Hi!

Here is the first totally new chapter. I hope you'll like it.


Night had practically fallen. I was walking silently through the streets of a relatively posh area near the neighbourhood where Carth and I had settled. On this evening, which was likely to be a very special one, it had been agreed that I should get rid of some of the clothes that might too easily suggest my commitment to the Republic.

The gathering I was supposed to infiltrate may indeed have hosted a few handfuls of Republic officials, but my attire reflected anything but a civilian look. It was crucial that I never betrayed my affiliation with the Republican armed forces. Consequently, Carth and I had to thoroughly search the apartment we were occupying for any clothing that would allow me to go unnoticed. The task was by no means easy, as our shelter had obviously been deserted for a long time and had little to spare apart from a dark jacket, which was intended to be relatively dressy, but not luxuriously made. It was impossible to know how long this garment had been lying around, but it was obvious that it needed some alterations. So I had taken a moment to do a quick but effective cleaning, thus avoiding the need to wait hours for the fabric to dry. At the same time, I had also taken the opportunity to give myself a quick wash. When I had finally left the apartment to head for the reception, I was wearing the so-called jacket over my black undershirt, the collar of which went up to the base of my neck, together with a pair of ordinary straight trousers and Carth's pair of boots, which looked considerably less martial than my own.

When I put on each of these clothes, I figured that such an outfit would attract much more attention than my regular suit. However, against all expectations, I had to admit that the result was not as disastrous as I had pictured. I could even say that I felt rather elegant.

As I made my way to the position indicated by the data, I spotted small groups of people here and there seemingly going to the same place as I was. I couldn't tell if these people were Sith, Republic officials, or last minute invitees like I was. Or rather like Carth.

I suddenly felt a particularly discomforting pressure building up in my throat. What a story I was getting into. I, an amnesiac linguist. Stuck on a planet that was being gridded by the Sith, trying to come up with the most absurd solutions to find a Jedi woman considered by many to be a living legend. I slowed my pace and slipped my hand under my jacket, then used my index and middle fingers to check the small pocket in my undershirt, sewn between my left armpit and pectoral. I could feel a thin relief, which I then pinched with two fingers, as if to make sure it was really there. It was the card that Sarna had given to Carth today. The key to the celebrations.

As I was still unconsciously pinching the item, I got jostled by one of the small groups of people, pacing the street. Instinctively I put my hand flat against my pocket to prevent the card from falling out, then turned to face the cause of the collision. Behind me were two people, two women, staring at me with a look of both regret and hilarity. One, a human with particularly dark brown hair, who was probably in her late thirties, seemed to be trying to regain some form of seriousness. The other, a small blue-skinned Twi'lek, was definitely not about to leave her perfectly joyful disposition. These two women were apparently already in a fairly festive mood, and looked somewhat uninhibited without being particularly drunk, which was rather reassuring as I suspected the Twi'lek to be in her teens. They were obviously two friends embarking on a wild night out. I removed my hand from my jacket and kept observing the women, both looking more and more embarrassed. The human took a quick glance at her friend, took a step closer to me, and with her hand landing on my arm, she began to talk:

« I beg your pardon, Sir. » She spoke in a voice filled with the playfulness attitude she couldn't quite shake off, but nevertheless sounded sincere. « We weren't careful enough. Did we hurt you? »

I made no immediate reply. I cast an eye over the young Twi'lek, watching her friend with great curiosity and clearly fighting back the urge to laugh.

« No, don't worry. I'm okay. » I eventually stated, returning my eyes to the female human. I gave a slight nod, and then, ready to get back on my way, I finished:

« Have a nice time, ladies. »

I turned around and carried on, but kept an ear out for what was whispering behind my back. The two women were still standing at the same place and seemed to be chatting away. I could hardly make out what was being said, and the further away I got, the more inaudible their words became. However, between two bursts of laughter, I managed to catch a few snatches of sentences:

« ...I told you so... Come on! Hurry up! ... is leaving! »

As I got further away from the two friends, my mind went back to its primary task: the reception, finding a way to get to the lower town safely and... legally, if possible. I had to be clever and cautious. I had no idea what to expect from such an event. And the more time passed, the more I feared that I would be left without a solution when I got back to Carth.

