The Descendant: Echoes of the Revanchist

by darthmaul90

The Old Republic is gone; the last vestiges of it swept away and replaced by Palpatine's Galactic Empire. But as the heroic Rebel Alliance wages their war of independence against Palaptine's machine, the descendant of Revan stands poised to launch his own war against the Empire. Will he be persuaded to join the Rebellion, or will he make his own path amongst the battlefields?

10. The Descendant: Chapter 9

The Descendant, Echoes of the Revanchist – Chapter 9

The Silver Horizon

En Route to Nar Shaddaa

"Hyperdrive coordinates are locked in," Maris spoke from the Silver Horizon's co-pilot seat.

Dahlgen pulled the hyperdrive lever and watched in fascination as the stars briefly turned into bright streaks of white light and then became the familiar blue swirl as the ship entered hyperspace. The sight never failed to awe him. "Next stop, Nar Shaddaa," he confirmed. He rose from the pilot's chair and walked back into the crew lounge with Maris in tow.

Everyone else was beginning to congregate there. Dahlgen knew that they were all expecting him to talk about the bombshell he'd dropped just before leaving Kestos Minor. He'd refused to discuss the matter while they were they were still planet side even though they had all asked him questions about it. But now that they were space borne again, they expected answers. Dahlgen didn't blame them. After all this time, they deserved answers.

However, there was still one other matter to attend to first. Exiting the lounge's other side, Dahlgen went back through the main hold entered the medical suite where Marsala was fitting Raquel with a cranial collar. Her sudden impact against the wall of the house had left her with a nasty concussion and her head was throbbing. The collar was designed to aid in healing the injury, though at the moment Raquel didn't know how that was going to be possible.

"How are you feeling?" Dahlgen asked.

"Like I was just run down by a star destroyer," Raquel complained. "Oooooh. Will you please tell HK to stop jumping on my head?"

Dahlgen laughed. "With that huge dent in his head, the dislodged central core and Force knows what else, HK isn't doing anything. I'll need your help fixing him later."

Raquel rolled her eyes. "Great. I remember how difficult he was to fix last time. And I don't have a lab anymore, remember?"

"Relax," Dahlgen assured her. "We're on our way to see a friend of mine who can loan you a lab and whatever else you need."

"Loan me a lab," Raquel asked in surprise. "Impressive. What's your friend into?"

"You don't want to know," Dahlgen insisted.

Marsala manipulated a few more controls on the collar. "All right Raquel that should do it. Now just let this thing do its job."

"What about you guys?" Raquel asked. "I thought Jedi could use the Force to heal?"

"Of course we can," Dahlgen replied. "Problem is that little engagement between us and that dark witch left us all a little drained. And Marsala worked on you for over half an hour before we got you here. We need a little time to recover too."

Behind him, Maris spoke up. "Dahlgen?"

He turned to face her. All right, all right. Turning back to Raquel he said, "Look, I need to talk to my friends here. They deserve an explanation for what happened, as do you too I suppose. But if you're up to it…"

Raquel cut him off. "Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this story for anything."

Dahlgen gestured towards the main hold and Raquel followed his direction followed by Marsala. Returning to the crew lounge, Dahlgen saw all of his friends gathered and glanced at them all before taking a moment to stare at the floor. Damn, he thought. This was not going to be easy for any of them to hear and telling the story wasn't going to be any easier. He wondered with some apprehension what they would all think of him when his tale was over.

Standing next to him, Maris gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. And the almost musical sound of her voice was a tremendous reassurance to him. Dahlgen, I can't begin to imagine how painful it must be for you to talk about this. I can feel it. It's like an open, festering wound within you. Talk to us about it. Talk to me.

Dahlgen managed a slight smile at Maris and squeezed her hand. Of all the things you all knew about me, this is one I had actually hoped you would not. With a long breath, he began his story.

"When I was eighteen I had yet to truly start building the fortune that, today, keeps the Silver Horizon space worthy, ourselves from being dependent on gangsters for our livelihood, and the Rebel Alliance with a steady stream of funds" Dahlgen began. "However, even though I was still living day by day at the Citadel, approximately once a season I would journey to Thani for food and supplies and occasionally do a little hunting and training in the relative peace and tranquility of the Telosian wild lands."

"Wait a second," Raquel interrupted. "Citadel?"

Her interruption was not particularly welcome. "Later Raquel," Dahlgen demanded and resumed his story. "My normal practice was to fly a shuttle craft that I kept under the cover of darkness to the very edge of the Telosian ice cap. I'd then park it in a clearing I had mapped out that was always covered by a blizzard and travel the rest of the way to Thani by swoop bike. It was not at all uncommon for me to run into a little trouble with the local wildlife on those expeditions and that always made things interesting. However, that particular year as the spring season began, I got into a little more trouble than I bargained for.

"On what turned out to be my final supply run, I was detained on a minor charge or two by the Telos Security Force. I spent a few hours in a holding cell, was arraigned and hit with a five hundred credit fine. I paid the fine and was forced to endure a long lecture about obeying the law by the TSF captain who had detained me. In the end, I was set free.

"As I rode back out to the Horizon that night, I was attacked by some gang," Dahlgen explained. "To make a long story short, I was thrown clear off my bike, hit my head on something and passed out. Hours later when I came to, I found myself incarcerated in a fortified compound somewhere in the middle of Telos's wilderness with a large number of other people of varying races. As it turned out, I had been captured by a slaving ring."

Dahlgen paused a moment as his statement had the foreseen effect of generating several gasps and "oh nos" amongst his friends. Not surprisingly, the most anguished look and accompanying comment was from Maris. Oh my Gods.

"Wait a second. How in the hell did a slaving ring get established on Telos?" Dannix wondered. "The Telos Security Force should've been all over that."

"Ordinarily you'd be right," Dahlgen agreed. "Unless their ring leader happened to be a corrupt TSF captain who had recently fingered me as his next acquisition."

Dannix and the others snorted in disgust. "The captain you ran afoul of was using his position on the TSF to identify potential acquisitions and then capture them, wasn't he?"

Dahlgen nodded. "That was exactly what he was doing. And as I said, he had a large number of people that had yet to be purchased in custody. One of them was a young girl named Katarina."

So that's how you met her. Dahlgen heard Maris communicate to him.

"Damn," Dannix mumbled.

"Katarina had been a "guest" of the slavers for several weeks without anyone purchasing her," Dahlgen explained. "And they were particularly brutal in their treatment of her. But on the rare occasions where those slavers were not trying to break one or both of us through varying forms of torture, we struck up a friendship. I was a belligerent one indeed. I won't tell you how many guards' faces I spit in, nor will tell you the agony I endured as a result. But somehow it seemed less so with her around."

He felt Maris's heartbreak. Oh Dahlgen, she said soothingly. I'm so sorry.

Katya couldn't help but laugh. "That's our Dahlgen all right. Stubborn as a rancor to the end."

"Yes… well, that's how Katarina and I first met. She didn't tell me where she was from, though I guessed it was not from Telos. She helped me survive those days. See, the water the slavers gave us to drink was contaminated with mind altering drugs designed to make us more pliable. However, Katarina had figured out a way to make the drugs inactive and she showed me how to do it too. Not that it was complicated, but unless one knew exactly what to do and when to do it, the drugs would have a profound effect on the unsuspecting." He turned to Katya. "This is one of many reasons why I have a special dislike of slavers."

Recalling briefly, her own former days as a slave, Katya smiled affectionately at him.

"I was grateful to Katarina for helping me," Dahlgen admitted. "And I sensed that she had a sensitivity to the Force. So I took it upon myself to show her a few techniques. I though it would beneficial to us both when I made my escape, as I planned to take her with me. Looking back, it may or may not have been the right thing to do, but either way the end result was tragic."

Dahlgen could see that most of them had some questions, so he held up his hand and urged them all to save them until he was finished. "Now I know that most of you are probably wondering, 'How did you escape?' I'm not proud of how it happened and I do not wish to go into all the details. However, I will say that in the span of a few brief moments when the slavers got careless, I was able to effectively mask the fact that the drugs they were giving me were inactive. And they were all but convinced that I was broken and would no longer give them any trouble. And in those moments of carelessness, I unleashed my rage."

You gave in to your anger? Maris asked, genuinely surprised.

I'm not proud of it Maris, but yes I did, he admitted. "I stole a speeder bike, escaped into the wilderness and took Katarina with me," he went on. "There were problems however. First, the bike that we escaped on crashed and we had to ditch it. And when we did that, we were still dozens of miles from where I had parked my shuttle. On top of that, the slavers pursued us relentlessly through the forests and canyons. Katarina and I used a variety of Mind Tricks to disorient and distract them, but it backfired on us. Instead of convincing the pursuing slavers to just leave us alone, it infuriated them and they became hell bent on recapturing us.

