A friend's duty

By CM Blackbird and COL Callista

 

*Downloading Imperial Fleet News, Restricted Access Level 2--- Please wait....*

 

LC Callista had just finished some tiring hours in the simulator with her squadron and let herself fall into a comfy chair in her quarters. She'd made herself a cup of caffeine and had done with this day, the only thought on her mind being that of her warm bed.

 

Although she was usually a very cheerful person, she wasn't in the mood for having a drink with her pilots in the cantina or discussing tactical situations with her fellow CMDRs, a fact that was doubtlessly due to a very good friend's physical condition. After a 'not too pleasant' adventure on a planet called Ssh'Peka, LCM Brandon had been transferred to sickbay, with a quite ruptured thorax and several organ failures. It was a wonder he was still alive and had made it off the planet, but nevertheless he'd be off duty for a couple of months, and he'd spend most of this time in an awful bacta bath. Calli sure didn't want be in his shoes now, but it made her sick that she couldn't visit him often, not with her duty roster. Then again, a lot of people would've questioned her sanity if she went to see him onboard the Phoenix, cause Brandon had been put into an artificial coma and couldn't hear or see her. She tried to see him as often as possible, regardless. He'd have done the same for her.

 

Thinking of her wingmate always made her feel depressed, so she read the Fleet News-CMDR level. Calli had always had the impression that the news she got were extremely cut and censored, but she'd had a look at the news her pilots got every week, and abandoned that thought.

 

She flicked through the Command Staff's reports, most of which didn't interest her at all, and sipped at her caf. 32 new recruits to Platform Daedalus. Elite Squadrons needing new skilled pilots. Wing Commanders going on leave. Nothing really important. She scrolled down the rest of the report pretty quick, relying on the usual pointlessness of most of it.

 

Then something made her stop scrolling down the screen of her datapad- she thought she'd seen a name she had almost forgotten. Scrolling up again, her heart pounded faster-

 

She felt the agony and sadness before she'd come back to where the name was.

 

*Losses: CM Takanah Banko, Intelligence*

 

With a tear of rage she disconnected her data pad and rushed out of the room.

 

***

 

The Commodore of the ISD Challenge had been looking forward to a quiet and peaceful evening, too, just until LC Callista stormed into his office without announcing herself or saluting.

 

'Torres...' she said, a bit out of breath.

 

'Err, can I help you, Calli?'

 

'You have to let me see your fleet news.'

 

'Cal, they're not meant for you to see them. They're Command Officer level.'

 

Callista seemed quite excited about something. She had a trace of despair on her face, distorting her usual beauty minimally.

 

'Torrie, really, I don't give a shit. You must let me see it, I need information that was not included in my report. It's important, please. Consider it a favor for a good friend.'

 

Torres sighed.

 

'Fine, ok. But don't look at me like that. And if you tell anyone I let you see this I'll have to have you demoted for defamation.'

 

'Please Torrie, I'm not as dumb as I might look. I don't want to see your whole report. Just scroll down to the losses.'

 

As Torres did so, Calli's composure was fading. Although she knew the information in her report was correct, she didn't want it to be true. It couldn't be true.

 

Torres handed her his datapad, and Calli took it with shivering hands.

 

*Losses: CM Takanah Banko, Intelligence. Last contact 83.8450.02, 2100 on Coruscant, Coruscant City. On secret mission to infiltrate Rebel Intelligence Command. Reported to have been killed by severe blaster wounds. Found in her apartment in Sunrise Hotel, Coruscant City. No further information available at this time.*

 

Calli gave Torres the datapad back, suddenly bursting out into tears. Torres didn't say anything, just handed her a tissue, gently touching her hand. A gesture that was as true as could be- Torres knew Calli was still suffering from Bran's state. The COM didn't know if she'd lost friends or relatives before, but he figured there weren't many. Calli'd always kept her pilots alive.

 

Then, as suddenly as the outburst, Calli stopped crying. She wiped away her tears, sobbed one last time, and then was a CMDR again. She looked at Torres with determination.

 

'Torres, I need a leave of absence.'

 

'But..'

 

'No buts Torres, I need a leave of absence. Demote me if needs be, but I can't stay. LCM Vexan will have temporary command over Typhoon, she'll do fine. I can't tell you when I'll be back, but I just need to go.'

 

'Well, what can I say. Leave already, you troublemaker you.' Torres managed a smile, even if a subordinate had just ordered him around. Calli didn't smile back.

 

'Thank you Torres.'

 

***

 

On her way back to her quarters, she walked past her pilots' rooms and called them together for a meeting. Then she packed a couple of clothes, two blasters, her fake identity and some NR credits and locked her room.

 

When she arrived at the briefing room, her pilots were already awaiting her, a puzzled expression on their face. Unannounced meetings were rare these days.

 

'Pilots, I'm going on leave. That's about all you need to know. I don't know when I'll be back, but for the time of my absence Vexie will have command over you, so treat her with respect, will you. Vexie, kick the guys in the nads if they fuss around.'

 

'Will do.' came the answer from a chuckling Flight II Leader.

 

Calli sighed.

 

'I'll try to be back soon, but I can't promise. Behave while I'm away will you?' The CMDR faced each of them with a sad look, and you could feel this look was a good-bye.

 

'Dismissed.'

 

The pilots remained were they were for a bit, then started to go back to their rooms.

 

Calli had a lump in her throat when she headed for the hangar. It felt as though she wasn't going to see this ship ever again, and it was a strange feeling. She considered the Challenge her home, the place where all her friends were. And now she didn't even say good-bye to them properly. As ugly as the thought was, Calli felt as though she wouldn't return from her leave. She wouldn't be there when Brandon came back.

 

'Cal!' she heard a familiar voice behind her. She turned to look at CM Blackbird.

 

'What is it Ave?' The words almost stuck in her throat.

 

'Where are you going? You almost sounded as though you weren't coming back.' He grinned engagingly.

 

BB'd always made her laugh, but the possible truth in his words made her shiver.

 

'I can't tell you, I'm sorry.'

 

'You're going to get yourself killed, right? You wouldn't leave without telling us where to if it weren't something like that.'

 

Avian looked at her sternly. The concern in his words moved her deeply, he was her best friend after all.

 

'I'll try to survive, so you'll feel all silly for saying that. Now excuse me Ave, I've got to get my shuttle ready.'

 

With that, she turned and headed for the hangar again. She'd realized that extensive good-byes would only make it harder for her to leave. And she had to leave, no matter what.

 

Avian stayed where he was, looking after her as she walked through the corridor.

 

***

 

'All right Challenge control, systems checked and working. Awaiting permission to launch.'

 

'Permission granted, CMDR Callista. We're lowering the shields in a minute. Have a nice flight. Flight control over.'

 

There she was, sitting in her private shuttle, the 'Intensity', starting off for her doom. But before that, she had a mission that'd keep her going, no matter how damn afraid she was. She hit the button that would draw in the ramp and powered the shuttle's engines up. A minute later, she was out of the hangar and another minute later the shuttle entered hyperspace. Cal leaned back in her seat and let her thoughts drift.

 

'Hey.'

 

Cal startled and turned, drawing her blaster.

 

'Ave! What the hell do you think you're doing here!?'

 

Her wingmate grinned.

 

'I'm getting myself killed. Thought you might like some company.'

 

'You pompous, stuck-up, snotnose, scumbag, fuckface, dickhead, asshole!'

 

'Yeah, I'm glad to see you too.'

 

'Why the hell are you doing this?'

 

'I'm your friend Cal, and now that Bran's not at your service, I'll have to do his job and be your personal bodyguard. I promised him.'

 

Cal sighed.

 

'Ave, this is a personal thing. You can't go with me.'

 

'Well, I'm here ain't I?'

 

Cal looked at him with sorrow, then buried her head in her hands. Ave walked up to her.

 

'Cal, wherever you're going, it seems like you'll need someone to help you get back all right.'

 

'You have no idea...'

 

'Well, you could start to enlighten me...'

 

'Coruscant.'

 

'Coruscant!? Oh. Well, heheh, ok.' The shocked expression on his face was almost amusing. 'What are we doing there?'

 

'Find out who killed my friend, find him or her, and kill him or her in return.'

 

'Oh, revenge. That's my specialty.'

 

Cal looked at him furiously.

 

'Dammit BB, it's not something pesky as revenge! It's justice!'

 

'Yeah, that's another word for revenge. Was she a good friend?'

 

Cal hesitated for a second.

 

'That she was... We went to the Academy together, she was my best friend. You should've known her, you would've fallen in love with her in no time. When we graduated, she went to the Intelligence and I became a pilot. Before we parted, we swore each other that we'd always be there for each other and care for each other. I failed.'

 

'She was killed on a secret mission?'

 

'I don't know why she was killed or who killed her. But I'll give my life to find it out, if must be. That's the least thing I can do for her.... she was such a wonderful person, she didn't deserve to die.'

 

'Hardly anyone deserves to die, Cal... well except for the Rebs of course.'

 

'There's a good chance that we're not gonna get off this Rebel nest. You could die BB.'

 

'Well then I'm honored I'm gonna die with you.'

 

Cal smiled and hugged him.

 

'Thank you, Ave.'

 

'Not a problem, Mc Callister. But have you thought about how to get through the planet's shields? We sure can't tell them we're here to venge your Imperial friend.'

 

'Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something, Boidybrain...'

 

 

CMDR/LC Callista/Typhoon/Wing X/ISD Challenge

 

 

 

 

Blackbird tapped idly at the sides of his seat, staring out into the vast expanses of space through the shuttle's cockpit.  There hadn't been a word said since they entered hyperspace... was there anything to say at all?  He hadn't known how his CMDR would've responded to his "infiltration" of her personal shuttle, he hadn't dreamed of accompanying her on an infiltration and assassination mission to Coruscant.  And yet here he was, strapped into a Shuttle, without a plan, without a weapon, and without his symphonies.  That last one really gave him a nasty blow.  The price you pay for being spontaneous.  He would have liked to play one last Requiem before he went, after all.  Blackbird glanced sideways at his Commander.  She was still in the same position as she was 15 minutes ago, but the determined look in her eyes had faded to a grim perseverance.  Staring into nothingness as well, Blackbird wondered briefly what it was like to feel something so deeply that one was moved to these desperate measures.  He had known once he saw Callista's eyes that there was no changing her mind, even in an endeavor such as this.  For once... he wished that he could feel such levels of emotion, even if painful as clearly and as sharply as she did.  Brandon's... injury was the first real loss he had ever experienced, and he had to keep it buried inside to keep it from influencing his every action.  As much as he would say to the others that the injury wasn't a problem, and that Brandon was strong enough to pull through, he silently wept.  After one time where the tears threatened to flow in unruly streams down his cheeks, he avoided any discussion about Brandon.  He never visited him in the bacta tank, for fear that he'd realize what Cal seemed to be hiding.  There was just a sense of... helplessness.  So he hid it.  There was no point in saturating yourself in something that will never help you.  BB looked over to Cal once again.  Someone needed to break this horrible silence.

 

"So where's our first stop?  Corellia?  Pirath?  Aurora?"

 

Callista seemed to slowly bring herself out of an inner conversation before answering.  "Coruscant."

 

BB's face immediately turned to one of disbelief.  "What??  But... when are we going to figure out a plan of attack, get supplies, food..." BB's voice took a hint of helpless confusion "...anything..."

 

There was a silence.  Callista merely pressed a small button on the console.  A timer lit up on the console in front of them.

 

"There's our ETA."

 

Less than an hour.  Realization washed over Blackbird like the morning after one too many Chalquilas.  An Imperial shuttle, coasting into the orbit of Coruscant... with less than an hour to think of a plan.  It was truly a suicide mission.  There was no emotion.  He had seen all-too-real emotions about her friend, to be sure... but after only 15 minutes in flight... all emotion had vanished.  He had to try to get conversation going again, attempt to break through this armored shell Cal had obviously put up.  If he just let her go through with this, he didn't even deserve to be on the same ship as her, much less her friend.

 

"Cal?"

 

Callista looked over to Blackbird briefly.  "What?"

 

"Is this..." BB had to stop for a second.  "Is this what you call a mission?"

 

Cal suddenly regained that look of determination.  "It's a mission in the purest sense of the word, Boid.  You've trusted me countless times before, and I've never steered you wrong.  Just believe me... everything's going to work out the way it's supposed to."

 

"Cal, that isn't reassuring."

 

"It's not supposed to be.  You wanted to come, you wanted to die, then let’s go.  I don't want to hear any second thoughts now that you're in the middle of it.  You're Typho... you're a part of my squad.  You follow, or you get left behind.  And I know that sounds harsh... but it's the way it is.  I can't just sit back, or even hesitate... because then I might not do this at all.  And I don't know if I could live with myself then."

 

". . ."

 

"I know you're looking out for me... but this isn't a question anymore.  It's a test.  And you're in it now."

 

And with that, everything came into place.  Blackbird looked around in amazement.  What in Aurora was he thinking before?  "Rightyo, Commander.  Looks like I've got some thinking to do before that timer reaches the big double 0."  BB gave a grin across the cockpit.  "You're welcome to join in if ya want."

 

"No, thanks.  I've got my own plans to worry about, Boid.  I'll let you have the easy stuff."

 

 

FM/CM Blackbird/Typhoon 1-3/Wing X/ISD Challenge

 

 

 

The 'Intensity' fell out of hyperspace to be one of apparently millions of other space craft approaching the planet. Calli had seen pictures and videos of the former Imperial central world, but she'd never had the opportunity to go there, so saying that she was quite impressed alone with the traffic was an understatement.

 

'Geez, it'll take hours til they talk to us.' she sighed.

 

'Nah, I don't think so. With that traffic, they'll certainly have a couple of flight control stations too. And hey, I should think that there's a tiny red lamp going off somewhere on their console now that an Imperial shuttle has entered planetary range.'

 

Calli smiled at BB.

 

'You know, we're not as helpless as you might think. We're not an Imperial shuttle anymore. We might look like one, but we officially aren't.'

 

'What the...'

 

'Unidentified craft, send your ID-Code and your matter on Corus-- wait a minute - ... Imperial Shuttle, stay on course and don't try to escape. We've got lasers tracked on you. We're sending patrol fighters to escort you down to the surface. Do not use your weapons.' a voice came crackling over the ship's comm.

 

'Your 'plan' or whatever it is apparently didn't work, Cap.' BB said, sounding quite insecure.

 

'Just you wait, Ave. They don't have anything against us. You just think of a reason why we're here, I handle the rest. Oh, and you might want to change and pack your uniform into your bag, or you'll ruin my plan.' Calli smiled engagingly. She had already changed into something 'more comfortable'.

 

Blackbird glanced out of the viewport. Two quite rusted looking X-Wings were escorting them, although the scanners said there were four of them. Calli entered a course the fighters transmitted her, and activated the auto-pilot. Then she opened a little department in a corner of the cockpit and took a disk out of it.

 

'What are you doing, Cal? I'd actually feel more comfortable if you let me in on your plan-'

 

'I'm saving my ship's logbook. Then I'll erase it and enter just one single entry: A route from Sullust to Coruscant. The plan is that BB: We've bought a shuttle on Sullust, without knowing its former owner, who apparently was an Imperial officer. We didn't know it was an Imperial shuttle so we bought it, got a new ID for it and started off for Coruscant. It's that easy. If they wish to search the ship, they won't find anything that hints at us being Imps too.'

 

'I see....'

 

'Just don't be surprised when you get out of the ship, don't freak out at the guys with the blasters aiming at you. We're tourists or something. Pretend to be all scared and hopeless and primitive. And think of an identity for us.'

 

The planetary shield was opened for the shuttle and its escort and closed again right behind them. If Calli hadn’t had other things to worry about, she'd have just enjoyed the scenery as the shuttle approached the planet's surface...

 

***

 

They led them to a hangar bay east of the main city. It was a huge docking bay for a shuttle relatively small as Calli's, but that was probably to have room for the dozens of Rebel officers that were awaiting the two of them, blasters at hand.

 

'Get out of your ship with your hands behind your head, Imperial scum! Don't make any fast moves or you'll be shot right away!' one of the Rebels shouted.

