Ghost Ships and Artifact Trips...

[Lion El' Jonson]

There was a flash of darkness against the blue of hyperspace.

Short, wide, and cylindrical, the small spacecraft vaguely resembled some kind of prehistoric beetle. Twin quadlaser turrets glistened where the eyes would be, while a bridge gleamed in place of a mouth. The stealth ship's black hull was unadorned with markings, save for a small 07E painted in white over the flanks. Her four ion engines were tucked well into the fuselage, giving off very little of their distinctive blue glow.

In the bridge, seated in one of the three chairs surrounded by consoles, sat Lion El' Jonson. He yawned, stretching his arms out as he awoke from a Jedi meditation trance. He shivered a bit as feeling returned to his arms and legs (he'd been in his trance for 12 hours...), removed himself from the cushy chair, and padded off towards the galley to grab something to eat. He didn't see any of the other Jedi (and there were a bunch aboard...), so he concluded that they must be hanging out in the lounge. Without further ado, he walked into the galley and approached the faintly-humming synthesizer.

As he keyed for the synthesizer to give him a cup of hot cocoa, he reflected on their mission. Long ago, Luke Skywalker had braved the dangers of Dathomir in order to recover information for his Jedi Academy. After overcoming the darkside-wielding "Nightsisters", he'd found what he was looking for: the Jedi Flagship, Chu'unthor. Chu'unthor had been one of the great Jedi "Training Ships", a massive spacecraft 2km long. Its purpose had been to recruit and train potential Jedi across the galaxy (10,000 of them, if the tales could be believed). The importance of this vessel had been underscored by its command: Several Jedi Masters, among them the legendary Yoda. Tragically, the Chu'unthor came down on Dathomir and was assailed by the evil Nightsisters. Yoda had worked out a truce with a young Nightsister named Rell: While the Chu'unthor's precious libraries had to remain behind, the Jedi were free to leave Dathomir.

The reader tapes Luke finally recovered have been invaluable for the start of his Jedi Praxeum, and indeed in restoring the Jedi to the galaxy. Luke left Dathomir with a firm knowledge of the Jedi training techniques.

Popular opinion holds that Chu'unthor was the only Training Ship that survived Emperor Palpatine's Jedi Purge, and that any knowledge that may have been contained in the others has since been lost. However, among the smuggler and scavenger rings, whispers always float up in casual conversation about the mythical "Black Library"...and the Chu'Keplor.

Chu'Keplor had been the 4th of the great "Training Ships", a vessel so massive that its material requirements had stripped bare an entire moon and asteroid belt. Its name, in the ancient Aing-Tii Movgorian Dialect, means "Seeker of Truth". Once completed, the massive Jedi cruiser had been sent on an extended trip throughout Wild Space, presumably to locate potential Jedi recruits among the relatively unmonitored outer planets.

However, disaster had struck on her maiden voyage. Whether through malfunction or sabotage, a hyperspace jump had gone wrong. Emerging in the midst of the Dramellian Asteroid Belt, Chu'Keplor was faced with a most unpleasant decision: Stay in the asteroid belt and be destroyed, or initiate a blind hyperspace jump. With little choice, the Chu'Keplor jumped to lightspeed seconds ahead of a massive asteroid. Her fate is unknown. Most people that know of the stories believe that the Chu'Keplor was incinerated by her hyperspace jump, that the randomized course had taken her and the 10,000 Jedi that called her home directly into a mass shadow. Some think that she was intercepted by an Imperial fleet and destroyed. However, others maintain that she emerged from her jump so far off course that she never found her way home again, that the Jedi aboard were doomed to wander the spacelanes forever.

A select few speak of a system in the midst of the Kathol rift, within the territory of the Aing-Tii Monks, where freighters sometimes vanish mysteriously. For over a century now, that area has been avoided by Rebel and Imperial forces alike, and has become a haven for criminals, merchants, and ghost stories.

Lion had stumbled across this information one day, while browsing through the extensive archives of an abandoned Ubiqtorate station on Coruscant. Apparently Palpatine had gone to extreme measures to locate the final resting place of the Chu’Keplor. Surveys through the Dramellian Asteroid Belt and its surrounding area had turned up little wreckage, while the distinctive drive trails of the Chu’Keplor’s immense engines could not be picked anywhere in the Unknown Regions. Palpatine’s various expeditions into the dangerous Kathol rift rarely emerged from there, as the Imperial vessels were set upon by the enigmatic Aing-Tii Monks or one of the hundreds of other creatures that live there. In any case, Palpatine eventually gave up his hunt for the Chu’Keplor, reasoning that a ship that massive would have been located far earlier. He turned his attention to the Galactic Civil War, and the information gathered on his hunt for the Jedi Training Ship was archived to the databases of Imperial Intelligence.

Information on something called the “Black Library” was apparent in most of these reports. What the “Black Library” was, Lion did not know, but he imagined it was an artifact of some sort. Despite the limited information Lion had about the Chu’Keplor, the Council had given Lion and a few other Jedi leave to investigate this matter further. They were to determine the Chu’Keplor’s fate, and if possible recover any artifacts or information left in the ship. Lion had readily agreed: Besides wanting to go on a trip of any sort, he had taken a personal interest in the cruiser now...it had become a hobby of his. Lion had booked one of the Jedi Order’s stealth ships for this operation, rather than his personal corvette: He had a feeling he’d need the sensor-evading abilities of the smaller ship for this mission. If they actually found the ship, several of Lion’s companions on this trip had means with which to transport the artifacts (Lion wondered how much Zeke’s dad would charge this time). Lion looked down at the synthesizer and was amazed to find that the hot cocoa was cold: He’d been pondering their mission for a good 20 minutes now. He keyed for another drink and then left the galley, trying to find somebody in the lounge.

(ooc: If you’re not a Jedi, please PM me before you post. Otherwise, jump right in! :D)

[Jhony]

"Just follow that guy," Jhony says coolly to the Happy Child's pilot, putting his feet up and resting back in his captain's chair.

"Sir, what guy?" asks the girl at the helm.

"The one with the Force signature. You're Force-sensitive, right? Find Zeke. He's on that other Jedi-guy's ship."

