“You doubt my skill?” Talus growled, edging a step closer to Terolyn. She stood there defiantly, although they were now almost chest-to-chest, and he towered over her form easily.

“Let me show you,” his metallic voice overlapped the hissing sound that Terolyn could now hear clearly. It was a mixture of hisses and spits, she reasoned, but was just as incomprehensible as a bantha’s throat-noises.

Scared shitless, Terolyn jutted out her jaw, staring Talus down. This angered him, and he could literally feel the blood boiling in his veins. Suddenly, and in one quick movement, his hand shot out. It grasped at Terolyn’s neck, squeezing it hard and pulling her toward him.

She could feel the air supply leaving her as she kicked and punched, clawing at his unmoving hand. All he did was stand there, cocking his head to the side and smiling, taking a perverted pleasure from holding her life in his hand. After a few more moments he held her there, until she stopped putting up a fight and fell limp with unconsciousness again.

Talus smiled, confidence filling him at this victory over her. She was strong willed, and this was a confidence booster for Talus. He made a quick search of the cockpit, after dropping her on the floor. It didn’t take him long to find a length of cord in one of the lockers, and quickly he bound Terolyn. It wasn’t like he was that big of a risk-taker, and if he could Talus would always tip the odds in his favour.

Soon confidant that Terolyn was bound tightly, Talus moved to the ship’s controls. It wasn’t an exactly complicated set-up, so he soon had power over the ship. Bringing it about, he carefully laid in a new course.

The nose turned, and a few moments later there was another ship flashing on the instruments ahead of the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Dawning Night<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->. Although Talus could hardly see anything of the black-painted ship himself, he knew it was there.

Calmly, he piloted Terolyn’s ship into the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Carrion’s<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> hold, where a stormtrooper escort was already waiting.

----------

[[Nec.]]

[[Yes, Lord?]]

[[Have the woman placed near the core, I want her near enough to the ysalimir for them to affect her.]]

[[Yes Lord... and what of the man?]]

[[No-where near her. Uraak identified him as the one who was at her ship earlier, I don’t want them meeting.]]

[[Understood, Lord. Shall I prepare the bridge for your arrival?]]

[[Yes. Make prepare them... What word from the salvage teams?]]

[[Their report is good, Lord-.]]

[[I shall review it soon. Make ready my throne.]]

<font color = blue>Terolyn woke, which came as a very big surprise to her. Why wasn’t she dead? Her eyes opened, adjusting to the artificial lights, and she took in her surroundings.

"A holding cell," she grumbled. But there was something else, something odd. As she sat up, her hand brushed up against the perfectly smooth wall. She could see it, and feel it beneath her touch, yet it still felt as though she were looking at something that wasn’t there. Then she realized she couldn’t sense anything else either.

A sardonic smile crossed her lips and she shook her head. Being Force blind was nothing new to her. Having grown up on Myrkyr, she had spent most of her childhood well aware of the Force nullifying effects of the ysalimir.

But she didn’t need the force in this situation.

She needed a miracle.

Growling in frustration she kicked her foot against the wall. Again and again until the heel of her boot broke off. With a sigh she eyed the heel as it lay on the floor before her. "My favorite pair, too."

She retrieved the heel, reaching her fingers into its hollowed center and pulled out the small commlink. Even without the force she new that the room would be monitored and that she only had a matter of minutes, if not less. She activated the comm.

" You there RD?"

There came an anxious, but affirmative sounding trill and she smiled.

" I’m okay, but I think we’re in trouble here. Have they spotted you yet?"

The response was a negative beep.

" Good. The Dawning Night has been good to us, hasn't it RD?"

There was a slight hesitation before the droid responded. It knew what that meant.

" 60 seconds, RD. Then come find me."

She never heard his answer. The door to her cell shot open and a stormtrooper stood there with his blaster aimed at her. Terolyn smiled sweetly and held the commlink out for him.

" I believe you were looking for this." She laughed. " 57 seconds gentlemen."

******

[i]In the Carrion’s hold, RD separated itself from the hull of the Dawning Night. It knew its orders, and did not hesitate in carrying them out.

