Beyond - Legends Dark Assassins I: Future Incursion (J/J, Tahiri, Valin, OCs) - ** AUTHOR'S NOTE FEBRUARY 21 **

Title: Future Incursion
Author(s): Draconarius
Type: action/adventure
Timeframe: Post NJO
Characters: Tahiri, Valin, Jag, Jaina, a lot of OCs.
Summary: An assassin is killing off all of the anti-Jedi officials in the galaxy, trying to frame the Jedi for it.

Disclaimer: I get no profit in any form from this, save the enjoyment that comes from people enjoying my work. Star Wars is owned by George Lucas, I am just borrowing the great universe he created.

Note: Book I of III in my Dark Assassins Trilogy

An extended summary: It is 10 years after the end of the Yuuzhan Vong war. The Jedi have more than doubled in numbers, and the galaxy is more unified than ever. During the last month, however, a deadly and ruthless assassin has been killing off any political opponents to the Jedi, and leaving evidence to frame the Jedi knights. In response to this, Luke Skywalker gets his former apprentice, Thomas Zadar, onto the investigation. However, the assassin's motives and his overall goals are nothing like what the Jedi assume they are. It's up to the Jedi to save the galaxy again, but this time they have no idea what they are dealing with, and they have no idea what is really going on.

Dramatis Personae

Akilo; unafiliated pilot (male human)
Alkiya Shekana; Smuggler (female Twi?lek) - OC
Aranay Hannimak; Jedi Knight (female human) - OC
Jagged Fel; CEDF Officer (male human)
Jaina Solo Fel; Jedi Master (female human)
Keedarkh; Jedi Master (female Noghri) - OC
Meryck Nightridge; dark Jedi Master (male human) - OC
Nikk Jan'Karr; geneticist (male Bothan) - OC
Serin Zadar; Jedi Padawan (female human) - OC
Shadow; assassin (male genetic experiment) - OC
Tahiri Veila; Jedi Master (female human)
Thomas Zadar; Jedi Knight (male human) - OC
Valin Horn; Jedi Knight (male human)
Vylett Stahlwell; Jedi Padawan (female human) - OC

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CHAPTER ONE


?Yeah!? Terrinae cried in victory as he dropped his hand. ?Pure sabacc!?

?Damn!? The chief security officer cursed from across the table.

?You son of a Hutt!? Another officer snapped. ?I-I just lost a thousand points. I?m nearly out!?

?I warned you,? Hiro, the only man in the six-man security force that Terrinae knew, added. ?He?s the master bluffer.?

?Shut up, you,? The loser snapped.

?Hey, sir, when does our shift end?? The fifth member of the team asked as Terrinae scooped up the cash from the table?s centre.

?Three hours.?

The six men sat around a card table in the security office, just outside the quarters of the man they were assigned to protect. Terrinae understood him to be a slightly paranoid and anti-Jedi senator. Terrinae personally thought that the senator was a bit crazy. Afraid of Jedi. What kind of idiot is afraid of the Jedi?

Ah well, it got Terrinae paid, at least. Terrinae hadn?t even bothered to load his blaster; he was that sure nothing would happen.

?Alright, ante in, everyone,? The chief said as he dealt out the cards again. ?Same rules as before. And, Derek, don?t bet as much this time, you idiot.?

?Yeah, yeah.?

The six guards were playing a friendly game: no cash, just counters. Terrinae was winning by a large margin thanks to that last hand, with him owning five thousand ?credits? worth of chips, and everyone else having only about fifteen hundred max. Derek had just gone down to five hundred. If he didn?t win this hand?

Terrinae picked up his hand, analysed it, and growled softly. Bad. Very bad. All right, time to go defensively, Terrinae decided. Just go for the ante and bet low.

?Alright, I?ll start with?,?

Suddenly everyone?s attention was directed to the sealed door on the other side of the room. A massive hissing, burning sound had filled the room, and when everyone spotted the source of it they jumped up and reached for their weapons.

A lightsaber was burning through the middle of the door.

The chief and two of the other guards from that side of the table were up in an instant, blaster pistols already aimed toward

 

looks promising.



hehehe... wouldn't that make it a dark saber???

 

Thanks, both of you. Leona, thanks for the tip. I've gone through and put in all the italics I wanted.

I'll probably be able to put up a chapter once a week, maybe less. We'll see, I suppose. In any case, I'll definetely get Chapter Two up tomorrow, maybe Chapter Three as well.

