The Inferno (Book 7)

[Akirapryde]

(7.20) Lonely Hearts
Guest Quarters
Southern Palace
Kingdom of Lorta
22 August, 1938

Dia Zall knelt down before her wardrobe trunk, placing her hands in the center of the top surface. She slowly ran her teal hands back and forth across the smooth leather covering. She then moved her hands to the front, dangling her thumbs over the brass clasps which secured the trunk lid closed. Simultaneously, she gently grazed the metal in circular motions before releasing them with a double clicking sound. She opened the lid of the trunk to uncover several of her favorite robes, headdresses, and jewelry pieces. One by one, she removed each treasure, and placed it neatly on the carpet next to her. At the bottom was a bundle of purple cloth secured with twine. She stared at the bundle, then sighed before removing it. She stood up, securely hugged the parcel against her chest, and slowly walked across the room to her tidily made bed. She took a seat and held the parcel in her lap. She carefully pulled the ends of the twine, undoing the bow on top of the packaging. She unraveled the twine, then closed her eyes as she ran her fingers over the cloth, reminiscent of what it was like to caress her father's shirt when it was warm against his chest. She breathed in deeply, trying hard to recall his scent, before exhaling and opening her eyes. She then placed the purple bundle next to her on the bed and slowly unfolded the cloth, revealing that the purple fabric was a scarf, which was wrapped around a book.

The book was a copy of The Light, written by her father, Xan Zall. She took great care in picking up the book, as if it were an ancient tome. She turned the book over and placed it next to the scarf. The front cover was facing downward, exposing the back of the dust jacket, which had a rather handsome photograph of Xan printed on it. She picked up the scarf and wrapped it around herself, covering her arms. She wrapped the ends around her hands, clenching them as she crossed her arms over her chest. The scarf squeezed her tightly as she closed her eyes and drew air deep within her lungs. She was desperately trying to remember exactly how it felt to be embraced by him, and to have felt so loved. She cherished the purple scarf, for he was wearing it on the cold day they met. He removed it from around his neck and draped it over her shoulders as he promised to help and take care of her. “It looks beautiful on you,” Xan said to the child dressed in rags, “It matches your eyes, which are my favorite color.”

Dia loosened the scarf and draped it over her neck as she lightly touched the back cover of the book with her fingertips. She softly stroked the photograph of her father with her thumb and gazed toward the entrance to her temporary quarters and if he could walk in at any moment. She picked up the book and carefully opened it, but not too wide to avoid damaging the spine. On the first page, there was an inscription: “24, August 1937, To Dia, my beloved eldest child, on the day of your very first performance, I present to you the first copy of my first book. There is not a father in the galaxy as proud as I am today. I love you with every fibre of my being. Love, your father, Xan Zall.”

Dia's amethyst colored eyes began to leak tears. She closed the book and held it with the side that showed the photo of her father facing inward against her breasts. Her mind transported her back in time, to exactly one year ago, the day he first presented the book to her. As she closed her eyes, her face began to feel the heat of the stage lights that were shining on her that day. It was very bright as she stood on stage, but she could still see her father sitting in the back of the audience, lightly shrouded by the white veil effect created by the lights. She did not sing to the audience, but only to him. As the orchestra began to play, she was nervous, but the audience began to dissipate once she met the gaze of her father. As far as she was concerned, only the two of them existed in the galaxy.

Her face lit up angelically as she sang the words, “I'm a little lamb who's lost in the wood,
I know I could, always be good, To one who'll watch over me...” She tried hard not to smile. There was an image she was attempting to convey, which was that of the the little lost lamb she was singing about. She couldn't help but show how ecstatic she was to see the pride on her father's face as he watched her sing. She hoped that he wouldn't view her smiling face as a failure, but all fear was extinguished once she saw his pride as he nodded in approval along with the slow tempo of the song.

Her heart started to race as she approached the end of the song. She felt as if the final note would never end, although she nailed it. Her eyes never left Xan, who's eyes never left her. As the final note faded, the audience began to roar, giving her a standing ovation. The crowd may has well not have been there. Her perception of time slowed as she watched her father stand up, screaming “bravo!” as he applauded. Dia wanted nothing more in life than to please her father.

“Join me again in welcoming Dia Zall, the eldest of Senator Xan Zall's adopted children! This is her first, and hopefully not her last, appearance on the Dinky Droid Show,” announced the host, with great enthusiasm. Dia was disgusted by the insinuation that she was adopted, although she obviously was not his biological child. Her gut was wrenching over how tasteless she felt it was for the host to point it out. However, she smiled pleasantly and bowed gracefully to the crowd of children. Her eyes were no longer fixed on Xan, who was nudging his way through the crowd toward side of the stage. She channeled her excitement about her approaching father into laughing and acting ecstatic to have been appearing on the show. She watched as Dinky Droid spun in front of her like a top and bleeped and flashed with excitement, while several other mascots danced and applauded around her. She looked around, smiling and shaking hands with each one of them.

The Dinky Droid Show was a G-Net affiliated holovid program, disguised as an educational show, but designed to subtly brainwash children to hate the republic. The premise was centered around a lovable droid, which was embellished to resemble a clown with a propeller on the very top of his trash can shaped body. The droid frequently malfunctioned as part of the show, which was written in as a result of having been victimized by a republic attack ordered by Chancellor Daz Murl. The malfunctions were part of Dinky's charm and the other characters would foster the children's critical thinking skills by engaging them in helping to solve how to fix Dinky. Once the problem is diagnosed, the children are enlisted to help find the three parts needed for the repairs. Then the special guests place the parts onto the droid as the children scream out where they think each piece goes. Once the pieces are in their correct places and the repairs are complete, Dinky reboots and his propeller spins, as he beeps and flashes lights. Everybody then joins in to interpret the beeps and lights to decode the daily lesson Dinky has to share.

The set was very bright. The floor of the stage was bright green, with a bright blue winding river painted down the middle. The curtains were baby blue to represent a sunny day. Flat clouds hung from the rafters and there were two humans in round, plushy sun costumes, one large and one small, dangling from the ceiling. The sun mascots swung from wires attached to the rafters and waved. There was palace balcony on the side of the stage, with a rainbow slide that led down to the floor. This is how special guests, like Dia, made their entrances.

The regular cast included a second droid who acted as an interpreter who steered the children to the correct conclusions. He was actually a human in a costume. The costume was bright yellow and the exterior was actually cloth. All of the animal characters were played by humans and all of the costumes, with exception for the metallic Dinky Droid, were plump and plushy with exaggerated features. Dia laughed and danced with the cast as she impatiently waited for the director to scream “that's a wrap!”

When he finally did, and the red light that indicated she was being recorded blinked off, she ran to Xan, and jumped up, wrapping her arms around his neck. He picked her up and spun her around as she giggled with delight. Once he put her down, he spoke proudly “Dia! My darling little girl! I am so very proud of you,” he spoke intermittently, interrupting his own words with kisses to Dia's forehead. He lifted her to the tips of her toes by grabbing her by her upper thighs. His fingertips were digging into her inner thighs as his thumbs grasped her buttocks. She looked up at his face, smiling, then placed her head against his chest and once again embraced him. He moved his right hand to the small of her back, stabilizing her on her toes, as he stroked her lekku with the left. His cheek was pressed to the top of her head, his lips bussing her skin as he spoke, “Dia, you are my favorite child. I love you so very much. I thank the Light for bringing you to me.”

Xan let her go and turned away from her, motioning to his assistant, who was cradling a very large bouquet, which contained a variety of blue, purple, and white flowers. He also held a gift wrapped in metallic blue paper, secured with a purple ribbon. Xan took the flowers from his assistant and handed them to Dia, who smelled and embraced them. Her face lit up when she saw that her father had brought her a gift, “Oh! Thank you father,” she exclaimed with excitement, “You are the best father in all the galaxy!”

Xan gently pulled the flowers away and handed them back to his assistant in exchange for the blue package. He knelt down on to one knee before his impatient daughter, “Darling, this is very special. Do you mind if I open it for you?”

Dia smiled and vigorously shook her head back and forth, “No! No, not at all, father!”

Xan carefully pulled the ends of the purple ribbon and tore back the blue metallic paper with care, unveiling a book. Dia slowly read the title aloud, “The Light, by Xan Zall!” The pitch and volume of her voice raised as she read his name. Her amethyst eyes sparkled as she questioned in disbelief, “Father! You wrote a book?”

“Yes, my love!” he stood up and twisted her around, so that he was then positioned behind her. He pulled her in tightly, pressing himself against her backside, and placed his chin on her forehead. With his arms encircling her, Xan held the book up to her her face and peeled back the cover, revealing an inscription, which he read to her, “24, August 1937, To Dia, my beloved eldest child, on the day of your very first performance, I present to you the first copy of my first book. There is not a father in the galaxy as proud as I am today. I love you with every fibre of my being. Love, your father, Xan Zall.”

Dia twirled around and embraced him, “Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, father,” she screamed with delight! “I am so proud to be your daughter and I am so proud of you too!”

Xan handed the book to his assistant, who was looking away as if he didn't notice the scene that was transpiring between the father and his daughter. He turned back to Dia and kissed her on her forehead as he fondled the length of her Lekku. Once he reached the ends, he lightly tickled the tips. He placed his blue hands onto her teal cheeks and took a step back away from her. “Darling,” he sullenly explained, “I have a meeting I have must get to...”

“No, father!” Dia screamed, “No! You can't!” Her eyes began to tear up, “Father, you just can't! You just got here and now you are leaving me again!”

Xan wiped Dia's eyes with his thumbs, then slowly moved his hands down her face, down her neck, and stopped when his palms rested just above her breasts. He gently thumbed her collarbones as he kneaded her shoulders with his fingertips. “My dear,” he softly explained, “this is senator business. You would be bored. I would take you, but...”

“Take me!” She screamed, tears streaming down her face.

Xan pulled a purple handkerchief out the breast pocket of his business suit and wiped away her tears. He handed the handkerchief to her and placed his hands back onto her cheeks as he agreed to her demand. “Okay,” he said as he pulled her lower lip down with his thumb, which she lightly kissed. He took her by the hand and left the studio. Trailed by his assistant, who still held the book and bouquet, they headed toward a conference room. On her way out, Dia met a lot of positive feedback for her performance, from both the show's personnel and the child audience. Many members of the staff stopped to greet both Dia and Xan. Most of the staff was composed of Senator Zall supporters.

Once they reached the conference room, Xan held the door open for Dia. She walked in, followed by her father and his assistant. Inside, she saw representatives of at least 50 different species. Many she had never seen before. Xan stood beside her, placed his hand upon her shoulder and announced, “Allow me to introduce my eldest daughter, Dia. She was in the studio recording her first holovid performance. She has decided to come along today to observe so that she may follow in my footsteps.” He looked at her, and smiled with pride. With his arm around his beautiful trophy child, he continued, “Now, tell me more about this organization you call the RAH.”

[Akirapryde]

(7.21) Transitions
Cheel's Record Studios
The Kingdom of Lorta
Mid-Rim World of Lorta
7th September, 1938

Welcome to Cheel's Records. One of the largest labels on Lorta and well known for finding some of the hottest stars and starlets across the region. Here dreams are made or lost at the slide of the controls. With some of the finest furniture shipped in from across the galaxy lining the large five story building, many would easily mistake the studio's humble beginnings. It was Tedn Cheel who founded the record label to help young new stars to break in to the industry. With the ear of a master businessman, Mr. Cheel has been able to spot some of the best talent out there. With his business model in mind, Mr. Cheel had been known to take risks that has cost him fortunes in the past. However, from these risks he has been able to find silver, gold and platinum. In the industry across the region, the name Tedn Cheel has been known as the Dream Maker. The walls of his studios bare witness to the hard work of the performers under his label. Large silver, golden and platinum disks lined these walls and told the story of this producer's brilliance as a media master mind. Like most days, the studio is a buzz with activity as artists of all walks of life work hard day in and day out to hone their skills and master their dreams. All of them, hold stars in their eyes as they reach ever higher for that golden dream that is called Stardom. Each filled with hope, promise and excitement over the simple fact that here they are. Working side by side with the man known as the Dream Maker.

Though not all upcoming stars here have the same level of excitement. In studio 3A, five members sit at their stations puring their hearts in to their music as two young Twi'leks blind their voices together in near prefect harmony. The male Twi'lek names Ar'stel held his eyes closed as he felt through each note, each move of the song. Never missing a single beat of the music, this was his chance and he was not about to loss it. The female Twi'lek however, her heart was not in the song. Her eyes half opened, her thoughts focused on the moment instead of the song. Her heart seemed to be lost somewhere between her dream and the moment. Within the eyes of the musical artiest, the frustration over Dia's lack of focus was clearly seen. Their disappointment in Dia's performance didn't help Dia's ability to focus on the song. The song was the problem. It was not one her of own and was not the style that she wanted to sing. Even though she attempted to put her heart in to the song that didn't seem to fit who she was. Dia turned to face the large window that divided the studio she was singing in and the engineer's control room where they were actually working through the recording of the song. It was not that she liked or disliked the song, it just was not her. This is what was causing Dia the most disappointment within this recording. Beyond the glass, watching her was Mr. Cheel. His large black eyes and milky white skin was common for his Bith race. He shook his head once more as it was clear that Dia was not giving her full to the song.

Still Dia was not happy over the events of the last week. The performance was one of the ages. Dia put her heart and soul in to it and felt like it was her best ever. Sure the stage act was far from what she had hoped for, but that was not her fault. It was after all the lack of help from the stage manager which is the reason why her stage act was not on par with her singing. But her singing however, was by far the one of the best of the night's performances. One would have thought that based off of her performance on stage that the Managers and Producers would have beaten a path to Dia's door. In fact, Dia had already had her dreams of stardom filling her eyes before the night was over. She couldn't even sleep that night as she waited for the reviews and the calls for interviews. Surely this was her moment. That night she laid out the songs for her first album, that she would dedicate to her Father. She even wrote a new song in honor of this moment. She even worked on her acceptance of her first contract. This was surely her moment in history and she was ready to take full opportunity of it.

The reality of the situation was much more painfully different than what Dia had expect. In fact, the morning paper didn't even hold a single image of Dia or a review of her performance the night before. Dia's despair almost got the best of her when she saw that the headlines of all of the news papers were of Lut Sha's arrest by bounty hunters. Somehow the story had leaked out and now was headlining across Lorta. Not one paper that Dia could find was not running the story on the front page. There were pictures of her in her Palace Uniform talking of how much of a great job Sha had done in such a short time. The stories of how now she was to be taken off world to face charges on some obscure world across the galaxy. The rest of the front pages spoke of Sha's performance as Head of Security within the Palace Guards and the professional work that she had done in undermining the RAH activities on Lorta. The stories of how Sha had saved the Reich singer Alizee were filled with grandstanding and luster that was common with Sha. There were opinion pieces written about the outspoken and brave Tess'Shar, calling her the next Joff of Lorta. It was of no sense of comfort to Dia that her name was only mentioned on page sixteen as a reference to an upcoming star who performed the night before. Worse yet, they spelled her name wrong!

Despite this, Dia held her hopes high and waited for those calls that she knew were coming to come. And on day two, just one of those calls finally did come. She was visited by a manager who claimed to make Dia a star over night. He talked a very good game but Dia saw right through his behavior and understood that he could not deliver on his promises. She might be young but she wasn't stupid. Perfectly as her father had taught her, Dia was polite and listened to the man. Once he was done with his pitch, Dia politely asked the guards to escort him out. There were a few tense moments but Dia was never concerned for her safety as Makaw's orders still stood and her guards ensured that she was safe at all times. By day four, Dia felt her heart sank she started to feel like she had made a mistake in this endeavor. It was growing harder for her to hold on to that dream, but she still did hold on. She would do what ever it takes to make hers a reality. There was nothing that was going to stop her from achieving her goals. Her hopes and patiences were rewarded late in the evening of day four. She got a phone call from a Mr. Cheel asking her to come down to his studio to meet with him and talk about a possible contract. He gave her a time and warned her of being late. Dia would make sure that she would be there over an hour early.

