Star Wars: Shadow Wars

[Master_Archon]

“I’ll be right back,” she said to Krell and Ex-Zar.

 

Ex-Zar watched her walk up to the ship, the Eagle's Wing, go up the ramp, and start pounding on the door. Ex-Zar just shook his head, 'I need a vacation,' he thought to himself. He walked up the ramp and leaned against the wall, a ways away from Va'ala. "I dont even wanna know," he said to himself, waiting to see what other phsycotic things Va'ala would do before the end of the day.

[The Doctor]

''You forget whose clone I am, 'Amol'. I don't need to claim credit for anything, I have enough intellect to earn this position.'' Thrawn II replied calmly, but with a hint of arrogance as well. ''It has been a while since I last saw you. How interesting that I should run into you now and find you in a ship of that unique class, no less.''

Amol grinned darkly. "You had it coming, Thrawn," he said. "You stole my engine, I steal your shuttle. It's only fair."

[Writer]

When Va'ala had first approached the door, a calm, patient voice had been speaking. Then, that voice cut off mid-word and Kat's voice snapped, "Eagle, what did you do?"

 

"Nothing!" Eagle protested. Kat's door opened and she saw Va'ala.

 

"Oh, you little..." she muttered. To Va'ala, she said, "Look, I make no attempt to deny your accusation of 'pirate hunter'. I've done it in the past and I don't regret it. However, I maintain that it wasn't me who messed up your systems today." Her voice rose as she demanded sharply, "Eagle, you have something to say."

 

"Erm..." Eagle stammered. "No I don't!"

 

Kat rolled her eyes. "Lead me to your ship, Va'ala Klint, Independent Freelance Mercenary. Eagle may be unwilling to admit his crimes, but I know exactly what he did and how to repair the damage. This isn't the first time he's done this." And raising her voice again, she threatened, "And if he ever does it again, I'm going to reconfigure his intelligence and give him a new voice..."

 

"Not the turn Eagle into a girl threat!" Eagle gasped. "I'll be good! I promise!"

 

With a satisfied grin, Kat turned to Va'ala. "Off to the Reiver to fix this mess..." Then, a peculiar look crossed her face. "You never told me that..." Shrugging dismissively, she left the Eagle's Wing, heading for the Reiver, again without any audible instruction from Va'ala.

[JasraLantill]

Va'ala stood there dumbfounded as Kat walked purposefully past her and down the ramp. She looked at Ex-Zar.

 

"Did she just blow me off and agree to fix my ship all at the same time?" she asked him. "Or am I just really, really drunk?"

[Master_Archon]

Ex-Zar walked up to Va'ala and put his hand on her shoulder, "I'd have to say both," said Ex-Zar with a chuckle. Turning away he said, "come on, if you want to, 'settle the score,' I'd say this is a perfect time to do it, or we could let her get torn apart by the wookie," he said, smiling an unseen smile, under his helmet. He waited for Va'ala to go ahead of him, considering he didn't trust her behind him at the moment, more because of her irritable, and half-drunk state.

[JasraLantill]

Va'ala strode ahead, meeting up with Bob and Krell, then following Kat as she headed to the Reiver.

 

"You know, Ex-Zar, I'm not normally this dysfunctional," Va'ala said, sensing that Ex-Zar was keeping his distance from her for a reason.

 

"Yeah, Ex-Zar, she's usually much worse than this," Krell joked.

 

Va'ala wasn't amused. "I am not. It's just that I've had a really, really bad day and I need... a relaxer." She gave a secretive look at Krell, warning him not to pursue the issue in any more detail in front of Ex-Zar, as spice wasn't legal in very many place and definitely frowned upon by the Empire. And probably ex-Empire Remnants as well. "Anyway, how did Kat know what I was going to say to her before I even knew what I was going to say to her?" She shook her head. "Something's just not right."

