Dark Fury 13 (The Cold and Broken Hallelujah)

[Marcus Telcontar]

<font color=red>

I've heard there was
A secret chord
That David played, and
It pleased the Lord
But you don't really care
For music, do you?
It goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king
Composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Your faith was strong
But you needed proof
You saw her bathing
On the roof
Her beauty and the
Moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne
And she cut your hair
And from your lips
She drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe I've been here before
I know this room
I've walked this floor
I used to live alone
Before I knew you
I've seen your flag
On the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and
It's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time
You let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show
It to me, do you?
I remember when
I moved in, you
Your holy dark
Was moving too
And every breath we drew
Was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe there's a God above
And all I ever
Learned from love
Was how to shoot
At someone
Who outdrew you
It's not a cry
You can hear at night
It's not somebody
Who's seen the light
It's a cold and
It's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
</font>

--

“Students of mine, students of other Masters, harken to my words and hear my wisdom! The code of the Jedi can be summed up in a simple verse it would be well to remember and emblazon on your heart. Never forget these words, else the fate of other Jedi whom fell you will suffer!

A Jedi shall have control of their emotions
A Jedi shall only know of calm
A Jedi should only be at peace
A Jedi shall not know anger
Or fear…”

A pause before the wizened old man spoke again, reducing his voice to a whisper

“Or love”

--

He was near the south pole of the fourth planet of the Arcan system, in a small town that seemed more out of sheer bloody mindness that for anything like resources or industry. More surprisingly, the town was quite considerable in size, comprising of several thousand hardy souls who either wanted or had to be here. It was known as Whitetown, a bitter and harsh place, a true frontier place where only the tough could live. It was a violent place, depressing in it’s grey tones and long nights. The roads were not sealed and were right now a frozen and filthy mud that mingled with snow that swept in with each gust of wind that swirled and occasionally blasted through the mainly deserted and quiet streets. Even given the hardy souls that lived in Whitetown, only the drunk or the ones with desperate business would brave a dusk like this one. Not even in speeders was travel advised when winter descended on Whitetown and anyone whom could got out of the place.

The old man sat inside his house on the edge of the town, the house next to the main road into Whitetown - although calling the bare earth that stretched through barren mountains and freezing forests was pushing the definition of main road to the extreme. You just did not travel by anything else other than stratocruiser on this part of the planet, conditions were just too bad for standard transports to hope to survive in anything else other than the best of the conditions. And for 6 months of the year, Stratocruiser was the only thing that could battle the elements to arrive in this place. Hence, it was effectively cut off from the rest of the planet.

Thence, the old man just did not expect to see what he did. For in between snow flurries, he saw a medium height figure seem to materialise, walking toward Whitetown. A blast of snow blocked everything out again and when it settled, there was no one. The old man grunted.

“Heh, must a been seeing things again. Who in der right mind be out on a night like this?” He continued to sit in his chair, just looking out the window, like he would do every dusk. It was something he did as he was in a way the gatekeeper of the town, if the truth be told, most of the residents thought he was good for nothing else. So the old man would just watch, breaking his vigil for food and sleep, to occasionally welcome new arrivals or visitors who braved the road, or to send off those he saw as troublemakers at the point of a blaster, for even if Whitetown was a place of people who almost by definition were outlaws, there was a desire for peace. Maybe he was a wizened and frail looking old man, but he was tougher than bedrock. Still sharp eyes and hearing, still quick of hand and of mind. Had to be to survive a place as harsh as this, where even survival was difficult at times.

He was called The Old Fool by most, Jost by those whom really knew him and knew what he was like. Jost had been one of the few to have been born in Whitetown, in fact his family was one of the longest to have been here, 9 generations. Now there was 11, not by him but a brother whom had died, leaving a son to continue. Jost had seen the grandchild not long ago, before the winter began to set in. A child about 10, a true rareity in Whitetown.

His musing were broken as a pause in the snow revealed his eyes hadn’t been playing tricks. Much closer now, there really was a figure struggling through the conditions. It seemed to be shuffling, occasionally disappearing in the snow, once or twice tripping, but always still getting up and moving ever closer, quite clearly now aiming for Jost’s home. He could now see the figure was well wrapped against the cold, to the point it was just a black furry blot, with only limbs distingusable. A few more minutes showed that Jost’s summation was correct, the figure was indeed aiming for his home, which made some sense. No one in their right mind would have attempted that road on foot, not even the new troops of the republic who now apparently based themselves on Arcan that Jost had heard a bit about.

“I wonder why he be walking anyway?” he pondered out loud.

A moment later, the door rang with a few thumps of presumably this stranger knocking on the door. Picking up his blaster, the old man went to the door in his unfussed and unhurried manner. Touching the electronic lock with a wrinkled finger, it clicked and the door opened inwards, allowing the bitter cold, wind and snow, to reveal a vaguely human figure in black clothing and coats. Not a scrap of skin could be seen and the effects was rather unsettling, even for Jost. His eyes widened in surprise. But his voice didn’t fail.

“Can I be helpin you?”

The figure stayed still, not answering. Jost was about to repeat the question when the figure simply began to fall forwards, much like a tree being felled. The figure crashed to the floor, then to lie prone and unmoving. Jost stared down for a moment in surprise, before his mind finally kicked into gear. He dragged the figure inside, closing the door to stop further heat loss. He then moved back and crouched, fingers pulling away what he now saw was hastily wrapped clothing from the head, to reveal a human male, face almost bone white from the freezing cold, with bruises and cuts that had only recently clotted evident. The man was breathing irregularly, sweat and frost on his face.

“Well I be damned! What happened to you?” There was no answer, but Jost wasn’t expecting one. This man had clearly used just about all of his strength to reach Whitetown and was barely holding onto life as it was. “Heh, I be getting you a doctor!” exclaimed Jost, getting up and moving for the communicator.

--

“Well, he was healthy before whatever happened to him and the exposure. That’s about the only reason why he’s alive now, although I doubt it will be for much longer” The medic, a woman was fairly thickset closed her box of instruments with a snap, as if passing sentence that was irrevocable. In some sense, Jost would have agreed with that notion, looking at the human that was now lying covered with sheets. No colour had returned to his face, the breathing hadn’t improved either. Jost would have said that the man was only surviving out of sheer bloodymindness, because the stranger was a fearful mess.

“So, what be happening to him?”

“If you want my opinion, I say if you walked back along the road for about 24 hours, you’ll find a speeder wreck. Our friend here would have survived and been forced to walk here. Quite an effort, considering how busted up he is. Walked on a broken leg too, internal injuries, blood loss… he’s so deeply in shock right now I really doubt he’s coming out. For what it’s worth, I’ve set the leg and fixed the really bad stuff, but I really think it’s a waste of time. He’ll be dead by morning, if not sooner”

Josh had seen enough of death that he had to agree. How the man had even struggled to get here in the first place was remarkable in itself. How he had continued by force of will to live that long was another. But the struggle had been too much and the man was now basically in a coma. “Aye, well, I guess I’ll keep him comfortable and warm, even if he can’t notice. Poor bastard, going through all that and dying anyway. Seems pointless”

“Maybe. Well, I had better be going Jost. You’ll be okay putting him underground tomorrow?”

“Aye, I will. Wont be the first. Coupla graves that were dug out before the winter a bit up the road. Might get Det to help if I need it. What you want done with his pack and the other things we found on him?”

“Keep them. If we can’t identify him, then it’s yours. Not likey we will be able to tho. If he’s important, someone will come looking and I think they’ll appreciate his personal items”

“Aye. Well, you better be off Doc. Thanks for coming out”

“No problem Jost” She looked at the stranger on the bed. “Pity he’s dying, I’d have loved to find out how he got all those scars. The one on his back is incredible”

“Aye, I’m sure he’d have a story to tell. Best be off if yer going Doc”

“Hope he dies quietly Jost. Goodnight” With that, the medic left the room and then the house. Jost waited until the medic was well gone, before turning back to the man whom was dying on the bed. The old man looked about, before moving to a pile of blankets he had put out, a hand probing then extracting a longish cylinderal object. The old hands regarded the device, old eyes sparkled and the frown deepened. He had found this on the man and as it troubled him, had hid it. Now, he regarded the device, somehow becoming deeply moved.

Jost sat down, the cylinder now resting on his lap. It wouldn’t be long now before the stranger died. He surely couldn’t last much longer.

--

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya flicked the comm on the Chevvette57, and then flicked it again. She frowned, and fiddled with the controls. There was a transmission coming in, but it was quite faint, and riddled with static.

"Stay on your current course and do not deviate." Arcan ground control blasted over the comm, and Arya clapped her hands over her ears, and turned the volume down.

"Copy that Control. Kiss of Luck out." She left the link to the Arcan IV ground control open, because they got nervous if you cut communications with them suddenly. But the other, fainter transmission was niggling at her mind. Arya set the comm to record and decided she would study the mysterious signal after she touched down.

She jiggled the controls, and the comm squawked at her, Control having a nervous breakdown again. Arya growled, and stayed on her course, giving the comm a rude gesture only a Twi'lek would understand. Tohmahawk better be here, or else I'll really get pissed.
___________

Once safely docked, Arya walked back to her cabin, grabbing her jacket and blaster. In a trunk at the end of her bunk lay a much better weapon, but she left it there. She didn't want to be caught with one of those on this planet of all places. Security was tight, and they tended to shoot first and ask questions later.

Tohmahawk was in command on this backside of a Hutt planet, keeping the NRSF in line...or suffiently out of line, depending on who you asked. Arya didn't ask anyone. She was here for one reason only. The deal he had hired her on had gone sour, in a bad way. The clone had disappeared, and TBH had booted her out in no uncertain terms after the apprentice had gone missing.

She was lucky to be alive at all. And so here she was, coming to report, and gather every last credit that was owed her. Hopefully she wouldn't be thrown out of any windows this time. Arya strapped her blaster down under her jacket, and paused. The message.

Turning to the console in the cabin, she brought up the badly garbled recording. She quickly screened out the static and cleaned up the atmospheric background noise with a few taps on the console. It seemed to start at the end of a loop.

"...crashed....can four ...pole. I...king...settlement.........." The loop restarted after a short pause on the recording. "Gener...hawk....distress...damag....speeder....she d on....four..south...ole...Making...sett..ment....W hitetown...."

Arya frowned, and went to the cockpit. The transmission was still being sent, so she worked with the comm system. If there was more, it was too garbled for the system to decipher.

"Frelling -!" She cursed vehemently, and kicked the pilot chair. What the frell was Whitetown?

[Marcus Telcontar]

Through the night Jost waited… and waited… and waited. The breathing continued to come raggedly, the man occasionally moaned, mostly however stayed silent, apart from the laboured breathing. And to Jost’s surprise, the bastard lived till dawn.

The medic was equally surprised when she came mid morning.

“Well, I would have given anything that he would be dead” she stated, rolling back an eyelid of the man and examining his unresponsive eye

“Aye, that be what I thought. What be done now?”

“I still think he will die, but I’ll do what I can. What he will need is fluids, so I’ll set up a drip. It also will have painkillers in it, cause he will be in a world of hurt if he even came out of that coma slightly. Keep the bandages changed and use the antiseptic lotion to stop infection. Apart from that, there’s not a lot we could do out here. The only place with a medical facility that could possibly deal with this is in Arcan City itself and given the storms, not even a stratocruiser could get here right now”

Jost stayed quiet for a moment. “That be enough. Aye, that be all I could ask of ye”

“Thanks Jost. You know, I know he won’t but I almost hope he cold survive. He must be one tough hombre to last even this long.”

“The old man waited quietly as the medic did her work, then just said a said word goodbye as she left. A brief blast of wind and snow entered the front room as the door was opened, then closed. If anything, the weather was now getting worse, the storm turning into a blizzard that was at present dumping snow. The street clearers were going to have some work when it was over, to make the roads even slightly passable. Another few hours and every home and building would be effectively cut off from each other.

“I guess it’ll be just you and me very shortly, looking at this snow. You be lucky you didn’t try that road now, cause you would never have made it. “ He looked over the younger man, whose face was pallid, no longer sweating, but now cold. Jist reached over to touch the brow, feeling the skin to be cold, much too cold. Surely he would be dead by the next morning…

But he didn’t. Nor did he the next day. Somehow, somehow, the stranger survived. And on the third morning since his arrival, Jost entered the room he was laid in, to hear that the breathing was no longer laboured, but had quietened and evened out. Some colour had also returned to the stranger’s face, but he was still quite pale. Even Jost could see that the man was not in a coma, but was now sleeping somewhat normally, if extremely deeply.

On the fourth day, the stranger awoke. Jost wasn’t in the room, he was sitting by the window where he first had been when he first had seen the stranger stumbling toward Whitetown. A cough and then a low sound, which Jost could only think was a groan. The old man got up off his chair and hurried over to the room and then the bed, where the stranger was now clearly awake, blinking back watery eyes. He seemed to notice Jost come in, turning his head slightly.

“Thirsty” The voice was low and harsh, the words only formed with difficulty and said slow. Jost responded by filling a cup with water, bringing it to the man on the bed, holding the cup up for thr stranger to drink. It took a few attempts, but eventually the stranger managed to take a few mouthfuls, with the help of Jost. The head dropped back to the pillow, eyes closed, swallowing with great difficulty. Still with eyes closed, the stranger spoke again. “Where… am….I?”

“You be in the home of Jost the Old. We be on the edge of a slagheap called Whitetown, pimple on the **** of Arcan. How you be feeling?”

“like….****…..hurt…..what….happened?”

“I not be knowing. You turned up here four days ago just as this storm that has us snowed in came. I’d be hoping you could tell me what happened”

“I……” the man paused “don’t…. remember”

“Ahhh. Well, maybe you got a knock on the head. Can ye be remembering ye name?”

More pause “M…Marcus”

“I be Jost. Welcome to Whitetown Marcus, tho I be guessing you don’t feel like been a tourist. You be resting for now, yes?” Marcus nodded and in a short while slept again.

The next day, shortly after Jost had eaten some lunch, Marcus awoke again, this time a good deal more aware of where he was and mentally a good deal more lucid. Plus, with some help, able to sit up slightly and accept more water. The voice wasn’t as harsh now, much softer and higher in pitch.

“So” said Josh as he finished helping Marcus drink “You be remembering what happened?”

“I’m not too sure, because things seem hazy. I may have crashed”

“You remember coming here?”

“No… did someone find me and bring me here?”

“Nay, they not be doing that. You walked, well stumbled here”

Marcus’ eyes looked at himself, lying in bed with one leg clearly immobilised, bandages visible everywhere and at least three ribs broken as well as other bones. He looked back up at Jost. “Not a chance”

“Aye, you did be walking here! It be a wonder you did, with the storm that came and it be a wonder you lived. I thought you be dying the night you somehow got here”

“I wouldn’t count that out yet. Feels like I was injured very badly, there’s things like Post trauma stress syndrome, infections… “

“Aye, but I no think you be wanting to die yet. Aint seen no one with the will to survive like you”

Marcus just stared at Jost for a moment, before turning his head away. “Sometimes, I just wish I hadn’t” he said quietly

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya stood outside the double doors of the NRSF building on Arcan IV, and then shrugged and pushed her way inside. On the other side she was greeted by a plain looking office, no frills, and a desk with a surly looking receptionist. There was a door behind the desk which undoubtedly led to the rest of the building.

She walked to the desk, and waited for the receptionist to finish forwarding a comm call to another part of the building. When she had the woman's attention, Arya cleared her throat. "I'm looking for General Tohmahawk. I think he'll be interested in what I have to say to him."

The receptionist looked down at her console, and then back up. "The General does not see people from off the street, Miss..."

"Ravenwing, if you must know." Arya planted her palms on the desk and leaned slightly forward. "Tell him, he'll want to see me. Its about a business deal we had."

The older woman didn't move, but managed to take another call while Arya glared at her. "No, I'm sorry, we don't rescue household pets. .....Call the local emergency services, ma'am. .....How did you get this number? ...Same to you!" The woman frowned and clicked the transmission off, and then took an earpiece from her right ear. "Miss I told you, he isn't taking vistors."

"Like frell he isn't." Arya grabbed the woman's collar and pulled her up to her face, unseating her in the process. "Don't try calling for help, because I'll snap your neck before they get here. I don't care if they are on the other side of the door." The receptionist gaped with fear. "Now. Get me into see Tohmahawk."

"But..but, he's not here!" Arya tightened her grip and gave the woman a little shake. "He's been away for a few days, no one knows where he is. Don't hurt me!" The woman blubbered as Arya tossed her back into her seat.

Flash

There was a blinding whiteness all around. A man was stumbling from a smoking wreck, which was soon covered in snow, as the tracks from the man disappeared into the distance.

Arya blinked, and found herself outside the building, and rounding another corner. She stopped in her tracks quickly enough to make a person walking behind her curse. The woman frowned, and ducked into a doorway as she heard a commotion behind her. There were a few uniformed troopers at the corner she had just turned, looking around. She cursed under her breath, and nearly got squashed by the door opening into her.

It appeared to be a bar, so she entered, and took a seat in a corner booth under the cover of cigarra smoke. Taking the opportunity, she lit one up herself, blowing out a haze of smoke. Arya sat with her feet up, her medallion concealed beneath her jacket. Where is Tohmahawk? He had left Arcan IV as a place he could be reached at all times. Apparently he was mistaken.

Being as she knew about him, all about him, Arya doubted he was a liar. Something didn't mesh right. A waitress offered her a drink, "sent from the bar, courtesy of that gentleman," and Arya was to preoccupied to notice. The waitress left the drink, a fruity umbrella-ed mix, and shrugged. Lost in her thoughts, the woman in black left it where it was.

Condensation dripped from the cool glass as Arya stood to her feet, stubbing out her cigarra and keeping the butt in her jacket pocket. As she walked to the door, a man left his seat at the bar, and grabbed her arm, slurring something about a drink. She turned and jabbed the heel of her other hand into his face, breaking his nose. He howled, and she left the bar the way she had come in.
____________

Back aboard The Wing of the Raven, entered into the Arcan IV spaceport's log as Kiss of Luck thanks to the designation scrambler, Arya punched commands into the console, bringing up the message she had intercepted when she had arrived. It was not a loop as she had first supposed, but instead one message that had been repeated three times, and then transmitted.

The voice sounded familiar, if she could even dare to say such a thing, with all the static and enviromental disruption. Arya pounded her fist into the arm of her chair, and hissed, spouting an elaborate curse in Twi'leki. Whitetown is a town...on the south pole. She had seen white in her vision...perhaps it was a blizzard she had seen.

Arya kneaded her forehead with her fingers. She didn't know whether she should say that the figure she had seen had anything to do with her current search. However, she could not deny that when she felt strongly about a paticular thing the visions did not fail her. Closing her eyes, she opened her third eye, and looked at the garbled transmission while her fingers attempted to reconstruct the vectors, tracing it back to its source.

It was slow work, and Arya missed breakfast as she finally opened her eyes, and tapped in one final code. The other attempts she had made had all failed her. If this doesn't work, I'm going back to the NRSF to find him. Frell this guesswork. She entered in the last line of code and ran it through the comm system and the decryption card Aaron had built her.

Sinking back into her chair, Arya closed her eyes again, and drifted to sleep almost immediately. She sat there for five minutes, and then the computer gave a soft beep. Arya opened her right eye, and then the left eye followed, looking around sleepily. Krasst, the message. She dragged her fatigued body upright and watched the screen.

Frell. The message had originated near the southern pole, and had been bounced off a satellite which had sent the same transmission to the NRSF headquarters. Or attempted to. Somehow, whether space junk was to blame or not, the transmission had misfired, and was beamed on the wrong tangent. All NRSF would have gotten was interstellar noise. Arya's comm equipment was top of the line, and her decrypt was good enough to snare the misguided comm signal.

Her intuition had been correct. It was from Tohmahawk. She sighed heavily, and then got to her feet, making for her bunk. There was nothing to be done on an empty power cell. Arya had to sleep first, and then she would decide what to do. She fell into her bed, and slept with her boots on.

