@frauzet,

He helped her to the crates and handed her her blaster. “Try not to shoot me, when I return.”

 

She grinned at him. “You say that to all the girls?”

 

He grinned back. “Only to the interesting ones.” And with a wink he was gone.

I love these two together already. And good for Nikeo to think rationally about the situation and not let Jorgan’s needling get to him.

@EverSteam,

She feels misunderstood by too many of her crew members. Even him and he was the person she always thought would understand her. Fool on her.

That sentiment is so sad. I love that description of the dark side corruption and how the Warrior is able to mask it. This look at the fallout from “the incident” is heartbreaking and well told. My poor, poor feels!

@DarthSillyMonkey,

I like how Kinka is so certain, with only her knowledge of Eckard as her proof... but is she just the crazy lady, fresh out of her 10 yr stay as a joiner?

I like that you’re wondering about that. Because on the one hand, Kinka’s got a point because of her experience with Eckard. But on the other, how much can you really trust somebody who’s had experimental treatments that altered their brain? (To say nothing of all that time spent as a Joiner.) But I promise, you’ll eventually get a clear picture of whether she’s right or not.

Ellis Lokin avoided the medbay as much as possible. As the only person on board the Elektra with actual medical training, that space should have been his sanctuary. Instead the others were always there, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he seemed to be in the way no matter what he did. The girl, Mako, was nice enough. But the sandy-haired boy with the scars carved into his face unnerved him with his silence. And the Devaronian... He preferred not to think of Gault at all. Something about him made Ellis feel as though he were constantly being sized up. Did he see him as competition of some kind? Or was he merely looking for an easy swindle?

They mattered little compared to the woman who terrified him beyond belief. He wasn’t permitted to know her name. Melodai called her “mom,” and somewhere along the way the others started to do it, too. It made the woman smile and brought a blush to her cheeks. Somehow he didn’t think she’d have the same reaction if he tried that.

He’d tried to be courteous to her, overly kind even. And while she no longer lashed out like the day she broke his eyeglasses, there was no warmth in her interactions with him. It also hadn’t escaped his attention that she would visibly bristle whenever he walked into a room.

Ellis squinted at his datapad in the dim light of the upstairs living area. Laughter wafted up from below deck as everyone else enjoyed some entertaining tale that he’d never hear. It didn’t bother him; he didn’t need the distraction. And that’s all people were, a hindrance. He grimaced at the latest wave of heady laughter and turned resolutely back to his work.

He’d done a good job tuning out the chatter. So good he hadn’t noticed Mel leaning against the door watching him some time later.

“You’re hard at work.”

Ellis flinched at the sound of her voice, then blushed with embarrassment at having done so. “Mmm.”

“You could take a break and join us downstairs if you want. Gault’s playing bartender. That always makes for an interesting time.”

He glanced up in time to catch a sly smirk tug at her lip, as if she were remembering something no one else was meant to know. That it involved the ruddy-skinned beast made him work to suppress a scowl. “Love to,” he murmured, “but this data won’t analyze itself. Besides, I don’t think I’d add much to the party.”

“Oh come on.” She plopped down next to him, propping her bare feet up on one of the nearby crates. He noticed her toes, painted a sparkly shade of emerald green, quickly looking away before she caught him staring.

“They all like you,” she pressed. “Even mom’s starting to come around.”

He doubted that very much. But he’d let her have the illusion.

“Don’t you ever unwind? Just have a few drinks, fool around with a pretty woman?” She grinned at him and raised an eyebrow. Ellis guessed by her sudden forwardness that she’d already had a few of Gault’s alcoholic concoctions. “You’re probably all kinds of wild underneath all that...science.”

For reasons Mel couldn’t guess, his face reddened. “I’ve actually never...”

“Never what? Oh. Oh!” Mel considered the ramifications of that statement. Never had sex. The thought was completely alien. “Really? Never? But you’re...”

“Old?” he asked sheepishly.

“Yes— no! No, actually I was going to say you’re hot. You do know you’re really good-looking, right? Girls had to have been crawling all over you back in the day.”

“There were advances, I do recall. But I had other things to think about. It never seemed important.”

Laughter racked Mel’s entire body. “You can’t tell me you never got curious. Never saw a pretty woman — or man, if that’s more your taste — and just spent some quality time in the ‘fresher?”

“I, I...” He blushed a violent shade of scarlet. “That’s not really the same matter.”

“No, guess not.” Mel couldn’t help but smile at the flustered expression on his face. “Sorry to put you on the spot, doc. But really? Never? Weren’t you a teenage boy once? Or did you just pop out of the womb a forty-year-old man.”

He scoffed. “Thirty-two, thank you. And I spent much of my youth foolishly thinking I could lure my father home if I wracked up enough impressive accomplishments.” His tone darkened. He hadn’t planned on saying that much. Or sounding so bitter. But wading into his sad childhood was a shade better than discussing his nonexistent sex life. “I was the youngest fellow at the Institute. I won dozens of accolades, to say nothing of the Emperor’s Prize for my studies in xenobiology. And yet, nothing. I wasted my youth chasing a ghost, and by the time I realized it, that had become my entire world.”

“Oh.” His confession did wonders to sober Mel’s mood. “I’m sorry, Ellis. But now you know what he did for a living. That’s probably what kept him away all that time.”

“I’m not naive enough to believe that anymore. I wanted to buy into that, I really did. It fulfilled every winsome illusion I had of him when I was a child. But then I thought about your mother. She gave up that life for you. My father was never willing to do the same.” He sat his datapad aside, leaned forward and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “I’m too old to buy into fairytales, Melodai.”

The pair sat in silence for another minute before Ellis rose from his seat.

“Where you going?”

He smiled weakly at her. “I’m going to bed. You’re right, work can wait.”

***

“Ellis? What time is it?” Mel squinted up at where the chrono used to be, trying to focus on the numbers with one eye before remembering that the poor timepiece had been smashed to bits only a month ago. The professor stood at the foot of the bed, dressed in the most ridiculous nightshirt she’d ever laid eyes on. It was aqua plaid, long-sleeved, and reached down to his ankles. Ridiculous. The only thing Mel could think of while he stood there in the dark was taking that horrible excuse for clothing off of him and sending it out the airlock.

“I didn’t want to disturb you,” he whispered. Mel waited for some further explanation, but he didn’t say a word, just gazed at the floor, as if too ashamed to go on.

“Ellis, there are only two things that are acceptable to do at this hour. You’re interrupting one of them, and you probably don’t know what the other is.”

“I was thinking about our conversation earlier. I wondered...”

Mel sat up, suddenly awake. “Ellis Lokin, are you seriously standing at the foot of my bed in the middle of the night asking me to... deflower you?”

He shifted his weight to the other foot, and Mel could swear she saw him flush in the dark. “I’m sorry, I don’t know how this is done. You seemed amenable to something earlier.” He took a couple awkward steps backward. “I misunderstood. Forget I was here.”

“Wait.” She slid off the bed and caught him by the hand. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t. I just wanted to make sure that’s what this was.”

Mel pulled him back inside the alcove that served as a bedroom and ran her fingers over his chest. Ugh. The horrid nightshirt felt every bit as bad as it looked. “Let’s get rid of this.”

She held up a finger and rummaged in the nightstand. Ellis’ eyes widened at the small blade she procured, and he refused to ponder why she would need to stow a blade in her nightstand. She deftly sliced through the fabric; the evil plaid parted, and Mel quickly pulled it off him. “Tomorrow we burn this.”

Ellis cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t like my nightshirt? What’s wrong with it? It’s practical, it’s—”

Mel put a finger to his lips. “Lesson one. Nightshirts — and talk of nightshirts — are not sexy. And if you’re trying to get a woman into bed, you want to stick to things that are sexy.”

“I did get you to undress me,” he countered.

“Ooh, very good, professor. I think you’re ready for the advanced class.” Mel waited for him to make a move. Any move. She was surprised by the anticipation that had welled up inside of her. This was just sex. But for some reason it felt like something else. She waited for his touch, but he was motionless.

“How about you take my clothes off.”

“Right, yes.” He reached for her but never made contact, as if there were some invisible force field keeping him from stripping off the thin camisole she wore.

“You know, you can touch me, doc. It’s kinda a requirement if we’re gonna do this.”

He took a deep breath to steady the nerves that threatened to make his hands tremble. When he was convinced they wouldn’t shake, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close. He slowly traced the curves of her hips before sliding his hands beneath the thin fabric that separated her bare skin from his. Her skin felt cool and smooth beneath his boney fingers but quickly warmed to his touch.

She flinched as his hands became acquainted with her body. They were warm and soft, neither of which she’d expected. Ellis took his time in peeling the clothes off, marveling at each new reveal with a look of reverence where some might have leered. Even so, she wondered for a brief moment whether he really hadn’t done this before.

“Am I doing alright?” he murmured in her ear. The sensation caught her off guard, and she let a moan slip through her lips before she could help it.

“A+, professor.” She playfully pushed him onto the bed, taking a moment to pull the privacy curtain closed before crawling in after him.

Methic peeled off his shirt and grunted as he dropped into bed. He'd been on the battlefront against the Republic for the last three days, and had gotten no rest except for a few meditations in between battles. He licked his lips, which were dry and cracked, and groaned. He was too tired to get up and find some water.

He heard a clink on the nightstand beside him.

Looking up, he saw Vette, clad in a bathrobe, standing beside the bed. She'd put a cold glass of water with three ice cubes on the bedside table. Smiling, he rolled over and downed the water in one swallow. Vette grinned and walked over to the dresser, picking up the pitcher and pouring the water.

"I figured you'd need some," she said softly.

Neither Vette nor Methic enjoyed fighting the Republic, but Methic truly did believe that, if the Emperor and the Dark Council could be dethroned and normal, moral people put in charge, that the Empire would be far superior to the Republic. So Methic fought for a government he had little faith in, in hopes that one day he could improve it.

He took the freshly-filled glass of water and drank it, this time slower. He smiled at Vette.

"Thank you."

She leaned down and kissed him softly on the forehead. He grabbed her shoulders, pulled her forward, and kissed her hard on the lips. She sank down into bed beside him.

* * *

One month later, Vette was getting on Methic's last nerve. For some reason, she was crabby, then weepy, then demanding, and she was constantly eating, and she very rarely stopped moving. And she whined. A lot.

"I'm no expert," he told Quinn quietly, "but I think she's having mood swings."

"Well, I am an expert, my lord. I would need to examine her thoroughly to be sure, though."

Methic nodded and decided he'd give Quinn that chance. He walked into his bedroom. Vette was pacing, a jar of farrberries in one hand and a bottle of chocolate syrup in the other. She was clad only in a thigh-length white shirt, and her face was a mess of red and brown from the food in her hands.

"Vette...?" he said softly.

She whirled on him, a frightening fury in her eyes.

"What?"

"I...I just wanted to ask you...Vette, are you pregnant?"

Vette froze in place, frowning. She slowly walked over to the dresser, placed the food on top, and wiped her face on the white shirt. I'm throwing that one away..., he thought.

"Pregnant?" she asked. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you've been cranky, jittery, and having cravings for fruit and chocolate. Mostly chocolate."

Vette licked her lips. "Now that you mention it, I noticed that but I didn't think to check for pregnancy."

"Do you want Quinn to check?"

Vette's eyes flashed. "Quinn? Check me for pregnancy? Methic, you had better–"

She proceeded to tell him what he had better do and he moved quickly from the room. Jaesa, sitting on the couch, giggled and rose, moving gracefully to Methic's side.

"Do you want me to do it?" she asked.

He nodded. "Would you? Thanks, Jaesa."

The results turned up positive; Jaesa confirmed it with the Force, too. Vette was pregnant. It overjoyed Methic but he was instantly determined to not let her on the battlefield again until she had delivered the child.

"Methic!" she shouted. "Get me more berries and chocolate!"

This is going to be a long eight months...

Pregnant women like chocolate, right? I mean, that's what I've always heard.

@Marissalf: Ok, I love the mental picture I got from this

“How about you take my clothes off.”

 

“Right, yes.” He reached for her but never made contact, as if there were some invisible force field keeping him from stripping off the thin camisole she wore.

A very charming story overall. I liked how you portrayed Ellis, it almost makes you feel like he's been handed the short end in life...

... y'know, if he wasn't all evil and stuff.

@Yoshi: Women crave many things when they're pregnant. My ex's thing was vegetarian pizza, but only from this certain pizza place. Couldn't even make it fresh at home, it had to be from this place. We ate that at least once a week for four months straight. I liked your use of Jaesa in that scenario. It makes perfect sense.

"Understand that while I appreciate the situation, Capt. Kiera'Kian, we have a super weapon that is ready for use against the Republic! I will not trade the life of one soldier, even a member of HAVOC squad, for the lives of thousands. Rescuing Lt. Dorne will be assigned to another unit."

The elder woman's holographic image stood at a tight parade rest. Her face was as stern as her tone, brooking no argument.

"Gen. Garza, this is a member of my crew. Is it possible to send another HAVOC unit to--"

The General's head snapped in his direction, "Need I remind you Capt. Bro'Kian, that you're not even supposed to be aware of other HAVOC units, let alone have one aboard your ship!" She waived at his sister. "I'm not even sure I should allow her to remain leader of the Vanguard-1 unit after this... this... debacle!"

Kiera stepped forward, "I'm sorry, you're saying this was my fault?" She was visibly shaking. Bro saw both Jorgen and Vik take a step sideways.

"You don't think it is, Captain? You're the product of the toughest training in the galaxy! Yet, as Spec. Vik would so kindly put it, got your a*s whipped by only two people, AND allowed yourself to be separated from Lt. Dorne during combat! It's obvious that while inebriated on duty, you failed to remember your training!"

"I was FAR from drunk, Garza, and these people weren't just some Black Sun thugs! They had military experience!" Kiera yelled at the blue holographic figure.

"Really? It's been awhile since I had to run the Spec Ops boot camp, Captain, but I doubt when training to fight as a two person unit, separation is part of the curriculum!"

Jorgen looked at Bro with a look on his face that practically screamed Do something, you idiot!

He stepped forward. "General, we understand you feel Kiera failed to use her training to its potential, but that aside, is it poss--"

"I'm sorry, is this holocall not working?! Is the encryption not translating correctly?! Because I believe you were already informed what my position IS on this matter, Captains!"

He winced. She sounded like one of his old Drill Instructors. She was definitely upset. Gen. Garza never lost her cool.

"Y'know what? Go screw, you old b*itch. I'll do this on my own. I quit!" Kiera'Kian made a rude gesture at the screen, then stormed off to the cargo hold.

Bro'Kian turned as she walked by and spoke softly, "Sis, you can't quit the service! You gotta calm down, we'll figure things ou--"

She turned around while continuing down the hall, "Kark off, Bro! You are just like Dad!", and she punctuated the statement by giving him the finger and grabbing her crotch.

"Captain..." Gen. Garza cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. My sister can be hotheaded, but you have to understand--"

"Actually Captain, I don't have to understand anything. It's one of the privileges of my rank. Now, based on the circumstances, I'm amending your orders."

Her voice was cool and calm, like the Commanding Officer Bro'Kian was used to dealing with.

This time, Jorgen spoke up, "With all due respect General, we can complete our original assignment with the soldiers assembled. I'm asking that you reconsid--"

"Request denied. As of right now, your orders have changed. You will suspend your investigation of the Gauntlet Superweapon--"

"General, I have to protest, this isn't right." Bro'Kian stated agitatedly.

"-- and proceed to follow and capture former Captain Kiera'Kian. I won't have another HAVOC defection issue come up on my watch."

"What?! General, she'd never do that!"

"We never thought Tavus would defect either, Captain."

"Granted, ma'am, but this is different." He couldn't believe this was happening, "She hasn't even left the ship yet. We're in orbit around Alderaan, there's nowhere to go."

"Hmm, that's odd. Are you sure that wasn't the sound of the escape pod jettisoning? I'm pretty sure it was."

"Ma'am," Bro sighed, "with all due respect--"

The woman in the hologram rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Captain, as an additional parameter to this mission, should you manage to rescue Lt. Dorne in the process of apprehending the AWOL Captain, it would save us a troop deployment we can't really afford at this moment."

