A Hand in the Matter

[Brax Osyrus]

The mechanical whine of the cargo bay door lifting back into place was barely audible to Brax. With his bike stowed away he made his way back to the ramp that led to the cockpit. The Shadow Hand was already primed, ready to go. Brax had communicated with AL-1 to prep the ship for takeoff.

Something interesting had happened as he has returned from the bar (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?p=352557#post352557). Passing by a desolate section of Coruscant, he felt the Force boiling. It nearly jerked him off the bike as it called to him. At first he was tempted to investigate it, but he thought better of it. His Master had given him a job to do and that was of the utmost priority.

Now, as he stood at the bottom of the ramp, he looked around, making sure that nothing was out of place... something that would have marked the intrusion of another being. He used the force to float over the objects around the mostly barren landing bay. He felt nothing had been disturbed.

Entering his ship, he activated the ramp, closing the ship and sealing the entrance. Quietly he made his way to the cockpit and took his place at the controls.

Activating the communications array, he called up Space Port Authority for that sector of the planet and input his security code. At the other end, the officer who was working the communications system would see that the code was assigned to a high priority contact. While they would not know who he was, they would be working to make his departure a priority.

"Port Control, this is the Freighter Switchblade, requesting an outbound vector immediately." Brax toggled his ID Transponder to match that of the ID an intelligence freighter used by ISS. A voice came back immediately, courteous, but also a bit nervous.

"Complying now Switchblade. Vector and authorization granted. We are clearing ships out of the way as well. Fly well."

"Thank you control. Switchblade out."

Brax activated the repulsors and lifted the ship 10 meters off the ground. As it lifted he retracted the landing gear and brought up the shields and weapons. While he didn't figure for a fight here on Coruscant, he was never the one to assume anything. Vigilance was what kept him alive and at the top of his game at all times.

The Switchblade pointed spaceward and Brax kicked in the main drive engines, kicking up dirt and debris in the landing bay behind him. The freighter accelerated, heading to the closest shield opening that the beacon was leading him towards. As he manuevered the freighter between a patrol craft bearing the Local Militia's insignia and a passenger hauler, an encrypted message was beamed to him from his Master. It was the final piece of the mission. Mr. Rheanu was vacationing at his estate in Sholar, the capital of Storinal. If Brax remembered correctly, Storinal was an Imperial held resort world in the Outer Rim. Being that far from the Galactic Core meant that the Rebels probably had contacts on the planet. It was just the place for the transfer to happen.

At least it will be have a decent climate to work with, Brax thought as his ship cleared the shields. Bank left, he found a spot that wasn't choked with incoming and outbound traffic and put the Shadow Hand in a direction for it. Pulling up the cooridinates for Storinal, he plugged them into the navicomputer and then sat back. He gave Coruscant one last look. It was definitely a majestic world, built to rule the galaxy. He gave a fleeting look at one of the Golan stations before the hyperdrive pinged, indicating they had left the gravity of the planet. Pulling back on the hyperdrive levels, the Shadow Hand jumped to hyperspace.

[Brax Osyrus]

Sometimes, Brax questioned his sanity. He never questioned his loyalty to the Empire, mind you, but some of the tasks given to him had reached the extreme right edge of the safety spectrum.

This one was just the opposite. It was pretty much pushing the boundary of obsurdity.

Here he was, sitting in a cargo hold that had been changed to accomodate beings who needed breathable atmosphere, looking out the dirty viewport as the ancient and dilapidated cargo vessel Happy Time began to enter the atmosphere of Storinal. The synthi-skin that covered his face was comfortable enough, but it felt like a mask that covered his entire head.

Brax had known that to come to Storinal alone would be to draw undo attention to himself. So he decided to come down as part of a larger ship. So he hired a traveling circus troupe to go to Storinal and play at several different areas, including Rheanu's complex. Then Brax had taken a disguise of a Zabrak with pink and teal bubble tattoos on his face and body. While he looked like a demonic clown, he was able to secure a contract job with the troupe Galactic Party and would only recieve a cursory search. He had no doubts about his fake IDs, since they were real. His only concern was that the horns on his head would shift or fall out during a routine.

