Bonadan


Leantre's face showed something akin to shock as the Vinda Corp agent finished his tale.

Later, he would ruefully chide himself at his reaction. How many such wild or fantastic tales permeated surrounding the invasion? How many highs and lows families faced?

Still, one marked difference between the story of Vinda's daughter and those on Capricia was the fact that Caprician families still had some amount of time together.

By the expressions playing across the CEO's face as the tale was relayed, it was a mixture of anger, envy, and fear. Anger at the callous treatment the CSA gave to Natalya, envy of the time spent in her company and fear that her whereabouts were unknown.

Leantre perceived that Seth Vinda had suddenly come face to face with a past he had thought buried only to find that he was being left behind.

What lengths would a man go to regain his past? To claim his heritage once thought lost?

The Caprician well knew the answer to that. A man with the resources of Seth Vinda would scour the galaxy for a woman he really did not know but for a glimmer of a past promise of happiness. Family happiness.



Leantre sighed to himself as his mind worked over the explanation given by the young woman. The explanation to remain anonymous for now.

Why is it nowadays that the young feel they need to be alone to cope? Why is it so hard to heal in the presence of family?

Looking at Seth Vinda, he had to concede that as much as he might not know of her, she too would not know her father and what was left but the reputation the man left in the wake of his successes, failures and business?


Such a reputation would probably daunt the most daring of women. Daring which, according to the tale, this woman seemed to possess much of.


The tale ended, his eyes traveled to Seth Vinda.


Even he wondered what would happen next...

Bonadan




Vinda had listened to Kaneda’s words in disbelief.


Still in shock, his eyes narrowed in anger at the report the Section agent gave him, and yet despite everything that had happened in the past few days, the businessman could not direct his anger towards Kaneda.

The man before him had in actual fact saved his daughter from certain death, and at no small risk to himself either.

Satisfied Kaneda was telling the truth, Vinda sat in silence for a while, digesting the man’s words carefully.

Kaneda’s loyalty was in no question, that much he knew, the Section agent was an honourable person, an increasingly unusual trait to come by these days.

His record proved that in itself.

If he had indeed tried to lie , Vinda would have sensed it anyway.

Sighing loudly Vinda leant back deeply into his chair, and bowed his head a little, rubbing his temple.

Then slowly, the corporate executive arose from his chair, and turned his back on the two men to look out of one of the many huge windows in his office which overlooked Bonadan’s busiest spaceport.

He felt his anger rise again, and in fact the more he thought about all she had obviously been through, the more anger he felt.


...forgive me Natalya...I didn't know...I...just didn't know...



He took a moment to gain a handle on it

When he finally spoke, his voice came lowered, personable, but weary…

“…while, I understand you were respecting her wishes Kaneda , I am disappointed that you did not choose to tell me...."

At this Vinda turned to look at the Section agent directly…

"I can hardly punish you for that. Quite the opposite in fact..”

He paused, as if trying to find the appropriate words...

“ since its quite clear that had you not acted when you did, she would not be alive as it is…so in that regard, you have my thanks…”

Vinda lowered his eyes, and his voice trailed off…

“…we have to find her Kaneda, after all this time…” His gaze was back upon the man still standing before him… "we can’t let her down , not now, I want her back, and I want her back safely…consider yourself reinstated, you have everything at your disposal in order to find her…whatever you need, whatever it takes…”

His eyes grew fierce, and they burned with a quiet, dignified fire…


“…anything.”

The Past...



"For a thousand years one principle has been the burning goal of the leaders of Capricia." the young father was seated in his favorite chair, his six children gathered around ages ranging from twelve to newborn. Lying on a nearby couch was his wife with the two youngest children in her care, intently watching the animated motions of her husband with avid interest though not comprehending his speech.

"What principle is that daddy?" one inevitably asked, even though the question may not have been fully understood.

The father smiles.

"Family."

He continues, waving his hands getting into his description for the benefit of his audience. "Any government! Any empire! Any faction can be broken down to this basic unit."

"Even Capricia?"

"Especially Capricia." the father grinned, "And what makes Capricia strong?"

"STRONG FAMILIES!" the children shouted gleefully.

"Are you strong?" the father asked mischievously.

"arrggh!" This is where the children became silly, striking mock fighting poses.


The father laughed and he began to wrestle with his children, boy and girl alike squeeling with joy.




The Past.... a few years later..circa: First Invasion


"Lora and the children are gone..." Leantre's son had mumbled. "Those alien bastards.."

He turned his weary eyes to his father, seeing the old man's white hair and worried eyes.

"I ... I don't have a good feeling about this, Dad." he said, feeling strange at using the term verbally. "I should be alone.."

Leanter's arm shot out grabbing his son's. "No! Not alone."

