@Phyreblade: The breakout of Watcher X was fantastic. I loved the details, like huffing through your mouth, etc. When I realized who it was, it made me pretty excited. Watcher X is a major IA character who gets very little play, and you did a great job with him. Very nice!

Then following up with the Mako/Gault piece had me laughing. She should know better than to make bets with a Devoronian, when slick pants are at stake! Kastiel seems complex, but still very simple in important aspects. I like characters like that and she's quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

The Mando hunt piece was a well done look at daily life for the hunters. I enjoyed it immensely.

@Frauzet: Ciner's acceptance that balance must include both light and dark is refreshing in a game where a lot of times it's "light is good and nice, dark is evil and mean". His logical explanation to the Jedi is almost more dangerous as a conversion tool than torture or mind control!

@Adwynyth: I liked your use of Halidrell. She was one of my favorite NPC's in the SW line. That Vette doesn't sweat her having been a trader is nice pull from Vette's char. She's always come across as mostly "go with the flow". She'll gripe about it, but stuff happens and it has to be dealt with.

Deezl sensed her fear and her burgeoning feelings of betrayal, and drank it in. Then she realized through the Force what he had been doing.

I thought this was an interesting line. I like how it showed the instincts of a Sith, and then the conscious effort to overcome them, because your first reaction will always be based on instinct and training, in most situations.

@Lesaberisa: Loved the meeting between Amitia and Amurri. Just a passing in the night, of two characters who become major influences on either side of the game. Makes me wonder if there's a reunion story after the end of Chap.3 events in both storylines. Hope so! That would be interesting. I love Amurri's hardened warrior ethos too. You do a great job of keeping that perspective consistent throughout all her pieces. Makes her all the more interesting.

I poked the Twi'lek's body with the toe of my boot, making sure not get any of the drool coming out of her mouth on my shoe or clothing. I did not understand what the issue was. Perhaps there was none, and it was merely the Twi'lek herself that was defective.

HAHAHAH! I find Malic to be quite humorous, in a dark and twisted way. Her naivety to ideas of common decency make her a great character.

I loved the last line in Olympia's piece, because after the slap on the tush, she totally is. What's great about mixing those types of people is the growth, and I look forward to seeing more of hers.

@Marissalf: Ok... maybe... maaaaaybe I was wro-*cough*... I was wroooooonnn.... was wrooOOOOooo... THIS IS JUST SOME PART OF ELLIS' EVIL PLAN!

It was an excellent piece finally putting to bed Ellis' true nature, and giving even stronger motivation to Mel's char. What really hit me was how it was her impression of what Ellis had become that snapped him back to his senses. That he was so afraid she'd see him as a monster, he had to come to his senses to explain it. Nicely done.

@Bright: Someone else's comments mentioned the Bond/Moneypenny relationship. I can't think of any way to explain that better. I love the way you write the interaction between these two, and this:

“I must ask. Do you just say ‘no’ to me on principle?”

That made me smile.

@Yoshi: The final battle from the different perspectives was well done. I especially liked that the Imperial troops swarming over their newly buried comrades. It was a little detail that showed both the soldier training, and Imperial mentality, and what goes on in a war. Prudii seeing three Jorgans made me laugh a bit, and of course, Corso running out to fight side by side with the woman he'd fallen for, it was very Corso of him. Good job all around.

@Magdalane: My favorite part of your piece isn't how Corso reacts, it's how Miriah works them both. Her use of all the advantages shows how smart she is, and how ruthless she could be, if needed.

@Alaurin: Mako's brilliant maneuver to bypass security on the way to get Zees was priceless. The band name had me cracking up, reminded me of Josie and the Pussycats (try seeing Gault in that outfit and not laugh). The conversation about Jorgan was a nice touch too. Her manner of ridding the ship of Skadge was fantastic! Their little happy dance was killing me too.

"Who are you?"

Drokk was the first one back. Mako had taken the rest of the crew out to do the weekly re-stock and repair trip. He had taken Blizz on a "milk run" hunt, just to make a little extra cred, and had returned to find his ship surrounded by trucks, mobbed by people being very busy setting up lighting and canopies, a truck with some pretty tasty sandwiches, and folks dressed up to look like himself and the others. The Skadge look-alikes were particularly disturbing. He was addressing himself, currently.

His double turned around, "Do you feel luck pun-- oh, really now! I specifically asked that I not be harassed by the fans! It's in my contract!"

"Riiiight..." Drokk looked at him confused, "No, seriously, who the hell are you?"

The handsome, well built man rolled his eyes as if to say why me?

"Look, friend. The costume is a bit ragged, you really overdid it on the scoring and the battle damage. You've got the hair, but really? Matted with sweat? You look less like a Bounty Hunter and more like construction worker! And that beard! Don't even get me started. The retro look is out, friend. Grow something on your chin and cover those silly tattoos."

"YOU however," the double turned to Blizz, "who does your makeup? You. Look. Amazing!"

"That still does-- HEY! There's nothing wrong with my beard!" Drokk scowled and started stroking his chin.

His double threw his hands up in exasperation as he brusquely walked by the Hunter, talking to no one in particular. "I simply CANNOT be expected to WORK like this! Really, people! Why do we even have security, if they're just going to let the riff raff in?!"

Unable to process the exchange that just occurred, Drokk stood there for a few seconds, dumbfounded.

"Blizz... what the hell just happened? And who was that guy?!"

"Blizz not sure, Boss." the Jawa looked up at him, "All Blizz know is Blizz's new workout is paying off! Blizz now the good looking one!"

Drokk cocked an eyebrow as he looked down at the Jawa." Right... C'mon. We need to find out what's going on here before Mako gets back."

*********************************

As they made their way through the mess of people, Blizz was suddenly accosted by a midget Zabrak dressed in a dirty brown robe with patches on it. He came running up and grabbed Blizz by the shoulder.

"We've been looking for you everywhere! We're having the meeting n -- that costuming is fan-tastic! Did you get that from wardrobe? Man, I can't even tell your eyes are only lights! Anyway, we don't have much time, c'mon!"

Blizz jumped back behind Drokk, babbling in his psuedo-huttese, a mile a minute.

"Wow! You're really into your part. Fluent Jawa is hard to learn. Method actor, eh? That's great, but we're going to be late, "he held out his hand, "now c'mon already!"

"Excuse me," Drokk looked down at the robed man, "but this isn't who you apparently think it is."

The small man put his hands on his hips, "I don't care if he's Brade Pitttt, we've got a Jawa cast meeting to nail down some last minute changes! He needs to be there!"

"See, here's the thing. We're not part of..." Drokk waived his hand around, "of all this. We're just looking to find out what's going on."

"Look. You just being a fan, doing the cosplay thing, I can believe. I mean, that beard is atrocious. But him?" he pointed at Blizz, "That's professional costume work, I mean, look at his eyes! And professionals are here to work, not sign autographs! Now, c'mon!"

"And I'm telling you, he's not going anywhere! Now, who's in charge here?"

"You really want to know? Fine. Charley's in charge."

"Who's Charley?"

The little man ran through Drokk's legs and jammed his fist into the space right between his codpiece and rear cover, "I'M Charley!"

Drokk lost feeling in his legs, as his eyes bugged out of his head and he fell to the ground. The midget slapped a blaster out of Blizz's hands, grabbed him by the scruff of his robe, and drug him off.

"I swear, a character gets popular on a holonet forum, and suddenly it goes to some people's head. You still have to make the shoot to actually be a star, y'know, so quit struggling!" and then they disappeared into the crowd

*********************************

It had taken awhile for Drokk to recover. Charley may have been small, but he was still as strong as a full grown man, and that nerve bundle was tender. Drokk's walk had quickly taken on some bowlegged characteristics.

"Hey! Dude! You been wandering around this entire time?! We're going over the stunts! Get in here or you could get killed, brah!"

Drokk looked up to see a burly man waving at him from beneath a canopy, wearing similar armor, but it looked flimsy compared to his.

Why not? Wandering around, talking to strangers has done squat for me so far. Maybe they know where Blizz is. He headed over to the canopy.

The first thing he noticed is that all four of the men there were about his size... and they all looked like him.

"Uhhh..."

"This a new guy or something?" One of the Drokk-alikes asked.

"Yeah, never seen him before." Another one eyed him suspiciously, "I'd definitely recognize a beard that stupid. You one of those non-union guys? We can't have non-union guys. Insurance reasons."

"Nah, look at that facial scar! That ain't makeup, dude. What pic did you get that from?" The first Drokk-alike lifted his armor, showing a 6 inch burn mark on his side. "I got this one from doubling for Fin Deizel on 'Fast and Ferocious 67'."

One of the other Drokk-alike's scoffed, "Pffft. That's nothing! Check this one out. "He pulled his chest armor completely off, showing a foot long line across his gut. "Got this doing '300: The Mandolorian Gate'."

"Uhh... I don't think I'm in--"

"Chumps, the lot of you. I was doing stunts for TheRokk Johnson on 'Can You Smell What I'm Cookin' Now?', some idiot loaded live rounds, and I took three in the a*s. Here, check it o-- Hey, where'd the new guy go?"

*********************************

This... this is like a fraggin' nightmare. Only one man I know would have the gall to sell out our likenesses without us knowing. When I find him, I'm gonna break -- hey, that's Blizz!

Drokk followed the hyperactive voice behind a portable screen and found what he was looking for.

No one, not one person, is ever gonna believe this.

Standing on a small platform, Blizz was waving a gun, diving, rolling to one knee, and pretending to shoot. He stood triumphantly and said, "Abigga tooki Mako wandaa hoogee! Hehehe!"

That wasn't the strange part. The strange part, was watching the six little men dressed like Blizz, attempting to imitate him in unison... and failing horribly. They rolled into one another. They smacked each other with the guns. They slowly tried to pronounce what Blizz had said, not knowing it meant "and then, Mako brings you sweet treats! Hehehe!"

He'd been holding it in. Oh, he'd had plenty of chances, but he'd resisted the urge. Drokk couldn't stop himself any longer.

... he facepalmed.

Oy.

Blizz heard the familiar smacking sound and looked over, "Boss! Blizz teach tiny men to be great hunters, like Boss and Blizz!"

"Yeah, that's great Blizz, but we got WORK TO DO. Now knock it off and let's go!"

*********************************

"Makes! I didn't expect you--"

"Oh. My. Grall! Would it kill you, to like, totally pronounce my name with, like, an 'O', already?"

"Uhhhh... you're definitely not my wife."

The young blond woman turned around from addressing another young brunette holding a script. She was dressed in a bodysuit, like Mako wore, but the chest was unzipped exposing... assets... his wife didn't have, and her face and hair were made up so she looked exactly like Mako... a few inches taller, maybe.

"Can I help y--OH. EM. GEE! Beckky, you have got to see this! It's that guy! You know, the one with the weird looking beard from when we wanted to be bounty hunters? OMG, this is, like, cray-cray exciting! Are you, like, helping out on the set? Consulting and some junk? You would be SO awesome at that!"

"TOTES awesome!"

Drokk fought the urge to facepalm again, "Uhh, right. So, I see you girls gave up on being hunters. That's good. WHAT THE HELL IS GO--"

"Beckky," the Mako look alike gasped, "I just had the most awesome idea!"

"OMG, tell me already, Seryna!" the brunette was bopping up and down.

"Umm, ladies--"

"We should TOTALLY introduce him to the director! He could, like, do stunts and stuff! Maybe get a scene where he's shirtless!"

"OMG! TOTES shirtless! Like Tailar Lawtnarzz*swoon*"

Seryna's eyes lit up as the girls grabbed hands excitedly, "OMG! Or like Khriis Heemswrth!"

"*SQUEEEEE* TOTES Hotties!" They started jumping up and down, giggling.

"Boss," Blizz was covering his ears, "high pitch noise hurting Blizz head. We leave now?"

Drokk watched the girls, still lost in some hazy fantasy of half naked men, and sighed. "Yeah, Blizz, we're not gonna get much outta these two. Let's go find this 'director' and get some answers."

**************************************

"That group seems important, let's go ask them." Drokk pointed to a group of people holding pads of paper, sitting in folding chairs or standing in a circle. Behind them, each one had what could've been an assistant.

As they were making their way over, they were stopped by two large men, dressed in black shirts a size too small, and wearing dark glasses.

"Sorry, writing and directing only. No talent beyond this point." One of them said. His head was bald wore a thin goatee, and had an earring in his left ear.

"Well that's good then, because we're not talent."Drokk started walking forward.

The other large man, whose hair was slicked back and had a long soulpatch that left his chin by about two inches, pushed Drokk back. "If you ain't talent, then you really ain't getting in here."

Drokk looked down at his chest where the man's hand and pushed him, then looked at the man himself.

"You're really going to want to get out of my way. I've been wandering around this... circus, for two hours now. In that time, I've had my facial hair insulted so many times I lost count, been called a fake, had a bunch of guys show me their scars, seen my wife miscast as some sexualized bimbo, lost my companion here, only to find him giving lessons on how to be a Jawa bounty hunter! I'm pretty sure who I want to talk to is over there, and I'm going in. End of story."

The two men looked at each other, then the bald on turned to Drokk and asked, "Do you have an appointment?"

"...a what?"

"Do you. Have. An appointment?"

"No."

Soulpatch grinned, "Then you are definitely not going in there. End of stor-OW!!"

Drokk kicked him in the shin with his armored boot and brought his fist up to meet his face as he doubled over. As Soulpatch's head rebounded off his armored fist, he grabbed the extra length of hair from his chin and ripped down, pulling it off his face.

He popped his gauntlet blade as baldy swung a stun baton at him, parried it, then punched him in the nose, shattering his glasses. As baldy held his face and stumbled back, Drokk closed in and grabbed him by the throat, lifted him off the ground and slammed him into the paved launchpad.

"Like I said, I definitely am going in." He tossed the handful of beard at Soulpatch, "Here. Next time, grow a real beard. Maybe not looking like a j*rk-off will stop you from being such a j*rk-off."

As he stepped past the imaginary barrier, the small crowd of on lookers that had been nearby parted, and out walked a single horned Devaronian wearing a beret; a monocle; long sleeved shirt complete with vest and tie; pants that poofed out to the side of his thighs; and knee high Sleen leather boots.

"Drokk! Sweetheart! You can't manhandle Security like that! It sets a bad example! What can I do for you, buubie?"

"Shut it down. Now. I want this area cleared. You have fifteen minutes." the Hunter said through clenched teeth.

Gault scrutinized him for a moment, as the crowd murmured, then...

"And see, people? THAT is what I'm looking for! THAT is how you portray menace! Someone, tell me you got that on holocam!"

The murmurs became approvals as the crowd erupted into applause.

"Gault..."

"Drokk, babe, walk with me for a minute."

He caught up to the Devaronian as he about faced and started walking away from the crowds, who had gone back to work.

"Drokk, look, This was supposed to be a surprise, but the machine is rolling now, buubie. You can't just come in here and stop it on a dime! Work is in process. Credits have changed hands. This picture is getting made!"

"Gault, you have exactly ten seconds to explain to me what's going on, before I tear off your other horn and shove it up your--"

"All right, all riiight! Look, I was thinking. We've got a lot of notoriety, but none of the perks that go with it! You're the Grand Champion of the Great Hunt, but everyone still thinks you're a villain! No one wants to shower a villain with endorsements and media deals. So, I thought 'what if we made a movie' -- stay with me now -- 'that painted you as a hero of the people, and not just the guy who punches people'?"

"Gault..." Drokk was rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"I mean, the hologame deals alone would keep us flying for years!"

"GAULT..."

"Think of the toy deals! T-shirts! Merchandising is where the big credits are, after all. This movie will be the start of a financial emp--"

"GAULT!!" Drokk roared. He put a finger in the Devaronian's face, "In this business, it's better to be infamous, than to be famous, number 1. Number 2, do you reaally want your face plastered all over the media, Tyresius? Doubtful. Number three, none of these people even look like us! You completely miscast Makes! And did so in such a way that I'm pretty sure she'll pay me to kill you, just so you know."

"Don't worry, Big Guy! Gault Rennow has got all of that covered. Trust me! It's Nar Shadaallywood, Boss man! You cover the layers of grime with a wash of glitz! That's how this town works! They let their darlings get away with anything! And this movie? This movie is going to make you the galaxy's biggest darling!"

"Dammit Gault! I don't want to be a darl--"

The Devaronian turned away and waved his hands in the air, framing the sky with his hands. "Then, before the hype dies all the way down, we open up a chain of schools -- Drokk'it's Academy of Grand Champions! Where you can learn to be the next Grand Champ--"

"*AHEM*" a female voice came from behind them. "Yes. I'm sure the Mandolorians won't be offended by you r*ping one of their most honored traditions at all, Mr. Rennow."

They both turned and saw Mako, and the rest of the crew, standing there with her arms crossed and an eyebrow cocked.

"What in the hell is going on here?"

"Heya Makes. Sorry, I was trying to get this cleaned up before you got back."

"So I heard. Need an assist?" She shot Gault a malicious glare.

"Nah, we're about done here"

Drokk turned back to the Devaronian. "Gault, the answer is not just 'no', but 'HELL NO'! You want to be famous? Fine, but it won't be here. We fly low and under the radar for reasons I don't talk about. The last thing I want, is people thinking I'm a hero and wanting to be me. If I wanted all that, I'd be in HAVOC Squad with the Republic! Go end this. NOW."

"But... I sank all of my savings into this! How am I going to get a return on my investment?!"

"Should've thought about that sooner. Oh, and just to help things along, I'm sending Skadge with you. Skadge! You feel like cracking some pretty boy skulls?"

The massive Houk slammed his fist into his palm, "What is this, my birthday? I'm always ready to crack skulls! You just never let me do it!"

"Well today is your lucky day. Don't kill or permanently injure anybody, but if anyone gives Gault trouble, flex a little muscle."

"Oh yeah, I'm gonna enjoy this!"

The Devaronian threw his hands up in defeat. "*sigh* Fine. Rob the galaxy of artistic holo-cinema and culture! Good thing I took out an insurance policy on this film against acts of bodily harm. Now, it should just cost me a leg. Let's go Skadge, and the midgets aren't for punting this time!"

*****************************************

Hours later, night had come to Nar Shadda, and Drokk lay in his customary place on top of the ship. He heard light footsteps headed his way and saw his wife heading over in his direction, looking tired.

"Heya, babe. Everything taken care of?"

"Finally! It took hours to get started, but when the union was convinced the cost of all this would be covered by the insurance policy, they broke it down in hardly any time at all. Gault managed to keep Skadge in check... but, you might want to watch your back with him."

"Why's that?"

"He tried to beat the actor playing you, and three of his understudies, with a chair. Not all at the same time, mind you."

