Detour

During the Battle of Fury

Karin DeLumar gazed down from her bridge upon the planet Nal Hutta. They were coming up on Nar Shadda soon, which was the most likely place to find Dalon Marr after a big bounty. He was know to have some regular haunts here, so she was sending patrols down to the surface. She had given orders to have every ship leaving the moon scanned, and she had also launched three TIE Defender and two TIE Advanced Squadrons to deal with any who tried to make a break for it. Even Han Solo's renowned Millennium Falcon would have a difficult time against those ships. Now, she was waiting, and waiting always gave her time to think.

She stood up straighter abruptly and strode towards the exit. "I'll be in my quarters." She told the senior bridge officer on her way out.

"Captain DeLumar, so nice to hear from you. Do you have any news on your little assignment?" The man on the screen was Moff Deru Glinn of the outer rim territories, a large opulent man, somewhere in between his fifties and seventies. Underneath all the fat it was difficult to discern his true age. His thin white hair was obviously supplemented with some sort of hair piece. Despite his wealth, the Moff was known to be cheap, a trait which constantly conflicted with his great vanity. He had been appointed recently, after a long line of Moffs, starting with Tarkin himself, had in one way or another plotted to supplant the Emperor. Glinn was too stupid to try anything like that, which made him an excellent choice for the Emperor.

"Actually, sir, I have a question." The Moff nodded, and she moved on. "Sir, so far I've followed your orders as you've given them to me, but I need to know more. Why am I going to apprehend Dalon Marr?"

"An excellent question, my dear, and one I had planned to answer in time, and see no time better than the present. You see, I have evidence, which has only recently come to light, that this Marr is linked to a number of assassinations of Imperial officers, dating back as far as the end of the Clone Wars. Most recently, I believe that he was responsible for the death of my poor daughter, only three months ago. That is why this man is being brought in. He is a menace to the Empire, and I have a personal stake in this to bring my daughter's murderer to justice."

"I see sir. Thank you for being so forward, sir. I shall double our efforts to see this foul murderer brought to justice."

The Moff smiled. "Thank you, my dear. I knew that you were the right person for the job. Glinn out."

As the screen went blank, Karin allowed herself a moment of rage, at the injustice of it all. That a man could go this long without having to owe up for his crimes was unthinkable. At least now she could be part of bringing this monster, this Dalon Marr, to pay for his crimes. That thought warmed her, and she stripped off her clothing for a long deserved shower.

On Corellia, Dalon Marr was lounging in one of his favorite hangouts, owned by one of the few men he might consider a friend. He sat back in his chair, propped his feet up, and retold the story of one of his recent adventures, this time of the destruction of Cloud City.* The girls surrounding him tittered at his exploits. He enjoyed their company in the day, but doubted they would share his bed tonight. It had been a long time since he had found a woman that could stimulate him enough for him to want to spend more than a little time in a seedy bar with her.

He finished his tale, then got up to leave to a chorus of "Aw, do you really have to go?" 's. He ignored the women, instead walking to the bar and setting some credits down. "Where you off to now?" his friend asked, able to tell that Marr was heading off planet.

"Ay thought Ay might head t'Nar Shadda. Ay have a few bar tabs t'pay off."

"Bar tabs? I've never seen you eat or drink a damned thing. That would mean you'd have to take off the blamed mask of yours. I don't even know what this is for," he said, gesturing at the money on the bar.

"Consider it payment for having t'sit through m'stories."

Marr walked out the door in good spirits, surrounded by his friend's bellowing laughter. Aye, he thought, Nar Shadda'd be a foine place t'visit.

*EDITOR'S NOTE:  For more information about the destruction of Cloud City, read Mandalorian Sunset!

There are times when life can be overwhelming...., thought Leia. And this is one of those times...

Her mind reeled with the impact: The news that Han had vanished after the meeting with the smugglers. Where could he be? She struggled. Flipping on the comlink, she contacted Chewie for the umpteenth time, going over the details of Han's final days, and making preparations for discovering his whereabouts. Chewie was all but thrilled on hearing the news of Han's disappearance: roaring in dismay and cursing in Wookiee, several decibels above the comfort zone for human ears. Leia tried as best she could to comfort Chewie, finding some solace in the fact that she was not alone with her grief. She paced. Chewie pontificated. They were miserable.

Finally, Leia stopped and reassessed the situation, applying the skills she had learned as diplomat, mother, wife, and as a budding Jedi. She peered out the viewport of her chambers aboard the orbital space station as it circled Kashyyyk, not really seeing anything, her sharp mind making calculations, details, plans, on the recovery of Han Solo: her husband and the father of Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin. Standing, she adjusted her attire: a simple gown that hung in easy folds of pale lavender to just above her ankle, gathered loosely at her slender waist, and draped frivolously from her wrists. She tucked a stray tuft of chocolate brown hair back into the single braid that hung down her back, and turned off the comlink. It's time to do something....Now! She decided.<

Tayne sat in the pilot's chair wondering when the people he was supposed to rendezvous with would come. It had been a living heck getting all the equipment those guys wanted. And he had something extra. It had cost him a lot of credits to get. These guys said they wanted info on Rebel and Imperial troop and fleet movements. Tayne had 3 datapads full of info on this. It was going to cost them dearly. Tayne also had a man, actually his former boss Machman, had a Corellian Corvette for sell or trade. He would tell them about this too. Tayne's sensors picked up a ship coming in. A message came over the comm. "Tayne Keller. We are locking a tractor on you and are taking you to our destination." "OK." Tayne said. Tayne sat back for the ride.`

Three ships lay waiting in the depths of space. Their lights glittering amidst the darkness of space.
Colonel Fahlwan glanced at the battle clock on his command chair. The Virulence would be arriving in just moments.  "Captain Thorne, Transmit the order to Constrainer, she is to begin powering up her gravity well generators now." Thorne turned from the console he had been examining and motioned to the com technician to send the order. On board Constrainer, Captain Brylia received the message and began issuing the commands that brought the ships great generators to life.
One by one giant bulk freighters appeared. Intrepid immediately moved to assault the first of them.

