Corellia

[King Kheldar vos Correlli]

Kheldar's eyebrows raise again and he gives a low whistle, tucking the package inside his doublet. "I'll put it in my personal safe and make a specially encrypted back up for you." With that, he takes out his trusty organizer and punches in a few buttons. "That'll be all," he notes, dismissing the meeting. In the background a new window is being sealed into place by two worker droids who promptly vanish. "There's a pod waiting for you downstairs. Good luck on your new venture and may the force be with you on it (even if it's completely cut off inside this building).

 

After they leave, Kheldar uses his personal organizer once more, summoning up the merchant's private information database from his office. Using a series of encryptions and security codes on the already highly secure and already encrypted network, he runs in and further locks the Link's information up along with his own private, more sensitive materials. With a snap, he closes his pocket organizer shut, ensuring that no one, not without Kheldar's personal assistance, can access any of his files. That said and done, he strides over to a picture of his first ship, the Drake

s Revenge featuring Kheldar with his original crew: A younger Kheldar along with former friends Fang Toril, Norithan Shirak, and a still human Vladimir Faust. Off to Kheldar's right is his first wife before they were married.

 

Amazing how the passage of time changes so much...

 

Openning the picture, a small, quantom armored safe is revealed, sporting a special lock of Kheldar's own design. Two minutes later, the safe opens up, revealing a few important documents and personal momentos. Kheldar slides the hard drive in and seals it shut, though not before looking at a few of those personal affects.

 

A short while later, Kheldar is grunting it out in a small hangar, going over the repairs to the Silk Road and revamping the damaged ship. The luxurious panelling and capretting is being reinstalled, along with a restocking of the various cargo bays and private rooms. The engines and other essential ship functions took quite a bit of time. The molecularly bonded hull is refurbished and given a gold sheen, and as an added touch, using his ongoing ysalmari harvests that Ganelon established on Myrkr back in the day, the ship is refitted and force proofed along interior and concealed frames. Internal defenses set up once more... and with a laugh, Kheldar changes out of his oil stained jump suit and back into his finery, taking the revised and good as new CC-SR 1 out of the atmosphere, where it vanishes into hyperspace.

[Brina Thalin]

Brina's comm suddenly beeped. Glad to get out of the tense setting, she excused herself and walked off to answer it.

 

"Brina, this is your brother Kyle. I just wanted to let you know that Christya has...died in a terrible accident. I hope this news doesn't find you at a bad time, but there is no real good time for news like this. There is no need to come out for the funeral--I know you must be busy. But think of us back home. I know you two didn't always get along, but she was our sister. We got the news yesterday that she died when a drunk pilot crashed into her speeder on Nar Shaddaa.

 

"I'm sorry to pass this news on to you, sis. Wherever you are, may the Force be with you."

 

Brina was stunned. Christya had always been the renegade rebel in the family, bringing shame to the family name with her wild living. But that didn't mean that her death didn't affect Brina. She bit her lip and slipped her comlink back into it's holding place.

 

She thought about going back over to Kat and Zara, but she couldn't bring herself to face them like this. I'm not going to cry, she told herself. Christya had been the antithesis of what Brina had wanted to be, but they had gone through some good times together.

[Kat Nargal]

Having just finished up the meeting with KVC, Kat turned to walk out of the room, only to see brina walking out the doors. Looking bewilderedly at his sister, he figured he probably ought to go see what was going on.

 

Walking at a brisk stride, he left the chambers, only to find brina biting her lip, and seemingly on the brink of tears. Without saying anything, Kat moved over to her, and held her.

[Zara Nargal]

Zara followed her brother until he headed towards Brina. She could tell the girl was upset and figured that Kat could take care of her. She would be there if needed but she felt her brother would be more of a comfort to her than she could be. Specially since she almost felt empty without Ronin around. Well the best thing for her to do was to check into a Motel, then head back to the ships and get things in order... keep busy.

 

She waved to the other pair and made her way down to the waiting transport, instructing the driver to take her to one of the motels then for her to return to pick up the other two if required.

 

Arriving at the motel, Zara arranged for a penthouse apartment. She was shown the apartment and smiled. It had four separate bedrooms, a kitchenette, lounge area and a large bathroom with spa and separate shower. Pure luxury. She commed her brother, leaving a message regarding the rooms and then left to head back to the transports to get her things and to see what Blackdust was up to

[Brina Thalin]

Brina felt a strong arm slip around her waist. She knew who it was--she recognized his touch and the smell of cigars that lingered in the air whenever he was near. She was chagrined to have him find her in this state.

