<font color=CC3333>Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst from her chest. The blue planet loomed before the YT-2400 freighter, and with ever passing second it grew larger until it was all she could see.

" I didn't think I'd be back here so soon."

Ren sat in the pilots seat next to her and reached over and took her hand. With a gentle squeaze he smiled reassuringly. <font color=lime>" In and out. No on will know you're even on the planet."</font>

She shook her head. " If I loose my concentration for a moment, just one second, Dakkon will know."

<font color=lime>" Then don't lose your concentration."</font> Ren smirked playfully, trying to ease her nervousness, and kissed the back of her hand.

Vess took a steadying breath as the ship broke the atmosphere of Hapes, speeding toward the surface and to the military instalation where Ren was stationed. Lupercus was a Prince of the Consortium whether they liked it or not, and any information gathered on him since he had turned against the crown would be found there.

The ship touched down, and with one last squeaze of their hands the two left the cockpit and exitted the ship.

Vessana had heavy robes around her hiding her figure and a hood hiding her face. Ren would have to do all the talking, she would not risk anyone recognizing her voice. Keeping her head bowed and lowed she followed behind the Jedi Master as he led her inside.

<font color=lime>In and out. In and out <font color=white> He'd found himself repeating the words over and over, maybe in a vain attempt to reassure himself that what they were heading into wasn't dangerous.

<font color=lime>"Now most of these guards will be able to be fooled through trickery. The real task is getting past the security firewalls in the information system.

Hopefully we'll get the information we need.

In and out, just like that."



<font color=white>The two moved like shadows across the courtyard at the main entrance to the Intel headquarters.

Ren could feel Vess tensing as they reached the security desk.


<font color=lime>"You'd better let us in now." <font color=white>Ren said waving his hand over to the oncoming security guard.

"I'd better let you in now." muttered the guard.

<font color=lime>"You'll also go for a nap."

<font color=white>"I'll also go for a nap."

Vessana chuckled under her robes.

.................................

<font color=lime>"Right, I've isolated this terminal, we should be able to reach the files we need from here."

<font color=CC3333>Ivory white teeth chewed on her lower lip as she paced nervously behind Ren. She wrung her hands together, pulling at at the tips of her fingers, a habit she had always had when she was anxious. It was something Vess was doing a lot of lately.

Ren was busy going through files on the computer in the room that he had secured. It was taking longer than she had thought, almost twenty minutes already, and sitll there was no luck other than finding Lupercus' birth certificate.

" Why can't we find anything," she mumbled to herself in her pacings.

She looked around the room, noticing again the holocam in one of the corners. It was recording everything going on in the room, and when they were done here they would have to erase the record of them ever being there.

With a wave of her hand toward the camera she pushed it upward so it was filming the ceiling and not them. She relaxed a little, not much, but enough to stop her pacing and move in behind Ren.

She placed her hands on the back of the chair and read the computer screen over his shoulder. " Why is this taking so long? It shouldn't be this hard, should it?"

Ren tapped wildly at the computer console while Vessana stared over his shoulder intently, digging her nails in.

<font color=lime>"Relax will ya. We'll find it.

Oh wait." <font color=white>Ren gasped as he began to read the contents of the page aloud.

<font color=lime>"Prince Lupercus Darksword personel data file, this is it Vess."

<font color=white>She moved over Ren's shoulder and gazed at the screen, scanning her eyes down the list of Lupercus' details, name, age, current location . . .

<font color=lime>"Someone's coming." Whispered Ren.

<font color=white>Footsteps clicked and clacked down the hallways outside the room.

<font color=lime>"It looks like our time here is going to be a little shorter than we anticipated.

I'll transfer the information to this datapad, then we can examine it back on the ship."

<font color=white> The light from the guard's torch began to flicker and grow brighter.

<font color=lime>"You better get back to the ship."

<font color=red>"What!? I'm not going to just leave you here!"

<font color=lime>"This whole thing will be for nothing if we both get caught!"

<font color=red>"No!"

