Fortunately Head Librarian Jocasta Nue kept records on what books and resources had been used by which readers, and with some convincing Alamys managed to get her to hand the records of Count Dooku's library visits over to him. Now the Jedi Master had retreated into one of the reading booths, concentrating on the report in front of him. He quickly found what he had been looking for. Four months ago Dooku had borrowed a volume of the 'Collected Works of Jed Master Hagen Dycos' and returned it only two weeks ago. The volume was titled 'A Study of Ancient Sith Culture', a piece that had almost cost Dycos his head, or so it was said.

Nodding to himself pensively, Alamys walked over to Section B-D to go look for the volume and noticed that the space next to Dycos' Collected Works was empty. He frowned at that and vowed to ask Jocasta Nue about that missing piece. Nevertheless he took one volume after the other out of the shelf and studied each one closely. It took him the entire rest of the day and most of the following night. Jocasta let him stay, knowing full well that Alamys Jorka would be the least likely person to steal anything. But before she went to retreat to her own quarters she came by to place the key card to the library in front of him on the desk.

"Be so good and lock the library once you are finished," she said. "That is, if you do not mean to stay all through the night."

Alamys gave her a faint smile. "No, I do not think I will take quite that long. Thank you anyway." He hesitated. "Ah, yes. There was another question I had. Next to this collection, what volume does usually occupy that space?"

She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Hm. There are the Comparative Studies of Universal Religions on one side, and some prophecies on the other."

"Then the prophecies have been borrowed out, right?"

"I will check for you, just a moment." When she came back Alamys was waiting apprehensively. "Yes, indeed. Count Dooku borrowed them. He has not returned them yet."

And he wouldn't in the near future, either. Alamys nodded solemnly. "I see. Thank you again"

"I will leave you to your studies, Master Jorka."

He did not watch her leave. Hagen Dycos had had quite an eventful life. Apparently he had been indirectly involved in the battle of Ruusan as a Padawan. With rising curiosity Alamys noted that a specific holocron was mentioned time and again as reference for some of the reports in the Sith History volume. Wandering over to the library section that housed the holocrons, Alamys found the door locked. Then he remembered the key card Jocasta had left with him and found that it fit perfectly. Good. The holocron he sought had been fabricated by one Master Jeldo, a Ho'Din, and Alamys found it quickly. A neat design, very beautiful. The Jedi Master took it back to his desk and continued reading, using Master Jeldo's holocron in his quest to find out what exactly Hagen Dycos had been trying to tell the world with the Study on Ancient Sith History.

Three hours later he left Coruscant, destined for Corellia.

It was a short flight, fortunately, for Alamys knew there was no time to lose. When there was danger one could not simply wait for disaster to strike, one had to eliminate the threat immediately. Though, as a Jedi, Alamys had been cautioned over and over again not to succumb to rash action, he prided himself of knowing exactly what action to take and what effect it would have. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge, the Jedi Code stated, and it was so true. The Force could be used to determine the right approach to matters, though to make full use of that particular aspect of the Force one needed a knack for being able to distinguish between different moods, to eliminate the wrong from the right, the hasty, suspicious and uncertain from the true and confident. Alamys had always been good at that. His mind was a finely tuned instrument that could interpret and evaluate emotions pitch perfect, as he had proven time and again.

While reading Hagen Dycos' notes and reports, and consulting the holocron as he went along, Alamys had felt danger and urgency in abundance. It had made his skin itch, it had been so strong. Frantically he had sought the lock into which the key Dycos had provided could fit. Then he had come across a seemingly unimportant passage that Dycos had nocthed down in hurried writing next to a citation from another source, a philosophical debate of sorts. If the Force binds all creatures into one, then the Force is a reflection of all, the Jedi Master had written. If the Force is a reflection of all, then all is a reflection of the Force. This clearly is the basis of the Jedi Order's creed of protecting life. This means that if all is ailed by illness the Force will also be ailing. And yet, if we were to apply the principle of balance, then the Force would supply a source of healing, a cure, for the illness, just as all would provide a cure if the Forc were somehow infected with illness. Is it possible to infect the Force itself? Only through infecting all would that be possible. Unless –

