Black Rancor, Inner Rim near Aleen

Just outside the astronavigational anomaly known as the Astral Mists, a SoroSuub L5000 starship, the Black Rancor sat waiting like a beast stalking its kill. The ship was suspended at a point in space near the planet Aleen, which happened to be sufficiently close enough to the Hydian Way to be a short jump from the Corellian Run junction, and from there Corellia itself. It was a perfect smugglers crossroad. The ship’s crew seemed to have their attention on their Captain, as he personally saw to the departure of the small tramp freighter currently berthed inside the Sorosub’s modified hangar, the Star Gazer.

The Captain-- soon-to-be-ex-smuggler, Hyram Turk, a man who had turned his small time smuggling operation into a thriving shipping firm with over forty ships in his shipping fleet-- admired the lines of the Star Gazer, but would never openly admit it. His ship, the Black Rancor was a part of him. The SoroSuub L5000 was his flagship and most importantly, his personal favorite ship. The Black Rancor was one of the most impressive L5000 transports ever to cross the stars. Or would be if any of Turks old smugglers friends knew of the modifications he’d had made to the ship in its years in his position.

At one time it was modeled after Talon Karde’s Uwana Buyer, but over the years Turk had extensively upgraded the ship, the first among his list of the many improvements he had commissioned were the forward two cargo holds. On both mandibles he stripped out the cargo holds to make room to house his two double turbolaser cannons, the showpieces of his weapons suite.
The staterooms, spa, and massage room, as well as the showers that came standard had also been removed; to make room for a small hangar bay. The hangar opened up on the starboard side of the forward passenger ramp, and the starboard cargo ramp was removed to make extra storage space. The standard heavy laser cannons had each been replaced with Longshot quad laser cannons. The ship was not at all the medium transport it appeared to be, and that was how Turk liked it. It was a predator in prey’s clothing. Unlike the Black Rancor, Star Gazer was built for speed, not combat, Turk was currently giving his ex-partner-turned-brother-in-law; Eliot Denzar a lecture in ships sizes. Eliot accepted the jibs at his ships expense with a smile. After all when Eliot came back from this trip he would have enough credits to purchase a YT-1300 freighter like he’d always wanted. Until then, Eliot would take whatever Turk dished out. Turk was letting Eliot’s family stay on the Black Rancor for the time being.

Turk and the Denzar family were gathered on the hangar deck of the Black Rancor, saying their final farewells. Droids of various sizes were busy loading cargo crates into the Star Gazer’s hold. The ship appeared to rest against the starry backdrop created by the hanger containment field as the family made small talk. Soon the time came when all that was left was for fifteen year old Reece Denzar to say goodbye to his parents and younger sister. His father Eliot Denzar gathered Reece up in his strong arms and gave him a fierce hug before setting him back down on the deck and tousling his light brown hair playfully.

“Now you be good for your uncle Hyram now Reece,” Eliot said in his father-knows-best voice that Reece knew was all business. “I don’t want to hear that you skipped out on your piloting lessons with Euuban again. She was one angry Cathar the last time you wasted her time. And just because your mother and I aren’t here to watch over you doesn’t mean that we won’t find out about your behavior when we return,”

Eliot then winked at his brother-in-law Hyram. As Captain of the Black Rancor, and owner of Turk Enterprises; a shipping firm that had grown exponentially in size with the growth of the New Republic government, Eliot knew Hyram could afford the best sitters credits could by.
“Feel free to ground him to our quarters if he gets out of line Hy.” he said.

Turk turned to Eliot’s wife Caese Denzar and laughed, “Oh we won’t need to worry about that will we,” he said sending a playful wink in Reece’s direction. Hyram smiled at his sister Caese, as Eliot stepped away from the boy and she rushed forward kneeling once again to clutch her son to her chest.
“Really sis, you’re going to have to let go of the boy at some point. At this rate you three will never make it to Corellia on schedule.” Hyram continued.
Just then Reece’s little sister Telore spoke up in her tiny voice, “Can’t I stay too! I don’t even want to go! Why do I have to go when Reece gets to stay here with uncle Hyram? I can stay, right uncle Hyram?” She asked pleadingly.
Caese turned away from Reece to face her daughter as she softly replied, “Now honey, you know the only reason Reece won’t be coming is because of his flight proficiency exam and tests. He’ll need to have the proper certifications for the classes Hyram has enrolled him in. Your father and I would never have been able to get Reece into a school like Astro Aero if it hadn’t been for uncle Hyram knowing a few Board members. Reece missed too many classes on his last trip with us; he can’t afford to miss even a day now. Plus, you’re not old enough to start advanced lessons like your big brother yet. But rest assured, when you are you’ll be begging us to go, and not stay here on this big rust bucket. Reece is caught back up and doing great; we don’t want anything to slow him down.”
With that she smiled proudly at Reece and his cheeks warmed at the praise. She turned back to her brother Hyram. “Alright we better be going then, take care your two.”

They all said their goodbyes and passed on their love to each other. A short time later Reece was watching his parents’ ship drift through the opening of the hangar. Before he could comprehend it, the ship was speeding away toward the Corellian Run. With a sudden burst of speed the ship made the jump to hyperspace. They were off, and he was alone with his uncle for the next week. Not that he minded being alone with his uncle, but his father had promised to let him take the Star Gazer out for a spin; Reece had always wanted to see the Graveyard of Alderaan and as soon as his parents returned Reece would get to pilot the ship with his father and go and see what was left of the planet that the first Death Star had reduced to an asteroid field decades ago.

Reece’s uncle placed his hands on Reece’s shoulders and said, “Don’t worry son, they’ll be back ‘fore you know it. A wiser man than myself once said that time flies when you’re having fun, so let’s see what we can do to keep you occupied.”
Reece grinned broadly, his uncle Hyram definitely knew how to keep his mind occupied. Reece was very spoiled by his uncle, and that suited him just fine. He wondered if he would get to fly a real ship today, or if his lessons would still be in the realm of flight simulators. Not that he minded simulators. His uncle had one of the most advanced flight simulator setups in the galaxy, outside of the military, that was.
As they were walking off the hangar deck Hyram paused as his first officer walked briskly to his side. When Reece first met the female Arkanian her white eyes had made him feel uneasy. But he had soon discovered over time that the unease had turned to a teenage lust, and his heart would start to hammer through his body whenever she came around. His father had once told him that his reactions were only natural, and that Kaiya Sodran was, as his father put it, “one fine specimen of a woman.” Reece’s father explained to him that what he had was a typical crush.
And here he was, again growing embarrassed in her presence, she was after all only four years older than him, but her education had made him feel like a toddler learning to walk compared to her superior intellect. She could step in for Hyram and run the everyday operations of the ship, as well as Hyram’s entire fleet without breaking stride. Reece was still struggling with the dynamics of calculating a hyperspace jump.

When his uncle told him to go on ahead without him Reece had felt relieved to escape Kaiya’s presence without making himself appear foolish. Nothing would be worse than to degrade himself in some manner and blow whatever chances he might someday have with her. There he went again, his father was spot on, he totally had a crush on her, and he often found himself thinking what it would be like to spend a day with her, and not act like a fool or say something equally foolish. He walked up to the bulkhead and looked back one last time attempting to get one last glimpse of Kaiya’s form before he left. He noticed Hyram speaking to her as he quickly made hand gestures to another small ship parked on the hangar deck. He looked angry.

Poor Kaiya, Reece thought, always getting the brunt of things. Reece figured she would be busy for the rest of the day with docking orders, or repairs, or some other aspect of freight shipping that he found oh so boring. The only thing he cared for about his parents profession was that they had the freedom to fly. To pilot his own ship, that would be the greatest life he could imagine. Sure he was only flying simulations at the moment, but soon he’d get to fly a real ship. He had been talking to his father about it for months, and had managed to get his mother to even take his side. Eliot had told him that after the trip to Corellia he would take Reece out and let him go on a practice flight. Just thinking about that conversation made Reece wish his parents were on their way back instead of away from the Black Rancor.

Reece walked to the end of the hall and entered a turbolift, soon he would be flying out in a simulated star field, and everything else would melt away. Flying had that effect on him. His mother said that he was the spitting image of his father, that the two were so alike that his dad had found it creepy at times. Reece beamed, his parents were always so proud of the things he accomplished. Even when he was in trouble, it was never for very long. And he’d been working so hard at learning to pilot a wide range of ships too. He wanted to be just like his father. Eliot Denzar could pilot just about any ship that could fly. Reece was on the same path, and his uncle had once said that if things kept progressing that he’d put him in a ship of his own as soon as his parents felt he was ready. Since that proclamation, Reece had working even harder to make that day a reality. Hyram wasn’t one of the richest men in the galaxy, but he wasn’t hurting for credits either. Reece knew Hyram’s personal ship, the Black Rancor had undergone major upgrades and modifications in its lifetime, and was used as Turk’s flagship for his shipping fleet. Reece smiled, even at fifteen he knew that “shipping fleet” meant more than that, Hyram operated both on the table legitimately and under the table, Reece’s father had gone on smuggling runs more times than Reece could remember. He found the whole prospect exiting; it was the only part of his father’s job that actually interested him truth be told. His father would tell him of tales of running Imperial blockades, hanging out on smuggler moons and working for Hutts.

One tale that Reece never forgot was the cautionary tale of Han Solo’s troubles with Jabba the Hutt. Reece’s father too had worked for Jabba, and it was only the hand of Leia Organa that had prevented Eliot for being eternally indebted to Jabba as well. Had she not killed the old Hutt, Reece’s father would have been in the same position Han had been in. Many nights Reece and his sister Telore had fallen asleep with tales of his father’s early adventures. His mother had once said that if their father wasn’t careful that both Reece and Telore would run right out and become smugglers the first chance they had. Reece often found it ironic, because that was the exact way he felt. To call your own shots, never be told where to go, what to do. That was what life on the space lanes was all about. And if you were good at it, you just might get as big as uncle Hyram had gotten. It sounded like a plan to Reece.


* * * *


The week had quickly gone by since Reece’s family had departed, and before he knew it the day had come when they would be returning to the Black Rancor. He had been spending as much time as he could in the simulators to keep himself preoccupied while they were gone. Luckily for him, Euuban had plenty of free time to spend with him. She taught him the finer points of piloting, and gave him free reign to the simulators. Still, he couldn’t wait to see his parents once again. All he could think of was getting to go on a training run with his father and be able to fly at his father’s side and show him everything he had learned while he was away. He was just returning to his family’s quarters from his most recent training session, starving. The turbolift stopped on the floor where his family’s quarters were located. He exited the lift and had found his uncle inside the hallway waiting for him to return.
His uncle’s eyes where raw and blood shot, his cheeks puffy and red. Reece stopped cold, no longer hungry.
He didn’t have time to question what was wrong when his uncle looked up at him with tears streaming down his face.
“They….. They’re gone son...” and croaked out.

Reece didn’t hear another word his uncle spoke after that, or for some time, he wasn’t quite sure. Everything else seemed to fall away. He fell to his knees, eyes wide with grief, and his heart bursting with sorrow, and horror; Hyram rushed to his side and held him tightly. Between Reece’s own sobs he heard his uncle continue.
“There was an explosion... A fire… must have started in the engine room, we think…. there’s no real way to know. The whole ship went up. They’re all gone... I’m sorry son, I’m so sorry….. It’s just you and me now.”
Reece went numb and had stopped hearing what his uncle was telling him. The whole galaxy as he knew it had just shattered in that moment and the pieces were still falling around his knees in slow motion. All Reece could think of, as his uncle held him tightly in the wake of his own grief and despair, was that he was all alone now. He was so very alone. That and he’d never get to see his family again; no laughs, no hugs or kisses, no good times, no proud looks from his parents when he excelled at something, he wouldn’t even get to see his sister grow up with him. And with that thought it all crashed back into him again. He was alone; his parents had always said that when they were gone his sister would be all that he’d have in the universe, but not now. Now he was all alone. His life would never be the same. He knew that there were some things in life that people just didn’t get over, ever. This would be one of those things for him, he knew it instantly. He knew that he would feel the pain in his heart, every moment, for everyday, for the rest of his life. His agony had grown to such a large extent that he blacked out with grief in his uncle’s arms from the weight of all his heartache.

Mos Espa, Tatooine -12 years later

I have a bad feeling about this, thought Reece Denzar as he walked cautiously into the entrance of the Burnt Bantha Cantina. Reece continued into the entry hall which had a pane of transparisteel directly above the street door which allowed Tatooine’s intense sunlight to continue to wash the hallway all the way down to a set of stairs and to a second set of doors partially hid by the shade of the solid ceiling. Reece moved down the steps to the doors and as he pushed the doors open he tried to feebly peer into the main seating area with no luck.

He was disappointed to discover that even here in the shadows of the cantina he had little hope of escaping the intense heat of Tatooine’s twin suns. Even so, he was glad to get out of the direct sunlight at least, and the approaching sand storm that he had almost been caught in. He took a moment before the doors opened fully to shake his head from side to side and let sand fly loose from his light brown hair and his light-beige cloak. Removing his polarized goggles, he became all too aware of his defenselessness; his eyes had yet to adjust to the dim light and he couldn’t see anything at the moment. Standing in the doorway of a place like this- with the blazing natural light streaming in through the doorway behind him lighting him up for everyone inside- was a dangerous place to be at the moment. He could be blasted out of his boots before he even knew who had shot at him. He quickly moved forward letting the doors’ sensors acknowledge he had moved into the room. Darkness enveloped him as the doors swung shut plunging the room back to its previous lighting condition. As Reece’s eyes slowly began to adjust to the change in lighting, he continued to move deeper into the dingy cantina.

Barley able to see he stumbled into a couple of Rodians standing near the bar drinking. The shorter one of the pair spilt his drink down his jacket when Reece bumped into him. Cursing the Rodian spun around, but Reece hadn’t stopped to be confronted, and had already slipped past the pair disappearing into the crowd. Blending in with the multitude of beings pressed so tightly in such a small space made it easy enough; he had completely vanished from their sight before they could make out where he went.

Reece made his way to the side of the room and stood against the wall until his eyes had finally adjusted. One good look at the establishment was all it had taken; he instantly regretted approving his associate’s choice for the contact location. Burnt Bantha indeed Reece thought as he narrowed his eyes to help him in his search. Looking across the poorly lit chamber- which was packed with a wide variety of the assorted dregs that tended to frequent seedy cantinas all across the stars- he finally spotted his contact.

Reece knew the man by the name Noble Krovn; he was a stout middle-aged man with blonde hair peppered with the first signs of gray. Krovn sat patiently waiting in a back booth with his back along the rear wall of the establishment sipping on a mug of Corellian ale. One of the many things Reece’s Stenax partner and copilot Kall’el had told him time and again was to always encompass a full view of both the entrances and exits of a location when brokering any kind of deal. Noble appeared to already have that rule taken care of. One less thing to worry about then,[i] Reece thought.

Raising the hood of his cloak over his wind tousled light brown hair, he made his way over to Noble’s table, trying not to bring any more attention to himself than he already had, while at the same time keeping an eye out for those two Rodians. Or for anyone who might be watching his or Noble’s interactions in the bar too closely.

Noble seemed to not even notice Reece when he approached, he just sat listening to the band that was setup in the corner opposite the main stage where the female Twi’lek dancers were performing. He seemed to be paying the female dancers more attention than he was the band. The band was playing the latest upbeat music from Coruscant, a number that had started out slow and had just built up in tempo. Noble looked like he was genuinely enjoying the music, strumming his thick fingers on the side of his mug while following along with the rhythm of the song. Even though his eyes seemed transfixed on the dancers, his body language and positioning said he was prepared for anything that might happen. He had a knack for that, as well as blending into wherever he was; whenever Reece encountered him, Noble always seemed to remain levelheaded and cool under pressure, always in control. Kall’el was always using him as an example for Reece, of how one should react in certain situations. Reece knew that there was a history between Kall’el and Noble, but neither hinted at what the detail of that history might be. All Reece knew for certain was that Noble was going to be his contact to secure trade routes for the supplies that Booster Terrik wanted delivered to his different operations and the occasional smuggler camp, or settlement along the Outer Rim. That suited Reece just fine, Noble could be trusted as far as he and Kal were concerned or so he hoped. Since Kall’el and Noble had a history Reece hadn’t minded letting his copilot handle all the contract negotiations in the past, after all he was still new at being the one in charge of the decisions and their destiny as smugglers. But this time Reece was completely alone; a solo negotiation, and a change in plans that Noble didn’t know had occurred. Reece hoped the change in plan wasn’t going to become a problem for him; Noble had always dealt with Kal before, Reece was always the tag-a-long, not the one making the deal, Noble had never dealt with Reece alone before. From what Reece knew of Noble he hoped that it wouldn’t be a big issue between them. The last thing he wanted was to make the situation tenser than [i]he already felt about it, granted it was most likely all in his head.

He settled into the booth across from Noble, and pulled his hood back revealing his boyish features, Reece had just turned twenty-three not too long ago, but aside from his full brown goatee with traces of blonde running through it, he didn’t look a day over eighteen. He hadn’t even gotten comfortable when Noble looked him in the eyes with that smoldering stare of his that Reece had been hoping he wouldn’t have directed at him for this encounter, it was an uncomfortable moment that seemed to hang on for an eternity on its own.

“Your late Denzar, and where’s Kall’el at? I didn’t see him when you walked in” the stocky man inquired in his deep voice.

The fact that Noble seemed to be expecting Reece and not Kall’el surprised him, it threw him off balance for just a second. He swallowed and tried not to look as nervous as he felt while he sarcastically replied, “Nice to see you too Noble.”

He signaled the server droid to bring him a Corellian ale and looked across the table, “Our Flyboy is supervising the latest in a long list of refits to the ship, lots of technical adjustments needed to be made before we head off world, and we’re pressed for time, you know how it is, always on the move.”

“And these adjustments of yours are so important he couldn’t leave them for you to complete, and come here himself?” Noble snapped out, leaning forward so fast that some of his ale sloshed out of his mug onto the grimy table adding to the gumminess already there.

Even though this wasn’t the time to get upset, Reece couldn’t restrain the anger he felt welling up inside him at that moment. Like he couldn’t handle this deal on his own! Who did this guy think he was? Friend of Kal’s or not Reece couldn’t restrain himself; he’d been working with Kall’el for a few years now; certainly Noble should have recognized his skills and worth by now. Reece wasn’t incompetent after all, and he should have been dealing with Noble from the start all along anyway, if he just let his insecurities get the best of him too often that was all. And even though so much rested on this contract, his anger flooded his mind and he was swept away for a moment in the suddenness of his fury.
“Why? You suddenly can’t do business with me?” he ground out.

