Re: After The Fall

Several hours had past and Captain Dodonna stood at the center of the command bridge of the <I>Eradicator</i>, a holotable flashed three-dimensional maps of the capital city, the view changing every ten seconds or so as the display rotated through the various search perimeters scattered around Terrick's two continents. Around the room, a dozen ensigns and officers sat at individual consoles, relaying orders and situational data to the clone commanders. The bridge buzzed with many voices talking at once, yet it was also strangely calm as each officer focused intently on their own console.

Commander Jared Koortyn walked the crew pits, observing and stopping to intervene with some detail. Occasionally, an ensign would come through to hand a datapad or a cup of caffa to Dodonna or to his commander. From the captain's standpoint, he could look down on the officers and their consoles, as well as on a ring of tactical displays that surrounded his position. He seemed quiet, but nothing escaped his attention.

To a casual observer, the taking of Terrick seemed decisive and overwhelming. But Dodonna fully appreciated how fragile the situation was. As many forces as he had, it was still easy for the Jedi to bury themselves deep enough to not be detected or to slip through their fingers by making it offworld without their knowing. Hence, why the patrols had doubled at the spaceports as well as in the spacelanes.

The door to the bridge slid open with a hiss, and a handsome man with black hair entered the room. He wore a trim olive tunic of a commanding officer. His uniform was immaculate, but he looked tired. Like many people, he apparently had trouble sleeping under stress, a problem Dodonna had never shared. The captain recogized his friend and the CEO of Dunn Industries. Tyrell walked purposely over to stand next to him. The Imperial captain glanced at him and gave a reassuring smile. "Things are going well, <I>Commander</I>. With luck, we may have some clues to the Jedi's whereabouts by tommorrow afternoon. We have dispatched spies to mingle among the population to gather intelligence for us."

"Excellent, Max." Tyrell replied. "I've just finished up the first of my reports to dispatch back to Lord Vader."

"Oh?" Dodonna raised an eyebrow. "And what were your results with the TIE prototypes?"

"If the reports are accurate, they are successful. The firepower was adjusted again and we performed more tests on manueverability and speed." He pursed his lips and continued. "They all passed satisfactory, so now the next phase would be combat itself. I plan to run several real-time simulations both air and space. All we have done since arriving here is merely test their speed and firepower against traffic violators. No ship to ship combat in their patrols, yet."

Dodonna frowned slightly. "Then I suggest you dispatch the first of your reports to Lord Vader and start the next phase as soon as possible. Perhaps even speak to Lord Vader himself?" He studied his face at the mention of the Dark Lord of the Sith. He saw no reaction; perhaps he was already thinking about addressing him in the first place. "If I've learned anything in my years in the naval service, it's that leaders prefer to hear progress personally from their officers rather than from a mere report on their desk. If you wish, I can attend to your transmission to Lord Vader and give my progress report as well."

"If you think it would satisfy Lord Vader, then I would suggest it." Tyrell merely answered.

"I know he won't be happy until I have Terrick's capital city squeezed free of all Jedi sympathizers as well as all Jedi themselves." He studied the maps, his face showing a great deal more comprehension of a small situation brewing in the center of the map. He blinked, then looked up at Tyrell with a slight frown of puzzlement. "I sometimes wonder if Lord Vader already knows of their existance here and is merely testing us to see if we are smart enough to find them? It seems he is sadistic enough to do such as thing."

Tyrell shrugged. "It is only for the Emperor to know."

The frown deepened. "And? I must admit I don't trust Vader with our Emperor. He uses the same magical power the Jedi use, which makes him untrustworthy. Agent of the Empire or not, I think of him as a threat. What is to stop him from assassinating Emperor Palpatine and becomes the next in line to rule? Bad enough the Jedi tried to kill Palpatine once."

Tyrell looked into his eyes. "What are you suggesting, Max?"

Captain Dodonna smiled slightly and turned his attention back to the holotable. "Nothing, Tyrell. I was just voicing my thoughts. I guess this week has been taking a toll on me on our search. All we are finding are dead ends. I hope we find something."

