Fiction Gallery

The sound of the waves crashing on the shore brought Tra'an to wakefulness slowly. His fingers gripped the sand slowly as he raised his head and found himself confronting a tropical climate with naught but his lightsaber, a holoreader, and a strategically placed sheet, to provide shade from the glaring sun.

The sand was warm, but not brutally so, having been kept in the shade through the heat of the day. It was pleasant, and a surprise to find himself alone in the middle of Force forsaken nowhere. As he stretched and considered his option, it occurred to him that it had been some decades since he had taken a real vacation and just relaxed.

Between running Plagueis, and before it growing to power within the Brotherhood, he'd had very little time of peace and quiet to enjoy reading. As he picked up the holo-reader, he determined that it was filled with enough material to keep him busy for months, just enjoying the backlog of historical and fictional tales he had accumulated.

Idly, he wondered if he should bother trying to escape what was obviously meant to keep him sidelined from the activities at hand in the Brotherhood, as people jockeyed for power with hopes of the death or removal of Sarin.

Afterall, many people coveted the hope of being named Deputy Grand Master to Mav once Sarin was out of the picture. The lure of power and prestige was too much for some people. As he settled back to read, his only regret was in not having a bottle of Whyren's to enjoy. Though, he mused, at least he wouldn't have the agony of finishing the bottle and not having more. That, after all, was true torture.

As the sun continued to move across the sky, and the waves up the beach, Tra'an lost himself in time, far away from the worries of the Brotherhood.

There once was a woman named Selika. She looked more like an Angelica She had quite a temper, Never would she simper, She'd give it to you for the helluva!

There once was a pretty girl from Clan Plagueis, she teamed up with a weird guy called Alaris. Together they assembled the ultimate Team, The one and only crème de la crème. United under a single banner they were known as Selaris.

There was an Alderaanian called Kooki Who wandered around for a look-see She ate food from distant lands With her delicate hands Including a chargrilled Wookie

The molten, crimson suns of the odd tropical planet relentlessly battered the surface with intense heat. Blackened shrubs with long, pointed leaves and odd cerulean fruit swayed with a cool ocean breeze, and in the distance water could be heard splashing against a seemingly endless expanse of sandy coastline. Animals could be heard, tiny insects chirping in high pitched tones, or mammals in the distance sounding their baritone mating calls. Birds with four wings in vibrant colors flew past and perched on the tips of the trees, dividing their attention between picking among the bark for food, and staring at the foreign guest to their shores.

Laren Uscot lay sprawled face-down on a small patch of the beach, his body contorted in odd angles. Much of his clothing had been torn and soiled with Laren's bloody and sweat during the violent crash. Nearby, what remained of the items he had stored in a small compartment under his cockpit seat lay mostly ruined across the shore, though there was likely something in there that could aid the Pantoran - if he ever woke up, that is. In the distance, what remained of his starfighter was smouldering, having burned throughout the night. The mercenary wasn't quite conscious yet, but he would soon realize that he was stuck on a deserted, tropical island. Or perhaps a desert island. Or rather, more accurately, he was stuck on a speck of land in the middle of an ocean.

As awareness flooded the man's aching body, his eyes shot open. Laren's first thoughts came instinctively from years of training and conditioning. He remembered - what? Something about the sensors and this planet. Tropical drinks came to mind, and the bright flash of laser fire skirted across his thoughts. Then he realized he was covered in sand, including his numerous cuts and bruises and -

Excruciating pain. Curses was all he could manage to think. It wasn't the first time he had broken his leg, but it had been quite awhile since he was in such a precarious situation without immediate medical access. Besides his leg and the cuts, he thought he might have had a broken rib or three, but he couldn't be sure. He shook his head - gently, though, since it felt heavy with pain and weariness. Add a concussion to the long list of his life threatening injuries on an unknown planet with too much heat and one too many suns. His thought process stumbled for a moment, his mind blank, before veering in a new direction. He needed to know more about his situation. Though it might help if I wasn't laying on my karkin' face, he thought dimly.

With a quick heave, he forced himself around and onto his back with a deafening cry of pain. He squeezed his eyes shut and panted as he attempted to calm himself down. Deep breaths in, and deep breaths out was the old Imperial first aid exercise. That was about all he remembered, besides how to make a temporary splint or sling. He wasn't the most adept in battlefield medicine, let alone simple first aid.

