"Victoria Draconis Imperium Aquilus" was etched in large letters across the sign entrance of Saheelindeel's spaceport, as Kix Davin lingered behind his squad, staying just far enough behind the other storm commandos so that they could do their jobs effectively. The detachment raced through the interiors of various warehouses, overturning tables, ripping doors off cabinets, smashing metal lockers with their blaster rifles until the containers popped open. One by one the storm commandos checked in with him: "No sign of the resistance, sir. Our prisoner was lying."

The Lt. Cmdr. watched the commando in front of him kick over a vat of lubricant before heading to the upper level of the warehouse. The entire building was a shambles.

"181st detachment, check in and form up, Captain Anre will be arriving at any moment," said Davin, his words clipped and precise in his helmet.

Kix glared over to the figure who held his hands behind his head, guarded by two of his commandos. He was dressed in tattered, sandy brown robes as he watched them, standing in the bright Saheelindeel sunshine.

One of his men executed him on the spot. The body slumped and fell face first onto the sand...

The three Lambda-class shuttles came to a perfectly synchronized landing as, overhead, the TIE fighter escort shot by in equally perfect formation. "The Black Dragon Empire's parade-ground expertise hasn't been eroded, anyway," Kix Davin murmured, as he peered at the holovid display deep inside the former palace of Governor Hemme.

"Silence, Lieutanant Commander," Sij Olith murmured back, watching the shuttle ramps lower to the ground. The center one, almost certainly would be Sully's. The pair watched the display as officers and troopers scurried to their posts and prepared to receive their superior officer.

Marching with blaster rifles held ceremonially across their chests, a line of BDE stormtroopers filed down each of the three ramps. Behind them, emerging not from the center but from the rightmost of the shuttles, came a handful of midranking officers. Following them came a tall, wiry officer with dark hair and a protruding jaw, and the look of a diplomat. Following him came Captain Sully Anre.

So much, Davin thought, for him doing things the obvious way. It would be something to make a note of for future reference. The online chatter from his helmet quickly died down as they acknowledged the presence of their leader.

"Time to go, Lt. Cmdr. Davin" Olith announced. "Inform your squad to meet me at the entrance of the palace. I am sure the captain is waiting for us at the gates." The BDE agent toggled off the holovid switch and marched his way out of the command center.

With his small reception committee beside him, Sij Olith walked toward the approaching group of officers, trying to ignore the stares of the others. "Captain Anre," he saluted in greeting. "Welcome to our little corner of Saheelindeel. How was the journey from your ship?"

Sully frowned, clasping his tattooed hands behind the small of his back. "We must dispense with these pleasantries," he said, inclining his head slightly. His presence, Olith decided, was even more impressive in person than they were on a holodisplay. And considerably more intimidating.

<img border=0 src="http://home.earthlink.net/~zolanhunter/images/Imperialofficer.jpg" align=left>
"I apologize for our somewhat less than formal greeting," Olith continued, waving a hand at his group. "As you have been informed, we've had a conflict not too long ago, but it has been settled."

The captain cocked an eyebrow. "I know. I'd have thought a man in your position in the BDE would be able to deal with these entanglements, especially on a backwater planet such as this."

The BDE agent smiled uneasily. "My men can deal with any kind of threat here on this planet. But there are some matters. This being-- how should I put it," he added, glancing significally at the stormtroopers,"--more manpower and firepower. I need more of them."

"Of course, when it is approved by Heir Raktus himself," Sully said. "So-- interesting report I read while aboard my shuttle concerning your incident. Tell me about it." The entourage began to retreat deeper into the foyer of the palace as they made their way toward the command center.

With an effort, Olith hid a grimace. "Merely a small internal problem," he assured the captain. "A Tion saboteur somehow discovered a location of a weapon's cache and attempted to infiltrate inside by posing as a stormtrooper of the BDE. We discovered the intruder in time and stopped her before she escaped. She is currently in custody in the lower levels."

"Somehow discovered, Sij?" Sully questioned sternly, those eyes seeming to burn into the agent's face. "Did one of your off-duty men return from a night of debauchery on Saheelindeel and were unaware they were observed by this Tion saboteur as they entered here?"

Sij Olith stared at him, a thin needle of ice running through him. "I don't know how this happened, sir," he said. "She just showed up at our gate and she was allowed access. She was dressed as a stormtrooper of our empire."