Tyrell stood there for a moment. Then, realizing that his friend was quite through talking, spoke up. "In time, we will. Just have patience, Max. For now, I think we should report to Lord Vader. My report is ready to present to him via holotransmission."

Maximillian relaxed a bit. "Very well. I'll have the comm officer open a channel in my quarters and we can meet there to open a transmission to Imperial Center."

Re: After The Fall

The bluish hologram of Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, dominated Dodonna’s quarters. Tyrell, standing at the spot of the room that was being broadcast, bowed his head as greeting. Captain Dodonna was watching his friend, but preferred to stay out of Vader’s visual angle. “Mr. Dunn.” The Sith addressed Tyrell, elongating his engineer’s last name in his own characteristic intonation. “My Lord.” Tyrell, not used to be submissive, looked up to face his <i>client</i> directly. “I have the first report of the TIE project.” Vader cocked his helmeted head very slightly. To Tyrell it seemed to be the Sith’s version of raising an eyebrow. Without any further ado he started to summarise their gathered results.

As Tyrell ended, Vader was silent for a long moment as if pondering about the just heard. Then finally he spoke. “Impressive, Mr. Dunn. The Emperor will be most pleased with the proceedings. And I am sure that your wife and son will be <i> happy </i>, that you don’t failed the Empire so far. Now continue with your work. You will stay on Captain Dodonna’s ship until pending further notice. Until you will find the opportunity to test the TIE’s in real combat, you can let the pilots train proper bombing on the planet.” There was no parting phrase. Lord Vader disconnected the transmission simply.

Tyrell blinked, confused. The not very subtle threat, as Lord Vader mentioned his family, hadn’t escaped his notice. Slowly he turned to his friend. Maximillian Dodonna stepped out of the shadows. “That went well.” The Captain of the <i>Eradicator</i> said, a small smile on his lips. “Well? Are you kidding, Max?” Tyrell gasped shocked, then he shouted. “Vader more or less ordered us to bomb the planet! There is no reason to do that. The population is quiet, except very few exceptions, which we can handle without such drastic actions. And didn’t you realise that he threatened me with the mention of my family! Who knows what that cybernetic <i>creature</i> does to Lanah and Traven, if I don’t obey his bidding.”  The smile on Dodonna’s face faded. “Could you please lower your voice. You are talking dangerously, Tyrell. The Jedi are the enemy. Not the Emperor’s confidant. You let me rethink your loyalty to the Empire. “ Rubbing his face with one hand, Tyrell sat down on one of the chairs. “I am loyal. But I think that Lanah has been right. This business was a bad idea.”

Dodonna sat down opposite to his friend. “Tyrell, listen, you know even better than I do that Palpatine’s government of the Republic and now the rise of the Empire increased the profits of your company. But this project makes you the top player of your industry. You would be stupid to throw away this chance. And I haven’t heard Lanah complain about the luxury you can afford with the credits you are making. Don’t listen to her. She’s a woman. Of course, she feels sympathy for killed Jedi children, because she doesn’t understand the complex coherences.” Tyrell sighed, thinking about Maximillian’s words. “Max, she’s not that shallow. One of the reasons why I married her has been that she is really smart.” Dodonna smirked evilly now. “As much as I remember has your marriage been more of  a business connection between your and her family than being a reason of falling in love because of her intelligence. You were quite glad that your parents didn’t choose one of the ugly daughters of the Sienar family for you.” Tyrell smiled slightly. “Touché. But after being married for three years now, I learnt that she’s more than just a pretty face. And even you, Max, will learn soon, that it’s sometimes better to listen to the mother of your son. Or don’t you discuss your career moves with Sira too?”

The naming of his pregnant wife softened Dodonna’s face into an honest smile.  “Sometimes. But now you and I should take care that the galaxy will be a good place for our sons.”

Re: After The Fall

"Are you sure this will work?" Hendricks asked, eyes running over the modified speeder. They lingered at the open cargo hatch. They'd stuffed it full of every explosive bit of whatsit they could get their hands on. Which, considering some of the contacts Hendricks had, was not insignificant. He wished he could have put more into it, but the reality was that Terrick was just not the sort of place you'd find a lot of explosives lying around. That he'd gotten his hands on this much, and this quickly, was something of an accomplishment.

