Corellia

[Silas]

With all other business attended to Vesper decided that it was time to finally set his plan in motion. He pressed a button on his desk and waited for his receptionist to pick up the call.

 

"Mrs. Dawes, please dispatch Agent Bale to Ryloth to pick up with spice that I ordered."

 

----------------------

 

Bryan Bale had just finished cleaning up the mess that the captured man had left when he recieved his next set of orders from Mrs. Dawes. He was to go meet with the being that he had met on Nar Shaddaa and he needed to leave now. He quickly made his way to the hangar bay, prepped his shuttle and exited teh docking bay. Within moments of his departure he burst off into hyperspace towards Ryloth.

[saberforce]

Teagaar walked through his office in the small and hidden bunker for the Freedom Alliance. His mind wondered if it was really a wise move for them to move the fleet, let alone begin their operation the take cargo from both sides this early in the game. How long before the Jedi and those damned Sith get involved if we keep this up. General Orvek and General Lakeai are going made if they think we can handle them in the game this early.

 

Teagaar lowered his head in some form of defeat as he pushed his thoughts aside. Now wasn't the time for a general to worry about things out of his control. He needed to work on getting the armor and weapons of the Freedom Alliance upgraded, and fast.

[Silas]

Bryan Bale's ship burst out of hyperspace above the grey orb that was Corellia. He had completed his assignment and now it was time for the next step. He piloted the ship down to the surface and landed in the previously unoccupied office building. He sent a message to Mrs. Dawes and had her send down a couple of the agents to help him unload his cargo. They soon arrived and together they unloaded the boxes of spice that Vesper had ordered.

 

The group of men took the crates and loaded them onto a waiting hoversled. Bale then piloted the ship into the freight turbolift. The pod shot up to the secret thirteenth floor. An aging oriental man met him at the door of the turbolift as it arrived at its destination. Bale offered a slight nod before piloting the sled into the laboratory that had been built in the suite. He unloaded the crates before turning to talk to Dr. Pang.

 

"Stubernic wants the virus laced into this spice and separated for individual sale before the month is out. Is it possible?"

 

The doctor nodded once.

 

"Good. I shall go and make my report to him then. Good day, Dr. Pang."

 

With this, Bale headed back to a turbolift and took it to the top floor. He entered the lavishly decorated presidential suite. He nodded to Mrs. Dawes before knocking loudly on the door, waiting for its occupant to grant him entrance.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Vesper Stubernic sat at his desk in his office awaiting confirmation that the spice shipments he had sent Agent Bale to retrieve. Today would also be the day that he would receive word on whether or not he had won the Senatorial position for the state of Corellia. Vesper knew that in all likelihood he would win based on the preliminary polls but he didn't want to take anything for granted. A large portion of his plan hinged on his winning this position. Without it he wouldn't have the political influence or contacts necessary to go through with his plan.

 

A loud knock at the door drug Vesper from his revere.

 

"Enter."

 

A rather tall man with short blonde hair entered and offered a slight bow. He assumed a relaxed stance a few feet from Vesper's desk.

 

"Sir, the spice is now with Dr. Pang and he has begun the mixing process. He expects that he should have his work completed within your timeframe."

 

Vesper nodded before picking up a pen and twirling it in-between his fingers. He leaned back in his chair and placed his foot on the edge of the desk while his facial expression became one of concentration. He contemplated all that had happened and all that still needed to be done. Once Corellia was thrown into a state of disarray he could begin to play in the political battlefield. He was confident that he would be able to find a few corrupt senators willing to sacrifice the freedom they fought for just to make a quick buck. It would be all too easy.

 

"Very well Mr. Bale. Return to your post until I have another assignment for you. That is all."

 

The man nodded and left Vesper to his thoughts. So far it had been a good day.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Dr. Lee Cho Pang carefully sealed the first of many small plastic bags of spice and placed it in a container. He had spent the past few months developing a virus that would meet his boss's specifications and he believed that he had finally done it. The virus, codenamed NH12, was a particularly deadly strain of a virus that had the many of the same symptoms as a hemorrhagic fever. The symptoms would last for only 24 hours before the subject bled-out and died. At this point the virus could survive for 3 days time. It was contagious though Pang hadn't figured out a way to make it airborne. If anyone came into contact with the dead being's blood within the 3-day period they too would contract the virus. It wasn't a particularly steady way to spread a disease but for Vesper's purposes it would do.

 

Pang placed the second bag of the disease-ridden spice into the same container as the first. From the time of inception, a being would have only 72 hours to live. A 48 hour incubation period followed the contraction before flowing into the 24 hours of symptoms. This would allow for maximum impact as many people would be leaving the planet within the given incubation period. The only point that Pang classified as a failure in this project would be the fact that no Mon Calamari or Quarren could contract the disease. Something in their biological structure prevented him from crafting the virus to destroy their cells. Thankfully, Vesper was okay with this and had given him the go-ahead to complete the project.

 

The virus itself wouldn't actually become active until it was smoked properly. It had been a necessary precaution in case the virus were to somehow get out of the lab and begin to infect the team that Vesper had brought to Corellia. Due to this fact, the spice had been an imperative part of the plan. When the first spice shipment had fallen through Vesper had nearly killed someone. If the second one had fallen through then Pang was relatively sure that he would not be standing where he was, if he was alive at all. The man wasn't known for his patience and to be on his bad side could be a very bad thing. But the shipment had come through and soon Dr. Pang would be able to witness his creation in action.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Vesper exited his sleeping chambers dressed in a new suit. He dusted off the jacket and headed towards the door. He was greeted by his beautiful secretary Rachel Dawes who led him to a turbolift. The pair entered the tube and the woman pressed the button for the first floor where the hangar was located. When they arrived the pair stepped out and was greeted to the site of 12 men all standing in a uniform way with black suits on that were fairly similar to Vesper's own. He nodded at them and moved to take his place in the second landspeeder of the convoy.

 

Three agents and Mrs. Dawes piled in after him while the other two speeders were occupied by four agents each. The procession quickly began moving down the grimy Corellian streets heading towards the designated convention center. They arrived after only a few short minutes of uncomfortable silence and quickly piled out. The group made its way to the convention hall where all of the other senatorial candidates waited with their security and aides.

 

The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife but Vesper radiated with confidence. The local media and Holonet News teams were scattered around interviewing the candidates. Vesper obliged them by answering their questions in a professional manner though he wished they would all just go to hell. After only another few minutes a hushed silence fell over the chamber when the head of electoral board walked up to the podium on the stage.

 

"All of the votes have been tallied and we have been informed that we have our new Senator. It is my honor to ask Mr. Vesper Stubernic to join me here at the podium to make his first address to the Corellian people as their representative to the Republic."

 

Vesper smiled as he made his way to the stage escorted by the sound of polite applause from his competitors. When he reached his destination and the applause died down he started into the speech that had been prepared for him.

 

"My fellow Corellians”¦"

 

The speech continued on for another 30 standard minutes. Vesper paid the message itself little mind as he read it from the teleprompter. He had won. His success in his chaotic plan was but assured. Within a few weeks the spice would be ready to be put on the black market and the underworld of Corellia would begin to infect the entire galaxy. It was all too easy.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

As soon as his reception was over, Vesper and his team made their way back to their headquarters. Vesper invited Mrs. Dawes to his sweet for a drink in celebration of the day's victories. The two retired to his chambers for a drink and he couldn't be happier. The next day he would move his political belongings to the Senatorial building and become situated there. The day after he would be well on his way to sowing political, economic, and social chaos throughout the galaxy. All in all it had been a rather productive day.

[saberforce]

Teagaar stood perfectly still as he watched a Holonet station of the Empire give a huge statement. He was so into the speech, that he didn't notice one of his subordinates enter the room with him. It was only after the Grand-Admiral gave his speech of grandeur that he noticed him. Turning with a smile he spoke.