They talked some and he seemed pleasant enough though Dia could sense that this guy was the kind of man that didn't take any crap from anyone. It was clear that he wouldn't take crap even from his own performers. He asked her to sing a few songs for him and she felt that she sang rather well, though she could not tell if he was impressed or not. He had to have enjoyed what he heard, because he offered her a contract. The terms were pretty complex but what Dia could understand, the over all value of the contact would be seven million credits. With a half buy out clause prior to the end of the second year of the five year contract. Dia would receive five percent from record sales, twenty percent from live performances. He would agree to produce six full albums and a unlisted number of singles on her behalf. What Dia didn't like within the contact was the fact that the record label would own all music that Dia would preform while under their label. She was more unsettled by the fact that the contract didn't mention anything about buying her songs back from the record label once she was no longer under them. She did like the idea that the record label would advertise her name and get her music out to the masses. Heading back to her room in the Palace, she felt almost as if she had been beaten in to submission during the negotiations. However, if this is what it would take to break in to this industry, Dia would take it. After all, she had her own music and her and her father's message would get out. Funny how fate had other plans for young Dia.

The very next day, a pair of women showed up at the Palace to meet with Dia regarding her first single. It was a bit faster than Dia had expected but this was the nature of the business, Dia thought. Dia greeted them with a pleasant manner and a broad smile on her face. This was it, her first single and her first real move in to the music industry. However, Dia felt like someone had slammed their fist right in to her gut as they handed her the song that she was to sing. For the first time in Dia's life, she actually felt like she had sold her soul to the Dark Lord of the Music Industry. This song was not her own work. Someone else had written it and she was being asked to sing it. It took all of Dia's willpower to keep the smile on her face till they left. Dia set down and read the song's lyrics. She couldn't deny that they were good and that over all the song was well written. It just wasn't her song and more importantly it wasn't who she was. The song was very up beat, the words were near comical as Dia read them. The real question was, could Dia stomach singing such a song. This might actually be her breaking point. She had two days to master the song and be ready to record it back at the studios.

The night passed uneventful for Dia as she set out on her balcony thinking of this horrible song. The set back actually had her in tears as she thought of her own music. She couldn't help but consider why her own music was not good enough for them. Why they had chosen this one song to be her first mass produced song. She had hoped to be more than just an entertainer. She wanted to bring deep thought to the masses through her songs. She wanted to be a lighthouse during these dark times. She wanted to be that messenger that her father kept saying she was going to be. The end of the first day, she had a visit from Mr. Cheel who was not pleased that Dia had not bothered to study her song. At first the conversation was more cordial however the more Dia dug her heels in, the more negative the tone turned. Mr. Cheel laid it out for Dia, that he was taking a chance on her. That this was not the only song that she could produce with him. However, it will be the first or none at all. He left her faced with this choice. Be ready tomorrow or not at all. Dia once more felt that fist in the gut and she retreated to her balcony once more. She was forced to consider her future and her career. Dia felt as if she let her beloved father down and was convinced that she had in fact sold her soul. Still, Dia would be ready to record the song, even if it meant breaking her own heart. At least she would try to sing it.

The speaker in the room kicked on once more as the music came to a stop. “Dia” Mr. Cheel said softy, “Where is the passion that I heard a few nights ago. I want to be able to hear this same passion in your voice as you sing this song.”

Dia sighed as she heard the frustration from her support musicians behind her. She brushed off their grumblings, “My passions came from the songs that I wrote” Dia said with disappointment in her voice. “Those songs were my passion. This song is the passion of a Neanderthal.”

“Dia, a Neanderthal might have written that song full of passion. But I can assure you that this song will be on the charts by the end of the month. I can not assure you the same for some of the songs that you sang the other night. Still you have a voice that rings like bells at the cathedral. I know you don't like this song Dia. But this is the song you must sing for now. You have to learn to bring passion in to your work even if you don't like that work.” Mr. Cheel explained hoping to get Dia out of her bratty mood and on track with the recording.


Dia stepped forward towards the large window, “It is hard to have passion when I know that I will not be taken for a serious artist.” She paused to think of what to add and finally found what she was looking for. “I feel like I am insulting my own intelligence by singing these lyrics.”

Dia could easily see the anger on his face, “Dia . Do you know what a Black Star in the music industry is?” he asked and not waiting for a reply. “A Black Star is a singer whom no one is willing to work with because of their unreasonable demands” He said slowing rising out of his chair. “Look around, Dia. That is six thousand credits an hour that we are wasting so you can argue with me about a song you don't like.”

Dia was starting to get upset as she spoke, “Is it so unreasonable to want to sing a song that was written by someone who had reason in their mind.” She paused once more, “Whom ever wrote this nursery rhyme, lacked reason.”

“Lacked reason?” Mr. Cheel asked. She could also hear her own band members sighing once more at the disruption, “Dia, can you answer me something? Tell me love, how many songs have you produced that made it to the top?” He was filled with confidence and was also sure of what this answer would be. He didn't bother to wait for her answer once more. “It is my job to take you to the top. You will do the performances for sure, but you must trust my experience in this.” He set back down, “Dia I can make you a star, if you will let me.” he added.

Dia didn't back away from the window, “You came to me because you saw my performance. Why did you come to me if my music was not good enough for you.” Dia asked demanding an answer.

Mr. Cheel raised his hands, “Your music was fine. Not worthy of praise or condemnation, but fine. It was your voice that I truly was drawn to.” He said in truth. “ Dia you have to play to your audience. They will not like some of your work. Trust me, I was in the crowd that night. I saw the reaction on their faces. Yes in the moment they were filled with your energy. However that kind of energy fades fast on most consumers. You need music that will call to them and beckon them to you.”

Dia's shoulders slumped once more as if she had been told that everything of who she is was not good enough. She turned to face the mic as it stood in the center of the room. The eyes of the band members' were still watching her every move and in that moment Dia let out a sigh of defeat. 'To you, my soul. Dark Lord' she thought in despair of the man just beyond the glass. She walked back to the mic as if she was walking up the steps of the gallows to her pending execution. Her heart sank deeper and deeper with each step as the mic came closer. Her hand reached out for the mic and she noticed it slowly shaking. She was about to betray her own heart once more. Her mind was made up, she would sing this horrible nursery rhyme. In the distance, Dia heard the soft shattering of her heart. The music started once more as her co-singer cued her in to the song. Dia sang this horrible song with best of her ability. With each lyric that slipped passed her lips, she could see the pride on her father's face give way to disappointment in his eyes as he watched her sell out.

After almost two days of attempting to record this one single, finally the song was recorded to a level that Mr. Cheel would approve it. It took them hours of over time which only made the relationship between Dia and her fellow band members that much more strained. Still, the song was finally recorded. The play back for Dia was that of mixed emotions. She hated the song to her core, but she couldn't deny her own success in singing it. She nailed the performance as best as possible. Long after the rest of the band had packed up and left, Mr. Cheel walked up to Dia and rested a hand on her shoulder. “Don't worry love, you might not love it. But trust me, they will. I have been in this industry long enough to know a good match when I hear it. You have the voice and this writer has the skill needed. With her songs and your voice, you will be a star in no time.”

---

Island of Reg'al
Southern Hemisphere
Outer Rim World of Cyout
7th September, 1938

The rain had been falling for six days none stop and Colonel Jaro Bek had just about as much of this shit hole little world than he could take. The tall, strong and intimidating Arkanian was the commander of Ruzz Boyz, one of the finest mercenary battalions within ranks of the Mercenary Star. As his eyes scanned over the small hill top that they had turned in to a defensible position, he couldn't help but take pride in his men for what they had been able to achieve despite the situation at hand. He knew that his unit had a bad reputation for bending many of the rules of warfare. However, that didn't change the fact that the Ruzz Boyz got their work done no matter the cost. When it came to mission success ratios, no one could hold a light to the Ruzz Boyz. 'Not even those damn Vixens were on par with my boyz' he thought as he looked over the fox holes that littered the hill top. They took on the hard missions that no one else wanted. It was these hard missions that gave the Ruzz Boyz their bad reputation. There were the kind of missions that the moral lines between right and wrong were badly grayed. Still, someone had to do these missions. So it was up to units like his to take on these missions and complete them.

It was this reputation that got the Ruzz Boyz the attention of Fas'its with a special operation. It was a two part mission that called to assist in the removal of a unjust world leader, but before that the capture and removal of some rogue Jedi and their slaver allies off of a world that was important to Fas'its. The details were pretty much on par with what the Ruzz Boyz were normally used to. With the contract price nearly fifty percent higher than the premium cost for the Ruzz Boyz, Colonel Bek didn't give the contract a second thought as he signed it. The contract seemed pretty cut and dry and the pit stop on the world of Cyout was not supposed to last longer than a week. Then they were going to be on their way towards Lorta to assist with the removal of the soon to be crowned King. There was nothing that warned Colonel Bek that something was amiss about the contract or the details within it. Still something didn't sit right with Colonel Bek about this shadow company called Fas'its or their interest with Lorta or Cyout. However, it would not be first time that the Ruzz Boyz were hired by a shadow employer. Colonel Bek understood that some employers wanted to remain off the official records. He hoped that this mission would be as cut and dry as the contract. Everything changed once they arrived on world.

Originally this leg of the mission was only to be a simple mop operation of some rogue Jedi and Slavers. Normally Jedi and Slavers avoided direct combat with mercenaries, so Colonel Bek was not expecting much in terms of combat. Fas'its provided Colonel Bek with good detailed information regarding the Jedi encampment and the scope of their area of control on Cyout. Based on the information, Cyout was a extreme primitive world with a limit population on a large continent far from the site of the Jedi encampment. The Jedi Encampment was located on a large tropical island in the southern hemisphere of the world. There were reports of a number of Jedi ships that had been seen operating in the area. However, based on the intelligence these ships should not cause the Ruzz Boyz any problems during the over all operation. According to the contract, Fas'its has mining interests on the world and needed the Jedi captured or driven off the world. The contract demanded that the conflict be limited to the large island of Reg'al to protect the employer's interests elsewhere on the world.

Colonel Bek and his Ruzz Boyz, which were made up of slightly over seven hundred battle harden troops, landed at a secure landing site in the middle of the night. Like the professional army they are, they off loaded their gear and set up a security perimeter. Here, Colonel Bek left one of his combat companies to protect their transport and the three remaining companies would move on the Jedi encampment. Due to the terrain of the island, the unit was forced to leave their heavy armor behind. Colonel Bek decided to use his ten heavy tracked tanks as part of the security perimeter on their transport. After about an hour, the three combat companies were ready to march on the Jedi. Colonel Bek wrote in his journal that he would hope that they would be able to complete their mission here before the coming rains which he noted seeing on the horizon. He led his troops from the front as they marched on the Jedi encampment just over twenty kilometers away. Colonel Bek had planned that they would march all day towards the encampment and arrive just after nightfall and be able to assest the situation before launching their attack on the Jedi. His plan was well thought out and took all the intelligence he had in to account. However, it was what he couldn't have possibly planned for, that would turn this mission on its ear.

There were hit and run raids conducted throughout the day as the unit march through the thick jungle island. Colonel Bek at first thought that these raids were conducted by the Jedi, though as the hours passed, it was starting to become clear that these raids were not carried out by Jedi. As detailed in his journal, these raids were carried out with a level of skill previously witnessed by Jedi or their slaver allies. Not one raid yield a single body from the attackers. They would fire a short round of burst fire, wounding and killing only a few of his troops. Then as suddenly as they would appear, they would vanish back in to the jungle. At first the raids were conducted against his front elements of his column, then as the day grew on, the raids were conducted up and down the full length of his column. By mid day, the raids had push the frustration up so high that one of his scout unit broke ranks with the column to give pursuit of the raiders. It would be the last time the scout unit would be heard from. Something was going terribly wrong and already Colonel Bek was starting to have second thoughts about this mission. These raids were not the likes of criminals, Jedi or otherwise.

Colonel Bek's fears were confirmed when they reached the bluff that over looked the Jedi encampment. From here, they were to plan the assault on the encampment. However from their advantage, they saw that the encampment had been decimated already. The encampment was the size of a small town with a large five meter metal wall that surrounded the site. Guard towers lined the walls as well as throughout the site. On the far side of the site was a large slave market and training area. They could even make out fields used for growing food and pastors for live stock. A number of small wells provided the encampment with fresh water. There was a small area that could be used for a landing site but it was not reinforced. Colonel Bek knew that his own transport would be too heavy for the soft ground of the landing site. The last thing he wanted was to become trapped on this island while they dug his ship out. The site was just how the intelligence had reported. Everything was right were it was supposed to be. Still, from the bluff they could see the level of death and destruction that littered the encampment.

The encampment had been hit hard by what appeared to be an overwhelming force. Of the Jedi and Slavers at the site, they were all killed. Colonel Bek walked through the encampment searching for answers. The dead had been left where they had fallen during the brutal battle. Normally he would hold no remorse for Jedi and their Slaver allies. However this scene demanded his remorse. Many were murdered in their sleep near the beginning of the battle. What also startled him was that even slaves, children and livestock were all killed. The scene offered a wide range of clues about the attackers without actually identifying them. They were highly organized, equally trained and very motivated to this battle. Their numbers were hard to estimate but it would appear that there were around a hundred or so attackers. Still to take on such a sight, Colonel Bek estimated the actually numbers to be much higher than that. The wounds were a mix between some kind of bladed weapon and ballistic weapons. The attackers wore some kind of powered heavy battle armor which told Colonel Bek that they were at least biped beings. Possibly humans or near humans in race. Based on what he saw, he ruled out Reich Army as the tactics didn't fit the scene. The water supply, as well as the food stores within the encampment were all poisoned. This made them useless for future use. An act that only would make sense much later.

Colonel Bek would record this action in his journal by the statement, “This was no military action, this was nothing short of an eradication of these people.” Judging by the what he was looking at, the attack happened just over a week before the Ruzz Boyz made landfall on world. Even more questions were added to this mystery. With a mountain of evidence, Colonel Bek was surprised that they could not put even a name or organization to who was responsible for this attack. He had his people record everything that they could find. Colonel Bek wanted to make sure that nothing was missed. He knew the importance of a new player on the field and that this was not going to be the last time this unit would be seen. He ordered two of his companies to start to secure the perimeter and get the site secure. The last company would maintain security over watch while the site was being secured. Then company commanders were let their people rest during the night. They would hold here over night and figure out what was going on. By the light of the morning they would decide what to do next.

By the light of the morning, the clouds were starting to darken the skies over head. As the light started bring new clues, scouts reported tracks of possible survivors from the attack. With the site now secured and the guard towers all manned, there was a level of safety felt over the site. Colonel Bek decided to use the site as a base of operations to try and find these survivors and possible learn more about the attackers. The fact that there were survivors of this slaughter was just one more clue for Colonel Bek that he did not over look. Things were really starting to smell bad for him, but he had to find those survivors and confirm his feelings. Not wanting his men to be ambushed and with the site now secured, Colonel Bek sent a company of men to follow the trail. Even though the encampment defensive walls were repaired and the guard towers manned, Colonel Bek moved to add security to the encampment. He was not about to became entrapped by those very walls that now protected them. His scouts were sent out to gather more intelligence on what the hell had happened here. He also gave a call to his transport and advised them to ready for a possible hot evac. He was working on a number of possible plans when those attackers strike again.

He still had a contract to fulfill but he was starting to feel as if the Ruzz Boyz had bitten off more than they could handle. Those survivors were the last of the Jedi and he needed to talk to them if he was to get to the bottom of this. He contacted their employer, Fas'its, and advised them of what his unit had discovered so far. He had informed their employer that they would continue to investigate the situation. Then he took some time to talk to EZ, their fixer. EZ felt the same about the mission as Colonel Bek did, that this mission was starting to turn ugly really fast. EZ agreed to help find a way to get the Ruzz Boyz out of the contract. Colonel Bek was not fond of the idea of breaking his contract but he disliked the idea of dying even more. He gave EZ all of the evidence that they had discovered at this point and agreed that they would report back in twenty four hours or if something changed the situation for them. Colonel Bek was not pleased with all these unanswered questions.

Colonel Bek would have his answers soon enough though. Rather he wanted them or not, he would have them. The company sent to track down the survivors were returning with a good number of both civilian and military prisoners. There were nearly a hundred in total, all suffered from signs of exposure and lack of food and water. Colonel Bek watched the unit march back in to the encampment and could easily see the fear in the eyes of the Jedi, Slavers and civilians alike. He couldn't help but wonder what horrors happened here on that fateful night. He located the leader of the rage tag group, a Togruta female by the name of Vika Laal. He knew the name well. She was a well known Jedi slaver and member of the Jedi Supreme Council till last year. It had fallen under attack last by another underworld criminal organization. Since that attack wiped out most of the Jedi leadership, most like Colonel Bek thought the days of the Jedi were numbered. But they had been holding on by tooth and nail. Now without the larger organization to protect them, former Jedi leaders and their slaver allies, like Laal here were widely hunted by worlds which they had previously once terrorized.