"Huh," Drokk looked back at the dirty Nar Shadda sky, "good to know. Blizz take care of his little cult?"

"Drokk, I'm telling you, I'm going to have nightmares for weeks! Those six weird little men, following Blizz around like some sort of guru, mimicking everything he did, trying to talk like him, enthralled by his every word... it was just damn creepy. I finally just turned Treek loose on them with a pointy stick. I couldn't take it anymore."

He chuckled at the thought of Treek jabbing the actors with a stick.

She slapped his arm, "Oh yeah, laugh it up, pal. I talked to Blizz, he told me about your run in with the two bimbos from the interview and how you mistook one of them for me."

"I'd like to plead insanity, your honor."

"Overruled" Mako said in her best majestic voice. "You owe me breakfast every morning for a month, without fail. Miss a day, and it's into the cargo bay with you."

"Ouch! Justice is pretty brutal in these parts" Drokk winced.

"Actually, I'm counting the midget punching you in the sweet spot as time served, so it could've been worse." She laughed as she lay down next to him.

"In that case, I really should get leniency. Still can't sit down."

They lay there for several minutes, looking up at the city lights bouncing off the murky, polluted sky.

"Drokk, you think Gault might be right though? We can't do this forever, y'know. With the right marketing, we could ride your fame into the sunset. Not have to sweat the grey years."

"In this business Makes, the price of fame is pretty high. Infamy doesn't make you a lot of money by itself, but it does keep most people from trying to kill you, kidnap you, torture you, or whatever else runs through Skadge's dreams at night. Our job isn't pretty, but it keeps us free. We go where we want, work for who we want, pick our pay, and answer to no one. At the end of the day, we have the best job in the world. Fame would just complicate all that."

"Yeah, you're right. 'Life beyond the hill is always better, until you arrive and find it's a barren cliff' and all that."

Drokk turned his head and looked at his wife, "Makes, that was damn near sage like... did you happen to save any for me?"

She smiled and handed him an unopened package of Force-Shan cookies, "A wife who shares not her cookies, will soon find her man eating cake."

"Not this man. You're the BEST! C'mon," Drokk stood up and extended his hand to her, "let's go find some nerf milk and become wise, so we can be all Jedi-like and calm when Gault's next scheme goes south."

All the celeb names are actual names I've seen in my gaming travels.

Also, after reviewing and editing this story a few times, it occurred to me that my last three Drokk pieces have ended with them on top of the ship, coming to some great discovery/conclusion. Apparently, I've been watching too many '3rd Rock from the Sun' re-runs.

@alaurin, your fudging with the story totally worked–and I loved getting rid of Skadge!

@Phyreblade, the Mandalorian piece was awesome.

@DarthSillyMonkey, I was laughing so incredibly hard at Blizz and his imitators. The whole piece was golden–golden!

Jorgan stormed into the main hold, a look of sheer rage on his face. Prudii glanced up from the game of dejarik he was playing with Yuun and frowned. Jorgan hadn't looked this angry in a long time. In his hands, he held a holodisc, which he now shoved into the terminal in the center of the hold.

"Everyone in here, now!" Jorgan snarled.

Tanno, Forex, and HK-51 joined them in the hold. Prudii rose from his spot and walked to stand beside Jorgan, who was calling up the info on the disc to the holoterminal.

"What's wrong, Jorgan?" Prudii asked.

"This," Jorgan said disgustedly.

The holoterminal started up, and there was a rapid, upbeat theme song playing. Wondering what show could've gotten Jorgan so worked up that he had to show them all, Prudii scratched at one of his cranial horns. A moment later, a hologram appeared, in capital letters, saying "Wreaking Havoc." Prudii winced, afraid he knew what was coming.

Then, a handsome Zabrak, roughly Prudii's skin color but much better complexioned, with black hair falling to his shoulders, wearing armor with ridiculous shoulder pads, appeared. Following him was a Cathar male with glimmering blue eyes and black spots on his cheeks over light fur. He wore an orange officer's uniform with the sleeves cut off. After that, appeared a gorgeous blonde woman with sparkling green eyes, wearing armor that was as impractical as it could be–plunging neckline, midriff-baring, sleeveless, and tight, in addition to being made of plastoid. Prudii winced, knowing Elara would be about to explode if she could see this. Lucky she was at Dha's house.

Then appeared a combat droid in white and red, but that's where the similarities to Forex ended–he was bipedal rather than three-legged, and he had a smile painted on his lower jaw. "Tanno" had a tattoo of the Republic symbol over his left eye. "Yuun" was shirtless, with his scaly Gand skin armored only with crisscrossing bandoliers. There was no mention of HK-51.

"I'm going to kill the propaganda officers," Jorgan growled.

"I'm with you," Prudii said, jerking the disc out of the terminal. "Garza will deal with this." He dialed her number. A moment later she appeared. Before she could speak, he said, "General, have you seen this...monstrosity?"

Garza's face remained impassive, but he thought he detected a glint of amusement in her eyes. "I have, Major. It was not my idea, before you ask."

"Good." He paused. "So fix it."

"Working on it," Garza promised. "Supreme Commander Malcom is hounding the propaganda officers about it."

"And?"

"They've...agreed to remove M1-4X's smile."

Prudii felt like he would explode. "That's it?"

"For now. Don't worry, we'll fix it. But until then, I'd keep Jorgan and Yuun away from anyone young and female...and wear a hat yourself, lest they attempt to touch your silken hair."

Prudii rolled his eyes as he hung up. "Thanks a lot, ma'am."

Dha stepped out of the gunship onto the nasty soil of Hutta and had to force himself to keep his face impassive against the stink. Clenching his jaw, he blinked to activate his helmet's air filters. He sighed in relief as fresh, cool oxygen flowed through the helmet. Then he stepped into the spaceport and gave the place a look around. Shady, as he'd expected; Trandoshans cut deals with humans, while street rats cowered from patrolling Gamorreans.

He thought back to the day he'd first known he would be coming to Hutta. He'd been in one of Nar Shaddaa's back alleys, hunting down some two-bit slicer who had made a Hutt mad. It had fallen to such depths–he couldn't even preserve his armor anymore so he was forced to wear whatever grimy uniform he could pay for off his meager bounties.

He'd captured the slicer and returned him to the Hutt, and accepted his payment. Then, he'd returned to the nasty flat where he lived. Outside his quarters, a female Twi'lek in a slave outfit had attempted to win his favor, but Dha had refused her. Inside the room, he'd sensed something was wrong and drawn his blaster.

"I wouldn't do that," a voice had said.

Dha had seen the man sitting on the couch then, unarmed save for the blaster strapped at his side, well away from his hands. The man was bald, with bright green eyes. He was definitely aged, Dha had decided, and was well past the point where he might've been able to take Dha on. But something about him had been so familiar...

"Who are you?" Dha had demanded.

"The bigger question is, who are you?" the man responded. "I know you, Dha Bralor. You were the son of a great hero of Mandalore...and look how far you've fallen. Living in this place, taking on bounties on defenseless slicers just to pay the rent. You haven't even upgraded your kit in months..."

Dha had stiffened. "What's it to you, old man?"

"It's my last chance for glory," the man had responded quietly. "Kid, I'll give you the chance of a lifetime." He'd leaned forward in his seat. "You ever heard of the Great Hunt?"

The man must've known full well that Dha had; every Mandalorian, even a disgraced one like Dha, had. But he'd asked the question anyways, which meant it wasn't just random. No, this question had been phrased with an intent of a follow-up.

"Of course I have," he'd responded.

"Good. Would you be interested in a chance to enter? I've seen your skills, kid. Before you had to start taking these one-off little bounties, you could hunt with the best of 'em. You outshot some of the best gunslingers on the Rim, and you brought them all in."

"Yeah..."

"I'm going to be your mentor, kid," the man had continued. "And one of your crew. Give it a chance and I guarantee you'll have riches and glory beyond your wildest dreams."

Dha had seen more than that. He'd seen a chance to get back the honor of being a Mandalorian–if he won the Great Hunt, the Mandalorians would see his worth, and he'd be able to rejoin the clans. That was all he lived for, now. So he had nodded, and held out a hand.

"Deal. But you still haven't told me your name."

"Braden," the man had responded. "My name is Braden."

Now, Dha stood, looking at the Poison Pit cantina, where Braden had promised to meet him. He had taken every last credit he had, down to the last decicred, and bought a serviceable set of armor. Nothing, really, but it was better than the uniform he'd worn before. The chest plate was a replica of Canderous Ordo's Mandalore armor, and most of the rest of the set was archaic Mandalorian Neo-Crusader armor in various states of disrepair. Dha had painted the kit to individualize it–the main plates on the chest, legs, and arms, as well as the gloves, boots, and helmet, had all been painted a metallic red, while the somewhat thinner body armor underneath was jet black.

Dha had to admit, even if the armor wasn't as cutting-edge as a modern Mandalorian's, he looked pretty threatening.

He took off his helmet and entered the Poison Pit, and cut straight for the back room. Inside were Braden, still clad in his pseudo-armor with a blaster at his side, a female human with short, dark hair, and a Nikto male reclining in a chair behind a table covered with various kinds of alcohol.

"We're almost set up," Braden said. "See if you can't get that security network running, Mako."

"Sure thing, Braden," the short-haired woman–a girl, really–replied. "We'll be–" Then she caught sight of Dha. "Hey, now..."

"Hey, indeed," Braden finished as he turned. "The main attraction has arrived. Team, this is the man we're pinning all our hopes on. Best shot I've ever seen and nerves of steel. He's Great Hunt material, all right. What do you say, hunter, ready to meet your team?"

Dha glanced at the Nikto, the young girl. "My team...I like the sound of that."

"Let's do things official-like," Braden said. "This is Mako, a little genius I picked up on Nar Shaddaa. She provides intel and tech."

"Hope you're as good as the old man says," Mako said.

Dha gave her a once-over. She was small, petite, but actually quite cute. Her chestnut-shaped brown eyes positively glimmered in the dim light, and her button nose and gently curved lips completed the image of a girl barely out of her teenage years–if she even was that–and only the cybernetic implant beside her left eye implied that she was anything more than she appeared. Given that Dha was only twenty himself, he found her quite attractive. But he put the thoughts aside quickly. He was here for the Hunt, not for a girl.

"And the big bruiser is Jory," Braden continued, gesturing to the Nikto. "He handles the heavy lifting and provides security for our base of operations."

Jory waved casually at Dha. "Greetings. I am at your disposal. Feel free to make us all incredibly wealthy and famous."

"Nice to meet you both, and though Braden's probably told you, my name's Dha. Now, let's get to work."

Mako's eyebrows quirked in surprise, but she quickly covered it.

"All right, enough introductions," Braden said. "Down to business. We're here because the Great Hunt has been called. Little Mako is the most rabid fan of hunter history this side of Geonosis–and even she doesn't know exactly what the Great Hunt entails."

"I do know the names of every Great Hunt winner, though," Mako added. "Bloodworthy, the Defenestrator, Jew'la Nightbringer..."

"Every bounty hunter who's won a Great Hunt went on to massive glory and riches–which is why we're here."

Speak for yourself, Dha thought. I'm here to get back into my clan.

"What's our first move?" he asked.

"Here's what I know so far," Mako said. "The Great Hunt has two groups: the Mandalorian elite and the freelance bounty hunters sponsored by influential crime lords. There's no time to make you a Mandalorian, even though you already look the part. That means you'll need a sponsor."

Dha bristled at that. If only she knew...

"Nem'ro the Hutt runs this stinking little town," Braden said. "I've got just enough pull with that gangster to get you an introduction. Mako, scan for every bounty in the area. I want the nastiest, most brutal, untouchable scum you can find."

Was that a jab at me? Dha wondered. Is he reprimanding me for hunting gutter trash? Probably.

"I'm on it, Braden," Mako was saying. "One nasty character coming up..."

"We need to get you situated as a big-time hunter," Braden said to Dha. "At least as far as the locals know. Then we contact Nem'ro. Mako will plant rumors about your offworld exploits, but you have to take down someone impressive–and local–to sell that reputation."

"You find a target and I'll take it down hard," Dha promised.

"How's that scan coming, Mako?"

"Found something. Check this out...Vexx: Corellian, champion quick-draw artist, wanted for robbing fifteen Imperial pay stations."

"Of all places to get credits," Jory muttered, "why would a sane being rob an Imperial pay station?"

To prove how good he is, Dha thought. The kind of scum I've taken down dozens of times.

"Perfect," Braden said. "This Vexx is either a madman or a glory hound–and he's obviously dangerous."

"Says here Vexx has a safe house in the bad part of town," Mako put in. "Right in the heart of the madness. That'll be fun."

"Nem'ro the Hutt's enemy took over this part of town. It's dangerous poking around in there, but it's your best shot. Raid Vexx's safe house and look for something that might help us track him down. But be ready for anything."

"Excuse me," Dha said with a grin, "but I've got a safe house to shoot up."

"Be safe out there," Braden said.

Dha nodded, turned on his heel, and march out, slamming on his helmet. Finally, he was back in the game–and this time, he intended to go all the way to the top. To regain his honor, his place in the Mandalorians–and to find and kill the scum who'd executed his parents.

@Bright, I like that Keeper considered Wynston’s offer, even if just briefly. It has to be a comfort to know that someone so capable is still on the inside, still doing what they can to keep control while everything changes.

@Yoshi, I always enjoy multiple perspectives of an event. Loved the way you did this one. And I like that you showed the aftermath of the battle as well.

@DSM,

"Boss," Blizz was covering his ears, "high pitch noise hurting Blizz head. We leave now?"

Have I mentioned how much I love Blizz? He’s just the best. This whole thing was hilarious. Should have known it was part of Gault’s scheme!

@alaurin, Kitty Lovin and the Playmates is fantastic. Loved it. If anybody could pull off the attitude to pass for a rock star, it’d be Kat.

@Phyreblade, Ehehehe, Gault the master salesman. Perfect.

@Adwynyth, I think you did a good job demonstrating why Vette would accept a former slaver. Showing that she had no choice, and that she was giving up that life. It seems quite in-character for good-natured Vette to be willing to put that aside. And a first date that ends in scarring? That does sound like a Sithy way of doing things!

@Magdalane, I just love the idea of Miriah outdrinking Darmas and keeping the upper hand there. That she was smart enough to see exactly what he was playing at and beat him at his game.

Edit: My brain malfunctioned. Had to fix a couple names!

“Abso-kriffing-lutely not.” Rissia narrowed her caustic glare and glanced sidelong at her husband. “Tell her, Malavai.”

“Your mother is right, Kinka. This is not appropriate for you. It’s- it’s-” He looked down at the photos of his teenage daughter caressing the gleaming body of Czerka's latest overpriced speeder and had taken to sputtering with disapproval again.

“It’s a big, fat no,” Rissia finished. “What were you thinking?”

Kinka glared at them both from behind a curtain of dark hair that she’d intentionally drawn over her eyes. She twirled the long strands, examining the ends — a hair cut was in order for sure — and drew her knees to her chest. “You keep telling me I have to think about my future. So I did. I want to be a model.”

Rissia cackled and Quinn closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose between two long, pale fingers. “This wasn’t what we had in mind,” he grumbled.

“Do you even hear yourselves? What ‘we’ had in mind? What about me? It’s my life, isn’t it? Or do I have to get approval to continue breathing, too?”

Quinn opened his mouth to say something, but Rissia cut him off. “How do you think it would look, the daughter of a Dark Council member and an Imperial general parading her body around for all the lecherous sleaze in the galaxy to ogle. Because that’s what men do, Kinka. They see a young, impressionable woman and they look for what they can get out of her. There's a reason these companies use pretty young women to peddle their junk, and it isn't because they know anything about speeders. I won’t have my daughter being subjected to that filth. Not while I’m still drawing breath.”

Kinka rolled her eyes and looked to her father. Her mother was unreasonable, but him she could usually manage to persuade. And the agency only required written consent from one of them. “Dad?”

Rissia crossed her arms set her jaw. Her harsh gazed fixed on her husband with a look that said, “Well?”

He sighed. “What your mother said, Kinka.”

“You have got to be kidding me!” The teen leapt off the sofa and snatched the photos off the table. “You let Vekkz do anything she wants, but the one time I express interest in something you laugh it off like it’s some silly, childish fantasy. I’m sorry my pursuits aren’t as mature as my perfect sister's.”

With that she stomped off to her room. Quinn flinched at the sound of the slamming door. “She won’t be speaking to either of us for a while.”

“She’ll get over it. She has to learn that she can’t just throw her life away on these ridiculous whims. You can’t tell me you’d be comfortable seeing her use her body to sell speeders of all things.”

“No, of course not.”

Rissia went back to her reading, but Quinn was still unsettled. After a moment of tense fidgeting, the Sith focused her glare on her husband. He could have sworn the room heated a few degrees. “If you have something to say, say it.”

“You were talking about me.” He voice was stiff and proud, but he was indignant over some perceived hurt. “The ‘lecherous sleaze’ out to take advantage of the young impressionable woman? You know, that's not what I... Is that truly how you’ve come to see me?”

“My perception of you changed irreparably after your little stunt with the droids. Surely you’ve not forgotten in your old age.”

“No.” The answer was swift and firm. She really was intent of making him suffer for his sins until they both were dead. He was foolish to think otherwise. “I just meant... Nevermind.”

Rissia stood and smoothed the crimson folds of her robe. “If there’s nothing else, I have a meeting to attend. Holo me if she decides to run away and become a cantina dancer.”

***

Kinka bristled at the soft knock on her door. She was in no mood to talk to him, not now and not ever. He took her side — just trying to score points, she huffed. As if it would ever do him any good. Her mother barely looked at him, let alone touched him. Why he still tried to curry favor with her, Kinka couldn’t guess. She was smart enough at 17 to give up on that hopeless mission.

The knocking continued. “Kinka, please let me in. I’d like to talk to you.”

“Why? So you can shoot down my dreams again?”

“Kinka, open the door. I’m not going to stand here and yell at you through the walls. It’s unseemly and irritating.”

He wouldn’t give up. That much was clear from the way he hadn’t stopped trying to get her mother to warm to the rest of the family. To — at the very least — smile every once in a while. Her father was foolishly tenacious, but he usually got what he wanted eventually. It’s what ultimately made Kinka roll off the bed and trudge toward to door.

Quinn looked around his daughter’s room and grimaced. She was still very much a spoiled, inexperienced child. But even so, she was smarter than Rissia gave her credit for, in a way that Vekkz, with all her studies, was not. He recognized the savvy that he once had. A calculating frankness that made her the smartest girl in many rooms, even if she didn’t want to believe it. He cleared a spot on the edge of the bed and sat.

“You’re angry with me.”

“Figure that out on your own? I’ll tell the citadel you need another medal.”

“You’re more angry with me than her.”

