<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Orron III<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> CSA Data-center<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->




Having spent a worrying quarter of an hour to hack into the classified files, his tenacity paid off. Despite only finding the minimum of information on Vinda's daughter, it was clear that whoever started the file, had only wanted the minimum of information to be recorded...

...As his hands darted across the keypad, his eyes widened...




<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Security level Omega

Authorised Personnel only.


Ref: 1z238462 B336

Cross-Ref: 2290871delta



File Ref: 592b333X

Subject initiated in Agent defence program, showed great promise in intelligence gathering. Showed a natural business accumen, and a High compentence in the martial arts, excelling in the specialised Teras Kasi training syllabus, and other physical training programs.

After initial success, Subject was removed from training program, and placed under arrest for an undetermined amount of time, in the interests of Intergalactic security.

In conclusion Subject was considered too valuable to release, and in occurdence with security protocol is currently held at the Stars end detention facility.

Subject is scheduled for termination.<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->



...Kaneda paused in mid-flow, a little stunned....


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> ...termination?...<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

...Still vexed, he continued with his data-finding...

Letting out a barely audible <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> yes<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> , he switched discs , after discovering the information he had initially came to find...

The computer whirred into life as it copied the listings of the entire CSA defence network, everything from fleet movements to planetary defence emplacements...

A small beep indicated the data-transfer was complete...

Logging out and logging off, he gathered his things together, and was about to leave , when he heard the door unlock...

Freezing for a split second he glanced around the room for somewhere to hide...

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> ...FRELL!..<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


...as the door slowly slid open two Guards walked in....

'Their pockets, Mr. Bayern? What are we doing, robbing a bank?'

Bayern pointed at the datapad Isstal was holding.

'Interesting... most interesting. A target of oppertunity, of course. Aggressive negotations are a... specialty of mine.'

'Aggressive negotations, Admiral?' Isstal nodded.

'Negotiations with a Super Star Destroyer,' he said. 'Quite effective, really. Did you know Mr. Vinda named his flagship The Negoiator, Mr. Bayern?'

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Bonadan<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Kyoto Station<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->



*Richter couldn't help smirk at the Commander's comments...*

"...yes, Mr Vinda couldn't resist the irony, methinks...

...aggressive negotiations....i like that..."

*He stood up and put his hands behind his back as he talked, glancing outside the window looking out at deep space...*

"..as for being your specialty, I have no doubt, especially after seeing the way you handled the attack fleet..."

*He turned back round to face Isstal..*

"...everything you need to know, target-wise is on that data-pad, how you wish to go about it, is largely up to you..."

*He walked back to the table, and leant up against it as he continued...*

"...we are also currently awaiting more information to come from intelligence, we have someone working on that as we speak, he will give us all we need to know about their tactical and defense operations, so you know what to expect...in fact I believe you have already had contact with agent 239?...correct"

*as Isstal nodded, Richter smiled a little..*

"..well, he'll get the information we need, so in the meantime, we can ready the fleet, ...do you have any questions?.."

Colonel Ross tapped Isstal on the shoulder and whispered in his ear.

'Sir? The Assault Wing?' Isstal nodded and turned to him.

'I was just getting to that, Colonel.' He turned his head back to Bayern and smiled.

'Actually, Mr. Bayern, I was wondering about the possibility of aquiring a wing or two of Scimitar Assault Bombers.'

He pulled a datacard from his pocket and slid it across the table to the man.

'I am sure you will find a way.'

He rose and walked to the viewport. Beyond it he could see the VC fleet, orbiting the planet slowly. He smiled grimly.

'And Mr. Bayern?' he smiled. 'I hope I'm getting danger pay for this.'

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Tirus.... Caprician System, 3rd planet from the Primary..<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->



The doctor's breathing had become shallow. The fleet had left orbit and the colony had since lost all contact with the outside.


Not that it mattered.


Not now.


He sat at his dirty desk, compiling what he could with the time he had left. His fingers ached with pain as they typed his notes as fast as he could remember them.