"I'm telling you, General she's... right... uhhh..." understanding dawned on him, "oh... ohhhhh NO! I must go and check to see if my sister, Capt. Kiera'Kian, may have escaped! Excuse me, ma'am!" He ran out of the room.

Gen. Garza shook her head, and looked at Jorgen. "He may have a fantastic track record, but he isn't too bright sometimes, is he?"

Jorgen grinned, "The Captain's specialty is combat, ma'am. He tends to think too much in a debate. That was clever though ma'am, pushing Capt. Kiera'Kian's buttons like that."

Vik chimed in, "Not like she really had to do much. Not even I can make a fuse as short as Capt. Kiera's"

"Doesn't matter," Jorgen looked at Vik, "we've now got the perfect excuse to rescue Lt. Dorne."

"Gentlemen, I have no idea what it is you're talking about. Your amended orders are to retrieve HAVOC-VG Capt. Kiera'Kian, and I'd estimate about five days at best in which to execute them. After that, the Gauntlet becomes your top priority again. I expect results. Garza out." With that, the holographic figure disappeared.

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

Bro'Kian charged into the cargo bay. His sister was already fully geared up, and packing the rest of her equipment.

"Kiera! Hold on! You need to lis--"

She whirled around, finger already in the air pointing at him. "I ain't got to listen to jack diddly osiik from your a*s! I can't believe you'd side with that old b*tch over me! What, Elara's just an asset to you? You lose her, you can requisition another one?!"

Bro took a few steps back like he'd been punched in the chest. "Wh.. whoa. Sis, that was a little low, don't you think?"

"Y'know, if you had asked me that about ten minutes ago, I would've agreed. Now? Not so much." she snarled, and turned back to packing the rest of her gear.

"Haar'chak! If you weren't such a freaking hothead..! Look, don't you get it? I have to chase you down now, Garza's orders. You know wh--"

Kiera'Kian wheeled on her brother and got right in his face, "So that's what this is about then? Well I got news for you little brother, I'm going to find Elara, and you don't have the rugams to stop me!" She pushed him back.

"Okay, that is IT! You don't want to talk? Fine! We can do this your way!" Bro'Kian charged at his sister.

Kiera moved out of the way, grabbed his arm, and swung him headfirst into the bulkhead. As she advanced on him, Bro started to get up. When she was close enough, he threw a shoulder block and stepped behind her foot.

She went down, and rolled to the side, coming up to both feet. Bro was on her in an instant, and she hit him with an uppercut to the midsection. Without his armor on, he felt it. He swung and connected a right cross to her face. She weathered the blow, and returned with a roundhouse. He blocked into the soft arm joint of her armor, and--

*clink, clink, cliiiiiiiiiiiiink*, a detonator rolled in between them and stopped. The blinking red light meant it was live.

"GRENADE!" Kiera tackled Bro as she dove for cover.

"GRENADE!" Bro went with Kiera's momentum and tried to carry her an extra few feet when he jumped. When they landed, she rolled up and covered her brother.

The detonator went off, not with a loud, earth-shattering kaboom, but with a weak, almost flatulent sound. It stayed in one piece, a wisp of smoke coming from the primer assembly.

"Awww, ain't that cute, Jorgen? Look at 'em, all cuddled up against the wall."

Bro and Kiera both slowly looked up and saw Vik and Jorgen standing in the doorway of the cargo bay.

"What the hell were you thinking, Vik?!" Bro yelled at the specialist.

Simultaneously, Kiera yelled "Vik you di'kut!! You're insane!"

Tanno Vik shrugged his shoulders and grinned, "Hey, somebody had to break you two children up."

Jorgen stormed in after him and over to the two Captains, "Immature brats is more accurate! You're both Spec Forces officers! For kark's sake, ACT LIKE IT!"

Kiera looked at her brother, "Ok, what crawled up his tail?"

Bro stood up, "You're right, I'm sorry Jorgen." He helped his sister up. "You ready to calm down and listen for a second?"

Kiera reached out and took him by the chin, inspecting his face and head. "*sigh* I guess, but we'd better get an icepack on that spot while we're talking."

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

They all moved to the cockpit and began their decent to Alderaan.

Bro'Kian explained to his sister what Gen. Garza had done and Jorgen filled them in on the implied timeframe they had been given.

"Huh. I knew Garza was sneaky, but who would've thought she'd use her powers for the pursuit of good." She said as she guided the planetary landing sequence.

Bro held the icepack on the back of his head, "She's a lot better person than you give her credit for, Sis. She doesn't actually enjoy sending us into crappy situations, y'know."

"If you're both done discussing the merits of your CO, you think maybe we could focus on landing and getting the AWOL Captain back to her ship?" Jorgen said testily.

Kiera'Kian turned towards the Cathar, "Seriously, your Mak-O's. Who pi*sed in them?"

"He's just bent because he owes me 100 cred." Vik grinned.

Jorgen stood up, agitated, "No, THEY owe you 100 cred!"

"Whoa, whoa. whoa. Why does anybody owe Vik 100 cred?" Bro asked as he looked at both of them.

"Well, I told Jorgen I could stop you two without getting involved and without blowing anything up. He didn't believe me." Vik grinned proudly.

Kiera snorted, "Gee, Vik, I wonder why?"

Vik shrugged, "Hey, just because things tend to explode around me, doesn't mean that I don't have other ways to solve problems."

"You make it sound very cerebral, Tanno, but in the end you still used an explosive device to solve the problem." Bro said, laughing.

Vik laughed with him, "Yeah. Explosive Ordinance. Is there anything it can't do?"

So while I'm working on the next major piece to the story, I though an interlude showing HAVOC's side of things would be nice. Hopefully, I got Garza's character close to what everyone sees her as.

My Troopers have a love/hate relationship with Garza. Bro'Kian's a typical soldier, so he's grown to like her. Kiera'Kian's dislike started in Coruscant, and it seems that her choices since are always meeting with Garza's disapproval or snide remarks.

I also don't like Tanno Vik very much, but if you click on him enough, he spouts some replies that seem to show a degree of loyalty to HAVOC, just on his own terms. So hopefully, he's believable.

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@EverSteam: I actually read a lot of stories more than once for various reasons. Probably the best reason is when I suspect, that there might be a whole layer beneath the actual words, that I might have missed during my initial reading. It's not always easy for me to get the ambiguities or small differences in the meaning of words in English

Looking weak is something neither of them could forgive her doing.

@DarthSillyMonkey: Thank you. There will be more soon.

I like your Garza in this story very much. She knows her subordinates well enough to manipulate them, and she cares for them enough to use this to the advantage of all.

Yeah, pictures! I was wondering what Drokk'it's tattoo looked like.

@marissalf: Thank you. In the first conversations Jorgan seems to belong to those people I want to contradict even if I know they are right. I am trying to let Nik act more rationally than I would.

I enjoyed your story very much.

Even so, she wondered for a brief moment whether he really hadn’t done this before.

@YoshiRaphElan:

This is going to be a long eight months...

Pregnancy can do really weird things. I can't remember any changes in likes and dislikes of food, but I wasn't able to watch anything on tv more violent than 'Murder She Wrote'. Might be interesting when living together with a Sith lord

Skadge was one of the founding members of Black Sun. Negotiations with other members of the underworld had been part of his former life. They all had been afraid of him back then and they were still afraid now. His word still carried weight with Black Sun. That had probably been the reason why Thorns had decided to send him to the meeting at all. Skadge could tell, that Thorns hadn’t liked it.

The meeting had begun well enough but soon got out of hand. At some point Skadge outright threatened to grab them by the scruffs of their necks and bang their heads together, and he had meant it quite literally. That was the moment Skadge discovered, that they didn’t fear him as much as they used to, and the scuffle started. Nobody had drawn any weapons yet, but Skadge could tell that that was going to happen soon. That would be the end of his diplomatic career.

“Stop it, you scum.” He bellowed. Loud!

Surprisingly everybody paused to stare at him in amazement.

“I quit this mission! Thorns will be furious, but that can’t be helped. Let him do this himself. See ya around—at least those of you who survive.” With that Skadge turned to leave the room.

“Wait!”

“What?”

“You mean Thorns will come here?”

“Sure.” Skadge shrugged.

The murmuring started.”He won the Mandalorians’ Great Hunt!” “He was at the top of the Republics most-wanted list.” “He shot the Chancellor” “Still they took him off the list again!” “They say he’s killed a strike team of five Jedi single-handedly.” “And Sith, too”

“They say he worked for you back on Coruscant. Is that true, Skadge?”

“Not exactly. But I know who he worked for. And I’ll tell you, Thorns had several lower levels of Coruscant trembling at the thought of crossing his boss.” It had been only a few blocks and not only because of Thorns, but Skadge decided not to be pedantic.

“Most of his targets’ bodies missed parts, some bodies were never found. Eaten, they said.” Skadge let himself shudder.

“Of course that’s ridiculous, he was only a child back then!” he added thoughtfully. Part of him couldn’t believe that they feared the thought of the little runt coming for them more than they feared him, although he probably could kill them all without breaking a sweat, had he wanted to.

Twenty minutes later they had come to a compromise everybody could agree on. Thorns would be pleased, at least if he didn’t find out about the rumors. Skadge wouldn’t be the one to tell him.

@Eversteam, the way you manipulate words and figurative language to describe feelings and behaviors is inspiring. I've never even read anything else about your agent or his lady friend (sorry ) but I still grasp the complex emotional relationship they have just from this one piece. I'll be sure to read more of your Agent stuff soon *adds to long list of things to read*

@Frauzet, this is a comment on Hating Ord Mantell ll and lll. I have played both a smuggler and a trooper, and the intertwining (I think I might've botched that word) of their early stories is done magnificently in your recent stories. The insight into the minds of the characters coupled with great dialogue (I suck at writing dialogue ) and comfortable action combines to make this not only entertaining but fun to read. I hope to see more.

@Alaurin, I got a lot of funny images in my head from this one, from a soldier being shoved by a little boy to the little girl playing with Corso's dreadlocks (makes me want to use him more on my smuggler somehow ) The dialogue is terrifically accurate to both the way children talk (awic <3) and react to curse words and the game characters as well. I look forward to more!

@marissalf, half of your story I am pitying paranoid Kinka, and the other half I am wondering if she is somehow right. I wish I could say more, but I don't feel if I know the story well enough to do so in a manner I am satisfied with. I promise to read your previous stories soon!

@Eversteam, the lack of Quinn in recent stories was becoming disturbing, and for a moment I thought that perhaps we had finally worn out the man. Your story renewed my faith in Quinn being an insanely complex individual who will never get old. The choice between his prospering career and the might-work relationship with the Sith he betrayed is probably the hardest choice Quinn will ever have to make. I look forward to a continuation!

@YoshiRaphElan, that second to last line really cracked me up Character/companion pregnancy is always an interesting subject and presents a huge number of possibilities for the future. Will the child follow in the legacy of their parents or choose a different path? I really hope more is coming!

@DarthSillyMonkey, I just want to thank you for your humorous and active commenting, I know I am not speaking just for myself when I say that it wouldn't be as much fun writing without feedback. Concerning your story, I like how you wrote Garza as a sneaky good guy (as opposed to my sneaky victory-at-any-cost crazy Garza). The hunt for Dorne will be undoubtedly full of all sorts of shenanigans and I hope to see it soon! And thanks for the pictures, I'm glad I'm not the only one who prefers blonde Mako (now if only she could get rid of that weird purple eyeshadow..)

@Frauzet, Skadge style diplomacy is at times both entertaining and terrifying. Who knew he had such a cunning mind in that gray melon of his? Your story raises my respect for him a little bit and I suppose I look forward to more of your Skadge (probably the only time that has been said about him )

@MrTwo: The mystery revealed! Poor Riz, most popular guy in the 'verse, and it ain't due to his looks or charming personality. I get the feeling Kouhun and Juliet are about to have a very tense meeting. Looking forward to more!

The upcoming clash of fates will undoubtedly be life-changing for all involved, and I look forward to writing it soon. I originally planned to do a flashback piece on Riz's (I will spell it this way from now on ) life but couldn't find a way to write in a way I was comfortable with. Maybe after the main story is done and I finally arrive at the game stories (if anyone is left alive )

@Mrtwo: One question answered. Next one: Who finds whom first?

That is a fantastic question, and how it is answered will determine the outcome of the upcoming clash. Not all the pieces are in place yet though, I still want to get a few more important people involved before the big showdown! Patience is a virtue

@Mrtwo I agree in your assessment that a flaming racist, if he’s shrewd, can rise pretty high. Dealing fairly with aliens doesn’t seem to be the prerequisite it is in the Republic.

 

And then, we get closer to answers! I like that Garza is willing to work with someone completely mysterious and sketchy because it gives the prospect of, as you wrote, a “major strategic prize.” I’d say that’s well within character.

Shrewdness is one of Viduus's more practiced abilities for certain. On the bridge of his ship, though, his word is law, and his crew knows that. I'm glad you think I wrote Garza well, as she is the only recurring character so far that is actually in the game (if you hadn't noticed, I'm a bit hesitant at writing non-original characters.) Garza will play a big role in the conflict to come, I think.

@Mrtwo, The mystery’s unfolding! Fantastic to get a peak at what’s motivating this chase. I like it.

As I said in the note at the bottom of the story, it was hard to decide what the big prize was, and I'm happy to see that you like it. It was either it be a superweapon and in the course of trying to obtain it, someone blows up something important, or it be something else and some other catastrophe (possibly even worse then blowing up something important ) occurs. Messing with the cosmos has a way of biting you in the bum in the end, as some characters may (or may not) soon find out.

Mrtwo: That was a great idea and in one way it is still a superweapon. Knowledge is power after all. Also, I have a feeling (and it's just a feeling, could be totally wrong) that there is going to be a lot of action soon as all the hunters collide with one another.

I'm glad you are happy with the non-superweapon idea. Every good drama story has a part in which everything collides and starts to resolve, and I believe that that time is fast approaching. That could mean a lot of action, or something entirely different, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

@Mrtwo: Yikes, I'm glad to know why everyone's after Rizz, but I really feel for the guy! Nicely done and I can't wait until we get more!!

Rizantos had his father die because of him, he lost his job, and he was enslaved and almost put to death, and when he finally thought things were going good again, he loses his hand and is captured by a bounty hunter. I didn't realize how bad he was getting it until I just typed all that, so maybe things will start going his way. Or maybe not.

@Alaurin: Risha + Kids = Brand new storyline! Cause you know you want to see how that would go over. And once again, Val to the rescue! Now at least the kids know what they're saying when they say it. Gotta agree with Corso though, my folks heard it and I was eating LAVA. *gag*

Oh, and I totally loved your trooper piece. I think you did a great job with both Garza and Vik. I can see Garza pulling a maneuver like that and that was definitely a Vik move, both with the grenade and the bet!!

@frauzet: hehe, glad you like the children bits......I got another coming! Also, I'm loving the interaction between Nikeo and Zal......'Sergeant Blue-Eyes' I love it!! Skadge.....diplomacy.....those are two words I never thought I'd ever see strung together.....very interesting!

@EverSteam: I like your Warrior's interactions with Quinn......Sith do respect doing what's necessary, but she's smart keeping him at arm's length. I know there were so many things I wanted to do to him after......you know. I'm not sure I was big enough to have any respect for him!

@Yoshi: SQUEEEE!!!!! Pregnant Vette!!!!! Some pregnant women get cravings, some get aversions, some get both......you never know. I wanted cheeseburgers with my son, but the smell of turkey made me sick. With my daughter, I wanted apples, but the smell of cooked carrots, which my toddler son loved at that point, made me sick.

Val looked up at the sky as Aric shot a flare up, signaling to Dorne’s troop shuttle that it was safe to land. The sun was getting low in the sky, but with support troops, the small Imperial bunker should be quick and easy to take. She looked over at Corso and Aric and saw her exhaustion reflected on their faces. It had been a long day and none of them had slept much the night before. She had helped Elara late into the night treating the wounded from the takeover of the Fallenspire hold and worry about Corso and Aric had kept her awake when she finally went to bed. The petite Mirialan was more the introvert type and didn’t have many people she considered friends, but Corso and Aric were among those few and she didn’t like the thought of them out in the Taris night.

