*A private communique is sent to Navaria.*

[Sniper Tondry]

Pierce Tondry finishes punching in his message and hits the transmit button on his datapad, swivelling in his pilot's chair. He props his feet up on the instrument dashboard and sets the datapad beside his chair, next to the ysalamiri backpack and sniper rifle.


To the Jedi Navaria:

Hey there. It's going around that you're a Jedi now. Gotta admit that's an interesting choice you made, if that info is true. When you get a break in your new training, I'd like to meet you somewhere and ask you a few questions. No threats, no attempts at capture. You come and go under my personal protection, such as that is.

Don't worry about this message being cracked. ImpIntel HQ manages to crank out some of the best encrypt codes in the galaxy several times a year, and this is their latest brainchild. On top of that, the message carries a fake holographic signiture so any computers that haven't positively ID'ed you as the recipient are going to display a big holographic ad for Cormorant Combine Fizzyglug. I thought it'd be a nice touch.

I'm currently on Ord Mantell, and I drop by there from time to time. If you're in the neighborhood, look me up.

~Sniper Pierce Tondry

P.S. Try new Cormorant Combine Fizzyglug flavor Pink Snurple!

[Navaria Tarkin]

:: receives the transmisson on her ship, The Koriolos and finds it odd that Tondry wishes to speak with her. She smiles and finds this interesting.

She slices her home brewed code together and send a transmission back ::

Tondry,

This is unexpected that an Imerpial doesn't want me dead because of my actions. Yes, I am a Jedi now. You have named the place, but you did not mention a time.

As you said your tranmission cannot be hacked, neither can mine. I was a smuggler for a long time and one of the best slicers ever.

Reply back when you can so I know where to meet you

END TRANSMISSION

[Summoner63]

**The comm officer aboard the Black Omega intercepts a holo-message...**

Comm: Sir, we just intercepted a message...

Capt: Lets see it...

Comm: Yes Sir...

**The comm officer plays the holo message for the Captain... but all that is shown is a ad for Cormorant Combine Fizzyglug...**

Capt: Comm. what the heck is this???

Comm: I have no idea sir... the decoding is correct...

Capt: You better hope so...

[Navaria Tarkin]

OOC: LMAO! nice Summ ^_^

[Sniper Tondry]

Tondry gazes out his viewport and takes a sip from a mug on his chair's cupholder. A sudden beeping causes him to spit his Forvish ale out in surprise. He rubs his sleeve against the instruments that got wet and checks his datapad.

Sure enough, there is a reply to his message. 'Damn,' Tondry thinks. 'That was fast. Guess I'd better reply.'

With a quick glance to the countryside outside his ship, Tondry begins composing his response.


Dead? Nah. Course, after Isard's done with everything both the Jedi and the Sith'll probably end up dead. But for myself, I'm just curious about a few things.

As for when, well, I'm not on assignment right now and shouldn't be for another week or so. If you head down to Ord Mantell, you'll find a homing beacon on frequency 224.152.74.83 of the comm narrowbands. It should take you to a ship outside the small town of Gespoole. The current fake ID for the ship is Pinpoint; that's how you'll know me.

~Tondry


(ooc) You busy right now? If not, I've got time to burn. If so, we can just continue this little thread at a later time.

[Sniper Tondry]

*Grins.* Good to see someone picked up and ran with my little joke. Nice job, Sums. :)

[Summoner63]

OOC:Hey i try...

[Navaria Tarkin]

OOC: what the hell! why not ^_^

:: Navaria receives the message like she knew she would and looks at the coordinates ::

Hmm...shouldn't take too long to get there and training hasnt started yet...

:: she smiles ::

I miss flying

:: puts in the coordinates for the homing becon in the nav puter on stand by and sets everything to depart. Keying in her code, Navaria sends this message back ::

I shall meet you there and shall look for your ship when I land. Navaria Out

:: the ship lifts up from Leia's Base and heads off into space. She chuckles to herself ::

"I think my new Master is already rubbing off on me. I am heading off to who knows what without really thinking it through. Hope I make her proud."