 

Blackbird was the first to get out of the ship when the gangway was lowered. He looked funny with that naive expression on his face, Calli thought. He didn't do a good job at looking scared though, prolly cause he wasn't used to it. Calli made an effort to top his impression of a nerd. Before she got out of the hatch, she hesitated and hid behind a brace, seemingly thinking nobody could see her but actually being an easy target for the Rebels. Then she got out, with her hands above her head, whimpering. She tried to look like a weak woman, which wasn't easy, but she had the impression she succeeded. A couple of Rebels were already lowering her blasters a bit, convinced that she wasn't a threat to them.

 

They were led up to some guy wearing the rank badge of a Captain. Calli silently chuckled at outranking him.

 

'You two! Identify yourselves immediately!'

 

Blackbird looked at Calli and Calli looked at Blackbird.

 

'I'm Chris Zoc and this is my errm, fiancée, Nat Muena. We're from Sullust. We didn't mean to cause any trouble, officer.' BB said, giving a good impression of a twerp.

 

'Officer, please, we haven't done anything! Why are these gentlemen aiming guns at us?' Calli said and gave the Captain a puppy-dog-look.

 

'Are you trying to tell me you're not Imperial?'

 

'Imperial!? Good lord, no! What makes you think we're Imperial?' Ave stuttered.

 

'Well, your shuttle's clearly painted like an Imperial shuttle. How do you want to explain that?'

 

'The shuttle? We just bought it on Sullust right before we started for Coruscant. We just wanted to have a spontaneous holiday... we didn't know the shuttle was Imperial, its memory was erased. I'm sure they changed the ID Code when we bought it... we didn't know...'

 

'Lieutenant!' the Rebel Captain interrupted Ave's speech.

 

'Yes, Sir?' another actually quite cute looking Rebel entered the scene.

 

'Check the ship's navcomputer and logbook and see if their story's true.'

 

'Yes, Sir.' The Lieutenant disappeared into the 'Intensity'.

 

'Chris darling...' Cal uttered in her sweetest voice.

 

'Yes, my love?'

 

'I'm scared...' Cal didn't really look at Ave, she faced the Captain, who looked at her too.

 

Ave took her in his arms.

 

'Don't be, love, I'm sure they'll find we're not Imperial and let us go to our hotel.'

 

Ave noticed the Captain was staring at Cal with a quite fixed look.

 

'Captain?!' The Lieutenant came back from the 'Intensity'. The Captain continued to stare at Callista.

 

'Captain?!' the Lieutenant repeated.

 

'Err, yes Lieutenant?'

 

'The logbook confirms what they said. There's only one entry, a hyperspace jump from Sullust to Coruscant. It doesn't look like someone meddled with the computer either.'

 

'Thank you Lieutenant.' The Captain turned to face Cal.

 

'Well, ma'am, looks like we've got to excuse ourselves for this incident. But you must see that we had to be cautious. The Empire is still strong in some parts of the galaxy.'

 

'Can we go now?' Ave inquired.

 

'Well, we'll need to know where you're gonna stay for the time you'll be on Coruscant in case we'll have further questions.'

 

'We've booked in the Sunrise Hotel, but we're not sure how long we're gonna stay here.' No sense in lying to them when they could easily prove that lie.

 

'Fine then... your shuttle will be kept here, if you want to leave the planet, contact me and I'll arrange things.' He handed Cal a calling-card chip and smiled at her.

 

'Thank you officer.' Ave said shortly, took both their bags that had been brought by the Lieutenant, apparently without being searched.

 

They got out of the hangar bay without further 'incidents'.

 

 

CMDR/LC Callista/Typhoon/Wing X/ISD Challenge

 

 

 

BB whistled softly once they were in the sparsely furnished hotel room, finally loosening his grip on the bags he was carrying.

 

"Holy Sithspawn, Cal, I just don't know how you do it.  Not only did you make me look like the luckiest guy in the Rebel Territories, but you've got us a one-way trip off this rock once we've done our job.  I still can't believe he just handed you his calling card.  I'll have to return the favor sometime."

 

Cal smiled, tossing her bags lightly on the... solitary bed in the room.  BB groaned. 

 

"Right.  Good thing this place is carpeted.  Hate to have a sore back before a busy day of Rebel vaping."

 

Cal's smile suddenly turned seductive.  "Now Ave, you wouldn't expect me to have my betrothed sleep on the floor, would you?"

 

Noting that BB's reaction hadn't evolved past a raised eyebrow, she smirked and pointed behind her.

 

"There's a slide-out cot in the other room.  Just press the red button."

 

BB finally grinned and tossed his bags in the other room, though with a hint of regret. 

 

"You're too good to me, Commander."

 

"And don't you forget it.  Listen, I'm going to head up to the main office of this place and see exactly how secure their holonet system is.  I'll be back in a minute, and I had better not find you wasted when I come back."

 

BB abruptly put the bottle of Corellian Brandy back in his bag.

 

"Sith, Cal, then why did I go through the trouble of hauling all this stuff?  Exactly what am I going to do while you're out playing Imperial Commando?"

 

Cal tossed BB a comlink, among the numerous other pieces of equipment she had packed.  Ave was just continually amazed at the amount of stuff women could fit into a bag.

 

"You're going to be my backup in case something goes wrong.  Remember, we're not here on vacation.  We'll have to flip through the 2000 holonet channels some other time.  But if everything goes right, I can get the location of any Republic Intelligence Agency within the Core Systems through the hotel connection.  Their fault for setting up a universal wide system, after what happened to us before."

 

"My, my, Cal... I wouldn't have pegged you as the data code/geeky type."

 

"Takanah taught me a few things before she... went.  Don't worry, it's not going to become a habit."

 

BB noted the slight wavering in her voice, and quickly attempted to change the subject.  "Glad to hear it. Ummm...soooo... what made you choose this hotel, by the way?  Other than its classy decor, that is..."

 

Cal turned her face into her bag once again, rummaging with a renewed vigor, it seemed.  Her voice was obviously tense now, mixing almost perfectly with the rattling of the equipment.

 

"This is where she was killed."

 

"Ah.  Of course.  So you think the... murderer is still here?"

 

"Either that, or they'll have a record of him coming in and out that night.  Normal Rebel procedure is to erase all data on the second day.  I figure we've got about 3 hours before any trace of him is gone."

 

"So exactly how much time is it going to take for you to do this?"

 

Callista wrapped a recording device around her waist, then let her shirt fall over it.  "Not nearly that long.  It'll take me enough time to... soothe the operator at the terminal, though."

 

Ave grinned and shook his head.  "Another reason I wasn't invited to the party, no doubt."

 

Cal turned and hugged Ave with a small grin.

 

"Wouldn't want you to get jealous, after all.  Now you just stay alert and keep that blaster ready.  You can wait in the registration room if you'd like.  Not sure how much time you'd waste if you had to race down the halls and wait for the turbolift."

 

Ave tucked his blaster into the large bantha pouch at his side.  "Must keep up appearances, after all."

 

"Yeah yeah... but remember, once we get down to the main floor, we haven't seen each other before in our lives."

 

"Not a problem.  I'll be more inconspicuous than a Defel."

 

Cal gave Ave a funny look, as if she was pondering something... but soon shrugged it off.  "Riiiight.  You just sit there and look innocent, ok?"

 

"What a coincidence.  I'm a virtual expert on looking innocent.  Let's get it started, shall we?"

 

"So eager to go on a suicide mission all of a sudden.  All right, let's go."

 

It was a long wait for the turbolift.

 

***             

 

The seats in the registration room were lumpy and uncomfortable... at least to BB's tastes.  Luckily, there was a new employee at the desk who didn't recognize him, and the line was considerably longer than he had expected.  Ave found this slightly strange, since there weren't nearly this many people checking in when they arrived.  At any rate, that meant that Cal had more than enough time to finish the intel work and get out of there before he had to make up a story for the registration employee.  He leaned back into the chair, shifting a bit to get the lumps out... to no avail.  Ave sighed and let his hand drift idly to the bantha pouch at his side.  There was just something too odd about all this.  Probably paranoia, being in the center of the New Republic and all... but everyone in line just seemed... too Rebel.  Just keep watching, BB, you're the backbone of this plan.  Contrary to popular belief, she can't do everything with her charm.  Ave allowed himself a small chuckle at this.  Contrary to popular belief.  There was a reason they all thought that way.  There wouldn't be a problem with this plan.  It was flawless.  Ave somehow suspected that his role was purely ceremonial, so to speak.  She could've waltzed out of that hotel with the entire terminal and noone would've paid attention to what she was carrying.  What did she need backup for?  Suddenly the line of Rebels that had been intimidating before... were almost comical.  Ave threw a cheeky grin around the room, almost wishing that they would figure out he was Imperial, so he could have a decent fight with these rebel boys.  Didn't look all that fit, most of them had big pouches strapped around their backs, probably filled with nutrition bars and diet shakes.  One of the rebels farther away from him suddenly reached up to scratch his upper arm, pulling the sleeve up with it.  Ave's cheeky grin abruptly turned to one of disbelief.  As clear as a shot glass after a long mission, he could see a New Republic symbol tattooed on the shoulder.  And reading straight across it, in bold double lettering, were three letters.  NRI.   New Republic Intelligence.  This one must've been especially proud of his position... and especially stupid, since from what he saw, none of the others were marked in such an obvious manner.  Ave cursed silently, as his mind desperately tried to switch into high gear.  Ok, first off... there's a good chance that are quite a few NRI agents here.  Mainly because the others in the line looked rather similar to each other in at least one way.  Whether it was the bag around the back (which Ave now knew was not filled with diet shakes), the tattoos, or the heavy boots... each one related to at least one of their compatriots.  This was planned.  That thrice-damned Captain must've tipped them off.  But were they going to their room, or did they know what Cal was planning?  The Captain obviously didn't give them an accurate description, or Ave would've been in their custody already, with or without his blaster.  Just gotta stay calm.  Just make sure you get to them before they get to Cal.  But he knew that if he made a break for the main office, his cover would be blown.  With about 7 agents, there was no chance he'd make it if they had their weapons out.  Ave broke off his train of thought as he saw the first rebel finish "registering".  He was making his way to the turbolift.  So they're heading to the room.  Was this an abduction mission or something?  What possible reason could the captain have for sending a team of rebel agents after a betrothed couple?  Sure, Callista had him tongue tied the whole time, but try explaining that to a hardened INTEL organization.  Unless... he found something in the Shuttle.  Ave could've sworn he hadn't left anything in there, but the Captain might've subjected the SHU to a complete and total search.  In that case... anything could've turned up.  No doubt quite a few secrets beneath the floor panels... damn, why hadn't he thought of it before?  In either respect, he knew that while Callista was most likely to be taken alive, there were no such constraints the Captain had put on him.  Once they knew who he was, he'd likely be shot on sight.  Ave forced himself to bring himself back to the situation at hand, noting that the 1st one had already boarded the turbolift, and the 2nd was being "registered".  The employee seemed to have no idea what was going on.  Ave allowed himself a small smirk.  Probably trying to avoid disturbing the populace.  Imperial INTEL would've stormed the place, then gone through each and every level.  This creeping around Ave could easily match.  If they had any brains whatsoever, they'd finish "registering", then all break into their room at once.  Which meant that he probably had about 5 minutes to get Cal after the last one headed for the turbolift.  Holy Sithspawn, this was going to be stressful.  Ave brought his hand to the bantha pouch again briefly.  Obviously they were going to check out sooner than they thought...

 

 

***             

 

 

Callista released the man's neck slowly, letting him fall into a deep sleep.  Pity she had to fool him like that, he was rather cute for a rebel.  But, she had a job to do.  He was the only technician in the back room, so she had gotten most of the crucial information from him before she started working on the terminal.... hmmm... she hadn't seen most of these commands for years at least.  But the password she saw the tech type in was more than enough to get her access to the main holonet area.  And there we go... now to see if this datapad was worth what I paid for it... Cal fixed the datapad to the main terminal.  Suddenly there was a slight flicker on the screen, and the random text scrolling down the screen abruptly stopped every so often, making words, sentences, phrases, slowly becoming cohesive.  Soon, there was a completed holonet address, decoded right in front of her. 

 

                                      Welcome to.... Sunrise Hotel.

 

                   Here, along with our friendly staff and strict anti-imperial security, you

                   can be assured that your stay here will not only be relaxing, but safe.

                   If you have any questions, simply ask our comman--

 

Callista quickly pulled some switches on the datapad.  No point in wasting time around here.  There had to be a listing of the clients who came in lately.  And whoever checked in, and left on the same night within the last 2 days had to be the murderer.  The lying, shithead bastard that killed Takanah.  Time to do some serious coding... Cal groaned inwardly, but it wasn't to be helped.  BB was totally inept at any kind of coding that didn't involve creating new addresses.  Maybe it would've been better if Domi had come.  At least she'd be getting praised about her physical features the entire time.  But no.  It was better this way.  BB, despite his numerous, and obvious flaws, was trustworthy, and had been a good friend for a long time.  Cal sighed, and got to work.

 

After about 5 minutes, it appeared.  Finally.  The current listing of the hotel clients, past and present.  Scanning down for the date with a slight bit of trepidation, she briefly noticed up on top that the clients were arriving at an alarming rate, a slight beeping noise announcing each of their arrivals.  Much more than when they had first arrived.  There had to be 4 alone that had selected rooms almost right next to each other... and right around the room that she and Ave had taken.  Suddenly, there was a sense of urgency.  Had to find the name, date, species, everything.  And soon.  As she scrolled down, there was a name that caught her eye.  Taronai Bartok.  That's what Takanah used as her double identity.  Most of the time you didn't have to make a huge modification on your name, since the fact that your names would be so similar would be written off as coincidence, since most agents didn't believe they could be that stupid.  Only stayed there 3 nights.  Considering what she figured was happening outside, she was amazed she lasted 3 nights.  And there was another name as well.  But this one was listed as a "walk-in visitor". And a human from Hapan. Callista turned away from the datapad briefly, tears threatening to flow down her cheeks.  Even though she'd known what she was going to find when she came... it was still unbearable.  The name listed was scrambled, though, not even readable.  That gave her some comfort.  If they went through the trouble of scrambling his name, that meant that there was a good chance that he wasn't using a fake identity at the time.  Probably thought it wasn't even worth the trouble, lazy Rebel scum...but now I've got you. She flipped a few more switches on the datapad, and the name began to slowly decode itself from the esoteric symbols on the monitor.  Cal knew that the modified datapad, while excellent at breaking into the hotel's connection, would probably not be able to go anywhere else with much success.  It looked like she'd have to take out the NRI agents responsible the old-fashioned way.  The name was nearly halfway decoded, looking something like D'ep($*k Fur&^ve*$&#^ .  D'epek?  D'epik?  Furtive would've most definitely worked for his last name, but she couldn't be sure.  She'd need about 4 more minutes.  Callista heard a dull ring as she was waiting... and noticed that the 4 she had seen registered before had grown to 7... who all assigned their rooms around hers.  Better tell Ave that we're going to have to get out of here before nightfall, she thought.  There was no doubt some plan for a night assault, if her instinct could be trusted.  As soon as this is finished decoding, I'll go tel--

 

BB burst through the door of the back room, blaster in hand.  He looked out of breath, even though it had only been a short run.  Cal briefly wondered if he had been getting enough exercise lately...

 

"Cap, we've got about 7 NRI agents heading for our room as we speak!  Might want to get up there pronto before what little cover we had is blown to Coruscan... ah Sith, that's right.  We're on Coruscant."

 

Callista whirled around, disbelief on her features.  "They're going to our room NOW?!  But then... why would they bother registering rooms right next to us?"

 

Ave suddenly halted.  "They were registering the rooms next to us?  Where did you find that out?"

 

"Through the hotel records.  I nearly got the name of the son of a bitch who was the murderer, too.  I think we've got time before they start something.  They probably want to make sure that we're both in the room when they strike."

 

Ave gave a sarcastic grin.  "Oh, there's a comforting thought."

 

"Actually, it should be.  It means we've got at least an hour to plan how to welcome these intel freaks."

 

Ave was now getting visibly impatient again.  "Ok, ok.  But first... let's just make sure they're not all in our room right now, rifling through our equipment, pulling out our clothes, drinking all our booze... I can't believe I left my bottle of Narcolethe unguarded..."

 

Callista let a small grin, then slowly turned back to the terminal as she spoke.  "Ok, boid, we'll check back at the room as soon as I'm finished decod.... WHAT?!?!?"

 

BB nearly jumped.  "What?  What?  What happened?"

