Carida

[Lord MacLeod]

Waking up in the hospital, Luke looked around slightly baffled as until the sergeant that he had carried off of the Star Destroyer approached his bedside or rather it seemed now Lieutenant.

 

"Hello Sir, you had a piece of shrapnel that had lodged near your spine during the explosion and it wasn't until you left the Supreme Commanders office that the piece moved and your collapsed outside on the parade square and were rushed to the surgeon. It took three surgeries for them to remove all of the shrapnel and following that you spent several days under sedation before they placed you in a bacta tank. Since then the Supreme Commander has left orders for you to fly to Kashyyyk and join her aboard the Admiral Andripov. It is a Corona-Class Frigate, it is a newer model that I am unfamiliar with, however I was given the specs for it since I have been appointed as your Aide de Camp."

 

Luke nodded and stood up grasping the bed for a moment as a wave of vertigo washed over him from having been in a bed for too long. He straightened up and took a breath. "Bring me my uniform, my weapons and jacket," He thought for a moment then continued. "Have a shuttle fueled and prepped, we will leave as soon as it is ready."

 

"Aye Admiral." The Lieutenant turned sharply and left the room. Moments later a stormtrooper arrived with his gear and Luke changed out of the hospital robes and back into his uniform albeit a fresh crisp one and then buckled on his weapons. He was just putting on his jacket when the Lieutenant returned. "Sir, a shuttle is prepped and ready for your departure." Luke nodded and left the hospital with the lieutenant behind him. They boarded the shuttle and moments later left Cardia for Kashyyyk while Luke examined the specifications of the frigate that he was going to be on.

[Raven Nasra]

((Chaotic please check your PMs. You are not dead just disabled, this is a good learning experience.))

((Posting a three day as agreed to between myself and Wyvernfall))

 

Brigade Leader Priess was cut down after his five round burst hit the chest of the Droid with the power of spun tibanna gas and imperial engineering. He died choking out his last breaths from a Nemoid blaster bolt that caught him in the throat, blowing out the windpipe and cutting his spine. Even as he died, he briefly reflected that it was better to join the force than live a disabled veteran and shame his house. At least there would be a heavily attended funeral, something for his father to wax poetic about, but his mother.

 

Oh mother please forgive me for leaving so soon.

 

The 43rd Assault Pioneers retreated back away from the gangplank and the AT-PT’s and Turbolasers turned the Gem of the Coral Seas into a hunk of discarded durasteel and duraloid bulkhead. Surprisingly, most of the crew survived, though many were heavily wounded. After securing the scene the Imperial Medical Corps recovered five wounded Nemoids and the droid that had started it all. Feldstar among the more heavily wounded was transported to the Issard Medical Facility in the Caridian capital where he would awake after some detailed repair work by imperial surgeons. The ISB would want to talk to him and his droid companion.

 

_________________________

 

 

The Imperial Stormtrooper at the entrance to the Phillep Detente Military Archives turned to the young lady and accepted her ID. Silently she ran the ID on the check database and several seconds later extended the passport and ID back.

 

“Miss Wolfstar, you have escorted permission to enter, please follow me, do not detour from the route I lead you on, or you will be stunned. While accessing the database, ISB agent Valennia will assist you in your queries. You will not touch the terminal, thank you.”

 

After a few minutes of walking, ISB agent Kyle Valennia looked down at the holostar surrounded by two stormtroopers in their grey and green armour., “How can I assist you ma’am?”

[Anastasia Faust]

Ammi found herself holding her breath, fingering her pendant nervously, fingers twitching into the familiar rhythm of one of her first songs. If this didn't work she had no idea how she'd research this further, knowing a more official request could take months to get processed. She watched as her IDs and everything else were run, taking them back with a steady hand.

 

She found herself able to breathe again as she was told she could have the search ran. She nodded at the conditions, which were more than fair. "No, Mr. Trooper," she said, unsure how else to address a stormtrooper. "Thank you."

 

While they were waiting, her comm buzzed. She looked at it and rolled her eyes. Kalen, likely wondering where she'd gone off to. "Not now," she murmured, shaking her head. She maybe sorta possibly owed him a bit of an explanation, even if an apology was completely 110% out of the question. Dealig with Kalen right now was just not something she wanted to deal with right now. She found herself pacing and singing to herself softly when the ISB officer approached. She flashed him a warm, grateful smile, then gave him a salute, awkwardly. M3Z-Z0, taking a queue from Ammi, responded in kind, the droid's salute nearly flawless.

 

"Thank you so much Agent Valennia. I need a query run... It's ah... complicated." She drew in a deep breath, realizing she'd have to relate her life story to a total stranger, but here went nothing. "I'm trying to find information on my birth parents. I was told that my father was an Imperial officer and my mom a smuggler. I don't know if he was Navy, Army, or some other branch of the Empire's services. They were both killed by the Sith when I was six or so in something involving fire. I was hurt badly in that fire and have no memories from before then, including anything on my parents. I'm trying to track down anything I can on them. Not sure if Cardia's actually my homeworld, but it might have been." She looked flustered, realizing how little she knew. "I don't have anything to go off of besides that. Just my year of birth, since I set my birthday to the day I was adopted, and the Wolfstar family name, and oh, this," she added, showing her pendant and the slim knife she wore with their matching wolf's heads. "Oh.. and um..." she added, her voice dropping. "I wonder if one or both of them might have been force users or force sensitive since the Sith killed them. Just speculating," she added, keeping her discovery with Ephie to herself.

 

"Can you help me?"

[Wyvernfall]

Carida:

Issard Medical Facility:

Room 17

Floor 13

Patient ID # 666

_______________________________________

 

BEEP.............BEEP.............BEEP.............BEEP.............

