Varnusan Productions Presents:
(by Xar)
Kiz Thrakus
nervously made his way inside the Grand Master's office, out of breath from his
run across the palace, with only a five minute time limit to get there... The Grand
Master was always so tight about puncuality...
Cautiously he moved up in front of the big desk, wringing his hands and
shifting his weight from one foot to the other... The Grand Master didn't look
up from what he was writing.
"I'm here, Grand Master, as you request... ORDERED, sir..." Thrakus
murmured.
"You are late," was all Xar said.
"B... But sir... I was here in exactly five minutes! I checked my own
chronometer sir!"
"My clock runs a little different," the Grand Master said, glancing
over at the wall. Thrakus looked over, seeing a round dial clock hanging there.
The clock read six-thirty! That was five whole minutes faster than his own
watch!
"Grand Master, I..." he broke off. He didn't know what to say. Nico
had told him stories of the Grand Masters wrath when he was late... But he was
never five whole minutes late...
"Thrakus..." Xar began, looking up at him. The man's eyes seemed to
bore straight through Thrakus. "You have been a House leader for three
weeks now. Your evaluation period is over."
A jolt of fear shot through Thrakus for a second. Over? What did that mean? Had
he failed? It terrified him to think what the Grand Master would do then... He
prepared his plead, prepared to drop on his knees and beg for mercy...
"As a result, I am promoting you to full Jedi Crusader, and making your
placement on the Jedi Council permanent. Congratulations."
Thrakus let out a breath of shock and utter joy at the words. "Wha...
Thank you! Thank you, Grand Master! Thank you thank you thank you..."
"All right, enough of that," the man said, waving a hand. "Your
promotion is effective immediately. All the paperwork will be handled as soon
as you leave." He started to turn away, the came back again. "Oh, I
almost forgot. One more thing: As your final rite of passage, you must perform
one duty for me. Something the other Council members had to do before their
appointements."
Thrakus stepped forward eagerly. "Anything you ask, sir!"
Xar slid back in his chair, picked up the small white cat that had been
sleeping in his lap and set it on the desktop. "Feed Mittens," he
said.
Thrakus blinked, taken aback at the simple statement. He peered down at the
small creature curled up on the desk. "Excuse me?" he asked blankly.
"Thrakus... Feed my cat," Xar said, more forcefully. Suddenly the
door opened behind Thrakus and a servant moved up beside him. Thrakus looked
over. The servant held up a bowl in his hands, with some mushy brown stuff
sitting in it in a glob. With another glance at Xar, who sat arching an eyebrow
quizically, Thrakus shrugged, reached over and grabbed a handful of the moist,
cold cat food. As soon as he did, the servant turned and practically ran out
the door. Thrakus frowned, worried for a moment at what was going on. Was this
some kind of joke? Taking a deep breath, he moved forward to the small furry
animal on the desk, which was now awake and moving to an upright sitting
position.
Thrakus moved up to it cautiously, eyeing it more than a bit warily. Something
was up here. Nico had never mentioned this particular rite... But Xar was
looking more impatient by the second. He had to do it. As he reached over,
holding the gooey mess in his outstretched palm, Mittens growled. Uh-oh, not
good, Thrakus thought. Then a single claw extended from the cat's forward
paw, colored different to give it it's namesake, and there was a flash of movement.
Thrakus lurched backwards in shock, feeling the sting of the cut running
straight down his face. He fought the urge to cry out, looked at Xar
pleadingly. The Grand Master looked angry.
"FEED THE CAT!!!" the man screamed.
Giving a scream of his own, Thrakus moved forward again, thrusting his
mush-filled hand forward at the creature...
The group of new Initiates sat gathered around the table, having lunch and
discussing their latest training routines, when something caught one of their
number's eye. He pointed; the other Initiates turned to look at the mummy who
was walking down the hallway, wrapped in bandages from head to foot, one hand
outstretched, palm up, as he went.
The mummy walked on past and out of sight. Eagerly one of the Initiates caught
the arm of a passing Jedi. "Please," he asked curiously. "Who
was that?"
The Jedi looked down at him, then back the way the mummy had gone. "Oh,
him. That's the new Council member, the Crusader Kiz Thrakus. Guess he used the
wrong cat food... They were pretty rough on this one... He's wearing twice the
bandages the last one did..."
Thrakus lay down on his bed, resisting the urge to scream in pain as his
backside hit the soft mattress. He reached over with his free hand and turned
out the light, his right arm still sticking straight up toward the ceiling, the
pile of cat food still wrapped up in his palm. He gave a whimper, tryed not to
look at the message on his personal monitor screen on the other side of the
room.
It read:
Congratulations,
Quaestor Thrakus!
By the way, Mittens
likes Meow Mix, NOT 9 Lives!
Good luck on the
test!
Your buddy, Nico
Thrakus screamed in
frustration and rage...
* * *
THE BEGINNING
(by Delta1)
Thrakus had been
having trouble sleeping. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see only that
beast lunging towards him ... rapier-like claws extended, needle-shaped fangs
nestled in the cavernous, hissing mouth. That creature had to be the spawn of a
Korriban guardian creature. Or ... a rancor. The thought hit Thrakus
like a blaster shot and bolted upright. Mittens is a rancor larva.
"I see that
you're awake," a voice said from one of the darker recesses of his
chambers.
"Wha?
Who?" Thrakus turned his head toward the source of the sound while tearing
the bandages away from his eyes. Although he had trouble focussing on the
speaker through his scratched corneas, he recognized the voice. "Delta1?
Is that you?"
Vynd
"Delta1" Acharon, Warden, Renaissance Man, Lover (though not of
anyone in this story), stepped into the meager light afforded by the solitary
small window. "I see Mittens was vicious today. Perhaps even more vicious
than when I was given that treatment." Almost without thinking, he
touched a faint scar on his cheek.
"You told me
you got that in battle with Cxi Atino," Thrakus said.
Vynd shrugged.
"Better to be injured by a woman than a cat, right?"
"I don't know.
What do you want, Deewun?"
Vynd came closer,
and even through his blurred vision, Thrakus could see the intensity in his
eyes. It scared him.
"That animal is
a menace. It has terrorized the Order for far too long. I would rather be
locked in a small room with Justinian Khyron for a week than be alone with that
creature for a minute."
"I know how you
feel," Thrakus nodded, then stopped nodding when he heard the vertebrae
snap. "It gave me a real working-over. But what can we do about it? The
beast is far too powerful even for us. Even with our lightsabers, and our blaster,
and stormtrooper armor, we'd have a tough time taking it down. And if Xar
intervened ... "
Vynd grinned.
"Our Grand Master won't intervene. He's received an invitation to a
tea-party from his 'bestest buddy in the world.' That'd be me. While he's
flying into the Deep Core coordinates I gave him, we'll storm his chambers, use
some catnip to pacify Mittens, and be off."
"Wait a
minute," Thrakus said. "I'm not sure Mittens is a cat. I think it may
be a rancor larva."
The Warden digested
this information. "Then we'll just have to be more careful. In any case, Trapper
is standing by to prevent any of Xar's allies from hypering in and stopping us.
She'll also provide us with an assault transport to get out of the system.
Then, we dump the mangy creature off on some planet and we're done with
it."
"Good
plan," Thrakus nodded. He cursed himself as two more vertebrae grated
together, and he felt all feeling below his neck vanish. "Could you do me
a favor? Go down to the infirmary and steal some bacta."
"Steal?!?"
Vynd almost shouted. "Stealing is wrong, Thrakus. Get it yourself."
Then he was gone.
DATHOMIR, SIX DAYS LATER
The two stood atop a cliff overlooking one of Dathomir's ubiquitous jungles.
Somewhere, in the distance, a rancor howled. Thrakus smiled. "Hear that,
Mittens? That could be your mommy."
A fierce wind began
blowing, catching on the trailing ends of the two Jedis' cloaks. "We
should leave," Vynd said. "Mittens will be happy here on Dathomir,
especially once he -- is Mittens a he?"
Thrakus shrugged.
"I dunno."
"Anyways,"
Vynd continued, "Once he realizes he's a rancor and starts acting like
one. Even if he doesn't really look like a rancor. We should leave, now."
Thrakus touched his
lightsaber, reliving the fond memories he had of the Order. "You know, we
can't go back. Xar would kill us. And we can't allow him to know where Mittens
is, lest he retrieve the Devil-spawn and take it back to Varnus.
"Correction,"
Vynd said. "Xar will kill you. According to the sign-in sheet, I'm
still in my office in the Palace. And since no one ever visits me in my office,
they'll all believe that I've been there for the past week."
"What?!?"
Thrakus couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"I'm sorry,
Thrakus," Vynd said as he fired a concealed hold-out blaster from within
his cloak. The stun bolt hit Thrakus directly between the eyes and he collapsed
perilously near the cliff. As he lost consciousness, he heard Vynd parting
words. "But it was necessary to remove Mittens from the Palace. Sometimes
sacrifices have to be made, and I consider a Jedi Crusader to be a fair trade
for the removal of that cat."
