Fate's Delusions: Closer to the Enemy

[Jalib Brandl]

“Okay, flyboy, I’m gonna catch some bunk-time now. You’ve got the controls,”

Moranda languidly stretched her arms into the air, then sat up and got out of the pilot’s chair. Without another word, she walked out of the cockpit and vanished into the ship’s interior.

Jalib yawned, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. The trip to Salliche was almost at an end - they had been in space a little longer than a day - and in spite of Moranda’s first intention to let him earn his “fare” and fly the ship, she had been at the controls all the time.

Not like I’d really expected anything else - no pilot gives up the pilot’s chair of his own ship voluntarily. And Moranda might as well be glued to her chair… wonder why she’s so protective of it…

For the umpteenth time since they had started out on this trip, he asked himself why he had agreed to let her come along. What made her so interested in visiting this Locus Green - why now? What was her connection to Green, that it was so important she go now?

For the umpteenth time also, he wondered why he didn’t just simply pick the knowledge from her own mind. He knew he could do that - he had done it before. Yet he had done it then because his life had been in danger, because using that skill had saved his own life - and that of his two companions - when the band of thugs on Commenor had tried to waylay them. Then, it had been out of his own defense - but now, what would it be now, if he tried to see into Moranda’s thoughts? Somehow, he didn’t think the Jedi would approve of it. Somehow, it wasn’t right.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t snoop around in other places. Slowly, he got up from his own seat and sat down in the pilot’s chair. Once in it, he let his hands wander down its arm-rests, to the cushions he was sitting on. His fingers detected nothing out of the ordinary, no hidden pockets let into the material that covered the chair’s hard metal.

He sighed. Maybe it was really nothing else but the usual pilot’s fierce protectiveness of her ship.

Settling himself into the chair, he checked the controls before him one last time, then leaned back and closed his eyes.

<img src=http://theblackhand.clanpages.com/Jalib.jpg>

[Locus Green]

It was an average day on the planet of Salliche. The sun was at its daily apex as it shone down on the various crop fields and a gentle breeze rustled the tops of the plants and trees. The raspy laughter off three old men could be heard as they sit in chairs trading old wartime stories, most of which all of them had heard from the other time after time, but that didn’t seem to matter to any of them as they ranted on drinking their beers.

This scene didn’t last all that long as the three didn’t have the stamina for drinking that they used to back in their prime, and two of the men left, leaving a single silver haired and wrinkled face one there alone.

A data-pad on the table next to where he sat began to blink and beep, indicating there was a communiqué for him. He touched his hand to the pad and the screen lit up with a face, one of another older looking individual.

“This is Locus.”

The face on the display answered. “I have that name you were asking about, and the location. I don’t know what you would want with this stuff, but here you go.”

The silver haired man sitting in the chair on his veranda grinned and answered with a response that merely shrugged off the messenger’s curiosity, without addressing it, and he got his information.

The screen on the data-pad went blank again and Locus picked up his drink with a wide, deceptive looking grin. Life was good.

[Moranda Savich]

A frown creased her already wrinkled forehead - she was watching her passenger as he examined the cockpit she had vacated not long ago. It had taken her a while to rig the system so it would broadcast from inside the cockpit directly into her cabin - he had been watchful and suspicious all the way. But she had managed, and right under his eyes - something she now felt rather proud of.

<He's a Jedi - I'm damned lucky he didn't suspect this...>

She'd fed his other suspicions well, as she could see now. He was obviously convinced she was hiding something under the pilot's seat.

Moranda grinned to herself as he finally shook his head and sat back down in his chair. For now, it seemed she was safe.

<Time to worry about something else... I wonder what Old Locus is going to say when we just bust in on him like that...>

She had tried to access the Holosystem, to get a message out to him, but with Jalib sitting there, that had been too dangerous; it was placed right beside Jalib, and she couldn't very well have called Locus from there. No, she would have to use the private comm-system she had hidden in her cabin - once they got close enough to Salliche.

That was what she was doing right now. Waiting. She'd know the moment they left hyperspace - it would be up to Jalib to get them to their destination.

<img src=http://delirion.clanpages.com/siglab/Moranda.jpg>

[Locus Green]

Late evening was approaching quickly as stars filled the night sky above the man as he sat and finished his drink. The effects of what he had consumed were quickly catching up with him as he nodded off in his chair a couple times, almost spilling his drink.

”I’d better turn in for the night.” He thought to himself after popping back up from passing out briefly.

With that he rose from his chair, carried his glass into the kitchen, and headed off to his bed, walking rather like a drunkard, bumping into things and finding the wall a good stabilizer along the way.

This was not how he normally carried himself, but retirement and his recent successes were reason for celebration. He hoped things continued as they were and didn’t take a turn for the worse as he slipped into slumber.

[Jalib Brandl]

Something pinged. With a start, Jalib sat up, disturbed from his dreamless sleep. It took him a few seconds to recover his bearings, then he remembered where he was.