Before it broke it’s connection with the ship, RD set the ship’s detonation sequence. 60 seconds.

59...58...57...

<!--EZCODE HTML START--> <font color="gray">Oman opened his eyes and blinked around wiping the "crusties" that had formed at the base of his eye.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Sterile. Am I in a hospital?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

He turned and sand dropped from his clothes onto the polished metal floor. He found he was in a cell...a nice cell as cells went.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Cells this nice can only be found on a ship.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


He sat up and walked over to the closed door, it's tiny plexiglass window the only opening to the outside world.
His clothes felt hard and scratchy.

Two guards were outside talking. He placed an ear up against the tiny window and listened.

"...told me to place the woman placed near the core. Apparently she's force sensitive and the ysalimir are needed..."


"So who's the clown?" the other man asked and Oman's fist clenched in mock indignation.

"Just some guy.. don't know what his connection is with the girl but Talus didn't want them mating."

"Really?"

"I swear by the Sith. Apparently Talus told Nek, Nek told his Officer of the watch who told his crew, who told the Officer of the Deck who told Prison Watch who told us."

"Damn. Word gets around. Is this woman anything special?"

"How should I know. Talus probably has something special in mind for her.."

And both men chuckled.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Mate with?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> A slow, stupid grin spread across his features.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> hmm... Well, let's think about more important things shall we? Like getting the blazes out of here.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


He stood near the door and just shook himself wildly at first. Then, carefully, stepping to the side of the door, he pulled out his locket. Instandly a naked Mandalorian female appeared (for luck of course) and he moved the holographic projection across the circuit panel (probably encrypted lock).

The thief's locket, after a few minutes did the trick and and the door slid open. It so startled the guards that one ran in drawing his pistol.

However, when his boots stepped on the sand (collected from Oman's clothes) on the polished floor, he slipped, losing his weapon.

Oman caught the pistol and the guard's friend immediately following, distracted by his downed friend caught Oman's movement too late.

He hit the guard on the head with the pistol's butt and then the fallen guard as he tried to scramble up.

After a brief time, Oman was sporting the guard's uniform and both pistols. while one was tied up in a corner and the other sporting Oman's clothes on the slab for a bed.

If someone glanced in, they'd see nothing amiss.

He stepped out and closed the door, locking it behind him, and marched right through the command area. There was this portly fellow on the monitor, checking on Talus's more important prisoners on that level.

"Going to get some coffee.." he mumbled as he walked past.

"Bring me some," the portly monitoring guard said without turning.

Oman entered the elevator as was gone.

Upon stopping on the crew quarter level, he emerged moving as quickly as he could down the corridor.

He waited until he found an empty corridor and paused by a door.

He pushed the electronic chime to let the occupant know that there was someone outside the room and suddenly the door opened to reveal the most loveliest of junior technicians.

He stood a bit straighter and flashed his most disarming smile.

"Pardon me, but may I use your shower?"</font><!--EZCODE HTML END-->

<font color=blue>[i]56…

The trooper seemed to hesitate a moment before stepping into the cell, his gloved hand reaching for the comm. As his hand hovered just above the device Terolyn let it slip out of her hand an fall to the floor. The next instant her fingers wrapped tightly around his wrist and she pulled herself to her feet.

She grabbed the other wrist, pushing his arm away just before he pulled the trigger. The stun bolt bounced harmlessly off the wall. Twisting his arms outward, she shoved him back as far as she could while still holding on. Her leg kicked up, the heel of her intact boot connecting solidly with the chin of the armored helmet. Her hands released his wrists, letting him stagger back a step, and she spun another hard kick to his head. The momentum sent the stormtrooper slamming against the wall where he crumpled into unconsciousness.

The rapid clicking of boots on the floor echoed outside the door. Terolyn scrambled for the trooper’s blaster, fingering the weapon’s setting off stun as she scooped it into her hands. She turned and fired two deadly bolts in quick succession just in time to catch the newly arrived soldier in the chest. The force of the blasts knocked him off his feet and to the floor.

