Remy Ho'Sal. Apparently this man had a fairly questionable background but all Allura mentioned was rumors and not facts. Hiro was sure he would be able to root out Ho'Sal, at least on his "rumored" reputation.

Hiro's thoughts were interrupted when a commanding voice came over the commlink, "Incoming vessel this is New Plouton Port Authority. Identify yourself and state your purpose in New Plouton."

"Eh, New Plouton this is Gambit's Run requesting berth for supplies and repairs," Hiro replied candidly.

"Gambit's Run, do you have a reserved docking number?" the controller asked.

Hiro muttered to himself, Here we go. "That's a negative, controller. My ship is in need of repairs so I did not have time to reserve a dock. Requesting emergency docking authorization at this time."

"Stand by, Gambit. Please fall into the landing hover zone until further notice. I'm forwarding the coordinates."

With a grin Hiro replied, "As ordered, control."

Hiro maneuvered the ship into a holding zone and increased his repulsor lifts to keep the medium sized Corellian ship hovering at the transmitted coordinates. There looked to be several other ships holding to his port and starboard. Great, he thought, hurry up and wait.

Turning the pilot's chair, Hiro called out to his R7 astromech droid, "R7, any more progress?"

Several seconds later Hiro saw the little red domed droid enter the cockpit area. It beeped and chirped enthusiastically and from what Hiro could pick out the droid was able to correct the inertial dampeners to 100% and also fix some problems found on the ship's hyperdrive. Instantly Hiro was glad he spent the money on the droid. He got it fairly cheap since the R7's servo motor was blown and one of its transport modulators was badly damaged. Hiro was able to find scraps and fix the bugger up. Of course the R7's new transport module was blue and the rest of the droid was red. Hiro smiled. Gives him personality.

"Great job, Seven. See if you can modulate and centralize the gun turret's targeting computer. I don't have a co-pilot so I'll have to rely on the computer to acquire targets."

Seven's rounded head moved side to side and he chirped an affirmation then spun around and wheeled off back into the main part of the ship. As Seven exited, Hiro turned back toward the controls and looked at his chrono. He had been waiting nearly 40 minutes and a quick look out of his view port told him he was the only ship left not docked.

Finally, about 15 minutes later, control came across the commlink, "Gambit, you have clearance to land. Please proceed to docking bay 4A-324 at the south end. You have been authorized a three day slip and at that time you will need to resubmit a request. I suggest if you plan on being here longer you do so as soon as you land. Control out."

"Thank you for your assistance," Hiro muttered off-air.

Switching the thrusters on, Hiro guided the ship to the docking bay. Landing was a bit stressful as the ship's starboard side, where the cockpit was located, tried to dip and crash into the deck. Hiro was able to add available thrust to the starboard repulsors to get the ship evened out then was relieved when he felt the ship's landing gear connect with ground. Seven would definitely need to get the maneuvering thrusters fixed before he left New Plouton.

***

Hiro sauntered down the exit ramp and out onto the tarmac. Looking around the hangar bay he noticed there were only two other ships docked. One was a larger freighter and he saw several humans on top and around the ship working on various components and machinery in and around the ship. The other ship was a small 2 or 4 man ship with a very impressive armament. It looked like a New Republic ship but he wasn't sure and didn't really care.

He looked around until he saw what appeared to be the hangar's controller, a short squat human with balding hair. The controller was wearing blue coveralls and had a commlink strapped to a belt that barely wrapped around his large belly. Hiro made his way over to the man and made arrangements to put his name on the list for a longer berthing. The controller added Hiro to his datapad and didn't give him any guarantees. Hiro simply thanked the man and exited the hangar.

From what he knew of New Plouton and the Yelldon district had several places that business folks could frequent in between jobs. One of those was a place called The White Noise. Hiro was sure he wouldn't be admitted into a classy place like that, and he was sure Zennel probably would. Finding Remy Ho'Sal was his best bet and he was sure a guy with his shady reputation would probably prefer a lower-class place for his business dealings. Identifying this type of place would be tricky.

