Raven's mind raced as he lay next to Charlot. The wide bed's flannel winter sheets hadn't been changed to the regular percale spring and summer sheets. He was glad for their fuzzy comfort. His emotions had cought up with him.

Tevis had been around for billions of years, silently orbiting Renal. Some scientists had thought there might be life there, but that had never been proved or disproved.

If a mountain or the river disappears, that's much closer to home...



Beyond the wide picture windows and curtain of tall pines, the river eddied quiet and green around a slight bend. To the west, white clouds rolled inland, their bottoms heavy and grey.

In the kitchen, amid hanging copper pots and pans, Raven cracked eggs into an iron skillet on the broad gas stove.

"We've known each other for thirty years," he said bringing out two plates of scrambled eggs and sausage and laying one on the thick oak table before his friend. "We don't see nearly enough of each other."

"That's why we've been friends for so long." Harry tapped the end of his fork lightly on the tabletop. "This air," he said. "Makes me feel like thirty years ago was when I last ate. What a refuge."

"Your cramping my sentimentality," Raven said, returning to the kitchen for a pitcher of orange juice.

"The sausages...?"

"Uteran National."

"God Bless." Harry dug into the fluffy yellow pile on the round stoneware plate. Raven sat down across from him.

"How do you ever get any work done here? I prefer concrete cells. Helps the concentration."

"You slept well."

"I snore, Raven, whether I sleep well or not."

Raven smiled. "And you call yourself an outdoorsman, a fisherman." He cut the tip from a sausage and lifted it to his mouth. "Between consulting and reeducating myself, I've been trying to write a book about the previous administration. Haven't even seriously started on chapter one. I'm not sure how to describe what happened. What a wonderful tragic comedy it all was."

"That administration did give science more credibility than any president since... Well," Harry said, "since." He lifted one hand and splayed his fingers.

"I'm hoping Crokerman-"

"That name. A president."

"May not be so bad. He's part of the reason I invited you out here."

Harry raised a bushy eyebrow. The two were as much a contrast as any classic comedy team - Raven tall and slightly stooped, his brown hair naturally tousled; Harry of medium height and stocky to the edge of plumpness in his middle years, with a high forehead and a friendly, wide-eyed expression, that made him seem older than he was.

"The bureau is being revived. In a way."

"Crockerman's reviving Betsy?"

"Not as such." The Bureau of Extraterrestrial Communication - BETC or 'Betsy' for short - had been Raven's last hurrah in the capital. He had served as science advisor and Secretary of BETC for three years under the previous administration, who had appointed him after the incident 8 years previous. It had turned out to be a false alarm, but they had kept Raven on until the presidents assasination in Tuscow City the previous year. Vice President Cockerman had been sworn in on a train in Tuscow, and had immediatly moved to place his own stamp on the Capital, replacing most of the cabinet with his own choices. Three months after the swearing-in, the new chief of staff had told Raven, "No little green men, no vanished ships... might as well go home, Mr. Shadowclaw"

"is he going to make you science advisor?" Harry asked. "Kick out that idiot Rotterjack?"

Raven shook his head, grinning. "He's forming a special task force."

"Astrila," Harry said, nodding sagely. He put down his glass of orange juice without taking a sip, braced as if for an assault, his eyes fixed on the salt and pepper shakers in the center of the table. "Greater Desert."

Raven was not suprised. "How much do you know?"

"I know it was found by opal prospectors and that its not supposed to be there."

"What do we have to do with it?"

"Astrila is finally asking for advice. The Prime minister is going public with a report in three days or less. He's under some pressure."

"Little green men?"

"I can't even comment on that until I've asked you the questions, Harry."

"Than ask," Harry said, still braced.

"The president has put me in charge of the civilian science investigation team. We work with the military and with state. You're my first choice."

"I'm a biochemist. That means..."

Marin Faulker sat there going through some data files on his desk, these nights were starting to drive him crazy. It never got dark on this damned moon. Marin looked down at his chronometer, it was the middle of the night. The comm unit beeped.

"Admiral Faulker?" Came the female voice.

"Yes Morgan?"

"I have an incoming transmission from Commander Chatman at Yavin 13 sir."

"Put it through Morgan." Marin said as he scattered some files on his desk and grabbed the one titled "Yavin 13 Outpost".

"Commander." Marin Faulker greeted the man.

"Admiral. I wanted to update you on the status of our operation." The Commander said getting straight to the point.