[Marcus Telcontar]

“Well, I’d never had believed it if I had not seen it for myself. I would have bet anything he would have died. Instead, your telling me he was awake today and coherent? That’s nothing short of amazing Jost” The medic packed the last of her instruments, placing them back in her travel kit. It was later in the day, near dusk. Outside, there were massive piles of snows, but the sun was out, making travel possible within the town. Hence, the medic was able to attend to the stranger and marvel at his continued survival.

“Aye, but it is. I be thinkin’ I be needing to bury him, but not now. I be thinking he could live”

“Well, I wont be too hopeful yet. The injuries are just starting to heal, but there’s the risk of infection and shock. Plus, who knows what’s happened internally, so something could go wrong there”

“But we could move him to ye medical centre, yes?”

She sighed. “No. I’ve had my hands full with a industrial accident 3 days ago. All my beds are full and I’m hoping I can get some out on the next Stratocruiser. If it comes”

“Can we get him out on that cruiser?”

“You’ll be lucky if you could move him. I doubt even now if he would survive the trip to the medical base, let alone the trip to Arcan City. There’s just no one to help and no one willing. You know what this place thinks of strangers Jost – we look after our own first. Riff even said he hoped this one died so there would be one less problem”

“Aye, I be knowin that. I guess then I be havin no choice then. I be thankin ye for coming out. You better be off now, there be a big storm a-coming”

She suddenly came to a halt, eyes locking on Jost’s face “There is? Forecast was for clear weather for a few weeks…”

“Aye, I heard, but they be wrong. Big storm comin, I feel it in me bones”

Her eyes went wide. “Is that one of your…. Warnings?”

“Aye not be knowin what you be callin it, but I just be knowin. Best be off with you”

She dumbly nodded. One of the reasons Jost lived on the edge of town and was left alone was because he often had premonitions, frightenly accurate ones. The people of Whitetown were superstitious of the “crazy old man”, but when he said something casually, they took notice. “So… how big?” she asked

“Just be off with you. Might help to get to a shelter too”

She stayed silent for a moment, before moving for the exit. “Thanks Jost. I’ll alert everyone else…. You are certain, yes?”

“As certain as I am here”

“Alright, continue to keep him warm, if he wants fluids, give him as much as you can and keep that drip going. Stay alive Jost”

“Aye, stay alive to you too” Jost watched as the medic exited, then he himself walked outside. The door way was to the leeward side of the normal wind patterns, thence his door was relatively clear of snow. The other side of the house had a bank of about 2 meters piled against it and as he stepped to the top of the snow drifts, the whole of Whitetown was the same. It was a beautifully clear dusk, not a cloud and no breeze, the stars already beginning to show. There seemed to be no chance of the storm he knew somehow was coming. It was just too calm for what was approaching. As he stood there, surveying the area and also noting that the Medic was now in her speeder and flying back to the medical base, he suddenly had the image of a raven, standing in the snow and looking back at him appear. It lingered for a moment, then vapourised.

Now what was that supposed to mean?

He didn’t know. Maybe it meant nothing. Maybe it meant everything. Shrugging his old shoulders, he used a remote to lock his home, before beginning to move in the direction of the local store. He was going to need supplies.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya awoke with a start as her foot hit the deck with a loud thunk. Her blaster was already in her hand before she figured out what the noise had been, and carefully lowered her other booted foot to the deck. Checking the powercell automatically she settled the blaster into her holster, and walked slowly to the cockpit of the Chevvette.

Rubbing her hand through her hair, Arya slumped into the pilot seat and dredged up the transmission she'd intercepted the previous day. White town...white town....sounds like a place, maybe a settlement near the pole? She turned up the sound and replayed the message while she walked to get a cup of boiling hot caf. Arya blew on the dark liquid to cool it, and still burned her tongue on the first sip.

She cursed, and walked back to the console, setting the caf down to cool. Tapping on the controls to the navigation equipment, she ran a crosscheck on the phrase "white town." It came back thirty seconds later, negative. "Krasst." Arya reached for the caf, changed her mind, and ran another search.

Search map parameters: south pole

Find: oneword/Whitetown

Searching local cartographical resources.....

...searching...

...1 item found

Display? y/n

Arya brought up the information, and pursed her lips thoughtfully. Apparently this "white town" was in reality an extremely white town. It was nearly covered in snow year 'round, and especially so at this time in the Arcan year. She checked local weather reports, and sipped her caf while she read.

There was a huge snowstorm that had just passed, and they were predicting calmer weather for the next few days in Whitetown. The settlement itself was only accessable by Stratocruiser, and ...

There was one leaving today from Arcan City, in the early afternoon. Arya checked her chrono. I'll just make it if I hurry. The dark haired woman got to her feet, and ran down the hallway, tossing the empty cup of caf in the kitchenette as she went past.

When she left the Wing of the Raven twenty minutes later she had a shiny black gun strapped to her thigh underneath a long black coat, as well as her blaster in the shoulder holster. A supple black bag was slung over her shoulder, packed with the warmest clothes she could find, and the bag in her hand was for her other gear. Having spent a job on Hoth a few years back, she had found quite a few useful articles in her trunk. Under her clothes Arya was wearing a two piece thinsulate bionylon. Thin enough to fit underneath anything, and as tight as a second skin, the bionylon used ones own body heat, amplifying it and circulating it across the surface of the wearer's skin.

It was warm enough in cold weather, as long as you had face covering, gloves and boots to match. She had lost the bionylon socks in a cave on Hoth, and had nearly frozen her toes off by the time she had trudged back to her ship. Her boots and thick woolen socks were packed in her bags, along with her gloves and the rest of her clothing and gear.

The Stratocruiser was sitting right where she had expected it, and she quickly bought a ticket to travel on board it. The ticket agent behind the window gave her the strangest look, but Arya ignored the man.

Climbing on board, she settled into a seat, and found the other passenger seats to be quite empty. Arya gritted her teeth, settled her gear, and and kicked her feet up for the ride.

[Marcus Telcontar]

It was getting late by the time Jost got back and darkness had well and truly descended. Of course being winter and being so close to the pole, there wasn’t a lot of daylight at all anyway, so what there was had to be used wisely. The store itself had been well patronised when he was there and he could see outside that people were making very, very fast preparations for what was to come. The weather service was still forcasting perfect conditions, but the locals knew better. Even those whom thought Jost’s warning was rubbish, even they knew something was up. It was the stillness, the expectation of the air. Something was going to happen and those whom knew Whitetown knew it was going to be big. Hence, there were residents stocking up and getting ready.

Jost glanced at the darkening but still clear sky and he stepped through the snow towards his front door. In his mind, he could see the storm developing and beginning to bear down on Whitetown. There was only a few more hours before it began to appear. By then, it would be ringing alarm bells everywhere, normally too late except for the wiser and more able to read the weather in Whitetown. But everyone helped each other to survive in this place, which made surviving the sudden storms possible, even for the inexperienced.

He remotely unlocked his door, entered, shook the snow off his clothes and off his boots, before closing the door behind. Putting down his backpack, he moved towards the room where Marcus was and where he knew someone else was there too.

“Aye, I’d be wondering when ye be here. I expect Doc told ye?”

The person attending to the drip leading to Marcus finished what they were doing, before standing up and turning to face Jost. She was a tall woman, about 22, golden hair and a natural air of grace on her elfin features. “I hope you didn’t mind letting myself in. I bought some medical supplies that Madam Pomfrey felt would be of use”

“Nay, I not be minding. You always be welcome here lassie. What ye think of this one?”

She cast her blue eyes of the sleeping man. “Unremarkable, except for his survival. Madam Pomfrey told me about how he came here and what his condition was, thence I was hopeful” She sighed deeply. “It seems I was wrong”

“You be thinking wrong. This here be that big name General that went missing. Or don’t ye see the similarities to the holo that was broadcast?”

She glanced back at Marcus. “That General was older and larger of build. Plus, I don’t think a General would be out alone. Surely one like that would have ways to be rescued – and if your sure, why don’t you contact the authorities?”

“I agree… but I be thinking and wonderin’. I be certain this be that General Tohmahawk and I would be talking to some of them stuffed shirts, except he claimed his name be Marcus. You be thinkin’ a big name be wanting to be identified and helped, yes? Especially in a place that not be hostile to him? Maybe he not be wanting to be known?”

“That doesn’t make sense. Besides, Pomfrey sent off a DNA test for identification and it came back as unknown. I doubt a General would have that”

Jost suddenly became alert. “You be saying… that there not be identification?”

“Pomfrey said so. There’s no known match”

“That be unusual?”

“Apparently not. There are a lot of humans in the galaxy after all and there are a few right here in Whitetown whom don’t have any database matches. He’s only an unfortunate drifter who got caught in an accident and was lucky to survive”

Jost went quiet for a moment. “Aye, I be agreeing, except he living wasn’t luck”

“What do you mean?”

“What I suspect may not be, cause I be not findin’ any signs of it but one...” His words were drowned out as a Stratocruiser came overhead, motors whining and roaring for it’s landing some distance away “… hey, that be a lot lower than usual! What be up with that?’

She was about to reply when on the communications unit, there was a call beep and a red light flashing. Without prompting, a face appeared on the vis-plate of the local garrison commander.

“Attention all residents! A full force storm has been detected and is moving in this direction! You have 1 hour before it hits! OUT!”

She turned to look at Jost. “A full force….?”

“Aye. You better not venture out now. This be a bad one a coming”

“Oh. We’ll be safe in here?”

“Aye, we will be. This ol house be stronger than this storm”

She nodded, before turning back to Marcus. “Maybe he’ll recover enough to say more”

“Hoping that I be. But for now, there be things to do to get ready. You be helping me?”

She turned back to Jost. “Of course. What do you need?”

“Well, a good cup of tea would be good after we set the storm braces….”

[A Nameless NR Tech]

"....... News reports coming in state that a team of NRSF troops have found the speeder of Major General James T Tohmahawk, smashed into a tree in the deep south of Arcan IV. There appears to have been a fight and bodies have been found. A body that could not be identified except by DNA has tested positive by DNA to Tohmahawk, however a huge storm has prevented retrieval of the body.

Commander Nathan West has been given command of the NRSF until full confirmation of Tohmahawk's death can be made...."


The hooded figure stared at the viewplate, utterly stunned. It couldn't be be true. Not now, not like this. He just couldn't have been killed.

If anyone could see her face, a lip began to tremble and a tear began to fall from her eye as she turned away, her hopes in her life suddenly and creully shattered. Hope had come and suddenly it was all gone again.

But she had to be sure and there was only one way to really know. Tohmahawk had supposedly died once before. This time, she was going to be sure.

And if he is? What then?

Then I can mourn him properly.

She used her hand to dry her eyes, running the report she had seen in her mind, grief pushed away by action for the moment. There was a storm in the area, near the pole.... so that maked the general area. That's where she would go first. A quick check on weather maps showed that there was an area that was presently noted as under storm alert, a place she had never heard of before.

Whitetown.

--

An hour later, she was blasting south in a speeder

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya jumped down from the Stratocruiser, and leaned into the wind that gusted into her face. Its icy fingers bit at her cheeks and nose, instantly bringing a blush of cold to her face. She tugged her bags closer to her, and turned her ear towards a bundled man who was shouting over the wind at her.

"Storm watch! Get to the inn -!" He pointed a gloved hand down a snow encrusted street, and Arya nodded against the wind, her teeth clenched. It took some effort to get moving into the head wind, but she trudged through the snow to the inn, her fingers groping for the latch.

The door opened, and a woman pulled her inside. "The wind isn't very welcoming, I'm afraid. I saw you come in on the Stratocruiser -just ahead of that storm! Its whipping up fast, by the looks of it." The matronly woman took Arya's bags and turned to a second woman. "Looks like Jost was right again, eh?"

The other woman nodded, and then smiled at Arya, "Don't let Hera prattle your ear off before you've gotten your face warmed. Welcome to Whitetown."

Arya looked back towards the woman, Hera, innkeeper? and asked, "Can I get a room for the night?"

"Better make it a week, dear." Hera put her arm around Arya's back and pulled her into the common room, sitting her at the table with the other woman. "This storm won't let up before then. And then we'll have to get the inn dug out from the drifts."

She turned to the taller, thinner woman, and added, "You best be getting yourself home, Fayth. It's about to start in earnest. Listen." The three women were silent, listening to the rising pitch of the howling wind. "There's snow on the wind."

Fayth stood, "You are right. I shall be going." She started pulling on layers, while Arya sat and waited for Hera to return her attentions to getting her a room. "I hate to leave Jost out there all alone."

Hera leaned forward, pudgy elbows on the tabletop. "What does he have out there?"

The other woman shrugged, pulling on a pair of gloves. "Just a wanderer who got caught in the last storm. I don't expect he'll survive much longer, especially with this storm hitting so soon." The innkeeper clucked knowingly, and popped to her feet to help the woman out the door.

Closing it against the gusts of snowy wind, she turned finally to Arya, who was looking at her with an impassive face. "Room, you wanted a room." She bustled behind the front counter, and pulled out a book. "You're in luck, every room is empty." Hera smiled a little sadly, "We don't get a lot of visitors up here. You'll be in room 4, its the second on the right."

Arya stood, "Thank you. How much?"

Hera flipped her the key, "Its thirty credits a night, but you pay when you check out. And I'll be providing all the meals, as you won't be going anywhere in this weather. Those will run you extra, of course."

"Of course." Arya almost laughed at the woman, bobbing up and down as she was, but she kept a straight face. In fact, her mind was going over what the Fayth woman had said. "Just a wanderer who got caught in the last storm. I don't expect he'll survive much longer.." There was only one person she was interested in in this gods forsaken tip of a planet. And the description was worth checking out.

"Where does Jost live?" Arya queried the innkeeper, and the woman blinked.

"Old Jost? He's a ways down the road, to the north. Its not far by speeder, but you won't be finding any speeder that will take you through this wind." Hera moved to Arya, pointing her down the hallway. "There's your room, supper is in about an hour."

Arya walked down to the room with her bags, and tossed them on the bed, stripping down to the bionylon and adding layers of warmer clothes. She locked the door, threw some items into one of the bags, and tied it around her bundled body.

Only one way to find out. Arya pulled the window up, a blast of wind catching her off guard, and knocking her away from the opening. Recovering quickly as the gust died, she climbed over the sill and dropped into a thigh deep drift of snow. I can tell this is going to be fun. Reaching behind her Arya closed the window tightly, and then set off towards the street.

There were a few speeders parked on the street, but Arya quickly changed her mind about fliching one as it causually blew over and crashed into a wall. Putting her head down, Arya trudged up the street and out of town, heading north.

[Alaina Edric]

The young woman smiled wearily to Jost and turned away from him, heading towards the kitchen. She passed through the hallway into the dimly lit pantry, a sharp gust of icy wind clawing at her ankles all the while from the tiny crack in the thick windows. She shuddered visibly but mentally ignored the cold and went about getting the tea Jost had asked for, making mental notes to herself on how she would be able to help with bracing the house for the storm.

She couldn't let this place fall down. Not after what it had provided for her - shelter, warmth, a sense of well being. Stumbling upon Jost had made her life so much better, and she was in debt to the man for this. Ever since the day she had arrived in Whitetown she had felt like an outcast. Her well financed upbringing was looked on as a sign of bad tides, and most of the locals tended to keep away from her if it was at all possible.

The solitude bothered her. It was an unwelcome change from the comfort of her old home, but a change that could not be undone. Her family there had all but gone, winnowed away by old age or illness. If it were not for her aunt Rya, she would have inherited the families possessions and remained at home - sadly, bitter as the old woman was, she exiled her niece. In truth, neither had ever been fond of each other, and she had gladly left for the countryside.

It was suprising that Jost had even remembered her - it had been some 15 or more years since she had visited Whitetown with her parents on a small holiday, yet the old man marked her off as the 'Eldric kid' immeadiately. His hospitality hadn't changed over the years, and as none of the inns furnished for permanent lodgers, he offered her a bed.

Another cold chill whipped through the vein in the glass, snapping Alaina out of a momentary lapse in concentration. She looked up and out at the oncoming torent and shook her head slowly. The kettle whistled loudly and steam poured from the funnel as Alaina poured out Jost's drink, walking back to the room where Marcus lay.

"Here's your tea," she handed him the cup with a sigh, "Now what about the braces?"

It was going to be a long, long night.

[Sara Klettic]

Arcan IV, 20 Kilometers outside of Whitetown:

"You sure we aren't on Hoth?"

Wind outside Sara's Bushwacker howled loudly as the fifty-five ton machine stomped across the rolling landscape and around a stand of barren trees. Barren like the rest of the search results.

"*crackle*Yeah.*fuzz* This place has trees." Virt Hones replied, the signal wavering.

"*bzzz* My sensors range just dropped, Lieu*pzp*nant. The storm is generating a good deal of el*zzzrrwwrrrsszz*al interference." Onyi Lumm, a Diamalan Sergant added. Lightning crackled through the sky. Another bolt followed, splitting a tree near Sara's walker in two. Her HUD wavered for a moment, and the magnetic anomoly scanner quit. It would have to be completely recalibrated. She sighed, wondering what else the weather system would throw at them.

What had started as simple snow clouds had flared up over the past four hours to a genuine beast of a blizzard. The winds were a steady 140 kph, and were gusting at a good 160.

"Sara, we aren't going to find anything. And this storm is only g*ffzzz*ng worse.*fssspop*eck the sattilite feed. We're still not in the worst part." Yira Yar spoke quietly. "West just called the search off too." Barana Yar, Yira's twin sister, was unusually silent.

Sara sighed quietly. She doubted the Reavers would turn anything up, since the dogs didn't find anything in the first place. It didn't look good at all.

"Reaver One this is Reaver Six, copy?"
"*bzzz*ne*zzz*tive Six."
"Barana, I need you to relay my signal to Sarnins."
"Roger." The reply was soft, and lacking the typical confidence.
"Reaver One this is Reaver Six, copy?"
"Co*zwwrzz* ix. I just got word to pull *fzzzt*. Form on me."

----------

Arcan IV, Nadir Base. 60KM from Whitetown:

West tossed the datapad onto the desk. It skittered to the edge and wobbled percariously before giving into gravity and hitting the floor with a quiet plastic crunch. All reports were negative, and even the Reavers and their Bushwackers had sucumb to the weather. It had taken two powerful sattilite transmissions to get through, and three more until Carrin Sarnins had finally acknowledged the order. Sarnins was stubborn, but not stupid. The Reavers would make it home alright, but the big question still remained. He slowly stood and looked out of the window, watching the wind driven snowflakes swirl.

"James, where are you?"

[Marcus Telcontar]

<font color=red>

It was darkening as he drove the speeder south towards the place Tondry told him to go. There was anticipation. Tondry was going to come through on the promise he had made to him and for the first time he was excited about a meeting, almost boyish.

He flicked the speeder past a snow bank, thinking what he would say. And thinking he was safe, his mind became unfocused. His danger sense came lax. He relaxed for a critical second. The first time, it cost the life of his wife. The second time….

The speeder suddenly jolted… hands reacted too slow… the speeder ran towards the edge of the road…. A smash and a slap… an explosion… a yell…. </font>

He heard a thump very distantly and then a rattle. A voice.

A time passed. Form a far distance, he heard the voice again. Then, followed by a lighter and higher one. Another thump. A crash and a stifled curse.

Nothing more for another time.

Eyes opened. Blinked. And with a bolt of surprise, he came fully awake. Eyes began to focus as he looked about in a brightly lit room that he had never been in before.

Where the hell was he? This was not a place he recognised!

For a few minutes, his confused mind tried to backtrack and make some sense of the room and why he couldn’t really move. Eventually, he realised that the room wasn’t bright at all, in fact it was quite dark. He seemed to be in a crude bed, which was very comfortable, blanketed in some sort of woollen fibre that was quite warm. His face, which was the only exposed part of his body felt that the room was cold.