 

"You may now start preparing the hostages. Have the men start to link all the devices to my control."

 

Without waiting for a reply, he walked out of his small office space, which wasn't much in the warehouse. He began to walk up the stairs that would allow him on top of the warehouse and as he did, he took notice of his men beginning to move the hostages into the middle of the warehouse and sat them upon multiple home made bombs. In his mind he thought, This will be a dark day for Corellia...

 

Walking through the door to stand on top of the warehouse that overlooked the busy streets of Coronet City. They were for the most part empty and lifeless at this point in time. Not for long. Slowly looking down at his Chrono, he realized that soon the streets would be crawling with civilians.

 

(1)

[saberforce]

((The double post is mainly to show everyone that the situation has been updated, and not to leave them in the dark with another edited in part.))

 

Walking back into the main storage warehouse facility, Teagaar could see from on top a catwalk his men begin to bring forth both the bombs and the hostages they had managed to capture without any notice. All of them no one of importance that would have drawn attention anyways. Taking a moment to watch the process begin, he was amazed at how fast half staff could work, since the other half was out begin their securement of other spots of interest to his grand plan of things. A smile began to slowly appear on his face, which gave away his deadly fangs.

 

Starting his slow decent off the catwalks and down to the lower level where his men were hard at work getting everything ready for Corellia's longest night in history.

 

As he reached to bottom, he walked over to where a cluster of the bombs were being placed. Placing his paw upon them and allowing for the cool metal to bring him mental peace. Madclaw. It was what he was called before he watched his home burn. Before he watched the fools who exiled him burned. Now, long after they were dead, he would have his revenge on all parties that were guilty of their crimes.

 

Hearing sudden movement around him, he looked up to see his men bringing the hostages to sit around the bombs, so he stood up and moved out of the way, letting his men give the Corellians their last resting place one final check. He didn't move from his spot, but instead looked on as his men began to set up the final parts of the bombs while he just stared deep into the eyes of one of the Corellians. Disgusting. Even now as I look upon them, they make me feel disgusting. Turning around, he began to make his way out of the room. He didn't make it far before one of the hostages, the one he had been staring at shouted at him.

 

"What is that you want? Money? Heard? Accepted? It can all be arranged for you."

 

He was stopped in his tracks and he turned back around to face the man who thought he had courage to address him. Walking up until he stood right in front of him, and then knelling down to level himself with the worthless beast.

 

<< No, I don't want money. I don't even want to be heard or the be accepted. You see, while it can be arranged for me, no side or government will ever fully give me what I wanted anyways. It's those lies that keep you safe at night when you sleep. It allows for you to trust in monarchy system without question or hesitation. >>

 

Standing up, Teagaar took three steps before turning around and looking back at the man.

 

<< What I want is to see some fireworks, which by the way, you might want to leave, as this place might be...umm...to close. >>

 

Teagaar let out a bellow of a laugh as the man had fearful look wash over his face. Another turned to his side to get a look at Teagaar and then shouted at him as well, despite being bound.

 

"You're going to kill us all anyways. You know the Republic or the Empire will find you and catch you or kill you."

 

Letting out as breath as if he felt a need to relax and then walking towards him with a wookiee smile that held all fangs out and present.

 

<< Oh, I hope for all sakes that they do either one, or else, my job will be a whole lot harder if they let me go. As for killing you all, what is your name? >>

 

"Bill."

 

<< Bill? Really? Not very creative parents. >>

 

Standing up and pulling out his UR-G8 pistol, he pointed it at Bill.

 

<< Well Bill, because your parents had such bad creativity in naming you, you can be first. >>

 

With that, Teagaar pulled the trigger, letting his bolt enter Bill's head, creating a splatter effect that placed Bill's blood on every other hostage in the circle. Putting the pistol away, Teagaar signaled his men to start to evacuate the area. Even as he and his men did, he shouted back to his hostages.

 

<< In all honesty, if you all stay here, you might end up in more then one place. >>

 

Teagaar flashed his fangs at the hostages as he pulled the door shut, leaving the bound hostages to their fate. Turning to begin his walk towards his safe zone, one of his men reported that one of the two other sites were now ready for night light show.

 

(2)

[saberforce]

(Once again, triple posting just to show that there was an update on the situation so that no one can fuss.)

 

Teagaar began his slow walk over to where he would stage the whole night with his crew. His mind was occupied with the thoughts of bright colors filling the sky as he would create such a large gapping damage to all of Corellia, it would take the Republic months to recover from it unless they received aid from the Empire. And I don't think the Empire will have much time to worry about the Republic when they will soon need all of their attention on their own territory. A grin appeared on the Wookiee's face as he thought of both sides being unable to keep up with the demand for resources.

 

As he walked, he saw out of the corner of his eye that Hirolaah was staring at him with a bit of distaste. Turning his head fully to look at him and allow for his fellow Wookiee to speak his peace.

 

"You know this makes you really nothing more than an elaborate terrorist."

 

<< Oh, yes. I am fully aware of that. The galaxy doesn't need any new form of government, as all end up becoming corrupt and unable to do things. Trust me, this is our path. >>

 

Hirolaah's face grew darker somehow as he let the words of his general sink in. A clear flash of anger washed over Hirolaah as he made a move for his blaster, but he was quickly stopped as two of Teagaar's loyal guards pulled out their own weapons already and had them aimed at the Wookiee.

 

<< If this is not what you want, you are more then welcome to leave this group, nothing is holding you back. However, I will promise you that I will take any more unfriendly gestures out of you very seriously, and you will end up dead. >>

 

Hirolaah thought on the words, and than he let his paw slowly move away from his blaster. Teagaar flashed him a grin.

 

"Very well. If that is how you see it, then I will take me leave. But, you must also know that I will not allow any more Wookiee's to join your terrorist group."

 

<< You must do what you must. >>

 

Teagaar and his men stood still for a few minutes as they watched Hirolaah and four others walk away from the group. ONce they faded out of sight, Teagaar spoke up.

 

<< Make a mental note, next time we see any of those traitors, shoot them. >>

 

Teagaar then lead his men farther away until they reached their spot for the night. As the entered, a human male stood up and addressed Teagaar.

 

"Sir, all control over the systems you requested are about to come online. Also, site one, two, and three are all now reporting operational and ready to go."

 

Teagaar only nodded his head. All now he had to do was to wait for his time to unleashed a new breed of hell upon the galaxy...

 

((3))

[saberforce]

((Sorry in advance for the quadruple posts, but I waited out even longer then three days for a response.))

 

Teagaar made a quick and fast look around to ensure that his operation was set up perfectly. He confirmed that his agents where in their correct locations, as well as two of the three sites were up and ready to go. He also made a check that he had a quiet control over all operating electronics, leaving him able to see out where the danger was. He allowed for a grin to increase on his face as he knew the Republic would struggle if they engaged him, and the Empire would have to be willing to lose assets to take him, but he already knew that neither would be able to find him once his game began.

 

<< Let my game begin. >>

 

Teagaar pulled out a small remote from his ammo belt and held it with one paw. Looking at his view screen, he could see that the work district of Coronet City was now filled with mass people.

 

<< Someone needs to prepare the hospital. >>

 

BOOM!

A large explosion erupted from the warehouses, taking out all known locations of medical supplies, weaponry, and a good proportion of Corellia's currency. Already, reports began to tell of the disaster, and soon, they would also be reporting on the hundreds of lives that were just lost.

 

Teagaar who watched from a safe distance, pulled out his comlink and confirmed that all was ready, and then sent word to one of his operatives to commence his side of the operation.

[saberforce]

((The final post to speed things up for this character.))

 

Teagaar took one final glance around and then back up towards the skyline of Coronet City. Turning towards his men he barked his final order he would give them, not because he would soon die, but they would. It was they way it had to be for a madclaw. Let others die while you survive.

