The Jedi Civil War (Book 3)

[Akirapryde]

(GM's Notes, this Intermission contains information that was asked about during a gaming session. I finally have all the numbers I need. If you wish to compare this information to Star Wars Tech, please feel free. Just pass all findings on to me for approval before taking them as fact.)

Captain's Eyes Only
Captain's Files “Report on Chaos Ships”
ISS Ka-riss-ah


This report has been commissioned to show the brutal effectiveness of the Chaos weapon and defense in battle. Also to support the plan issued by the Minister of Science which seeks the authorization to use the last remaining Alpha-Omega Class Heavy Destroyer in a field test which could lead to the further development of a planetary defense weapon systems that could defend planets from further Chaos attacks. The risks to the A-O Destroyer and her support ships would be at a manageable level, however, the data from such tests could prove hands down the need to further weapon's development along the lines of the plan submitted by the Minister of Science.

One of the very first demonstrations of the impressive capabilities of the Chaos Death-Ray which had been recorded was during the battle of Gorash VII. In this epic battle we saw the Chaos Death-Ray used against a number of our G'Quan class Heavy Cruisers, as they attempted to push the Chaos ships from the system, with horrific results. Based on surviving videos of the battle from a near by gate, we were able to analyze the battle between our twelve Heavy Cruisers and two Chaos ships.

To determine the effectiveness of the Chaos weapon, I used detailed measurements of the G'Quan class Heavy Cruiser. At a total length of 1,400 meters the bridge section of the G'Quan came to 30 meters along the y-axis, with an estimated armor thickness of no more than 3.5 meters. Length of the bridge, in the center, was approximately 25 meters along the z-axis.

Next measurements were done on the landing bay its self. The bay on the top and bottom, which appears to be nothing but solid metal, came to 2.5 meters thick along the y-axis an top and bottom and 3.8 meters thick where the upper bay meets the lower bay. Total length along the z-axis came to about 252 meters. Next came measurements on the G'Quan's center body. The center body came to be 207 meters along the z-axis. and 105 meters along the y-axis with an estimated 5 meters of armor on top of that. The reactor its self was 115 meters in diameter. This gives it a total volume of 796,328.2 cubic meters but, as it is probably hollow with an internal volume of 523,598.7 cubic meters the actual volume of armor is likely 272,729.5 cubic meters.

Last item to be measured was the engine housing of the G'Quan. As this section curves I had to break my estimate into three sections. From back to front, before the curve begins the armor thickness on the engines is 16 meters along the y-axis, all the way around. The interior of the engine is 45 meters in height across the y-axis. Total length of the engine, before the curve begins, is 232 meters along the z-axis. Next was the curved area. As before we have armor thickness of 16 meters and 45 meter diameter along the engine's interior, with a length of 100 meters. Lastly, with the 16 meters and 45 meter figure remaining consistent through the last third of the G'Quan's engines, which stretches along a final stretch of 170 meters along the z-axis to join with the hull of the G'Quan.

There is some miscellaneous equipments, armor and constructs along the hull. Now, if we use solid Iron for the G'Quan's armor which has a density of 7,874 kg/m^3 and for the hull area we also use Iron but use the classic 400 kg/m^3 figure - the relative density of an automobile - to estimate the ship's wispy interior and unarmored sections. As the beam that struck the G'Quans are estimated to be roughly 20 meters thick, the total volume vaporized by the Chaos Death-Ray would have been 4,211,816,279.6 kilograms. Vapor point for Iron is 7,800,089.3 joules per kilogram of Iron. This means that the whole of the volume vaporized by the Chaos Death-Ray would have required 3.2*10^16 joule to vaporize.

This now brings us into the question of time. It takes 42 frames to kill one G'Quan in the sequence of images featured in our footage, and only 28 frames to kill second G'Quan featured just above the G'Quan in the foreground. The second G'Quan offers slightly better information, because the Chaos vessel that destroyed that ship did so from directly behind the G'Quan #2 where as the Chaos vessel that destroyed G'Quan #1 was attacking from below.

This being the case, we'll use the destruction of G'Quan #2. Within the time frame of 28 frames in video format, where 25 frames equal one second, the total time in this frame is 1.072 seconds. This means the Chaos weapon demonstrated a level of destruction equaling 3.06*10^16 joule, when adjusting for the time required to destroy the G'Quan; to slice the Alliance ship in half.

As the Chaos beam went right through the G'Quan and did not appear to be impeded in any way it must be more powerful than the low-end estimates featured above. This being the case the Chaos's beam is, likely, an order of magnitude greater than what was seen. This would bump up the Chaos beam's low-end destructive capability to 3.0*10^17 joule.

Another demonstration was recovered from our base within the Nestia System. Our base along with the Iron mining colony below were attacked by the forces of Chaos. Note that the base is much larger than 1.4km Heavy Cruiser, seen docked with the orbiting station.

Forces of the Chaos, consisting of three ships, slipped out of Hyperspace and proceeded to attack our Base. Their first strike is devastating, all but ignoring our defending fighters and instead attacking the base, effectively knocking out early warning systems and any semblance of command structure. The beam weapon raked across the base, which was no less than 1,600 meters relative to the docked 1,400 meter long Heavy Cruiser, the surface explodes and erupted in a brilliant flash, suggesting that the beam is vaporizing the materials comprising the base.

Still, while not a usable to determine the yield of Chaos weapon from these set of images, we can clearly see that the entire arm of our base has been totally blown away, the Heavy Cruiser destroyed as well in one activation of the weapon. Our fighters bravely fought on, but they are no match for the Chaos and, while trying to protect the sizable colony on the surface below, the trio of Chaos vessels penned in the remaining forces and cut them to ribbons. With the our defenses broken, the Chaos moved in on the planet. The first ship to move into targeting position opens fire!

First Chaos vessel strikes the colony with ease and precision. The area around the cliff side base glows, and the impact of the beam is immediately followed by sparks, the beam striking the surface and burning through the planet's crust. Soon the first ship's attack on the surface is joined by her sister ships, the Chaos determined to make sure that the entire colony is destroyed. There were survivors, but very few and all records had be destroyed with the destruction of the base and colony less this one recording which had been recovered from a life pod.

Finally the third ship joins the attack on the Colony. By this time the first Chaos vessel has discontinued her attack, after 0.8 seconds of sustained weapons fire. Note the large plumes of smoke and glowing ash around each point where the Chaos's weapons have hit the surface. Immediately after the first Chaos vessel ceases fire, the whole of the plateau which the colony rests, explodes in a violent eruption. Second Chaos vessel also discontinues fire, the third ship's beam still digging then rounding to follow the cliff face to destroy anything at the bottom of the cliffs around the colony. Running clean-up ops., the last Chaos vessel destroyed any/all of the surrounding area around the colony. Total attack on the colony lasted between 1.9 to 2.0 seconds - no longer.

Ceasing fire, the Chaos turn and begin to leave, the flames from the destroyed colony plainly visible from high orbit. The base, colony, and all records of the battle had thought to have been destroyed. The Chaos ships begin their exit of the system, but not before firing upon the ruins of the orbiting space dock one last time... presumably they detected life signs or possibly residual power signatures and wanted to make sure everything is dead. Once they make this final strike the Chaos disappear and phase back into Hyperspace. What remains is rubble. The orbiting base has been obliterated. The Colony, vaporized. According to the rescue teams, the beam penetrated all the way through to the mantle, causing a plume of lava to come spewing out nearly five kilometers in the skies above where the Colony once stood.

You can see that, from orbit, we would have easily been able to see the fires of the destroyed colony. As a matter of fact, if we used the base of the plume to determine the approximate diameter of the blast zone, the maw of the newly formed volcano would have stretched from Newzics Bay to the Imperial Palace - making the destroyed area no less than 210 kilometers in diameter. Despite the apparent massive area destroyed, we will limit our figures to only that which the Chaos weapons were seen doing, not the final effect for their attack. The planet in Quadrant 14 had an average crust thickness of roughly 40,000 meters. If the diameter of the energy blast was a conservative 20 meters, which appears to be the average total beam width from a Chaos vessel, than the beam would have destroyed 12,566,370.6 cubic meters of rock in less than one second.

Now, for expediency we will use Iron exclusively as our resistant medium. Given that Iron has a density of some 7,870 kg/m3, the total volume vaporized by the Chaos Death-Ray would have been 98,897,336,735 kilograms. As the Chaos weapon vaporized nearly 100 billion kilograms of Iron in 0.8 seconds, and knowing that it takes some 7,845,085.6 Joules to vaporize one kilogram of Iron, the Chaos weapon must have produced a beam no less than 9.69*10^17 joules per second, or nearly 1 million terajoules per second in power.

This is, as I stated, a LOW-end estimate of the Chaos weapon's power, as we do not know the exact exact diameter of the energy beams fired on the planet or how far the beam had to drill in order to reach the mantel. As such, we can assume that the upper limit for Chaos weapons is NO less than 1*10^18 joules per second, per discharge.

The defensive abilities of the Chaos are just as impressive. As seen during the battle of Losun'ade where we saw the first destruction of a Chaos ship. We have been able to learn a great deal by reviewing this critical battle. For the first time since the war started we were able to actually review first hand sensor logs of a Chaos ship in battle. Sadly this victory did come at an extremely high price both during the battle and in battles to come as Chaos ships started to hunt down the newly created A-O Class Destroyers and the yards where they were being built at.

During this critical battle we were able to learn that the Chaos ships use some kind of energy shield to protect their ships from our weapon's fire. These shields have the capability of refracting/deflecting incoming weapon's fire around the ship. They appear to be skin tight defense fields capable of refracting and/or deflecting energy and solid matter away from the hulls of their ships. As seen from the battle footage recorded by the ISS Ka-riss-ah, here we see the Chaos vessel hit with a direct hit.

Notice how the ship starts to glow upon being struck by incoming fire as their shields disperse the energy beam across it's entire hull, dissipating it's effects out and away form the ship. Also notice in this frame that the energy levels of the Chaos ship increase slightly as the ships takes the full attack. We believe that the ship is actually using the energy from our attack and will be focusing it on its next attack on our ships. As you can tell by the energy signature of its next attack, you can clearly see that the energy stored from our attack has been used on the ISS Galio (Light Cruiser, which was destroyed during the attack).

Later in the battle, the ISS Ka-riss-ah under the command of her advanced AI was able to deliver an attack that finally destroyed the Chaos threat and allowed the planet to be evacuated. Please take note as the ISS Ka-riss-ah starts her attack. She was able to focus her entire power reserves as well as those of her remaining support ships and fighters in to a single coordinated attack. As the ISS Ka-riss-ah and her support units fire on the Chaos vessel. Note how the weapons' energy is being dispersed around and away from the Chaos vessel. As the ISS Ka-riss-ah presses her attack, which lasted a total of eighty seconds, the Chaos vessels ability to disperse the energy weakens as her shields begin to fail. Again we can see the Chaos vessel attempting to dissipate the energy from the attack, but it is a loosing battle. Even as the shields continue to disperse the onslaught of energy, the shields weaken and as they fail the Chaos vessel begins to glow red as her hull is super heated. Eventually, unable to withstand the Alliance assault, the Chaos vessel's shields fail and she is cooked like a bug on a skillet, until finally the energy build-up causes it to explode after eighty seconds of sustained fire.

So we know that under the right conditions, it is possible to stop a Chaos ship in its tracks and even Destroy it. However, there were other attempts to over load the Chaos ship's shield which had failed horrible. One such note that should be discussed is the use of 500 megaton fusion bombs during the siege of Basibee IV. Here the defending commander mined the approaches to his resupply base with fusion bombs. While there were hardly any survivors of the attack, were were able to piece together a few eyewitness accounts as well as some minor footage of the battle. Based on both sources we were able to gather enough information to create this conclusion.

First off, we only have evidence that three of the twenty devices used were actually detonated. Secondly, only the first nuke did any real damage, as the camera was so tight on the second that we could not see it's effect on it's environment, and the third one was so far away it was little more than a light show - the nearest Chaos ship to the third explosion just absorbed the blast and merrily kept on going on her way. Surely the first and closest nuke succeeded in destroying the Chaos ship nearest to it... right?

Here we see a Chaos ship moving towards one of the Asteroids that the Commander has had seeded with a cloaked 500 megaton fusion bomb. Note that there are several smaller vessels around the main vessel seen in this footage and the following images. We have identified these smaller vessels as support scouts and fighters. It is unclear how many total Chaos ships took part in this massive battle. We do know that there were nearly fifty Alliance and allied ships stationed at the anchorage. None of the defending ships survived the battle.

Only a ship length away and slightly above the asteroid - just enough to miss it - the hapless Chaos vessel undauntingly moves forward as the 500 megaton fusion bomb begins to detonate. Given we do not know for sure how large this Chaos vessels is, we will assume it is about 1,000 meters long - an average size Chaos assault ship. At this point the Chaos vessels has flown right into the exploding Fusion bomb, placing her mean distance at 450 meters. 500 megatons = 2.093*10^18 joule. Apply rA=4*pi(r^2).
rA=12.6(202500)
rA=2.54*10^6 J
mt / rA = 8.22*10^11 J/m^2
S=1,666,463.3m^2
S*J/m^2=1.37*10^18 joule.

So, by this time the Chaos vessels has absorbed a MINIMAL of 65.5% of the fusion bomb's total, low-end, yield of 500 megatons, or 1.37 exajoules! This would mean that, in total, the Chaos vessel was struck by energy almost equal to what she herself is capable of generating, as seen during the attack on the colony in Quadrant 14 listed above. So, surely in the next scene we will see the poor ol' Chaos ship blown to bits... right?

Wrong! And in this scene we see the Chaos ship... MOVING! I couldn't believe it myself when I first saw it, but there's the proof! Chaos ship hit hardest by any of the nukes used, is TURNING to her left! She's not burning, not exploding or being crushed, she's moving AWAY from the blast!?! Here again, we can clearly see the motion blur of the Chaos ship moving off to her left, out of frame of what we can see, moving as far away as she can from the nuclear blast that stopped her in her tracks! Now the Chaos vessel has completely moved out of view from our monitors. Now I know what you're thinking... "Surely it was the force of the blast that sent the Chaos ship reeling backward"... but if that was the case, given the ship's position, if the blast did send the ship flying (which it didn't because we saw her stop and turn), she would have been sent hurtling backwards, not moving deliberately away and to the left. Now we begin to see new things - what appears to be debris flying out from the ejecta cloud.

Unfortunately, upon closer examination we see that they are not the bits and parts of the Chaos ship (perhaps a blown-off spine from the vessel), but rather the all too familiar (all be it warped) silhouette of a Chaos fighter. More debris tumbles from the harsh but fading glow of the 500 megaton fusion bomb. Some of the bits and parts look like they came off Chaos fighters or the Scout craft, as well as some chunks of asteroid, but none of the debris is consistent with the components of a Chaos capital ship. Again it is the unmistakable outline of a Chaos FIGHTER... not a Chaos capital ship. Point of fact, none of the debris appears to have come from a Chaos capital ship, rather all the debris is eerily consistent with Chaos Fighters and Scout ships. Again we see another large chuck come flying at us,

With the light finally falling dim, we see what remains - the Chaos vessel moved out of the way, some fighters and maybe a Chaos Scout craft or two were destroyed, and we are left with the dizzying and somewhat frightening realization at the vaunted 500 megaton fusion bombs we had - at first - been so certain were capable of blowing a Chaos vessel apart... fragged a few fighters and a scout ship and nothing more. At the end of this battle, the base was destroyed and we are only a bit wiser from the battle.

In the wake of the previous realization, it would appear that the Chaos ships are easily capable of shrugging off assaults from both beam and explosive weapons in the multiple exawatt range. Exactly how much punishment for sure is uncertain, but given that the Chaos ship which was destroyed by the ISS Ka-riss-ah had sustained combat for no less than 20 minutes prior to starting her sustained fire plan of eighty seconds. What we can mathematically prove is that these ships are capable of withstanding strikes in the range of multiple gigatons. This is why we need to further our tests and field studies till we can accurately prove at which point their shields fail.

[Akirapryde]

Business as Usual
Republic City
Coruscant, Galactic Republic

The rain fell steadily throughout the Republic City as the gray clouds seemed to obscure the wide range of the skyline. Even the mighty spires of the Jedi Temple were topped by gray clouds. This was not a violent storm with thunder and lighting. It was the cold steady fall of soft rain across the city which echoes the sadness within. It was a sad day for Coruscant as well as her as she traveled through the wet walkways of the large crematory. Her tears were masked by the rain dripping down from her face as she made no attempt to hide from the rain. Each step forward brought her to a place that she both hated and found peace at the same time. It was if all of Coruscant was crying with her over her loss. In one hand she carried her purse in the other a small set of flowers.

She read the names on each of the small tombs mounted along the large wall she was walking in front of. The only thing each tomb had in common was their date of death. This entire area of the crematory was solely devoted to all those who had died on that fateful day. It was the worst day of her life, even over shadowing the night that she was drugged and brutally gang raped by Biggs and his horde of monsters. She remembered that morning like it was only yesterday. How her apartment building collapsed under her very feet and how she was trapped in the rubble for nearly four days. Her legs crushed and life ruined, all she was left with was the anger of her heart pointed right at the murder and terrorist Daz Murl!

However, Daz Murl gone as well as the promotion she had worked so hard for. This was not the reason why she cried today. She was not part of the Coruscant Security Force for fame or promotions. She joined the CSF to bring evil beings like Daz Murl to justice. She had left the Special Victims' Unit to join the Counter Terrorism Unit solely to bring Daz Murl to face justice. It was something that she wanted not only for herself, but for the millions of voices he had helped silence that day. She wanted so badly to see him stand before a judge and jury and be brought to answer for his involvement in that horrific crime against the people of Coruscant. Sadly, now it was her turn to face that same justice that she had hoped to bring Daz before. Even before the echoes of that fire fight were gone, the Jedi were pointing their fingers at her and her team for his escape. What she did wrong or failed to plan for was what she was being accused of now. Just like her life and legs on that fateful morning, her career was ruined.

The events on that landing platform just a few days ago, were already coming back to haunt her. She had shot and wounded a Jedi Hunter while defending a known terrorist who was escaping. Her prefect record has been drugged down in to the mud while rumors persist that she had actually aided in the escape. She glared down to the side as she thought of that fateful day. Questions plagued her mind during her 'questioning' by the Jedi were, where was the Jedi Hunter team that was suppose to have covered them from above? Why were they so late in responding to her calls for help? Why had Biggs checked his watch and was so surprised when it all started? These and other questions plagued her mind, however the current situation of her own trail before the Senate forced her mind to focus on other things. 'What was Biggs thinking to try to kill Daz like that. He knew better' she thought as she came up to the spot on the wall she was looking for.

The image that covered the small tomb in the wall forced memories flooding back in to her mind. Her heart cried out as she looked down at the pools of water around her feet. Pulling her head up she wiped the tears from her eyes as she placed her other hand on the image. She saw her mother, father and younger bother frozen in time. Frozen in that state of happiness before that day when they were ripped from her world. Slowly she bowed once more her head as the tears rushed outward once more. With the last vestige of willpower she could muster, she slowly placed her forehead against the image. She no longer tried to hold back the tears as she sobbed in that moment. “I miss you guys so much” she said sobbing as she didn't even bother to try to hide her feelings of loss and sadness. “Papa, I don't know where I went wrong” she cried while still hoping that they could hear her, “I know I was blind before by my anger. I forgot your lesson of letting go hate and anger.”

She no longer cared if her 'Jedi Protectors', who had been following her from the Jedi Order, saw her in such a weakened state. She didn't care who saw her cry anymore. So long ago she had promised that she would never cry again. But now she didn't care, now she let it flow freely. “Papa, I did my best to follow your path. Papa, I really did.” She felt a horrible sense of failure. She had failed the memory of her family and all those that she promised. What made it worse, she knew in her heart the truth and now she had to accept it. She slowly closed her eyes as the rain washed over her body while she rested her head against the little family tomb. “Papa, please help me”

She was not sure how long she was there before she heard the noise behind her. She didn't have to look, she knew what it was already. It was that same all black cat like creature that approached her two months ago. “I did what you asked. I listed to *him* with an open heart and mind.” She said as she opened her eyes but didn't lift her head.