Now thinking about it, he seemed to dully ache all over and he seemed to be clothed only in undergarments, except for something in random places around his body and limbs. It clicked. He had woken up quite a few times after battles that he could recognise the signs straight away with out further examination He was in some sort of bed and he was recovering from some sort of accident. If he was right, there was a drip attached to one arm and by the feel of the lack of feeling in one of his legs, there was some heavy duty painkiller patches on it. His chest was uncomfortable, signalling something there too, also given breathing wasn’t free but restricted.

Another thump he could clearly hear outside the door of the room, which drew his attention. He could now identify the sound of wind. There was a sound and the building itself seemed to groan.

“Aye, just a bit more…. That be it!” Older voice. Male. Cracked and gnarled.

“Are you sure?” Lighter and fairer. Female.

“Aye. How about you check on ye visitor?”

“Very well” There were light footsteps and an approaching light, clearly a handheld one. He blinked at the light as it came inside the room and in reflex lifted his free arm to shade his eyes.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’ll be awake!” The light was turned down and set on a table on the side of the room. He allowed his eyes to adjust as the newcomer crossed to the bed he was in. A soft hand touched his brow aand that soft voice once again touched his ears. “You feel much cooler. The fever you were running is going. How do you feel?”

“Not too bad. Where am I?”

“Your in the home of Jost the Old, on the edge of Whitetown” He had to admit, the woman he now identified this person as had a truly magical voice. Soft and gentle, it was soothing and relaxing.

“You don’t seem very old to me” He remarked, a small smile on his face.

“What? Oh! No, I’m Alaina Eldric. May I ask who you are?”

He allowed his arm to drop and unshade his eyes to get a good look at this Alaina. She was tall and willowy, golden hair and clothes. She seemed to shine and shimmer, a physical appearance to match the voice. “Are you an Angel?” he asked. She mentally seemed to stumble before smiling.

“No, no. Are you?”

“Unfortunatly, if I was I wouldn’t be here. I’m just a regular guy, that’s all. Do I have you to thank for the medical attention?”

“Again, no. That is something Jost has done for you… you haven’t told me your name”

And she was quite direct, he answered out of reflex. “Marcus Q’Dunn”. Oops. He was going to tell her something else. Fortunately, the namee didn’t seem to mean anything to Alaina, and if the truth be told, he would have been stunned if it did. Only a handful of being knew.

“Marcus… that’s rather unusual. Does it mean anything?”

“War-like or Man of War in my homelands speech”

She began to make a check of the bandages and the drip, with deft and gentle touches “Was it a birth name or is it or nature?”

That voice was incredible to listen to! So relaxing and quiet! He also said something he didn’t want to, before realising he was dropping his guard. Wherever he was, it was an unknown place and an unknown person. He shouldn’t say too much, not until he was certain of where his hosts stood. “Birthname. Why?”

“Seems appropriate. Madam Pomfrey says she has never seen anyone as scarred as you.”

“Madam Pomfrey?”

“The medic in these parts”

She finished off her check, then took a step back from the bed. “Are you hungry? Tired?”

He was wide awake now. And now he thought about it, he was starving. Like he hadn’t eaten for days. “Hungry. By the way, how long have I been here?”

“You stumbled here 5 nights ago. Do you remember what happened to you?”

His brow creased. “I…. seem to remember an accident. Not much more than that”

“Allright. I’ll let Jost know your awake and we’ll find some broth for you.” She turned and walked with grace out the door, leaving Marcus in the room alone, dumbfounded.

“Okay. That has to be the second most impressive woman I’ve ever met.” He said to himself. His mind wandered to another woman, this one shorter and darker, one whom he loved dearly. Still after all this time, it hurt to think of her. But while this Alaina was tall and graceful and had a real presence, Helenais had something else, something to him that meant much more. His ring finger on his left hand, now exposed and lying on the coverings of the bed bore testimony of just exactly what.

The ring of gold that usually was hidden under a glove that flashed in the light of the lamp that had been left behind.

[A Nameless NR Tech]

She was beaten, she had to admit. The storm was making flying truly dangerous and nothing would be achieved by killing herself too. At least the flight south before being stopped had allowed her to do much thinking and to also to formulate a plan of action.

If I am right, Tohmahawk would have had a plan of action. So I’ll need….

The speeder swung around as it was blasted up to the north once again.

--

It was quite late at the NRSF base, not far from the main city of Arcan IV. Once a barracks for the local militia, it had been turned into the formidable fortress that housed the command of the Republic’s most feared fighting force. Lights glowed all round it’s ramparts and a shimmer of a shield could also be seen. All round the area, there was plenty of activity as the NRSF never really slept. In some way, it only truly came to life after dark. Troops and speeders went about their way as a solitary person in Republic uniform came up to the fortresses outpost. Four alert NRST troops were at the point, checking everyone’s clearance before admitting anyone. Waiting in line, there was a single woman. Dark haired, about average height, athletic. Dressed in the uniform of a regular NR troope and carrying a backpack, she waited patiently for her turn. She finally stepped up, a slightly bored expression on her face.

“Mouton, M, serial SLK-420. I’ve been assigned here”

One of the guards accepted her id, swiping it through a reader. “Where your from Mouton?”

“122nd Kuat Guards. One of your officers by the name of Tohmahawk pulled some rank and had me assigned here. So, where is here?”

Two of the guards exchanged looks, while the other two seemed to become a bit less harsh. “Tohmahawk got you here?”

“Yes. Saw me in action at a firefight and got me appointed to some special project he was working on. So, is this it?”

“Ah. Another one who hadn’t been told” The guard smirked at his comrades. “Welcome to the New Republic Special Forces, Mouton. Report to building 12-A”

Her bored expression broke into wonder. “The… Special Forces? But…..”

“Almost no one gets told they are being assigned here Mouton. Don’t ask me why. What it does mean is that you have to be good. Good Luck trooper!” The guard put out a hand, which the surprised woman accepted and shook.

“Well… I better go report. I thought this was going to be a boring assignment. Frell, this is actually going to be worthwhile” She smiled and waited for her ID to be handed back, before walking into the base itself, somewhat impressed with what she saw. The outside walls served to hide the outright military power that was on display here. She kept craning her head, just to get a look at some piece of hardware that was clearly highly advanced and very, very new. In her mind, she was already memorising the layout.

Building 12-A wasn’t hard to find. Nor was the office she was to report to, which contained a man whom seemed to bounce off the walls with his sheer energy.

“…. And your barracks is east wing, 13-B. All understood Mouton?”

“Yes sir! Ahhh…. Do I have any assigned duties tonight?”

“No, you get 48 hours to settle in. Good luck soldier!”

--

She walked down the corridors of East Wing of the main barracks, looking for 13-B. On her way there, she bumped into officers and regular troops, most greeting her as if she was family. All of them she noted has campaign bars that the average soldier would dream of possessing and there were very, very few beings that were young. This place was clearly made of experienced soldiers and by the look of some, very, very good ones. Even in these halls and the friendly greetings, the attitude just reeked of an attitude she had seen in only the places where the true elite military gathered.

It’s like what the Imperial Royal Guards, except there’s more of them here and it’s not only humans. By the fires of Calan, I had no idea he was doing this! No wonder he said she would be safe….

No wonder indeed. Only a fool would try to attack this place she concluded as she found the door that read ’13-B’. She paused, knocked, waited for an answer. As there wasn’t any, she used the door key card to unlock the door and slipped into the darkness inside. A motion detector clicked a glow rod on, to light the windowless room.

“What the Frell?” she exclaimed quietly, now truly surprised. This wasn’t an ordinary barracks room. It had never been occupied and if she had to guess, she would have said her feet were the only ones to have been in here since someone else had left a data pad on the single table, next to the bed. Off to the side was a refresher. Nothing else. She took the backpack off, flicking it onto the bed. Her hand moved over to where the datapad was, noticing a small envelope. Under it.

With the name ELIEEN CROSS printed on it. With some curiosity, she picked it up, opened to see there was one piece of paper inside. She took it out and read.


<font color=green>

Elieen,

Everything you will need for your stay is on the data pad. As you got in here, I trust the id I made for you worked.

For what you want, see the name on the bottom of this page. I have trusted him with the location of what you want. If you need shelter or protection, see him as well. He is to be trusted.

Hunter

</font>

She scanned the name mentioned, then took up the datapad. A brief look made her eyes open wide.

“You weren’t kidding. How in all the Galaxy did you get all this?!?” she said quietly. Maps. Codes. Names. Instructions. It made what she came here to do so much easier.

Turning back to the pack, she opened it up. Inside, there was a large roundish object wrapped in cloth she put to one side. There was a bundle of break and enter tools, some weapons, spare armour shards and in a break donw state, a very, very impressive sniper rifle she had discovered on her last visit to Arcan. Sure hands began to out the gun together and in a few moments, she had one of the deadliest sniper rifles in existence assembled and ready. She reasoned it would look in place here and a weapon like this would only draw minimal attention to herself.

Not that she would be doing that. For the next hour, she didn’t intend to be seen by anyone.

--

It was only a light tap-tap on his cheek that was needed to wake him up. He started, then in a confused explosion of movement, he tried to get something next to his pillow. An ominous snik-snik made him freeze.

“Nathan West?”

“Who wants to know?” he replied, trying to shake off sleep.

“A friend of Ari Vatenen. Now get up – and don’t think about that D.E. under your pillow, nor the alert button. Draw any attention yourself and I’ll be forced to do to you what I did to the others on my way here”

His mind was obviously coming out of sleep and had just caught up with something that had been said. “did you say…Vatenen?!?”

“So you do know him. Who do you know him as?”

“Wraa? He’s Vatenen. Should I know him as something else?”

“How about Force Master Hunter or James Tohmahawk..”

“Well deal first. You let me turn the light on so I see who you are”

A pause. “Fair enough. Keep your hands away from anything other that the light switch”

A moment later, the bedside lamp flared. West blinked and shaded his eyes and then as he recognised the figure that was standing over his bed, rifle pointed at his chest, he gaped. “What the hell?” He finally managed. “Who the hell are you?”

“My name….”

[Lord Fire Blade]

“… is Lord Fire Blade. Has Hunter told you anything about me?”

His eyes were wide and staring, which wasn’t a surprise. Not everyday you had a full blown Imperial Royal Guard standing over your bed in full armour. This West obviously had been tired when he went to sleep, he was basically fully dressed, except for his boots. He hadn’t been sleeping with any covers over him. “No..t really. Just said you had a common interest in someone”

“Good. Now tell me, what game is Hunter playing now?”

Once again he was surprised. “Game? He’s not playing any game this time. Hunter is James Tohmahawk, he’s really dead. We’ll have the body to prove it as soon as the storm that prevented us getting it finishes”

I could tell by the tone of his voice, he was telling the truth. I stood there for a moment, before stepping back and lowering the gun. West must have been even more confused as I stepped backwards, found a chair and sat down, placing the rifle on the floor. At this point, I was thankful the armour covered my face. After about a minute, I could hear West was getting restless, doubtlessly wondering what was going on now.

“Hello? You sneak in here and wake me up, now your going to sit in that chair? Listen Imperial, what are you up to? Either get the hell out or explain yourself. I lost a damn good friend, I’ve got a lot on my plate and I don’t have time to waste!”

“You think he was a good friend to you?” I asked “I can guarantee he was a far better friend to me at one time”

“Oh yeah sure, you’re an Imperial. I very much doubt that….. oh my god. Oh my….. no way. No way!!”

He had paused as I had taken my helmet off. He saw long hair first, then as I turned my head to face him, a female face.

“You can’t be a Royal Guard, they were all males! And your too young by about 50 years to be a surviving one!” he exclaimed

Without the vox converter that hid my female voice while the helmet was on, it must have sounded strange for this Republic soldier. “I know. MY grandfather was the first Lord Fire Blade. But I think the fact I got in here is proof enough I am every bit his equal or better. I wear this armour with pride West and I believe my title is regarded with every bit of fear as it was when my grandfather wore it”

“Yeah…. So… you have a name?”

I looked at West straight in the eye. If the light was better, he could have seen my face was tear streaked and my eyes were red. “Yes I have a name. I just wish Marcus could have heard it once again”

“You know lady, you are really weirding me out. I suppose your going to tell me you’re a relative or something right?”

[Helenias Evenstar]

“No”

“No?”

“I was his wife. Helenias Q’Dunn”

He sat there on his bed just staring at me in shock and astonishment for what seemed like hours, before he could speak. “I think… your going to have to explain this one to me. What the hell is a Jedi doing married to an Imperial agent? What the hell is Marcus doing being married in the first place and never telling anyone? And what is….. Ah frell! Now what?!?” For as he was speaking, a call alert went off. He slapped the accept button. “West. What is it?”

“Sir, we just found several troops along corridor A1A knocked out and hidden. We seem to have an intruder”

“yeah, I know. Don’t bother searching, just make sure no one is left unaccounted for. West out”. He broke the call, before turning his attention back to me.

“Okay, this better be convincing. Start explaining"

[Arya Ravenwing]

White....all was white.

Arya would have cursed her foolish hurry to locate Tohmahawk. Or Hunter. Whatever it was he was calling himself. The man with so many names still called her his employee, and she was ready to set the record straight.

More than ready.

Every credit he owes me... Arya pulled her insulated scarf around her face a little tighter, and blinked her frozen lashes against the driving snow. Her lips were too cold, or she would have been cursing hard enough to make a space pirate blush.

As it was, she was doing good to keep upright in this wind. Her cold weather gear was top of the line, and she wasn't afraid of getting frostbite. Not at this point, however. Visibility was bad, and if she didn't find somewhere to shelter in the next hour or so, she would be forced to camp out in the storm. The gear in her backpack came with an coldweather tent, used for emergencies. When popped open, the small tent would act like an igloo, the snow packing up around the outside. It was tested for an amazing amount of weight, and when she had used it on Hoth...well it had turned out all right in the end. The snow piled on top hadn't collapsed the tent.

Arya puffed a little, and flexed her fingers in her gloves. They hurt to bend, and she looked down, worried that she was pushing it too much.

Two more steps...

..."Oof!" Arya walked smack into a wall, and fell backwards slowly into a snow drift. She closed her eyes for a moment, catching her breath, and then began to struggle out of the snow. What have I run into?!

Flash

A woman sat, clothed in red, looking at a man sitting up in a bed. She appeared to be sad, and the man looked angry...or confused.

Arya gasped from the suddeness of the vision, and floundered some more in the snow.

[Helenias Evenstar]

Despite the emotions I was feeling, West still could make me smile. Something about his attitude made me warm to him. I could see why Hunter …. No, I now knew for a fact it was Marcus… trusted him.

“Convincing? I’d like a drink please, talking a lot will make my throat dry” She waited while he did so and when he had taken a seat, she began.

“Firstly, my birth name is Helenias Moira. I’m also known as Elieen Cross. I’m at this point 104 standard years old. My father is human, although I’ve found out my mother wasn’t, in fact she is from the Unknown regions. I don’t 100% know, but she could have been from the same planet that Marcus does, as she also is too strong and too long lived and has a liking for extreme gravity, which I have too. As far as I know, my father’s line was all human.

My grandfather served the Emperor directly and it was only chance that he was not on the Death Star when it was destroyed. After that time, there was chaos and I was separated from my family. Even if I was nearing 50, I was still barely approaching womanhood, but I was already displaying the abilities that those of Marcus’ race do. IDespite his discrimination and distain, Grandfather began to teach me his ways. I had long studied hand to hand combat, but he also taught me what a Royal Guard knew. He was also to the one to train me in high gravity and he discovered I was Force sensitive. He was, but my father was not. I’m not that powerful in the Force, not like what Marcus is, but Grandfather taught me how to use it well. He taught me how to use what I have to my advantage and above all, use my mind to defeat my enemies.

He kept my sex hidden from his contacts and associates, I discovered he had quite an underground supporters group. Even now, it supplies me money and arms as I need them. As he got older he began to hand off to me what he could, until the point where he was just a bitter old man, reliving past glory and I had become Lord Fire Blade. And in some ways, bettered him. I could fight better and I could out scheme him. I made him even more bitter, but at the same time, proud. I was all he could have wanted. His idea of a compliment was to wish I had been born male.

About 20 years ago, I found out about a woman named Callista, whom had a truly terrifying apprentice. My Grandfather met her and him once and that was enough. I had never seen him scared until then, he said Callista had developed most of the powers that Palpatine had, but her apprentice…. Was something else. He told me he was a man to fear. We began then to start to take notice of this Callista and in some ways, battle her plans. Over the next 10 years, we continued to spar ad become true enemies. I wanted the Empire back, she wanted her apprentice to rule as she saw fit. I have fought Callista myself twice and I will tell you, she is old but capable of much you would not expect. Her apprentice… I never did until the destruction of Harrvi”

I took a deep breath and also a sip of the water Weest had provided and the continued.

“Harrvi changed everything. I was there to meet a corruptible army officer when beasts like which I had never seen suddenly attacked. They firstly cut off any means of escape, then progressed to systematically wipe out all life forms. I… you just wouldn’t have believed it possible, the way they wiped out a planet like that. I myself fought and killed several of them. Even then, it was useless. Too many of them, trapped, I knew there was no escape.

I think it was the third day of the invasion and I had fallen in with a group of soldiers and civilians. Their leader was Captain James Tohmahawk, the real one. We were dug in for a last stand, we were being attacked and it was likely to be the end when quite unexpectedly, a massive fireball exploded amongst out attackers. It was startling, but not quite as startling as seeing a black armoured, sabre wielding maniac come out of the flames, straight at us. I recognisedwhom he was quickly, everyone else thought he was a Jedi come to save them. In a way, I think at that point he had decided to become Jedi so it was true. He had already turned away from Callista and had renounced the Dark Side, which I didn’t know then. As he organisedthe survivors, I was only prepared to let him live because we all needed to band together – and I sensed something very odd about him. He wasn’t like what I knew a Dark Sider to be so maybe I already knew in my mind what he was. I don’t know.

The group got to a landing field, where he stripped off his armour. I handed him a jumpsuit, cause I wanted to have a quick and quiet word.

“What’s the name, Jedi?” I asked

“Q’Dunn. And you?”

“They call me Helenias. I got myself a few of these lizard things”

“Really? How’s that?”

I smirked and dug into a pocket, showing Q’Dunn the top of a lightsabre “Lets just say you were originally on my hit lit. I think things may have changed”

“Pardon?”

“We share a common enemy. You used to be a bully boy for an enemy of mine”.

“Yeah, well I handed back that job a while ago. I want you then to go tail end bantha then. If anyone slows down or begin to fall behind, whack them with your sabre. If they stop, leave them. Understand?”

Simple words, but…. It was our beginning. “

I paused once more, thinking back.

“We found a shuttle at a landing field nearby, he sneaked a crew onboard to prep. When he came back, Marcus said we were going to make a run for the shuttle. He also said if anyone fell behind me, they would be left behind. I was the last person onto the ramp, there was gunfire and humans allied to the beasts and they were closing in. As I was entering Marcus was beginning to ward off the first wave of attack. He told me to get onboard, to tell the crew to take off while there was time…

I turned at the top of the ramp, after yelling out to take off, expecting Marcus to be following me. Instead, I saw the maniac jump off the edge and run where I had seen a child trip up. It was one of those moments West, where your life changes. I knew he couldn’t get back in time. I knew we had to go. I just couldn’t believe he was going to commit suicide by trying to go back for two kids. I would have just left him… just gone with the shuttle. But….” She paused, quiet, taking a drink again and staying quiet.

“But you went back too” said West.

“Yes. Don’t ask me why, but at that moment, with the shuttle many feet off the ground, ramp closing, I stepped off the edge and went back too. I saw before I jumped a light on another craft and I must have thought there was a chance after all. I don’t know……” Her voice dropped as she remembered what was next…..

<font color=blue>

A second later, she too dived out of the closing ramp and she too ran to where the children were, her sabre humming as she blocked and returned blaster bolts.

“What the hell are you doing here?!?!” He yelled

“Same thing as you.”

“WHAT?”