 

Well-done. For a newbie, you certainly have overcome the often-dealt-with formatting issues. (Good grief. I remember them! )

Intriguing start, to be sure. I will look forward to more posts. Keep it up!

~*~Austyn

 

Well, as promised, here?s Chapter 2. I didn?t get Chapter three finished in time, so I?ll post that when I get a chance too. It'll be once a week Chapters from here on. Anyway, enjoy your reading!

CHAPTER TWO

Jedi Knight Thomas Zadar stepped out of the turbolift, into a hallway filled with a mixture of police, medics, scientists, and a couple of officials.

Thomas was almost instantly thrown off by the feelings of anger, suspicion, or just plain hatred emanating from almost all of the people in the hallway. The suspicious and angry looks didn?t help. Nearly everyone?s eyes went dead and cold when they saw Thomas and his sister. Thomas quickened his pace, eager to reach the end of the hallway where Senator Kiandra?s quarters were located, and felt his sister take a step or two closer to him.

He wore a simple Jedi outfit; darkish-tan cloth shirt and black trousers, with a black leather vest over the shirt, black leather boots that went up to just below his knees, and no robes. A black belt was around his waist, dangling from which were his two lightsabers, blaster, and commlink. His
black hair was uncombed, naturally parting in the middle and falling either side of his face, reaching down to about his ears with the fringe slightly longer. His face still had some of the boyish look that came from only being twenty-two.

Beside him, walking at the same pace and a couple of steps behind, was Thomas?s little sister, Serin Zadar. She was seven years younger than Thomas, with very similar hair, just longer, held in a ponytail, and the fringe reaching down the side of her face to her cheeks. She wore a lighter-coloured tan shirt than Thomas, dark brown trousers, and black shoes. Her lightsaber sat on her right hip.

Thomas breathed a silent sigh of relief when he reached the end of the hallway and stepped into the Senator?s security office. There was little inside, save for a few pieces of forensic equipment. There were only a few police officers in there, but half of them noticed Thomas?s entry and gave him the same dead looks the people in the hallway had given him. Thomas quickly spotted Master Luke Skywalker standing near the middle of the security office, and hurried over to him.

?Okay, I feel like I just walked through a hall of Yevethans," Thomas said as he stepped beside his former trainer. ?What the hell is going on??

?Senator Kiandra is dead,? Luke replied.

?I gathered that much,? Thomas said, glancing around the office. There were innumerable blaster burns on the walls, floor, and roof. The floor had been cleaned of everything bar the blaster holes.

?The place has already been cleaned,? Luke said.

?Obviously,? Thomas replied. ?Did they find anything??

Luke shook his head.

?Did you find anything??

Luke shook his head again.

Serin looked at Luke disbelievingly. ?You didn?t find anything??

Thomas swore he saw a smile flash across Luke?s face before the Jedi Master answered. ?Contrary to popular opinion, Serin, I?m not infallible. The most obvious part of this thing is that the assassin had a lightsaber, and knew how to use it.?

Thomas looked at Luke. ?A lightsaber? Oh,? His eyes widened in shock. ?Oh, no.?

?I see you?ve figured out the other detail.?


?Senator Okta and Senator Remex,? Serin sighed as she realised what Luke meant.

?They were killed by a guy with a lightsaber,? Thomas finished. ?And all three of the dead Senators were anti-Jedi.?

?Whoever is doing this is trying to frame us, and is doing a damn good job of it,? Luke explained. ?Parts of the senate are already calling for our heads. They?re saying that whoever did this used mind-tricks to sneak in and then set up the crime scene, that were trying to snuff out all opposition so we can take over.?

?Or something like that,? Thomas added, looking at a deep lightsaber hole in the floor.

?In any case,? Luke continued. This assassin has done a good job. There?s almost nothing to go on, save for the surviving??

?Someone survived?? Serin interrupted.

?Yes, one of the guards

 

Looks like this will be good. Keep it up!

 

This is lovely I'm very interested.

And you can still write in Word. Just copy it and paste (press Ctrl and v at the same time) into the post box

 

Thanks everyone! Glad you like it. Chapter three is going up tomorrow.