Worry about Tia had kept Corso and Aric awake the previous night and both of them were feeling the effects of little sleep and a long day. On the way to the Imperial Bunker, they fought through the pirates, recovered Ovold’s gear, and found one of their hideouts. As it turned out, Beryl’s former partner, Tyrodall, wasn’t really dead. The Devaronian was very much alive and working with the pirates. Beryl’s ‘core samples’ were really Taris artifacts and Tyrodall went into business with the pirates to make and sell copies to Imperials. He offered to let Val in on the deal if she kept quiet and left. Val wasn’t thrilled that Beryl had lied to her about the core samples, but she didn’t trust that Devaronian at all so in true Val fashion, she swaggered up to Tyrodall and declined his offer with a solid kick to his manhood. Val took the original artifacts for Beryl, wishing she had the time to gather the replicas and take them to her ship……credits were credits after all. However, Tia came first and they needed to get to that Bunker and secure a landing area for Dorne.

“I’m kinda surprised Colonel Gaff let Dorne provide support for you,” Val spoke up after Aric shot off the flare, “He wasn’t exactly helpful when we arrived.”

“He didn’t have much of a choice,” Aric replied, a wicked grin crossing his face, “Word spread that he’d written those kidnapped soldiers off for dead and they weren’t too happy about that. They were thankful for the rescue and for Val’s help in treating their injuries. So when Gaff denied Sergeant Dorne the backup unit for us, they all threatened to report him.”

“They should report him anyways,” Val snorted, “He’s a real piece of work…….too bad Needles didn’t kidnap him.”

“Think Tia will show up?” Corso asked as the troop shuttle landed.

“I don’t know,” Aric sighed, “From what the kids told us, her injuries were pretty bad last night. Hopefully Needles isn’t stupid enough to send her out again.”

Aric briefed the unit before they began the assault. This time, he didn’t want to take any chances and made sure they understood that any officers were to be taken alive for questioning. The Imperial bunker was small and within an hour, they’d taken it with minimal injuries to their side. They didn’t find Tia or Needles there, Val, Corso, and Aric knew they wouldn’t be, and the only officer that didn’t fight back was a Colonel Thorus. He surrendered, assuring Jorgan that he’d cooperate and told him what he knew about Needles and his lab in an old transport station. His information wasn’t anything new to Aric, Val, or Corso, but Aric was considering taking Thorus prisoner since he’d cooperated.

“Sir,” Dorne spoke up, removing her helmet, “With all due respect, you can’t trust this man.”

“Dorne……is…..is that you?!” Thorus asked, his voice reflecting his anxiety over that possibility.

“You know him?” Aric asked.

“I served with him during my time in the Imperial military,” Dorne answered, her disgust for the man plainly evident in her tone, “He’s a war criminal….a mass murderer!”

“Go on,” Aric nodded, seeing Corso bring his rifle up out of the corner of his eye.

“During my time with him, Thorus ordered the execution of hundreds of civilian non-combatants and full scale bombings of unarmed populations,” Dorne explained, “Furthermore, these actions were committed in circumvention of direct orders from Imperial high command.”

“I’m a soldier…..I…..I do what I must to achieve an objective,” Thorus defended himself, “Like you Captain…..”

“Do not even think to compare yourself with me,” Aric growled, raising his blaster, “I would never even consider harming civilians!”

“No…no…..you can’t,” Thorus stuttered, “I surrendered…..there are rules……you have to accept that!”

“He might,” Val coldly stated, appearing behind him, “but I don’t.” She didn’t even give him the chance to turn around, discharging her shotgun into the back of his head, “Sorry Jorgan…..if there’s trouble over this, I’ll gladly take the blame.”

“I didn’t see anything…..did any of you?” Aric shrugged.

“Nope,” Corso spoke up, “Didn’t see anything……didn’t hear anything.”

“I saw nothing of concern here and I think there might’ve been something wrong with our feed,” Dorne told them, “I’ll take a look at the armor cam recordings when I get back to base.”

“How far is that old transport station from here?” Aric asked Dorne.

Dorne brought up the map and showed him, “It’s in the Tularan Marsh, not terribly far from here, but I think we should wait for morning. There won’t be enough time to get there and make an assault before nightfall. Most of it is underground, but at least during the daytime, the rakghouls are typically dormant.”

“Think we can use your troops again?”

“I’m sure they’d be happy to join you,” Dorne smiled, then pointed to the map, “We can actually just fly the shuttle over to the Morne outpost and bunk there for the night. The old transport station is nearby and we can begin the assault at daylight.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Aric agreed, “Val, Corso?”

“Corso and I are going to head back to the ship for the night,” Val told Aric, “We need to take that stuff to Beryl and I’m not sure about living those kids with just Risha and C2 overnight. We’ll head to Morne at first light and catch up to you……just send the coordinates to me.”

“Sure thing,” Aric told her, “You guys be careful getting back to Olaris.”

“Sir,” one of the soldiers called out just after Val and Corso left, “Should we try to collect data from these computers?”

“I don’t think we have time to do that and leave before nightfall, Ensign,” Dorne answered.

“A few of us can stay behind,” he volunteered, “We’ll lock up after you leave and bunk here for the night. There might be useful information in there.”

“It wouldn’t hurt, I suppose,” Dorne nodded, “I just didn’t want to make anyone stay out here for the night.”

“We don’t mind, sir,” the Ensign replied, “The last thing we want are Imperials hindering our progress here.”

“I think it’s a good idea and six should be enough to get the job done and that will leave us with plenty for the assault on Needles’ lab,” Aric told them, “everyone else needs to get on that shuttle quickly so we can move out and get settled at Morne for the night.”

After getting six volunteers, Aric instructed them to take any Imperials that show up as prisoner for questioning. Then he and Dorne boarded the shuttle with the rest of the unit and took off for Morne outpost.

Val and Corso pushed their speeders to the limit to reach Olaris before nightfall. The sun was just setting when they headed into Beryl’s warehouse. Val pulled no punches, immediately calling Beryl out on her deception. Beryl didn’t bother to hide it, admitting to them that she had trust issues with Risha and didn’t know how much she could trust them as a result. Val understood that and assured her that her secret was safe with them. As it turned out, Beryl was selling the artifacts to the descendants of the Tarisian families well under market value. Beryl had managed to get the location of the vault earlier and sent it to Val’s datapad. She warned them that it was in Zone Zero, a dangerous area inside an old transport station. Val took a look at the coordinates and saw that it was in the same area as Needles’ lab. She thanked Beryl and her and Corso left the warehouse. They could hear the gates locking down as they entered the spaceport, both of them ready to drop from exhaustion.

“I wonder how Risha fared with the kids?” Corso smiled as they walked into the hanger.

“Well, the ship still looks intact and I didn’t get any Holo calls,” Val smirked, “So I think that’s a good sign.”

As soon as they opened the door, they immediately heard crying and little Mary came running up to them, followed closely by Anna, Douglas, Ian, and a very disheveled, slightly limping Risha.

“Weesha mean!” Mary cried, latching onto Corso’s leg.

“How was Risha mean?” Val asked as Corso picked the teary toddler up.

“I’m mean?!!!” Risha screeched, then turned to Val, “Do you have any idea what these little heathens did today?!!!”

“Oh, come on,” Corso sighed, “They’re just kids….”

“Well, maybe you can stay with them tomorrow then, Farm Boy!” Risha shot back.

“If Corso stays here, then you get to come with me,” Val warned.

“I think I’d rather take my chances with the rakghouls!”

“Was it really that bad?” Val raised a slender eyebrow in clear disbelief.

“Oh, they may look all sweet and innocent,” Risha answered, “but looks can be deceiving.”

“She kept yelling at us,” Ian accused.

“Of course I’m going to yell at you,” Risha retorted, “My a** still hurts!”

“Uh-oh…..”

“Oh don’t you dare tell me not to say bad words you little snot!” Risha interrupted, her tone making Anna cringe, “After you decided to use my make up to draw with, you’re lucky all I did was say bad words!”

“What’s that wet spot on your shirt?” Corso pointed.

“Oh, that would be from that little darling you’re holding,” Risha told him, “She peed on me!”

“Oh, I didn’t think about getting diapers,” Val gasped.

“She doesn’t need diapers,” Anna rolled her eyes, “She can use the potty.”

“Then why didn’t she?” Risha snapped.

“Because she’s only three and the regular potty is too big for her to use without help!” Anna retorted, hands on her hips.

“Then why didn’t you help her you little brat?” Risha glared.

“Because you put me on time out,” Anna smirked, “and you told me if I moved from that spot, you’d feed me to that caged beast you have in the cargo hold.”

“Risha!” Val and Corso blanched, horrified that she’d say something like that.

“Hey, don’t judge,” Risha glared right back, “Those kids are a literal pain in the a**!”

“Speaking of your as……uh backside,” Val spoke up before Anna could comment on the bad word, biting back a smile, “You mentioned it still hurt and I saw you limping…….what happened?”

“Oh, I’ll tell you why,” Risha retorted, giving Corso the death stare, “It seems that Farm Boy forgot to lock up his weapons chest. The wonder twins here got into it and decided to play soldiers. After they heard me yelling at their sister for using my very expensive makeup for her artwork, they decided I was the enemy. I was busy trying to take Corso’s vibro sword away from wonder twin one when wonder twin two snuck up behind me and shot me in the a**!”

“Oh, wow,” Corso grimaced, “I didn’t even think to check that before we left…..sorry Risha.”

“Are you laughing?!!” Risha narrowed her gaze at Val, who was shaking with the effort to contain her laughter. She finally lost the battle and doubled over with laughter.

“Oh Risha,” Val giggled, wiping tears from her eyes, “I’m sorry, but the picture of one of the boys shooting you in your….uh....backside just popped into my head and it’s really kinda funny. I'm just relieved it wasn't any worse than that. Corso, why don’t you take the kids into the rec area and put some cartoons on. I’ll take Risha to the medbay and take a look at her injury.”

“Can Farm Boy come and kiss it better?” Risha smirked.

“Not going to happen,” Corso blushed as he herded the kids into the rec room.

“I’m sorry, Risha,” Val sighed as she cleaned up the blaster burn on Risha’s backside, “I really didn’t think they’d be that much trouble. At least from the looks of it, that blaster wasn't charged much. Just keep in mind, they just lost their parents and were kept locked up by pirates that were going to do void knows what to them.”

“I know,” Risha muttered, “and I feel for them. I’m just not that great with kids and they’re probably bored. I actually thought of someone today that might be able to find a place for them.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, an old friend from when I lived on Dantooine,” Risha explained, “She’s a Jedi and she ended up training at the temple there when her force sensitivity was discovered. I remember her talking about an orphanage of sorts in the village near the temple. The Jedi would frequently help out there in trade for produce they grew on the farm. Dantooine’s a relatively peaceful planet, farms mostly. Not the most exciting place, but good for children. I’ll contact my friend and see if she can get us in touch with that orphanage.”

“That sounds perfect,” Val told Risha as she injected her with a painkiller and antibiotic, “Being close to the Jedi temple might be useful…..I think little Mary might be force sensitive. Thank you for thinking of it. Hopefully we’ll be done here tomorrow and can leave.”

“Look,” Risha stated, her anger deflated, “I know that Farm Boy isn’t going to let you go off without him, so I’ll stay with the kids, but can you please set some ground rules before you leave in the morning?”

“You mean like ‘no shooting Risha,’” Val snickered.

“Glad that amuses you,” Risha retorted, rolling her eyes, “but, yeah, that would be a good rule.”

“I’ll have a talk with them before bed,” Val assured her, “and I’ll see what I can find for them to do while we’re gone.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Risha yawned, “That painkiller sure kicks in fast…..I’m going to bed. SeeTwo left bedding in the rec room.”

“I’ll be heading there shortly,” Val told her. Val, Risha, Anna, and Mary were going to sleep in the crew quarters. Ian and Douglas were going to sleep on the rec room couches and Corso was going to get Val’s quarters.

“Everything go alright?” Corso asked as Val entered the rec room. Val couldn’t help but smile at the sweet little toddler that was fast asleep snuggled up to him.

“Yeah, she calmed down and her backside will be fine in the morning,” Val grinned, “She’s going to stay with them tomorrow, but we need to set some ground rules. She actually has a good idea for a place to take the kids and will make contact in the morning.”

“I’ll make sure my weapons are locked up before we leave in the morning,” Corso nodded, "I feel really bad about that."

“Kids,” Val called out, turning off the HoloVid, “As much fun as you had tormenting Risha today, we’re going to get a few things straight. First off, weapons are off limits!”

“I didn’t mean to shoot her,” Douglas defended himself, “I was just pretending…..honest. I didn’t think I pushed the trigger that hard and it wasn't charged. I feel bad that she got hurt.”

“Well, that’s partly my fault,” Corso admitted, “I should've made sure that stuff was locked up and it will be tomorrow, but weapons aren’t toys, kids. Someone could've been seriously injured, or worse.....”

"We know," Ian admitted, "That's why we didn't power them on.....we thought they'd be safe that way. I guess we shoulda just left them alone."

“And I shouldn’t have taken her makeup,” Anna murmured guiltily, looking down at her feet, “There were just so many pretty colors and I haven’t been able to draw or paint in so long.”

“Well, she’s probably sleeping by now,” Val told the kids, “I had to give her some meds and they make you sleepy, but you should apologize to her in the morning. She has a friend that may know of a place where we can take you after we finish up on Taris. I’ll try to find some things to keep you busy and maybe SeeTwo can take you outside so you can get some fresh air. You’ll have to stay inside the base though……and I mean it boys! It isn’t safe to go past the barriers. Also, Anna, can you help out with taking Mary to the potty, or at least show Risha what to do.”

“Do you think we’ll ever see Tia again?” Ian asked.

“Force willing, anything’s possible,” Val told them, “Now, let’s get you kids to bed. Boys, you’re sleeping in here, Anna, you and Mary are going to sleep in the crew quarters with me and Risha. Corso’s going to stay in my room.”

Corso carried Mary to the crew quarters and tucked her in, then he grabbed some clothes out of his cabinet and headed to the shower. Val tucked Anna into another bed, then she went to her quarters to grab some clothing. After checking in on the boys, who were already asleep, she went to wait for Corso to finish in the refresher. A few minutes later, Val got a very nice surprise when Corso came out.

“Stars, Captain,” Corso blushed, “I thought everyone was in bed by now!”

Val was having a hard time forming a coherent thought and simply stared at that gorgeous, bronze, well sculpted body that was clad in only a small, damp towel wrapped around the waist, “I…..uh……shower,” she finally squeeked, embarrassed to be seen staring, but unable to help herself, “sorry…..didn’t mean to…..uh…..stare.” Stars, I really need to talk to Kat and Tia about men, she thought, is it normal to get all warm and tingly when you see them naked?

“It’s alright,” Corso told her, blushing a little more when he remembered her sexual innocence, “I should’ve dressed before coming out……anyways, I’m finished in there…..night, Captain.”

“I’m going in then,” she replied as he turned to go to her quarters, noticing how well that damp towel clung to him, “night, Corso.” Oh my, I wish I could have tended to his backside instead of Risha’s…….

I know children getting a hold of weapons is a serious matter and I truly hope I didn't offend anyone with Ian and Douglas getting into Corso's stash and shooting Risha with it.

Brank Relozo watched the ongoing Huttball match on his computer console with a disgusting fascination. He watched as players mercilessly killed each other in the most grotesque of ways, with limbs flying every which way and empty lifeless eyes being a common sight. He watched not for any sort of competitive reason; Brank cared not if the Frogdogs won or the Rotworms emerged triumphant. Brank watched because he liked what he saw, because the feeling he got watching death without purpose was the closest thing he could get to emotion.

The scorekeeper’s voice suddenly intruded upon the sound of blasters shooting and blades slicing to announce an unexpected move by the Rotworms had won them the match. Something that might’ve been sadness crossed Brank’s face, but then again, it could have been nothing. He powered down the console and left his chair on the bridge of his ship, a modified X-70B Phantom prototype that the Republic had captured during a highly successful SIS operation. Garza had given it to him along with his rank when she first asked him to start doing jobs for her ten years ago. His title of Special Ops Commander was nothing but a mere formality; Brank had no allegiance to anyone but himself and possibly the only thing close to a friend he had ever had, an HK-51 unit he had found as a street rat on Nar Shaadaa.

