Everything

[Typhoon]

Everything - Lifehouse

Find me here
And speak to me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
Yu are the light
That's leading me
To the place
Where I find peace, again

You are the strength
That keeps me walking
You are the hope
That keeps me trusting
You are the light
To my soul
You are my purpose
Your Everything

And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be
Any better than this?

Yeah

You calm the storms
And you give me rest
You hold me in your hands
You wont let me fall
You still my heart
And you take my breath away
Would you take me in
Take me deeper now

And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be
Any better than this?

And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be
Any better than this?

Cause your all I want
Your all I need
Your Everything, Everything

Your all I want
Your all I need
Your Everything, Everything

Your your all I want
Your all I need
Your Everything, Everything

Your all I want
Your all I need
Everything, Everything

And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be
Any better than this?

And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be
Any better
Any better than this?

And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be
Any better than this?

Would you tell me, how could it be...
Any better than this?

--

(Two years ago)

How long he had been wandering, honestly Vash had no idea. One dusty road blurred into another, one footstep into another, one place into another. One face blurred into another, another blue sky into another....

Really, everything was a blur. Vash really didnt have any idea anymore. He was a lost lonely traveller in a red coat, bag over his shoulder. Right now he was on ... some planet. It was hot. and he was thirsty and hungry. While not too bad, he wouldn't mind a drink soon.

More walking. More time passed. another town that was nothing more than a blur of familiarity. It all looked the same, all the faces, the places, the times even. And he, well, he was just another guy, blonde hair, red coat. Nothing special about him really. Sunglasses were even nothing great. He walked down the street, not really thinking about anything when he heard a cry or something. A shout. He looked up to see men racing with guns, vehicles follwoing to form a form of a barricade. Puzzled, Vash came to a stop and kept looking as more joined in this barricade. There were a few other interested observers near the tall blonde man, one of whom Vash chose to turn to and ask what was going on.

"I dont know. some sort of operation to get rid of crims" replied the woman.

"Are there many here?"

"Whole place is. You must be new here not to know that"

"Yeah, I am" replied Vash, hand coming up to his head to scratch his temple. "I'm not even sure where I am"

"Pardon?"

"I was dropped off here cause the transport I was on got hit by pirates. I'm sorta just finding out where I am before I find a way to move on?"

"Oh. well, this is Arcan City and the planet is Arcan IV"

"where in the Galaxy?"

"About as close to the butthole of it as you can get"

Hmmm. real informative. Well, least Vash had a name to put to a map when he could find a Info booth. Well...... his train of thought got derailed as a shot sounded out, distant and far away. Some more. Blasters, by the sound of them. The spectactors got moe interested as the sounds drifted closer. Vash decided to try to get closer, as did other spectactors. Some murmoured they hoped tehy saw some action. More shots. Vash got to the barricade which blocked the road. He could see at the end of the road was a building and there was soem sort of concentration of blaster fire. Eventually it drifted off as what appeared to be crims gave up. The spectactors were all relaxed, chatting. Vash just looked, cause sudenly, he got a bad feeling.

CRACK!

The sound was vastly different to a blaster, but no one really commented. Not until more cracks sounded out and there was a male scream of horror, followed by more whipcracks. The soldiers all seemed to have their attention drawn to that building, ome running to the doors, others looking puzzled.

CRUMP

Grenade. Blaster fire broke out, getting more intense. The cracking also picked up tempo, follwed by explosions that shook the windows of the building. Quite abruptly, the front doors were blown apart and all hell broke loose. Dust and carnage followed, a speeder exploded as a black clad man came out fo the building, followed by a wmoan and someone else. His guns rained death all around as the spectactors began to scream and run. Vash couldn't move. He sttod transfixed as these figures mowed through soldiers, the whipcrack of their guns blowing flesh apart. Now, they were joined by someone in a balcony with a gun that fired so fast, it was one continuous sound. This gun ripped trenches out of the ground, the air was stuffed full of screams and explosions, shrapnel flying.

Vash stared as the massacre took place, disbelieveing what he was seeing. Unable to move, he stood as the huge gun from the balcony ripped into a building and took part of it's wall down. a single tear fell from Vash's face...... Then came the bright light, the thunder. He winced at the pain in his dazzled eyes and flattened ears. The roar was next of secondry explosions, masonry and other things hurled past him. He continued to stare in hooror as more lights and thunder blew more of the surrounds apart.

He continued to stare as the barrage ended and the remains of burning building resolved into vision.

Eventually, he drifted away, saddened by the gross inhumanity he had witnessed.

OOC : No idea where this is going, but PM me before joining in This might develop into something coherent.

[Korge Jazzka]

"Tast leik?"

Korge spun around in the darkened room, eyes to the window that faced out and toward the street. Some distance away, he could hear gunfire...and alot of it.

"Juvin...krasst!"

Arcan IV was a seedy dive, true, but what were the odds that two crimes would be taking place, literally a stone's throw down the street from one another? If the authorities started a lockdown....

...that was the last thing he needed. Especially with the line spike into the district bank computer. Sure, your average cop wouldn't know a data terminal from a hole in the ground, but pass it under the nose of a code cruncher, and then it was 5-10, at least. No, Korge had served the worst time you could serve. He wasn't about to go back, not over some petty shooting he wasn't even involved in. Just a few more minutes....he had to keep the line spike active, and once he had the code refresh algorithm, he could kill the connection. The code key was based off some AI theoretical geometry program...some shape that could only be processed in terms of quantum dimensions. You couldn't derive a pattern from a signal feed, but you could run a simulation, especially with the right computer. All you needed was the right computer, and Korge knew where to go from here, provided he could make it past this part without drawing attention.

The Deronian twirled a data stylus between his fingers as he returned his attention to his screen. The line spike was tediously slow, but it had to be, to be effective. He had to piggyback and reverse encode subspace data packets onto routine transaction information. It would look normal to any bank official...

[Typhoon]

The night got worse, not better. He thought the worst he would see would be the destruction of the building - oh no, that was a warm up. Hours later, there was a broadcast on the Holo, where there was an execution. Vash could hardly believe such a thing would be shown.

But thatw as when the infamous Jedi incident happened. The ma being executed ripped his way out of the room, declaring the alien quarter was goign to be gassed. Painc ensued. Vash stayed in an alcove for what seemed like hours, looking at the mad rushing of beings to and fro. Confusion regined. Screams and yells. Then, gunshots. Vash poked his head out of his shelter to see a shuttle hit the ground and disgourge soldiers. They came forward with their strange guns, blowing anythign that resisted to spray. Horror struck by this outbreak of war, Vash ducked and ran. Through the night he seemed to run from one fight to another, always seeking to get away.

He saw a red armoured being tearing apart a human male. Vash screamed and ran again.

Fires and explosions. Noise. Dead beings of all ages. This was hell, surely.... the horror, the danger got etched into his mind as he turned all round, only to see worse.

At last dawn came and a thankfully obsuring fog. The noise became less. It finally became safe to duck down an alley and down a drain.

This wasn't right. This was just soooo not right. How could anyone do this to someone else?

[Marcus Telcontar]

Two weeks after the liberation of Arcan IV

The soldiers were pretty drunk. Hey, it had been a pretty tough couple of weeks, for even if those inhuman bastards called the NRSF had cleaned out this place in one hell of a hurry, there was still resistance problems from holdouts. That was a job for regular NR peacekeepers, the NRSF were busy doing somethign else. What it was, none of the high ups were telling. Maybe they didn't know. That would be likey as the guy in charge of the Special Forces apparently wasn't answerable even to Ackbar. Some guy named Tohmahawk, with all these new theories and weapons. The regular grunts like this mob had seen the results of an NRSF squad attack and really, it was awesome.

"I want of them guns those guys have"

"what about the body armour?"

"Man, they even got personal shields! How you supposed to fight against that?"

Well, it wasn't really a bitch session, even if it sounded like it. The NRSF was supposed to be the best and it was clear it was true. Still... ahhh, who cared really when there was beer, mates and hookers. Hookers! Oh now that was a good reason to come here, Arcan IV had some realyl great seedy night spots! fact was, there was one now.....

"Oh man! Get a load of that!"

It wasnt hard to see what caught the soldier's attention. The woman was obviously a work of a scapel, her figure was just too good. In silver 5 inch ankle boots, and a bust that defied belief, she had the soldiers almost drooling.

"Hey... how much?"

"200 credits" she purred, playing with a blonde curl. "And I'm worht every credit"

"Oh man... "

"Nuts'

"Hey, I got 200. Suckers!"

The soldiers laughed, cheering their mate on as he swaggered over. "See ya back at base!"

With more cat calls and rude comments, the soldier accompanied the hooker up some stairs and into a room.

"Strip off in there big boy. I'll wait for you out here"

The soldier did so, coming out of the change room to see his wildest wet dream reclinign on the bed.

"Nice" she purred, before moving the hand that was behind her back forward and shooting the soldier in the groin with the blaster she held. The soldier couldn't even scream with the sudden pain, he crashed to the ground and passed out. The prosititute suddenly got up as a hulking man came in.

"Cut his tongue out and make sure it cant be grown back. Do with him as you did the others"

--

"James.... Hey James, wait up!"

The black clad military man, still limping from the injuries he got in the liberation fight turned to see who was calling him. "What's up Jyanis?"

The newcomer was a Chiss, with one red eye, the other clearly mechanical. "Got a report you want to read"

The General the galaxy knew as James T. Tohmahawk, but in reality unbeknown to just about anyone Marcus Q'Dunn, Jedi Master, looked at his friend, General Jyanis Scorpon with some suspicion. "You been writing porn again, you freak?"

"Yeah, it's about you and a nerf. wanna read, it's one of my best works"

"Right. You sure you aint been sniffing coolant gasses again?"

"Damn, been spying again?"

Marcus/Tohmahawk shook his head in mock amusement. "No. The last time I did that, you and that duck was enough to revolt and warp my mind for life. So. What you got?"

Scorpion handed over the datapad, with Q'Dunn scrolled through. "Mutilated grunt. So? He's not NRSF, doesnt concern me"

"Look further on"

Quizzically, Q'dunn did so, a frown developing on his face. "Fourth in two days? Same injuries, groin shot and tongue cut out, with other non life threatening mutilations, before being dumped back outside barracks.... Mate, this is all rather kinky, even for you, but I don't see what it concerns us. Leave it to the NR MP's. we're busy enough setting up and clearing space for the Jedi to come here"

"Geez, do I have to show you everything? There. Read". Q'Dunn did so, raising an eyebrow.

"This I gotta see. Lets go see one of the victims"

--

The two NRSF Generals made an impressive sight marching down the medical ward corridor. Fully armed in body aromur, they broked no interruption as they came down to the medical station.

"Excuse me!" said an outraged nurse. "You cant come down here like that!"

"Lady, the name's Tohmahawk. I want to see the meat pizza you got in here. Mutilation case."

"I cant let you in that room! He's in isolation!"

"Fine. All I want to see is the left arm. Cut it off if you want - All I want is to see the message written on it. Apparently, it's addressed to me.

"Oh... oh! Your THAT Tohmahawk! My apologies General, this way"

"Jeez, how many other Tohmahawks are there?" Marcus muttered.

--

They weren;t kidding about how cut up this grunt was. Scorpion and Q'Dunn stood outside the room as the grunt 's bed was moved closer. "Someone didn;t liek him" Q'Dunn observed.

"Someone doesn't like you" replied Scorpion. "That message on his arm is pretty explicit"

It certainly was. Cut by a knife, it read 'Tomahawk, Go Home'. Q'dunn stared for a monet, before waving for the medics to take the grunt away. He turned and leaned against the observation window, clearly thinking. "Someone didn't like us beating up the crims" observed Scorpion.

"Yeah" Q'Dunn glanced back inside the room. "The report said gen modded prositutes were seen near where these guys were last seen. Bet you it was a lure"

"No doubt. So, is it your problem?"

