"Look What The Reisacat Dragged In"
By: Kallia Brael
Kaysa Zenarr
Maeren Shivral
Zari [NPC+]

Location: Agarra
Date: Lythe 5, 4 ABY

***

Kallia and Kaysa were in their bathroom, preparing for a night out. It was their first in awhile, but Kallia had finally convinced Kaysa it would be good for them to get out, to enjoy themselves, even a little, and to put the events of the last week behind them. They needed time for stress relief that sex couldn't fix. And, so they'd picked a club, and picked some outfits, and would be leaving Maeren and Zari at their small home to fend for themselves.

"That looks very nice," Kallia said as she glanced at Kaysa in the mirror. "I envy your ability to wear anything you want, even while pregnant, and still look amazingly beautiful and sexy."

"I don't feel very sexy," Kaysa told her, fastening her dangling earring into place. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Kal? The doctor said I needed to take it easy."

"And, we'll take it very easy. We'll just go and be happy and content, have some fruit juices and watch people --- which will be fun because of the large number of people who wear very little clothing here. It'll be fine."

Kaysa sighed and grudgingly nodded. She gave herself a final look in the mirror, frowning at the way her belly pushed against the fabric of her dress. "At least we won't have to fend off any men tonight," she muttered.

"You may have to fend off me though," Kallia said softly. "I hope you don't mind." She slipped her hand into Kaysa's. "Ready?"

She managed a smile for Kal and nodded. "Let's go. It's almost past our bedtime." She chuckled and kissed Kallia's cheek before they started out of the refresher. "Shiv!" she called out as they passed through the bedroom. "We're leaving now!"

"Okay," Shiv called and came rushing into the room. "Oh wow. You guys look great! Oh, Kaysa!" She let out a squeal of delight and carefully hugged Kaysa. "You guys have fun tonight, okay?"

"Same to you," she answered and kissed Shiv tenderly. "No smuggling in boys, alright?" Her playful warning was directed at Zari, who seemed to grimace at the thought.

"Don't worry," Shiv said. "I'm trying to convince her that being a lesbian is better anyway, but she still has crushes on boys, including Keeve."

Kaysa raised an eyebrow at the young girl. "Well, she has good taste at least." She chuckled and waved the girl over to plant a kiss on her forehead. "You take care of Shiv for me, okay?"

"I won't let her get into any trouble. She's a tricky one." She grinned at Shiv, who laughed.

"You have the night off," Kallia told her. "Just don't forget you're a Jedi in training, but have some fun."

Zari smiled. "I will, Kallia."

"Well, we'd better be off if we want to get in early," Kaysa said. She rejoined hands with Kallia and waved at the two girls as they reached the door. In another moment, they were gone. "Well," Kaysa sighed as they neared the lift. "Agarran nightlife, here we come."

"And, watch out. Two pregnant, overly horny women, looking for a good time." She looked at Kaysa. "And, we're going to get it. You don't know how tempting it would be to accept any offers I get from strangers tonight, just to be completely naughty."

"And leave poor, fat me all alone?" Kaysa grinned. "Well, we'll just have to see, now won't we?" And with a mischievous smile, she stepped onto the lift alongside Kallia, wondering just where the night would take them.

***

There were more people than usual in the club, but Kaysa and Kallia had no trouble finding a table for themselves. Sitting felt good, and they quickly ordered drinks and something to munch on. "I say," Kallia said as she tried to get comfortable in the seat, "if we find someone interested, we both take him home. I think that would be the wildest thing I've ever done in my life, but it sounds fun. What do you say? Two pregnant ladies picking up some young, hot trage and taking him home to have their way with him."

Kaysa laughed softly, unconsciously rubbing her stomach affectionately. "I don't know if I'm up for that tonight... But I won't say no just yet." She grinned at her friend as she brought the glass of fruit juice to her lips. After swallowing the tangy nectar, she sighed and set the glass down. "I feel so old," she muttered, looking around at all the slim, firm bodies writhing about on the dance floor. "We're never going to look like that again."

"Well, I'm not about to give up," Kallia said. "I plan on looking like that again, and even better if I can manage it."

"Well, I don't mind not looking as I did when I was young," Kaysa told her. "I'm married--" She stopped herself, and mournfully gazed down at her curving belly. Clearing her throat, she whispered, "It doesn't really matter...."

"It matters," Kallia said, earnestly. "It matters very much, Kaysa. Don't ever think it doesn't. You are you, and if you want to be like that, then you should be. You should be what and who you want, not what you think everyone else expects you to be."

"It's not that," she said firmly. "I just... What am I going to do when I see Merrick and Zale again? Kallia...what can I even say to them!"

"Find out the truth from them," Kallia said. "Find out what really happened. From there you can determine what to do about it. Until you know what actually did happen with them, speculation will do you no good. You deserve to know the truth, and they deserve to be judged based on their actions. Not on what you think their actions may have been. I'll be with you if you want, and I'll know if they're truthful."

Kaysa smiled and slipped her hand into Kallia's. "I want you there. You'll be my strength. You have to be there."

Kallia brought their hands to her lips and kissed Kaysa's. "I'll always be there," she said softly. "Always."

Kaysa chuckled to herself, then, at a sudden irony. "Well...almost always. If it's alright, can I handle the refresher alone?"

"Oh, I don't know. That can be pretty tricky. Sure, go ahead. I'll keep an eye on things out here. If I notice any hot guys, I'll let them know we're together and if they want one, they get both."

"That shouldn't cause too much trouble," Kaysa quipped, then kissed Kallia's cheek and gingerly rose from her seat. With one hand supporting the underside of her stomach, she made her way through the crowd at an easy, steady pace.

***

When Kaysa returned from the refresher, a man was seated at the table with Kallia. They were talking quietly and intently. His back was to Kaysa, but Kallia's face showed amusement. They both laughed at something said, and he motioned for a server to bring another round of drinks.

Kaysa sighed, wondering at Kallia's apparently insatiable appetite and how it seemed to be exacerbated by pregnancy. She, somehow, experienced the opposite effect. But she was always willing to entertain Kallia's whims and desires, so wearing an enchanting smile, she straightened her dress and approached the table. "Well, I see you've been busy," she said to Kallia when near.

The man turned, and his face showed pure surprise at seeing her. Much as hers must have. It was a face she hadn't seen for nearly ten years, a face that had vanished from her life without a word. And, there he was sitting at the table with Kallia. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Finally, he managed, "Kaysa?"

Her mind ceased functioning for a split second, preventing words from vocalizing, sounds from processing, and only allowing her eyes to register his face, years older but still as handsome as she remembered it to be. Cadwin. The first man she had ever loved, and the first man to ever break her heart. Kaysa was aware of her head shaking slowly, rejecting what she witnessed, then of her hand making a sweeping arc that stopped at his bristled cheek with a resounding crack. It snapped her free of her reverie. "Bastard," she rasped, then voluntarily swatted his cheek again before stalking away. She hoped she was dreaming.

"Kaysa," Kallia and Cadwin called almost simultaneously. He rushed after her. "Kaysa, please, let me explain."

She jerked her arm away from the hand that brushed against it, then pushed her way through a small cluster of patrons who didn't refrain from shooting off an unkind comment or two. Cadwin still followed. "Leave me alone, you creep!" she hollered. "You ruined my life and you want to explain?" She stopped abruptly and rounded on him with her fist already swinging towards his face.

Cadwin slipped backwards, narrowly avoiding her punch. "I want to explain, Kaysa," he said. "I had to go, and I didn't want you or Keeve involved in it. I didn't want you to get hurt, hurt really bad. Kaysa, I was in deep trouble, and if I didn't go, they would have used you. Gods, I couldn't have lived with that, I had to run, to hide. Please, just...just give me fifteen minutes to explain."

Kaysa laughed wryly. "You liar. You were always telling me stories, weaving tales...just to get me into bed!" She shrieked in frustration and shoved him, though he barely budged. For satisfaction, she pushed him again. "Just stay away from me! I don't need you in my life, Cadwin. Keeve doesn't--" Her mind halted, as did her mouth, as the name struck a cord. She quickly reviewed his explanation. "How-- How did you know about Keeve?" she whispered. "We never discussed baby names... How did you know?"

"I was a bad father as it was," Cadwin said. "I would have been even worse if I never even bothered to check on my wife or son. How can I prove it to you, Kaysa? How can I prove myself again?"

She sighed, her tone softening and her eyes glistening with tears of regret. "It's too late," she whispered. "It still hurts too much. So many things have changed...." Her eyes fell to the life growing in her stomach, then she regarded him again. "If it's forgiveness you want, then take it. Just please...leave me alone." She glanced past his shoulder at Kallia, standing close by and watching with a sorrowful expression. Then, she looked upon him again. His eyes, still so vibrant and alluring, softening his strong features and rugged appearance - they still made her heart race and reminded her that she never had stopped loving him, even now, as he opened the old wounds that caused her so much pain. "You bastard," she whispered fondly, then covered a sob with her hand and hurried away.

He followed after her slowly. "Kaysa, can I...can I buy you a drink. Will you...will you tell me about him? Just...I just want...want to know... After tomorrow, you'll never see me again, if that's what you want, but tonight...can we please...please talk about our boy?"

The further away she walked from him, the harder it became to go on. For years after his disappearance, she'd kept the hope that they might see one another again and now that he was near, she realized that hope had stayed with her even to that moment. Tears blurred her vision, obscuring the path before her and making her intended trek to the door a precarious one. She stopped, then, to refrain from stumbling and falling...and in response to Cadwin's pleas. She never could deny him, even now. "Just fifteen minutes," she told him. "Then, you leave."

"Fifteen minutes," he said. "Thank you. You...you don't know how much this means to me."

Kaysa nodded unsteadily, then stubbornly folded her arms over her chest. "You pick the spot. I'm taking it out of your fifteen minutes, so make it fast."

"Inside or outside? We could just use our table, if you want."

Kaysa sighed in exasperation. "Are you still this indecisive?"

"Table then," Cadwin said. "I just wanted to give you a choice. Come on. And, if you want anything to drink, it's on me. And, I hope not literally."

"Still have your charm," she muttered, then moved off with him. She caught Kallia's gaze as she did, and smiled reassurance.

"I try," Cadwin said. "I know it may not seem like it, but...but I've missed you, Kayse. And, I never stopped loving you. I...I wish I could have stayed, to be with you. I know it doesn't matter now or it's too late, but...but I wanted you to know."

"You could've told me," she said. "You should've let me decide whether I wanted to go or stay." Kaysa sighed sharply and scowled at him. "You always were selfish, weren't you?"

"But I was thinking of you when I did it," he said. "These guys...they're insane. You don't understand what they'd do. I don't think there's any worse pair on all of Coruscant, but hell, they're not even staying there now. They're supposed to be on Tae'Karada now."

Kaysa halted and clutched Cadwin's jacket sleeve to pull him to a stop. "What did you say?" she whispered. "They're on Tae'Karada..." Her lips pressed thin, and her eyes narrowed at her former husband. "Cadwin...what did you get yourself into? These men-- The Tregats? Are those the men?"

Cadwin's eyes widened. "They...they are. How did you--? Kaysa...you...what's happened? How do you know them?"

Kaysa laughed tearfully, but not with joy or mirth; instead, there was a touch of sorrow. "It was all for nothing, Cadwin," she whispered. "Don't you see? You tried to save us, but it's happening all over again. Why do you think we're here, Cadwin? Because of them, because we're still not safe." Her hand covered her stomach. "I'm protecting my child...from them. So, you did it for nothing, Cadwin, because nothing's changed."

Cadwin looked like he'd been punched. "They're...they're after you because of...because of me? How could they-- How did they--?"

"Not you," she told him. "My other husband...their brother. But don't you see? It's the same thing, Cadwin! We lost ten years, and it's the same thing!"

He looked almost ready to cry. "Oh gods, Kaysa," he rasped. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize it would...like this. I thought if I got away, they wouldn't find you, couldn't hurt you. I never...I didn't even think... I'm such a fool."

"No," she whispered, hesitated, then pressed a trembling hand to his cheek. The memories flooded back nearly instantly, and with a gentle gasp, she was in his arms. "You tried," she murmured into his ear. "You tried to save us... It's okay, Cadwin. You tried."

He held her close, his arms remembering, even after so long. "I'd forgotten how good this feels," he said. "Kayse, gods forgive me for what I did, but it is wonderful to see you again." He pressed his forehead to hers. "Tell me about our boy."

She smiled fondly. "Not a boy anymore... It's a long story, but he looks like you, Cadwin. He's tall and dark, and so handsome...." Kaysa gazed into his eyes, and felt them pulling her in. "So much has happened.... After you left..." Her eyes lowered, and again she felt the shame of her mistake, ten years in the past. "I couldn't handle it," she whispered. "I-I had to let him go...it was too painful, Cadwin. I just couldn't look at him...you were there..."