 

"Those intel scum erased the records!  I was supposed to have at least another hour before they erased the data!  Not to mention, it would've been erased by that tech unconscious in the corner!  Now... we may as well have never even come here... I've only got half of his name, and his race.  I may as well have guessed who he was and gotten just as far."  Cal suddenly took on a very quiet voice.  "Ave... do you think they know what we're planning?"

 

Ave immediately put his arm around Cal, letting her lean against his side.  "No... no, there's no way they could.  It's probably just routine, Cap.  We've got no reason to believe that they know anything about us other than we might be Imperial.  And that might give us an edge."

 

Cal sat up abruptly, and closed down the terminal, putting the datapad back in her bag.  "Right.  First off, we're going to see if they're going to our room now, or later.  If they're going to our room now..." Cal produced two silencers from her bag and tossed one to BB "We'll need these.  If they're not there yet, then we can work out another plan from there.  Ok?  Let's go."

 

Cal stood up and headed out the door.  Ave followed, grinning.

 

"Love it when ya get authoritative, Cap."

 

 

FM/CM Blackbird/Typhoon 1-3/Wing X/ISD Challenge

 

The way up to their room seemed to be longer than it should be. Ave had uttered his doubts about the tech in the computer room, but Cal had reassured him that he hadn't seen her and that, once he woke up again, which would take a bit of time, he'd feel as though he'd simply fainted. Not much of a comfort when you were heading towards a Rebel commando eager to have you blasted into bits and pieces.

 

They were alone in the turbolift.

 

'I don't think they'll go after us before nightfall, will they? There's other guests in the hotel. We should have time to pack our critical stuff and leave.' Cal said.

 

'You really think they'll just let us leave and be merry? And we still don't have the info we need.'

 

'Oh, I'll supply the info, you supply the diversion. Or something.'

 

The turbolift came to a halt at the 21st floor. Their room wasn't far from there.

 

Cal and Ave got out of the hatch and headed for their room. Cal immediately put her arm around Ave's waist, put on  a cheerful smile and started to kiss his neck passionately.

 

'Cal...?' he started, but soon spotted the NRI agent who was walking on the corridor.

 

'Now Nat, can't you wait til we're in our room, you naughty girl you!'

 

The NRI agent passed them with a suspicious look, but left them alone. Ave fumbled the room key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

 

Once they were in their room, Cal let go of him and started rummaging around in her bag. If Ave hadn't almost had a heart attack, he'd have been disappointed.

 

'Ave, pack anything that'll hint at us being Imperial. Leave your clothes here, we can go shopping for new stuff later. And I'm really sorry but... I'll need that alci of yours.'

 

BB walked into his corner and brought her the bottle of Corellian Brandy with a sad look on his face. Cal just looked at the inscription, nodded to herself and placed it on a table.

 

'You look as though you know what you're doing Cal, but I'm not so sure about it...'

 

'Oh come on. You can see what I'm doing can't you?'

 

'Noooooo...?'

 

Cal chuckled.

 

'I'm making a sort of a timebomb. Don't laugh, it's not funny.' Ave laughed nevertheless.

 

'Fine Boid, you just go down to the bar and get a drink. Take what you need, but it mustn't look as though we're planning on leaving here. I'll be down in a couple of minutes.'

 

'What if they follow me?'

 

'Of course they'll follow you. They won't go after you with hundreds of people in the lounge, though.'

 

'What if they decide to go after you now that you're on your own?'

 

'Ave, it won't take long. And I've still got my toys.'

 

Ave shrugged and went out of the room, his pouch now slightly fuller than before.

 

***

 

Sometimes Cal was really glad she was a woman. Not only did it give her an advantage in critical situations, it also meant that you had stuff like hairspray in your bag.

 

Cal had never done anything like this before, but somehow she was quite sure that it was going to work. Too bad they didn't have a microwave in their room, but the kitchenette would do.

 

Cal ripped a piece of cloth off one of her best tops, but she wasn't going to take it along anyway. Ave's Brandy was 75%, so that should burn quite nicely. She soaked the cloth full of the liquor, then wrapped it around her hairspray. Now for the timer.

 

Another good thing being a woman was that you were supposed to be familiar with cooking devices. This one here in the hotel room was quite primitive, but it was automatic. Cal set the timer to 40 minutes from now, then took another alci soaked piece of cloth and fastened it to one of the hot-plates, and the other end of it to the hairspray bomb. If everything worked fine, the plate would start to heaten up in 40 minutes, thus causing the cloth to catch fire and so on.

 

With another 'thank you' to the maker for making her a woman, she took her bag and left the room.

 

***

 

Ave had ordered a Thyferran whiskey and was sipping on it when Cal rejoined him at the bar.

 

'Sooooo.... what are we doing now?' BB inquired.

 

'You just keep sitting here and look unsuspicious. I'll go find out more about Mr. Killer.'

 

'Cal, you're making me feel useless.'

 

'Fine! You go bewitch the guy at the registration with your rugged good looks and make him show you the surveillance discs!'

 

'You never know. One day you're gonna meet a guy you can't enchant. Cause he's gay. Then I'll point at you and laugh. Now go already.'

 

'One thing BB, keep looking out for me. When I give you a sign, you do a 'red herring', ok?'

 

'Not a problem, I'm good at that. I think.' BB smiled.

 

'Take care.'

 

Cal walked over to the registration, noticing that some of the NRI agents had already taken a seat in the lounge, watching over Ave and her attentively. Dumb nerfs weren't good at their job, that much she could see. Cal put on her most fascinating smile and approached the registration guy. He was very young, obviously new at the job, and seemed to hope that nobody expected something of him.

 

'Hey.'

 

The guy looked startled to say the least. Cal leaned on the registration desk, bringing her face close to his.

 

'What..err. what can I do for you, ma'am?'

 

'Well... I was wondering if I could invite you on a drink...?'

 

'Invi...invite me on a drink?'

 

'Yep. You wouldn't want me to spend the evening all on my own, would you?'

 

'But... I've got to do my job, there's.... certainly more guests arriving tonight..'

 

Cal looked around and over to the hotel's entrance.

 

'I can't see anyone just now, my dear. Now come on.' Cal hooked her arm under his and began to draw him to the bar. After a while, he didn't show any resistance anymore. They took their seats not too far from Avian.

 

'What would you like to drink?'

 

'Well... some juice please-'

 

'Juice?! Come on, you're not thirteen anymore.'

 

'But...'

 

'No buts. I'll talk to your boss if he makes trouble. Two whiskeys please.'

 

And thus the fun began. Avian could clearly see that Cal was intending to make the poor lad drunk, and that she was quite successful at it. He couldn't exactly hear what they were talking about, but he noticed that the guy soon started speaking thickly and started to enjoy Cal's company. Cal herself had a couple of whiskeys, but she was eager to stay relatively sober so she stopped after her 4th. The two of them were laughing a lot, clearly a sign that they were more than just merry.

 

'Now my dear... what's going on in this nice hotel here? There's certainly some interesting incidents at times.'

 

'Heh, yeah, we had a murder yesterday.'

 

Cal's nerves tensed up. She didn't expect it to be so easy.

 

'A murder! How rude. Who was the poor bastard?'

 

'Oh, we don't really know. It was a woman though, and she was Imperial, or so we got told. It was odd really. When the boss reported the corpse to the security, they only sent someone to pick it up and to clean the room. Least that's what I think. They didn't even spend half an hour in that room, so they couldn't have looked for fingerprints or traces of dna. Prolly cause that woman was Imperial. Nobody cares who kills them, as long as they're dead.'

 

Cal silently cursed the Rebels. Of course they weren't trying to find out who the murderer was, it wasn't worth the effort. Takanah was only an Imp, after all.

 

'They haven't even checked the surveillance tapes? The murderer sure has to be on there-' Cal said.

 

'Nah, they didn't show interest in them. We offered to give them to the security, but they refused.' The guy, whose name was Zed as Calli had found out, took another gulp of his 8th whiskey.

 

'Do you think I could see them?' Cal looked him straight in the eyes.

 

'You want me to show them to you? Why do you want to see them?'

 

'You know, I'm an author- I might write a book about this... and you'll be the protagonist-'

 

'Heh, that rocks. Well, I suppose there's nothing bad about that. Let me just get the key for the surveillance room.'

 

He left for the registration desk. Luckily enough, there hadn't been any other new arrivals yet. Cal checked her holowatch. About 8 minutes left. She'd have to hurry. The agents were still watching her behind their shades, and it would certainly look odd to them if Cal disappeared into a little backroom with the hotel registree. Time for Ave's diversion...

 

Cal accidentally overthrew her glass of whiskey, spilling the precious liquor over the counter. Ave looked at her in surprise, then smiled, shook his head and seemed to be telling her to drink less next time with the expression of his face. Another fierce look from Cal made him realize that this was supposed to be her sign just a moment later. Cal got up from her chair and headed for the exit, knowing that the Intel guys were still watching her every step. Ave had better be a good diversion.

 

'Soooooomewheeeeere over the rainbow, way up hiiiiiiiigh....' she suddenly heard him sing with full vigor. She couldn't but smile and hope that the NRI Rebels were looking at him and at him only at this very moment. Cal changed her direction and followed Zed through a door into a dark room. Before she closed the door behind her, she could hear a couple of people showing their disrespect towards Ave's little performance...

 

'Well, here we've got the surveillance discs of all cameras of the last week, they're erased after that time.'

 

Zed switched on a light in the dark room, and Cal found herself standing in front of a heap of platinum discs.

 

'Geez... do you think you can find the disc of the right camera and right time?'

 

Zed looked at her and grinned.

 

'Well I can try, can't I?'

 

He started rummaging through the piles of discs.

 

'We found the corpse early in the morning, when our maid wanted to clean the sanitary area. That was about 0700. The murderer prolly didn't use the turbolift, so we should need holocam #156 from 2100 to 0700...'

 

For someone pretty drunk that guy was quite clever. He went on searching for a bit, then handed Cal a single disc.

 

'There we go, Mylady. See if you can find him on there.'

 

Cal put the disc into a holodecoder that was in the room, and waited for the show to start. Hopefully Ave wasn't out there now trying to explain where she had gone to the NRI. She put the decoder on 'detect movement' and watched the screen intently. Only 3 minutes left. If she hadn't been too concentrated watching the screen, she'd have worried about the efficiency of her little bomb up in their room.

 

Then the recording stopped. The decoder had found a movement in the surveillance camera's range.

 

Cal sighed. Just a Devaronian with his female partner. She put the decoder on  'detect movement' again.

 

'This is actually quite thrilling....' Zed said.

 

'Yeah, it is, isn't it. I have trouble catching my breath.' Cal tried to hide her disinterest. Now that she'd got what she wanted, she didn't need Zed anymore. The only reason she hadn't killed him yet was that it'd give the NRI something solid, and they could give out a warrant of arrest to each and every security agent in Coruscant city.

 

The recording was stopped again. This time there was a single man on the screen, almost flying down the stairs.

 

'Can you rewind that and zoom on his face, please.'

 

Zed did so without a difficulty. The screen showed a picture of a man of about 30, tanned and sturdy and extremely good-looking. Clearly an inhabitant of Hapan. Too bad the picture wasn't showing his features in a better resolution.

 

'Do me a favor and print that out for me Zed, will you?'

 

Zed did so without hesitation. Cal checked her watch. Just now her 'bomb' should explode... the sound of it shouldn't be heard down here in the reception hall but...

 

The fire-alarm sirens went off in an almost deafening volume.

 

'What the...' Zed started. Cal took his arms with both of her hands and looked him straight in the eyes.

 

'Listen Zed, I am very grateful you helped me here.' She gave him a long, sensual kiss. As sensual as she could muster when being in a hurry.

 

'Now do me a favor and don't tell anyone, not your boss, not the guests, noone, what we did in here.'

 

Zed was still in a sort of trance from Cal's sudden kiss.

 

'Errr... ok-'

 

'Thank you Zed.' She kissed him again, shorter this time, grabbed the printed copy of the surveillance camera and hurried out of the room.

 

***

 

Ave hadn't felt too nice after he'd given his little performance, but he felt even uneasier now. There was chaos around him everywhere, to say the least. Crowds of hotelguests were heading for the exit in a panic, trying to escape the flames that were somewhere in the building. Ave just hoped this was a part of Cal's plan.

 

He looked out for her desperately, trying to keep the Intel agents in the corner of his eye as well. He hadn't seen where she'd gone with that guy, and he started to get worried.

 

'Chris, what are you still doing here you nerd! Are you deaf, or do you want to be roasted?' he heard Cal's voice suddenly right of him. She had a folded piece of papyros in her hands and was waving at him frantically. She joined him at the bar, just to hook her arm under his arm and began drawing him towards the exit.

 

'Let's get out of here, Ave. I've got what we need.'

 

After a couple of seconds, they were part of the panicky mob.

 

 

 

CMDR/LC Callista/Typhoon/Wing X/ISD Challenge

 

 

          

Dusk fell over the Sunrise Hotel, casting shadows on the macabre scene that had so suddenly appeared with the arrival of the two Imperials.  The cloud covering also threw a chill over the surrounding areas, as if attempting to put out the raging fires consuming the structure.  One of the first things to be destroyed in the explosion was the main reactor in the hotel, so the anti-fire systems were completely useless.  A mass of people had gathered to watch the grisly spectacle.

 

Several kilometers away, on board a deserted airbus, Blackbird finally allowed himself to relax.  They were heading... anywhere else, and that was fine with him.

 

"You know, it's a good thing that place burned down, because I doubt I'd be able to show my face in there again after that performance..."

 

Cal still had that slightly proud smile on her face.  Sure, she took out an entire Rebel motel without attracting suspicion, but anyone with her charms, good looks and personality could've done the same.  Only when she turned to speak could Ave make out the relief in her eyes.

 

"It's too bad, really.  I always liked to think of you as a soprano."

 

"Soprano?  I was singing baritone!"

 

Cal laughed softly, and the driver of their vehicle slowly shivered.  Almost as if he was enjoying it.

 

"If you were singing baritone, Ave, that was about an octave too high."

 

"Bah to all of you.  It's pure talent that lets me hit those notes, I tell ya.  Pure talent."

 

"Right.  Remind me to check if there's a physical reason for those high notes later on."

 

Blackbird grinned and lazily threw an arm over the back of the seat.  A private airbus all to themselves.  The NRI agents were still blinded by the smoke when the two of them escaped, apparently.  Oddly enough, the other clients had their own personal ships, so the airbuses that had arrived were without passengers.  BB personally would have immediately placed the clients of the Sunrise Hotel as people who used public transportation.  Especially considering the furnishings of the place.  But that was not the case, and there was certainly a good amount of room in here.  If he could've brought out the rest of his brandy without attracting the driver's attention, he might have stayed there until morning.  As it was, he was simply enjoying the scenery around him.  No matter the rebel symbols on the buildings, there was a definite pride that the Empire constructed this.  Towering atmospheric skyscrapers which seemed to go on forever, planetary batteries which were once crewed by the best gunners in the universe, and fighters screaming across the skies.  Looking across to Cal to see if she had noticed the same thing, he noted she was busy examining a piece of papyros.  Upon closer examination by Ave, he realized it was the security camera's shot of the murderer. 

 

"Rather dashing fellow for a backstabbing rebel scum, wouldn't you say, Ave?"

 

Ave gave Cal an odd look, but responded nonetheless.  "I guess that looks like the case.  Can't make out his facial features, though.  Could end up being rather bantha looking, if you catch my drift."

 

Cal waved her hand dismissively. "No, no, I don't think so."  She gave a small smile once again.  "You don't suppose he might have some time during which I could... get to know him better?"

 

BB gave a mock groan and looked down at the picture again.  "You know, this would all be so much easier if we could just put a blaster bolt in his skull."

 

"But not nearly as satisfying."

 

"For you, or for him?"

 

"Just trust me, will you?  I seem to have had everything under control at the hotel, if I remember correctly."

 

"Yeah, yeah.  I just find it sick that everyone we meet, rebel or not, is an attractive male.  Where are their talented, goodlooking female officers, for Sith's sake?  I demand diversity in the Rebel forces!"

 

"I'll be sure to bring that up with Rebel High Command next time I see them, Ave."

 

"Good.  It's about time, damnit.  And they criticized the Empire for being prejudi--"

 

Suddenly, there was the sound of blaring sirens.  Ave immediately rose from his seat, hanging on to the side railings for support.  A booming voice crackled into life from outside.

 

"Republic Airbus, registration number RK-293681.  You are ordered to stand down for inspection.  Halt your engines immediately and unlock all exits."