 

"Don't worry about it," said Krell, patting Va'ala's shoulder. "Wabacca will set her straight." He chuckled. "Or crooked, depending on what sort of mood he's in."

 

Va'ala shrugged. "A scheming Zeedo, a cargo full of explosives to Naboo, a crazy pirate-hunting saboteur, a talking ship, and a half-sister all in one day...." She sighed. "What more could happen?"

[Master_Archon]

"Anyway, how did Kat know what I was going to say to her before I even knew what I was going to say to her?" She shook her head.

 

"Well, if she's a jedi like I think she is, then she's probably just come into the capabilty of reading the mind through the force. That's why I wanted you to send me in to talk with her, jedi are...tricky," he said, with a strange tone.

 

"As for your question on 'what more could happen', I could tell you a lot of things; permacretes being remotely activated by this Zeedo guy, the feul in my ship that we got from this Zeedo character being contaminated in some way, and causing systems to fail on it; an armada of Republic vessels could storm the station, we could all just drop dead any moment..." at this he let his words sink in a bit.

 

Ex-Zar picked up his pace, and walked up to Va'ala's side, "things can always get worse, that's why you treat the world like..." he had to search for a moment in thought, "...Bob does for example: he's always happy with life, no matter what happens! And though he's a nimrod, sometimes you just need to....ah never mind, he's a dimwit plain and simple," said Ex-Zar, hoping his point got across to her.

 

Ex-Zar stared ahead at Kat walking up in front of them. Then he looked down at the large package he had under his arm, and hefted it. 'At least now I know why they have the arms dealer across from the antique shop' he thought with a smirk.

[Writer]

As Kat moved up the boarding ramp of the Reiver, Bob started counting.

 

"One hyperspace, two hyperspaces..." After three hyperspaces, Va'ala, Krell, Ex-Zar, and Bob heard a resounding "No! out of Kat and a startled yelp from the Wookiee. The yelp was quickly followed by several angry growls, grunts, and roars. Then, there was silence.

 

"... seven hyperspaces, eight hyperspaces, nine hyperspaces..." Bob continued.

 

"Don't think she's flying out, Bob," Va'ala said. "Come on."

 

They arrived on the bridge to a peculiar sight. Kat's feet were clearly visible from beneath the computer consoles at the pilot's station while, at the center of the bridge, Wabacca, the Wookiee pilot struggled... in midair against seemingly nothing. Grunts of exhertion were the only noises he made. Kat, on the other hand, seemed to be carrying on a conversation.

 

"... much like the effect of crossed wires," she was saying. "But as Eagle has no hands, it makes the... ouch!" Sparks flew. "... repair job so much more interesting as you actually have to... ha!" Another shower of sparks. "... Didn't catch me that time! You actually have to recross the wires to get everything back to..." The screens flickered and came up as they should. "... normal!"

 

With a satisfied grin on her face, Kat slid out from beneath the controls. "Just like that!"

 

Va'ala stared at her pilot in midair for a moment and turned to Krell. "I know Wookiees live in trees," she commented, "but when did they learn to fly?"

 

"Well," Kat cut in cheerfully before Krell could answer, "that one just learned." She looked up at the Wookiee. "He's doing a pretty good job at it, but it may just be beginner's luck due in part to the fact that I'm holding him up. Sad to say, I just don't think he's got what it takes." She shrugged and Wabacca dropped to the ground as Kat finished, "Some creatures just weren't made to fly... no matter how much they want to."

 

Wabacca growled angrily and Kat laughed.

 

"Easy there, big fella," she said. "I fixed your controls. Aren't you happy? If your body can't fly, at least you can be a pilot, huh?"

 

The Wookiee grumbled and sullenly threw himself into his chair. Kat cocked her head slightly.

 

"Psychotic?" she asked. "Me?" She laughed. "No, no. Just a little... different."