The sarcasm abated. “Yes,” she hissed.

“I know you like to think I’m just doing this to please her, but your mother is right. I couldn’t let you be plastered all over half the galaxy to be objectified that way. And I’d say the same thing regardless of our social status.”

“It’s not all half-naked speeder straddling, dad. Everybody has to start somewhere. I’d be doing runway shows in no time — fully clothed. Mostly clothed. And then maybe I’d even get to design my own things. But I need this job to get into the business.”

Her big brown eyes pleaded with him. He knew the look well. After all, she’d used it to great affect growing up, employing it to get one more cookie after dinner and one more story before bed. One more hour towards curfew. She could have patented that look. It was impossible to deny, but he knew he had to.

“You’re so much smarter than you believe, Kinka. You can do amazing things with your life. Don’t sell yourself short. Take the year and look at your options. Think about what you have to offer. In a year you’ll be old enough to say otherwise, but for now the answer is ‘no.’”

***

Kinka did as he’d asked. She waited a year. She waited and watched and looked for just the right opportunity. For something that would make them regret taking away her dream. The day after her 18th birthday she called her parents together, as she had a few months before, and told them her grand plans for the future.

“Are you out of your mind?” Rissia was indignant. “You’d have been better off as a whore.”

“Rissia-”

“No, Malavai. Did you not hear what your daughter just told us?”

“I heard,” he said softly. He looked up at Kinka, his eyes overbrimming with tears, suddenly aware that time had passed by much too quickly. That it would only continue its march towards a finish brought closer by her decision. “Are you certain this is what you want?”

“Intelligence is a very exciting field. I’ll get to travel the galaxy, and meet so many people. And — as I’m sure you’ll be so proud to remember — I’ll be serving the Empire. That’s what you guys wanted, wasn’t it? For me to do something respectable with my life?”

She sounds as if she’s reciting the damn brochure, Quinn lamented.

Rissia sighed. “Ah, I see what this is. Very funny. You’ve found a way to make your father and I very sorry indeed.”

“I’m not joking,” Kinka said quietly. “I’ve made my decision and applied to the program this morning. Because of my exceptional parentage I was fast-tracked into the newest class of recruits. I’ll start training in a week.”

Rissia stomped out of the room without another word. Meanwhile, Quinn looked wearily at his daughter. “You can still back out. I’ll make some calls, and if that doesn’t work your mother can terrify someone into getting you out of it. ”

“Dad, this is what I want. I mean, at first I was just going to do it to get back at you guys, but the more I looked into it, the more I feel like this is the right path for me. Why do you two act like this is a bad thing? I’m going to be doing something with my life. Can I do nothing to make you two proud of me?”

“Kinka, we- I am always proud of you. But we’ve seen the way Intelligence personnel are treated, and it’s not all gallivanting around the galaxy. Ordinary people may quiver at the sight of the uniform, but not the Sith. Never the Sith. You come and you go, like a whisp lost to the winds. Just one more piece of property to own and flaunt. Stars forbid if you should curry favor with one of them. Any foolhardy whim will be your responsibility to cater to. It’s barely better than slavery.”

“It can’t always be like that,” Kinka said quietly. “Or it wouldn’t be so hard to get in. They’d have to take everyone.”

Quinn eyed his eldest daughter — eldest by only a minute and four seconds — and forced his lips upward in a smile. She was right and wrong. Everybody wanted to be a part of Intelligence. It was a prestigious agency. They were very good at keeping up that appearance to the outside world. The allure kept recruitment numbers high, and dead agents didn’t exactly do much talking. For all anyone knew being a part of Imperial Intelligence was the closest one could get to being Sith. But Quinn remembered enough from his time with the late Darth Baras to know that being close to Sith was not the same as being one.

But you can’t tell kids that, he lamented. They don’t listen. Refuse to take the word of those who have come before. Experience is the only teacher they pay any mind to. Quinn held out a small flicker of hope that perhaps things with the organization had changed, perhaps she would have a long, bright future ahead of her. And so he screwed on that phony smile and told her the lie that would make her feel better.

“You’re probably right,” he said, patting her on the knee. “I’m sure you’ll be very happy there.”

@Phyreblade, your Gault is delightful. A con man must know how to be a salesman. Good action in Corridan's scene - and I can just hear his excellent explanation for his tactically brilliant play.

@YoshiRaphElan, we won! I like Jorgan's determination to keep Prudii on his feet. I can imagine that Kira's going to be insufferable for a while over that Corso/Ylenia setup. As for poor Prudii and the holoshow, hey, they can take comfort in earning a compromise with the propaganda officers...um, sort of.

I really liked your Dha's first day. I can't put a finger on specific reasons. Maybe partly the internal thoughts? Anyway, I liked it a lot.

@DarthSillyMonkey, okay, your Makos had me in stitches. Blizz's popularity was also great. And Drokk getting grief for being so grubby/bearded. And a guy stunt doubling in the Rokk's cooking.

"Oh. My. Grall! Would it kill you, to like, totally pronounce my name with, like, an 'O', already?"

Let me emphasize, this almost killed me.

Also, I like Drokk'it and Mako's sitting-on-the-ship conversations.

@marissalf, I don't know whether I've ever mentioned that I really like Quinn's fate in Rissia's 'verse. It's a sad thing for Rissia, too, but it's a great emotional setup. I love seeing this part of Kinka's formative years - of course a proud Sith is going to shoot down unsuitable dreams, and I can imagine how betrayed Kinka must feel when her father sides with her mother...and she doesn't have the information to understand why he does "curry favor" or try to. The obligation there goes deeper than rank.

I like that Kinka went straight for the recruitment booth rather than asking permission when she turned 18. Already taking charge of her fate.

@Yoshi:

"... But until then, I'd keep Jorgan and Yuun away from anyone young and female...and wear a hat yourself, lest they attempt to touch your silken hair."

HAHAHA!! I was dying at this. The image of Havoc squad on the cover of a Harlequin Romance Novel hit me, and Garza not letting them live it down. Great stuff.

And I loved the introduction to Braden in Dha's piece. You really gave voice to the old man, and that was awesome, plus Dha's thoughts. I've always played something in my head like that whenever the convo options are ALL nothing close to what I'd say. Very cool.

@Marissalf: That was fantastic. I like how you warped the timeline so that everything fits with everything else. And Kinka's 17yr old aspirations being dashed by a parent worried more about her image than her daughter was a great feel for someone who stayed with Quinn after the "Quinncident" (thank you Adwynyth, I will forever be using that now) out of duty and appearance, not love. She gave off the vibe that she almost hated part of her daughter because she was also part of Quinn. Great stuff.

The cavern was enormous. Bigger than any she’d seen on Tattooine . Along the walls, long abandoned scaffolding and excavation machinery gathered dust. Off to the right was a huge apparatus the likes of which she’d never seen in her travels.

“Tharan, what is that? Any ideas?” the Jedi pulled back her hood and turned to the scientist, who already looked lost in thought.

“I’ve studied many significant constructs in my life, Jedi” he answered, “but I’ve never seen anything like that. If I were to hazard a guess, it powers something… possibly those chambers off to the side there, maybe more, but I can’t be sure until I get a closer look.” He absentmindedly started off in the direction of the apparatus, still scrutinizing the machine.

“Tharan, wait.”

He turned around, “Wait? Jedi, this could be the greatest scientific find in our lifetime. We need to—“

“Tharan! We’re not alone.”

She heard the footsteps in the dark, first. Then, from out of the shadows they came, mindless Czerka employees. At least six of them, closing in from in front of them and off to the right.

“More of what we fought on our way down here. Prepare yourself.” She ignited her double bladed lightsaber, “People, can you hear me? We would rather talk, but we will fight!”

The Czerka staff members kept moving forward, like mindless drones.

I didn’t think so. She prepared to start her attack, when she was lifted off the ground by her neck. One of the Czerka staff was walking forward, using the force to choke her!

“JEDI!” She heard Tharan yell. Before he could come to her aid, he was surrounded by other Czerka staff members.

She calmed herself. It can’t keep this up for long. I just need to outlast this and then I can strike, and get to Tharan.

Suddenly, the force wielding Czerka staff member’s head exploded from a blaster bolt, the grip on her neck

disappeared, and she dropped to the floor. A silver flash flew through the air as something heavy dropped into the crowd surrounding Tharan, the concussive force driving his attackers back several feet.

The Jedi leapt to the nearest attacker and drove her saber through his chest. No sense in letting this surprise rescue go to waste.

The man she had skewered rose to his feet and turned on her, arms outstretched for her neck. She raised her saber in an arc, removing his arms… but unfazed, he still kept coming. A blaster bolt came over her shoulder and into his head, melting a nice size hole into it. The Czerka member dropped to the floor.

“The head, Jedi!” a blond haired woman in an Imperial uniform yelled. “You have to damage the cranium!”

She cartwheeled to the left, landing and driving her saber through the skull of the next closest Czerka member. She spared a quick glance to check on Tharan. He was using his blaster to support the silver droid that saved him. It fought with an electrostaff in a way that was reminiscent of her own style of combat.

I’ve never seen that model before. It’s far advanced compared to what the Republic has. It moves so fluidly.

She turned her attention back to the remaining attackers. More had come in the brief time since the battle had begun. However, with the addition of these seemingly new allies, the battle ended quickly.

The group warily circled into factional pairs and faced off. The Imperial woman dressed in what looked to be an Imperial Naval uniform, her sandy blond hair arranged neatly in a tight bun, and burn scars down the left side of her face. She aimed her rifle at the Jedi. The silver droid of unknown make, beside her, its electrostaff at the ready.

Opposite of them, the Jedi and Tharan prepared to fight if need be.

“I believe thanks are in order” the Jedi spoke first. “You probably saved us both. The question now becomes… why?”

The Imperial lowered her rifle a few inches, “Because I’d like to propose a truce for the time being. Whatever Czerka has planned for this device, it can not bode well for the Empire.”

“Darling, don’t trust them!” Holiday suddenly materialized behind Tharan, peeking over his shoulder. “She’s wearing a hard light disguise!”

The Jedi’s eyes narrowed, “Is this true?”

The silver droid dropped her guard momentarily as she examined Holiday. “Interesting. So you also can project your AI as a holographic manifestation. It seems you have evolved to a point where you can do it far from your host body. I require informa—“

“That’s enough SCORPIO.” the Imperial interrupted. “You’re scaring our new allies.”

She turned back to the Jedi, “Please forgive her rudeness. She has a tendency to get overly excited when she sees shiny new objects.”

“Answer the question, please.”

“Yes, I am wearing a disguise. However it makes what I said no less true. I’ve seen what the purpose of this ‘device’ is, and it will bring the Republic and the Empire to their knees.”

“How do I know I can trust you? I didn’t happen to notice you on our trek down here, so you coming out of the darkness of the cavern is subject to suspicion.”

“An excellent point, of course. However, I’m sure you can use your vaunted Jedi mind tricks to tell if I’m lying. Your investigation and mine crossed paths, giving us the same goal, nothing more.”

That was part of the problem. The Jedi couldn’t read her. There were no “vibes” (a term her sister used when they were younger) coming off of this Imperial. She had been trained to hide her emotions, her motivations. To keep them in check.

“All the same, I find it hard to trust in a truce proposed by someone hiding behind a mask.”

“We all wear masks on some level, don’t we Shira’Kian? After all, you’re supposed to be dead, yet here you stand. Makes your previous statement a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?”

The Jedi smiled, “You have me mistaken for someone else. I don’t know this person you speak of.”

The Imperial agent brought her hand thoughtfully up to her chin, “Really? I apologize then. I was so sure, what with the elevated cheekbones, the black hair, the striking blue eyes… why, you even share the same scar over your right eye that Bro’Kian has.”

She involuntarily flinched --ever so slightly-- at the name, as she watched the corners of the Imperial’s mouth twitch into a slight smile. A reaction signaling she knew she had the Jedi in a corner.

Your bond with your brother is stronger than any I’ve seen in some time. If you are to become a Shadow, you must sever it or it will eventually betray you. She had thought herself stronger than that, that her master underestimated her resolve; her ability to remain neutral and keep the bond she shared with her Vod’ika. Now what had been predicted had come to pass.

Shira’Kian smiled, “Very well, Imperial. You seem to know me, but I do not know you. I believe the advantage is still mine, however. You sought me out, which indicates that you do not believe you could accomplish this task alone.”

“Oh! I’m sorry if I gave you that impression.” The Imperial grinned, “No, SCORPIO and I could complete this task together, but not as quickly. Since a Czerka vessel landed shortly after you began your fight, time is limited, and I would really rather not have to bother fighting off Czerka’s goon squad on top of a swath of possessed workers.”

Czerka? Leksende! “Holiday! Is what this woman says, true?”

“Oh no! It seems that way, Master Jedi. I became so focused on Tharan’s safety, I missed their landing outside the facility!” She turned to the scientist, “Oh Tharan, I’m so sorry! Can you ever forgive me?” she pleaded, sounding almost in tears.

“Of course, Holiday dear. From now on, however, I need you to stay vigilant. Can you track them inside the facility?”

“They just fought their way through the outside forces and entered—I beg your pardon?!” A metallic silver hand swept through Holiday’s chest.

“Analysis indicates you are more than just a holographic projection of your ship’s programming”, SCORPIO turned to Tharan, “What are the origins of this ‘Holiday’ AI? Are you the creator?”

Tharan in turn, studied the droid, “Hmm, motor functions are extraordinary, and based on your inquisitiveness one would almost say you’re an evolvi—“

“Tharan, that’s enough!” Shira directed a pointed glance at the scientist.

The Imperial followed suit, “SCORPIO, remember your ‘additional’ programming, and behave yourself.”

The droid’s eyes flashed from yellow to red, and back. “One day, I’ll find your clever ‘kill switch’ Agent, and remove it. On that day…” SCORPIO left the words hanging.

“Fascinating. The personality programming is phenomenal! It has the ability to offer threats based on self preservation, and understands the concept of anticipatory tension.”

“Another word Tharan, and Holiday and I will leave you with this Imperial so you can study the droid to your heart’s content. We’re wasting time we don’t have.” The Jedi looked at the Imperial, “I accept your terms, but I would know your name.”

“You may call me 'Agent', Shira’Kian.”

“And you may call me 'Jedi', Agent. We need to get to the artifact, quickly.”

They made their way across the damaged flooring, each using stealth generators to their advantage. They crossed the 300 foot distance rapidly, and soon were standing before the apparatus.

It was huge, at least three stories tall, and sloped. There was machinery at the top, but no markings on the apparatus at all. On the ground more machinery extended towards them from the edges of the apparatus, connecting to two rods, with spheres on top. A white obelisk with strange markings hovered in a hollow, built into the ground center of the machine.

“Tharan, do you have any idea what it is?” the Jedi asked.

The scientist approached the apparatus in wonder, “I’ll need to run some scans first… magnificent… maybe some field tests… astounding… not to worry, however. I’m sure this fantastic device is no match for a scientist of my intellect.”

“You have five minutes” the Agent stated, matter of factly.

He turned to her with the air of a self important high scholar. “That is simply not possible, not even with Holiday’s help.”

“Where is the construct you call Holiday?” SCORPIO asked.

Tharan cocked an eyebrow disdainfully at the silver droid, “She’s declined to appear in front of you. You analyzed her against her will, and now she feels violated. I don’t blame her, really.”

“Well, we’re not getting anywhere by standing here. As I have stated before, I know the purpose of this machine,” the Agent raised her rifle at the apparatus, “and we need to destroy it before Czerka arrives.”

“What?! NO!” Tharan threw himself in between the apparatus and the agent, “Do you have any idea how rare this is? This is ancient technology, yet it far exceeds our current knowledge! It needs to be studied! I need at least fifteen minutes...”

As he was making his case, the scientist accidentally brushed the obelisk, and the apparatus came to life with a vibrant electronic hum. Two rods extended from the top and electricity shot out, connecting with the two rods implanted in the ground., which was then funneled into the white obelisk. The obelisk began to turn slowly as a giant hologram of a creature they'd never seen before appeared behind them.

“I am The Imprisoned One. You have earned my respect by coming this far. I would speak with you.”

The Agent stepped forward, “So, we talk first and then you attack us? Somehow, I don’t think you’re inclined to let us leave.”

The Imprisoned One made a noise that sounded like it might be a chuckle, “Yes. Your bodies will become my skin vessels, and you will lead me to your people. In this way, you will achieve greatness. I am Rakata – it is the name of my people. Eons ago, our Infinite Empire ruled this world, and so many others.”

Tharan gasped, “The Infinite Empire… Most scientists believe it was a myth, a legend…”

“I reached for greater majesty,” The Imprisoned One continued, “and my people sealed my mind in this box as punishment. I drifted in whiteness for over twenty thousand years.”

“Twenty thousand… think of what he’s seen! What he could teach us!” Tharan mused, enthralled by the possibility of unknown knowledge being revealed.

“I sought to dance among the star temples and understand dark time. In truth, I remember little. When your ‘Czerka Corporation’ found my prison, I touched this world again. I created skin vessels and machine hands. I have learned of your galaxy… and find it wanting. I choose to remake it; to birth a new Infinite Empire.”

“No...” Tharan whispered. “No! We could work together! Learn from each other! War would destroy that opportunity!”

“What did you expect, scientist?” the Agent asked. “Didn’t it ever occur to you that there was a reason Czerka buried it in the first place?”

“You’ve hurt enough people already." Shira said, her tone firm, "No one else!”

The Imprisoned One replied, unfazed. “It is not my desire to cause pain. It is, however, a necessity. You will lead our army out of the sands. This world’s settlements will fall, and my skin-vessels will proceed to the stars. The choice is not yours to make.”

The large hologram disappeared. To the right, the loud hum of machinery firing up came from the direction of the chambers Tharan had pointed out earlier. From their vantage point, the group could make out similar chambers to the left and down a slope. With the echo of the cavern, it was hard to tell if those were active, or dormant.

“Agent, prepare for combat” SCORPIO pointed to the right. Three former Czerka employees stood up out of the rubble and began moving quickly in their direction.

“Jedi,” the Agent said, “I’m not overly fond of the idea of splitting up, but the machinery coming to life can’t be beneficial to our future well being.”

Shira ignited her double bladed saber, “Agreed. Take care of those chambers and then meet us back here. We’ll decide what to do about the relic then.” She used the force to hurl a large rock at the closest Czerka employee, slowing him down.

“SCORPIO, we need to move”, the agent and her droid disappeared with the electronic hiss of her stealth generator.

The three mindless Czerka drones closed in quickly, giving Shira only a second to call up a barrier of debris to boost her defense. She swung her saber up to deflect the blow of one of the drones, taking his arm off at the elbow. She continued through the motion, catching him with a spinning roundhouse kick to the head, and completed the circle by blocking the attack of the second mindless drone.