"Excellent, I was just looking through the file." Marin said as he tapped a button on the datapad, the information displayed across the screen.

Something about being the 13th moon in the Yavin system, a desert world with two intelligent species, Gerbs and Slith. Covered in rocky mesas, arid deserts, cacti, and a large ocean that made up most of the Southern Hemisphere. And bla bla bla. He'd gone over it so many times it was giving him a headache.

"Admiral our outpost is complete. We installed the last of our light Turbolaser enbankments today. The communications system is up and running. We've got eyes and ears all across the moon sir." The Commander said in an optimistic voice.

"This is excellent work Commander, you've done a remarkable job and ought to be commended." Marin said in a genuine manner.

"Thank you sir."

"I'll send over some ships and supplies. If you need anything just let me know Commander."

"Yes sir."

Progress had exceed Marin's expectations. The Yavin 4 Headquarters were intact and growing everyday, the Yavin 13 Outpost was complete.

1 down.. 2 to go.. Marin said to himself. He hadn't heard from the crew that was building the mining facility in orbit of the Gas Giant yet. But he was sure everything was going well. The Yavin 8 Outpost should be completed anytime now according to Captain McCorda's report he'd just received.

This was a good day for the Rebellion indeed.

Marin Faulker tapped a button on his comm unit.

"Yes Admiral?" Morgan's voice came through the comm.

"Can you get me in touch with Nimos?" He asked. Although it was more of an order than a question.

"Right away sir." She replied and just a moment later Yrand Nimos was heard.

"Yes Admiral?" The man replied in a thick accent which to this day Marin Faulker still couldn't place but never bothered to ask.

"How are operations Nimos?" Marin asked referring to the shipyards which Nimos supervised.

"Excellent Lord Marin. We will have more shipyards available for producing ships in just a few days time. And our construction yard will be available anyday now Admiral."

Marin held back a small laugh. He'd never been called Lord, and hearing Nimos address him as such with his accent was at least mildly humorous.

"Very good Nimos just wanted to make sure we're on schedule." Marin said as prepared to cut the transmission.

"Yes sir, everything is according to your master plan." Nimos said before Marin cut the frequency and let out a soft laugh.

Master plan eh? Marin thought to himself. Hopefully the other facets of my master plan are doing as well.

"Morgan?" Marin asked as he tapped the comm unit again patching in to her frequency.

"Yes Marin?"

"Do you know if Davin's around?" He asked referring to Captain Davin McCorda, the Captain in the Rebel Navy and Marin's close personal friend.

"Yes sir I'll get you a direct line."

"Mare?" Davin McCorda asked.

"D-Mac? Where the @#%$ have you been?"

"I've been around, things have been hectic with this Yavin 8 project."

"That's all you have to say?" Marin said sounding disappointed.

"@#%$ man..."

"You've been back from Brolsam for a month now and you haven't had a chance to stop in and say 'hi'?" Marin said laying on the guilt.

"Sorry bro..."

Marin shook his head, even though Captain McCorda couldn't see the gesture the silent pause indicated as much.

"I meant to stop by but I've had so much going on with this Yavin 8 thing. These new recruits, helping them get acquainted..." Davin trailed off, not having a solid excuse.

"That's bull @#%$ D-Mac. What's been going on? You know you can talk to me."

Captain McCorda wanting to change the subject brought up the one topic which he knew would shift Marin's thought pattern.

"The Yavin 8 Outpost is ready for action Marin."

"Really?"

"Yeaup. Sensor arrays, command center, hangar bay... all ready to go."

"Defenses?" Marin asked skeptically.

"Light Turbolaser embankments went up today, tested and ready. Sensor array is online."

"Good job @#%$ I'll talk to you later." Marin said as he cut the transmission without a second thought.

Marin leaned back into his chair and smiled staring off into space which from this vantage was the durasteel ceiling of his office.

ONE more. He thought to himself. Hopefully all was going well setting up the mining colony.

Aboard the Coruscan Gem

There were several orbital mining ships which the Rebellion had dispatched to mine the precious Corusca Gems from Yavin's core.

The core of Yavin was the only place in the Galaxy known to produce Corusca Gems. The rare Gems glow with a fiery brilliance.

The mining ships communicated directly with the orbital mining colony aptly named the Coruscan Gem. The ships would send their quarry directly to the Gem as it was known by miners.