Brank passed this very droid on his way to the cell and told it with a look from his cold eyes to accompany him on his visit. HK silently followed his orders, dropping in step to the right behind him. They reached the cell, which had been a medbay once until Brank had changed it, and he entered the code in the small console beside the door and it opened.

Vil Jurard attacked with a left uppercut that Brank deflected off his forearm and then blocked the follow-up stomach blow that Vil attempted. After successfully countering several more attacks, Brank grew tired of the game and kicked Vil cruelly in the left shin after throwing him off balance with a heavy block. The Twi’lek man doubled over and Brank brought his knee up sharply into Vil’s face. A sickening crunch told Brank that he had broken Vil’s nose as intended, but he was not quite done yet. He kicked the downed and moaning Vil in the sides until he felt ribs crack and then permitted himself a smile. Brank thought of something he had heard sometime in his life: if you enjoy doing your work, it doesn’t feel like work.

He left his prisoner unconscious on the floor and walked past HK to return to the bridge. “When should I treat him?” the droid inquired without any hint of emotion in his voice, a sick mirror image of the man he served.

Brank didn’t break stride as he replied. “Wait an hour. I feel that my message will take a while to sink in.”

*

Rizantos Terso ate slowly from the tray in his cell. The food was tasteless to his mouth; a growing misery consumed his every being. He was honestly convinced that he was meant to die, that he had been sidestepping his destiny ever since first avoiding death in his apartment on Coruscant’s underlevels. His adoptive father had been murdered in that attempt. Riz was now fairly sure that the only friend he had ever had was now dead because of him as well.

There was no way that the Cathar woman who was holding him could’ve got past Kouhun and taken Riz without either her or Kouhun dying in the process, and Riz knew it wasn’t Kouhun holding him captive in this cell.

The utter despair eating away at him finally broke Rizantos. He threw his tray at the wall and food splattered everywhere, but he didn’t care.

“Take me!” he screamed at the ceiling. “I am ready to die,” he sobbed, beating his hands on to the floor. Riz pleaded, “No one else, no one else, end me and only me!” Riz had little energy to start with, and his episode had drained what was left. He collapsed hard onto the food stained floor and fell with tears falling down his face into the realm of sleep, a temporary version of the black oblivion he so desperately craved.

*

Juliet watched with growing horror at the video feed of Rizantos Terso playing on the screen of her console. She had seen grown men weep and hardened bounty hunters sob themselves into death without flinching, but Rizantos Terso was different. She could almost feel the complete misery emanating from him, and Juliet somehow knew without any hint of doubt that the Sullustan laying in the cell of her ship truly craved the endless void of death.

Juliet thought of her brother. Her brother who had been unlawfully kidnapped by the Republic so that she would bring them a broken man that they undoubtedly intended to harm in some way. It wasn’t right by any sense of the word. Juliet knew she had little claim to the word, considering her occupation and past acts, but she believed what she thought was true. Whatever grand power was orchestrating this whole event was Evil, not just evil as a r*apist or a psychopath was, but the big E, the darkest of darks, the thing hiding under your bed or in your closet. They did not care that Juliet’s brother had been kidnapped or that Rizantos Terso had been transformed into a suicidal broken man because of them. They only cared for success at all costs, and Juliet would not play along any longer.

She decided that her days of bounty hunting were over. This was NOT just another job, she screamed at the part of her mind that was still trying to convince her to continue on her present course. They had stolen her only family left and from what Juliet had observed from Rizantos Terso’s ranting, his as well. If her brother must die in order to stop this Evil, so be it. Juliet cemented her internal choices by pressing the release button on her console for the cells. Rizantos Terso was still unconscious and thus did not yet come out of his cell, but when he awoke she would speak with him about a great many things. And then, Juliet thought with a judicious anger, we will root out the Evil and we will destroy it.

*

Imperial Colonel Viduus watched with growing anticipation as the growing dot that was their target grew larger on the bridge’s viewscreen. They were approaching from behind the craft, and the viewscreen was ultra-magnified, so there was not yet any danger of being visually or technologically discovered. Not that that would save them, Viduus thought, and that thought brought a smile to his face. He asked the helm officer, “Time to int-“

The bridge officer interjected “Sixteen minutes, sir.” Several veteran officers of Viduus’s crew on the bridge stifled gasps at the officer's words. They knew Viduus, and had seen what he did to those that broke his rules.

The helm officer, a lieutenant named Henzo Jenkins, unknowingly typed away at his console. He was blissfully unaware of any infraction he had committed, at least for the moment.

Viduus chose to break that unawareness with a sharp order. “Lieutenant Jenkins, please rise.”

Jenkins had memorized the bridge officer protocols to the letter and had only subconsciously interrupted the Colonel. He had been raised in a relatively casual family for an Imperial and did not have the do-not-interrupt mindset ground into him. When Viduus had asked him to rise, however, the protocol concerning interrupting the Colonel, written in by the man himself, had rushed to the forefront of his mind.

Jenkins obediently rose from his chair and turned to face his commanding officer. “Lieutenant, please step in front of me and kneel.” Viduus commanded. Now Jenkins was frightened. Surely he would at least get a warning first. “Please sir, you had asked many times for the time of interception, I just assu-“

“Lieutenant Jenkins, I suggest you stop assuming and start kneeling before I decide to dispose of you in a less dignified manner.” Viduus snarled angrily.

Lieutenant Jenkins half-sobbed as he slowly strode over to the Colonel’s chair located centrally on the bridge. Jenkins awkwardly dropped to an unsteady kneel in front of the chair as Viduus rose. “Please, sir, I didn’t mean anything by it, I don’t want to die.” The young man begged and babbled with a cracking voice, tears running down his face, where he had started growing a beard he had intended to show his mother when he next had time for a holocall.

“Then you should not have interrupted me.” Viduus responded coldly, and then he drew his blaster pistol from its holster and Jenkins started genuinely sobbing, heavy wet sounds that made the rest of the bridge officers shift uncomfortably in their chairs.

“Lieutenant Henzo Jenkins of the Imperial Naval Forces, you have violated Section F Paragraph 7 Subparagraph 9B of the Widower Bridge Code in full knowledge of the punishment for violating such rule. I hereby sentence you to death, and banish you from this bridge that is mine.” Viduus moved the barrel of his pistol to point at the heart of sobbing Lieutenant Jenkins and pulled the trigger.

The sobs were suddenly interrupted and replaced with the sharp smell of ozone and burned flesh. The body of Lieutenant Henzo Jenkins fell to the floor with a thud and Viduus toed it with disgust. Two security officers positioned near the turbolift walked forward and carried it off to be incinerated. Business as usual on the bridge of the Harrower class Imperial dreadnaught Widower.

The auxiliary helm officer came walking a bit fast out of the second turbolift to replace his fallen counterpart. Viduus eyed him in his peripheral vision and the officer suddenly slowed, remembering Section B Paragraph 6 Subparagraph 2B of the Widower Bridge Code: No running on the bridge. The officer took a seat at the helm console and noticed uncomfortably that Lieutenant Jenkins’s body heat still warmed the seat.

“Time to intercept?” Colonel Viduus asked evenly from behind the officer.

The officer replied, “14 minutes to interception, sir.”

Dha, sitting on the couch on the ship's main hold, strapped on his armor. His clan had just gotten a bounty for a mastermind criminal who was running drug operations in the Imperial Citadel. They had packed up and were ready to move. Mako walked up the stairs from the cargo hold, carrying Crysta at her side. She extended the security gate over the stairway and put Crysta on the floor, allowing the baby to crawl freely.

Torian ran lightly up the stairs and vaulted over the gate in one smooth motion. He knelt, pinched Crysta's chin playfully, and stood to look at Dha.

"You sure you want to bring the kid?" he asked.

"She'll be fine," Dha said. "She'll be staying on the ship, anyways."

Torian shrugged. "All right."

Mako's voice came over the intercom. "Everyone strapped down? We're ready for liftoff."

"Roger that," Dha said.

He picked Crysta up off the floor, sat down on the couch, and strapped down. Torian sat beside him and made faces at Crysta. Holding Crysta with one arm, Dha reached down and finished strapping on his boots and belt, and tightened the holsters over his blaster.

"Boo," Crysta babbled, grabbing Dha's cranial horns. "Boo."

Dha grinned, knowing she was trying to say the Mandalorian word buir, which meant parent. He lifted Crysta in the air and playfully threw her up, catching her as she fell. She giggled happily.

"Entering hyperspace," Mako said.

* * *

Treek sat mournfully on the floor in the main hold. She'd been assigned to babysit the chief's offspring while he went out on his hunt with the other members of their clan. Treek had cared for many cubs on her homeworld before leaving, but she knew nothing about caring for babies of a species that did not have fur.

Baby Crysta, sitting on the floor across from Treek, babbled happily and swatted her arm at the Ewok. Then, distracted, she reached down and picked up her toy blocks, furiously biting her lip as she attempted to assemble a pyramid. Treek stood and walked over to Crysta, knelt down, and started helping her. Crysta looked up, giggled, and jumped up, grabbing Treek's fur and pulling.

[stop!] Treek exclaimed. [Cease, clan-child! Release my fur!]

Crysta just giggled and pulled harder. Treek reached down, gently grabbed the baby's hands, and pulled her free. She sighed in relief and plopped down into a sitting position. Suddenly there was a soft growling, and Dha's pet strill leapt over the safety gate, running happily over to Crysta and platting slobbery licks all over her face.

Treek sighed in relief, glad Crysta had found a new toy, and sat back against the holoprojector to take a nap.

Maiek stepped out onto Bal'demnic, holding his tracking device in his hand. The spaceport cameras here had found that blasted Justicar that had kidnapped Ar Veneel, a woman who'd helped him solve his first case. The Justicar, Rarr Elvig, had escaped Maiek with Ar and disappeared. Maiek had been running searches ever since.

Watching the recording over, Maiek got a trace on Elvig and sprinted out of the spaceport. He stopped in several local cantinas, showing pictures of Elvig around. Finally, he found a lead when a male Gran told him he'd seen the Justicar in the city's downtown, at a warehouse commonly used for drug deals.

He, Ya'ren, Trey'la, and Weeze moved in on the warehouse, blasters raised. Meiek moved to the back door, while Weeze and Trey'la, a Bothan, got the front, and Ya'ren, a Cathar female, covered them with a sniper rifle. Maiek knocked on the back door.

"Rarr Elvig, we have a warrant for your arrest!" he said.

No answer. Finally, he kicked down the door and moved in, pistol raised. He swept the room, jaw clenched. In the center of the room sat a chair with a holoprojector on the seat. Maiek walked forward to it and flipped it on, as Weeze and Trey'la entered the room. The hologram activated and the Justicar appeared.

"Agent Maiek, GIA," hissed the large human male. "I knew you'd find me eventually; you're not the kind to give up. But I'm a step ahead of you." He reached out his arm and pulled a human female into the image. "Remember your female friend?" He pulled out a blaster and trained it on her head. "Stop following me or she dies. And just in case you don't believe me..."

There was a sudden blast, and Maiek fell over as the explosion rocked the warehouse. There was a hand on his arm and Weeze pulled him up.

"Give up now," the recording said. "Goodbye."

Maiek bit his lip, hard, and turned to leave the warehouse. And suddenly he was faced with the barrel of a blaster. Trey'la, the Bothan agent, looked at him apologetically.

"Listen to him, boss," Trey'la said. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Traitor," Weeze snarled. "Traitor!"

Trey'la turned his blaster on Weeze. "Shut up! Boss, it's nothing personal, really."

"What'd he offer you?" Maiek asked bitterly. "Money? A nice home where we'd never find you? Women?"

"Nothing like that," Trey'la said. "The Justicars had the right idea. The GIA just can't enforce the law like they need to. I've seen it. Criminals getting away when the Justicars would've shot them on the spot. Murderers getting out of jail in just a few years instead of getting a death sentence." He bared his fangs. "It's over! Order must be restored!"

"This won't get you anywhere," Maiek replied. "You won't get away!"

"Oh, but I will. Or your woman dies. Goodbye, Maiek."

Trey'la turned and ran out the door. As soon as he was out of sight, Maiek and Weeze sprinted after him. Maiek saw him rounding a corner and fired, but the Bothan was already out of range. Maiek and Weeze split up. Maiek caught sight of the Bothan and sprinted in pursuit. The Bothan was nearly to a speeder when Weeze leapt out of an alley and slammed his large body into the Bothan. He snatched the Bothan's blaster away and put stun cuffs on him.

"Agent Trey'la," Maiek said, "you're under arrest."

Val awoke to C2’s voice softly telling her it was 5am. She’d instructed the protocol droid to wake her at that hour so she and Corso would be ready to head out at sunrise. She quietly got up, careful not to wake Risha or the kids, grabbed her clothes, and left the crew quarters to get ready. After she dressed, she went to her quarters to wake Corso, blushing as she recalled seeing him come out of the refresher wearing only a damp towel last night. She crept over to the bed, smiling at the softly snoring, shirtless man in her bed. She whispered his name with no affect, so she leaned over him and whispered his name a little louder. When he still didn’t wake, she leaned in closer, putting her hand on his chest. Oh, my, she thought, feeling her body warm up a little, I like touching him…..is that a good thing or a bad thing? She was absently running her hand along his chest, thinking she really needed to have a girl talk with someone.

Having lost her mother when she was ten, Val really didn’t know much about feelings and intimacy in regards to a man. She knew what sex was, what it involved, stuff like that, but she didn’t know what to do, how it felt, if there was a right way to go about it. Kat and Tia tried to talk to her about it once, but they weren’t a lot of help. Their mating cycles drove their desires most of the time and losing their virginity was really no big deal. Both Kat and Tia were naturally sensual and didn’t know how to explain sex to someone who wasn’t. They tried their best, but Val was still ignorant of what to do with a man other than the obvious what went where.

A soft moan startled Val out of her thoughts. Stars Val, she chided herself when she realized her hands had been exploring Corso’s bare chest, you’re supposed to be waking him, not getting a cheap thrill from touching his gorgeous, bronze, muscular body…..no matter how good that chest feels under your hands…….stop it!

“Corso,” she called out, completely unprepared for what happened next.

It all happened so fast, she barely had time to register those brown eyes drifting open when she felt his hand at the back of her head, pulling her closer to him. The next thing she knew, his mouth was on hers and she lost all ability to think. After the initial shock of being kissed for the first time wore off, Val relaxed and found herself lying on her side, Corso’s other arm wrapped around her waist. She felt his tongue gently probing at her lips and opened them, desire shooting through her as he deepened the kiss. She had no idea how much time passed and she was enjoying herself way too much to care. Letting her instincts guide her, she began running her hands over his back, enjoying the feel of hardened muscle and soft skin. His kisses became more urgent as he shifted their position a little so he was on top of her. He began kissing a trail down her neck, a pleasured moan escaping her lips as she felt his hand under her shirt, drifting up her stomach and that was enough to snap him to his senses.

“Oh, Val….I’m sorry…..well, I’m not sorry….I’ve wanted to…..but I didn’t mean to,” Corso stuttered, jumping out of bed, mortified at what he’d been about to do to her and worried that he’d scared her off. “I don’t normally just kiss a woman and put my hands on her like that and you’re a……”

“A virgin,” Val smiled shyly as she got up, feeling a little tingly and lightheaded.

“Yeah,” Corso sighed, blushing, “I don’t know what came over me…..I just woke up, feeling your hands on my chest and opened my eyes to see your lovely face so close to mine. I guess I just reacted. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“It’s alright, Corso,” Val assured him, unable to stop smiling, “I’ll admit, I was a little shocked…..I’ve never been kissed before……I…..uh….I liked it…..a lot.”

“You did? I was your first?” Corso asked, hope swelling in him when she nodded, “I liked it too…..and I’m glad I was your first.....that’s a special thing. I just hope I didn’t blow it by getting so carried away.”

Then Val felt a surge of panic and looked down, embarrassed at her inexperience, “Did I do it right?” she whispered.

Corso closed the distance between them and tipped her head up so she was looking into his eyes, “It was the best kiss I’ve ever had,” he murmured, then gently kissed her again. This time, Val wasn't surprised by it and let herself go, trusting Corso would guide her.