Q'dunn stared at the opposite wall, unfocused. "Yes. I just happen to like it here. And no one is going to get away with that - They misspelt my name and that annoys me no end"

"You want help?" asked Scorpion.

"No. I'll deal with this myself"

"One of those Jedi things?"

"No. One of those you hurt someone because of me, I'll rip your head off things"

--

Q'Dunn walked down the street. It was here that the last grunt went missing. He was dressed in long trench coat and black clothes, military boots. No insignias, other than a generalised NR patch. He scanend the road, reachign out with his newly liberated Jedi senses (long story that, best told elsewhere) armed and searching for any giveaways. That was the good thing about being a very, very powerful Jedi that no one knew about, it gave you the advantage. Fact was, Jedi were pretty much only about 60 and on the run from the Empire, so the likely hood of meeting one was highly remote. Little did the remaining scum on this planet know that the Jedi were coming here. Nor did they know the new super army that Tohmahawk was building was goign to be based here.

Neither here or there for now, for he spied a blonde in 5 inch ankle boot heels and an impossible body that was barely covered by silver cloth. Q'Dunn reached out with the Force and immmediatly got a sense of danger off her. And a partial memory.

"Hey there big boy. want a good time?"

Q'Dunn turned his expressionless face, with it's sunglasses that hid his eyes to the prositute. "Depends. What's this good time and how much it costs". What the prositute did with her fingers at that point was illegal outside. "200 credits. and I'm worth it"

Hmmmm. really? And what diseases have you got as well? "Sounds allright"

"This way" she purred, pointing to a doorway. Q'Dunn nodded, following the impossibly defined butt she wriggled expertly. No doubt she also had peromone generators to enhance the act, but simply put, even if Q'Dunn was interested, he had quietly scanned her mind and found what he wanted. And he was the wrong species too. Besdies, I doubt you could match my poor dead Helenias.

Hell, 13 years and it still hurt. He had never really gotten over her death. Never really accepted it until a few days ago, when he had quietly closed off that part of his life. Now, he was Jedi and the past was behind him. The future right now.... was a room with a bed. The prositute wriggled suggestively. "Change room there, big boy. Get ready for the ride of your life"

Q'Dunn nodded, slipping quietly into the change room. He faked some cloth removal sounds, undoing the trench coat to reveal the belt with twin rail guns and ammo packs. He pulled out one rail gun, counted to tenand walked back into the humping room. The prositute still had her boots on, hand behind her back as she reclined, exposing.... everything. Her expectant face froze as she stared into the barrel of the biggest hand gun in existance.

"What?" she asked.. "this some kind of game?"

"Funny, I was going to ask you that, bitch. The name's Tohmahawk. Now, get your hand where I can see it. NOW!"

She stared in anger, before she did so. "Good girlie. Your under arrest"

"What for" she snarled.

"Ooooh, not so pretty now, eh? I think you know. Now, MOVE IT!"

She stayed there for a second, before the wall splintered and a huge man burst through, yelling obsenities. Q'Dunn turned and leapt aside, hitting the floor and dropping the gun. The prositute picked up her blaster and a few clothes, bolting out the room and the huge human got up. He grinned , thinking he had the smaller General unarmed and ready to be flattened. Q'Dunn was on his feet in a blink, using 100 years of fightiing training and combat to turn on his heel and belt the burly human with a superb sidekick. The bouncer was hurled through the air, to crash aganst the broken wall. The gun was called back to Q'Dunn's hand as the bouncer struggled up - and turned upon the Jedi's assailant. Q'Dunn pulled the triiger even as thebouncer tried to come at him again, blowing a huge hole in the scum's body. The remains crashed to the floor, Q'Dunn not even giving them a second glacne as the walked to the corridor.

There she was, diving into an elevator. The doors were closed by the time he got there, but that didn't really matter - straightening his glasses, he saw the window at the end of the corridor. Without pause, he began to srpint, then dive, smashing the window with his forearms over his head as he dived out into the night air. It was five stories high, but that was nothign to a Jedi - he somersalted and and spread his arms out as he used the Force to slow his fall. He landed lightly, one hand balancing the landing, the gun held up in the air. He got a glance of silver boot going around the corner.

Casually, he followed, not worried about her turning to shoot. That would be the next corner. He came to that, waited and glanced around the corner - and right on cue, there was a storm of blaster bolts. He grinned at how predictable this amateur was, before takign his own gun and firing around the corner in a 5 bullet burst. The explosions of the hypersonic bullets blasting brich echoed loud, as well as the squeal of someone surprised. Still with the grin on his face, he casually moved from his hiding spot, walking around to where the blasted brickwork was. Rail guns really were amazing things.

He turned the corner to see the silver booted prositite, who had obviously gotten some clothes on in the elevator, trying to run. One of her implants had burst from a shrapnel hit, smearing her chest in green goo.

"STOP!" he shouted, firing into the air. she turned, nearly tripping up on those ludicous heels, trying to get an aim on him. She fired, but it went wide. Q'Dunn bought the gun down, aimed at the wild eyed murderer that she was, then fired.

"AAAAIIIEEEEEEE!!!!"

The Jedi clciked a button on his rail gun, allowing the empty clip to fall away. He took a new clip out of his belt, all the while walkign calmy to where the bitch was, writhing on the ground, arm that had been welding the blaster shot off at the shoulder. "You... you... NR scum!" she shrieked.

"Your the scum, bitch. No one misspells my name". He leveled the gun and fired.

--

Scorpion wasn't far away. With the rat's nest exposed, it was an easy job to run the palce clean. Even as Marcus felled the prositute, Scorpion had moved in with a squad, capturing or killing anyone inside if they resisted. It was brutual - but it was effective. Later, they would find the evidence of a torture chamber and worse. For now, Scorpion was watching as the medics put the still living woman into a meat wagon.

"Nice. Shot her arms off and her legs. And blew out her implants. Why?"

"Death's too good a punishment for scum like her. I saw her mind. You have no idea how depraved this place is.... no idea." He glanced backwards, shaking his head. "How anyone can do the things they did is beyond me. Thence, she lives. And gets a reminder of the punishement for her crimes every single day she lives via tubes and life support"

Scorpion paused, then he too shook his head. "Marcus... your not human. I've never met anyone as cold blooded as you are"

The Jedi glanced back again. "I'm glad I'm not human. I dnt want to be counted in a race that does what she did"

[Typhoon]

Was a few days later, how many Vash could not answer. The fighting had gone however and Vash was free to wander the streets unmolested. That he did, walking where he wanted. There was evidence all around of the fight, but .... least it was over. In his wandering, he got hungry, so he ducking into the odd eatery, sleeping wherre he wanted. rather nice actually - and this place wasnt too hot or too cold. The pollution wasnt good, but that didnt really affect Vash any. So... here he was in one of those eateries, muching on a ... steak by the looks of it. Garnished with some sort of fungii and vegetables in a rich brown sauce. Vash wasnt really a meat eater, but he had to admit, this stuff was good. Give Arcan one thing, the food was usually good class.

"And in other news, Nr General James Tohmahawk singled handed broke up a slash and hack gang led by the notorious Madam Leesah. Leesah was said o have been wounded and in medical custody, 15 of her accopicies were executed by Tohmahawk..."

"Dren, that Tohmahawk's a bad AMOFO" commented one of the workers at the bar, lets call him Tony.

"Yeah, your not kidding. All these new NR guys that came with him. Frell, you seen the guns they carry?" relied his mate, lets call him Carlos.

"No wonder all the crims are on the run. He dont take any dren from anyone, I bet"

"Bloody Judge, Jury and executioner" muttered a third, Jeff.

"But, I'm able ta walk down the street at night. Can't remember the last time I could do that" said Carlos.

"Didn't say it was bad, you know. Just bit of power for one guy to have, right" countered Jeff.

"Hey, all them NRSF types have been given that power by the new Governor. I dunno, but they say that one with the blue skin, he's a Jedi. My cousion, he be all quiet like, but he was taken before that one and that blue freak, he did some sort of mind frell. Damn cousin was a drug dealer. He's been packed up and sent to Kessel for twenty years"

"Yeah? No dren?" said Tony, sounding suitably impressed. "Them Jedi, they say they got mind powers like that. Look at you and see rigth through you. I bet if I done anything wrong, I'd be singing like a canartry if that's a real Jedi. They have them lazerswords too. No doubt cut you up if you do anything wrong"

Vash paused from his meal, turning his head slightly so he could hear too.

"Not kidding. But.." and here Carlos dropped his voice... "I hear that the Governor in gratitude to Tohmahawk, he's allowing the Greater Jedi Order to come here. There'll be lots of Jedi here soon"

The other two looked surprised, as did the rest of the room. There were some exclaimations of surprise and of shock. "Hey, do we want them here?" called someone from the other end of the room.

"Course we do! You think we want all these crims running the place again? Mate, I dont care what this Tohmahawk does. If he's here to keep the peace and does it, he's got my support" cried Carlos

The lone dissenter sensed the room was not going to agree with his doubts - and who could blame them. Arcan had suffered under the criminal gangs for so long, the people were willing to take the chance of freedom. Vash listened for a bit longer, before turning back to his meal. Jedi sounded pretty good. Maybe there would be some love and peace here after all.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Marcus yawned almightily, shaking his head to get rid of the cobwebs in his mind. He galnced at the map once again, shook his head, then rubbed his eyes. A black cat was sitting on the table, purring, watching it's master (or servant, depending on your POV on what cats have) intently with it yellow eyes. It was extremely late and Marcus really should have been in bed a few hours ago. Every other sane being was.

He blinked, frowning as he finally took his pencill and scribbled some new notes. The map was a locality map and he was reviewign the Arcan City maps for a location for the new Jedi Quarters that had gotten approval earlier that day. scorpion and he had done some scouting, foinding a good block, good access, easily defended with some buildings nearby that could be used as barracks for NRSF, weapons placements and shields. Yogurt's Bar and Grill, an intergal part of Jedi social life already had it's proposed location. Some planning and they would begin rennovations of a disused hotel.

"Mmmm, late you are up. See this I do"

The voice broke Marcus from his task. He suddenly smiled and turned. "Yog! How the hell are you! I didn't expect you to be here so fast!"

"Recieved call I did - plan of yours was good. Jedi have new home it seems" The Jedi Master was of the same race as the fabled Master Yogurt and apparently, just as old. A very, very good friend of Marcus and in fact, one of the very. very few to know what Marcus really was.

"Hell mate, you could have told me you were coming. I would have organised some food" replied Marcus.

"No, food already had. Warm feelign to my heart to see you again Master Q'Dunn. warm feelings indeed. Sense something changed about you. Stopped hiding your Jedi skills I think. Yes, stopped hiding you have. Feel your power I can. What does this mean I wonder?"

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "I'm revealing myself to the rest of the Order. I'm a Jedi, no matter how much I wanted to hide it. Maybe I'm sick of hiding from at the least my brothers and sisters of the Force"

"Ahh, good this is! Very good! Strong you are Marcus, very strong! Help us you can, yes. Turbogeek..."

"....is dead" Marcus said flatly. "He means soemthing I'm not. I'm not Turbogeek and I dont want to be ever again. I am Jedi Master Q'Dunn"

Yog looked at his tall friend. "Changed I sense you are. Been thinking, yes?"

"Yah..... I've been thinking. Thinking a lot. It's something of a relief to return. So.... what do you think of Arcan?"

"Not seen much I have. But you say this is good place, Believe it I will. The Jedi shall stop wandering"

"And become strong again" Marcus ended. "Yes, they will become strong again.

[Typhoon]

So... where now? Vash had finished his meal and was now back outside, walking again. It was night, early evening and the air was smelling wonderful. His boots crunched on the ground as he strolled, back pack slung over his back. Now that there was no fighting here right now, this really wasn't a bad place at all.