 

The airbus suddenly began slowing to a stop.  There was a snap-hiss as the doors around the bus unlocked.  No...it couldn't be.  Not like this.  Ave bolted for the cockpit door of the airbus, as Callista's alarmed look turned to one of confusion.  He rapped it sharply with his fist.  Soon, a timid voice was heard.

 

"Yes?"

 

Ave puffed up his chest imperiously, even though he was invisible behind the door.  "Ah, yes... are you the driver of this vehicle?"

 

There was a noticeable waver in the response. "Yes... yes I am.  Who are you?"

 

"NRI, Republic Intelligence.  I'm afraid that your vehicle is needed for a classified operation.  Please unlock the door so that we may commandeer this vessel."

 

BB cursed silently as soon as he finished speaking.  So the best way to get a vehicle on a classified operation was to use blaring sirens in the middle of the city?  Smooth one, Ave.  But the driver didn't seem to notice. 

 

"Oh, of course.  One second."

 

Ave turned to motion Cal to come over, but she was already at his side, blaster at the ready.  A transport loomed ominously out the transparasteel windows, joined by numerous other small atmospheric fighters.  All the dropouts from the Rebel Flight Academy, no doubt.  There was the sound of a door being opened... and the driver could now be seen with his hand on the open door.  Ave immediately blasted him.  Cal looked at him disapprovingly, but went ahead all the same.  There were times when you couldn't stop to think.  There was another sound of a door being opened... but it wasn't from the cockpit.  Ave and Cal immediately ran inside and locked the door, just in time to hear the blaster bolts slamming into it.  BB slid himself into the driver's seat, and attached his harness. 

 

"Looks like your tech had a good memory, Cap."

 

"No way, Ave.  I made quite sure he wouldn't dream of turning me in.  I have my ways."

 

"Rebel interrogations have their ways as well, Cap.  Strap yourself in."

 

Ave punched the throttle and the airbus lurched forward, picking up speed as the boarding tubes ripped off with a satisfying hiss.  A number of rebel troopers in the midst of crossing plummeted to the city floor, hundreds of miles below, arms flailing wildly.  At least this'll get us recognition in the next holonet news report.  He heard a series of thuds in the main area.  Unfortunately, that meant there were quite a few troopers that had made it on.  Looks like that meant a little improv was in order.  Ave pulled away from the transports and fighters, which had begun to swarm around him.  He half expected buzzing sounds to emerge from the group.  He looked at Cal, grinned, and pulled the bus straight up, spinning, twisting, and turning as the fighters circled in formation below him.  Ave took a sadistic pleasure in hearing the sound of helmets against metal as the troopers were hurled in every direction, ricocheting off walls, seats, and railings.  But the fighters had already regained their bearings, and were following close behind, as Ave reached speeds of 110.  Cal finally regained her bearings as well.

 

"Ave, what the Sith do you think you're doing?!"

 

Ave kept his eyes in front of him, swerving suddenly to avoid a speedy Sullustan Miata that crossed his path.  "Damn, they must have really made some improvements to these things.  Are they using ion engines now?  And the control seems really flui--"

 

Cal almost rose from her seat, grabbing onto Ave's shoulder to get his attention, eyes fixed on the windshield.  "I said what the Sith do you think you're do--!?!"

 

While grabbing onto Ave's shoulder, the unexpected weight threw it downwards, sending the airbus spinning to the right.  Most of the fighters, following uneasily on their tail, broke off in surprise.  But 2 had kept a tight formation behind them.  The dusk had settled over the city, and the myriad lights of Coruscant City began to glitter from every building, reflecting off of the three ships blasting through the main square.  Civilian freighters dived out of the way as the airbus cut through the traffic, one of the pursuing fighters clipping his wing against the bulky craft.  The fighter, spewing flame and smoke, spun into the void below the city, unmourned.  However, the one remaining was soon joined by its friends.  Too far back to be of any help.  Ave threw more power to the engines.  If he could get out of their sensor range, they'd be able to get far enough away to ditch the bus and continue on foot.  Or think of something.  There was a deafening crash from behind him, as the airbus suddenly shook visibly.  Another crimson laser sizzled past his viewport.  Ave immediately turned the airbus into another barrel roll, hearing the satisfying thuds from the other room as another two blasts made a near miss. 

 

"Hmmm...looks like they're not in such a hurry to get us unscathed.  Better take care of it now, I suppose."

 

Ave immediately pulled hard right, speeding through two rebel skyscrapers.  The fighter followed, still firing wildly at the bus, smashing a few shots through the structures.  Ave smiled grimly.  If he survives this, he sure as Sith won't survive the Rebel Trials afterwards.  There was another lighted lane up ahead... tons of small vehicles, an occasional freighter... that'll do nicely.  The airbus immediately began to weave through the vehicles, smacking one or two of them, spinning them out of the lane... but the fighter hovered overhead the entire time, taking pot shots.  Ave could see the occasional burst of flame as a freighter was hit, but soon the airbus rocked violently a second time.  Sithspawn.  The smooth control had suddenly become  rough, and Ave had to head down out of the traffic stream in order to avoid a fatal collision with an air walk between two of the skyscrapers.  And suddenly, there it was.  According to his readouts, there was roughly 2 minutes distance between him and the nearest cluster of fighters, so he had to get this right the first time.  Keeping the downward motion, he checked to see where his pursuer was.  Right behind him.  It couldn't have been planned better.  Ave gave one of his annoyingly smug looks to Cal, and made an immediate u-turn, now heading straight for the air walk.  But slightly below it.  Their pursuer took his position behind them, and began firing.  Ave, now lacking the control to perform a barrel roll, began to slowly weave from side to side.  One after another, there was a slight shudder as the lasers grazed its surface.  Again, and again.  The air walk closed to 2.00 klicks.  There was a significant crash from the main room, and the sound of rampant, swirling wind.  The screams of the troopers were barely heard before they tumbled out of the gaping breach in the hull.  As the air walk closed to .50 klicks, Ave pulled up, then down, nearly simultaneously.  The fighter responded immediately to the feint upwards, but was unable to correct itself before it crashed with a fiery blaze into the air walk.  The light from the blaze illuminated the entire scene, before it was enveloped in debris and smoke.  The airbus made its way for a good distance, then slowly coasted next to the nearest platform.  Ave released his harness, and  made his way out of the ship.  Cal reluctantly followed.  Noting the valet at the platform, Ave tossed him a few credits, whispered something into his ear, and proceeded into the building.  The valet's eyes widened, and immediately ran to the airbus.  Ave stood at the doorway expectantly.

 

"Are you coming, my dear?"

 

Cal approached and whispered angrily in his ear.  "If you do ANYTHING idiotic like that again..."

 

"It worked, didn't it?"

 

Utter disbelief had now covered Cal's features, and the whisper turned into a hiss.  "Worked?!  You just coasted into a platform with a stolen airbus, nearly got us killed in the process, and now have the entire Coruscant Guard out for our heads after the stunts you pulled!!"

 

Ave adapted a look of mock-disbelief.  "The stunts I pulled?  My darling, didn't you remember how that horrid Imperial agent took control of the airbus, held us hostage, then attempted to force himself upon you?  I mean, I had no other choice but to blast the man.  It was in self-defense."

 

The look of disbelief faded somewhat... but not completely.  "Imperial?  But how are you going to prove that driver is any more Imperial than us?!"

 

"I can't think of another reason he'd have a copy of the Imperial Doctrine on his person.  Such blatant disrespect for the Republic way of life.  It's enough to make you spit."  Ave grinned.

 

Cal looked at Ave with an utterly incomprehensible look.

 

"Well, Cal, they'll obviously find us out sooner or later, what with the rather odd coincidences... but we should be out of here by then.  May as well take this strange torpedo ride to the end, right?  And let's just say it's a good thing they never searched my bag."

 

There was a silence... then Cal finally grinned.  The ornate building they were currently standing in front of had old traces of iridium and gold throughout. 

 

"Looks like you've brought us into a rather fancy place.  Almost makes up for what you put me through."

 

"Nothing but the best holonet terminals for you, my sweet."

 

They took three steps inside... and stopped.  The first thing that hit their eyes were galaxies of light.  The candlelight at each of the tables glittered off the countless glasses at each table.  Way too expensive, Ave thought.  The Rebellion was paying for all of this, of course, but a fancy dinner at a crowded hall was the absolute last thing he needed after that ride.  It all seemed too surreal, too rapid.  Too unpredictable.  Candlelight and crystal glasses as far as the eye could see.  Tables as far as the eye could see.  Rebels as far as the eye could see.  How many people were invited anyway?  The entire damned old Republic?  The flickering flames reflected off the crystal glasses at multiple places, faceting the light into the eyes of the diners, talking idly with elaborate hand gestures.  The flames exuded no heat, obviously, yet the mood was captured perfectly.  The second thing which caught their eyes wasn't nearly so pleasant.  Ave met the Rebel's look of disgust with equal repugnance.  Affronted, the latter resumed his stiff position at the podium and began to speak.

 

"Yes, reservations and identification, if you please."

 

The glare of disgust slowly left Ave's face, a blank look remaining.  Cal immediately stepped forward before the employee could notice it.  She let her hand and fingers linger along the side of her lips, as if thinking about something.  The man's eyes never left hers.  Leaning forward against the podium purposefully, she began a low, nearly inaudible conversation.  The tall Rebel grinned foolishly on numerous occasions as Callista showed him her ring as well, making needlessly extravagant gestures in the process, Ave thought.  If anything, waving your hand around like that when you're trying to show something would only annoy the person since they couldn't see what the Sith it was you wanted to show them.  She resumed talking in a low voice, smiling engagingly, as a slight change overcame the Rebel's appearance.  It seemed that the stiffness in his demeanor vanished entirely.  It's usually vice versa when males are around Callista, Ave thought briefly, immediately checking to see if he had said that out loud.  But all was well, with no odd looks in his direction.  Then the Rebel finally turned back to Ave.  His smile had temporarily come back to the solemn look he had been wearing before. 

 

"Your reservations are valid.  A waiter shall escort you to your table, Mr. and Mrs. D'omah."

 

Ave threw a look of disbelief around the room to anyone who wanted to see it.  Noone did.  Cal took his arm in hers and strode into the midst of the glittering lights.        

 

After thanking the waiter for seating them, and making sure the other tables were far enough away to keep from whispering, Ave finally found his tongue.  It had been lost for quite a while, and there had been thoughts of sending a search party out to look for it as he was following the waiter to the table.  But he now found it worked once again and immediately put it to use.

 

"Cal...darling... one little question, if you don't mind?"

 

That annoyingly smug look played about her features.  "Of course, Ave.  Though I can't imagine what it could be."

 

"I'm sure.  Listen, I know your charm can be stunning but that... how.... what happened?"

 

Cal speared a charred bruualki, sniffed it once, and put it back on the appetizers tray.  "Ave, let's just say that beauty, brains, and the Force are not to be trifled with."

 

Ave gave an almost imperceptible grin.  "Looks like someone graduated from the SA without telling anyone."

 

"Oh, I'm surprised you didn't figure it out, Boid.  Did you really think those questions on the last Squadron test were because I actually cared about how much you all knew about the DB?  Between you and NH, I'm still shocked that I barely passed the Final SA Exam.  One would think that you two would know more about your clans, being high and mighty Battlemasters and Pontifexes."

 

"Right, right.  When you get that high, then you can criticize.  In the meantime... may as well enjoy this evening that has apparently been made possible by breaking the law and twisting people's minds.  Champagne?"

 

But Cal was already looking in another direction.  At an adjacent table, obviously immersed in their own discussion.  But more specifically, at a dress.  Both Ave and Callista hadn't truly taken the time to examine their surroundings more clearly, and soon realized that they were severely underdressed for the occasion.  Oddly enough, the clothes you wear while turning hotels into raging infernos aren't the same clothes you wear to fancy dinners.  Yet another thing BB decided to change when he ruled the galaxy... but that's another story.  Cal turned to Ave with a very distinct look on her face.

 

"Cal...no."

 

The already distinct look turned even more so as indignation set in.  "And exactly why not?  Do you expect either of us to look go... ahhh... blend in with these clothes on?"

 

"And how exactly would you expect me to go get them?  In the airbus?  With a de..." Ave lowered his voice significantly.  "With a dead body in the cockpit area and police getting ready to take it away for investigation?"

 

Cal tossed him his nerf skin wallet across the table. 

 

"Go take an airtaxi.  It's not like you're going to arouse suspicion with that on."

 

Ave looked at it, indignation coming over him this time.  "Wait a second.  Exactly when did I give you my wallet??"

 

"You didn't.  You know I hate to ask for money."

 

"You could've left a few hints or something."

 

"Too blatant.  Not my style, Ave, you know that."

 

Quiet acceptance finally settled over BB's features.  "Right.  Of course.  Listen, you stay here, all right?  I'll be back soon, and then we'll get all vain and egotistical, all right?  Looks like another trip through an unknown city."

 

"Take care."

 

"You too."

 

Ave rose from his seat and weaved his way through the miniature galaxies at each table.  As he felt the cold night wind of Coruscant City outside the building, he noted a police vehicle pull up right alongside the platform with the Airbus.  Sithspawn...again.  Their bags were still in there.  If they were found and identified... he immediately made his way to the airbus, as the officer was just emerging from his docked vehicle.  As Ave approached the door, the officer called out sharply.

 

"Halt!  Restricted area, pending investigation.  You'll be allowed inside after we've checked it out.  There was a murder reported in here, right after a chase through downtown Coruscant City."  The officer paused as he approached Ave.  "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

 

Ave looked around, noted there was noone except the valet present some 20 meters away, and pierced the officer with a silent stare.  His hand made an esoteric gesture as it came upwards to scratch his neck. 

 

"Of course not, officer.  I've been here since the sun rose.  I've certainly been looking forward to this soiree, so to speak.  Now if you'd just let me go and pick up a few things, I'd be more than happy to let you go about your business as soon as possible."

 

The response came immediately.  "Of course.  I don't see any harm in it, after all.  Just make sure you're out of there... relatively soon."

 

Ave grinned.  "Naturally."

 

Less than 5 seconds later, he was in the airbus, rummaging for the bags.  In the bedlam that was once the main passenger area, nearly obliterated by the lasers of the atmospheric fighters, was Ave's bag.  He knew it by the Avian Enterprises Inc. symbol on the front... everything else was far too covered in dust and debris to be recognizable.  He dug around some more, lifting up fallen seats, and disturbing no small amount of soot and incinerated metal.  Suddenly, the touch of burlap was felt beneath his hands.  It was wedged between a fallen railing and the back wall.  Immediately brushing it off, he noted something... different.  Cal's bag didn't have any insignia, yet something could clearly be felt.  Three letters.  NRI.  It must've been dropped by one of the troopers... errrr... agents.  No doubt the constant twisting and turning caused at least one of their bags to come loose.  Good thing it came loose before they fell out.  Ave slung the bag over his other shoulder, and resumed his search.  Cal's bag was found in the corner of the cockpit, battered and bruised, but not overly damaged.  He made his way back to the main passenger area, when a sharp voice came from outside. 

 

"Are you all right in there?  It's been roughly 5 minutes, and you're holding up important investigations!  I'm coming in to see if I can speed this along."

 

Ave nearly froze.  Even to someone under the influence of the Force, he couldn't take a taxi to buy formal wear with three bags slung over his shoulders.  And he couldn't rely on the Force indefinitely to put off suspicion.  Sooner or later, as odd as it may seem, he'd meet a Rebel who wasn't weak minded.  Two of them had to go.  He heard the sound of footsteps outside the airbus, and the clasp of a hand against the door.  His bag soared out of the gaping hole in the hull along with Cal's, plummeting hundreds of feet to the invisible surface of the planet.  He picked up a handful of soot and threw it on the NRI bag, obscuring the initials as the officer arrived.  Ave put on his most convincing smile, and strolled out to his taxi. 