"And you should have checked her background at the checkpoint, rather than let her inside," the captain declared. "I could report to Heir Raktus of breaching BDE procedure, Sij."

The agent let his face harden a bit. "Begging your pardon, sir, but my men are tired and we are waiting on your supplies. If you would look at the state of my men and our equipment, perhaps you can understand certain breaches have been ignored," he said, pulling out his comlink. "The point is, we captured her, and if you excuse me for a moment, I can have the prisoner released and prepared for interrogation if you wish."

Sully took a long step forward, reaching out two tattooed fingers to cover the top of the comlink. "I will attend to this interrogation," he said smoothly. "She may be of some use to us for our next expansion into the Tion Hegemony. For now, we have more important matters." He turned to the officer beside him. "Lt. Commander Davin."

The armored storm commando stepped forward. "Sir?"

"It is time we began to organize a campaign to take Risban for the Black Dragon Empire. You will help to spearhead it," Sully ordered, his eyes still on Sij Olith. "Agent Olith will proceed first to Risban to gather intelligence and organize targets to eliminate, in order to prevent any resistance to our coming. Afterward, you will lead your armies to subdue their spaceports. It will give us a chokehold on anything that comes in or out of the planet. My fleet will take care of the rest in orbit. Again, we may use this saboteur to our advantage."

"Yes, sir," The Lt. Commander gestured, and one of the columns of stormtroopers turned and retraced their steps toward the vicinity of the Lambda shuttles.

"I appreciate your confidence in me," Olith said, his mouth suddenly a little dry. "But do you think that is wise? I mean, look what this saboteur almost did?"

"On the contrary, Sij," Sully said softly. "I am sure after I talk with her, she may have a change of heart. I believe with enough insistance, she will accept to serve under us."

"I see..." Olith murmured. In the far distance, the hum of repulsorlifts was heard, and one of the shuttles rose into the air. Lt. Cmdr. Davin was now on his way back to Sleeping Death to prepare his men for the next campaign to Risban. The cards were dealt, and there was nothing he could do now to alter them. He wasn't looking forward to another campaign, especially after their assault on Saheelindeel. He has lost too many lives and equipment from it. At least, they now had two worlds under the rule of the BDE in the Tion Hegemony, now renamed the Black Tion Hegemony.

"There is one other matter, Captain," he said, "during the attack on Saheelindeel, one of my units discovered more Tion rebels in the lower levels of the palace. They massacred two of my elite squads and escaped. I fear they may still be around and may possibly be a threat to this facility."

"Is that so?" Sully nodded. "If this is the case, double your efforts to find them. Its a possibility this saboteur may have been the leader." He nodded to one of his officers behind him.

"Contact the officer in charge of her. Inform him, we will be interrogating the prisoner."

Zem Renneyn sat in her cell, in chains, with early morning sunshine streaking in through a tall and narrow barred window, high on the cell's wall.

Her ankles were chained together so that she could not walk; another chain encircled her waist, and her wrists were linked to that. She was young, and she did not rise when the BDE officers entered her cell; she could see that the discourtesy displeased the captain of the Black Dragon Empire.

Sully Anre seated himself on the bench facing Renneyn and lit a cigarra. He wasted no time on courtesies, himself. "So you tried to sabotage our little operation here?"

Zem had been beaten severely and stripped of her outer garments, leaving only her undergarments as clothing. She was a young female who wore what was left of her garments with dignity, as though they were themselves a uniform, and she took her time answering, looking the captain over, examining him... as though, the captain thought with a flash of annoyance, it was himself facing a trial today, and not this arrogant young murderer. "You're Sully Anre, captain of the Sleeping Death," she said finally. "I've heard of you. You're rather famous in the Tion Hegemony."

Sully said stiffly, "So I heard." He exhaled the smoke from his lips, and tapped the end of his cigarra. He offered her one. She refused.

An unpleasant grin then touched the young female's lips. "So what do you plan to do with me? Sell me to a pleasure house?"

The BDE captain stared at her. "Do you understand the seriousness of this? You killed several of my men. One of the best soldiers of the BDE."

"They had it coming."

"And for that, I should execute you here on this spot. I have no problem doing this."