So... where now?

Vash considered the question once again. He had been sleeping on the streets for some time now, so maybe finding a room to rent would be first good idea. There were a few around, so he selected a hotel that looked in resonable repair, paid for a room on the third floor, went up there and switched the light on. Mmmm. Not bad. Well apointed, quiet, clean. Vash sighed happily. And it had a water based shower too!

Wash for Vash coming up!

[Marcus Telcontar]

Three weeks after Arcan IV liberation.

The builders were now starting to come in. The old hotel had been bought by the NR and serious renovations were going on. And there was serious security problems as well, each bloody worker had to be scanned, background checked and even then, the NRSF assigned to making sure nothing funny went on were hard pressed to keep everything in line. Marcus doubted they could - which was why there were a few Jedi already here, supervising.

"You sure can pick em James" stated Scorpion, looking over the quasi mayhem. "I can hardly imagine we'll get anything useful out of this mess"

"Oh? So sure are you Padawan?" replied Yogurt, leaning on his cane. "Good feeling I have. Good place this is. Feel it honest I do"

"And next time pick small green midgets who can speak Basic straight" added Scorpion. Yogurt didnt wait, he thwacked the Chiss across the knees with his cane.

"Laugh at how I speak do you! When you reach 900 years, lucky you be to go to refresher on your own!"

"He already has that problem already. Damn fool aint out of nappies yet" smirked Marcus. Scorpion gave Marcus a rude gesture, still hopping from the pain in his leg.

[Typhoon]

The money was running out, so he got a job. Washing dishes at a restaruant called Kats. Now, it waasn't a great job, but it paid well and the left overs he could eat if he wished. Vash was a hard worker, so by the end of the week, the boss was impressed enough to let Vash have a raise. The tall blonde just worked harder, washing dishes and now even drying up after he had finished, plus doing the evening's kitchen scrub. The boss did wonder at the strange man tho. Never out of that red coat, always insanely cheerful, whistling and deferring to everyone else naturally.

But really, who cared in the end? the guy was a good worker and those were not easy to find. Not for such a menial job anyway. About the only thing that worried the boss was that this red coat had the biggest bloody gun he had ever seen. And wore some sort of body armour under that red coat. The boss knew most of his other employees thought Vash was a amicable idiot, but he wasn't quite so sure. He had seen Vash move extraordinarily quick once to stop a plate from crashing on the floor.....

Even while the new NR guys were kicking the crims out, it would be worthwhile having what the boss thought was clearly a gunman of some skill at hand. You knew know when he would be needed.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Night.

If there was one thing Marcus missed on a cold, misreble night like this, it was the heat and dryness of the sands of home. Since the day that Tohmahawk (the real one, nnow dead) had betrayed them on that bridge, his path had taken him to places he never expected. One of those places had been to the system of Arda, where he was born - the hell world of Arnor, of burning sand and frighteningly huge gravity. Finally, the fisrt time in 100 years. It had taken some finding, but he made it. Undetected, he had looked over the system, noting the almost total lack of stellar traffic or defences. It had been too easy for the Jedi to sneak in, land and feel the sand beneath his feet.

What a feeling. Coupled with the savage grav and the heat, he felt, finally... at home. He had stayed for about a year before leaving once again, exploring and finding out about what he was. For one thing, he found that he was not Q'Dunn. quite surprisingly, the people there were open and and because Marcus fitted in so well, everyone presumed he had never left as a child. All the things he had found out..... Even years later, he was still sifting through it all and on this night, he had a cup of tea in one hand as he leaped out fromt he balcony, looking out over the wet landscape of Arcan.

For one, he had found whom he was. Truly was. The records the Numenorians kept pinpointed a family disappearing about the time he left. No one had ever found them.

Elessar. I remember the name they said they had. I remember the connections too to other families and of the First born, the other that lived on that other planet... what was it again? Ahhh, Imdralis. That was a nice place. All those trees and crap. Mountains too. Really calm and peaceful with those bunch of freaky pointy ears. I'd have thought they were cousins and relatives of Helenias, except she would kicked their butss

The thought of his long dead wife did bring a smile ot his face. She hadn't told him where she had come from, which didnt really bother Marcus. Maybe he'll find out when Imperial records were sliced enough. For now, he'll kep leaning that language the Numenorians and those pointy eared freaks both spoke... quenya or something like that. It was a really nice language too - poetic, more sung than spoken. And he was a natural at it.

Plus, in that year, he had learned some of the songs of Arda. If a place could be judged by song, Arda was a sad place, full of misery and death and heartbreak...

"Sir" General Tohmahawk?"

Marcus turned, looking behind him where a young man was waiting. "Yes?"

"General, the tatical meeting will commence shortly"

"Thank you Jenkins. I'll be there shortly"

The voice of Tohmahawk was rough and edged with menace. The voice of Marcus.... the real Marcus Elessar .... He glanced back at the night sky, wishing he could see the stars. [May you travels be with burden] he said, his voice quiet, soft and oddly acceted.

[Elieen Cross]

It was some days later when I finally was able to get passage off the planet. My belongings were packed in a case that had an active hologram built for it, that disguised it’s contents from scanners. It had served me well in the past, smuggling equipment into places that few other would try. It was standing me in good stead as I was trying to get off Arcan IV. Security was incredibly tight, even to the point where I would say was the best I had ever seen. Whoever had been training these New Republic troops that had arrived had been exacting. These were troops that any armed service would desire. Not many of them granted, not what I could see, but I had the feeling even one would be a handful to defeat, even for me. And I was one of the best. A whole squad would be sheer danger. They all also had rail guns, mainly carbine types, portable shields and were alert. I had tried to mind trick one had found high resistance.

They’re badges of identification were all different too. Unknown unit numbers. NRSF logos. A day ago, I had pretended to be an airhead to find out what it meant. I had found it hard, even with the vapid routine to get anything worthwhile out of these soldiers. Even trying to outdrink one didn’t work. But I had been able to piece together that they were New Republic Special Forces, trained to deal with Force users and other high level disturbances.

That was interesting. And to admit, a good idea. Much like the Imperial Royal Guard in outlook and abilities. More interesting that such a force would come into existence, was the man whom I had found out was leading the NRSF.

What I was about to make my mission was to find out who exactly that man really was. There was some mystery as to whom he was, apart from Major General Tohmahawk. He was supposed to have been shot by Force Master Hunter, but obviously was very much alive. Leading by all reports of the crewers who had been in the various bars of the city I was in, a fleet with two colossal mobile war platforms, one a battlestation, the other with a Ion cannon powerful enough to destroy a Super Star destroyer. Nothing like that was known to exist…

A force that was unexpectly well trained, bought by a fleet that up to know was unknown and had a hammer that far exceeded it’s small numerical size, lead by a man who no one really knew about. A man I most wanted to find out more about. I could still see that holoview moment in my memory, when Tondry identified Tohmahawk as Marcus Q’Dunn. It had to be a mistake I kept on telling myself. Q’Dunn was dead. I however would not let this drop until I knew for sure now. That would mean I would need to find a way to get close to this Tohmahawk and to see for myself. I had asked myself, what if it was true?

I didn’t know. I would come to that when I knew for sure.

Right now, I was getting a transport to Ithor. What I needed right now was to get off this planet and to plan out what I would do. I would need all my skill in Intelligence to sift through the dune presented to me, to find out the grain I needed.

I was dressed in the simple camo I tened for, which hid the fact I had my armour on. The case had my Force Pike and the glaive which I almost never used and on my back was strapped the rifle I had found. I had to admit, it was a wonderful weapon, precision built, heavier than I liked, but well balanced and sighted perfectly. I had found an odd inscription on it, which I decided to work out what it was later. For now, I would keep it for my own until I found whom the real owner could be. I had a suspicion with the note I had found with it, but that could have been for anything. I had fashioned a back holster for it, to protect it.

“Id please”

I got to the outbound check point, where these NSRF soldiers were checking datacards before allowing anyone go. Although the battles a few days ago had caught just about all the Yevyss holdouts and criminals, some still roamed loose. No one was taking any chances. I had heard there had been a shootout two days ago, which the NRSF had won without loss. The criminal base was defeated utterly. I reached into my pocket to draw out my Elieen Cross id.

“Destination Cross?”

“Ithor”

“You have a weapon. Show me your licence to carry it”

I presented the forged licences.

“You have clearance to carry weapons on a public transport? How did you manage that Cross?”

“That’s M’dm to you, soldier. Why don’t you run that id through your scanner and clear me before I get impatient?”

He bristled, but did so. To his credit, there was no apology, but he did hand back the id without further comment and allowed me through. Nice that working for Wayland Yuthanti could open doors occasionally. I walked out to the transport and without looking back, walked up the boarding ramp to begin my journey to Ithor.

From there, who knew. As I found and took a seat, I could feel the familiar object on my finger, under the gloves I wore. My wedding ring, something I had never taken off. Once a symbol of my loss. Now… maybe a symbol of the future?

I didn’t know. But I was going to find out.

[Lion El' Jonson]

At the staff meeting...

A huge figure stood up and slammed its hand against the table. Nearly 6'4", he looked all the more immense wearing a massive suit of ornate body armor. The twenty or so officers around the circular table started, and slowly their arguments died off. A scribe in the corner held up a datapad, preparing to record whatever the man said. The figure smiled, and lowered his armored hand. Servos inside the armor whined as they compensated for the movement. The man stared around at the officers and then burst forth in a furious tirade.

"Listen up, you feth-heads! I appreciate the job you did at Arcan, but it was a job that shouldn't have had to be done in the first place! I don't give a damn about personnel shortages, we need the ships guarded, we need background checks on the officers, and most of all....damnit, now somebody's got to fix that eyesore Defender in orbit up there!"

Amused at the stunned looks (and stunned thoughts) from the other men's faces, Lion sat down. Despite the momentary relief he'd just gotten from unloading on his fellow officers, he was dead tired, a situation that was unlikely to change anytime soon. He tried to rub his bloodshot eyes and succeeded in only punching himself in the face with his titanium gauntlet. Resigned to being tired and pissed off, he leaned back into his chair and glanced around, waiting for the inevitable rebuttle from one of the Kec-heads that made up the supposedly "elite" New Republic Navy. The officer cadre still seemed a bit too...scared...to argue with him at the moment. Then again, few could build up the courage to argue with Lion El' Jonson, New Republic Admiral, Commander of ORO (Outer Rim Operations), and newly minted Jedi Padawan. He stared down, idly studying the swirls and designs on his prized armor.

Mere weeks after the "liberation" of Arcan IV, the New Republic had firmly established its presence on the planet. Lion had arrived three weeks ago, during the "mopping up" procedure. His flagship, the MCC-150 Avatar, was orbiting the planet while his crew stared in envy at that thrice-damned MC-200. Hundreds of capital ships, the pride of the fleets under Lion's command, hustled back and forth across the Arcan system, subduing anybody that dared think of taking advantage of the Chaos and attempting to take Arcan IV. Great, fat-hulled troop ships exited and entered the planet's atmosphere in a perpetual stream, deploying troops, engineers, and heavy construction equipment. NR Intel and their shadowy Prowlers routinely ghosted out of the black of space, for "cleansing" missions.

...And it seemed like the galaxy would take no pity on him. Word of the Balmorran Empire attacking the Bilbringi system had slowly filtered up to Lion...another headache he didn't need.

Finally, one of the officers found his tongue. The man, quivering with fear or rage (Lion couldn't tell), slowly stood and fixed Lion with a stare.

"With all due respect, sir, it's not our fa-"

Lion cut him off with a chop of his arm.

"Colonel Tellard, you're in charge of New Republic Intel for this whole region. How in the hell did you not pick up even a scent of a mass defection? Your predecessor, the late Major Rillare, could figure out when somebody was gonna make off with a garbage scow! You're telling me that you or anybody else in your damned organization didn't pick up a defection the size of a Sector Fleet? Fething hell, I oughta have you demoted to a groundpounder! How you ever became a Colonel, I have no idea."