Blaster held tightly in both hands, she kept it aimed at the doorway while she listened intently. There were no other sounds from outside, and after another moment of baited waiting she stepped out of the cell.

And quickly stepped back inside as a multitude of blaster fire descended upon her.

The flesh of her cheek burned. Her fingers brushed up against her face and she knew that one of the bolts had come dangerously close, scorching her skin . But she had seen the other three troopers only ten meters from the door to her cell. She also knew they would be sending for reinforcements.

Her eyes fell onto the unconscious stormtrooper in her cell, more so to the canister-shaped axidite shell on the belt of his armor. A plan formed quickly, and just as quick she was removing the belt from the stormtrooper’s armor. Any second now the Dawning Night would detonate, if it already hadn’t, and she did not want to be in her current position when the lizard Sith came looking for her.

Throwing the belt out the door at an angle toward the soldiers she dove as far from the door as possible when the trigger happy troopers opened fire on the flying belt. The impeccable aim of well trained stormstoopers was true to form, several bolts laying into the belt. Almost instantly the low yield thermal detonator that was built into the belt’s design exploded.

There was no way for her to know if the expanding particle field had taken out the soldiers, not until she stuck her head out the door. Rising from the floor, stolen blaster readied, she looked out the door.

No bolts went whizzing by, and with a small sigh she took in the decimation of the thermal detonator. Everything within a five meter radius of the initial explosion was gone, disintegrated, leaving a rather gruesome sigh outside the cell.

Knowing she couldn’t stay in one place, Terolyn went back into the room for the discarded commlink and hurried out of the cell block.

“Hurry up, cadet! Lord Talus wants this hatch repaired yesterday, do you understand?!” Training Officer Lombard stared evenly up the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Dawning Night’s<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> boarding ramp at the newly emerged cadet, dressed in full service uniform and having the physical appearance of a twenty-five year old, whilst in reality being only a week and a half out of the cylinder. His eyes narrowed as he took in the young man, wielding a simple welding torch as he methodically worked the cockpit’s hatch back into place with the help of several other cadets holding it in place.

“Yes, Training Officer Lombard sir!” The cadet yelled down the ramp, moving his hand faster over the joining metal as the words came out. The woman working above him - a wiring specialist, her batch indicated - also started to speed up with the repairs to the electrical systems that made the door move.

“New cadets...” Lombard muttered, intentionally just loud enough for the work team to hear him as he started down the boarding ramp. “You will learn respect and honour for your work and the Lord Talus, or you will be punished,” he paused as he was half way down, turning to look back at them again. “Now work faster!

“Take over here, Corporal,” Lombard motioned to a stormtrooper standing off to the side briskly, who instantly left his post and marched up the ramp, yelling encouragement to the cadets as he walked.

This was to be the hardest time for these cadets, Lombard reasoned, as he strolled across the port hangar away from Terolyn’s ship. As fresh cadets, Talus’ clones were treated like banther fodder... until they learned respect, of course. That usually only took about two or three weeks, but the lessons they were taught in that short time stayed with them for the rest of their lives.

Lombard could even now remember the drilling he had been given - by the great Lord Talus himself, now there was an incentive. He was Talus’ first Training Officer, and he was definitely proud of the achievement... well, he was technically Talus’ first Training Officer. The Elite had done pretty much everything in the beginning, when the Lord was first assembling his crew.

Yes, the Elite would do the work, and Talus and Nec would be off in some corner, discussing things that even now Lombard didn’t know the subject of. Well, that was the way it had worked, up until a while ago. Now the crew was almost fully stocked, and the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Carrion<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> was operating at peak efficiency.

Good thing, too.

----------

The stormtrooper Captain on duty in this detention area was, for obvious reasons, from a more intelligent batch than those guarding Oman had been. He had been given a rough idea of why this woman had been placed inside the ysalimir field, and why she was still under such heavy guard. Like Talus, then, she was probably well trained in situations where her Force powers would be of no use.

