Space

[Qyrisa]

Qyrisa heard the chimes sound and knew that her sister wanted her for something. She got up from her cross-legged meditation and exited the room. When she walked out she saw a large space had been cleared in the main lobby area. Her sister was standing in the middle of the room an she was holding wooden swords. Qyrisa immediately knew that her sister was going to begin teaching her the basics involved with wielding a lightsaber.

 

She walked over to the middle of the room and her sister handed her one of the wooden swords. As she did this Qaela dropped down into a fighting stance.

 

Looks like we're skipping the introduction. Qyrisa thought to herself dryly. She gripped the sword in what seemed to be the most logical way and got into a basic fighting stance and waited for her sister to begin the lesson.

[Qaela]

"Fighting with a sword is not like fighting with a spear or staff," Qaela began. "With a sword, you have far less range and need to be quicker on your feet to account for the lack of range. It is also far more flexible than a spear in combat, especially due to the light weight of a lightsaber.

 

"A lightsaber offers significant offensive and defensive advantages in that it can cut through almost anything and can deflect blaster bolts or even most energy attacks. In the main Galaxy, blasters are far more common and are used far more frequently. A lightsaber allows you to defend yourself so that you do not get gunned down before you can attack."

 

She demonstrated the most basic of fighting positions, but due to her size, she wasn't able to begin running through too many drills. "We aren't going to spar right now, I am in no condition to do so anyway. Instead, we need to start you on learning how to deflect blaster bolts using the Force and a lightsaber."

 

She had only a single drone, but it would suffice for now. "The drone will fire stun bolts at you. They are on as low power as possible which means they won't hurt much, but also that your wooden sword won't be damaged too much when you absorb them. When we get to Dubrillion, I hope to be able to arrange for a far more challenging regimen with you since there are many swordmasters there. Even those without the Force can give you valuable insights until I have given birth and am able to properly spar.

 

"If you want to block the blaster bolts, you must first cast a spell of foreknowledge. It is similar to how you can run over small stones in a river at full speed while fighting. You simply let the spell guide your body to the right place. The Sith would call it something different, but that is essentially what it is. Allow your body to connect with the spell, or the Force, and guide your body to the correct place to deflect the incoming blaster bolt just as it would were you needing to step only on the next stone. You might not always consciously know where that next stone is, but your subconscious, guided by the spell you are using, does. If you focus too much and try to control things, you will fail. Right now, failure results in a slight stinging sensation, but in battle, it means you are dead."

[Qyrisa]

Qaela brought out the drone and prepared it for the drill. When she was finsihed Qyrisa stepped forward and raised the wooden sword into a basic defensive position. The drone simply hovered there and had yet to send out a bolt. Qyrisa used this time to attempt a spell to guide her movements. She felt a sensation similiar to words being on the tip of her tongue or seeing a person she knew, but struggling to put a name with them. She jerked her hands up and to the left leaving the blade horizontal, but the droid had fired a split second before she gotten her hands up and she felt an uncomfortable sting on the outside of her right wrist. She let out a curse, but did not let one failure deter her.

 

Qyrisa continued the exercise, but she never managed to have consistent results. She would block 2 or 3 bolts successfully, but then her mind would start to focus too heavily on maintaining the spell and she would lose focus on the drone and receive another irritating stinging bolt. The stingin would force her mind to focus again, but eventually she would slip again and begin to think instead of feel. When in battle one did not want to only use their emotions to fight, but it was also never beneficial to completely block them out. The art of battle rested in knowing when to trust your gut and just feel and when to think and stave off your emotions.

 

Qyrisa continued to practice even though her skin was so sensitive that each bolt that struck her skin felt like an explosion on her skin. It was as if her skin had been peeled away and she was having acid poured on her. She gritted her teeth and tried to bear through the pain as best she could. If she were to give up now she would have a very short life to finish livig. Qaela would not tolerate anything below success. Failure might just earn Qyrisa a trip out of the airlock. As Qyrisa continued with the exercise she felt herself slip into an altered state of consciousness and it was as if she were no longer a part of her surroundings. She could see events unfolding in slow motion and she was able to block each bolt with precision. Unlike her previous attempts she managed to remain consistent and blocked at least 30 bolts in a row. Surely Qaela would notice her progress and end the training soon. They had no time for Qyrisa to spend practicing things she learned. Qyrisa had to get things right the first time and continue that perfection from this point on. She knew that things were completely serious from this point on. She was no longer on Dathomir, but was now under Qaela's guidance.

[Qaela]

Bolt after bolt was fired from the remote, but Qaela didn't pay attention to them. Instead, she focused her attention on her sister, both with the Force and with her eyes. She took in every success and every failure only to analyze them through the Force to determine how well Qyrisa was truly learning.

 

She was a quick learner, but then, she would have to be in order to survive Teyati's teaching. Even though she didn't receive the brunt of their mother's focus, she was expected to be a model Nightsister and had her share of hardships. Now, though, she would have to step up to the challenge of dealing with an extremely hostile Galaxy.

 

It struck her how she was casually slipping into the very role that her mother played as the critical instructor. Occasionally, she would give advice, direction, or criticism. It annoyed her not to be able to jump in and demonstrate herself, but she didn't want to expose herself to even the slight risk of being hit by a stun blast in the stomach.

 

After it appeared that Qyrisa managed to get the hang of dealing with one drone, Qaela decided it was time to move on to more challenging things. She would have liked to introduce more remotes, but she had just the one. She got up and went into one of the guest rooms. A minute later, she emerged with a dark colored pillowcase. She also had a piece of thin rope.

 

She halted the remote's sequence and gave her sister the pillowcase and rope. "Since you seem to be doing so well, I will have to make things a little more challenging. Use the pillowcase as a blindfold, but before you do that, bind your legs together. You can stop fighting when I tell you to."

 

With a slight smirk, she sat down on one of the recliners and waited to see how Qyrisa handled this next challenge.

[Lord Ar-Pharazon]

The Dreadfully Unpleasant and Very Unholy Chariot of Unwarranted Suffering exited hyperspace harshly, like a demon being exorcised from a thrall. In the cold depths of silent space, Ar-Pharazon grew restless. He lasciviously proceeded from his craft's cockpit and down a hall within his evil ship. A large, dirty closet revealed a poor innocent battered human male who had been captured some months ago on Naboo, bound in cords, and kept alive by crude machines pumping gruel into his system.

 

”œWell, you wretched waste!”

[Kyrie Eleison]

The most crucial part of a Jedi's blade is the focusing crystal”¦ Each is unique, and some bond with the creator. The Sith often use synthetic crystals, strong and evil, some of which are able to short out a Jedi's natural-made crystal. You must utilize the powers of The Force to make your crystal stronger”¦ To allow it to bond with you. To weave it to your will and your mind, will make your lightsaber a true extension of your soul.

