Scheming & Swindling

SKIP AHEAD TO PART IV

"We completed the analysis of the PFN report and regression on the location and time the copy was sent to each PFN station, Admiral," Tess announced as she walked into the office of Admiral Kanaris.

Kanaris, the chief of perhaps the most secret hand of Emperor Palpatine, stopped his fruitless effort to squeeze the hand-exerciser and looked up at her stunning face and figure.  'It's lucky I know her species always consumes its sex partners, or I might have been tempted to commit an inappropriate relationship with that young subordinate,' he thought.  'Speaking of which, whatever happened to that internal auditor who was bothering her about Smith's expense account?  Better not ask.'  "Do we have a tracer on that Rebel they taped, yet?" he asked.

"Yes," answered Tess and the computer simultaneously.  Tess tipped her head to let the computer know she would not mind if it continued.  "As I suspected, they used a dummy backdrop and flew the Rebel out before the interview was aired.  These steps were adequate to defeat regular Imperial Intelligence monitoring, but within the forecast parameters and our operational capability.  We were able to identify the location of the taping through evaluation of the ambient sound.  Regressing the broadcast start times for the separate stations was unnecessary but fruitful, although it was a nice touch on their part not to do something exceptionally easy to track like broadcasting masters by hypercom to their local affiliates," detailed the computer.   "We then analyzed all scheduled and detected arrivals and departures from the local spaceport using extraordinary measures and identified the ship that brought and removed the Rebel."
"Rebel intelligence made two crucial mistakes," Tess added.  "The first was sending the ship far away from the sight of the taping on the first hyperspace jump.  Had it been a short hop, we might not have been able to get into position in time,"

"All right, I'll bite," he said smiling at his secretary, who grinned and let her fang tips show.  "What was their second mistake."

"Not using that rag, ISNN.  ISNN uses too many freelancers, unlike the more stable PFN.  A member of the PFN crew who assembled and disassembled the set has been on our payroll for four years," the deadly secretary concluded.

 "Well, that Rebel and his friends will be a nice consolation prize.  But I am still hoping to get a handle on the location of any of their Jedi, and this spokesbeing was not one of them.  Sort the reports from Ennth and see whether their population is calming down, and if those freighter pilots are still helping out," finished Kanaris.

Bjiatocah and her men were in a secluded section of a Rebellion starfighter carrier, uncertain who they were waiting for.  They had been waiting for almost an hour now, and were becoming impatient.  Finally the door opened, but before Bjiatocah could growl some complaint, the man walking in cut her off.  "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," the very average looking man began.  "My shuttle just arrived.  I'm Colonel Potter, Intelligence liaison in this area.  We've requested to High Command that your group be temporarily reassigned to assist us with a few jobs.  Perhaps before we continue, Major, you could introduce me to your men?"

Bjiatocah nodded and went through the ranks.  "Over there we have our infantrymen, Snarl and Shred, Sting is demolitions, Squak is communications, our pilot there is Swoop, and the short one over there is Squirt, our medic."  Norma frowned at the nickname that had been attached to him, but didn't say anything.

"Excellent," Potter announced.  "Now, on to business.  As you may know, there have been a number of terrorist groups in operation attributing their actions to the Rebellion in the past few years.  Of course, they are in no way linked to the Alliance, and have repeatedly been denied membership until they change their tactics.  The Alliance will not condone the threatening of non-combatants to further political goals.  We are not terrorists."  Potter spat this out with the same venomous hatred that all good law enforcers and soldiers had for terrorists.  "The Empire has been content to let these terrorists run rampant.  They lose a few lives, then belatedly come in and stop the terrorists, letting most of them get away.  This makes the Rebellion look bad in the public eye, without much actual damage to the Empire.  Therefore, we need to make a show of coming in and taking these guys out hard, to show that we in no way condone their actions."  Potter looked at the commando team.  "So, are you in?"

"I wasn't aware that this was a volunteer operation," Bjiatocah replied.  "Of course we're in.  When do we start?"

"Hopefully in a few days, but first, we have another op that we would like you to perform."

