On the ship, Billy handed the bags to C2-N2, the service droid. "Put Miss Zeitzo in Risha's old cabin and get her whatever she needs."
"Fulfilling you're slightest wish is my duty, master. I have settled the other two in the crew quarters, prepared them a meal, and provided them with clean clothes. Their hygiene and health leaves much to be desired," the droid said.
"Don't worry, C2. They'll clean up now that you are taking care of them. I'll be on the bridge. See to Miss Zeitzo."
Corso was already in the co-pilot seat. The engines were warmed up and he was waiting for tower clearance to take off. "Where to, Boss?"
"Point Nowhere."
"Point Nowhere? Why?"
"Something I want to get before we take off on this joy ride."
"I have never questioned your instincts, Boss; but are you sure we can trust her and these two 'friends' of hers? What if it's all an elaborate plan for the Empire to bring you back into the fold?"
Billy smiled, "Didn't know you cared Corso. If the Empire had sent her to bring me back, I would not have gotten out of Shadow Town alive. Besides two can play at the intel game. I did my own quick research. Her story pans out."
Corso acknowledged something on his head set. "Cleared for takeoff, Boss."
"Take her out, slow and easy. I don't want to attract any attention by appearing to be in a hurry." He hit the comm link to the engine room. "Bowdaar, ahead slow."
The cries, grunts and wails of the Wookie might be meaningless to some people, but not Billy, "Good job, Big Guy."
Once the ship was clear of the atmosphere, Billy made the jump to hyper-space. He put the ship on auto and headed for the lounge.
This was the largest room on the ship; it was oriented around a life-size holo-terminal. Billy's three guests and two crew members were already there; he could hear C2 in the galley preparing something to eat. Damn that droid loved to cook, and he was good at it.
"We reach the Point Nowhere Space Station in 22 hours."
"Point Nowhere?! We need to go to Balmorra," Anya argued suddenly alarmed.
"Not if we want to survive arriving at Balmorra we don't," he explained. He sat across from Anya. This also put Oorphan and Dalokk where he could see them.
"Corso, get on the holo and find some cargo to take to Balmorra then contact Balmorra and get some cargo to pick up and take… anywhere," Billy instructed. "Okay, once we are on Balmorra, what's your plan?" he asked Anya.
"There's a network of caves and tunnels in the cliffs outside Sobrik. You and I will tell Darth Warthas that there's a group of Jedi helping the rebels. We will lead him to one of the caves and ambush him there," Anya explained.
"Arrgh," Bowdaar wailed.
"Yeah, I agree." Billy turned his attention back to Anya. "Your plan is so full of holes a full-grown rankor could fall through it."
Dalokk and Oorphan reacted to that comment with nervous glances at Anya.
She spread her hands, "Speak your mind."
"One, the last time I was on Balmorra, those caves were crawling with Balmorran rebels and they weren't exactly warm and welcoming. Two, we need to have a specific location for two separate groups to meet. Three, a member of the Dark Council wouldn't go after a group of Jedi himself, he'd send minions. Four, Anya, you and I need to get into Sobrik without drawing suspicion. Five, providing we all survive a fight with a Sith lord, we need to get off the planet without being shot at."
Anya glared at him, "You have a better plan?" She challenged.
"We need a place away from any Imperial eyes. There's a deserted stretch on the plateau, outside the Balmorran Arms Factory between the Sundari and Gorinth Canyon outposts, in the Gorinth Wilds. In that stretch is an abandoned speeder pad. That will be our destination. As for getting Darth Warthas to come with us…" He went to the holo-terminal.
Everyone waited to see who he was contacting.
Eyes popped when a tall, brunette in leather armor with a lightsaber at her side appeared. "Captain Dekidt, it is a pleasure to hear from you. How have you been?"
"Hello, Master Satele, I am doing well, thank you." He exchanged pleasantries with the Jedi Master before coming around to the reason for the call. "I'm calling in that favor, and the great part is you don't have to do anything, just lend me your name."
"Billy, what are you planning?" The Jedi asked warily.
"Well, there is this Sith, Darth Warthas, you might have heard of him." Satele Shan's brow furrowed in a way that indicted she had. "I thought so. Anyway, he is guilty of numerous crimes I won't go into over the holo-net, and we are going to bring him to justice. He's on Balmorra in Sobrik. To lure him out, I want to use your name - tell him you have personally come to Balmorra to advise the resistance movement."
Satele considered the information carefully. "Are you going to kill him? You have a bad habit of killing people with whom you are perturbed." Bowdaar laughed at that. "And you help him, Bowdaar."
Billy turned to the other three Darth Warthas had wronged. "Well, I don't think he'll surrender without a fight, so I don't foresee any outcome other than someone ending up dead."
