Will rebel for food (Dasquian, Grace)

[Litika Dor]

The Riven Epsilon was a heavily-modified KSE S40K of indeterminate production year. Originally a relatively uncomfortable model boasting nothing more than good mechanical performance and affordablity, this particular ship had long ago been gutted and refitted to compose a single occupant's entire living environment, with room left over for an almost insignificant amount of cargo space. The key words in this description being, of course, "almost insignificant."

The ship itself was much older than it seemed. It had been passed from owner to owner for more than three decades before coming to rest in a junk shipyard on a backwater world near the outer rim. There it lay, effectively to rust into oblivion, for over five years before it was rediscovered by a teenager who needed a cheap ship and had money enough to restore a junker.

And restore it she did. Practically rebuilding it from scratch, she breathed new life into its beaten old frame as she replaced all the hullplates and gave it a new paintjob. Underneath the fresh exterior lurked powerful engines and some questionably-legal modifications to almost every system, especially weapons. And the inside had been cleared to allow the owner, one teenage girl, to live out as many years as she could afford to keep the ship running--the rest of her life, if she could manage it.

So far, she'd managed fifteen years.

Now thirty-five and looking little like she had the day she'd bought the abused pinnace which would become the Riven Epsilon, Litika Dor was on her way back to the SoroSuub Spaceport where her ship was patiently waiting for her.

Around her, the capital city of Sullust was winding down for the evening, though she knew from having been here a week that this city, like all the urban areas on Sullust and, indeed, like all cities everywhere, never truly slept. But the day-markets and shops along the main drag were beginning to fold up and lock up for the night, owners and proprietors hurrying to get their businesses squared away and get themselves home for dinner before the slightly more rowdy, less-respectable nightlife swept through the streets in earnest.

Under one arm Litika carried a parcel wrapped in paper, and in her other hand she held a datapad which was flashing a news report off HoloNet. Her lip curled as she listened to the reporter announce in smug tones that the economy was thriving in all Imperial sectors and that the state of Imperial affairs (which, the reporter assured, were as stable and prosperous as ever), would continue to improve despite the death of their illustrious Emperor. Litika didn't know why she bothered even watching H-Net newsfeeds; the Empire controlled all media outlets, so all HoloNet was good for anymore was Imperial propaganda and 'news stories' scrubbed so clean of the truth by the Imperial think-machine that they bordered on completely fictitious.

Still, this was her only way to stay connected to galactic goings-on. It may have been ninety percent tripe, but ten percent of the news was better than nothing.

The truth was easy to guess, in this case. Ever since the incident in the Moddell sector, the Empire had been in a state of unease that had, at times, come dangerously close to total panic. Litika knew from first-hand experience that the Rebellion against the Empire grew stronger every day, even in spite of the tragic losses suffered in the Rebel uprising on the Forest Moon of Endor. Individual Rebel cells had been in an uproar for months; there were whispers of who had died and who had survived, though positive accounts were hard to come by. But, despite the confusion, the Rebellion itself, the fire and spirit and underground support, had not wavered or faltered in the wake of Endor.

The Empire, however, had felt the need, and rightly so, to kick its brainwashing newswires into hyperdrive. For months they'd been spewing dren like what Litika was listening to now, reporters all but begging listeners to believe that the Empire was flourishing as always. So, when this twitchy news anchor on Litika's datapad said the exact same thing he and his colleagues had been shoveling on audiences for months, it wasn't too hard to see the veneer starting to chip away on the Empire's glorious façade. "Flourishing" meant "floundering" and "booming economy" was code for "collapse of regional governments." It had been the same way right after the Battle of Endor--for the longest time, HoloNet had doggedly repeated the location of the strangely-absent Emperor as being "undisclosed," when, in fact, as many Rebels predicted and even Imperials suspected, he was, in fact, dead.

All of which, in spite of having to listen to a stream of lies yammering out of her datapad, served to put a smile on Litika's face.

Just as dusk was starting to get the better of daylight, Litika returned to the spaceport and the hangar where the Riven Epsilon rested comfortably like a lazy ferrenghet curled in repose. Smiling up at her sleeping ship, Litika crossed to the aft hatchway and punched her code into the keypad next to it.