"I won't go into a lot of details regarding this, but I made the decision that the only way to get them to back off was to turn and face them. Over the next three days I picked them off one by one until we felt we had gathered enough captured weapons to mount an assault on the camp. And that's exactly what we did. The resulting battle would take three times longer to detail to you all than it did to actually carry it out. In short, we freed the remaining captured acquisitions but instead of fleeing into the woods like I expected them to, they took up arms against their captors. The remaining slavers were brutally slaughtered as was that traitorous TSF captain. Finally we uncovered the evidence which proved beyond any doubt that the TSF captain had used his position to find targets to sell to the Hutts or whoever else was interested in owning a slave. We anonymously turned that over to the proper Telosian authorities."

"I remember reading about that in the news nets," Dannix commented. "The TSF was hit with a class-action lawsuit and the Telosian government was forced to pay out millions in damages as I recall."

"Yes, and I was one of the plaintiffs in that lawsuit," Dahlgen confirmed. "That's how I was eventually able to purchase the Silver Horizon and start my career as a trader and smuggler without funds obtained from loan sharks and other underworld figures. In a twisted way, you could say that my captivity by those slavers was the beginning of Bralor Industries. But for the purposes of this discussion, that's neither here nor there."

He felt Maris's arm wrap around his waist and give him an affectionate embrace. He could feel Maris's inner commotion at learning what had happened to him. He could feel her sadness and heartbreak.

"Because I was grateful to Katarina for helping me survive those few days against the slavers, I decided to take a risk and tell her a few secrets about who I really was and what I had been," Dahlgen continued. "And I showed her that with proper training, she could have a bright future as a Jedi. Though I was unsure of my abilities to do that at the time, I nevertheless offered to train her. She was intrigued by the possibilities and she accepted.

"I relocated to Thani and we rented a flat together. And as I had promised, I began to train her in earnest, starting with some of the more rudimentary force techniques and lightsaber skills. And in a very short period, her skills had progressed quite a bit. It wasn't long before we began to take a romantic interest in each other. One thing led to another and Marsala was conceived. I was excited at the prospect of being a father and I wanted to do the right thing for both Katarina and Marsala. So I married her. Please do not misunderstand my intentions though. I did love Katarina… at the time."

Dahlgen paused to take a long, sorrowful breath. "Unfortunately, Katarina began to change. I thought that Katarina was just as happy as I was and I suppose in her own way she was. But there was more. Rather than view her power as a gift with which to help the innocent, she began developing the mindset that her power was a tool with which to ensure that no one ever again hurt or violated her or her family the way the slavers had. And as her pregnancy progressed to childbirth, those feelings only intensified.

"She and I had several disagreements about this mind set as time progressed. I tried to justify her behavior to any excuse I could come up with… pregnancy hormones, bad days, depression, the list goes on. Eventually though, I could no longer justify it. And when I finally accepted that reality, the reality of what my wife had become, it was too late. She had come to the perception that I was weak, foolish and incapable of raising a child of the Force to maturity. But to do it her way would've meant corrupting myself and my son. No way was I about to let either of those options happen.

"We dueled," Dahlgen said. "And she learned that one's unwillingness to dominate does not mean one is weak. I drove her away and prevented her from taking our son and dooming him to a life of slavery to the dark side. But even though I forced her to flee Telos, I was forced to flee as well because I knew she would be back." He sighed. "Within a couple weeks I'd purchased the Silver Horizon and fled. I haven't seen her since that day. Until a few hours ago, that is."

Maris's heart was shattering as in Dahlgen's story about Katarina, she recognized some of the same things that she'd allowed to manifest in herself. Manifestations that had caused her to fall, just like Katarina had. Only Maris had managed to wake up and get back up where Katarina had been consumed. That but for the grace of the Force, could've been me, she thought. "How old was Marsala when this happened?" Maris asked.

"Not quite four months," Dahlgen answered. "Katarina and I dueled not far from where he was resting. He remembers what happened."

The statement surprised everyone. "How could he?" Raquel asked sharply. "He was only an infant!"

Marsala answered the question. "That's true Raquel. Look, none of us can begin to make you understand what it's like to touch the Force or be touched by it. But even at that young age, I was aware of what my parents were doing. I knew that my father was fighting to protect me and that my mother wanted to harm me somehow. I didn't fully understand what it was at the time, but now I know that she wanted to raise me in the power of the dark side. Dad and HK fought to prevent that."

That last statement surprised everyone. "HK?" Dijas spoke for all of them. "He was there too?"

Dahlgen nodded. "He guarded Marsala while I battled Katarina."

"So you've always known who your mother was?" Dijas asked him.

Marsala shook his head. "No, not always. It was only a few years ago when dad first told me about what happened that I was able to put the images I kept seeing with the events that transpired."

"How come you never told us about her?" Dannix asked, the scowl on his face all too evident.

Maris intercepted the question as she correctly interpreted his tone as being one of betrayal and anger. "Dannix…"

"No, no, no," Dannix cut her off while shaking his finger. "I want to know why Dahlgen never told us that his ex-wife was still alive!"

Maris opened her mouth to retort, but Dahlgen stopped her, indicating he wanted to answer himself. "Because as I just said, I didn't know she was still alive and I was hoping I wouldn't have to," he shot back. "It's been nearly a decade and a half since the day I last saw her and it's not like I've been actively keeping tabs on her. For all I knew, she was dead already. To me, that's exactly what she is. Dead. And I was hoping that she'd managed to get herself killed somehow and I would never have to have this discussion that I'm having with you all now." He snickered. "I can almost hear Bastila telling me how much of a fool's dream that was."

Dahlgen looked each one of his friends in the eye before continuing. "Now then, if any of you feel like I have betrayed you, or hurt your feelings, or violated your trust in some way, then I am truly sorry. You have my sincerest and most heartfelt apologies because that was never my intention. However, though I will make no excuses, neither will I ask for absolution. It is what it is. And unless you plan on withdrawing yourself from Force Revanchist, you need to accept it, collect yourself and move on. Because as sure as I am standing here talking to you about her, now that she knows I'm still alive we will encounter her again. And sooner rather than later." He looked at Dannix, who rolled his eyes. "I realize that moving on from this may take some of you longer to do than others. But as I just said, it is what it is."

For several moments, no one dared to speak. The awkward silence was finally broken by Maris who walked up to Dahlgen and stood before him, looking him in the eye. Dahlgen could feel her admiration and affection for him radiating from the core of her being and brought him a sense of peace in an otherwise tense situation. "Of course I forgive you Dahlgen," she insisted. "I may not like what you did, but I understand why you did it. And if I'd been in that situation, I can't guarantee that I wouldn't have done the same thing. Since we were kids walking the halls of the Jedi Temple, you've been my best friend ever. And more recently you've been the best teacher I've ever had. You always have been and you always will be. I'm not so stupid as to throw all that away because of one unappreciated but understandable indiscretion." She leaned up and gave Dahlgen a kiss on the cheek, an act that surprised everyone, especially Dahlgen himself. I'll always find you, she added. Even when you're having trouble finding yourself.

Emboldened by her act and her secret words, Dahlgen took Maris's hand and gave it a light kiss in return. "Thank you Maris. You have no idea what that means to me."

"I forgive you too Dahlgen," Katya chimed in. "And I'm sorry about what happened. Both to you and to Katarina."

"Like you said, it is what it is," Dijas spoke up. "And as you said, we're a team. No, we're more than a team. We're a family. You all are my brothers and sisters. And this little revelation seems way too insignificant to me to allow the family to fall apart, don't you think?"

"Indeed I do," Dahlgen smiled.

"Amen to that," Maris added.

Everyone looked at Dannix.

"Well as long as everyone else is in a forgiving mood, I might as well forgive you too," Dannix replied. He shook his finger at him and a slight smirk appeared on his face. "But if you ever hold back anything like this again, I'll see you in the Battle Circle."

"Dannix, the Battle Circle is not for settling disputes," Dahlgen reminded him. "You know that."

"All right, all right, bluff called," Dannix relented. "I just hope there aren't any more surprises out there that you haven't told us about."

"I guess I'll forgive you too, though since I'm not technically a member of the team, I really don't feel upset by your revelation," Raquel said with a smile.

Dahlgen laughed. "Point taken Raquel." For a couple of years now, Raquel had been not-so-subtly hinting that she'd like to be a permanent member of Force Revanchist. However, Dahlgen and the others often questioned whether or not she could truly bring something beneficial to the team. Yes she was a great droid mechanic and an excellent document forger, but that was it. Raquel didn't have any real battle experience. Dahlgen and the others were concerned that would turn into a big liability in a combat situation. Still, maybe now was the time to rethink that whole situation.

"So now that we know Katarina exists, I have a question," Katya said. "What does she want? I mean, she didn't just attack you and Raquel for the sake of attacking. Dark side users may be brutal but they're not stupid."

"That's easy. Katarina wants two things," Dahlgen said. "First, she wants my head. She will not rest until I'm dead. Period, end of story. Second, she wants Marsala. In her mind, once I'm gone she's free to take Marsala and train him the way she wants to train him."

I'll be damned if I'm going to let either of those things happen, Maris spoke through their special link.