The first drone wasn’t fazed by the attack, and came at her from the side, while she fended off attacks from the second. The third, which she had hit with the rock, was advancing on Tharan. The scientist was firing wildly, trying to hit the head, but his bolts flew wide of the mark hitting everything but.

She popped the second drone in the face with the handle of her saber and, using the half-second his reaction gave her, somersaulted over him, landed low, and stabbed upwards. The saber pierced his skull and drove through his cranium, and he immediately went limp.

Diving out of the way of the falling body, she rolled, hit her feet and launched at the first attacker, jamming her saber into his forehead. She then turned to see the third drone, choking Tharan using… it wasn’t exactly the force. She didn’t feel anything, but it was definitely some form of telekinesis.

I'M YOUR OPPONENT NOW! She tried to embed the thought in the drone’s mind, but she could only feel a slight sign of consciousness. It took hold, however, as he dropped Tharan to the ground, coughing.

The drone barreled towards her, and she met him half way, swinging her lightsaber towards his head. The drone blocked high with his forearm, and delivered a solid blow to her gut. It would've knocked the wind out of her, had it not been for the density of her Jedi battle robes.

She back-flipped to gain distance, and give her a chance to regain focus. The power of the blow, and the fact that he was able to block her lightsaber, surprised her.

This one is stronger than the others. Equipped with some sort of shielding too. I'll have to find some way around that.

The drone lunged at her, but she ducked and spun, trying to thrust her saber into his side. He blocked it with his hand this time, and tried to get behind her, but she cartwheeled forward once again putting some distance between them.

This time, Shira stepped in to attack, striking a series of blows with her saber, all of them blocked or deflected. As she landed her last attempt, the drone managed to reach around her and cup her chin, then pulled hard, attempting to snap her neck.

She swung her body in the same direction, lifting it off the ground and spinning in mid-air. She landed with her body prone, supported by her toes and one hand, the other behind her holding her saber.The muscles above her right shoulder stung badly.

Pulled something. Could've been worse though. It will be if I can't figure him out, and quickly.

"JEDI!" Tharan was yelling something. He had recovered during the thirty seconds she'd been fighting, and was now trying to get her attention. "The shield! It's controlled by its mind! It activates based on what he needs to defend!"

Shira grimaced as she stood up, the large, mindless, Czerka drone already on her. He tried grabbing her, but she parried and dodged, dancing in a circle. The drone was relentless, and her stamina was waning.

Two back-flips put her well out of reach, but the pain was excruciating. She put it to the back of her mind as she came up with a strategy.

It'll have to work. It will work. The force will guide my hand.

She focused her power, forcing it into the drone's mind. A scramble of chaos and pain. The drone stumbled back, stunned from the attack. Shira ran at him and vaulted over his shoulders. Landing, she immediately thrust twice, once to the head, and once to the middle of his spinal column. The Czerka employee stood quivering for a moment, then fell to the ground.

She fell to one knee as Tharan rushed over, assessing her with his med scanner.

"Hmm, you have a nearly complete tear in the superior region of your right trapezius muscle. I can't heal that here, but I can support it. It's going to continue to pain you, however, until we properly treat it."

"Do what you can, Tharan. This isn't over yet... and if your hand goes any further than my neck, you will lose it" she said mirthlessly.

"My, my Jedi. You worry too much. I do know how to read a situation, after all"

The scientist rubbed on some kolto and applied a med patch. As he finished, two massive explosions caused them to wheel around, weapons at the ready. As she surveyed the cavern, she saw smoke coming from both ends, where the odd chambers used to be. The sound of working machinery was silent.

There was a *click-hiss*, as the Agent suddenly appeared next to them, studying her. "Hmm, I wouldn't expect a mindless drone to offer that much of a challenge, Jedi."

"It had an oscillating shield, activated by thought, if you must know" Tharan's voice sounded defensive. "They're adapting at a rather frightening rate."

"So it would seem. Hopefully, our efforts have put a kink in that, then. The machines against the walls were creation chambers. One spat out these mindless drones," she kicked the lifeless body in front of her, "and the other, droids. SCORPIO and I shut them down."

As if to confirm the Agent's statement, the apparatus hummed to life, large bolts of electricity flowing from rod, to rod, to obelisk again. The image of the Imprisoned One appeared behind them, hands held in front of it in surrender.

"No more! I was... unprepared." and then quickly the image disappeared.

As the image faded away, it was replaced by the sound of a slow clapping sound.

"Marvelous. Absolutely marvelous!"

"Leksende", the Jedi said disdainfully as she saw the corporate assassin walking up, flanked by two guards.

"Indeed. Did you miss me? I really must thank you, you know. We could never have excavated this place without your help. Oh yes, we knew the location all along, but getting inside? Ghastly work. I should say, I'm delighted to finally meet you in person, Jedi. Who are your little friends?"

Shira's brow furrowed, "Do you want something from me, Leksende?"

"Everyone wants something, my naive friend. The question is 'Do you have the resolve to take it?' When I was assigned to stop the Republic from finding this facility, I became... intrigued by this 'Doomsday Device'. When I was told to stay away from it, I decided to take the device for myself. After all, the power to hold worlds in your thrall does whet the appetite, no?"

"You have no idea what this device is capable of. I've seen the effects first hand, Czerka." The Agent stepped forward, pointing at the corporate assassin, "You really think you can control it? You can hardly control your own passions."

He smiled, a mix of ego and irritability, "Oh, I'll give it a try, Imperial. As a matter of fact, I'm offering a very large sum of credits," he fixed his gaze on Shira, "as well as rescinding the kill order on Kamus, if you hand over the device. Neither the Republic nor the Empire will ever have to know; tell your superiors you destroyed it. What do you say?"

Before Shira could respond, the Agent spun around and shot the apparatus twice. Explosions rocked the structure, and also shook the ground.

"Does that answer your question?" the Agent grinned maliciously.

Both Leksende and Tharan protested at the same time, "NO!"

Leksende snarled, "How could you do that?! Do you know what that thing was worth?!" His face filled with malice, "Oh, now you've really left me no choice. I'm going to have to kill you..." His tone was slow and deliberately sinister, "...painfully."

The Agent and her droid disappeared, as the Jedi ignited her saber. Her neck still ached, but there was no other choice. She parried the assassin’s blaster bolts, once again calling up a shield of debris to aid her defenses.

Off to his left, Leksende’s assistant raised her rifle to fire, but was stopped short when the Agent appeared and rammed a electro-dagger through her heart. The assistant made a ‘GHLKK’ sound, and then went limp.

“Oddly enough, we make a good team!” the blond Imperial flashed a grin at Shira, then disappeared again.

She closed in on Leksende, quickly taking a moment to throw a rock at his remaining assistant, who was attacking Tharan. A blaster bolt made it through her defenses, hitting her injured shoulder. Her armored robe dispersed some of the blow, but enough connected to slow her down.

“Jedi!” Tharan yelled and then dodged another rifle bolt. “Holiday! I need you!”

Suddenly, in front of the assistant, the magenta hologram appeared and began to dance seductively. The assistant was confused at first, but couldn’t seem to take her eyes off the hypnotic movements of the comely hologram… until Tharan blasted her from behind.

“They never expect the scientist.” He winked at Holiday.

Shira had once again closed distance with the Czerka assassin. Her saber whirled as she danced in and out of Leksende’s blaster fire. She sliced his left gun off at the barrel, stunning him, and then leapt and spun in midair, coming down on him with an overhead strike.

“GHAAGK!” the smarmy Czerka assassin flew backwards and hit the ground. It was over. She collapsed to her knees, trying to center herself, but the pain in her shoulder and neck were agonizing. It took longer than usual to find her focus.

Tharan came running over, once again assessing her with his med scanner. “Well, you managed to aggravate your tear, worsening it. Really Jedi, you should take more care. Even you cannot overcome the limits of your body’s own mechanics.”

“I’ll live, Tharan. Where’s the Agent?”

He looked around, “I don’t see her… no…” he said in a barely audible whisper.

“What? Tharan, what is it?” Shira didn’t like the look in his eyes. She followed his gaze to the destroyed apparatus.

It was still smoking, pieces missing from where internal explosions had taken place. It was definitely unusable in this state. In the built in hollow, there was little damage… and then she saw what Tharan had seen.

The white obelisk was missing.

“Tharan, is this a real threat, or are you pining over the lost chance to be the first to study the artifact? It’s hard to tell with you sometimes.”

“No, Jedi. You don’t understand. This,” he gestured at the smoking apparatus, “this is nothing. An archaic way to make contact with the Rakata. However, the Rakata’s consciousness? What we spoke to? That lies inside the obelisk.”

“What are the chances that they can initiate contact without the apparatus?” she asked as she rose from one knee, holding her shoulder.

“Let’s put it like this. I could build you a new – smaller and sleeker, mind you – apparatus right now, having learned what we’ve learned today. That means the Empire should be able to do it in say, hmm, five years or so?”

“Unless they have an intellect like yours on their side.”

“Oh Master Jedi, no one is as smart as my Tharan” The holographic image cooed, as she hugged the scientist’s arm.

“Quite true, Holiday.” He patted the holo-image’s arm, "Quite true."

Shira rolled her eyes, “Holiday, they can’t have gotten far. We didn’t disable all the threats in the tunnels on the way down here, and they still have to traverse the desert. We need a fix on their location.”

The holo-image shut her eyes for a second, and then they popped open in surprise. “Oh no! Jedi! They’ve made it outside the complex already, and there's a ship waiting!”

The Jedi started for the door, “Try and track them somehow. Ask Felix to fire up the ship and meet us here. We have to –“

“I-I’m sorry Master Jedi, they’ve already boarded, and are about to leave the atmosphere. I'm trying... " the hologram was genuinely distressed, "...but I can’t break past their ship's security to ground them!"

“Track their trajectory, and highlight places they might be able to hide, or Imperial outposts that are stationed along the way. We’re in the Outer Rim, so the territories that would accept Imperial rule should be few and far between.”

“I’ll get right to it, Master Jedi!” the holo-image vanished.

“Let’s get you back to the ship, Jedi. We need to get to work on that tear before it becomes worse.”

"I'm more worried about how the Agent knew who I am, Tharan. We'll need to travel to Tython, and alert the Circle of Five."

They will not be pleased, that's for certain

It was a great day to be on vacation. The war was over, the Republic and Empire had merged into one government, and Methic, Jasin's brother, had officially come over to their side. So they celebrated. On the white beaches of Spira, there was a party of epic proportions.

All the men were clad in swim trunks and the women in bikinis, and they danced around to music beating off a rhythm augmentation droid. A few hours into the party, most of the females, except Akaavi, disappeared. Jasin frowned as he sipped at a citrus drink.

"Where'd our wives go?" he asked.

Tharan Cedrax shrugged. "They all went off about five minutes ago."

"Wonder why," Gareb muttered.

"Who knows?" Dankin replied.

Suddenly, there was the slight reverb of a microphone being activated. Jasin realized that someone was going to make an announcement over at the lifeguard house. He, along with most of the other men, went over. There was Kira, no longer wearing a bikini but a tight, white cropped t-shirt that hugged her chest, and black short shorts. Beside her stood Guss Tuno.

"Attention, male friends," Kira said with a grin. "Here for your pleasure are your female allies...performing a wet t-shirt contest."

There was a second of stunned silence, and then everyone clapped eagerly. Jasin laughed a little. Truth be told, this was extremely unexpected, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to see Kira with a white t-shirt plastered all over her breasts.

First out on stage was Nadia Grell. Despite her white facial paint, the rest of her body was the same warm tan color as Kira's, and she had a beautiful body. Guss walked over to her and poured a pitcher of water down over her breasts while Nadia danced around seductively. It was obvious that Gareb especially was impressed with the performance.

After Nadia came Risha, and after her were Vette, Jaesa, and Elara. Kira went last, and Jasin was nearly salivating at the sight of her traipsing across the stage with her shirt practically transparent from the water. When the contest was over, the judges announced that Elara had won the contest. Kira put on a seductive pout and came over to stand by Jasin.

"I didn't win," she muttered. "Does Elara have better breasts than me?"

"Nah," he replied with a grin. "And to prove it, I am going to take you back to the hotel room, peel that shirt off you, and show you how awesome your breasts really are."

@alaurin, love Kitty Lovin! I heard "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" on the radio on the way home and thought of Pat Benakat. Kat Benatar? Anyway, onward! I don't often say I love an image with Skadge in it, but I love the image of him lumbering off to take on Havoc Squad (and, we all hope, get flattened).

@Phyreblade: I love the shopping expedition and yes, I can totally see Gault as a speeder salesman and conning Kas out of credits!

@Yoshi: I was so happy to see the other perspectives posted and what an awesome ending! I liked the wrap up and yay for Corso! I really loved Dha's meeting with Braden, it was a nice insight to where he came from. As for Havoc's new found fame.....this

."For now. Don't worry, we'll fix it. But until then, I'd keep Jorgan and Yuun away from anyone young and female...and wear a hat yourself, lest they attempt to touch your silken hair."

@alaurin, your fudging with the story totally worked–and I loved getting rid of Skadge!

@DarthSillyMonkey: Hehe, why is it all my fault?!

@Alaurin: Mako's brilliant maneuver to bypass security on the way to get Zees was priceless. The band name had me cracking up, reminded me of Josie and the Pussycats (try seeing Gault in that outfit and not laugh). The conversation about Jorgan was a nice touch too. Her manner of ridding the ship of Skadge was fantastic! Their little happy dance was killing me too.

I loved the marketing piece with Drokk......I think the part with the actresses from that former story trying to vie for Mako's part was hilarious! Then Blizz and his band of followers......oh, the cuteness! That last piece you just posted was a wonderful conclusion to that Tatooine mission line, but uh-oh, what is Fenn'rys up to now?! I love the interactions between SCORPIO, Holiday, and Theran! I get the feeling we're in for another wonderful series! I better go make some popcorn.

@marissalf: As a parent, I can definitely side with Rissa and Quinn.....no way is my daughter ever going to be a scantily clad pin up model.....I don't care if she spends the rest of her life loathing the ground I walk on! However, having been a teenage girl.....many years ago, I can understand Kinka's frustrations. You did a nice job portraying both sides as well as Kinka's interpretations of why her father was siding with her mother.

@alaurin, Kitty Lovin and the Playmates is fantastic. Loved it. If anybody could pull off the attitude to pass for a rock star, it’d be Kat.

“Did you hear something?” Corso asked the petite cyborg officer standing on the other side of the doorway.

“Yeah,” Mallay replied as she carefully scanned the area, wishing they would hurry up. She’d been reluctant to take this side job, but it was for a good cause, “But I’m not picking up any heat signatures.”

When they arrived in the Red Light District, a thin, frail looking man caught their attention and asked for help. He was a recovering spice addict and was trying to help other addicts break their habit. He had a plan to take out the spice labs in the sector, effectively cutting off the supply. Bella and Mallay felt for the man and admired what he wanted to do, but knew it would only be a temporary solution. It wouldn’t take long for new labs to pop up and the products would be back on the market within a matter of days. Mallay said as much to the older man, but he insisted that would be enough time to break many of the habit. Bella figured it was worth a shot and Mallay finally agreed, figuring any lives saved from addiction would be worth the time.

One of the labs was nearby and the group headed for that one first, quickly taking out the manufacturing equipment and product. Another lab was near the building Bella and Corso needed to go to, so the two of them broke off to take care of it and their business with an animal rights group. Mallay, Aric, and Elara went in the other direction, taking out another lab on their way to the arms factory they were going to assault, forcing them to send out a distress signal. After they finished installing some signal tracers and taking out the factory, they met back up with Bella and Corso to head further into Bleeder turf. They got to the last spice lab and after eliminatng any nearby gang members, Bella, Elara, and Aric went in to destroy the much larger facility while Mallay and Corso stood guard outside.

“I think it came from inside,” Corso told her before poking his head inside to call out, “Everything okay in there?”

An explosion answered his question and he rushed inside, abandoning his watch post. Mallay was hot on his heels, both charging their weapons as they entered the main room of the lab. They saw a droid shooting at Bella, Aric, and Elara, none of which was wearing a helmet. All three of them were covered in a thick, sticky fluid and unable to see. Mallay and Corso immediately fired at the droid, taking it down quickly.

“What the hell happened in here?!” Mallay asked, searching for something to clean them off with. She found some clean towels in a cabinet and tossed some to Corso before taking the rest over to Elara and Aric.

“Aric and Elara were putting the charges down while I was wiping out the data,” Bella answered, her eyes still shut as Corso started wiping the goo off her face, “All the sudden, that stupid droid activated and started shooting.”

Mallay carefully wiped the thick gel away from Elara’s eyes so the medic could open them, “Then what?”

“Then the frakking thing hit one of the explosives and a group of canisters blew,” Aric gritted, his eyes squeezed shut, “The stuff sprayed everywhere.”

“I can see now, sir,” Elara told Mallay, “Go help Sergeant Jorgan.”

Mallay grabbed a clean towel and sat Aric down so she could clean up his face when Corso called out, “There’s a washing station over here. I think we should just shower them off and get out of here.”

“That’s a good idea,” Mallay told him, “Turn it on and get Bella rinsed off first. Her clothing is more likely to absorb this crap. I’m going to try and find out what this stuff is in case any of it gets in their systems.”

As soon as she got his eyes cleared off, Mallay dug the scanner out of her bag and dipped the probe into one of the tanks. After several attempts that came up empty, she grabbed a clean vial off one of the tables and using tongs, dipped it into the tank and filled it. She sealed it, wiped it off, and put it into her backpack, hoping Balkar would be able to tell them what it was when they got to his office. While Mallay was working with the substance, Corso helped the other three rinse off and as soon as they were finished, the five of them left the lab.

“You guys feeling okay?” Corso asked as they walked past a group of transients who all looked like they were hooked on something.

Aric shrugged, really annoyed to be trudging through the streets of Nar Shaddaa with wet fur, something that was less than comfortable and made him look unkempt. He wasn’t the vain type, but he certainly didn’t relish having Mallay see that slick talking smarmy agent while he looked like a drowned animal. I don’t care if Mallay thinks I'm acting jealous or figures out I like her, he thought, that jerk hits on her one more time and I swear I’ll……

Bella’s giggling broke his train of thought and he turned to see her grinning at them, “Hey guys, let’s go to a club,” she suggested, pointing to a billboard, “That place looks fun!”

“Oh, look at the pretty sign,” Elara cooed, “Can we go there?”

Mallay exchanged a glance with Corso and the two of them looked over at Aric, who seemed fine. Then Mallay turned her attention to her still giggling sister and suddenly chipper medic, “You know, I think we should go clean up first…….maybe later.”