"I can always plead my prisoner's rights," Zem said, "if I got executed. I expect I'd make a good press..."

Sully overrode her, "...I don't think so. I'm only here to present you an offer. I will only do this once."

"An offer?" said Zem. "What exactly do you have in mind? Join you?" she sneered.

Sully Anre studied the female and nodded slowly, dropping the cigarra on the floor and stamping it out. "Its the only way to see yourself having your life spared... think on it, I urge you. You'll face death for crimes against the Black Dragon Empire if you decline. I'll even pay you."

"You can't love life too much, Captain Anre." The young woman smiled, an empty meaningless movement of the lips, and the BDE captain found himself remembering that smile, at odd moments, for the rest of his life. "Everyone dies..."

"It doesn't have to be today," he insisted.

"Let me think about it," she replied cooly.

Sully nodded to one of his stormtroopers. "Take all the time you need aboard my ship, while we're heading to Risban."

"What?!" she snapped in reply. The stormtrooper leveled his blaster to her and fired a stun bolt.

Slowly, as if climbing a long dark staircase, Zem pulled herself out of a deep sleep. She opened her eyes, looked around the softly lit room, and wondered where in the galaxy she was.

It was a medical area-- that much was obvious from the biomonitors, the folded room dividers, and the other multiposition beds scattered around the one she was lying in.

For the moment she seemed to be alone, a voice whispered near her head.

"Zem, can you hear me?"

She looked up to see... the familiar face of the captain.

"Captain Anre?" Was this a dream? How did she get here?

"After effects of the stun bolt," he replied soothingly. "My trooper set it on a high level."

She responded with a slight nod.

"We're going to place you in a bacta tank," he informed. "After that, we can talk about our deal."

"Our deal?..." Zem said, staring at the fading figure as she slipped again back into unconsciousness, sifting furiously through a set of hazy memories of what had happened...

"Zem?" the nurse said. A gentle hand pushed firmly against her shoulder. "You're finally awake. It's been a while since you came out of the bacta tank."

Zem blinked her eyes in confusion as she awoke, sort of, to find herself laying on another bed. She looked around groggily, gradually realizing that she was no longer in the same room as before. Beige walls and different furnishings now surrounded her instead.

"Just take it easy, I'll be back," the nurse soothed, peering intently at her face. The brunette was relieved to see herself alive and well, even though she still had no idea where she was. The nurse disappeared behind a door. For the moment she seemed to be alone, but she knew that wouldn't last.

"Where am--?" Zem tried to sit up, but the motion sent her head spinning. Alternating chills and hot flashes washed over her. Her vision wavered sickeningly. She sealed her eyes and retreated within herself to keep calm. The vertigo suddenly vanished.

Silently, she rolled out of bed into a crouching position on the floor, taking a quick inventory of her physical condition as she did so. No aches or pains; no obvious injuries. Slipping into the robe and bedshoes at the end of the bed, she padded silently to the door, preparing herself mentally to silence or disable whatever was out there. She waved at the door release, and as the panel slid open she leaped through into the recovery anteroom--

And came to a sudden, slightly disoriented halt.

"Up on your feet already?" the nurse said distractedly, glancing up from the computer teminal she was hunched over before returning her attention to it. "How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad," Zem said, staring at the nurse and sifting furiously again through a set of hazy memories. She recalled the dark-clad figure whispering about a deal, the cold bacta upon her skin, and a cold dingy cell.

Where she'd remember officers of the Black Dragon Empire interrogating her, stripping her, beating her... and the BDE captain offering her a way out of her ordeal.

She looked around her. "Where am I?" she asked, though she had a pretty good idea now what the answer would be.

She was right. "You're aboard the Sleeping Death, in a wing of its medical facility," the nurse told her, frowning a little. "You just came out of the bacta some time ago. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough to heal all the scars on your back and legs from the interrogations, but at least you're alive. Don't you remember?"

"It's a little vague," Zem admitted. But as the last cobwebs cleared from her brain, the rest of it was beginning to fall into place. She recalled her anger rushing from being stunned by a blaster, and a strange, lightheaded vagueness as she drifted off to sleep after its impact.

She remembered now. The anger returned and swelled inside.

Zem opened her eyes. The middle-aged woman in a duty medic's tunic, was marching briskly across the room toward her from the desk, a medical droid trailing in her wake. "Are you okay?" Zem noticed a pair of stormtroopers guarding the door behind the woman.

