Hello folks!
Hew! I'm sorry, this one's rather short. I haven't had much time recently, you know.
Today, I wrote a very difficult math exam and I have two more like this one on
monday and tuesday! ARRGGGHHHH!!!
I'm surprised I even found time for this chapter!
Well, like I said, it's short, but I like it very much! It takes the plot further
to the end. (No, this is NOT the end itself!!!)
I really tried hard with this one. I just hope you appreciate it.
As always, please review!
Now to my kind reviewers:
Elisabeth Rouseau Well said! I can only agree! (He, he!)
Hope you stay tuned with this one.
Who's your favorite HP character, btw?
SilverWolf Thank you very much! I think highly of your comments.
In your email (some time ago) you asked if I wanted you to
review every chapter...
You don't have to, of course, but it is such a motivation to
know you liked (or disliked) the newest chapter, you know.
Hope you enjoy this one, too.
ANOUNCEMENT:
BTW, we're near reviewer No. 10! I'm afraid it will take some time until I post
the next chapter (due to my kind teachers...)
So I deciced to reward reviewers 10 and 11 with a sneak preview of the next chapter.
How does that sound?
DISCLAIMER:
Ok, alright! I admit it! STAR WARS IS MINE! IT'S ME, GEORGE! AND TIMOTHY AS WELL!
(If you believed this you should jump out of the next window!)
Finally, we can go to the story (this was longer than the chapter itself I fear!)
So, here we go again:
"INTO ENEMY HANDS"
From Caius Julius
Chapter 6: The Package
"Captain, we've finally succeeded decoding the message."
Commander Jovis handed Captain Parck a datapad.
Parck smiled and took it. The smile broadened as he read.
"Hm... Thrawn's not onboard Zaarin's flagship but on a frigate. Interesting.
That should make it much less difficult-"
The beep from his comm-terminal interrupted the Captain.
He sighed and reached for the correct button.
"This is Parck, what is it?"
"Sir," the nervous voice of Lieutenant Maroon explained, "A small, unmanned ship has
just entered the system. It sends an automated message. It seems to have some
kind of package to deliver."
Parck hesitated and looked at his First Officer.
Jovis shrugged. He did not know what this was about, either.
"Take it aboard, Lieutenant! Inform me as soon as you know what it is."
"Understood."
Parck turned to Jovis, frowning.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
Half an hour later the strange little ship was safely inside the "Grey Wolf"'s
hangar bay. The only thing it had aboard was a small crate.
Very thorough examinations made clear it wasn't a bomb or anything dangerous.
Parck wasn't sad to hear that.
Now the crate was laying on his desk; Commander Jovis had a close look on it.
"You really want to open it, Sir?" he asked uncertainly.
"Well, it is ment for us; it is no bomb - I hope - what would YOU do?" Parck replied.
Jovis raised his hands defensively.
"Let's open it, Captain!"
Parck nodded and touched at a button on the crate.
Inside was an even smaller, sealed box.
Jovis lifted an eyebrow. "And what is that?"
Parck gave no answer but lifted the box out of the crate onto his desk.
Very carefully, he pressed a key.
There was a hiss of escaping air and the cover was drawn back.
Parck's curiosity immediately changed into pure horror once he saw the box' contents.
"Sir? Is everything alright?" Jovis, who did not see what was inside rushed to Parck's side.
"What is in-" He stopped abruptly.
"The bastard. He will pay for this!" Parck whispered.
Disgusted, he turned away from the box and closed it.
He pressed a button on his console.
"Sick bay? I want you to... examine something. As soon as possible."
"Yes, Sir. We'll send someone immediately."
"Do you think he... he's already been dead when they..." Jovis stammered.
Parck just stared. "I... don't know. The medics will have to find out."
"Shall I set a course for Orias, then, Sir?" Jovis asked.
Parck hesitated. "No. Not yet."
"But Sir!" the Commander protested.
Parck raised a hand.
"I know, Commander. With every passing moment the possibility to find the Grand Admiral
alive decreases. But if we act hasty now, out of revenge, we'll play into Zaarin's hands.
Thrawn's message was clever - but to think Zaarin hasn't noticed anything would
certainly proof foolish and disastrous.