Colonel Bek wasted no time separating Laal from the rest of the prisoners and talking with her. He asked her about the base, the Jedi and what happened here. She told him, that they had been using this base for around ninety years to conduct raids within Varl and Shana'duna space. Colonel Bek knew that the Jedi had to have some degree of space resources here somewhere. Laal confirmed that they did have them before the raid on their encampment. But the night before the attack, their secret hangers on the other side of the island were fire bombed. Their fighters and ships were all destroyed in the attack. She and her people were trapped on this world till help would arrive. What shocked Colonel Bek the most was that Laal said that her group had been driven from the encampment by attackers during the attack. They had been intentionally separated during the attack and forced away from the encampment while others were killed. They were driven to the east by the attackers till they took refuge along a ridge line. Any attempt for them to leave the ridge was met with brutal attack from the unknown attackers. When Colonel Bek's unit arrived and escorted the group back, Laal admitted fear of some attack which never came. The fact that his company was able to locate Laal's group and bring them back here without trouble smelled of trap. Colonel Bak concluded that what ever befell the Jedi was about to fall to his unit as well.

Laal spoke of a vision that she had the night before the attack on her people. She had the vision through her dark magic, which foretold the night of light and the coming of the shadows of the past. She spoke that in that vision several days ago, she she saw Colonel Bek and the light of the night. She warned of horrible monsters that were neither live or dead. From her trance like state, she spoke of death and suffering that had not been seen in the galaxy for two millennia. Even on this dark night high above the island, Bek could still hear her words echoing in his mind, “I am the voice of the past that will always be, Filled with my sorrow and blood in my fields, I am the voice of the future, bring me your peace, Bring me your peace, and my wounds, they will heal.” Colonel Bek hated Jedi and their dark magics. Still he didn't know what her words meant nor what her visions told when she spoke of who or what was behind this. “He is of our world, but Master of the shadows of the past. Alive to command death and darkness, yet laid dead by betrayal. How can that which is dead, be stopped?” Colonel Bek might not fully understand the ways of these dark magics, but being a Godly man, understood that it was time to pull the plug. Even though he hated the idea, he was going to violate his contract. He called his transport and ordered them to dust off from the landing area and pick them up from the encampment. Colonel Bek was not about to let his people die the same way the Jedi and their allies died here.

It was not that hard of a decision for Colonel Bek to make. Between Laal's bounty and her high ranked Jedi bounties that were in his custody already, they could break the contract and still make out with a large profit. Just minutes before the transport was to arrive at the encampment, the rainy night's sky light up like the noon day fallowed by the explosion. Colonel Bek knew that their only means to get off of world was gone and with it their only means to communicate off world also. The situation had gone from escape to survival in the matter of moments. Colonel Bek would personally lead a company to the site where his transport had crashed. They had only managed to make it half way before they were locked in a fire fight with the very same attackers that took down the Jedi encampment. The attackers were good and limited their engagement in such a way to keep Colonel Bek from reaching the crash sight. Over the radio he could hear his men calling for help as a second group of attackers were murdering the survivors of the transport. He was powerless to help them and this drove the Colonel mad with guilt. Despite the urgings of his command staff, he ordered his company forward to attempt to help the survivors at the crash site. The order was disastrous for the company as they were mulled down by well planned ambushes and crossing snipper fire.

With the crash site in sight and losses adding up, Colonel Bek was forced to give up the thrust or risk the complete loss of his remaining company. Only a kilometer separated him from the crash site and still they couldn't reach it. With a heavy heart, he ordered the battered remains of his company back to the fortified encampment which had become their only vestige of hope. Surprisingly, the march back to the encampment was uneventful, as the company marched back in to the encampment in defeat. Colonel Bek stormed in to Laal's cell filled with rage demanding answers to the questions about these dark attackers. Once more, all she could answer was in riddles. “Demons of days gone by. Servants of the one Master cloaked in light and shadows. Unleashed on us all, because we are broken.”

Colonel Bek was filled with rage and drew his pistol and demanded a straight answer from her. He beat her over and over again as he demanded to know who these attackers were. Her eyes told him the truth that he was too afraid to accept. Her answer haunted his memory and journal, “Don't you think I would have told you if I knew myself? This is all I see and hear. Echoes and shadows of the past thrusting themselves in to my mind's eye. I don't know anything more than what I have already told you.”

That was almost a week ago and now Colonel Bek and his Ruzz Boyz had been cut down to just under a hundred troops. Their numbers were also made up of some of the Jedi prisoners that they had captured earlier. The encampment was indeed a trap set for them, the Jedi were only the bait. As the hours passed, more and more of his men were killed by unseen snippers. His patrols to eliminate the snippers were ambushed and killed. With food and water running out, they had to conduct a break out from their own fortified base or risk starving to death. The attackers made this easy for them with a massive attack that came in the early hours of day six from when their transport had been destroyed. The attack was everything that Colonel Bek had expected and could do little to stop. His proud battalion fought with all the professionalism that would bring pride to the Mercenary Star. However they were just simply out matched and now out numbered by these unknown attackers. Colonel Bek watched Laal taken down while fighting for her life against three of these attackers. None of her dark magics seemed to help her in this battle with those attackers. They ended her life as easily as they killed off his own men. Colonel Bek ordered the remains of his unit to flee the encampment and meet up at this predetermined site. He prayed that the Lord would not forsake him as Laal's dark Masters had forsaken her.

Colonel Bek looked over his remaining troops once more with a heavy heart. He knew that the attackers were just down the ridge waiting for the right time to strike. It would be the final hour of the Ruzz Boyz. There would be no last minute rescue for them. No one was looking for them and no one knew that they were fighting for their lives. Here on this Outer Rim world, the Ruzz Boyz were going to vanish in to history. Here Colonel Bek and his men as well as the Jedi survivors they had found would meet their end. Across the field this truth was written in the faces of each man and woman. In a large cave nearby, heavily guarded by Slavers and Jedi, were the last remaining civilians and children from the encampment. Colonel Bek no longer cared for bounties or past actions. This was going to be a fight for life and death. Each person who could carry a weapon was given one. The cool rain fell on this tropical island as the dark skies masked the stars above. Far in the distance, Colonel Bek could see the endless reaches of the ocean of this world. Beyond that ocean, the large continents and the populations there. Even with all the technology which they knew existed, the savages of those continents might as well be on another world. They had no means to leave the island or even communicate off of it. Here they were trapped, and here they were going to die.

Colonel Bek turned back to his journal and wrote, “This is our last battle. Still it is our finest and darkest hour. These unknown, unnamed attackers have bested us in combat and strategy at every turn. For this there is no doubt. Since the destruction of our transport, every move we were forced to make was at their design. The encampment was a trap set for us to fall in to. Hind sight has shown me this already. It is my only hope that this journal will act as witness to the death of the Ruzz Boyz. We sit here on this ridge waiting for their last attack which will spell our end. Our fox holes dug. Lines of defense laid. All that we could do to change this fact has been done. Still it is not going to be enough. Their snippers can target us at much greater ranges than my own can stop them. Their armor is like nothing I have ever seen before. Their tactics and strategy seems to have been born in some dark pit of Hell. On this cursed island, here God has forsaken us all. Here, not even God can hear our prayers for salvation. Here, my Ruzz Boyz will be killed by a much better unit than we are. May God have mercy on our Souls.”

[Akirapryde]

(7.22) Decoys
The Mercenary Star
The Telos Republic
Outer Rim World of Vish'tish
9th September

When one is looking for the very best military units in the galaxy, they only need to look as far as the Mercenary Star. Here the marriage of profit and war takes the mercenary units to horrific levels of skills and abilities. Born out of the ashes of the Republic, the Mercenary Star was founded by the mercenary unit 87th Light Horse. The 87th had been an elite Republic Light Horse Division till the fall of Coruscant when the unit finally went mercenary. After being burned over a contract dispute, the Commander of the 87th decided to create a place where Mercenaries would have an equal voice in dealing with contract disputes and employers would be able to search for units. Originally, the Mercenary Star was founded on Telos and flourished. This lasted till the local government demanded the organization move due to complaints from its citizens over unruly mercenaries. Not wanting to loss such a valuable assist so being so close, the government of Telos assisted the Mercenary Star in its move to the nearby world of Vish'tish. Much of the cost of moving was even carried by Telos. Since then, the relationship between Telos and the Mercenary Star has always been a close one. This was made clear when the Tingel Command, a Jedi Military Command Zone, finally collapse in on its self. In the wake of the Tingel Command collapsing, the Mercenary Star helped defend Telos repeatedly from invaders.

As Telos was forced to endure invasion after invasion, it was the 87th that help spearhead the defense of this embattled world. At times facing odds that were three to one against the 87th, still the unit was able to pull victory from where defeat was near certain. It didn't take long for the 87th to build a reputation for its self and formed a legend off of that reputation. The legend of the 87th during these times brought units from across the Galaxy to sign up for with Mercenary Star. Currently, Telos was the Mercenary Star's only employer. This all changed when Maridum went to war with Yavin. The farmers of Yavin had no hope of defending against the military might of Maridum. They pulled their resources and hired the mercenary outfit Jango's Raiders to help defend their worlds. During a critical battle the Raiders turned and fled the field leaving the farmers of Yavin helpless. When word of the betrayal reached the Mercenary Star, a crisis had already been created. The reputation of the Mercenary Star was at stake. The Mercenary Review Board found Jango's Raiders in violation of their contract and ruled in favor of the farmers of Yavin. This did not change the situation on the ground back in the Yavin system.

The Review Board went further and ordered that the Mercenary Star to liberate the world at all cost. In the opinion letter submitted with the ruling, Senior Board Member Jesmin wrote: “Had it not been for the cowardly behavior of the Jango's Raiders, the Plaintiffs of this review would have seen their world liberated. Now we, the members of this community, must carry the responsibility of these cowardly actions. To wash this responsibility from our hands, we must undo what has been done. Yavin must be freed from its occupation.” With that ruling, five mercenary units took flight for Yavin headed up by the legendary 87th. The two year war ended in the complete defeat of Maridum forces on Yavin and finally a peace treaty between Yavin and Maridum. The Treaty of Yavin would ring out across the galaxy as the first sign that the Mercenary Star had come in to its own. Though this would be the last time the 87th would see official action. Shortly there after, the members of the unit would elect to disband the unit as most would fall back to take on roles within the Mercenary Star's Administration.

The Mercenary Star is made up of four branches which is designed to support Mercenary operations around the Galaxy. The Mercenary Hiring Hall gives units a place to advertise their talents and skills to possible employers. The Hall is more like a large university campus with different buildings where units are grouped by their capabilities. A site map helps employers locate just the right building to suite their needs. At the far end of the complex is the all exclusive Combined Arms Building. It was the very first building built as part of the complex. At the steps of this large building is one of the original fighters that belonged to the 87th. Within this building battalion sized or larger units with a combined arms frame work can compete for contracts. One of the most busiest buildings is the Single Operator buildings. Here lone operators can hire themselves out for just about any task from bodyguard work to covert operations. If an employer is unsure of what they are looking for, or need the best bang for their buck, there is the Open Contractor Building. Here contractors, or Fixers by their street name, can weigh the demands of any contract and offer the best fitting unit within their contact network for the mission.

The Mercenary Review Board helps keep units true to their contracts and helps protect units from employer misconduct. When a contract is signed, it goes to the Review Board and is submitted as evidence with the payment in trust for the unit once the contract is completed. Both the Employer and the Unit pay a one percent fee to the Review Board for its services. The vast majority of the time, the role of the Review Board is largely in the shadows. It ensures that the payments of the contract are paid out once the terms of the contract are met or in genuine effort attempted to be met. Simply because a unit losses on the battlefield does not mean that they don't deserve to get paid for their efforts. If there is a dispute between employer and unit, the Review Board acts as a binding mediator during these disputes. Throughout its history, the Review Board has acted on millions of disputes between employers and units. Some were simple misunderstandings of the terms of contracts while others boarded on near treason or set up. Units and employers have seen their privileges to the Star revoked due to the most extreme misconduct while under contract. Jango's Raiders were the first unit to actually face disbanding under the Review Board's ruling. While the unit attempted to resist the ruling by seeking work else where. In the end, they were forced to comply and its members waited their probation time before seeking work within the Mercenary Star once more.

The Internal Mercenary Hiring Hall is used for units to seek new personal and to replace combat losses. Only card caring members of the Star can seek access to this part of the over all complex that is the Mercenary Star. This location is a hub of activity were fresh young mercenaries come in hopes of seeking adventure and fame. The IMHH is also the place where Units receive their famed Mercenary Ranking. The lowest possible ranking a unit can have and still be able to seek work on the Mercenary Star is the ranking of D. Those units with an F ranking are no longer allowed to seek work within the Mercenary Star. Normally when a unit gets an F ranking, its members tend to disband the unit and attempt to seek work elsewhere. The best ranking units can get is a double A. These units have stood out above all the rest. These units can normally write their own terms within their contracts. However this is not the top ranking on the Mercenary Star. The famed Triple A ranking is reserved for the very best of the best of units who are part of the Mercenary Star.

Units that have held this famed ranking have become legends in their own time. These units have followed the footsteps of the first unit that signed with the Mercenary Star, the 87th. Other such units to have followed the 87th have shown courage, skill, honor and a strong strategic mind. One of the most tragic stories of the Mercenary Star was the fate of the Val Karyie. The unit fought hard to gain this coveted Ranking throughout their career. After spending most of their career with a double A ranking, they finally were able to lay claim this ranking when the unit that was currently holding it disbanded. Only months after they were crowned the best of the Mercenary Star, a tragic hyperspace accident cost the unit their lives. The sole survivor of the accident was a new recruit by the name of Lut Sha. In honor of the Val Karyie's legacy, a statue was erected within the Heroes Mall. A large open field between the IMHH and the MHH. The Val Karyie took their place in honor as one of the finest units the Mercenary Star offered.

The last part of the Mercenary Star complex is the massive Combined Arms Training Center or as the units call it, CAT C. Any and all units who are members of the Mercenary Star have access to CAT C. The center is so large that two full brigades can engage in large scale combat. When the 87th disbanded, a section of the 87th remained an active unit under the new unit name, OPFOR or Opposing Force. This unit works solely within the CAT C to help units maintain their combat edge. The CAT C offers units the ability to train up for missions and for a cost can even build sites that are specific for special operation missions under the direction of employers. The CAT C has also been used to help employers put units to the test for possible contracts. Units have even come to the CAT C to settle disputes over which unit was better. The CAT C offers hundreds of different ranges, both live fire and simulated. To take it one step further, Colonel Mitch Pieash the founder of the CAT C and first commander of the OPFOR, opened up CAT C's first war collage. For a cost, mercenary commanders can attend classes to better their command skills. Today, CAT C boasts five different collages that teaches a wide range of command, control and combat skills. Units with a CAT C certificate can expect to get ten percent more on their contracts. Unit Commanders with a CAT C Diploma can increase this bonus even higher. In nearly all regards, the CAT C is the one factor that gives the Mercenary Star an edge over every other mercenary regulatory agency and organization.

As the Galactic War rages on, the demand on units from the Mercenary Star has grown drastically. As an answer to this, The CAT C has opened up its own Mercenary Boot Camp. While the boot camp does not create units, it does allow Mercs to come to gather and build bounds that ultimately leads to units being formed. Units that graduate this one year boot camp come with a CAT C certificate and with Commanders who already have CAT C Diplomas. Currently the Boot Camp has not graduated its first unit. By the end of thirty eight, the first units are expected to graduate. Many worlds are eagerly looking forward to what these fully trained units can do in combat. Though some units have cried foul over these units receiving a automatic B ranking upon completion of the Boot Camp. If the program is successful, than the Mercenary Star could see its influence grow considerably in the industry. Already, Commanders from the Republic are holding talks with the Mercenary Star regarding training Republic Units. This could be a sign of the changing times, as the Mercenary Star has hinted its loyalties to the Republic. Hints that have sent waves of concern through Telos.

