Survival, Dark Times 3

[Rain]

Anakin

I looked up at Dawn as I rubbed my cheek. "Thanks."

"Selas I've told you before, no need to call me Miss." Memah laughed.

"Is that because it reminds you that you're single?" I asked. Everyone laughed, but I didn't get what was so funny. I decided to laugh along anyways. Memah's blue face went a shade of purple.

"Very funny Anakin." She said, trying to conceal a smile of her own. "Daron would be proud of a comment like that!"

Kitty

I glanced at my holowatch. "Well, time is ticking. I think it's our only option. That or try to find the place and risk ending up on the other side of town."

Takk

"Are you sure these two will let us stay the night?" Nines asked as we stood outside the house of Xandyr and Mara Foxx.

I didn't answer. I was too nervous, A sensation I seldom experienced. Li replied instead. "I never really spoke with Mara, or Janet as she used to be known for some reason. She had some dark past or something, I don't know the specifics. But anyways she seemed decent enough." He said as he simultaneously scanned the area, "I knew Xandyr pretty well though. He's a good guy, so we should be good."

"I hope so." Mayko added, "Tikk or Takk or whatever the hell your name is, hurry up and ring the damn doorbell. It;s a miracle we haven't been spotted already."

"Pfft, don't act like you don't remember my name!" I scoffed, "And hey, less of the Trika Trok tantrums."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever flyboy, quit stalling and just do it already!"

She was right. I was stalling. I didn't know how the couple would react to seeing me again. She was also right about how lucky we were not to have been spotted. I couldn't waste any more time.

"Alright, here goes nothin'..." I stepped up to the door and pressed the buzzer. After a few moments the door opened to reveal Mara Foxx. I was speechless for a second. Just a second. "Uh... hi."

[hk47fan]

Erin

"Oh, Dune, you're just jealous of my hawtness! I know you want to kiss me," I told him, and then looked at Calvis dreamily. "Thank you, Calvis! You saved me! You know....you are kinda hawt, and you saved me from Dune just now...I knew you were in love with me and not that old meanie!"

I flung myself onto him and pulled him into a big, juicy kiss.

Tina

"Good point," I told her. As we began to walk in the general direction of this hospital, I felt I needed to let Kitty know a few things. "You know, Kitty, uh, on Dantooine...well I kinda had been there so long I knew my way around, you know? But in unfamiliar situations like this, well, I may not be the smartest cookie in the box!"

I chuckled nervously. Hopefully she wouldn't be bothered by any antics of mine. I mean, Kitty liked me, right? Right?

Mara

I heard the door buzz, and I groaned, walking from the kitchen, where I was just finishing dinner, to the door. It was probably Jaden; that kid forgot his card to get in so many times, I was on the verge of becoming one of those moms that asked if he had everything he needed a million times before he left. "Jaden, did you forget your car-" I groaned as I opened the door.

I stopped when I saw who was on the other side.

Takk Tennan.

"Uh, hi," he greeted. I was frozen in shock.

Not too many things shocked me like this, but all of my memories of Takk were not good ones. Most of my memories of him, he hadn't even been himself; he'd been amnesiac and was out to kill me and my unborn child, the child that eventually came Jaden.

Last time I saw him, he and I pretty much...made peace, and said our apologies for how we hurt each other. I'd killed his mother when I was the Emperor's Hand, and he, or his subconscious, had wanted revenge. However, we'd gotten past that, and he'd decided to basically go into stasis, using some machine, and was going to wake up three hundred years later and start a new life.

He was about two hundred and eighty seven years early. And I never expected to see him again.

There was a group with him, that I only noticed after staring at him. He looked exactly the same as the last time I saw him. A few of the people looked familiar, like I'd seen them before...wait, Winter was with him.

"Takk?" I finally said outloud, recovering from my shock. I looked at Winter. "....and Winter?"

I blinked. If Winter hadn't been here, I would've been more tempted not to trust Takk. He could've become the Dark Warrior again. But since she was here, that made me a little less wary.

"Xandyrr...." I called back into the house, not sure what to say.

Miss Haltzilakas

I smiled. "That'd be great. I'd like to get out of my office for awhile," I told Selas. We began to head off, and I thought I should check in with Selas, see how he was doing. He was a strong man, but I knew all of this still affected him, even to this day. And I understood why; Sora had been a very close friend of his until all of this. "So, Selas, how're you? Most of the time, we aren't able to say much except business talk."

