"Yes, I can tell..." Luke muttered. "Perhaps...no, nevermind. If she is waiting for instructions, then you can let her know that for the moment I have none. Like I said, there isn't much that must be done for the moment. You're welcome to stay here at the Temple for as long as you'd like, Jakyl, but for now I must retire...there is much to think about."

"Yes, Master," said Jakyl. She walked out of the room and turned towards Kathryn.

"He says he doesn't have anything for us to do," she said. "I don't think he wants to be disturbed right now."

Kat rolled her eyes. "I bet Eagle planned this on purpose..." she muttered. Then, speaking louder to Jakyl, she said, "Thanks for letting me know. I guess I'll be leaving, then. Was nice to meet you, Jakyl."

She turned to go back to the hangar where she was sure she'd give Eagle a good scolding for this.

"Nice to meet you, too," Jakyl called after her.

We've got more traffic here in a day than we used to see in months, she thought. And there's nothing to do? Good thing there's no apparent connection between lying and the Dark Side.

She walked back to her old room and promptly fell asleep.

((I was wondering the same thing, Kira, but I've just ignored it until now... though the whole point of a stealth field is to avoid detection, so I'd appreciate it if it would actually start working now... :P))

Amol continued to glare at Sara for a moment, when his comm unit beeped.

"What is it Computer?" he asked, brining it up to his mouth.

"Sensors have detected a covert tracking device attached to the aft hull."

Amol smiled. "Looks like Skywalker wants to keep tabs on me. Well... I don't like being followed. Computer, re-map the exterior of the ship, and alter the cloaking field to componsate for any anomalies."

"Acknowledged. Scanning..."

Kat returned to Eagle, who was again trying to 'introduce' himself to one of the Jedi ships. It was working about as well as the first time. Upon realizing Kat was in the hangar, Eagle promptly stopped what he was doing and attempted acting innocent.

"Hey, Kat!" he said cheerfully. "That was a short meeting..."

"I never actually saw Skywalker," Kat told him. "And stop acting so innocent. I know what you were doing... dirty old ship."

"Hey!" Eagle protested. "I just want to get to know some of my own kind... just like if you'd meet a human male, you'd want to say hello... have a chat."

"Unfortunately, while most of your..." Kat paused, trying to think of a proper word. "... shipkind are female, almost none of them have the sort of personality programming you do. In other words, they're the equivalent of a human female with no sense of humor, intent on doing only one thing... serving."

"Sentients certainly don't make their ships the way they used to," Eagle complained. "And why didn't you see Skywalker?"

"Have you checked the time lately?" Kat asked. "It's late. Poor old man's had more excitement tonight than usual, I suspect. And I blame you for trying to add me to that excitement."

"Blame me?" Eagle whined. "Don't blame me! Police chief told you Skywalker might have something for you to do."

"And you supported him in hopes of flirting with one of the cute Jedi ships," Kye agreed. "Get your brain off of them and take me to the Wheel. I want a job and if Skywalker doesn't have one, my contact there will."

"None of the ships that land there are very friendly," Eagle grumbled. "But you're the boss. I do what you say."

After confirming they had clearance to go, Eagle swept upward into the night sky and then into space. A few minutes later, he went to Hyperspace, leaving Yavin IV behind. Before going to sleep, she sent Skywalker a message for when he awoke.

"Sorry I didn't get to see you," she told him. "But like all mercs, I've got bills to pay... mostly fuel bills, you understand. Sorry Eagle tried to flirt with some of your ships. Like last time, they may be a little loopy when you try to get them going. I keep telling him he's got to stop doing that, but he never listens..."

Here, Eagle cut in, "Hey! I listen! Well... most of the time."

Kat laughed. "Anyway, if you find something interesting that could use my attention, you know how to reach me. Right now, I'm headed to the Wheel. See you around."

With that, she ended the message and went to bed.

"'Compensate for any anomalies'?" Sara repeated, cocking an eyebrow as she idly watched the blue wormhole of hyperspace, "It can do that on its own? Where'd you get that thing?"

"The stealth technology, or the ship itself? I found the ship adrift shortly after the War. The shielding, the ionised hull plating, and the stealth shielding are all my own design."

Vok got his comlink out and contacted Mon Mothma.

"Mon Mothma, can you hear me?" Vok asked.

"Yes Vok I can," Mon Mothma told Vok, "What do you want?"

"I don't think this meeting with Master Skywalker will take place," Vok told her, "However Admiral Hall is here and I might be going to see Admiral Nuruodo II."

"Don't worry," Mon Mothma told Vok, "The meeting with Master Skywalker wasn't needed. Go with Admiral Hall. I shall see you later."

(One correction, Hall is a captain who serves under Admiral Thrawn Nuruodo II :) )

Va’ala, along with Krell, gladly took seats aboard their trolley, leaving Bob to stand behind them like a gondola oarsman. “Co-ordinates to The Wheel? Sure,” said Va’ala. “I’ll have Wabacca transfer them to your bridge. When we get there.” She gave Krell a knowing look. “That is where we are going first, right?” she asked Ex-Zar.

“I like bridges, don’t you, Krell?” She put her hands behind her head and leaned back in the seat in a relaxed manner. “They always got such great views.”

