Beyond - Legends On the Run: The Journal of Mark Devlin, DDC 2014

Space_Wolf, Jedi_Lover, Nyota's Heart, windu4, earlybird-obi-wan

Classified Entry 2​

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I jerked my blaster up and shot the guy in the chest. He had an Empire’s Fist emblem on his sleeve; he’d walked in on me as I was recording my last entry. Great. That was way, way too close.

With Commander Klan dead, and Andrea and I back at base explaining that we’d been the only survivors, there was no doubt that we’d be under close scrutiny from now on. If this guy turned up dead, too…

Well, even if I hid his corpse, someone would miss him sooner or later. It was time to implement Plan B. I moved quickly down the corridor toward Andrea’s room. I made sure no one was around, and then knocked on the door.

She answered uncertainly. “Halden?”

“Seels, we need to talk,” I said.

She invited me in and shut the door. I held a finger to my mouth and we quickly checked the room for listening devices. We found several, and quickly disabled them all. I nodded.

“What’s up, Devlin?”

“I was just discovered,” I said. “Had to kill the guy. It won’t be long before he turns up.”

“Great,” she muttered.

“So I’m moving on to Plan B,” I said. “If my identity was discovered, I was supposed to cram the war room with enough explosives to send this base all the way to Hoth and then run.”

“And you wanted to warn me first?” Andrea replied with a smirk. “How thoughtful.”

“Yeah. In any case, the Fist won’t be a problem anymore. The leadership is supposed to be gathering in the morning. I’ll plant the explosives tonight and set them to trigger when the sensors detect the life signs of at least three of the leaders. There are four that I know of, but better to take out most of them than none.”

She nodded. “All right. What can I do to help?”

 

plan B is always great. Nice entry

 

I am glad they discussed a Plan B or he had one in mind all the way through enacting Plan A LOL Yup, better to take out all the enemy you know of and then some.

 

I just discovered this -this is really great! A well written spy thriller in diary format - love it!

 

Space_Wolf, Jedi_Lover, Nyota's Heart, windu4, earlybird-obi-wan

Classified Entry 3​

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It wasn’t long before our plan was ready. There was a shuttle in the hangar that we could steal easily enough when the time was right. We wired the explosives and moved them into the war room in the middle of the night.

We didn’t waste any time. As soon as the explosives were wired, I led Andrea out of the war room and down the hall. I had my bow and arrows with me, just in case.

We made it about halfway to the hangar when we encountered a squad of dark-gray armored Empire’s Fist stormtroopers. They saw us coming and the leader held up a hand to stall us.

I jerked into motion, firing an arrow right into the leader’s chest. The trooper dropped. Andrea whipped out her twin blasters and opened fire, taking out another two, and I took out the last two with a pair of arrows fired rapidly.

“Well, our cover’s blown now,” I said. “Let’s get out of here.”

We entered the hangar and I pulled out my Fist ID card. I didn’t know how long it would be before they had the card shut down; we’d have to move fast. I swiped the card and entered the hangar. Andrea ran into the shuttle and powered it up while I ran to the hangar controls and opened the doors.

I moved quickly back to the shuttle and buckled in the passenger seat. Andrea gunned the engines almost before I’d finished snapping myself in; we shot from the hangar at blinding speed. I checked the sensors for signs of pursuit.

I grimaced. A pair of TIE fighters launched from the hangar and opened fire. I leaned forward and grabbed the controls for the shuttle’s weapons. The rear cannon thumped as I fired. My shot caught one of the TIEs in the left wing, sending it spinning off to crash to the ground. The other TIE pursued us doggedly.

“Just hold him off another few seconds,” Andrea said. “I’ll get us a hyperspace route.”

I nodded tightly. “Right. Hurry…”

I fired again. This pilot was good. He jerked out of the way of my fire. Clearly he was a veteran pilot; in a TIE, that was all the more dangerous, since TIEs didn’t have shields, so surviving more than a few battles pretty much meant you were the best of the best. The TIE fired and our shuttle rocked as the bolts exploded off our rear shields.

“I’ve got our coordinates,” Andrea said. “Launching in three, two, one…”

The stars blurred into lines, and our shuttle jerked forward as it entered hyperspace. I sat back in relief and exhaled. Well, that was one mission accomplished. Now I just had to get home to my wife.

Easy, right?

 

Whew! Andrea and Mark got out of there just in time. Short of getting back to Ana, he needs to send her a message at least.