"I'm fine," she said, feeling a sudden urge to lash out at the other woman. Zem took a careful breath, fighting back the flash of emotion. The medic had stopped short, a professional frown on her face. "Sorry," she muttered. "I guess I'm still a little disoriented."

"Understandable," the nurse nodded. "You've been lying in that bed for a few days since we left Saheelindeel, after all."

Zem stared at her. "Left Saheelindeel?"

"Yes, we are on course to Risban within the Hegemony," the medic advised her. "You also spent some time in that bacta tank. Don't worry-- short term memory problems are common during a trauma like yours, but they nearly always clear up after the treatment."

"I understand," Zem said mechanically. Her homeworld Saheelindeel was torn away from her. The BDE had made her leave everything behind. And in that time--

"Captain Anre was here not too long ago. He's arranged to have dinner with you in his officer's mess, whenever you feel ready to leave here," the medic continued. "Would you like me to notify him?"

Zem focused on her. Sully Anre.. yes. I remember him. He is the one who wanted to recruit me.. who tore me away from my home... "That won't be necessary. I'll surprise him, myself. May I have my things?"

"If you return to your room, I will inform the doctor to see about your release."

She frowned, belatedly remembering why she was here. "Okay." She turned and paced back toward her room, in the same instance recalling the captain's offering to recruit her in the BDE. She was convinced in her mind that she could join him... and through her anger she felt she could endure serving under him for a while. She wanted to gain his trust and the BDE's. She wanted to be part of his game.

And then she could have her revenge.

"Time?" the captain said.

His room computer answered and gave it to him.

Ah. Only a few minutes remained before his meeting with the assassin and former bounty hunter, at least according to the intel reports he recieved about Zem Renneyn. It was but a short walk through the protected corridors to the dining chamber aboard his Star Destroyer. A short distance, no more; a brisk stroll would put him there in a few minutes. No hurry. He did not want to arrive early.

A chime announced a visitor.

"Enter," Sully said. His bodyguards were not here, but there was no need for them in his sanctum-- no one could penetrate its defenses. And only a few of his underlings had the right to visit him here, all of them loyal to him and the BDE. As loyal as fear could make them.

Lt. Polum came in and bowed low. "Captain Anre."

"Yes?"

"Zem Renneyn has arrived. Our troopers are escorting her to the dining chamber as we speak. It is time to make leave, Captain."

Sully gave Polum a measured smile. "Good. Have my officers seat her while she awaits my arrival. Offer her a drink and make her comfortable."

The Lieutanant produced a small package. "Before you go, here is what you have requested. The information from our BDE agent, Sij Olith, along with his report on Risban and its current state."

Sully took the package, thumbed it open. Inside was a datapad, a recording rod, and mapped cities of Risban. The former pirate held up each item, turned it in his fingers, nodded. Excellent. "Very good, Lt. Polum. Olith's talents impress even me. Go now and summon Lt. Cmdr. Kix Davin, we cannot be rude by keeping our guest waiting."

The black-claded officer bowed and backed away.

When he was gone, Sully stood, stretched his neck and straightend his black tunic. There were other affairs waiting to be dealt with, and ordinarily he would sit and attend to them, but not today. Now it was time to go and see his guest. If all went well, within a few days, there would be news of the death of the Risban warlord across that entire planet. His fleet would then sweep in to take possession before the warlord's defenders could get a chance to retaliate.

This in turn, would put Sully Anre to a most positive spotlight. No one then would question his authority or the Black Dragon Empire, since they helped to liberate Risban from the clutches of a criminal warlord descended from Xim the Despot. No one must suspect anything, not if his plans were going to succeed. And succeed they would, he did not doubt that.

Because they always did.

A gaunt, tall officer wearing a red silk sash across the front of his black uniform stepped into the dining room and tapped a small gong, calling the room to silence. He announced the captain.

"Captain Sully Anre of the Black Dragon Empire." The doors swung open and the black-claded officer emerged with a host of bodyguards and his aide Lt. Cmdr. Kix Davin. His eyes quickly gazed upon the sultry woman at the table and then flicked upon the other officers sitting next to her. He sat down and nodded to them.