The last thing he needed right then was to blow this, Reece knew he wasn’t as self assured with contact deals as he should have been, and he had lost his cool, and that if he didn’t calm down he was liable to make Noble angry too. And that could cause lots of problems. As he started to regain control of his emotions he realized he wasn’t as self-assured nor comfortable with the whole ‘meet and greet’ as he should be by now, and he was afraid if he blew this now he might not gather the courage to do it again the next time. His emotions needed to be kept in check or he’d never make it as a smuggler, well, as an honest smuggler at any rate, Reece thought to himself. Kall’el had told him already that he wouldn’t continue doing all the negotiations for their contracts anymore; Reece had to step up and be captain, no room for compromise in the matter. He knew if anything were to happen to Kall’el he’d be in serious trouble, Kal kept reminding Reece that one day he would be gone, and that Reece would thank him for pressuring him to start making decisions for himself. Reece didn’t want to think about why Kal was so inflexible about the subject. When Kal said something would happen, it frequently did. He pushed that thought away and looked apologetically across the table to where Noble sat.
“It’s nothing personal sonny, it’s just I don’t like it when things don’t go” he paused searching for the right words, “as planned, if you understand my implication. I have something I need to discuss with Kal of a personal matter, that’s all.”
Just then the server droid brought Reece’s Corellian ale to the booth and set it down in the center of the table next to Noble’s.
“I can send for him now, if you would rather deal with him, but it will raise the rates Noble. Your employer’s shipments will cost him more if you can’t deal openly with me. Face it,” he said pausing long enough to take a long drink from his ale before continuing. “I’m running all aspects of the Lady’s dealings now, and Kall’el isn’t interested in brokering in the trade industry anymore, ‘priorities’ he says. If you have a problem with that then the deal’s off, simple enough.” Reece started to rise from his seat.
“I can always have him contact you after the deal is set if that helps. Heck even if we can’t come to an agreement”
This was it, the moment of truth; everything would either fall into place or come completely apart right here, right now. His scalp broke out in a sweat, and he was conscious of the fact that he had stopped breathing again and willfully forced himself to continue inhaling. Noble reached across the table and grabbed Reece’s wrist before Reece could turn and begin to walk away.

“Now settle down junior.” He said, “I didn’t say I was breaking the contract, or that I can’t trust you. See it from my angle. I barely know you Reece; sure I’ve seen you with Kal. Now Kall’el and Booster are both very fond of you and have vouched for you. This makes you all right in my book for what its worth. We just need to get to know each other a little better that’s all, it takes trust for a nice easy get together like this and time. But I also have a matter of great urgency to discuss with Kal in private, so will you please have him contact me as soon as he gets the chance anyway, he’ll know how to reach me.” He let a smile creep across his face, and is features relaxed considerably.
“So? Are we ok now?” He asked. Reece seemed to be radiating concern, which made him feel he might have been blowing things right then.
“Yeah we’re astral, and I’m sorry for overreacting,” Reece replied trying to disguise his embarrassment. He let out the lungful of air he did not realize he had been holding as he pushed at a strand of hair that fell across his left eye before he continued.

“I’ve got a lot on my mind at the moment; with the Jedi practically labeling any smuggler they run into out on the Outer Rim a pirate, it just keeps getting harder and harder to get goods moved from one system to another. They’ve become so inflexible with us smugglers these days; if you don’t work for the New Republic they ground or impound your ship and goods. Kal and I have been lucky enough to avoid them, but I know one day we won’t be so lucky. As it is I am just barley keeping the expenses met and the Lady running at minimum efficiency. It has been a little overwhelming lately. You’d think the Republic would rein in the Jedi, but it looks more like the Jedi’s acts are all sanctioned actions.”

“Exhaust out the engines, my friend.” Noble said quoting an ancient Corellian saying as he leaned back and emptied his ale before setting the mug down onto the table in one fluid motion.

“And I wouldn’t worry too much about those Jedi if I were you either, from what I hear the Jedi Order doesn’t condone what Kyp Durron’s so called ‘Dozen and two Avengers’ have been doing out here on the Outer Rim.”

Noble’s face soured at that, Kyp Durron and his pupil Miko Reglia had formed a squadron that was currently on a self proclaimed mission of policing the Outer Rim, and bringing a stop to “illegal” trade and also settling disputes, all in their own highhanded ways. It was giving Jedi in general a bad image to some people, while others cheered for it. Master Skywalker was against most of the Dozen’s activities, but that never stopped Durron. Even against Luke Skywalker’s objections Kyp had made it clear that he felt the Jedi needed to be a symbol for outlaws to fear, even harmless outlaws like smugglers. What was worse about the situation was that every day more of the younger Jedi could be found agreeing with Kyp’s ethics. As more Jedi Knights sided with Kyp the Jedi Order itself was becoming increasingly divided philosophically. It was rumored that Master Skywalker had even been contemplating reestablishing the Jedi Council, to help give the Order direction and guidance. Noble looked down at the tabletop at that point, and he did not speak for several long moments.

He then raised his head to look Reece squarely in the eye and smiled once more as if nothing had ever troubled him. He shook his head as though chasing away a bad memory and spoke again, “Well, enough of that for now, we’ve got more important matters after all, so what do you say Reece? To business then?”
“Of course, to business, I can’t be to long anyway.” Reece said as he settled back into his seat and grabbed the ale the server droid had left for him and took a satisfying sip. Relief washed over him erasing all the doubts that had been dwelling on from his mind. Maybe his earlier feeling was wrong.

They had spent close to an hour hashing out the details of the arrangement, bantering over the fees and fuel costs, delivery times, and the usual things smugglers negotiated when finalizing a contract. When it all was settled, they had already consumed three mugs of ale, and followed that with two shots of Corellian whiskey. Reece had typically felt better about everything at that point; he was intoxicated to say the least, and he had the coordinates to meet up with Booster. In one day’s time he would be receiving the first cargo load of what he hoped to be many more to come for Terrik. Noble had left Reece some time earlier, but Reece needed to wear off the drinks he’d consumed before he could leave, so he sat listening to the band play for a while.

Reece had spent at least another hour trying to sober up from all the liquor he’d drank with Noble listening to the bands; the first one had finished after four sets, and a new industrial-dance band was now wailing away. Reece had to admit; even though he couldn’t understand a word the band spoke, he couldn’t help but move with the beat, it was too moving, and they had the main floor between the stage and the dancer’s platform packed with beings dancing to their music. It was a beat one could get lost in moving about in wild abandon. While Reece was enjoying the music he had noticed some movement to his left, near the main doorway. A striking young dark-haired Arkainian woman had just entered the cantina and promptly approached the bartender. Something about the woman seemed familiar; he was having trouble placing what that was though. Filled with equal amounts of excitement and liquor, Reece heaved himself from his seat as swiftly as he could and sauntered across the cantina trying not to look as intoxicated as he felt at that moment. He suddenly regretted those last two drinks, as his feet wobbled and his legs threatened to give out form underneath him, he’d been sitting for far longer then he had thought.

He looked back to the Arkainain, now here was a woman who commanded attention, lithe framed, whose white eyes had a hypnotic effect even across the bar. As they bore into Reece’s he realized he had seen her before and even remembered where he had seen her. He had noticed her a few times now in fact in his travels around Mos Espa. While he and Kall’el were dirtside making repairs and upgrades to the Spicy Lady, he would often have to make the occasional trip to get more components or parts for the ship, and had noticed her an his second outing, and since then she seemed to appear every time he left the hanger. He was compelled to actually meet her, to get to know her even. He knew it wasn’t just lucky coincidence that everywhere he had turned on Tatooine she was there. Yet every time he had tried to talk with her in the past, he could never get close enough to her to make an introduction before she was gone again. Now was his chance to change that, and he wasn’t about to let it pass, not again anyway. He was almost to the bar when the two Rodians whom he had bumped into when he entered the cantina found him and suddenly stopped him. The two were looking for trouble Reece was certain, and he had been lucky enough to avoid them earlier. But right then his luck had run out, and he knew it. I just knew things were going to get ugly,[i] he thought.

“Well, well, look at who we’ve found,” exclaimed the first as he blocked Reece’s path to the bar counter, “been looking for you.” The Rodian who he had knocked into gazed at him menacingly with his glossy eyes, the quills on his head lying back along his skull. He reached a hand out and grabbed hold of Reece’s tunic, and pulled him closer; Reece backed his face away when he caught the strong scent of alcohol wafting from the Rodian. “No one shoves a hunter! You will be sorry for hiding and not facing us earlier.” With that he shoved Reece at his companion, the one eyed Rodian who looked like he had been in too many brawls in his own lifetime. He pulled Reece in close and tried to bind Reece’s arms together with his hands as he attempted to slip stun-cuffs he had pulled from his belt onto Reece.
A moment of panic cleared Reece’s brain, and galvanized him into motion. Ducking forward and rolling he broke free of the Rodian’s iron like grip. The Rodian wasn’t giving up so easily either though and lunged at Reece, and had tackled him to the ground before he had a chance to stand back up. Reece crashed to the floor again this time on his chest, with the Rodian landing painfully on his back. He shifted his weight and rolled onto his side, he delivered a couple elbow blows to the Rodian’s neck hoping to get out from below the Rodian as the pain stopped him from continuing the attack.
Unfortunately Reece had only proceeded to anger the Rodian, he didn’t seem to have registered the blows, if anything he was fueled by them, and he quickly drove his forearm hard into Reece’s temple. The first Rodian took that moment to kick Reece squarely in the chest, driving the wind from his lungs. He went to kick Reece again, but Reece seized his boot and pulled him to the ground with him before the kick came, the Rodian fell right on top of Reece, sending them both sprawling on the floor. Before they could get up, Reece was making a break for the door. He had made it two steps when one of the Rodians had grabbed his foot bringing him to a stop, Reece spun around on that leg and delivered a bone crunching kick to the Rodian’s head; he fell to the floor with a sickening thud, and didn’t move.

His companion became furious, his head quills twitching with rage. He blocked Reece’s way to the door, and with fists raised he motioned for Reece to come at him with two fingers. Reece knew there was no way out of his situation other than fighting his way out now. Resigned to that fact, he tightened his own fists, and clenched his teeth, mentally preparing himself for the coming brawl. Rodians could be fierce fighters, and fighting two at once wasn’t a bright thing to do, and this one was beyond mad at him.
Reece had turned their fun around on them and humiliated them in a place they obviously frequented a lot. This hunter wanted to spill his blood, and Reece was going to do everything in his power to deny him his bloodlust. His opponent came in fast, arms swinging so fast they seemed to blur. Reece blocked one, two, three strikes, and then took the fourth to the torso doubling him over. As he folded over the punch, head dropping forward as the pain overcame him; the Rodian hit him again, right in the face. Reece whipped his head to the left, blood flying from his mouth, he wiped it away with the back of his hand, and brought that hand out and popped the Rodian right in the snout, and accompanied that with a quick follow up to the Rodian’s temple.
The Rodian spun away with the blow, and used the momentum to his advantage, spinning in a circle and driving his elbow into Reece’s rib cage full force, sending him sprawling into a large Wookiee.
The Wookiee, like the lady Reece intended to meet, had been watching the whole fight from the bar with keen interest, and was enraged as he was shoved into the bar counter. The Wookiee roared and lifted Reece up over its head and then dumped him over the bar counter in a heap. Reece crashed to the floor, and propped himself up onto his elbows, he looked up to see the Arkainian woman looking back down at him, he smiled up at her. She raised an eyebrow at him and smirked, then turned back to cast a quick glance at the Rodian, who now had more important things too worry about than Reece. The Wookiee had decided enough was enough and was apparently going to end things [i]his way.
Reece stood up to see what was going on when the woman leaned back across the counter and pushed him back down and spoke softly to him, “You’d better take advantage of this opportunity; Grozkkata just bought you the time you need to get out of here alive before those Rodians’ bounty hunting friends over there decide to get involved.”
She gestured to a table full of big Trandoshans. Given the intense hatred for each other, held by both Wookiees and Trandoshans, it was actually surprising that they were sitting the fight out and weren’t already involved, after all they would more than likely enjoy taking on the Wookiee for his pelt alone.
Reece knew she was right, and before he could speak she continued, “You must benefit from this distraction, or you’ll end up in a bacta tank, this is for certain. Now go!”
Reece wasn’t about to argue with the pretty lady, smiling he climbed to his feet and jumped over the counter then sprint off as quickly as he could for the door. No one stopped him as he approached the door; they were all too interested in the Wookiee making short work of the two Rodians. Reece looked back one last time, and saw that the Wookiee had one of the Rodians pinned to the floor with his foot to it’s throat, and was waving the second one around over his head, roaring. Reece smiled and left the cantina running, he was defiantly feeling sober and alert now!

After he exited the cantina, he realized that once again he hadn’t spoken to the mysterious lady, even though she had spoke to him he still didn’t know who she was, or even her name. One step at a time he thought, with as often as he had seen her around Mos Espa, he knew sooner or later he would see her again. Even though he had to leave Tatooine, it wouldn’t be permanent, he’d be back again soon, he was sure of it. Still, all things considered he was having a good time, he had held his own in a two-on-one fight, well mostly, and he had sort-of met a beautiful woman. When he thought back about it, his earlier bartering with Noble on his own, without Kall’el wasn’t that bad either; the agreement was good, indeed when the earnings from the runs he had negotiated came in and the credits reached his accounts life would be down right good!

Jedi Academy, Yavin 4

Lan-Pal Halloran moved back into the center of the clearing that served as one of the training grounds at the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. The gas-giant Yavin loomed high in the sky above him making it difficult for him to visually locate the two training remotes that were stalking him as he sparred with two JT-F droids. He shifted his focus away from the JT-F droids for a moment and tried to locate the remotes with the Force so he could take them out of the equation. It was hard enough defending himself against the two training droids, the last thing he wanted was to keep track of the two remotes as well; he sensed the remotes shifting direction, gathering energy to shoot him with their weapons. Even with the sweat saturating his body he took a moment to tighten his grip on his ignited lightsaber then spun through a series of movements to ward off the JT-F droids a little longer.
His breath was rasping hard in his chest leaving him winded, he focused his attention so he could push past it and leapt high into the air in a straight line away from the droids, spinning his body into a forward flip as he flew while at the same time extending his blade out and cleaving one of the training remotes into two smoking halves before he landed gracefully again back to the ground. He didn’t stop moving when he landed; using his momentum from his jump he rolled forward just as the second remote fired multiple laser blasts into the earth behind him, sending debris flying in all directions. He came up racing away from the attacks heading towards the nearby river at full speed, calling on the Force as he went. He reached out with the power extended to him by the Force and sent two large boulders that were laying nearby sailing into the air crashing them violently into the remote, detonating it in a shower of sparks and stone shards.
As the debris rained down on him from overhead he back flipped once more into the air, just as one of the two JT training droids, JT-F1 charged him, taking advantage of his momentary distraction. Its metal staff sailed over his head as he narrowly ducked the blow; he then used that moment to gather the Force around him for a Force-punch to the droids mid-section, which severely dented the torso of the droid doing significant damage to servomotors and other components when it landed. He couldn’t help smiling, by using the Force to power his punch; he hadn’t felt any pain in his fist from delivering the blow, as he should have. The lack of pain slowing him down allowed him to whip his lightsaber blade back over his shoulder to come in swinging again at the droid’s torso, now from the opposite angle, hoping to cleave it in two.

But just then, in the moment he was distracted by his momentary victory over his own pain, the second training droid, JT-F2 slammed its staff heavily across his back from the right, sending a wave of pain coursing through his body washing away all his thoughts. The blow dazed Lan-Pal, and the pain was making it hard to focus and knew he would have to recover quickly before the second attack came, but he hesitated for too long and was already out of time. The droid brought the staff around once more, this time from the left, and connected again with his body, driving the air out of his lungs. He flew backwards and across the training ground, he kept rolling to buy time as well as distance from his attacker. Lan-Pal coughed painfully and shook his head to clear it of the pain he felt, angry with himself for being too distracted. He came up even more winded then before and saw that JT-F2 was already closing the distance between them, as Lan-Pal was formulating what to do next, JT-F1 was entering the fight again as well. He quickly swung his blue blade in a defensive circle attempting to drive both droids back and give him precious time to develop a plan of action. He was tired of being out witted by mere machines; he was ready to end this. All he needed was the time to clear his mind and refocus; the Force would do the rest. But the droids would not yield, they pressed in from both sides their movements synchronized, JT-F1 feigned a rushing attack from the left, just when JT-F2 leapt at him from the right. Lan-Pal instinctively ducked the droids attack and brought his saber around in a blur of motion slicing the legs out from underneath JT-F2 as it came down at him, then in the same motion he brought the blade back up and around carving through its neck severing head from body as it fell. The momentum from F2's leap carried the droid right into him and sent them both crashing to the ground in a painful heap; he pushed the droid off of him in a panic, just as JT-F1 drove it’s staff into the ground where his head had been in an attempt to knock him unconscious.
Lan-Pal forced himself to clear his mind and call on the Force to aide him, he sent a Force-wave crashing into the droid knocking it off balance, while at the same time wrapping his legs around the droid’s, he then spun in a circle while rolling from his back onto his stomach, sending JT-F1 to the ground hard. He quickly lifted himself onto his elbows before the droid could recover and reached out to the droid stabbing his blade into its optical sensors, bringing an end to the exercise. Relief washed over him as he stood up and disengaged his blade; chest heaving with exhaustion from the work out he had just been subject to. Lan-Pal then looked across the training grounds to his Master who had stood silently watching the action evaluating his performance.