 

<< Prep the final course, and then make your contact to me. I will be waiting at our ship making sure it is ready for take off. >>

 

With that he turned and left the room. He didn't care what they thought of him, so long as they were loyal, and most of them were only loyal because of the promise of credits. People were easy to buy, and so was loyalty. He had many credits at his disposal, and many people in the universe wanted his credits.

 

He made a quick hidden run to his private hanger that he was able to buy from a local security officer who needed the credits to pay for his wife's stay at the hospital. He promised he would pay for her in order for free access to the hanger. The officer agreed, and would soon know why he was willing to pay so much. Climbing into his Owool Interceptor, he quickly got it warmed up and running and then made his launch for space and his new destination. On his way up, he was commed by his people on the surface.

 

"Sir, we have just finished the preparations for the next phase and are sending remote control you you now."

 

"Good, you can send me to access and then tell the men they may commence when ready."

 

"Will do sir, but I have to ask... why is your Owool taking off right now?"

 

"Because I need to make the final run with my starfighter. Your general must stay as active as his men."

 

<< That and I don't want to be around when you find yourself under the explosion site. >>

 

With that he turned off his comm unit and left it dead. Turning his attention back to space and getting his hyperspace coordinates. As his navicomputer brought up the right coordinates, he quickly accessed the remote control and had his fireworks go off.

 

All of a sudden, while mass chaos ensued from the explosion from the warehouse sector that left many wounded or dead, two more giant explosion shook the surface of Corellia. Both the General Hospital and the Government Embassy building went into giant flames that lit up the darkening sky of Coronet City. The explosion would end up leaving Corellia with medical supplies and many other goods, such as one of the Governments credit supply house burnt or burning.

 

Teagaar could see it from space the giant explosion. A smile appeared before the madclaw as he made his jump into hyperspace, leaving Corellia and all traces of him even being there gone.

[Ki Vastor]

The newly constructed 'Lady Fang' emerges from hyperspace, it's passage hardly noticeable due to it's sleek black appearance. Ki Vastor put in a call to the CEC offices at Coronet City, where it seemed as if it was business as usual, before she headed to that location. Landing in the private hanger, the protocol droid was waiting there as the embarksion ramp lowered. Ki took possession of the droid and then headed into the main office, soon being taken into the surgery for her procedure.

 

A few hours later, Ki left the office and re-entered her ship, testing out her new connections to run through the preflight checks and lift off, heading back to where she had just come from, feeling like she was on a bungee cord being flung back across the galaxy to her starting point.

[Menthu]

As the old clunker of a ship emerged from hyperspace, deft hands quickly wrestled it around the normal traffic space lanes. Reaching out through the force, the cold calculating mind, was able to make this maneuver seem natural.

 

None challenged him, on his way down to the surface, having used the force to dispel any curious eyes, or enraged hearts. He had chosen this planet specifically because of what had recently happened. Clearly the city was still in shock after such a massive terrorist attack, while waving New republic colors. It would serve it well to have the lesson repeated twice.

 

A cruel smile accompanied him all the way down to the surface.

Peace is only brought through passion

 

Passion brings knowledge

 

Knowledge brings power

 

Power brings fear

 

Fear is random; only Chaos is absolute

 

Through chaos the clamor of order if heard.

 

The purposeful flame, brings chaos to order and order to chaos

 

It brings life from death, and death to life.

 

Both is needed, like a double edged sword.

 

The living flame, and the Flaming warrior

 

The purposeful flame is my master

 

I am master of the purposeful flame.

 

Reflecting upon those words brought back a focus to his mission, even as his heart was tron in two by the wealthy of opportunity. He was truly torn between setting up operations in the recently bombed capital city of Coronet or the tourist attraction Tyrena.

 

Settling inside of the blue sector, he gave the ship a moment's rest before lowering down the hatch. Clad in scarlet robes, he strode down the ramp with a sense of owning not just the population but planet they rested upon.

 

A God once again walks among men.

 

Hands folded into his robes, his ship was secured and he began to scout the area for a suitable location. As he walked he noticed an unusual array of buildings. The landscape was dotted with cantinas, tattoo parlors, fences, casinos, flophouses, brothels, and pawn shops.

 

Steeped in Sin this city is. Stagnant. Clearly a change must be brought about, in order only possible by being derived from pure chaos. Surprising that business seems to be booming. With the lose of the warehouse sector, it would be assumed valuable supplies as well as loss of life would have made this area harder to operate.

 

He simply mentally shrugged. He knew this particular set up would be hard. Even in this blue sector he had many things arrayed against him. First and foremost, it was an Alliance world. The chances of finding rebel troops were high, especially in the wake of the recent bombing. Add to that the general mode of the populous, looking for people who were basically doing and had done what he planned to do. Lastly the Corellian Security Force was hard at work attempting to uncover those response for the latest bomb plot. It would be rather embarrassing on their part if there were any more such incidents, so the ability to find and neutralize any more set up, or potential set ups was high on their list. Still he had at least settled the matter of the two cities. He had no problem using both in this demonstration.

 

So he filtered in and out of bars, parlors, tattoo shops, and the massive underground system that truly attracted his eye. With so much potential, he soon found himself at his ship once more, hauling gear and supplies to set up shop in the blue sector's Selonian Tunnels. It just made sense for this first affair.

[Silas]

Vesper's eyes exploded open as he sat up. He could feel the comforting sensation of the silk sheets gently caressing his naked body but something troubled him. He slowly and carefully examined his private residence within the Senatorial Suite but found nothing out of place. The sense of foreboding must have been coming from some outside force.

 

He ended his search at the refresher stationed at the back of the residence where he began his early morning routine. He turned on the shower and stepped into the warm embrace that had become a refuge for him. Vesper closed his eyes and imagined every water droplet piercing his skin, slipping into body and cleansing the dark stain that had grown there. He finished lathering his hair and body and rinsed the cleaning agent away.

 

He stepped out of the 'fresher and shrugged one of the warm, custom-made silk robes that was waiting for him onto his shoulders and tied the belt around his trim waist. The thoughts rolling around in his head still had organized themselves enough for Vesper to figure out what exactly he was feeling or if it actually meant anything at all.

 

Perhaps the feeling was coming from the building he was currently living in. He hadn't been here long and the uncontrollable urge to vacate the planet had started not long after he had moved in.

 

Or perhaps it was Corellia itself. The planet wasn't exactly known for being the epitome of excellence. Maybe all of the bad things that Vesper had committed in his past were finally catching up to him and had reached a climax now that he had submerged himself into the center of evil.

 

As he sat down to eat his breakfast he considered the fact that the nightmares had started shortly after he had landed on planet. As he had started the final preparations for his plan, the nightmares had become more frequent and intense. Maybe he needed to leave Corellia for a while to refresh his mind and body before continuing on with his scheme.

 

Yes, a nice little jaunt around the galaxy was always good for the soul. Perhaps some petty crime and general mayhem was in order, just to get back into the swing of things. It had been far too long since he had partaken in any kind of mischief and truth be told, he missed it. Black Sun had been such a big part of his life that his decision to leave it had almost proven fatal. Adapting had been far more difficult than he could have possibly imagined, but he had overcome.

 

He finished his meal and stood, casting the robe aside. He slithered into his finest suit and looked into the mirror, making sure that every hair was in place. It struck him as odd that he had gone through such a dramatic transformation in such a small amount of time. A few months back he would have been sitting in a completely disorganized office that reeked of booze and illegal substances and now he was making sure that everything was in place before he ventured out into the world.

 

Vesper smiled at the beautiful face that greeted him as he stepped out of his quarters. The young woman was more than she appeared on the outside though, as Vesper had learned quickly after hiring her. She was loyal, no doubt, but he still wondered how deep that loyalty ran. Of course, now was no time to be considering such matters.