The recent battle of Bimmial saw massive losses to mercenary units. Even though the battle was a victory, the losses across the Republic were very high. The mercenary unit the Sky Rangers, who are current holders of the coveted Triple A ranking, had suffered such losses that they had to announce that they would be disbanding. The unit suffered nearly ninety percent losses during the battle and are no longer combat effective. With the official disbanding of the Sky Rangers, the Triple A is once more up for grabs. The IMHH received nearly a hundred applications to be reviewed for the ranking. While there were many units that could compete for the ranking, the IMHH ruled that only two units actually met the most requirements to hold the ranking. While this didn't discourage other units from attempting to reach this Ranking, it did set the stage from one of the most epic stand offs between units in the Mercenary Star's history. Never before had two units been in a situation to directly compete one another for the Triple A ranking.

On one side of the lines stood the platoon size Vixens. An all female unit that placed personal honor and courage over contract obligations every time. It was this level of pride and honor which made the Vixens who they were. The Vixens held the single highest rating across the board at the CAT C and every one of its members were graduates from one of the collages within the CAT C. This gives the Vixens an unparalleled level of skills and talent that they used to devastating results on the battlefield. While they lacked any heavy equipment or air support, they made up for such short comings with a wide range of tactics, strategy, and personal equipment. They excelled at small unit tactics and never failed at a mission objective. They have been known for taking on units that were as much as five times their size and defeating these units on the battlefield. The recruitment process for joining the Vixens is by far one of the strangest within the IMHH. The process looks more like a merger between beauty pageant and combat training. This has given them to reputation of being the Hottest Unit in the Mercenary Star. Many commanders have mistaken this reputation and the results were devastating as the Vixens showed their claws. Due to their skills and successes on the battlefield, the Vixens can afford to pick their own contracts terms. While they do have a Fixer, the Vixens have been known for picking their own contracts. This practice has placed them in rough spots many times before. Most recently, a bad contract left them sitting in a holding facility for over a week before their freedom could be secured. Still with these short comings behind them, they are widely seen as the top contender for the Triple A. That is, unless the Bad Boys of the Mercenary Star don't say something about it.

Those bad boys of the Mercenary Star are the Ruzz Boyz. When size does matter, the Ruzz Boyz can really bring the force. This large reinforced battalion size unit can bring a wide range of combat options to a battlefield. The Ruzz Boyz hosts three armor platoons, two light armor and APC platoons, and one heavy armor platoon. With just these armor three platoons, the Ruzz Boys already boasts more fire power then eighty percent of the units back on the Mercenary Star. The Ruzz Boyz also come with their own armored transport with can help them fight their way in to hostile landing zones and can even turn the tide of battle. Though despite their abilities, the Ruzz Boyz do come with a negative reputation. They were widely known for being the bad boys of the Mercenary Star. This reputation comes from a wide range of questionable tactics during combat and their ability to get even the nastiest of jobs done. Rumors of war crimes have fueled this reputation. As well as complaints filed by fellow mercenary units who found themselves at the mercy of the Ruzz Boyz. And while none of the rumors were ever proven to be factual, none of the complaints were ruled to be founded, the reputation still persists. Colonel Bek, the unit commander, has vigorously denied these rumors and dismissed the complaints as all being unfounded and baseless. Still the reputation does offer the Ruzz Boyz a much wider contract pool than other units have as employers looking for that unit that will do dirty work.

Deep within the corridors of the Open Contractor Building, Dreyla worked at his large desk. The massive Feeorin turned his chair as he lifted his feet up and rested them on the corner of his desk as he spoke in to his comlink, “Listen, I promised you guys a contract and I got one for you. Its not my fault that your unit has a low ranking. This low ranking is the reason why I can't get you any more credits.” He pauses as the person on the other end of the call continued to talk. “Look, do this contract. Its not hard.” he was cut off once more, “Its only a baby sitting job” once more cut off, “because you guys need to get your name out there. These people are good employers, I have dealt with them in the past and they pay good and more importantly they pay on time.” He paused once more as the caller was seemingly getting upset. Dreyla, or Tiny as his friends call him, was one of the bigger named Fixers in the MHH. Tiny was both well respected and liked by both friend and competitor. Just one of his claims to fame was being mid level commander within the disbanded Sky Rangers. The first unit he signed as a Fixer had been the Val Karyie, since then he has had a no nonsense reputation of helping units prove their worth on and off the battlefield. He watched a taller than normal Sullustan walk in. He waved the man to a chair. He knew the man well, they had served together within the Sky Rangers.

The Sullustan was EZ Slayer, and at one time, one of the finest pilots around. Now 'a has been' with an addiction problem. While they were close friends during their deployment days, they drifted further and further apart due to EZ's addictions and bad choices. Tiny was not pleased to see the man. “Look, This is your very first contract as a unit, what are you expecting a multi-million credit contract?” He rolled his eyes at the answer, “That just is not going to happen. Take the contract or don't. Its your choice.” He lifted his feet off of the desk and turned to face the desk, “Listen, just let me know what you are going to do so I can let the employers know.” He paused once more as he waved his hand as to symbolize he was trying to hurry the conversation forward, “Okay, so you will take the contract. Good, I am glad that you are coming to your senses. Don't be late.” He pauses once more, “You better not fuck me on this or I swear to god, I will ruin you and your friends. You will never work again if you fuck me on this!” he half yield while he stood up, “Do I make myself clear, fuck me and I will ruin you all!” he waited once more, “Good....good bye!” he said ending the call.

He dropped back to his chair, “EZ what do I owe this visit for?” he said cutting to the chase. Tiny knew that dealing with EZ was going to be both bothersome and offer him a headache in the end.

EZ sighed and nodded, “Tiny, I have a problem.” EZ said then paused, “Actually a big problem and I need your help.”

Tiny could read EZ well enough, there was more to what EZ was saying but he also felt a sense of anxiety from his former friend. He knew right away that something was wrong. “Okay what I can do for you” Tiny said not wanting to commit himself to anything too soon.

“The Ruzz Boyz are on mission, and have failed to check in. It might be nothing” EZ explained, “Bad transmitter, or they could have run in to trouble with a rouge Jedi group that they were to be hunting.” EZ further explained, “Colonel Bek reported back that they were on mission and didn't report anything out of the ordinary. So I don't know what is going on other than the fact that they they missed regular check in. Which for Colonel Bek is not normal.” EZ sighed a bit, “I know this sounds stupid but the Boyz are my only big named unit and I can't afford to loss them. I am not like you, I don't have a list of units waiting to sign with me. Tiny, please....”

Tiny was not completely sure of how to take the news. Still there was something off about the conversation, but Tiny could not put his finger on it. On one hand, Tiny knew that EZ had only a few units signed under his name. All of them expect for the Ruzz Boyz were all D and C units. The Ruzz Boyz could have done better when it came to Fixers, but Colonel Bek and EZ were close friends and loyalty ran deep between the two. Something that Tiny could respect. He was loyal to EZ as well till the calls to pick EZ up from the local jail started to add up. Tiny had cut the friendship off before he too was dragged down with EZ. “What do you want me to do about it?”

EZ pulled out a form from his briefcase, “I need to hire the Vixens. I have two of my units going also” he explained as he handed the form to Tiny, “None of my other units have the skills needed to pull of this kind of search and rescue. But your Vixens have in the past.”

Tiny looked over the contract carefully. It was surprisingly detailed and covered all the points that Tiny normally would bring up. Tiny concluded that EZ had to have had someone put it together for him. Some of these points were points of interests that EZ simply didn't think of. “You would be placing the Vixens in over all command of the operation but you are denying combat pay?” A fact that didn't sit well with Tiny.

“Tiny, I can't afford the pay the Vixens for their combat bonuses. Not at their premium rate. Please Tiny, Colonel Bek and his people could be in danger and need our help.” EZ pleaded.

Tiny looked over the contract much deeper than he normally would, “EZ, I just don't know. The Vixens haven't even returned from their last mission to Lorta yet. They need some down time and to resupply.” Tiny wasn't lying but at the same time he knew that the Vixen could easily pull this mission. He had their new recruits ready and it would take nothing for the unit to be on site. But there were still concerns that Tiny had. Something in the back of his mind was nagging at him about this whole thing. He just couldn't put his finger on it. Still, Tiny knew Bek well. Ever since Bek took over the Ruzz Boyz four years ago, he had really turned the unit around. Bek was a good commander that would have bent over backwards for any other unit in trouble.

“Tiny, when the Val Karyies were lost. I pulled the Boyz off of their contract to help you find them. Please. Don't make me beg, I need your help.” EZ said with sadness in his eyes. There was a sense of convincing in EZ's eyes that told Tiny that the man was in dire need of help and had no one else to turn to. This much Tiny knew to be true, even if it was due to EZ's own choices.

Tiny couldn't deny history. It was a well known fact that when the Val Karyies were lost, a large effort was made to help find them. Sadly that mission ended in tragedy. He lost some good friends during that time. During the whole thing, it was EZ who never left Tiny's side. Another well known fact. He sighed deeply, “Fine, but the Vixens don't leave the landing area. If you are not going to pay for combat, than they can lead the operation from the ship.” Tiny looked at the contract once more, “And EZ, if I found out that you are leaving something out, I will break you”

“Tiny I am not leaving anything out. I have told you all that I know.” EZ smiled broadly as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, “But yes, of course Tiny. I will make the payment” he said as he pulled out his datapad out to make the payment, “And I will let my Captain know that the Vixens are to remain at the ship at all times.”

Tiny looked over the contract, “Tell me EZ, where are the Ruzz Boyz after all?” Tiny knew that Sha had a vested interest in finding more information about the where abouts of the Ruzz Boyz before they reach Lorta. Maybe the Vixens could do a bit of intel gathering for Sha while on this mission. There were rumors of what the Ruzz Boyz were doing, but nothing solid. Tiny actually felt like he was doing Sha a favor by sending the Vixens on this mission. It was a win, win for everyone involved.

EZ flipped his datapad closed, “Payment sent” he said as he looked up, “They were sent to Cyout to route out some rouge Jedi.” EZ explained and pulled a datachip, “This is all the information I have on the contract and the advanced intelligence. Maybe your Vixens can find something that I or Colonel Bek missed.”

“Cyout, you don't say?” Tiny said knowing for sure that he made the right choice. Sha wanted to know more about the world and it had come up before in conversations. Now he would have something to offer her once the Vixens reported back.

“You have heard of it?” EZ asked.

Tiny didn't want to tip his hand, “No” he said lying. “I thought the Ruzz Boyz were heading to Lorta” he tried to cover the lie.

EZ looked in to Tiny's eyes as he knew the large former Merc was lying, “Oh, well yeah.” he said not giving any sign that he knew Tiny was lying, “They had a rider on the contract. More like a side mission.” EZ said as he pointed to a section of the contract, “Its all there” he admitted.

“Oh yes, I see now.” Tiny said glad that EZ didn't show any signs of catching the lie. He heard a tone over his datapad and checked it, “Your payment has been confirmed. I will notify the Vixens and have them link up with your people at Lego. I will make sure that they are there in say thirty six hours. That should be the whole team on the ground in Cyout in fifty six hours.”

“Thank you Tiny” EZ said getting up, “I will let my Captain know to pick up the Vixens on Lego. Hopefully all this will be over a bad communication array and nothing more. Let the Vixens know that I owe them.”

Tiny nodded with a smile, “Oh I will.” He said softly as he watched EZ walk for the door. He waited for the door to close before activating his desk comlink, “Get me Lut Sha at once!” he said as he looked over the contract. Finally they were going to get some answers to all this mess about Cyout.

“Sir” his secretary replied, “Her comlink is not active. When I do a search for her, she is listed as being in custody of the authorities of Narsis. Though there is very little information on this other then she is in their custody.”

“What!?” he said turning to the comlink. He took a moment to collect himself before continuing, “okay forward this contract” he said uploading it to the comlink, “to the Vixens. Once they have it, tell them I want to talk with them on a secure channel. I know how much love just love playing spies.” he sarcastically said.

---

EZ walked down the corridor silently as he watched over his back to make sure that no one was following him. Once he was sure that he was not being observed he ducked in to an side room and activated a localized jammer. He pulled out a secured comlink that was rare for use by even the most advanced merc or bounty hunters. He activated its security protocols and waited for the red light which indicated that the signal was not secured to turn off. Once the green light came on, he knew that the signal was not only secured it was shadowed so not to be detected by the Security Forces of the world. He activated the communication device.

“I have made contact with Tiny. The Vixens are on their way to Cyout” He said softly so not to attract unwanted attention.

Over the comlink he heard a voice, “Good. Once we confirm that they are on world, I will make sure that Sha is made aware of this fact. Till then I will keep her in the dark. Wait for conformation that the Vixens are on world. Then kill Tiny and make sure that the evidence points to bounty hunters behind the murder.”

Without question in his voice, “Yes Sir, as you command” he said as he shape shifted in to another form. “Also, I made sure that Beks reports were secured and that there was no leak through this EZ Slayers office. The murder will look like nothing more than an over dose once I am finished with this cover. For now, I have him on ice while I use his identity to set up the Bounty Hunters. Your plan is moving forward without issues.

“Excellent. Once Sha knows that her friends are in harms way, she will have little choice than to come for them. And with that, I will have my revenge for Imaginous.” There was a dark sinister tone to his voice, “Sha will pay for betraying us. For betraying the Cause. For betraying the Light. Sha will suffer like no other. This I promise, she will pay!”

“Yes Master.....” the shape shifter said as he replied.

“Now move forward with the plan. Make sure that the murder of Tiny points right back to the Bounty Hunter Guild and linked to Sha's bounties. That is all.” The line went dead after that. The shape shifter returned the secured comlink back to his pocket and assumed an identity that did not attract any attention.

[Akirapryde]

(7.23) Lonely Hearts, Pt. II
Southern Palace
Kingdom of Lorta
26 August, 1938

Dia Zall stormed into her room and slammed the door behind her. She
stood just in front of her door, breathing heavily and clenching her
fists at her sides. She was enraged. How could he have betrayed
me? She asked herself. She had just returned from a conversation
with Lut Sha, which directly followed a meeting with Grandma Zall. Her
ears were ringing from their words, which implied that her father was
not the man she thought he was. It was unbelievable that her father
could have lied to her! She was soaking up the torrents of
information, which she was not taking very well at all. Could she
actually be brainwashed? There was no way she would get any rest
tonight, but the information had made Dia feel dirty. I need a
bath, she thought as she kicked off her shoes and peeled off her
long black silk gloves, and dropped them by her feet. She stomped over
to her wardrobe trunk. She got on her knees and flung the lid open,
which crashed against the foot board of her bed leaving marks on both
the bed, and the lid of the trunk. Her amethyst eyes immediately
focused on the jewelry box filled with precious jewelry that was given
to her by her father, which sat on top of her clothes. Instinctively,
she picked it up and threw it across the room. The box hit a lamp, and
the force sent the lamp crashing to the floor.

Startled, Dia turned her head at the sound of breaking glass. As she
saw the aftermath of what she had done, she placed her palms on the
floor, bowed her head and started to cry. Her eyes were glassy and
bloodshot. She huffed as she held herself up on her hands and knees,
staring at the mess she had made. She stood up, walked across the
room, and fell to her knees before the broken glass and scattered
jewelry. She picked up the box and placed it right side up beside her,
and piece by piece picked up the jewelry. She paused as her eyes
zeroed in on a very lavish ring. It was gold, and adorned with purple
blue stones which surrounded a large diamond. She picked it up and
examined the ring.


Dia slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. She couldn’t help, but
feel sad, and fought the desire to cry. Her lip quivered and her eyes
watered. It was then she spun the ring around her finger remembering
the night Xan had given it to her. It was a night she would never
forget. She then closed her eyes, and allowed her mind to wander back
to that unbelievably magical night.

Dia had just returned from her vigorous studies, and had found that
philosophy was more challenging than she thought. She was quickly
realizing that there were so many different ways to interpret the
written word, and meanings could vary vastly from one person to
another. However, she was excited about the topics, and wanted to
learn, but it was mentally exhausting. It also didn’t help that they
had moved around so much. This had been the fifth hotel in less then a
month.

