http://www.swtor.com/community/showpost.php?p=6667898&postcount=3869 which is a sequel to http://www.swtor.com/community/showpost.php?p=6663569&postcount=3853

http://www.swtor.com/community/showpost.php?p=6645848&postcount=3806

General Elin Garza stared out the landscape window in her Coruscanti apartment contemplatively, with her hands uniformly behind her back. This was the same position she had been in when the Cathar bounty hunter Juliet Jurard had viciously attacked her for threatening her family. The general’s left foot was in a cast and bandages covered her face as a result of that fight.

Admittedly, Garza had not been prepared for Juliet’s savageness, a truth she wouldn’t admit to anyone.

She had expected the bounty hunter to get angry, to maybe spew some obscenities, but never had Garza planned to be so hatefully ravaged.

It was so…unprofessional.

Garza prized her emotional detachment. It helped her focus on what was important: protecting the Republic and its citizens. Still, what she was going to have to do to Juliet was regrettable. It left a bad taste in even Garza’s mouth. She scolded herself for such thoughts.

All those that did not follow her orders deserved their fates.

*

Dirt flew up in waves behind the speeder as Juliet pressed the throttles harder. Her black helmeted armor protected her from the rocks and occasional bugs that she impacted with as a result of her extreme speed.

She had to get to Vil before it was too late.

A large beautiful house of green painted clay and stone appeared as an expanding dot on the horizon. Juliet would’ve smiled bitterly if her reason for visiting was not so grim. The house was built of non-flammable materials for a reason other than vanity.

She saw shadows move behind the windows towards the door as her speeder slowed to a humming halt ten feet from the front of the porch. The porch door slowly opened and the barrel of a blaster rifle appeared and tracked directly to her heart.

“Identify yourself.” A sharp but familiar voice ordered from safely behind door.

Juliet slung her leg over the side of the speeder to get off and landed on the ground with a puff of dust. She carefully slid her helmet off and hung it on one of the speeder’s throttles before deactivating the vehicle itself. She turned her head towards the porch as the humming of the speeder died and a tense silence engulfed the homestead.

The barrel never Juliet’s heart as her Twi'lek brother Vil’sil Jurard walked carefully through the door and to the end of the porch. Although he still had the blue skin and striking green eyes she dearly remembered, years of living in the outback had taken its toll. Scars covered his callused hands and his eyes held none of the innocence they once had.

Their eyes met: blue to green, sapphire to emerald.

Finally she spoke, breaking the fragile peace with her silky voice. “We need to talk.”

The barrel of Vil’s blaster rifle lowered and he nodded gravely. He set the weapon down on a patio table and turned around to shut the door before sitting down on one of the chairs surrounding the table.

He turned his head to look at her again, where she still stood next to her speeder.

“Then let us talk.” He said, gesturing to the chair opposite him.

*

Vil and Juliet strolled peacefully through the grasses behind the grand house. It had been hard to convince the stubborn Twi’lek that the Republic was threatening his serene existence on the plains of Balmorra, but once she had, relations improved between them. Vil started speaking as they walked.

“Why did you leave Balmorra?”

A loaded question, Juliet thought.

She hesitated before answering. “It wasn’t enough for me.”

That brought Vil to a sudden halt and forced Juliet to stop as well to continue talking.

“What wasn’t enough for you? A nice house, an infinite backyard, living in peace?” he said a bit heatedly, widely spreading his arms to punctuate his point.

His sudden anger made Juliet emotionally recoil. Vil had obviously been troubled by this for a long time. That still gave him no right to judge her.

She responded with just as much heat. “That’s boring, Vil! I don’t want to sit around all day like a sack of potatoes!”

“Sit around all day? Is that how you think my crops get grown and my credits get made?"

The energy seemed to leave Vil as his fury died.

"You didn't even come when she died."

An awkward quietness grew between them as they resumed walking.

Conflicting emotions ran through Juliet. At the time of their mother’s death, she had been doing a job on Hoth, a planet quite far from Balmorra. She hadn’t even received the news until she had returned to her ship a week after arriving on the frozen iceball. At the time Juliet had justified her not going to Balmorra somehow, but she couldn’t recall the excuse now.

Juliet finally asked "Where did you bury her?"

*

Special Ops Commander Brank Relozo was having a philosophical discussion with his droid when his new orders came.

"So you do have emotions?" He asked the droid, an HK-51 unit that had been modified to serve as a mobile healer/ammo carrier.

The HK paused (an odd sentiment, Brank thought) before replying. "Not as you understand them."

Brank took a drink from his mug and thought on the droid's reply. They were sitting at a bar on Coruscant; it was on the upper levels and gave a ten percent discount to soldiers, both good marks in Brank's opinion.

"Could you explain your emotions to me?" Brank asked curiously.

A harsh mechanical imitation of a laugh emanated from the HK's vocoder.

"Alright, whenever I see a target and reach for my blaster to blow them into a pink dust, only to find a medpac instead, I feel like murdering you in your sleep." It explained with bitter humor.

Brank was about to retort when his commlink beeped. He pressed the button to receive and listened for a minute before replying affirmatively and cutting the channel.

"You ever wanted to go to Balmorra, HK?"

*

A lone, giant tree stood vigil proudly over a faded tombstone in the Balmorran plains. Vil and Juliet knelt in front of it respectfully. They were about a mile from Vil's house, but it was still very visible behind them.

"When did it happen?" Juliet asked quietly.

Vil replied. "About four years ago. It was a peaceful death of the old."

A collective shudder went through them as they recalled how their father had been deprived of such an end.

They rose together and began the trek back to the house.

Juliet spoke, a sob on the edge of her voice. "I'm sorry-"

Her apology was cut short when she saw the horrified expression on her brother’s face.

She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when she noticed the red dot centered on his chest and understanding registered in a chilling way. Juliet’s head slowly tracked the source of the red dot to a man standing about ten meters in front of them. This man was aiming the source of the red dot, a blaster sniper rifle, right at Vil.

The man wore generic civilian clothing; no informative insignia of any kind adorned his beige shirt and pants. The only significant thing about him was the weapon he was holding.

“You’re coming with me.” The man said matter-of-factly to Vil.

Comprehension came to Juliet as she realized the reality of the situation. Garza had only one way to control her, and that was through her brother. Killing him would just destroy the only leverage the Republic had.

They were going to take him.

Juliet had left her weapons back at her speeder. She judged the odds of her defeating the man in unarmed combat at the distance he was away from her and concluded that she was poodoo out of luck.

She did all of this thinking in just a few seconds. That was evidently too much time for the man.

“Move it.” He growled at Vil, motioning with the barrel of his weapon to a large extruding rock about a kilometer away. Juliet grasped her brother’s hand and squeezed before she felt his presence recede and leave her alone with the man.

They met eyes. Brown against blue. Hazel against sapphire. Controller against controlled.

“You will find Rizantos Terso, and you will bring him to General Garza.” He said simply.

Then he spoke some words into a wrist commlink and she heard a ship descending a fair distance behind her, likely next to the extruding obelisk. The man kept his sniper on her during his whole walk to the ship.

Juliet heard the ship take off behind her and finally felt safe enough to cry.

@Iryfindel: Chiss trooper! I feel some awesomeness coming on.

Haha! Way to leave Aric speechless. He's such an arse in the beginning... and the middle... maybe it's a cat-man thing.

And that was the first mission I began to dislike Garza. I have two troopers, one let them go (Bro'Kian) and one followed orders (Kiera'Kian). I hated that decision... and so did Kiera'Kian, and from that point, Garza too. Your story brought back that memory of when I chose that decision.

@Frauzet: Digging Rufuro. Interested to see if now that he's caught, can he resist the dark side? Loved the mantra too. looking forward to more from the Thornsverse!

@Marissalf: LOL! I feel for Mel. I only snore if I've been up for 24 hrs straight (don't ask me why, I dunno!), but I never thought I did until my ex-wife told me I was snoring after pulling a 24 shift when I was in the USAF. I argued with everybody about it before that though! I'm not sure I trust Ellis. I think he's evil, but I can't prove it... yet.

@Yoshi: Hahah! I always love how these games give you stuff to wear and it winds up looking like what Weeze was wearing! Loved it! And now that Maiek has a lead, I can't wait to see how he stages the rescue!

Also, Jasin. Not what I expected him to look like! but I like that I now have faces to reference!

@Bright: Ahhh, much better. My Wynston fix has been fulfilled. Gonna have to read more on the Ruth verse stuff apparently. Loved the story. I don't know much about Ruth, but it came across as two people who meant the world to each other (maybe or maybe not romantically) and were driven apart by circumstances, that got brought back together years later, each having grown a lot, but that feeling never left. Great stuffs!

@Alaurin: Using the Smuggler's Dirty Kick ability like that... I think I can forgive you for changing things up a bit. Val's a pretty cool character, might even take Malay's spot as my fave if she keeps it up. I like how Jorgen's warming up to her too. Be interesting to see when Tia gets back on this side.

@YoshiRaphElan: pictures, I love pictures of chars

@Iryfindel: Thanks. There is not much about Ru yet.

Ciner wants me to tell you, that he is NOT vain, and it is absolutely not his fault, that he is good looking!

I like your story. Made the same choices in the conversation. There are so many things to be angry about afterwards, Garza, Jorgan, yourself -- safer to damage the datapad.

"There." He met her eye and smiled crookedly. "Peaceful transition."

No objections to a pimp-prompt. That might be helpful in deciding which story to read next.

@marissalf: Thanks.

I am curious about the next part of your story for Kinka and Melodai, and of course about Ellis.

@alaurin: I understand Val, 12 hours are a very long time when you are waiting for the next message.

@Mrtwo: More minus points for Garza.

@DarthSillyMonkey: Glad you like Ru so far. I kind of spoilered his future here a little bit.

Ru was dropped unceremoniously to the floor in front of a Sith Lord.

Had the fight seemed like an eternity, it was nothing compared to the trip back up to the surface of Coruscant. The Sith who had captured him had been true to his word. There had been only pain. Whenever he had been close to death he had been healed and even that had been painful. Everything else was lost in a blur.

Only the bond to his master offered solace, even when he became aware of her growing desperation. She gave him the feeling that he was not alone and for that he was thankful. It was something he could focus on in all his misery.

After reaching the surface the Sith had called a shuttle. Instead of bringing them back to the Temple where his flight had begun, the shuttle had taken them into orbit to a waiting ship. He had been dimly aware of being dragged through the ships interior by two guards. He was too busy trying to breath shallowly and to ignore the pain from some newly broken ribs to notice much of his surroundings. But on entering the chamber the nauseating wave of corruption emanating from the waiting Sith had penetrated his daze.

“Ah, Eliel, at last. Wonderful.” The Sith Lord exclaimed. “The new specimen.”

Ru stared at the luxurious adornment at the hem of the dark robe in front of him. His captor, apparently Eliel, who hadn’t bothered to introduce himself earlier, stood beside him.

“As you commanded, my lord.” Eliel said with a deep bow.

“I am not a…” Ru started to protest, but a kick from Eliel to his broken ribs cut him short and he ended with a shriek.

“Silence, slave!” Eliel hissed. “In the presence of Lord Morgon you will speak only when called upon!”

I am not a slave. I am not a specimen. I am Runis Roal, Padawan of the Jedi Order. Ru thought as he curled up in pain.

The surge of lightning that suddenly ran through his body made him arch his back to near breaking point. All his nerves were on fire. As abruptly as the lightning had begun it ended. His screams stopped, leaving him lying panting on his back.

“You will also think no improper thoughts, slave!” Morgon stated matter-of-factly. “Heal his ribs!” he ordered Eliel. “I don’t want him to be permanently damaged before I even started my experiments!”

When Eliel started to reduce the fractures with the Force Ru passed out.

“Young, healthy and strong in the Force! Formidable!” Morgon seemed almost joyful.“We know so little about Mirialans. I am going to change that, Eliel!” Morgon lived for his research projects. “Wake him up! But drug him first. And keep him drugged at all times. He must not have access to the Force.”

Eliel did as ordered. He gave Ru a drug that would make using the Force impossible. Afterwards he injected a stimulant to wake him. After a few minutes Ru opened his eyes. Morgon watched him intently as he came to. He smiled when he saw the panic-stricken look on Ru’s face.

“I know what it does.” He explained to Ru. “Maybe you won’t believe me, but I tried it myself. Try as hard as you will, you will not be able to grasp the Force. The drug does no permanent damage. Of course that will be irrelevant for you, because you will be drugged permanently from now on.”

For the first time Ru raised his eyes to look at the Sith lord. He was human like his follower. His hair and beard were dark but graying and his features even. In other robes he would not have stood out in the Jedi Temple except for his dark air.

Morgon looked down at him with an almost fond smile, a man who was proud to have acquired a rare new pet. “Do as you are told, and I will not have to punish you.”

Ru hardly registered Morgon’s words. He frantically tried to get hold of the Force. It was still there but it evaded him. He could feel it, even try to grasp it and then it would slip away. He didn’t feel like there was anything blocking him, no wall or any similar illusion, more like trying to catch a small object under water. You could see it and reach out for it, and when you thought you had it it was pushed away by your own motions.

“Stop it!” Morgon said, which Ru failed to hear in his growing horror. The shock that the Sith sent through Ru jolted him into paying attention though.

Ru remembered his training and tried to calm his breathing. Freaking out wasn’t going to help him. An encouraging feeling spread through him, his master was there.

“How old are you, slave?” Morgon wanted to know.

“I am a pada—aagh” He had expected the lightning, it hurt nonetheless.

“How old are you, slave?” Morgon repeated calmly.

“I am Runis—aargh—Rual—aarrghh.”

“How old are you, slave?”

Ru wouldn’t give in. The question was repeated time and time again. Sweat soaked Ru’s clothes. He was in constant pain. He concentrated on his name, tried not to think about anything else. He would not acknowledge that he was a slave! If he answered the first question there would be more. In his mind he repeated his name like a mantra.

Runis Roal—Runis Roal—Runis Roal

The shocks came in perfect synchronization with his rhythm. He felt the ripples in the Force as Morgon wove strands of Force energy into a complex pattern. Ru’s words and screams mixed and became unintelligible.

Runis Roal—Runis Roal— “Ru—fu—Ro—ooh!” he howled as a powerful surge caught him out of sync and unexpected. His heart stopped its beat for several seconds. Time slowed and stopped. Ru saw his body, he was dead, he would rejoin the Force. He was relieved, he had come through this ordeal. Another burst of energy struck Ru as Morgon ended his ritual. His heart resumed its beat. The bond between Ru and his master had been severed. The thoughts of his name shattered into thousand shards.

Morgon chuckled. “Was that the beginning of an oath? Rufuro? Yes, I think I like the sound of that. Now that we have settled the question of your name, tell me how old you are, Rufuro!”

“F-f-f-fourteen.” He whispered between sobs.

In the Thornsverse Mirialan boys of Ru's age would be joining hunting parties on Mirial. So he would consider himself as "nearly grown up".

The u in Ru is pronounced like the u in ruin.

@ alaurin TY Glad you liked the different language usage, I love using the SW languages. Its also your lucky night there is more.

@DarthSillyMonkey Thanks for the warm welcome. I have never written anything in first person before, nice to know you enjoyed it. Nope the shirt Gault gave him was not rigged to blow or anything, amazingly enough.

@Marissalf Thank you, de-lurking is always scary. My hunter is a nice lady what can I say, and she honestly does not want to see him back in the same situation where she originally found him. Suspicion over Gault doing anything nice is always justified, my smuggler just has not been around long enough to figure that one out yet.

@Lesaberisa He is my favorite con man.

@Bright Thanks Bright, I had a lot of fun writing it.

@frauzet I'm happy you loved my story, seeing that made my day.

@Kabeone Thanks glad you like it. I thought it would be fun to have those two classes working together somehow. Yeah, Mako has the worst timing ever...

I groaned, leaning back into the pillows. Grunting I shifted my weight trying to find some position that didn't hurt. I wasn't really successful. I moved the bag of frozen peas, adjusting them so they covered more of my eyes and less of my poor nose. Gingerly I touched my nose, hissing sharply as I touched the swollen bloodied skin.

The room seemed to darken, but it was hard to tell, the frozen bag did an excellent job of blocking out the light. Gritting my teeth I grabbed the bag, slowly lifting it I managed to open an eye. Well I barely opened it, a mere slit really, but it was better than my other eye, that one was cut and swollen shut.

I was able to make out her back-lit armored silhouette. "Oh hi honey." I hissed in pain as I felt the cuts on my mouth reopen.

A low growl fills the air. Well crud, she noticed. I had hoped things would actually be clotted before she returned from her bounty thing.

"Torian." The word was a bitten growl.

"I do believe that was the name of the tram, yes." I cringed, I really didn't want to cause any more trouble. I really didn't, I was trying to be sociable. I had considered lying to her, but that was a stupid idea dismissed as soon as I thought it, it's not like I would do this to myself. She would know.

Her heavy Beskar plated boots thudded as she crossed to the bed. The bag of peas disappeared replaced by her scowling face. I looked up into those infuriated red eyes and smiled.

She scowled even harder. She bent closer to me inspecting the damage. "Why?"

I sighed, "Well when everyone left, I decided to go downstairs, to work out a little bit." I hissed as I felt my lip split further, bringing a bloody hand to my mouth I touched the aggravated injury. "I mean everyone around here tosses me around like I'm a stuffed bantha doll. It's embarrassing. Well when I got down the stairs I realized Torian was still here. Instead of retreating back up here I decided to try to talk to him.”