"Strong families, dad? Make strong governments?" His son's voice was bitter. "I used to tell my children that and they ate it up. Now look at us!"

"No.." Leantre's voice softened, his gaze strong. "Strong families support each other." He drew his forty year old son in and hugged him.

And his son broke down and cried..




Bonadan...Now.


The voice called the old man to the present.


"we can’t let her down , not now, I want her back, and I want her back safely…consider yourself reinstated, you have everything at your disposal in order to find her…whatever you need, whatever it takes…


...anything."




Leantre's heart went out to Seth Vinda at that moment. And what is this Commonwealth we are building if not a family?

Strong families support each other.


He slipped a hand into a pocket and drew out a crystal, holding it out to the VC agent.

Probably soon to be Commonwealth Agent.

"This is a Codium. It gives you authority to use any Caprician asset at your disposal."

Bonadan

Low Orbit





Lux watched from his Cockpit the endless procession of sky traffic that constantly negotiated its way through the buildings and structures below, and readied his nerve.

The traffic and tourist build-up was immense, a tax on the well funded civilian authorities, what with the 'Big Swoop' opening event taking place this evening, it was a security nightmare.

At least that was the hope.

Deed smiled faintly at this thought as he awaited nervously clearance for BSE II (Bonadan South East II).

The traffic control were taking too long, and he was getting edgy.

After all, he was now a wanted man.

The comms alert chimed, and as Traffic control responded, his heart skipped a beat ...


"...IFF code clearance given, proceed to district twelve, landing bay 113..."


Lux smiled to himself and relaxed his grip on the control stick of his transport. The fake transponder had worked, a worthwhile, and necessary investment to be sure, the Hutt had been right, because of the event, and despite the extra security detail drafted in, the Authorities had no time to stop and search every shuttle and transport coming to Bonadan. It just wasn't feasible.

Deed knew they were looking for him, and in fact, that had happened too soon, he hadn't banked on Vinda-Corp finding out who he was so quickly.

Nonetheless it was too late, events were now set in motion, besides, even if they did find him, they would have to let him go. Surely not even Mr Vinda wouldn't risk his own daughter.

Yes they were looking for him, but they were looking in the wrong places...

He was also banking that the last place they would expect to find him, was on their own doorstep.

All of this raced through the mans head as he piloted the transport down to the spaceport...


There was much to do, all he had to do was be careful.


The man caught a reflection of himself in the window, and smiled...

His disguise would do for now...

Bonadan

VC-HQ




Vinda watched as Kaneda nodded slowly in thanks as Leantre presented him with the Caprician Tech. The businessman turned to face the Caprician leader too "...thank you Leantre, its deeply appreciated..." He said , his voice quiet but precise.

"...what other steps have been taken?..." Kaneda asked, and Vinda turned to look at the Section agent.

The Corporate leader passed him a data-pad, and watched in silence as the agent digested its contents, a small frown appeared to creep across his brow.

"..what is it Kaneda?..." Vinda asked perplexed...

"...have you considered going public with this?.." The Section agent replied, cautiously.

It was Vinda's turn to frown this time and before he replied he threw Leantre a furtive glance...

"..you think thats a good idea?..."

The Section agent seemed to think about his words carefully before responding...

"well, this has going to come out at some point, it might as well be now, because if someone saw her, they may be able to offer a lead, otherwise missed...."

Vinda feel silent as he considered this...

Eventually he spoke, his voice wary...

"...would this not be exposing her to more risk?..."

Kaneda narrowed his eyes slightly as he made his point clear..."..I would say, the damage has already been done, at least this way, if someone recognises her, we may be able to come up with something..."

Vinda, nodded slowly as he thought about this prospect...

"...yes, you have a point...very well, I'll see its arranged..."

A pleasant chime interrupted the trio...the comms.

irritated, Vinda answered..

"..I thought I made it clear i did not wish to be disturbed, Zara..."

"...I apologise Sir, but this is important..."

Sighing loudly, Vinda asked Zara to continue...

"...I have a Doctor Kagero, on Channel 21, from Kirima...he says its to do with your daughter"

As the trio looked at each other in both surprise and puzzlement, Vinda asked to be put through immediately, and soon enough the visage of the Doctor fizzled into life before them...

"..ah, Mr Vinda, I'm sorry to disturb you, but, I am in a very strange predicament..."

Vinda's brow furrowed even deeper...

"What predicament Doctor, My Secretary told me you had something important to tell me..."

The image of the Doctor nodded...

"..well, I don't know about that, but a woman was brought to me about two days ago, she had been attacked in her home, a neighbour found her and she was brought into our hospital, and into my care.."

Vinda felt his heart miss a beat...

"...who is it Doctor?..."

The man shook his head...

"well Mr Vinda, she says her name is...Gaia..."