His Master, the genial Ithorian Jedi, Zorrom Nadda, waited for him to cross the field and stand at attention before speaking in his deep rumbling voice, “You have progressed far my young apprentice, yet I still detect fear in you. Fear of failure, fear of your own ego, which I’m detecting leads to anger at yourself; fear that you will lose control of your emotions. It isn’t uncommon with young Jedi these days to become so absorbed in completing their objectives, that when they cannot achieve their goals they become angry.”
He turned away from Lan-Pal and looked up to the gas giant Yavin before continuing, “You must let go of your ego young Halloran, no Jedi is infallible. We all will make mistakes, even the greatest among us. You must accept yours and move on, anger is something to be aware of yet not to be feared or ruled by, you must accept it then let it go. Once you have mastered the fear of what your anger represents, as well as the anger itself, you will progress well. Only when the fear no longer holds you in its influence will you find true peace, and once this is achieved, you will then be acting in accordance to the Will of the Force.”
“Yes Master Nadda, I understand.” Lan-Pal replied solemnly.
“I do not think you do. I think you still wish to impress me with what you feel is the correct answer,” Zorrom’s rhythmic stereo voice declared quickly. He looked Lan-Pal directly in the eyes before he asked, “Do you think you were meant to fail this exercise then? That I knew your triumph could only be achieved by a failure? And one that would lead the way from victory, through your anger, directly because of your fear of losing self control?”
That took Lan-Pal by surprise, he hadn’t thought that he had failed his exercise at first, but as his Master’s words sank in he realized that his anger and pride both had made his lesson difficult. Had he achieved the same ends by the correct means his lesson would have been a triumph. Now it was one more step in the long process of understanding the Force and his connection to it. Was he too afraid his pride alone had allowed him to get taken by surprise and hit by the training droid? Therefore his pride was the weakness in himself that he feared. His head started to hurt, his Master had a way of breaking the simplest things down and making them much more complex than Lan-Pal felt they should be. So what then did Master Nadda mean, he wondered?
“I don’t understand Master.” He exclaimed in exasperation.
“Do you think I set this exercise up just to show you that when you fight, you get angry, and therein lose yourself to anger? Do I show you that you have failed the exercise because you still fight with anger in you? No!” His head drooped down and his eyes looked back up at Lan-Pal. “I have brought you here to show you that anger is natural in a fight. But you cannot let that fear control you. Do not concern yourself with the worry of the fear. You can’t worry about losing control every time you battle. You must let go, and be one with the Force, let the Force control you.” He jabbed Lan-Pal in the chest to emphasize his point.
“Only then, when you are free of your emotions, will you be strong enough to achieve your goals. Once you have mastered this, my student, you will find that you won’t be as physically and mentally taxed as you are feeling now.” He shook his head in exasperation.
“I’m sorry Master, I will try harder,” Lan-Pal said quietly, looking down at his feet as he let his Master’s words float through his mind.
“And what, Young Halloran, is Master Skywalker’s favorite reference of Master Yoda’s?” Zorrom asked.
‘Always in motion the Force is’, ‘size matters not’; pick one, Master Skywalker quotes so many, Lan-Pal thought spitefully. He knew full well the correct answer Master Zorrom was after, but he was just sick of the philosophical meanderings at that moment.
“Do or do not, there is no try,” he supplied the correct answer, “yes, I’m sorry Master I forgot. I will master my emotions. I will work on this more, and meditate on the lessons you have provided for me,” replied Lan Pal, “Do you have any other instructions for me Master?”
Zorrom Nadda seemed to give that simple question a lot of thought at that moment, and at last responded, “Not today. You may rest for the remainder of the day until your saber classes start in the morning. You have endured much today, I am sure it has given you plenty to reflect on.”
With that the Ithorian turned and walked away, back towards the great Jedi temple. The day’s exercises did in fact give Lan-Pal Halloran plenty to think about he thought bitterly. Unfortunately the day’s lessons were the last things he wanted on his mind.


When Lan-Pal entered the Jedi Temple he found his mind wandering, he contemplated the words of his Master, and their meaning. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t see the man standing outside his quarters. Maleko Gunn had been waiting patiently for him outside his room since Lan-Pal’s exercises had ended. Maleko had just returned from a journey to Wild Space, and was eager to see how his friend was fairing in his training while he was away. The tall brown haired Jedi extended one of his four arms to Lan-Pal in greeting; the two clasped each other’s forearm and Maleko grinned.
“You look upset Halloran. How have you been?” the four-armed Codru-Ji asked. His smile then dissolved into a look of genuine concern. “I just got back and figured I’d see how your training has progressed in my absence. But I can see something is troubling you, what is it?”
Master Nadda would often ask Gunn and other Jedi Knights to assist him when it came to saber training; Zorrom, was also an Ithorian Priest and disliked the use of lightsabers and avoided using his as often as necessary. He felt words should be the only weapon for a Jedi, and that too many fell prey to the need to brandish their sabers when simple words might have corrected the situation. Although he disliked the use of lightsabers, he did understand that there were times when it becomes necessary for a Jedi to use them.
Lan-Pal shook his head, he wasn’t upset, just thoughtful, and did not want to worry Maleko. He enjoyed training with him and liked the older Jedi; he had learned a great deal of saber techniques each time he sparred with him too. He smiled back at Maleko, “Nothing major, I just came from a hard lesson, both physically and mentally, it left me with more to think about than I need to be bothered with right now, but I’ll be fine. In fact I was just on my way to meditate on it all when you found me. You know Jedi philosophy, so deep the mind can hurt. I’m so looking forward to confronting myself for the next few hours I’m here to tell you. So if you’ll excuse me, it will be morning again before I know it I’m sure, and Master Zorrom is going to be interested in my thoughts on today’s lesson.”
“No problem, Halloran, I completely understand, in fact I still recall some of Zorrom’s lectures from when I attended his Force Philosophy classes, so I do not envy you one bit. Well, someone had to be fortunate enough to score him as their Master, lucky you I guess.” Gunn snickered as he patted Lan-Pal across the back and turned to leave. As he drew near the corner of the hallway he turned back and called out, “You know the Force works in mysterious ways Lan-Pal, just think of it as your destiny,” and with that he left Lan-Pal alone once more with his thoughts.




Kuat Drive Yards, Kuat

Nevit Calkin walked across the landing platform solemnly, it was one of the numerous Kuat Passenger Port docking bays of Kuat Drive Yards and like most of KDY it was opulent. Even the shuttle awaiting him was magnificent; it was an engineering marvel as far as Nevit was concerned. He knew it had to at least be boasting a .08 hyperdrive, as well as a full military sensor suite, the part that moved him most of all was that it sat parked waiting for him. One thing was certain about his new assignment, the NRI knew how to make him feel sought after; they wanted his skills, and new how to impress him. He walked up to the boarding ramp gradually, taking in the view of the surrounding shipyards though the mag-field one last time before he departed the station in which he had spent so much of his life for the final occasion. He swallowed hard against that thought and the rising fear of the unknown, which came with working for New Republic Intelligence, the fear kept coming back and was growing in his stomach. This is it, he thought as he hoisted his belongings higher upon his back, can’t back out now. The night crew was almost through with its shift so no one from his own crew would be around to see him off. The shuttle was due to rendezvous with the New Republic Star Destroyer Free Will in less than a standard hour, and take him to his new life.

Nevit had been working for Kuat Drive Yards as both a mechanic and as an engineer for over seven years, and had finally worked his way from the Bador moon testing facilities to the Orbital Array shipyards. Which was to say no small goal in itself, many beings would find their whole lives being spent in one station of the KDY shipyards. That was also one more reason to get transferred to the Orbital Array, it had so many first-rate shops, and other facilities one never need leave the vast station, and many chose not to. The Orbital Array was also the primary shipyard in the Kuat system; it was a collection of facilities that surrounded Kuat like an asteroid belt, and was considered by many as being the heart of KDY in the Kuat System.
One day Nevit had found himself being summoned to his supervisor’s office, he arrived thinking that his hard work had paid off, and some one had finally noticed his achievements, and that maybe he was at last going to be promoted to a higher position. But he soon discovered that he had been recommended for a job working with New Republic Intelligence, that his specific skills had made him a perfect candidate for a special unit that the NRI was putting together. If he accepted the job, he would be sent away from the Kuat system altogether, stationed on the Free Will. At first he was stunned, but as the initial shock wore off, he found he was actually relieved, he had been living his life in expectation of a promotion for so long; he was beginning to feel that it would never happen, and now he was going to start over fresh and once again have opportunities of advancement. He was still going to be making a good income, and he would have free room and board on the Free Will, things could have been worse. He had accepted the position and the Free Will was soon to arrive and he’d quickly be working for the NRI as lead mechanic-engineer for a NRI special infiltration unit.

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Nevit waved at one of the dockhands that he recognized from his shift crossovers and continued up the ramp. He entered the shuttle and took his seat while the ramp sealed. He looked out the viewport at the Passenger Port below as the shuttle rose off its pads and began drifting towards the mag-field. He had a moment of pure excitement, he was actually doing it, he was leaving Kuat and he was finally getting on with his life, he didn’t panic and back out at the last minute as he secretly feared he might. He knew he would have a lot of responsibility thrust upon his shoulders when he joined his new unit, but that just meant he’d have plenty of room to excel. He would be the unit’s go-to-guy, and that was something had always enjoyed being. He enjoyed complements as much as he enjoyed his work, and he couldn’t wait to impress his new bosses with all this skills and innovations. He decided he should get some much-needed sleep before he arrived at his new assignment and took on the challenges of his new career, and with that thought he settled back in his seat and closed his eyes trying to relax. Right before he fell into a nice deep slumber, he felt the shuttle faintly shudder just before it made the leap into hyperspace; he made a mental note to correct the shudder when he arrived at the Free Will, it never hurt to get a jump-start on a making a good first impression with your new employers. And with that last thought firmly in his mind he fell sound asleep.

Mos Espa, Tatooine

Kall’el had instructed Reece thoroughly in the art of negotiations. Over, and over again they would run through various scenarios ranging from a deal being ambushed, to a double cross, to a run in with a beautiful Falleen whose pheromones could easily overpower Reece’s own senses and hence make the deal turn south on him by essentially making him her puppet. They had run through so many diverse scenarios so many times that they all were ingrained in him, to the point it almost felt natural. Yet knowing he could do it was a whole lot different than doing it for real. And yet Reece had always felt a small amount of self-doubt about his negotiating skills, and that in turn made him extremely nervous when dealing with people he didn’t know too closely. Sure Noble Krovn and most of Booster Terrik’s other associates were straight and honest, or so he’d been told. But even an honest man could get the best of someone who was new to the smuggling racket, especially if that person did or said something that compromised his end of the transactions. For that matter, outside factors could always mess things up for a seemingly perfect arrangement; Jabba the Hutt and Han Solo came to mind, after all Solo had been completely honest and straight forward with Jabba, and all it had gotten him in the end was some time in carbonite due to one Imperial entanglement that went poorly for Solo.
And then there was the Rodians who decided to use him as a sparring object, if it hadn’t been for that Wookiee, Reece might not have left the cantina walking, or alive for that matter. That was the point of everything Kall’el had kept telling Reece time and again; no matter how trained one is, no matter what factors they have taken into consideration, something could always go wrong before it was all over and done with. The simple fact that things didn’t go terribly wrong this time, aside from his little skirmish when leaving the cantina; that things were actually going in Reece’s favor, that made him more concerned that the other boot was going to drop at any moment. At first he was thrilled by the thought of all surviving a bar brawl, flirting with a beautiful woman, and all the credits he would be earning in the near future, but as he quickly walked farther from the cantina doubt was already creeping back into his mind once more. Why Noble was being so charitable with Booster’s credits? Maybe he owed Kall’el a favor and that was why he wanted to speak with him so badly and do business with Reece? Maybe he planned to cross the two and steal the cargo out from under them and claim they lost it mid-shipment to discredit them with Booster and sell all the supplies on the black-market? Maybe he was still feeling the lingering effects of the liquor after all? Or maybe he was more shook up from the fight than he liked to admit. One thing was for certain after the bar brawl he was defiantly feeling a bit paranoid. Reece was starting to have that bad feeling all over again as he climbed onto the swoop he had left parked down the street from the cantina. Starting the engine and redlining the throttle, he brought the swoop around through a one hundred eighty degree arc and raced off away from the trouble he had just been in and hopefully his worries as well. Retracing his earlier path to the cantina through the city district back to his ship, the Spicy Lady was thankfully uneventful. He soon saw the local spaceport, or what passed for it on a frontier world such as Tatooine. He’d soon be in his ship and leaving this planet far behind, if it wasn’t for the Arkainain woman, he might have been tempted to never come back.

Reece’s ship, the Spicy Lady, an old Corellian YT-1300 freighter, sat in the berth he and Kall’el had rented. When they arrived at this Mid-Rim backwater world Reece hadn’t figured they would have been staying for nearly half as long as they had, it had started out with a coolant line, and as they started making repairs they found more and more things needed fixed before they could take to the sky again. Even though the Lady was just as dinged up and worn looking as many of the YT class ships Reece had seen still in service across the galaxy, he hadn’t thought it would take so long to make her ship shape. YT-1300 freighters were a well-built class of ships, Corellians sure did take pride in their ship designs and Reece was proud to have spent some time working in the Corellian shipyards himself when he was younger. He appreciated the options that were offered in each class, making most Corellian ships unique from each other, and signature to their owners’ personality and each a unique craft. He still couldn’t look at her without having a feeling of success well up in his chest, so she needed repairs, which just meant she would go longer without a breakdown. Bottom line was she was his ship, he may have lost a lot of things in his life, but since acquiring the Lady he had felt like things were starting to look up for a change.
Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon was one of the most famous YT-1300s to ever cross the skies, and the Lady looked almost identical, aside from a few modifications. Reece’s uncle, the errant smuggler Hyram Turk had purchased the Lady from Lando Calrissian some decades ago, after Lando acquired it as salvage. Hyram had used it for cargo shipments and sometimes as a courier vessel in his vast shipping fleet. Reece had developed an eye for it after flying it on a few courier runs, and tried to purchase it several times. Hyram wouldn’t budge though, he would always tell Reece some shallow reason or another, but Reece had eventually won it from his uncle in a game of Sabacc. Reece would reflect at times how fitting that was; Calrissian had also won the Falcon in a game of Sabacc and had in turn lost it to Solo the same way.
He smiled to himself at the irony there, he had more or less saw the Lady as the Falcon’s sister ship and that had always made the galaxy seem a little smaller to him. The one major difference between Solo’s ship and Reece’s was the modified front end; between the forward mandibles a previous owner had altered the ship to house an A-wing starfighter. The A-wing was gone long before Reece’s uncle claimed ownership, and neither he nor Reece had purchased a replacement. For the meantime, the area was used for his swoop storage. Reece hoped to one day replace the A-wing, and perhaps with the credits from this job he might finally be able to afford one, or a close substitute. Just the idea of spending some of those credits on upgrades made him wish this trip was over already.

Reece brought the swoop racing into the small berth he had rented, and threw it into a skidding stop under the forward mandibles, where a set of cargo doors were located, and climbed off. He always enjoyed riding his swoop, especially at high rates of speed, and took advantage of every occasion to do so. He left the swoop parked in the shade beneath the Lady ready to be loaded. He crossed the distance to the main boarding ramp quickly, avoiding the repair droids that had come with the berth rental for fueling and repair purposes. He still hadn’t figured out if he felt more excited or worried about his recent ordeal, both emotions were warring inside him at that moment.

He strode up the boarding ramp in search of Kall’el. His first stop was the cockpit, which he found empty. No real surprise there. Reece hadn’t been lying when he had said Kall’el was working on a refit. They had just upgraded the ships sensor suite and had finally located a decent nav computer for their hyperdrive. Once they were both installed, two more items could be crossed off Reece’s list of improvements he’d been hoping to do to the Lady. It was the nav computer that Kall’el was no doubt still working on in the engineering bay, high-tech toys seemed to be a side passion for Kal, and he had been hoping to get this one for a long while. It would cut down many of their travel times significantly.

Reece reached out to the communications console and hit a switch. “Hey batman you about done yet?” he asked.

Kall’el was obviously still working on the installation, nav computers could be quirky, and unless installed correctly they could cause any number of horrible accidents. “Actually I’m just locking down the panels back in place as you speak, what took you so long?” The muffled reply carried a soft hiss of static that had been steadily getting worse over the past few weeks. The comm system had long since seem better days seen better days and in Reeces opinion would no doubt be shorting out too soon, one more item in a long list of systems to be upgraded.
Reece knew when Kall’el was teasing him and didn’t rise to the bait. They had to get moving if they were going to make their destination in time.
“Well, if you’re done back there, could you stow the swoop and then come on up? I’ll start the preflight while you’re at it. Noble gave me the rendezvous coordinates to meet up with the Errant Venture, we need to pick up our first load by tomorrow” He called back. The sooner they finished this run the sooner they could get the credits in their accounts.

“Sure thing, Boss.” Kall’el teased affectionately, “As you command it, so shall it be done.”

Kal was really starting to enjoy the fact that Reece was in complete control of his own destiny now. Reece knew he had asked a lot of Kal to stick with him and help him run his ship. Kall’el didn’t have to but had agreed nonetheless. The two had grown close over the time.

Reece feared that one day soon Kal would be leaving him, Kal kept hinting that fate dubbed it so, and Reece would find himself on his own too soon. Reece did not relish the thought of being alone again. Alone that one word still terrified him and yet it had summed up how he had felt now for far too long. Reece shivered at the memories that welled up in him whenever he thought about the times in his life before he had been alone.

After the sudden deaths of his parents Eliot and Caese Denzar and his younger sister Telore, Reece had spent a few lonely years wandering the galaxy in search of his mother’s brother Hyram. It wasn’t until after he had run across and partnered up with Kall’el that the two had finally managed to locate Hyram. Reece pushed those unwelcome thoughts far from his mind as quickly as he could and focused on the task of flying the ship for a few more moments. He still couldn’t bear the feelings those thoughts brought him; they crept up on him far too often, and he tried to avoided them as much as possible, the pain they brought him was just too intense, and could leave him in shock.

It was not long after they had left their berth that Kall’el had strapped into the copilot’s seat as Reece lifted the Lady and flew off, buzzing the control tower on his way out of town. He always felt satisfaction when he left a town or port with the air traffic controller yelling some diatribe at him in his wake. After they broke atmosphere Reece took the ship accelerating away at top speed, once Kal had the coordinates to Malastare for their meeting with the Errant Venture locked into the nav-computer Reece pulled back on the hyperdrive lever and watched the stars distort into star lines as they made the leap to hyperspace. Kall’el knew a hyperspace route by way of Naboo that would cut down on the time it would take to get from Tatooine to Malastare, just one more thing that was going to be missed; Reece would have to talk with Kall’el about programming the nav-computer with all his ‘secret’ trade routes before they parted ways. As Reece leaned back from the controls, Kall’el turned to look at from the copilot seat grinning.
“What?” Reece asked suspiciously.
“Yes Reece, I will be setting you up with my ‘secret routes’ before our paths separate, though they aren’t all that secret. I find it amusing how open you can be, care to enlighten me on how we got such a good shell out of credits from Noble?” Kall’el inquired as he chuckled at the awe in which Reece held him at times.
“Well I just did as you said,” Reece dodged discussing Kal’s leaving, and pressed on, “I wasn’t being deceitful if that’s what you’re hinting at Kal.” He glanced over at the internal compensators, and made a minor adjustment to avoid Kall’el’s gaze.
“You are right about that, my young friend. Noble might be a lot of things, but he isn’t some feebleminded broker. He gave you the deal as a show of trust to you, Reece. There is nothing more to it.” Kall’el raised his stony brow as he let his words sink in.
“Wait. You mean...” Reece couldn’t quite comprehend what Kal was getting at. “What, I wasn’t making the one in control? That would mean... But how could he have known you’d been preparing me for negotiations?” Reece was confused. If Noble knew he had been prepared, then why put up the front? Why not call him on it right there in the cantina? Noble could have seriously taken advantage of him, and yet he hadn’t and now Reece’s head was spinning from the illogicalness of it all. He looked over at Kall’el who appeared to know the answers to all of Reece’s questions.
“Ah my very young human friend,” A smile rose to his face as he unfolded his leathery wings from behind his back and stretched them out before wrapping them around his shoulders again like a cloak. “Noble might not look it at first glance, but he can read people, and he read you like a book the moment you entered that cantina. And not the kind of read people that comes from working with various types of people mind you, but through the Force. He knew more about you from the moment you walked in and made contact with him, than you did about him. Be thankful he doesn’t exploit his gifts Reece.”
He reached over and lightly tapped Reece’s temple with his index claw, “You do recall what I told you about me and the rest of Skywalker’s Knights” it wasn’t a question but a statement. Suddenly Reece felt very foolish. The statement hit him like a speeder, “I should have known.” Reece supposed, all elation at the thought of him being a proficient negotiator evaporated, replaced by embarrassment.
Noble was brokering the deal for Booster Terrik, one time smuggler and now Captain of the Errant Venture, an old Imperial Star Destroyer he had captured long ago during the New Republic’s early years and converted to a galaxy roaming casino. Booster of course had ties to the Jedi, so it did make sense in retrospect for him to have sent a Jedi to deal with a “management change” created by Kall’el stepping down as negotiator. Both of Booster’s grandchildren were currently training at the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4 and their father; Corran Horn was a well-known Jedi Knight who would on occasion instruct at the Academy himself. It had only made sense for Booster to send someone who could read the situation and react appropriately. Who better than a Jedi, after all when Kall’el had contacted Booster over the HoloNet to give him a heads up that Reece would be taking over negotiations, it only made sense for Booster to be cautious, he was a very shrewd businessman after all. Booster’s people had always dealt with Kal and Reece was a new element in an already smoothly ran operation. Reece could understand taking the precaution, and wasn’t upset by it. The revelation had just taken some of the achievement out of everything he had thought he accomplished. The Jedi knew Reece was being honest, and was truly having hard times; the sense of desperation Reece had been feeling would have been broadcast through the Force like an advertisement holo.

