���� Fox was busy with Lotan trying to fire
the little astromech back up.� They had
managed to wipe its memory, but would not be completely sure until it was
reactivated.� Lotan seemed unusually
interested in telling Fox how to fix up his droid himself.� This continuously made for tense moments
between them, but Fox liked having the Thakwaash tutor him.�
���� Fox was just tweaking a few of the
droid�s systems when he felt a violent shudder in the Force.� He reached out and failed to touch Thunder�s
mind.� She was there, but in body
only.� The Whyren�s Reserve didn�t seem
to be the culprit because she lacked the rather vivid mental hallucinations and
dreams in her mind.� Thunder was quiet
and as cold as ice in the Force.� He
continued to work on the droid and pretended to be completely absorbed in the
task.�
�� ��Lotan kept glancing around towards the Slugfest.� Fox could feel the duplicity in Lotan as the
Thakwaash switched from one mind set to another�from a teacher-mind to a more
anxious and battle-ready mind.� Moments
later, Fox heard the sudden whining of the Blade-32�s engines, shields, and
weapons powering up.�
���� Digger had remained in the snubfighter�s
pit while planetside.� Thunder�s
precaution seemed to be panning out.�
The wristlink that Thunder wore on her wrist was more than just a simple
communication device between her and Digger.�
Digger could also monitor Thunder�s vitals.� Whatever just happened had blown out the wristlink altogether and
Thunder failed to establish contact with Digger to reassure him that she was
alright.� The little droid had fired up
the snubfighter�s systems.� He now had
it hovering on its repulsorlifts and heading in the direction of the Slugfest.�
���� An astonished Lotan roared over his
personal comm to Pachet.� Fox used those
few moments to kick the large biped�s legs out from under him with the help of
a little, but effective, Force-shove.�
Lotan crumpled to the ground as Fox brought the hydrospanner down onto
the Thakwaash�s skull.� The Force was
flowing through Fox with a vitality all its own.� He could feel it enhance his senses and his strength as he
sprinted towards the Slugfest.�
���� Pachet, now manning the dorsal gun
turret, had left the ramp extended for Lotan�s easy access.� Shots sizzled through the air and dissipated
over the Blade�s strong shields.� The
Blade carefully returned fire in hopes of shutting down the Slugfest�s
shields.� Fox froze several yards away,
realizing that Pachet had left the aft shields powered down.� Obviously, Lotan was expected to run behind
the Transport, through the opening in the shields, and get to the ramp.� Obviously, Lotan would not be making
it.� A juke and a jink later and Fox was
on the Slugfest.� Shortly
thereafter, the Transport lost power and the gun turret fell silent.
���� Thunder finally woke up, surprised at the
difficulty she was having considering her use of the Force to clean up her
senses.� She was still in the Slugfest�s
living compartment.� On the floor across
from her, sat Pachet and Lotan with feet and hands bound by stun cuffs.� Her memory flooded back to her.� Stupid.�
I need to start thinking more often.�
Reno would have a field day with this had he known.�
���� Fox suddenly appeared in her line of
vision with a fresh, cold flask of Whyren�s Reserve.� He smiled, �Here, drink this.�
You�ve been out for several minutes.�
���� Thunder gulped down the beverage, then
steadied herself into a slouched standing position.� �Well, Pachet, I guess you were truthful.� You weren�t after the �hairy kid� after
all.� So, what�s your prob with me?�
���� Pachet sighed, obviously embarrassed to
have had his carefully planned out attack overturned by a three foot hairy kid
with a tail.� �No problem at all,
Tundre.� Just making a living.� Make no mistake, I�m not a bounty
hunter.� I�m a mercenary, through and
through.� I got myself a nice-paying hit
list and you are near the top.� I was
given some info about your snubfighter which I spotted at The Library Den.� I don�t just charge in and disintegrate a
target in any public arena�unlike the bounty hunters that were after Fox.� I just became sidetracked once we teamed
up.� I wanted to get the scoop on the
little hairy kid.� He seemed pretty
valuable.� I don�t usually resort to
claiming bounties but times have been rough lately.� I prefer to stick to merc missions.�
���� Thunder engaged her lightsaber, which Fox
had returned to her, and held it beneath Pachet�s throat.� �You know what?� I don�t see much difference between your definition of merc and
bounty hunter, but that�s beside the point.�
So, first, where�s that hit list and, second, who gave it to you?�
���� Pachet leaned himself over, �The list is
kept stored on a datacard in my left wrist gauntlet.� As for the who, I�m not entirely sure.� This job had a third party negotiator, which is something I�ve
never done before, but like I said, times are hard.�
���� Thunder pulled out the datacard and slid
it into a datapad that Fox presented to her.�
She read it over.� The list
wasn�t too long, but hit home nonetheless.�
Reno was at the top of that list, followed by JeniViolet, Thunder, Star,
and Skate.� They were listed as
disintegrations with holocam proof of death.�
Below this primary list was a secondary objective list that contained
the name of Jace Sidrona to be captured alive for transfer to a third party
transport and taken to the originator of this request.� Subsequent information contained various
holocam shots of the various Siths and their snubbies.� Surprisingly, a picture of Thunder�s new Blade-32
was available.� Strange, considering it
had never really toured until Thunder�s current leave of absence.� Thunder wasn�t really shocked at the Siths
debut on a hit list, but was dumbfounded as to the reasons for Jace being a
live capture.� She turned her attention
back to Pachet.