[Revan Jast]

Selas

He shot a sideways glance at Miss H. She was right; they almost never talked outside of business. His first instinct was to put his guard up at such a question, even though he knew she meant no harm. It seemed extremely personal, coming from her. But then again, it was.

"I'm.... doing alright, I suppose. The best I can with what I have. I can't help but wonder how things just fell apart so quickly, though... I'm constantly replaying everything in my head; no doubt all of us are. It's been years since then, I know that. But every morning I wake up and I think about the Killer and how she used to be a symbol against a terrible evil, not just because it was a team ship, but because it was really Sora's ship, the one man who never seemed to be corrupted, even when all of us around him, especially me, fell apart."

He looked over at Miss H. "Of course, the ship still is a symbol, but against an entirely different kind of evil."

-----------

Caleb

One moment he was cleaning ale off his shirt; the next he had a young woman in his arms, kissing him. For one moment he did nothing, and then he remembered all at once that he was married and this was not his wife.

He pushed Erin back almost angrily and scowled at her. "Do that again and I'll have him terminate you anyways," he said, spitting in the sink.

His nephew merely sat there with a smirk. "Sheesh, maybe she'll do that to me when I get a bit older!"

Caleb shook his head. "Trust me, it's like kissing a fish. Stay away from her."

[Rain]

Memah

"Hey. Erin, you might want to cool it." i said forcefully, "Trika is close enough to killing you as it is. That and you're scaring away the customers."

"I don't get it..." Anakin mumbled.

"Don't get what?" I asked.

He looked at Caleb and let out a small laugh. "How do you know what it's like to kiss a fish?"

Kitty

Tina seemed strange, almost like she was afraid I might think lowly of her just because she couldn't find her way around a place she didn't know.

"Um...ok?" I said, not entirely sure how I should respond, "I'm exactly the same. I mean if we at least had someone or something to track I could follow at trail, but we don't. Anyways, we should get to that hospital."

Xandyr

"Yeah?" I answered as I left the kitchen and made my way out to the door. As I did I noticed Jaden's card sitting on the table. He was allways forgetting minor things like that, a trait he unfortunatley gained from me. I was never one for worrying about the details. "Who is i-"

I froze. Takk Tenann. Takk Tenann... was here. Right on our doorstep.

I instinctively reached out with the Force and swung open the back closet door, ushering the lightsaber which I kept in there to my hands. I did not activate it however. Mara was not scared, but rather she looked confused. I moved closer to the door and saw that he was with a group. Behind Li stood a man and a woman, both of whom I vaguely recognised, But I couldn't place it, my mind was still reeling from the shock of seeing Takk. To the left of them stood another woman, one who seemed pretty impatient. Next to her was... Boba Fett? What the kriff was he doing here? This was getting weirder and weirder! Finally, there was Winter.

It was Winter's presence that made me feel more assured. There was something about Winter, a certain sense of familiarity I always noticed when I was around her. I felt there was a connection or a spark between us. Not a romantic one, but more of a friendly one. It was like our personalities meshed well together.

As for Takk, he was visibly nervous. Something very odd for Takk. But it told me one thing, he most definately was not the Dark Warrior. For the meantime at least.

"Long time no see." I said calmly. "What's going on?"

"Thirteen years. I bet I don't look a day older than when you last saw me!" Takk responded, trying his best to be his usual wise-cracking self. "Uh... sorry for asking this but we kind of need a favour..."

"A favour?"

"Yes." Winter replied, "Not to sound rude, but can we come in? A group this size will attrack attention. Something we can't afford to do."

I glanced at Mara and back to Winter. "Alright."

The group followed me in and Mara shut the door. Just as she did, it hit me. I sensed something. Something I hadn't felt since...

"It.... you died? Li? Sem? How did you..." I gave up trying to speak. It was coming out all muddled up. "OK, someone needs to explain just what's going on. What is the favour? Why is one of the most notorious bountry hunters in the Galaxy sitting in my house? And how is it that you two are alive?"

Fett sighed, and the girl I didn't recognise sniggered slightly.