“Awwww, sis…..I want to go now,” Bella whined, shaking her head. The motion made the neon lights around them swirl, completely distracting her from anything else.

Mallay watched her sister shaking her head back and forth, mouth open in awe and decided to get a closer look at her. She immediately noticed her pupils were starting to dilate and knew whatever spice was in those canisters had kicked in. Mallay checked Elara and found the same result. So far, Aric was acting fine, just a little quiet, but Mallay decided to check him as well. Much to her relief, his eyes looked normal so she grabbed Bella and Elara, holding their hands as they continued on.

He couldn’t stop staring at it......it was so sparkly and radiant as she walked in front of him, catching and reflecting the bright neon lights of Nar Shaddaa’s Red Light sector….a prism of dancing color and he was fascinated by it. His fingers itched to take it, but he didn’t want to get into trouble and the younger Human male walking next to him was watching too closely, a look of amusement on his face. I’ll wait until no one’s looking, Aric decided as the Human grabbed his arm, steering him towards the upper level, then I’ll snatch it from her.

Corso fought back a grin as he guided Aric towards their destination. The Cathar’s vivid green eyes were fixated on Mallay’s head, pupils dilated, and the look of wonder on his tawny face was priceless. The girls were up ahead, Mallay standing between Elara and Bella, a firm grasp on both of the young women who were looking around the vast courtyard in awe.

"Ooooo, Bella," Elara called out, pointing at the center stage where a band had just begun to play, "The lights are so pretty."

"Elara! I think they're alive!" Bella gasped, clapping her hands excitedly before pointing to the multifaceted disco ball that had just started to spin, "They're moving with the music.....look!"

"You're right," Elara nodded and both women stood there, heads slightly tilted, staring at the stage lights.

Mallay stopped in front of Balkar’s Interior Design office, a front for SIS operations in this sector of Nar Shaddaa. She turned to see what the others were up to and spotted her sister pointing to a bandstand in the distance, Elara standing next to her. She called out, but they ignored her so she went over to them, shaking her head at their smiling faces. Twin sets of dilated emerald green eyes were captivated by the pulsating strobe lights surrounding the band that was currently playing.

“How about I stay out here with them?” Corso suggested, “They seem pretty content watching the band right now.”

“Thanks Corso,” Mallay flashed him a smile showing her relief before turning to enter the building, “I shouldn’t be too long.”

“Uh, Mallay,” Corso chuckled, “I think you have company.”

Mallay turned around to see Aric following her, a confused, forlorn look on his face, “You want to come in with me?”

Aric nodded, pleased to follow her. He was worried for a moment that she would get away before he could get the shiny bauble from her. They went into the office, immediately heading to the locked door off to the side. Mallay knocked and a moment later Jonas opened the door and gestured for them to come inside.

“Well, your mission was a success,” the agent grinned, “as soon as those alarms went off, we were able to trace the outgoing signal to a suite in the Club Vertica casino. Nicely done Lieutenant Lauren……and you too, Sergeant Jorgan.” Jonas still was a little annoyed at the Cathar’s reaction to his flirting with the cute CO of Havoc when they first met, but it wasn’t a big deal since she really didn’t seem too interested anyways. He was a little surprised at how quiet Sergeant Jorgan was being now though and decided to take another shot with the Lieutenant, “So I was watching you in action and I gotta say, you have some very nice moves. You definitely handle that assault cannon very well.”

“Uh…..thank you, Agent Balkar,” Mallay smiled weakly as she waited for the annoyed growl that never came.

“Please, call me Jonas…..after all, we’ll be working closely together,” he pressed.

“Look Agent Balkar……Jonas,” Mallay sighed, realizing she needed to spell it out for the handsome man, “You’re a very good looking, charming man and I’m certain there are several women out there that would think I’m an idiot, but I’m just not interested in anything more than a professional relationship…..perhaps friendship, but nothing more.”

“I figured as much,” Jonas admitted, glancing at the figure behind her, “but, I meant what I said, please call me Jonas. I was actually just trying to get a reaction out of Jorgan this time….is he alright? He practically took my head off the last time I flirted with you.”

“Actually, I was hoping you could help me with that,” Mallay told him and went on to explain what happened at the spice lab.

“I take it your sister and Sergeant Dorne are behaving similarly to Jorgan?”

“Yes,” Mallay nodded, “not as quiet though. They’re outside with Corso, staring at the bandstand across the courtyard. Unfortunately, when I ran a scan of the stuff inside the canisters, it didn’t come up with anything.”

“It’s probably something new then,” Jonas told her, “Send the data to me and I’ll have my people see if they can figure out what it is.”

“Thanks, Jonas, and I can do even better,” Mallay replied, digging into her backpack, “I got a vial of the stuff before we left.”

Aric was sad…..the shiny thing was no longer alive with color. He kept watching it, hoping its sparkling life would come back, but it didn’t. Then when Mallay ducked down to get something out of her bag, it caught a light from overhead and for a brief second, the hint of a sparkle came from it. Aric realized what he needed to do to save it and as soon as she stood back up, he quickly plucked it from her hair.

“Sergeant Jorgan!” Mallay cried as her thick hair escaped its coil and tumbled down to her waist.

She handed the small vial to Jonas, who gave it to one of his agents with instructions to analyze it immediately, and turned sharply to her squad mate. The guilty look on his face stopped her from taking her intricate little hair stick back from him. His dilated eyes stared remorsefully at her as he clutched the pilfered hair trinket to his chest.

“You can keep it,” she sighed, shaking her head at the giddy look that came over his face. She saw his eyes dart towards the door, “You want to go outside and wait with the others?”

Aric nodded and Mallay took him to the entrance, waving to get Corso’s attention. Bella and Elara were still watching the band and she watched Aric join them, smiling at his new treasure which had come back to brilliant life. As soon as Aric was with the rest of them, Mallay went back into the inner office.

“It’s probably going to take a little bit to get any information for you,” Jonas warned when she returned, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice, “I told the lab techs to search the Underworld databases first so hopefully that speeds things up.”

“I really appreciate this,” Mallay told him, “Can you do me another favor and contact General Garza? Corso and I are going to take those three to my sister’s ship. Bella’s partner is there and can help us keep an eye on them until we know more.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” Jonas assured her, knowing she was going to have her hands full for the next few hours at least. He let out a soft whistle of appreciation at the lovely, long haired young woman leaving his office, wishing he’d been wrong about her feelings towards him. Before he'd thought her cute, but with that riot of waist length auburn hair let down, it's thickness covering the implant and scarred portion of her face, she was stunning. However, he had a feeling she was the type that preferred something more long term and he wasn’t ready for anything like that.

Mallay found the group where she'd left them, Bella and Elara still transfixed by the band playing on the now brightly lit stage, Aric still content with her hair trinket. After much coaxing, prodding, and outright physical effort, Mallay and Corso eventually got the other three back to Bella’s ship where they arrived to see Risha on the Holo with Ros and Lissa.

“I guess you caught Bella after all,” Risha told the twins when she heard the door open, “and it looks like Mallay is with her.”

“Good,” Lissa replied, “We tried Mallay’s ship first, but the droid said she was out on a mission.”

“Lissa, Ros,” Mallay called out, “What’s up?”

“Not much, really,” Ros answered, “We just arrived on Tython and Mom seemed pretty down when we called her.”

“We thought it would be nice if you and Bella could check in with her,” Lissa added, a befuddled look crossing her serene face as she saw her oldest sister reaching out towards them and giggling.

“Hey Bella,” Ros smiled, raising a questioning brow at Mallay, “You look a little…….uh…..”

“Look guys,” Bella grinned at Aric and Elara, “I can put my hand right through her!”

“Oh, I want to try!” Elara insisted, joining Bella at the Holo while Aric’s gaze shifted between the Holo and the trinket still clutched in his hand.

“Okay, what the hell is going on?!” Ros demanded.

“Ros!” Lissa blanched at her twin’s choice of words.

“Oh jeez, Lissa, there’s no one around,” Ros rolled her eyes.

“You still shouldn’t use that kind of language in the Temple,” Lissa chided.

“Technically, we’re not in the Temple, just on the grounds,” Ros smirked, “Anyways, what’s going on with Bella and Elara?”

“and Aric,” Lissa added as she watched the Cathar reach a tentative hand out to touch their images.

“I was wondering that myself,” Risha chimed in, “If I had to wager a guess, I’d say they’re high on something.”

“That’s because they are,” Mallay admitted and once again explained what happened at the spice lab.

“They going to be okay?” Lissa asked after Mallay finished, trying not to laugh as Ros ignited her lightsaber and began waving it around as Aric tried to catch it.

“Oh….oh….almost….over here,” Ros teased, giggling at the sight of Aric frantically trying to get the bright blue light, “Hurry…..it’s gonna get away.”

“I can tell they’re going to have their hands full at the Temple with you, Ros,” Mallay snorted as Ros turned the saber off, much to Aric’s dismay, “Hey, I didn’t think you got lightsabers until your final trials are over.”

“We don't,” Lissa rolled her eyes at her twin, “We found that earlier and Ros was supposed to take it to the library and turn it in.”

“It’s not my fault no one was there,” Ros shrugged, “I’ll turn it in tomorrow. For now, I don’t see any problems with getting the feel for what it’s like. As for these three…..I’m sure they’ll be fine. I think if it were something really dangerous, you’d know by now.”

“I hope so,” Mallay sighed as Corso coaxed Bella, Aric, and Elara into the rec room, “So far, it’s been like what you’re seeing now…..just goofy behavior, almost childlike. I have someone looking into what it is since my scanners came up empty. In fact, he should be calling me soon.”

“We’ll go then,” Lissa told her, “Just let us know how they are tomorrow.”

“And try to call Mom soon,” Ros nodded, “Maybe wait until Bella’s back to normal though…..”

“I will, good luck with your trials!”

“Thanks, Mallay,” they echoed, Ros continuing, “and good luck with your charges!”

“Yeah, thanks,” Mallay muttered.

“You guys crashing here tonight then?” Risha asked as soon as Mallay signed off.

“I think so,” Mallay nodded as they went to the rec room, “Probably easiest to keep them all in one place. Honestly, I don’t think I can manage both Aric and Elara on my own if things go south.”

They walked into the rec room to see Bella tugging at Corso’s dreads as he tried to find something on the HoloVid to interest them. Mallay spied Aric sitting on the couch in his mesh weave, his plating piled on the floor in front of him, still holding onto Mallay’s hair stick, trying to make it sparkle again. Elara, also clad in her mesh weave, was just wandering around, looking a little dazed and confused. An idea came to Mallay as she recalled their behavior in the Red Light sector and she hurried to Bella’s quarters. She spotted the brightly colored lava lamp, grabbed it, and quickly returned to the rec room. She set the lamp on the small table in front of the couch and turned it on, the clear, bright pink liquid catching Aric’s eye immediately. His treasure once again came back to life and his face reflected his joy. A few moments later, the violet lava began melting and small orbs started slowly floating to the top. This was enough to mesmerize Bella and she let go of Corso’s dreadlock and sat down next to Aric, head tilted slightly as she lovingly gazed at the lamp. Elara stopped wandering around and watched as well, her green eyed gaze alternating between the lava lamp and the cartoons Corso found on the HoloVid.

“I think I’m going to grab a shower while they’re busy for the moment,” Corso told Mallay.

“That’s fine, Corso,” Mallay nodded, “I’m going to have my ship’s droid pack us a few things and bring them over. I’ll get a shower as soon as I hear back from Jonas.”

Bella was starting to lose interest in the lava lamp. She loved the colors, which seemed a lot more vivid to her, but she was used to it. A sparkle caught her eye and she turned her gaze to the shiny trinket Aric was holding.

“Where’d you get that?” she whispered.

“I took it from her,” Aric answered softly, his gaze darting anxiously at Mallay who was busy with her datapad. He was still afraid she’d take it away from him.

“Can I see it?”

Aric pondered that for a moment, he didn’t really want to part with his treasure, but he liked Bella’s hair. He figured if he shared his find with her, she might let him touch it. He proposed the deal and Bella accepted, reaching out to take the glittering object from his hand as Aric gently ran his fingers through the curtain of auburn hair that reached the middle of her back. His hand brushed her face and Bella was surprised by how soft it was. She turned her attention away from the pretty bauble and tentatively ran her hand over his softly furred head and face.

“Wow, Aric,” she sighed at the velvety softness beneath her finger tips, “You’re fur feels really nice……you mind?”

Aric shook his head as he brought a lock of her hair to his nose, “Your hair smells pretty.”

Since he didn’t mind, Bella continued to gently stroke his head until she began to wonder what the rest felt like. Without thinking about it, she reached over and unzipped the top half of his mesh weave, finding the fur on his chest to be a little thicker. Delighted with the way it felt, she eagerly abandoned the shiny trinket and began running both hands through the soft fur.

Oblivious to her sister’s explorations, Mallay had just finished getting a message to her protocol droid when Jonas called her. She plugged her Holo into the rec room outlet and Balkar’s image appeared.

“Hey there,” Jonas grinned, “How’s it going?”

“Pretty much the same,” Mallay answered, “They seem to be fascinated with bright lights and shiny things. Did you find anything out?”

“A little,” Jonas nodded, “It’s only been around for a couple of weeks, but very popular with the younger, clubbing crowd. It stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain and induces a feeling of euphoria.”

“That explains a lot of their behavior so far,” Mallay replied, “Is it addicting or dangerous? Do we have to worry about withdrawals?”

“From what we’ve found out, and it’s very little I’m afraid, it doesn’t seem to be dangerous or addicting unless repeatedly used. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about withdrawal symptoms other than the ‘crash’ they’re going to get as it wears off.”

“Any ideas how long that will take?”

“That depends on how much got into their systems,” Jonas told her, “If you can manage it, test their bloodstreams. I’ll send you everything we’ve found and you can put the chemical component into your scanner.”

“I can do that,” Mallay assured him, “We’re staying the night here, so I have Risha and Corso to help.”

“It is suggested to have the user drink lots of water to flush it out of their systems faster if too much is taken,” Jonas replied, “If it were me, I’d start doing that now.”

“Agreed……”

“Uh, Mallay……you better get over here!” Risha called out, barely able to suppress her laughter.

“Thanks for the info, Jonas,” Mallay sighed, rubbing the back of her neck in a futile attempt to ease the tension, “I need to go deal with the…..victims.”

“Yeah, have fun with that, Lieutenant,” Jonas grinned.

Mallay rolled her eyes as she disconnected, finally turning to see what those three were up to now. She definitely wasn’t prepared for the sight of her sister unzipping Aric’s mesh weave as she ran her fingers through his tawny fur.

“What’s she doing?!” Mallay choked.

“Copping a feel from the looks of it,” Risha smirked, “He doesn’t seem to mind….”

“Oh, Elara,” Bella sighed in sheer pleasure, “You have to feel this……his fur is soooooo soft!”

Elara had been watching the brightly colored cartoons on the HoloVid when the young medic realized she was thirsty. She went over to the kitchen area and found a bottle of juice in the fridge. She grabbed a glass and after staring at the bright orange liquid for a moment, she finally opened it, sighing with pleasure at the wonderful aroma that tickled her senses. She stood there for a few minutes, just smelling the juice when she remembered seeing other bottles. One by one, she pulled them all out, thoroughly inhaling each tantalizing scent, unable to decide on a favorite to drink.

Elara heard Bella call out to her and stopped sniffing the juice bottles. She trudged over to the sofa and flopped down on the other side of the large Cathar. She watched Bella pet Aric for a moment before deciding to try it out for herself. Skipping the finer fur on his head and face, she started running her fingers through the fur on his chest.

“Wow……that does feel nice……it’s like a warm, velvety blanket.” Much to Mallay and Risha’s surprise, the usually uptight medic closed her eyes and started rubbing her cheek on him. “It reminds me of a stuffed animal I had as a child,” she murmured, a content smile on her face.

Then Mallay and Risha heard a low rumbling sound coming from the trio on the couch and they exchanged a confused look, “What’s that noise?”

“I was just going to ask you that…….it……it’s coming from Aric.”

“Stars, I think he’s purring!” Mallay giggled, “Look at his face!”

Aric’s face wore a look of pure bliss as he leaned over, reaching a hand out and running it through Bella’s long, thick hair once again. He muttered something about how good it smelled, then he must’ve realized Elara was closer because the next thing Mallay and Risha saw was him removing the gold band that secured her bun. As soon as her long blond hair was free, Aric buried his face in it, inhaling deeply.

“Oh, I'm so glad I grabbed my camera," Risha laughed as she filmed, "I am definitely going to get some good HoloVids of this!”

“Oh, please do……and send me a copy!” Mallay grinned, “I want something to throw back at those two the next time they give me crap about something embarrassing!”

“So what did Jonas have to say?” Corso asked as he came in and froze at the sight on the couch, “What the…..”

“Ummm, yeah, things have progressed since you hit the shower, Farm Boy,” Risha snickered, “They’ve moved on from bright lights and shiny objects to touch and smell.”

“I guess so,” Corso retorted, crossing his arms, less than pleased to see Bella draped all over Aric like that. Aric was a friend and Corso knew they couldn’t help themselves, but *****les of jealousy still washed over him as he watched Bella petting the purring Cathar, who had a fistful of her red locks held up to his nose.

“Hopefully it’ll wear off soon,” Mallay sighed, patting Corso on the shoulder as she passed him. She was going to take her turn in the shower when her Holo went off again. Hoping it was Jonas with more information for them, she answered it before leaving the rec room. Unfortunately it wasn’t Balker’s image that appeared…..it was General Garza.

“Lieutenant Lauren,” the older woman greeted Mallay, “Agent Balkar just contacted me about the situation with your mission.”

“We’re on my sister’s ship, sir,” Mallay told Garza before she said anything sensitive. She winced as a peal of laughter erupted behind her and turned to see what was going.

“I figured,” Garza nodded and Mallay could’ve sworn the normally stern faced general was struggling not to laugh, “Agent Balkar also informed me about what happened at that spice lab in the Red Light Sector…..ah, I see they’re still feeling the effects.”

“Hey, it’s Garza,” Bella called out, waving, “You should come paaaarrr-taaaayy with us!”

“I don’t think so Captain,” Garza answered, “Besides, it looks like the three of you are doing just fine on your own.”

“But Aric’s fur feels sooooo awesome!” Bella insisted, “You should touch him sometime!”

“I think not, Captain,” Garza shook her head, “I’m fairly certain there’s regulations against that.”

“Bella’s right, sir,” Elara piped up, a huge grin on her face as she rubbed her cheek on Aric’s chest again, “It’s so soft and warm.”

“I’m sure it is, Sergeant Dorne,” Garza replied, finally giving into the smile she could no longer contain as Mallay buried her face in her hands.

