"Launch our fighters. Shields and guns to full. Prepare for starfighter assault." The ship's great hangers creaked open and the swarms of starfighters spilled out.

Somethings not quite right...

"Sir! Fighters are breaking off!" A pause... "The enemy capital ships no longer appear on our scopes!"

At that moment, something slammed into the ship. Alarms began to blare as the CSA fleet appeared in their midst...

##############

The outer reaches of the R’alla system. A lone shuttle drops out of hyperspace. And sits. The three passengers look out upon the battle before them. Their sensors before them clarified the scene of confusion that could barely be seen with naked eyes.
Appearing smaller than ants, great ships fought each other, while their star-fighter minions killed their opposition of equally sized opponents en-mass.

...I let Isstal go, Kas. There was a large conflict of interest… and I can’t afford to have that with my Admiral...

Victory it appeared, was on the side of the CSA. Their micro-jump tactic had been successful. Three of the ships in their fleet had been hulks, filled with explosive material.

Devastating.

Detonating.

“Scan pass complete Sir, shall I expand and zoom in?”

…Large conflict of interests…

A nod of compliance replied, yes. The display looking out of the shuttle’s forward windows shifted slightly. Where the ships had been, green and red blotches appeared.
“Zooming in Sir”
The blotches suddenly got larger, as the entire battlefield zoomed into view. The blotches expanded; and became outlines to ships, green for good, red for bad. It was now easily apparent that the Vinda Corp fleet was greatly outnumbered.

…I can’t afford…

VC fighters, while killing great numbers of enemy fighters, died themselves.
VC capital ships gutted themselves upon their enemies, taking their opponents with them.
But numbers were on the side of the CSA. For now.

…I let Isstal go...

“Call in Fourth Fleet flotilla, tell them to begin their jump.”

…I’ve already chosen the replacement, but I am unsure about his loyalties. Is he completely with and for VC…

“I want the Frigate and her fighters to drop in here. The ISD here. And the Corvettes, here and here”

…Is he completely with VC?…

“Tell them to come in guns blazing. Let’s tip the scales, and mop up this mess.”

…Are you completely with VC?…

The transmission made, the order ordered. Nothing left but to sit and wait. And pray that no more good men would be lost today.

…welcome to the club… Admiral.

“Admiral Katta? Fourth Flotilla reports jump calculated, and initiated. Estimated time to arrival… 45 seconds.”

Roonadan

Unknown Governmental Facility



Rubbing the back of his head, and seething with anger , Andersan had painfully risen back onto his feet. He gritted his teeth as he shot Kalatan a look that could slice through solid durasteel.

...if our mutual friend dies...I'll kill you myself...

The look soon disappated as he watched , dumbfoundly at both the video footage and Kalatan himself as he spoke to Miles...

Andersan's eyes narrowed as he heard what was revealed, he cast a icy gaze towards the still silent Yana, who seemed to shift slightly under his glare...

...ahh uncomfortable eh?...could it be you have a conscience after all...

Andersan, dismissed this thought quickly, and could feel his anger boil up again as he stared towards Miles, the Diplomat actually appeared to be giving thought to Kalatan's offer!

...By the Black Bones of Palpatine! Johnson!...you seriously can't be considering this!...

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted , by Miles's reply to the Exo...

"Very well, Mr. Aramaya, then allow me to have you wait no more. Your offer....

...has been denied."

Andersan could not stop a satisfyingly smug grin from spreading across his face...

...looks like Vinda's faith was not misplaced after all...

Another thought flashed briefly through his mind...

...but was Miles's?...

After all, Andersan had never met Vinda, and he only knew what everyone else knew about him...

...That he smoked Cigarra's and apparently , ate babies...

His eyes quickly glanced to the still-paused scene of the spaceport, and he could just make out the figure of what was supposed to be Vinda...

...but what, or who was the real cause behind it?...

He only knew one thing for sure, it was definately no "accident" as was reported at the time...

