Dark Plans

The cave was cool and dry, and at the entrance there were the bones from a number of small carcasses that had accumulated; probably animals that came out at night to feed that had served Ri as meals. Tashannoc and Neb split up. Tasha examined the obvious chambers off of the entry, but didn't find much other than black rock.
Neb, however, went farther back into the cave, and had to ignite his lightsaber to provide illumination. He found a small fissure near the back of the cave, and was able to slip through near the bottom.  Inside was a huge cavern. Light filtered down through the mountain above to shine on a dais raised in the middle of the chamber. On the dais was a curved metal dagger, the blade of which was inscribed with markings. There were markings on the floor similar to those on the blade, and what looked like a large stone door near the back. "Tasha, I think I've found something!" Neb called. His voice echoed hauntingly off the walls.

Somehow, Tashannoc squeezed though the opening to enter the cavern. He found Neb handling the dagger.  "Put that back, we'll check out the door first."
They found that the door would not open, and when Tashannoc tentatively tried to cut it open, his lightsaber had no effect. The door was left unmarred, except for eight symbols etched into the door.
"I recognize these," Tasha remarked to Neb.  "I saw them in one of the books I found in Mirath's study. Now how does that pronunciation go . . . "  They stood in silence for a while, then Tasha spoke again.  "I'll put sounds into your mind, and I want you to repeat them exactly."

Neb nodded, and soon was chanting something that he didn't recognize, except for a small area in the back of his mind that vaguely remembered some of what Mirath had known. When he finished, the doors opened wide for them.
"What was that?"

"The Jedi Code, in some ancient, long forgotten language. Those are probably the only words left in existence, and you are probably the first to speak them in hundreds, if not thousands, of years."

The two entered the next room.  The walls glowed softly from some unknown source.  Near the back was a stone bed, on which lay an old set of robes, on the verge of becoming dust. The rest of the room was sparse:  the remains of a lightsaber of ancient design, a few crumbled books, now useless, one well preserved book that appeared to be a journal, but the two couldn't be sure since they couldn't read anything that they found within.  The final object that they came upon was a small cube.
"Is that what I think it is?"

Tasha fiddled with the cube for a few moments.  "I think so.  I didn't get to see Luke's Holocron, since it was destroyed before I met him.  I also have no idea how to turn one on.  Of course, after all this time, it may be broken.  Here," he handed the cube to Neb, "hold onto this until we get back to the ship, and see if you can figure it out.  Now, lets go look at that dagger."

As they left the room, Neb commented, "It didn't look like any metal I've ever seen, not that I'm much of an authority on metallurgy. What do you think, Tasha?"

But just as Tasha's hands touched the blade, his hand spasmed tightly around the hilt, and he fell to the floor.

#####

A few hours later, the eastern sky was pink with the sunset. The night wind had begun to blow, causing Neb to shiver.  He checked on Tasha again;  still nothing.  Almost no pulse, or respiration.  Neb had tried to get him to let go of the dagger, but to no avail.  Neb wrapped his jacket tighter to his body, and laid back into an uneasy slumber, hoping that the morning would bring some new development.

On board the Imperial Star Destroyer Domen Majesty, Rayla led Benoah and Alia to a private sitting room below the bridge.  She turned to regard Alia for a moment, then smiled as the Jedi returned the gaze.  "It has only been short time since our first meeting.  You are more sure of yourself now than when you had your blaster pointing at my back.  You've certainly come a long way, Lady Trynyty."
Alia only watched and listened.  Rayla continued, "I know you remember our first meeting.  I see the recognition in your eyes."

"Yes, I remember it well." Alia replied.  "What does that prove?" she snapped sarcastically.  "So we've got good memories.  If I am being taken to meet Lord de Devastator, how long do I have to wait?"

A comforting hand fell on her shoulder as Benoah spoke. "Patience.  We are only two hours from the Deominian Cloud, and it will be six hours through the nebula to Domino's world."

Rayla smiled. "And you must stand on the bridge when we reach the cloud.  You've never seen anything like the cloud."

55...