A woman at the table, one with a nose that looked like it wouldn't fit into a pilot's helmet, stood up.

"That's not fair, Admiral. Perhaps if you had kept an eye on where your fleets were going, none of this would have ever happened. This bloodbath is your fault! I lost half of my squadron because of your orders!"

The woman looked like she was going to bluster on more, but she never got the chance. With a idle wave of his hand, Lion's adjudant stepped out of the shadows and unshrouded a heavy blaster rifle from his thick cloak. Without a sound, the man pulled the trigger and put a heavy round through each of the woman's kneecaps, cleanly punching holes in her legs. She made a sound like a scalded cat and fell to the floor, bleeding profusely.

"That's insubordination, Commander. I sure as hell didn't orchestrate this bloodbath...in fact, nobody did. In war, casualties are expected, and though we try to avoid them, they're a part of war. Commander Lyria" he motioned to the woman on the floor..." had to figure that out the hard way. Major Rawne, get somebody to clean up the mess you made...Now, gentlemen, I believe we were discussing why the hell someone managed to hop off with 22 heavy starships?"

They all stared at him, too stunned even for words. He smiled and looked at the commander as she convulsed on the deck, blood spurting from the ruined mess that had been her legs. He was getting sick of this crap from the officers...

"Whatever happened to the intelligent ones?" he wondered to himself. He was looking forward to meeting General Tohmahawk. Lion had shook hands with the man at a convention of some sort or the other, and knew the General's reputation well. A caustic mouthed tyrant that fought for what he believed was right. Well, those were the kind of people that Lion could come to respect...and maybe, if he was really lucky, the General was the type of man that exibited intelligence above that of a Nerf.

"It's been almost a month since we liberated Arcan and we still don't quite know what the hell caused those ships to defect. I need a full report on any communications any of those ships recieved from unknown sources. Also, get me a background check on every officer aboard those ships, from Captain all the way down to Lieutenant."

Satisfied, Lion sat back, watching as the door slid open and the medical personnel finally entered, carrying a stretcher. They tossed the Commander's jittering body onto the stretcher and then exited the room as quickly as they had entered. The doors slid closed again, muffling the woman's screams.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Staff meetings were usually boring affairs Marcus hated. Scorpion thought so too, so they usually played games while others blathered on. Really, meetings and paperwork were not Marcuus' strong point. He paid someone to do the BS desk job stuff, left him to play with the Defender and other things that went boom. Most Un-Jedilike really. Not that Marcus ever worried what being a 'Jedi' was supposed to be. He had his own ideas.

But man, why oh why did he have to listen about boring transports, troop reports and other junk that frankly didn't concern him? Maybe being full time Jedi would be better. Then, he wouldnt have to listen to this blather. He could see Scorpion was about to fall asleep. Not a bad idea, really. But, Scorpion was actually the ranking officer in this room, even if Marcus was in reality the Commander. 4 stars played two.

"Look, this is all very well" he suddenly said, "The number of ships hauling fuel cells is all well and good, but I really dont want to listen to frelling detail all day. Is there actually anything interesting to be discussed today? Like how to unclog my toilet?" The room turned to Marcus, a few eyebrows being raised. Most of this crew were new, unused to Marcus/Tohmahawk's moods. Scorpion opened one eye, suddenly becoming interested.

"With all due respect General Tohmahawk..." began an Admiral of the Fleet, before Marcus cut him off.

"Without any repect whatsoever Admiral, this is boring as taking a dump. If I was interested in a dump like that, I wouldn't eat spicy food. Listen, when I go to the refresher, I want to really.. <i.experience[/i] it! I want fire! I want pain! I want my ring to be on fire! I want excitement and I want to feel each bit pass out and burn my butt cheeks and singe my butt hair! Now.... why the hell cant we have a breifing more like that?"

"What, like say eating a dodgy vindaloo?" coomented Scorpion mildy

"Yes... like that! This is boring crap! I want exciting crap! I want a crap that makes me sit up and take notice!"

"And stink. I reckon you want stench so bad, it'll kill the next person in there" added scorpion.

"Yes... that too! and I want to hear butt burps so loud, they break glass and smash doors! I want gas soo thick, you can cut it with a knife, if your not killed by the stink. Understand me, Admiral?"

"uuummm... no"

Marcus rolled his eyes and Scorpion pegged his nose.

BBBFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTT!!!!!

It was no ordinary fart. It was a Jedi powered flatulence that rolled, echoes and stank. Two officers near him gagged. And the Admiral that was just walking through the door looked like he was going to puke

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion walked down the hall, his entourage following him. The heavy durasteel walls looked dull, as if they hadn't seen enough light since they were constructed. Major Rawne, his shadowy adjudant, glided alongside Lion, his camo-cloak shrouding a heavy blaster at his hip. Behind him were several other men, including his senior naval staff and two Segmentum Pacificus Fleet Bodyguards. With every step Lion took, his boots made a metallic "clang" against the steel floor. His body armor was a prized artifact, one of the last of its kind after the fall of Caliban. Ornate gold designs crossed and swirled across his chestplate, before spilling their intricate patterns down his shoulders and onto the arm grieves. An immense, grinning skull made of dulled pearl completed the design. His lightsaber hung at his hip, its yellow cylindrical handle bouncing against his armored thigh with each step.

As Lion slowly approached the door, he heard a sound that could be likened to an explosion. Quickening his pace, he rounded the corner just in time to see two men explode out of the room, coughing and gasping for air in most un-officerlike behavior.

"G....gggg.....GAS!!!!" one of them yelled, choking as he attempted to breathe in the air. Alarms went off down the corridor, and the emergency lights kicked on, bathing everything in a red glow. The transparisteel door slammed shut and automatically locked as the Methane sensors measured a dangerously high concentration of that gas in the room.

"Major Rawne!" Lion yelled. The Major grinned, glanced up, and put a perfectly targeted distruptor round into the door...well, through the door, actually, but it matters little. Lion charged the shattered door and layed it flat with his armored bulk. His staff filed in, weapons at the ready...and then all of them fell retching to the floor. Lion was puzzled for a second, and then it hit him too: A wall of stink, slamming into him with more force than a concussion grenade and assaulting his beleagured nostrils.

Lion coughed, spat, and rolled out of the room, his eyes tearing up from the stench. He recovered twenty seconds later and engaged his air mask, finally feeling relief when the stink relented. He wasted no time charging back into the room, went for his belt, and pulled out his trust heavy blaster.

"Alright, whoever the HELL did this..." he chopped his hand at the air "...has thirty seconds to give me a damn good reason why I shouldn't make them look like a fething package of Tangrene Swiss! What the hell have you been eating? Nerf Steaks?"

He straightened his arm and blew one of the swiveling chairs in half with a pinpoint blaster shot, just to show he wasn't kidding.

"One....twooooo...threee...."

[Marcus Telcontar]

CRACKBANG!

The sound of the Rail Gun putting a nice hole in the wall was deafening. The Rail Gun was just nudged just a bit further to point at the freak in the metal. The fact was, Marcus was trying his best not to burst out laughing the fart had been better than expected. Honed with skill it was. Jyanis was actually laughing.

"What do you think, shall we get a can opener and see what sardines is in the walking tin man?" smirked Marcus. "The chair and the door comes out of your pay packet Tin-Man. This is my staff meeting and if I feel like choking them, I will. Now. Would you kindly like to try your entrance again before Jyanis farts as well? I swear he should be banned for illegal chemical warfare"

If Scorpion coud stop laughing.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion smiled...he was willing to bet a billion credits that this was the NRSF General, Tohmahawk. There were legends...He holstered his blaster and gave the man a quick once-over.

"No...sir..." He smirked. "You don't have to rip me open, but could you please refrain from...er, letting one rip...in front of my men? It's damn hard enough to find good officers these days, and watching a few of them suffocate from methane would make the empty spaces rather hard to fill."

He absentmindedly saluted, accidentally hitting himself in the head with one of his armored hands. He turned on his heel and marched out the door, spun around, and then walked back in. He made no attempt to avoid the mess that had once been a beautiful door, stepping on the glass and shattering it into a billion tiny pieces.

Stepping forward towards the General and the Chiss that was still roaring with laughter (and obviously mad...), he held out a guantletted hand. Servomotors whined in each of the fingers as they tried to support the heavy durasteel.

"I'm Admiral Lion El' Jonson, Outer Rim Command. You are...?" Lion ended with a question, though he was damn sure this was the famed General Tohmahawk...then again, you could never be too careful. From what he'd heard, if you spelled the guy's name wrong he'd blow off your arms and legs and impale you on a stake in the front yard. Lion thought about it for a second and mentally shrugged the memory away...Impaling somebody on a front yard probably would violate some zoning ordinance.

"By the way, who's Mr. Blue?" Lion asked, nodding towards the chuckling Chiss.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Marcus gave a look at the armoured hand. Ummm.... riiiggghhhtttt. Never shake somethign that looked like an escapee from a mine crusher.

"Personally, if your working with me Mr Jonson, the zoning laws can go get frelled. I'll impale who I want on a Pike, when I want."

What was more interesting was that this admiral in the tin suit had apparently no fear of Tohmahawk. And had an attitude. Not that Marcus thoguht that was a bad thing - most of the brass were wimps. He preferred to be with the real sodiers, the real fighters, right on the front line. By the looks and actions of this guy.... maybe someone else thoguht the same as well.

"I'm Tohmahawk TinMan and the blue nit laughing his tits off is General Jyanis Scorpion. Apperently, we run the show around here. I say apparently, because everyone else does the running for us. Now excuse my curiosity... but what the hell are you doing in that can anyway?!?!"

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion glanced down and faked a look as if he had been mortally wounded.

"This, sir, is no tin can. This is Mark III Deathwing Power Armor, a fething relic from my home world that's probably worth more than a wing of starfighters...Since Grand Admiral Thrawn cracked the planet open 20 years ago, there's only about 30 of these suits around. Miniature servomotors in every joint, otherwise I wouldn't be able to walk with the damn thing on. Excellent for defense against small arms, lets me fire heavy weapons on the run, and makes a damn good can-opener. As for why I'm wearing it...well, I prefer to lead boarding actions from the front ("Unlike some other fething lazy-*** commander I know..." Lion thought), and after seeing a bit of Arcan IV I've decided that most of the citizens here are probably more dangerous that the stormtroopers I usually end up shooting...hence the protection. Besides, it makes a pretty damn cool sound on ship decks."

As if to emphasize his point, he stomped on the ground a bit and made a satisfying "clang".

"So, General...if you're not running the show around here, what the hell are you and Blue doing right now? I've got my damn hands full with fleet deployments, sending out 'I'm sorry your son got fried' letters to parents, and trying to keep my flagship from blundering into your fething metal tube MC-200 up there. That Drecker should at least turn on some more goddamn running lights. Really, between the paintjob, the reflective transparisteel, the hologram projectors, and the drive maskers on that eyesore, I've already had two transports blunder into the thing."

He scuffed the ground with his metal boot.

"You'd think something as big as a moon would be easier to see, General Tohmahawk." He glanced over towards the other General, the blue one.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Lion said, indicating the Chiss. "I can't tell if he's choking or laughing anymore, he's spasming like somebody dumped him on Kessel without a breathmask."

[Marcus Telcontar]

Marcus glanced over to Scorpion, who was now recovering from his laughing fit.

"Unless you have somethign wonderful in that suit, your bantha meat if you meet a sabre welder. But not bad for most suitations"

Give him one good note. He actualyl knew enough to f the behemoth flagship Tohmahawk had. And another good thing - leading from the front.

"So, you prefer to do boarding from the front, hmmm? Not from your bridge? That's a bit unusual for an Admiral, is it not?"