"I am most pleased you have arrived, Zem. Please..." he gestured toward a chalice in which a glass was quickly filled with a most expensive Andoan wine, "a toast to our deal before we dine."

"Yes, a toast," Commander Pegent interrupted, glaring at the captain. Sully merely smirked in return. Though Pegent could barely stand to be in the same room with the pompous captain, he had to admit a relucatant admiration for the former pirate's amoral cunning and craftiness. No one could figure the angles as quickly and completely as Sully could. Wine was then poured into his chalice as well. Sully raised his chalice high, leading his guest in a toast.

"To the success of your mission," he announced.

A chorus of clinking crystal seconded the toast, and Commander Pegent raised his own glass, grateful that the pompous captain had kept his remarks short. The food was then served; a generous amount of dishes from across the Tion Hegemony that catered to every palate. From Traladon ribs and salted Salar, to ryshcate accompanied with singfruit for dessert.

As they ate, Sully noticed the woman keeping her manner as she ate. The captain took another bite and smiled again. "Why the glum look, Zem? Do you find your dish unpleasant?"

"Pardon my expression, Captain Anre. The food is most excellent, but I think you know what lingers in my mind." Zem gave him a wary look, but she continued. "Although you have spared my life and restored my health to offer me this dangerous task, I wish to know what this task is and the payment I will be recieving for it. As well, I do protest that you have taken me against my will aboard your ship."

"Ah... so that's it," Sully cheerily remarked. "Patience, my dear girl. You will get your payment." His glared to his officer. "Lt. Cmdr. Davin."

Zem watched as the captain's officer and aide deliver a large case to his superior. Sully opened it, and Zem grew dizzy at the sight. It was filled with crisp BDE credit standards in thousand-denomination notes. Sully turned the case toward her, displaying the wealth, and Zem could feel her fingers twitching with the desire to take possession of it. She hadn't seen that much cash in-- she had never seen that much cash in one place before.

"Two hundred-thousand credits," Sully said, as casually as if he was discussing the weather. "You take them now-- I see Solrac the Despot as a dead warlord on the Risban holonet." He held up the package which contained the maps and access codes from the BDE agent. "And two hundred-thousand more when the task is finished." He slid the package across the table and it stopped within an inch of the assassin's grasp.

Zem watched, still hardly able to believe this was happening, as she reached forward to take possession of the money and the package. "As you wish, Captain Anre. Be assured this won't be a task for one. I need more men as backup. Solrac is a powerful warlord on that planet. He has many men and bodyguards."

"I'm sure he does," Sully replied, taking a sip of the expensive wine. "But be assured, Lt. Cmdr. Davin will be at your side ready to pounce at your command as soon as Solrac is eliminated. Now... shall we continue with our meal?"

Lt. Polum suddenly whispered in his ear. The captain scratched his cheek subtly and wiped his lips with a fine napkin. "I must apologize. My lieutanant has informed me that we will be exiting hyperspace and establishing a position near Risban. I must attend to the bridge."

"But please..." his hand gestured to the table of food as he rose, "continue with your meal. My officers will escort you out when finished. A freighter under a smuggler's signature is at your disposal. The mission is relayed on the datadiscs and maps are provided for your information. Leave as soon as we have established position."

As he walked out of the room, he glared to Davin. "Have her ready in an hour," he whispered in an annoyed tone.

"Yes, sir. My team will be ready at the hangar bay within the hour as well."

"Good. Zem should be able to head down to the surface with no problems. According to Olith's intel, Solrac will be attending a fight event, then arrage to meet with Zem. Olith has established to Solrac that Zem is an information broker and has classified intel to sell to him about the BDE's mindrive. As soon as she is alone with him, she will execute Solrac, then you will move in and take out his men. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," came Davin's response.

A sneer ran across his face, "Good. Risban will fall when news of their dead warlord is heard across their planet..."

She stood in the shadows at the back of the Despot Forum, in the center of Risban City, the capital of the planet, and watched them set up for the main match in Sector Four's Free-For-All extravaganza. The arena was a huge place, poorly lit, named for Solrac the Despot that occupied the same ownership.

The Forum's seats sloped down toward the five-sided ring, two hundred rows of rising seats separating Zem from the ring itself, and the fighting. The audience was still arriving, only minutes before the main bout, and the Forum was only half full, an audience of some ten thousand, mostly males, filling the seats.