The mining colony was pretty impressive for a station of its type. The Gem as it was affectionately known by the miners at Yavin had personal quarters which were on par with those at the Yavin 4 Headquartes themselves. They weren't exactly an exotic getaway in some luxurious resort but they were enough to keep the miners satisfied.

The mining ships themselves were heavily-armored so that they could easily plunge into Yavin's atmosphere and scrape the valuable Corusca Gems from the hard core of Yavin. The ships also employed nets to capture the gems that had been extracted by the heavy winds and swept into the atmosphere. The gems were stored aboard the ship in several cargo pods and delivered to the Gem when the ship met its cargo capacity. From the Gem the cargo was delivered to Yavin where it would serve a number of different purposes.

Kal Betz was in charge of the operations that ran out of the Gem. The mining colony although somewhat behind schedule had finally been completed. Betz had told Marin that difficulties with the heavy winds of the Yavin atmosphere which Marin was told could reach up to 600 kph had been holding them back from meeting their deadline. Although Marin may not have been happy about the slow progress he would be delighted once he got the call from Betz informing him that the colony was ready for 100% operation.

"Jimeno." Kal Betz said calling out for the Chief Communications Officer aboard the ship.

"Yes sir?" Yorg Jimeno replied quickly.

"Get me in touch with Marin Faulker, we're finally ready to give him the good news."

Kal Betz had made sure that every precaution had been taken to ensure that the Coruscan Gem was completely functional before he would pass word to Marin that mining operations would begin at complete capacity.

"Just a moment sir." Jimeno replied as he opened a transmission with Morgan. "Communications?" Jimeno asked. Morgan rolled her eyes knowing it was Yorg at the Gem, everyone else simply addressed her as Morgan however Yorg considered it against protocol to do so.

"Yes Yorg?" Morgan asked as she tapped a few buttons on her console preparing to patch him in with Marin Faulker which is who he'd undoubtedly be wanting to get ahold of.

"I'd like to request a private line with High-Admiral Marin Faulker please." Yorg said, before he got to the word private the line was already being opened.

Kal Betz spoke into the comm unit. "Admiral Faulker. Kal Betz, reporting from the Coruscan Gem."

"Yes?" Marin said, Betz got the impression that the Admiral was annoyed, perhaps this was the case.

"The Coruscan Gem is fully operational sir." Betz said with a smile on his face, proud that they'd finished their initial task. Although not with great speed but they had been thorough.

"Excellent Commander, good work. I assume the colony is 100% functional?" Marin asked, his eyebrows rose as he awaited the response which he knew would be yes sir. He waited just a moment for Betz to utter the exact words.

"Yes sir." Betz said as a smile of satisfaction was shared by both men.

"Good. Let's get mining then." Marin paused for just a moment to cut the transmission before hearing the expected reply.

"Yes sir." With that Marin ended the transmission with Kal Betz aboard the Gem and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally things were getting done around here.

Marin Faulker was on his daily run, roughly 5 kilometers. There was a path that had been setup which lead him from his own personal quarters to the Command Center in a roundabout way. The scenery was amazing, his path cut straight through the jungle.

This was always a time which Marin would think, think about what was going on, think about his problems, and think about possible courses of action. Marin would have to rely on his vast network of like-minded friends which he'd met throughout his years in the Rebellion.

Once the New Republic had been formed many planets that were allied with the Alliance joined the Republic. Which was fine Marin thought. Good for them. They weren't the enemies of the Rebellion in fact for the most part they shared the same ideals. However when the New Republic fell, that was another story.

Many of the worlds which had fought side by side with the Rebellion were now either un-allied or worse. In fact a great deal of them had been subjugated by the Empire itself. Not a pleasant turn of events.

Marin did however have a great deal of friends in high and low places. Now that the Rebellion was functioning smoothly perhaps it was time that he made a few visits.

Ashk Thri'syk. Marin thought to himself. As soon as the name had entered his mind old memories rushed in.

Ashk Thri'syk was a Bothan who'd served with Marin as an X-Wing pilot in the early days of the Rebellion. They'd flown in more than a few different squadrons together in their criss-crossing careers as pilots. Neither one of them had been a pilot for very long though as they'd both been promoted swiftly through the ranks.

Ashk Thri'syk had joined the New Republic as a member of the Advisory Council after the fall of the Empire. Thri'syk had always been disappointed in how the Yuuzhan Vong situation was handled. The rest of the council however rebuked his claims that the Yuuzhan Vong should be treated as a real threat and attributed Ashk Thri'syk's ideals to his military background. The fact that Borsk Fey'lya hesitated to take action added to Thri'syk's shame.