Moranda's ship. He was sitting in the cockpit of Moranda's ship. And the noise he had heard had been the navicomp warning him. The Jedi rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, stretched, then finally leaned forward to take a look at the comp console. Another moment later, he pulled the lever back and dropped the ship out of hyperspace.

There wasn't any sign of his illustrous companion. He wondered about that, but didn't have time for much more, as the comm-system started buzzing and the authorities began asking questions.

He hadn't expected Moranda to set a course that would drop them out of hyperspace so close to Salliche. Under usual circumstances, they would have to have gone on a slow approach to the planet - one that would have taken them several hours to get within the radius of the authorities. Jalib wondered at this, too.

Answering as well as he could, with what Moranda had told him to say, they got their landing permit without the slightest problem. The authorities seemed lax, but it wasn't for him to complain about that.

Once he had entered the planet's atmosphere, another message reached him. Someone was asking for spaceport fees. now that was something he hadn't known about - that even Moranda hadn't told him of. The question was if she even knew about it. Under the circumstances, it would be best if he called her back.

So he activated the comm, and called for her.

"Moranda? There's someone asking us for a fee to land down there - I don't think..."

She walked past him before he could get the sentence finished, and ripped the comm receiver out of his hand.

[Moranda Savich]

"Get out of the way!"

Moranda hissed at him as she grabbed the comm controls. She was in a bad mood now - those damned spaceport types had been trying their luck with her one time too many now; and it was their own stupidity's fault that she wasn't going to do them any favours by playing nice.

"You greedy band of mynocks - you wish you'd be trampled flat in Bantha dung before I'm finished with you idiots.... spaceport fees?!?? Have you completely lost whatever's left in your friggin hare-brains? SPACEPORT FEES?!??! This is Salliche, you morons - a damn dustball populated by a bunch of farmers; not Coruscant - who the friggin drok do you think would be stupid enough to pay you for landing on your bloody mud-flats? They can just fly around this ball and land somewhere where they don't pay."

Moranda had a few more names for them, but those she was reserving for meeting them in person.

"Now give me those friggin landing co-ordinates and stuff those damned fees up your fat behinds!"

Smiling grimly at Jalib who was still sitting in his chair, she found the expression on his face as he listened to her curse, faintly amusing. He didn't seem all that high and mighty for a Jedi - maybe the lad was okay after all.

<Of course, now that I'm back in the cockpit, there's not a chance in the world that I can just go and contact old Locus now...>

And she spent the rest of the time until the ship set down on their assigned landing pad silently swearing to herself about that. Someone had better be there to shout at and blame, otherwise she'd take it out on Jalib after all - which wasn't very advisable, under the present circumstances.

[Jalib Brandl]

Sitting in the ship next to her, he could sense Moranda's anger stew inside her. The silence in the cockpit grew, until he was feeling almost too embarrassed to speak. But he couldn't just leave it for later...

"Errr... don't you think we should maybe contact this General Green? I'm sure he would--"

Catching the look in her eye, he stopped short. Maybe it would be better if he stayed quiet for the rest of the time, and let her do all the talking. He just hoped she'd recover her temper before they got to Green, otherwise the old man was likely not to be very forthcoming.

If he would be at all. Just because Pepper had insisted that Locus Green had been a friend of his father's, it did not mean he would be free with his information - people rarely were, in this Galaxy.

There wasn't anything he could do about it. Moranda would know what to do - he didn't have any other option besides following her to wherever she wanted to go. So that's what he was going to do.

With a resigned sigh, he sank his head back on the chair, and watched the planet rush up before him. It was mainly green, with a few brown and light specks in it - Salliche was an agricultural planet, housing not only the headquarters of the Salliche Agricultural Company (SallicheAg), but it was also the main producer of grains in this sector. He hadn't been there before - Salliche wasn't a place anyone would want to visit, under normal circumstances. Well, there was always a first time for everything...

When they reached the spaceport, he watched Moranda as she set down the ship onto the ground with a grim smile, and then stared out of the front viewer to see if the officials were anywhere around.

He hoped they had better sense than that.

[Moranda Savich]

After the ship's boarding ramp had lowered, Moranda reached an arm into the cargo hold and grabbed an odd-looking black bundle; then she stepped behind the 'fresher. Moments later, as Jalib nervously turned his eyes into the direction where she had vanished to, the woman who appeared from the 'fresher was not Moranda.

At least not physically so. The old woman who now walked back up to Jalib looked nothing at all like her - grey-haired, an old black cloak hanging in tatters from her shoulders, a face in wrinkles, and a very unpleasant odour coming from her. When the old hag finally opened her mouth to speak, she disclosed a mouth full of rotted teeth, and a foul stench wafted out into the air between them.

"Well, come on laddie - it's time to go make a visit to the old man, before his memory leaves him."

The way she was thinking now, the only way to get at Locus without him taking much notice of her until she'd have time to talk to him alone, would be in this ridiculous outfit. Sometimes she even surprised herself to what lengths she would go to keep her presence hidden. Especially the smell...

