Chapter 35: Possibilities

The living room walls of Revan and Carth's hotel suite were now plastered with hard copies of House Khyrohn's blueprints and floor plans, while the holo projector displayed a three-dimensional map of House Khyrohn itself. It was also a tower, but one that was not as modern as House Vosaryk. The architecture indicated it was two centuries old, but the Heads of House Khyrohn had wisely invested in modern technology that made it proof against anything the latest in weapons could bring to bear.

Carth sat on the couch and chewed his lip as he tapped keys to enlarge and rotate the holo display, wondering where they could possibly tap into Khyrohn's security. There were no convenient windows for Revan to climb into, this time. The more prosperous Houses seemed to be very security conscious; considering what had happened to Lady Versenne, it was perhaps with good reason. He listened to Revan's boots clicking on the floor behind him, as she paced slowly from one side of the room to the other.

Dustil was busy at the computer looking for anything unusual Khyrohn might've purchased. Breaking into the Sluis Van commerce system had been one of the first things Revan had worked on once they'd returned from the Bazaar. When Carth had expressed his surprise at Revan's facility with breaking into the supposedly private records of all goods purchased on Sluis Van, she'd shrugged and said that looking was easy, but changing records would be much harder.

Carth shook his head, unable to find any unguarded spots. It looked like the only way they could crack House Khyrohn would be to use the Ebon Hawk to blast their way in, and that would hardly fit the bill for discreet and subtle tactics.

"No luck?" Revan asked behind him.

"No," Carth sighed, glancing up and behind at her. "The place is locked up tighter than a Hutt's wallet." He pointed at blue dots that represented Khyrohn guard patrols in the holo. "If this data Lady Versenne gave us is accurate, they have overlapping patrol schedules. Three-man teams, and they pass each other every fifteen minutes."

"I take it the electronic defenses are just as formidable?" Revan asked distantly as she stared at the holo.

"Uh-huh. Battle droids, cameras, automated blaster turrets... you'd think they were preparing for a war, or a siege!" Carth shook his head, disturbed by what he was seeing. All the signs pointed to a building tension on Sluis Van that threatened to explode at the least provocation, if Khyrohn was representative of the other Houses. He'd seen too many wars to want to see another engulf a place like Sluis Van. Not to mention the disruption of trade and shipbuilding that would ensue. The Republic couldn't afford to have one of its most staunch allies collapse in on itself of civil unrest. No one won in wars like that.

Carth frowned, struck by a sudden suspicion. "You don't think the Sith could have agents here, could they? Stirring up trouble among the Houses, so that they'll turn on each other, like a pack of kath hounds fighting to see who'll be top dog?" he mused aloud.

Revan frowned. "I hadn't considered the possibility. From what Lady Versenne has told us, such plans would have to have been deeply-laid; taking such a long view is not exactly what the Sith are known for."

Carth glanced at Dustil, who was looking up at them from his console, his attention caught by their conversation. He smiled sheepishly when Carth caught him, and went back to scrolling through his lists. "They were willing enough to wait four years for Dustil to be corrupted and turned to serve the Sith," he said in a low, tight voice to Revan.

Revan squeezed his shoulder; he covered her hand with his, silently acknowledging her offer of comfort. "Four years is a relatively short time. The alleged assassination of House Khyrohn's Head took place nearly half a century ago, about a decade before the war of Exar Kun."

"And the alleged assassination of Lady Versenne's mother was only six years ago," Carth pointed out. "I don't know if my theory will pan out--"

"But it's something we should take under consideration," Revan finished. "This civil war would play right into the Sith's hands, certainly, except that it would happen just a tad too late to help them. Any Sith agents still on planet should have run by now, headed for their boltholes."

"Or maybe they're still here, only they're not working for the Sith anymore," Carth speculated. The parallels of Lord Vosaryk's vendetta to his own was starting to send chills up his spine. At least he'd never started a war over his revenge, but then again, could he really say he wouldn't have been willing? He could understand Lord Vosaryk's... frustration, if he thought the ones who murdered his wife had never been brought to justice, but going about it this way was damned selfish. And that, too, was something he understood.

Revan's lips twisted in distaste at these possible new complications. She tugged on his shoulder. "Come here, I think I might've found something."

Carth stood and followed her to one of the printouts. Revan didn't object when Dustil left his console and drifted over to them.

Revan pointed to the layout of a floor. "I don't believe this will be as well guarded as other places."

Carth's eyes went to the map label. "The sewers? Oh no, not again!" he groaned.

Dustil's eyebrows flew up in surprise at his cry. "'Again'?" Realization dawned. "Oh. The Tarisian sewers, right?"

Carth nodded, his nose wrinkling at the memory. "And I really hope there're no rakghouls or rancors in Sluis Van's."

"Probably not. At least, I've heard no such urban legends," Revan assured him. "But, well, sewers being sewers, they'll have plenty of all the stuff that make sewers what they are. Some things never change."

Dustil's own nose wrinkled at the image this conjured up. "Ew." He squared his shoulders. "But I'm still going to come with you," he said stalwartly.

Carth smiled at his son's determination. He looked back at Revan and sobered. "Do you think you'll need us for this? I have to admit I'd feel a lot better if I--we--came with you." He could see that Dustil was gratified he'd included him in their number. Hesitantly, Carth put a companionable hand on Dustil's shoulder, and was secretly immensely pleased Dustil didn't shrug it off.

"Well, I don't exactly know what I'll be up against, so I don't see why not. We'll no doubt have a better idea of the situation when we get there," Revan said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Dustil frowned at the map of the sewers under House Khyrohn. "Why do you think the sewers will be the best place to break into? I mean, they're rich enough to afford battle droids and blaster turrets, so...?"