 

CHAPTER THREE


The Timberwolf was a YT-2500 transport, a brand new design from the Corellian Shipyards. It loosely resembled the older YT-1300 and YT-2000 designs, sort of a cross between the two of them. It had the circular main hull of the YT-1300, albeit a tiny bit smaller. The cockpit extended from the centre of the bow, with two thinner hull sections, not thick enough to fit anything but systems and machinery, flowing from the cockpit?s side and attaching to the side of the hull. The cockpit tunnel was only slightly longer than half the main hull?s radius, including the cockpit itself. A turret sat on the top and underneath of the ship, and two laser cannons sat menacingly on the side of the cockpit. An ion cannon was hidden underneath the cockpit, and two warhead launchers sat beside the ion cannon.

Valin thought it looked positively exquisite.

Valin Horn, now a twenty-five year old Jedi Knight, glanced back at his ship as he exited the hangar and stepped into the blaring heat of the Tatooine dual suns. He was dressed in a simple and practical outfit. It consisted of a short-sleaved shirt, and trousers made of the same heat-resistant and comfortable material, short boots, and a cloth belt that held his blaster and commlink. His lightsaber he kept concealed beneath his shirt, tucked into a pocket in his trousers, at the same time concealed and easily accessible.

?You did not say it was going to be this hot,? Vylett complained as she caught up with Valin.

?I never said it wasn?t going to be this hot,? Valin replied to his apprentice?s comment as he looked around, then whispered so only she could hear. ?You?re right, though.?

The fourteen-year-old girl smiled and followed Valin as he headed for the nearest cantina. She wore similar clothes to Valin, underneath a cloth poncho that concealed her lightsaber. Her chestnut hair fell about her shoulders, and her green eyes were focused and determined, taking in every detail before saying anything. Valin would like to think that she had gotten that from him, but he really didn?t do it that often, and, besides, she was like that when he met her three years ago on Chandrilla.

Valin swiftly picked out the cantina he was after. The cantina?s entrance looked like it hadn?t been cleaned in years, if ever at all. The sign was so worn that Valin couldn?t even determine what language it was in, let alone read it. The windows could barley be seen through. Valin entered through the open doorway, and was instantly greeted by an angry Trandoshan storming out of the place. Valin stepped aside, pulling Vylett along with him, and let the massive and ticked-off alien walk past before continuing. The Trandoshan growled at the Jedi as he stormed past, shoving Valin the final couple of steps out of his way.

?Great,? Vylett sighed, annoyed. ?We?re in the place for half a second and I already don?t like it.?

?I?ve seen worse,? Valin said. ?At least he didn?t try and start a fight with us.?

?Suppose,? Vylett shrugged.

Valin stepped into the cantina fully. It was pretty simple; large circular bar in the middle, tables arranged around that. Valin looked around the tables, and eventually spotted the person he was after. He nudged Vylett and then gestured towards the table in the far corner, where a Bothan and a Noghri sat talking. Both Jedi headed over, dodging around the tables and other customers. Valin grabbed another seat from an unoccupied table as he reached the table and sat down. Vylett took the wall seat beside the Noghri.

?Master Horn?? The Noghri asked instantly.

?I prefer Valin,? He answered. ?Master Keedarkh, this is my apprentice, Vylett Stahlwell.?

The Noghri Jedi nodded towards the girl, then introduced her apprentice, Ravven Ortolan, the young Bothan man sitting across the table.

?So, why are we here?? Vylett asked once the introductions were concluded.

?Our ship was sabotaged,? The Bothan replied. ?We need a lift.?

?So why call us?? Valin asked. ?You could have just taken a freighter back to Denon or

 

CHAPTER FOUR


Jaina Solo Fel entered the office with all the dignity one would expect of a Jedi Master. Inside, seated in front of the only desk, were two Chiss. One was Captain Sado Nikarawn, a prominent naval captain, and the other was his aide, whose name Jaina didn?t know. Behind the desk sat Jag Fel, Jaina?s husband.

?Jaina,? Jag greeted as he noticed her enter and stood. ?Hi.?

?Hello, Jag,? Jaina replied, then noticed both Chiss looking at her. ?Did I interrupt anything??

?Not at all, sweetie,? Jag answered. ?We were just finishing.?

?Indeed,? Nikarawn said as he and his aide stood. The aide turned to leave almost instantly. ?However, there is one last detail I?d like to go over with you, if it isn?t too much trouble. I don?t mind waiting.?

?Thank you, Captain,? Jag said with a curt nod. ?I won?t be a moment.?

?Sorry,? Jaina said once the Captain left the room.