Once Dia had finally escaped her protective guard, she immediately
flung herself onto her bed. The sudden crash of her slender frame
forced the bed to jolt, causing the air to hiss with a swift burst.
She laid there as the sheets gradually fell, caressing parts of her
body. She couldn’t help, but take a deep breath, and moaned with
comfort as she closed her eyes. She finally had the first opportunity
to allow her mind and body to unwind from the long day. However, as
she relaxed she couldn’t help, but picture her father. He was tall,
handsome, and always spoke with so much confidence, not to mention he
had such a wonderful voice. It was deep, but not raspy or forced. It
was soft, but articulate. The very thought of his voice always put a
smile across her face. His words not only excited Dia, but also made
her feel relaxed and safe at the same time.

It was then Dia was startled by the sound of someone knocking at her
door. She snapped upright, and gasped for air. Surprised by the sudden
knock at the door, Dia rose to her feet and quickly answered. She
mildly opened the door slightly to find a tall Gungan man dressed in a
fine suit and bowtie, holding a silver box with a black bow.
“Beautiful night, Ms. Zall,” exclaimed the Gungan, “I’ve bought you
present from your father!” At first, Dia looked puzzled, but then
opened the door, and accepted the gift. She looked at the Gungan
realizing this was the first time she had seen one in person. And, to
her surprise he spoke Omwatese very well.

“Thank you,” Dia said to the Gungan as he simply bowed, took a step
back, turned, and walked down the hall. She then closed the door
behind her, and walked over to the bed. She placed the box onto the
bed and untied the black bow. She then lifted the top portion of the
silver box to reveal a stunning purple dress with a matching
headdress. Attached to the hanger was a note that said, “Meet me in
the botanical gardens,” and signed “Love, Your Father.” She was very
baffled that Xan had sent her a sleeveless dress, because he had
always had clothes with long concealing sleeves made for her to cover
her unsavory tattoos. In spite of the confusion, she was very excited
over the dress, and thought it was lavish, but glorious. She had
always dreamed she could have such a dress. It had a deep “V” shaped
halter top, with a daring open back, a crystal beaded band at the
waist, and a slit that ran all the way up the right leg. The matching
headdress was a headband of crystals that matched those which adorned
the dress and purple ribbons that would wrap around her lekku. Dia
questioned herself,why would he send me this? Her heart sank as
she realized that it must have been a mistake. He had always stressed
that she must conceal her unladylike tattooed arms. She went to her
wardrobe trunk and removed a purple shawl, which to no real
coincidence matched her dress. Xan had given her quite a few pieces of
clothing in that color, which was Xan's favorite and also the color of
her eyes.

Dia held the purple shawl next to the dress, and felt reassured that
she would be presentable. She didn’t wish to look poorly for her
father, and was even a little excited. She had dinner with her father
before, but nothing like this. She had never personally sent such a
daring dress, and the gardens seemed like such a romantic setting. It
was then Dia suddenly felt nervous as her heart began to flutter
uncontrollably. Oh my Dia thought, as she scrambled toward the
mirror by the bathroom. She looked carefully at herself, and felt
dreadful realizing that she looked like a mess. She quickly grabbed
her make up box from the counter, and started examining the different
types of lipstick. She shifted through ruby red, pink, but then
stumbled across the perfect shade, Midnight Purple. “Yes!” shouted Dia
as she giggled, and applied the lipstick, and pressed her lips
together. She then retrieved a tissue, and ensured that there weren’t
any smudge marks. Once she was satisfied she slipped out of her robes
until she was only in her black undergarments. She then skipped toward
the bed, and maneuvered her tiny frame through the purple dress,
followed by the headdress. Dia then slung the shawl over her
shoulders, and made sure to cover her arms.

Dia finally took one last look in the mirror, and felt satisfied
before departing the room, and closing the door behind her. As she
made her way to toward the hotel lobby to inquire about how to get to
the gardens, she realized the entire staff seemed to know who she was,
and where she was going. “This way, Ms. Zall,” a rather tall Lepi man
said to her. “Evening, Madam Zall. Heading to the gardens?” a Twi'lek
asked as he gestured in the right direction. Each and every staff
member she passed greeted her, and pointed her toward the gardens,
until she finally reached a large set of beautiful wooden double
doors, embellished with golden vines, and on each side stood a
uniformed Twi'lek. “Ms. Zall,” one of them said with enthusiasm, “Your
father awaits you. “It is a beautiful night, Ms Zall,” said the other.
“Enjoy your dinner.”

Simultaneously, the ushers opened the doors and as the doors cracked
open, the moonlight beamed inside. The first thing Dia noticed was
that it was the brightest night she had ever seen. The sight of the
gardens was enchanting. There were beautiful flowering plants all
around and music, with no visible source that filled the air like
magic. There were flowers representing every color of the spectrum,
but what was truly amazing was the path in front of her. The sides of
the stone path were lit with small blue candles. And, in the center of
the path were white roses, with the tips of the pedals dyed purple,
creating a trail that led down a winding path. As the doors closed
behind her, she could not see another soul. She picked up the first
rose and began to follow the path, which led her on a nice walk
through the gardens. She passed many different types of flowers and
trees, many of which she had never seen before. At various points
along the path were sculptures, statues, and water features, including
a cascading waterfall. Her journey even led her through a tunnel
created by vines, leading her to a wooden bridge.

As she crossed the bridge, she spotted her father, standing beside a
small round table. He immediately approached the bridge, and greeted
her. “My sweet Dia, please come and join me on this magical evening”
he said with a handsome smile, as he offered his own hand for Dia’s.
Dia couldn’t help but smiled in return, and accepted.

“Magical?” said Dia as she blushed, and felt embarrassed. “What makes
this evening magical?” she asked with bright smile, and sparkling
amethyst eyes. She then tried to conceal her smile by holding the rose
to her mouth, but only made her shyness more appealing.

Xan simply chuckled, and smiled. “A night between us of course,”
stated Xan as he guided Dia toward the table. “What do you think of
the dress?” he asked looking her up and down. “But I don’t remember
picking this out?” said Xan with grimace as he eyed the shawl.

“Oh, I thought I should wear it,” answered Dia averting her eyes from
Xan as they finally reached the table. He continued to guide Dia
directly to her seat, but before she could take a sit, Xan placed his
hands on Dia's shoulders, which made her heart flutter.

“I was hoping to see only you and the dress” stated Xan as he slipped
his fingers underneath the shawl around her collarbone. Dia was
shocked, and slightly confused, but offered no resistance as her heart
pounded in her chest. Xan smiled as he looked up and down her body as
she stood stiffly before him, nervous about what he might think of
her. He then pulled out a chair and motioned for her to take a seat.

She looked at Xan and smiled. “I love it,” she said. “It is far more
beautiful than anything I could ever conjure in my own imagination. It
fits me so perfectly. It is amazing, the things you know.”

“Well, I was wrong about that dress looking good on you,” Xan
responded, pausing to give the words time to sink in. Dia self
consciously attempted to cover her tattooed right arm with her
opposing hand. Xan whisked around and knelt down in front of her,
meeting her at eye level. “I'm sorry, I was wrong. It looks
perfect on you! I guess I should have realized that beforehand,
because it was made for you, after all. I designed it myself with the
stunning image of you in my mind.”

Before Xan had finished his thought, Dia was looking down in shame.
Her eyes were starting to tear up, but Xan knew that the sting from
the beginning of his statement would make the rest seem far more
profound. As he finished speaking, her eyes darted up and made eye
contact with him. With her eyes still glossy, it made the amethyst
color, which matched the dress, sparkle even more than usual. Still
covering her arm, she started to smile. Xan then placed his hand over
Dia's, and removed it from her tattooed arm. He kissed the hand, and
placed it gently on her lap, then ran his finger down her tattooed
arm, sending wonderful chills down her spine. As he caressed her arm,
he assured her with a soft voice, “My dearest, you don't ever have to
hide yourself from me. It is just us tonight” said Xan as he stood
placing his finger underneath Dia’s chin, and made sure she that there
was strong eye contact. “Like I said, it’s just us” stated Xan before
motioning around the far side of the table.

On the table, which was draped in a white linen cloth, were two large
silver domes, surrounded by silver utensils. In the center of the
table, was a small arrangement of Dia's favorite flowers. There were
small, light blue wildflowers, which matched the color of Xan's skin,
and purple flowers to match Dia's eyes and his favorite color. There
were also white roses for contrast scattered about the arrangement. On
each side of the flower arrangement was a pair of tall candles atop
silver candlesticks to match the domes. Beside the table, sat a cart
covered with a white cloth. On top of the cart sat a silver bucket,
with a bottle of wine chilling in ice.

Xan stepped in front of the cart, and removed the bottle of wine from
the silver bucket, uncorked it, and poured wine into her crystal
glass, and then into his. He lifted the silver dome and gestured
toward a mushroom and pasta dish, “Your favorite, my love.”

My love? She thought he must have had a slip of the tongue. Her
eyes were wide and excited as she stared at the food. I never told
him what my favorite meal was.

“I noticed how your eyes light up every time you have this dish, and
how you close them as you savor every bite,” Xan embellished, knowing
that the young Twi'lek certainly was wondering how he could possibly
know. Yet, having a large staff to keep a close watch on her certainly
helped. He also knew that she was love struck, and missed him terribly
whenever he was away. He was well informed on her regular activities
and her favorite things.

Smiling and never taking his eyes off of her, he slowly walked to the
other side of the table and removed the lid from his dish, placing it
on the cart beside the table. He finally took a seat and held up his
wine glass toward Dia, as she mimicked his gesture, and toasted, “To
you, my darling Dia. You are the light in my nighttime sky that always
guides me home.” Dia's heart melted as they touched their glasses
together. She then sipped slowly from the glass of wine, although her
nerves screamed for her to chug it in one go, but then simply placed
the glass back on to the table. Her father taught her table manners,
so she knew better. Plus she had a low tolerance for alcohol and was a
very clumsy and silly drunk.

“Please, my dear, eat,” Xan gestured toward her food. As Dia took a
bite, he quickly explained, “I understand you, and love you, and
accept you for everything that you are. Others just don't know you
like I do, and that is why you must hide your arm around them. To me,
it makes you even more beautiful. To me, you are perfect.” He paused
to smile, then took a bite of his food before continuing. “I know you
feel that you have done nothing to deserve this life. The truth is you
did not deserve the life you lived before I found you. I do not know
how fate could have been so cruel to keep you from me for all of these
years, but you belong here, right next to me.”

Dia's eyes brightened with his words. Could her dreams be coming true?
Or was she delusional in her interpretation of his words and actions?
Could he really return the love she had for him? Dia felt very wrong
about her feelings toward Xan. She was supposed to be his daughter,
but he was the only person to ever make her feel like a real woman.
Every word he spoke to her was exactly what she needed to hear. Nobody
had ever known her so well, so she couldn't help but fall in love with
him. As her heart pounded with excitement she considered that he could
actually return those feelings.

Xan knew how Dia felt. It was written on her face, in the way her eyes
lit up every time he approached her. He could see it in the way she
couldn’t suppress her smile when he looked at her. He also had heard
from several members of her staff that she was quite outspoken, but
she was often shy when interacting with him. He could see the pain in
her eyes whenever he would say goodbye to her, before departing for a
business trip or an adventure.

Dia sat her fork and her knife down next to her plate. Her lips were
parted as if she was trying to allow words to escape, but they didn't
want to come out. She wanted to tell him that she was madly in love
with him, but she just could not bring herself to confess her
feelings. Instead, she breathlessly stared at him with her large,
amethyst eyes. He appeared to be stunned by her beauty. He reached
across the table and gently brushed her cheek with his fingers. “You
look as if you have something to say,” He said reassuringly. “I would
prefer you not keep secrets from me. Please know you can tell me
anything.”

“I am tired of you always leaving me,” Dia admitted with slight scorn,
but mostly sadness in her voice. “You claim I belong right next to
you, but I am always stuck at that school.”

“In good time, you will be,” Xan explained. “For us to save the galaxy
together, you must first be ready. You have a voice unlike any I have
heard before. You need to stay in school so that you can be a strong
educated woman, and have something important to say with that voice.
Speaking of, your music teacher has been informing me on your
progress. He says the music you have written sounds ethereal, and I
have read some of the lyrics. They are full of passion and meaning.
What you have learned comes out in your writing, and don't let me hear
you say such silly things as anything 'is far more beautiful than
anything I could ever conjure in my own imagination,' ever again. With
your music, you will become a lighthouse that inspires and leads the
galaxy out of these dark times, but first you must educate yourself.
Frankly, I would love nothing more than to be with you all the time,
but a lot of people depend on me, just like they will depend on you.”

Dia nodded in understanding as Xan paused to take a sip from his wine
glass. “Now, what would you say if I told you that I have scheduled a
performance for you next month? It will be a broadcast on the galactic
network.

Dia's pupils dilated as she laughed with excitement. “Really, father?”
she continued to laugh, “My dreams are all beginning to come to life!”

“No Dia, our dreams are coming true,” he said with a devilish smile as
he then took a sip of his wine. While Dia returned the smile, but
looked down at her mushroom pasta so she wouldn’t blush too much.

“Come Dia, let’s eat, and afterward I have a special treat for you.”

Dia’s eyes jolted upward with excitement, but she held back her smile,
and pretended to act serious. “Really?” asked Dia. “You mean this
isn't the treat? What else could you possibly have planned?” asked Dia
impatiently.

Xan laughed mildly as he took another sip of wine, and placed it on
the table. “You’ll just have to wait, my love,” he said which
disappointed Dia, but she couldn’t help but to obey.

Xan and Dia both continued to eat their separate dishes. The mushroom
pasta was delightful, but not as much as the banter, eye contact, and
smiles exchanged between the two. It wasn’t long before Xan and Dia
were finished with dinner. Xan hadn’t hesitated to clear the table of
their plates, and simply refused when Dia offered to help. “This night
is for you, my love,” he said as he placed everything on the cart, and
then covered it up with a white linen cloth.

Xan then knelt down and retrieved a platter of strawberry truffles
from underneath the cart, which were Dia’s favorite. He placed the
dish in front of Dia. He smiled as her eyes lit up like fireworks in
the night sky. Dia then fully expected Xan to return to his seat, but
instead of going back he knelt beside Dia, and picked up a truffle,
and fed it to her. She giggled with delight as she closed her eyes,
inhaled deeply, and pulled her head and shoulders back as she savored
the sweet flavor of the desert. She looked at Xan with a smile, and
giggled with excitement as he fed her another truffle, but this time
he had missed, and smudged the truffle across her lip. This forced Dia
to moan, and giggle silently before Xan placed his thumb on Dia’s lip.
Dia immediately froze, and was shocked, but was very excited as he
wiped the chocolate from her lip, and devoured the leftovers. Dia
couldn’t help, but stare at Xan’s lips as he licked his thumb clean.
This had made Dia hot and heavy.

“Was that my special treat?” asked Dia with an enticing smile.

Xan shook his head from side to side, but then placed his hand on her
shoulder while he gestured upward with his other hand. “Look, Dia,” he
said softly, as her eyes widened at the sight of three full moons,
which explained why the night was so bright. “This happens once in
three lifetimes” he said looking up at the lunar phenomenon. “This
happens more commonly than the love I have for you.”

Xan then stood “Come, darling,” Xan said, gesturing his hand for hers
which she accepted. She stood up and he placed his arm around her
shoulders and walked her to a grassy clearing, surrounded by tall
bushes covered in purple flowers, which formed a circular wall around
them. In the center of this area was a fountain, which he sat on the
edge of, pulling her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her
waist.

As they looked up at the moons, Xan held her with one arm, and
caressed the tip of one of her lekku with the other, as he recounted
the day they had met with a soft voice. “On the day I met you; I was
walking around the streets of Az'Moth City, and was disgusted by what
a monochromatic day it was. The sky was dark and gray; the buildings
were all stone, and glass reflecting the gray of the sky. The trees
were dead, slushy snow covered the ground, and dark clouds obscured
the sun. I remember this so vividly, because when I turned the corner,
I saw the first glimpse of color I had seen all day. What a
magnificent color it was! That day was exactly one year ago. How
amazing is it that on the anniversary of the best day of my life that
something spectacular as this could happen?” he said as he pushed Dia
up to her feet and stood behind her. With one hand wrapped around her,
touching her lower abdomen, as the other gestured to the sky.