“As much as I hate to interrupt,” Risha called out, leaning in the doorway, her amused brown eyes blatantly eying that nice body, clad in only a pair of sleep pants that were riding a little low, “and trust me, with the view I’m getting of Farm Boy’s bare back and gorgeous derriere, I really do hate to interrupt…….but the kids are starting to wake and they probably shouldn’t be exposed to this, especially that uptight little girl with her obsession over bad words.”

Corso reluctantly left Val’s quarters, grabbing his clothes and glaring at Risha on his way out.

“Oh, come on, Farm Boy,” Risha called after him, a smirk on her face, “Don’t be like that……after the day I had yesterday, I think I earned a little eye candy. Cute pants by the way…..love the smiley faces…..I know I’m feeling happy!”

Risha turned her attention back to her new partner, who was blushing enough to be noticed through her emerald skin and wearing the biggest smile she’d ever seen as she packed her backpack, “Wow,” Risha teased, “You really got it bad!”

“What do you mean?” Val asked, still feeling a little warm and tingly.

“Well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile that much,” Risha told her as she sat down on the bed, “and you’re all blushing and fidgety…….I can’t blame you, that is one good looking man and you two seemed to be really into each other when I interrupted.”

“I’ve never kissed anyone before,” Val admitted, sitting down on the bed. She didn’t know Risha that well and certainly didn’t trust her yet, but she needed to talk to someone. “I liked it……and him, but I don’t know what to do now.”

Risha saw tears pooling in Val’s eyes and felt bad for teasing, “Hey, it’s alright,” she assured the other woman, “Corso seems like a really nice guy and I’m pretty sure he likes you.”

“You think so?” Val asked, her blue-grey eyes wide with hope, “What do I do about that? I’ve never been with anyone before….”

“You said that was your first kiss,” Risha prodded, “I assume that means you’re a….”

“Yeah,” Val nodded, “I’ve never even had a boyfriend, Risha! I have no idea what to do…….I mean, I know the basic mechanics of what’s supposed to happen, but nothing about feelings or how you go about it……I’m pathetic! I have very few friends, and when I asked Kat and Tia, they tried to help, but they’re Cathar and losing your virginity is not a big deal to them.”

“Well, tell you what,” Risha patted her shoulder, “I know we don’t know each other that well, but when we’re all done on Taris, let’s send Corso off on errands for a few hours and have some girl talk.”

“Thanks, Risha,” Val smiled gratefully, “I just feel so…..stupid.”

“Not stupid,” Risha assured her, “Just inexperienced and that’s not a bad thing really. Now let’s go make sure those little darlings will behave themselves today......maybe I should borrow some of Corso’s plating just in case.”

That got a giggle from Val and she felt better as she finished packing her bag, grabbing her spare stealth generator after recalling an idea she had while showering last night, “Yeah, we need to get going. I wanted to get to Morne outpost before Aric and Elara set out with the troops.”

“Hey, I almost forgot, I sent a message to my friend from Dantooine,” Risha called out as she headed for the refresher, “She’s the punctual type, so I’ll probably hear back from her soon.”

After seeing that C2 had breakfast nearly ready, Val went to check in on the kids while Risha showered. She found Corso talking to them in the rec room and stood in the doorway to listen.

“Now kids,” he was telling them, “Try to be good for Risha today. She’s here to keep an eye on you and make sure you’re safe. I know she yelled at you yesterday, but she had good reason to. Her makeup isn’t to be used to draw or paint with and weapons are not to be played with. I’ve locked mine up, so that shouldn’t be an issue.”

“And help her out with Mary,” Val added, noticing the smile that crossed Corso’s face when he caught her eye, “Risha didn’t know that Mary needed help to use the potty…..I didn’t either. Hopefully Corso and I will be back soon and we can leave Taris. Risha sent a message to her friend and expects to hear back from her very soon.”

Val took the kids into the galley for breakfast and as soon as Risha finished dressing, she and Corso headed out. Both of them blushed anytime they made eye contact, recalling their kiss from earlier. Val wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do, but she knew she liked him. She was just nervous and unsure of what she was supposed to do next.

Corso finally broke the silence, “Uh, Captain….Val,” he began, “You’re not upset…..about what happened earlier……because I won’t let it happen again…..if you are that is….I want it to….I mean….stars, I’m completely messing this up aren’t I?”

“No, Corso,” Val assured him, relieved she wasn’t the only one who was a little nervous, “I meant what I said…..I really liked it. I was just embarrassed that I didn’t know what I was doing.” Then she gave him a shy smile, “I’d like it if you did it again…..I mean we can’t right now, but after we get those charts and help Aric….”

“Well then,” Corso grinned, “Let’s get this done quickly.”

Val giggled at his enthusiasm and they left the Spaceport just as the sun was rising. The two of them quickly made their way to Morne outpost and Aric and Elara were getting the troops ready to move out when they arrived. Val motioned to them to come over.

“I had a thought last night,” Val told them as she dug a spare stealth generator out of her backpack, “I didn’t see any transport ships at that Imperial bunker, so I’m thinking Needles has a hanger at his lab. If he hears the troops approaching, he’s probably going to escape. You and Elara should take this and sneak ahead into Needles lab before he hears the troops approach.”

“That’s a good idea,” Aric nodded, taking the generator from Val. He brought up the map and they studied it for a moment, “Here……I think if we break away at this point, we should have enough time to get to the lab before Needles is close enough to our support. Have you ever used one of these, Sergeant?”

“No, sir,” Elara admitted, “but I have a general idea of how it works.”

“Not enough,” Val told her, “I only had the one extra and Corso and I are going to need mine to get to those vaults without attracting attention. That means that you and Jorgan have to share that one. Jorgan and I shared one while working on Coruscant, so he knows what he’s doing, but you are new to it, so let me show you a few things.”

Val hooked the generator to Elara’s belt and showed her how to activate it. Then she explained that she needed to keep her movements slow and quiet, otherwise they could be heard or a fuzzy ripple could be seen. Val showed Elara how to move and had her practice. Elara was quick to catch on, so Val had Aric practice with her.

“You have to get closer, Aric,” Val told him, “I can see you a little bit…...remember what we did on Coruscant……put your hand on her hip and let her movements guide you. Kinda like dancing, only she’s leading.”

“I get it,” Elara nodded, “It’s alright, sir…..you can put your hand there.”

“Thanks, Sergeant,” Aric sighed, “I was a little nervous about touching you….superior officer…..harassment…..stuff like that. Not to mention,” he grinned at Corso, “when I did this with Val, Corso looked like he wanted to knock me on my ***.”

“Sorry, man,” Corso looked sheepish, “I might have been a little……uh…..jealous.”

“Really?” Val asked, a little surprised by that until she recalled her own jealousy over Jaxo, “Don’t worry, Corso, Aric didn’t do a thing for me.”

“Oh, thanks a lot,” Aric snorted, then realized something seemed different between Val and Corso and wondered if Corso had admitted to liking her. He considered both of them friends and hoped everything worked out for them, figuring he’d find out eventually. Aric moved closer to Dorne, resting one hand on her hip, his sidearm in his other hand and she activated the generator. They walked around for a moment, unseen by anyone.

“You’ve got it!” Val beamed, “Now, I’ll give you a couple of flash bombs in case you’re spotted. It’ll give you enough time to get your assault cannon ready, Aric. Also, here’s a dart gun……you can keep it, I have a couple of spares. If there are any troops inside Needles’ lab, hit them with one of these and they’ll be out for a while.”

“I appreciate this, Val,” Aric told her, hooking the dart gun to his belt, “Now, let’s move out!”

They set out with the support troops behind them and got to the transport station quickly. It was still pretty early into the morning, but most of the nocturnal rakghouls had gone underground. A little ways in to the transport station, Val and Corso split off to go to Zone Zero. They snuck their way through under Val’s generator and quickly make it to the vault. Unfortunately, there was a surprise waiting there for them in the form of mercenaries. Val hit the two guarding the outer door with her dart gun, leaving just three of them at the vault door. The one in the middle, covered in tattoos and cybernetics was talking to someone on his Holo.

“I’m telling you, Skavak,” he grumbled, “This lock won’t open. I’ve had my best slicers working on it for the past two hours. The only way into that door is to blow it open.”

“Blow it open and you risk damaging the contents,” Val called out as her and Corso entered the room, “Anyone with some form of common sense could figure that out.”

“What the….who the….did you…..are you,” he sputtered.

“Stars, this guy sounds like an idiot,” Val shook her head, “Skavak, are you too cheap to pay for a merc that can string words together into a sentence?”

“Just be careful, Captain,” Corso warned, “You don’t have to talk well to be effective with a weapon.”

“Oh, this is just perfect,” Skavak laughed, “How’s it going, Captain. You and Risha getting along okay?”

“Absolutely,” Val smirked, “She loves having a partner that isn’t a complete waste of space.”

“Well, I’ll make sure to pay her a visit after my boys here waste you and get those charts,” Skavak replied, “I’ll even give a bonus to the man that kills you.”

“You heard him,” the cyborg shouted when Skavak signed off, “Let’s get these…..”

“One sec,” Val interrupted, “I’m curious about something……and if I’m about to die, I’d at least like to have my curiosity satisfied. You see, I’m a Mirialan and I’ve got these small tattoos on my face and more on my back. I hear some men think tattooed women are sexy and I’ve wondered if I’d find a man’s tattooed body attractive. You look like you might have tats on your body…..do you?”

“I sure do…..on my chest, back and stomach,” he told her, “want to see?”

“Maybe,” Val smiled eagerly, then lowered her voice, “what about….uh lower.”

“How much lower?” the cyborg grinned suggestively, “care to show me?”

“Sure thing,” Val winked, walking up to him, she put a hand on his stomach and slowly drifted it lower, “Right…..about……here,” she told him, driving her knee into his crotch at the last word. She shot him in the head as he was doubled over while Corso took out his two associates.

“I’m not sure if I should say this,” Corso sighed, “but you really are getting good at that.”

“Thanks, Corso,” Val grinned, “I know you don’t like when I do that, but you gotta admit……it’s effective!”

“Oh, it’s effective alright,” Corso muttered, shivering a little at the thought as she went over to the lock, “and downright painful for a man to witness.”

Val took out her slicer kit, mumbling about idiots not knowing what they’re doing as she got to work on the lock. The centuries old lock was a challenge, but after a little while, Val was able to get the door open, “and that moron wanted to blow the door open,” she shook her head, pointing to the container sitting right next to the doorway, “who knows what that would’ve done to the charts.”

Val opened the container, saw the astrogation charts inside, and put it in her backpack. She searched the vault, finding and taking a few small relics that were undamaged and appeared valuable, then her and Corso headed out.

“Wonder how Jorgan fared?” Corso stopped her, “Think we should see if he needs us for anything before we leave this place?”

“Probably wouldn’t hurt,” Val agreed, a giggle escaping as she grabbed her Holo, “I wonder how Tia reacted when she saw Jorgan….”

Aric and Elara broke away from the troop unit, going on ahead using Val’s stealth generator. They snuck past the Imperial troops just outside the entrance to the lab. The Imperials were busy with rakghouls that gotten driven towards them by the Republic troops. Aric and Elara quickly made their way into the lab, quietly taking out the few soldiers on the lower level with the tranq darts Val had given them. They silently crept up to the main level, finding Needles there with another soldier and a huge rakghoul unlike anything they’d ever seen. They were shocked to hear Needles talking to it and even more so when it answered him.

“Republic troops are on their way,” the creature told Needles.

“I worried this would happen,” Needles sighed, trying to appear calm, but Aric could hear the anxiety in his voice, “Sergeant Vleska still isn’t back, but I can’t let them capture me or get their hands on my research. Ensign Sarven, congratulations, you get to be the second person to become one of my enhanced soldiers.”

Aric and Elara watched in horror as Needles injected the protesting Ensign who immediately began to writhe and scream in pain. Before their eyes, the shrieking man began to change, skin stretching, bones making sickening popping and cracking sounds as they reshaped, claws and fangs forming, and all of it looked excruciatingly painful. Aric felt Elara move back out into the hall and quickly followed before he became visible. He stepped away from her as she vomited, barely able to keep from doing the same after what he’d just seen.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Dorne whispered, her face pale with shock and tears in her green eyes, “That poor man…..no one deserves that and.....I......I feel dreadful for not stopping it.”

Aric simply nodded in response, unable to speak. He remembered Sergeant Vleska’s last message and how upset she was, I can’t imagine the things she had to witness while the sick freak was testing that stuff…….the successful transformation was bad enough! He vowed to honor her request at the end of the message……Needles would not die well.

Aric entered the lab, Elara right behind him, both with weapons out and Needles spotted them immediately.

“I thought I heard something out in the hallway,” he sneered, “and you seem to be ahead of your unit…..perfect. I could use some more volunteers.”

“I don’t think so, Dorant,” Aric growled, “You’re done torturing people.”

“It’s hardly torture, Lieutenant. It’s just the body evolving into something magnificent and it only hurts for a short time,” Needles replied waving them off as he slowly backed up, ready to make a run for it, “Vorzoth, Sarven, could you please detain our two friends here.”

Needles wasn’t fooling them and as soon as the two rakghoul soldiers rushed Aric, Elara stepped aside and shot Needles in both legs, preventing his escape. Aric sprayed cannon fire, slowing the raks down. He didn’t want to take any chances by letting either one of those raks close enough to infect him or Dorne. With Needles unable to move, both he and Elara focused their fire, killing Vorzoth and Sarven quickly.

Once they were certain Needles’ disturbing creations were dead, Aric and Elara approached the man himself. Needles was sitting against the wall, trying to repair the wounds Dorne gave him. His hands were shaking with the effort, both from the pain and knowledge that he was in serious trouble. He looked up at them as they walked towards him. The blond woman’s face wore a look of absolute disgust and the Cathar looked almost feral. He’d always been a little leery of Lieutenant Jorgan back on Ord Mantell, sensing that the other man would be a dangerous enemy. He realized how accurate his assessment was as Jorgan approached like a hunter who’d just caught the weakest member of the pack.

“I can’t believe Garza sent your pathetic hide to bring us in,” Needles spat, a feeble attempt to put the stronger man in his place, “Do you really think you can capture us all, Lieutenant?”

Aric smiled at the pitiful little man trying to taunt him, baring his fangs in the process, “It’s Captain now and I don’t intend to bring any of you in,” he growled, enjoying the panicked look that came over Needles scarred face, “but, I will kill each and every last one of you.”

“You wouldn’t,” Needles replied, not bothering to hide his anxiety anymore, “I know how Garza operates, she’ll want us brought in alive if possible.”

Aric glanced over at Dorne, who shrugged, “I’ll tell her you did your best to bring him in alive,” she nodded, “but he gave you no choice in the end.”

“Thank you, Sergeant,” Aric told her.

“No…..no…..you can’t….” Needles cried as Jorgan removed his gloves.

“Oh, I can,” Aric growled, the image of Ensign Sarven’s gruesome transformation fresh in his mind along with Sergeant Vleska’s horrified voice as she told them what Needles had been doing and thinking she was a monster for not stopping him. It was enough to make his claws come out, “and I promise you, you’re about to pay for what you did to those people.”

Elara wanted Needles to pay for what he did and after seeing that Imperial’s transformation and hearing his screams, she felt that horrible man deserved to suffer for what done. However, she couldn’t bring herself to witness as Jorgan hauled Needles to his feet, slamming him to the wall, and turned away to watch the door instead.

“Now, before I render you incoherent,” Jorgan snarled, “Where’s your partner in crime here on Taris…..Sergeant Vleska?”

“I….I…..don’t know,” Needles answered, then cried out as Jorgan’s razor sharp claws punctured his uniform, sinking into his arms, “I sent her to the bunker…....to see what was happening……was too late, you’d already taken it. I shouldn’t have sent her……I should’ve treated her better…..”

“Is she coming back?”

“I’m not sure anymore…..I don’t think she cares what happens to me,” Needles told him quietly, a look of madness creeping over his face, “You want her? She’s a tough one though…..I don’t think you’ll get her to break. I couldn’t……”

Aric narrowed his gaze at the disturbed man in front of him, “Why? What did you do to her?”

“I didn’t like her,” Needles spat, “Tavus sent her to keep me safe……like I was some child that needed a babysitter. She didn’t appreciate the glorious work I was doing. She had no respect for my brilliance…I could see it on her face. I couldn’t have that……she needed to be put in her place! I was her superior, her better!”