Cadwin nodded. "I understand," he said. "It was hard to leave, to know you were there. I don't know...what will happen now, but...but I'd like to meet him...to see him..."

Kaysa smiled as she gazed up at him. "You actually want to be a part of my life, Cadwin? Do you even know what's happened? Gods...I'm carrying another man's child, I have two husbands, two lovers, a son.... Do you even want to be a part of that?"

Cadwin chuckled. "If there's room for me," he said. "If you want me in your life again. Yes, I do."

She sighed and chuckled wryly to herself, wondering why she was always so easily swayed by his charm. "You're not the type to settle down, Cadwin, I've always known that. If the Tregat brothers hadn't been in the picture, you would've left eventually anyway. Don't do this to me, Cadwin; don't...come back into my world, make promises you can't keep.... Not this time."

"If you don't want me, I won't stay around, but...but...I...I won't try if you don't want me to, but...but I want to try..."

"I don't know." She sighed. "Can't we go slow with this, Cadwin? That was our mistake to begin with...we went too fast. If we're going to do this...we have to think it through."

"Yes," he said. "Slow is good. It'll give us time to get to know each other again. I want to be your friend again, Kaysa. Like the very beginning. And, I want to look into my son's eyes, and...and tell him that I love him, and always have. Just like you, Kayse. I still love you."

Kaysa fought back a sob, and closed her eyes as she found herself nodding emphatically. "I do too," she whispered. "I never stopped."

Cadwin closed his eyes as well and held her close. "We'll make something work this time. I don't know what it is, or how we'll do it, but we'll make something work."

"We need to have a long talk," she warned him. "It's been ten years, Cadwin, and we're both different people now. We jumped into marriage too quickly before...we'll run into the same problems if we rush into things this time." Kaysa sighed, wondering just where he could fit into the already complicated equation. And wondering if she could still forgive him, despite his declaration of innocence in the entire matter of his departure. That would be the most difficult obstacle to overcome. "It's late," she whispered, gently pulling away. "Where are you staying? Maybe we can meet..."

"I'm in a hotel," Cadwin said. "The one just up the road with that statue out front, the one of the big primate."

She chuckled. "Still have great taste..."

"Always the best taste," he said with a laugh. "It's a nice place, and when I return, there will be a mint waiting for me."

"You don't like candy," she told him.

"True," Cadwin said with a smile. "But, it's the thought that counts, right? Do you want my mint?"

Kaysa laughed softly, one hand resting on her abdomen. "I think Baby would like that."

"The mint is yours," he said. "You always were a sucker for them, weren't you? Or Baby was, at any rate. You don't know how good it is to see you again, Kaysa. To hear the sound of your voice, your laugh. It makes me realize just how empty my life has been for the last ten years."

"Think of that the next time you decide to ditch me," she half-joked, then sighed and looked back at Kal. "I have to go now," she whispered, again facing Cadwin. "We have a small place on Danuva. If you want to drop by at any time...."

"As long as it's alright," Cadwin said. "I don't want to intrude where I shouldn't. I'd like to see you some more, Kaysa. So we can get to know each other again."

She sighed, and nodded. "Come by for dinner tomorrow. You can meet your son's wife." Kaysa held up a hand to belay the inevitable question. "I'll explain it all tomorrow."

Cadwin was obviously shocked, but he took the revelation in stride. "I look forward to hearing about it. I think. I'll be there tomorrow night then."

Kaysa grinned. "Good." She brushed her hand against his cheek fondly. "I'll see you tomorrow," she whispered.

He allowed his hand to trail against hers as she pulled it away. "Tomorrow," he said. "I love you, Kaysa."

She sighed, as if resigned. "I love you, too," she answered, then lightly swatted his cheek one final time, with a smile. "That'll teach you to turn your back on me again."

"I've learned my lesson," he said. "And, it was the hardest lesson I've ever had to learn in my life. I'll see you tomorrow, Kayse." He put his hand up to his cheek where she'd swatted him and chuckled. "Ouch."

Kaysa nodded curtly. "You'd better believe it." And smiling alluringly at him, she left him standing alone on the dancefloor.

As they moved away, Kallia glanced back once at Cadwin, and then fell into step beside Kaysa. "Is everything alright?"

Sighing, and wearing a small, unreadable smile, Kaysa answered, "Absolutely perfect."

"Your ex-husband?" Kallia asked as they reached the door.

"Not 'ex,' " Kaysa said, far quicker than she'd intended. "Under Bespin law...we're technically still married. But, yes...that's my husband, Cadwin Tarrell." She grinned at her friend and playfully nudged her. "And you were hitting on him."

"Maybe a little bit," Kallia said with a laugh. "He's very attractive. Besides, we took his table. I guess he'd gone to the refresher a little bit before we arrived, and then stopped at the bar, and there I was, sitting in his chair."

"This is the most uncanny thing," Kaysa enthused. Her face was beaming. "It must be fated. I mean...after ten years, we just happen to be in the same club, on the same planet at the same time?"

"I think you may be right," Kallia said, "because I sensed no deception from him. It seems --- and part of this is going by your excitement --- that it's all a wonderful coincidence."

"So he wasn't lying." Kaysa sighed and dropped her head onto Kallia's shoulder. "I wasn't sure... I wanted to believe him, but even though I had my doubts, I couldn't just turn my back on him. I-I still love him, as I always have. I can't give that up."

"We'll figure out a way," Kallia said. "We're good at that. Come on, let's go home and get some sleep. We pregnant ladies need our rest."

Kaysa nodded, though she knew no rest would be had with her mind racing and heart pattering rapidly in her chest. Cadwin was back in her life, and the impression she got was that it was for much longer than the few months they'd had the first time around. She sighed and let out a bubble of giddy laughter. She had no idea starting anew could feel this good.

Kallia slipped her arms around Kaysa. "I am very happy for you," she said. "Seeing you this happy, feeling you this happy, it's wonderful."

She chuckled. "It'll wear off."

"Sure it will," Kallia said, but her voice indicated otherwise. "Now, let's go home, and I'm certain your giddiness will keep us both up all night." With a smile, she placed a kiss on Kaysa's cheek, and then led them out the door. Kaysa couldn't keep herself from taking one last glimpse at Cadwin before the door closed behind them.

---

"Employment Opportunities"
By: Administrator Shrezade Anoran
Leija
Hajne Toray [NPC+]

Location: Administrator's Office, Drogen Shipyards
Date: Lythe 5, 4 ABY

***

Another wistful sigh broke the thick silence, and Shrezade Anoran squinted into the distant space in a futile attempt to catch a glimpse of Tae'Karada's moon, where her lover currently resided. She pressed her fingers to the transparisteel viewport in her office, and felt only cold where, with Dresh, she had found warmth. A good, stiff drink was in order to take her mind off of missing Dresh, but Hajne's nasally call came through the intercom and rattled her nerves enough to shake free all thoughts of her lover, and to sufficiently rile her. "Oh, what is it!" she snapped, stalking towards her desk.

"You have a visitor, Mrs. Anoran," Hajne sang, then giggled boisterously.

Reza rolled her eyes and sank down into her chair with a sigh. "Oh, let them in," she muttered. The intercom clicked, severing the connection, and soon the door to her office slid away. The tall, lithe woman standing before her caused her eyebrow to raise. "Yes?"

The tall, blue skinned Chiss that stood before her stared for at least a second, at the lovely woman that was Shrezade. Her glowing red eyes wandered over her form, and Leija couldn't help but smile, ever so slightly. She bowed her head, and then her whole body followed, in an elegant movement that could have easily been worthy of a Jedi.

"I am Leija," she announced, in her clipped, soft accent. "I seek, employment. I have some skill with a weapon, and as a Chiss, I have the natural talent for strategy and tactics that my people are known for. I was wondering if you have an opening here, in security, for example."

Reza was immediately amused and gestured for the woman to seat herself. "You want employment? So have others in the past, but you don't really think I'd hire just anyone who walks in here, do you? You could be quite mad for all I know." She smiled languidly. "Couldn't you?"

Leija took the offered seat, laying her sword, in its scabbard, up against the chair. "The young woman in the outer chamber was kind enough to allow me to keep this. I told her I might need it, as part of a job interview."

She crossed her legs, and folded her long fingers over her knees. "I could be mad," she said. "In some cases, that could be a solid prerequisite for a security agent. A willingness to take sometimes unnecessary risks to get their job done. But, I'm not. At least as far as I know. But, I am willing to take risks to get a job done."

Reza chuckled lowly. "You sound like a mercenary, Ms. Leija." Her face transformed to a mask of distaste. "I don't intend on filling my security ranks with such...rabble."

"I am, by profession, a Bounty Hunter," Leija said. "But, I am not a murderer, nor do I work, as a rule, for any criminal element. I was once an operative for the Rebellion, if that is of any value to you."

"Really?" Reza drawled. "And where were you, Ms. Leija, when the rebels were fighting to free this station, or Tae'Karada? Hm?"

"Doing my own part, in a small way," Leija answered. "I was trying to find someone. I had information that, in the right hands, could perhaps have turned the balance of power. But, that road appears to be very elusive. I was working with a man named Korva to find this individual. Our efforts did not go to plan, however. And now I have come here to start my search over fresh."

"And what does working for my security force have to do with any of it?" Reza asked. "I'm afraid I don't see the connection."

"There is no connection," Leija replied. She was reading the woman's tone and body language the best she could. From what she could gather, Anoran was sympathetic to the Rebel cause. And that would be a benefit. The Empire had been driven from Tae'Karada. But, some remnant of their tyranny could always return. And that was one reason Leija felt she had to continue with her mission. "I simply need a place to call home. And a way of putting money in my pocket. And...you need tighter security on this station.

"I have to find a woman called Karma Arien," Leija continued. "That is all that I can say, now. Except that if I find her, together we might be able to unlock a mystery that could assure the victory the Rebels have won here. But, I cannot operate without a base, of sorts, to operate from. Tae'Karada has become dangerous for me. But, here...well, we might be able to help one another."

"So, you're going to use me and my station," Reza surmised. She couldn't help but chuckle. "My dear, if you haven't already looked around, you'll see that the Rebel's have won, with or without your help. If you wish to truly work for this station's security force - for the sake of actually keeping peace on this station and not to satisfy your own self-interests, then I shall direct you to my head of security, Captain Rilanna Kir." Folding her hands atop the desk and leaning forward to peer at the woman, she added with a humourless smile, "Otherwise, get out of my office...if you please."

Leija smiled. Not exactly the reaction the other woman expected. "Madame, your head of security has all the competence of a Womp Rat," she commented. In a sudden flourish of movements, the Chiss drew her sword, and thrust the point dangerously close to Anoran. A flick of her thumb on a stud on the handle, and the metallic blade was surrounded by a flickering forcefield; it was as if the word was encased in its own miniature lightning storm. Reza merely smiled in amusement.

"The first rule of competent security is not to allow an armed stranger alone with your employer," Leija said. "Now that I have your attention; let me tell you the story of the glorious victories of the Rebellion. A victory is won at Kashyyk, and my mother is murdered soon after. Another victory is won at Yavin...and my husband is killed. Another victory is won at Endor. But the Empire returns to play havoc with Tae'Karada. Yes...the Rebellion has won, for now. But how long before the Empire rears its evil head? Until that head is severed from the body of the beast, once and for all, it will continue to be reared. Celebrate your victory if you wish. Sit on your ass and laugh at me, if you wish. But they will return. And it is those of us who do not sit in sloth, with our vigilance in torpor that will win the next victories."

"And by allowing an obviously mentally unstable woman to roam my station with deadly weapons and the authority to use them," Reza drawled, "I'm helping defeat the Empire how?"

"Mental instability is a matter of opinion. One might say, for example, that all Zabrak are insane for tattooing their bodies as they do." Leija moved her sword back, and up, slightly. "I have no intention of 'using' your station for my own ends. Only for my home; and I'm willing to work for the right to do so. But...I have suffered at the hands of the Empire, as has everyone in these times. And I will not be mocked for my loyalty to the Rebellion. I can keep the peace for you on this station. We can work together. We have no reason to work against one another."

She deactivated the flickering lightning that surrounded her blade, and swung the weapon in a tight, circular motion in one hand, but she did not return it to its sheath. She simply let it hang at her side.

Reza sighed, and reminded herself to have Rilanna screen all new arrivals to the station for mental illnesses of any kind. "Ms. Leija, I'm going to give you some advice, and I suggest you heed it." She cleared her throat. "Firstly, you don't convince a potential employer to hire you by aiming a weapon at her head. Secondly" --Reza picked at an invisible speck on her shirtsleeve-- "don't discourse another on your unfortunate past when they obviously do not care. And thirdly...." She smiled slowly. "Don't call a prospective employer's lover 'incompetent.' It simply isn't polite. Understood?"

Leija resumed her seat, seemingly oblivious of Reza's commanding tone. "It is also impolite, at least, to belittle another's misfortunes. So, on that score, I suppose we are even. And, you must admit, Madame, that I made a much better point with my blade than I did with my tongue. How else could I convince you of my prowess ?"