"I'll tell you what, Billy; I'll agree to let you use my name, but you have to promise me that you will do everything in your power to bring Darth Warthas to me, alive, on Tython."
Billy glanced at the other three again. There was some fidgeting before each nodded. "I promise that we will do all we can to bring Darth Warthas to you alive on Tython."
She smiled. "Very well, tell me what you need."
"I need a dispatch from you to the commander of the resistance on Balmorra, his name is Field General Farkon Reen, telling him you will arrive on Balmorra on galactic date 288971111."
"Consider it done; I am sending it to him, in other words you, as we speak. Contact me once you have him. I consider us even now. Satele out."
Anya stared at Billy her arms crossed.
Dalokk shook his head. "That has got to be some story, and I look forward to hearing it."
"I have dispatch, intercepted on way to computer. Downloading now." Took-eek announced then held out a data disk.
"A member of the Dark Council won't stir his ass for a just any Jedi; but for the grand master of the Jedi Council…" Billy took the data disk. "And you, Slicer 18, intercepted this tasty morsel of intelligence." He pointed at Anya.
"Slicer 18?" she asked narrowing her eyes at him, her tone garrulous.
"Welcome to Imperial Intelligence. Don't worry, I have enough insignia to share," he assured.
"I'm impressed," Dalokk said nodding his approval.
"Boss, I've secured a shipment of gas going from Hutta to the Balmorran Arms Factory and a load of sensors and gun turrets going to the Moisture Farmer's Co-op on Tatooine." Corso returned.
"Corso, I could kiss you," Billy grinned. "But I won't."
"I appreciate that, Boss," Corso said.
"Brawrrr." Bowdaar grabbed Corso and planted a big wet Wookie kiss on his face.
"Get off! Oh, yuck, I'm all wet now." Corso wiped his face with his sleeve.
"And getting you and I legitimately into Sobrik; what's your plan for that, hot shot?" Anya asked somewhat peeved.
He ignored the rising belligerence in her tone. "I have a nice little memento from my intelligence days sitting in a hanger at Point Nowhere. That is our chariot, Sweetheart," Billy countered.
"So who is going to the rendezvous point to take this Darth Worthless?" Corso asked.
"Anya, me, Oorphan, Dalokk and Bowdaar," Billy answered.
Bowdaar roared happily.
"What? Why does he get to have all the fun?"
"Because from this point on, you are Captain Dekidt and the captain stays with the ship, especially when securing cargo. You'll drop off Anya and me at the space station and continue on to Jaguna for the gas shipment. Make sure you do it all legit, have all the paperwork for Balmorra. Also, you will be responsible for ensuring C2 and Took get away safely should this whole thing end up in a sarlaac pit."
"Dinner is served," C2 announced pushing a mag-tray of dishes and tureens into the adjacent briefing room. He arranged the place settings on the table and served up the meal. "Enjoy," he cheerily called and trundled off with the tray.
"If he doesn't stop being so cheery, I'm going to turn him into a pile of scrap," Oorphan groused.
"He is my droid and I like him that way." Billy's tone was pleasant, but the warning was clear. Oorphan could bloody well learn to tolerate C2-N2.
As they ate, conversation turned to themselves. Oorphan had been a captain in the Imperial Army. Warthas had sent his company to eradicate a regiment of entrenched pirates on Hoth; the pirates were better armed. As any good officer would do, he utilized anything and everything at his disposal to successfully accomplish his objective. That included enlisting similarly beleaguered republic troops. When he returned victorious, Darth Warthas had him locked up in Shadow Town for fraternizing with the enemy; it didn't matter that the Empire and the Republic were at peace at the time. He felt betrayed, not only by Warthas but by the Empire; his superiors could have stood up for him but chose not to.
When Dalokk announced that he had been an apprentice to Darth Warthas, Billy had to resist the urge to shoot him out an air lock. Apparently, what Dalokk hadn't known at the time was that Warthas had taken him as an apprentice to be practice fodder for his favored apprentice. When Dalokk defeated and killed the other apprentice in a duel, Warthas had Dalokk stripped of his powers and thrown into Shadow Town on the charge of murder.
"Stripped of your power? I've heard of that before, but I just don't understand how someone, even a Sith, would do that." Billy said.
"I won't go into details, but believe me, it's a painful experience, and Warthas reveled in inflicting that pain on me," Dalokk said.
Anya then shared that her mother had been a squad leader in the same doomed unit as Billy's father. Her father had been in the Imperial Diplomat Corps. Ten years ago, when she turned 18, she joined the Imperial Army following in her mother's footsteps. Upon her parent's deaths her siblings were left to be raised by her uncle on Arturus 2.