:: and with that, the stars turn to streaks as Navaria hits the controls and heads into hyperspace ::

[Sniper Tondry]

While he's waiting, Tondry finishes off his ale. As far as the planet's malleable starship traffic controllers know, the Koriolos is simply an Imperial covert operations vessel. And of course, the ship type and name are borrowed from the name of a former Sith for special reasons.

Tondry gets up and wanders outside with his datapad, bringing a spiced cigarra for a quick smoke. When he reaches the boarding ramp, Tondry glances at the sky every so often while typing out a message to the CEO of Cormorant Combine Fizzyglug, dealing with possible royalties for an ad campaign.

EDIT: Forgot to turn on my HTML again...

[Summoner63]

OOC: hey my guys better get a cut of that royalties thing...

[Navaria Tarkin]

:: the ship moves through Hyper Space and Navaria sits in deep thought as to what the Imperial Agent wishes to speak with about. Glancing at the chronometer, she knows she has about 3 hours until she reaches her destination.

Standing up, she walks to her quarters to meditate on this situation for guidance until the time arrives ::

[Sniper Tondry]

(ooc) Hope you don't mind if I skip some needless verbage here...

(ic)

Tondry finishes his note and cigarra, glances up at the sky again and returns to the inside of his ship, issuing the proper lockdown commands to prevent entry.

#####

Another beeping noise awakens Tondry from a short nap in the pilot's seat. This time, the comm is the culprit.

"Sir?" a nervous female voice asks from the other end. "The ship you were talking about has entered the incoming traffic pattern. Is there anything else you need?"

Tondry yawns and rubs his eyes. "A million credits, but that ain't happening," he replies, shaking off his sleep. "Your service to the Empire has been noted, we look upon you with favor, blah, blah, blah, and you don't have to keep looking over your shoulder for that stalker any more. Soon as I finish with what I'm doing, I'll take care of him. Permanently."

A sigh of relief is heard from the comm speakers. "Oh, thank you, sir," she gushes. "If there's anything that I can do for you-"

"There isn't," Tondry puts in.

"And I do mean anything," she pauses suggestively. "Then let me know."

Pierce yawns again and thinks for a second. "Here's what you can do," he adds. "Make sure that the local Records office doesn't keep track of this landing."

"Anything else?"

"For now, nope," Tondry chuckles, getting up. "That might change, though."

"Have a nice day, sir." Tondry briefly notes that the traffic control secretary has a dulcet voice when she's not scared out of her wits.

Hitting the button to take the ship out of lockdown status, Tondry returns to waiting by the ramp. 'Well, Navaria, Dalethria, whoever you are,' Tondry thinks to himself, staring again at the sky. 'It's time to get some answers.'

[Navaria Tarkin]

OOC: I am good with that ^_^

IC: Navaria steers her YT-1300 down in the traffic lane and veers off when she gets the clearance to head to Gespoole. Her musings into the Force have shown her nothing about this trip, but she shall keep her mind aware incase of any treachery.

She finally sees the city coming into view and scans for Tondry's ship. A readout of the Pinpoint comes up on her monitor and takes the controls to head in that direction. The landscape passes quickly in front of Navaria and it takes mere moments for her to find the ship and lands near it.

She doesn't leave just yet. Her brow furrows in concentration as she searches for anyone in the area through the Force. As far as she can tell, no one is here, but she does spot where Tondry is. The lack of Force in that area is so obvious that it must be him and his pet ysalamiri.

"Oh well, like he wouldn't get a new one after my sister killed it." Pulling up her hood, she leaves the c0ckpit and heads to the ramp of her ship to depart.

[Sniper Tondry]

About the same time Tondry spots the brown-robed figure heading towards his landed ship, a pair of pop-out laser cannons deploys from the side of his ship. The mechanical noise of the cannons alerts Tondry to the situation and he ducks inside, slamming a hand to one of the buttons inside the door.