Now Ashk Thri'syk had returned to his native Bothawui to serve on the Bothan Diplomatic Corps. The Diplomatic Corps is the main branch of Bothan government which meets with leaders of other worlds to ensure that Bothan ideals are met in any alliance.

Ashk Thri'syk was a member of the Asyk clan. The Asyk clan was a prominent one within Bothan society and holds a seat in the Combined Clans which was once known as the Bothan Council. The Combined Clans is the primary governmental body of the Bothan people, the Combined Clans is currently compromised of 672 registered clans with several others currently petitioning for membership.

The Combined Clans were responsible for all aspects of Bothan life, from finance to security. The head of the Council, Zrask Sei'bar currently held the title of First Secratary of the Combined Clans. Sei'bar was a member of the Bar clan and Ashk Thri'syk had often spoken to Marin about him. He wasn't highly regarded in Thri'syk's opinion which gave Marin a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

It was about time that Marin got in contact with Ashk Thri'syk, it had been a few months since he'd spoken with his old friend. Now Marin Faulker had one more thing on his "to do" list, which was a long one at that. He still had to meet with the rest of his new recruits which had recently arrived on Yavin 4.

He also had to find out what kind of data the reconnaisance missions to Fiddanl and Stroiketcy was able to retrieve.

Marin looked down at his chronometer, o512. Yes.. this was going to be a long day indeed.

Alexei strode down the long corridors of the Great Temple towards the hangar bay that contained the X-TIE Fighter that he had come in on. After reviewing the group of Rebels, and what they had to offer, along with how good they were, and how many there were, Alexei Ferrier was sufficently impressed to decide that this is where he and his other brethren belonged. For days now other former members of the Batiiv Pirates had been lurking just outside of the Yavin System, waiting for word from their leader, Alexei, on whether or not this would be the group that they would in join in order to continue once again their old ways of hitting Imperial shipping, and take revenge on those who had destroyed the Batiiv Pirates. The gang consisted of men in thirty five starfighters, and one hundred more currently flying a hijacked Imperial Gallofree Transport. The crew aboard the Transport didn't have good starfighter style reflexes, but were crewers, engineers, and commandoes specializing in ship seizure, as had been displayed with this ship several days ago. Finally, there were four slicers, again in a stolen Imperial shuttle, people that excelled in hacking into computers, espically holonets, and communications logs, and had planted false evidence that the freighter and shuttle had perished in accidental collisions with other ships or loose asteroids. The men were merely waiting for words from Alexei to come into the system, and join up with the group. But first, Alexei had to speak with Marin Faulker about the group joining up, then he would have to receive clearence from the hangar bay to liftoff. He strode to the Admiral's office. Once the door chimed to accept him, he straightened to military posture, strode in, and stood at attention in the Admiral's office.

He'd sat there at his desk prioritizing his work for the day when the comm unit beeped. Marin tapped a button allowing the transmission, of which he received several a day.

"Admiral?"

"Yes Morgan."

"Alexei Ferrier would like to meet with you."

"Put him through Morgan I'll see him now." He said, and just a millisecond after he did so the door swooshed open with a double beep and Alexei Ferrier stood before him.

Marin forced a half smile and after just a moment he motioned for the younger man to enter and have a seat. "At ease soldier."

"So." Marin said and paused for just a moment. "Admiral Woods tells me you made quite the entrance." Marin didn't require a response, they both knew the events that had transpired. Marin continued choosing to go straight to the point. "Alexei you're a good pilot. You'd be valuable to the Rebellion. But this is no circus kid."

Again Marin paused as he looked squarely into the eyes of the pilot.

"I'll be honest we run a tight ship. I've done my homework, I know about your past. Eyttyrmin Batiiv." It was all Marin Faulker said for a moment. "You're a member of the Batiiv. A pirate. Doesn't make it a mystery as to why you're here. The Empire massacred your numbers. 8,000 pirates." Marin said as he shook his head at the tragedy. "And only 272 of you survived. None of us here at the Rebellion have any love for the Empire. This much is obvious. That being said, I want you to be a member of the Rebel Navy."

Marin paused as if he wasn't finished.

