Dark Sun Rises: Chapter 9

Balmorra sat in the area of space known as the Colonies, part of the Nevoota system. Onyxa had typed in the coordinates and let the auto pilot take over to get them there. Both she and Vette had taken the opportunity to get some much needed rest. Having finally had a chance to stop for once, Onyxa had become aware of every small ache and pain, every cut and bruise she had suffered taking care of what her master had tasked her to do. While she had intended to sleep, it had proven too elusive. Every time she attempted to get some rest, her thoughts seemed to wander to Vette. Was she resting too? Was she secretly hiding any injuries from her, despite claims to the contrary? Try as she might, she could not get the twi'lek out of her head.

Sighing, the Sith grew annoyed with herself. How had she let Vette get close enough to affect her like this?

This is not good at all, she finally decided.

As sleep was proving to be out of the question, she turned to checking up on Balmorra in the ship's database. The planet had been one of the Republic's best, a manufacturing site for weapons, droids and all other machines that would be serving during times of war. The Empire had managed to push the Republic into abandoning the planet, but there was still unrest buried deep within. Republic commandos were frequently a nuisance, aiding and stirring up rebels in one quadrant or another, and their continuing struggles had bogged the Empire down from seizing full control. In short, the entire planet was stuck being one big battleground, both sides gaining and losing ground every day.

And now Baras was sending her to eliminate one of his top agents, despite the man's many years of service behind enemy lines. The Force certainly liked playing its complex games.

It didn't take as long as she had hoped to exhaust her options at looking into Balmorra and its history. Rising, she walked across her quarters, pacing about for a few more minutes. Shaking her head, Onyxa grabbed the pieces of her armour, retrieving her repair kit from her pack and seated herself, going over each piece with a meticulous eye. Dirt and moisture left on plate would cause it to rust; straps left untended could snap in battle, hampering movement at a crucial moment and exposing vulnerable spots. She wiped down the metal with a dry cloth, tested each strap and clasp for strength and tended to them until they were supple. In truth, her armour did not require such maintenance, but the movements were familiar, soothing, even if they did not completely quell the restlessness within her. How much longer would it take to get-

She heard the door open and shut quietly behind her. "We're here!" Hearing the all too familiar voice suddenly made the Sith smirk. Just in time, she thought, almost as if she had timed it to pop in when she was needed most.

Vette noted Onyxa was working on her armour, and found her eyes travelling over the other woman's upper half. Though mostly concealed by the undershirt she wore, the twi'lek could see the indications of past battles. Small and half healed cuts, a couple bruises that had mostly faded but were still partially visible even in the darker lighting of the room. Made sense Lady Sith was tending to her armour, to ensure that was the only things she suffered. It always seemed Onyxa was taking the worst of the impacts when they fought. Part of her though was actually glad she was willing to do that.

The bemused expression on Onyxa's face made her blush a moment, grateful for the darker lighting. Damn her, Vette thought, knowing she had caught herself too many times staring at the Sith. What was it about her, she mused a moment more, still feeling her cheeks burning. Wether from embarrassment at being caught or because of something else, she had no clue.

"Let's get going then. I've got the rendezvous coordinates."


Stepping out of the spaceport, Onyxa looked about their location. Overhead the slight orange glow of the energy shield covering the city was noticeable, as was the damaged buildings littered all about them. Balmorra may have been occupied by the Sith now, but it was far from conquered. The place was more or less in ruins, far more so than even Korriban and its ancient tombs. There was a tension in the air that was unmistakable even to the uninitiated, a sense of dread permeating the air that an attack could happen at any moment. Despite her best efforts, Onyxa could feel such and it made her uneasy, hand remaining close to one of the lightsabers hanging from her belt.

"Welcome to the war zone, huh?" Vette commented, looking about her.

An explosion off in another part of the city grabbed their attention, black smoke rising over the buildings. Almost immediately, troopers scrambled about as alarms sounded to break the relative calm. Commands were yelled out as civilians ducked their heads and ran for whatever cover they could find. Despite the chaos of the explosion, both Sith and twi'lek saw how the civilians did not panic, nor cry out in disarray.

They were accustomed to it all. The explosions, the blaster fire, the death and destruction—it was all common knowledge to the citizens of Balmorra.

Onyxa knew Vette was not wrong at all. This whole planet was a giant war zone.