A formidable enemy, then, and one not to be taken lightly. This in mind, he had sent his most junior cadets into the cell first, but had still easily heard what was being said inside.

It didn’t take him long to put two and two together.

“Officer Lombard, sir, Captain of the Watch Gerber here, over,” static hardly obscured the transmission, and Lombard’s reply was instant, as he sensed the nerves in Gerber’s voice.

“Go ahe-” was all he could get out before Gerber cut him off.

“The woman’s ship will explode in fifty seconds, sir!”

And that was all Lombard needed.

----------

The tractor beams strained against the ship’s mass as it was pulled sluggishly from the hangar. All around it, fighters swarmed as everyone qualified took to the air to try and save as much hardware as they could if the plan being put to practise failed.

It was amazing, really, how much could be done in such a short space of time, if there was a powerful incentive behind you. People had started moving a mere split second after Captain Gerber’s instructions had come through, specifically because he had routed it through the hangar’s speaker system as well as Lombard’s commlink.

Now Lombard was at the blast door, sealing it quickly behind him as he watched the combined force of two Scimitar Assault bombers pushing heavily against the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Distant Void<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, scraping their noses blunt as they filled the port hangar with waste fuel. Almost everyone who could had already left - in either a ship or through the doors. It was commonly accepted that the Scimitar pilots would die an honourable death... which would be far more than that of the scanning team who had gone through the ship when it was brought in.

Even through the secured blast doors, Lombard could still hear the sounds of the Scimitar’s, working with the tractor beam to get the ship as far away from the hangar as possible. After what seemed like an eternity to him, but what was really only a few seconds, the engine noise died down, moving away from the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Carrion<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> and out into the void - although not too distant.

The explosion was sudden, although rocking the ship only slightly.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Thank the Sith that all the fighters were clear.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> Was all Lombard could think as he checked the readouts of a panel next to the blast doors. The men and women crowding around him looked terrified at what had just happened, although they were certainly still alive... unlike his cadets.

----------

Oman’s charm was lost on the stout female crewer, whose doorway he now stood in. All too late he realised that the smile hadn’t reflected on the emotionless stormtrooper helmet, and he drew himself up straighter... just in time to be almost knocked off his feet by the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Dawning Night’s<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> final defiant stand in the cold space outside.

“What the frell was that?!” She exclaimed, turning quickly and completely ignoring Oman as she checked a panel just inside the door. Behind, Oman could see her roommate coming forward as he steadied himself, a questioning look on her face.

Oman was about to pose the question ‘So what was that?’, accompanied by a reliable slouch of indifference, when he suddenly did a double-take and looked again at the tech’s roommate. Then he looked back to the tech, then back to her friend.

Their faces, builds, height - everything - were exactly the same.

They were clones.

----------

“Frell!” Gerber cursed under his breath, at the unmistakable sound of stormtrooper armour hitting the deck. “Stay back!” He ordered quickly, noting some of his troopers’ anticipation of the command to advance. These people were edgy, all right. This was the kind of behaviour that got you killed on the battlefield.

“Captain,” one of Gerber’s Corporals called out from behind, motioning for Gerber to come and look at a readout at the command station down the corridor.

“Sergeant, keep them cool. Cover the door, I’ll be right back,” Gerber turned from the trooper next to him and hurried off down the corridor to the command station. He was half way there when blaster fire broke out behind him, and he swivelled just in time to see Terolyn’s head duck back behind the door. He then started back toward the cell, but again changed direction at the persistent cry of the Corporal.

“What is it, Corporal?” He asked briskly, annoyance filling his voice as he reached the station.

“Captain, new orders from the bridge,” the Corporal pointed with his finger to the readout on the screen. It showed a diagram of the deck, and positioning of new stormtroopers who were now moving into position on the other side of the cell wall.

Gerber was just taking in this new information, when blaster fire again broke out down the corridor. His head snapped up, then his arm to cover his eyes as the light of the explosion hit them.

“Frell!” He exclaimed. These junior troopers would have to be disciplined more in future, he noted to tell Lombard. Amidst the smoke, he thought he could see the dark figure of the prisoner running down the passageway.