(by Omega)
As Omega Kira walked
down the palace hallway he called "Mittens.....Mittens". This was an
unusual thing for Omega to do. Normally he hated that cat. Omega continued down
the hall heading for Thrakus's office. He had to discuss a few things with him
about the house's personal Holonet page. Finding it odd that Thrakus wouldn't
acknoladge him access to his chambers, Omega bypassed the security clearance
and entered. He found it empty. Nothing was as it should be, normally Thraky,
as Omega so called him, had left his room messy. Quite odd for that neat freak
Omega knew to be a House Quaestor. Omega searched the room, but to no avail did
he find Mittens or Thraky. Omega locked the door behind him and moved down the
hall to Billbobs Deputy Grand Master Mathis Organas - quarters. Suddenly Omega
tripped fell to the floor without grace and ease. As Omega got up he heard
laughing, and turned around to see whom it was. No one was in the corridor.
Omega turned the other way, he heard footsteps running off in the opposite
direction. Things of this nature happend to Omega all the time. Just then
Organa came around the corner with a stern look on his face.
"Omega!" Mathis yelled
"What Sir" Omega replied as he saluted his friend.
"Have you seen Thrakus?"
"No Sir. That's why I was on my way to your quarters!"
"Hmm....." Mathis said with a confused look on his face. "Well,
If you see him Omega tell him I am looking for him!" Mathis said as he stormed
off. Omega decided to search the bathroom. Besides, I had to go, he
thought. Omega was sitting on the toilet when he heard this strange meowing.
Flushing the toilet and aranging things, Omega open the door. Omega was pulled
by an invisable force, turned and face planted in another toilet with such a
force he could not stop it. Then the toilet flushed, the laughing started
again, and the door open and shut. Omega began to get pissed. This was the
third time this month he had gotten a swirly.
(by
Delta1)
Xar sat alone in his
darkened quarters. He wore only his simple pants and shirt, having shed his Grand
Masters robes on the floor. He held in his quivering hand a small cube,
projecting a holo of a white cat. "Mittens ... " he whispered, a tear
running down his cheek.
Mathis pounded on the door again. "Xar! Grand Master! Can you hear
me?"
"Why did you leave me?" Xar asked the holo, oblivious to the pounding
on his door. "We had such good times together, Mittens. How can I ever go
on without you?"
"Xar!" Mathis cried. "C'mon, mate, it's been a week! I'm sorry
your cat ran away, but internal strife and forces from without are tearing us
apart! C'mon, man, we need your leadership!"
Xar still didn't hear Mathis. "Oh, my precious kitty," he began
sobbing. His entire body was wracked with the spasms of his grief. "Pwetty
kitty-cat," he wept. "You'w daddy's good widduh cat. So sof' an'
nice." *
"That's it!" Mathis roared. "First Thrakus disappears, now Xar
loses it!" He knew he needed to find someone to snap Xar out of his fugue,
but who? "I know!" he said to himself. "I'll go get Archaron!
Seeing a new roster always puts a smile on Xar's face!"
(by Xar)
Abandoned on the jungle world Dathomir, Thrakus wandered aimlessly
across the landscape, silently sulking to himself. Why had he ever trusted
Deewun enough to accompany him on this crazy trip? Then the man had abandoned
him here forever... Even if he did get off, he wasn't sure if it would be worth
facing Xar's wrath. Sure, the Grand Master had plenty of cats, they ran all
over the palace. But he'd seemed to like that one a whole lot...
Worse still, Mittens - the rancor larva, if that was what he really was -
seemed to be following him around everywhere he ventured. Telling the creature
firmly to get away from him didn't seem to help. Yes, poor Thrakus' life was
about over. It hadn't been an easy one, but he really had liked it...
Suddenly movement in
the nearby bushes caught his eye. He stopped, staring, as a woman emerged,
dressed in what appeared to be rancor hide. He brown hair was long, and draped
behind her head. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
The woman held a long rope, which she moved about like a whip. She said nothing;
Thrakus just watched her in awe. Then, with a snap of the rope, she tossed it
around him. Thrakus didn't make any move; this was no threat to him. The rope
tightened into a knot, and suddenly he found himself being pulled along.
Slightly amused, he followed, not even noticing Mittens padding close behind...
The next thing he
knew, Thrakus was sitting on the floor in the women's tent, surrounded by a
group of them. Mittens sat nearby, watching everyone with what seemed like
interest. The women, who had apparently taken a liking to the creature, were
rubbing it behind the ears and giving it scraps of meat. The Dathomirans seemed
to be discussing something. He couldn't understand their language, but he was
more than content to sit watching these beautiful women dressed in nothing but
leather. He loved leather. Finally the one who'd captured him turned to him and
spoke for the first time in Basic.
"I am Lorien Kal, a sister in the Singing Mountain Clan. You are my prize,
and now you belong to me." Thrakus shrugged and offered her a smile. He'd
heard the Dathomiran women took any men they found as love-slaves for life.
This sounded like fun. It was certainly more desirable than facing Xar's wrath
back at Varnus. In fact, he though to himself with a chuckle, be bet Xar would
love to be in his position about now. Of course, he would have taken them all,
and not left Thrakus any. This was much, much better...
That was the last thing on his mind as a club smashed into his head, enveloping
him in darkness....
Xar stared balefully at the servent, the reciever in his hand replaying the
conversation from the bug device that had been planted in Mitten's collar. The
report had taken a while to reach him, but what he heard sent his blood
boiling.
"Bring me Vynd and Thrakus," he snarled. "They will both pay
dearly for this outrage..."
(by Delta1)
Mathis had just
reached the door to Archarons office when several of the Palace's guards
rounded the opposite corner and came running towards the room. "Sir!"
the lead guard saluted. "We are here on the orders of Grand Master Kerensky
himself, to take Vynd Acharon into custody."
Well, that's interesting, Mathis thought. "How do you intend to do
that? He is an Adept, after all. He'll put up a good fight."
Before the guard could
answer, the answer presented itself. Another guard rounded the corner, carrying
a small control pad of some kind. It appeared he was controlling the hovering,
glowing blue sphere that followed him. "An energy cage," Mathis said.
"Of course. If you can get him in that, his Force powers will do him no
good."
The lead guard
nodded. "Exactly. Xar had kept this one on hand for just such an
event."
"What kind of
event?" Mathis asked. He still didn't know what was going on.
"Betrayal,"
the guard said solemnly. "Acharon has attempted to upset the balance of
power within the Division. He was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to
death."
Mathis frowned. He
hated missing trials. "When did this happen?"
The guard shrugged.
"Xar pronounced the sentence five minutes ago." He gestured towards
the door. "Shall we enter?"
"Let's," Mathis
said. He unclipped his lightsaber from its place on his belt and switched it
on. Seconds later, the door lay on the ground. "Vynd!" Mathis yelled
as he entered the office anteroom, flanked by palace guards and a Leth energy
cage. "You're under arrest for treason! Show yourself, coward!"
Mathis cut down the
door to the office proper, then stood in the doorway, just looking in. The
office was typical D1 - desk, decorated with only several pictures of family
and old friends, a model of his old Star Destroyer, his missile boat, and his
Interdictor, a potted plant - and Archaron himself, sitting at his desk, making
marks on a paper. Something's wrong, Mathis thought. Why isn't he
defending himself?
"Vynd?" Mathis
used Archaron's given name. The Warden didn't respond. He just kept making
marks on the paper. Mathis got closer, and saw that it was a copy of the
Society's roster. He also saw Vynds arm was moving in a rhythmic, mechanical
way. He reached out, and grabbed the arm. Pulled. Pulled it clean off the body.
"Gonk," Archaron
said as the guards looked away in horror. But there was no spurt of blood, no
trailing filigree of muscle, no scream of agony. Mathis pulled
"Delta1" across the desk and ripped him open, revealing the Warden to
be a mannequin, crudely animated by several droid parts.
Mathis activated his
comlink and spoke into it: "Xar, this is Mathis. Delta1's a dummy."
"Of course he
is," Xar replied. "Who but an idiot would steal my cat?"
"No, sir, a
dummy. A mannequin. A fake. He put together this dummy to look like himself and
animated it with droid parts. Looks like an EG-model motivator."
"Gonk,"
Delta2 agreed.
"Find him!"
Xar screamed. "Seal the spaceports, triple patrols, and search every dog
house and school house on the planet. Archaron must not escape!"
(by Amason)
"Amason! Help
me!" Someone screamed as Amason left his quarters. It was Vynd Archaron.
"What's wrong
with you?" He asked.
"Xar thinks I
killed Mittens!" Vynd rasped, out of breath from running.
Walt erupted in
laughter. Just then a shipwide com came on "This is Grand Master Kerensky
to all Society of Shadows personel. Vynd Archaron has betrayed us, he must be
found immediatelly!" His face went blank. "Oh boy, here we go
again."
Amason motioned for Archaron
to follow him. "I have a contingency plan for this sort of thing" He
said reassuringly.
10 minutes later
"Xar, what the
heck is going on here?" Amason shouted, trying his hardest to keep a
serious expression on his face.
" Vynd killed
Mittens!" Xar screamed, then slumped back into his chair sobbing.
