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Chapter Fifty Three
Carefully
stroking his continually graying bear, Toman Higaeri goes over the latest
reports from his network of observers. After much consideration the exiled
Chandrillan “businessman” comes to the dreaded conclusion that his worst
fears are coming to fruition.
Leaning over
his desk to click on the comm panel, “Get me a direct line to the Big Man,
now.”
He leans back
in his chair to consider the information he is about to relay, and wonders just
when the entire galaxy turned into such an amazing tempest of turmoil. When the
comm officer comes online it takes him a moment to register the man’s voice.
“Yeah, what was that again?”
“They want
some kind of code and they want a secure transmission, Chief. What should I
do?” Said the voice over the comm panel.
“Transfer it
into my office and place it on an encrypted transmission… I’ll handle it
from here.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Very well,
and I trust this information is not for sale?” The barrel chested voice of
Commander Orian asks.
“Not at all,
just doing my part for the people of Chandrila… Higaeri out.” And with that
the transmission ends, leaving Silvas with a terrible burden.
War was coming
to Chandrila… And there was nothing he could do about it… Except be ready
when it got there. And if there was one thing Commander Silvas Orian was good
at, was being prepared for the worst case scenario. It had always been his
trademark. “Hope for the best and plan for the worst” had been his motto
since boyhood.
He felt
confident that his fighters were capable, his pilots were skilled and his
tacticians were well groomed for just such an attack. The one thing he was not
sure of were the people of Chandrila. Were they ready for an all out war? Could
their way of life survive a threat such as the one waiting on their doorstep?
Only time would tell now… Only time will tell…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the dark man
approaches her balcony, Lady Barevi Lusankya gazes out upon the capitol city of
Corellia. Knowing that soon she will never be forced to look out upon its dim,
dank and disgusting visage again… Soon she would be home… Soon she will have
her revenge… Soon she will reign over those that have exiled her to this Force
forsaken land of industrialists, agrarians and wholly, spiritually bereft
beings. Her torment will soon be ended.
“Have you
received word from the Corellian, dear brother of mine?” Her words drip with
disdain.
Clearing his
throat of the grog of spirits before he speaks, “Yes, my sister… He has
learned of the Kuati Fleet’s movements toward our home.”
She does not
turn from the view, nor does she face this disgrace of a brother in his
drunkenness, “Very well, I have taken the liberty of making the final
preparations for our departure.” Finally turning to her brother, “I trust
you will be ready to depart at dawn?” Her brow raised in such a manner to let
Corevi know that this is not a question, but a statement of fact.
“As you wish,
Barevi… As it has always been…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“And so
you believe that our Dear Sister has abandoned her academic studies for this
mystic way of life?” A
strong and emotionless voice speaks from the comm station.
“I do so
believe… However, it may be the best case for us all… At least we can rely
on her safety during this crisis that lies in wait.” The reddish haired man
behind the desk answers back.
”You
believe we are nearing another crisis?”
“Do not blind
yourself to the fact that this is only the beginning of what is to come, my Dear
Brother. Your training is to your credit, but it is also your weakness, for they
instruct to see only what is in front of you. It may keep you alive in a
starfighter, but is does you no service in the rest of your life. You will do
well to remember this, my Dear Yorel.” Xaxan Tryashoenu attempts to make his
much younger brother understand the full gravity of the events, which are
unfolding even as they speak.
”I will
heed your advice, my Dearest Brother, but mark my words, Commander Orian is not
a man to taken lightly.”
“Agreed…
The Commander has taken many steps to resolve this crisis, but even he cannot
prevent what is about to happen. He may only react, and attempt to triumph with
as little a cost as possible.” Xaxan speaks in a defeated tone, much to the
surprise of himself and even more so his younger brother.
“Tell me,
Brother… You have not lost heart?”
“No, Dear
One, I have not, but merely facing the reality and gravity of the situation at
hand.” He stops a moment to contemplate his next comment, “I am afraid I
must cut our conversation short, my Dearest Yorel… There are many things that
are demanding my attentions… My thoughts and blessings are with you, and may
you someday return to this world a hero among heroes and stand at my side as an
equal.” Giving his brother the greatest compliment among Commenorian men,
Xaxan knows that his brother will be satisfied with his words.
