<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Capricia... Antioch, Capital City<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->



The crew of the <!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Avatar<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> disembarked once they slid into the berth of the orbiting holding station. He was amazed to see only half the fleet in orbit around homeworld.


The transport to the surface revealed more, as he noticed the defense works set ready, the gun emplacements and troop movements like tiny ants...getting larger the closer to the surface he got.

Being escorted to the Galactic Board (Capricia's Main Military Information Gathering Area) he was soon brought up to speed regarding the situation at hand.

..and indeed things looked grim.

"Your family is in one of the shield bunkers Herridian," Gomorran had offered, and then shifted his eyes to Leantre. He turned expectantly to the older Clan Leader who clearly had trouble spitting out the next few words.

"Wye, we have had problems in locating Skyler." he finally managed.

"WHAT??" Herridian almost exploded.

"We are having every available person looking for him, but it seems he's managed to get himself purposefully lost."

Herridian stopped his tirade to examine the words used in that last statement.

"Are you telling me my son offered his services and then deserted?"

"He's not Clan, so noone is holding him responsible for anything official, Herridian." Gomorran offered and then continued, "Right now the important thing is to find him and we are doing everything we can.."

Herridian let his shoulders sag a little and breathed out a sigh of dispair.

"I know.. I know.." he tried to smile but failed miserably.

"I look forward to reading the reports of your expedition, Herridian but we are in a bad straight right now..."

and the Regent and Leader of Clan Leantre filled him in on the problem Tyscio Zier was having with the colony on Tirus, the presumed failier of Cronus' force to Minos, the Caprician forces being led by a Jedi from The New Republic.."

Herridian interrupted to inform them of their observations of the Outmarches (outside the Caprician System).

"It's only a matter of time Herridian before they strike at the homeworld...but this virus Tyscio is facing on Tirus scares the hell out of me." Gomorran commented. "What if such a thing were used on Capricia itself? We need more information about it and Leantre has an idea, a bit farfetched to be sure, but it's the best lead we've got."

Herridan was all business now as he turned to Vio, "Tell me."



..and Leantre Vio did.


"Herridian, during our two year Exodus, we collected vast amounts of information. Leantre, to preserve and protect it, located the older archives on Brin. The <!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Avatar<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> is being prepped for departure right now. I will be assigning some soldiers to accompany you as well as Engineers to secure Brin."


"Brin?? The planet is a hell hole!" exclaimed Wye.

Leantre only smiled enigmatically. "Exactly."


"Herridan," Gomorran grabbed his shoulder, "A few years ago the galaxy was lit on fire with the ambition of one man. He carved for himself an Empire that few rival. And then, quite suddenly, their flame was snuffed out. People only speak of that man, his group in dark corners.. in whispers.

Legend has it that their Empire crumbled almost overnight..and call it what you will, speculative or scientific theory, those that gathered what first hand data they could referred to a "Leveller of Empires"."

"And our people, Leantre, thinks that this refers to the bug attacking Tirus?" Herridian concluded.

When he saw the grim faces of both men, he sighed. "Gomorran, Leantre, the only known planet in his Empire that we know of was Ziost...and if I am not mistaken, out on the Rim somewhere...covered with Sith."

"There were others... that no one knows of.." Leantre mentioned quietly, as if he'd be overheard.

"Herridan, follow the "Corridor" march. You know the space our Clans avoided."

Herridian nodded. "And that information is at Brin. When do I leave?"

"As soon as possible."

"I will see my family now." Herridan stated before starting to leave.

"Don't worry. We will find Skyler." but Herridian only nodded.






**


<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Several Hours Later..<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->


The small fleet led by Herridian in the <!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Avatar<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> slowed as the approach to the planet Brin came into view.

The vessels had to form a single line orbit given the proximity of the planet to the Caprician Sun.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Hellspot<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, Herridian thought.


The landing of soldiers took time and care. Finally, Herridian was able to access the archived data, grumbling at the massive amount of safeguards built into the system.

But soon he found what he was looking for. In order to locate a planet legends only whispered about, it was necessary to start with what they knew. And they knew that a large section of space was the stage for a homicidal Warlord's path of conquest. An area of space referred to by many as "The Corridor".

But how far did this Corridor extend outward before the man's empire crumbled and disappeared.

..and the archives found Herridian a starting point.




With the bulk of his small fleet staying on Brin, the <!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Avatar<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> and a sister ship readied to depart the system.

They would make an extreme orbit around the sun positioning themselves as far away from the incoming ships of the invaders as possible.

"Course sir?"

Herridian sighed, looking at the picture in his pocket of his family on more time. He then put it away, narrowed his eyes taking on the mantle of Captain once more.


"Elrood System." he remarked.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Funny thing. I left five months ago looking for a lost clan and by a force of bitter irony, I find one. If only it was one of Capricia.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Providence...<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->


"We shall do as you command, my Lady." the Mathias.

And soon the entire colony was in a flurry of activity, full Martial Law having been levied. The perimeters were dug in and small arms being handed out by both the soldiers and those in charge of the colony's cache of weapons.

"My Lady? Where do you want your command to be?" called a soldier toward Leia.


*

Tsycio Korban stood at the edge looking down into a trench and held out a gloved hand to catch the tiny flakes of snow that were beginning to fall.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> How different this planet is from Almania..<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

He shook his head in wonderment for it had only been a year since his return to the outside world from that desolate place....

.. a year of living on borrowed time..

.. a year to contemplate a reason for it..