« Wait! »

I paused and looked back in the direction of the voice that had just called out to me. A few steps away, I could see the human jogging to me, outpacing her young friend, who wasn't in much of a hurry.

« How can I help you? » I asked.

The woman interrupted her run a couple of steps away from me and fixed her gaze on me awkwardly. She looked as if she wanted to speak to me, but the words were obviously not coming out. I gave her some time - time that allowed me to have a better examination of her. She was dressed in a sort of dark green suit, and held in her right hand a small pouch of a similar shade. Her almost black hair, waving generously over her shoulders and upper back, enhanced her particularly white skin and pale eyes, whose precise colour I could not define in the darkness of the falling night. This woman certainly had a strong poise, there was no denying it. An appearance that reminded me of Commander Shan. However, the woman in front of me radiated an uncertainty that the female Jedi did not display at all. While my eyes wandered clumsily over her features, I briefly paused at her left wrist, which, under the sleeve of her jacket, presented a flesh-coloured bandage. A shade usually chosen to keep the bandage as inconspicuous as possible. Yet on the woman's pale skin it was particularly striking. I could not focus on this detail for long, however, as her other hand reached out and tugged the sleeve over the bandage. I lifted my eyes to hers. This time she was staring at me with a manner that I found almost threatening. Realising that my somewhat sustained observation had offended her, I tried to calm her down:

« I hope it's nothing too serious. » I said with a demure smile that was meant to be friendly.

At once her gaze softened and she responded to my smile timidly. Perhaps she was even somewhat moved by my concern.

« No. » She replied, still quite embarrassed. « Nothing at all. I don't like sores, I just wanted to cover that scratch. » During our interaction, I noted that the little Twi'lek had moved much closer to us, but she kept a respectable distance.

« I guess I didn't get it right. » The human concluded beneath some artificial laughter.

« I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. » I spoke.

« No, I am just too attached to how I look. » She responded with sudden cheerfulness.

« We have a reception tonight, and I wanted to present properly. »

It was strange. Couldn't stand the sight of a wound, or did she want to look presentable? These two arguments in themselves could work, but not sequentially in such a short period of time. I was certainly a bit lost in all this, but that didn't make me a complete and utter idiot. This woman was hiding something from me. I was sure she was trying to make a fool of me. I had to be careful. In the meantime, I had to keep playing with her.

« You don't present well? » I questioned rhetorically.

The woman shot me a surprised look, and then gave a generous smile, to which I responded. A series of beeps brought us out of this moment of what could finally be described as a sort of flirtation. I looked up in the direction of these sounds, and could tell that they were coming from the teenager a little further away. The woman also turned her attention to her. The small Twi'lek busied herself energetically and pulled a communicator out of a small satchel on her belt that seemed to have been cobbled together from spare materials. The very young woman then stepped away from us and took the call. From where we were, it was impossible to overhear. The human turned to me again and grinned again as she shrugged her shoulders.

« Are you going to the reception too? » She asked me expectantly.

« Yes, I am. » I replied, looking warily at the Twi'lek before regaining the woman in front of me. « I am Amon. » I added, holding out my hand, which she quickly grasped.

« Sivir. » She revealed with a broad smile. « I am a civil servant. I was in charge of security matters in the nearby sectors. »

I widened my eyes. But I made sure to regain a composed stance, so as not to awake any suspicion of the new interest I might now have in her. If only she wasn't lying to me.

« You were? » I stressed as I finally released Sivir's hand.

« Yes, when the Sith arrived, they took over our facilities and made themselves in charge of everything. » She said with some measure of irritation. « Oh, no worries, I still have a job! » She added. « But we're given less freedom than before. »

I nodded absently. For all the problems she apparently had to face, this meeting might turn out to be miraculous. This woman could perhaps help me. I just had to buy more time and demonstrate to her that I was trustworthy. I needed to remain vigilant though, because I couldn't be sure who I was truly dealing with.

Was she really trustworthy? After all, she might be spending her days with the Sith, and she was invited to a reception originally organised between unscrupulous Republicans and those very same Sith. And I had the feeling that she and her young friend were playing with me. What an odd pair they were.