“And what did you learn?” It asked in that same half deep, half hissing voice. There was always something about his voice that both scared the life out of her but also demanded her to pay attention. She knew back then that he was dangerous but he gave her a reason to trust him. She remembered that night when he first contacted her, 'Give me a bit of your time and trust, and I will show you why your family really died'

Jenna took a breath and lifted her head as she looked at the image once, “You were right.” She said in defeat, then continued, “I looked in to his eyes. He is not the monster of my nightmares” she said as she ran her hand softly and lovingly over the image. She had so much wanted to bring Jedi Master Murl to Justice but she simply couldn't now. Maybe that was the reason why she stopped Biggs from killing him on that landing platform. The monster she so wanted to bring to justice was Biggs, but he was untouchable. She hated the idea of having to work with him. Even being around him made her skin crawl. Yet then there was his new cute little pawn. The Jedi Knight Lysire, there was so much hate and rage in her eyes. Just like the rest of those who worked closely with Biggs. For the first time in her life, Jenna felt like she was on the wrong side when she was on that landing platform.

“So what will you do now?” It asked of her. She had already learned along time ago that this creature will come and go as its pleases so she didn't bother fear it. If it meant to kill her, it would have a long time ago. She no longer feared it.

She had tried to do a background check on the creature when she first met it. However he was unable to find out much on him, other then it had belong to a race of creatures that had been wiped out by a plague ten years ago. Most of the survivors lived out in the outer rim, and none have ever been reported in the core worlds. “I had a chance to do some digging while I was there with them. He may be innocent of the bombings, but he still holds responsibility for his own actions. He did help the real bomber escape the Marines and he did allowed her to escape to Coruscant. He needs to stand trail to face that in a Coruscant Courtroom.” She ran her hand over the image of a proud CSF Officer and father, “I know the courts will find him innocent of most of these crimes and be understanding of those he is guilty of.” She said softly as she looked at the smile of her father in the image. She remembered how he had always taught her to respect and trust the Laws. 'Remember Jenna, innocent Citizens need not ever fear the Law. Because we will also watch over them' he once told her. He was so proud of her when she graduated top of her class out of the CSF Academy. “Running like this only shows his complete guilt” she said softly as she continued to look at the picture almost as if to find a way to join them.

“In time, that will happen. You will have to trust in this. But first there are greater battles which must be fought” the creature said softly.

Jenna cut him off before he was finished with his thought, “you speak of these greater battles and all I see is nothing. I placed my career and freedom on the line for you and your greater battles. I did what you asked of me, its time that you show me what you are talking about!” she snapped. She knew better then to turn and face him, he would only vanish before she could get a good glimpse of him. It was a creature of the shadows and she learned early on to just accept that.

She looked down to see him placing something next to the flowers she brought and had sat down in front of the tomb, “There is a war like no other you have ever heard of. A war where billions of innocent lives have been snuffed out and billions of others are at risk only because of their connection with the Force. There are strings about this galaxy that have become connected to those of power and influence. These strings are being pulling by a vile being known only as the Puppet Master. He and those who are aligned with him are part of a crusade to kill all force users. This is the war, the greater battles I speak of. It is the very reason why your family died. It was a power struggle between the Puppet Master and one of his underlings which brought about the bombings above Coruscant. An underling named Rose. Daz was a mindless pawn in those events. There was nothing he could have done to stop them. Even before this event ripped your family from you, Daz and his followers were soldiers on the front line. Soldiers of the light against a darkness that you could never possible understand. You have a chance now to be apart of this war, or walk away from it. The choice is yours. Decide” it explained to her.

She looked at the small box next to the flowers and thought of what the creature just said. “You said that someone powerful was behind this Jedi Civil War. This Puppet Master, you speak of, he is the one behind the Jedi Civil War” she asked softly as she looked at the little box. It was the Jedi Civil War which brought this darkness to her beloved Coruscant.

“Yes.......”

She nodded while reaching for the box, “I don't know what I can do in this war, I am not even a detective anymore. They took my badge and gun while I stand trail for letting Jedi Master Murl escape.” She looked down at the box as she spoke. She opened it slowly as she further examined it.

“You have a voice like no others on this world. Your father's as well as your own reputation gives you credibility that not even the Senate can tarnish. What happened on that landing pad will only further your voice, not take away from it. I need your help to take down the puppets one by one, while we slowly exposing the Puppet Master himself. If you agree, we will start with the Puppet Master's most prized puppet, Jedi Grand Master Quaad. Take down his loyal lieutenants first and leave him open for his own fall from grace once his strings have been cut. All you need do, is use your voice.”

She pulled the small Jedi Master Daz Murl action figure out of the box. It was old and battered from months of being played with. Her eyes filled with tears as she saw her brother's initials on its feet. She spun around to question the creature about where he had found it, but just as she had figured it was gone. She looked down at the little action figure and smiled. It was her brother's favorite toy, being nearly a foot tall and covered in its little ragged Jedi robes. There was a little blue straw, that had replaced the long lost lightsaber that came with the figure, was taped to the hand. Its little arms and legs had been badly damaged but they were still able to support the figure. The last time she had seen it was that fateful morning.

Still the sights and smells of that morning ran through her mind. She was just getting home from a rather long shift with SVU. They were working on busting a ring of rapists and it was rather growling on her. Because of her age, and appearance, she was the decoy for those monsters that would prowl the city's shadows. She never feared her work nor her duty to the citizens of Coruscant. She was well trained and devoted to bringing the monsters to justice. As she came home, she walked through her family's apartment stopping at the doorway to her brother's room. She leaned on the door jam and smiled as she watched him sleeping. She remembered seeing the invitation to meet Jedi Master Murl on the nightstand next to her brother's bed. He was curled up in his bed with a smile on his face and holding his beloved action figure. Jedi Master Murl was his hero, and he made sure everyone knew it. Today was the day he was going to actually get another chance to meet his hero. She wouldn't miss it for the world.

She had worked so hard to get that invitation from the Jedi Order in time for his birthday. It was such a peaceful morning in the apartment. The sounds of her parents down the hall getting ready to start their day was the only thing she heard. Till, it started! She remembered hearing something else. It was a loud crashing sound and their building started to shake violently. So much happened so fast for her, she couldn't even understand what was going on. Dust and smoke filled the air as she started to move towards her brother's bed so she could get to him. Her attempt was cut short half way in to the room as the floor fell out from under her. She heard his scream echo in her mind, 'Jenna!' She closed her eyes once more as the tears ran uncontrollably down her face. She held the little toy tightly as she spun back around and placed a hand on the image once more.

“Zak, I am sorry. I am so sorry I wasn't fast enough. Zak please forgive me!” she said so softly as she leaned her head back against the tomb. Zak was a secret that no one ever knew about. While others saw him as her brother. Something that only her parents and she knew. Not even Zak knew this dark secret. He wasn't her brother. Zak was her son. His father was one of those monsters that had gang rapped her so long ago. She never held it against Zak though. She loved him with all her heart. She was so young when he was born but still she refused to give him up. So her parents stepped forward and adopted him as their own child while Jenna was allowed to finish school and get start a career on the force. She had plans for them to be a family and to let him know the truth. She just needed time to get her life together so she could care for him properly. Even in death she could not give herself the comfort of accepting him as her own son. She felt so ashamed of that night and her own mistakes which put her there in the first place. “I'm sorry Zak”

She didn't look back, she didn't know if it was still around or not. “Thank you for giving me back my faith in him” she said softy speaking about her faith in the hero her brother loved so dearly. For so long she had believed in what was reported about Jedi Master Murl. She hated him and wanted nothing more than to see him locked up for the rest of his life. But something had always tugged at her heart. She knew how much her brother loved him. She remembered the time when Jedi Master Murl came back to Coruscant after one of his amazing adventures. She had to sneak her brother in past the security detail so that he could see his Jedi hero. She never in a million years had dreamed that such a mighty hero would have walked their way, but he did. Jedi Master Murl walked passed her brother, and without even a thought he leaped out of the crowd and took the mighty Jedi's hand. Jedi Master Murl only seemed to smile at the youngster and replied with, “You are almost as big as me!” The smile and sense of awe in Zak's eyes remained there for the rest of the day. She got yelled at by her Captain, but for her it was worth every word. She would have done anything for Zak.

She heard from some where behind her, “It wasn't me. It was his faith in his hero that showed you what you knew all along.”

She nodded at the statement as she looked in the box. Inside was a datachip. She pulled it out and nodded, “Well, it looks like your big sister has turned from cop to soldier, Zak” she said placing the action figure back in the box carefully. Once the figure was safely back where it belonged, she placed the box in her purse. As she pulled out her hand from her purse she pulled out her come link as well. “Time to use my voice.” she commented while dialing a number. After a few moments she noticed the person on the other end, “Kith, do I have a scoop for you sweetie!” she said softly as she turned and walked away from the tomb. “When can we meet?”

******************************************************

Captain's Log
Somewhere in the Core Worlds
ISA Ka-riss-ah

“Captain's Log, it has been one week since our meeting with the Azgard Warlord Council. And what a rough week it was to say the least. I really don't even know where to begin. Noting how much more repairs Carissa needed, Warlord Raynar sent for a pair of mobile yards to further the needed repairs. She was too large to fit inside them, but they were able to complete all the repairs needed by the end of the week. Azgard tech crews have been coming and going from all parts of the ship as the repairs continued. I know that Daz has problems with this but Carissa needs the repairs and we need allies that we can trust. It is really remarkable to see the Azgards at work. Its like nothing I have ever seen before. They are focused and determined on completing their tasks. Even Carissa noted their efficiency as being surprisingly high. I guess when the leader of your entire race are breathing down your neck, what else can you do? With the repairs completed we are finally able to slip back in to hyperspace and start on heading to this world that Daz spoke about.

Despite all that Natalie knows and her specialized skills in computers, there was nothing that could be done to undo the damage that had been done to Carissa. We have been able to locate three of her nodes which had been damaged beyond repairs and two that are only partially functional. Natalie and Carissa have been working around the clock to understand the technology that makes Carissa possible. But there are key components that are simply missing from their collective understanding. I know it is driving Natalie crazy not being able to figure this puzzle out. They were able to identify the nodes that were damaged and locate them all.

According to Carissa's Index Files, these key nodes held a wealth of information regarding her own systems and the technology that was used to create and maintain her. I find it sad that someone had attempted to not only kill Carissa, but ensure that she could never be brought back. It leaves me asking myself why would someone hate her so much to do this. Under neither her Avatar I can feel the fear and sense of lost that Carissa is suffering from the attack at the hand of her own crew members. Those memories of when we first discovered the damaged node still haunts me. The look of terror and pain in her eyes within that moment still fills my heart with regret to this day. There is just so much more a person can see in her eyes if they would just take the time to look passed their own ignorance of what she is.

I think that having a crew aboard once more does have mixed feeling for her though. I have noticed that all of her nodes have become sealed to all crew expect me. However she has expressed a deeper sense of purpose now that she has a crew to watch over and serve. She has decided to remain in her traditional ISA uniform. While she claims that it makes her feel more back home, I think she is doing it more to mess with Daz's head than anything else. I have noticed that some of the Azgards have taken a liking to the uniform. I would be willing to bet, she has something to do with this action among the Azgards! Who knew my sweet little warship had a sense of humor. Last night, over diner, Carissa informed me that she finds a sense of pleasure in watching the little Kel Dor's blood pressure raise. She promised she means him no real harm and the smile on her face tells me she is being truthful. She said that besides sensing a bit of paranoia and xenophobia from him, she finds him very likable. Actually I have to admit, its kind of funny too. Daz is a bundle of stress waiting to burst. He needs to learn to relax more or else he will blow out through his goggles.

She did something the other night that completely surprised me and left me completely speechless. I don't know why, but at the end of our nightly dinner as we were walking to my door, she kissed my cheek just as we reached the door. It was out of the blue and completely a surprise. There was that awkward moment right after the kiss when I reached up and touched the place where her lips touched me. I should have said something. I don't know what I was thinking at the time. She claimed that there was something that had to be attended to and deactivated her Avatar. I could tell in her eyes she was lying. There was this look of desperate horror on her face just before she vanished. Did I cause her to second guess her action? Did I offend her? I have to take time to speak to her about this.

Now that we have a fully functioning communication system we can filly get caught up with the latest events. Though to maintain our secret location during repairs, I have taken advice and kept our communication gear off the Galactic Net. We are getting some reports back from Coruscant about some up roar regarding Daz's escape. What we are hearing is sounding like a witch hunt. They are placing Jenna Eaton on trail for the escape. Also, word about the war is sounding more and more horrible. The Hutts have backed completely out and their CSA allies have suffered their greatest loss to date. The Rebel Jedi are sounding like they are pretty much on their own from now on. It doesn't sound like this war will last for much longer. At least I hope not.

Thanks to the combined forces of the Azgards, Republic and a hand full of other races, the Rebel Jedi have been beaten soundly across the hundred or so worlds they once laid claim to. Currently they only hold a few key worlds. These were have been left for a final push to end the war once and for all. However, the latest news about the battle for the Rebel Homeworld, Oulaven is being recorded as one of the most horrific battles in Republic history. Even after being orbital bombarded for nearly five days, the Rebel Jedi and their allies still put up a strong defense against the invading Azgard forces. The CSA sent in a relief force to try and break the blockade but it was too little in the face of Warlord Raynar's forces. An image that will be forever burned in to my mind is of the Temple on Oulaven blasted to ruins from space. Some of the craters must run as deep as five to six kilometers. I know that Daz wanted us to go save Jedi, but I can't help but ponder if that would have only placed us on a losing side. Carissa would have been lost and we would be dead. Or worse yet, what if we did rescue them. They could have fled to fight another day. I need to talk to Visst and gain his council on this.

I learned more about our new crew we have. I found out how each and every one of them are part of 'The Order of the Rose.' This Azgard order is given to any Warrior that has survived a battle in which they were defeated while their brothers and sisters died. Because they are part of this Order, they can never serve on an active Azgard ship or front line unit. The unit which now crews Carissa are called the Alun' sheck, or Children of Demons. Each one survived the bombings above Coruscant. I some how can't help but wonder if this is what the Force had intended from the beginning. So for them to regain their honor, they have to either die in battle or win a great victory. Great, I am surrounded by a bunch of suicidal fanatics.

Colonel Ward, who is not like the rest of the crew, he has requested to remain on board as a lesion. I am not completely sure of him. After all he is a Republic spook. I am not completely sure if I can trust him. I know that he is spying on us and Carissa. I just don't know if he is currently working for the Azgards or the Republic. I guess it really doesn't matter anymore. Either way, the entire Galaxy will know about Carissa soon enough. It was a foolish thing for us to think we can keep her a secret forever. The events at that bar are still very fresh in my mind. I asked Spoony to check each crew member including myself to make sure that we are who we say we are. I asked him to personally run all the tests. I am not letting another spy aboard Carissa! I guess I will keep Colonel Ward. After all, I already know he is a spy.

Shalla took the time to learn Carissa's culture and perform the funeral ceremony for Carissa's former crew. It was really remarkable how much care Shalla and the other Azgards took in making sure that the funeral was done correctly and respectfully. I really never gave the Azgards much thought about their respect of other cultures. Shalla even spoke the words from one of the holy books. I am sure that Carissa helped her learn the lines. But the fact that she did take the time really impressed me. With my permission, Shalla and a few other members of her cast has taken to holding services in the Knight's Temple for their own religion. I was surprised when I noticed tap placed over the door that led to the inner sanctum of the temple. Shalla pointed out that she and the others didn't feel right in using that room. She felt it was better left to the Jedi only. She did make a request of me. Azgard law prohibits any non-priest cast to carry weapons in the Temple. She asked if I would uphold this law out of respect for their culture. I told her I would think about it. There is so much I still need to learn about my crew. This is going to be painful.

I took Warlord Raynar on a guided tour of our ship just before departing for Oulaven. He was not the man I expected. We talked about a great many things and not much was about war. It was the last bits of this long conversation that really caused me to think and focus inward. He said he was completely against this war from the beginning and had it not been for the bombings he would have never supported it. He admitted to letting his emotions get the best of him when the vote came. He confided in me that even some of the most die hard supporters of the war on Azgard have grown tired of it. The Rebel Jedi and their allies can't stop the Azgard onslaught yet they refused to surrender. He claimed it was like beating up on cushion. This left the Azgards trapped in a war they never wanted and was forced in to by duty to the Republic. Warlord Raynar made a comment that really caused me to think. After walking the ship with me for hours, and telling me what a fine ship I had. He turned to me at the very loading ramp of his own shuttle and said, 'I hope that History will be as kind to me in memory as it will be for you. I am merely a warrior caught between the Duty I must do and what I know to be wrong.' I never really thought of History remembering me at all.

Well we are getting ready to depart now for the unknown. I will finish this log and check back in when I have a chance.

Captain Ogon out.”

[Akirapryde]

Paperwork and Duties
Somewhere within the Outer Rim
ISA Ka-riss-ah

Ubaah stood outside the door to the conference room looking down at his data pad. It had chimed two times already reminding him he was due to his first Department Head meeting. It was not something he was looking forward to. The idea of being the Carissa's Executive Officer was great when it was just the group. Now there was literally a full crew of nearly a thousand men and women who looked up to him. Within the past few days he had been bombarded with questions and requests that would drive any man crazy. Seeing how they had slipped in to hyperspace, it was time for him to get a better grip of his job on the ship. He did some research about the role of the executive officer and found out that he hosts Department Head meetings and briefs the Captain on the results of these meetings. He was to be the eyes and ears of the Captain to the crew.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, still he was worried about messing it up. The Azgards didn't trust the Jedi and he knew that many of the group didn't trust them. He took a deep breath while he checked his ISA uniform. He really like the way he looked in it. The blacks and dark shades of gray really brought his own red tint out. He found out during his research that the Knights of Carissa's Galaxy wore decorative cords called Laniards worn around the right shoulder and connected to a plate just over the right breast. They reflected the Knight's training and experience. He discovered that his level was a bluish cord with a bronze plate. It did make for a sharp uniform and he couldn't help but enjoy the way he looked in it with the red armband with gold “ISA” letters on it. He nodded to his reflection and made that last step towards the door and it hissed open.

Ubaah looked around the room and the first thing he noticed was that nearly all the Azgards were also dressed in ISA uniforms as well. Colonel Kaleb Ward and Commander Cho Mercer were the only two that were still dressed in their normal Azgard uniforms. Ubaah nodded to them as he walked it. Someone snapped, “XO on Deck!” and on that note, all of the Azgards leaped from their chairs and stood at attention with a unified, “SIR!” Ubaah noticed that Oktra was not dressed in any uniform nor did she leap to her feet. He was not sure how to address this as he was not in the military either. He just waved his hand at them, “please be seated” he said as he continued to walk over to his chair. 'This is going to be a long meeting' he thought as he placed his items at the head of the table. He took one more look around as he took his seat.

To Ubaah's right sat Colonel Ward, the ship's lesion between the group and their Azgard crew. His job aboard the ship was to ensure that the Azgards follow their orders and duties to the ship as well ensure that there is no misunderstanding that could cause conflict. Ubaah had his doubts about Ward and his reasons for being on the ship. He knew that Ward was a spy for the Republic and knew that this man couldn't be completely trusted. However the Captain had chosen to keep him aboard. It wasn't like Ward was disrespectful or anything. Ward actually went out of his way to show his respect and his friendship toward the group. Call it a gut feeling or something, however Ubaah still had those doubts about Ward and just couldn't completely trust him.

The other side of Colonel Ward was Lieutenant Commander Noa Furey. He was the Senior Weapon's officer of the ship and Tactical Officer. Even towards Ubaah, this man's stare summoned fears. There was something about the way he looked at a person that seemed to rip open a person's soul and bare it all out for Furey's inspection. Furey was a quiet man, only speaking when he had something of importance to say. His mannerism really set Ubaah and the others back. Ubaah had inquired when he first saw Lt Commander Furey how he got his face so badly burned. He was told that when the Firecrest was blown from the sky over Brentaal, Furey had faced fuel fires to rescue wounded from the dying ship. His nearly dead body was found within the wreckage three days later. His body is now more metal than biological. Ubaah looked in to the man's eyes and could see the untold pain that he must be suffering from the wounds of his emotions. Still Ubaah could feel the man's rage just under the surface.

On the other side of Lt Commander Furey sat Lieutenant Oktra Koo'lya. Well one would not be able to tell what her rank was being she wore her normal Scrapper clothes. He made a point to have a conversation with her about this. But he knew that she was trustworthy and worth her weight being aboard the ship. As their Chief Engineer she knew more about the ship than anyone else aboard. Her long hours and focus on getting Carissa fully repaired proved her loyalty and devotion to the ship. However, it would be her attitude that he just knew in his heart that would cause him the most problems. Still she was someone he knew how she would react and that made dealing with her easy for him. 'Still she will need to play by the same rules we all have to play' he thought as he took a note in his data pad.

