p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""It won't be safe for you in Peroon," Nile said over the whine of the swoop's engines. "I can take you with me off-planet."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""I have a wife!" the contact replied, matching Nile's volume so he could be heard. "She works at the spaceport! Teth customs!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Do you know the rendezvous point for the foodstuff drop?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"The contact reached into a pocket and pulled out a data chip. Fighting against the wind as she maneuvered the swoop through traffic, he handed it to Nile, who slid it into a pocket in her robes. "The data you need is on there. But my wife!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Nile took a turn to head down a street toward the spaceport. "When we get to my ship I'll alert my Alliance contact in Peroon," she said. "She'll do everything she can to get your wife safely off-planet and reunite the two of you."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""We have to get her now!" the contact argued. "The Imperials will identify me and look for her!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"The man was right./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Corana's ship, the em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Bevryder,/em had the room for the contact and his wife but rounding her up and getting her to the ship would delay getting the data to the Alliance. Yet this man had put himself and his family at risk for the Alliance./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Nile couldn't turn her back on him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"The Jedi was reaching for her commlink when she felt a surge in the Force. The darkness she'd felt earlier returned, only stronger. She struggled to shake its effect, but it brought a chill to her heart./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"She took another turn, slowing a bit to remain just another traveler in the bloated traffic as she continued on to the spaceport. Then Nile spotted two swoops with flashing red beacons ahead, each one piloted by ISB security./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Nile quickly turned down a side street. Looking behind her, she saw the ISB men pass by./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"There wasn't any traffic on this one-way, single lane street. She could see another main street up ahead. A turn would get her that much closer to the spaceport and escape./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Let me get the data to my companions at the spaceport," Nile said. "Then we'll contact your wife and retrieve her."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""My wife warned me against this," the contact said. "Thank you."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Nile and the contact neared the end of the street./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Suddenly, another swoop rounded the corner ahead of them, racing the wrong way down the street. Its female rider wore black leather, with a head shaven on one side, a flowing mane of red hair on the other./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Darkness radiated from the rider./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"She also held a blood red lightsaber raised to strike./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Corana made Cragen and the newly awakened suit drag the three unconscious slavers aboard the em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Princess's Claw. /emShe marched them at blaster point to the storage hold./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"The blaster fire would alert the spaceport's security droids, but as long as there weren't any immediate signs of chaos they'd probably ignore the event but would monitor the area for further outbreaks./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"She and Piani had best play things cool for now./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Piani was waiting inside the compartment. She knelt with six young women, more slaves Cragen was running to parts unknown. Corana jabbed Cragen in the back with her blaster./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Where were you taking this bunch?" she demanded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Here, ya nosey bitch," Cragen said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"The "bitch" part got Cragen a kick in the back of the knee. He went to the ground. Corana slammed the butt of her blaster carbine into the side of his head, knocking him out./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Whoops," Corana said. "Accident."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"She then held her blaster on the suit, who still hadn't fully recovered from the excitement of violence outside the ship. Staring down the barrel of a blaster brought him back around. He threw up his hands./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""You have something to say?" Corana asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Piani looked to the suit as he answered./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"With a shaking hand, the suit pointed at the girls. "One of those girls is my employer's daughter. The others, her friends."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Corana looked at the suit in disbelief. She then looked to Piani. She couldn't believe it either. Piani stood and approached Corana and the suit./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""We paid this Cragen man to bring them home," the suit explained./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Piani wasn't impressed. "He probably kidnapped them in the first place."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""No," the suit said. Against all belief, the suit got even more scared. "It was those criminals. The Hutts."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Corana looked to Piani. She shared her ominous expression. She looked back to the suit./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""So wait," Corana began. "You mean to tell me the Hutts kidnapped your boss's daughter, Cragen took the bounty to find them, and now we just planted ourselves firmly in the path to piss off the Hutts for taking back the kid?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"The suit gulped audibly before giving an affirming nod./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Corana slapped a palm to her blue-skinned forehead. Piani turned the suit to face her./p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Gather up the girls. We're leaving!"/p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"The suit did as commanded, gathering the girls to him. Corana and Piani led them all out of the compartment and toward the ship's exit./p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"As they reached the gangplank to the hangar, Piani said, "When spaceport security asks, hell, if anyone asks, you rescued these girls from slavers by yourself."/p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""No one will believe that!" the suit said./p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Just leave us out of this!" Piani insisted. "We have enough trouble."/p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Corana extended her arm, stopping Piani at the top of the gangplank. She reflexively jerked back, annoyed. But then she looked down the gangplank./p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Think we just got some more trouble," Corana added./p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Five grim-looking mercenaries waited outside the ship./p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"emTo be continued in "Episode 2 - Escape from Teth"/em/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""I have a wife!" the contact replied, matching Nile's volume so he could be heard. "She works at the spaceport! Teth customs!