���� Pachet shrugged his shoulders, �Hey, a job
is a job.� No hard feelings.� I was doing pretty good and would have made
out if not for �hairy�.� I inserted some
high voltage wiring into the cylinder�the same kind that you find in
stun-nets.� I like to read up on various
warriors, fighters, and weapons of all sorts.�
I came across some information about stun-nets.� As thorough as the Emperor�s lackies were at
removing information about the Jedi and Sith, they left some information
behind.� Under information about
stun-nets, it said that they were effective at causing a lightsaber to blow
out.� The energy blade would act as a
conduit and channel the power of the stun-net and the power of the lightsaber
itself back into whoever was holding the saber�s pommel.� Effective, wasn�t it?�
���� Thunder rolled her eyes and disengaged
her lightsaber, �Yes, it seems so.�
However, it didn�t kill me and I find it hard to believe that Fox was
fast enough to interrupt a trained assassin�s hit.�
���� �You got me on that.� This is sort of embarrassing.� I was so preoccupied trying to hide my
thoughts and emotions from your Force senses that I forgot to put on my wrist
gauntlets� gloves.� They would have
protected me from any surges attracted to my gauntlets.� Needless to say, while you took the brunt of
the surge, I got shocked across the cabin.�
Took me a few minutes to regain myself.�
By then, I was under fire from your, uh, droid driven Blade.� I didn�t have time to finish you off.� I had to get the shields powered up and take
out the Blade.� Meantime, Fox managed to
render Lotan unhelpful and use your blastsword to finish me.�
���� For the first time, Thunder noticed the
small burned hole in Pachet�s shoulder.�
He also had some carbon soot on the side of his head from a near miss
that had probably knocked him out.� Thunder
chuckled.� The little ball of hair was
turning out to be a better investment than she had figured.
���� Thunder squatted in front of Pachet and
held his gaze, her lightsaber held loosely, yet threatening, between them.� �Now, I think I�m going to offer you a deal
that you can�t refuse for several important reasons.� The first reason, of course, being that you live.� The second reason, you still make credits.� The third reason, you get to remain a
valuable contact to other regions of the galaxy for us. �The fourth reason, well, as Reno likes to
say, I don�t have another reason�I just like the number four.� Now, you are going to agree to these reasons
before the rest of the deal or meet your fate.�
Remember, I know when you are hiding the truth from me in that thick
skull of yours�I won�t make the same mistake twice.� Besides, how does that saying go?� We are Men Of Action, lies do not become us�well, I�m not
a man and technically a lowly Force-ignorant sentient is no equal to a trained
Sith, but I think we can overlook the discrepancies of an adage.� Your answer?�
���� Thunder reached out with the Force,
penetrating all the mental barriers that Pachet could ever have hoped to
erect.� He shifted himself and briefly
lowered his gaze.� Lotan seemed
unusually tense, but kept to his typical quiet self.