Zem was in no hurry; she focused her macrobinoculars on the ring, and the area immediately about it, and prepared to wait through the fight. She had now mastered the art of hiding within the masses, and had assumed a more pleasurable form of dress to blend with the crowds.

From where she stood, high above the ring, Zem watched as the fighters came up, out of the tunnel, and into the five-sided ring as she clipped the veil over her face. Four fighters, as Zem had been told was usual for a Free-For-All; the Bothan announcer stood in the fifth corner, waiting patiently as the fighters disrobed and took their positions, as the full-throated roar of ten thousand males reverberated throughout the Forum.

Pickups, situated around the edge of the ring, would broadcast the fight around the city.

Three of the fighters were what Zem would have expected, big alien bruisers for whom the Free-For-All ring had been the obvious alternative to conscription. The fourth surprised her; the assassin zoomed in on the man...

The face jumped into focus. For a moment the image startled Zem; the fighter appeared to be staring straight up at her. She zoomed the macrobinoculars out to a wider viewing angle... and interestingly enough the impression was accurate; the fellow was staring at her. The young human fighter disrobed slowly, staring up past the ring lights, into the gloom, at the spot where Zem stood, as the other fighters limbered up in their corners.

And he's a Corellian to add to the picture, she thought, as her eyes caught sight of the red Bloodstripe sewn on the trousers of the blond.

The man was young... no older, in all likelihood, than Zem's hunt tonight. Bad night... thought the assassin, to be young and quick and full of promise.

The announcer moved out into the center of the ring, and raised his furred hands, palms out. His voice echoed out across the Forum and the watching audience.

"This is the final bout! These are the rules: no eye gouges. No blows to the throat or groin. No intentional deaths. There... are... no... other... rules!" He paused, and the audience's cheers rose to a frenzied pitch as his voice boomed out: "The last one standing will be the victor!"

The announcer climbed out of the ring, and despite herself, watching the fighters, the human one in particular, standing there alone and brave and scared, despite herself Zem found her pulse quickening as, with the rest of the crowd, she waited for the dropping flag that would signal the bout's beginning.

There were moments when Zem appreciated life-- she was hardly old herself, and there were nights, nights like these, when it was good-- and behind her veil, Zem grinned at the thought as it came to her... when it was good to be young, and quick, and full of promise.

The dark blue match flag fluttered down from the rafters, and into the ring.

The three bruisers moved in on the human.

Zem injected the serum into her bloodstream...


Zem said, "Spice."

The target, Solrac, said "Yes, Zem. Glitterstim spice. Eighteen canisters. And if you can handle it, we can deliver the same amount again, twice a quarter, if the information you have is worth it."

Zem nodded as though she were paying attention. It was not long after the end of the fights, and she walked with the criminal warlord through a huge, dimly lit, apparently deserted warehouse at the edge of Risban City. Solrac had traded in the two women that accompanied him in the forum, for a pair of conspicuously armed bodyguards. The thugs trailed behind them.

"The spice trade in this sector is being slowly extinguished by the Black Dragon Empire since their incursion," Zem observed. "Where did you find an independant source?"

The warlord of Risban smiled at Zem; Zem, staring straight ahead, watched the smile behind the veil which concealed the features of her feminine beauty. She wondered whether the warlord was trying to gain points with her, or if he was just smiling for the practice of it. It was a handsome smile, Zem had to admit.

The veil itself bothered people, but Zem had found that it bothered people more when she did not look at them while speaking. And if they thought she could not see what was going on around her, so much the better.

Solrac did not seem, to Zem, the sort who would know much about the capabilities of her ability. In fact the man looked much like what he was: a dark, charming, handsome young royal wearing expensive clothes, with a good smile, who was fatally out of his league and did not know it.

"The source is... private," the warlord said. "And desires to stay that way, I'm afraid."

Zem nodded once; she hardly cared. This was something her employer, Sully Anre, would not take too lightly. Hence, the large sum of money offered to eliminate him by order of the Black Dragon Empire. Unfortunately, the young warlord was too naive or stupid to realize this. As long as she could finish this mission and gain the BDE's confidence, was all that mattered. In the end, her revenge would be sweet.

Moments later they came to a wide, relatively empty area, lit well enough that her vision adjusted to the darkness they had been walking through.