 

The whir and drone of the life support machines that worked in almost silence, save for the beeping, filled the otherwise silent room centered around a bariatric bed holding a bandage clad mass of unmoving blackish gray mass of Herglic. The Imperial surgeons had done their best, well mostly, seeings as the man they had operated on was currently classified as an enemy combatant/suspected terrorist infiltrator.; but their best under the circumstances had not been enough. Imperial storm troopers were not known for their inaccuracy and it was obvious that this being had been on the front lines of the brief slaughter at the landing platforms that by now was playing across the news feeds across the sector.

 

The surgeons had to remove both of Feldstar's arms; his left at his elbow and his right just below the shoulder. Both of the CoreSec agent's legs had been broken and his lungs had been perforated where the blaster bolts had slipped between his armored swooper plates. Countless other injuries were scattered across and through the agent's body. hmedical file on Patient #666 was rather extensive, especially for his first visit to an Imperial medical facility. One other injury that warranted mentioning were the duo of blaster bolts that had steamed into Feldstar's head. Scans had indicated that brain activity was still there; the true extent of that damage would only be seen once Feldstar awoke; given the rest of his injuries that might be some time as the medical experts sought to heal the massive being.

 

Outside his room, guards stood on either side of his door, checking the IDs of every person going in or out against a datapad listing of all authorized staff.

 

...it was only a matter of time until Feldstar's DNA was ran against known databases including those that may or may not have been lifted from CoreSec or the Galactic Alliance and Feldstar's true identity was known. For now, his G.A. ID identified him as Dirk Daegaro, small time swoop repair tech.....

[Kalen Lorell]

No sooner had he finished ordering 4L-T0 and B45-50 back to the Galactic GlobeTrotter than Kalen's comm chimed, a most unwelcome development. With foreboding in his gut, he pulled it out of his pocket. If this was one of his employers, now would be the absolute worst time for them to call. Which probably meant that it actually was one of them.

 

It was bad luck to challenge things to get any worse, but Kalen was beginning to have his doubts that they could.

 

Activating it with a press of his finger, he answered hesitantly.

[Anastasia Faust]

((First part co-written with Raven))

 

Ammi followed Valennia closely, aware that the storm troopers would brook no trouble, no mischief. She wasn't exactly intimidated by them, but just felt the need to be extra cautious. Even so, her mouth started running before she could check it.

 

"You know," she murmured to Valennia, "I wonder how much the Empire's PR could be improved if you had uniforms that were more friendly looking. Maybe go back to the old clone trooper look instead of the skull-like trooper masks?" She thought about that, then looked over at the duo of troopers escorting them, suddenly fingering her pendant nervously. "Not that there's anything wrong with your current ones," she added hastily. "They do discourage people from causing trouble."

 

They finally reached the query console. Ammi stood back, M3Z-Z0 behind her and started listing off all the additional details she knew about her birth family, which still wasn't much more than what she'd said earlier.

 

A basic search for officers, or even regular conscripts with the Wolfstar surname came back with nothing. There were a few civilians on Cardia that had the Wolfstar name, but they were all alive, and careful records showed they wouldn't have had children around the time Ammi was born. A broader search excluded other Imperials in several branches based on records available to Valennia's security clearance. As for smugglers, no known records of any Wolfstars in suspected or detained smugglers could be found.

 

Ammi kept smiling the whole time, but as the searches ultimately returned with nothing to show for it, her eyes started to shimmer, a tightness around them. After all was said and done, she turned away once, wiping her face off.

 

"Thank you very much Agent Valennia," she said, giving him a hug, burying her face on his shoulder. "I appreciated the time you took. Thank you." She turned away, aware she left a damp spot on the shoulder of the agent's pristine uniform. "If you want to attend my concert latter, I can get you backstage passes. Least I can do." She still tried to sound cheerful, but there was a hollowness in her voice. She let them lead her out, shuffling in silence.

 

------

 

Back home, what was starting to feel like a lifetime ago, Ammi used to sneak out to the ship and climb up on top it. Lying down, or sitting atop it, she'd stare at the night stars and watch them from her quiet corner of the galaxy, an ache to be out among them, filling the void between those brilliant spheres with music and life. She would often play her guitar or and sing. Sometimes she'd by herself, sometimes it'd be the droids standing attentively on the ground, and every once in a while it'd be her sisters or even her adopted parents up there. This time, she was joined by a bottle of hard liquor, a fifth finished. It was a sweet Corellian concoction that went down smooth and gave a warm feeling in her gut that quickly spread.

 

She played her guitar, looking up at the Cardian sky, sad that in such a bustling world like this, all the ambient light shut out the heavens above after sunset. She could feel the cold, guarded vibe of the planet from her travels earlier in the day. There was a wariness and distrust that chilled her, but also a resolve and strength. She felt a couple cold spots too, though nothing like the Memorial and a few places that teased her memory, almost resembling something familiar, but distantly removed. Not knowing what to think, Ammi sang. It was one of the earliest songs she learned, one that resonated with her.

 

• Through the forests of twilight.
   
  The lone wolf wanders beneath the eaves.
   
  The sun sinks and sets, down behind the trees.
   
  The lone wolf owns the coming night.
   
   
  He runs through the forest, scattering the leaves.
   
  He bounds on all fours, his teeth brilliant and white.
   
  His footfalls light, the distance he cleaves.
   
  Wary of his deadly bite, woodland creatures take flight.
   
   
  By moonlight and starlight, all see his might.
   
  The king of the forest, he rules all he perceives.
   
  Matching moonlight and starlight above, shining on high.
   
  Brilliant below, a beacon far from the sky.
   
  A flame of awe, natures most amazing of weaves.
   
  Shining below, a majestic sight...

She stopped singing and sat fully upright at once, suddenly aware she wasn't alone and hadn't been for some time.

 

The last notes of song faded from her guitar and lips.

 

Well before she started her last couple songs, 4L-T0 and B45-50 returned, the former quietly letting Kalen know Ammi was back at the ship, then stood silently, watching over her from the ground. They didn't know at first exactly what got Ammi into this mood, but knew the usual trigger for the song's melancholy air, with M3Z-Z0 confirming their suspicions. In many ways it was a relief as well.