Hiro decided to follow the majority of the pilots and crewman toward the main district area of Yelldon. He was quite sure he'd find something of interest there. He noticed several folks enter into a small cantina not far into the district and decided that was as good a place as any to start. The sign outside the entrance said Mynock's Haven. Hiro shook his head and entered.

At first it took some time for Hiro's eyes to adjust to the dim lighting which was made even worse with the thick smoke of tabac floating in the air. The placed smelled like alcohol, sweat, and oil. Hiro thought this place may be the hangout for most of the mechanics. It was close to the space port and the mechs could just stagger their way back to were they came from. Not at all unlike Thanatos in that manner.

The cantina was an oval shape with small tables randomly placed. There was no music playing but a small stage to the right indicated that live music was probably played here. Right now only the chatter of several conversations were jumbled together loudly as each party tried to talk over each other. Near the back of the room was a long bar that ran along the oval shaped wall. Sitting behind the bar was a human woman with long black hair pulled tight into a queue behind her head. She was young and fairly attractive which was surprising in this place. Hiro walked over.

"What can I get you?" she asked as Hiro sat at one of the tall round stools.

"How's the local ale?"

"Taste like bantha shit but it will give you a nice buzz," she responded.

Liking her Hiro nodded and grinned, "Sounds good to me."

The young barmaid poured him a large dark ale and slid the mug over. The frothy foam sipped down the sides as Hiro picked it up and took a sip. It was very dry and tasted like liquid tree bark but he could also tell it was quite strong. He'd have take it slow with this stuff.

Not knowing exactly how to start his investigations Hiro simply sat quietly and drank his ale. He didn't really focus on anything and must have looked like a zombie to most around him. Through the smoky haze of the bar Hiro picked up the scent of flowered perfume. He snapped out of his daze and noticed the young barmaid was standing in front of him. Her rounded face was refreshing and her lips slightly parted and he could see a hint of straight white teeth.

She grinned. "So where are you rolling in from? Never seen you here before?"

"Thanatos. I've got business here."

Shaking her head she laughed, "Yeah we all do! Are you here long?"

Hiro decided to gamble. "Hopefully not. As soon as I find my friend Remy it shouldn't take long."

When he said the name 'Remy' her face froze for a second and Hiro was sure he heard the place go quiet. But when he turned around the customers were still engrossed in their conversations. Did he imagine that? Well whatever it was the barmaid recognized the name.

She put her elbows on the bar and leaned closer to Hiro. Her lone strand of dark hair fell forward as she leaned in. Looking around slightly she whispered, "Are you a fried of Remy Ho'Sal?"

"Yep. Is there a problem?" he asked.

"Well, most people asking around for Remy are either bounty-hunters or cops. And most are never seen again. I hope for your sake you are his friend. Because if word gets out you're looking for him you won't wait long. He or one of his goons will find you."

Setting his mug down Hiro swallowed and tried to sound calm. "Oh yeah, we go way back". His mind screamed something else, Great! I've got a bad feeling about this.

---

"New Games, Old Flames"
by Rylaa Lyssander - Criminal

Location: Drogen Shipyards, Level 204
Date: Lythe 20, 4ABY

***

There was a loud CRACK and the sharp smell of ozone filled the air. Behind Rylaa, Credit squealed. He whirled around, whipping out the oversized DL-44 from his hip. Three men emerged from the shadowed alleyway they had been hiding. Two were armed with evil looking knives while the third, obviously the leader of the trio, carried an ion rifle.

"Put the peashooter down and hand over your droid and all your credits. Maybe, you won't get hurt." The leader followed his statement with a sneer, showing rotten, yellowed teeth. His breath was faintly reminiscent of the backside of a wet Bantha in Saris.

Rylaa, of course, had absolutely no intentions of handing over his credits or his droid and was quite appalled at the way they had conducted the mugging. That was just not the way things were done! You were only supposed to ion the droid if it posed a threat, not beforehand. The problem with an ion rifle was the chance that you had barbequed the droid's insides, thereby rendering your quarry (if the droid was what you were after) useless and sellable only as junk. At a much reduced price of course. Credit, being his and him being paranoid, was hardened against ion blasts for the most part. They still stunned him of course, but at least he would get back up afterwards.