Ex-Zar looked over his shoulder at his passenger and said, "the tour always starts on the bridge." He got up slightly, and pushed down with his foot, and the sound of the trolly's engine starting up could be felt, and heard. "Hang on" he said to his passenger, while Sarfis and Blink started their trolly's. Ex-Zar hit the gas, and the little two person, one passenger, trolly went skidding off at high speed.

They reached the bridge in no time, and were now staring out of the Bridges main viewport. "Ah, quardenants are here I'm guessing?" he asked Va'ala. Turning to a bridge officer, he said, "set the quardenants that we get from the good captains ship, and head for this, 'the Wheel'." He turned to Va'ala and asked, "where would you like to start your tour of the bridge first?"

"Ah, co-ordinates are here I'm guessing?" Ex-Zar asked Va'ala.

Va’ala nodded. “Yup. Close to Centares.”

Turning to a bridge officer, Ex-Zar said, "Set the co-ordinates that we get from the good captain’s ship, and head for this, 'Wheel'." He turned to Va'ala and asked, "where would you like to start your tour of the bridge first?"

Va’ala put a thoughtful finger to her lips. “Hmmm…. Well, I’d like to see the nav and control stations.” She looked at Krell who nodded agreeably. “I was the pilot and Krell the co-pilot before our previous captain suffered one of those ‘very unlikely but fatal freakish accidents.’” She gave Krell a dubious look, to which he responded with an innocent-looking shrug. “I bet this beast is pretty complex to fly. But first,…” She looked at Bob. “Is there someplace out of the way we can park ‘ol Bob here?” She looked over Ex-Zar’s shoulder and spotted an open terminal with a seat. “Like there?” she pointed.

She motioned Ex-Zar to come a bit closer to her so she could say something without Bob overhearing her. “I just thought I’d take Bob along with us to give the rest of my crew a break, you know? He’s a little slow, but he’s loyal and easily amused. Park him in front of a terminal and he’ll be happy enough to watch the display until we’re ready to move on to somewhere else.”

"Ding, ding, ding!" Eagle announced. "Wake up time!"

Grumbling, Kat rolled over. As she did so, her telekinetic powers took hold of nearly everything in the room and pulled. The lamp flew across the room and shattered, the sheets on the bed were stripped away, the bed itself scooted across the room, and several datapads went flying.

"Hey!" Eagle exclaimed. "Don't be such a grouch... we're where you wanted to be."

"The Wheel?" Kat grunted, sitting up. "I feel like I've only been asleep for three hours." She moaned and flopped back down on the bed. "This is the only thing I hate about space travel... adjusting to different times."

"Well you asked for it," Eagle retorted, unmercifully. "So up you get. And you might consider bolting the next lamp to the table there... isn't that the fifth lamp you've broken?"

"Eighth," Kat corrected. She rubbed her eyes and cautiously floated over the shattered glass of the lamp, tapping the door control with her foot. "I'll take care of this mess later."

A pair of black pants, a white shirt, a black leather jacket, and black boots followed her out of the room and, once she was safely over the glass, she dropped to the floor and put them on.

"You should learn to use that lightsaber," Eagle told her as she strapped her weapons belt to her waist. "Be as much like Crystal as possible, eh? Now that you've decided to use her last name an' all."

"Considering it," Kat answered. "But I just don't like the idea of no weight to balance with the hilt."

"It was due to her telekinesis that Crystal was able to wield it as accurately as a Jedi would," Eagle informed. "Due to the teke powers, you can feel the blade... not necessarily the weight of it, but the blade itself. Given that 'feeling', you can put it exactly where it needs to be to protect yourself and do damage to your enemy."

"And you would know this... how?" Kat demanded, amused.

"How else?" Eagle chuckled.

"Ah, right," Kat grinned. "You and Crys just loved to talk."

She looked into a mirror and grunted. "Oh, hell no... the hair must be organized."

Eagle laughed. "Rats! I was hoping you'd not see how messy it looks... did a rat try to make a nest?"

"I should give you hair... just so you'd know how completely unruly it can be," Kat muttered, heading into the fresher to wash her hair. Ten minutes later, she came out, hair slightly damp and significantly more orderly. She'd pulled it back in a simple ponytail and called it good. Satisfied, she left Eagle with a warning.

"No ship interaction," she told him. "You remember the Academy."

"Agreed," he said. "I know better than to mess with ships here..."

Kat wasn't convinced, but she left him anyway, heading away to find her contact on the Wheel.

"You created them?" Sara asked, casting a glance at him. He didn't look like a rocket scientist...hell, as far as she knew, even the Republic fleet didn't have technology like that. "And uh...how long have you been a fugitive, again?"

"I've been on the run from the Republic for about seven years now," he said shortly.

"And you did...what, exactly?"

He looked around the room for a moment, then sighed. "I desserted," he said simply. When she continued to look puzzled, he elaborated. "I was once an agent for Republic Intelligence," he said. "But I desserted after we had a... conflict of interests."

"Conflict of interests..." she muttered, leaning back in the pilot's chair, "So what...now you're an AWOL agent working for the Jedi? Forgive me if I say that sounds a little out-there."

He glared at her. "One day, I woke up with two years of my memory gone." He tunred back to the comm console, staring at it blankly. "I want them back."

Now she looked at him, frowning. "'Gone'? What d'you mean, 'gone'?"

"I mean just that. Gone. Completely. Two years of my life. Lost."

"Like...erased, or something?"