“Seal off this section,” he ordered the slightly dazed Corporal. “And get reinforcements down here, as well...”

The Corporal was putting the order through, when Gerber put his hand on the man’s shoulder to steady himself. The Corporal, too, braced as the ship rocked with the shock wave the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Dawning Night<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> had created.

Suddenly, though, Gerber had a new plan.

“No, wait... seal off this deck, leave the section open,” he bent to pick up the commlink that lay on the deck beside him, knocked there by the explosion’s force.

“Get me the bridge.”

<!--EZCODE HTML START--> <font color="gray">


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> This is going to be a tough sell,<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> thought Oman as the pretty woman gave no sign of amusement.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Ice thaws faster than it would take for this woman to smile even slightly.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

He was about to say something else when the ship shuddered, the woman exclaiming, "What the frell was that?"

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> To me?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

The question was immediately answered when the lovely junior technician stepped aside revealing her roommate.

A slow smile spread across his lips as his mind came to the wrong conclusion.

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


Suddenly, Oman's day was looking better. Unfortunately everybody on the damned ship seemed to be hell bent on ruining that day as the roommate also had a rather serious and snarling look.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> She's a biter<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


With a sigh, he glanced down the hall and found it empty. There were no security monitors nearby so he drew out his blaster and stunned both women.

His lips puckered as he started to whistle some odd tune and he stepped through the door as it closed.




*


The shower was long and warm as the collectors at the bottom became filled with the gritty sand that washed from his filthy body.

Feeling much more refreshed, he glanced through the unisex uniforms that seemed to be the major part of the decorum on the ship.

Finding one that fit, he put it on and took a gander at the girl's techy toys.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Not much imagination but neat.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


He then checked on the tied up women in the closet and stunned them again.

Feeling rather tired, he went to the bed and layed down.


*


He awoke a bit later and before exiting, reviewed the specs of the ship.

Feeling like a kid in a candy store, he set out in a specific direction.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Certainly quite a few twins here..<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


A man brushed past Oman holding an image on a portable device. Oman stole a brief glance before moving on.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> The grumpy woman on the planet?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--></font><!--EZCODE HTML END-->

<font color=blue>Amidst the people and droids scrambling for the exits, it was easy enough for RD to get out of the hanger unnoticed and unhindered before the blast doors slammed into place. He continued away from the hanger, pausing momentarily when the ship rocked in the shockwave of the exploding Dawning Night. After eight years, that ship had been as much RD’s counterpart as any droid could have been. He was going to miss that ship.

Moving on once again, his sensors were wary of any sign that he may have been noticed. For a few minutes he just moved about, avoiding everyone and everything when and where he could. Finally, believing everything clear, he found a computer console away from the mainstream of activity. His dome top seemed to look around before a compartment opened and one of his many arms plugged into the console.

The encrypts were extensive, but nothing that he wouldn’t be able to work around given enough time. Unfortunately, even the droid was aware that in this situation there was not a lot of time.

-------------

There was no where to go. That became painfully apparent to her after only a few minutes of sneaking past several stormtroopers and trying unsuccessfully to find a way off the locked down deck.

As she waited for another pair of troopers to pass, her finger brushed against the trigger of the blaster. It would be only a momentary solution if she started to shoot her way by them. The weapon fire would give away her position and bring more of the armed men down on her. Relaxing her hold on the blaster, she was rewarded a moment later when the two moved on.

When she was sure they were gone, she stepped out of the shadows of the side corridor she had been hiding in, and ran across the hall to another passage. Terolyn had only gone a few meters when a suddenly clarity washed over her. It felt as though she had just stepped out of a thick fog and it took her but a moment to realize she was no longer inside the Ysalimir field. She had her force powers back, but her relief was short lived.

If she could use the force again, it also meant she would have to face off against the Lizard Sith.

She was not looking forward to that.

