Chapter Four – Operation Cloud City

Nicola sat, staring into the blankness that represented the darkened walls of Wraith headquarters, was suddenly shaken from her not-quite-thoughts as she realized what she'd sensed.  Internally startled, she quickly looked over to where her children and the two Loran girls were playing on the floor.  Her three and a half year old twins and Inyri, their near-triplet, were sitting around Ciny, letting her play with some of their Uncle's explosives.  The quieter Koyi and Tynian were sitting happily outside the group around Ciny, Koyi with a datapad in hand, Ty fiddling with his father's lightsaber.  Making a mental note to ask Bror about why he would let a one and a half year old play with a lightsaber, Nicola used the Force to call it to her.

Just as the lightsaber touched her outstretched hand and her fingers closed around it, a sudden flare in the Force caught her attention.  This time it wasn't quite a quiet, "I'm here" feeling.  No, this one was more like a hiss of pain.  Ignoring her son's protests about having the lightsaber taken, Nicola honed in on the presence- Adra's presence- to try and find out what was going wrong.

She hardly needed to have wondered.  Around her friend's Force-self, she found the figureheads of Sith Lords Jori Daragon and Darth Maul...and Admiral Daala.  Nearer the Admiral's presence was that of an unfamiliar source.  Not wasting time on the fifth being, Nicola turned her attention sharply back to her friend's, searching for what was so wrong.

The Dark side-funded energy was found pressing against Adra's throat.  Lightsabers, Jori Daragon's to be exact.  Struggling to keep herself from reaching over the distances to kill the Sith Lord, she withdrew herself until she was more like a shimmering spectator to the situation, though she was still sharing Adra's senses.

She was obviously in a room on the Gorgon, and obviously a room without blasted ysalamiri.  As Nicola continued her exploration of Adra's surroundings, she became dimly aware, once more, of the sensation of having a lightsaber tip imbedded an inch into your back and being dragged along it.  Blinking at the sudden nerve overload that seemed to be coursing through her, she was surprised not to hear a yell of anguish in the Force.  Still, before Nicola withdrew, she had the pleasure of seeing Jori Daragon, Sith Mother, holding a severed arm to her chest as she waited for it to stop stinging to much to focus.

Across the room, Nicola saw Inyri's eyes locked on her own, even though she wasn't exactly staring at the girl per say to look at her.  She had just happened to be looking that direction when she'd come in full contact with Adra.  Abruptly, Nicola realized that wasn't why Inyri Loran was looking at her.  Meli and Lis both looked up at the same time, both obviously saying the same things to their friend.  Inyri shook her head and crossed behind her younger sister, hand trailing along the edge of the couch.

The girl approached, her bright blue eyes searching and trusting, yet her expression drawn in a serious line.  While Inyri was a very good actor, having inherited her father's genes in that respect, her youth added with that acting ability gave her expressions little to be debated over.  And right now, it was painfully clear she knew what was going on...and no three and a half year old child should know the full extent of the truth, something Inyri did know.

Inyri was standing in front of her a moment later, her eyes still locked on Nicola's.  Taking a prolonged moment to blink and clear her thoughts behind the blank covering, she let out an almost inaudible sigh.  She should've begged Iella to tell Adra she couldn't go.  Should've begged Wedge to post pone the mission, even though the information was vital.  She, Nicola Afyon, should've gone into Targeter mode if she'd had to if it meant keeping her friend safe in the long run.

The only problem with that way of thinking was that, in the long run, everyone's lives, including all the children inside Wraith Squadron headquarters and its boundaries, would be safer if Adra could just get the information from the Gorgon.  And, between Adra and Tyria, Nicola couldn't have said who she would've wanted to go least.

A hand pulling on her sleeve pulled her from her thoughts, only to bring her startlingly quickly into the present line of things.  Inyri was standing in front of her, Liselle coming up slowly behind her friend.  Sighing, Nicola picked up her best friend's daughter and set her in her lap.

"What's wrong, Inyri?" she asked the girl, even though she had no doubt as to the answer.