<font color=lime>"Dammit Vess! You've got to go for your children."

<font color=white> Taking a firm grip of her arm, he pulled her in for a harsh kiss.

<font color=lime>"Now go! I'll hold the security here."

<font color=white> Vess nodded and reluctantly made her escape through a nearby window moments before a security guard waltzed in the room.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing in here?"

Enquired the guard, glancing back and fourth between Ren and the glowing computer screen.

"You shouldn't be here, I'm calling for back-up.

Front Desk, this is gruder, I've got a problem on level four I . . .ugh!"

Ren clubbed the guard in the neck, knocking him out cold.

<font color=lime>"Sorry, trust me, I didn't want to have to do that."

<font color=white>The whooping of an alarm signalled Ren had been discovered.

<font color=lime>"Oh great!"

<font color=CC3333>Her foot touched down on the narrow ledge outside the window and she was inching her way to the side of the opening a second before she heard the guard enter the room. With her back pressed against the outside of the building she wished she would have remembered they were on the forth floor before going out the window. Sirens began to wail and when she reached the corner of the building she could see a dozen soldiers running toward the building. There was nothing she could do to stop them that would not reveal herself to them and watched as they entered the complex. She could only hope that Ren would be able to get himself, with the datapad containing the files they wanted, out in one piece.

Looking around for a way down she noticed the roof was directly above her. Risking a jump on her precarious perch, Vess leapt up and grabbed onto the edge of the building, grinnting her teeth as her arms shook with the effort of pulling herself up.

Unfortunately, it became apparant to her that she was visible to the tower guards when they flooded the roof, and her, with a spotlight. Without hessitation she sped off in a sprint, running straight for the opposite side of the building. The spotlight followed her as she ran, and when she reached the other edge she leapt off into the air, propelling herself forward with the force toward the roof of the next building one story down.

As she sored through the air the wind pushed the hood of her jacket back off her head, blowing the dark locks of her hair behind her. She could do nothing about it now as she landed on the next roof, tumbling into a roll to soften the shock on her knees. Coming up again she immediately was running once again for the edge, this time leaping the two floors down into the dirt below.

Beathing hard from the exertion she pressed herself into the shadows against the buidling, pulling the hood over her head again as the spotlight searched for her. Hidden in the dark she was able to move away from the general area and kept her distance from the scrambling soldiers as she made her way back to the Greyhawk.

Once inside she found herself pacing again, wondering what was happening with Ren and hoping that he made it out.

A squad of armed guards poured into the corridor letting loose thier stun rifles onto Ren's position.

Ren rolled across the floor narrowly avoiding the blaster bolts that flew past his head.

Fourth floor, only one way out.

Skidding over the marble under him, Ren lept through the glass of a nearby window, smashing his way out and onto the rooftop outside.He rolled and almost flew clean off the edge, saved by his quick reacting arm which grabbed onto a piece of unsteady guttering.

Ren pulled himself up and out of his hairy predicament, and lept across the rooftops with his force-enhanced speed until he reached the ground.

.........................................


Ten minutes running throught he depths of the city and the guards were still barking at his heels.

He had to give Dakkon credit for having so many well trained and vigilant men under his command.

Ren ducked into an alley way and onto the rooftops, finally eluding the guards, however the alarm was raised, Vess didn't have much time left.

"Such beauty..."

The sigh that escaped his lips was barely audible as he sat in the moonlight. During the heat of the summer Dakkon and Vess, but now Jasmine, would move to a small room on top of the palace. It had no windows, only square holes which allowed the light to cascade into the room like water flowing in a stream.

Dakkon sat now by the balcony, no door separating the building from the overhang. His gaze was taken up by his sleeping wife, the moons of Hapes casting a silhouette of her prone form across the opposite wall. She slept like an angel, a bare whisper escaping as she slept peacefully. Dakkon looked away, his back against the part of the wall where the balcony met the building, and looked out across Hapes. Down the mountain on which the palace lay the buildings were shaded grey and silver as the 5 moons cast their glow around the city. In the distance lay the massive highrises of the Corporations, both Cluster based and otherwise.