He grinned to himself that he was nowhere near finding an answer now than he was at the beginning.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> There are reasons for everything, Tyscio...<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> his teacher would say.


He wondered.



<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Does our conquest have a reason? Is it justified?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->



He thought of the people he'd met over the past year...


Iriana.. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> did the darkside consumer her?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->
Amalia Braska-Azalin... <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> did she have her children?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->
Recon Klain..<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> did the old goat die?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->
Wicket...<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> what did he think of the Caprician?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->
Leia Organa Solo...<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> What of her path?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


He felt strange...his usual quiet irony taking a backseat to a grim reality.



<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Life is hard... Life is harsh.. And without defenders, Life becomes unbearable...<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


He looked down at his lightsaber and an awareness that he had been conciously pushing away (especially since the force had no effect on this Yuuzhan Vong invaders) came back to him.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Capricians take a pragmatic view of the force... they simply view it as a tool .. a means to an end they themselves devise.


Could that end every be, in itself, evil?


Which is stronger?



A person how wields the force or a person who allows the force to wield him or her?


When this is over, I need to train... to find out...<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


He looked up in the deep bluish sky to see a light travelling in a straight line.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Friend or Foe?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

The Regent walked into the Conference Room to simply get away for a minute.

He sat down on a rather plushy leather chair, put his elbows on the gleaming table and rubbed his eyes.


"Herridian's left Brin." intruded a soft voice.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Leantre Vio..<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


"Leantre, are we in such dire straits that we have to follow the lead of some psychopathic warlord of bygone glory?"


"I think we are in such straits to follow any and every available bit of information to help us succeed. I'd slaughter a goat and offer petitions on a Jedi or Sith altar if I felt it would do any good, My Lord."


Gomorran smiled a tired smile and whispered, "Cuzzko. I hope Herridian finds the answers we need."


"Rest assured, Gomorran, if anyone will, Herridian will."


The smile on Gomorran's face disappeared. "I killed her Leantre. I ordered her around, used her... and now I've killed her."


The white haired Leader of Clan Leantre sat down himself. "She's a leader in her own right, my Lord... and she was yours to command. You are Regent."

"..and she was my adjutant." he answered softly.

"No. She was adjutant to Gomorran Kay, Commander of Caprician Fleet, First of the Order of Kayalous...but to Gomorran Kay, the Regent, she was a Clan Leader. We all answer to you."

The elderly man gave a fatherly smile.

"Besides, we do not know the exact status of Cronus' Forces yet."


Gomorran allowed himself a brief flicker of hope before standing and threw Vio a warm smile of thanks.

He straightened his tunic and uniform before entering the Operations Room once more, leaving Leantre.


The old man's positive disposition fell slightly as he, too, rubbed his eyes.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Scipio, what's happened to you?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Providence...<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->



Leia hadn't spent much time outside since the end of the meeting, she had put an order through for her armor and had been waiting for it to arrive since. Now not very far from the trenchlines having hopped a transport on it's way out, she stood outside shivering while she was queried by the Captain in charge of the particular sector she was in. He was outlining her Command setup at the moment.

"I'll be in the trenches with the rest of you, and I probably won't stay in one place. Put the Command center in the center of the protected area, but don't expect me to be there very much, I hate observing when I can be helping. There's a locator beacon with an identifier code implanted in my armor, and I'll always have a direct comm line open, though I'll be on the main channel. If I am needed, I shouldn't be hard to reach, even if the power does go down."

She paused as she heard the steady labor of an engine, and looked up to see an open transport coming. Her eyesight was sharp enough to pick out her armor box on it's open flatbed. True to form, it stopped and the driver hopped out of the cab. She waved him off and nodded, and he went off to do other business while she walked over to the transport and hopped up onto the bed to get her box, the Captain still talking to her the whole time. She shoved the box off of the truck, and it landed with a loud bang on the cold duracrete. The Captain quieted for a moment interrupted by the noise, giving her a chance to talk.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to take a few minutes to change into more appropriate attire. We should be about done here anyways" she said matter of factly.

The Captain nodded. "I shall relay the information so things can be set up."

He departed, leaving Leia to her own thoughts, and she looked down at the contents of her box.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Well, it doesn't look that complicated....<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

Leia was mostly right. 15 minutes later she put back on her gunbelt, picked up her helmet, and flagged down another transport to get to the outer lines.

She caught a ride fairly quickly, and left to herself for a short while (the driver was a Providence soldier and was caught up in his own assigned tasks).

She closed her eyes, not trying to sleep, but instead zoning in on the Force. She felt the here and now, and it's future. But she found no answer, only felt conflict, turmoil. Oddly enough, it did not disturb her. She felt oddly confident, and detested it. Confidence could mean overconfidence, and that could kill her. She spent the remainder of her time cleaning up her though processes, weeding out the uneeded, until for some reason a mental picture of Alderaan, her adopted home, floated into her head....

Her eyes fluttered open as the transport jolted to a halt, keeping whatever the significance of that thought was from reaching her.

"We're here, Ma'am." The driver said simply, seeing she was coherent again, and then hurried off on his chores.

Leia slipped out of the transport, her soft soled boots now armor sheathed on top, (she had been insistent on not wearing the usual issue footware, which was often noisy when one walked), making no sound when she landed on the ground.

It had begun to flurry as she made her way over to the trenches. She looked up at the sky, spotting the same line of light Tyscio Korban stood staring a klick or so down the trench line.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Dark and forboding... 'they' are out there. 'They' are coming. Speaking of 'they'... who is that?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


END OF PART II