 

"Kat, I--"

 

She broke off. Her voice was not working properly. It was all shaky and quiet. She paused, not knowing what to do. Should she pull away? But as she had been doing alot recently, she gave in and trusted her feelings. She turned and buried her face in his shirt.

[Kat Nargal]

Gently stroking the back of her head, Kat said quietly

 

"Dont talk, not yet. Give yourself a minute. Lets just get to the hotel, I think zara's already sorted everything out, knowing her."

 

Gently, he took one arm from around her, still holding her, but slowly walking at the same time. They reached the pod, and he sat down, still holding her, just letting her deal with whatever had her in this state. After a few minutes, the pod stopped, and Kat helped her out of the pod, before the two made their way to the front desk, picked up a security card, and made their way up to the apartment.

 

Sitting down in the loungeroom, he waited for her to decide if she wanted to speak or not, still letting her do whatever she needed to do to deal with her pain.

[Brina Thalin]

The short trip to the hotel was all Brina needed to compose herself. "I'm sorry Kat...I just received news that my sister was killed in an accident. I think with all the emotional turmoil we've gone through in the past few weeks with the destruction of Coruscant and all, that just pushed me over the edge."

 

She apologized again, "I'm sorry."

 

She glanced around her at the lobby. "This looks like a fairly decent hotel...not full of Coreillian scum, yet not too full of the wealthy constantly looking down on you over their noses."

[Kat Nargal]

When he heard the news, the first thing he thought of was how he would feel if zara were to die. She was holding herself together very well, in comparison to that thought.

 

"If I were in your shoes, I doubt Id be anywhere near as composed as you are at the moment. And your right about this hotel, it was a good pick."

 

"Do you need to talk about it? Im definately here to listen if you do."

[Brina Thalin]

She shook her head. "Thank you, but I'm fine. My relationship with Christya was nothing near the level of closeness that you adn Zara share. She was rebellious and hot-headed, and we got into many fights growing up. As you can imagine, she left home as soon as she could. I actually haven't heard from her--or any news about her--for about, oh, 7 years now."

 

She offered him a smile. "Really, I'm alright. And it's sweet of you to care."

 

The mirth in her eyes replaced any traces of grief that had been there before.

[Kat Nargal]

Smiling at her warmly, kat gave her shoulder a squeeze, and said

 

"Its fine, I dont think I could help it anyway. Im glad your ok, but no matter how distant you are to your siblings, there are still some very deep connections. Im just lucky to be so close to zara.

 

Perhaps it would be an idea to go for a walk, this hotel has a pool somewhere apparently."

[Brina Thalin]

She stood with a smile. "That sounds like a good idea. A pool, eh? Well, let's just hope it's clean."

 

They walked together, finding the hotel to be sparse, but clean. There were a few spots that seemed a bit run down with age, but for the most part, the building was sturdy and the all-Twi'lek staff, friendly.

 

They found a gym, steamroom, and the pool, which was large, heated, and smelled so much like chemicals that there was no doubt that it was clean. There was also a hot tub nearby.

[Kat Nargal]

Winking at her, he pulled off his flightsuit, and jumped straight into the pool, slipping through the water before emerging a ten meters away. Motioning to her to join him, he raised his legs up, and floated on his back.

 

This was great, he thought. They had the entire rec area to themselves, they could do whatever they wanted.

[Brina Thalin]

Part of her laughed inwardly at Kat's blantant flirting and his apparent lack of modesty. Another part of her winced a bit at his invitation.

 

She rolled up her pant legs and sat down at the edge of the pool, kicking her legs lightly through the water. She would have liked to join him, but she was not about to admit to anyone--especially him of all people--that she didn't know how to swim.

 

Instead, she sat and enjoyed the view.

[Kat Nargal]

Looking quizically at her, and not understanding why she wouldnt want to swim, he ducked under water, and swam over to her, popping up right in front of her.

 

"You dont like swimming? How about hot tubs." Winking at her, he pulled himself out of the pool, and sat next to her, Still completely soaking, he gave her a hug, wetting her flightsuit thouroughly. Laughing at her playfully, he waited to see what she would do.

[Brina Thalin]

Brina sputtered, soaking wet from Kat's mischieviousness. She tried to glare at him, but the laughter in her eyes prevented her from succeeding.

 

She mock-moaned, ignoring his comment about the hot tub. "Kat...now I'm all wet. These are your sister's clothes too--mine are back at my ship. What am I supposed to do now?"

 

The challenge in her eyes was unmistakeable.