The Doctor seemed to catch the look of disappointment upon the businessman's face, and he followed up quickly...

"...This patient came to us in a serious condition, she has only just regained consciousness , and when she did , she refused to let us treat her unless we contacted you..."

Vinda looked at the others as the Doctor spoke...

"...She says that three men came looking for a girl called...Natalya?"(he paused as to check his notes held somewhere offscreen) "..and when she refused to tell them they shot her..."

Vinda's eyes widened at the mention of her name...The Doctor seemed to catch this too...

"... I just thought I was dealing with a crazy old lady...as I said she wouldn't let me treat her unless I contacted you, personally..."

Vinda's gaze was transfixed on the holographic image of the man before him...

"..Did she say anything else Doctor?..."

The Doctor seemed to check his notes again...

"..well, not a great deal I'm afraid, as I said, she was in critical condition, she's been slipping in and out of consciousness ..."

Vinda frowned, and was about to speak until the Doctor suddenly interrupted him...

"..well actually there was something else, but I don't know if its important or not.."

Vinda's eyes widened..." yes Doctor..."

"She kept repeating something over and over ..wait a moment.." Kagero looked down at his notes once more, to the annoyance of Vinda...

"Doctor Kagero?.." The businessman responded impatiently...

"..ah yes that was it, she kept referring to a ...'Borgo prime'......I've never heard of it, personally"

Vinda's eyes shot to Kaneda...who was already on his own comms unit...

The Section agent nodded towards Vinda in acknowledgement...

"..I'll be sending a contingent over , I trust we have your complete co'operation in this matter?..."

There was a pause, but the confused Doctor nodded his head slowly...

"yes of course, has any of this been any help Mr Vinda?..."

"that remains to be seen Doctor, but thank you for contacting us..."

"no problem , as I said I didn't have much choice in the matter..."


Vinda thanked the Doctor and signed off, then turned his attention back to Kaneda...

"...time is a factor in this, I want you there, now...I'll order Omar and the fleet to back you up" he ordered quickly...

"..understood...I've got an A-Wing prepped and on standby, the fleet can catch me up" Kaneda replied , as he prepared to leave...

Vinda narrowed his eyes, and spoke interrupting Kaneda's departure, his voice calm but deadly serious...


"Mr Soom..."

"Yes?"

The Agent turned to face Vinda as he heard him speak...


"be careful..."

Kaneda smiled faintly as he replied...

"Always"


...and with that took his leave.

Elsewhere...



The past...




"I'm sorry ....you have our heartfelt condolences..."




The woman collapsed to the ground overcome with grief. The pain engulfed her wholly, and it ate at her from the inside out. The news hit her almost as if she had been physically struck.

Too stunned by shock to even cry, she tried to say something , anything, but all she could do was stammer, there were no words.

No words could possibly express how she felt.

The woman slowly curled into the foetal position and hugged herself, her hands gripping her clothing tightly, shaking her head against it all. Denial.


It would be a full five days before a single tear would come.

And on the fifth day, when the tears finally did come, she could not hold them back. She wept until her eyes were sore, until she was physically unable to, as if drained, and merely made the noise instead.

As she stared dumbly at the framed picture of two young children, one girl and one boy, the grief gave way to anger, and something inside of her.

Snapped.















The present...





"Welcome back to Bonadan, Ms Okani, how long will you be staying?.."

Yana looked up at the Customs official with a warm smile as she replied, "just a short stay this time, I'm visiting old friends, two days..."

The Customs agent, clearly taken by her charm smiled in return as he checked her ID card and other documents...

" Will it be for business or pleasure?..." he asked, almost Flirtatious...

Yana met his eyes and let slip a satisfied smile...

"Oh, pleasure, definately..."

The man tilted his head to one side as he looked at her, he'd caught something in those eyes of hers, and paused for a moment, before handing her back her documents...

"Enjoy your stay Miss Okani..."

Yana, took her documents and tucked them away into her bag, before looking up at the man to respond...


"Don't worry. I shall"


With that, the slender woman turned and walked outside , preparing herself for the sights and sounds of the industrial heart of the Corporate Sector. As she stepped out she looked up at the tall buildings that reached skyward, and her eyes settled on one that stood out the most...



It seemed like only yesterday she had last been here.



So much had happened...



So much had changed.

Unknown Location




Natalya had been forced to watch her captor eat in front of her, and she was now practically seething...

It seemed she was now reduced to being the inhouse dining entertainment for a small crowd of spectators who had come to see the mighty Vinda's daughter , chained and bound, and put on to display, like a prized trophy...

Turga, she had noted, was enjoying every moment of her discomfort...

She glowered at him simmering in a mixture of disgust and contempt, surrounded by his small crowd of sycophants. A live band played in the corner, if you could call it a band, but the music they produced seemed to just grate upon her ears.