« What about you? You've been invited to the reception ? » Sivir questioned in a curious voice. I glanced back at her and, just as I was about to stammer out a few sentences, a shrill whistle ravaged our ears, and those of the other pedestrians walking down the street. It was the Twi'lek again. Sivir spun in her direction. The teenager raised her right hand boldly and waved at her friend; a gesture so highly perched that the sleeve of her blouse rolled down to her elbow, revealing a series of countless trinkets hanging from her wrist. Sivir responded with a knowing nod. The very young woman waved again, more conventionally and hurried away.

« How curious. » I thought, following the girl with my eyes.

« Her boyfriend must have woken up. » Sivir said. « Friends come after boys, that's how it is at her age. »

It made sense. But I couldn't help but wonder.

« Amon ? » The woman called out. I finally turned my attention back to her.

« Yes... er... » I tried before replying more calmly.

« I'll be very honest with you. I have absolutely no good reason to be at the reception. » I saw the young woman's forehead wrinkle as I was explaining myself. « I am a lecturer. Last night I went for a drink with a colleague in a local cantina. A slightly drunk woman came up to us and gave us a pass to the reception here. Nothing more. »

The young woman blinked repeatedly before answering.

« Why are you alone then? »

« My friend is lucky to have a family life. » I replied in a voice feigning bitterness. « And I only arrived on Taris recently, I don't have anyone besides my colleagues. I thought that this party could be an opportunity to meet people. » I added, my gaze locked firmly on Sivir, so much so that I could see her cheeks beginning to redden.

« It certainly looks promising. » She answered, with renewed self-control. I held out my arm, and with a seductive smile on my lips, I offered:

« Will you come with me? »

Sivir threw an almost delighted glance at me, as if she had been waiting for this since the beginning of our interaction. She grabbed my arm with a delicate hand and said warmly:

« I'd love to. »

Together we headed for the reception location. I was not quite proud of what I was doing. It wasn't in my nature to toy with people as I was doing just now. But the situation required this kind of actions. And I must admit that a part of me was not completely unaffected by Sivir's allure. Nevertheless, I had to bear in mind my short and long term objectives: the lower city, to find Bastila Shan.

We walked for another ten minutes or so before reaching the party. I needed to demonstrate enough ingenuity and subtlety to keep my lies alive. I had made up a whole new life for myself, a whole new career. Of course, I had not been spared the worst possible questions: which institution I was attached to, where was I before that, etc. I then pretended to be a temporary lecturer, so that I could remain fairly vague about the places I was working in. I was now officially a teacher at the beginning of his career, with a background in literary translation, a very ungrateful field in which I had never managed to break through, hence my supposed decision to switch to teaching. She didn't look suspicious about my story, quite the opposite. She appeared genuinely sorry for me, that I had not been able to make a living from what was meant to be one of my greatest interests.

The place where the reception was held was a huge mansion, overlooking the whole area we had just passed through. The building was at least three storeys high, and its façade consisted of gigantic white stone columns which ended in a red roof similar to havod. An elegant shade, particularly valued by the wealthier classes.

We didn't particularly struggle to get into the building. A security guard had merely checked my pass, not paying attention to the number of guests it mentioned. Sivir and I were both allowed in without attracting any attention. I reasonably assumed that her possible status as a civil servant in a structure as valuable as Security made her a known personality. Or at least vaguely recognisable. In any case, I was inside. There was no need to bother with these questions. Now it was a matter of collecting useful information, if not practical solutions.

At the very beginning of this night, Sivir and I stayed with each other, continuing our talks as we wandered through the maze of rooms that this huge mansion housed. Strangely enough, I felt her much less interested in me than when we were outside. Deciding not to pay any more attention to these concerns, I took advantage of my wanderings to observe our surroundings, and I had to admit that nothing really caught my eye. It was a conventional reception: countless small groups of people talking about everything and nothing, a glass of alcohol in hand. How was I going to find my way through this mess? How was I going to carry out my assignment? As we made our way to another crowded room, I decided to interrogate Sivir, who certainly could provide me with some useful information.

« You said you were working for...? » I started, waiting for her to finish my question.

She gave me a surprised pout. Her gaze shifted and she brought the glass that had just been handed to her and sipped a very small amount of her drink.

« Department of Security. » She replied dryly, her lips still brushing the glass.

So she was acting on several fronts. That was the only reason for her sudden aloofness, or rather coldness. It didn't matter, I had to question her more about what she was doing. I took a sip of the same drink that had been given to me. It was apparently a sugary wine. Not unpleasant. I took a second sip, then resumed my attempts at interrogation.