...but he obviously still knew more than Miles...

His thoughts seemed to stop as he realised Kalatan had noticed his smug smirk...

This made it bigger...

..He couldn't stop himself sneering towards the Exo..

"...looks like our good friend here has more sense than you realise, Aramaya..."

From the corner of his eye he noticed Miles throwing him a furtive glance, inwardly he knew it was probably due more out of concern for his well-being, than from any effect of his words...

Aramaya, however, did not appreciate Andersan's contribution...

The Exo stiffened, as he cut Andersan a cold glare...

"...that remains to be seen Mr Andersan , although I cannot say the same for you..."

Kalatan seemed to pronounce Andersan's name with venomous contempt...

"...in fact!... come to think of it, I believe I have no further use for you anymore..."

Before Andersan could digest exactly what Kalatan had said to him, the Exo had already signalled the Guards with a curt nod in their direction...

....Frell!...

Andersan's whole body tensed in anticipation, as ,soon enough one of the Guards landed him a hefty blow to the back of his knees, causing him to fall forward onto the floor...

As he shouted out in pain, he pushed his body upward with his hands flat down upon the floor, so he could look the CSA Exo in the eye...Then froze as he felt the sensation of cold hard metal against the back of his skull...

Another thought flashed through his head...

...Natalya!...

Until that is, the Guard pulled the trigger, and the only thing left flashing through Andersan's head...


...was the laser blast from the Espo's Blaster.

Mytus VII

Star's End - Inside the facility




Once more the rush of air seemed to flood around him as the large airlock entrance sealed itself closed again. Taking off his enviro-suited Helmet revealed a somewhat confused looking Jarell...

...that was definately not the Transformers...

Stripping the rest of his Suit off, Jarell ran a hand through his dark brown hair as he hit the next door's keypad with his other. With a small beep the door slowly slid open.
Half in thought, he stepped through the doorway, his eyes seemed to be fixed to a point on the ground.

...weird...thats never happened before...

As he shrugged the thought off he looked up to speak to Tumtun.

"...never going to believe whats happened to the bloody thing now!....its like its been...."

Jarell's voice trailed off as he was confronted by a worrying sight.

In front of him stood an average sized human male , with a blaster pointing directly at him.. behind that, Tumtun lay slumped face down on the floor...

... (he finished his sentence...cautiously)...

"...sabotaged..."


...Kriff!...


Kaneda stood there for a moment regarding the stranger, then followed his gaze carefully to the floored Tumtun, and spoke as if addressing the stranger's concerns...

"...he's alive, I only stunned him, he'll be ok..."

He smiled faintly...

"...though he'll have one hell of a headache when he wakes up..."

Jarell relaxed a little more, and returned his focus to Kaneda's blaster...

"..who are you?.."

Kaneda's faint smile grew a little as he responded...

"...a friend of a friend..."

He paused for a moment glancing over to Tumtun then back to Jarell as if considering what to do with them....

"...how come there aren't any more Guards, from what I can tell , you two appear to be the only ones here..."

The Espo shifted slightly as he remembered that this fact was true..

"...there used to be a whole Garrison here, but they were moved off-world, just a couple of days ago, said it was classified, said they were needed somewhere else..."

Kaneda tilted his head a little as he listened..

"..where?..."

"..Roonadan, I think, I heard they had been doing it all across the sector...rushed , if you ask me"

Kaneda's face seemed to take on a confused look... (Jarell continued)

"..look, I don't know anything about anything, we're just here to look after the place, and make sure nothing....(his voice lowered a little)... happens..."

Kaneda, gestured with his gun...

"...throw your blaster over there..."

As Jarell duly obliged he held his hands up...

"...listen, I only got this gig because it was quiet, they don't pay me enough to get killed....what do you want?..."

The Vinda-Corp operative inwardly laughed at this comment, but from the outside remained composed..

"...I'm looking for someone, perhaps you can help me?..."