Jhony is only a wee bit miffed at being suckered into this by his son, Zeke, but Jhony was able to set the price. He's still debating it; the price depends upon the difficulties the captain has to put up with.

"Zeke, this'd better not be another one of your damn fool ideas. You'll do everyone's chores for a month if you're wrong."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei was reclining in Lion's ship, looking out at the stars. "Even out here, they're pretty to look at."

Wei looked over his shoulder at Lion and Zeke. "Good old days, eh? Last time we went on a trip in your ship Lion, we were going to a club or something."

Wei chuckled. "I wonder how everybody else is doing?."

[Kelt Simoson]

Kelt did not answer Weis' question right away due to having a mouthfull of tea in his mouth, swallowing the hot tea he managed to answer the man question, a smile ever present on the Knights lips.

' I am fine Wei thank you for asking. Though i am slightly hungrey. My breakfast this morn was hardly the size for a long trip.' He said shaking his head ay himself. This morning he had apsaloutly nothing infact, indeed he had got up late and had to rush around.

Not a good start.

' And you Wei? '

[Alpha]

A little ways out, a small, jet-black ship jumps out of hyperspace, the wings going from their hyperspace position of being swept-back, to their normal cruising mode--fully extended, the engines inside the wings' trailing edges activated, a faint white glow coming from them.

Satine sits at the control, slowly opening his eyes, and turning on the active scanners. He soon spots Lion's ship, and sets course. Hopefully Lion would recognize the Black Star's design, even after the last few modifications it had gone through. He had invited him to come along, after all.

Switching on the comm, he waits, to see if anyone notices him, smiling.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion grinned as he stepped into the lounge, finally locating the rest of the Jedi.

"I'm doing okay, Wei. Still got tingles from the meditation trance, though. And the synthesizer isn't heating properly: Hope you guys like cold macaroni." he said, taking a seat in one of the chairs. "The good old days, indeed."

Lion had no sooner sat down than a blaring alert sounded over the speakers.

"Warning...unknown ship detected...warning..."

Lion suddenly jumped up, as did almost everybody else. Without a word, he dashed into one of the gun turrets, and was just about ready to trigger his first salvo when he happened to glance at the ship's ID: Black Star. Sighing, Lion deactivated the weapons system and returned to the lounge before he sat down and pulled out his comlink.

"Hello, Black Star. That you, Master Satine? You just scared the bejeezus out of us."

[Zeke]

"There he goes again, pulling you and I into this with his use of plural pronouns..." Zeke mutters to Wei. The cold macaroni doesn't bother him in the least; he eats it as if it were the finest meal he'd ever had. "Ish good shtuff, eben if itsh code," he says past his mouthfull.

[Alpha]

Satine can't help but laugh. "Sorry about that. I didn't realize that your ship wopuld tag me as hostile. So, is everyone here?"

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion nodded.

"I think so. Zeke, Kelt, and Wei are in the lounge with me, and Kanji is probably lurking around somewhere on the ship. Zeke's dad is following in the Happy Child, and I think Neyasha is gonna show up in her ship soon. You wanna enter formation with us, Master Satine?"

Lion sighed and sat down as he thought "Plural pronouns...there I go again..."

[Alpha]

"Sure. Just give me the coordinates, and my place, and I'll get there."

His navcomp bereps once, and Satine follows the duirections, bringing his shp around and into formation with an expert hand. He grinned. He loved flying this ship...

[imported_Kanji]

Kanji was indeed lurking around the ship, precisely the small recreation room a few feet down from the lounge. In his smaller shape, that of the blond-haired spectacle-wearing human, he found it much easier to navigate the corridors with relative comfort as well. With his hands locked onto a wall-mounted pull-up bar, he heaved couple-so lifts before dropping and relaxing for a breath.

Just after the alarm sounded, he was halfway outside the doorframe. Now, he was just entering the lounge.

“Hello Lion, Zeke, Wei. What’s the alarm for?”

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Lion got surpised by Satine," Wei said nonchalantly.

Wei took a few hurried bites of macaroni. "I'm doing just fine. Nothing like an adventure to liven up a day."

[Zeke]

"Or a month," Zeke mutters. He's been swamped with chores aboard his father's ship; this is a very welcome change for him. "Get May and Pops on the comm and let 'em know about Satine. I only told 'em it was you guys on Lion's ship that would be on this mission."

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion nodded a brief greeting to Kanji, and then turned back to Zeke.

"Righto, buddy."

He turned to the comlink, plugged a button on it, and spoke clearly.

"Erm, Happy Child? This is Lion El' Jonson. That new arrival is a friendly, erm...don't be scared. We've got everything...under control." he finished, somewhat lamely. Everyone in the lounge was snickering. He fixed them with a glare and added:

"Not...a...word."

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Word," Wei said between a bite of macaroni.

"So, Lion," Wei said to change the subject and put down his empty bowl of macaroni. "What is this thing we're after? A training ship, right? What are we going to do with it? Revive it and make it fit to fly again, or are we here for data or treasure or something like that?"

[Audrie X-4]

At this point the comm unit goes off and the voice of a young lady come's through

"This is the Audrie X-4. We are requesting further instructions"

[Zeke]

Zeke snatches the com.

"Dad, there's also an Audrie something that's with us, just so's ya know."

He goes for more macaroni, though he's listening intently to what Lion's got to say.

[Lion El' Jonson]

"We're looking for the Chu'Keplor. What is the Chu'Keplor, you ask? The big prize, my friends, the big prize. If I'm right, there's an ancient Jedi Training Ship sitting somewhere out there, chock full of artifacts, books...and other, miscellaneous little things."

He sat down impressively and continued.

"Long story short, the Chu'Keplor ended up in an asteroid field. Nobody really knows what happened afterwards, but anybody not out-of-their-mind thinks she got destroyed...ran into a planet, or something. However...lucky for me, we quite possibly are out of our minds, so we know better! I think Chu'Keplor jumped so far out that she's lost. After lots of annoying math and extrapolations and stuff, I've determined that the most likely place she'd end up...is around here."

As he said the word "here", he hit a small switch. The lights in the lounge dimmed, and a large hologram of the known galaxy popped up, shimmering in midair. Lion hit another button and the hologram zoomed in towards an area in wild space.

