Star Wars - Tales from the Outer Rim

"Ears to the Wind"
By: Loga Tasker [NPC+]

Location: Thanatos Outskirts
Date: Eos 26, 4ABY

***

Loga Tasker looked out over the dusty desert town of Thanatos from the rooftop of the building he had occupied. He could see several speeders of various makes and sizes moving around inside the city's limits but little going in or out, toward any of the bigger cities in any direction. Pulling his macrobinocs up to his eyes, he scanned the city and spotted surprisingly little Imperial presence.

Concerned by this, Tasker went back to disguising the communications transceiver he had placed upon the building's roof. When he was finished, he stepped back and looked at a small pyramid of garbage and boxes with scattered bits of a speeder bike on one side and food wrappers and garbage strewn across the roof on the other side. Satisfied, Tasker slowly climbed from the roof and entered the house where he had set up his monitoring station.

In the one room that was reasonably clear of trash, he had set up his sleeping bag and field stove along the north wall while the communications gear he had salvaged from his field pack along with several extra bits he had bartered for were cobbled together along the west. with bits of scrap he had found. He had been able to wire the set directly into the town power through one of the nearly-abandoned power grid nodes in the neighborhood.

Tasker walked over to his makeshift commstation and switched the power on. Instantly the headset came alive with sporadic chatter of civilian channels and hobby communications. Switching his set up to scan mode, he began the long task of searching for Imperial military or government signals. He sat back and wished that he had a more powerful receiver and he occasionally stopped to find the source of the signal he was tracking. Satisfied the gear was working, he relaxed and let the set find what he was looking for.

An hour later, his headset beeped to indicate a signal that matched standard Imperial military procedure and Tasker set to work. The first direction found the transmission and found it located within the city. After a thirty second transmission, the initial signal stopped and a second replied. Directionally, the second was close to the first, but it was moving at a high rate of speed and the structure of the reply made it sound as if it was naval in origin. By continuing the direction finding and power checking, Tasker was able to locate the origin of the first signal to within a square block and the second was definitely airborne due to the quickly changed direction and speed.

Tasker set his recorder to monitor the frequency and alert him via commlink when it transmitted. He gathered his non-descript fatigue clothing together and his combat gear. After donning all of this, he slipped into a flowing desert type robe, also bartered for the day before and strapped his wrist computer on with nav coordinates of the first Imperial transmission point. Studying it for a moment, he lowered the sleeve of his robe below his wrist and set out into the city proper.

***

His earpiece hadn't warned him of further transmissions for an hour and a half and he was within the square block radius of where the signal originated, but he stood in a dust clogged street between sunbaked brick buildings; each of them two levels with a roof patio. Walking down the street, he hadn't passed very many pedestrians or any traffic at all really. The traffic he had seen had been quick and fleeting with many a furtive glance and several hands on weapon belts.

After turning down a couple of alleyways and walking down another dust-choked street, he noticed a holovid receiver atop one of the buildings. Tasker was going to ignore it and turn away but he saw a curious looking square box at the base of the antenna and he believed he had found his transmitter. Scanning the surrounding area, he made sure that he was alone before walking to the side of the house and pulling himself up onto the roof

area. He needed to examine this box before he entered the house, just to make sure that it was an Imperial decryption device as he suspected.

It didn't take long for Tasker to discover that it was indeed an Imperial communications secure encrypt-decryption device. Using his utility knife, he detached the device from its housing and placed it in one of his cargo pockets. Then, he lowered himself from the antenna to the tiled patio of the roof of the house and made his way to the door. Checking the door, he wasn't surprised to find it unlocked and he cracked the door open an inch or so, looking inside. On the other side of the door was a staircase going into the ground level of the house with light glowing from an open doorway below. Tasker slowly and quietly entered the house with pistol drawn.

Sneaking down the stairs, Tasker could hear the sounds of a jazz group he had heard when he was a child. A shadow blotted the glow from the doorway below for a moment and then moved on, causing Tasker to freeze where he was and level his pistol at the doorway in case he was discovered. With an inward sigh of relief as the shadow moved on, he continued his slow descent into the house proper and stopped at the middle landing of the stairs. He scanned the room on the other side of the open doorway and saw a rather suburban living room, complete with sofa, recliner, holovid set and a few plants. A slightly built woman with harsh angular features passed the doorway, casting a shadow across the stairs and Tasker froze.

Once again, the woman passed by without looking up the stairs and Tasker continued his slow descent. Making his way down the stairs required one hand against the wall and Tasker felt a slight depression in the wall at the foot of the stairs. Turning to look at what it was, Tasker found a hurriedly hidden door and the soft glow of electronics through the crack. Making sure he wouldn't be discovered opening the door by the woman, he cracked the hidden door and peered inside.

Inside, he saw a communications set up that was in standby mode, several file folders, and a data safe on the floor. Tasker slipped in and began to slowly and methodically sift through the information and tech in the room. He had just finished uploading one of the disks into his computer when his earpiece beeped at him, warning of a transmission on the frequency of the transmission he tracked to the house.

At the same time, the commset he was in front of lit up out of standby mode and began to receive data. Realizing he was trapped in the room unless he got out, he moved to the hidden door with his blaster ready. The door began to sing inward.

Hurrying into the hidden room was the woman Tasker had seen before and her face flashed a startled expression before she lunged for him. Tasker was able to get off a shot with his pistol before it was knocked out of his hand and he was pressed against the comset with the woman's hands around his throat. The woman's shirt smoked from the blaster shot and Tasker could see the burn mark on muscle hardened skin. The strength of the woman was such that Tasker had to act quickly before his windpipe was crushed so he swept one hand up in a knife hand jab into the soft part of her chin and grabbed one arm with the other.

Reacting to the jab, the woman let go of Tasker's neck. Tasker took the opportunity to twist her left arm and try to put a immobilizing hold on her but she reacted by kicking at his shins, making him release the hand and block with his free arm. The woman settled into the Imperial hand-to-hand fighting stance that Tasker remembered from his days with the Imperial army and the look in her eyes was one of confidence. Tasker realized that the fight would be a short one if he couldn't get from inside this small room, so he rushed her, expecting her to throw him as was Imperial doctrine.

She did and Tasker felt his breath wheeze from him as he hit the ground with one arm pinned and his back to the ground. Reaching up with his free arm, he grabbed her shirt and lifted her from the ground using one leg; with the other, he threw her into the living room and quickly rolled to his feet. He looked at the woman, who was blushing from a combination of overconfidence and the fact that her shirt was now ripped down the front. This exposed the muscular body underneath and Tasker momentarily regarded a quite attractive, but muscular woman. But, that didn't last long as she lunged a knife hand towards his throat.

Tasker spun to the side of her body she lunged with and followed through with a backhand across her chin, knocking her to his right. Pressing the attack, he ducked, grabbed her by one of the belt loops on her hip with his left hand and with his right he struck the underside of her chin with an open palm, at the same time rising and pulling the belt loop upward. This caused her to lift off of the ground and fall backward. She wasn't as stunned as he thought because she landed a solid kick to his side before she hit the ground.

Still pressing, Tasker swung a fist downward into the woman's neck, but before he landed it, she grabbed the fist and rolled, causing him to be thrown over her. She rolled up and he got up at the same time and a series of blows, blocks, and counterblows were swung by them both. Tasker hadn't been able to break her defence completely and she had been equally unsuccessful with her attacks. Tasker could see the confidence slowly turning into the raging fire of anger as he and the woman circled each other.

She lunged once again and was blocked by Tasker who followed with an attempted strike at one of the pressure points on the thigh, which she blocked. Suddenly the woman began to furiously swing and kick at him very quickly, causing Tasker to have to back up in order to fully defend. This was the moment that Tasker needed. Backing up, he acted as if he were being made desperate and frightened by her swift blows. As she continued her attack, her swings and kicks became more intense and wild and Tasker simply dropped to his knees and body tackled the flailing woman. Both of them went down heavily and the woman was struggling as Tasker slowly squeezed her neck with his thumbs on her windpipe. With a sickeningly wet sound, the woman's windpipe gave way and collapsed upon itself.

Instantly, she began clawing at him and her neck. He disentangled himself from her and stood over her as she slowly suffocated, thrashing and flailing on the duracrete floor. With a disgusted look on his face Tasker said, "You didn't know when to quit. We all need to know when it is time to call it quits." He frowned and turned away from the ever increasingly weak thrashing and continued. "I wouldn't have killed you, you know. You were too beautiful."

Tasker began to search the house for a satchel or heavy bag and found a couple of duffel bags which he loaded some of the paper files and datadisks in, along with several of the communication components. Gathering other useful items as well as his blaster pistol, he put the woman's cooling body into the hidden room and closed the door. Then he cracked the front door open and scanned the outside. No one had been attracted by the commotion and the street was clear, so he left the house and made his way back to his homebase. The gear in the satchels would help him to find, interpret and read Imperial data transmissions and voice communications. The day was a success but Tasker's face didn't show it.

"The Apprentice"
by Jemul (Mendol)
with Wymba (Ugona) [NPC+]
and Fuzzilla (Guentoka) [NPC+]
Introducing Grall, an Apothecary

Location: New Plouton
Date: Eos 26, 4ABY

***

It had taken a full day and 10,000 credits. But Jemul returned to his hideout with three brand new identi-cards and support documents. He was sure that others might have completed the process with greater efficiency, but the Jawa was confident their escape was complete.

Jemul was now Mendol, a trader of spice and home remedies. Wymba was now Ugona, betrothed to Mendol. And Fuzzilla was now Guentoka, Wookiee security guard.

Even with the credit windfall from the robbery, their money would eventually run out. Much was lost laundering it so that it couldn't be traced back to them. Then they were careful not to spend too much at any single establishment, with the notable exception of securing their new names and occupations.

Surveying the streets of New Plouton, Mendol noticed a rusty iron sign called the Raven's eye. Curious as to why no one repaired the injured sign, he entered the establishment.

There were shelves packed with clay jars, salves and powders, a large mortar and pestle. It was an apothecary's shop!

"Who goes there?" croaked an old voice.

"My name is Mendol, Sir," the Jawa responded, noting that the elder man had lost an eye. "I have some talent towards your craft. Would you consider training an apprentice?" He broached his new identity to display he was a spice merchant.

"Apprenticeship takes much time. It is a major investment. Why should Master Grall go to that much trouble?"

"Elder Grall, it occurs to me that companionship may become hard to come by as you age. We Jawas have a shorter life span, and thus we've learned to value our forbearers. I can also help prepare meals, and spend time with out outside my apprenticeship. In short, I offer friendship."

"An interesting proposal, to be sure," Grall said. "You may begin by fabricating a new sign for the shop. When I lost my eye, I also lost the ability for such delicate work."

"Tune-Up"
By: Syan Daywalker - Bounty Hunter
Also starring: Karia - Hunter's Assistant [NPC+]
AC-18 "Eighteen" - Protocol Droid / Co-Pilot [NPC]
R5-E5 "Reese" - Astromech Droid [NPC]
R2-G9 "Genie" - Astromech Droid [NPC]

Location: Starport, Yelldon District, New Plouton
Date: Morning, Eos 26, 4ABY

***

Sounds of machinery being torched, riveted, and otherwise mutilated in the hopes that it would fix them filled the small circular commercial hangar that held the daggerlike Nubian audaciously named for a race of mythical gods.

Normally the black hand of their righteous vengeance, Syan Daywalker was sans his grim garb. A simple zippered technician's jumpsuit was what he wore, with tools in the pockets and his DL-55 strapped to his right thigh. He was on one knee, it pinning a flat edge of metal to the ground, as he leaned his strength and weight into freeing a rotator coupling jammed from carbon scoring.

The Dark Man had assured Syan that his technicians on the Aryx had fully repaired his ship. It wasn't the first time the Dark Man had lied to him.

"Master Syan!"

The droid's modulated shout came at the same instant as the coupling gave way, spinning as it shrugged off the scoring and locked securely into its mount. Not before pinching the webbing between Syan's palm and thumb. It bled quickly and burned, but it wasn't serious. "Emperor's bones!"

As the hunter got to his feet, Eighteen shuffled from behind the engines, her silver plating reflecting the reflections from the silver ship that reflected yet other parts of the hangar. "Master Syan, Master Syan! I believe I have found the ignition problem!"

"What is it?" Syan asked, wrapping his hand with the cloth he had in his back pocket, cinching it to staunch the bleeding.

"Aesir reports there is a seven Ohm drop in the portside plasma solonoid. The ship's internal databanks do not keep standard repairs for it." Eighteen turned stiffly at the waist to look back toward the problem. "Reese had no solution for it either." The R5 astromech droid was trundling quietly over the ship's mirrored surface. The droid had the access plate off and was whistling mournfully as it examined the problem.