He's not certain how much we know - despite his deception with Bren. Hence this very
special package.
I'm sure Bren, this traitor, is only waiting for our jumping to lightspeed. That would
be the proof that we know Zaarin's whereabouts.
He will jump himself and is long gone when we finally arrive at the Orias-system.
I think I don't need to tell you what this would mean for the Grand Admiral, do I?"
Jovis shook his head.
"I understand perfectly well, Sir. But if we'd had Bren secretly arrested...
He'd never get a chance to notify Zaarin."
Parck smiled sadly.
"How do we know he's Zaarin's only source here? Even if he was, our sudden jump to
lightspeed would speak for itself. We have to act as if we'd just learned through this...
this package... that Thrawn is Zaarin's prisoner. And this means we do not know Zaarin's at Orias, officially."
He sighed.
Jovis looked questioning at him. "And WHAT do you want to do?"
As an answer, Parck activated his comm-link.
"This is Captain Parck. All command personnel into my office."
He keyed it off and turned to Jovis.
"Remember, Commander, Bren MUSTN'T notice we know about Zaarin's plans.
I know it's hard but treat him like every other loyal imperial officer.
He'll suggest we contact High Command, I'm sure. And that is what we are going to do.
Also, we should agree with everything else he comes up with - at least as long until we
can set out for Orias."
Jovis frowned. "How long do you think this will take?"
Parck stared out to the stars. It almost teared him apart. He knew he'd probably
sign Thrawn's death sentence with his decision but it was the only way if he wanted
to stop Zaarin. Parck was sure Thrawn would never appreciate a hasty rescue attempt.
As hard as it was for the Captain to put his friend's life at risk - if he was still
alife at all, that is - Thrawn's rescue was only secondary. The main goal was Zaarin.
"Sir?" Joves asked again.
Parck straightened his shoulders.
"A few days, not more."
TBC...
Ok, that's all for now!
Like I said above, it will be some time until Ch.7 is out.
(At ease, we're not talking about months, not even several weeks...)
Just be patient!
And thanks to everyone who is still with me!
Next chapter: We return to Thrawn and Zaarin...
Caius Julius
Hew! I'm sorry, this one's rather short. I haven't had much time recently, you know.
Today, I wrote a very difficult math exam and I have two more like this one on
monday and tuesday! ARRGGGHHHH!!!
I'm surprised I even found time for this chapter!
Well, like I said, it's short, but I like it very much! It takes the plot further
to the end. (No, this is NOT the end itself!!!)
I really tried hard with this one. I just hope you appreciate it.
As always, please review!
Now to my kind reviewers:
Elisabeth Rouseau Well said! I can only agree! (He, he!)
Hope you stay tuned with this one.
Who's your favorite HP character, btw?
SilverWolf Thank you very much! I think highly of your comments.
In your email (some time ago) you asked if I wanted you to
review every chapter...
You don't have to, of course, but it is such a motivation to
know you liked (or disliked) the newest chapter, you know.
Hope you enjoy this one, too.
ANOUNCEMENT:
BTW, we're near reviewer No. 10! I'm afraid it will take some time until I post
the next chapter (due to my kind teachers...)
So I deciced to reward reviewers 10 and 11 with a sneak preview of the next chapter.
How does that sound?
DISCLAIMER:
Ok, alright! I admit it! STAR WARS IS MINE! IT'S ME, GEORGE! AND TIMOTHY AS WELL!
(If you believed this you should jump out of the next window!)
Finally, we can go to the story (this was longer than the chapter itself I fear!)
So, here we go again:
"INTO ENEMY HANDS"
From Caius Julius
Chapter 6: The Package
"Captain, we've finally succeeded decoding the message."
Commander Jovis handed Captain Parck a datapad.
Parck smiled and took it. The smile broadened as he read.
"Hm... Thrawn's not onboard Zaarin's flagship but on a frigate. Interesting.
That should make it much less difficult-"
The beep from his comm-terminal interrupted the Captain.
He sighed and reached for the correct button.
"This is Parck, what is it?"
"Sir," the nervous voice of Lieutenant Maroon explained, "A small, unmanned ship has
just entered the system. It sends an automated message. It seems to have some
kind of package to deliver."