Across the table from her sat, Commander Cho Mercer. The only man that held equal rank as Ubaah. Commander Mercer's role on the ship was that of Commander of Air Group Operations, or CAG Ops. He had the duty of making sure all the new pilots aboard the ship were fully trained on the new types of fighters and other craft they had aboard Carissa. It was no easy task as these fighters were completely different than anything else they had ever seen. Mercer was a good Officer and level headed. He came with high recommendations and wealth of experience. By far, he was both the oldest and more awarded member of the Crew. Ubaah had a chance to share a drink with the man the week before. Ubaah found Mercer to be open, friendly and knowledgeable about a wide range of fighter combat. Ubaah was surprised to learn that Mercer had actually taught at the Republic Naval Academy for Star Fighter Combat. It was by chance that he was on an inspection tour above Brentaal, when he was entered in to the Order of the Rose. Ubaah knew that the ship's over all protection would fall to Mercer and his pilots when push came to shove. 'We will be in good hands' Ubaah thought as he shifted his gaze to the next officer.

Next to Commander Mercer sat Lieutenant Jaster Heartman. Lt Heartman was the ship's navigator and acting Chief of Operations. It was his hard work along with help from Carissa and Daz which allowed them to help plot a course that should bring them to the planet that Daz had seen in his vision. Normally the Senior Navigator would take up the role of Chief of Operations, however, the Captain has yet to fill that position. Ubaah felt that it would be a good idea to feel out Lt Heartman if he was being considered for the role. Ubaah nodded as he sized the young officer up. Over all, Lt Heartman seemed allot like himself, silent and observant. Lt Heartman was the youngest member of the crew, just celebrating his eighteenth birthday. While for the group he might be young, among the Azgards warriors start their training as early as twelve or even ten in Fiolla Heartman's case. Lt Heartman is a whiz when it comes to Navigation. 'There is much to see about the young man' Uhaab thought as he moved to the next officer.

Next to Lieutenant Heartman sat Marine Captain (In naval rank: Lieutenant) Brea Heartman. This broad woman was from the same warrior house as the man sitting next to her, however they couldn't be more different. She was the ship's Marine Commander, and a fierce looking woman. Her hair was in a crew cut and there was simply nothing appealing in regard to looking at her. As Ubaah sized her up, he imagined her more like a holovid wrestler. He could swear that her muscles were larger then his. She wore her sleeves rolled up as she proudly sat with her arms laying on the table for all to see. About her arms were a number of tattoos that reflected her exploits or to instill fear in those who she fought. He couldn't help notice the large hammer next to her. He had not had the chance to meet her in private and was grateful for that. He couldn't help but notice how she displayed the large tattoo of a red rose up her right forearm. He knew that every one of the Azgard on board had one. But most took to hiding them in shame. She wore hers for all to see as if she was proud of it. He wondered if this was something of a culture gesture or maybe he was looking too deep in to it. Once more he made a note to look it up.

At the head of the table across from him sat Shalla Heartman. She was very reserved and didn't look up from her datapad. He couldn't help but noticed how the other warriors seemed to pay her completely with disregard. He knew that she as a member of the Rose, but so were the rest of them. Could be that she was a lower cast? 'No, Oktra is of the Tech Cast in their eyes and they treat her with respect' he thought then added. 'There has to be a reason why they don't respect her' he choose to conclude his thoughts as he knew he had to get this meeting under way. “Okay every one. This is our first meeting so lets try not to hit be with every little problem you have. We will have plenty of time to address each issue. So lets take this slowly and steady” Ubaah said to the group.

It was Lt Commander Furey was the first to raise his hand. Once Ubaah nodded at him, he started. “Combat training. My Gun Crews are slow to respond and their aim is terrible. I would like to increase the number of combat drills we run from one every day, to three maybe four depending on how they improve. This will have an impact on the ship as for these drills to be run we need to pull the gun crews, shift power reserves for target practice, and sound general quarters. This will cause other departments to undergo some stress but nothing that we can endure for the greater good.” Ubaah took down some notes on his data pad as he nodded, “Also Sir, shields. This ship has no shields. Can we link up with a repair tender and get some added to the defensive systems of the ship?” Lt Commander Furey added at the end.

Ubaah looked up at the two requests, “I will have to take the added drills to the Captain. I am not against them. But because they affect all levels of the ship. He has to give his okay first” Ubaah explained. He knew a bit about the shield situation from a conversation with Oktra a few weeks ago. However, he felt it best to let her explain. “Lieutenant Oktra could you please explain why we don't have or need shields” he requested of her.

Lt. Oktra nodded as she turned her attention to Lt. Commander Furey, “Carissa was designed to pump most of her energy in to the weapon systems during combat. Based on my calculations, she could push as much as sixty percent of her overall energy output directly in to her weapons' grid. The remaining forty percent would left for maneuvering, life support and other vital ship functions. During combat, all other non-essential systems will be powered down. Even if we could skim enough energy from the vital functions to power a shield grid that would cover Carissa, there wouldn't be enough power to support it during a prolonged combat.” She said respectful, to Ubaah's surprise. She took a moment then continued, “Don't worry about protection. From what I can tell, her armor belt is solid. The armor that was used to build it, is twenty times more dense than the best I have ever seen. Not to mention that her average belt line is four to five times thicker than what normal ships her size would have.

“She also has a thicker belt over key areas that is as much as nine to time times thicker than other ships of her size. Also, while it would do us little good against Turbo Laser Cannons based on their design, she has this energy redirection grid. From what I gather, it is designed to redirect pure energy from impact away from the ship or channel it in to her own reserve banks. I am not completed reading up on them. But it does seem promising against pure energy based weapons.” Oktra concluded her briefing and nodded. Then as an after thought she looked back to Lt. Commander Furey, “If you do run those extra drills, I would like my Damage control teams to join along. It would help them on reaction times and working as teams. As it stands now, they are having problems getting around and getting a feel for the ship as a whole.”

Lt. Commander Furey nodded to the request, “That would be very helpful Lieutenant. Yes your teams can join mine in the drills. I think we can actually sit down and plan out some high profile drills to push their combined training. And thank you for the explanation of the shields issue” he said respectful and then turned his attention back to Ubaah. With a nod he accepted that his turn was over.

Commander Mercer brought up his hand next. Ubaah nodded for him to make his statement. “The fighters aboard are remarkable. Training is going to take much longer then I had first thought. They are finding it hard to learn the systems and controls even before they are ready to leave the flight bays. The simulator function of the fighters are helping a lot however my warriors need real flight time. When time comes, we will need to be in real space to train. Its hard enough to train in a new craft. But to do so in such an unfamiliar location is not wise. When we can spend at least a whole twenty four hours in real space. Let me know ahead of time so we can plan for it and take the opportunity to further our training. Also, I have noticed some talent going to waste. Lieutenant Angelique Heartman is the young warrior I am speaking of. I have seen her poking around the fighters. Her interest is there, but lack of commitment and focus. I think if forced in to the role, she would do very well. I am willing to take her under my wing as my wingman to train her” he offered then frowned a bit as he realized that there were going to be issues. “That is, if Operations is willing to let her go.”

Marine Captain Brea Heartman spoke up out of turn, “No Heartman should ever serve under a Mercer! Your request would have been laughed out of any pure Azgardian meeting. Don't you dare take advantage of their lack of understanding of your House's lack or honor or courage.” She spat at Commander Mercer with disdain. She turned to face Ubaah, “Sir, with all do respect, We are fortunate that we have been cursed with only few Mercers aboard this fine ship. See their House insignia” she said pointing the the patch on the man's arm. “Allow me to tell you what it means. See in the upper right hand corner, the House that never charged. See the line that runs from upper left to lower right, the line never crossed. The background color of yellow is the color their House turned in the face of the enemy. You can not allow a Heartman to serve under such a cowardly House. It would be a slap in the face to her and our entire House.

Shalla raised her head from her datapad, “Sir, there is.....”

Brea whipped her head in a death gaze at Shalla, “How dare you speak at this meeting, Uegnet!....”

“This IS my meeting and I will hear what everyone has to say” snapped Ubaah. His anger rose as he knew this meeting was just heating up. He turned to Commander Mercer, “I will have to speak to the Captain about that. We will see what the Captain has to say about this.” He waved a hand at Brea to silence any further complaints. He was surprised to see her let go her issues but could tell she hated the idea of it. Still she held both her tongue and her anger is check.

Oktra spoke up out of turn, “if you are speaking to the Captain about crew assignments, please let him know that I would like to promote Tech Arin Ward to Ensign and assign her as my Assistant Chief Engineer. She smart, fast on her feet, and has shown a great deal of thinking out of the box which is fundamental in working on Carissa's systems. I know my man is good, but he lacks the leadership that she has and I need him down in Engineering with me. I want her duty position to be on the Bridge for now on. This way she can translate what is going on for you guys. And let me know why you are pushing my engines and ship.”

Ubaah nodded at Oktra's request and took more notes, “I will pass this on to him as well.” His attention was drawn by Lt. Brea Heartman's hand in the air. He sighed as he nodded.

“I would like to bring up the issue about non-warriors carrying weapons. This is a fundamental law of our people.” Brea said looking right at Oktra's side arms.

Oktra grinned, “Any time you think you can take them from me. You are free to try Freakinstine.” She leaned back in her chair with a hand on her large heavy blaster.

Ubaah sighed as he lowered his head, 'this is going to be a long meeting!'

******************************************************

Captain's Log 01-0002
Somewhere outbound Rim Worlds
ISA Ka-riss-ah

“It has been a whole week in route to Daz's world. It is hard to get used to this reddish chaotic space that is the upper levels of Hyperspace. I had the rare opportunity this week to witness another ship in hyperspace. It was amazing to see it so far below us and so slow. Carissa pointed out to us that distance and size is not relative in hyperspace. This misunderstanding is a key reason why ships get lost in hyperspace. She said that once a ship ventures off the marker beacons, that they can become lost. Those ships who rely on Hyperspace gates to reenter real space are at the greatest of risk. We traveled along the same route as the other ship for nearly two hours. It was fascinating to watch us slowly over take the ship and pass it. By the end of the two hours it was a distant mark on our sensors, but not a distant memory to me.

“This week has seen some surprising developments in both the crew and in my personal relationship with Carissa. I have to admit, Ubaah has been doing a really good job as my number one. I don't know what I would have done without him. I am learning more about the Azgards and Mia everyday. There is just so much to report in this Captain's log. I have decided to number my logs so I will have an easier time retrieving them for later review. I am naming this one, zero one, for the first mission we have been on as an official mission. Zero, zero, zero two, being my second log for this mission. I will have Carissa update my last log to show this as well. I will name that one, zero one, zero zero zero one.

“Spoony had something truly surprising to report. Something that I had to personally look in to. While heading through a section of crew quarters, he stumbled upon a fight between two Azgard warriors. According to Spoony he was prevented by a number of on lookers from breaking up the fight. They were cheering on this brutal fight as the two combatants seemed to be attempting to kill each other. I read the medical report after the fight and was shocked at the damage the two dealt to each other. Nearing the end of the fight when it was clear that one was going to win. The fight was finally broken up by the other warrior spectators. Spoony said that three of the spectators of the fight gave ruling over the fight and asked the loser if he accepted it. This was a quote I actually pulled from Carissa's own monitors.

“Yes, I accept it.” *coughing and spitting* “The top bunk is yours”

“I could not believe my ears or what I read in Spoony's report. At the end of the fight, the winner helped the loser to the medical bay. I had to talk to both Shalla and Colonel Ward about this. Both told me that this was normal behavior among warriors. This was how they settled disputes between warriors, clans, or even among Warrior Houses. Both assured me that neither of the two combatants would intentionally kill the other warrior. However while Colonel Ward didn't come out and say or admit it, Shalla did. She said that there are times when warriors can and do die in these, 'Honor battles.' She explained that once the Honor Battle is over, what ever issue that caused the battle in the first place is considered settled and over. I am finding that Shalla is becoming a great source of knowledge about her people. I don't like the idea of these Honor Battles, but the sense that something is settle once and for all does sound appealing. Sometimes, I wonder if maybe some of us should enter a Honor Battle to settle strife within our own ranks.

“Speaking of settling strife. Daz dropped a report on my desk the other day about something that he personally had witnessed. He was very upset over the situation and it seemed to disturb him deeply. He said that while he was walking across the Fight Deck, a group of Azgard warriors, Marines I think according to what Daz described, walked the opposite direction of him. As Daz moved through the group, one of the Warriors shouldered Daz causing him to be pushed back and nearly knocked him over. The Marine Captain Brea Heartman, saw the incident and took it upon herself to handle the issue personally. She had her Marines grab the offending Warrior and place him under arrest. There was a lot of yelling as the man was brought before some kind of trial of witnesses.

“According to Daz, he was brought to witness what was about to happen. Forced to watch as the Warrior was stripped of his top and tied spread between two fighters. The Marine Commander whipped the Warrior forty times, ripping the man's back to shreds. Daz said his first reaction was to interfere however he choose to allow it to happen. I think Daz made the right choice at the time. If anyone needs to do something its me. She then turned to the rest of the Warriors there and warned them of what would happen if another Warrior showed any disrespect to Daz or any other member of our group. I was going to speak to the Marine Commander about this, however, Ubaah told me a bit about her. I am torn by what she did and the intent of what she meant to show. I don't know if what she did was all that wrong. Her Warrior was in the wrong by the way he treated Daz. I do have to speak to her about this. This is my ship and as Shalla said, I have to show them that I am a strong leader. If not, they will not follow me in battle.

“Ubaah's first department head meeting was eventful. *laughs* A lot of good came out of it, and I already know that there is going to be some strife on some issues. Ubaah told me about a possible issue that could appraise between the Warriors of Heartman and a few warriors from the House of Mercer. According to what Shalla informed him about their past. During the last great war that Azgard was involved in for the Republic. The House of Mercer was tasked with supporting the House of Heartman. During the grueling three week battle for control of a key world. House Mercer's warriors were unable to hold the line and caused a number of elite units from House Heartman to be trapped behind enemy lines and slaughtered. It was because of do or die mentality of House Heartman that ended up winning the day. However, despite the heroic victory that is now sung about among all Warrior Houses. There is an amazing amount of bad blood between the two houses. House Heartman seems to seek opportunities to slight House Mercer when ever possible.

“The Azgard Warriors are breed for battle and competition. The compete at very young ages to become warriors, then they compete for duty assignments. The Warrior Houses compete between each other over resources and honor. By winning in these battles and competitions, they win honor for both their Warrior Houses, Clans (subfamilies within a Warrior House) and for themselves. The end result according to Shalla is a world of very able very determined warriors. This desire for competition makes them strong warriors. But this is not Azgard or one of their ships. Oktra flatly refused to give up her weapons and this is something that all the Warrior Houses aboard agree must happen. To them, there is no reason for a tech to carry a weapon. Colonel Ward said that we can not just make her a Warrior. It would be disrespectful to the other Warriors. Even Shalla agrees on this point. I have managed to buy myself some time to deal with this issue.

“But I know it is going to be a tricky issue for me. Being a fringer myself, I understand the importance of everyone aboard knowing how to use and employ weapons. I think what ever solution that I find, I will need the support of key Warriors aboard, namely Marine Captain Brea Heartman and Lieutenant Commander Noa Furey. Both of these warriors are the most influential warriors aboard the ship. The Warrior House of Heartman currently holds control of the Council of Warriors back on Azgard and the Warrior House of Furey has a reputation of being fierce and brave warriors. Both Warriors carry tons of respect and honor with the other warriors aboard. Talking with Shalla gave me a key that I could use in dealing with them. Politics within Azgard always hinge on the greater good of the culture and victory in battle.

“I was walking through the crew quarters yesterday looking for the Tech that Oktra wanted to promote. I know Oktra enough to know she already thought about it deeply. But before I just signed off on it, I wanted to take some time to talk to her. As I was walking, I was brought to one of the mess halls by the sounds of singing and music. I watched them from the doorway singing loudly banging their metal mugs against the metal tables causing a loud roar of rhythm. I even saw the two fighting warriors that Spoony had talked to me about singing, arm in arm, shoulder to shoulder. Each held their mugs held high as they sang. They all seemed so full of hope and promise. I couldn't understand what they were singing, so I had Carissa translate it for me.

'Children Of Demons I Command You To Fly
Ride Up From Hell Into The Sky
With Blood In Our Voices We Ride
We'll Fight Until We Win
Or We'll Fight Until We Die'

“This was the chorus of their song. There is something to be told in those words. I want to sit down next week with Shalla and see what more I can learn about the Order of the Rose. Also, I heard that Shalla is being treated differently, disrespected by the warriors aboard. According the Ubaah, she is called, 'Unfit' in her native language. I asked Colonel Ward about it. He politely said that he was unaware of what is going on. I could tell he was lying to me about this. What is it that I am missing about her that offends them so much. What could be hiding in her history to warrant this behavior from them. I thought I knew it all all from her files. I asked her about it, and she told me that it was nothing of importance, and to let it go. I tried to push but she avoided further questions about this issue.

“The last week with Carissa has been much like dealing with Shalla. I don't know if it was part of her programming or if she developed this. But when I attempted to talk to her about what happened last week after dinner. She deflected the topic by saying it was merely a line of faulty code. Oh my god, just like a woman. The entire week has been just like. While she did her duties flawlessly, she seemed to be more distant on a personal level. Finally I had managed to have her over for dinner and cornered her on the subject. What she told me caused me to become even more surprised.

“She told me that she lied to me. When she brought me in to her mind, she said she did it before with her former Captain. The truth was, she never even tried that before. She said the reason why she lied, was because she didn't want to cause me to fear or concern. And she so deeply wanted to connect with me on a level she never had with anyone else before. She said, she was having problems with some of her higher level programs. She claimed that ever since the first time we had met she was having problems controlling her emotional subroutines. What she was describing to me seemed so much like love though she could not identify it nor would she admit to it.

“She claimed that strong emotion such as love and hate were programmed out of her subroutines. It was some kind of safety protocol designed to prevent her line to be able to over ride their own protocols. She said she never experienced such problems with her subroutines. She suggested that the problem might be in some of the damaged nodes. I was also able to get her to open up about her son and his death. The story she told was one of tragedy and heroes. Despite having nearly all his crew killed and badly damaged, he was able to ram a chaos ship that was going to attack her. His final words to her were, 'Go Mother, run and survive for us all.'

“There is still so much I have to learn. I am lucky to have those around me to turn to for advice. When I sit in the command chair, it feels right. I have been considering something that I dare not tell anyone. I have only confided it to Carissa. Once we have stopped the Chaos once and for all, I am thinking of asking Warlord Raynar to accept Carissa and I as members of his Warrior House. Or I might see if I we can transfer to the Republic Navy. Carissa is a beautiful ship but she needs massive amounts of support to function normally. The kind of support that I know I can not provide out in the fringe. My only problem with joining the Republic Navy is that I won't have a choice as who they assign to us. At least with Warlord Raynar, I know I can trust him to give me a word on who comes aboard. I mean to speak with Visst about this later once I am sure of what I want to do.”

[Akirapryde]

In to the Abyss
Deep within wild space
ISA Ka-riss-ah

Daz woke up to a start as the emergency lights flashed red in his quarters. He leaped to his feet as he saw the light above his door flashing 'Alert' in red as sirens filled the air with their sounds of alarm. He grabbed his clothes while dawning his breather mask and goggles. As he rushed for the door he reached out with the force and snapped his lightsaber in to his waiting hand. The door hissed open just in time for Daz to see a creature right before him. The creature turned and struck out at Daz without warning or reason. Daz leaped back in to his room and activated his lightsaber to increase his defense. The creature appeared if not as tall as Daz maybe just a bit shorter. It had two arms and two legs and a twisted humanoid body. Right above its two large yellowish eyes were long horns like on a Twi'lek. However these horns were rigid and hung outward and behind the creature.

The creature pursed Daz in to the room lunging at the attack once more. Daz side stepped the razor sharp claws narrowly. He spun on one foot as the claws passed once more by him harmlessly. In a fluid motion, Daz brought his lightsaber up through the creature and cut it in half. As it laid on the floor dead, Daz watched it blind in to the shadows till it was gone. A nose brought his attention back to his room as three more creatures were now stepping forth from the shadows of his room. He backed carefully from the room, and while he entered the hallway he saw it filled with more of those creatures. Beyond the creatures he saw a helpless Atril being led away in to the shadows by a few of the creatures. He could see a number of the crew attempting to fight the creatures but they too were being pulled and dragged in to the shadows.

As he looked around more, he could see think smoke along the ceiling of the corridor and it was getting thicker. He turned to attack the nearest creature as it moved closer to him. With a mighty swing of his blade he killed the creature and just like before it vanished in to the shadows. He turned to face the other creatures, summoning up the force and thrust his hand outward at them. They all flew back the entire length of the corridor. Checking the corridor once more and seeing that it was clear for the moment he turned and rushed for the bridge. As he ran down the corridor, a creature leaped out from a room at him. He slipped in to a slide and dodged the attack that now swung harmlessly over his head. As he slid next to the creature, he ran his lightsaber along the creature's side killing it. Once he slid past the creature, he leaped back up to his feet and continued to run for the bridge.