That makes two of us, Dahlgen answered.

"I have a question," Dijas piped up. "If she's the dark presence you sensed at the Governor's Reception, then she may very well know about your Vincent Bralor alter ego. Assuming she does, what's to stop her from exposing the truth to the galaxy at large?"

"That's a very real possibility," Dahlgen admitted. "And if she were to do that, our careers would effectively be over because we'd have ISB agents, assassins, bounty hunters and Force-knows what else hounding us at every star port. But there's one thing that compels me to believe she won't do that."

"And that is?" Maris wondered.

"Marsala," Dahlgen stated. "True, Katarina wants me dead and she'll stop at nothing to see that happen, with the exception of putting Marsala in needless danger. She wants Marsala alive more than she wants me dead. Alive so she can capture him and train him in the dark side. In Katarina's twisted mind he represents the future, the legacy she can pass on. I represent the past; everything that's old; weak and useless. If Katarina was to expose my secret identity, she would have no choice but to expose Marsala as well. And I don't believe that's something she's willing to do because no one else that the Empire would send in pursuit of us will care if Marsala lives or dies."

"So what do we do about it?" Dannix asked.

Dahlgen shrugged. "Nothing," he replied. "What can we do about it? The only thing we can do is proceed with our investigation into Project Epsilon. If this informant who Katya met with is right and Katarina is now calling the shots with regards to Project Epsilon's development then as I said, it is only a matter of time before we cross paths with her again. Until then, figuring out what Project Epsilon is remains our top priority."

"I agree with you Dahlgen," Maris said. "We can't let this latest development hinder our progress. If we are to encounter Katarina again in the future, we'll deal with it when the time comes."

"With that in mind, I think now would be a good time to view that disk that Katya obtained from our informant," Dahlgen insisted. "Kel you said his name was?"

"That's the name he gave me," Katya said as she inserted the disk into the main console. "Here we go."

For the next several moments, no one spoke as they all focused their attention to the secret recording made by Vilnius. Almost immediately, they all could see that Katarina was present at the meeting and most of the others present were people that Force Revanchist had previously identified. There were two others however that got their attention, the young red-haired man conducting the meeting and the stormtrooper seated off to one side. That stormtrooper had to be an officer, and a rather high ranking one at that. Standard rank and file troops would be guarding the meeting as opposed to sitting in on it.

Dahlgen and the others winced and groaned in disbelief as they witnessed the failure of the first test. And they all listened as the young man went into his lecture about tertronium and how it was the only substance that could withstand the power the research team hoped to generate. Dahlgen laughed inwardly when the young man asked Katarina how many engineering teams she'd been willing to lose before the Emperor himself started asking questions. He knew that look all too well. She'd been furious.

But then he and others became increasingly concerned when the meeting was dismissed and Katarina had her private chat with Moff Hazloc. That conversation had taken place in a different room entirely. From the looks of it, it was a copy of Emperor Palpatine's Throne Room. No doubt it had been included in the facility's design specs just in case Palpatine himself ever visited the facility. But what the hell was Katarina doing in there and how had Kel gotten the feed from it? He saw Katarina sit on the throne and look out the transparisteel window beyond it. Oh brother, Dahlgen thought. How megalomaniacal can you get?

During her conversation with Moff Hazloc, Katarina mentioned the Japrael Sector and planet Onderon as a source of tertronium. Damn. From the sound of the conversation, Dahlgen and the others could guess what Katarina was planning. Onderon had never been on very friendly terms with the Empire and since Katarina believed there was a source of tertronium on the planet, she would do whatever was necessary to ensure she secured it for the project.

Damn it all to hell, Dahlgen thought as the recording ended. I rue the day I told her I was the descendant of Revan.

"So do we know who the young stallion conducting that meeting is?" Dannix wondered aloud.

"According to Kel, he's Marlowe Derwit," Katya announced. "He's the new Chief Engineer and son of Major Verrill Derwit."

"I thought I saw a family resemblance there," Dijas said. "Wonder how the major was able to get his son assigned to the project?"

"I don't think he did," Katya claimed. "According to Kel, Marlowe is not at all happy about having to work with his father."

"Hmmmm," Maris observed. "Dissention in the ranks. Maybe we can exploit that somehow."

"Perhaps. We'll have to see as the situation unfolds. What about the stormtrooper who was sitting there?" Dahlgen asked.

"Kel says that's his immediate superior," Katya replied. "He doesn't know his name. Only his standard registration number, TK8275. TK8275 is also in charge of security at wherever this base is located."

"And he has no idea where this base is located?" Dijas wondered.

Katya shook her head. "None whatsoever. He claims that the Empire wants to keep as tight a lid on this as they can. To that end, aside from other precautions, whenever they enter or leave the base, they are blindfolded. I believe him. I didn't sense any deception from him when we spoke." She turned towards Dahlgen. "And incidentally, Dijas did recognize him as the man you crossed paths with on Zeltros just before we picked you up."

"So it is who I thought it might be," Dahlgen commented. "Good work Dijas."

"Thank you," he replied.

"There's something else here that's bothering me too," Dahlgen pointed out. "Katarina's references to the tertronium, the Japrael Sector and Onderon were particularly unsettling."

"Is there really tertronium on Onderon?" Maris asked.

"I'd say yes," Dannix answered. "When we Mandalorians conquered Onderon during the Mandalorian Wars, we found a large deposit of the tertronium ore located in the mountains. We built an installation there and began mining it immediately. When Revan and the Republic invaded and kicked us off Onderon, they shut down the production facility and sealed the mine.

Dahlgen nodded in agreement. "I've read about that and even researched it a bit back when I was a kid. As far as I know, the mining facility was never torn down and the mine itself was never reopened. So it's reasonable to assume that whatever tertronium was left after the Mandalorians were booted off should still be there." He exhaled sharply. "And now Katarina wants it."

"But how did she find out about it?" Raquel asked.

Dahlgen spread his arms wide. "I have no idea. She knows Marsala and I are descendants of Revan and Bastila. Maybe she did some investigation into his life and times and learned about it that way."

"That seems awfully far-fetched Dahlgen," Maris replied. "I'm not saying it's not possible. But think about it. Investigating Revan's time on Onderon just to learn about something that she may or may not ever use? Doesn't sound very likely. She had to have found out about it some other way."

Dahlgen didn't want to think about that "other way" but it made sense. "Look whatever the truth is, she knows about it and she wants it. Onderon has never gotten along well with the Empire and whatever they have to do to keep the Empire off their planet, they'll do. I can't believe that the Onderonian Royal Family would just let the Empire walk in and take all the tertronium they need. And from the discussion she was having with Moff Hazloc, Katarina knows that and she is marshalling her available forces. That can mean only one thing. An Imperial invasion of Onderon is imminent."

"Would the Emperor give Katarina the green light for such a bold move?" Raquel asked.

For a response, Dahlgen presented her with his best "you-gotta-be-kidding-me" look.

"If Project Epsilon is a super weapon as we all believe and Katarina is as under the gun as we all suspect to get it completed, then the Emperor will not hesitate to give Katarina the go ahead," Maris summarized. "On top of that, if Katarina is indeed an Imperial Emissary… and we have no reason to believe she isn't… she can act on her own authority if she chooses to."

"We need to contact General Cracken right away and let him know what we've learned," Dahlgen announced. "We'll need him to set up a meeting between us and the Onderonian Royal Family. Onderon has had Rebel sympathies for some time now, so that part should be easy. I only hope the Royal Family will listen to us."

"So why don't we head to Onderon now?" Dijas asked.

"Because HK needs repairs and we still need to pick up Gee Tee," Dahlgen replied. "I want the team to be at full strength when we arrive on Onderon. And then some. I got a feeling we're going to need some extra muscle from here on."

Maris knew what that meant. They all did. "You going to try to convince Hooroo to loan us Forndak and Chenlamabec?"

"Yup."

A playful smile appeared on her face and she recalled the very day she and Dahlgen had been reunited. "You realize that it may take you four or five nights of slinging drinks at the Jewel of Kashyyyk to convince him, don't you?"

"He'll just have to take a rain check on that one, because we may not have four or five days," Dahlgen commented. "We may not have four or five hours. For all we know, we could arrive at Onderon right in the middle of the invasion." He shook his head grimly and checked his timepiece. "We'll be on Nar Shaddaa in just under twelve hours. Force be with us because the countdown is happening and we don't know how much time is left."

Dahlgen rubbed the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to bring some relief to the pain that was radiating from them. For the past forty-five minutes he had been staring into the communications console view screen, discussing the latest developments with General Airen Cracken. While Dahlgen was less than totally satisfied with the discussion, at least it was more promising than the previous meeting had been.

"I agree with you Dahlgen," General Cracken said. "Given the nature of the recording, it definitely seems that the Empire is going to mount an invasion of Onderon soon."

"And my request that you set up a meeting between my team and the Onderonian Royal Family?" Dahlgen asked.

"I'll get on it right away," General Cracken nodded. "However, it may take me a day or two to properly arrange everything, so please be patient."