"We...are here. I doubt any of you have ever heard of Exocron, but if you know who Jorj Car'das is, you've probably heard a rumor or two. We might stop at Exocron to try and figure out where the hell to go...but first, any questions?"

He looked around, smiling like a tour guide eager for tips.

[Alpha]

"I have one." Satine chimes in, his voice crackling over the comm. "How much resistance are we going to expect. Also, does this training ship have automated defenses, do you think?"

[Jhony]

"It don't fight, pal," Jhony's voice chimes in, referring to the Happy Child. "We're a trade ship, not a battle cruiser. And get that Audrie-something ship in on this. I won't have us all on different pages."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei nodded. "I can imagine the ship having automated defenses on the inside. But not on the outside. Probably the worst thing we can expect as far as outside resistance goes is a nice, thick shield. I can't imagine any Jedi ship just shooting at whatever got too close to it."

Wei pushed his glasses onto his nose. "But yeah, I imagine that if we try to board that ship without some sort of clearance or passcode, the ship would do something to kick us off. That is, if there are any sort of guard droids. To be honest, if the thing's been lost out there for this long, it probably won't have any power left."

Wei smiled. "And don't you worry about my Padawan being on a different page. She's all business, and Audrie is too."

[Ace McCloud]

Ace was catching up on some sleep inside one of the shared bedrooms in the stealth ship. The past two days he had been working really hard at his training and had become quite fatigued. Besides, he could always sleep wonderfully in space.

The sudden alarm had woken him up out of his much needed sleep and he almost slammed his head against the top bunk. But the alarm shut off before he could do anything so he just laid back down.

It took him a few minutes to crawl out of bed, so he headed to the lounge to see how everyone else was doing. The door slid open to a dark room with a projection on the wall. He leaned agaisnt the door, his eyes lighting up green, illuminating the room for him. He just stood there drinking his warm coffee watching and listening.

[Alpha]

"Wei, if you guys over there want, I can act as kind of a scout for the ship. ya know, check to see if there are defenses on the inside. Modesty aside, I'm one of the best choices for it."

Satine thought for a moment, and pulled up a schematic of the class of ship they were going after.

"One more thought. What if we can't get it open, or if the data storage units are damaged beyond repair?"

[imported_Kanji]

"If the inner doors are jammed, I can probally force them open. Servo's can't be that strong..." Replied Kanji, "But the outer hatches will be a problem."

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion seemed momentarily taken aback at all of the questions.

"Master Satine, we're not expecting any exterior defenses. Temperment of the Jedi aside, one of the Senior Jedi Masters aboard was Lomin Karr. He had a knack for ripping off control surfaces and weapons batteries with the Force. There's a great story about him stopping a Pirate cruiser by tearing the plating off of their bridge and venting the atmosphere until the pirates surrendered...but that's for another time. With power like that the Chu'Keplor had no need for exterior defenses. However, we know that she maintained a compliment of Jedi Starfighters for rapid transportation. I doubt there's still anybody alive to pilot them, but it might be worth checking out."

Lion paused for a second to adjust the holoprojector. Instead of a map, a massive diagram of the Chu'Keplor appeared. A second later, 12 points gleamed red.

"These points are the primary entrances to the Chu'Keplor. I have no doubt that we can laser our way through her hull, but I'd like to minimize collateral damage. As for the doors and locks, if the power is still functioning, we shouldn't have any problems with those. I've got a datapad with every Jedi security code in use when the Chu'Keplor was lost, and I'm pretty sure we could run a cracking program to get other doors open. Besides, we're a shipful of macho Jedi! As for our scout, that'd be great, Satine...unless Happy Child wants to play as the hapless bait."

There was a chorus of angry yelling from the comlink near Lion's elbow. He grinned and continued.

"Inside the ship, we might run into problems with the security system. If my limited specifications are correct, Kuat Drive Yards installed a Komar Cerberus defense system in the key areas of the ship, and unfortunately the artifacts are probably in one of those key areas. Ideally we could just cut the power, but each room has its own self-contained generator, so that won't work. And, I'd like to correct one assumption: Chu'Keplor was fitted with a full slave-rigging system. It's likely that any droids involved in maintenance or defense are still wandering around the ship. However, we might have bigger problems to worry about. We're heading towards the Kathol Rift, which is, in one word...bad. There's word of the Cizerak Pride roaming around in there, trying to find new resources. Even worse, according to nav-projections, we're strutting right into the territory of the Aing-Tii Monks. Anybody know what an Aing-Tii Monk is? Essentially, it's a really intelligent creature stuck in an exoskeleton. The limited reports I managed to con out of Karrde's organization say that the Aing-Tii have cruisers capable of discharging energy blasts that can slice a Marauder Corvette in half, or ramming a capital ship and taking no damage. The Aing-Tii also have a grasp of the Force that's different from ours. Oh, and did I mention they teleport?"

Lion ended this sentence with a grin, looking at the mixed reactions from his audience.

[Alpha]

"Sounds like fun," Satine says simply, grinning asd he hears the silence on the other links.

[Audrie X-4]

Audrie and Neyasha were listening in on the conversation, through the comm unit....

"If the ship has a slave interface, It would be very likely that I could gain control of the vessle if one of my mobile computer interface's was attached to ether the main control systems or the Slave Systems.

As for the doors, if they are using an electronic locking system I will be able to slice my way through the lock with out damaging the ship's systems."

[Neyasha]

Now Neyasha's emotionless voice comes over the comm..

"Wei... It has been a proven fact that the Old Republic Power systems are very resistant to damage and power leekage. In fact many of the Old Republic Systems that have been located in the past are still very functual.

It would also be my guess that the type of shielding system that we would be facing would be a Old Republic Class One Military Shield System. This System consists of multiple line-of-sight shield projectors covering the hull. There is a one Inch weak spot over each projector, that if hit twice within a half second, will shut down that projector. If one of the projectors is taken out, the shield will flicker for a moment as the other projector take up the job of the distroyed projector. This will continue untill 5 projector in the same section are removed or untill there are no more projectors in a line of sight to another projector, which ever comes first. If we must take out the five projectors, then we will see the rest of the projectors in that section overload. and if we are lucky my cause the computer system to shut down the rest of the projectors to avoid loosing more of them."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei nodded as he listened to his Padawan. "We will soon see, Neyasha. We will soon see."