"Admiral Kanaris, we have obtained additional information on Dishon Manatim that you will consider urgent," said the computer, bringing up a report that had just been posted to COMPNOR incorporating new information purchased from an informant. Admiral Kanaris read the new report with growing concern:

'He is only 30 years old.' the admiral thought as he finished reading the data.  He felt worried. "What do we have following him this second?" he asked.

"A surveillance shuttle with crew of five COMPNOR personnel, consisting of one pilot and four CompForce soldiers," answered the computer. They are following a GS-321 luxury yacht, no armaments and no defensive shielding listed for that type of vessel. No other Imperial military ships within a two hour radius.

Admiral Kanaris reached a snap decision. "Order them to board and pick him up, immediately. And tell them to take maximum precautions. This isn't adding up.  Dishon is top leadership - not just some spokesbeing - and I don't imagine the Empire would let one of our Sith Lords fly around in an unarmed yacht," he said.  "Get Fleet to send in their closest reinforcements immediately," he ordered.

The Imperial surveillance shuttle received its orders, and slammed forward in a precisely calculated maneuver designed to maximize its stealth capabilities until it was too late for the yacht to escape. The boarding ring blasted through into the yacht, and four CompForce soldiers in combat armor charged forward with blaster rifles ready. The pilot of the surveillance shuttle disconnected from the ring, and pulled back out of boarding and laser range. His encrypted hypercomm link switched between an open channel to the boarding team and the surveillance shuttle's COMPNOR base. Air streamed out of the yacht compartment used as an ersatz entry, but the team's commando foot-gear kept them from being swept into space. A drink-bot was blown out, but there had been no living beings in the compartment.

In less than two seconds, three of the team had secured the compartment, which had been isolated by slamming pressure doors. One of the team plugged a jack into the ship's computer network to pull up the crew and passenger manifest.  Dishon's name was first, along with three others listed as crew.

"Not necessarily," Tyne answered, leading him into the living area which was filled with beaten couches and scuffed tables that seemed to be in stark contrast to the gleam of the rest of the ship. "I need somewhere where I'm not always being told to keep my boots off the furniture."
Evan dropped his bag on the green and yellow plaid couchwith a long tear down the side of it. "Well, you're in my ship, you have my cousin and you claim you have information that I want to know. Can I at least know your name?"

"Call me Evan."

"No last name?"

"I'd rather not say, not yet at least.  Permision to call you Tynidian?"

Tyne winced. "Ouch. Go easy on the name, Evan I'd-rather-not-say. Tyne, please. Why I was cursed with such a hideous designation, I'll never know."

Evan grinned. "Fine, Tyne it is." The Jedi led his guest into the cockpit as they prepared to leave the vicinity of the corvette. "Your comm-light is blinking."

Tyne glanced nervously at the red light and busied himself with plotting a course through hyperspace. "It'll be about 2 days into Yaga Minor. Staven fiddled with my hyperdrive, and it's on the fritz now so I don't want to push it."

"Fine," Evan said, shrugging. "You must not have heard me. You comm-light is blinking."

Tyne sagged. "Alright, I'll answer it. Please, stay here. I have a feeling I really don't want to hear this alone."  Evan slid into the copilot's chair and waited for the image to come up.  It was Luke Skywalker.  Tyne gasped.  "Master Skywalker. I really don't want to know what you're going to tell me, do I?"

Luke bowed his head, looking years older than he usually did.  ~I'm sorry, Tynidian.  I got a call from Neb Calluna...~

"Who? I don't know any Neb Calluna." Tyne was beginning to feel relieved. "You must have the wrong guy."

~No, Tyne. I only knew one Alia.~ Luke did his best to look sympathetic and authoritative simultaneously.  Tyne was frozen by the Jedi Master's words.  Evan shifted his gaze to the stars outside as his eyes glazed over.

"Knew?" Tyne finally replied.

~Neb is one of the Rebellion's finest commanders and I trust him completely.~  Luke took a deep breath.  ~He has informed me that Alia Trynyty is dead.~

Tyne shifted his eyes down.  "Thank you, Master.  I'll... I'll be back as soon as possible.  I guess there's no next of kin or anything?"