 

The crystal floated a several inches above the control panel, elevated by The Force. Through it, the song flowed, and amplified as Kyrie slowly sang the songs of war, observing the crystal slowly morph to her command over several hours time. She had found the silvered crystal nestled amongst the hyperdrive's focusing core, and according to the readouts, it had grown there over the period of the ship's existence, which was almost a century. It was odd, and through the scans Kyrie had performed on it, a she found no other crystal had ever been recorded.

 

As the song flowed through it, the silvered crystal took the shape needed of a focusing crystal, and began to ring with the song of The Force. Around and through the crystal, a storm of red lighting seemed to be forming, dancing over its facets like an electrical current. It felt pure, as if it could purge the very darkness from a room. With a smile, Kyrie let the crystal fall into her black-bound palm, and upon contact, she felt the caress of the light. It was truly tuned to her presence.

 

Letting the song flow around her, she reached out with the light and passed it through the crystal's matrix, letting it channel the power of exorcism throughout the room. Pure white fire leapt from the crystal, growing into an inferno, filling the cabin with its purifying flame. As it passed around and through her, Kyrie felt the giddy presence of the unadulterated Force. She let the fire follow her as she walked slowly to the docking bay, where several of the pirate's weapons lay scattered upon the polished plating. Taking up one of the vibroswords, the disassembled the handle, and passed the light though it, burning away the residual darkness.

 

Taking with her the disassembled handle, she walked slowly to the storage cabinets, and retrieved an extra hyperdrive focusing crystal and a blaster's emmiter matrix. She purified both with the song, and then returned to the cockpit. Taking a seat, Kyrie began to meditate, the words of the song flowing easily from her lips, long-learned in the times of war. Elevating the vibrosword's crossed handle, she placed within the electronic pieces that were required, according to the schematics within her mind. She infused each piece with the song's power, letting them flow and meld together in perfectly pure harmony.

 

With The Force, Kyrie placed the focusing lens into position, and slowly placed the red-lightning infused silver crystal into place. With one last movement she took the power-cell from the charge and slapped in into place. Releasing the handle with the force, she let it fall into her hand. It was weighty, and perfectly balanced. Nervous, Kyrie touched the activation plate, and a bright, silvered blade shot calmly from the cross-guarded handle. The blade was bright silver, and like its crystal, was dancing with red lighting. It was simply beautiful, the weapon of the Jedi, a fine blade with which to purify the galaxy. The Sith would shrink back before the power of the light.

 

Standing, she began to flow the blade about her in Vom Tag, striking from above like the falcon of Tri'vara, going through the movements long-practiced. Within a few moments, the blade began to move at an ever-increasing pace, Kyrie growing accustomed to the different weight. Moving her feet in war's dance to the song, in a dizzying pattern, she moved through the set. She ended in a flip, landing in the cockpit's doorway. A beeping from the ship's computer drew her attention, and she took a seat, placing her lightsaber upon the consul. The hyperdrive was ready. Keying in the navigational information for Gala, she activated the engines.

 

As the stars swirled about her, forming together into a blue veil, a familier voice shouted out behind her

 

”œKyrie, You're Alive!”

[Qyrisa]

Surprisingly, with the addition of the blindfold Qyrisa was able to see where the drone would shoot the bolts with much better clarity and focus. She figured the lack of distractions was the cause for that. However, the binding of her legs made her movements more awkward and she had to constantly adjust her weight to remain upright. Consequently, she found herself able to block the bolts, but only just barely. A couple of times she brought the blade up, but her awkward positioning only allowed her to just hit the bolt and sometimes they would still hit her. The stings were still more painful than they should be, but Qyrisa was able to effectively block them out with the blindfold.

 

Qaela let the test go on and Qyrisa continued to consistently block the bolts. The only time one managed to hit her was when she couldn't bring the blade up to a proper angle without the risk of toppling over. She was amazed at how restricted her movement was with just a simple binding of her legs. She almost fell over a few times, but she managed to maintain balance and keep herself up. Though she could tap into the Force with greater clarity her physical restrictions seemed to come close to countering that.

 

There's probably a lesson in that somewhere Qyrisa thought to herself. Qaela always found a way to implement a lesson on something into every drill. It was one of her sister's strengths. She was a talented teacher who could find a way to make a lesson accessible to anyone. Not to mention her knowledge which is deeper than the snow on Hoth Qyrisa thought with a slight chuckle.

[Qaela]

Qaela was pleased. She didn't care about how many stun bolts her sister blocked, what she cared about was more important. Her sister was able to take what seemed like punishment in stride without rebelling or growing bitter. That was a good start and showed her that perhaps Qyrisa wasn't going to turn on her as she was turning on their mother. At least not yet.

 

When the remote's cycle had run its course, Qaela appraised her sister with the Force. She didn't sense any hatred or rage. "You did well," she said. "Do not let your feelings control you. You were put in an unfair position and yet you did not lash out at the one who put you there. You must always beware of your feelings and emotions. They can be a good driving force, but you must never let them take over.

 

"Let your hatred of our mother drive you to improve yourself so that you can challenge her with me. Be careful, though, that your hatred doesn't overwhelm you in the heat of that battle and blind you to what would otherwise be obvious. The Jedi don't let their emotions drive them at all, and the Sith let their emotions control them too much. You can't tolerate either an absence of that which is natural to us nor allowing that to control you. If you do, then you will be weaker for it and I do not tolerate weakness, neither does the rest of the Galaxy."

[Qyrisa]

Qyrisa nodded as her sister talked. It hadn't even crossed her mind to lash out at Qaela for puttin her in an unfair position. Qyrisa knew she was the pupil. She was the weaker of the two and any resistance towards her sister's commands would likely bring harsh punishment. The bond between the sisters was strong and Qyrisa had no intentions of shattering the loyalty they shared.

 

"Sister if I might ask, what will become of the Sisterhood when Teyati is removed from the picture? Will you be assuming leadership or have you already chosen someone new to fill her position?" Qyrisa thought about telling Qaela of her desire to lead the Sisterhood and bring them into power in the Galaxy, but she worried that Qaela might misread her ambition.

[Qaela]

Qaela shrugged. "Teyati doesn't lead the Clan, nobody really does after Skywalker came and massacred our people decades ago. When we kill her, perhaps some of the Sisters would be subservient to us, but there is no reason for them to do so unless they choose to. I do not plan on being around much after she is dead, so it may fall to you to show all of our Sisters the positive elements of Sith teaching."