#####

On board the Virulence alarms rang out as the vessel was shaken severely then instead of the lines of hyperspace real space appeared on the viewscreens. Captain Vorhees, shaken awake by the alarms leapt from bed and ran for the bridge. Before he could get even half-way the ship shuddered and the lights went dim.

#####

Twenty-four X-Wings hung silently in space, waiting. The Virulence suddenly appeared.  Manticore 1 achieved target lock and the fourty-eight target-linked proton torpedoes launched a simultaneous wave of destruction at Virulence. The Deck Officer barely had time to flinch before the torpedoes struck. Light flashed as waves of energy flashed and rippled, then the shields collapsed and the torpedoes destructive power washed over the hull of Virulence, melting sensors to useless junk and turning numerous turbo-lasers to slag.

#####

Colonel Fahlwan stood on the bridge observing, he looked over to Thorne, "You may fire at will captain." he said, knowing it was too late for Virulence.
Streaks of blue fire lanced out to Virulence sending waves of energy skittering across her hull. An ensign marched up and saluted, "Sir, scanners indicate that Virulence's main systems are down." The ION cannons continued to pound Virulence. Dez scanned his battle screens. Virulence to all appearances was dead. "Cease fire! Commence boarding operations captain." Fahlwan turned to another display. He reached for a toggle switch and spoke," Manticore squadron, Hell Hounds, you may engage the freighters." Immediately the reply came, "As ordered sir."

#####

Inside the cockpit of an Imperial troop transport a red light began flashing on the console. Major Seljik nodded and spoke into his comlink, "That's the signal boys, now it's time for us to play." Transports and shuttles raced for the disabled Star Destroyer.

#####

Racing for the edge of the gravity well, the freighter Monmouth Bay Was taking hit after hit from the Corellian Corvette Intrepid. The shields were rapidly failing and Monmouth Bay's master knew his ship would soon be dead. "Get me that Corvette's commander," he said. "... This is Captain Jerison, of the Monmouth Bay, we are powering down our engines, we wish to surrender."

"Commander Kader, Monmouth Bay signals her desire to surrender." 

Kader smiled," Good... order three flight from the Hell Hounds to assume escort positions for the freighter. We'll move on to the next one."

#####

"Well boys, now it's time for target practice. Form up in three man wings and pick your freighter." The X-Wings of Manticore squadron and the Hell Hounds pivoted gracefully in space then raced for the freighters.

The battle over Neraka Prime was quick and furious. Lord de Devastator, holding the Sith Sword of Naga Sadow, felt his strength increasing, and was able to enhance the coordination of the 2nd fleet, while interfering with the rapport between Nelazriel and his forces. Shortly, Domino could sense that Nelazriel had given up and was fleeing to what he though would be a safe refuge.
As the 2nd Fleet pummeled what was left of the Nerakan defenses, the Eclipse Star Destroyer Deathwail positioned itself to begin planetary bombardment of the Nerakan homeworld. The Nerakan forces were losing any will to fight to the death, so the cry of surrender was heard well before bombardment of the planet could commence.
Domino clenched his fists, regret for hearing the surrender filling his heart. 'Ah well. Neraka Prime may be of use as a resource, though Nelazriel's upper echelon must die with him.'

#####

Domino's personal shuttle landed unmolested outside of Nelazriel's palace. Eight Julayps exited the vessel first, followed by eight stormtroopers. Then the Dark Lord of the Sith, Domino de Devastator emerged, trailed by eight more stormtroopers and eight Deominian palace guards.
Showdown style, Nelazriel emerged from the entrance of his palace, flanked on either side by 10 Force Masters. Domino noted that there should be 12 Nerakan Force Masters but he had personally killed Martel and throughout this campaign Nelazriel must have destroyed another of his masters.

"Lord Domino, you have done the impossible. You have conquered Neraka militarily. Now you must die."
All ten of the Nerakan Force Masters charged Domino's position, but Domino's guards all remained still as the Dark Lord dropped to one knee, swung the Sword of Sadow in a wide arc, then pointed it toward the wedge of Dark Side wrath running toward him. A brilliant purple tendril shot forth from the sword, splitting off into several branches, wrapping around each Force Master then weaving a Dark Side Web around each one. It was a quick death for the Force Masters, but the pain would never truly end. Bolstered by a sudden flux of power from the Dark Side Web, Domino stepped toward Nelazriel. "How quick will it be for you, Emperor Nelazriel?"

Dissipating into an obvious illusion, Nelazriel appeared right next to Domino and spoke. "It shall be so slow that it may never happen, Lord Domino."
Nelazriel engaged a lightsaber and sliced through the Dark Lord's form, only to see the form vanish from sight.

As he felt a sudden pain piercing him through his torso, he heard Domino's voice. "Not so. I have made your death even faster than that of your servants, and less meaningful, so that your soul will feel shame in their presence."
Nelazriel crumbled to the ground as his life energy was drained into Sadow's sword. He heard Domino's voice in a sarcastic tone of comfort. "But worry not, Nelazriel, for I now must face the spirit of your master and send him to be with you."

Chewbacca stopped pacing, stopped muttering, and looked at Leia. "Huurruuuurnh, roowrraarahh."
Leia looked at the towering Wookiee and shook her head. "No Chewie, The reports have only indicated it was an abduction from the facility on Ultair IX. No actual witness accounts have been sent to us. We'll go to Ultair IX ourselves and start our own search."

The princess and the Wookiee walked from the room and headed purposefully to the hangar of the orbital station over Kashyyyk. C-3PO was close behind. "Princess Leia, should we inform Master Luke of our quest."

"Hruuuphh." Chewbacca replied, shaking his head. Leia nodded. "Chewie's right. Luke has much to do with the academy on Dantooine. If we need help there will be soldiers on Ultar IX to assist us."

"SITHDRIZZLE!" Han swore. He had been hoping to reach someone to inform Leia and Chewie that he was okay, but recently the Empire had moved into Elrood Sector and had started to not only interdict space, but communication frequencies. One needed expensive equipment and permits to communicate outside of Elrood now.