The embarrassment he felt just then must have been equally obvious to Kall’el; the large framed Stenax was also a one-time student of Luke Skywalker’s Academy. Kal said Skywalker had called him a Wandering Jedi, and that many Jedi from the Old Republic were Wanderers, traveling the Galaxy and serving the Force as it moved then through their lives. Aside from Jedi Master Kyp Durron’s faction within the Order, Reece generally felt at ease around the Jedi, especially after all his time traveling around the galaxy with Kall’el. Kal had always been open about his situation with the Order; which was that he had been sent on a mission to aide the various smuggler groups while also seeking ways to bring them into the New Republic fold peacefully if possible, and to hire them outright and have them sign contracts with the New Republic if his persuasions happened to fail.

Reece had always found it a little strange that Master Skywalker sanctioned Kal to roam around working with the various smuggler groups along the Outer Rim and allowing him to do as he saw fit for each situation as they arose. Especially with Kyp Durron’s recent actions against the smugglers, in general it wasn’t very wise to be smuggling in the Outer Rim with Durron in the skies. Kyp felt smugglers should all be working openly and officially for the New Republic, period, not independently as many were now. But when Kyp and his apprentice Miko Reglia had grown tired of seeking peaceful solutions through long, drawn out, and often-pointless negotiations, which habitually did nothing to resolve the issues, he and his Avengers had started to resort to the use of immediate force to make people see matters his way. Kyp was about direct actions and direct consequences for failing to follow New Republic laws, regardless of the situation. He was even rumored to enjoy the fact that smugglers were starting to fear him and his Avengers openly, running whenever his squadron entered a system.

It was in fact Durron’s recent actions and Kal’s obligations as a Jedi Knight that had necessitated Kall’el to step back as a full time partner in Reece’s operations. Reece needed to step-up and fulfill his full role as Captain, and take on the responsibilities and duties that came with being a captain of a starship. When Reece and Kall’el had first met, their partnership had been a mutually beneficial arrangement, for them both; Reece had a starship but nothing to do to operate and maintain it, no product to move, or goods to sell. Kal had an extensive knowledge of many of the galaxies smuggler organizations, both large and small, and their respective haunts, but he needed a transport to help him maintain and utilize his knowledge as a Jedi to the benefit of the galaxy.

Their partnership was born out of convenience. Kall’el had taken an instant liking to Reece, and Reece found the Stenax Jedi intriguing; there was a mysterious quality to him that Reece found fascinating. Like why Kal never used his wings in flight. As long as Reece had known him the Stenax had not once used his wings to fly himself anywhere. Sure he had seen him stretch them out on many occasions and knew that he could fold his wings around his body like a cloak. But it had been a month before Reece had discovered that the way Kall’el used the ends of his wings as a cowl was an attribute that only an adult Stenax with fully formed wings could do. And the way Kal handled himself had Reece impressed, where Reece saw a situation as hopeless, Kal could enter and turn everything around to their benefit.

Reece had instantly let Kal set up all the business contacts while he focused his energy and attention to worrying about the ships’ upkeep, and general maintenance. As it turned out, Kall’el was an excellent machinist on top of being a decent pilot, and navigator. Reece found Kal to be a well of knowledge and wisdom, and was eager to learn from him and formed a slight mentor student relationship on a level that Kal was aware of but Reece did not openly acknowledge. Things for Reece were getting better, even though he still had a long way to go in his own mind.

Kall’el and Reece’s partnership had been a lucrative one, and Reece didn’t relish it coming to an end one bit, especially now that the profits were finally coming in again, instead of going out to fees and repair costs. Plus he had sincerely grown fond of the big, winged being, and had started to view him as more than just a convenient partner. He knew Kal was a friend and that he didn’t want him to drop out of his life like all the others had; it was just one more thing that he didn’t like to think about.
But when Kyp Durron’s squadron started getting more and more aggressive with the smugglers who were working outside the New Republic’s laws and their engagements became the exchanges of laser fire Master Skywalker had asked Kall’el to intercede before Durron’s actions caused more trouble than the Order could recover from. He was asked to act as a liaison between the growing disgruntled smuggler factions and the Jedi Order and ensure them that Kyp’s actions were not sanctioned or approved by the Order itself.
Kall’el would have to be crafty, Reece reflected, to soothe the angered smugglers before Kyp’s actions took a galactic turn for the worse in the public relations area. As it was the Jedi Order was starting to take a lot of backfire from various maverick Jedi following Kyp’s example and applying the philosophy to the situations that they confronted.
Reece wondered how long it would be before Kall’el told him they would be going separate ways. He figured that one day soon he’d make planetfall and Kal would tell him that it was his stop and take off. When that day came Reece wondered if he’d ever see his friend again.

The Stenax chuckled breaking into his thoughts, “You couldn’t have known that Noble and I were both assigned the same mission by Master Skywalker, Reece. We are just coming at the issue from different ends of the smuggling groups to achieve similar goals.” Kall’el absentmindedly stroked the long barbs at the end of his chin. “Noble has actually worked with Booster Terrik many times before, and it made sense for him to start there within his organization and branch out from that point and see how the smugglers would react to our offers. Especially since Kyp Durron is making the Jedi a not welcome sight in the smuggler dens around the Rim. Since Booster hasn’t dealt with you personally before, sending Noble to make the contact only makes sense, and keeping Booster happy is part of why I warned him that you were coming and not me personally. He frowns on changes made to his schedule without him being involved and in the know. You know smuggling has a lot to do with trust and honesty, especially these days. And surprisingly, a little can go a long way; you’ll thank me for it later when Booster calls on you again for future work.” At this he grinned even bigger, in his all-knowing way that Reece found a little creepy.
“Trust and Honesty? Yeah tell that to Durron,” Reece replied sourly, “The way he puts it on the HoloNet is that we’re all the lowest scum of the galaxy and must be stopped from bringing down the New Republic.”
“Yes, things are getting strained between him and Master Skywalker. It’s become a very touchy subject within the Order,” said Kall’el. Yes the opposing views held by Skywalker and Durron was starting to divide the Order in a very visible way. More and more Jedi were starting to side with Kyp and many of the Jedi who felt Master Skywalker was right were starting to become concerned that the rift was growing and not healing.
“Oh yeah before I forget, Noble wants you to contact him about something that he said was urgent, seeing that your both Jedi,” Reece shook his head feeling foolish still, “it must bee a Jedi thing, he said you’d know how to contact him.”
“Yes, I’m sure we’ll meet up with him again on the Errant Venture, he’ll find me before we depart with our load,” the Stenax declared, “I’ll find out what he needs then, anyway, if it was truly urgent he would have followed you back to the ship, which he didn’t, I’d have felt his presence before we lifted off.”
“Hey that’s your call; I did my part just remembering to tell you.” Reece said laughing at the Jedi’s sense of urgency. Just then an alarm sounded from the nav computer signaling that they were about to drop out of hyperspace. Reece reached over to shut it off then grabbed the lever to disengage the hyperdrive and pulled back “Well, you’ll find out what he needed real soon I guess. We’re here already. Last stop Malastare, home of the Vinta Harvest Classic, back when podracing was an everyday sporting event. Did you know that Darth Vader was once a podracer, before he became the Emperor’s galactic hitman? Talk about piloting skills, I’d be pasted on a rock wall my first lap.”
“Yes, Reece. I had heard that mentioned. In fact on Tatooine, as Anakin Skywalker, he is still considered a local hero despite his evil deeds which is just one example of how a person is not always remembered by their worst deeds.” Kall’el was quick to change the subject; “I have picked up the Venture on our scanners it is hanging in orbit over the night side of Malastare, plotting in a new course.” He sent his hands into action; he had reprogrammed the course into the ship’s computer in a matter of seconds.
“Well, I’m curious to see if Noble managed to beat us here. I didn’t catch what kind of ship he had flown to Mos Espa, but if he beat us to Booster I’m impressed. After all we did make good time down the Hydian Way; he’d have to have a pretty nice ship to get to Malastare before us.” He signaled Kall’el to activate the comm unit and contact the Errant Venture he smiled at his partner.
He knew the odds of Noble beating them where slim, and was pretty confident that they were a whole day ahead of him, Reece sometimes wished he was Force sensitive, he often imagined the speeds he would be able to safely travel with the Force guiding him. He loved speed, and really wanted to upgrade the hyperdrive on the Spicy Lady, one more thing than Han Solo had that Reece hoped to duplicate. If people would think his ship was going to be too much like the Millennium Falcon when he was done he was perfectly fine with that, after all, Solo’s ship was a masterpiece. The thought of all the possibilities he had available to him was a reassurance to Reece, with all that had gone wrong in his life over the last five years, having things to look forward too was a definite blessing. Reece wasn’t too concerned about the most recent turn of events in his life anymore, it wasn’t like he had any real control over them anyway he realized. After all, now that he was working for Booster on a more permanent basis he would have a lot less to worry about. The profits Reece was going to acquire for running these supply routes would be good enough to keep him from worrying about galactic events and his own troubles for a long while, and if Kal was right about Booster then Reece would have plenty more runs to look forward too, which was what he had been figuring anyway. Reece had learned long ago that beings with a lot of credits to throw at the problems that arose in life were beings seemed to have a lot less problems in general, yes, Reece reflected, life would be good again, and he could feel it.

Errant Venture, Malastare

The Errant Venture sat hovering over Malastare like a fuming sentinel picketing the entire planet, it reminded Reece of the stories his parents had told his sister and him as children about the orbital bombardments of the Empire, except this Star Destroyer had been painted a vibrant red. Booster Terrik had ordered the whole ship painted the garish color when it became his ship; after all he didn’t want people to confuse the Errant Venture with any of the Imperial ships that were still roaming around the galaxy. Kall’el activated the comm and sent a message to the Venture’s traffic controller and received the landing coordinates to dock. Reece marveled at the size of the ship, the Empire had impressive ships; Reece had to credit the Empire for that. They brought the ship by the command tower and turned for the docking bay they were assigned Reece couldn’t believe the New Republic could have ever been swindled out of possession of the Star Destroyer, and yet some how Booster had managed it, the man was crafty that was one of his trademarks. Once the Spicy Lady had crossed the mag-field and set down on the flight deck Kall’el started shutting the ship down. When they were finished they made the ship ready to be loaded, when all tasks were completed Reece and Kall’el walked down the boarding ramp to meet with Booster’s people.
Noble Krovn was standing at the foot of the ramp waiting for them as they came out of the ship. He smiled mischievously at Reece and bowed to the two in greeting, Reece’s jaw had dropped the moment he had noticed Noble standing at the head of the group. Well for Reece, Noble just standing there at the bottom of the boarding ramp spoke volumes about the type of hyperdrive his ship was boasting. He tried not to appear too surprised by the turn of events, but from the smile that was spreading across Noble’s bearded face; he could tell he failed to achieve his composure.
“Ah, now don’t let it bother your kid,” Noble bellowed up to Reece while stepping forward to greet the two as they came down the Spicy Lady’s ramp. He gestured to a ship parked parallel to the Lady, “The Synic over there is more than likely one of the fastest ships in the galaxy it would give Solo’s Falcon a run for its money even on its best day. But then again it should, Chewbacca helped Blixz over there with most of the special upgrade to the hyperdrive and engines.” The Rodian Blixz nodded his head in greeting, then turned to Kall’el and asked, “Are you about done playing smuggler? It’s not as much fun flying around in the Synic with Noble pretending he’s in charge, you’d never guess it, but he can be a little bossy.”
Kall’el unfolded his wings, extending them to their full wingspan, something he would often do after a flight. Reece knew it must be hard on the Stenax, he was already a large being, but having to keep his wings folded around himself must have been taxing. Kall’el said that it wasn’t something that caused him pain or distress, his wings could create a natural cloak and cowl, which helped him stay inconspicuous when he needed to be. Though he made it no secret that he did enjoy every opportunity he received to stretch them out. As his wings moved about behind him, Kall’el turned from the Rodian to Noble and laughed, “Noble? Bossy? Blixz you clearly need more time to get to know him better, efficient, yes, but bossy...” He turned back to Blixz and lowered his voice conspiratorially, “I know precisely what you mean.” He winked at Reece and for a moment Reece felt out of place, the Rodian and Kall’el were both laughing and even Noble found humor in the exchange, but why Reece wasn’t quite sure.
Kall’el turned back to Reece and gestured at the group, “Reece Denzar, I would like to introduce you to my fellow Jedi.” He pointed to each as he named them, “Blixz Remlin, Tranna Sunna’rasa, Keki Sodran, and of course you already know Noble Krovn. With the exceptions of Noble and Keki, we all trained together in the same classes at the Academy.”
Reece missed most of what Kall’el had said after that, something about how the group had became close, some of their adventures and the missions, he knew he would actually be interested in most of what Kall’el was talking about, but he was struck at that moment by the beauty of Keki Sodran. She was an Arkainian, and for some reason she reminded him of the mysterious Arkainian woman he had met on Tatooine. For a moment he thought it was her, and expected her to recognize him and say something, but he quickly realized that she was not the same woman, but just bear a resemblance to her.
She raised her left eyebrow and her eyes seemed to pierce through him, evaluating him. He quickly looked away embarrassed, then his eyes were immediately pulled to the other female of the group; the Twi’lek, Tranna Sunna’rasa.

Tranna’s lithe body and the cool shade of her blue skin was hard to miss, and if it hadn’t been for his mistaking Keki for someone, he might have been staring at Tranna right off the landing ramp, but as it was she was staring penetratingly at him. Her eyes had locked onto his, he swallowed hard, and she was by far one of the most beautiful women Reece had ever laid his eyes on. His pulse quickened, and he had to force himself to break eye contact with her, he found that breaking eye contact was hard, her eyes seemed to hold him captive, he had to blink a few times before he could turn away. He found that in a matter of moments she was filling his thoughts; thankfully Kall’el chose that moment to speak, braking up his thoughts and had probably saved him from impending embarrassment in front of a group of Jedi and smugglers no less!
Kall’el spoke in a tone that snapped Reece back into the moment.
“Blixz here has been working on the Synic for a couple years now, Master Skywalker managed to acquire a few starships for the Order, and Blixz took on the challenge or repairing and upgrading the Synic. I’m sure you’ll be interested to see some of his engine modifications, and I know he’d be happy to lend his expertise to the Lady while we conduct our business on the Venture.”

Reece felt like he was being blown off suddenly, and wasn’t sure why before Kall’el and the rest could walk off, he asked, “What, now your going to handle all the business Kal? I thought you wanted me doing it all from here on out?”
Before Reece could continue seeking answers to the questions that suddenly flooded his mind Tranna stepped forward and took his hand.
“I’d be more than happy to show you around, Blixz still has to finish unloading a few things anyway, don’t you Blixz.” She whispered conspiratorially.
Just as Kall’el’s voice had brought Reece out of his wandering thoughts, the touch of Tranna’s hand on his made Reece forget his troubles and worries, and just enjoy the attention the Twi’lek was giving him. He smiled and tried to sound macho as he replied with a tilt of his head forward and an arching of his left brow, “I would enjoy that, lead on.”

Tranna glared over at Blixz for a moment, she obviously wanted him to disappear and leave her and Reece alone. She spoke to Blixz in a sultry voice, “I can show Reece around Blixz, if there was something else you needed to do. When we’re done, I can send Reece to fetch you for your more technical explanations.”
Her eyes widened and her brows rose momentarily and she sent a shooing motion at Blixz just then through the Force. From previous experience Blixz could tell whenever Tranna was dropping him a hint to leave, and she was being way more obvious than normal.
She obviously had a thing for the human, not that Blixz really cared about such things; after all, he did have plenty of time to show Reece the engine and technical rooms of the Synic. If Reece still wanted to see the specs he would still have time. Blixz smiled at the two and started to back away towards the ship.
“Sure. Come and find me whenever you’re ready Reece. I’ll be more than happy to show you what I’ve done to this thing.”
With that he walked back to the Synic, he stopped before he went up the ramp and called back.
“Oh, and if you need me Noble, Kal, you know where I’ll be.”
With that he entered the ship. Kall’el knew Blixz would most likely be in the engine room for the rest of their stay on the Errant Venture. Blixz loved tinkering with that ship. It was a passion of Blixz’s, Kall’el reflected, but tinkering with ships was one passion that Blixz was actually quite good at. Kall’el didn’t see anything wrong or dark about Blixz passions.
Noble was looking over at him grinning suspiciously, Kall’el smiled back.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing.” He said as Kall’el folded his wings out to their full wingspan, then folding then around his body like a cloak.
“Nothing at all. Come on Booster wants to talk with us before we load your ship.” He turned back to the group standing at the Synic.
“Oh and Tranna, we’ll be back shortly, try not to disappear when we get back, we’ll be loading and lifting within the next hour or so.”
Tranna turned a sour look on the two Jedi as they departed, “Ha ha Noble, you’re a riot.” Then with a wicked smile spreading across her face she took Reece’s hand and turned back to the Synic.
“You know Reece, I know that I promised you a tour of the Synic, but I think Blixz was actually looking forward to showing you around the engine room himself. Why don’t you show me your ship instead?” She looped her arm through his and leaned into him.
“After all, despite what Noble says, we’ll be on the Venture for at least four hours. We have never managed to leave before that long and there is a lot that those three have to catch up on. So shall we?” she purred as she turned Reece back around.
She started them off in the opposite direction, back towards the Spicy Lady before he could respond to her questions. His head was spinning at the momentum of the events in his life that were unfolding these past few minutes. He decided it was best to just go with the flow. Yes, go with the flow.
“Excellent suggestion.” He said quickening their pace. “Right this way beautiful.”