For now, she'd forgotten about the spaceport officials - they'd get their due sooner or later, anyway. No, she was now concentrating on the meeting that was to come, and that was enough to concern herself with. The poor lad walked along behind her a little dejectedly - she couldn't blame him for wanting to stay away from that stench she was giving off; hell, she wanted to get away from that herself. but at least he was walking along, and not going off on mad dashes on his own; who knows what damage he'd do here if he was given half the chance. Jedi could never be trusted for anything, and this was Adalric's son on top of that.

The spaceport staff were giving the pair odd looks as they passed them; not a few of them were only kept from disposing of Moranda with rougher means by the fact that she was already walking into the right direction. But they looked as if they woulnd't mind making sure that she really would leave, and only Jalib's presence kept them from doing that.

<The lad's not so dumb as to believe that, though - but if he doesn't know by now that I've got me ways of getting out of any situation, then he really is dumb and deserves whatever's coming to him at any point>

The couple were drawing hostile stares from every direction as they walked through the streets. Salliche wasn't a very busy planet, and its cities weren't greatly populated. As such, the streets drew enough people to make the local speeder traffic dangerous to pedestrians - on the way to Locus' house, they would have been run over a few dozen times if it wasn't for Jalib's quick Jedi-reflexes. But they got there in one piece - even though Moranda's cloak was looking a little more tattered at the end of their walk, if that was at all possible.

They took the steps up to the house's entrance, and Moranda let Jalib lead for once. He activated the door announcer, and settled in for a wait. So did Moranda - if only so that it appeared to be; no, in reality, she was poised next to the door, so she could get a good grip on Locus' neck when he'd get there.

[Locus Green]

This morning had been particularly rough for him. The drinking the night before had been a taxing thing. He had forgotten that he wasn’t as young as he used to be and would pay dearly for not being more cautious with the spirits.

He had finished his breakfast and was lazing around his home, still trying to kick the severe ache in his head when he heard a knock at the door. A nock that to him sounded as if it was a Speeder breaking the sound barrier, its volume so amplified by his condition.

“Oh Dren!”

He said quietly, as he raised his hands to his ears, trying to drown out some of the sound. It was too late, the damage was already done and his head hurt even worse now. He quickly rose from his chair, not really eager to have visitors, but eager to keep them from knocking on the door again. His old legs weren’t fast enough, the knocking cam again, this time he was closer and the sound was even more painful.

Needless to say, when he opened the door to see who it was, he didn’t look all too pleased or act too courteous. His voice had just begun to spit out the words:

“What the frell do you….”

And he was cut off before he could finish. The old looking woman at the door rushed at him, grabbing him by the neck and pulling him inside as she slammed the door behind, striking the man accompanying her in the face with it, as it slammed shut and locked behind.

[Jalib Brandl]

Jalib had been walking alongside Moranda in her disguise. He had to admit that she was good at that sort of thing - still, it had made him a little suspicious as to her motives.

What did she have to hide if she could not even set foot on a backwater planet like this without disguising herself?

The question repeated itself, again and again, as the two of them had slowly walked to the house Moranda knew where to find. It had stayed with him during all the time on the dusty side-streets, where they'd had to ask for directions because Moranda had found herself lost again; had survived the dozen-odd near-fatal accidents with what seemed to be the local swoop-gang, and it was still with him as they had walked up the stairs to Green's house.

And all this time, another nagging feeling had been spreading in his gut: What would he ask the old man once he would see him face to face? Would Locus Green give him the information he was looking for, simply because he was his father's son? What would he have to prove, to get what he had come for?

But apparently, even though she had insisted on Jalib leading on up the steps and being the one to give the call-sign, Moranda now had other plans.

Jalib was left standing with his jaw agape as the moment the old man had finally stuck out his head, Moranda had darted forward from wher she had been crouching next to the door, and grabbed him by the throat and pushed him backwards. And Jalib was left standing with his nose crushed to the door as she slammed it shut behind her.

What in space is she doing??? What is this? An attempt to trick me?

No matter what he tried, he could not second-guess his father's first wife. And the longer he was standing out there, the stronger became the feeling that something about the situation stank. But he wasn't prepared to bust his chances at finding information by knocking down the door and alerting the security forces to himself. No - he would wait patiently; Moranda would rue the day she'd try to trick him in any way.

Jalib stood back, and rubbed his nose absently.

[Moranda Savich]

She had him in a rough grip pinned to the wall next to the door. His left hand was floundering in the air, trying to grip something... possibly the door activation mechanism, or some kind of security system, but she didn't intend to give him the pleasure of getting help. With a swift movement that belied the years the disguise put on her, she punched the old man in the stomach, then brought her knee up to bear on his jaw as he doubled over. Green's head impacted against the wall, and he groaned loudly.

Moranda stepped back and inspected her handiwork: he was again hunched over, holding his stomach with one hand, but he seemed a little uncertain whether he shouldn't rather let it join the other hand where it was holding his head straight; with his eyes closed, he was huffing and puffing and coughing, trying to get his breath back, too.

She was satisfied - he wouldn't have the necessary strength anytime soon to try something similar on her; besides, he was old school - punching a woman anywhere simply wasn't good style to someone of his upbringing (at least so she hoped).