Here the notes broke off, as if Hagen Dycos had suddenly thought of something else and not bothered to write the conclusion to his previous thought. It riled Alamys somewhat that the scholar had been so sloppy. If one began a sentence one should end it too. Anything less was inacceptable. Yet the passage itself had chilled him to the bone. Especially considering the hints Dycos had left on a virus of sorts, the Motha Virus. If Alamys had interpreted the information correctly Hagen Dycos had been infected too, but had somehow been able to heal himself. How, he did not say. The prospect of the Force somehow being infected by darkness, the way the Motha Virus infected the victim with paranoia and other symptoms that would inevitably lead to the Dark Side, this was a horrifying vision.

Which was why he now was on his way to Corellia to find the last traces of the virus and its creator, Doctor Inyo Di'vitt. He had found a snippet of recent news on the Holonet, about a body found on a construction site in Coronet. Apparently the scientists which had examined the human remains had determined the corpse's age to nine hundred years or more. It was a female human, which also pointed toward the almost impossible, that this were the remains of Inyo Di'vitt. But Alamys had another source he might use to confirm his findings. He had stumbled over the name Kane Jinn while studying Hagen Dycos' life, and he had been surprised to find that Kane Jinn had been Dycos' apprentice, though he already had attained the rank of Jedi Knight at the time his former master had been infected with the virus. Yet Hagen Dycos had not taken on another apprentice until his death five years after that incident. Chances were that he had confided in Kane Jinn.

Further research had yielded some interesting information on that particular Jedi Knight. Apparently Kane Jinn had left the Order after the birth of his illegitimate son, Jonell, to go to Corellia and marry the child's mother, a woman named Yanessa Bryar. It would have been too much of a conicidence to assume that Kane Jinn was an ancestor of Qui-Gon Jinn, but Alamys seldomly dismissed a coincidence. They proved right far too often for his taste. Qui-Gon Jinn was not Corellian, he knew, but perhaps something had survived there, perhaps Kane Jinn had left his own thoughts on the Motha Virus somewhere with his family. No living relative had remained on Corellia, Alamys had found out, the last of that line, apparently, a woman named Kathey Gorval-Jinn, had died over ninety years ago. But another Jedi line had survived. That of Leevar Halcyon, a Corellian Jedi. Like most Corellian Jedi Halcyon preferred to operate in Corellian space, and an ancestor of his had been active on Corellia at the time Inyo Di'vitt had tested the Motha Virus.

Leevar Halcyon worked with CorSec sometimes, and with any luck he would have access to the corpse. If the body proved to be that of Inyo Di'vitt, Alamys would take it back to Coruscant with him to have it examined thoroughly by the Republic's best scientists. Perhaps that way the could isolate the virus Inyo Di'vitt had accidentially infected herself with – a fact also found in Dycos' report – and perhaps they could find a cure for it. It never occurred to Alamys that it would be far more efficient to destroy the body, destroy every single cell. That revelation would come only much, much later.

It was very early in the morning when the door-bell of the Halcyon homestead starting ringing like mad. Sleepy-eyed, Leevar Halcyon came awake, and on cue the baby in the other room started crying. The Corellian Jedi fell back on a short exercise to clear his mind of the residues of sleep, then gently motioned for his wife to settle back down in the couple's bed.

"It's oky, honey, I'll take this," he said soothingly, then swung his legs over the edge of the bed and walked to the door, where he grabbed a robe and shrugged into it. On his way down the hallway he peeked into the baby's bedroom and and smiled at the little body who had stood up in his bed, gazing at his father out of huge eyes.

"Go back to sleep, Neeja," Leevar Halcyon murmured, sending calming thoughts at the baby boy, who settled down again and sighed as he fell asleep again.

Finally, running a hand through his dark hair, the Jedi Knight went down the staircase and down into the corridor that led to either the front door or the living room. He had already sensed the visitor's presence, and though he did not know him, he knew what he was. The fact that another Jedi Knight dropped in unannounced at this time of day meant trouble for sure. Leevar opened the door and nodded at the man standing outside. The newcomer was head and shoulders taller than Leevar, blond, with a hard face and piercing blue eyes.