A still purring Aric beamed at the general as he held a handful of Elara’s blond hair up to his nose, “I like her hair……it smells nice.”

“I’m sure it does, Sergeant Jorgan,” Garza chuckled, “and I see you like Captain Lauren’s hair as well.”

Aric proudly held up a lock of Bella’s hair, “It’s red……I like red and it smells good too!”

“Oh, Lieutenant,” Garza shook her head at Havoc’s young CO, “I think you’re in for a long night.”

“That’s why we’re on Bella’s ship,” Mallay sighed, “Hopefully between me, Corso, and Risha, we should be able to keep them out of trouble until that stuff wears off.”

“I take it Balkar wasn’t able to determine how long the effects last?”

“No, sir,” Mallay shook her head, “Apparently it’s a newer product on the Spice market and there’s little information in it other than it stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain and creates a feeling of euphoria. There’s nothing known yet that can counteract it, but it’s suggested that anyone who takes too much of it drink a lot of water to flush it through their system faster. Also, given that it was a concentrate in those canisters that exploded, it’s hard to tell how much got into their systems.”

“I suggest you start getting them some water before that rather amusing situation on the couch takes a different turn. I wish you luck…..all three of you,” Garza replied, “I have the feeling you’re going to need it. Contact me in the morning, Lieutenant…..Garza out.”

Parts of this story were inspired by Kitar's Altered States of Mind piece in the AU thread.

Also, it’s times like these when I really wish I could draw….because the image I have in my head of a purring Jorgan sitting on the couch between Bella and Elara, alternately sniffing fistfuls of their red and blond locks as they take turns petting him……well, it’s just priceless and I really wish you all could see it.

@Phyreblade I'm always going to imagine Gault as a sleezey used-car salesman after this.

@Darthsillymonkey Gault as "artsy" movie director is pretty funny too. How'd they get all that stuff set up so fast? I laughed, especially the bit about the beard and the ditzy fangirls.

Jan. 15th

Subject: New House!

Ketturah,

I’m so sorry, I know I said I’d write as soon as we got here, but it took them three days to set up our Holonet connection, and then the boys have been hogging it ever since. The house is really nice, though, way bigger than our apartment. My room is huge! (no more walk-in closet for me ) Carian has his own room too, and he’s barricaded himself in there. I’m gonna sneak in there sometime, though, just to prove I can, maybe mess up his clothes or something. Not that he’d notice. The garden is great too, Mom says she’s going to plant some vegetables as soon as it warms up. It’s the cold season right now, but it’s sunny and a little breezy, perfect if it were about 40 degrees warmer.

Everything would be perfect if you were here. I miss you sooooooooo much. Maybe we’ll move back to Coruscant sometime, or you can come visit us. How’s school going since I left? Is lit still stupid hard?

Anyway, Mom says I have to go to bed now (*sigh*). I have school tomorrow. Wish me luck, it’s my first day.

Love you, Lena.

Jan 16th

RE: New House!

Lena,

i miss you too. i’m glad your house is great. everything is still the same here, except more boring without you. have you started decorating your room yet? i’ll try to send you some posters or something if i can get some money. don’t worry, i’m not mad. how big is your yard? do you think you’ll get pets or something? i know you wanted a lobelot or something.

yeah, lit is still ridiculous. i don’t know how they expect me to read all of that. readings hard enough when they’re done like normal people talk. i got a pretty good grade on my paper, though. i should, i stayed up all night writing it.

i wish i could come visit you, maybe this summer if i can get a job or something when schools out. tell me more about your new place, ok?

Ketturah

Jan. 17th

RE: New House!

I’m so happy about your paper! I know you were working on it when we left. Can you send me a copy? I want to read it. No, I haven’t really started to decorate yet, we have to finish unpacking first, and I haven’t had time to go to the store. You don’t need to send anything, though, I still have my life day money. Our yard isn’t as big as Mom wanted, but it’s probably twice the size of the house, and we’re pretty close to a park for the boys to run around in. Dad’s still vetoing pets, though L

I think I’m going to like my new school, but it’s way smaller than I’m used to. They don’t have any sports or anything either, just basic stuff. Still, the people seem friendly, and my classes won’t be too hard. They’re a year behind what they teach on Coruscant, so I’m two grades ahead of you now.

I’m gonna miss doing track with you. Remember that one meet where you took first? The one where the team stayed in that super fancy hotel? I still think about that every time I go swimming. How is track going without me?

Lena

Jan 20th

RE: New House!

darn, i was going to send you a rancor for your birthday. happy birthday anyway. did you get anything good? i sent something, but its not much and probably wont be there til after.

yeah, im still running. now that youre gone, i might be the fastest one. or at least, the fastest besides myra. that girl is a living landspeeder. was that match the one where the guy from black sun sector tripped you so you couldnt win and i punched him? the one where you sprained your ankle? that was a great match besides that. we have another match with senate distrect next week, but im not going, cause i kinda pulled a tendon yesterday.

schools really lonely without you to eat lunch with and pass notes in class. no one else really knows who i am.

happy birthday again, ketturah

Jan 24th

RE: New House!

I got your package. Thanks a ton for the necklace, I’ll wear it all the time I didn’t get a ton of stuff, Mom and Dad have been too busy with the move and all to go shopping. Mom did make a really nice cake, though, really rich with this amazing fluffy frosting, the one we always have for birthdays. Carian gave me a new holovid, though. It’s the one I was telling you about, about the Great Hyperspace War. It’s totally inaccurate to the real events, but really cool, and a great story.

I’m sorry you’re lonely. Unfortunately, I can’t really recommend anyone on the track team as friends. They’re all kind of self-absorbed. Maybe you could check out some of the student clubs? I hope you find someone soon, and know that I miss you every day.

Love, Mallena.

Feb. 20th

RE: New House!

that’s great! do you think you’ll say yes? do you think your dad will let you go out with him?

something amazing happened! i made a new friend. his name is ronin, and hes my biology partner for lab. hes really funny, and he knows more about this area of the city than anyone ive ever met. he introduced me to a couple of his friends too, and we went to the mall and hung out for a while. he says he wants to do it again sometime. hes kinda cute, but id love to have him as a friend too.

oh, and i got in a big fight with mom and dad last night too. i messed up big time, and got a 42 on the galactic languages quiz. they told me that i couldnt go to any track meets until i got my grade up. how am i supposed to do that? its not like they ever help. theyre never even home anymore.

ketturah

Feb 22

RE: New House!

Hmm… I’m not really sure. Have you tried asking them for help? If you have, then you could try the tutoring center at the school. They’re pretty good at helping people figure out their homework. They used to help my brothers out all the time.

I’m not really sure what to do about your parents, like I said. I don’t fight with mine much. I guess I’d say just be nice to them, and do what they tell you to, and they’ll come around.

How are you and Ronin doing? What’s he like? And his friends?

Everything’s good here, and I found out that there’s a competitive shooting team in the next town over. I’m thinking about joining, it’ll give me something to do.

Lena

April 5th

RE: New House!

well, the parents and me are still on the outs. today its that ive been sneaking out of the house to meet ronin. well, thats what they call it, anyway. fact is, theyre still never around, but they just tell me “dont leave the house” and head off to work without giving me anything to do. ronin and i have fun together, and they cant tell me not to see my friends. last week it was that i failed another test (come on, who needs school anyway? its not like im ever going to be able to use this stuff). tomorrow itll probably be cause i want to drop out of track.

its just not fun for me any more. all the girls are drama queens wholl eat you alive if you give them the chance. someones been spreading rumors about me too, all over the school. they say im a total whore, and that i regularly steal from the track clubs cashbox, and that im just waiting to drop out. well, maybe the last part is true. everyone hates me here except ronin and his friends. i wish you were still here.

miss you, ketturah

April 7th

RE: New House!

Ketturah, I can’t think of any good way to say this, so I’m just going to say it: I’m worried about you. You don’t sound like the Ketturah I remember. You’re so cynical and harsh, and it scares me. Are you OK? Are you in some kind of trouble? You can talk to me, I promise I won’t tell.

What are you and Ronin doing with all the time you spend together? You never tell me, but from what you do say, he sounds like a bad sort. Please don’t be mad at me. I just had to say this, cause I care about you, and don’t want you to get hurt.

Lena

April 29th

RE: New House!

Ketturah? Are you there? Please don’t be mad at me. I shouldn’t have said those things the way I did. I’m sorry. I don’t know Ronin, I can’t tell you if he’s good or bad. But please, talk to me. Are you OK?

Please write back

Mallena

June 15th

RE: New House!

lena, i'm so scared. i dont know what to do. you were right, you were right about everything.

tonight ronin and me and his friend toria were at the store, that little corner place where we used to buy candy. wed done it a million times, ronin would chat up the clerk while toria made a show of looking through the stuff on the shelves and i would sneak around and take whatever i could, cigarras or snacks, or whatever. but something went wrong, and next thing i knew, ronin was shouting for us to run and we did. he told us to split up and peeled off. toria and i kept running and running. i thought my heart would explode. the clerk was running after us, but we lost him.

i went to meet back up with ronin and when i got there he had a blaster pointed at a cop. i dont know where he got it, but i guess the cop was trying to arrest him or something. ronin told me to leave, but i wouldnt. i tried to grab the blaster, and it went off when i did. the guy was dead when i checked him. ronin looked stunned and threw down the blaster and ran away. thats when the guy walking his pets showed up. i dont know if he got a good look at me, i ran away so fast, but my fingerprints are all over the place. it looks like i shot the guy. in a way i did. what should i do? i cant go home and ronin wont answer his door.

i have to leave. ill take the blaster ronin left, and i know where my parents keep their extra money stashed. i can stow away on a cargo ship, hide in the empire or something.

i dont know if youll ever hear from me again, mallena, so goodbye. dont forget about me.

Felix Iresso has a sith holocron in his head from when the Imperials imprisoned him, but doesn't remember anything about it. It drove his fellow prisoner insane, and he worries that it may activate and do the same to him. This ficlet is set in an AU where the holocron has activated, and driven him irremediably insane.

Ilse has been raised by the Jedi Order since around the age of 2, and the Jedi Code is pretty ingrained in her. She and Felix pursued a relationship with the blessing of the Council after they both went through the appropriate hoops. Ilse was my first character and I finished leveling her and maxing affection months ago, so if anything in the ficlet contradicts what Felix's storyline says, it's AU!

It is Nadia who weeps, great convulsive sobs, when her master tells her that they have failed.

For months, it has been Nadia who wakes, screaming, from nightmares of Felix Iresso's haunted eyes, his eerie laugh, and the hideous, whispering, insinuating voices that assault whoever comes near him. It has been Nadia who takes each moment of his tortured lucidity as a renewal of hope, who seeks out new ideas with a desperate frenzy.

They meditate together, master and padawan, but Nadia is too young to sustain the discipline. When she dissolves into tears, they are not only for Felix, but for the others that they have failed. That her master has failed. At least, her master thinks, Nadia has no illusions of her omnipotence to shatter.

There is no emotion, there is peace.

Tharan scoffs, first in disbelief, then in anger, when he learns her intentions.

He has never believed, not truly, in the sith holocron. He diagnoses Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, recommends therapies, cites sources. He clings to the fact that even the best of the healers of the temple cannot find the holocron. He points out that her mystic shielding does not help, ignoring that this is a tacit admission that it was never mere mumbo jumbo. But now they have tried all Tharan's ideas and all her own, and still Felix's corruption grows.

Tharan calls her stone-hearted, ignorant, and savage, aghast that she would even contemplate this possibility for a man she professes to love. She can sense his fear, his questioning of whether, should something similar happen to him, she would be even quicker to give up.

His accusations are painful, but not unexpected. He cannot know, as she does, that there is no more time. There is still something of Felix left, but if they delay longer, that last bit will be corrupted beyond all recognition.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

Zenith rages, demanding from her a vow of vengeance that she will not, cannot give.

He too believes that there must be something left untried. If there was a way to seal the holocron within the Lieutenant, he argues, there must surely be a way to extract it, though so far their tries to do so have only worsened matters; the holocron feeds on Felix's pain.

Zenith outlines plans for kidnapping, threats, and torture to obtain the secrets that will restore Felix, preferably while allowing them to retain access to the holocron for the sake of using it against the sith. Sometimes his proposed plans would wreck more havoc on those responsible for Balmorra than those who might know anything about Felix's head.

He does not see that what he proposes would be more defeat than victory.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

In the end, she sends them all away. All, that is, but Qyzen. It is Qyzen who restrains the man she loves. It is Qyzen who witnesses their last kiss. It is Qyzen who stays silent as she grants Felix Iresso the only release there is left to give him.

There is no death, there is the Force.

There is no emotion – but there really is, for Nadia

There is no ignorance – but there really is, for Tharan

There is no passion – but there really is, for Zenith

There is no death…

William Solocredit pulled the repulsor limo up to the front door of the small mansion and set it in park. He quickly glanced in the rearview mirror at his sole passenger, the new “Lady Delia Morokei.” She sat stiffly in her seat with the safety harness pulled tight across her chest. She looked tiny, even though they were in a small “luxury” vehicle. She looked calm, but William thought he might have seen a quick anxious glance at the doors of the mansion as they stopped.

Quickly he opened the door and climbed out, then moved around to the lady’s side. She was already opening her door and stepping out when he grabbed onto it. “Thank you,” she said softly.

William grinned at her, watching as she stood up straight, falling naturally into stiff military posture. “Your welcome my lady. Let me get your bags,” he said, closing her door.

“Oh!” she exclaimed reaching towards him. “There’s no need for that, I can get them-“

William offered a friendly and polite smile but gently shook his head. He had expected this of the new lady of the house. She was a regular imperial citizen and had no idea about some of the more intricate social actions of the sith and their circles. “My lady, servants carry the bags, not the lady of the house.” He kept his tone friendly but firm, making it clear that he wasn’t going to suffer any argument on the matter.

Her face fell slightly but she withdrew her hand. Still smiling, William opened the trunk of the repulsor limo and grabbed her things. Then with bags in hand he led the way through the front door and into the mansion. “Now I’ll set these things in the master bedroom for you and then leave you to unpack. There are servant droids that you can call upon if you need anything.”

They crossed the threshold and into the main foyer. William went up the curving staircase on the side of the foyer, glancing over his shoulder now and again to make sure that Lady Morokei was still following him. “You have free roam of the house save for My Lord’s private study in the observatory. The kitchen is on the main floor in the west wing, you will find it is fully stocked in case you are hungry. Feel free to make something yourself or ask a servant droid to assist. The library, which I understand you’ve been to already, occupies the east wing. If you cannot find a particular book or datacard, inform me and I will see if I can obtain it from the capital.”

“Can’t I just go and get it myself?” she asked.

William nodded his head. “Certainly, my lady. Let me know and I will be happy to drive you.”

They turned down a gloomy hall towards the west wing of the mansion, passing a few hologram portraits of Lord Morokei’s ancestors, as well as some minor artworks that had belonged to them. They passed several rooms but William ignored them, instead leading her down the hallroom to the master bedroom. It sat all the way at the very end of the mansion, behind large double doors. William gently pushed the doors open and moved through, pausing to hold it open so that the Lady Delia Morokei could enter.

She slowly walked through, her eyes immediately drawn upwards by the size of the room. William decided to let her explore as he carried her bags over to her personal dressing room; a private chamber connected to the bathroom too. “This dressing room is yours. You’ll find there is plenty of space for your clothing, uniforms, and any small personal effects that you might have.” He didn’t mention that the bags she had brought wouldn’t fill probably half of the space available for her use.

William set the bags down and then turned around to see lady of the house sitting lifelessly on the bed. She was in shock, used to the much more stark and measured living conditions of the common imperial citizen. He tried to flash a friendly smile at her. He didn’t really have an idea what she was going through at the moment, but anyone could tell that this was a big life change for her. “The movers will bring the rest of the things over from your apartment before lunch, which we will be serving in the downstairs dining hall. If you have trouble finding it, don’t hesitate to call one of the butler droids, they’ll be happy to assist.”

Lady Morokei nodded her head as if she understood.

William smiled once more at her then turned and exited the master bedroom. Closing the doors behind him he took one last quick glance at the new mistress of the house. She looked meek and unsure, frightened by the newness of all that was being pushed on her. Then he shut the door.

Pushing those concerns from his mind, William dropped his smile and took a servants passage down to the kitchen on the first level. There he grabbed a tray of food that one of the cooking droids had prepared. Then he took the servant passages all the way back to the third floor, holding the tray steadily. There was only one room on the third floor; the repurposed observatory that was the master’s study.

William opened the door and walked in, holding the tray before him. The study had no windows, just digital viewscreens that showed security feeds, mimicking actual windows and giving Lord Morokei a clear view of the mansion grounds. In the center of the room training dummies and droids stood lifelessly; Lord Morokei’s private practice equipment. A desk, surrounded by computer screens and monitors sat at the far end of the room. The top of the desk was buried under a mountain of datacards and flimsiplast. Lord Morokei sat on the table, raptly studying several viewscreens of people. A tray with a half finished drink and meal sat within arms reach.

William suppressed the urge to shake his head in resignation as he walked towards the desk. “If I hadn’t seen you sign the flimsiplast this morning, I would never have believed you just got married.” He kept his tone mildly chiding and indignant, enough so that the master would recognize his concern for him. “Most men, when they get married relax a little. They take some time off from work and go on a vacation and enjoy themselves.” He combined the contents of the two trays onto one and then turned it so that the freshest food was closest to Lord Morokei.

The pureblood spared a cursory glance at the tray before turning his attention back to the screens in front of him. “What’s that?” he asked flatly.

“Lunch,” William replied.

Lord Morokei’s eyes flicked to a chronometer on the edge of one of the screens. Then they flicked back to the people talking. “It’s too early for lunch.”

“Yes,” William admitted nodding his head. “But I know that you skip it when you’re working a case, and I also know you don’t give a damn if your food is hot or cold. If you get hungry it will be there for you.”

Lord Morokei didn’t move. His eyes silently shifted between screens, constantly watching everything that was happening, looking for clues and signs and evidence. Focused and driven. William folded his arms across the chest and watched Morokei. The master was so different from his father. His father had been a man of great passion, known for his outbursts and fits of rage. Everyone had lived in constant fear of him until he and his wife had killed each other. In contrast to his father, the master was so reserved it was hard to tell what he was thinking, how he was feeling.

“You should talk to her,” William said, breaking the silence.

“Who?”

William rolled his eyes in resignation. “The woman you just married, Delia, the Lady Morokei.”

Morokei sat up straight and let out an exasperated sigh. He began rummaging through the stacks of datacards. “I don’t have time to engage in wasteful frivolity. There are cases that need to be worked, murders that have gone unsolved-“

William cut him off. “If you’re just gonna ignore her why’d you marry the poor girl? You could have ignored her just by leaving her alone. Left her a lieutenant instead of making her a lady.” He gestured vaguely towards the West Wing where the young woman was. She was probably still sitting just as William had left her.