She finally talked, and it sounded like a low grunt into the silence of the empty corridor that lay betwen front door and living room.

"You done wheezing and coughing yet? How am I supposed to make myself heard over all that ruckuss you make, eh?"

Something seemed to strike a bell within the old man's head at hearing her voice. And it was true - she hadn't modulated it like she would have if she'd met anyone else. She figured she didn't need it now, and making herself known to him was after all what she was here for now.

"Yeah, it's me, you oaf! We need to talk before that gangly fella out there gets a chance to squeeze you for information."

[Locus Green]

This day was starting out to be a bouquet of roses. Not only did he have a raging hangover but now he had been assaulted by what looked to be an old woman. His head had been hurting from just the sound of the knocking, and now it was downright killing him from the slam against the wall and knee to the jaw.

He was beginning to catch his breath from the blow he took to the stomach, and looked up to get a clearer look at her face, still not able to stand fully, due to the pain in his gut. With a hand he shifted his jaw, checking to see if it was broken.

The sides of his mouth shifted some as if he had something in his mouth and he could now see and had heard what she had said, recognizing the voice immediately. He spit what was in his mouth at her and the tooth, hit her in the face.

“Ever the negotiator I see, Moranda. Here for more information about Adalric? If so this certainly is no way to get what you are after.”

A small dribble of blood ran from out his mouth, caused by his missing tooth.

“Did you get all dressed up just for me? Trying to make me feel better by making me look like a spring chicken when compared?”

[Moranda Savich]

She snorted. Did that man never give up a fight? Maybe she should punch him som more....

"Oh shut up, you oaf - You haven't grown any funnier with age, you know that?"

Gripping one side of her cloak, she ripped off a piece of it, and handed it to Locus.

"There - wipe that blood off, you don't look exactly presentable. You should really take better care of your appearance - you're turning into an old toothless doddering fool."

Locus took the cloth, but looked twice at it then turned it over to inspect it. By the look in his eyes, he was either contemplating twirling it to a string and choking her with it, or dropping it in disgust.

"Damn, woman - you expect me to wipe my face with your smelly rags? Emperor's Black bones, did you take up residence in a dumpster lately? The smell off this thing is worse than a crate full of rotten cabbage..."

He dropped it, after another moment. But the look in his eyes didn't bode anything too well. Moranda decided that he had been softened up enough - time for the talking to begin.

"Oh shut up, before I take pity on your old days and end your misery with a nice shot to your head. Anyway, listen to me - I want you to do me a little favour, for old times' sake."

[Locus Green]

“Favors for old times sake? This doesn’t involve me bending over and taking….”

He coughed, interrupting his own sentence. He had now caught his breath and was standing in a more straight up position, one hand rubbing his jaw. He really didn’t look all to receptive to her idea right now, but then he really had no idea what this “favor” was going to be.

“Well, get on with it and explain yourself woman, or should I say, you old hag.”

[Moranda Savich]

She nearly well would have kicked him in the shin again, for that little slip of the tongue. If it hadn't been for the importance of this entire situation, she wouldn't have held back either but given the old man the beating he deserved.

<Men… the older they get, the more childish they are...>

"Keep your dirty imagination at bay - must be the frustration of old age or something, eh? Hehehehehe…"

Just out of sheer spite, she boxed him in the ribs again, and hoped that would keep him from making any more remarks.

"Now listen: I'm not the one here for info about Adalric - the young fool outside the door is. Not just that, but he's also Adalric’s son, and--"

A sharp intake of breath made her stop in the middle of the sentence, to look at Locus. Moranda grinned.

"Heard of that name before, have we? Well, then you know what to do. I 'spose you'll have a whole lot more for him than you had for me - don't care either. I'll pry it out from him sooner or later anyway."

Locus' hand slowly reached out towards the button that activated and opened the door. Moranda saw it, and reacted to it with a short jab of her hand to his wrist. He pulled his hand back, and, with a grimace, rubbed his aching wrist with his other hand. Under his breath, he mumbled something almost inaudible about 'women' and 'never shut up'.

"And you didn’t remember that?" She grinned, then went on. "I wasn't finished yet, you oaf! Anyway here comes the favor you’re to pay me: Whatever he asks, whatever you say - you never told me anything about Adalric, is that clear?"

[Locus Green]

Not looking the least bit pleased about all of this, he cast her a glare that burned with spite, yet somewhere in his eyes, there was a spark of playfulness within. He started to shake of the aching in his wrist. But didn’t reach for the door’s activation button yet.

“And what would be in it for me if I don’t?” His voice came laced with the same things his eyes said without words.

[Moranda Savich]

“Your continued good health - that’s what’s in it for you.”

She graced him with a mischievous sparkle in her eye and a smirk on her lips. And suddenly, there was a flashing comm-pack in her right hand that he hadn’t noticed there before - bulky clothes were always good for hiding all kinds of things. She pointed at the datapad on top; and, with a twist of her hand to flip away her sleeve so he could get a better view, gave him a clear view of her thumb hovering over a large button at the side.