"Under a few conditions Alexei. You report directly to me. Any missions which you and your boys fly are directly assigned by me. No more of this pirate @#%$. You'll get more than your fair share of action but if the mission briefing did not come from my lips to your ears directly, I expect you to stay on the ground. If you have any ideas, if there's any tour that you want to be a part of you get permission from me. And.." Marin again paused ensuring that the terms were clear to Alexei Ferrier. "You fly our ships. You'll be flying T-65XJ X-Wings, you and your men. If you can agree to these terms than I'll gladly accept you into our ranks."

Marin stood to shake the younger man's hand. "You don't need to decide right away. Talk to your men and get back to me." Marin escorted the man through the door and through the wide hall which lead to the Headquarter entrance. "You've got a decision to make, and whichever one you make... it'll be the right one."

Marin smiled and waved as the young man left the Headquarters. No doubt headed to speak to his men which lay in wait just outside the Yavin system.

Raven shook his head slowly.

"Hear me out, Harry. I need you for biochemestry, and as my second-in-command. I'm pushing for Warren from State for geology, and Abante from the Islands for physics. They've agreed, but they have to go through political examination."

"You think I'd pass Crockerman's political pop quiz?' Harry asked.

"You will if I insist, and I will."

"You need a biochemist . . . really?"

"That's the rumor," Raven said, his grin widening.[/i]

"It would be lovely." Harry pushed his chair back with only half his eggs and one sausage eaten. "Old friends, working together again. Ithaca would agree. Hell, even if she didn't . . . but . . ."

"There will never be another chance like this," Raven said, emphasizing each word as if he were putting some essential point across to a dunderhead student.

Harry wrinkled his forehead, staring up at Raven.

"Dupres at King's College?"

"I've asked for him. He hasn't answered yet. We may not be able to get extranationals on the team."

"I wouldnt turn you down lightly," Harry said. Raven saw his friend's eyes were red. He appeared close to tears.[/i]

"You need somebody reliable."

"What does that mean?"

Harry looked out the window, hand tensing on a fork handle, relaxing. "I just told Ithaca three weeks ago."

Ravens face became placid, clear of all excitement he had exhibited seconds before. "Yes?"

"Chronic leukemia. I've got it. It has me."

Raven blinked twice. Harry would not look straight at him.

"it's not good. In a few months, Ill be spending most of my time fighting this. I can't see how I'll be anything but a hinderance."

"Terminal?" Raven asked.

"My doctors say perhaps not. But I've been reading." He shrugged.

"These new treatments-"

"Very promising. I have hope. But you must see . . ."

Harry turned his bright gaze on Raven. "This thing's as big as Mayers Rock, and it's been there how long?"

"No more than six months. Survey satellites mapped that area just over six months ago and it wasn't there."

Harry grinned broadly. "That's wonderful. THat's truly wonderful. What the hell is it, Raven?"

"A piece of Tevis, perhaps?" Raven's voice was far away. His friend still wouldn't meet his gaze.

Harry laughed outloud and flung his napkin on the table. "I'll not be sad and weepy. Not with this."

Raven's throat tightened. He had practically grown up with Harry. They had known each other for thirty years. He couldn't possibly be dying. Raven coughed. "We'll become adults with this one, Harry. The whole human race. I need you very much-"

"Can you take on a might-be invalid?" Now their eyes met, and this time Raven glanced away, shoulders stiff. With an effort, he looked back. "You'll make it, Harry."

"Lord, speak of will to live."

"Join the team."

Harry wiped his eyes with the forefinger of his right hand. "Travel? I mean, much-"

"At first, but you can stay in the city if you wish, later."

"I'll need that. The treatment is there."

Raven offered his hand. "You'll make it."

"After this, maybe it won't be so bad," Harry said. He took the offered hand and squeezed it firmly.

"What?"

"Dying. What a thing to see . . . Little green men, Raven?"

"Are you with us?"

"You know I am."

"Then you get the big picture. It's not just Aust. There's something in the Jave Desert, Greater Valley, between a resort called Furnace Creek and a little town called Shoshone. It resembles a cinder cone. It's new. It doesn't belong there."

Harry grinned like a little boy. "Wonderful."

"And yes, there's an LGM."

"Where?"

"For the moment, Enberg Air Force Base."

Harry glanced at the ceiling and lifted both arms, tears spilling from his eyes. "Thank you, Lord."

The data kept streaming in, Fiddanl, Stroiketcy, all the info he'd ever need on either planet was now coming to light in a fashion that might make Marin Faulker's head spin. His eyes rolled. I've seen enough "statistical data". He thought to himself.