Han returned to the table, where Nathan and Hawk were just finishing their meal.
"Well Solo, you talk to the family yet?"

Han exchanged glances with Hawk, then replied sourly, "No. The Empire has initiated a presence in Elrood and is interdicting space and communication frequencies."

Nathan Jumped up. "WHAT? You led us into Imperial space?"

Han stood and patted the would-be smuggler on the shoulder. "Relax buddy. I've been in many jams much tighter than this. You just have to be patient and plan things thoroughly. That way when your plans fail you can say you did your best."

Jadrek Lemyn leaned his sizable girth back in his command chair and studied the computer screen in front of him. Interesting... he thought as he rubbed a gnarled hand through his coarse white hair. This may be of use to the ''Miniature Emperor.' Oh where's the fool when you really need him.
"Wishing me here, Jadrek?"
The elder whirled around to face his visitor. "Stop sneaking up on me like that."
"Never sit with your back facing a door and I will not be forced to. Did you require something of me or just with the company of my presence?"
Jadrek snorted, avoiding the prying dark eyes that threatened to peer into his soul. "We've intercepted a message from one of the remaining Imperial commanders..."
"The Imperials have never been a concern for us before, Jadrek, why should we care now?"
"Who is attempting to locate and destroy the Jedi," the elder continued, ignoring the interruption. "He has quite a reputation and is in need of a Sith Master."
"So your tiny mind made the connection that I would want to help an Imperial Admiral who is destined to fail in his quest to assassinate the remaining Jedi?"
"He'll be hunting for the Rebel's newest Jedi training grounds."
He suppressed a smile. "Yes, that will be...perfect."
"You have a plan."
"If de Devastator does not ruin it for me, yes. The Emperor himself did not train me for nothing, Jadrek."
Jadrek snorted again. "He didn't do a very good job if you let the Rebels destroy the Interfectus base."
"The girl was at fault, Jadrek."
"When something goes wrong, the girl is always at fault. Get over it."
"Don't push my mood. She should be among the Jedi...where ever that may be."
"If she wasn't killed at Yavin or Fury."
"We would never be so lucky. Contact this 'Admiral' and inform him that we would be want to accompany him and assist in his efforts."
Jadrek grinned tightly. "Yes, my emperor."
The flashing black eyes glared through him. "Do stop that, peon, or I shall be forced to hurt you."

Domino yanked the Medallion of Hiddukel from Nelazriel's dead neck and tossed it to the ground as powerful Sith energies coursed throughout his body and threatened to overwhelm his mortal form. He only had a few minutes of time to engage Nelazriel's master and unleash his stored up energy before it ripped him inside and out. The Dark Lord studied the medallion for several seconds, concentrating on what he had to do, then with the speed of thought twirled the Sith Sword of Sadow like a baton in his hand and drove the tip of the blade through the pendant.

A fountain of purple and bright red sparks shot up from the medallion as an unseen fist of energy knocked Domino off his feet and sent him flying back several meters from where he once stood. As the Dark Lord of the Sith quickly rose to his feet, the spirit form of an ancient Force master appeared before him.

~Lord de Devastator, you have defeated my servants and destroyed the very fabric of what took several millennia to organize. You have succeeded in obliterating the Nerakan Empire, and for that crime you shall die a most painful death.~

Domino stood proudly facing the spirit of Hiddukel. He feared this meeting, for it was the only part of his destiny that he was unsure of; he could see nothing in his visions of the future to indicate whether he would live or die. He held Hiddukel's glance fast with his own eyes and prepared his defense, hoping to turn it toward an offensive strategy quickly.

Hiddukel's shadow rushed at the Dark Lord and flurried around him like a tornado, lashing out with tendrils of energy and cutting Domino as if with a thousand thousand blades. Domino reached out with the Dark Side of the Force and caused Hiddukel's attack to falter by discorporating him for a few milliseconds. The dead Nerakan master struggled to reintegrate himself, as Domino drew upon his fear and hatred to provide himself strength.
'Hiddukel will destroy me if I cannot find a way to keep him away from me.'
Just then Domino became aware of the weight around his own neck; the medallion he wore, the Deominian symbol of life. Hiddukel charged at Domino again, as Domino held the medallion he wore. As the Nerakan ghost was about to collide with the living Deominian, a web of energy formed around Domino. The Dark Lord became focused on defeating Hiddukel at this point, transforming the protection webbing into energy siphoning webbing. Domino enmeshed Hiddukel with a powerful Dark Side web as the Nerakan spirit fought to be free.

Domino proved to be too strong. Within minutes, Hiddukel was gone and the swelling of energy within the Dark Lord had ceased.
Domino de Devastator was himself once again and the threat of the Nerakan Empire was defeated. All of this for the glory of Palpatine’s Galactic Empire.

With several clangs and a thump, the Imperial troop transport locked onto the Virulence's bridge. "Sir, we have a positive lock." 

Seljik smiled, "Good, lets take our prize!" 
Blasters at ready fourty troops leaped into the airlock prepared to shoot anyone who offered resistance. Several officers stood clustered near the command chair and were doing a fair job of keeping Seljik's people from taking the bridge. Seljik motioned to one of his troopers. Blaster fire converged on the officers. Some of the terrified bridge crew rushed to the aid of the officers, but one by one they fell. Soon all that could be heard on the bridge was the occasional thump, or thud, and the breathing of the commandoes. Seljik surveyed what was left of his men thinking grimly that losing so many of the Virulence's crew was a waste, necessary, but a waste. 

"Sergeant, set up a defensive position on the perimeter. Take the men you need but leave the techs here." Seljik took a quick count, at least seven men were down for good, one tech was out for the rest of the party and three were wounded but could continue to function. With only one tech down he considered himself to be in excellent shape. 
Seljik motioned to the lead tech...."Get this thing operational.  We're on a time table!" The tech nodded and got to work. 

"Major!" came a shout from outside the bridge. Seljik moved quickly to the defensive position just outside the bridge. He was astounded to find a disheveled man yelling and cursing at his troopers. The man turned to Seljik and demanded, "Who are you? What do you think you're doing? I see that you're wearing an Imperial Uniform... Explain yourself!" 