Reaching into a pocket he pulled out a small data-pad, and threw it over to Jarell...

Jarell's eyes widened a little as he read the details...

"...Prisoner 592b...sector 11...thats the Maximum security section....whoever your friend is, he or she must be important..."

Kaneda remained quiet, and picked up Jarell's gun...

Jarell glanced down at Tumtun again...

"....ok, this way..."

Kaneda nodded slowly and gestured for Jarell to lead...

"...after you..."

Cuzzko



Herridian moved like a ghost. He and his fellow scientists had gone over note after note, test result after analysis and had found ..nothing.

“There is no way Itala beat this thing!” a researcher grated as he slammed his hand on a table near some records he was viewing. “The Sith just do not have that kind of talent.”

“What?” interrupted another as he pulled his head up from sleeping. The task was taking it’s toll.

“Sith. They do not have the patience for research.. they would rather get someone else to do their dirty work for ---“ the researcher stopped, his mind taking it’s time to warm up.

Herridian’s brain sparked on something but he was just too tired to focus.

“Nice try but we’ve already been through the domestic and military police computers… well.. whatever that hasn’t been corrupted or damaged. No weird experimentation happening here or anything that was found. We looked last week, remember?”

The researcher wasn’t one to be deterred. “But Marzullo wouldn’t have it simply lying around to be found by the first investigator..”

“We’ve run the ship’s scans over most areas on this world and have come up with ..nothing.”


“We’ve been looking at this from the wrong perspective,” Herridian stated, as he moved his portly body off the chair instantly glad to get the blood in his legs circulating.

He went over to the ration station and picked up something that tasted horrible but was good for him. As he bit into it, his lips curled in undisguised disgust at whatever he was eating.

“It’s not here. Cuzzko was not the heart of the Marzullo Empire. We are close.. but not close enough.”

“Are you talking about Ziost?”

When Herridian didn’t answer, another voice of protest came up, “Isn’t that planet within the Naboo Sith Order’s sphere of influence? Maybe even the Empire’s.”

“We are on a research class cruiser and are not military enough to know how to conduct ourselves in a combat situation.”

“What happens if we get to Ziost and we find nothing?”

Point Herridian thought. We are running out of supplies and options. What would Itala have done?


“If you were the leader of a paramilitary Sith group with massive numbers of soldiers and ships, and your Empire was crumbling under some unknown pathogen, what would you do?”

“Admiral Katta? Fourth Flotilla reports jump calculated, and initiated. Estimated time to arrival… 45 seconds.”
<hr>
45 seconds… 45 seconds. Far to long, when time is the life of a man, and you have far to few men to spare.

Admiral Katta stared at the view screen in front of his face. Ship integrity status’s were displayed as numbers.
Numbers, which counted down.

The Com fuzzed, and simultaneously five new signals appeared on the screen. Five green signals. The fourth fleet flotilla had arrived.

“Fourth Fleet Flotilla has arrived, and is engaging the enemy sir!”

Only five ships, sure. But the mere presence of an ISD is moral shaking. Because of this Kas had purposely had the ISD drop in at the weakest part of the CSA line. The battle there ended ten seconds after the massive ship dropped in.

“Tell the captian of the Star Destoryer to move on to the rear of the CSA line. Tell the Two nova’s to move with him, and supply support fire. Cut them from the rear, and cut them hard”

Intent on the battle, the admiral peered over the tactical display intently. Something wasn’t registering in his mind. Something wrong.

“Sir, the CSA fleet is beginning to scatter. We now outnumber them by 10%, and the star destroyer is cutting that number down quickly.”

The Admiral replied with a gruff “Good”, and went back to studying his display. It slowly dawned on him…

“Captain. Where is the CSA Star Destroyer?”

The three members of the shuttle’s cockpit all paused, scanning the area. No where to be found was the counter-part to the tide turner.

“Signal the fleet to be on…”

The squealing sound of strained metal came crashing upon them, and the shuttle was yanked about in a violent manner.