Fifteen minutes later, safely sealed inside her spaceworthy apartment, Litika sat down at her computer terminal with a sigh and powered up the machine while she sipped a cup of hot tea. She stared blankly at the dim computer screen, waiting for it to boot and sneering at the reflection of fine wrinkles beginning to make themselves at home under her big brown eyes. The dead grey screen made her look more pallid than she was by washing out her nut-colored complexion and dark brown hair to dull monochrome. Still, she knew she couldn't chalk up all the imperfections she saw to the nature of the computer screen--which flared suddenly to life, making her blink--and that she was rapidly approaching the point where she would need to own up to her age-lines and fret wrinkles, which were growing more obvious every day.

Litika didn't like to think about the approach of middle age. It made her feel like she had no right to be wandering around the galaxy in a scarcely-glorified tin can trying to scratch out a bare living and playing vigilante Rebel on the side. Whenever she thought about being thirty-five, her modicum of common sense tended to wheedle her about being too old for this kind of life, anymore. Shouldn't she really be finding a nice, quiet place to settle down, open up a restaurant or a bookstore or something, find herself a husband or at least a consort for whom she could cook, clean, darn socks?

Such thoughts irked Litika terribly. She had lived this nomadic live for so long she doubted she would even remember how to live a planet-bound existence. She had been running, hiding, for years. Even if it were definitely safe to stop and settle down now--and she was not totally convinced it was--Litika detested the thought of simply lying down to grow old and die somewhere.

No, best not to think about those wrinkles under her eyes right now. Right now, it would be most prudent to concentrate on job-hunting, and maybe getting in touch--quietly, of course--with the local Rebel cell, which, if she remembered, was quite vibrant and active.

She sat in her darkened cabin, the computer screen the only light in the room, surfing the electronic classifieds and employment bulletins, drinking tea, and searching her personal encrypted files for the most recent contact information she had for the Sullustan Rebel cell. Time to earn her keep around here so she could get moving again before some trigger-happy local bounty chaser got wind of her being back in the vicinity.

[Grace Van-Derveld]

Joao diligently collapsed his tent while his wife, Neia, carefully wrapped up every piece of astrogation equipment separately. Their goods were always in high demand with the constant space traffic coming to Sullust on a daily basis. Even if they didn't need their navigation computers repaired, everyone was always looking for spare parts incase of an emergency.

Twenty minutes was all it took for Joao to finish breaking down the metal poles and folding the brown coverings. It was a routine the Sullustan had perfected after ten years and he lifted the last of his boxes into the speeder. "Neia?"

His wife still had one more display case to put away and was in the middle of wrapping a coil when Joao called to her. Neia's bulbous black eyes fixated on her husband and waved him away, "I know, I know. You don't have to keep reminding me. Go on already or you'll be late."

He smiled and waddled up to Neia and pecked her on the cheek in thanks. "I won't be too late this time. Kelea promised."

She huffed, not impressed, "Bah. You said that the last time! Now go!!"

"Okay, okay!" He backed off, holding his hands out in defense of his wife's shooing hands and hightailed it out of there.

The Minriiskiies Tea Shop was only several blocks down from the market place. It was a favorite place for many of the factory workers after hours. Even with all the tourism, everyone was treated like family whether you were native Sullustan, Human, Wookie or yes, even the incorrigible Aqualish. Filigea, the owner, made that his number one rule. Everyone was welcomed but any sign of a fight, and he'd throw you out personally. He was shorter then the average Sullustan, 1.3 meters in height, but what he lacked in vertical aptitude, he made up for in the light repeating blaster that he had stashed, well stashed somewhere. No one really knew where it was. It always seemingly appeared out of nowhere when trouble was brewing.

Joao arrived only five standard minutes late, a record to be proud of and maybe this time no one would notice. He went behind the counter and grabbed his apron.

"You're late."

The snippy voice belonged to Hain, one of Filigea's older brother's. He was always grumpy. "Only five minutes."

"Hrmp. Head downstairs. Filigea already started."

Joao nodded and made his way to the cellar door and heard a distinct muffled voice. Filigea had a tendency to be quite hyper when there was good news. Did something come from Home One that they should be happy about? He opened the door hurriedly and walked down the stairs as quietly as he could to not disturb the meeting.