"Winter. You're good at these recap kind of things. I'll let you take this one." Said the grown up, and very much alive, Li Storm.

"Well," Winter began, "It's a long story..."

I shared anotehr glance with my wife, before we both looked back at Winter, opened our ears, and listened intently...

[hk47fan]

Erin

"Aww, I'm sorry, Mothma," I told her apologetically. "I'll get them back, and get even more people in here for you, I promise!!! In fact, I think I'll do it by singing a song!"

I ran over to the music box thingy, and immediately pressed a bunch of buttons; soon enough, some music came on. Yay!!!!

I smiled, and started singing in my best voice. "Hawt men here," I sang, smiling at Calvis. Another man walked in at that moment, and I pointed at him. "Hawt men over there...in fact, hawt men everywhere!!!!"

I ran over to the new customers, grabbing their arms and throwing their hands up. "Come on, sing with me about the hawt men!" I yelled. "Hawt men here, hawt men over there, hawt men everywhere!!"

I grabbed the customers and pulled them into the cantina, throwing them towards tables. "Oooh, yeah, hawt men is what I liikeeeeeee!!!!" I sang, at the top of my lungs. Another woman entered, and I went over and grabbed her. "If a man's not hawt, he doesn't matttteeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!"

I threw the woman towards the bar, trying to get Mothma some more customers, and the woman's eyes were wide; that meant she was amazed at my song! I just came up with it right now and I was finally using my singing talents! "Hawt men here, hawt men over there, hawt men everywhere!!!" I continued to sing, running over and grabbing two new people that had walked into the cantina.

They were all coming in constantly to hear my singing! Mothma would be soooo happy!!!

"Sing and dance with me!" I yelled, before returning to my gorgeous singing. "Hawt men here, hawt men everywhere!! Hawt men here, hawt men there, hawt men everywhere!!!! I need the hawt men....and they're all miiiiineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All the hawt men I can geeetttt! Hawt men everywhere!!!!"

I began to dance around with the two new customers, forcing them to get into it. I went over to the two I had thrown over to a table earlier, and motioned for them to join us. "Hawt men, hawt men, all for me!!! Hawt men here, hawt men over there, hawt men everywhere!!!!"

The two people I had ahold of struggled to get out, and everyone around me was just looking at me, with their mouths open and eyes wide. Well, that must have meant they were amazed! I needed to keep singing so that Mothma Moo would have more customers than she could think of! And more hawt men!

"Hawt men here, hawt men everywhere!" I sang, as the music continued on. I got on top of the table in front of me and began to dance and sing even louder with the music. "Hawt men here, hawt men over there, hawt men everywhere!!! Hawt men here, hawt men everywhere! HAWT MEN OVER HERE, HAWT MEN OVER THERE, HAWT MEN EVERYWHEEEREEEE!!!!!!!!"

Tina

"You're right. Let's go," I told her. I then sighed; well, maybe if I explained myself to Kitty, she'd understand. She seemed confused. "I'm sorry, Kitty! It's just, well, you know, everything is so stressful for me right now...I mean, I'm not the craftiest person around, and I barely know how to handle this! Being on the run for my life? I hid on Dantooine so long, I never had to experienced this. I've always been like this, too! Someone's always had to come to my rescue. And some people haven't had the highest opinion of my mishaps."

Miss Haltzilakas

I frowned for a brief second. I was heavily involved this war, and I had known Sora for a brief time, but I didn't quite have as much personal stake in it as Selas, or even Han, did. This was personal for me, but not like it was for them. "When ships become a symbol against their own captain, it is very hard to deal with," I admitted. For a time, back during the early days of the New Republic, before Sora's sudden change of heart, the Killer and Millenium Falcon were ships that symbolized courage, bravery, and decency. Now, they were little more than urban legends.

"You are a very strong man," I commended him. "You've lead the Resistance considerably well over the past thirteen years, despite what we've seen. The wounds are still fresh...every day, it seems that Sora's reign over the NR gets worse."

Mara

After Winter had finished, Xandyrr and I had to sit for a minute and try to take it all in. That was...a lot of information, and a lot of returning from the dead. Xandyrr and I used to be knee-deep into the Rebel's, and then New Republic's, operations. Xandyrr was a Ghost, and after Palpatine died, I joined the Rebels to try to kill Jaskia Paine, who I had believed had killed the Emperor. It all went from there.