 

"Mrs. Dawes, please prepare a shuttle for me, discreetly of course, and have it meet me in my personal hangar along with six of our men. I am not sure how long of an absence this will be so you will have to look after things here while I am gone. I trust that I am leaving this operation in capable hands?"

 

She simply nodded. Another thing to love about the woman was that she was very to the point, except when making love, but those details were for another time. She turned and immediately began to execute his orders while he readied himself for the coming voyage.

 

He returned to his room and gathered a few essential items. He slipped the gun made of pure gold given to him by Smash Daisaku into its holster concealed in his suit jacket. It was within easy reach if he ever had a need to use it, though he doubted he would with all the security that he had employed. He also grabbed the datapad that contained all of his information and slipped it into this pants pocket.

 

As he was about to exit the room he stopped and took one final look around. Something still wasn't right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He shook his head and turned, exiting the suite for what might be the last time for a few months. He entered the turbolift and pressed the button that would take him down to his personal hangar.

 

He arrived shortly thereafter and was greeted by the familiar smell of fuel and grease. This was where he felt most at home, but in order for his carefully concocted plan to work he would have to suffer through the luxuries that he had just departed from. He spotted the shuttle that he had requested and made his way over to it, setting a brisk pace. He gave an affirmative head gesture to the man who was waiting at the bottom of the ramp before heading up it so that he could begin he journey.

 

"Pilot, set a random course and let us see where we come out. Today we will leave our destination up to fate and nothing else. You are free to leave whenever you are ready."

 

With that, Vesper leaned back on his chosen couch and entered a state of deep contemplation. He barely even noticed when the ship lifted off and gently slid into the vast abyss of hyperspace.

[Menthu]

A raging inferno burned brightly behind the eyes of the last remaining Serpent Lord and Master in the galaxy. Perhaps there was a hint of madness at slaying all of those he could have called brother yet, it was not madness that drove him. Nor was it some need to prove he was superior to any other being in the galaxy. What drove him was power and chaos.

 

Like two lovers entwined these ideas wrapped around his very being, fueling his every desire. After all, with chaos would arise order. With power would arise control. He was the embodiment of all that was, the living flame, and an agent of Chaos, an agent of life and an agent of death.

 

A breath hotter than what surrounded it marked his passing as he trudged through the streets of this icy and forgotten planet. His gazed seemed to be glued to nothing in particular. Thought it was just as well, since he would have lit even a mountain on fire and caused it to crumble had it locked eyes with him.

 

He was in a beautiful city. It was full large glistening structures, reflecting the atmosphere and culture that had shaped the people into what they were today. Here was where the center of their activity seemed to be. It was where their life blood seemed to run. He could feel it. Like a pulse, snaking its way through the planet only to seemed to originate and end here.

 

It had called to him and so the Flaming avatar of war had arrived. As that was his current purpose. War for war's sake would be a foolish gesture at best. It would show only a small understanding of what was to be, and what was the truth. He knew in the grand scheme of things that is quest for power, even at the expense of everything around it, would actually be apart of the bigger, larger picture. The picture of the galaxy. He was in a sense letting nature take it course, using himself as in instrument, yet ruling over it like a God, with in his influence sphere. After all no man was a God until he wrote the rules that govern the Universe.

 

With a wave of his hand his the door opened and he disappeared inside. It had been a simple task to set up shop here. He had brought in all of his materials, and had made sure he was with in striking distance of the many of the governmental buildings.

 

At first he had stuck with the adage that the fire seems to burn brightest in the dark. Sticking to the shadows, he had chosen his ”˜victims' carefully. Had watched them for hours on days, before he took action. It was through this action he had been able to set up shop to begin with. Forcing his will upon others was just another art he had refined with out par.

 

Or so he had thought. The first few days of this operation were, simple.... easy. Between information gathering and his general modes and methods he was able to work quickly in the same manner he had worked previously.

 

Then came the first mistake. A Spy had infiltrated his hide out, wishing to do nothing more than rat him out. It would have been the end the moment Menthu caught sight of the boy. A simple fireball to burn out his victims lungs and render the body to Ash at the same time. This however was not the case. Mere moments into drawing the force around him, he felt.... electrified. It was strange but no as strange as when he attempted to simply burn the poor spy alive, and ended up decimating half the basement with the sheer for of summoning.

 

He didn't even have time to remark about it, as with such a powerful misuse of the force came consequences. Such as this was no longer a location that would go unnoticed. Working haste he had struggled to remove his work so far and relocated it. He had been sucessful the first few times but, now around mishap number four he could almost feel a noose tightening around his neck.

 

Has the force betrayed me?

[Onderin Starlisk]

Unfortunately for Menthu, the incident created just the kind of disturbance that drew quite a bit of attention. CorSec and New Republic forces were immediately on the scene, and although the charred area left little traces of its former inhabitant, they knew something was going on. Something that either involved a bomb or a Sith Lord... or a Sith Lord with a bomb.

 

Security tightened in vital areas and at the New Republic base, and the extra attention would make it all but impossible for one man to cause much damage. And in a galaxy full of threats of the power of Sith, defenses had been forced to evolve to an efficiency never before seen, especially at a location that had suffered a terrorist attack so recently in the past.

[Menthu]

Though the security forces had indeed tightened up in rather vital areas. They had focused more on protecting their higher ups, then they had on nullifying what damage he could do. As a result after having moved what work he had completed to a new location, he was suprised to have not found the vaunted corsec hot on his heels.

 

It was amazing really how long these paticular items took to set up. If it wasn't for the relay system that linked on to another from across the galaxy, as well as the hyperwave abilties to let signals be transferred to each remotely should a situation occur to receive new orders, he would have been done long ago.

 

Instead he had been forced to move painstakingly slow, given his mishap. He had scout out potential areas when he had first arrived. Simply allowing the journey to take him to potential hot spots. It was something that had increased, given the Emperor's new ban on Bacta upon this world. That would only make his job easier in hindsight.

 

In his journey upon this world he had found himself adjacent to current street. It was almost funny, as if his path had been sidetracked. Much like how the pure white light that struck his face every morning was a testament to just how terrible of a place this truly was. How.... dependent it was. He suppose he had se up shop south of the white way, yet in some sense it was appropriate. He gave himself a mental chuckle. Today was his last day on this rock.

 

As night fell, he set off once more. Sticking to shadows and blending in with crowds. There was nothing suspicious in his movements. He wasn't carrying anything overtly obvious. Granted he was armed yet so were quite a few of the people around him. He reached his ship in no time. moments later he blasted off of the rock. It was time to move on.

[Slicer]

Two ships popped into the system, the leader of the pair sent out a code that allowed entry onto the planet. Twenty minutes later the pilots of Slicer's ships had exited it, and moved into compound 66.

 

A comm was sent to the contact, making them aware that Slicer's ship had arrived at the designated location. Crews quickly unloaded the massive cargo that the two freighters had brought with them. When it was all said and done, the crews and the pilots left, alerting the buyer that the delivery had been made.

[darth shadowlord]

Once the pilots and Crew had delivered the supplies and then made their exit, the one large cargo ship and several Tie Defenders landed into the compound and began to load the supplies onto the cargo ship. An hour later once all the supplies were loaded, the Cargo ship and its escort lifted off from the compound and headed into space. Several minutes later they made the jump for hyperspace, though their first jump would not be the true destination.

[Silas]

An old, rickety freighter stumbled out of hyperspace above Corellia. Vesper Stubernic sat in the pilot's seat considering his options. His return from Nhagathul had been anything but normal. Vesper was normally a man of action but now he had important matters to attend to. The future of the planet below him would be decided by what he decided next.

 

He set the ship down on a familiar landing platform in the heart of Corellia's capital. He stepped off the ramp and was greeted by Ms. Dawes, his assistant. She held a few files that he needed to review, as well as a comm unit that he recognized from his days with Black Sun. He took the items from her without a word, brushing past her and heading towards his suite.