 

***                      

 

Callista brought the champagne glass up to her lips slowly, throwing casual glances around the room after Ave left.  Now she could finally get her thoughts together.  While this fancy dinner might be well and good, she couldn't waste any time.  After the incidents in Coruscant already, they were bound to be found out sooner of later.  She needed to find this guy once and for all.  Rising from her seat, she began to walk to the podium, to see whether a Mr. Furtive was on the list for tonight... when the lights in the room began to darken.  The flames dimmed, and soon went out, as all attention was focused on the massive screen behind her.  Cal turned around, and there he was.  A much sharper image than the camera print-out, but it was most definitely him.  She walked back to her seat in a daze.  He was handsome, that was certain, but to be a speaker at one of these dinners... that showed an amount of power she hadn't even known in the EH.  For the first time, she felt intimidated.  He was talking the entire time, under the name Rasguhl Cemi, but Cal wasn't listening.  She had to find a way to get to him.  It was better that Ave wasn't here, she had already somewhat planned that he wouldn't be there when she performed the deed.  This was personal.  As she looked once again at the screen, a thought rang unbidden into her brain.  It's really too bad he was a scumsucking murderer.  Your looks won't save you against an Imperial, D'epek.  You're going to pay for the life of an Imperial who was worth more than you.  She immediately rose, and went back to the podium, the rest of the diners' attention fixed attentively to the screen.  Finding the tall rebel male, she spoke immediately.

 

"Mr. Cemi... is he in the building at this time?"

 

The Rebel looked slightly taken aback, but replied all the same.  "Of course.  He's on the 1st floor, with the rest of the VIP memb--"

 

But Cal had already turned and was heading for the turbolift.  There was nothing to stop her this time.   

        

 

FM/CM Blackbird/Typhoon-1-3/Wing X/ISD Challenge    

 

 

 

Ave allowed himself to relax just a little bit once the taxi was up in the air and at a considerable distance from the platform. Surprisingly enough, the driver seemed to have a good taste in music, since the media player played Ophak'na's 5th symphony in S minor.

Ave didn't really know where he was going, just that he was heading for some sort of shopping center. He wasn't too sure where he was coming from, either, and hoped he'd find the place again.

One thing was sure... he'd have to hurry up. No point in being picky with clothes when every minute that passed raised the chance of Cal being recognized by some agent.

Ave noticed that the vehicle was slowing down and came to a halt.

 

'All right Sir, this should do for your shopping excesses. Provided you have a good lot of money. You owe me 10 ½ credits, fella.' the driver said, his breath a scent of rootbeer.

 

Ave turned to face him and looked at him stern.

 

'Listen, 'fella', this isn't gonna take long. How about you wait for me here til I come back.'

 

The driver seemed to consider that for a moment.

 

'I give you 15 minutes, then I'm gone.'

 

Ave nodded at him briefly, then got out of the vehicle.

 

This shopping device certainly was huge. But he knew what he was looking for. 15 minutes should be enough to get him a suit and Cal a dress. Only then did he notice that he didn't know her size...

 

A holo of a beautiful woman wearing a dream of white silk and feathers made him stop in front of a shop that sold fancy evening robes. After taking another look at the holo in order to have a rather pleasant dream later on, he entered.

 

If Ave had ever complained about the lack of good-looking female Rebels, he forgot that when he saw the girl at the counter. She was amazingly beautiful, with her silverish hair and attractive features, but she was still very young and did not yet have the elegance and grace Ave had always admired with his CMDR.

 

He looked at her, and when she looked back he smiled and approached her.

 

'Good evening Sir, what can I do for you?'

 

Ave grinned and put on a playful seductive look.

 

'Well, you could grace me with the honor of taking you out for dinner tonight.'

 

The girl looked at him in disbelief, but did not reply.

 

'No seriously, I want that dress on the holo outside. And I need a tux. And all that pretty quick, too. I don't need to try it on.'

 

'Oh, too bad. I bet you'd look so cute in that dress.'

 

Ave smiled. He hadn't expected her, or any other Rebel for that matter, to have a decent sense of humor. If he hadn't been pressed on time....

 

'What size is your wife?' the girl inquired.

 

'She's not my..' Ave started, the decided he didn't have time for this. 'I dunno. About your size I figure.'

 

'Fine, how about you?'

 

'69 should do.' Ave said with a wink.

 

'69? You look more like a 73 to me, actually.'

 

If Ave hadn't been too busy studying the girl's measurements, he'd prolly have felt insulted.

 

The girl came back with the designated objects. She'd picked a black suit for him, plain and simple but elegant, and he accepted gladly.

 

'So how would you like to pay?'

 

Ave looked at her and reached out to her mind with the force. He actually had a bad conscience this time.

 

'I just gave you a 1000 credit chip, remember?'

 

The girl looked at him in surprise, then nodded.

 

'Yes, I'm sorry, Sir. Here is your change.'

 

She handed Ave a couple of credit chips worth about 300 creds. He couldn't help but be proud of himself, now he could actually invite Cal on a drink or two later on. With a last wink at the girl, he left and headed for the taxi.

 

***

 

Cal was having a hard time thinking about some kind of plan. She'd been quite lucky with the employee at the podium, but she didn't want to test her limited force knowledge with a guard in the VIP section. At least not in these clothes.

 

She couldn't wait for Ave to come back, she couldn't be sure how long D'epek was staying up there. She had to do something now.

 

With an air of purpose, Cal headed for the sanitary area. Despite the great number of guests, the section for females was almost vacant. She pretended fixing her hair and makeup in front of a huge mirror on the wall, but she was measuring up the women that passed her.

 

She'd been washing her hands for two full minutes when she spotted a Sullustan female entering the room. The woman was quite tall, but very slender for her race, and Cal really liked her dress. It was a silky white with feathers, and a slit almost up to her hip. The rear was cut out quite distinctively and Cal decided the dress was gonna look better on her than on the furry Sullustan.

 

The latter was presently occupying a sanitary box, and Cal stood in front of the locked door, pretending to wait for it to be vacant. Of course, the other few women in the room gave her an odd look for not using one of the other multiple vacant boxes. When Cal heard the clicking of the door being unlocked, she looked around to check that noone was observing her.

 

The Sullustan opened the door.

 

Cal knocked her unconscious with a well-placed right hook on the female's Sullustan equivalent of a chin.

 

Cal got into the box and closed it behind her. She lay the Sullustan on the cold permacrete floor and began unzipping her dress. Damn, this is a job Ave would love to do, she thought when she noticed the Sullustan wasn't wearing any underwear.

 

A minute later, Cal got out of the sanitary area, leaving the sleeping Sullustan in the locked sanitary box.

 

Cal hadn't had a look in to the mirror after swapping clothes, but she hoped she looked posh enough now to have a chance to persuade the guards to let her into the VIP area...

 

***

 

The turbolift wasn't guarded. It didn't even ask for authorization, it simply took Cal to the second floor of the building.

 

Cal's heart skipped a beat when the doors slid open and two heavily armed guards stood to her right and left. They observed her, but didn't move. Cal walked up to a guy with a black suit and tie and a list in his hands.

 

Now for the difficult part.

 

'Name and identification, please, Ma'am.'

 

'Nat Muena.' Cal said and tried to smile engagingly, but her knees were shaking and she had a terrible feeling that she was gonna fail. She handed the guy her fake ID card. He checked the list for a moment, the looked at Cal again.

 

'You name's not listed, Miss Muena.'

 

'Yeah, I thought so. I was only invited yesterday. Figured he didn't have the list updated for me.'

 

'Who is 'he'?'

 

'Rasguhl Cemi. He asked me to come tonight.'

 

Suddenly, the guy started to chuckle. He looked at two other guards that were protecting the entrance to the great hall.

 

'Let her go in, guys. She's another of Cemi's whores.'

 

Cal could hardly stop herself from scratching that guy's eyes out. Nobody had ever insulted her like that without regretting it afterwards.

 

Still, this insult had filled her with determination again. All Rebels deserved to die. But for today, Furtive had top priority.

 

Even if she wasn't gonna survive this, she'd at least leave an impression.

 

 

CMDR/LC Callista/Typhoon/Wing X/ISD Challenge

 

     

The taxi skidded to a halt in front of the extremely posh building once again, as Ave actually paid instead of using his Jedi powers.  He smoothed out his suit one more time.  He just looked too good to be devious.  Briefly saying his thanks as he exited the cab, Ave made his way to the doorway once again.  The dress and NRI bag were still on his person, but he had the time and privacy to quickly rip off the insignia on the sack in the taxi.  He had shoved it in between the seats, under the assumption that if they were anything like the taxis on Aurora Prime, they wouldn't clean their cabs for at least three years.  There were some things that were just universal.  Ave slung the now unmarked bag over his right shoulder, with the dress on his left.  At first, the rebel at the podium didn't recognize him, but when Ave turned in his direction, recognition slowly dawned.  There was no attempt to stop him as he weaved back through the tables to where Cal was seated... but noone was there.  The champagne was open, yet very little was missing.  The half empty crystal glass was left at her place, yet nothing else remained.  Where was she?  Hadn't she said she'd be there?  He couldn't remember anymore.  Maybe it was that girl in the fashion department...no, can't think about that now.  She might be capable of taking care of herself, but this was THE most dangerous place for an Imperial to be.  Maybe she was in the sanitary rooms, reapplying her makeup.  He'd seen her do odder things, after all.  Emptying Cal's glass, he headed off in the direction of the women's room, holding the dress in a manner that it became rather difficult for the casual observer to see his face.  Because of that, he hit the door before he saw it.  Pain nonwithstanding (he was a mighty dark jedi after all), he casually... slipped through the door.  He briefly thought if Cal would blow a fuse if she saw him in here, but it was a bit late to think about such things.  She was going to change into the dress here anyway.  May as well deliver it.  That is, if there was anyone to deliver it to.  The room seemed a bit... empty.  Ave slung the dress over his left shoulder once again, and glanced around his surroundings in a slight confusion.  If she wasn't here, then where was she?  As if giving an answer, a slight murmur was heard in one of the sanitary boxes.  It soon evolved into a low moan, coming steadily from one of the middle areas.  Numerous reasons for this noise were in and out of Ave's mind in a second as he strove to forget them. 

 

"Ah...Nat?"

 

The moans stopped abruptly.  Uh oh.  Yeah, she might be pissed now.  But the voice that emerged was extremely low and soft.

 

"Is... is someone out there?  I think I'm locked inside...I need to get back to the dinner..."

 

That sure wasn't Cal's voice.  Ave wasted no time in getting to the door and pulling the handle.  Nothing.  But how did it get locked from the outside?  Looking towards the bottom of the door, he noticed a stick of lipstick wedged in between the door and the wall.  Due to the small space it had to be wedged into, it wasn't a pretty sight.  That must've been more than enough to keep the woman inside, though.  Pulling harder, the lipstick shot out of the door, nearly sticking to the mirror behind Ave.  The door opened wide, revealing... well... way too much.  The sullustan woman, her senses suddenly acute and sharp again, wasted no time in grabbing the dress off Ave's shoulder with one arm, and pushing him out of the doorway with the other, slamming the door.  The sound of a click within made positive that she had done all that she was prepared to do while Ave was still in the room.  An exit cue if he ever saw one.  He couldn't help grinning slightly as he left, though.  Obviously Cal's work.  As he reached the door to leave, he looked back once, hearing the rustle of the dress.

 

"You're welcome."

 

                                      ***********************

 

The lined face of the tall rebel at the podium wasn't what Ave needed to see again that night... but noone else had been exactly helpful either.  And after the Sullustan woman 3 minutes ago, a lined rebel face wouldn't erase that image yet.  Ave figured he should initiate the conversation.

 

"Hi...yeah... I was wondering if you were aware of the whereabouts of Nat Muena?  Beautiful woman, about this high, most likely wearing a dress..."

 

The response was forced, but courteous.  Must have had a manager nearby.  "Yes, she was heading down to the VIP section on the 1st floor last I was aware."  He paused, his tone taking a suspicious undertone. "I don't suppose you have a VIP reservation as well?"

 

But Ave was already on his way to the turbolift, throwing his most affable grin to the rebel.  "Of course.  I'm with her, after all."

                            

 

FM/CM Blackbird/Typhoon 1-3/Wing X/ISD Challenge

       

 

Cal's fury slowly faded as she strode through the masses of important looking people that were crammed on the dancefloor. Her dress rustled as it brushed against way too expensive cloth and all kinds of alien skin. Nobody really took notice of her, and Cal was glad about it.

 

D'epek had already left the big podium when Cal had arrived in the VIP hall. It certainly wouldn't be easy to find him here, unless a miracle occurred. She could've simply asked people about his whereabouts, but they were liable to be ignorant too. The only thing Cal spotted safe for the heaps of people on the dancefloor was a huge bar, and she decided to look out for him from there.

 

As Cal approached the bar, she saw that it covered up the whole back wall of the hall. Damn, those Rebels must be drunkards. She sat on one of the hundreds of chairs and ordered a Donquila. She just needed a drink now to keep her mind clear. Whereas alcohol was usually supposed to have the opposite effect, it helped Cal to think better when consumed in mediocre proportions. Downing the shotglass, Cal turned the chair to watch the Rebel scum make happy dance movements. The band was not bad actually, but it wasn't Cal's type of music.

 

For a moment Cal thought she'd seen Chief of State Leia Organa Solo and her husband among the dancing VIPs, but she abandoned that thought rightaway. If she started wishing for a thermal detonator now, she'd be getting drunk in no time because of being depressed that she didn't have one.

 

Cal threw a glance over the people present at the bar, then had a closer look. D'epek was having a drink at the bar with a couple of other men about 50 feet from her. Cal downed another Donquila and pulled all her courage together to approach him. It was now or never.

 

'...but the trade with domestic war birds is certainly bound to be a good fortune..' Cal heard one of the conversationalists say before she stepped up to D'epek.

 

'Excuse me, Mr. Cemi...' she said in a low, promising voice, and smiled as sweetly as she could when he turned to face her.

 

'Yes?' he answered in a cold tone, sizing her up at the same time. Cal noticed that his gaze wandered over her face distinctively.

 

'Would you care to dance?' Cal said, giving Cemi one of her notorious seductive looks.

 

Then he said the unbelievable.

 

'No.'

 

He turned to his companions and was back into the conversation immediately.

 

Cal was in a mediocre shock. Not only had he rejected her, he hadn't even given her a chance. Cal wasn't sure if her ego was ever gonna survive this. Still in a horrible trance, she went back to her seat, ordered another Donquila and stared at the counter.

 

'Hey, take it easy, will ya? He's a sucker anyway.' Cal heard a female voice next to her. The voice took the seat right of hers and ordered a Selonian brandy. When Cal looked up to see who was talking to her, the voice turned into an extremely good looking female Twi'lek in the most wonderful dress she'd ever seen. A metallic dark blue, it accentuated her perfect figure, and her lekku were tattooed with esoteric signs.

 

'Nobody's ever snubbed me like that.' was the only thing Cal managed to say.

 

'Don't worry love, it's not like you're ugly or anything. Rasghul's from Hapan you know. He can have hundreds of women more beautiful than you, no offense intended. He's just used to being surrounded by utmost beauty, he doesn't consider it something special anymore.'

 

'You sound like you know what you're talking about...'

 

'Well, I was going after him too, you know. He didn't even notice my presence when I spoke to him. If you want to impress him, you've got to show him you're worth being conquered. He wants to be the one making the first step. So since he didn't seem to be too enthralled by my appearance, I started dancing in front of him and his friends.'

 

Oh yeah. Cal could imagine that this would work with a guy. She'd never seen a Twi'lek dance in person, but the ones she'd watched when her squadmates were 'in the mood' were quite appalling...

 

Just that she wasn't much of a dancer. At least not that kind of dance. She wasn't a good singer either... and flying a T/D in front of D'epek wasn't something she could have arranged in here. Then she thought of something. Something FireEyes had told her, her newest Typhoon squadmate. There's nothing more appalling for a guy to see than a woman who longs to be with him, but is married or has a boyfriend, for he will fight to have her. Cal was rather good at pretending to want something, although it wasn't as special a talent as being a great dancer. Now she only needed a victim to play her partner...

 

Cal looked out for an important looking Rebel, thought she spotted General Cracken, but didn't want to find out if it was really him and test his Intelligence skill with her.

 

'Hey, Cap.' she suddenly heard a familiar voice next to her. She turned to see Ave, looking pretty nifty in an elegant black suit, with a rose between his teeth. Cal couldn't help but snicker.

 

'Ave, geez, how did you get here!? Did they take you for a whore too?'

 

Ave looked shocked, and the rose fell out of his mouth.

 

'WHAT?! Somebody took you for a whore?! Where is that bastard, I'll crush him, I'll---'

 

Cal chuckled again.

 

'I guess it was my hairstyle. Don't worry about it. You can tell me later how you found me. For now, wanna dance?'

 

Ave was startled for a moment, then nodded and picked up the rose.