He shook his head. "Not exactly. More like... removed. Extracted. How, I'm not sure yet. But I intend to find out."

"Well...that's...bizzare." Sara said, struggling to find the words.

He arched an eyebrow slightly. "Indeed..." he said. "But that doesn't matter right now. Skywalker wants me here - not running after the Republic looking for my memory engrams..."

"Hmm..." Sara muttered, resting her chin in her hand. They sat there silently for a while, neither looking at the other. Eventually, she stood.

"Well, I dunno about you..." she said, stretching, "But I need sleep. Watch the Northstream , will you? And try not to let us crash and burn -- that would be greatly appreciated."

He arched an eyebrow again, smiling slightly. "I'll try."

"Ah, co-ordinates are here I'm guessing?" Ex-Zar asked Va'ala.

Va’ala nodded. “Yup. Close to Centares.”

Turning to a bridge officer, Ex-Zar said, "Set the co-ordinates that we get from the good captain’s ship, and head for this, 'Wheel'." He turned to Va'ala and asked, "where would you like to start your tour of the bridge first?"

Va’ala put a thoughtful finger to her lips. “Hmmm…. Well, I’d like to see the nav and control stations.” She looked at Krell who nodded agreeably. “I was the pilot and Krell the co-pilot before our previous captain suffered one of those ‘very unlikely but fatal freakish accidents.’” She gave Krell a dubious look, to which he responded with an innocent-looking shrug. “I bet this beast is pretty complex to fly. But first,…” She looked at Bob. “Is there someplace out of the way we can park ‘ol Bob here?” She looked over Ex-Zar’s shoulder and spotted an open terminal with a seat. “Like there?” she pointed.

She motioned Ex-Zar to come a bit closer to her so she could say something without Bob overhearing her. “I just thought I’d take Bob along with us to give the rest of my crew a break, you know? He’s a little slow, but he’s loyal and easily amused. Park him in front of a terminal and he’ll be happy enough to watch the display until we’re ready to move on to somewhere else.”

Ex-Zar chuckled at the comment about Bob. "No problem" he said back to Va'ala. Ex-Zar dismounted the trolly, and walked over to Bob, and guided him toward a console. Ex-Zar walked back to Va'ala, "well, if he's as slow as you say, then that console will entertain him for awhile. Luckily its just a power monitor console, so there's nothing on there he could ruin, or destroy" he said to Va'ala.

"Now, the navigation and control stations, lets see..." he said walking a ways away and motioned for them to follow. They walked a descent distance to a console that was larger, and more complexed than some of the other consoles. "This is our navigation and control main console" he said motioning to it. A twi'lek sat at the console, and looked up and smiled at Krell and Va'ala, then turned back to do what he was supposed to be doing. "The rest of these consoles in here, are the secondary drive systems for the navigation and control console" said Ex-Zar motioning to the small area that was inlaid into the floor of the bridge, where around ten consoles sat, all with crew at them, all of them meant for driving the enormous ship.

Then a whirring noise could be heard, and then, 'Thoom', a noise cracked throughout the ship, and the stars turned into streaks before anyone could blink. They were in hyperspace, "ah, they finally worked out the co-ordinates. Your ships nav systems must be archaic, it never takes this long to translate co-ordinates from older ships" said Ex-Zar, a look of puzzle and question on his face. "So, where shall we continue...or start, I should say" said Ex-Zar motioning to the rest of the bridge.

“There’s plenty of room here.” Kyla stated as they entered the cargo hold. Jethro looked around and agreed. “Looks good.” He walked to the middle of the room and faced Kyla. ”Let’s get started, my overly eager apprentice.” He grinned after wielding his green lightsaber and held it in the Soresu form.

“Finally,” Kyla said relieved and drew her blue lightsaber as well.

“Ok...we’ll start with the battle stance…” Jethro answered and he showed her how to stand.

“No need to repeat that, I remember how you did it last time.” Kyla said full of confidence as she put herself in a defensive battle stance.

“Right then…We’ll just continue with the lightsaber form. The Shii-Cho form is the basic form, which you already know. This form …” He paused and showed her how the Soresu form is done and made a couple of defensive moves and blocks. “is called the Soresu form, it’s the most defensive lightsaber form and is very useful against..”

“Blaster fire..” Kyla filled in.

Jethro was surprised by her comment, since he never taught her anything about other lightsaber forms. He looked up to see her performing the Soresu form.

“Sis, who taught you that stance?” he observed her Soresu stance and was amazed. It was nearly perfect.

“Well you did… sort of.” She said softly.

“What do you mean sort of? I never taught you how to use that form.” Jethro replied questioning, not understanding how she could have learned that from him.

“Well that’s because I’ve watched….some of your ehm…training sessions with Master Skywalker.” She said, looking down with a feeling of guilt.

"Why didn't you just drop in and join me, I would have done the same thing if I were you...” he grinned when he saw her reaction. “It sure makes things a whole lot easier sis..” He held up his lightsaber, preparing to attack. “but let's see how well you’ve practised it first.”

Kyla grinned back at him and felt a bit relieved because of his understanding. “Ok.”

They both faced each other, the green and blue lightsaber were humming and lighting up the entire cargo hold. “Since you wanted to fight me so desperately sis, you do the first strike.”