Inyri looked at her, her eyes still broadcasting the amount of trust she held in her hold-mother.  Her voice quiet, Nicola nonetheless heard what the girl said.  "Mommy was in my head again."

Without having to even look away from her hold-daughter's face, Nicola knew that she wasn't the only one to hear what was said.  Halfway across the room, she felt Face's presence spark a sudden interest in what his daughter was doing and saying.  Next to him, Iella and Winter were portraying the same interest, if not muted better, in the Force.

Nicola sighed, nodding to Inyri.  Yes, Mommy was in the Force again.  This time she kept her speech to being whispered in the Force, knowing Inyri was intelligent and well focused enough to know, first, to reply with the same method and, second, how to.

She home?  The small voice, with all its innocence, sounded eager and hopeful.  That in itself was enough to make Nicola wish they could've never come up with this whole mission.

No, she said slowly, carefully, No, Mommy's not home yet.  She may not be home for a while.  Daddy and Uncle Bror and Aunt Nicola and everyone else may have to go and get Mommy.  Well, it was partially true, after all.  They were going to go and retrieve Adra from the wonderful clutches of the Imperials, only they weren't going to be waiting a long time.  If she were with them too long, Force only knew what Daala might do.

Half the Jedi of Wraith Squadron, and Nicola was one of them, didn't believe Ysanne Isard had died those few years ago.  Fortunately, Iella and Winter, at least, agreed with them.  However, the fact that Iceheart was the head of Imperial Intelligence and knew the most wonderful torture methods in the known galaxy, it wouldn't do to leave them with a five-month pregnant woman.  No, all plans had consisted of giving Adra three weeks at the max; after that, she knew she was supposed to abort mission.  The Wraiths weren't going to stand in line to wait out an extra few days, especially not if Face had anything to say about it.

Nicola hadn't even noticed that Inyri had nodded and gotten down from her lap.  She only knew that a sudden voice was carrying a question to her.  A voice she had learned long ago not to talk back to.

"Nicola, come over here for a minute, would you?" Iella Wessiri Antilles called over to her.  While phrased as a question, Nicola knew there was no option involved in the words.  So instead of even trying to come up with an excuse to get out of it, she got up and walked over to where Face, Winter and Iella sat and pulled out a fourth chair.

As soon as she was settled, the other three had their attention locked on her.  Inside, she was sighing heavily.  On the outside, she appeared the usual calm that she always portrayed.  Silence ruled for a moment, then Nicola asked, "What?" in a slightly low-key tone.

Face shifted in his seat, glaring hard at her, while Iella and Winter exchanged a glance.

"Look," Iella said at last, "Inyri said something about Adra, and you agreed with her.  What happened?  What do you feel from the Force?"

The question coming form the head of New Republic Intelligence, it was hardly something Nicola could skate around.  Perhaps if she'd just come from Daala's service again, maybe she could've gotten away with acting politely confused.  However, with Gaeriel and Asyr in the room to contradict her, should they be asked, she didn't bother.

She cast a single, glaring look at Face, telling him that if he jumped up and did anything rash she'd murder him, she looked back at the rest of the group.  Heaving a silent sigh, Nicola nodded.  "Yes, Adra was just in the Force.  She was actually in the Force for more than ten minutes.  From what I've managed to get from what she shared with me, our favorite Admiral still has her on the Gorgon, which will be heading for Cloud City soon by the way, but Daala's also scrounged Jori Daragon and Darth Maul onto the ship.  There was some other person there, only I didn't really recognize him.  He was about 5'11", 6 foot maybe, and had dark brown hair that was getting a bit of gray in parts..."

Nicola broke off as Face looked sharply away from a non-existent burn on the table, his emerald green eyes locking on Nicola's silver ones.  "Did you just say 6 foot, brown-haired man?"  Nicola nodded, her expression skeptical.  Face blinked at her then, seemingly worried to know if he really wanted to continue, asked, "What rank was he?  Was he a general?"

Her mind rolled about through what she'd seen through Adra's eyes, using the Force to enhance her short-term memory.  At last, she nodded.  "Yeah, General Something-or-other.  I couldn't read the name.  Sorry.  I didn't get enough of a view of it."