Syan finished wrapping the cut and rested the hand against his leg. "The ship doesn't keep repair records for it, because you can't repair them. You have to replace them." He exhaled angrily and scowled. "Emperor's black bones."

The solonoids were expensive, and rare enough because newer ships didn't use them. Where was he going to find a part for a thirty-odd year old ship? Nubians were common enough, if high-end. Most worlds might have parts kicking around. But Tae'Karada was a backwater among backwaters. Syan wasn't confident.

He looked past the protocol droid and spotted the idiosyncratic R2 droid that had come with the ship raised up on its wheels to reach the underside hatchway of the electronics system. Syan pointed. "Get him, and have him start a search for the part the ship needs."

The protocol droid turned and followed his point after initially looking at the finger and nodded. "Yes, Master. Oh dear!" Eighteen spotted the red stain on the wrapped cloth and her hardwired nanny protocols kicked in. "That must be a very nasty cut, you really must treat it right away. You could pick something up. Kreelian tetanus perhaps. It maturates in sixteen hours and you would lose your arm in thirty--"

"Eighteen."

"Yes, Master?"

"We are nowhere near Kreel Prime. I'll be fine. Go do what I told you. I want that part as soon as possible. Tell Reese money's no object."

"Of course." The droid started to turn away but hesitated, looking back. "And might I say he will be very pleased."

The hunter looked back at her pale blue glowing eyes with hard, compassionless hazel ones of his own. "Who will be pleased about what?"

"Why, Reese of course. You called him by his name."

"Call the droid whatever he wants. Just get that part. I want to get off this Huttpuss world before nightfall."

This planet reminds me too much of Tatooine, Syan thought as the droid continued on her task. The restrictions, the danger. The sand that got in every fucking thing. He'd never gone back to Tatooine except on business with the Guild. And he had no intention of being stranded on a world just like it.

Bending down, he picked up the rotator coupling and swung it up on his shoulder, grinding his teeth as the metal came down hard on his shoulder he'd wrenched in the bike fight with Stormies on his futile trip to Ricketts. Not only had he injured himself, but worse he hadn't gotten the money the slag owed him. He'd have preferred to get his credits to killing the Stormies as he had. Syan Daywalker had little use for revenge. There wasn't any money in it.

The coupling he put down on top of a lift under the left side engine wing. The engine had been almost gutted, revealing the innards of the powerful radial thrust engines that gave the class its distinctive high-pitched whine as it flew overhead. He had developed an affection of sorts for his ship. It was fast and maneuverable, and with the new turbolasers he'd had installed at the Drogen Shipyards before he had Wayland blow the shit out of their docking bay, he packed a punch that he hadn't before.

The lift raised the coupling slowly but steadily, which he needed to reattach all of the wiring that connected to the essential shaft of the radial engine. Under the engine smelled of elderberries. A distinct odor of the lubricant the engine used. Sweet at a whiff, but if he got under it, he'd end up blistered.

Wire after wire was reattached to the main coupling after the magneto was connected. Syan had to refer back to the diagrams frequently. He wasn't a tech. Working on ships wasn't his primary vocation. He couldn't pull out his blaster and shoot it into working.

His arms were wrist-deep into the engine components, working a slippery connector into a badly-placed slot while picking his way by feel since the R2 astromech "Genie" wasn't much help with his dome-top light. The frustration was getting to him and he gritted his teeth, revealing the elongated canines in his mouth. He could just. Feel it... The head of the plug had found the right contour. Now, just to push it in.

"Son of a Sith!" Syan growled under his breath as the plug slipped out. Annoyed, he pulled his hands out of the engine, the bandage stained with lubricants and carbon dust.

"I take it, things aren't going well, Hunter."

Karia was halfway down the ship's boarding ramp when she spoke. Syan looked up, still wearing his perpetual scowl.

"You're supposed to be resting," he said. "You need to heal."

Karia returned his annoyed look. "I'm healing just fine, human. And if I lay there any longer, I'm going to get bedsores.

"You can't get bedsores in one day."

"I know. It was sarcasm, Syan." Karia shook her head and sighed. She was near Syan's own height, with a long, fit body covered in golden skin. "Hard to match clothes to," she often said, but Syan wasn't exactly complaining. She was wearing simple white slacks with a white tank. The bandage around her right shoulder was clearly visible. Behind it, against the shoulderblade, would be a bacta patch accelerating the healing of the blaster wound she'd picked up courtesy of an ambitious speederbike trooper. She was carrying a sloshing silvery bag with water and a small kit jammed under her left arm.

"Thought you might be thirsty," she said, offering Syan the water.

He took it, flipping the stopper open with his thumb, and brought it to his lips. The water was good going down. Coolly quenching a thirst he'd ignored while working on the ship. The pouch was less full by a quarter when he lowered it.

Karia smiled. "Just what I thought."

Her smile disappeared and she took the bag she had under her arm out, revealing one of the medical kits from aboard the ship. "Eighteen was thoughtful enough to tell me that you had been injured. She knows you well enough to know you weren't going to do anything about it. Give me your hand, Syan."

"What?"

She put out her hand. "Put yours there. I want to clean the cut."

"It's a scratch. It's harmless."

"Did you get Eighteen's description of Kreelian tetanus? I don't want your hand dropping off. You use them too well." Humor flashed in Karia's eyes. "Come on, Hunter. You're not going to shy away from a little pain in front of a female are you?"

Syan stared back at her harshly, then offered his hand. "Pain doesn't bother me."

"No?" Karia led them over to a pair of parts cases that served as stools as they sat down. "Then what does?"

"You."

Karia chuckled and smiled at him. "Was that a joke?"

Syan returned a thin smile, revealing the points of his fangs.

"I didn't know you had it in you, Syan." Karia opened the case next to her, revealing a collection of common tools and salves, then set about unwrapping the filthy bandage from his hand. "Lel. Look at this."

The wound, while not deep, had bled a lot. His palm was caked in dried blood, spotted with dirt swathed in lubricants. The wound looked terrible. She picked up the water pouch and held it over the wound, washing off much of the dried blood and dirt. It took most of the remaining water, but she got it much cleaner than it was. From the first aid kit, she took out a vial of amber liquid and poured it over the wound. It fizzed and bubbled, cleaning the wound out and killing any vermin that had taken up shop. A little more water cleaned the remaining antiseptic off.

"How'd you get this?"

Syan watched dispassionately as she took out a small metal tool and started to trim ragged skin away from the wound. "Pinched it fixing the rotary coupling."

"Well when I'm done here, I'll give you a hand. The droids are busy."

"I can finish it," Syan said. "You're supposed to be healing. I want to get this ship finished before nightfall. I don't need an injured person working on-- What the hell are you doing, woman!" Syan hissed.

Karia took her thumbnail from the injury. She didn't look apologetic. "You're injured too, bounty hunter. And I'm a fair mechanic. You can use the extra hands. Especially now." She placed a clean bandage on the wound and wrapped it in flextape that sealed itself against the skin to keep the bandage clean.

Annoyed, Syan took his hand back when she was done and got up, walking back to the open engine.

After closing up the first aid kit, the Ferrerrio woman followed.

"Sorry." She came up behind him and rested her hands on his waist. "I shouldn't have done that. But I need something to do, something productive. I've been so cooped up lately, and just tagging along on everything you do. I want to help, Syan. I want to be useful."

Syan turned and looked over his shoulder at her. "It's a dangerous job. If you don't want to take the risks, I can give you a cut and--"

"It's not the risks, Syan! It's not the danger. I like being here. I like working and living with you. I just don't want to feel like the only time I'm any use to you is when I'm on my back." She withdrew her hands and folded them, glancing down angrily.

The hunter's expression didn't change but for a tightening of the skin around his eyes as he watched her. She stood there, muttering angrily to herself in her native tongue, which Syan did not understand.

He considered her words. They were dangerous words. They suggested - asked for - things he had never given.

"Karia."

He inhaled slowly, wondering if this was a bad idea. "Give me a hand with this engine. Your hands are smaller. You can reach what I can't."

"Change of Heart, Part 2"
By Auron Ronso
Ellemiek Vermolen
Tifa Alexandros Lionhart [NPC+]

Location: CRS Concordia
Date: Eos 26, 4 ABY

***

Auron didn't get the chance to show Tifa the X-wings because at the time there was an exercise which included most of the X-Wing series. A major battle is going to happen, Auron thought. He could feel it in his bones. A grand and great battle was going to happen. Perhaps not that day and not the day after, but in the near future.

Auron thought about how exercises were made more regularly when the time of war was near. He looked to the bed next to his and saw that Ellemiek had not yet returned. Auron could tell that there was something that was troubling her.

Auron knew that Ellemiek was a kind of person who followed orders to the letter, but he also knew that she was looking at him differently. Maybe it was because of this amnesia.. The truth was that for a long time since the disaster he could not sleep at all.

Auron got out of his quarters and made his way to the hangar to see if it was ok to bring Tifa along, since Kitana and Tifa were not allowed to walk freely.

After seeing that it was ok, he walked to the room where Tifa had been stationed. He nodded to the guard standing post there and knocked on the door.

"Hello, Commander Ronso!" Tifa smiled as she opened the door. "It is a pleasure to see you again!"

Auron smiled at the compliment. "Thank you, Tifa. I'm here to tell you that if you still want to take a tour of the hangars, the X-Wings are back."

"So, what are we waiting for?" Tifa asked as she walked out of the room.

They walked along the corridors slowly. Auron looked at Tifa and saw that she was not paying any attention to the ship, but rather looking at him.

"Auron, can I ask you something?" Tifa asked.

"Sure! Anything except for info about the Concordia!" Auron smiled.

"I know that you're not allowed to speak about the Concordia. Besides, I don't want to jeopardize the Alliance that could be forming."

"Alliance?" Auron turned to Tifa.

"Yes, an Alliance. For quite some time, this has been a possibility. Gallor is currently in a very tough situation. It is one of the few planets that is almost cut off from the rest of the Galaxy, and it is surrounded by Imperial forces. An attack by the Imperials can be conducted at any time!" Tifa said.

"I though that Gallorians were too proud to join any faction..." Auron said.

"Well, they are. I'm not sure I should say this, because it's classified information. Alas, I don't see why it should be such a big secret!" Tifa said as they started to walk again. "I'm telling you this since there is a possibility we become allies. Two years ago a diplomat of Gallor was going to meet representatives of the Rebellion..." Tifa paused and looked at Auron. "Sorry, Alliance. They were going to negotiate the joining of Gallorian forces in the Alliance. The problem was that somebody of the Empire, a Black operative, was able to discover where the meeting was going to happen. The diplomat and other five people were brutally murdered by that black operative."

"And that made the alliance impossible, right?" Auron asked.

"Yeah. More I don't know. Garnet told me this because that was going to be my next mission. To bring that criminal into justice!" Tifa explained. "But I have a question I want to ask you..."

"Ask away..." Auron smiled as they entered the hangar, the same where Tifa and Kitana's ships were stationed.

They approached one of the X-Wings. Tifa forgot what she was going to ask when they approached the ship. She was marveled by the ship. She looked back at Auron. "I'm sorry if I look awed, but I was going to fly these ships when I was expelled from the academy."

Auron didn't touch the subject. He was anxious about what Tifa wanted to ask him. "What did you want to ask me anyway?"

Tifa looked at Auron and sighed. "Why do you trust people right away? It's not very common in Alliance pilots..."

"Well, I'm an open minded person. You see, I got this problem. I suffer amnesia, and recall almost nothing besides two years ago," Auron answered.

"So that's why you didn't recognize her!" Tifa exclaimed.

"Recognize who?" Auron asked.

"Kitana Gellar!" Tifa answered as she glanced into Auron's eyes. "You really don't recognize her, do you?"

"Should I recognize her? Tifa, tell me why I should recognize her!" Auron said, grabbing Tifa hands.

Tifa was quite embarrassed the way Auron grabbed her hands. "Kitana was the one who found you. She lived with you for two or three months, because she was shot down as well on that planet!" Tifa paused. "You don't remember do you?"

"I keep seeing so many faces. I can't sleep at all... I try hard to remember everything, but I can't. I remember nothing at all!" Auron paused. "Is there something else I need to know?"

Tifa looked at Auron. She saw he was quite desperate to find out more about himself and she couldn't begin to imagine what it was like to lose all the memories from the past life. "I shouldn't tell you this..."

"Tifa, please tell me whatever I need to know!" Auron implored, looking into Tifa's eyes.

Tifa sighed. "Auron, this is going to be quite a shock to you. You... You have a son!"

"What...?" Auron exclaimed, almost in shock. He felt his legs begin to fail. He quickly placed his hands on is head and felt a sharp pain come to his head and in his lungs as well.

Tifa grabbed him and fell on the floor. She looked into Auron's eyes and saw a small blue sparkle coming through them, almost like lightning. Tifa looked to their surroundings, but nobody was there. After a small while she felt that Auron was breathing normally again.