"It'll work," replied a Twi'Lek who was bent over the control console. As per Hendrick's instructions he was wiring it for remote control. "Just make sure you be careful with that detonator. I don't want this thing to go off before it's well away from here."

The bartender looked at the matte black cylinder he held in one meaty hand, gently turning it over with his fingers. Remove the safety catch, hold down the top button with your thumb, and push the trigger with your index finger. That's all that was needed. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that."

The speeder was ready. Hendricks supervised as his little band of conspirators pushed the vehicle out into the street, careful to keep a watch out for any patrolling clones. But it was a side street, and the clones couldn't be everywhere. "Hurry it up," Hendricks growled as they guided their improvised bomb towards it's intended destination - where the side street joined one of the main streets. The clones had set up a roadblock a few blocks down, and there seemed to be a fairly constant number of troopers around.

Once at the edge of the main street, Hendricks and his group pulled back. They hoofed it to a nearby building where they could see both the side street and the roadblock. From there the remote control came into play, allowing them to guide the speeder out into the street. The clones noticed it heading towards them almost immediately. Some of them probably ordered it to stop, but as the speeder accelerated they quickly noticed nobody was actually driving it. Some of them managed to get off a few shots at the careening speeder, other dove for cover.

Hendricks watched the scene unfold with a smile. "Invade my planet, will you?" He growled, disabling the safety and pressing his thumb into the top button of the detonator. "Frelling clones…" The speeder slammed into the temporary barriers the clones had erected, and his finger tightened on the trigger. The roadblock was eclipsed by an expanding orange fireball, bigger than Hendricks had expected. It threw pieces of debris high into the air, and shattered windows up and down the street. Hendricks saw at least one clone get thrown clear of the blast area, landing in an awkward heap some distance away.

"Score one for the home team," The twi'lek said triumphantly. There was muted celebration from the other members of the group, and Hendricks nodded. He intended to score a lot more than just one before this game was over.

"Come on," he said gruffly. "Let's get out of here. There's work to do."

Meanwhile, in a bar not too far away…

“I’m sure something will hit us.” Rask said.

As if on cue, the ground shook. The distinctive rumble of an explosion followed only seconds behind it.  Lyton cast a suspicious look at the Bothan, but Rask looked as surprised as anybody else in the room. Alarms were going off now, sensitive security equipment triggered by the blast wave. Everybody in the bar was on their feet and heading for the door or the front windows.

That, Lyton knew, was the last place you wanted to be if things were exploding. The reason why things were exploding didn't particularly matter at the moment. With clone troops around, it probably wasn't good. "We need to leave," Lyton said carefully. "We can plan taking the ship later, right now we need to get someplace safe." He looked pointedly at Rask, who was noticeably more alert now that things had started blowing up.

"I'd like to say that I still think stealing a ship is a bad idea," Lucious put in. "But since everybody here seems to be crazy, I guess I'll have to go along with it." He'd have to contact the Touchstone later, and let them know what he was up to. They'd have to find their own way off planet, but since they wouldn't be trying to sneak Jedi out from the under the Empire it probably wouldn't be too hard. Things always had to get complicated…

Rask was already standing, motioning the group towards the bar's back door. "I know some people we can stay with while we plan this thing. All we gotta do is get there."

The alley behind the bar was cramped, but the group managed to fit. "The streets are too dangerous," Rok said as he lead out of the alley to look around. A cloud of smoke was starting to billow up from just beyond some nearby buildings - likely the explosion they'd heard. A clone gunship roared by over head, on it's way to investigate.

"I don't see that we have much of a choice," Lyton said sourly. "Whe-too?" He asked. The Jedi turned beggar had been running around the shadowed streets of the city for a little while now… perhaps he knew a way.

Re: After The Fall

Captain Dodonna travelled the few turbolifts between his quarters and the bridge. At his side, Tyrell Dunn still remained in his borrowed uniform, continuing to be under the guise of an Imperial commander. They had resided on the <I>Eradicator</I> several hours after leaving Terrick, and Dodonna wasn't sure why he'd been called to the bridge. He hoped it didn't mean a Seperatist attack force had appeared.