“Don’t argue Jedi.” A blaster bolt was ducked before she continued. “There’s a smaller fighter/freighter not far from here. We can go for that”

The guns on the shuttle began to add to the chaos as they ripped into the guards, forcing them to take cover and giving Q’Dunn and Helenias enough time to get Gregori to his feet. A nasty cut on his knee explained his mobility problems.

The shuttle circled, Tohmahawk looking out the viewports. “Keep firing! Give them as much cover as you can!”

The co-pilot consulted a screen. “Sir! There’s a missile battery coming to bear on us”

“Oh… shi…stay low and get us out of here!” The shuttle continued to fire as it accelerated, barely twenty meters off the ground to be too low for the missile array to target properly. A missile streaked out, going wide.

On the ground, Q’Dunn looked up as he saw the shuttle going for all it was worth and saw the missile fired. His attention snapped back as a Vog’on finally appeared and was dispatched by a sabre blow to the head.

“Helenias! Gregori! Shay! Move it, were going to have even worse company!”

The trio ran, Helenias helping a hobbling Gregori as they darted for the small freighter, Q’Dunn fighting rear guard. Several soldiers rushed him, forcing him to go hand to hand. He kicked and punched, using all the training he could call on, using his sabre when he could. A blaster shot at close range forced his sabre upward, hitting the actual weapon body. Sparks flew as the sabre snapped in two and flying out of Q’Dunn’s hands

“Hurry up!” Helenias yelled from the ramp of the freighter.

He punch a soldier in the throat, sweeping another off his feet. Yet another was kicked to the groin. Still they came. He leaped over a wave of fighters, to land out of range. He ran for the ship, cut and bruised and much weakened from the fight.

“GO! GO!” She paused and went for the cockpit to start the ship up. He raced and dived for the ramp, tumbling up it. Running for the cockpit he searched for the ramp controls, before finding them, closing the ramp. Helenias punched the controls, blasting the ship into the air, skimming the ground as it built speed and got out of range of the missile battery. Q’Dunn lowered his head in relief, before a scream echoed through the ship.

“I believe that meant I didn’t close the ramp in time and something got on board. I go, keep flying” Helenias nodded.

Another scream and a yell of “Leave her alone!” sent Q’Dunn flying in the direction… and realized the boarder couldn’t be worse. A Vog’on.

“Leave her” The words came out flat.

The beast turned to face Q’Dunn

“Thhhiiinnnkkkk youuu can essscape that easssssily? The Overlord wantssss youuuuu bacccck”

“I’ll die first”. He leaned into a fighting stance, one hand extended, palm facing his hand. He beckoned to the Vog’on indicating his willingness to fight. The beast, forgetting all about Gregori and Shay, lunged at Q’Dunn. He blocked a punch combination, before ducking a tail swing, coming up a step away.

“Is that the best you can do?”

The beast snarled and came at Q’Dunn even harder, finally smashing him with a backhander that slid Q’Dunn into his backside.

“Guess that answers that…” He didn’t have time for more as the Vog’on stepped in, attacking viciously. He rolled to his feet, blocked, ducking, weaving.

He concentrated and used the Force, striking the Vog’on in the chest and hurling the monster backwards with a crash into a wall. Almost as fast, the beast recovered, coming in low, trying a crash tackled. Q’Dunn leaped over the charge, coming down and using the Force again to smash the beast head first into the wall.

The ship lurched, throwing Q’Dunn off his feet and sliding him straight at the beast. The Vog’on reacted fast, flipping over and nailing Q’Dunn with it’s massive tail. He felt his ribs creak and one give way, with a burst of pain. He gasped, and used the Force to swing the Vog’on by the tail into the opposite wall. The bulkhead bent with the power of the throw. The Vog’on got up somewhat slower this time, as did Q’Dunn

He resumed his original stance, ignoring the blood dripping off his forehead and once again beckoned for the Vog’on to attack. The beast did, landing a few blows as Q’Dunn found himself now too slow to counter, staggering back he knew that there was only one real thing he could do. In his mind he imagined a bolt of lightning, ready to strike. His fist he imagined as the bolt, his arm the energy.

The Vog’on seemed to come at him in slow motion. It punched. He blocked. It punched. He blocked. It swung around, sweeping it’s tail. Q’Dunn leaped high and with a yell, focused all his power, all his strength and also the Force into his one blow. His fist smashed outwards, the second knuckle striking the Vog’ons skull, right at a weak point.. his fist carried on, smashing through bone and tearing muscle, the power of the blow being released straight into the brain of the monster, bone shearing into the delicate nerves and tissue. He pulled his hand back and landed, back facing the creature as it straightened and then crashed lifeless to the floor.

Q’Dunn waited till Gregori opened the ramp once again, to allow him to use the Force to fling the beast out. The ramp closed, with Marcus sinking to the ground, trying to catch his breath without the broken ribs tearing his lungs apart.

“You okay?” Heleias asked as she came out of the control cabin.

“Ye… ah fuggit, no. It got me a good one”

“Okay, get comfortable if you can. That Captain managed to raise a Republic cruiser whom has just entered the system and alerted us. We’re going into orbit and out of here.”

“Blocakade… is there any?”

“Nothing we can’t get past. Hold tight Jedi, there’s some good flying coming”

“I’m not a Jedi”

“You sure? You were just as stupid as one then” she replied going back to the cockpit.

Partnering up with Tohmahawk’s shuttle, the two craft raced for the edge of the atmosphere. They were the last craft that were know to ever leave the surface of Harrvi ever. Both docked with the cruiser, which came to ward off a small fleet of attack boats, then it too ran, ripping into hyperspace and safety.

</font>
“…. Then basically Gregori Paladin and Shay Kaylon were left with the Jedi, and Marcus and I…. well… I guess we both needed time out and for some reason, we didn’t go our separate ways. After he recovered, he really turned on Callista, spilling all he knew on her to the Republic and also with me, thwarting more of her schemes. I don’t know when I found myself in love with him, but I knew by the time he asked me to wed a few months, I had found someone whom was much like I was. He knew then that a Jedi could not love, so he gave up travelling any path, Jedi or Sith. For me. He removed from his life what made him out of the ordinary for me. Six months like that, we travelled, we loved… we had our time together...until….” She found her throat constricted and a sob laced with anger came out. “Damn that bitch!” she yelled, smashing a hand into the armrest of the chair, “She ambushed us and thought he was killed! For 10 years I… I… believed he was dead. I… had no idea he survived, like I had. He didn’t know I lived either…. And now…. I… found him again….. and this time…. He’s really gone….”

I couldn’t hold back any longer. I began crying tear of grief, outpouring my anguish that her hope had been taken so fast from her again.

I had no idea what West must have thought and I didn’t care. To me, there wasn’t anything to care about as I wept, head in my hands, sobs racking my chest.

The great Lord Fire Blade, Elieen Cross, Helenias Q’Dunn. Reduced down to just a heartbroken and fragile woman whom had lost her only loved one once again.

[Nathan West]

West stared on. Marcus had left a gaping whole in people's lives very abruptly. Fortunately, the Jedi seemed to be mostly unaware, because as far Nathan could tell, Marcus usually was tied up with NRSF bussiness.

It was a very small consolation, but it was still nice to know that it hadn't leveled everyone.

That opened up a different can of worms. How many people had a clue? Likely most of the Jedi Masters knew. The Jedi Knight Evanar probably knew too. It certainly would have explained why he called off one of his drills after the news got free. So it seemed that ten people in the whole galaxy knew who this man was.

But frell it all. Damn him! Marcus had left him in charge of the NRSF, which, at this point, had been next to the last thing he wanted. It was bad enough that he had to deal with Res'lay as an XO, but he was a royal fuggin pain as a commander at times. And then there was Sarnins, and poor Drecker. Right now, the whole place was running because Nathan had managed to dig up some duct tape and hope, and right now he had no idea how long it would last.

He sighed. Not only that, but now he had Marcus' widow dumped on him. Right now, his whole life had been really incovienced. No, incovienced simply didn't get the point across. Ground to goddamned halt. That felt right.

Nathan glanced over at Helenias, with a small measure of envy--she could cry. Nathan was far too numb to do that. Slowly, he reached out to pat her on the back, but got half way and stopped. His hand dropped back to his side.

"Look, for what its worth, I'm sorry." She sort of half nodded, but continued to cry. Understandable. Lame Nathan, goddamned lame. But what am I supposed to say? That he left me with minimal instructions for this sort of situation? "I'm sorry I'm being cold right now, but he left me with chewing gum and hope, and I just ran out of gum, so I'm sorry he's your husband and dead, but several thousand people are looking for me to get them through insane things alive?"

He stood up, competely military composured again. It was all he had to keep him going through things like this, his refuge.

"I need to go for a walk. You're welcome to follow me." West strode out the door, heading to the speeder shed. Maybe a little open air and open throttle would help clear his mind. He swiped his clearance through, and then keyed his pass.

Shortly, he emerged with a tuned scout speeder bike. If Helenias had decided to follow, he wouldn't have noticed. Nathan was far too busy with his own thoughts. The repulsor engine came too a sudden loud whine, and the speeder bike abrubtly shot away from the shed.

[Marcus Telcontar]

“We be just checkin….. yes, that be it. We be secure now. Ah, did my ol ears make a mistake, or do I hear ye talk to sammit?” Jost rechecked the last stabilizer, before turning back to where Alaina entered the room.

“Yes, he’s quite awake. He is hungry now”

“Ahh, I bet he is. I’ll go make him some good broth. Have him back on his feet in no time!” Jost hobbled to the kitchen and in a few minutes, a smell of cooking began to fill the entire cabin. A small cauldrom bubbled over an electric stove, while piece of vegetables and a smattering of meat plus flavouring went in from his chopping board. A fine powder was also added, then he began to stir. A few minutes later, he heard Alaina begin to sing softly, which made Jost smile crookedly. Soon, it would be time to turn in for the night, but before that, he would speak to Alaina of times past. She would listen, ask questions. It was a nightly ritual they had done for every day she ever was here. He had much to tell while he still could.

He had been considering what he would say to Alaina tonight, but there was not much he could think of right now. His guest awakening was quite a distraction for him and he had been wondering of it for the last few nights. And now, even as he made dinner

It doesn’t seem possible, yet, he could be! But I do not sense anything out of order, like I might. How is this to be explained, I wonder? He certainly fits…. But ….

Not quite. There was one thing for certain, wether the Doc had seen it or not, this man they had here was one of these new Republic soldiers that had come to Arcan recently. The guns were of a type he hadn’t seen before and Jost believed this one could well be important. However, scanning the news reports and the database he could access, there was no mention of a Marcus, anywhere. There had been a James Tohmahawk mentioned as missing, but this Marcus didn’t quite facially match. Tohmahawk seemed tougher and older and a bitter one. Marcus was less harsh, younger too. Plus, hadn’t Doc said she had tried to do a DNA match and found nothing?

It was a puzzle, but as he was pondering, a sudden bump from outside broke into his thoughts. Even above the howling wind, there came another thump.

“Did you hear that?” he called out to Alaina

She stopped her quiet singing to listen. “No… wait, yes, that thump?”

“Yes. Maybe something loose. You be checking outside, I see to in here”

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya pushed against her knees, finally getting back to her feet. She blinked against the driving snow, and took a tenative step forward. Her head ached from where she had hit it on the wall. Reaching her hands out Arya found the wall, and then followed it around to a corner where she could shelter from the wind.

The dark haired woman blinked again, shaking snow from her as the bite of the wind was blocked by the building. Building...Arya you are a fool. This was a building, it must be the one she was looking for. Old Jost, and his mysterious invalid. Even if it wasn't, she was going to request shelter from the occupants. The storm seemed to be getting worse, if that was possible.

As she turned to look for an entrance the wind whipped around the corner, changing directions and knocking her about. Disoriented momentarily, Arya almost fell into the doorway when it opened suddenly beside her. A blonde woman exclaimed in surprise, and stepped forward as Arya regained her feet, drawing her inside and out of the storm.

Arya dropped her snowy bag just inside the doorway as the woman closed the door against the wind. She pulled her gloves off, and stripped off the bionylon hood that had kept her head warm. Shaking her hair free, Arya looked at the woman. "Is this the home of Jost? I think I may be lost."

[Marcus Telcontar]

The old man (Was his name Jost or something? he couldn't really remember right now) came into his room with a bowl of something that smelt damn good on a tray. Marcus' stomach rumbled almost painfully, reminding him he had not eaten i quite some time.

"That smells good... what is it?" he asked.

"This be stew! Good food this is!"

It certainly smelt good. He had lived on energy bars and rations for so long, it was hard to remember when he tasted real food. He managed to make himself more upright and he eyed off the bowl of steaming food. He took up a spoon, taking a small bit and sipping.

Apart from being incredibly hot... it had more flavour than anything he could remember.

"Wow... this is good!" he exclaimed.

"Heh, You just be liking that. Old Jost, he needs to see to something" The old man left the room, with Marcus eyeing off the stew eagerly. There was even some bread with it, which he used for dipping. As he was eating, he heard the front door open and close and his face detected a blast of cold. More intent on his food, he just presumed it was a visitor. He could hear voices in discussion, which he ignored. There were footsteps, which he ignored.

"What the Frell... happened to you?!?!"

He didn't ignore the shockingly familiar voice. He looked up to see Arya Ravenwing in some sort of heavy weather gear, teeth chattering, and pale, but still.... right in front of him. How in the force had she found him?

[Elieen Cross]

"Look, for what its worth, I'm sorry." She sort of half nodded, but continued to cry.

Eventually, the tears stopped and she looked up, eyes frelling hurting. Feeling like some sort fo fruit that had all the moisture sucked out of it and a massive headache.

No Nathan.

He must have left me alone, she thought. Left me alone to keep some sort of dignity. Yeah, well at least I didnt break down in the open.

Not really thinking, she got up and fixed herself a drink of water, in the process splashing the cold fluid on her face. She found a towel, drying her face. A mirror was above the sink that reflected her image back to her. Pretty face, long hair, face creased and dirty. She looked like ****. She felt it too. Helenias took the glass of water to where the bed was, putting on a bedside table. She sat on the bed, realised just how tired she was.

She curled up, intending to have a small snooze. Instead, in second, she was sleeping like she was in a coma.

[Nathan West]

Nathan crouched lower as the bike accellerated. He was going... oh... way too fast. That fact wasn't really at the top of his priorities at the moment. The NRSF had a decent chunk of land in each environment available on Arcan IV. The road that he followed was dirt, and illuminated by the near full pair of moons above, called Dib and Rabb. Firsa still layed low on the horizon, barely out of the new phase.

Slowly, the engine had built up to a scream, and would scream no louder. West frowned at this fact, and fumbled with his left hand for the limiter cutoff switch. Seemed that he had already turned it off. With a deep reluctance, Nathan released the throttle and allowed the speeder to deccelerate up the large hill above. As the bike crested the hill, his forward energy died and the bike came to a stop. Nathan hopped off, found a nice patch of grass to sit in off to the side of the road, and studied the moons.

Why can't I cry?

Nathan considered this with a great deal of thought, and came to no conclusion of any sort. As welcome as it would be, he seemed to be denied this emotional outlet.

Why me and not Jyanis?

That one had a half decent answer. He was still responsible for a good number of his own troops, who were still getting aquainted with the New Republic.

Somewhere in the distance was the crackle of artifical ball lightning. Sarins was holding a 2AM drill, a practice not too uncommon amoung the NRSF's commanders.

Bleh... this crap isn't doing anything but taking away from my sleep. West flopped down into the grass for a moment, staring into the deep, dark night sky filled with stars.

"Hi out there. I'm just trying to let you know, all of you, who I'm supposed to do things for, that I'm probably not ready for it. I do, however, promise to do my best. As soon as I find the right man for the job I have, I'll be sure to put him in charge."

Moderately satisfied with the sliver of mental progress on the current issues, Nathan opened up the throttle on the bike again.

Helenias had decided to occupy the bed in his abscence. Fortunately, one of the perks of being an officer was the couch that came with the quarters. He grabbed a datapad, and put a message in it before collapsing on the couch.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya pulled off her jacket and repeated her question. "What the frell happened to you?!" She blew warm air between her cold hands, and stomped her feet a little. The old man was talking to the blonde girl who had brought her inside. Arya had been able to convince the girl that she knew the man injured inside, and they were giving her a few minutes alone with him.

The questions would come after that, she supposed. Like I give a frell. She dropped her jacket in the corner, and peered at the man in the bed. It wasn't James Tohmahawk, and it wasn't Hunter, either. "Marcus, right?" Arya fought the temptation to roll her eyes. She had alread heard part of his story, enough to believe it, and not enough to understand all of it. He had his reasons for assuming identies, and the ability to change the way people percieved his appearance. She was after the money he owed her.

She sat in the chair beside the bed, and absently picked up the spoon, taking a bite of the stew he was sopping up with a crust of bread. It was good. Arya wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, and loosened the rail gun on her hip. If nothing else, the gun would link her to Marcus, and make the old guy believe her even more. The blaster in the shoulder holster was cutting into her arm, so she unbuckled it, and put it on the bed beside Marcus.

He seemed...flabbergasted to see her. She winked at him. "Didn't expect to see me, eh?"

"Well, to be honest...no." He frowned a little as she scooped up another spoonful of stew and aimed it into her own mouth. "What are you doing here?"

"Remember the job? Didn't work out. In a bad way." Arya spoke around the mouthful she was chewing. "Your double flew the coop, and the natives got restless about me. So I left, and I'm not sorry I did."

He seemed to be computing her words about his clone, and she took another spoonful of stew quickly. His eyes tracked the spoon and his fingers twitched. "When did you leave?"

She swallowed hard, and coughed a little. "About two and a half weeks ago. It took me a while to find out James Tohmahawk was heading the Arcan IV operation. Frell, I thought you'd have left this rock by now. And then it took a freak accident for me to get the transmission you sent me.

"Oh...by the way," she sent the spoon towards the bowl again, and Marcus grabbed the utensil out of her hand. Arya frowned, "I doubt that the NRSF got your message. Too bad, really. Not that they'd be able to send anything out in this weather."

"Arya." Marcus sounded a little confused still. "Why are you here?"

"For my money, of course." She pointed a finger at him. "First order of business is getting you back into the land of the living, and the second order of business is getting you to a bank. You owe me, James. Or whatever it is you call yourself." Arya was feeling hotter and hotter in her cold weather gear, and pulled her thick sweater off.

[Marcus Telcontar]

He stared at Arya for a moment, before looking at the stew and deciding it was more interesting to pay attention to. He took another few mouthfuls, noting that his silence was driving the woman to impatience.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not going anywhere, not for a few weeks at least. I’m sure you can wait that long for your money, if that’s what you care about. As for the job… whatever. Go your own way now. It’s over now anyway”

“Pardon?”

“I said it’s over, Arya. Now, why are you here?”

“I told you I want my money…”

She was silenced by a mere glance, before Marcus returned to his stew for a few more silent moments, before he spoke again “You can have your money and the mission is not important to me now. You can go now”

“But….”

“Leave” It was said so calmly and quietly, that the words carried a great deal more power than if they were yelled. “I know where to pay you. You don’t need to be here anymore, you should go back to whatever it was you were doing before we met”

She looked stunned. “But…. Your not..?”

He seemed to know her question before she said it. “No. Turbogeek means nothing to me now. You don’t mean anything, the military, the Jedi, the Republic…. It is nothing anymore” Q’Dunn scooped up the last bites of stew, eating them before continuing, his voice soft and gentle. “You better leave. You’re got better things to do than sit at the side of the bed of an invalid as I am right now. All I am is just plain Marcus Q’Dunn. I’m not James Tohmahawk, I’m not Darth Turbogeek, I’m not Force Master Hunter, Venom or any other name. It was nice knowing you Arya”

Ravenwing sputtered. “What, you just telling me to… go? Why you ungrateful…”

“Ungrateful? You’re going to get your money, 20,000 credits, yes? That should be gratitude enough for a smuggler, isn’t it?”

She had the wind totally taken out of her sails and she knew it. Arya seemed to retreat into herself. “But….”

“But what? You are paid, you did your job well. Or was there another reason why you came here?”