 

Ammi tried to stand up, nearly falling over, the alcohol hitting her hard. She forgot about reaching back out to Kalen after her trip to the Archives, feeling a need to lose herself. She'd stopped at a store on the way back to pick up her liquor, then snuck into the ship, grabbing her guitar, and then climbed up onto the roof just like old times. Like simpler times before she started to question things like this. The drink had been a poor choice, but necessary it seemed. She wasn't sure she was ready to deal with Kalen at the moment, not knowing where to begin. Was she still mad at him? Had she forgiven him? Should she have? Why had she run off like that? Was she trying to be spiteful? Or had she just seized the impulse to finally research her parents like she meant to over two years ago? She knew none of that.

 

"Kalen?" she asked, a faint slur in her voice. "Is that you?" she asked, hesitant.

[Raven Nasra]

CoreSec, that band of foolish idealogues that had been recently absorbed in whole by the Galactic Alliance. This agent had hidden his identity in order to infiltrate the Imperial Remnant capital, surely not to assassinate the son of Moff Priess, but that had assuredly been accomplished. And the poor man’s body was being shipped back to Bastion where his family would arrange a full funeral. Meanwhile the moff council was screaming for its vengeance, and there would not be very much left to stop the two great empires from falling into a desperate war. If the GA had intended to or not, they had begun it.

 

The ISB began their investigation, tying it with offworld crimes and assassinations, including possibly the assassination of the Old Jedi Grandmaster. Agent Jacobin was busy triangling the locations of the supposed murder, the ISB agents that had been murdered by blaster bolts, the scorch and landing marks that indicated where a ship had blasted off towards deep space, and finally the flight manifests of all departing vessels for that fateful day. They were fast approaching a breakthrough and he knew it, for now however he was looking down at a assassination suspect that had assisted in the killing of a Moff’s son. He reached down and adjusted the pain medications, pulling the suspect very painfully out of unconsciousness.

 

“Why are you here CoreSec? What is Your mission?”

 

He shouted at the whale like being in the hospital bed.

 

((Edited at request about the investigation))

Edited October 18, 2017 by Guest

[Wyvernfall]

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Feldstar awoke a cry of pain ripping from his lips as his entire body convulsed in pain, shooting him upwards into a semi-sitting up position before the restraints took hold and reversed his momentum back into the metal table with a slam that did little to mellow his pain.

 

CoreSec?

 

Where am I?

 

The pain itself was excruciating. Blackness edging into the corners of his conciousness. Feldstar's pain had his entire focus. Had it not been for the voice shouting questions at him, he would not even noticed it.

 

"Just kill me!!!!" he screamed in agony, "There was no mission!" pain melded time together, yesterday, last week, years of experiences, all melded together in a mixture of confusion and pain, If I tell him, perhaps he will end it.

 

"TEN-TEN-TENEBRIS!! GRRRRAAAAAA!!!!! KILL IT OR DIE TRYING!!!!!" he panted, his body writhing in pain m,uscles tensing and twisting in response to the massive injuries wrought across it. In the background the plethora of monitors and system began to chirp and alarm warnings as Feldstar's vitals began to approach life-threatening levels.

[Kalen Lorell]

For a long time, he said nothing, wondering if it were worth his life to intrude on such a private moment. Between the two of them, the dynamic had not yet been reconciled, but the grief reflected along with the city lights in her ocean eyes would not let him retreat. Slowly, he lowered himself to sitting, settling in beside her on the roof of the odd vessel. Her bandmates had summoned him as soon as the starlet had made her reappearance at the Galactic GlobeTrotter, which was opportune, because his search through the city had proved fruitless. The girl reeked of some liquor too strong for the likes of her, if the way she held her sake was any indication, but it would be useless to scold her in such a condition.

 

Not only that, but her song had so moved him that he found himself incapable of saying much at all.

 

"Pass me that bottle, kid," he said quietly.

 

Rich and still, though punctuated by the sounds of Caridan life all around them, the air itself seemed to have emotion, the very act of breathing causing him to imbibe the weight of Ammi's grief. Between the melancholy of her lyrics and the call he had received earlier in the day, his mind hearkened back to that which he would not wish to recall, pain that seemed somehow intensified and soothed by the balm of her melody. With a slow exhale, he rested his arms on his knees, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

 

"You really do have a gift."

[Anastasia Faust]

Ammi blinked several times, trying to focus her eyes, her vision a bit off from the drink. Was it 4L-T0 or B45-50? She knew they used to keep an eye out on her at times like this. She saw Kalen and leaned back, her face going into a carefully guarded look, the rosy blush at her cheeks a mix of embarrassment as well as the strong drink.

 

She turned, looking up at the night sky, consciously trying to avoid eye contact and wordlessly handed the bottle over before sitting in a huddled fashion, knees up to her chest, arms wrapped around them before resting her pendant in one hand. She heard his words and gave a small smile, but otherwise kept looking up, trying to get her feel of Cardia's surroundings. She couldn't find it's beat anymore, her own thoughts too cacophonous to really listen.

 

"Thanks," she said finally, drawing in a deep breath, still staring upwards. "I dunno why, but always think of my parents when I sing that song." She stroked the gems on her pendant. "I don't know how much the others told you, but reached out to the Empire earlier to see if they could find anything." She shook her head once, clenching her hand into a fist around the pendant. "Not a Kesseled-vaping-farkled thing on either my mother or father."

 

Taking a deep breath, she made a motion as if to take the bottle back, but decided against it. She was in that fine zone straddling tipsy and drunk, and didn't want to do herself the disservice of passing out again, even if she still trusted Kalen not to take advantage of things.

 

More silence.

