Beyond - Legends Running Into Old Friends - L/M, H/L Completed 6/01/2005 Thanks to My Readers

Running into Old Friends
By RebelMom

Prologue

Just prior to the Battle of Endor

Shore leave was rare for Admiral Piett. In this case, it was also sudden. His wife didn?t even know that he was back; she wasn?t even home. The household droid said that she was shopping. It worked for the better that he could have some time alone. After excusing his aide, he entered his study. He took a seat and opened the box he had brought with him from the Executor. The object inside was fascinating and unique. It seemed a shame to have to store it away, but it was entrusted to his care. He was responsible for its safety while it was in his possession. A smile grew on his face. It was an honor to serve and he was proud to do it. There was a noise from the main room. Carefully packing the figurine back into its box, he set it into his wall safe. Once the door was secured, he left the room. It would be best if his wife didn?t know about the piece just yet. He?d tell her later, after the Rebels were defeated.

Chapter 1

Shortly after Thrawn crisis

?Did you make contact??

Garrick watched as his slicer continued to tap the keys. Finally, she hit the send key and looked up at him.

?Yes, I?ve made contact. He?ll meet me in the Hyper Café next week,? she answered.

Nodding, Garrick replied, ?Good. That should work into our timeframe. I need that encryption code.?

?I?ll get it,? she replied, returning to her work.

A loud noise drew his attention to the other side of the room. Several power packs had fallen to the floor. A young man sporting a spiky haircut picked them up, placing them on a table next to a couple of thermal detonators. One of the detonators began to roll. Rushing to the table, Garrick caught it before it could hit the ground. The young man spared a glance at him, shrugged and finished arranging the power packs on the table.

?You could have blown us up, Faren.?

Unconcerned, Faren grabbed another detonator and tossed it in the air a few times. ?It?s not activated.?

Garrick snatched the globe mid-flight. ?That?s not a guarantee.? Verifying that the detonator was indeed inoperable, he set it on the table and made a quick mental inventory. A nerve disruptor, several blasters, power packs, thermal detonators, vibroblades, timed charges and a pair of stun cuffs. It wasn?t the best arsenal, but sufficient for their needs.

The door slid open and the man who entered was greeted by blasters. ?Don?t shoot!? he yelled, putting his hands up in surrender.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Garrick holstered his blaster. ?Nerf, that wasn?t the smartest way to enter this room.?

?Sorry, sir. I was in a hurry.? Nerf was always in a hurry. Sturdily built, he appeared to resemble a domesticated nerf. His hurried manner reminded others of an animal going to the slaughter, but he somehow always managed to come out alive. ?There?s a comm call from Millton.?

Rushing to the com, Garrick activated the receiver. Without preamble, he asked, ?Did you get the artifact from Piett?s widow??

There was no sound from the other end. ?Millton??

?She didn?t have it,? came the answer finally.

Garrick?s mouth gaped in shock. ?Piett had it with him when he went on leave. I saw him take it in.?

?I know. She did have it. Unfortunately, the Empire is having trouble with its pension plan. She was out of money, so she sold it.?

Garrick slammed his fist on the table. ?Do you know who she sold it to??

?Yes.?

**
Talon Karrde held the sculpture in his hands and ran his finger along the carvings in the shiny black material. The icy smooth surface caught him like a magnet, drawing his touch into a caress and captivating his imagination. He shivered uncontrollably ? the reaction stopped as soon as he pulled his hand away from the lettering. Setting the miniature castle back on his desk, he picked up the magnifier and studied the carvings. At least, he attempted to study them. He was unfamiliar with the lettering. The ship?s database couldn?t find a match.

The

 

Interesting... intrigue already!

I never liked piett, he looked like a wussy to me.

 

Hmmm.... Interesting. I wonder what the importance of that one little artifact is. I'm sure it's a big deal.

 

Oh, can't wait for more! Will be looking for updates on this one!

 

You started it! Looks great already. Wonder just what this artifact might be and why Garrick and co. are after it?

The icy smooth surface caught him like a magnet, drawing his touch into a caress and captivating his imagination. He shivered uncontrollably ? the reaction stopped as soon as he pulled his hand away from the lettering.

*shivers* Creepy...

 

RM, good to see you've started this over here! *suddenly remembers she's missed a post at SJRS* Dang it, I'm falling behind on everything. Who invented this school stuff anyway?!