"My name is Alamys Jorka," the stranger, began, in a deep baritone voice. "Allow me to apologize for this untimely and unannounced intrusion, but it is very urgent."

"Why don't you come in before you spill your heart out on the sidewalk?" Leevar asked a bit gruffly and suppressed a yawn.

The other Jedi gave him an odd look, then entered. "Why, thank you. Very generous.."

Leevar lead the visitor into the living-room and bade him to sit down. "So, what is so urgent?"

"Have you ever heard of the Motha Virus?" Alamys Jorka asked straight out, leaning forward a bit, his gaze inquisitive.

"I – " Leevar hesitated, shook his head. "Forgive me, it is just that I remember that from a story my father used to tell me when I was little. He said it was a tue story, but to me it always was no more than a grand tale about the Jedi of old."

"Hagen Dycos and Kane Jinn, do these names ring a bell?"

"You surely know how to ask questions," Leevar replied wrily. "And here I thought I was the investigator."

Jorka shook his head earnestly. "As I already said, this is important and urgent. You have heard of them?"

"Well, Hagen Dycos was one of the greatest scholars the Jedi Order ever had, and Kane Jinn, well, can't say that name means anything to me apart from that being the name of the Jedi featured in that story I told you about."

"Hagen Dycos was infected with the Motha Virus," Jorka said almost on top of him, "and Kane Jinn was his apprentice."

"If you already know everything, why come to me?"

"I merely wish to demonstrate to you the importance of my visit. A body has been found recently on a construction site, a female human. A corpse, nine hundred years old."

Leevar's eyes widened in disbelief. "Oh no! Surely not! You don't mean to imply that this body is that of the scientist who designed the virus?"

"I need to make sure. The official lanes take too much time, and as CorSec member you could authorize me to transfer the body to Coruscant for an autopsy and thorough examination."

The Corellian gave the other Jedi a grim nod. "I see. Though you don't really have solid evidence, do you?"

Alamys Jorka smiled thinly. "I have the Force. Tests will confirm the rest."

"I don't think it can hurt anyone for me to authorize that transfer. Coruscant will want to lay its hands on the body soon enough, for historical research, no doubt." He rose again. "But first, let me put on some decent clothes."

For the first time ever since he had come into the Halcyon family's house Alamys Jorka smiled for real. "Thank you," he said, obviously relieved. "I appreciate it."

Alamys waited down in the living-room, patiently looking around the room. It was pleasant and homely, and looked lived-in. He noticed toys lying in one corner, neatly stacked in a heap that told him that a child had brought some order into that chaos of playthings. Suddenly he felt a slight twinge of guilt. If he was right, if Dooku really had his own plans concerning the virus, then this mission could turn out to become very dangerous. He should not endanger a father this way. Perhaps Halcyon could simply make a call, or something. A movement at the door that led to the hallway caught his attention, and he smiled at the little boy standing there, thumb tucked into his mouth, a pensive look in his eyes. He could not be older than two.

Then the sound of someone pounding down the stairs filled the house, and Leevar Halcyon appeared, grinned down at the boy and picked him up from the floor. "You should be asleep already, Neeja. Guess you wanted to take a look at our visitor, right?" The smile he gave first the child and then the Jedi Master was one of utmost pride and joy.

"You are raising him here?" Alamys asked suddenly, his tone disapproving.

"Of course." Halcyon shrugged. "I don't have much truck with that stuff about avoiding committment to anything else but the Order. A child should grow up with his parents, is what I think, and we do things differently here on Corellia, as I am sure you have heard," he added with a wink, taking the sting out of the rebuke.

"That I have," Alamys conceded. "I cannot say I approve of it, though."

A woman appeared behind Leevar Halcyon, dressed in a morning-robe, her tousled dark hair and sleepy eyes visible over his shoulder. She reached out for the baby-boy and nodded mutely before she carried the child back up the stairs.

Halcyon turned back to face Alamys again. He had donned a pale blue tunic over dark blue pants, with a black belt holding the tunic closed in the front, reminiscent of the traditional Jedi garb, yet different enought not to draw immediate attention to the wearer's identity. "I take it you were not raised in your family?" he asked, and motioned for the Jedi Master to join him in the hallway.