Standing there watching the chaos about her, Onyxa knew already she wanted to get things taken care of and leave this planet as soon as possible. A quick check of the data pad for directions and Onyxa lead them down the three flights of stairs and through the streets of Balmorra to one of the few buildings that appeared relatively intact. Entering inside, Onyxa watched as a man dressed in the uniform of a Imperial officer was dealing with one of his subordinates.

"It was the best I could do, sir. I... I'm sorry..."

"If that's your best, you're useless to me," The officer all but growled the words as he grabbed the corporal by his collar, even as his voice remained perfectly civil in its tone. His face betrayed no emotion as he continued. "I can shoot you dead with a clear conscience. Is that what you want?"

The corporal paled, visibly terrified. "N-No, sir!"

"Then focus, Jillins. You are dismissed."

The corporal saluted, then all but ran out of sight, evidently not willing to test his superior's sudden display of mercy to his mistakes. Quite the iron grip, Onyxa noted, keeps his men sharp and fearing him more than the enemy. If only the other officers were as effective in their duties.

Noticing their arrival, the officer stood at attention, facing them directly. He gave no signs that his previous show of discipline had ever occurred.

"I apologize for the delay, my lord. Lieutenant Malavai Quinn, I am to be your liaison here on Balmorra."

"Over starched stiff shirt alert." Vette quipped and Malavai arched an eyebrow giving the twi'lek a hard look.

"Watch it…" Onyxa warned gently, firm but keeping her voice barely above a whisper. Vette went silent then, but not without a hard look of her own directed at Quinn. The Sith had to suppress an eyeroll. She could tell these two weren't going to get along all that well.

Attention turning back to the lieutenant, she studied the man a moment. Malavai Quinn was average in both height and build. He had dark black hair cut short, dark but piercing blue eyes and pale skin, save for a rather prominent mole on the left side of his face. His appearance was definitely military influenced, tidy and very meticulously looked after, not a single wrinkle out of place. Onyxa could also guess the man would be quite competent in his line of work, given he was working for Darth Baras. If he hadn't proven his worth, he would have been killed off long ago.

Still, no reason not to test him, and deal with him at her own discretion if needed.

"Darth Baras says you're quite capable." she started, golden eyes hardening as she continued, "I hope he's not mistaken."

"I assure you, I will earn that distinction, my Lord." There was no fear, no doubt in Quinn's voice. "Darth Baras is waiting to speak with you, my lord. I will patch him through immediately."

Onyxa said nothing, turning her attention to Baras, awaiting her master's instructions.


"So... what? The stiff shirt is going to monitor and plan things as we move in then?" Vette asked, eyes focused on the ear piece in her hand, inspecting it this way and that.

"Apparently so." Onyxa said simply. Hers was already in place around an ear, but not yet activated. "We are not in any position to question such, Vette. We get on with the mission and get it done."

Darth Baras had informed them their goal was to secure his spy network. The Jedi Master, Noman Karr, was working to try and persuade the Jedi Council his padawan and her skills were truly beyond any reproach. If such happened, then the Jedi would be able to undo all of Baras' work. Every last one of his spies uncovered, every carefully laid plan suddenly laid bare and eradicated. That was not to happen, at any costs, Baras had that made abundantly clear. Following their meeting, Onyxa had taken Vette to where he knew they could speak freely. The time however had slipped past and it was now about getting down to business. Motioning for Vette to don her ear piece, Onyxa finally activated her own.

"I hear you, my lord." Quinn's firm, formal and direct voice answered back when Onyxa tested the device.

"You'll need to head to the Markanan Plains. The satellite tower is waiting." Quinn commented. "I'll monitor and assist from here."

"Understood." Onyxa answered back even as she stared over a shoulder at Vette who was making faces. The twi'lek mocked Quinn and how serious and professional he was. "We'll be heading out in mere moments."


The light blinked repeatedly, a sharp glow of red against the dark interior of the Hydra's main command bridge. Myrrha glanced at the sudden flash of light and frowned. That light should not have been blinking, and when it did it always meant something was wrong. At the Sith Lord's request, she had rewritten this particular part of the computer software, designed it to search and respond to certain commands, be it names or places, key searches, whatever might be useful information. In this case, something had triggered the program to notify her. With a sigh of frustration she pressed the button to call up the display, trying to figure out what was going on.