 

Yes they escaped from the TIE Now back to his wife

 

Space_Wolf, Jedi_Lover, Nyota's Heart, earlybird-obi-wan, windu4, aleja2

Classified Entry 4​

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When we arrived on Bastion, Andrea and I were met by a platoon of stormtroopers and an Imperial officer in an olive-gray uniform. I tensed a little bit. After seeing that uniform as a symbol of the enemy for so long, it was a bit hard to get used to it.

“Congratulations on a mission well done,” the officer said to Andrea. He glanced at me. “Who’s this?”

“He’s a New Republic agent,” Andrea replied. “He helped me complete my mission. The Fist is no more. The leadership has been eliminated.”

The officer’s gaze didn’t waver a millimeter as he studied me. I tried to appear casual, but I was mapping all the various ways I could kill him if he tried to make a move. I had a vibroblade in my boot, blaster in my holster, and of course the bow.

“Well, then,” the officer said. “Our thanks to the New Republic. I imagine you’ll wish to return to Coruscant, but if you would, Grand Admiral Pellaeon would like to debrief you both personally.”

I nodded reluctantly. Andrea gave me an encouraging smile and we followed the officer. He gave us separate quarters in the palace and told us that he’d contact us when Pellaeon was ready to see us. He also told us that we could make use of the cafeteria, if we so desired.

I didn’t unpack any of my bags. As soon as I was done here I’d be on my way home to see my wife. One way or another, this is over. I think I’ve earned some leave; even Drayson can’t deny that.

Down in the cafeteria, I got a tray with something that looked like a great meal. Certainly, it was better than the Fist’s food, which was passable, but nothing to write home about. Andrea found me and sat down across from me.

“You seem eager to be home,” she said. “Do you have any family?”

I automatically felt suspicious, but that was just my intelligence training at work. My gut told me that I could trust her.

“Yes,” I said. “On Coruscant, a wife. On Balmorra, my parents and siblings.”

Andrea nodded. “I’m sure you are eager to see them.”

“I am. What about you? I know your father is still alive, but what about the rest of your family? Mother, siblings? Spouse?”

“Mother’s alive,” she replied. “I’m an only child. And I do have a fiancé.”

I nodded. “Well, good. I’m sure you’re eager to see them, too.”

There was a pause. A black-uniformed Imperial walked in and gestured for us. I rose, dumped my empty food tray, and followed the Imperial, with Andrea following right behind me.

Well, I guess I’m going to meet an Imperial Grand Admiral.

Classified Entry 5​

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We took a turbolift to the palace’s administrative floor. We were walking down a long hallway with floor-to-ceiling windows lining both walls when suddenly, everything burst into chaos.

One of the huge windows shattered as a sniper bolt passed through it. Andrea ducked instinctively and pushed me aside. The sniper shot grazed the back of the Imperial who’d been escorting us.

I whipped out my bow and knocked an arrow, training it out the window. I caught sight of the sniper, on the roof across the street, and released my arrow. As fast as I could move, I knocked another arrow and fired, again and again.

The sniper ran. One of my arrows caught him in the shoulder; he grabbed it, yanked it out, and kept running. I pressed a button on my bow, activating a grapnel arrow, and shot it over at the rooftop he’d been standing on.

“Stay here!” I told Andrea.

I zipped across the gap and rolled onto the roof across the street. The sniper had leapt down to the next roof and was still running. Grimacing, I took off after him, grabbing another arrow as I ran.

He turned and whipped up a blaster, firing back at me. I rolled aside and fired my arrow. It missed his face by mere millimeters, the bladed tip actually slashing across his cheek. I prepared to fire another arrow.

The sniper jumped. I fired. The arrow shot across the gap between us and planted itself deep in his back. Dead mid-leap, his momentum killed, the sniper dropped to the street below. I ran to the edge of the building and looked down.

He lay in the middle of a crowded avenue, his body sprawled at an impossible angle–his spine broken. My arrow still protruded from his back. Sighing, I dropped to the ground and knelt by his body, pulling off the hood he wore.

“Kark,” I growled.

He had youthful features–a narrow jaw, blond hair, and I knew without looking that his eyes were a familiar ice blue. I’d known him ever since I’d joined NRI, because he was a fellow agent. Sarn Hylo.

One of two things had happened here. Option one: Sarn had gone rogue, and tried to take me out for some reason. Option two: he hadn’t gone rogue and had come here on an official NRI mission. Which meant that I’d just obstructed the mission of my own organization.