“Tractor beam Sir! It’s got us tight. Raising shields and powering up weapons”

“Sir, they’re jamming the communications around us. I can’t raise the signal output without taking power from the shields.”

“Power down the weapons captain. Shunt everything to the shields.

Kas turned out of the cabin, and headed down to the escape pods. On his way he grabbed a box.

Setting the box on a table, he opened it. Two large, shiny, and definitely deadly cylinders sat there, encased in protective foam. Taking one in each hand, he headed toward the first Escape pod.

Opening the access door, he entered. A few quick strokes on the control panel set the pod to standby.

Giving a quick twist to cylinder in his left hand, he placed it on the floor of the sterilely clean pod. Stepping out of the pod he closed the door, and repeated the operation in the only other escape pod.

The job complete, Katta closed the not yet empty box, and set it back down next to the weapons chest on his way to the cabin.

“Prepare for a desperate maneuver men…”

Caprician Space


Tyscio Zier felt the mighty engines of the Caprician Star Destroyer Tribune throb as the ship made headway through the debris left by the Yuuzhan Vong invaders.

Their course was taking them into Caprician Orbit where the General of the Fleet would stop any alien advancement toward the remaining shipyards.

The yard holding position over Gomorran’s family estates had been allowed to drift away from the planet when it looked like the invaders had punched through toward the homeworld.

The yard holding over Ferendi Province also did the same.. both roughly had drifted to the outermost orbital trajectory from Capricia, on the nightside of the planet.

Tactical displays revealed Yuuzhan Vong vessels attempting to rise, their projected course taking them directly to the yards.

Tyscio meaned to stop them before they broke the inner orbit circle. However, the tactical did not look very promising.

A heavily damaged but functional Tribune, and four more star destroyers (Mark III’s) were coming out of the cloud.

Two more (also Mark III’s) were last known to be drifting on the dayside of the planet, but their position was yet to be determined.

The Judicator was dead in space..


In the mix somewhere were several strike cruisers but they had yet to report in…if they were alive at all.

The last wildcards that Tyscio knew about were the three Mark II’s that were the yard’s only protection.

Unless the yard masters have another trick up their sleeves.

From the beginning of the invasion, Capricia had halted any resources going to the manufacturing yards, so the yard masters had to make due with what inventory they currently held in their stores.

How much did they have?


The Caprician R&D teams were also assigned to the yard facilities but what would they have been able to contribute?

Already the invasion had lasted longer than anyone had thought.

But enough to build more?


Tyscio smiled in self-depreciation at his wishful thinking.


The Vinda Corp fleet remained a wildcard as well, holding a most dangerous position near the inner orbit of the planet, currently on the dayside.

They will swing around in about an hour..



But the enemy… the enemy’s numbers did not sit well with Zier.

On the dayside of the planet, there were 5 small cruisers around 500 meters, 4 bigger ships around 2,000 meters and an 8,000 meter command ship.

On the nightside, there were 5 more 2,000 meter ships, an 8,000 meter command ship and 4 more 500 meter smaller cruisers.

The fact that these monstrous vessels could go as far down into the atmosphere of the planet had surprised the Caprician Fleet..as well as the Capricians planetside, Tyscio thought.

But these ships are living! Living structures!

There had to be a key in that fact! Something they could use.

But what? Where is it?


The trajectory’s of the dayside ships will have them pass right over the Vinda Ships in their efforts to reach the yards. The Capricians were the closest, but the nightside invasion fleet will also reach them first.

This was going to be it.

If the defenders could not eliminate these invaders here and now, then the planet was doomed. It wouldn’t matter who won on the surface.

“Platforms appearing! Crystal, Sephyrine, and Vescia Oceans!”

“Platforms?” Tsycio asked.

“Fighter Corps, Sir!”

Leantre, you played a very dangerous game there! the tactic suddenly making a morbid sense to Tyscio.