After I told Xandyrr, and later Jaskia, who I really was, Xandyrr and I had backed off from the New Republic. We became normal citizens, and had tried to raise our son and be a family. I didn't even know if Sora Trok, who I never knew well, had any idea who we were or that we were still on Coruscant.

Now, though, after many, many years, we were being brought back into it. We were practically harboring fugitives right now.

They were looking for help, and I couldn't blame them.

"I want to help you. We want to help you," I said, looking towards Xandyrr. I figured I could speak for him, just for a moment. I was sure he felt the same. "It's hard, though, and you all have to understand that this puts us in a tight spot. We have a thirteen year old son, who we've tried to raise in...normal surroundings. Of course, Sora has cracked down on Coruscant, so it hasn't been our dream life, but we've tried to stay away from the lives that we used to live. We've stayed away from that, and kept our son out of it entirely, for a long, long time. Years. The thought of returning to it, and bringing Jaden into it, is very hard for me."

[Revan Jast]

Selas

He nodded. "Thank you, Miss H. I do the best I can, as I'm sure we all do. Still, it's good to hear that one is doing a good job. Sometimes a little reminder can go a long way towards boosting the spirit," he said with a smile.

Up ahead, a couple of customers were walking into the cantina. A loud blast of music erupted from inside, and the customers vanished, as if being pulled in. Selas raised an eyebrow.

"What in the seven hells was that?"

He reached out and began to open the door.

-----------------
Caleb

"Shit!" was all Caleb had to say.

The whimsical young woman who had barged in here only a few minutes ago was now dancing out a full number on one of the tables. Forks and spoons went flying; a plate crashed to the floor and broke. Caleb merely shook his head and glanced at Memah. "Shall I get a blaster and escort her out of here?"

Just then Selas and Miss H walked in.

"Oh thank the Gods," Caleb said.

--------------
Kurt

"Have you seen this woman?" he asked a nearby couple. In his hand was his datapad, a photo of Winter pulled up on it. They shook their heads and kept going.

"Fuck," Kurt muttered. Dozens of city blocks he had passed, and no one had seen a damn thing. He started to put the pad away when a nearby voice stopped him.

"Let me see."

Kurt turned and looked down to see an old twi'lek crouched against the building. He knelt down and showed him the photo.

"Ah yes, the white haired woman. She was with a group... up there," he said, pointed to a walkway a few stories up. "They were outside an apartment."

Kurt nodded. "Thank you." He stood and started to walk away, but then turned back and handed the man a 500 credit piece.

"Don't spend it all in one place," he said, then turned and took out his grapple gun. Once he was up on the walkway, he removed his helmet and knocked on the first door he came to.

[Rain]

Memah

"Please do." I said, getting angry. I reached under the counter and pulled out a taser gun I kept underneath for when situations got out of hand. Situations like this. "Alright Erin, follow Caleb out. If you don't then..." I looked at the gun. "... well it's going to hurt."

Anakin glanced up as Caleb noticed Selas and Miss H enter the cantina. "Selas, theres your dad!" He said as he pointed. Selas Jr had probably already noticed, but Anakin as always tried to be helpful, and pointed him out anyway.

Xandyr

I saw the look on the groups faces, particularly on Takks. They didn't know we had a son.

"I'm sorry." Takk said as he stared at the ground. He was quite clearly still feeling guilty about past events, and now bringing the group here also. "I didn't know you had a son. We'll find some other way. I've caused you both enough trouble, the last thing I want to do is put your kid in danger."

"Wait." I stopped him from saying any more. "Yes, Mara is right. It's not that easy. But believe me, we still want to help."

In my head, I was already talking things over with Mara, and as usual, we were on the same page. "We will try to help you in whatever way we can, as long as that does not put Jaden in harms way. For a start, you can all stay here tonight. You're clearly tired and hungry."

"Thank you. Both of you." Winter said with a smile. "We are extremely thankful for your hospitality."

"Don't mention it." I replied, "It really is the least we could do. We don't have too much space, but four of you could fit into the spare room upstairs. We don't have a bed there but theres enough space at least. The other two can take the sofa and, well, the floor in the lounge."

"I'm good with the floor." Takk said, volunteering himself.