Alex glanced down at his chronometer as it counted the seconds until he jumped to lightspeed.  He inverted his X-Wing into a sharp loop dodging the green laser fire of one of the many TIEs swarming around him.  He looked up and saw that the cargo transport that he had escorted looked as though it were caught in a tractor beam from the Star Destroyer hovering above everything.
Alex dove under another shot, his scanners telling him that it blasted a TIE that was coming up right behind him.  "I hope that whatever was on that cargo ship wasn't important, it's in the hands of the Empire now."

45...

It had become apparent to Alex that the TIE Pilots were all green rookies, probably out here training on maneuvers.  He should have been dead long ago but the TIEs were not using teamwork and they were getting in the way of each other.  That being proven by that fact that they had more kills against themselves then did Alex.

40...

Alex flew like he had never flown.  Never staying still for more than a second.  Constantly rolling and twisting and still being aware enough to not collide with anyone.  Occasional spouts of laser fire still shot at him but the TIEs were beginning to be more cautious now.

35...

"Come on!" Alex shouted at the chronometer as though that would make time speed up.  "I can't do this forever!"  Suddenly Two full squadrons of the TIEs broke away from the dogfight leaving only seven Ties to deal with Alex.  "Oh no!" he moaned.  Someone in charge must have realized what was happening and ordered the majority of fighters away from the engagement so that the others would have room to fly.  It was only seven to one now, but the odds were a lot worse.

25...

"Screw it!" shouted Alex.  He couldn't dodge them now that they had clear flying and shooting even if they were rookies.  Seven was too much.  Alex flipped the power to his lasers back on and watched his front shields plummet.  His R2 unit shrieked at him.  "Too bad, if we're going to die anyway then we're going to take some with us."

~Rancor's Maw, stand down your systems as the tractor beam pulls you into the hangar. Lord de Devastator's emissary will greet you.~
Dalon Marr felt the strength of the tractor beam grasp his ship. 'de Devastator's "emissary?" I wonder what kind of fattened nerf gets a job as a Sith Lord's emissary.' One thing was for certain, Marr was soon to find out.

The shuttle landed gently in the main hangar of House de Devastator on Deominia.  Domino stepped down off the ramp to find two rows of personnel on either side of a carpeted walkway.  Immediately, two Julayps and four Deominian Palace Guards fell in to flank him as he stepped away from the ship.  The two figures before him went down on one knee in perfect synchronization.  "My friends, rise and walk with me."
Lady Tionne and Grand Vizier Graize stood to their feet and greeted Domino with news of Deominia and Domino listened as they made their way into the manor from the garage level.

It was Domino's custom to have a lavish feast prepared whenever he returned to Deominia, and this time was no exception.  Domino had invited the regents and governors of the Deominian lands as his guests, as well as Admiral Emago and Stormtrooper Commander Krith.  The main course was being removed from the table when Admiral Emago's personal aid entered the dining hall.  Following a brief discussion with the man, Emago turned to Domino and said "My Lord, a transmission has been received. Go ahead Lieutenant."

The aid clearly had not expected to talk, as he cleared his throat several times before speaking.  "Lord de Devastator, a man calling himself Rek Lavaran made contact with our Imperial network and informed us of an Alliance convoy that could possibly be heading out to the Farlenx Sector."

Domino seemed to be taking in that information as he sipped from his wine glass.  "Anything else lieutenant?"

"Y-yes, my Lord," the man stammered.  "This man, Rek Lavaran, has asked to meet with you personally, that he might set up some sort of contract for his services."

Domino's eyes widened as he smiled.  "Did he, indeed?"  He glanced to Skein Graize.  "Grand Vizier Graize, arrange for a full profile of Lavaran so that I can know more about him, then dispatch Star Destroyer Blackfire from the Gamma Battle Group to seek out Rek Lavaran and invite him to meet with me."

The Grand Vizier stood from his chair and bowed deeply to the Dark Lord.  "As you will it, my Lord, so mote it be."