"This isn't good." She muttered as she looked over the information displayed.

"What isn't?" The deep contralto of Darth Seraphus' voice came from behind her as the commander of the Hydra approached her station. Were it any other officer, perhaps even some other Sith, they might have paled at the Darth's emotionless expression, or flinched at how she seemingly materialized from the shadows without a sound.

Myrrha, for her part, quickly applied the mask and role needed to ease any suspicion off of her. It was a tactic she had long since mastered to ensure her anonymity. Being around her mother did not mean she was to forget the lessons taught and instilled to her from a young age: Do your duty, keep yourself beneath notice. Don't let others discover just who she was connected to, or that information would prove her undoing.

"This might be of some interest to you, My Lord." Myrrha answered quickly, motioning over towards the data feed. She watched carefully as the Sith peered at the screen and information Myrrha had dug up and frowned. Someone was doing checks on her daughter again, no doubt at Baras' behest. Checks were coming from Imperial Intelligence based on Dromund Kaas. That part was not really surprising. They looked in to anyone that caught their fancy.

The second check, however, was a bit more curious and out of the ordinary. Someone on Balmorra was checking in on her daughter as well. That peaked Seraphus' curiosity enough she wanted to know more.

"Find a secure channel and notify my daughter immediately." the Darth finally ordered, voice low. "She will need to be informed that Baras is already making his first move."

Myrrha nodded, reaching to throw a couple switches in response to the command. Mother... Lord Seraphus was tense with the news, she knew, and that was not a good thing. One did not mess with those Darth Seraphus cared for.

She almost pitied whoever it was that Darth Baras was using to try to find information about her sister for him. Part of her even wondered how long it would take for Baras to replace them.


Onyxa heard the chirping of the holo-communicator and frowned in annoyance. She didn't divert her focus as she held the rebel soldier pinned in the air with the force. A pair of blaster bolts streaked by her then, hitting the man square in the chest and killing him. Vette was getting the hang of their co-ordinated attacks. Between the two of them working together, they were able to wade through most obstacles in their path. Onyxa had to admit they made quite the effective strike team. With the last of the rebels that had dotted the grounds around the tower dispatched, Onyxa glanced back and waved the twi'lek forward. Balmorra was far more dangerous, and they had quickly fallen into the pattern of having Vette hold back, find cover and blast away while she charged in, crimson blades cutting a deadly path through the bulk of the enemy's numbers. A simple strategy really, but one they had proven to be quite effective.

Vette climbed up the slope and out of the crater she had taken cover in. Some artillery shell had marked the landscape prior. Whether her hiding spot had been formed recently or not the twi'lek did not know, but it had given her a good vantage point to attack from. Brushing dirt off the front of her, she holstered her blasters as she drew close. Violet eyes scanned about constantly, and Onyxa could tell she would not have to worry about reminding her to remain focused at all times. The holo-communicator chirped once again and Onyxa growled and jabbed the button on the device hard in annoyance.

Immediately she rolled her eyes as the ship's droid, 2V-R8, appeared and began babbling about an incoming priority call for her.

"If it's not Darth Baras, you stupid droid, then take a message."

"I'm sorry master, please don't deactivate me!" The droid warbled in response. "But the caller is most insistent! They persist that it is urgent!"

Vette gave the Lady Sith a look of curiosity before drawing one blaster, taking up position and looking about to keep watch. Onyxa motioned to her and they both removed and turned off Quinn's ear pieces. If it wasn't Baras calling urgently, then Onyxa did not want whoever it was having another listening in on their conversation. While Malavai Quinn had proved himself to be useful, he was Baras' man and Onyxa knew better than to trust others blindly.

"Very well. If it's so important then, patch it through."

The image of the droid vanished quickly as it rushed to obey its master. Moments later, a new image appeared. Onyxa had to stop her eyes from widening in surprise as a very familiar Sith soldier appeared on the line.

"My Lord," Myrrha greeted, giving a quick salute, acting in the position of a common soldier. "My apologies for contacting you directly, but Darth Seraphus instructed me to contact you with all possible speed."

"You have my attention." Onyxa stated back, eyebrow arching even as she noticed Vette's curiosity was peaked. The twi'lek crowded in close trying to get a better view. In any other situation, the Sith might have given her a look of warning, but she was too surprised to see her sister for the idea to even register. Just what had happened to require Myrrha reaching out to her like this?