« It must be quite stressful, I guess. » I said beneath a subdued and rather unauthentic laugh.

« Indeed. » The woman responded without further elaboration.

I sighed wearily, awkwardly. I decided to stop talking for the moment. I just watched the young woman. Not only had she gone completely mute, but she wasn't even looking at me. I noticed that she was much more interested in the guests than she was in me. And as I went through the reverse chain of thought, I realised that she had been scanning every room we had passed through. Or rather, every room she had walked through while I was following her.

It was now quite obvious. There was no desire on her part to share a lovely evening by my side. She had got inside, and had very soon undertaken a thorough examination of every room in the mansion. My presence was at best irrelevant, at worst deeply annoying. I couldn't help but feel upset, even though I was playing a similar game after all, although perhaps with greater naivety. I didn't know what she was up to here, but I could tell that she wasn't here to enjoy mundanities. So what should I do? Split up and resume the course of my own quest as originally planned, alone? Or try to confront her with what she was hiding? The second option looked far more appealing to me, despite the fact that it was far from reasonable.

Never mind.

« How long have you been planning to sneak into this party? » I asked in a whisper.

Suddenly, Sivir took her eyes off the crowd and, for the first time since we got there, she met my gaze, and she clearly could not suppress her shock at such an unexpected question. I went on less discreetly:

« You could have just told me about it instead of making eyes at me. »

Sivir cast a few peeks around us, no doubt to make sure we were not drawing any attention. Then she regained my gaze and, in an authoritative tone, she replied:

« A lecture from a false teacher who has no business being here is pretty entertaining. »

It was my turn to be caught off guard. I stared at the woman with my eyes so wide open that more would have been painful. My expression provoked her to laugh in satisfaction.

« You obviously don't know the instructional policies here. Taris has not recruited any temporary teachers since the last three revolutions. Here, things are done by competitive examination only, and these are only open to people who have followed the curriculum offered in the universities of Taris. In other words, nothing you have told me makes sense. I'm up to date on a lot of things. »

She sipped some more wine, with the same contented look, and continued:

« But I really enjoyed your tales of being in difficult classrooms. It was worth the effort. It was like being there. Now, let me handle my own business, and I'll let you handle yours. »

With that, she finished her drink and warned me in a controlled voice:

« Be careful. The Sith do not treat the survivors of the Republican cruiser lightly. »

Sivir then walked out of the room, leaving me like a perfect fool standing in a corner holding, my drink. I breathed heavily. How could she have known I was on the Endar Spire? I discreetly inspected my outfit, looking for the slightest clue revealing this reality that had to remain hidden. As much as I looked at every square inch of my clothes, of my appearance, I could not find any indication of this. How did she know? Who was she? And what about the young Twi'lek who had run away after a curious call? What were those two up to? I had to keep an eye on her. At least we shared some kind of secret intention. Perhaps she could still be useful in my business.

The night went on without much progress on my part. The more time passed, the more my confidence faded. I was obviously not the man for such a situation. In the space of a couple of minutes I had succeeded in being spotted by an utter stranger, so what could I expect from my acting performance among Sith officials?

Each of my attempts to join a group had sometimes ended in friendly embraces, but mainly with nothing useful to report. How could I get anything out of these people without raising suspicion?

I now found myself grafted onto another small group of Sith, and just as I was beginning to seriously consider ending my seemingly time-consuming infiltration, they brought up topics that finally caught my attention. Indeed, alongside these few people, I had been able to learn a little more about the gangs that were operating in the lower city. Two groups were leading in these conflicts between scoundrels and criminals: the Hidden Beks and the Black Vulkars. The first was led by a guy named Gadon Thek, while the other was under the governance of a guy named Brejik. The gangs were giving the newly arrived Sith a hard time. The reverse was also true. It was said that some of the Beks had the habit of going up to the upper city by devious, and sometimes particularly acrobatic, routes. I didn't know what it was all about, but I assumed that it was a matter of rather sporty infiltration. This meant that it was possible to get to the lower city by circumventing Sith security. But how to get in touch with a Hidden Bek?