 

She got up out of the couch and headed toward her room. "For now, I shall retire and meditate on things that must be done. Practice with the remote as much as you would like. I regret not having more, but I was not prepared for your arrival. We will be on Dubrillion in three days. I will teach you more during that time."

 

"When we arrive at our destination, I can only hope that you aren't put into further risk on my behalf. Things will happen and I do not even know if I will be allowed to live for long after them. I hope that you are spared and allowed to leave unharmed. The man we are going to see is not known for his wanton cruelty, but he has killed many and is a high officer in a powerful criminal organization. It might be best if you remain with the ship after introductions so that I can see if things will work out."

[Moon Knight]

As the Justice hurdled from the Outer Rim toward the Core Worlds, ShadowFett got up from the pilot's chair and headed back into the modest-but-sufficient crew area aboard the Tra'kad-class vessel. Mirdala was there, having survived her ordeal and now thankfully clear of the aruetyc hospital that had nonetheless been required for her recovery. All things considered, it was a relief to Fett that they had finally made it to this point; during a mission, there had always been the uncertainty of whether he would be able to track down the slavers, or in what condition Mirdala would be when he arrived. Now, that was behind them, and it was again time to start thinking about the future.

 

The Mando'ad popped his buy'ce, a subtle hiss of air marking the breaking of the seal, then picked a seat. "Feeling alright, Mird'ika?" he asked. People such as them got used to space travel over time, but the various sensations of motion could be tortorous when one was sick. "Normally it'd feel good to be headed back for Coruscant, but this time we're going to be met with a problem I can't solve with a blaster.

 

"Well," he amended, "not legally." Indeed, sometimes he wished he could just shut up the politicians like he had the the slavers. Combat was simple, and it was something he'd been doing all his life. He had everything he needed to do battle--beskar'gam, besbe'trayce, ramikadyc mindset--but politics required a completely different set of tools. Patience, persuasion, tact. Shab, he thought. No, he would help plan this stuff, but he wasn't going to be the one doing the talking when it came time to actually make a public statement.

 

He shook his head. "Makes me glad I'm not freelance anymore, though." He'd gone undercover once or twice just like Mirdala had as Ca'tra Dar'manda. One didn't have a PR team working for them when they were solo, and after betraying both Black Sun and the Empire, people had been a little wary about offering him a koor. So he'd disappeared until things had smoothed themselves out and, shortly after, joined the Augury. That's when things had really gotten better.

[Karys Narat iv-Adas]

The Black Heart belong to the relatively unknown sith lord Darth Lucifer makes one or two micro jumps as to not be tracked before heading to Coruscant.

 

While mid-flight a message was sent to the infamous sith Ar-Pharazon.

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

The song filled Xae's newly-receptive mind and images of pain, destruction, and waste filled her senses. It was a strong warning in the Force of what was to come and she knew the part that she was to play, and thanks to the knowledge that she'd been given, she knew exactly what needed to be done to avert total disaster.

 

Xae reached out and took the newly-crafted lightsaber from her inventive and ever-resourceful Padawan. She could feel the crystals power coursing from within, it was pure fire and made her feel slightly queasy as she held it. Il-Andon's words were true, there was something wrong with her to the point that holding the pure-flame lightsaber that Kyrie had crafted was affecting her. She passed the weapon back to the teen.

 

”œIt's well crafted. As easily as you're able to listen to and feel the Force I know that you'll be a strong Knight one day. How did you come by the crystal?”

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Even if it wasn't the Rangir, Justice had an odd sense of home about it. Maybe it was the work that she'd put into integrating her traat'aliit'ad's besk'ad with the rest of the ship through several remote processes and other beskad'ika that she'd made subordinate to 2277's processing and commands.

 

It had been long, intricate and enjoyable work and she'd been happy to have done it to help Fett out. She was comfortably stretched out on one of the elongated seats that ran alongside the table, propped up against the bulkhead pouring through data gathered by 2277 and Fett that had been to sensitive to convey even via their private link. She understood the caution, but it was unlikely that with the very rare frequency that the devices used the communication would be intercepted, and then decoded. Though, now that she thought about it, they didn't know if her half of the conversation was being monitored.

 

P for Prudence, she thought to herself, modifying the oft-used saying uttered by her traat'aliit'ad, who was coming to check on her even now. She managed a small, hollow laugh at his amendment and shrugged, ”œYour piloting not being any crazier than it normally is...I guess I'm feeling as well as can be expected.”

Edited November 15, 2011 by Guest

[Moon Knight]

((This'll be short but to the point.))

 

She certainly had her defenses, ShadowFett thought. A conversation could branch in any number of directions at any moment, and every time it seemed that they were headed somewhere deeper, she managed to veer away and talk again about business. Mand'alor could talk business, whenever he needed to do so. They'd been talking business and strategy for days. As far as he was concerned, they were ready to get back to Coruscant, he would go through the Commissioners' meeting, they'd make a few final preparations, and they'd make their case to the droten.

 

No, there was no more time for business. Since she had given him the beskad'ika the night before her shereshir, he had wanted to do something, and now was the time to do it. He stood up and walked over to where she was reclined, took the datapad out of her hand and tossed it onto the table. Then, for a moment dying to the part of him that was a distant, cold hunter ruled by his self-control and all the things he would never allow himself to do, instead pushing blindly ahead, he kissed her.

 

He took one of her hands in his and held the kiss as long as she would accept it. Somewhere, deep in the back of his mind, he heard the voice of Marc Spector. "And so you have chosen." Yes, he certainly had.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

She was sure that despite her apology that what she'd said had upset him when he rose abruptly; a look she couldn't quite read crossed his face. When he came around the table she tensed defensively on instinct, uncertainty apparent in her jade eyes. He'd taken the data pad from her hands and pulled her close to him and was kissing her before she realized what was going on.

 

Her body went rigid and her initial instinct was to fight him after everything that she'd been through, but in the split-second that it took for her rational mind to remind her that this wasn't Lura or the others, she was already beginning to push him away. She'd been able to admit her feelings for her traat'aliit'ad to herself while she was in captivity, and she felt ashamed that her initial reaction was to push him away. Mirdala broke contact with him after a few seconds, as she tried to continue to process what was happening.

 

”œK-Kandor,”

[Moon Knight]

When Mirdala stiffened at first, ShadowFett was afraid he'd made a critical mistake for a moment. He didn't truly know what she had gone through during her captivity, and it's possible that the mental scars from what had taken place meant that she wasn't ready for what he had done. He started to curse himself for being so blunt, but tact was something that the Mando'ad had never once attributed to himself.