Either way, I wasn’t safe. I quickly pulled my arrow from his back, returned it to my quiver, and took off running. Andrea would probably look for me, but she couldn’t find me, not ever, because I had no idea what was going on here and until I found out, I couldn’t trust anyone.

This isn’t going to be good.

 

Ooh, cool stuff. Devlin is an ace shot, but things definitely got more complicated! Reminds me of the show "Burn Notice" Now, I understand what the title means--i.e., that Devlin has to do some sleuthing and staying under the radar but good before he can see lovely Ana again.

 

A very complicated mission and again on the run

 

Space_Wolf, Jedi_Lover, Nyota's Heart, earlybird-obi-wan, windu4, aleja2

Classified Entry 6​

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I managed to get to a comlink store and buy an untraceable unit. I ran out the back, pulled off my jacket, and walked out through the alley. I didn’t know whether or not I was being pursued, but it didn’t hurt to play it safe.

I set my comlink to connect to the HoloNet and sent a request to be put in contact with Coruscant. It would be a very expensive call–very expensive–but as far as I know NRI is still covering my mission costs, so I’m good.

“Hello?” a sleepy voice came through my link.

“Ana,” I said urgently, “it’s me.”

“Oh, Mark!” she exclaimed, no longer sounding tired. “I’m so glad to hear your voice.”

“Ana, listen. Some bad things have happened to me. I’ll be on the run for a while. Everything should be all right but I don’t know when I’ll be able to get back to you.”

“Mark…what happened?”

“I can’t say over an open comlink, and I can’t tell you where I’ll be. Just know that I’ll be doing everything in my power to return to you as soon as I possibly can.”

“Before you go, Mark?”

“Yes, Ana?”

“I…Mark, I’m pregnant.”

“What?”

I felt several different emotions surge through my body at the same time–joy, confusion, fear–because even though this was great news, if my enemies found out it would be easy for them to use against me.

“It happened that last night before you left for your mission. I’m several months along…”

“Oh…oh Ana. I love you. And if you could? Get in contact with Luke Skywalker, somehow. Maybe he can straighten this all out.”

“I understand. I love you, too.”

I disconnected the comlink, threw it in the nearest waste bin, and took off for the spaceport as a run. Now I had even more incentive to figure this out…because I want to be home before my wife has our baby.

 

Pregnant! That has to be a surprise. Life just had to get a little more complicated for the man. But now he has extra incentive to not get killed. Nice update. Sorry that I have fallen behind. Things have been crazy at home.

 

Yay he got in touch and what terrific news in general, a fantab motive for getting back to her for sure.

 

great news and all the more reasons to get back as soon as possible

 

Space_Wolf, Jedi_Lover, Nyota's Heart, earlybird-obi-wan, windu4, aleja2

Classified Entry 7​

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I crouched outside the spaceport, my eyes set on a light freighter manned by a crew of independent contractors. I thought they were my best chance, so I pulled my jacket hood down over my head and loitered around the area for a while, buying a caf from a stand on the street.

Finally, when it looked like the ship’s crew was done unloading their cargo, I walked quickly into their dock and approached the guy who had been giving orders. He wore a gray utility suit with a blaster slung low on his thigh.

“Excuse me,” I said. “Excuse me!”

The man looked up and frowned. “Can I help you?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I…I could use a bit of help.”

“Help?”

“I’m in a bit of a tough situation. You see, my crew left port without me so I’m kind of stranded here. If you could get me to their next destination so they could pick me up, I’d be mighty grateful.”

“Why would I change my own ship’s schedule just to help you?”

I sighed. “Look, I don’t have any credits on me but I promise, if you can get me to my destination, I can draw enough credits to pay you handsomely.”

“How do I know you won’t just skip out on me when you arrive?”

My jaw clenched. “I’ll let you come with me to the bank where I’ll draw my assets from. That’s the best I can do. I’m serious when I say I don’t have any credits on me.”

That was the gambit. Either he believed me, and he’d take me, or else he didn’t, and he’d tell me to go waste myself, and I’d be back to square one. Unfortunately, since I don’t know who might be looking for me, that might spell my doom.

“All right,” he said finally. “But I don’t want credits. I want information. You’re not being entirely truthful about why you’re in such a hurry to leave, I can tell that much, and my boss likes information as much as credits. I smell a good story here, and the boss loves a good story.”