Amason couldn't
contain himself any longer. He began to laugh so hard he nearly fell to the
ground.
Xar began to look
puzzled.
"Delta1 didn't
kill Mittens, I took him to the ship's vet remember?"
"Oh yea, but
where is Mittens NOW?"
"Right
here" Said Amason, holding out his hand, with a small, white kitten in his
palm.
"Oh my
Mittens" shouted Xar as he ran over and grabbed the kitten up and started
showering it with love.
Time for me to
get outta here... Thought
Amason. Things were getting ugly.
"Welp, you're
off the hook" Amason said.
"Whew, I sure
owe you one man", Said Vynd.
"Don't thank me
just yet. Let's just hope and pray that he doesn't discover that it's a small
cat droid I put together a few weeks ago."
"Oh boy"
sighed Vynd.
(by Dogar)
Arfan Dogar was
determined not to answer the comlink, as urgently as it seemed to be beeping
for him. He had better things on his mind... though mind really wasn't the best
word to describe it. He'd picked up a sexy female Canoid in a bar on Erebria,
and had invited her back to his quarters to show her what he called "the
biggest bone in his collection." They'd gotten a little beyond sniffing
one another's rear ends when the call came in...
But it really
wouldn't do to have the Intruder Wing blown out from under him while he was
enjoying himself. Giving Mimi a last lick and promising her he'd only be a
minute, Dogar stumbled out of bed and over to the comlink. Geez, it's
getting so a dog doesn't have time for doggin' anymore...
Dogar growled and
hit the comm channel. "WHAT???"
Xar's face appeared
on the screen. "Dogar, I need your help!!!"
"I told you Xar...
just use Preparation H, it works wonders..."
"No, not that!
My cat! Kiz Thrakus and Vynd Archaron stole my cat!"
"Mittens??"
Dogar's jaw dropped as he saw Xar nod on screen. "Not Mittens! He was
supposed to be mine! I dream about him every night, marinated in Caninean Wine
and barbequed to perfection... mmn, I'm getting hungry just thinking about
it..."
"Forget your
stomach! Mittens managed to escape, and somehow made his way back to me...
though his purring seems to have been replaced by an odd ticking sound... but
Thrakus is still on the loose! You have got to go get him for me!!"
"He stole my
supper?? This means war! Where'd that fink get to?"
"He is marooned
on Dathomir. Bring him back, and you can dine on him rather than my poor
Mittens..."
"Thrakus?
Never! He can't possibly taste as good as roast cat. I'll bring him to you, but
Mittens and I still have a dinner date!"
Xar sighed.
"Oh, well... I tried. Good luck!"
Dogar nodded and cut
the transmission. He quickly put on his uniform, and, giving Mimi a final,
dissapointed lick, he turned to leave.
"Honey,
wait," she cried. "The biggest bone in your collection... you
promised!"
Dogar turned briefly
and grinned. "Rain check!" he said as he ran out of the room.
---
Except for the
bump on my head, this isn't bad at all, Thrakus thought. The sisters had originally tried to
put him to work doing manual labour, but when they found out he was a Jedi,
they had better uses for him. Apparently, Luke Skywalker had been to Dathomir a
few years earlier, and had given the Jedi a reputation as being love machines...
and the ability to use the force to maintain an erection certainly didn't
dispel that reputation.
Lorien Kal wasn't a
bad lover herself. There was something about a woman in Rancor hides that drove
him crazy. And the way she handled a whip...
Thrakus' only real
regret was that Lorien had decided not to share him with the other sisters.
Many were good looking, and almost all of them were eager to get a piece of the
handsome Jedi.
At that moment, a
wolf whistle from the street below caught his attention. One of the sisters, a
60 year old woman who had 300 pounds and 3 teeth was trying to get his
attention. Thrakus shuddered. Okay, maybe sharing wouldn't have been such a
good idea.
Thrakus moved away
from the window and sat down on the bed. He had felt a tingling through the
Force that signaled Lorien's presence... and if he read her right, she was in a
very good mood. His suspicions were confirmed when she came in carrying a whip,
in one of her scantiest Rancor hides. AAh, this is the life, he thought.
Why didn't I come here earlier??
(by Thrakus)
As he got up Thrakus
pulled on his robe and quietly made his way to the window. As he stood there
looking up at the stars, he wondered. He wondered what he was doing.
For the past 14
years of his life he had been a warrior fighting, But for what? Revenge, Love,
Hope, Peace? All of these things but all it had brought him was more fighting.
When would it ever end?
For the first time
since Cordelia had been killed, he had found somebody he loved.. Somebody he
truly cared for, And when he realized how much he loved her all the hate and
anger that had built up over time had disappeared.. The first time in 14 years
and he truly felt alive again..
When she had first
captured him, she treated him as a slave, But over the course of time they had
fallen in love with each other. The times they had spent together were some of
the best in his life. It was as if their minds had become one, What one felt or
saw the other felt and saw it too.. Their minds had opened up to each other and
neither one of them had tried to stop it. When they made love the feelings and
emotions flowed between them so strongly it felt like it would tear him apart..
As he looked over at
her and saw the gentle curves of her body, Her long flowing hair, and the way
the moon shown in on her lovely skin he instantly knew that he could never live
without her.. That what they had together was too special to ever let go and he
would fight to the death to protect it and her..
Even against the
wishes of the Clan she took him hunting. And allowed him to carry his lightsaber
that she took from him when she kidnapped him.. Something the Clan did not
approve of. Especially after they had seen him use it on that rabid Rancor that
had attacked the village. Even though he saved their lives they still did not
trust him completely.
He had had many
friends over the years and had lost many of them. Sean, Del, Seren, Grunt, and
Nilats just to name a few.. But could I give up Xar and Mathis and all my other
friends in the Jedi Order? Could he give up on the New Imperium and their
dream?
Out of the corner of
his eye he caught and shooting star and watched it burn for just a few seconds.
And at that moment he made his decision. A choice that would utterly change him
forever..
"What's wrong
Sweetie?" Lorien said as she came up behind him and wrapped her arms
around him.
"Everything"
Kiz said. As he turned around and gazed into her sparkling eyes
"I don't know what to do. I have my jobs and obligations to fulfill, But I
don't know why I'm doing it anymore.. I want to be with you forever"
"Why don't you
come back to bed and I'll sing you a song to help you get back to sleep?"
She replied "And then we will decide what to do in the morning.. Ok?
"
"Ok" he
smiled at her wondering how he had lived without her all his life..
As they climbed into
bed and wrapped their arms around each other she began to sing in the most
beautiful voice.. And as he drifted off to sleep he thought to himself.. This
is truly what I've been fighting for all these years.........
----------------------------
"OMEGA!!!!" Draken screamed into the comlink "Get into my office
ASAP!!!!"
"What's the
problem?" Omega asked..
"Just get up
here NOW!!!!!" he yelled again...
Omega was very
worried. Usually Draken never got this upset unless something was very wrong..
As he was quickly making his way to Draken's office a spit wad the size of a
thermal detonator hit him in the back of the head with a loud THUD
"WHO KEEPS
DOING THAT???" Omega yelled as he turned around only to find nobody..
"If I ever find out who's doing that I will personally rip their guts
out" he mumbled to himself as he stepped up to the door..
As the door opened
the noise hit him like a rock.. Papers were all over the place, the comlink was
constantly ringing and in the middle of all this mess was Draken, Quaestor of
House Ar'Kell looking like he was about to kill himself.. His hair was all
messed up, it looked like he hadn't changed his robe in weeks.. And what was
that strange odor? Was it coming from Draken or something dead in his office?
"OMEGA!!!"
Draken shouted. "Get in here. We've got a major problem."
"What is
it?" Omega asked curiously..
"The whole
freaking Jedi Division is falling apart and nobody cares!!!" Draken said
"What?!??!"
Omega asked with a very stunned look on his face..
"That's what I
want to know!!" he answered "Xar is still upset over Mittens, Vynd is
being hunt down for treason, Thrakus is supposedly stranded on Dathomir, And who
knows what is up with Mathis?"
"And what do
you want me to do about all this??" Omega asked
"Anything!"
Draken answered "Find out what is going on and what's wrong with
everybody!!!"
"Yes sir!"
Omega said " I'll get started on it right away."
As he left Draken's
office he mumbled to himself.. "This is going to be fun."
(by Mathis)
---
Mathis rushed into
the room, his body and the Force both telling him one thing with equally
undeniable insistence - gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee. He ran to the
nearest wall-mounted liquid waste removal unit and undid the clasp on his
pants. "Oh, thank goodness," he sighed as painful anticipation
was replaced with sweet relief. When he was finished, he re-sealed his pants
and used the Force to cleanse his hands. When he was just about to leave, he
heard the quiet shuffling of feet from further within the restroom. Nothing
back there but a bunch of old toilet stalls, Mathis thought. Still, it
could be worth checking out. As stealthily as he could, Mathis crept across
the tiled floor to the back of the Palaces public restroom. The doors on these
toilet stalls did not quite reach the floor, and by getting down on his hands
and knees, Mathis could look under them. Under one, he saw a pair of shoes. A
pair of very familiar shoes. Mathis leapt to his feet. "YOU!" he
shouted as he flung the door open.