The Jedi Master cleared his throat nervously.  Evan's eyes flashed as he stole a glance at his companion.  ~None that would feel any remorse, I'm sure.  I'm sorry, Tyne.~

"Yeah, me too.  I'll be back soon." He hastily broke the connection and turned his back on Evan.  "Sorry.  One of my... friends.  I guess she got a little in over her head.  She didn't deserve it, really."

Evan nodded.  "She didn't."

Tyne looked back at Evan.  "Excuse me?"

"That's what I came to you about.  Alia what?  Goffin?"

Tyne felt terribly confused, which wasn't an unusual feeling, it was still relatively uncomfortable. "Um... no.  Alia Trynyty.  I don't really know that much about her past, but I knew her better than anyone else at the academy did."

'Didn't get very creative with your name that last time, did you Siona?' Evan thought as he considered what he would tell Tyne.  "I guess this is where you learn more about her then.  Your Alia - my Siona - isn't dead and I think I can prove it."

Admiral Kanaris was concerned about the boarding operation in progress, but it was only one of a dozen serious matters that occupied his attention.   For many of such operations Adjustments employed other divisions of intelligence and COMPNOR.  These other sub-organizations had no idea that their orders originated from beyond their normal chain of command.  With one ear open for any word from the surveillance shuttle, he took a quick bite of the bland, tasteless protein bar he had been snacking on and reviewed the file on the latest intended improvement for headquarters security.
'This is gundark dung.  Behind schedule and over budget again,' he thought.  "Get me Ra'phan in Analysis," he ordered the computer.  "Voice only."

~This is Ra'phan, Analysis Bureau,~ answered the comm.

"You are late. I want that item in cellular sheet form, or at least cellular tube form, and I want it before we move," said Admiral Kanaris in an intimidating voice.

~Yes, sir,~ said Major Ra'phan, trembling.  He knew who was calling.  He knew why that person was calling.  And he knew what would happen if the project was not ready on time.

Alex considered Commander Barkon's offer.  "Well sir, I guess I would be honored to join your squadron, thank you.  Does your command see a lot of action?"

Commander Thix Barkon regarded him with a slight smile. "We see our fair share. Welcome aboard, we should have you with the rest of the squadron shortly."  Thix offered his hand which Alex shook.  Alex couldn't help but liking him right away. He looked about the same age, yet here he was a commander of his own squadron.  Either he had a very influential relative or he was an outstanding pilot and leader.  Thinking about how this man had just jumped into a hostile situation and saved his life Alex decided on the latter.
Thix interupted his thoughts.  "Alex, you look rather tired. If you like there's a room where you can refresh yourself and get some rest."

Alex was grateful.  "Thank you Commander, that would be very much appreciated."  As Thix escorted him to his room Alex decided things were very much going his way.

#####

Thix headed back towards the bridge to help out Diez after showing Alex to his room, but halfway to his destination he stopped and leaned against the wall.  His sigh turned into a yawn and he realized it had been quite some time since he'd rested.  The last time he'd slept was before he'd met Talon Karrde, over a day ago.  He looked at his slightly trembling hands.   'Running on empty,' he thought with an exhausted shrug.  He knew he needed sleep but was decidedly determined to arrive at Dantooine awake.  To keep himself occupied, he decided to take a look at the Z-95 Alex had managed to grab while making his hasty exit.

Not even mumbling incoherently to himself as he usually did when he was alone, Thix made his way to the hangar bay and began work on the one-man fighter.  He checked over a good bit of the engines and subsystems.  Both were in top-notch shape.  'The operator of the Nova Child really takes good care of his ships...'
Thix dropped a hydrospanner. It clanked down the side of the ladder he was using and fell to the ground below.  He sagged wearily where he stood. 'Too much for one day... Being chased by a Star Destroyer, meeting Talon Karrde, Ibran's kidnapping, the two-mile dash back to Talon's ship, the search, the voyage, saving Alex Cross, and finally, the message that Alia is dead.  It all adds up to one BIG bad day.'  Thix activated his comlink.  "Diez, what's the ETA to Dantooine?"

