Previously on Phelarion Landing:...

Rabeeta is Baaaaaaaahhhhhd news….

And

Huff was orphaned as a child and raised by his grandmother… Lady Tarkin...

Season 2
Episode 6

Where do bad folks go when they die?
They don't go to heaven
Where the angels fly
They go to a lake of fire and fry
Don't see them again 'til the 4th of July.

I knew a lady who came from Duluth
Bit by a dog with a rabid tooth
She went to her grave just a little too soon
Flew away howling on the yellow moon

Where do bad folks go when they die?
They don't go to heaven
Where the angels fly
They go to a lake of fire and fry
Don't see them again 'til the 4th of July.

Now the people cry and the people moan
And they look for a dry place to call their home
And try to find someplace to rest their bones
While the angels and the devils fight to claim them for their own

Where do bad folks go when they die?
They don't go to heaven
Where the angels fly
They go to a lake of fire and fry
Don't see them again 'til the 4th of July.

Lake of Fire/Curt Kirkwood

Rabeeta Farkonic's Office, Tarkin Estate, Phelarion
40 ABY
Ten Years After The Yuuzhan Vong War

Rabeeta Farkonic cursed quietly to herself.

According to the report she'd just read her hypothesis about the effects of the chemical compound she was working on were wrong. On non-humans anyway.

"Puhtek."

Pushing back from her desk in disgust, she rested her elbow on the arm of her chair and tried to think of a reason for the failure as she allowed her eyes to take in the sprawling compound outside her viewpane. From her office... her 'official' office in the administration building, she had a clear view of the 'big house'; the residence of the family matriarch - Thalassa Kozima Motti Tarkin.

Being a native of Phelarion, Rabeeta had grown up aware of the family and had a certain amount of respect for what Lady Tarkin had accomplished in the past, but that was the past. She'd been appalled, when she'd finally returned home after so many years, to find that the once great Lady was now a bitter and pathetic relic who was continually trying to interfere with her grandson's life and administration.

Kozima's ideas were antiquated and utterly lacking in subtlety. Of course she had been married to the man who built the first Death Star. Not a lot of subtlety there.

One thing she and Kozima did agree upon however was their shared loathing of Tahiri Veila, 'Universal Sweetheart'.

Rabeeta's objection to the little whore stemmed solely from the fact that she was a Jedi, while Lady Tarkin's objection was that Tahiri still had close ties to the Skywalker/Solo family… one Solo in particular, if Lady Tarkin's suspicions were to be believed. If not for that, Rabeeta suspected, Huff's grandmother probably wouldn't mind the little witch. That was alright, it wouldn't be a whole lot longer before 'The Lady' and the 'Universal Sweetheart' would both be memories, and Rabeeta would not only be running the 'the big house' but by virtue of her position in Huff's life, eventually the whole galaxy.

Shaking her head and mentally scolding herself for daydreaming, Rabeeta turned back to her vid screen and looked over the information again. After a few moments of review a thought struck her. Maybe, just maybe, the results were not what she had expected because this particular test subject hadn't been human.

Her fingers moved deftly over her keyboard as she pulled up information on the gross anatomy of a Cerean. Perhaps, she thought, the acids present in the digestive tract of this species were different enough from a human's to alter the clinical trials. If this were indeed the case, then all was not lost; she simply needed to find another human on which she could conduct controlled experiments.

Actually, it might be wise to find a human to work with now anyway. Since the 'intended' purpose of her work was to find a way for Tarkin to chemically thwart any Force-sensitives - regardless of species - she really did need to focus on that. Her side project of getting rid of Veila was just that - a side project - and not what she was being paid for. That might have to wait.

"Rabeeta?"

Rabeeta jumped slightly at the sound of Huff's voice and quickly pressed the illumination key on her computer to the lowest setting.

Standing and walking around her desk to greet her employer, she worked to hide her wince at the expression on his face.

"What can I do for you, Governor?"

"You can answer a question."