"Anyone can pull a weapon," Reza pointed out. "How effectively you use it is a true test of one's abilities."

"One thing you can be sure of," Leija said. "Despite your opinion of my mental state, or my efforts for the Rebellion, I will not fail at whatever task you appoint me to. And, you might find that I get the job done." She bowed her head slightly, and then she was silent, waiting for Reza's response.

Reza raised a single eyebrow at the woman as she studied her intently. She seemed desperate enough to work - it meant she could cut spending by shaving a little off the woman's paycheque, and if she performed well.... Reza grinned. "Meet with my security chief tomorrow morning. She'll assess your abilities. If she deems you fit for duty...then you're in."

Leija bowed her head slightly. "Agreed. I appreciate the opportunity." She stood. "You will not regret it, Madame."

The Chiss moved, swiftly, from Reza's office, the door closing silently behind her.

The moment she was gone, Reza slapped on her intercom and snapped, "Don't let her back in without an appointment, Hajne, and if she tries, I'm sure Cham would enjoy removing her less than gently, hm?"

Hajne agreed wholeheartedly with a mischievous, cackling chuckle.

---

"Discoveries, Part 2"
by: Adam Edwards
DB-7 [NPC+]

Location: Hoth, Rebel Base
Date: Lythe 5, 4ABY

***

The rebel base had seen better days. From the moment Adam entered, he was surprised how much damage had come from the time it had been left abandoned.

Equipment, half frozen, littered the ground. A snowspeeder lay against the wall, its repulsorlifts long frozen and ruined.

The signs of the Imperial attack were obvious too. Blaster scorch marks were everywhere. The hangar had been decimated.

Adam stepped over a piece of rubble. DB shined a light into the dark corridors leading out of the hangar.

"Let's find the control room," Adam said to the droid. Adam started off, his blaster raised in case they ran into unexpected trouble.

The door to the control room was frozen over. DB stepped forward, and a cutting drill extended out of his arm. The thin red beam burned through the ice and door. When he was done, DB kicked the door, and a part of it fell away.

Adam stepped inside, and looked around the control room. Part of it had collapsed. Consoles were frozen, and some had the markings of blaster fire.

As Adam stepped forward, his foot hit something hard. He looked down to see a dead rebel. It appeared the man had been shot, and then his dead body had been left here.

"The rebels made patrols and surveys all over this part of the planet. Maybe they'll have info about this mine. Hopefully the information would be retrievable."

Adam located the console which likely held the geographic data, and pried it open. Inside, though badly damaged, were the memory storage units.

Adam grabbed them, then nodded to DB. If they could get these back to the Elusive, they might be able to repair them and find out the exact location of this mine the man talked about.

They made their way back.

---

"The Trial"
By: Garnet Seifer
Gengis Zibel [NPC+]
Adjudicator Jolani Trel [NPC]
Snyfus Wassel, Attorney at Law [NPC]
Other Minor NPCs

Location: New Republic Judicial Center, Ank Kit'aar
Date: Lythe 5, 4 ABY

***

Garnet was lying on the bed. It was now three months and five days that she was in prison, preventively afraid that she would disappear again. The fact was that the New Republic didn't have any clues of what she had done, or they had it and they were enjoying her in a prison cell.

Probably it was about Gallor that she was in prison all this time and decided only yesterday that the trial would take place today in just a few minutes from now. They knew that sooner or later her forces would lose the civil war in Gallor if she continued incarcerated in this cell.

Of course these were all guess; the fact of such delay to decide in which day the trial with occur was going to remain a secret for all times.

She reached the point that her patience was running short. All this time in a cell constantly hearing her lawyer "you do this" and "do that" for three months was enough. She wanted to be free again and she had to prove it somehow. Garnet had been reading a lot of law books to find any way to get out of this situation, but no help there...

The door opened in an instant, and through the door entered Garnet's lawyer. "They are awaiting for you, Miss Seifer."

What happened to the Empress, idiot. Since I don't rule Gallor anymore do you have no right at all? Garnet thought. Probably my lawyer is already on the side of that Regent Duke.

Garnet got up and accompanied her lawyer to the trial room. On her way there she saw in her eyes that he didn't care anymore whether he won or lost. She decided the fact was she had to do this on her own, to be released.

She sat on the side of her lawyer and waited for the judge or probably any jury.

"Don't worry," he said, possibly to her, or maybe to himself. It was always hard to tell with the way his eyes shifted about. He finally looked at her, a smile on his face as his eyes dipped perhaps a little too low to where her cleavage would have shown had she been wearing a shirt that would have shown any. "Don't worry, Ms. Seifer. I'm very good at what I do. Now that we have a trial, I'll have you out of here in no time. Just leave everything---" His eyes dipped once more. "---to me."

Before Garnet could reply, a call of "All rise" rang out through the hall, and a door at the back of the room whooshed open.

The adjudicator appeared from a sidechamber wearing flowing, white robes and nodded to the assembly. Her motions were smooth and confident, and even the act of sitting seemed one fluid movement that barely interrupted her steady gait. On her dais now, she sounded the chime embedded in her transparisteel desk and ordered all those attending to seat themselves. "This court session has now convened," she announced once the rustle of clothing of those finding their seats diminished. "The accused in this case is one Garnet Seifer of the planet Gallor, and the leader of the now disbanded organization who once called themselves the Liberation Army. The crimes being indicted against her today is murder." The middle-aged woman motioned to Garnet's attorney. "You may begin, Mr. Wassel."

"Thank you, Your Honor," Wassel said with a near bow. "As you are aware, my client is accused of some very dangerous and dastardly acts. She pleads innocent of these crimes, crimes that took place during a state of war. Her actions, in the defense of her beloved home, Gallor, were just that. Defense. Designed to protect and bolster her home, her people. Can anyone claim that her actions differ in any way from the actions of the Rebel Alliance during the war against the Emperor? I daresay they cannot, for there is no difference. Garnet Seifer is a patriot, whose only concern was for her people, her planet, and their way of life."

The adjudicator, Jolani Trel, masked her derision well and simply turned her attention to the prosecutor. The short Mon Calamari rose, his barbels shaking as he did. Large, amphibious eyes blinked as they scanned the chambers, and he finally spread his arms in an awkward greeting gesture as he began. "Garnet Seifer is guilty of far more than that," the alien gurgled. "She willfully attacked Rebel ships on missions of peace and defense." He sucked in a slurping breath, then burbled, "One ship in particular was carrying medical supplies to a colony on Tovash IV. Suffice it to say, those supplies never made it." There was a gentle wave of murmurs that went through the audience, and Jolani silenced them with a raised hand. The Mon Calamari, Nevari, continued. "She is a terrorist and murderer acting for the sake of her own cause, but only succeeding in aiding the former Empire. For that alone, she is guilty of crimes against the New Republic and should be punished accordingly."

"Thank you," Jolani said to both lawyers. "We will now hear witnesses. Mr. Wassel...."

"Thank you. I would like to call Felter Squer, admiral of the Saratoga as my first witness," Wassel asked.

A small man got up where the audience sat. He had grey hair and a huge scar on his left cheek. The man seated himself and looked to Wassel that was standing up, waiting for Felter.

"Mr. Squer you were admiral of transport ship called Saratoga?" Wassel said without looking to Felter.

"Yes, that is correct," Felter said, cleaning his throat.

"Tell me with your own words what happened on the day of Vadris 11, 2 ABY!" Wassel said slowly and looked finally to Mr. Squer.

"I was in the cockpit, we were exiting from hyperspace when we saw a Rebel ship flying away from the ship called Tora. We on the bridge realized that ship was attacked. We boarded the Tora and what we found was in fact beyond my wildest dreams. What I saw still haunts me during the night. We found every single person murdered. I still don't have words to explain what I saw."

"Your Honor the fact is that the Tora was on its way to a diplomatic mission and had LA Diplomats to negotiate with the Rebel's peace. For what this man saw, a Rebel ship boarded the Tora and brutally killed everybody on board," Wassel spoke, but he continued. "Nevari said something wrong since 80% of the raids made by LA were in fact against the Imperial ships. I have no further questions. Your Honor."

"Mr. Nevari, your cross-examination," Jolani prompted. The Mon Calamari rose and bowed his head in greeting to Mr. Squer.

"You say this ship was a Rebel vessel," he began. "Was it simply the make of the ship, or did they actually identify themselves as members of the New Republic? Have you their leader's name?"

Mr.Squer blinked his eyes. "We identify the ship through our comm as the Tiber. Last I heard Tiber was and still is a Rebel Alliance ship." He quickly said.

"But could Imperial agents not have seized the vessel?" Nevari pressed.

Wassel looked to surprise. "You should know, Nevari! Tiber is now a New Republic ship, so if an Imperial or someone seized the vessel you should know. The fact, your honor, that can be the slightest fact that someone could take control of the Tiber, but what is the interest in taking control of the ship and attack an LA diplomatic ship. What is the interest?" Wassel sat on the chair.

"My point, your honor," Nevari replied, "is that Mr. Squer is attempting to implicate the Rebels in a crime they could not have committed, thereby giving the LA justification for those 20% of their raids that led to an attack upon a Rebel vessel." Nevari hobbled back to his desk, retrieved a padd from it, and offered it to the bailiff. "Evidence, your honor, of the rebels' innocence in the attack of Vadris 11, 2 ABY. The Saratoga was, in fact, under control of an extremist group with Imperial sympathies at that time, only to later be repossessed by the Rebels. So, it was pirates who attacked the Saratoga, Mr. Squer. Not the Rebels." There was a murmur of surprise from the audience, and Nevari formed what was akin to a smile. "I have no further questions for this witness."

Jolani nodded and dismissed Mr. Squer. "Defense, have you anymore witnesses?"

"Not for now, Your Honor," Wassel said has he raised himself from the chair and sat down quickly.

"And you, Mr. Nevari?"

The Mon Calamari rose again and bowed his head. "Yes, Your Honor.... I wish to call to the stand Commander Numora of the medical frigate Vraxia to the stand."

The tall human male dressed in formal navy attire strode from the audience to the witness stand. After he was sworn in, Nevari proceeded with his questioning. "Commander, please recount to us the happenings of Thaniss 4, 2 ABY."

Numora nodded. "We were on a run through the Tiega System," he began in a solid, deep tone. "Our frigate was carrying medical supplies to a rebel base on one of the nearby planets. Upon our approach, we were ambushed by a ship identified as the Galliant, a known Liberation Army vessel. Without provocation, they opened fire. We tried to communicate with them, but they refused to answer our hails. All they said was they were carrying out the galaxy's liberation for their leader, Garnet Seifer, and any who opposed them were committing an act of treason against her. We performed evasive maneuvers, and would never have survived the attack if a nearby Rebel ship hadn't come to our aid. In the end, the Galliant withdrew their attack and departed, but not before we were forced to eject our medical supplies." Numora paused to sigh and shake his head. "We lost fifty men on the planet because of that." His eyes flashed with malice as they sought out Garnet's. "Those medical supplies could've saved their lives."

Nevari thanked the man. "Defense, your witness," he prompted Wassel.

Wassel got up and simply looked to the witness. "Did you, in fact, see Miss Garnet Seifer?"

"No, I did not," he replied. "But the man said they were acting on Ms. Seifer's behalf."

"No further questions, Your Honor," Wassel said as he made a mental note.

"Very good," Jolani said. "Do either of you have anymore witnesses?"

"Yes, Your Honor!" Wassel looked for mere instances at Garnet. "I would like to call Gengis Zibel to the stand!" Wassel said as a small whisper came from the entire room.

Gengis entered the room with glamour, and he was extremely sure in himself. He seated himself on the witness stand. Wassel looked up and smiled.

"Mr. Zibel. Can you tell me the events of the night of Saris 26, 2 ABY?" Wassel said as he continued to stand near his table where Garnet was seated.

"Yes..." he said with an extremely confident voice, but he continued. "I was a Major at the time. I was personally handling some paper work for Garnet, on our base at the time on the planet Rianer. I was handling some important paper work for Garnet. When I entered in her meeting room I was surprised not to see her there."

"Why were you surprised?" Wassel asked.

"I knew that she was planning, the next morning, raids against two Imperial Transport ships whose cargo was mainly repair parts and weapons. I knew that she prepared extensively so that everything would go smooth without the cargo being damaged. She always stayed until dawn and sometimes never participated herself on the morning raids. Her Generals were like slackers or something; they never seemed interested to raid Imperial ships. Like I was saying I thought it strange that she was not there. Then suddenly Mr. Ghert'wt appeared through one of the secret passageways and he startled me. He asked what I was doing there, and I responded that I was to deliver the paperwork for Garnet and asked where she was."

"And his response?" Wassel asked, walking near Gengis.

"He said that she was indisposed at the moment. I delivered him the paperwork and left the room. The fact I only discovered a month and a half later that I discovered was that Ghert'wt and the rest of Garnet's loyal Generals had got her by force and threw her into the brig."