Neb awoke and saw that the sun was already blazing its way above the horizon.  He looked over at Tasha and saw that nothing had changed, not even his position.  Then he looked back out the cave entrance.  He cursed the landscape, since it was too broken to allow their ship to land:  the very reason they had hiked in the first place.  He judged the distance, and knew that it was too far for him to carry the huge Wookiee, even with the aid of the Force.  He racked his brain for some idea of what to do.  He wandered outside and looked up into the shadow of the mountainside to find a place where he could land the Rolling Thunder.  No such luck.  Then he had an idea, just so crazy it might work.  His only concern was leaving Tasha alone.

He dragged Tasha back through the crevice, and spoke the words to open the back door once again (he had written the words down phonetically while he remembered them, just in case).  He pulled Tasha through and set him gently on the bed.  Then he grabbed a canteen, took a drink of water with a small measure of salt to avoid dehydration, and ventured back into the wilderness.

It was hours later when he finally felt the black sand under his feet, and smelled the salt breeze off of the sea.  Up ahead was the silhouetted form of the Rolling Thunder.  He was so relieved to see the old ship, that he found a last burst of energy to run for the ship.  He keyed the entry and lifted off, heading for the volcano.
Minutes after he took off, he had covered the ground between the beach and the mountain.  Now was the tricky part.  He set the repulsorlifts to hover the ship about two feet off of the ground, with the ramp positioned right in front of the cave entrance.  He leapt off of the ramp, and sprinted to the door, pausing only briefly to squeeze through to the chamber.  Opening it again, he found Tasha just as he had been left.  With a gentle pull of the Force, Neb lifted his Master, and found that he didn't have the strength left to maneuver him through the crevice.  Instead, Neb pulled out his lightsaber, cut a larger opening, and shoved Tasha though it, following quickly behind him.  The wall must have been supporting more than Neb had thought, because the ceiling began to rumble, and dust and pebbles started to fall.
Neb swore in his native tongue, used the Force to hurl Tasha into the Thunder, and dove out after, feeling the cave collapse after his feet cleared the entrance.  "That was too close," he muttered.  "Ah well, I guess luck really does favor fools."

He jumped up onto the ramp, and closed it.

After seeing to Tashannoc in the medical bay, and leaving the droid to look after him, Neb piloted the Thunder into space and quickly plotted a course for Home.  As the stars warped into the familiar spectrum of hyperspace, he allowed himself a sigh of relief.

Tashannoc lay unmoving upon his bed as Neb and Lerma watched for some sign of life.  BoShek, Neb, and Kimbrr had been unable to do anything to reach Tasha.  His blood pressure and respiration were next to nothing, but his brain activity was off the scale.  The four would just have to wait and see what would happen.

Karin DeLumar sat and processed what she had just learned.  After eleven days on planet, she and her three men had uncovered the nature of the Rebel plot.  She had been correct in her recognition of the man she had seen the first day of the mission, and now it was time to trap the famed Rebels.  She formulated a plan in her mind, and began to sketch out how to implement it, while she wrote and sent a coded transmission to her star destroyer.  It would wait a mere thirty minute jump away from the planet, ready to catch any fleeing Rebels once her plan took effect.  Just twenty four more hours, and she could report victory to the Grand Admiral.

Dalon Marr suppressed a shudder of doubt as he felt the Rancor's Maw come to a halt.  This was the course he had chosen, and it was too late to turn back now.  Besides, he hadn't tracked his prey this far just to give her up.  He reached up under his helmet and locked it into place, checked his weapon systems, and the protective systems that kept his suit from being damaged by ion type assaults. Everything was running at 100% efficiency.  He strapped the collapsible force pike to his forearm where it blended in with the armor, but was ready to enter his hand at a flex of the wrist.  He set his helmet's sensors to pick up any suspicious movements, and to scan for hidden weapons in the infrared and other spectrums.  Finally, he grabbed his blaster, fully expecting to have to turn it over.  The charge was full, but it was keyed to a device in his palm:  it wouldn't fire for anyone else, but would blow up and destroy their hand.  That too was a well hidden modification, and wouldn't be spotted by anyone who didn't know exactly what to look for.  Once again he breathed a silent word of thanks to the man he'd been buying all of his weapons from for years, and decided that if things worked out, he'd pay the man a little bonus.  Marr stepped aft into the holding bay, and keyed the door open, ready to meet de Devastator's emissary.