The cannons retract, settling inside the ship with only a little metallic fuss.

Tondry steps outside again. "Sorry about that," he calls to the figure standing very still in the field outside the ramp. "It's a defense mechanism based on a four-hour lockdown timer. Only got a three hour nap in since the last lockdown, so the guns activated. Come aboard and we can talk."

There is little hesitation in Navaria's stride as she heads towards Tondry's ship. She reaches the boarding ramp and walks up it. Tondry notes the brown robe with a touch of humor, then steps out of the doorway to allow Navaria to enter. She pauses by the doorway, noting an ysalamiri on a wall-mounted nutrient frame just inside.

"A surprise for Force users I don't want to talk to," he explains, a little sheepishly. "They step inside, trigger a floor panel and- BAM- they're filled with poison flechettes from the ceiling."

"Clever," Navaria nods. "That will most certainly keep unwanted intruders out."

Tondry nods back. "Come on in," he says again, hitting the ship's lockdown button again. "I've got a small room to the right that doubles between a living area and a conference room."

Tondry leads the way and Navaria finds herself in a moderately furnished, circular room with nicer paneling than the gunmetal-gray that decorated the hallway. A holotable and four chairs sit in the center of the room, with a couch and comm line off to the right. A door lies at the back of the room, and next to that is a cooling unit that has been bolted into the wall. Tondry heads over to the unit and opens it. "Want something to drink? Ale, beer, wine... fizzyglug..."

"Ale, if you please," Navaria responds.

Tondry brings an ale over for her and sits in one of the holotable's chairs, holding a fizzyglug in one hand and a golden cigarra case in another. "I have to ask," Tondry says, getting right to the point. "Why'd you do it? Switch sides I mean?"

[Navaria Tarkin]

Navaria takes in her surroundings and is impressed by his defenses for his justified paranoia. She taps her finger absently waiting for her drink.

Tondry returns and she takes the drink with a smile and has a small sip. When she hears his question she puts the drink down firmly and looks at Tondry with a stern expression.

"You made me come out here all this way to discuss why I became a Jedi?" Her voice betrays her anger at such a statement, but she mentally calms herself, knowing that there is more to this then meets the eye. Tondry is digging for something and she needs to know what.

[Sniper Tondry]

Tondry looks a bit taken aback. "Sure," he replies. "What's wrong with that?"

"I had thought my reasons would be general knowledge by now," Navaria replies in a frosty tone.

"Hey, hey, easy," Pierce holds up his hands. "To be honest, yeah, I've heard a few things about your reasons for being a Jedi. Now I don't think a lot of Force users, and you probably know that. Seems to me that the Force does things to a person's brain- whacks them out, makes 'em nuts. That kind of thing."

Pierce's lip twitches in wry amusement. "Guess you could say I'm wondering how sane you are at the moment. Whether or not there was a human wrapped underneath all that Jedi."

[Navaria Tarkin]

Navaria looks at Tondry, her expression neutral. "If you wish to throw insults at me, then you should have joined in the Sith when they did it."

She pushes out her chair and pulls her hood over her head, "I have no time for such petty conversations. G'Journey back home and May The Force Be With You."

Navaria bows to Tondry and begins to leave.

[Sniper Tondry]

"Hey, now stop that!" Tondry protests, starting to stand. "I'm not insultin' you- really, I swear. Look-"

Tondry cuts off and drops into his seat. He stares into his fizzyglug for a second and swirls it around. "Look," he begins again in a low, husky tone. "I'm a sniper. I kill people because I'm good at it, and it's what I do. Now it's my chosen profession, mind," he raises a hand to forestall any comments. "I'm good at it, I'm working for the lawful galactic government, and I get to do whatever the heck I want between missions."