So here he was, Brax Osyrus, Hand of the Empress, slayer of traitors to the Empire... add to that, Bobus the Clown, juggler and knife thrower.

As the ship shuttered from the atmospheric entry, he shook his head. The things that loyalty demands of us, he thought.

[Brax Osyrus]

Closing the door, Brax looked and sealed himself into his own room. He stayed at the door, and spread out his senses in the Force, searching first the room, and then the surrounding areas of the mid-level complex that they were inhabiting. He sensed no security cameras or listening devices in the area, so he withdrew his search and sat down on his bunk.

As far as jobs go, this was one of the easier ones. He wasn't being shot at, or fighting ganglords to the death... Instead, he was using the force to juggle balloons filled with paint around and around and then letting them hit his horns and explode with pink and teal paint on him. The kids squealed with laughter and then they crawled all over him.

Brax had never been one for kids and he didn't like them crawling on him, but his job and his Master required him to endure it.

Now, away from them, he grabbed a towel and wiped the paint off his face. Then he stripped of his clothes and stepped into the shower, turning up the water and the heat. The grease, paint and tattoos that he had on his body dropped off to the floor along with the fake horns. His arrival identity was done and he wouldn't need it again.

Twenty minutes later, as the sun began to set over the cultivated hills, Brax stepped out of the shower and dried off. He donned his black tunic and pants, boots and a utility vest. Over all of that he pulled on a black hooded cloak as was the style of the middle class of Storinal during this season. He hid his blaster, vibroblade and lightshotos on his body and waited. The sun would be down within moments and Brax would be free to track his prey.

He downed a power bar and then opened a window. Feeling the cool crisp air on his face and head, he felt invigorated. Then as the last wisp of sunlight faded, he jumped...

[Brax Osyrus]

Using the force to slow his descent, Brax landed lightly on his feed in the dark and deserted alley that ran by his hotel under his window. He had chosen a room on the 8th floor so that if there was any suspicion, it wouldn't be on him. Glancing around he made sure no one saw him, and then he left the alley pulling his hood over his head, blending in with the party crowd that had gathered for tonights reverie. It was a local holiday, but according to some of the patrons at the bar he was at earlier, it was widely celebrated.

Of course Brax knew that and had arranged for the circus to arrive just in time. Their 2nd show of the day had been at the private estate of Rheanu and while he had not been on stage, he had made a mental note of the layout of the buildings. He could have gone to the public records and made a copy of them, but that would have alerted someone to his interest. Instead, he made mental maps, using the Force to remember the details of security posts and guards as well as hidden rooms behind walls that housed weapons and more guards. Then he had gone back to his room, he plugged those in on the map that his Master had given him, and made a comprehensive holo map of the estate and its security. He had downloaded it to his arm holo unit that was built into his right gauntlet. Now, as he walked with the crowd, he did take a moment to look up at the stars in the sky and to feel the jubiliant carefree atmosphere of the crowd. He drew in their warmth, but didn't lower his guard at all. He had seen others that had done such a thing and it was the last mistake they had made.

Moving with the crowd, he turned down Promenade Way and flowed with the crowd. He knew that as they approached the high end homes of the Highlands, that most of the crew would divert to the beach, but that was okay. He could hide his presence in the force from a few wandering eyes, but it would have been more difficult with a crowd around him. Slowly the crowd thinned out as they reached the bars that would be their homes for the next couple of hours. Still Brax continued on. As the rest of the group reached the beach and ran down onto the sands, Brax stepped into the shadows and disappeared. He waited for the group to pass and then gave it another 5 minutes to make sure another group wouldn't show up.

Then he stretched out with the Force to sense any attention or watchfulness that was directed his way... there was none.

Quietly, he stepped out of the shadows and made his way down the empty boulevard. Rheanu's estate was at the end of street with several counter measure to detect and defende against intruders that tried to break in...

That was, defend against those who didn't have the Force as a weapon. Plus, Brax wasn't going to come through the front door...