She stood with her fists clenched through all of the jeering and the insults thrown at her, (amongst other things), all the while not allowing her focus to drift from the one who had her chained up, to the wall, like a dog.

Natalya had tried several times in a vein effort to wrench the chain away from its mooring deep in the wall, much to the general amusement of all those in the room.

So now she simply stood and suffered in silence, trying as best she could to keep her dignity throughout her humiliation.











Once the initial novelty had worn off, and the food eaten, a few stragglers had fallen asleep slumped pretty much anywhere, or up against anything they could find, while others had simply left.

Turga motioned for one of his guards to disconnect her from the wall, and bring her too him, and as Natalya was led to wear the fat slug lay stretched out, he grabbed her with his left hand as if to inspect her further.

She instinctively went to evade his hand, but the guard pulled hard on her slave ring, and she found herself choking, he had the chain in his hand and was using it like a leash. She couldn't even use her hands , they were still cuffed together.

Her eyes met his, seething with anger...

"...you are a pretty thing aren't you?..." The Hutt said menacingly...

She could feel his hot breath wafting over her face in waves, and it stank, as if something rotten had died deep in there, and still lay there decomposing.

It was all she could do to keep herself from retching.

"...come now, I'm not that bad am I?..." The giant slug mocked, and licked his lips lecherously...

There was a brief moment where Natalya thought he intended to eat her...

"...you look just like your mother..." Turga said unexpectedly, as he gripped her face tightly, so tight it made he was almost squeezing her cheeks together...

Natalya's heart raced as he mentioned her mother...

her surprise must have registered upon her face, because the Hutt picked up on it...

"....yes, I know of her...but not like I knew Vinda, and Aramaya..."

Her eyes glowered at the mention of Aramaya...

...Turga laughed...

"..yes he was a cruel one wasn't he?..." He let her go, so hard she almost lost her balance...

"...thats why I had him work for me...like your father ..." She looked at him confused...

Turga , smiled faintly, and raised an eyebrow...

"...you didn't know that did you?..." The Hutts delight in her ignorance was plain to see...

"...thats right , the great legit businessman, Vinda, once worked for me, a Hutt...."

Turga's eyes widened as he spoke...

".. he had a gift you see, a gift which I took it upon myself to train...."

Natalya looked at the Hutt with a mixture of hate, disdain, and disbelief...

"...he was..." (Turga trailed off as if to find the correct word...)

"...persuasive..." He smiled as if remembering some distant memory...

"...he made me a great deal of money... both of them did, they were inseperable..."

Natalya looked at the Hutt warily...

"..why are you telling me this?..." She snapped..

The Hutt grinned even more...

"...you wanted to know why you are here?..well I'm telling you..."

Turga's eyes narrowed as if remembering everything caused him pain...

"..your father betrayed me!" He blurted out suddenly, and Natalya jumped a little from the violence of it...

"...Both Vinda and Aramaya worked for me, and worked the CSA from inside it, everything was fine until one day Vinda decides he wants to leave!...all because of some stupid woman..."

Turga pulled Natalya closer towards him "...no-one leaves me..." He said sinisterly...

"...once I learned of this, I took....measures..." Turga's eyes sidled over to Natalya...

"...but your father is a shrewd man, and I underestimated that..." The Hutt said sourly...

"..he anticipated my reaction, and set me up!...gave me up to the CSA...and that bastard Aramaya went along with it!" Turga's eyes seemed to light up in anger themselves...

"..sold me out for eight and a half million!...I almost died...and as far as your father is concerned I'm sure he thinks thats still the case..."

The Hutt was in full flow and there seemed to be no stopping him..."...do you know how Vinda aquired Bonadan?..."

Natalya shook her head, her head racing with Turga's revelations...

"..he brought it! rumour has it he had files on every direx board member, and threatened to go to the Empire, they'd all been skimming money off themselves for years, living in rich luxury...and I was forced to flee...barely alive..." Turga's words had seemed to reach an angry climax , Natalya listened dumbly, unsure what to believe, but realising there was indeed truth in his words...

"..but he'll realise alright, yes, the same amount he paid for my death he'll pay for yours!...and thats just for the insult!"

"what makes you think he'll pay anything!..." Natalya interrupted angrily...

Turga grinned smugly...

"...oh he'll pay alright, how could he not?...your his only daughter..."

Turga looked at her with an odd expression , one which unnerved her slightly more so than normal, his eyes narrowed into giant slits, and he smiled

"...besides, its immaterial now, anyway..."

Natalya looked up at the Hutt perplexed, and he leaned forward once again leeringly...

"..what is important is for him to be in the place I want him to be...thats what I want..." he said ominously...and an ugly feeling of dread creeped upon her, which sickened her to her stomach...