DATHOMIR
Lorien Kal giggled. "Do it again," she teased. "This time, with the
cat."
"Okay," Thrakus said. He puffed out his chest and said, in his most
regal voice, "I am Xar Kerensky, Grand Master of the Jedi Order. Any who
oppose us will be destroyed. Oh! It's my pretty kitty cat!" He then picked
up the cat and began stroking it. "Pretty-kitty, you're so nice! When I
pet you, I get lice!"
Lorien laughed. "But rancor do not carry lice, not even in the larval stage!"
Thrakus shrugged.
"What else rhymes with nice? Ice? Mice? Mittens eats mice?"
"This is all
very amusing, my love," Lorien said. But lately, something has been
bothering you. You are ... not the same as when I first took you as my
slave."
As suddenly as that,
Thrakus's countenance fell. He sat Mittens on the hut's dirt floor, then sat
down on Lorien's and his sleeping pallet. "I made a decision. I know that
it'll hurt both of us, and I don't want that. Believe me, I dont' want it. But
right now, I don't see any way out of it." He took a breath. "I'm
leaving Dathomir. I have to go back to Varnus and face Vynd Archaron
again."
Lorien frowned
slightly, then sat down beside Thrakus. "Your identities are conflicting.
Kiz Thrakus the love-slave is doing battle with Kiz Thrakus the Jedi Crusader.
And I do not know who will win. But I do know this: You must answer many
questions that you are asking yourself, first. Who are you? What do you want?
Where are you going? Who do you trust?"
Thrakus shook his
head. "No. There's no time for contemplation. Only time for action."
"But, Kiz, you
are my slave. I command you to stay and contemplate these things."
"I'll run. If I
run, how do I know you'll catch me?"
"I caught you
before."
"Look, Lorien,
the matter is settled. Please don't try to stop me. I promise I'll come back
for you." Thrakus laughed bitterly. "Listen to me. I don't even know
how I'm going to get off-world, yet."
"Before you
go," Lorien said sadly. "We must go on a journey. This journey will
accord us one more night together, and then we will meet someone."
VARNUS
"Crap," Vynd said.
"I knew
it!" Mathis crowed. "You've hidden from our Force scans, somehow, but
everyone has to heed the call of nature!" He grabbed Vynd by his shirt and
pulled him off the toilet. (At this point, Delta1s robes are positioned so
that his dignity is not injured any further.) "You're going to wish you
were never born, brother!"
A SHORT TIME LATER ...
Mathis took Vynd to his secret torture chamber, hidden so deep in the Palace
that no one would ever find it. There, he strapped the traitorous warden to a
simple metal chair and stared him in the eye. "Are you ready to talk,
Acharon? Why'd you steal the Grand Masters cat?"
"Would you
believe I was possessed by the spirit of Erad Revbor?" Vynd asked
hopefully.
"No, I
wouldn't," Mathis said. "Care to try again?"
"One month ago,
I encountered Gozer the Gozerian, also known as Gozer the Traveler or Gozer the
Destructor. She commanded me to choose the form of the Destructor. I chose the
most harmless thing I could think of; a small cat. So, Mittens is actually
Gozer the Gozerian, and is attempting to destroy the universe. I'm only trying
to stop her."
"Wrong!" Mathis
said. He was so glad that Vynd was refusing to answer his questions truthfully;
it had been so long since he'd tortured anyone. "This is your last chance,
Archaron. Why'd you steal Mittens?"
Rather than answer, Vynd
just closed his eyes.
"Trying to use
the Force, are we, you little gundark? Remember, I'm a Master, and you're just
an Adept!"
Mathis's taunting
was cut short as a powerful wave of Force energy struck him, and sent him
hurtling across the sparse room. He hit the far wall hard enough to daze him,
and as he slid down, he watched Archaron easily remove the straps that held him
to the torture chair. "How ... " he mumbled.
"Easily," Archaron
said with a malicious grin. He walked over to the fallen Deputy Grand Master
and kneeled mockingly before him. "How may I serve you, my lord?" he
said with scorn.
Mathis began losing
consciousness, so didn't fully comprehend what happened next. He saw Archaron remove
a crystal from a pouch on his belt and wave it in front of Mathis. "You're
not ... " Mathis said as the crystal began to glow. Archaron replaced the
crystal, and laughed. His face began to change shape, until it wasnt Archaron
looking at him at all. Then all went black ...
But not for long. Mathis awoke in an upright position. Because he still felt to
weak to stand, he could tell he was restrained somehow. The echo of his breathing
and the chill of the air told him that he was in a small, confined, metallic
area. When he realized what it was, his pulse began beating in his ears and he
came fully awake. "What are you doing?" he shouted. But there was no
response. Just several seconds of silence. Then the icy-cold sting of liquid
carbonite engulfing his body.
DATHOMIR
They were passing another rural city, Thrakus noticed, but this time, something
was different. The hulking rancor he, Lorien, and Mittens were riding began to slow.
Thrakus touched his sleeping mistress on her shoulder. As usual, the lightest
of his touches brought her to full alertness. "I think we're here,"
he told her.
"Yes," she said. "This is the home of the Starsong Clan. It is
the home of the man I want you to meet. He is like you. An offworlder, stranded
here."
Thrakus's interest was piqued. "If he has a ship and needs a pilot ...
"
The two of them
dismounted the rancor, and, with Mittens following at their heels, walked
through the city. Several of the women called out greetings to Lorien; she
responded, and said that no, her slave wasn't for sale. After several minutes,
they came to a small adobe hut resting in the shadow of a great tree. Lorien
knocked on the door, and waited.
An wizened crone
opened the door. "Yes ... ? Oh! Lorien Kal! Come in, come in. Bring your
friend."
Thrakus was grateful
that the woman had called him "friend" and not "slave," or
"hunka-hunka-burnin-love."
"I brought him
to meet your friend," Lorien explained as they entered the crone's home.
Then Thrakus saw the
old woman's friend. He looked different. His eyes were more sunken, his hair
tousseled, and the beard. But he recognized his newest mortal enemy, Vynd
Acharon. With a roar, he reached out and grabbed the man's throat.
VARNUS
The man they called Vynd Archaron walked down the secret passage in the Varnus
Palace. As he thought about all he'd accomplished over the past year, he
laughed. First, Vynd Acharon. Then Thrakus. Now, even Mathis was out of the
picture, his carbon-frozen form hidden where no one would ever find it. Of
course he thought with glee, no one will ever think to look for it!
He fingered the crystal he carried in his pouch, and concentrated. His hair
grew longer. His facial appearance changed. Internal restructuring changed his
voice and physical build.
The man they would
soon be calling Mathis walked down the secret passage in the Varnusian Palace
and laughed.
DATHOMIR
"Kiz, stop!" Lorien cried, reaching for his hands. The crone began
singing a song, but it was unnecessary. Lorien's gentle touch was enough to
assuage Thrakus's anger.
"That's
him!" Thrakus said, pointing at Archaron. "This is the nerfherder who
abandoned me here!"
"No, it's
not," Lorien said. "When you described him to me, I could only think of
Fenora's servant. But it could not have been him who abandoned you here; he has
been here for over a year."
"Yeah," Archaron
gagged, still reeling from the unexpected attack. "Who are you?"
"Who am
I?" Thrakus growled. "Who are you?"
Delta1 tried to straighten
into a parade-ground stance, but failed, and went back to coughing. After a
minute, he said, "Vynd Acharon. Callsign Delta1. Rank of brigadier general
in the Imperial Navy. Commander of Tornado Squadron aboard the ISD Challenge
in Battlegroup Ten. Jedi Guardian in House Ar'Kell, of the Dark Brotherhood.
Who are you?"
"Oh, boy,"
Thrakus said. "Listen, Deewun, how did you get here?"
Archaron frowned.
"I was flying a Tyderian-config shuttle in the outer Phare system, when
this weird thing came out of hyperspace. It was a ship, but not of any
configuration I've ever seen. It attacked me, then a man who looked just like
Mitt'hraw'nuruodo came aboard. He said something about his disguise getting
old, then read my life Force with some kind of crystal. I passed out, but what
I remember next ... "
"Go on,"
Thrakus said.
"I was here, on
Dathomir. But I thought I saw myself, looking down at me with this most
malicious grin. Whoever that was, that looked like me, he left in a hurry. Then
Fenora found me and made me her servant." Fenora smiled. "Actually,
it's not that bad. I could be a love-slave to one of those other Dathomirian
women. Can you imagine how humiliating that would be?"
"Yes, well,
um," Thrakus stammered. "If the man who sits on the Jedi Council using
your name isn't really you, then it's doubly important that we get back to
Varnus. Xar could be in danger."
"Xar?" Vynd
said. The real Vynd, Thrakus hoped. "The Aedile of House Ar'Kell?
He's my bestest buddy in the world!"
Thrakus sighed.
"You've got a lot of catching up to do...