“Oh?” I smiled. “Well, I suppose I can provide that for you. But it’s a bit boring, you know…”

He shrugged. “We’ll see.”

He led me up the ramp into his ship. Inside, his crew–each armed with some kind of weapon, most of which were pointed in my direction–was standing around, looking menacing.

“So, stranger,” the captain said, “why don’t you tell me your name so I know who I’m ferrying?”

“Uh, Jonas,” I said. “Jonas Antilles.”

“Antilles, eh? Quite a famous name.”

“No relation, unfortunately,” I said with a wry grin. “And your name?”

“Call me Aves,” the man said. “Welcome to the Last Resort, one of the flagships of Talon Karrde’s Smuggler’s Alliance.”

Oh, boy. What the kark did I just get myself into?

 

Aves! Gotta love Aves, Chin, Ghent and the sexy Talon Karrde! Nice update!

 

Talon Karrde, that will be interesting company

 

Karrde Devlin couldn't have landed a more fair-minded ally.

 

Space_Wolf, Jedi_Lover, Nyota's Heart, earlybird-obi-wan, windu4

Classified Entry 8​

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Aves led me to the Last Resort’s common area. I found out on the way that the ship’s name isn’t really “Last Resort,” that’s just the way it’s pronounced. The proper spelling is Lastri’s Ort. Don’t ask me who Lastri is or why he owns an Ort (or even what an Ort is)…but apparently the famed Talon Karrde has a thing for puns in his ship names, such as his flagship, the Wild Karrde.

We sat down at a table and Aves signaled one of his crew, a Sullustan male with a scar over one milky eye, to start brewing caf. Aves scratched the scruff on his chin, looking at me thoughtfully.

“So,” he said. “Jonas. What is so urgent, and where are we going?”

“I told you,” I replied, “I missed my ship and I need to catch up with the crew.”

“And I say that’s a load of bantha poodoo,” Aves replied with a polite grin.

I sighed. “I can’t exactly tell you yet, Aves. Mostly ‘cause I am not entirely sure myself. The truth is I work for the New Republic. As for where we’re going…”

I considered. Honestly, I had no idea where to go. Anywhere that would be a typical contact point would be a good spot for any traitors in NRI working with Sarn–or any legitimate NRI agents looking to arrest me because they thought I was rogue–to find me. So I’d have to go somewhere unusual.

“Taris,” I blurted.

“What’s on Taris that’s important to the New Republic?” Aves asked.

“Nothing,” I replied. “But it’s important to me.”

Aves frowned. “You’re not a rogue, are ya?”

I shook my head. “Not…technically.”

Aves sighed, closed his eyes, and tapped my leg under the table. I looked down…and realized he had a blaster at my knee, pointed up at my chest. I gritted my teeth and glanced around. The rest of the crew also had their hands on their blasters.

“Aves,” I said, “it’s not what you think.”

“Karrde is a liaison between the NR and the Empire,” Aves said. “We can’t be working with renegades; it’d sully our reputation and make the NR less inclined to work with us.”

“I promise you this, Aves, I’m not working against the New Republic’s interest. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

“Then spill,” Aves insisted.

“All right, all right! Listen, I was on an undercover mission, the details of which I can’t disclose. After I completed the mission, I was nearly killed by a sniper shot on Bastion. I killed the sniper…but he was a fellow agent.”

“Well, kark,” Aves muttered. He put his blaster away. “So either he’s a traitor…”

“…or I’m being targeted by the New Republic, or I got in the way of a mission accidentally. No matter which option it is, I need to rectify this before I get a big death mark on my head. I’ve got a pregnant wife to go home to, Aves.”

The man nodded. “All right, kid, all right. But why do you need to go to Taris?”

“I’m not sure,” I replied. “Just…a gut feeling.”

Aves nodded. “Well, okay then. Gut feeling’s as good as anything at this point. Listen, after we drop you off I’ll tell Karrde about your situation; I’m sure he’ll accept this information as payment for our time. And maybe we can keep an eye out for any signs of trouble in the New Republic, and notify you.”

“That’d be great,” I replied. “Thank you, Aves. And by the way, my name’s not Jonas. It’s Mark. Mark Devlin.”

Classified Entry 9​

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The Lastri’s Ort dropped me off on Taris ten hours later. Aves gave me Karrde’s comlink code, and I likewise gave him the encrypted code I’d be using. He also gave me a pair of blaster pistols–although I wish I had a bow. I was starting to grow partial to the weapon, but I’d left it in a dumpster on Bastion.