"Hey guys, I don't want any trouble. And I'm pretty sure you don't want any trouble with me. I've eaten thugs like you as a late afternoon snack and gone back for seconds. You ain't anything." Rylaa tried to look menacing. He knew he probably looked comical waving around the huge blaster in his chubby hand, but as long as it took the thugs a second to realize what he was about to do, that was ok.

His DL-44 was normally set to stun, as Rylaa rarely liked to kill anybody if he could avoid it. There were times, however, when killing people was perfectly ok. Especially, in his mind, if they were stupid enough to try mugging him. Stupidity should hurt, he thought, it should hurt bad. It only took the thugs a few seconds to realize that the pudgy man in front of them was trying to con them, but they were way too late.

Rylaa's DL-44 was heavily modified in the years he spent aboard a Yavin derelict space station in hiding. He always knew he was a horrible shot with any type of weapon so he decided to remedy the problem by adding a focusing lens to the barrel of the blaster. The lens widened the blast considerably, giving it a conical shape. However, this dispersion of the beam effectively reduced the range of the weapon to only a few yards. The thugs standing in front of Rylaa had no chance to move themselves out of the way as the shotgun-like blaster fired into them. All three men dropped instantly, the stun setting of the blaster short circuiting their brains. He looked at the slightly twitching thugs, contemplating doing anything else to them but decided against it. He wasn't feeling cruel today. A few short kicks to Credit woke the droid from its ion induced slumber.

"Come-on, rust bucket. I still have some credits to win." Rylaa holstered the blaster at his thigh and walked further down the road. Credit gave an insulting whistle to the would-be muggers, now starting to stir a little, and wheeled after its master. Within a few minutes, Rylaa had come to the sort of cantina he was hoping for.

The Lustful Wench the sign on the bar proclaimed. Not even close to being original. There must be at least one bar of that name in every major city on every planet.

Rylaa pushed open the door and walked inside. The interior of the cantina did not do its exterior justice. A thick cloud of cigarra smoke clung to the ceiling as if afraid of the ground. The air was hot and dry, speaking of failing air 'freshers. A circular bar squatted in the center of the large room, being attended by a seedy Duro. Two haggard looking Bith musicians behind a small caged stage vainly attempted to bring some life into the room. The lighting level was low, for obvious reasons, and shadows clung to the distant corners. A Sabaac table was set up to one side and two men and a Devaronian were deep into their game. Several other sentients were scattered around the cantina, almost none of them appeared to notice him enter.

One familiar figure sat at the bar. Human, and female, with long red hair and a shapely figure. She was wearing light brown cargo pants and a white tank top. She unabashedly wore a pair of blasters in shoulder holsters. Rylaa sauntered up to the bar, hoping that the woman would not notice him. They did not part on the best of terms at their last meeting. He hiked himself up onto a barstool and ordered whatever the local swill was. He didn't like how it tasted, since he wasn't really going to drink it.

Whirling around on the barstool, he surveyed the Sabaac game taking place. The two humans were obviously locals and regulars to the cantina, and they each played a decent game. The Devaronian, however, was obviously a hustler. Not a very good one, judging from the look of concern on the alien's face, but a hustler nonetheless. After a full game had been played, the Devaronian winning of course, Rylaa decided to make his move. He reached into his pack and pulled out his cheater. That was a 4 centimeter disk that could be easily hidden in a sleeve. The device could be used to alter the suit and value of a card, or it could be used to lock it into place. "If you aren't cheating, you aren't trying hard enough to win" was one of Rylaa's many mottos.

Leaving the pack next to Credit, he hopped off his barstool and walked over to the table. A new game was just being started as one of the humans spun the cards. All three eyed the newcomer but said nothing. Rylaa kept his eye on the Devaronian, watching every move he made. After two hands, it was obvious that the alien was not using a shifter or cheater and that made Rylaa's job all that much easier.

"Mind if I join, boys? I like to think that I can turn a fair hand of Sabaac." The three eyed him again before they nodded. "Name's Rylaa. I'm a newcomer to the system and kind of looking around for a job." He picked up the deck and spun the cards.