It was never about me....

...or the money...

...he's just using me to ...

...and as her thoughts raced on to their obvious conclusion, the cold, hard reality sunk in, as Turga continued talking...

"...he'll learn what it means to betray me.." Turga said coldly...

...NO!...

"...he should have killed you when he had the chance..." Natalya promptly spat back at him. Turga's eyes grew fierce, and he slapped her across the face with the back of his hand so hard she gasped in pain and stumbled onto the floor, rubbing her face with her still cuffed hands.

"...don't test my patience ...girl! or you'll find yourself floating home!" He boomed testily...

Natalya, stunned into silence , closed her eyes , and felt her anger boil , her cheek flushing with heat from where he'd struck her...

The force had started to ebb through her, and she let it, akin to a channel in a stream she felt it surround her, felt it guiding her...giving her strength...

She felt its power within her...

She felt its direction, and its guidance, and as Natalya rose slowly she turned to face Turga...

The Hutt stopped and found himself staring at her straight in the eyes...

They had changed from being a dark brown, to an almost luminescent sky blue...

Natalya felt the force coarse through her body, and let it flow through her...

Turga looked at her in puzzlement, confused at the transformation...

Neither Turga nor Natalya knew it, but he had just discovered the unique trait she shared with her Mother. Whenever the force flowed through her, as it did now, her eyes would change colour in reaction....

A trait inherent to her Mother's race...

Slightly unnerved at this, Turga leaned back away from her murmuring something indecipherable under his breath...

He had never seen anything like it...and in his brief moment of distraction, Turga did not realise what Natalya indeed had... and before he could react, Natalya's hand instinctively reached out for her lightsaber he had left at his side...

The Hutt went to cry for help but instead he barely managed a gutteral scream, as the weapon flew into her hand, and in the blink of an eye had been activated...

The familiar snap and hiss of the blade echoed loudly in the large chamber, and as she brought it down upon her captor she saw the terror in his eyes, and his hands go up to shield himself instinctively, and in one crushing blow, he had lost both, and more...

Almost immediately Natalya found herself being yanked from behind with such force she almost dropped her weapon, the Guard from behind her, had in reaction tried to pull her away from the Hutt...albeit too late

She hit the ground with a loud thump, flat on her back, the fall had winded her , and the ring across her neck had choked her to the point where she found herself gasping for air...

Despite this, she scrambled round to see her aggressor, and saw him draw his blaster, and just barely managed to dive to her left ,in time to see the laser bolts hit the ground beside her.

In one deft movement she twisted herself so the chain that the Guard was still holding, faced forward , and swung the blade as best she could across it to free herself, with her hands still bound it was no mean feat.

Rising quickly she ran at the guard before he could react , propelling herself as fast as she could,the force adding momentum to her attack.
It took barely seconds before she was upon him, and the last thing the guard felt was the searing pain as the violet blade swiped across his body. Over-reaching herself, Natalya fell into the Guard and the pair fell to the floor entangled...It wasn't the tidiest of attacks.

Picking herself up from the floor, Natalya roughly freed herself from the alien, and carefully cut the binds that still held her hands together with the subtlest of touches of her saber, the metal melted away like a hot knife through butter, and She looked about her, catching her breath...


All hell had broken loose.


Those who had been asleep before had awoken blearily to the noises and the sights of the commotion while some merely stared at her in abject terror, clearly dumbstruck , others ran to the exit tunnels shouting for help.

She let them run, and turned her focus back to Turga, who was now sprawled on the bare floor, his body shuddering , his eyes and mouth a mixture of dribble and tears. The blood seeping from his wounds starting to create a grim pool around him.

Natalya's eyes fixed him to the spot , all else irrelevant, and lowered her Saber to his face... she observed he was still alive, albeit barely…

"...where is deed?..." She demanded fiercely...

"...you're, you're too late!..." The Hutt managed to stutter out, between spasms…

"..tell me!..." Natalya shouted threateningly...

With a final shudder, the Hutt drew his last breath , and despite the pain and his wounds, he still somehow managed to form the traces of a smile in apparent defiance…

Natalya stared at him for a moment unsure of whether he was truly dead or not. There was something in that smile which disturbed her, and as his eyes stared back at her lifeless and cold, she knew it would be a face forever ingrained upon her memory.

Whatever more he knew, he had taken it with him to the grave.

Natalya paused for a moment to gather her thoughts and quickly access her situation...

An overwhelming feeling of dread still gnawed from within her, She had to stop whatever Turga had planned, Natalya knew she had to get to Bonadan, and fast.