Alia fell into the nearest chair as Rayla turned and left her under the watchful eye of Benoah.  She didn't have to be strong in front of Benoah, the woman probably already knew all the sarcasm and bravado was an act.  'What am I going to do? Gods, this is worse than being taken back. At least I knew what to expect. At least I could hope. This guy is probably more psychotic than my father.' 
"Benoah, could this possibly get any worse?"

The Miraluka grinned and sat down gracefully.  "You do have an overly dramatic streak, Alia.  Just relax, as I told you before.  You should know by now that patience is required of a Jedi."

Alia snorted.  "I'm going into a trance.  Wake me up when we reach Rayla's little cloud."

"How did you know Rayla?" Benoah asked, obviously curious.

"I tried to kill her once.  Nothing big."

"Why?" Alia shrugged, closing her eyes and clearing her mind before Benoah could fire off any more questions.  'Geeze, Ibran. You had to be right about her, didn't you?'

Captain Pesk Sa'elar of the C-Corvette Hunter was doing what he hated most.  Recon missions.  Captain Lavaran sent his Hunter and the other Corvette Swift along with the ships of Green Squadron on a recon mission to a nearby system to check out some Imperial activity.
"Fifteen seconds to reversion to realspace, sir" Ensign Harral said to him.

"Good lets get this over with and get home."
At that, the tunnel of hyperspace turned into a furious dogfight with a backdrop of stars.

"What the... Harral contact Rek and inform him that we're under attack by an Imperial Star Destroyer and a squadron of TIEs.  Ask for reinforcements.  Zok open up a channel to Green Flight."

"Yes, sir.  The channel is open, sir."

"Green leader, this is Captain S'elar..."

Commander Ruger listened to the Captains words.  ~Green leader, this is Captain S'elar.  We appear to be under attack by Imperial Forces.  Take the squadron out one klik and swing around onto the star destroyer.  Give it a case of Trench Run Syndrome. Go Go.~

"Yes, sir"

~Boy we got our work cut out for us,~ a young voice said.

"Cut the chatter Green Six. Let's go do our job."

Rek Lavaran responded immediately to the call for reinforcements.  But he was puzzled why Imps would attack him.  He would learn soon enough.  When the tunnel of hyperspace collapsed he could see it all.  The corvettes were wading through the TIEs and the A-Wings had begun harassing the star destroyer.
"C'dar how many ships are out there?"

"Two dozen TIEs, a squadron of A-Wings, Two corvettes, and an X-Wing." A young officer tapped C'dar on the shoulder and said something into his ear, "Oh and we are receiving a distress signal from the X-Wing."

"Let me hear it."

~Commander of the Nebulon-B force. I am Alex Cross requesting assistance. Please help me.~

"Mr. Cross, we will help you.  For a fee, help is on the way.  Run out of that dogfight with those TIEs.  Two A-Wings will cover you."
With a quick word of acknowledgement the X-Wing zipped out of danger.

Just then Rek realized his mistake.  His ships had attacked Imperial forces.  All of the plans for joining Domino's fleet would be ruined.  He couldn't let the Destroyer escape or send any transmissions.

Thix walked out of the airlock and looked about.  He had almost expected his host to be waiting for them in the docking bay, but there was no one there.

"Hey, wait up, Thix."

Thix turned.  "Hurry up, Ibran.  We don't want to keep this guy waiting.  Have you ever heard of Talon Karrde?"

Ibran's lips quirked.  "I've learned a few things," he said.

"Then you know it's not a good idea to keep him waiting, right?"  Thix asked.

Ibran's face took on a look of passiveness.  "Whatever you say, Thix."

Thix nodded with the air of one who has won an argument.  "So then, we're going to have to find someone who'll take us to Karrde." He looked around the corridor.  "Are we just supposed to go hunting?"

Just then, a man came around the corner.  The man's face lit up with recognition.  "Ahhh, hello-"

Thix barged in.  "Sorry for interrupting, but can you please take us to Talon Karrde?  He saved our hides and wants to talk with us."

The other smiled.  "Of course."  The man remained standing where he was.

Thix looked at Ibran, who was still wearing a passive expression.  He looked back at the man.  "Did I miss something?"