He turned down another corridor and heard a woman screaming from somewhere down the corridor. It was in the direction of the bridge so he rushed down that way. He knew his goal and knew he had to reach it at all cost. The answers to all of his questions was on the bridge. He ran up to a large room over looking the Hanger Bay. He could see from the other side, Lysire holding on to one of the launch gantries for dear life. There were creatures all around her and a smaller one was even crawling up her back. As he looked around he saw that he could reach her by climbing up on to the gantries or trusting in the force to fly him there. He took a step forward to help her but a creature leaped out at him to attack him. He spun and dodged the attack once more as he killed the creature. Another sound distracted him as he heard blaster fire coming from further down the hall. He knew who ever it could be, they could help him reach his goal. He turn and ran off in the direction of the blaster fire, leaving Lysire to her own fate.

He ran down the corridor killing creatures left and right with the greatest of ease. But there were just so many of the creatures. For every one he killed another more took its place. He knew that he had to keep moving for the bridge, he had to reach his goal. He reached the sound of blaster fire and saw Valkyrie laying waste to the creatures in droves. She turned to him and smiled as he rushed up to her. He saw her mouth moving by didn't hear any words that she said. Daz knew that she was keeping them at bay and helping keeping this corridor open for him. He nodded to her and waved his hand at her, “You will remain here and continue killing them till you are out of ammo.”

Valkyrie face went blank as she replied. He couldn't hear her speaking but knew she was saying, “I will remain here and continue killing them till I am out of ammo.” Her eyes were blank as she turned and continued to fire at the creatures.

Daz looked down and saw she was already low on ammo. He knew this was a death sentence for her but his goal of reaching the bridge was more important than her life. He had to get to the bridge and find out what was going on. He simply had no other choice. His goal was before him and he had to reach it at all costs. He ran on as she continued firing at the creatures and kept them from coming up behind him. He could hear her twin blaster pistols firing as he continued to run through the smoke filled corridors. He finally reached a ladder that would take him up one level and closer to his goal. He heard a scream and Valkyrie's weapons fell silent. He lowered his head and sadness as he gave her memory a moment in his thoughts. Once that moment passed he leaped up the ladder as fast as he could.

Reaching the next level, he was helped to his feet by Talon and Zey. He smiled as he saw them and felt their friendship on his heart. He knew that under their protection he could reach the bridge. Together the three of them ran down the corridors of the mighty ship. They killed a great number of creatures as they moved toward the bridge. As they ran through the Officer's Lounge, they saw that the door they were heading for started to fill with creatures. They turned to retreat only to see that path behind them was now filling with creatures as well. In moments the battle was joined and the three fought bravely and proudly. Daz cut down a large number of creatures as he flew through the air. He landed killing a creature before him. Just as the creature was falling, he spun around and in one attack cut down both Zey and Talon in that order. The battle was finally over and he was the only being left standing in the room. Finally the smoke was starting to get to him. He started to cough as it grew thicker and thicker.

He started for the door but heard something behind him. He spun to see Mia stepping out from a wall as if she had walked right through it. She was wearing a dark cloak with the top pulled over her head. He could see her black hair in a large pony tail reaching out of the right side of her hood. She motioned her left hand to her ear as she sang, “*Long lost words whisper slowly to me.*” There was something about her appearance that caused Daz to fear. While he could not completely make out her facial characteristics, he could clearly see her left eye had some type of black tears very slowly running just below her eye. She moved closer to him with her back slightly bent forward while continuing to sing to him in Kel Dor. He took a step back from her as she moved her head side to side as if looking for something, “*Still can't find what keeps me here!*”

Daz turned and ran for the door as he could feel her behind him. More creatures attack him as he dodged and killed them. There was no doubt in his heart that he was a great Jedi Master. His mastery over the Force was his greatest power and he understood how to use it. He ran down the corridors but paused when he came up to a large dark room. He slowly walked in to the doorway and saw Angelique kneeling between two bodies. He knew all too well that those bodies were of her mother and father. He looked in to Angelique's eyes as she rose her head up to look in to his own. The tears from her eyes were as black as the night and it caused him great fear as he saw them. He knew that he had led her to aide in bringing about their deaths. Angelique lowered her head once more as she sobbed over the loss of her beloved parents. Behind her, Daz saw a creature looming over her. It was poised and ready to attack its unsuspecting prey. From down the corridor Daz heard it again.

He turned to see Mia stepping out from another wall. She slowly turned to face him just as she was before, her arms slowly bending and pulling in to her chest as she sang in Kel Dor “*When all this time I've been so hollow inside.*” He shook his head as he took a step back away from the door and back in to the corridor. He couldn't take his eyes off of Mia as she slowly moved closer to him. He screamed “LEAVE ME ALONE!” as she continued ever so smoothly gliding across the deck of the corridor, he moved further away from her as her song echoed in his mind. Another scream from Angelique told him that he had once more missed an opportunity to prevent something horrific. Once more darkness had won over his own desires to do good. Mia's right hand moved from her chest as she stretched it out towards Daz while her other hand clinched her cloak. She pointed right at his heart while she sang, “*I know you're still there.*” He turned and ran from Mia once more while screaming, “LEAVE ME ALONE!”

He ran as hard as he could trying to put as much distance between him and Mia. He slid as he turned in to an alcove where a ladder was. He didn't bother to look up as he climbed it as fast as he could. He used the force to kill another creature as he reached the landing. He didn't care that it drew on darker energies. He only wanted to get away from Mia. He looked back down the ladder to see if she was following him. It was then in that moment he noticed his hands. They were covered in blood!The shock of it caused him to rip off his cloves and toss them aside. The blood had soaked through his gloves and covered his dare hands completely. He looked at the ladder and saw it covered in the blood of millions. Taking a step back from the ladder he noticed down the smoke filled corridor that Ubaah had become lost in the smoke.

Daz's goggles allowed him to see that Ubaah was heading in the wrong direction, but he said nothing as Ubaah walked in to a large number of creatures. Daz coughed heavily as the smoke was becoming thicker and making it harder for him to breath. He didn't hear anything from Ubaah but knew that he had become lost. He turned and rushed down the corridor, the opposite direction Ubaah had went. As Daz ran, he saw Visst calling out to him and waving at him from another corridor. Daz paused for a moment to try to hear what Visst was saying. However, as he turned, he saw Mia slowly moving through the smoke. Her form took shape as she moved closer and closer to him. He didn't wait, as he turned and rushed off away from Visst and Mia. He turned a corridor to see Mia ahead of him, he slide a bit as he came to a stop and changed directions. He rushed down a new corridor that took him further away from the bridge and his goal.

He knew that he was heading away from the bridge but he knew he could find his way once he got clear of the smoke. He reached a set of stairs and started to climb them, taking them two and three at a time. He didn't think about the care he should take as he climbed higher and higher. He just knew he had to reach the next level. He reached the top deck and looked behind him, he shifted backwards as he saw Mia once more at the foot of the stairs. Her right hand was pointing at him with her two fingers spread, as if pointing in his very eyes, “*Watching me*” He shook his head as he heard her eerie song play out in his mind, “*wanting me*” She drew her arms in once more looking with pain in her eyes. He knew the bridge was just down the corridor. He moved back further as she started to climb the stairs towards him. “LEAVE ME ALONE!” he yelled at her once more while turning to flee.

He turned and ran for the bridge as fast as he could. He could see the large doors that protected it from blast damage. He knew that he had to make it to his goal, but still from behind him he could hear her calling out to him “*I can feel you pull me down.*” He didn't look back as he ran forward towards the bridge. He reached out with the force and activated the controls to open the large blast doors. He watched them open as he closed on them. He knew that she was right behind him still, he could hear her back there somewhere. “*Fearing you, loving you*” Her words continued to echo in his mind. He could feel her breath on his neck as he tried to run even harder for the large doors that led him to the bridge.

Daz ran as he watched the doors cycle and start to close. There was panic in his eyes as he tried to plan it just right. He leaped through the blast doors with just enough time before they closed. He landed on the other side of the doors and hit the deck hard. He tucked and rolled to lessen the damage from the jump. He slowly rolled and then stood up to see the bridge was completely filled with smoke. It was so hard for him to see and he was coughing and choking from the smoke. He could taste the smoke as he reached up and ripped off his goggles and breather. He tossed them to the side while he looked around the bridge. He could make out some things, but it appeared that his goal was empty. The smoke continued to fill the bridge making near impossible for him to see clearly. Something drew his attention to his hands. He could barely make them out the smoke as he gazed at them. He saw there were small little flacks drifting in to his hand. He looked closer and noticed that the flacks were of ash. He looked around and just barely through the smoke he could make out large ruined building beyond the control stations of the bridge.

He tried to walk forward but there wasn't any way for him to see through the smoke. In that moment, the lights on the bridge failed leaving the bridge completely dark. Through the smoke he saw hundreds of millions of eyes looking back at him through the smoke and ash. He could hear their whispers as they talked to themselves. He spun around and all around him were the eyes of millions looking at him in sadness. They were speaking to him but he couldn't understand what they were saying. He turned and turned while moving through the smoke hoping to find a body that belonged to the eyes. However each time he moved, the eyes moved with him just staying out of his reach. “Who are? Where is Captain Ogon!? How did you get here” Daz called out loudly. He looked around and in that moment the floor beneath him gave way and he fell. He was able to catch himself with a hand as his body dangled over the abyss. He struggled hard to get his other hand back up and hold on to something.

He looked up to see Mia above him. She was standing their at the edge of the abyss looking at him with her hand pointed once more at this heart, “*I won't let you pull me down.*” There was passion and pain in her voice as she continued to sing to him.

“Help! Mia!” he called out to her. He struggled to pull himself up but he couldn't get a strong enough grip alone. He needed her to help save him. He looked down to see black tentacles rapping around his leg and pulling on him. “MIA PLEASE!” he screamed as more tentacles started to reach around his legs and pull on him.

Mia dropped to her knees and reached out for him. Daz took hold of her small hand she continued to sing while never taking her eyes off of his, “*Hunting you, I can smell you – alive*” She tried with all her might to pull him up. The tentacles were fighting her efforts to save him. As Daz pulled on her hand, she was pulled closer to the edge of the Abyss.

Daz looked down in fear of what he knew was at the bottom of the abyss that he was now facing. He could see darkness before him as more tentacles grabbed him and held on tight to his legs. “*Your heart pounding in my head*” still her words echoed deep in his mind as he knew this was the end for him. She was just too weak to pull him up for the abyss. She failed him and now he had to face his own abyss alone.

Still she tried to pull him back from the abyss while she sang to him, “*Watching me, wanting me*”

Daz looked up at her and saw that the metal decking around her was giving way as well. She tried once more to pull him up against the tentacles. Still they held on tight to him and he knew that he was doomed. He looked down in to the abyss and accepted the fate which placed him here. He forgave her for failing him. It wasn't her fault, she was just too weak to save him. He heard her song continue, “*I can feel you pull me down*” He looked up in to her eyes and let go!

Daz fell deep in to the abyss for a life time. As he fell he saw windows falling around him. They were the windows of his life. Every action he had taken through out his life. He fell and still he heard her voice around him, “*Saving me, raping me, watching me*” He fell through the abyss and landed on his feet at the bottom. He turned around slowly to see that he was standing right before his own self. This dark creature was just like him, however it wasn't him. The soul of this Daz was evil and dark to the core. Daz activated his lightsaber only to have it ripped from him. The dark Daz moved forward and swung at him. Daz dodged it easily and landed his own attacks on the dark Daz. The dark Daz spun at the attacks and landed a side kick in to Daz's side and sending him flying.

Daz rolled up to his knees and saw Mia standing between them. In her arms she carried the SWORD! dark Daz smiled as he saw it, “The Sword must be mine!” he said and lunged at her. Daz leaped up at the dark creature and caught him in a spear tackle. Both Daz's rolled on the ground as Mia continued to sing, “*Watching me, wanting me*” Daz fought hard against himself as the dark Daz fought to get the sword from Mia. Nothing Daz could do was able to stop his darker side from reaching the sword and in that moment he knew it. Temptation was simply too great for him to fight against it, “*I can feel you pull me down*”

“Give me the SWORD Mia!” dark Daz demanded as she took a step away from him.

She still sang out in Kel Dor, “*Fearing you... loving you*” She continued to move only steps away from both Daz's as they fought.

Daz yelled out, “Get out of here, Mia!” he waved his free hand away then grabbed the dark Daz once more. He knew that he was losing this battle over temptation. There was nothing he could do to stop his temptation to possess the sword.

As Daz lost the battle with temptation, she moved a bit further while taking the sword by the hilt and lifting it above her head with the tip pointed at the ground. Still she sang, “*I won't let you pull me DOWN*” and in that moment She closed her eyes and Daz could see those black tears from her left eye. She drove the sword in to the ground of the abyss. She drove it will all her might and it slid deeply in to the abyss, a energy wave leaped out from that point sending a ripple across the galaxies.

Daz leaped up from his pillow in a state of shock, breathing hard and reaching for his chest. He took a moment and closed his eyes. His heart was pounding in his head as he tried to clear his thoughts. He slowly opened his eyes to see his room was back to normal. He took a deep breath once more as he turned and dropped his feet over the side of the bed. Checking the clock on his desk, he saw that it was still very early in the morning. He noted that his breather mask and goggles laid on the desk next to the clock. He sighed very deeply once more, the vision was more intense this time than it had been before. Much more intense than then the other nights. He had been having the same vision now for the past four nights. At first he had dismissed it as a mere nightmare. However the second and third nights, he knew it was a force vision but it was all to vague from him to even remember details of the dream. It was a warning of some kind and at the same time something else. He needed to meditate on it with hope that he would learn what the Force is trying to tell him.

He got up from his bed and walked over to the corner where a number of large tanks set. It was Oktra and Carissa that together came up with an answer to his request about creating a Kel Dor Friendly room. It took Oktra nearly two days of welding and working nearly around the clock to completely seal the room. She then took his door and replaced it with an airlock door. That took her another day of work, but she got it done. By the end of the third day, Oktra had completed her task and Daz had a room that he could fill with Dorin gas and feel a bit more at home. As a safety measure, Oktra set up a sensor to alert Daz if the level of Dorin reached a dangerous levels. For him to turn off the sensor, he had to enter his own personal code.

Also, another safety was added by her, so that only he could activate the pumps which would pump out the normal atmosphere of the room. Once there was a complete vacuum, and a sensor detected the vacuum, it started to fill the room with Dorin to the normal levels to allow Daz to breath normally and allowed him to be able to take off his breather. Daz was pretty impressed with the system and the safeties that Oktra put in to it. From start to finish, she worked sixty hours on the three day project. He looked at the controls on the system that Oktra had built and smiled to see that it was functioning normally. “I need to thank her later for this” he said as he sighed looking around the room.

*********************************************

Captain's Log 01-0003
Deep within wild space
ISA Ka-riss-ah

“Captain's log 01-0003, This week started out on such a high note, but turned south pretty fast and hard. At the beginning of the week, I was able to sit down with Captain Brea Heartman and Lieutenant Commander Furey. I explained to them about the situation with Oktra and her desires to carry a fire arm. I took the time to listen to both of them as they explained the Law and the reason behind it. I have to admit, they have sound reasons behind this it. However, I did manage to win both their support for allowing Oktra to carry her blaster pistol. However, she will have to wear an ISA uniform and start to show some military discipline. They both agree that these two things would go a long way in showing her loyalty to Azgard ways. I already talked to Oktra about the offer, she didn't like it (AT ALL) but she is willing to give it a try for the sake of unity. Walking around the ship and seeing the ISA uniform spreading really seems to bring the crew together. Normal Azgard Uniforms tend to differ slightly between houses. I like the idea that we are becoming one crew, one ship. Ubaah showed me his, and it does look sharp. It is important that the crew feels uniformed, it was something that Brea and I were talking about. For a large scary woman, she is pretty insightful regarding military matters.

“I had a private conversation with Shalla about Angelique becoming a pilot. I needed to know the best way to get Brea Heartman's help in this matter. She gave me an idea and I acted on it. I asked Brea Heartman for lunch and we talked about this bad blood between the Heartman and Mercer Houses. She gave me all the dirty details of this sad state of affairs that was over three centuries old. I asked her if I could trust a Mercer in battle. She answered with no, I couldn't. That they are cowards and would run at the first opportunity. I asked her what I should do. She suggested a number of possible solutions. One such solution was having someone more loyal make sure that he wouldn't run in battle. We both smiled as she realized that I had cornered her. Her words were lovely, 'Your arms might be weak Captain Ogon, yet you will make a fine commander.' Shalla later told me that this was a high complement. Angelique Heartman is now part of CAG Mercer's fighter group.

“In my dealings with Brea Heartman, I found her to be surprisingly understandable to the fact that this is a mixed crew. Though she is extremely hardheaded, she also has the wisdom to know when to yield. I plan to have more luncheons with her in the future. Lieutenant Commander Furey has also become a good source of information about Azgard laws and customs. Though lately he and Oktra have been running the crew raged with drills. Furey has stepped forward to be Oktra's military mentor. I think he was the only one that she respects enough to listen and learn from. So now the bad news, the following events were very painful for me.

“It was brought to my attention a little bit more than three days ago, that Mia was suffering from mild seizures during the night. Carissa notified Spoony and myself as soon as she detected something wrong with Mia. It was hard for us to understand that Mia had suffered from the seizure when we arrived. Mia claimed not remembering anything that had happened and Spoony couldn't find any evidence of it when he examined her. Carissa recorded the event and Spoony was sure it was a seizure, however because it was a mild one he figured that it was probably due to stress. Beyond that he had no other ideas. For the rest of that day, he watched her closely and tested her for everything he could think of. He couldn't understand what was going on with the young girl.

“The second attack came nearly at the same time of the night as the first one had. This time, Carissa was ready for the attack. She recorded Mia's brain wave activity during the attack and Spoony was just in the next room when it occurred. They were able to identify strange brain wave activity. However the attack happened so fast and was over before they were able to complete their observations. What Spoony was able to reach a conclusion on was that Mia's seizures were not linked to any defect that she may have had. Nor was it part of a reaction to stress. This was something completely different than anything else he had dealt with in the past.

“The third attack came once more near to the same time of night as the first two. However, this time it was much more violent and Carissa signaled a medical emergency which filled Mia's room with a number of medical personal. Mia's seizure lasted nearly three times as long as the first two combined and her body had to be physical restrained by medical personal. Her mouth started to foam and there was a point when I saw in Spoony's eyes, that we might loss her. The seizure seemed to last forever then as rapidly as it hit, it was over. To our shock and relief once the seizure was over, she was fine. Everyone was dumbfounded by what was happening.

“Spoony, Carissa and I reviewed the recordings of the attack and Carissa's recording of Mia's brain waves. What we saw was something amazing. The seizure was caused by Mia's brain waves leaping from their normal state to, well something else. Spoony had dealt with seizures before but he never seen anything like this. He explained to me that seizures were caused by misfiring of neural signals. Mia's were not misfiring at all. There was almost some kind of pattern to them. Also, the scope of the changes in activity would suggest that she was in a deep sleep during the seizure. Almost as if she was dreaming of something while the seizure was taking place. I talked to her after the last seizure about what happened. She claimed she didn't have any memory of the attack. Seeing how each of the three attacks happened while she was sleeping, that was understandable. But what happened that morning left us with more questions than answers.

“During breakfast, Daz dropped a major bomb shell on everyone. He said that for the past few nights, he had been receiving Force Visions. He took his time to explain them in great detail and I couldn't help but find this more than just a chance. I asked him the times that he had the visions. The times he gave for his visions, matched the times that Mia had suffered from her seizures. Somehow, Mia's seizures and Daz's visions were linked. He told us, that in his last vision she played a critical part. The only problem we saw was that Daz had four vision and Mia only had three seizures. It was Visst that came up with a theory on that. Judging by the intensity of the last one and the two before that, Mia might have had a seizure but it was much less intense. It could have gone unnoticed. I don't think Carissa liked Visst's suggestion but she remained silent during the meeting.

“This morning we exited out of hyperspace right where Daz said we would be. I am really proud of the little guy. As we approached Visst had suggested that we exit hyperspace a ways away from the world and use our normal engines to get us closer. We positioned ourselves between the world and the sun. I know that this was risky but I don't think that they would be able to spot us. Their technology appeared to be so much lower than our own. I had Carissa run as many scans of the planet as possible. I wanted to find this temple that Daz saw. Also I had Mercer and his group get a bit closer to the world and see what they could find out. They had some level of very basic space travel from what Mercer's group saw. They also detected a large number of weapon platforms in orbit. All of them armed with Nuclear Weapons. There were also a number of satellites and a couple of space stations. This gave us the ability to place their technology level as leaving the age of Oil and entering the age of silicon.