"I'm afraid you've gotten some unwanted attention." Myrrha informed, and Onyxa nodded. Ah. So that was what was going on. Baras was likely behind it all, she knew. "I caught some inquiries being made about you. One was Imperial Intelligence out of Dromund Kaas, but the other was on Balmorra."

"Awfully convenient, wouldn't you say?" Vette piped up with an annoyed look.

"You have company, I see." Myrrha remarked and Onyxa cast a glance at Vette before turning back. "She's cute."

"Careful, she's much more dangerous than she looks." Onyxa cracked back and smirked. At least they were not fighting. "Thank you for the warning. I'll be sure to watch my back."

"You always do." Myrrha remarked, then almost hastily tacked on a quick 'My Lord' before ending the call.

Vette stared at Onyxa as she put the communicator away before glancing at her. She didn't like the sound of what she had heard. It was clear from the look in Onyxa's eyes she was none too thrilled about it either. The call had surprised Vette, given that Onyxa never spoken of any affiliations, friends, or even family. The fact she had ties tot he military, and apparently quite skilled about getting information, made her all the more curious as to what else she did not know about the Lady Sith. In the end she could not help herself and had to ask the question right there on the tip of her tongue.

"So… who was that?"

"Someone who is well paid to be an ally." Onyxa answered cryptically, though Vette quickly tagged the woman as an Imperial soldier at that point. Something familiar about them, but the twi'lek couldn't put her finger on it.

"Yeah, I kinda gathered that." Vette gave the Sith a frustrated look. "But who is she?"

"Why? Interested in the soldier who called you cute?" Onyxa cracked with a smirk tossed at her before turning back and heading for the tower. They still had work to do.

"Hey! No fair!" Vette cried as she hurried after Onyxa. "That's not an answer!"


Malavai Quinn stared at his console with a frown creasing his brow. Darth Baras had been very specific with his instructions, leaving him no room for personal interpretation on the matter. Study, keep tabs on his apprentice, and report on Onyxa Solaris' progress while she was on Balmorra. He had also requested him to dig up as much of the woman's history as he could find. The annoying sidekick at least seemed to be nothing more than a nuisance, the slave constantly adding her asinine comments with little warning, desired or not. The only saving grace that stayed the headache the twi'lek gave him was the knowledge it meant he could focus on just Onyxa alone.

The rat tail at her side was inconsequential. Only the apprentice required his attention.

And that right there was the problem.

Quinn had been more than thorough, having run a number of searches, each meeting with a dead end. All Quinn could dig up was she had been born on Dromund Kaas, admitted to Ziost, then fast tracked to Korriban, all of which Baras knew already. There was mention of some incident on Ziost but no official reports that would give him any insight. No indications of her family, no friends, nothing on her personal life before she was admitted. Quinn could not even pull up and locate any of the woman's admittance paperwork. There was almost literally nothing for him to find, try as he might. Even Baras' other contacts were bearing no fruit for their efforts.

Almost as if some invisible hand was keeping him in the dark deliberately. One moment he appeared to be making ground, following a potential lead through careful searching, both subtle and direct. Then the next moment, the trail would go cold, his access blocked before he could venture further than the basics.

It was infuriating, to say the least.

Worse still, minutes ago his equipment had gone silent. One minute he was monitoring Onyxa and her annoying, yapping pet of a twi'lek as they made for the satellite tower. The next, there had been the sounds of blaster fire, then only dead air. Malavai trusted his gear, knew it would not simply stop working. That meant either they were killed in the unexpected skirmish, or the more likely was that the gear had been deliberately deactivated. He was about to call and inform Darth Baras of the development when he heard the crackle and the annoying prattle that never seemed to end coming from Vette. They were back online once more.

"How come you never say I'm cute?" Malavai heard Vette ask and wondered what in the galaxy the twi'lek was on about now. Did she never stop and take a breath, Quinn wondered.

"Are you there, my lord?" Quinn questioned.

"I am. Apologies for that. Lost the ear piece in a scuffle here. We're heading into the tower now, Quinn. Stand by."

Quinn frowned, but said nothing. It was a lie, certainly, but Baras' enforcer was less of a brute than he had suspected her to be. On the contrary, she was surprisingly cunning, able to cover her tracks quite well.