As he reached into the recesses of his mind to remember details that might one day save the life of another, his eyes glanced down a picture on the floor. A picture of a well dressed young man and woman, holding their 1 year old baby.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> It wasn't that long ago...<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


Capricia shined brightly in the backdrop that was the waterfront where the picture was taken. Tirus had many such paradisiac locations.


The Second Capricia it had been called. New Capricia.


The first colony ever undertaken by the mother planet to stretch their knowledge, stretch their understanding, stretch their sphere.... their exposure..


For New Capricia, Tirus.. would also be the first to die from the horrible knowledge, the horrible exposure to a vicious and unfathomable alien race of beings.


The doctor started to cough, and his hand caught blood.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Not much time..<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Day 60<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->


<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> The incubation of the Leveller is frightingly long. The trigger is as yet unknown as one infected person will suddenly show the symptoms while another not. Is it some bioengineered signal? Is is some biological clock that ticks?..each unique to it's host?

I.. I just don't know..<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->


The doctor cursed for the hundreth time his impotence.. his lack of knowledge...


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> All these people died.... And I could not save them. I could not even lessen their pain.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->



The doctor's vision had begun to blur as he felt his eyes start to burn. Already the skin had started to peel leaving red lesions, oozing with bodily fluids in the body's last ditch effort to mount some type of defense against the alien virus.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> A losing battle...and yet it fights on. Grabbing at the very last chance of life.

For noone wants to die.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


The doctor grimaced a smile as best he could at the ironic thought, his lips chapped and bleeding.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> We struggle against the inevitable of life. Our bodies the most advanced, the most complex of machines... beautifully crafted, expertly designed.

Our imagination carries us to greater triumphs in science and abiltiy...and yet, for all our complexities, we are frail things.


For all our earnest desires to capture eternity...our bodies begin to die the moment they are born.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->



The doctor's hands could take no more as he finished his sentence.... the power beginning to flicker.


There was noone left to keep up maintenance.


He slowly stood, the pain almost excrutiating as his feet shuffled across the steel floor of the crumbling hospital.


The fires were still raging as the population went mad...


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Desperation born out of a need to end the pain...<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


He slowly stepped across the broken glass windows and doors that had once divided sections of the hosiptal off.


He hung his head low as he shuffled past the darkened room of the maternity ward... the silent beds a screaming testament to his failure.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> That horrible night...<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


All around, the decaying bodies of patients and collegues littered corridors.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Just one more time...<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, his mind tiredly thought.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> I am so...so.. tired..<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


His hand clutched the photo... his only memory of a life that seemed so long ago.


A life that was the dreams that haunted the nightmare in which he lived and worked.



He moved to the front entrance, giving his hurting eyes time to adjust to the brightness outside.


Smoke, fires, and dead bodies were everywhere....almost like a war zone.


The doctor moved slowly through the silent streets, not even birds chirping in the distance. It was an erie silence..


In the light, he could feel his face starting to hurt as the UV light irritated sores on his skins in various patches.

Most of his hair had fallen out...


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Almost like radiation...<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, the analytical part of him still struggled out...



His shuffle was getting slower and slower..but he was nearing his destination.


The sights his eyes took in suddenly vanished as his mind began to think back to a different time... streets filled with laughing people, everyone talking... conversing.. arguing.. smiling..about the everyday things.. going on about their business.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> It was here!<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


He had proposed here...


And suddenly the phantoms of his mind, vanished replaced by the barren observation deck before him.

The glossy stone stretched out over the ocean, as he shuffled across the cool surface. It was a stone indigenious to Tirus...one that never seemed to heat..


It was soothing to the sores on his soles.


He moved over to the edge and slowly sat down, sharp pains stabbing at him in various places..


As he finally settled down, he cried out one last time, knowing that he'd never be able to make it back up..


His blistered eyes gazed out over the ocean...it's power.. it's movement entrancing him..



"...If I had just one more wish... it would be to spend my life with you.."

his raspy voice uttered softly..

"..If..If I had but one desire... it would be to make you as happy as you make me.."