 

Turning to Va'ala, she smiled. "We were never properly introduced. You are Va'ala Klint, half-sister to Sara Klint, but you don't want to talk about that. After all..." She tapped her forehead. "... sore memories. Sorry to bring it up. Independant Freelance Mercenary, Captain of the Reiver... nice ship, by the way."

 

"I am Kathryn Grey," she went on, bowing slightly. "Former pirate hunter, current mercenary, owner of the Eagle's Wing a ship far older and far better maintained than anything else out there, containing the AI called Eagle, an AI far more intelligent than any other AI. I am human, but through some odd twist of genetics and mental configuration, I am a telekine... and today, I learned I am also a telepath. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my ship to figure out how to control my telepathy... before I read any other uncomfortable secrets..."

 

She stared at Va'ala for a moment. Then, she looked at Krell. With a single raised eyebrow, she muttered a few words in her strange language: "Fithutviph... cus iveseviph."

 

((Yes, this is a language I've come up with all by myself . If it becomes necessary for anyone to know what Kat's saying when she uses it, I'll provide a translation ))

[igyman]

Amol grinned darkly. "You had it coming, Thrawn," he said. "You stole my engine, I steal your shuttle. It's only fair."

 

''You don't say?'' Thrawn II said calmly as always, ''Now, now, 'Amol' you never were the senseless-revenge type. You had a reason for everything you did. So, what's the true reason of your departure from the Republic? What's the true reason you took that specific shuttle?'' Thrawn glared at his prisoner.

[JasraLantill]

Va'ala blinked. And then she blinked again. "Kathryn Grey?" she asked, exchanging confused looks with Krell, then Ex-Zar. "I thought your name was Kat 'Bryant'?" She snorted, and then reached into her pocket and pulled out some credit coins for the bet she had lost to Krell. "You earned it,” she whispered as she shoved the coins into his hand. “Definitely psychotic. She doesn't even know who she is." She quickly followed Kat towards the ramp exit. "And what the heck was all that... ‘Fitzupah’ or whatever the heck you said to Krell, huh?” Va’ala asked her. “Some sort of Jedi secret code or something?"

 

From the cockpit, Wabacca growled and roared his opinion on the matter. Loudly.

 

Va'ala frowned with confusion. "What? Snot in her eyes?"

 

"Wabacca said, 'she's not a Jedi,' Boss," Bob offered.

 

Va'ala blinked. “Oh really?” She looked critically at Kat. “She talks a lot. She lifts Wookiees into the air. She can creepily read other people’s private thoughts. And, she has a lightsaber attached to her belt.” Her eyes narrowed. “If it looks like a Jedi, and sounds like a Jedi, it’s a Jedi.” Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “But if she’s planning on smuggling detonators to Naboo…,” She sighed tiredly. “Great. She must be one of those ‘Dark’ Jedi.” She gave Ex-Zar a quick glance. “You’re slipping, Ex-Zar. You didn’t mention that as something that could possibly happen.”

[The Doctor]

''You don't say?'' Thrawn II said calmly as always, ''Now, now, 'Amol' you never were the senseless-revenge type. You had a reason for everything you did. So, what's the true reason of your departure from the Republic? What's the true reason you took that specific shuttle?'' Thrawn glared at his prisoner.

 

Amol glared back at Thrawn, the smile sliding from his face. "Why did I leave the Republic? Because they stole two years of my memories, that's why," he spat. And I'd like them back, if it's not too much trouble. As for the shuttle... I always knew it was one of your favourites. It seemed... fitting, at the time."

[Master_Archon]

Ex-Zar looked down at Va'ala, "slipping, me, I said, only a few things, I could have mentioned that, but I didn't," he said. "Besides, the way she carries herself, her demeaner, it doesn't belie a Dark Jedi," he said, with a glance of suspicion in Kat's direction. He glanced back at Va'ala, "don't look at me like that," he said out of the corner of his mouth at her. "Besides, I could tell you one bad thing she could do," he said in retort, "go insane and kill us all," he said taking another suspicious glance at Kat.