“I asked him if he wanted to spar, not my brightest moment I know." I sighed shaking my head and instantly regretted the movement.

"He agreed and we sparred alright, well he sparred and I assumed the role of a training dummy. He even threw in a free Mando'a lesson. He really hates me you know, the things he said to me were not polite. I don't think he has a clue that I have been learning it along with you."

Lyara knelt next to the bed, her armored fingers ghosting over my bruised and bloodied face. "Why are you not in the med bay?"

"I didn't want to get blood all over the place, Mako would notice and it would cause more tension." I reached up and grabbed the bag of peas away from her.

"And finding you bleeding in my bed wouldn't?"

“I planned on using these,” I held up the bag. “Once the swelling went down I was going to hit your 'fresher, clean up a bit.” I closed my eye and returned the peas to my face, wincing when they touched.

“You were going to treat yourself with a bag of peas?”

Well I had thought it was a decent idea but hearing her say it out loud it sounded rather foolish. “I had not expected you back so soon.” My defense sounded just as dumb.

Her aggravated sigh filled the room, “Where else are you hurt?”

“Everywhere, it was a rather thorough training session.” I didn't even try to smile, things were hurting too much, I felt blood trickling down my chin from the reopened cuts.

She spat out a rather colourful string of Cheunh curses; I tried to memorize them, to ask her later what they meant. Then the dull thud of her footfalls as she left the room, they faded as she descended the stairs to the lower level.

Adjusting the bag I waited. Eventually her rhythmic footfall returned, slowly it climbed the stairs, without fanfare, without any explosions. A low voice carried through the air and her footfalls stopped. Her voice rang out through the cargo hold, “Nayc.” Her steady footfall resumed, quickly they crossed the suspended bridge.

The room darkened again, I heard the scrape of her knee hitting the floor as she knelt next to the bed. “I am going to take off your shirt, take a look at you.” I nodded. Her fingers quickly unbuttoned my shirt and started pulling it out of my waistband when I heard her sharp intake of breath.

“What?” I mumbled.

“Your pants!” I felt her hands touch my right hip.

“Yeah, I think they are torn a bit, I fell against the crates in the cargo hold.”

“You fell...” she muttered. “They are most definitely torn,” Her hands moved to my waist unbuttoning my pants. “Think you have it in you to lift your rump so I can slide these off?”

I grunted and managed to lift my rear off the bed. Quickly she slid them down, her touch light as she gently eased them off each leg. “How bad is it?”

I felt her move next to me, her weight settled against me on the mattress. “It pretty much runs the length of your thigh, doesn’t look to deep though.”

“No, I meant my pants,” I managed a small grin. “They are the only pair I own.”

“Your pants.” She sighed. She sounded so annoyed, probably was, I highly doubt she expected to come back to find me bleeding all over her bed. “I think I can fix them, at least well enough for you to wear them out so we can get some new ones.”

“Come, sit up, let me see what else is hurt.”

I nodded, holding my bag to my face as I slowly sat up in bed, my back and side protesting. “Sorry, you need to give up the bag.” I frowned as the bag again disappeared from my hand. She slid my shirt down my arms. “Csei bircisb,” she growled.

I cringed. I hadn't wanted to cause any more problems I was just trying to be sociable. I turned my head trying to look at her out my barely open eye. “I am sorry.”

Her eyes snapped to my face, “What? No, this is not your fault, you have not done anything wrong.” Her hands seemed to be shaking; growling she ripped the top of the sealed container in her hands. The strong smell of salt hit me.

“What is that?”

“It's kolto, it will help a lot.”

“Oh, it looks like green water. Do you have to use that hand held thingy? I have seen Mako use it before, I know beeps are bad.”

“Yeah, your right I should run a diagnostic first, see if there is anything internal.” She set the opened container down and picked up the scanner. She fumbled a few moments before it emitted a ray of green light that she slowly ran over my side, back and head. There were no beeps. Dropping the scanner on the bed she picked up the container of that green kolto stuff and began to slather it on my side.

It was weird, not really watery it was more viscous than that, like thick green honey. It chilled my skin where it was applied, which hurt, but then it began to warm-up soothing the ache. The container seemed unending as she slathered it on my sides above my kidneys, then my stomach, my right shoulder and my lower back.

“So how bad are the bruises?” I still couldn't see very well.

“Bad,” she shook her head frowning.

She moved to my other side and bent over my leg. She grumbled under her breath as she grabbed slim white strips out of the box near my feet. I watched as she gently wiped my leg with a white cloth that smelled of antiseptic, then she opened the little white things, peeling the backing off before putting them over the cut on my leg.

“What are those white things?” I focused as well as I could on her hands as they continued to apply the strips along my thigh.

“They are medical-strips, they will hold it together while it heals. I don't think you need them but you are getting them anyway.” As she finished placing the last one she touched the first one, she smiled and began carefully applying more of the green goop to my leg.

“K, now for your face.”

I closed my eye and clenched my teeth, I knew this was going to sting. I cringed and sucked in a short hissing breath as the damp cloth touched my face. I knew she was trying to be gentle but as battered as my face was I knew it was a pretty hopeless endeavor. I managed to not make any noise as she wiped, I really didn't want her to know how badly it hurt. I breathed a small sigh of relief when I felt the green cooling goo on my chin.

“Does that feel better?” Her breath was warm on my cheek as I nodded. The cooling sensation spread to the cut above my mouth; when her fingers touched my lips I jumped. “What's the matter?”

“It just tickles a little.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“It's alright,” I murmured, I caught myself leaning into her fingers.

Her hands touched my nose and left eye, leaving behind the cooling goo. A small content sigh escaped my lips, that kolto stuff was amazing. Her fingers paused, “Are you ok?”

I nodded, giving her a small smile. Her fingers resumed their work; her warm breath was a surprise. Cracking open my eye, I looked at her perplexed. Her lips were gently puckered, blowing on the cut above my right eye. When she caught me looking, her cheeks bloomed into a dark plum. “When I was little my Mom used to do that to cuts and bruises, blow on them I mean. I .. I am sorry I forgot myself.”

Smiling I ran my finger along her blushed cheek, pushing her hair behind her ear. “Don't be, my Mother did the same thing for me. Thank you for patching me up, that kolto stuff was a much better idea.”

“It is a bit more effective than a bag of frozen peas.”

“Speaking of I should go put them back before they completely thaw out.” I dropped my hand and moved to scoot off the bed. Her hand on my chest stopped me. “What?”

“Don't worry about the peas, we have more, we can just cook them later.” She slid off the bed and started removing her armor, neatly stacking it in the corner. Walking to her wardrobe she pulled off her under armor and pulled on an oversized faded shirt. Quickly she returned to the bed and slid in next to me.

“Shouldn't we close the door?” I glanced at the open doorway.

“Nope, Mako will be looking for her med kit, if the door is closed they will think we are up to something other than napping. And I’m tired, I need a good nap, the bounty was a runner and then having to play medic didn't help.”

“Mako will see the scanner thingy wont she?”

“Yes,” Lyara nodded, “she will. I need sleep and time to think, before I decide how to handle that whole mess.”

“I am sorry,” I said as I rolled onto my side to look at her.

She shook her head and frowned, “You did nothing wrong. If you really want to get into a fitness routine I will help you, I have a pretty good idea where to start you. I can actually teach you how to fight someone in close quarters but I will warn you I don't fight fair.”

I sighed, “I don't care if it is fair, it can be completely dirty, I don't ever want to go through that again.”

Some more translations

Cheunh:

csei bircisb « that bastard »

Mando'a :

Nayc « no »

I also took a few liberties with kolto, no idea how it supposed to work, just that its from the ocean on a water planet.

@Yoshi: I'm really loving this next generation! I do have to wonder why Weeze had such an interesting fashion ensemble in his possession! Also, yay pics!!!

@frauzet: *sigh* warm fuzzies with Ciner and Vette.... Then, GAH!!!! Poor Ru.....that brought tears to my eyes!!

Also, I'm glad you liked Val, and 12 hours is a very long time to wait!

@alaurin, I can see using hard workouts as a way to try to work off or let loose or escape strong feelings. Too bad it can't fix them.

Also, *sigh* I love the fluffy fluff......it's a warm snuggly feeling.

@Iryfindel: I really hated that Trooper mission. I could never bring myself to kill those people. It was nice to read your take on it since I've often wondered what happened if you did choose to follow orders. I'm liking the hostilities between her and Jorgan....it'll be interesting to see how that plays out!

@marissalf: Thanks for the story so far stuff. It was a good catch up for me since it's been a while since I've read some of the earlier Kinka stuff.

@Mrtwo: Welcome back!!! I was hoping we would be seeing the fallout from that fight between Juliet and Garza! i hope there's more coming!

@Alaurin: Using the Smuggler's Dirty Kick ability like that... I think I can forgive you for changing things up a bit. Val's a pretty cool character, might even take Malay's spot as my fave if she keeps it up. I like how Jorgen's warming up to her too. Be interesting to see when Tia gets back on this side.

@Kitar: I'm loving Lyara and Tuaq!!!! Yikes, that took guts to face Torian. Hehe, peas.....I remember my mom making my brother put a bag of peas on his face after he got a shiner trying to give me an underdog on the swings when we were little!!

“The apartment’s just up ahead,” Aric called out over the roar of his cannon fire. He saw one of the men he was shooting at drop dead suddenly as Val appeared behind him. The other man turned to see what had killed his partner just in time to take a blaster bolt to the face.

There were a little ways into Black Sun territory and had already been fighting for a while. Garza had discovered what Tavus was up to with Black Sun and they were on their way to rendezvous with an undercover Spec Forces agent who had the details.

“I should be able to patch you up there, Corso,” Val assured him as he leaned on Aric to walk.

“I’m sorry I’m slowing you down,” Corso muttered weakly.

“You took a blaster bolt that might have killed me,” Val replied, worried about how pale he was getting, “Thank you for saving my life!! I could care less that we’re moving slower!”

“That took guts, Corso,” Aric admitted as he helped the wounded man along the corridor, “I think we’re both thankful you’re still alive.”

They went inside the apartment to find a young, dark haired woman waiting for them.

“I’m Sergeant Ava Jaxo,” she introduced herself, “General Garza told me you were coming and….oh, what happened?”

“I’m Captain Jorgan,” Aric replied, “and this is Captain Tarenz and Corso Riggs. Corso was injured while we were fighting our way here.”

“Set him on the bed over there,” Jaxo pointed, “I’ll go get my med kit.....I’m no medic though.”

“I know enough to patch him up,” Val insisted, “but I may need some stuff from your kit.”

Val and Aric helped Corso get his chest and back plates off and as soon as they got his under armor off, Val was shocked at how bad he was injured, “Stars, Corso,” she gasped as Aric helped lay him back, “why didn’t you say something?!”

“I didn’t want you to worry,” he grunted as Val began to clean out the gaping wound that ran down his side.

“You’ve lost a lot of blood,” she told him, “I’m going to scan you to see if there’s any internal damage before I close the wound up. I don’t think you’ll be able to continue on with us though.”

“I’m not leaving you, Captain,” Corso insisted.

“I’ll keep her safe,” Aric assured the quiet man he was beginning to respect, “Val’s right, even without any medical training, I can tell you’re too weak to fight. I won’t risk your life.”

“He can stay here with me,” Jaxo offered, sounding a little too eager to Val, “I’d be happy to take care of him while you two are gone.”

I’ll bet she would, Val thought as she ran the scanner down Corso’s side, not liking the way the beautiful Human was eyeing Corso.

“He won’t need any caring for,” she snapped, “He just needs to rest.”

“Captain?” Corso whispered, a questioning look on his face.

“Sorry, Sergeant Jaxo,” Val sighed, a little embarrassed to realize she was jealous, “I….uh….I don’t handle stress well. Thank you for allowing Corso to stay here. The scans show no internal damage, so I’m just going to stitch him up.”

“It’s okay,” Jaxo smiled at her, realizing the young Mirialan was a little jealous despite her attempt to hide it and after seeing that bronze body, Ava could hardly blame her, “I understand and don’t worry, I’ll follow any instructions you have for him.”

Jaxo explained the situation to them as Val stitched Corso up. They needed to neutralize a deadly nerve gas that Black Sun was shipping to Tavus. Jaxo gave them a case of chemical vials, which would render the gas inert, that they needed to inject into the canisters. There was also a large red case that had been moved into Black Sun Headquarters under heavy guard. They needed to find that case and bring back whatever was inside if possible. Luckily, the canisters and the case were in the same place where the computers Val needed to slice into were located.

By the time Val finished tending to Corso, he was so weak he could barely stay awake. It was up to her and Aric to continue on. However, with just the two of them going through Black Sun territory, Val realized they’d be able to use her stealth generator and said as much.

“Have you used one before?” Val asked Aric.

“I did when I was with the Deadeyes,” he admitted, “but it’s been a while and never in tandem.”

“Well, I only have the one,” Val explained, “but it should cover us both and it’ll make the trip a lot faster if we don’t have to stop and kill people every few minutes. However, we need to be in very close proximity so we better practice moving together.”

They started walking around the apartment, Aric getting as close as he could while holding his cannon, but Jaxo was able to see him.

“Try keeping your cannon strapped to your back, Captain Jorgan,” Jaxo advised, “Just have your sidearm out. That’ll let you get closer to Captain Tarenz while still being armed.”

Aric tried that and moved closer to the petite Mirialan, putting a hand on her slender hip. Val activated her generator and finally they were able to walk around the apartment unseen.

“I think you’ve got it!” Jaxo told them, “I couldn’t see either of you that last time.”

“What about you, Corso?” Val asked, “Could you see us?”

“Not a thing,” he replied, sounding a little irritated.

Aric didn’t miss the glare the younger man gave him or the tone of his voice and realized Corso wasn’t happy with him being that close to and touching Val. He had a feeling yesterday that the Mantellian was taken with the young Captain, but this confirmed it. He’d find a way to let Corso know later that he wasn’t interested Val in that way.

“Just make sure Corso rests while we’re gone,” Val told Jaxo, “and he needs to drink a lot of fluids, juice preferably if you have it. His bandages look good so you don’t need to touch him…..err….them at all.”

“Don’t worry,” Jaxo nodded, unable hold back a smile at Val’s jealousy, “He’s in good hands.”

“Jealous?” Aric asked noticing the glare Val gave Jaxo as they left her apartment.

“Stuff it, Jorgan!” Val retorted.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he grinned.

“I’m glad that amuses you!” Val shot back.

“It does,” Aric laughed, she must have missed the look Corso gave me a few minutes ago.

“Ready?” Val asked as they approached the end of the corridor, her hand on her stealth generator.

“Let’s do this,” he replied, grabbing his sidearm and moving closer to her.

Val grabbed her own blaster and as soon as she felt Aric’s hand on her hip, she activated the generator and they both vanished from sight. Despite having to walk a little slower, being careful with their movements, they went along much faster and soon found themselves at Black Sun Headquarters. They knew they’d have to fight in order to neutralize the gas canisters and slice into the computers, so Val snuck them behind the nearest group and used her shotgun to kill him instantly. Aric quickly grabbed his cannon and charged it up, wincing as he saw Val kick the man that came after her in the groin and blast him in the head. She moved out of the way as Aric sprayed the rest of the group with cannon fire. They moved down the left corridor and Val stealthed as he threw a grenade into the next group, gaining their attention. Val appeared behind the group, killing two of them quickly. After clearing out the first room, Aric found a canister and injected it with the chemical Jaxo gave him while Val sliced into the computer terminal. As soon as she finished downloading the data onto her datapad, they left that first room and went on to the next.

A little while later, Aric had neutralized all of the canisters and Val had sliced into all of the computers. They found the locked red case in the last room they went into and Val sliced it open. There were two very nice blasters inside and Aric packed them into his backpack to take back to Jaxo for Garza. Once again, Aric got close to Val and they both vanished under her generator. They carefully made their way to Black Sun’s communications vault, quickly dispatching the few gang members inside. Val uploaded the data into one of the Holoprojectors and a few moments later, Skavak’s image appeared along with a very large Cathar, Urbax. Skavak was in trouble and needed Urbax to take out an alien lawman that had been after him. The lawman was currently at the spaceport, waiting to ambush him. Skavak promised to pay very well for Urbax to take care of this problem.

“A small lead,” Val sighed, “but maybe I can get some useful information from this lawman or Urbax. Guess I’m headed for the spaceport as soon as we get back to Jaxo’s place.”

“I’ll come with you,” Aric nodded, “I don’t think Corso’s going to be ready to do any fighting yet.”

“Thanks, Aric,” Val replied as they left the vault and vanished under her stealth generator.

It didn’t take them long to return to Jaxo’s apartment. Corso woke when they arrived and his color looked a little better. Val told him what they found out about Skavak and Aric gave Jaxo the blasters he found in the red case. Corso was arguing with Val and Aric, insisting he was fine to go with them to the Spaceport when Aric’s Holocommunicator went off. It was General Garza with bad news. Three members of the Senate found out about the defection and wanted to talk to Aric immediately. It was an informal inquiry, but Garza had no choice but to order Aric to testify. She did, however, remind him that their job would be easier if few people knew what had happened.

“Damn,” Aric growled, “I don’t know what they expect me to be able to tell them. I wasn’t actually in there.”

“Then that’s what you tell them. Just leave out the part where you heard anything after you lost the camera feed,” Val shrugged, “You lost Tia’s feed and that’s it, they disappeared. You don’t know where or why. Simple as that.”