(by Jinx)
Thrakus and Vynd
were sitting in Fenora's hut, trying to figure out how they were going to get
off of Dathomir. Lorien Kal was giving Thrakus a back-rub. By this point,
Thrakus was feeling slightly tired and befuddled.
"Mmmm, maybe we
should rethink this going to Varnus thing, and just stay here."
"No, Thrakus. You said yourself, we need to get to Varnus doubly quick.
The only problem is, we need to requisition a ship from the New Republic
without them knowing it." Delta1 was thinking as hard as he could.
"The problem is, how?" Then, a voice from behind spoke.
" No need. We
have a ship you can use. By the way, where is Mittens? And where can I get a
women who looks like that?" Thrakus and Delta1 whirled. Behind them, four
men stood. Thrakus didn't recognize the first two, a man in a brown Impeial
Navy uniform with Commander's marks; and the man who spoke, someone whering a
black flightsuit with red accenting and a Fleet Admiral's insignia whose
nametag read 'Vonture'. Behind them, however, were two men who Thrakus
instantly recognized, and Vynd recognized one vaguely. He knew the face, but
couldn't remember the name. The one Thrakus knew, but Vynd didn't, was wearing
a similar uniform to that Vonture weared, but his rank was General, and his
name was Maarek Stele. The other was General Jacob 'Jinx' Skipper. Thrakus was
the first to speak again.
" Jinx, Stele!
How did you get here! And who are these two yazbos?" Jinx smiled.
" 'Lo, Kiz,
Deewun. Long-time no see. Where have we been? Recon out in the Unknown Regions
of Epsilon Sector. Who are these guys? Well, the good Commander is Aaron
Melvar, son of the late General. We're taking him back to Xar. We think he'll
be a good third officer for the Columbia. And the horny one is Fleet Admiral
Vonture, late of Omega Squadron, Emperor's Royal Guard. He's getting a free
ride out to the Rim with us, to rejoin his SpecOps group. Delta1, hows it
going?"
"Umm, Jinx,
this isn't the Delta1 you know from the New Imperium. He's been here for a
year. The last posting he was at was Commander of Tornado Squadron, in the
Remnant." Archaron cut him off.
" You're Jinx,
former Typhoon Commander from the Challenge? About two years ago?"
" Yep, thats
me. The good ole days, before the split."
" Yeah, I've
heard about you. Got into a couple fights with the Command staff, got
transfered to the Infiltrator Wing, and left with Dogar."
" Guilty. Hey,
Kiz, where's Mittens?" Kiz shuddered. Lorien playfully slapped him.
" Umm,
somewhere. We came to the conclusion that Mittens was a rancor larva."
Jinx roared with laughter.
" Rancor
Larva?! Hahahaha! No, Mittens was my birthday present to Xar last year. She's a
Renatasian Fire Tiger Cub. They grow to about 9 meters, and can breathe fire
when fully grown." Thrakus grew beet-red.
" YOU gave that
demon to Xar! You [deleted by censors]! I'm going to kill you!" Thrakus
got up and began to chase Jinx around the hut. Stele intercepted Thrakus and
wrapped him into a bear-hug.
" If we want to
get to Varnus, we need to go now. Say good-bye to your girl, Kiz, and get out
to the ketch." Lorien stood up.
" Who said he's
going anywhere without me?"
" Okay, you can
go to. But we need to LEAVE. Get Mittens." The procession filed out of the
hut, and got their first look at the Venture-class ketch. 40 meters in length,
it was armed to the teeth, and carryed a container on it's back. Thrakus
whistled at it's sleek lines.
" Where'd you
steal this baby?" Melvar gave him a dirty look.
" It's not
stolen, it's a prototype, you geek. It represents the epitome of Imperial
engineering, as does what's inside."
" Then let's
check it out. Shotgun!" Thrakus gave a whoop and ran toward the ship.
Hyperspace
Jinx was showing
Thrakus around the cargo hold. It was packed with armor suits, droids, and
fighters.
" Here we have three
TIE Defender Mark Two's. Heavily modified for use by Omega Squad. Then we have
a TIE Raptor. It was employed in limited numbers by Zsinj in his final days. We
also have the two prototype TIE Avatars, the brand-new, ultra-secret NI fighter.
She's a beauty, ain't she?"
" Umm, I hope
you arent planning to use this stuff..."
" Not
immediately, no. Maybe later, when it's needed." As they headed back to
the cockpit, Thrakus continued to pester Jinx with questions. Mittens followed
at their heels.
" What's up
with Maarek? He seems different than how I remember him."
" He ran into
an old flame on our sojourn. I think he's still sad that her assignment was to
some border outpost way out on the Rim. Something called Platform Omega-9.
Supposedly they do some wild research out there." As they rounded the
corner to the bridge, the ship jolted. Back in the engine room, the hyperdrive
motivator fropped into the fusion engine with a sickening thud. Then, the ship
was jolted forward by a spurt of speed as the extra fuel was used to propel the
ship. Mittens yowled, and raked her claws down Thrakus's back. Thrakus cursed,
and the bridge hatch opened. Stele came out, looked at the two of them, and
said:
" We got some
serious trouble. I've called in my personal squadron I've been building, elite
Firehawk, to escort us to Varnus. I have a feeling we're going to need
everything we've got. We don't know the true damage this false Archaron is
capable of. And, if he has Xar on his side against us... He probably wants both
of you. If they decide to take us out, we could have serious trouble fixing
this mess... Yes, I think we will need Firehawk..."
(by Xar)
Mathis, as he was
now, walked into Xar's office feiging himself to be out of breath. "Grand
Master! I'm so glad!" He collapsed onto the floor, heaving.
"Mathis!" Xar
started forward. "What's wrong? You've been missing! Did you find the
traitor?"
"Yes..." Mathis
stood and addressed the dark-haired man in front of him. "But he's not
here on Varnus, he's en route now! And he's gotten Thrakus with him too, and
Stele and Jinx are on his side... They're all coming here to usurp you as Grand
Master! We've got to stop them!"
"What? Maarek
turned against me? It can't be!"
"Well he's on
his way, sir!"
"Blast! Ready
the defenses, get the Stormwatch onto position and raise our defenses! They
won't get here without a fight! I'll see to that myself!" With that, he
stormed past Mathis and out the door. Mathis could see his lightsaber dangling
from his belt and his mass gun in its holster. He smiled. His sources had done
well, telling him of the approaching Thrakus and the true Vynd Archaron. He'd
been Archaron for over a year and a half, and he wasn't about to give that up
now! Pulling out his commlink, he began making new orders...
* * *
"Here is a map
of the palace," Jinx briefed Stele, Thrakus and Vynd. "If you can get
us through any defenses, Stele, we can touch down outside and make our way
inside through the underground labyrinth. I know a secret way in. I don't know
nearly all those corridors, but I think I might be able to get us inside."
"Think you
might be able to? Come on," Thrakus interjected.
"We must
succeed, all depends on this," Jinx muttered. "With the three of us,
Stele, my other two buddies, and the two Dathomiran women, we should be able to
make it through and confront Xar directly. Once we explain things to him, we'll
find this imposter and take him out once and for all!"
That elicited several cheers from the officers. "Yes," Delta 1 put
in, "And hopefully my imposter won't have done too much damage here. You
don't know what this guy is capable of... This isn't going to be easy,
gentlemen. In fact, it could be the toughest thing we've ever faced..."
(by Delta1)
VARNUS, LOW ORBIT
Xar tried to rest in
the passenger compartment of the orbital shuttle, but couldn't. Something
wasn't right with this situation. How had Vynd gotten off-planet? Why had he
returned, and how had he gotten Thrakus and Stele on his side? What was wrong
with Mittens? Well, he could at least try to answer that question as he waited
for his coach to complete its ascent to the ISD Stormwatch. "What's
the matter, Mittens?" Xar asked the cat he cradled in his arms.
Instead of the cat's
usual meow, it clicked several times and grated a harsh mwrrr.
Almost like a
droid, Xar thought. But
that's crazy! Who ever heard of a cat-droid? Still, maybe it would be a
good idea to contact the Royal Vetrinarian and see if anything was found wrong
during the cat's examination.
PUBLIC SPEEDER LOT,
VARNUS
The rest had gone
off to make preparations, leaving only Maarek Stele and Vynd Acharon to guard
the speeders they would use to penetrate the outer ring of the palace's
security. Hooded traveler's cloaks, popular among those who drifted from planet
to planet like driftweed, hid their features from any passerby. Vynd held the
true Mittens in his arms. He and the cat had gotten quite attached to each
other during the long hyperspace trip from Dathomir to Varnus.
"Are you the
Maarek Stele?" Vynd asked the other man. "The one who was awarded the
Emperor's Will and all that?"
Stele nodded, but
didn't volunteer any information.
"Aren't you
dead?"
"Aren't you a
traitor?"
"I see your
point," Vynd said. "So, how long have you been with the
Imperium?"
"Not
long," Stele said.
Vynd laughed
nervously. "This is all very ... sudden. Xar is this Grand Master and
survivor of a royal lineage, Mathis is his Deputy. My doppelganger owes his
allegiance to another fleet, and may have ruined my name among my old fleet and
Order ... Sometimes, I wish I was back on Dathomir grinding ravka root for
Fenora."