[Writer]

Kat frowned. "I am not insane! And I'm not Jedi, not dark Jedi, not Jedi anything! Told you already... telekine, telepath... it's in the genes. Don't blame the case, blame the construction!"

 

Bob scratched his head. "I don't get it... you're constructed? I can't keep up! First you're Human. Then, you're Cathar. Now you're machine?" He turned to Va'ala and whispered, "Careful, Boss. This one's tricksy!"

 

"Yeah, yeah, okay," said Va'ala, taking a side step away form Ex-Zar. "No need to get all astral about it." She smiled nervously. "I mean, that is a lightsaber, isn't it? What are we supposed to think?"

 

Kat seemed puzzled. "Saber? Oh!" She took it from her belt. "Belonged to Crystal Grey... ancestor of long ago, the first of our line to have the... power? Yeah, that's the best way to describe it." Smiling, she went on. "She built it on her own, ripping the construction details from the mind of a Jedi Master when they would not tell her how it was done. And using her teke powers, she could wield it as accurately as any Jedi."

 

"Erm...ripping? As in.... well, ripping?" Va'ala gave a tenative look to Ex-Zar and Krell. "That sounds... erm... painful." A relaxer would do me very nicely right about now...

 

Kat shrugged. "I wouldn't know... my telepathy is just beginning to surface, so all I've managed as of yet is to hear the thoughts people don't bother trying to conceal..." Breaking off suddenly, Kat cocked her head slightly to the side and stared at Va'ala. Arching an eyebrow, she wondered, "Relaxer?"

 

Startled, Va'ala took a step back. "What?"

 

"Oh, my..." Kat whispered. Then, she launched into an extremely long string of her very odd language, followed by, "Spice?" and a shudder.

 

"Would you stop that?" Va'ala demanded, annoyed. "It's bad enough to have my ears slur Wookiee speak, but you... you are giving me a major earache!"

 

"Sorry..." Kat muttered, closing her eyes and forcing her thoughts to slow down. "I was just highlighting the damaging effects of spice use... and now that I think about it, I really don't think you want the full translation... it's quite..." She shuddered slightly. "... graphic."

 

Va'ala grinned dangerously. "Graphic? You want graphic?" She began to think about the most wild time she had had with Krell in the seclusion of the captain's cabin. "How's that for graphic?"

 

A convulsive shudder ran through Kat's body and she squeezed her eyes shut. Letting out the longest string of her language yet, she stood as straight as she could and reached out with her Teke powers, thrusting Va'ala forcefully against the opposite wall of the corridor in an attempt to divert her thoughts toward pain rather than... graphic. Standing over the collapsed Va'ala, Kat glared, hands on hips like an angry mother.

 

"No more graphic," she ordered firmly. Va'ala cowered slightly.

 

"Okay, okay!" she protested, rubbing her head. "Oww... no more graphic!"

 

"That's right," Kat agreed. "And no more spice."

 

"And no more..." Va'ala began to imitate. Then, she stopped short, her eyes widening. "No what?" She began shaking her head rapidly. "No, no, no, no no! You will not tell me what to do on my own ship."

 

Grimacing, Kat brought up a mental image of Va'ala's brain. Though still unsure of how her telepathy worked, she thought she could make enough use of it to project the image into Va'ala's mind. It worked... to a point. But the image Va'ala saw was much more severe than the actual damage caused by her spice use.

 

Slightly out of breath and now feeling a rather uncomfortable headache, Kat blinked and said, "How's that for graphic?"

[TheExile_Hunter]

"Yes?" she asked, turning to look at him as he caught her hand. His expression was unreadable...but the look in his eyes gave her a strange feeling. That, and how close he was getting. "What is it?"