”And
blessings be unto you and all that is yours shall prosper and grow with your
abundant wisdom.” And
with those final words, the transmission is ended.
Collapsing back
into his chair, Xaxan Tryashoenu works out in his mind what must be done. None
of his choices are easy ones, but they are all that he has, and he must come to
a decision now. He has run out of time and his options are limited. Now is the
time for his greatest trial.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Upon returning
to the chambers he was sharing with Master Mussiri, Jae was surprised to see the
Master seated in the middle of the main room’s floor, his eyes closed and all
about him was a warm and peaceful presence. One day Jae would need to learn how
to do that for himself, but for now he was only trying to not disturb Master
Mussiri.
Just as he was
about to quietly walk to smaller chamber in the back, where he had stowed his
backpack, the Master spoke, “Did you have a pleasant tour, young one?”
Looking back in
shock, mostly because of the surprise of hearing the man’s voice, Jae sees
that the man has not changed a single position, including leaving his lids
closed.
“Umm… Yeah,
I did actually. Mees showed me this great view of the mountains.” Jae turns
back to face the man, even though his eyes have yet to open, “I didn’t mean
to interrupt your meditations… I’m sorry.”
Finally opening
his eyes, Master Mussiri looks to Jae with a comforting and familiar smile.
“No need to apologize, young one. I was merely enjoying the quiet for a few
moments… Our evening looks to be filled with merriment and activity.” The
Master slowly rises form the floor, but Jae cannot sense that he is exhausting
any energy to do it. “I hope you are prepared, my boy. Meesahran is most
gracious entertainer, when the mood strikes her, and it usually does so in this
place.” The Master breathes in deeply, as though the very air provides him
calm.
Jae looks
around at the chambers in which he now stands, but a small mark of the grandeur
he has already been witness to in this place. He can understand why Mees feels
so at peace in this place… This… Sanctuary. Breaking from his thoughts he
returns to the conversation, “Yeah, I’m a little worried that I’ll be
under dressed for the occasion.” Jae shrugs while gazing down at his clean,
but well-worn flight suit and jacket.
“No need to
worry about that, young one. A young lady stopped by here earlier to leave for
you a gift. I placed it on your pallet, and I believe you shall find the
necessary items there to make yourself presentable.” The Master gestures
towards Jae’s quarters, “And if you shall excuse me, I must make
preparations for my conference this evening… I shall only be joining you for
the meal this night. I have other duties that shall demand my attentions.”
Finishing his last words, Master Mussiri bows slightly and retires to his own
chamber.
Jae walks back
into his chamber and finds a wrapped bundle lying upon his pallet. Atop the
bundle is a note:
Dearest
Jae,
When
I was touring the shops near the Sanctuary Valley district this afternoon I
saw the most wonderful tunic sets in one of the displays. I just knew it would
be perfect for you, so I decided to make it a welcoming gift to you.
Truly,
Xana
PS
– And with the Gathering coming to pass, I knew you would want something
nice to wear, so I couldn’t resist.
Carefully
removing the wrapping from the bundle, Jae is surprised once again, when he
pulls a fine silk inner tunic, the color of slate off the top, only to discover
a black outer tunic of the finest, dyed nerf suede. Also in the bundle, Jae
finds a pair of densely woven, linen pants in a color just to the green side of
the silk inner tunic and a pair of black soft sided, nerf leather boots.
Stepping back from the bundle, Jae finds a chair against the wall and falls into
it from the shock of such an extravagant gift.
Never in his
life has anyone given him such an expensive and well thought out gift. And the
note… The note alone would have been enough to blow Jae-Lee Reklaw’s mind,
but along with the clothes; it all leaves Jae completely speechless.
Absentmindedly
looking at the chronometer on his wrist, Jae notices the time has slipped away
from him and if he is to make an adequate impression at this meal, he had better
get cleaned up, in a hurry. As he begins to throw his normal clothes into his
backpack, a look of inspiration crosses his face, and with a smile from ear to
ear, he jumps into the refresher to prepare for tonight’s events.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Entering his
modest chambers, Bowen Dracul can hear the busy noises of Meesharan in the
galley as she prepares the evening meal. It gives him a certain amount of
comfort to know that his home is her touchstone and that when she is here, she
is happy.