"Understood General," Dahlgen assured him. "But I don't think I need to tell you the utmost urgency of my request. We have no idea how long we have before that invasion is launched and every second counts."

"I'll move as fast as I can Dahlgen," Cracken assured him.

"What about the references to tertronium?" Dahlgen asked. "Will that manage to convince the Alliance High Command that Project Epsilon is indeed a super weapon of some sort?"

General Cracken shrugged. "I don't know Dahlgen," he admitted. "All I can do is present your new findings to High Command and see what they say. I will, of course, argue on your behalf because I'm just as convinced as you are. But I make no guarantees. I will say this though, the fact that the Empire seems to be after such a vast quantity of it does provide additional merit to your beliefs."

"All the merit in the galaxy means nothing if the idea itself doesn't sell," Dahlgen snorted. "Fine. Let me know when everything is arranged with the Onderonian Royal Family and whether or not Alliance High Command has bought the notion that Project Epsilon is a super weapon."

"Will do. Cracken out."

Dahlgen rubbed his forehead as the communications screen went blank. He thought about the foreseen coming event and snorted quietly. Onderon, he thought. Never thought I'd ever go back there again. But I suppose it's long overdue. He'd tried very hard to avoid Onderon since the Clone Wars apart from briefly attending King Ramsis Dendup's funeral and his daughter, Queen Goneril's, coronation in the wake of Order 66. Part of him still wanted to avoid it, but there were now bigger things at stake than his personal desires.

During the Clone Wars, there had been four members of the Onderonian Royal Family and Dahlgen had been well acquainted with them for many years leading up to Order 66. First and foremost among them was King Ramsis Dendup, the rightful monarch of Onderon and a direct descendant of Queen Talia Kira. Talia had been the ruler of Onderon nearly four thousand years earlier and she had ruled for more than half a century, starting late in the Mandalorian Wars.

Then there was his only child, Princess – now Queen – Goneril. She had inherited the throne 15 years ago upon the death of her father. A kind, and just woman, Goneril had managed to avoid prison during the Separatist occupation of Onderon under the usurper, King Sanjay Rash. As a result of her father being restored to his rightful throne, she had been a terrific friend of the Republic and the Jedi Order in those chaotic Clone Wars years. Dahlgen has always counted her as a friend.

Queen Goneril's husband, Prince Albert, had been an officer in Onderon's military prior to marriage and had been one of the leaders in the Onderonian Resistance during the Separatist occupation. Though he had never truly held the reins of power like his wife did, he had always been a strong presence in her life. He was an easy going man and always quick with a joke. Furthermore, he always went to great lengths to ensure anyone in his presence was not meant to feel intimidated, unless it was warranted.

Finally there was Princess Juliette, daughter of Goneril and Albert and granddaughter of Gendup. She was the current heir apparent to the throne. She was only a couple months younger than Dahlgen and they had practically been raised together before he went to join the Jedi Order. Juliette had had taken it kind of hard when he left to join the Order but had always been particularly pleased to see him when he made one of his frequent visits to Onderon. He chuckled to himself, recalling with great clarity how infatuated Princess Juliette had been with him, almost the same kind of infatuation that Maris seemed to have for him in those early years.

At that time, the feeling between him and Juliette had been mutual and even now he sometimes wondered how different his life would've been if the Clone Wars hadn't ended in such disaster for the Jedi Order. Would he have remained with the Order or would he have left it to settle down and have a family with Juliette? Oh well, he didn't know and it was all in the past now anyway. By now Dahlgen was confident she had married and started a family with someone else.

Dahlgen was abruptly jolted from his reminiscing by the communication console alerter announcing an incoming transmission. He hit the channel open button and was not surprised to see Cronus on the other end of the transmission.

Cronus smiled when he saw Dahlgen answer his call. "Hey there Dahlgen! I'm on Sriluur and my family is overjoyed to see me. How are things progressing with you guys?"

"I'm not going to lie to you Cronus, you've missed some interesting developments."

With amused intrigue, Cronus asked, "Have I? Like what?"

For the next hour he listened with growing concern as Dahlgen outlined the recent events including the recording supplied to them by Kel, the belief that the Empire was going to invade Onderon soon, his recent conversation with General Cracken, the encounter with Katarina and their current heading to Nar Shaddaa. "You weren't kidding," Cronus said when Dahlgen finished speaking. "You have been busy. I'm sorry I wasn't there to assist."

"I appreciate that Cronus, but I'm not sure that one more person would've helped the situation at all," Dahlgen responded.

"Perhaps, but I am still a member of the team Dahlgen," Cronus pointed out. "Do you need me to rejoin you guys on Nar Shaddaa? I can beat you guys there by almost three hours if I leave now."

Dahlgen gave it some brief consideration considering his desire to have the team at full strength once they arrived on Onderon. Ultimately, he shook his head. "No. I promised you some time with your family and you deserve it," he said. "Therefore, I want you to take it. That being said however, from here on I want you to check in with us every twelve hours and be ready to get to Onderon at a moment's notice if we call for you. Though we're certain the invasion will happen, we don't know when and I don't want to end up trapped on Onderon when it comes."

"You got it," Cronus nodded. "I'll say "hi" to the wife and kids for you."

From around the corner, Marsala called out, "Say hi to them for me too grandpa!"

"Stop calling me grandpa!" Cronus grumbled. But he smiled at Dahlgen. "He's a chip off the old block. Just like his old man."

"Old man? Old man?" Dahlgen complained. "Who are you calling an old man… old man?"

Cronus laughed heartily. "Like I said, a chip off the old block." He reached for the disconnect switch. "Cronus out."

In cargo hold two, wearing only her halter top combined with a loose fitting set of training pants, Maris concentrated on an imaginary target as she practiced the counter offensive stances and forms of Shien. Weaving her blade in tight circles around her body, she repeated the series of movements Dahlgen had taught her long ago for intercepting enemy blaster fire and reflecting it back. Her bare feet quietly slapped against the metal floor with a rhythm that marked the progress of her every assault, feint or parry.

Satisfied with her progress, she stopped briefly only to explode into action once again with the more wild and erratic offensive movements of Juyo. Bold and direct motions were staples of the style yet they were less elegant in appearance than Ataru movements. Broader and unpredictable in nature, it required greater focus and energy on the part of the user than most other forms.

It was a style that Maris had very little experience with as Dahlgen had insisted that she gain experience with some of the other forms first to counteract Juyo's shortcomings such as the style's inherent vulnerability to Force based attacks and the sheer physical demands its use placed on the practitioner. Because of this, whenever Maris practiced with the style it was usually not long before she was winded and could no longer continue.

But this time, as she maneuvered her blade in seemingly disconnected movements, she opened herself completely to the Force and sought out her special link with Dahlgen. And upon finding it, she suddenly discovered herself refreshed and rejuvenated, able to carry on her practice session longer than ever before and at greater speed and intensity. Maris resolved to keep her practice session going until exhaustion overtook her.

For the next two and a half hours Maris battled her imaginary foe, slashing, guarding, thrusting and parrying with a speed she had never before achieved. Her bond with Dahlgen had allowed her to tap into his strength and power. This knowledge brought a smile to her face as she continued to work, pushing herself harder and harder.

Finally, too exhausted to continue, Maris deactivated her saber and collapsed to her knees. Her breathing was heavy and labored and she was covered in a light sheen of sweat. Small drops fell from her skin and quietly hit the metal deck plates. The special link she shared with Dahlgen had worked wonders again. Now instead of focusing on their combined energies to aid her combat skill, she used them to refresh herself and calm her breathing.

"It's a truly wondrous gift isn't it?" a female voice asked behind her.

Maris had just about recovered enough to stand again when the voice spoke. She looked back over her shoulder to see the shimmering image of Bastila Shan leaning against the wall. Maris fumbled for something to say to her, but she was just too tired.

Bastila smiled. "You don't have to say anything right now," she assured Maris. "I know you're exhausted."

For a couple of more moments Maris fought to regain control of her breathing. "I… I seem to have overexerted myself," she panted.

"Yes, I can see that," Bastila laughed. "But then the men of my bloodline are very well known for "wearing out" their women in more ways than one."

Maris was embarrassed by Bastila's comment for she knew what it implied and her face turned bright red. "Do they?" she asked.

Bastila laughed again. "Yes they do. I personally think that this whole scenario is the proof that the Force is very capable of having a sense of humor," she said. "Even so, the gift you share with my descendant is truly wondrous isn't it?"

Still panting, Maris nodded. "It is Lady Bastila. I've never been able to maintain a practice session that intense for so long a period."

"And yet, what you've done with it so far only scratches the surface Maris," Bastila insisted.

Maris slowly got to her feet, her muscles complaining the whole time. As she turned to face Bastila, she allowed the Force to flow through her and sooth her aches and pains. "Forgive me Bastila but, you called it a gift." She cocked her head to one side. "Is it a gift?"

