Beyond - Legends Phantom of the Past (Completed 6/7)

nice posts. Gavin and Krey'fey are still active I see.And Jaden is starting to lose it.

 

Good stuff. After all these years, 'bout time somebody goes in to tell those fat slobs where to get off.

 

Sebby: Yeah, i guess it is indeed time to tell the Hutts where they stand. Though the Solo kids have sure done a nice job of it in your fics.



Ankin could not believe what he saw when he flipped through the newsfeeds from Coruscant. The Republic was beginning to fragment. A fleet had been dispatched to Nal Hutta to bring the Hutts back in line. The time is coming, he thought, for us to move. And perhaps, he thought, we might find an ally in the Hutts. He returned to the throne room that had once been Eclepsa's, whcih he had refurbished with a pair of thrones where hers had stood alone. The Force was still more concentrated here, especially the Dark Side, and and Ankin found it the easiest place in which to meditate.

Closing his eyes, he reached for the Dark Side. Some believed that only the Light Side of the Force, that embraced by the Jedi, would allow one to see the future. But Ankin knew otherwise, especially strengthened in the Force as he had been following the ceremony. Now, he slipped into the proper patterns, seeking for a sign that his time had come.

He saw an array of fighters swarming against each other, and realized that a battle would indeed take place over Nal Hutta. The mixed variety that seemed to be defending the world against the Republic looked to gain an upper hand. But then, he saw a squadron of fighters drop into the mix, slashing with a precision that he knew indicated the presence of Jedi. Unless action was taken, Nal Hutta would fall.

But if I send them aid, not only would they be indebted to me, but their forces could join with my own. We share a common foe, though the enemy doesn't know it yet. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, he thought. Perhaps I should ask Midia to pay the Hutts a visit.

Something told him, however, that such an act would lead to disaster, as surely as Palpatine's attempt to destroy Luke Skywalker had led to the downfall of the Empire. The time is not right, the pieces are not yet in place. But I must begin to move, or the Republic will smash the Hutts before I can intervene. Withdrawing from meditation, he rose, and headed to the console. It was time to begin calling in the debt the planetary Chancellor owed him.

++++++++++++



That's it for now. More to come tomorrow.


Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Nice post. Not much to say except more soon.

 

yoda: Sorry 'bout not responding to your comments last time. Gavin and Kre'fey are indeed still active, though Gavin, as I think I pointed out earlier, isn't doing a whole lot of flying anymore. And Jaden is starting to crack.



Time to check back on the Jedi.



"The fleet is organizing in the Kessel system," Valin told the twelve Jedi who'd volunteered to fly with him against the Hutts, should the Republic decide to ask for Jedi aid. Valin still thought that it was foolish to wait, but he'd known Ben too long, and knew that the Jedi Master must have a reason for delaying.

"If the Republic calls, it'll be too late to head for Kessel," Kyp said. "Besides, the last thing we need is for somebody to get lost in the Maw." Granted, safe paths through the cluster of black holes had been found, but it still remained a perilous region of space.

"So what would you suggest we do, Master Durron?" one of the others asked.

"I suggest that we think about the worst case scenario," Kyp said. "We assume that the Republic's fleet has jumped into Hutt space and been ambushed. Most of their fighters would have been taken out immediately, leaving only the elite squadrons, such as the Rogues, alive. If we assume that, then where does our course logically take us?"

Valin smiled slightly. He'd never been a student of Kyp's, but based on this interaction, he could understand why those that did study with Durron tended to be a little more proactive. He also understood why Master Luke Skywalker had become frustrated with Kyp on more than one occasion.

"We'd need to jump into the Nal Hutta system," said Zekk, who had flown in from Coruscant as soon as he could. He'd arrived only a few hours before, and one could see that he was drawing just a bit on the Force to keep himself awake. "Of course, we'd also need to figure on being pulled out of hyperspace early."

"Why?" Sora Veila asked. She'd been a bit surprised by her father's appearnce, but knew that with his skills, the squadron would be just a little bit better. That, and the fact that Zekk had spent a significant amount of time with Jacen Solo, perfecting his own skills when it came to the Jedi battle meld.

"Interdictors," Valin said. "The Republic would have wanted to keep the enemy in the Nal Hutta system, so I'd guess they'll have had the interdictors power up as soon as they revert from hyperspace."