Xan lifted Dia and sat her on the edge of the fountain. He rested one
knee on the ground as he pulled out a small, blue velvet box from his
pocket. Dia had seen this scene played out in movies before. Usually,
such a gesture was followed by a marriage proposal. Dia's eyes widened
as Xan slowly opened a box revealing the lavished gold ring with a
large diamond in the center, surrounded by purple and blue precious
stones, which were the colors that meant the most to them both. Dia
didn't see as Xan also pulled a thin, clear string. She only saw the
thousand teal and purple butterflies that flew all around her. “Dia,”
he paused, “you are the color in my black and white world. Before you,
I thought there was something wrong with me because I had never been
in love with a woman. You made me realize that I only wanted the best,
and that was you with your vibrant skin, beautiful eyes, and
magnificent intelligence. You are an unbelievably remarkable woman,
and I have been in love with you since the moment I first saw you, and
on this special night, I wanted to show you just how much you mean to
me.”

Dia's eyes were filled with tears of joy as Xan slipped the ring onto
her left ring finger. Xan then kissed her fingers, and then stood up
taking her by the hand, and pulling her to her feet. He grabbed her
chin between his thumb and forefinger, and pulled her face toward his
as he leaned in, and kissed her deeply. He ran his hands down her
lekku, and then pulled her in closer. One hand rested on the small of
her back, as he pulled her in even closer, their abdomens pressing
together. His other arm wrapped tightly around her back as he reached
for the side of her breast with his fingertips. He knew she wouldn't
reject him as he slipped his tongue into her mouth.

Dia kissed back, using her tongue to tickle his. Her dreams really
were coming true. She moaned as he kissed her, and couldn't help but
smile. She threw her head back and sighed allowing for Xan to kiss her
neck until he reached her chest, and started to nibble and tongue the
skin just below her collarbone. He held her by her lower back, still
pressing their torsos together, and he leaned in, and kissed her lips
once more. “I love you,” he said slowly. He never pulled his mouth
away from hers, so as he spoke, his lips tickled hers. He could feel
her smile as he kissed her, and both were breathing heavily. He kissed
a path from her lips to her ear, and then whispered, “I have another
surprise for you upstairs.”

“This night is full of surprises,” Dia smiled, and covered her mouth
in disbelief over what was happening. She concealed her mouth, but her
bright eyes said everything. Xan had rendered her speechless. He took
her by the hand and led her back along the path, stopping at the table
to grab the bouquet of flowers from the vase in the center of the
table, and presented them to Dia. Xan then picked up one of the two
remaining truffles, and popped it into Dia's giggling mouth. Dia, to
Xan's surprise, picked up the last truffle with her free hand, and
popped it into Xan's mouth. They walked along the candlelit path back
toward the double doors, Xan with his arm around her the whole time
and occasionally pecking her on the top of her head.

Once they reached the double doors, Xan stepped away to open it. As
they walked back into civilization, they understood that they could
not appear affectionate. Xan began to talk about philosophical
concepts that he knew Dia was studying as they walked toward his room.
Dia responded to his statements, and he was impressed by how much she
had learned. She clearly had done extra homework on her own time. She
even talked about how she had read Daz Murl's new book, and told Xan
that it was important to know the enemy. “You never cease to amaze
me,” Xan said to her. “You are growing into an extremely vibrant and
extremely intelligent woman. You will make a great mother.”

Someday, Dia thought as she smiled at the compliments. They had
arrived at Xan's suite. He opened the door and told her to close her
eyes. Once inside, Xan securely locked the door behind him and lead
her to the bed and sat her down. Beautiful music played as he knelt
down in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders, and softly
kissed her lips. “Open,” he said. As Dia blinked her eyes open, she
had to blink a few more times for her eyes to adjust to the new
lighting. She gasped as her eyes got very large as she took in her
surroundings. There were a thousand candles in soft white, baby blue,
and light purple, with white rose petals spread all over the bed.
There was more wine chilling and a plate covered with more strawberry
truffles. Paper cranes, also matching their color scheme, hung from
the ceiling and a hot tub boiled on the other side of the suite. Last,
but certainly not least, she saw Xan's soft, blue eyes and loving
smile gazing back at her.

Dia was nervous, because she knew what all of this meant and she was
inexperienced. Xan could feel her anxiety by the quick rising and
falling of her chest as he rested her hands just over her collarbones.
He got up and poured her a glass of wine, which this time she did gulp
down in a single go. Xan took the empty glass and placed it on a table
and approached her once again. He caressed her hands, which were
resting in her lap, then ran his fingertips up her arms. She closed
her eyes and started to breath slowly and heavily with elation. He
then placed his hands behind her neck and unhooked the halter strap of
her dress. As the straps fell, he reached around her back and pulled
the zipper down. As Dia crossed her arms, holding the dress up to her
chest to keep it from falling, Xan motioned for her to take both of
his hands. She offered him one and held her dress up with the other as
she stood up in front of him. Xan assumed she was too nervous to let
the dress go, but she then gave him her other hand, allowing the dress
to fall to her feet. He looked down at her and she scooted back to the
bed, and pulled him toward her as she fell on top of the rose petals,
sending them flying up into the air and raining down over top of them.

Dia opened her eyes and she was back on the floor of her room in the
palace. She laid there and stared at her ring as she realized that she
and Xan were truly in love. Any doubts in her mind were now
extinguished and the floodgates that held back the cold, violent
waters of the truth were mended...at least for now.

[Akirapryde]

(7.24) The Root of Evil
Hidden Crusade Facility
Outer Rim World of Cyout
19th September, 1938

The darkened corridors of the facility only added to the mysterious nature of this long forgotten piece of Galactic history. Long ago, these corridors were filled with such horrors that only a nightmare could contain. From here, the Crusade would launch its secret attacks against the Jedi, the Sith, or any other Force using tradition that threatened to tip the balance between normals and Force Users. It was all part of the very secret war that the Crusade had started against the Forces over twenty thousand years ago. A war that saw millions of lives lost and not one hint to the media or any other public agency. While most powerful organizations like the Jedi and the Republic had some evidence to the existence of the Crusade. None could prove beyond doubt that the organization actually existed. This didn't stop some whistle blowers from attempting to let the cat out of the bag. However, with no real evidence and a organized effort to discredit the whistle blower, these reports passed to crazed conspiracy theories. Soon it reached the point that even the most liberal of Media Outlets would not even touch the story without something solid to go off of. So facilities like this one were allowed to operate in the shadows completely.

It was actually this facility that saw the creation of the Jedi Master Bevern'age bot. And only one of few centers were Crusade scientist worked to cure Force User from the decease. During these top secret research projects, Force Users, nearly all of whom had been kidnapped and brought here against their wills, were subjected to an endless number of tests and experiments to better understand the nature of the decease. It was within these large laboratories that the powerful and uncontrollable Naga Virus was created. The Naga Virus was found during testing to be so powerful that it could eliminate all life on an entire world. While the Crusade wanted to end the decease that is known as the Force, it was not waging war on all life. The Naga Program was deemed too dangerous and shut down. But that did not stop other work from being conducted on this remote outpost in an unimportant corner of the galaxy. This site for nearly a thousand years from when it was formed was the center of all Crusade research. However it was replaced as a center of research and its highly valuable laboratories and research centers were moved to other sites. Its role against Force Users and training was not over however.

Here, the elite Shadow Stalkers trained to take the Crusades war right to the Jedi. Like everything the Crusade did, training was very brutal and often ended in the death of a captured Force User or Jedi. The Sith Lord, Carmish would meet his fate at the hands of training Shadow Stalkers. Captured and brought here to help train up the second generation Shadow Stalkers, Carmish taught the Crusade a valuable lesson in fighting Force Users. Always be prepared for the unexpected and train for what ever an enemy could possible throw at you. This well earned lesson became just one of the core training philosophies that all later generation Shadow Stalkers would be taught. Most notable would be the massive effect that this single site would have on the entire galaxy. For it was here that the Jedi Civil War would be born in concept. Here, during one of very few secret meetings of the Chamber, the ruling body of the Crusade, and the man behind the Crusade, the Puppet Master. It was time to strike a blow at the Jedi that would send them in to a tail spin that they would never be able to recover from. A war that in design would push their philosophies past the breaking point. The Jedi Civil War would also set the ground work for the fall of the Republic as a whole. A side effect that no one in the meeting even considered possible.

During the fall of the Republic, this site was hit four times by the Church in attempts to end its use in the region by the Crusade. After the fourth time, the site was finally abandoned. A small band of pirates moved in to use it to hit worlds in the local region. However they were crushed by a raid from the Church once their activities were detected in the region. Smugglers, pirates and criminals all used the site from time to time till the Republic space line transponder failed. Cyout and the secret base slipped in to the darkened pages of history. There were rumors that the Church actually destroyed the transponder to prevent further criminals from using the base. Though there is no evidence of that. Now, the wind which blows through this long abandoned base whispers of the horrors of the past. Those whispers beg for others to listen. 'pay heed, or else the horrors of the past shall be relived once more.' Through the Force, one could feel the cold dark presence of the Dark Side flowing through these tunnels. This was indeed a place of darkness on a world of light. And its shadows have already started to stretch outward across the region.

The six heavily armed and armored guards escorted Xan down the long twisting dark tunnels of the base. Xan was able to smile as he walked and reflected on the recent missions. The mission to Lotra had been a resounding success in his mind. Aola was finally dead, and a clear message had been sent to the others about trying to run away. No matter what happens, no matter how long, they will be found. They will be murdered as well as those that they care about. More importantly, he would be able to report four confirmed independent reports that Sha and her elite team were on there way to Cyout. Nothing could have been better news than those reports. Because not only was Sha coming to meet her fate, she was bringing Dia back home. This would surely make up for all of those mistakes back on the Mercenary Star. During his very first mission with the organization, he had accidentally allowed himself to be identified. However, he was sure that Tiny had not been able to tell anyone about who he was. He made sure that Tiny's death would be framed on that Bounty Hunter who was delivering a message for Sha. Now that Bounty Hunter is waiting trail on the Mercenary Star and relations between the two powerful guilds has never been lower.

The small group turned a corner and walked through a large set of blast doors as they entered a large command room. The entire room was bathed in a bluish glow as everything in the room was only a projection from somewhere else. The chairs, the armored soldiers and the consoles were all projections of another room somewhere else. In the center of the room was a large throne like command chair. As the group entered, the chair spun around revealing a much younger Xan Zall. He was dressed in white robes with gold markings across it. His hair lacked the signs of age and his skin was smooth once more. The man walking in with the guards had never seen anything like this room before. His mouth hung open like a fish trying to get a gulp of water as it laid dying on the dock. The younger Xan snapped his fingers as the look of frustration crossed his face. The man with the guards knew that this could go very badly for him if he was not careful.

"There can only be one Son" The younger Xan said motioning his hands outward and to the side. Based on his clothes, it was clear that Xan considered himself some kind of god or something.

The man disguised as Xan shape shifted in to a normal human, "I am sorry My Lord" he said bowing in respect. "Have you heard the reports Master?" He was going to add more but he was cut off.

Xan facial expression didn't change, "I did. I heard of your failure on the Mercenary Star. I heard of your mission to Lorta and how you were able to confirm Aola's death. I heard how your people failed to recover the book. I also heard how you were able to confirm that Dia remains with Sha. Most importantly, I have not heard if you were able to confirm that Dia has the books or not. Were they cataloged with the evidence from the suite?"

The shapesifter looked nervous as he stepped backwards, "Sir I can explain that. I was able to identify that there was indeed a locked book safe hidden in the closet. The police were able to open the safe but found nothing of note worthy within it. I can only assume that the books are with Dia."

"I know you are new to our organization. And I have such high hopes for you. When I first met you, I could tell that you were someone special that I could depend on. However, I can not tolerate failures" Xan said looking down from his throne. "I must maintain standards no matter how much they hurt me to enforce."

On that cryptic command, the three guards made their attacks. The first guard spun as if to attack. The seasoned Bounty Hunter moved to block the incoming attack as he was trained to do. However this was only a diversionary attack with the goal of grappling his right arm. Even before the Bounty Hunter had a chance to react to the first attack, the second guard spun and knocked the Bounty Hunter's legs out from under him. The First guard held fast to the Bounty Hunters arm as he twisted it. The Guard right behind the Bounty Hunter started to stump the Bounty Hunter over and over again. The Bounty Hunter attempted to break the grapple with little success. However, he was able to land a successful kick on the guard holding his hand. The second Guard took this opportunity ram his armored boot in to the Bounty Hunter's back. There was a loud cracking sound of ribs being broken. The third Guard continued his kicking attack as well. It was not long till the Bounty Hunter could do nothing else but attempt to block the incoming attacks with his one free arm. Finally he let out a scream of anguish, "please mercy!"

Xan waved off the guards, "tell me why I should spare you. You have failed me already a number of times. What worth do you have Changeling?"

He tried to get to his hands and knees, "The mission to the Mercenary Star was a success. Tiny is dead and I was able to successfully frame the Bounty Hunters for the murder. Its only a matter of time before the two turn on each other."

"True, but I still had to send a team to help you clean up your mess. That mistake nearly cost me the over all operation." Xan's anger flowed as he reached out through the Force and lifted him off the ground. The man started to choke. "I shall not go in to detail how you failed me on Lorta. So you better come bigger than that bounty hunter."

He choke and struggled to break the invisible grip on his neck, "I" he fought to say. "I got something" he struggled to say, "you have to hear this." His breath was becoming more and more labored as he was choked through the Force. "Please listen to this."

Xan got up from his bluish image of a chair and walked over as the shape shifting bounty hunter fought for air. "You better impress me bounty hunter or else I shall kill you right here where you lay." With that Xan let go his grip through the Force.

The bounty hunter fell back to the floor. He coughed and struggled to regain his breath. "I have made a new friend." He coughed out. "She doesn't trust Sha. She feels Sha is a loss cannon who has shown a clear paranoia syndrome. She is not the only one either, they all do not trust Sha and feel that Sha will bring an end to the Kingdom of Lorta. She believes that I work for the parliament so she gave me something. She gave me a set of interrogation recordings where she felt Sha's abusive behavior violated the law and went too far."

Xan cut him off, "you are boring me, bounty hunter." He reached through the Force once more and started to choke the former bounty hunter turned villain.

The bounty hunter fought for breath once more then was released. "Yes My Lord" the bounty hunter said than pulled out a data pad. "Here, see for yourself" he said while activating recording. He fell to his side as Xan continued to choke the life out of him.

Xan watched as Sha and Dia confronted a friend of the late Aola. Xan knew him well and had thought to have the young man murdered but decided to turn the man to evil instead. The report of the murders indicated that Xan's plan was working. It was only a matter of time till grief brought Haly to the dark side. He watched and his eye widened as he heard Sha told the man that Cas was not Aola's sister. A fact that Xan already knew. What Xan didn't know, was that Cas was Aola's daughter. "Sha you foolish stupid lizard. Your brutal honesty has finally paid off for me." Xan watched with great excitement as shortly there after Dia stepped forward and confirmed that Cas was in fact Aola's daughter. Xan stumbled backward to his chair in shock as the realization finally set in. He saw that Dia did have the book. It was safe to assume that Dia still held the book with her. He leaned against the chair in shock as he image continued to play out.

"Every thing had indicated that Aola's unborn child was still birthed." Xan said in disbelief, "I even searched through the Force and saw that my child was born lifeless." He knew that Sha would not have said it unless she truly believed it to be so. Which meant that Dia had the evidence and it was somewhere in that book. "But now, I know that my daughter is alive. And both Dia and Sha knows where she is.

"My Lord" the bounty hunter said as he recovered from the choking. "You are pleased," there was still the possible issue of his untimely death hovering in the air.

Xan once more rose from his chair, "oh yes" he said walking towards the frozen image of Dia holding open a book. "Look in her eyes," he said pointing to Dia, "she believes this to be true. My daughter" Xan said with a smile, "My Daughter is alive after all!" There was both vile darkness and delight in his voice. Xan turned his gaze from the frozen image and back to the bounty hunter, "new orders. Bring Dia home. Capture Sha. We will break them both. They both know where my daughter is being hid. I want my child returned to me. As for the rest, I have no use for any of them. Kill them all."

"Yes My Lord" the bounty hunter said. "Um, Sir," he said as if he was unsure of asking this next question, "why did you order us to kill Cas in the first place?"