"No," Alamys replied calmly, "I left Tyreena when I was four years old."

"Tyreena, huh? Is it true that the sun of the planet is blue?"

Alamys nodded earnestly. "Yes. I was named for that sun, Alamar. It is a bright, pale blue. The other one is bright yellow."

"So no moon?"

"No moon. Our nights are all blue, and all bright."

"Sounds like a treat. Do you miss it sometimes?" Once Alamys had stepped into the hallway the two men walked toward the door and left the house.

"My home is Coruscant now," the Jedi Master explained. "Still, there is something you should know. For the sake of your family. This could be very dangerous."

"Listen, Corellia is not exactly the most peaceful spot in this fair galaxy, and I know my way around danger. Probably more than you do," Halcyon retorted sharply. "My family knows that danger is part of my job."

"Does your son?"

"All I am doing for you is ease your trouble with officials. That's all, and then I am out of this. Where's the danger?" Halcyon led him over to the family home's garage, but Alamys pointed at the speeder he had rented at the spaceport.

"We'll take mine. No traces to get back to you."

"Oh. That dangerous, eh?" The Corellian's brows arched mockingly. "What is this about? I thought you were just going to escort a corpse back to Coruscant."

"I may not be the only one who is after that body," Alamys said as he settled into the open speeder's driver's seat and Halcyon joined him. "I have reason to assume that certain dark forces might also have a stake in this 'archeological' find. And the less you know about that the better."

"I see," the other Jedi answered thoughtfully. "I dearly hope you are wrong about that. I really do."

Halcyon directed him to the local morgue of Coronet, where they were waved through without difficulty. After having deposited the speeder in the open courtyard, the two Jedi made their way into one of the buildings, labeled 'Forensic Department'. Halcyon obviously was no stranger here, and they were greeted by quite a few individuals on their way to the office of one Sergeant May Calvar.

"She's a bit peculiar," Leevar Halcyon whispered out of the corner of his mouthas they finally stood in front of the office door. "Don't be offended."

"Never," Alamys promised, suddenly feeling curious.

The door buzzed open and both men entered. May Calvar was clearly no orderly person. Her office was stacked with folders and stacks of flimsiplast, tranparplast containers that held strange organic matters Alamys didn't even bother to look at closely. The woman herself, a short, middle-aged human had blockaded herself behind her desk.

"May!" Leevar called out gently. "Look who's come for a visit!"

"This sounds like that nasty street thug who used to hang around here last summer," she replied in a grating unpleasant voice. Looking up from her desk she peeked over another heap of folders and straightened a pair of microscope glasses that made her eyes look like oversized blue flowers. She smiled. "And you've brought a friend. How nice."

May rose from her seat and came around the desk quickly, making a beeline for Alamys. She was very short, barely reaching his breastbone, a plump woman with lanky brown hair and pale, unhealthy–looking skin. He took her offered hand graciously and even managed a rare smile.

"A pleasure to meet you, Sergeant," the Jedi Master offered. She was positively beaming at him. Unfortunately he could sense all too well what exactly she was thinking about him.

"Oh, you are even prettier than that mercenary we had in here last week! I love tall, blond men!" she piped up, clapping her hands in childish joy.

Leevar harrumphed discreetly. "Well, this one doesn't have a hole through his chest. May, we came because of that body your guys found on the construction site at the old city dump."

"Oh, her," the sergeant said dismissively. "She's over in science department. I'll accompany you," she added, throwing another smile at Alamys. She even tried to hook her arm around his elbow when they left, but he managed to bow out of that graciously, by quickly walking around Leevar, who in turn did not seem to mind May's company. "A great mystery, that," she chatted on. "Supposedly the girl died over nine hundred years ago. Of course the site has been disturbed over the years, but she was buried underneath a load of rubble. Her neck was snapped, back broken. The guys are trying to determine whether it was accident or murder that killed her."

"Do you have a name for her already?" Leevar asked casually.

May giggled. "The Lady in Black," she explained. "That's what she wore, and, of course, the color her skin has turned over the centuries."