 

And yet, even as she pushed him away, she seemed to register more fully what had taken place, pulled herself out of the nightmare of the last couple weeks, and accepted him with an embrace. He breathed a mental sigh of relief. Shab, he thought to himself. I nearly botched it. And yet now he felt her comforting weight against his beskar'gam and returned the embrace, filled with a greater sense of peace than he had perhaps ever before experienced. He had finally broken down a wall that he had built with discipline as a mere child, and being this physically close to someone seemed to fulfill a part of him that he had always denied existed at all. Suddenly he became aware even more of what it meant to be a Mando'ad, to have a person beyond himself to honor, to take responsibility for her well-being even at great cost.

 

It was such a revelation it would have made a lesser man weep. Emotions ran deep in the Mandalorian people, and this was stronger than even the anger he had for the slavers who had taken her away from him. "I'm glad you were strong enough to last, cyar'ika," he said. "I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you."

 

He imagined it would have been a pretty bad time all around. Probably involving throwing himself at any enemies he could find. Possibly more than he could handle. Aay'han was a strong Mando concept, and sometimes Fett experienced it... but only when he couldn't avoid it. Keeping them alive was much better. And it was made a shab of a lot easier when they were as tough as Mirdala.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

When his arms drew her closer, she knew that he'd understood her earlier reaction and hadn't taken offense. Mirdala found great comfort in his arms and finally found herself able to relax against him. ”œI knew that you wouldn't leave me behind. It was just a matter of when you would find me, that's why I contacted you as soon as I knew they'd take us to Tatooine.”

[Moon Knight]

Hearing the words from her was comforting and reaffirming to Kandor Fett. Ever since their first conversation on Tatooine, when she had been mourning Tracyn and seeking a little vengeance against Black Sun, they had invested in each other information that no one else knew. It had been natural, easy, even though they were both individuals who trusted no others at the time. It was similarly natural for them to progress from that point to here, even though it was a road that Fett had never been down--at least, if one didn't count the thousand-or-so others whose memories were locked in his kovid. But he wasn't them, and knowing that Mirdala could feel the way she did, even after seeing his darker side, reacted with him in a way that nothing else before had.

 

He returned the kiss, all of this racing around in his head a second time in an instant. It was more than he could possibly describe, and things would never be the same. Ori'jate, he thought. It was better now.

 

"Troch," he agreed in response to what she had brought up--the certain element of privacy that was unfortunately necessary. "I can't imagine Manning being too pleased about this particular breach of etiquette." The Chiss always seemed to be sticklers when it came to rules, and somehow CoreSec had attracted not only Manning, but Mazzari as well. The Mando'ad had to admit that they were good at their jobs, but they were extremely at odds with his own procedural approach.

 

He was loathe to go back to business, but he'd said what needed to be said, and Coruscant was fast approaching--despite the distance, it was a pretty direct jump from Ryloth to Triple Zero and so didn't take much time. "I think the strategy we worked out is beskaryc, but imparting it on someone to speak on CoreSec's behalf is going to be a headache."

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Even though she'd had the same thought moments before, she rolled her eyes. ”œI have a feeling that's one conversation that should be avoided at all costs.”

[Moon Knight]

ShadowFett raised an eyebrow. It did make a lot of sense for Mirdala to be the one doing the talking. She had, after all, been deeply involved in both the Nubia attack and the aftereffects of the Thalassian pirate raid. She was certainly much more tactful than he was and more personable than Manning. He didn't know enough about Holloway to speak for him, and he seemed genuine enough, but he hadn't been involved in pretty much anything other than the investigation following the Naboo and Bespin attacks. While Mand'alor valued that contribution, he simply didn't think the Arcanian was as suited to the purpose as his traat'aliit'ad.

 

"If you're willing, Mird'ika, I'll certainly bring it up to the other Commissioners," he said. In a flash of political insight, he reasoned that it probably wouldn't do for one of the Commissioners to respond in person to the allegations anyway because it would lend a lot of seriousness to them. Instead putting up a Lieutenant would suggest that CoreSec was unconcerned with what was being leveled against them, even if it wasn't the truth.

 

Just then the hyperspace proximity warning echoed through the Justice. "Looks like we're coming up on Coruscant," he said, placing his buy'ce back in place and heading for the cockpit.

[Gonzo Lockjaw]

As Gonzo's shuttle rocketed towards Gala, he meditated intensely, planning out every single detail of the mission that awaited him. But with so little information available to him planning his infiltration was proving to be very difficult, and in this sort of situation with so much at stake, absolutely nothing could be left to chance.

 

With the planet only a few minutes away, Gonzo prepared the shuttle to exit hyperspace and descend upon the planet.

[Slicer]

He stood hands clasped behind his back staring out in the vast endlessness of space. This man was a business man of many different sorts but above all he was a killer. A paid killer but a killer and it had been some time since he had killed.

 

He turned slowly to look back into the interior of his ship. It still had that new ship smell. That was annoying. It was annoying so much had to be replaced. Yet it had allowed him to evolve. What he needed now was a field test of sorts.

 

The Sith master waited in the vastness of space. He waited, he watched and he planned.

[Emily]

The man gave her quick instructions and then left her to her own devices. Emily took him up on his offer of new clothes and went through the door he had indicated. There were a few boxes of clothes--mostly men's clothes, naturally--but she managed to find a pair of blue pants and a white t-shirt that fit her reasonably well. The pants were a little big and the shirt a little tight, but they were better than the alternative.

 

She took the clothes into the room marked "Five" and found a bunk and a refresher. Her first order of business was a sanisteam. Sand had managed to get everywhere and had been chafing and rubbing against her skin for hours. It was a relief to be free from that irritation.

 

She dressed in the new clothes, then brushed her black hair dry. She usually pulled it back, but this time let it hang loose to cascade down her shoulders. She eschewed the soft-soled boots she had been wearing, preferring to go barefoot onboard for now, wearing only the thick socks she had found in the storage room.

 

She slept then for a little while, and when she woke up half a standard hour later, she felt like she was back to normal. The drugs had passed through her system, and she could think clearly again. It was a bittersweet realization, for with clarity came thoughts and memories that had been easy to push away when her mind was befuddled.

 

She rose and headed up to the cockpit. The--pirate? smuggler? bounty hunter?--was there, and she silently slid into one of the chairs and stared at the mesmerizing whirl of hyperspace outside the cockpit window.

 

After a moment, she broke the silence. "What is your name?" she asked softly. She didn't know if he would answer, but it bothered her not even knowing the name of this Mandalorian. Another thought struck her. "And whose clothes were these?"

[Oakheart]

After he had them in space and the navicomputer had calculated their route, they entered hyperspace seamlessly. From there he more or less had Ka'ra on autopilot, though even if he--when he--left the cockpit, all the information and control was accessible through his buy'ce. He did leave the cockpit, to visit his own bunk briefly and pull both his buy'ce and his mask, and his gloves off, and wash his face, and watch his features in the mirror, and wonder.