She felt a slight flush of fear race through her. When Tahiri was off planet, as she was now, and she and Huff were alone, as they were now, he was generally very casual in his dealings with her. His mood was anything but casual right now though. There was something going on and she needed to tread lightly.

Rabeeta had learned quickly that the stability of Huff's temper was fragile enough that if she didn't watch herself, and treat him appropriately when he was in one of these moods, their meetings could get unpleasant. She'd seen enough of his interactions with his girlfriend to know that if he could get that unpleasant with a woman as powerful as Tahiri Veila, who he professed was the great love of his life, Rabeeta didn't stand a chance if he got truly angry with her.

"Of course, Sir."

"I've just spoken to Tahiri, she'll be landing soon. She's cut her trip short."

Rabeeta smiled pleasantly, feigning interest in the tramp's schedule. "Did her tour not go well?"

"Not at all, due to the fact that she's been very ill."

"I hope it's nothing serious."

"We both know that if Tahiri is canceling concert dates it is quite serious."

"I've actually heard there's a nasty virus making its way around the Core Worlds, perhaps she's contracted something. What are her symptoms?"

Huff's features relaxed slightly; he was so easy to distract.

"She said she had been feeling tired and run down, but figured it was a result of how hectic the tour has been. She actually started throwing up as soon as she arrived on Kuat and didn't stop for two full days."

"So she became ill about ten days after she left Phelarion?"

Clearly Huff didn't understand why she was asking. Which was good.

"I guess, how long has she been gone?"

Rabeeta smiled and waved off his pathetic attempts at calculating his girlfriend's itinerary.

"How unpleasant for the dear thing. I do hope she'll see a healer when she gets back here."

"I've already arranged it."

Rabeeta looked past Huff's shoulder to the viewing pane behind him, wondering what could have gone wrong, or how Tahiri had managed to avoid eating anything she'd tampered with for that many days, then turned her eyes back to his.

She put all the wistfulness she could muster into her voice to say, "I'm sure it's not anything to be too concerned about. She does work so very hard to entertain the common masses. She's most likely just run herself down and caught a virus and needs to rest." Then, working to add surprised enthusiasm to her voice and looking excited, lowered the boom, "Or, could she be pregnant?"

She felt a tingle of satisfaction at the look on Huff's face; something between anger and disbelief. She bit back the smile that was fighting to form on her lips as the blood drained from his face. Only a few of his most trusted staff knew he was sterile, Rabeeta being one of them.

"You, of all people, know that that isn't possible," he finally bit out.

Covering her mouth with the tips of her fingers Rabeeta demurred, "Of course. Please, forgive my lapse of memory." She stepped closer and lifted her hand to gently sweep her fingers across his brow. "How careless and insensitive of me to forget." Rabeeta drew her fingers down his cheek and then halted and opened her eyes wide, feigning shock and hurt on Huff's behalf, "Unless of course Tahiri has been…"

She let her sentence trail off, relying on Tarkin's suspicious nature to lead him the rest of the way, all the while knowing she was playing with fire.

As she had anticipated, Huff's temper flared and his hand shot out to grab her wrist in a punishing grip.

"Whatever our issues, Tahiri is nothing if not scrupulous. She is above reproach."

Rabeeta now changed her expression to repentant, or rather, as close as she could manage, considering that she was relatively sure she had never actually felt that particular emotion, and nodded, "Of course, Sir."

"Let no mistake be made Rabi, I may have issues with her lingering relationships to some Jedi… I may not be totally comfortable with her… affliction… or her continued use of the Force in certain situations, but I love her. You would be wise to remember both her place in my life, and yours."

"Of course, Sir."

Huff sighed deeply and looked at Rabeeta with a piercing gaze, "That, of course, brings me right back to why I'm here in the first place."

"Sir?"

Before he could get any further however, the door to Rabeeta's office opened and another of Huff's assistants stepped in.

"Governor, Miss Farkonic," he said, nodding to both before turning his attention to Huff and offering an old-fashioned parchment envelope.

Rabeeta instantly recognized it for what it was and sighed because Huff would now not have time for this conversation - and she had therefore dodged laser fire. He, of course, had just been targeted.