Hearing booted footsteps in the hall behind her she ducked as far into a doorway as possible, silently cursing her grandmother. Though she new the soft blue hue of her skin was unnoticeable in artificial light, her hair was a dead give away that she did not belong here. There was no way she could keep going as though she did. Sooner or later, one of the troopers would catch a flash of her bright hair.

Unfortunately it was sooner.

The footsteps stopped. " You there! Turn around slowly with your hands in the air."

Terolyn lowered her head, sighing lightly. So much for discretion. Side-stepping out of the doorway, she opened fire.

-------------

If he could have smiled, RD would have. The initial encryption codes were not as difficult as he had estimated, even though he had been forced to bypass the monitoring protocols, and had gotten through them in less than a minute. Almost immediately, however, he discovered that those to the separate systems were even worse.

" RD, you there?"

The sudden sound of Terolyn’s hushed voice came through the droids built in comm, one of the many modifications she had her friends make over the years. He bleeped back.

There came the sound of blaster fire on her end before she continued. " I need some interference down here, something to keep them from sending re-enforcement’s. Do you still have that package we got from those pirates on Taraloon?"

RD scanned his memory, and answered in the affirmative when he found the file he was looking for.

" Get it uploaded now, that should keep them busy for a while."

The comm was terminated and without a second thought RD began to upload the virus to the computer. The resulting system failures would cascade until the ship was inoperable.

Somewhere in his droid mind, RD couldn’t help but wonder if Terolyn knew what she was doing. It was a thought he had had on numerous occasions.

“Prisoner 1872A located in corridor 17, E deck!” The patrol trooper yelled over his comm., fighting for dominance above the sounds of raking blaster fire. “I have her pinned down, but I don’t know how much longe-” The man’s voice was cut suddenly short by one final blaster shot, eliminating his chances of going very much further in a career under Talus’ service. Still, the message he had sent out was enough, for now.

----------

Despite killing her harasser, Terolyn continued firing blindly around the corner they had worked her into. After all, it at first was not apparent that he had indeed died in the firefight. Through the aid of the Force, however, she soon after was able to discern that he was infact dead, and she quietly poked her head around the door, looking out for more opposition.

There was none.

As she came to this conclusion, however, the lights in the corridor outside began to flicker. A wry grin started to spread across her face, as the virus RD had uploaded began to work it’s way through the system. It wouldn’t be long now.

----------

Hyuuk moved swiftly through the ship, having just received the dead stormtrooper’s last wrods over his commlink. No-one stood in his way, as he took all the necessary short cuts to reach E deck as quickly as possible. If the prisoner was indeed currently located in corridor 17, then opening a hatchway to the deck from where he was now would be a safe choice.

Hyuuk was inside the ysalimir field as it was, and judging from where 1872A was being held, and where she was now, the prisoner was definitely moving away from the source of the Force-dampening field. Either on purpose, or by blind luck.

As he moved, Hyuuk’s thoughts turned to the plan Captain Gerber had supplied. It was a good idea, which was the obvious reason for it already being implemented. Still, he at least deserved a promotion for thinking of it under combat circumstances - even if it was <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> after<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> the Elite had started it.

Hyuuk set aside the thoughts of the Captains promotion for a moment, then, as he reached the hatch. It opened for him - one of the only four people on the ship that it would work for - and he clambered through. As he did so, though, the lights suddenly flickered, then came back on again. Hyuuk thought nothing more of this than to note to execute an engineer when this was all over, and they could spare the labour.

He moved to close the hatch above him, as he had now climbed down onto E deck, but found to his annoyance that it wouldn’t lock.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Two engineers.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

He called out to a stormtrooper nearby, who instantly snapped to attention before running over and taking up a guard position near the hatch.

“Order in reinforcements to hold the area with you. Kill anyone who tries to get past,” Hyuuk pointed a finger at the trooper for emphasis, but the man was already reaching for his comm.

“Yes, my Elite,” he said with respect, before engaging his comm. and calling in more troops. Hyuuk started to move away, but a startled cry from the trooper caught him off balance and brought him swivelling back around to face the man.

“What?!” Hyuuk glowered down at his subordinate.