I hope the fake
Delta1 isn't as annoying as the real one, Stele thought.
(by Jinx)
Maarek had just
decided that he was going to kill Archaron if he said anymore, but was
prevented from doing it by the timely arrival of Jinx and Thrakus. Jinx was
garbed in a plain black jumpsuit with red and yellow striping, and Thrakus was
in his black Jedi robe. With them was a group of Jedi. Jinx did the intros for
Deewun.
"Deewun, this
is Draken Ar'Kell and Omega. Their positions are Quaestor and Aedile, as you
would have known them."
"Of
Ar'Kell?"
"Right. These
two yazbos are Neres Warjan and Val Ricaud, heads of a house that was formed while
we were absent, House Castellan. And these two behind me are my Aedile, Roger
McReed and Huan, also of House Vortigern. There are more we hope will join us,
but they have evidently been called into a meeting at the palace. Any
questions?"
There were none.
"Then let's go."
(by Xar)
"Wait a
minute..." Stele interjected.
"What is it?" Jinx asked.
"How did you get these guys here to join us so fast?" He glanced at
them suspiciously. "I don't buy that they just walked up, willing to
mutiny like this..."
"Well I..." Jinx began.
Suddenly, as if on cue, Omega whirled to face Maarek, who took a step back in
surprise.
"Sorry, Maarek," Omega said, "You're right. Xar sent us to take
you back. You've got to come with us."
"No chance!" Thrakus countered.
Omega gave a laugh as he and his comrades ignited their lightsabers and moved
in.
"Come on..." Jinx growled, pulling his own lightsaber out and
igniting it. Moving forward, he met Omega head on, and the two fell into a
fierce series or strikes and counter-strikes, neither getting the upper hand.
Draken spun towards Thrakus, only to be hit in the face by a blast of Force
Lights from the Jedi Crusader. Draken screamed and dropped his saber, holding
his eyes. Thrakus dived for the saber, came up, and sent a spinning back kick
to Draken's stomach, sending him pitching forward.
Maarek Stele ducked Neres' wild saber swing and started running the other
direction as fast as he could.
"Hey where are you going?!" Thrakus shouted over the din of battle.
"I don't do ground fights!" Stele shouted over his shoulder.
"Besides, I need to get in the air and get us some air support... That
distraction we need!"
Meanwhile, Roger MacReed and Haun dived for Vonture and Melvar, but were
quickly stopped cold as the men drew their blasters and sent several stun
blasts into each.
Val Ricaud moved to grab at the women, but quickly learned he'd greatly
underestimated his foes. Fernora sent a kick into his groin that lurched him
over in pain, then Lorien cracked out her whip and sent it around his neck,
pulling him back. Lorien pulled relentlessly, arching Ricaud' back as he choked
and sputtered, but Thrakus turned and cut through the whip with Draken's saber.
"No!" he shouted. "We don't kill! They're friends!"
"THESE are your friends?!" Lorien asked incredulously.
"I'll explain later!" Thrakus shot back.
Meanwhile, Neres fell to another stun blast from Vonture, while Melvar pumped
several shots into Draken's twitching form.
Thrakus looked around. All their assailants were down, save Omega, who was
still dueling it out with Jinx. Suddenly Omega seemed to realize he was
outnumbered, though, and moved back. With a graceful backflip, he launched
himself up onto the wall above. "You'll never make it inside the
palace!!" he screamed. Then he jumped down, out of sight.
"Well, that went well," Vynd noted from the base of the wall.
"Yeah, and where were you?" Thrakus inquired, staring the man down. Vynd
shrugged, moved over and picked up Neres' saber, giving a slight grin.
"Hey are you qualified to use that thing?" Thrakus asked warily.
"Hey, I WAS Weapons Master of Ar'Kell. This is the Sith me, remember? I
bet I could teach you a thing or two."
"Yeah, whatever," Thrakus answered. "Hey, Jinx! Found us that
secret entrance yet?"
The man nodded as he came back up to the main group. "It's in the West
section of Vectur, where the ruins are. That section still hasn't been rebuilt
completely yet."
"I know that," Thrakus snapped. "So how about showing it to us?
This is getting a bit out of hand, we've got to reach Xar fast and explain to
him what's really going on!"
Vynd gave him a cynical look, and glanced at the forms scattered on the ground.
"You know, at this point, I'm not sure he'll care..."
Xar watched the battle unfold on the holoscreen, as the hidden camera sent him
the live feed from the skirmish between his Jedi and the rogues. As the last
warrior fell, and Omega retreated, Xar didn't bother watching the rest. With a
roar of rage, he ran over, lifting the entire holoprojector into the air with
his Force-enhanced strength, and threw it across the room. Sparks and and
lightning erupted from the machine as it crashed to the floor.
"AAAARRRRGHHH!!!! ICIS!!!"
Beside him, a tall, dark figure appeared out of nowhere, causing Xar to jump
back in momentary surprise.
"Yes?"
"Never do that to me again!" Xar warned harshly. "Now, find
Omega, wherever he ran off to. Make sure he pays for his failure. And increase
the swirlies!!"
"As you wish, sir." T-Rex vanished again, leaving Xar alone to
contemplate the situation. Bringing out his commlink, he sent a message to Mathis,
explaining what had happened. They were going to need some more Jedi now...
Phase two of Mathis's plan better work better than the first...
(by Mathis)
Nico was walking the
deep, dank, dark tunnels of the Palace whistling a tuneless little ditty to
himself. Quite suddenly he almost bumped into a large stone block sitting in
the middle of the passage.
"I wonder who would put a block in the middle of a passage all the way
down here?"he wondered outloud. He just loved to hear the sound of his own
voice in the deep, dank, dark tunnels.
Stepping around the block he discovered that it was actually a stone statue
that was carved into the other side. But then he noticed the flashing lights
and he gasped,
"Oh my, now why would anyone want to incase Mathis in carbonite?" he
said.
Flicking a switch he waited as the carbonite block began to glow a fiery red
colour which became almost blinding. Suddenly a haggard looking Mathis fell
before his feet. Coughing Mathis yelled,
"Whats happening? I can't see!!"
"It is okay Mathis. It's me, Nico. You were encased in carbonite and that
is why you are blind. The effects will wear off. But please tell me what you
remember."
"I don't have time Nico. You have to get me to the Stormwatch. It
is a long story but suffice it to say we have an imposter in our midst! An imposter
of me...."
Nico was stunned but he quickly got Mathis to his feet. Trying as best they
could to move as quickly as possible was a hard task but eventually they got
out of the basement and headed towards the turbolift. Nico guided Mathis to the
turbolift that headed for the launchpad where they would board shuttle and head
straight for the Stormwatch. It didn't take them long and quickly Nico
requisitioned a shuttle. Mathis tried looking at Nico as he spoke,
"You know, I think my sight is coming back. Instead of a big dark blur I
can see a big light blur."
Nico wondered where he had heard that before but it was soon out of his mind as
he guided the shuttle out of atmosphere and in the direction of the Stormwatch.
Everywhere ships were mobilized as if ready for battle and Nico was deeply
curious. But he knew that all would be revealed eventually.
Coming towards the Hangar bay Nico gave his ship protocals and personal number.
"I am here to speak with the Grand Master about something of the utmost
importance," he said.
"Clearance granted, Sir," was the reply.
Nico then landed the shuttle.
Quickly disembarking with the ragged looking Mathis Nico couldn't help but
notice the strange looks the pair were recieving. Nico ushered Mathis to the
nearest turbolift and pushed the bridge button. They both sat patiently as the
turbolift played its interesting piece of elevator music. Suddenly the doors
slid open to reveal the bridge. Xar looked at the turbolift entrance and stared
in shock,
"Ahhh.... Mathis!?"
He turned to the other not so haggard looking Mathis,
"Ahhh.... Mathis!?
Suddenly the ragged Mathis lunged out of the turbolift and away from Nico's
supporting shoulder. He pointed directly at Xar and shouted,
"There is your Imposter!!!"
Nico quietly stepped forward, grabbed Mathis by the waist and swiveled him
around to face his twin.....
(by Jinx)
The two men faced
each other across the bridge of the Star Destroyer. One was lean, and seamed
full of a menacing power. The other was haggard, and moved like he was
recovering from a sickness. The most amazing fact was that both were the same
man. Or, at least, appeared to be.
Royal Varnusan
Palace, Vectur
Rear Admiral Aaron
D. Hurt was in a hurry, but no one seemed to appreciate that fact. he needed to
get up to the Stormwatch to get a shuttle back to the Traktion,
but the technicians kept saying something about a civil disturbance closing the
launch pads. He was about to engage in another round of arguing when the door
to the control room exploded. He felt stinging hot shards peppering his body,
and he dived for the floor. His hand automatically reached for the blaster that
was usually around his waist, but he had left it in his room. Wraith-like
figures came darting through the door, and set about securing every nook and
cranny. One pointed his lightsaber at Hurt and motioned for him to stand up.
Hurt did so. And nearly fell over again in surprise.
