Bismarck turned his head from where he was overseeing the supply lifters who were loading ground attack transports into the Scythe's vehicular bay. "What is it, Captain?"
Silvan Regius stepped into the room overlooking the bay. "We've just received a distress message, sir. It came in under your personal encrypt heading."
Bismarck paused in the act of reaching for a switch and blinked. "And you've read the message?"
"Yes, sir, but only because the translation came in on a normal Imperial distress frequency," Regius said. "I know its' a breach of protocol, but I-"
"Never mind protocol, Captain," Bismarck said, flipping the switch and activating a tractor beam. His voice had an unusual edge to it. "What did the message say?"
"It said the planet of Sillesk was under attack by Rebel forces," Regius furrowed his brow. "And it requested Imperial assistance immediately. There was more to the encoded message, though."
Regius watched while Bismarck stared at the control panel. The Admiral's expression slowly hardened into a mask of concentration. "Sir?" Regius asked. "Where is Sillesk?"
"Sillesk is a mining colony located on the Abrion/Fillatic Sector border," Bismarck replied with venom. "Its largest export is hfredium, which it sells exclusively to the Empire."
"Ah," Regius said as the reasoning became clear. "So its' just a simple supply raid for the stockpiles. They must be hard-pressed for material."
"It is not just a simple raid," Bismarck said, catching Regius off guard. The venom in his voice had turned to fury and he was glaring at the transport that was now docked in the bay before him. "Sillesk solar is surrounded by a nearly impenetrable radiation field and the colonists deliberately keep the planet's coordinates a secret. To actually threaten the planet's security, the Rebels would have to have someone with intimate knowledge of the planet, as well as its' location."
Regius stared at Bismarck curiosly. "Who would have that information, sir?" he asked, now recovering from his surprise.
"Only one person has ever left Sillesk that I've lost track of," Bismarck said. He stood up, his face having adopted a cold stare that was not directed at anything. "All the rest are in the Imperial Navy under my task force's delegation helping me contain the knowledge of Sillesk's existence."
Suddenly, as though someone had thrown a switch, Bismarck was calm and cool again. "Alert the task force, Regius," he said as he headed for the door. "The Ord Pardron campaign is officially on hold. Our ships will travel to the planet of Sillesk, where it will do battle with a force that has been thoroughly briefed, if not led by, my father."
Once the coast was clear, Marr slipped from his hiding spot, and dashed across the lawn as swiftly and silently as he could. He skirted the perimeter alarm system, and worked over to the side entrance. At a power relay, he left an explosive with a five-minute timer. Plenty of time to get past before it blew.
Near the entrance, he crouched in some ground cover. Three minutes. Four. Five. The relay exploded, and the compound came to life. Lights came on and flooded the area surrounding the palace. Marr's location was one of many still secure in shadow. Making the grounds pretty had also left a security risk. One guard was left at the entrance, which stood open after other troops had poured out of it to secure the area around the relay.
Marr considered his options. A blaster would be to obvious, explosives even more so. The guard at the door scratched an insect bite. Marr got an idea. Moments later, the guard slapped at another bite, then slumped against the wall. Marr dragged him into the bushes by his ankles, then slipped into the facility...
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"Master Lowebacca wishes to inquire as to whether or not you will be joining the Alliance on another of their suicidal missions." Emteedee toned out.
Before Lowie could pound the droid for the translation, Aria interrupted. "I really don't think the Alliance needs me on this mission. They've got plenty of fighters and carriers and transports. My presence would not be noticed or missed in that battle." She looked away, the disappointment spreading on Lowie's face was too much. "It's not like I am running out on you guys, it's just that I don't feel like I would be needed."
Lowie grunted out something else and EmTeeDee hurried to translate, "Master Lowebacca would like to know if he volunteered to be gunner, would you change your mind. Though I rather think you are the only one making sound decisions on this vessel. The Alliance really needs--." Lowie growled and Emteedee shut up.