She didn’t speak, barely managing not to gape.

“That’s why you should go. There are things you don’t know about me that would make you run in fear if you did. But before you do, how did you find me?”

“I…. er.. got your signal. I don’t think anyone else did.”

“So that’s why no one came to find me. That makes sense now. Just do me one favour and don’t tell anyone you did find me”

“What? But your that General, right?”

“You didn’t listen to me Arya, I’m Marcus Q’Dunn only. It’s for the best they never find me again. Now, please go, I’m tired and I need rest” With those words, he picked up the tray and moved it to one side, before deliberately drawing up the covers and closing his eyes. With two or three breaths he was already asleep, much to Arya’s chagrin. She let fly a stream of curses as she put her jacket back on and stormed out of the room, back to where Jost and the woman were sitting.

“Thanks for your time, now which is the best way out of here?”

Jost raised an eyebrow. “There ain’t be any way fast out. There be more storm coming, worse than now. You best be ….. hey!” He got up alarmed as Arya, in her anger, went for the door. The blast of wind thre the door out of her grasp, but she didn’t care. She almost ran out, immediately floundering in the blizzard. Still enraged, she stumbled onwards…..

15 minutes later, Jost half dragged, half helped Arya stumble back inside again, her mouth chattering and face blue.

“I be sorry lady, you have to stay here till the storm be over. Were you staying somewhere so that I can tell them not to be worried about you?”

--

3 days and the storm showed no sign of abating. Arya was like a caged rancor, unable to escape. She refused to go anywhere near Marcus and she barely consented to be given a bed. Any food she accepted in bad grace. She slept or sat basically in the one seat, which was close to the door, as if waiting for the first opportunity to escape. Jost and Alaina stayed away from her, moving between the rooms they slept or talked in, to the kitchen and the room Marcus was in. Marcus himself mainly slept or when awake, in deep thought. His memory was returning, although he still didn’t talk much, even with Jost’s good natured prodding. He hardly said more than his gratitude on Jost’s hospitality.

“This is that big time General” Jost had said to Alaina “But why he no want to contact anyone? I be thinking something odd here”. The strange cylindrical device he had found on this General who insisted on being called by the weird name was still hidden away and he had not told Alaina, nor his other suspicions. The old man was certainly not going to ask the rancor, for he doubted she would be any more help, even if she was disposed to talking.

All in all, it was a strange situation for Jost, but on the 4th night of the storm, it was far from his mind. He was asleep.

Alaina was asleep too

Even Arya slumbered, now on a somewhat better bed near the front door.

Marcus moved in his bed, then opened his eyes and hissed in pain. Even with the fact he no longer needed painkillers, if he bumped his leg or leaned the wrong way on his chest, he would quickly regret it.

“Damn it! Ow ow ow ouch!” he exclaimed quietly. A few minutes he grimaced, waiting for the throbbing pain to subside, until there was only the itching of well healing bones.

As he absent mindly scratched his chest, Q’Dunn realised he wasn’t tired at all, in fact he was completely and utterly awake. No half drowsiness, no drugs in his system, good food and a lot of rest for the first time in a long time was working wonders on him. His look was changing too as he hadn’t shaved in 2 weeks and he was somewhat thinner in the face. He had even gotten up earlier in the day and had managed to move around. That had also done him a lot of good, just being able to be on one leg and hopping carefully to the kitchen table was a major victory in his mind.

Right now tho, getting to the refresher would be just as major. He was going to be damned if he was going to use that bedpan again.

He lifted himself upright, moving around to allow his legs to dangle off the bed. The room, despite the heater, was still coolish, which wasn’t bothering him, but he still reached over for the set of clothes on the chair next to the bed. Working a set of pants on around the splits on his leg proved interesting, but apart from that, it didn’t take long to dress in the simple dark clothes Jost had provided. There was even a weatherbeaten cloak that Q’Dunn rather liked the look of, that he put on. He also managed to put the simple boots on. Also by the bed, he saw was the pack he had come here with. He had to admit, he was curious as to it’s contents. The refresher could wait while he had a look.

Apart from some spare clothes, some survival rations and a frying pan, there was a long pipe with a pouch tied to it by leather string. Slightly puzzled, he drew that out, looking it over. Well, I’ll be he thought, my pipe and some weed! Now why did I pack that I wonder? No matter, I could do with a smoke. But now for the refresher He pushed himself upwards, balancing on his good leg, the broken one held up off the ground. With the pipe in hand, he began to ho slowly to the door of the room, then after leaning on the door frame, he hopped along, using the wall as a steady. It took him a few minutes to find what he wanted, which he managed to do quietly and only one mistake.

Five minutes later, he came out, much relieved and pleased. Bed pans were highly unpleasant. It really did take a few days stuck in a bed for one to realise just how much the simple bathroom visit could be appreciated. He now regained his bearings in the unfamiliar house, for a moment listening to the storm that still raged outside. This close to the poll meant the average storm was a terrifying beast and this one sounded like it was huge. Certainly must of ben, given the fact it had lasted evidently for a few days and was the reason Ravenwing couldn’t leave. More the pity he thought. This place was very pleasant, especially without a snarling vixen.

Not paying Arya any more attention, he began to hop slowly to where the kitchen was. He made it after 3 or 4 minutes, breathing heavily from the effort. Q’Dunn rested, leaning on a chair, thinking what next.

For light, he lit the very old fashioned oil lamp, before taking a seat and pulling another chair closer so he could rest his broken leg if he wanted to. He sort of faced the window, which didn’t show much more that driven snow and darkness, then began to undo the pouch from the pipe.

Quite a good place for a smoke and some thinking, he reasoned.

A few minutes later, the room flared as he used a burning stick to light the contents of the pipe bowl, took a deep breath of the resulting smoke, before leaning back, beginning to allow his mind to wander as he occasionally took slow and measured puffs on the pipe stalk

--

It was the strange smell that she noted first. Sort of biting, but entirely unpleasant. Arya opened an eye, then the other. Slightly confused at the darkness and the strange sounds, it took her a moment to realise where she was.

“Ah frell, I didn’t get transported out of this dung pit?” she muttered. She turned over, determined to get back to sleep.

However, the smell was definantly not dreamed as it wafted over her again. It smelt like the spices and narcotics she had seen others consume, but somewhat… organic. It was a homely smell, that reminded her of her mother’s cooking. Getting more and more puzzled, she came upright in the bed, rubbing her eyes briefly to help clear both them and her mind. And still, the smell persisted and now she could tell there was a light in the kitchen. Not a bright one, but there was one there.

Puzzled, she shifted the covers off the bed, then got out herself. She had slept fully dressed as she had been for the last three nights, except for her boots which she now slipped on. Padding quietly to the kitchen, she looked around the corner, to see the most unlikely sight – a cloaked human, hood up and face hidden, boots on a chair, table at it’s elbow, with a lamp and a tankard, leaning back and smoking a pipe. So surprised she was that she bumped the doorframe, drawing the human’s attention to her. It turned it’s head slowly, seeming to look straight through her as it stared. The pipe stem came out of the shadow that was it’s face, followed by a could of smoke as it breathed out. She stared in amazement for a few more seconds, until the figure spoke in a soft voice, with a strange accent. But not one that was unpleasant.

“Good evening”

The voice was male, speaking barely above a whisper, but yet perfectly clear. She stood there perplexed as he turned away, bringing the stem to his lips, drawing in on the pipe again.

“Errrrr… hi” She didn’t know what else to say. This man’s presence was completely unexpected. Marcus would be hopefully rotting on that bed and this was not Jost. She started for a few more seconds “Were you hiding somewhere?” How lame that sounded!

He grunted a laugh. “I hide in many places. Come in, take a seat”

The voice was almost hypnotic. She came inside, almost like it was against her will. She took a seat on the other side of the table, her eyes drawn to the lower half of the man’s face, which she could now see lit by the lamp. Unshaven, square jawed. Thin lipped.

“What brings you here, and what is it you are called?”

She was beginning to feel like a shy girl, listening to that voice. “Ah, I was here after some money and my name’s Arya. Arya Ravenwing”

“Well met Ravenwing. I am Strider. Now tell me, what would a woman like you be owed money from a Jedi?”

A Jedi? What, Marcus didn’t lie? “How do you know what that scum in the other room is?” she asked.

“Scum is he? Why do you say that? Did he refuse to pay you?”

“No, it’s for something else”

“Did he hurt you in some way? Ah, no need to answer that, I can see in your body language the answer. How strange” The man puffed away again at the pipe, allowing Araya to calm down before speaking again. “May I presume to make an observation?”

“Uh, yes” she said, doubt clear on her voice.


“Why did you make the mistake of falling in love?”

She gaped, utterly stunned and speechless. With fury or confusion she didn’t know.

“What would you prefer to do now, hit me or talk?”

“Who the hell gave you the right to be so presumptuous?!” she hissed

“Because I’m right, even if you won’t admit it” The full weight of his gaze came on her and she could feel it cutting her apart and seeing her secrets, even if she couldn’t see the eyes. She just knew. Even in the days she had spent at Bast, even spying on a group of Dark Jedi, next to a clone that was frell knows how powerful, she didn’t feel the shiver of fear that coursed up the spine now. Arya felt truly exposed and no amount of emotional armour was going to protect her from a cutting assault she never expected.

“Who the frell are you?” she whispered, wishing right now she could find a hole and crawl through it. “How do you know?”

“Because I care for you”

It was being hit in the face. The words were still quiet and calm, softly spoken, but they had a presence and a power over Arya. She was rendered speechless, just staring at this deeply unsettling man.

“And as for your first question, I am Macraniusopiut Quokkatih’Dunenath in my home tongue, Marcus Q’Dunn in Basic, Jedi Master of the Jedi order, Warlord of the Republic” What could be seen of his face was now bent in a smile. “I don’t believe we have been introduced properly up to now Princess” Arya by reflex touched the amulet that was on a chain on the throat, the royal seal and symbol of her royal house. Except, being heir to a throne meant nothing if it had been usurped and her father murdered, her mother and her in exile since she was an infant.

“Don’t call me that” she pleaded.

“Princess? But that is what you are. Or would you prefer thief and smuggler?”

“You know what I mean. I’m not a princess, I’m just an ordinary person” She felt the emotion threatening to overwhelm her. “Less than that without a hope or anyone else”

“Arya”

She ignored her name this time, fighting back tears

“Arya, look at me”

She did so, seeing he had removed his hood, so she could see his face. Somehow… not the face she expected. She knew Tohmahawk and Hunter, knew that face that looked eerily like a Holostar. This one was like a vagrant, a mercenary. Like a Warrior

“You asked me on Trogan to prove I was a Jedi. Then, you were hoping for something that was beyond your dreams. You wanted something I am not and despite what you might have thought, I promised you nothing, I would have done what I did for anyone”

“You wouldn’t have held them the way you did to me. You wouldn’t have kissed them either like the way you kissed me”

“No, that is true” He paused, putting his hood back up to cover his face and taking a puff of the pipe “But then I was something I am not. Now you see me as I truly am. You have felt just the tip of the power I have. Am I someone you could love?”

“Yes!” she said with a good deal more heat than she intended. “And it hurts you could try to brush me off like you are! I don’t care if you’re a Jedi Marcus, I…. I’m not scared of you”

“Yes you are”

“Well…. A bit”

“Not enough.”

“Pardon?” she asked, surprised.

“Even the Sith Master fear me, for I can defeat them. I am likely to be the most powerful Force adept to arise in this generation. I am the third Jedi Warlord ever. I could end your life before you could blink. What makes you less afraid than them?”

“Because….” She paused before the words came unbidden to her mind. “Because you’re my friend”

Marcus puffed on his pipe, not answering for a minute. He finally blew out a great cloud of smoke and answered “Yes, I am. Think what that means Arya and think whom you befriended”

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya shrugged, her mind too full for her to be able to process her thoughts quickly enough. "It was Trogan that changed my mind about you. That and the incident here on Arcan IV." She paused, "I can see how you are a hard man. Yet you aren't cruel. There is much about you that I respect greatly, and even admire. You will go to great lengths to get what you want done."

She shot him a look, "However, I still fail to see why you had to throw me out a window. I nearly died. In fact, Turb..that is, your clone told me that I was dead there for a minute.

"Yet now you are my friend. Trogan changed things for us. And I don't think we should turn our backs on that." Arya leaned forward earnestly, her hair falling in her face, still mussed from sleeping. "There is more to you than only war."

Marcus filled a hole inside her...one that had been vacated by Aaron so many years ago. Arya knew what it was to be lonely. She knew what it felt like to have one's lover die in front of your eyes. They had so much in common, and yet were so different. "Please..." Her voice broke, and she bit her lip and ducked her head, uncharacteristically emotional.

[Marcus Telcontar]

The emotions on her mind were plain for the Jedi to read, but even then he felt dirty and unclean to even be able to see them. Strong emotions were like an open book for even the weakest Force user. For one like Marcus, it was right now more of a curse. He would have much preferred to allow Arya some privacy. The Jedi could clearly see the image of a lover Arya once had and a name...

"It seems we have more in coomon than you realise. We both lost the ones we love years ago"

Not noticing her reaction, Marcus leaned back, puffing on the pipe.

'Before I was a Jedi, I was married to a woman named Helenias. Unfortunantly, I had made some enemies and she was killed by them"

A pause.

"do you want to talk about him?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

She chewed her lip a little. "I think so." Arya shrugged a little. "It's been so long ago...at least five years now. And yet a part of me refuses to forget him." The woman found a chair and pulled it up, sitting near him.

"His name was Aaron, and he saved my life when I fled Ryloth. There was a...an accident." Arya didn't mention her newfound abilities, or the reason behind the accident. "He brought me back around, and taught me how to survive in the galaxy. I learned everything I know from him. And I owe him my life."

She paused, slightly smiling as she delved into memories. "He always had a plan he was working on, the last job that would set us up for life. It never came of course..." bitterness edged into her voice, "and the job finally came that took him from me." Tears formed in her eyes but did not fall. "I had to leave him. He made me leave! I didn't want to, he was shot by stormtroopers, and on his way out...but he was still alive when I ran away."

Arya blinked away the tears and shrugged again, "I saw it on the holonet later that day. Smuggler shot by Imperial troops, more at ten! You can't imagine how that felt. Knowing you abandoned the one person who ever meant anything to you. I swore I would never love again. And yet..." She didn't finish her thought, instead trailing off into nothing, and staring at her hands.

[Marcus Telcontar]

“And yet, never means forever and forever is a long time, in which many things will happen. Yes…. A damn long time” He went silent for a moment, before continuing. “I still have my wedding ring. On the inside we had inscribed Marcus and Helenias, Forever Together. It turns out forever was six months before she was killed. I’m 109 years old Standard and I had just 6 months with someone I loved. 81 years learning the Dark Side, and 10 as a Jedi. Some life so far, especially when I can expect another 350 years at least. Still plays on my mind, but it doesn’t consume me as it did. Not any more.

A Jedi shall have control of their emotions
A Jedi shall only know of calm
A Jedi should only be at peace
A Jedi shall not know anger, Or fear…Or love.

I was not a Jedi when I wed. And I will not be if I ever did again. However, there is only ever one bond I wanted to have and it is over 10 years ago on a bridge that was bombed that the possibility of that one ended. For her, I would leave the Jedi and for her, I turned my back everything, devoting myself to her. For you, I can not do that, I will be honest. Only if there could be true and pure love would I put aside my sabre. And for you, that could not happen”

“Marcus…. That’s the most heartless and brutal thing anyone has said me” She sounded like she was about to burst into tears.

“What would you prefer, something flawed and ill thought out, or honesty? Besides… “ He tried to take another puff and noticed the weed had burnt out “As I said forever is a long time. Even I can not see what is in the future for you. Always in motion the future is. But consider that if I did not at least want you for a friend, I would not say what I have. I’m not going to lie to you”

This time she did burst into tears, beginning to sob quietly while Marcus just waited calmly, taking a sip of the tankard and beginning the process of refilling the pipe. He had time to have more than a few puffs, before Arya sounded like she was righting herself. She sniffed and used a spare piece of cloth to wipe her eyes.

“Feeling better?” he asked

“No. but at least I know where I stand. Is this why you didn’t contact me after we parted at Trogan?”

“Actually, no. I was contacted by a Imperial whom I have hopes will defect. He asked me to do a job for him while he had other matters to attend to. I only came back from that about 3 weeks ago. I suspect the ambush I ran into that caused my present position was an act of revenge”

She perked her ears up. “Ambush?”

“Yes. I think they faked a call from this Imperial, asking me to meet him. I made a mistake and I was too keen to come, I should have heeded the danger sense I have. They shot my speeder’s engines, I crashed. They were coming to make sure I was dead when I proved I wasn’t. Quite fight in the end, even compared to some of the fights and battles I have been in. I don’t think I left one of them alive however. Not without a fair cost. After that, it’s blurry, Force knows how I managed to get here with the injuries. The signal you somehow got was just before I decided to attempt to walk to here. Don’t remember any of the trip apart from pain and just an urge to live. The Force more than likely drew you here, you came here and that’s where we are”

She sat quietly, thinking before speaking. “Well… Marcus…. I….” She looked pointedly away, composing herself before looking directly at the Jedi. “I guess when the storm breaks, I’ll leave and we’ll never see each other again, right? It is for the best after all” Yeah right Arya. What a steaming heap and you know it

Marcus cocked his head. “But I’ll be going with you. I need to lay low and I need to do some thinking. I have wandered far from the path I am supposed to walk and it’s time I righted myself. I should be healed enough to go.”

She looked at him in total surprise. “But….”

“We’re not lovers, but we are friends Arya. In some ways, that means more to me than lover ever could. And I think for you, that would mean something. It’s not everyday you have the trust and friendship of a Jedi Master”

The woman stared at the Jedi for what seemed like an eternity. “Are you serious?”

“Absolutly”

She stared again for a minute, before breaking into a hesitant smile. Very suddenly, she sprang out of the chair, to hug the Jedi and plant a kiss on his cheek.

“Hey! Watch the ribs!” he said, startled. “What’s this for?”

“For being my friend. I don’t think I ever had one of those before”

“Ahhh, then you have something to treasure. Now, maybe you should get some sleep now”

“Hey, what about you?” she asked

“I’m not tired in the slightest. I still have much to think of”

“Ah, okay” she said, getting up and moving to the door. As she did she turned around. “Thanks Marcus. Thanks for being honest, even if I didn’t want to hear it”

He nodded. “Thank you too. Just keep watchful for tall dark strangers. You never know when forever for you ends”

“Pardon? Was that a joke?” she asked, puzzled.

“Lets just say I don’t know what the future holds for you, but I foresee you wont be alone forever”

Her face lit up. “Can you at least tell me what he looks like?”

Marcus laughed. “Go to bed”

“Okay, okay, I’m going!” Arya turned and walked a few paces, before stopping. “Not even a hint?”

“Go to bed!”

Arya now also laughed. “Allright. Goodnight!”

Marcus waved at the departing woman, before settling back to enjoy the pipe again. He smoked for a few minutes, before he spoke in his low and calm voice once again.

“How much of that did you hear?”

The golden haired woman stepped out of the shadow where she had been hiding. “I’m sorry, but when I heard voices, I was curious. I heard you talking about Jedis….”

He sighed. “Take a seat. It seems it’s my night for talking”

[Alaina Edric]

She took the seat he had offered just across the table from him and rubbed a little bit of sleep from her eyes. The conversation between Marcus and the short tempered dark haired woman had woken her some time ago, and though it was proper or even right in the slightest, she had listened in. At first from the top of the stairs, out of sight. After the voices had faded into a murmur she had scuttled down to the doorway and waited there, hoping that if either Marcus or Arya had she would have been able to duck down quickly into the shadows.

That plan probably would have failed, but it didn’t matter now.

Alaina placed one hand slowly onto the table and traced little circles on the wood with one finger,

“You are a Jedi, then…” she sniffed, catching the scent of the pipe through her stuffy cold, “…why didn’t you tell Jost and I?”