Wassel looked to Garnet and then to Gengis. "How did you learn about that?"

"Well I started to be suspicious of Ghert'wt and his men and their missions since our ships were entering before in Rebel territories. So I did a little investigation with the help of some friends of mine. We stumbled across a lot of security cameras of a particular torture chamber and cell. When I saw the video I saw Garnet being tortured in front of the Generals and they were enjoying it," Gengis said.

"And when did you go with the help of loyal supporters to Garnet to free her?" Wassel said as he walked back to his desk.

"It was the cold night of Vadris 1, 2 ABY."

"During that time Garnet was in jail and being tortured?" Wassel asked.

"Yes, they made an entire record of that," Gengis responded without thinking.

"Your honor. I have here what I put as Exhibit B. A holodisc that has the entire record of Garnet's jail and torture. Tell me, Your Honor and Mr. Nevari how is it possible that Garnet ordered the attack on Vraxia, if she was in fact in jail and being tortured on a planet just outside the Outer Rim? Garnet Seifer didn't order the attack and the attacks during that period. That is not possible. I ran through the entire record of the New Republic in that time and every single ship were raided in that period of two months, the same two months that Garnet Seifer was in jail, the same two months that the Ghert'wt and his fellow friends which were Imperial sympathizers ruled over the Liberation Army forces and the same two months that the over hundred raids were made by LA against Rebel ships. It is too much coincidence, ladies and gentleman." Wassel looked to Garnet and made silent for quite a long time. "Mr. Zibel after the rescue of Garnet, you and your fellow friends were promoted?"

"Yes, that is correct. Garnet made me Admiral of the Hapes Super Nova-class Battle Cruiser 'Necron,' " Gengis quickly responded with the same confidence as he began to be questioned.

"So you were always in the presence of Garnet?" Wassel said.

"Yes!" Gengis responded.

"Your Honor. I have here information that the fact of these events, the raids against the rebels, did not stop. There were attacks on Vadris 17, Vadris 21, Vadris 25, Rheudis 10 on the year of 2 ABY and so on. All these attacks are in reports filed by witnesses. And on those reports there was always the ship Galliant or Tisun or the Hurricanes. Mr. Zibel were these ships part of LA after the rescue of Garnet?"

"The Galliant, Tisun and the Hurricanes didn't make part of LA fleet, since those ships belonged to the Generals that were able to flee, because they got away before we could catch them and only three of them were able to get away."

"Mr. Nevari, Your Honor. The reports of witnesses of the rebel ships set on the raids after Garnet's freedom, that Galliant or Tisun or the Hurricanes were always present on those raids. How is that possible they attacked and they masqueraded it as an attack as LA? These raids were made by rogue forces that their ships no longer made part of the LA fleet. Mr. Zibel what exactly have you been doing during the next four weeks after Tora?"

"Well, after the attack on Tora, Garnet thought that the rebels would attack on our base planet since there was a chance of the people telling them where our base was. So Garnet ordered every ship to return to Rianer so we could change to a new base on a different planet, but then we received reports that the Empire had obligated the rebels to flee from Hoth and their numbers decreased as the days passed by. Garnet wanted to change our base because the Empire could come across the info and attack us. It took about four to five weeks to make us move to the new base," Gengis said.

"Very good. Did Garnet give you any order not to attack Rebel ships?" Wassel asked.

"No..." Gengis said, "...but she didn't have to. Since we know that from the beginning on the LA that it was worthy and advantageous to raid Imperial transports. Also Rebel transports started to be less and less, since the war against the Empire was in fact not going that well."

"Thank you, Mr. Zibel, for your assistance. Your honor the fact that raids were made against Rebel ships by LA doesn't make my client responsible to give the orders for those raids. The attacks and raids by LA were ordered, in fact, by Garnet's former Generals. I would like to call some of those Generals, but that is not possible since the Generals that were caught were free after a year and I tried to track them down, but it was coincidence that every single of them were murdered by a Bounty Hunter called Yre. Every single of these Generals could be made an alibi for my client; the fact that every General is now dead is the ultimate evidence that someone or somebody is trying to frame my client," Wassel said as he looked to Nevari. "I'm finished, your honor!"

"Mr. Zibel," Nevari said quickly. "Following her release from prison, can you attest that she, not once, attacked a known New Republic vessel, or ordered such attacks?"

"There was no point, Mr. Nevari. Everybody knew that the most rich in cargo was the Imperial ships, also the transports of Rebel ships became a myth on the Outer Rim. The intel I received that the rebels attacked with everything they got against the second Death Star on the battle of Endor. What was the point in attacking rebel transports if the imperial ones are more profitable." Gengis was extremely sure.

"I cannot answer that," Nevari said. "But perhaps I know someone who can." He turned to the podium and addressed the judge. "Your Honour, I wish to call Garnet Seifer to the stand."

There was a sudden din in the courtroom, silenced by the judge. She nodded to the Mon Calamari. "Bring her in."

Garnet rose from her chair and moved without being forced by the guards. She seated herself and gave a ironic smile to Nevari. She sat on the witness bench and waited for the questions.

The alien studied her with his large, glistening eyes, then took in a gurgling breath. "Ms. Seifer, let us get straight to the point. Have you, in all your time as leader of the Liberation Army, ever ordered an attack on a New Republic vessel? I am not referring to your time in prison, I am referring to before and after that time."

"No..." Garnet said, very sure in her voice. "In all my life as leader of the Liberation Army I never ever ordered an attack on a New Republic vessel."

"Then why did you choose not to ally yourselves with them against the Empire?" Nevari riposted.

"Do you think that the rebels would gratefully accept my proposal after what my generals did to their ships in the name of LA? They would probably do like Mr. Grath did, on our meeting. Put me to into the cell like just three months go," Garnet said very coldly, like her voice was ice cold.

"So you didn't," he interpreted. "Nor did you attempt to apologize for what your generals did in your name. Did you?"

"No, I did not. Would you believe my word on it? I think not, being the criminal that you say I am. Besides I had a ship among the rebel ships. Are you familiar with the Noder?" Garnet said with a smile.

"I am not," Nevari replied. "I assume you wish to enlighten us."

"I'm quite surprised you don't know. The Noder was one of the transport ships exclusively used by the rebels, especially used when rebels changed to new bases. I think now it is in the service of the New Republic. The captain decided to join the New Republic after the rebels' victory. I agreed to his freedom since his services never were quite useful," Garnet replied to Nevari's question.

Nevari nodded slowly. "And what is your point, Ms. Seifer? Attempting to ingratiate yourself with the jury by boasting your feats of mercy and goodwill?"

"No, just to point a fact." Garnet paused for a while. "Your Honor, it has been proven here that, no time at all, did I give orders to attack rebel ships. I still don't get what is the point of the accusation. If they intend to make me contradict myself that won't work because I never gave those orders. Is that perfectly clear for Mr. Nevari?" Garnet said, quite angry, but without losing her temper.

"Ms. Seifer," Jolani reproved, "only answer the questions asked. Refrain from making such outbursts." She kept a stern gaze on Garnet, then softened it as she regarded Nevari. "Are there any more questions, Mr. Nevari."

The Mon Calamari bowed his head. "No, your honour. I have no further questions."

"Mr. Wassel, do you have any questions for the witness?"

"No, your honor, I do not. I think Miss Seifer has made very clear that she never gave the orders," Wassel said, as he seat on the chair.

"Alright, then we'll recess and I'll consider my final decision." Jolani dismissed the courtroom, and all departed.

It was a long, tense two hours before the tall, serene woman strode back into the room and took her seat. She folded her hands atop and stared at them in quiet contemplation. "I have reviewed the evidence," she began, her voice crisp and projected, "or lack thereof...." The woman's blue eyes flicked up towards the assembled and focused on Garnet. "I cannot believe that a mercenary, a known terrorist who has shown that she cares for no one but herself and her cause, is completely innocent in this instance. Whether or not she held knowledge of the atrocities her generals committed, she supplied them with the resources and motivation to carry out the attacks against the New Republic." Jolani sighed, then, as the tension in the room peaked. Her unwavering, stern gaze fell before she looked up again with obvious regret. "However, there was not enough evidence to support this court's opinions, nor is there evidence to exonerate the accused completely. That is why I must dismiss the case against Ms. Garnet Seifer." Before the crowd could erupt with chatter, Jolani continued. "But...with one stipulation. Ms. Garnet Seifer is forbidden from gaining admission to the New Republic. This will ensure that she can cause no more harm." Jolani smiled blandly. "That is my final ruling." She sounded the chime. "Dismissed."

Wassel smiled ironically. It was not what he was searching for, but at the end he got Garnet Seifer free from being imprisoned again in a forsaken cell.

"Thank you," Garnet said, smiling and exited the room. She was now free and in time would show her future prospects.

---

"Desert Crossing, Part 1"
By: Oyani Tala
Peelor Taft [NPC]

Location: The desert, outside Thanatos
Date: Lythe 5, 4ABY

***

Oyani woke, suddenly. She felt a second pain in her right lekku, as Peelor Taft's hand slapped her again. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?" she barked, sitting up suddenly, lekku going stiff behind her back, and a look of anger in her green eyes.

"I had to wake you," Taft said. He was brandishing his blaster rifle, and even as he spoke, there was the sound of a weapons discharge. A portion of the rock outcropping under which they were encamped was blown into dust.

"Yes, I guess you did," Oyani said. "But don't do it like that again!" the Twi'lek got on her knees, and crawled, staying low behind a short barrier of racks that made their campsite something of a cave. She reached the lip of it and poked her head up, carefully, to get a look at what was going on. Taft took a position across the cave opening from her, and knelt behind some rocks himself, shouldering the rifle.

"Desert raiders," Taft said. "Thanatos is full of 'em. Unlike Tatooine we don't have any nice, comfy Tusken raiders to keep greedy humans at bay!"

Another blaster-bolt hit, this time inside the "cave"; Oyani ducked as dust sprayed the air.

A voice shouted out to them, from the desert outside: "Old Man! We know you're travelling with a woman. A Twi'lek. Send her out! We only want her. You can go on, and die in the sand, if you wish.... "

"Only want her, huh ? Well..." Oyani whipped her blaster from her belt, and stuck it over the rock along with just enough of her head to take aim. Twi'leks had good night-vision, from a life evolving as a subterranean species. And Oyani took advantage of it. She squeezed off three quick shots from her blaster. Red bolts illuminated the darkness around the cave, as the blaster fire found its mark.

The man who had called out was crouched behind a short dune, and it provided some cover, but he got a spray of heated sand in his face for his efforts, followed by the removal of his hat, and the singeing of some of his hair. The third shot caught him, as he stood, in the center of the chest and he fell back, dead in the sand.

"I don't think I would have done that," Taft said.

"Why not?" Oyani asked, her voice filled with an anger, at the now-dead brigand who had wanted her sent out to him.

Blaster fire rained down on the cave, hitting rocks and hitting the lip above the opening, spraying them with sparks and dust. "That's why!" Taft shouted over the din, as he returned fire. Oyani did likewise, and soon there was a steady firefight going on.

The rocks surrounding the cave opening contained enough natural metallic ore that they withstood blaster fire fairly well, but Oyani knew that they wouldn't hold out for long.

"How many...?" she asked Taft when there was a lull in the gunfire.

"Not many," he answered. "Probably some small group...hoping to get into one of the bigger gangs in Thanatos...by bringing in a prize."

"Yeah...a prize of a redskinned Twi'lek whore!" Oyani's voice sounded rough and growly. "Well, it won't be me." She poked her head over the rock again. A blaster bolt screamed past her, and she ducked quickly.

"You bought yourself death, old man," a new voice called out. The firing stopped, and Oyani poked he head up above the rock again, training her eyes in on the source of the sound. She could see a man, kneeling behind the dune where the one she had shot had been crouched. She smiled, wickedly.

"I won't send my companion out to you," Taft called back. "And...I doubt you'll be taking her alive. So, get on. Go back to Thanatos and find a new way to impress the gangleaders. You are children playing a grown man's game!"

Taft levelled his blaster rifle, and laid down a burst of fire that forced the brigands to duck down behind their dunes.

"Cover me," Oyani said, suddenly, holstering her blaster.

Taft just looked at her.

"Cover me!" she repeated. "And...trust me. There's only one way to appeal to a savage instinct."

Taft exhaled, loudly, and reaimed his rifle, pulling a fresh clip from a beltpouch as he did so. Oyani, in the meantime, crawled, stealthily, around the edge of the rock. She could be as quiet and stealthy as an animal when the occasion called for it. It was a skill she had learned, and learned quickly from the Coynites.

The blaster exchange stopped, and it gave Oyani a chance to make her way into the dunes that had blown up outside the cave; she crawled and slithered through the sand, hidden by the darkness.

"Send her out, and save yourself," the man behind the short dune called. "Otherwise, we'll come in and get her!"