 

Once he arrived in his quarters he took the opportunity to change out of his destroyed business suit and into something a bit more comfortable. A pair of ripped pants, a tight fitting t-shirt with a brown jacket, and a broken in pair of shoes. It was a wardrobe that he had worn in a previous life. One that he had forgotten about.

 

At this point he took the comm unit and listened to the message that had been left while he had taken his vacation. To say that what he heard surprised him would have been an understatement. The call had been issued and as a former leader of Black Sun he was obligated to answer it. This drastic change of events also made his choice regarding the virus that he had engineered that much easier.

 

He left a note for Ms. Dawes on his desk, packed his few valuable belongings, and walked towards the exit trusting that his team here would follow his instructions. He re-entered the hangar bay and boarded one of the many ships in his possession. A few minutes later he was breaking atmosphere and heading into hyperspace.

[Tares Vortex]

Above the skies of Coronet City, a lone transport slowly descended from the depths of space. Within minutes, the ship leveled off to fly just above the skyline. From there, it made its way to the coastal area of the city, where towers settled right at the water line. One building - a combination of three connected towers - beckoned for the ship's arrival. These were the Aeolian Towers.

 

On board the transport, Tares Vortex sat piloting the vessel closer to the towers. A few minutes after the vessel's arrival into the city, he settled the ship on a landing pad located near the top of the central tower. As he departed the vessel, a man came to greet him. "Executive Vortex, it's good to see you again. Your personal quarters are ready, and your daily report is awaiting your attention. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

 

Tares nodded in reply, "Yes, prepare one of the gyms as a training room for my apprentices. And get some quarters ready for them as well. They should hopefully be arriving within the day... provided they don't get lost."

 

Once the man left with his new orders, Tares made his way to his quarters and began to settle in. His time here would allow him to focus on his padawans's training needs, while giving a new backdrop that didn't involve looking at blackness all day. With everything in order, now all he could do would be to wait for his apprentices....

[Starfire]

Dang my sister for all her crazy antics, what happened to her? Starfire pleaded internally as a silver tear drew across her emerald eyes and down her golden cheek. Now I am stuck in a place far from home and I don't know how or if I should even go back...

Starfire walked slowly in no particular direction down the streets of Corellia on the edge of a particularly brisk morning. Each of her boots made a sound clunk noise on the boardwalk, but so far, that particular piece of structure was all that had drawn the Tamaranean's attention. Her eyes were and had been for the past hour glued to the floor, because she was afraid to look up. The persistence of the evil cold air biting at the exposed areas of her body didn't make it any better though and because of its shenanigans, Starfire drew her cloak further around her body and pushed further down the path with her eyes still lingering on the boardwalk.

 

The sun hadn't fully risen yet, giving the alien a sense of mild weakness and foreboding under the weight of so much metal, but the annoyance washed away with the re-realization of her particularly unsettling predicament. She was amazed by the whole ordeal, because it didn't seem real. In fact it felt like it was stripped from a story book series or something and inserted into her life, but she could see the scene play out again and again in her head; the shocking scene of canon in literature where the corruption of power takes root even over the bonds of sisterhood and companionship.

The people might welcome me back with open arms, but I don't belong there anymore; I don't belong in that life anymore. Starfire paused for a moment, remembering her friends and her father, but saw them fading away. It was traumatizing for her to let go. She'd normally been so care free and had the best times, but now... It was all gone...

 

Starfire sobbed a little, out in the open, drawing a few stares from random citizens who were walking by, but in the end tried to think positive. After all, being sad just made her a Slorak Emorguk, or one who sits and mopes.

 

I should look on the bright side. She I should take advantage of this exile and explore my new home!

Starfire pushed a smile over her golden face to mask the disappointment and pain she felt and just by the virtue of smiling felt 10 times better. Then, faces of new recognition and curious amazement filled her eyes as she raised her head and new aliens all over her field of vision filled her mind with crazy boundless forms of even more potent excitement.

 

When Starfire opened her eyes to the rising of the sun and her new surroundings, her eyes welled into gigantic melons of green wonder. They couldn't believe the amount of information to process and all of the things to do.

 

Where should I start, what should I do? What am I doing standing in one place and in this scary black cloak?

 

Starfire removed the cloak quickly as the sun continued to rise and a new vibrancy filled Starfire's body, causing her happiness to escalate.

 

Time to make new friends!

 

From that point on in a flurry of motion the Tamaranean ran about asking question after question after question, creating quite the scene and annoying a large number of people. Especially since she had a pack strapped to her back with an axe sticking out. Here she was claiming to be friendly, but with the weapon in clear view it looked a little demented. She engaged in a long series random and often lethal interactions that led to quite an eventful day.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

One particular incursion with a Bothan by-standard went a little something like this:

 

Starfire was walking down a non too particular street in the noonday Corellian sun and came across a particularly intriguing character. It was a fairly short Bothan with gray hair and it didn't look like he knew where he was going.

 

"Hello! Sir or... Ma'am? What are you? And how do you live with all that fur? Who helps you clean yourself? Do you ever get little bugs that live in your hair? My Bunglegorf had all sorts of things in his hair one day and..." Starfire said in a rapid and loud strain of Tamaranean to a particularly shocked Bothan that fell down at the sight of her verbal nuke. With such a vibrantly pronounced greeting, it was hard not to imagine him fumbling about a little. When he got up though he was particularly angry not at the fall itself, but irritated at her continually streamed laundry list of questions that he couldn't understand.

 

The Bothan yelled at her in his native tongue and Starfire stopped her questioning almost immediately with a stricken look of perplexed interest. It appeared she had given up her tirade of interrogation and it was a relief to the Bothan not to hear an endless supply of words, especially words he couldn't understand, but the Bothan was barely able to walk away from it all before the Tamaranean spun him around and kissed him full on the lips.

 

The Bothan's eyes bugged out a little and for some reason he felt a tingling sensation at the base of his mouth. Then, when Starfire released her grip, the Bothan was dumbstruck, looking at the weird alien with a crude sense of ignorant disbelief...

 

"Why did you do that?" The Bothan asked in small words even though he was pretty sure the alien would've been able to read what he said more from his face than his words.

 

"I did it so you could understand me and I could understand you!" Starfire let a viciously joyful smile fill her bright golden face, which managed to burn a hole in the Bothan's irritation and anger. He was almost so entranced by her expression in and of itself that he almost didn't catch the language recognition. "You mean you can understand people by kissing them?" replied the Bothan incredulously.

 

Starfire took a moment to look at the Bothan, scoping him out at a safe distance and happily replied. "Yeah, that's how I do it. The other people of my race can do it in other ways, I am... Well..." Starfire said with her hand brushing the back of her head, a small blush peeking through her golden skin. "Different. It has to at least be near the lips though, or it doesn't really work."

 

The Bothan kept his look of incredulity and just stared at the alien in vague amusement. "I guess you must get a lot of weird looks then huh?"

 

"Well... Kind of." Starfire admitted, recalling a few people throwing things at her and setting her hair ablaze with laser blasts as she tried to kiss them.

 

"So are you new here?" The Bothan asked, his curiosity only relatively large toward what seemed to be an intriguing new race. What the heck, I can talk to her, it's not like I have anything else important to do today. In fact...

 

The Bothan pulled out a long sheet of white paper with a few names on it and this time it was Starfire's turn to be incredulous.

 

Yup, my script says I should be off for about an hour or so before I'm needed in some back alley. The Bothan thought to himself as the magical piece of paper vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

 

Starfire shook her head for a moment and finally remembered the question she was asked. "Yes, I have been told I am the new... Is this new someone I should know?"