Bastila smiled and moved towards her. "You've already asked that question of Dahlgen and he answered by saying that I certainly thought so," she answered. "Now whether he was talking about my gift with Revan or the gift you two share is of no consequence. Either way, he's right. What you and Dahlgen share goes beyond the limits of what the Jedi Order considers normal or even natural." She laughed again. "I can hear that stuffy old Master Vrook now…" Bastila adopted a gruff, masculine sounding voice. "Such connections seem unnatural and useless to me." Bastila laughed again and shook her head. "Smiling was unnatural to him as well."

Both women laughed easily at Bastila's joviality. "My point Maris is that this gift requires the deepest of emotional, spiritual and even physical connections between two people. And the Force doesn't bestow that kind of a gift on two people just for the sake of doing it. Revan and I have believed for centuries that a gift of this nature is bestowed only upon two people who have the capacity to see and feel the Force on a whole new level of enlightenment than most who are capable of feeling the Force at all. And make no mistake about this Maris, it is a gift." A sly grin appeared on Bastila's features. "But then, you've already started believing just that, haven't you?"

Maris grinned sheepishly. "Yes, I have."

"That's to be expected for a woman who's falling in love," Bastila told her.

Maris looked at Bastila like she had taken leave of her senses. "Falling in love?"

"I'm sorry Maris, but it's as plain as the nose on your face," Bastila said. She smiled. "Search your feelings Maris. There's still a part of that little girl inside of you. That little girl who wanted then, and still wants now, to do nothing more than spend as much time as she can with Dahlgen. That little girl who felt so safe, protected and cared for whenever he was around. That little girl who promised to always find him and who was promised to always be caught when she fell. Whether you studied with him, trained with him, talked with him, or even played with him… those feelings were always there."

Bastila smiled and went on. "That little girl is a grown woman now. And she still wants to feel safe, protected and cared for. But she wants to feel these things from inside the loving embrace of the man who has always given it to her without question. She still wants to study with him, train with him, talk to him and so much more." She gave Maris a knowing grin. "And yes, that includes play with him as well, doesn't it?"

Maris turned red, embarrassed by the fact that she knew what Bastila meant by "play with him." But she couldn't deny it either. "Yes," she said.

"I thought so," Bastila admitted. "Ask yourself this Maris, throughout your young life, have you ever been able to rely on anyone or feel closer to anyone than you do to Dahlgen?"

Though she shifted uncomfortably, Maris smiled. "No, never," she replied with a shake of her head. "Not even to Master Ti."

"It's no different for him Maris," Bastila encouraged. "Though it may bloody well take a couple knocks to his head with a Force Staff to get him to admit it. The men of my bloodline can be quite dense, as I'm sure you already know."

Maris nodded in agreement. "Oh yes. He can be the most stubborn man I have ever known."

"A trait I am all too familiar with as well Maris," Bastila said. "Revan is exactly the same way."

"And yet, Dahlgen is the kindest, most wonderful man I've ever known," Maris added. "I could feel it back when we were kids." She smiled in a way that could only be described as longing.

Bastila flashed her a knowing smile. "Again, a trait I am all too familiar with because Revan is exactly the same way." She took a deep breath. "Well, I've taken up enough of your time. I'm sure you want to freshen up and there are more important things for you to be doing than listen to an old woman who became part of the Force millennia before you were born. We'll talk again soon child. Until then, be patient."

"Wait," Maris urged. "You said a whole new level of enlightenment. What is that new level?"

Bastila smiled widely. "You'll know it when you feel it Maris."

And Bastila's spirit vanished.

The Kwymar Sector

Unknown Location

Upon arriving back at Azkul Base, Katarina had called an emergency command staff meeting to discuss what she had learned during the Governor's Reception and its immediate aftermath. Slowly pacing around the large circular table of the command conference room, Katarina began by addressing Major Derwit. "Major, you said the man who accosted you, Lieutenant Alston, Moff Ulcom and Moff Hazloc during the meeting was tall with long dark hair and wielded a lightsaber. Specifically, he was wielding a violet lightsaber staff. Is all that correct Major?"

"Yes ma'am, it is," Major Derwit answered.

Katarina activated the holo-projector in the center of the conference table and an image of Dahlgen Luzard appeared facing Major Derwit. "Is this the man Major?"

Derwit's mouth fell open in astonishment and the look of recognition in his eyes was immediate. "Yes! That's him!" he exclaimed pointing at the image. "That's the man!"

"You are absolutely sure of this Major?" Katarina asked.

"Absolutely ma'am," Major Derwit insisted. "He had a female Zabrak companion with him at the time. At first I assumed she was pure Zabrak, but after my search failed to turn up any leads, I had to consider the possibility that she was a human / Zabrak hybrid. She took a grenade blast in the back, so she's probably dead."

"Oh she's not dead major," Katarina assured him. "Not by a long shot."

"And you would know this how milady?" Moff Hazloc inquired.

"Because I encountered them both yesterday afternoon Moff Hazloc," Katarina said bluntly.

Moff Hazloc sensed she wasn't telling them something and he leaned forward with folded hands. "Really? Care to tell us where milady?"

Katarina shook her head. "No Moff Hazloc, at the moment I do not." She pointed at the image and moved on. "The woman that accompanies this man is a great curiosity to me."

"Why is that Milady?" Major Derwit asked, purely out of curiosity.

Katarina felt her anger begin to rise as she was not in the habit of being quizzed by those beneath her and actually entertaining their pathetic indulgences. Still, she supposed she had invited it having been the one who called this meeting in the first place. Keeping her temper in check, she said, "I engaged these two on Kestos Minor shortly before our departure."

"Engaged them?" Moff Hazloc was now curious.

"Fought them Moff Hazloc," Katarina said in an exasperated tone. "You are smart enough to know what that means I hope."

Hazloc said nothing but merely curled his lips into a frown, wrought with contempt.

Katarina pointed to Major Derwit. "When you first told me about the man and woman who accosted you on Zeltros, I have to admit, I did not think they would be all that skilled in the art of the lightsaber nor into the powers of the Force. My encounter on Kestos Minor with them however, proved to me that I drastically underestimated them… a mistake I will not make a second time."

"So they are skilled in their ways then?" Derwit concluded.

"Oh yes Major," Katarina nodded. "Quite skilled. The woman is not quite as skilled as the man, but nevertheless, they are both formidable warriors and from this moment forward, are not to be taken lightly." She paused and paced back and forth thoughtfully for a moment before continuing. "The woman is no doubt being trained by the man here in the ways of the Jedi," she claimed.

"How can you be sure of that?" Moff Hazloc was keen to know.

Katarina rolled her eyes. "What else could it be Moff Hazloc?" She continued pacing. "I know very little about this man's lady friend at the moment. However, I expect that I shall know everything I desire to know about her in the fullness of time."

Major Derwit jerked his head towards the image of Dahlgen. "So what about him then? Who is he?" he asked eagerly.

"His name is Dahlgen Luzard and he is a trained Jedi," Katarina announced to the others. "During the Clone Wars, he served at the Battles of Geonosis, Christophsis and both battles of Onderon among others. He was also a master of the Echani and Teras Kasi martial arts which made him a rare breed among the Jedi Knights."

Moff Hazloc could barely hide his contempt. "You know an awful lot about this man, this Dahlgen Luzard," he commented.

"Let's just say we share a semi-common past and leave it at that, shall we?" Katarina suggested.

But Moff Hazloc wasn't going to let the issue just drop. "Just how common a past are we talking about here Katarina? Were the two of you both members of the Jedi order during the Clone Wars? Maybe you two were friends… or perhaps even lovers."

Katarina's stare became colder and the others could see she was starting to lose her temper. "How Dahlgen and I may have once known one another is none of your concern Moff Hazloc."

"The hell it's none of my concern," Moff Hazloc objected, thrusting a finger in Katarina's direction. "You may have wrestled control of Project Epsilon from me Katarina, but I am still the Kwymar Sector Moff. That alone entitles me to certain information that might otherwise be considered privileged, especially when it comes to 'black op' projects being conducted in my sector. So if you know more about this Dahlgen Luzard that you are telling us, I demand to know!"

Events moved inhumanly fast after that. With her rage over the boiling point, Katarina's eyes became their dark-side induced hue and she ignited her blade. Unleashing a fast, hard swing at Moff Hazloc that none of them saw coming, her blade bit into his arm at his wrist and neatly severed his right hand, the wound instantly cauterizing from the heat generated by the blade. What was left of his right hand flew past Lieutenant Alston and bounced off TK8275's helmet before landing on the floor.

Moff Hazloc screamed as white hot pain tore through his arm and threatened to overload his body. His screams didn't last long though as Katarina grabbed him by the neck and applied near-crushing pressure to his throat. "Don't you ever presume to demand that I tell you something that I do not wish to!" she roared. "I don't have to tell you, or anyone else, anything! Least of all my past history with Dahlgen Luzard or anyone! And if you ever, ever make such a mistake again, the next thing I cut off will be your head! AAAAUUGH!"