Wei shifted in his seat. "And Satine, I have only one objection to your scouting the ship for danger. You are a Jedi Master, and a good fighter at that. However, I would appreciate it if you had a back up. In case you run into something that would keep you from reporting back, you would have someone around to give us the scoop on why it was you were being so silent."

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

Three small blips suddenly began to show up on the Jedi convoy's sensors. Cizerack Keerta fightergrapplers began to move towards the group on an intercept course. More telling was the fact that such fighters were short-range craft, which could only mean that other Pride vessels were in the area.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion was nodding. Neyasha really knew her stuff. He was about to reply when the warning klaxon went off for the second time.

"Warning...unregistered ships approaching...warning..."

Lion was tempted to ignore it. It was probably Neyasha.

"Audrie? Is that you?" he asked into the comlink. "Computer says something weird is happ...en...ing."

His words were lost as he glanced at the tactical board now being displayed by the holoprojector. It showed three small craft inbound, craft that Lion hadn't seen since the Morlock Treaty: Keerta-class fightergrapplers. His chain of thought was broken by another warble from the speakers.

"Computer, kill those alarms. Bring shields up to full, cut in the emergency power systems. Boost energy to weapons batteries one and two, reroute other energy to reserves...and give me an open comm with the incoming craft."

Lion spoke all of these commands rapidly, having grown used to rapid decisions during his experience in New Republic Fleet Command. Except, this time, instead of a kilometer-long battlecruiser, he was aboard a glorified freighter...and he had, not a highly trained bridge crew, but a shipload of Jedi.

"Incoming Cizerack attack craft, this is Fleet Admiral Lion El' Jonson. I have several members of the Jedi Order aboard. We are on a peaceful mission. Any attack made on our craft will be construed as a hostile action towards the New Republic."

Lion waited for a response. After 5 seconds or so of silence, he sighed.

"Whoever knows how to work a quadlaser turret, get to one...now."

As other members of the lounge scrambled off towards the guns, Lion made his way towards the bridge. He was not so much worried about the Cizerack fighters...between the 4 ships in the Jedi convoy, the Keerta fightergrapplers wouldn't be able to do much. However, he was worried about where they had come from. Short-range as it was, the Keerta was normally carried aboard much larger (and deadlier) Cizerack craft.

[Ace McCloud]

"Master Wei," Ace spoke for the first time, probably surprising a few of the members in the room. "I can assist Master Satine in the scouting. Though I may only be a padawan, I am exeptionally skilled in that area of combat..." He looked around the room to some of the faces that turned around. It seemed the only one he didn't really know was Lion.

[Alpha]

Satine was about to protest when Ace interjected. Satine smiles. "Glad to have ya as backup, kid."

Then the alrms go off. Satine, checking the screen, and seeing unknown fighter-types, activates his shields, much the same time Lion does.

"Lion, do we take care of them?"

Flipping a few switches, Satine arms his forward weapons, under manual control. He slaves the rear and side wepaons to computer control.

"Black star ready."

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion shook his head, before remembering that Satine was aboard his own ship. He plugged a button on the comlink and spoke into it.

"Black Star, don't engage yet. I don't know what they're going to do, and I don't want to start war between the New Republic and the Cizerack Empire."

He turned to the intercom and opened a channel to everybody aboard the small corvette.

"Strapped in tight?"

[Wei Wu Wei]

"As always," Wei said. "I wonder what the Cizerack are doing way out here?"

[Audrie X-4]

"We are picking up 3 Cizerack Keerta fightergrapplers. Can you comfirm this? We are activating Sheilds, and weapons. Extending sensor range, and setting threat Priority."

Audrie puts her sheilds to full shunting power from engines, to activate a recharge on her sheilds and weapons. She then moves into a defencive position beside the corvette.

Hopefuly Audrie's sensors will pick up where the short range fighters are comming from.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

The lead fighter opened its comm, and the female pilot responded.

"Thjisss arrrea of ssspace hasss been declarrred underrr marrrtjial law bjy the Cjizerrrack Prrrjide. We have orrrderrrsss to ssstop and sssearrrch all ssshjipsss that attempt to enterrr the rrrjift. Lowerrr jyourrr ssshjieldsss, powerrr jyourrr weaponsss down, and prrreparrre to be boarrrded."

[Alpha]

"Ya know, I really don't think vaping these guys would be very hard, but how about we let them search us. We dfon't have anything to hide, do we? And if we did have something to hide, we could just make them forget they saw it." Satine says over the comm, staring out the viewport.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion shook his head and triggered a button over the comlink towards the Black star.

"No dice, Master Satine. We're a shipful of Jedi, aboard a Diplomatic Jedi Shuttle. Not only do we have the proper codes, but we've also got aboard several Jedi Knights, a notorious mercenary, and a Fleet Admiral. Besides that, we're in a rarely travelled area of space, with logs and charts towards the Chu'Keplor. I don't want the Cizeracks stumbling onto a Jedi Relic."

He sighed.

"However, I suppose we can't start a firefight out here in the middle of the Kathol Rift. It might attract bandits, pirates...the Aing-Tii...I'll try to bargain."

Lion turned to a console and opened a second channel to the lead Cizerack Keerta.

"Cizerack vessels, we are travelling under a flag of diplomatic immunity. The Greater Jedi Order dispatched us to investigate matters in the Kathol Rift, which are not cleared for discussion. We may ask, though, why the Cizerack Empire would want to declare martial law in a system where you have no permanent presence."

Lion ended the message and waited for a reply.

[Jhony]

Jhony sits with an air of calm about him that makes his bridge crew squirm. Even his daughter, May, is wary of him. Zeke said there wouldn't be trouble. He swore on his honor there wouldn't be.

"You are in BIIIIIG trouble, buster..." Jhony mutters to no one in particular. The shields go up and May fidgets, finally going to her father with the question on her lips.

"Dad, what are we gonna do about this order to board us?"

Jhony makes a derisive snort. "Pah, let these Jedi handle the Cizeracks. They got us into this mess, and they will get us out of it."