"I'm Thyss," the Devaronian said. "My companions are Mikal and Romani." He indicated both humans in turn.

"Well, nice to meet you. Have you ever played Cloud City Casino rules?" All three nodded. "Good, 'cause that's what we're playing. And since everyone knows the rules, we can jump right into it." Rylaa dealt the cards.

Wagers were made, cards were played. He won some, he lost some, he made liberal use of the cheater. After six games, Rylaa was almost 2000 credits richer. The Devaronian, not being good enough of a criminal to recognize another, could not seem to believe Rylaa's seemingly good luck. The pair of humans, however, had their doubts.

"What is your line of work, exactly?" Mikal, the dark haired human to Rylaa's left asked.

"Yes, what is it that you do, hmmmm?" Romani, the sandy blond on the right asked.

Rylaa reassessed his opinions of the two and came to a reasonable conclusion. He was mistaken to believe the Devaronian was the one doing the hustling.

"Oh you know, odd jobs here and there. Depends on who's doing the asking and who's paying." He hoped that the two would pick up on the line and run with it. If either one of them had any intelligence, it shouldn't be too hard.

"Really, well we just happen to know of a man looking to hire some offworld... talent," Mikal said.

The Devaronian, being left out of the conversation, was hopelessly lost and spun the deck of Sabaac cards to keep himself occupied. Well, at least he was smart enough to recognize when professionals were talking shop.

"Is that so? Well, how about I leave you my comm number and you can get back to me about that. Tell this man that I have many, talents, that can be put to good use."

After Mikal had nodded, he wrote his number quickly on a piece of paper and slid it over. Mikal quickly pocketed it before he and his friend stood from the table. They both left without a word and after a minute, the Devaronian also stood and left quietly. He was about stand up himself when he felt a strong hand grip his hair and yank his head back. A beautiful and exotic face, contorted by anger, look down at him. It was the fiery haired woman who was sitting at the bar.

"Lani! So nice to see you again. Have you been well?"

"Don't try and butter me up, you bastard!" Lani spat. Her grip on his hair tightened and Rylaa strained not to cry out. Damn the woman was stronger than she looked.

"Look, I can explain about..."

"Don't say a thrice damned thing you miserable...bastard. You left me to rot in an Imperial holding cell for six months. Six months! Do you know what they do to women like me in Imperial prisons? I bet you don't, asshole. I bet you couldn't fucking imagine the things that were done."

"Look, Lani, there are reasons that I had to... OW!" She yanked him, hard, by the hair. His chair was tipping backwards and the only thing keeping him falling was her hold on his head.

"You son of a bitch! Didn't I mean anything to you? Obviously not!" Lani had worked herself into a glorious rage. Tears ran from her almond shaped eyes and down her face, smearing her makeup. Rylaa was seriously considering the pros and cons of her dropping him onto the steel floor of the cantina.

"Lani yes! Of course you meant, ouch, something to me! But there were reasons I had to go, things you couldn't possibly understand!" He was reaching for anything possible. He'd seen Lani mad before, and the object of her rage had ceased to exist shortly afterwards. Rylaa had to explain to a very angry Hutt crimelord why his valuable Rancor had suddenly seemingly had a heart attack.

"So now you are calling me stupid?"

Oh crap, he thought, here comes the turning of the words against me. "No no no. Now, can you let go of my, ow, hair and calm down so we can talk this over like rational adults of the human species?" Please, please, please.

He got his response as he bounced off the floor. Rylaa picked himself off the floor and turned to face Lani, she was a good foot taller than he was. "Alright, good, now listen. After the smuggling run went bust that sithspawned bastard of a bothan tried to have me vaped. So I had to lay low while things died down. I didn't find out about you being in prison until after I had come out of hiding, a numbers of years after you got released."

"That still doesn't explain why you left me on the ship to get caught while you ran." She wiped her face before folding her arms underneath her breasts. Even crying and in work clothes, Rylaa couldn't help but notice just how beautiful she really was. Some good memories floated to the surface of his thoughts and he quickly quashed them as a familiar fire began to burn within his loins. He needed to concentrate on the problem at hand first.