Billy told them about his father and his mother dying from a broken heart when she heard news of her husband's death; at least that was what everyone thought at the time. Later on he learned that the notice she received about her husband's death had been laced with poison; the same poison was in the letter sent to Anya's father. He told how his little sister was taken to Korriban when she was eight years old to train as a Sith. "She was not Force sensitive. To this day I don't know how she managed to survive two years or why someone would ever think she was Force sensitive."
"Perhaps it was Warthas trying to eliminate her?" Oorphan suggested.
Billy shook his head. "Warthas didn't attack any of the other off-spring of the 23rd's members. She was living with me on Dromund Kaas, when this over-eager idiot decided she was Sith material."
"I think I remember her," Dalokk said as if in a dream.
Billy's ears perked up but he kept his expression and posture neutral.
"At least I can't imagine there having been two Chiss girls on Korriban. She was very intelligent and sweet; I remember how nice she was - too nice for a Sith. The first two years are pretty simple training, using vibro-blades and learning fencing techniques. After that, however, that is probably when her lack of Force-using ability would have become obvious."
The four fell silent into their own thoughts and memories.
"Well, if you are all going to be so morbid, I'm turning in," Corso got up and left the table.
Bowdaar grunted and growled as he stood.
"What's that?" Oorphan asked.
"He's going to check the engines," Billy translated.
"You three can sit here and swap stories. I need my beauty sleep." Anya stood and left carrying Took.
"Good night," both Oorphan and Dalokk said and left the table.
"Is there anything I can get for you, Master?" C2 asked.
Billy shook his head. "Go see Bowdaar about an oil bath."
"Oh, thank you, Master, good, generous, thoughtful, kind Master," C2 said and left.
Billy heaved himself to his feet and went to his cabin. He lay awake on his back, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. Thoughts and images rattled about in his head, each one knocking the next aside so that he couldn't focus on any one.
He had been like that for almost an hour before he realized what he was doing. He was making an effort not to remember his family's faces. Suddenly there they were: his father laughing, his mother smiling and little Barena. He pinched his eyes shut against his aching heart. Tears leaked out of the corners.
The call button on his door went off. He started to say "go away" but "come in" came out instead. He wasn't pleased when Anya walked in because it was obvious she was in a bad mood that had been brewing all through the meal. "What now?"
"Who the hell do you think you are taking over like that? I have worked on this plan for ages and had it down; all of a sudden, Mr. Know-it-all changes everything. You might have convinced Oorphan and Dalokk that you know best, but you haven't convinced me." Her anger was somewhat incongruous with her dressed in her sleeping gown, and fluffy pink slippers and robe.
"What are you really angry at?" He demanded.
She was obviously flustered by his question. He could see it in her eyes; human eyes were so expressive and said so much. He could see when her thoughts grabbed ahold of something.
"You and your lot hijacking this mission has torn Oorphan and Dalokk to pieces. Oorphan got stupid drunk and passed out in his own vomit. I had to help C2 put him in a kolto tank. Dalokk started picking a fight with that Wookie; the Wookie knocked him unconscious with one head shot."
"Ah, I see, old Imperial brain washing, when you don't know what to say or who to blame, blame it on the nearest alien," he nodded sagely. "Maybe you should be talking to Corso; he is after all completely human."
His calm response didn't help her any. She wanted a fight and he wasn't giving it to her. "I don't want to talk to Corso; I want to talk to you."
"Then please stop yelling and talk!" He ordered.
"I'll yell if I want to," she shot back.
He came to his feet and towered over her. "Not on my ship you won't! Now out of my room. Try figuring out what you're really angry at; and in the morning, tell me whether or not you want me included in this little escapade of yours." He was advancing on her and she backed out the door. He shut it.
He heard her growl in frustration and took a deep soothing breath. If he had known this was where the mess was headed, he would have walked. He briefly wished that had been an option. "Bringing Warthas to justice is tantamount," he reminded himself and sat.
"Master?" C2 called gently from the door.
"Come in," he answered.
"I brought you some warm Nerf milk," the droid said entering with a tray and a single mug. "I was searching my database for remedies for distress. Apparently, warm Nerf milk has soothing properties." The droid held out the tray offering the mug.
"Might as well give it a try." Billy took the mug and took a sip. "In the Ascendancy, parents give a similar drink to children to calm them down." He took a swallow. "It tasted much the same."
Whether it was some magical property of the drink or the association with a quieter time in his life, the drink did seem to sooth his taut nerves. He set the empty mug on the tray. "I heard about Oorphan and Dalokk; do you have an update on their condition?"
"Bowdaar is with the belligerent one, Dalokk. I am keeping watch over Oorphan, whose vital signs are returning to normal, sir. Is there anything else I might get you?" C2 asked.
"No, thank you," Billy answered.
"Then sleep well, sir."