 

"I learned something from filming Diamond Memoriam," she offered finally. "Ephie helped me confirm it. Empath, Force sensitive. Probably a gift from the folks and possibly why they got killed too." She turned to Kalen and continued speaking, her filter almost all the way down. "That's kinda why I challenged you to sabacc. Knew I'd lose, just thought I could maybe sense ya using it too..." She giggled surprisingly, a snort escaping too. "Just didn't expect to lose quite so badly... you cheating pig." There was only a bit of heat in those words and they came out borderline playful. Evidentially when faced with it, she had forgiven him. For the most part.

 

Laying back, hands behind her head, she gave a smile, seeing what looked like a star. The smile faded when she realized it wasn't. Very likely one of those new fangled Golan platforms she saw when landing, which actually made it kind of depressing.

 

"Don't have to answer if you don't want," Ammi said in a softer voice. "But what was your family like? I think you know what mine was like, at least what I can remember after being adopted." She added with a wry hiccup.

[Raven Nasra]

Reaching up, the Agent pushed another few mils of pain medication into the drip, and brought the creatures thrashing into control. The gurney was stabilized and the few stormtroopers in the room were ushered out by the nursing staff, leaving the Agent and the CoreSec assassin alone in the hospital room. The only sounds were the beeping of the life saving machines and the ragged breathing of Feldstar, restrained in his hospital bed. His vitals slowly coming back under control.

 

The Agent perched himself at the side of the bed and pulled out his Datapad, he scrolled through it a while before asking soft questions.

 

“Tenebris sent you? Did he send others? Perhaps a month ago when the Jedi were here? Are there other plots in store?”

 

The holocams watched silently, recording a hundred different angles, all prepared to capture his confession, and the officers behind the cameras sat eagerly awaiting the call to go to war. All it would take is a confession.

______________

 

Agent Jacobin walked through the mountainous terrain that had been marked down where the body had been found, while still a theory, it was likely that the Grandmaster had died here, and he would find out how. THough footprints and the like were long gone, the signs of a struggle were unmistakable. Little spots of blood, a crushed rock, a scorched patch of earth where sublight drives kicked in. His investigation team was combing the square kilometers of earth that surrounded the area, looking for anything that would help tie the ground investigation up, while all traffic logs from the Archangel were being compiled and the timelines and departure patterns matched.

 

Soon

[Kalen Lorell]

Often, Kalen had fielded this question, and every time, the answer stayed close to the chest. In truth, his expertise for sleight of hand when it came to cards and gambling was secondary to his expertise for flashy redirection of personal questions. Even Sapphire, who had gotten under his skin farther than just about anyone, was mostly in the dark when it came to his family and his early life.

 

But as he rationalized it, Ammi was his job. If she was unstable, her career might be unstable. It was her vibrant energy, not this downed moodiness, that had attracted her substantial following. Even if it wrote good songs.

 

A snort of a self-deprecating laugh punctuated his statement. "I hear all these stories about your family, and wonder why you're so desperate to find your birth parents. Even if they're the reason you're special, or 'Force-sensitive', or whatever. It would have been a dream to have a childhood even fractionally like yours."

 

Staring out at the sea of lights, letting his eyes drift out of focus, he continued bitterly. "As a child, I was sent away to prepare for a career my parents chose for me before I was born. Not even a year later, my aunt tried to have me killed. I have a grand total of one family member remaining in the galaxy that I care about whatsoever, and the things I've done have made it so that there's a wall between us that won't ever come down. My family was cutthroat and distant."

 

He grew quiet for another moment, drawing his finger along the cool surface of the ship, making patterns in the dust. "I don't know why you thought I might be some kind of empath or whatever. I'm not the one who barfed at the Memorial."

[Anastasia Faust]

Ammi heard Kalen's remark about her adopted family and something of guilty flush crept up her face. She found her attention focused on Kalen now and could detect guarded pain in those words. She remembered the exercises she engaged in with Ephie, of finding her own walling melody, of sealing herself off, but ignored them.

 

She listened to his bitter, simple statement of his childhood, her jaw dropping.

 

"Oh, oh Kalen," she whispered. The words were simple and heartfelt and Ammi was aware she projected her emotions then, a burst of sympathy radiating from her. She felt something from him as he spoke. She could feel the bitterness in his voice, as well as that same guarded sense of pain. At the mention of family, something familiar bubbled up, but the sense faded, popping in her mind's eye before she could grasp it along with emotions she couldn't untangle or identify. She didn't understand, couldn't comprehend family turning on each other like that. She felt afraid to ask further, not wanting to dig into that wound. She started to mentally hum, putting that wall back up, trying to sever that connection even as she sat there in silence.

 

Looking up at the sky, still wearing that guilty feeling flush, she sighed, then gave a grimace at hearing Kalen's last question. "Kalen," she said, turning back to face him. "No one... no one's that kriffing lucky," she said with a slow shake of her head. "I've seen some strange and wonderful things before now, but it's unreal how lucky you are." She gave a silly giggle. "It's almost like you're as lucky at cards as I'm as lucky at attracting trouble. You've had your gift and no one's really questioned it. I kinda wanted to see if I could figure out how ya did it."

 

Ammi fingered the strings on her guitar, playing the same melody she was singing before, lost in thought, trying to sort out her own pain from Kalen's. But wasn't that why she sung, to alleviate some of that?

 

She tried to stand up and stretch, but fell right back down with a whump onto her backside, giving another grimace. "Ooops! Haha, but yeah, you're right..." she concluded, some cheer returning into her voice. "I know that in the end my parents, mama and papa are the ones who raised me and made me who I am. Nothing's ever, ever gonna change that. Still, I know... I know in my heart my mother loved me. I can't remember anything about her or my father, but I know it was true, just as I know they were taken from me. I've tried to avoid and run from it, but the Memorial changed things." Her voice grew somber, more focused, the chill of that memory almost sobering her. "I feel like I'm being pursued, getting nightmares now," she admitted. She shook her head. "I just wanna know why. It's like a missing puzzle piece at my center. Who were they? Why were they taken from me? Am... Am I making them proud?" She trailed off at the last one, staring down at her pendant, seeing her face in the polished surface.