 

Well, I'm intrigued.

 

Yoiu posted it! *bounces*

 

WOW! Great start. I'm wondering about this creepy object... it sounds like a job for Indiana Jones!

Can't wait for more!

 

I wonder... hhhmmm....

 

The perfect start to the day - a new fic by Rebel Mom!

Very interesting start. (....Piett was the admiral on Vader's ship....Vader lived in a castle.....hmmm.....)

*camps out for more*

 

You've started it over here! Great! And rereading this first chapter made me rethink certain happenings in later posts. Hmmm....

 

ooohh looks intersting

I wonder what the stature is of? Casle Bast?

 

Ooo, you finally posted this over here!

This is so intriguing, Mummy! I love how the beginning seems so insignificant, in a way, except for the introduction of the statue-thingie.


EDIT- Agreed. Reminds me of Vader's castle from um . . . the Black Fleet Crisis books.

 

It would be best if his wife didn?t know about the piece just yet. He?d tell her later, after the Rebels were defeated

He's delusional I think the figurine is a rare Chewbacca action figure

I liked the exchange between Garrick and Faren about the detonator.

Setting the miniature castle back on his desk,

I guess I was wrong

Great setup, RebelMom Very original, can't wait to see where you're going with this

 

Before I make replies, I must apologize to the magnificant Gabri-Jade. I forgot to acknowledge her as my beta in the first post. Please forgive me. . I also forgot to mention that posts will be Wednesday and Saturday. Let's just blame it on my extremely stressful week.

Replies

Valin_Halcyon: Interesting... intrigue already! I'm trying. Thank you.
Jedi_BMK: I wonder what the importance of that one little artifact is. You'll see, eventually.
AnakinsHeir: Thank you. Check in again on Saturday.
Knight_Aragorn: *shivers* Creepy... I'm glad it was creepy enough. Thanks for reading.
Leia: Who invented this school stuff anyway?! Somebody evil? I just know I've paid my dues.
CommanderConrad: thanks for reading.
padawan lunetta: Well, I have more patience than you.
GreatOne: it sounds like a job for Indiana Jones! Funny you should mention that... but Indy doesn't appear in this fic.
RedGold: Thank you for reading and continue to wonder.
JediTrace: *camps out for more* brrr. It's too cold for camping.
Jedi2: Yeah. I finally decided to post over here.
maramijade: Thanks.
LianaMara: Thanks.
YodaKenobi: He's delusional I think the figurine is a rare Chewbacca action figure Poor Piett, he really thought the Empire would prevail. I guess I was wrong Yeah, a bit off on the guess. Very original, can't wait to see where you're going with this Not so sure about the original part, but hopefully where I'm going isn't too obvious. *mutters that it probably is*

 

More patience than me Mommy? That's hard to do.

 

Great start, RM! Sounds like a mystery here. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Kristeh

 

Sorry...its been a stressful few days

Nice Start RM!

 

I dare say I'll bookmark this.

Very intriguing and mysterious. What is the mystery behind this piece?

 

Luneyness: Shall we compare? You start posting at 30 pages of story and I wait until I have 80 pages. Still I won't know what to do if you showed patience.
Kristeh: Hi! glad to see you around again. I hope I can keep the mystery going for a while yet.
Jade51999: My stressful week got worse today. Somebody broke into our shed while we were at work and stole some of my husband's power tools. Then my poor hubby went to his gig - an hour's drive away - and didn't have his music. So wonderful wife that I am, drove it to him. *sigh*
RK_Striker_JK_5 : It's not a mystery if I tell you now.

Next post will be tomorrow afternoon. Thanks to all for reading.

 

Don't worry about it, RM. And you really shouldn't call me magnificent until I can manage to get the chapters back to you a little faster.

Great start to the story, of course. Hope DRL lets up on you soon.

 

Oooh, i like it, RM. Right there with what everyone else said about the intrigue. Very cool.

That castle's description reminds me of the old one of Vader's that Luke resurrected in one of the older EU novels (cant for the life of me recall what it is ). Whatever it is, that piece of art sounds awfully expensive.

Looking forward to more

 

Yeah, definitly made me shiver...a lot.

So yay! A new story I can waste my life away with!!

 

Great start, RM! I love writing about Piett's character. Talk about undiscovered country...

Great job on the build-up! I'm suspensed.... This looks like a wonderful read.