A minute or so passed before the pain was manageable once more. He opened his eyes again, though this time he regretted it. The world was tinged in hues of vibrant red because of its twin suns that battered his vision. Why was it all the sandy planets had to have twin suns and cause loads of problems? He let the thought slide as he looked around. In front of him was a vast expanse of ocean, the water the color of fresh blood. It was just an illusion, however, as the water washed up on the shore it was as transparent and salty as the rest. He tilted his head a little, and to his left - which he realized was somewhere close to facing east - he caught a glimpse of the patch of blackened tropical shrubbery that occupied the island. He was stuck on a desert island. But was it a desert island on the ocean? He dropped his brief concern of semantics and turned his attention to his right, looking for his gear. Not for the first time since regaining consciousness, he regretted looking.

Among the small compartment that remained of his emergency gear nearby was mostly burned or broken beyond repair. However, a few items that survived the crash stuck out. His pair of magna-gloves were all but untouched, merely covered in sand and soot. A few paces further, Laren's sharp eyes caught the exposed screen of his Assassin's datapad among the smoldering junk. As he began to look on his own person, he realized he was missing everything except for the Inquisitorious Stilleto that remained in his left boot.

"I'm living a bloody joke," Laren mumbled hoarsely. What in the nine dungeons was he supposed to do with a pair of gloves, a knife, and a datapad? Fate was not smiling on the poor man today, it seemed. "I always knew I was going to die, but never in such a - a boring way." He realized he could talk aloud whenever he chose. Who was around to judge the stranded man talking out loud to himself?

All that was left to do was drag himself under a bush and wait for help. Standard Plagueis protocol had forced Laren to install a tracking device on his Starfighter for official business. He never mentioned to the leadership that he took it off, on occasion, though he was thankful this trip was not one of them. Assuming, of course, it wasn’t destroyed in the crash landing.

“Nothing to do but wait.”

Eighteen hours later

Laren’s eyes shot open, though this time red-tinged night greeted his eyes. In the distance he heard the roar of a spacecraft landing, and he could just make out footsteps traversing through the shrubs. Someone had come to save him after all, it seemed.

Someone stepped out from behind the mercenary, their face silhouetted by one of the three moons occupying the night sky. Kelly Mendes stared down at the gaunt face of Laren, a sinister smile gracing her full red lips.

“You’re a bloody fool,” she began. “Do you even remember what happened?”

“Honestly, the last thing I remember is leaving with the Paladin,” he replied honestly.

Kelly laughed before continuing, “We were ambushed, by who we don’t know. The Headmaster managed to escape with the Paladin because you were a karking madman.”

“See, you keep saying that, but in which way? I am a murderer for hire, after all.”

“You really don’t remember sending your hyperspace rings flying at the frigate with the downed shields? You don’t remember ramming your Starfighter into a corvette before spinning wildly through the atmosphere of this useless planet? You don’t re –“

“I get your point,” Laren cut in. “I’m insane.”

“You are a Praetor, after all.”

“Kelly, enough. I’m pulling rank. Get some troopers and get me out of –“

Suddenly Laren was floating off the ground at eye level with Kelly. Her focus was visible, maintain a telekinetic hold over an individual like Laren, though she still had time to quip, “How about I just float you on over?”

TuQ’uan sat in the passenger seat of the open top airspeeder staring down at his datapad, unable to concentrate on the words being displayed. At least it was better than seeing where they were headed. The Kel Dor's stomach churned as the speeder dipped, dived and weaved unnecessarily through the wide open air above the oceans of Sesid.

“I'd like to arrive in one piece,” the mercenary muttered to himself. “Or just arriving would be nice.”

Zuser Whuloc turned his head and stared at his passenger all the while continuing his erratic flying.

“Excuse me?” Zuser calmly enquired, annoyance showing in his currently green eyes. “That's not how you say thank you to someone, here let me show you how.”

Without taking his eyes off the Kel Dor, Zuser pulled up hard on the controls and yanked them to the right causing the airspeeder to go into a corkscrew. The human proceeded to remove his right hand from the controls and release TuQ’uan’s safety harness sending the mercenary tumbling the thirty feet from the speeder towards the water and a small island below.

It took a moment for the mercenary to realize what was going on, seeing the water and beach rushing up to meet him, he braced for impact. TuQ’uan landed with a thud just past the edge of the water, sending sand flying up into the air. The Kel Dor laid still for a while, his everything seemed to hurt.

And this is why everyone warned me not to fly with Zusser, the man’s insane, TuQ’uan inwardly moaned. Groaning he slowly got to his feet, testing out his injuries he came to the conclusion that nothing was broken, just severely bruised and battered. Next it was time to take stock of his possessions. Patting himself down and rifling through his pockets the first thing TuQ’uan found was his trusty datapad, brushing sand away revealed just a few small cracks in the screen, which he could easily live with. Next he found a bottle of Whyren's Reserve, a very rare Corellian Whisky that he had picked up from Zuser’s private stores while he wasn't around. The bottle luckily remained unharmed from the fall, thank goodness for those Corellians!