Outer Rim, New Republic Star Destroyer- Free Will

Nevit Calkin had settled in quickly on the Free Will, Captain Dertna Nykon had been immediately impressed by the performance increases Nevit had made to over half of the computer systems across the ship. He was able to increase shield output by twelve percent, and decreased the time it took for the turbo lasers to cycle between blasts. Captain Nykon had arranged for Nevit to receive senior officer quarters to have all to himself, he didn’t have to worry about a bunkmate. It was a much larger living space than the quarters he had been assigned back at Kuat Drive Yards. KDY had never really appreciated his talents, and it was obvious that the New Republic did, he felt like a sports athlete being recruited for a high profile Core World, he had never had this much attention directed his way before. Nevit knew he would have to be careful or his ego would get out of hand. He had spent the last two weeks going over most of the ship with the systems and maintenance crews, at first he feared his crewmen would resent his presence, but he had been welcomed with open arms. He had even been invited to a few private Sabacc and Dejerrik games by the senior staff. If Nevit had any misgivings about taking his new assignment, they had all faded away by the end of the first week.
On his sixteenth day aboard the Free Will, he had been called to the NRI office; Nevit found it rather funny that New Republic Intelligence actually had an office aboard a Star Destroyer, part of him had always expected there to be a cloak and dagger set up behind NRI, nothing so formal as an office. He was curious how the whole process would work itself out. It wasn’t like he had ever worked with an intelligence agency before, and from what he gathered; he’d be one of the ‘high tech’ science guys behind the real agents, supplying them with the latest in super spy ware, like in the holo-dramas. He didn’t mind that arrangement, less blaster bolts fired his way he figured, and that was just the sort of arrangement he would like to keep anyway.
An hour later on his way back to his quarters, Nevit had a much better understanding of where he fit into the NRI chain. So he had been assigned to a Special Forces unit, he would be the unit’s mechanic-technician-engineer. He was equal parts nervous and excited; he had never had the amount of trust placed in his abilities as the NRI was placing in him at that moment. In many respects he would be the heart of the unit, just as the unit leader would be the brain of the operation. He would be responsible for acquiring and fabricating anything the unit would need for its various missions. If something needed repaired, they would go to him. If it had anything to do with computers or terminals, he was their man. He smiled as he strode up to the door that served as the unit’s headquarters on the Free Will. He had been briefed on the other members of his new unit as well, from what he had heard. His new unit was a pretty laid back group of beings, and he hoped he would fit right in with them. It had been so long since he had really felt accepted, or as part of a team, and that was the main reason he had left KDY in the first place. Steeling himself, he pressed the button that would announce his arrival. Ok, here goes, he thought as the door flew open.








Errant Venture, Malastare

As Noble and Kall’el approached the sliding compression doors of the bulkhead leading to Booster Terrik’s office Noble couldn’t hold back anymore. He had to say something. He had let the silence build for too long, but he was not going to let the moment pass without ribbing Kal a little.

“Kal you do realize that Tranna has set her sights on your boy back there, right? May the Force protect him.”

Noble looked like he was enjoying the fact, Kall’el thought. But Kall’el would not rise to the bait. He turned his head and looked down at his fellow Jedi and friend and gave him a smile full of sharp teeth.
“Yes Noble, the thought did occur to me. But Reece Denzar is a grown man. He can do what he wants, when he wants. I am not going to tell him what he can or cannot do, nor would I want to. I have chosen to honor his father’s request and watch over him for now because of my visions. But if he chooses to return Tranna’s advances that is his decision to make. I just hope she doesn’t break his heart in the process, he’s a good kid.”

Kall’el kept a straight face, but Noble could tell there was a larger issue, and as much as he wanted to dig deeper into Kal’s visions he decided to let it pass. He figured it was finally time to tell Kal what he had been hoping to tell him back on Tatooine. Noble looked down at his feet as they stood outside the office, and then looked up into Kall’el’s eyes.
“Just so you know, Master Skywalker has asked Booster to have us work more directly with some of the smugglers. He feels that by having some Jedi along on their runs it might make Master Durron back off the smugglers a little.”
Noble knew what Kall’el was going to say then. The same thought had occurred to him when he had first learned of Master Skywalker’s plans.
“Won’t the New Republic be upset that the Jedi are aiding groups of beings that are working outside New Republic law? That can’t look good to the public eye.” Kall’el stated.
“I asked the same questions when I heard, which is why our actions can’t be known to the public. This is why we are working through Booster. He has agreed to set us up with various groups that can be trusted to keep our involvement to themselves; in exchange we will be keeping Kyp from harassing their ships.”
Concern creased Noble’s brow as he explained his thoughts to Kall’el. He pused before continuing.
“Or so the idea is. Personally, I wonder why Master Skywalker hasn’t just reined Durron in himself. It is almost as if he has been sanctioning Durron’s actions. And then he sends us out to dissuade him, which shows me he obviously doesn’t care for Kyp’s methods. It can be confusing.” He joked.

“I think that perhaps, had Master Durron sought out more peaceful ways of addressing the issues he faces; we wouldn’t be here at all.” Kall’el mused. “I also think Master Skywalker is hoping Master Durron will come around on his own. After all, being told to cease and desist when you are doing something you don’t see as being a wrong course of action can lead to open rebellion. That could be one more reason why Master Skywalker is pushing the re-creation of the Jedi Council. It would make situations like this one a lot easier to deal with. If there were a group of Jedi Masters telling Master Durron to stop his actions he would be more compelled to listen. Power in numbers and all that.”

Kall’el had thought about the idea of a Jedi Council for a while himself, certainly it would make Master Skywalker’s life less worrisome; he always seemed to feel that every Jedi’s actions were a direct reflection on his training. One day he would have to realize that each Jedi was responsible for the individual choices and actions they made, and that their actions have very little to do with their teacher. Even talking about Master Skywalker’s intentions out loud had felt like a betrayal of some kind to Kall’el. The Jedi Master was a great man, and a hero to the galaxy. Doubting his actions and choices didn’t feel right to Kall’el, but he knew that Master Skywalker would need to do something about Kyp Durron, or the Jedi Order was going to be in for some harsh criticism. Kall’el didn’t see anyway around it.
Noble nodded his head in agreement.
“You speak the words in my mind friend, though I don’t like hiding our actions in all of this, it feels dishonest. At least Kyp isn’t afraid of angering the leaders of the New Republic by his actions. I know that what he is doing is wrong, but the way we’re coming at this issue doesn’t feel right, or at least that’s what I’ve been feeling lately in the Force. Ever since Master Skywalker told me what he wanted us to be doing for the next few weeks, I’ve been having troubling feelings from the Force. I can’t place if the feeling is about the mission, or something else altogether.”
Kall’el came to a stop in the corridor; he turned to Noble and gave him a long stare before he spoke. But when he did he spoke in a low smoky voice.
“I too have been feeling a warning from the Force; I have had visions of a future with a war, and Reece is at my side, and that he would play a fundamental role in events, and that it was important for me to be there to protect him. But the more time that goes by now that he’s been in my sight, the more the feeling has started to shift. I’m starting to feel that the change has to do more with my working with Reece- that perhaps I would end up dragging him into something that might get him killed. Or that my vision was of a time before I sought out Reece. Either way it has been a large reason why I have been pushing him into his role as a captain, I am beginning to see that I will not always be around Reece through the war, but I might still have to be there at the end of it. The vision feels like it is slippery, as though by my contacting Reece has set events into motion, all I can do now is look to the Force for guidance.”
He placed his hand on Nobles shoulder and squeezed, “We must be open to what the Force is trying to show us, it may be something minor, but I fear it may be important.”
“Agreed. But for now,” He gestured to the door they had stopped in front of, “Booster awaits, let’s see what he has for us.” They both went into Terrik’s office, he wasn’t there of course, Booster liked it when people were waiting on him, and not the other way around. The two Jedi sat and discussed their thoughts on the upcoming assignments, and the impact they might have in the Outer Rim as they awaited Booster.



Outer Rim, New Republic Star Destroyer- Free Will

Nevit Calkin had settled in quickly with his commando unit; his unit leader, a tall Twi-lek named Prock Pagnotta promptly put him to work upgrading a Lamba class shuttle that would be serving the unit as transportation. He has spent a week working on the shuttle, he had developed a comradely with the three pilots of the unit; Rayf Tanyan, Logan Bromner, and Vann Jergan. And he had become very close to Eyres Kudan the Jenet slicer; Eyres had a photographic memory and Nevit kept him near most of the time. It was convenient to have someone to work with who remembered everything. The only member of the unit he hadn’t seen much was the Defel, Vox.
Nevit closed a hatch on the underside of the shuttle and wiped his hands off on his coveralls, he crossed over to the hanger door where Prock Pagnotta stood with Logan Bromner and Rayf Tanyan.
“Ok, that should about cover all the modifications you asked for sir.” Nevit said.
“Even that one I mentioned?” Rayf asked intently.
“Yes, I got you an upgrade to the entertainment suite; you have the latest installment of Death Star Escape 3, it’s the one where you have to fight you way off the station and then go head to head with a squadron of TIE interceptors. Granted it won’t be as fancy as a full on flight simulator, but it should keep you entertained.” Nevit replied with a wink of the eye.
“Nice.” Logan said then raised his eyebrows and asked, “but where you able to upgrade the auto-chef?”
“Yep, you’ll be impressed. Trust me.”
Logan turned to Prock and said, “You know boss, I think I’m fallin for this guy.”
“Hey wait your turn, I saw him first!” Rayf teased.
“Don’t worry guys; there is enough of me to go around.” Nevit teased back.
“Alright you three knock it off.” Prock ordered. “Have the ion and laser cannons been upgraded?” Nevit nodded, Prock began to pace the length of the shuttle, “I see you added a tractor beam too, nice.”
“And I added special single torpedo cannon emplacements both forward and aft, they have been concealed with a panel that slides out of the way before launch. I think you’ll be impressed sir.” Nevit beamed.
“Yes Calkin, I believe I will.” Prock said. “And we should be testing out your modifications before you know it, we just got orders, and we will be shipping out by the end of the day. Meet me in the briefing room at fourteen hundred hours. Dismissed!”
“Sir! Yes sir!” The three men called out in unison and left the hangar.

In the space that had been assigned to the commando unit as a makeshift headquarters for their stay on the Free Will, the squad sat readily waiting for their commander to tell them what their first assignment would be comprised of. Nevit looked around the room at the other members of the unit gathered. Logan Bromner sat chatting and killing time telling stories of near death experiences in the middle of the room as if he owned it. On Logan’s left sat his lifelong friend, Rafy Tanyan, the two were born on Coruscant, and Nevit could tell by their accents. To Logan’s right sat Vann Jergan, Vann was a drifter of the space lanes, a playboy, and his family’s wealth was one of the things that Logan and Vann had in common, well wealth, and attitude. Eyres Kudan sat near the one corner of the room that was purposely darkened, Nevit could just make out the glowing red eyes that gave away where Vox stood next to Eyres. The Defel’s dislike of bright light was one of the main reasons Nevit hadn’t seen him much in his time aboard the Free Will. Sitting in the opposite corner, completely by their selves were Crev Colton, and Dravis LyhtHamer. Crev was a typical Corellian, brash, cocky, and way too sure of himself. He was the unit’s sharpshooter and weapons master. He was quiet, and aside from Dravis, kept to himself. Dravis was the explosives expert, and unlike Crev, couldn’t be shut up. Dravis was always going on and on about explosives, and kit, he was convinced that if anyone could get Crev to open up it would be him. Nevit had for the most part adjusted well to his new unit, they all embraced him, and his skills were, as Logan once put it to him; ‘legendary.’ Nevit’s pride swelled knowing he had finally found a place where he was respected.
Prock Pagnotta entered the room in his typical all business fashion, he walked up to the podium in the front of the chairs. He pulled out his datapad and accessed a series of files before looking up at the group. He gazed into each person’s eyes and waited for the room to grow silent before he began.
“As you may or may not know, the New Republic has been in conflict on the issue of smugglers and pirates. Whereas the pirate activity in Republic space will not to be tolerated, we have on the other hand found ourselves in the past, counting on the smugglers to get supplies to our forces and our constituent planets.”
Logan raised a hand, “I’m sorry sir. What is the issue? Hasn’t this been the case since the foundation of the New Republic?”
“Yes Bromner, the problem lies in the Jedi.” Pagnotta remarked.
“The Jedi?! Wait a minute, with all due respect sir, how are the Jedi a problem?” asked Vann Jergan.
Before Pagnotta could reply, Dravis answered, “Because they keep sticking their noses into New Republic affairs, Kyp Durron has a personal vendetta against anyone who flies without New Republic allegiance.”


BRIEFING ROOM - GET SENT ON SAME MISSION AS THE JEDI- BY THE SENATE

Prock Pagnotta - Male - Twi-lek, Commando unit leader
Eyres Kudan - Male - Jenet - Slicer, has photographic memory
Crev Colton - Male - Corellian - Sharpshooter, weapons master
Rayf Tanyan - Male - Courscant - Ace pilot
Logan Bromner - Male- Courscant - starfighter pilot, Rayf Tanyan’s best friend from childhood. Also has a history of anger issues, Playboy but is a good man at heart. Quick to anger, and just as quick to exact payback.
Vann Jergan - Male - Pilot drifter, playboy befriended Logan when he started working with the NR, often hangs out with Rayf and Logan.
Dravis LyhtHamer - Male - Bonada - Corprate Sector - explosives expert.
Vox - Defel





Errant Venture, Malastare

After the meeting with Booster Terrik, Kall’el and Noble Krovn left Terrik’s office, and went back down to the docking bay to meet up with the rest of their group. When they arrived at the ships, Blixz Remlin was sitting stride the top of the Synic making minor repairs to the hull, Keki Sodran was there helping him, holding down the panel that he was currently welding onto the hull to reinforce a section of armor that had been damaged by a collision with an asteroid on their way to Malastare. Typically, Noble couldn’t see Tranna Sunna’rasa, true to her style she was nowhere to be seen, nor was Reece Denzar waiting for them. Noble looked over to Kall’el, “Go find your partner Kal; I’m sure Tranna is with him. Try looking in your ship, I’m positive that’s where you’ll find them.”
Noble Krovn couldn’t help laughing as Kall’el walked into the Spicy Lady to find Reece and Tranna; normally it was his unfortunate luck to be the one to find Tranna and her latest conquest. Moments later an embarrassed Tranna came down the boarding ramp followed by an amused Kal, who didn’t say one word, he was barley maintaining his look of neutrality as it was. Noble could tell it had taken Kall’el everything he had to keep a straight face and not bust out laughing at the situation. Less than a minute later a slightly embarrassed and hair tousled Denzar came out, his shirt un-tucked, and his blaster holster was now slung over his shoulder instead of across his waist where he normally kept it fastened. And by the large goofy grin plastered to his blushing face Noble could tell that Reece had clearly enjoyed his time with Tranna.
Tranna glared vibroblades in Nobles direction, as if to demand that he did not say a word either as she walked towards him. She walked past him as casually as she could and sat down on a crate next to where he was standing. Kall’el had waited for Reece at the bottom of the ramp and the two had just caught up, Kal raised a brow at Noble, which Noble took as a cue to speak.
Noble dove right in, he used the Force to carry his words above the sounds of the mechanics working in the hangar to each person gathered, “So we talked to Terrik, and things are promising, he has shipments ready so we’ll be splitting up again within the next four hours. We will basically ride along with the convoys, hopefully it will be uneventful, but we may run into pirates or more importantly Durron’s Avengers.”
Blixz leapt down from where he was perched on top of the Synic and landed between Tranna and Noble, he looked at Kall’el and asked, “Yes, Kyp’s squadron, what will we do then? I am most curious about what we actually plan to do about that little problem. Ask him to nicely back off? Cause I have a seriously hard time believing he will just back off because we ask him to.” He looked from one Jedi to the next seeking an answer. They each seemed to Reece to be contemplating that question in their own heads; clearly none of the Jedi had a sold answer to the problem with Master Durron. It was Reece who broke the silence that hung in the air after Blixz’s question.
“Well we do have four hours to think real hard on that, might I suggest we take advantage of being on a traveling casino and head on up to the Blue Level? I don’t know about you guys, but I always think better on a full stomach.” Reece declared. The Jedi all seemed to agree, and within moments they were all heading to the Blue Level, except Blixz who said he still had some more repairs to make to the Synic’s hull before they departed. Blue Level was one of three middle decks of the Errant Venture and each one was suited to a different level of clientele. Sure Booster had given them full run of the ship, and that meant that they could have gone to the Diamond Level if they wanted to, but they knew they would most likely be out of place there among the rich and famous. And Reece had suggested that if they couldn’t come up with a good plan for handling Durron on the Blue Level they could always head down to the Black Level and see what the general population that frequented the cantinas there thought should be done about him.
After arriving at Blue Level, they soon found a nice little cantina called the Corellian Slip. Named after the dangerous flight maneuver made famous by the Corellian pilots, the Slip was a nice cantina that, had it been on any planet in the Outer Rim, it would have been considered quite luxurious, but on the Venture, it was a modest cantina compared to some of the others that Reece had seen in the Blue Level. It was filled with a vast array of beings; smugglers, merchants, and other unsavory characters from across the galaxy. Noble lead them to a long table situated in the center of the cantina between the bar and the Sabacc tables. Once settled in, Reece and Noble each ordered a mug of Corellian Ale, and Tranna ordered a Gamma Burst. Kall’el just asked for a menu, and stuck with water to drink. After scanning over the menu Kall’el summoned the server droid back to their table and asked for a large Nerf steak, raw. Which reminded Reece that his stomach was hungry as well, and ordered the same, only he ordered his extra-well done. He hadn’t had a good Nerf steak in ages, and since Booster had offered to cover the charges he had no problem ordering the biggest one the Slip offered. He glanced over at Kall’el, sometimes he wondered if Kal would rather have his Nerf steaks raw, bloody, and cold; the fresher the better, and skip the whole cooking-heating process of preparing the steak. Kall’el was a Stenax after all, and Reece recalled one time they had traveled to Naboo on one of their first runs as a team; he had never shook the uneasy feeling he had that day when he glanced over at Kal on their way to the port, he recalled the savage look Kal had gotten when he had seen a large herd of nerfs out grazing on the plains. Reece shuddered; thank the Force for Kal’s Jedi reserve he thought as he took a large drink of his ale.
After they had all been served, they began discussing ideas for handling Kyp’s Avengers. The Jedi were convinced the safest and simplest way would be to reach out to Kyp and Miko through the Force and warn them off that way. Reece, for his part in the discussion was the one quick to point out that they would need to have a back up plan just in case the first one failed to draw the Avengers away. The Jedi seemed to sit silent again as they contemplated Reece’s declaration. True, Kyp might not back down when confronted. And the last thing any of the Jedi wanted, or needed, was to start a Jedi verses Jedi conflict over a smuggling issue. The Jedi had enough criticism in the Senate, and didn’t want to give the more vocal of the anti-Jedi faction any fuel for their arguments. The Senate, just like the Jedi Order itself, was heavily divided on the issue of what the Jedi should and shouldn’t be involving themselves with at the moment. After all, the least amount of attention they drew, the better. After it became obvious to Reece that his opinion didn’t matter much to the conversation, he stood up, “If you’ll all excuse me,” he said turning and walking over to the Sabacc tables, “I’m going to head on over to the tables and double my credits.” He looked back over his shoulder to Tranna as he called back to the group, “I’m feeling lucky.”