“Once we had a nice image of the world and were able to identify the region where Daz's temple was, I ordered Carissa to take up station on the dark side of the moon. From what we found out, there were nearly a fifty possible locations that could be Daz's temple. The only problem is, they are located in a region of the world which is nearly a thousand kilometers area. More importantly, the two largest alliances both have laid claim on the region and it was heavily patrolled by both factions. Though either side has deployed troops in to this extremely mountainous region, we were able to identify millions of troops poised to attack each other. Local fighter coverage will make landing dangerous and from what Carissa has been able to intercept, the world is close to a global nuclear war. Every part of my being is demanding that we prevent this war. I truly believe that this state of war is directly linked to the sword.

“Once behind the moon, we found a Jedi Fighter in geostationary orbit on the dark side of the moon. It was hooked up to its hyperspace ring. We were able to retrieve the fighter and ring and bring it aboard Carissa. Angelique has become quite the pilot thanks to her training with Commander Mercer. I am glad that she is where she is now. It is clear to me this was the right choice. Once we got the fighter aboard, the R3 unit activated and asked to speak to a member of the Jedi Council. As if it was waiting for a member of the council to show up. It was Daz who went to speak to it. I am not sure what Daz told it, but it helped us better understand what was going on. This Jedi starfighter and droid belonged to Jedi Master Mar, and she had flown it here without the use of the Navigation Computer or her droid. The droid informed us that it was given orders by Jedi Master Mar, that once he dropped her off on the planet that it was to take the fighter to its current location and wait for a Member of the Jedi Council to arrive. It told us that that was nearly thirty years ago.

“From what we can tell, Mar erased all data regarding her trip out here. Or why she choose this planet. She actually did a very thorough job as whipping the information. We tried to recover something, but there was simply nothing to recover. She only left one piece of information. She left the landing coordinates where she said that she would be waiting. She warned that the situation on the world was very dangerous and that who ever follows should use caution. Her parting words were, 'I shall light the way, trust in the force and follow me.'

“I don't know if it was part of her plans or not. But the droid informed us, that Jedi Master Mar was seen being surrounded by hostile troops as the droid piloted the fighter back in to the air and vanished in to the night's sky. For all we know, she could have ended up as some science project. No, I can't believe that. We didn't come all this way to find out she had died in captivity. There are still a number of issues that we have to address before we can follow Jedi Master Mar. The fact that there are no non-humans on the world. Also they are completely ignorant to space travel. Carissa has picked up a number of radio telescopes searching the space around them. I don't know who should go or who should remain behind. We can not simply search all fifty possible locations. That would take too much time. We need something else to help pinpoint where we have to go. Also we can't trigger a nuclear war down there.

“*Sighs* Captain Ogon, out...”

[Akirapryde]

Exile
Del Nord Alta Muntanya
L'harmonia

Tashi Lumpo set on the other side of the fire looking deeply in its flames as they flickered, “So young travelers, you wish to know about the journeys of the Master.” His face reflected his stern years of a hard challenging life as the shadows of the fire danced across his facial features. He smiled as he picked the fire with a long stick while using his other hand to rub his chin. “I remember the day that she came to this temple. Worn from her travels and beaten by time, she and her young female companion banged on our gates just as you had today.” He pulled a small pouch from his robe and softly tossed it on to the fire. It erupted in to a bright flash that soon was extinguished and replaced by thick white smoke which rose up in to the air around the fire. Soon the entire area around the fire was obscured by the smoke. The effects started to take hold on those who also set around the fire, as Tashi Lumpo continued his story.

The night sky above the temple was clear as the light from the full moon illuminated the main courtyard of the temple. Already their were cries of alarm as a number of monks slowly backed up while a pair of females stumbled past the open gates. The younger of the two females struggled to hold up her walking companion, “Please help us! We are being chased by soldiers and seek sanctuary. Please help us.” The monks looked at each other in concern as they all held their ground. It was clear that there was some reason for alarm as the monks clearly gave no further ground. Each held their weapons out and at the guard with the females in the center of the circle which the monks created around them.

An elderly monk walked out from one of the simple buildings that lined the main courtyard, “Tashi, to whom has gifted us with their visit?” he said as a younger monk walked up behind him.

One of the senor monks in the courtyard turned to the elderly monk with great concern while the other monks kept the two woman at bay with their weapons, “Sonam Gyatso” Tashi bowed respectfully with some kind of half pike half sword weapon in his hand. He turned slowly and used the long weapon to expose the face of the older woman, “Sonam Gyatso, she IS infected.”

*“You must understand young travelers, no one had seen an infected plague victim in over a thousand years. The records and books told the story all too well of what the plague was capable of. It nearly ended all life on our world and I had no idea what Gaia had in mind for me. That night, we were all scared despite our faith in Gaia. How true her lesson upon us would turn out to be. How much we would learn and how much my life, young travelers, would be changed that night.”*

The elderly monk nodded, “yes she is” he said nodding his approval of the revelation. “This is clear even for someone of my age to see” he slowly turned around. As he took a single step back towards the door he came out of, “Tashi, Please let me know when you plan to burn this temple to the ground.” Sonam Gyatso turned his head and looked over his shoulder back at Tashi, “for if we refuse to live life how Gaia teaches, then this temple serves no purpose.” He turned his head back to face the door while making no further steps towards or away from the door, “tell me Tashi, shall we give them sanctuary or shall I pack my belongings so we can move to the low lands?” Sonam Gyatso paused and waited for a moment as a younger monk standing near by watched carefully.

Tashi turned to look at the travelers carefully then turned to look at the other monks around him. He took a long breath and closed his eyes. Taking a moment to clear fear from his thoughts and nodded his head, “You are right Master. We shall give them sanctuary.” he said then pointed at a pair of monks, “you two show them to a room where they can get cleaned up and rest. Fetch them fresh clothing and tend to what wounds you can.” He pointed at another monk, “Fire the kitchen and prepare meals for them. Also bring them fresh water, lots of fresh water.” He turned to the rest, “We will need to hide them from those who chase them. They will need medical attention, so let us send for the healers from the other temples. Inform them, that this must remain a secret. Tell them, we have plague victims here.”

While Tashi was giving his orders to the other monks, Sonam Gyatso smiled as he looked at the younger monk, “I am glad we are not moving, I have so many things to pack and my feet hurt tonight.” he motioned for the younger monk to follow him, “Come Tenzin, let us finish our tea and our Liubo game” the two monks walked back in to the simple hut while the rest of the monks dealt with the travelers.

Tashi watched over the preparations for the visits carefully ensuring that everyone was up to his standards. The Temple had in the past hosted power political leaders from a number of city states. And tonight, he would make sure that these two visitors would be treated as good as everyone else had been. He waited for the food to be finished before he walked over to the simple hut where the two women were staying. He nodded to the monk who had just dropped off the food as they passed each other. Tashi knocked on the door of the hut and waited for a reply. During his wait he could hear them whispering as they gathered their things. 'Most likely hiding the reason why they being chased.' he thought to himself while waiting. He knew that they were hiding something, and he knew in time they would tell when they felt safe and comfortable to share it. He finally heard, “come in, please.” He carefully opened the door and slipped in to the one room hut. “I take it all your needs are being taken care of?”

The older woman nodded as she pulled her cloak up to cover her face and ensure that her skin was also covered, “Yes, thank you for your hospitality” she motioned to her companion, “This is my daughter, Casey and I am Michelle.” she said softly trying hard to hide her blisters on her face. It was clear to Tashi that she was embarrassed of her condition.

Tashi looked carefully at what had to be painful blisters. “I am sorry for our show of fear earlier. It is not normally our way.” he said as he moved his hand to her hood and gentle moved lifted it from her once lovely face. “I have read about the plague in history books but never dreamed I would ever meet someone infected by it. It was so long ago and so devastating to so many cultures. Please forgive our rudeness.” He felt ashamed of their behavior before as he looked at her eyes. He could see the woman as she was before the plague crippled her. Her aura was so pure and so calm. Yet there was something odd about it at the same time. There was a lack of connection to Gaia in her energies. It was as if her energies simply had no path to move.

Michelle nodded as she gently pulled away and reset her hood to cover her face, “it is something that we have become used too. From what the few doctors who would look at us have said. My daughter is clean of the infection. Somehow, I have not passed it on to her. Nor do I know how I have become infected.” She said she turned to her daughter, and smiled, “It is the one thing that I am grateful of. That I have not infected her.” Casey only smiled back at her mother.

“I am glad that your daughter is not infected. We have some of the best healer in this region, but you could receive better medical attention in the low land cities. Maybe, Cel Terres Baixes?” Both Michelle and Casey both nearly yelled as they said, no in unison. It was clear they were hiding from something that was, to them, more terrifying than death its self. Tashi nodded, “I see. We will do our best to protect you and give you shelter from those who would wish to harm you. The Del Nord Alta has been long recognized as a place of peace and neutrality. No one dares challenges this. I am Tashi, student of Sonam Gyatso Lumpo. You are safe here with us, you have my word.”

*“I never knew how much those simple words could fill a person with such hope till the moment I saw it in their eyes. Michelle explained to me that night how they had been running from the forces of Baixes for over sixteen years. She explained how Casey's father had been murdered by those who were pursuing them. About two years ago, Michelle started showing signs of the infection and they tried to get help for it only to find that fear followed them like a black cloud. When they had no where else to turn, they looked to the mountains in hopes of finding safety. However, the forces of Baixes had violated our neutrality and followed them in to our region.

“She and I talked long in to the night. I wasn't surprised to find that she and her daughter had already been exposed to the insights of the Manuscript. There was just something I could feel that showed me that they were ready for the next insight. They both had a firm understanding of the first five insights and were eager to learn more. I could tell as we talked that there was more to Michelle than met my eyes. Her energies didn't seem to flow as described in the Manuscript. I had never seen anything like it before or since. That is till this day when you brought your young friend crossed our gates. Though her daughter had wanted to stay awake for the conversation she had spent too much of her energies during their travels. Shortly in to our conversation, her daughter slipped in to sleep while Michelle and I continued talking.

“Michelle had a copy of the sixth insight that they had received from a man and his son they met on the trail here the day before. Both she and her daughter had already read it but Michelle still had some questions regarding it. She explained how she completely believed that the first two insights, which taught us about profound sense of restlessness and about a change in prospective of our history, were occurring during our days. It was clear to me that this was no ordinary woman. The way she was able to look at the manuscript reflected a deeper understanding in energies than other low landers. I was fascinated in what she had to say, so we talked till the sun rose in the window.”*

The early morning light brought new visitors to the temple. A group of soldiers walked up to the gate as Tashi and a few other monks walked out to greet them. It was clear that the soldiers had been up most of, if not the entire the night. The few that walked up to the temple had left their jeeps down the road with the rest of the soldiers. Tashi noted that the men were all armed and there was no sign of medical personal with them. Their leader was a cold man with twisted energies while the others were worn out and tired. He could see their energies were not flowing in the same directions nor did their energies seem to mesh together. Tashi nodded slowly as he noted all that the Manuscript taught him to see. “Greetings soldiers of Baixes” he said respectfully with a bow then added, “You are far from your lands. Would you care to sit and eat with us? We are just having breakfast.”

The leader walked a bit further ahead of the soldiers, “I am Lieutenant Colonel Jennings, we are searching for a pair of fugitives that are infected with a highly contagious disease. It is imperative that if they are here, you surrender them at once.” Tashi noticed that the man didn't remove his sunglasses while he addressed him. Normally this would be done out of disrespect, but Tashi knew that there was another reason why he left them on. It had to do with his twisted energies.

Tashi nodded, “I see” he said as he could tell through the energies that he knew that the man was lying to him. “If we had such persons here, we would gladly surrender them to medical personal so that they could be given medical attention at once. Come now, it would be rude of us to not offer you food and drink after such a long journey, and before you undertake your long journey back to your lands, please take your seats and I shall send for food and water for you and your weary soldiers.” Tashi said as he started to motion for one of his monks to fulfill the offer.

Colonel Jennings had other ideas as he reached out and grabbed the unarmed monk by the arm, “I know your customs and know that you would shelter them if they showed up on your doorstep. Why don't you let us search your temple to ensure that you didn't foolishly allow them to infect the entire temple.” He said coldly as he stepped forward looking right in to Tashi's eyes.

Tashi looked at the man's hand on his upper arm. His gaze drifted upward to meet Jennings' eyes. “Colonel, you forget where you are” Tashi said calmly ensuring to maintain his own flow of energy during this struggle. “If you know our customs, then you know that we don't lie.” Tashi knew he could break the simple grip but a show of force was out of place here. He could sense the drama playing out and knew how to break it, he was a strong student of the manuscript and understood its lessons. “There is no reason to be angry or fear. If such persons were here. We would do the right thing.” Once more he kept his voice and tone completely level in the conversation and by doing so sapped the energy right from Jennings. “No you may not search our temple. Our laws are clear, no armed soldier shall cross the seals.” he said motioning to the great seal upon the gates that stood between them and the temple. The monk turned his eyes back to Jennings, “Now please Colonel, let us feed you and your men.”

Colonel Jennings frown as he felt his anger fall off. The monk was right on both issues. One they don't lie. Though this doesn't mean they don't play word games. Second, their pacifist views were well known. He knew that his men could force their way past the gates but the price in blood would be too great at this time. However he wouldn't rule it out as a last ditch effort. He let go of Tashi's arm, “I am sorry. Yes of course, we will accept your offer for breakfast and drink. Please forgive my disrespect” he said hoping he could buy some more time. He needed to come up with a plan that would allow them to search the temple. If he could prove that the alien and her hybrid child were inside, then his government would support his plan of taking the temple by force. 'They had to be here. They searched the entire area by helicopters all night. They had no where else to hide. They just had to be here' he thought coldly as he watched Tashi nod and walk back towards the Temple gates. Jennings turned to his men, “dismount men, we will be enjoying their hospitality for now.”

Colonel Jennings started to walk back to his men as his thoughts closed on the alien and her hybrid child. He had been hunting the them for over sixteen years now. There had been so many close calls, so many times that they should have been captured. However, they had always happened to find some bleeding heart liberal to help them escape his troops. No matter how fast he was, or what they planned, they would still manage to escape him. He couldn't understand how his own race could help this alien. 'Don't they understand how dangerous she is!' he thought coldly. He thought that he had her when she had started to show signs of plague. Surely no one would help her now that she was infected. He almost feared that the plague would kill her before he could recapture her. A scowl crossed his face as her remembered that night nearly seventeen years ago.

He remembered how they had received word that Air Defense Command was actually tracking a UFO landing near their base. They were returning from a patrol and ordered to the projected landing sight of the UFO. He almost laughed when the orders came in. He had read all about UFO's and his government's attempts to conceal the 'truth' of UFO's and aliens. At least that is what the tabloids would have you believe. He had looked to the sky thinking that he would see some massive ship landing. Well he half hoped he would see it, and half hoped this was a prank on him. After all he did just receive his most resent promotion to lieutenant and a prank was in order. However, his whole life was about to change because in the middle of that field was some kind of small UFO and beside it stood some cloaked figure. It was an real live, alien!

He ordered his men to dismount and ready their weapons. He nearly remained at the trucks but his sense of leadership forced him to walk ahead of his troops. He and his men were taken by surprise when the small UFO started to take off and climb straight up in to the air like a helicopter! It just hovered for a moment above the field then turned and started to climb higher. It made almost no noise as it passed over of the soldiers. It was not the saucers he was used to reading about. This thing looked more like an arrow head as it vanished in to the night's sky. He directed his men to focus on the alien as they created a half circle around it. He drew out his pistol as he approached carefully. He pulled out his flashlight and washed the alien with light as he paired his pistol and light together. “Don't MOVE!” he yelled out to the alien.

One of his men yelled out, “Careful Sir, it might be one of those body snatchers!” While another one yelled out about something about it might be friendly. It was clear that fear was running high within the soldiers' ranks.

Jennings nodded as he slowed his approach, “Let me see your hands or tentacle or what ever you have.” He yelled to the alien. The alien slowly raised its hands as it still kept its back to the soldiers. “Good you understand English, thats a start.” Jennings noted some kind of weapon on its back. He decided to take a safer approached, “Private Schimt, give your weapon to your Sergeant and get up here.”

Schimt looked around in alarm, “Um Sir, why do I need to give up my weapon” he questioned nervously as he turned to his Sergeant to carry out the orders.

Jennings didn't take his eyes or weapon off the alien, “Just in case it is one of them body snatchers. I don't want to give it another weapon to use against us. Don't worry son, if it tries to suck your brain or something, we will kill you before you suffer too much.”

Schimt handed over his weapon as he listened to his commander. Just as he hand let go of his rifle he heard the comment about killing him. “Wait! WHAT!” he half yelled reaching for his weapon. However his Sergeant snapped the weapon away from his reach. Schimt gave his Sergeant a nasty look, who only motioned him forward to carry out the orders. Schimt looked around, “This sucks!”

It was a battle to get the alien under control and locked in handcuffs. However Jennings and his men had captured the alien in a rather peaceful manner. He reported what they had found and was informed to bring the creature back to the hospitality. Some special researchers were on their way from another nearby base to check it out. On the way back to the base, Jennings rode in the back of the truck sitting across from the alien. She had been disarmed and her large sword now sat in his lap, still rapped in its cloth holder. He checked her out slowly. His eyes loved the beautiful woman before him, but hated the idea that she was some white blooded alien. Slowly, his eyes turned to the sword as he examined it. “You don't know what you are holding. You must return it to me or else so many will suffer at your hands” the alien said softly.

Jennings looked up at her and laughed, “You came all this way to do what?” he said untying the cord that kept the cloth secured. “What do we have here?” he said exposing the finely crafted golden hilt of the sword. His attention had been drawn to the weapon and what ever thoughts he had before were gone. It was the most beautifulest thing he had ever seen as he looked at the bright red gem at the end of the hilt. It almost seemed to glow on its own. His eyes slowly drifted over each carving on the hilt. The way each of the four other gems glowed almost in harmony with the large red one on the tip of the hilt. He couldn't believe his eyes, 'this sword must be worth a fortune' he thought to himself.

“Please return it to me. You don't understand what you are doing” she warned once more.

Jennings ran his hand slowly over the hilt and he could feel the metal. “Its warm to the touch” he commented as he slowly coiled his hand around the hilt and drew out the sword. His mind was lost in the fine craftsmanship that went in to the details of the etchings along the blade. “This is remarkable! is this your written language?” he said as he slowly stood up. “Its all completely clear to me now” he said as he let the cloth fall to the floor of the truck. “I can't believe how much detail has gone in to this weapon.” He moved the sword slowly in the air as he further examined it. “My god, its so clear now.”

One of the soldiers next to him motioned for the weapon, “Here let me see it Sir.”

“Already dead and don't know it” the alien said as she slowly moved away from Jennings.

Jennings turned to the soldier and looked in to his eyes. The man jerked back from Jennings out of fear of what he saw in Jennings' eyes, “You know, shes right” he said as he drew back the sword and thrust it in to the man's chest. Jennings spun and attacked the two soldiers in the front of the cargo area of the truck. Even before the last of the two men hit the floor, Jennings turned and reached out with the force as an evil grin crossed his lips. He lifted the three remaining soldiers off their feet. Their eyes wide with shock as they all reached for their throats making gasping sounds. “What are you doing” he questioned while his eyes turned to the alien just in time to see her leap up and slip her cuffed hands from behind her back to in front of her body.

Even while the other soldiers were still being choked to death in midair, Jennings swung the sword at the alien. She brought her hands up with one lower then the other. She dodged backwards rapidly. The sword passed between her hands as he cut through the cuffs like a hot knife through butter. She slid back and grabbed what seemed to be some kind of alien flashlight from one of the soldiers Jennings killed before. When she activated it, he was surprised to see it was some kind of light based weapon. She was able to deflect his next attack with the sword with her own light based weapno while his men continued to choke to death. She twisted and dodged once more and parried his next three attacks on her. Jennings couldn't believe it, he never held a sword before and now he was fighting like he had been trained from birth. He knew he could beat her, he just could feel her fear and understood that her end was at hand. She simply had to die if he was to keep the sword.