"Charming, "Alamys muttered under his breath.

"Yes, I think so too," May replied enthusiastically. Apparently her hearing was excellent. "There we are," she announced suddenly, and opened another door, that led into a white-tiled laboratory of sorts. On metal biers two bodies had been laid out, one obviously that of the Lady. A dark-skinned human male was bent over the body, extracting something tiny from her blackened skin. Alamys squinted at the object the scientist held between slender pincers, and thought he recognized a glass fragment.

Leevar nudged his arm gently, nodding in the direction Alamys had been looking. "That's her for sure," he whispered. "I remember from the story," the Corellian added with a shrug. "Glass splinters."

Walking a bit closer, the Jedi Master nodded at the scientist shortly. "Good morning. I am Alamys Jorka. That is your great find from the city dump?"

"Yes, Master Jedi. I am Doctor Vandale," the man replied and lifted his gloved hands apologetically. "Sorry for being rude, but we have to stick to certain hygenic measures, you see?"

"Of course. I quite understand. May I?"

Vandale shrugged, then nodded, allowing Alamys to bend over the body to examine her face more closely. There were more glass fragments embedded there. The black color and quality of the skin pointed toward a fire or another source of great heat that had surrounded her after her death for at least a short while. The imploding tower, no doubt. What was more, though, was the barely perceptible hint of darkness that lingered with the corpse. Raising his head again, Alamys gazed straight at Leevar across the body. The other Jedi nodded in confirmation. He had felt it too, undoubtedly. Very carefully, Alamys delved deeper into this darkness, searching for emotional residues. What he found was determination and cold anger, no fear at all. Then he extended his right hand above the body, to search for any physical memories, but there was only a faint echo of pain.

"She was dead before the fire reached her," he declared at last. "Whoever caused that fire did so in cold blood. I cannot say whether that same person killed her."

Vandale smiled widely. "Wow! I guess, if I were a Jedi, I could spare myself those cutting-up sessions. You can tell all that just by – searching here?"

"Mostly," Alamys conceded. "But I have also some different sources that fit with what I can see and sense here. Doctor Vandale, I would like to take this body back to Coruscant with me, for further research," he added, looking straight into the doctor's eyes, who did not manage to hold that piercing gaze for long. "Knight Halcyon here will vouch for me," the Jedi Master continued. "I need to get back to Coruscant as fast as possible."

"Oh! You can't just come here and take all our bodies!" May protested, pouting. It did not help to improve her looks at all, though. She had propped her hands on her ample hips for emphasize, but Alamys merely looked at her before he returned his attention to Vandale.

"Would that be possible?"

The doctor shrugged again. "I suppose – if Leevar can vouch for you..."

"Then that's settled. I will be expecting the body prepared for transport in three hours at the space port. The dock master will provide the delivery team with the location of my ship." He gave Valdane a last nod. "Thank you, Doctor. Very generous of you. Come," he told Leevar as he turned to leave. Together they left the laboratory.

"Why three hours? What are you planning to do?" Leevar asked suspiciously.

"They'll need some time to pack her up," Alamys explained, "and I want to make sure I don't get any nasty surprises on my way home."

"The 'dark forces' you spoke about earlier?" the Corellian asked quietly.

"The same. So," Alamys said with a smile turning his head to look down at Halcyon, "this is were we part. I must thank you too, for your support."

Leevar gave him a thoughtful look. "You claim this might be dangerous. You sure you can do this without some backup?"

"I am sure," Alamys replied. "I can handle this easily. You just go back home to your family. From here on, I am on my own."

The Corellian shrugged. "It's your life, I guess. All right. Then all that's left is farewell. Be careful, though."

"Always."

The spaceport of Coronet was always busy, and Sidious felt right at home in crowds. Following Darth Nexus, he studied the passing faces attentively. He did not know how his master supposed to find the Jedi, but he trusted the Whiphid to know what he was doing while sober. And sober Nexus was, and just as ill-tempered.

"Get out of the way," he roared at an unfortunate man who wasn't quick enough to make room, before he sent him reeling into the other passerbys.