Reece walked over to a Sabacc table that was empty, he preferred to play alone; his cards against the dealer’s. This case it would be him against a droid; Booster typically had droid card dealers at his tables, except of course for the Blue Deck, there one could find living beings serving the drinks and dealing the cards. Reece didn’t mind who dealt the cards, a droid wouldn’t complain if it kept losing hand after hand.
He walked up to the table and placed a ten-credit ante into the hand pot. He noticed that there was a two hundred-credit Sabacc pot on the table from the last game. Whoever had been playing at the table before him had walked away with out winning big. It’ll make winning all those credits so much sweeter, Reece thought. That was the one disadvantage of playing the dealer droid and not other players; the Sabacc pot typically remained small and didn’t get too big. But then again so did the amount of credits he could lose.

Sabacc was a game as old as time with varying rules, players would pit their cards against the other players; the player closest to a positive twenty-three was the winner. The cards values could range from the negative to the positive, and at any moment. The rules at the Slip allowed players to place up to two cards from their hand into the interference field; locking in the card value. Each round the cards out side of the field had the possibility of changing value, and thus the total of the player’s hand. One minute a player could be sitting on a twenty-two and find themselves holding a negative fifteen. If a player called during any round after the fourth round, the highest hand value was the winner of the hand pot. To win the Sabacc pot a player would need to have a card total of twenty-three which was known as a Pure Sabacc. A Pure Sabacc beat all hands except for the best hand of all, the Idiot’s Array. Idiot’s Arrays were often rare, and consisted of the Idiot card with a value of zero, and any two card or three card of the same suit, after that it didn’t matter what the last card was, the player was usually screaming at the top of their lungs with joy.
Unfortunately for Reece, he wasn’t able to get any winning hands; he was only able to play two games against the droid dealer before a Bothan trader, and a devious looking Dug joined him. Reece had one decent hand and managed to call at the right moment, leaving both his opponents with bomb out hands he pulled in the hand pot and smiled, all he needed was a Pure Sabacc and he could walk away from the table. Two losses later though, the table had filled up, a Devaronian, a Whiphid, and a Duros had joined the game and added to Reece’s stress level, but also the Sabacc pot. He didn’t enjoy playing with so many opponents, it made his neck sweat, and he was chewing mercilessly on his lower lip, but he sure wasn’t going to leave the table at that point. The Sabacc pot had grown to over four hundred credits, and as long as no one won the Sabacc pot it would only increase in value. Reece would not be leaving the table until he won it as well, preferably.
Time flew by, and before he knew it and hour had came and went, the Sabacc pot had grow exponentially, the Bothan was a big bettor, and more often than not had the worst hand at the table. The Duros didn’t seem to have a strong grasp of the concept of the game likewise, there had been a few hands when she had driven up the bet, and was holding negative hands. The Sabacc pot soon totaled over seven hundred and eighty credits, and Reece was sick with the thought of losing it to one of his opponents his bottom lip was bleeding where he had peeled a chunk away with his teeth. He tried to focus on the hands he was being dealt, but the thought of all the upgrades and repairs he could make to his ship with all those credits just wouldn’t let him stay focused long enough. Within a few more hands he had lost all the credits he had won from his previous wins.

He was starting to have the feeling that he might walk away from the table broke if his current luck played out. Reluctantly he pressed on and hoped for better cards than his opponents. The dealer dealt again, and once the cards were out to the players, Reece looked at his hand and discovered that he was holding the Mistress of Flasks, the Seven of Sabres, the One of Coins and Demise, a hand value of eight. The dealer on the other hand was showing Balance a negative eleven, Reece didn’t know what the dealers other three cards were though. Reece bet five more credits to the hand pot, the cards shifted, he looked down and his cards shifted to the Two of Sabres, the One of Coins, the One of Sabres and the Queen of Air and Darkness. His hand value lowered to two, whereas the dealer now showed the Commander of Coins worth twelve. He placed the Two of Sabres into the interference field and hoped for the best, again he bet five credits, and he waited for the cards to shift. His cards remained the same as before, as did the one card the dealer showed. Again he raised five credits, the cards shifted once more; he now held in addition to his Two of Sabres, the One of Coins, the One of Sabres and the Commander of Sabres. He now had a total of sixteen; the dealer was showing the Five of Staves.
So far his hands weren’t looking very good; Reece shook his head in disapproval. Determined to see it through, he bet once more, his heart began to beat faster as he watched his hand shift once more. He looked down and saw that he had the Eleven of Coins, the Three of Staves, the Two of Staves and the Seven of Sabres, with a value of twenty three he was holding a Pure Sabacc! The dealer’s face card was Moderation worth negative fourteen. Reece wished he could call at that moment; unfortunately he would have to wait one more hand before he could call. If only the card values would remain the same for one more hand. What the heck, you only live once Reece thought as he raised the bet forty more credits and placed the Three of Staves in the interference field with his Two of Staves. The cards shifted once more and his Eleven of Coins changed to the Nine of Coins, and the Seven of Sabres became the Idiot! Reece couldn’t believe his luck, one second he was holding a Pure Sabacc, and now he had an Idiot's Array! He called the hand, and the best hand was a total of nineteen, Reece couldn’t stifle his excitement; he shouted out as he jumped up out of his seat. The other players shot him dirty looks as they departed, the Dug grumbling about being cheated. The Duros woman actually congratulated him for his good fortune before she left the cantina. Reece collected his credits and left the table, he was walking away with seven hundred and eighty more credits than he sat down with. Maybe he would see if Booster’s mechanics could get some upgrades knocked off his to-do list in the immediate future! He walked back to his Jedi companions in a much brighter mood than when he had left them.
It appeared the Jedi had everything sorted out when Reece came back to the table. They had many of the details sorted out; they had figured their plan was as good a plan as they were ever going to get considering the factors involved. Kall’el looked up at Reece as he walked up to him as he returned from the Sabacc table, “So any luck?”
“As a matter of fact,” Reece signaled the server droid as he tossed a pouch overflowing with credits onto the table, “another Corellian Ale over here. Things are looking much better, I think we’ll be making a few of those upgrades sooner than I had anticipated, I’m up eight hundred credits for the evening, and you know how quickly credits just start burning a hole in my pockets. I’m so glad you Jedi bored me into going over and playing a few hands.” He smiled to the group, and Noble had a good laugh at Reece’s sense of humor.
The droid quickly brought Reece his Ale, which he took a quick satisfying drink of, and licked his lips. Kall’el smiled as he stood up from the table, “Well little one, I think now that everything is sorted out here, I will be heading back to the ship. Someone needs to get started loading the last of the provisions into the hold; the Lady won’t load herself after all.”
“Sure Kal, I’ll meet up with you shortly, I’m going to finish my drink first,” Reece said as he took another drink from his ale. Without another word, Kall’el turned and left the cantina, Tranna moved to Reece’s side and spoke softly so only he would hear, “Is he still just as cut and dry as ever?” Reece noticed the amusement in her tone of voice and replied, “Oh no, usually it’s all… Yeah he’s always like that; I thought it might be all you Jedi types, now I’m not so sure.”
Tranna Sunna’rasa raised her brow at Reece’s comment and smiled slyly, “Come now Reece, not all Jedi are cut and dry, some of us even know how to live a little.” Tranna’s lekku was twitching rhythmically over her shoulder and she placed a hand on top of Reece’s arm. Reece’s cheeks immediately turned red and he looked down at the table quickly to try to hide his embarrassment. Yeah Tranna could be called many things, but to describe her as cut and dry sold her short, way short, Reece thought as a smile crept back across his face.
“You know Tranna, we still have some time before we have to go our separate ways…” he let his sentence trail off; he knew she would know his implied meaning.
“Your absolutely correct Reece, I still have to show you my quarters on the Synic. After all, you showed me yours its only fair that I show you mine,” Tranna said smiling mischievously at him. “She started to rise and reached out for his hand, “Shall we?”
Just then Noble seemed to sit a little taller in his seat and tensed up. His eyes drifted shut, Tranna turned her head and gave him a curious stare; she was patently awaiting a response that she seemed to know would be coming soon. Reece though was less patient; he was about to ask Noble if something was wrong when Noble opened his eyes and suddenly spoke out, “We’ve got company.”
“Where?” Reece demanded. Casting a nervous glance about the cantina, Noble lowered his voice so they wouldn’t appear too suspicious, “Those Rodians over there, across the room.” When Reece looked right at them and still didn’t seem to comprehend who was watching them, Noble continued. “At the bar Reece, you remember them right? Because those two seem to remember you well enough. They have been eyeing you since we entered and look like they are itching to settle and old score. And the Devaronian you were playing Sabacc with earlier.” Noble gestured across the room in the other direction. “He’s now sitting over there in the corner. That fellow is bad news, he happens to be one of Dorraj’s boys. A bad piece of work that one.”

Dorraj Ryyder was the head of a self named black market crime syndicate that rivaled Black Sun in its prime. He was a Falleen, one who was often seen as the next Prince Xizor. In fact, not since Prince Xizor of House Sizhran had a Falleen ascended to such criminal heights. Dorraj was best known for his ruthlessness and cruelty, but his love of women, and successive use of his pheromones to seduce them was right up there on his list of seedy traits. He long made it a habit of surrounding himself with beautiful women and the best mercenaries one could hire. In short, he was not a being one would want to have as an enemy. Reece had always gone out of his way to avoid dealing with him or coming up on Dorraj’s radar.

Noble took a swig from his drink before continuing, “I’ve seen the Devaronian out and about since we arrived on the Venture; he’s been sulking around the hangar bays watching the ships too. He’s been tailing us for a few days now; he obviously isn’t any good at surveillance work, because unless I’m mistaken he’s working with Reece’s Rodian buddies over there.”
“Hey! They’re not my buddies, we just had a little disagreement, and that’s all. What makes you think they are working together though?” Reece asked. He was completely at a loss for how Noble figured the Rodians were working for Dorraj Ryyder, and how Dorraj even fit into everything. Sure the Rodians had a reason to be following him, Rodians were known to hold grudges about ass bad as a Bothan, and after the spectacle back on Tatooine, and Reece could see the obvious reasons why they would be following him across the galaxy.
“Simple, I saw them all talking together as we entered, and the shorter Rodian seemed to get all excited when he saw you,” Noble taped Reece with a think finger, “Since then, the Devaronian hasn’t let you get out of his sight.”
“Oh, ok. I can see how you put it all together, but I don’t see how Dorraj Ryyder fits into all of this. It’s not like I’ve done anything to make him angry.” Reece wasn’t sure if any of the past runs he had made were for Ryyder’s Syndicate; it wasn’t like Dorraj would advertise a false company after all that was kind of the point. Move goods with a company that was a front for the real action. But certainly Kall’el would have known. Wouldn’t he?
As if reading his thoughts Noble leaned in closer, “You wouldn’t have had to anger Dorraj personally Reece, stopping fretting about it. After all, his goons were made to look the fools that they are; do you think they would mention something like that to their boss? No way. Only way that happens is if they had already taken care of you before hand.” Noble seemed to consider his own words, “Which might just be what this is all about. Stay sharp Tranna.”
“Don’t worry Reece,” Tranna purred, “Nothing will be happening in here, I promise. After all you have two Jedi to look after you, we’ll make sure you get back to you ship. What possible trouble could Dorraj’s thugs be?”
“You may be right; still I think it would be best if we left. Now,” Noble stated, “It’s always best to leave before things get awkward. If something were to happen this place is too closed off, there are too many innocent bystanders and things could get to cramped even for my liking.” With that he rose out of his seat, signed for the tab they had ran up, and threw his cloak over his shoulders.
Tranna walked up to Reece and drew his arm over her shoulders, “Ah well, there’s always next time.” She said sulking. She sent Reece a wink that she made sure was out of Noble’s line of vision. She twisted her lips and made a sour face, Reece couldn’t help but think she looked adorable when she pouted, and smiled back at her, she made him start to forget about his current situation.
On the way out of the Corellian Slip, Reece made it a point to walk past the Rodians sitting at the bar. Noble had been right all along, it was the two who had jumped Reece back at Mos Espa, the short one glared at him as he went past, Reece smirked and winked at him as he walked out the exit. The taller Rodian, the one missing an eye ran his finger across his throat and pointed his other hand at Reece like a blaster. “We’ll be seeing you,” he mouthed. Reece continued on his way out of the Slip, and he desperately tried not to appear as worried as he felt. Now came the fun part, would the Syndicate goons follow them, or wait to strike another time? Reece really hoped that they were stupid enough to strike in the next few minutes, while he still had two Jedi with him covering his back. But knowing his luck, they would bide their time and attack him when he was completely alone. He watched the doorway to the Corellian Slip, never taking his eyes from it until Tranna turned him past the corner of the promenade.
The whole way back to the hangers Noble would disappear into the crowd for a while and check to see if they were being followed. Once convinced that they had not been followed out of the Slip and tailed, he would catch back up with Reece and Tranna. Reece was happy that Noble was taking the incident as serious as he felt it was, he had barley managed to escape the green duo the first time, and add the Devronian, he wouldn’t be putting up much of a fight. Tranna on the other hand, had completely brushed off the incident, and was taking full advantage of each of Noble’s departures. Reece was feeling very uncomfortable with her advances at that moment; it was a different story from when he wasn’t in danger. Now that he had to watch his back the whole trip back to the hangars, and possibly for the foreseeable future he wasn’t as laid back and carefree, as he had been. He wasn’t about to take any chances; he kept glancing back over his shoulder expecting to see one of the three Syndicate goons.
It was also starting to bother him that Tranna didn’t even seem to care about the possibility of a tail following them; she had faith in her Jedi skills apparently. Reece envied her ability to trust something that he himself could barley understand. He wouldn’t feel safe again until he was back aboard his ship, and couldn’t wait to get there. They reached the turbolift and Tranna punched in their destination, within seconds they were traveling back to the hangers and relative safety. Reece allowed himself to relax once more, and put his arm back around Tranna. Tranna reached up and stroked her fingers through his hair and whispered in his ear, “See? What did I tell you? I wouldn’t let anything happen to a hotshot pilot like you. Now then Reece, what about that tour of our ship?” Reece smiled and shook his head in amusement; Kall’el never told him that Tranna had a one-track mind.

Mid Rim, En-route to Tholatin

Reece Denzar reached over the stack of crates that were stacked waist high in the main cargo hold of his ship. Grabbing the webbing strap that was loosely draped over a corner of the load firmly in his hands he leaned back and used his body weight to help him pull the crash webbing down tighter over the crates and re-secured it to the floor of the hold. He wasn’t sure if the load had shifted, or if his partner Kall’el had forgotten to secure the load all the way. But that mystery didn’t matter, after all, it was fixed now.
When he had been on the Errant Venture, Kall’el had loaded the ship with Booster Terrik’s provisions while Reece had hung around in a cantina and stirred up trouble. He smiled to himself as he recalled his last hour on Booster’s Star Destroyer, Tranna Sunna’rasa had been right after all; he did have time to see her cabin on the Synic before he had to depart for Tholatin. They had parted ways and departed from the Errant Venture; both ships would be making supply runs to planets typically supplied by smugglers in the hopes of making contact with Jedi Master Kyp Durron’s Dozen and two Avengers.
They had already gone to the Wookiee homeworld Kashyyyk, the smuggler’s moon Nar Shaddaa, the library world of Obroa-skai, and a small colony on Dantooine, all with no results. Kyp hadn’t been seen in any of the sectors for months. Kall’el had even programmed the nav-computer to make a series of micro-jumps during each trip to increase their chances of being approached by Kyp as well, to no avail. Kall’el hoped that he could persuade Master Durron to stand down in his actions against the smugglers, but he had confided to Reece that he personally doubted that Master Durron would listen to reason from a simple Knight. Sure Master Skywalker had sent Kal and Noble’s group on the mission to do precisely that. But the simple fact was that they had no real authority within the Order to demand or order a Jedi Master to stop what he felt was his calling by the Force. But Kyp’s latest actions had recently been drawing negative attention to the Jedi Order within the Senate; Senators were declaring Kyp’s actions an outrage. They had brought up the fact that Kyp had once gone rogue before and had been responsible for destroying Cardia with the Empire’s Sun Crusher. Sure Kall’el had told Reece that Kyp had been under the influence of some long dead Sith Lord at that time, but even Reece had to admit that it all sounded like an awfully convenient excuse for running from accountability. Granted most of the loudest of those outraged by Kyp’s actions had financial ties to the smuggler and pirate groups that were being shut down. Reece looked up from his monitor and cast his thoughts to the back of his mind as he glanced over at Kall’el sitting in the copilot’s chair minding the nav-computer.

So here they were, traveling through hyperspace on their way to the Mid-Rim world Tholatin with a cargo full of goods about to be smuggled onto the planet. All they had to do was deliver their goods at Esau’s Ridge, a smuggler’s hideout hide away down a crevasse in a towering rock wall that was difficult to reach by the average pilot. The goal of the operation was not the delivery of their goods, but the baiting of Kyp Durron’s squadron, if Kyp did show up to stop them before they made it to the planets surface, Kall’el would be able to confront him, and hopefully persuade Kyp to cease his hostile actions.
Kall’el reached out and shut off the alarm that indicated the end of their hyperspace journey just as it went off. Reece smiled, and brought the ship out of hyperspace, Tholatin sat out the forward viewport, there was no sign of Kyp’s squadron. Oh well, Reece thought, at least we’ll get the extra pay for delivery. He looked back at Kall’el, “You know sooner or later we will run across him. And on the bright side of things we’re not hurting for credits anymore.” Reece couldn’t help but feel a little guilty; sure they were making credits, but Kall’el was no closer to completing his mission. Reece knew that he would be going to lose Kal as soon as the mission with Durron was completed, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about flying the Spicy Lady with out a copilot. Yes, he could do it, but did he want to do it alone? He had grown accustomed to having Kall’el traveling with him, and he wasn’t upset by the delay.