Katarina grabbed Moff Hazloc by his hair and drove his head down into the conference table as hard as she could. The impact knocked Moff Hazloc senseless, but Katarina wasn't done with him. As his head recoiled off the hardened surface, she lashed out with a kick to his face that broke his nose along with a couple of his teeth and sent him toppling backwards out of his chair on the floor. Still seething with fury, Katarina thought about unleashing some Force Lightning on him. Fry him to death right there. But damn it, he still had his uses. For now anyway. Even so, Katarina was going to enjoy torturing him to death once he'd outlived his usefulness to her.

With an angry snarl that induced fear in everyone else, she shouted. "And that goes for the rest of you as well! If any of you make the same mistake he just did, I swear your death will be both long and excruciating!" She deactivated her lightsaber and wrinkled her nose as the stench of burned flesh began to get to her. With a dismissive wave, Katarina barked at Lieutenant Alston and TK8275. "You and you, clean up this mess! Take him to the infirmary and have him patched up. Although I am loathe to admit it, he does still have his uses."

Both of them were still sufficiently scared to remain frozen in the seats.

"Now!" Katarina ordered as her hand went back towards her lightsaber once more.

Scrambling from their seats, Lieutenant Alston and TK8275 gathered up Moff Hazloc's unconscious form along with his severed hand and quickly carried him from the room.

Katarina moved towards Major Derwit, lifted her right leg up and planted her foot on the table right next to him. Leaning in his direction, she observed, "So, it's just you and me in here now Major."

Derwit cleared his throat fearfully and nodded. "Yes milady. So it would seem."

"How is the buildup of forces for the invasion of Onderon progressing?"

Again, Derwit cleared his throat. He had always been attracted to powerful women and Katarina certainly was powerful. But she was perhaps a little too powerful for his taste. "Fine milady," he insisted nervously. "We should have the necessary forces ready at their staging points in the next 72 hours."

"I sense a 'but' in there Major," Katarina said flatly, ready to go for her lightsaber again. "What's the problem?"

"Well milady, we haven't received permission to go ahead with the operation from the Emperor as of yet," Derwit laid it out.

The news genuinely surprised Katarina. "We haven't?"

Derwit shook his head. "No."

Katarina removed her foot from the table and began pacing around the table again in deep thought. "Strange," she muttered. "I would've thought His Majesty would have approved the operation right away."

"Me as well, Katarina," Derwit agreed.

She stopped pacing and faced Derwit to ask him a question. "Has there been any communication at all from Coruscant? Any indication as to why we have not yet received approval to proceed?"

Derwit shook his head. "None whatsoever milady."

"I shall have to contact the Imperial Palace directly then and see if I can find out what's going on," Katarina groaned. "In the meantime Major, continue to monitor the progress of our buildup and inform me the minute we receive approval from Coruscant to proceed."

"Yes, milady," Derwit complied.

"Then Katarina ordered us to take Moff Hazloc to the infirmary," Lieutenant Alston said. After she and TK8275 had carried out Katarina's order, Sheila had called on Marlowe Derwit and now sat on the corner of his desk relaying the events of the meeting to him as he'd been too busy with redesign work to attend. Sheila took a deep breath. "That woman scares me," she admitted. "I fear that all of her zealous behavior is going to get people killed."

"Her behavior concerns me too," Marlowe agreed. "Especially since it's me and my team that have to solve this power output puzzle. If we're wrong about the tertronium, we could suffer the same fate as the original engineering team. I don't really relish the idea of being charred alive like they were." He winced. "Yet if we don't come up with some answers soon, she won't be happy which could lead to actions like what you just described." He snorted loudly. "Either way, we're screwed."

Lieutenant Alston looked at Marlowe with an uneasy stare, knowing he could very well be right. She shivered. "I really don't want to even think about that possibility."

"Hey Sheila, I didn't mean to upset you," Marlowe apologized. "I just pointed out my beliefs based on what little I've seen so far."

"I know, I know," Lieutenant Alston replied. "It's just…" she drew another heavy breath. "unsettling is all." She glanced at her timepiece. "I'd better get back to my duties."

"Are we still on for dinner tonight?" Marlowe asked.

Lieutenant Alston cocked her head. "You're not trying to back out, are you?"

"Not at all," Marlowe insisted. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't getting cold feet."

Lieutenant Alston smiled. "Well, the location you suggested was a little bold."

Marlowe laughed. "Well, in lieu of being able to run down to the local pizzeria for a pie with everything, I thought some so-called home cooking by me in my quarters would be an acceptable substitute."

Lieutenant Alston laughed as well. "I'm sure it'll be fine Marlowe. Seven thirty?"

"Make it eight," Marlowe said. "The dish I have in mind is going to take a little longer to prepare than I originally thought."

"Ooooh, I'm intrigued," Lieutenant Alston exclaimed. "Eight it is. See you then."

As she walked back towards her office, Lieutenant Alston thought back to the discovery she had made on the night of the Governor's Reception. That annulled marriage. Even though Major Derwit no longer remembered giving her the order to cross reference Vincent Bralor and his female companion with any known or suspected Rebels believed to be operating in the Kwymar Sector, that order had been given. And she was now certain why Major Derwit had suddenly become absent minded about the whole thing.

The pieces had come together for her during the recent meeting with Katarina. The most obvious piece of the puzzle was the revelation that Vincent's companion at the Governor's Reception was a Zabrak. That alone made her suspicious, but there was something else. Something she hadn't mentioned during the meeting. She too had recognized the man Katarina had called Dahlgen Luzard but she recognized him as one of the people listed on the marriage certificate she'd discovered. And with Katarina's revelation that Dahlgen was a Jedi, she was now certain that he had employed some kind of memory wipe or other mind trick on Major Derwit to make him forget all about him and the Zabrak lady from Zeltros. The only time Dahlgen could've done that was at the Governor's Reception, but Dahlgen hadn't been there. The Zabrak woman however, had been there. So Lieutenant Alston was also certain that the man known as Vincent Bralor and Dahlgen Luzard were one and the same.

But that wasn't the most shocking piece of information she'd learned. From the information she'd learned from the marriage certificate, and subsequent annulment, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Dahlgen was Katarina's ex-husband. He was probably even the person who had first introduced her to the Force. But why then had she turned to the dark side while he hadn't? That was a questions she couldn't answer.

Sitting at her desk and resting her forehead against her interlaced fingers, Lieutenant Alston realized she knew too much. She thanked her lucky stars that she had deleted the file from the computer along with all traces of her search. But even so, she had to be careful. She'd kept a single copy of that document on a personal data pad that she kept hidden. If Katarina were to get any inclination that she knew about her past marriage to Dahlgen, her life could very well be in danger.

Only three people still living had been close enough to Dahlgen and his female Zabrak companion to get a good enough look at them during the disrupted meeting on Zeltros. Of those three, Lieutenant Alston was sure she was the only one who had put all this together. She'd have to play her cards right to avoid Katarina's wrath. Yet if she did just that, she felt there was a better than average chance she could walk away from this whole ordeal alive and in one piece. But she couldn't trust anyone with what she knew. Not even Marlowe. That was a shame. Marlowe was someone she very much wanted to trust.

As soon as Lieutenant Alston had left his office, Marlowe Derwit turned his attention back to his work. He was finalizing his report to Katarina concerning the proposed build out of Azkul Base to accommodate a refinery. With the equipment that was needed, the space they had available wasn't enough. They'd have to do a little more excavation to make it work. In a place like this, he didn't know if that was possible without making the whole facility come apart. He'd made the recommendation that the project be halted until new facilities for research and development could be procured and the entire project moved. With a few final keystrokes, the report became Katarina's problem.

With that finally out of the way, Marlowe recalled the other little project he'd been working on prior to Sheila's arrival. A project that he'd initiated himself after his meeting with the top brass. This whole Project Epsilon didn't sit well with him and he was determined to find out exactly what in the hell it was. To that end, he'd begun a covert research project into its finer details.

As Marlowe had expected, all official channels regarding Project Epsilon were coming up empty. Hardly a surprise considering the security precautions the Empire was taking around Azkul Base. But Marlowe was also aware of some unofficial channels and back doors that could be used occasionally and even they were coming up short on information.

So far, his research had turned up almost nothing in the way of tangible ideas or even leads as to what Project Epsilon truly was. But there was one little tidbit of information that had caught his attention. On a couple of occasions he'd seen a reference to something titled the "Derby Project." Derby Project, what was that? So far, all of his inquiries into what the Derby Project was or had been had turned up nothing. Marlowe wasn't even sure if the Derby Project was something that was recent, ancient or something in between.

Marlowe put that aside and concentrated on what he did know about Project Epsilon. Actually, aside from the power requirements, that really wasn't much. Still, he'd been able to draw a few educated conclusions based on what he did know. First of all, no standard weapons system he'd ever heard of required that much power to utilize, except perhaps the now obliterated Death Star's super laser. Therefore, he was convinced that Project Epsilon was a super weapon of some sort, perhaps even one that was intended to replace the Death Star. But the exact nature of that weapon eluded him.