Jost would have liked to know. Alaina would have liked Jost to know. Why? Jost himself had, at one time, served under the banner of the lightsiders. Though he had never achieved quite the rank that Marcus said he held, he had been more than adept. It had been a long while, though, since he donned his doe robes and took a lightsaber into his hands, proclaiming himself a Jedi Knight.

She remembered first arriving with him though, when the vows of the order were still fresh in his mind. He made it his job to educate her in the history of the Jedi, and even their ways. Indeed, she had been through a few Force classes and even once had tangled with a saber; however Jost would never take it further than the basics. And it was because of this that she had never progressed.

His will to teach had returned in his old age, yet his body would not permit such rigorous training as the young woman would need. This had and was in all truth of no consequence seeing as Alaina would be held at his side in Whitetown, helping – as they did each season – travelers, or entertaining guests who would never return. Sometimes she wondered whether Jost saw this as a way of making sure he and Alaina were still helping people, even if they weren’t protecting them from the darksiders she had heard a little of.

Then again, she also pondered over whether he would allow her to leave if she wished it. If she had asked to have permission to seek out the Jedi haven to enroll with them, would he have allowed it? For some reason, she very much doubted it.

“He is a Jedi also… although I suppose you would know that already,” she stumbled over her words and corrected herself, embarrassed.

[Marcus Telcontar]

“He is a Jedi also… although I suppose you would know that already,”

He blinked. "He is?" he replied, with a good deal ofsurprise evident. He hadn't sensed a thing! Now this was news indeed! Now, thinking Jost was old, it was possible....

"Jost was a Jedi in the Old Republic? How did he possibly survive the purge?" He was right now, stunned and amazed. What a discovery, a Jedi from the Old Republic! But first, this young woman had asked a good question that deserved an answer.

"Before you speak, I will offer my apologies, but even now in this day, it is always a time for caution before you tell someone you are a Jedi, especially someone like me. I did not sense anything that might have alerted me I was truly safe to speak whom I was. So yes, I am indeed a Jedi Master. Now... Alaina, yes? I'd like to hear what you are. And why your interested in the fact i am a Jedi"

[Alaina Edric]

"Jost has never told me much about his own past, sir," she slipped unknowningly into addressing him formally, "Only the history of the Jedi."

She cupped both hands together now and let out a quiet sigh.

"What am I?" What was she?

Alaina hunched up in her chair, tugging her night gown more firmly around her body. Even with the right precautions around the house to keep it warm, the bitter cold still managed to work it's way into the kitchen.

"I was Jost's learner..." she coughed quietly, "He is too old now though... he no longer feels he could train someone, so I am now just what I fear I will always be - here."

[Marcus Telcontar]

Jost's learner?

He stared at Alaina for a moment. That would mean... she was Force sensitive? He put his pipe down on the table, his eyes looking at her, assesisng and judging at the same time. And also thinking.

"Tell me Alaina... do you feel the Force as well? What have you learnedand what can you do? Do you desire to learn more?"

[Alaina Edric]

"I do feel it's presence, but only faintly."

That would have explained why she did not sense anything earlier in Marcus. With a power such as his she would have had to have been ill-trained not to feel it, unless he was masking it with some trick.

"What can I do? Well, very little," she lowered her gaze a little, "Small manipulations, little things like lifting up things or moving them about."

[Marcus Telcontar]

A Jedi Knight of the Old Republic and a potential learner as well...?!? This was starting to get surreal and if he was anything other than a Jedi, he would have out this discovery down to some incredible chance. But it was not.

"So you have only really begun. And yet... "He closed his eyes, using The Force to touch Alaina's mind, feeling her presence in the Force and divining what he could "You have a good mind and also heart. There is more to learning the force than just moving thinks with your mind and your nature serves you well to that. There is resposibiliy, there is wisdom. There is feeling what the will of the Force is. It is knowing what the Dark Side is and how to avoid falling into Darkness. It is learning to put others first and to serve all beings and defend them from evil, even if they hate you."

"It is giving your life for the Light Side and never failing. It is a hard life, but one that is wroth the struggle. Is this what you wish?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya lay back in her bed, drawing the covers up to her ears and turning on her side. She could hear a slight murmer of voices still, and she felt...

...strange.

She'd just been rejected, after laying everything out in front of him. She bared her soul, and he basically threw it back at her. It was some comfort ot realize that they would be friends, yet -

Her woman's heart knew that it was not enough. Could never be enough. But if he wanted it that way, she could pretend to be as coldhearted as he was. Yet he had hinted at something in her future, and that piqued her interest. Not just because it involved a man and her, but because he claimed to be able to see into the future.

If he could "see" like that, perhaps...

Arya frowned with her eyes closed, still trying to fall asleep, but her thoughts were keeping her awake. If that were so, he would have told me. Unless he doesn't know. It isn't the same. Hokey religions and ancient weapons were no match for a good blaster at your side. Or a rail gun.

Rail gun. Absently she pondered the strange weapons. They were reported to be capable of disrupting a lightsaber, but if that were so, then the shells would have to be made of cortosis ore. The cost would be tremendous. Of course, she had yet to test her own such weapon on a lightsaber. Arya hoped she never would have to. The nature of a smuggler was to hide and to move.

So she would move on from here, and then hide. What a fool she had been on Trogan, and then a fool again to weep in front of him here on Arcan IV. She had made herself ultimately vunerable to a man she trusted, and yet was afraid of. He was an enigma to her, one that she wanted desperately to understand. He had taken her trust and treated it cruelly, and gently at the same time.

Frell him. Her momentary happiness had faded and was replaced by a more recognizable Arya. The Arya that had fought through a snowstorm to...get a paycheck? Be realistic, frell me! I came because I wanted to know if he felt... And he didn't. Still, friends would do for now. And once she got her money, she would be on her way.

[Alaina Edric]

"It is giving your life for the Light Side and never failing. It is a hard life, but one that is wroth the struggle. Is this what you wish?"

She had no doubts what so ever about her answer.

Ever since she had trained with Jost for that short time so had been fascinated by the Force and the Jedi in particular. Their ways and everything they practiced enchanted her. She could pick up a book about them and be drawn into it for hours upon end, totally oblivious to anything else going on around her.

She had been so dissapointed to have to cease learning with Jost. Often she would subtly try to nudge him back into teaching her, yet every time he would disregard her requests with some old moralistic phrase or blame the postponement on his old age. From what she had read, though, she thought that he would have been very capable of returning to training - yet didn't for fear of something.

Perhaps he thought that he would loose her; and then be alone.

Alaina was sympathetic to an extent, but knew that in the big picture it would be more beneficial not only to Jost, but to humanity as a whole, to return to her learning.

"Yes, I wish for that more than anything.."

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Yes, I wish for that more than anything.."

Up to this point, Marcus hadn't even thought of the possibility, But now, he was faced with something he did not expect. Someone asking to be trained as a Jedi. Normally, one would be taken before the Council and then given a Master. This was what he would have preferred to do and to continue his life, unrestricted by a learner. Back into the life as the NR General and all that came with that.

Except...

Except, did he really want that? The days in bed that he had been lucid enough to think, had made him reconsider a lot. He had reclaimed his Jedi heritage on this same planet some months before, but still had kept the sham of Tohmahawk, because there was no real alternative. Now, he had to presume that the only people who knew of his continued survival were in this hut. Two knew who he was. The other might have guessed.

"For many years" he found himself speaking "I have refused to take a Padawan. I have only had one and she was killed, not long after she fell to the Dark Side. I have always defied the Council and I always walk my own path. I am a Warrior Jedi, my life has precluded the possibiliy of teaching others. And yet... I feel what the Force is hinting. Coming here was no accident, your hearing my words with Arya was no accident. I would normally take you to the Jedi and they would decide a Master for you"

He took a deep breath.

"I sense that is not right. I am meant to train you. Thence..."

The Jedi Master lifted this head to stre directly at Alaina.

"...I will if this is the will of the Force and if you agree"

[Alaina Edric]

Her expression brightened immeadiately, eyes lighting up at his words. She could not have hoped for a more amazing oppertunity. A Jedi Master offering to train her was a once in a life time event, how in the world could she turn it down?

"Oh yes! Of course I agree!"

Alaina's cheeks warmed and she calmed herself inside, a tad embarassed at her show of emotion. She did not want to seem at all ungrateful for all that Jost had done for her, but the prospect of returning to training gave her a rare feeling of elation.

She composed herself, and spoke once more, "Yes, yes. I would be honoured to train with you."

[Marcus Telcontar]

A rare lopsided grin appeared on the Jedi’s face. He could read the joy Alaina had clearly on her sense and for him, it was remarkably uplifting. It was certainly one of the most pleasing things that had happened to him in a long, long time. For him to accept a genuinely new learner… he wasn’t even sure, going back among the list of Jedi he had trained, whether that had ever happened before. No, he was sure. Alaina would be his first genuinely new learner. He had trained ones with power and knowledge already, he had finished the training of others. This would be a new experience then!

“At this point Alaina, I have heard other Jedi ask their new learner to kneel and swear service, other have ceremonies. I don’t, but I will say that if my lessons and instruction is odd, it is because you are the first I will train from the beginning. So what I will do now is what I expect. My ways of training will be not to lift rocks and such. My ways are of discipleship. I do not except you to ever be the fighter I am, but I expect you to absorb what a real Jedi is and does by living your life as I do. Being a Jedi and learning the ways of the Force is not something I can teach you from a book or fixed lessons. The only way you will learn is experience, to see and to feel. There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path - you will know the difference when you take your steps. I will guide you and make sure you do not mis-step. That will mean you will need to leave with me when I go. If there is no other family or friends you need to speak with, I will speak to Jost on the dawn. Now I think maybe you should be going back to bed, although I don’t expect you will sleep”

“Are you going to bed too?”

“No, I have much to think about”

“Well….” The golden haired woman moved to the door. “Goodnight Master Jedi”

“Call me Marcus. I never liked the whole titles and difference thing, especially to those to whom have been students to me”

“That doesn’t seem right”

“It will. Goodnight Alaina”

He placed the pipestem between his lips and puffed on the pipe as he heard Alaina step quietly away. This was becoming quite an interesting night, he reflected. He could sense Arya was asleep again, but seemed ill at ease, which the Jedi could guess the reason why.

Ahh Arya, I’m sorry. But you’ll see the wisdom in why I have done as I have – I have to walk the path that I took up when my Helenias was taken from me. A Jedi can not allow himself to love as it removes his focus from the Force and the path he must walk. Long I have not walked that path, but I must, even if you don’t understand why. I think more you would know why if you could see what I can

And probably have the same troubled mind, he admitted. Ever since Fondor - when he had realised that he was tainted - he had struggled to contend with the Dark Side, that wanted claim him once again. It had sneaked up and had tried to ensnare him, even as he had rejected all to do with the Jedi and had been Tohmahawk. And more so, once he had admitted to himself that he was truly a Jedi and that was what he had to be.

But he had tried to hold onto Tohmahawk, hold onto his personal power. The armies, the weapons of war. Tried to rationalise.

No, I can’t do that any longer. Thence, I must leave everyone behind and seek for myself what I am to be. I cant be anything else other than the Jedi Master Marcus Q’Dunn and even if I am a Warlord, A Jedi’s true place is not to be the ultimate General. If the Galaxy thinks I am truly dead, then that is the way it must stay until I am ready to return. I will have to tell Nathan and I will have to tell Jyanis and maybe I will have to contact Lord Fire Blade. But that will be all. Actually, contacting Fire Blade won’t be needed. He will have surely collected Jina and gone into hiding

Yes, he should have, which left Marcus for the first time in many, many years, finally free to stride out, find the narrow path, gather his strength and be the Jedi he should always have been.

For many more hours, he thought and smoked, occasionally taking a sip from the tankard. Right until the point where he estimated dawn would be, (although that was impossible to truly know by sight as the storm was still howling and darkening the skies) when he heard footsteps. He waited while they got closer, right to the point where he could hear them at the doorway to the kitchen. He heard a gasp of surprise as the owner of the feet realised Marcus was there.

“Aye, you be feeling better now?” asked the raspy voice of the old man, Jost.

“Much better. I’ve had much to think about tonight and part of that is about you”

“Me? Why be thinking about me? I be just an old man, I be!”

Marcus looked out from under his hood, staring at the old man with hidden eyes. “Indeed. You and I have something to talk about, my brother Jedi.”

Marcus could hear the sharp intake of breath. “Then.. it be true? Jedi are you?”

“A Jedi Master. And if I am not mistaken, you knew I was”

“I… suspected.”

Q’Dunn nodded. “Very well. We have much to talk about, Master Jedi, you and I. Firstly, whom do I have the honour of speaking to?”

[Helenias Evenstar]

I did not know how long I slept, but when I woke, I could feel it must have been for a while and it must have been deep as well. I was feeling better as well as being healed a bit. No, not fully... but I knew the crying had done some good. What would do me even better would be to move on. I knew that too well...

I got up and noticed a second blanket had been placed over me. I also noticed as I looked about, this Nathan West was asleep on the couch. Well, if anything, he had a good and kind heart. As I stretched to work the knots out of my back, I noted a datapad on a table. Pointing in my direction. A hint it was for me? It didn't hurt to look anyway. I got out of the bed (Hmm, lucky I slept fully clothed I thought) and crossed to it. As I began to read, I saw it was for me. First part was a condolance, very well written. The second was a job offer, whch I had to admit was very, very good.

The third regarded the items Marcus had left behind. Some personal effects, papers, his cat (His cat? But didn't he hate them?) and also.....

Oh gods.... now THERE was a problem!

I would have liked to stay to talk to West hen he awoke about the job. I simply placed an I accept and will be back note in return, left the armour, but grabbed my Pike and ran for the door.

--

"Commader Cross... yes your pass is valid..... holy...." the trooper looking over passes for space transit had a case of eye boggle as he ran and read my pass through a scanner.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Your clearence level.... ummm.... we will have a shuttle ready for you in 10 minutes M'dm!"

My Clearence level? And now this trooper was hustling like his ass was on fire? What was on that pass? I leaned over the counter to look at the screen.

NAME : HELLCAT

ACCESS TYPE : ARCH ANGEL ASSIST IMMEDIATLY

Hellcat? ArchAngel? What was that supposed to mean?

--

Whatever it meant, it got results. I had the feeling where I wanted to go, normally your chances of getting there were about the same as escaping the Maw Cluster. But with this id, I seemed to have something that would clear me to the very command rooms of the NRSF without question. Soemthing about thise two words, Hellcat and ArchAngel made people jump like nothing I had seen. I suspected tho, it would not work for others, only me. I had to hand it to Marcus, he had set this up well. The thought of his name was a brief pain, overridden by my need for urgency.

Barely 4 hours later, I was on the hangar oif the biggest damn piece of metal I had ever seen, a winged Mon Cal cruiser of staggering size, which I had learned was called Defender. Even being used to SSD's while in the Imperial service, this... thing was truly impressive. It was not even a dagger shape, it was nearly as wide as it was long. How the frell had anyone found the credits to put it together, that was beyond me. As I came out of the shuttle, it was obvious I was expected. A fairly senior ranking officer was waiting me.

"Good evening Madam Jedi. What do we owe this visit?"

JEDI!?!?! What the Frell???? Well, if thats what got me here....

"Your Captain. I want to see her on the Bridge. Now" I said.

"Errr..."

"NOW"

I got there, after scaring five more officers and a whole lot of troops. My words were not gentle nor polite and I made it clear no one was to deny me what I wanted. Whickh I got, when a fit and tall woman, came to me as I arrived on the Bridge.

"I an Captain Drecker. What is the meaning of this?" she snapped.

"I want to see Tohmahawk's personal belongings... ALL of them" i said in a tone that brokered no argument. This Drecker however, she was not easily browbeaten.

"Oh? And what makes you think you can?"


"Cause if you dont, I'll rip you limb for limb!"

She bristled. "Don't you dare make threats to me..."

"I'll damn well make threats to anyone I choose Drecker. Now. Show me where Q'Dunn's belongings are"

That got her. She seemed rather sandbagged that I knew Tohmahawk's real name. She said something about speaking to West, hurried off. I waited patiently until she came back, a new and different look on her face. Pity? Concern? Fright? All of them? "This way please" she said quietly "Guards, leave us. I'll escort the Jedi personally"

She remained quiet unti we had gotten into a quiet corridor. "Is it true what West told me?"

"Depends"

"That your...." she looked at me and tired away. I guessed what she was going to say Q'Dunn's wife

"Yes I am"

"Oh God, I'm so sorry" she blurted. "I honestly didn't know..."

"I know. He thought I was dead"

Drecker glanced at me quickly. " He must have..... well..... he had his wedding ring and he wore it still. And he had your holo on his desk"

Frell That was like a kick in the guts. I had to stay silent, else my emotions would have bettered me. We walked in quiet for what was a few kilometers in this huge ship. Eventually, we came to a standard door, that lead of a service corridor.

"His room...." Drecker said.

I nodded. With no hesitation, I pressed the release and looked as the brightly lit, plain room was revealed. His room. His life...

His cat?

A beautiful black cat was sitting on the table, watching as I entered, Drecker not far behind. Images of my man's life I could see....

"ELIEEN!"

I sudden high pitched and excited squeal broke my thoughts. I turned to the source to see a red haired young girl, with deep green eyes hurtling her way to me. I barely managed to stoop and catch her as she flung herself into my arms. I picked her up, hugging the girl fiercely and swearing I was going to never let Jina Jade out of my sight again for as long as I lived.

[Old Man Jedi]

It was early morning, but in a place like Whitetown, where the snows fell and for parts of the year the land was covered in darkness, early was a relative time. He had been here long enough to understand that well - so he simply had a time he woke up every day, which would be called too early by others. He found as he got older, he needed less sleep. More itme to think, to potter about and to basically end out his long years in peace.

Thence, Jostwas highly surprised when he awoke, to smell something different. A not unplesant smell, but one he could not identify. Odd this. Was this something that woman Ravenwing was doing? He guessed he would need to get up and find out. An onld cloak, a battered set of boots and he went out of his room.

Alaina was in her bed, sleeping soundly. He saw as he got to the front door, so was the wild woman. His frown deepened, he went to the kitchen where the smell was coming from. First thing he saw was a figure in a greyinsh travelling clothes, feel in boots on a chair, smoking a .... pipe!?! Olorin blinked before gasping in realisation.

It seemed their guest was up and about. Quite remarkably, given how close to death's door he had been.

“Aye, you be feeling better now?” asked the raspy voice of the old man.

“Much better. I’ve had much to think about tonight and part of that is about you”

“Me? Why be thinking about me? I be just an old man, I be!”

Marcus looked out from under his hood, staring at the old man with hidden eyes. “Indeed. You and I have something to talk about, my brother Jedi.”

Oh ****. He knew....? How??. “Then.. it be true? Jedi are you?”

“A Jedi Master. And if I am not mistaken, you knew I was”

“I… suspected.”

His guest nodded. “Very well. We have much to talk about, Master Jedi, you and I. Firstly, whom do I have the honour of speaking to?” He also had a most unusal, but plesant to listen to accent in his speech.

"I? I be Jost Olorin. I be Jedi, yes.... before The Darkness came. Now, I be not much more than an old man"

"That is not what I sense old man. You still a Jedi and if I am not mistaken, a good one too"

Jost sighed. "Aye, I would that be true. But it is not" He took a seat on the other side of the table, unknowingly where Arya and Alaina had sat hours earlier. "Now, who be you"

"I am Marcus Q'Dunn, Jedi Warlord..."

"Warlord?!?" Olorin's attention snapped up, staring at the hooded man. "What kind of Jedi be a Warlord?"

"A Warrior. I am the third Warlord to arise and the first in 5000 years"

By the Force!!! "MAster Yoda, he would not agree with this and I dont know if I do either!"

"You knew Master Yoda?" Q'Dunn leaned closer "Who else of the pre Empire did you know?"

"Ahhh, many. And now I remember one called Ploo Koon, he be a Warrior. He was on the Last Council before Darth Vader destroyed Jedi. You take that side of the Jedi, yes?"