 

The touch of Sara’s skin felt warm, and pleasantly soft. He would have wanted to hold her hand forever, but he had no intention of startling her so he carefully let go of her hand and forced himself to face her. “Look,” He sighed and paused briefly. “Sara, I’m……sorry for what happened back there. It’s just that I didn’t want to see you get hurt,” Jethro paused again and looked down. He was a little confused on what to say next.

 

“Come on, it shouldn’t be this hard, just tell her the truth.”was the thought that burned through his mind. When he looked up to see Sara's reaction to what he had said so far, he could see her standing there, surprised, wanting to say something but no words came across her lips as she stood there. Their eyes met once more and suddenly, when he looked deeply into her sparkling green eyes, the barrier which held him back so far broke down. He carefully stepped closer to Sara and slowly took both of her hands in his, which she surprisingly allowed. "and it's not merely because you’re the pilot…...it's because I like you Sara, I really do.”

 

They stood there, eyes locked onto each other, both speechless for the moment. Jethro feared off what was to come next and he couldn't help but wonder how would she react to all of it.

[ForceFightWMe12]

Sara stumbled for words, her mouth working as she tried to figure out what to say. Her heart had stopped the minute he had taken both of her hands in his -- and a feeling of despair came with it.

 

Unable to meet his eyes, she looked down at their hands. Then, slowly, she backed away, allowing her hands to gently pull from his.

 

"I can't." she whispered, still unable to meet his eyes.

[Master_Archon]

Ex-Zar looked over at Va'ala when he heard the word, graphic. "Graphic?" He said to himself, thinking on it for a moment. Then after glancing back and forth from Krell to Va'ala he figured it out, "Oh!...graphic, well, I'm no telepath, but even I find this very disturbing," he said a little shocked at what was going on at the moment.

 

But soon the conversation veered back to spice and questions started coming to mind, 'spice? What's Va'ala gotta do with spice?' But this didn't take as long to figure out as the graphic thing. "Spice!" He said his voice taking a higher tone. "Just what I need, a druggy! Ah, goodness, I dont need telepathy to know what someone's brain looks like on spice either! I've seen plenty of nimrods skulls blown open, who were on spice, and let me tell you, it's not pretty," he said discust contorting on his hidden face. Memories of people getting their skull caps blown off, and their 'grey matter' smeered across the floor came to the surface of his mind, but he quickly supressed them.

 

"Well, that's it, Va'ala, I can't believe you," he said shaking his head in discust, "spice of all things, I can't believe I'm trusting someone like you with taking care of my pirate problem, or the vital supplies for my men's families. Va'ala, Imperials frown on this stuff severely, just because I'm ex-Imperial, doesn't mean I don't, I do, and I especially dislike spice, I hate spice, and those stupid enough to use it. I don't know what to do? Spice, ugh!" He said, shaking his head at the thought of it.

 

Ex-Zar thought for a moment, then he raised Blink on the comm. "Blink, unload all supplies that we got from the station...we've...been deceived into thinking the, good, captain was capable; we'll be finding supplies on our own, be ready to depart immediatly when I arrive on the Sovereign," Ex-Zar listened to Blink for a moment, "no, no, I don't think she even tryed to find that other pirate we were telling her about...yes I know, that does show her incoherence...yes, keep the fuel, tell this 'Zeedo' fellow that he doesn't have to pay for it...we can pay for it...I know we dont have that many credits...alright, do that, meet you at the ship," he said sharply.

 

Turning to Va'ala he said, "I know this is a bit of overreacting because of some spice, but I have my reasons, and if you heard those reasons...you'd understand," he said, comtempt in his voice. "Good day....captain," he said, the last word holding much malice. Turning to leave he bowed to Kat, "Good day Ms. Gray, I hope you dont ruin any other partnerships in your career," he said with no kindness in his words. Then he hefted his package, checked his helmet, and started to walk down the ramp, staring at the ground, many dark thoughts, of past and present passing through his mind.