“See that? Your health and probably your life depends on my thumb not getting anywhere near enough to that button to press it. Because if I did that, the entire contents of this thing would immediately reach a certain high-classed Imperial Bureau. And I can tell you that you definitely don’t want what’s on this to ever get anywhere near an Imperial of any rank.”

She winked at him, and rubbed her thumb teasingly alongside the datapad’s edge, inching closer and closer to the button. Allowing him another second to consider his position, she suddenly reached out and activated the door. It swung open to reveal Jalib with his back turned to them looking out onto the street, but he had started to turn at the sound of the door.

Comradely putting her arm around the old man’s shoulders - and the datapad’s edge pushing against his shoulder blade as a reminder to him - she wasn’t able to keep the satisfaction out of her voice, or the smugness from her face. She grinned at Jalib and held out her free hand to him, grabbing his arm and drawing him inside.

“Well, lad - I want you to meet my old friend Locus here. He’s been dying to meet you, I can tell ya - the old guy’s nearly ecstatic about finally meeting you and telling you all about the good old days with your dad!”

She stamped down on Locus’ toes, and had the satisfaction of seeing his face flush red. But he stretched out his hand to the lad.

<Good. Nothing better than a bit of pain to loosen one’s tongue…>

[Locus Green]

It was difficult to hide the anger that lurked under the false expression on his face. Inside he was stewing over how he was being treated and outside he was attempting to put on the front that, she had introduced him with. She had made it quite clear that she was not messing around and any slip ups could very well prove very unhealthy. If only he was about fifteen years younger. He would have her unconscious on the floor and be doing whatever he damn well pleased.

He shook Jalib’s hand and greeted him simply.

“Hello, I’m Locus. Retired General, Locus Green.”

[Jalib Brandl]

He had been standing with his back to the door when he heard it open behind him. Turning around, there she was again, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside the door before he had time to say anything.

Jalib wondered what she was up to - maybe she had been afraid of someone overlooking them? That would certainly explain her somewhat erratic behavior now. But why had she not explained to him before?

But all that would be something he would have to consider later; For now, he had other things to think about. For the first time since they had arrived, he had the opportunity to study the man he had come to see, as they stood in the dim illumination of Locus Green’s front hall.

The old general was maybe a head smaller than Jalib, and quite thin. Outwardly, it made him seem almost fragile, his shoulders slightly hunched forward; white hair standing off his head in tufts that looked as if he had long given up on taming it. His chin and cheeks sported a stubble that looked as if a shaky hand had tried to scrape an old rusty razor over it before finally throwing it away in disgust. To all appearances, Locus Green looked the typical somewhat befuddled but essentially kind old man who would probably forget anything he was told within seconds. But the sharp intelligence in his grey eyes bespoke all that as a lie.

Jalib didn’t miss the small movement of Moranda’s foot as it stepped on the old man’s toes. It made him wonder what she had done to him before the door had opened again - and more importantly, why - but for now, those questions would have to wait for later.

When Locus Green finally stretched out his hand, Jalib took it and shook it warmly. It was a good strong grip, and suddenly the old man seemed a little less fragile than a second before. There was power behind that handshake.

"I'm sure Moranda has already told you who I am, but I believe I should introduce myself anyway. I'm Jalib Brandl - the son of one of your former clients, from what Moranda told me."

[Locus Green]

He greeted the man with his handshake and could easily get the sense that he was being sized up. It was nothing out of the ordinary from someone who one had just met.

Locus could see that this was indeed a relative of his old associate. It was easily gleaned from his eyes, even though Aldaric’s had changed some over the years and grew to contain his own insanity over time. He knew him better from before that had happened.

Waving one arm out over towards the couches in the living room area of his home Locus spoke. “Come on in and sit a spell. I suspect you have some questions.”

As Moranda and Jalib started moving towards the offered seats, Locus moved to the entrance to his kitchen, wanting to at least make the appearance that he was a gracious host.

“Something to drink for either of you?”

He asked with a faked polite tone in his voice. He too was sizing up Jalib, but in a much more subtle way than just gawking at him as they were introduced. He was testing to see how anxious he would act to get to the purpose of his coming here. And Locus was only beginning to test that patience with his façade of graciousness. There would be much more to come.

[Moranda Savich]

Moranda resolutely walked over to one of the couches and sat down with a loud sigh, announcing that she was comfortable there. It was evident to her that both men were trying to observe one another, waiting for the first move. It almost made her laugh out aloud.

She took the old man up on his offer for drinks, of course.

"You have any Gralish', by any chance? No? Then I'll have some caf. And something suitably Jedi for the boy here… herbal tea, or something."

She grinned maliciously at Jalib, who scowled at her and asked somewhat more politely for caf instead.

Locus shambled off into the food preparation area around a corner, mumbling under his breath. Moranda took the chance to lean forward towards Jalib and whisper at him.

"He's playing games with you. He wants--"

[Jalib Brandl]

"He wants to test my patience, yes. I've noticed."