"Lady Tarkin asked that you respond immediately, Sir."

Huff read the note, then nodded to the assistant. "Please let my grandmother know that I will be there shortly, and see that the rest of my schedule is cleared for the day. You may go."

The aide left the room and both Rabeeta and Huff were silent for a moment until Huff finally tossed the summons onto Rabeeta's desk and headed for the door.

Upon reaching it, he turned and said, "Don't think that because I have to go deal with the old hawkbat I'll forget where we left off. And I hope, for your sake, that you didn't somehow slip the serum to Tahiri. You know very well I don't want her dosed. Or used as a test subject."

Rabeeta nodded, acknowledging that she had heard him as Huff left the room.

Interesting.

Tarkin might suspect that she'd tried to poison Tahiri, but he clearly wasn't sure - or he wouldn't have allowed the conversation to be redirected.

She'd been correct about her earlier conclusion though, and another human test subject needed to be found. But where in the galaxy would she find another Force sensitive human test she could experiment on?

Wilhuff Tarkin III hated his grandmother.

She was a vile, self absorbed, condescending, mean, old hag who had made his childhood a living hell and outlived her usefulness years ago. Unfortunately, Huff didn't have the heart to just kill her and get on with his life. And it was this cowardice that haunted him night and day.

Every time the old battleaxe summoned him he aged a few years; wondering what he had failed at in her opinion and dreading the lecture that was about to come.

What would it be today? Criticism at the way he had worded a document? A rebuke for the language he used during a speech? Perhaps a not so gentle reminder that his behavior in some situation had not lived up to the standards of the Tarkin name. The woman was impossible to please and Huff was certain that in her boredom she specifically looked for things to pick apart in any performance he gave, professional and personal.

Huff walked with precise and evenly measured steps, just as he had learned in the years he'd served in the Phelarion military. He wondered, briefly, if it was just his imagination or if the journey from the administration building to his Grandmother's reception area had grown shorter. Intellectually, he knew it hadn't, that what had been reduced was his already tragically limited ability to ignore his grandmother, always an issue when Tahiri was away, and she had been gone for ages.

As much as Huff was concerned about why Tahiri had taken ill, he couldn't deny to himself that he was pleased that something, anything, had cut her trip short and was bringing her back to him. He craved her; needed her loving touch and gentle encouragement to keep him buoyed.

He was sure that his grandmother would lecture him about Tahiri today. He'd realized long ago that his grandmother's inability to understand the desire, the passion, the raw, naked need that Huff had for this woman was due to the fact that she had never known real love in her own life. Huff needed Tahiri to keep him sane and grounded and focused on the future that he, and ostensibly his grandmother, wanted to achieve. How was this bitter, frigid woman to understand what Huff and Tahiri shared?

Being an orphan herself, Tahiri understood the abandonment issues that Huff faced every day. Like him, she had been raised by people who pretended to care about her well being but who had ultimately only been concerned with how her gifts could further their own agendas. And like Huff, Tahiri had a vision of a better, safer galaxy, free from tyranny and corruption. His grandmother simply couldn't understand how well suited for him his little firebrand was.

Reaching the door behind which his grandmother held court, Huff stopped and inhaled deeply. He pulled on the front of his jacket sharply, then lifted a hand and ran his fingers through his hair.

He hadn't appeared in public in weeks, he hadn't spoken to the media in days… what could she want to talk to him about?

Shaking his head minutely, Huff rid himself of the idea that he was in for a reprimand and tried to think positively, as Tahiri was always advising him. A small smile quirked his lips. At least he had something to look forward to after whatever it was that his grandmother had in store for him. When he could escape the venal, aged beast's clutches, Tahiri will have landed, and will be waiting to hold him and tell him that everything he was doing was good and right and make him feel loved and accepted.

Kozima Tarkin sat in a high backed chair facing the door as Huff entered.