"I hate it when this happens," Auron said while still catching his breath.

"What happened, Auron?" Tifa asked as she helped him to his feet.

"When I remember something, this sharp pain comes along," Auron said as he got up.

"And the sparkle on your eyes always happens as well?" Tifa asked.

"Sparkle?" Auron asked, confused.

"There was this sparkle, like a small blue lightning coming from your eyes," Tifa explained.

"I don't know... But I remember more things now. They became clear to me. I remember meeting Kitana and I didn't know who I was. It is strange how I remember to have an affair with her and yet have no feelings for her."

"What? No feelings whatsoever?" Tifa asked.

"I don't know... I really don't know. I have to remember everything to be sure." Auron paused. "Tifa, promise me that you won't tell this to Kitana or anyone else. I have to be sure of this!"

"I promise, Auron. You have my word on that," Tifa said.

By then, an X-Wing entered through the hangar and set down near where they stood. The cockpit opened and inside the ship was Ellemiek.

Climbing down, she took off he helmet and smiled. "I see you got the chance to see the hangar... I hope you found it a nice tour. The X-Wing is one of the best fighters to have ever been built..."

"Yes, they are Commander Vermolen," Tifa said promptly as she nodded. "That is why I like my TIE Aquatic, the Andros. It is very similar to the X-Wing. Not in its design, obviously, but the internal components are basically the same."

"I didn't know that," Auron said as he looked at his fighter.

Tifa looked to the X-Wing and examined the name that was written. "Kyra Ronso?"

"The sole survivor of Auron's former squadron, years ago..." Ellemiek said. "Many people have died in this war. I alone have seen enough bloodshed to last for two lifetimes!" she sighed. "And yet it seems there is always another tyrant waiting to fight for power."

"Yes, that is true, and my family died in that war," Tifa said while looking for something on her clothes. She took a small datapad from one of her pockets. She turned it on and started to read what was in it.

"What are you looking for?" Auron asked.

"Kyra Ronso... I know that I saw that name before in here..." Tifa paused. "Ahh, here it is. This must be wrong!"

"What?" Auron asked again.

"According to the info here, Kyra Ronso is the Black Operative that killed the diplomat," Tifa said, as it was visible on the datapad.

Ellemiek frowned. And she didn't even want to comment about Garnet Seifer who was also en route to becoming a tyrant, or so her reputation preceded her. And now something on Kyra murdering someone... "Kyra Ronso is a Black Operative for the New Empire. That much I can tell you."

"It seems that you don't trust me. Don't worry, I'm used to that," Tifa said as she looked more seriously at Ellemiek.

"About Kyra, we knew that she is a Black Operative, since our diplomat was murdered. If we wanted to finish the New Republic in Tae'Karada we would deliver the information he knew about your operatives who are currently in Tae'Karada, but we didn't because it is time for those stupid, selfish, sons of bitches to pay for their crimes. I specially want Tarkin to die in an extremely slow way so he can see what is fear of death... Then, I will send his pieces throughout the Galaxy to the resistances of the New Empire that still function. They will give up or they will suffer the same consequences as Tarkin!" Tifa said in way that sent a shiver down Auron's spine.

"If you do that, then you are no better than he is," Ellemiek argued. "And don't get me wrong, for I don't like Tarkin anymore than you do, but I believe in justice above revenge or slaughter," she said as she started to walk away. "Auron, if you need me, I'll be in the rec room. And as for Miss Tifa, may I remind you that she is confined to her room, apart from this visit and that she is to always be with an escort," she said, just in case Auron had forgotten his orders.

Auron looked towards Ellemiek. Something in her had changed and the cause of the change led towards Kyra. He didn't know what it was, but he was going to find out.

"Sorry about Ellemiek. She has this thing about people that attack the Alliance ships and are now trying to join the New Republic. Maybe it's something else..." Auron said frankly.

"I understand. This attitude was predictable. Well, I will be heading to my room. I don't want to cause any hassle..." Tifa said.

"Very well. I will accompany you to your room, and maybe go practice a little bit on the gym," Auron said as he accompanied Tifa to her room.

Once there, Tifa opened the door and turned around, looking at Auron. They stopped for a moment and were approaching each other's lips when Tifa diverted her direction and kissed Auron on his cheek. "Ellemiek is a lucky girl..." she whispered.

"You know... How do you know?" Auron asked.

"Bye, Auron and thank you for the tour. And don't worry for your secret of the attacks is safe with me..." Tifa smiled and nodded towards Auron as she closed the door.

***

Sometime later, Ellemiek walked into the gym as she felt like doing a little exercise to relax. She had had little time over the past few weeks to do so, and thought it was about time to take some time off. Maybe when the war was over she could take a short vacation, but for now she would have to be content with a few hours.

As she entered she saw Auron who was doing martial arts to keep himself in shape. It was interesting how a man with amnesia could remember fighting techniques, as if the body remembered naturally even though the mind did not. "You look pretty good in those forms," she smiled.

Auron stopped and saw it was Ellemiek who had come in. "Thanks, Ellemiek. Care to do a mano-a-mano?" he asked with a grin.

She approached him and smiled, while braiding her hair in a ponytail. "Bring it on..." she answered as she got her hands up.

***

The hours passed and it was late when they left the gym. It was funny how they hadn't discussed about the Gallorian party there nor recalled the last years when Auron had gone missing. Instead, they focused on the moment and Ellemiek had her arm around Auron's waist. When they got to Ellemiek's quarters she stood at the door. "Wanna come inside?" she asked him.

Before he could answer, she placed her arms around his neck and kissed him fondly. Auron reciprocated and took a step into her room...

"In the Beginning"
By: Gerrick Streen

Location: Outskirts of Thanatos
Date: Eos 26, 4 ABY

***

Gerrick strode into the outskirts of town, sweating under the heat of the midday sun. As he walked his feet brought up small clouds of dust with every fall.

Gerrick looked down at the floor and several thoughts came to him simultaneously. He initially thought that the ground below him was the most barren he had ever seen and started to rub the floor with the tip of his boot in an attempt to get a better picture of its texture. As Gerrick rubbed the floor he noticed (to his horror) that the sole of his boot was starting to wear dangerously thin. Gerrick decided at the time that he was unable to do anything about either situation and as such he moved on. As he walked the feel of the boot nagged at him and tormented him to such an extent that he desperately needed to take the weight off his feet.

Gerrick was also extremely hungry now and in need of shelter for the night; he had walked about ten miles since he had entered the small city and as of yet had nowhere to stay (excluding a less than tempting offer from a large inebriated gentleman that involved services Gerrick felt he lacked both the means and the motive to perform).

At this point Gerrick noticed a sign and promptly read it. It said: "The Grinning Mynock, Hot Food and Drinks Served All Day." There was an arrow painted at the bottom (apparently as an afterthought as it was a different color to the letters). Gerrick stood and pictured with his mind's eye exactly what a grinning mynock would look like, the image of a smiling malevolent space parasite didn't rest easy in his imagination but as the chance of an actual smiling mynock being in the building by the sign was negligible he decided to give it a chance.

***

Gerrick strolled into the doorway the arrow pointed to and into the drinking establishment beyond. As he entered the room his senses were assaulted by what lay before him. If Gerrick had been granted a choice he would not have come to this place. If Gerrick were the most desperate, stupid and vicious person in the universe (dying from a combination of hunger and thirst) he wouldn't have come to this place. However Gerrick was a tolerant and open-minded person and refused to judge anything by the way it looked (smelled or deeply unsettled you on a psychological level).

At the bar Gerrick was greeted by a stout man about the same height as himself, sporting a wildly bushy moustache and a patch over his left eye.

"What do you want?" blurted the cycloptic barkeeper.

"I could really use a good meal and a top up of water for my canteen," replied Gerrick.

Gerrick took some low denomination credit coins from his pocket and placed them on the table and looked up.

"Will this be enough?" he ventured.

The barkeeper's one eye pivoted down to look at the pile of credits and he sucked a long breath in through his teeth and then let it out with a sigh. After the breathing exercise he rubbed his temples with his thumb and middle finger of his left hand and pushed the coins around with the index of his right.

"Ok I�ll send something out, give me your canteen and I�ll fill it up as well," said the Barkeeper and began to walk away.

Gerrick sat at a table near the bar and took in some details around him, this was after all a potentially dangerous place and forewarned was forearmed.

After about ten minutes the Barkeeper returned and placed a plate of food on the table. Gerrick recognized the food as a basic meat and vegetable stew, with some type of bread.

"Thank you," said Gerrick.

"See if you're still grateful after you've eaten it," replied the barkeeper.

Gerrick then sat and ate the food, granted it was bland and the meat was tough but it filled the gap in his hunger and Gerrick was satisfied (he'd eaten worse).

After his meal Gerrick approached the bar and was about to ask if any work was available when a young man in a long coat pushed past him to the bar and started to talk with the barkeeper in a low voice. Nobody else paid any attention but Gerrick's keen hearing picked every word.

"Ok, old man, open the till and pass me the goods. Keep it quiet and slow or me and my pal will make some noise of our own," stated the young man, directing the attention of the barkeeper to a small holdout blaster in his right hand

"Ok, ok don't do anything rash, you can have it," said the barkeeper in a calm voice, more bored than scared.

Gerrick thought this must have happened frequently, to put the barkeeper into such a calm mood. Regardless of the occurrence he had to act.

He approached the youth at the bar, moving almost without any sound. He moved within a half meter of the young man unnoticed and then stopped.

"I think you should go home before someone gets hurt, don't you?" whispered Gerrick.

The youth saw Gerrick and looked at him for a half second in disbelief before turning and swinging the blaster round toward him.

As the weapon came round Gerrick intercepted the robber's right arm with his own and gripped at the attacker's wrist with his thumb and middle finger.

The robber felt a surprisingly intense pain in his wrist and discharged his weapon by instinct. The blaster bolt struck the ceiling and vaporized a small section of plasticrete. Red-hot tiny fragments of the material rained down on the occupants of the bar and they danced around, seemingly to the tune of an unheard lunatic musician.

Gerrick didn't flinch but merely continued to twist the wrist of his assailant around until the barrel pointed up the left nostril of his attacker.

"I strongly advise against discharging another shot from you weapon. Also I would appreciate it if you handed me the power pack as well," advised Gerrick, holding out his left hand.

The youth did as he was told and handed over the power pack.

"Now you can give me the gun as well," said Gerrick.

Again the youth complied and Gerrick placed the gun in the opposite pocket to the power pack. He made a hand signal for the young man to leave and he did, nearly tripping over in his rush.

Gerrick turned to the barkeeper.

"I am led to believe that you need a roofer, my friend," he said to the barkeeper, who merely nodded in return.

The look on the face of the barkeeper was one of shock. Gerrick decided to continue, "Well I am in need of shelter for a while and so would be willing to fix your roof in return for that and some food, would that be ok?" he added.

Again the barkeeper nodded and pointed behind himself, he then spoke (surprisingly). "You can stay downstairs, you'll find tools and a place to sleep there."

Gerrick went downstairs to the basement and surveyed the bare room. It was basic but as always he had seen worse on his travels and there was a makeshift bed in the corner of the room.

Gerrick unpacked his belongings and prepared an infusion of herbs from his pack and tipped the drink into his small metal cup.

As the drink cooled Gerrick spotted a large double handed hammering device in the opposite corner of the room and had an idea. He took the gun and the power pack from his pockets and placed them on the a solid piece of the floor. After this he picked up the hammer and with a half dozen strong blows mangled the weapon into a twisted piece of new age art.

Gerrick shuddered at the thought of a tool for killing in the hands of a child (well near enough to a child anyway).

With his work done Gerrick settled and drank his concoction, assessing his situation. He had some work and a means of feeding himself now and could venture further into Thanatos in the morning.

Impressed with his efforts today Gerrick settled and slept soundly, hoping his second day would be more peaceful.

"Curtailed Retirement"
By: Iyika
Tiraj [NPC+]

Location: Yallder, New Plouton
Date: Eos 26, 4 ABY

***

Lightening flashed through the sky outside giving small light to the dark room she was standing in. She'd promised herself never to do this, but life, it seemed, had other ideas. The hotel room was damp and smelled of things she believed were best left alone. The plaster on the walls was peeling off and the wall behind was rotting; it was remarkable the building was still up and not condemned.

But this was where she found herself in a dark hotel room with boarded up windows. Every few seconds a speeder would pass the hotel and light would beam in through the gaps and holes in the wooden boards running along the window. Iyika looked at the window for a brief moment before returning to the dead body in the room with her.