“She’s got a point,” Corso agreed, pulling his under armor back on, “I doubt General Garza told them what you heard. She doesn’t seem to like politicians very much.”

As soon as Corso finished putting his plating on, they left Jaxo’s apartment. Aric bit back a smile when he noticed Corso putting himself between him and Val. They fought their way through Black Sun to get back to the taxi station. Luckily, there were fewer gang members out and although Corso was weak, he was able to assist from a distance, throwing in grenades blasting anyone that came too close with his rifle.

Val checked his bandages in the taxi and noticed he was bleeding a little, “I still don’t think you should be fighting right now, Corso. You’re bleeding again.”

“I’ll be fine,” he muttered, not wanting Val to face this Urbax guy without him, “I don’t want you going in alone.”

“She’s not,” Aric told him, “I planned on going with her.”

“What about the Senators?” Val asked.

“I could care less,” Aric replied, “If they want to talk to me bad enough, they’ll wait. I couldn’t have gotten this far without you guys and there’s no way I’m letting you take on this gang leader by yourself. Corso, you know you’re injured and you’re smart enough to know your limits. If you want to come in as well, that’s your choice, but you’re a good man and I’d hate to see something happen to you.”

They arrived at the taxi station and walked to the Spaceport. The three of them took the elevator and went to the hanger where the lawman was waiting for Skavak. Despite how weak was and that Aric was going in with her, Corso couldn’t bring himself to just wait outside and went into the hanger with them. Aric couldn’t blame him, the pretty little Mirialan had a way about her that a man couldn’t help but want to protect. Corso was smart enough to know he couldn’t take much damage, so he let Aric draw fire first, then joined in. There were few gang members in the hanger and were easily taken care of.

They could see Urbax in the distance in confrontation with a Sullustan. The huge Cathar turned around and told Val to walk away while she still could. Val was getting seriously worried about Corso, who was struggling to stand, yet refused to stay out of combat. She knew he was bleeding again and didn’t want to risk a fight. Then a wicked idea formed, well, it worked once…..she thought with a smile.

“Hey, I’m kinda curious about something,” Val told Urbax as she sauntered up to him, “I’ve heard you Cathar guys are….uh….very well endowed…..you know….down there. My friend back there’s too shy to show off his goods, so whacha think? You don’t seem like the shy type and….well…. I’m sick of getting teased by my girlfriends because I’m clueless about this stuff…..you know?”

“Well, well,” Urbax grinned, a low growl coming from him, “I’d be happy to satisfy your…..curiosity. Just let me deal with this lawman and we can go back to my place.”

Val noticed he’d relaxed his grip on his rifle, “Well, I really don’t want to wait….” With that, she kicked the huge Cathar in his endowments and he dropped with a high pitched growl. Corso and Aric had a sick feeling what was going to happen when Val approached the huge Cathar and were ready when he went down. The three of them quickly took out Urbax and his cronies.

“Dammit,” Aric growled, wincing as he secured his cannon on his back, “I knew it was coming and it still…..”

“I know,” Corso sighed weakly as he leaned on Aric for support, “It’s like seeing a pod racer lose control……you know it’s going to crash, but you just can’t look away.”

“Please don’t even try to tell me you weren’t leading that guy on,” Aric told Val as she approached them, the Sullustan following her.

“Oh, I was actually trying to flirt that time,” Val assured them, “So…..how’d I do? Oh….damn…..I forgot to show off my goods…..I’ll try to remember that next time.”

“Well,” Corso sighed, “You’ve definitely got an interesting approach……very....uh...direct and right to the point.”

“Don’t encourage her!” Aric growled, “Do you really want her going around flirting with men just so she can kick them in the…..kark, I can’t even say it.”

“Baby,” Val smirked.

“I’m not a baby!” Aric insisted, “That’s a real sensitive spot for a guy.”

“He’s right, Captain,” Corso agreed, “and it doesn’t take much to hurt a guy there.”

“Eh, good to know,” Val nodded.

“Way to go man,” Aric shook his head, noticing the Sullustan was looking anxiously at Val, “Don’t worry, you’re safe. You a lawman?”

“Yes,” the Sullustan told them, “I’m Miel Muwn. I’m tracking a thief, Skavak. He stole a rare, priceless artifact from Sullust and I’ve been tasked with recovering it and bringing him to justice.”

“I’m after him too,” Val nodded, “He stole my starship. Any ideas where he’s at?”

“No, I’m afraid,” Miel admitted, “I tracked him to this hanger, but it was empty when I got here. I was waiting for him to return when these men showed up.”

Val heard her datapad chime and felt a surge of hope that it was a message from Tia, “Look, Miel, how about we exchange contact info and if you locate Skavak, call me and I’ll do the same. Right now, I need to get my friend here to a med center.”

Miel agreed and after exchanging information, the Sullustan rushed off to continue his hunt. As soon as he was gone, Val grabbed her datapad and checked for messages.

“There’s a message from Tia,” Val sighed, relieved to hear from her, “Aric, hurry and get to that inquiry. I’ll contact Darmas and see if he has any info for me on Skavak. We can meet in Garza’s office and I’ll see what I can do for Corso while we wait for you.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Aric agreed and quickly left for the Senate Tower.

“Captain,” Corso grunted as Val helped support him while they walked out of the hanger, “I’m sorry I refused to stay behind while injured, but I promised to help you hunt Skavak and get your ship back.”

“I know, Corso,” Val told him gently, “and I really appreciate you helping and protecting me. I’m glad you’re with me and I don’t say that often about a person, but I don’t want anything happening to you either.” She felt her face heat up a little, “I….uh….like you, Corso. I don’t have many friends, but I consider you as one.”

“Thanks, Val,” Corso replied, blushing a little himself, “I like you too.”

They stopped at one of the park benches in front of the Senate Tower and Val contacted Darmas. Darmas told them Skavak was spotted in Justicar territory. He had little information for them at this point, but he assured Val he had a couple of informants tracking him and would contact her when he knew more.

“I think you’re going to need a tank, Corso,” Val grunted, Corso leaning heavily on her as they walked into the Senate Tower.

“Sorry, Val,” Corso murmured, trying to take some of his weight off the small woman.

They entered Garza’s office to find the General waiting for them. She quickly ushered them into her office and blanched when she saw Corso.

“Young man, you need to be in a kolto tank!” Garza insisted, helping Val get him in a chair, “Captain Jorgan contacted me on his way to the inquiry and said you had a message. As soon as were done here, get Mister Riggs to the med center in the military complex. I’ll see to it that there’s a tank waiting for him by the time you get there.”

“I don’t need…..” Corso insisted as Aric came into the room.

“Don’t even think about arguing with me young man,” Garza told him, “You can’t even stand up on your own.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Corso nodded, a little afraid of the General.

Val was already at Garza’s computer terminal working on decrypting the message, “Looks like its only text this time…..and here we go.” She put the message up on the large wall monitor.

Not much time, I’m being sent to Taris with Needles for some research project. We’re leaving in a few minutes. Wraith is also being sent out, but Tavus never told us where. She just left, but Tavus spoke with her just before she took off. I overheard enough of the conversation to know she’s on her way to Coruscant to bag a Senator and take him to a place called Port Raga. I also saw them kissing and not just a good luck peck on the cheek…..they’re definitely intimate. She could be a possible weakness to exploit if you can capture her alive. No idea where the others are being sent yet, but I’ll send another message as soon as I find out anything more.

Tia

“I like the way that girl thinks!” Garza nodded, “I have a good idea which Senators Wraith could be targeting and I’ll put watch teams on them. Hopefully we can capture her when she goes after one of them. If Sergeant Vleska’s right and they’re intimate, we could use her to draw out Tavus.”

“How do you know what Senators Wraith will target, sir?” Aric asked.

“I don’t know for certain,” Garza explained, “but there are three that Tavus and the others hold a grudge against. In fact, they’re the same ones from the inquiry you just went to, Captain. They were the ones directly involved with Ando Prime.”

“The Senators brought up Ando Prime,” Aric told her, “What happened there?”

“Well, it’s classified, but since it relates to what’s happening now, I’ll tell you,” Garza replied, “Havoc was sent to Ando Prime to cut off an Imperial offensive, but intel was wrong and there were a lot more Imperials than we originally thought. When we tried to dispatch an extraction team, the Senate shut us down…..the three Senators from your Inquiry were the ones responsible for halting the mission. Havoc was stranded, no support and no way home. Kardan was the one in command of Havoc at the time and despite the odds, he got his squad out of there, retiring shortly after.”

“That’s definitely a good reason to hold a grudge,” Val spoke up, “It’s very likely she’s going after one of those three. What about that Kardan guy? Tia mentioned him in her last message….he’s the one on Coruscant, right?”

“That’s right,” Garza answered, “and I’ve located him. He was spotted working with the Justicars. They’re a local vigilante group that’s managed to take over an entire sector. They’re mostly ex-military, so you’ll have to get through a literal army to get to Kardan.”

“Skavak’s there too,” Corso replied.

“I’m sending you three in there first thing tomorrow,” Garza told them, “Find Kadan and try to get him to surrender peacefully. He’s close to Tavus and the others, and we might be able to use him to end this quickly. Hopefully you’ll be able to find Skavak as well and get your ship back, Captain Tarenz.”

“We’ll be ready, sir,” Aric assured her.

“Good,” Garza replied, “Now the two of you get this young man to the med center. I know he’ll insist on going with you tomorrow and in order for that to happen, he’s going to be spending the night in a tank whether he likes it or not.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Corso replied, a weak smile on his pale face.

A half an hour later, Val was pacing in front of a kolto tank, wringing her hands while two medics fitted a mask over Corso’s face and lowered him in. She watched his brown eyes drift shut as the sedation meds kicked in. It’s my fault he’s in there….

“Captain,” one of the medics interrupted Val’s thoughts, “You should go get some rest. Your friend will be just fine. In fact, he’s going to be sleeping the entire time he’s in there. By morning, he’ll be back to normal. Trust me, General Garza will have our heads if anything happens to him.”

Val nodded, blinking back tears as she allowed Aric to escort her to their suite, “It’s my fault he’s in here,” she admitted.

“No, it’s not,” Aric assured her, “Most men would’ve done the same as Corso did. It’s a protective instinct we have. He saw a threat to a woman and reacted. I’d have done the same if I had been the one to see it.”

“Yeah, but don’t you see women in danger all of the time in the service?”

“Certainly,” Aric grinned as he unlocked the door to their suite, “and I’ve been dressed down several times by a female officer for being over protective. Corso’s going to be fine and back to his over protective self by morning.”

“Thanks, Aric,” Val smiled, “I guess I feel a little better. I think I’m going to go to bed though.”

“Me too, goodnight.”

Val bade him goodnight and went into her room. She changed into the T-shirt she borrowed from Corso to sleep in last night and climbed into bed. She lay in bed staring at the ceiling, missing Tia and Kat. She really wished she could talk to one of them right now. Having never been intimate with a man, she had absolutely no idea what to do about the feelings she was starting to have for the handsome Mantellian she only met a week ago. Please, force, keep Tia and Kat safe…..and Zyra wherever she is…..and please let Corso be alright.

So. People.

http://www.swtorshenanigans.net/wiki/images/5/53/Ruthverse_09242013_730px.png

The original heart of this universe was Ruth Means Compassion (RMC), an arc told in three parallel timelines following the rise, fall, recovery, and interwoven romance of Ruth Niral, mother and friend, the Emperor's Wrath. Imperial Agent Wynston and Jedi Knight Larr Gith appeared for parts of the story. That was all formalized and noticeably edited into a PDF . (All other PDFs I link are transcribed nearly word-for-word from the source thread material, and are presented only as a format alternative.) RMC is about 76k words, plus some appendices with miscellaneous older SFC entries. Spoilers for JK, SW, and IA.

Ruth hardly felt it when she fell to the ground. Her legs were heavy. Her shock was something else entirely. “Wynston?” she said. “By the Emperor’s own name. Wynston. I was sure you’d gotten yourself killed ages ago.”

 

“Ruth,” said the former Imperial agent, in something approaching a friendly tone. Then he smiled crookedly. “I should kill you. I’m supposed to kill you.”

 

“I thought we agreed not to do that.”

 

“Not quite. We tactfully skirted the subject, as I recall.”

 

“One of these days I’m going to find a man who doesn’t have to tactfully skirt the ‘let’s not kill each other’ issue,” she said.

 

“And if you’re anything like I remember, you’ll despise him for having no conviction greater than himself. Listen, you can’t kill Larr Gith. You mustn’t.”

 

Her will hardened. “I have my orders.”

The tantalizing fact that Wynston was almost right for Ruth - almost - led me to tweak his capacity for openness and commitment and follow the consequences down into Lodestone, a rushed but enthusiastic romance AU parallel to RMC's Timelines 2 and 3. It centers on Wynston and Ruth with some appearances from Larr Gith. About 108k words. Spoilers for JK, SW, and IA.

"I don't…I don't love you."

 

"I would be a little worried if you did," he said. "That was never us."

 

"Will it be easier this way?"

 

Wynston hesitated. The honesty policy was rapidly getting him lost. "What do you want to hear, darling?"

 

Ruth tensed. "Somebody already told me what I wanted to hear," she said harshly. "Tell me the truth if you have one."

 

"Ah." He sighed. "Truthfully? I'm not the best person to ask. You know what I am. Love's a word for me, a tool, a game at best. I know it means something to people but I've never felt what they're supposed to feel and I've never felt the worse for its absence." Until recently. "I have a few years on you, but I think you've been more in love than me."

 

"For all the good it did me."

 

He guided her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "I wanted better for you. When I saw the way you were with him I thought that if anyone in this galaxy could make that word real, could make it more than a story, it would be you."

Meanwhile in canon, certain considerations made me want to do something lighthearted after the end of RMC, and that turned into the episodic comedy Don't Call them Ruth-less, for which kabeone made this glorious picture:

http://www.swtorshenanigans.net/wiki/images/7/77/Wynston_and_quinn_by_kabeone_730px.png

The younger generation, Hazard, Pierce Junior, and Ruth and Quinn's son Rylon Niral, come out to play as secondaries to our two dashing spies. Our two dashing spies despise each other, but shared history and shared concern for the mission being what it is, they stick around. There's a galaxy to protect and they certainly don't trust each other to do it. Ruth-less runs about 44k words. By and large it depends only on RMC as background; the few game spoilers are marked on a per-story basis.

Wynston ran his hands through his hair and frowned. "The sooner you ditch the air of noble tragedy, the sooner women will stop clinging to you like mynocks on a circuit breaker."

 

"I don't have an air of noble tragedy," Quinn said indignantly.

 

“According to my interviewees, you really do.”

 

“You interview the women who follow me around on jobs?”

 

“Just analyzing where I went wrong since you showed up.”

 

“I thought the difficulty was supposed to be resolved when I started selecting hopelessly unattractive disguises.”

 

“That was the theory. But even the leprous Houk got a girl or two pining from afar for no evident reason.”

 

“You must be joking.”

 

“So get a hobby. Lighten up. Ditch the brooding. I really think it’ll make the difference.”

 

“Go to hell.”

 

“Quinn, I find myself in a galaxy where I can no longer command female attention at will. If that isn’t hell, I don’t know what is.”

And that's the Ruth!verse in all its messy glory.

NDOW!verse:

There Is No Death, There Is Only Wrath (NDOW) was my very first fic thread. It started episodic and turned into an arc as it went. It follows the whimsical Dark Side adventures of Sith Warrior Nalenne, who killed her husband at a certain point but finds him back on her ship post-game. Her efforts to deal with him occupy much of the time that she would rather spend reading comic books, treating her friends to nice things, or killing stuff. The Comic-Con 3-parter is the class crossover I'm proudest of out of all my stories. NDOW runs about 68k words, split into 100 short digestible chapters. Convenient PDF download. SW spoilers galore, with Sith Inquisitor spoilers at some critical points.

"I never believed in an afterlife," said ghost-Quinn to nobody in particular.

 

Pierce looked up from his supper and snorted. "Neither did I. But I'm faster to question the great beyond than I am to question milord's word when she says she offed you, so, there you have it."

 

"It is known that the hunting grounds beyond the white veil are endless and beautiful, with eternal glorious battle, but no Talz has ever returned to give us word. The clan passes through the veil but once, and so we must trust that the words of our ancestors are true to the mystery, and face it ourselves without fear. If Sith clan's dumbest one has returned, surely the veil itself has rejected him and denied him the killing frenzy that true warriors are granted," said Broonmark.

 

"Anybody catch that?" said Vette.

 

Nalenne shook her head. "I got hunting, death, battle, death, death, terror, my weak stupid prey, death, killing, battle. I'm missing a bunch of stuff in between."

 

"Sith clan makes progress in understanding," buzzed Broonmark affectionately.

 

"Aw," said Nalenne, who had learned to recognize his few encouraging statements long ago.

 

Vette looked dubiously at the Talz. "He's pretty focused with the vocab lessons, huh?"

 

Nalenne shrugged. "We talk about what we have in common."

No Death, Only Wrath: The Helicarrier Chronicles is a continuation of Nalenne and her twin Niselle's adventures. It introduces Insanity Company, an elite military unit featuring some of the game's most gung-ho Imperial NPCs. About 57k words. SW spoilers generally assumed and JK spoilers start showing up halfway through.

Lieutenant Hareth greeted Quinn and Rutau with an almost cartoonishly tight salute. "Sir," she said. "It's an honor to meet the commander of Insanity Company." Her crimson eyes flashed. "They say it has a higher fatality rate than any unit in the Imperial Army."