"Long time no
see, Hurt." Jinx was almost as surprised as Hurt. The two looked at each
other. Then Jinx uttered the infamous words.
"The Master and the student meet again. Only this time, I am the
Master." Hurt gave a nervous chuckle.
"Uhh, you
aren't planning on fighting to the death with lightsabers, were you?" Jinx
shook his head as a grin spread across his features. "So, how you been
keeping busy since Ord Froyt?" The name of the battle that destroyed the
Interdictor Dominant, Jinx's first command, caused a frown to crease
Jinx's forehead.
"Hurt, it has
ben a long time since then, and so few are left now. I'd rather concentrate on
the events at hand. And they are rather large events indeed." The two kept
talking, as Jinx outlined the situation to Hurt. Thirty minutes later, two
assault shuttles lifted off for the ISD Stormwatch, loaded with Jedi
loyal to Thrakus cause.
(by Draken
ArKell)
Aboard the
Assult Shuttle
Talon1
The Jedi felt a
lurch as the shuttle speed slowed dramatically.
"Hey pilot, whats the big idea ?" Jinx shouted.
"It's not me Sir, the speed just dropped for no reason." came a
answer from the cockpit.
The hiss of a door came from the back of the shuttle that lead to the engine
bay.
"Actually it was me, sorry but you are all under arrest again, but this
time for treason and resisting arrest as well!" said a rather
bedragled looking Draken.
Draken stepped out from the door as it closed behind me, in his hands were a
hypo spanner and thermal detonator.
Everyone was a little surprised to see Draken, last time they all saw him he
was laying on the ground stunned.
A smile played across his lips as Draken noticed the looks of the group.
"Well I get this all the time, you all keep forgetting that in the Black
Ops we have acess to some really crazy equipment!"Draken answered as he
pulled his shirt across to reveal the MKI Stun Proof vest just come out from
the NCSA.
"I would have been here early but Melvar got carried away with the stun
shots and the capistors blew out!"Draken explain as he pulled out a tiny
box that looked burnt, "Now we must'n talk too long as the detonator is on
20 second fuse and you guys only have 15 seconds left before we all go
up!"
"Your mad Draken !"screamed Jinx as he pushed his way in front of the
group.
"Yes, quite right there Jinx, ever since that reptile touched my mind
(q.v.) I haven't been altogether if you know what I mean. 10 seconds!"
"Wait, Draken I can prove we are not traitors! Someone has been
impersonating Delta 1! He has the Grand Master fooled, that's why we are heading
to the Stormwatch to save him!"
Draken laughed. "Yes I see that I'm not the only one who the Grand Master
should telling to lay of the drugs!" He replied, rolling his eyes.
"The time !" Everyone pointed at the detonator and shouted.
Draken pressed the pause button and calmly looked at the time left.
"Hey, three seconds left," with raised eyebrows Draken said aloud
"well that's plenty of time, now quickly explain before... well, you know,
'Boom'!"
Jinx gulped "OK, well it all started when Thrakus got the promotion to
Sith Praetor, the Grand Master called him to his office, well Mittens was also
there, so the Grand Master wanted him ....."
Assault Shuttle Talon
1 is cleared for landing.
Crew members aboard
the StormWatch looked upon Jinx and his people with hostile intentions
until Draken Ar`Kell came out behind them holding up a blaster.
"Where is the Grand Master ?" Draken asked the Duty Officer.
"In his office sir," he replied " would you like me to take the
prisoners ?"
"No, that will be all," gestured to the turbo lift, Draken pointed at
Jinx and the others "that way guys."
The turbo lift door
opened to the office.
Xar looked up from his desk, his eyes narrowing. "So, more
traitors..." He began to pull out his mass gun...
(by Xar)
Moments before...
Xar looked
suspiciously at the two Mathises. One was standing at his side, wide eyed. The
other was squinting, as if he could barely see them. Nico looked more surprised
than either Mathis. Xar flipped his mass gun out and held it loosely in front
of him.
"All right..." he began. "I do not know what is going on here,
but I do not have the time to figure it out at the moment. We have a mutiny on
our hands. Guards!"
At his words, the two Royal Guards that had been guarding the outside moved in
and stood at the ready, not perturbed the slightest by the scene in the office.
"Guards, Nico, take both of these men to the brig." He said firmly.
"But wait!!" the tattered Mathis began.
"NOW!" Xar shouted.
Nico and the guards quickly rounded the two Mathises up in compliance and led
them from the office. Xar shook his head and replaced his gun. What else was
going to happen today?
The mysterious
figure known as "Mathis" moved in compliance with the guards,
ignoring the real Mathis' pleas to explain things. He should have killed the
man when he had the chance. But he could rectify that, right now...
"I don't know what's going on here," Nico was saying, "But I
have to do what the Grand Master says. I think you're the real Mathis, Mathis,
but..."
"Mathis" was tired of all this talking. Abruptly he stopped walking.
One of the guards pushed him to move him along, but the second his hand touched
the captive he staggered back, grasping at his throat, gasping breath coming
from his mask. He slumped back, wheezing.
The other guard turned toward him, but he moved forward and hit him with a
rising palm strike, lifting the man into the air and crashing into the far
bulkhead, eliciting the sound of cracking bones as he hit.
Mathis and Nico turned toward Mathis, and he smiled. He extended his hands,
open. The two men seemed to twist, contort, then were blown backwards down the
hall as two blasts of pure energy erupted from Mathis' hands.
Smiling as he admired his handiwork, Mathis' countenance slowly changed, his
height and build altering.
Vynd Archaron turned and headed back toward Xar's office.
"Hey, where'd Jinx get off to?!" Thrakus exclaimed suddenly as they
walked through the catacombs beneath the city of Vectur.
The rest of the party, Vynd, Lorien Kal, Fenora, Maarek Stele, and Vonture,
looked around to find him, but he was nowhere to be found. For that matter,
Melvar seemed to have wandered off somewhere, as well.
"Probably went off to try and fix this thing on his own," Vonture
muttered.
"What's going on here?" Thrakus asked aloud. "That double-crosser!
He was the one who knew his way around this maze!"
"Well, I suppose we'll have to find our own way, then," Vynd said
resignedly.
They continued on for some time, down the seemingly endless passageways under
the city, not knowing where they were going, until the tunnel changed. The
walls were of metal, not stone.
They continued on, finally emerging in a huge room, the ceiling extending up
for at least a kilometer. In the center of the room was a massive cone several
hundred meters wide, extending upwards and almost touching the ceiling. Several
smaller cones encirled the main one, some a hundred meters tall, some barely as
tall as a man. The entire room was of a strange metal, and smaller passageways
around the room lead down shafts filled with strange circuitry that must lead
to a computer-control center.
They stared as they looked at a place that they knew no one had been in for
millenia, eyes wide and mouths open.
"I think we just hit the jackpot," Thrakus whispered, echoing
throughout the chamber.
(by Delta1)
"No we
haven't," Delta1 said. "This is just some old crap. We need to find Xar
and convince him that I'm me."
"But this could be important," Vonture said. "You know. A whole
paradigm-shifting experience."
"Right now, the only paradigm I want to shift is that of the Identity
Thief," Vynd said hotly. "If we travel back another fifty meters, the
caverns branch vertically. I think if we take the upper path we can get to the
Krath chambers."
Thrakus looked at Fenora, who just shrugged. Evidently, she couldn't control
her slave. Not like Lorien at all, Thrakus thought. I'd do anything
for Lorien. I'd eat bugs. I'd crawl over broken transparisteel. I'd tatoo my - Thrakus
mentally shook himself out of his reverie and led the way back through the
caverns.
Bridge, ISD Stormwatch
Delta1 stumbled through the bridge doors, gasping for breath. "Xar! I made
it ... "
"You!" Xar shouted, jumping to his feet. "You traitor! Where
- is - my - cat?!?"
"You don't
understand," Vynd said. "It was all Mathis' doing! He has this way to
make duplicates of people! He made one of himself and it went bad, put the real
one in carbonite. He duplicated me, Thrakus, and a few others, and has framed
us!"
Xar sat back down in
the command chair and massaged his temples. "This is getting
confusing," he said. "Answer one question for me, and answer it
truthfully. Are you lying?"
"No,"
Delta1 lied.
"Good," Xar
said. "Now, where's the fake Vynd and his friends?"
"I'm not
sure," Vynd said. "But I think they're on the planet below ....
"
Vynd, Fenora, Lorien Kal, Kiz Thrakus, Maarek Stele, and Vonture had
successfully navigated the subterrannean maze and made their way through the
Krath chambers. On their way, they had exchanged their disguises for some robes
"liberated" from several trainees. They were walking quickly through
a corridor when Vynd stopped.
"What's behind
this door?" he asked.
"Nothing,"
Thrakus said. "Brooms. Cleaning supplies. Mathis' Twinkie cache."
Ignoring Thrakus, Vynd
opened the door and stepped inside. Though the room had once been a broom
closet, someone had disingenously remodeled it as a prison cell. Crude iron
bars blocked off the rear of the room. Within that cell, Delta1 saw himself. Or
rather, a replica of himself, with one arm missing.