[Neyasha]

Neyasha sends a transmision to the Jedi Corvette...

"With all due respect Admiral, I will not Let Audrie be boarded by anybody other than friends... If I must fire upon them to keep them off of Audrie, I will not wait more than a second."

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

"The Rrrjift jisss full of pjirrrate actjivjitjy, and we arrre herrre to put a ssstop to jit. All vesssssselsss comjing and gojing arrre sssubject to sssearch. All pjirrratesss found wjill be executed."

The Keertas continue to maneuver around the convoy, flying rather close to the ships as they swing about.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei got up and walked over to where Lion sat. "I understand your worry about the Cizeracks getting a hold of the training vessel. But I wonder what they'd do with it? Cizerack are not Force-Sensitive. Suppose we were honest about why we are all the way out here. Tell them that we are looking for a lost ship that belongs to us. We need not tell them everything down to the last detail."

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion turned to Wei.

"Agreed, we might be okay if we're boarded, and Zeke's family seems to run a pretty tight ship. However, Audrie is loaded with more prototype technology than an Intelligence Corvette, and Neyasha has already flat-out stated that she'll sooner blow the Keerta fighters to pieces than let Cizerack aboard her ship. I'm not so much worried about the fight itself than the fact that a battle out here would attract unwanted distractions...such as pirates."

Lion opened a comm to the lead Cizerack Pilot.

"Cizerack vessels, if you board us we cannot guarantee the safety of your ships or your persons. We are not pirates, however we are very busy." Lion said, putting an edge into his voice. "We are searching a for a lost ship, property of the Jedi Order. Please do not interfere."

[Ace McCloud]

Ace walked over to a small window, his hands crosssed over his chest. He glanced around, counting 3 small fighters. There had to be more, they couldn't expect to have any juristiction over the 4 ships.

He looked closely out into space. There were 4 small shimmers of light out there, possibly ships. He wasn't exactly sure, but 4 is all he could see, but his keen eyes told him there were atleast 4 more ships on standby.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

"Lossst prrroperrrtjy ssshould be rrreporrrted to the commerrrce magjissstrrrate. The Cjizerrrack Prrrjide rrrecognjizesss and sssupporrrtsss legjitjimate clajim to prrroperrrtjy. jIf jyourrr ssshjip jisss found, jit wjill be rrreturrrned to jyou forrr a sssmall handljing fee."

The pilot paused, and then added...

"Howeverrr...one of jyourrr vesssssselsss hasss a known pjirrrate rrregjissstrrrjy. Jedji orrr no, we mussst jinvessstjigate."

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion muttered under his breath.

"Oh balls..."

He responded to the Cizerack over the comlink.

"Sir, which of our vessels is running on a pirate registry? The ship we're looking for contains items of a sensitive nature, which we would feel...uncomfortable with...in the hands of the Cizerack Pride."

He stopped transmitting and looked back down the ship's aisle. Ace was staring out a window, with a very faint look of knowing on his face. He was surveying something beyond the window very carefully.

"Erm, Ace? What's out there?" Lion queried.

[Ace McCloud]

McCloud's eyes went to the max. He counted 4, perhaps, frigates?

"More ships. Perhaps frigates. Four of them from what I can tell atleast," Ace responded, still looking out of the oval shaped window.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei gave Lion a comforting pat on the shoulder. "You're doing good. Just keep being honest in your dealings and we'll get out of here ok."

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

The lead pilot matter-of-factly replies to Lion

"jIf jyou arrre not wjilljing to trrrussst ourrr assssssjissstance, then what rrreassson jisss therrre forrr usss to trrrussst jyourrr jintent herrre?"

The other fighters accelerate, drawing alongside the lead fighter as they move to the convoy's bow position.

"jYou have fourrr optjions. Powerrr down weaponsss and sssjieldsss, and be sssearrrched, prrroceed underrr essscorrrt to ourrr tasssk forrrce to ssspeak wjith the Commerrrce Magjissstrrrate, leave the Cathol rrrjift jimmedjiateljy, orrr prrreparrre to be fjirrred upon."

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion growled in disgust as he replied to the Cizerack's first question.

"The fact that you'd be moved against by the New Republic is reason enough to trust us, I think." he said, biting out each word as he swiveled in his chair and looked at Wei and Ace.

"Well, there's our options. The most obvious one, well...it's to blow them to cinders. We could just leave. The option to be searched is right out...Or, we could go meet the Commerce Magistrate."

He made his disgust rather apparent as he said this last option. However, Wei and Ace both looked puzzled, so he continued.

"I once had to enter negotiations with a Taskforce Commander. It was horrible: Anybody with the guile to reach a position such as Commerce Magistrate is a skilled orator, easily the equal of Borsk Fey'lya or the other prominent Bothans. I went into that meeting with confidence. I left that meeting in shambles. The Magistrate tore every reason I had to pieces, tied my words into knots, and contradicted me at every opportunity. I would rather take on another Death Star than try to rationalize our mission here to a Commerce Magistrate."

He raised an eyebrow at his compatriots, and opened a comlink with the rest of the ship so his fellow Jedi could voice their opinions.

"Well, buddies, got any suggestions? We can either leave with our mission uncompleted, get tied into a verbal knot by the Cizerack Commander, or fill the sky with laser bolts. If you've got any better ideas, now's the time to speak up."

[Alpha]

"Do they have an interdictor out there? If theyv don't, I say we jump out, and come back into realspace about a parsec away. That'll give us the breathing room we need to figure out where to go first. Of course, I wouldn't object to blasting them away, either..."

[Neyasha]

"A quick precise strike on the vessels could take them out before they could call for back up. Audrie could also jam sensors for a breef moment so as to prevent others from detecting the fight. The most efective course of action would be to turn them to space dust, and continue with our plans."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei rested his chin in his hand and shut his eyes. The choices they were presented with were not what Wei preferred. But if he had to, he would choose to fight.

"I suggest we try Alpha's hyperspace jump first. And if they continue, we'll give them hell."

[Ace McCloud]

Ace was definatly not skilled in space battles or tactics, however he had some logic about him.