“What did you do to her?” Aric demanded, barely controlling the urge to gut the man.

Needles sighed, a sick look of pleasure coming over his face, “She was injured…..some of your men shot her speeder at Fallenspire. Tavus told me to treat her wounds and I wanted to make sure I was very thorough.”

Those mad eyes glazed over, staring off, and he continued, a hint of reverence in his voice, “I liked watching her undress. I’ve never really found aliens attractive, but her body was the perfect blend of lean muscle and voluptuous curves…..a truly magnificent female of your species. I even liked the way that fur felt under my hands, it was so soft. I could tell she didn’t like it when I touched her, but she never gave in to her disgust. I think she was afraid Tavus would punish her if she struck me. I liked that power over her….it felt exhilarating, so while I was stitching her and putting her bandages on, I made sure to touch those full breasts. They felt good under my hands, Lieutenant, and I wanted more from her, so I came up with a brilliant plan.”

Elara turned back to them, disbelief written on her face, “She was your ally……why….and what you did to those soldiers…..that’s just.….just madness!”

“People so often confuse genius with madness…..” Needles shook his head, “They just don’t understand.”

“What…..did…..you……do?” Jorgan roared, slamming Needles against the wall with each pause.

“I waited until she was asleep, then I prepared a strong sedative……I couldn’t have her fighting me off,” Needles told them excitedly, “I was going to sedate her so I could take my time and enjoy her. Unfortunately, Thorus called that the bunker was under attack before I could go to her……a pity really, it would have been a lot of fun…..for me anyways and she really needed to respect me as a man.....as her better.”

Something snapped inside Aric and he began to savagely beat the twisted little psycho, his claws tearing into flesh, feeling bones breaking, not stopping until he was unconscious, lying in a pool of blood moments later. Aric growled as he regained control over himself. He looked down at the broken, bloody, man on the floor, grabbed his sidearm, and emptied the blaster into Needles’ skull. He turned to Dorne who was alternately looking at him with concern, and Needles’ corpse with disgusted loathing.

“I’m sorry you had to see me like that, Sergeant,” Aric sighed, “I was way out of line and if you wish to report me, I can respect that.”

“No, sir,” Elara assured him, “While I normally don’t condone violence, he deserved that. I……I can’t believe he tortured those soldiers…..even his own. Not to mention what he did to Sergeant Vleska….and what he intended to do.…all because he was insulted that a woman was sent to protect him and she didn’t like what he was doing!”

“I don’t understand it either,” Aric replied as he bent down to retrieve his cannon that he’d discarded when he first grabbed Needles, “and to be honest, I really don’t want to even try.”

“So now what?” Elara asked, “Do we wait for her to show up or do you think she’s go…….”

Elara never finished her statement, falling to the floor seconds after they heard the sound of a dart being discharged. Aric quickly turned to the doorway just in time to see the woman in question enter the lab.

“Well….well…..well……if it isn’t my favorite irritant from Ord Mantell,” she called out, as she entered the room, her gait slow and naturally provocative, “How’ve you been, Lieutenant Jorgan?”

Oh, she definitely isn’t happy to see me, he thought, her tone speaking volumes and as his green eyes locked with her lavender ones, he wondered just how much trouble he was in for the way he’d treated her back on Ord.

In an odd way, I think I'm going to miss Needles......he was kinda fun to write and I sincerely hope I did him justice and that you all enjoyed my interpretation of him.

DarthSillyMonkey: oh, thanks, I'm glad you liked it! I really enjoy everything you write, I'm sorry I never say so

marissalf: I thought being able to hide it in the game was interesting and wondered how and why some of my characters might. I'm glad you like it! Also, I really enjoyed your Irresistible Urges piece. Gault making drinks, that really is bound to be dangerous eventually!

frauzet: Oh no! I didn't mean to make it sound like it was a bad thing, I was more flattered that you read it twice I read things twice and more too

Mrtwo: Don't worry, I won't hold it against you

There isn't very much on Damin yet, he mainly is appearing with my BH

Don't you know? Quinn can't die. I'm glad you like it! I also think Quinn is complex.

alaurin: I'm glad you like them, I enjoy reading all your characters

Quinn waits in the bridge, his back tight with tension and worry. He begins earnest research into Corellia but it only thinly hides his anxiousness at seeing if she will come to him tonight. Trying to navigate around the blocks and issues he is having in accessing the holonet allays his ease and displaces the frustration he feels towards himself onto something practical and real. It wouldn't be so hard to - the hardest it's ever been - if he had ever thought there was a chance he would be sitting in this chair again. As he deftly moves his fingers along controls and keys, he can poignantly feel the soreness in his fingers where she grabbed the gun and threw it from his hand with only a flick of her wrist.

She had stared at him from amongst the rubble of the droids, her breath coming in deep heaves. Her defiant eyes had told him he had betrayed her and to bring on more if he was willing. Her victorious, contemptuous smirk told him she had been expecting a better fight from him. Her raised eyebrow asked if that was the best he had. Nothing showed that she was surprised. She stared at him like that for a long moment before turning away from him and walking out.

'Corellia awaits us, Captain,' she called over her shoulder to him. He had walked at a proud, quick pace to catch up to her.

'It's done,' she announced to the crew when she returned. For a moment, she had wondered what Quinn had planned to do with her crew. 'Captain, set us on course. The rest of you, I believe you all have preparations to make. I expect you ready for combat before we touchdown. Dismissed.'

They all left under her glare that was prepared to shoot down any contradictions or questions. Quinn left with a low bow and has waited ever since for her to come and speak to him. He expects that the Sith will come and toy with him like a cat does with a mouse just before throwing the minuscule creature into its strong, swift jaws. Knowing her, she will play for a very, very long time.

'Baras will no longer want anything to do with you then, I suspect.'

Quinn starts and looks over to her, quickly picking his composure off the floor. She stands in the door way in her small black nightgown (as usual) and she has a lightsaber in her hand (not as usual). Quinn moves to attention and her lip curls a little in disgust.

'At ease, Captain. I'll make this quick,' she mocks. Her fists clench and Quinn notices the motion and how they shake. Is it anger? Disgust? Sadness? He settles with the assessment of anger. It has no doubt occurred to her by now how many of the hours that they had sat together in pseudo companionship he had spent making calculations for her death. He would like to say to himself that he had her fooled and was never as distracted by her as he pretended but that would be a senseless deceit. She was - is - captivating but that was never going to be enough to stop him from-

'You have been feeding Baras information from the moment we met.' She stops shaking and her brow furrows in concentration. This isn't a time to be swept away by petty sentiments.

'You know too much of the intelligence I have on current matters and now, so does Baras. You know my strategies and so does Baras. I know little of his own. A reputation isn't something to base attacks on no matter how well earned they are. That leaves me with few trumps and him with a hand full. If you were to continue reporting to Baras with false information, would he believe it?'

Quinn feels a bitter pang of pride as he watches her logically assess the situation and find a way to turn the tables. She is brilliant, he thinks, and he wonders how he let that slip from his calculations.

'Correct, my Lord. Darth Baras will have noticed the destruction of the station and will know of my failure.' And assume I'm dead, Quinn notes to himself. He must admit to some confusion on the front of why he is alive. It is the rule that anyone who betrays a Sith only lives by killing that Sith. Thus, logically, his next goal is to assist her in the elimination of Baras so he continues living. Assuming, of course, the Sith in front of him isn't the one about to kill him.

'Even if he believed you were keeping me alive,' Quinn continues without pause, 'he wouldn't trust any of the information I gave him no matter how accurate.'

'You have no use then,' she replies without malice. The words cut to the quick and she seems to notice. 'I can only take the information you have on Baras and not use you in any other way against him. If I doubted your capability or suitability to be on this ship, you would not be here. For now, you are needed for this operation.'

Quinn notes the subtle way she makes it clear he is here because of his capabilities and not because she needs or wants him. 'For now' left a large question hovering over his future. She always had a way with words.

'My Lord, I will not fail you,' he vows with a bow.

'I hope not. I expect you to perform better against our enemies than you did against me,' she jests.

Quinn feels the hard edge under her words and she feels it too. She isn't sure what she's doing but she is sure that she needs Quinn for this mission. After Baras, it is a different game. She doesn't have time to find a replacement at the moment and no one could replace him to her satisfaction. She's seen enough military personnel to know that. It would take months if not years to find someone as capable. But she has to kill him. That much is certain because he cannot remain on this ship.

'Yes, my Lord. I pledge that I will never give you less then you deserve.'

Her mouth twists into ironic perfection. If he gave her as much as she deserved, would he be giving her anything at all? She might only deserve piss on the floor and everything she's done and worked so hard for - all her conviction and faith - might be worthless. Maybe she has not affected anything and every choice she has made has been wrong. At least piss on the floor can be cleaned and sanitised. There isn't anything that could clean away what he's done.

'"Deserve" is an interesting word, Captain. What do you think I deserve?' "A knife in the back?" are the words that are whispered in the momentary silence that follows.

'The galaxy, my Lord,' Quinn replies with a faint smile. 'But as I am not in a position to give that away at the moment, you will have to settle for my constant loyalty and capabilities until then. I shall make preparations to procure the galaxy as a gift for you in the mean time though it might take a few years.'

'We might not be living in a few years, Captain, and not being able to give me the galaxy for years will mean you are giving me less than I deserve in the mean time. I think I win this round.' She doesn't smile and she doesn't feel victorious. 'Do you have anything further to say?'

'Only this, my Lord: though I know it is meaningless to express my deep regret-'

'Then shut up,' she simply replies.

Quinn does as she asks and they stare at each other for many moments, each feeling the other slip further away. His eyes don't leave hers and he notices how dark they have become. Something tugs at his intuition and makes him feel like he's looking into the void someone enters once their fragile heart stops beating.

'I have some calls to make. Communications from the ship have been disabled but I will momentarily making them available for my own use. They will then be disabled again. I see no use you could get from this.'

She points to Quinn's belt with a knobbly, long and slender finger. Quinn's holo comes out form his pocket and floats towards her, following her will with airy eagerness. She twists her fingers as if to make a fist and the comm breaks into eleven large pieces that fall with a loud clutter to the ground.

'Or this.' She rips the panel open on a wall behind him and takes out the comm that had been hiding there. It floats into her hand with greater speed then the last and she crushes this one with her own hand. Her deep, dark red eyes never leave his and he feels as those piece slip through her fingers that she has slipped through his and a chance for something greater has been lost and will never be back again.

'You have been locked out of many systems,' she continues when the last of the shrapnel falls. 'I will be constantly watching you personally. You will never have a moment to yourself again that I will not know of. Tomorrow, you will tell me everything Baras told you of his plans.'

'He told me little beyond what you already know, my Lord,' Quinn truthfully assures. It was a one way flow of information as was suitable for a Captain to their Lord. She and Quinn never worked that way.

'I want everything you know, Quinn,' she replies dangerously.

Her hand raises as if considering choking him as her eyes blaze a dark red that is close to black. Lightening crackles at her fingers, bright and fiercer than it ever has. A bolt shoots the floor and leaves a burn mark. Another hits the ceiling between them. A third shoots next to Quinn's head. He steps back smoothly, his fear carefully hidden from sight. The motion snaps her out of it and she smothers her fear at herself quickly before Quinn can perceive it. She's shaken by the force of her anger and how terribly overpowering it was.

'I understand, my Lord,' Quinn confirms with another bow that contains irremovable pride and a lack of humility. 'I will tell you everything you wish to know now, if you prefer.'

'I do not prefer, Captain. We both need to sleep.'

She knows she needs to sleep so when she wakes up in the morning, this will all feel more distant and she can consider things logically. Until then, her emotions are too tempestuous and uncontrollable as if his betrayal caused the construction of a dam that had been stoping them from spilling forth all her life. "Through passion I gain strength" is something she has never felt any accord with. Sadness is something she has no grasp of, no experience with. Happiness is something she thinks she knows and feels from time to time but was too rare and fleeting to define. Anger is something hard to stir up but has always been so well shaken by the Captain. Even then, it always had a dull edge that could only cut through butter. Lust is something she knows but had always failed to inspire until Balmorra.

She turns to leave and Quinn's chest deflates a little as if his heart was sinking at the thought of her leaving things so... estranged. She turns around but she doesn't smile seductively. She just stares at the burnt and beaten panel next to his head.

'I thought you might like to know that I will be keeping your indiscretion from my reports. I will also not informally tell anyone of what has occurred between us. Naturally, none of the crew knows of what transpired.'

'Thank you, my Lord,' Quinn acknowledges with a bow. Reports to who? crosses his mind.

She considers mentioning that she has been spending the last few hours making precautions in case something happens to her. She decides not to. Never show all your cards. Trust is never something a Sith gives but it will take her until morning to realise she gave it on an unconscious level and he betrayed it. He will never have it again. Their understanding ran deeper than she realised and yet...

'Malavai...'

'Yes, my Lord?' Quinn asks a little too eagerly, his foot edging a little closer to her but not quite in a step. He can't say he is sorry but he can say a thousand other things if he only had her in his arms.

'Don't stay up too late,' she orders with a smirk at jokes past. She decides not to ask him. 'Good night.'

'Of course, my Lord,' Quinn replies with another bow. She can't remember the last time Quinn had bowed so frequently to her. She nods in satisfaction and turns to leave again.

'Sweet dreams.'

'What did you say, Quinn?' she asks, pausing to look over her shoulder.

'I said 'sleep well', my Lord,' Quinn replies with a faint smile.

She smirks at him, raising an eye brow in question of his lie and then leaves. What are you thinking, Quinn? she demands as she silently storms through the ship. What do you want? From the bridge, Quinn asks the same questions of her.

Prudii walked through the halls of the prison, hearing the dull clunk of his boots on the nondescript metal floor, the sound echoing off the walls. With his blue helmet clasped tightly under his arm and his rifle slung across his back, he knew he cut an intimidating figure to the prisoners he passed.

One of the prisoners, a warm-skinned man with gray hair and a beard, looked up and nodded grimly at Prudii. He was one of the countless Imperials Prudii had arrested over the years; this one might've been from Balmorra, but he couldn't remember.

Finally locating the cell he was looking for, Prudii stopped and looked at the man inside. He had a few more gray strands in his hair than the last time Prudii had seen him and it was a bit longer than regulation now, but he was still the fit, commanding figure that Prudii remembered from Ord Mantell.

"Tavus," he said softly.

Tavus' eyes shot upward. He stood slowly and stepped up to the force field, looking Prudii up and down. There was a weariness in his eyes, but he also seemed...healthier than he had after the Justice. More complete, somehow. This was a man who'd been through a ringer and survived.

"Ah," Tavus said. "A major. Higher rank than I ever achieved, though not for want of trying." He met Prudii's eyes. "I wish there was not a force field between us. I'd shake your hand."

Prudii reached over and clicked off the force field button.

"Wish granted, sir."

He reached out and shook Tavus' hand. Tavus seemed to not believe it for a moment, then he grinned and pumped Prudii's hand enthusiastically.

"I want you to know," Prudii said, "that even though I didn't like your decision to defect, I always respected you, sir. You were always a good soldier, even if you made some bad choices."

"What's the purpose of this visit?" Tavus asked. "Not a social call, I take it."

Prudii shook his head. "No, sir. Follow me."

Prudii walked several cells down and opened it, and the surprised Fuse stepped out. The Zabrak seemed confused, but he fell in line. Prudii went to a third cell–where Jek Kardan was held–and opened that, too.

"The Republic needs your help," Prudii said to the three of them. "The Imperials have been using old Havoc Squad strategies against us, strategies from before I was in the unit."

"What about Malcom?" asked Kardan. "He didn't turn."

"He's Supreme Commander; surely you haven't been kept that out of the loop, Kardan. He can't micromanage. We need your help."

"What's Garza offering?" Tavus asked.

"Who cares?" Fuse put in. "I'm sick of being in that cell; I'll do anything!"

"Garza's offering you a consultant's pay," Prudii said. "You'll travel with me on my ship and brief us on how to counter the specific strategies the Empire has been using."

Tavus glanced at Kardan. "Sounds good to me. It'll be good to see good soldiers in action again; besides, I can't wait to meet the rest of your squad. I know you had Jorgan and that Dorne woman, and the combat droid from Nar Shaddaa."

Prudii nodded. "We've added three more to our roster; Tanno Vik and Yuun, our demolitionist and technician, and HK-51, our assassin droid."