"That I would not advise," Taft replied. He had reloaded his rifle, and he opened fire again. He didn't actually want to kill any of these men; but he didn't let them know that, barely missing and singeing hair, beards, and clothing with close shots.

The blaster fire continued, as Oyani crawled, carefully, to lie below the dune behind which the group's spokesman was crouching. She lay, silently, in wait, until the blaster fire erupting from behind the dune stopped. She knew she had only a few seconds. And she took advantage of them. Her lekku twined around each other, as she moved into a crouched position, ready to leap. She tensed, and then let loose with a jump that carried her over the small dune...

The gang leader, elected to the position by Oyani's blaster only a few moments before, soon found himself entangled in a mass of arms, legs, and lekku; all belonging to a very angry and uncharacteristically animated Twi'lek female.

Oyani landed with the full weight of her body on the man, and forced him into the sand. She immediately felt a pair of hands on her arms, and someone was trying to drag her off of their leader. She allowed herself pulled to her feet, and then kicked her foot up, and backwards, so that the heel of her boot came up between the legs of the man behind her.

He groaned, and released his hold on her, falling into the sand.

Oyani drew her blaster and fired three shots, two hitting their mark, and making ugly little holes in the foreheads of her targets, as members of the small gang charged her. The third shot missed, but its target fell into the sand for cover. The gang-leader, on the other hand, was not so easily swayed. From his position in the dunes, he rolled, and knocked Oyani to the ground, then in a swirl of movements, he was on top of her, pinning her arms with his knees. He brought up a fist and aimed it at her face.

Oyani growled like an animal, and bared her teeth, snapping them up at the man's fist and tearing flesh from his hand even as he hit her. She ignored the blood that came from her lip, as the gang leader instinctively grabbed his injured hand with his other. The Twi'lek lifted her knees, and hit him in the center of his back, and his body stiffened. He rolled off of her.

The Twi'lek gained her feet, swiftly, and grabbed the man by his collar, hauling him to his feet. She put a fist into his stomach, and then pushed him back where he stood doubled over. Oyani then twisted her head around, and lashed out with her right lekku like a whip, wrapping the sensitive appendage around the man's neck, she jerked her body so that he was pulled up, and forced towards her. Using her lekku in such a fashion was very painful for her, but not as painful as the result was to the gang leader.

As he stumbled forward, Oyani released his neck from her lekku, and jerked her head forward, so that the man's forehead impacted with the round, metallic emblem on her Twi'lek headdress. He fell back with a dull grunt, and Oyani smiled.

Then she turned to see two of the gangmembers running towards her. One of them held a vibroaxe in his hand. The other appeared to be unarmed. Oyani drew a small dagger from her belt, and took a defensive stance.

The unarmed man reached her first, and she dropped to one knee, her other leg extended out, she ducked down, and stabbed upward with her knife at the same time. The man's wide punch went wild, and Oyani's knife penetrated his clothing, and pierced his flesh in the lower abdomen. He let out a loud yelp, as she drew the knife out, and swerved her body so that the extended leg knocked the man off his feet.

With the grace of a Twi'lek dancer, Oyani gained her feet, and charged the man with the axe. He swung it at her, and she could hear it's vibroblade humming. She ducked, and he missed. She moved under his arm, and came up behind him, lifting her knife. The axeman turned, and swung his axe down on her. Oyani blocked the haft with her dagger, but the force of it pushed her to her knees. The Twi'lek let her dagger fall from her hand, and she reached up and grabbed the axehaft, her hands almost touching those of the wielder. He grinned wickedly.

"I'm gonna slice you up, lekku first!" he said.

Oyani simply smiled. She let herself fall onto her back, holding tightly to the axehaft. The buzzing blade came dangerously close to her face as she lifted her legs to plant her feet, firmly, in the man's midsection. Using the axe for leverage, Oyani pushed up and back, forcing the man into the air, and over her. He lost the grip on his axe, as he fell over the Twi'lek to land on his back in the sand.

Oyani took the vibroaxe in hand, and rolled over onto her knees. As she did so, the gang leader, recovered from the headbutt he had received enough to rejoin the fray, came sneaking up behind her. Tala rose one eyebrow. And her left lekku twitched. Still kneeling, Oyani swung the axehandle back to catch the gangleader in the right knee. He fell, favoring the knee, and Oyani twirled, getting to her feet as she swung the axe over her head.

A flick of her thumb deactivated the blade's vibrating feature. Oyani cut the hard steel into the gang leader with two swipes of the blade. She opened his stomach, and put a deep cut across his face. The man fell to the sand, giving up his life with a moan, as the Twi'lek twirled the blade, again, before tucking the handle under her arm.

She turned, to face the man who had originally attacked her with the axe. "Now! There's my answer to your invitation to join your little club!" she said, loudly. "Get what's left of this rabble together and get the fuck out of here before I turn this axe back on and carve you into food for those lizards!"

The man hesitated to respond. He wasn't actually frightened of her, but the sight of an enraged Twi'lek, wielding a weapon like a Zabrak, had him off his guard.

"I've already killed two of your leaders," Oyani said, with a calm, almost sinister tone in her voice. "Shall I try for three." She flicked the switch on the axehandle, and the blade hummed to life again. She lunged it at the man, who jumped back. "Get the fuck outta here!!"

The ferocity of a Coynite warrior was in her voice.

The man moved around Oyani, as she followed his movements with the axe. He helped one of his fallen comrades to his feet, and dragged the man off to rejoin the two remaining gang members who had stayed, wisely, outside the path of the Twi'lek's anger. Oyani watched their every move, holding the axe skillfully, lekku twitching and shaking wildly. The only sign that inside her there was a rage waiting to explode.

The men cleared away, leaving their dead, and moved off into the dunes in a hurry. Oyani held her defensive pose until they were gone from sight, and then she returned to the cave, as fast as she could, keeping down, just in case anyone decided to pop up from behind a sand dune with a blastpistol.

She threw the vibroaxe down in the sand, inside the small cave, and immediately began rummaging through her pack, stuffing things into it rapidly. Taft, his rifle over his shoulder, stood, and watched her for a moment "Well, I take it your negotiations with the desert brigands went well?" he asked her.

"Negotiations? Bantha shit!" Oyani said. "I killed as many of them as I could get my hands on. It's the only language they understand."

"Are you sure of that?" Taft asked her, frankly.

"Well...it's the only language their kind has ever understood, as far as I have ever known," Oyani answered. "You'd better pack your things, because they aren't going to be scared off by one pissed Twi'lek for very long."

"Perhaps it is you who understands the language of violence, and speaks it all to fluently," Taft said, to her.

Oyani snapped to her feet, her eyebrows knitted in anger. "Maybe I do. I'm alive, aren't I? I'm no one's whore. No one's slave. No one's property. I take care of myself. Which is what I'm doing now. They will be back. I only scared them off long enough for us to get out of here. Now...are you coming ?"

Taft looked around him. "Well, I suppose you're right. These desert waylayers don't usually frighten off easily. From now on, we travel by day. Rest at night...."

"From now on?" Oyani tossed the bag she had just lifted up back into the dirt. "How long are we going to be out in this desert? You said two days. We'd be travelling for two days! You'd better start telling things straight, or I'm going to lose it again. I'm tired, and my lekku hurt like hell. I just killed three men, maybe four. I don't like doing that. So, I'm in no mood for some spiel I'd expect from a Toydarian speeder dealer! How long before we reach Thanatos!?"

"I told you the truth," Taft said. "Two days, walking, if we keep up a good clip. So, if we put some miles behind us before sunrise, we can rest tomorrow, knowing that we will only have one more night to wander the sands; and fight off the brigands. I promise. We won't be stranded out here any longer."

"I hope not." Oyani shouldered her pack. "Because...I don't want to run into those brigands again." She tied the pack's waiststrap around her middle. "I honestly don't trust myself."

Taft gave her a knowing nod, as he shouldered his own bag.

---

"Forbidden Lessons, Part 1"
By: Liam Zaneth
Va'Lesh Zaneth [NPC+]
Yara Zaneth [NPC+]
Shaza Nightshade [NPC+]
Leshie Zaneth [NPC+]

Location: Masgire
Date: Lythe 5, 4 ABY

***

The planet was called Masgire. It was located in a no-man's land between the Core and the Mid-Rim. It was the perfect place for people who didn't want to be found to go, to hide, to do the things they didn't wish others to see. Clad in civilian attire, Liam Zaneth walked the streets with his Padawans as well as his... His what? What was Shaza now? Perhaps that was a subject to contemplate another time.

He wasn't sure if he should have any hope of finding anything here. They hadn't so far. Their collective frustration was growing, even though Yara and Va'Lesh did not truly know what they sought. They came along willingly and without complaint. Shaza, from the very beginning, had stayed by his side, had offered him comfort and her strength. His thoughts once again turned back towards what she was to him, and he had a feeling he knew but wasn't quite ready to admit.

"Let's stop for some food," Liam finally said as they stopped at the edge of one of the walkways, waiting for the traffic signals to allow them to cross to the other side. "I know I'm up for something to eat." He glanced at Yara and Leshie.

"I believe I could use some sustenance, Master," Yara replied. She glanced over her shoulder at the child slung to her back and smiled at him. "I believe Leshie is hungry as well."

Liam held a hand up to his son, and found one of his fingers immediately seized in the infant's tiny fist. "I saw a place just up the street earlier. And, surprisingly, it appeared to be mostly clean. After that, there's one other place I'd like to check."

Yara held back a sigh, and glanced meaningfully at Va'Lesh. Both had blindly followed Liam without raising a single question, but it didn't mean they weren't curious. But, they would both abide by Liam's wishes. "Yes, Master," Yara answered, and started forward with Va'Lesh.

"I believe I have determined what it is Father seeks," Va'Lesh said once they were far enough away from Liam to speak freely. "I believe...I believe he is seeking a specialist doctor of some sort."

Yara frowned. "But...why? Is he not well?"

"I overheard him mentioning a doctor to Shaza, and that he thought they were getting closer. Through the Force, he seems fine, so I do not believe it is his own health that is in question."

Nodding slowly, Yara puzzled over the situation. Then, she looked up suddenly. "It is Ms. Nightshade!" she whispered. "Do you believe she is with child, Va'Lesh?"

"I am no expert in such matters," Va'Lesh answered, "however that would be a distinct possibility. I do not believe we should let them know that we know, since they have been trying to keep the situation secret."

"Do they not trust us, Va'Lesh?" she inquired. "Have we not proven ourselves loyal?"

"It may not be an issue of trust," Leshie answered. "If they are having a baby together, perhaps they wish to keep that part of their personal life separate. Or perhaps they are waiting for the proper time to announce that she will be having a baby. I hope that we are able to help her care for him as we are with little Leshie."

"We are good caregivers," Yara noted. "And protectors. We will prove our worth, Va'Lesh."

"We will make them proud of us, and they will trust us. Here is the place. I hope they have some...soup. I like soup. It is quite delicious. I imagine little Va'Lesh will like soup when he is old enough."

As if in affirmation, Leshie burbled happily. Yara smiled. "I believe he will as well." With Va'Lesh holding the door for her, Yara stepped into the establishment. There were all manner of beings within, but there was none of the usual contention displayed when species of different cultures were confined in a single space together. Yara sensed no sign of belligerence, only enjoyment of the food they were consuming. She nodded to Va'Lesh. "A pleasant place indeed."

"There is a booth there that will seat us comfortably," Va'Lesh said, indicating the booth in question. "Father made a good selection in choosing this place." He pointed to a man across the restaurant, consuming some sort of food from a bowl. "Oh, soup. They have soup, Yara."

"Yes, I see," she replied. "I believe I shall like this restaurant well." Smiling to her chosen, the two made their way to the booth and seated themselves. Both gazed about the room curiously, as did Leshie, who now bounced in Yara's lap. "It is certainly clean. Liam Zaneth was correct."

"I have found that Liam Zaneth is typically correct," Leshie said. Liam and Shaza appeared in the doorway of the restaurant, hands clasped at their side. "I believe they are in love, as we are."

"Then why are we not expecting a child as well?" she asked curiously. "Liam Zaneth and Yelara Zaneth were in love, and they had a child. Shaza Nightshade and Liam Zaneth are now in love, and they are expecting one. Are we allowed to be in love without conceiving a child?"

"I believe it is allowable," Leshie answered. "However, I believe we will need to do that thing in bed more often. As I understand, that is what makes babies."

Yara nodded. "I agree." She glanced down at the top of Leshie's head and absently pushed her fingers through his red hair. "It feels...enjoyable, Va'Lesh," she said quietly. "I like when you touch me."

"I enjoy touching you, Yara. I had not realized that such things could be. It was not in any of what our former master gave us during our training. And, while my time with Mother was pleasurable, it is even more so with you. Though, with her, I put my thing inside, like Liam Zaneth does with Shaza."

"Might that be why you secreted that white liquid?" Yara inquired. "Perhaps, if it is inside the female, she acts as a receptacle for it so there is not such a mess." She frowned thoughtfully. "It is quite untidy, Va'Lesh."