“Hmmpf. Fine, you’ve asked for it.” Kyla muttered. She didn’t really know how to use the Soresu form offensively and made a sloppy strike at Jethro. The lightsabers briefly made contact in mid-air as Jethro easily blocked her attack. She grunted and continued her offensive with a lot of parries and blows, but none of her attacks seemed to be able to get anywhere near him. “Curses” she thought as Jethro blocked another attack. “I never saw him using this form offensively.” Doubtfully, she continued her offensive. One after another her attempts were blocked by her older brother. They continued fighting like that for about ten minutes until Jethro decided to put an end to it. “You can do better than that.” He taunted. “Show me something.”

“Ok, that does it!” She warned him and switched to the Makashi lightsaber form.

“What the!” He was surprised by her sudden change of lightsaber form and was barely able to block her attack. “You’ve watched ‘those’ training sessions as well?”

“More than that, I’ve been practising this one the most.” She said grinning and made another swing at him.

“Fine then…” He said while evading her attack. “I’ll just have to push it up a notch.”

Jethro smiled, grabbed his other lightsaber and changed to the Jar-Kai battle stance.

Kyla didn’t really knew what hit her. Jethro swung his lightsabers at her with extreme speed. She barely blocked the first lightsaber strike when the next one hit her and she had to step backwards. He continued his offensive and knocked her around a bit. When Jethro nearly cornered her, he hurled his lightsabers above her, forcing her to lean backwards. Kyla tried to remain standing, but Jethro forced her to block another attack, ultimately making her lose balance. She tripped and fell on the ground. When she realised what happened, she quickly tried to stand up, but stopped when she saw that Jethro’s green lightsaber was positioned right below her chin. Kyla looked up at him with vein eyes. “Evil.” she muttered. He grinned and turned his lightsabers off. “Not bad sis.”

“Hey that wasn’t fair!” She complained as she stood up. “I never saw you using that form before!”

"Fine." he said calmly. "Now that you've seen it, do you want another rematch?"

The idea of being defeated twice in a row didn't really look appealing to her. "Uhm....no thanks." she muttered.

"I thought so. Now let's take a break, we'll continue practising another time."

Kyla nodded. "Sounds good to me."

They both left the cargo hold and went towards the dormitories.

Then a whirring noise could be heard, and then, 'Thoom', a noise cracked throughout the ship, and the stars turned into streaks before anyone could blink. They were in hyperspace, "ah, they finally worked out the co-ordinates. Your ships nav systems must be archaic, it never takes this long to translate co-ordinates from older ships" said Ex-Zar, a look of puzzle and question on his face.“Archaic systems?” Va’ala chuckled. “It’s probably just because the co-ordinates were sent to you by a Wookie. Big fingers on tiny control panel’ syndrome.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I’m really impressed with all this ‘hardware’ you have, Ex-Zar,” she said, walking forward to the view windows as she surveyed the many terminals and control stations. “It’s very impressive.” She stared out the window at the hyperspace tunnel effect, then without notice she pressed her forehead against the glass. “What. A. View,” she said dreamily. “I could get used to this….”

She stood there enjoying the moment, then she heard Krell clear his throat from behind her.

“Oh. Right,” she said straightening herself. “Tour. Okay. Erm….” She looked at Ex-Zar. “Well, it’s your ship, so I’ll leave it up to you what to show us. But it doesn’t look like that it’s going to take us that long to get to The Wheel at the speed we’re going. When we get there, I think it might be best if I dock in my own ship. You see, I don’t want to upset my contact. I know you’re not Imperial Remnant, but your fleet looks like Imperial Remnant. And Zeedo doesn’t like Imps.”

“And he hates the people that associate with them even more,” Krell added flatly.

Va’ala nodded at Krell. “Ye-ah,” she said slowly to Ex-Zar. “What he said,” she said pointing to Krell. “I’ll need to talk to Zeedo first before I introduce you. But if there’s anyone who can get you supplies, it’s him. Speaking of Zeedo… you said you were having problems with pirates? What sort of ships are we talking about? Maybe I know them. And if I do, I bet you I could talk to them for you. Make some sort of ‘arrangement’ with them.”

"Hey, kid, wake up," Zhane heard his Master Kyle said, "We're nearby Tatooine, in a few minutes we will land on the desert planet of femen, pestilence and almost no water."

"Well, with the description you gave me, i will probably take out Tatooine of my good places to visit, relax and perhaps take a vacation," He chuckled. Kyle did as well and turned to his front. His first time on Tatooine, and Zhane was somewhat excited.

A few minutes passed and the Raven's Claw landed on Anchorhead. They got out and a guard came.

"Welcome to Anchorhead. I'm sorry, but we don't have your ship listed so you'll need to pay the entrance fee," He told them.

"Do we really have to? I mean, we are here on an important mission, and it would probably slow us down. Besides, you don't want us to pay the fee," Zhane told him, waving his hand, obviously using the infamous Jedi Mind Trick.

"You know what? You don't really have to. I mean, you ARE in an important mission, and i would only slow you down, Well, have a good stay in here," He said, minding his own business.

"Well, that was a progress. Let's get going," Kyle said.

They looked for about half an hour in cantinas when in a certain cantina named The Hunter's Lounge, Kyle noticed a man talking to alot of people.

"Excuse me sir. Are you recruiting?" Kyle asked.

"Yes, indeed i am, and if you aren't here to be recruited for Mr. Trarace, then please, let me do my own business," He told him.