 

Quinn inclined his head slightly. "At ease, Lieutenant. I intend to change that statistic. Without compromising work performance, of course."

 

"Oh," she said. She sounded disappointed. "It is the greatest of glories to die for the Emperor."

 

"In my experience," said Quinn, "it is a far more effective use of resources to live for the Emperor. Risking one's life is necessary but discarding it is generally considered inadvisable."

 

"He will grant us eternal life once we are consumed for His glory."

 

Rutau cleared his throat. "Lieutenant, that isn't an official policy that I'm aware of. In fact, I don't think it's true at all."

 

"The one time I died in service of the Empire," added Quinn, "I was not granted any particular advantage."

Vierce!verse:

Republic Trooper and veteran resistance fighter Vierce Savins had a thread, Overcoming Adviercity, that added some class-mission material to the Elara Dorne drama on the SFC. The thread has been retired in favor of SFC shorts, mostly set within the class line. Vierce's heart-of-gold brother Kirsk shows up regularly. There are 66k-ish words distributed between Adviercity and the SFC, involving TR spoilers through Act 2.

"Did I mention she's terrified of you?"

 

"She is not."

 

"Vierce, you just found out she has a brother and your first reaction was 'hey, can I kill him?'"

 

"That's my first reaction to all Imps."

 

"Yeah. It's scary."

 

I tried to rub some of the tension out of my neck. "I don't see what I can do here. The kindest thing would be to just lock this so she can't access it, pass it upstairs and let them clean it up, because if I do run across his people it's going to be blood."

 

"You could try capture," said Kirsk.

 

"Since when do I capture Imps?"

 

"Since you suited up Republic? Think about it. Show up. Heartwarming family reunion. Grab some souvenir POWs. Everybody goes home happy except the Imps. That sounds practically ideal."

Meanwhile a What If? prompt shot into a thriller AU, Cross Faction, pitting Vierce against the grasping Cipher Nine. That forms a complete story that was told on the AU thread and was collected to be read/downloaded (see linked title). Probably my favorite psychological work. 44k words including some introductory overlap with canon Vierce. TR Spoilers through Act 2 and IA spoilers through endgame.

Cipher Nine kept talking. "As long as you're holding on to this I own you. I've had better hangers-on, but…you think you're setting the galaxy right, but in truth all you're doing is dancing when I pull your strings. That's power, Vierce. And power is the only language, the only currency, and the only justification that's ever going to matter. You and your girl don't have any. That's why the Empire wins. That's why I win."

 

"You're not nearly as powerful as you think, Cipher. And you don't have a whole lot of time left."

 

"Hmm." He tilted his head. "Were you really not banging her? Because all this seems a little extreme for duty's sake."

 

I didn't think the son of a b*tch could get worse, but he was clearly enjoying digging. "You be quiet," I snarled.

 

"I'm just saying, you were notoriously hostile throughout her assignment with her. Unless there was some major secret advantage here I really am kind of stumped as to the motivation."

 

"Shut up." The bastard just laughed. "You want to know my motivation? Scum like you is still sucking air. That'd keep me on your case from here 'til doomsday, but I'm betting you won't last that long."

3SWar!verse:

Spoiler Warning: Sith Warrior Sevasht Warwiggins sprang out of a desire for meta Sith Warrior commentary, and so he does a goofy take on the Sith Warrior line, playing through while trying to conceal The Secret from his companions, who are the only people who don't know this is a game. This story has my favorite Quinn arc of any I've written. The format is a series of short scripts for comic strips. About 22k words, SW spoilers throughout. Convenient PDF download.

- The prison chamber. Everyone turns to the Jedi. -

Broonmark: KILL KILL KILL

Pierce: He has it coming.

Jaesa: KILL KILL KILL

Quinn: I approve.

Sevasht: Do you guys ever talk about anything else?

- frame: silence. Everyone looks awkwardly at each other. -

- frame: Most of the crew is staring at the floor. -

Quinn: …Ship maintenance?

Jaesa: All that sex you won't have with me?

Pierce: Explosives?

Broonmark: …

- frame: Sevasht turns to the Jedi. -

Sevasht: Thanks for the assist. You'd better run for it.

- frame: The Jedi runs. Vette looks at Sevasht. -

Vette: You're all right, Sevasht.

Sevasht: At least somebody thinks so.

Meanwhile Sevasht's brother Aggerton the Agent got a few posts but has since been retired. He has some Hutta IA spoilers.

Aggerton: Is that actually a target painted on your forehead?

Karrels: Hmm?

Aggerton: Nothing. I'm sure it's just the regular quest marker.

Karrels: THAT'S A SECRET.

Aggerton: So? Nobody's listening.

- frame: Karrels points at a Rattataki lounging in the corner. In her silver eyes there is only madness. -

Aggerton: You have got to be kidding me.

Karrels: Nope. Good luck with that one.

FCD!verse:

An episodic humor series I never posted to the SFC, The Adventures of Forced Companions Daycare envisions a daycare where our companions get together as very young children and misbehave within the laws of the universe: that is, everyone sticks around no matter how little sense it makes and there are no meaningful consequences to bad companion behavior. In addition to the regular cast, famous NPC visitors sometimes drop by for the day. FCD runs about 58k words. It has a number of lavish illustrations by kabeone. I have tried to avoid spoilers; the companions present are drawn from SW, SI, IA, JK, SM, TR, and, in later pieces, JC. Plus Skadge.

BABY SKADGE is holding BABY VETTE by one lekku and whipping her with the tip.

BABY SKADGE: Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!

BABY VETTE: Puh-leeze. That gag was old before you were born.

BABY SKADGE: You're still talking. That means I'm not hitting you hard enough.

BABY VETTE squeals in pain.

SCORPIO: I doubt she will ever learn not to antagonize the person who is actively torturing her.

KHEM VAL: That just means she will always be fun to watch.

BABY VECTOR: Mister Khem Val, Miss SCORPIO, we are concerned about Skadge's behavior.

KHEM VAL: You realize there's only one of you, right?

BABY VECTOR: This time we are speaking for everybody else in the room. We especially speak on behalf of Talos.

BABY TALOS, from underneath BABY SKADGE: Mfff mrrff mf.

I maintain a Monster Index of All: individual links, with featured characters, sorted by in-universe chronology, to every story post I've ever made.

"May I ask you a question, sir?"

Kiera'Kian looked over her shoulder. "Dorne, we're not on assignment, we're shopping. Off duty. Relaxing. Kiera is fine."

"As you wish, si--Kiera. It's about your brother."

"Ugh, what'd he do this time? Love him to death, but the guy couldn't catch a clue if it was spelled out in lights on the Senate Tower."

"No, it's nothing like that. Bro'Kian seems... well, I heard him in his room several nights ago. As per regulation 38.142, of the Ministry of Defense Armed Force Handbook, under section 12, artic--"

"The point, Elara. Get to the point." Kiera rolled her eyes.

"Yes, well, I had watch detail that night. Your brother was talking in his sleep and--"

"Bro was? Did he pull 24 hour detail or something?"

"No, but he was out on Hoth for twelve hours with Spec. Vik. Is that important?"

Kiera laughed. "Twelve hours with that chaavla? Yeah, that would explain things. When Bro is absolutely exhausted, he'll either talk in his sleep, or snore... loudly."

"Ah, that would explain the horrendous noise I heard prior then. I thought maybe he was listening to a wildlife tape to help him relax."

"Nope, that would be my bear of a brother." Kiera smiled. "So, anyway, the point?"

"Right. Well, I was wondering... who is Shira-Vod?"

Kiera stopped walking and half- turned her head. "You sure that's what he said? Absolutely sure?" She wasn't smiling anymore.

"Positive. As you know, your brother and I have been involved for some time now. We try to keep it quiet due to service regulati--"

"Yeah, yeah. I know the regs, Dorne." her brow furrowed.

"Well... I... If I may, Kiera, your brother doesn't talk about his past much, and I wonder if maybe... well, if I'm competing against someone for his affection?"

She let out a deep sigh. "Something like that... You want a drink, Elara? I could use a drink."

"Kiera, the re--"

"If the word 'regulation' comes out of your mouth, I swear to you, we will go into the next image enhancement parlor we find, and I will erase it from your face. Now, let's get a drink."

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

"Trust me Elara. This is the best pub on the planet." She addressed the waitress, "Margarita, Durosian style. Just bring the pitcher, please."

"And for you, Ma'am?" The waitress asked expectantly as she smiled at the blond woman

"I'll have water, slice of lemon and lime, thank you."

"That's what I like about you Dorne, you really know how to cut loose." Kiera rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, bring us the spicy nerf-chos too. Thanks."

The waitress gathered the menus and left.

"I would appreciate if you could stop mocking my choices, Sir. Yes, my life is more structured than most, but I shouldn't have to endure constant taunting because of it! "

"Whoa! Relax, Elara! I'm just giving you a hard time. This thing with Bro really has you riled up. I'm sorry, I should have noticed before."

"No, I apologize, si--"

"Kiera."

"--Kiera. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. This is the first time I've had a relationship progress this far. Everything is so random, inconsistent. I don't like inconsistent. It makes me feel... exposed." Elara sighed as she toyed with her napkin.

"Yeah, there’s not really any regulation to refer to regarding love" Kiera grinned. "So... Bro has been talking about Shira in his sleep, has he?"

"Yes. Since the incident on Taris, Bro'Kian calls out to her in his sleep sometimes. Is she an old crush, perhaps? A close friend? Who exactly is this Shira-Vod?

The waitress appeared and placed two glasses on the table, the requested pitcher of margarita, and Elara's glass of water. "Your food will be out shortly."

Kiera smiled and nodded, and then turned her attention back to her friend."Ok, to start with, it's not Shira-Vod, it's just Shira. Vod is Mando for sister."

Elara's expression became puzzled. "So it's a close family friend then? Someone he looks up to? He's only ever talked about you."

Kiera took a long pull from her drink and emptied half the glass. "That's because neither of us talk about her much. Shira is our older sister. Older than me by a few minutes, and older than Bro by five years. We lost her when we were young."

"Oh my..." Elara gasped, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Kiera smiled sardonically, "Of course you didn't. My little brother is a dumba*s. He never talks about himself prior to his military service, so how could you?"

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Kiera finishing her first glass and pouring a second from the pitcher.

Elara ran her finger around the rim of her water glass. "May I... ask what happened?"

Kiera put her hands together and elbows on the table. She was lost in thought for a few moments.

"Elara, if Bro finds out I told you this, it won't be pretty... for either of us. He should have told you himself, but he doesn't like dealing with it."

"I don't understand?"

"Y'know how Bro seems to be real good at knowing when something's... off?"

Elara thought about it for a second. "Yes, now that you mention it, he has an uncanny battle sense. Like he's seen more combat than he actually has."

"My mom used to say Bro was touched by the force. He’s not exactly force sensitive; it's more like a 'sixth sense' type of thing. So you have to bury this conversation when you get back, or he'll know something's changed.”

“I see. Well, a 'sixth sense' would explain his incredible luck." The HAVOC XO smirked.

"Yeah, unfortunately, he relies on that luck a bit too much, if you ask me. Shira taught him better than that."

“Shira was a force sensitive as well?” Elara asked, somewhat surprised.

“Yeah, real strong. Our mom, she was a Jedi during the Great Galactic War. She could sense Shira’s connection and trained her in the basics. Said she was the strongest force sensitive she had ever known.”

“I see, but why did the Jedi never come for her? I understand you came from Bellassa, which would put you in the core worlds. Surely they wouldn't have missed Shira'Kian?”

“Our father wouldn't let the Jedi take her. He has enough pull with the Republic Army that forcing the situation would've caused issues between them and the Order. One doesn't just walk into a decorated general's house and walk out with his daughter.”

"I se-- wait, your father is General Thall'Kian?" Elara's said, shocked.

Kiera grimaced. "The one and only.” She said in a mocking tone, “Decorated for his role in holding off the Sith long enough for 100,000 people escape to the lower levels during the Sacking of Coruscant. The General will happily tell you about it, if you ask... or, if you don't."

"You don't seem very pleased with your father."

"I'm not, but that's another tale for another time. The Jedi wanted Shira to come with them. The General wouldn't allow it. Shira was his first and favorite, and he had serious over-protection issues. So, mom trained her until she would be old enough to go on her own.”

"But,” Elara interrupted, “that never happened.”

“No, it didn’t.” Kiera’Kian sighed deeply. "When we were sixteen and Bro was twelve, Shira disappeared. It just happened one night. We came downstairs that morning... Mom was crying, and the General just sat in his chair staring out the window. We saw them, and we both just... knew. It was surreal."

The food came at that moment. After thanking the waitress, Kiera'Kian pushed her plate away, and poured another glass from the margarita pitcher.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize this was such an emotionally charged subject. I shouldn't have pried." Elara said softly.

"I told you earlier, it ain't your fault, Elara. Bro doesn't talk about it, and you should know."

Kiera continued. "So, we see Mom crying. She never cries. I knew something was wrong, but Bro figured out immediately that Shira wasn't there. He goes tearing out of the house, and into the woods out back, that determined look on his face he always gets when he's set his mind to something."

Elara half-smiled, "Yes. I'm familiar with it, all right."

"I start after him, but Mom, she grabs me and hugs me tight. Through her tears, says 'Let him be. He needs to see for himself'." Kiera took another long drink from her glass.

"Later that night, Bro comes back. He's scratched up, dirty, and barely standing. He was in the woods all day looking for Shira. All he found were some bruises and a brand new gash across his eye.”

Elara nodded, "His scar."

"Yeah. For days, he did the same thing. I went with him a few times. He showed me where he found something that might’ve been tracks, multiple people, but it wasn’t convincing.”

Kiera looked into her drink wistfully. "He told me 'Shira wouldn't run away. She was taken. She's alive, Sis.' I believed him at first, but after awhile, I wasn't sure if he was right, or if he just couldn't let go."

Elara said sadly, "He must've been very close to her."

"Oh, he was." Kiera let out a short laugh, "I was the fraternal twin, but their bond was stronger than the one Shira and I shared. I always chalked it up to the Force."

"From the time he could walk, he was always following her around. He took to adding the vod to her name when he was four. 'Shira-Vod! Shira-Vod!' She never once corrected him”, she smiled.

“They were inseparable. She taught him to track, hunt, fish, sew, cook… anything Shira was doing, he had to learn it. When he had nightmares, he'd cry out for Shira, and she would always be at his side, before my Mom."

"I... know that he cares for you very deeply, Kiera." Elara offered, "He always worries about you when HAVOC-VG gets deployed."

Kiera looked up, surprised. "Oh! Nah, I didn’t mean to give the impression that I'm jealous. He and Shira shared something special, but we have our own thing." She grinned, "If their bond was more mystical, then ours would be based on trustability, like two soldiers who always have each other's back.”

"I don't believe trustability is an actual word," Elara smiled, "but I would enjoy hearing about the two of you."

"Well, there was this one time, back when we were in school..."

The blond woman's green eyes lit up as she leaned forward.

"Ok, so me and Bro, we're not small people. Neither was Shira. We all get that from our Mom." Kiera took a drink.

"So, I'm around twelve. We were at school and I was on the playground getting teased about my size. There were probably, I don't know, five guys calling me 'Kintan-Girl' and 'Rancor chick' and all sorts of kid stuff."

"That must've been horrible for you."

"It was. See, I could take three of those kids, four was iffy, but five? No way."

Elara rolled her eyes. "Of course. Most little girls would be crying, you know." she said, laughing.

"Yeah, delicate like a flower, I ain't." Kiera grinned. "So anyway, I start tearing up out of frustration. That, of course, causes more teasing. 'Gonna cry, little Kinatan? Why don't you run home to your cave, Kintan baby'. I was so angry! Then, out of nowhere comes Bro. Even at seven, he was as big as a ten yr old. He levels one of these kids with a clothesline."

"He tackles another one to the ground and begins to beat the unholy kark out of him, 'Don't you pick on my sister! How do you like it! Huh? Ain't so funny now is it?!'"

Elara giggled, "That is a very Bro'Kian way of dealing with the situation."

"Yeah, it was great... until he didn't stop." Kiera's tone grew serious, "We were all stunned at his aggression. He was going to kill this kid without realizing it. I mean he's seven, right? You never think you're gonna kill someone when you're seven."

"That's when this hand on my shoulder moved me aside. Shira walked in and gave Bro a shove using the force. Just enough to push him off the kid. Bro got up ready to fight as she walked over and slapped him across the face. After the shock wore off, you would have thought he had his guts ripped out the way he started bawling."

"When she had finished helping the kid up, and instructing his friends to get him to the nurse's office, she turns to Bro, who is still crying his eyes out."

"She says 'True justice doesn't mean beating on those weaker than you, even when they're in the wrong. Making them understand that their words hurt, that has a greater impact than the fear of physical violence. You know better than this.' and then she walks off."

"Oh my..." whispered Elara.

"Yeah, in front of everyone. It screwed with him, which is what Shira wanted. She didn't talk to him for a few days, just to make the 'lesson' sink in."

"I imagine Bro was feeling a bit hurt after that. He tries to hide it, but he's very sensitive."

"Yeah, he hasn't changed much, has he?” She smiled. “He hid out in his room for three days after that. I went in to check on him the next morning and he was just laying on the bed, clutching his pillow. He had been crying into it so no one would hear."