With the powerful war machines of the invaders floating above the wreckage, the Caprician Air Defense and Fighter Corps would have been swatted out of the skies like flies in no time.

Leantre was holding them back until he had proof the fleet still existed.

But Leantre does not have that proof yet. It was the enemy ships suddenly ascending away from the planet that prompted the leader of Clan Leantre to act.

You must truly be desperate down there, Gomorran. Fear not. We will not allow the invaders to return… Make what use you can of t



“Fighters launching!”

The flickering holographic tactical display consol showed hundreds of tiny marks lighting the skies as they streaked across the sky.

“They are not moving as one mass.. The Corps is breaking up!”

“What better way to give any defending civilians and soldiers in those burning cities hope than to fly Caprician fighters over them! A symbol that the skies are not owned by the invaders!”

He turned to his bridge crew.

“It’s up to us to make sure that symbol remains true! Open a broadcast channel.. general reception.”

“You’re on, Sir.”


“This is Tyscio Zier of the Caprician Fleet. The hour is upon us my friends as we rise to the occasion and once and for all stop the onslaught of darkness.

I know you are tired. I know you are worried about loved ones. I know that hope seems to be an ever fading sliver of light in your hearts.

The invaders are making their final strike to plunge the dagger into our heart… severing that sliver forever.

If we fail.. Capricia will die at their hands.”

Tyscio hesitated, looking into the eyes of his men… their weariness readily evident on their sweaty faces.

“Capricians have always been a self reliant people. Now, I ask you to be reliant, not for self but for the whole. Every contribution makes a difference, no matter how slight.

My fellow soldiers, my friends, we all stand on that line. That line that separates the darkness from our families, our friends, ..our home. To diminish one is to weaken that line.

Remain Steadfast!

Stand Firm!

And hold!”


The signal ended.

“Engine room, I will need speed, power and shields.”

“You will have them sir!” came a gruff voice over the comm.. “As Clans are my witness, if I have to keep the engines burning by shoveling coal into them, I will..”

Several officers smiled at the feisty engineer.

Tyscio’s lips parted in amusement. “I will have the duty officer check our stores of coal… Bridge out.”

“Navigation, let’s mark our line..”


The Tribune moved with purpose across an invisible plane that divided the shipyard location and the approaching, the ascending enemy ships.


“Caprician and Vinda Corp ships responding!”


“Once more into the fires, dear friends..” Tyscio whispered to himself.

Exiting the former Underwater Facility


The facility had breached the surface of the water and as the glass walls and ceiling were automatically lowered to allow in the fresh sea breeze, Hespante watched in fascination as people gathered to the edges.


The facility had come up near a rather large floating platform that served as landing pads for varous single fighter craft of various sorts as well as transports.


The Commandant of Platform Seven had been surprised at the appearance of the underwater medical facility but quickly acted to bring the sick and injured aboard.

The fighters were being readied to leave and pilots were running here and there...


..yet the transports were held as room was made for the Medical Facility's inhabitants.

"We are making a stand in JakTol," the Commandant informed Mathias and Leia.

Hespante seemed to fade into the crowd as he picked a random transport to board.


"It seems groups from all over are converging there, closely followed by the invaders." he looked at the fighters already taking flight.

"The motherships of the invaders seem to be heading back into space giving us the freedom of movement and I intend to make every second count!"


"Any word on a Caprician named Tyscio Korban?" Mathias asked.

"Korban?" the Commandant's eyes seemed to narrow as he thought a bit. "There was one report about a person named Korban leading a group from the Sealine City Cost. However, their group would have to cross quite a bit of enemy held territory to reach the Clannus Prime's Army.

There's not been a report about his group lately."

Caprician Space



As Tyscio Zier's speech finished , the bridge seemed to come alive, the Caprician's words had rejuvenated and strengthened the men's spirit...

Asariat nodded slowly , as if agreeing to himself quietly..

...stirring words...my Caprician comrade...

Turning to face the BAC display , his brow furrowed, as he studied the tactical situation... He felt weary...