Filigea was leading the group and there were about a dozen or so Sullustans present, a human, and two Bothans. A small holoprojector was replaying a scene where a YV-666 Light Freighter broke out of Denon's spaceport and proceeded to out maneuver two Star Destroyers before heading into hyperspace. It was sliced together oddly since it was a combination of live feed from the news stations, the spaceport, and stolen visuals from the Empire.

" ... aide, the Rebel Base on Randa was evacuated before the Empire could do any harm. Because of this, Mon Razien has ordered all Rebel cells to keep an eye out for the human that helped with their escape."

Filigea happily punched a few buttons that cued up the bounty on Litika Dor. It was the best picture that the Rebel Alliance had on the pilot. "Now, intelligence says that she's near our system, so the possibility that she's already here is high. Make sure everyone keeps their ears and eyes open at all times." He pointed at the two male Bothans in the back of the room, "Report to Ves'gare and Old'ar immediately of any findings. They are our liaisons with Rebel Intel."

He powered down the holoprojector, "That's all."

Joao blinked. That was the meeting? He barely had gotten his seat warm, but more importantly, Neia wouldn't be mad at him since he would be home on time tonight.

For once, Joao had a smile on his face when he returned to relieve Hain at the counter. He would have to remember to bring home some of Filigea's special tea as a present to Neia for putting up with his tardiness the last few weeks.

[Litika Dor]

"Flying frell!"

CLANK! And there went her spanner...

"Oh...damn." Litika scowled ferociously down the access shaft over which her feet were dangling. No sign of the spanner. "I've gotta stop throwing things."

She turned her baleful glare up to the piping criscrossing the ceiling. "Well, ky-la," she muttered sarcastically, "I do wish you'd get whatever-it-is stuck up your ponderous rear out, so we can get on with our lives. I’ve checked every single bloody power conduit and connection in your entire grid. I know it isn’t your…oof! Your…interface translator…ow!” Litika continued muttering as she banged and swore down far enough into the shaft to retrieve her discarded weapon.

Emerging with the spanner clutched in one bloodless fist, still murmuring death and destruction under her breath, Litika replaced the hatchcover over the access shaft and stormed back up through the bowels of the ship, turning over the schematic of the navicomputer’s hardware in her mind. She’d checked all the most likely burn-out spots and all the consoles most likely in need of repair and replacement. And while, admittedly, there were several which were probably past their warranty at this point, none of the reasonable suspects was malfunctioning.

She cringed as she ducked into the cabin and flopped down in the pilot’s seat. She really, really didn’t want to have to call in a professional. Oh, she had the funds, she was fairly certain. But it was the principle of the thing; she didn’t need any “experts” fingering her ship. She was an expert. What’s more, she wasn’t particularly keen on the idea of having a total stranger nosing around her ship. Some of the alterations she’d made to the Riven Epsilon’s various systems weren’t entirely within Imperial perameters. Some weren’t within any semblance of guidelines at all. The last thing she needed was for some Imperial sympathizer or opportunist to get any funny ideas about Litika Dor’s station as a law-abiding, upstanding Imperial citizen.

She sighed. She was really going to have to start buying some spare identities. Her face was already beginning to pop up occasionally on HoloNet reports of Rebel insurgences. It wouldn’t be too long before her name started accompanying it.

As for right this moment, however, Litika had no idea what was wrong with her navcomp, and the bloody thing still wouldn’t boot. She could worry about fake IDs later; right now she needed to get her ship flight-capable again.

She buried her face in her hands and squeezed her eyes shut, again calling up schematics and lists of software in her mind. She thought hard, her mind’s eye raking painstakingly over the schematic of her ship’s electronic guts. She searched every inch of it—she had no doubt that her mental picture was perfectly accurate; she had quickly memorized it after purchasing the ship seventeen years ago—but still could think of nothing she had not already considered that would render her navicomputer lifeless like this.

It had to be software. Had to be. Maybe she’d picked up a virus from the spaceport’s computer. Litika growled very softly. Two days ago her ship had been in perfect shape. And now, she couldn’t have gotten much farther than outer atmosphere in a pinch.

Great.

Well, she only had one option. She’d need to go into town and check out the local vendors. Maybe she could con one of them into giving her a more solid idea what exactly was wrong with the navicomputer, without her having to pay them to come out and take a look at it themselves.