Ibran's face didn't change, but his voice had a note of humor in it.  "Think, Thix.  The man's taking us to Karrde, and we're not going anywhere."

Thix's jaw dropped a fraction of an inch.  "You mean you-?"

"Are Talon Karrde," the stranger finished.  "Pleasure to meet you, Thix.  Good to see you again, Ibran."

"Wait a minute," Thix held up a hand.  "You two know each other?"
Karrde nodded.  Ibran shrugged.
"Why didn't you tell me?"  Thix asked with a hint of asperity creeping into his voice.

Ibran shrugged again.  "You didn't ask."

"Well, next time let me in on things like this, okay?"  Ibran shrugged again.  "So how'd you two meet?" Thix asked.

"Actually, Ibran saved my life," Karrde admitted, motioning them towards a nearby lift.  "There was a particularly nasty bar fight on Ord Mantell.  Some bounty hunters got into a disagreement over a game of sabaac and things got ugly quick."

"I have a feeling you would have gotten out of it even if I hadn't shown you the back door." Ibran said.  He and Thix followed Karrde onto the lift.

Karrde started the lift toward the bridge.  "Made the back door is more appropriate," he said, turning back to the conversation.  "I was sitting off to the side of the bar and the fight was in the middle of it.  My associate Chin was with me and we were waiting for an arms contact to show up.  When the fight broke out, I decided it was best to leave."

Tashannoc leapt over the embankment, the Sithspawn hounds at his heels.  The chasm lay ahead, and he willed his aching body to pour its last vestiges of strength into this effort.  He called upon the Force and jumped, pausing in midair to glance down at the razor-like rocks over 200 meters below.  He landed and rolled, coming up in a fighting crouch.

The five hounds soared across the pit, but not far enough.  He heard their screams as they plummeted to their destruction.

That pretty much summed up the past five months, since reality had dissolved and he had ended up here, wherever here was.  His life was constantly in danger.  He had a feeling that someone was testing him, or even honing his skills, but didn't know who it was.  He decided to take advantage of the brief respite, and doze while he could.

Tasha didn't know how much later it was when he heard a voice; the first voice other than his own in almost half a year.

"What, are you so bored by my pets that they put you to sleep?  Perhaps I will be a greater challenge."  The man staring down at Tashannoc was tall, with a regal bearing.  His hair was light blond, slicked back from his face, which was pale, and there were dark bruises under his eyes.  He was clothed in a light battle armor of all black.  The way he held himself reminded Tasha of Domino de Devastator, and the Wookiee knew that he faced a Sith Master.
The man tossed Tashannoc a lightsaber the way he might throw a dog a bone.  It was of an ancient design, and as Tasha moved to a defensive posture, the blade ignited as a pale red.  His opponent's lightstaff was a drab olive green.

Tasha stretched out his perceptions to almost half a kilometer, just in time to slash an incoming boulder, duck and roll under a flying log, and bring the saber up to meet the staff coming down on his head.  His opponent flipped backward, and unleashed a wash of lightning from his fingertips.  Tashannoc countered with a Force shield, and what little made it past he easily absorbed, then used the energy boost to rip open a hole in the earth behind his opponent.
Tasha switched tactics, and used his strength to push the Sith back, until he stumbled and fell backwards.  His head hit a poorly placed rock, and the lightstaff went flying into the nearby bushes.  As Tasha prepared to finish off the Sith Lord before he could regain his senses, the world around him dissolved into nothingness.
Out of the darkness came a man bathed in a blue nimbus.  His long red hair cascaded about his shoulders, and his bright green eyes shone with intelligence and charisma.  He was clothed in the robes of a Jedi.

"Tashannoc," the man said with a winning smile.  "I'm afraid I must owe you an apology.  None of what you have experienced since touching that dagger is real.  In a way, I suppose I'm not exactly real either."