Jalib finished her sentence for her, still sitting back. Then he leaned forward, and his steel-grey eyes met hers in a cold stare that made her retreat into her cushions.

"Stay out of this, Moranda. I know well enough what he’s trying to do. I don't need your help for this. You wanted to come along – fine; but I suggest you let me handle things from here."

Jalib was feeling a little annoyed at her behavior. For someone as apparently uninterested in his father’s fate as she was, she wasn’t being too convincing at it; it made him wonder how much she really knew, and how much she was withholding from him. It could quite possibly be that this entire journey to meet this old man had been totally unnecessary, and she had come here for quite another reason than the one she had given him. There was something going on between those two, and it interested him very much to find out just what exactly that was.

Again, the temptation was there to simply probe her mind about her intentions and knowledge; but he forced himself not to give in to it. He was a Jedi – even with the little tuition he had gotten, he knew that it was against everything held dear by the Jedi to do that. No, he would not, therefore.

Unless he had no other choice.

But where is the dividing line? How do I judge whether I have the right to do this? How do I judge whether I have no other choice left to me? It is but my own choice, based on my own point of view – how can I judge simply by my own view of a situation?

Locus’ return was heralded by the smell of freshly roasted caf. It tore Jalib away from his thoughts, and he forced himself to focus on the here and now instead. It was no good worrying about something that might not be needed at all. Thanking the old man, he raised the steaming cup to his lips and took a careful sip.

The silence grew in the room. He was determined to let the old man’s curiosity get the better of him first, rather than giving in himself. Instead, Jalib casually complemented him on the quality of his caf, then added,

"It must be nice for you to get a bit of peace and quiet after all those years in the military."

[Locus Green]

From what he could see this far, Jalib was either a patient man or a smart one. These Jedi types were always a tricky sort. He had learned that long ago, especially in his dealings with Jalib’s Father.

Sitting back in his chair and making himself comfortable, still trying to shake off the hangover, mixed with the lingering aches from Moranda’s assault. His body creaked and popped some as he did, and as it did he let out a paltry laugh.

“Sometimes it is too quiet.” He replied, just after taking a sip from his caf.

Looking from Jalib to Moranda, he could discern that she was nervous about what he might say when the subject of Jalib’s father did finally come up, even through all the cosmetics she had the creases in her face and forehead were prominent, more so than they had been before.

“What has the son of Adalric seen fit to do with his life, might I ask?”

He took another sip from his caf, shifting in his seat some, ignoring the scowls directed at him by Moranda.

[Jaalib Brandl]

Jaalib's answer was a non-committal grunt. He didn't like talking about it with people he didn't know - even if it might make things easier with the old man.

Eventually, seeing that both Moranda and Locus were looking at him for a little more than just that grunt, he added,

"This and that. Nothing worth talking about. Certainly nothing as ilustrious as my father, I am sure of that."

Suddenly he grew annoyed at himself for playing games like these. He certainly didn't have time for it - it mightn't be going after the way Moranda had planned it (for such she surely had, judging by her behavior), but he wasn't here to do things her way.

He decided to come straight to the point.

"I understand that you have some information about my father's last years?"

[Locus Green]

Now this was interesting, his simple question appeared to have hit a nerve. It was obvious by how Jalib had answered, hesitantly and then immediately changing the subject. In a way it was a small victory for Locus. He had unknowingly squeezed the young man into showing he was eager for the information he had come for.

A crooked grin grew on his old wrinkled lips as Jalib seemed a little annoyed . It was laden in the tone in which he posed his question. Yes, it was clear that Locus had struck a nerve, but he wouldn’t rub any salt into the wound. He would try to act as if he wasn’t really aware of what he had done.

Sitting forward in his seat some and setting down his drink, Locus looked next to himself at Moranda, then he looked back to Jalib. His voice seemed calm and had the hint of elderly feebleness in it as he replied.

“Your father’s last years were certainly the most interesting of those illustrious ones, though I’m not sure illustrious is such a good word for them.”

He had stressed the word interesting on purpose, hinting that there was a long story involved, something he wasn’t sure he should tell all the details of to the man’s son. There were some things people were better off not knowing about their predecessors, and a few of those details could probably fit into that category.

[Jaalib Brandl]

“Yes, I am sure of that.”

Jalib said, with a bitter and somewhat sardonic smile. Bloodthirsty, corrupting and power-hungry would be a better choice of words for my father…

There was something about the old man that was beginning to irk him. So far, they had been wasting each other’s time, more than anything else, but Locus seemed determined to have it his way. The slow way. And Jalib was feeling more and more impatient.

Maybe the old man needed a little more incentive to tell him all he knew.

It was an instinct – he was not even thinking about his actions – when he leaned forward across the table, and stared at the old General with eyes that did not hide his annoyance and rising anger. His words he had not intended as a threat – far from that – but they seemed little else when he finally addressed Locus again, in a dreadfully cold and brutal tone of voice.

“Why don’t we dispense with the unnecessary pleasantries from here on? It seems a waste of time to me. I think it would be very wise of you to tell me everything you know – not just the interesting parts. Otherwise I might be forced to find other ways to convince you to tell me, and I am sure you would like that even less than I do.”