What happened next was completely unforeseen by everyone in the truck. The truck's forward motion was changed rapidly as something slammed in to it from the side. The soldiers fell to the floor of the truck while Jennings was knocked to the side of the truck. The sword slipped from his grip as he slammed his head against one of the braces for the canvas cover. He looked at the sword that landed between him and the alien. His eyes moved to hers and she reacted faster than anyone else could have. She leaped forward with all her might and grabbed the sword and the cloth in one action. Jennings attempted to stop her from fleeing with his sword by trying to tackle her but she twisted from his grip. “NO!” he yell drawing his pistol as she ran for the back of the truck. He aimed at the back of her head and right before he could pull the trigger, one of his surviving soldiers leaped on him. Jennings saw her as she dove out the back of the truck while the sound of horses was heard from outside somewhere. He fought to free himself from his soldier but more leaped on him to hold him down. “NO! GET THE ALIEN” he yelled out. The alien turned as she hit the ground and looked at Jennings right in to his eyes. He knew that they would cross paths once more. She turned and vanished from sight. It was the last time he had seen the alien or his sword. Yet he would forever be right behind her. He promised himself that. She would know no rest till he had his sword back.

That night echoed in his memory even to this very day. He knew that some man and woman had helped the alien escape his custody. It was a foolish plan that seemed to work only because of luck. He turned and looked at his men as they dismounted from their trucks and headed over to where he was. Jennings turned to look at the temple once more. He sighed as his Platoon Sergeant walked up behind him, “SO what do you think, Sir. You think that their are in there.”

Jennings nodded, “IT has to be. Have first and forth squad circle around from opposite directions. Have them form a perimeter around the temple. No one in or out. Remember the alien is dangerous and infected. If you see her, shot first then, KILL IT, no one touches it. Notify me at once. The Bio-boys can learn what the wish from the body. As for the hybrid, the Brass want her alive for studies.”

The veteran Sergeant nodded, “Yes Sir” he then turned and walked back to the troops.

Jennings looked at the high walls of the temple and nodded, 'I have you now' he thought with a smile 'there will be no escaping this time. The sword will be mine once and for all.'

The large gate of the Temple opened up and Tashi walked out once more. “Colonel, you and your men are our guest. Please come.” A number of monks walked out with large volumes of food and two large kegs of drink. A large blanket was laid out for the men to eat on. The monks brought enough food to feed a small army. Glasses were filled with water as fresh fruit were placed out with the rest of the food. It was a feast for the soldiers and they showed their gratitude for the meal with cheers.

Jennings nodded while motioning for his men as he walked up to where the meal was being offered. The meal was just as Jennings expected it to be, bland and simple. His men enjoyed the food and drink while Jennings and Tashi set across from each other. Jennings hated Tashi and he didn't care if the monk felt it. They should just be allowed to force their way in to the Temple and get the alien and her hybrid child. Still, Jennings had to play nice with the monks. They were protected by the treaty which placed this entire mountain range as a demilitarized zone. The facts that his troops were even here was a violation of that treaty. He didn't care, this was a matter of planetary security and he had to ensure that the alien could no longer plot against this world and his race.

It had been nearly an hour of eating and resting as Jennings' patience were running thin. He was still right where he had started an hour ago. The monks were still refusing to allow them to search the Temple for the alien and her child. Jennings slowly looked up from his large metal cup of coffee, “I am only going to ask you one last time, monk. You will let us search your temple for the infected woman and her child.”

Tashi looked a bit confused, “I don't know why this is so difficult to understand. You can ask once or a hundred times. The answer will always be no. No armed soldiers will ever cross the seal.”

Before Tashi could finish, Jennings leaped to his feet, “Thats IT! Sergeant Grear!”

However, just as Jennings cut off Tashi, he was cut off by one of his men, “Colonel we have a sighting!”

Tashi showed no emotion as Jennings turned in both shock and confusion, “What? WHERE?”

The soldier rushed up while holding his radio to his ear, “Alpha Zebra Two niner six fif.”

Jennings turned and took a step towards the man, “What do you mean?” He looked down for a moment, “Thats nearly nine clicks to the northeast! HOW THE HELL!” Jennings pointed at the monk, “Don't move, I am not done with you!” Tashi just nodded and waited for the new drama to play out. Jennings then turned once more and walked over to the radio man, “ask them if we have conformation.” Jennings turned to Sergeant Grear who was walking up to him. “If this is true, they had to have run all night up through that ravine we lost them in the day before yesterday.”

The Sergeant only nodded as the radio man held up his hand, “They have two separate eye witnesses accounts. One account is by a local man, his son and a horse. They claimed that the older woman had some kind of sword with her!”

Jennings through his coffee out, “GOD DAMNIT!” he yelled out in frustration, “You knew this from the beginning MONK!” he said almost drawing his pistol and killing Tashi but stopped the impulse of his hand. “Pass the word, EVERYONE MOUNT UP! We ARE wheels up!”

The soldiers dropped what they had and took off running for their vehicles as Jennings calmly walked over to his jeep and climbed in. It was total confusion as everyone rushed to their trucks. Jennings didn't wait for his men as he gave the order to his driver to drive. Jennings' jeep was the first to disappear down the road. Soldiers were running as fast as they could to reach their trucks before they drove off. One by one the soldier trucks all disappeared driving off. Tashi and his monks just watched as the last of the soldiers drove off in such haste that not one thank them for breakfast. He nodded, “Gaia works in mysterious ways, young one.”

Casey nodded from under her cloak, “yes” she said softly. She had waited for the last truck to leave before sneaking out from the temple. “It is something that I never seem to understand how or why. Its always been like that for us. As if something greater has been protecting us from them all this time. I don't think I will ever understand it.”

Tashi turned to her and smiled, “Gaia always protects those of pure of heart.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, “how is your mother?”

Casey sighed softly, “she is resting Sir. The infection seems to take more from her at times than at others. One of the doctors who managed to look at her said, its like nothing he ever read about the plague before. This wasn't anything like it but the tests had shown it is the plague that is infecting her.” She looked down with great sadness, “my mother, um shes is not normal. Shes not like you are. Shes a....”

Tashi moved his hand from her shoulder to her chin and lifted her eyes up to his, “I know.” The soft smile on his face washed her sadness away. “We all knew that she not from our world. It is in her aura. Just like you are her daughter.” he nodded softly and motioned for the gate, “Come, the healers will be here soon. They will help make your mother as comfortable as possible.”

Casey glanced back at the distant dust trails of the trucks speeding away. She nodded, “Thank you Tashi for all that you and your friends have done for us.” her eyes fell once more on his and she returned his smile, “thank you.” She followed him through the gates of the large temple. Slowly the gates closed behind them and a new chapter in the temple's history was opened.

[Akirapryde]

Temptations
Lunar Lagrange Point Two
ISA Ka-riss-ah
L'harmonia System

Ubaah could feel his anger rising from the encounter he had with the creature just moments ago. It wanted him to fire on the Crusader warship for some reason. What ever that reason was, he was unsure of it. It taunted him with gifts of knowledge to win his action. He hated the idea of being used like some toy in a larger game. He turned in the Captain's chairs and faced the Operation's Officer, “Lieutenant Heartman, you have the bridge. Don't disturb me unless we are engaged in combat.” Ubaah smiled as the young officer nodded with a sharp 'Yes Sir'. On that note Ubaah lifted himself up from the command chair and walked off the bridge. He didn't say another word to anyone as he simply walked through the main door and vanished down the corridor.

To say that his ghostly visitor who had whispered in his ear, had shaken him would be an understatement. Truth be told, the creature that had whispered in his ear touched him more deeply than he would ever admit to. Pushing those feelings aside, he embraced his anger over the situation as well. It was not that he was scared of the ghostly creature or of what it told him. He was upset over feeling like he was some kind of toy in its twisted game. He walked down the corridors of Carissa heading for his quarters. He needed time alone, needed time to think and clear his mind. His anger raged in through his mind while deeper darker feelings swelled in his heart. It was as if some unknown cork had been pulled and now darker feelings were rushing through his heart and mind. He simply couldn't think straight at the moment. He didn't bother replying to one of the crew members who had said something as Ubaah passed him. Ubaah only waved his hand at the man and turned to entire his room.

As the door closed behind him, he saw a woman shrouded in shadows in the far corner of his room. Looking carefully through the shadows he could tell that she was dressed in a Republic Marine uniform. Even though the shadow's danced across her figure, he knew who she was right away. This woman he saw now his quarters was Zya, the Marine First Sergeant he had fought along side of back on Baklid 6. He also knew that she was killed during the events over Coruscant. His eyes narrowed, “Steeling bodies of the dead now?”

“Oh, I am not steeling anything. I am who you see. This is how I know what I do” she said as she moved closer to him. “The your hate and anger that burns in your soul is like a beacon to me. I can sense it from across the vastness of space. It draws me to you” She stopped once she reached the center of the room as Ubaah still stood by the door. She smiled as her eyes glimmered at him, “You are not going to leave, nor will you call for help Ubaah. We both know what you want. What you deeply desire. We both know, you want me to give it to you.” She motioned him to leave, “If you wish, you can leave. I can not stop you. If you do, you shall never see me again. Trust in this. Yet, there you stand. Unwilling to leave , because you know that I can give you what you secretly desire.”

“I want you to stop playing games with me!” Ubaah snapped at her as he took a step forward.

“Games?” she laughed, “Oh you have it all wrong. I am not the one playing games with you. I am breaking rules to tell you what you should know.”

“Then tell me already” Ubaah demanded.

“No”

Ubaah turned to leave, “Then you have nothing for me!”

“Oh trust me Ubaah, I have more for you than you will ever have for me.” There was something in her tone that sent a cold shiver down his spine. He reached out for the door controls and paused as he noticed his hand shaking, “I can show you the events of the past. Events that will truly make you realize who has been playing the games all along. All you need do is open your soul to me and I will start to show you more than your heart can stand see.”

Ubaah looked at his hand shaking as he stood there in front of the closed door. One motion and he was free from this creature once and for all. Or another motion and he could become lost in its darkness forever. He knew all too well what was at stake but he also knew he wanted to know the truth about his mother's murder. However, there was simply something deeper than that. Something calling out to him from the darker side of his soul. He reached out for the door controls and hovered his finger over the 'open' light. He closed his eyes and let go of his fears. His finger moved up slightly and triggered the 'lock' command. Ubaah turned to face the creature before him as she smiled at him. “Show me what you wish” he said walking towards her. Just as he got in front of her, he dropped to his knees as she reached out and touched the sides of his head. His head jerked backwards as he allowed her in to his mind. He felt her cold mind touch his as he willed his defenses down.

Ubaah watched, from his mind's eye as if he was the assassin that night. He could feel and hear everything it did. He looked right in to Honi's eyes as he pulled the trigger. He could see clearly the blaster fire ripping through her body causing her to fly backwards. The smell of her burning flesh filled his nose as he turned to target the next group of bodyguards. He continued to fire throughout the suite with the light repeater. He watched as bodyguards fell under his fire, he felt the weapon's weight in his arms as it fired over and over again. What surprised him, was there was no emotion for the vision. He figured that he was the assassin, so he judged that the assassin didn't have any emotions during this attack/murder. As such, he felt nothing as he murdered the defenders. Ubaah watched as the Jedi Master Nop'Plan moved in for the attack. He knew from the memory of the attacker that he had to plant the charges on the door that would be needed later. He lost the light repeater but was able to complete his task with the charges.

Ubaah watched with a sense of delight as he sent untold voltage in to the Bounty Hunter's body. He didn't care if the Jedi Master saved the Bounty Hunter, all would be dead soon enough. He used his pistol to tricked the Jedi Master and slay him with his own lightsaber. While the attacker felt nothing from the kill, Ubaah actually enjoying feeling the Jedi's arm break under the attack. And he found delight in running the Master through with his own lightsaber. The vision was so intense that he started to actually feel the excitement running through his mind. It was the Padawan turn to die and Ubaah made such short work of the inexperienced jedi it wasn't even funny. Killing the last bodyguard didn't make sense to him, but it didn't change the fact that Ubaah enjoyed it. Then came pure terror, and Ubaah was no where near prepared for it. The murder of his own mother caught him off guard and seeing her laying dead at his own feet ripped a hole in his heart. Before he knew it, it was too late. The memory of her murder was committed to his own memory. And he would later regret having this memory added to his own. As if it couldn't even get worse, there was the memory of removing her head. It was a detail that they had not been made aware of due to Daz's mistakes the day after.

He was screaming in his own mind at the vision. The pain ran so deep that he could not control it. He hated the vision and hated himself for seeking it. He watched as the assassin waited by a large window for Coruscant's finest to show up. It was something else that was over looked from the assassination report. The assassin actually waited nearly ten minutes for reinforcements to show up. His anger grew, but this time not at the assassin, this time it was at Daz. So much had been over looked because the lead Jedi Investigator had become distracted and was not even on the scene where he should have been. Ubaah knew in his heart that Daz should have done more. He shouldn't have been chasing Talon up in space. 'The killer of his mother escaped justice because of Daz' Ubaah thought coldly in his mind.

Ubaah watched the door open as he waved to them then turned to leap out of the window. There was a large explosion behind him as he flew through the air. Doing some twisting and turning, he landed on a speeder truck that was waiting for him a few meters below the window. Within moments, Ubaah was taken below in to the speeder truck by a pair of armored men. Once below his helmet was removed and he saw Talon dressed in the same kind of armor he was wearing. Both he and Talon stood their completely emotionless as a group of beings were talking while looking over some footage. Most likely the assassination. One of the creatures looked like a Mrissi and wearing some kind of white lab coat. The others were completely obscured by the shadows. Out of the corner of his eye, Ubaah could see that Talon's eyes were completely blank as if in some kind of trance. Slowly he was starting to piece some clues together as to Talon's and the assassin's roles in the murder of his mother.

“Your test project was remarkable” said one of those in the shadows. Ubaah was floored when he saw the man step from the shadows. It was none other than, Jedi Grand Master Quaad. “I personally think that this model is much better than the earlier visions. Faster, stronger and more able to think more rapidly.” As he spoke, he walked up to Ubaah and examined him, “Did you see the trick with the pistol? Or the knife attack. What have we created in this one?” he said with both pride and fear in his voice.

“They are completely equal in all regards” said Admiral Heartman stepping from the shadows as well. “Each of their DNA code is nearly identical as well as their programming” he added.

He was followed by a man dressed in normal clothes that seemed to be somewhat in charge. “The test of the latest weapons was a resounding success. Gentlemen, it simply does not get any better then this. Soon we will have more than enough weapon systems to bring the entire rebel Jedi force to its knees. Though I do wish to ask Master Jedi. Why this set of targets instead of a normal field test” the man asked as he turned and continued to look over the footage of the assassination.

Quaad walked over to Ubaah and claimed both Twi'lek heads with a grin. “Repayment on an old debt” he said as he inspected the heads. “Nop'Plan was a loss cannon and had to be dealt with. A spy caught him talking with the Azgardian Ambassador. It was only a matter of time before he was going to move against me.” He placed both heads in a container with a smiled.

“I take it all has gone well?” said the droid known only as Molder said walking over the man in charge.

Admiral Heartman nodded, “Better than expected” as he walked over to inspect both Talon and Ubaah. “I would say, you can inform the Puppet Master that he can start full scale production of both models.” he added as he turned to the Mrissi

“Theyiss needisss moresss worksss” the Mrissi creature said than added, “threesss or foursss moresss upgradesss”

The plan clothed man nodded, “Fine have the upgrades scheduled and carried out. The Puppet Master wants a full report on when we can start full scale production of the weapon systems. We need to get them out to the front lines while the Rebel Jedi are on the defensive.”

Quaad, “I have my prize now” he said picking up the container. “If you don't mind, I have a meeting with Daz in the morning.” he tapped the container, “I have something important to attend to before that meeting.”

Heartman nodded, “I need to get them back to the ship before they are missed.” He said as he activated his comlink to issues his orders to the driver.

The plain clothes man nodded, “Do you have to the latest codex samples?” The Mrissi nodded and pulled out two data chips from a data pad and passed them over. He nodded while he took them both and examined them. “Prefect, their complete upgraded DNA. Within a few months, the next generation Shadow Stalkers will be even more than a match for any Jedi.”

The speeder truck came to a stop and Master Quaad got out of the truck. Ubaah could tell that they were near the Jedi Temple but not very close to it. He stood their unable to move from the position he was in as he heard and saw things before his eyes. He almost started to feel sorry for Talon and the person he was seeing all this through. He saw Heartman walk over to the door, “Hey tell........”

This vision ended suddenly and Ubaah knew in his heart that the next words from Admiral Heartman was going to revel the identity of the Hutt who Quaad was working with. Once more anger filled his heart, “You are toying with me again” he snapped pulling away from her.

“No, not toying with you.” Zya said as she pulled back a bit, “One of the men who gave the order for your Mother's death handed you over to Daz to be trained as a Jedi.” She smiled at him, “Yes I want something from you, and you want something from me.” Her smiled turned in to a grin, “I know your heart deeper than anyone else. I know the evil that lurks there in dark places.” Her eyes drew Ubaah in to the dark places that they were windows to her soul “I gave you want you seek. The identity of those directly responsible for your mother's murder. And your own Master accepted you as his padawan from the man who ordered her death.” She lowered herself to be closer to him while moving forward, “Do you think that Daz knew the darkness in Quaad's heart before he accepted you as his padawan?” She paused in her forward motion and looked down in sadness, “I can feel their plan against me on the planet. Soon, you will loss me as an ally. Alone your mother will never find the justice you wish for her. I killed the one who hands ended your mother's life, those who gave the order will go without justice.”

Ubaah didn't say anything as he just set there on his knees looking at her. He knew the whole reason why they were here. Get the sword in Mia's hands so that it can be controlled. Then take both Mia and the sword to some temple where Mia will give her life to destroy the sword. Part of him knew that the sword had to be destroyed and by doing so would save the galaxy from some greater threat. Then there was another part of him that knew the creature was telling the truth about losing a powerful ally against the Crusade. It was clear to him that they planned and even carried out the assassination of his Mother. They were truly behind the assassination. He looked up to the creature as he thought of what she had said.

“I can shape you in to the Dark Lord you secretly desire to be. Even from my current prison, I can feel your anger. Your hate, your rage. Once they start their plans, I will no longer be able to help you.” she said softly looking down and away from Ubaah, she added softly, “Unless”

Ubaah looked up at her, “Unless what?”

Her eyes turned once more towards him. There was a fire in her eyes as she grinned at him. “Unless you allow me to hide part of myself in to your heart. Once their, you will have the means that you crave to gain revenge for your mother's murder. While there, I will be able to help shape your heart and powers” she said as she waved her hand before his face.

Ubaah looked at his body and saw that he had changed. He was darker, and filled with anger that brought warmth to his being. He felt power surging through him like he never knew before. He slowly rose up and looked at his reflecting. He smiled as he saw the way he looked. The gold bands around his horns and upper arms seemed to fit just right in his new appearance. He smiled as he brought up his red lightsaber and the red glow it cast shadows which danced across his face. He nodded as he felt so natural and so in control of everything around him. 'I like' was all that he could think.

“Tell me Ubaah, do you like what you can become through me?” she asked moving behind him and looking at his reflection in the mirror.

“Yes.......” he said softly with a smile, “Yes I do.....”

“All you have to do, is let me in to your heart once more” she said coiling her arms around him, “Surrender to me once and for all, Ubaah” as she moved her hands over his chest. “The choice is yours....”

It was in that moment Ubaah knew in his heart the sweet and bitter taste of temptation. It was all so very clear to him. Everything was so very clear to him now. He looked in the mirror of his room and saw himself as what he had always seen within his soul. He saw Zya behind him. Her body seemed so lovely and so prefect as she moved behind him. The way she moved was so seductive and her eyes were on his the whole time. He brought his hand up along his side and touched her cold face. She smiled back at him while he ran his hand down her cheek. Her smile was just the icing on the cake. It was that kind of evil smile that he could truly love. He nodded at the reflections and never once noticed the nine eyes hovering behind him that is the true appearance of the evil creature that is visiting him now.


*************************************************

Morning Reports
Del Nord Alta Muntanya
L'harmonia

“Good Morning Captain, I hope you slept well. Your morning report has been drafted and ready for you. Late last night, Commander Ubaah turned over command of the ship to Lieutenant Heartman and requested not to be disturbed unless we became engaged in combat. Lieutenant Heartman has really come in to his own in the past five hours. During the night, three more Crusade warships moved in on us. However based on long range sensor sweeps we were able to judged that these ships did not enter the system. Commander Furey believes that they had been in system the entire time and only now did they choose to show themselves. He questioned if there were any more hidden ships within this system. A large number of fighters have also been detected. This brings us to our first mystery Sir.