She was leaning against the wall. It had been an hour since she'd done the job. Her blaster had fired without a second's hesitation. The laser pulse had hit his chest and exploded out through his back, slicing through clothes, flesh and bone like a hot knife through melting butter. The wound through his chest had cauterised almost instantly; there was a small pool of dried blood beside him. The walls of the tunnel running from his chest to his back was black as the darkest night.

Her fingers moved over the handle of the blaster still in her hand, held at her right side, for two thousand credits her lowest take yet. She slowly slid the blaster back into the holster under her leather coat. Turning, she moved to the closed door leading out into the empty corridor. There were dozens of stains on the floor; most were old blood stains. A light flickered at the far end of the corridor, the only one still working. Her mark was a traitor to the Republic, a two timing spy working for both sides and the time had come when his usefulness had come to a very definite end.

She moved down the corridor like a silent wraith, her eyes scanning what was in front of her, watching for any dangers, but none came. She slid the far window open and vanished into the night.

***

"There she is. She's on the move and heading down Barej Street." The man's green eyes flashed with malice as he followed the lithe woman's movements. She'd taken their kill, and wasn't even going to stay around to apologize. "How very rude..." Hoga drawled. "And our employer won't be happy either. He hadn't planned on her actually succeeding. He doesn't like wasting money, especially not on whores like that."

His partner, Praj, peered around the corner of the building, then leaned back against the wall, merging again with the darkness. "Do we follow?"

Hoga's hand caressed the smooth metal of his blaster's barrel as he watched the woman disappear into the pedestrian traffic. He glanced over his shoulder at Praj and nodded curtly. "Tell the others to take to the roofs. We'll trap her in then get some answers."

Praj's mouth curled into a toothy, greedy smile as he dug into his pocket for the comm device. He was in the mood for a hunt, and the woman would prove the perfect prey. They might even have a treat for later, if they succeeded...

***

She looked up at the night sky hidden above the thick clouds. Lightening flashed through the clouds, spreading out quickly joined by the huge booming thunder that echoed around. She liked the night; she'd always been a night person and in her line of work the darkness was a welcomed ally.

But something about this night troubled her. It wasn't killing the man in the rundown hotel room, the double agent working the Imperials on this godforsaken world; she'd killed more people than she could count. At first she could remember all their faces, but now...now they simply merged into one faceless man.

She stopped looking into a shop window. In the reflection she spotted three men across the street; they looked familiar. But she just shrugged and continued walking, looking at the various shops selling everything and anything you could possibly want. She needed some power cells for her blasters, and some clothes.

Turning down a street she looked into the window of a speeder parked at the side of the street. The same three men were still there heading down the street after her. "Great..." she whispered to herself.

~What now?~ the familiar voice asked in her mind.

"Just some goons following me, they don't look like much. Two guys, one seems to be human by the look of him, the other has green eyes," she said, looking at a clothes store window. It was full of dresses of various colours; she winced at seeing them for the first time as her eyes were on the two men following her.

~What is it with you? I mean do you just attract violent people? Everywhere you go, it's like you have a sign saying 'Come one and all!'~

Iyika winced, knowing he had a point, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She turned away from the clothing store and turned down a side alley. She was up on the fire escape before the two men had come around the corner into the alley. She jumped from side to side, crashing into the side of the fire escape, jumping over the metal railing, vanishing up onto the roof.

She came up over the wall onto the roof. She was about to head off when laser fire flashed past her. She spun around as a laser pulse flew past her head. She felt the heat from it as it whistled past. She crashed to the floor, rolling up with the blaster in her hand. Looking around all she saw was darkness and steam coming out of vents in the roof. She slid the blaster back into its holster before 'shimmering' out of view, fading like a ghost.

That's when they appeared. Three men, all human and they were holding blasters. They came out through the steam that was pouring out the grilled vent in the floor, spreading out like a cloud.

"Where is she?!" the largest of the men shouted. Gult was the strongest but not the smartest. That fell to Hoga who as far as he knew was down below.

"How the hell would I know?!" shouted Strokes, the man to Gult's left. "And quit shouting! You'll scare her off!"

"You're the one who's shouting, and it would be your face that scares her off not his voice..." That got a few laughs even from Gult who normally didn't get the jokes. It left Strokes perplexed, standing frozen in place, looking after his two friends.

"What is that suppose to mean?" he asked, staring after them. But no one had a chance to reply. Iyika exploded out from the cloud of steam. She was a faded outline as the steam clung to her clothes making her partially visible. She jumped up, kicking Gult in the chest, sending him crashing back. His friend spun around with his rifle but Iyika was there in a flash.

Her arms came up, blocking the rifle from coming around to bear. Strokes had his rifle up, aimed at Iyika but he hesitated, fearing to hit his friend which gave her the chance she needed. Her left foot came around, slamming into Stroke's face, spinning him around, using the momentum of her kick to spin the human around. She twisted the rifle, flipping him over.

He slammed into the ground hard on his side. The rifle flew to the side, hitting the ground and sliding into the steam cloud; Iyika's hand grabbed the man's arm, twisting it around, picking him up off the ground. "Why are you following me?" she demanded, drawing her blaster, jamming it into his neck.

Before the man could answer, a spurt of blood sprayed out from the gaping hole in his neck delivered by an unseen blaster bolt, and with a gurgling cry, he crumpled to the ground. Far below, in the alley, more cries rang out, then silenced abruptly. The wet thud of bodies crashing down into fetid puddles followed, then the shrill hiss of blaster fire sailing towards the rooftop. A grunt was ripped from Gult's throat as the blue beam slammed into his chest and laid him down again before he'd had a chance to fully rise.

The moment began and ended in a matter of seconds, leaving a sense of confusion in its wake. Iyika barely had a chance to register what was occurring when a series of men in black gear seemed to materialize from the darkness and surrounded Iyika with trained blaster rifles. Another man appeared from over the wall and retracted his grappling hook just as his colleague mounted the roof. The first man shot her a smarmy grin, and his blue eyes fixed a hard stare upon her.

He strode towards Iyika with confidence, as evidenced by the blaster still holstered at his hip. His men remained where they were, their weapons steady and ready to fire at even the hint of a suspicious movement from the woman.

The man stopped a short distance from Iyika, his eyes slowly scanning her body from head to toe. His gaze paused briefly at the splatter of blood on her outfit, then settled on her face. The man chuckled and finally extended a hand to her. "Nice work. Though, you could've been a little cleaner on your execution."

She looked at the hand offered. "My execution has nothing to do with it. The man's dead, that's what I'm getting paid for. Just make damned sure no one hears about it! I'm supposed to have retired, remember?"

Her eyes moved from the commander and roamed over the men in the black uniforms standing around her. They looked like special forces by the way they held themselves and their expensive equipment. "Care to explain the hardware?" she asked, nodding at the men. "You better not be changing the deal or I'll rip your head off, soldiers or no soldiers..." Her eyes were fixed on the man standing in front of her. She smiled at him, knowing she was serious.

Tiraj's smile remained in place and he returned his hand to his hip, resting it on his blaster. "You're not invincible, as much as you like to think you are. If I were your enemy, you would be dead now, in place of that cur at your feet. You were careless tonight, and if there had been any more of them, you wouldn't be alive to receive your payment."

"I never asked for your help nor did I need it to deal with these oversized morons!" she said, kicking the dead corpse at her feet. "So where's my money so I can go. No offence but your soldier boys are beginning to stink. No, I take that back. I do mean it as an offence. What are you feeding them?" Her hand waved in front of her nose as she looked to the soldier immediately to her right as if trying to waft a smell away.

"They're not my soldier boys," Tiraj said with distaste. "I don't know who you think you were working for, Iyika, but they have no affiliation with us. You thought you were hired by the New Republic." He chuckled humourlessly. "You were fooled, and these men here--" he motioned his head towards the dead bodies on the roof "--were here to make sure you didn't get your payment."

She looked down at the dead corpse of what was Gult; the holes in his chest were still smoking. Her eyes then moved to Tiraj. "Really..." she said, grinding her teeth. "So tell me, agent-man, who was I working for?"

Tiraj shrugged. "The Imps...or someone else who wanted him dead. Does it really matter? You were duped and you'll be needing new allies." He gave her a dashing smile. "Interested?"

"You?" She smiled despite herself. "And your goon squad? I ain't a soldier, as you might have guessed... Never went for all that tight fitting leather clothes..." She suddenly stopped, thinking for a moment. "Tight fitting leather? Okay, where do I sign up? Forget it!" she said, not smiling anymore. "Besides, I'm retired...remember?"

Tiraj sighed. "Those employing the men you had a hand in killing today won't care about that. I'm afraid you'll be forced out of retirement when they come looking for you." He stepped back and gave his men the order to move out. "But you're free to go at it alone." Tiraj gestured a half-hearted salute. "Enjoy your retirement." Then he swaggered off.

~You know he's right,~ Oz said, enjoying this far too much.

"Buzz off!" she cursed under her breath as she walked after the soldiers moving out. One of them turned, looking at her. "What you looking out?" she asked with an icy tone and the soldier simply shrugged and joined the rest of his comrades further ahead. "Whatever I've done to make you hate me I'm sure I don't deserve this..." Iyika whispered, her eyes looking to the night sky, searching for some answers, but as usual nothing came so she followed behind.

"Ah, so you've changed your mind," Tiraj commented, wearing an annoying, self-satisfied smile. He motioned to the rope grappled to the building's wall and leading to the ground. "You first. And I'll have you know, you're making a very wise decision."

"I'll make you eat those words..." she said, grabbing the rope, pushing off from the building, sliding down several metres. She pushed off again, dropping down to the ground, her feet hitting the floor. She looked up, stepping away from the wall of the building as the first of the soldiers came. Some did as she did, pushing away from the wall, while others faced downwards and quickly walked down, keeping a firm grip of the rope. "If my father finds out about this he's gonna kill me..." she whispered to herself.

"We've got a speeder waiting for us at the end of the alley," Tiraj said from behind her. "And before we get too far... Welcome to the New Republic. Though...your first job will be to prove your loyalty to us." He leaned over her shoulder and said quietly into her ear, "And until you do, I wouldn't piss off the boys. They tend to get a little trigger happy when it comes to the new-comers." And with a chuckle, he started down the alley.

She looked at the men around her. "You boys get any ideas you'll wake up with your balls in pickled jars!" Some of them chuckled as they walked off, following Tiraj. Iyika just shook her head, cursing whatever god was listening at the time.

"Crushed Hopes"
By: Koran Darr
Orinth Neerou [NPC+]
Shaza Nightshade [NPC+]
Laedra Vorrel
Tralesha Zibel [NPC+]

Location: Approaching Tae'Karada
Date: Eos 26, 4 ABY

***

The ship settled back down into the spaceport, a different registry than when it left. They would need to sneak back into Tae'Karada after limping away from Dargus Kandran's ship. They had not done as well as they'd hoped. They'd done nowhere near as well as they'd hoped. In fact, they'd pretty much lost. They had been forced to give up on rescuing Yelara and Va'Lesh, as well as Liam Zaneth, who for a very brief period of time, Laedra and Koran could sense.

Orinth was taking it as well as could be expected. Tralesha, nearly his adopted daughter by this point, was taking it worse than the elderly man. She raised her head from where it rested on Orinth's shoulder and sighed. "I'm so sorry," she whispered for what had to have been the hundredth time since they'd flown from the fight against Dargus' fighters. "We'll figure out a way to get to them. We'll figure out a way to get them free."

"I know, my dear." Orinth stroked her hair tenderly. "Don't be so down, Tralesha. We haven't failed yet. There will be another chance."

"I know," Tralesha said with a sigh. "I guess...just seeing how despondent Jedi Laedra Vorrel was, and not knowing when we'd be able to try again. I'm sure we'll do it...but...it's just depressing. We'll do it though. We have to keep confident."

"And that's why you must smile, my girl." He grasped her chin gently and raised her head to face him. "Smile, Tralesha. There's always hope."

Tralesha did as Orinth asked and gave him a smile. "We'll be fine," she said. "We'll all be fine. We just need another chance, that's all. The Jedi can help us again...maybe we'll need more Jedi."

"Well...it couldn't hurt." Orinth chuckled and affectionately patted Tralesha's cheek. "We'll ask Mr. Jedi when he returns."

"He should be back pretty soon. shouldn't he?" Tralesha asked. "I thought he was going to check on Laedra."

"Which means he may not be back for a while. That one is troubled, my dear." Orinth sighed. "She'll need much comforting I imagine."

"When she sensed the man that was her lover," Tralesha said, "and then we had to leave. I thought she was going to cut someone in half. She needs his help, that's for sure. I don't know if we'd be able to be any help."

"It's best that we leave them. They're Jedi," Orinth explained. "They have their own ways."

Shaza emerged from the cockpit and glanced between Orinth and Tralesha. "We're down," she said. "We're safe for now, but we'll want to avoid any Imperial patrols."