 

The Bothan slapped his right palm to the base of his forehead and laughed a little. "Well I certainly haven't heard that before. Heh”¦ Well, the name is Corinth and I am a Bothan. This planet is Corellia and we are in the Inner Rim planets or the Core worlds I believe. If I know my interstellar locations right"

 

Corinth stuck his hand out to Starfire who looked at it warily.

"Haven't you ever seen a hand shake before?" Corinth interjected, his hand still floating in the middle of their conversation.

 

"Hand shakes? You mean like this?" Starfire asked, as she took her right hand and began to shake it up and down.

 

Corinth smiled openly this time and laughed even harder. "No no no... You are seriously going to give me a heart attack with this stuff." said the Bothan under threat of his gut bursting with bountiful laughter. "It's like this..."

 

Letting the Bothan use her hand, Corinth placed Starfire's hand in his and gripped it softly. Then he began to shake it up and down to show her the movement and the typical pace of a friendly hand shake.

 

"This is the typical greeting people give to each other on human planets and I've just sort of adapted to it." Corinth said, his smile not leaving even for an instant. He looked up to the girl who was apparently a few inches taller and noticed her smiling back with what looked to be tears in her eyes.

 

"Thank you" she replied. Starfire's chest was welling with... Hunger?

 

"Oh my goodness, ummm... My name is Starfire by the way, but I need to go... I need to, as you say... eat a horse? Right?" Starfire's stomach began growling like a large beast swatting at pests trying to ruin its hibernation. "It was nice to meet you Corinth!"

 

The Bothan just continued to laugh a little under his breath and moved on, ignoring all the while, Starfire trying to openly stick something the size of a melon in her mouth. Needless to say... It didn't work, but that didn't stop her stomach from trying.

[Darex Trevelian]

As the Serenity entered the system, Jedi Master Darex Trevelian gazed out the viewport. This system always astonished him. It was a marvelous testament to whatever mysterious race had used Centerpoint to assemble it. The very fact that there were so many inhabitable planets was a testament to their engineering. Darex found himself wondering what the system had looked like before those aliens had inferred. What planet was native to Corell?

 

He shook his head. It didn't matter. But it served to take his mind off things. Darla had been abnormally silent throughout the journey, and Darex couldn't deny that he was worried about her. He knew she had to be frustrated at her lack of ability to Force heal, but her silence seemed to indicate that there was more going on. Obviously, we need to work on our communication as a couple...

 

But he hoped this vacation would give them good time to work everything out. It was strange; he had never had a vacation in his life. It wasn't a true vacation--he was still on call in case the Order needed him--but it was the closest he'd ever been on. And in this time of great galactic change when the Force was rife with anticipation, it would be good to have the chance to take a deep breath before the plunge.

 

He joined Skye in the cockpit. "So your family has an estate on Corellia? I don't think I know much about your family, at least in terms of your parents. What did they do?" As they talked, the two Jedi Masters worked together to bring the ship in for a landing on the heavily populated world.

[SithAcolyte]

After Darla and Skye had returned to Serenity , Darla had spent a lot of time thinking about Brina's healing. It seemed so far beyond her but she knew that she had once possessed those abilities. They were out of her reach now. It frustrated her.

 

The more that she felt sorry for herself the more she had withdrawn from Force use. Now she was hardly using it at all. Even simple tasks through the Force had become difficult. It was like being a novice all over again.

 

Then there was the Darkside. Darla knew that was still there, offering her the return of some but not all of her abilities. Would the Darkside somehow affect the baby if she used it? Darla didn't think that it really could, but the thoughts filled her mind regardless. She envisioned scenarios in which she was attacked and had to draw on the Darkside of the Force to protect herself and her child.

 

It wasn't something that Darla had thought about before, but there was a good chance that her baby was Force-Sensitive. Apart from the first time that Skye had urged her to reach out and touch that place in the Force, Darla hadn't felt her baby. She was aware of it as a physical thing but not really as a being in the Force.

 

When she was alone in the cabin Darla examined her body in the mirror. A small bump was forming in her lower abdomen. Other than that she was still slender. Soon she wouldn't be able to hide the fact that she was with child. As she dressed she wondered how big she would get. Some women gained a lot of weight and others only a little. After all that she had been eating recently Darla was surprised that she hadn't gotten bigger.

 

As Serenity neared Corellia Darla began to come out of herself a little more. She had spent most of the journey asleep or lost in her thoughts. Darex and Skye seemed to be catching up with one another and left Darla to herself.

 

Although she was quite anxious, Darla felt rested. Now that they had reached Corellia she planned on having a good time and relaxing. When her and Darex were alone she would tell him about the baby. Then the two of them could talk about all their hopes and fears and everything would be alright... right?

 

He's probably going to be mad that I didn't tell him sooner and even after he knows that won't mean I'll miraculously be able to use the Force again.

 

Darla took a deep breath trying to push her fears away.

 

I wonder where Emily is?

[Skye Organa]

Skye looked up and smiled as Darex entered the cockpit. "Yes, we do," she said as they entered the atmosphere. From there she directed Serenity away from the city and towards the forest retreat. "That's where we're going now. You'll meet Tahlia, my mother there. For a long time I didn't know who my father was. it was only a few years ago I found out that our 'friend of the family' Nichos Katarn, was my father and that he had passed away. I know you've met my brother, Nahstaa, though I haven't seen him for a few years now. He had a lot of struggles over the years between which side of the Force to follow."

 

As they neared their destination, the tear-drop lake became visible first off. The hanger had been built so that the surrounding forest was not disturbed, only a log cabin stood visible. The log cabin was also deceiving in size, looking only small when it had it's other levels built beneath the ground instead of on top. Skye sent out the code to open the hanger and brought her ship into it with a gentle landing.

 

"Okay, we're here." Skye glanced over at Darex, then out the front view screen, "And there is our welcoming committee." Her mother was waiting outside for them to leave the ship. Her hands slipped over the controls as she went through her post flight checks.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex remembered Nahstaa, and he was very curious to meet Tahlia. As they came in for a smooth landing, Darex admired the location. It was very scenic, a small log cabin on the edge of a lake, far enough from the hustle and bustle of Coronet to be idyllic and yet close enough that it wasn't too inconvenient to get there.

 

As Skye's mother came out to greet them, Darex rose and headed aft. On his way, he passed Emily in the main area and informed her that they had arrived. However, he didn't stop and speak with her. Instead, he continued to the day cabin and poked his head in the doorway. "Darla? We're here. Come on, let's go meet Skye's mother. And you should see this place."

 

He could feel himself unwinding a bit already, and his mind turned to Tahlia Organa. He wondered if she would be as good of a cook as her daughter. The thought amused him. Once Darla was ready, he offered her an arm and headed down the ramp, assuming that Skye had already made her way there.

 

"You must be Mrs. Organa," he said, greeting the woman warmly. "I'm Darex. It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for letting us stay here."

[Starfire]

Starfire's majestic journey through the city of Coronet was filled with wonder and amusement. Corinth was but a sparkle on the jewel of her experience as fascinations abound before her.

 

Her last stop was what appeared to be an average looking road side establishment where she tried the dogs of hot or the hot of dogs? She couldn't remember. The food seemed odd tasting and the meat was a little random, but the yellow substance that the stall purveyor put on it made it all worth the while. Starfire almost managed to make it away from the stall with a container of the alluring yellow substance before being caught by the manager and asked to give it back. Regretfully she obeyed and from then on she walked the streets of Coronet enjoying the beautiful lights as night finally set in and the skyscrapers lit up the evening.

 

Her gait was fairly open and practiced and although the sun wasn't up in the air and her energy was a little off, she was happier than ever. Just when the night couldn't get any better though, a group of shady thugs that had been following her for a few blocks pushed her into an alley and up against the side of a wall.

 

A rather large one with rippling muscles put a hand over Starfire's mouth to prevent a nearby CorSec agent from noticing, but couldn't keep it there for long before Starfire bit it and managed to wiggle out of their grasp.