TuQ’uan finally took a moment to take in his surroundings, he was currently standing on the beach of a relatively small tropical island that he suspected could be walked around in a total length on an hour. The beach was about 30 feet wide and wrapped around the entire perimeter of the island, forming a ring around a thick, miniature, tropical forest. All in all it looked like the stereotypical desert island.

Looking out at the ocean he had just been traveling over, the Kel Dor realized something felt wrong. He figured out why pretty quickly, a little ways down the beach the mercenary's hat was washing up on shore. Slowly TuQ’uan hobbled over to pick up the soaking wet hat, the only sound to keep him company was the ocean breeze and his winces as he tried desperately to avoid igniting too much pain.

Placing the soggy hat back where it belonged, TuQ’uan was ready to get to work. First he pulled his datapad out and looked for, “How to Build a Hammock While Trapped on a desert Island 101”. It was an interesting, albeit short read. Now it was time to work, he set off towards the trees.

After a few hours of working TuQ’uan was exhausted, stepping back the mercenary admired his hard work. Hanging just on the edge of where the trees met the beach was a rough looking, makeshift hammock made from branches woven together and using leaves as a pillow. It was finally time to relax. Laying down on the hammock the Kel Dor pulled his datapad out again, started a new book and took a swig of the stolen Whyren’s Reserve. He was able to down close to half the bottle before passing out from the exhaustion.

As the last of the daylight faded over the horizon, TuQ’uan’s snoring blended in with the sound of the tide lapping up onto the beach. Crunching footsteps made their way up to the mercenary's tropical camp. Looking down at the sleeping Kel Dor, Zuser reached out and angrily grabbed the half empty bottle from its place leaning against the Kel Dor's stomach. The Dark Jedi turned to leave but paused for a moment before taking the hat off of TuQ’uan’s head and leaving.

“Take something of mine, I'll take something of yours,” Zuser grumbled under his breath as he placed the hat on his own head and took a drink from the bottle. Jumping back into the airspeeder Zuser left TuQ’uan stranded once more only this time without alcohol or hat.

There once was a beastmaster in Plagueis, He deliberately stole Laren's haggis. They went a few rounds, Ended up in a town, And now their bout is replaying in Mos Vegas.

strong powerful warm cold strained beat up feeling down tired aching breathe

There once was a man named Finn Who saw in Poe something akin He said, "Tell the world we are bros." "You are my world", Poe did propose Never more true, a bromance, had been

When Luke met Leia, he wasn't alone In his apparent desire to bone For she gave him a kiss And before you dismiss They're siblings and somehow she's "always known"

Abadeer sat looking out over the ocean, knees pulled up tight to his chest. A small plume of smoke was still visible out near the horizon marking where his ship had crashed into the ocean. The Proconsul sighed deeply before falling back on the rocky shore. Enemy forces had managed a critical hit on his ship causing him to crash on this remote outer rim planet.

Abadeer sat up slowly rubbing his right temple. He looked down to check his remaining supplies. The swim had been long and difficult, not allowing much to be carried with the Togruta. He pulled out his lightsabers, the crimson saber sparking dangerously. He figured that it must have been damaged in the crash. The alabaster bladed saber seemed to be fine. Taasii also reached into his belt where he’d stored in datapad, to try to communicate to anyone still up in orbit.

As he pulled out the small square of metal the Plagueian realized that this was not indeed his datapad. It seemed in the sinking confusion he’d grabbed the dislodged navigation board from ship. Abadeer stared at the square of metal for a long moment his gaze slowly darkening. He reeled back and tossed the navigational piece into the crashing ocean.

“Well this is… just great.” Abadeer said to nobody in particular. He stood up and turned towards the island, only to be greeted with about a half mile spit of craggy rock. The tide lapped at the small cliff that was the shore of the island hungrily. Abadeer was completely and utterly alone, with no conceivable way out of the dire situation. He peered out over the water, there were other small specks of land, but nothing of any promise to aid in survival. No wildlife or greenery to be seen.

“So it’s dehydration then. Not the way I thought I’d go.” Taasii muttered, switching to his native tongue with no others to talk to.

“What do you mean dehydration?”

Abadeer slowly looked around for the source of the voice. There was nothing to be seen though. Just uneven rock surrounded by greenish blue ocean.

“What..” Abadeer started to say.

“The craziness will get you first.”

This time Abadeer caught the sound. He looked down to see a rock, about the size of his head. The rock was settled right near his left ankle. Peculiarly the rock had a red hand print looking shape on it, that if squinted at could look like someone smiling blankly.

“Sith spit.”

Rogue One had an ornery droid Who was on the whole mostly annoyed He went on their trips To offer his quips And with Stormtroopers mostly he toyed.