"Come on, you know I didn't run! Damn stormtrooper popped me on the head with his rifle and threw me into the pod. What was I going to do? I mean look at me! Do you really think I could wrestle a stormtrooper?" The tears stopped flowing as she gave him an incredulous look. "I mean, really, come on." Rylaa gave his best "who, me?" grin.

Lani made a big show of looking him up and down before responding. "Well, now that you mention it, I suppose that a chunk of flab such as yourself couldn't do a thing against a big strapping young soldier like that," she said jokingly.

Inwardly, Rylaa sighed with relief. That came a little too close to ending very badly. Lani did rash things when angry, and giving her some humor to think about successfully deflected her thoughts from the whole reason she was mad. It was a gamble to be sure, but one that had paid off. Lani had an almost half smile on her face and in the dim, smoky room she seemed almost to glow. Rylaa had loved this woman, once, and old feelings were beginning to stir. Unsure of what to do, he just continued to smile.

"Alright, alright, I forgive you for leaving me. I guess it wasn't your fault."

Phew!

"But now I want to know what it you are doing here."

"I should be asking you the same thing," he said.

"You first, hun," she replied with a toss of her hair.

"Let's just say my last... operation didn't go as planned and I decided to cut my losses and run. I needed a nice quiet place to start over, again, and Tae'karada popped up in my list of places to go, so here I am."

"Well, turns out I'm in much the same boat," she said. "I lost my last ship to a lucky TIE fighter pilot and got stuck here. Now I'm looking for a way off this hunk of metal and back out in the space lanes."

"Well," Rylaa chuckled, "what's wrong with staying here? I mean, I trying to set up some new operations and I could use someone who knows the smuggling gig pretty well. I'll even make you my second in command, how about that?"

"I'll think about it," she replied. "But no guarantees right now. How many men do you have working for you right now?"

"Weeeell... none at the moment. But I have a droid!" Rylaa indicated Credit, who was minding his own business by the bar.

"You're still lugging that hunk of scrap around?" Lani asked wryly.

"Hey!" he said, jumping to Credit's defense. "That droid has saved my butt a number of times! And since I gave him that slicer program, he's become even more valuable to me."

"Huh." Lani unfolded her arms and placed her hands on her hips. "Well, like I said, I'll think about it. Right now I have to go talk to a few people and see what I can set up. I believe that you still have my number?" Rylaa nodded with a grin. "Good, then you can call me later and we'll set something up."

Her anger totally forgotten, she smiled, waved, and walked out of the cantina. He couldn't seem to bring himself to do anything other than smile as she left, wondering what the hell had just taken place. Women sometimes baffled him. They could swing between moods faster than Gamorrean can stink. It was amazing at times. He thought for sure Lani was either going to kill him or cry herself to death. Instead she had just became his partner in setting up a new smuggling ring based out of the shipyards here. He wasn't even sure if he really did want to set up a ring, it just seemed like the right thing the say at the time to get her not to shoot him.

Oh well, so his day didn't go exactly as planned, he was still two grand richer. That thought cheered him up a little has he made his way to the bar on a quest to get as drunk as possible.

---

"A Gentle and Painful Heart"
by Kal'Aran
Aurra Sgall
Taran Kinneas
Kitana Gellar
and Strider Ixion

Location: Jedi Temple
Date: Lythe 20, 4 ABY

***

He walked to the front entrance of the Temple where he found one of his padawans. She was playing with the young child and they were both laughing happily as she held him in her arms and lifted him up and pretended that Strider could fly like a starship...

"Good morning!" Kal'Aran smiled as he walked towards them. "You got up early this morning..."

"Good morning, Master Kal'Aran," Aurra replied. "Yes, we did. Strider here wasn't sleepy, so I took him for a yummy breakfast, and then we came out here to play for a while! We've been having lots of fun, haven't we, Strider?" she asked the young boy as she held him.

Strider giggled as he covered his face, pretending he was invisible.

"I'm glad to hear so. We have a trip to make today... I'm just waiting for Taran so we can depart," he told Aurra. It was more than obvious that the trip was to get Strider back home, since Quinlan Vos was away from the Temple and could no longer do so.