[Kat Nargal]

Winking at her, he slipped his arm around her waist, and leaned over her, kissing her gently. Pulling away gently, he leaned back a bit, before looking at the clothes. With a filthy grin on his face, he said

 

"Somehow I dont think clothes are an issue in a completely empty rec area. Well, completely empty apart from me. You definately dont need clothes in a hot tub."

[Brina Thalin]

Unbidden, lust flared up inside her. She tried to hold on to some semblance of normalcy. "Ah, but therein lies the problem. Empty, save you, for now, but at any moment it could be occupied by others. I don't think a little Zabrak child would appreciate your...methods...of flirting."

 

A smirk crossed her face. "Besides, boss," she said, reminding him of their social positions. "You could bring shame to your entire company."

 

She remained in his arms, craning her neck to look up at him and watch his reaction.

[Nahstaa]

"Right, ill be back in two moments. Dont move."

 

Getting up, he donned his jumpsuit, and walked out to the main office. Speaking to the attendant, and leaving a fairly reasonable amount of credit chips with him, he walked back into the rec area, put a cleaners sign outside, closed the door, and locked it using the key. Tossing the key to her, he said

 

"There, no issues. Where were we?"

 

Leaning over her once again, his lips met hers, The flames between them leaping up once again. Running his hands down her back, He continued the kiss, Leaving her to decide if she wanted to end it, as he certainly didnt.

[Brina Thalin]

She returned the kiss, but without the same passion. Her mind was clearer now, and she knew that she could not continue this way. It wouldn't be fair to him...and she'd end up doing something she would regret.

 

So she pulled back. "Kat," she whispered, "I can't. I'm sorry...it...wouldn't be fair to you..."

 

She untanged herself from his arms and stood. "I'm so sorry..." she repeated.

 

With that, she fled the room, leaving him alone to contmplate her words.

[Kat Nargal]

His mind clear and his body still on an adrenaline rush, He instantly stood, pulled his flightsuit on roughly, and bolted after her. Catching up with her, he gently took hold of her arm, and made her stop to listen for a moment.

 

"Brina, ive felt something for you that ive never felt for anyone else, since coruscant. I dont care if it doesnt work out in the end, i just want to be with you. Im sorry if i pushed it a bit to far back there, I just let go and flowed with my feelings. Please, stop for a moment, tell me why it wouldnt be fair."

[Brina Thalin]

She sighed. "It's not your fault, Kat. You did nothing out of place. It's all me."

 

She sank into a couch that was nearby. They were in an abandoned hallway--no one would interrupt.

 

"I care for you Kat, I really do," she started, "but you have to realize--this is not the first relationship I've been in. There have been times where I've went to sleep happy and confident and woken up the next morning cold and alone. There was also a time when I was sure that I was going to be married and happy forever--but that," she shuddered, "ended as well, and not in a very pleasant way. I have to conclude that there is something that I've done in each case that's caused my unhappiness...and it wouldn't be fair to you to have this relationship end up the same way."

 

She took a deep breath. "I...I just don't want to hurt you. There is obviously something wrong with me that causes these relationships to end in pain, and I want to spare both of us from that."

 

She didn't want to meet his eyes, fearing what she'd find there.

[Kat Nargal]

Sighing deeply, Kat looked at brina. Kneeling down in front of her, he gathered her hands in his.

 

"Im willing to take that sort of risk for you brina. At least give it a chance. The worst that can happen is that we will end up single again, which is where we are right now anyway. As I see it, the only thing you can bring to my life is happiness, and Its been a while since I felt truely happy."

 

Raising one hand to her chin, he raised her face, and looked into her eyes.

[Brina Thalin]

She glanced up into his unfathomably deep eyes and almost gave in. But to her, it wasn't that easy. "I don't want to hurt you," she repeated. "Even by me saying this. But...maybe if we wait. Work together as co-workers, as friends even. Then maybe later, I'll feel ready to try again. Perhaps that was my mistake all along--I didn't know them as well as I should have.

 

"If we pull back now, then perhaps in the future, we can go forward together. Let me get to know you better. Perhaps during that time our feelings for each other will fade (sparing us heartache) or else they will blossom. Then..." she drew a deep breath, "well, there will be nothing to stop us."

 

She glanced up into his eyes again. It would be hard for both of them, she knew. "Kat...if...if you feel that you can not do that, I'll understand. And then I'll have a decision to make. But if you believe this relationship can work, then you will wait with me."

 

At that moment, she didn't care about her job, her future, or anythign else. She only focused on him. She believed he was a rare find--and his response would either further that, or crush it. She wanted with all of her being for this all to work out, but she simply didn't trust herself enough yet.