 

'Sure. I snitched that for you by the way.' He handed her the rose and gave her the typical Avian grin ™.

 

'Why, thank you. You're too good to me.' Cal said and drew him out on the dancefloor.

 

They danced slowly for some time and Cal felt really awkward for some reason. It'd been ages since she'd danced at all, and she'd never danced with one of her squadmates before. Ave was a good dancer though, so her awkwardness didn't really matter. He looked around every now and then to see if he could spot any famous rebels, and when he did he snarled at them, but in a manner that they didn't hear it. It was fun to see how his fingers seemed to want to grab the blaster he didn't have with him to vape some of the New Republic's Command Staff. Apparently he had a problem with relaxing in this surrounding, so Cal decided to help him out. She looked him in the eyes, but he was still glancing at other people, so she lay her arm around his neck and drew his face closer to hers. When he finally looked at her in surprise, she talked.

 

'You know Ave, it's not polite to dance with a lady without giving her the attention she needs...'

 

She brought her face closer to his. He did not approach her, but he didn't back away either. Her kiss was long and sensual, and she'd almost forgotten what a great feeling it was. When she stopped, his eyes were still closed, as though the kiss wasn't finished yet in his imagination. Cal smiled and lay her head on his shoulder.

 

'Ave, I need you to help me with something.'

 

He chuckled. 'Heh, should've known you wanted something from me. What is it?'

 

'D'epek's here. I already approached him, but he wasn't a bit interested in me. I need to make him be interested in me.'

 

'Right. And you want me to tell him what a great kisser you are.'

 

Cal laughed.

 

'No. I want you to play my ... well... husband or anything.'

 

Ave frowned. 'And you think that'll help?'

 

'Well, for some odd reason, male beings seem to be attracted by the forbidden. If I show him that I long to be with him, but can't, he might feel like he's got to 'rescue' me from you.'

 

'You know Cal, the scary thing is, that might actually work. Although I don't like the thought of me being the husband you don't want to be with.'

 

'Hey, it's not like I do this for fun. But this is probably the only chance I'll get to arrange a date of some sort, where I'll be alone with him and can finally end this.'

 

'Fine then. Let's get on with it.'

 

And thus the fun began.

 

 

 

CMDR/LC Callista/Typhoon/Wing X/ISD Challenge

 

 

 

Pointing out D'epek (Mr. Cemi) with a barely perceptible jerk of her head, Cal made sure Ave knew who their target was.  Ave kept his eyes on him a bit longer than was necessary, sizing him up briefly before returning his attention to Cal. 

 

"Shall we, my dear?"

 

Cal adopted a bored look, but smiled.  "If we must, I suppose."

 

"Don't tell me you're having second thoughts."

 

She grinned.  "No, I'm getting into my role."

 

"Warn me next time, all right?"

 

"Just dance, Ave."

 

One deep breath, and they were off again.  For Ave, it was a bit like a blur.  Constantly aware of Cemi's presence as they tangoed closer to the bar, yet forbidden from making eye contact.  His role was to be the ignorant, oppressive, yet seductive husband.  Cal kept with his every move with surprising ease, for someone who had commented on her lack of grace only a few seconds ago.  They drew nearer to the bar, about 2 meters from their conversation, Ave was still simply doing everything he was supposed to, keeping his eyes on Cal as they moved to the music, subtly bringing the dancing closer and closer, as his "wife" made short, yet meaningful glances in the direction of Cemi and his group.  Ave simply was too involved in the plan and making sure it was going right to truly feel the emotion he should.  He just couldn't find the seductive nature that he needed.  Too much was depending on this.  He needed some way to get it back.

 

For Cal, it was like freedom.  She'd been on that Imperial Star Destroyer for so long... surrounded by males, but none of them had put up this kind of a challenge.  Any "dances" they had on the ISD were mainly for her benefit, but she couldn't truly express herself when she was being watched by at least 20 others.  She'd also never had a dress like this.  She spun, and strode, and slid across the floor with absolute ease, somehow knowing that out of all of the others on the dance floor, no matter how beautiful... she was the only one that mattered.  Almost forgetting what De'pek had done, she now looked at him as a conquest, nothing more.  She had to get his attention... to make him notice her.  She grabbed Ave briefly, pulling him into another fast tango...slightly shifting her dress, making sure the slit almost to her hip was facing the bar.  It was a cruel thing to put Cemi through, she knew, but it was the only way she could be sure that his attention was fixed.  After another quick yet meaningful glance, she saw that he had been caught by it.  She spun away from Ave, glancing at Cemi darkly from underneath her eyelashes.  As she was spun back, she held on to Ave just a little tighter, making small creases in his suit jacket.  Ave felt Cal hold on, and suddenly felt a bit more relaxed.  He knew these steps by heart.  From Cal's quick grin when her back was to the bar, he knew Cemi had now fixed his eyes upon them.  Now to lock it down.  He slowly stopped the tango, moving her backwards, a light glittering in his eye.  Wrapping his right arm around her waist, he pulled her close once again.  Moving his face closer to hers, he abruptly turned it to the side, lighting a small kiss on her ear.  At the same time, he whispered something.

 

"The ring, Cal."

 

A slight raise of the eyebrow told Ave that she didn't get it.  He lightly squeezed her left hand, so that she'd know which ring he was talking about.  This time he kissed her ear twice.

 

"The 'wedding ring', Cal..."

 

The sides of her lips turned upwards slightly, and Ave nearly grinned.  She understood.  She wrapped both arms around Ave's neck as they slowly danced back to their previous position right near the bar.  In plain view of Cemi and his compatriots, she began to take off her ring while her hands were behind Ave's back.  Rasghul's eyebrow raised noticeably.  Cal then tossed it to the floor, it sliding along the dance floor, spinning, clinking, until finally rolling to a stop at Cemi's feet.  Ave turned to see what the 'noise' was, but Cal immediately took the hint and brought Ave's face back facing hers.  The next step was inevitable, and Ave took Cal's chin in his left hand, and kissed her deeply, in full view.  He didn't even know how long it was, but it was far too long for him to recover from it fast enough.  He smiled without realizing it immediately afterwards.  Cal immediately took the cue once again, however, and looked down as if near shame, barely suffering his presence now.  That was all Cemi needed.  Picking up the ring and placing it in his pocket, he now rose and made his way towards Ave and Cal.  The first thing Ave noticed was the cologne.  Potent, perhaps, but not overdone.  The second thing was his appearance.  Third thing was his impeccable wardrobe.  Nearly everything made Ave infuriatingly jealous.  Not even because of Cal necessarily, but because someone like this actually existed.  Cemi almost forcibly separated Ave and Cal before he spoke.

 

"May I cut in?"  It was most definitely not a question.  Ave intended to make it so, nonetheless.

 

"Ah....no, you may not.  If you don't mind, we're in the middle of our first dance of our honeymoon and..."

 

Cemi grinned in a particularly oily manner, Ave thought.  "Your honeymoon?  Very sweet.  May I see the wedding ring?"

 

Ave really had to try to stop from grinning.  There was his perfect exit.  He caressed Cal's left hand tenderly and lifted it up to show Cemi... and feigned a perfect double take.  "Of course, it's... it's...."  His voice trailed off awkwardly, as Cemi's lip curled a tiny bit.  He took both of Cal's hands and turned her around expertly.

 

"Thank you, I'll return her... in a bit."

 

Ave simply stood there, speechless.  Suddenly, a hand silently touched his right shoulder, startling him.  He turned around to see one of the most beautiful Twi'leks he had ever seen in his life.  She smiled softly, absently twirling her lekku.

 

"Looking for a partner?"

 

Ave halfway grinned, still looking off in the direction Cal and Cemi had gone.  She noticed his gaze, a confused look slightly darkening her features.  But she smiled again as he took her arm.  As they moved off into the dance floor once again, she looked straight into his eyes. 

 

"You can explain it to me later."

 

 

FM/CM Blackbird/Typhoon 1-3/Wing X/ISD Challenge

 

 

Cal's smile was as pressed as could be. Seeing that Twi'lek approach Ave, and him smiling at her, she felt extremely unwanted for a moment. Of course, it was his full right to enjoy himself while Cal was doing what she needed to do. And this wasn't the time for being distracted by things like that. Still, she made a mental note to kill that Twi'lek if she had time after D'epek, even though she'd given her the hint she'd needed, just cause she was making Cal feel just a bit jealous.

 

'Have I met you before?' D'epek brought her back to reality. She looked at him sweetly and smiled.

 

'In fact you have. I asked you to dance earlier.'

 

D'epek frowned and seemed to think about that.

 

'Oh, yes... I'm sorry... if I'd known why you...'

 

'It's ok.' Cal interrupted and smiled again. 'Thank you. He was sweet til after the wedding, but he hasn't left me alone for a single minute since then. He doesn't let me breathe.'

 

It was quite clear that D'epek wasn't interested in her motives. He was staring at her face again, like he'd done earlier, but in a different manner now. He studied her lips, her cheeks, then stopped at her eyes, and started to smile. He took her right hand in his, rested his right arm on her back and danced.

 

'You know,' he started, 'you have very catching eyes.. they're just a tiny bit too close to each other... but it gives your face a special quality.'

 

Seeing how he'd apparently just complimented her, she smiled and tried to blush, but didn't manage. Now it was her turn to compliment him.

 

'Your speech earlier was quite impressive... I'm not too much into politics and economy myself, but you have a talent to catch the audience with your eloquence and intonation, it's really fascinating.'

 

He smiled. Cal had found his weak point. She'd figured he wouldn't have been too impressed by compliments on his looks, he prolly got those so often it made him sick.

 

'It should be a helpful skill with women as well...'

 

'Sometimes...' he answered.

 

They waltzed on the dancefloor for some time, saying nothing, but looking into each other's eyes deeply, and Cal started to feel honored to dance with the probably best looking man this side of Coruscant. She didn't see Ave anywhere on the dancefloor, but he was probably 'busy' somewhere else. Cal made sure D'epek thought her attention was with him all the time and she noticed he was grinning continuously. When he threw a glance to his friends at the bar, Cal brought her left hand from his back up to his neck, and started caressing it with her fingertips and nails. D'epek closed his eyes in delight for a moment, then opened them again to look at her. He had the most incredible eyes Cal had ever seen with a man... if he hadn't murdered her friend, she might have fallen in love with him, Rebel or not. Maybe that was what had happened to Takanah on her mission... she'd fallen for the man she was supposed to observe... maybe she'd met him when infiltrating the Rebel Intel... and maybe she'd told him who she really was, thinking he'd really loved her. Cal bore her fingers into D'epek's neck a bit more forceful. He had to die. For what he was, for what he'd done, and for what he was possibly going to do to other female Imperials. It was her duty to kill him. A friend's duty.

 

They went on dancing for some time, Cal shadowing her true feelings for D'epek by playing the perfect naive love slave, but only so much so he would be flattered, not annoyed by it. She'd learned how to deal with men, how to make them think they're loved and wanted, and how to make them do what she wanted without them knowing they were doing what she wanted. It was a women's game, and she was a good player.

 

D'epek's behavior changed after about half an hour of dancing. He started to look around nervously, seemingly looking for someone he was expecting, and didn't show much interest in her anymore. Then he spoke:

 

'Look, love, I'm sorry but I have to go now... I liked dancing with you... very much so.' When he looked at her, Cal knew he wasn't just saying this to make her feel better about him leaving. He meant what he said.

 

Cal's mind raced. She couldn't just give up now. From his behavior, Cal judged that he was expecting a woman, most likely his girlfriend or even wife, to meet him at this dance, and apparently he didn't want her to see him dancing with a strange woman. If Cal asked him to stay, she'd only act like all the other women D'epek had doubtlessly had before her. She'd have to act 'special' again.

 

Cal smiled at him. 'That's ok. Thanks for helping out when I needed it.' Then she turned away and headed for the bar.

 

She felt his gaze after her as though it was like a cold winter breeze. She let her hand brush her hair and tried to walk as gracefully as possible.

 

'Wait!' she heard him call after her when she'd walked about 20 metres. She slowly turned to face him, just to see that he was approaching her again. She smiled.

 

'Can... can I see you again?' If Cal hadn't been in this surrounding now, she'd shouted 'STRIKE!', but she remained silent.

 

'If you wish to...'

 

He looked around him again to check if his date had arrived yet, and when he didn't see anyone he expected he said:

 

'I'd like to have dinner with you tonight, it's still early... come to the 'White Dofe' in three hours... I'll wait for you in the lobby.'

 

White Dofe... that doesn't sound like a restaurant to me....

 

He smiled at her briefly, then turned and headed back to his friends. Halfway there, he turned again and walked back to Cal. Fiddling in his pocket, he looked for Cal's ring.

 

'Your wedding ring...'

 

Cal smiled at him conspiringly and put a hand on his.

 

'Keep it... for now.'

 

He looked at her for a moment, then put the ring back into his pocket and went back to his friends. Just a few seconds later, a party of young women arrived and turned out to be D'epek's friends' girlfriends. One of the women, a rather ordinary redhead for Cal's taste, ended up in D'epek's arms. Geez, his sense of beauty must be more twisted than I expected... the lot of them just briefly hugged and kissed, then they all headed for the exit, probably going to another party or bar. D'epek looked at Cal again before he was out of sight, and Cal smiled.

 

She went back to the bar to check for Ave's whereabouts.

 

 

CMDR/LC Callista/Typhoon/Wing X/ISD Challenge

 

 

 

Ave had been previously engaged in a conversation with the Twi'lek.  During the brief bits of conversation between shots of brandy he found out her name turned out to be Opal... bit too extravagant to be real, he thought.  Actually, the beauty he had found so compelling before seemed a bit... dimmed as well after a while.  Conversing with her, she seemed the absolute stereotype Ave had about rebel women.  Overbearing, bossy, self-righteous, and ignorant.  A favorite line aboard the Challenge went:  "How did the New Republic get so large when all their women hate men?".  It wasn't usually understood when they were completely drunk, but they all laughed anyway.  Ave grinned and laughed as he thought of it, timing it to the punchline of one of Opal's jokes.  He grinned again as she smiled, tilting her head so her lekku gently draped across her left shoulder.  Ave couldn't help feeling a bit... enticed by those, now that would truly be an experience.  And due to her beauty and apparent willingness... Ave took another shot of brandy without thinking... that made 3 for the night.  Cal was occupied with Cemi, and probably had some plans for him, she wouldn't notice if...  as Ave turned to glance behind him, he saw Cal approaching from nearly across the dance floor.  Where was Cemi?  There was no chance she could've done the deed that quickly, but he knew she wanted to talk.  He briefly turned back to Opal and gestured in Cal's direction.

 

"Figure she wants to try to explain herself... it won't do her any good... this was our honeymoon, dammit!"  Ave smacked the bar table immediately, then feigned an obvious effort to control himself.  "Alright...listen, I think we're going to need our space.  It'll be over soon, I just need to finish this in private.  You understand, don't you..."

 

Opal smiled softly and did the impossible... she chuckled. 

 

"She had her eye on him from the time she came in here.  But she's a good sort... let her down easy."

 

Ave nodded slightly as Opal rose and left the bar.  Cal soon took her place at the bar.  She had that smug look, but there was something else behind it... something Ave couldn't quite discern.  She spoke first.

 

"I take it she was good company?"

 

Ave tried hard not to laugh.  "She was interesting, I'll give her that.  Ok, maybe a bit intriguing too.  But the main question is, how was Cemi?  Here, I'll get you a drink while you're talking."

 

It was Cal's turn to grin.  "I'm not going to ask how you suddenly got enough money to throw around for alcohol, but I couldn't drink anyway.  Gotta stay sober for my big date with the most important man of the party."

 

"Ah.  Figured that couldn't have been the whole thing.  Taking you out to yet another fancy dinner?"

 

"Close.  A hotel."

 

Ave inhaled sharply.  "Right.  You sure it's a hotel?"

 

"Well I can't think of a self-respecting restaurant that would name itself White Dofe.  Unless Cemi plans to woo me in a backwater diner somewhere on the edge of Coruscant.  He asked me to meet him in the lobby.  I doubt restaurants have those, either."

 

Ave's left hand went for the blaster at his hip that wasn't there.  "You going to need backup?"

 

"Well, he already knows you pretty well by now, so I don't think that'd work right.  Can't do good undercover work when he's going to be paranoid you're going to show up anyway."

 

"Yeah... unless I had an excuse for being there..."