“Comm.’s are down, sir,” he said, his voice fearful at Hyuuk’s burning eyes.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Three, and still counting.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

Hyuuk quickly resorted to his own comm., but found the same result.

This was certainly a problem, he thought, as he started off at a run down the corridor, yelling at personnel to move back to the hatch and guard it as he went. He had to get out of this ysalimir field, and re-establish contact with Lord Talus.

----------

Uraak and Talus had been on the bridge when the call came through, and were already moving by the time it had ended. They had changed decks, sealed hatches, but had refused an honour guard , and when the signal came over the comm. that Terolyn had been found, had ordered all personnel in that vicinity to stand down, and stay out of the woman’s way.

If Talus had ordered a full blown strike against her position, the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Carrion’s<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> entire crew would have converged upon Terolyn.

She wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Now though, it was just he and Uraak. Talus could feel her through the Force, as they drew closer. Some of the systems started to fail on the way, but he assumed that she had simply planted a minor virus in the system, although how he could not think of. Reasonably, Talus and his men knew nothing of RD, not that he even had existed in the first place.

As they walked, the pair grew ever closer to Terolyn’s position.

<font color=red>Fett's open palm found the cheek of the wretchid scum that had opened his mouth so tenderly to the infamous bounty hunter, disgracing him for his outburst.

In his typical scratchy, yet ominous voice, hidden behind a voice editor, to discern any of who he really is, he said, "Fool, learn to mind your tongue when in the presence of your elders."

"Yea, and who are you to mouth of to me Mr. Fett?" the younger, obviously less experienced man growled. Boba Fett wasted no time in grabbing him by the shirt and holding him ominously close to his visor.

"Where did the Star Destroyer go? Tell me exactly," Fett said in his unwavering, unemotional voice. He hated to have to resort to violence to get what he needed, but there was a high price on Terolyn's head, her father was quite the wealthy man.

The scoundrel waited a few seconds, then finally sighed into submission. "Its off Tatooine, a good two klicks from Republic borders."

This was Fett's lucky day! He was on Grosk Station, just a quick hyperspace jump from that exact point.

"Thank you," Fett said before swiftly jabbing him with a dart, knocking him unconcious almost immediately. "Now that should keep you at bay for a while."

He then rose, and made off for his ship, the Slave I. If all was as he had hoped, the Star Destroyer would still be there, as well as her ship, who somehow had disappeared from his tracings right after rendezvouing with the battleship.

The whole trip to the docking bay had been filled with his thoughts and analyzations as to how he could capture the girl, and what he would do with the money. With such a substantial award, he would no doubt be able to afford the surgery he needed to permanently keep out the pain of the Sarlacc escape.

Pulling up a quick technical read out of the girl and her R-41 Starchaser, giving all that was allowed to be published of her current past, and even some that her father had tried to cover up. She was wanted for murdering and sabotaging his industry...whatever that was. But details as per why never interested him, it usually got in the way of the ultimate mission.

Every now and again he would bump shoulders with someone walking down the corridors, and he would turn a vicious snarl onto them to try and keep them back...it always worked, even though they could not see his hideous features beneath his helm.

When the bounty hunter finally reached the docking bay, it took him only a matter of seconds to suit up, and prepare the ship for flight, going over all the typical checks before powering up the repulsors, then the sublight drive and in the and...taking off.


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</font><font color=blue>The Star Destroyer Carrion belongs to an unregistered user. As of this date it is believed that he is a Force user, but there is no liable information. Terolyn Lethan's last known coordinates were aboard that ship before her own R-41 Starchaser mysteriously disappeared from our scanners.</font>

<font color=red>Boba Fett read over the relay from his droid's computer brain intently, stroking where his jawline should be all the while. Navigating the Slave I had become an art to him, yet it was also like an affinity, a binding, something he could do without even thinking of it. Whether it be to navigate through an asteroid field, or to take down some wanted pirate, he was able to do it with as little effort as it would to flip on a switch.

He prided himself in the heavy modifications he had induced to it, such as when he had raided the Chimeran Fortress and literally decimated the troops inside. They were not expecting to see a Droid Tank inside, just as little as they were expecting so many weapons to open up from all sides.