"Let's go meet them then," Kardan said.

Tavus saluted Prudii. "After you, sir."

He did it once here

With some fallout here

And then there was this, which wasn’t actually his idea but he would’ve loved it

And this, which explains some of the jokes of the above

Larr Gith's hair whipped free while she spun. Ruth pressed a flurry of attacks, her saber blood red against her opponent’s gleaming gold. And then with a flick of Ruth's gloved hand Larr's saber went flying out of control. Ruth smiled, catlike, tossed aside her own saber, and lunged, throwing the Jedi to the ground.

Larr Gith fought hard, rolling over to try to pin Ruth's leg; the Sith laughed, pushing her whole body against the Jedi, and adroitly rolled on top. With a writhing struggle she ran her hands up Larr Gith's arms and finally managed to pin her wrists over her head. Larr squirmed and arched, bringing the whole of her voluptuous body to bear, but couldn’t loosen the darkness of Ruth’s iron grip.

"Is that all you've got?" panted the Sith, her lips less than a hand's breadth from the helpless Jedi's, her ice-blue eyes sparking brilliantly against Larr's tawny ones. "You could do so much more than this if you only let your passions free."

The blonde laughed, a sultry sound in the hot confines of the practice room. "The woman who's been frigid for fifteen years wants to lecture me on passion?"

"Not lecture," purred Ruth, lowering herself further to press her curves to Larr's. "Demonstrate."

*

Wynston rubbed his temples. "I think it goes without saying that that isn't how it happened."

"Maybe, but it's how it should've happened," said Pierce Junior. "My readers agree."

"I never want to meet your readers. For their own safety. Junior, you know I'm going to recommend what I recommend every time your sordid fantasies turn up. Erase them. Forget you ever wrote them. Reflect on the fact that if Quinn ever finds something you wrote about his wife, your life will be over and I'll be the one pinning your arms."

"I'll keep that in mind," Junior said cheerfully, flexing an arm roughly the diameter of Wynston’s waist. "Honestly, I don't get why you're so touchy about her. Never heard you talk about any other woman like that."

"There never was another woman like her. Furthermore you’re always going to get her wrong, because from the day Quinn let her in she never looked at another man. Or woman. I’m not saying it made sense and stars know her taste was nothing short of tragic but fidelity was built into her nature."

Junior’s brown eyes gleamed. "You know, since you’ve got all this insight, you could get a nod in the acknowledgments section if you’d just spill certain facts about the real Ruth–"

"Not. Bloody. Likely."

"Just saying, the readers have needs. Besides, every minute I spend writing the Peace is a Lay series is a minute I don't spend with the you-Quinn-Ruth triangle."

Wynston opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. "You know, for a moment there you almost got me to approve the Ruth-Larr Gith rot?"

Junior grinned wolfishly. "I know."

"You're a monster. Also there was never, ever, at any time, a bloody triangle, nor any geometric figure of any description connecting me and Quinn, in bed or out. Ever. Also I'm assigning you to front line duty again this week."

"Looking forward to it."

"Sooner or later I'm going to figure out what bothers you, Junior. You might want to build up a little goodwill before I do."

@marissalf, (Disguises) I thoroughly sympathize with Kinka in the mistrust of Lokin. A Lokin, who is a doctor, is not to be trusted. The Urges piece is awfully endearing, because there he does seem human and vulnerable and endearingly stuffy, but...nope, it's a Lokin. Grr.

@frauzet, I like the way Zal and Nikeo interact. Zal's got sass.

@Eversteam,

He seems to fit there so rightly that she can't imagine ever acting in a way to endanger that. He clearly never felt the same.

'Only this, my Lord: though I know it is meaningless to express my deep regret-'

 

'Then shut up,' she simply replies.

@DarthSillyMonkey, you give Vik some great lines. I'm particularly fond of "Not even I can make a fuse as short as Capt. Kiera's" and "Yeah. Explosive Ordinance. Is there anything it can't do?" Interesting of you to give Garza that moment of brilliance - it's easy to write her off as an unsympathetic taskmistress, but you bring out the part where she can look after her own even if it's tricky/sneaky to do so under the constraints of her position.

@Mrtwo, ouch, rough quartet. Very effectively drawn.

Dorne recognizes Thorus. Great piece of background/characterization.

"Zel, have you seen my--What are you doing?"

"Juggling lightsabers. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"That's what it looks like you're doing. I see it took you a while to get the hang of turning them off before they cut up the ceiling and the floor."

"Yeah, this isn't as easy as it looks."

"Since it looks like I can't imagine how you still have your hands, then yikes."

"Oh, thanks, Kira. Now I'm also having to suppress the image of accidentally chopping my hands off."

"Sorry."

"No, really, thanks, it's good practice."

"What do you need practice for? You killed the Emperor, I think that officially makes you the best Jedi ever."

"Right, like he's dead."

"I don't hear his voice anymore, Scourge says he's dead, the Empire is running around like lizardbats with their heads cut off, pretty sure he's dead."

"Do we have to keep having this conversation? You drove him out of your head, and Scourge is a lying liar that lies. In addition to being super creepy."

"He and Doc's new girlfriend should get along great, then. I still think letting her on the ship is a terrible idea, by the way. Next planet we land on she's going to steal everything that's not nailed down and set fire to the place. Plus she was ogling me in the 'fresher."

"You're pretty ogle-worthy."

"Hey, don't ogle me now, concentrate on the lightsabers before you hurt someone."

"Pssh. I got this. Anyway, don't worry about Kaliyo. She works for my sister. I haven't figured out exactly what she wants from us, yet, but it isn't your virtue. Which, by the way, I am going to be so mad if she gets, after you keep turning me down."

Kira stuck her tongue out at her best friend and mentor. "Even if I were going to turn to the Dark Side--"

"Hey!"

"--it wouldn't be with her. I'm full up on crazy. Also, wait, back up. You have a sister?"

"Yeah, twins, if you can believe it. Super rare for Chiss. I got all the Force sensitivity. And the looks. And the brains. She's a jerk."

"So you have that in common, too."

"Big talk for an unarmed woman talking to one who has six lightsabers."

"If you had ever, in all our time together, made good on any of your constant threats, I might be worried. So you don't get along with your sister?"

"Oh, we get along great. Except she's evil and stupid and a big poodoo-head."

"Oh, she works for the Empire. But you got all the Force, so...she's not a Sith?"

"No, I'm pretty sure she's in Intelligence. They say she's dead, but hello, I'm me, the idea that I wouldn't be able to sense my twin sister's death is laughable."

"Arrogance is unbecoming in a Jedi."

"It's not arrogance, it's a simple statement of fact. Also, remind me to feed you that line the next time you brag that you're going to beat my record."

"You gave it to me the last time; where do you think I got it?"

"Thought it sounded familiar."

"Hey, if your sister's supposed to be dead, how do you know short, pale, and psycho works for her?"

"The way she looks at me. Also, the Force."

"So I'm not the only one she's been ogling? Ew, you're not gonna sleep with her, are you? 'cause I think you'll need to find a new best friend if so."

"Ugh, no way. Doc's sloppy seconds? Baaaaarf. I'm pretty sure she and my sister are, though. I'm not saying Ellie likes them crazy, I'm just saying that if she were an akk dog, she'd be running around digging up crazy and then rolling around in it. Think fast."

"Thi--ack!" Kira dropped to her knees and bent back to avoid the lightsabers suddenly twirling at her, reaching up to snag her own saberstaff as it went past, then threw herself forward in a roll to her feet just in time to deflect two more. "No fair starting combat training in the middle of a talk!"

"I needed more distraction, the juggling wasn't doing it for me anymore. Besides, it's almost time for our workout anyway."

" 'Nice moves fending off my dirty, underhanded, rotten, no-good sneak attack, Kira.' "

"Pssh. Fishing for compliments?"

For those of you playing along at home, this is a continuation of my earlier bits, in case that wasn't obvious. And I really need to learn how to link posts. I had intended to do quite a bit more with the Agent and crew before switching over to showing Zel and the gang, but she's not talking to me and Zel was, so here we are.

@EverSteam: Oh, so much tension!!!!! That was very well written.....I could just feel the tense anxiety and how difficult it must have been for them both to fight their respective urges.

@Yoshi: He was the one I think I felt best about killing out of all of them. As for Prudii, he left one more alive than I did. I like the idea of them being used to assist an operation later on down the road, nicely done!

@Bright: I agree with you about her and I wanted to make sure I included it. Glad you liked Val's first kiss and her dirty kick shenanigans......their fun for me to write (sorry guys)!

Also, Peace Is A Lay, yup......diet coke came out my nose when I read that!!!! I love junior!

@theStirge:

Ugh, no way. Doc's sloppy seconds?

Tia arrived back at Needles’ lab to find a surprise waiting for her. She’d taken an alternate route through the transport station, having heard the Republic troops making their assault. She quietly entered the lab, immediately seeing an unconscious Imperial soldier. She snuck up the stairs to the main level and crept to the door. She peeked in, immediately spotting Needles, and was happy to see that sick, twisted, little cyborg was dead along with his disgusting creations. From the way it looked, her final plea in that last message was answered, Needles didn’t die well. She actually felt satisfied as she gazed upon the mangled body lying in a pool of blood.

Unfortunately, her happiness at seeing that disgusting man’s pulverized corpse was short-lived when she saw the ones responsible for his demise, one of the two soldiers being someone she never expected or wanted to see again. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and hoped she was wrong about who she saw. Alas, when she opened her eyes again, that uppity, self-righteous, holier than thou, Lieutenant Jorgan was still there with the blond she’d spotted at Fallenspire. Dammit……is that really who Garza is sending after the traitors?! Tia wondered, a bit annoyed, and nearly swore out loud when she noticed the Havoc markings on Jorgan’s armor, Garza gave him Havoc?! Oh that’s just karking great! If I do manage to survive my little foray into playing spy, I’m going to end up under the command of someone who treats me like I’m some stupid grunt……

Tia’s plan was to simply take out the Spec Forces that Garza sent with a low dose tranquilizer dart so she could make her escape without causing any damage other than blowing up the base. The dart would only last a few minutes, enough time for her to get away, but still ensure they woke with plenty of time to escape the lab before it blew. She was still recovering from the injuries she’d sustained when her speeder was shot down at Fallenspire, so Tavus wouldn’t be surprised that she chose to make an easy escape without confrontation, figuring the troops would be killed in the blast.

She barely suppressed a laugh when a wonderful, wicked idea crossed her mind, well…..I could still make my escape look good, get a little of payback and have some fun at the same time. I’m too injured to give that cranky bastard a proper a** kicking, but I can do a little damage and mess with his head a bit.....it’s the least I can do for the way he treated me back on Ord!

They hadn’t spotted her yet, so she loaded up a tranquilizer dart and shot the blond standing next to Jorgan. Blondie dropped fast and Jorgan spun around, aiming a huge assault cannon at her.

“Well….well…..well……if it isn’t my favorite irritant from Ord Mantell,” Tia called out, as she entered the room, her gait slow and naturally provocative, “How’ve you been Lieutenant Jorgan?”

“Actually,” Aric replied, keeping his cannon trained on her, “Its Captain Jorgan now.” He was watching her carefully and couldn’t help but notice how nicely the shiny black Imperial armor complimented her silvery colored fur, hugging her slender, voluptuous body as she began to pace. She moved like a hunter stalking her prey, never taking those lavender eyes off of him. He’d only worked with a few male soldiers of their species and for a brief moment, he regretted not getting to know her a little better on Ord.

“Oh, Captain is it……my mistake,” she purred, a slow, seductive smile forming. She continued eying him over as she slowly circled him, “Well….Captain…..that’s a very big gun you have there. Tell me, are you compensating or advertising……because if it’s the latter, I’m definitely gonna let you frisk me!”

“Oh, I’ll frisk you alright,” he growled, irritated at the affect her teasing was having on him, “why don’t you be a good girl and come quietly, otherwise things could get rough. Reinforcements are on the way to secure this place.”

“Oh, is that a threat or a promise?” Tia gave a sultry laugh, “I really hope it’s a promise because I’m no good girl, I’m definitely not the come quietly type, and I’ll admit, I kinda like it a little rough sometimes.”

Dammit, she’s an infuriating little minx, Aric thought as he felt his body respond to her innuendo and a low growl escaped his throat before he could help it. He charged his cannon, setting it to stun rather than kill. “It’s over, Sergeant. Needles is dead, every soldier that was here is also dead or captured……it’s just you and me.”

“Well then, Captain,” Tia eyed him, a knowing smile on her face, “what are you waiting for? Come and get me with your big gun.”

Aric approached her carefully, knowing she’d been injured and not wanting to inadvertently hurt her. There’s probably surveillance cameras, so make it look good, Jorgan, he reminded himself, Besides, that little vixen obviously feels good enough to tease you…..she definitely could use a good spanking! He reached out, keeping one hand on his cannon, letting the strap take its weight, and grabbed her arm, hauling her up against him. He was a little surprised she wasn’t fighting back.

“So, you decided not to play after all? Does this mean you’re coming along peacefully?” he asked, a slow, teasing smile forming, “because after that performance, I’m a little disappointed, Sergeant.” Then a thought occurred to him, maybe she changed her mind and wants to be extracted. He couldn’t blame her, especially after everything she’d been through so far. It was a dangerous game she was playing and he wasn’t sure he’d want to do it. He’d been genuinely concerned for her after that last message and Needles' ranting earlier, so he was happy to bring her back with him if that’s what she wanted.

“Oh, I love to play,” Tia assured him, her voice husky and taunting, “and I never disappoint. I was just waiting for you to be stupid enough to get close. You see, I prefer a more physical, hands-on approach.” With that, she elbowed him sharply in the side, hitting the vulnerable spot between his chest and back plates, causing him to lose his grip for a second and allowing her to take a step back. Payback time, Tia thought as she set her rifle to stun, game on, sucker! They had to make the fight and her escape look good in case the security cameras were still transmitting, and she was more than ready to do just that. She certainly had no problems causing a little damage to Jorgan…..in fact, she was looking forward to it.

Aric was quick to recover, quicker than Tia was expecting, grabbing his cannon and firing a stun shot at her, nearly catching her in the chest. She dove quickly, charging her rifle and fired off a round of stun shots. As Jorgan focused on dodging her shots, Tia leapt back into melee range, knowing that heavy cannon of his would be a hindrance in close combat. Ignoring the pain in her side, she landed a punch to his jaw and spun around to land a kick to his chest. Unfortunately for her, he’d ditched his cannon and was able to grab her leg before her kick landed, causing her to lose her balance. He hooked his arm around her waist and once again Tia found herself hauled up against the large male. Much to her annoyance, her felt her body heating up in response to being held against his and a low growl escaped her throat before she could stop it.

“Well, well, well,” Aric chuckled, knowing what that low growl meant, and his own voice betrayed the effect she was having on him, “I guess turnabout is fair play.”

“Does this mean you want to play with me, Captain?” she purred, her full lips forming a suggestive smile when as looked up at him, “Now that you have me, what’s next? Are you going to tie me up and spank me for being a bad girl?”

Aric gave another low growl as images of what he’d like to do to her popped into his head, kark….even if she’s just as affected as I am, that little minx still has the upper hand and she damn well knows it! “I’m sure we’ll find some fitting punishment for what you’ve done. For now, you can enjoy being in Republic custody.”

“I don’t think so, Captain,” she replied as she quickly brought her knee up and hit him hard in his sensitive area.

He was in full armor so she didn’t really hurt him, but the shock was enough for him to release her. As soon as he let her go, Tia hooked her leg around his, causing him to lose his balance. He fell hard, cursing as he landed flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him. She stood over him for a second, shaking her head in amusement, then brought the butt of her rifle down on his face, breaking his nose.

“That’s for being such a dick back on Ord,” she smirked, clearly enjoying herself. She heard the sounds of soldiers approaching, “Ah, I hear company coming…..guess playtime’s over. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to blow this place up and get the void out of here before your blond friend wakes up. I’ve had fun, Captain……let’s do this again sometime, provided you’re able to beat the timer.” She winked, blew him a kiss, and with another sultry laugh, she turned away and scampered over to the computer to begin the failsafe sequence she and Needles had installed their first day on Taris.