Parck hesitated and looked at his First Officer.
Jovis shrugged. He did not know what this was about, either.
"Take it aboard, Lieutenant! Inform me as soon as you know what it is."
"Understood."
Parck turned to Jovis, frowning.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
Half an hour later the strange little ship was safely inside the "Grey Wolf"'s
hangar bay. The only thing it had aboard was a small crate.
Very thorough examinations made clear it wasn't a bomb or anything dangerous.
Parck wasn't sad to hear that.
Now the crate was laying on his desk; Commander Jovis had a close look on it.
"You really want to open it, Sir?" he asked uncertainly.
"Well, it is ment for us; it is no bomb - I hope - what would YOU do?" Parck replied.
Jovis raised his hands defensively.
"Let's open it, Captain!"
Parck nodded and touched at a button on the crate.
Inside was an even smaller, sealed box.
Jovis lifted an eyebrow. "And what is that?"
Parck gave no answer but lifted the box out of the crate onto his desk.
Very carefully, he pressed a key.
There was a hiss of escaping air and the cover was drawn back.
Parck's curiosity immediately changed into pure horror once he saw the box' contents.
"Sir? Is everything alright?" Jovis, who did not see what was inside rushed to Parck's side.
"What is in-" He stopped abruptly.
"The bastard. He will pay for this!" Parck whispered.
Disgusted, he turned away from the box and closed it.
He pressed a button on his console.
"Sick bay? I want you to... examine something. As soon as possible."
"Yes, Sir. We'll send someone immediately."
"Do you think he... he's already been dead when they..." Jovis stammered.
Parck just stared. "I... don't know. The medics will have to find out."
"Shall I set a course for Orias, then, Sir?" Jovis asked.
Parck hesitated. "No. Not yet."
"But Sir!" the Commander protested.
Parck raised a hand.
"I know, Commander. With every passing moment the possibility to find the Grand Admiral
alive decreases. But if we act hasty now, out of revenge, we'll play into Zaarin's hands.
Thrawn's message was clever - but to think Zaarin hasn't noticed anything would
certainly proof foolish and disastrous.
He's not certain how much we know - despite his deception with Bren. Hence this very
special package.
I'm sure Bren, this traitor, is only waiting for our jumping to lightspeed. That would
be the proof that we know Zaarin's whereabouts.
He will jump himself and is long gone when we finally arrive at the Orias-system.
I think I don't need to tell you what this would mean for the Grand Admiral, do I?"
Jovis shook his head.
"I understand perfectly well, Sir. But if we'd had Bren secretly arrested...
He'd never get a chance to notify Zaarin."
Parck smiled sadly.
"How do we know he's Zaarin's only source here? Even if he was, our sudden jump to
lightspeed would speak for itself. We have to act as if we'd just learned through this...
this package... that Thrawn is Zaarin's prisoner. And this means we do not know Zaarin's at Orias, officially."
He sighed.
Jovis looked questioning at him. "And WHAT do you want to do?"
As an answer, Parck activated his comm-link.
"This is Captain Parck. All command personnel into my office."
He keyed it off and turned to Jovis.
"Remember, Commander, Bren MUSTN'T notice we know about Zaarin's plans.
I know it's hard but treat him like every other loyal imperial officer.
He'll suggest we contact High Command, I'm sure. And that is what we are going to do.
Also, we should agree with everything else he comes up with - at least as long until we
can set out for Orias."
Jovis frowned. "How long do you think this will take?"
Parck stared out to the stars. It almost teared him apart. He knew he'd probably
sign Thrawn's death sentence with his decision but it was the only way if he wanted
to stop Zaarin. Parck was sure Thrawn would never appreciate a hasty rescue attempt.
As hard as it was for the Captain to put his friend's life at risk - if he was still
alife at all, that is - Thrawn's rescue was only secondary. The main goal was Zaarin.
"Sir?" Joves asked again.
Parck straightened his shoulders.
"A few days, not more."
TBC...
Ok, that's all for now!
Like I said above, it will be some time until Ch.7 is out.
(At ease, we're not talking about months, not even several weeks...)
Just be patient!
And thanks to everyone who is still with me!
Next chapter: We return to Thrawn and Zaarin...
Caius Julius