There once was a farm boy named Luke Who fell on a romantic fluke He held her and kissed her Turns out she's his sister And now he feels like a mook

Unknown Planet Planet surface outside of village Topamoki

"Ughh..." Alara attempted to pick herself up from the cold, hard ground she somehow wound up on. Her eyes flickered open to see a dark, forest setting around her. It must be something like 22:00 by now. She wiped blood and dirt off of her face by lifting her right arm to do the dirty work, and sat up with crossed legs. Her Sephi ears flicked in multiple directions and angles as the Battlemaster tried to find out where she ended up.

This planet does not look familiar. At all. Am I in the Unknown Region somewhere?

She looked around to find her ARC 170 Starfighter smashed into smithereens behind where she sat. It didn't look like any of the machinery survived. Even the window, which she must have smashed through upon impact of the planet, was shattered into smithereens. The Quaestor immediately tapped her forehead. Sure enough, a lovely sized slice was left behind by the blast. She felt sore all over the place, especially on her elbows, chest, and knees which were scraped up in all sorts of wonderful cuts.

Fwec. If this scars I'm going to look like some sort of abstract art pictograph. Alara snarled to herself.

She spat out some more blood from her swollen tongue and instinctively reached for her datapad on her left wrist. Unfortunately, only half of the screen remained attached to the strap. A gasp shook Alara to her core. She immediately ran to her starfighter in attempts to find her droid she named Baxter. He was no where to be found. Then her memory slapped her hard with twinges of guilt and stupidity as she realized she had left him behind to protect her tusked cat, Artemis. The half-Sephi kicked the ground in frustration as her ears fluttered with anger that boiled underneath her skin. She crossed her arms roughly and tapped each arm with her index fingers as she bit onto her lower lip to think of a plan. No ship. No droid. No datapad. She was officially alone.

Well, not quite...

The snap of a twig tickled her Sephi ears. Alara quickly spun around, clicked her sabers off of their belt clips, and ignited their plasma to light the scene. In front of her stood two small, furry creatures. They must have been no more than 4 feet high, and appeared to be a feline-like humanoid. Not quite like Zygerrians, as they were vibrantly colored in hues of green and blue, and were more kitten-like than anything. The creatures began to meow to eachother in gasps and tones of worry as they pointed to the figure before them. Alara immediately turned off her sabers.

"Sorry about that, can't be too careful in such a time as this. I mean you no harm." Alara lifted each finger slowly off of its assigned lightsaber hilt and allowed them to slip to the ground. She kept her hands up and stepped forward. The creatures cooed in fearful tones and stepped backwards. Instinctively, the Quaestor knelt down to meet safer eye contact and tried her best to hush them.

"There there, I mean you no harm. Safe. Okay."

One teal-colored feline blinked its large childlike eyes and tried to mouth the words Alara had just spoken: "Saaaayyffff. Okkaaaiiiee."

"Yes, very good." She held a thumbs up at the creature and flashed a smile. Suddenly the creatures looked at her in a different light and began jumping up and down with joy.

"Aeeeeta! Aayyeeetta!" Each kitten jumped with glee as they shook eachother in amazement.

"A...ayeeta? What?" Alara tried to figure out what was going on. She looked at her thumb. Did I just send them a signal of sorts in their language? Or are they just happy to know I mean them no harm?

"Ayeeta! Ayeeta!" One violet creature stepped forward with a thumbs up signal and suddenly bowed down before the half-Sephi. The five other creatures also in attendance immediately bowed as well and raised their hands from the sky to her feet chanting those words over and over again.

"Well... I guess I can get used to this." Alara giggled slightly. She sat on the ground in front of them and suddenly gave into the urge to kiss each of their foreheads.

Looks like I'm an Empress of sorts, now.

First came Darth Plagueis trying to hang on to life Then Sidious brought war, bringing the galaxy strife Darth Maul killed the best Jedi of all Count Dooku tried to make the Order fall Lastly Darth Vader got angry, and killed his own wife

I awoke from what seemed like an eternity. Was I dreaming or was this just a nightmare. My whole body was tingling from head to toe in pain. My nerves were wrecked as I layed there unconscious. I had no serious injuries, but only bruises on my upper and lower body. I was in pain, my body was stiff as a board, my joints were so damaged, I could hardly turn my head. The burning feeling was my body healing and it felt good in a way. The sensations were pulling me together, soon I would awake. My eyes would not open on thier own. My memories had vanished, where am I, who am I. These questions would soon be answered.