That alone was enough to make Marlowe's stomach churn. He hadn't become an engineer to design weapons, especially weapons of mass destruction. And the very thought that something he helped build could be used to bring harm to vast numbers of others was more than enough to make him think about sabotaging the project somehow. Either that or defect the Rebel Alliance. His father wouldn't understand such mentality, but in the end he didn't give a damn what his father thought. He had abandoned him and his mother years ago and as far as Marlowe was concerned, Verrill Derwit was dead. Had been for years.

Of course, it was common knowledge that whatever Project Epsilon is was a redesign of something that had once existed and that Katarina, a Dark Jedi and an Imperial Emissary, was now in charge of the project. That offered some interesting theories that Marlowe wondered if anyone else had considered. And as a result, he'd begun researching ancient Sith weapons. He had expected to find at least part of the answer there, but even there his search had thus far yielded nothing.

He wasn't terribly disappointed in the result as very, very few of the Sith weapons he'd studied were not Force based in nature. That brought up another possibility. What if Project Epsilon was indeed Force based. What if that was the reason Katarina had taken over the project?

Marlowe ruled that theory out. No, he thought. If that were true, why would she need all that artificially generated power? He closed that file and once again reopened the file that made the briefest of references to the Derby Project. What in the hell was the Derby Project and what connection did it have to Project Epsilon?

Someone in this remote section of nowhere had to know all the details behind both projects. Katarina certainly. Moff Hazloc, more than likely. But accessing their private files was an invitation to get caught and summarily executed. Someone else had to know. Someone inconspicuous. And no matter the consequences, he was going to find that someone. Marlowe had a sneaking feeling that if he found out what the Derby Project had been, he would have the answer as to what Project Epsilon was.

Marlowe didn't believe for one second that he would be relieved to learn the true details of either project.

Vilnius blinked his eyes several times as he awoke from a peaceful slumber. Adjusting to the semi-dark room, he yawned and rubbed his eyes. With a stretch and a groan he rolled slightly to the side and gazed at the still sleeping form of Elassa in the bed next to him. She snuggled deeper into the pillow and unconsciously pulled the sheet further up her naked form.

Vilnius yawned again and scratched his head, his sleep dulled brain finally registering some degree of conscious activity. Slowly he pulled the sheet back and got out of bed. He threw on a pair of old shorts and went to the refresher to wash his face. One of the fringe benefits of being a section leader was now he got to have his own private quarters. It made romantic meetings like the one he'd had with Elassa earlier that evening easier to get away with.

Fully revived, Vilnius padded over to his computer terminal and fired it up. Azkul Base was on a twenty-four hour, three shift security rotation and tonight, Vilnius had been unlucky enough to draw the graveyard shift. But there were still some tasks to accomplish before he went on duty, both legitimate and otherwise.

He went through the usual boring ritual of reading the daily reports about the training that had been conducted and making recommendations to his team leaders as to what training should be done in the near future. He then set about preparing his section's schedule for the following day. He felt an inspection during the late afternoon would keep them out of his hair for awhile and TK8275 had been on his case for the past few days to get one done.

As sleep threatened to overcome him again, he switched to something that he knew would keep his interest, the planned invasion of Onderon. He wasn't supposed to know about it yet and had made no indication to anyone else that he did. But he was certain that was why TK8275 had been pressuring him to conduct an inspection. He obviously knew or least had an idea as to when that invasion would commence. Vilnius had no doubt it would be soon and TK8275 wanted to make sure all of his troops were in tip top shape beforehand.

Vilnius called up the file he'd stumbled on to yesterday concerning the complement and deployment of forces once the invasion had begun. The sheer size of the force assigned to the mission was frightening. Led by a single Imperial I Class Star Destroyer, the invasion force consisted of 8 Dreadnaught class heavy cruisers and 8 Dragon class heavy cruisers, each with a full compliment. That meant the invasion strike force would consist of about 350 TIE Fighters and/or Bombers, 20 AT-AT walkers, 30 AT-ST walkers, and just under 40,000 troops. That included the troops at Azkul Base assigned to the invasion force. Such numbers could easily overwhelm the Onderonian military if the latest intelligence reports were accurate.

Elassa stirred and pushed the covers down her body leaving her breasts invitingly exposed. However, Vilnius barely gave a second glance. While the previous evening had been full of passion and thoroughly enjoyable for both of them, now it was back to business as usual. The deployment of forces called for his unit to be one of the units that carried out the assault on the Royal Palace. According to the plan, they were to land in the Entertainment District east of the palace, advance forward and cross the Iziz River in the center of the city. After crossing, they were to swing north and move up the avenues to attack the palace head on. Once they had breached the palace's walls, they were to mop up whatever resistance was left, sever all communications between the palace and the outside and take possession of the Royal Family. A last minute special provision inserted by Katarina further ordered that the Royal Family be executed upon capture.

This was exactly the type of thing that "Red" and her superior, whoever he was, would need to know. He had to get this information to them somehow.

That was all well and good, but that was going to prove more problematic than one might expect. Bouncing and scrambling signals off of countless relays to a known point was one thing. Doing the same thing in the hopes it might be picked up by a single person in the galaxy was something else entirely. Still, he did have that frequency that "Red" had given him. It was entirely possible that they already had a network of some kind in place and he just had to transmit his message to it.

Even so, that wasn't going to be easy either. He might be able to get out a small burst message from his terminal, but a long message complete with the data he needed to transmit? No way. That would have to be transmitted from the main security station where the long range transmitter was located. Yeah, right. The main security station was always manned. There was no way he'd ever be able to transmit from there without getting caught.

Elassa stirred again and woke. Sliding up into a sitting position, she pulled the sheet up over her naked breasts and held it in place as she became acclimated to her surroundings. "Vilnius? What are you doing?" she whispered.

He looked over at her. "Just going over that file again that we found last night," he replied with a smile.

"The one that has all the troop deployments and battle plans for the invasion of Onderon," she inquired.

"That's the one," Vilnius confirmed. "What do you think we should do with it?"

"If we could somehow get it into the hands of the Rebels, maybe Onderon could fortify their defenses to where it would be foolish and too costly of us to attack," Elassa suggested.

"Mmmm, perhaps," Vilnius agreed. "Still, that's easier said than done. And even if this information somehow got into the hands of the Onderonians, they are well-known for being notoriously xenophobic and having a sub-par planetary defense force. Question is would the Rebel Alliance see Onderon as being strategically important enough to their cause to warrant sending reinforcements?"

"True," Elassa agreed. "They may not. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to get it to them."

"I agree," Vilnius said. "I just don't know how we're going to do that yet." He glanced over at the clock. "It's a quarter past eleven Elassa. You might want to get back to your own room before the boss misses you."

Elassa looked at the clock as well and knew Vilnius was right. Being the only woman trooper came with a few perks including her own private quarters and not having to submit to regular bed checks. Still, if she was found in the quarters of someone higher in rank than her, especially her own superior as Vilnius now was, it would be bad for both of them.

Vilnius went back to his research as Elassa dressed in front of him. When she was through, she stood next to him, a seductive smile on her face. "Dinner tonight? My quarters?"

Vilnius nodded. "I look forward to it Elassa."

"Me too," she said with a hint of anticipation. She gave him a passionate kiss before discreetly leaving and returning to her own quarters.

After Elassa had left, he thought some more about his dilemma of getting this file into "Red's" hands. Maybe it wasn't quite as complicated as he thought. During their research, he and Elassa had made another discovery. They found that someone else had accessed some top secret files regarding Project Epsilon earlier in the day. The inquiry had been very discreet and Vilnius had nearly missed it. In fact, Elassa had been the one to first discover it and that was by accident. It was a million to one shot that they'd discovered it.

Through a little creative and equally discreet backtracking, Vilnius had discovered that the inquiry had come from Marlowe Derwit's private terminal. He'd been trying to cross reference Project Epsilon with any known super weapon project past or present. Naturally, he'd been stonewalled at every turn.

That wasn't what intrigued Vilnius though. It was the possibility. If the project's chief engineer was suddenly having misgivings about what they were doing here, it could very well mean he was ready to throw his hat into the ring of rebellion so to speak. He would certainly know how to jury-rig a transmitter of some kind that could transmit the information he needed to transmit. It was worth a shot but now came the hard part. Contacting him and finding out what his intentions were. Maybe drawing the graveyard shift wasn't such a bad thing after all.

The power generation room of any military or civilian installation was usually an extremely noisy place and the Azkul Base's power room was no different. Such rooms were also usually very dark, making it difficult to see without the aid of a glow rod or some other portable light source. The lack of light coupled with the intense noise made power generation rooms one of the perfect places for clandestine meetings.

At least that's what Marlowe Derwit hoped this was. He had no idea how he'd been discovered but upon returning from his dinner date with Sheila Alston, there had been a message for him on his personal answering service demanding a meeting down here at 05:30. Marlowe might have dismissed the inquiry as a ruse, except whoever had sent the message had referenced his inquiry into Project Epsilon. That had gotten his attention to the point that Marlowe was now scared that his little inquiry had been discovered by the ISB or something. If that was true… well a quick death from Katarina's lightsaber would be preferable to whatever the ISB interrogators had for him.