The past twenty-four hours had aged him more , than anything else in his lifetime...

It was now a race against time to save the shipyards.

...if they were to fall...

He stopped those particular thoughts dead...

...best to keep one's mind focused on the task at hand..

Realising they could not reach the yards in time before the aliens, Asariat's mind raced, as he searched for another possible tactic...

...we may not be able to get there before them, nor have the firepower to stop them dead...but
...

He bit his lip slightly at the prospect forming...

...but we can sure as hell delay them...

Turning to face his second abruptly, Asariat issued his orders...

"...Delta formation , new course and heading, sector -7, co-ordinates 1217 0591 4638 , intercept vector.... tractor beam projector's on standby...ready the crews...I want full-power on those engines!..."

"aye sir"

As the orders were given out, the Vinda-Corp Fleet curently in orbit, seemed to burst into life, and in a flurry of activity they headed straight for the remaining invaders ships...

Asariat bit down harder upon his lip, as he focused onto his tactical display. The Caprician ships depicted as green dots, were advancing towards the yards in an effort to reach them first...

...it seems the only thing we may be able to give you...

...is time...

Mytus VII

Star's End - Inside the facility



Kaneda followed Jarell's lead, carefully. Their footsteps echoed upon the metal floor as they passed through what seemed like corridor after corridor. Each one virtually identical to the last, only stopping every so often to open a door to a more secure area.

The two men walked in silence, Jarell was nervous, and although there were places he could take the intruder and probably lose him, he'd already decided it wasn't worth the risk. He spoke, in an effort to break the silence...

"...this, friend, he or she must be important to have friends like you..."

Kaneda, gripped tighter onto his blaster, and didn't answer, Jarell continued unfazed...

"...especially since it appears the CSA doesn't like him much..."

Kaneda frowned slightly...

"..what makes you say that?..."

Jarell glanced behind him at the Vinda-Corp spy...

"..c'mon, he wouldn't be in here otherwise...besides this is where the CSA keeps those, who .... (he paused as if realising what he was saying)...
....have a temporary shelf-life..."

Kaneda replied, being deliberately vague...

"...what do you mean?..."

Jarell laughed, albeit nervously...

"...you expect me to believe you came all this way to not know?...give me some credit!, even I know Sector-11 is where they keep those who are scheduled for...

(his voice lowered)

...termination..."

Narrowing his eyes a little at the Espo, Kaneda responded..

"..you talk too much..."

The two stopped outside a sealed entrance, as Jarell swiped an ID-Card to open a secured door, he glanced to a sign above it...

"..this is it, sector 11..."

As the two men walked in, they entered a huge, dimly-lit room, with rows and rows of stasis containment units, all positioned upright. Kaneda blinked for a moment, a little in awe at just how many people the CSA had wanted to make...disappear.

...we knew they'd been busy , but... this is ridiculous...

Jarell had already started to find the particular unit they were looking for, clutching a data-pad he scrolled through the "inventory"...

"..Aha!...over here.."

Kaneda followed, still looking around...

"..here he...oh!...."

Jarell paused as he wiped a thin layer of condensation away from the small Plex window , and peered through at the being contained inside it...

"..he appears to be...a ...she?...you sure this is the right one?"

He glanced back to Kaneda, who had stopped by his side, casting the Espo an annoyed glance, as he tried to observe the face in front of him...

...Plex is too frosted, difficult to tell...only one way to find out for sure...

He nodded towards Jarell...

"..yes, open it..."

Jarell froze...

"...me?.. I'm just a security guard...I don't know how..."

Kaneda looked at him deadly serious..

"..then take your best guess...and you had better guess well, for if she dies, you die..."

Jarell frowned at this unwelcome news, and scratched his head as he studied the control-pad at the side of the unit. A faint constant beep sounded from the unit, perhaps the only sign that whoever was contained inside it was indeed still alive. In fact the whole room had a low hum resonating within it, all eminating from the various stasis units active inside.