"When I sat down on the bed, he rolls over, looks at me with his tear stained little face and says 'I'm sorry Kiera-Vod. I just wanted them to stop. I didn't want you to cry no more.'" Kiera looked into her half empty glass, nostalgia causing her eyes to become misty." Then he shot up and hugged me tight, crying again. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry' was all he'd say. He wasn't even sure what it was he had done wrong. He just knew everyone thought what he did was wrong."

She looked at Elara with a furrowed brow.

"I was pissed! He hadn't done anything! He just wanted to protect me! After he cried himself to sleep, I stormed into the room Shira and I shared. She was sitting at the desk, looking out the window, crying to herself."

"'Why are you crying?!' I yelled, 'Bro's the one who thinks this is all his fault! How could you do this to him? You're his world!'"

"When she turned around, her face was streaked in tears, and her eyes were all puffy, but they were resolute. 'Kiera, he can't think that was acceptable. He was so angry at that boy! He didn't want to kill him, but he was hurting him, badly. I could feel his rage! He can't be allowed to give into his anger like that.' she tells me."

"'I'm crying because I feel his pain. He's scared that I don't love him anymore. Inside, he's crying out for me to come in there and tell him everything will be all right... and I can't!', then she starts sobbing again. It took all the wind out of my sails, because she was right." Kiera said softly.

"So I kept looking in on him for the next few days. We bonded a lot in that time, but when Shira finally came in, he flew over to her like she was a tractor beam. 'Shira-Vod! I'm so sorry! Please don't hate me!', you could barely make it out through his blubbering."

"Shira hugs him tight and says 'I could never hate you, Vod'ika,' then she kneels down and starts wiping away his tears, 'but you must promise me that you'll never lash out in anger again. It's dangerous for you, and I worry. Don't make Shira-Vod worry, ok?"

Elara was misty-eyed. "She loved her little brother very much, it seems."

"Yeah, like I said, what they had? It was mystical." Kiera smiled nostalgically.

"Anyway, after that Bro changed. It was like he grew up faster than he should have. He learned calming exercises from Mom, studied hard, played hard, and followed the General out to morning exercises every day. It was like he was preparing himself for something."

"When Shira disappeared, he was like a lost dog. He searched, asked questions, tried to talk to the Sherriff… he wouldn't let go. His new desire was to get off planet. He tried to get a job, tried to talk Mom into getting him work at the Jedi Academy. She just smiled, hugged him, and told him what a good little brother he was."

The waitress came over with the bill, and looked at the untouched spicy nerf-chos, "Was everything all right?"

Kiera assured her it was all good, and paid the bill. Then she looked at her friend and continued her story.

"He'd ask Mom about the Order, if there was a list of members, if their trackers were any good at cold cases. He'd ask the General about the Military, how it worked, where you could go, what you could do. Even tried to get in touch with Ba'buir for help."

"Ba'boo err?" Elara looked puzzled.

"Mando for Grandfather. The General doesn't like to admit it, but he's the son of a true Mando'ade. A former great hunt participant, even. Ba'buir fought, and was defeated by, the Grand Champion of that hunt, Bloodworthy."

"Ahh, I see now,” she said, "and since Mandalorians are some of the finest manhunters in the galaxy, Bro'Kian wanted to enlist his grandfather's assistance in finding Shira."

"Exactly. The General would have none of that though. He had spurned with his father almost immediately after Shira disappeared. Bro'Kian begged to be allowed to get in contact, but the General refused. There was no love lost between them anyways, so cutting Ba'buir off was no big deal to him."

"Anyway, within five years Bro had worked his way through the local ROTC. He joined the Republic Military within seconds of graduating from scholastic academy we attended. The General almost exploded with pride. 'That boy will make a fine officer!', he'd always say. Mom wasn't fooled though. She knew why he had suddenly taken an interest in military affairs."

Elara caught on immediately. "It allowed him to travel without supervision, and to almost anywhere he wanted to go. He was still looking for his sister."

"Still is. HAVOC gives Bro access to more intel, more resources, deeper secrets. He's never given up, he's just had to put off the search while he deals with more immediate threats... something Shira would've wanted."

"Kiera... thank you." Elara said softly, while looking at her hands. Then she looked at her friend, "I appreciate you telling me all of this. I'm sorry to dredge up such painful memories."

"Nah, it's all good. Really. My brother is a colossal moron sometimes, Elara, but he's good people and he's loyal to a fault. I'm glad he found someone who will appreciate that."

The blond haired woman blushed a bit, "Yes... well, let's head back to the Thunderclap, shall we? The rest of the crew will be returning soon, and I still have reports to write before lights out." She stood up from the table.

Kiera'Kian smiled at HAVOC-CMDO's resident medic. "All right, Elara. We did what I wanted to do, let's head back and do what you want to do. I have some reports that need finishing as well."

As they left the pub and started walking back to the spaceport, Elara looked at Kiera with a cocked eyebrow. "I don't like writing reports, you know. There are other things I enjoy doing."

"Well, I'm not going to be kissing up on my brother all night, so that's out." She chuckled

"Honestly, sir!" She hit Kiera'Kian with her purse and stormed off.

Kiera laughed and ran to catch up.

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

The waitress watched the ladies walk out into the night, smiled, and then went to clear off their table.

The larger woman with a professional athlete's build, medium, dark brown hair, and blue eyes, had tipped extremely well, even though she hadn't touched her food.

The waitress thought this spoke volumes of her character.

The shorter, blond haired, green eyed woman had ordered nothing but water. She had still managed to thank the waitress, and added a positive review for her attentive service throughout the night.

The waitress could tell she had a good heart, but adhered to social rules a bit too tightly. Probably any rules, actually.

She picked the plate of uneaten nerf-chos up with a cloth napkin, and did the same with the glasses and pitcher. As she carried them back through the service area of the pub, she bypassed the cleaning station, and continued into the cold storage locker.

She set the plates and glasses down, closed and locked the thick, insulated door, and pulled out a pair of latex surgical gloves. She tapped the comlink in her ear before slipping the gloves on and taking a case out of a box labeled Thranta Meat.

"Status, Ensign?" The voice came crisply through the bud in her ear.

"Yes, sir. Subjects HAVOC-VG, designate Capt. Kiera'Kian, and HAVOC-CMDO XO, designate Lt. Elara Dorne, are on their way back to the Thunderclap now. I am in the process of retrieving fingerprints, voice recordings, and DNA samples. I should be clear in seven minutes. The grill tanks have been pressurized, and the ignition device will detonate in twelve minutes. Everyone who may have observed me will be terminated by the blast. Debris forensics will point towards a local separatist movement."

"Excellent," the voice in her ear sounded pleased, "the operation is on schedule. I assume video surveillance has been dealt with?"

"Yes, sir. The cloaking device rendered me untraceable."

"Good. Contact Teams K and V. Alert them that target is on the move. Please stress to Team K that non-lethal parameters are in play. Deviance from said parameters will not be tolerated."

"Yes, sir." She heard static and tapped the comlink off.

The waitress finished scanning the finger prints from the glasses, and started swabbing the napkins for skin flakes, loose hair, and the glasses for saliva residue. She had already taken the button sized recording device from the bottom of the plate during her conversation.

That took four minutes to complete and secure. She grabbed a large bag from the shelf, removed clothes from it, and started to strip out of the waitress uniform. She had two minutes to get dressed. She tapped the comlink to life again.

"Teams K and V, target is heading to your location. Confirm mission objectives and parameters."

"Team K here. Just got to beat up the amazon, right?"

"Under what parameters, Team K?"

She heard a large, unapproving sigh through the com, "Yeah, yeah. Can't kill her, just delay her. Doesn't mean I can't get an ear, though."

"Team K, I have specific orders to remind you, non-lethal parameters. Beat her, don't main or kill. Are we clear?"

"Fine! Whatever! Just let us get to it already!"

"Team V?"

"We are to abduct subject Elara Dorne and subdue, but not kill or maim in the process. Then we are to rendezvous at the ship."

"Team K, Team V, commence operation."

The former waitress secured what she came for, tucked the uniform into the bag, and unlocked the cold storage unit. She glanced at the sacks of potatoes in the corner, making sure the body underneath wasn't noticeable, and opened the door.

Checking to see that no one was around, she left from the employee exit, and walked away from the pub quickly.

Exactly four minutes later, she ducked into a nearby alley as the pub exploded into splinters, leaving a crater that no life could've escaped from.

Ensign Raina Temple stepped out of the alley to the sound of screaming and emergency responder vehicles. She deftly made her way in the opposite direction of the explosion, against the wave of curious people that swarmed to it, while still managing to look like part of the crowd.

When she was far enough away from the scene, she tapped her commlink again.

"Dr. Lokin, the package should arrive shortly, as will I. Please have the IX serum ready. We depart the second Teams K and V are secure."

First, big thank you to my buddy Ship, who proofed this for me.

Let me quickly apologize for the wall'o'exposition you just read through. Tried to use a different angle, not sure if it worked as well as I wanted it to.

So, this was supposed to be a stand alone sort of "story so far" entry for my Trooper, Bro'Kian as told by his sister, Kiera'Kian. It was written waaaaay before the last two parts of the Fenn'rys Jobs. Somehow, after I was done, my fingers kept flying and the kidnapping of Lt. Elara Dorne sprung into existence! A little retooling here, cutting of close to 900 words there, and BAM! Now it fits in the Fenn'rys Jobs saga.

A Trooper note, because some of you may be confused. In the DSM-verse, there's more than one HAVOC squad. Just like there's mulitple SeAL teams, Force Recon teams, Pararescue Teams, Garza wouldn't limit Spec Ops to one team. She's sly enough to try and keep the actual number of teams buried deep, even from the other squads though. So HAVOC-VG and HAVOC-CMDO exist in the same 'verse, they just have different specialties.

Since Bro'Kian was first, he lets Kiera'Kian 'borrow' talent from his squad, so she'll have stories with Elara Dorne, Aric Jorgen, etc. I feel that explains the sharing of companions in game.

@MrTwo: Ooooooh... "At All Costs" Garza. Very nice, Sir. Very, very nice. Loved the "You can never go home again" feel to the story. I'm liking what I'm seeing, can't wait to read more.

@Frauzet: Maaaaan. That last part, where he mashes his name together because he just couldn't hold out anymore? Chills. Spine. Down it. Loving this origin story.

@Kitar: Hehe, bag of peas. I like your hunter. She feels dangerous, even though she shows little of it when she's with Tuaq. And the way the rest of the crew, even Mako, dislikes him... I like that dynamic. Gotta earn that respect. Gonna be some good storyin', me thinks!

@Alaurin: Yay Jaxo! She's one of my favorite NPC's. I don't think I've mentioned it, but I like how Jorgan and Corso are getting along. I can see Jorgan seeing him as a bumpkin, but being won over by his combat skills and heart. The spin you're putting on the Trooper storyline, with Jorgen having to do the Inquiry is cool. Ah lahke eet!

@Bright: So, when I lose my job because I'm busy reading the hell out of the Bright-Verse on my phone instead of working, I want you to know that it's all your fault. That's a mega butt load of story there. Good job!

@Kabeone: No, you didn't write anything, but you did draw the hell out of some things. I feel that deserves some attention. Very nice work, sir. Very, very nice.

Major Voslic Halyard was mad. “No, check that.” Captain Aric Jorgen thought. “He’s furious.” Aric stood at attention and watched his C.O. out of the corner of his eye. Each member of Havoc stood there thinking the same thing Aric was thinking.

Voslic began to pace back and forth in front of his troops. The look on his face was menacing. There was no other way to describe it. And, as if to punctuate that the Major was pissed, even Tanno Vik was keeping his mouth shut, his body locked up like a boot camp recruit and his eyes fixed on a spot six inches above where Voslic’s head moved back and forth.

Voslic had let it go on. The practical jokes had been a bit of stress relief. It was a long journey to their new temporary duty station and that was not particularly where any of them wanted to go. So even as they were coming off two weeks of leave, and were starting to get back into the work routine, he had let them go.

Even when Tanno woke up tied to his rack wearing high heels and some lacy things someone had gotten from the ‘verse knew where. He had let things go when M1 had become involved and had somehow gotten Tanno and Aric in the ‘fresher together in a compromising way and the subsequent retaliation when M1 came back on-line after a maintenance period to find himself legless and hanging from the overhead in the cargo hold. There was even evidence that his own wife had been involved when Aric and Tanno had been inflicted with what could have only been classified as “The Emperor’s Revenge” after she had prepared a meal a few nights before.

What had happened this evening however, had not only gotten out of hand, but had endangered everyone on the boat. The evidence of what happened had been Tanno wedged between what was left of a table and a couch in the common area, explosive residue on said culprit and everything within five meters of him and the explosive decompression of the boat when a hole was punched neatly through the hull.

That in and of itself would have been bad enough, in the least they would have lost a team member in the common area when Vik would have suffocated when all the air vented through the hole. As fate would have it though, when the projectile, half of a bottle of Voslic’s Corelliean whiskey, punched it’s way through the hull, it severed a conduit from the central processor to the emergency seals on the hatches. This meant the hatches would not close which meant without someone’s quick thinking, all the air would have vented.

Several things happened when the crew heard the explosion. Vik was rendered unconscious and was fairly wedged into place. Voslic and Elara emerged to the whirlwind from their stateroom. Voslic was quick enough to grab the hatch frame when he was suddenly nearly jerked off his feet. Elara was not that quick and she was immediately out of Voslic’s arm reach.

Aric bolted out of the armory. He yelled at Voslic to get Tanno and that he had Elara. He leapt across the common area, was able to grab her and let his momentum carry him to the bridge ladder railing. M1 and C2 emerged from the conference room and the cargo hold at the same time. M1 quickly surveyed the scene, turned and fired his grappling hook at C2. He pulled the startled protocol droid to him, pivoted to his right and shot the now screaming droid at the hole, the protocol droid’s head neatly filling the enlarging hole.

Voslic was up and moving and issuing orders as soon as the decompression stopped. He hustled the humanoid crew to the bridge. At one point he had contemplated leaving Vik where he lay, but decided he might need the worthless psycho and finally hefted him up and took him to the bridge. They sealed themselves on the bridge until M1 and C2 could make repairs. That completed, Voslic had mustered the entire crew in the common area where they now stood ready to face their C.O.’s wrath.

When he finally spoke, it was a low conversational tone and left no doubt, The Skipper was pissed. “It was funny. It was amusing watching it all unfold. And maybe I should have put a stop to it earlier on. But hey I thought, “my people need to blow off a little a steam”. Especially when we got our new orders when we came off leave.” He paused and looked at each one in turn.

After what seemed like forever, he began pacing again. “But what happened here tonight is beyond practical joking. This went too far.”

“Uhh Skipper, I didn’t mean…” Tanno began.

“SHUT YOUR NASTY SOUP COOLER VIK!” Voslic exploded. “IF I didn’t think I’d need your worthless hide I would have left you there while the droids made the repairs.” Voslic took two quick strides and was chest to chest with the Weequay. “And don’t for one second think you’re safe right now. You endangered everyone on this boat and I haven’t really decided whether or not to stuff your sorry *** in the airlock.”

Aric cleared his throat. “Major…”

“Want to join him?” Voslic cut him off nastily.

Voslic looked at the rest of the unit. “Anyone else?” He asked. “Didn’t think so. When I give you the word you will fall out back to your quarters. You will muster back here in ten mikes, full packs and armor. The boat needs a field day. I expect everything cleaned, repaired and put back in place by 0300. A two man fire watch will be posted to ensure that M1 and C2’s repairs hold. The bridge crew will be doubled. Do I make myself clear?”

“AYE AYE SIR!” The unit responded.

“Good. Carry on. I’ll be in my rack.”

Voslic reclined on the couch and grabbed the remote and queued up the holo terminal. Elara placed to Correllian ales on the table next to the couch and curled up next to him. The game was just about to start and he sighed with contentment. Then Tanno Vik entered the common area from crews quarters.

“Alright!” He called enthusiastically. “Who’s playing?”

Voslic glanced up at Vik before answering. “Tide and the Aggies.”

“That’ll be a good one. Aggies all the way tho.”

Voslic chuckled. “Naw, Tide by 7.”

The Weequay laughed and shook his head. “Look, I know the Tide is a two time champion, but the Aggies quarter-lead is magic and remember, the Aggies beat the Tide at home last year.”

Voslic nodded as the Vik spoke. Seemingly unperturbed at the facts Vik was outlining. “I admit that kid is good, but I got a feeling. Tide by 7.”

“No way Skipper.”

Elara smiled slightly knowing what was coming. Voslic seemed to consider things for a moment. “OK Tanno, if you are so sure that this a sure bet, them put your money where your mouth is.”

Tanno smiled to himself and thought “Gotcha” as he seemed to consider the offer for a moment. “OK Skipper, what’s the bet?”

“Hundred creds, and you give me my seven points.”

Tanno grinned. “Sure Skipper, but let’s make it interesting. I’ll give you seven and five hundred.”

Hoping he wasn’t overplaying his hand, Voslic replied. “How about a thousand and we go over/under?”

Tanno jumped at the offer. “What’s the points for the O/U?”

“Let’s go, I don’t know, 70 and I’ll take the over.”

Vik almost couldn’t contain himself. He didn’t think the Tide could keep up with the Aggies, much less that the two teams would combine for more than seventy points. He stuck out a meaty hand. “Deal.”