And just then as Marin's head might explode out of sheer disinterest the call came through. The comm unit beeped. Marin's eyebrow distinctively rose. The familiar voice proceeded as Marin tapped the button. "Admiral?"

"Yes Morgan?" High-Admiral Marin Faulker said with vague disinterest.

"Rear-Admiral Matthias Woods would like to see you."

"Send him in Morgan."

The door opened with a dull audible woosh. Matthias Woods entered just a moment later.

He entered and nodded to Marin as he had a seat opposite Marin at his desk. The door shut behind him.

"What's up Captain?" He said as he had a seat and put his feet up on Marin's desk.

"Put your feet down jack ass." Marin said as he leaned back into his own chair.

"So..." Marin said as he leaned forward grabbing something out of a drawer. He removed a pack of cigarettes and offered one to the Rear-Admiral. Matthias Woods didn't respond but just stared blankly at Marin. Marin shrugged and leaned back into his chair lighting the cigarette.

"How 'bout them Chargers Champ?" Matthias asked with a smile stretched across his face. "Worst team in Shockball... it's a shame."

"I don't wanna hear it..." Marin said as he slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke. "They've got the first pick in the draft... we're in good shape."

"So you checked out that new holo? Kill Hyfe? Now that shit was great."

"No I haven't seen it yet, I been meaning to check it out. Somebody was telling me about it."

"McCorda? Is that little bitch back from Brolsam yet?"

"Ya Woods, he's been back for a month now."

"Are you fucking kidding me??"

"Nope... I just saw him for the first time the other day." Marin Faulker smiled and held up a hand signaling Matthias to be silent as he tapped a button on his comm unit.

"Morgan?"

"Yes Admiral?"

"Can you patch me into McCorda's frequency?"

"Yes sir." And just a moment later Davin McCorda's voice was heard on the other end of the comm.

"Yes Marin?"

"DAMMIT CAPTAIN McCORDA!!! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU CALL THIS?" Marin screamed through the comm unit, he held back laughter as he waited for Captain McCorda to respond.

"What? I?" McCorda said obviously shaken and not knowing how to answer. Meanwhile Matthias Woods and Marin Faulker were doing all they could to conceal their laughter.

"GET TO MY FUCKING OFFICE IMMEDIATELY!!! DO YOU HEAR ME SOLDIER???!?!" Marin screamed, his voice booming through the comm unit.

"Yes sir, right away sir, I'm on my". And before the frightened officer could finish his feeble attempt at a response Marin hung up the comm unit.

The two men broke out into obnoxious laughter as Marin cut the transmission abruptly.

"That was fucking classic. He was like... but Marin I? But sir? I... uh? What did I do??" Woods said continuing the laughter.

"Shit..." Marin said as he let out a deep sigh.

"So Kill Hyfe huh? It's really as good as everyone's saying?" Marin asked.

"Oh hell ya. It's actually Kill Hyfe Vol. I, the second ones coming out in a few months... well not if the Empire has anything to say about it."

"So.. what exactly is it about?"

"Well there's this group of assassins that do the Empire's dirty work right?"

"Like Darth Vader?"

"NO NO NO.. like covert assassins. Like Emperor Hyfe assembled this team of Dark Jedi assassins. Nobody knew about them. Not Imp Intel not anybody right? Well there's this one member of this team which is called the Deadly Krayt Dragon Assassination Squad... totally cheesy..."

"But anyway this one member, her name's the Bride right?"

"The Bride? Well what's her real name?" Marin asked.

"Well they never say, they only call her the Bride or her codename Black Rancor."

"Black Rancor? Cheesy was right..."

"No it is. It's totally cheesy but the movie is awesome. Like I can't even explain it. So anyway the story goes like this. The Bride AKA "Black Rancor" gets betrayed by the Deadly Krayt Dragon Assassination Squad."

"You with me so far Captain?"

Marin nodded.

"So on the day of her wedding the Assassination Squad shows up and just lays waste to everybody. The Priest, the families, men, women, children. Disgusting. Wholesale slaughter right? The Emperor Hyfe himself comes and busts a DH-17 Blaster Bolt straight through the Bride's skull."

"So Emperor Hyfe killed the Bride right in the beginning of the holo?" Marin asked not making sense of the whole thing.