The sequence would erase Needles’ data, destroy any serum samples, and blow up the lab. Tia was glad she’d had time to store the data and a serum sample in her duffle and stow it on their ship before she left for the Imperial base last night. She’d arrange for it to be delivered to Val as soon as she could. The sequence was originally set to blow the lab five minutes after being triggered, but Tia had changed it to fifteen when she originally programmed it in and Needles never bothered to check it.

Tia grabbed her rifle and backpack as soon as she heard the countdown begin over the speaker system, laughing again as she glanced at Jorgan on her way to the small corridor leading to the living area and hanger. Tia heard him cursing as he got up, but knew he was too disorientated to give a good chase. Unfortunately, Blondie had regained consciousness and gave attempted to come after her, firing off a couple of shots as Tia ran to her ship. Tia growled in pain as she felt a blaster bolt tear through her thigh, but kept running. She boarded the ship, saw her duffle still where she’d stored it last night, and took off just as Republic troops stormed into the hanger. They tried to fire shots at her, but she was too far away for them to do any damage. She contacted Tavus as soon as she was in space.

“Sergeant,” Tavus began, “Are you alright? We’ve gotten messages that the Imperial base on Taris was under attack.”

“I’m wounded, sir,” Tia explained, “but I’ll be alright. I have bad news, the Spec Forces troops attacked the Imperial bunker. Needles ordered me to investigate and take them out if I could, but by the time I got there, the bunker was lost and Colonel Thorus was dead. I got there as quickly as I could, but there were too many for me to try and fight with my injuries.”

“I’m sure you did everything you could, Sergeant,” Tavus assured her, “Especially given that you were still recovering from some serious injuries and from what I’ve heard, Taris isn’t easy to navigate in the daytime, let alone at night. Where’s Needles?”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Tia replied, forcing her voice to sound choked up, “but I failed. I tried to make it back to the lab, but night had fallen and I had to find shelter. As soon as the sun began to rise and I had enough light to see, I rushed back to the lab. I’m so sorry, sir, but Needles was dead when I got there. Jorgan was there with another soldier and reinforcements were right behind them. I managed to tranq one, but had to fight Jorgan. I subdued him as best I could, set off the failsafe sequence, and ran for it. I barely made it to the shuttle before the hanger was flooded with Republic troops.”

“Dammit,” Tavus swore, “Garza’s going to pay for that! It’s not your fault. I told Needles not to send you off again after what happened at the scavenger stronghold. I was afraid something like this would happen. No matter, Sergeant, hopefully the blast took care of Jorgan and the rest of those troops. Needles had his data periodically being sent to his data terminal here, so his records should be safe. I’ll check it shortly.”

I’m afraid not Tavus, Tia thought, fighting the urge to laugh, unfortunately I kinda broke that program…..oops, my bad. “Do you want me to head back to the Justice, sir?”

“No, Sergeant,” Tavus replied, “I need you to go to Nar Shaddaa. Captain Andrik has been working on a project there for me, an advanced wardroid that had been meant for Havoc Squad originally. However just yesterday, he discovered SIS snooping around. I want you to assist Captain Andrik on his mission if he needs it, but your main focus will be to find out what the SIS knows and keep them from interfering.”

“I’ll head to Nar Shaddaa immediately, sir” Tia assured him.

“Good,” Tavus nodded, “I’ll tell Captain Andrik you’re on your way.”

Tia signed off and grabbed her backpack. She dug out her datapad, typed a quick message to Val, activated her bracelet and sent it. Then she turned her attention back to the ship’s controls. As soon as she set course for Nar Shaddaa and put the shuttle on auto pilot, Tia got up in search of a medic kit. She found one and returned to the pilot seat. She removed her leg plating, took off her under armor bottoms, and began to tend to the nasty wound Blondie had given her. Garza must be playing it safe with my little secret, Tia thought, wincing as she cleaned out the wound, still, it would’ve been nice if Jorgan had clued Blondie in that I wasn’t a real enemy……I could’ve done without taking a blaster bolt to the thigh! Then a slow, satisfied smile played across her features, I did enjoy our little confrontation though…..almost makes it worth getting shot. It’s just too bad I was injured and that we didn’t have more time......oh well, there’s always Nar Shaddaa!

@Yoshi,

Vette's eyes flashed. "Quinn? Check me for pregnancy? Methic, you had better–"

This is exactly the reaction I’d imagine Vette having to that suggestion. And I can imagine that an ewok would be irresistible to a toddler.

@DarthSillyMonkey,

Kiera'Kian turned towards the Cathar, "Seriously, your Mak-O's. Who pi*sed in them?"

I laughed so much at this. I like how you portrayed Garza. Very clever to push Kiera’s buttons. I actually thought she was seriously being a hardass, so I got a kick out of Kiera telling her off. And sibling fighting, there’s nothing like it!

Love the pictures as well. Including Fenn’rys as Mirielle was a nice touch.

@frauzet,

Part of him couldn’t believe that they feared the thought of the little runt coming for them more than they feared him

Ha! That had to be eating him up inside. The thought of Skadge on a diplomacy mission is a riot.

@alaurin, I loved the story with Risha babysitting the kids. Exactly how I pictured her faring. Needles getting what he deserved was gratifying, especially after hearing him try to defend it all.

“Oh, is that a threat or a promise?” Tia gave a sultry laugh, “I really hope it’s a promise because I’m no good girl, I’m definitely not the come quietly type, and I’ll admit, I kinda like it a little rough sometimes.”

Oooh, I enjoyed the flirty taunting here!

@Mrtwo, Definitely an emotional piece. Very nice job conveying the fear and despair poor Riz is feeling.

@Bright, Peace Is A Lay. Oh my gosh, I love when Pierce Jr. writes stuff. It’s so deliciously evil.

@theStirge,

Next planet we land on she's going to steal everything that's not nailed down and set fire to the place.

This seems 100% accurate to me. And I concur with Zel: ewww to Doc’s sloppy seconds!

Quinn feels a bitter pang of pride as he watches her logically assess the situation and find a way to turn the tables. She is brilliant, he thinks, and he wonders how he let that slip from his calculations.

I think this says a lot about Quinn’s thinking regarding the incident. He, at least on some level, sees the warrior as a mere brute who gets things done by blustering and smashing things. He completely neglects any intellect that the warrior possesses (and really has to possess to have survived in such a competitive environment.) And then throw in the romance angle, and it stings on an entirely different level. Or that’s my rambling overthinking of things anyway.

The BT-7 went down, flames tearing from the wings. Prudii grimaced and clutched at the yoke as hard as he could. Elara was reading off alerts while Jorgan shouted in his other ear that he'd just known bringing the ex-Havoc traitors along was a bad idea; of course they'd betray them!

Prudii resisted the urge to tell Jorgan to shut up and pulled the yoke to port. The AA cannons fired again and the lower right wing snapped off. Prudii let out an accidental scream as the ship slammed unceremoniously into a building–actually, given its size, several buildings. Before he lost consciousness, Prudii managed to activate the ship's anti-personnel turrets...

Prudii awoke with a start and rolled out of the pilot's seat, reaching instantly for his sidearm. He whirled and pointed it squarely at Tavus' chest. The man, dressed in a Republic soldier's combat suit–just the unplated infantry gear; no Special Forces rig for him anymore–raised his hands. His hair was cut back to regulation and he seemed just as commanding as he had before he'd turned traitor.

"It wasn't me," Tavus said quietly. "Or Kardan, or Fuse. In fact, they're both unconscious in the hold."

"Then who leaked us?"

"Maybe whoever's leaking Havoc tactics to the enemy?" Tavus suggested.

Prudii looked around the cockpit. Dorne and Jorgan were gone. Slowly, Prudii lowered his sidearm and holstered it. He followed Tavus into the main hold. Kardan and Fuse were propped against the wall on one side of the room; the current Havoc members on the other side. Even now, Jorgan and Yuun were beginning to awaken.

"Don't bother them," Tavus said. "Jorgan has a concussion and Yuun's left arm carapace is broken. Neither one will be able to fight. With your permission, Major?"

Prudii nodded and Tavus pulled a rifle from the armory rack, sighted it, and nodded in satisfaction before slinging it over his shoulder. Prudii walked over to the rack and pulled down a rifle for himself.

"Where are Forex and Fifty-One?" Prudii asked.

"Forex is repairing what damages he can from the inside," Tavus said. "Fifty-One is manning the top turret to keep out attackers."

Prudii rubbed his head. "I thought...I thought we were supposed to be helping the 301st Infantry take out an Imperial bunker in the city. Where are they?"

"My best guess," Tavus said as he walked over to the exit hatch, "is that they are pinned down. Which means they need help. No time to wait for the others to awaken; we need to help them now."

Prudii considered. "All right. Follow my lead."

He and Tavus walked down out of the exit ramp and entered the building they'd crashed into. It appeared to be a restaurant; the BT-7's front portion had punched cleanly through the rear cooler. Prudii crawled through the restaurant and tried to get a look at the city outside.

"Shab!" he snarled. "It's foggy out. Visibility's going to be next to zero."

"You've got a helmet," Tavus noted. "Imagine how it'll be for me."

Prudii nodded. "Right. Ah...keep up with me. I'll do my best to cover you."

The two of them sprinted outside the building. To Prudii's surprise, there were no enemy forces around. No Republic forces, either. It looked like the battle was over...and he couldn't determine which side had won. He was about to lower his rifle when he heard a dull hum, one he recognized instantly.

"Get down!"

He shoved Tavus to the ground and rolled aside as a rocket shot over their heads. A moment later, a powerfully-armored Mandalorian set down, pulling a pair of pistols from his holsters. Prudii got to his feet and fired off a few shots, which bounced harmlessly off the Mando's beskar'gam.

"Move!" Prudii said.

He and Tavus sprinted down the street, the Mando firing after them. They made a sharp turn at the next intersection and hid in the rubble of a souvenir shop. Prudii ducked low and pulled Tavus down beside him. The Mandalorian stalked slowly into the street, blasters sweeping the buildings.

"We'll only have one chance at this," Prudii said. He grabbed Tavus' sleeve forcefully. "You have to trust me, Tavus. Take your rifle and get to the top of that two-story building three blocks down. You saw it?"

Tavus nodded. "What about you?"

"I'll be distracting the Mando. I'll draw his fire and then move him into position where you can take him out. Got it?"

Tavus nodded. "Got it. Just one thing..." he shoved Prudii toward the back door. "You'll take the rooftop position."

"Tavus, no! You're not wearing armor; you won't stand a chance!"

"Go, Major. You know a Mandalorian's armor's weakness better than I would and we'll only have one shot at this. Besides, I can run karking fast when I want to."

Prudii licked his lips worriedly. "Okay. But be careful. Don't take stupid risks."

He scrambled out the back door and sprinted down the streets. He felt rumblings around him as the Mando caught sight of him and fired wrist rockets at him. He ducked and weaved, avoiding the explosions. He got to the ladder and leapt up, catching the third rung and climbing up swiftly.

"Hey! Over here!" Tavus called.

The Mando whirled and opened fire on Tavus; the former soldier ducked behind a crate and bit his lip. Prudii pulled up to the top of the building and whirled, training his rifle on the Mandalorian. The red-armored warrior stalked toward Tavus, his gauntlet blade ejecting with a shunk. Tavus leapt from his cover and fired his rifle, catching the Mando in the breastplate and knocking him back a few feet. Prudii sighted up, using his helmet's HUD to lock onto one of the weak points in the beskar armor.

The Mando ignored Tavus' barrage and started forward. Tavus backed up worriedly as the Mando raised one of his pistols and casually blasted Tavus in the shoulder. Tavus rolled aside and held his shoulder in pain, but he kept his rifle in firing position with one hand. Prudii bit his lip, held his breath...and fired. The bolt caught the Mando in the neck and sent him flying back to slam into a duracrete pillar.

"Good...shot, Major," Tavus said.

Prudii descended the ladder and walked over to his former mentor.

"It was good to fight alongside you for once, sir," he said. "You know, I served on Ord Mantell with you for weeks and we never fought side-by-side."

Tavus grimaced. "I regret that, Major. It's good to be working with you again."

Prudii clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, Tavus. Let's wake the others and see if we can't find the Three-Oh-First. Then maybe we can finish this mission and get off this deathtrap of a planet."

@Frauzet:

“Wait!”

 

“What?”

 

“You mean Thorns will come here?”

Cue the sound of underwear being soiled. I laughed pretty hard at this. The thought of Skadge running Diplomacy always cracked me up, but this was a great way to make it believable. Nice job!

@Alaurin: Holy freaking Stories! Somebody's muse kicked it into overdrive this week! Ok, first off, thank you! Adventures in Risha-sitting! The kids vs. Risha dynamic was cracking me up. Almost made me feel sorry for her.

Second, toooo much Tia story to comment on directly, so overall commentary incoming! Val>Malay. Yeah, that happened. I love her "take no osiik" attitude when dealing with scumbags, or telling people off. Corso's daddying of the kids was cute. Loved the confrontation with Jorgen and Tia. Many a Trooper has clicked the "fire" button after highlighting his sorry a*s in hopes of getting a little payback. Also glad Needles went down screaming. I have never liked that creepy little bastage.

@MrTwo: Story:1, Feels:0. Nicely done sir. I like the whole process of Riz breaking down, it was very believable. Backed up by Juliet's perspective and her decision t do the right thing at great personal cost to herself, it really hits you in the gut. Viduus. Wow. I like him. Not like "he's AWESOME!" kind of way, but more in a "He's going to be an AWESOME Villain!" kind of way.

Also, I get the sadness while writing thing. I think it helps make a better story. Plus, if you aren't be sad beating up your character, then I don't think the reader will be either. Right now, every time I log in on Drokk, I have to apologize to him at the char select screen. "No, really, I still love you! I swear!"

@Yoshi: Dha: HAHAH! I cracked up when she put the security gate across the stairwell to the ship. Gave me an image of Dha, doing the bounty hunter thing on holo, acting tough and menacing... while a baby crawls by in the background. Treek watching the baby was great too.

Maiek: Loved the betrayal story. Never saw that coming! Awesome.

Prudii: I'm loving this. I always did like Tavus. Wrong time, wrong day for him. I like how you're re-integrating them into the story. It's nice to see Tavus get a second chance.

@Eversteam: Wow. I gotta admit, the Quinn "incident" is one of my favorite plot points in the game. As the love interest, I imagine it goes even worse afterwards. Ma'ahes just up and forgave him, threatening to destroy him if it happened again. If you were following the romance option, that has to hurt. I love the interaction between the two, like they're testing the ground of their shattered trust to see where they might be able to start building again, but finding nothing so far. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of that story

@Bright:

Wynston rubbed his temples. "I think it goes without saying that that isn't how it happened."

 

"Maybe, but it's how it should've happened," said Pierce Junior. "My readers agree."

HAHAH! Nice! One can never go against the readers. I was laughing through this whole thing. Especially the part regarding the lack of geometric shapes. Great stuff!

@The Strige: If you've read any of my stuff, you know I love me some convo between chars, and that was some GREAT back and forth there.

"Hey, if your sister's supposed to be dead, how do you know short, pale, and psycho works for her?"

Best description of Kaliyo I've heard in awhile, haha!

On a moon, orbiting a planet, in a system you may or may not have heard about....

The door to the shop flew open. He brought his massive blade down on the first person he saw, cleaving the human in two. He closed his eyes and sucked in the screams of the the other two patrons like a deep breath of clean air.

As the body parts hit the ground, the massive beast stood and surveyed the walls. They were adorned with jars, filled with exotic animal parts and an assortment of old relics and skulls.

The Dashade leveled his sword at the shopkeeper, who had wet himself behind the counter. It tainted the otherwise delicious smell of fear coming from him.

"My master requires your assistance." a crumpled sheet of paper flew from the large, clawed hand and bounced off the shopkeeper's head.

"Quickly, worm! Or I will eat your face and feast on your soul!"

This statement caused a patron to soil himself.

The shopkeeper disappeared, shaking, into the back. Within minutes, he came forth with an abundance of the listed relics. More than had been requested.

Khem'Val smiled a toothy grin, causing the last clean patron to faint and wet himself simultaneously.

That the whelp, Ashara, would whine about this being 'too long and complicated', only showed her weakness and ineptitude.

This diplomacy, it was quite easy.