"I think my decision is sound and I am trying to stick by it. If you guys need any help you have my private comm channel. And of course I left several communication agents for you to reach if all else fails."
Lowie bent down and hugged Aria. He mumbled something while he crushed her in his embrace. "Master Lowebacca wishes you a safe journey and would like to know when you plan on leaving."
"Tonight, if Laura gets through messing with the engines."
"Then he will be unable to see you depart. It seems the main thrust of the group is heading for Ord Pardron post haste."
"Clear skies Lowebacca." Aria reached out and gave him a hug. With that she turned and headed back toward her ship.
Most of the troops were gone as Bandork lifted off the Retaliation and laid in her coordinates. Laura assured her the engines were running as smoothly as a skyhook's repulsorbank on Coruscant. Her preflight verified this assessment and with a sigh, Aria pulled the handle back and Bandork disappeared into the hum of hyperspace.
"Ord Trasi, here I come." Aria got up and headed toward the ship's kitchen.
"No. I'm not ready yet for something like this. A planned attack is one thing, but I don't have the patience for sitting around waiting to defend a place yet, the training to handle such a defense, or the desire to get involved in another life-or-death situation so soon. You?"
"I don't know yet."
"I see."
The two of them walked a little farther. "If... if you don't go to Ord Pardron... let me know. I'd enjoy your company."
Alia only nodded in response, her thoughts troubled. Ibran must have sensed that, because he turned and gave Alia a hug. She smiled in response. "I'm sorry," she said. "About what happened and all when you were younger. No one deserves that. If.. if I can help in any way, just let me know, okay?"
"I will." Ibran nodded. The quiet was nice, and having company to enjoy it doubly so, Ibran noted.
Alia broke the quiet with a question. "When are you going back to Dantooine? I mean, I assume that's what you're doing. Since you're definitely not going to Ord Pardron, I thought.." Alia stopped trying to speak and lapsed into silence.
"When the next transport leaves for it. Thing is, with all the people readying for Ord Pardron, I expect it'll be a couple of days before they go. Then, once they're gone, the regular transport schedule should resume."
By now, the two of them had reached Alia's room. "Alia..." Alia turned to look at Ibran with a questioning look in her eyes. "Take care of yourself. I'd hate to see something bad happen to you. You don't deserve it."
Instead of speaking, Alia just gave him a hug. "You do the same... or else..."
Ibran smiled. "Or else what?" he said teasingly. "You'll come after me and stomp on my foot?"
"I will! Just you wait and see!" Ibran grinned slightly and Alia stomped lightly on his foot with mock infuriation on her face.
Ibran coughed. "Don't step on my foot."
"Oh, and what are you going to do? Stomp on my foot?"
"No. I'm simply going to... wait a minute... what's that?"
Alia turned and looked in the direction Ibran was pointing. "There's nothing... there? Ibran? Where'd he go?"
Meanwhile, Ibran smiled from around a nearby corner. "I'm simply going to disappear," he finished his sentence. "Easy as pie. Just like back home." He chuckled and then headed back to his own room.
Assuring herself that there were no madmen hiding under the bed, Alia threw herself across a chair and tried to clear her mind. Ord Pardron, she thought, pulling her hair down from its braid. I can go and guard the place, making a bigger target of myself than I already am, or I can coward out and go back to Dantooine to help Tyne further his training. That was a good excuse, actually. Without a solid presence to watch him, Tyne wasn't going to get much done, much less what he needed to be doing.
She sighed again and shifted position. They really don't need me. A couple of good commanders, some great pilots and a lot of good troops are really what they need, not one paranoid would-be Jedi. And anyway, they really don't need me if I'm going to be a walking magnet to any passing bounty hunters or Sith servants. They wouldn't attack Fury because they didn't want to fight the bugs and Rebels, but Ord Pardron.... She stood up and stretched one more time before finally lying down. Dantooine is where I need to be right now, I need to lay lower for a while yet.