"They'll probably have somebody playing rearguard, ready to yank any ships that get out of the Nal Hutta system from hyperspace," said Madurrin, the Anx Jedi who, when involved in combat, usually spent time aboard the capital ships.

"The Hutts will have seen this coming, or they wouldn't have been so bold about defying the Senate," Valin said. He was about to dismiss the squadron when his comm chirped. "Horn."

"Valin," Ben's voice said from the other end, "the Republic has oficially asked for our aid. I just got off the line with Chancellor Saretti. If you're ready to go, do so. And may the Force be with you."

"Guess things have gone worse than intended," Valin said, turning to look at the pilots. "I guess we won't get any more planning time. Let's get moving."

++++++++++++



That's it for now. More will be coming tomorrow, unless this cold I've gets to the point where I can't get anything done.


Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Guess I'll have to up this one myself!



The government of this world is just too easily swayed, Midia thought as she strolled through the streets of Obroa-skai's capital, the central point from which the various arms of the library for which the planet was known splayed. I haven't even been on the planet for two days and they might as well be eating from the palm of my hand. That, or cleaning the toes of my boots, she thought with a self-satisfied smile. She had decided to investigate just which world might prove the next target when her comm bleeped. She pulled it from her belt with just a bit of annoyance to find that it was actually a text message from the astromech aboard her fighter.

A COMMUNICATION HAS BEEN RECIEVED FROM THE DARK LORD. DO YOU WANT ME TO TRANSMIT? the droid queried.

"Send it to my datapad," she said, hooking the comlink to the pad's data slot. The message scrolled across the pad, and Midia blinked, then read the message through a second time. He's got to be joking. An alliance with the Hutts? That would be the most foolish thing Ankin could try. She was about to head back to the fighter when her mind settled on the once item that had been nagging at her ever since the ceremony. She still didn't know who that dark-haired woman was, and she felt that she needed to.

She turned, retracing her footsteps back towards the center of town. There, she entered the central nexus of the planet-spanning library. She pulled up a file of important personages in galactic history, scrolling through the names at a pace that only a Jedi could handle. She was halfway through the names beginning with A when the name "Amidala, Padmé" caught her eye. She opened the file to find an abstract, and stopped when she saw the image displayed. The young woman, little more than a girl, really, stood before what appeared to be several Jedi. A crest rose from the back of her gown, and the lower lip, painted white, was split by a red mark. She had been older in the image drawn from Ankin's mind, but this was the same woman.

Midia continued to read, finally realizing why the woman had such a place in Ankin's mind. Amidala had, in secret, married a young Jedi. A young Jedi whose name would become infamous among the Order, and whose second identity had becom e associated with the word "evil" across the galaxy. A young Jedi named Anakin Skywalker. And then she realized the truth. "Ankin" could be only one thing: a clone of the original Vader. Which meant that he must possess the same power, and same weakness as the original. With that thought, she resolved that she would do everything she could to keep him from a confrontation with Ben Skywalker.

++++++++++++



That's it for tonight. More to come tomorrow.

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

I think I'll hold off on the next post until tomorrow. That way, people have a chance to get caught up on the last two.


Tych_sel

 

'Preciate the catch-up period. Grr, Ankin, you dirty bahstid...I kinda had a feeling his name was an offshoot of "Anakin."

 

I'm caught up. No need to spare the next post

 

Sebby: Glad you've gotten caught up. As far as Ankin goes, I'd dropped a couple of hints earlier, most noticably in terms of his last name, which bears some similarity to "Skywalker".

yoda: Glad you're caught up. Next postie's on the way.



"Moldy Crow, you are clear for a landing in bay seventeen-alpha," the controller said as Jaden brought her ship towards the Super Star Destroyer. She'd been cleared from the top, due to the intelligence that she carried. As she settled the ship down, she wondered just how her charges would fare. After all, Niklys had never known anything but a slave's life, and Katrina's place was definitely not aboard a warship.

"Admiral Midanyl," Jaden said once she'd exited the ship, "It's good to set my feet upon something belonging to the Republic. Let me introduce my companions. Niklys was given to me as a slave by Lamag the Hutt, and this young lady..."

"I'm sure it is. I presume you have that definite proof that the Senate's been looking for?"

"I do. You could say that my companions are all the proof that could be necessary. Niklys was given to me as a slave by Lamag the Hutt, and this young lady..."