Obviously the bounty hunter had plenty more secrets and tricks to use, but he never did indulge them to anyone...he'd never trusted anyone before, ever...save for that one day when he could have killed Han Solo...

I should have pulled the trigger, there was no way he could have hit through my armor...

"Slave I hailing Star Destroyer Carrion, this is Boba Fett, requesting persmission to dock in platform 113a," he finally said seeing the droid brain make the patch uplink to the Imperial-Class Star Destroyer. It truly was a wonder, the sixteen hundred meters of pure ship. He'd wondered what it would be like to own one himself...but he could never afford the crew to even skeleton the ship.

And now he awaited the owner's response, as so he could land, and perhaps find out where this Terolyn Lethan was, or what she was doing, and with thus...capture her.</font>

<font color=blue>Once realizing that the trooper was indeed dead, she hurried back to his body and searched him for anything that might be usefull. Terolyn bit her lower lip - a nervous habit she hadn’t done since she was a child - as she rummaged through the dead troopers things. She could feel the same uneasy fear and panic she had on the planet and knew in an instant that HE was coming.

She removed the stormtroopers grappling hook and cable, sliding it into an inside pocket of her long-coat. The blade she found on his belt she slid into her boot, and the blaster pistol she hooked onto her own belt.

With a quick glance over her shoulder she headed back into the Ysalimir field. If she couldn’t sense him, he couldn’t sense her. And until she figured out a plan to get off the ship, she needed every minute she could get.

Moving slowly, cautiously, she made her way back through the corridors. Up ahead she could hear the sound of rapid foot-fall, of someone running. But it was not the heavy booted rhythm of a stormtrooper. No, someone else was running through the corridors.

And toward her.

She ducked around the corner of a side passage, pressing herself against the wall. She closed her eyes, listening intently to the footsteps. The runner was now in the corridor she had just left, and almost upon her position. At the last second she stuck her arm out, catching the runner across the throat.

Feet flew into the air, and the black clad mad landed ungracefully on his back. She stepped out of her hiding place, silver eyes quickly taking in the dazed man at her feet. He looked familiar - very much like that man in black back on the planet, though not quit the same. They even wore the same all black ‘uniform’. Brothers perhaps?

Regardless, he could be useful.

Crouching to one knee, she smashed her fist across his face. She cursed at the sudden throbbing pain in her hand but was satisfied to see his eyes roll back into his head. Shaking her hand she reached for her comm, taking in the corridor. There were a few door, but had been sealed when she had escaped.

" RD, any chance of getting of the doors on the prison decks to open up?"

An agonizing few seconds passed, but it paid off when all the doors in the corridor opened.

~That’s my RD!~

Terolyn slid the blaster into her belt next to the other, grabbed the unconscious man by the arms and dragged him into the nearest room. It appeared to be an office of some sort, very bare, but would suit her purpose.

" Seal the doors RD."

The doors slid shut, but an instant later a disgruntled series of beeps sounded through the comm. The doors opened again only to close the next second. She understood. The virus had gotten into the locking mechanisms.

" That’s ok, RD. This should by me the time I need to figure something out. I’ll contact you again when I’m ready to move."

She slipped the comm back into her pocket, eyes falling onto the man in black. Never looking away, she took the grappling hook and cable from her coat. She sat him against the wall, using the cable to bind his wrists together. Bringing his knees up to his chest she ran a length of cord between his wrists and bound his ankles together, preventing him from being able to stretch his legs out. With another section of the cable, she wrapped it around his throat and tied it to the cable around his wrists. Tied in such a manner, if he attempted to free himself he would strangle himself first.

Terolyn sat on the floor only a few feet from him, still chewing on her lower lip. She had blown up her ship. was separated from her Droid, had infected the ship she was imprisoned on with a virus that would disable every system in a matter of hours, and had now taken a hostage she only hoped would be worth something to whoever was in charge.

With a sigh she shook her head.

" What have you gotten yourself into Tery?"