She rolled her eyes as her pathetic excuse for a grandson entered the room. How was it that with all her hard work and determination over the years, after all the pregnancies she endured, this was the only heir she was allowed? The gods were truly cruel and unjust.

"Don't linger by the door, boy. Did I not raise you better than that?"

She watched her grandson approach her and wondered why no one else seemed to see the feeble man she saw. He was supposed to inspire confidence and a sense of safety in his constituents… and all she saw was a fool, always afraid to say or do the wrong thing. Thankfully, Kozima thought, the beings Huff led weren't as perceptive as she was, nor did many of them remember the glorious days of the Emperor's rule, and therefore seemed to be satisfied by this pathetic excuse for a leader.

Well, she reasoned, she had done the best she could with the genetic material left to her. As much as she'd adored her son, his choice of a mentally unstable wife had disappointed her. She remembered well their fights over love versus duty to the Empire, and it was clearly that meek little woman's DNA that had left her with this. Maybe she could have shaped her grandson into a force to be reckoned with if her darling Wilhuff had been around to help her.

Now there was a man. Virile, strong, energetic, and with the vision and foresight to work toward great things for the galaxy. She would mourn him, and the life they should have had together, until the day she died.

"Governor," she began formally, "you haven't come to visit me in several days."

"I apologize, Grandmother. I've been quite busy."

"Oh… anything important?"

Huff rolled his eyes at her and she resisted the urge to use her cane to strike him.

"I don't know,. Would you consider running a planetary government and keeping tabs on the governments of nearby systems as more important than drinking and inserting yourself where you are not needed?"

"Your grandfather would never have allowed such insolence…"

Huff cut her off. "And as I've told you before, Dear Grandpappa was a fool who's overconfidence got him killed. I'm not a fool. Did you summon me to discuss something important, or were you just looking to reminisce about the glorious past? Tahiri will be landing soon and I'd much prefer to spend time with her than you."

Kozima bit back on her rage, taking a breath. "As much as I'd hate to keep you from the trollop… there is something I want to discuss with you; the civil unrest on Ja' Rallun."

Huff sighed and made his way to the bar. He poured a drink and took a deep swig before turning to face her."I find it amusing that in your feeble state you think you're still a player in Inter-Galactic Intel, but I assure you - I have that covered."

"Interesting. And how rude of you to help yourself to my bar and not offer me a drink."

"Apologies." Huff turned back to the bar and refilled his glass, then filled a second and walked over to her, handing her the tumbler. He sat in the next chair and took another drink. Finally he said, "You know I find your games tiresome. If you have something to say then please, don't keep me waiting."

Kozima took a drink, then returned her attention to her recalcitrant grandson. "If you're so smart, would you care to fill me in on your plans to deal with the Hapan intervention?"

Huff scowled instantly and stood up and began pacing. "Of course you'd be laser focused on that."

"Can you blame me?"

"It's a delicate situation…"

Kozima shot back the rest of the alcohol in her glass. "And you don't want to upset your little toy by going head to head with her sister-in-law? Afraid Tahiri will withhold physical favors if you annoy the 'family'?" Standing up and making her way to the bar to refill her glass, Kozima kept going. "Please, don't tell me you're ignoring this threat because it might interfere with one aspect of your sex life." Turning back around and heading to her chair, she continued. "And don't look so surprised. Of course I know you're kriffing Farkonic. A drunk Mon Cal would have picked that up; Rabeeta isn't exactly subtle. The fact that Tahiri puts up with it only makes me question her intellect… and motives... more than I already do."

"Don't start with that again."

"What? Questioning the little beast's brains or the idea that she actually loves you? No woman worth anything should tolerate you kriffing anything with a heartbeat whenever she's off planet."

"What can I say? Did you not raise me to emulate my grandfather?"

Kozima glared at Huff, the thought of strangling him flashing through her mind, but he didn't give her much time to enjoy that fantasy before he continued.

"But back to the topic at hand; you clearly have thoughts on the Hapan issue. Spit it out so I can get on with my day."

She supposed she could take over the government herself then look for a new, and more able successor, but ahhhhh… the work involved. Especially considering the years she had already put in.