[Lion El' Jonson]

"Perhaps, sir. I can't stand sitting on my fething behind, though, knowing that men I may have spoken with could be dying while I sit in my Command Chair sipping tea. If I'm going to send men to their death, I better be damn well ready to throw myself on the line for them. Most of the damn brass has lost touch with the troops. I guarantee you can walk into the officer's quarters aboard any given ship and half of the stuckup kec-heads in there can't tell you the name of one man below the rank of Lieutenant. I'll tell ya' one thing, General...leading from the front certainly earns you some respect."

He took a short breath and continued.

"And, as long as you're mentioning saber wielders..." Lion hesitated. "...I think I might be able to hold my own."

Lion grabbed the cylinder that had been clanging off of his leg. The yellow handle was molded perfectly to his armored hand. He placed his fingers around the grips and applied pressure.

A long, blue blade shot out of the pommel.

"I'm also Padawan Lion El' Jonson, under the tutelage of Jedi Knight Dasquian Belargic."

He waved the weapon absently, its hum changing with every sweep.

"Interesting, eh? The armor may slow my reaction time, but it also fractally scales and increases my strength. I can quite literally bisect a durasteel cube in less than 10 seconds."

[Marcus Telcontar]

Scorpin was the one who said it, not Marcus. It was quiet, but pretty clear that Lion had said the wrong thing.

"Ooops"

Scorpion put a hand on the suddenly quiet Marcus' shoulder, ready to restrain him. Tohamahawk had an almost hatred for Jedi - something that Jyanis found surprising after he found out the truth about the General. Marcus just plain didnt like Jedi and he was the best one there had been for years. The irony. "Master Lion, put that thing away before you get yourself killed. Our good Mister Tohmahawk here, you should know how much he doesn't like your kind. Counting yourself as a Jedi in his presence is a quick trip to the afterlife". Jyanis glanced at his friend, his mentor... his Jedi Master. Even bigger irony was that Scorpion was now Marcus' first Padawan in a decade.

Jyanis understood why James Tohmahawk hated Jedi. He also understood the battle Marcus Q'Dunn had in reclaiming something he had willingly put aside. Having Lion flaunt his Jedi-ness was not going to help matters.

"Well.... your a Jedi too" stated Marcus, low and calmly. Jyanis winced. Low and calm was the danger signal. "How interesting. Jyanis here is a Padawan too. I'm sure you'll be able to compare notes"

"Now... about the reason your here..."

Jyanis breathed out, relieved.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion nodded and thumbed the saber off. It hummed for a second and then the blade vanished. He wasn't particularly scared of Tohmahawk, but he instictively took a step backwards. He hooked the saber to his belt and nodded his silent thanks to Jyanis.

"Indeed, General. I'd actually fething well like to know why the hell I'm here. It seems like all I've gotten to do is take a stroll through streets with more cracks in them than the Leadro Fault. There's some citizens here that have probably seen more firefights than Lieutenant Page and his whole squad. And why the hell did Drecker toast that Super Star Destroyer and fry the ion cannon? Those things don't come cheap."

Major Rawne hurried up to him with another damn dataslate. Lion waved it off and stared at Tohmahawk.

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Drecker I believe belatedly realised the SSD was carrying hostages and tried to countermand the order to fire. I'm afraid that there is a point of no return, where the cannon has to fire. Your lucky it was ion only and not an axial super-laser. Tho.... not much difference when you think about it"

"Your here, not to deal with this mess anyway. Scorpion and the Jedi can get stuff set up and clean up - what were are up to..." Here he galnced at the other poeple in the room... ".. Leave now. The admiral and I have some things to talk about. Jyanis, get me the files in question. The rest, leave now"

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion nodded again.

"Ion Cannon or Superlaser aside, I believe it was quite an impressive shot. I haven't seen any specific readouts on the battle damage, but just from what I noticed it looks like that shot blew out half of the overload capacitors and fried an awful lot of the cooling systems. I bet it was quite a show, General."

Lion motioned with his hand and his retinue left the room, following out the rest of the command staff and leaving Lion alone in the room with General Tohmahawk. He fidgeted for a second and then looked up.

"General, I'm sorry about my...erm, Jedi-ness. You won't see hide nor hair of my abi-."

Lion was cut short as Jyanis returned, carrying several datacards and printouts. The Chiss looked sorta grim, a marked difference from the raving mad lunatic that had been laughing his guts out earlier.

"Alright, now can I please find out why I'm here before my flagship starts to grow mold, sir?

[Marcus Telcontar]

"I was beginning to like you until you apologied Admiral" commented Marcus, looking through the datapads that Jyanis came in with. "I dont like those who need to apologise. See to it you do not need to do so again."

Just a spimple set of words, but it was like he was a drill sergent verbally battering cadets. Words in the hands of Marcus were like a weapon, sweetly tuned and deadly with themselves. And if this admiral knew exactly the power of the Force lurking under the skin of James Tohmahawk..... Even Scorpion could only guess at that.

"TYhe reason your here admiral is that we have a bit of a tricky situation to deal with. Lookign at your files, it appears you might be ideal candiate to help come along. Now, for the record, state your military record"

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion nodded and drew himself to his full height, snapping to military attention.

"Admiral Lion El' Jonson, sir! New Republic Commander in Chief, Outer Rim and 2nd through 9th fleets. Enrolled in the NR military academy at Bodoran in 20914.24.19. Graduated from Officer Training on 61084.27.19. Commanded the frigate Evanrue at the battle of Qat Chrystac, promoted to Commander two months later. Led the 4th taskforce at Mon Calamari, and was promoted to Rear Admiral in 10495.32.20. Following the Battle of Coruca Terp, I was promoted again to full fleet Admiral. I've successfully led 17 campaigns and over 130 skirmishes against the Remnant, the Confed, and several other hostile groups."

He paused to take a breath.

"I temporarily took command of NR Intelligence, before turning the division over to Lieutenant Pierce Tondry and Lady Winter. I specialise in Blitzkrieg Strikes, and in formal fleet-to-fleet battles. I personally led the assault on the Super Star Destroyer Xerxes. I've been told I have a knack for getting inside-the-mind of my enemy and second guessing him...and I'm not used to being defeated."

Lion threw a small smile at the General. The fact that he had actually bothered to memorize all of the that was pathetic, but there was more...not that he'd be telling any of THAT to General Tohmahawk.

"Incidentally, sir, I'd like to go on record as saying you'd make a fine senator if it wasn't for the fact you tend to dismember people that disagree with you."

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Frell the Senate" Marcus snapped back. "I hate politicals more than Jedi. And that's saying quite a lot. Why do you think I made sure the NRSF could not be touched by politcial interference or reaming?"

"Butt reaming" added Scorpion.

"Yes, I'm sure I don't need to draw the good Admiral a picture" said Marcus in reply. "we ate lunch, we dont want to throw it back up. right Msiter Lion, for starters this little trip is going to mean you get out of that armour of yours and go likely hand to hand. do you particularly mind blowing someone's head off at point blank?"

[Typhoon]

A few days of work had made all the difference to his credit bank. But nothign for his hands, which were red and wrinkly from the washing up water. Vash decided to invest in a set of gloves so that his hands wouldnt be so wet for so long. He was humming today, happy and fed as he scrubbed dishes, so much so that he hardly heard the sudden silence outside the kitchen.

Does silence have a sound? Maybe it does, or is it more the noticable absence of sound that makes silence notible? well, whatever it was, it took Vash a few moments to realise somethign wasn't right. He stopped humming, glancing behind his shoulder. He noted the silence and then slowly took the gloves off.

--

"Right. Good. Hands up. Yeah. Right, money, vauables. Into the box"

"Yeah. Inna the box he said!"

An insane laugh broke the silence. The three robbers had heavy carbines and were at this point in time covering each of the diners. The proprietors were all against the wall, hands up and bug eyed at the display of firepower. The robbers began to circulate, before they were disturbed by a tall thin human coming out of the kitchen - a being in a red coat. He had a set of sun shades in his right hand.

"Hey, what's goign on?" the newcomer, Vash asked.

"HANDS UP!" screamed one of the robbers.

"Ooh. Okay" Vash flicked the earpieces of the glasses open, puttign the sunshades on before pushing them in place, raising his hands. He seemed absolutly, ridiculously calm. The sheer calmness seemed to unnerve the robber who got closer, even to the point of basically having the carbine's barrel right in fromt of Vash's nose.

"Say, who are you??" demanded the robber.

"Oh, no one in particular. a seeker of Love and Peace"

The answer was not acceptible to the robber. He seemed to move..... and in a blink, his gun moved. It shot the guns out of the hands of the other two robbers, before smacking him across the temple. Least... that was the only explaination anyone had later. All anyone really saw was the guns flying, blaster shots and Vash standing still, not appearing to move, with the bandit at his feet, the other two disarmed.

"Hmm. Okay." Vash turned to go back to his dishes when one fo the enraged robbers went for the gun that a moment before had been in his hand.

BLAM!

The shot echoed. The gun was blown to pieces. The robber stared in horror as the biggest bloody hand gun he had ever seen moved, still smoking, to point at his head. While that was bad, the really bad one was the sunglasses on this demon - they were glowing bright yellow. The bandit screamed and ran.

That night, Vash got a 50% pay rise.

[Typhoon]

He wasn't much of a smoker, but back in his small room, he stood on the balcony, looking out over the darkness and bright lights that was Arcan City. He usually got home and went to sleep, tired from work in the restaruant, but tongiht, he could not sleep. His thoughts were busy.

Not many would have known, but behind that idiotic exterior and happy go lucky face, there was a deep thinker. A man whom felt keen emotions, someone whom saw the Galaxy for what it was. He hated the gun he carried, he hated the abilities he seemed to have that he could not explain. He hated how others wanted to take away the scared life of others. God, how he hated all the death and destruction of it all!

<font color=red>She Talks To Angels </font>

She never mentions the word addiction
In certain company
Yes, she'll tell you she's an orphan
After you meet her family


Later that night, when the air was cold and the fog was encoaching all around, when the lamp posts were fuzzy, when only the animals that lived on the streets could be seen roaming, there was footsteps. Boots crunched on gravel as the tall thin humaniod walked. Dressed in the red coat, the sunglasses once again glowing oddly in the darkness, he walked. His thoughts strayed here and there, not really fixed on anything. His feet were taking him where they decided to go - no where in particular it seemed, but seemingly with parpose too. And odd contradiction, but maybe, for someone like Vash, it summed him up.


She paints her eyes as black as night now
She pulls those shades down tight
She gives a smile when the pain comes
The pain gonna' make everything alright


Pain. The Galaxy was full of it. There was no end, no stop to it. Just when it seemed he was at peace and he found a place to stay, the pain flared again. Just... so much pain. so much agony. Why did it have to be like that? why did beings have to hurt each other? Why couldn't anyone get along?


Says she talks to angels
They call her out by her name
Oh yeah, she talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name


He looked up, wondering why the angels of God couldn't come down and stop the insaneity. He knew they could - he had seen it before. Far away they had come down in a firey bolt and put a stop to the evil of that place. So far away... and as he tried to rememeber, it was seemingly so long ago. So long ago, he could no longer put a date to it.

Come to think of it, the memory was pretty fragmented. He could not swear it had been a dream or a story he had read.

He could hardly remember where the scars had come from even.


She keeps a lock of hair in her pocket
She wears a cross around her neck
Yes the hair is from a little boy
And the cross from someone she has not met
Not yet


On a wall he past, there was a memorial. It was to a young man whom had died in the liberation. The man was a hero, for he had lost his life for a 'cause'. Thatw as to the rest of the population, yes. To a young woman, he was a finacee she would never marry or have children with. To a older woman, he was a much loved son, whom she had bought up, gave birth to. To a man, he was a son, an heir. To others he was a brother, an uncle, a cousin.