As she flew out of the chamber , with her lightsaber still tightly gripped in her hand, she found herself in one of many tunnels.
There were shrieks and yells, from up ahead , behind, and seemingly all around her.
It sounded like chaos, but Natalya didn't bat an eyelid , and although she didn't exactly know where she was, or how she was going to get to Bonadan, what she did know , with every fibre of her being, something was telling her that she had to, before it was too late.


Soon enough the dimly lit tunnel gave way to light, and Natalya found herself in a large open cavern, and on the floor below her, crowds of smugglers and spacers, most of whom seemed to be in the process of engineering their own escape, and fast.

It was utter pandemonium, the alarm was raised and it appeared Turga’s death had rattled the denizens of this strange place to the point of sheer panic.

Maybe they thought it was the Empire?….a rival Hutt perhaps?…who knows, but for whatever reason for the evacuation, it seemed they were not hanging around to find out.

These people were looking out for themselves , and themselves only…

The entire cavern was a kind of vast hanger, packed full with small craft of all descriptions, and many had already started their engines, most of which had started to drown out the general noise of the people’s shouts and voices…

...some kind of hidden base?... Natalya thought to herself as she glanced around her, her feet rattling the metal grating underneath.

She had entered the hanger via a metal gangway which trailed the upper level, like a kind of balcony. From here she was able to see first hand the commotion she had caused. The young woman even entertained the thought for a split second that she might escape without being noticed, until shouts from behind her dashed that particular hope almost as fast as it had appeared.

Natalya turned to see a group of four or five men coming towards her, blasters at the ready, and cursing under her breath, she quickened her pace.
Almost instantly Natalya found herself in the midst of a hail of blaster bolts , and as they scattered and exploded all around her, she felt the adrenaline surge through her body.
Natalya had to raise her hands to cover her face as the stray bolts blasted both the wall and the metal gangway before her, showering her in sparks.

Realising she had little time in which to evade her aggressors , Natalya looked down below her, and for the first time really noticed the height, and the drop because of it …

… Hundred feet at least!...

Jumping down was out of the question.

As she frantically looked around for an escape, her eyes settled on the metal supports holding the gangway in place, the whole thing had been suspended by rods bolted to the high ceiling. Despite her pace the men were gaining closer , and so were their shots, and as Natalya realised what she had to do, she hesitated out of reluctance. Until that is, several bolts flashed past her shoulder missing her by barely inches. She took the hint.

In a flurry of light her saber cleaved through the support struts , first on her left then as the group came close enough, her right, and instantly the gangway started to give way. Natalya dived , stretching her body as much as she could in order to grab the thin handrail of the opposite section with her free hand.
She hung on as tightly as she could, as the entire section of the structure she had been previously standing on buckled and swung downwards under the weight of her aggressors.

The men had been too focused on her to realize what she was doing until it was too late, and although they had tried to retreat, they had not the time to do so. Natalya grimaced as she watched the men plummet past her, but did not look down, and instead closed her eyes to their cries.

Then, suddenly Natalya felt something grab her leg, and in direct reaction an excrutiating pain shot through her hand , down through into her arm and across her shoulders down to her leg, making her eyes water. She gasped out loud in response as she looked down to see she had taken the strain of the weight of both herself and one of the men , a Devoronian.
He had suddenly grasped her leg in panic as he had fallen, and was now by sheer dumb luck hanging onto her foot for dear life.

The buckled metal frame they were both dangling dangerously from groaned in response and started to give, and Natalya gritted her teeth, the pain was unbearable now, and as she looked down at the alien below , her eyes met his. He glanced up at her pleadingly, and had now grasped her foot with his other hand too.

The metal gangway’s protestations grew more and more, until suddenly it lurched violently downwards as more of the structure gave way.

Unable to stand the pain anymore, and worried that the whole thing was about to come crashing down any moment, Natalya knew she had no choice, and with her right hand activated and brought her saber downwards towards the hanger-on.

The alien screamed in fear as the Violet blade came down in its direction, and perhaps instinctively rather than willingly, he let go, screaming in terror all the way down.

Steadying herself, Natalya deactivated the lightsaber and tucked it away awkwardly into her pants, and began to painfully haul herself up the buckled metal walkway as if it were a kind of ladder as quickly and as cautiously as she could.

Once at the top, and satisfied that she was safe, Natalya paused to catch her breath and rubbed the back of her left shoulder to ease the pain a little and took a quick glance in front of her, then behind her and the gap in the walkway.

There was no going back now…

Natalya started forward, and as she did so, reached behind to retrieve in readiness the lightsaber she had tucked away.

Advanced Research and Development facility - Bonadan






The entire facility was on lock down.


Since the incident inside one of the labs, it seemed chaos had descended upon the place.

Security teams had every possible exit and entrance (of which there were only three) covered , and had scoured the facility from top to bottom, leaving no office, lab, or cupboard left unchecked for the unwelcome intruder, but to no avail.