…Was Onyxa somehow aware of his attempts to dig into her past? Or was she getting aide from another party he was unaware of, foiling him before he could even start? He considered informing Baras of the potential difficulty… Then shook his head. No. The delay would not be tolerated, especially since he was grasping at straws as it was. Even if it were true, it wouldn't benefit him in the slightest until he found a means to work around it, which Baras wouldn't have the patience for.

Regardless of the reason for the difficulty, he would have to be more careful moving forward. He could not afford failure. Baras was quick to offer praise for those who did well in his service, but fail him even once…


"I hope you can see the smile on my face, apprentice. You are quickly making me a believer."

Onyxa managed to keep a straight face, though she did not miss the slight snicker that Vette could not hold back at all. She noted that Malavai Quinn hadn't missed it either, casting a hard disapproving glare towards the twi'lek. Still, the absurdity of the comment was rather amusing, all things considered. With the face concealing metal helmet on at all times, how in the galaxy was anyone supposed to see, or believe, Baras was smiling unless he declared it so himself?

"Now, of course there is one other matter that requires your skills before we pursue our primarily objective." Baras continued and Onyxa kept her focus on her master's words. "Quinn will fill you in on the details. Contact me once you completed this assignment."

The image of Darth Baras flickered then cut out as the call ended and Onyxa turned her head to glance at Malavai Quinn. Under the gaze of the Sith, Malavai shifted slightly before moving to pull up a holo display of a young man. Rather young and unassuming. Not much to be noted about him in all honesty.

A lot like Lord Grathan's son had been, in that respect.

"This is Ensign Dumat, Commander Rylon's son." Quinn explained, waiting until Onyxa nodded for him to continue. "Ensign Dumat was captured and is being held in the old republic outpost, Victory. Intelligence has warned us that the republic intends to interrogate him, believing he might have information on Rylon's allegiances. A loose end, if you would. As such, we need to eliminate the threat before it can be exploited, lest the Republic agent gain vital information."

Onyxa frowned at Quinn's words. She knew if this was a rebel outpost, aided by the Republic, then the opposition would be formidable. As far as the Ensign went, if he was old enough to hold rank, she wouldn't lose any sleep if he had to die.

Vette, however…

Her attention turned to the twi'lek. To her credit, she hid her discomfort well, having made a similar connection as she and already knowing what the choice would be. Onyxa did not care one way or the other, but if put under failing or not, the Ensign would not be breathing by the day's end.

"Seems we got another Sith thing to do, huh? Try to at least make it quick, will ya?" Vette threw out, clearly masking her discomfort with humour. Malavai Quinn scowled at her once more.

"Give me the coordinates, Lieutenant." Onyxa refocused the man. "We haven't time to waste."

"Aptly put, My Lord."


Vette winced and turned away slowly, fighting back the urge to be ill as Jailor Zixx was cut down. She had taken a few hits, but the pain was manageable. Nothing that would require medical attention later. The ambush had been a surprise, but nothing she and Lady Sith couldn't handle. Onyxa'd taken the brunt of a of the commando attacks head on, acting as a shield between the twi'lek and the enemy. While she had hacked and slashed her way through them and dwindled down the numbers, Vette had held her ground, blasting away those who the Sith had missed, taking some hits most would have gone down from to make sure no one could attack the Sith from behind.

Two of the Republic's deadest squads, down and out, quick as a flash.

Looking about, she noticed Onyxa was already standing over the now cowering prisoner.

"You know as well as I do that there's nothing else we can do regarding the situation. You already confessed in front of Zixx. You'd crack if the republic interrogators looked at you funny."

"B-But... Please!" the boy was white as a ghost, shaking uncontrollably. Pure fear. "My father's d-done so much for the Empire. M-may-maybe... the apple fell off the tree, kinda... I-I don't know, but... the apple's still... I'm sorry, I don't know what I was... Just... P-Please don't kill me! I don't want to die!"

It hurt to listen to the kid's attempts to beg for his life. Pitiful in all the wrong ways. She closed her eyes, knowing what came next.

"It's nothing personal." Onyxa stated, shaking her head. "I have to do this."

"B-but-!"

"I will at least ensure your passing is painless."