Tashannoc, wary of another deception, but liking the man in spite of himself, asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is, or better, was, Vold Fanus.  I lived millennia ago, when the Sith were a strong force in the Galaxy.  However, that force was elimitated, and my life devoted to wiping them out of existence lost some of its meaning.  I suppose I could have taken on students and retired from the front lines as most of the other Masters did, but that didn't feel right.  I needed a way to pass on my learning and my skills should the Sith ever emerge again.
"However, I didn't want just anyone to have access to those powers, so I worked long and hard on a solution.  Finally, I found an old technique that would allow me to bind my spirit to an inanimate object, and then pass on that which I know to one who held that object, who I felt was worthy.  The other Jedi in the Council thought it was a rash move, but I knew that I could never fit into their mold.  What you have experienced is the result of my decision.
"The events you have experienced were to test you, I admit.  I needed to be sure that you had the strength, both physically and spiritually, to handle the skills I would pass on to you.  I had to be certain that you would not then take my teachings and use them for evil.  Even so, I am sorry for any pain or anguish you have felt being separated from your friends.  But know this; while you have experienced more than five months since picking up the Dagger, only a number of days has passed for your body.  You have been in a deep hibernation trance, and when you awaken, you will be yourself again, and more."

Vold paused.  "I have talked for too long, and my time grows short.  I will pass all that I am, my skills, my power, my memories, on to you, and then my spirit will finally rest.  Farewell, and may the Force be with you."

The man passed through Tashannoc, who fell to his knees in agony as fire arced through his body.  His muscles withered and burst, his brain raced with memories thousands of years old.  What took less than a second seemed an eternity, and finally, Tasha was whole again.
Exhausted, and alone in the darkness, Tashannoc fell into a deep slumber.

Alex fired and the TIE turned into a cloud.  "One down and six to go" He glanced down at his chronometer and saw there was only 30 seconds left before the jump to lightspeed.  Alex knew the odds of his surviving against six TIES for that length of time without shields were slim.
His R2 unit whistled a warning as Alex rolled out of a crossfire.  Suddenly two TIES exploded from a laser onslaught.  Alex looked around and saw that two corvettes had appeared and were engaging the Star Destroyer.  They had launched a couple of squadrons and were wreaking havoc on the TIES.
Alex turned on his com unit.  "Commander of the Nebulon-B force.  I am Alex Cross requesting assistance. Please help me."  He decided not to announce his allegiance with the Rebel Alliance until he knew more about his rescuers, for all he knew they could be pirates.

~Mr. Cross, we will help you.  For a fee, help is on the way.  Run out of that dogfight with those TIEs.  Two A-Wings will cover you.~

Alex turned off his com unit and turned off his hyperspace switch.  "You don't have to tell me twice, but I think I'll see if I can't help out against the Imp," he muttered as he peeled away from the panicked TIES.  "R2, see what you can do about the shields."  Alex headed toward the star destroyer and saw that the squadron of A-Wings were already all over it.  Their superior speed enabling them to dodge the big ships guns.  The two corvettes had started firing immediately upon the star destroyer and it became obvious that the Imps were taken completely by surprise.  They didn't even have their shields up.  Unfortunately the corvettes had showed up too late to save the cargo transport.

The remaining TIES were in a chaotic mess and were being picked off one by one, Alex almost felt sorry for them.  As Alex flew up on the star destroyer he began shooting at the communications stations lest the Imps call reinforcements.  As Alex was rewarded with explosions where his lasers hit he smirked about being charged a fee for being saved.  "Boy, aren't these guys going to be disappointed when they see what I get paid."
The star destroyer was finally returning fire on the corvettes and trying to turn to escape but it was too little too late, the ship began to break apart as the corvettes kept on the pressure and the A-Wings started firing their missiles.  Escape pods started flying from the big ship.  Alex turned his X-Wing away from the ship before he got caught in the explosion.

A few moments later it was all over.  Debris was floating everywhere.  Alex couldn't believe he was still alive.  He did a lazy turn toward the corvettes.  "Commander, this is Alex Cross in the X-Wing.  Permission to dock my ship?"

"So how'd Ibran help you?" Thix asked.

Ibran looked at Karrde.  Karrde shrugged. "Go ahead," he said.

"Okay," Ibran said.  "It was like this," he turned to Thix.  "I was in the bar because I wanted to think for a bit.  When the fight broke out, I would've headed straight out the back, but I noticed Karrde looking like he wanted out.  So I created a diversion."