"..ah! wait a minute!, the R2 units are programmed to do it!.."

Before Kaneda could react, Jarell hit a switch on the wall, causing a short shrill alert to sound . Concerned, Kaneda swung around to see a maintainence hatch open and an R2 unit moving swiftly towards them, beeping its greetings.

Scowling slightly at Jarell, Kaneda moved aside as Jarell instructed the droid to open the unit.
As it obliged, and connected via a scomp access, the slow constant beep from the stasis unit started to quicken, and the low-pitched hum , became louder.

Unsure, Kaneda threw the Espo a furtive look, Jarell, who had taken a few steps away , threw one back...

Gradually the sound grew louder until it reached a noisy cresendo, and stopped, rather abruptly. With another twist of the scomp terminal, the R2 unit opened the stasis booth causing the door of the unit to open upwards, and the preoccupant inside it to literally fall out.

Moving swiftly to catch her, both men instinctively reached out with their arms, Kaneda being successful, struggled awkwardly to gain a better grip and laid her carefully upon the floor.

"...is she alive?..."

Asked Jarell worriedly, who appeared to be genuinely concerned, whether for her welfare or his , wasn't clear.
Crouching down closer to her , Kaneda could just make out the rise of her body as she breathed.

"..yes.."

Kaneda took a moment to take in the young woman before him, she appeared to be in either her late teens or her early twenties. As he gingerly moved her dark hair from aside her face, he froze, as a sudden realisation dawned....

....I know you!...

Within moments his mind flashed back six months ago...

..to when he had last been on Brentaal....




(Excerpt taken from ; "The Quiet before the storm" )



Kaneda smirked a little and carried on…

“..I need a name…”

The Chiss glanced down at the wad of Credits Kaneda was still holding, then scratched his chin in a fake gesture…

“..y’know I can’t seem to remember…”

Rolling his eyes Kaneda slid the rest over to the Chiss..

“..this help?..”

Snatching the wad of credits up, the Chiss nodded , smiling broadly..

“..you, know funnily enough, it just came to me…his name’s…”

Kaneda expectant look rapidly changed to a look of concern as the Chiss stopped abruptly, gurgled slightly, and slumped across the table, revealing two small darts embedded in his back, oozing blood… launching himself up from his chair, Kaneda shook him to see if he was still alive, and glanced around the Bar, searching for the unseen assailant..

A slender figure of a woman pushing her way through the crowd caught Kaneda’s sight, as he stepped forward to follow, the figure glanced back and started to quicken her pace…

..gotcha…

Quickly making his way through the crowd to give chase, she broke into a run, barging a waitress into a wall, knocking the tray the waitress was carrying onto the floor. Deftly the fleeing attacker narrowly avoided tripping over it, as she slammed against the control pad for the door, and ran through it faster than the doors could fully open.

Kaneda , made short work of the bar too, but his path was blocked by an extremely large burly looking alien, who wasn’t too happy at the fact his pint of Correllian Ale had been spilt all over him. He Gabbled angrily towards Kaneda in a language even he couldn’t understand.
As he watched the woman slip out of the bar, he yelled at the giant creature out of sheer frustration …

“..get out of the Damn way ya great oversized Bantha!…”

Obviously taking this comment far too seriously, the alien gave Kaneda a practical demonstration , that he could indeed speak basic. Picking him up by the scruff of the neck he threw him across the bar, Drinks and glasses flew in all directions, as well as his various flaying limbs, before he found himself on the floor, in a middle of a Bar-brawl.

As he glanced around, he caught sight of the Bar-keep hiding alongside him, crouching behind the bar, he cut Kaneda a considerably unimpressed look, and spoke with a thick Brentaalian accent..

“..you’re not from around here are you?…”

Kaneda shot him a cold stare that could cut through solid diamond , and after deciding it was probably best not to answer that question Picked up his hat, and his cane and hopped over the Bar. As he landed, he ducked quickly , only just avoiding a glass that seemed to be heading straight for his head. Taking it as his cue for a quick exit , Kaneda followed in the direction of the woman..