"Yes I do, though many dont agree with me. You might say my views are not welcome with many Jedi"

"Yes, yes Koon's was not either. Jedi were to be peaceful and wise, not WarriorsI be wondering but, what would have happened if more saw like did.... ahhh, I be rambling. It be exciting to see another Jedi!"

"It's not bad to see one who would know about must that was lost. The others of the Jedi Order would want to meet you"

A Jedi.. Order? "You be speaking if there were many more Jedi. Is this true?"

"Yes, it is. The Jedi are here, on Arcan IV now. We are here and also on Yavin IV"

He was taken aback. "How... how many?"

"Hundreds I think. I dont really know, they dont know I exist either. To them I am an upstart General"

Blink. Huh? "So you be this missing General...?"

"I am. But I have no intention on revealing I live, not now. You have told no one else of who you thought I was?"

"No, I not be telling anyone. I would have not known myself except..... your sabre. It is strange, I could feel it."

Q'Dunn seemed to pick up his ears. "Athona? It is here? I looked for it when i got up, but I could not find it. May I have it back?"

Jost nodded, shuffling up out of his seat and then to the linen pile in the guest room. A moment later, he was back, with the strange shaped weapon in his hand. it was 40+ cm long, twin handgripped and what looked lie a sword shearing guard on it. It was inscribed with an odd flowing script he could not read and it was oddly warm in his hand. Olorin gave he sabre back to the Jedi Master, who nodded, examining the handle. "Do you have a sabre any longer Master?"

"Ah, not any longer I be too old now. And I am not Master, never was"

Olorin could sense the Jedi Master... Warlord? feeling out with the Force. "No.... no. That is not true. You have strength Master and you have knowledge. Before I leave, I wish to learn more from you - and whatever you choose to teach, I will hand down to Alaina in turn"

Jost's old eyes widened. "You.... know?"

"Yes, she and I spoke earlier I ask that she comes wtih me when I leave and I train her in the Jedi arts"

Jost swallowed. Not only was there a Jedi Master here... he was offering to do what he desired most of all for Alaina, but had been too afraid to do himself. This was more than he could ever have expected when Q'Dunn had stumbled to his door, 3 weeks ago.... "Aye... though it would sadden me that she would leave. It is for the best and you be doing what I can not. But I ask..... you are a Jedi Master, yes? Then why you even asking me? Why you be asking for me to train you in the ways I know? Would you be knowing them all already?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

Nothing.

She stood on the brink of a chasm, her bare toes curled over the edge, with an inky black sky full of stars above her. The only light was from the far away stars...in fact, she could not see anything at all except for the constellations.

They were foreign to her, yet she studied them closely, committing them to memory. A cool updraft blew the hair around her face, and her toes dug in as she felt the Nothing in front of her.

"Arya!" The woman turned in her vision, and saw a tiny shape running towards her, arms outstretched. "Arya, save me!" The voice was very young, and full of terror. The child's fear quickened fright withing the woman herself, and she hesitantly reached out for the shadowy girl, fingers beckoning the child to run faster.

The shadow disappeared, and the woman faced the chasm again, the cool air now tinged with an unnatural heat. A red glow appeared at the bottom of the chasm, so far below that she could not see its origin. And across the chasm, two lights appeared.

Long and bladelike, they whipped around like swords. Lightsabers. They were both red, one flaming as with the fires of Hades, and the other refined in its beauty of attack.

The two opponents suddennly stoped fighting, sabers floating in a cushion of darkness as their wielders could not be seen. The woman felt a stab of sadness at the reconciliation of the fighters, and yet, was strangely glad at the same time.

Below her toes, the fires raged, and she turned from the precipice, stepping back in sudden fear, and falling down a slight decline. Struggling to her feet, she found herself face to face with one of the duelers from across the chasm. It was Marcus. His eyes bored into her, and she felt confused.

"Will you?" He asked her a question, yet it did nothing to clear up her confusion.

"Will I what?" Her voice sounded strange to her own ears.

"Will you?"

"I don't know what it is you are asking me to do!" The woman cried out in panic, afraid again.

"You must do it!"

Almost sobbing, she shook her head mutely, trying to convey her befuddlement, and he looked her up and down slowly, eyes covering every inch of her body. To her shock she was naked, yet his eyes held no lust in them. Only a deliberating stare, as if he were measuring her up. With a look of calm, he turned away, dismissing her from his sight.

Once again she stood on the precipice she had just left, struggling for balance as the flames greedily licked up the walls of the chasm. Before her, on the opposite side, lay a very familiar figure, his blond hair shining in the firelight. Arms flailing, the woman screamed. "Aaron!"

Chest almost obliterated from a series of blaster hits, the man raised his hand towards her. "Go. Go Arya!" He slumped back a little, and then raised himself once more. "Let go."

"I won't," she whispered, her balance tetering on the edge as the flames kissed her toes with intense pain.

He answered her back. "You must."

With a jerk she found herself laying in a makeshift cot, blankets twisted around her feet, and covered with sweat. Arya choked as she breathed, heart racing, and unshed tears gathered in a lump inside her throat. Only a dream. Yet even as she fed herself the platitude, she knew the difference. It had been a vision, more powerful than any she had experienced before.

Arya pulled her blankets off her feet, and then sat up and looked at her toes. They were reddened, hot to the touch, and her right big toe had a small heat blister on the bottom. She sat in the middle of her tiny cot, clutching her feet, and trying to pull herself out of the fearful mindset of the vision.

And then she noticed it. The noise. Or rather, the lack of noise. Outside, it seemed that the storm had finally blown itself out. Arya exhaled slowly, her heart rate returning to normal.

[Old Man Jedi]

“Because I nearly fell to the Darkside”
It was said so plainly and calmly, like he was asking for a cup of tea, Jost could hardly believe it. It took a moment for the old man to think of anything to say. “Then why be asking me? You be having a Master of yourself, yes?”

“No. I never had one”

“Pardon? How that be possible?”

“Don’t be asking me. They believed I was knowledgeable enough or something like that, I don’t know. It was a mistake for them to allow me to be a Jedi and not have a Master, that I do know. And after I proved myself in combat and on the Council, the need was never seen. However… I have always known of the need. Even if it’s just for a guide. The ones whom don’t need that are true Masters and I am not. I have been observing you Master in the times I have been awake and in talking to Alaina tonight, I made my mind up. Even if it’s just as a guide, I need someone to oversee me”

Jost was dumbfounded. “Aye, but… “ he fell silent, then sighed. And in a completely different voice, one that was deep and powerful, one he had not spoken in for years. Not since the days when he was proud to call himself a Jedi. Before he had to run and go undercover. “Come with me then. We have much we would speak about Marcus Q’Dunn”

“Where?”

“Outside. The storm is broken, it will be daylight soon”

“Ahh….. I doubt I could manage that, I had enough problems walking in here”

Jost smiled. “I’ll help you”

--

It was one of the strangest journeys Jost had ever taken. He ha d often gone into the wilderness near Whitetown, but never with a temporarily crippled Jedi Master. And, he noted, one of the most determined beings he had ever witnessed. As he alternatively watched and helped Marcus walk, he couldn’t help but to marvel at the way the Jedi Master refused to allow any obstacle to impede his progress, be it the huge snow drift, trees or branches. Even with a leg that was clearly a real problem, Jost was getting a clear idea what had made his man so powerful. Just sheer force of will, an attitude of not allowing anything to stand in his way. An intensity like only he had seen in a handful of others.

But that wasn’t to say he wasn’t struggling. With a crude crutch to support himself, he was right now moving slowly through the snow under the fir trees, to where Jost was standing. Marcus eventually came to where Jost was standing, leaning on a staff he had taken before exiting his home. Remarkably, the place he now sat upon a stone was clear of snow… and was even warm.

“How… come… no…snow…here?” Marcus puffed, seeking out a rock to likewise sit on.

“That question… I’ll answer another day. For now, tell me your story”

After Marcus had finished, 20 minutes later, Jost pondered for a moment. “Now I understand why you asked as you did. Very well….” Jost thought for a moment, then from a long and thin bag, he took out a device Marcus initially did not identify. But he had to stifle back a laugh as he recognized what it was.

“A Bow, Master Jost? That’s a strange device for one not on a primitive planet”

Jost gave Marcus a slightly weary look, before getting up and putting an arrow to the string. The bow groaned slightly as the old man pulled back, aimed, and then fired. The arrow whistled as it flew….. hitting some sort of antlered beast that had been grazing on some tree leaves. It fell dead without a sound, the shaft of the arrow buried in it’s side. The other animals nearby were hardly perturbed and kept grazing as their now dead heard member had been. “Marcus… your turn now”

Somewhat puzzled at what the point of this was (But still, rather impressed with the shooting ability of the old man), he took out of it’s holster one of the rail guns he had bought with him on Jost’s insistence. He likewise stood up (if only on one leg) and with a sight smile on his face, dialed up maximum power, aimed and fired.

CRACKBANG!!!!!

The whipcrack of the gun’s accelerators spitting the thumb sized projectile out was earsplitting, the bullet screaming out at near hypersonic speeds, ripping apart the atmosphere, before hitting one of the beasts, the explosive tip detonating and with an huge resounding THUD, blew the animal into a spay of small pieces, that fanned out into a red shower. The other animals bolted as the sounds of the rail gun echoed and dimmed. Jost stood where he was, eyes wide at the sheer killing ability of the gun.

“That…was most impressive. But tell me… which of the two, your gun or the arrow, was more effective in killing our targets?

“Well.. the gun. It gave the beast no chance, while your arrow was more likely to miss it’s target”

“And which….. will give us something to eat?”

Marcus paused. It was quite evident he was wondering where this was going. “Errr…. If I wanted to eat the thing, I wouldn’t have used the Rail Gun”

“No? What would you have used?”

“Blaster”

“That is where you are vunerable to the Dark Side”

Marcus was caught out. “Pardon!?!”

“My friend, you use the Force and any tool you have to the maximum, whether it’s needed or not. Consider – to extract juice from a fruit, I would squeeze gently and wring it out slowly, gaining every drop. You would take a bat and smash it. Don’t you think that by using the appropriate effort is much more effective? And those who use whatever they can… they are open to the Dark Side. You use your power too freely Marcus Q’Dunn. I already see this from just this trip here. Plus, you are too unwilling to ask for help. You don’t just have to depend on yourself you know, you could have asked for my help getting here. You are proud, too much so. You are a servant, or have you forgotten that?”

The Jedi Master winced at the last one.

“You disagree?” asked Jost.

“No… definantly not. It’s that your right and that is what I have told others”.

“Yes… the heart of a real Jedi. Putting others first.”

“Yeah…. So…. What do we do from here Master Jost?”

“Well… firstly we skin and gut our food. And then we go back. We have much to do if your serious about leaving”

“Indeed… I am. I suspect I have got a lot of thinking to do” replied Marcus.

“And learning my boy. Come, your friend and Alaina will be wondering where we are”

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya blew out her breath in a tired sigh, watching it condense and dissapate before her eyes. She piled another load of split firewood in her arms and trudged back to the front door, kicking it open, and tossing the wood in the bin just inside the door. Alaina, or whatever the golden haired girl's name was, was around the house someplace. Reading, probably.

After the dream, Arya had been unable to get any sleep. And, apparently, James...no, Marcus and the old man had gone out for a walk. The storm was finally over, and she would be on her way soon. There was just the matter of her remaining pay, but after that was taken care of, wild banthas couldn't make her stay any longer. Tired and grumpy, Arya had found momentary peace through splitting the woodpile.

Pulling her gloves off and blowing on her fingers, Arya shrugged out of her jacket and sat on the edge of her cot, looking out the small window on the gigantic snow drifts. Her mind drifted, and she concentrated on an image, practicing. A ripple started at the back of her neck as her outline shifted, and then coalesced into quite another form.

No longer appearing human, Arya tugged on the lekku that extended from the back of her head. She did not know how her body worked, except that there were fatty deposits and pockets of flesh within her. These resources, and other peculiarities to her race, such as bones which she could rearrange to suit other forms, allowed her to change her physical appearance to just about anything.

She lacked finesse, and the Twi'lek image was the only non-human she did truly well. "It would be my pleasure to dance." Arya spouted off pleasantries in Twi'leki, and then noticed two figures approaching the house. Two minutes later Marcus and Jost stomped inside, the carcass of a snowdeer resting in pieces on the snow just outside the door.

Arya, once again herself, looked up from the book she was holding upside down and pretending to read. "Did you boys have fun shooting things?"

[Morgan Evanar]

West's desk was dominated by the lumpy simple brown cloth that nearly stretched from one side to the other.

The commander of the NRSF scratched at the fresh stubble on his chin as he came around the desk.

"James, Marcus, rather left a great many surprises. Someone reminded me of this one this afternoon. You know how I prefer not to bother the Jedi for help when I can do it another way. Don't like to bother whatever it is you folk do exactly. Anyway." He unfolded the cloth, revealing a rather sturdy looking claymore.

Morgan reached for the massive sword, but when his hand was a mere centimeter from the hilt, he abruptly stopped. West narrowed his eyes, but surprised was completely absent.

"I got the impression touching the sword was a very, very bad idea." The Jedi Master nodded. The message had been there, and had he been in a different situation, one pressed for time or desperation, it could have very well been his undoing.

"Whoever made it left behind a very firm psychic imprint that the blade was not to be weilded by anyone but it's maker. Aye, a very bad idea, Nathan. It needs to go somewhere safe. I have a decent idea."

"Good. I'm fresh out. Mine all smelled funny." The Jedi smiled as he carefully wrapped the claymore back up in the brown cloth. Yes, he knew just the place.

It had been years since he had visited Tanaab, and even longer since he had visited what the Tanaabian superstitions refered to as "Bren's Haunt."

The place always had sort of given him the willies, but youthful curiousity and energy had always negated it to a large degree, as did the fact that he wanted to prove a point. Still, he had never visited in the dead of night before. Local legend had maintaned that something very bad lived there. As such, the property was owned by the local government and annexed as uninhabitable. The storys to substaniate the legend always began with a bad electrical storm, and a dark man.

Now that Morgan was looking at the ruined rock structure with a very different set of eyes and senses, something very nasty had died here, at the very least. Edges of rock were burnt and charred, and much of the stone floor was covered in a layer of rather dead looking dirt. The whole place was a grave. He set the bundle that contained Marcus's sword down gently, and pulled a glove off, letting his claws free.

Clearing the dirt off was the easy part. The stones were set very firmly into the ground. But a goodly amount of elbow grease won out in the end. The Jedi Master carefully unwrapped the dangerous sword, leaving a good amount of cloth between his hand and the hilt. Slowly, he let the tip of the blade sink into the dirt some, and that resulted in a metal on metal clink. He paused, and set the sword aside again. Morgan dug the squarish object free, and set it behind him, leaving the mystery of what it was for later.

Again, he let the tip of the sword sink into the earth. His breath slipped slowly in and out, and the Jedi Master's lids closed over his cat-like eyes. The loose grasp he had on the cloth surrounding the handle became one of durasteel. On the next inhalation, he lifted the claymore high above his head, the Force flowing like a waterfall through him. Morgan exhaled, plunging the sword downward. It dove down like a metor, the hilt dissapearing completely. After another deep breath, he replaced the stones and collected his find.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Marcus turned and exchanged an amused glance with Jost. “Yeah, I guess you could say that”

Much to Arya’s chagrin, the storm re-emerged in all it’s fury two hours later. She also wasn’t amused when the old man stated this time it could last two weeks, enraged would be a better word for her mood. Not that it mattered to Marcus, he was happy to stay and continue the healing process, sped up by his Force powers. While it was three weeks since the ambush and he was back on his feet, there was still a lot to mend. Not just his body, but his mind and spirit. The enforced lay off was proving to be a boon that he could never have expected, especially as he was now very ready to reassess himself.

And also, talk to and learn from Jost, who was proving to be a store of knowledge and wisdom. Even if the Master outranked the Knight, he was consuming all he could, lost stories, abilities and techniques he had never heard of before. A link from the lost past and heritage of the Jedi. One evening, as the storm lashed and rattled the roof of the home, Marcus was sitting, facing out the window with his feet on the window sill. Jost was closer to the heater. Alaina was probably in her room, while Arya was still very much the caged rancour in the front room – or would be , if Jost hadn’t placed her in a Jedi trance. “It would be best if you just hibernate and we wake you when the storm is over. There’s not much else you can do” he had said. Arya had reluctantly agreed and had been now under for 10 days. They were contemplating reanimating her so she could take nourishment,

“… So another day and then we wake her? She’s not going to be happy if the storm continues” said Marcus.

“Can’t be helped. Just make sure you have a club in case she needs to be subdued” relied Jost, with a smile drifting over his old face. “Quite a firey woman – and if I’m not mistakem she shows the signs of a Force sensitive. You should train her”

“No, I don’t think the life of a Jedi is for her. Eventually she would have to leave on her own accord. She doesn’t have the temperament”

“Oh? You don’t think she could be trained?”

“No. Her abilities are good, but there… things that would hold her back”

“What things are these Marcus?”

The Jedi Master took out his pipe and his weed pouch, which was getting very low. “You don’t know much about women and their hearts, do you?”

Jost looked rather puzzled. “Well.. why do you say that?”

Marcus paused to load up his pipe and light it, leaning back with the first few puffs. A smoke haze began to form around his face as he smoked. “In your time, Jedi were forbidden to love. You took the children that were 6 months old, without emotional ties to anyone and trained them not to have any. That may not be so now, but I see the wisdom in it. Love is a clouding emotion, it affects your judgment and your connection to The Force. She loves someone too much to ever get past that”

“Oh? And how do you know this?”

“I know who she would give her heart to”

“Ahhh. Then what you say is wise. Still, could she not give up that one if she saw the wider galaxy the Force has to offer?”

“No. It would simply make her position worse. Jost, you are wise, but you really know nothing of women. Did it ever pass you mind why she avoids my presence?”

Jost looked blank, then caught on. “She loves…. You?”

“Yes. I can not have that. While the rules of the Order do permit marriage, I will not have anything to do with it. Besides… I have loved and married before. Even then I did not believe that was compatible with the Jedi ideal”

“You.. have married?” asked Jost, sounding astounded.

“Yes. I have even mentioned her in our talks the last two weeks. Surely you didn’t think Helenias was a sister…. Did you??”

“Well….” Jost was looking embarrassed and confused. “Yes. It never occurred to me a Jedi Master would have married. Is she…”

“Still married to me? Yes… and no. Yes, I still think of her as wife, no because she is dead. Died before I entered the Jedi order”

“I see…. How long has she been dead?”

“10 years. Only now have I bought that issue to rest. I will not weaken myself again like that”

“I don’t pretend I understand this Marcus… but if you think it is wise, then I will trust you word. Tell me however, does the fact Jedi marry cause the problems Mace Windu and Yoda said it would?”

“Look at Anakin Skywalker. Yes. On the other hand, would you believe Sith marry, claim to love and have children themselves?”

“No, I would not believe you. While the concept of a Jedi union is hard to think of, a Dark Side one is preposterous. It could not happen.”

“Shhh, don’t tell them that. They have left themselves open to the Light Side and weaken themselves. I rather like the idea of their own feelings betraying and turning them when the do realize they have to choose love or the Dark Side. You know what will win”

“That’s a strange way of thinking Marcus, but wise in itself. To master other, first you must Master yourself, yes?”

“Absolutely. Now why would I go and point out a critical weakness to an enemy, until they were defeated by it? Or more to the point, it defeats them with no intervention? If there is one thing I have learnt is that The Dark Side blinds the user to their own shortcomings. A Jedi seeks his weakness and makes them strongholds. Ahh Jost, it’s laughable what most of the Sith are”

“Most…. But not all” said Jost, slowly.

“No…. there are some that have Mastered their emotions and truly dangerous they are. Fortunantly, I could count those on one hand. Formidable foes, worthy ones. But Jost, there are Jedi to be proud of too! One day, you must meet Master Yogurt, or Figrin D’An. Morgan Evanar. One’s that would be great in any age!”