Sidious winced inwardly. Luckily, though, that outburst did not earn them more than a few disturbed looks and contemptuous sneers. Yet Sidious' mood darkened still. Ever since he had first joined Darth Nexus he had been put off by the alien's brash and overbearing attitude, that was complemented by the Whiphid's incompetence on quite a few levels. If this was what the Sith Order had come to it was surely time for a new generation to take over, Sidious thought quite often. And yet, his master was shrewd in his own way, he knew. Unfortunately.

It was noon on Corellia, and the cafés dotting the major boulevards were filled with tourists and clerks and what-not. Sidious watched them intently as the cab carrying the two Sith Lords into the city center drove by. They all seemed so very unconcerned about what was going on behind the closed doors of government buildings, in the shadow realms of crime organizations. Blissfully ignorant, conveniently so. And yet, somewhere there was something lurking in the background, like an itch Sidious could feel between his shoulderblades. He wondered whether Nexus had felt it too.

"Our contact is May Calvar," the Whiphid said suddenly. "She will hand the remains over to us. I called ahead before we even entered the system."

Sidious nodded obediently, but said nothing, waiting for his master to continue, but Nexus kept silent. His facial expression belied the strain he was feeling, but Sidious had not idea what was bothering him so. And he did not dare ask here in this cab, even though the driver was a droid. One never did know who bugged which cabs. The cab drew into a narrow driveway, a motel of sorts, Sidous saw, and apparently their base of operations to be.

"Wait for me here," Nexus ordered his apprentice. "I will go and talk to the Calvar woman."

"Yes, master, of course," Sidious replied smoothly and hurriedly exited the cab, which swerved back out into the street instantly, leaving him standing between a dirty courtyard and the sidewalk, which was marginally cleaner. Well, he could make arrangements for lodgings later too. But first he should have a look around and perhaps he could determine what exactly was causing his uneasiness.

Moving out into the street, hood drawn deep into his face, the Sith apprentice started back toward the boulevard where he had seen all those cafés. Maybe people would be willing to talk, and perhaps a rumour or two would prove worthwhile. At the same time he kept a constant watch over the fellow passerbys, and one presence coming down the street his way was hard to ignore. Cautiously he risked a glance up as the presence passed him. A tall man, probably human, his face hidden too, inside the cowl of a brown Jedi cloak. A Jedi. Here. Promptly, Sidious turned to follow the man, shielding his own presence as best he could. This could be no coincidence.

Alamys Jorka had noticed the cab bearing two robed figures even as he had walked out onto the great boulevard from one of the alleyways. He had seen the cab draw up to a motel, one of the figures disembark, and he had immediately decided to test his suspicions concerning those two. If Dooku was here, he would be looking for the body. His research would lead him to the morgue, to May Calvar and eventually to Doctor Valdane. He would know that Inyo Di'vitt's remains would be transferred to the port, and he would try to prevent that from happening. But Alamys knew perfectly well that staying in the morgue would not have been very helpful either. He needed to catch the count red-handed.

Well, the black-robed man who had exited the cab previously and now stepped out into the street certainly was not Dooku, he was too short for that. Perhaps he was just harmless, just as his companion in the cab, and perhaps he wasn't. Walking past the man, Alamys remembered a small imbiss he had seen on his way to the boulevard. He made his way back there, through the smaller alleyways a bit off from the main boulevards, and yes, the black-robed man was still following. Amateur, Alamys thought. That man was certainly not used to stalking someone. When he had reached the imbiss, Alamys went in and sat down at one of the tables. He ordered a light lunch and waited.

His stalker waited twenty minutes before he followed inside. Choosing a table far away from Alamys, he also sat down and ordered something. Smiling to himself, the Jedi Master resolved to enjoy his meal. An hour later he was finished and rose to pay. He noticed that the black-robed man had not eaten anything of the food laid out on his table. Alamys gave the head-waiter a friendly nod, then turned to leave.