Xan turned and walked back to his chair, "that was meant as a message to Dia and the others, once I returned her home safely. So that they would know what happens to those who run away. More importantly, what happens to those close them. I want them to see the cost of running on everyone around them." He turned to one of the men working at a set of controls, "Contact Jin, inform her that I will need her for a special mission. Have her return home at once. Also, send a message to Pessk. Message is as follows, don't leave Lorta just yet. Uncover all there is regarding Aola's sister Cas." Xan was pleased with the current turn of events. He walked back over to the bounty hunter. His bluish hologram image seemed almost like a ghost before the seasoned bounty hunter.

"I will allow you to live for now, Changeling. However let me make this clear to you. Fail me again, and I will assure you that your death will be slow, painful and time consuming." he leaned in close, "Make no mistake, you are on borrowed time Changeling. Don't push your luck. Find Dia and bring her home, safely. Hand Sha over to the interrogators and kill the rest of them."

There was a bit of confusion in his eyes, however the bounty hunter opted to keep his neck intact and his mouth closed. With a nod he uttered, "Yes My Lord."

[Akirapryde]

(7.25) Changing Winds
GRS Republic
Republic Flagship, Heavy Carrier
Reich Occupied Space
Mid-Rim World of Bothawui
22nd September, 1938

The battle for Bothawui first started when elements of the Reich's elite Tenth Panzer Army stormed across the boarders and faced off with the lightly equipped and undermanned fifteenth People's Army. Bothawui was a highly prized world on both sides. However, only one side at the start of the battle truly knew what it took to secure the world from the other. The Reich played its most valuable asset on the table before the battle of Bothawui could start. They unleashed their intelligence agency and turned a large portion of the population against the Varl overlords of the world. However, like the master strategists that they are, the Reich held back these partisans from spreading needless violence. Instead, they smuggled in trainers and special forces to work side by side with these partisans. Long before the Tenth Panzer Army took to their transports, the battle for Bothawui had already begun. Before the Great Galactic War, battles were triggered once a enemy unit arrived in system and changed the defending unit. Normally the two forces would take days to line up their defenders and prepare for the coming battle. The days of the Gentleman's War was long gone as the Reich changed the rules of war.

The Reich had little difficulty finding former slaves and former slave soldiers that had a grudge against the Varl and were looking for some pay back. Months before the actually battle was to take place, cells of partisan were starting their training for the coming battle. In the shadows of the large defensive complexes, Reich spies walked taking their measurements and images. History will write of the Reich invasion of Bothawui as 'The invasion so destined to succeed, still it was a failure due to countless miss opportunities and lack of solid leadership.' With all of their intelligence in hand and partisans ready to do their part, the Tenth Panzer Army under the command of Field Marshal Rederich Barth took to their transports. While the Tenth Panzer Army had over a hundred thousand troops and supporting armor, Field Marshal Barth felt that only half of the army was needed to take and secure Bothawui. It was a huge gamble with much at risk, however the Reich commander was right. The intelligence offered showed that the Varl's Fifteenth Army was not fully manned nor did they have the most up to date armor. Instead he sent the rest of his army to conquer the Varl world of Kothlis. A move that will hold importance in the months to come.

As the naval forces of the Tenth Panzer Army entered the Bothawui system, the Reich had two major concerns. First they had to disable the Varl System wide defense grid or their ships would not be able to reach the world itself. This task was left to the partisans and Reich special forces. As the large carriers of the Reich closed in on the world, there was a large sigh of relief when the massive anti-ship guns of the Defense Grid remained silent. The partisans and special forces had done their jobs. However Field Marshal Barth received troubling news from his advance forces. They had been able to disable the Defense Grid, but not completely. It was very likely that the Varl could repair the command and control centers and return the grid to operation sometime later during the battle. The warning was taken in stride as Field Marshal Barth commented that once they captured the world, repairing the Grid would be useful should the Varl attempt to recapture the world. He never considered the weight of the warning nor the fact that he could possibly fail to secure the world.

The second orbital priority was the the two naval anchorages in orbit. Here the large regional defense units were lined up. The Reich had hoped to catch the Varl with their pants down. Timing and surprise were still on the Reich's side and the Varl were indeed caught unaware of the coming battle. For the Varl, the coming defeat was nothing short of lack of attention to Galactic events and not heeding the advice of military leaders. Both orbital anchorages were ill prepared for the coming waves of Reich fighters. While the General Varl Assembly had demanded changes to all defenses to include defending against attacking fighters. These changes for Bothawui were slated to start late in the summer of nineteen thirty eight. Sadly for the defenders of Bothawui, the Reich choose to attack nearly three months before construction on new anti-fighter systems could begin. This left the defense of the anchorages to the ships moored within them.

Using their swarm tactics, the Reich fighters hammered the defending Varl ships over and over again as the ships attempted to escape the trap which their anchorages had become. Ignoring the direct orders of both the System Commander and the Anchorage Commander, the most senior Varl naval commander turned the remaining Varl ships for deep space and fled the devastation. Of the sixteen Varl ships, eleven were able to escape to fight another day. Two were destroyed before they had a chance to power up their main engines. Three refused to abandon the world and attempted to fight off the overwhelming odds. One ship was turned to a burning wreck over Bothawui while the last two were captured by Reich forces. As the Varl ships were attempting to flee the system nine ships of the Bothan Rebel fleet arrived to assist in the invasion. While they were late from the original time, they were in a prefect position to stop the fleeing Varl ships. Field Marshal Barth ordered them to move on the world of Bothawui and support landing operations while his own forces mopped up the few remaining Varl system defense crafts. Once more a choice that could have changed the over all out come of this battle. Once more, a missed opportunity for the Reich and a moment of salvation for the Varl.

With the space above the world of Bothawiu secured and the Defense Grid helpless to stop the landings, the forces of the Reich's elite Tenth Panzer made their landings at the Armush Heights just outside of the planetary capital. For their credit, a large detachment of the Fifteenth rushed to meet the invaders at the Armush Heights. Under the command of Comrade Marshal Bok, the Fifteenth faced the landing Reich forces and had a chance to truly stop the Reich invasion. Marshal Bok lined his units up in such a way that the Reich Tenth Panzers were unable to muster after landing. It appeared as if the Reich invasion was dead on landing as Marshal Bok pushed harder against the Reich units. Those units on the ground were quickly pressed up against the units that were attempting to disembark off of their transports. It was a very daring move that was now paying off for the Varl as the Fifteenth used the siltation to their advantage. That was till the Bothan Rebel Fleet came in low and engaged the Fifteenth. Without direct air support, Marshal Bok was forced to withdraw his battered forced to the west and away from the city. The elements of the Fifteenth under the command of Marshal Bok were ravaged by the large guns of the Bothans and driven further and further from the Reich landing zones.

With Marshal Bok's units in full retreat, Field Marshal Barth gave his unit a chance to regroup while the rest of his units made their landings. By the end of the first day, Field Marshal Barth had blasted the Varl space defenses apart and secured the system. He also had established his foot hold on the world and was ready to move forward. He gave his unit the night to prepare for the final siege on the capital and total victory over the world. During the night, the Tenth Panzer were met up with their Bothan allies which doubled their numbers. The fifteenth were now hopelessly out numbered against the combined forces of the Reich and Bothan troops. Field Marshal Barth knew that he needed to secure the capital and the System Defense Grid Command Center to the south of the city. According to his spies, the Fifteenth were going to attempt to put up a defense within the Capital. One of his senior field officers submitted an idea that would call for the Tenth to circle around the capital and make a rapid push for the Command Center. This would allow the Bothans to face off with the Fifteenth and lay claim to the capital. The plan was sound and would have changed the events of this battle drastically. However, Field Marshal Barth was not about to allow a lesser race capture such a prize. His reply to the idea was clear, "Capturing this world will change the course of this war. It could very well spell the end to the Varl threat once and for all. No, Capturing the Capital and through it, this world, shall be the prize of the Tenth Panzer Army. And no other."

The following morning, Field Marshal Barth unleashed a bombardment on the capital city that rocked the ground for hundreds of miles. Within minutes, key positions of defense within the city were laid to ruin as well the soldiers of the Fifteenth. After an hour of the bombardment, the order was given for the Tenth Panzer to move on the city. The Bothan army were held in reserve as the battle for the city was joined. The battle was short lived as the green troops of the Fifteenth had courage and died at their posts. Still they lacked experience as the elite soldiers of the Tenth made short work of these green troops. By midday the remains of the Fifteenth were all but in full route. The retreat was a mix of chaos and terror. Still there were some soldiers that held their ground regardless of their fate. These few brave soldiers paid with their lives so that the others would have a chance to retreat from the city. By the late after noon, the remains of the Fifteenth in the city had been pressed in to a few pockets that were no longer a threat to the Tenth or their plans. The Bothan Army was called in to clean up these pockets of resistance as the Tenth cut a path of death and destruction through the remainder of the city. Field Marshal Barth took the Mayor's surrender personally from his tank as it set on the steps of the City Hall. Field Marshal Barth finally turned his unit for the last major obstacle to Reich occupation. The System Defense Grid Command Center.

With the setting sun to their eyes, Field Marshal Barth turned his unit for the Command Center and pushed them for glory. Less than an hour after the Tenth had left the city, scouts reported a large enemy column heading for the left flank of the Tenth. Nothing in the intelligence reflected another other units on world other than the Fifteenth. If the Tenth didn't turn to face this new threat, they could find themselves flanked while they are trying to battle for the Command Center. If they turn to face the threat, than they waste what little time they had left to capture the site while they were helpless. Riding on luck and against the advice of his command staff, Field Marshal Barth ordered the Tenth to conduct a left flanking maneuverer. He also called up the Bothans from the city to help support this coming battle. Field Marshal Barth pressed his unit hard forward to meet this new threat at full speed. He wanted to put down the Varl defenders once and for all. "Once this battle is over, the world shall be ours boys. Forward! Full speed forward BOYS!" he commanded to his unit commanders. This was setting up for a major final battle and victory was in the wind. However the Reich were not the only ones with surprises. As Field Marshal Barth, to his horror would find out.

As the Tenth speed for the new unit, smoke and dust obscured visual identifications and jammers didn't make sensors any more useful. Only judging on the size, Field Marshal Barth could assume that the unit was at least equally as large as the Tenth if not slightly larger. As the two units became engaged in combat it became clear of the trick. The unit that the Tenth was finding themselves in combat with was the remains of Marshal Bok's battered units. They were badly out numbered but had used their vehicles to mask their actual size. The battle was very short lived once the Bothans arrived and out flanked Marshal Bok's forces. Even when all seemed hopeless, the remaining forces of the Fifteenth never surrendered or withdrew. They held the line against the Tenth and the Bothans till the bitter end. By night fall, the battle had turned to a slaughter as the Fifteenth lacked the ability to actually put up an affective defense. Near ten pm, Marshal Bok's command unit was hit with massive fire from a Bothan unit and Marshal Bok was killed. With the death of their commander, the tattered remains of the Fifteenth broke and fled for the near by woods. Those that couldn't surrendered to the Reich and Bothan forces.

With nothing else between him and the System Defense Grid Command Center, Field Marshal Barth ordered his Tenth and the Bothans regroup and prepared to end this battle. Just as the units had regrouped and started for the Command Center, horror filled the Field Marshal's face as the horizon lit up as a shimmering doom covered the Command Center. Field Marshal Barth ordered his ships to fire at the command center. They fired full broadsides with little effect, the shields held fast. The defensive walls were too think for his armor to over come. The Command Center was no longer helpless and the battle had just shifted from a sure thing to they could not hold the system. Through out the night, the Tenth nor the Bothans could not punch their way through the wall or the shield. With the coming light of the third day, the main guns of the Command Center drove back the Naval support of the Reich forces. By the end of day three, the Reich forces were forced to pull back from the bluffs that over looked the command center due to direct large gun fire. There was little that Field Marshal Barth could do at the time. Plans were worked on, but the battle changed once more when the Varl smuggled in a group of transports. It was those very ships that escaped during the opening hours of the battle which brought in those transports.

Using pirates and smugglers, the Varl were able to reinforce Bothawui and prevent the complete fall of the world. By the end of the second week of occupation, the Reich and Bothans were forced out of the capital and the Varl seemed to be gaining the upper hand once more. As the days slipped to weeks and weeks gave way to months, the Varl fought hard to push the Reich off world. And with the thanks of military units from Senex Military Alliance the Reich were nearly driven from the world. For what seemed like a life time, the end of the battle for Bothawui seemed nearly over. As the Allied forces of the Varl and the Senex Military Alliance mustered their forces for the final battle, the war shifted once more. With this shift came fresh Reich soldiers and new equipment. Once more, the battle for Bothawui pushed the limits of warfare as the battles raged across the world. The bloodshed had just begun to flow across Bothawui. Sadly, it was the Bothan on both sides that saw the heaviest of losses. The lines of battle shifted regularly as new troops would arrive or the battle for the system as a whole shifted between the Allied forces and the Reich.

As one of the most key battles in the region raged, it became clear that the world of Bothawui would hold more than just a strategic victory to either side. Both sides launched massive campaigns to lure the location population from the other side. With the large number of former Varl world in either open revolt from their former Varl overlords or in complete support of the Reich, the Republic was faced with its largest battle over the hearts and minds of citizens of the Galaxy. For hundreds of years, the region had been subjected to Varl domination. Once the Republic and largely Daz Murl forced the Varl to release their slaves, those same slaves were now turning a deaf ear to the Varl's call for help against the Reich. With the Reich's knife at the throat of the Varl Grand Assembly, its former slaves refusing to help or even joining sides with the Reich, the Republic had to find a way to battle the Reich without taking the Varl side in this war. A political and military crisis had been formed out of the Varl release of millions of slaves, many of them had served in the Varl Armed Forces as a slave army. If the Republic was to win against the Reich, it had to offer these former slaves a third option.

That option came out of the brainstorm from Cevita Murl, Minister of Strategic Planning and Daz Murl's adoptive Rodian daughter. It was her political maneuvering that forced the Varl central government to give up any and all claims on former worlds currently held by the Reich. The exchange called for the worlds to fully join the Republic and offer its support in the Republic's war against the Reich. The offer quickly spread to Varl worlds that were not being held by the Reich. It became clear that the Varl as a galactic power was being dismantled one world at a time by both the Republic and the Reich. The Varl central government had very little to do but accept the situation while the Republic pushed the Reich back from completely destroying the Varl. This third option allowed the Republic to work independently of the Varl while defending the Varl from the Reich. The move was widely successful across the region, but seemed to fall on deaf ears when it came to Bothan worlds. Still, this gave the Republic the room it needed to battle the Reich and its Bothan allies. The true test of the Republic came with the hard fought victory on the Bothan Mid-Rim world of Hursah.

Hursah was a strong Varl outpost before the war. With the invasion of Bothawui, the Varl moved millions of tons of supplies to Hursah as hopes to use the world to supply the embattled world of Bothawui. To the Varl horror, the garrison on Hursah surrendered to the Reich forces once they arrived in system. The very same units were used to spearhead the Reich invasion of the nearby world of Luisten. Hursah became a valuable resupply world for Reich forces and key to the bypass route for Bothawui. Minister Cevita Murl knew that for Bothawui to fall back in to the Republic's hands, Hursah not only had to be liberated, the Republic had to win the hearts and minds of the people of Hursah. A task that was not easily accomplished. To show her devotion to the people of Hursah and to upstage her Reich counterparts, she secretly went to the world personally to speak to planetary leaders. She negotiated in vain to get the Hursah people to switch sides once more. Her last meeting nearly saw her captured by Reich military police. Before leaving, she told the Hursah people that the Republic was not finished with Hursah and that she would see that they would become a free world and members of the Republic.

Six months later, the world would fall to the combined forces of the Republic and Sexen Alliance. As the planetary leaders were gathered up, Minister Cevita Murl met with them and informed them that they would not be placed under arrest. Instead they would still serve their people by helping the world's transition in to a full member of the Republic. World spread across the region of the events on Hursah. Finally that third option for the Republic became a reality and a path to victory in the Region was able to be seen. Which was the final part of the larger plan to end the Reich's strangle hold over the Region. It was time to finally put an end to the Reich's direct involvement in the region once and for all. Of Minister Cevita Murl's plan, hundreds of battles across the region and spanning the entire Reich occupation zone were called for. The over all plan called on the overwhelming of the Reich defenses and forcing the Reich to pick and choose which worlds to loose and which to attempt to hold on to. The center of this plan called for a massive diversionary attack on Bothawui to draw out as many Reich forces as possible. The heart of the diversionary attack was the Republic's elite 1st Republic Guard commanded by her own father, Chancellor Daz Murl.