He had quite simply.

Vanished without a trace.


Suffice to say this had the head of security well and truly flummoxed.


Any rumour or talk of this incident between the various scientists had been stamped on, hard, what had happened inside the lab would not leave the facility, its mere existence was only known to a handful of trusted specialists, let alone what might have happened inside it.

What was being developed within the walls were to remain a tightly controlled secret.

Therefore this apparent failure in security had everyone rattled.

...how could someone have infiltrated the labs without security noticing?...


This was the dilemma which now confronted one person who, perhaps privy to more secrets than anyone would care to guess...


Achinta had spent the entire day studying the reams of security footage taken inside the facility, witnessing the event almost first hand.
There were no hiding the facts, the assailant had materialised inside the lab, and exited the same way.

How?...


That was the question.


Now Achinta stood within the lab itself, the scene of the very same incident, finishing with his inspection with the usual cautious and scrutinous intensity he always did.

...fascinating..

His mind replayed the incident within his mind, and his face frowned...

Someone, somewhere had access to a higher level of technology , and had used it here. It was evident they did not possess the required scientific expertise to fully understand how this breach in security had been achieved.


...and this disturbed the bodyguard greatly.

The staff would be interrogated, and investigated throughly...

Now that both the security and its secrecy had been compromised the entire facility would have to be moved...

The HRD frowned more, this was worrying indeed.


A comms alert grabbed his attention, and his frown receeded a little...

Scipio was back.


In a flurry of black leather the bodyguard took his leave , leaving Section to carry out the necessary orders, and made his way to the Starport to meet the Commonwealth Ambassador.

Bonadan...



It was clear that the Ressario had been involved in combat. Engineering skiffs, hospital vessels and personnel as well as relief crews poured over the newly arrived warship and Scipio was happy to let them have the run of the ship.

"Ambassador?" came a small voice interrupting Scipio's tour through the ship as she made her way to the docking port that would see her to the star port.

"Yes, Mr..?" she inquired remembering the face.

"Jaris, Ma'am. I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity of showing us a better way and the freedom you've granted us."

Scipio put a gentle hand on the shoulder of the representative from Elom. "Freedom is earned Mr Jaris, not granted as a gift from others. To keep it takes action on your part and it will be your responsibility to maintain it. We are merely here to help you in that endeavor and show you the strength in the harmony of worlds that is the Commonwealth."

"You fought for us when you didn't have too..."

"The preying upon the weaker by the stronger is a wrong that we are all trying to right. If you'll excuse me.."

The representative from the other world moved allowing her to pass for which she was eternally grateful. If anyone could talk endlessly, it was the inhabitants of Elom. The Commonwealth Diplomatic Corps could take a lesson or two from them for extemporaneous speaches.

She finally was able to exit and recognizing the interior of the massive port she felt a strong sense of homecoming. She held an affinity for the place that was only evident by the content look she displayed as she walked.

Her eyes scanned the crowd and a white head appeared over all others causing that content look to deepen even further.

By the way the crowd parted for her beloved HRD she could see the tell-tale signs that he was 'glad' to see her. At least as much as she him.

And as she moved quickly over barely containing herself from a display un-Ambassadorial-like, unlady-like, embarrassing but totally Scipio her eyes caught the signs of something worrying him.

It was an attention to detail that was all too "Achinta" but she had grown to see subtle changes in his features and different indicators that gave her insights into his "moods" (such as they were).

Most would simply see the same facial expression on him but not Scipio. His entire stance told her volumes but it was an understanding that did not come right away. It was an understanding that came with time.

She threw her arms around him when he came within reach contect to rest her head on his shoulder as if the simple act would pass off the stresses of the past several weeks.

Bonadan

Mr Vinda’s private Chamber – Late Night




With his shirt buttons undone from the top, his tie slung over a chair, Vinda sat with a glass full of brandy. He had tried to sleep, but simply couldn’t. Thus, he had gotten dressed again with the intention of perhaps working on something…

His concentration was not there, and despite his best efforts his thoughts were no longer with him in the present…


Past demons had come to haunt him.


All he could think about was how his daughter was doing, what was she going through…

He rubbed his temple, and sighed heavily, before downing another glass of brandy…

Placing the glass upon the dresser next to him, he felt a surge within him…

Clasping the edge of his bed, his hands clutched at the covers as he felt the force wash over him.


He did not fight it or attempt to resist, he quite simply…


… let himself go…



When he opened his eyes, Vinda found himself looking at a shimmering blue ocean stretching as far as his eyes could see, he felt the sun warm him from above, in a clear cloudless sky…and he knew



He knew this place…






”Seth.”




“Seth.”



“Natalya!”