"Well, actually, me and my son want to be recruited," He grinned.

"Well then, welcome aboard," He said, shaking their hands, "Report to work at Mr. Trarace's mansion. It's in the east district." He said as they walked off.

"Son? You could had atleast said i was your cousin or friend or just associate," Zhane chuckled.

"Well, i'll tell you later. Now come on, we need to check out that Erlong Trarace."

"I hope we didn't end up putting any holes in the cargo hold." Sara said as she spotted Jethro and Kyla leaving the hold, both looking a little hotter than when they had gone in. "Because it would be very nice to not depressurize while in Hyperspace."

"Well, we're not sucked out of the ship yet, so I guess that's a good sign." Kyla joked.

"Don't worry, the cargo hold is just fine, not even a scratch." Jethro reassured. "How are you doing though, still having problems with Amol?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well...I suppose you could say we're 'getting along'. He still has all body parts intact, if that's what you're asking." Sara said with a grin. "He surprised me -- he actually has a civil tongue in his head, when he'd like to. But anyway. I've seen those sabers of yours cut through a speeder, how is it that the cargo hold is 'without a scratch' when you're hacking away at each other?"

The holoprojection flashed in the private command chamber of Thrawn II.

File No#3389100547

Name: Amol Kotay
Age: appearance of 25 standard years, true age unknown

Warning! There are active New Republic warrants for the arrest of this individual.
Charges: Destruction of Republic Property, Theft, Piracy, Smuggling, Espionage, Attempt of Murder, Murder.

Thrawn II continued to read through the file. There was height, weight and eye color info and two other categories.

Known affiliations: none
Whereabouts: unknown

There was also a holophotography of Amol Kotay at the end of the file. Thrawn II put on a smile when he saw it. ''So, I have finally found you ''Amol'', after all this time. The question is: why would you surface now?'' Thrawn II said very quietly.

Ex-Zar stared out the viewport and walked up to it, a short distance to the right of Va'ala.

Ex-Zar heard her say “What. A. View.” “I could get used to this….”

He just kept looking forward, "very nice" he said quietly.

“I’ll need to talk to Zeedo first before I introduce you. But if there’s anyone who can get you supplies, it’s him. Speaking of Zeedo… you said you were having problems with pirates? What sort of ships are we talking about? Maybe I know them. And if I do, I bet you I could talk to them for you. Make some sort of ‘arrangement’ with them.” He heard Va'ala say. "Well, we know of four ships in particular, but one hastles us the most...it's either a rich pirate, or a famous one...either way, he's getting to be a nuiscance" he said his eyes narrowing. "He has a massive crew, at least for a pirate...his ship is a Correllian Corvete, with illegally modified, and outfitted heavy turbo-lasers...for incase he comes into contact with enemy capital ships...we almost destroyed his ship three weeks ago, but the slippery devil got away" he said gritting his teeth, but quickly regaining his posture.

"Sir, exit vector coming up in 45 minutes," said one of the officers at their terminals.

"Good, just enough time to recuperate," he said. "If you wish to carry on the conversation, you may follow and talk as we go, or you can find me later. Or if you wish to explore the ship, then Sarfas and Blink will be happy to show you around," said Ex-Zar smiling. "Now if you'll excuse me good captain, I'll be off to my quarters, good day!" He said with a friendly smile, while bowing low. Ex-Zar straightened up, slipped on his Royal Guard helmet, and turning on his heel, he headed off the bridge and down the hall.

Kat slipped into a cantina, right hand resting casually on the hilt of her sword. As she made for a table in the far corner, a gun cocked.

"Hand off sword," the thug ordered. Kat turned slowly.

"If you fire that, it will backfire and explode in your face," Kat told him confidently. "Gun down. Take me to him."

Uncomfortably, the thug relaxed his gun and gestured for Kat to follow him. They went through a highly complex set of tunnels behind the cantina and came out in a richly decorated office. Kat smirked at the man sitting there behind the desk.

"Why is it you insist on bringing me in through the tunnels when you have a door in the main hall?" she asked him.

"Personal preference," he answered. "Ms. Bryant."

"I go by Gray these days," Kat informed. He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" he said. "And you're wearing a lightsaber... you find morals or something? Become a Jedi on me?"

"Cut it out, Zeedo," Kat ordered. "You know I had morals before I met you... and you also know Jedi training takes more patience than I'll ever have."

Zeedo chuckled. "Very well... you're here for a job, I assume?"

"Assume it," Kat answered. "And keep in mind those morals of mine we just talked about."

"Can't you fudge those just a little?" Zeedo pleaded. "Legal jobs ain't my forte."

"Ah, but you can find them," Kat reminded him. "So do it."

Reluctantly, Zeedo handed her a datapad. "Look this over."

And she read...

"Well...I suppose you could say we're 'getting along'. He still has all body parts intact, if that's what you're asking." Sara said with a grin. "He surprised me -- he actually has a civil tongue in his head, when he'd like to. But anyway. I've seen those sabers of yours cut through a speeder, how is it that the cargo hold is 'without a scratch' when you're hacking away at each other?"

"Lightsabers are capable of doing that, for sure. That doesn't mean we'll do it for fun though." Jethro answered.

"One of the first things we learned was to be a bit more careful when fighting." Kyla explained."Instead of rampaging about like a mad wookie, we have to keep our head cool and actually aim at our targets rather than smashing everything."