And so she did. A quick twist, the boy's head snapped to the side abruptly with a loud crack of bone, and Ensign Durmant was dead before he even hit the floor. It was as close to a quick death as a Sith could manage.

For a brief moment, Onyxa said nothing, felt nothing for the boy. Then she felt the twi'lek's eyes digging into her back, and turned until her golden eyes took Vette in. The Sith had taken a few hits herself, but not nearly as bad as Vette. A fresh scorch mark burned along the one shoulder pauldron, still smoking from where the blast had connected. A slash wound along the ribs, not deep but enough to still be bleeding freely, lined the opposite side of her torso. Neither wound seemed to have affected her overly much. She wasn't even breathing all that hard.

"How you feeling?" Onyxa asked her, expression softening and lowering her voice somewhat.

"… Been better." She conceded but managed to force a smile to her. "We won, right?"

"We did." The faintest nod came with the affirmation. Glancing about and ensuring they were alone, Onyxa leaned forward and gently placed a hand on Vette's shoulder. She looked at the Sith with widening eyes, stunned and not quite sure if she wasn't just imagining the gesture. Onyxa flashed her that smirk of a grin then, before her gaze dropped to the wound in her side, her fingers brushing over the cut without even a wince.

"You had my back." She whispered, so softly Vette nearly missed the comment.

"All in a day's work, My Lord." Vette quipped and tried to grin again, trying not to squirm from the nausea in her stomach. She really just wanted to be out of here.

"Vette." She stiffened then, surprised by the sharpness of her name spoken in that tone. "Do not ever call me that. You don't have to, not anymore. Preferably not ever. And…" A rare flicker of hesitation crossed the Sith's features, but vanished just as quickly as she spoke again. "I am sorry. There was no other way."

Vette smiled at her then, a bit more genuinely this time, as she studied the Sith. As unexpected as it was, to know she placed her well-being above a mere slave, some plaything that had been tossed to her that proved useful, helped ease much of the sting. There was comfort knowing that her life and state of being truly mattered to the Sith. She was tempted to try and surprise Onyxa with a hug, but winced as she twisted with the effort and decided to abandon it. The hand on her shoulder squeezed a little tighter, then pulled away.

"If you need a moment to rest, we can wait a moment. We'll need to get back and report to Quinn. No doubt he is eager to update Baras on our progress as it is."

"Captain Killjoy needs to unbutton the top collar." Vette announced, taking the shot, and for once Onyxa gave her a wink and flash of that smirk, and didn't chastise her for the comment. If she was cracking wise she was fine, Onyxa knew, and she was not about to correct her on the man's rank.


Malavai Quinn sat and watched the security video feed he had hacked into in the Victory Outpost. While he had audio of both Vette and Onyxa as they cut a destructive swath to and through the place, seeing them in action gave a whole new context to the event.

Onyxa had been all wrath and aggression, striking down opponents as she went with every swing of her two sabers, each one a spinning buzzsaw of destruction. Neither the jailer nor his unexpected reinforcements had stood a chance against the Sith, shrugging off their attacks without effort. He even had to admit the blathering, annoying blue skinned alien was pretty damn handy in a fight. Like her or not, Malavai found he had a whole new appreciation for Vette. He had been surprised watching as Onyxa had performed her duty without hesitation or remorse, only to then give the twi'lek a moment to recover and ensure she was well.

It was a move he had not truly expected the Sith to make. He had read the reports, seen some holo-vid footage from Dromund Kaas. Watching such, Quinn had seen the ruthless side of the woman, the battle prowess of a Sith warrior few could match. Yet now she was treating Vette, a slave-an alien at that-almost with a sisterly care.

Onyxa Solaris was quite the puzzle, Malavai Quinn finally decided. Just what made her so unique, he could only wonder.

The Sith warrior contacted him a few minutes later, reporting the mission was a success and that they were on their way back to Sobrik and his office. Darth Baras had been demanding an update for quite some time. When he had told them they had succeeded, there was relief from Quinn. He'd seen those delivering bad news meet with most unpleasant ends often enough to fear such.

While that had gone well, Baras was still less than impressed with the lack of results in his background search of his apprentice. Quinn was reaching the point where the sheer frustration was driving him mad. He was beginning to think someone, a person with much higher authority and power than he, was going through a great deal of trouble to hide Onyxa Solaris' information from him.

Baras demanded results, and he would need to find and give him something soon.