"Winter has been on the run for a while now." Li added, "She should take the sofa."

I nodded, and as I did the buzzer rang. That would be Jaden home. I got up and answered the door. Jaden stood, looking to the right at something.

"Jaden, what happened you're lip?" I asked, noticing that it had been bleeding and was slightly swollen. He turned and looked away from whatever he was staring at.

"Oh, uh, well we were playing that virtual reality game in the arcade. You know the one where you have to fight off all those little creatures that jump at you? Demlan got a bit carried away and lost his sense of direction and accidentally hit me." He answered, "But it's fine, it doesn't hurt."

He looked back to his right. "What are you looking at?" I asked before leaning out of the doorway to see for myself. There was a man at one of the houses a few doors down. I immediately ushered Jaden inside and whispered back to the group in the house, "Hide, quickly." I examined the man. I recognised him from somwhere. Then it came to me. Kurt Jervada. He was a mercenary who worked for Sora, or so Sora thought. He was a double agent of sorts, just like Winter. Or at least he used to be. That was thirteen years ago, anything could have happened since then.

"Kurt Jervada." I addressed him and he turned to face me. "Can I help you?"

Kitty

We continued to talk as we walked towards the hospital. "To be honest I think you're being too hard on yourself.." I told Tina, "My dad used to tell me a story about a hero of Naboo, back before the Jedi Purge. He was a Gungan. I forget his name but basically, he was banished from his home for being clumsy. No one saw any wortth in him, except for the Queen of Naboo. Naboo itself was under attack, and it done for unless they inhabitants could unite as one. The Gungans and the humans hadn't seen eye to eye for generations. In the end, it was that same clumsy Gungan who united the Gungans and the humans. He was the catalyst that enabled the planet to defeat their oppressors."

I stopped walking and laughed a little. Something I didn't do very often. "I'm not calling you a clumsy Gungan, but like my father used to say, the story should be a lesson. We should never take ourselves for granted, we should always believe that we can be the hero, follow our dreams, make a difference... I don't mean to get all preachy or anything, just thought it might help you."

[hk47fan]

Erin

"Aww, I was just getting to the best part, and look at all the customers! They're so happy they can't shut their mouths," I told Mothma happily, but it seemed she wasn't changing her mind. Why was she always so crabby?! It seemed like every time I came in here, Mothma Moo didn't like me helping her!! "Okay, I'll go...I need to go shopping anyways! Come on, Calvis!"

I began to follow Calvis out, and I saw two familiar people. "Aww, Lassy, you should've gotten here earlier! You missed my song; it's okay, next time I come by, I'll sing some more and kiss you, you hawt man," I told him with a giggle. "And hi, Miss....your name's too big for me to say!"

I giggled, and proceeded to follow Calvis out of the cantina.

Tina

I smiled, actually a little touched by her story. "Aww, thank you, Kitty! You know, most people really aren't that kind to me like you are; most of them find me annoying, when I really am not that bad! I mean sure, I mess up sometimes, but it's not that bad, yet everyone acts like I'm some idiot! Aside from you, well, there's only really been one person that didn't treat me like that," I said, before sighing. Oh, Cyan, my love. "...but even he did, sometimes."

[Revan Jast]

Kurt

He held up his datapad. "I'm looking for this woman. She was last seen on this walkway, not even 10 minutes ago. Know where she is?"

Something about the man struck him as familiar, but he couldn't place it.

---------
Selas

"Arrived just in the nick of time," he said, smirking. Caleb walked back in, placing his blaster back on his belt.

"Damn that girl," Caleb said, mumbling something else under his breath.

"She totally swept Uncle C off his feet, dad," Selas Jr. said, grinning. "Planted a kiss right on him. Wait till I tell Aunt Trika!"

Selas rustled his son's hair. "No, I think that would be a bad idea. Save it for an opportune moment," he added, winking at Memah.

Caleb merely grumbled some more and went into the back room.

[Rain]

Memah

I smirked. "Yeah Junior, you're dad's right." I told the boy with a grin, "Wait for an opportune moment, just like the next time your uncle decides to sneak himself a bottle of that Tarisian ale!"

As the chaos caused by Erin finally died down I went back to serving the cutomers. " So, Selas, Renee - what'll it be?"