Showering quickly and throwing on some clothes she thought were probably clean, Litika grabbed a few supplies, threw them into a shoulder sack, and breezed out of her ship and out of the spaceport. She hoped this wouldn’t take too long.

[Grace Van-Derveld]

It was a slow day at the market. Today's space traffic was mostly refueling and then heading off after a quick bite at the local diners. Little money was to be found for the local venders.

Joao yawned heartily, arms stretching skyward. His round belly gave Neia a big target to backhand, "What are you doing?! You're scaring away the customers by looking bored and unwilling to help!"

Mouth agape and arms flailing in defense, Joao blinked stunned by the whole thing. "But, but ... Hey! It's quiet today and when their are beings looking at our stuff I help! Besides," he waved his little arms around the barren area, "Who am I scaring away?"

Neia huffed, not having a good come back and settled down quietly in her chair. Joao crossed his arms in triumph that for once, he was able to win an argument. But after a few minutes, he felt a bit guilty and leaned over to peek his wife on the cheek, who showed no sign of caring either way. It was only after Joao turned away and noticed a small assortment of beings slowly making their way down the marketplace did Neia show a tiny smile.

[Litika Dor]

Litika pushed her way through the crowd, wishing as she did everytime she had to fight through a marketplace or public square that she were just a few inches taller. One would have thought that on Sullust height would not be an issue, but unfortunately most of the people milling around her were not Sullustans, and as usual she was fully a head shorter than most everyone else. However, she was physically much stronger than most, so elbowing her way through wasn't too much of a problem.

Litika's eyes raked the surrounding shops, noting the signs with varying degrees of skepticism. Several of the vendors along the way were harping loudly in various languages about the quality of their wares and services, but most were not what Litika was looking for.

She was just beginning to despair of ever finding an acceptable parts dealer when she noticed one small, tidy booth with a modest sign that advertised navicomputer parts and repair.

Bingo. She made a beeline straight for it, ducking through the crowd again and hoping very much that she would get some answers here. All these people made her nervous...

[Grace Van-Derveld]

Neia's large black bulbous eyes blinked once in excitement, "Joao! Customer is coming! Look!"

In her fluster, she failed to mention which direction the customer was coming from and Joao looked about dumbfounded.

WHAP!

Neia slapped his belly again before taking her husband's face with both hands, squeezing his cheeks and pointing his head in the correct direction. "That way!"

Joao waved his wife away and stood up, straightening out his white shirt, "And if you keep doing that, you'll scare her away! More so then my yawning!"

Quickly the two Sullustans scampered about and tried to look like nothing had happened when Litika made her way before their humble tent. "Hello and good day to you, Traveler!" Joao's voice was pleasant with no hint of desperation, that would have resulted in a kick to his chin from Neia, and smiled with his eyes shut in greeting.

Once he opened them to see his costumer, Joao had to stifle a gasp. This was the woman from the meeting! What was he to do?! Joao had never dealt with contacts before.

He nervously twiddled his thumbs, looking around to see if anyone knew who this woman was. When his eyes fell upon his wife, he quickly darted his head back towards Litika to avoid the glare.

[Litika Dor]

Litika tried not to laugh. Sullustans always amused her, with their tendency to become flustered at the slightest provocation. Their short stature and button-bright eyes only added to the overall effect. But she had known enough of these hardy little people to know that, flustered or not, they were quite useful and steadfast in a pinch.

But would these two in particular be worth their salt? Only one way to find out.

"And greetings to you, friend," Litika said lightly as she sidled up to the little booth. "I wonder if you could perhaps help me obtain up-to-date navicomputer software for an Infinity 320 in a KSE S40K? I know that's an old model, but the navcomp is new."

[Grace Van-Derveld]

"I .. uh ...uhmmm..." Joao scratched at his head, looking about his wares and tried to think of what was in his inventory. He was actually stalling, trying to figure out what to do! This was all covered at the meeting and now he was in a tizzy, trying to remember what he was supposed to do.

"Aha!" He really didn't mean to say that out loud and blushed. "Sorry," he grinned, embarrassed. Joao was just excited since he remembered what to do. He needed to transmit his findings to the Bothans! "We only have so much here at our booth that I have mental inventory of what I have back home. But I do have it! I can have it tomorrow for you if you are not in a hurry?"