He was no hero to them. But, he was just so much more. A hero was nothing but history. Beings made heros out of strange things. But this young man... he was more than a hero. He was dreams, aspirations, hopes and a future. All dust now. All dead and nothing remaining but this memorial and memories. Maybe the young woman held the picture of her lover to her chest and cried herself to sleep. Maybe the father stood at a doorway, knowing his son would be home no more. Maybe that young boy dreamed of the times his big brother would play with him - and knew he would play no more.


Says she talks to angels
They call her out by her name
Oh yeah, she talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name


Oh yeah. There was words penned on the memorial to the gods the family believed in. Words hoping the young man would find a better place. A place much like Vash searched for. Maybe when Vash found it, he would meet this young man who had died and ask him... was it worth it? Was dying to stop the pain worthwhile?


She don't know no lovers
None that I've ever seen
And to her that means nothing
But to me it means, means everything


On another notice board, there was a picture of a man and woman. They were not beautiful, fact was, she was bloody ugly. But here Vash stopped, for he noted

'Johnn and S'ssandy. To be married this...'

They looked so happy, they did. Vash reached out and touched the picture, thinking. Here was two for whom the Galaxy didn't matter. He could tell both were retards, really retards but they seemed so genuine in their smiles. Honest. Truly pleased.

Vash thought about. There was no hero status, in fact there was graffiti on the notice. No flowers, no quasi worship. He glanced back at the memorial for the young man, the one whom had died a hero, or so they said.


She paints her eyes as black as night now
She pulls those shades down tight
She gives a smile when the pain comes
The pain gonna' make everything alright


He could feel the pain of this place. The palce he stood on was where the young man died. He didn't want to be a hero, he was, Vash was certain, scared to death. He didn't want to die.

Who did?

But he had - a blaster shot even as the group he was with retreated. Had he felt the death blow? Had he had time to wonder what had happened, had he known? Or had he fallen quiet, not knowing? Or had he screamed with the death pain?


Says she talks to angels
They call her out by her name
Oh yeah, she talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name


Vash knew. How he knew, there was no telling. It was empathy of some kind. He knew the young man was no hero. He was an ordinary being. The memorial and hero status would have made him ill. Vash glanced back down the road where the notice of marrige was. He looked back at the memorial of death.

His hand moved slowly.

A glint of silver as the huge barrel came clear of the holster.

A glint of yellow flame from his glasses.

Something inhuman seemed to be around him as he levelled the gun.

BLAM.

The shot echoed as the first bullet blasted into the memorial.

BLAM. BLAM. BLAM BLAM. BLAM.

Click.

Vash opened the chamber and let the six spent shells hit the ground. Far away, a dog barked.

Let him be remembered for what he was, not for what others want him to be.

His boots crunched as he turned, putting the gun away. With one glance at the marrige notice, he smiled a bit and then began to walk away.

Yes, the galaxy was filled with pain. But there was beauty and magesty, wonder and love if you only looked close enough. He talked to Angels and sometimes... they told him where to find it.

--

Not far away, a man threw a cigarette out the doorway he was standing at.

"Goodbye Son. I'll never forget you"

he turned and closed the door quietly behind him.

[Lion El' Jonson]

"General, I'd be more than pleased to blow heads back. Jedi training hasn't changed me THAT much..." he sighed.

He glanced down at his armor, frowned, and then made tracks to a storage cabinet. Slamming the door shut, he set about the complicated process of removing his powered armor. Halfway through, he involuntarily flicked off the power supply and collapsed under the armor's weight. The door shook violently, and Tohmahawk and Jyanis exchanged amused glances.

Fifteen minutes later, Lion emerged from the supply closest, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. Wiping his brow, he walked back into the closest and literally dragged 140 kilos of armor out. He paused to retrieve his blaster, hid his saber in a cargo pocket, and then kicked the offending powered suit.

Marcus and Jyanis were glaring at his attire. Lion waved at his shorts.

"What, you expected me to wear an admiral's uniform under THAT?' he asked, pointing at the heap of black armor on the floor.

(ooc: Sorry for the long delay, I've been finishing up some loose ends before I started summer.)

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Are you sure about this?" whispered Jyanis.

"Nope. I think we have a loony here"

"I think your right. Bit late to change your mind"

"Yeah" said Marcus, watching the display with a bad feeling in his mind. "He has lousy taste in underwear"

"And your any better?"

"Since when have you been looking at my undies, you pervert?"

Scorpion blew Marcus a kiss. The Master shook his head. "Jerk off. Okay Mister Lion, if you have finished with your strip tease, take a seat. We will discuss your attire later. Jyanis...?"

The Chiss nodded, got up and turned the lights down low and a second later there was a globe of a green planet hanging above the table. "This is Ithor. Familiar with it Admiral?"

[Helenias Evenstar]

Ithor. Home of walking plants and weird flying ships. I did not really know much about the place, but it seemed like a good enough place to get away from it all and have a holiday. And thence, i was reclining on a deck chair at the hotel, a green camo on, sucking down expensive Chandrilan Dusters. Not a bad drink I had to admit and perfect for the situation. The bitter taste of alcohol flooded my mouth as I took another sip, then I recommenced my new occupation of looking out over the balcony.

After 50 years, this was the first genuine holiday I had ever had. I was feeling a great deal more relaxed, much mentally refreshed and feeling like I could take on the galaxy. Wayland Yuthanti was a bad dream past, Eileen was drifting away even. Even Lord Fire Blade was behind me. Facing the Galaxy as Helenias Evenstar seemed like the right thing to do. Whomever she was. I thought I had left her behind so many years ago on a planet so far away, it wasn't even on the Galatic maps.

Maybe I could resume my mission.

Maybe I could locate this Tohmahawk and find out who he really was.

Or maybe I could have a snooze here and wake up with a frelling bad hangover from these dusters.

And the correct answer was..... C I thought, taking another swallow. And belching. Whoo. This stuff had one hell of a kick.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion leaned forward for a closer look at the green globe hanging in front of him.

"Quite familiar with it, actually. Big planet, sentient Bafforr trees, and natives that look vaguely like tree-trunks. The priests demanded that the forest was preserved so everybody has to live in floating cities."

Lion sighed and smiled.

"Sort of a whackjob place, if you ask me. Really, GreenPeace would have a field day down there."

[Marcus Telcontar]

Marcus glanced at Scorpion. They both obviously were confused.

"WTF is Greenpeace?" asked Scorpion.

--

(The present)

He caught himself daydreaming. Shaking his head breifly, he looked ut over the Coruscant landscape, seeing it's towers, it's air traffic, it's sheer size....

My God, how things have changed since that meeting. The whole Galaxy has turned itself on it's head.

"And I'm free" he said quietly. For the first time in his life, he was free of the Prophecy, he was free to do what he wanted, when he wanted. His footsteps were of his own, his actions were his own and Callista had died with a lightsabre buried in her gut. The look of surprise as she realised her death had been payment for so much she had done to him, all the pain and death. To see her die, see the hate dim, to see her crumple... and then to give the dead body a good hard kick. And then made sure she stayed dead by cutting the body up and burning it. Then relieved his bladder on the ashes.

He smiled at the memory. He felt so much lighter and at peace with himself, it was amazing. For so many years he had battled and now....

And now what? He had proven the stronger. The lingering doubts were gone. He was the strongest of them all, a Jedi Master of true power, one whom no one matched. One whom was not ruled over by rules or Councils, one free to do as he would, one free to pursue what he needed to pursue. Oh, he was a true Lost Jedi, but he had also found ways to give his strength the Jedi Order, that was true.

"Hey Marcus"

He didnt turn his head as the lizard creature came up to him. "Dex"

"Be thinking are ya buddy?"

"Yeah"

Dexter was one of Marcus' closest friends. The lizard knew what was on Marcus' mind. "If I were you, I be starting to plan"

"What for?"

"there be a lotta scum out there buddy. You may have gotten Callista, but there be more linin' up"

"I know"

"So, we gonna do it? what we talked about?"

"Yes. We're goign to start that war"

Dexter looked out over the balcony. "Aye, that be what I wanted to hear. And...?"

"And what?" asked Marcus. "The war will be big enough"

"And what about that little thing ya promised?"

"Oh" Marcus finally turned his head to gaze at the lizard. "The claim was made and accepted. Harrvii is all yours"

"Hey yeah! I'm gonna be rich!"

"Ha. Good luck, the place is a mess. It's goign to cost a lot of credits"

"Don't worry matey, I got contacts"

Marcus snorted. "I know all about your contacts, you rotter. Where you got those compromising pics, I have no idea. How many senators have you blackmailed?"

"Not enough. Ya know, that Evenstar going to be annoyed. I hear she got back to the Senate today"

At the namer of Helenias, Marcus' raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why is that?"

"I promised to force that Senator to resign. She's not goignt o like me..."

"Don't worry about her, I'll handle that" he grinned. "Fact is, I really want to talk to her"

Yeah, did he ever. Finally sit down with his wife whom he had bearly seen in a year, only spoken three words to on Harrvii and then not a thing since then.

Yeah, it was true what a difference two yeas made. When he had spoken to Lion in that room on Arcan, he had thought she was dead. How little did he know the surprise the Galaxy had in store for him

--

(two years ago)

"Yes, please explain. What the hell is Greenpeace?!?"

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion sighed and shook his head.

"Greenpeace is, essentially, a bunch of loons dedicated to hugging trees and disabling Lumberbots. They occasionally march in the streets with signs that've got rainbows on them, and when they get enough balls they usually blockade Energy Cell transports or something."

"Sometimes I wonder if there's actually a brain behind their chanting faces." Lion mused.

Tohmahawk stood around for a few seconds, clearly waiting for him to continue.

"And...that's it...erm..." Lion kicked the ground. "Are you sure this demands my attention? I've got a confirmed report of Imperial Cruiser Squadrons in Abregado-Rae's backyard. I'll come, as long as I get to shoot somebody." He grinned, spinning his blaster. He then returned to the subject of Ithor.

"I was at Ithor, once. The whole planet is wrapped in beaurocratic nonsense that seems to prohibit anything that makes life easier. You've gotta have a specific power output on your repulsorlifts, a restraining bolt on any droids that come with you, and you've gotta check all of your weapons at the 'front desk'. The use of sublight engines within 80 miles of the surface is completely prohibited. If you actually wanna see the damn trees, it also helped to have a butt-load of credits."

Lion paused.

"And believe me, the trees aren't that spectacular. A couple of the meaner ones have the annoying tendency to try and rip your arms off. I don't see why Ithor tries to protect its Bafforr Trees from us, they should be protecting us from the damned Bafforr Trees..." he trailed off.

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Not interested in the trees Lion, tho I duly note you seem to know of the place. Now. While admittedly the smugglers there we're going after can be handled easily by regular troops, I have a reason for asking you to come with me on this"

He leaned forward.

"Mister, you are a maverick. I've seen your files, your a renegade and your half the time lucky not to be in the brig. You bend and break rules as you see fit. While that might annoy others in the Inner Council, I take a different view of that. And as such, I want to judge you for myself. Tell me, do you know what the NRSF were bought into being for?"

[Helenias Evenstar]

<font color=red>You don’t know how you took it
You just know what you got
Oh lordy you’ve been stealing
From the theives and you got caught
In the headlights
Of a stretch car
You’re a star

Dressing like your sister
Living like a tart
They don’t know what you’re doing
Babe, it must be art
You’re a headache
In a suitcase
You’re a star

Oh no, don’t be shy
You don’t have to go blind
Hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me

You don’t know how you got here
You just know you want out
Believing in yourself
Almost as much as you doubt
You’re a big smash
You wear it like a rash
Star

Oh no, don’t be shy
There’s a crowd to cry
Hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me

They want you to be jesus
They’ll go down on one knee
But they’ll want their money back
If you’re alive at thirty-three
And you’re turning tricks
With your crucifix
You’re a star

(oh child)

Of course you’re not shy
You don’t have to deny love
Hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me</font>




Present day.