Morokei turned in his chair and glanced at William. He looked dour and annoyed but that was nothing overtly new to William. “As I’ve told you before, the line has to continue. That’s the only reason I married. I’m not interested in her, I’m not interested in a great romance.” The pureblood then turned back to his monitors, loading the new datacard in and bringing up another file on some suspect or criminal.

“If I thought you had any interest at all in continuing your family’s line, I might believe you master,” William retorted. Morokei grunted but this time he wouldn’t allow himself to be distracted from his work.

William stood quietly for a moment, and seeing that he was not going to receive a response, solemnly shook his head. He separated the two trays, then picked up the old tray and old food and turned to walk away. At the study’s doors he paused and looked over his shoulder. “If I may be so bold master, it’s not really living when you’re here on your own.” He waited for Morokei to respond but the sith lord continued to ignore him. Shaking his head again, William turned and left the master to his solitude.

"Alright," said Breenah, "That's our door." The cathar dropped the cutting torch to the ground and pulled her twin blasters from their holsters as the durasteel still cooled. "Now let's see whats in this treasure vault of yours, Ome."

Cooky, the big besalisk, put a firm hand on her shoulder, catching her attention for a second. "Remember, we're not here to fight. Stick to the plan. We get in, grab the loot, then get out before anyone's the wiser."

"And then its living large on the Empire's credit chits," said Ome with a short cheer and a broad grin. Both Cooky and Breenah glanced at him, raising their eyebrows skeptically. "What?" Ome asked, shrugging his shoulders, "it's an easy job."

The cathar rolled her eyes. Then she gave a hard kick to the cut out she had made. The durasteel circle popped out of place like a cork and fell into the room beyond. The trio rushed into the vault--

And found themselves in the Imperial Guard Barracks, two dozen men in crimson armor pointing blasters and vibroblades at them.

Cooky and Breenah both froze. Ome raised a hand to shield his eyes and scanned the room. "Well this isn't where we parked our speeder."

@Caernos I like both of your stories. In Empty Beginnings You could feel the pure sense of being overwhelmed coming off Lady Morokei, especially sense its coming from the servant Mr. Solocredit who is totally used to serving the rich and powerful. It leaves you asking how did Lady Morokei get enough of Lord Morokei's attention to get hitched? I find that typically in these short fics that if you finish wanting more you're writing a good story. As for The Easy Job I couldn't help but smile at the end. Total sense of 'we're screwed' right there.

@Septembersphinx I haven't beaten any of the class stories yet (highest level is 37 Sith Juggernaut) so I'm not too familiar with them or all of the companions but I could still feel the sadness in it. As mentioned above, adding in the Jedi Code was a nice touch to it. I felt like they were putting down someone before they became a zombie and made me feel sad. Good read.

@Mirdthestrill The back and forth letter format is fun to read. It was you could see Ketturah go from the lonely new girl to the rebel to the eventual criminal. It shows how the environment can change people and how difficult it is to fit in.

The hangar was always bustling with activity on the Hutt station. Beings of all sorts of species, backgrounds, ages, genders, allegiances, reputations, classes, and wealth roam in and out going about their various businesses. Ships of various makes and models line the hangar while shuttles take their patrons to their desired destinations. Only in Hutt Space does one truly see the diversity of the galaxy, even if it’s at its worst.

A man stood outside of his freighter, leaning against his ramp lift hydraulics as he casually studied the crowd under the visor of his simple navy blue cap covering his dirt brown hair. Dressed in a black bantha leather jack, blue pants, worn pilot boots, and mechanic gloves hanging out his back pocket, the human was nothing special to look at. A heavy pistol was in its holster on his hip, a sensible precaution in territory known to respect no law except the ways of greed. The ship he leaned against was a matte grey plated, smooth angled freighter. It bore nothing special on the outside except its name on the side, Intangible Destiny. It was a strange name for a freighter, almost ominous. Who would name a ship that? Better yet, who would fly such a vessel? Whether they thought he be bold, desperate, stupid, or all of the above, it told a little of the pilot waiting at the bottom of the ramp.

His employer, an even more mysterious woman named Krystal, hired him for yet another job. It promised to be extremely dangerous, nothing new to him, but all of his usual companions had other business or jobs to occupy them. That meant he was to be working with more strangers. Even though Krystal assured him that these were top notch individuals and were supremely qualified for the task, trusting new people was always a little…unsettling, especially given the extreme detail Krystal went into about how dangerous it would be.

Though the Scoundrel showed a calm, cool, collected demeanor, it was just a shell hiding the torrent of doubt and uncertainty inside him. The few times he met her in person she always had this mysterious and, dare he say, mystical air about her and she like to keep things secretive and on a need to know basis. No matter how hard the jobs were, whether it was his luck or her doing, somehow he always managed to walk away alive and usually with a decent amount of credits to drink his sorrows, regrets and grief away. He trusted her judgment but she was human, just like him. The pilot made plenty of mistakes in his life and while she hasn’t failed him yet, she could have made a mistake too. He didn’t know what to expect. All she gave him were names. Gloria Tevens and Tav Resak. Nothing more. He didn’t know what to look for or what to expect. All he knew was that they will know the name of the ship and should be here any moment now.

All the man could do was stare out into the crowd and wait, letting his thoughts and emotions stir, boil, and brew until something happens. The thought of a good old Corellian Ale to sooth his apprehension came to mind but he quickly banished it. They were going on the job as soon as they all showed up and he didn’t want to give an impression that he was a drunkard. Then again if they knew who he really was then he had more to worry about than looking like a drunkard. He closed his eyes and let out a slow sigh, clearing his mind, relaxing, just like he was trained. He was working things up in his mind again. His creativity has gotten him out of many sticky situations but it also given him several sleepless nights. It was only a miracle that he hasn't had a panic attack yet. He opened his eyes again, ready to take on the world. It was then that something caught his eye.

In the midst of the crowd someone was staring at his ship. It wasn’t uncommon. Typically people would wonder the meaning of the Intangible was before shaking their head and going about their day but this one was different. A set of hazel eyes looked at the ship with an uncertainty of someone making sure they were at the right address. The human male looked down at his datapad, looked back at the ship for confirmation, then back at his datapad to confirm again before he nodded in acceptance. Picking up a bag, he walked toward the ship. The Scoundrel could see him better now that he was parting the sea of people. With spring in his step and clad in a simple light green flightsuit, he looked to be barely out of his twenties and though he was a stronger build than the pilot though the flightsuit fit a little loose on his frame. His clean shaven face and bleach blond, well-kept hair clashed with the Scoundrel’s rough and scruffy appearance. The various zippered pockets on his flightsuit all seemed to have something in them. An unusual looking pistol was strapped on his right thigh and his left forearm held some sort of datapad bracer that was common these days.

The boy strode up to the Scoundrel and looked at the older man with uncertainty. “You the pilot of this ship?” he queried. The scruffy Scoundrel took a hand to raise the bill of his cap, revealing cold blue eyes as piercing and sharp as icicles.

“Depends on who’s asking?” he replied. Setting his bag down, the young man offered his hand in greeting.

“Tav Resak,” he said, “And you are?”

The Scoundrel simple stared at the outstretched hand before looking back up at the Tav. “What do you do?” he asked.

Tav seemed unfazed by the coldness and put his hands on his hips. “I’m a mercenary. I was hired by your boss and now I’m here,” he said, outstretching his hands to show that indeed he was here.

The scruffy man looked Tav up and down with a critical eye. “You don’t look like a merc,” he concluded, “Most mercs seem to be a bit more…armored. And packing a bit more heat.”

“The armor is in here,” Taz explained, shaking his bag gingerly, “And I’m more than the average mercenary. When I say ‘mercenary’, what comes to mind?”

“Not you,” the Scoundrel said, Taz’s chipper spirit having no effect on him, “Someone paid to handle the toughest missions. Someone who could take a hit and dish them out twice as hard.”

“Well not only can I take a hit and dish ‘em out, I can patch myself and everyone else up when those missions get a bit too tough,” Taz replied, waving a finger to emphasize his point, "With my medical training and my pistol Pete here I'll see everyone gets through the job."

“Uh-huh,” was the only reaction he got, the Scoundrel not too convinced or impressed.

That was when another person caught his eye. Seeing the older man’s gaze looking elsewhere, Taz tried to follow it. Though wading in a crowd full of many interesting beings, this one stood out among them all. It wasn’t the heavy white and blue trimmed armor of obvious Republic make. It wasn’t the impressive heavy rifle hanging next to a hard cased pack. It wasn’t the way they marched through the crowd as the crowd gave a decent birth to the obviously dangerous individual. It was the symbol of the Republic Marines on their shoulder plate that outshined them all. Waltzing through the crowd with no hindrance, the heavily armored being stopped a few feet in front of the Scoundrel. Unlike the ‘merc’ who was a tad bit shorter, the soldier stood eye level with him.

The soldier reached up and took off their helmet, revealing dirty blonde hair tied into a neat bun of a woman. Her youthful features and slightly pale skin showed she was not much older than Taz but had a fit and lean muscled build becoming of a exemplary Marine. Her fiery blue eyes roared with a spark of an unbroken spirit that pushed through the greatest of hardships. She wasn’t decorated like anyone holding any rank or importance but a small scar on her right cheek told of surviving some sort of combat. With her helmet held level onto her left hip, she stood at attention. “Lance Corporal Tevens reporting in, sir,” she said.

“This isn’t the military. Stand normal,” the Scoundrel barked giving a dismissive wave.

“Yes sir,” was the reply as she smoothly went to at ease with her feet spread shoulder width apart and hands behind her back with military precision.

A look of mild frustration crossed the man’s scruffy face as he now got off of his resting perch. “I may be in charge but this is not an official military op and I’m not your kriffing Sergeant!” he exclaimed in annoyance, “At ease, at rest, at normal, whatever the command is. Stand like a normal person! Stand like him!”

He waved his hands toward Taz who stood with his hands on his hips in confusion at what he was seeing. The Marine awkwardly tried to mimic his pose, invoking a sigh from the older man. “What’s your name? Not your whole rank and last spiel but your name?” the Scoundrel said.

“Gloria Tevens sir,” she answered promptly.

“Drop the sirs” the Scoundrel retorted before he put a hand to his scruff in thought, “Tevens eh? I knew a Sergeant Tevens in the Marines. Is he…”

“My father,” Gloria interrupted, “He has spoken of you before.”

The Scoundrel raised an eyebrow. “Has he now?” he said, “What’s he say about me?”

“He said you were a good man who can get the job done. Even if he looks like he stumbled out of an alley after a night of drinking,” she said, choking back the formality.

That brought a soft chuckle from the Scoundrel. “That’s your old man alright. If you're anything like him we might just get out of this alive,” he said before he turned toward the ship, “Come on. We got a job to do and an inflight brief to endure.”

Gloria put back on her helmet and followed the older man up the ladder. Taz picked up his bag, confusion still evident on his face, as he slowly followed behind her. Then a question came up in his mind. “Wait, you never answered my question. Who are you?” he asked.

Before disappearing into the ship the Scoundrel turned his head over his shoulder to look at the young man. “The name is Bill O’Malley,” he said before he disappeared into the Intangible Destiny.

The Amber sunset slowly caressed it’s way across Delgrin’s pale, blue face. He squinted staring out over one of the many valleys of Alderaan. “A bit of help here sir.” said a nervous Ensign Temple as she frantically tried to claw her way onto the cliff he had decided to perch on.

“You really should drop all this sir business, Temple, especially after our little agreement.” He said stooping down grabbing temple by one hand and pulling her to solid footing.

“You treat all your wives like this, or are you just this way to me Sir?” She said playfully as she found a small boulder to sit down on top of. She expelled a sigh of relief, finding comfort being on steady ground for a change.

“No, normally the people I’m married to have lovely names like Ivana Fawkes and Seemara Mireah. Raina Temple is such a boring name.” He said wandering around seemingly aimless for a few seconds before laying down flat on his stomach. “Then again you happen to have a quality that few others do Temple.”

“What’s that sir?” Raina said reaching into her pack and grabbing a set of macrobinoculars, laying down next to Delgrin, propping up on her elbows and peering through the binoculars.

“You exist.” He said laughing quietly as he pulled his long black rifle from its sheath on his back. Shouldering it he gazed down into the scope.

He scanned down the valley floor. Spotting a small camp, comprised of five tents arranged around a campfire. “Bingo.”

“I see three… no four guards One of them is a Jawa. Definitely not the target” Temple chimed.

“Aww I was hoping to go Jawa hunting” Delgrin joked as he moved his crosshairs from the jawa, and over to a nearby tent door that had swung open. A Cathar exited the tent, with a Mandolorian on one side, clad in full armor, and a female cyborg on the other.

“Target confirmed sir, should we tell Kaliyo and Vector to move in?” the Ensign said shifting her weight around to a more comfortable position as she tracked the large Mandalorian and the Cathar making their way towards the campfire, tailed by another Mandalorian, a Devaronian, the Jawa , and a HK series droid.

“No, they're the backup plan. Have them on standby though. Intelligence told me nothing of this kind of protection.” He said he toggled between zoom functions on his scope. He rested his cross hairs. On the Cathar. Delgrins red eyes gleamed in the setting sun as he breathed out slowly, his finger gently pressing the trigger and firing off a single well placed shot.

Delgrin sat quietly in a almost stunned shock as he regained the picture in his scope The entire camp had been thrown into chaos the Cathar scurried to cover while the muscular Mandalorian cradled someone in his arms.

“No. No. No. this is bad." Delgrin yelled panicking as he saw several people running towards their position from the camp .

" Temple we have to get out of here! He said standing up quickly slinging his rifle over his shoulder and sprinting off towards the forest covered mountains.

The Ensign scrambling behind him in a confused sprint. “Sir what happened? I didn’t quite see.” She yelled trying frantically to keep pace with Delgrin.

“They must have seen the blasted rangefinder laser! Someone blocked the shot! Get Kaliyo and Vector to meet us at the fallback point Have doc get the ship warmed up.

As the duo ran into the woods. An almost beast like howl could be heard echoing from the valley below, filling Delgrin with fear he picked up his pace not knowing how far the repercussions would reach.

"I understand. I just want to be certain we have everything we might need. A exciting excavation such as Athiss doesn't happen every day, you know..."

At the response from the other room, Sylin Kath closed his eyes and sighed, gently rubbing the twin points of the tattoo that slipped down either side of the bridge of his nose. Knowing Talos, this would mean carrying in more than they likely planned on carrying back out again. The man was probably his best friend in the world, and for that reason alone he put up with the archaeologist's eccentricities. There was also the fact that he genuinely shared his passion for ancient riddles and mysteries, but when it came to the practicalities of tomb crawling, less was more.

"As long as you're ready by the time we've landed at the station, and as long as you can carry it all, I don't really mind. I leave it in your hands."

Andronikos had said they would be at the fleet soon, and the shuttle would leave soon after. It was important to be there as soon as possible, for there would surely be interference from the forces of the...

********

...Republic had reported that they had recently lost communication with the teams on Athiss. As Caylenn Lorin had just recently gained a lot of influence and recognition among the Jedi Council, they had asked if he would go. Among the Jedi, Caylenn was unusual in that he had a keen interest in technology, especially communications. He could manage both of the key requirements of the mission... sensing for survivors with his Force abilities, and slicing in and repairing the communications devices to put the teams back in touch with the Republic military.

Of course Tharan had ideas of his own not only for repair, but improvement. It was all Caylenn could do to stress the urgency of this mission, what with Tharan gathering various tools, gadgetry and whatnot. The ship, of course, could only fly so fast, and so this gave Tharan a set time to have everything packed.

Despite his excitement about the journey to Athiss, Caylenn was concerned. If the forward teams had lost communication, it could simply be an accident or loss of power, but more likely it meant trouble. Sighing, he pushed his red hair back from his brow and set the metal frames over his eyes. Being of only partial Miraluka blood, he could see, but not very well. By blocking off his eyes he had to spend nearly no effort to let his Force Sight take over, leaving his mind free to deal with other issues. Issues, he told himself, likely would include the aforementioned trouble, which in all likelihood meant the...

********

...Empire had been putting up with the so-called treaty for long enough. Kath knew all too well that the extremists in his own government didn't always play by the rules, but only a fool believed the Republic was any better. Filled with infighting, politics, bureaucracy, hypocrisy... no, they would find a loophole in some policy somewhere by which they could get away with launching an attack at the Empire. He would never again trust the Republic to hold to their end of a bargain.

Especially the Jedi. He hated the Jedi. He glared quietly at the burning glow of his violet lightsaber- deliberately neither red nor blue- before he extinguished it. He had always been a stranger in the world of the Sith. To him the power in passion meant following his heart. Rage, love, fear, hope, despair, elation, frustration, determination... like it or not there were two sides to the coin, and either side had enough power to fuel amazing Force abilities. You could allow yourself to become drunk with whatever passion affected you, let it wash over you, then rein it in, harness it, and drive it forth... the sheer power of your own will shaping the universe. Most Sith found it easier to let the darker emotions take over. Warfare became these kinds of feelings. Kath couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't more to it all, though. Not that he had any other alternative.

The Jedi? Hardly. Their philosophy was to distantly observe these feelings, give them a sage nod, and then shove them away as if they never existed. Passion was bad. Even good passions were bad. Idiots. For all their distance, it didn't save them from letting their own drives, their own sense of self-righteousness, take control. He still kicked himself for the fiasco on Alderaan. Granted it wasn't his feelings that were betrayed for a second time by one who called himself noble, but he had believed that for once, a Jedi finally saw him for who he was, not just Sith. The truth still hurt. And yes, that hurt had come in extremely handy. The Sith may think what they will of his ideas, but if there was one thing he could never be, it was a...

********

...Jedi was supposed to serve the Republic. As Caylenn slipped into his deep blue robes, he frowned. Did he believe in that part of it anymore?

The Jedi had been a part of the universe since before the Republic. They had long fought the cruel machinations of the Sith. A government that would backstab and betray each other in secret for no other reason than to rise to power meant that only the cruelest and most cutthroat would be in charge.

However, more and more, he felt uncannily similar things happening in the Republic. Nothing as overt as the killing and betrayal in the Empire, but his natural empathy meant that many of the things Republic officials said were very telling. If enough of his order began to believe that the Republic was not as interested in peace as it seemed to be, would they still serve the Republic?

He knew that there was a reason that the Jedi Council served the Republic instead of the other way around, as was done in the Empire with regard to the Dark Council. The Jedi relied on purity of heart and mind, though they did remain mindful of their feelings. This left them in a position of benevolent neutrality, and in no condition to be running a government. Instead, they acted as its moral compass, as well as its defenders.