“These new arrivals as well as the fighters have placed themselves in positions where they can not support their Fast Attack Cruiser which still remains nose to nose with me. They are positioned neither in a defensive nor offensive position. Their supporting fighters are holding positions beyond attack ranges. Both Lieutenant Heartman and Commander Furey believe this is a tactical move to keep us where we are. Lieutenant Heartman called it a Qish move referring to a move in the Azgard game of Blood Crosses. In this game where, two teams attempt to capture the other team's base. A Qish move is employed to keep an opponents best player from being able to affect the out come of the game and normally requires a sacrifice of a number of lesser players.

“There was a heated debate on the bridge over how to correctly handle the Crusader tactics. Both Commander Furey and Commander Mercer believe that the correct course of action to defeat tactic is to handle it like the Blood Crosses game. They had suggested launching a decisive attack against the Fast Attack Cruiser and then engaging the other ships. Once they are forced to withdraw, we would pull back to our current position and hold here. Lieutenant Heartman refused to take that course of action. He even refused to allow Commander Mercer to deploy his fighters. He did agree to take the ship to General Quarters. As well as changing the orientation of the ship so that the hanger was not directly in line with the Crusade ships. During a short scuffle, Lieutenant Heartman was able to win his position. Allow me to play part of the recording of what transpired. The following is Lieutenant Heartman standing his ground after taking a brutal physical attack from Commander Furey

“*I shall not yield! The Captain's orders and intentions are clear! Do not provoke nor engage the Crusade ships unless fired upon. Beat me more if you wish, however, once you carry out your plan. You will have the captain to deal with on his return! My hands will be clean of your dishonorable violation of his orders!*”

“I am was unsure of how to react to the exchange on the bridge. ISA laws are clear, however under Azgard law, what happened seemed perfectly acceptable. I asked Shalla about it in private and she explained that it was normal for warriors to disagree in course of actions. It was not necessarily the strongest warrior that wins these 'debates.' She said that 'warriors respect honorable passions to one's views and intentions'. I am not completely sure what she meant but I do plan to research this later.

“The ship is at a state of battle stations. Gun crews are at the ready as well as the fighter pilots. The Crusade ships have made no other action other then their current 'Qish' move. At this time, we are unsure of why they want us tied up at our current position. They have to know by now that I can easily punch through them and break their blockade of our position. So their actions seem completely illogical and tactically flawed. Lieutenant Heartman and Commander Mercer both agreed that we need to keep close eyes on what is going on down on the planet. We deployed our two ES shuttles to keep close tabs on the events below. Lieutenant Heartman also asked me to do as much hacking of their computer networks as possible. Natalie has been a big help in helping me on this task. Truthfully sir, I really think that some people misunderstand my abilities. I am a warship not some super computer able to do everything.

“What our ES Shuttles were able to uncover is truly troubling. It would appear that the situation on the world is becoming very dangerous for you. During the night a number of minor clashes and raids were carried in the mountain range that you are currently located in. One such raid was carried out on the outskirts of one of the alliance capitals. According to reports a number of civilians were killed from a nomad commune at the hands of raiders. About an hour ago, a number of communication satellites were destroyed driving the two major alliances even closer to war. Both are accusing the other of destroying the satellites. Surprisingly, our ES shuttles were unable to identify how the satellites were destroyed. It was if they just fell from orbit while breaking up.

“Not only are we detecting a large number of troops movements along the mountain region, we are now detecting mass populations leaving larger cities. We have started to pick up a number of craft being deployed around the globe. Commander Mercer is sure that these craft are some kind of bomber craft. We are detecting nuclear payloads on board these craft as well as a large number of nuclear weapons being deployed on naval ships and becoming active at other military bases. Each of the alliances are deploying all of their militarizes as they prepare for war. At this time, we are detecting troop movements that could threaten your location. However, from what we can tell, none of the other temples have see troops breach their walls. This could easily change should the two alliances go to war. Natalie and I have been able to decode a highly classified communication. It would appear that the leaders from both alliances are rushing to a face to face meeting in hopes of preventing the coming war. Based on what we have been able to determine in their communications, it is clear that neither side wishes for the war and will do what ever is necessary to prevent it.

“Sir, with all due respect, Commander Furey, Commander Heartman and myself all agree that the situation has become too volatile for you and your team to remain. Based on the fact that they did not move against our ES Shuttles. We all believe that the Crusade ships will not prevent us from attempting to evacuate you and your team. And if they attempt to prevent us, we can ensure that the exchange will be limited and out of sight of the planet. Based on the number of troops and military targets along the mountain range, we all believe that this area will be heavily targeted by nuclear weapons should an exchange occur. It is imperative that you allow us to evacuate you and your team at once. You can return once the political situation calms down to a more stable state. What is your orders Sir?”

Ogon listened to the report calmly with a frown on his face. He scratched his shoulder once more as Carissa concluded the report. He turned to look at the others and his eyes grew large as he watched Daz walk in. “Oh my god!” he said pointing to Daz's face.

Right there on Daz's face for all to see was a small blister that seemed to send a painful shock through Daz's face as he reached up and touched it. Everyone's mouth dropped open as Daz turned to look at his face in the mirror. The shock was clearly felt in the small hut. Ogon leaped up from his little cot as fear ripped through his heart. He pulled up his undershirt and looked at that spot on his shoulder that had been annoying him for the past hour or so. He saw the beginning of a blister as well on the front part of his shoulder. In that moment the entire party knew what was happening, Daz and Ogon if not all of them, had become infected with the plague that killed Master Mar and hundreds of millions on this world.

[Akirapryde]

Prisoners
A Brig
Somewhere within the Republic

The lights flashed red as Jedi Master Dack Nassin leaped from his bed and rushed out of his room. The door hissed open as he rushed forward and exited his room. Already there were other Jedi and Rangers in the corridor of their ship. He looked around and saw his young Twi'lek padawan. He nodded to her as she rushed up to where he stopped. Continuing to look around he saw the other members of his Jedi and Ranger group. “Anyone know whats going on” he asked as they gathered around him.

“I heard we have flown under attack” Bin-Tu-Nar said softly. The aged Cerean had more years in the Jedi order than anyone else within the group did. However, he choose to pursue the path as a Jedi healer instead of going on to follow the Master path.

A female human Jedi stepped up through the group, “Master Nassin, I just heard that our engines have been taken out and no one can reach the bridge.”

Dack looked at Jedi knight Lexi Shild and nodded, “Okay it would seem we are needed to help defend the ship. Bin, take a group of Rangers and head for the bridge. Lexi, you take a group of Rangers and head down to the central corridor. If we are to be boarded, they will surely use this corridor to control the ship.” he explained then turned to his padawan, “You are with me, Stay close and alert.” He turned to the a group of Rangers, “You follow me, we need to get to engineering and see what we can do to help.”

They started to split up and headed off in their different directions. Dack and his padawan lead their team toward the aft of the ship. The ship rocked as it continued to take fire from some unknown attacker. Dack lead his team down the corridor as they ran. He noticed the lounge and slowed his team to a walk. “Master, why are we stopping” asked his padawan.

“I want to know who is attacking us” he said as he turned and entered the lounge.

As his team stood by the door, padawan and Master walked to the large bay windows of the lounge. To their surprise they saw a pair of large Republic Cruisers attacked their transport. “Master? Why is the Republic attacking us?”

“I....I don't know....” Dack said as he backed up some from the window. “Come on, lets get going” he said as he turned and headed for the door. The flash of light blinded him and the loud thunderous roar deafened him. He could feel his body flying and just over the roar he heard the horrific scream of his padawan. Something smashed against the back of his head sending a cloak of blackness through his mind.

Dack lurched upward in shock. His mind raced over trying piece together what was going on and why the Republic was attacking them. He whipped his head around trying to see who of his team was still alive. His eyes snapped open but couldn't see much more than darkness. He had to blink his eyes over and over again till features started to come in to focus. As his eyes started to focus he felt around with his hand. He could feel the edge of what ever he was laying on. It was some kind of hard slab in the shape of a bed. There were voices around him but he couldn't identify them. “Where am I? Whats going on here?” He was confused and startled by the situation. He focused himself as he used the force to reach out. He could feel the presence of lightsiders about him but there was the touch of darkness beyond them. He heard a distant female voice, “He's awake, come.”

“Calm down, you are among friends. I am Alema” He heard a female say softly. She continued, “We all woke up just like you are now.” He felts a soft hand of reassurance on his shoulder.

“I can't see” Dack said as he felt his fears subsided.

The hand on his shoulder and leg started to guide his movements to the edge of the slab, “I know. We all experienced the same. Your eye sight will return in a few moments. Just keep blinking” he heard Alema say next to him.

“Who are you” Dack asked then continued, “Am I a prisoner?”

“You are the last to wake up. Are you a Jedi” she asked as she continued to answer his question. “We are all prisoners of some kind.”

“I am Jedi Master Dack Nassin from the Eneproness Temple” Dack explained. “Who are you all?”

Alema sighed deeply “We are all Jedi from across the galaxy. I was on my way to the Coruscant temple when my fighter fell under attack. All I remember is a Republic ship knocking out my fighter's engines and then I woke up here just about an hour ago. What is the last thing you remember?”

Dack could hear the sounds of other voices whispering around him. He could tell they were not pleased with what was being said. “We were en route to Baklid 6 from Eneproness. There had been rumors that the Republic Army was going to deploy to Baklid 6 and we wanted to help our brothers and sisters in their struggle. We had hoped that we could beat the Republic Army's arrival and hopefully force the Government Forces in to some kind of settlement.”

A new voice come in to clarity, “I am Jedi Master Sel Cusk from the Temple on Oulaven. “Master Nassin, what I am about to tell you will be shocking but it is important that you listen.” Dack could feel the fear rising up as the tone of Master Cusk's voice told him something horrible had happened. “It would seem that I have the most recent of memories. I was leading a group of refugees from Oulaven during the siege of our world. There were three ships in our group. Two didn't make it, but we did. We slipped in to hyperspace and we thought we had escaped. However a few hours after we thought we were away, we hit a gravity well that knocked us from hyperspace. We fell under attack from a pair of Republic ships. Their were boarders stunning the crew and refugees. I woke up here, just like you did.”

Dack shook his head, “What do you mean siege. The Republic would never place Oulaven under siege.”

“It wasn't the Republic. When we were fleeing, we saw Azgard warships bombarding the planet.” Master Cusk said coldly.

“Azgard” Dack said in confusion. “I...I don't understand” his mind raced as he tried to understand how Azgard had been drawn in to their little war. Then something more important crossed his mind, “Where is my padawan. Where's the rest of my team?” he asked as he remembered being told he was the last one to 'wake.' His eye sight was indeed returning. The figures were starting to become a bit more clear. He was in some kind of prison room with a number of beds in two lines. The light was dim but he could make out the faces of the others around him. He could see the Kel Dor and Twi'lek before him. Behind them stood two humans, a male and female, as well as a female Kel Dor. The Kel Dor female and human female seemed to be the youngest of the group.

Alema looked down, “All that you see is who is here. There are no others sleeping in this room.”

Dack reached for his comlink and found it missing. He figured it would be gone but still hoped. He was surprise to find his lightsaber right where it belonged. He heard Master Cusk speak again, “It is the same for us all. No datapad, comlinks or anything else. Just our lightsabers remain.”

Dack was even more confused, “If the Republic took us prisoner, then why allow us to keep our lightsabers?”

“Not all of us are members of the Oulaven Order. I was the personal pilot for Grand Master Tra Vae just as the brush fires were getting underway. He had sent me on a secret mission and I was returning to inform him the woman I met with was not Master Bevurn'Age. I was rushing back to inform him in person. From what we can tell, each of us was captured some time ago at different times and were kept unconscious till we woke up here. Preena there,” she said pointing to the human female, “was taken before the failed assassination attempt of the Chancellor nearly two years ago. She was just taken as a Padawan while studying at the Korriban Temple. She said that she was attacked in an ally just outside of the temple by a group of Rodians. She has no other memories till she woke up here.”

“Master Nassin, I am Jedi Knight Crev Repness” the last human spoke up, “This is young Kel Dor is a close friend and student of mine. Her name is Plo Murl and she is not a Jedi. But she is a skilled Force Adept. Her family in trusted her safe keeping with me. From what I understand, we were captured just before the fracture of the Jedi Order. Neither of us were members of either Order. I left the Order nearly two years ago. I got sick of the politics so I left in hopes of better understanding the Force free from the politics.” He turned and looked around the prison they all were being held in. “I guess you cant run from such things. But what I don't understand is who has captured us and why do we lack memories?”

A voice boomed over head, “That, my guests, shall be answered now that you all have awoken. Greetings and welcome to the Republic Heavy Cruiser Shadow Streak. I am your host, the Puppet Master and you are going to help me test a new set of weapons against Jedi and Force users.” Everyone on the prison just looked up at the speakers that now explained why they were captured and being held. Some were shaking their heads. “It doesn't matter to me rather you live or die, just that you fight with all your heart and give us the best results possible.”

Dack leaped up from the table waving his hand, “We will not fight for your entertainment!” The whole idea sickened him as he waved his fist in the air.

The voice laughed, “Oh this is hardly for my entertainment. Think of this as an advancement of Science. And make no mistake Dack Nassin, each of you will fight or I will vent the entire compartment in to space and each of you will surely die. As for our Kel Dor friends, death will take days before your bodies will fail. Trust me, I know, I have ran test on Kel Dor Jedi in open space before.”

Plo stepped forward, “Why are you doing this to us! What have we done to you!” There was clearly emotion in her voice as she spoke out.

“On little Plo Murl, taking you was more about your family than you personally. To think that the Jedi Terrorist's Daz Murl's own half sister is in my control was just too much to pass up. However, I need a Force Adept and you happen to be the only one I have on hand right now. I am sure I will find a new way to toy with him after you are dead. So allow me to address the rules to each of you. They are simple. If you will look to the red door on the far side of the compartment. That is a hatch that leads in to space and death for all of you. If you look to the other side of the compartment, you will see a blue door. On the other side of that door are three of my newest creations. The door will open for only one minute. Then it will close and seal. Anyone that remains in the compartment you are currently in, will be vented in to space as the red door opens. Those who pass through the blue door will have a chance for freedom. If you manage to kill all three of my new soldiers, I will set you free. This is a battle to the death. I have ensured that each of you are in the best possible shape considering your ages respectfully. I have also ensured that your own Jedi weapons are at hand. This shall be as fair as possible with all respects for your possible victory. You have my word, I shall set you free should you kill them.”

Each of them looked at the rest as they looked at the two doors. The large slabs that had been tables started to drop down to the ground till there was nothing in the compartment other then the prisons and the two doors. Not one of them doubted what the voice had said about venting them in to space. And there was a chance to gain freedom if they were to work together. They looked around their circle and saw what they all had to work with. There was an older Jedi Master Master Sel Cusk, who had a varied degree of skills and understanding of the Force. There was Master Nassin, a experienced warrior and veteran. Jedi Repness and Alema could help out as both held the ranks of Jedi Knight and had gained a good level of experience along the way. The young Padawan Preena and the Force Adept Plo could both be used to protect flanks while the others fought.

“It is clear that darkness awaits of either way we choose to go” Master Cusk said softly. “However, the hope of survival should we win is clearly a fabrication. I do not believe this 'Puppet Master' intends on letting us go should we win.”

Repness stepped forward, “We have to do something because in a few moments we are going to die once that red door opens.”

Preena cut in without hesitation, “maybe the red door doesn't lead to space. Maybe its a trick too.”

While the others were talking Alema had left the group and walked over to the red door. She looked out the thick window and reached out with the force, she knew the horrific truth. “Its no trick. This door leads to our death. The Blue door is our only chance.”

Dack shook his head, “There has to be another way.” Before he could continue a set of numbers lit up over both the blue and red doors. The numbers were counting down with the numbers above the red door one minute ten seconds behind the blue door.

“It is clear that we have little choice other than fight” commented Alema as she rushed forward and readied her lightsaber, “Either we die here or have a chance to survive and deal with what happens after that.” She stood by the blue door, “Do we die in here or out there” she asked motioning beyond the blue door.

Dack shook his head as he got up from the bed and grabbed his lightsaber, “Preena, you remain close to me no matter what. If I turn around I want to see you there.” She nodded as she moved to follow the Jedi Master while he led her to the blue door.

Master Cusk turned to Repness and Plo, “IF we work together we should be able to best what ever is waiting for us.”

Repness nodded and turned to Plo as they started to walk for the blue door, “Listen, just like what Master Nassin said, stay close to me.” He watched her nod her head in reply. “We are going to get through this. Trust me” he said placing his hand on her shoulder, “You just have to trust in the force.”

A pair of blue lights started to flesh over the blue door as the timer ticked down the last few seconds before it opened. Slowly the clock counted down from five, four, three, two, one. Then it started to open. As it opened the entire area on both sides of the door filled with a white smoke. Each of the Jedi could feel the darkness awaiting them beyond the door. Each took a moment to clear their thoughts and hearts before stepping through the door. With one more last look behind them, one by one starting with Alema they stepped through the open door way and in to their own personal destinies.

Preena and Plo stood back to back as three armored figures circled them. It had been a horrific battle for the Jedi and now the last two standing were the two youngest of the group. Master Nassin had been the first to fall. The attackers moved in so fast that he was unable to react fast enough. They murdered him while splitting the party in two smaller groups. The murders were just so fast and they were unable to score any good hits on them. Alema got a lucky hit but it wasn't enough to kill one. She was killed next by the one that she hit in its counter attack. Master Cusk tried to swoop in and take advantage of the situation but had leaped in to a trap laid by the other two monsters. He was killed while Repness tried to save him from the attacks that were costing Master Cusk his own life. Repness died in the same exchange. The entire battle lasted nearly five minutes, but for Preena and Plo, it was a life time ago when they were still talking about doors.

Now, it was Preena and Plo standing back to back with their lightsabers out and ready for the coming attack that will end their lives. Each took one last moment to look back at the other and nodded. There was no doubt in their minds that this was the end for them. Both knew that they were no match for the armored killers that now were reading the strike. As they glanced over the arena, they saw the other Jedi laying dead where they had fallen. They both feared death and neither wanted to die but there was simply nothing either could do to stop it. They would meet death together and bravely. “Hey Plo” Preena said. The fear in her voice was clearly heard.

“Yes” Plo said in reply. She had a couple of years of Jedi training under her belt but still her voice was filled with the same fear that Preena suffered from.

Before either could speak again, the figures moved in for the kill. Their weapons out and moving like lighting. And had it not been for a loud booming, “HALT!” Plo and Preena would have been killed in that second. “Disarm them!” The voice from the shadows demanded and the attackers easily disarmed the two young Padawans and secured them.

Neither padawan understood what was going on. A group of figures walking up to told them that that would be explained soon enough. “Get them on their knees!” The voice demanded. It was clear as the two were being forced to their knees that the voice belonged to one of the men in the group walked up to them. He came in to vision as the lights increased a bit. He was a handsome human male flanked by a group of warriors dressed in similar armor as their attackers. “Its amazing what turn of events just happened.” He said clapping his hands, “Normally I would not care killing beings like you regardless of your age. However something remarkable just made you,” looking right at Plo, “more valuable than you were just moments before.”

Plo shook her head, “I..I don't understand” she said looking down almost confused but grateful she is still alive.

“Oh trust me, you don't have to understand. Your half brother has just made a move that I would have never guessed.” he said then turned to on of the other beings with him, “Take her back to the carbonite prison and freeze her. We WILL have use of Daz's half sister in the future.” Two of his guards grab Plo and pulled her away as she screamed and fought against their grip. The man speaking bent down and picked up the pair of lightsabers. He looked Preena in her eyes as she teared up. She was not the sister of someone important. Her family was poor and barely had enough money to send her to the Academy to train. For her mind, there was no reason why she would be spared. No one would miss her nor could she stop what was surely going to happen to her. She mouthed the word, 'please' as she shook her head. There was terror in her eyes. She didn't want to die.

“Sir shall we kill this one?”

The Puppet Master looked at her as his head tilted to the side. Her eyes were were flowing with tears as he knew in his heart that she was in complete fear for her life. “Tell me child, how old are you?”

Preena looked down, “thirteen”

“Its a shame, so young and you have to die like this” he said as he watched the terror cover her face. He didn't have to look as he heard the Shadow Stalker who currently held her helpless tightened its grip on her as it brought up its energy weapon. The sound of buzzing filled the air as Preena closed her eyes and flinched her head. “Yet, you wont die today child” he said softly. Preena opened her eyes to see him waving off the attack. “You will serve me as your Master child” he demanded and she nodded her head while trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. He got up and turned to another shadow stalker, “Take her to my ship. I have other uses for this one.” he said coldly.