There is a pause. "But sometimes, I get to wondering about whether I'm being selfish for living my lifestyle, or whether I actually deserve it. I don't ask anything of anyone, and I give quite a bit, so I guess that makes me a good person."

(Flash)
"Nooooooo!"

Tondry does not stop to think; he aims and fires over the body of the injured little girl at his enemy.

(Flash)

"There was a kid a while back," Tondry says. "Saved my life when I was supposed to go after a dangerous criminal. I visit her grave on Bakura every so often, as you know, but there are times when I wonder at myself because I feel like I owe her something."

Tondry lifts his head to look at Navaria, his eyes dark and serious. He runs a hand through his close-cut hair and scratches the back of his head. "So, see, when I ask you how sane you are, what I'm sayin is- what I'm askin' is 'How did you figure it out for yourself?' Was it just some spurt of craziness that made everything fall into place, or did you finally work out which piece of the puzzle you were missing?"

"Because maybe there's something I could be doing to figure this puzzle out for me."

EDIT: *Kicks himself for not enabling HTML.*

[Navaria Tarkin]

Navaria turns as Tondry gets to the point and returns to her seat, listening intently to every word he says. She can feel the guilt coming from him of the dead child and her eyes turn soft. "I am quite sane, I have never been more sane then I have been in the last few days."

She crosses her legs and continues, as she pulls down her hood once more, "My clarity did not come easy. I had many trials with Master Leia to even know I had the light in me. Once that was shown, I constantly had to keep proving to my Sister, my former Master, over and over again that I was a Sith. I think that the love Dalethria felt for Ogre was just another reason to stay..."

Her voice trails off and she closes her eyes as the pain of her once family that she trusted comes forth. The lies and the deceptions strike a dagger into her heart and it takes a moment for her to continue. "To break free I had to fight my Sister and finally acknowledge the light, proving to her and then The Sith Empire, that I was playing."

Looks directly to Tondry, "Now I am honest with you. All I can offer that you need to look within yourself to see what needs to be done like I have." She takes Tondry's hand that is on the table in hers, "I know that you might not be able to do it on your own but, I will help you in any capacity that I can though. All you have to do is ask." She tilts her head and smiles.

[Sniper Tondry]

"Yeah. Yeah," Tondry says, a bit numb. "Yeah, um, thanks. Listen, I ain't too good with words when I'm trying to say somethin' important, y'know?"

He shrugs a bit guiltily. "Spies don't talk much about what they've got goin' on up here," Tondry taps the side of his head with his index finger. "We've got so many secrets to keep anyways..."

Tondry runs out of words and takes a swig from his fizzyglug. "Listen, you don't know of any Jedi mish-mash or whatnot that might increase my willpower, do you? Or a holocron on that planet- ah, what was the name..."

"You mean Dagobah," Navaria instantly looks suspicious. "This is the second time I've heard you ask this. What do you want it for?"

Tondry smiles a bit weakly. "I figured it'd protect me. Isard's got appetites, if you know what I mean. I just have the feeling that those are gonna cause trouble if I don't plan ahead."

"I'll see what I can do," Navaria says dryly. "But don't hold your breath."

Tondry chuckles. "Hey, I ain't expecting anything. Hey, listen. I want you to have something I got that... well, let me go get it."

Tondry stands and leaves the room, heading straight for the pilot's compartment. He enters and triggers a small mechanism at the base of his chair and pulls a felt-covered pouch from it. He then returns to Navaria, who is still in the lounge.

"Here," he says as he enters. "I got to thinkin' that I didn't want this showing up on the black market. Figured that even if you couldn't use it, you'd know someone who could."

He hands the pouch to Navaria, who reaches in...

... and pulls out a lightsaber.

Navaria thumbs it on and a shining gold blade appears. She takes a short, experimental swing before shutting it off.

[Navaria Tarkin]

The blade is light and swings with ease as she takes the swing. It is well made and the craftmanship on the hilt is of a great quailty. The grip is form fitting to her hand and makes it hard for her to loose her handle on it. "Thank you for giving me this gift. I will make sure that it will be put to good use. Perhaps I shall give it to my first Padawan apprentice when that time comes."