"...has been missing for some time. I'm glad to see you're safe, Lady Katrina. Your family has been concerned."

"I'm sure they've probably been badgering our Senator to do more," Katrina said. "But if my absence helped end the Hutt's slave trade, then I suppose it was worth it."

"I have to admit," Jaden said, "the Anakin Solo is the last ship I would have expected the Senate to send to keep an eye on the Hutts."

"We were just about to move on Nal Hutta. The Hutts didn't exactly take kindly to the records that Doran Tainer provided."

"Doran's been brought in?"

"That's right," Midanyl said, a little embarrassed. . "You've been out of touch for last few weeks, haven?t you??

?I have. Why didn?t the Senate act on the first messages I sent??

?There was a little bit of distrust within the Senate. Certain elements demanded confirmation of your reports from an outside source. Director Loran sent the Wraiths in.?

?You said the Hutts reacted badly. What exactly happened??

?As far as I know, the Senate demanded that the Hutts allow a delegation to inspect Nal Hutta in order to either prove or disprove the charge of slaving. The Hutt senator chose to dissolve the bond between the Hutt families and the Republic. The Senate voted, and declared that a state of war exists between Nal Hutta and the Republic.?

?Have they called upon the Jedi??

?Not officially,? Midanyl said, a half smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. ?But I sent a message to the Jedi Complex on Chandrila requesting their aid. Master Skywalker is sending a squadron of pilots.?

?Then they?ll be over by one,? Jaden said. ?I have my own score to settle with the Hutts.?

?Don?t move to quickly,? Elyn said. ?I may not be Force-sensitive, but I do know that a Jedi isn?t supposed to act in anger.?

?It?s not anger,? Jaden said. ?Not even remotely close to it.?

++++++++++++




That's all for now. I hope to get something up tomorrow, but if not, more will be coming Sunday night.

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Okay, short postie for the weekend.


"We've managed to locate the estate of the Hutt where the slavers stopped," Aalya said, as she and the other members of Wraith Squadron sat around a beat up table in a run-down cantina. "It belongs to one Okkuu."

"What kind of defenses are we talking about?" Doran asked.

"On a scale of one to the Death Star, probably somewhere around a ten," Olias joked. "Seriously, this isn't going to be an easy task. The Hutt's got guards around the outside perimeter, not to mention whatever nasty little surprises he's got inside."

"Any chance of doing a flyby?" Doran asked.

"Probably not," said Kre'lar. "If you look here," he jabbed a finger into the hologram being projected just above the table, "there's a couple of anti-aircraft defense systems. We try flying over the place, and they'll blow us from the sky."

"So that leaves us with a ground assault," Doran said. "Any thoughts?"

"We can't go in from the west, due to the canyon running that side. Even if we try climbing it, we'd be free target practice," Olias said.

"Can't come in from the north, either," Elassar added.

"Why not?" Doran asked. "It looks like it's the easiest route in."

"That's because there's no reason to protect it. Anybody who tries coming in like that will get caught. It's unlucky."

"And here I thought we might get through one mission without luck getting brought into things," Olias said.

"Well, if we can't go in from the north, or the west, than I'd say heading in through the vehicle bay at the south of the palace will be our best bet."

"It's going to make noise," Aalya warned.

"Yeah, but if we come in from the east," Doran's finger traced a route, "the snipers the Hutt's gotta have sitting up in that tower will have all day to pick us off." He looked around the table. "Any other objections? Then let's get moving. I don't want my mother stuck there any longer than she has to be."

++++++++++++



Check in for the next post tomorrow eventing.


Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Nice posts. So Jaden intends to get back at the hutts and the wraiths are going in. Can't wait for the coming battle.

 

yoda: Jaden does intend to get back at the Hutts. The question is, will her ideals (like Dooku's) lead her down the path to the Dark Side? And as for the Wraiths, well, they're just being who they are.




Time to check in on a couple of characters who have gone unmentioned for a while...



"War is not a subject that I have broached lightly," the senator said from her apartment on Coruscant. "But the Hutts are known to have ties with pirates. Even if Nal Hutta falls, this struggle could continue for some time."

"You're worried about guerilla warfare," said Teneniel Solo Djo, seated in the luxurious quarters in the Fountain Palace assigned solely for the use of the Queen Mother. "I presume you see the Hutts as a threat to Hapes?"

"You know our history as well as I do, Ereneda," she said, slipping into the native tongue of Hapes. If nothing else, it showed that something truly had shaken her.