?Don?t worry about it,? Jag answered as he took Jaina in his arms and kissed her. Both he and Jaina were nearly thirty now, but the features that had made him so attractive as a younger man were still there. ?I don?t mind.?

?Of course you don?t,? Jaina said. ?You get to kiss the girl. In any case, I was referring to this morning, not just then.?

Jag shrugged. ?Mere side attraction. Where were you this morning, anyway??

?Uncle Luke wanted to talk with me,? She answered as Jag let go of her. ?Turns out another senator is dead.?

?What?? Jag asked, furrowing his brow. ?That makes three in the last month.?

?I know, Jag,? Jaina answered. ?You?re not the only one that listens to the HoloNet news. Luke wanted me to tell you before the press does.?

?So why did you wait till now?? He asked. ?Why didn?t you wake me up and tell me this morning??

?Because you only got two hours sleep last night, and I didn?t want you to fall asleep in the middle of a meeting,? She answered. ?Your lack of sleep was partly my fault, I know??

Jag smiled before he interrupted. ?I don?t mind missing sleep for that, Jaina,? Jag sat back down behind his desk. ?Why did Luke tell you??

?Because so far the dead senators have all been strongly against the Jedi,? She explained. ?You know anyone like that??

?Nikarawn.?

?Exactly,? Jaina said with a nod. ?Luke wants you to make sure that no one can get near to him. He?ll handle the ten or so Alliance senators that could be targets.?

?Right,? Jag sighed. ?Does Luke have anyone on the investigation yet??

?Now that was a stupid question.?

Jag shook his head. ?You?re right, it was. Of course Luke has someone on it. Who is it??

?Thomas.?

?His old apprentice??

?Yeah,? Jaina finally took one of the seats. ?Him and his sister. Plus their ship.?

?The Dark Angel,? Jag said. That ship was almost as famous as the Millennium Falcon, so Jaina was by no means surprised by Jag?s knowledge of it, even if he had never seen it. ?Yet another good reason to have them running the investigation.?

Jaina nodded. ?Luke has to have at least two reasons for doing anything.?

?Better than Jacen,? Jag replied. ?Speaking of which??

?Haven?t heard from him,? Jaina answered the unasked question. ?I know he?s fine, of course, but not talking to him for a year and a half, and then four years before that??

?Is frustrating??

?Don?t get me started.?

?Try me.?

?He nearly missed our wedding, and then just disappeared afterward. I haven?t heard from him since,? Jaina blurted out after a moment of awkward silence, and she knew straight away that Jag had picked up the annoyance, frustration, and the dozen other emotions behind her comment.

?Jaina, he was halfway across the galaxy,? He said in Jacen?s defence. ?And he made it, didn?t he??

?That?s not the point.?

?Yes it is.?

?No, it isn?t.?

?Don?t make me hurt you.?

Jag chuckled. ?I love you, Jaina. But that doesn?t mean I have to agree with you. The reason you?re annoyed at Jacen is because he?s been very distant for the past couple of years. But you can?t expect him to??

?We?re twins.

 

This is probably a stupid question, but is there a way to change the topic title? (say to announce a new Chapter being posted like some other writers have been doing?)

Thanks.

 

Just edit the top bar of the first post. That took me a while, myself. Keep up the good work. I like this. Way cool villian. Shadow is aptly named, and kickass.

 

That was wonderful!!! You write action very well. You should probably cut down on posting size and space it out a little; two huge posts in a row was a lot to get through.

 

ZebulaNebula: Just edit the top bar of the first post. That took me a while, myself.

Thanks for the tip.

Keep up the good work. I like this. Way cool villian. Shadow is aptly named, and kickass.

Thank you. I haven't gotten him into a major fight yet. I'll have to do that sometime in the book (that will be fun).

NYCitygurl: That was wonderful!!! You write action very well. You should probably cut down on posting size and space it out a little; two huge posts in a row was a lot to get through.

Sorry about that. I'll try and space them out a bit more from now on. Thanks for sticking with it. That was nowhere near the longest post I've ever seen, though, surprisingly. Thanks for reading!

 

You're welcome Yeah, I've beta'd for a couple of people who wrote huge posts.

 

Hey! I just noticed that I forgot to mention how Valin managed to pull off his teleknetic trick in Chapter Three (he is a Horn, after all). My bad. It will be explained in a later chapter.