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Do you know the rendezvous point for the foodstuff drop?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"The contact reached into a pocket and pulled out a data chip. Fighting against the wind as she maneuvered the swoop through traffic, he handed it to Nile, who slid it into a pocket in her robes. "The data you need is on there. But my wife!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Nile took a turn to head down a street toward the spaceport. "When we get to my ship I'll alert my Alliance contact in Peroon," she said. "She'll do everything she can to get your wife safely off-planet and reunite the two of you."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""We have to get her now!" the contact argued. "The Imperials will identify me and look for her!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"The man was right./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Corana's ship, the em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Bevryder,/em had the room for the contact and his wife but rounding her up and getting her to the ship would delay getting the data to the Alliance. Yet this man had put himself and his family at risk for the Alliance./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Nile couldn't turn her back on him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"The Jedi was reaching for her commlink when she felt a surge in the Force. The darkness she'd felt earlier returned, only stronger. She struggled to shake its effect, but it brought a chill to her heart./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"She took another turn, slowing a bit to remain just another traveler in the bloated traffic as she continued on to the spaceport. Then Nile spotted two swoops with flashing red beacons ahead, each one piloted by ISB security./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Nile quickly turned down a side street. Looking behind her, she saw the ISB men pass by./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"There wasn't any traffic on this one-way, single lane street. She could see another main street up ahead. A turn would get her that much closer to the spaceport and escape./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Let me get the data to my companions at the spaceport," Nile said. "Then we'll contact your wife and retrieve her."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""My wife warned me against this," the contact said. "Thank you."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Nile and the contact neared the end of the street./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Suddenly, another swoop rounded the corner ahead of them, racing the wrong way down the street. Its female rider wore black leather, with a head shaven on one side, a flowing mane of red hair on the other./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Darkness radiated from the rider./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"She also held a blood red lightsaber raised to strike./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Corana made Cragen and the newly awakened suit drag the three unconscious slavers aboard the em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Princess's Claw. /emShe marched them at blaster point to the storage hold./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"The blaster fire would alert the spaceport's security droids, but as long as there weren't any immediate signs of chaos they'd probably ignore the event but would monitor the area for further outbreaks./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"She and Piani had best play things cool for now./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Piani was waiting inside the compartment. She knelt with six young women, more slaves Cragen was running to parts unknown. Corana jabbed Cragen in the back with her blaster./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Where were you taking this bunch?" she demanded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Here, ya nosey bitch," Cragen said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"The "bitch" part got Cragen a kick in the back of the knee. He went to the ground. Corana slammed the butt of her blaster carbine into the side of his head, knocking him out./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Whoops," Corana said. "Accident."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"She then held her blaster on the suit, who still hadn't fully recovered from the excitement of violence outside the ship. Staring down the barrel of a blaster brought him back around. He threw up his hands./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""You have something to say?" Corana asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Piani looked to the suit as he answered./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"With a shaking hand, the suit pointed at the girls. "One of those girls is my employer's daughter. The others, her friends."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Corana looked at the suit in disbelief. She then looked to Piani. She couldn't believe it either. Piani stood and approached Corana and the suit./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""We paid this Cragen man to bring them home," the suit explained./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Piani wasn't impressed. "He probably kidnapped them in the first place."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""No," the suit said. Against all belief, the suit got even more scared. "It was those criminals. The Hutts."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Corana looked to Piani. She shared her ominous expression. She looked back to the suit./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""So wait," Corana began. "You mean to tell me the Hutts kidnapped your boss's daughter, Cragen took the bounty to find them, and now we just planted ourselves firmly in the path to piss off the Hutts for taking back the kid?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"The suit gulped audibly before giving an affirming nod./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Corana slapped a palm to her blue-skinned forehead. Piani turned the suit to face her./p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Gather up the girls. We're leaving!"/p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"The suit did as commanded, gathering the girls to him. Corana and Piani led them all out of the compartment and toward the ship's exit./p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"As they reached the gangplank to the hangar, Piani said, "When spaceport security asks, hell, if anyone asks, you rescued these girls from slavers by yourself."/p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""No one will believe that!" the suit said./p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Just leave us out of this!" Piani insisted. "We have enough trouble."/p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Corana extended her arm, stopping Piani at the top of the gangplank. She reflexively jerked back, annoyed. But then she looked down the gangplank./p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;""Think we just got some more trouble," Corana added./p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"Five grim-looking mercenaries waited outside the ship./p
p class="SDnormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"emTo be continued in "Episode 2 - Escape from Teth"/em/p