"I see." Sara said, "That whole 'Jedi control' thing. Makes sense, I suppose." she headed a bit further down the hallway before pausing and turning to look at them.

"So...what do we do when we reach Naboo? Do you know where to go, or do we just kind of...wander?"

"I lived at the outpost when I was 15, it's just a few miles away from Theed. We should deliver the disk straight away and we'll see what to do after that." Jethro answered. There were a lot of things flashing through his mind when he thought about Naboo.

He remembered his days as a young soldier back at the outpost all too well. They used to chase away wild animals during the daily patrols across the green grasslands. At night, he enjoyed the long walks through the beautiful city streets of Theed. Every now and then, he and his old friend Erick took a speeder from the outpost and went on patrol for days. His short career as a soldier on Naboo wasnґt that bad at all.

"You lived at the outpost?" Sara asked, her eyebrows raised in surprise. She noticed the whistful expression on Jethro's face, his eyes seeing a distant place and time. "I didn't know they allowed kids there...was your father a military man?"

A little while later they had reached Trarace's mansion.

"Well, i'll be damned. This guy sure knows how to uselessly spend money," He said, noticing him coming a man coming, "Now isn't it son?"

"Yes...father," He told him, reluctantly.

"Greetings. I trust you are the newest recruits to meet Mr. Trarace. Come with me," He said, instead of entering the mansion, entering a house nearby which Trarace used as his base of command.

"Well well, Erlong Trarace if i am not mistaken?" Kyle asked

"You are the newest recruits, right? Then the plan is..."

"The plan is we are here on the behalf of the Jedi Council to investigate the matter of your senseless feuding with the Rekk family." Kyle said.

"How dare you speak to me like that?"

"I dare because this is senseless and dangerous. Besides, i've dealed with worser guys than you who used that line." He said, Zhane hitting him in the arm, probably to not abuse of his luck.

"Well, he is falsely accusing me of stealing his diary, which i didn't."

"Well, how about you let me and my Master search your home?" Zhane asked.

"No, because it is a matter of trust, and i do not know you. Do deeds and get known in these parts, and perhaps then i'll let you," He said with a smug look on his face and getting out.

"Well, we can't wait around. Gotta do something," Zhane said.

"Our parents were murdered when I was 15, Sara. I was an orphan." He said, not looking at her. "A friend of my father was the officer in charge of the outpost. I had nowhere else to go and he offered me to stay there. The outpost was not really a comfortable place to live, but it was my home." He paused for a moment and finally looked her in the eyes. "I grew up as a soldier until I was 18."

As Jethro raised his eyes to meet hers, Sara had to look away, her face turning a light tint of pink. Smooth one, Sara. Of course, that was just her day, and just her luck. Make an innocent assumption and bam, up in smoke.

"I, uh...I'm sorry to hear that." she said softly, fidgeting with her shirtsleeve. "Sorry to bring it up...I didn't know."

"Hey, need to be sorry Sara, I've put their death behind me a long time ago... although not entirely." Jethro answered. "I'm just glad I didn't lose Kyla back then." He smiled faintly as he turned around to see how Kyla was doing, but his sister was nowhere to be seen.

"I think it's best not to remind her again." He said softly as he turned around to face Sara again. "We never talked about their death, but I think she's still upset about it."

"Hmm...it must've been hard for her...for both of you, really. I lost my father when I was younger...I remember, it felt like..." her voice caught. She really never had gotten over her father's death. He was her best friend... "How old was she? Kyla, I mean?"

"Kyla was only 13 years old when they murdered our parents. They kidnapped her shortly after they killed them, and for 3 years the two of us were seperated." shivers went down his spine when he remembered the countless nightmares he had back then.

"What happened in those three years.... is a long story."

"One for another time, I'm sure..." Sara mummbled.

Kidnapped? Right after her parents were murdered? The poor thing...

She brightened up after a moment, trying to shift from the mournful subject. "Well, I suppose we won't have much rest on Naboo. I'm going to get catch some sleep--"

"Saaaaaraaaaa!!!!"

"For Force's sake..."

A Rodian came bouncing into the hallway, shouting on the way.

"Saaaar--a? Sara!!!!"

"Yeah, hi Twitch--"

"Sara! Sara! Sara! Sara! Sara! Sara!"

"What is it Twitch?"

"Sara! Deib told me to tell you that he was told by Amol that the Northstream told him that we're low on fuel."

The captain had to pause a few moments. The alien had spoken so fast it took a minute for her to discipher what he had said. "Wait...they didn't fill her up at the Academy?"

"Nope, left 'er high an' dry!"

"How close are we to the Wheel?"

"The Wheel? Wheel Wheel Wheel Wheel Wheel!!"

"Twitch!"

"Uuuuhhh...just a little ways away. Half an hour, I guess."

Sara sighed and ran her hand through her hair which now hung loosely about her shoulders. Turning around, she headed for the cockpit again.

"No rest for the weary..."

Amol turned as Sara entered the cockpit again.

"We've got a problem. Your ship is dangerously low on fuel - I don't know why it didn't detect the problem sooner, but we're running on fumes. There isn't even enough to get us to the nearest re-fueling depot."

"Wonderful." Sara muttered, moving over to the pilot's seat, poking Amol in the shoulder, "C'mon, out."