The phantoms returned... and he was standing in that exact spot staring at the woman who would soon to be his wife as he stammered out his proposal speech nervously.


His bleeding eyes took on a new clarity...


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Wait! What was that observation??<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


Her smile was beguiling..


"..If...if I had just one more breath to take....."


Her hair blocked out the sun...


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> ??? Sun? What was it? Leveller of Empires.. what is your enigmatic secret?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->



"...It would be to shout out to the world of my love...of her beauty.. of her kindness.. of her..........."


His mind made the connection and a spark gave off one more flicker of life and he knew he had his answer...


The light in his eyes went out...and he slumped against a rail, his hand falling open..


The picture was taken by the wind...


a family photo..


Of a well dressed young man and woman holding their 1 year old baby...








From a population that boasted millions...



None now remained.




Tirus had died...

Roonadan

"...lets hope this Admiral of yours jammed those ships transmissions, or this is gonna be one short trip..."

There was something about Andersan that just did not settle right with Miles...

...Here it had come again, that funny feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He'd caught Andersan's gaze but his response to Andersan was none other than a curt nod of the head. His private thoughts said what he truly thought...

Mr. Andersan...I've got my eye on you. You have no idea who you're dealing with....

The past always seemed to have a way of catching up with you and although Miles past did so remain a mystery for now, there was no telling how or when his past would begin to unfold, in more ways than one....


The diplomat smiled lightly to himself, he'd had his hands stuffed in his pockets as he walked, he removed one of his hands to pat Andersan hard on the back, and then let his hand fall down to his side.

"Not to worry Andersan, everything is under control. I'm not worried, so you should not be either. You'll be of no use to me or anyone else here if you start to worry about what is going on back at Vinda-Corp. You have a job to do here, concentrate on that, heh?"

What Miles said to Andersan and what he believed was an entirely different matter all by itself.

I'll do the worrying for you and everyone else. I'll pick up on every little detail that does not seem quite right and out of place and I'll keep my eye on you Mr. Andersan....I'll keep my eye on you just like I've been keeping my eye on Yana....

It was very clear, at least in Miles mind, that something inside of him had snapped. His awareness had been taken to new heights, and for good reason. It was almost as if Miles had somehow been replaced, but by whom and why now?

I'm not just a diplomat...

He'd never went for his training like his parents had wanted him to, but then again, maybe he had...

...Maybe he'd done so for his parents, even if he did not have the will and the determination to do so. Maybe he'd been a little bored after he'd left home and had had no where to go. Maybe, just maybe, he'd got his training elsewhere, and just maybe he learned more than a man with his experience was supposed to...

What of these maybes? No one would know.....Just Miles.




Miles eventually found his place back beside Yana. He found the hinted troubled expression on her face as they walked.

"We'll find your children, Yana. We won't go back until we do...."

Yet even as they all walked, Miles had the distinct feeling that he was being watched, watched by eyes that could not be seen....

<font color=orange>There was a gash in the bulkhead... the warriors around Leia and the boy were getting sucked out, their screams covered by the great clamor of the battle outside... the gash devoured all of the warriors they had been facing.

Then it began to draw Leia and the boy into it's whirlwind of death, too...

The boy simply froze, and started screaming.

Leia heard the scream of the boy, the roar of the air rushing out of the gash in the wall. She saw the bodies and objects flying out of the gash, and felt fear, pain and fatigue from all directions, both within her and without. Everything seemed drawn out, in slow motion.

Only one thought ran through her mind. She couldn't move, couldn't act, she was too drained.

But she had to... or they would surely die.

She watched her hand shoot out and roughly grab the boy, she felt her body concentrate every last drop of energy into a jump that would hopefully force her and the boy into the safety of the next room. Neither of these acts were consciously induced.

They made it. The door closed on it's own.

Then... then...

Then what...!?</font>

Leia's eyes suddenly shot open, and she was instantly blinded by a bright, white light.

Unseeing, unfeeling, her empty right hand clenched convulsively, and somehow she knew something was wrong, something was missing.