 

A few of the scrawnier thugs tried to subdue her and keep her from running, but even with decreased strength Starfire was smaller and faster than them. She managed to push through their assembly and out of the alley towards the end of the street, which was... A dead end? Oh schnoogleborf!

 

Starfire cursed in her head as the thugs caught up with her again and this time managed to subdue her effectively, keeping her hands, mouth and legs occupied.

 

With no respite in sight and her hope for a somewhat relaxing night gone, Starfire yelled into her gag as loud as she could, trying to draw attention or something. The thugs paid little attention though and continued carrying the girl with them as they moved into shadier parts of the city.

 

WHifff!

 

A few small objects flew through the air and stuck into the bodies of a few of the thugs and found strong enough marks to sedate if not wound them pretty well. The big lug carrying Starfire was left though and he ran at a full sprint toward the end of the road, or tried. With the way his run was labored, it was no wonder that a large shadowy creature caught the man off guard and sent him catapulting into a nearby building.

 

Starfire was a little dazed from her fall to realize what had just happened, but a boy of around 17 came over to her and began slowly removing her bonds. His hands were soft and not unwelcome on her skin as he tried to be as careful as he could and when Starfire's gaze shifted to his masked face she was transfixed.

 

The man's face was a thing of beauty never seen on Tamaran and although his eyes were masked she could see through his weak expression of stoicism and into his heart. Starfire proverbially melted in the man's arms, but tried to keep herself composed at the same time. It was very difficult.

 

"Um-m... Th-thank you for rescuing me? Now um are you who? or... Who are you? and wh-where do you come from? And..." Starfire just drifted off, looking into his eyes and almost missed the other figure; a boy who stood a little shorter than the man Starfire was ogling, and whose skin was a bright green with loose scales.

 

The boy looked a little taken aback himself with the beauty of Starfire radiating back towards him, but his thoughts were a little less obvious. He tried to mask his true feelings through a well planned and fitting, though awkward change of subject.

 

"Well... This, this is Beast Boy," Robin said with cheeks so red that you'd think his head was a big cherry, "and I'm, I'm Robin, nice to meet you..."

 

Starfire took a moment to notice Robin's hand outstretched to her then finally gave it a shake like she'd been taught and told them both her name was Starfire. It was a fairly small silence between them before either of them spoke, but it was interesting to see them together nonetheless. A few people on the street pointed at the silly looking green boy and ogled Starfire, but ultimately the three enjoyed a rather interesting and meditated silence.

 

"Well..." Robin said, finally breaking the silence, scratching his head with nervous fingers,"BB and I are out tonight and every night patrolling the city, catching criminals that the corrupt CorSec don't seem to find. I'm beginning to think the Corellian security force doesn't even care, but its not my place to judge."

 

BB nodded his head silently and although he had a rather quirky joke involving a judge and a sandwich on his mind, he let it slide to avoid making the situation more awkward.

 

"Ummm..." Robin continued. "Would you like to join us on our patrol?"

 

Starfire was once again caught in a moment of perpetual staring at Robin's face, but managed to break away when she recognized the proposal. "Oh I would like that very very much I would, yes." Starfire blurted out so quickly that Robin's head took a moment to process it.

 

"Oh-ok, Starfire?" Robin led, taking a few steps out of the thoroughfare and onto the street, beckoning Starfire to follow, "come with us."

 

Starfire's eyes lit up and she gladly followed the Robin for the rest of the night no matter how dangerous or threatening it was.

[Andon]

Curiouser and Curiouser.

 

A thrumming sound resonating throughout his head had begun at the base of his spine and ended just behind his eyelids.

 

This was how Andon Colos, Jedi-turned-Lover-turned-Runaway, experienced the subtleties of Force currents. Tiny threads of them just outside his retinas and ear drums wove into braids, cascading in all directions, tethering him to the ground and rooting him to the air as they sung their unspeakable truths.

 

There was an undeniable feeling on this planet, like a dream he had already lived walking it's surface. Or perhaps it was more along the notion of living a dream you remembered once. He absently scratched at his ring finger with the thumb of the same hand. The rogue couldn't decide either way, but settled on the fact it was delightfully surreal and allowed himself to be lost in the thought. This was one of the seldom moments of peacefulness he had experienced in the last few weeks, if such a concept of peace is attainable when your sole speaking traveling companion is a neurotic droid with delusions of grandeur.

 

"Master! I've discovered the most glorious thing. Having combined this formerly melted coco product with a paste made from local peanuts I just invented a marvelous new taste! Not that I can actually taste it, but sensors on my vocabulator concluded with 97% certainty that this flavor is most pleasing to your species."

 

Most days Andon truly regretted removing Vee's self-conscious algorithms and replacing them with assertive sub-routines.

 

"Yes, I believe I shall make a note to market this at once!"

 

However annoying, the droid had proven time and time again to have been less servant and more a friend. Something the Jedi didn't keep many of. In his travels across the stars, the man left behind a social profile as discreet as his appearance: a neatly trimmed beard underneath shaggy brown hair. He dressed in a simple high collar white shirt, dark pants and a form pleasing jacket left casually unbuttoned.

 

Hands in his pockets, he continued his casual stroll amongst the crowds deep in his own thoughts, or should he say, the occasional thought between the unnecessarily exuberant exclamations of genius from Vee.

[Emily]

During the journey to Corellia, Emily had remained separate from the others. She had been doing some serious thinking. Thinking about her future. She couldn't seem to get the woman Darla's words out of her head. She had told her not to be a Jedi. Emily was beginning to think she was right.

 

She just didn't fit in here. It was like she was a stranger wherever she went. She missed belonging. She missed having a family.

 

So she made her way to Skye, catching the woman before she went outside. "Master Organa? I think I'm leaving. Thank you so much for letting me tag along with you and your friends, but I don't think I belong here. I just...I guess I'm going to go back to finding my own way." She handed Skye the datapad with the plant info from the Golden Link. "Please let me know if you hear from Nishant." She wouldn't admit it, but she missed him.

 

After saying her farewells, she headed off, grabbing as speeder taxi and headed off towards the city.

[Skye Organa]

(ooc: SORRY!!! Things have been so hectic along with stormy weather too... to top it off, my desktop PC is in the shop getting fixed *sigh*)

 

"Miss Organa actually Darex, but you may call me Tahlia," the last part of her comment was directed at both of them as she turned her gaze towards the woman on Darex's arm, "And you must be Darla. My daughter has told me all about the pair of you." Tahlia's green eyes sparkled as she looked from one to the other. Skye had told her all about her friends. It did surprise her that she was only just meeting Darex for the first time especially since Skye had brought her other padawans to the cabin from time to time. She took a step back and swept her arm to indicate the forest retreat. "Enjoy your time here, relax and let go of all your tensions. This place was created to escape from the big city pressures." Glancing up she caught sight of her daughters capable droid, "Come, let I-Nine show you around the cabin and to the room that you will be staying in."

 

--

 

Inside the ship, Skye glanced back out the view screen at her friends and mother. She could just imagine what her mother was saying... giving a shake of her head, she rose and headed into her room where she grabbed up a couple of things before heading out of the ship. Flitter hovered around her then headed towards the cockpit where the droid would remain for the time being so that everything could be monitored.

 

Skye was about to head outside when Emily caught up to her. She gave a nod of her head as the young girl spoke, "You do whatever you have to do Emily. Follow your own path, follow your heart." She smiled at her, taking the datapad Emily handed her. "If I come across Nishant again I will definitely let you know." As the young girl turned to leave, Skye followed her out, seeing her approach the speeder taxi that her mother had most likely just arrived back in. she had seen a lone taxi heading towards the forest retreat as they had come along and had timed her arrival only a few moments after the taxi. As the taxi left, Skye called out, using the force to amplify her words, "May the Force be with You Emily".