Seljik looked the man over and smiled.  He couldn't believe his luck....the briefing had included pictures of key men.. but he hadn't expected to actually capture one.  THIS was going to mean a big bonus to him and his crew!......... "Captain Vorhees.., my commander wishes to invite you to discuss the terms of your surrender," Seljik gestured to one of his men, "Secure the prisoner and prepare transport to the Pride, corporal.  We'll see a great deal of profit from this venture!"

Finally, finally they came out of hyperspace. Tayne finally noticed the ship. It was an information ferret. Tayne transmitted over the comm. "Could I ask to whom I have the honor of talking to?" Tayne waited for a response. 

"This is Lt. Carmichael. Await docking procedure." 

Tayne awaited for at least 30 minutes. Tayne stood at the airlock with the goods and the information. The lieutenant stepped in. Carmichael said to Tayne, "OK. Let's get this stuff over." They did it and Tayne began to tell the lieutenant about the information. 

"I got some info on Rebel fleet movements. And somewhere to buy a Corellian Corvette. If you want it pay up." Lt. Carmichael said "OK." He handed over a hefty amount of credits. Tayne waited for the lieutenant to leave but the ship didn't leave. Tayne was wondering what they wanted.

Captain DeLumar had been right in her assessment that Dalon Marr spent a lot of time on Nar Shadda and Corellia. However, her conclusion that he would avoid Corellia in favor of Nar Shadda had been in error. Marr knew that if anyone were to be peeved about his abduction of Han Solo, it wouldn't be the Corellians, most of whom didn't care one way or the other, but the smugglers on the smugglers moon, among whom Solo still had some friends.

So, to no avail, Karin DeLumar spent almost an entire day searching for Marr. She managed to agitate nearly every resident of the Moon, and quite a few people coming and going as well. She had been forced to shoot down three ships that had tried to flee, disabling them with Ion blasts and securing them in the hull. Ultimately, they had been let go after their ships had been thoroughly searched, and their contraband confiscated or jettisoned, whichever was more damaging. She was just about to step up her ground forces, when her comm officer spoke up.

"New contact just entered the system, sir. Pretty small-it may be the Rancor's Maw."

"Send the fighters out to identify it," she ordered.

Dalon Marr was shocked to exit hyperspace, only to find himself faced with a Victory Class Star Destroyer. He swore a number of oaths in Mandalorian as he realized that it was the same ship that he had seen above Tatooine. Twice may be a coincidence, but he wasn't betting on it. He was curious why the Empire might be gunning for him, but wasn't about to stay around to find out.

He set his navicomputer to finding the fastest route out of there, and came around, heading away from the Smuggler's Moon. He checked his sensors: a full squadron of TIE Defenders were closing on him fast. They'd be in missile range in moments. Ay should've gotten th'engine upgrades on Corellia. he thought. One minute passed, then two, and still there was no sign of a missile lock. What are the bugger's doin' out there? His question was soon answered as a flurry of Ion blasts flew around his ship. So, ye want me alive, do ye? That means Ay have a chance.

His ship wasn't as maneuverable, or as fast as the Defenders, but he was a better pilot, and didn't care if some of his opponents died. He dove and spun in a corkscrew, which brought him onto the tails of the two nearest him. The maneuver was so unexpected that he was able to disable one and destroy the other before they could escape.

His navicomputer beeped: he had an exit vector. A slurry of blasts rocked his ship: the hull was slightly compromised, and the shields were almost gone. He hit the switch, and nothing happened. "Time t'come up wi' a plan B." he commented to himself.

He looked at his starchart for the system, and smiled.

He surprised his pursuants by doubling back, and heading right toward the system's sun. The TIE's lost him as a solar flare interfered with their sensors.

Millennia ago, at the beginning of the Republic, hyperdrive travel was inefficient, because the energy needed to create the mini-wormholes to travel through hyperspace were huge. Giant ships, the size of Imperial Star Destroyers or larger, that were almost entirely engine were needed to create these rifts in space. Therefore, the majority of travel through the galaxy was through naturally occurring wormholes, some of which could last a billion years. Of course, it could also collapse at any minute, and traffic could only go one way at a time, so it was neither a safe nor an efficient way to travel, but it was sufficient to keep the galaxy together under one government. Since many wormholes were rather narrow, most of the ships that were built were either small, or long and serpentine.

Once engine technology advanced to the point where smaller ships could create their own wormholes, as in current hyperdrive technology, the use of wormholes for transit became obsolete. However, until the Clone Wars, most piloting classes included the history of hyperspace technology, and some, including the Mandalorians, would use this web of tubes that ran throughout the galaxy to escape to where their enemies, in much larger ships by now, couldn't follow. After Palpatine took power, the classes were no longer taught, and the knowledge was mostly lost, so that only a few still remember the use of wormholes for transit, their locations, and how to use them safely.

Dalon Marr was one of those people.

In the orbital plane between the first and second planet orbiting Nal Hutta's sun, there was a small wormhole, barely large enough to affect the orbits in the system. It was only a few hundred years old, and therefore was probably relatively stable, as it had yet to exhibit any signs of breaking down.

Marr angled straight for the wormhole, praying to any gods that he could think of to get there with his hull, his engines, and some of his shields intact.

In a gamble, he moved into a small asteroid field. The TIE's must have changed tactics, because he heard the buzz of a missile lock. Too busy dodging space debris to bother with a torpedo, he was extremely relieved when an explosion to port extinguished the lock. Only seven of the original twelve TIE's made it out of the asteroids, and Marr was exultant as his countdown to the wormhole's mouth was down into the hundreds of meters. The TIE's veered off to avoid the gravitational anomaly, expecting him to do the same, but he did no such thing. He angled his small ship, hitting the entrance just perfectly, and was sucked into the cool blue of hyperspace.

"What do you mean he disappeared?" DeLumar was furious that her prey had once again escaped her. "Are my pilots incompetent?"

"No, sir," her second officer explained, "He appears to have gone through a wormhole."