"I have everything ready. Orn gave me a hand," Aurra said. She didn't need to use extra words for Kal'Aran to understand that she meant that Orn had packed Strider's things for them, and probably some snacks for the trip as well.

Taran Kinneas arrived with a smile on his face. He looked slightly down to Kal'Aran and bowed. "I'm sorry if I kept you waiting, Master." He then looked at Strider and Taran saw that Strider was looking at him amazed. "So, this is the famous Strider?"

"Yes, he is!" Aurra smiled. "And we're all going on a trip today!"

Strider smiled towards Kal'Aran, Aurra and Taran, but then he looked everywhere as if he was searching for someone. "Dae?"

Aurra wondered for a while what Strider meant, but she soon realised what he was talking about. He was looking for Daemor'rah, who was no longer with them. She too wondered when would Daemor'rah return, if she would ever come back at all... She then looked down at Strider and kissed his forehead. "Dae isn't coming this time," she told the young boy.

In the boy face's was a sad face.

"It seems that the boy is sad, Master. Why?" Taran asked as he picked the boy up and gave a warm smile, although it didn't seem to be working.

"It would be best not to talk about it now," Kal'Aran replied. "Strider, you will see Daemor'rah later, ok?" he told the young boy with a soothing voice to calm him down. "But now I need you to go with Aurra and Taran and myself, ok?" he smiled.

Strider smiled towards Kal'Aran, but he continued to like to be carried by Taran.

"It seems that he wants me to carry him," Taran smiled.

"Very well then!" Kal'Aran smiled. "Aurra, can you get our things and meet us back here?"

"Sure thing!" Aurra nodded as she trotted back inside.

***A few hours later***

Location: New Plouton

Kitana sat on a chair looking at the horizon. She didn't believe that Miss Kovan would give her an answer to their deal anytime soon... Also, she had had other meetings with several companies that could extract the minerals found on Gallor. Business was as usual and the cargo transports were starting to recover from the Civil War.

Gallor was now receiving raw materials in exchange of the crystals and minerals that were so valuable for the rest of Galaxy. Gallor bought raw materials to rebuild their cities that had been destroyed or partially destroyed in the fights. She only hoped that now, once and for all, there would be an end to the confusions of who was in charge of Gallor.

A man dressed in a black uniform that resembled more a butler than anything else entered the room and bowed his head slightly. "Princess, there is a gentleman, a lady and an alien requesting an audience with you. They say it's about your son, Strider."

Kitana turned towards the man. "Let them in, quickly!"

"As you wish, Princess." The man bowed and exited.

Minutes later the gentleman, the lady and the alien entered and she saw Strider being carried by the female. "Strider!" she exclaimed as she kneeled herself as Strider was placed on the ground and ran towards her. "Oh thank Gemini that you're safe!" She kissed her son and hugged him so tight that she didn't want to let go. She then looked to the three strangers and gave a happy smile. There were tears streaming down her face. "Thank you for looking after my son. There is absolutely no way I can repay for such kindness!"

Kal'Aran raised his hand gently as a sign that there was no need to thank them. "Please, it is we who should apologise for not bringing him sooner, but learning of the civil war on Gallor, we thought it was best to wait a while."

"It was really a pleasure to take care of him!" Aurra smiled. "He's a very sweet boy, and really gives no trouble at all!"

Kitana kissed Strider one more time and picked him up. "Ohh, you got heavier!" She then turned to the three people. "Sorry, where are my manners? Please, sit down," she smiled.

Kal'Aran nodded to both Aurra and Taran and all of them took their seats. He then bowed his head towards Kitana, ever so slightly. "Allow me to introduce ourselves. I am Jedi Master Kal'Aran, and with me are Padawans Aurra Sgall and Taran Kinneas. Strider was with us during this time..."

"And him being heavier would be due to our chef..." Aurra smiled gently. "He doesn't let anyone go hungry to be perfectly honest!"

Kitana smiled and nodded. "Pleased to meet you, master Jedi, and thank you once more. So, how did my Strider end up in the care of Jedi Knights? I know that his adoptive mother was killed here in New Plouton, but how did he end up in your hands, Master Kal'Aran?"