He sits down in
a chair to pull off his soft leather boots in preparation for his trip to the
refresher before the meal. Bumping the table in front of him as he gets the
first boot off, the sounds travels into the galley and fully alerts Meesahran to
his arrival. Calling out from the other room, “Bowen… There’s a comm
waiting for you on the cue. I didn’t get to the station in time to answer
whoever it was, but it looks like they left a message.” He can hear the door
to the heating unit close before she continues, “You’ve got plenty of time
to get cleaned up before everyone arrives.”
Struggling to
remove his second boot, Bowen glances at the comm station and decides to listen
to his message before hitting the refresher. Reaching over to select the cue he
sees the identification number and quickly takes the station off of speaker.
Holding the headset to his ear, he listens closely. It’s rarely good news
when it’s him.
”Dracul,
I know you have to have a hand in this mess she’s caught up in, so I wanted to
warn you. Be on guard, this thing is not as cut and dry as it looks. Watch
her.”
He
is still holding the headset to his ear when Meesahran peeks around the corner.
“You hear me?” She then notices him holding the headset with a distant look
in his eyes, Oh, yeah, I guess so…
You’ve got less than an hour to be ready.”
Shaken
from his stupor, he quickly tries to recover, “You got it, nerf. Be ready in
half a shake of a sand panther’s tail.” Winking at her, he is still trying
to keep her from seeing his concern and confusion.
As he walks to
the refresher he begins to ponder this mysterious message. How did he know
what she was doing? And how is he involved in all this? Once inside the unit
he strips his tunic off. Pausing a moment before entering the unit, “I’ll
have to speak with Mussiri about this one.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The
Death’s Grip
makes its final approach on the landing pad hidden among the mists of the
expansive lake below. A perfect spot for a hideout,
Vic remarks to himself. Gently putting his bird down, Vic sets about to conduct
his business here and get out fast. There are much better ways to spend
my time, than suffering the company of idiots.
As
the ramp lowers, Vic can see that he is being met at his craft today. It would
appear that he is not the only one in a hurry today. At the base of the ramp
waits Toman Higaeri and his Togorian bodyguard Traygar. Calling out to the
smuggler chief, “You got my fee, Higaeri?”
Turning
to retrieve something from his guard and assistant, Toman then responds to Vic,
“But of course. A deal is a deal, and here is my part of the deal.” Toman
hands him a small satchel. Vic takes it from his hands, opens it up and brings
out a datapad. Switching the datapad on, Vic then inserts a data card from one
of the pockets of the satchel. Satisfied with what he finds on the data card,
Vic once again turns his full attention to Higaeri and his guard, “Fine, and
you’re sure there isn’t anymore, right?”
“That’s all
I ever found. And that usually means the same thing.” Higaeri’s arrogance
makes Vic’s blood boil, and this is one time he is not going to let it slide.
Vic returns the
datapad to the satchel and tosses it up into the Grip. Turning back to
face Higaeri head on, Vic clenches his fists at his sides. “Looks like we both
got what we wanted out of this deal.”
“I would have
to agree with that assessment, Orion.” Higaeri turns back to his assistant and
gestures for him to take a step back to give them some privacy. The Togorian
does not look happy with the request, but he complies. Vic takes this perfect
opportunity to show Higaeri just where his arrogance can go by striking the man
squarely in the jaw as he turns back to face Vic. Knocking the hulking man down
and to the side, Vic notices that the man holds off the Togorian with a hand,
and with the other wipes away the blood from his mouth. “I’ll consider that
part of your fee, Orion… But next ti-…”
“Next time I
won’t be using my fist, Higaeri.” The unbridled anger is now welling up
within Vic, and through his eyes his fury is well known. “Next time you’ll
be on the wrong end of slug-thrower.”
The danger
looming in those words is more than even the calm and collected Higaeri can
handle without a single shiver going down his spine. “And for the record…”
He pauses to once again wipe away the blood form his mouth, “She came to
me.”
Vic knows
that if he stays much longer he will regret his timing, perhaps with his life.
Togorians are not a species to trifle with; not alone anyways. So, he storms
back up the ramp of the Death’s Grip and makes a hasty departure from
this place. From Higaeri’s place.
Creator:
PtrsonsZOO
(Jennifer)
*SPECIAL
NOTE: Due to circumstances
beyond our control, the rest of the story will be written by PtrsonsZOO
(Jennifer)
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Mountain Fan Force
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