 

She gave a laugh finally, then tried standing up once more. She swayed unsteadily, leaning on her guitar. "Ugh... Shouldn't drink like that. Get all melancholy and loopy. I can do sorrowful, poignant music, but don't wanna get a rep as one of those emo bands." She reached down to help Kalen up, her drunken lurch adding to absurdity of her offer. "You're part of GlobeTrotters now, Kalen Lorell," she said firmly, trying to force a smile onto her face, the words coming out without thought, just speaking from the gut, or maybe the heart. "And while I may call you out for being a Force sensitive, precog cheater," she giggled, "we have each other's backs and you're still part of our family."

[Wyvernfall]

Ahhhhh was all that the troubled Herglic's mind could manage in the current state. The pain relieving medicines of the Imperial Remnant, as standard across most developed worlds of the galaxy, acted nearly instantly upon coming in contact with the damaged being's system. Slowly, the pain-induced thrashing subsided and the massive muscle covered blubberous mass was still, save for the heavy breathing and sweat trickling down his exposed flesh and soaking through his paper-thin hospital assigned attire.

 

The cold inquisitive voice rang through the blackness of Feldstar's closed eyes; uncaring, seeking, and with a willingness to do whatever was necessary to get the requested information. In truth, Feldstar did not really understand all that was being asked, but Tenenbris had sent him and the droid. The droid! Yes. Maybe this was still salvageable and galactic war and charges of treason on any side could all still be diverted.

 

Sometimes the best thing to do when caught in a lie was, in fact, to just keep digging.

 

With a deep breach and a grimace of pain, as his body cried out, Feldstar tried to shift; but his hands did not seem to be working. Maybe they were strapped down too? Lying flat on his back, he spoke in ragged breaths.

 

"The droid!" he gasped, "No one else. No Jedi." Pausing to take another troubled breath, sweat rolled down his forehead. The effort of speaking apparent. "I was escorting the droid!" None of this was a complete lie, just shades of the truth. After all, weren't the best lies based in truth?

[Raven Nasra]

So what was the droid doing here then?

 

“Escorting the droid for what?” The Agent reached up and adjusted the pain reliever to give the CoreSec Assassin a relief from the horrible pain from severed nerves and ruined bone and blubber. He made sure the restraints were still secure and sat back, scrolling through his datapad, listening to the feed of potential questions that were coming through the ear mic and decided on one.

 

“Then what were you and the droid doing here Mr Gik?”

[Kalen Lorell]

"I'm lucky in a lot of ways," he added quietly under his breath, but either she didn't hear him or else didn't have anything to say, and either explanation earned his gratitude. Her momentary swoon, punctuated by the helping hand she extended, earned a quirked eyebrow and a smirk from Kalen, but nevertheless he reached out to take it. "Precog? Honestly, you act like I was counting cards. As if that were possible to do in Corellian Gamb--"

 

As his hand closed around hers, a violent tremor ran through his skin, and his mind disappeared into a sinkhole of memory.

 

"Key! Key!" The toddler's hand clasped around his finger. Raised voices echoed from the other room. Throwing the towheaded child onto his hip in a swift motion, he staggered towards the rear bedroom, depositing the girl into her bed for her own safety. As if she were prescient in discerning Kalen's inevitable departure, the girl's face contorted into an immediate protest, and all his pleas for her to remain quiet came to nothing. An earsplitting wail rent the air, and he snatched the child up into his arms once more. Self-satisfaction crept onto her face as he toted her hurriedly out the other way.

 

"You have to stay quiet," he scolded her uselessly. "It's not good to interrupt them when they're like this."

 

But his words came too late. The shrill voices were growing nearer, even as he tried to duck out the rear of the estate. Relephon's high winds had picked up around the exterior of the manor house, and his mother's voice was being steadily overrun by the entitled demands of her elder sister.

 

"He'll come to nothing, I promise you. The Cluster has never seen a Chume'da strong enough to rule," she was squealing brutally.

 

Kalen tucked himself into a corner of the closet, the child contentedly sucking her thumb in his lap just as they broke into his room.

 

"Terelda, you're being too hard on the boy. In case you've forgotten, he's not your son," his mother said with a flash of warning in her tone. A surge of momentary affection swelled in his heart, only to be batted aside and buried by her calloused following statement. "I didn't ask to have a male child first, you know."

 

"Where is the brat?" the shrew demanded.

 

The silhouette of his mother moved her shoulders in a halfhearted shrug. "He likes to be alone. Probably went off into the grounds and gardens."

 

"Hmph," Terelda replied with a dissatisfied snort. "Smoke and mirrors, that's all he is. No real grit."

 

The door hissed closed behind them as they disappeared in a rustle of spidersilk and cloud of perfume, and in the dark, Kalen could feel the tiny fingers of his baby sister tracing his jaw.

 

"Key," she said quietly, her face soft and somber.

 

His eyes snapped open, and he recoiled from Ammi with a look of accusatory horror. "What the kriff did you just do?" he demanded, a flop-sweat-inducing shiver rolling up and down his spine.

[Wyvernfall]

Feldstar sighed and relaxed back into the undersized rather uncomfortable hospital bed, the drugs having their desired outcome. This agent had a power greater than life and death in his hands: the power of pain. Pain was a great motivator and pain relief a great reward. This being obviously knew more than he was letting on. Feldstar had not said his name yet. Standard undercover procedure when one had a well established cover ID. There were clearly unseen wheels and cogs at work here. Who knows, maybe the entire thing had been a set up? Maybe he, the malcontented gray-minded undercover do gooder was meant to take the fall here on a Remnant world. The droid just there to ensure things went the right way, or wrong if you were a certain Herglic undercover CoreSec Operative on an off the books operation for one of the newly most powerful men in the Alliance.

 

I...I...don't know. We came here under orders. I'd never even me the thing before this op. They must have set me up."