���� Pachet lifted his head, �Well, I can�t
think of any rational arguments against your deal, especially considering that
we still get paid.� I suppose any
payment is worth keeping our heads.� We
can at least take on some more jobs.�
That hit list wasn�t given to just me and it was payment after proof or
capture.� I wasn�t aware that the
individuals on the list were real Sith Lords.�
I thought you guys were just a bunch of posers sporting the look for
fun�kind of like an Emperor/Vader fan club thing.� That �hey, Vader lives, I�ve got holopics of him� kind of
thing.� No offense.�
���� Thunder rolled her eyes, �None
taken.� I guess then we are in
agreement?�
���� �Yeah, you got a deal.�
���� ��and your big hairy lug?�
���� Pachet chuckled, �Whatever I do, he
does.� He�s in, too.� By the way, what kind of connection am I
supposed to be for you?�
���� Fox was removing the stun cuffs at
Thunder�s command.� She smirked, �Well,
you are a trained assassin and merc�or were at one time before resorting to
bounty hunter behavior.� You keep taking
jobs and looking good.� You need any
help, you contact me for it.� We need
you to build a quiet reputation, but one as efficient and fear-inspiring as
Boba Fett.� That will keep you on the
top of the �who do we hire to vape off so-and-so?� lists.� Maybe at some point, we�ll find out who
exactly put out this current hit list.��
�And why they want Jace alive, know about our latest snubbie changes,
and not be after all the Siths, Thunder silently wondered.� �Plus, we�ll be aware of any new lists that
happen to be circulating.� And ya never
know, we may need your services as well.�
Some hit jobs might be more efficient with a hired gun than one of
ourselves, especially if the target knows us.�
More importantly, we could use all the information that you can find
concerning Whyren�s Reserve shipments�no questions asked.� Sound reasonable to you?�
���� �Heh, get paid for peeping around the
galaxy and taking inventory of beverage shipments while doing some side jobs
sounds good to me.� I�ll take it.� Beside, I wasn�t too pumped to try to take
on a bunch of Force Masters once I realized that you were the real deal.�� Pachet stood up suddenly, remembering past
information.� �I do remember noticing information
about a large shipment of Whyren�s Reserve.�
I was paying some attention to the shipments after the third
party negotiator told me that you guys could often be found looting them.� I didn�t really believe him�I guess I was
just depressed at the thought of resorting to what seemed to be a bunch of
Emperor/Vader posing alcoholics.� I
guess I really missed the target this time.�
���� �No shit.� Anyways, once we get our ships back into shape again, I�ll
have you transfer that information about the Whyren shipment over to Digger,�
Thunder headed out of the Slugfest with Fox in tow.� She stopped at the top of the ramp and
turned back, �Let�s not take all day.� I
expect to be out of here shortly.� And
if you don�t mind, I�m gonna go ahead with Fox here and wait in orbit for you
to get the Slug off rock�understood?�
���� �Understood.� Soon as I get the systems back on and check for fatal problems,
we�ll be up there,� Pachet shouted back as he helped Lotan up.
Twelve
���� Lord Pilot Tundre ya Silens sat in her
Blade-32 and meditated over a flask of Whyren�s Reserve.� The small planet hung beneath the belly of
her snubfighter.� What to do now�what
to do�what to do�.�
���� Static crackled over Thunder�s comm as
Pachet tried to hail the little snubfighter for the millionth time.
���� �Tundre, do you copy?� I�ve got life-signs, but no one is home.�
���� Thunder snapped awake.� Jedi-spit! Must�ve passed out from all
the thinking.� Stang, I spilt my
Whyren�s Reserve.� Thunder mopped up
the precious fluid with a small vac that would purify the spilled liquid and
store it for consumption later.� She
suddenly began to flashback to a vision that she must have received during her
unconscious state.� It was of her
Master, Baron Reno.� He was standing on
the Bridge of the SSD.� In his palm
rested the key to Thunder�s storage of Whyren�s Reserve and personal open
bar.� It was part of her �last wishes�
that if she did not survive a mission, then the rest of the squadron should
divide and enjoy her beverages.� I�M
NOT DEAD YOU FOOLS!
���� �Pachet, this is Tundre.� I�m having Digger send you coordinates to a,
uh, safe harbor for us.� Fox, I am
patching the coordinates to your navicomp.�
I will escort you both to the site.�
Pachet, I expect you to be sending the coordinates and information about
those shipments to Digger.�� Thunder
decided she would explain about the SSD being the safe harbor later.� The less Pachet knew beforehand, the better.�
���� �Understood.� Let�s get outta here,� Pachet sputtered out as he fired up his
engines.
���� �Roger that, Fox out.�
���� Moments later, the little band of ships
hyped out.
���� After a relatively short couple of hops,
the snubfighters and the transport dropped out of hyperspace.�
���� Nothing.�
Nothing filled her HUD.� Nothing
was reported in the vicinity by Digger.
���� �Uh, Tundre, where was this safe harbor
supposed to be?�
���� �Stand by, Pachet.� Tundre, out.�
���� Stupid Siths, where in all the galaxy
had they stuck the Super Star Destroyer? Thunder was about to give up when Digger
began bleating away over the link.� A
small group of snubfighters lit up on her HUD.� Ahhh, the Siths.�
���� Moments later, Thunder had her little
motley crew�s weapons powered down while three of the Siths formed around
them.� Thunder flipped her comlink to a
private channel.
���� �Lead, this is Two.� I was planning on settling down on the SSD.�
���� �Two, this is Lead.� Roger that.�
As soon as we find it, we�ll all settle down for a good ole Whyren�s
Reserve Brawl.� But first, what�s with
the other ships and their cargo?�
���� Thunder smiled.� Reno�s emphasis on the word cargo was his way of letting her know
that he could sense Fox.
���� �Yeah, well, the Naboo Starfighter and
its occupant are for you. The Transport and its occupants are mine.� Got that?�
���� �Understood, Two.� Eleven and the others are searching for the
SSD while we hang out here.� Star,
Palin, and I couldn�t keep up with the others in this past Whyren�s Brawl�that you
missed, by the way!�
���� Panic rose in Thunder�s voice while the
Dark Side flooded through her body.