"Then we should leave now," Orinth said. "But...where do we go?"

"Maybe we could go with the Jedi to their Temple place," Tralesha said. "That'll put us close enough to be able to make another attempt when they're ready."

"Then we'd better speak with them." Orinth looked between the two women. "But...who shall be the one to disturb them?"

Tralesha looked between the two others, then allowed her gaze to settle on Orinth. "Maybe we could talk to them together. If nothing else we can try to talk to Master Koran Darr."

Orinth nodded and rose from his seat. Extending his hand to Tralesha, he smiled warmly. "How could they possibly refuse you anything?"

Tralesha slipped her hand into his. She only smiled as they started out of the room.

***

Koran sighed and placed a hand on Laedra's shoulder. "We'll make another attempt," he said. "We'll try to get more Jedi involved this time. I think with more of us we'll have a better chance."

Laedra shifted her shoulder away from Koran's touch and paced towards the far side of the cabin. "I won't keep doing this," she said quietly. "It's futile. Rally the other Jedi to join you, but I refuse."

"Why won't you join in?" Koran asked. "We can do it, Laedra. What will you do? Why won't you try to help us in this? Why not help to get Liam back?"

Laedra paused before the viewport in the room and gazed distantly out, wishing in that moment she had the ability to foresee the future. "If Liam returns, do you believe he would remain at the Temple? Do you believe he would do anything but follow his wife to the ends of the universe?"

"He may," Koran said. "Hey may not. But there is only one way to find out for certain. Are you really willing to give up everything?"

"I'm not giving up," she said wearily. "I'm simply not bothering to try." Laedra turned back to face Koran, and whispered, "Don't force me to, Master. Please don't."

"I won't force you," Koran said. "I won't make you do anything you don't wish to do, but...but the thought of you just walking away from this... I don't want to see you go, Laedra."

Laedra smiled wanly. "I had no idea you were so selfish, Master. At one time, I believed you loved me and would have thought only of what was best for me. Has that changed so much now?"

"It hasn't changed," Koran said. "If you feel this is the best for you, then that's what it is. I won't force you. I just...it's difficult, Laedra. You said you believed I loved you, and I did...and do. It's the realization that when we leave this ship, I may never see you again..."

Laedra sighed sharply and resumed pacing the room in an agitated manner. "Again, you're being selfish, Master," she snapped. "I can't leave because it will pain you. I can't leave because you can't bear it. But what about me! What about the fact that I'm dying inside! That I've just realized my entire life has been a lie - a waste! Don't you care?"

"You want me to let you go," Koran said, "so I will. I cannot deny my feelings, but you appear to care for them as little as you claim I care for yours. I've only been saying that it will hurt me to lose you, but I haven't said I will try to keep you here. If you need to go, then you have to go. I don't see anything I can do that will change your mind, and it doesn't appear you wish to. So, this is it."

Laedra sighed and ended her maddening tour of the room. She chose, instead, to sit upon the bed and calm herself. Once her mind was clear, she gazed up at Koran and held out a hand to him. "Please... I don't want us to part like this. Just...let me explain."

Koran nodded. "Of course," he said, then he went and sat down opposite her. "Go ahead, Laedra."

She looked down at her hands, folded in her lap, and kept her focus only on them. "I'm not meant for this life, Koran," she began. "You know that. Ina failed in training me, in teaching me to temper my emotions. I'm too old to change, Koran. I'm too set in my ways. No matter how devoted you are to trying to repair the damage that has been done, you'll never succeed, not until I've decided the life of a Jedi is what I want." Laedra sighed unsteadily and finally met Koran's gaze. "I don't know what I want," she whispered. "And until I find out...I can't burden you, or the Temple. That's why I have to go. Yes, I'll miss you dearly, especially considering all we've been through...but I don't want to hurt you or anyone anymore."

"Will you stay on Tae'Karada? At least for a time? You don't have to be a Jedi, but...is it so bad around me that you want to get as far away as possible?"

Laedra laughed softly and reached over to place her hand atop Koran's. "It's not so bad at all, Koran. You're my best friend and I do love you. So...I will stay for a little while, just to figure out what I'll do and where I'll go. But I can't be at the Temple, Koran. I can't."

"If you need help finding a place," Koran said. "I'd like to help you find one if you're willing. The area around the library seemed very nice and central to everything you'll need."

Laedra squeezed Koran's hand gently and sighed. "I don't even know if I'm staying on Tae'Karada, Koran. But...I will explore that option. I promise you."

"I only thought...because you said you'd stay for a little while," Koran said. "If you'd prefer that I make myself invisible, please let me know. I won't try to be involved in your life if you don't want me to be."

"Koran, no..." Laedra shifted closer to him and gently pressed a hand to his cheek. "I do need you, even with as defiant as I've been lately. No, I don't wish Koran the Jedi Master to be involved, but Koran the man... I'll take his presence any day."

"Then he'll be there," Koran said with a smile. "Just Koran the man." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. "I promise."

Laedra smiled tenderly at Koran in return, but her eyes held much pain and sorrow. "I'm so sorry for everything I've done to you, Koran. I'm sorry I led you astray. I'm sorry I manipulated you into defying the Code. And I'm so sorry I've hurt you as much as I have. You never deserved that."

"Perhaps not," Koran said. "But, I think together we can move past that if we want to. I know I want to go past and find the friendship we forged at the beginning."

Laedra fought back her tears and nodded solemnly. "Things were better then," she whispered. "I hope they can be again."

"I think they can," Koran said. "I think we both want it enough to make sure it happens."

"And we still have a little time left," she added, "so I think we can manage it." Laedra laughed gently as she leaned forward to kiss Koran's cheek, but the sound of the door chime stopped her short. She cleared her throat, then, and rose from the bed. "You have visitors," she said. "I should go."

"It's Orinth and Tralesha," Koran said. "We can talk later?"

Laedra bowed her head and murmured a, "Yes, Master." She smiled at him as she turned towards the door, then moved to let Koran's guests in. When the door opened to reveal Orinth and Tralesha, Laedra forced a most pleasant smile onto her face and gestured them inside. "I was just leaving anyway, so it shouldn't be so cramped in here."

"Everything is alright?" Tralesha asked as she looked between the two Jedi. "We were...we were very concerned after...after before."

Laedra smiled tightly and she stiffened at the shame she felt towards her previous behaviour. "Everything is fine," she assured her. "I was simply distressed and...let my feelings get the better of me. Forgive me for forcing you to witness that. Now, I'll let you three speak." Bowing her head at the three this time, Laedra departed as hastily as she could manage.

Koran watched her go, then finally motioned Orinth and Tralesha inside. "Please, have a seat," he said. "Now, how can I help you?"

Before even making it to the chair, Orinth said forthrightly, "We wish to come to the Temple with you. Will you take us?"

Koran raised an eyebrow, marvelling at the man's bluntness. "I don't see any reason not to," he said. "Sure. The life will be different, I'm sure. But you should be safe there. Is this in hopes of launching another rescue attempt?"

Orinth nodded. "It is...and perhaps some of your Jedi friends can help. Would they?"

"I am certain they would," Koran said. "Though we will be much more effective if we can devise a plan that will definitely get us aboard his ship, or meet him in some other location. My powers with the Force are diminished in a situation like we were in. If I could stop the laser blasts and fighters, I would...but that is beyond the scope of my power."

"We understand," Orinth said. "And we don't fault you for anything, Jedi Master. But we know the more of you there are, the better chance we have."

"You are more than welcome to stay with us," Koran said. "There is plenty of room at the Temple for you."

Orinth smiled graciously. "Thank you, Mr. Jedi. Now, we should be leaving. Ms. Nightshade said we don't want to remain here too long."

"Of course," Koran said. "It will only take a moment for me to gather my belongings." True to his word, he picked up a small pack and slung it over a shoulder. "We should be able to rent a speeder to take us back to the Temple. We'll need to find Talara, and I'd like to check with Laedra before we leave."

"We'll find the young girl for you," Orinth replied. "And I'm sure Ms. Nightshade is already taking care of the speeder. Thank you again, Mr. Jedi."

"Thank you," Koran said. "I will meet you outside the speeder."

Orinth smiled again at Koran, then departed with Tralesha on his arm.

***

In her cabin, Laedra was plagued with indecision. She couldn't decide between wearing her Jedi robes for their return to the Temple and maintaining her role as fraud, or shedding them now and for good. She sank down onto the bed with a sob and buried her face into her hands. She needed to escape before she suffocated completely.

A gentle knock sounded at the door. "Laedra," Koran called softly. "It's me."

"I know," she replied quietly. "Come in." Laedra quickly wiped away any trace of tears as she rose from the bed and resumed gathering her belongings from the around the room.

"We're about to head out," Koran said as he entered the room. "Orinth, Tralesha, and Shaza will be coming to the Temple as well. Did you want to stay the night? I can help you find someplace to stay tomorrow morning...if you'd like."

"I can't just abandon you all now," she replied. "I'll come with you for now."

Koran gave her a smile. "I shall enjoy your company, and hope you can take some comfort from mine."

"I do," she said softly. She looked over her shoulder, then turned fully to face him. "Well...when you're not being strict Jedi Master Darr."

Koran laughed softly. "Well, if you are leaving the order, I no longer have any reason to be strict Jedi Master Darr. I will only be Koran with you from now on."

"Good," she said with a curt nod. "I've been meaning to get to know him." She chuckled. "That pesky Master fellow just always seemed to get in the way."

Koran took her hands in his. "He did have that habit, didn't he? Well, I think he's out of the way now though. You won't have to worry about him doing anything to interfere with our friendship."

"If only I could have met him before," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "Things could have been so different, Koran. They could have been better."

"Perhaps together, now, we can make them better," Koran said. "We did draw closer several times, and I know we can again. Especially without the constraints of the Order. I'd like that very much, Laedra."

She squeezed Koran's hands gently and said, "We'll see, Koran. For now, we should be getting back to the Temple."

"Do you have all your things?" Koran asked as he glanced around the small room. "The others are waiting outside for us."

"I'm ready." Laedra took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as she moved to retrieve her pack. One of the items held inside was the lightsaber she felt she no longer had the right to wear on her hip. After shouldering the pack, she gestured for Koran to lead the way.

Koran held out a hand to her before starting toward the door. "If you don't mind," he said when she glanced nervously at it.

Laedra laughed softly and placed her hand into his. "I don't as long as you don't."

"I don't mind one little bit," he said. "Come, let's go get ready to start the rest of your life."

She smiled anxiously and as they walked towards the door, she muttered, "I've never been more afraid than I am now."

"What do you think it is that scares you the most?" Koran asked.

"Ironically enough," she answered, "not being a Jedi anymore."

"I really don't have any experience with not being a Jedi," Koran said. "But, I'll try to help you get through it."

Laedra nodded slowly, saying nothing about what she intended to do once she left the Temple, something that would prevent him from providing any aid at all. It would be easier on Koran if he didn't know.

They walked through the ship and descended the ramp together, hand-in-hand. Waiting for them in a speeder was the rest of their small gang.

Before they reached the speeder, Koran glanced at Laedra. "You're planning on leaving me, aren't you? Going away somewhere else, to escape me?"

Laedra's hand tightened around Koran's with the effort of keeping her emotions contained. "Not you," she replied somberly. "Just...escaping, that's all."

Koran nodded. "I won't try to stop you," he said softly.

She swallowed back a sob and whispered, "Thank you."

"Do you think we'll ever see each other again?" Koran asked, slowing slightly before they reached the speeder.

Laedra shifted around to face him and smiled tenderly. "Perhaps someday, if the Force wills it. And if we will it."

"I don't know about willing it yet," Koran said. "But I do wish it. I have few friends here, and if you leave Tae'Karada all I will have is the Jedi Order. It should be able to sustain me, but it is still nice to have a friend."

"You'll never lose me as a friend," she assured him. "No matter how far away I am. There's no way I could forget you."

"Before you go, I'd like to record the sound of your laugh," Koran said. "That way...that way I'll always have a way to bring a smile to my own lips."

Laedra looked down and chuckled weakly. "I don't even know if I have any left in me." She glanced up at him and asked, "Will a holoportrait do?"

"Give it a few weeks away from the Jedi," Koran said, "and perhaps you will find laughter again. Come with me to the coast, and perhaps I can coax a few out of you."

"The coast?" Laedra smiled slowly, then nodded. "I'd love to. We'll go there together... It'll be wonderful, Koran."

Koran smiled. "We'll go together. We'll have to pick a day, and just pack up and go. Sometime soon. It'll be nice to have a day to forget about everything else."

"Just one day..." Laedra mused. "Too bad it can't be forever."

"Maybe if we can find the time, it can be more than one day," he said. "I can't give up the Order, Laedra, but if you'll allow me, I'll spend all the time I am able to with you."