« We're trying to seal the cracks, but that's just not possible. » I heard from one of the guests. « This vermin can sneak in anywhere. As soon as you cut off their access, you can be sure they'll find another one within the hour. »

« They know their city, Musthar. » Another person replied calmly. « We've only been here a short time. We couldn't expect anything else. And the Republic has done a disastrous job in repressing these gangs. »

« Oh, we're not getting any help, that's for sure. » The man ended as he brought his glass to his lips.

As silence fell in the group, I forced myself to dare to ask a question that could be perceived suspiciously:

« But then... » I began, faking naive curiosity. « How can you spot a Hidden Bek among the regular population? »

The few Sith all gave me a look that I couldn't describe. What was real, however, was my violent surge of nervousness, which I tried my best to repress. Seeing that my question had obviously caught the attention of my very temporary party mates, I allowed myself a few more words:

« Sorry. » I said with a falsely uncomfortable countenance. « I'm a tradesman, and your arrival has somewhat affected my business trips. I wasn't supposed to be here this long. »

Musthar and most of his colleagues gave an understanding smile, and then they returned to their initial attitude. However, the woman who had spoken to the man did not take her eyes off me.

« The Hidden Beks are not so good at hiding. » The man finally replied. « These dummies perform a barbaric ritual of red-hot branding every new member. A luminous idea coming from their leader. Souvenir of the Mandalorian Wars, it is said. They all have some sort of little cross on the underside of their right wrist. »

On the underside of the wrist? Suddenly an image of my evening came back to me. Sivir. The flesh-coloured bandage. And her very young friend, who wore an impressive array of trinkets around her wrist. Was it the right one? I couldn't remember. The little Twi'lek had gone so quickly that I hadn't had time to think about such a detail. However, a lot of things seemed to make sense. I knew for sure that these two young women were up to something. Sivir had used me to infiltrate the party, and hadn't waited long before going about her own business, leaving me out of the loop.

« How did a simple tradesman get invited to this party? »

I looked up at the person who had just asked this question so sternly that my blood froze in the next second. It was this woman, who had always kept her eyes on me. She was definitely distrustful of me. And I couldn't blame her.

« Play it smart for once. » I thought.

I glanced down for a moment and sighed defeatedly, which appeared to feed the woman's distrust of me. I raised my head, and, staring resolutely at her, said:

« Well, to be perfectly frank with you. » I dared. « I met a colleague of yours today in the Market District cantina. She offered me to have a drink with her and her friends. I accepted, and... » I paused and reached into my pocket for the tiny card that had enabled me to be here tonight, then handed it to the female Sith.

« ...she gave me this. »

The Sith extended her hand and seized the card, inserting it into a small data pad which she took out of a satchel. As she inspected the contents of the card, I continued:

« I'm sorry, I know I have no business here. I was just curious to be part of an event like this. »

The woman carried on looking at the data for a while. Then I cast a glance at her colleagues. Musthar and another Sith looked quite entertained by the moment, whilst the other two shared awkward stares. I assumed that those looks were mostly due to the woman's unfriendly demeanour. Suddenly my attention was caught by the woman again, she sighed slightly, removed the card from the pad and held it out to me again. I immediately grabbed it and shot the Sith a questioning look.

« I told you that we should make a clean sweep of our workforce. » She said to her colleagues. « Our men and women can' t do anything better than hang out in the cantinas and get drunk out of their skulls. Here's what we get. »

She added, gesturing at me with a rather condescending nod. The men around her now glanced at her in shock at what she was saying and in approval, which was expected of them. Slowly, the group appeared to be trying to disengage from me, and began to pace towards another room. Before leaving me for good, the woman threw me a warning:

« Don't be overly curious, if you don't want trouble. »

Then they all disappeared into the maze of rooms of the massive edifice. I was alone again, but with some interesting information. This rather uncomfortable encounter with these people prompted me not to hang around here any longer. I had somehow been spotted. It was unwise to repeat the process with others. I had to start thinking about leaving this place. I quietly cleared my throat and placed my glass on the edge of what looked like a fireplace. With a confident step, I walked through several halls, heading for the exit. Several dozen meters from there, I slowed my pace until I stopped, having caught sight of Sivir out of the corner of my eye as she looked to be following a Sith with whom she had obviously been in the midst of some sort of exchange. The way the man was staring at her left no room for questioning: he had some kind of plan in his head.