[Locus Green]

He found this boy’s threat almost amusing but didn’t let it show. Was this whelp not aware that the former General had been trained well in the arts of espionage and could endure any kind of torture, even force induced if he so chose?

It was truly pathetic how brazen the boy had suddenly become. Seeing such a thing made Locus believe that perhaps it would be Jalib’s destiny to follow in the footsteps of his father, a pathway to failure and insanity.

Locus moved forward in his seat and meet the young man’s eyes with his own, a steely gray gaze of indifference.

“Who are you to speak of wisdom, boy?” Came his response in a mocking tone.

“The likes of you do not come into my own home and make such demands. Besides, what is in it for me to tell you anything? You may think you have methods of extracting what you want, but I guarantee that you are mistaken.”

Locus sat back in his seat and picked up his drink taking a sip, before returning the cup to its place next to him.

“Its pretty obvious that you are the one here that is being unwise. You want something from me, and you make threats. Are you a fool?”

[Moranda Savich]

Moranda could see that this wasn’t going too well. To say that she hadn’t expected it would have been a lie - yet she hadn’t thought the boy would be so foolish as to make threats. It surprised her to no small extent - what she had seen and heard from him so far hadn’t really indicated he would react like that.

Then again, dear old Locus was as much a fool to think he could talk like that to someone with even just the smallest amount of ability in the Force - that he did so to Jalib, whose strength he didn’t even know, was more than foolish; it was downright stupid.

She decided it would be best if she stepped in and ended this nonsense here and now.

“Ahem… might I…”

She broke the hostile silence between them, in a voice just loud enough to catch their attention. Once their heads were both turned towards her, she waited for another few seconds to make sure she really had their attention; but they both scowled at her with the same expression of rising irritation and anger. Almost in unison, it gave way to a growled “what do you want?” from both of them.

Her voice rising about 250% in pitch, she slammed her fist on the table between them and shouted,

“BOTH OF YOU - SHUT UP! Stop behaving like children!”

Two pairs of eyebrows rose, two pairs of eyes staring at her widely - but the anger on their faces wasn’t gone yet. Instead, it seemed to find a new focus: her. And she couldn’t allow that to happen; so she simply ignored their stares and snarls, and went on in a more reasonable tone of voice.

“Now - if I might point out that both of you are wrong? Jalib - what in space do you think you’re doing making those kinds of threats? I know you’re impatient to find out what the General here can tell you, but that’s no reason at all to threaten the man with torture if he doesn’t hurry up; you’re a Jedi - so behave like one.”

Jalib looked visibly taken aback by what she said - almost as if for the first time he realised what he had truly meant with his words. It made her wonder even more about him.

Turning to the old man, she caught him with a glint in his eyes that spoke volumes about the triumph he felt she had just presented him with over his adversary.

“Oh, stop grinning, General - that’s about the last thing I want to see right now. You honestly think you could hold your own against our friend here? Against the Force? I have no doubts that maybe a few decades ago you could have tried that and might even have been successful, but I think if I were you I’d reconsider that. And while you’re at it, you might also consider the foolishness of thinking you can keep all that information to yourself - or have you forgotten that the boy here could simply use the Force to take all those memories and all that information out of your mind, without even having to ask? Sure, it mightn’t be the most ethical thing to do, but I think even I wouldn’t stop to think twice if I was dealing with as obstinate an old mule as you are.”

Locus’ triumphant grin faded away as quickly as it had come.

“So why don’t we leave the threats and idle boasts to another time, and get on with what we came here for instead?”

Looking at Jalib, she saw him nod slowly - it seemed her little admonishment had been enough to pull him back from whatever place he had gone in his mind earlier on. But one look at Locus showed that he wasn’t as easy to convince as the young man - he scowled at them both with open hostility.

<Well, if that’s how it has to be… guess I’ll need something to remind him of who’s holding the reigns here… >

Her hand pulled out the datapad she had let vanish into her pocket earlier on, and came to hold it in open view on her lap, her thumb once more idly playing with the red button on its side. She smiled at the old man, but her eyes held no warmth in them at all - he knew very well what she could do with that datapad; and after what had just happened, she no longer had any reservations about doing just that.

[Locus Green]

It was all he could do to keep from looking nervous as she toyed with the datapad, but the redness of anger on his face did an adequate job of hiding it to some extent. Hopefully the heightened emotions of the situation would keep the brash young Jedi from sensing what was going on with Moranda. Hopefully for Locus that was, being a target of the Imperials was not something he wanted at all, he was enjoying his retirement far too much for such things.

He drew in a deep breath and then let it out in a sigh of acceptance. "Alright, what is it I may be able to help you with knowing about your father?"

Came his question to Jaalib. His breathing was returning to a more normal rate, but small beads of sweat building on his forehead. This situation was not the least bit pleasing, but Moranda always did have a way of making things unpleasant, especially when she had an advantage.