Darting out into the soaked street outside, he glanced quickly in both directions, in the vein hope of catching whichever direction the female assailant had escaped in, but to no avail..




Kaneda sighed and frowned, he was confused now more than ever, he had hoped finding this girl would answer a lot of questions.... as it is, she appeared to only offer more...

...this is Vinda's daughter?...what the frell was she doing on Brentaal!?

His thoughts were interrupted , as the young woman 's body seemed to tense, taking in a deep breath she screamed aggressively and lashed out with her arms...

Caught off guard by her speed, Kaneda fell back, dropping his blaster in the process as she struck him across the face. Clearly disorientated, and scared, she shouted...

"...GET AWAY FROM ME!..."

As she attempted to stand up, she fell down , her legs, as yet, too weak for her to use, and she gasped in frustration...

Jarell, unsure of what exactly to make of all this, simply remained silent, until noticing the blaster on the floor, and instinctively stepped forward , and crouched down to pick it up.

He froze instantly, as he became aware of the unmistakable feeling of cold metal pressed hard up against his throat, a razor sharp edge grazing it slightly...

"...I wouldn't , if I were you..."

Turning to follow the long shaft of glinting metal towards its owner, he met the stern gaze of the Vinda-Corp operative.
He slowly threw the blaster back to Kaneda, who in return, took his blade silently away from the Espo's throat, and sheathed it back into his walking cane, not removing his gaze for a moment.

"...don't do that again..."

As Jarell nodded, Kaneda turned his attention back to the girl
who appeared to be shivering, and glancing around the room as if trying to find her bearings...

"...I...I can't see!..."

Kaneda knelt down beside her, and replied softly, whilst nursing his sore chin...

"...its a side effect of the hibernation process, your sight should return in time...
....thats quite a punch you have there Natalya..."

At the mention of her name, the woman swung around to face the direction of the voice, she reached out with her hands , as if tracing the contours of Kaneda's face...

"...Andersan?..."

Her voice was strained, hoarse, and frightened. Kaneda shook his head , and responded...

"...no, my name is Kaneda, I am a ...friend of your fathers.."

Her face screwed up in confusion as she stammered a reply..

"..m...my father is here?..."

"..no.."

As she opened her mouth to speak, Kaneda placed a finger upon her lips....

"...enough questions for the moment, I shall try to answer all I can, but now is not the time, we must go...can you walk?..."

"..I ...I think so..."

Kaneda stood up slowly and placed her arm across his shoulders , helping her to stand, as she attempted to put her weight upon them, they seemed to wobble slightly , causing Kaneda to shake his head.

"..you'll have to lean on me..."

"..I'm cold.."

(She returned, matter of factly), and Kaneda could physically feel her shiver. Glancing down at the all in one loose fitting , almost clinical prison gown they had trussed her up in, he turned to face Jarell...

"...you have any spare uniforms?..."

Scratching the back of his neck, Jarell spoke...

"...uh...I think so..."

Gesturing for Kaneda to follow, he opened the door...


"..this way..."

Roonadan

Unknown Governmental Facility


Yana had looked away at the last moment before Andersan's life was taken from him, flinching at the sound of the blaster shot as if it had been pointed at her own head instead.

Feeling sick, she felt her conscience gnaw within her...

Although not visible from the outside, Yana was struggling to compose herself as she felt the heavy burden of guilt drape over her. Yana turned to face Kalatan, whose face remained deadly serious, his gaze still planted firmly upon Miles.

"...I shall put that down to shock Miles, last chance, except this time...

... I'm not asking you..."

Yana glanced up at Miles, and felt deeply worried...

...for gods sake Miles!...just say yes!...

For despite only really just meeting Vinda's second within the past 24 hours, she felt she knew enough to know, that he wasn't going to change his mind...