Xandyr

I was unsure how to reply. But I didn't hesitate in responding. If I did then Kurt would know for sure that Winter was here. There was no one with him, which made me think he wasn't looking to capture her, but then again there rest of CoruSec could be right around the corner for all I knew.

"That looks like Winter Retrac..." I answered. I was using another skill I wasn't proud to claim I had mastered. Lying. It too had passed on to my son. He never told any serious fibs, just a few white lies here and there, like we all do. For instance when he told me how he had busted his lip. I knew he was lying, but that was a matter I would discuss with him later. "She arrested a man a few blocks down for dealing spice on the black market a few years ago. I haven't seen here since then."

I could have ended the conversation then, but I was curious to find out Kurt's affiliation. It was risky, but I kept talking. "If you don't mind me asking, why? Has she gone missing?"

Kitty

I decided not to ask. If there was one thing I wasn't good at, it was awkward conversations about sensitive subjects. So I became my usual silent self again as we made our way to the hopsital.

Once there, we found that the place was busy. Very busy. "Excuse me-" I said to one of the doctors, but he brushed right past me, probably running to save someones life. I glanced a Tina, "Let's find a quieter area of the hospital. It should be easier to get answers there. Besides, anyone could be listening here."

We wandered for a while, not having a clue where we were headed, until finally we came through a set of doors into a very different area. Cells. We quite clearly weren't supposed to be here, but something told me to just keep going. I walked forwards, slowly at first, waiting to see if Tina gave any words of disagreement. She didn't, so I sped up to normal walking speed. Then we came to the end of the hallway, a dead end.

"So much for my gut feeling..." I said out loud. " We should get back to the main building." As I turned to walk back the way I came, something caught my eye. There was a man in one of the cells. I stopped, and stared at him. Not a single word was said for at least a minute, under I finally broke the silence.

"Excuse me... I don't suppose you could help us? We need directions to the docking bay."

[RobbyL9]

Blades

Relaxing on his back for a while, Blades was finally able to sleep off the drugs and get over a lot of the soreness from his injuries. It only really hurt if he touched them or extended really fast. When he woke from his light daze, he found that he was no longer alone in his cell.

Just a few feet away, tucked neatly in a square was his new shirt, a crinkled paper note sitting on top. Quickly pulling the plain dark blue garment over his head, Blades read the note just audibly to himself.

"You're lucky you've got Caitlin for a friend." he observed "If it wasn't for her being so sweet, I'd have left you to catch pneumonia. It's a bit dirty, enjoy."

Blades sat back against the wall and thought to himself. Yeah, Caitlin was sweet. That much was for sure. In fact, as far as he could rightly remember, Caitlin was the only woman since he began his hunt that had been nice to him for no reason.

Especially when she had obvious reason not to.

That sort of kindness was a rare quality in the kind of places the veteran merc dwelled these days. Especially with the proposed 'new age' of security and freedom from sedition that Sora Trick and that four-foot nothing crony of his Hunter Sellout were peddling. The more he thought of it, the angrier Blades became.

Especially thinking about Hunter...

Not wanting to dwell on something like that and risk punching a wall, or spirits forbid, the force field, Blades focused on different thoughts.

---

Onderon was nice this time of year, Blades had to admit. Nice, cool spring air, the flowers in bloom. Catching a light shower on the way back to the manor every now and then.

Unfortunately, that was what had Blades so uptight. For the last week and a half he had been doing just that. Going around the nice parts of town, trucking along through meditation gardens and every now and then, when he was lucky, experiencing a little unknown in the unpredictable weather.

And to make it worse, he had to be looking after the most boring charge he had ever been assigned. Some up and coming politician who apparently couldn't find work in the obviously hereditary family business, so she decided to try her hand at public office. The most unlikely target for politically-motivated assassination and he was getting paid to take a vacation next to her every hour of the day.

Oh, what adventurous folk we be.

Blades grumbled to himself and ran his fingers through his trimmed brown hair. That was another thing. Since becoming her bodyguard, she had required that he shed his armor and mask and get his hair cut to maintain some semblance of professionalism.