[Jaalib Brandl]

Jaalib was beginning to feel ashamed about his last words, but he wasn’t going to admit to that to the old man. There was a lot of truth in Moranda’s words, yet he found himself disagreeing with some of these truths, the more time he had to think about it. He couldn’t explain it exactly, but somehow the knowledge that he was not truly Jedi was beginning to mean something to him.

How could he be Jedi? He had only shortly lived amongst them, had only spent days with his teacher - that had not been enough to make him a Jedi; surely it had not.

“Am I not just making empty excuses to justify my actions?”

That thought had been with him since childhood, somehow, and in recent weeks, had come to haunt him with increasing occurrence. He could not just push it out of his mind - it would return there, creep back in when he least expected it.

He realised that both of them were staring at him, Moranda frowning openly, Locus looking puzzled. It dawned on him then that he must have spoken his thought out aloud this time - and embarrassment washed over him.

Angry with himself, he pushed it from his mind. Let them think what they want; I’m not here to waste my time debating my thoughts.

Aloud, he said,

“I’d like to know anything you can tell me - especially anything you know about his last few years. And his death.”

[Locus Green]

It really wasn’t all that surprising to see Jaalib acting as he was, there was obviously a great deal on the man’s mind. There had to be, else he would never have come here seeking information.

Locus nodded in response to Jaalib’s clarification of what he wanted to know, and then the older man sat forward in his seat some, a distant look coming over his features as he reflected back on the events of the past. After a few moments of silence he began to speak, his old ragged voice was low and even in its tone.

“I am sure you are aware of your Father’s notarity, and that he was sought after by many in the galaxy, including the very people he allegedly allied himself with?”

It was stated as a question, but had the feel of a rhetorical one, which was futher substantiated as truth by the fact that he quickly continued.

“Well it seems there were some people of ill standing with the folk you apparently associate now, them being Jedi, and those of ill standing being somewhat darker should I say.”

He stopped for a moment and took a drink of the beverage that was beginning to grow cold, then continued on.

“It turned out that Adalric had found himself a student, whose name escapes me at the moment, and as it turns out, she was the one to betray him to those darker ones who were seeking him. Adalric and his student had taken up residence in Bast Castle, on the planet Vjun. I guess it really shouldn’t surprise you much that his student betrayed him, your Father did always seem to have a knack for getting on people’s bad sides.”

At that point Locus paused, as if he were awaiting some kind of response or maybe even some questions from Jaalib.

[Jaalib Brandl]

Something began to stir inside him as he listened. Something dark and cold, something full of anger, full of hate was trying to rear its ugly head, and with each word that he heard, managed to climb a little higher. It was an alien feeling for Jaalib, although maybe not as alien as he would have wished - it seemed something had been there hiding ever since he'd made his foolish decision to go looking for this.

He forced himself not to show any outward sign of this - forced himself not to let either of them see that he had to fight against his own dark brand of justice and vengeance. For did not his father deserve to be avenged? To have been hunted down all those years, to have come to trust another who then betrayed him - was that not reason enough to seek vengeance?

Fully well did he know that his course of thinking was leading him down a far more dangerous path than ever before. But he found himself incapable to stop - he had to know more, had to do something...

"She killed him? What was her name?"

He had to clench his teeth to go on with the questioning, yet somehow he felt there was more he should ask than what he had already.

"Where will I find her?"

[Locus Green]

“Whoa, whoa, whoa there sonny.” Locus sat straighter up and held up a hand in front of him in the gesture of telling someone to stop.

“I didn’t say anything about her killing him, or do I even remember her name, but last I heard she was still on Vjun.”

It was plain as day that Jaalib was letting his emotions guide him, but what else was a person to expect from someone seeking information about a dead relative? Though from what Locus knew of Jedi they were supposed to be in complete control of their emotions at all times. The expression on Jaalib’s face, the rhythm of his breathing having increased, and the tone of his voice sure told a different tale though, he was rattled and letting it affect him......that was obvious.

[Jaalib Brandl]

Vjun... so that's where they had been...

None of the files Jaalib had been able to find on his father's death had made any mention of the location where these events had taken place. Come to think of it, neither had he ever heard of the existence of a planet with the name of Vjun.

The old man's inability to remember the girl's name was frustrating him. And that frustration was what seemed to finally break free the growing darkness inside his heart.

Without consciously knowing how he did it, he probed into the other man's mind. It seemed like a natural thing - so easy - just a bare touch on the other's thoughts, and he could get it all.

He had knowledge at his fingertips now - he could do anything, reach out further, alter, destroy.... anything. If the old man noticed any of what was happening, Jaalib did get no sense of it. But it would not matter so much now.

He only wanted what the old man was too feeble to remember. That was all. It could not be so bad. Not truly...

[Locus Green]

Skills acquired as a high-ranking officer for the Imperials were something that Locus possessed. Reading such a man’s mind would be no simple task, even if he wasn’t aware it was being attempted. He had practiced such things for so long during his tenure, that they had become second nature and a natural state of being.

He could see the look of determination coupled with satisfaction in Jaalib’s eyes, but no more questions were posed, so the old man gave no more answers.