He cut the bars with
Neres Warjan's lightsaber, and stepped inside. "Who are you?" he
asked.
"Gonk,"
the replica said.
"I see," Vynd
said.
"E chew to
wah," the replica added.
"He says his
name's Delta2," Vynd explained to his companions. "He was created
with the butchered remains of an EV power droid, a 3PO endoskeleton, and a
mannequin of me that had been built by ... " His voice trailed off as he
shot a curious glance towards Thrakus.
"What else does
it say?" Thrakus asked, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.
"It lacks
purpose," Vynd said. "It's asking, is this all there is? Is this all
I am? So sad ... " Vynd began typing commands into the closet's computer
terminal. "This is only set up to access the Janitorial Server, but I
should be able to interpret the entire Divisions network."
"Yeah, we have
pretty shoddy security around here," Stele said. "Someone wrote this
virus called 'Lemissa,' which took advantage of the extremely weak security
presented by the ubiquitous nature of - "
"I don't
care," Vynd said. "Here we go! I keep main programming shadows of
several illegal droid models in my personal records. It looks like the Identity
Thief kept them when he betrayed and abandoned my rightful lords in the Dark
Brotherhood."
"You have to
stop talking like that," Thrakus advised.
"I'm uploading
new programming for you," Delta1 told Delta2. "There! How do you
feel?"
"Gonk!" D2
said. He reached into Vynds pocket and withdrew a blaster and a pair of
sunglasses. He put on the glasses and pushed his way past the Jedi. When he
reached the doorway, he turned around and said, "Hasta la gonka,
baby." Then he was gone.
"He should
present a good distraction while we steal a shuttle," Vynd said. "I
hope the others haven't gotten themselves into too much trouble...."
(by Vern Merlin)
Vern "Merlin
Maverick was walking along the corridor within the palace on Varnus to see the
Grand Master Xar when he saw a strange droid that was created with the
butchered remains of an EV power droid, a 3PO endoskeleton, and a mannequin of
Delta 1. He halted in his tracks.
"Whoa!",
Vern was surprised. "What was THAT all about?". A new initiate to the
Division, Vern wasn't sure how to react to strange incidents like this.
However, he sensed that there was something very interesting going on in the
capital city of Varnus.
Now, should I follow that droid, or should
I head towards where it was coming from? Vern mused. Come to think of
it, I think I better let the Force guide me. Hope I'm doing the right choice by
doing what I feel I should do...
(by Draken
ArKell)
Draken stood and
watched as the Royal Guard and Nico escorted the two Mathis to the brig.
"Draken, I want you to go down to Varnus and find your Aedile and Icis
Novitaar," Xar told him "well that is if Omega is still alive."
Draken thought to himself as he looked upon the Grand Master "And they
think I'm mad!"
"Not as mad as I will be if you don't get on moving!" Xar said
looking straight though Draken.
Draken snapped to attention "Yes Sir, I'm gone now Sir!"
Draken almost run into D1 as he came though the door into the room.
At the landing
platform
Draken pulled out
his little comm unit.
"Havoc, do read me; over"
"This is Havoc, boss." came a reply
"Status." Draken asked
"Well we are following Omega and it seems there is someone following him too."
"That's alright, it's Novitaar but don't get in his way unless he goes for
Omega." Draken cautioned his man.
Draken followed the directions that Havoc had given him, "He said I would
find him on this roof here."
"Pssst, over here!" came a whisper from behind a wall.
It was a old part of town near the Palace, many of the buildings here were not
repaired yet. And it seemed that there were a few holes into the ground near
the Palace.
"Hey boss, Omega's over there" Havoc pointed to a bearly visable
figure standing in the shadows, "and he must of got that tag on D1 when he
was fighting him, cause he has been checking his tracker every a few seconds.
Which lead him to here, I think he's waiting for you."
"Well everything is moving like we thought it might, go and we'll join
Omega" Draken mused aloud.
Both Havoc and Draken turned to Novitaar standing there. They both reeled in
shock.
"Novitaar, the
Grand Master ..." Draken started
"Yes I know, he told me that you were coming. Lucky too, I was about to
finish Omega off when he called me." Novitaar tilled his head showing a
tiny ear piece, "so I take it you have a tag on one of the traitors and
that's what Omega has been following."
"Yes, we are going to down now to find out were their are." Draken
mentioned as he stood up.
Omega was thinking
to himself about what his next move will be when in his ear came a
"Boo!"
"Ahhh!" Omega jumped and dropped his tracking device.
Omega placed his hand over his heart to feel if it was stilling beating.
"Don't you ever do that again!" Omega said while turning to see who
was there.
Novitaar bent down and picked up the tracking device, while Havoc laughed at
Omega.
Omega could almost see wet toilet paper in there hands, but he had a second look
and saw nothing.
"Omega which way ?" Draken walked out of the shadows, "we need
to find them soon before someone does something really dumb."
"Well, they when into that hole over there" Omega indicated a
smallish hole that was cover with slimey tendrils and looked dank.
"Trust Thrakus to pick a hole like that one." Havoc mused to himself.
Novitaar started to walk to the hole, "We must hurry if we are to catch
them!" he stood in front of the hole and checked the tracker,
"We will find them and bring them back to the Grand Master in pieces if we
must."
(by Jinx)
Xar's office, ISD
StormWatch
Xar had his gun out
and pointed at Jinx, Hurt, and Melvar, who had accompanied them for the ride.
Jinx, in turn had his lightsaber out, but unignited. Then, the door behind them
slammed open, and Vynd walked through. Melvar had his gun out and against Vynds
neck before he could react.
"Freeze. And no
Force tricks, else the guy with the sword is going to gut you right here and
now." Vynd froze, but his eyes went blank for a moment, and then a
colossal burst of Froce Energy lept from his body, tossing Hurt and Melvar
against the wall, while Xar and Jinx were merely jostled a bit. Vynd, however,
had fared worst of all. His skin now hung in splotches, and something was
moving underneath of it. Xar and Jinx stared back, incredulously. Archaron began
laughing, a maniacal sound, and Xar sighted his mass gun while Jinx ignited the
lightsaber. Archaron turned to run, but was stopped by a fireball that impacted
next to his head on the bulkhead. He turned around, all humor gone, and
replaced with sheer malevolence. He spoke, and it was a deep, throaty roar,
totally unlike that of Archarons real voice.
"You FOOLS!
Everything you may try to do to me will reflect back upon you with tenfold
force, and you will be finished! FINISHED!" With that, the creature
slammed through the bulkhead, and took off towards the shuttle bay. Jinx looked
at Xar, and asked the question.
"Uhh, sir.
Forgive my prying, but JUST WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THAT?!?!"
(by Vern Merlin)
Vern "Merlin
Maverick was having trouble finding the Grand Master. When he burst into the
room where they were, he was too late and they'd already gone. So he decided to
try to find Xar in his chambers at the Palace. He was walking along the
corridor and suddenly he found the Grand Master.
"Hail Grand Master! I got news for you", Merlin said. Surprised, the Grand
Master turned around. "What is it?", Xar said.
"Well, I've
been monitoring the Varnusan inter network, and apparently, someone had put a
virus sequencer that repeats itself every 30 minutes", Vern said
"So, what about
it?", the Grand Master said. "Make it snappy, I have got something to
do". Vern was surprised. He never thought the Grand Master will be rude to
him.
"Well,
apparently, the sequence is getting shorter and shorter...I think its a
countdown...But that's not all, Someone...probably the same someone have also
planted another more deadly virus into the network...I think I can get it out
of the system, but I'll need all the help I can get..."
(by Jinx)
Shuttle Hyperion
" Hey, Nico.
How's he doing?" Jinx was concentrating on flying the shuttle, while Nico
attended to Mathis. Nico applied a stimpak to Mathis's neck, and Mathis
groaned.
" I think I can
hold him for the moment, but we need to get him to a real doctor, soon!"
Jinx bit his lip and viewed the map.
" Alright,
here's how it goes. I'm going to drop the two of you off at the Planetary
Medical Center, and you get Mathis to a doctor. I'm going to head-on to the
palace, and try and help Xar. Got it?"
"Got it!"
The shuttle flared as it hit the street in front of the Med Center. Nico ran
down the ramp, Force levitating Mathis with him. Jinx ran back to close the
ramp, and something in the cargo bay caught his eye. It was a large crate that
read To: Jedi Templar Jinx, Ravick, Moro System, New Imperium Territories.
Jinx paused, and hit
the open button. One side fell off, and Jinx was stunned. In it was his At-Pt, Cayla,
prepped and primed for instant action. Jinx ran back to the cockpit, and flew
the shuttle the remaining 50 kilometers to the palace. He set it in the main
hangar, and went back and marched the assault vehicle out of the bay and into
the hangar.
"Thank goodness
this place was built with large corridors..."
-----------
Caverns, Beneath the Palace
Thrakus and company were following behind D2, and he was having no problems opening doors with that blaster of his. They had made their way to Xar's office, but the Grand master wasn't there. Then, they heard a commotion outside, and headed out to check it. Waiting for them were Icis, Draken, Omega, and Havoc. With lightsaber's in hand. And igni