She was aghast. "He did WHAT?!? Well, follow him!"

"We can't sir. As far as we know, it's impossible to successfully navigate a wormhole. And besides, this ship is too big to fit through."

"Then send a squadron of Advanced through, and find out where that wormhole ends. I will not except failure again."

"But, sir, we don't know-"

"I want results, not excuses." Her voice was even, and icy cold.

"Yes, sir!" Her bridge crew all kept their distance, and she stared out at the planet below her, not really seeing anything, trying to figure out what she was going to tell Moff Glinn.

Colonel Fahlwan stood watching the battle to capture the freighters as it developed. Listening with half an ear to the reports from the X-Wings he didn't hear the status report from Virulence until his musings were interrupted by a com technician. "Sir, we have established communications with Virulence." 

Fahlwan turned and walked to a com console, "So the prize crew has begun to bring Virulence back on-line. Patch me through to the Virulence." 

Major Seljik quickly appeared on screen, ~Seljik here sir.~ 

Fahlwan smiled, "Good work getting the bridge operational so quickly Major." 

Seljik looked smug, ~Sir I am happy to report the bridge will be fully functional within one hour. I am also pleased to report that my team has captured a prisoner that we are sending to you as we speak.~ 

Fahlwan nodded, "Did Vorhees put up much resistance Major?" 

Seljik managed to look even more smug, ~You'll have to see for yourself Sir.~ 

Fahlwan wondered what it was that had amused Seljik. Normally he was rather taciturn. 'No matter,' he thought, 'whatever it is I'll soon know.'

Tayne received a comm message from Carmichael. "I would like you to take us to this place where the Corvette is. My leader authorized me to make purchases in his honor. This is one of them." 

Tayne said, "You know this is going to cost you extra." 

Carmichael replied, "Understood. Feed me the coordinates and we'll follow you in." 

Tayne replied, "Affirmative." He fed Carmichael the coordinates for Tayne's former bosses mercenary base. This was going to be good for him. More credits, better life. Tayne said, "Departing on my mark." he paused three seconds to glance at his astrogational settings, "Mark!"  He pulled back the hyperspace lever and they headed toward the planet Tayne only knew from Machman as Ringo.

The hyperspace route was very short from where they were. When Tayne pulled back on the hyperspace lever, it had only been around 8 hours since they had the left the rendezvous point. Tayne sent a message to Carmichael. "Here are the coordinates for the base. Follow me in. I'll broadcast their confirmation signal." Carmichael acknowledged his message. Tayne sent the message to the ground. Minutes later a reply came. "Tayne Keller. Is that you?" Tayne replied, "Yes and I have someone who wants to buy something from you." Tayne and the intel ferret came about to land. "We'll discuss it on the ground, Tayne." Tayne and the ferret landed and exited there ships ready for buying.

"You identified yourself as Lemon? What kind of a incompetent fool do you make yourself out to be?!"
Jadrek shrugged. "It worked at the time. That was all I was thinking about. I didn't want to sound terribly menacing."
The younger glared at his benefactor. "MENACING? You are talking to an Imperial Admiral who calls himself the Undertaker, and you are worried about being MENACING??!?"
"I was at a loss for words."
The dark haired young man sighed. "Where is Evan? Get me Evan." Another, even younger man, still a teenager probably, entered into the room, a groveling look upon his face. "Yes, Lord?"
"I like Evan, Jadrek. It would do you good to take notes on the way he handles himself when approached by one of power. Evan, I have coordinates and I wish you to direct us there as soon as possible. I have other people who wish to meet with me and I must be there at the appointed time."
Evan bowed even lower. "It will be done."
"Good lad. Just ask Lemon over there for them; he is the one who had to get us all into this mess in the first place."

Back on board the Eclipse Super Star Destroyer Deathwail, Domino gave Tamar the order to commence the complete destruction of Neraka Prime.

Only one minute later, a shower of turbolaser fire and missiles rained down on the planet from all angles. The 2nd Fleet would pound the capital planet of the Nerakan Empire for several days before they ended the destruction. Domino watched, admiring the architecture of the Nerakans, then noted how nice it looked as it crumbled.
The com officer approached the Dark Lord and handed him a datapad. Domino studied it briefly, then handed the datapad back to the com officer and nodded.
The Dark Lord of the Sith left the bridge and entered his private chamber to receive the coded transmission.

~This is a message to Lord Domino de Devastator. My codename is the Undertaker. I will meet with you soon, once the preliminaries to my assignment are complete. You will find it very difficult to trace this codename through Imperial records because it has been hidden for secrecy. I assure you, however, that my name and rank are in Imperial records, and you will receive these items once you and I meet in person so that you may check on them. You will also find that this message is encoded in the proper procedure for its classification.
In the meantime, I would appreciate it very much if preparations could be made for a Sith Lord to be donated into my service. The reasoning for this will be explained upon my arrival at your location, which I have heard to be Neraka Prime. If I reach you before this message does, I will explain everything myself. In the meantime, I wish you well in your endeavors. Success to you and yours, Lord de Devastator, and Long Live the Empire.~

Domino reached up absently and rubbed his smooth head for a few moments, then turned to the holopad and waited to establish a connection to Emperor Palpatine.

Moments later, the Emperor's face faded into sight. Domino could see his cousin, Darin de Devastator standing just behind the Emperor as Palpatine spoke.
~Your cousin has just delivered the news of your progress in Nerakan space. What an honor that I should speak to you both simultaneously.~

Domino only nodded and said, "My Emperor, the destruction of Neraka Prime is underway. Nelazriel is dead, and I've vanquished the spirit of Hiddukel as well. The last remnants of the Nerakan Empire will be a faded memory within weeks."

~You have done well, my friend. How has the 2nd Fleet done in this campaign?~

Domino winced, as the losses at Neraka Prime were a little more than he thought they would be. "When the 2nd Fleet arrived at the Nerakan homeworld, it outnumbered the Nerakan defense armada two to one. The 2nd Fleet lost many ships in this campaign Palpatine. It departed Imperial Center with 130 vessels, and it now has 93. The two Sovereign Super Star Destroyers were lost."