And what a rotten one. I had every intention of leaving the Jedi Order, but I had found my every move thwarted by a bunch of interfering busybodies. Not only that, but I had a stand-up argument with my Padawan, relationships with Xazor wasn't all that warm and more to the point, I was three months pregnant to the worst enemy of my family. Oh, now this sucked bantha balls. He didn't know it, but now I did. I had been sent into the Galaxy to kill that very being - how ironic I was now carrying the beginnings of his baby.

Marcus Elessar. Numenorian. Had just recently killed his Sith Mistress Callista the Black in a spectaclar one on one combat on Harrvii. A Jedi Master of considerable power and knowledge, he would be galaxy-wide famed if he hadn't systematically erased all trace of his existance. Oh, he was Turbogeek a few years ago, his alter ego was General Tohmahawk.. but Marcus Q'Dunn? What did that name mean? To me it was a man I had fallen in love with, cherished, nearly died for... and in a night of passion, concieved for. He was my husband of 15 years, even if I had believed he was dead for 11 of them.

Yes, Marcus Q'Dunn. A man I thought I knew well. Not Marcus Elessar as he really was, a being no one even had a clue about. And now, I knew he lived after Harrvii. I had a choice, made all the worse for the fact his child I was carrying.

Do I rebel against my family or do I carry out my mission? Now he is revealed as the one of the Prophecy, my Father would expect me to carry out the wishes of the Council of the Wise. If he died, I could go home and this child could be forgiven as a necessary evil.

Just the thought of the Numenorian touching me sent revoltion through me. Those sand crawling worms, they were not fit to live. And to think Marcus was one... I felt like I wanted to be sick.

As I watched the air traffic of Coruscant from my vantage point of the land pad that my senatorial position allowed, thoughts swirled through my head. I had no peace, no calmness, for now I faced a life changing decision. I could not go back on the betroval vows, nor could I dispose of this foetus , for the Most High looked unkindly on that type of murder. My body was no longer my own, it was the shelter for a child. Abortion was not an option.

In my heart, I knew what I had to do. Elessar had to die.

I closed my eyes and breathed in.

Yes.

My hand brushed the rail gun at my side. My duty was clear. I turned away, knowing the first steps I had to take. Not just killing would do. A complete and total destruction of his world was the only thing that this type of betrayal would make good for.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Inside my head, a small voice screamed. It implored me to stop. It asked me to see reason. It was drowned out by all the fore-bears and the eons old hatred the Sindarians bore to the Numenorians.

[General Tohmahawk]

Present

After the chat with Dexter, he had gone to the landing pad, where his private ship, Razor laid in wait. He had thought about staying here, but something inside him, somethign was restless. There was a question in his head, something he needed to find out Somethign that needed an answer and there was only one way to do it.

had been prepped for takeoff a day or two before, refuelled to the maximum with drop tanks for added range, all systems gone over by NR techs, cleaned and re-supplied. On it also was a new NR emblem and also twin stars, indicative of his rank. While Marcus the Jedi wasn't known, James Tohmahawk, NR General and all round bad <smallfont color={hovercolor}>-Censored-</smallfont> was. Now that callista was gone and the Jedi looked to be well secured in their new temple, there really was no need for the Jedi anymore. But there was need in the NR for the soldier and leader. There was a slight matter of Tohmahawk been listed as dead, but that hadn't taken too long to resolve. It also helped explained why he looked different from the movie star cutie he had disguised his features as. Accident and surgery you know. Pretty extensive. Oh and why hadn't I turned up earlier? well Iwas being hunted and had to deal with it.

Not many others could have gotten away with it, but Tohmahawk could. The founder of the NRSF was known to be a man who didnt take orders from anyone, a man who acted independantly of the military order and reported to the Chief of State direct. Oh, he annoyed a few people, but no one dared say that to the good General's face, you were likely to get a fist in the face for your trouble. good thing he had proven loyal and highly capable, so that his nasty temper and insubordination were put to one side.

Yeah. Yeah. what the hell. He had been meaning to do it for years, now was the time. Maybe he would have preferred Helenias with him, but somethign just said it was best to go alone. Maybe he was puttign being a full time Jedi aside for now, but he was too learned int eh force to ignore what it hinted. If it said to go alone was a good idea, so help him, alone it was. a few minutes later he was int he ship, the ramp was closing and he could feel the pull of the grav plates increase as they adjusted to his preference of 2.1G. That was one of the secrets he had, the acclimatisation to heavy gravity. Apparently all Numenorians had that as the planet they came from was high grav.

Numenorians, he thought, coming to stop. He had never seen another. The system was so far away, it was not charted and all he had were the co-ordinates and hazy route Helenias had used years ago to come out into the Galaxy. Far end of the western spiral, many thousands of light years away from known space. The trip itself was scheduled to take a month there and back. Quite a long time to be away, so picking the right time was critical.

"Suppose it's now or never" he said to himself. "Yeah. Home"

Home. A distant planet he had never seen, except as a child. 115 years had passed since that time, lifetimes and changes like you could hardly believe. He didnt dwell on that, he leapt into the pilot's seat, touching the control pads, his fingers dancing as they fired up the life supports and aux systems.

"Good morning sir" came the voice from the vox panel. "All systems diag now active"

"Good morning Razor" he said back at the ship's AI controller. "Send out trans code and ask for clearence to takeoff. Code ArchAngel."

"As Tohmahawk?" asked the AI

" Yep. I want out of here"

"As you wish" it said, going quiet for a moment. "Clearence given, priority of your choosing. Do you wish escort?"

"No. I just want everyone out of my way"

"As you wish. Diag complete. all systems are now manual and at your disposal"

He nodded, putting on the harness.

--

10 minutes later, the sound of repulsor lifts was ear piercign as the winged craft rolled out onto the transitway. Unlike other space craft, Razor had a wheeled undercarrige and when laden, needed a runway. The repulsorlifts weren't that powerful. He nosed out into the traffic, turning the craft to point along the transitway and then waited a moment. The engine exhausts began to smoke and then wtih a bang, the ignitors fired as the turbines built revs. flame spat from the exhaus, before going blue and almost invisible. The thunder of ignition echoed as the craft strained on it's brakes, the motors going up in pitch.

Clear.

He slammed the throttle forward.

The whine turned into a full blooded roar as fire blasted out the rear. The boost bars hit redline as the motors screamed, the brakes now off and the craft bursting forth into acceleration. 400 meters later, it was airborne and then with one tug of the control wheel, it bent upwards and rocketed upwards in a blaze of heat and light. Seconds later, he was clear of the buildings and lower traffic lanes. More seconds into the the liftoff, he hit the sub lights. Now the ship rattled and thumped as it leapted harder and higher, acceleration pinning the Jedi hard to his seat. The acceleration only slackened when Razor was out into space, making for the nearest point where a jump to light speed could be made. That took a good hour, what with the traffic, grav traps and calculations needed for the course. They would stop somewhere near the edge of Known Space to recheck and scan, but for now, it was all systems go and with a blink and a blur of psuedomotion, Marcus was gone from real space of on the first stage of a journey back to his birth place.

[Lion El' Jonson]

In the past...

He laughed. Laughing probably wasn't what most people did when facing an inquisition from General Tohmahawk.

"Throw me in the brig? How the feth are they gonna do that? I'm the Outer Rim Commanding Officer. President Leia and Vice President 'Puffers' Gavrisom are both personal friends. I've got half of Intel in my pocket, and my sister is the director of the New Republic Inquisition. I'm distantly related to Lieutenant Page, and my Grandfather is the head of the Caliban Deathwing. What's the Deathwing, you ask?"

He grinned.

"Remember that tin suit I was wearing a couple of minutes ago? Imagine 120 guys charging towards you in armor like that, carrying repeaters and light turbolasers...then factor in them operating from the remnants of my destroyed planet. I think I'm quite well protected, and to fething hell anybody that doubts that. I'm a maverick, and I wouldn't like it any other way..."

His grin slacked a little, and then he dropped his gaze to the floor. "Erm, got a bit carried a way back there." he started to say, before remembering that the General hated apologies. He just shut his fething mouth for the second and thought a bit.

Lion looked up at Tohmahawk quizically.

"To tell you the truth, General, I don't have a fething clue what the NRSF was founded for, beyond the semi-public dispatches that were handed out, and all those said was that the NRSF was a 'peacekeeping force', which doesn't tell me a feth of a lot. Hell, if anybody would know, it'd be me...I'm the fething former NR Intelligence Director."

He favored the General with a smile.

"So, am I gonna be left in fething suspense til the day I die, or are you gonna gimme a straight answer?"

[Marcus Telcontar]

It took him nearly 10 days to reach his destination. It had proven to be somewhat hard to find, so far out of the way that it was really down to The Force that he could have navigated here at all. He had chosen to come out of Hyperspace about 10 light minutes early, so he could scan the system from the edges. A slightly bigger sun that the standard M-Class, 7 planets, 3 close to the livable band, one towards the inner orbit that was flagged as maginal at best. 2 gas giants and a outer cold lifeless rock. The stars were so much thinner out here as well, as it would be, given the sheer distance from the core.

Sensor scans showed a lack of intra planet transport. However, life form readings on the three habitable planets were off the scale, especailly the outermost livable planet. It came back as a large forested world. The other two were watery with patches of land that looked pretty good.

However, it was the inner one, the one closet to the star that was most interest. It was an L-class arid planet, roughly 1/2 a diamater larger than Tattooine. There was some water on it, a dense atmosphere, really it seemed like a nothing place, except for the minimal life form readings. From what he could recollect, that would be the place. Putting Razor into sensor stealth mode, he aimed for that planet.

Some hours later, the landing gear of the ship groaned as it settled onto the sand. Moments later he came out, shielding his face from the insane glare off the sand. The first thing he noticed was that the planet's gravity - here he was not light and floaty, as he felt elsewhere. This was like what he set grav plates to, except a touch heavier if anything. The second was the heat. This was worse than Tattooine. the third was the feeling,t he blessed and incredible feeling that at last, he was finally walking on the sands of Home.

"My God, this is nothing like I imagined" he said softly, looking around at the heat blasted landscape. Indeed, he had never seen such a desolate place.

But... it's my home... my home

His home, his birth place that he was seeing for the first time with adult eyes.

--

Half an hour later, dressed in a loose cloak and wrappings, lightsabre, sword and gun at his side, water pack on his back, he set out tto the area the sensors had picked up life readings. also, he was using the Force to guide his feet, for even if there were life signs, there was no signs of above ground dwellings. That would make sense, for the open desert would be an insane place to live. No one could possibly live on the surface. The heat was stunning. Indeed, a suspicion he had proved right, when not 1 hour later, he came across the opening of a cave that obviously had foot traffic going in and out - he could clearly see footprints and wheel tracks goign in and out. Underground, yes where else would you be? Marcus shrugged the pack better onto his shoulders, before following the tracks and decending into the cave.

He quickly realised this was no natural cave - the walls were carved out of rock with considerable skill. along the walls now and then, there was a light suspensed in the air, clearly lighting the walkway. The cave floor was gritty with sand, but otherwise surpisingly clean. The cave didnt decent too far into the rock, yet it was already considerably cooler. Up ahead he could sense some beings. He slowed his pace, being now somewhat cautious. closer he got, till the point he could hear voices. To his surprise it was a fairly understandable language, before he remmebered that he had heard it before - he spoke it when he was a child. His ears would take some adjusting and so would his tongue in remembering.

"And as I was saying, m'lord should never have done that"

"Aye, i agree with you. Grimwald will not like what Boromir did. Them two would argue over anything"

"That be true. wait, you hear that?"

Marcus froze.

"Who goes there?" came the challenge.

The Jedi paused, before with some hesitation, speaking. "A.. friend"

"A friend is it? Come forward!"