 

Once words started to flow, they came more easily. The relief of pain was enough to stimulate his tongue. As he spoke, he realized several things.

One: His last op a Jedi had mysteriously befriended him and saved his life after things went south. Things went south after the Jedi appeared. Two: The plague....how long had it been since he had taken his pills? What would happen if/when he doesn't? Three: Why would Tenebris send him and a supposedly green-about-the-gills rookie on an off the books mission into what could only be defined as hostile territory given the GA's new formation.

 

I was set up!

"

The droid was given to me by my commanding officer. All I knew was that we were to come here and infiltrate an anti-slaving operation that your government was orchestrating."

[Anastasia Faust]

At the admission he was lucky, Ammi bit back a snort. She still tried to wrap her head around what she heard earlier. Someone, his own aunt, trying to kill him? How could anyone be so cold, so callous? Standing over him, she didn't consider that the offer might end up pitching her forward into him. Still, she felt his hand close around hers and steadied herself.

 

"I said precog, why count cards when they just fall out as you ne-" she started. She felt flashes of images. Frightened, she didn't dare delve in deeper and tried to pull back, but was too scared to put her mental guard up, the shielding song dying before the first note. She tried not to look, but caught flashes. Memories swirled and the pull and push went both ways.

 

...the towheaded child onto his hip in a swift motion...

 

• She was alone and running along a dark corridor. She felt fearful and out of breath, sensing something chasing her. Something dangerous.

"The Cluster has never seen a Chume'da..."

 

• She had seen this pale thing chasing her before. It was familiar to her now, but she couldn't recall it.

""Terelda, you're being too hard on the boy..."

 

• Chased by the thing behind her, she ran towards a crimson barrier up ahead. She knew what lay beyond. Burning. Pain.

"...baby sister tracing his jaw...

 

Ammi fell backwards, landing with a muffled scream, her hands in front of her face. The sound of rushed movement could be heard from just below the ship.

 

"I'm s.s.sorry," she stammered, catching that look. She found tears running down her eyes, her cheeks pale. "I... I don't know what I did." She hadn't meant to. It was an accident! Those names. Terelda. It sounded familiar to her and she could feel the emotions attached to it too. Had to be the aunt. Where had she heard it before? Something 4L-T0 or B45-50 said on Nar Shaddaa? She couldn't recall. She'd only caught snatches of what Kalen felt, but threaded the feelings of it all together even if she tried to push back the finer details. A sister. Kalen had to give up a sister. How horrible!

 

"I... I didn't mean to... I... didn't mean to," she continued, scared at how the memories just came flowing. She looked up at Kalen. Had he seen what was chasing her? More importantly, would he forgive her for what she'd just done, however unwittingly. She'd just invaded his person in a far deeper and more personal way than their earlier game of cards had her.

 

She rolled to her knees at Kalen's feet, wringing her hands. "I j.just found out I was a f..force s.sens.. emp... I mean... like that.. I don't know.. I.. feel..." She pursed her lips. "I... feel... ugh... feel... I feel... Oh-!"

 

And with that, Ammi, from a combination of excessive drink and shattered nerves threw up with a noisy splash, eyes closed, hoping Kalen somehow avoided everything.

 

"...I feel sick..." she said weakly, wiping off her chin, thankfully not fainting this time around.

[HannibalWasBetrayed]

Tallin let out a sigh as he stared out the viewport at the developed planet below. A change of plans had moved the starting point of Tallin's squad to Carida, as the Eventuality of Justice had left Nubia. Tallin prepared to return to the freighter as they moved into orbit above the planet.

 

"I have not seen a planet this developed since... quite some time ago. Hmmm." Tallin glanced down at the data pad in his hands. "Still on Nubia, Celora? Wonder if you are getting into trouble."

 

With a frown, the Zabrak stuffed his data pad into his pack and commed his squad leader, alerting him that the final member of the squad stood ready. "Time to enter the fight."

[Raven Nasra]

The agent squinted down at the beast, adjusting the drip so that he could have a bit more clarity.

 

“So Tenebris set you up to start a war you think? Will you testify to that?”

 

He quickly relayed Gek’s words to his superiors who quickly and efficiently added the information to Raven’s briefing for the upcoming negotiations. As well ass Moff Priess’s desire to see some deal of revenge done for his son, or at least some compensation to add to his estates on Bastion.

 

________________

 

 

The commanding officer of the squad aboard the Eventuality of Justice looked to the young Zabrak and grinned, “So here we are at the temporary capital of the Galactic Empir-I mean Imperial Remnant. After refuelling and rearming we will depart for Nal Hutta and war. Are you ready newbie? If you don’t feel that you are just let me know and we can get some sim work done beforehand.”

[Wyvernfall]

"What?! no!!" Feldstar reacted in shock and horror. There was no way that Tenebris would do such a thing, or was it possible? Could Tenenbris have sent us to die in the name of war?

 

"We were to observe and report and help liberate slaves," he babbled, the edge of pain loosening his tongue more than he would care to have imagined in his training days, "The Alliance is looking to make allies. Real allies. We were supposed to see who you were. How you worked. No war."

 

Feldstar strained, weakly, at his restraints. The combination of his injuries, fatigue, and the medications weakening the strong brute significantly. "I'll tell you whatever else you want. Please let me go"

[Raven Nasra]

The Agent rolled his eyes and looked into the holocams.

 

“More lies, the kriffing Galactic Alliance was invited to the operation, why the kriff did you decide to do that under cover when you were literally invited to the party? You are not going to be let go Agent Gik because...”

 

He indicated his datapad, “...You are accused of sabotage, assassination, infiltration, and espionage. All of which carry the death penalty in the Remnant. That is unless you are traded in the negotiations. But for now you are under arrest and under ISB custody. Anything else you would like to say on record?”

 

_____________

 

Around the Golan III Archangel Head of State Raven’s shuttle docked with the refueling Eventuality of Justice, she greeted the Ubiqtorate with warmth.