The Jedi had entered a small imbiss and ordered lunch, forcing Sidious to do the same. Sitting in the far corner, the Sith was watching his quarry intently, and was satisfied to see that the Jedi had seemingly taken no notice of him at all. Good. When the Jedi shrugged out of his cloak, apparently prepared to settle down for a while in this small restaurant, Sidious got a first glimpse at the man. His blond hair, slightly curly, was cut short, and his lean face was hard and cold. Piercing blue eyes studied the other patrons seated in his direct line of sight closely, and all in all he seemed to know exactly what he was about. A master, then most probably. Sidious felt a jolt of excitement then. A Jedi Master. Wow. A worthy enemy, no doubt.

The waiter came over to ask for his order and Sidious sent him off to get Menu Two without even bothering to look what it was. As it turned out it was Narkatha Soup with spices and a salad of local greens drowned in a fat sauce. Both the soup and the sauce smelled like someone had already eaten it. Wrinkling his nose in disgust Sidious resolved to leave the food alone. He was not hungry anyway. An hour passed, during which he contemplated the value of patience. Oh, yes. A very valuable trait. Especially in times like these. For a while the Sith amused himself with watching the other patrons. Miserable existences, all of them. Then the Jedi rose to pay. He walked over to the head-waiter, then toward the door. Sidious carefully stood too and made to leave, when the head-waiter called out:

"The esteemed customer – may he visit us again soon – has donated three credits to the hard-working staff of this establishment!"

Approving murmurs and a few lazy cheers uttered from the 'hard-working' staff followed the Jedi out. Frowning, Sidious, hurriedly paid his own bill, then rushed toward the exit. The head-waiter's voice caught up with him just before he reached the door.

"The esteemed customer – may he still his appetite in establishments more appealing to his tastes in the future – has found the service unsatisfactory, it seems."

Loud jeers saw Sidious on the street. He was not amused. But no sense in going back in and showing the head-waiter and his 'hard-working' staff just how much he had appreciated their 'service'. He could not lose his quarry now. Ah. There he was. Hurrying into the street, Sidious, took up pursuit again. But then the screech of abused repulsors broke into the afternoon buzz of the back-alleys and a cab swerved into the street, coming to a halt in front of him. The passenger door popped open.

"Get in!" Darth Nexus snapped. Obeying instantly, Sidious barely had time to settle into the seat before the cab took off again. "The body has been confiscated," the Whiphid snarled, his voice thick with anger. "This incompetent, ugly woman was inept to keep it out of the Jedi's clutches, it would seem," he growled.

"A Jedi? I – "

"Don't interrupt me! So, two Jedi came this morning, early. One Leevar Halcyon, who signed the transfer authorization, and one Alamys Jorka, who will conduct the transfer. That one is of interest of us. The other we can forget about. Now. The body is being prepared and will be taken to the port in two hours time. We will go back there and find Jorka's ship."

"With all due respect, master, but why don't we just grab the body?"

"Too much trouble. It is at CorSec right now, and we don't want anyone to know about our little project here, do we?"

"This May Calvar – "

"She won't tell anyone. She's unfortunately suffered a heart-attack."

Sidious exhaled in some relief. "Good," he muttered under his breath, then Nexus clouted him across the head.

"Thought I'd be so stupid as to leave traces? And where have you been, apprentice? Did I not tell you to wait at the motel?"

"Yes, master, but there was a Jedi – "

"What! Where? And why the hell didn't you tell me earlier?"

For a moment Sidious considered murdering the Whiphid right then and there. "I apologize, master," he managed at last. "I was sort of overwhelmed by your fury."

To his surprise Darth Nexus bellowed a laugh. "Hah! Yes, of course. No matter. If he is the Jedi we are looking for we will certainly find him at the port."

Jogging into the landing bay he had rented for his ship, Alamys was all cold calculation. Leevar Halcyon had just contacted him to inform him of May Calvar's sudden death, and had again cautioned him to be very careful. But Alamys was not the least concerned. He would simply transfer the ship to one of CorSec's own ports and Leevar would have the body brought there. That way Alamys could throw his pusuers off and lay out a trap for them. They would track him over his rented speeder, undoubtedly, hoping to find out where he had relocated his ship to, and when that failed they would either try to get the body by force or else try to find a substitue at the construction site where it had been found. And Alamys would make sure they chose the latter option.

TBC