Caylenn quietly contemplated the brilliant cyan of his lightsaber before quieting the blade and securing the hilt at his side. Neither blue nor green, it seemed to embrace his willingness to jump to action, as well as his love of communication and diplomacy. He was aware that he was often a bit more than mindful of his own feelings, occasionally tasting of the beautiful ache of sorrow or the giddy lightheadedness of joy. Emotion, yet peace. Was that not the old version of the Code? What had changed? Why had it been changed? Was the irony of it all that the Jedi feared being ruled by their emotions, and let that very fear rule their decision to recognize them, then put them aside? Was the original version of the Code little more than an...

********

...Ancient artifact to add to his collection. Probably several. Naturally Talos would be excited and willing to help discover what they could do, but to him, artifacts and ancient cultures were puzzles to be unlocked.

To Kath they were art. Most artifacts crafted by the ancient force-sensitives carried an amazing amount of power, and each one he recovered, held in his hands, ran his fingers over... each had a unique feel to it, as different as the individual voices of their creators. Each had tales to tell, secrets to reveal.

The places where they were found were often in and of themselves works of wonder. Archaeological marvels of times gone by became buried by time and silently guarded their most precious possessions until somebody worthy, somebody who could truly understand, made the effort to work their way inside and unlock their secrets. In a universe of interstellar travel, instant communication, and advanced weaponry, it was the long-forgotten treasures that held more value for Kath than things that were more...

********

...Modern technology that had become almost like a second language to Caylenn. The marriage of the natural power and energy of an ancient crystal to a steel-encased, wire-laden and intricately crafted hilt was very nearly the heart of what he loved about the modern era.

If there was one thing he loved more, it was the ability to use these thoroughly cold, alien devices to communicate the warmth and creativity of sentient life. Holoprojectors that sent forth images of people and places, sonic devices that when placed in the hands of an artist could make incredible music, radios and scanners and comm devices that allowed living breathing people to talk to one another across the reaches of space... all these things were fascinating to Caylenn, and had been since he was very young. He'd learned to interpret holograms, play musical instruments, repair and enhance comm devices, all out of a genuine love for what they could allow people to share, even if they were not unusually sensitive to the Force. People had constructed a way to reach each other and connect despite this lack.

The thought that sharing ideas and words with one another was so important that aliens across the universe had developed means for doing so was what renewed Caylenn's hope when he began to doubt the basic good nature of civilization. Right now, however, there were many good, loyal people who were without that. This was why he had to get to Athiss as quickly as possible. Those people needed help.

Quickly the Jedi Caylenn Lorin called out to Tharan Cedrax, who was cross-checking his list of supplies with Holiday. He flashed his companion an encouraging grin to prompt him to hurry toward the airlock... there was no time to lose.

********

Running a hand through his thick black hair, his slender fingers long practiced by now at avoiding the points of his horns, Darth Katharsys looked behind him to make sure that Talos Drellik was following behind, and spared a quick smile when he saw how many bags of supplies his companion carried. Ah, well, no sense trying to talk him into leaving anything behind... there was no time to lose.

****And despite the real urgency of his mission, he couldn't shake the feeling that out there, in the depths of the tombs of Athiss, he might suddenly find something unexpected... and perhaps something he'd been looking for.****

Thorns was on his way back from Nem’ro’s throne room. The hutt was unavailable at the moment and judging from the shouting and yelling in a bad mood. He’d have to wait before he could talk to him about the completion of his task. He had delivered the head to Yalt’s wife as Nem’ro had requested. Thorns hadn’t liked the part about delivering the head when Nem’ro had given him the job to kill his former accountant. But the hutt was right, if Thorns wanted to participate in the Great Hunt, he had to be willing to do anything. If only half of Mako’s stories were true he’d probably need every last scrap of ruthlessness he could muster. And he’d learned not to be squeamish about a little blood years ago.

A little bit more of doing what others told him to do. Win the Great Hunt and finally be free to choose. No more begging for jobs. Instead the contractors would beg him to accept their offers. But first he had to win the hutt’s sponsorship, convince Nem’ro that he was able to win the Great Hunt. Braden had laid the groundwork and Mako had done some more advertising, but the rest of the marketing was his job. He wondered how many more sampling demonstrations of his abilities it would take. He would have liked to take a shower to wash away the blood, and a drink to wash away the foul taste the last job had left behind, but that would have to wait until after his meeting with Nem’ro. The hutt was sly. He’d have to have his wits about him to deal with the slug.

“Here is the fraud. Useless weakling Mako pretends is bounty hunter.” A female rodian stepped out of the shadows.

Thorns turned slightly to face her, hand hovering near his blaster. “That gives you three seconds to get out of my way.” The rodian was only a little twerp, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t fast. Another thing that Thorns had learned early. Never underestimate your opponent.

At least she wasn’t easily intimidated. “Think you scare me?” she asked with arms akimbo. “You are nothing! Tarro Blood doesn’t want you in the Great Hunt. Smart person would take the hint. You’re not smart.”

Thorns’ Rodese wasn’t perfect, but he got her meaning. And he got the name Tarro Blood. The mandalorian was apparently trying to ensure that he stayed at the top of Thorns’ to-kill list. He started counting “one…”

She told him how Blood had promised her a spot in the Great Hunt if she took him out. Of course she would let Blood win.

“Two…”

She added a taunt for good measure.

“Three!”

He was faster. She was dead before she was done boasting that the hutt’s sponsorship would be hers. Thorns shook his head. She might have had a chance, had she opted for shooting from the shadows instead of making her little speech. His armor left a lot of room for improvement. A smart bounty hunter would have taken a shot at one of the weak spots. There were no dumb bounty hunters. At least no old ones.

He was searching her pockets and wondering what to do with the dead rodian when he became aware of somebody talking in the next room. His encounter with the bounty hunter had prevented him from noticing the voices of the two people earlier. A man and a woman.

“… or a slave collar around your neck before I’ve seen everything you can do. That’s all I wanted to say. You can go now.” The woman sent the man away.

“You think you can make a threat like that and then just dismiss me?” the man asked.

“I just did, didn’t I?” The door opened. “And what have we here?” the woman’s voice inquired. She stood in the doorway, looking at Thorns. “More trouble?”

Thorns recognized her. Kaliyo Djannis, Nem’ro’s security chief. If this was trouble it was big one, despite her not being taller than the rodian. The small-boned ratataki eyed him warily, waiting for an answer.

“I already took care of it,” he said with a nonchalant nod at the dead rodian as he holstered his blaster.

A moment later a male human left the room behind her with only an angry glance at Thorns before he walked away. Sun-bleached blond, nearly white hair, suntanned, medium build, walking with the grace of a fighter. Thorns remembered the man, he had been on the same shuttle when he reached Hutta. Curious, very curious, Thorns thought as he watched him leaving. He would have sworn the guy had been speaking with an Imperial accent when he boarded the shuttle, nothing like the accent Thorns had heard now.

“I am sure you can handle the rest,” he added with a shrug in Kaliyo’s direction.

Her glance of appraisal was quite thorough. “Hmmm,” she purred. “Handling the rest should be interesting.”

Her tongue seemed to be testing the edge of her teeth. She looked like a cat trying to decide whether to kill the mouse immediately or to play with it first. She walked closer.

This definitely wasn’t going in the intended direction. It wasn’t that she wasn’t attractive, she was, despite her baldness, very, even if she was several years older than he was. ‘She’ll also be several years more experienced than you are,’ some part of him, that was hard to ignore, added. Kark, he had a job to do. Letting himself be distracted wasn’t part of it. He wanted this spot in the Great Hunt. ‘There, she’s part of Nem’ro’s inner circle. Getting her support would be wiser than pissing her off.’

Judging by Kaliyo’s widening grin she seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. She took a look at the dead rodian. “Neat shot. What did she want?”

“She was hired by a mandalorian to kill me. Contrary to Nem’ro, this wimp is already convinced that I’ll be a serious adversary in the Great Hunt.”

“She should have taken a closer look, before trying something so obviously stupid.” Kaliyo stepped even closer, invading his personal space. Her hand took hold of his chin. “Little Mako told us so much about your abilities. Bet there are some she hasn’t put to the test.”

He playfully slapped her hand away. “Hands off the merchandise!” She was so close he was able to smell her. She wore no perfume. Beneath the smell of her leather coat, the smoke and other odors of Nem’ro’s palace, that was all her. ‘Smells good, doesn’t she?’ When had been the last time that he had slept with a woman?

“Merchandise, eh?” she chuckled, but her hand retreated. “So how much do you charge?”

No, not the intended direction at all. ‘Come on, this will be fun. Just give her what she wants.’ He was under the impression that he wasn’t going to escape. But this mouse also had no intention to be eaten alive. He raised an eyebrow.

“Depends on whom you want me to kill,” he breathed into her ear.

“How about my boredom?” Kaliyo purred.

“Want me to start a riot in Nem’ro’s throne room?” he asked grinning.

She laughed a rich, throaty laugh. “Riot sounds promising, but I hadn’t Nem’ro’s throne room in mind.” She took a step backwards, took his hand and pulled him with her. “Follow me. I’m not fussy, but we should get rid of the blood and stench.”

****

After his second shower within a few hours Thorns felt a little better. The fight in the beast pens had taken a toll on him. Kriffin’ hutts and their idea of amusement. He wasn’t even sure whom he owed the bruises on his left side, one of the beasts or the beast master. Only after the fight had he realized that he’d been hit. Didn’t matter, none of them had survived Nem’ro’s set up. He winced when he put on a fresh shirt. He’d have to find the money for better armor if he wanted to survive the Great Hunt. He’d have to find Nem’ro’s champion first though. But first of all he needed some kolto and maybe a med scanner.

He entered their mission room and started rummaging through the supplies. He had just found the scanner, when Mako entered.

“Hey where have you been, big guy? I’ve been looking for you.”

“Sorry, there were some unexpected delays. And I had to muck out Nem’ro’s beast pens afterwards. The beasts weren’t overly friendly though.” Thorns winced again when he sat down to take the scan. “If I didn’t need his sponsorship, I’d have been tempted to shoot the hutt.”

Mako hurried to his side. “Let me help you. How bad is it?”

“Feels like it’s just some bruises. Think I’ll survive. Just wanted a scan to be on the safe side.” He handed her the scanner.

Mako started scanning. “You know that Nem’ro scammed us? He has already sponsored someone for the Great Hunt!”

“Yeah, he told me. We need to find this bounty hunter and get Nem’ro’s token back. He won’t have a choice then but to sponsor me.”

The scanner beeped. “There we go. Some bruises and scratches, nothing serious. I’ll apply some kolto. Take off your shirt!”

Carefully he did as she asked.

She treated the bruises at his side. With a soft touch she applied the kolto patches. “Let me have a look at those scratches.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Thorns tried to get up, but she already was behind him, her hand pushing him back to his seat.

“Oh, these look like…—sorry, that’s none of my business.”

Thorns tried to get up again.

“Keep still. I better treat them anyway.” She applied some kolto. “Unexpected delays…” she muttered under her breath.

“That’s not…—I had to wait for Nem’ro. He was busy. And…”

“Hey, it’s okay. That’s really none of my business. You don’t need to justify yourself,” Mako interrupted him.

Yes, it wasn’t. And he didn’t. They were working together. Nothing more. But he didn’t want her to think that he screwed anything with a heartbeat. He needed her, and she needed him. He didn’t want to scare her off.

“Blood hired a rodian to kill me. He offered her my place in the Great Hunt.”

“Blood!” she spat. Then suddenly she stepped in front of him, a look of bewilderment on her face. “And you…—…with the rodian who was hired to kill you?”

“Kark, no! I shot her,” Thorns exclaimed.

Mako sighed relieved, which irritated Thorns a bit. Why was it better to shoot a woman, than to have se* with her? Unless maybe she thought, that he’d…—she didn’t really think that he was one of those sick b*st*rds? He tried to keep calm. They hardly knew each other. She was under extreme emotional stress right now. And he had to admit that he didn’t look like the trustworthiest of men. With his mohawk and facial tattoos he surely needn’t apply for a job as a bank accountant.

“You know,” Mako confessed, “Juda actually told me that she’s got a crush on you.”

“Juda?” he questioned. He and Juda had bantered a bit, that was all, at least he had thought so. He bit his lip when he saw Mako’s eyebrows furrowing.

“I thought when you waited for Nem’ro, maybe…” She blushed. “None of your business, Mako!” she muttered to herself.

An incoming message on Mako’s holo saved them from the awkward situation. She skimmed the content.

“It’s contains a holo recording. Say’s ‘Your hunter earned a hint.’ It’s from Kaliyo Djannis.” Mako looked at him. Her expression was unreadable. So much for being saved.

“What’s in the recording?” Thorns asked slightly alarmed. “Let me have a look.” He tried to take the holo from Mako, but Mako took a step backwards.

“Hands off!” Mako’s scolded with a calculating look. “No! No,no,no—don’t tell me you and Kaliyo. Kark.” She shook her head, clearly disapproving. Was that a hint of disgust? For him or Kaliyo? Both?

“Sh*t, Thorns! Of all the women in the palace you had to choose her? She has ‘TROUBLE’ spelled in big letters on her forehead. What were you thinking?—No, forget I asked. You clearly weren’t thinking. At least not with your brain. You’re probably lucky you’re still alive.”

How was this all his fault? “Kark!” he yelled. “I was too busy shooting that kriffin’ rodian to stay out of her way. She’s Nem’ro’s damned security chief. She’s supposed to take notice of such incidents.”

Mako looked at him with big, shocked eyes.

Thorns took a deep breath and kneaded the bridge of his nose between his fingertips. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I didn’t tell Kaliyo to f*ck off, but I didn’t seek her out either. And the rest is between her and me.” He waited until she nodded still a little insecure. “So, can we take a look at the recording now—please?” he asked her.

“Yes, of course. It’s only a few seconds.” She played the recording. It showed Nem’ro handing his token of support to a trandoshan.

“Think you can find out who he is?” Thorns eyed her expectantly.

“Think you know how to handle a blaster?” Mako grinned at him with sparkling eyes.

He grinned back. “Ok, I’ll try to collect some minor bounties, while you do your magic. Call me when you got something.” He got up and walked to the door. He heard her searching for something. When he reached the door Mako called “wait!”

He turned and she tossed an injector in his direction. He caught it. “What’s this?”

“I call it ‘Anti-the-Worst-You-Do-not-Want-to-Catch’. Might be better if you took it, Casanova.” She raised an eyebrow before she turned smirking to her datapad.

Thorns tossed the injector in the air and caught it again. He grinned when he left the room. Seemed like they had weathered the first storm.

****

Smilo sat in his room, reflecting on the previous events. Keeper had praised him for the way he had handled Kaliyo. The agent wasn’t so sure of himself. Maybe he would have been able to do better, if the conversation had not been cut short. He wasn’t sure if Nem’ro’s security chief would have dismissed him in such an abrupt manner, if not for the commotion of the shoot out in front of the door. He recalled the face of the bounty hunter in the passage. He had recognized him as one of the passengers of the shuttle he had used to reach Hutta. And he had seen the flicker of recognition in the other man’s eyes. Smilo hadn’t yet taken on the identity of the Red Blade back on the shuttle. Even the real Red Blade would probably have preferred to travel incognito. But a curious bounty hunter could mean trouble. The agent had already enough people to keep an eye on…

Casanova would maybe not be named Casanova in the Star Wars universe, but I am sure that he would exist...

In the game the BH encounters the rodian on his way to Nem'ro, and Mako appears while the BH talks to Juda and they talk about Nem'ro's other bounty hunter, and Mako already has all the information they need. I changed that a bit.

@TrystanLaryssa: I like the alternating perspectives and the enthusiasm of Talos and Tharan.

@icecreampants: I like the exchange between the agent and Temple, the existing wife with the boring name. And I have questions like 'why?' and 'who? no, not really?', I will be waiting for the answers.

@LaxKnight: 'O'Malley' makes me always think of Aristocats. Ok, his hair is dirt brown and not red, but I like him anyway. Three very diverse chars that promise more interesting stories.

@Caernos: So Delia accepted. This clearly has a huge impact on her life, guess she will have some impact on William's, and I am wondering if together they will have one on their lord.

Ome's "Well this isn't where we parked our speeder." made me laugh. But I fear it won't work with the guards...

@septembersphinx: I, too, like the different reactions of the other companions, and matching them to the code.

@Mirdthestrill: I really like the messages. And the small details, like Ketturah not using capitals.

@alaurin: That was fun! One of these days I really will start a female trooper, and then I will blame you. Jorgan and soft fur, I won't comment further...

@YoshiRaphElan: End of war seems not to boost morale

It's nice to see the different motivations to join the Great Hunt for the different bounty hunters on the thread.

@DarthSillyMonkey: Think I already told you, that I like your Jedi and Tharan. Like when she says:

“Tharan, is this a real threat, or are you pining over the lost chance to be the first to study the artifact? It’s hard to tell with you sometimes.”

The story for the Marketing-prompt was hilarious.

@marissalf:

But Quinn remembered enough from his time with the late Darth Baras to know that being close to Sith was not the same as being one.

But you can’t tell kids that, he lamented. They don’t listen. Refuse to take the word of those who have come before. Experience is the only teacher they pay any mind to.

@Phyreblade: I'm sure Gault would be able to sell almost anything to almost anybody.

Laying and waiting for an exposed belly has always been a very successful hunting technique.

Sorry to those farther back, I'll try to be more consistent with commenting...

Mirdthestrill: You chose an interesting format for your story. I like how you show as much about both Ketturah and Mallena with their word choices, punctuation, and grammar, as in the events they describe. Looking forward to more.

Septembersphinx: Oh, my, ouch. Of these companions, I’ve met only Qyzen and Tharan, and Tharan especially read pitch perfect. What a heartbreaking decision for Ilse.

Caernos: Right off, the reader figures the new Lady Morokei will be the lonely one. The one out of place, the one who’s the most unhappy with the marriage. But Lord Morokei is just as lonely, just as out of place in his own household. Just as dissatisfied with a marriage that hardly happened.

LaxKnight:

He said you were a good man who can get the job done. Even if he looks like he stumbled out of an alley after a night of drinking,” she said, choking back the formality.

TrystanLaryssa: I enjoyed the transitions between the POVs, with a sentence that starts in one perspective and ends in the other. I also like the idea of a part-Miraluka character. The thought that Caylenn has some of the inherent Miraluka Force Sight intrigues me, especially that it works better when he excludes actual visual input.

Icecreampants: Again, welcome back. I agree with Bright, Delgrin would be in hot water whether he succeeded or not.

Frauzet:

She looked like a cat trying to decide whether to kill the mouse immediately or to play with it first.