Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars I am not George Lucas!

Author: ihadanepiphany!

This is just a little fic that was spawned recently due to a re-reading of The Courtship of Princess Leia (I don't own that either!) and when I got to the part where Isolder tells Teneniel about what happened to Feree a little plot bunny appeared and wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote something about it. So here it is

Enjoy!

Its written in the form of flash-backs; the first two chapters are written as what Noctun is remembering whilst suffering from the plague and it is in no sequential order past the first flashback.

The first flashback is the present time and the rest are jumbled memories, to put it a different way, ok?

Pay attention!

A tall graceful figure stumbled to a holo-vid recorder and transmitter, keyed in an address, glancing around in weariness in the fire-lit darkness to the battered doors, gaping windows. The recorder signalled its readiness. The figure drew itself up to its full and slender height and spoke in a melodious, pain-racked voice.

 'For the attention of the Republican Senate, from Noctun'orias of the House Orias of the Feree.' The figure paused, breath rattling harshly in his throat. He talked for a time, his soft voice echoing through empty, deserted rooms, telling the story of his planets swift self-destruction. He finished and replayed the message, watched himself shaking with the exertion of standing. He sent the message to a sentry ship miles overhead, stood at a once-beautiful glass window and watched the night sky, imagining that he could see the ships that stood guard on his homeworld, staring skywards, refusing to look down. He finally turned away and entered a smaller room, closed the double doors behind him and lay down on a bed, surrendering at last.

(A/N: Now its just one flashback after another)

Sunlight. Sweet smell of Hanatha roots. Bright chiming laughter.

He was in his home, on the outer reaches of the city, and it was summer. He kept his eyes closed, lying in the blissful state between sleep and wakefulness, savouring the heat of the bed. High-pitched squeals signified that his children were up and trying to kill each other, low grunts meant they had the Gar'shi, the family pet with them. Tinkling bells sounded from the door and he cracked open an eye. It was Larunih, his lifemate.

 'Awake at last,' she said, coming to the bed. 'I'm beginning to wonder if I need a new lifemate, this city job has you too tired to be any use to me.'

 'Just as long as you don't wake me up,' he replied sleepily. Larunih laughed and sat on the bed, her long slender form curling up comfortably in the nest of blankets.

 'I've been gone a month,' Noctun said suddenly after listening to the outside world go on outside the room. Larunih looked at him.

 'Yes you have. I was wondering when you'd notice it.' Noctun smiled and reached out with his hand, Larunih did the same and their fingers intertwined.

Screams. Fear. Chaos.

Noctun raced through his home searching for his family. Crashing into each room, certain that they'd only be around the next corner, just the next corner. Burning vegetation surrounded the house filling the place with dense acrid smoke, burning his lungs, stinging his eyes. He bumped into overturned furniture, stumbled over piles of rubble, crying with the smoke and the fear, calling out the names of his children and lifemate. Another Feree stumbled in, coughing and cursing.

 'We have to go!' the other yelled. 'The whole place is about to fall in.'

 'They're still in here!' he yelled back. 'I can't leave them.'

 'Noctun! We have to go! Now!'

 'No!' He moved off, growing desperate, hearing the other curse and join in the hunt. Next room, next corner. They're here, they're okay, they're alive.

He heard shouting from outside the house and heard the loud hissing of extinguishing flames. The overworked fire corps had arrived at last and in moments, the inferno was reduced to ashes.

Now able to see clearly, Noctun hurried faster around the house, circling and backtracking, searching constantly.

 'Noctun,' he heard someone say and he turned. It was the Feree who had told him to leave earlier. She was standing beside a tall cupboard, looking inside.

 'What is it?' he asked, his heart stopping.

 'I'm sorry,' she whispered, showing him. He looked in.

 'It is believed that there is no danger from that side.'

 'Believed by who?'

The twin suns were beating down, bathing the gardens in just the right level of heat, the glorious purple sky stretching from horizon to horizon without a cloud in sight. The cries of children playing carried up from the end of the garden where a variant of Not Me was being played. It was Noctun's youngest child's birthday and half the planets children seemed to have come to join in the chaos.

Noctun stood, sipping at his drink, watching the flock of children, an ear cocked to the conversation. His friends and colleagues had come as well of course –their own children would never have forgiven them otherwise- and once again the conversation was centred on galactic politics.