Domino could see Palpatine wince at that news as well.
~It is of no consequence, now that the threat of Neraka Prime has been eliminated. I have a special surprise for you Lord de Devastator.~

It wasn't uncommon for Palpatine to reward good service with something, but Domino had his reward many times over; the autonomy that Deominia flourished in was a fine reward.
"I need no reward for this campaign."

Palpatine shook his head. ~You have earned it, my faithful friend. It is a shame that the Sovereign Star Destroyers Eliminator and Bloodsurge did not make it through the campaign, for I intended to give all three vessels to you as a gift in the event of your success. However, the Deathwail is yours as compensation for your losses in your efforts, and the 2nd Fleet will be brought back to full strength very soon.~

Domino was quite surprised, but very pleased as well.
"Thank you, Palpatine. It has always been my pleasure and honor to serve the glory of the Empire. I believe in the New Order.
Now, if I may be so bold, I would like to address my reason for contacting you."

This grabbed Palpatine's interest quickly.
~You are no doubt referring to the Undertaker, I presume?~

Domino grinned. "If I am to meet with him, I shall require a little more than he was willing to share with me in his transmission."

Palpatine smirked. ~Get used to that. The good admiral loves to keep his secrets. He's a good tactician and an able commander. You two will work well together... ~

Domino continued to listen intently.

#####

Taking his place on the bridge once again, Domino approached Tamar. "General, Have the torpedo spheres been sent for?"

The Imperial tactician turned to the Dark Lord. "Yes, Lord de Devastator. They will be here in 7 hours."

Domino nodded. "Magnificent. When they arrive, the Deathwail shall discontinue its role in the bombardment. You will take command of the Super Star Destroyer Gloriole of the Emperor, while I take Deathwail and a small support fleet to Shuma-Ikonn to meet with a new star in the Empire."

General Tamar did not understand, that was plain to see on his face, but that didn't matter to Domino who went to speak with the com officer.

#####

"Yes, my Lord, when it is sent, it will be encoded with a tight Imperial code, and any but the one intended to read it will be surprised with corrupting transmissions that will render their transmissions gear useless for several hours, at which point they will have lost the transmission."

Domino had been discussing this type of thing with the com officer for several minutes, and was finally convinced that he could transmit in relative safety.
Speaking into the com equipment, Domino prepared a message for the Undertaker.
"I look forward to meeting with you face to face. I have every confidence in you that you are as good as the Emperor has just informed me. We will meet at Shuma-Ikonn, the coordinates for this location will be attached. It will be a pleasure working with you, for the glory of the Empire."

Han led Nathan and Hawk out into the streets of Kroyn'Tal (Warriorland) to get a feel for Coyn and the Imperial situation in Elrood sector. Han seemed to be looking for a certain place in particular.
"There it is, Ven Delaran's Accessories. This is a good place to find blasters, knives, any kind of gear you may need, and," he paused for dramatic emphasis, "information. Ven is a treasure trove of information."

As they entered the doorway of Ven's shop, Han realized that perhaps he wasn't the only person who valued Ven's informational services at the moment, as two armored figures turned to regard him, and raised their blasters to Han's chest.

 "Colonel Fahlwan! Preliminary reports are arriving from Virulence." Dez reached for the data pad and began to read, 'Good, the main contingent of stormtroopers was caught in barracks and died when the atmosphere was emptied to space. Hmmm.. what is this? Engineering is having difficulty with the engines.' 
Colonel Fahlwan turned to an aide waiting nearby, "Send additional engineers to the Virulence immediately, they are to have that ship underway in thirty minutes! Inform the head engineer of the new group that if he can do it in ten, I will promote him to Head of engineering on Virulence."

#####

Near a planet called Ringo...

Far from his master's battle to acquire new ships to augment their strength. Lt. Carmichael found himself following a brash young pilot down to the surface of a strange planet in hopes of purchasing another ship to add to his master's growing might. 'It would take time,' Carmichael thought, 'but Dez is destined for great things. And I will rise with him!'

#####

Back on the Pride Dez Fahlwan was watching the freighters form up for the jump to his deep space hiding point. He glanced out at Virulence wondering what was taking so long, when the Virulence herself began to move into position. Dez looked at the battle clock and spoke to an aide, "Ensign confirm the time and congratulate the new master of Virulence's engineering team." Dez looked out at the stars and contemplated whether to upgrade Virulence to X-Wings or not.

#####

Once under way Dez turned to find the familiar face of a detested colleague. Fahlwan began to laugh uproariously,"No wonder Seljik couldn't keep a straight face reporting that he had you! I'll double his bonus for this!" Fahlwan stood up, "Captain Vorhees, I'm so glad you could join me. The many times you and your ilk disparaged my abilities are now vindicated. Know that when you die, the years of passed- over promotions will have cost you your life. You thought blind adherence to the rules would fuel greatness? Witness greatness!" 
Dez pointed the ships under his command, "Every one of those men is devoted to me. Why? They know that their reward is based solely on their ability to provide the results desired. You thought to crush me. Now you will not even see the beginning of my mastery. Get you hence to death, and thank you for the laugh that is the rising star of my career

Upon Blackhawk squadron's return, the Undertaker met with each of them personally, getting their accounts of the battle as well as their opinions on it. Once he was done, he sat, thinking about what he himself had seen.

Nodding, he ordered 19 ships into hyperspace for Neraka Prime. Remaining was the Scythe and an Interdictor Cruiser. These he ordered into a special position, just in case the chosen target should happen to appear. He'd give the target about a day or so, then he'd head for Neraka to meet with "Lemon's" associate.

And as he pondered this, he received a transmission. "Patch it through," was the order and "Yes, Sir!" was the reply. He ran it through the usual encrypter.

At first, Bismarck stared at it. Encoded gibberish with my name on it. Pressing a button, he ran the message through the personal encrypting/decrypting program that he'd been given when he became an Admiral and the true message came up on the screen.