The nerve. Lady. If you really think you're going to be attacked, you need someone who's at least lightly armored to survive taking a shot so he can keep protecting you. As far as the hair went, however, that was a matter of taste. And one that he just didn't get down on. Professional. PFFFT! I know the meaning of 'professional' by now better than you do

Still, whenever they dined it was always on her tab, which was nice. And she was polite enough. Not necessarily snotty or arrogant like most of the richies he had ever worked for, just... proud. She did have an air about her when she talked, but it felt different than the standard noblewoman political nerfshit. He had a hard time placing it. As much as he loathed it, the more Blades hung around this Navit Badesha character, the more he felt himself being drawn in.

And here they were stopping at the same temple they had been at for several days regular. The one with the priestess novice with a real sweet ass. Ohhhh, and speaking of which...

"Good afternoon, Ms. Badesha. I've been anticipating you. The shrine awaits. And good afternoon to you, sir."

Aw, what the hell? Maybe taking it easy wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

"Hey what's up? Uh, say, priestess. I've, uh, been wondering. How do you light the incense right and pray and everything? I've been dying to know."

"Oh. Well. If you'd like, I could show you. Maybe later this eve after your time with Ms. Badesha is through?"

Count on it.

[hk47fan]

Miss Haltzilakas

I smiled. "I'll just have some juice, thank you, Memah," I said, walking towards the familiar group of people after Erin had left. I never really knew the woman, but she was around fairly often, and always...well, she was interesting, to say the least, but I tried not to judge her. The majority did not favor her, though.

Still a politician. Always thinking about the majority, I noted to myself. The years hadn't really changed my attitude or persona much...now, I was just leading a different organization.

"So," I said, trying to start a conversation. "How was everyone's morning?"

Mara

All of us had quickly darted into a back room; it was the spare room that the majority of our new guests would be staying in tonight. I tried to listen, along with everyone else, to Xandyrr's conversation with the man outside. We couldn't hear much, but the voice sounded vaguely familiar, and particularily Winter seemed to recognize it. She looked to be thoughtful.

"Know who that is?" I whispered to her, keeping my young son close to me. I didn't want him getting caught up in this mess.

Rhynna

I stood inside of a secret chamber that my officers had discovered inside the tunnels; after combing the area, there was no sign of Winter Retrac or those that were coming to her aid, but we had discovered...this secret area. I had my arms crossed, and was staring at what looked like a stasis chamber before me. A very, very old stasis chamber.

However, I could tell that it had been used recently. Very recently; it was still active.

Obviously, she used this place to hide, but what, or who, was in the stasis chamber? I wondered to myself.

Nonetheless, I couldn't waste time wondering about an archaic stasis chamber. It was possible it did not even factor into this mess. I had to find Winter.

"Ma'am," one of my men said, approaching me. "We managed to find another passageway through this room; it leads to an exit that we weren't aware existed. This is likely what they used to escape."

"Noted," I said solemnly. That was no doubt what happened. There was no sign left of anyone in these tunnels except Coruscant Security. "Alright, let's return our search to the city. They could be anywhere by now."

I looked at several other officers. "Get this stasis chamber out of here and take it to HQ. We'll examine it more in-depth at a later date," I ordered. I didn't bother to stick around to oversee the operation in person.

Soon, we were out of the tunnels, and back on solid platforms. "Search the entire vacinity," I told the officers surrounding me. "Ask civillians if they've seen her. Do everything you can."

I heard my comm beeping, and I quickly activated it; it was important, because it was on a private frequency. Within seconds, a small hologram of Hunter Solon appeared in my palm.

"Chief-of-State," I greeted, in my neutral, submissive tone. I had my...opinions on Mr. Solon, but it was not my duty to air those.

"Volt, have you found her yet?" Solon asked, with clear authority in his voice. It wasn't typical for him to get involved in matters like these, but I supposed that this situation was a far larger one than any others recently encountered, and he had been slightly involved in our search for the traitor in our ranks.

"No, sir," I replied. "Former Officer Retrac was last sighed in underground tunnels near a rather unpopulated area of the planet, but we thoroughly searched them and believe that she, and those that are now aiding her, have escaped. Apparently, she now has allies. No doubt from the Resistance."

Solon looked visibly irritated. "Well, you and your officers need to pick up the pace," he ordered sternly. "This entire situation is becoming a nuisance. I am the Chief-of-State, and this situation has created a lot of unease in the Senate, and trying to control that is becoming irritating. Not to mention, watching your officers zoom throughout the planet constantly, and yet find nothing, has grated on my nerves and peace of mind. She is one woman, that isn't even that smart. I always knew that there was something suspicious about her, yet it took your security team thirteen years to discover that she was a double agent."