They shook on the bet and Vik went to get himself a snack and joined them for the game. Across the common area Jorgen shook his head and finally made his way across to join the others. It was an up and three hours for Vik. After the Aggies had started quickly, the Tide pushed back and took a big lead going into the last part of the game. The Aggies tried to comeback but a late score by the Tide put the game out of reach. In the end, Vik figured he was out 1500 creds.

He went back to the crews quarters after paying up. Jorgen followed him in. “You took that well.”

“Well, he is the C.O. What am I supposed to do, yell scream and throw a fit?”

“Yeah, I guess so. You know, the game was even better the second time through.”

Vik frowned. “Second time through?”

“Yep, Skipper and I watched that game live last week.”

Vik started to get mad but then laughed. “I was played. By the Skipper.”

“Like a vioflute.”

The heavy rhythmic tromp of boots hitting pavement sounded through the early morning air at Fort Garnik. It was 0530 and Havoc had been at it since 0430. Major Voslic Halyard led the Marines of Havoc down the main street at a steady pace. Sweat soaked t-shirts bore testament that the Marines had been on a run. They had started with the daily seven; calisthenics designed to warm and limber the body before strenuous activity. They had followed that up with a 5k run that included several hills and a long stretch of beach.

As they approached their billet, Voslic brought them to route step. The unit smoothly adjusted from the run to brisk march. Voslic dropped back from his lead spot in the formation to center himself on the small formation. “Squad, Halt! Left, Face!” He called as he faced the formation. “At ease.”

Voslic let them breath and stretch for a few minutes. They had been on the boat for nearly a week in transit. They had exercise equipment set up in the cargo hold, but there was nothing like a good run to let you know just where your unit stood fitness wise. “Not bad” he thought as he stood there watching his troops.

He surveyed his surroundings for a minute. He and Aric were back. Back where it had all started for the two of them. He remembered landing at the port, his transport under fire from separatist forces the whole way in, meeting up with one of his new squad mates and getting a transport blown out from under him. He chuckled at his first meeting with Jorgen, which hadn’t gone so well. Vosic had been fresh off a standard two year hitch with a line battalion and then was picked up for recon school. Aric had seen him as nothing more than another hot-shot rookie with more guts than brains and something to prove. It had been a rough start for him then. He grimaced at that thought because it had started out much the same way for Havoc the previous evening.

Havoc had come off its two weeks leave to new orders. Both the Republic and the Empire had backed off to heal, neither strong enough to deliver the finishing blow to the other. After consideration, General Garza had decided instead of training Havoc to a point of over training, the Republic would be better suited if the squad were to train recruits and young officers. Each member had unique combat and support skills that could come in handy in any unit. Their wealth of combat experience alone, if shared with younger troops would be enough to keep some of them alive. So orders had been cut sending Havoc to Temporarily Assigned Duty (TAD) to Fort Garnik, Ord Mantel.

They had docked at the orbital station at 1700 local time. Once on the station, things started to go wrong. No one on the station seemed to expect Havoc in the first place. Even after orders were shown to the port authority showing that they were who they said they were and where they were supposed to be, the station commander seemed reluctant to assign them transport planet side. Finally, the man had relented and a shuttle was assigned to transport them and their gear.

Once on the ground, the same problem cropped up. Finally, after a fit or frustration Voslic had pulled Vik aside and told him they needed ground transport. When Vik started to ask if the Major was sure about that, Voslic cut him off and simply said “Fix it.” Vik shrugged his shoulders and wondered off in the general direction of the motor pool. Ten minutes later, he returned and motioned Voslic to follow him. Around the corner of the administration building sat an open bed skimmer larger enough to fit them, their gear and M1. Somehow, Vik had even been able to acquire a driver. The team loaded up and headed for Fort Garnik.

Voslic had the driver pull into a dirt field near the main gate. The last time Voslic had seen the place a small refugee camp stood there. It seemed especially bare in the gathering darkness. He turned and watched as Aric took charge of getting the unit and gear off the skimmer. Voslic glanced at his chrono and noted that it would be close but they should meet their check-in time. Once the gear was unloaded, Aric started hustling the team out to the street and in formation. Tanno stepped quickly up to the skimmer and Voslic was sure he saw something change hands. Vik jumped down and the skimmer headed back to the port.

After everyone was in formation, Voslic glanced once again at his chrono and stepped off toward the formation. He got to the front of the unit and watched as each member made final adjustments on their armor and gear. Voslic wedged his helmet over his spare ammo cell pouch on the left side of his utility belt. Everyone else followed suit.

Finally he called his troops to attention. He assigned M1 to stay behind as a gear guard. The rest he faced right and gave them the order to step off. The moved smoothly up the hill and into the fort proper. Troops inside the fort, both boot and veteran soldiers, stopped what they were doing to watch the new arrivals. They recognized the unit if not the individuals. This was Havoc squad, they had arrived.

Voslic maneuvered the unit in front of the headquarters. They stopped, faced and Voslic stood them at ease. He was about to head into the building when a short, nattily dressed officer followed by two junior officers came out of the building and headed down the steps. Voslic quickly brought the squad to attention.

“Havoc squad, Atten’hut. Sir, Havoc squad reporting as ordered.”

“And late, Major. Stand at ease. I am Colonel Van Benarea. I am in charge of the training command. I expect your very best in putting your, ‘skills’, to good use training units here. I must say that have little use for ‘Special Operations groups’ such as your unit. It is in my opinion that for the credits spent on equipping and training a unit such as yours we could field an entire battalion of regulars.”

Voslic straightened to attention. “With respect sir, Havoc, and other small special ops groups have proven that highly trained, highly motivated small units such as Havoc can be especially disruptive to larger formations. The Republic Marine Corps has been doing the same thing with battalion and regimental operations.”

“With ‘respect’ Major,” Aric heard the tone and knew that he meant no respect at all, “I have little use for your Marine Corps either. Another waste of credits that could be spent fielding divisions. But enough of that. You are here as part of my command for the time being.”

The colonel passed his gaze over the unit. Clearly by the expression on his face, he was not impressed. “Right then.” He began. “The uniform of the day, when not actually engaged in field activities are your service dress mod uniforms. In the field, unless otherwise specified, the uniform will be service fatigues.”

The colonel let his eyes wonder over the unit again. “As for armor, it is to be worn only when specified by the training operation.” He paused and smirked before continuing. “It will also be regulation color for the training command. No unit insignia is to adorn the armor. The color for the training command is white with green trim, not red and yellow.”

“Its Scarlet and Gold.” Vik snarled from behind Jorgen.

Voslic’s jaw clenched, he felt what Vik had voiced. “Yes sir, we’ll get the armor squared away.”

“Good, I’ll turn over to my adjutant, Captain Norvel, to get you settled.” The colonel spun and headed back in the building. One of the men, an army major, hesitated for moment. He gave Voslic an apologetic nod and turned and followed the colonel back inside. That left young Captain Norvel standing in front of the unit.

“Now then. Your armor will be repaired and repainted before 0600 in the morning. You will be here in formation in your armor so that I may inspect it before I assign you your specific duties.”

Havoc squad was now looking at each other in disbelief. First the colonel had been less than welcoming and now this upstart captain thought he was in charge? They couldn’t see Voslic’s eyes narrow as the captain continued.

“Your weapons will be turned into the armory for the time you are assigned here to include side arms, vibro-knives, and staves of any sort…” He got no further in his little speech as Havoc reacted to this bit of news.

“Now wait a minute..” Jorgen began.

“Try and take anything off me little man.” Vik growled.

“I will not be un-armed.” Yuun intoned.

“AT EASE!” Voslic called, bringing the complaints to a halt. Norvel stood there shocked at the reaction. Voslic stepped up in front of the captain. “Look son. These aren’t recruits you are talking to. They are the finest fighting unit I have ever been associated with. And the last time I checked, a major outranks a captain in any military formation. The folks answer to me. Not you. Got that?”

Something in the way the man responded Aric’s attention. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the captain now standing at attention in front of the Skipper.

Voslic waited a moment before continuing. “The armor will be squared away tomorrow, but unless you can’t tell time, we just got here and you are trying to give me and mine less than ten hours to get this done. It will be done, and you can come to where ever it is you have us billeted to inspect it to your heart’s content, when I let you know it’s done. Is THAT clear Captain?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. As for the weapons, you had better arrange for a weapons locker in our billet because I agree with the rest of my unit, we WILL NOT be dis-armed. Is THAT clear Captain?”

“Yes sir.” The man swallowed nervously now. The Marine major was big and he was now towering over him and frankly, though he would never admit it, he was afraid.

“Outstanding. Now, you can show us to our billet.”

The captain led Havoc a short distance to the barracks that had been assigned to Havoc. Voslic led his team inside, looked around and nodded. It was a typical squad bay set up meaning that it was all open with racks set on either side of the bay. No privacy was afforded with this set-up but that could be changed. Aric moved up beside him.

“Platoon office by door has two rooms. The front room is an office, the back room is set up as living quarters. I’ll have Elara’s and your gear stowed there once we get the stuff here.”

Captain Norvel stiffened. “Sir, I’m sure your medic would be more comfortable in the female barracks.”

“I most certainly would not.” Elara spat as she passed the man on her way into the barracks.

“Our ‘corpsman’ will be staying here.” Voslic replied.

“Sir, I must protest.”

Aric gave him a sidelong glance. “Protest all you want to sonny. I think the C.O.’s wife would like to stay with her husband.”

Voslic stepped forward and turned around facing the two men. “Aric, see what you have to do to get our gear and M1 moved up here. As soon as you get everything back, get them bedded down. Also check for the standard comm outlet for M1, if there’s not one, shut him down until we can get one installed. And you captain” he said turning to the other man. “I don’t see my weapons locker. I suggest you get a move on.”

The young captain managed a barely civil yes sir and headed out the door. Voslic and Aric watched him go. “Something’s not right here Skipper.” Aric said simply.

“Yeah, I got a bad feeling about this.”

……………………………………………………………….

Captain Norvel rushed through the rest of his duty that evening. He ensured that a heavy weapons locker was delivered and installed in the Havoc barracks. It was not something he wanted to do, but he decided to ere on the side of caution. No reason to have that Marine major mad at him he thought as he rushed up the stairs into the headquarters building.

He had to report to the colonel what had transpired with Havoc squad. The colonel would not be pleased. “At least that major will have his come-uppance in the morning.” He thought as he hurried down the hall. “Maybe even tonight if I’m lucky.” As he walked through the reception area to the colonel’s door. The door swooshed open and he entered the office nearly at the run.

“Colonel, I have to report on..” He stammered to a halt. “What in the name of…”

The snap hum of a light saber sounded impossibly loud in the small office. Captain Norvel scrabbled at his side for a pistol that hadn’t hung there since he had checked into the training command. He was suddenly bathed in red light as the saber was driven hilt deep in his chest. He died without so much as a whimper.

“Well that was uncalled for.” The colonel said as he shook his head and sat down behind his desk.

“No one must know of my involvement here yet.” A voice replied as the light saber snapped off. “Ensure everything is made ready. Major Voslic Halyard and his squad must never leave Ord Mantel.”

@alaurin Ow. A-77 recap is always painful. It's a good thing that Mallay has Jorgan and Dorne. I'm loving the dynamic with Val/Jorgan/Corso.

@DarthSillyMonkey Stuffed shirts. Love it. While I don't think Pierce would run out of fear, I do think he'd run because it would irritate the Quinn even more. Also, Vette's impishness is infectious so there is that.

As to Meet the Troopers... talk about plot twist! Love it.

@frauzet Nice backstory for Rufuro and excercise with Vette sounds like the best kind.

@Iryfindel Nice Kyenn/Jorgan interaction. Fitting for the early parts of the trooper story line.

@Kitar Tuaq is kind of adorable. I loved your description of kolto, sure beats the idea of Mako with a hose on the battle field just spraying you down.

@marissalf I know it's silly but I have a hard time believing Eckard will ever die. Thanks for the Story So Far. There are so many it's so difficult to keep track (for me anyway)!

@Mrtwo Glad you're continuing the story! I was shocked anyone got the jump on Garza.

@YoshiRaphElan Awesome to be able to match faces to stories.

@Sthrift (who snuck in after I was all nice and neatly commented up!): The sure bet piece had me dying! Of course, anytime Vik gets the short end, I laugh. Nice twist at the end!

And the practical joke piece was good too. 4X getting in on the action was killing me! I especially liked it when Jorgen spoke up. "You wanna join him?!" HAHA! Man, had me jumping back to my BT days.

Really liked the last piece though. Your use of military terminology and protocol really makes the reader a part of the unit. I dig it a lot. And I've known officers who let their personal opinions affect their duties, so I was feeling Halyard's frustration (as well as the unit).

Val breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her ship in the hanger. After ensuring Fabizan that he would die a very slow, painful death if he tipped Skavak off, Val allowed the Bith to leave with his life.

“You ready to see my home for the past five years?” Val asked Corso, those blue-grey eyes dancing, unable to contain her excitement.

“Lead the way, Captain,” Corso insisted, a smile crossing his handsome features at the joy on her face.

They’d spent the last two days with Jorgan chasing Skavak and Kardan through the Justicar Sector and the Works and the three of them were exhausted. Corso and Val had helped Jorgan escort Kardan to the Senate Tower then raced to the spaceport to slice into the hanger where Skavak had her ship. The slippery scum bag had escaped them in the Works, but thanks to Miel, Val knew where her ship was. Unfortunately, Miel was injured in the fight with Skavak and the Imperials. Val did everything she could, but his injuries were fatal and the brave Sullustan died in the Works.

There had been no word from Tia since her last brief text message and once again, Val was beginning to worry. So far, Wraith had yet to make an appearance, but Garza had those three senators under close surveillance. Val was hoping the general would have some new information for Aric when he took Kardan to her office.

“Oh, Mistress Val,” the protocol droid exclaimed when she and Corso entered the ship, “I’m so happy to see you! I’ve been so terribly worried!”

“Thanks, SeeTwo,” Val smiled at the droid that had become like a friend to her over the years, “I’m glad you’re alright too!”

The C2 unit was extremely loyal to the mistress he thought of as his savior. The ship’s previous owner had been horrible to the droid, keeping a restraining bolt on him, shocking him regularly, and threatening to space him on a daily basis. The droid actually watched while Kat and Val tortured Foster for information on where he took their friend, Zyra and cheered when they killed him and spaced the body. The droid thanked them for saving him from that horrible man and when Val took the restraining bolt off, C2 immediately swore loyalty to her and Kat.

“I’m much better now that you’ve returned,” C2 told her, “That awful man put a restraining bolt on me, but that can wait……there’s a woman on board. She’s Skavak’s business partner.”

“Where is she?”

“She actually keeps to herself in the cargo hold,” C2 explained, “I get the impression that she really doesn’t like Skavak all that much.”

“Well, that’s points in her favor then,” Val nodded as she charged up her blaster, “I think I’ll go meet her now.”

Val headed for the cargo hold, Corso and C2 right behind her. She walked in, immediately seeing a young Human woman with brown hair at the computer terminal in back. She must have heard them come in because she held her hands out and turned around slowly.

“I’m unarmed,” she assured them, “My name is Risha and I’m guessing this is your ship.”

“You’re correct,” Val answered, keeping her blaster pointed at Risha, “and you must be Skavak’s business partner.”

“Unfortunately,” Risha nodded, “but I’m very open to replacing him.”

“Go on,” Val nodded.

“Look, I can’t stand the guy,” Risha admitted, “and I told him not to steal your ship. Of course he didn’t listen, thinking he’s too smart to get caught. Please tell me that sleaze bag is dead!”

“Afraid not,” Val sighed, holstering her blaster and looking around for her tools.

“Blast,” Risha cursed, “I was really hopeful there for a minute. Anyways, I’m sure you’re wondering why I was his partner…..well, despite being the world’s biggest pile of crap, he does have a lot of connections and I needed that....at the start anyways.”

“Oh, by all means,” Val prompted, taking her toolbox over to C2, “continue.”

“Have you ever heard of Nok Drayen?”

“I heard rumors here and there on Nar Shaddaa,” Val admitted.

“I think Viidu mentioned his name once or twice,” Corso added.

“Well, he was a very wealthy, high ranking member of the Galatic Underworld when he died. He managed to hide his vast fortune before he died and spacers have been hunting for it since.”

“And you know where it is, right?” Val guessed as she began to work on removing the restraining bolt on C2.

“Not yet, but I know how to get that information along with everything needed to get to it.”

“But you can’t do it alone….”

“Nope…..that’s where Skavak came in. We’ve been setting up deals to take us on this treasure hunt. However, as I’m sure you’re aware, Skavak isn’t the best partner and I get the feeling you would be a big improvement in that department. We’d be partners and split the take fifty-fifty.”

Well, the credits and possible Underworld connections would help me in my hunt for information on my parents deaths and may be able to help me locate Zyra, Val thought, but I get the feeling this is more than just a simple treasure hunt, “I’m interested, but a few things first….”

“Certainly,” Risha nodded.

“I’m currently working with Republic military to rescue a very close friend of mine. That is my top priority right now. In fact, I’m planning on leaving for Taris soon.”

“Well, it so happens one of the deals that’s ready to go is on Taris,” Risha smiled, “The other is on Nar Shaddaa.”

“The other thing is trust…..how do I know that you’re still not in cahoots with Skavak and that you won’t steal my ship?”

“How do I know you won’t kill me when we locate the treasure and keep it all for yourself?”

“Good point,” Val nodded, “This might work.”

“Partners?” Risha asked, holding out her hand.

“Partners,” Val agreed, shaking on it just as her Holo went off.

Val checked it and seeing it was Garza, answered it immediately.