 

He probably absorbed some thermal energy (Heat) from the surrounding air, or keeps a shock-buzzer in his pocket for emergencies. Valin can probably use damn near any energy source for his absorbtion and conversion move.

 

CHAPTER FIVE


Three days later, the Dark Angel landed onto a landing platform on Csilla. The Dark Angel was a hexagon missile-shaped ship, with two back-sweeping, claw-shaped wings on the side near the aft. On top of and underneath each wing, attached to the main hull, was one of the ship?s engines. A quad laser turret sat on top and underneath the main hull. In each wing were four laser cannons, two forward, one aft, for a total of six lasers forward and two aft plus the turrets. The front of the ship also had four missile launchers, spread around the corners of the tapered bow, and the whole ship was completely black.

Jaina waited on the landing platform as the Angel landed and Thomas and Serin walked down the landing ramp. It was late evening, and the Angel almost blended in with the dark sky. She walked up to them as they headed for the walkway connecting the landing platform to the building, pulling her jacket around her.

?Thomas,? She greeted.

?Hi, Jaina,? Thomas returned the greeting, then asked: ?Is it usually this cold??

?Actually, no,? Jaina answered. ?This is cold for Csilla.?

?Is it warmer inside?? Thomas asked hopefully.

?A bit,? Jaina replied.

All three Jedi walked inside the CEDF headquarters at an exceedingly brisk pace. Once inside, Thomas turned to Jaina.

?How do you keep from freezing here?? He asked.

She smiled broadly, and put on a mischievous look. ?I have my ways.?

Thomas got the hint and smiled as well. ?Same old Jaina.?

?What?s that supposed to mean??

Thomas widened his smile and kept walking.

Jaina shrugged that off and turned to Serin. ?Hi, Serin.?

?Hi, Jaina,? The girl replied.

Jaina went to turn back to Thomas, and then finally realised how different Serin looked and turned back to her. ?Whoa! Serin??

?What?? She chuckled.

Jaina stopped walking for a minute. ?Nothing. It?s just that you look?older.?

?The last time you saw me I was thirteen, Jaina,? Serin answered with a look of what-are-you-talking-about. ?Could that be the reason??

Jaina shook her head as she realised how strange she had just sounded. Even Thomas was smiling at her, suppressing a laugh. ?Sorry, Serin. It?s just that you look a lot different.?

?And that?s weird, how?? Serin asked, not dropping the look.

?It?s not?.?

?Jaina, I?d stop before you make an even bigger idiot of yourself than you already have,? Thomas warned. Beneath that Jaina instantly picked up the suppressed laugh. She must have sounded strange.

Jaina sighed and kept walking, ignoring the strange look from Serin and the Force-messages being sent between the girl and her brother.

?Luke gave you all the details, I trust,? Jaina asked a few seconds later as the turbolift closed.

?Most,? Thomas answered. ?How many casualties were there??

?Three,? Jaina answered. ?Shadow killed two with his sabre??

?Shadow?? That was Serin.

?That?s what he called himself,? Jaina replied, then continued. ?The third guard he killed with a poison dart to the neck. He was dead in a few seconds.?

?Ouch,? Thomas sighed. ?Did you get a holo-recording of him??

?Don?t you have one yet??

?No,? Serin answered. ?He wiped the cameras from the last three crime scenes.?

?Sorry about this, but?? Jaina said.

?He wiped the cameras?? They both asked.

Jaina nodded her reply.

?What about the dart?? Thomas asked as the turbolift stopped and all three Jedi stepped out into the hallway. It was the same hallway where the attack had occurred, but it had already been thoroughly cleaned and investigated. Jaina led them over to Jag?s office and then into it.

?We got it,? Jaina answered. ?Nothing special. No fingerprints, nothing. The poison was interesting, though. There?s no record of it anywhere.?

?So, if we can find someone who?s carrying that poison, we catch our assassin,? Thomas said. ?That?s useless unless we actually find him, though, and capture him.?

?Did you get anything other than that dart?? Serin asked.

?Well, Jag can

 

ZebulaNebula: He probably absorbed some thermal energy (Heat) from the surrounding air, or keeps a shock-buzzer in his pocket for emergencies. Valin can probably use damn near any energy source for his absorbtion and conversion move.

Surprisingly close. Did you hack into my computer and read ahead? Anyway, that's nearly exactly right. Except the buzzer bit. It'll be explained in detail in Chapter Nine.