"Strider was found by Jedi Master Quinlan Vos. It was unfortunate that he could not save the woman who was taking care of the young child..." Kal'Aran replied as he looked at Strider. It was nice to see the young one so content in his mother's arms. "He took Strider back with him."

Kitana looked at Strider while Kal'Aran spoke, but she listened to every single word that came from his mouth. "I see..." She then saw that Strider was somewhat distant, sad. "What is it Strider? What's the matter?" But Strider didn't answer, he simply sat his head on Kitana's shoulder. "Why is my son so sad, Master Kal'Aran?"

"I'm afraid I cannot provide you with an assured answer, but I would assume that the reason of Strider being sad is that he is missing someone. A girl named Daemor'rah. The one who found him along with Master Vos. She was the one who took care of Strider for most of the time. Alas, she departed some time ago and has yet come to return."

Kitana looked to Strider and tried to comfort him. "I can see that he has a connection with Deamor'rah. I can see it in his eyes."

"Perhaps..." Kal'Aran concurred. "But I would imagine that he also has one with you. After all, family ties linger forever, even if a child is separated from his mother or father or brothers at birth."

"And Daemor'rah will surely visit, after she returns," Aurra said, not adding the words if she returned.

"That is quite true, Master Jedi. Family ties are great, but there are some things greater than just mere family connections." Kitana put Strider down as a man with red hair and a white coat entered and stood at the entrance.

"Hi there, Raydan. Is there something I can do for you?" Kitana asked.

"I just heard that Strider was back and I wanted to see him, if you would allow, Princess," Raydan said, bowing towards her and then towards the guests.

"Of course, Raydan." Kitana saw Raydan approach Strider, and Strider walked towards him. Kitana turned to Kal'Aran. "Sorry, Master Kal'Aran, but Strider is adored by most of my staff."

"As he is amongst us," Kal'Aran nodded gently. He then looked at Aurra and Taran and then back at Kitana. "We must be going, Princess. We came to bring you your son. Now that our task is done, we must bid you farewell."

Kitana rose to accompany them. "I thank you once more, Master Kal'Aran, for taking care of my son. Also, if you or Miss Deamor'rah wishes to see him, please feel free to go to Gallor. He will be in the Palace, in the care of my father and Raydan. You, your Padawns, Master Vos and Deamor'rah are most welcome at my father's palace."

"Thank you for your hospitality," Kal'Aran bowed. "And may I ask you one more thing? I would like to have a private talk with you, outside, if possible."

Once they were outside the room, and once having said farewell to young Strider, Kal'Aran looked at Kitana. There was no real way to say this, but to tell the truth. "I wanted to talk to you about Strider. Who is his father, if I may ask, your highness?"

"No need for names of royalty, Master Kal'Aran. Just call me Kitana." She then paused. "He is a New Republic fighter pilot. His name is Auron Ronso. Why do you ask?"

"Your son is a very special boy... He shares some unique traits with a minority of the beings of this galaxy. Traits that Padawans Sgall and Taran have, as so do I... What I mean is that Strider has a connection with the Force. He could be trained in the Jedi ways to become a Jedi himself. But this is much too soon to have a decision made, not to mention that such a decision would mean a great matter of things. For now, just know that he is Force sensitive and that he could be trained, and we will talk about this sometime later."

"Force sensitive? My Strider? Master Kal'Aran I think this is a subject we must discuss. My Strider is going to Gallor where he is going to be raised as royalty, because when my father passes to the other plane of existence he is going to be the future Duke of Gallor." Kitana calmly looked at Kal'Aran.

"That is why you must consider Strider being trained or not. You see, even though our code has been subject to slight changes and more willing to accept certain aspects that were taboo, there are still certain guidelines. For example, a Jedi cannot rule over others nor use his skills for his or her own purpose. Therefore, Strider could never assume his role as Gallor's leader. It is a life of servitude to a better future of the Galaxy, and one that has its weight," Kal'Aran explained. "That is why you must consider Strider's future before anything else, and that is why I do not seek any answers from you at this point."

