No, it's not mine, but hey, I can borrow it, can't I?
Chapter 3: The first plot went into action about a month after Shada started. By this time, they were at one of Karrde's bases, at Qexis. The base had a turbolift, which was necessary to the plan. This idea, one of the less wacky plots Karrde's people had developed, was meant to be only a preclude to the real attack, but everyone, even their helpers on Coruscant, thought it would help to break the ice.
Shada rarely used the turbolift, prefering to take the stairs, but today, Shirlee Faughn, one of the pilots, was showing her around the base, and Faughn insisted on the turbolift. Unbeknownst to Shada, Faughn was only doing this as an excuse to get Shada on the turbolift. Faughn, after all, was a member of what they were calling the matchmaking conspiracy.
While Faughn executed her part of the plan, Aves went to Karrde's office. As he walked there, he reviewed the plan in his head. Faughn was dealing with Shada – he wasn't sure how, but he trusted in the pilot's abilities. His job was to get Karrde out of the office where he had been spending more and more time, on the pretext that a problem had arisen with one of the outposts they were setting up. A problem had been engineered in case Karrde checked later, so no worries there. After both Karrde and Shada were on the turbolift, Faughn would suddenly remember an urgent call to her sister on Dantooine that she just had to make, and Aves would make sure Shada didn't follow her off by mentioning that Dankin wanted to talk to her about the self-defense classes she'd thought to start, and then he would receive a comm message from Chin that they needed to discuss something, and he too would leave. Neither Karrde nor Shada would follow, because neither wished to seem like they were avoiding the other – which they were. Then came the easy part. The turbolift would be stopped between two floors. He would call Karrde on the comlink and explain that there had been a malfunction and that they would try to correct it as quickly as possible – which wasn't true. They would wait a while, but eventually would restart the turbolift. Aves smiled to himself. This would be interesting.
Part one went off without a hitch. Aves got Karrde out of the office, and when the turbolift doors opened, there stood Shada and Faughn. Faughn put on an act of mild surprise; Shada didn't react at all. Time to begin Phase Two. Faughn suddenly groaned aloud. "What?" asked Shada. Faughn grimaced. "It's my sister on Dantooine. I said I'd call her and I completely forgot." The car stopped at a floor and she got off. Shada started to follow; Aves caught her wrist. "You might as well come down to the ground floor with us, Shada. Dankin wants to see if you're serious about those self-defense classes." Shada stayed on. A few minutes later, Aves' comlink beeped. "Aves here. Uh-huh, yeah, OK. Be right there. Chief, Shada, I gotta go. Chin wants to talk to me. You know where you're headed." He too got off, and like he'd figured, neither followed him. He activated his comlink. "Begin Phase Three."
Karrde was surprised to suddenly find himself alone with Shada in such close quarters. He felt a bit uneasy, but shook the feeling off. All at once, the car jerked and stopped; the lights flickered and went out as well. There was a slight bang. "Shassa," he heard Shada hiss softly. The lights went back on. Karrde saw he'd been thrown at the doors; Shada was crouched in the corner, looking very annoyed. She looked up at him. "Figures," she muttered. "The one time I take the stupid turbolift, it breaks down. How typical." Karrde couldn't help but grin slightly at that.
Shada wished Karrde would stop grinning. It was throwing her off balance. But why? She still wasn't sure. Oh, well. She stood up. As she did so, Karrde's comlink beeped. "This is Karrde. Yes, Shada and I are on the turbolift. I see. Well, just do your best." He turned to Shada. "That was Elkin. He said there'd been a sudden turbolift breakdown and they were working on it, but that it could take some time," he explained. Shada frowned. "So we're stuck, huh?" she said dryly. Karrde threw her a mock glare. "So, don't want to be stuck with me then? I'm hurt." Shada scowled. "I didn't mean that at all. I just – oh, never mind." He shook his head. "Shada, Shada, Shada. I was joking. Couldn't you tell?" She stared at him, and then muttered, "Oh."
Shada was very confused. Why was Karrde teasing her? It was almost as though he was flir – OK, she was not going there. She turned her mind to the odd coincidences of the day. Aves and Faughn both had tailor-made excuses to leave her and Karrde alone in the turbolift, and then, not two minutes later, the turbolift breaks down. What the hell was going on? She looked at Karrde, who was pretending to be very interested in his shoes. "Isn't it lucky for Aves and Faughn that they just happened to have reasons to leave right before this 'breakdown'?" she asked him slowly as the pieces began to fall into place. He studied her, a frown beginning to form on his face. Then he replied, "It is, but what are you implying?"
Shada shrugged. "That they're playing a prank and the turbolift isn't malfunctioning. They shut it down." He stared at her. "Why though?" She laughed sardonically. "Because this is one of the most prank-obsessed crews in the galaxy, that's why." He nodded. "True," he conceded. "However, this is going a bit far even for them." Karrde wasn't sure if Shada was right, but she had a point.
There was silence for a moment, and then Karrde decided to comment on the evil smile slowly spreading across Shada's face. "What are you smiling about?" Her eyes glinted dangerously. "Just my plans for revenge. After all, they can't get away with this. Don't you agree?" Karrde grinned. "Hmm. I think you're right."
While the two captives plotted revenge, the matchmaking team prepared to turn the lift back on. Elkin hit the button. No response. He tried again. Nothing. "Aves?" he called. Aves hurried over. After a moment, he remembered something. Turbolifts shut down while being used tended to jam. In other words, Karrde and Shada were now really trapped. Which meant much more trouble than expected. "Uh-oh," he murmured.
A/N: So, how was it? Let me know!