[3yks]

Krell watched all of this with a frown, well, there was good and bad. Good, Ek-zar was out of the picture, then again so was the potential profits he could bring. It was a tough call, but he let Ek-zar walk way. He did his best to not think at all as he did the next thing, his hand reaching around behind him and lifting his blaster out. His thumb switched it to stun as his index finger put it on spread. He was gonna hit Va'ala in the beam, but she'd be alright. All this thought happened in the time it took him to raise the gun, about a second. And then he pulled the trigger, sending out a strong stun beam across Bob, Va'ala, and his target, Kat.

 

"Sorry Cap'n," He said as he held the beam on, insuring that all three were out cold. "Wabbacca, get down here." He called into the ship, "Bring a couple of crew."

[Writer]

Once Kat was sufficiently tied up, Wabacca carried her limp form over to a closet and stuffed her inside. Then, as Krell had ordered, he stood guard over the closed and locked closet, grumbling to himself about it. After all, this was the girl who'd somehow held him in midair when he'd attempted to throw her off the ship.

 

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

 

Several minutes later, Kat began to stir. Wabacca shifted uncomfortably. He flinched slightly and uttered a low growl of concern when the sound of a solid kick to the inside of the door. Then, there was a moment of silence, which was interrupted by a tiny click.

 

"Oh, boy..." Kat muttered, her voice muffled by the door. Without warning, the door sprang open and Kat toppled out, still fully tied. She rolled over to her back and looked up at Wabacca with a grin.

 

"Hey, big fella," she offered cheerfully. The big Wookiee took a little step back, muttering a few choice words about how unfriendly luck had been to him lately...

[igyman]

Amol glared back at Thrawn, the smile sliding from his face. "Why did I leave the Republic? Because they stole two years of my memories, that's why," he spat. And I'd like them back, if it's not too much trouble. As for the shuttle... I always knew it was one of your favourites. It seemed... fitting, at the time."

 

''And that's why you chose to call yourself Amol Kotay? That's why you left? Because you think we stole your memories?'' Thrawn II thought those notions ridiculous. ''You know, I actually believe you when you say you have some memory problems, but the Republic had nothing to do with causing them and I think you know that. Tell me, do you remember your real name, or has your amnesia gone that far?''

[The Doctor]

He smirked. "I couldn't give a fake name if I didn't know my real one, now can I?" he said. "Of course I remember."

[igyman]

''Good.'' Thrawn II said calmly, ''Calling you Amol was getting boring for me, was it as boring for you, Daleth?'' Thrawn II toyed with his prisoner.

[The Doctor]

Amol glared. "As far as I'm concerned, we're no longer on a first name basis, Admiral," he said darkly. "If the Republic didn't steal my memories, then who did?"

[igyman]

''That, unfortunately, I don't know. Not that you'd believe me in any case.'' Thrawn II said, ''That always was one of your... bad traits - stubbornness. When you decide that you are right about something, the only way to prove you wrong is to let you get burned by your mistake. I suppose this time it won't be any different, unless you'd be willing to accept my help?''

[TheExile_Hunter]

Sara stumbled for words, her mouth working as she tried to figure out what to say. Her heart had stopped the minute he had taken both of her hands in his -- and a feeling of despair came with it.

 

Unable to meet his eyes, she looked down at their hands. Then, slowly, she backed away, allowing her hands to gently pull from his.

 

"I can't." she whispered, still unable to meet his eyes.

 

“She can’t…” was the puzzling thought that ran through Jethro’s mind.. If she turned him down, then he wouldn’t know to do.... It didn't make any sense, he knew she felt the same way as he did, the look in her eyes each time they met, her reaction when he touched her skin…he could even sense it. The least she could do was tell him why.

 

Without thinking about it, Jethro moved closer to her again. He slowly moved his right hand beneath her chin and raised it gently, forcing her eyes to meet his. “Sara…what’s wrong?” he whispered.

[The Doctor]

"How could you possibly help me?" he hissed.

 

((sorry for all the short posts...))