"Comrads, if I may. If this does come to a battle, we should not fire right away, however, let them come aboard our ships possibly? They cannot beat us on foot, and will probably not fire on our ships when their comrads are inside them." Though he had not considered the kind of damage it would do to the inside of the ship. He figured it would be very minuite, which it might be.

[Jhony]

"Cizerack vessels!"

Jhony's voice cuts into the comm, smooth and cool as if the situation weren't half so bad as it seems. The power-down and search option doesn't bother him in the least; he runs a tight ship, and none of his goods are illegal. He's fairly certain of his success with the other three options as well, but Lion's the leader here, and he must make do. However, there's one thing bugging him.

"You claim one of us is a pirate? Which, may I ask, is the piratical vessel?"

Pirates ruined his last business; he won't have it happen again.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion nodded at Alpha's and Wei's decision.

"I think you're right. We jump somewhere...lesse, the planet Exocron is only 3 parsecs away...and if they track us there, then they'll get a barrage of weaponry at them."

He turned to Ace and addressed his idea.

"Ordinarily, that might be a good idea...however, I take it you've never fought against a Keerta fightergrappler before. As soon as they slice through our hull, their intrusion routines will have already logged the ship's security codes and bypassed them. Frankly, if they get aboard, we've lost, because then they can shut down engines, weapons...evem life support, if it tempts them. No, we've gotta get out of here."

He opened a comm to the small convoy.

"Audrie, Black Star, when I give the command, throw full power to your jamming systems...direct the jamming at the lead Cizerack fightergrappler; since it's the commander, it's likely to have the most powerful communications systems. As soon as you've got the Ciz jammed, I'll send you a burst packet that contains our new coordinates. Everybody know what a Cracken Twist is?"

The Cracken Twist, invented by Pash Cracken during the Xyquine skirmish, was intended to mask a transmission of hyperspace coordinates in which a team of escort ships maneuvers into an assumed flight path that is altered based on the countdown to the start of the new manoeuvre. If the maneuver is to start on the count of 2, the correct flight plan is found by adding 2 to the second number of each coordinate. The slight change in the numbers didn't alter the general direction of the group's exit, but it would be enough to throw the Imps a few parsecs off course.

"On two, then."

[Alpha]

"Oh, and I'll drop a few nova-flashes there way, to make sure they can't see us." Satine says, grinning, and preparing the launch tubes. Nova-flashes were something not used much anymore, mainly because not many knew of them. They were, by all appearances, ordinary space-bombs, but, with the proper switch thrown, they let out a blinding burst of light and a shockwave of Electromagnetic energy. Quickly setting the shockwave controls, he makes it so the wave is directed to the fightergrapplers.

"Oh, guys, don't look directly behind you..." Satine says, cutting throttle, and letting the other ships get in front of him.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

One of the distant shapes that Ace had made out in the rift began to move toward the convoy.

A Korri-class battlegalleon, the mainstay of the Cizerack starfleet. Roughly as large as a Victory class Star Destroyer, the battlegalleon was part cargo ship, and part battlecruiser. Its immense holds contained both the lifeblood of trading goods, and divisions of the Pride's shock troops, ready to enforce the red claw of fair commerce throughout the galaxy.

The Keerta fightergrapplers swung away from the task force, returning to the Cizerack starship's large landing bay.

Though the Korri battlegalleon was not the largest capital ship in the galaxy by a stretch, it now dwarfed the smaller ships of the Jedi convoy.

"Thjisss jisss the Kajiga'jIrrro'jIrrro'. We have jyou on ourrr ssscopesss now, pleassse jidentjifjy."

A female comm operator broadcasted to the Jedi ships, as the Kaiga'Iro'Iro' approached. Neither the battlegalleon's weapons systems or shields were charged.

[Ace McCloud]

"We got company..." McCloud spoke, before the incoming comm call cam in, seeing the engines of the excellent cruiser started up.

He turned towards his comrads, just then the comm broadcast came in.

[Audrie X-4]

"Jamming is ready on my end. We way wish to extract ourselves from this situation If we wish to avoid armed conflict."

Audrie is keeping herself Ahead of and to the Port side of the Jedi Corvette, keeping her defencive position.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Hold on a second. I'm not so sure we'll get away from that big ship."

Wei was eyeballing the new ship that had just arrived. "Slow down a second. Let's not jump yet. I agree with Johny. I want to know which ship they are suspicious of."

[Neyasha]

"They are expressing Hostile intent. Hostilities are met with Hostilities. I will not comply to Audrie being borded without explicit order from my commander. Audrie could strike the their prepultion system, leaving them unable to chase. It would them be posibile to take them out with long range torpedos."

It would be obvious to Wei that Neyasha's Military Programing has kicked in and she is only thinking along the lines of Distruction at which she was programed to preform.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion stared around, glaring hard at the comlink.

"Negative, Neyasha, stand down. We have no chance of defeating that battlewagon. I need a bit of time...to...think."

He broke off suddenly, staring out of the ship's main viewport, gazing intently on something that had just appeared...a tiny glimmer of light, and then....

"Emperor's Black Bones!" Lion suddenly yelled, startling everybody. "What the feth is that?!" he asked, pointing out of the viewport...for there, less than 5k away, a ship had appeared: One that bore a strange resemblance to an insect.

"Oh, feth..." Lion muttered, as realization came to him.

[Taiga Rikoro]

Lion was right about one thing: the vessel had appeared. Not so much in the way that a spacecraft drops back into realspace, but rather that the ship just blinked in: One second there was empty space, the next second a spacecraft roughly the size of a Carrack-class cruiser was there.

Aboard the Jedi convoy vessels, there was a considerable amount of commotion as proximity alarms went off and people rubbed their eyes in confusion. Likewise, half of the turbolaser turrets aboard the Kajiga'jIrrro'jIrrro' suddenly swiveled to face the newcomer.

A voice suddenly cut in across every frequency on every ship, a voice which is obviously not human but nonetheless spoken in basic.

"Attention, invaders: This is Master Taiga Rikoro, commander of the Sanhedrim-class cruiser Hikari'Ki'Agi. I come as a representative...of the Empire of the Aing-Tii."

Following these words, for the next 10 seconds there was silence; Nobody could seem to find their voice.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Who?" Wei asked.