 

This young woman, Emily, had been a slave, for however brief a period of time. The trade was not viewed favorably by Archer, and he was aware of who had been involved in breaking up Mos Espa's trade that particular day, which was one reason he no longer had incentive to stay on Tatooine. But of course, she would likely have the residual effects of imposed drug use in her system, and would sleep first.

 

Archer filled a canteen and prepared some modest spacer food. It would give her the nutrients she would need. He saw no other point to food in space. For him, travel had never lasted so long that he grew truly hungry, and his meal plan was already as erratic as everything else about him.

 

By the time he was back in the cockpit, gloves, mask, and helmet donned once more, he heard her muffled footsteps behind, and then she had sat in the seat next to his. He let her ask her questions, then reached to his other side and pulled up the canteen and the small tray of food and handed them both to her without a word.

 

He waited a short time, unsure of what to say. My name is Ca'tra Ordo, and those clothes were mine when I was younger and much more enjoyable. It was not as if the answer he would actually give was a lie, but he had not even spoken his own name aloud in years. "Archer," he said. "And they belonged to a boy I knew."

 

He hadn't carried an employer aboard before, and his silence continuously reigned, but inwardly he was conscious of the reality that it would be better to communicate with this one. There was no reason for remaining silent other than his habit of attitude. "How did you come to be a slave?"

[Emily]

She nodded. "Archer," she repeated, essentially to herself. She accepted the tray of food gratefully. She hadn't realized how hungry she was. In truth, she couldn't remember her last meal.

 

Silence reigned in the cockpit while she ate. Emily didn't mind. She still had much to process and think through. It had been two months ago that she had been kidnapped by Furion. She still didn't know what his purpose had been. Perhaps he had been in league with Ar-Pharazon and had kidnapped her to take her away from Quietus. It doesn't matter now, she thought. She had quickly tired of the Sith Master's hints and insinuations, and when her tolerance finally snapped, she had left.

 

Emily had had some time to think over the past few months. Now that she sat down and actually processed those thoughts, she realized that she had come to some conclusions. There was no sense at remaining angry at Quietus. He had gone back on his promise, yes, but she couldn't blame him for being who he was. He had seen the potential for power and everything else had dimmed in comparison. Didn't that make him the perfect Sith? She couldn't blame him for being exceptional. Indeed, she had been a fool to trust him. She should have kept him at arms' length--learned from him, soaked up his knowledge, obeyed him, but not let herself trust his promises.

 

No, she only had herself to blame when it came to Quietus. And now she had lost her chance because of it. She knew that if he hadn't come looking for her, he wasn't going to. She'd have to find another path, like she often did.

 

She also wrestled with another thought that had been haunting her for the past several weeks. If everyone I allow myself to get close to is taken from me--Dad, Mom, Uncle Andon, Nishant, Quietus--then I should simply shut down and not allow myself to get close to anyone. That's what makes the most sense. But being a Sith is all about desires, and attaining them. If I desire a friend or companion, then I should, as a Sith, have no qualms about taking what I desire. She didn't know what to think. She took another bite of food and chewed slowly. She couldn't see a solution, not now anyway.

 

Her thoughts were interrupted by Archer, who inquired after her status as a slave. She put her fork down and made a wry face. "I was onboard a passenger ship bound for Chandrila. The slavers attacked the ship, and I was stupid enough to not hide when I had the chance." She shrugged. "They captured me and were intending to sell me on Tatooine when a fight broke out in the arena. I escaped in the chaos."

 

She finished her meal and set the tray and canteen to the side. Drawing her legs up to her chest, she crossed her arms around her knees and met the visor of his helmet with her mismatched eyes. "Why did you agree to take me if you knew I was an escaped slave?"

[Oakheart]

It irked him for a moment, when she repeated his name. For a split second he wondered if she didn't believe him, thought it odd, intended to ask...then it settled, and he let silence steady itself before she spoke again. He was almost going to attempt reassurance, say that she likely would have been found even had she hidden, but thought that this didn't quite sound like...well, like anything, really.

 

He knew her next question couldn't be more than curious interest, as she herself had told him she was an escaped slave. But it made some sense, that she might have expected such news to be greeted with a denial of service, or perhaps even an attempt at taking the other kind of advantage of that situation. Archer would neither have denied her request, nor in any case attempted to sell her. In that sense it was almost humorous; telling him one was a slave was the last thing that would keep him from offering aid.

 

"Slavers think slavery is good. I think slavery is bad. Slavers choose to enslave. I choose to oppose them." Thought-to-action, it was, to him, simple choice in the moment. "But more specifically, because this is what I think, there is no risk for me in transporting you that I would not willingly take on even without you." Also, if you'd stayed there, it was likely they would retake you. Or try. But he had suspected her circumstances even before she had told him. This, in fact, was what had prompted him to tell her to be honest about potential risk. "If you had not told me, I would have let my guesses dismiss you as an employer."

[Emily]

Emily's wry look became an equally wry grin. "You're probably one of the few people in the galaxy that would have responded the way you did, even if they were no fan of slavery. Few people are willing to accept the risks accompanied with freeing slaves. The Force was clearly drawing me to you and you to me in that cantina."

 

For once, being honest had paid off. That was rarely the case in Emily's experience. She decided to push it one step further and see how he reacted. Short of dropping her out an airlock, there was little he could do if he decided he didn't like her being on his ship. "Anyway, thank you for taking me on. I'm eager to get back to Coruscant...to complete my Sith training."

 

She turned her eyes to the viewport when she said this, though she watched out of the corner of them to see what his reaction would be. She doubted there would be anything external if he was surprised by the revelation of who she was--after all, he was in full Mandalorian armor.

 

But at least it was out on the table now that she was much more than a simple escaped slave. Suddenly, she was struck by surprise at herself. Why are you telling Archer all of this? You don't know anything about him. You just met him a few hours ago. But at the same time, there was something about the man. Perhaps it was his honesty. She was so used to the Sith, who always hid behind masks and twisted their words, and the Jedi, who pushed away their true thoughts and feelings, that Archer's plain straightforwardness was refreshing.

 

There was, she reflected, something to be said for that.

[Slicer]

He had performed spaces tests on all of his new armor suits. Now he was back in his old and yet still very fashionable armor. At first he had thought it to be all purpose, but it seemed to be more of a recon suit than anything. With all of his scanners, and cameras, why he was also recording, and always seeing past the nearest wall.