 'There are stringent quarantine laws on every port Branthe,' Jueryth replied.

 'Would have thought you'd know that,' Noctun commented turning back to his friends with a sigh. 'Being on the Health Boards payroll and all.' The others laughed as Branthe made a face; he was in fact the Health Leader's second-in-command.

 'Which is why I have reason to be a bit more worried about it then the rest of you it seems,' Branthe shot back when the laughter died down. 'There's already been three cases this week of people slipping past the quarantine.' Branthe raised his glass unconsciously in superstitious salute. 'Thank the Force that they weren't carrying anything, but they're only the ones we know about. It's only a matter of time.'

Jueryth nodded slowly. 'Its true,' she admitted. 'People get smugglers to bring them in, we catch most of them, but not all.' She was head of Customs for this continent and the stress of the job she loved showed in the stiffening of her twelve delicate fingers.

(A/N I've decided to make it so that the condition of a Ferees hands and fingers are an indication of that Ferees state of health)

 'The Hutts are warring again,' Tronwu shrugged, he was in the Office of Information. 'People tend to move when they do that.'

 'People are just moving around more these days,' Noctun disagreed. 'They're holidaying and migrating and finding better places to bring up families. Clearly something about Feree appeals to them.'

 'As long they bring nothing extra with them,' Branthe snorted. 'I'll welcome them with open arms.'

 'There's a first,' Sernathi said dryly, Branthe was well known for being suspicious of new things. 'But you'll forgive me if I keep a close eye on all these off-worlders pouring in, wont you?' Sernathi was one of only five Security Leaders on the planet, her sphere of responsibility being all those arriving and departing Feree and as such, her fingers were more crooked than the talons of a Coruscant hawk-bat. 'Just so I can take my pay in good conscience of course.'

 'Oh of course,' Jueryth replied, in the same tone. She and Sernathi tended to work closely together a lot of the time. 'We'd expect nothing else.'

 'Oh good.'

 Noctun exaggerated rolled his eyes at the two females, who laughed.

There was a sudden volume increase in the screaming and the company turned automatically to scan the area where their kids were playing.

 'Looks like the Gar'shi ran off with your younglings doll,' Noctun said to Tronwu, who sighed, finished his drink and loped to where his daughter was crying on the grass.

 'How's he been doing?' Noctun heard Jueryth ask Sernathi.

 'Well, considering,' Sernathi replied. Tronwu's lifemate had been killed three moon-cycles before, knocked down by a kid on a speeder bike. Noctun thought about how he would cope if Larunih or any of his children were killed and shuddered.

Branthe caught Noctuns eye and motioned for him to join him. They wandered around the garden for some time, chatting about little and avoiding being tripped and run over by runaway pets and children.

 'Noctun, this is unofficial you understand,' Branthe said at last, when there was noone within earshot. 'But there has been reports of a plague in the Expansion Sector.'

 'What kind of plague?'

 'An extremely virulent one. It seems to attack the cell membranes of its victims, resulting in cellular degradation and death within sixteen standard hours of infection. There's no cure.'  

 'There's more bad news,' Noctun guessed from Branthes face.

 'It only attacks certain species,' he replied quietly. 'Neimodians, Kaminoans and us, noone can figure out why but it does.' He sighed heavily  'And nearly every other species can carry it.' The two Feree walked on in silence, pondering the ramifications of this.

 'What's the Health Board doing about it?' Noctun asked after a while.

 'Only the top tier know the whole story and we're working with Coruscant to find a cure, a prevention method, something.' The worry on Branthes face was clear and for the first time, Noctun looked to his oldest friends hands and saw them more gnarled and knotted then the branches of an ancient ch'hala tree. 'To tell anyone else would cause a panic. If we closed ports, people would wonder why.' He sighed.

 'Why are you telling me this?' Noctun asked as they turned back towards the house. 'What can I do to help matters?'

 'Stay out of harms way,' Branthes smile was more of a grimace. 'And hope.'

Okay? Understood? To make it easier,

First flashback; present time

Second flashback; about three months before the kids party (just to put a date on it)

Third flashback; Morning of the present day

Fourth flashback: two weeks before present day

Exactly how the virus affects its victims will be dealt with in the next chapter.

All good? Yay!

Now remember to review!