The reply came a second later.  ~Estimated time of arrival, four hours thirty five minutes.~

"I'm going to catch some...sleep, give me a buzz about a half hour before we come out of hyperspace."

~I will do that.~

Thix lowered himself off the ladder and proceeded to his small cabin.  Seating himself cross-legged on the bunk, he took a deep breath. He let it out, along with all his thoughts and emotions.  Repeating the deep breathing, Thix imagined himself and the Force as one single entity....

#####

~......Commander? Commander? We are exactly one standard half hour from arrival on Dantooine.~

Thix's eyes snapped open.  He pulled the comlink from his jumpsuit pocket and hit the speak button.  "Alright, thanks, Diez, I'm up."

~You sound refreshed, Commander, what with the fact that you only had four hours of sleep.~

'Not sleep, but almost the same thing.'
"Yeah, I can function like that."  Thix walked over to the small sink in his room and ran some water through his hair, splashing it onto his face.  That would have to be only the third time he'd used an Emptiness trance to 'sleep,' and every time he liked it's usefulness as a skill more and more. He didn't wake Cross, as he would most likely have preferred to sleep the extra half hour rather than walk around the ship.

Thix ate a light breakfast of some greenish fruit and a grain muffin along with a glass of yellow juice (all of which was quite tasty) and then helped Diez with the final countdown.  After they emerged from hyperspace and transmitted their identities to the orbital defenses, Thix went back into the depths of the ship to wake Cross.  He pushed the comm button on the outside of Alex's door.  "Hey, hey, hey!  Wakey wakey!  We're there!"  He received no response save for an annoyed groan trademark to those who really didn't want to get up.  He pushed the button again.  "Ah, come on, you don't want to be out when we touch down.  I got the whole squadron out to meet you."  He lied, a little lie, but one sufficient to get him up.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Cross groaned in reply.  "Alright!  You've got about five or ten minutes till we touch down."  Thix returned to the bridge, another difficult mission completed. He figured that he might as well humor Alex and call out his squadron-mates (or those that could be found) from their dives to the landing pad to meet the new pilot. He began making calls.

#####

"Alright, we're at thirty seconds to touchdown. Looking good." Diez reported. It really wasn't necessary for him to report so often, but he did out of habit, probably due to his flying through atmospheric storms all the time.  Alex had managed to get out of his bunk room in a clean set of clothing and sat in a third chair behind Thix and Diez.  Thix sat in the copilot's chair, letting Diez do most of the work, an unreadable expression on his face. He was sure Master Skywalker knew Alia was dead, but he also had to report about losing Ibran as well.
The craft touched down on the landing pad a half mile from the Academy.  A group of three mechanics and six pilots stood around the pad. The mechanics began to tend to the ship and Thix surveyed the squadron members who had managed to make it on such short notice. Four of them were in uniform, dressed out neatly, but at ease. One of them was more than a bit dishevelled; Thix could only guess he was either hung over or had just been rousted out of bed. Grant, the sixth pilot, was berating the poor fellow.  "Grant, take a break before you give yourself a brain hemmhorage!" Thix joked with him.  "The pilot you see before you, Alex, is Grant Bowmark, excellent pilot and resident chiropractor. Grant, Alex Cross, new guy."

"Pleasure, I'm sure." Grant said, extending his hand.  Alex warily shook it.  Thix went on to introduce each member of the squadron who had attended.  As he reached the final pilot, Thix heard a voice from across the landing pad. He ran to meet the latecomer. He ducked under the ship, losing sight of the welcoming committee and gaining sight of a hastily approaching Lt. Caleer.

"I'm sooooo sorry I'm late! I didn't have my comlink on and it took a message because I was away..." Lt. Caleer's ramble fell short as she saw Thix.  "Oh, Thix, I heard about what happened to the girl you and Ibran were looking for.  I'm sorry."