"There's more to this than you're telling me," Teneniel told her. "Now what is it?" She knew that her control over the Force wasn't strong enough to influence Trisea from this distance; that would be beyond even the capabilities of her twin, whose abilities in the Force were greater than those of the Queen Mother. But she was the sovereign ruler of the Hapes Consortium, and that should still carry some weight.

"I had a visit from a Jedi. She told me to warn you that darkness was gathering. She warned that you might have to take up arms once more..."

"Which Jedi was it, Trisea? What happened?"

"It was Padme Durron, Highness. She hadn't finished speaking when the comm signal cut out. I couldn't hear the last thing she said, but it sounded like...Anakin."

Could she have been thinking of my sister? Teneniel thought about it, knowing her sister had been named for the uncle that she'd never known, her father's brother, dead for nearly fifty years. But what could that have to do with the situation on Nal Hutta? She realized now, more than ever, that she needed to speak with her parents. If this threat could endanger Hapes, she had to do what she could to stop it.

"Thanks you for the warning, Senator. You will, of course, keep me appraised of any future developments. And please, convey my assurances to both the Jedi Council and the Republic that the Consortium will be ready to assist in whatever means necessary."

"I will, Queen Mother." Trisea's image flickered, and vanished. A chill ran over Teneniel. Something about Anakin and Padme Durron...but what?

++++++++++++


That's it for now. More to come tomorrow, I think.



Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Interesting. I forget where Padmè disappeared to. Will we be seeing the solo twins anytime soon?

 

yoda: Glad you dropped in. As for the Solo twins, we might be seeing an appearance by at least one of them in the near future.


"I cannot send ships to aid the Hutts," the Chancellor told Ankin, though his voice wavered just a bit. Ankin took that as a sign to push harder.

"Do you really want your people to find out that their leader is little more than a common criminal? After all, the only reason you're in power is because the previous Chancellor died. And as I recall, it occurred under somewhat mysterious circumstances."

"I may have used your aid before, but I will not betray the trust my people placed in me."

"Haven't you done that already? Didn't you put your own needs ahead of theirs when you accepted my aid in the first place? You wanted power, and now you have it. I only ask that you repay the debt you owe me."

"You want me to commit political suicide. The entire Senate would come down on my head."

"If you recalled your senator, and severed ties with the Republic, there would be nothing they could do."

"You're suggesting that we secede from the Republic? The Hutts may be self-sufficient enough to stand alone, but Brentaal is not."

"Who said that you would be standing alone? Do you think that you are the only one who is being faced with the treachery of the Republic? Look at how they've meddled in the affairs of a member system. How long do you think it will be before the Jedi start looking at breantaal, and decide that something here needs to change?"

"And I presume you have a solution for the problem."

"I don't claim to have all the answers. But I can think of a way to ensure that Brentaal will never have to suffer under the rule of others, of those too weak or ignorant to see that they are the oppressed. Those foolish enough to think that the Republic actually works."

"You sound like you want to form a new government."

"Freedom must occasionally be purchased with the blood of those willing to sacrifice their lives to ensure that those in power do not abuse it. I ask that you aid the Hutts in their struggle to throw off the Republic. And think, if you aid them now, in their time of crisis, they would be indebted to you."

The Chancellor paused to consider the possibility, and Ankin knew that he'd won. Brentaal would secede from the Republic, and the other worlds would follow. Once the Republic had fragmented, the fool that stood before him would become irrelevant. And then, Ankin could step forward as a new leader, one who would gather up the broken pieces of the Republic, and return the galaxy to its proper order.

++++++++++++


That's it for tonight. I've hit a bit of a snag, so I don't think there's going to be a post until Thursday.



Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Heh, that's good to know - gives some of us a chance to get all caught up.

 

nice speech. Perhaps Anakin Skywalker's idea of government in AOTC will see reality now.

 

Sebby: You fell behind? Hope you've had a chance to get caught up, 'cause the next post is on its way!

yoda: Glad you liked the speech. And didn't Anakin's ideas about government in AOTC already see life in this little thing called the Galactic Empire?



"You seemed reluctant to show yourself out there," Lamag murmured, one stubby hand caressing Alema's shoulder. "I thought you wanted to show just how defiant you could be." Alema remained silent, though she hadn't been able to suppress a shudder at the Hutt's touch.