Well, that’d be my first objective. I knew how to access a private account NRI set up for each agent, and provided they hadn’t shut mine down yet I could draw fifty thousand credits for personal use. They’d probably accept it as on-mission use, if it turned out that Sarn was a traitor. If he wasn’t…well. The NRI’s against me anyway so I highly doubt they’ll accept me using their creds.

Clad in dark slacks, a white shirt, and a black bantha-leather jacket, I strode through the Upper City of Taris, trying not to look out of place. I wasn’t dressed richly enough to fit in up here, though.

I found the nearest bank and swiped my cred card. As I typed my account number, my eyes kept darting to the security droids at the entryway. Each of them was armed with a stun baton and a blaster rifle–the latter for in the case of armed robberies. Even if they found me trying to access an account I shouldn’t be (which I wasn’t, really; it technically is my account), they’d just stun me, not blast me into oblivion.

Wearing a pair of blasters, on the other hand, is a very different matter. I got into the account–good, NRI hadn’t locked me out–and quickly transferred the creds into untraceable chits. My pocket fifty thousand credits fuller, I departed the bank and headed for a surplus store.

“Welcome to Merv’s Military Supplies,” said the Duros behind the counter, “what can I get for you?”

“Bows,” I said simply.

“Ah, an old-fashioned guy, are we? I wouldn’t have guessed by lookin’ at ya. We got lots of energy bows in-stock.”

“Not energy bows; compound bows.”

The Duros’ jaw dropped briefly. “You really are old-school, aren’t ya? Yes, I’ve got a few compounds in stock.”

“May I see them?”

“Er, wait right here, please.”

He headed back into the rear of the store, and I looked around. There were few other customers, and most of them looked like the kind of folks who were in here specifically to get weapons to hunt wildlife in the Undercity.

One of them, though…

Oh, kark. It’s Purple-Eyes, the Rodian thug I fought the last time I was on-planet. I’d kicked him in the groin; he’d be very eager for revenge if he recognized me. I flipped up my jacket collar to hide my face. I turned to face the counter again–

And bumped into Purple-Eyes’ buddy, Yellow-Skin. He narrowed his eyes at me, and for a moment I felt hope. It had been over eight months since I’d encountered them; maybe they’d forgotten me. But then his multifaceted eyes widened in recognition.

“Riito!” he called. “Remember this scum-sucker?”

Purple-Eyes–Riito–looked up from the rack of knives he’d been examining. As soon as he saw me, he hissed and grabbed one of the knives. The other customers, seeming to realize something was going down, scampered toward the door.

“So, scum-sucker,” Yellow-Skin said, “what do you think? Can you take us without Boba Fett to back you up?”

Oh yeah. Time has a way of making us forget–I didn’t even remember that Boba Fett had had to help me beat these guys. I tightened my jaw and stepped back, my hand going into my jacket pocket for one of my blasters.

“Let’s do this, scum-sucker,” Riito snarled.

I jumped aside and jerked my blaster out of my pocket, training it on Riito. Yellow-Skin reacted quickly, slapping my wrist. I fumbled and fired into the floor. Riito’s knife came slashing toward my chest. I dropped onto my back and kicked his legs out from under him.

I rolled aside as Yellow-Skin stomped his boot down where my head would’ve been. I slid to my feet and threw my blaster aside. This fight wouldn’t be decided like that.

Yellow-Skin lunged, swinging a wild fist. I caught it with the back of my right arm and punched him in the jaw with my left fist. He jerked back, and I followed the blow up with a right hook to his cheek.

By then, Riito had regained his footing and was again lunging with his knife. I caught his arm, but winced as the blade grazed my hand. I stiffened my fingers and rammed them into Riito’s throat. The Rodian choked, his eyes bulging, and stumbled.

Yellow-Skin came at me again and punched me in the gut. I wheezed and took a step back, kicking him with my front leg as I did. It wasn’t a powerful blow, but it was enough to stop his advance. My balance restored, I kicked again, this time with my back leg, and the Rodian flew back into a rack of rifles.

The owner came out of the back, carrying a compound bow. When his eyes fell on the chaos, he gasped and took an involuntary step back. I recovered my blaster, tucked it back in my pocket, and stepped up to the counter. With a sheepish grin, I dropped the credits for the bow–and arrows, and quiver–on the counter. Then I added in another handful.