Neia was amazingly silent during this. She could tell something fishy was going on with how her husband was behaving. He could have easily went home to pick up the program. Their home wasn't that far but for some reason Joao was wasting time.

[Litika Dor]

Litika frowned slightly. She really didn't want to wait any longer: she wasn't planning on leaving anytime as soon as tomorrow, but she needed her ship ready to fly if an emergency came up.

Speaking of emergencies, this little guy seemed awfully antsy. A cold shiver ran down Litika's spine. What if he was moonlighting as an Imperial informant, or had a bounty hunter friend who had told him to keep his eyes peeled for targets? Litika knew that the vast majority of Sullustans were sympathetic to the Rebel cause, but that didn't go for the whole lot of them.

He could be stalling to buy himself time to go tip her off. And now he knew what kind of ship she owned. Frell, this could be very bad...

"Well," she said, casually as she could while shifting slightly away from the booth and back into the crowd. "I really am on a bit of a schedule. Thank you for the offer, but perhaps I'll have better luck somewhere else."

This could show him for what he was--if he had the part she needed and was just a vendor trying to hype up a customer, he wouldn't let her get away so easily. If he was trying to hold her up for more insidious purposes, he would probably continue to ask her to wait, or ask for some means of contacting her.

[Grace Van-Derveld]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!! WhatdoIdo? WhatdoIdo? WhatdoIdo?

Joao scrambled to think! His mind was mush and he was panicking. Why did it have to be him? Joao never had any contact with the Rebellion outside of the meeting! But he couldn't let her get away and already he showed her mistrust! This could be very bad! If she left and went to a different vender, Joao could loose sight of her! Or, or maybe the other vender wasn't with the Rebellion! Or even worse!!! They could be with the Empire!!!

He took a deep breath to calm down, plopped down into his chair and mulled over his customer's proposition, though he was really trying to clear his head to think back on the meeting.

"I was just hoping it be easier for me. I didn't know you were in a rush." Joao stood back up and walked around to the front of his booth. Neia was eying her husband suspiciously, much like Litika. "Which is why I asked!"

Then it hit him and made Joao cheerful! The Bothans! He had the communication frequency of Ves'gare and Old'ar at home! Which was perfect! He can get the part and the comm device to know of her arrival in one swoop!

"Apologies for wasting time." He bowed his head, "I get for you now so you can be on your way. We talk price when I return, or you come with me and talk along way? Is fair?"

Offering to have the human woman come along should allow for some trust to be built again. She could watch what he was doing at all times and not feel as if the Sullustan would turn her in.

[Litika Dor]

Hmmm...

Well...Litika didn't expect an informant to ask her to follow. Though, in all honesty, he could just be leading her into a trap.

Litika sighed. She hated having to have these sorts of conversations with herself.

"Alright," she agreed to the little shopkeeper. "Lead the way." I'll just make sure and keep my eyes open for any funny business. Astrel, I hate living like this...

[Grace Van-Derveld]

Joao bowed appreciatively. "This way! Follow me!"

His exuberance was most certainly not helping the situation but the poor Sullustan was flustered. At least now the girl was wary of him but still afforded him a chance to prove himself.

As he led Litika through the multitude of stands and kiosks, Joao tried to be calm and looked around to make sure no one had noticed Litika or was following them. He did it as casually as he could in hopes to not stir any more suspicion. The trek went without incident.

With a gentlemen flair, Joao opened the door to his humble home, which was about a foot shorter then Litika. Sullustans weren't the tallest race in the galaxy. He blushed, "Sorry, but sit down and get comfortable. Be much better then."

Locking the door, he peeked outside the living room curtain, frantically looking left then right, then back again. A long sigh escaped his lips and he finally relaxed. "So sorry for what happened back there. Not used to being the one that talks for the Rebels."

He waddled around the couch and sat down in his favorite recliner, speaking with sincerity. “It’s why I was acting so poorly before. I did not know how to act around you.”

[Litika Dor]

Litika blinked and started.

"You...what?"

Had she really heard that right? And, if so, what did the Rebels want with her? Not that she was afraid--she had helped them on Sullust before, and on dozens of other planets--but only that she had never before been contacted by them. It was always the other way round. And she certainly hadn't been expecting them now.