"I don't want others to see me like this?"

"Once again playing at submission?" Lamag said. "You may have fooled me once, slave, but it's not going to happen. The only thing keeping you alive is your value in breeding. You should be grateful that I'm that merciful," Lamag said, pausing to let it sink in.

"I don't see it as mercy," Alema said. "You enslave others, degrading them for your own selfish needs. You think you have the right to lord it over other species, but you're simply covering up..."
The Hutt's tail whipped around from nowhere, knocking Alema sprawling. "The only purpose you serve is to amuse me. That is the nature of your existence from this point on. You may have been a Jedi at one time, Alema Rar, but now you are no more than any other slave. The only thing keeping you alive at the moment is the fact that others are waiting to see whether certain traits run true."

"What?" Alema said, rising and brushing one hand against her cheek, feeling it slick with a mixture of the Hutt's slime and her own blood. "I don't understand."

"Of course you don't," Lamag said, twisting to bring his face inches from her own. "You are a breeder, slave. When your value as such vanishes, so will my patience. I would therefore suggest you learn to accept your place, and your new life. Because when you are no longer serve a purpose, your life will mean no more to me than that of the last slave who died in combat against the reek."

Alema pulled back, trying to find what little darkness there was as the repulsor platform floated through the wide corridors of the sail barge. She reached out with the Force, hoping that she might still sense Jaden's presence. Instead, she felt a number of others, others that seemed somehow familiar. She felt one close, closer even than the Hutt.

You are a breeder, Lamag had said. Touching the Force again, she focused on herself. And inside her body, she felt contact with another being. One that was similar to her, yet not. Could the Hutt have somehow...

She didn't finish the thought as she violently retched over the edge of the repulsor sled. She knew what the Hutt had done. And she realized that despite her prommise to herself, she had failed. The force of that thought was more devastating than anything she had felt before.

++++++++++++



That's it for tonight. New post tomorrow, but probably not until late. Until then...



Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

[face_shocked]

Alema! She's she's........

 

yoda: Yup.



I've been away from this place for far too long, Teneniel thought as she strode through the halls of the training facility on Hapes. It wasn't that it was too far, or that it was too dangerous, but the fact that ruling over the Consortium seemed to take more time than she had hours in the day. That, and the fact that she had seen what happened when the rulers seemed to give Jedi opinion what others considered too much weight.

But now she was back here, not because of some political issue, but because of Trisea's odd message. The concern about Anakin and Padme Durron had nagged at the back of her mind, preventing her from sleeping easily. She'd heard often enough that Jedi didn't dream, but then again, she didn't consider herself a true Jedi. A lightsaber hung at her hip, but she always felt that the burden of the crown had kept her from attaining the same connection with the Force her twin had.

It was strange, she thought, that it would require a galactic crisis for me to visit my parents. Tenel Ka and Jacen were always welcome at the palace, but Jacen tended to avoid it. He said that he was more comfortable away from the finery, that it kept him from thinking about all that had been lost during the Yuuzhan Vong occupation of Coruscant. Teneniel understood that even now, there were scars from that conflict that hadn't fully healed.

She arrived at the door to her parent's quarters alone, her usual guard left at the entrance of the facility. They'd made an argument that it might not be entirely safe, but she'd cast it aside. "If I can't be safe with my parents, then there is nowhere in the galaxy I will be secure. You may be charged with my safety, but you will not enter the facility." She knew they weren't happy, but she was the Queen Mother, which, in situations like this, turned out to be a boon. She raised her hand to knock, but the door swung back, revealing the face of her mother.

Tenel Ka Chume Ta' Djo's face now bore several lines, thogh she was still more beautiful than many women on Hapes. "Welcome, daughter," she said, her voice just as Teneniel recalled it, strong, firm, yet warm and caring at the same time. Much like the woman it belonged to. Her father stepped out of the other room as Teneniel entered.

"It's good to see you," he said, enfolding her in a hug that seemed like it could have gone on forever. Unfortunately, it couldn't. Jacen's brow creased as he apparently sensed the turmoil inside her. "What's wrong?"

"I just received a warning from Trisea Soltari. She was visited by a Jedi who told her to pass the warning on to me. Something about darkness gathering and having to take up arms again. Does that make any sense to you?"

"It does," Tenel Ka said. She looked towards Jacen, then turned her attention back to her daughter. "I don't know if you recall the incident ten years ago with the Dark Jedi."