Muttering something under his breath, he stood and she took his place. Hitting a few controls, she glanced at their current position.

"We'll have to drop out at the Wheel." she muttered, whether it was to herself or to Amol was unclear. She continued to tinker with a few things, always watching their position.

"Can we really afford to?" he asked. "Skywalker said the disc needs to get to Naboo as soon as possible."

She turned and looked at him over her shoulder. "No fuel, remember? Or perhaps you'd like to get out and push? I wouldn't object to that, of course, but...well, you know..."

He glared at her. "You seem to forget the cloaked ship right beside us," he snapped. "The Stephanas should have some fuel to spare." He leaned against the chair, examining the controls over her shoulder. "That is, of course, if you can manage to bring this bucket out of hyperspace. We can't dock while in the tunnel."

"Sorry, but I'm not exactly about to trust a ship that, quite literally, has a mind of its own." she snapped back, shifting the seat so that Amol lost his footing. "If that disk is getting to Naboo, it's going to be on the Northstream."

He rolled his eyes. "The ship is far from sentient," he said. "It's a voice interface. Except this one uses words instead of irritating beeps and whistles to respond. Again, my own design. And I'm not suggesting we abandon the Northstream," he added. "I should be able to set up a fule-line between the two ships."

"If you did that, the neither of the ships would be able to reach Naboo." she pointed out.

He sighed. "Just because you failed to check that your ship was taken care of at the Praxeum doesn't mean I'm as stupid," he said. "I have a full load. Split between us, it should be enough to get both ships to Naboo, where we can re-fuel for the trip back."

"No, they won't." Sara said again. "By dropping out of Hyperspace, we loose momentum. When losing momentum, it'll take more fuel to build it up again. We're not even halfway to Naboo. With both ships on half a tank of gas or less, both of us will, again, be running on fumes. Not a good thing to try when re-entering."

"Again, you fail to take into account that my ship is considerably more... advanced... than yours," he said delicately, looking around the cockpit. "You forget that I used to be an engineer in experimental technology."

"Look, I don't care that you're a rocket scientist, alright? It doesn't impress me." Sara muttered, "We're only a moment away anyway. It'll only take a half an hour or so."

Amol rolled his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself," he said. He shrugged. "Alright. We can set up the link when the engines die, and we're forced to drop to sub-light."

Amol was knocked ot the ground as Sara dropped them out of hyperspace suddenly. He glared at her as he stood, desperately wanting to tear the smile off of her face. He forced down the anger, and took a deep breath. "No problem," he said. He opened a comm channel to the Stephanas . "Change in plans, computer. Lock the trans-mat beam to my location, and beam me back."

He stood there for a moment, motionless. Suddenly, a deep hissing sound filled the room, and Amol began to shimmer a deep shade of purple. As Sara looked on, he faded out of existance, vanishing completely.

Sara watched Amol with little interest as he disolved into thin air. Nothing he did surprised her anymore.

"Showoff..." she muttered after he was gone.

''Ah, Captain Hall. You have returned.'' Thrawn II said calmly.

''As ordered, Admiral. What is our next move?'' Hall asked.

''The shutlecraft and its pilot are apparently going to Naboo.'' Thrawn II enlightened the Captain, ''It's high time we followed. The order to enter hyperspace is already in motion. In a few moments Yavin IV will be far behind us.''

''Yes, Admiral. With your permission I shall return to the bridge.'' Hall said.

''Of course.'' Thrawn II nodded as Hall left his private command room and went for the bridge.

Apparently, whatever the rodian said was important enough for Sara to go to the cockpit.

"Guess I'd better go see if Kyla is alright." Jethro muttered under his breath, as he watched her going around the corner. He turned around and headed for the dormitories.

Jethro walked through the hallway and silently stepped into the doorway. Kyla was sitting on her bed, tears were coming out of her eyes. Seeing her being so sad, was something that had always tormented Jethro. He wished that none of this ever happened to them, especially her. There were a few times back at the academy when she cried silently like she did now. He was always there for her, trying to pull her through all of it. “Kyla.” Jethro said softly as he sat down next to her and put his arms around her.

Next thing he knew, the two of them flew over the bed and landed on the floor. The hard way.
“What the hell?” Jethro cursed as he stood up. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

“Someone better has an explanation for this.” He muttered as he reached the entrance to the cockpit. When he entered it, Sara was the only one there. “Is there anything I should know or was that just for fun?”

"Hm?" Sara turned as she heard a voice behind her. It was Jethro. "Oh, sorry about that."

Tinkering with a few controls, she watched the station known as the Wheel grow larger in the viewscreen.

"Amol was getting on my nerves again. I decided to uh...surprise him." she grinned mischeaveously. "He learned a new magic trick, too. He can 'dissolve into thin air'." The captain's tone of voice made it apparent that she wasn't impressed.

"I see...." He sat down on the co-pilots seat and grinned. "Next time you decide to surprise Amol, let me know."

His attention turned to the viewscreen which was now clearly displaying the Wheel. "So are we heading for that space station for a reason or is it just another surprise?" A small flickering instrument pretty much answered that question. "Out of fuel?" He asked, rasing an eyebrow. "You 'forgot' to refuel?"