My eyes suddenly opened, I tried to grasp what was going on, where was I. I was laying in a bed, by myself. Stranger things have happend to me, but this seemed really awkward. I was in a bedroom, in someones home. With no memory of how or why I was laying here. "Where were my things", as I thought to myself! I better lay here till someone comes to get me. Then, I heard a voice from in this strange place, it was a womens voice. She must of heard me. My body was in pain. I was a more than surprised to hear this womans voice, as she made here way towards where I was laying silently.

My eyes were wideshut, as she entered the room. She came to me and sat right next to me, "are you ok", she said. I didn't know where I was or who she was, even worse I didn't know why I was here. This woman was beautiful from head to toe in everyway. I didn't know what to say to her. I told here, "Yes, I'm ok, but a shaken up". She laughed and smiled. She had been taking care of me for about the last week. It seems that I wrecked my fighter on her home planet, in her back yard. "What a mess I was in", I thought to myself, as she explained in details what had happend. Surprised, but thankful, she had saved me from the wreckage.

I stood up on my own feet, we walked to the living area of her place. I was coming to my senses. This planet was just like anyother planet I had been to. The technology seemed to be lacking in some areas, but I could get by. My fighter was finished, there was no way to restore it. The woman lived alone and was very wealthy in her own way. She was getting fond of me and me of her. We were having conversations and I could feel my powers restoring. She managed to find my Club, but I would not need for the time being. This is a friendly place, I was in. She promised me no one would come for us.

Choices would have to be made, but for now I was going to spend some time with my new lady friend, until the time was right. Maybe she would leave with me, maybe I was going to stay awhile. She begged me to stay and keep her company. I had no choice for now, but to stay. We were becoming close in the weeks that had past. I didn't know what was to become of it, but it was more than destiny that brought us together. With the credits I had, I could easily make my way out of here. It wasn't even about that, I was falling for her and she for me. As I regain control of my senses, I will wait this out. I didn't know where I was going. This was more than a nightmare!

There was once a Sith called Kooki Whose husband said no to nookie So she grabbed poor Andrel Threw him down a well And then went and shaved a Wookiee

Kylo was trained by Lord Snoke. Who really was not a nice bloke. His face looked quite scarred, Or better yet marred, Which affected the way that he spoke.

quiet anger burns for not all is well resolved he has greater plans

Cold, but I'm alive Chilled, ferocity rising Thawed, with new meaning

The Jedi was wielding a saber while not on his very best behavior A cry burst from his lungs as he stabbed and he swung 'til he impaled an innocent neighbor

There once was a boy from the sand Who saved the princess of a rebel band One day he kissed her But she was his sister So their father cut off his hand.

I wanted to fight I was sitting on my ass Now it has frostbite

Taldryan is the best
Taking names like in the wild wild west
You better run and search for cover
Or you'll be unfortunate to discover
That you'll be pwned like the rest.

There once was a senator from Naboo Who had many plans to do And what a surprise For he'd tell you no lies The tale of Darth Plagueis the wise

The LAAT/c banked hard back and forth avoiding in the incoming fire from the base. The pilot deftly maneuvered the craft as he lead the small group of four LAAT/c’s carrying the Night Hawks and a small contingent of a Line Company from 2nd Line’s Assault Battalion.

“Passing through the outer range of the base's defenses.” The pilot of the craft that Armad was currently in stated over the group’s shared comms.

“Scyk Squadron, begin your run. Remember, ions only. I want the base intact.” Armad was about to key his mic off, but thought better of it. “Varuk, I mean it. Do NOT destroy any of the defenses.”

After about 5 minutes the amount of fire that was pounding on the LAAT/c trickled down until there was nothing hitting their shields or armor. Armad looked up from his datapad, activating his comm, “Varuk report.”

A brief moment of static before Varuk came across the channel. “Base defenses offline, two bombers down and I'm barely in the air with one engine.” Another couple of seconds of static. “Several hostiles down, the rest are running for the main building.”

Though DarkHawk was the leader of the Night Hawks, Armad had been given command of the mission. His plan was to take this small force of soldiers and the Night Hawks in AT-TEs carried by LAATs on a straight course toward the base, getting their attention. Then Scyk Squadron, temporarily led by Varuk Kru, came in from space in a nose dive attack, aimed at disabling the defenses. After that, the aim was to land a pair of AT-TEs outside either gate and secure the buildings as they came across them. “Get to the base's hangar and secure it, you’ve got soldiers, DarkHawk and Druda headed your way to back you up.” Armad ordered, while tapping some commands in his datapad, letting a couple of squad sergeants know that their orders had changed. Ashia, Teu and Firith would assault the Maintenance Garage side, while Armad would hang back enough to make sure things went smoothly.

“Set us down outside the Maintenance Gate.” Armad ordered the pilots. Pulling out his datapad, he set about checking over the group's orders. Having made sure that everything was in order, Armad did a quick check of his equipment before they were dropped off.