Thix sighed. "It's alright. I didn't know her as well as I might have. I really need to make a visit with Neb and see how he's doing. He's probably taking it hard, the poor guy."

They returned underneath the belly of the freighter to the group of people.  Becky bit her lip. "Alex?!"

Alex turned away from the pilot whose hand he was shaking and adopted the same expression of wonderment and confusion. They both exclaimed short bursts of words at the same time.  "No way!" he exclaimed

"You gotta be kidding me!" Becky replied.  The resulting barrage of questions immediately following their excalamations couldn't be followed by any one of the seven people watching the harried exchange. Thix's eyes darted back and forth as questions were fired from one person to another. Finally, he held his hands in the air and yelled, "WAIT A MINUTE!"  They both stopped.  "What....." He took a breath. "exactly am... are we, missing here?"

#####

'I really ought to just give up.' Evan leaned back on the ugliest couch in Tyne's 'wreck' room and waited for his pilot to tie up any loose ends after their jump to hyperspace.  'In other words, my pilot is sobbing his eyes out.'
Finally, much longer than it normally took to make sure that the hyperspace jump had gone smoothly, Tyne joined his guest looking pale and disheveled.  "Coffine?" Tyne declined with a shake of his head.  Evan shrugged. "Suit yourself.  I suppose you're not in the mood to hear any of this, are you?"

"I may as well be," Tyne answered, frowning. "There's nothing else I'd rather be doing right now."

"I guess I'd better start at the beginning, huh?" Evan suggested.

"As good a place as any."

Evan nodded, sipped from his cup, then began.  "This is as close to the beginning as it gets.  My earliest memory is from when I was four.  My younger brother and sister - twins, Adrianna and Wesley - were huddled together against the farthest wall.  My mother was about to give birth to her fourth child.  My father could appear at any moment and our family was terrified of him.  Kethren Trynyty - one of Emperor Palpatine's shining stars and the person my mother worked hardest to keep us from becoming.
"Finally, with little fanfare, my youngest sister was born.  My mother regarded her with horror.  My father, you see, had determined that my youngest sibling would be the only child in our family born with any affinity to the Force, the attribuite my father wanted most in his children.  My littlest sister spent her first cold moments out of the womb cooing quietly as my mother accompanied her with weeping sobs.  Calling the three of us into her room with her Caamasi midwife, she held Wes and Adri tightly and told them that their father would be back soon, which made them huddle to her even closer...

"Siona," she said, showing off our new little sister and tearing up in the same breath. "Your father wanted her to be named Siona. We know better, don't we?  She won't bring the destruction he wants.  She will be powerful enough to defeat your father without the violence he longs for."  I don't think the twins understood her, but they clung to her just the same.
"Evan," she said, rubbing my hair, "you're my first-born. I want you to watch out for our little Siona.  Defend her and stand up for her if necessary, but most of all, protect her from your father. I'm going away for a while, where you can't come with me--" the twins howled "--and I should be able to hide Siona."

Wesley gazed up at her. "Mommy coming back?"

She planted a kiss on his head and smiled down at him. "Some day, Wes, I promise. Lathi will take care of the both of you."   The Caamasi nodded and gathered up my brother and sister and nodded down at me. "I will come back for you, Evan," Lathi instructed. "Please remain here until I return."

My mother gathered up Siona and started wearily for her ship. "Mom, where are you going?"

"To hide your sister, Evan. You understand that I won't be coming back?"

I nodded.   I understood.  "Will I be able to find Siona later?"

"You won't find her, my darling. She'll find you. I love you Evan.  Guard yourself against your father." And with that she was gone.

Tyne sat glued to his chair. "Alia's your sister?"

Evan nodded, staring at the coffine swirling around his cup. "Mother hid her and my father killed his wife in the process of returning to the rest of us.  Siona remained hidden for 9 years.  When Kethren brought her back the first time, she worshiped him.  He had   been treating me like royalty so I forgot my promise to my mother."  He looked up at Tyne, his eyes burning fire.  "The second time, I remembered but did nothing.  Now that I can, I'm going to find her, keep her away from our father if I die trying."