[Kat Nargal]

"If thats what its going to take to have the possibility of things working between us, then i guess ill back off and just try to get to know you. I dont know how well it will work, but I can try." Sighing deeply, he stood, taking his hands from her face and her own hands. Offering her a hand up off the couch, They began walking back to the hotel room.

 

"I aught to go find zara. She will be checking the ships I would imagine, and even if shes not, i want to make sure everything arrived safely."

[Brina Thalin]

Brain nodded, touched that he would be willing to do this for her. Score one for Kat, she thought.

 

Taking her mind off the subject, she agreed with his statement. "it's probably a good idea. What are you going to do now that Coruscant is devestated? Set up a new base here or somewhere else?"

 

They made their way to where the ships were. Brina hurriedly checked the Crazy Mynock, and finding it in one piece, joined Kat near one of the company YT-2400s to hear his response.

[Kat Nargal]

"Well, that meeting with KVC was to set up a new casino space station. We will be running the operation out of the new station, which makes it a floating money making base. It should be an excellent center of operations, purely due to its mobility."

 

He spoke as he checked over the company ships automatically, his mind still reeling from the past hour or so.

[Brina Thalin]

She was interested. "I've never heard of a floating casino before. When are you going to get it set up?"

 

It was pointless business chit-chat, but she felt she had to say something. Deep down, she was afraid her actions had driven them apart farther than she liked--she still cared for him a good deal. She wondered secretly if they would ever be able to have a serious conversation again.

 

The ships seemed in good condition, and everything checked out.

[Kat Nargal]

Sighing, kat decided he really needed to go have a chat with zara. He had barely talked to her since coruscant, and he really needed to talk to someone at the moment. Turning to brina, he said

 

"Im going to have a look around and see if i can find zara. I need to have a chat with her. If your in the mood, you can go check out the casino's progress, it should be getting there by now. KVC is known for his promptness in regards to projects. Ill come find you when ive finished talking to zara."

 

Giving her a breif hug, he pulled himself away from her, forcing himself to walk. At this particular moment in time, he felt like breaking down and crying, but he would go and have a chat to zara, and try to let it all out then. Suspecting she would be in the panther, he went there first, and found her checking through the cargo hold. Closing the door, he sat down, and waited for her to notice him.

[Zane Arclyte]

The spaceport in Coronet, the capital city of Corellia, was populated with every kind of ship concievable, even some not commercially available anywhere. It was as crowded as hair on the human head, with ships dodging narrowly around each other, nearly scraping hulls in some instances. Zane brought himself into the port in one of the personal ship ports, followed closely by his master's ship.

 

After locking down the Crash Wildfire and sending his registration information to the docking office, he exited and brought his master along to the apartment complex where he had lived with the woman he wore his ring for. It had been several months since last he had seen her in person, sufficing on periodic letters and pictures sent back and forth. This was a present to himself for getting as far as he has.

 

He swiped a keycard across the lock and with a swift shckkk sound and a beep, it opened.

 

"Where's my favorite girl in all the galaxy?" he said into the apartment as he pushed open the door.

 

The flat was modestly furnished, well-organized, and touched with blue everywhere. The furniature, the kitchen, most everything had some form of blue or green accenting it. In the middle of the living room stood a thin woman dressed in a light jacket and a springtime-colored dress who was looking up from picking up something off a table. She and Zane met eyes, both grinning from ear to ear after a moment of this, and impossibly quickly, they embraced. "So good to see you! I was just about to come down to the starport to meet you."

 

"Little ahead of schedule sweetheart. Had to break the laws of physics to get her soon enough to see you." They kissed each other for a moment. "I hope you don't mind, I brought a guest."

 

Zane's wife peeked over Zane's shoulder, and pulled Zane around so they were both facing Dhan-Jaroe standing in the doorway. "Of course, always glad to have guests." She put out her hand to the master Jedi. "Hi, I'm Tia Arclyte, pleasure to meet you. And you are?"

[Zero]

He smiled and bowed.

 

"I am Jedi Master Dhan-Jaroe Kenobi. Your husband is quite the pupil, very mindful of the force and a quick learner. Very intent on the Jedi way of living, the jedi ideals."

 

Seeing Zane's wife reminded him of the incident on Naboo.

 

He forced a smile, he had let his cover down, and hopefully Zane would not detect his master's thoughts; this was Zane's 'break' and he didn't want to spoil a moment.

 

"I will be outside, you two should catch up."

 

He walked out and looked toward the sun.

 

"I can feel you... but I can't see you or touch you... Why does the force play with me so? Why did this have to happen?"