 

I am no hacker, I couldn't get into it if I wanted to, but I am an intuitive writer. I looked back at the chapter and saw how he could do it. No offense, but I can "Thrawn" plot points not yet reached out by reading a fic. I can't explain how I do it, nor can I control it, but I find it fairly accurate. I'm no telepath or Jedi, I just can dig it up somehow. And yes it wierds me out too. P.S. I bet the guard has the Force-amnesia too.

 

ZebulaNebula: I am no hacker, I couldn't get into it if I wanted to, but I am an intuitive writer. I looked back at the chapter and saw how he could do it. No offense, but I can "Thrawn" plot points not yet reached out by reading a fic. I can't explain how I do it, nor can I control it, but I find it fairly accurate. I'm no telepath or Jedi, I just can dig it up somehow.

Fair enough. Let's see if you can keep it up. Should be interesting.

And yes it wierds me out too.

That's good. I thought it was just me there for a minute.

P.S. I bet the guard has the Force-amnesia too.

You'll find out in the next chapter. Should be up soon.

 

Iiked Chapter 5, and the Jaina and Jag moments are cute.

 

CHAPTER SIX


It was dark in the Denon medical facility. Very dark. Most of the staff had already gone home, and the night shift was only just starting to arrive. They only consisted of about twenty doctors; the bulk of the staff was droid.

In one of the bacta rooms, William Terrinae floated freely inside the only tank there. He was still unconscious, but his condition was improving and the doctors had just recently contacted Luke Skywalker to tell him that Terrinae would be ready for an interview soon. Luke had said that he looked forward to it; Terrinae was, after all, the only person who had survived an attack from Shadow and who might have a complete memory of him.

Suddenly, a black streak appeared out of the floor of the room. The streak formed into a human male in less than a second, who appeared on one-knee, with his right hand inside his coat.

This wasn?t Shadow. He wore the same clothes, but this man?s hair was pure white. His eyes were a scary gold, and his expression gave off a powerful sense of him being determined, focused, and utterly cold. His lightsaber handle was also different; it was pure silver with a pointed white diamond in the butt. The blade of this weapon was a glistening almost-white silver, which, combined with the man?s white hair, created an almost ghost-like appearance even when he wasn?t moving through solid objects.

Wraith quickly analysed his surroundings. There were two security cameras, but a quick wave from Wraith?s gloved left hand shut them down and erased the last few seconds. It would only be a few seconds before someone noticed that, but that was all the time Wraith needed. He stood from his crouch, and took a step closer to the floating man in the bacta tank.

Wraith looked at him for a moment. It was a shame that Shadow hadn?t finished the security guard the first time. It would?ve been better to just let him die then than to have him hope for a longer life in the medical facility. That was Shadow?s fault, of course. Shadow had been acting slightly strange since the accident. The Doctor had decided that nothing was wrong with Shadow, but Wraith wasn?t so easily convinced, even if the Doctor had created both of them. Shadow used to never make mistakes, yet he had stuffed up his last two missions.

Just do your job, Wraith. You do not need to worry about what would?ve been better for him. He must die. If he lives, we will be threatened. Shadow?s condition is also something you should not concern yourself with.

Wraith nodded and pulled out his uncovered right hand. In it he held a dart, the same kind of dart that Shadow used. It was a simple design; basically a tiny, hand-held arrow that Wraith could send flying with the Force with enough power to pierce most things. The bacta tank wouldn?t be too hard.

Wraith snapped his arm forward, sending the dart flying from his hand towards the tank. It hit, broke clean through the tank, and hit Terrinae in the neck. Wraith called it back through the hole it had made, caught it with his left hand, and put it back in his coat as the alarms started and the bacta started spilling out of the crack.

?Mission accomplished,? He said quietly.

Excellent. This will not only further complicate things for the Alliance and the Jedi, but will also remove that threat to our security. Get back to base.

?Understood,? Wraith said.

With that, the assassin dropped into the floor, and the last trace of life departed Terrinae.

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

?What?? Thomas asked in shock.

?Terrinae is dead,? Luke repeated himself. ?Someone came late last night here on Denon and murdered him. We believe it was the same assassin.?

Thomas sighed dejectedly and hung his head. It was very early in the morning on Csilla. A few minutes earlier, Thomas had been soundly asleep in his bunk on the Dark Angel. Jaina had called him from her and Jag?s room, saying that Luke wanted to talk to all three of them. Thomas had dragged himself out of bed and headed straight for Jaina?s room.