"I don't think we should," she said quietly. "We'd only get too attached and it would make leaving difficult... But one night...I'd be more than happy to spend that time with you, Koran."

"Is there something wrong with getting attached to me?" Koran asked with a smile. "It may make leaving difficult, but...but is that really so bad? It means we do care about each other, don't we?"

"It does," she replied. "And no, it isn't so bad...not for me. But you're a Jedi, Koran, and after I'm gone you'll still be a Jedi. For a Jedi, there can be no attachment." She grinned. "Isn't that what you've always told me?"

"Times are changing things about the Jedi," Koran said. "We are in a state of rebirth and renewal, and the Council has made allowances for those sorts of attachment. If we wished, we could maintain a relationship, as long as we kept our priorities in order."

Laedra sighed softly as she lightly laid her hand upon Koran's chest. "Please don't, Koran," she whispered. "Let's just go back to the Temple...and think. We still have some time together. It'll be fine."

"And, that trip to the coast," Koran said. "I've heard they have some fairly amazing frazzies there."

Laedra chuckled. "It'll be my first, and I'll get to share it with you. What could be better than that?"

Koran laughed softly. "There is nothing I can think of that would be better," he said. "Well, except for maybe a frazzie while walking along the shoreline."

"Don't go getting too many ideas, Koran," she chided. "You'll have me thinking you're trying to woo me." She smiled and reached aside for the door latch. "That would be a very bad thing."

Koran raised an eyebrow. "Would it?"

Laedra paused. "At this point?" Her smile expressed only rue. "I think it would. I'm sorry, Koran. It'll be better for us both this way." Then, she finally pulled the hatch open and slid into the speeder.

"Of course," Koran said softly. He moved to the other side of the speeder, and slid inside. "Let's go home," he said.

"Home," Laedra whispered imperceptibly, and peered out of the side window as Shaza navigated the speeder out of the spaceport. Her time at the Temple would be short, if only to minimize the pain to her friends, but especially Koran. She'd have to find a new place to call home - a difficult task considering the Temple had been her only home in 26 years. But even if she didn't find that, she hoped she'd at least discover some semblance of happiness...finally.

"Wise or Foolish"
By: Karma Arien

Location: Yallder, New Plouton
Date: Eos 26, 4 ABY

***

Karma was worried - okay, more so than usual and that led her to try and locate Iyika after a time. Granted, her decision could have been considered rash or ill-advised but that didn't matter. At this point it seemed to be a means to an end in several respects for her.

In some run down section of Yallder, she watched in silence, monitoring the security focused in a particular area. Approaching the overall situation with vigilant caution born of experience.

Her caution seemed to fail her that night. Two shadowy figures detached from the darkness of the alley and crept up behind her. Their movements were silent and precise, and Karma had no time to react as one of the shadows wrapped one arm around her waist and another around her neck. As she was dragged to her feet from where she knelt, the other slipped forward to face her, but only two, piercing blue eyes were visible beneath its shadowy mask.

A blaster came up to target her head, and the black figure's disembodied, gravelly voice whispered, "Name and purpose. And don't scream, or it'll be your last."

She knew enough to comply at least for the moment. "Arien," purposely using only her last name for now, wondering if that would be recognized. Then she proceeded, "I'm looking for someone or a few people actually." It was an honest answer but until she knew more Karma was keeping her answers short and precise.

"Who?" the man snapped. "And why here? Who are you working for?"

"Iyika," she replied initially, carefully wondering how to add the rest of it when it was appropriate. "I'm here for several reasons, and I don't work for them," she answered, subtly indicating she wasn't a spy for the Empire.

The blue-eyed man glanced briefly to his friend, then made a subtle motion with his head. In another instant, Karma's arms were twisted around behind her back and fastened with binders. The man in front of her stepped aside,

then gestured with his weapon. "And don't even try to run," he added before the man behind her shoved her into a walk.

Karma kept her ground. "You obviously haven't quite figured out who you're dealing with yet. And if I was going to try that I'd be long gone by now." They seemed just as cautious as she was being with good reason.

"So is it acceptable to ask just where we are headed?"

A gruff chuckle sounded from the man beside her. "Don't be coy. You were here for a reason; you can't tell me you don't know what you were scouting."

"Coy? Who's being coy? You asked, I answered. And if you didn't get those answers then maybe the questions weren't specific enough. I told you who I was looking for and I'm working for myself presently. Besides I know exactly what I'm scouting. Being stuck on another world falling to the Empire isn't my idea of fun."

"There are plenty of planets not under Imperial control," the man pointed out. "You can leave any time you wish. Unless you're an Imperial spy, that is."

"No, I'm not one of those...in fact I'm quite the opposite, thank you. It seems you have never heard of the now decimated planet of Oceana..." She let that one sink in for a bit to see what it would do. Karma was totally serious about her intentions of finding Iyika and getting in contact with the Rebellion.

The man shrugged, and his friend gave Karma another nudge for good measure. "Never heard of it. And don't care, really. Now stay quiet."

He walked ahead of Karma now, and the other man clamped a hand down onto her shoulder firmly to stop her. Blue-eyes approached a door in the alley, made from a seemingly rickety wood. Once pulled open, however, it revealed a six-inch thick duranium door with a keypad embedded in it. The man reached out to it, to input the appropriate codes, but Karma never saw them, as the man behind her slipped a strip of fabric over her eyes. Before she could put up a fight, the blindfold was tied securely to her head and the thick metal slab was sliding open.

"Inside," Blue-eyes said, then the man behind her shoved Karma into the dark opening.

Several snappy phrases ran through Karma's head as she had no choice but to do as they said. Growing just a bit more irritated at the way they were treating her. They really did need to pay a bit more attention to recent history. Having her hands confined behind her back in such an uncomfortable manner didn't help her attempts to continue in the direction they wanted her to go.

Blue-eyes watched her closely, while the man behind her began whispering into a comm device strapped to his wrist. The trek was a brief one, but confusing, as the corridor they travelled in descended below the streets and included frequent twists and turns. They walked through murky puddles, and often encountered smells that would turn even the strongest stomach. The echoing drip of water in the distance beat out a steady rhythm, accompanied by the twittering squeaks of unseen rodents and insects scuttling about.

The three finally approached a large grate, which blue-eyes proceeded to pull open. It creaked shrilly as it came open, and Karma was pushed inside. "Walk straight down," Blue-eyes snapped.

DOWN! Now that was going to be more than interesting when she couldn't see squat. Even without that Karma had a good idea they had descended underground somewhere. She couldn't wait until the truth was revealed on both sides. It would be a field day for her when that occurred.

Karma took a few tenative steps as she felt a firm nudge to cotinue in the direction they had started. Presently both parties in this current situation were playing with flaming balls of fire.

The three reached the end of the tunnel, and a series of short, rapid beeps sounded followed by a heavy grinding of metal scraping against stone. As the door opened, light bathed the short tunnel, revealing yet another corridor. Blue-eyes grinned at Karma beneath his mask. "Precautionary measures."

"Precautionary indeed, " she commented quietly as the bright light managed to make its way past her blindfold just enough for her to notice it.

The sounds of heavy, booted footsteps approaching signalled Karma to the presence of yet more men. Blue-eyes conversed with one of them, referring to Karma as 'the prisoner.'

"Take her to the holding area," the newcomer said. "Tiraj will want to question her."

Blue-eyes snapped a salute, unseen to Karma, then gripped her by the arm to pull her along.

The walk was a long, and confusing one, as Karma was pushed, pulled, and shoved into different directions. Finally, she was tugged to a halt, and her blindfold removed. Before her eyes could focus, however, she was thrust into a small, dank cell and a forcefield raised behind her. "Have a seat," Blue-eyes said with a smirk. "You're gonna be here a while." Then, he departed.

Karma blinked several times as her eyes tried to adjust. The cell and her current binder's didn't help anything. Though she had a feeling all would reveal itself properly in time. Then there would be numerous questions to answer on both sides. For now all she could really do was sit and wait, doing her best to curb that sense or irritation and worry growing within.

"The First One"
by Strider Ixion [NPC+]
Quinlan Vos
Daemor'rah
and other minor NPCs

Location: The Tae'Sollar Gauntlet & Yallder District
Date: Eos 26, 4 ABY

***

The engines of the pod racers screamed as they passed, finishing the first lap. Seven racers were still fighting for the first place, but only four were still fighting for first place.

"And there they go, the first lap complete and a good fight for first place still underway!" the announcer said.

The four pod racers glided through the surface at a very high speed, avoiding obstacles and other debris, making it back again to complete the second lap, the fight for the first place still on...

A four-engine podracer was in the front, followed by a two-engine pod racer, and still fighting for the third place but very close to the first one was another two-engine podracer and behind him there was a very unique three-engine podracer.

As the podracers almost finished their second lap, the first and second place were still the same, but very close to one another. The third place was now neck-to-neck as the two-engine podracers were close to the engines of the three-engine podracer.

"What a show, people! It seems Adrqre is now next to Stra'l. What is this? Adrqre tries to ram Stra'l against the wall but he decelerates to avoid hitting the wall!" the commentator said as the people cheered.

The four pod racers screamed again at great velocity as they passed the line, ending the second lap. Stra'l was the pilot of the three-engine podracer. He was a little behind, so he accelerated to try to catch up with the other three podracers in front of him.

The four-engine podracer was still in the lead, but the two-engine podracer was not very far behind. The pilot glided through the fields of rocks when suddenly the two-engine podracer was next to him. The two engines slammed against the four engines which made the lower left engine of the leader of the pack slam on the ground, dismantling very quickly and blowing up on the next moment.

The two-engine podracer was now in the lead, followed by Adrqre and very close behind was Stra'l.

As they reached the mid section of the track, the two-engine podracer was on the lead, but it seemed that he was slowing down since one of his engines started to malfunction. Alas, it was too late as the engine began to stall and disintegrated as it touched the ground, making parts fly through the circuit.

Adrqre and Stra'l flied as they were barely hit by the debris, but once past it, Adrqre started to slam on Stra'l's podracer, trying to put him out of the race.

The race was almost completed. They were on the last section of the circuit. Adrqre slammed against Stra'l a few times, trying to finish first but Stra'l was secure of the situation.

As they reached the final part of the circuit the two podracers were still neck-a-neck, fighting for the first place. For a moment, there was a great finale, but Adrqre's right engine started to make a sound, as if something was loose. In a second the engine ceased to function. Adrqre saw Stra'l passing in front of him and it gave Stra'l a big advantage.

Adrqre saw the engine dismantling piece by piece and saw the engine detaching from the cable, making the pod spin like crazy. The other engine drove like crazy since the ray was broken, and since it was impossible to ride it, Adrqre was out of the race. He detached the engine from the pod, and let it hit the wall, creating a huge fireball. The pod slid on the ground, stopping a few meters from where the engine had struck.

Stra'l passed the finishing line, winning the race. He waved to the crowed, celebrating his victory. On the crowd there was a young baby with a woman. His name was Strider and he was enjoying the race. The young boy was excited as he saw the podracers passing by.

As the race finished, they saw the rest of the pod racers as they stopped after a victory lap. once the celebration and the festivity ended, the crowd exited from the arena, animated since the race had been quite a competitive one. But then again, they always were.

Strider and his stepmother walked to the air speeder which was going to take them back to the spaceport. The kid seemed happy for the race. Yes, he was still a two year old kid. It was his first time seeing a pod race live. Strider was a special kid and his stepmother knew it.

After a time in the air speeder, while going back, Strider's stepmother looked to see where they were headed. "This doesn't look like Yelldon District..."

The kid looked to the window and saw that it was a poor part of New Plouton. They were lost and the Air speeder that she had no info about where they were. He saw a Nikto walking down the street so she stopped.

"Hi. Can you indicate the way to Yelldon District?" she asked.

The Nikto looked at the woman inside the speeder, then at his surroundings and saw that the street was lifeless. He took a blaster out of one of his pockets and aimed at the woman. "Out of the car, now!"

The woman saw the blaster and saw that the Nikto was pretty nervous. She opened the speeder door and exited slowly, putting her hands up, showing the nervous Nikto that she didn't mean any harm or resistance at all. "Take it easy. If it is money you want I can give you some."

"Shut up!" the Nikto screamed. "Take the boy out of there, right now!" he continued as he waved the blaster, menacing the woman.

"Strider, come here, quickly," she said to the young child, then turned to the Nikto. "Listen, mister, you can keep the speeder. Just don't do anything stupid," the woman said as Strider stood behind her.

"Now... Walk to the alley. No sudden moves or I will kill you," the Nikto said.

The woman walked as Strider was in front of her. The Nikto pushed the woman and she fell down.

She looked at Strider. "When I give you the signal you hide, ok?" she whispered.

"Get up now!" the Nikto said as she quickly obeyed his order.