She clips the sabre to her belt, the sensation of the two weights hanging from her belt brings back memories, but she pushes them aside. "I will tell you this much about Dagobah. It is a Jedi stronghold and I would stay clear of it if I were you,"

Navaria walks back to the table and places her palms down and leans over to look at Tondry, "I am only just learning the ways of a Jedi, eventhough in my heart I have always been one. To be able to have a stronger will, the best exercise to do is this. Meditate and picture a wall being erected before your eyes. Vision each brick forming one by one. Never speed it along or there might be holes in your defense. Once the wall is up, you need to focus on it and make sure that it is stable.

Now, believe me when I say this, it may sound easy, but it is not. it will take many hours of deep concentration to learn this. For a Force user, it comes quicker, for you," she curls her lip in thought, "Weeks, perhaps months. To be able to dedicate the time to do such a task is up to you."

[Sniper Tondry]

Tondry makes a brief attempt to work through the exercise and find it more challenging than he expected. "Mother of Gurn!" he swears, shaking his head. "That's a lot of bricks, and they're all so small!"

Navaria just smiles.

"Yeah, well, I asked for it, didn't I?" Tondry grins back.

"You did," Navaria responds.

Tondry shakes his head and chuckles at himself. "Well, I'll make the time to put in to it. Thanks."

Navaria nods. "Good luck," she says softly.

Pierce scratches his head, grins, and shrugs. "Yeah. Well, I don't want to keep you too long," he says. "You'd better get back to wherever it is you were before someone misses you. I'll walk you out and unlock everything."

Navaria nods, and follows Tondry to the boarding ramp. She starts to leave when Tondry puts a hand on her shoulder. "Listen," he says seriously. "I'm not gonna go against orders, so if I do have to hunt you down I will. But if any Sith come knockin' at your door and they won't go away despite the fact that you don't want anything they're sellin, and- well- If you need a quick getaway, or a place to hide, or even someone exterminated, I'll help in any way I can."

"Course, that may not mean much coming from an Imperial sniper and spy," Tondry admits. "But I mean it."

He scratches his head again, this time in helpless confusion. "Do you get what I'm trying to say? If you need a friend, or a sniper, give me a call."

[Navaria Tarkin]

Navaria places her hand over Tondry's, "You must do what needs to be done, as must I. The Force laid our paths before us even before we were born."

She smiles at Tondry stumbling over his words, "I understand what you are saying, and I extend your invitation to one of my own. If you need me, as long as it doesn't go against my priniciples and code, you can ask."

Tondry nods and leads the way out of his ship, making sure that Navaria gets through all the traps unharmed. She gives the ysalamiri a look on the way out, making a face, wishing those creatures never existed. Her mind strays to when Luke and Leia captured her and brought her to Dantooine. Those pesky creatures surrounding her bed as she was a prisoner in the abadoned Rebel base, blocking her Force abilities so she could think clearly.

As her feet hit solid ground, she turns to see Tondry leaning on the ramp, pulling out a cigar from his jacket. "This has been enlighting for us both. Forgive my suspicions of you in the beginning. I do hope that you find what you are looking for Tondry. Peace is not an easy thing to achieve."

Navaria bows and pulls her hood up to cover her face from the sun, tucking in her Padawan braid. "May the Force Be With You on a safe trip home my friend."

Navaria leaves to her ship, the ramp lowers, and she enters. The sounds of repusolifts catches Tondry's attention as he sees the ship lift gently off the ground and rise into the sky. The landing gear gets pulled into the bays and The Koriolos heads out of view, far into the sky heading for Leia's base

OOC: nice RPG and thank you for letting me in on it. I look forward to posting to you in the future ^_^ Now it is off to bed for Navaria. The Force is telling her it is time for bed :)