Her senses returned, she felt herself being held down by many pairs of strong hands, and she was struggling against them. She figured them all to be hostile, until someone gently took her clumsily groping right hand in their own. Her grip upon the sympathetic hand was brutal, what little presence of mind she had was focused elsewhere.

Her hand had been empty... that was not good. But she couldn't remember why it was not good.

Then there was the pain, almost unbearable, just as she remembered it had been for some time. But there was a new pain now, one she did not remember from before, in the middle of her left arm...

Her hearing returned. Shouts echoed in her head. Shouts in her face, and shouts in the background. In short intervals loud explosions drowned out all other sounds completely. It didn't sound like the Yuzzhan Vong warship, but it didn't sound like any place she would exactly call 'home' either...

Where the hell am I!?

Then the shouts finally registered in her mind. Human voices, male, shouting her name at her. With a Caprician accent, too...

No Yuzzhan Vong voices. No danger sense.

So then she wasn't on the wordship. She forced herself to stop struggling against the restraining grip of the Capricians who had her, she sensed they would do her no harm.

Capricians...

The boy!

Leia jolted and tried to sit up. Where had the boy gone? Was he nearby? Last she remembered, he had been right with her...

She felt something resembling a needle jab her in the thigh. Before she could think of anything else, the warm, deep blanket of black unconsciousness descended upon her again, and it covered her in it's darkness. Her thoughts and senses faded into nothingness...

Super Star Destroyer Negotiator - First Fleet

Supreme Commander Isstal was a patient man, but even he has his moments. The sheer power of the fleet layed out before him amazed him.

He smiled as he stepped up onto the bridge of the flagship.
"Admiral on deck!" As one, the bridge crew stood and snapped to attention. The reverberating sound on the metal took several seconds to die away.

The vessel's captain saluted.
"The fleet is ready, sir. We await your command." Isstal nodded.
"Break into sector groups. Helm, take us out. Maximum sublight until be clear the system. Relay orders to all ships."



<hr>

Vinda-Corp's First Fleet dropped out of hyperspace at the edge of the Kir System. Isstal looked out at the distant planet.
"Today the Corporate Sector leans the cost of attacking Vinda Corporation." He smiled. "Take us in."

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Kyoto Station<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Orbital Status - Command Console<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->



<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> "....Take us in..."<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


*A satisfied smile crept at the sides of Richters mouth as he listened to Isstal's orders come through the comms...he glanced up to find himself facing an intelligence officer standing beside him, he nodded back, as if in approval...

One by one each fleet assigned its own orders rang through over the comms, on standby, he could feel both the excitement and the trepidation that came with this part....

Moving his gaze back to the console in front of him...his eyes narrowed as he relayed the orders to the awaiting flotillas of ships....*

"..well what are you waiting for!...you heard the man, all fleets advance!..."

As the fleets confirmed and proceeded, Richter smiled, feeling the small rush of andrenalin buidling up inside him...
He likened it to the quiet before a storm, the overwhelming sense that a great power was closing in, and things would never be the same again...

...It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and his stomach churn...

...but if it was one thing Richter thrived on, it was pressure...he could almost taste the tension in the air, and he <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> loved it<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->...

..The the officer spoke, distracting him for the moment, Richter simply looked up at him, and as he leant over the command console the light from the holo-displays flickered all over his face...*

"...Sir , we should wait until Agent 239 sends the information regarding the CSA defences...it is a risk to advance without it..."

*Richter's stare seemed to freeze the man to the spot as he responded, not shifting his gaze away from him for a moment...*

"...yes, in an ideal situation, you would be right.. But we have to advance now while the CSA are thrown, or we risk them re-grouping and attacking once more...timing is imperative...

..it is unfortunate that we do not have word from 239, but we do not have the luxury to sit around and wait for him.
Besides we already have extensive knowledge on most of the CSA's defensive capabilties, we have been compiling intelligence resources for years....

...and vice versa...hence their attack..

...239 will make himself known, I am sure of that, he has never failed us yet, and I do not believe he will now, but we must advance without him....

...and hope that he is safe and well..."