As they reached the alley there was a box on the far corner. The Nikto stood in front of her and glanced at the woman.

"Now, give me the money or I will kill you!" the Nikto said.

***

Quinlan was out in New Plouton with his padawan. They were out of the Temple and had chosen a poor district since it had less Imperial Guards on patrol. Suddenly both of them stopped.

"Did you sense that?" Daemor'rah asked her master.

Quinlan nodded briefly and they were both underway. It didn't take them long to find their path lead to a small alley where a woman lied on the ground. There was blood all over her body and it was obvious that she was dying, and beyond salvation. Quinlan kneeled down beside her and took her hand.

The woman looked up at his and jerked. "Strider... He must... Kitana Gellar..." she said.

"Don't speak," Quinlan said softly. He knew he could not save the woman, but he could soften her pain so she wouldn't suffer so much. He chose to do so.

"Strider beh...behind th...there!" she said as she pointed with all her strength towards some crates.

She saw the woman who had arrived with the man looking behind the boxes. She had found the young boy. "I'm finally going..." she paused. "To me...meet Strider's father Au...Auron," she said between breaths as she looked and saw the woman trying to calm the young boy. She looked back at Quinlan. "Death is on...only the be...beginning..." she added as she gave her final breath.

Quinlan felt the life force dissipate from the woman and got up. She was no longer in pain, but the young child was. Quinlan could feel him. He seemed to have the potential for Jedi training. The Jedi Master went near him and Daemor'rah.

"The woman?" the young white skinned woman asked, only to see her master shake his head slightly. She turned back to the boy and looked at him. "I think he's in a state of shock. He doesn't seem to respond much," she said as she ran her long fingers through the child's hair.

Quinlan knew how afraid the young one should be. He too had once been thus. When Sheif Tinte, the leader of the Kiffar, had given him his mother's amulet after she died. Or better yet, after she had been killed by the Anzati... Quinlan was merely a child, about four years old. But he could read off objects. And through his mother's amulet, he had lived her death, feeling everything that had happened to him...

Now, this young child had seen his mother die. Perhaps he had barely escaped himself... Quinlan kneeled next to the boy and looked at him. The young child was more than scared. But not of Quinlan and not of Daemor'rah. He was just scared. Shocked was the word indeed. Vos remembered what his old Jedi Master had done to him at the time. He had used the Force to cloud his mind so he would not be living that moment over and over, but would rather let go, although not forget. Quinlan Vos would do the same...

He waved his hand ever so slightly and closed his eyes as to concentrate. He didn't need to say any word, but rather think it. Soon the young boy was giving signals of noticing them. It was strange, but the young child seemed to trust them. Especially Daemor'rah, as he hugged her and buried his head in her bosom.

Daemor'rah held the child as Master Quinlan Vos went to pick up the woman's corpse and placed her in a pile of wood. He took a ring from her hand, which seemed an expensive one, and gave her a proper burial by setting the wood on fire. Soon the body was consumed by flames.

Their task was now to take the boy home. "Where are you from, Strider?" Quinlan asked softly at the boy who was being carried in Daemor'rah's arms.

Strider looked at Master Vos. His face was marked by the tears that had run dry, and even though he was not crying anymore, it was obvious he was sad. "Gallor..." the child answered simply.

"Then we must travel there..." Quinlan concluded. But first they would have to tell the others at the Temple that they would be absent for a while to take the boy home...

"Something Ventured, Something Gained"
By: Karia - Hunter's Assistant [NPC+]
Also starring: Neera Arianda - Mechanic [NPC]
& R5-E5 (Reese) - Astromech Droid [NPC+]

Location: Starport, Yelldon District, New Plouton
Date: Afternoon, Eos 26, 4ABY

***

It was an eerie sensation to be at a starport that was so quiet. Relatively. Ships still came and went, but not in the numbers that should be, and not in the types. They were Imp ships mostly. Cargo shuttles, troop transports, TIE fighters doing overflights.

A pair of fighters flashed by overhead, trailing behind their signature howl of twin ion engines. Karia looked up as they passed by, watching from the shadows of a collapsed passenger-processing terminal. Inside, computers and scanners were smashed and unpowered. Torn luggage, smashed cargo and assorted detritus littered the terminal inside and out. Something reeked of biological degeneration. A passenger, perhaps, killed and not recovered after the damage rained down on the starport.

The Ferrerrio watched the Empire's fighters until they were nothing but dots in the sky and the scream of their engines was lost in the breeze. When they were gone, she turned back to her companion. Three quarters her height, the astromech droid was painted white with exposed silver plating underneath that matched the coloring of the ship he helped maintain. Syan Daywalker had an obsessive-compulsive tendency towards clean surfaces and it was reflected in what he owned. The R5's flowerpot head turned back to face Karia with the tricloptic photoreceptors.

"Are you sure this is the best way to get to this place Genie found?"

R5-E5, or Reese as he preferred to be called, beebled in an affirmative way. His head rotated to bring one of his other lenses to bear and from it a holographic image appeared, floating in mid air. It showed the standard map of the spaceport that had been downloaded by Aesir's other droid, Genie, and adapted for the damage he'd been able to scan with the ship's sensors. Layered over that was groups of red dots, signifying Imp troops and vehicles. Genie had extra code added to his matrix by Aesir's previous owner that allowed him to interface with and scour networks in a more efficient way. The previous owner had been an Imperial bureaucrat that used that ability to find dirt to use in blackmailing constituents in his sectors.

Reese had used that information to plot out the safest route through the maze of Imp patrols, civilian traffic and damaged starport buildings, which wound through the map on a white line. On that line, a blue dot was blinking on and off - their current location.

"All right, all right," Karia soothed. Reese could be temperamental when his abilities were questioned. "We're not far then. But hurry up. They almost saw you last time."

Karia turned around again and looked around the corner. They had to cross an opening between the administrative sections of the port and the repair shops and hangars on the outskirts. Astromech droids were not known for their speed, and Reese's gleaming paintjob did nothing to camouflage him.

A cargo shuttle lifted off like a wallowing pack beast, turning on its axis before accelerating up in to the atmosphere. Its exit was loud enough to cover any noise anywhere in the area and had the virtue of making people look up at its receding form.

"Now!"

Karia moved as quickly across the open space as she could without breaking out in an open run. The fast walk, at a glance, would look purposeful. She wore a simple pants and tunic with a hooded cloak over it. The cloaks were worn on almost every planet in the galaxy that she knew, helping to ward off the sun or the chill as needs be.

Something flew by overhead with the sound like the very poor cousin of the cargo shuttle. Ahead, safely ensconced in shadows, Reese landed on his paired legs. The little thrusters built into his limbs retracted, folding back into their receptacles and quickly cooling. Reese leaned forward again, extending his third leg, taking on the typical astromech tripod stance.

"Why didn't you do that last time?" Karia asked, annoyed with the little droid. He tweedled back with an assortment of beeps that suggested he would have if he'd been asked. Droids could be so literal, Karia couldn't help thinking. "Well next time, just do it. But don't waste your propellant showing off. Come on."

Karia slipped through the shadowed alleyway and took a right turn down the row of sheltered mechanics. Some of the storefronts were empty, some were not. She walked along, followed faithfully by the droid, reading the signs and looking for the one that might have the part they needed.

As they reached the end of the row, a fairly young woman in grease-spattered coveralls looked up from the side of a speederbike. Her dark hair was pulled back into a knot behind her head showing off a tattoo of a bird in flight. She gave the woman and droid a smile. "Hi there," she said. "Can I help you folks?"

"I'm hoping you can," Karia said, returning the smile as she stopped on the other side of the speederbike.

Reese busied himself scanning the machine.

The Ferrerrio rested her hand on the droid's cool dome and leaned over the bike after digging a portable holoimager from inside her cloak and activating it. "I'm looking for a plasma solenoid for an old Nubian engine and I hear this is the place to come looking."

Neera Arianda laughed and wiped her hands on the thighs of her coverall. "If you're looking for old junk, this is the place. Plasma solenoid? I think we've got some in the back somewhere. You're welcome to take a look, though you may have to do a little work to get them."

"I'm just happy that we might be able to find one. At this point the option was just to toss the ship into orbit or order it from a distributor. But I know how krazin' long it can take to get anything delivered out here." Karia lamented in sympathy with the tune turned by most OutRimmers. Being on the outskirts of the galaxy usually placed trends months behind the core worlds and deliveries even longer.

"Back here?"

"Yes," Neera said as she followed. "Just through that doorway."

"Come on, R5. Leave that speederbike alone."

Reese retracted his inspection probes at her command, blatted something impolitic, and followed.

Glaring down at the droid, Karia said, "You know I've been thinking of having you wiped and reprogrammed with some manners."

The droid's only response was a surlier staccato of chirps and beeps.

The mechanic's store was small but at a glance was fairly well stocked. Mechanics this near any spaceport found space to be a premium and presentation wasn't high on their agenda. Ultimately, most spacers only cared if you had what they needed, not whether it was decoratively showcased. The store gave way to a large enclosed lot behind the store, stacked with equipment and machines that looked like they would never get off the ground again. Huge starship engines were laid out on rails. Some obviously refurbished and a few even repainted. Others were in varying states of disrepair.

"Uh..." Karia looked around the lot, wondering where to start.

"The part you're looking for is probably going to be at the edge of that pile there," Neera said, pointing. "Gallo usually organizes them according to some archaic system only he knows about, but I've gotten used to the flow of things I guess. I usually find solonoids there."

"Thank you," Karia smiled and lightly booted the metal hindquarters of the astromech to get him moving in the right direction.

'The pile' the mechanic had referred to very much looked like its description. It was a collection of assorted small parts from plasma thrust assemblies from a hundred different ships from all over the galaxy. A few of them were instantly recognizable with the manufacturer's sigil stamped right on the part. She saw a nice Kuat fuel mix compressor but there was only one that she could spot. A shame. Aesir would need two. The mechanic had been right about something else as well, the pile did seem to have an order to it.

Siva only knows what that order is.

Reese was diligently picking through the pile piece by piece, inspecting every part before putting it down in a separate smaller, but growing, rejection pile. Karia watched the droid for a bit, then began her own exploration.

"Business looks like it's suffered since the starport took that hit. Everyone's talking about heading for space and not looking back." Karia glanced over her shoulder, forearms resting on her knees as she inspected an alluvial dampener. It never hurt to get the heartbeat of the spacer elite. If everyone's shipping out, they're always the first to know.

"I think it's a combination of the hit and--" Neera glanced around to make sure no one was near. "And, the Imperial presence isn't helping matters any either. With their marching and curfews, people are afraid to get out on the street. Saw one guy last week who couldn't produce his identicard, and they shot him where he stood. Seems some pickpocket lifted his card a few blocks back. They shot him too."

Karia gave the mechanic a sober and saddened look. "I've heard the same kinds of things. This is a terrible business. I never thought the Empire would tighten their grip this far out."

"I think it all has to do with that Grand Admiral they've got," Neera said. "He was out here when the Empire fell, so...so I guess he was too lazy to go find a planet closer to anything useful in the galaxy. Just started everything from here, and now we have it worse than under Palpatine."

Picking through a pair of plasma couplings that looked so old and seized that they were no good except as scrap metal, Karia found something she didn't expect. It was just fifteen centimeters long, with rings of black-painted alloy and bare metal perforated with thousands of tiny holes. On either end was male and female valves for plugging into an existing system. Not sure, hands shaking a little, Karia turned the find in her hands, revealing a silver cylinder on one side. The glassine inspection window showed nothing inside.

She almost dropped it, but didn't. Something morbid and black and desperate held on to it. She knew what it was she was holding. The Empire had bought thousands of these canisters for refitting into their transport shuttles and bombers. When installed, they reversed the intake flow and allowed the ships to spray atomized particles of liquid death germs. It had been an evil bit of irony that he-who-would-not-be-named had modified a benign farm implement to destroy an entire race and their homeworld. Her homeworld.

Her yellow-knuckled grip tightened more as a bumping at her foot drew her out of her thoughts. She realized that the droid had been trying to get her attention and was rolling back for another bump at her foot. "What is it?" she snapped. The droid trilled out a chorus of beeps and turned his cylindrical body to reveal the needed solonoids in his gripper arm. "Oh."

With some effort, Karia got to her feet and rested her hand on the droid's head for support. She turned to face the mechanic and pasted on as friendly a smile as she could manage. "How much for the solonoids...and for this." She held out the cylinder, grip still tight on it.

Neera tapped out a few numbers on a datapad, and then held it out to Karia. "How's that?" she asked, indicating the amount.

Karia's eyes widened at the numbers scrolling across the screen. Belatedly, she realized she committed the cardinal sin of barterdom: she appeared anxious to buy. Schooling herself into a non-chalant frown she shook her head. "One Seventy-five? That's too high. I can pay One Twenty-five, One Thirty if you'll throw in some of those droid batteries."