"Chancellor, the Bothans are attempting to flank us!" called out a member of Daz's bridge crew.

"They can not hope to win against us!" Daz said walking across the bridge. "This is only a futile attempt to force our hand. Press forward and continue to hammer at those Reich carriers! The sooner they are forced from the battle, the sooner we can proceed with our landings. Inform Prince Arwen Phanan and Admiral Jorric Tarrak that we are pushing the Reich navy back. Soon they will be in position to take fire from the world."

Another officer spoke up, "Sir, reports are flooding in, the operation is in full swing. All allied units are reporting engagements. The Reich lines around the region are buckling."

Daz smiled through his mask and nodded, "As I have foreseen; all things are happening according to the Will of the Force. You see, ladies and gentlemen? When you trust in the Force, we can accomplish great things. Inform all commands to push forward at all costs! We must break the Reich's hold here." He paused as his comlink went off. Raising his forearm, he saw that it was Cevita calling. He turned from his bridge crew, "Speak," he said into the comlink.

"Father," her voice came over the comlink, "He is here. I sense his presence just as you had foreseen it. It is time."

Daz nodded as he turned back to his crew, "Admiral Quish, you have the command. Follow the battle plan to your judgment. Push the Reich back towards the planet and allow the planetary defense systems to finish them off," he commanded, then added, "I must take my leave, as the Force is calling me to attend to other matters." Daz turned and walked for the lift. His six red-armored guards followed close behind him. He turned and faced the bridge before the doors of the lift closed. "I will be back shortly. We will win the day! I have foreseen a great Republic victory," Daz said. 'And the death of an old friend,' he thought. The doors closed as the lights of the battle flashed across the bridge.

The lift took Daz to the upper observation level of the massive warship. The battle was raging around the flagship of the Republic as forces from both sides were locked in a deadly struggle for survival. The large observation deck flashed different colors as Reich fighters dueled with Republic fighters just meters from the windows. This too was foretold to Daz, the moment when he would finally face Master Visst once and for all. He didn't know how Master Visst got aboard his ship, and he didn't need to. Daz only knew that this moment would happen and with Cevita by his side, Master Visst would fall. It pained Daz to know that he had to kill his former friend and Master, but he knew that for his vision of the Galaxy to come to fruition, Master Visst had to die. Daz walked out on to the observation deck and saw Cevita waiting for him with five more red-armored guards. All was just as Daz had foreseen. Between Cevita, the guards and himself, Master Visst stood no chance of victory on this day. "Are all things ready?" Daz asked.

Cevita nodded, "Yes, Father. He is up there," she pointed to an upper level of the deck. "I still would like to know how he got on board," she added.

Daz waved his hand. "That is unimportant," he said as he looked up to the deck above them. The lights of the battle flashed casting shadows over the entire deck. The massive ship rocked slightly as a nearby warship exploded in a brilliant flash of light and energy. "Take the guards to the upper levels on the far side of the deck and wait for my signal," Daz commanded Cevita. "Together, we will end Master Visst's attempts to change the future," Daz started to walk towards a nearby staircase.

Cevita nodded, "Yes, Father," she said with a bow, motioning for the entire guard force to follow her. She led the red-armored royal guards opposite the way Daz was walking.

Daz climbed the stairs as a Reich fighter rocketed past the large windows. In pursuit, a pair of Republic fighters were close behind. Their blaster fire filled the staircase with flashes of bright red. Daz's shadow was cast across the floor of the deck as he slowly climbed the staircase, his royal purple cloak flowing behind him. His hands steady as he walked upward towards the battle, he knew this was no longer avoidable. In the balance of this battle was everything that Daz had worked for. Daz knew that Master Visst would never join the Republic and would never accept Daz's vision for the Galaxy. Daz truly believed that there was nothing that he could do to avoid this coming battle. As Daz reached the upper level of the observation deck, a massive energy bolt slammed in to the mighty Republic's shields. The energy blast washed the area with spectacular colors as the energy danced across the strong shields. The light which was cast throughout the area was filled with a wide spectrum of colors, mixed and chaotic. Daz paused with confidence as the light from behind bathed him in a rainbow of colors that illuminated the entire deck.

This was his moment, this was his time to show the entire galaxy that his path was the right path. For once, everything would go just as he had planned it. On the far side of the deck, Cevita waited with the guards for his signal to strike the final blow to Visst. He slowly continued as he took the final steps up and on to the upper level of the observation deck. This was going to be his moment in history to prove once and for all that there are not two sides of the Force. There is only the Force and it was calling upon him to unify the Galaxy under his rule. Daz felt Visst's presence through the Force. It was clear to him that Visst was not making any attempt to hide himself. However, Daz felt another presence through the Force. This one was making an attempt to hide, 'Herself,' he thought as he knew right away who it was. Daz called out, "Greetings, my old friend!" he paused just long enough to take a breath before stepping to the center of the deck. This deck doubled as Daz's personal retreat while on board. The couch and chairs in the center curved around a table. It was here that Daz and Cevita had planned to defeat the Reich and to defeat Visst. Daz glanced at the table a large metal tray which held five lightsabers. Each belonged to members of the Inner Light who Daz had consumed. He couldn't help but notice Knight Murl's lightsaber among the others. "I sense Angel is with you. This is as I have foreseen it, Visst. When will you realize that we are each bound by the Force to play our role in destiny?"

"The future is always in motion Daz, a lesson you have failed to heed each time," Visst said. Daz turned to the direction of the voice and saw Master Visst seated cross-legged near a large window. Visst slowly rose from the floor. "Master Heartman is not here with us," Master Visst said truthfully, "She is on the world below." It no longer mattered what Daz knew; plans had been placed in motion that would end Daz's control over the Republic and his influence within the Galaxy. There was nothing Visst could do anymore to change this fact; it all fell to Daz to change what was going to happen. Again, there was nothing Visst could do that would change this. Darkness had to be purged from Daz or Visst would purge it from the Republic by destroying him. Days, weeks of meditation had given Visst no other path forward. Daz had to decide which path to follow.

Daz didn't believe Visst, he felt the second presence. He knew that it had to be Angel. There was no other option. He could feel the second strong Force-user concealing herself through the Force. Daz knew that Angel would play a critical part in this battle, which is why it was so important that Cevita had to play her part. Sure, Cevita would pay with her life, but it was a sacrifice that Daz was willing to to make. Angel and Visst were both strong, but Daz had grown far stronger than both of them. "Hello, Angel," he called out in an attempt to have Angel betray her location to Cevita. "Angel, it does not have to be like this!" Daz said, calling out to his old friend. He needed her to betray her location. "You can still join me. There is so much you can help me do, Angel. Together we can rebuild the Republic. I know that you are working to unify the Inner Light and Sabbat within the Jedi Order. You will need my help if you hope to take on the Church." Daz still held out hope that Angel would come to her senses so that she didn't have to be destroyed. "Angel, please hear me out!" Daz didn't want to harm. After all, he still remembered that day back on Coruscant that now seemed a lifetime ago when they started this grand adventure.

Master Visst could feel the movement of the Force around them. There was great darkness emanating from Daz, but he no longer felt Lord Murl's dark hand. Lysire, the Council of Me, as well as a few others had dealt with the dark monster. Master Visst closed his eyes as he gave silent thanks to Lysire; Daz could still be saved. They had done their part, now Master Visst could convince Daz to turn back. "Daz, she is not here," Master Visst said once more in truthfulness. "Daz, can you not feel the darkness around you anymore? That darkness is within you, but you can be saved. Please, Daz; let me help you," Master Visst pleaded with Daz.

Daz knew that there was no turning Visst from this path. He also knew that Visst's strongest weapon lay in his defense. The ability to beat Visst meant getting past that defense. "Visst," Daz said coldly, "There is only one way this will be settled. I am fighting to unite the Galaxy, you would prefer to keep it divided!" Daz said with anger in his heart. Visst had turned everyone close to Daz against him. Even the one he called sister now turned her back on Daz. 'I am so sorry you must die, Angel,' Daz thought with sorrow. "No more talking, Visst; allow us to finish this," Daz said, activating his lightsaber, the once flames of gleaming white, but now muted ivory blade springing from its hilt.

Like the switch on Visst's own silver-bladed lightsaber, Master Visst changed roles from attempting to save a fallen friend to the Jedi who would save the Republic from darkness. Master Visst waited for Daz to make the first move and it came quickly. The two Jedi Masters entered in to their duel as the battle for Bothawui raged around them. Their lightsabers clashed as the flashes of light from the space beyond this deck filled the room. Their lightsabers danced around each other as the Force was called upon in ways not seen in the Galaxy since the time of the Great Jedi Civil War. Both beings were experts in the ways of the Force and each called upon their own side to help within the battle. Light and dark raged in this conflict of Masters. The observation deck lit up with the chaotic light show from energy blasts hitting the shields. These rainbow shows washed over the two Masters as they continued their life and death duel. Their silhouettes moved across the deck with the lights of the battle still behind them. This allowed their lightsabers to appear more defined.

"Visst, you have grown stronger since the last time we crossed paths. I am actually surprised that you don't need Angel's help," Daz said as they locked sabers. He knew that Visst was getting worn out from the battle, but at the same time so was he. If Angel didn't bring herself in to the battle, he would have to call on Cevita to play her part.

"Daz, I sense you're weakening. We don't have to go any further. I have a ship waiting. It can take you back to Origin and you can be saved," Visst said, hoping for Daz to come back to the light.

Daz knew that Visst was right. He was running out of energy to continue the battle. Daz pushed Master Visst back, "You are right, we don't have to go any further," he said raising his voice. It was time to end this. "Visst, you have betrayed the Republic; it is time for you to pay with your life!" he shouted. As the two Masters stood there, a large ship exploded in the background, filling the Observation Deck with a brilliant flood of light as large chunks of debris bounced harmlessly off the shields. Daz looked around, waiting for the incoming fire that was to kill Master Visst. Still the two former friends stood there facing each other in an awkward moment of silence. Daz turned to the back of the deck, "It is time to pay with your life!" Daz yelled louder to no effect.

"Alone in the darkness you have become Daz," Master Visst said, as apparently what Daz was hoping would happen didn't. "Come with me back to Origin," Master Visst pleaded, "Let Origin save you."

Anger filled Daz's mind at Cevita's betrayal, 'Damn her!' Daz thought with rage. 'This would be over if not for her treachery,' Daz's mind added. "Don't worry about me being alone, Visst!" Daz said with pure anger. "I have a Republic to lead!" he said, rejoining his attack on Master Visst.

This time he allowed his anger and rage to flow freely. Daz's attacks were filled with rage, hatred and the dark side. Daz's repeated attacks were overpowering. He screamed out his anger with each new attack. The battle between Daz and Visst took a more violent turn as Daz no longer held to any one form or technique. He wanted Visst to pay for this battle. He was going to make Cevita pay for her treason! Angel would pay for her betrayal! Swip would pay! They would all pay for leaving him when he needed them the most! Each attack was filled with more anger, more rage, more hate. The dark side flowed so freely that it was all Master Visst could do to hold up his own lightsaber as Daz hammered away at him. Reich fighters rocketed past the large windows as they were conducting their attacks on the Republic herself. The massive ship shuddered under the attacks as Master Visst's arms shuddered under Daz's repeated hits against his lightsaber. Pushed back against a chair, Master Visst fell to the ground as Daz kicked him.

Master Visst lost his grip on his own lightsaber as Daz disarmed him. With a single swipe of Daz's lightsaber, Master Visst's lightsaber was destroyed. The hate and anger flowed so horrifically through Daz that there was no longer any containing it. Daz hated them for betraying him and he hated Master Visst for being right. Daz raised his now black-bladed lightsaber as the moment finally belonged to him. Below him was a now helpless Master Visst and retribution was finally at hand. At last, Daz saw that this battle was about light and darkness. He knew the power of the dark side and knew that if he was to control the Galaxy, he needed that power. All of his plans had been paid for with the blood of millions. Daz would make every last one of his enemies pay for their crimes against him, starting with Master Visst. Daz smiled as he brought his lightsaber down towards Master Visst's helpless form. In this battle between light and dark, it was a triumph of......

Master Visst knew that the war was far from over. He knew that he had been beaten, but this was only a single battle in a much larger war. In that moment, Master Visst had accepted what had happened and was ready to meet his fate. In Daz's face, Master Visst saw the anger and hate finally consume Daz. He heard footsteps rushing from somewhere on the deck. Someone was screaming out and Master Visst saw the lightsaber coming down at him. This was it, this was the moment in time when history would be made. Master Visst closed his eyes and was grateful that the Force allowed him to share this remarkable journey. So much he had seen. And so much he had experienced. He even had the very rare chance to experience love. Never before had he ever felt so much peace in his heart and mind. He accepted what was happening as the Will of the Force. 'I am at peace,' he thought as he was ready to let go.

"VISST!" Daz called out, "STOP ME!"

Master Visst's eyes snapped open as Daz's lightsaber hung only inches from his face. The voice was not that of the Daz who Visst had been attempting to save, but of the Daz back on Yavin 4 when they first met. This was the Daz that Visst knew. There was clearly a struggle between the two within Daz's mind. Darkness had taken its toll, but Daz was still inside there somewhere. Master Visst also felt that struggle fading quickly. Master Visst reached out to the table and through the Force snatched the closest lightsaber from the metal tray. There was no pause in Master Visst's actions, though the pain on his heart was heavy. Daz had finally found a way to save himself. With lightsaber in hand, Master Visst activated it. Its scarlet blade shot up from the hilt and in to Daz's chest. Just as Master Visst's lightsaber fully activated, the struggle in Daz ended. Daz brought the blade down on to Master Visst. The blow was a glancing one to his, but Master Visst's own strike was a mortal one. Daz withdrew from Master Visst's blade and fell to his knees. Death was written across Daz's face as the Darkness faded.

.........It was the triumph of light!

With pain across his face and in his voice, Daz looked up to Master Visst one last time. "Thank you," he said, just before falling over lifeless. Master Visst took note of the lightsaber in his hand and realized why it looked familiar. It had belonged to Knight Murl before her death at the hand of Daz; the crystal within given to her by her killer.

"Visst!" Canny yelled, rushing to Visst's side.

"Stop them!" Cevita yelled as she led her troops on to the deck. "They murdered the Chancellor!"

Master Visst was far too weak to oppose this new threat as Canny helped him to his feet. She held her sword out in defense of the man she loved. The two were more than ready to end their lives here. Their mission had been completed; Daz had been saved. The Chancellor's bodyguards moved to cut the pair from escape as the battle for Bothawui continued to rage behind them. Cevita's plan had played out perfectly. Daz had weakened Master Visst to a point where even she could dispatch him. She smiled as she looked at the fallen dark-sider. She no longer had to worry about killing her own Master. Visst had done that for her.

Canny looked to Master Visst and smiled, "I love you and I don't regret a thing."

Master Visst turned to Canny and smiled as he struggled to hold up Knight Murl's lightsaber, "Neither do I."

"Guards, avenge your Chancellor!" Cevita cried.

The red-armored guards, who were all too familiar to Master Visst, each raised up their weapons at the two light-siders. In that very moment, the ship rocked as a powerful blast hit the hull just below the observation deck. The lights went out and sparks flew across the deck as the ship rocked violently from the impact. A loud hissing noise was heard as a nearby breech was caused by the impact. Sirens wailed as the impact took its toll on the ship and the section. The only lights in the area came from the blasts and weapons fire beyond the large windows of the Observation Deck. As a result of the impact, Cevita and the Guards were forced to withdraw a bit and seek cover from the large array of sparks and falling superstructure. It was Cevita who cried out for the guards to stop the escape that was taking place. However, it was to no use. When the emergency lights returned, Master Visst, Canny as well as the body of Daz were gone. The red light of a nearby escape pod indicated the route of their flight. It didn't matter, there was nothing Cevita could do. There was too much debris and the fighting was too far from being over for them to locate the escape pod.

She activated her comlink to the bridge, "Alert all hands and all commands: The Reich has sent a spec ops team aboard and murdered our beloved Chancellor and his guards," she reported. The guards around her all turned and looked to her as she activated her own lightsaber. Across her small mouth, an evil grin grew. There had been no reason for her to attempt to assassinate her Master; she had known that Visst would perform the task for her. Soon, she would be Emperor of the entire Galaxy and everyone would hate the Reich and humans for this assassination... just as she had planned it.