She must have known exactly what she was doing. I didn't have to worry about what was going to happen between these two. I walked back in the direction of the exit. However, I couldn't help but think that this woman could be of some help to us. I paused again, and turned my head back to Sivir and the man. Hardly had I noticed that they were about to walk up a staircase. I glanced back at the exit and sighed.

« Damn it. » I muttered.

With no further delay, I swung round and headed for the stairs that the two party companions had just climbed. Down here, I could perceive some female laughter which left little doubt about the identity of the one responsible for it. I went up the steps and reached a wide corridor. A few inebriated people were wandering around. I walked down the corridor, at a measured pace, in search of Sivir and the Sith. A few dozen metres further on, the corridor opened up into a large room where several couples were seemingly engaged in pleasures that would have deserved a little more privacy from my perspective. I searched the room for Sivir, who I eventually spotted at the other end, and saw her going through a door into another room. Resolutely I started down the path to what I hoped would be the last room, when I was suddenly gripped by the arm. I spun round and saw a woman, clearly quite altered, clinging awkwardly to me.

« Will you take me, handsome? » She asked, as lustful as she was drunk. I gently laid my hand on her own arm, intending to lead her to a seat without rushing her.

« Not tonight, I'm really sorry. » I lied as I settled her on the bench. She showed an exaggeratedly disappointed pout which provoked me to laugh with amusement.

« Too bad for you then! » She added, before breaking into a fit of laughter in response to mine.

« Too bad for me. » I finished warmly.

I eventually headed back to the room that Sivir and the Sith had entered. When I got there, I leaned forward and listened for a while. I could not hear anything in particular. I had to go in and find out. Just as I was about to pull the handle, a scream broke out in the room. A high-pitched voice. Sivir's. I quickly opened the door and ran straight into the room. A few metres away I saw the young woman in a visibly bad position against the man. Her jacket was lying miserably on the floor, and the top she was wearing underneath showed several cuts. I also noticed that her so-called bandage was partially unstuck. But this was not the time to examine the room thoroughly, I needed to neutralise this man who was obviously abusing the woman. I moved towards the Sith without him even noticing my presence. I grabbed him hard by the collar and brought him up behind me so that he no longer had any direct access to Sivir. The man looked totally bewildered by my presence. But I did not give him a chance to recover, for almost instinctively I delivered a hook with all my weight. I could feel and hear a cracking sound which clearly indicated that I had just broken some bones. The man immediately collapsed into a state of deep unconsciousness.

I turned back to the woman, who was looking at me in awe, her arms folded against her very partially exposed chest. A few seconds passed and Sivir finally broke out of her daze, rushing towards the Sith. Thinking then that I had misjudged the scene I had witnessed, I spoke a few words:

« I'm sorry, Sivir. I thought he was after you. »

The young woman remained silent and worked on the unconscious man. I took a step in their direction, and then used the moment to check Sivir's wrist. She obviously noticed, because only a second later she moved her head towards me and tore off the rest of her bandage, revealing a small cross on her pale skin.

« Yes, it does hide what you think! That's why he went crazy! » She barked. « Happy ? »

Without waiting for an answer, she took her eyes off me and focused her attention back on the Sith. She was searching him. Within a dozen seconds, she picked up a small data pad and inspected it thoroughly. After a few manipulations, she stood up, the pad in her hands, and turned back to me:

« We need to leave now, before he wakes up and reports us. »

« That's fine with me. » I replied.

« I don't care whether it's fine with you or not! » She stormed out angrily. « We're leaving, end of story. We're leaving together, just like we came in earlier. Once we're out, you do what you want, I'm getting back in the lower city. »

« Don't you think it would be wiser under the circumstances if you didn't try to return down there? If the guy wakes up soon, he's going to alert every Sith in the area. Security will be strengthened without delay. »

The young woman made no response. She looked pensive.

« A colleague and I are occupying an apartment in a nearby neighbourhood. You will be safe there for the night. » I added.

Sivir sighed. Then she cast me a troubled look.

« I have no more viable option. » She said defeatedly. « Okay, I'll come with you. »

I nodded. Then I took a few steps aside, picked up the woman's jacket and handed it to her:

« Here, put it back on, and let's run away. »

She complied. Within a few short minutes Sivir and I had left the reception and we headed for the apartment where we were to meet Carth.