Kitana thought for a while. "Master Kal'Aran... The thing is that it is no longer in my hands to decide Strider's fate. It is now in my father's hands because I rejected to succeed my father to the throne, and that caused a lot of trouble not only in my life, but in my son's life, in my father's life and the thousands of lives of the ones that died because of my decision." Kitana looked at Kal'Aran and she didn't know how to react while she spoke these words.

"Well then, in that case, I would ask you to bring the matter before your father," Kal'Aran replied. "Although, Strider being your son, you should also have a saying, I'm sure. Now, I will take no more of your time. Thank you for your hospitality, but we must go. May the Force be with you..." he bowed.

"Fly High, Master Kal'Aran," Kitana smiled and made a little bow.

Kal'Aran left Kitana's presence, along with his both Padawans, and they headed back to the Temple. Strider was finally back with his family, and whether he would ever return to the Jedi Temple or not remained uncertain. But of one thing Kal'Aran was sure. Strider was where he belonged, at least for now...

Kitana entered the room as Raydan was playing with Strider. She smiled towards Raydan and Strider. "So, I see the little boys are having a good time."

"Princess! I'm sorry. I was just playing with him," Raydan said as he was going to get up.

"Raydan, how many times have I told you that you don't have to use my title. Just call me Kitana. Come on, you've known me since we were four years old!" Kitana smiled as she kneeled near Strider.

"Yeah, but I want to use it..."

"Raydan, what happened between us on Coruscant, it happened because we were having a good time and we were drunk... Now, you're the man I trust and depend on, so we do it as planned." Kitana looked at him and smiled as Strider approached her.

"I continue to think that is not a such good idea, Princ... I mean Kitana. I want to continue to be your bodyguard," Raydan said.

"I will be fine, Raydan. And if anything happens to me I promise that I will keep an eye on both of you. Ok?" Kitana smiled and then approached him and kissed him on the cheek. "I know that you will find the right person for you. Just keep believing. Now, are the bags prepared to leave?"

"Yes, they are, Kitana. I promise that I will take care of Strider and that he's never going to leave my sight!" Raydan picked Strider up. "Now, Strider, say goodbye to your mommy. You are going home, little man!"

Strider kissed her on her cheek and said goodbye as Raydan and Strider disappeared behind the door.

---

"Reasons and Rumours"
By: Soranoko Mushino
Shrezade Anoran - Director of Drogen Shipyards
Hajne Toray [NPC+]

Location: Drogen Shipyards
Date: Lythe 20, 4 ABY

***

Soranoko left the transport, a bag clenched in one hand and a satchel on the opposing shoulder. Looking up and down the corridors she felt a cornucopia of emotions. For one it felt like home, she was after all going to be doing a job that was her aspiration. Then again, the feeling that something darker lurked round the corner made her feel no more at ease than when she was back on New Plouton with her mother.

Despite leaving her business behind, she knew that this was the right thing to do. A strong believer in the 'what goes up, must come down' theory drove her to constantly move on, to not stay in one place too long. Be it a traditional warning from her relatives repeated to her at a young, innocent age or simply the limited wisdom that came with a woman with her experience.

Hmmm... Mushino thought, pacing up the corridor to the left. Somewhere, somehow she would find a hoverlift and get to the Director's office. Based on the size of the station and Soranoko's ability to map read she had calculated it would probably take about three years to find the office. A total of one thousand and ninety-five stops for replenishment, 730 eight hour sleep periods and 45 hours to realise the map was upside down. All that and she still wouldn't find her quarters. But once again she was day-dreaming, passing the time with useless banter to herself, which often lead to misdirection. Prime example, she'd walked straight past the huge 'HOVERLIFT' sign and not even noticed. Backtracking, she eventually managed to get on board it and head for the administrative offices.

Within, hugely magnified eyes greeted her, and brightly painted red lips offered a simpering grin. "Appointment?" the receptionist asked, the words seeming to come from her nose rather than her mouth.

"In five minutes time, yes." Soranoko returned the grin. If she'd have known where her quarters were she could have dropped her bags off but the logic, or thereby lack of that Soranoko had insisted that she carry them all the way to the director's office.

"Oh, you'll have to leave