As they entered the noisy command bridge, he spotted Commander Jared Koortyn leaning over a tactical scope. The officer kept pointing out things to the ensign on the screen. Through the large holoscreens ahead, he could see an outline of the entire capital city of Terrick, which he assumed must be the center of some situation brewing.

"What's the situation, Commander Koortyn?"

He frowned at him. "About twenty minutes ago, we picked up a small explosion close to the center of the capital city. Large enough to cause significant damage and casualties– definetely intended to send us a message."

"Insurgents?" Dodonna questioned.

Tyrell frowned at the news. "It could be an accident, Captain. We can't jump to conclusions so soon."

"I highly doubt it was an accident," Jared assured. "Reports indicated an unmanned speeder was spotted heading toward one of the roadblocks our clones were maintaining. There were several deaths and many injuries. A speeder that size wouldn't make such a large explosion unless it was packed with baradium."

"Then it is insurgents." Dodonna concluded.

"Possibly, Captain, but I can't verify until we have our troops provide a thorough investigation. A gunship is on its way."

"Why would they do such a thing?" Tyrell shook his head.

Koortyn shrugged. "Because the people of Terrick think we're infringing on their planet. I think it is more because the Jedi on the planet are riling them up to fight. The Jedi are poisoning their minds to think like they do."

"Still, I don't see how we can let this opportunity pass us by." Dodonna interjected.

"What do you mean, Captain?" Jared inquired.

Dodonna turned to a comm officer nearby. "Contact the President on Terrick and inform him we wish to arrange a meeting." He then nodded to Commander Koortyn. "Have the hangar bay prep up our shuttle once more for departure. I have a few words to say about this little incident and about our insurgents to him."

Within a few minutes, the officer looked up, nodded, and pointed to a nearby holopad. Captain Dodonna stepped up to the holoprojector. In a moment the President's face appeared. He looked slightly flustered. "Captain Dodonna, what is the purpose of your call? We're a little… busy."

Dodonna smiled. "I apologize, President Turokano. But, as you may have heard, there was an attempt on my troops a mere hour ago. This unorthodox approach was part of some insurgency on your planet. I am sure you are dealing with the problem?"

The President frowned. "Yes, the reports are coming into our offices. We're treating this as an accident until we find proof that it was planned."

"I hope this doesn't get us off on the wrong foot, Mr. President. But this act was done on purpose against your government coorperating with us– one that will affect the safety and independence of your world. I believe the Jedi are behind this act of cowardice. I would like to arrange that myself and Commander Dunn discuss this matter as soon as possible. Perhaps over dinner?"

"I've got a dinner meeting scheduled with key members of my cabinet."

"I've got no problem including them in our meeting, Mr. President, if you don't. In fact, the more the merrier."

Turokano hesitated. "Well, it's short notice, but I suppose I can have the chef make room for two more at the table."

Dodonna nodded. "Excellent. After dessert, I have a special demonstration to show the Galactic Empire is serious in resolving matters such as this."

The President was puzzled. "A demonstration? Where? At our grounds?"

"Simply look forward to it when we arrive. We will be there in four hours." Dodonna nodded for the transmission to be cut off. He stepped down from the holopad and gripped Tyrell's shoulder.

"Tyrell, see what you can do about lining up some of your experimental TIE Bombers to do a test run while we're here. Quietly and discreetly, as always."

"Certainly, Max. But may I ask what for? I would think we would hold off on testing until this incident is resolved?" He gestured to the planet below. "We have a dinner to attend to."

Dodonna grinned fiendishly. "I want to show Terrick that the Galactic Empire means business. See to them, they are ready within four hours. Have the pilots choose several targets within the capitol city as proposed bombing areas…"

Re: After The Fall

"Whe-too?"

Whe-too turned to Lyton and thought hard, biting the edge of his lip. Clearly the Jedi presumed the Whe-too could guide them through the streets of the capital.

"I may know a way…" Whe-too turned toward Rask. "Where are they?"

"The West Block, off the media district." Rask replied.

Whe-too raised an eyebrow. "High-enders?"

Rask shrugged. "Connections in the media. Let's go!"

Whe-too thought for a moment and finally decided on a workable route that would get them off the radar of the Empire.