"I'd heard rumors, but nothing concrete. Are you telling me that somebody with training in the Dark Side's been running loose for ten years?"

"No," Jacen said, taking over. "The Council managed to bring down the Dark Sider then. But Ben had sensed that this was only a prologue to something else, something that's been building."

"Trisea said that when Padme commed her, the connection was breaking up. But she thought she heard the name Anakin. Father, does that make any sense to you?"

Jacen ran a hand through his hair, only a trace of the brown remaining. "I don't know," he murmured, then headed for the computer terminal, as if struck by a thought. Tenel Ka joined him, soon joined herself by the Queen Mother. "It's what I was afraid of," he said, pointing to a single line in the entry he'd brought up. Teneniel was surprised to see that it wasn't a file on the uncle she never knew, but her father's grandfather.

"I don't understand. What does Anakin Skywalker have to do with..." Then she saw what Jacen was pointing at. "Wait a minute. Both Anakin Skywalker and his wife are dead, right?" Jacen glanced ba

 

Well, guess I'll just have to up this fic myself.


Maaizeh's personal shuttle, the Jungle's Wind, settled down a canyon to the south of the tower Maaizeh had been approaching on his previous visit. He and Kam emerged into a cloud of dust, probably thrown up by the ship's rapid descent.

"Did you have to cut it so close?" Kam asked. "It's not like they wouldn't have already sensed our presence, if they're even here."

"They're here," Maaizeh said. He still didn't think that Rhysode realized the danger they were in. "And I'd suggest that you try and rein in your use of the Force. If we're lucky, they'll think we crashed."

"That was your plan? Master Windu, I'd like to go into this with an open mind. If we go in there expecting the enemy, we might wind up destroying what's left of my former apprentice."

"And if we go in there expecting to find a friend, your apprentice may destroy us instead. You don't know what it's like. None of you do. Not even Master Skywalker."

"I don't suppose you'd mind elaborating on that? You said something about that in the Council chamber."
"It happened during the Clone Wars." Maaizeh said, reaching into the shuttle to pull out two packs that had been put together back on Chandrila. He tossed one Kam, then raised the ramp via a slave circuit remote, and sealed the ship. "The Council had made the decision to send individual Jedi to lead grass-roots rebellions against Dooku's Seperatist forces. "Mace's former Padawan, Depa Billaba, was sent to Haruun Kal, Mace's homeworld."

"And something obviously went wrong," Kam said, hefting his own pack onto his back, and following just behind Maaizeh as the other led the way towards a path he'd spotted during their descent.

"Something went horribly wrong. The natives are Force-sensitive, and one of them, by the name of Kar Vastor, took actions that were the antithesis of everything Depa stood for. But the situation demanded that she accept an alliance with Vastor. And over time, it destroyed her."

"You mean she fell to the Dark Side."

"I mean that she went crazy. Mace never should have sent her to that world, but he did. And then he had to go and hunt her down. Ultimately, he found himself crossing blades with his own Padawan. And when he finally did resolve the situation, he found that he had lost. Depa had entered a vegetative state...one that she didn't come out of."

"You fear that you might have to slay another Padawan," Kam said. "Your feelings based on your past experience cloud you judgment."

"We must be prepared for the worst," Maaizeh said. "You have to accept the fact that your Padawan may not be the man you know, the man that you trained as a Jedi."

"I accept that me may have turned," Kam said, facing Maaizeh and staring him straight in the eye, something few could say they'd done. "But I refuse to believe that he's totally lost. Even if it has been buried by anger and fear, somewhere deep within lies the core of the man I trained."

"You may not be able to reach him."

"I will reach him, Maaizeh. I have to. Because if he has fallen, we have to know how it happened..."

"So that others will not face the same danger," Maaizeh said. The words echoed to him as he recalled the memories of Mace Windu. Mace had sought to protect others by bringing Depa in. Could he argue against himself? "We don't have much time before night falls. I suggest that we get moving."

++++++++++++

 

I'm just going to give this a quick up tonight. Look for the next post tomorrow!

 

Three posts, three bombs! Sheesh! Poor dear Alema... a possible clone of the Darth-boy... and another fallen Padawan whose return will cost more than crude oil. [face_shocked] *shakes head rapidly* This is an overboil waitin' to happen!