Sara rolled her eyes. "Not you too...look, I put Dieb in charge of making sure that the Northstream was refueled. Obviously he didn't follow my instructions. Amol offerend to get a fuel-line, but...I don't trust him too much. The guy tried to hack my computer to 'see who he was dealing with'..."

“Well, the tour was nice guys,” Va’ala said to Blink and Sarfas as they glided their trolleys to a stop in the hanger once again. “But, I really should get back to my own ship. You know, just so that Zeedo doesn’t think that I’m with you or anything. As soon as we come out of hyperspace, I’ll…”

The Sovereign came out of hyperspace—not with a jerk like the Reiver did, but with a gentle sort of slide. Va’ala gave a look at Krell and Bob.

“What do you know?” Krell grinned. “Looks like we just did.”

Va’ala extended her hand to Blink and shook it. “Thanks again for the tour. I’ll see what I can do about your pirate situation while I’m on the Wheel. She nodded to Krell and Bob to board the Reiver. “Tell Ex-Zar I appreciated the ride.”

And with a salute to them both, Va’ala boarded the Reiver herself.

“Krell,” Va’ala said as the ramp was closing. “Take us in to the Wheel’s Docking Bay 49.”

“49?” Krell raised an eyebrow as he started up the engines. “Isn’t that reserved for emissaries? You know, like Republic Senators and Ambassadors?”

Va’ala stared at him blankly. “Yeah, so? We’re sort of representing Ex-Zar, aren’t we? I’d call that being an emissary. Or at least, close enough. Besides,” she complained as she rested her elbows on the back of his chair, “I don’t want to dock at one of those satellite docks and then have to take one of those stupid shuttles to the station. That gives Zeedo time to know we’re coming. I want to surprise him.”

“Oh, he’ll be surprised alright,” Krell said unenthusiastically.

“Oh, c’mon…you don’t think he’s still holding a grudge about that little misunderstanding we had a while back, do you?”

Krell slowly turned to face her. “Zeedo? Oh, no,” he said deadpan. “I’m sure he’s forgotten all about it.”

“Just get us down to 49, will ‘ya?" Va'ala said impatiently. "Let me worry about Zeedo.”

((Jasra, for your lack of a response to my email, I'm making some assumptions with this post. Hope you like :) ))


"Kat?" Eagle called. "Kat, I'm bored." But as Kat was busy with Zeedo and far from his resting place, she did not hear him. In fact, nobody heard him. But his boredom did not leave him and he began hunting for something interesting to do...

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

In Zeedo's office, Kat was not impressed. "I told you to find me a legal job," she snapped. "This is far from it."

Zeedo grimaced. "There aren't any legal jobs right now."

Kat smacked her forhead with her right palm. "Zeedo, I may live on a ship, but that doesn't mean I don't need credits. I've got fuel to pay for, repairs for whenever Eagle gets himself in trouble, and so many other things I just don't want to name off the entire list. I need a job... now."

"Look," Zeedo grunted. "I can't give you legal... but I can give you an only mildly illegal job..."

He handed her a datapad and she read. Frowning, she raised an eyebrow. "Spice? Eat a piece of blackened starry sky, Zeedo. I'm not taking spice."

"What about this?" he demanded, shoving a final datapad to her. She took it and immediately shook her head.

"Too many units," she said. "Eagle can't carry the full cargo."

"Neither can the other ship coming in for a job," Zeedo answered. Kat frowned.

"A dual-ship job?" she demanded incredulously. "Zeedo, I don't do groups. I work alone, you know that."

"Can't hurt once, can it?" Zeedo complained. "Not if the other captain's willing..."

I hope...

Kat frowned and scratched her head as a faint whisper made itself heard. Shrugging it off, she decided her lack of sleep was catching up with her. "Is the other captain willing?"

"Well..." Zeedo stammered. "I... uh, I'll have to... confirm that with her."

Kat laughed. "I knew it! So when does this 'other captain' of yours arrive?"

Zeedo shrugged. "She's a little unpredictable... but she should be soon. I have your comlink number. I'll give you a call when I know for sure."

"You do that," Kat agreed. "I'm gonna go buy me another lamp."

"How is it you go through so many of those?" Zeedo wondered. "What's this... fifteen?"

Kat glared. "Eight," she corrected. "And it's none of your business." Turning away from his desk, she said, "Now is your thug gonna escort me back through the tunnels or..."

The thug reappeared, thus answering Kat's question and she followed him through the tunnels and back out into the cantina. From there, she went to find a suitable lamp.

(Off-Topic: Hey igyman, where is the Admiral's ship?)

Vok Onasi knew there wasn't much point remaining here in the Jedi Academy. He got up and prepared to find the other Admiral's ship.

(It's preparing to enter hyperspace and follow Doc's and FFWM12's characters to Naboo, I can say Vok Onasi contacted us and is coming aboard, if you want to come along)

(It's preparing to enter hyperspace and follow Doc's and FFWM12's characters to Naboo, I can say Vok Onasi contacted us and is coming aboard, if you want to come along)

(Off-Topic: Sure.)

Vok Onasi piloted his ship, hoping to recieve contact from the Admiral. Suddenly, contact reached him.

"Admiral, this Admiral Vok Onasi of the New Republic," Vok told him, "Can you hear me?"

''Admiral Onasi.'' Thrawn II replied, ''I hear you will be joining on our little pursuit. The Origin is waiting, as soon as you dock in we will engage the hyperspace dirve.''