"My name is Benoah Shenok. I am from Alpheridies. My people are the Miraluka, and we were once a proud race, with great influence in the Old Republic. I have been sent out to find the Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker, so that I may be trained properly in the tradition of the Jedi."
The officer frowned. "How is it that you have found your way here to Kashyyyk? The presence of the Rebel Alliance here is not a well known fact."
Reaching up with her hand and holding it just five inches from his face, Benoah said, "Lieutenant Hirdgel, my people are more in tune with the Force because of our inherent blindness. It is through the Force that we see, and we all have some level of talent with it. Emperor Palpatine decided that rather than exterminate our race, he would keep us trapped on our world by creating Sithspawn that trapped us in our villages."
Benoah paused briefly to test the aura of those around her, for several people had become interested in what she was saying. "We have only recently gained our world back from them, but we are so close to the Emperor's hidden Dark world, Byss, that we never dared openly resist him. Now that we have secretly thrown off our oppressors, we want to aid the Alliance as much as we can."
Taking a deep breath, she smiled. Her smile filled her audience with delight, for she was a pleasant woman to behold as she removed her headpiece and exposed her flowing mane of hair. It was a mixture of red and pink, and she wore it short, just below her ears.
She concluded her tale. "The council decided that I was the best candidate for Jedi training, and they joined in a circle of Force Harmony to locate the most likely direction for me to travel. Now I am here, and I have only made it this far by trusting the Force."
The lieutenant motioned for a deckhand to come forward and he gave him orders to conduct Benoah Shenok to a mess hall. "You must be hungry after your journey. Ensign Yakes will see you to a public refresher station and to the mess hall so that you can see to your personal needs and find suitable refreshments. Meanwhile, I will report your arrival to my senior officer and we will see to it that you are seen by the appropriate people. If there is a potential for new allies for the Rebel Alliance, then it must be made known higher on the chain of command."
"Yes, I understand. And a refresher and food would be splendid. You are most kind. Thank you," the young Miraluka woman said as the deckhand led her off.
As they walked along, she felt another young woman with an aura of gloom and trouble hanging over her. 'I can feel her anguish as I feel the clothing that I am garbed with. The Force has led me to you, young woman.'
"I copy that, Major. Would you like anything else?" Captain Arrvad asked.
"None. Listen, stay frosty. Jarkov's boys have some nice artillery up their sleeves, and the Rebellion cannot afford loss of another MC-80, let alone the base she's guarding. Post patrols, and remember to keep up that Yellow Alert. I don't want any guards dozing at their posts or napping on patrols."
"It won't happen, sir, I assure you."
"That's good. Well, that's all. Good luck, Hendrikson out."
"If there was a dull center to the universe, this is the place that's farthest from." Thix remarked to Grant as they strolled down a brightly-lit street that was lined with casinos and fancy restaurants. "Definitely a vacation hotspot for your expert gambler."
"Well, you know what they say-"
"Grant...think up some of your own quotes."
"Yeah, yeah, sure." They were in the upper class Corellian Sector of Nar Shadaa, wallowing in the class and grandeur of the local denizen's tastes. "Neb needs to get a hold of this place-he'd make a fortune."
"You're right. Say, what's that chrono say?"
"No can do, boss-it's on a Drakor day time. 45 hours."
"Oh..oh, right. I've got one on. I'm stupid. Oh, no! I've gotta go!"
"What? Why?"
"Got a date."
"Riiiight, gotcha, lead. I understand. Meet me here when you're done, ok?" Grant gestured to a casino called the "Golden Cred"
"Sure, Grant. Save some money, ok? Try and salvage your paycheck?"
"Funny. See, I'm laughing....."
Swiftly hopping to his feet, Ibran strode to the door. He opened it and stepped out into the hall. No one. That's odd... where was that flicker coming from anyway? He looked around, then decided to head around the corner.