Tyne grimaced.  "Um...she's dead.  Master Skywalker would never lie and anyone he trusts never would either."

"I have heard the same things, but I refuse to believe them.  There are clones, other things.  You know Sio--Alia, you must know she wouldn't die without a fight."

Tyne frowned, beginning to think on parallel courses with Evan. "No, she wouldn't give up that easily. But how can you prove it?"

Evan hung his head. "I don't know. But before I die, I'm going to find her, there's nothing else I can do."

Tyne looked at Evan with a new respect now.  'I can't believe he's telling me all this. It must be wearing on his conscious something horrible.'  "I can understand your wanting to come with me, but why leave Staven?  He's not as bad as people make him out to be."  'I can't believe I'm standing up for him!'

Evan once again stared deep into his coffine.  "Landau, my most trusted associate, said that your cousin fell a bit loose with his information while... ahem... drunk.  That is how we located you, but I wouldn't want it to happen a second time."

'Staven...you're going to die!!!'  "Understandable.  Look, if you want to just keep him..."

"No that'll be all right," Evan said, grinning.  "My family has enough problems as it is."

"My Lord, Captain Sergus Lanox of the Imperial Star Destroyer Cyclone has emerged from hyperspace and has formed up with Alpha Battle Group." Admiral Emago reported as Domino stepped onto the bridge.

Domino turned to Admiral Emago.   "Yes, I know."   Looking out the viewport, he stated, "This is good, of course; however, I am anxious to meet with that pirate who is being delivered to me."

Admiral Delsin approached.   "That would be Captain Lavaran, my Lord.   Star Destroyer Blackfire has just come out of hyperspace in system and the pirate will be brought to you immediately."

The Dark Lord smirked.   "As quickly as possible," he commanded as he regarded a distant swirling star system.

#####

Skien Graize stood on the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Gloriole of Palpatine.   They were approaching Lafra as something occurred to him that he hadn't considered before.   "Captain Popan, we need to prepare a satellite beacon to transmit a message to Colonel Fahlwan when his fleet arrives.   All of our ships must not be here as he drops out of hyperspace or he will assume this whole enterprise is a trap for him."
Graize thought for a few moments, then continued.   "Yes, prepare a beacon.   It must have the capacity for two-way communication.   It must have sensors to know when ships are present and when they depart.   Next, prepare a shuttle for my personal assistant to take down to Lafra to make arrangements for our meeting.   Detail a squad of Navy regulars to go with him and the pilot."

Captain Popan nodded and turned to begin these tasks as Graize continued to speak.   "Captain, I have one more item.   I want another shuttle prepared for me.   The best pilot you can recommend will fly it and six TIE Defenders from your best squadron will serve as escort."

Alex and Becky both looked at Thix.  Becky spoke up first.  "Alex and I both know each other from Corellia.  We were good friends but we finally went separate ways."  She grinned at Alex.  "Mostly because someone kept saying the Rebellion was stupid!"  She punched him on the arm.  

Alex rubbed his arm and held up his hands.  "Ow! You're not such a scrawny twerp anymore are you?"  She raised her hand to punch him again. Alex hastily took a step back.  "And I never said the Rebellion was stupid.  I just didn't agree with them at the time."  He glanced at the reactions of the other pilots but couldn't tell anything.

Still grinning Becky asked, "So what made you change your mind?"  She could tell immediatly by the change on Alex's face that she had asked the wrong thing.  This man had been hurt.

"Um, Let's just... Let's just say that I no longer agree with the Empire anymore."  He gave a weak smile.

Becky tried to change the subject.  She turned to Thix.  "Sir, you've made a good choice bringing Alex here, he's a great pilot!"

Thix nodded.  "Yes, when I got him he was just getting out of a very sticky situation."

Alex acted as though he was looking at the ground shyly and rubbed his toe on the duracrete.  "Aww shucks!  It weren't nothin."  This got a laugh out of everyone and Alex suddenly felt a lot more comfortable around his new Squadron mates.

"Thix?" Becky asked.  "May I take Alex and show him around?"