"I'm afraid I've never heard of you or this Aing Tii before in my entire life."

Wei shook his head. "Fellas, one thing at a time. Neyasha, I only want to know which ship is black-listed, ok?" Wei took his finger off the comm. "And as for this othe guy...who knows what he wants. Probably just somebody looking to start a fight to earn himself some fame and glory."

Wei rolled his eyes. The arrogance of some people was beyond what he could comprehend sometimes.

[Alpha]

"Um, i'm no expert, but aren't the Aing Tii bad news?" Satine asks, shunting more power to his shields. This did not look good.

[Neyasha]

Neyasha responds to Lion.

"Understood, Standing down...."

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

At the appearance of this ship, the other three shapes in the distance immediately began to approach. The Cizerack task force closed ranks, reacting to the suprise appearance of the Aing-Tii. The shield banks of the battlegalleons charged in unison.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion swore briefly, then hit the comlink transmission button.

"Kajiga'jIrrro'jIrrro', hold everything. For the moment, we're allies. Don't do anything hostile towards that newcomer."

Lion got the message off to the Cizerack ship, hoping he'd sent it in time. A second later, he shook his head in resignation as he watched the Kajiga'jIrrro'jIrrro's massive shield banks come online, soon joined by three other ships. He turned to Wei.

"The game's up, now. This isn't going to be pretty." he muttered.

[Taiga Rikoro]

"Unidentified vessels, what are you doing?" said the alien voice. Apparently, it had detected the Cizerack vessels' shields raising as well. "Do not take hostile measures, Kajiga'jIrrro'jIrrro."

There was a small flicker as normal sublight engines started up aboard the Aing-Tii vessel, and it tentatively began to edge towards the Jedi convoy, the sides of the spacecraft beginning to ripple slightly, as if it were alive.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

"Hikari'Ki'Agi, hold jyourrr posssjitjion. We arrre jinssspectjing all vesssssselsss forrr pjirrrate actjivjitjy. Ssstate jyourrr jintent."

The battlegalleons gave the Aing-Ti ship distance, but consolidated in a linear formation, wary of any aggressive movement.

[Taiga Rikoro]

"We will not tolerate outsiders bringing combat within our borders. Take your conflict elsewhere, or you will be destroyed. We are capable of policing our territories without your assistance."

This ultimatum rang out across every comlink channel, and even as it was broadcast small motes of green light began to collect along the sides of the Hikari'Ki'Agi, a clear sign that the negotiations weren't working too well.

[Jhony]

This is bad business...if a question is asked, prompt response is required. But now Jhony has their frequency, and can communicate with them directly. He'll know who the pirate amongst these NR vessels is, as soon as these Aing-Ti are dealt with.

"Shields up, at full, if someone shoots, we leave a message with the Ciz to clear up this pirate matter and go on with our trading business."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei shrugged. "Unadulterated violence. Mass confusion. Go with the flow."

Wei turned to Lion. "Get all of our people on a private channel and let's get out of here while they're not paying us any attention."

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion nodded, smiling despite the situation. Wei was really getting the hang of this. He keyed in the group's private comlink channel and started talking.

"Boys and girls, if and when they Aing-Tii twitch...get out of here. Follow my course, I'm randomizing a hyperspace vector right now."

He stopped transmitting and opened a link within the ship.

"Everybody at gun turrets, get ready...It's about to get hot."

[Alpha]

Satine nods, even though no one could see it. Flipping a few switches, he transfers power from everything but engines into his weapons. He sets the computer for a firing lock on any and all non-Jedi vessels. Can't be too carefull...

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

The Cizerack task force didn't reply. The lights on the vessels seemed to dim. Even as this happened, high levels of radiation began to emanate from the craft, around the two large circular Gorroka superstructures on each vessel.

The wash of radiation scrambled sensors, and it appeared that there was a power buildup to near overload proportions.

[Neyasha]

Neyasha hit a few controls on the command console, preparing Audrie to go to hyperspace, and a few more to set target priorties if it came down to fighting.

[Ace McCloud]

Ace took a seat, by the window so he could watch carefully. His keen eyes could see the ships better than the human eye. He twirled a dagger in his hand as if it were weightless as he watched.

[Taiga Rikoro]

With the massive power buildup from the Cizerack ships, the Aing-Tii made their move. The massive sublight engines suddenly flared as the large ship shot forward, breaking the standoff. The small motes of blue light that'd been lying dormant on the hull of the ship flared into a blinding blue shell as the shield generators came online.

"Cizerack vessels, you have brought this upon yourselves."

Ignoring the small Jedi convoy, the Hikari'Ki'Agi dashed towards the greater threat. As it began its approach, sensors aboard the Cizerack taskforce began to register an energy buildup in the bow of the Sanhedrim-class cruiser...the Aing-Tii were preparing to fire.

Aboard the Hikari'Ki'Agi, Master Rikoro calmly shunted power from the engines to the weapons. Seconds later, the Aing-Tii had a lock on their first target: The secondary bridge of the Kajiga'jIrrro'jIrrro'. At the front of the Aing-Tii cruiser, energy began to crackle as the weapons readied to fire...

[Lion El' Jonson]

"PUNCH IT!" Lion yelled, and the Jedi Corvette surged forward. With the Aing-Tii and Cizerack currently distracted, this was going to be the best chance they got. Hundreds of numbers were scrolling past on the navicomputer screen as the system worked to calculate a safe route out of here.

"Computer, have we got a route out of here yet?" Lion yelled, giving the navicomputer a shove with his foot. The screen displayed a negative, even as the calculations continued.

"Convoy, we're going to need to buy some time to calculate a safe route out of here..." Lion added, speaking into the comlink.

[Alpha]

Satine sees the corvette accelerate, his ship fast on its heels.

"Convoy, we're going to need to buy some time to calculate a safe route out of here..." comes Lion's voice from the comm channel. Satine smiles slightly.

"How much time?" he asks, double checking his instruments.