���� �Stand down, Two.� We didn�t touch your allotment of Whyren�s
Reserve.� I�m glad to see that it is
more important to you than fighting.�
You see, now you have learned that old adage.� �Thirst leads to craving, craving leads to Whyren�s Reserve,
Whyren�s Reserve leads to fighting.��
Cut the Whyren�s Reserve out of the chain and you break the fine
fighting machine that is known as Sith Squadron.�
���� Thunder, for the first time in her
training, understood.� It made sense
now.� She was always trying to separate
one from the other.� But they were
inseparable.� They were all connected by
the strong fibers of the Dark Side and their new order of Sith.�
���� Thunder proudly clicked on her comlink,
�Well, I�ve got another strand to add to our ranks.� Even better, yet, I have a nice list of coordinates that a
freighter carrying Whyren�s Reserve will be on�starting in about sixteen
standard hours.� It won�t reach its
destination for about twenty hours after that.�
Plus, I found out that Rogue Squadron was forced into mandatory
retirement, Lead.�
���� �Roger that, Two.� Already know about the Rogues.� That is what we�ve been celebrating when we
all hopped into our snubbies and I left the SSD cruising.� Uh, I mean, when obviously some gravitating
anomaly must�ve displaced the SSD from its last known coordinates.�
���� �Roger that, Lead, I�ve got no where else
to go.��
���� JeniViolet finally returned with her band
of the Siths and the SSD.� It
didn�t take long at all for all of them to rendezvous on the Bar Deck.� Thunder handed Fox Starfighter over to Baron
Reno.� Reno was surprised by the amount
of animosity and need for revenge that he felt within Fox.� So much so, that he wondered if Fox could
remain with the Siths, even after succumbing to the binding forces of Whyren�s
Reserve.� Time would have to tell.�
���� Pachet and Lotan remained on the SSD to
enjoy the Brawl.� Lotan spent most of
the overnight hours repairing damage done to the Slugfest courtesy of
Digger.� Pachet, however, seemed to have
vanished.� He was obviously busy
practicing tractor locks on Thunder�s snubframe and sealing the new deal he
made with the Siths.� Once the dawn of
sobriety and a standard morning came up, the Slugfest would depart back
into the realm of smugglers and mercs.�
���� Fox trained in his newly acquired N-1
Naboo Starfighter after fixing up the R5 unit.�
Reno had assigned the beginning of Fox�s training to Star, Sith Nine.� Under her tutelage, Fox would construct his
first lightsaber.� He was showing
promising signs of being very strong in the Force.� He would manage to make a double-bladed lightsaber with silver
and green blades for his first weapon.�
Reno would often watch Fox�s training over the holocams on the SSD.� He was impressed, but still disturbed by
Fox�s preoccupation with Imperial sponsored researchers.� It seemed to be bordering on obsession that
had grown with the passing of every day.�
���� Reno already knew the dangers of a Sith
being distracted by obsessions.� He had
not been sure how Thunder would turn out.�
She weakened herself by her continuing commitment to her Adumari
heritage.� That, however, seemed to be
changing as well.� She was returning,
back to the Sith that she should be�whether or not she met her full potential
would still have to be seen.� Reno would
test that dedication and resolve in an upcoming mission that would only consist
of Thunder and himself.� The Whyren�s
Reserve supply was running low after partying and needed to be replenished.� Reno would take Thunder with him to check on
that freighter supposedly full to the brim with Whyren�s Reserve.�
���� Reno glanced out of the viewport in his
cabin quarters.� Thunder and Fox had
crossed paths with Darth Xanthis�and escaped.�
Reno didn�t doubt Thunder�s abilities to slip the more powerful Dark
Lord, but something still didn�t add up.�
Pachet and Lotan were clean, Reno insured himself of that with a Force
enhanced mental probe.� Maybe it was
just coincidence.� Either way, he was
probably going to have to forbid future leaves from the SSD by single Siths.
���� Reno glanced back down at the holocam
image.� Star was instructing Fox on the
process of using the Force to manipulate a being�s health�for the better and
for the worse.� Reno had chosen Star to
act as Fox�s beginning mentor over Thunder.�
Reno needed to be sure that Thunder was back to being fully dedicated to
the Siths.� After time, Reno would allow
Thunder to train Fox in the basics of lightsaber dueling and using Force
Telekinesis.� Once all of the Siths had
contributed to Fox�s basic training, Reno would take over for more advanced
training.� Well, only if Fox made it to
that level.
���� Reno stretched out with the Force.� He really only used the holocams to satisfy
his voyeuristic needs.� The truth always
came through the Dark Side of the Force.�
In a few more hours, he would be heading back out�until then, he might
as well try to score with some of the still conscious Sith chicks who remained
on the Bar Deck.