But then...this could just be another tactic, a means to draw her out and make her admit to being a Rebel sympathizer.

Play stupid for now...

[Grace Van-Derveld]

"See ... I'm just eyes and ears. I don't really do much for the Rebellion," Joao replied sadly. "Not used to this. At my stand, I wanted to contact the real Rebels on Sullust that could tell you more of what is going on."

The Sullustan was speaking honestly but he wasn't sure how she was going to take all this. He was no good at these sorts of things. Joao was also late to the meeting, leaving him no clue as to what they even wanted with her.

"I'm sorry. Perhaps you have heard of Ves'gare and Old'ar?" Maybe this could help convince her, if Litika has ever heard of the two Bothans.

[Litika Dor]

Litika blinked. He couldn't have known those names unless...

"Yes," she replied cautiously. "I have heard of them...have worked with them before. Do they have a message for me?"

[Grace Van-Derveld]

Finally success! Joao did a somersault inside.

"Yes! Well, I am not sure" he frowned, explaning further. "I was told to contact them when I saw you. That was what I was going to do when I said I wanted to return home to find your software. I was just afraid of loosing you in the market. People can disappear so easily, especially one like yourself."

He hopped to his feet and asked politely. "May I contact them now? You can come with me if you like to know I am being honest."

[Litika Dor]

Litika nodded, her insides doing acrobatics of their own. By now she was pretty well convinced the little guy was on the level, and she was mostly just anxious as to what could be the Rebellion's reason for actively contacting her. She had thought their last little jaunt together, on Randa, had gone rather well--barely a single casualty, and some really impressive fireworks to boot. She really hoped she hadn't somehow screwed up, and consequently ticked off the Rebel powers that be, such as they were.

She stood, having to stoop a little in the low-ceilinged room. She was actually grateful, for once, to be as short as she was...if she'd been a six-foot man this would have been more than just uncomfortable. She'd have been having this conversation through a window from the street.

"I'm sorry, by the way, for the suspicion," Litika smiled sheepishly. "I'm sure you understand. I'm really almost tolerable under ideal circumstances..."

[Grace Van-Derveld]

"Oh, I understand." Joao closed his eyes and laughed, rubbing the back of his hair all embarrassed. "It was my fault really. You were just protecting yourself."

He plopped down into his chair and cued up the code Filigea had given them to contact the Bothan Rebels. The line Joao established was secure, using several backdoors and other slicing nonsense that the Sullust was clueless about. All he knew is that it was very, very hard to trace the call.

Ves'gare picked up and the Bothan blinked in surprise. Joao? What are you doing calling me?

"I found her!" He tugged on Litika's arm, trying to pull her into view. "See!"

The Bothan puffed out an annoyed sighed, ruffling his beard. All I see is an arm.

"No! Litika is here!" He defended and made room so she could be seen. "Look!"

Ves'gare couldn't believe it. Of all the people, Joao was the one to come through for the Rebellion. Miss Dor. It's good to see you again. Thank you for Randa.

[Litika Dor]

Litika suppressed a smile at the familiar face and nodded her head in greeting, instead.

"Hello, Ves'gare. You don't need to thank me--I was glad to do it. I only hope there wasn't a problem with it that I caused...is everything alright?"

[Grace Van-Derveld]

The Empire is looking for you. The officials on board your ship held vital information that the Rebellion needed. Needless to say, you ruffled a few feathers as the humans put it The Bothan glared at Joao momentarily.

The Sullustan, closed his eyes and laughed embarrassedly. "Sorry! I missed the part why the Rebels wanted her! I didn’t know what to tell her"

Ves'gare shook his head. Anyway.. Mon Raizen wanted to give his personal thanks. However, the other reason we wanted to contact you is we need your help again. Endor took a lot from us. We're desperate for people to join the cause. We wanted to extend you a proper invitation. We know you liked being a supporter, it allowed you freedom but we believe that Randa incident has put you too firmly on the Empire’s radar. I’m sorry for that. We didn’t want you to become too involved unless it was on your own terms

[Litika Dor]

Litika did not respond for a few seconds. She had been suspecting she might have become more of a celebrity in the past few weeks. Buzz about Randa on the Imperial networks was high, and Litika knew that her fancy flying was one of the things the Imp assassins were most interested in researching.