"No no no.. just listen. So then the next scene they show is the Bride floating in a tank of Bacta. She lived!!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute. Emperor Hyfe puts a DH-17 bolt through her head at point blank and he didn't frag her? What the fuck??"

"Bro she's like a highly trained Dark Jedi assassin. I can't explain it. Ya she probably should have died but she didn't OK? So basically what ensues after this is the Bride's quest to take down Emperor Hyfe, and exact revenge on him for killing her would-be husband and her unborn child."

"Unborn child?"

"Oh ya.. she was pregnant when she got capped by the Emperor."

"Sounds a little too far fetched for me."

"No seriously Marin you have to see it. I know you'd love it. So she was in this coma for like 3 or 4 years right? The whole time a too-one-bee droid working on her getting her back to health. Anyways she goes through this whole quest for revenge thing that is just awesome. Best lightsaber duels you've ever seen."

Just then the comm unit beeped. "Marin?"

"Yes Morgan."

"Captain McCorda is here and said you requested his presence in your office."

"Oh ya Morgan send him in, thanks."

A few seconds later the opened, the frightened face of Davin McCorda could be seen.

"Shit. Forgot about you. Have a seat bitch." Marin said motioning for Davin McCorda to have a seat next to Matthias.

"You were just fucking with me??? I didn't know what the hell was going on."

"Hey Matt.." Captain McCorda said as he had a seat next to the Rear-Admiral.

"What's up D-Mac? Damn you were scared. That was hilarious." Woods replied.

"Shut up ass hole. Anyway, what are you bitches up to?"

"Woods here was just telling me about that new holo Kill Hyfe Vol. I. You heard of it?"

"Yes... classic."

"So now that I've got you two here there's some things we need to discuss." Marin said turning the topic into that of a more serious nature as he leaned forward and put his cigarette out.

The three men sat there. Marin Faulker and his two best friends in the Galaxy. Indeed there was business to discuss on Yavin 4. Business regarding the future of the Rebellion.

Alexei took off in his X-TIE Fighter, after recieving permission to lift-off from flight control. He then set his course for the outer part of the Yavin System, and laid in a course with a microjump. Looking back at Yavin 4, knowing this could be the last time he ever looked at the system again should his gang not decide to join up with the Rebel Group, he engaged the hyperdrive.

Moments later he came out of hyperspace, and immediatly transmitted out in a broad frequency the code sentence (Dartmakers having trouble with frequently iced manifolds). Moments later he recieved the signal that was the rest of his gang, off to his left. He went over there, and discovered not the Imperial Transport that they had rode in on, but instead an Imperial Bulk Cruiser in it's place. Sighing his displeasure that his gang had gone out and done a little more raiding instead of waiting, he set his course for the Bulk Cruiser. The old Imperial combination warship and freighter had ion cannon scoring around her engines and shield generators, among other things. He landed his fighter in the cruiser's cavernous bays, much more cavernous that what he had expected.

Getting out of his fighter, he headed into the bridge, where his men waited for him. First, he wanted them to explain everything that had happened when he was away. He noticed a few of his men missing, two of his fighter pilots, along with four of his commandoes.

"All right boys. I thought I told you to sit still while I went away to talk with these Rebels. But judging from the fact that I'm standing on a Bulk Cruiser, and that six of my men are missing, I'm guessing you went a disobeyed my orders, correct?" asked Ferrier in a low growl.

"Not at all boss," replied one of the pirates, a colonel in his group by the name of Drang, "We wuz sitting here waiting for you when this here Bulk cruiser, named the Wallow came outta hyperspace right on top of us. We were busy setting up a temporary base on an asteroid nearby when they cut loose with their weapons, and launched some twenty four TIE series starfighters. We fought them off the best we could, but we still lost two of our fighters, and four commandoes when we stormed the ship. We captured their logs intact, and it seems that they have been tracking our movements ever since we stole the first Imperial freighter, and waited until this precise moment to strike back at us." said Drang.

"Nice work boys. However, the Imps are sure to bring big firepower the next time they come to play with us. We'd better either get outta here pretty quick, or else we may be in deep doodoo. Who did we lose?" asked Ferrier.

"Hans, and Looman, the two newbs who joined us just before we departed Courkrus." said Drang. "In addition, we lost all four of Le man's crack commandoes to a damn frag grenade."

"Damn. Okay boys, let's sit down and talk about this ass hole's restrictions he's gonna put on us if we decide to join." said Ferrier.