"I look forward to meeting with you face to face. I have every confidence in you that you are as good as the Emperor has just informed me. We will meet at Shuma-Ikonn, the coordinates for this location will be attached. It will be a pleasure working with you, for the glory of the Empire."

The signature was the main point of interest to him. Domino de Devastator... A momentary underestimation, which I won't be making again, he thought. After all, anyone with easy access to the Emperor would also have easy access to his file. And therefore, the Undertaker would now have to assume Domino knew everything that he had told the Empire about himself and more, as he knew Domino was skilled in the ways of the Force. He nodded and sent a quick transmission to Shuma-Ikonn, running it back through the encryption method Domino had transmitted it in. He wouldn't have sent it like that if he didn't want it kept a good secret.

"Transmission received and understood. I hear, and will obey once I have the necessary preliminary data, Lord de Devastator."

And with that Admiral Rigel Bismarck, the Undertaker, prepared to meet his destiny.

Deep in the Outer Rim the ships of Fahlwan's Freefighters hung in space. On board the newly acquired Virulence Colonel Fahlwan spoke to the men about the freedom and glory of fighting for the only cause worth dying for, money! He spoke eloquently and long explaining where to contact his officers and how to join up. He explained that those who did not wish to join in this enterprise were welcome to leave and would be sent to a neutral planet where they could seek to rejoin their comrades in Imperial service.

#####

Later, back on his flagship Dez held a congratulatory dinner with his commanders. "Gentlemen this was an excellent beginning. The men performed admirably." Dez scanned the faces of the men. "I have no doubt that our continued success is certain." The men were happy, with this new addition to the fleet they had all been promoted and expected to earn greater rewards when contracts began to come in. The dinner continued with the men swapping stories and small talk late into the night.

The repairs to the hyperdrive were finally done. They hadn't been difficult, just delicate and time consuming. Marr amused himself by watching some more TIE debris spew out of the wormhole, then followed his tether back to his airlock. He slipped into the cockpit, made a quick visit to the head, then checked his database. There wasn't much nearby, just the Chalmus sector. Fortunately, he knew a guy on Chalmus IV, who called himself Grissom, that owned a bed and breakfast, but what Marr knew him for was that he was a very good information dealer to boot. Marr's navicomputer made the calculations, and then he made the hour long jump to Chalmus.

A few hours later, the proximity alarms in Marr's helmet went off. He jerked awake, and grabbed for his blaster, only to find it lying out of reach on the floor. He was surrounded by six people: four stormtroopers, a woman in an Imperial Captain's uniform, and Grissom. "Sorry, chum, but the money was just too good to pass up." Grissom shrugged as a sort of apology.

Marr was about to make a glib reply and try to blast his way out of the situation, when he was assaulted by five stun blasts. The combination was more than enough to overwhelm his suits defenses. He fell back onto the bed, unconscious.

"Take him to his ship, secure him in one of his own cages," Captain DeLumar ordered. "We'll tractor the ship into the hold from orbit." She paid Grissom, grabbed Marr's blaster, and left.

Now that she had Marr, she had time to think on the shuttle ride back to the Dominator. She had accepted Moff Glinn's story at face value at first, but now she was beginning to have her doubts. She decided to request to view the evidence against Marr herself, before she even told Glinn that she had the bounty hunter in custody. The shuttle docked, and she gave her orders to her first officer. "Bring Marr's ship on board. He should be secured inside, but keep a watch on it at all times. Set a course back to the Rim. I'll contact Moff Glinn, but other than that I want radio silence." Her orders were acknowledged, and she made her way to the nearest private comm station to contact Glinn.

Tayne and Lt. Carmichael sat on board the bridge of the Corvette they bought. It had taken many days but it had been done. Now they were on their way to hire some Verpine techs onto whatever group Lt. Carmichael represented. Carmichael had not told him why they needed them but Tayne could guess. The Corellian Corvette came out of hyper over a planet which was uninhabited. A shuttle was sitting there. 
They were the Verpine. 
"Tayne, send the message to the Verpine in their language." 

Tayne said, "Affirmative." 
The Verpine acknowledged and then the shuttle headed for the hanger bay where also a Corellian YT-1300 and an Intel ferret hung.

In the Captain's Lounge, Dez was examining the performance results from the battle just past when his intercom buzzed. Dez reached for the button, momentarily forgetting that he had only to speak and the circuit would activate, "Yes, what is it?"

A voice replied, ~Sir, the recruiting reports are in.~

"What percentage of Virulence's crew are staying on Ensign?" Dez asked.

The Ensign looked down at a flimsy and began to recite the numbers, ~Sir, only ten percent of the General Officers have chosen to sign on, sixteen of the TIE pilots have decided to join us, apparently they know your reputation, fully 75% of the ordinary crew members, after speaking with various of our current complement, have elected to become members of our team. Three of the freighters are beyond repair. Their Captains have been generously recompensed as you ordered. Salvage operations are now under way. Ops estimates that the remaining freighters will be more than sufficient to transport the Loyalists to neutral ground.~ The Ensign looked up, ~What are your orders Sir.~
Dez tapped his finger, 'Well...' he thought, not as many as I would have liked, but much more than I expected. I'll have to watch them closely for a long time to be certain of their loyalties. But.... as they say... all men have their price.'
Colonel Fahlwan looked into the pickup," Prepare the freighters to transport those men loyal to the Empire, Ensign. Inform Manticore and Hell Hounds squadrons to accompany them. They have their orders already. See to it that our repair teams begin altering Virulence to our specs. Disperse the new men among the fleet and inform Captain Kader that he is to poll his men, and determine the name of his ship!"

Karin set aside the hard copies of the data that Moff Glinn had all too happily sent her. There was definitely evidence that Dalon Marr had done assassination work in the past, over twenty years in the past. There was also fairly compelling evidence that Marr had been the one who killed Moff Glinn's daughter almost four months ago now. Similar M.O., similar aliases used at local hotels. There very well could be a connection. DeLumar stared at a picture on the wall of the empty conference room she sat in, and completely zoned out for an unquantifiable period of time. Her eyes snapped back into focus, and she rubbed them to try to wake them up. It didn't do much.