“For the damages,” I said apologetically.

I took the bow and quiver of arrows from him and left the building, the Rodians, and the still-shocked owner behind.

 

Rockin' action naturally. Glad Devlin has Karrde and the rest on his side. Karrde is not a double-crosser. If you're upfront with him, he'll be in your corner. Which will doubtless come in handy.

 

great action and with a bow, arrows and Karde and crew he should be alright

 

Space_Wolf, Jedi_Lover, Nyota's Heart, earlybird-obi-wan, windu4

Classified Entry 10​

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I used some of my credits to rent out a small apartment in the Lower City. I didn’t want attract attention to myself by living in the Upper City, but I wasn’t really all that happy to be living down in the Lower City, either. It’s known as a crime den to those in the Upper City, and they aren’t far off.

I spent most of my time doing research–most of it technically illegal. I hacked into Sarn Hylo’s records first, to find out if there was anything in his past that could make him turn traitor.

What I found was interesting. Sarn had been born on a small industrial world called Gorse, a tidally locked world where almost nothing of import ever happened. But some years after the Clone Wars, there had been a series of incidents on Gorse. Nobody was quite sure what, or who was involved, but some suspected that the planet’s moon, Cynda, had been the source of the planet’s mining industry: Thorilide crystals. Apparently at some point the Empire had cracked down on Gorse, wanting all of its Thorilide.

Sarn had been born way after all that, but his parents had been directly affected by it. His father had been working for planetary security at the time, and when the Empire had swept in, he’d been forcefully recruited into the Stormtrooper Corps. He had been ushered off-planet quickly and quietly.

Eventually, he returned to Gorse as a part of a detachment of stormtroopers. That was when he’d met his wife, and after they were married, Sarn had been born. When the Galactic Civil War had begun, Sarn’s father had been dragged back into service to fight the Rebel Alliance.

He was listed as KIA at the Battle of Endor.

Sarn had joined the New Republic during the Thrawn Crisis, allegedly because he’d hated the Empire for getting his father killed–he didn’t blame the Alliance; they had been trying to destroy the Death Star and kill the Emperor. At least, that’s what he’d claimed.

I wasn’t sure exactly how all this lined up with Sarn’s attack on Bastion. Who had he been aiming for when he’d fired his sniper rifle? We’d been in a hallway, so he hadn’t been targeting Pellaeon. Which meant the target had either been me, or–

–or Andrea.

Quickly, I cross-referenced the name “Hylo” with the name “Gorle”–Andrea’s surname. I came up with exactly what I’d expected; Andrea’s grandfather had been one of the officer’s who’d recruited Sarn’s father into the Corps. Sarn had been going for a revenge killing.

I guessed that I should be safe, then. If this was a personal vendetta, then there was no way Sarn had NRI’s backing. I could go back to Coruscant, tell Drayson what had happened, and get everything cleared up. Of course, now Talon Karrde knows a lot about some NRI business that he probably shouldn’t, but better safe than sorry.

I closed my datapad and stood–and the tripwire alarm I’d placed outside my apartment buzzed. Quickly, I moved to the door and was about to activate the security footage on the monitor beside it when a booted foot connected with the door and knocked it down.

I rolled aside and grabbed my blaster pistol, firing blindly at the person in the door. He took the shot on his shoulder and moved in, returning fire. I kicked my small table over and ducked behind it, letting bolts pepper its surface.

I jerked my head up and snapped off a shot. The guy dodged the shot and fired again–and again. Then another guy came in the door, and I realized I was really in trouble. The first guy was almost on top of me now; the apartment was just that small.

He grabbed me by the collar and yanked me up. I slammed my knee into his groin. He exhaled deeply and took a step back. I shot him in the face before he could recover. The other guy fired, and the bolt grazed my thigh. I groaned in pain and dropped to my knees. The man moved in and pressed his blaster to my head.

“You’re done, sleemo,” he growled.

And to my surprise, no blaster shot came. I didn’t feel any incredible pain in my head before passing into oblivion forever. Nothing happened. Frowning, I looked up. The man was still standing over me, trying to squeeze the trigger–but his finger wouldn’t move. Before he could decide to kill me with his hands instead, I raised my blaster and fired into his chest. He dropped back.

Behind him was another man. He was dressed in a black jumpsuit and a matching cape, and he had long black hair and piercing silvery-blue eyes. I thought I’d seen him somewhere before–

“Redian Galos,” he supplied. “Jedi Knight.”