Without thinking of the absurdity of it, Vinda found himself hearing a voice from the past…

…and found himself talking back…


He looked around him , and saw nothing but a white sandy beach, and blue ocean…

The familiar stinging voice of reality struck him…

“Damn you, you old stupid fool”

“you’ve lost it”


Vinda found himself talking to …himself

“you’ve had too much to drink and now you’re imagining things , drunken old fool…”


He felt his heart sink…





Wait.

(A frown creased his brow)



If that is the case then why am I still here? Why am I even having this conversation?…


Vinda turned his attention to something on the horizon that had suddenly caught his eye, a shimmering in the distance…

He narrowed his eyes , then cast his hand over his face to shield the sun from obscuring their gaze…

A glittering upon the water…


A shape, a…

…a figure…

“stop imagining things you damned stupid drunk…”


No.

There.

Someone was coming towards him, across the water…


It looks like…


Yes.


Looks like…


A woman…


It can’t be…



Vinda felt his heart race, and his throat tighten as he started to recognise the figure walking towards him…


Without thinking he raced down the beach , oblivious to the water he started to wade in and as the water reached his waist he heard her again…


“Stop Seth.”


He froze. Trembling. Not knowing whether to carry on or go back to the beach…


“Not yet.”


A look of confusion and panic started to set in as the figure had disappeared, he strained his eyes at the horizon, seeing nothing but blue…

He yelled out in desperation, exasperated…


Natalya!

A voice from behind made him freeze.



“I’m here Seth.”



He dare not look behind him, in case she disappeared again….


“no you’re not, this is a cruel joke…”


It was her, there was no mistaking her voice. It was mellow, soft and kind. Just hearing it seemed to ease a lifetimes worth of hidden pain…


“I’ve always been here Seth, waiting for you”


He stubbornly refused to turn around, not wanting his fears to be realised…


She laughed.


It was the kind of laugh that set your soul at ease, one that was infectious, one that warmed him from the inside out, one that he had missed so very much.


“Turn around and look at me, you stubborn old fool”


Cautiously he turned to look at the beach he had just came from…


…She was standing before him at the waters edge, looking down upon him with a look of kindess he had never before seen in anyone else in any of his travels, anywhere in the galaxy…

(and that was a lot of people)


There was a glow around her, a golden hue which despite its ghostly effect, made him feel warm…

She reached a hand out to him, and looked down at him…


Rubbing his eyes Vinda was speechless, his breath taken away.


Her expression changed, she looked worried…


“come out of the water Seth.”


Slowly, cautiously, he did as she asked, and soon found himself beside her, basking in her radiance…

He went to speak, but before he could, she placed a finger upon his lips,to silence him…

It felt so real, he was now certain he was not dreaming…

“promise me , you won’t go into the water, not yet…” Her voice was warm, but there was a hidden trace of tension which he did not comprehend.

He simply nodded, dumbly, his eyes transfixed upon hers…


“We’ll go in together, when the time comes. I promise…”


The finger was only lifted once she could see in his eyes recognition of her request…


“I've missed you Seth…” She said softly…before sitting down slowly upon the sand, with her knees up and her arms cradling them.
She patted the sand beside her as she looked up at him expectantly…


“sit with me..”


Vinda did as he was asked, the look of disbelief now fading, being replaced instead by a mixture of confusion, curiousity, and love.


“it’s beautiful here” She said, her eyes gazing out across the ocean before them both…


Vinda looked out following her gaze…


“remember how we always said we’d run away , to a tropical island somewhere?…” She half asked, half stated….

Vinda simply nodded…


She turned to look at him directly…


“I have something wonderful to tell you Seth”


“I know, I, I…” He started to stammer then looked down in despair…


She stroked his face, and brought his gaze back to the same level as hers, as she hushed his words into silence…



“ close your eyes Seth…” Her words came soothingly , and he felt no fear…


“I have something wonderful to show you” She said , and he felt her hand brush against his cheek…



He closed his eyes…




…and the last thing he heard was her voice reassuring him…



“I’ll be waiting for you, right here…”


With that, he was shown.

...and with a heart bursting with pride, yet heavy with sadness, he understood.








When he finally opened his eyes , he was back in his chamber, lying on his bed.

Alone.


Sitting upright, the corporate mogul sat in silence for what seemed like forever, as he reflected on what he had just experienced, before slowly and solemnly reaching for the comms.

"yes sir?"

"fetch me that damned lawyer of mine..."

"sir?..it is almost one in the morning, he'll be asleep ..."

"then wake him" His tone was insistent, in a way only Vinda could manage.

"er...yes sir" The aide responded nervously, and as he signed off, Vinda swung himself around so he sat with his legs hanging off the edge of his bed...


In his hand he clutched a small chrome lighter, as his thoughts raced with his new found knowledge...



...There was much to do...