*The officer nodded grimly, and watched the various flotillas of ships all suddenly dart in the directions their orders had taken them in as they made the jump to Hyperspace...
...and as Commander Isstal moved forward to spearhead the attack to <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Kir<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->...he could see the the ships as they advanced.....

Richters eyes narrowed once more as he watched the various armada's all emerge from hyperspace in each one of the intended targetted system's....


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> ....Orron III....<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> ....Roonadan....<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> ....R'alla....<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> ....Kail....<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> ...Urdur....<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

...Vinda-Corp's massive retaliation against the Corporate Sector Authority ...


....had begun...

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Capricia<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Thessonia...<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->




*As <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> The Narcissus<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> touched down with a small jolt, Vinda couldn't help but thank the force....

Inspecting the large bruise that had appeared on his leg he, cursed again under his breath...*

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> ...damn pilot thinks he's a swoop racer!...<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

*Soon enough a voice came through the comms...*

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> "...Sir we have arrived at the rendezvous point, some men have made it here already!...there are also some Capricians asking to speak with you..."<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

*The Pilot's words seemed to hang in the air for a while before it sunk in....Vinda responded...cautiously...*

"...I see , I shall meet with them soon, how do they seem?..."

*their was a distinct pause as the Pilot obviously considered the question...*

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> "...happy to see us by the looks of it..."<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

*Vinda nodded as he heard...as if a little relieved...*

"unload the troops, and the supplies, make sure everyone uses their suits..."

*..As he signed off, Vinda stared at the Enviro - suit layed out on his bed before him....and sighed...*

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> ...not my colour....<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->





** <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> ...Two Hours later....<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> **




*As he clambered down the gantry, his Enviro-suit seemd to rustle loudly, glancing around he observed the troops as they unloaded the supplies slavaged from <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> The Nostromo<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->...The Capricians had seemed pleased to see them, and the two peoples were helping each other out....

A little hidden in the large suit, Vinda watched as some troops even found the time to have a joke with the some of the locals, as they shared out their food supplies...

The Vinda-Corp CEO had kept a reserve of medical supplies and munitions for his troops, yet had done his best to share them to the people of the town....

Especially after seeing the state of the hospitals, he was not a sqeamish person by nature, but even he had cringed at some of the injuries that had been inflicted upon some of the inhabitants...

The One thing he had learned of, was the state of disarray the Caprician forces seemed to be in....and this worried him...

..greatly...

Vinda had learned of The Caprician civil war , and with what appeared to be the shut-down of routes into the highlands, and with the government in disarray, there was indeed a power vacum....

...this was dangerous, if they were not careful , history could end up repeating himself...

..The last thing he wanted was for Vinda-Corp to be caught in the middle of an internal power struggle...

Vinda had learnt of most of Capricia's history from Achinta's meanderings with Scipio....he shook his head at this thought...*

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> ...Achinta and Scipio?...<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

*The thought flashed though his mind as he considered it.... he then promptly shook it off , almost a little vexed at the thought he had even considered the possiblity....

...it was highly doubtful now that the Replicant was even still alive, after all Vinda had activated his override, but he had not come...

..or had he...

Vinda sighed, his mind swtiching to other things...and watched the men go about their orders,

..he had not told them about the situation at Bonadan...

...there was no need, best to keep them focused on the task at hand, he told himself...but he couldn't but help feel responsible ....

Were their homes still there?...

...And what about the Vong?...he doubted they would ignore the attack he had inflicted upon them...

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> ...had he made things worse?....<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

...and what of the lightsider?...

...He had still felt her presence, just before the evacuation...
but only very faintly...

Vinda glanced up at the Caprician sky, soon it would be day again, the sun had already started to rise, flooding the vast blackness of the night in its warm red hue....

As he watched it make the clouds glow, there was something that reassured him, despite being drunk with all these concerns, there was something about seeing this sunrise which struck a chord in him...*

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> ...a new day....

...a new dawn....

...a new hope....<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

( always preferred sunrises to sunsets anyway....)

Rustling as he sat on a box of supplies, he cursed again...



...realising he couldn't smoke with the suit on....