“Oh, yeah!” I said. “I remember. From Coruscant, right?”

With a grin, Redian replied, “I seem to be saving you from being shot an awful lot.”

“You said ‘that’s what Jedi do,’ remember?”

He laughed. “Guess I did.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Master Skywalker wanted me to find you,” he said. “He said you were in some kind of trouble.”

I nodded. “So Ana got my message to him. Good. Is she all right?”

“Yes, she’s in protective custody at the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV. She won’t be touched.”

I felt relief wash over me. At least she’d be safe. I looked down at the two bodies on the floor. Time to find out who was trying to kill me. I knelt beside them. They were both wearing black masks that concealed their faces. I pulled the mask off, and felt sick.

“They’re NRI agents.”

 

Yikes, the revenge killing explanation was so tidy and neat ... Has Devlin been the GFFA version of 'burned?'

 

Poor Devlin, NRI agents killed

 

Space_Wolf, Jedi_Lover, Nyota's Heart, earlybird-obi-wan, windu4

Classified Entry 11​

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Redian frowned. “NRI Agents?”

I nodded. “Yeah, NRI Agents.” I told him in brief about everything that had happened since Muunilinst. “Either these guys are rogues, or I’ve been burned and I’m on NRI’s official ‘to kill’ list.”

Redian stroked his chin. “I’ll contact Master Skywalker. He and Drayson are on good terms; if you have been targeted for some reason, we’ll find out. In the meantime I will stay with you.”

“All right. I want started looking into Sarn, and I have a hunch that he was rogue, but he’s obviously not working alone. I want to find out who he’s working with and what they’re planning.”

Redian nodded. “I’ll follow your lead.”

“Right.” I grabbed my bow and quiver of arrows. “I don’t need to stay here, obviously. You have a ship?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then come on; we’re going to start at Sarn’s homeworld, Gorse.”

“Gorse is a tourist trap now,” Redian said. “Since the Empire blew up part of its moon back before the Death Star, everyone wants to go and tour the core of a dead moon.”

“Good for us, then,” I replied. “That’s our cover. We’re tourists.”

Redian led me to his ship, a HWK-290 freighter. We were headed for Gorse within the hour. During the hyperspace trip, I took the opportunity to sit back and read up more on Sarn’s past. His family had lived in Gorse City, in one of the mining slums. I got an address, although I didn’t expect to find anything.

“We’re coming in,” Redian said. “Welcome to Gorse, one of the galaxy’s ugliest worlds.”

Classified Entry 12​

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Gorse was a tidally locked planet; that meant that it never rotated, so only the night side was inhabitable. It was a depressing thought, living on a world of perpetual night. But it served our purposes; nobody saw us as we darted across the rooftops.

We reached the former Hylo household with little trouble. It was abandoned, or at least it looked that way from the rooftop across the street. I fired a grapnel arrow into the window across the street and we climbed across.

Inside, Redian pulled out his lightsaber but did not ignite it. I pulled a small vibroblade from my boot. We crept downstairs together. I held up a hand, motioning for him to stop. I heard voices.

“It’s been too long,” a voice growled. “He failed.”

“I know,” replied another voice. “The Empire hasn’t released his body yet; a NRI agent turning up dead on Bastion wouldn’t be good for relations between the NR and the Empire.”

“So Devlin’s still alive.”

“Looks that way.”

“Any progress on finding his wife?”

I tensed angrily and gripped my vibroblade tighter. Redian put a hand on my shoulder and I felt comforted instantly; he must’ve been using the Force to calm me. I shrank back and listened.

“No, looks like the Jedi got to her first. No way we can reach her now.”

“What about the rest of his family? His parents and siblings?”

“We’ve got a man looking for them now.”

My heart rate accelerated. My family was in danger; I had to get to Balmorra now! I turned and headed back up the stairway, with Redian close behind me. These guys could wait; I could find out who they were later.

But as I climbed, I stopped and thought back. I had recognized one of the voices, I thought. Closing my eyes, I focused only on the memory of the voice.

“Oh, kark,” I whispered.

“What’s wrong?”

“That was Commander Klan, of the Empire’s Fist!” I said. “But Andrea stabbed him; he should be dead!”

“What do you want to do, Mark?” Redian asked. “Go back and find out how he’s alive, or get to your family?”

“Get my family,” I said firmly. “Let’s go.”