"Well, the sewers are narrow, cramped and smelly. Not to mention dank and dark, so it's hardly the first choice for an invasion route, if anyone with a large force wanted to get into House Khyrohn that way. Also, since it's hardly a plum post for Khyrohn guards, they'll probably be paying less attention to anything that moves there. There can't be any lack of vermin making noise down there, so if we happen to have a clumsy moment, they'll hopefully pass it off," Revan explained.

"And the damp means they probably won't have any electronic sentries down there, or if there are, they won't be working too well in those wet conditions," Carth added.

Dustil nodded at their explanations thoughtfully. "So when do we go?"

"The sooner, the better. Lord Vosaryk may declare kersai in as little as a week, so we have to get our hands on something before then," Revan replied. She ran a hand regretfully through her beaded hair. "I'm going to have to take these out; they'll make too much noise."

Carth sighed a little in regret, too. Those beads had been fun to play with. "So we go tonight?" he asked.

Revan nodded. She turned to Dustil. "Did you find anything in the database?"

Dustil shook his head. "No. Nothing out of the ordinary, anyway. Just a lot of foodstuffs, linens, power cartridges and all the other million and one domestic things they need to keep a House running smoothly, I guess. If they're buying weapons to prepare for kersai, they're not using the House account for it."

Revan quirked her lips wryly. "I didn't think we'd find anything so easily. Too bad, though, we could've had a lucky break. It's not illegal to buy weapons on Sluis Van, after all." She paused a moment, deep in thought. "What about any sudden large purchases of weapons? Although if their procurement agents are smart, they wouldn't do any such glaringly-obvious thing; they'd buy in small, innocuous amounts."

Dustil rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I wish you'd told me sooner, so I wouldn't be cross-eyed from staring at all those lists. And no, I didn't see any big purchases of weapons like that. Just about a dozen or so each month of blaster pistols, rifles and repeaters, but since they also turned over their old weapons back to the manufacturer--for a price deduction, I guess--I didn't flag them."

Revan nodded. "I see. Well, nothing for it but to find more obvious and harder-to-acquire evidence."

Carth patted his son on the back sympathetically. "Somebody's got to do the legwork, son. Why don't you leave off and take a break? We're going in tonight, so you should rest up. It's been a long day."

Revan pressed a datapad on Dustil before he left for his suite. "Here, this has the map of the sewers. Memorize it before you take your nap. Oh, and put on your most worn-out, dark-colored clothes for the trip. You'll probably not want to keep them afterwards."

"Okay. See you later," Dustil said over his shoulder, before disappearing into his quarters.

Carth sat back down on the couch and gathered the stack of datapads, caffa mugs and printouts into a more orderly pile. "Hey, is it just my imagination, or is Dustil a little more, I don't know, loosened up?"

"Not your imagination, unless we're sharing a delusion," Revan said, sitting down and handing the dirty cups to JC-01.

"I've often thought we're sharing a dream, beautiful, not a delusion," Carth said, smiling. He snaked an arm around Revan's waist and pulled her close. "Do you think it's got anything to do with the girl?"

"Maybe. Perhaps he's too distracted to be, um..." Revan groped for words that wouldn't offend him.

"Sulking?" Carth suggested, to save her from finding more polite locutions.

Revan pressed her lips together in diplomatic disapproval. "I was going to say 'brooding'," she said primly, leaning forward and gathering a stack of datapads with much less regard for organization than he.

"Ah. I just thought he didn't seem as... I don't know, angry this morning when we were at the Bazaar." That bubble of joy at the realization was still lodged inside his heart, making him break out in smiles at odd moments.

"I'm glad." Revan smiled. "I'm very glad and happy for you."

Carth saw the relief in her face. It made him realize how much of a strain this trip had been on her, for her to watch her words and actions so carefully around Dustil. She'd been dancing just as gingerly and carefully around his son as much as he, if not more. Her nerves must be stretched to cracking.

Carth hugged her. "I don't think I could've done it without you, beautiful," he murmured into her ear.

"I did promise to help you, flyboy. Anything I could to help," Revan said, pulling back to cup his face in her cool hands.

Carth leaned his forehead on hers. "I owe you so much," he whispered. He wrapped both arms around her, hugging her tightly to him.

Revan curled her body into his and touched a finger to his lips to silence him. "When two people give each other everything, Carth, nothing is owed, and everything to be gained," she whispered to him, her breath puffing warmly against his face.

"I want to thank you anyway." Carth kissed her forehead and reluctantly disengaged from her embrace to go rummage in their armory to set out the gear they'd need for tonight's excursion, leaving Revan to clean up the debris from their planning session.

He hoped their little side trip would prove unexciting, with the only danger being boredom and the sewer stench.

Somehow, he thought that was unlikely.

Thanks again to all the people who reviewed so far!

Lunatic Pandora1: Indeed, but it's probably one of those things that are amusing only when it's long over. :)

Prisoner 24601: Glad you liked it. It's not a unique idea, alas, but I think it's something Revan would certainly be concerned about. But really, Revan can't really afford to turn up her nose at something like this... granted, she wouldn't turn up her nose at rescuing kittens from trees, either... Oh, and glad you liked the cookies, and somehow, I'm not surprised that that particular cookie was your favorite so far. ;)

VMorticia: Eh, civilized. Eh. But glad you're enjoying. :)

Ceridan: The plot not only thickens, it's coagulating! Ew. Oh, you only now just realized Revan is crazy? ;D Of course there's something hidden, I can't give it all away at once! Good stories, like good stripteases, are best done... slowly. ;) Here's hoping you find this chapter good. :)

sammie teufel: Thanks, and here it is!

arrow maker: Thanks!