That was where he nearly ran into Lucinda and Kain. "Ibby!" Kain burst out and hugged him on impact. Lucinda joined in after a moment, and Ibran just laughed. "Well, someone's happy to see me," he grinned. "How're you?"
"We're great. Just ate." Kain said before Lucinda could get a word in edgewise. Ibran nodded. "I see."
It was at that moment that the woman came around the corner. Waving his siblings to silence, Ibran watched as she approached with her escort. Something about this woman is Force attuned, he thought. Whether it's her or something else I can't tell. But.. she makes me edgy. Which means she can probably read people like books. And so she'll probably be one of the people who can figure out my past just by looking at me. Assuming she gets the impulse.
As if on cue, the woman turned and smiled at him. He nodded back, vague thoughts of offering assistance and curiosity mingling in his head. He didn't follow up on it, though he wanted to. Something told him not to. He watched as she turned another corner and left his field of vision. I will help any way I can, though, he thought, then caught himself. Now there's a strange thought to have mulling around in one's head. Why'd I think that? I don't even know.
Sighing at the mystery of it all, he turned back to Lucinda and Kain. "C'mon. You two can help me pack and we can talk then.
"It's Rasbaen and I just wanted to make a port of call at the local dive, you know it. Is Mehenny's Eats and Treats still operable or did the health patrol finally burn it down?"
"Rasa! Is that you? Where in the space have you been? We were about to auction out your space dock to the highest bidder."
"There's someone on Ord Trasi that suicidal?" Aria grinned. "Yeah Chaz, I'm still among the numbered living and I am very hungry."
"And you still want to eat at Mehenny's? Now that's courage."
"I'll tell him you said so. Is my dock still empty?"
"Always. You can dock On Notice at depot 12, dock 2. Easy up, easy down."
"Copy. Stop by, I might be willing to buy you a drink for your courtesy."
"I'll be there!" The overeager young voice responded. "With you around, Mehenny's just got real popular."
"Don't notify the local authorities yet." Aria clicked the comm off and glided her ship smoothly into the bay.
"Well, call a Sith Lord a tauntaun but I think I've just seen about everything." A seven-tentacled quadruped walked up behind Aria who was sipping on her Screaming Bantha, with a kick. One of the tentacles 'accidentally' found it's way around Rasa's (Aria's) waist. "How are you doing pretty one?"
Aria looked around the room as if searching for the source of that voice. Casually one of her hands squirreled its way up to the bulbous headed Osak. She leaned in real close before whispering, "I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that you are severely vision impaired as well as mentally unstable, but if you don't remove your tentacle, I am going to remove your head." For emphasis she pushed her holdout blaster closer to the thing's head. He'd never even seen her pull the blaster.
Instead of backing off in fear, the being bellowed out a squeal of laughter. "I thought it was just rumors but here you are in the flesh. When are you going to marry me Rasa and still my quivering heart?"
Aria mashed him in the face, pushing him away from her. "Orwin, you really like playing with death. I should just blast you."
"To rid the galaxy of me would be to remove light from your eyes. It cannot be done, I regenerate too easily."
"That explains the two new tentacles. Who blasted you this time?"
"Dinorra, the sexy, sultry Twi'lek singing up there. And it was a vibroblade." He turned toward the woman up front who was singing a pleasant love song. "Doesn't she make you want to swoon?"
"No, but you make me want to retch." Aria turned to listen to the Twi'lek and hopefully ignore Orwin. He was like the understood 'pet' of Mehenny's. He'd flirt with anything that moved (male, female and other) and definitely anything that had it's own ship. His attempts to get off planet had been both humorous and unsuccessful. He complained of a brain injury as a child that kept him from behaving as normal Osaks would and his mother abandoned him here before she blasted off into the stars. Everyone tolerated him but he'd seem to always zone in on Aria, whose level of patience usually ended with him having an additional injury or two.