“Dropping in 3...2...1. Released. Happy hunting, Night Hawks.” The pilot announced as the AT-TE settled on the ground and began lumbering toward Dlarit Military Base Alpha. Since both of the bases were identical to each other, Armad and Jurdan were given the choice of which base they would like to assault. Jurdan liked the idea of unknown things in the dark at Bravo, so Armad reluctantly agreed to take on Alpha.

Soldiers poured out of their respective transports and set about securing the immediate area. Other squads were rushing into and assaulting the maintenance garage. Armad walked with Ashia, Teu and Firith toward the garage behind the soldiers, letting them do their job before it was necessary for one of them to set in. Armad could hear blaster rifle fire coming from the Hangar, but this group was oddly quiet. He understood why when he walked through the maintenance bay doors, which looked as though they hadn’t been closed in a couple of years. Snow blanketed much of the floor, some even reaching the back legs of a massive AT-AT that was just sitting dormant among the other walkers. Their gears and fluids must have frozen long ago, and the forces here couldn’t get them up and running by the time that Armad and his forces arrived. To which Armad was glad for, as those vehicles would have made this assault more costly than what he’d predicted.

After a while, Armad got the report that the hangar was secured, as well as all the outlying buildings that they could access without entering the main complex. Knowing that the main building was next, his forces set themselves outside the entrances and awaited the order to breach. This was the part that Armad would liked to have been a part of. The Night Hawks were to ascend to the top of the building and make their way down, taking out any opposition that they came across and just being a distraction so that the Legion forces could sweep and secure the rest of the building. Armad was certain he knew how the Sadowans with him would reach the top, jump with the aid of the Force. But he was unclear as to how Varuk and Druda were going to get up to the top, Armad had offered the use of his Security S-5 Heavy Blaster Pistol for the liquid cable launcher. DarkHawk had refused, said they'd get up there, all the with a smirk in his face.

The squad Sergeants all reported that they were in place and ready to go on his signal. Ashia, Teu and Firith had already jumped up to the roof and were awaiting DarkHawk, Varuk and Druda. A loud “Waaaaiittt” echoed across the comms as we could only assume that DarkHawk had figured out an inventive way to get Druda up onto the roof. A few chuckles could be heard through the comms as some had undoubtedly been on the receiving end of one of DarkHawk’s sense of humor.

“Go, go go.” Armad stated into his comlink. Giving the signal to storm the complex and secure it.

For the next 20 minutes, there was quite a bit of comm traffic as soldiers and Sadowans alike were confronted with resistance. Calls for assistance and all clears for certain sections were heard at a steady rate, indicating that all was going according to plan. At about 15 minutes into the assault, Armad heard several calls from soldiers being killed off, and from those behind them asking “What was that thing?!”

“It looks like a Wampa!”

“Why are our shots just bouncing off it?!”

Then calls of “Where are our FU’s?”, which was code, or soldier slang for the Dark Jedi and Sith that usually accompany them on missions like this.
“We are here. Watch our backs.”

Then it was all over. Alpha base was secure. Once all squad leaders reported in, just over the minimal expected loss that he had accounted for, though the loss of two Y-wing bombers would be costly.

The plan was all coming together. But Jedi Adem Bol'era was never quite content, as he surveyed his surroundings to discover any missed holes. He was on a high-speed train, blasting through dense jungle. Outside he would hear continuous supersonic blasts, but inside was an almost deafening silence, ameliorated by a light jizz soundtrack, performed by a live band at the front of the train. His cargo, a defecting Inquisitor named Harlon Gantz, had already been acquired, and Adem was charged with his safe passage to Arcona. Gantz was hidden in plain sight, as a typical passenger on the train, albeit with a higher heart rate than those around him. And scattered throughout the train, Adem had planted a small army mercenaries, all who happened to resemble Gantz and dressed similarly, but secretly armed to the teeth.

There was no doubt in the dark Jedi’s mind that the Inquisition had sent an agent to either retrieve or execute Gantz. But at the speed they were traveling, the Inquisitor had mere minutes before they found themselves in the belly of the beast, deep in Arcona-controlled territory, surrounded by every manner of space-wizards and defenses. All Adem had to do was stay focused.

His focus was interrupted by a young, gray Wookiee crashing through the door. He emitted an apologetic growl, and his datapad translated: [HELLO HUMAN, SORRY FOR SCARE, AM HERE FOR SEROUS MISSION] “Well you certainly know how to make an entrance,” remarked Adem. “Wait, haven’t I seen you around before?” Adem leaned in/up close and whispered “you’re an Arconan, aren’t you! What are you doing here?!” While Kelviin the Wookiee caught his breath, he typed on the text-to-speech program on his datapad: [HELLO YES, AM ARCONA! BE NO WORRY TINY HUMAN, BUT AM THINK IMPORTANT HUMAN IS HERE ON TRAIN, IN MAYBE DANGER. KELVIIN HERE TO RESCUE!] The datapad’s voice resonated throughout the quiet train car, as every non-Gantz passenger swiveled their head in alarm.