The words were commanding, makign it clear Marcus had either tow choices - come forward or get the hell out of there. His hand brushed his sabre, before he stepped forward and came to where the two beings were. They were both humaniod, taller and heavier built than Marcus, unkept beards and hair, the clothes patched and fairly worn. Neither had any weapon in evidence.

"Well, what we have here? What are you, one of those runts?"

Runts??? "I'm sorry, but... runt?" he asked, puzzled, the words hesitant as he started to get used to speaking in a tongue he had not heard for 100 years. "Is this the normal way you greet visitors?"

"We dont get visitors, runt" replied one of the beings. "Who are you?"

Hey, don't ask me, that's what I'm here to find out "Marcus Q'Dunn." he answered truthfully. "I come in peace"

"Do you now?" replied the second humanoid. "Aye.... most odd. What you think Jordan?"

The first humanoid was giving Marcus a thoughtful stare. "He speaks oddly, but he is not struggling in this gravity or heat like one not born here, yet I have not seen you before, nor heard of you. what clan do you come from, Marcus Q'Dunn?"

"I... dont know. I have not been here for over 100 years. I know not of the clans you speak of"

"And where have you been? Imdralis?"

Hmmm, odd. He spoke that word with a lot of hate. I must be careful "No." he answered truthfully. "I was taken from here and I have lived near the Galaxy's core. I have not been here for over 100 years. I guess much you would speak of I would not know, for I was taken from here as a child"

The two beings stared at Marcus. "Q'Dunn" the first one begin, not taking his eyes off the Jedi, "Have a care. We of the Numenorian do not lie and thence we can hear falsehood easily"

"Then you know already I speak truth"

The two Numenorians, as they called themselves glanced at each other. "I think he should be taken to the Steward"

"Agreed. Come with us, Q'dunn"

--

The journey further into the cave was like none he had ever taken. The inner caver the tunnel lead to was absolutly huge. The place was filled with buildings that had been carved out of stone, the place lit by the hovering lights. Everywhere he looke dhte beings were all much like the first two Numenorians - big, heavily muscled, dressed in old cloth, unkept. The place was filled with strange smells and strange sounds, the whole palce so overwhelming he lost track of where he was being taken. And yet, for what appeared to be such a primitive place (They even cooked food over open fires!!!!), there was clear evidence of a technologically advanced people. Somethign much like computers were everywhere, plus odd droids and wheeled speeders. It was very, very clashing.

Eventually, his guards left him with a group of four other Numenorians, who spoke in a strange language, then took him further on. Not much further, there was a tall almost palace liek rock structure, into which they entered. In here, the Numenorians were better dressed and cleaner, armed with swords and the like. Actually, come to think of it, much like what he usually had and indeed had right now. Even his worn travelling cloak was fitting in. But he was now beginning to understand what they neant by calling him runt - by and large, every single being, women included, were all bigger than he was.

And muscled too. Hell, he would hate to be king hit by some of these guys. In the Galaxy normally he was so much stronger, because of his high grav adaptation. Here.... he was a wimp. Rather a sobering thought.

Through some passages, they eventually came to a chamber, with a man whom was admittedly a bit smaller than the average behemoth Numenorian, sitting on a chair on a dias.

"Stop there" he boomed. "This... Marcus Q'Dunn, step forward"

He did so. Clearly, word ahd gotten here first.

"The outer guards tell me you have an interesting story, Q'Dunn. They claim that you were born here, yet you lived... near the Galaxy core?"

"Yes, it is as they speak" Marcus replied haltingly, hoping he had understood correctly the words this guy had said. He reached out with the Force to get a feel on the emotions in this room - curiousity, puzzlement, but not suspicion. Interesting.

"You speak oddly, Q'Dunn. Yet, you can stand here unaided. That you are unassisted speaks that you could be telling the truth. What brings you here?"

"To see my birth land and also find out who my parents were" he replied. Maybe they live and I can meet them"

"How earnstly you speak, Q'Dunn. But how do we not know you are a clever spy? we have ways to know - would you submit to them?"

Marcus frowned. "Of course"

The Steward nodded, then two dog liek creatures came forth. They sniffed around the Jedi for a bit, before they were called off. The handlers shook their heads in unison.

"Good, there is no foulness on you and we hear truth on your voice. You pass, at least so far. That means I will hear your story. How have you come to be gone for so long and what draws you back?"

"Who do I address?" Marcus asked.

"Myself. I am Steward Brack and I rule Arnor as much as I am allowed to, curse them the foul ones! May their fairness wither and die!"

Foul ones? He got a mental glimse of a pointed ear being within the wave of anger and hate at the thought of the foul ones these Numenorians seemed to hate so much. Marcus got the distinct impression that telling anythign about Helenias could be an issue. I wonder why?

So, he left that out and told them of his being taken by Callista (Tho he chose to name her different), his life in the Galaxy and who he had become.

The story clearly impressed the Numenorians. They seemed to be facinated by the words he said about the Galaxy outside. And about the Jedi.

"And you... are one of these Jedi?" said Brack.

"I am"

"An interesting tale you tell, Q'Dunn. If it were not for the fact you are clearly also truthful, it would be impossible to believe. As it is, I find it hard to believe"

"I know" Marcus replied, "but I can offer more proof if you wish"

"If we need more, you will be asked. However, for now, I ask you to remain here as a guest"

Marcus nodded his agreement (Not that he had much choice) and was taken to a well appointed room that looked out over the cavern. Here, he was given food and allowed to use the water shower (wow, better than those sonic ones from Coruscant!), plus allowed to wander a bit with a minder. and the bed he had that night was quite good. qWhile he had the feelign he was in a prision for now, he could have done a great deal worse.

[Helenias Evenstar]

Or, I thought the next morning, I could sit down and be somewhat more logical about this.

Really, what the frell was I thinking last night? Deciding to kill my husband? Why on earth would I do that, just cause of some stupid prophecy? Admittedly, the chemical misbalances the baby was causing was fogging my thinking, but still...

I sighed. I needed a holiday. A long one. Maybe one like I had two years ago on Ithor. Where I had met that Tohmahawk guy. Some of the details had become a bit fogged due to time, but I remebered that meal we shared on the balcony, talking.

Never expected that Tohmahawk would turn out to be Marcus.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Really, this wasn't a bad place to be a 'guest'. He certainly been in worse places. And exploring this place, which he had learned was called Elddor, was fascinating. while the inhabitants did go to the surface and brave the scorcing deserts, they spent most of their time underground, where it was cooler. There was water in an underground lake, the food was produced in sophisticated greenhouses, meat-beasts were reared in another cave. Traders plied the sands between cavern communities, water sellers cried out, advertising their wares, the streets bustled with people coming and going. Now, allowed to wander the streets as well (with the every present minders), he did get some stares, but int he main,t he people here minded their own business.

But even tho this place looked like an ordinary pre-space flight town (abeit underground), the signs of technology were everywhere. There were aireals and dishes, he caught the glimpse of some odd looking computer, anit grav sleds were about, power came from a particularly good fusion cell. It really was like being on Kashyyyk - seemingly primitive Wookiees, absolutly at home with the best of technology.

He was really starting to wonder where they had learned to do all this. Clearly, the planet didnt support that many beings, the technolgy was clearly geared to survival, but still.... there were things here that would look modern and up to date at Coruscant.

And not a sign of space flight too.

Two days from the time he was bought before Brack, the Steward was waiting in his room when Marcus came back from a walk about. The Steward was sitting, a steel goblet in hand. He bade the minders to leave, leaving Marcus alone in the room.

"Enjoying your stay?" asked Brack.

"Indeed. This is a facinating place, unlike any I have ever seen"

"Really? Interesting" Brack took a sip of the goblet, putting it down on a table next to the chair. "A Jedi Master that no one's heard of, that's even more interesting"

Marcus' attention became fully centered on Brack. "Pardon?"

"It appears most Jedi Masters are well known, but you are not. It seems you like to hide yourself, and go by the name... let me see.... Tohmahawk, yes?"

What the.....? Marcus stared, surprised. "How the frell did you find that out?" he managed.

"Your not the only Numenorian out in the Galaxy. After talking to you, I took the liberty of contacting a half breed that, it just so happens, also is a Jedi. Luckily for you, he knows you. Very well"

"Who?"

"Jyanis Scorpion. His mother is Numenorian"

Marcus was floored. His best friend....? "I'd dispute that as a lie, but I read the truth on you" he said, calmly. "What else do you now know about me?"

"As much as I need to know your not a spy. And enough to know that you truly came from here and you did not lie to us. Thence, we also managed to find your parents. It proved much easier than we would have liked"

He could feel some excitement rising. "You found them?"

"Yes. Dead, I'm afraid to say, killed in one of the wars that afflict this system. Arathorn and Gaia... Elessar"

Elessar? Was that who he was? "My Lord, you said that name Elessar with much reluctance. Why?"

Brack gave Marcus a heavy stare. "Because of what it means. Arathorn was the last in the line of a noble house. He... thought he could reconcile us and the Sindarian. He believed it so much that he gave his life and that of his wife. We had thought their son died as well...."

Brack prceeded to talk, Marcus, hardly daring to believe what he heard, sat slowly down, agape. Never in all his wildest dreams......!"

".... so, do you understand? The name Elessar is a curse. It is an ill omen and I wish this day had not come that another Elessar arose. We had thought that line was dead. There's only ever been three first born male Elessars, each one has been the sign of great strife. You, I feel, could bring the greatest trouble of all. Jyanis told us of the power you have, like the witches of the Sindar, but much more potent and much more learned. He tells me you are the greatest Jedi alive. I wish you had never came, my Lord"

Marcus just .... tried to process it all. Eventually he blinked. "This was not expected. You place a heavy burden on me to accept this - and I am tempted not to accept it. I feel that I should leave. But I also feel the stirring of my blood. I know I have to. However, I do not think things will go as you think they will"

"Why is that?"

"What does the name Evenstar mean to you?"

"Aie! Do not speak that accursed name in here, Elessar! Your name is bad enough, but the ruling house of the Sindar?? Never, ever speak it again while you step foot here!"

The Jedi had the feelign he was on dangerous ground now. "I see. But I ask one thing of you, tell me, who is Helenias Evenstar then?"

Brack gaped. "You know of that witch? Even as a young one, she came here and fought in the last war! Curse her name! She is the the Crown Princess of Imdralis, may she die a thousand deaths!"

Oh dear God. This was bad. What had he unwittingly walked into? He began to really think fast, but Brack didn't give him time.

"I ask, you know her? How?"

"She..... is my wife"

Brack looked liek he was goign to die of horror. "Married???"

"i didn't know any of what you speak" Marcus added hastily.

"That i know.. but a Numenorian marrying a Sindarian?"

"That's bad, I take it?"

"Bad? Bad?!?! It's a disaster! To knowingly do this is a death sentance. I.... can hardly forgive you for such a sin, unknowing as it was. It is because you did not know that you will live. However, you must leave. Do you understand why, Elessar?"

--

It was dark. He had chosen not to leave straight away, but to tarry a few days. Brack hadnt told anyone else, so Marcus had enjoyed the few days, even visiting the place his parents were buried. After spending time there, he had gone back to his ship.

"You are free to go as you please, but once you leave, do not come back. There has been enough pain and suffering caused by Elessars. we wish no more"

Brack's parting words were in his head as he looked up at the stars, deep in thought. He closed his eyes, calling on the Force to guide him.....

Council Room. He saw Helenias, she was saying something. There was a commotion. A male came forward. "You are under arrest" he said. A feeling of sadness, then of anger. He wondered why someone would arrest Helenias, before he realised it wasn't her... it was Xazor. she was being arrested by someone, right int he Council room

"The charge is treason"

He felt her emotions jump once more as she was dragged out...


He opened his eyes, then lowered his head, staring sadly at the sand.

"Oh no... Xazor, what have you done?" he whisphered.