"Orwin, scamper out of here before I really have to hurt you." Aria removed another of his elusive tentacles from her leg. Self-preservation won over the Osak and he tiptoed his way over to another less irritable being, this time a Yuzzem.
"Where the hell have you been?" A male voice intoned from below Aria's knees. "I tell Kini-sha Fey'lya, I take care of you. Look after you, I promise. Sheesh. Tell you call me every few months. Say you okay. Say you breathing. Say you alive. Sheesh. But what do I get for my heartache. Months on end with no call from Rasbaen! I tell him! I tell Kini-sha I look after you. Sheesh. How good a job I do? Lose you in a Galaxy of trouble, I do. No good at this, want someone else to take the job. Sheesh. Keeping up with lost one is impossible. Sheesh. You could have called." The short humanoid looked extremely upset and Aria did all she could not to get the same way.
"I don't need looking after. I take care of myself, I told Kini-sha that and I told you that." She spouted back.
"Like I want job looking after Galaxy's scamp. Sheesh. But I promise Kini-sha, I look after you. I promise."
Aria remembered the last time she'd seen him. They parted on terse words and she took off on a merry chase to Corellia to scare up a rare worm found in the tunnels of the Selonians. She promised him she'd never call again. "I made promises too, Mehenny. I'm sorry I had you worried. I don't want to fight okay."
He threw his hands up in the air in defense. "Sheesh. Who fight? I just keep promises and remind others about promise." Still his tone had softened. "I won't fight. You are safe and my heart beats easier."
"I'm glad to hear that about your heart. What happened to the place?"
"I work hard every day. Sheesh. Some fool come try and burn me out. Luckily Orwin spot the fire. Come get officials. Put it out. Try and burn me out. Sheesh."
"Who? Who tried to burn you out?" Aria eyes narrowed.
"Never figure out. Just come and try and burn me out. Sheesh. Family wanted to leave but I say no. We stay. Our home. I don't run away from some crazed arsonist."
"Where did the droid come from?" She was pointing at the expensive bartending droid behind the counter.
"Gift. Zatin gave me droid for my troubles. He a lousy snake but gift was nice. Sheesh. My bartender no want to work here."
"Zatin? He's your largest competitor. Why show such benevolence? Besides the droid waters down the drinks."
"Hear complaints about that. Nothing I can do. He water, I no able to change programming. Perhaps?"
"I'll take a look at him during closing hour."
"Going to be on planet that long?"
"Yeah, I think I am going to stay for at least a couple of days, earn some credits."
"No hunting to make ends meet? Sheesh. We have much to talk about over dinner tonight at home."
"Mehenny, you don't have to cook anything." Aria tried to worm out of the invitation.
"I insist you little ingrate. Looks like you don't eat enough. Sheesh. What have you been eating, just them tasteless leaves I bet. Wife will expect you tonight."
"You sure know how to sweet talk a woman."
"Still a girl. Get some hips and think you woman. Sheesh. Crazy little one." He finally smiled at her and held his arms out for her to hug him.
Yakes felt the blood rushing to his head as he realized this woman probably knew everything he had been thinking since coming into her presence. "Forgive me."
She laughed lightly. "No harm done, Ensign. You flattered me with your thoughts on my appearance and your opinions of my meal gave me amusement. There is truly no need for me to forgive you."
They continued to talk as she reached out with the Force and attempted contact with the young woman she felt before.
~Seek me out, oh Daughter of Pain. Allow me the chance to ease your troubles. Perhaps I could offer you a fresh perspective.~
"Where in space are all the bad guys!!!"
With the exception of the remainder of the Ord Pardron defense fleet, Bel Iblis' ships, and a few of Tashannoc's Disk Warships, space was empty. Sensors showed that emergency troop transports from Mon Calamari had already disembarked, and that the other reinforcements had yet to arrive.
As the fleet dispersed into defensive positions, Jeffy sent a message to the Peregrine.
"Excuse me for asking, sir, but . . Now what?"
MOVE ON TO PART III
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