 

Catching the last comment her mother made about I-Nine showing Darex and Darla around she laughed as she joined them, dropping the bags at her feet so that she could embrace her mother, "Still bossing my droids around I see Mother" Turning to her friends she added, "I see you have all now met." Her gaze shifted towards Darla in particular as she added, "Once you have had the grand tour of the cabin, if you head out the back you will come to the point of the tear-drop lake, it's lovely there, a good place to talk."

 

Skye gathered up her bags and watched as Tahlia ushered everyone inside.

[Emily]

Emily made it back to the city in no time. She liked cities. All the people, all the noise, the rush. It was the exact opposite of Raxus Prime, and she loved it. She paid the cab and noticed that she was running low on credits. It didn't matter; she'd just be careful until she had the chance to go to an auto teller. She had never had to worry about credits--the infamous heist her father had pulled off had guaranteed that they were cared for her entire life. She didn't know where the money had come from of course. If she had, she would have been amused to have just come from the casino that the heist had taken place at.

 

As it was, she wandered the city. She wasn't exactly sure where she was going, but she figured she'd have to barter passage offworld. She turned her steps towards the spaceport.

 

She was so caught up in her thoughts and admiring the city that she didn't see the man until she ran smack into him. "Oh! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" she asked, embarrassed.

 

The man had a droid with him, and appeared to be an average spacer type, a bit scruffy around the edges. But when she met his eyes, her mouth fell open involuntarily. "You...look really familiar. Who are you?"

[Andon]

The thrumming persisted, making the tips of his fingers throb from the outside in. It was only in these last few years that the flow currents of the Force spoke so openly to him. The irony was not lost on Andon that this deepening connection had only blossomed after such an absence from the Jedi Order; a lifestyle designed to amplify precisely this.

 

This awakening was not without pitfalls, such drone became relentless... he hardly slept at night. It had its moments of redemption, though, such as saving his companion Vee from an absent-minded death via air taxi.

 

One would think a droid with enhanced audio sensors would be able to detect the whine of a repulsor engine or the density drop preceding it, but the droid was lost deep in his newest obsession: music. Taking a moment he paused the live holonet feed in his head streaming an esoteric orchestra ensemble to send a rather obscene gesture that Andon couldn't recall teaching him towards said driver of taxi. Satisfied, the mechanical man returned to the rhythm of his dance, which looked incredibly similar to misfiring joint servos.

 

The thrumming insisted on increasing its tempo, but he ignored it. Having no sense of danger it was more akin to a high pitched squeal for him to pay attention to it. He did not indulge pouting.

 

Music, he remembered what the joy of music was like. The protocol droid began his new love affair with wave resonance after proposing a question to his master: "Sir, if I may ask, what is it like having a soul?"

 

The question had dumbfounded him; not because the droid was curious about what it meant to have one, but because Vee had become entirely aware of what it meant to not. His friend had asked him to understand what it was. Andon had told him it was realization of being alive, but the droid did not know what alive was. The Jedi likened the sensation of living to the legato of a musical piece, the smooth transition from moment to moment no matter how bizarre the temperament. Thus began his quest to understand music.

 

Vee had become so human and relatable to the Jedi that it became entirely unnerving, perhaps because his mind whispered the secret doubt it meant Andon was numbing to detached systematic thought. A systematic thought that blinded him to the fact that a small form was about to collide into him until it was micro-seconds from happening.

 

He squared his body; absorbing the impact and directing it to wash over him, not through him. A quick hand found the girl's upper arm to keep her balance from toppling back onto her heels and causing a stumble. She apologized and asked if he was alright, he nodded without moving his head in her direction. The thrumming pulse became an agony of wasps inside his head. He felt a notion of something he had not felt sense...

 

She inquired who he was. "A ghost," came his reply.

 

It was the answer to the question of what he felt in his head. It was just dashing rogue luck it also doubled as a coy retort to her question. The density in the air dropped and all became eerily silent. Andon turned his head, realizing he had slipped into a clarity of perception, and locked eyes with the young stranger. Her eyes were two different colors, not wholly unique in a galaxy this large, but one eye caught his attention.

 

It was like his. Then he searched its other. The planet froze in orbit and ceased to rotate. Her opposite eye, he knew that shade of gray sky blue. As if sobering, Andon's eyes became very focused as disinterest burned away for a searching stare. His hands found her shoulders, but his heart gave no song of malice and it exhaled like a calm, starry night. His touch was to make sure she was not a phantom that would fade away.

 

"There are only two pairs of eyes in the galaxy with shades like that," his voice was soft. "And you have them both."

 

He tilted his head.

 

"Better question, who are you?"

[SithAcolyte]

((ooc: No worries Chris, life here has been kind of hectic too. I'm quite happy for the posts to move along at a slow pace. xxx))

 

 

"Miss Organa actually Darex, but you may call me Tahlia," the last part of her comment was directed at both of them as she turned her gaze towards the woman on Darex's arm, "And you must be Darla. My daughter has told me all about the pair of you." Tahlia's green eyes sparkled as she looked from one to the other. Skye had told her all about her friends. It did surprise her that she was only just meeting Darex for the first time especially since Skye had brought her other padawans to the cabin from time to time. She took a step back and swept her arm to indicate the forest retreat. "Enjoy your time here, relax and let go of all your tensions. This place was created to escape from the big city pressures." Glancing up she caught sight of her daughters capable droid, "Come, let I-Nine show you around the cabin and to the room that you will be staying in."

 

Darla smile warmly when she was greeted by Tahlia. She was almost exactly what Darla had expected. Almost. She had the same warming and welcoming manner that Skye had. But Tahlia seemed a little bolder and bossier. Not that either of those things were bad. Darla wasn't sure what she had expected. Tahlia wasn't a Jedi Master so there was no reason that she would posses the same serenity that her daughter did. After all, darla and her own mother had been nothing alike.

 

Darla really was pleased to meet Tahlia and wanted to give her a hug, but wasn't sure how the older woman would respond. So instead Darla nodded and smiled.

 

"It really is a pleasure to meet you Tahlia. Your daughter is my best friend and if I wasn't for her this Galaxy would surely have gotten the best of me."

 

Although Tahlia had said that she had heard a lot about them, Darla wasn't sure what details she would be privy to so she didn't explain any further. But in all reality Skye had saved Darla's body and her soul on numerous occasions. Skye had even helped her out in current predicament.

 

Catching the last comment her mother made about I-Nine showing Darex and Darla around she laughed as she joined them, dropping the bags at her feet so that she could embrace her mother, "Still bossing my droids around I see Mother" Turning to her friends she added, "I see you have all now met." Her gaze shifted towards Darla in particular as she added, "Once you have had the grand tour of the cabin, if you head out the back you will come to the point of the tear-drop lake, it's lovely there, a good place to talk."

 

Skye gathered up her bags and watched as Tahlia ushered everyone inside.

 

Skye had arrived almost as if on cue. Darla realised what her friend meant. It was well overdue that she and Darex had a 'talk'. She really was surprised that he hadn't noticed anything yet. The sickness and the weight she'd gained. If he had probed her through the Force he would have felt the life growing inside her. But that would have been an invasion of her privacy. Darex hadn't over-stepped that line.

 

Darla almost wished that he had. At least that way she wouldn't have to figure out how to tell him. That was the most nerve wracking part for Darla. She knew that it would happen soon. Probably that evening.

 

"Hey," She said to Dares as they walked into the compound. "How about after dinner tonight we go for a long walk. Check out the scenery. It just looks so beautiful here."

 

It really was as well. Darla had grown up on Coruscant and was always fascinated by worlds where nature still had free reign. Corellia wasn't all wilderness, there were plenty of large cities. But this little part of it seemed like paradise to Darla right now.

 

She looked into Darex's blue eyes. Her own sparkling with a longing. A tinge of sadness at all the burdens she carried and a tinge of hope at the promise of a future.