Preena didn't fight as she lead away. She didn't scream like Plo did. She only looked back at the man that had saved her life. She made a promise that she would never make him regret this moment. She would do anything to prove her worth to him. Preena turned her head as she followed the man in armor. Her legs shook with fear but she was still alive and that is all that matter to her right now. 'Thank you for letting me live. Thank you Puppet Master' she thought as she was lead down a corridor and away from the arena and the bodies of the other Jedi who she watched die. She looked back once more and saw the body of Jedi Master Nassin laying face down. She had tried to do what she could to help him but she had never been in a duel before. She felt guilty that she had failed him, but at the same time she was grateful that she was still alive.

The Puppet Master turned to the three new Shadow Stalkers, “When I woke up this morning, I never imagined what events would happen today. Who knew that Daz would not only show up, but show up right under our noses. This is simply too good of a day” he said with a smile on his face as he handed the two lightsabers to the waiting hand of one of his guards. A group white coated men and women walked up. “Take off your helmets” he ordered and the three new stalkers removed their helmets and reviled their female faces. “That is what I had thought” he said then turned to the group walking up, “Females Stalkers?”

“Yes Sir,” Adi-Somo-Ka, the leader of the group said. The tall Cerean stood proudly of his teams work, but before he could continue he was cut off with a wave of the Puppet Master's hand.

“Identify yourself” he ordered one of the female stalkers.

“Stalker Model Gamma, Serial Number zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, two, Sir” she said coldly and bluntly.

The Puppet Master nodded, “I don't like female stalkers. One thing that the Jedi and Force Users fear are the stark impression of a large male killing machine.”

“Sir, give me a second to explain.” Adi-Somo-Ka he said and waited for the Puppet Master to nod his approval, “This model has a higher levels of eye hand coordination and agility. Yes we have to sacrifice raw physical power. However with the new Codex that we have received from the base models a year ago, this is the best results we could come up with.” He walked up behind the three women who stood rigid and looked straight ahead. “The suits have been adjusted to fit their smaller frame with only a minor loss of again that physical enhancement. Did you see how they were able to actually dodge the enemy's attacks and counter in a single action. These are truly the best of the best stalkers that we could have hoped for from the Codex we received.”

The Puppet Master nodded as he walked up and down the line of three. He saw the battle first hand and was impressed with their agility. Still the Codex that Admiral Heartman had help him create was meant for male models, not females. His hand drifted up to his chin as he looked at the three women. “The Shadow Stalkers in the field need to be male. That fear that their presence causes turns many defeats in to successes” He said then thought, there was so much more that needed to be explored. “Make the changes to the Codex to produce male models. Send a copy of your original Female Codex to Falcon Base with my instruction to create twelve more models and send them to my ship. Place their codex, we shall call now Stalker Model Gamma Foxtrot, on ice for the time being. Send the male codex to Phoenix Base, with instruction to start production at once.”

Adi-Somo-Ka nodded, “Yes Sir” he said with a nod.

The Puppet Master looked at the three, “Report to my ship with your gear. You will not be returning here.” They each sounded off with a yes 'sir' turned and rushed off. The Puppet Master then turned to face Adi-Somo-Ka once more, “I asked for a special Model. Is it ready?”

Adi-Somo-Ka, nodded, “Yes Sir, just as you asked for, a pure copy of the original Codex” he said as he waved his hand.

Escorted by a pair of white coated scientist, walked a Republic Marine. As the shadows gave way to the figure, the Puppet Master smiled as he walked with pride. For all to see, Fiolla 'Talon' Heartman walked with her head held high. Her face was emotionless and her eyes were fixed before her. “My god” said the Puppet Master with surprise and delight.

“She is an exact copy of the original. We uploaded her memories up to just moments before her death. The upgrade from the codex were not used on her, but I would like to know why Sir. She could make a formidable Jedi killer with the upgrades we have now.” Adi-Somo-Ka stated with a bit of confusion.

The Puppet Master smiled as he walked up to her and slowly walked around her checking every detail. He moved the hair at the base of the neck to see the pigment of her skin changed. At the base of the neck was a serial number that all Shadow Stalkers have. He smiled and nodded, “She is not going to be just any Jedi killer. This one is going to kill Daz Murl when I am finished with him. But for her to do this, she has to pass their inspections as what we want them to see in her.” He waved his hand before her face and smiled that not even her eyes responded.

“We have not uploaded her final operational matrix. More or less she is just a shell.”

“I know, I have been doing this longer then you have been alive.” the Puppet Master said as he smiled at the craftsmanship. “And her Force Signature” he asked bluntly. They had been studying the Force for as long as the Jedi have. While they can not manipulate it like the Jedi can, the Crusade's understanding of it, is just as deep and focused as the Jedi's.

“We did our best to match it but there will be the differences as you have requested Sir.”

“Fantastic!” The Puppet Master said with excitement, “Take her to the Mid-Rim and upload the final Matrix. Time to launch Operation Talisman. Also I want you to wipe as much as you can of her experience here. The first thing that they will do, is have that Zeltron probing her mind. Make sure that the subcommands are well hidden this time. I don't want another misfire event on our hands again. At the moment, Daz is more important to me alive. Till that time expires let them play with her.” The Puppet Master turned and smiled as he walked away. 'This actually turned out to be a pretty good day' he thought.

“Yes Sir” Adi-Somo-Ka said then turned to face his team. He motioned for the two scientist to take Talon away.

“Sir” one of his assistants said, “Wont they know she is a fake. Whats stopping them from killing her right when they find her.”

Adi-Somo-Ka smiled as he turned to the assistant, “Her target, Daz Murl will ensure that they don't kill her. We're not planning to pass her off as the original. However, she is a living being” he explained as his smile grew, “You will see”

[Akirapryde]

Prisoners (Part Two)
Heavy Cruiser Shadow Streak
Somewhere in Republic Space

*(GM NOTE: This post takes place prior to the events of last gaming session. There are many types of prisons that could hold a person. The most horrifying to suffer are those of the mind and spirit)*

The Shadow Stalker led Plo as she fought hard against his grip on her arm. The man's grip on her lower arm was like a vice as she tugged and tried to pull her arm free. She would plant her feet in hopes to gain some leverage and tugged “Please let me go” she pleaded “I didn't do anything” still no reply for large man that dragged her behind him. Plo realized that her best defense was a good offense, she pulled once more on her arm and used the large Stalkers grip to swing forward and kick the man in lead walking ahead of her. He blow sent him forward a bit. He turned to face her in his white lab coat and rage in his eyes. It was clear by his expression that she was getting on his last nerve. He turned and continued while she continued to fight against the grip.

Finally after listening to her 'whine about letting her go' he snapped about and walked right up to her. The Shadow Stalker stopped in mid stride as the man lowered himself to Plo. “Listen up! I can't kill you, but that doesn't mean I can't make the last remaining moments you have with us a living nightmare” he snapped at her as she pulled back from him in fear. He could see in her face the same defiance that ran so deep in her family. He whipped his hand back to smack her but saw the Stalker ready to protect the Puppet Master's new prize. His eyes narrowed as he lowered his hand. “I know what will cause you to claim down and behave.” He stood back up, “Follow me!” he ordered the Stalker as he walked down the corridor once more.

As they continued down the corridor the man moved ahead once more as Plo continued to fight against the Stalker's grip. Her demands for freedom echoing down the corridor causing others to look to see what the commotion was. Had this not been a Crusade ship, Plo might have received some attention from on lookers. Yet, everyone knew that no one questions the actions of the Stalkers. They answer solely to the Puppet Master. A few glanced to see what was going on, but no one dared to intervene. Plo could tell that others simply didn't care at all about her plight. The man led her to a room with large bay windows. He smiled as he walked over to the windows, “Just in time”

He turned to her with an evil smile. “Behave yourself and watch what happens to those who are not useful” he said and motioned for her to be allowed to watch.

The Shadow Stalker moved Plo to the window and she could see down in some kind of large landing bay. There was a group of people down there. She looked closely and saw many different races set up in rows. There were armed guards dressed like the man that was dragging her to her own fate. Other men in lab coats were walking up and down the rows pulling individuals out of the rows and sending them somewhere. She could tell that most of them where broken and even crying. She saw a young Twi'lek boy pulled from the arms of what had to be his mother. She cried out from her son and Plo could even hear her cries through the thick glass.

She looked to the man in the lab coat, “What is going on down their?”

He just grinned at her, “Just wait and see.”

Plo turned her head and watched as the men in white coats finished walked up and down the rows. As the last of the men with coats left the hanger she watched as another armored man walk up to the center of the room. He commanded the guards to move the people in a tighter group near the center of the bay. She closed her eyes as she knew what was going to happen. The force was clearly showing her the evil she was about to witness. She didn't want to watch but something demanded that she continued. She took a deep breath as she opened her eyes once more. She turned her head to watch more closely. Something caught her eye but she was not sure what it was. Almost as if something had called out to her. She carefully turned her attention in the direction of the two large shuttles on the far side of the bay. Beyond them she saw something strange along the wall of the landing bay. Near one of the large vents she saw a white bushy tail slip in to the vent and the cover return to where it belonged. Her eyes widened as she saw it. Still disbelieving what she had just seen, her sight slowly turned towards the other two men with her. She was fearing they had seen it also. To her relief, they had not seen it. She pondered what it was and had her ideas. She closed her mind to it as she went back to watching the event in the center of the bay.

What sense of hope she had in that moment was lost when she heard the man below speaking. The man in the white coat with her must had turned on the speaker up here. “Each of you have have suffered a great deal. For this we are very sorry. Our war is against Force Users only. Not those normal, like you. IF you will turn around, you will see the shuttle coming in to pick you up.” he motioned as the large group of beings turned to see a shuttle moving closer. Plo knew all this was untrue. She already knew their fate was sealed and there was nothing she could do about it. She watched helplessly as the guards lined them up while the man continued to speak, “We are going to set you all free and return you to your respected homeworlds.” Plo watched with a profound sense of sadness in her heart as the landing bay shields were dropped. The people were sucked out in to space as they screamed and tried to hold on to something, anything. None of the guards moved as the entire area was vented in to space.

Plo forced herself to watch the horrifying display with pain in her heart. She heard the man next to her move closer to her, “Do you see what happens around here. Behave or else!”

Plo was still terrified but she knew that there was nothing she could do to help those people. She turned to the man and said the only thing that could come to her mind, “If anything were to happen to me then your FUCKED!” she snapped getting in to his face.

“You little disrespectful bitch!” he said as he moved to slap her. Once more the Stalker moved to protected his master's prize. The blow was caught and blocked before it could hit Plo.

No one could see her smile. She couldn't change what was going to happen to her or to others. But in this moment she won a victory. She remembered one of the first lessons of her Master, *“Crossing a river without knowing the river would lead you to a watery grave. Being a Jedi is just like crossing the river. Yet you are the water that flows. You must know who you are before you can reach your goals.”* She moved from her perch and nodded, 'I am going to be a Jedi someday. Not because I want to avenge this. Because I want to defend others like them. And you will not take this from me' she thought as she walked out of the room under her guards grip once more. This had been meant to push fear in to her heart and make her weaker. This event only made her more sure of what she wanted for herself.

She didn't fight anymore. She only focused on the lessons that her Master tried to teach her. She knew that her time limit but she choose to make the best of it. She walked along taking note of everything she could while remembering as much as possible. She was unsure of what to expect from this place she was going but something told her not to fear and so she didn't. She remembered how her Master told her that the force was very strong in her bloodline and that all she needed do was trust in the force and it would guide her. They walked for a long time while her mind was distracted with the details of the ship and what she saw. However all that faded once they walked in to some kind of factory. She could see workers all over the place doing strange tasks. She noticed the young Twi'lek boy from the bay, standing scared in a line of other beings. She looked at them and saw that each one of them were force users. She was confused as to what was going on.

They were being set down in a chair and something placed around their head. The workers did something to them and their faces went blank. They seemed to loss their will to resist or even show emotion. She wondered if this was going to happen to her as well. However, she heard the man with her tell one of the workers that she was to be placed directly 'IN.' She turned and looked confused as she was lead up to a large platform. There were a number of holes in the floor. She turned her attention to the young boy who was crying and speaking in Ryl. He was saying how he was missing his mother. Plo felt so sad for the young boy as she knew his pain. Closing her eyes, she let go the fears of her own fate and reached out through the force for him. She felt his mind through her own and she tried to give him comfort. She opened her eyes to see that he was looking at her. She tried to hold that as long as possible but she felt the ground under her give way. Fear once more over came her heart and mind as she was lowed down the dark hole. As she was being lowered in to the hole, red lights turned on. As she neared the bottom she felt so hot as something was about be unleashed on her. In that moment of pure fear and terror, she let out a scream with her mind, 'DAZ!'

For a few seconds the steam rose out of the hole that consumed Plo. As quickly as the steam rose up it started to fade. A large crane moved above the hole and reached down in to it. The crane lifted the thick slab of carbonite from the basin and set it down on the deck. It hit the deck with a loud thud as workers walked over to check it out. The metallic frozen image of Plo cast an eerie feeling as the other force users saw what was about to happen to them. One of the workers nodded while he talked on a holocommunicator and motioned the device in front of the readings, “See My Lord, she survived the transition.”

There was a 'Thank you, Mr. Tra'ool' before the line went dead. The man in the white lab coat nodded, “Good, take her to storage and make sure that she is labeled correctly. The Master will need her in the future.”

The workers all nodded as they got to work carrying out the orders. No of them cared as the man and the Stalker left. They programmed the slab and recorded who was in it. Within moments it lifted off the ground slowly by the repulsers. One of the workers pushed it along as he took Plo to storage. He walked the slab through the large blast doors and in to a large storage room. On either side of the walkway were hundreds of slabs similar to Plo's. Each one housing a Force Users of some kind. Some were just refugees like the ones that had been caught today. Others were fully trained Jedi that had disappeared without a trace. Some were even Sith and dark siders that had crossed the Crusade's radar. Each were now just a number in a massive filling system.

Preena walked through the shuttle slowly as the Stalker showed her to a seat. The large armored man walked away from her and set near the rear door that she had just walked through. Preena just looked to the rear of the shuttle with sad eyes as her mind started to wonder. Her gaze slowly shifted down towards her feet as she took in a deep breath. She slowly let it out in a long sigh. The feeling of complete betrayal washed over her as she thought of her former Master who was surely dead by now and the other Jedi who had died today. She didn't know them very well during the time that they were together. She spent most of her time talking with the Kel Dor teenager who was closer to her age.

Preena wondered about the girl named Plo. She hoped that the girl was alright and that nothing horrible had happened to her. The fears of her own fate drifted in to the back of her mind while she set alone in the shuttle waiting for the man that saved her life. Her mind was on Plo as she reached out with the force to touch her. She could feel Plo's presence nearby as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back. 'Please be well' she thought as she opened her heart to the young Kel Dor. In the back of her mind she heard a scream that caused her to rip open her eyes in terror. She heard what could only be Plo's death she called out for someone. Preena leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees as she cupped her head in her hands. “I'm sorry Plo” she said in sadness as her eyes welled up with tears.

“Don't worry about her. She be just fine.” The Puppet Master said coldly as he walked in with a few other men and women.

Preena looked up at the man as he set across from her, “I felt her die” she stated confused. She watched the other men and women set closer to the front of the shuttle away from them.

The Puppet Master picked up a holocommunicator, “Mr. Tra'ool,” he said and waited for the image to appear in its bluish ghostly state.

“Yes, My Lord” the image replied.

“The Jedi named Plo, the Kel Dor sister of Daz Murl, is she still alive and what is her state” The Puppet Master asked softly.

The imaged nodded, “One second My Lord we are pulling her out of the chamber now.” The image shifted to that of a large slab, “See My Lord, she survived the transition.”

“Thank you, Mr. Tra'ool” he said softy and closed the link before the man could reply. “See, I told you to not worry about her. Trust me Preena, I have no reason to lie to you.”

Preena nodded as she listened and felt the shuttle start to depart the larger ship, “If you will not lie to me, then please tell me what will happen to me?”

The Puppet Master smiled in such a way that sent a fear pulsating up and down her spin, “Well for starters young Preena, you will continue your Jedi training under some of the best teachers the Jedi Order has had in its entire existence. You will learn about our mission and who we are. You will be trained to become a powerful Jedi and a loyal follower to the Crusade. As we speak right now, a team of my agents are heading to find your family on Fu'ish'Ple.” he held up his hand to cut off her comment before she could speak, “Yes I know about them. They will be taken care of from this day forward. Your mother, father and two brothers will never need for anything again. Our help to them will come in terms of a very pleasant offer for your father of which he will not turn away. They will be transported to a location where they will be able to have regular visits from you while your training continues.”

“We believe that a persons inner strength comes from their routes with their family. Unlike the Jedi who wishes to sever these routes we wish to build and strengthen them. This is why we will help your father with his addiction problems to make him in to a better man for your mother and a better role model for you.” He leaned back in the seat as he felt the shuttle slip in to hyperspace.

Preena tried to take it all in, “But why?” she managed to question while her mind raced with the understanding of why all this was happening to her now.

His smile broadened, “Because Preena, some time in the future, you will sit on the Jedi Council and you will help us continue to destroy their organization. Just like so many before you, you will train for this mission for years to come. You will learn the skills you need to pass their Hunter Squads and fool their investigators.” He paused to let her speak the question he could see in her eyes.

“How do you know I will become a Master of the Council” she asked softly almost fearing the answer.

“I know this, because we will make it happen for you. When this day does come, you will walk in to the Temple with your head held high and sit as a Council member and feed our forces vital information that will help us crush them.” The tone and level of coldness in his voice scared her beyond anything else.

“Why do you have to crush them. I heard the stories of so much war and death. Why do you have to add to the killing” she asked confused.

He leaned forward and slowly got up from his seat. Moving next to her and sitting back down, “there is a war that has been going on for thousands of years. We didn't start this war, they did. They created the Hunter Squads and set them loss on the Galaxy. They are the ones who bend the Force to their will and use it to rip the destiny of others away. In small groups, Force Users like yourself are easy to hold in check. It is when they grow in to powerful organizations like the Jedi do they pose a threat to the entire Galaxy. Do you recall reading about the Sith Empire?” He asked and watched as she nodded, “See the Jedi are not like the Sith Empire yet. However if left unchecked that is what they can become. You wouldn't want that would you?” He waited once more for her to shake her head no. “So we have to keep them in check and keep them from growing out of control. But you will learn all about that during your training.”

She looked down for a moment and thought. Everything he said seemed to make sense but at the same time she knew the Jedi were not evil like the Sith. But then again she did hear the horror stories about the Jedi Civil War from the other Jedi she met today. Entire planets caught up in the conflict were laid to waste. 'Was there truth to what he said' she questioned in her mind. She looked back at him, “Will I live with you?”

He shook his head, no, “You will be off training and it is unlikely we will see each other for months at a time. However, I will be watching you very closely Preena. Never will a day pass that I will not know what you are doing. Some times I will come and visit you. Others I will send my messengers to let you know that I am still part of your life. However, you will be close to your family, Preena, because they should be important to you. You will be trained to never let anyone know who you work for now. Once you have this lesson well learned, you will see them regularly. Would you like that” he asked her.

She nodded her head slowly, “Yes I do miss them.”

“I know you do. It was wrong of the Jedi to keep you from them” he said as he pulled up a datapad, “One thing for the Jedi, they take really good records of everything.” He looked through it as pages passed by the screen, “Ah here it is,” he said with a frown, “Youngling Preena's desire for her parents and siblings would ultimately be her own undoing. It is my suggestion that she not be placed for Padawanship at this time till she can learn to control these feelings” he read from the data pad, “This was written by a Jedi Master Megusile, do you know him?”

She nodded once more, “He was in charge of my youngling class.”

The Puppet Master frown faded as he looked at her, “We want you to have strong role models in your parents to look up to. Once you learn to keep your training secret and do well, you will have them in your life. Does this make you happy?”

She smiled as she heard the news and nodded, “Yes Sir.”

He nodded, “Good, I am glad that you like this. Then you shall start your training once you arrive at your new home. Your family should follow you shortly. Train hard while showing your worth and you will see a world of rewards for them and yourself.”

She continued to smile as she lunged forward at him and placed her arms around him in a hug, “Thank you Sir!” she said with happiness in her voice.

The Puppet Master also smiled as he returned the hug, “You are welcome Preena” he replied. She could never image what was in store for her. He knew that he had to set up the next game for the Crusade. It is what made them so deadly to the Jedi and other force users. The Crusade will never stop planning the further destruction of all force users throughout the Galaxy. His eyes told the story that has been told time and time again. His hand ran up to the back side of her head as he held her tightly. The Puppet Master has a brand new puppet to mold and make ready for tomorrow's new conflict in their war against Force Users.