"I take full responsibility for that," I told him. I wouldn't cower in fear of Hunter Solon; I would stand my ground and admit my mistakes to him, and to the Supreme Admiral. "I will find her, Mr. Solon. I assure you."

"If you don't, then be prepared to take more drastic action," Solon told me, almost cryptically, before suddenly cutting off communication. His hologram vanished.

He was technically one of my superiors, and he outranked me, so I would obey his orders. He was the Chief-of-State of the entire New Republic, after all, and I had no choice, but I did secretly wish that the Supreme Admiral would keep him out of this. Not that the Admiral and his policies were much of an improvement, but Chief-of-State Solon was nothing but a figurehead. A very pompous figurehead.

However, I would still follow both him and Admiral Trok, despite my disagreements with them.

I would capture Winter Retrac.

Tina

I groaned. This was starting to get a little irritating. "Kitty, I don't think this man is even listening to us. He looks like he's off in a daze!" I said, frustrated, while motioning at him. He didn't even acknowledge us. "I don't know if it's a good idea to talk to prisoners like this...not that I'm perfect, but this man may not even be sane. He obviously doesn't understand what we are saying."

I looked at him again. "Hello?!" I shouted, a little more loudly. Maybe it just took a little authoritative force. "We need some help, please!"

[RobbyL9]

Blades

Snapping out of his pleasant daydream, Blades felt an all too familiar feeling begin to come over him. It was loud, attacked his senses and grated all the way through his nerves down to his gut. Blades was being NAGGED!

He finally snapped his head to the side and shouted aloud "What IS it?! The force field isn't muted y'know and even if it was, shouting louder won't make you any easier to hear."

Blades sighed, chastising himself. He didn't want to frighten some girls, or for that matter encounter any reprisals as a result. "I'm sorry. What did you need?"

[Rain]

Kitty

In my mind I smiled. I didn't pysically smile. I rarely did, especially not in front of strangers. I always found it funny how peoples perceptions changed once they saw you. This man was angry when we interupted his thoughts, but once he noticed he was being gruff with a seemingly defenceless woman and a young girl, he became more polite. He even apologised.

This did say one thing about the man, however. He was no ordinary criminal. I had encountered, and killed for that matter, many a scumbag in the last few years, and if there was one thing I learnt it was that scumbags never tool the time for courtesy, never mind giving an apology. I wasn't sure what this man had been locked up for, it was really none of my buisness, but I could tell he had some sort of moral compass.

"Sorry for disturbing you." I returned the favour and apologised myself, "We're not from around here, and we're sort of lost. We are looking for the city's central docking area. I don't suppose you know how to get there from this hopsital?"

Winter

I nodded my head in reply. "Yes. Yes I do." I replied. I looked at Mara's son. "Jaden, my names Winter. I'm a friend on your parents. I need you to tell me, that man outside, is he alone?"

He looked up at his mother, clearly utterly confused by the situation, and not knowing who any of us were. Mara gave him an approving nod, and he answered. "Yeah. Or at least I didn't see anyone else. And uh... nice to meet you."

"You too." I replied with a grin, "Thank you."

I walked towards the door to exit the room we were hiding in.

"Hey Hoth, what the kriff are you doing?!" Mayko protested in a half whisper, half exclamation. I noticed she used a lot of nicknames, for example, I hadn't yet heard her call Li anything but "bright eyes". Normally I would protest, but I was fine with Hoth. I actually kind of liked it. A part of me wondered why I had never used it as a codename before.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing." I told her. I opened the door and made my way out into the hallway, closing the door behind me again. "It's alright Xandyr. He is a friend." I walked onwards to the door. "Hello Kurt."

[Revan Jast]

Kurt

He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. "Good to see you're alright, Winter," he said. "Sora is royally fucking pissed at you right about now, but he doesn't want word getting out that someone as close to him as you was a double agent, so he sent someone after you. More specifically, he sent me."

Selas

"A shot of Tarisian Ale will do, Memah. I need something to wake me up after that damned boring meeting," he said.