“Captain Tarenz,” Garza began as soon as her image popped up, “Can you and Mister Riggs come to my office immediately? I have news.”

“We’ll be there shortly,” Val nodded and they signed off.

“I guess you weren’t lying about that military gig,” Risha told her.

“Nope,” Val replied, reaching in one of her belt pouches, “and I wasn’t lying about my trust issues either.”

Before Risha had time to ponder that last statement, Val shot her with a sleep dart and she dropped to the floor.

“Corso, could you please carry Risha to the crew quarters and put her in one of the bunks?” Val asked the shocked man behind her, “SeeTwo, can you come with us as well?”

“Why did….”

“Because I just got my ship back and I won’t risk it being stolen again,” Val interrupted, hearing the disapproval in his tone, “I know you probably think that’s awful of me, but she’ll be fine.”

“I suppose,” Corso grunted as he picked Risha up, “I just hate seeing any woman get hurt.”

“I’m aware,” Val told him gently as they made their way to the crew quarters, C2 right behind them, “and I’m genuinely interested in her business proposition. However, you can’t blame me for not instantly trusting someone who was working with the man who stole my ship. Besides, my gut tells me she’s hiding something.”

Corso lay Risha on one of the bunks and Val handed the dart gun to C2, “Okay SeeToo, if she starts to wake before we get back, hit her with another dart. I’ll lock the door behind me. If anyone tries to break in, get to the cockpit, get the ship out of the hanger, and call me.”

“You can count on me, Mistress!”

As soon as Corso and Val got to Garza’s office, they found Aric there waiting, his laser green eyes reflecting the wariness they were all feeling from spending the past two days in the Justicar sector and the Works with little rest.

“I’m glad you got here so quickly, Captain,” Garza greeted them, “We have Kardan in custody under tight security and I’ll be questioning him soon. However, I do have some bad news. The surveillance team that was watching over Senator Krazul missed a check in. They were found dead in his home and Senator Krazul is nowhere to be found. Based on what Sergeant Vleska told us, I’m working on the assumption that Wraith was behind this and is on her way to Port Raga, which is a small, remote space station. I’ve already dispatched a team ahead to scope things out. Captain Jorgan, I want you to go to Port Raga, rescue the Senator, and capture Wraith. Captain Tarenz, if you and Mister Riggs are willing, I’d like you to assist Captain Jorgan. You’ll both be compensated for your assistance, I assure you.”

“I can’t answer for Corso,” Val replied, “but I’ll go. The sooner we can capture Wraith, the sooner we can hopefully end this and get Tia back.”

“I promised to help the Captain and keep her safe,” Corso nodded, “So you can count me in as well.”

“Thank you…both of you,” Garza told them, “I’ll send the coordinates for Port Raga to your datapads. Captain Jorgan, Spec Forces units require their own ships for mission flexibility and your ship is prepped and ready to go in the Spaceport. Please contact me before docking or if you get any messages from Sergeant Vleska. Good luck to you all!”

A little while later, Val, Corso, and Aric were walking into the spaceport after grabbing their things from the suite at the military complex.

“Thank you both,” Aric told them when they were at Val’s hanger, “I’m glad you’re coming with me to Port Raga. I know what the two of you are capable of in the field and I appreciate it. Hopefully we can capture that traitor and end this madness.”

“I’m glad to help,” Val assured him, “I want Tia safe more than anything, so let’s get going!”

“You got it,” Aric called out as he double-timed it to his hanger.

Val put in her unlock codes and her and Corso boarded her ship to find Risha still asleep and C2 still vigilantly watching over her. Val grabbed a stim from the medkit inside her backpack and injected Risha with it. A few seconds later, Risha woke up.

“You really do have trust issues,” Risha snapped, rubbing her eyes and still feeling a little groggy.

“Think about it from my point of view,” Val replied, showing no remorse for what she did, “I had to leave the ship I just got back and you’d been partners with the man who stole it. What would you have done in my place?”

“You got me there,” Risha yawned, getting up, “I suppose I’m glad you only knocked me out.”

“I meant what I said earlier about being partners,” Val said as they left the crew quarters, “If you want to back out after what I just did, I understand and I’ll be happy to drop you off wherever you wish to go. However, I won’t resort to knocking you out anymore. I just didn’t have time to program some new security failsafes into the ship’s cockpit before I had to meet with Garza.”

“No,” Risha replied, “I get why you did what you did and I’m still willing to be partners.”

“Good, then we can get going,” Val told her, still certain that there was more to Risha than she let on, “We have a stop to make before Taris though, there’s been a lead on my friend and I’m helping investigate it. I assure you, you won’t be in any danger and hopefully it won’t take long.”

“It’s a good thing I have a sense of adventure,” Risha admitted, “I get the feeling this is going to be a very interesting partnership. Much better than that loser, Skavak……and speaking of…” Risha trailed off as her Holo chimed, “Oh, this should be good.”

“Plug it into the ship’s Holo,” Val suggested and Risha agreed, Corso following them over.

“Well, hello Skavak,” Risha called out when his image appeared, “I just made a new friend.”

“Ah, Captain,” Skavak replied, seeing Val standing next to Corso, “I should’ve killed you myself…..but I’m sure Rogun will be more than happy for the pleasure. You know those blasters…..I sold them. Good luck escaping that bounty.”

“Eh, I’ll deal with it when the time comes,” Val shrugged, not overly concerned about Rogun with everything else that was going on.

“I’m sure we’ll be able to find a way to mollify Rogun after we’re filthy rich,” Risha smirked.

“Oh, Risha, you and Captain Tarenz just made the top of my hit list,” Skavak threatened, “No one backs out on a deal with me! When I catch up to you…..”

“Look, let’s just get on thing straight, idiot,” Val interrupted, her voice quiet with deadly promise, “People that cross me die…..badly. If you want to come after me, go ahead. I’m ready to kill you and it’ll save me the hassle of hunting you down later. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have better things to do than stand around listening to you spew your crap.” Val cuts off the call.

“Oh, I really like you,” Risha told Val, a slow smile crossing her pretty face, “I might even be able to forgive you for knocking me out earlier.”

Replies to 04:01:24:

@frauzet: I'm happy Kyenn made you smile! I will confess to you that she made me smile as well. That story started out as something completely different but she demanded it to be written like this and it's much better.

@marissalf: Kyenn will be pleased to know that you like her, although she would probably tell you it could be no other way. It is indeed fun to see Jorgan made speechless, the early-version always needs to get the last word in.

@alaurin: Thank you! I msut admitt I had fun writing it for exactly that same reason. The first time round I actually quit my Trooper because I could not stand Jorgan as a companion. It was only after reading some stories on this forum that portrayed a later-version Jorgan that I decided to give it another shot. And I am happy I did! Still, I can't wait to read Tia & Jorgan's interactions, I have a feeling it's gonna be good.

@bright: Happy to be back ^.^ It's so great to be able to play and write again! I wish bills would pay themselves so I could devote more time to it!

Replies to Mutant Cthorns:

@Adwynyth: Haha. I can understand that you did! Personally I'd have wanted to do the same but Kyenn would never take that risk.

@bright: I didn't actually know about the existance of after-action reports until I found this one in my mailbox. Needless to say I felt a little sick after learning that those civilians died for nothing. Cruel.

@marissalf: I know right! At first I kept looking for a way out, a sensible middle ground. Why couldn't my Trooper call upon reinforcements to guard the prisoners until further research could be conducted? Of course the Republic isn't stupid enough to release them right away, the risk would be too great if the implants did work as intended. Killing them outright felt like something the Empire would do however.

@DarthSillyMonkey: Haha! I hope I will be able to deliver! And Jorgan really is an arse yes, but one that grows on you!

@kabeone: Thank you! My Trooper is still only on Taris so, for now, early-version it is. And thanks for that link to Lodestone! My life always needs more Ruth & Wynston cuteness!

@YoshiRaphElan: Mysteries indeed. Must. Know. More!

@marissalf: I would love to read your "Stories So Far" but I don't want to spoiler anything so I decided to hunt down your stories and start reading them from the start!

@alaurin: This:

“That’s fine,” Val nodded, “Just don’t expect a chipper ‘yes, sir’ if you bark orders at me.”

 

“Oh trust me,” Aric retorted, amusement in his voice, “given from what I’ve seen of you, chipper would never describe anything I’d expect from you.”

Priceless! I loved the piece. I am really loving the stories with Val, Jorgan and Corso. I giggled a little when garza made Corso get into the kolto tank, even though I felt bad for him. He really can't help himself can he?!

@mrtwo: Oh no! Not the brother! I haven't read any of your other stories yet but now I will have to! I have to know what preceded this event and how it will continue!

@frauzet: I hadn't expected Ru's future to hold much happiness but that installment was heart wrenching. I felt my own resolve break when Ru broke and admitted his age to his captor.

@Kitar: I am with bright on this one, that line about the bag of peas was so endearing! I like the first-person perspective of your story as well, makes it feel very personal.

@bright: That settles it! Tomorrow I will log in my operative and attempt to finish the agent story asap so I can finally read all the Ruth stories without the fear of spoilers. I have thoroughly enjoyed every piece of writing I've read so far and I just need to read it all. Yay for the PDF format - thank you for that!

@DarthSillyMonkey: The universe is telling me something. I really need to finish the agent story! It's moving to the top of my list so I can actually read all these stories!

@sthrift: As everyone can tell I have been o a trooper kick laely and I loved reading these pieces on your Havoc squad! The Sure Bet piece was fantastic, I did not see that coming and I guess neither did Vik!

For lower Coruscant, the place looked downright royal. No litter. No graffiti. Plants and flowers everywhere, neatly arranged into solid planters. If the sun would penetrate this far down, the glint off the polished buildings would be blinding. There was just one thing missing: people. Kyenn was ill at ease here. Columns reshaped themselves into guards, a barking dog sounded like a grenade exploding. The potential for an ambush was everywhere.

“So a bunch of ex-soldiers take over the streets and call themselves the “Justicars”. Sounds like nutjobs to me.” Kyenn jumped up at Jorgan’s booming voice. Was he always this loud?

“What’s that look for?" he asked agitated after catching the expression on her face. "What did I do now?”

“Could you just be quiet!” Kyenn hissed back at him. “This place makes my skin crawl.”

To her surprise he grinned. “Lieutenant. I think this is the first thing you and I agree on.”

“Don’t expect it to last.”

Kyenn turned her back to Jorgan and closed her eyes, mentally walking through the maps Garza had provided them with. Going over strategies and tactics always helped her calm her mind. She was a meticulous planner and planned for everything, from normal mission procedures to contingencies and alternative scenarios. It was both comforting and self-assuring to know that she was prepared for anything. She had yet to encounter a situation for which she was unprepared and that gave her supreme confidence. This mission was no different, creepy streets or not.

When Kyenn opened her eyes they were hard. She beckoned to Jorgan to follow her as she set out on a course that would lead them straight to Kardan, her assault cannon at the ready.

They hadn’t yet moved a block into the Justicar territory before Jorgan opened up. “You know, now that we’re in such an agreeable mood… I have a question for you, Lieutenant.”

Kyenn threw Jorgan a look that said questions weren’t appreciated but he seemed undisturbed by her glare. Keeping up pace with her he continued, “You think Havoc Squad will start shaping into an actual squad soon?”

“You’re saying it isn’t now?” Kyenn had a feeling where this was going.

“Two people isn’t a squad, sir. It’s just… two people. Once this unit starts growing, people’s expectations of us—of you—are only gonna get bigger. That CO post could get real heavy, real quick.”

There it was. Again. “Someone needs to run Havoc Squad,” she answered haughtily.

“Commanding a squad is no cakewalk. Nothing worse than having to choose between the success of the mission and the lives of your men. That said, a leader can’t be soft on his troops. Coddling your men will only get them killed.”

“Jorgan?” he looked sideways at her at the use of his name. “I. Got. It.” she enunciated every word.

“Okay, I’ll shut up.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” he added after a minute. “You’ve gotten us this far. Although, granted, you had me watching your six. I’d say that’s something that shouldn’t be overlooked.”

Exasperated, Kyenn shook her head at the Cathar.

“I’m going to take that as a Chiss smile.” Jorgan threw her a grin. “I’m liking you better already, Lieutenant.”

Kyenn just shook her head again.

Cleaner is the agent the Empire can't admit it needs: one who recovers failures. When a new Intelligence operative dies unexpectedly on a critical mission to Hutta, Keeper calls in the only asset who can salvage it. A former slave and convicted weapons smuggler consigned to his care long ago by a rising Sith apprentice. The Twi'lek, Shen. Code name: Cleaner One. The mission and its aftermath plunges Cleaner into the dark heart of Imperial politics where he matches wits with Sith and Intelligence alike.

Teamed with the equally amoral and vicious Kaliyo Djannis, Cleaner carves a bloody swath through the Empire's enemies and no few of its allies. He gets the job done and counts his bonus not in credits, but in collateral damage. With Keeper secretly holding the worst of his behavior in check, Shen dreams of the one thing he can never have. Freedom.

Vette strolled into the conference room, took a seat at the table and started shuffling cards. She flipped on the intercom, “All right, everyone, Vette’s exclusive Sith Casino of Fun and Non-Maiming Entertainment is now open! Pazaak anyone?”

Pierce’s head peeked in from the doorway immediately, “Thought Umrahiel got rid of your deck,” he said.

“Yeah…” she said, cutting the deck and performing an elaborate weave with the cards, “he got rid of that one. He didn’t ask about any of the others though,” she said with a mischievous grin, “So, you want to play or not?”

“What’s the rules?” he asked, tapping his fingers on the doorjam.

“Same rules,” she said sweetly.

The intercom crackled to life, “Our lord expressly forbade any more Nar Shaddaa pazaak games on this ship,” ordered Quinn.

Vette set the cards down, “Aw, come on Quinn. Even you have to admit that was funny,” she said.

“It was nothing of the kind,” Quinn said through the intercom. Vette held up one hand, making a mouth of her fingers and moving it like a puppet’s in time with Quinn’s words. “It was an acute embarrassment for both our lord and the entire crew.”

@DSM - Hey man, you know us Jarheads. Swift, silent and deadly and voted most likly to cause havoc amongst troops, vehicles, and forum threads. That "Sure Bet" piece came to me while I was watching Bama and A&M replay. Finally got a week-end and did some fishing. Yeah, it was that week-end. You know, kinda hard being a Bama fan in Texas right now.

The Joke Gone Bad, Voslic would be pissed and wouldn't want to hear from anybody. Had a Gunny kinda like that and well, I kinda turned out that way.

I've been told my back ground lends well to the way I write. I've written a full book based on the squad I run in Arma 2.

@Bright - I've got a back story to go with that stinger. Just got to get it written.

@Iryfindel - Yeah, Vik is fun to bust on, but he's kinda grown on me. Like a fungus maybe, but he aint that bad. Glad you enjoy my trooper work.

@Bright: YAY for the Pimpin!!!!! That was very nicely put together!

@alaurin, I fully support Valaya giving Jorgan a piece of her mind telling him not to treat her like an idiot. It's really hard not to want to stand up to him...rudely. As for Corso, I can really see him as the type to work himself to death rather than leave his selected protegée to face things on her own.

@DarthSillyMonkey: I'm glad you're liking the spin I'm putting on the Trooper storyline and the interactions between Val, Corso, and Jorgan. It's been a lot of fun to write!

Also.....Oooo, cliffhanger!!!!! I liked the interaction between Kiera and Elara, now hurry up and continue that sucker!!!

@sthrift: hehe, C2's head ftw!!!! I giggled a lot at that!! Also, Vik getting conned.....well played, sir, well played indeed! GAH!!! Another cliffhanger.......I gonna need popcorn!

@alaurin Ow. A-77 recap is always painful. It's a good thing that Mallay has Jorgan and Dorne. I'm loving the dynamic with Val/Jorgan/Corso.

@Iryfindel: hehe, I think Garza scares Corso a little!! I'm glad you're liking Val, Corso, and Jorgan. Also, thank you for your nice comment on my personal thread. I promise, there will be more with Bella and Mallay soon!

Also, I'm loving your trooper and her interactions with Jorgan!! Cripes, he was such a turd in the beginning!!!

@alaurin: I like the interweaving of the trooper and smuggler stories. I also appreciated Val's distrust of Risha; her arrival is really very awkward.

Also, YAY, more Pimpin'!!!!!!

Tia covered her ears as she lay on her bunk, but it was no use. She could still hear the tortured screams coming from Needles’ lab down the hall. Even if she could block out this latest test subject, it wouldn’t matter, she’d seen and heard enough to ensure she’d have nightmares for months. She once again swallowed down the bile that had risen, willing herself not to be sick. She had to force herself to remain in her bunk when she really just wanted to snatch up her rifle and drop that sick bastard before he could run any more tests on those Republic soldiers he had the scavengers kidnap.

Soon after they’d landed on Taris, Needles had the lab set up in the ruins of an old transport station and had begun developing a serum using DNA from rakghouls he had Tia hunt down. There wasn’t much hunting involved really, those creatures were everywhere and within a couple of days, he had enough of DNA to work with for a while and began sending her out for ‘test subjects.’ Originally, he’d had Tia hunt down the scavengers for his test subjects once the serum was ready for initial testing, but after the third day, the scavengers came to them offering a deal. If Needles would stop using their men, they’d help him acquire Republic soldiers. Needles agreed, figuring it was a win-win situation for him. Not only would he get his test subjects, but he’d get to strike a blow at the Republic at the same time.