With his nerves getting the better of him, Marlowe drew a small hold-out blaster from his pocket. He frowned. Hold-out blasters were great at point blank range but if one had to fire at a target more than three meters away, they were virtually useless. And if Katarina was here waiting for him, he might as well put the blaster to his temple and pull the trigger. Close range and no Katarina was what Marlowe was counting on if any shooting started.

The incessant roar of the generators started giving Marlowe a headache as he slowly made his way down the narrow walkway leading between two of them. His timepiece read 05:27. With his blaster held ready, he did his best to scan the numerous darkened hiding places for signs of an ambush. He might as well have been looking for a single red lightsaber blade amidst thousands of green ones.

Marlowe hoped he hadn't been suckered into a trap, though he felt more and more like he had with every step he took. He decided to challenge whoever might be waiting for him. "Whoever you are, I'm here. Show yourself now or I walk out of here."

No sooner had he uttered his challenge, than a man stepped from the shadows ahead of him. As he moved closer, Marlowe could see that he had a blaster rifle held tightly in his hands. With a startled gasp, Marlowe instantly recognized the white stormtrooper armor the new arrival wore and his grip on his blaster tightened. But the trooper lowered his weapon and raised his hand in a gesture that suggested Marlowe should relax. The trooper calmly hung his weapon by his side and reached up to remove his helmet.

"Who are you?" Marlowe demanded, his grip on his weapon not wavering.

"Call me Vilnius," Vilnius answered. "You are Marlowe Derwit?"

"I am. What's this about?"

"It's about the little discreet, very well hidden inquiry you made regarding the origins of Project Epsilon," Vilnius replied. "That was you who made that inquiry, wasn't it?"

"Suppose it was," Marlowe answered. "What of it?"

Vilnius gestured towards the blaster Marlowe was holding. "Would you mind putting that away?"

"Why should I?"

"I put mine away," Vilnius replied. "Call it a gesture of good faith. I'm taking an awful risk by meeting you here Marlowe. How do I know you won't report me directly to the command staff or ISB the first chance you get?"

"You don't," Marlowe admitted. "But then, I could say the same thing about you."

"You could," Vilnius admitted. "But then, I've already temporarily scrambled the security cameras in here. So security doesn't know and can't see what's happening here. These cameras down here get scrambled all the time because of the noise. And that's exactly what security will think is happening… for now. That being said, if those cameras are not back up in 5 minutes, they will send a patrol down here to find out what's going on. So we don't have a lot of time. I'm not here to threaten you or arrest you or anything of the sort. I'm here to help you. And because I need your help as well."

"Why?" Marlowe asked.

"Both of us want answers," Vlinius claimed. "We're both interested in what Project Epsilon really is. The difference is you're interested in it purely to satisfy your curiosity. Me? I've got friends on the outside who are keenly interested in what Project Epsilon truly is."

Marlowe nodded curtly one time and put his pistol away. "I'm listening."

"Did you know that Moff Ulcom was murdered on Zeltros recently?"

Marlowe nodded. "I did. According to the official reports Moff Ulcom was on Zeltros purchasing a new speeder for himself when a team of Rebels stormed the building and assassinated him."

"Do you believe the story?" Vilnius asked.

Marlowe shrugged. "I haven't heard any evidence to the contrary. So what am I supposed to think?"

"Well I was on Zeltros when Moff Ulcom was murdered," Vilnius revealed. "Now I don't know who killed him, but I am reasonably certain that it was not the Rebel team that stands accused of it."

Marlowe snorted. "What makes you say that?"

"Well for starters, Moff Ulcom was killed somewhere between eleven and eleven thirty at night," Vilnius said. "Not in the middle of the afternoon like the official report says. I know that because the meeting he was in with Moff Hazloc started at eleven and half an hour later the building was nothing but a pile of useless rubble. Secondly, the leader of the Rebel team that conducted that raid helped me save the life of a fellow trooper who got a little overzealous in her pursuit. I've got to believe that someone who would spare the life of an enemy like that would not just murder a Moff in cold blood like the official report says."

Marlowe had to admit that Vilnius had a point. He nodded once. "You could be right about that Vilnius. And for the sake of discussion, let's suppose you are. Why do you need me?"

"Because I have some information that must be delivered to my contact on the outside as soon as possible," Vilnius said. "Information regarding an upcoming invasion of Onderon. An invasion that you inadvertently commissioned."

Marlowe's eyes narrowed. "The Empire would never invade Onderon without good cause."

"I agree," Vilbnius stated. "Trouble is that's just what you gave them when you told the command staff that you needed tertronium to complete the project."

Marlowe's eyes narrowed even more. "How do you know that?"

Vilnius waved the question off. "Doesn't matter. Now I don't know how Katarina knows, or suspects that Onderon has an untapped deposit of tertronium, but she is building up a substantial force and a buildup of this magnitude can mean only one thing. Invasion."

Marlowe shook his head. "That's impossible."

Vilnius tossed a data pad to him. "Then don't take my word for it. Instead, read this."

Marlowe looked at what Vilnius had given him and the more he read, the more alarmed he became. He ran his fingers through his hair and did some fast thinking. He hadn't banked on the Empire actually finding a fresh deposit of tertronium ore. During the meeting he'd hoped that his lecture about the rarity of tertronium ore and the expense of refining it would be sufficient to put the Empire off and shut the project down. But then Katarina had demanded that report he'd sent only a few hours ago regarding the proposed build out of the facility. He should've seen it then! What a fool he'd been! It seemed his lecture had had the exact opposite effect. No doubt Katarina had already made the necessary arrangements to have the required construction materials and machinery transported to this very location… wherever the hell that was. It was quite possibly already en route. And now an invasion of Onderon to take that ore by whatever means necessary seemed imminent. "Is this accurate?"

"I'll admit that file was a little easy to find," Vilnius said. "But in lieu of any other information, I've got to assume it is."

Marlowe threw the data pad back to Vilnius. He was sickened and wanted to vomit. Though he'd never given any orders, he nevertheless had to accept partial blame for what was about to happen. People of all ages would be killed because of something he had suggested. "If I refuse?"

"Then we go our separate ways and pretend this little meeting never happened," Vilnius said.

Marlowe considered Vilnius's offer and thought about the consequences of discovery. If they were lucky, they'd just get thrown in prison. But he kept thinking about the people of Onderon and what was about to happen to them. That did it. To hell with the consequences. To hell with his father. To hell with Project Epsilon. To hell with the Empire. To hell with everything. He wanted out. He looked at Vilnius with a new determination in his eye. "What do you need from me?"

"A transmitter that can broadcast a long range data signal on a specific frequency," Vilnius replied. "I'm assuming you can construct one. I could do this from the base security station, but I'd almost certainly be discovered. In exchange, I'll help you find out exactly what Project Epsilon truly is. I can get access to areas, documents and people that you can't."

Marlowe nodded. "If we do discover what Project Epsilon truly is, we might need an extremely fast ticket out of here," he observed.

"I'll arrange it," Vilnius assured him.

"It'll take me at least 72 hours to construct what you need," Marlowe informed him. "And it would help if I knew exactly what frequency you intended to transmit on."

Vilnius shook his head. "I can't give you that. All I can give you is a general bandwidth. And only when the transmitter is nearly complete."

Marlowe nodded in acknowledgement. "Better than nothing I guess. I'll contact you when it's ready."

"I'll be waiting."

Marlowe turned to leave, but stopped just before he disappeared from view. "I hope you know what you're doing."

After Marlowe had left, Vilnius wondered the same thing. Did he truly know what he getting into? He'd already made Marlowe a promise he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep. How could he be sure that "Red" and her friends would extract them if needed?

Truth was he couldn't. And for all he knew, he could be leading Marlowe and Elassa down a path to self-destruction. But it did no good to second guess himself now. He was already in way over his head and if he was discovered now, there would be little he could do to avoid a firing squad. None of them could.

He had just started to put his helmet back on when a flash of movement and a small sound to his left got his attention. Drawing his blaster rifle, he scanned the area for signs of movement, but saw nothing. Vilnius slowly walked in the direction he'd heard the sound and came to a spot where a large number of storage crates had been piled up. Probably spare parts for the generators. He scanned the area some more. Nothing.

Vilnius was about to leave when he noticed something on the floor neatly wedged under one of the crates. It appeared to be a small scrap of paper. Reaching down to pick it up, Vilnius discovered it was part of a wrapper from a standard issue ration bar. He sniffed it and immediately detected the ration bar's odor. That meant it was recently consumed. Putting two and two together, Vilnius realized that someone else had been there. That person had observed the meeting between Vilnius and Marlowe and consumed the ration bar as he'd watched. The sound he'd heard had been the footsteps of that same person fleeing the scene.

"Damn," he muttered emphatically.