Thix rubbed his chin and looked as though he were pondering the secrets of the universe.  "Welllll, I suppose."  He looked at Alex.  "Once again Alex, it's good to have you aboard."  This was followed by the rest of the pilots saying similar greetings.

"Thank you, it's good to be here."  Becky took Alex by the arm and started leading him off.

"Good! Now we can catch up.  I want to hear everything."

She sighed and crossed her legs.   She was wearing another body glove right now, having healed from her injuries several hours ago.   Upon her recovery, she had set a detain order on the contact who had betrayed her and he'd been picked up.   She had yet to actually speak with him, as she wanted the stranger to be present.   If he was a Jedi, as she suspected, she might be able to turn him to the Dark Side by presenting him with the man who'd come so close to killing him.   Domino would obviously be pleased if she presented him with another servant.   He might even...

 No, she thought sighing.   Domino did not feel about her the way she felt about him.   Yet.

 Kyra sighed again and leaned back in her chair.   She could remember the day they'd first met like it had been etched into a holographic crystal...

"They're beautiful," Kyra says.   She stands in front of a large flowered bush, one of many in the Royal Palace gardens.   The admiration is evident on her face, as is her enjoyment of gardens in general.   She stands on tiptoe, trying to peer overtop the hedges, but the plain brown dress and slippers she wears prevent her from doing this and she gives up after a moment.

"Indeed," intones the man next to her.   He is Lord Grissk, her trainer in the Dark Side.   "Lord Domino enjoys them during the Deominian springtime.   He finds it relaxing to sit out here."

Kyra nods, inattentive.   She is more interested in the bushes than the man next to her.   She shivers momentarily, caught up by a nervous excitement.   Today is the day she finally meets Lord Domino, and she has heard things that suggest they have a lot in common.   They are both Deominian nobility, they are adept in the Force, and they delight in the sights of a garden.
She leans close to one of the flowers and inhales deeply.   For a moment, the fruity smell of the plant overwhelms the stench of her trainer's aura.   The ability to smell another being's aura is one of her unique talents and it makes her an expert at tracking enemies or identifying people in different guises. A dark sidelong glance is cast at her trainer, who smells of roiled mud to her distinctive ability.

"Lord de Devastator," Grissk speaks suddenly.   "I have brought the newest initiate in our fold to meet you, as you have requested."

The woman whirls.   She's been too busy trying to get rid of the stench Lord Grissk's aura creates to notice Domino's approach.   Her eyes meet Domino's - and her body freezes under his gaze.   She loses herself in his eyes and shivers, inhaling involuntarily.   The smell of Domino's aura invades her nose and she shivers again, this time from the aroma of his presence.
On the surface, Kyra remains calm, but beneath that her mind spins trying to comprehend the nature of what she smells from Domino. It is impossible to describe and all she can do is surrender to the combination of boiling sugar, heady alcoholic vapor, and the darkly sweet scent of pipe tabbac.   Her every sense tingles with anticipation.

"Greetings, Kyra," Domino speaks to her for the first time and she hangs on his every word.   "It is a pleasure to meet one who has exceeded her trainer's expectations."

"Y-yes, my Lord," she manages, trying desperately to get her wits back.   Oh, that smell...

"I trust you are satisfied with the arrangements that have been made?" Domino continues.   "You are one of the chosen few who enforce my will directly across the galaxy, and I would ensure that I have your willing cooperation."

"They are more than adequate, my Lord," she stammers, inhaling again.   A quick shake of the head brings her mind back to earth.   Right now not looking like a giddy schoolgirl in front of Domino consumes her mental efforts.

"Excellent," Domino replies.   He inclines his head again, his manner leaving no doubt that he is royalty, born to command and not to obey.   "I would stay and talk with you further but I have duties to attend to.   Part of the responsibility that comes with my status."

"Of course, my Lord.   I completely understand." Kyra curtseys low and watches Domino's departing form.
That was her liege lord, the man she was sworn to obey.   And obey she would.   She would do anything for the man she was now madly in love with...

MOVE ON TO PART IV
RETURN TO THE ARCHIVES

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