 

Cal raised an eyebrow.  Damn, she just looked good no matter what she did.  "You're not suggesting that... she... and you..."

 

"I'd say there had to be some reason she was there.  I'd call this a window of opportunity."

 

"Or a window of your hormones raging out of control.  If I get in trouble, I don't want to have to wait for you to get out of bed, get dressed, then rush over here.  You've gotta be ready, ok?"

 

"Hey, believe me, you can trust me with this.  I care more about you than anything.  I'll be there."

 

Cal looked at Ave... then nodded.  "Alright.  Your friend is taking a bit of an interest in us, by the way..."

 

Ave didn't even need to turn around.  "Hmmm...expecting a fight and finish between us, no doubt.  I suppose I'll have to oblige."

 

All of a sudden Ave rose from his seat angrily, pulled off an imaginary ring from his finger, and pressed it into Cal's hand.  He then began a long, drawn out, yet silent "fight" with Cal.  From Opal's distance, she would most likely think they were simply talking softly so they wouldn't disturb the other guests.  Then sternly, but calmly, Ave pointed to the door.  Cal gave him a distinctively haughty look, then strode out of the bar.  Opal rose immediately afterwards.  A seductive glance was thrown in Ave's direction as she approached.  Her words showed compassion, but the grin never left her face.

 

"It must've been hard for you... I've done it many times before, I know.  But don't worry... I'll help you get through this.  I promise."  The grin turned serious for a moment as Ave wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing them up to stroke her lekku from behind.

 

"And I know just the place where you could help me..."

 

Opal smiled and inhaled deeply.

 

 

FM/CM Blackbird/Typhoon 1-3/Wing X/ISD Challenge

 

 

 

When Cal stepped out of the building, she wished she'd have told Ave to get her a coat too. It had started to snow, and with her bare arms and the slit that she wished wouldn't be there, she froze extremely. Better get a taxi before my body gets numb...  she wasn't too happy leaving Ave behind with that Twi'lek, cause now that Cemi wasn't here she had time to be jealous. Ave had never been more than her best friend, but still she didn't like seeing him with other women... especially not when they were as beautiful as the Twi'lek. She'd never admitted it to herself, but she probably cared more about Ave than she thought...

 

A taxi approaching drew her out of that train of thought. She waved to it, and it came to a halt next to her.

 

'Evening, lady. Bit cold outside to run around like that, isn't it?'

 

'Well, I'm a masochist. Take me to the White Dofe hotel.'

 

The driver turned to face her when she sat down.

 

'White Dofe? You sure about that? I mean... I haven't seen anyone get there in a taxi before...'

 

'Did I tell you you talk too much?'

 

Frowning, the driver turned back to the wheel and took off the platform.

 

Cal liked snow, very much so, but it was quite confusing to see it fall from above, but not seeing it land anywhere... the planet's surface was far below and the buildings ended far above. She wondered if there were any parks or woods at all on this planet... as much as she liked the poshness of some places here, she didn't want to live here when there was no nature around.

 

After about 20 minutes, the taxi came to a halt.

 

Cal got out of the taxi and into the cold, chilling air that bit into her flesh. What she then saw made her catch her breath sharply... the hotel she was standing in front of was more than just huge... it was gigantic. But not only was it enormous, it was also pompous and posh, posher than anything Cal had ever seen. She figured a night here would cost her a year's wage in the Imperial navy... and she'd actually have to pay that if she wanted a decent shower before her date with Cemi.

 

After she'd paid the atxi, she mader her way into the building, with two pages holding the doors open for her. Cal inhaled sharply when she stepped into yet another pool of light, even more expensive than in the large ballroom, if possible. She looked around for a bit, wishing this was all hers, then went to the registration desk with a rather plump rebel in a fancy suit behind it.

 

'Good evening, Miss, can I help you?' His double-chin wobbled as he spoke.

 

'Indeed, you can. I wish to rent a room for two, just for one night. The names are Nat Muena and Chris Zoc. My friend will most likely arrive later, so if you'd be so kind as to tell him I reserved for him...?'

 

'Of course, Miss Muena. Can I see your ID-Card please? Just a formalty.'

 

Cal handed him the card and bit her lip unrecognizably. If the NRI had actually entered their names into the main system...

 

The employee gave her the card back.

 

'Thank you. How do you wish to pay?'

 

'Credit card.'

 

Cal dipped into her decolleté and produced a small plastic card, handing it to the employee. It was her most treasured possession apart from her personal shuttle, thus the hiding place. Even Ave didn't know she had one of these, he didn't even know they existed. Basically, they were credit cards provided by the Emperor's Hammer to get you out of peculiar situations if absolutely necessary. Of course, Cal didn't care that her interpretation of a peculiar situiation might be different from Torrie's. it was most likely gonna be withdrawn from her pay anyway. But for now, she was booking a room with the Empire paying for it. The employee handed her the card back and gave her a key chip.

 

'Room 08-375 D, Miss. A page will show you the way.

 

Cal declined.

'No thanks, I'll find it myself. But could you tell me if Mr. Cemi has booked in for tonight? I'm supposed to meet him later on.'

 

The employee checked the guestlist.

 

'Yes he has. He's booked the Hapan suite.'

 

Figure out why.

 

Cal thanked him and made her way to the turbolift. She felt a bit weird, walking past all these snobs in the lobby. Sometimes she wished she were as posh as them, maybe a famous actrice of some sort, never having to care about the lack of interesting men or money. But then, she'd never want to swap roles with any of these superficial people. She liked her job and position, and the pay... ah well, at least she didn't have any kids to worry about. With her job, she was at least doing what she wanted and having fun.

 

When she opened the door to her room, another little shock hit her. This was at least four times as big as her quarters on board the Challenge. Ave was gonna faint when he saw this waste of space. But there was no time for this. She had 2 hours til her date with Cemi. She could at least make an effort to make herself pretty for him, as far as the situation allowed. She'd left her make up and hair stuff in her bag, and that was gone for long. She'd have to rely on her 'natural' beauty and on the perfume provided by the hotel.

 

The actual 'pretty making' took her an hour, with shower and doing her hair. She usually didn't take that long with these things, but when you had the time, you could as well use it. For another half hour she lay down on the comfy bed and almost dozed off. Then she thought of some way to coordinate things with Ave, but there wasn't much she could do. They didn't have a commlink anymore, and well, Cal wouldn't be able to use the hotel's phone if she needed him. The only thing she could do was to tell him where she'd be.

 

She got up from the bed, took a small sheet of papyros and wrote on it, then she glued it to the mirror in the bathroom, because she knew for sure that this was where Ave was gonna go first to check his hair. If he didn't do that against all odds and the Twi'lek saw the note, well, they had a problem.

 

Finally, 15 minutes before she was supposed to meet Cemi, she got out of the room and went down to the lobby. It was still as crowded as before, but there was still some space left at the bar. Cal presumed she was gonna end up being an alcohol addict sooner or later if she stayed on this planet. But then, she'd end up as an alcoholic on the Challenge as well. She sat down on one of the bar chairs and ordered a so-called 'Myriad' - apparently some sort of cocktail -, sipped on it and actually found it quite good.

 

Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw Ave enter with the Twi'lek, her clinging onto him an onerous tick. She had a hard time hiding her face from the two of them, simply because she wanted to know what was going on between them. And she wanted to see Ave's face when the employee was gonna tell him there was already a room reserved. When she looked in their direction again, they were gone already, most likely up into the room. Cal downed the rest of her cocktail in frustration.

 

'Hi!' she heard Rasghul's voice behind her, and she turned to look at him and smile.

 

'Have you been waiting for long?' he inquired.

 

Cal put on a cheerful smile.

 

'Actually, I've been waiting for you for all of my life...'

 

Rasghul laughed at the cheesy joke.

 

'I'm really sorry for not stepping into your life earlier, err.... I'm afraid I forgot your name.'

 

'Callista.' She figured her real name would sound more intriguing to him than 'Nat'. And it didn't matter anyway. He was gonna die soon enough.

 

'Beautiful... like yourself. Anyway, what would you like for dinner?'

 

Cal stepped a bit closer to him and played with the buttons on his silk shirt.

 

'Actually, I'm not exactly hungry for food...' Cal had to refrain from laughing out loud at what she'd just said. She'd never been that direct to a man before.

 

Rasghul raised an eyebrow, then smiled.

 

'You're the boss.' He took her hand and walked towards the turbolift. She followed him obediently.

 

They were alone in the turbolift. But Rasghul didn't make any advances. Either he was a tad bit too shy, or he was getting doubts about his upcoming little affair with Cal. Either way, Cal had to act.

 

When they were in his room, which was more of a hallway with the high ceiling, Cal went instinctively to the stereo device in the corner and looked at the music discs. Rasghul sat down on a chair and observed her with interest. When Cal had found something that would fit the occasion, she activated the stereo and put in the disc she'd chosen. As the slow, romantic music started to fill the room, she went up to Rasghul, who was still sitting on the chair, brought her face close to his and whispered:

 

'Dance with me.'

 

Rasghul slowly got up from his chair and took her in his arms. His hands were trembling. Cal almost got the impression that he was excited like a virgin, but knew that couldn't be true. He had to be getting a bad conscience about his woman. But mentioning her wouldn't help Cal improve the situation. She moved slowly to this music for some time, then spoke.

 

'You don't like me. I'm not up to your standards.'

 

Rasghul looked at her in confusion, then shook his head.

 

'No, no you're beautiful to me. I'm glad you got rid of that makeup.'

 

'Then why don't you want to kiss me?' Cal made her voice sound a tiny bit desperate.

 

'I do want to kiss you, but..'

 

That was enough for Cal. Without waiting for him to finish the sentence, she lay her lips on his, first softly, then she kissed him more passionately. He didn't react at first, but after a short time, he joined her, pulled her closer to him and kissed her as though he'd never wanted to do anything else. Cal almost forgot her mission over it, almost. As good as it made her feel to be wanted by this man, she couldn't risk becoming inattentive.

 

Cal started to unbutton his shirt hastily. When she'd pulled it off him, she kissed his smooth chest and caressed his back with her fingertips. He sighed with pleasure. She let her lips wander back to his, rumpled his hair, then let her tongue caress the inside of his left ear. Then he brought his hands onto her back, found the zipper and started unzipping her dress.

 

Cal was petrified for a moment. This situation was more than awkward. But she had to play along. She had to get him in a position from where he wouldn't be able to defend himself. Her dress slid to the floor. So there she was, in her underwear, with Rasghul kissing her neck. Cal began to slowly draw him towards the bed and he followed willingly. Kissing his neck in return, she looked over his shoulder for anything that could be used as a weapon. It wasn't til then that she realized there was actually gonna be a problem with killing him, since there weren't any blasters in the room, or if there were, she didn't know where they were. And she couldn't simply strangle him... Cal was strong for a woman, but she wouldn't stand a chance against him. Then she spotted an antique saber on the wall... she didn't know how old it was, but it was gonna do.

 

Cal let herself fall backwards on the huge bed. She crawled up to the cushions, then looked at Cemi seductively and motioned him to join her. He let his gaze wander over her body for some time, breathed heavily, then lay himself on her and kissed her decolleté. Before he could get any further, Cal rolled over and found herself on him this time. He was still wearing too much to feel as helpless as she wanted him to feel. She kissed his neck again, then let her tongue explore his chest. When it reached his belly button, Cal grabbed his trousers and unzipped them. He moaned softly as she pulled them off him and bore his fingers into the sides of the bed. He was clearly aroused, to say the least. Cal grabbed his shirt that was lying on the floor and went back to kissing him. She took both his hands and positioned them above his head. He looked at her questioningly, but when Cal smiled and blinked at him, he let her do what she wanted to do. She took his shirt and wrapped it around his wrists, using it like manacles. Apparently, he had no clue of what was happening whatsoever. He stretched his body towards hers, enjoying the little game he believed she was playing. When Cal was sure he wouldn't be able to use his hands like this, she got off him and off the bed.

 

Rasghul looked at her in confusion. He sat up on the bed, unable to reach out to her with his hands.

 

'Callista... what are you doing? Is this some sort of game?'

 

Cal took the saber off the wall and pointed it at Cemi's throat.

 

'Game over, Mr. Furtive.'

 

He shook his head.

 

'Furtive? What the hell are you talking about?'

 

'Oh? Want me to refresh your memory a bit? You used that name when you stayed in the Sunrise Hotel, only 2 days ago.'

 

He thought for a moment.

 

'Oh my god.. you're here because of Takanah... listen Cal, she was an Imp, I had to kill her. She was trying to infiltrate our security.'

 

'Oh, I know. And you're a piece of Rebel scum, so I have to kill you. Ironic, isn't it?'

 

He looked at her in disbelief. Then, all of a sudden, he grabbed the saber's blade, jerking it out of Cal's hands, cutting his hands open seriously, but also cutting off the cloth that was wrapped around them.

 

Cal stood there, with nothing left but utmost fear. She'd messed it up, and the only thing that was left for her to do was run. Rasghul looked at his hands and the blood, then at Cal. His eyes were filled with fury and hate.

 

Cal started for the door, but before she got there, Cemi had caught up with her, grabbed her arm and swung her round fiercely.

 

'You dirty little bitch!'

 

Then he slapped her in the face with such vigor that she almost fell unconscious. The force of the attack made her stumble back into the wall, into a mirror that hung there. It broke into bits and pieces, some of the fragments cutting into her bare back.

 

Cemi went after her immediately. Cal was lying on the floor, in the fragments of the mirror and could hardly move. She tried to get up, but Cemi kicked her in her side and she fell back onto the floor, unable to breathe.

 

When she finally got air into her lungs again, she started coughing badly. But Cemi didn't let her recover, he sat on her, closed his hands around her throat and pressed as hard as he could.

 

With her last bit of strength, she beat him, tried to get him off her, kicked him, but it was no use. His hands around her throat were like an iron collar. The lack of air started to make her feel dizzy, and her strength vanished. She didn't want to die like this, but there was no way to get out of it. Her arms fell onto the floor, with no strength left to keep them up. Her hands fell into the fragments of the mirror, causing more cuts in her skin. She could feel her heart beat more and more slowly, and she felt like falling asleep-- then her right hand got hold of a bigger fragment of the mirror. She cut the inside of her hands open as she grabbed it, then she brought it up to Cemi's neck as fast as she could muster and slit his throat. Blood fell on her, a lot of blood, and the grip around her throat vanished. She almost had to puke when air filled her lungs again, but it was the most divine feeling she'd ever experienced.

 

Cemi looked at her without understanding, grabbed his throat, tried to stop the bleeding, tried to call for help. It was all in vain of course... not even bacta could heal a severed throat and carotid, the bleeding was too bad. He stumbled around, his lips moving, speaking words that could not be heard. Then he fell onto the floor, his head rocking from one side to the other, until it finally lay still.

 

Cemi was dead. It was over.

 

 

CMDR/LC Callista/Typhoon/Wing X/ISD Challenge

 

 

Ave barely unlocked the door to "their" room and got inside before letting Opal slide to the ground with a soft thud.  Now THIS was a hotel suite.  He soon turned his attention back to the sleeping Twi'lek on the plush carpet.  The conscience he had buried so far down began to emerge with a sharp reproach.  Ave hadn't intended to drug her while they were having their drinks, and especially not such a stunning example of her species... but it was necessary.  As much as he may have been tempted, he couldn't afford to let himself be drawn in by her.  It was the only way he could be assured his hormones wouldn't get the better of him.  There was only one person who mattered in Coruscant right now, and she was probably already in the most danger she could be in right now.  He checked his holowatch, and the time confirmed his fears.  Holy Krath...Cemi was probably already there with Cal.  Alone.  Ave swore silently.  No matter how competent Cal might be, and especially with this sort of thing... he just couldn’t let himself leave her in that sort of situation.  But as for right now...since she obviously booked the room for Ave, she probably left something here as well.  But if she was going to leave something... where would he be most likely to look first?

 

After tearing the note off the mirror with a slight grin, Ave scanned it briefly. 