I am surrounded by such beauty... And yet something still seems missing.

He had slept fitfully, if at all, since Ut had joined the Consortium. The death of his loving wife and the failure to find the purpetrators had been too much, and he still yearned for the old days. But then he would look upon Jasmine and that would almost entirely disappear. Almost.

He sighed again and rose from his seated position. He pulled some clothes on quickly, and went over the bed. He leant down and kissed Jasmine on the forehead. He was about to turn to go but paused his eyes lingering over Jasmine. He couldn't decided whether to tell her, or let her sleep. Finally sanity prevailed and Dakkon turned, leaving the room.

Kamon sat in the training chamber on Ossus. He had been meditating for some hours. The time for the appointment came but no one appeared for him. That meant something was going on.

Ren was never late for a meeting. When he was, well, it meant something was wrong. Kamon got up and walked over to one of the padawans in the room.

"Have you seen Master Janggar, lately?" He asked.

"No, Master. I have not seen him in a few days. Last I saw of him was when he was boarding a shuttle."

"Do you know where that shuttle was heading?"

"No sir."

"Hmm. What was the shuttles name?"

"Gem Of The Stars."

"Thank you, young padawan."

He bowed to the padawan and left the building. He hopped in his speeder and headed for the Ossus planetary control center. There he approached the records keeper.

"I need to pull a destination for a shuttle that left two days ago."

"Why should I do that?"

Kamon drew on the Force and waived his hand in front of the keeper as he spoke.

"You will tell me the destination of the ship."

"I will tell you the destination of the ship."

"Very good."

"What's the name of the shuttle?"

"Gem Of The Stars."

"One moment."

The keeper typed in the name of the shuttle on the computer. They waited a few moments then the file appeared.

"The jump vector suggests the planet Rodia. It's in Hapes space."

"Ok. Thank you."

Kamon headed for his room, and collected a few things. Then, when he was ready, he headed for the shuttle bay and waited for the next shuttle to Hapes space.

<font color=CC3333> The minutes were passing quickly, first one, then five, then fifteen, and still Ren had not returned to his ship. To say she was worried was an understatement, Vess was nearly panicking.

What if he had gotten caught? Sure, Ren had one of the highest clearance in the Consortium, second only to Dakkon himself, but they had gone in while trying to keep annonymously. He had used other codes, other ways in to the system, all in the attempt that if the breach were ever discovered they could not connect it to him. There would be too may questions.

What if they shot him?! Oh god! What if he was dead?!

Vess forced herself to calm down, to think rationally in a very irrational situation. She would have felt it if anything had happened to him, she had to believe that.

Still, she couldn't just sit there and wait for either one of them to be found out.


With a calming breath she reached out with the force, hoping that the closeness and affection she felt for the Rogue Master was enough to find him. She was rewarded when she felt his familiar precense, though he was moving away from the ship.

She sat herself in the Pilot's seat, and started up the engine. It had been more than a decade since she had flown anything herself, but she had always heard it was something one never forgot. Vess prayed that was true.

Unsteadily the freighter rose into the sky, hovering a moment just above the the roofs of the buildings. Slowly, and very shaky, she guided the ship in the direction she felt Ren going.

The shuttle appeared, and Kamon was rewarded when the shuttle name was clear to him. It was the same shuttle Ren had left on. This of course meant the shuttle made round trips from Ossus to Rodia.

When the shuttle had docked he approached the Captain. He had just left the shuttle, and was heading for the fresher station.

"Captain, what was your last destination?"

"Rodia. Which is where we'll be going again in ten minutes."

"That's what I thought."

Kamon walked up the ramp and took a seat in the shuttle. He concentrated on meditation as he waited for the shuttle to depart. Ten minutes later, the shuttle took off and headed out of the gravity well of Ossus.

The ship jumped to hyperspace, and Kamon was on his way to Rodia. He hoped that finding Ren wouldn't be too hard to do.