 

“I have a mission for you and your ship.”

 

She placed a datacard in his hand and looked around the Bridge.

 

“I hear you picked up some escaped slaves? Are they here?”

[HannibalWasBetrayed]

Tallin smiled, the warmth common to that facial expression entirely lacking, "Nice planet, might even want to come back after we finish off those pirates. I am ready, we can train more after these Kriffing slavers are ended. Let us kill them all."

 

Tallin listened to the squad members talking as they stood in a corner of the bridge, several of them discussing likely kill counts, where Hutts counted as 1 or 3, and who would be buying drinks. He was about to enter his own estimate, before he overheard a female voice asking about rescued slaves. Tallin turned, walking slowly over towards the Ship captains console, where Ubiqtorate stood talking to a women. As he reached them, the Zabrak noticed she was around his own age, slim with large eyes and serious face that spoke of years of battle and pain, rather then the easy life of a noble. Tallin could see the medals commen among officers, and realizied a respectful approach would likely be best. "I am one of those escaped slave. My companion chose... a different path. I am Tallin, once of House Abraxas."

[Raven Nasra]

Raven extended her black gloved hand to the Zabrak and let a smile cross over her thin lips. She shook it firmly, knowing that he could likely feel the strength of metal fingers that had so very long ago replaced the flesh that had been shattered by Tiana. Servo motors spun in silence as each finger moved to grasp his hand in hers and she looked him up and down. A bit scrawny for a stormtrooper but it would work.

 

“I am Head of State Raven Zinthos the leader of this Remnant. Tell me Abraxas, are you ready to fight with your squad of men and prove us right about you? I heard that Zabraks are fierce fighters, and look forward to seeing you in action at Nar Shaddaa. Your squad will be assigned to the ground forces, and will take part in operations to suppress any militants planetside.Are you able and willing?”

 

Below them, the last of the supplies were getting outfitted, hyperdrives being warmed up, and the Imperial Remnant fleet beginning to prepare for fierce combat against the smuggler base and criminal world of Nar Shaddaa. Three thousand initial troops prepared their weapons in the launch shuttles, AT-PTs were fueled and strike fighters ready for covering actions. The Fighter captains briefing their wings of eager pilots. They would meet up with the two corvettes system side and microjump to the smugglers moon. A two pronged attack to effectively wipe the Y’Toub system of its slave trades.

[HannibalWasBetrayed]

Tallin felt the firmness of her grip, cold inspite of the gloves she wore, a strength not yet matching the iron will that shown behind her purple eyes. Tallin's respect for her grew, even in the slave planets tales of Zinthos had spread, though there she had been known as Empress, and he bowed before he spoke, "I have no wish to see the spectre of my death reach for me, yet I do not fear it should it arrive. Pain comes for all, and those we fight deserve it most. I will fight till my last breath, till the last of our enemies fall. Let those who deserve mercy get it, and everyone else, may they die. I am at your service."

[Raven Nasra]

Raven nodded, “I do not wish to see you die either soldier, though we may yet both meet our fate at Nar Shaddaa.” She motioned to the strike leaders to join her and within a few minutes they were assembled, Grey Leader, a Togruta female named Hallin Verna in her early thirties, whose helmet was heavily modified to allow her head tails to still be protected saluted. Her counterpart, the leader of the starfighters, Yellow Leader a male human in his mid thirties named Jason Cel saluted besider her. Both of them received their briefings as did the commanders of Animarum and Consolatrix which were in system already. The Imperials were headed for war.

 

Within minutes the Imperials dashed into hyperspace towards Nar Shaddaa.

[Kalen Lorell]

Reflexes honed by years' worth of living on the run were all that saved Kalen from an untimely shower of the contents of Ammi's stomach. Leaping to his feet with a series of expletives not-so-quietly uttered, he pressed his palms into his eyes as if his frantic and erratic movements could scrub away the sights that lingered in his mind's eye. But try as he might, he could not banish the images of the blonde-headed toddler from his mind--nor the pale monster that chased him into a wall of unforgiving flame.

 

"What was that thing?" His voice came out in a half-yell, more demanding and accusatory than he intended, but carried on the wings of his own desperation. Beyond the fear that hammered chords into his heartstrings, he grappled against the memories, refusing to let a single thought drift to the little girl whose voice cried out for him still. A failed guardian, an impotent protector, a useless watchman, he had set that girl on her own path, and nothing he could do would make it right. But the more he tried not to think about it, the more he found his mind riddled with her presence, her face growing clearer in every step of his frenetic prowling.

 

If he were being honest, Kalen also did not feel fully well. Ammi's touch had somehow ignited something in him that had lain dormant, an awareness he was better off without. A crawling he could not explain broke out across his skin, and viciously, he scratched at his forearms as though they had betrayed him somehow. Avoiding the memory of his sister left only the fearful vision to dwell on--but it was unfamiliar, as though he were watching a holovid play out. Revulsion warred against pity, and while the sight of Ammi doubled over in her own terror demanded that a gentleman should chivalrously comfort her, the queasy roiling of the pit of his own stomach kept Kalen at bay for the moment. Sucking in intentional breaths of Caridan night air, he stared at her, fiddling with the ring on his index finger.

 

"What happened to you?" he asked, this time much more controlled, but lacking none of the walled-off distrust and rife with the stench of fear.

[Wyvernfall]

Feldstar sighed. "I don't know," he growled, "Just following orders." the claim of every mindless footman wreaking havoc for any government throughout history; even Lord Vader was 'just following orders' when he slaughtered the younglings at the Jedi Temple back in the day.

 

Turning to the camera, he opened his mouth to speak while trying to reach for the nearest tube hooked to his body, hoping to pull the medication delivering machinery towards him, noticing for the first time that something was even more wrong. Aside from the pain wracking his body and the, now apparent, phantom pains of his missing limbs, Feldstar came to realize his arms THEY WERE MISSING!!!!