 

He smiled, it was comforting to know that his gear was still working. He set a course then began to work as his ship took him to his new location. He was rebuilding an invention of his.

 

Slicer diligently hummed as he worked. A welding torch in one hand, his hand drawn schematics in the other. It was time for him to get back to his roots of inventing and he felt inspired to recreate.

 

 

All currently available network intrusion detection (ID) systems rely upon a mechanism of data collection---passive protocol analysis---which is fundamentally flawed. In passive protocol analysis, the intrusion detection system (IDS) unobtrusively watches all traffic on the network, and scrutinizes it for patterns of suspicious activity.

 

Intrusion detection is a security technology that attempts to identify and isolate "intrusions" against computer systems. Different ID systems have differing classifications of "intrusion"; a system attempting to detect attacks against web servers might consider only malicious Holonet requests, while a system intended to monitor dynamic routing protocols might only consider RIP spoofing. Regardless, all ID systems share a general definition of "intrusion" as an unauthorized usage of or misuse of a computer system. Intrusion detection is an important component of a security system, and it complements other security technologies. By providing information to site administration, ID allows not only for the detection of attacks explicitly addressed by other security components (such as firewalls and service wrappers), but also attempts to provide notification of new attacks unforeseen by other components. Intrusion detection systems also provide forensic information that potentially allow organizations to discover the origins of an attack. In this manner, ID systems attempt to make attackers more accountable for their actions, and, to some extent, act as a deterrent to future attacks.

 

 

 

There are many different ID systems deployed world-wide, and almost as many different designs for them. Because there are so many different ID systems, it helps to have a model within which to consider all of them. The Common Intrusion Detection Framework (CIDF)[1] defines a set of components that together define an intrusion detection system. These components include event generators ("E-boxes"), analysis engines ("A-boxes"), storage mechanisms ("D-boxes"), and even countermeasures ("C-boxes"). A CIDF component can be a software package in and of itself, or part of a larger system. The purpose of an E-box is to provide information about events to the rest of the system. An "event" can be complex, or it can be a low-level network protocol occurrence. It need not be evidence of an intrusion in and of itself. E-boxes are the sensory organs of a complete IDS--- without E-box inputs, an intrusion detection system has no information from which to make conclusions about security events.

 

A-boxes analyze input from event generators. A large portion of intrusion detection research goes into creating new ways to analyze event streams to extract relevant information, and a number of different approaches have been studied. Event analysis techniques based on statistical anomaly detection[2], graph analysis[3], and even biological immune system models[4] have been proposed.

 

E-boxes and A-boxes can produce large quantities of data. This information must be made available to the system's operators if it is to be of any use. The D-box component of an IDS defines the means used to store security information and make it available at a later time.

 

Many ID systems are designed only as alarms. However, most commercially available ID systems are equipped with some form of countermeasure (C-box) capability, ranging from shutting down TCP connections to modifying router filter lists. This allows an IDS to try to prevent further attacks from occurring after initial attacks are detected. Even systems that don't provide C-box capabilities can be hooked into home-brewed response programs to achieve a similar effect.

 

Each component identified by the CIDF model has unique security implications, and can be attacked for different reasons. As the only inputs of raw data into the system, E-boxes act as the eyes and ears of an IDS. An attack against the event generation capabilities of an IDS blinds it to what's actually happening in the system it's monitoring. For example, an attack against the E-box of a network IDS could prevent it from obtaining Spikes which will now be referred to as spikes off the network, or from appropriately decoding these Spikes.

 

Some intrusion detection systems rely on sophisticated analyses to provide security information. In such systems, the reliability of the A-box components used is important because an attacker that knows how to fool them can evade detection --- and complicated analytical techniques may provide many avenues of attack. On the other hand, overly simplistic systems may fail to detect attackers that intentionally mask their attacks with complex, coordinated system interactions from multiple hosts[6].

 

The need for reliable data storage is obvious. An attacker that can subvert the D-box components of an IDS can prevent it from recording the details of her attack; poorly implemented data storage techniques can even allow sophisticated attackers to alter recorded information after an attack has been detected, eliminating its forensic value.

 

The C-box capability can also be attacked. If a network relies on these countermeasures for protection, an attacker who knows how to thwart the C-box can continue attacking the network, immune to the safety measures employed by the system. More importantly, countermeasure capabilities can be fooled into reacting against legitimate usage of the network --- in this case, the IDS can actually be turned against the network using it (often un-detectably).

 

It is apparent that there are many different points at which an intrusion detection system can be attacked. A comprehensive treatment of all potential vulnerabilities is far outside the scope of this paper. Rather than attempting to document general problems common to all ID systems, we focus on a specific class of attacks against certain types of intrusion detection systems.

 

There exist several serious problems with the use of passive protocol analysis as an event-generation source for signature-analysis intrusion detection systems. This paper documents these problems, presents several attacks that exploit them to allow an attacker to evade detection by ID systems, and verifies their applicability to the most popular commercial ID systems on the market.

 

A network IDS is typically on an entirely different machine from the systems it's watching. Often, the IDS is at a completely different point on the network. The basic problem facing a network IDS is that these differences cause inconsistencies between the ID system and the machines it watches. Some of these discrepancies are the results of basic physical differences, others stem from different network driver implementations.

 

For example, consider an IDS and an end-system located at different places on a network. The two systems will receive any given Spike at different points in time. This difference in time is important; during the lag, something can happen on the end-system that might prevent it from accepting the Spike. The IDS, however, has already processed the Spike---thinking that it will be dealt with normally at the end-system.

 

A "denial of service" (DOS) attack is one that is intended to compromise the availability of a computing resource. Common DOS attacks include ping floods and mail bombs --- both intended to consume disproportionate amounts of resources, starving legitimate processes. Other attacks are targeted at bugs in software, and are intended to crash the system. The infamous "ping of death" and "teardrop" attacks are examples of these. Denial of service attacks can be leveraged to subvert systems (thus compromising more than availability) as well as to disable them. When discussing the relevance of DOS attacks to a security system, the question of whether the system is "fail-open" arises. A "fail-open" system ceases to provide protection when it is disabled by a DOS attack. A "fail-closed" system, on the other hand, leaves the network protected when it is forcibly disabled.

 

The terms "fail-open" and "fail-closed" are most often heard within the context of firewalls, which are access-control devices for networks. A fail-open firewall stops controlling access to the network when it crashes, but leaves the network available. An attacker that can crash a fail-open firewall can bypass it entirely. Good firewalls are designed to "fail-closed", leaving the network completely inaccessible (and thus protected) if they crash.