Adem panicked, but realized he could use the passengers’ reactions to gauge which might be a potential Inquisitor. Nobody. Every single person in this train is legitimately surprised by this revelation. Perhaps the Inquisition didn’t send anyone, after all. Adem muttered “solve one problem, create another.” “Don’t you have a volume control on this thing?! What tactical genius sent you on a stealth mission?” Kelviin looked confused at his datapad and gargled in reply [HOW CONTROL VOLUME WITHOUT CONTROL SURFACE AREA? SO MANY HUMAN ASK THIS]

Adem began to explain, but decided instead to address the passengers. “And with that, I would like to welcome you all to the murder mystery theater car! Thank you all for choosing a bit of dinner theater with your travels. The show will continue momentarily, we hope you enjoy!” The passengers all sighed in relief, some laughing, others discussing their pleasant surprise.

A young Twi’lek stood up and strode over to the Wookiee and Jedi. [IS THE TALI, HELLO!] exclaimed Kelviin when he recognized his friend and teammate. [ARE ALL SEND ON STEALTH MISSION TOGETHER?? IS MISSION PARTY!] Adem glanced anxiously at Tali- none of this was part of the plan. “Excuse me miss, if you’ll just take your seat-” “No vorries, I am here vith my friendt Kelviin! Ve’re all on the same team!” explained Tali. Did Lucine not trust Adem, and sent reinforcements? Both their minds were an open book, and Adem could sense that both intruders were sincere. But this was a sensitive operation, at least Tali seemed to have some sense of discretion. “I trust you were briefed on the mission parameters already?” asked Adem. “Er… not quite. I lost my transport andt neededt the fastest ride back to Arconan territory. Andt vhile I’m here, I may as vell help you two!” Adem took a deep breath. “Alright, I have a lot to explain, but we’ll need to find a secluded area.

The group walked down the aisle, toward the private sleeper car. Adem put on his entertainer face as they walked, engaging the passengers as they walked by. As they passed one of the Gantzes, Adem merely gave him a subtle, wordless nod. Suddenly, Tali’s lekku lept into action- one lekku pulling Gantz up by the throat, the other removing his blaster and pressing it against Tali’s head. Every other Gantz sprang up, drawing their weapons. [BE CAUTION HUMAN, AM SEE THIS BEFORE! THE LEKKU ARE IRON THRONE TEAM!] “I APPRECIATE THE WARNING, WOOKIEE! I’LL BE SURE TO LOOK OUT FOR THAT.” [WHY YOU YELL] Adem locked eyes with Tali, trying to judge her next move, only to see tears welling up in her eyes. So, the lekku are loyal to the Iron Throne, but the Twi’lek attached to them are loyal to Arcona?

Hostage-Tali and hostage-Gantz edged toward the door, where a jumpspeeder was hovering alongside the train. As the lekku prodded them along, some members of the audience gasped, others laughed, and a few grumbled about the questionable quality of this premise, returning to their snacks. Kelviin wailed to Adem, [AM TRYING STOP THIS BEFORE, BUT NOT DRESS PROPER HUMAN] Adem glanced back in profound confusion, but returned his gaze to the schizophrenic Twi’lek. He had to make this look good. Lighting began to crackle around his fists and created the illusion of ominous smoke filling the train car. He amplified his voice to sound as sinister and powerful as possible, booming: “You pathetic fool. You think you’ve stopped me, but you’ve given me all I need to destroy everything you’ve ever sought to protect. Your short-sighted, clumsy victory will be the downfall of everything you’ve ever valued.” Kelviin unleashed a tear-broken roar, which was translated: [NO! IS NO MORE VICTORY, AM FIX THIS NOW!] Activating his personal shield, the Wookiee stampeded toward the front of the train. Tali’s lekku unleashed a hail of blaster fire at Kelviin, which deflected chaotically around the cabin. Adem directed it away from the bystanders, as they ooh’d and aah’d. As Kelviin rumbled closer, the lekku dropped Gantz so they could raise another blaster and wear down the Wookiee’s shields faster. “NOW!” shouted Adem, as he force pushed Tali against the wall. The false hostage sprang up and ensnared Tali with electro-cuffs and drew his weapon. Kelviin dove in to hold down and disarm the lekku, roaring, [NOT THE TALI, IS ONLY LEKKU!] “Are you joking, sir?” asked the mercenary.