 

"Where are my arms?!?!?! What have you done to me you blackguard!!!!!"

[Anastasia Faust]

Ammi sat on her knees, almost on all fours as she felt an embarrassed flush reach her, her jaw dropping in amazement as Kalen nimbly dodged out of range. She absently wiped her chin off with the back of her hands. "S.ssorry..." she murmurs, then tries to brush the tears out of her eyes, pausing at the last second and remembering to use her other hand. "I.. I don't know what happened," she whispered. She slowly looked up, more afraid of what she'd see on Kalen's face than she was of that pale thing that chased her in her dreams.

 

She looked up, holding her breath, feeling a remaining burn in her throat as her nervous stomach still roiled around. She was afraid she'd see more than anger or rage, but actual hatred there. She looked up and saw an expression that almost, she felt, mirrored her own. Confusion, desperation, hurt. Had she projected onto him, or was it what he recalled with his sister? Ammi heard the question and flinched, knowing what he was talking about.

 

"I don't know..." she said. She rose to her feet. She felt unsteady. She stumbled forward and found herself clinging to him. "Ever since the Memorial... I get nightmares.. of some... thing... chasing me. I know I can't let it catch up to me. I can't... but it's chasing me... I think backwards... I don't have anywhere left to run, but into the fire... I can remember only the fire from before and that's all."

 

Ammi's face twisted, choking as she remembered the pain of the inferno consuming her and the recovered memory of after in the medical capsule. She looked up at Kalen, studying him again, torn between concern for his pain and wanting to change the subject. "You have your memories... your sister... You had to give her up...." she said, her voice soft. She grimaced. "You're... brave... You didn't run to flee, not like I would have. You ran from your sister to protect her. That takes courage." She reached out and touched his cheek. "You still care... I can tell." She withdrew her hand, stepping back, still unsteady on her feet. "I didn't do anything there," she said hastily. "It's on your face."

 

Clutching her pendant, Ammi was going to ask very directly if Kalen was still in touch with her. Her feelings made her say yes, but she had to know. As the words started to come out of her mouth, 4L-T0 and B45-50 arrived. They'd heard Ammi scream earlier and were briefly heard below running to get atop the ship to find out what happened, running through the ship to climb up atop it. They intercepted an urgent transmission along the way, one that made their approach solemn.

 

"Miss Ammi," 4L-T0 began. "Are you alright?" she asked, eyeing her shaking form and the mess she'd made. Made a sighing sound, knowing he'd be the one to clean it. B45-50 and Ammi wouldn't and 4L-T0 certainly was not going to ask M3Z-Z0 or S0P-R4N0.

 

Ammi just nodded, tense, feeling ice in her empty stomach. She knew the duo well enough to know something was off. She saw they also brought M3Z-Z0 and 50P-R4N0 with them, those two coming up onto the roof as well, adding to her sense that something was very, very wrong.

 

"We have a big problem," B45-50 said, elbowing 4L-T0, who nodded, slowly approaching both Ammi and Kalen. "Might be our biggest one yet." B45-50 moved in, clutching Ammi's shoulders carefully, and 4L-T0, unsure how the news would be received, stood between Ammi and Kalen. The two guard droids moved around as if to establish a parameter.

 

Ammi found herself holding her breath. B45-50 could snark and joke, but he wasn't one for hyperbole. "I didn't do it, I swear!" she said to Kalen, not even knowing what was happening.

 

"The Empire just invaded Nar Shaddaa as part of their clean up of Nal Hutta. They're moving fast to put the entire place under martial law from the looks of it. I don't know what happened to the Gems."

 

Oh Sithspit...

 

"We may be unemployed... or worse..." 4L-T0 added soberly. "I know we haven't done anything ah... recently... to put the Empire after us and our operation's entirely above board, but if they start sniffing at the Gems' organization, and if they link Amethyst to it, we could be in trouble. We need to figure out what to do next."

 

Ammi looked over at Kalen, trying to get a read on his face, her alarm showing. She owed the Gems a debt of gratitude. She still didn't trust them completely, wisely, but she respected them and considered them good partners (senior partners to her junior as it was). The thought of something happening to them should have made her panic, but she felt oddly calm, as if her ordeal earlier drew all of the negativity out of her. She knew this was a dire situation potentially, but they were allowed to land and not detained, so she had to believe they were in the clear. Even so, the potential threat got her heart racing and the adrenalin she now felt cleared her head. Ammi's eyes glittered, a mix of blue and green. Not a good sign usually.

 

"They'll be fine," she said, just clutching her head, still unable to believe that the Empire invaded. "The Gems are smart. They'll lay low and keep their heads down, then be back to business as usual in no time. Unless the Empire burns Nar Shaddaa to the ground, which they won't, it'll be back to normal in no time." She felt confident of that, though she still felt some concern. Depending on how deep the Empire dug it could still be trouble for the Gems. "And here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna put on the concert, that's what." She turned to Kalen. "We're here for the concert, so we follow through. I may not be involved in any of the Gems' shady dealings, but I'm still one of them." She gave a laugh that was genuine. "I don't think I'm what they had in mind as a good will ambassador to the Empire, but I'll have to make do."

[Raven Nasra]

As the investigation into the Old Grandmaster’s death inched closer to its conclusion the Agents inside the main medical facility watched Feldstar with an air of suspicion and pity. As he freaked out about the loss of his arms, the medical technicians worked to bring his heart rate down with a few doses of medication. It wasn’t looking good for the creature, and the Empire was not overly familiar with the makeup of Herglics or what the dosage levels were. Their attempts to locate the information through formal request to the Giju embassy on Coruscant were denied and it left them with very few options.

 

The assassin was dying and all they could do was to slow the process down. The agent sat on the edge of the bed as the medication took hold to calm down Gik’s senses and he asked softly,”What can we do to help you Feldstar, is there any family we can contact to come and visit you while you are in our custody?” If they didn’t get his heartrate down soon, it would all be over.