As soon as she stopped speaking, Face cursed.  Nicola raised a quick eyebrow at him, leaning back in her chair.  "Friend of yours, Loran?"

Face, who had again been staring at a point on the table, looked up abruptly, a look of disgust on his face.  "No.  If he were merely a friend, I'd have shot the man.  He is, unfortunately, my father-in-law."

Iella, who'd just taken a sip of whatever was in her glass, spit it out suddenly, patting her chest quickly to rid it of the liquid that had remained between stomach and mouth.  After a moment of coughing, the woman looked sharply at Face.  "Did you just say 'father-in-law'?"

He looked over at her, a dry yet determined expression plastered on.  "What else would I have said, Iella?  Yes, I said father-in-law.  That bastard, otherwise known as Imperial General Tallon, is my wife's father.  And about now, I really wish that her 'for fun' detonator had blown her parents up and not just their house."

Winter and Iella stared at Face for a few more seconds, then looked down at their hands, before their gazes both returned to Nicola's face.  After another moment of tense silence, Winter's soft voice broke the air.

"Nicola, would you continue?"

Nicola nodded, slowly tearing her gaze from Face's clouded expression.  "Yes, of course.  Oh, right.  Adra," she smiled slightly at the thought, "Adra, well, she got a bit upset with Daala and started to strangle the bitch with the Force...only Jori stuck her lightsaber into her throat.  So, naturally, Adra got hold of Jori's lightsaber, Maul tossed his master half of his, and Adra had a fun fencing début with our favorite Sith Lords.  Jori turned into a tusk-cat, being a Clawdite and all, a few attacks later, and Adra cut part of her arm- or leg, whatever- off.  So Jori's gotta get a mechanical hand.  Other than that," Nicola cast a wary gaze at Face, hoping she wouldn't regret telling them all this with him present.  "Well, Maul gave Adra a 'healthy' lightsaber burn in her back and I don't think she's going to get a chance to use the Force to heal it.  My guess is she was returned to a ysalamiri-guarded cell, as she's gone from the Force again."

There was silence for a moment, in which time Face's hands could be seen curling into fists as he tried to contain the amount of emotion running through him.  Nicola looked down at her caf mug and it's almost non-existent contents.  Iella and Winter were silent, seemingly absorbing the information they'd heard.

Across the table from her, Face suddenly shoved his chair back from the table.  Nicola blinked, not having expected him to take it that badly.  He walked over to the explosive experts' table and promptly grabbed Kell's bag of explosives.  The demolitions expert looked up, apparently ready to yell at whoever had taken them, only to shut his mouth as he saw Face's expression.  The bag was slung over his shoulder and he walked purposefully out the door and, no doubt, down to the demolitions range.

"Well," Iella said as soon as he was gone.  "I guess that means we're cutting this mission short.  Send the Wraith kids over to Twin Suns, Intel and everyone over there will watch them.  Nicola, since I'm assuming you're going to be more rational than Face is on this mission, you're in charge of it.  I know you and Tyria already worked out a plan.  Have everyone still here ready to rendezvous at Cloud City in a standard week.  We're meeting Daala there anyway, since Wedge has kept up the illusion he might be willing to trade the place for his slicer back."  She inhaled deeply, seeming to gather her thoughts once more.  "There isn't much I can say to you, only that I'll give you all court martials if you get yourselves caught.  You're not going to have much time once we actually get to talking with Daala.  Two, three hours tops.  And tell Science Boy he needs to stop goofing off and actually come up with something that makes a bigger explosion than a grenade."

Nicola nodded, glancing at Kell, Cloud and Ryok.  Then she looked back at Winter and Iella and saluted.  "I understand, Iella.  We'll be ready to go soon enough.  I'll see about moving the Wraith kids to Twin Suns later today."

Both women nodded in return, Winter setting towards the door.  Iella followed her a few steps, then looked over her shoulder at Nicola.  "Good luck, Nicola.  If this goes wrong, we're roasted tauntaun."  And with that, she exited, leaving Nicola to find Tyria Ritril and get Operation Cloud City under way.