Kall’el flashed a smile full of sharp teeth, “I know, and now I won’t worry so much about how you will fair without me when this task is all done and I go back to Yavin 4.”
“Yeah,” Reece replied downcast, “that too.” He made a point to sound irritated as he continued, “It will be nice to not have to worry about keeping you out of trouble, and Master Skywalker would very upset with me if I let something happen to you while you were in my care.” He couldn’t help smiling mischievously at his friend.
“Is that so?” Kall’el let out a booming laugh, “I’ll remind you of that the next time we get into a blaster fight, I got wings remember.”
“Yeah I kind of noticed,” Reece cut in.
“Yeah, and you’ll notice when I use then to leave you behind, when ‘something happens’ so you won’t have to worry about Master Skywalker’s ire.”
“Oh you would, would you?” Reece laughed too, “You big, tall, ungrateful, mynock! After all I’ve done for you, feed you, shelter, you, nurture you, educate.”
“Entertain...” Kall’el cut in laughing.
“Yeah! Yeah that too you wing nut.” Reece grew somber for a moment, “You do know that I will miss you? Right Kal?”
“Yes, Reece. And I cherish the time I have spent with you; I will worry about you no matter how many credits you have to fall back on when you run into trouble.”
“What do you mean ‘run into trouble’? Trouble run’s into me!”
They both laughed as they brought the ship down Tholatin’s gravity well. Before they knew it, the outline of Esau’s Ridge had appeared before them, growing prominent in their view screen as they drew near.

Esau’s Ridge, Tholatin

They had spent one day on Tholatin; they delivered the cargo, picked up some passengers, and shipped off by nightfall. So far they had no encounters with Kyp Durron’s Avengers, and so, the next stop on his flight plan was the planet Dubrillion; an Outer Rim world owned by none other than Lando Calrissian. Calrissian had a nice little mining operation set up on the edge of the Outer Rim, and he was expecting repair parts for some of his equipment and a large quantity of exotic provisions from Booster’s private holds.
The ship was once again traveling through hyperspace, and Reece was once more haunted by his feelings, soon Kall’el would be leaving and he would be alone once more. Alone. Whenever he came to that thought he would get lost in thoughts of his family, the loss of his parents, and his sister. And how his Uncle Hyram had taken him in under his wing, and at the same time had for the most part kept him at a distance. Sure Hyram had made him feel welcome, but he never let Reece get close to him, not in an emotional way. And once Reece brought Kall’el with him as copilot, he hadn’t seen his uncle aside from a few times, and he had never been able to find him when Kal was with him, Hyram had yet to meet Kal. And now he might not get the chance. Reece missed his family; he had been on a date with a nice Corellian girl the night he lost his family. After the accident, he just didn’t care about anything, he pushed everyone who reached out to him away, and until he came across Kall’el he had been fine with that. Now though. Now he wasn’t the same devastated man who had lost everyone who mattered to him in a blink of an eye. Now he knew that the only way one could survive in the harsh galaxy was to be with people who cared about him.
He thought of Tranna, but as quickly as he thought of her he recalled that she too was a Jedi, and that hers was a life of service. That he couldn’t make a life with her, not in a serious way. And he wasn’t sure if he wanted too. Sure he enjoyed being with her, but after he left her back on the Errant Venture, he wondered at how fast everything with her had happened. Sure she was attractive, but she wasn’t his type, and yet when he was near her, all he could think of was how much she was his type.
He shook his head again, and found that he was thinking back to his time on Tatooine, and the Arkainian woman he had ran across, and then Keki Sodran; how she had looked like his mysterious Arkainian woman, and how he noticed it, but it had quickly slipped from his mind. He hadn’t thought about that again until after he was away from the Errant Venture. He decided that when he and Kall’el had parted, he would travel back to Tatooine, and seek out his mysterious Arkainian. His mind was made up, now all that need to be done was to locate Durron, and Dubrillion seemed the best destination for that.

Back on Tholatin, the chief of security at Esau’s Ridge; a Weequay by the name of Plaan, had mentioned to Reece that he might actually run across Durron’s Avengers on the way to Dubrillion. It had been rumored Plaan said that Kyp’s squadron had been spending a lot of time in that system, and had even been spotted recently above Destrillion. Reece still had mixed emotions of being the ship to run across Kyp’s squadron; if Kall’el was able to persuade Kyp to ease off the smugglers, Booster might not have need for Reece shipping his goods anymore. Though if Reece could prove to Booster that the Spicy Lady was a fast enough ship, Booster might even hire Reece on full time when this Jedi business was done and over with. Reece let that thought encourage him to push his ship to it’s limits, he reached forward and increased the acceleration level, the Lady was now moving at top speed, faster than Reece had ever gone before; the controls began to vibrate mildly in his hands, he recalled his uncle Hyram had said the ship could endure a lot of punishment for a ship of it’s class. Reece hoped his uncle was right; he would hate to die because he pushed his ship too hard.

Outer Rim, En-Route to Dubrillion

The Spicy Lady came out of hyperspace and began the trip towards Dubrillion with ease. Kyp Durron was said to be in the system looking for smugglers to thwart at all opportunities. So far the scanners showed a clear path all the way to Dubrillion, which was good. Reece found it a little ironic that a Jedi could at any moment be busting him for running supplies to a mining colony. Especially since a Jedi was his copilot, one sent to help the smugglers find their niche in the galaxy, Kyp Durron was getting carried away, and Master Skywalker had decided to do something about it. So far neither the Spicy Lady nor the Synic had run across Kyp, and the odds said if it would happen, Dubrillion would be the place.
Reece saw the system’s asteroid belt off in the distance with splashes of light from the sun sparkling off the many facets of the debris spinning freely in the void of space, it was one of those angles that could play tricks on the eyes, and from Reece’s position it looked marvelous.
“I wonder if Lando ever got that belt run set up on Dubrillion?” Reece wondered aloud, pulling back on the hyperdrive dropping the ship out of hyperspace. “I bet the modifications to those Tie fighters are harder to achieve than he originally figured, most things tend to be with him,” he chuckled to himself.
“Last I heard he’s had it operational for a while now,” Kall’el stated, “even named it Lando’s Folly, in fact most of the smugglers in the area have been using it to boost up their evade skills to better prepare themselves for Durron’s Avengers.”

“Ha! Calrissian can be such a narcissist at times, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he uses the evasion training as part of his sales pitch,” Reece laughed. Lando Calrissian had set up an obstacle course through the asteroid belt that ran through the Dubrillion system. With modified Tie fighters that he somehow equipped with overpowered repulsors- a trick Reece had obviously thought Lando would never prefect, but apparently had- pilots could now test their flying skills by running the belt in relative safety.
“We’ll defiantly have to test our skills then” Reece exclaimed. He had to admit the idea of running the belt sounded astral, and he found himself wishing the ship was already birthed and unloaded so he could sign up and test himself against the other pilots.

___

When the Spicy Lady came to a landing the first thing Reece Denzar and Kall’el noticed was the hustle and sense of urgency of everyone at the docks. They were quick to refuel the ships birthed around the docks, as if they were all about to leave in a convoy. There was even a group of men hurrying out to the ship with refuel lines.

“Wow now that’ efficient Lando must keep things on a tight schedule these days.” Reece exclaimed.
“There is more going on here that what appears Reece. I sense a disturbance in the Force. This is most alarming, we must remain cautious.” Kall’el informed him as he unfastened his crash webbing and rose from his seat.

Walking down the access ramp the two were greeted by the port master and an attendant. The two looked like they hadn’t slept in a few days, and had a frantic air to them.
“Are we glad to see you,” yelled the port master above the sound of various ships prepping for liftoff.
Kall’el glanced at groups of people being ushered into the ships that were already prepped.
“What’s going on?” he asked, “It looks as though you’re evacuating.”
“Oh, it more than looks like friend,” replied the dock master, “word has it that there is an unknown battle fleet on approach to the system, Calrissian has ordered everyone who can to evacuate. We could use another ship to help with refugees.”
“What about the supplies?” Reece inquired. “That’s a lot of food we brought out here.”
“Don’t fret, Calrissian has people who are staying to the very last minute, they’ll be happy to eat the food, he doesn’t intend to loose Dubrillion with out a fight! Plus he’s paying anyone who will shuttle refugees to safety top price for their services if you’re interested. We don’t have near enough ships to get everyone nonessential off planet before those forces arrive and keep us from leaving the system.”
“Don’t worry,” declared Kall’el, “We’ll lend whatever services Lando requires.”
Reece shot Kal a look that all but said I don’t want to get wrapped up in this. Kall’el seemed to ignore it and pressed on; looking squarely into Reece’s eyes “I understand your reluctance my friend, and I’m sorry for having to drag you into this. But this is one of those times when I must be the Jedi I am first and your comrade second. We will both be needed here before this day is over, I can feel it in the Force!” With that he turned back to the dock master and spread out his wings to their full extent, “Please take me to Calrissian at once, I must know what we can do to assist here.” With that he turned, and surprising even the dock master correctly strode off towards Lando’s office.

___


Jedi Academy, Yavin 4

Jedi Knights Corran Horn, and Maleko Gunn stood across from each other on the training ground, Corran nodded to the Codru-Ji Jedi and called out, “Ok Maleko, don’t hold back on me, I expect you to bring everything you got to the table.”
“Alright Horn,” Maleko said as he cracked his knuckles, “but just remember you asked for this. I normally spar with one lightsaber, two at the most, unless it’s with Master Skywalker,” Maleko sighed. With a cheerful smirk that lit up his aristocratic face he ignited his lightsabers; four blue blades snap hissed into existence.
Apprentice Lan-Pal Halloran stood across the training ground watching the sparring session with his Master, Zorrom Nadda. It still disturbed him to see the Codru-Ji with a lightsaber in all four of his hands; the blue blades cast indigo highlights across the Codru-Ji’s tan chest. Talk about overkill, he thought as he watched the duel unfold memorized by the action. Master Nadda turned to him, “You know Padawan, not always is victory certain, for Maleko having so many avenues of attack does not guarantee him a victory. I once read in the temple archives, that Master Kenobi had been responsible for disarming and defeating General Grievous near the end of the Clone Wars. He too found himself against an opponent wielding four blades as Master Horn is now. The interesting factor is that Master Kenobi did it not with an advanced lightsaber form, but by way of the most basic. You see Master Kenobi was regarded as a Master of Form I.”
“Really Master?” Halloran asked intrigued, eyes locked onto the two combatants.
“Yes, but unlike Master Kenobi, Jedi Horn won’t be able to physically disarm his opponent with his blade, or use telekinesis. It will be fascinating to observe how this duel unfolds don’t you think?”
“Hey I can hear you!” barked Corran as he brought his silver blade up over his head to block Maleko’s top two arms as they came downward for a strike to his neck. Maleko was taller than Corran, forcing Corran to block higher than he felt comfortable with. He threw his lower body back to avoid a counter attack from Maleko’s lower arms; the anticipated sweep missed him completely. Corran flipped into the air twisting before he landed behind his opponent. Maleko spun around, reaching out with his upper left and his lower right blades, his lower left blade was close to his chest defending his core, the lower right trailing behind waiting for Corran’s next move. Corran swung down again, forcing Gunn to block with both lower blades in a cross, Gunn backed away while pinning Corran’s blade between his top two blades and bottom two, Corran was stuck.
Why he ever agreed to go one-on-one with four to one odds against himself he’d never know. And why Nadda thought this duel was going to teach Halloran anything was beyond him, but then Halloran wasn’t his Apprentice so he’d play his part in the lesson and try his hardest to best Maleko. Maleko untangled Corran’s silver blade from his blue blades and stepped back before throwing himself into a spin that made his arms and lightsabers blur. It all happened so fast Corran couldn’t contain the “Kark Me,” that fell from his lips as he hastily backed away from his opponent. Maleko’s blades were moving so fast Corran could not tell which arm was held upward, which was held downward and which ones were stuck straight out.

Corran shook his head as he continued to retreat; he was really beginning to wish he hadn’t agreed to this duel. When Master Nadda had approached him about the lesson he didn’t see how he could stand a chance against Maleko. Maleko Gunn was too difficult to beat in a sparring match once he had three blades active, and losing wasn’t going to demonstrate Master Nadda’s case in point. Without removing an arm or a hand Corran couldn’t see how he was going to gain the advantage. And it wasn’t like he could use the Force to hurl objects at Maleko to keep him occupied either, Corran had hardly any ability with telekinesis at all, only under the most strenuous of situations; most of which left him in a bacta tank for a few days. No, Corran was no Ben Kenobi and would have to figure something else out to best Maleko in lightsaber combat.

Well, I do have one thing that might surprise him, Corran thought as he twisted the hilt of his lightsaber in his hands. The blade shot out abruptly changing from silver to a violet purple in hue. It had happened so fast, that Maleko barley had time to dodge the blade as it shifted length. Maleko instantly dropped brutally to the dirt his lower two blades extinguishing so he could catch himself. He propelled himself up before Corran could take advantage of the countermove. But Corran was too quick and with the extended blade Maleko’s extra blades were practically worthless, Corran swung his blade at neck level and the only thing Maleko could do was block. Corran took advantage of his blades new length, and pressed his attacks, always forcing Maleko to block and never getting close enough to be counter attacked. He whipped his blade up and across Maleko’s upper arms, and Gunn responded by again igniting his lower blades. With a flick of his wrists Gunn attempted to pin Corran’s blade once more.
This was precisely what Corran was waiting for. As Maleko moved his wrists, Corran turned his blade at an angle and made a fast jab. Maleko’s upper left blade fizzled out of existence as Corran’s blade cut into the hilt. Maleko’s triumphant grin was promptly replaced with a wounded expression, “Hey! Just because I have four doesn’t mean they are easy to replace Horn. It’s not like I have a stock of pre-built sabers in my room.”
“Sorry Gunn,” Corran said as he promptly reversed the move and severed the top of Maleko’s bottom two blades they both died in puffs of smoke and immediately reduced his opponent to just a single blade. “But you got to admit, it’s looking like you should have never played the long odds against a Corellian.”
Maleko Gunn just smiled and laughed, “I must say Horn, I am impressed, but can you finish what you’ve started?” he said with a raised eyebrow. And with that he was in motion once more, he realized too late now that Corran’s blade trick had succeeded in distracting him enough to slow his advances. Had he only pressed his attack instead of going defensive he might have ended the duel by now, instead of fighting bitterly to the end. If Horn won the duel it would be the talk of the Order for quite a while. Sure Master Skywalker could best him more often than not, but Skywalker could use telekinesis, which made for some real interesting bouts. Horn had just out smarted him, plain and simple, that and on one level Maleko hadn’t seem Horn actually winning. His own arrogance aside, he had even felt the same notion pouring off Corran as well. But not any more, now it was going to be an all or nothing match. The kind Maleko thrived on.

Lan-Pal whistled in appreciation of the contest that was unraveling before his eyes. Corran had proven to Lan-Pal that impressions stood for nothing in a fight. And it was a remarkable demonstration to behold.

Dubrillion

Reece Denzar felt slightly uncomfortable in the tight confines of the X-wing cockpit he found himself in, it was so unlike the open cockpit of his ship the Spicy Lady. He shook off the lingering feelings of claustrophobia and focused on the task at hand. He had been asked by Lando Calrissian to head up a flight of starfighters and fly a reconnaissance flight around the perimeter of the star system. His ragtag group of ships ranged from a few X-wings and A-wings that were in various conditions to four newer E-wing fighters that looked like they had rolled off the assembly line not to long ago. An old ARC 170 bomber was the largest ship in his flight, which had gone through what looked like several structural upgrades to keep it up to the latest star fighter standards.
He took his squadron on a long sweep of the outer edge of Destrillion, his eyes locked onto his sensor screen as he watched the display roll values across the page. The only thing showing up as the asteroid belt, so far the Yuuzhan Vong had kept their distance from Dubrillion. He noticed a shifting pattern on his screen as a huge swath of rocks burst from their orbit in the asteroid belt. Reece’s eyes widened in realization- the Yuuzhan Vong fleet had been in the systems for some time and Dubrillion’s forces had never even noticed.
He sent out a distress call to the listening post at Belt-runner one which was also being sent out on all frequencies, “Enemy contacts- repeat enemy contacts bearing in at four two one coming straight in system. Estimated count twenty five- repeat two five- skips and rising. I have,” he squint his eyes to see out the forward canopy trusting his eyes more than his sensors. “At least three, repeat three ships that appear to be warships. Each looks about sixteen hundred meters at least.”
Each of the three warships angled away from the asteroid field and moved to block the ships that were rapidly evacuating the system heading for Agamar. As if the odds were not bad enough the three warships began to shed corral skippers from the dark red and blue arms that branched off the ships. The system began to grow too crowded for Reece as skips began to blot out the stars.
Dubrillion was responding to his distress call and almost every ship that could muster a fight was rising from the planet to aid in repelling the invaders. The plant’s group based defenses were primed and ready, but Lando was hoping that the fight would never get that close. If it did Dubrillion wouldn’t be able to hold for too long, at least not without receiving some form of reinforcements.
He looked away from the ships coming to aid his squadron and at the ships racing to engage him, “Nova Squad, form up on Nova Four,” he said as he followed his words with actions. His X-wing’s S-foils shifted into attack position as the ARC 170 was surrounded by the rest of Nova Squadron. He informed his pilots of their orders and as the two forces came into firing range he rested his hand on the firing stud of his flight stick. “Fire at will,” he ordered as he depressed the firing stud sending a brilliant hail of laser fire at the closest skip.
The A-wings and E-wings broke off the formation in pairs picking targets of opportunity. He had to admit his pilots were disciplined. The E-wing pilots took out a set of skips and before they could circle back to the rest of Nova Squadron they were fell upon by a score of skips. Both E-wings exploded in a shower of plasma bolts.
The ARC 170 flew over one skip and dove under a second in a desperate attempt to stay ahead of a group of enemy fighters that had quickly closed the distance and were peppering the ARC 170’s stern. The gunner managed to slip a few of his laser blasts past the skips dovin basal and the skip’s pilot took a blast to the face. The coral ship continued on lifeless and no longer a threat.
The ARC 170 did not have time to boast though for another coral skipper had quickly taken the firsts place. Plasma guns spraying molten rock onto the engines, the ARC 170 began to smoke and flames erupted from the engine compartments as the molten rock continued to eat its way into the more sensitive parts of the ship. When the liquid rock burned into the fuel supply line the whole craft went up in a blaze of fire and shrapnel.
Nova Squadron was hopelessly outnumbered and Reece knew that to stay engaged with the enemy fleet would be a quick and pointless death so he swung his X-wing around for Dubrillion hoping to bring the skips into the line of fire of the ships coming up from the planet.
“Nova Squadron cut and run! Repeat: make for Dubrillion and the fleet.”
“Why not hold and wait for back up?” asked Nova Three one of the A-wing pilots fortunate enough to be still alive.
“We can’t shoot them down with our guns pointed away from them boss.”
“We won’t stand a chance Three, we head back to safety in numbers and through our support to where we can make a difference and try to weather this storm.” Reece barked over the comm.
The A-wing rolled out and away from the Squad as the Squadron made a break for Dubrillion.
“Three!” Reece shouted over the comm, “Turn back! Repeat turn back now. That is a direct order Three!”
“I got this.” Three’s cool reply came over the comm as he brought his A-wing in on an attack vector aiming for four skips. His shots were being swallowed by the lead ships dovin basal, and he set the ship into a circular pattern intending for his shots to get past the Dovin Basal’s singularity. His shots began to go wild and started to slip through punching into the skip and sending chunks of coral free from the craft. The skip was hit four more times then blew up taking out the two skips flying on each side of it. The victory was short lived though as the last skip turned directly for the A-wing and increased speed as it came screaming into the A-wing. Reece’s shouts to three died in his throat as the embers that had been Three died in the vacuum of space.
“Too many!” Reece cried over the comm. “Too many,” he said voice dying away at the shock of the quick onslaught. Nova Squadron was being passed by ships and fighters that composed Dubrillion’s motley fleet, and felt hope rise when he recognized one freighter out of the many ships coming to his aide. The Millennium Falcon!