 

Network ID systems are passive. They do not control the network or maintain its connectivity in any way. As such, a network IDS is inherently fail-open. If an attacker can crash the IDS or starve it of resources, she can attack the rest of the network as if the IDS wasn't even there. Because of the obvious susceptibility to DOS attacks that network ID systems have, it's important that they be fortified against them.

 

Unfortunately, denial of service attacks are extremely difficult to defend against. The resource starvation problem is not easily solvable, and there are many different points at which the resources of an IDS can be consumed. Attacks that crash the IDS itself are easily fixed, but finding all such vulnerabilities is not easily done.

 

 

An IDS can accept a Spike that an end-system rejects. An IDS that does this makes the mistake of believing that the end-system has accepted and processed the Spike when it actually hasn't. An attacker can exploit this condition by sending Spikes to an end-system that it will reject, but that the IDS will think are valid. In doing this, the attacker is "inserting" data into the IDS --- no other system on the network cares about the bad Spikes. This should in effect allow me to slip past any system I so desire.

 

An end-system can accept a Spike that an IDS rejects. An IDS that mistakenly rejects such a Spike misses its contents entirely. This condition can also be exploited, this time by slipping crucial information past the IDS in Spikes that the IDS is too strict about processing. These Spikes are "evading" the scrutiny of the IDS.

 

We call these "evasion" attacks, and they are the easiest to exploit and most devastating to the accuracy of an IDS. Entire sessions can be carried forth in Spikes that evade an IDS, and blatantly obvious attacks couched in such sessions will happen right under the nose of even the most sophisticated analysis engine.

 

Evasion attacks foil pattern matching in a manner quite similar to insertion attacks. Again, the attacker causes the IDS to see a different stream of data than the end-system --- this time, however, the end-system sees more than the IDS, and the information that the IDS misses is critical to the detection of an attack. By combining this ability along with the first ability I should be able to access any info I desire while throwing off any possible chance of being detected while in the system.

 

In reality, insertion and evasion attacks are not this easy to exploit. An attacker usually does not have the luxury of injecting arbitrary characters into a stream. However, these attacks can come into play well before pattern matching becomes a consideration. One example of a place in which insertion attacks can be leveraged at a very low level is stream reassembly. However, if my theory holds true, then by taking the same droid processors that are present inside of slicer droids, which should already be state of the art, and adding this elusion protocol in triplicate to the droid processors, and attach them to something the size of 2 inch cover that cover's datapad ports for all computer systems. And I should be able to devise a way that by merely attaching this to any computer system in any network, that it automatically tears through the system one way or another. Upon reaching inside, it would then open up the entire network, even if it was a closed system, mainly by connecting the system to a holonet line. By doing so, it would allow me, or anyone who knew what to look for and had acess to the transponder that I will be building next, to enter any infected system from Planets away.

 

He sighed and stood up, in front of him were five seemingly innocent strops, that had undersides that look as if they connected to a datapad port found on computers. This was a tried and true method he had used in the past. In short it turned an closed system into an open one for him. As well as allowed an encryption system armed with anti hacking methods to be bypassed for him. Letting him link up with any system he put this piece of hardware on from anywhere in the galaxy. Of course it was designed to look like it was part of the ports that it would be covering. As to not arouse suspicion and simply be removed. He began to work on a software equivalent, to finish out his remaining hours on his way to coruscant.

[Slicer]

He had performed spaces tests on all of his new armor suits. Now he was back in his old and yet still very fashionable armor. At first he had thought it to be all purpose, but it seemed to be more of a recon suit than anything. With all of his scanners, and cameras, why he was also recording, and always seeing past the nearest wall.

 

He smiled, it was comforting to know that his gear was still working. He set a course then began to work as his ship took him to his new location. He was rebuilding an invention of his.

 

Slicer diligently hummed as he worked. A welding torch in one hand, his hand drawn schematics in the other. It was time for him to get back to his roots of inventing and he felt inspired to recreate.

 

 

All currently available network intrusion detection (ID) systems rely upon a mechanism of data collection---passive protocol analysis---which is fundamentally flawed. In passive protocol analysis, the intrusion detection system (IDS) unobtrusively watches all traffic on the network, and scrutinizes it for patterns of suspicious activity.

 

Intrusion detection is a security technology that attempts to identify and isolate "intrusions" against computer systems. Different ID systems have differing classifications of "intrusion"; a system attempting to detect attacks against web servers might consider only malicious Holonet requests, while a system intended to monitor dynamic routing protocols might only consider RIP spoofing. Regardless, all ID systems share a general definition of "intrusion" as an unauthorized usage of or misuse of a computer system. Intrusion detection is an important component of a security system, and it complements other security technologies. By providing information to site administration, ID allows not only for the detection of attacks explicitly addressed by other security components (such as firewalls and service wrappers), but also attempts to provide notification of new attacks unforeseen by other components. Intrusion detection systems also provide forensic information that potentially allow organizations to discover the origins of an attack. In this manner, ID systems attempt to make attackers more accountable for their actions, and, to some extent, act as a deterrent to future attacks.

 

 

 

There are many different ID systems deployed world-wide, and almost as many different designs for them. Because there are so many different ID systems, it helps to have a model within which to consider all of them. The Common Intrusion Detection Framework (CIDF)[1] defines a set of components that together define an intrusion detection system. These components include event generators ("E-boxes"), analysis engines ("A-boxes"), storage mechanisms ("D-boxes"), and even countermeasures ("C-boxes"). A CIDF component can be a software package in and of itself, or part of a larger system. The purpose of an E-box is to provide information about events to the rest of the system. An "event" can be complex, or it can be a low-level network protocol occurrence. It need not be evidence of an intrusion in and of itself. E-boxes are the sensory organs of a complete IDS--- without E-box inputs, an intrusion detection system has no information from which to make conclusions about security events.

 

A-boxes analyze input from event generators. A large portion of intrusion detection research goes into creating new ways to analyze event streams to extract relevant information, and a number of different approaches have been studied. Event analysis techniques based on statistical anomaly detection[2], graph analysis[3], and even biological immune system models[4] have been proposed.

 

E-boxes and A-boxes can produce large quantities of data. This information must be made available to the system's operators if it is to be of any use. The D-box component of an IDS defines the means used to store security information and make it available at a later time.

 

Many ID systems are designed only as alarms. However, most commercially available ID systems are equipped with some form of countermeasure (C-box) capability, ranging from shutting down TCP connections to modifying router filter lists. This allows an IDS to try to prevent further attacks from occurring after initial attacks are detected. Even systems that don't provide C-box capabilities can be hooked into home-brewed response programs to achieve a similar effect.