"Yes," Va'Lesh said. "Quite untidy indeed. Perhaps the next time we will have to try that, if that is acceptable for you."

"It would seem to be a better alternative," she replied. Leshie agreed with a string of unintelligible gibbering. Yara nodded, seeming to understand. "It is agreed, then. We shall try that this evening."

"We shall," Va'Lesh said. "Hopefully Liam Zaneth and Shaza Nightshade can watch over little Leshie, as we do for them."

Yara smiled, everything seemingly falling into place. It would be a perfect arrangement. As Shaza and Liam approached, she bowed her head to them both and shifted over to make room for Shaza. "They have soup," she stated plainly.

Shaza smiled. "Then I anticipate us getting four bowls of it," she said. "You both appear to have settled quite nicely here. Let's see about getting us that soup. Liam?"

"I'll be right back," Liam said, then moved off to find someone to take their orders.

"Now, I believe I sensed a bit of possible mischief on your parts," Shaza said. "Talk to me."

"It was nothing, Ms. Nightshade," Yara insisted. "We were simply discussing the process of making babies, and where exactly the appropriate place for Va'Lesh's penis was." She inclined her head inquisitively. "Do you know, Ms. Nightshade?"

Shaza choked, though was very happy she hadn't yet begun to sip from the glass of water before her on the table. "His p-- Should you really be--?" She looked between them. "You really want to know, don't you?"

Yara glanced towards Va'Lesh, then back to Shaza in complete confusion. "Why would we not? We wish to make a baby, and Father has only told us we must wait, not that we may not learn how."

"Well, I...I don't...it goes in the spot...between...between your legs." She shook her head and laughed. "The two of you have peeped in on Liam and I enough that I'd think you'd know by now."

Yara smiled knowingly at Va'Lesh. "So, you two have been trying to make a baby," she told Shaza. "And you have succeeded. That is why we must seek out this special doctor."

"We--? No, no it's not that. We're... What we do in bed is...is just for pleasure and our own happiness. It makes us feel good together. The doctor...he's a very specific doctor who...who we hope, or Liam does, will be able to...to bring Yelara back."

Yara frowned. "But she is with us already, Ms. Nightshade," she pointed out. "I do not understand."

"What this doctor would do is make her alive again, like the three of us sitting here at the table."

"Alive?" Yara's expression seemed troubled, mirroring Va'Lesh's. "But what of the balance?" she asked. "Do you and Liam Zaneth not care about that? By reviving her, you will be upsetting that. It is not right."

"Was it right of Dargus Kandran to do what he did to her?" Shaza asked. "If it goes against the balance, balance will be found. There will be a price, I have no doubt. And, Liam says if it brings her back, he's willing to pay that price. It may not be possible, and this is just a fruitless search. But, what if she can be brought back?"

Yara sighed and looked down at the child in her lap, one who would grow up not knowing his own mother, just as she had no knowledge of her own. "He would be sad," she murmured, and gently kissed the top of his head. "This doctor," she said, again regarding Shaza, "he can make her alive again? Just as she was before?"

"That is what we've heard," Shaza said. "And, that's why we're looking. If Leshie can have his mama again. If Liam could have his wife again. The benefits are too great to pass it up."

"Then we shall help," Yara decided. "We are Jedi Padawans. The Force will be our guide."

Shaza smiled and covered Yara's hand with her own. "Thank you," she said. "That means very much to both Liam and I."

"Really?" Yara looked puzzled again. "Then why did he not tell us of this?"

"It was nothing against you," Shaza said. "He doesn't like to go to others for help, he's very independent and nerf-headed like that. So, he was playing things as closely to himself as he could."

"Well, now we know," Yara asserted. "He cannot keep us from helping now."

Shaza smiled and patted Yara's hand. "Thank you. That's just as it should be."

Bowing her head at Shaza, Yara caught Liam's approach from the corner of her eye and the edge of her senses.

"I don't even need the Force to know that something important's being discussed here," Liam said as he slid into the booth beside Shaza. "Do I want to know?"

"I do not know," Yara replied. "Shaza has just told us something, something you did not tell us." She tilted her head and questioned Shaza with a gaze. "Do we tell him?"

Shaza nodded. "We should tell him," she said. "Go ahead."

Yara obliged and looked directly at Liam with no sign of trepidation. "We know that you are attempting to revive Yelara Zaneth and we wish to help." Before he could reply, she added, "And we know that you and Shaza Nightshade are in love and have been pleasuring one another nearly every evening. That is what we know."

Liam opened his mouth. Then he closed it and looked at Shaza.

"Pleasure," she said with a nod.

"Well, yes. And...and thank you. You haven't been...haven't been watching us again, have you?"

Yara shook her head. "But we can feel you. And Va'Lesh and I wish to try as well."

"Are you sure you're ready for that? It's a big step in a relationship. To commit to one another physically..."

"I wouldn't say that," Shaza said with a soft chuckle. "Many people have sex without even liking each other. But it helps." She turned to Yara and Leshie. "There are certain things we'll need to talk about. I'm sure you and I can have a talk, Yara; as can Liam and Va'Lesh. There are things you should know, just in case."

"I wish to be Va'Lesh's receptacle," Yara stated. "You must teach me, Ms. Nightshade."

"Of course," Shaza said, eyes wide with shock. "You'll...I'll teach you...to be his...his receptacle."

Yara smiled. "Thank you." Then she looked aside at Liam, who appeared just as taken aback. "May we order now?"

"Sure," Liam said with an unsteady nod. "We can...the waitress is on her way. It's more than being a receptacle. It's...I don't...I've never...how do you teach someone to--?"

"Mother showed me how, Father. Perhaps you could show Yara as mother did with me. She was a good teacher, and I learned much."

Yara's smile widened. "That is an ingenious idea, Va'Lesh." Her gaze, slightly hopeful, found Liam's. "May we, Master Zaneth?"

"Yes, Master Liam," Shaza said with a wide grin. "It's a wonderful idea. And, while you're doing that, I can show Va'Lesh a thing or two."

"I really don't think it's a--"

Leshie beamed. "Oh, Father, it's perfect. Mother would have approved."

"I--" He cast a glare at Shaza, who only returned a wicked grin.

"Then it is settled," Yara announced. "Shall we schedule it for tonight, Father?"

"Are you sure this is what you want, Yara?" He glared over at Shaza and she waggled her eyebrows at him.

She paused to deliberate. "It is pleasurable?"

"More pleasurable than you can imagine," Shaza said before Liam could say anything. "And, Liam is a wonderful teacher. And from my own reactions, I'm sure you can tell he's good at making it very pleasurable."

Yara smiled again. "It all sounds very wonderful." Her eyes fell upon Va'Lesh, and her smile softened. "Soon, we can have a child. I am glad."

"I am as well," Va'Lesh said. "Thank you for doing this, Father. It means very much to us. And, I know you will take very good care of Yara while she is with you." He nodded.

"Sure." Liam looked at Yara and then felt his pulse quicken more than it should have, but at that angle she looked just like Kallia. He couldn't help wondering what his son and...and girlfriend had just gotten him into. But if that was what they wanted of him, he did not believe he could deny them. Though, he still had several hours to do so. Though each glance at Yara would only help to weaken his resolve.

While Liam was lost in his thoughts, Shaza had ordered for them, and when the waitress departed, Yara sighed audibly. "Although I hope we find Yelara Zaneth's doctor, I do wish we could stay here. It is a delightful planet."

Liam looked around and nodded. "Yes," he said. "If we're following up on this lead, maybe we can stay here for a few days."

Shaza sighed. "Staying off the ship for a few nights would be nice. There's a luxury hotel a short way away."

"Perhaps we could stay there tonight," Va'Lesh said. "Ms. Nightshade and I could have one room, and Father and Yara could have another. And, if they have a door connecting them, we could visit each other."

"That is a well-thought out idea, Va'Lesh," Yara commented. "I believe we should do that, Master."

"Yes, my love," Shaza purred. "It's a wonderful idea."

Liam looked around and sighed. "Yes, but only for one night. Alright?"

"Alright, Father. And, thank you. I will take good care of Ms...of Shaza, tonight."

"Thank you, Va'Lesh."

The rest of their lunch-time conversation remained light and humourous, though Liam seemed to brood through it all. The four of them paid no notice and discussed their upcoming night of experimentation, with Yara excited about the prospect of bearing Va'Lesh a child soon. Even young Leshie seemed pleased with that, and while they spoke and laughed, little Va'Lesh had his first ever taste of soup, and loved it.

---

"Forbidden Lessons, Part 2"
By: Liam Zaneth
Va'Lesh Zaneth [NPC+]
Yara Zaneth [NPC+]
Shaza Nightshade [NPC+]
Leshie Zaneth [NPC+]

Location: Masgire
Date: Lythe 5, 4 ABY

***

"Tatooine," Liam said as they entered the hotel rooms they'd agreed upon. "The doctor appears to be on Tatooine again. We'll stay here another night, gathering provisions, and we'll leave for Tatooine."

"Shouldn't we leave right away?"

"I don't think immediate departure is necessary. Our contact indicated he'd be there for awhile yet, therefore, we should be able to reach him before he moves again."

"Well, it'll be nice to be in a real bed again."

"Ah, but you won't be in that bed with me, you'll be with my son."

She slipped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. "You plan on going through with it?"

"How can I back out now, after your support and their enthusiasm?"

"True," Shaza said. "You're not upset?"

"Surprisingly, no."

"Good," she answered and kissed him. "I don't know what this will actually result in, but it seemed like a fun idea at the time. And, Va'Lesh is really cute. And, I have to admit that when I first met her, I developed a bit of a crush on Yara."

Liam laughed. "Oh, my trollop."

"That would be me," she said. "But just remember you're the one I love."

"When you look at me like that," Liam said, "how could I ever forget. Still, this seems awkward."

"It just means we have an open relationship, Liam. I think...I think it's necessary for what we're up against here."

"I know, and...you don't know how grateful I am for your support."

"I know," Shaza said. "And, it's going to be very difficult not to call out your name when I'm with Va'Lesh. But, don't worry, I'll be good."

"I have no doubts about that."

Shaza grinned and kissed him again. "You're alright with this?"

"I'm hesitant, but...but I guess a part of me is...is looking forward."

"She's very attractive, that's for sure."

"She reminds me of her mother too, and...and I guess the connection is just a touch deeper than I'd realized."

"You're not in danger, are you?"

"Of falling for her? No, I don't think so. But, I can't help caring for her as if she were my own daughter."

Shaza laughed. "Well, you get her ready for Leshie, and I'll get Leshie ready for her, and we won't have to worry about anything."

Liam glanced at her. "Tonight only?"

"I would imagine so," she said. "Unless they decide they want to be with us more often."

Liam laughed. "Let's hope that doesn't happen."

"Yes," she said as she kissed him more slowly. "Let's hope."

"You ready?" Liam asked her.

"As I'll ever be." With that, he slipped through the door that joined the two rooms to where Va'Lesh and Yara were talking excitedly. "Well," he said. "You two ready?"

Yara turned on her heel to face Shaza and Liam. She nodded duteously. "We are ready, Master."

"Okay," Liam said. "Would you prefer to stay in this room, Yara? Or should we go into the other room?"

She glanced aside at Va'Lesh. "You go with Ms. Nightshade, Va'Lesh," she responded. "Master Zaneth and I will stay here."

"Certainly," Va'Lesh said, then followed Shaza out of the room.

As the door separating the rooms closed, Liam and Yara were alone.

He turned to regard her, and then smiled. "So, how are you feeling, Yara?"

"I am fine, Master," she replied. A moment later, she had gripped the hem of her shirt and pulled it up over her head. It fluttered to the ground beside her. "Are you well?" she asked.

He couldn't take his eyes away from her. "Yes," he said. "I'm fine." He took a couple steps toward her. "You're very pretty."

"Thank you," she replied flatly, and moved both hands to the front of her pants. She undid them quickly and efficiently, as she did all things, and was soon stepping out of them. "Master, do you not have to remove your own clothing?" she asked with a glance up at him.

"Yes," Liam said, "I...I guess I should." He reached up and pulled his top off and tossed it aside. Sanity loss, that was the only explanation for what he was doing. He looked at her and felt himself growing hard, and he laughed at himself as he started to remove his pants. No, sanity appears to still be working.

Yara nodded, satisfied, and moved forward. Her eyes held a curiousity and a detachment as she gazed up at him, but when her hand came up and lightly rested upon his chest, there was no mistaking that there was some sense of passion within her. "You are stronger than Va'Lesh," she noted. Yara leaned into him and brought her face close to his bare chest. Closing her eyes, she inhaled, then sighed. "You smell different as well."

He brought up his hands and gently caressed the bared flesh of her chest. "I hope it's an alright smell. You smell nice. Different from Shaza or Yelara, but nice. Should we move to the bed, Yara? Are you ready for that, or would you prefer to stay here and touch a little more?"