Even the arrival of the Millennium Falcon did little to slow the advance of the invaders. The fighting was fierce and more defenders were destroyed with each passing moment. For every Yuuzhan Vong ship destroyed three of the Defenders fell. Reece had lost his Squadron, and was in a state of panic as he made his way towards the Falcon. Ships exploded all around him friend and foe alike and it was all he could do to stay ahead of enemy plasma bolts.
He watched as a YT-2400 spun lifeless before him, venting bodies like a nerf sheds water after a swim. He watched the dead craft as it collided with a doomed trio of skips, all four blazed out of existence, leaving Reece feeling shock at the vacuum of life as beings ceased to be.

“Watch your wing!” a voice called out over his comm speaker. Reece shook his head and focused on the warning. He swung the nose of his fighter up and barley had time to fire off a torpedo as a skip came in at him. The skip blazed out in flame; briefly blinded he jinked his fighter hoping a lucky shot did not end him.
“On my tail! On my tail!” Another X-wing pilot’s hysterical cries came over the comm.
“Kruuny, get out of there!” the Squadron Leader’s voice barked.
“Keep your calm, kid. And hold your course.” Han Solo ordered. “I got you.”
“I can’t shake him!” Kruuny cried.
A moment later the sound of the Falcon’s quad laser cannons could be heard followed by a very relieved “Thanks,” from Kruuny. Reece had finally found the familiar lines of the YT-1300 and focused on it, allowing everything else fall away so he wouldn’t loose it as he brought his fighter along side the familiar lines of the Falcon, so much like his own ship he felt a small chill. Then he looked beyond it and felt dread again.
“On your tail now, Falcon!” Reece frantically called out to Solo.
“We got him,” Han Solo’s calm reply filled the comm.

Solo brought his ship into a starboard turn away from Reece’s X-wing. As the skip turned to pursue the Falcon the top quad laser sprayed the space surrounding the skip with laser blasts quickly overwhelming the dovin basal and turning the skip into a cloud of expanding gas.

The battle continued in a fierce struggle and Reece Denzar was so often overwhelmed with juking and jinking his ship around that he didn’t even realize how badly things had become. Banking away from the battle to acquire a new target he turned into the sun. As he continued to loop back towards the fight he was startled when the enemy fleet was backlit for a moment. The number of ships in the Vong fleet was staggering. Quickly burying his fear Reece gritted his teeth and adjusted his grip on his control stick. He refused to just give up without a fight and he intended to go down swinging. Time fell away as he found himself locked in dogfight after dogfight. The skips were the staunchest opponents he had ever faced, and in Reece’s mind he should have been dead at least twenty times over.
One skip bounced behind him and opened up its plasma cannon. Molten bolts narrowly missed his ship time and again. Reece turned to see the skip tight on his tail as he flew his ship into an evasive flight pattern.
“Deuce,” Reece called to his R2 unit.
The droid tweedled and bleeped at his as its reply scrolled across his display.
“I want you to set my torpedoes to launch in tandem with a four second delay from first and second launch. Each torpedo needs to have an early detonation program setup. The next time that skip throws up a singularity I want the torpedo to detonate before it gets sucked into the void.” Reece gripped the stick in his hand tighter as he looped his X-wing away from the skip.
When the droid reported that his request had been carried out he thanked Deuce and spun the ship into a spiral loop making his ships profile harder to hit. He soon saw what he needed, and dove towards a large spinning chunk of wreckage that had once been a large part of a freighter, he made sure the skip was behind him and flew under the wreckage in a tight arc. He immediately killed his thrusters and flipped the X-wing one hundred and eighty degrees, touching off his thrusters twice more before killing all of his momentum. Reece waited with his thumb resting on the firing trigger, seconds later the skip came up from behind the debris. As the Vong pilot’s eyes widened in recognition of his blunder, Reece depressed the trigger and sent two torpedoes flying at the skip.
The first torpedo exploded and most of the blast was absorbed into a singularity thrown up by the skip at the last second. Before the singularity could absorb all the energy the second torpedo blew its payload and overwhelmed the dovin basal’s singularity, engulfing the skip in the explosion. Smiling at his cleverness Reece looked back at his R2 unit.

“Yeah Deuce definitely setup all our torps that way. But alternate the length of time variables between torp launches and the early detection detonation time.”

Arcing back into the fray Reece crossed in front of the Falcon, blasting away at the skips coming straight at it, trying to end Solo’s existence. Reece shot one out of the sky as the Falcon’s belly turret got a second. Just then Reece noticed he had his own pursuers, he tried to stay ahead of the swarm of coralskippers on his own tail, but they were quickly gaining. His eyes widened for a moment. Deciding he was honored that the Vong saw him as enough of a threat to commit so many skips to his destruction he opened up with his cannons. These skips however had more brains than his last encounters had. They had combined dovin basal singularities; every one of his shots was absorbed into the miniature black hole created by the dovin basals.

“Too hot!” Reece screamed as he ended pursuit on the coralskippers in front of him, he started banking away, “breaking for Dubrillion!”

As guilty as he felt for abandoning Solo and the fight, his self-preservation kicked in. He knew he would have to perform some incredible flying if he would be surviving the next few minutes. He watched in horror as a nearby A-wing succumbed to multiple strikes of heated stone from the enemy. The pilot screamed out for help, but none could get to her in time, with the rock melting into the hull of her starfighter she tried frantically to save herself from her pursuit. She throttled back and pulled up quickly to break the target lock the coralskipper had on her only to have it collide into her ship, both exploded in a cloud of debris.
Just then Reece’s X-wing was tugged from behind as his shields were stripped by a dovin basal, panic overrode everything in Reece’s mind, “Shields gone!” he cried as his senses came back. He snapped the X-wing into a spiraling dive towards Dubrillion, desperate to escape the coralskippers who were staying with him through every twist and turn. Just then two of his pursuers exploded into rock shards and organic matter. He glanced up and saw that his rescue had come from the top turret of the Millennium Falcon, whoever was in that turret was a excellent shot, in the time it had taken Reece to locate his rescuer, the gunner had taken out another three of the ships that were chasing him. He was starting to feel hope again, he thought he just might live long enough to curse out Kall’el for talking him into the role of planetary defender, but one look at his sensor screen shattered any elation he had been feeling. He saw that there were still three more coralskippers tight on his tail, fear rose up and claimed him once again, he was paralyzed by the thought of dying. Just then, when he knew the killing shot was about to melt him out of the universe, three laser-cannon bursts from Dubrillion took out all three fighters clearing his path back to the planet.
Three modified TIE fighters rose from Dubrillion’s surface, Reece waggled his wings in appreciation, just as he heard Han Solo cry out, “Break back to the planet! Use Lando’s shields!”
That confused Reece for a moment, was Solo talking to him or the TIEs? His confusion bled way leaving slight embarrassment when he heard one of the TIE pilots respond in a feminine voicel; “Belt-Runner I’s down, no shields there, either.”
The trio continued to rise, heading straight into the fierce fighting; Solo continued to scream over the comm, for them to “Break back!” Then another woman came over the comm, concern and dread filling her voice as well, “Too many up here, we’re all heading home. Let the surface guns take them!”
Suddenly it dawned on him who it was in the modified TIEs, Han Solo’s three young children. Guilt turned to guilt just then and Reece felt ashamed; Solo’s kids had just saved his skin, and were even now going forward into battle, and with no shields!

Reece continued on, feeling his guilt grow as he brought his ship down to Dubrillion’s surface. It was as if getting closer to Dubrillion’s surface and the minor safety it provided was increasing his feelings of dread and shame. He silently prayed to the Force that the Solo children would listen to their parents and turn around with everyone else and flee the battle.

Eyes glued to his monitor for fear of missing anything that might happen next, Reece watched as the Falcon turned away from the planet and flew back into the battle in an attempt to pursue the modified TIEs. Reece wished him luck and forced his thoughts away from Solo’s predicament, he turned his attention back to his own problems; he was out of one danger, but plenty more lurked in front of him.
The skies of Dubrillion were filling with enemy fighters, and even though the surface guns were blasting them out of the atmosphere as fast as they were dropping down the gravity well, plenty more were making it past unscathed. The coralskippers that did make it past the surface guns immediately started to harass what fighters had made it back to the cities, one of these had just found Reece. His R2 unit screamed as molten rock hit the top-port stabilizer and splashed onto its casing. The R2 unit’s scream died in a stretched out warble as the molten rock melted through its outer casing and into the internal workings. The X-wing bucked as the stabilizer blew up, the wing started to vibrate violently threatening to tear off completely. Reece leveled out his dive, he knew bringing the ship in slower than full throttle would increase his risk of being blown out of the sky, but it sure beat the alternative. If he continued with the evasive maneuvers it would be pure suicide, the wing would shear, possibly taking the lower-port wing out with it, if not a large chunk of the fuselage. Either way, he was in more peril than he cared for. He was so close to being on the ground too! Kall’el should have had the Spicy Lady ready to liftoff when he arrived, but at this rate, he wasn’t so sure he’d be leaving Dubrillion alive.

The thought of seeing his ship again and the chance to kick Kall’el for talking him into flying the X-wing in the first place steeled his resolve to land in one piece, he dipped the X-wing lower once more, bringing him level with the rooftops of the higher towers. He was distracted by an alarm coming from his rear sensors, and to typical Denzar fashion, he had yet another coralskipper on his tail. Boy these guys just don’t give up, what did I do to make it so personal with them? Or am I just this lucky! He thought as his brow tightened in concentration. He looked ahead and saw the part of the city he had left the Spicy Lady and Kall’el, there was a broad plaza that stretched out around the towers, and cannons were filling the sky with laser fire.

Reece knew that he would have to act fast, he dropped lower again, and the towers flashing past his canopy so fast they were simulating a blurry canyon in his vision. He thread his damaged X-wing through the towers as delicately as he could. He had to find a way back to his ship, unfortunately, counter to his plan the coralskipper was staying with him and closing the distance. Sith! These ships are fast! Reece thought as he pushed the throttle back to full, the ship started to vibrate harder, he knew his chance was coming up, if he failed he was dead, but if he succeeded odds were he was as good as dead anyway. Oh well, here goes, Reece thought as he put inspiration to action, he kicked the ship into a hard roll, diving under a cross bridge as he spun. His shots hit right where they were intended; the walkway gave way, and began to fall; right into the coralskipper that was following him. Now the hard part, stay with me, come on baby stay together just a little longer.
The ship continued to roll, bucking and shaking, the wing tore off with a deafening sound of metal tearing, and suddenly Reece’s forward canopy was filled with the view of the sky, then land, then sky and land once more. Reece couldn’t help screaming out loud in terror. If his plan didn’t work he would slam into the permacrete upside down, granted death would be instant, but he didn’t want to die, if it worked correctly he’d hit bottom first, from there it would be a matter of either death on impact, crashing into something in the plaza, or his fuel cells exploding. Unfortunately in that moment of pure unrestrained terror all he could do was ride out the uncontrollable ship, and hope that when the moment of impact came it was bottom first, and he could ride the ship all the way to its stop.
The ground rushed up at him in a matter of seconds, but then so did the sky, just when Reece thought he was going to throw up his last meal, the ship slammed into the ground so hard his meal was shoved down into his feet. The ship slammed into the permacrete four more times before it settled into a violent slide towards the port towers and docks. As he rode the demolished ship across the plaza one more thought came into his mind; he could still collide into the port towers with enough speed to end his life too, he considered activating the ejection system, but when he tried nothing happened. The ship thankfully began to slow, and he realized he would have enough room to come to a relatively safe stop. Through the vibrations, he noticed a drop in the plaza he hadn’t noticed while he was up in the air. His eyes widened when he realized there was a lower level to the plaza, he couldn’t judge how far it was to the next level, and hoped it wouldn’t be far enough to kill him. To make it all this way, just to die in the end.

Cringing, Reece tightened his grip on the flight yoke, knuckles whitening; he ground his teeth together, and brought his legs up toward his chest. He realized that bringing his legs up wouldn’t help, and instinctively pressed his feet out hard into the floor of the fighter as it crashed into the guard rail tearing off the last set of S-foils remaining on the craft, before it plunged over the edge. The next level came up fast, and when the ship hit, his teeth rattled in his head, and he tasted blood. Wind rushed out of his lungs, as if he was kicked by a bantha, and his vision blurred, he was so disorientated he hadn’t even noticed that he had came to a complete stop.
As his vision returned, Reece saw mechanics and techs running from the lowest hanger areas, rescue teams flew out with speeders from hanger levels higher up. Am I alive? I must be alive. I did it? I really did it. I can’t believe it. With that thought in mind he smiled to himself, right before he passed out into darkness.

Dubrillion

Reece Denzar awoke sometime later in a bacta tank not knowing how he had made it from the wreckage that had one point been his X-wing to his current location, floating in a tank. Kall’el was waiting for him when he emerged, and afterwards when Reece was dressed again, feeling a little battered and bruised but defiantly alive, Kall’el told him how the Solo children had managed to turn the tide of the battle and saved the day. They had managed to shift the battle by drawing away the majority of enemy fighters into chasing them into the asteroid belt. The children had managed to survive the flight by using the Force to avoid being hammered by the asteroids and baiting the Yuuzhan Vong pilots into giving them chase. Very few of the Yuuzhan Vong corral skippers made it back out of the belt. Anakin Solo had been last seen flying out of the belt with no control and had been forced to make the jump to hyperspace, everyone feared the worst, but Kall’el assured Reece that Anakin’s parents would find the boy. Reece had missed the Solo twins triumphant return to Dubrillion, they were seen as the heroes of the day, and Reece himself wanted to express his own gratitude for their rescuing him on his approach to Dubrillion. That would have to wait though, Kall’el had told him that they had to go and meet Lando Calrissian for a briefing within the hour. Apparently the situation had changed and the situation was going to be evaluated.

Jedi Academy, Yavin 4

Jedi Master Luke Skywalker stood at the top of the Great Temple watching the assembled Jedi Knights preparing for the potentially dangerous missions he had assigned them. Jedi were loading a variety of spacecraft with provisions, and other items that they would most likely need for their journeys. Luke had a deep sense of apprehension about most of the missions he had assigned his Knights. He knew they were prepared for the dangers, but he also wished he didn’t have to send so many to worlds where the potential of running into the Yuuzhan Vong was almost guaranteed. He felt a presence drawing nearer, and turned to greet Corran Horn as he walked over to where Luke stood.
“Are they all set?” asked Corran, the one time CorSec-officer-turned-Rogue-Squadron-pilot-turned-Jedi looked down on the last few shuttles and freighters, gauging the Jedi he saw, he knew many were still unseasoned apprentices, but that they would be well looked after by their Masters. He turned to look back at Luke, waiting for Luke to reply in his own time.
“Most are, though some may need a more watchful eye than others.” He turned away from the Temples edge and began walking back into the Temple towards his briefing room. “I don’t like sending so many out, but it must be done, the Jedi need to know as much information about these invaders as possible. Unfortunately the only way to do that is these scout missions. Sure most of these missions will turn up nothing, but others are to planets that we have suddenly lost contact with along the Outer Rim, and the biggest dangers lie with the ones closest to Dubrillion, Belkadan, and the Helska system.”
“All we can do is look to the Force to see us through Master,” Corran remarked, “though I’m sensing that you didn’t send for me just to inform me of your troubles. Had you decided where you wanted me to go?”
“As a matter of fact I have, but I would like you to bring Jacen and Anakin to the briefing room. They are saying good-bye to Jaina at the moment, when they are through I have assignments for all of you.” With that, Luke strode into the Temple, leaving Corran to his task.

Corran Horn came out of the Great Temple from the hangar area, and crossed over to the shuttle where Jaina Solo stood. Jaina was saying good-bye to her brothers- her twin Jacen and younger brother Anakin- she would soon be departing to Commenor to retrieve Danni Quee before linking up with their mother, Leia Solo. Across the landing field, Lan-Pal Halloran grabbed another crate of supplies and hauled it up the boarding ramp and loaded it into one of the cargo compartments on the old Skipray blastboat he and his Master had been assigned for their trip to Ord Rytello. A few weeks after the battle at Helska 4, Ord Rytello ceased communications and no one in the New Republic had made contact with the capital. The Ambassador had sent an urgent HoloNet communication to Master Skywalker pleading for him to send a team of Jedi to investigate.
Luckily for Lan-Pal, Master Skywalker was already planning on sending Jedi on scout missions along the galactic edge and the Outer Rim territories. Ord Rytello was just one in a series of planets the Jedi would be scouting and gathering information about the Yuuzhan Vong’s possible presence. Secretly Lan-Pal was hoping they would find the invaders during his assignment. If the Vong weren’t at Ord Rytello, then there would be two more stops they would have to make in some nearby systems and as long as the Vong were not there either, then they would be returning with information on where the Vong were not stationed. Lan-Pal knew his master was not as eager to find the invaders as he was. Zorrom Nadda was an Ithorian healer as well as Jedi Master, and he disliked the use of his lightsaber, and avoided wielding it as often as possible.