Neesa looked over the numbers and ran through a few quick calculations in her head. She'd be skinned alive if she didn't get a better than average profit on the solenoid. "One fifty," she said, then after a pause, added: "And, the batteries."

"All right. But you're hurting me here." Karia smiled tiredly and dug in a pouch inside her coat. She knew she wouldn't get a much better deal. She'd revealed her hand and could only hope for a discount. Still holding the cylinder, she produced the credits and handed them to the mechanic. The solonoids the Reese held in his gripping claw, carefully perusing them with one of his articulated scanners.

"Good luck," Neesa said. "And, if you ever need parts...or anything else, swing by."

The deal was done. The ship would get its parts and Syan would be able to lift off by sunset - if he was lucky. Karia said her goodbyes to the mechanic and started toward the store and the entrance to the street, wondering how she was going to get him to stay.

Somebody on this world had the cylinder. Someone on this world knew what happened to Ferrerre. Maybe that same person knew where the Procurator of Justice was. Maybe she could find out who had wiped out her planet, and her people, and kill them in the most excruciating way she could imagine.

Maybe.

"Transcendence"
By: Koran Darr
Laedra Vorrel

Location: The Jedi Temple
Date: Eos 26, 4 ABY

***

Koran leaned against the door of Laedra's room. He watched her as she stood watching her belongings. She wasn't packing yet, just seeing what she would need to take with her when she did finally leave the Temple...which would be soon. He'd managed to get her to commit to staying for a meal. He could feel her tension and anxiety, and the war to control it.

"Would you care to meditate?" he asked her.

Laedra sighed and nodded readily. "I didn't think it would be this hard."

"Come," Koran said, motioning her forward. He discarded his robe to the side and settled to one of the two meditation pads in Laedra's room. "Clear yourself of all your thoughts and open yourself to the world around you, to the Force permeating you, and me, your bed, and the pads. Open yourself and let your consciousness slip below the surface of the ebb and flow of the Force."

Laedra hesitated and stood watching Koran. Finally she smiled and joined Koran on the mats. For security, she slipped her hand into his and closed her eyes. "You'll have to help me," she said softly. "My soul's been in a state of disease lately."

"Gladly," Koran said and then shifted around behind her. He brought his hands to her forehead, warm touch designed to loosen the stress holding her in place.

Laedra stiffened at first, then melted under his soothing contact. She sighed serenely and leaned back slightly against Koran, feeling the security she had craved for as long as she could remember. It succeeded in leading her to the sanctuary offered by the Force, where she could seek a cure for her troubled mind. She sought Koran there, her anchor, and although she couldn't see him with her incorporeal eyes, she sensed him near. "Just stay close," she murmured.

"Always close," Koran said. "I will keep you safe and strong, Laedra. Nothing ill shall happen to you."

"I know," she whispered. Flashes of insubstantial, ethereal white shapes flitted past her field of vision, and barely audible susurrations seemed to travel on the wind. Laedra smiled. "We're safe," she said. "We're protected. That's what they say..."

"They?" Koran asked, but before the word was past his lips he knew the answer. "Yes," he said, opening himself to the beings surrounding them. "Yes, we are safe. It's...like before, yet different. I believe they are our friends this time, our teachers."

Laedra shifted uncomfortably against Koran and frowned as the voices pervaded the once clear enclosure of her mind and whispered frenetically in the language she had come to recognize as belonging to the ancient inhabitants of the Temple. "They want something," she said. "I-I don't want to look anymore."

"What is it they want," Koran said, forcing himself to remain close, to not pull away. "I cannot hear them clearly now...they're... They're upset about something... Revenge, they cry. Danger approaching. Dark phantoms of fate creeping in the night. They fear and anger. It's too fast, too...too much. We have to slow them down, lessen their pain..."

Laedra's breathing hastened and her mind reeled with the intensity of the vision seizing it. Her physical being attempted to fight it, to escape it but her consciousness was completely at the mercy of the beings. Laedra's hands clutched at the fabric of Koran's pants as her body trembled with the physical struggle to free her mind from the vision's snare. The torrent of voices began to converge into one resounding vocalization, speaking a language her subconscious easily understood, but her waking mind was at a loss to comprehend.

The drifting shapes darted past her at dizzying speeds. She attempted to follow them, but found her mind spinning with the effort. Laedra groaned and lolled her head against Koran's shoulder. "Make it stop," she pleaded. "I-I don't want to see. Koran please..."

Koran reached out with the Force to put an end to the meditation but something large and powerful brushed his attempt aside. Suddenly, he felt something within him twist and break free. He heard a voice say, "Stop. Learn." And, it took him a moment to realize it had been his own voice.

Laedra froze as the words registered and gained recognition. She remembered them coming from her own lips once, and with them had come the blinding, painful light. She shook her head wildly to refuse the gift she knew the spirits intended to bestow upon them again, as before in the shrine; it was knowledge she didn't want. "Koran...gods, help... Koran, please!"

"Open. Yourself." Koran's eyes were open, but they were unseeing. His face shifted as if to regard her, but he was not looking at her. He saw something else, something no human or alien eye would ever see. "They wish. To help. Open."

Laedra sobbed quietly. "No," she whispered. "I'm afraid."

"Resistance. Open to the future. Cease. Resistance. Fate will not be. Avoided."

An agonizing pressure grew behind Laedra's eyes, building in intensity the longer she refused to acknowledge what Koran was alluding to. She cried out in frustration and fear, then finally allowed herself to see. The wash of soft, glowing light calmed Laedra almost instantaneously, and her struggles desisted. She sighed and sagged against Koran. "I see," she murmured.

The being wafted gracefully back and forth before them like a leaf caught on a breeze. It was as it was before when they had encountered it in the shrine, but this time its message would not be lost upon the vision's completion.

"They're coming," Laedra repeated, as the words touched her mind. The being glowed more brightly, as if pleased that she had understood its message. "I don't-- Who?"

A vision formed in each of their minds. Dark warriors marching in dark times. They brought pain and destruction, killing those who got in their way. Ebony swords flashed in the night, cleaving any who stood in the path of the blade.

"Sit'hae," Koran rasped.

Laedra flinched away at the word, then repeated in a cold whisper, "Sith."

The being's streaming form began undulating wildly and fluctuating. A darkness seemed to be cast upon the room, beginning to encroach upon them. Laedra huddled closer to Koran. The sunburst symbol emblazoned on the being's forehead burned brightly, however, and seemed to fend off the thick gloom just as it bathed them in unwavering light.

"We'll learn," Laedra responded to the specter's unspoken offer. "Teach us... Teach us to fight the darkness."

As they both opened themselves to the entity, they learned. Together, hands clasped together, bodies close, Koran and Laedra drew within themselves the secrets for fighting the enemy that would soon be upon them, that would put the Jedi through their greatest test yet.

The insight they gained was at once enlightening, and shaming. As the knowledge poured into them, Laedra had no idea why they hadn't grasped such basic, integral concepts before. The priests' ways were rooted in the Force, yet they were not Jedi. They were more.

"In all, there is the Force," the being told them. "We are all the Force." Its statement held meaning and understanding, especially when it showed them precisely how it could be. They didn't manipulate the Force as the Jedi did; they were the Force. Just as easily as one would lift a finger, the ancient priests could use the Force to their advantage. Nothing was out of reach, and what would take a Jedi years to learn seemed almost second nature to them.

But using the Force as a method of protection, as a means of excelling their physical prowess was not their main goal. The Force was a religion to them; it was the very being that created them all, that kept the fire within them burning. The sun god...the sunburst that was such a recurrent element in the shrine. They'd been staring at it all along, and its meaning had been lost on them. It was the Force, and the shrine was dedicated to it.

Laedra had a feeling that whoever those people were, they had been among the first to understand the power of the Force. They were not Jedi, but a precursor to them. They were the ancient ones.

They had existed long before the first Kir'Thana roamed the sands, before the invaders had come from the stars, before much of the history commonly studied by scholars. They had sought to become one with the Force, and had succeeded. The entity before them now had once been as full of life as either Laedra or Koran. But, it was most certainly not a ghost. The entity had never stopped living, but instead had transcended his physical existence and become one with the Force. Rumour had it that Obi Wan Kenobi had done much the same when he was struck down by Darth Vader, but not quite like this. The priests of the temple had not required some violent act to transcend. Instead, they reached it through meditation and inner-reflection, by exploring the world and all aspects of the Force. They were the Force, and they permeated every aspect of the Temple. They were the Temple.

Laedra and Koran were now imbued with that knowledge, their sacred teachings and techniques. Some resembled those taught by the Jedi Order, but others were completely novel to them. It was more a philosophy than a practice, and they lived not by a Code, but by a quest to seek transcendence. Their corporeal forms were but an extension of the Force, as they had discovered, and the feats they had attained were more extraordinary than any the Jedi could perform. They allowed the Force to possess them, instead of training to control its power, to become one with it. They sought to become it and this allowed them to explore avenues the Jedi had never even fathomed could exist.

With this knowledge, they were assured a chance against the enemy; the ancient beings had promised to stand by them. But the matters of the flesh were no longer a concern to them, so the enemies would need to be defeated by the Jedi. The beings could not intervene in that aspect of the fight. They would protect the Temple, but the Sith could only be vanquished by the Jedi, and only with the knowledge Koran and Laedra now held.

Koran's eyes blinked and he looked around. Laedra's hands were still in his, and she was slumped slightly against him. He reached out and touched her cheek. "Laedra," he whispered. "Laedra, my love?"

Laedra sucked in a deep breath as awareness returned and she glanced around in confusion for a time before settling her gaze on Koran. With a sigh, she sank into his arms and embraced him desperately. "Oh gods...did you see it, Koran? All of it?"

Koran nodded. "Yes," he said. "I saw it all. It was...it was amazing, and...I never suspected. Can you imagine what it must be like?"

"No," she answered hastily. "I don't want to." Laedra pulled away from Koran and unsteadily got to her feet. "I don't want to face what's coming, Koran. I-I should leave...now. I have to go!"

Koran was silent for a moment, then nodded. "I can help you pack your things if you'd like," he said. "I will go with you and help however I can."

Laedra sighed helplessly, then whispered, "But...the Sith. I-I can't leave you here to face them alone...without me. Gods...Koran, come with me. Just...leave before it's too late."

"I can't condemn the others to that kind of fate," Koran said. "I have to stay and help, and with the help of the priests, I can make a difference here. After, however, I will come to you so you can know that I am safe." He took her hands into his. "I want to go with you, but I am needed here, Lae. With the others gone, and our strength so greatly reduced...I couldn't abandon them to that, especially the ones like Raeila and Orn."

Laedra sighed and squeezed Koran's hands gently. "I know," she whispered. "I'm sorry. I can't abandon them either...but you saw them, Koran! They were the ones at the installation, the ones who took Liam. You know how powerful they are. We almost died, Koran! How could we possibly defeat them?"

"We have something now we didn't have then," Koran said. "We have the help of the Force itself, in ways we've never had it before."

"We don't even know if we can use what we've been taught," Laedra told him. "I can barely grasp the concepts of the Jedi Order; how will I ever learn something so much more intricate than that?"

"If you will have me," Koran said. "I will teach you. I believe we have enough time to make a concerted effort in that. Perhaps it will be enough."

Laedra lowered her head and let out a slow, shaky breath. "We don't even know how much time we have."

"We may have but an hour," Koran said. "Or it could be more. All we can do is prepare ourselves as best we can, and trust in the Force that we will be ready when the time comes."

Laedra chuckled wryly. "Hasn't that been my problem all along?"

Koran smiled. "One of them," he said. "Though, I think the biggest problem you have is...is that I love you, Laedra. And, the thought of being without you, of losing you, scares me like nothing else can."

Laedra sighed and gazed up at Koran ruefully and with regret. "Koran... Please...you can't. I've already hurt you enough...and I don't want to hurt you more than I have. Please take it back, Koran. Please..."

"If I could," Koran said. "I'll not mention it again. I'll only be your friend. That's all...since that's all you...you want."

Laedra took Koran's face into her hands and stared at him levelly. "That's all I can give you, Koran," she said gently. "Anything more...and I'm afraid I'll just be hurt again, like with Liam and Ina... I can't do that, Koran. I'm not strong enough to withstand another heartbreak."

Koran nodded. "So you'll never again give your heart to another?" he asked softly.

Laedra's lips trembled with the effort of fighting back a sob. "You don't want mine, Koran," she whispered hoarsely. "I'm...not right, Koran. I'm not a good woman, not for you. I'm broken inside, and I'd just hurt you."

"But you wouldn't hurt Liam," Koran said. "I'm sorry, Laedra. I'll keep my distance, in that respect. I don't want to push you into something you don't want."

Laedra