 

Sebby: Yup, things are revving up. Poor Alema indeed, but I think she's sstronger than she appears. As for the possible clone, the one they're referring to is Ankin. And that Padawan, well, we'll just see what it takes...


But before we get any further along, what do you say we check in on the Wraiths?



Night fell on the world of Nal Hutta. Outside the palace of the Okkuu, the Wraiths slipped from their fighters, which they'd brought in low, so low that Doran had been a little worried about scraping the fighter over the rocky terrain. "This is an unusual place for a Hutt to establish his fortress."

"Not really," Olias said. "Its relatively easy to defend, and it does make all who approach look up to see it. I'd say that fits with the Hutt mentality." The team made their way towards the vehicle bay, and Aalya began to fiddle with the lock. after a few aborted efforts, the door slid open, though not without a bit of noise.

"Great," the Twi-lek woman muttered. "Just when I thought things couldn't go wrong..."

"Not a smart time to say that," Elassar added, his voice low. "It's unlucky."

"Let's get in and out of sight," Doran said, motioning the rest of the team forward, "before somebody decides to check on it."

"It may be too late for that," Olias whispered, pointing towards one of the doors leading into the palace proper.

"Vilgeth? Hey, pal, what were you thinking, opening the door? You want the master to feed you to the rancor?"

Lovely, Doran thought. He gestured to Borsk, indicating that the Bothan should follow him. Together, they slipped forward, around the array of skiffs and the huge sail barge that had to be Okkuu's primary means of transportation. Go right, Doran signaled with a quick hand gesture. Then, he reached out with the Force, getting a light grip on the mind of the other.

"What was that?" the intruder asked, looking away just as Borsk slipped up behind him and applied a quick chop to the back of the neck. The scruffy human dropped to the ground with a soft thud. Donos slid from concealment, hands immediately going for the other's belt, and the comlink that had to be there.

Olias came forward with the rest of the team. "Deciding to play nice today?"

"Blaster bolt might have echoed," Donos said with a grin. "I don't think any of us want to be announcing our presence to the Hutt. Besides, I think our medic would agree that doing so would fall under the category of unlucky."

"You ought to appreciate the guidance luck can provide," the Devaronian said. It's certainly gotten me out of trouble often enough.

"Come on. We've got a mission to finish. I don't think the colonel will want to be kept here any longer than she has to. Who knows? We might not have to shoot anybody."

"I still say we blow the place," Borsk said. "One less Hutt to deal with."

"I think my father would probably agree with you," Doran replied.

++++++++++++



That's it for now. I'm hoping to get more up tomorrow.

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Okay, I'll be upping this myself.


"You've had enough to deal with as it is," Tenel Ka said. "We didn't want you getting caught up in all of this when you're under pressure to find a husband."

"As I think I've made clear to all those in the court, I'll find a husband in my own time. I won't let ritual pressure me into marriage."

"We also wanted to protect you from any possible backlash," Jacen said. "After what happened in the Senate, we wanted to put some distance between the Order and the Hapan throne. If the Jedi fail to keep this darkness from spreading, we didn't want your political opponents to capitalize."

"Just tell me what's going on," Teneniel said. "As the Queen Mother, I think I have a right to know."

"Padme's coming here at the request of the Jedi Council. Once Ben realized that this clone of Anakin Skywalker might have access to Anakin's memories, he thought Padme might be in danger. He hoped that by sending her to Hapes in secret, we might be able to protect her. But now, from what you've told us, it sounds like her movements might have been traced here already."

Teneniel looked into her mother's gray eyes. "I understand your reasons," she said, "but I still think I should have been informed. You've put the entire cluster in jeopardy. I just hope that what you fear isn't going to happen."

"So do we," Jacen said. "I didn't like the idea of keeping information from you, Teneniel, but it was for your own protection. I remember the opposition your mother faced during her reign. We just didn't want to put any more pressure on you than you already face."

"When Padme arrives, have her sent to the palace," Teneniel said. "If there's anywhere on Hapes that's secure, it's there. And please, keep me up to date on any future requests from the Council."

"What are you doing?" Jacen asked, though he guessed he already knew the answer.

"I'm going to recall part of the Hapan fleet," Teneniel said. "And then I think I need to have a little chat with my sister."

++++++++++++



That's all for now. More to come on Satuday, I think, as tomorrow night looks like it could be a bit busy.


Force be with you,

Tych_sel