[Cizerack Hunter Forces]

The Hikari'Ki'Agi stared down the business ends of sixteen Gorroka cannons, each at a width of eight meters. They fired their barrage in unison, the discharge causing the battlegalleons to rock backward, and the lights on the vessels to momentarily blink out. Main power on each ship is nearly completely consumed, and auxilliaries keep the Korri class vessels shields intact. The super particle cannons thrash the Aing-Ti's bow, melting their shields away in a soup of radiation and EM surges. Lingering radiation blisters the hull of the Aing-Ti ship, causing limited damage to systems directly in the path of the super particle cannons.

The Gorroka cannons fall silent, and begin the 3 minute long process of drawing the necessary power reservoir to fire again. In their place, banks of tractor beam emitters begin to lock onto the Aing-Ti ship, as the Cizerack vessels begin to disgorge dozens of Keerta fightergrapplers.

[Neyasha]

Neyasha comands Audrie to match speed with the corvette and responds.

"Please give parameters for the task at hand."

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion blinked stars out of his eyes after the massive barrage from the Cizerack fleet, and the subsequent lightshow that had played out across the Aing-Tii Cruiser's bow.

"Emperor's Teeth, what in the name of..."

He was cut off by a beeping noise from his navicomputer.

"Guys, we've got ourselves a way out of here. Feeding course to all ships...now. As soon as you get within range of the hyperspace buoy, jump; we'll all regroup when we drop out of lightspeed. Strap yourselves down, it's time to go!"

Without further ado, Lion punched the emergency power button, and the corvette suddenly surged forward, making all possible speed away from the battle.

[Jhony]

"Hey, we just got hyperspace data from Zeke's ship!"

The surprise from the new guy at the bridge makes Jhony sigh. Of course they've just received hyperspace data. The plan was to get out of here as fast as possible.

"Well!" Jhony snaps, "Don't just sit there! Input the data and get us outta..."

With the Aing-Tii dealt with, the Cizerack ships are turning to face the last problem they had...the Jedi fleet. Or rather, the Happy Child. The rest of the convoy is long gone.

"Krasst...shields up. Open communication with the Cizeracks. Let's continue where we left off..."

[Neyasha]

Neyasha has Audrie go to full speed as soon as they get the hyperspace data. Audrie is the first one to reach the hyperspace point. When they get there they start to fly a defencive pattern.

Neyasha gets on the comme to the rest of the Jedi convoy.

"We will hold the hyperspace point untill the others are out. If you do not wish for us to wait contact me. Neyasha out."

[Alpha]

Satine hits the lever as soon as the hyperspace coordinates are inputted, his ship's wings folding in, and his hyperdrive engines spinning up. With a sigh, he hurtles into hyperspace...

[Lion El' Jonson]

"Just get out of here Neyasha, we'll take a head count when we're safe. I'm sure the Happy Child will be okay, once the Cizerack get a chance to inspect her they'll know she's not a pirate vessel."

Without further ado, Lion pulled back on the hyperspace lever. Their ship shuddered a bit as it entered hyperspace, then stabilized. Lion wiped his brow, got out of the chair, and turned to Wei.

"I can't believe we got out of that. Boy, this'll be something to tell the boys at Fleet Command about; Cizerack, Aing-Tii, the Chu'Keplor...yes, it'll be quite a story."

While the small convoy of Jedi vessels continued hurtling through hyperspace, Lion went to check up on the inertial compensators, they were flashing warning lights a second ago. Finally he returned to the small bridge, hands covered in grease from the engines. Wei lifted one eyebrow, Lion shook his head and sat down.

A timer appeared on the console in front of him, the time 'til they exited hyperspace. As the counter reached zero, Lion eased back on the lever, dropping out of hyperspace as quickly as they'd entered it.

The small Jedi Corvette came to a stop, waiting for the rest of the vessels in the convoy. Lion's computer had been calculating a likely search grid for the Chu'Keplor. It started displaying its calculations immediately.

"SIR, I THINK IT IS ADVISABLE TO GRID THE SURROUNDING AREA AND SEARCH IT IN 10X10 KILOMETER SQUARES. THIS WILL ENSURE THAT OUR SENSORS DO NOT MISS ANYTHING."

Lion shook his head as he looked out the viewport, and sharply inhaled breath. Something: The Force, destiny, magnetic fields; had drawn him here.

"I don't think...computer...that a search will be necessary. By the gods, we've found it." he said softly, trying to keep his voice even.

Because, less than 20 kilometers off of their ship's bow, lay a massive vessel, 3 kilometers long: The fabled Chu'Keplor, the Jedi cruiser lost for decades, had been found. How fitting...that the ghosts of the Old Jedi Order were located by those of the New one...

"Well guys, there it is...the big prize. Everybody up for taking a closer look?" he asked, asking throughout his ship, and over the comlink as well.

[Alpha]

Satine whistles, looking over the massive ship. It was huge, even by today's standards.

I'd have hated to see the cost of this building project... Satine thinks, before responding.

"By the Force...I don't believe this!" he exclaims, grinning. "We got extremely lucky on this one. So, who's going to be the first to step foot on board?"

[Zeke]

Zeke's not impressed. Pops and May got left! What about THEM? More importantly, what about Eris, napping in his room back onboard...

"I'll be the first, guys."

Zeke's got his weaponry close by; sabers in his pockets and his Pike slung over his shoulders.

"I can use my little nasties to poke things that might attack, and stuff."

[Ace McCloud]

Ace watched out the viewport, his eyes swept closely along the masterpiece. It was truly remarkable. Artifacts and things left over from the Old Republic really did it for him. He couldn't wait to get inside.

"What about the two scouts, Master Satine and I? We shouldn't go in there without knowing whats in there and without some sort of plan..."

[Audrie X-4]

Audrie comes out of hyperspace a 5 minitues after the others, It's clear to anybody looking out the viewport, that they stayed back a little longer than they should have. The lights are dead on the ship, the comm systems are down, sheilds are down, and life support is running at half and only in the cockpit.

She fires a small device at the corvette, that sticks to the side. On the small holoprojector in the cockpit of the corvette the image of a young woman appears, and says....

"This is the Audrie X-4. Upon your exit a number of enemy craft Over took The Happy Child We attempted to assist in it's escape but were unable to acheve our objective. We were almost unable to escape. Our Comm is out. I am communicating to you from a remote system link that I launched and attached to your hull."