"Follwo me." Whe-too turned onto the main street and followed it quickly for several buildings, turning into an alley that led towards the street behind the bar. Halfway down he turned into another alleyway, which led to a small court in the middle of a building. Garbage clung to the edges of the walls and dumpster hung forlornly in one corner, unused despite the junk everywhere. In the middle of the court was a large metal grating. Terrick's capital had once tried to build an unsuccessful repulsor-lift monorail system in the underground. The entrances had been demolished when the project went belly-up, but you could still get in through ventilation grates.

Whe-too went over and looked at the others. Lyton got the idea and came over, helping the Jedi lift the grate from the ground and move it several feet, causing a large enough gap to slip through.

"These lead to the old subways." Whe-too explained. "I've been living in them."

He led them down, grabbing a set of metal rungs on the wall placed there for maintenance workers. As they made their way down, Whe-too caught the familiar scent of metal and electricity that had become his home.

The ladder ended in a small alcove in a wall. Before Whe-too was a seven foot drop to more metal grating, over which ran a two inch thick guide bar for the trains to run on top of. Whe-too went down another small ladder and dropped to the metal below the thin bar, followed closely by the others.

"This is the ninety-three 'Central Line' tube, westbound." Whe-too read from a small plate next to the ladder he had just made his way down.

"Which way is west?" Asked the girl.

"The bars were built with a rotating electro-magnet system in them, to help propel the trains. They usually are still workable. If we could get a small bit of metal and place it on the bar, we would just have to head in the direction of the metal."

Without waiting for the others, Whe-too ripped a button from his jacket and placed it under the bar. instantly, the magnet picked it up and, with it's alternating charge, sent the button wheeling off to the left.

"And there we go…" Whe-too said with a flourish. "Follow me."

He led them in the direction of the button. In only a few minutes they came into the first old, decrepit, unused station. Cracked tiles on the walls were covered in dust, and this was home to spiders of many sizes and descriptions. A perpetual power cell kept teh place partly lit, but half the lights flickered and teh rest were out completely. A half-lit sign, far above teh group, read "Tot-Sing Hamm Station".

"How long since these were used?" Someone asked.

"Eight years." Whe-too said, guiding them past the station into the next tunnel. He pulled a small glow-rod from his pocket and lit it, causing an eerie green glow about the tunnel. "They were a miserable failure. No one wanted to use them. The tech was too low and it was too uncomfortable."

They made their way on in silence, passing three more stations. Finally, at one marked "Naboo Memorial Station", Whe-too stopped, finding a small set of stairs up into the station.

"We're about ten blocks from the West Block, but the stations after this one are mainly collapsed in. It would be hard going." Whe-too said.

He led them up and into the station. Passing over unused floors, kicking up dust, they made their way to the stations foyer. The exit doors far up flights of stairs were blocked off, but Whe-too knew that maintenance tunnels could bring them another three blocks closer to the West Block.

Whe-too led the motley group to a small crack between a set of stairs up to the doors and teh far wall to the eastbound tunnels. Sliding through the crack, Whe-too indeed found himself in maintenance tunnels. Broken down maintenance droids hung on unactive chargers. Passing between them, Whe-too made his way to a repulsorlift, large enough for the whole group. Checking it quickly, he knew that it worked.

"Everybody on." He spoke.

"You expect that to hold us?" Luscious asked.

"Indeed I do. Get on." Whe-too had made his way to the controls and waited. Slowly, the group finally got on the pad.

"Hold on. These can go fast." Whe-too hit a button and the machine lurched up, slowly at first, then building speed. After about five feet, they came to a gap in the wall. The repulsorlift slowled, then began a horizontal shift, entering the gap and building speed. Whe-too's hands deftly controlled it's movement, guiding it down tunnels and through more of the maintenance rooms. Finally, he stopped it in another maintenance room. The machine lowered to the ground slowly.

"Alright, we should be below the West Block right now." He stepped from the machine and scanned the walls.Finally, he found another alcove with a ladder. He made his way over and climbed it. The top was blocked by a small manhole cover. Pressing it with the Force, the lid slid open. Poking his head out, Whe-too made sure the coast was clear, tehn pulled himself out. They were in an alley in the West Block, near the media district.