 

Each component identified by the CIDF model has unique security implications, and can be attacked for different reasons. As the only inputs of raw data into the system, E-boxes act as the eyes and ears of an IDS. An attack against the event generation capabilities of an IDS blinds it to what's actually happening in the system it's monitoring. For example, an attack against the E-box of a network IDS could prevent it from obtaining Spikes which will now be referred to as spikes off the network, or from appropriately decoding these Spikes.

 

Some intrusion detection systems rely on sophisticated analyses to provide security information. In such systems, the reliability of the A-box components used is important because an attacker that knows how to fool them can evade detection --- and complicated analytical techniques may provide many avenues of attack. On the other hand, overly simplistic systems may fail to detect attackers that intentionally mask their attacks with complex, coordinated system interactions from multiple hosts[6].

 

The need for reliable data storage is obvious. An attacker that can subvert the D-box components of an IDS can prevent it from recording the details of her attack; poorly implemented data storage techniques can even allow sophisticated attackers to alter recorded information after an attack has been detected, eliminating its forensic value.

 

The C-box capability can also be attacked. If a network relies on these countermeasures for protection, an attacker who knows how to thwart the C-box can continue attacking the network, immune to the safety measures employed by the system. More importantly, countermeasure capabilities can be fooled into reacting against legitimate usage of the network --- in this case, the IDS can actually be turned against the network using it (often un-detectably).

 

It is apparent that there are many different points at which an intrusion detection system can be attacked. A comprehensive treatment of all potential vulnerabilities is far outside the scope of this paper. Rather than attempting to document general problems common to all ID systems, we focus on a specific class of attacks against certain types of intrusion detection systems.

 

There exist several serious problems with the use of passive protocol analysis as an event-generation source for signature-analysis intrusion detection systems. This paper documents these problems, presents several attacks that exploit them to allow an attacker to evade detection by ID systems, and verifies their applicability to the most popular commercial ID systems on the market.

 

A network IDS is typically on an entirely different machine from the systems it's watching. Often, the IDS is at a completely different point on the network. The basic problem facing a network IDS is that these differences cause inconsistencies between the ID system and the machines it watches. Some of these discrepancies are the results of basic physical differences, others stem from different network driver implementations.

 

For example, consider an IDS and an end-system located at different places on a network. The two systems will receive any given Spike at different points in time. This difference in time is important; during the lag, something can happen on the end-system that might prevent it from accepting the Spike. The IDS, however, has already processed the Spike---thinking that it will be dealt with normally at the end-system.

 

A "denial of service" (DOS) attack is one that is intended to compromise the availability of a computing resource. Common DOS attacks include ping floods and mail bombs --- both intended to consume disproportionate amounts of resources, starving legitimate processes. Other attacks are targeted at bugs in software, and are intended to crash the system. The infamous "ping of death" and "teardrop" attacks are examples of these. Denial of service attacks can be leveraged to subvert systems (thus compromising more than availability) as well as to disable them. When discussing the relevance of DOS attacks to a security system, the question of whether the system is "fail-open" arises. A "fail-open" system ceases to provide protection when it is disabled by a DOS attack. A "fail-closed" system, on the other hand, leaves the network protected when it is forcibly disabled.

 

The terms "fail-open" and "fail-closed" are most often heard within the context of firewalls, which are access-control devices for networks. A fail-open firewall stops controlling access to the network when it crashes, but leaves the network available. An attacker that can crash a fail-open firewall can bypass it entirely. Good firewalls are designed to "fail-closed", leaving the network completely inaccessible (and thus protected) if they crash.

 

Network ID systems are passive. They do not control the network or maintain its connectivity in any way. As such, a network IDS is inherently fail-open. If an attacker can crash the IDS or starve it of resources, she can attack the rest of the network as if the IDS wasn't even there. Because of the obvious susceptibility to DOS attacks that network ID systems have, it's important that they be fortified against them.

 

Unfortunately, denial of service attacks are extremely difficult to defend against. The resource starvation problem is not easily solvable, and there are many different points at which the resources of an IDS can be consumed. Attacks that crash the IDS itself are easily fixed, but finding all such vulnerabilities is not easily done.

 

 

An IDS can accept a Spike that an end-system rejects. An IDS that does this makes the mistake of believing that the end-system has accepted and processed the Spike when it actually hasn't. An attacker can exploit this condition by sending Spikes to an end-system that it will reject, but that the IDS will think are valid. In doing this, the attacker is "inserting" data into the IDS --- no other system on the network cares about the bad Spikes. This should in effect allow me to slip past any system I so desire.

 

An end-system can accept a Spike that an IDS rejects. An IDS that mistakenly rejects such a Spike misses its contents entirely. This condition can also be exploited, this time by slipping crucial information past the IDS in Spikes that the IDS is too strict about processing. These Spikes are "evading" the scrutiny of the IDS.

 

We call these "evasion" attacks, and they are the easiest to exploit and most devastating to the accuracy of an IDS. Entire sessions can be carried forth in Spikes that evade an IDS, and blatantly obvious attacks couched in such sessions will happen right under the nose of even the most sophisticated analysis engine.

 

Evasion attacks foil pattern matching in a manner quite similar to insertion attacks. Again, the attacker causes the IDS to see a different stream of data than the end-system --- this time, however, the end-system sees more than the IDS, and the information that the IDS misses is critical to the detection of an attack. By combining this ability along with the first ability I should be able to access any info I desire while throwing off any possible chance of being detected while in the system.

 

In reality, insertion and evasion attacks are not this easy to exploit. An attacker usually does not have the luxury of injecting arbitrary characters into a stream. However, these attacks can come into play well before pattern matching becomes a consideration. One example of a place in which insertion attacks can be leveraged at a very low level is stream reassembly. However, if my theory holds true, then by taking the same droid processors that are present inside of slicer droids, which should already be state of the art, and adding this elusion protocol in triplicate to the droid processors, and attach them to something the size of 2 inch cover that cover's datapad ports for all computer systems. And I should be able to devise a way that by merely attaching this to any computer system in any network, that it automatically tears through the system one way or another. Upon reaching inside, it would then open up the entire network, even if it was a closed system, mainly by connecting the system to a holonet line. By doing so, it would allow me, or anyone who knew what to look for and had acess to the transponder that I will be building next, to enter any infected system from Planets away.

 

He sighed and stood up, in front of him were five seemingly innocent strops, that had undersides that look as if they connected to a datapad port found on computers. This was a tried and true method he had used in the past. In short it turned an closed system into an open one for him. As well as allowed an encryption system armed with anti hacking methods to be bypassed for him. Letting him link up with any system he put this piece of hardware on from anywhere in the galaxy. Of course it was designed to look like it was part of the ports that it would be covering. As to not arouse suspicion and simply be removed. He began to work on a software equivalent, to finish out his remaining hours on his way to coruscant.