Jost leaned over and clapped the Jedi Master on the shoulder. “Marcus, if they are half the Jedi in power you are, I would be impressed. Speaking to you and being in your presence is like being near Yoda or Mace Windu again”

Marcus blushed. “If I was like them Jost, I wouldn’t be here….”

“Except you wouldn’t make the mistakes they did” ended Jost.

There was a pause before - “Please explain?” asked Marcus.

[Old Man Jedi]

“If there is one thing I have noticed about you Marcus, it is your determination to achieve what you set out. I have also noticed that, while you do have a degree of impatience, you still are willing to outwait and bide you time, if that is what you see as necessary. You just will not allow yourself to fail. You also are not short sighted, you don’t do things that suit yourself or those around you, you drive for the greater good. I’m afraid the Jedi of my time did not”

Old Jost sighed.

“We were many more than now, but we were so self absorbed and self focused. We believed that we only should look out for what the Force required and not others – and in that was laid the trap for the destruction of our Order. We were selfish to our wants Marcus. Even now, when you should be resting, you are learning from me , not for your own power, but so you can pass that knowledge on. I see it in your sense it is what you are doing. You also have no problem or hang-ups with fighting and you would go to war in a second, if that is what is seen as necessary –“

“However Jost, that is the reason the Dark Side nearly claimed me” replied Marcus.

“- And sit by and allow Darkness to cover the Galaxy once again? We sat by and were peaceful until it was too late. Don’t think that being a warrior like you are makes you more or less open to the Dark Side Marcus. It is your focus, it is how calm and at peace with your self that makes if the Dark Side in you. When you came here, you had turmoil in The Force. Now I see you have becalm yourself and you are at peace with yourself and all around you. Still you carry a great weight, but now it sits well on you. Tell me, are you of Royal decent?”

The question hung in the air, while Marcus glanced at Jost, then turned away. “No, but my wife was”

It was one thing Jost had noted, Marcus was very quiet of some things in his past. While he spoke freely of the times he was a Dark Jedi, while he spoke of being a Jedi openly, he was closed on just about everything else. The old man had only heard Helenias mentioned two or three times and then only in passing. It was like that he had no life outside the Jedi or his former days of evil, yet Jost could tell there was more. Much more. “Marcus… don’t play me for a fool. I am old, but I am not blind. I am also the only one listening. Holding the truth back is not what you soould be doing”

The Jedi Master whipped his head around to stare at Jost, an intense and weighty stare, which Jost matched… and Marcus was the first to drop his eyes and look away.

“No, I don’t want to talk about it. The system I came from is beset by a great evil that would seek to devour the Galaxy. And even with what I can do, it has beaten me twice. A third time I won’t challenge it. It took the woman I swore to bind to, it took my rightful place and it nearly subjected me to it’s power and corrupted me. I will not speak of the Great Enemy, because I have faced it and it has defeated me” said Marcus quietly.

“But you will. I foresee it”

“But I wont! The same weakness that my forefathers had, flows through my veins!” The youger man seemed to shrug and sigh before continuing. “Four there would be born chosen. Only one would live and that one would signal the unleashing of a great terror. I am one of The Chosen Jost. My line is the line of Kings in Exile and all four have been found. One has already been destroyed. Callista the Dark found me when I was young and realized what I was – she stole me and for 80 years, trained me in all the Dark Arts and more. She trained me to be the one who lived, to be able to kill the other three and to take the power on offer for myself. It is not a power that can be used for good Jost, only evil. I dare not try to face it again, least I be claimed once again”

You can only do what you know is right Marcus, no more. You have a great strength, you must use it”

“What good is strength if the foundations are weak?” replied the Master.

“The strongest roots are the ones that grow deepest Marcus. You have been battered down and yet you have survived… and you are here. Not only have you survived, you have become something like I have not seen for many, many years. On the surface, you are like any other human, but underneath, you are a wall that is thick and solid and cant be breached. Certain, there are ways to bypass walls, but not easily if they are defended well. Be that defense Marcus and I believe you will stand when the time comes to face this evil again”

[Marcus Telcontar]

“I can only hope you are right Jost…. I really do”

Two days later the storm finally lifted and on a day when the sun shone in an incredibly blue and intense sky, while humans dug themselves out of buried shelters and homes, Marcus stood on top of the snow mound that was in front of Jost’s home, looking out, boots sunk 15 cm into the soft snow. His breath fogged as he waited outside, for the time had come for him to leave. Of course Arya was coming as well, while Alaina was saying goodbyes to Jost inside. Last instructions from the venerable old man, most likely for a young woman who had never left her home. Alaina was terribly, terribly excited Marcus could tell, but also saddened that she was leaving the old man whom had bought her up.

Arya of course was absolutely busting to get away. She was already halfway to the landing pads, to organize a ride out of here to the main city of Arcan, wehre Marcus had an errand, before transporting Marcus and Alaina away. For credits of course, Arya never did anyone favours. A shuffling, sliding sound behind him signified that Alaina was finally coming, climbing the snow bank to the top and joining Marcus. Her expression was neutral, but he could read her apprehension on her sense.

“Are you ready to go now?” he asked.

“I think so”

“Okay. Well… if it helps you any, it’s like I’m stepping out of the door and leaving home for the first time too. Jost is a great man. I’ll miss him”

She bent her neck and nodded, while looking down. “ He’s my family”

He reached out and touched her on the shoulder. “I know. If it helps, do this one step at a time. Don’t look up until you have taken many steps… Jost?”

He stopped speaking to Alaina, because Jost had come up the bank, a bundle in hand. “Marcus. I know you not one for long goodbyes… but I wanted to give you something”

Slightly puzzled, Marcus cocked his head. “You already have given me much Jost. What else could there be?”

The old man, dressed in a grey cloak and a tall pointed hat, a long walking stick in one hand thrust forward the bundle. “I wanted to give this to a Padawan when they became a Knight. My Master gave it to me and his to him. Would you accept it now?”

“Certainly” replied Marcus, not very certain at all. Jost nodded and handed over the bundle. “My bow. May it serve and protect you in the times to come Marcus. May you also remember the lesson you learned with it as well”

Alaina gasped as Marcus reverently took the cover off the arrow sling, tested the bow and then hung both items off his back. He then knelt before Jost, bowing to one knee. “I thank you for the great gift Master and I will bring honour to it” he stated, before coming up and facing Jost eye to eye. “Farewell Master Olorin. Fair journeys to you”

“Farewell Marcus. Teach Alaina well”

“That I most certainly promise to do Master. Come Alaina, the journey will now begin”. With that, Marcus slid a step back in the snow, took out his saber (which Jost had given back a week ago), switched on the strobing blade and saluted the Old Master with it. Jost simply bowed slightly.

“Better be off with you two now. I too have a long journey to face.”

“Are you leaving too?” asked Marcus, returning the saber to his belt.

“Yes I am! Before I die, I want to see the Galaxy again. However before that, there is a cave 200 km north where I hid my weapon. I’m going back to retrieve that and then go be an Istari again”

“A what?” asked Marcus, not familiar with the term.

“My dear boy, if we ever cross paths again, you might find out. Until then…. Farewell!” With that, Jost turned and humming a tune, began to walk unexpectantly lightly through the snow, Marcus and Alaina watching until he could not be seen.

“Do you think we will see him again?” asked Alaina

“That… I don’t know. I suspect so. Come on then, we have a long way to walk. I suspect Arya will be getting impatient if we delay any longer”

The young woman nodded, a pack on her pack with all her belongings she wanted to take with her. They both trudged quietly, the Jedi Master making hard work of the snow walk due to his leg still not quite being right. Nearly an hour later, sweating despite the cold, they arrived at the landing pad, where Stratocruiser was sitting, hissing and idling. Arya was waiting impatiently near the boarding ramp.

“About time” she snapped. “Get on-board. They’re only waiting for you two”

“Is she always this… tense?” Alaina asked, when Ravenwing had gone up the ramp.

“No, she’s normally worse. She’s in a good mood right now”

“That was a joke, right?”

“No.

“Oh” Alaina looked up where the older and leather clad woman had disappeared. “I don’t think she likes me.”

“The only thing she likes is credits and a lot of them. Come on then, let’s get on-board and get traveling. We have a long way to go and some people to see”

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya tramped down the snow in front of the ramp to the Stratocruiser. Where the frell are they? Hunter was bringing that frail looking blonde with him, and she was probably holding him up. Growing up out here or not, the girl couldn't chop wood worth beans.

The woman saw them coming up the newly shoveled street, and waved once before drawing her hands down and blowing on her cold fingers. As the pair drew nearer, she narrowed her eyes at them. "Its about time," she snapped. "Get onboard. They're only waiting for you two." She turned and stamped up the ramp, knocking the snow from her boots. Arya already had her gear stowed, and had settled what little bill she had at the inn. The woman seemed shocked that she had survived the storm, but hadn't protested at the credits Arya handed her.

Hunter had given her some creds as an incentive to secure the Stratocruiser; it had taken all of them to keep the frelling vehicle from leaving the travelers behind. Arya rubbed her reddened nose, and glared at Hunter and the little slip of female freshness before closing her eyes and settling in for the journey back to Arcan proper.

[Marcus Telcontar]

The first thing Marcus noted inside the Stratocrusier was that it was only 1/3rd full. The second thing was that there seemed to be a medical section that was quite large…. And definantly full. A middle aged and overweight woman was just leaving the area, patches on her clothing indicating she was a medic. She glanced at Marcus and Alaina as they came into the passenger section, before doing a double take. A smile crossed her lips.

“Well…. I never expected to see you up and walking again”

“You didn’t? Do I know you?” Marcus asked in return

“Yes, I saw to you when you first stumbled into Whitetown. Oi, you were a mess…. Does me good to see a walking miracle”

“Well…. Thank you for doing that. I at least partially owe my life to you”

“Only a small part. If I’m guessing right, Jost was the major reason. He’s a strange man, with strange magics, he is. Oh, Alaina, what are you doing here?” the medic asked, seeing the young woman following Marcus.

“She’s coming with me, in part to pay the debt I have to Jost”

“That’s an odd way to pay back is it not?”

Marcus lowered his voice, making sure only the medic could hear. “That depends on the reason she is coming with me. You have ill people on board?”

“Yes. Injuries and cold related symptoms from the storm too difficult for me to treat here. 3 died during the storm, I think others might before they can get to Arcan City and even then, I don’t know if they will be able to do much. The medical buildings are not good here, we’re too poor to afford decent facilities”

Marcus thought about this, before speaking again. “Not for much longer. I know where the best facilities in the Galaxy are”

“Not much good if their not here, unless your telling me those new super soldiers of the Republic and those other ones that came have what you said. Even if they are really Jedi, they would need magics to help a few of these out”

“Indeed, they are Jedi and so am I. I will make sure they get the best attention possible.” He raised his voice back to a normal level. “Alaina, set your belongings down and come with me. Now Madam Doctor, who are the patients in worst need, I will see to them first”

The medic nodded. “I should be the one thanking you Master Jedi. This way please….”

The flight itself was about an hour’s duration, but even in that short time, much could be done. Marcus had already sent a text message with a code for medical emergency, assistance required of the NRSF, they would be waiting with their full degree of medical prowess – even the medics the NRSF used were of the elite, given the best money or straight out theft could supply. Next came him using the Force, placing the worst affected patients in healing hibernation, others he laid hands on, evoking The Force to speed healing. Alaina hovered while Marcus explained.

“The Force is what grants a Jedi his or her power. With it, I can do things that would be counted impossible. Here, it is used to speed recovery, to ease pain, to defeat infection or to warm. A touch could be all that is needed”

“How well can you do this?” Alaina asked

“Well enough now, but there are other Jedi whom are much learned in this.”

Marcus wasn’t sure, but while the whole flight lasted, Arya just slept, only waking when the Stratocruiser landed and NRSF medics came on-board, beginning to evacuate the injured passengers with a commendable amount of haste and care. The Jedi himself slipped into the background, allowing the Whitetown medic to take charge. Once all the injured were gone, she looked about, to see Marcus and Alaina picking their belongings up to leave the ship as well.

“Master Jedi, thank you! I don’t know how you did it, but they even promised to upgrade my little hospital and even will begin by organizing some equipment that I can bring back… thank you Master Jedi, I am in your debt!”

“There is no debt. Just use the gift wisely and as a thanks from me”

“Certainly! What is your name Master Jedi?”

“You don’t need to know my name” replied Marcus, waving a hand slightly.

“I don’t need to know your name” she replied.

“You will forget you ever saw me, except a Jedi gave you the equipment and organized what is to come”

“I will forget you” she said…. And blinked. She stared at Marcus, as if she recognized him, but then shook her head. “Excuse me kind sir, I need to get by” She shuffled past, before turning back. “Did you hear? The Jedi are going to re-supply my hospital!” she said, excitedly.

“No… you don’t say?” Marcus said, crossing his arms and trying to keep a straight look on his face.

“Yes! Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed your stay in Whitetown Mr….?”

“Strider and yes I did. It has been interesting”

She nodded, smiled and then left the ship, leaving Marcus and Alaina alone. The Jedi Master was about to also exit, when he noted the puzzlement on Alaina’s sense.

“You have a question?” he asked.

“Did…. Did you actually… make her forget you even exist??????” She asked.

“Yes. The Force can have a strong influence on the weak minded. And don’t worry, I’m not going to use it on you. Come on then, we need to get to Arya’s ship quickly”

[Jyanis Scorpion]

Jyanis had been in his quarters on the Defender for hours, pacing back and forth. For once the expression on his face was not of anger or annoyance or even humor. It was blank. Blank, yet sad. His thoughts weren't focused as he stared straight into the floor. His leader, his master, his best and only friend was gone. Only now did he realize that Marcus had been a part of his fighting spirit. Like he subconsciously had to prove something to him. Now that seemed to be gone as well.

Something loud pierced his thoughts as he paced. The beep, clearer and more definable now, came again. He stopped and leaned over his desk to the comm-unit, pressing the switch on the side. Jyanis cleared his throat.

"What is it?"

A firm female voice filled the room, "General... Sir, there's something you should know about."

Jyanis furrowed his brow, "And that is?"

"Sir, someone is in General Tohmahawk's room, and they're tearing it apart."

===

Running down the corridor with him were two NRSF security officers. Jyanis was almost making his Jedi exercises go to waste. Anger was boiling inside of him, and he wasn't promising himself anything.

How could someone do this? I will kill whoever's in there!

They reached the closed entrance, and as Jyanis reached for the button to open it, he felt something. A sense fought through his rage to his mind, clear as the light of day.

Jyanis drew his Railgun from its holster and handed it to one of the security officers.

"Hold this for me... and stay here."

He pressed his finger on the button and the door hissed open. Stepping through, it shut quickly behind him. Jyanis surveyed the room. It was like a hurricane has passed through. Chairs and a table were overturned. Datapads strewn about the floor along with a couple flimsies of paper. A light in the corner was shattered.

Jyanis stepped in further, curiousity encompassing his rage. Then, he saw her. He couldn't believe it. It was Elieen Cross. What was she doing here?

All of a sudden his curiousity vanished and his anger spilled out. Only by a small verbal habit did it not come out in Basic tongue.

[FRELLING KRAAST!!!]

[Marcus Telcontar]

Two days later

He watched as Arya's ship lifted skwards. Alaina was now putting some of the baggage away, which left him alone in his thoughts for a bit. His sword was once more on his hip, before they had left he had secretly dropped in on Nathan West, then to Morgan Evanar. After some explaining at his changed appearence and also why he had to leave, he had been directed to where the sword was buried. A detour and he had dug the sword out of where Evanar had buried it.

He had promised to contact West in a month's time. He hated leaving the General like he had, but there was not really much choice. To the Galaxy, Tohmahawk was dead and gone. Turbogeek was dead and gone. Force Master Hunter was dead and gone. His disguises were gone and there was only him, Marcus Q'Dunn, left. He had his real face, the unkept hair and beard, faded and abused clothing, a sword.... how he really was. Finally.

Well for now the Galaxy except for 5 people could think of him as gone. That would suit him. He had much to think of and much he needed to let heal, not just his body.

For now he thought as he looked up, <a href=http://www.swforums.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12001>It was good to be home again</a>

[Helenias Evenstar]

I was talking to Jina as I was tearing the room apart, looking for anything hidden that Marcus may have left behind. Papers were strewn across the floor and an ordinary glow globe had been accidentally tipped over in my haste to search. I really wanted to get out of here with Jina and get… somewhere. I didn’t know where yet, but I certainly wasn’t going to allow Jina to stay in the hulk of metal. Maybe I would run again. Maybe… I might accept West’s offer. That I had to admit had it’s own benefits and was attractive. Or… given I would refuse to allow anyone to train Jina, I could join the Jedi myself. That felt wrong right now, but who knew. I wasn’t dismissing it either. I would ponder the options and whatever I did it would be for the greatest benefit to Jina.

Marcus’ cat (He had a cat? I still couldn’t believe that one, he used to hate them) purred from it’s vantage point on the bed next to Jina, who had all her possessions in a duffel bag, ready to go when I was ready. A pile of objects was next to her, things I wanted to bring with me. Like the wedding holo, a few personal filaments, mementos. As I was just tipping out the last cupboard there was a noise outside the room and a second later, the door opened…. With a highly pissed off General Scorpion storming in. I turned, wondering what I was going to say when the Chiss swore at me, not in basic but in the High Tongue of Arda, Quenya. So surprised I was that I nearly dropped what I was holding. How in the name of God had a Chiss learned a language native to one planet that was unknown to the rest of the Galaxy?

[Who taught you to speak?] I asked.

I could tell Scorpion was livid and unless he got a good answer I’d have a fight on my hands

[Forget what you knew about me Scorpion, my real name is Helenias Q’Dunn…] I paused as I saw a change come over the Chiss. [i] He knows my real name!

[Ain’t you dead?] he asked.

He wasn’t just slightly conversant – he was fluent like a native. [No. But I though Marcus was for years after the bridge. It seems that I’m actually right this time]. The Jedi wasn’t controlling his emotions well and he was about as readable as a book. Confused, doubtful, suspicious. [Look General, I can’t say anything that will ease your mind, I’m just going to ask you to trust that I’m telling the truth and as a token I offer you the fact your speaking the native speech of Marcus and myself. Who taught you to speak it, because your not a native]

[My mother. She was not Chiss]

His mother was an Ardaian? [Give me a lift back to Arcan and I’ll explain myself the best I can. Acceptible?]

Scorpion considered. [Your really his wife?]



[For now, that will do. What do you plan to do with Jina?]

This time, it was my turn to consider. [I don’t know. I’ve already seen West, who offered me a position in the NRSF. Other than that, I’m open to offers]

[You will join the Jedi]

I stared at Scorpion, before laughing. [Don’t be ridiculous, why would I join those inbred retards?]

[Because that is what I forsee? If you really who you say you are, then you would want what Marcus wanted. He was my friend and I only joined the Jedi because of him. How could you do less?]

I had a quiet think for a moment. Damn him, I could see the truth in his words. I held dear what Marcus did, believed in what he did… how could I do less in his memory? “I’ll think about it. Now, what about this lift…?”

On the way to the planet’s surface, as Jina sat next to me, I had a flash of premonition that sealed my footsteps. I saw Jina as a Jedi Knight, I saw myself alongside her… and a mysterious shadow looming over both of us. Now I wasn’t a learned in the Force as others, but I did understand one thing – what you see in the Force comes about. If I saw in The Force I was to be a Jedi, then it didn’t matter how much I liked or disliked the Jedi, that was my path.

I had spent years fighting the Jedi. I had singlehandly destroyed their Temple on Coruscant. I had beaten their best. This would be irony at it best.

In the end however, no matter how cold and how bitter the choice may be, you can only do what is right. I would follow in Marcus’ footsteps. I would be a Jedi like he was.

<a href=http://pub56.ezboard.com/fgjofrm4.showMessage?topicID=203.topic><font color=red>[i]Maybe there's a God above
And all I ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone
Who outdrew you
It's not a cry you can hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah </font></a>