 

          Ave,

         

          This might be the hardest note I’ve had to write.  Because I know you’re not going to like this.  Cemi should be here any minute, and if you get here before he does... you can’t get yourself involved.  No matter what happens, this is something I need to do alone.  You might have been a little bit right about the suicidal part, but only in the fact that I’d die knowing that I tried to avenge her.  And I’m not going to tell you that you should forget about trying to avenge me if I should die, because it won’t make a difference anyway, will it?  Bah, I’m getting morbid.  It’s all going to work out fine, right?  We’re Typhoon, after all.  Just keep your Twi’lek “friend” occupied, and I’ll come get you when it’s over.  Now that I really think about it, you shouldn’t have come here after all.  I don’t know if I can trust you to stay there.  Just know that I’ll find a way somehow.  You don’t have to worry about me.  Love you, and we’ll take the first shuttle out of here after this is done, I promise.  After this, calamari cruisers don’t look that bad, do they?

 

                                                                   - Callista

 

          Ave picked up his NRI bag once again, crumpled the letter, and shoved it in his pocket.  So now... after all of this... he was going to wait.  Walking back into the main bedroom, he threw the bag on the floor and laid himself out on the bed.  Looking to his left, he saw Opal, still on the ground.  How the Sith did he end up like this?  Murderer of at least 10 troopers, agents, pilots and an innocent airbus driver.  Twisted the minds of nearly everyone that crossed his path, and drugged the others.  For who?  One man.  One scum-sucking rebel agent.  And now, with every minute that oddly passed like seconds, there was a chance that someone else’s life was on the line.  Callista’s.  That was enough.  It had to end now.  To Aurora with personal pride.  Hell with honorable revenge.  None of that was worth the price she might end up paying.  Ave picked up his NRI bag and immediately headed for the door, briefly stopping to pull the Twi’lek onto the massive bed in the center of the room.  If you had to recover from a sleeping pill, couldn’t pick a better place to do it.  He locked the door behind him, beginning the trek down the immaculately lighted hallway, with the first sense of strong purpose he’d had in a while.  He had taken the liberty of asking where Rasghul Cemi was staying at the registration desk beforehand, not realizing Cal hadn’t wanted him to get involved.  There wasn’t a choice anymore.  Room 3948B.  So Cal had registered his room on the same floor.  Either amazing aforethought, or blind luck.  They both worked just as well.  As he approached the door, half of him expected to hear faint moans from the other side, as much as he wanted that not to be the case.  But as he grew closer, an abrupt sound rang out.  “You dirty little bitch!”  A loud smack reverberated in Ave’s ears as well, with a crash that soon followed.  Ave immediately leaped for the handle, striking it with his fist wildly.  A useless gesture, and Ave knew it.  There wasn’t much chance they’d hear him anyway... his teeth ground together as he threw the NRI bag to the ground, making himself look through the bag as he heard the muffled thuds and moans in the room.  Blaster, silencer... too easy, too painless... stun blaster... exactly.  Now for the door.  A distinct crash was barely heard, the sound of broken glass crashing to the floor.  Ave forced himself to keep looking.  Mines... too dangerous.  Lockpicks... not advanced enough...there.  Ave didn’t even bother to look at the plastic explosives twice, he didn’t even bother to see if any cameras were on him, he set it on the lock, and began to arm it.  Simple... even you can do it, Ave.  Connect, arm, detonate.  Then, he froze.  From within the room, so clearly that it interrupted his train of thought...was the sound of flesh being cut.  And the sound of blood falling to the ground.  No...no, not a chance.  It’s not possible.  Goddamnit, I won’t let it be possible.  Ave stepped back immediately, and detonated the explosives with a dull pop.  Without even thinking about the muffled sound, Ave crashed into the room with the stun blaster, stretching out with the Force to detect Cemi.  He didn’t need to.  The first thing he noticed was Cemi nearly propped against the side of the bed, throat cut wide open.  The second thing he saw came a split second afterwards.  Half-sliding down to reach Cal, the splintered shards of glass cut through his pant legs as he embraced her.  She winced as he did so, the cuts in her back now painfully present.  Ave brought his hands up to her face and neck and immediately began to check for any fatal lacerations, as every second he feared the worst.  It was too easy, somehow too scripted if he saw that she was going to die.  It seemed like the inevitable outcome... but nothing was found.  As if finally seeing her for the first time, he noticed she was covered in blood...as well as himself after embracing her.  Not to mention, she wasn’t exactly... dressed decently.  Ave neglected this for the moment, though, as he couldn’t seem to free himself from her grasp yet. 

 

“Cal?”       

 

Callista sighed... a long, deep sigh.  Contented, actually.  “Yes, Ave?”

 

“It’s not over yet.”

 

Cal smacked Ave sharply and extracted herself from him, standing up with a bit of difficulty.  “Right, I guess it’s not possible to have a small, tiny goddamned breather once in a while.  Do you know what... what shit I just went through, Ave??”

 

Ave stood up immediately as well, and put an arm out to steady her.  “Listen, I know... hell, I was almost going through the same shit out there knowing that was happening.  But I’m saying that we’ve got a very small amount of time before we get security all over us.  I’ll go get the NRI bag from out of the hall... you get yourself cleaned up.  Cemi’s blood is all over you.”

 

Cal gave an imperceptible shrug and pointed back to Ave.  “It’s all over your suit as well, though.  You can’t cover that up.  I mean, I could probably clean the stains out, but...”

 

Ave already had his suit jacket off and was working on the shoes.  “Alright.  You remember that you’ve gotta take that shower too, though.  While you’re washing the suit, I’ll take care of Furtive.  Maybe I’ll shove him under the bed or something, at least it’ll get him out of our way.”  The shirt and pants soon followed with his last sentence as he quickly went to get the NRI bag.  “I think I might be able to leave an NRI commlink around here somewhere.  Give the hardworking security detectives something to find.  You know, we really could be damn good Intel agents.”

 

Cal disappeared into the bathroom with her dress and Ave’s suit.  “Not if they’re all this close.”

                 

 

FM/CM Blackbird/Typhoon 1-3/Wing X/ISD Challenge

 

 

 

Cal’s back hurt as she walked into the bathroom, and she had to cough continuously. She made a mental note to see Andron once she was back on the Challenge, to have her throat checked and have a bit of a bacta treatment for the wounds on her back. Scars were too manly for her to like them.

 

There was no time to wash Ave’s suit properly, so she just took it under the shower with her. The cold water burned in her back painfully, mixing with the small trickles of blood that were coming out of the cuts. The blood on her dress and Ave’s suit washed out nicely, seeing how it was still fresh and had not dried yet. Cal allowed herself two minutes of showering, then got out of the bathroom in her dress.

 

Ave stood leaning against a wall, apparently waiting for her. Cal tossed him his wet suit, and snickered as it flapped against his chest. They were surely gonna look odd in wet clothes, but there was no time to let them dry.

 

‘Cal, turn around would you?’ Ave said.

 

‘What? I’ve already seen you in your underwear but you don’t want me to see you getting dressed? That’s odd my dear.’ Cal turned around nevertheless.

 

Of course, Ave had wanted to check the wounds on her back.

 

‘You’ll need something to hide these wounds, Cal. As fancy as this dress is, it’s rather unpractical now.’

 

He went to a curtain and ripped it off the wall, then proceeded to lay it around Cal’s shoulders.

 

‘Thanks. You don’t happen to have any shades with you, do you? I think my face is about to swell. That bastard almost broke my cheekbone.’

 

Ave looked at her concerned and touched her cheek gently.

 

‘Come on Cal, we got to get out of here. The sooner, the better.’

 

***

 

They got out of the hotel without any problem at all, the hotel registree merely gave them an odd look at their wet clothes. Ave had mumbled something about the pool being absolutely fabulous when they passed the clerk, and the latter apparently didn’t bother to talk to them. Luckily enough, the employee didn’t notice that Cal was walking out of the hotel with a hotel curtain around her shoulders. Incompetent Rebel scum, Cal thought. Still, it couldn’t be long til someone actually did some work and checked the surveillance holocams and saw Ave’s little firework. They could just hope that they’d be at a considerate distance by then.

 

A minute later, they were in a taxi, Ave leaning back into the comfy cushions of the seats, and Cal sitting as upright as though she’d swallowed a durasteel pipe. It almost made Ave snicker, but he knew better than that. They hadn’t had time to pick out all the splinters out of Cal’s back, so she was avoiding any contact with it. Even if it was a friendly hug from Ave.

 

They were heading for one of the numerous spaceports, not quite sure yet how they were gonna get off Coruscant. Cal’s shuttle was certainly not in that hangar anymore, after all that they’d pulled. None of them came up with a plan though, or if they had a plan, they didn’t tell each other.

 

Upon arriving at the spaceport, Ave found his words again.

 

‘You know Cal, we prolly can’t just take a public transport out of here. If they didn’t have our ID Codes in the Public Net yet, they’ll certainly have sent it to the spaceport controls. We’ll have to hitch-hike.’

 

Cal looked at him in disbelief.

 

‘Hitch-hike? And you think anyone’s gonna take strangers off the planet in his or her transport? Damn, man, the world isn’t as friendly as you think. I’ll put you into a museum once we’re back.’

 

Ave shrugged and smiled.

 

‘Ah well, we can try, can’t we?’

 

They went along the halls and corridors of the spaceport, doing their best not to cross the path of an officer. They did encounter some, but Cal smiled at them sweetly and they smiled back. It was all too easy to be true.

 

After about 5 minutes of wandering around the spaceport, they came to a stop at a docking bay that was currently occupied by a Correllian freighter bearing the markings of the planet Thyferra. A couple of alien technicians were going about their business, and a tall slender man was arguing with one of them. It looked as though he was the only crewmember of the craft.

 

As Cal and Ave approached him, he was about to board his ship.

 

‘Hey!’ Ave called. The man turned around, puzzled at the sudden appearance of the two of them, and went down the gangway again.

 

‘Err, what do you want?’

 

‘Sir,’ Callista started, ‘we were wondering if you could be so kind as to give us a ride to whereever you’re going with your ship.’

 

The man looked at them in surprise, then started to laugh out loud. He wouldn’t stop laughing until Ave produced a blaster out of his NRI bag.

 

‘Please?’ Ave said.

 

The man looked at Ave, then Cal, then at the blaster.

 

‘Well, you must really be in deep shit if you take these desperate measures. It won’t work though. This vehicle is registered for one pilot only. They won’t let me pass the shield without a good explanation.’

 

‘We’re crewmembers.’ Cal said.

 

He looked at her for some time, then shook his head and turned around to walk into his ship. Cal and Ave followed closely.

 

***

 

‘Coruscant Flight Control, this is freighter YD-2944 requesting permission to pass the planetary shield.’

 

A few seconds later, a muddled reply came through the comm.

 

‘Freighter YD-2944, what is your cargo.’

 

‘None, Sir, I delivered a supply of Thyferran mush berries.’

 

‘Your freighter is registered for one pilot, but there are two other lifeforms on the scanners.. care to explain?’

 

The pilot looked over his shoulder at Cal and Ave.

 

‘They’re... additional crewmembers I hired to help me with my next transport.’

 

‘Have they gone through security?’

 

He hesitated for a second. Ave pushed the blaster a bit harder into his back.

 

‘Yes they have, and are all clear.’

 

‘We are opening the planetary shield at Vector Beta 323 ks for you. Have a nice flight.’

 

Cal had stopped breathing for the time of this conversation. But with this additional proof of Rebel idiocy, she dared to breathe again. They’d done it. They’d actually survived this, against all odds. They were on their way home.

 

Ave let out a sigh of relief once they had passed the shield. It was only a matter of a few minutes until they were in hyperspace and safe. He looked over to Cal, who looked back at him and smiled. Taking her hand in his, he squeezed it softly.

 

From the corner of her eye, Cal noticed that the pilot had pushed a button that wasn’t needed for piloting the craft. She observed him suspiciously, but he was still doing the same things as before. Safe for pushing the button.

 

‘What’s that button for, pal?’ Cal inquired and pointed at it.

 

The pilot suddenly got nervous.

 

‘Err... it’s for.... err...’

 

A blaster shot in his back sent him smashing against the controls.

 

‘Sithspawn.’ Ave muttered and put the corpse into the corner of the cockpit.

 

‘Relax Ave. It’s prolly only the button for venting the sanitary are....’

 

A pair of red laser bolts missed them by inches only.

 

Ave looked at Cal. ‘Yeah. The sanitary area.’

 

‘Freighter YD-2944, we received your distress signal. What’s going on.’

 

Ave wasted no time in talking into the comm.

 

‘Err... sorry for that guys, I’m lacking a bit of sleep and I dozed off over the controls... hit the button with my nose when I fell forward.’

 

Cal raised an eyebrow.

 

‘How can you hit the distress button with your nose when it’s about your knee’s height?’

 

‘Err... I have a big nose?’

 

That didn’t seem to persuade them.

 

‘Freighter YD-2944, we advise you to accept the nav data we’re transmitting. We’re escorting you back to the planet. In case of non-obedience, we will not hesitate to open fire on you.’

 

Cal now saw that there were four X-Wings flying close to them, flanking them on their right and left.

 

‘Ave, do you have a nifty plan for this? This piece of scrap metal doesn’t have a laser turret, and it’s slow as hell, too...’

 

‘Ah well, it has shields, hasn’t it? Hold on to something, Cal.’

 

Cal looked at him with a terrified look on her face, she knew he was about to do something crazy. Without further thinking, she clung onto the pilot’s chair and bore her fingers into it.

 

Ave looked at the fighters outside the viewport, first at the ones on the left, then at the ones on the right. Then suddenly, he steered the freighter to the left sharply, rammed one X-Wing and sent it colliding against it’s wingmate who was flying in close formation to it. They probably hadn’t expected an attack of this sort, so their shields were low. The upper right panel of the X-Wing that was first hit bore into the canopy of the other one, ripping it open and beheading the pilot in it. Before they exploded, Ave steered the freighter to the right, quickly transferring all shield energy to the right side, and performed the same action on the other two X-Wings. The X-Wing that was hit in the collision spun off badly damaged, but the remaining fighter backed off instantly, anticipating the freighter’s tactic. It turned away from the freighter, only to take an attack position behind the craft, soon coming into laser range.

 

A red laser bolt hit the rear part of the ship, gnawing on its hull. Some alerts went off, and Ave wasted no time in transferring the rest of the shield energy to the back of the ship.

 

Cal looked at the hyperspace countdown.

 

‘20 seconds, Ave. Is she gonna make it?’

 

‘There’s only one way to find out, Cap.’ Ave transferred the shield energy to the engines, causing the freighter to gain a little bit more speed. But the shields were soon failing.

 

Another well-placed double laser shot ate the rest of the shields. Another hit and they were doomed.

 

‘ 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...’

 

The X-Wing went on firing as the lights around Cal and Ave turned into stripes.

 

***

 

Epilogue

 

‘... you left your position without leaving a hint about your whereabouts, you lost your shuttle in this dumb, idiotic, absolutely insane mission, you took Imperial equipment with you without asking for permission and eventually losing it...’

 

Back onboard the Challenge, LC Callista D’Omàh and CM Avian Blackbird were sitting in COM Torres’s office, listening to a severe lecture about their little trip to Coruscant. They were glad to be back, and alive too, and Torres’s words weren’t something they needed to hear now. Cal wasn’t even given a chance to see the doctor when she got out of the freighter, a pack of stormtroopers had escorted the two of them directly to the COM’s office.

 

‘Don’t think I don’t know where you’ve been. Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been doing there. You have absolutely not a clue of an idea what you destroyed with whatever you wanted to do there! You’re responsible for the deaths of several Rebel agents, and no, you couldn’t do it quietly, you had to make a stir with it. All of Coruscant’s NRI personnel is looking for you now, and thanks to that, we’ll have to leave this orbit and abandon our mission here! You even dared to misuse your credit card, and don’t even think we’ll give you a new one. I cannot believe you risked your life for this, don’t you EVER think about your job and responsibility here?! And worst of all, you incited a subordinate to follow you and made him risk his life as well!’

 

‘I...’ Ave wanted to interrupt.

 

‘I do NOT remember I asked you to speak, Commander! How can you DARE laugh at all the Imperial values like that!? You are a person of rank, and as such, you need to make your comrades and squadron respect you! How do you think that’ll work if they find out about this? And how do you think I should deal with you now? Do you have to say anything to your defence?’

 

Cal looked at Torrie and smiled. She got up and threw a snappy salute.

 

‘Drinks are on me tonight, Torres, Sir!’

 

 

CMDR/LC Callista/Typhoon/Wing X/ISD Challenge

 

 

 

Fiction written by FM/CM Blackbird/Typhoon 1-3 and CMDR/LC Callista/Typhoon 1-1 from September 21^st to October 26^th in the year of the Lord 1999.