Yara sighed softly and idly lowered her hand to Liam's exposed erection. "Wherever is best for making babies," she murmured, then smiled curiously. "It is different from Va'Lesh's as well." She peered up at him again. "Are they all so different?"

Liam gasped at her touch. "There's variation between them, yes," he said. "Especially once you get into various sub-species and variants of humans, and then aliens. Let's go to the bed, we'll be more comfortable there." But before she could move, he kissed her.

Yara shrank back momentarily, but his greedy kiss ignited the same arousal she felt with Va'Lesh, and she quickly relaxed into the moment. Her arms slid around Liam's waist, and she lifted herself onto her toes to fully engage in the kiss. She opened her mouth to him and whimpered as his tongue sought hers, while below, his erection pushed against her panties. The two of them began backing towards the bed, all the while Yara reminding herself to breathe as the kiss continued. She loved Va'Lesh, but Master Zaneth was by far more experienced, judging from the way his touch turned her body to fire.

When they reached the bed, Liam sank down into it, bringing Yara --- still clinging to him --- down with him. He hadn't expected such a fiery, passionate kiss, but once she allowed herself to respond to him, her own arousal and passion had driven his even further. When they were finally required to breathe, Liam looked at her, obviously impressed. "Well, you certainly have that part down," he said. "We should...should continue getting undressed...but, each other not ourselves..."

Yara gave him a questioning gaze. Uncertainly, she reached between them and proceeded to push down Liam's pants further. His smile indicated she had understood correctly. "Master Zaneth?" she asked. "Do all Jedi Masters do this with their Padawans? Will I be required to do this to Leshie when he is old enough?"

"No," Liam said. "Actually, this is not part of being a Jedi. I am doing this as Liam Zaneth, Leshie's father and your friend, not as Master Liam Zaneth, the Jedi. This is part of our personal lives, not part of our Jedi life. I am doing this because this is what you and Leshie and Shaza wished for me to do, to help you. Do you still wish to do this, Yara?"

Yara frowned. "If we do not proceed, Master Zaneth, how will Va'Lesh and I make a baby?"

"You'd have to figure this part out on your own," Liam said as she gazed at him. "If you still wish me to, I'll show you. I don't want to disappoint you or my son." A cry of passion erupted from the other room, a mixture of both Shaza and Va'Lesh's voices. Liam looked back to her. "I leave the choice to you, Yara. I can teach you to be a good lover for Va'Lesh, or you and Va'Lesh can find out on your own."

Yara's eyes were staring at the dividing door. "But...he is already so experienced," she whispered. "I do not wish to disappoint him, Master." With a curt nod, she told him, "You may proceed, Master Zaneth. You may direct my actions, and as your Padawan, I will obey."

Liam looked into her eyes and nodded. With a sigh, he said, "Alright." He reached behind her and unclasped her bra while he began trailing kisses along the line of her jaw. "And, for this," he whispered, "call me Liam."

"But you are master," she told him, though there was a huskiness to her voice and an audible tremble as his hands slid over her chest. "I must call you 'master.' "

"I may be," Liam said as his hands deftly removed her bra and dropped it aside, "but I would like for you to call me Liam." After one last look into her eyes, he lowered his mouth to her chest. He heard her gasp as his lips closed over one of her nipples.

"I-I mustn't," Yara said in a strained whisper. Her breathing grew shallow and rapid, while Liam's hands moved to the waistband of her panties, and his erection pushed more firmly into her mound. Closing her eyes, she sighed and pushed both quivering hands through his hair. "You are master," she murmured. "I am only a padawan."

"And, Master Zaneth asks that you call him Liam," he said. He slipped her panties down over her hips, and dropped them to the side of the bed. He began kissing his way down her body, stopping at a tattoo on her hip, a very familiar tattoo. He felt tears well in his eyes, and then he covered the tattoo with a loving kiss. "Please, Yelara, please call me Liam."

Yara whimpered, and squirmed against the ache growing between her legs. Her breasts were swelling and her cheeks were burning, and although her voice escaped her, she managed to utter, "M-My name is...is Yara. I'm Yara."

"And, mine is Liam, Yara," he said as he began placing kisses along her inner thighs, placing a special kiss in the spot where Yara's mother's tattoo would have been. He placed another kiss between her thighs and found her already very wet. From her normally dispassionate behaviour, Liam was surprised at just how passionate Yara really was.

She dropped her hands to the sheets and crushed them in clenching fists as he continued. A surprised moan spilled from her lips as her eyes watched Liam's actions. Va'Lesh had never shown her such a technique before. "Is this--" She flinched briefly as Liam's warm, rough tongue dragged over her opening. "This is making a-a baby?"

"This is getting ready," Liam said quickly. "We both have to be ready, and this gets you ready for me to enter you. This is foreplay, Yara. It's pleasure to prepare our bodies for sex. A woman can do the same for a man, using her mouth on him, like I'm doing on you." He moved up until his face was near hers, his erection ready to enter her. "Do you like it?"

Yara sucked in a shuddering breath, and nodded, though her expression appeared conflicted. "I-It is...pleasant."

"It is," Liam said. He kissed her forehead and slid to the side of her. "Would you like to stop, Yara?"

Her tensed body relaxed, but Yara still shook her head adamantly. "I must do this. I must, for Va'Lesh, for our baby." She turned her head aside, and gazed at Liam. She attempted a smile. "Please do not stop. I...I will let you call me Yelara if you wish. I can be her...Liam. For you, I will be her."

"No," Liam said gently. "I never want you to be someone you're not, Yara. I want you to be Yara, not Yelara. I want you to be you." He kissed her lips gently, and then her forehead. "You should be doing this with Leshie. Your first time should be more special than this. As much as I would love to teach you, you should be with the one you love. With him, it'll happen as it has with us, but with him, he'll put himself in where my mouth was. By moving himself in and out, he'll ejaculate. That's what will make you pregnant and give you a baby. It's just a chance, not an automatic thing. But it should be something joyous and happy, not an obligation or a duty. In most cases, you'll just lie there as he thrusts, sometimes you'll be on top. You can use your mouths to pleasure each other. It's a beautiful thing, Yara, and...and you don't want me to be your first."

Yara studied Liam's face thoughtfully, then smiled. "I now understand, Liam Zaneth." She leaned forward and kissed him where he had, her - first his lips, then his brow. "I am sorry you miss Yelara Zaneth so much," she told him with genuine sympathy. "I wish I were her, for you."

Liam smiled at her and held her close for a moment. "Thank you," he said. "And, I'm sorry for what I almost...for what we almost did. The three of you were so intent on this that...I wanted to go along with it to make you happy." He looked into her eyes. "Being with you would have made me happy. You remind me of both of them, of Yelara and of Kallia, your mother. You have her eyes, you know. If the situation were different, I would have loved to share myself with you that way, but...but your heart belongs to Va'Lesh and you don't want to be with me." He glanced at the wall separating them from the other room where Va'Lesh and Shaza cried out again. "She and I have agreed to have an open relationship, as long as we talk about it and don't hide anything from each other. I care for you, Yara, very much, but I don't want this if it's not mutual and consensual. If you truly knew what you were getting into with me, and you still wanted it, I would readily agree, but this way...it feels like I'm taking advantage of you."

"You are not," Yara assured him. "And perhaps after I am done making a baby with Va'Lesh, I will consider it again." She smiled as she pulled away from Liam, then sat upright, her long strands of silken brown hair falling over her shoulders and concealing her flushed breasts. "I am glad I can provide you with such happy reminders, Liam. You remind me of Va'Lesh and if he ever went away, I would attempt to replace him with you, as you tried to do with me." Her expression was quizzical, then alit with wonder. "I thank you, Liam Zaneth. You have shown me much."

"You're welcome," Liam said with a laugh. "I'm glad I was able to help in some way. This isn't exactly the way I'd hoped for you to learn, but I guess a teacher can never be too choosey in how his student learns. And, if you wish to continue calling me Liam when we are not training, you have my permission, Yara." He glanced at the wall and then back to her. "So, what do we do about them?"

Yara sighed. "We can leave them to their task," she suggested. Smiling, she asked, "Do you wish to take a walk with me, M--" Yara bowed her head in apology. "Liam."

Liam smiled. "I would like that very much, Yara," he said. "Come on, let's get our clothes. If I know Shaza, they may be in there for awhile. And, he is my son, genetically enhanced by Dargus..." He handed her her bra and panties while he moved in search of his own clothing.

"Va'Lesh is a soldier," Yara explained. "As am I. I am not certain what other alterations Dargus Kandran made to our genetic coding, but I know we were not created to simply make babies." With her undergarments on, Yara moved past Liam towards her pants and shirt. "Some of my other sisters were taken to Master Kandran's bed, but I was not. I believe that was the case because I am a soldier."

"My guess would be that Va'Lesh has considerably more stamina than the average man, as well as being more endowed than most men. He may not have been granted specific gifts of pleasure-making, but I wouldn't put it past Dargus to give him a little boost to help with the bedroom arts, despite his gifts."

"Then I hope Ms. Nightshade is appreciating him." With her form-fitting, yet simply fashioned pants fastened, Yara nodded to Liam. "I am ready. Shall we take Leshie with us?"

"By the sound of it," Liam said, "they're both appreciating each other very much. Yes, let's bring Leshie with us. He could use some more fresh air."

Yara agreed with a nod, and tossing her hair over each shoulder, she started for the living area, where Leshie was resting. The loud cries arising from the other bedroom were distracting to Yara, and evoked an emotion she was unfamiliar with: she felt envious of Shaza Nightshade and what she was sharing with Va'Lesh. And despite all the training Liam had given them, she was still incapable of suppressing, as well, a slight twinge of jealousy and possessiveness. Yara was determined to work through those; it was not befitting of a Jedi Padawan.

---

"Forbidden Lessons, Part 3"
By: Liam Zaneth
Yara Zaneth [NPC+]
Leshie Zaneth [NPC+]

Location: Masgire
Date: Lythe 5, 4 ABY

***

Leaning over Leshie's portable crib, Yara smiled at him and lifted the sleeping child into her arms. He stirred slightly. "It is alright," she whispered. "We are only going for a walk."

Liam met her at the door, fully dressed once more. "You two ready?" he asked. "I figure we can walk down along the boardwalk and then up through the park and then back here. We can stop for something to eat or drink along the way if you'd like."

"Yes, Liam," she replied, then kissed Leshie's brow and started for the door. Her blank features displayed a ripple of emotion when another cry ripped free from Va'Lesh's lips. Yara called upon the Force to temper her emotions. "It is for our future," she reminded herself.

Liam took a chance and slipped a hand into Yara's. "It'll be alright," he whispered. "The walk will do us good, and keep us away while they finish up." And, just let them be finished by the time we get back.

Yara nodded slowly, and remained silent as they left the hotel. Once out on the darkened streets, with the cool breeze rustling her hair, Yara glanced up at Liam. "You do not mind? Shaza is with Va'Lesh. It does not bother you?"

"Not too much," he said. "I guess I'm only bothered that it bothers you. I care for her very much. I think I love her, though it's still early. But, like I've said, we've agreed to allow each other to be with others if we want, as long as we're open and honest with each other about it. To do otherwise, I think, would be wrong of me, since I still have hopes of bringing Yelara back. But, with Yelara, she also had a relationship with your mother, so...so I guess I'm just used to sharing."

"But...what will you do when she returns?" Yara asked. "Will she approve of Ms. Nightshade?"

"That is a big unknown," Liam said. "And, I think I'll just have to wait until she returns to find out for certain. It's hard to say where our lives will be when that moment comes. So much can happen in that time, and I have no sense of when through the Force. I don't believe that Yelara would be upset at me for moving on in my life."

Yara instinctively squeezed Liam's hand. "I do not believe so, either. But," she added with a thoughtful frown, "what will you do if she is?"

"I'll talk to her, see if we can work it out," he said. "With what we've been through already, I'm certain that would be easy. And, if that fails, maybe you could talk to her for me. I don't know what you'd be able to say other than that I was your teacher and that I was hopefully a good one. And, how hard we worked to bring her back because my life isn't the same without her. Since losing her, the closest to the fire I shared with her was with you tonight, even more so than with Shaza. Though, I think it was a mixture of several things, my relationship with your mother, and how much at times you remind me of Yelara, but a large part of it was you. You're normally very reserved and controlled, but within you is a passion that burns very brightly, as bright as your mother and Yelara...and I think I'm drawn to that. It's a good thing, Yara, and something I'm sure Va'Lesh will appreciate very much."

"If that is so," she said slowly, "then...then why was I afraid, Liam?"

"Perhaps because it is a feeling you're not used to," he said. "It's not easy to step into a new situation and feel comfortable. How often have you been with a man who was about to make love to you? Feeling as you were feeling with me? Hell, Yara, my mind was on fire with desire for you, and I was scared as well."