The other Gantz-mercenaries sprang forward to properly restrain Tali’s lekku and hold them still, just in case. The train gently slid to a halt, as the PA system announced <Now arriving at Estle City. Please watch all appendages when leaving the train, and thank you for traveling with us!> The doors opened and a squad of Arconan dark Jedi rushed in, met with wild applause from the train passengers.

[LITTLE HUMAN, AM SO CONFUSE.] “Don’t worry about it, Wookiee buddy. You were very convincing, and somehow managed to not screw up this operation.” [OH, YES SO CONFUSE ABOUT MISSION TOO. BUT ARE FRIENDS NOW?] Adem took a moment to express surprise, then another moment to consider. “We’ll have to see, I suppose.” [YUSS AM EXCITE TO SEE YOU TOO] exclaimed the Wookiee as he scooped up Adem in a hug.

So much has happened over the last few years. I joined a group, a cult really, within a secret Order styling itself as a group of fraternity. It is laughable really, to fancy the Brotherhood as what they call it. There is little sense of fraternity between the Clans, but given the events of late that is a story unto itself.

Looking back, even before my days as a Sadowan, I really never fancied myself anything like a family man. There was always too much going on. Family brought with itself a sort of collateral I never felt I could afford. Yet, here I find myself now as both a husband and a father.

I act as both Patriarch of a family, and as a Proconsul over the Clan. There isn't a lot of time to spend with my wife, so I was glad to see she came to Sepros. She even brought Lyna'Vel with her. The Consul gave me a couple hours to spend with them both.

"Hey kiddo." A chuckle escaped my lips as I stretched out my hands toward my daughter. She began to babble as I rocked her in one arm, smiling before I turned my attention to Tasha'Vel. "So, how bad is it?"

"What are you talking about, Bentre?"

"Oh, come on. Do you really think we can keep her safe on Ryloth for so long? I find it hard to believe that you enjoy shuttling between Ryloth, Tarthos and Sepros this often. Maybe we should look at cutting ties for a while. We can burn the bridge before-"

"No." The word came out as a sharp rebuke. The Twi'leki Sadowan's stare was harder than permacrete. "Why would we abandon our home estate?"

"We need to protect our child. Which is more important, Tash?" I held up a hand to interrupt her before she could object. "Failing that we need a way to protect her." I motioned my head toward the child in my arms. Concern marred the normally picturesque visage of my Tasha'Vel as she mentally chewed over the idea.

"What would you propose we do?" The question was tentative, and I could hear the concern. "There is only so much we can do, sweetheart. Are you suggesting we leave her in the charge of someone in the Clan?"

"Well," my voice faltered as a smile cracked the illusion of calm I strove to maintain, "something sort of like that. I was perusing the notes of our beloved Mad Alchemist, and I believe I might have a solution." This statement earned me a glare of suspicion from the woman of my life. I didn't expect she would go for this, but it was worthwhile to consider. "He did a bit with the child of our Clan's own Teu."

"Oh?" I could see a bit of genuine curiosity now. Macron had trained with her in Echani, he and I had compared notes concerning Alchemy and of course he patched up my eye after my little encounter with that worm, Ventus. So needless to say, we both considered him a friend of the family. Hopefully I would be able to bank on that for what I wanted to propose.

"Well, he managed to, shall I say, add some years to the child's life." This statement prompted a bit of confusion. I was going to have to prod a little differently. "He found out how to bottle experience to be applied at a whim." Her expression returned to one of suspicion and annoyance now. I had to suppress a chuckle as I contemplated how to next rephrase it. "Hell with it, Tash. Macron accelerated the child's growth. Imagine, the ability to pass years of development to see the glory of our prodigy. With a more developed frame, we can teach her Martial Arts, Alchemic Arts, and we can assure she will be able to defend herself! It would be glorious as both a solution and oh-" I shuddered slightly as I let a few chuckles slip, "it would be such an experiment! Given her parentage, she could even be trained to be a great Sith one day! Don't you see what could be?"

I had never seen something quite like the expression upon my wife's face just then. It was like betrayal, then sorrow, each emotion flashing by before settling into something like contempt. "This is our Lyna'Vel, and you want to use her as a," her voice curdled, "test subject for your labs? How could you ask such a thing!?"

"I only want what is best for her." I spoke the words in near deadpan.Obviously, my wife did not see the wisdom in this path. "I only-" I started to repeat my statement, but she scooped Lyna'Vel from my arms before turning on one heel and storming down the hallway. I stood there for several moments before letting out a long sigh. It went as well as I could have expected. I might have to take things into my own hands to ensure her safety. It is a father's duty, after all to protect his offspring.