Three rows of plastic canisters, six to a row, sat out in the middle of the empty area. The canisters were fat, and half the height of a man. Zem pointed at random. "Open that one."

One of the bodyguards standing behind Zem glanced at Solrac; he nodded quickly. The warehouse lights changed, went dark red; normal white light activated spice. The thug moved forward, knelt, and touched the two clasps that kept the canister sealed; it left Zem with one thug still behind him, slightly to her left.

The veiled female took a step forward and looked down. It looked like spice; she reached in and pulled out a handful. "Seal it and turn the white lights back on."

The lights came back up... and it was spice, all right. Zem scattered it across the top of the canister, and it lay there glowing in the light, twinkling and flickering as the spice was activated. Zem's left hand, hanging by her belt, touched a stud on the belt, releasing the neural toxin gas, and continued the motion, up to touch her right hand. She worked free the lacy glove, stood there with her naked right hand held up in the air. "Do you mind if I smell it? Real spice has a sharp, pleasant odor--"

Solrac glanced up at his bodyguards. "If you insist..."

Zem reached up, as though to take off the veil over her face-- saw them watching her with plain anticipation. Another benefit of being female; taking the veil off became an act of theater.

She paused with her hand on the clip of it, and relaxed. "I wanted to ask you a question." The hand dropped slightly. "Does your conscience ever bother you?"

Solrac stared at her. "Are you serious? Over spice?"

"Does it ever bother your conscience," Zem said again, in the voice that always sounded so harsh when she spoke, "trafficking in spice?" Memories of her brother dying from an overdose of glitterstim, when she was a girl, came flooding back to her.

The warlord said a little hesitantly, "It's not even addictive. And there are valid medical uses for it. And what do you care? Now where is the information you promised me about the BDE's minddrive?"

The bodyguard nearest Zem blinked, shook his head, and blinked again.

"Substances that are not addictive," said Zem, "fequently lead to the misuse of substances that are. Doesn't that bother you?"

Solrac took a deep breath and exploded. "No, it doesn't bother me! My conscience is just--" His mouth shut... and then opened again, as though he intended to continue speaking.

The bodyguard behind Zem was farthest away from the neural toxin agent; Zem spun, pulling the warlord's disruptor from his holster, and shot the man as he went for his weapon. The blast took the bodyguard in the stomach; he staggared backward disintegrating, still clutching his blaster. The assassin moved forward as the guard backpedaled, took aim, and shot him a second time in the throat for good measure. In mere nanoseconds, the bodyguard became a smoking pile of ash.

The female assassin swung back to the spice, to Solrac, and the other bodyguard. They weren't dead just yet, of course. They fell and Zem stood watching them; the earpiece buried in her ear was busy recording them. Sully would want to hear the recording -- this was one of the first times Zem had taken the BDE's commission, but the assassin understood them; The BDE would probably pay a bonus for actual media of their enemies executed.

She worked the lacy glove back over her right hand. The gas she released only affected the ones without a serum to counter it, but her hand was already numb from the exposure to it.

After their thrashing had ceased, Zem walked in closer, and took out a holocamera for evidence of their deaths. She bent slightly to give her holopics the best angle. The bodyguard laid slump on the floor face down, unconscious; Solrac, darker-skinned, was laying face up, eyes closed. Zem imagined Sully would enjoy that touch.

After a bit, Zem straightened and stepped backward, getting a good dozen paces between herself, the second bodyguard, and the eighteen canisters of spice. She took out her hidden comlink inside the bosom of her dress.

"Davin. Solrac is dead. Better move in before the rest of his goons drop in on me. I'm sure they heard the shots."

"Copy that. Moving in..."

She unslung her disruptor pistol again, and fired upon the slumped bodyguard, then toward the drums.

The Black Dragon Empire had not paid her to disintergrate the spice; but Sully had not paid her not to, either; and there were things worth doing for free. When all that remained were smoldering piles of ashes in the middle of the warehouse, Zem Renneyn slung the body of Solrac over her shoulder, turned about holding her weapon...

...and walked quietly out of the warehouse, into the dark, silent night, into a future filled with promise... the sounds of blaster fire outside signifying the end of Solrac's reign over Risban.

Two days later, the planet fell to the clutches of Captain Sully Anre and the Black Dragon Empire...