She looked at her chrono and realized how long she had been running without sleep. Time enough to contact Glinn and tell him about Marr after six or eight hours of sleep.

She gathered up the papers, and headed for her room. Along the way, she nodded greetings to the men and women on duty. They all seemed pleased to be finished with this wild goose chase and back to fighting the enemies of the Empire. She almost smiled at that, knowing that she herself had at times harbored traitorous thoughts, questioning the methods of the Emperor. However, it was not the man she served, but the Empire itself and the Order that it stood for.

She got to her cabin, sealed the entrance, and made straight for the shower. Refreshed, she came out half an hour later wrapped in a towel, her black hair resting damp on her shoulders.

A low wolf whistle, her hand leapt to her hip where her gun was not, and she looked over in the direction of the sound.

Behind her bed, Dalon Marr sat in a chair, his feet propped up on the hard mattress, a blaster in his hand leveled at her. Biding her time, she relaxed her stance, and held her hands out away from her body.

"Ay hope ye don't mind, lass, but Ay found yer hospitality a bit lacking, so Ay helped m'self t' a bit of comfort." He gestured with his empty hand to the room around them. "Please, sit down and we'll have a wee chat. Ay must admit, Ay've nae any idea why ye've been persuin' me like a Blendavian Blood Hound, but it's been a wee annoyin'. Ay'd like to foind out yer motivation, if ye don't moind."

Karin pulled out the chair that Marr had pointed to and sat down, watching Marr carefully as he approached, his gun level, carrying rope to secure her with.

Lt. Carmichael informed Tayne that they would be making a few more stops before they returned to the lieutenant's infamous leader. As Tayne was watching the ship systems Lt. Carmichael walked in. "Tayne, the Verpine say that they are willing to wait. We'll be proceeding to grab some fighter parts probably."

Tayne wondered just how powerful this leader was. "Lt. Carmichael. Ah, just in fact who is your boss?" 

The lieutenant looked quizzically and spoke. "His name is Dez. He is a colonel. That's all I am allowed to tell you Tayne." 

"When are we getting to wherever were getting." Tayne said. 

"Tomorrow. I am going to retire to my bunk. Keep up night watch." Tayne watched the Corvette's systems as Carmichael left. Tayne would have been asleep now but he had to pull double shifts. All of a sudden the ship came out of hyperspace. 
Lt. Carmichael walked in. "I lied to you," he said. "We're there." Several ships hung around the planet. Tayne guessed they were waiting for clearance to land. "We already have clearance," Carmichael said. "But we're going to take your ship down." 

"Well, thanks for asking." They walked towards the hanger bay and boarded the ship. They took off with no problem. He wondered what they were walking into.

Deep in the Outer Rim the men of the newly christened Furious celebrated their freedom and the wealth that would surely accompany it very soon.

#####

One man however was not celebrating, Dez stood looking out at the void. "Very well Captain, I have decided not to replace the TIEs from Furious, However I do expect that we shall either have our Verpine techs modify them for shields, or do our best to capture some of the latest models."

Karin gave her best 'defenseless maiden' impression, and waited for Marr to get close enough to tie her. She feigned helplessness as he tied her right arm to the chair, then brought her leg around to kick the blaster from his hand. Before he could bring his armor weapons to bear, she swung the chair at him, an antique wooden one that her mother had given her. When it hit, it splintered and threw him off balance, and left her with the arm in her hand as a weapon.

She pulled her towel off, and threw it at Marr's face. The dampness interfered enough with Marr's sensors to let her get a good roundhouse kick at his face. Placed just right, it knocked the helmet loose.

He grabbed the towel and flung it from himself. He wanted to secure the helmet, but didn't have time as he moved to block a flurry of blows from DeLumar. She was finding the spots in between his armor plates, doing the maximum damage to him while not hurting her hands and feet at all.

Ultimately, Marr fell for the same reason better men before him have fallen. He couldn't help but notice DeLumar's firm form bouncing as she attacked. With his attention distracted, she placed a kick in his stomach, then a sharp blow with her hand in between his legs. He fell to the ground doubled over.

Karin grabbed the rope and bound Marr rather uncomfortably. She left him for a moment to grab a robe, talking as she went.

"You really shouldn't have tried fighting me. I was the Empire's hand to hand fighting champion four years in a row, after which I stopped competing because there wasn't any sport left in it. I even beat some of Palpatine's guards, which share some technique with you . . . ." She pondered that for a moment, then dismissed it as coincidence.

Marr remained silent. He hadn't said much more than a small groan since she had put him down. She reached down to remove the loose helmet.

"Well," she said, "Let's see the face of this eighty year old murderer."

Tayne led the way out of the ship. Lt. Carmichael was behind him holding only a data chip and a datapad. Tayne assumed that these were for any transactions that would occur here.
Lt. Carmichael said, "Let's catch a ride to the arms dealer." 

Tayne asked, "The arms dealer?" The Lt. shrugged and they walked to a awaiting repulsor cab. They hopped in and gave the droid driver there destination.

When they reached the place they were going Tayne paid the driver. They proceeded to a large building. Tayne spoke. "Lt., what are we buying?" 

The Lt. told Tayne, "Parts for X-Wings and A-Wings. This guy is supposed to have maybe 4 A-Wings. Fully functional."

#####

They reached the office of the so called "arms dealer". The man was large and muscular.  Lt. Carmichael spoke first. "Good afternoon. I am Carmichael and this is Tayne Keller. We're interested in some fighter parts and possibly some fighters you may have."

The man smiled and said, "Well, if you want my fighters it will cost you a lot. The parts will cost less than that of course. Let us discuss the cost." The large man was very slick as they were dealing but they came to a very good price. Men from the Corvette began coming down to load the parts. Tayne and Carmichael themselves shuttled the fighters up.

As Tayne brought one of the A-Wings into the hanger Lt. Carmichael waved him over. When Tayne got out of the ship he walked over. Lt. Carmichael said, "We have orders to find more parts. So get ready, we got a few more places to go."

MOVE ON TO PART IV
RETURN TO THE ARCHIVES

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