"But I don't understand this...desire," she told him, and her voice clearly evidenced her agitation. "Why am I desirable? Why is Va'Lesh desirable to me? Why did you desire to make a baby with me?" She sighed. "It is all so...carnal and physical. It seems quite trivial, Liam."

"It's instinct," Liam said. "You are desirable because you're an attractive young woman. I didn't wish to make a baby with you, Yara. I wanted to make love to you, to share pleasure with you. Typically, in the act of sharing that pleasure and love, a baby is made. It is carnal and physical, but it satisfies certain drives and desires that everyone feels, even if they're suppressed, they're still there. It's natural to feel that way. You're human, Yara, and desire is part of being human."

She stared into the distance, wondering how much more difficult life would become the farther they travelled, and the more she encountered. With wistful hope in her voice, she whispered, "I am a clone. That is all. I do not require desire, or acts of pleasure. I am complete as I am."

"You started as a clone and a soldier, now you're learning to be a Jedi. You're as human as I am, Yara, your conception was just different than mine." He looked down at their joined hands and then up at her face, staring hard out into the distance. "Is it just the fear of everything new? Having to encounter all these things you never expected in life? You know I'm happy to help you through all this, right? To help you learn about all these things."

"But there is so much, Liam Zaneth!" she exclaimed, then sighed and lowered her eyes. "Perhaps...too much."

"There is a lot," Liam said gently, "but it's always easier to make it through a tough place with a friend to help you out when you need it. The first thing to learn is that it's alright to feel. Feeling is natural, and unavoidable. You can't stop yourself from feeling any more than you can stop yourself from breathing. The key is in how you act on those emotions. And, if you don't understand the emotions, you can always talk to someone who does understand them and who can help you understand them too."

"Like you?" she asked, finding his eyes again. "I am so curious, Liam, about so much. I yearn to understand, but it seems so daunting. I-I would like you to help."

Liam smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. "I will be happy to help."

"And I would be happy if you did," Yara replied, and finally allowed a smile. "I am glad you are my father, and my teacher, Liam."

"And, your friend," Liam said. "Don't forget that."

She bowed her head. "Never, Liam." Then showed a moment of lightness by smiling and shooting him a wink. "Ms. Nightshade taught me that," she explained.

"Very good," he said with a grin. "You learned well. So, is there anything you want to learn about now, are you pretty tapped for the day?"

"I believe I would just like to watch the stars, Liam," she replied with a sigh. "It has been a long day."

"That sounds like a perfect plan to me," Liam said. "I saw some benches a little way back if you wanted to sit."

"Yes...that would be acceptable," Yara replied, then she paused in thought. "I am grateful for my life, Liam. I am grateful to Master Kandran for giving it to me."

"Despite everything he did that was evil and vile, he did do a few things right," he said. "Starting with you. And, then giving the clones life. It's a fairly marvelous and wonderful thing, and...almost out of character for him."

"Yet, he was a monster," Yara stated with little emotion. "Is this part of the balance you speak of, Liam?"

"Partly," Liam said. "There is a balance to everything. Overall, he was an evil man. However, he was capable of things of beauty and kindness as well. Though, I believe at times his motivations may have been impure and selfish, the results were--" he glanced at her and smiled "--very nice."

"Like bringing Yelara back will be?" Yara asked. As imprudent as the question seemed, her face displayed no sign of ill-intent. She was simply as curious as ever.

"It's partly selfish," Liam said. "Though, she didn't deserve that from him. She shouldn't have died that way, shouldn't have died then. Perhaps it is selfish of me, but Va'Lesh needs her, Orinth needs her...I need her."

Yara nodded. "I understand your need, Liam. I only hope it is something that will not disrupt the flow of the Force."

"As do I," he said. "I plan to research the procedure thoroughly, but I need to find the doctor first."

"And we will find him," Yara declared with a resolute nod. "Va'Lesh and I will help. We are Jedi Padawans. We can do this."

Liam glanced back in the direction of their hotel room and frowned. "If he ever gets out of bed," he muttered.

"He will," Yara assured him with a light pat of his hand. "I am his mate. He must come to my bed when it is time to sleep, not Ms. Nightshade's."

Liam chuckled and covered her hand with his. "Thank you," he said. "I'm sure he will, and when he does, the two of you can see about making that baby."

"Yes...." She sighed. "Though, I believe I wish to wait before we do that. The process seems...quite time consuming, and we are on a quest. There is little time to spare."

"We have time now," Liam said. "I mean...we're not hard-pressed while we're here. If you wanted to, you and he could. If you wanted. I mean, he and Shaza are finding time now, just as you and I had time earlier."

"Time wasted," she pointed out bluntly. "It is inefficient. I do not wish to do it again for some time."

"Yara, I'm not going to push us on an efficient pace, one that leaves us no time to breathe to enjoy the life we're living, enjoy the freedom we have with Dargus and Tarkin and the Empire gone. If you don't wish to do anything, that's fine. But, don't hide behind efficiency and duty."

"I promise I will try not to, Liam." She smiled, but the gesture was taut and visibly forced. "I promise."

Liam looked at her and gave her a genuine smile. "It's alright to be scared," he said. "It's alright to not want to do something because you're scared of it. It's alright to be afraid of something. I'm a Jedi Master, and there are things that make me afraid too." He slipped his arms around her and hugged her. "Everything will be alright, Yara. Everything will work out for the best, and I'll be your friend, teacher, and companion through all of it."

Yara closed her eyes and for once dropped the guise of dispassionate, fearless soldier she had attempted to cling steadfastly to. In response, she whispered, "Thank you. I will try not to be afraid, Liam."

"I know it's not easy," he said. "But, I know you'll do fine." He kissed her forehead again.

"Yes, Father," she murmured, and just as she rested her head upon his chest, Leshie did the same to her. In that moment, she felt more complete than she ever had in her short life.

"I'm proud of you, Yara," he whispered. "You've learned some very important lessons today, and I can see you growing, moment by moment, beyond where I first met you. It makes me proud and happy to be a part of that growth."

"I am glad to make you proud, Father." She smiled to herself. "Someday I hope to meet my mother and make her proud as well."

"I'm sure she'll be very proud of you," he said. "I care for her very much, and I miss her. I...I can sense her, but it's faint. She's...I wish I could find her, to be with her. I want her there when we bring Yelara back,

she deserves that much. She named you after Yel, you know. They loved each other very much too."

Yara contemplated the idea, and it was yet another that had her puzzled. "I must ask Mother about that when I see her. It is a strange concept to me. Though, I wish to understand."

"It's very similar to a man and woman loving each other, but they can't make a baby together. But, when they make love, it is to give each other pleasure and to feel wonderful with each other."

"Ah, yes," Yara replied, "pleasure again. This seems to be a very important concept, for there seem to be many ways in which one can achieve that. Leshie was pleased today with his soup, for example." She smiled up at Liam. "I am pleased now to be walking with you. Is it like this with all species?"

"I think it is fairly close," Liam said. "Without a point of reference, it's difficult to say. But, I think the experiences are the same. Most species prefer to feel pleasure because it makes us feel good. We enjoy, for the most part, being happy."

"I do as well," Yara replied. "I am enjoying these strange, new emotions. Are there many more to learn, Liam?"

"Not many more," Liam said after a moment, then looked at her. "Mainly they're variations on the ones you feel. It's like shades of a colour."

Yara frowned. "I do not believe I understand that analogy, Liam. Should I not just learn by experience?"

"There is a base to each emotion, the core from which the feeling originates," Liam said. "Spreading out from that are all the variations and permutations on that emotion. You'll find the varying levels of joy, of rage; you'll find guilt and remorse, happiness, sadness, fear, and pleasure. The best way to learn is by experience, and it is the way I recommend. Knowledge and wisdom come from experience."

"Then I eagerly await that day, Liam, when I shall become as wise as you." Yara smiled and reached up to kiss Liam's cheek. "Thank you for the knowledge so far."

Liam gave her a warm, caring smile. "You're welcome," he said. "And, it's a pleasure to share the knowledge with you."

Yara bowed her head, only to see Leshie staring up at her. She smiled. "Hello, Leshie," she whispered. He blinked his blue eyes, then grinned back and burbled a reply. "Yes, I am glad to see you, too."

"I think he likes it here too," Liam said. "It's a nice planet. Maybe, when everything is settled, this would be a nice place to live. Do you think you'd like to live here, Leshie? Yara?"

"I will need time to decide that," Yara answered. "I wish to learn...and in order to do that must we not explore?"

"Before we're ready to stop in one place, I think you will have the chance to see, learn, and do much. There is still much to explore, Yara, and together we'll do it."

"But when Yelara Zaneth is revived, will we not have to return to Tae'Karada so she may take her throne?"

Liam chuckled. "We'll have to see if she wants it," he said. "I imagine that will be one of her biggest surprises."

"I have discovered," Yara said with a smile, "that I like surprises."

"Surprises are very nice," he said. "The good ones, at any rate. Ready to head back, or you want to watch more stars. I heard, that if we look out over there, they have occasional falling stars." He pointed.

Yara followed the invisible line extending from Liam's finger and gasped softly as a streak of light seemed to come off it. "I see it!"

"Beautiful," Liam whispered, "isn't it. On some worlds, you're supposed to make a wish when you see one." He closed his eyes and offered up the same wish he offered every time he closed his eyes. He slipped his arms around her and held her and Leshie close. "Make a wish, my son, my daughter. Make a wish."

And Yara did, beseeching the stars and the Force for answers to the many questions rattling around in her curious mind; she also wished that Yelara Zaneth was successfully revived again so Leshie and Va'Lesh would have a mother once more; then Yara asked for a chance to see her own mother, to be cradled in her arms as Leshie was now in Yara's; above all else, she wished for happiness for them all, and for balance. She hoped the stars delivered.

---

"Playing A King"
By: Jack Black
Robin Black (NPC+)

Location: Bantu Sector (Hidden pirate station)
Date: Lythe 5, 4 ABY

***

Jack Black stepped up into the control room. "Well, well, well," he smiled to himself. "It seems that I now control my first space station." He tapped the controls and brought up a damage report. "A lot of systems are heavily damaged, and all of the ships in the cargo bays were destroyed. How many troops did we lose?"

Robin stepped forward. "Twenty two, the rest of them will recover in time." He stepped back. He was unsettled by his brother's mood; there was a light in those black eyes of his that frightened Robin. It reminded him of a mad dog, or some other such rabid creature but he dared not speak.

Jack sat in the command chair. "It would appear that I have found my new command, Robin. I want you to dock my command carrier and get all of the techs to begin repairs on the station, I want this place up and running fully functional in two weeks."

"Sir, that will mean the Command Carrier will be unable to defend the station for that time," Robin reported, looking at his brother's pale thin face. His black on black eyes flicked about. "I will have to arrange our interceptors to patrol around the station along with the other captured vessels."

"Excellent choice," Jack smiled. "In the mean while I need to return to my command carrier and collect a few items." Jack pulled his long black cloak around him and stormed off leaving, Robin, Anne and a few other peacekeepers in the control room. Robin looked around at the others; their faces were blank, they didn't feel, they didn't understand that their master was slowly succumbing to the obsession of power. Robin chose to keep his mouth closed. "Power corrupts," he whispered to himself, as he walked away. "And absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Back on board the command carrier Robin was beginning to relax. The Bantu sector had already sent re-enforcements for those soldiers who had died and they were preparing to build another ship full of troops to man the station in gratitude for the destruction of the pirate base. Robin had to admit despite his brother's madness he certainly was efficient. Robin finished his work-out on the ship's gym and was towelling off when Anne entered.

"Hello," he said to her.

"Greetings, Robin Black, I have a mission for you given to me by Jack Black. He has requested that both you and I head back to New Plouton and ask if they require an army."

"What again?" Robin shrugged. "Didn't we sort of get turned down last time?"

"That is correct, however your brother feels that persistence will pay off."

"Right." Robin shrugged. He probably wants me out of the way for a short while so he can do something nasty, thought Robin in the recesses of his own head. "When do we leave."

"In one hour."

***1 hour later***

Jack watched through the view port as the Corellian corvette began to make its way out of the system. When it hit hyperspace Jack watched the fading white spot with keen interest. Once satisfied that the corvette had left Jack turned around and walked up to a plain wall. He ran his hand over the wall and slowly a door handle appeared. Looking around the corridor Jack pulled the door open and slipped in, closing it behind him.

Inside there was vast amounts of scientific equipment and technological components.

"Now how is my little project coming on?" he asked.

In front of him a bio mechanical being sat up and began to look around scanning the room. Its hide was mostly metallic, a deep black metal - Nepthadi, a laser and lightsaber resistant material. Its eyes glowed red and its skeleton like fingers flickered about anxiously.

"Excellent, my pet, soon you will be in production." He turned his back to a computer and began to work. Behind him the bio mechanoid staggered to its feet. The beast then lunged forward towards Jack. Jack didn't even flinch when a powerful force field flung the beast back. "Still some teething issues to be sorted I see."

---