Pushing the tantalizing thoughts of infanticide away, Kozima finally answered Huff. "I'm concerned about Tenel Ka Djo's interference with our interests."

"Plans are already in the works."

"Would you like to hear what I think you should do?"

Huff sighed. "Can I avoid it?"

"That Fel boy has not only been zealous but effective in his efforts to see that his wife lives; it's been several years since anyone has tried with any real effort to kill her, or any other member of the Royal family. However, that may mean that he's slacked off in his vigilance. I think someone in the Queen Mother's family needs to meet with a tragic accident."

"As I said, plans are already in the works."

"I would suggest…"

"Let me say right now that the target will not be anyone close to Tahiri."

"I wasn't going to suggest her supposed brother or sister-in-law; that would be too obvious. It ought to be someone close to the Queen, but not so close that the whole Cluster will be in an uproar. I'm merely suggesting a distraction."

"Is there a particular distraction you have in mind, Grandmother?"

Kozima ignored Huff's dismissive tone and continued. "No dear… I don't have a personal preference. Target anyone you like. My only advice is that you make it look like it might be for a reason other than his or her proximity to the Royal family, and that it look like it was done by someone within the Consortium."

"Again... plans are already in the works."

"It might also be to our advantage to use Tahiri's proximity to the Royal Family."

"How so?"

"Access. Waiting until we can use her, timing wise, might be in our best interests."

Huff bobbed his head, then lifted his glass in salute. "As opposed to relying on local help that may lead back to us? Point to you," he said thoughtfully. "Selling her on a trip... a trip on which I appeared to be trying to work with the Queen, and it giving her the chance to spend time with the family… could absolutely work in my favor."

"On many levels no doubt. And I'd like to go."

Huff snorted. "Right. Like I'm going to subject Tahiri to a trip with you. You haven't been well enough behaved to take out in public for years. There's no kriffing way I'm going to ask that of her, not with her family."

"You'd be missing a unique opportunity. The Queen's grandmother is no fan of the Jedi. Or the GA. And she and I have a history. Or rather… a certain mentality in common. If I could spend some time with her on a trip, it could be helpful later. If you take no other advice or wisdom I have to offer today - think on this; Ta'a Chume and I are two old women with a similar interest; the destinies of our grandchildren and the planets they rule."

"Fine." Huff conceded. "I'll get to work on the plans for our trip to Hapes as soon as I know Tahiri's illness isn't serious."

"Ah… yes. Tahiri's illness. I'll be waiting with bated breath for the medic's assessment. In the meantime… let's turn to Dr. Farkonic's work… the ysalamari toxin…"

Huff immediately stiffened.

"Are the experiments not going as Dr. Farkonic promised? Has there been an issue with test subjects?"

Kozima was both stunned and a little thrilled when Huff turned and lurched forward, leaning into Kozima as he gripped the arms of her chair, pinning her in place.

More of your grandfather in you than I thought.

"If I find out Tahiri's sick because Rabeeta slipped her the test serum I'll kill her. And if I find out you had a part in it I'll kill you. Tahiri is not to be harmed."

"And yet how else are you to control her? Sex alone clearly isn't doing it."

"The serum development is a precaution; to be used on Force-sensitive threats to this realm. Tahiri does not fall into that category."

"Hmmm. And at no point in our planning and plotting did it ever cross your mind that using the serum on her would be to your advantage?"

Huff practically spit out his next words through gritted teeth. "I would never try to manipulate Tahiri in that way, nor would I have any reason to."

"Really?"

Huff glared at her again, then backed away.

"So you're perfectly satisfied with the girl?"

"Of course."

"And she's perfectly satisfied with you?"

"I need to go," Huff bit out, then turned and marched toward the door. "Tahiri will be landing shortly," he called over his shoulder.

"Do be sure to ask her how her latest visit with Master Solo was. They do seem to spend a lot of time alone together."

Next time on Fear and Love...

Interlude Number Two: The Ballad of Jacen and Tahiri