"What kind of diversion?" Thix wanted to know.

Karrde arched an eyebrow and stepped off of the lift, which had arrived at their destination.  "The bounty hunters were a little careless with their blaster fire," he said.  "A few bottles of potent Tevechian wine 'found' their way onto the counter top.  They were ignited, and we used the fire as cover.  I still owe him for that one."

"Did the arms contact ever show up?" Ibran asked.  "I'd always wondered."

"No," Karrde said, stopping at the door to the bridge.  "I learned later that he'd been killed during an assault by Thrawn's forces two days prior.  I've done without, though."  The door opened and the three of them stepped through.  Once they were inside, Karrde accepted a datapad from someone and left them for a moment to take care of something.

"So how long have you known Karrde?"  Thix asked.

"Since before I got this," Ibran flexed his mechanical arm.  He went quiet for a moment, then continued.  "I ended up introducing him to my parents, and they've steadily supplied him for several years."

"What do they do?" Thix asked.

"Curious, aren't you?" Ibran said with a slight smile.  "They're smugglers with a twist.  They live on Ord Mantell, so the people they do business with come from all over.  Since there's a lot of pirates, bounty hunters, and other smugglers that work out of that area, they acquire more interesting slash advanced items than most other planets."

Thix nodded.  Here was a side of Ibran's life he hadn't expected.  The idea that one of the more steadfast Jedi he'd met was connected to some of the most notorious smugglers in the galaxy was almost as unusual as Ibran himself.  The man was kind almost to the point of insensibility, Thix reflected.  How could he survive in the same galaxy Talon Karrde and Emperor Palpatine lived in?
Apparently he was doing pretty well.  Thix recalled what he'd heard about the guy from the mess at Fury where he'd saved someone's life and ended up nearly losing his own twice.  He was extremely lucky.
Or he somehow knew what he was doing.  Thix looked over at Ibran.  The other was currently gazing about the bridge with a faraway look in his eyes.  He was probably remembering something.

Indeed, Thix found his musings somewhat validated when Karrde returned to them.  "She looks a bit different from when I was last here," Ibran said.  "Any interesting additions, or do I know about them already?"

"Oh, I'd guess there's one or two you don't know about, but our newest sensor mask and the console for it came from your parents," Karrde responded.  "By the way, I hope you don't object to riding along with us.  We need to make a stop at a nearby shadowport."

"Not at all," Thix said.  "I think it's safe to say that we'll gladly go anywhere so long as it gets us away from here."

Karrde nodded.  "I would too.  Do either of you need anything?"

"Information, mostly." Ibran replied.  "We're heading into the Deep Core and it would help if we knew what we might run into.  I don't think we'll need much else."

Karrde's answering smile was thin and dry.  "Cash, or account?"

Rayla led them back down to the private sitting room below the bridge and bid them to be seated.  "Now please, remain here with Benoah and stay comfortable.  We are waiting to receive our place in queue to proceed to the Dark Lord's palace.  Until then we will sit on the Domen Majesty."
"I must venture down to the main hangar bay.  It seems that a situation is brewing."

Alia turned to Benoah, who appeared complacent and even blithe.  "You know what's going on, don't you?"

Benoah smiled.  "What's going on is none of our concern.  Rayla will handle everything."

"Great," Alia replied.  "I feel so much better now."

~Pilot of Rancor's Maw, you are berthed in the main hangar bay of the Imperial Star Destroyer Domen Majesty and are cleared to disembark from your craft.  Lord de Devastator's emissary awaits your convenience.~

"So this is it?" Marr said to himself as he hit the switch to open his landing ramp.
He stepped cautiously down to find an honor guard of 12 men with a lone woman.  The men were dressed in armor not unlike the Imperial Royal Guards; though the armor was blue, not red.  'That woman, I've seen her before.... on... Of course! It was that situation with Lerma on Cadezia.'  Dalon Marr stepped off the ramp of his ship and it immediately began to shut.

"You're earning quite a reputation for yourself in the galaxy, Dalon Marr." Rayla stated matter-of-factly.

MOVE ON TO PART V
RETURN TO THE ARCHIVES

This page hosted by Geocities

Get your own Free Home Page