And, deep down, she knew it was only a matter of time before there was no longer any safe port in this storm.

Finally she took a breath. "Well, by the same turn, if my face and identity are too well-known, I could be putting a lot of your people in more danger than they already are. I mean, I've tried to be cautious, but my face has been capped several times..."

A sudden thought occurred to her, one she almost killed immediately, just out of instinct. But the more it dawned on her, the more Litika realized its value. She swallowed a smile and decided to keep that in her back pocket for now.

"Of course, since that is the case, and if what you say about my current star status on Imp watches is true, then I suppose that pretty much already makes me a Rebel..." She grinned. "Y'all planned this, didn't ya?"

[Grace Van-Derveld]

The Bothan shook his head. No. It was an unfortunate effect due to your involvement. We just wanted to warn you that you've become more then just an irritant.

He paused and keyed something on his end. We also had another assignment if you were up for it. The information should be coming over Joao's end now

The Sullust's big bulbous eyes grew bigger!

Relax, Joao. They cannot trace the call.

"Okay ..." He fidgeted in his chair anyway.

We have Operatives on Kashyyyk that are liberating some of the slaves. We need a fast ship to get them out of there.

[Litika Dor]

Litika nodded, serious again. Without a moment's hesitation, she nodded, barely even glancing at the information.

"I'll upload it, but my answer is yes. Anything you need." She smiled a little. "I hear Kashyyyk's lovely this time of year."

She plugged her datapad in to download the information. "Is there somewhere I need to rendevous with your people?" My people...

The thought made Litika feel surpisingly excited.

[Grace Van-Derveld]

Yes. You are to land outside of a small colony called Monlynn under the guise of bringing them supplies. The information you have received is one of their Imperial Codes that their runners use.

After you land, our operatives will meet up with you. They infiltrated the planet much the same as you will, but have been gathering intel on the slave camp we're liberating.

[Litika Dor]

Litika nodded again, sharply.

"Am I going to need to acquire another ship for the time being?" she said, completing the information download and unplugging her datapad. "My ship isn't terribly big, and doesn't look remotely Imperial..."

[Grace Van-Derveld]

Yes. Your ship is too hot now.

The Bothan begrudgingly turned towards the Sullustan.

Joao?

He sprung to life with animation, quickly grabbing a datapad incase intensive notes needed to be taken.

Make sure to have Tahkis to give Dor's ship a once over with paint and new markings.

Tahkis was a Zabrak on Sullust that did a lot of external overhauling for spacers. He also happened to be sympathetic to the Rebellion.

"Oh? That's all? Will do!" He was so excited that Ves'gare was trusting him to do this. Finally he could show Hain that he wasn't useless for the cause!

The other operatives have a ship there to help evacuate the Wookies as well. Is there anything else you need from us Miss Dor?

The Bothan didn't mean to sound rushed but time was ticking away.

[Litika Dor]

Litika heard the businesslike crispness, shook her head briskly.

"Don't think so. Is there any way I will be able to contact you if I need further information or am waylaid and can't make the rendezvous? Otherwise, I will be ready to leave as soon as my ship is re-outfitted."

[Grace Van-Derveld]

No. There isn't. If you do run into trouble, we have a back-up destination for you in the information that Joao will transmit to your ship. Go through the regular channels to get in contact with us. If you haven't arrived on Kashyyyk in three days time, the operatives there will move without you.

The Bothan looked at the Sullustan with a toothy grin.

I leave you in Joao's capable hands. Good Luck Litika.

Before Joao could defend himself, Ves'gare disappeared off screen, which produced a muttering of unpleasantries in Sullustan.

[Litika Dor]

Litika quickly stifled her snicker at her flustered host. A riled Sullustan was an irresistable mix of humorous and adorable.

Composing herself, she gave a little polite head-bow to Joao. "Thank you so much for going to the trouble to put me in contact with the Rebellion," she smiled. "And again, I apologize for all the suspicion."

[Grace Van-Derveld]

Joao's expression softened. "It's okay. Thank you for trusting me enough to get you this far."

He hopped off his chair. "Come, come! We need to fly your ship to Tahkis right away!"