Once the scavengers began delivering Republic soldiers to him, Tia finally had some spare time and used it to put together a message for Val. She told Needles she was going to scout around a little and found a nice quiet spot in some ruins well away from the transport station. She put together a detailed message, sent it, and prayed Val would get it quickly and someone would act on it. After seeing the horrifying things he put his subjects through before they ultimately died or had to be put down, she wanted him dead quickly. She’d sent the message two days ago and so far there had been no unusual activity. Tia had never felt so isolated and alone in her life.

“Sergeant Vleska,” Needles called through the intercom, interrupting her thoughts, “I need you to report to the lab immediately.”

Stars I hope one of his subjects survived long enough to do some damage, Tia thought as she got up and mentally prepared herself for the gruesome images she was likely about to see. She slowly made her way down the hall to Needles’ lab, reminding herself with every step that she couldn’t kill him yet. There was too much at stake to blow her cover by giving into the urge to waste that sick little cyborg freak.

Tia was glad she’d skipped dinner that evening when she arrived at the lab. Needles latest ‘test subject’ hadn’t died well, nor had he died as a human. The body on the table appeared to have gone through some transformation. It was larger than the human had been, with more muscle definition. It also had claws, fangs, and a face like a rakghoul. However, its body appeared human like still, capable of standing upright instead of squat like rakghouls, which walked hunched over. Tia recalled the sickening screams and couldn’t imagine what that man had gone through with the painful transformation.

“As you can see, Sergeant,” Needles said from his computer station, “I’m very close to perfecting my serum. Pretty soon, we'll be able to create an army of rakghoul soldiers. Magnificent specimens that will be able to fight the Republic on Taris. Since they’ve already been infected with a form the rakghoul virus, they’ll be safe from being completely transformed.”

“Congratulations, sir,” Tia forced herself to say while her mind screamed at her to kill him, “something’s still stopping you though since this one didn’t survive.”

“Unfortunately the transformation process is still too violent for most subjects to survive,” he admitted, “I have to find a way to counteract that…..but I’m close.”

And I’m sure you’re enjoying the testing process, Tia thought, hating that man, “I’m guessing that isn’t why you called me in here, sir.”

“No, Sergeant,” Needles replied, a slight sneer on his face, “I know you’re not fond of what I’m doing in here, and I’ll admit, work like this isn’t for everyone. It seems our scavenger friends have had some trouble with Republic troops at the nearby Fallenspire stronghold. Normally I wouldn’t care that much, but it happens to be their main base where they’re keeping the kidnapped Republic soldiers. Since I still need test subjects, I want you to go investigate for me.”

“Tavus wanted me to stay with you, sir,” Tia told him, because along with being a horrifyingly sick little freak, you’re a weak piece of crap.

“I’m aware, Sergeant,” Needles snapped, clearly irritated by that, “Which is why I want you to go now. If you hurry, you can make it to their base by nightfall. See what you can find out, help them it they need it, and see what you can salvage if it’s too late. I’m sure you can manage to find a safe place to bed down for the night. Hurry back here at daybreak…..you’re dismissed.”

Tia went back to the crew bunks, packed a bag, stocked her ammunitions belt, grabbed her rifle, and went to the hanger where their ship and speeders were. Tia hopped on a speeder and headed out for the Fallenspire, hoping that the attack was the result of that last message she sent out to Val.

The sun was setting as Tia reached the scavenger base, giving her little time before Taris was under the darkness of nightfall, making it a lot more dangerous to be out in the open. She was both relieved and dismayed to see Republic troops had taken control. She was grateful that Needles would no longer be conducting his gross experiments on Republic soldiers, but there was no way she’d be able to stay there for the night. Her best hope was to try and make it back to the lab. It was risky at night, but she had little choice. If she found a safe place to hideout on the way, she’d take it. Tia knew she needed to leave soon, but she really wanted to know who was behind the Republic forces attacking the scavengers, was it just the local troops on Taris or was it Garza?

Tia stashed her speeder behind a clump of bushes, removed her helmet, grabbed her rifle, and silently crept along the perimeter of the base. She saw troops bring out Republic soldiers that appeared as they’d been held captive. A young blond Human was directing operations, but her uniform appeared to be the same as the local Republic troops. Odd, she thought, listening carefully, her accent sounds Imperial. Unfortunately, Tia was distracted by the blond and didn’t notice the soldier coming up from behind her until it was nearly too late. She heard a twig snap and spun around, catching the soldier in the face with the butt of her rifle, hard enough to knock his helmet off. She quickly landed a kick to his knee, causing him to fall to the ground, then charged her rifle and pointed it in his face.

“Keep quiet and you live to tell the story,” Tia hissed.

The young man nodded, breathing hard and sweating a little. Dammit, Tia, that was careless, she swore at herself, “Who ordered you here?”

“Sergeant Dorne,” he grunted painfully.

“Is that a local officer?” Tia asked.

“Yes.”

“How did you locate the base?”

“Sergeant Dorne was working with Republic Spec Forces to locate the local soldiers that had gone missing,” the soldier told her.

Joy and relief washed over Tia as soon as she heard Spec Forces, Val got through to Garza! In her relief, Tia had relaxed the hold on her rifle and the downed soldier took advantage, knocking it out of her hands, then used his good leg to swipe her feet and she hit the ground hard.

“Imperial over here!” he yelled as loud as he could, grabbing his sidearm.

“Kark!” Tia swore, “You idiot!” She quickly scrambled to her feet, hearing the sounds of several people running toward them. She grabbed her sidearm and cuffed the soldier upside the head with it, knocking him out.

She found her rifle and bolted to her speeder as the troops began firing. Tia hopped on it, taking off as quickly as she dared in the growing darkness, hoping it was too dark for them to see her clearly. She knew they could still see when several shots were fired at her and she swerved through the trees and ruins as fast as she could, while dodging their shots, kark, kark, kark!

Back at the scavenger base, Captain Jorgan came running out when he heard the shots being fired. He saw two local troops carrying a third unconscious soldier between them and several troops firing at a fleeing speeder.

“Yeah!! You got the dirty Imp bastard,” one of the soldiers cheered, clapping his partner on the shoulder when the speeder exploded in the distance.

I hope this was a believable take on what was happening with Needles on Taris....a bit of guesswork on my part along with some research.

@Striges, I wholly approve of the use of my quote for the review Still very much enjoying Cleaner’s story! And I’m looking forward to Failure. (Wait, that didn’t come out right )

@alaurin, Val’s dirty kick method of dealing with the bad guys is hilarious, especially the second time after that talk with Jorgan and Corso. It might be cringe-worthy for them, but they can’t deny the fact that it gets results! Eek — things aren’t looking good for Tia!

@Iryfindel, Aw, I’m flattered!

They finally agree on something! (Even if it is short-lived.) That Jorgan, he’s got such a way with people. But his comment about the “Chiss smile” did make me do the same.

@Bright, I love that the Ruth!verse is so sprawling — guarantees a whole lotta good stuff to read for quite a while!

@sthrift, I giggled at the image of C2’s head plugging the gaping hole in the ship. He’s useful at last! The end of your last piece has me super intrigued.

@Mrtwo, Oooh, connecting the dots! I like how this is coming together. And man, Garza is cold!

@DarthSillyMonkey, I just want to give Bro a big hug now. Love those little bits of backstory we get and the way everything ties together. *Impatiently waits for more*

@Kitar, Aw, I feel so bad for Tuaq. He seems really sweet. Love the imagery of Lyara patching him up. I think someone mentioned it before, but their familiarity is great.

@frauzet, Ow, that was heartbreaking for Ru, trying to hang on and then finally breaking. I fear more bad things to come for him.

@marissalf I know it's silly but I have a hard time believing Eckard will ever die.

@Kabeone, Zombie Lokin! He’s every bit as smug but 100% more undead.

I'm not sure I trust Ellis. I think he's evil, but I can't prove it... yet.

@DarthSillyMonkey, Ellis evil, eh? We’ll just have to see, won’t we.

“Can you do it?”

It was the only thing that mattered to Mel. The last hurdle between having her mother really and truly back was that durasteel bond with those bugs. The details of just how unjoining would work meant nothing to her so long as in the end, Ellis was successful.

The tall man sank onto the makeshift sofa and removed his glasses. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a cleansing breath. This woman he’d only just met was asking a lot of him, maybe more than he was capable of. Telling her “no” was a terrifying prospect.

“In theory, yes. Unjoining has been successfully performed on Dromund Kaas, but the science is still considered experimental. And I’ve only read about it in journals,” he hedged. “This is something that should be done in a controlled medical facility. Kaas City—”

She cut him off. “That’s not really an option, Ellis.” He knew even less about their parents than she did going into this, but it was time to fill him in on the little information she did have. “I think it’s time we talked about our parents.”

Mel told him what she’d learned about Kinka’s past with Imperial Intelligence — that she’d worked as someone called Cipher Nine with a crew that included his father, Eckard. She watched Ellis’ face change as he came to the realization that his father maybe wasn’t absent for the reasons he’d always believed. Mel looked away as the man dabbed at the corner of his eyes.

“You know, I was 12 when I lost my parents. Never knew until about three months ago that mom was even still alive. That was something I’d given up on a long time ago. And now...” It was Mel’s turn to fight her emotions. “Is she dying?”

Ellis cleared his throat. “The physical distance from the nest seems to have a degenerative effect on the Joiners. That bond they have creates a feeling that there’s nothing else for them outside of the hive. Oftentimes they experience mental and physical difficulties as a result.”

“You didn’t answer my question, doc.”

“If left to their own devices, they will stop caring for themselves, stop eating and drinking. You were smart to use the nutristims as a stop-gap.” He paused and rubbed his temples. “The thing is, it’s keeping her alive physically, but her mental state is what is troubling me most at this juncture. We need to start the procedure tonight if there’s any hope of saving her mind.”

Mel nodded. The less delay, the better. “Do you have everything you need?”

He sighed. “I need to check my supplies, but I came prepared for just about anything when you mentioned killiks. I’m afraid I got a bit overzealous with the packing. I suppose that’s a good thing now.”

She jumped up, ready to fill the others in on the situation. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“Hang on, Melodai.”

She stopped and tensed. He wasn’t really going to try it was he? On her ship? After everything she’d told him?

“I believe there’s the matter of payment. You said earlier...”

Wow. Even after all this time, people still found a way to surprise her. “Really? Now? You really going to put me over a barrel like this?”

“No!” He seemed flustered, but it was too late for explanations. Unfortunately that didn’t seem to stop him from attempting one. “I— I just want to be sure I’m not doing this for nothing.”

Wrong, wrong answer. She strode toward him and thrust her forearm against his neck, pinning him against the wall with perhaps a bit too much force. “You’ll do what I want, and you’ll get your payment when it’s done,” she growled through clenched teeth. “You’re on my ship now, and the only thing standing between you and the airlock is that woman’s well being. I don’t like how things turn out or something happens to her, you answer to me. Got it?”

Mel straightened up and smoothed her hair, leaving Ellis was flustered and flushed. Good. She hoped he was afraid. But more than that, she hoped he was as good as he presumed to be.

***

The screams started as soon as the powerful cocktail of chemicals hit Kinka’s system. They burned like fire, winding their way through the bloodstream and toward her brain. Mel hadn’t been prepared for the anguished cries coming from her room upstairs. Once they started, they continued through the night and well into the next day. The sound filled the entire ship, echoed off the walls and rattled the nerves of Mel and the rest of her crew.

Torian, Gault and Mako had kept to their quarters downstairs. It was the only place the sound dulled even a little. But even then, it was impossible for them to ignore.

Everyone was on edge except Ellis, who took the horrifying wails in stride. It was all part of the process to him, and he wasn’t unfamiliar with subjects in anguish. He’d headed up a dozen labs during his tenure at the Imperial Institute, and it was common to see certain applications have that effect. Unlike some of his colleagues, who seemed invigorated by those results, Ellis accepted the unpleasantness as an unfortunate part of the scientific process. He could endure the nastiness while he had to, then set it aside when it was over. It was easier to do what he had to that way.

“How long is she going to be like this?”

The doctor jumped at Mel’s voice behind him. She’d cooled off from her violent outburst earlier, but her presence still made him jumpy. In the lab, the subjects stayed behind glass and he never had to interact with their families. Now he had a woman fully capable of breaking him into a dozen pieces to answer to.

Ellis frowned. “It’s not an exact science. When one becomes joined to the hive, there’s a complex physiological change that takes place. Undoing that... You see, we’re essentially rewriting DNA, rewiring millions of different electrical impulses. Those things take time. What’s more, we’re altering the very structure of the corpus callosum. Now, this happens during the initial joining, but the victim has the benefit of pheromones and membrosia, which often acts as a type of anesthetic agent...”

Mel sighed. All she heard was “blah, blah, science, blah,” none of which sounded like it would ease Kinka’s suffering. “But isn’t there something you can give her? She sounds like she’s being tortured in there.”

“That’s the thing, though. My scans show no actual physical pain, even with the restructuring of the corpus callosum. Everything that’s happening is taking place in her head. Some sort of psychological phenomenon. She thinks the drugs are hurting her — or rather the hive has convinced her that it’s so — and she’s reacting in kind. I just...I’ve only read about my father’s work in unjoining. If we could take her to Dromund—”

“No.” She was firm on that. Mel didn’t fully grasp her mother’s obsessive need for anonymity, but she respected it. “This is what she wants.”

Mel’s voice trembled. She hated the vulnerability, hated even more that he was the one to see it. This wasn’t about making friends; she wanted him worried so he’d do the job right. But Ellis hadn’t gotten the message. He tentatively lifted a hand and stiffly patted her on the shoulder. “I know it’s hard to listen to someone suffering. Hang in there a little longer. From everything I’ve read, this is all part of the process.”

Why did he have to be so nice? It made her feel guilty for slamming him into the wall earlier. She sat on the sofa and patted the spot next to her. “Listen, I didn’t mean to be so rough with you earlier. This is really hard for me. If you had any idea what the past three months have been like for me, I... I’m tired, Ellis. And I’m scared, which isn’t an easy thing for me to admit to.” Least of all to you.

He was still hesitant — understandably so — but he took a seat beside her anyway. “No, I understand. And I just want you to know that I wasn’t trying to blackmail you into anything. I’m curious is all. You have to look at things from my perspective. What you alluded to this afternoon was tantalizing. Good stars, the child of a Joiner! This could do wonderful things for my career, to say nothing of the research that could come out of it. I’m afraid I have an unseemly habit of getting a bit too excited about these things.”

“I promise you, Ellis, when this is done you’ll get what you wanted. I know you might not believe it because I’m a scary, lowbrow bounty hunter, but I’m an honest woman.” Mel slowly stood and steadied herself. She’d gotten only a few hours’ sleep over the past couple days, and it was starting to wear on her. “I’ll be down in the bunks. If anything changes, you come get me.”

I took a little creative license with the killik-y stuff. There's not a huge amount to go on (at least that I found on Wookieepedia), so I jumped off from there.

Pain. It’s all I can think about. All I see when I open my eyes. I remember this pain, etched in my brain, tangled in the synapses. Everything I see is bright and fuzzy, but dimming...

I can’t take this hell much longer. I have to fight, fight to be me. Oh, stars, I’d forgotten what that sounded like. Me — not we, not us — I and me. I can hear his voice telling me that this wasn’t the life he wanted me to have. That everything I ever was or wanted to become would be stripped away if I joined. I’d offered once, shortly after he proposed. Had his eyes been human eyes, they’d have grown dark with subtle pain. Joining was never a burden to him, not that he ever let on, but there was a part of him that wondered, always, if there was something else. He knew enough to know I should be whole. They knew; they didn’t care.

I can hardly fault them. I know enough from my time with them — from his time with them — that they don’t see things the way humans do. Joining me was a kindness. It was just one I didn’t want.

Kinka screamed until her voice gave out. Consciousness faded shortly after that. When she woke two days later, her voice had returned and her head was clear, but the screams had been replaced by sobbing as a decade of lost emotion found its way to the surface.

Sintal walked quickly out of the arrival port. The former Jedi and slave struggled not to just kill Harkun. She channeled her rage for the trial ahead. She saw the K'lor'slug swarm in the valley and prepared to take her rage out on them. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice call out her name. She turned around to face the man.

"Kintias! It's been almost 25 years since we last saw each other!" Sintal cried. Her mother had taken her away from her brother and father to join the Jedi at a young age. Sintal hadn't seen Kintias since.

"Indeed. How have you been?" Kintias asked.

"Pretty bad. Darth Tenebris made me into his own personal bodyguard, like the rest. That is, until our family killed him." Sintal told him.

"That man was just sickening." Kintias stated with disgust.

"No arguments there. So what's your trial?" Sintal asked.

"Overseer Tremel sent me to get a Sith Warblade from the tomb." Kintias informed her.

"Interesting. Overseer Harkun, who is also a jerk, sent me for training by some hermit named Spindral, also in the tomb." Sintal informed Kintias.

"We may as well go down together then." Kintias suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Sintal said.

They killed several K'lor'slugs and went down into the tomb. When they got there, they saw that it was also swarming with K'lor'slugs, and there were a lot of dead soldiers.

"I think we should talk to the Sergeant, find out what's happening here." Sintal suggested.'

"Yeah, I'd like to know what's going on as well." Kintias agreed.

Kintias and Sintal are Pureblood siblings. The Sergeant is Sergeant Cormun. The name 'Tenebris' is Latin for darkness. I think that's about it.