"There," he said, as teh others came into teh light. "That wasn't that bad."

Re: After The Fall

Tyrell stood next to Chevon Kowal, the commanding officer of the squadron serving as test pilots. Even when the CO had chosen an individual name, his appearance gave it away that he was one of the genetically-modified soldiers created for the Grand Army of the Republic. To Tyrell it was confusing that the commander looked the same as his pilots, even when there were subtle differences. Luckily the pilots had different rank badges, so it was possible for Tyrell to tell them apart.

Squadron Leader Kowal pointed to different buildings on the holographic map in front of them. “These ones would be perfect, Sir.” He addressed Tyrell. “At this tower we can show the superior firepower of the TIEs. And this smaller building can be used to demonstrate the accuracy of the target systems.” Tyrell nodded slowly. “Yes, we should make sure that the area will be evacuated.” A short glance at his wrist-chrono showed him that they hadn’t much time. “The ground troops have to be advised accordingly to take care of that.” Kowal showed a small smile, but his eyes were emotionless. “They will take care of it, as long as it is for the good of the Empire.”

It wasn’t the eyes, but that smile that caused a shiver running down Tyrell’s spine.

***
At the arranged time Tyrell met Dodonna in the hangar of the Captain’s personal shuttle. Maximillian was in a downright good mood, while his friend appeared more pensive. “What’s wrong?” Dodonna asked as they sat down in the passenger area. “Don’t tell me that the TIEs aren’t ready!” Tyrell shook his head. “No, the TIEs are working perfectly, of course.” Dodonna chuckled. “Of course. I heard the engineer is a smart guy.” Tyrell smirked. “Thanks, but nevertheless I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Dodonna patted his friend’s shoulder. “You intellectuals think too much. Just enjoy the dinner party and that the day will end as a triumph for the Galactic Empire.”

***

Tyrell pushed away all negative thoughts and fears about the upcoming tests. Trained his whole life the CEO of Dunn Industries managed it to small-talk with the attending cabinet members.  Obviously the politicians relaxed slowly as they noticed that the Imperial officers were no barbarians but gentlemen. The excellent wine as well as the opulent meal were helpful as well. The liveried servants were about to place wide bowls with Neuvian Sundaes in front of the guests as Dodonna leant closer to Tyrell. “It’s time for the demonstration.” Tyrell stared for a moment at the immense dessert of frozen cream and fruit in front of him. “Let’s hope that they will not loose their appetite. It would be a pity.” Tyrell replied dryly, while taking the comlink out of his pocket.

Pressing the button to send the order for the attack to the squadron, Tyrell rose from his chair. “Gentlemen, may I have your attention, please? If you would follow us to the terrace. The Captain and I would like to present the newest technology of the Empire.”

Turokano and his ministers followed them outside, curiosity on their faces. The president, holding a cup of caf he had taken from the table, looked puzzled at the Imperial officers. That look changed quickly into a mask of fear as the squadron of TIE fighters shot down on them, changing their course just ten meters above them into the directions of their first mark.
 
“Can I give you a hand?” Tyrell asked friendly as he offered a table napkin to the President whose shirt and jacket were covered with the hot beverage now. But Turokano didn’t notice him, his eyes wide as the pilots hit their target.

Tyrell felt his own heart beat faster as he saw the tower tremble under the impact of the squadron’s combined firepower.

Re: After The Fall

Suriah waited patiently at the mouth of the tunnel access until her eyes began to adjust. It was growing late and the shadows were long. She drew on the Force yet again, firming her projected disguise. In the dark of the transit system she'd felt safe enough to let it slide a little, in spite of the myriad of presences she could feel living in the abandoned tunnels. They hadn't been any threat.

She turned her senses outward as the group made its way quietly down the alley towards the street. She paused for a moment, reaching out for any sense of danger. Her amber eyes narrowed, and she frowned. Something was out of place. Yes, that was exactly it. Something was missing.

She glanced at Lyton, one eyebrow raised. "Clones feel… similar, right?"

The man had served in the Clone Wars, and he grasped her meaning instantly. "Nearly identical," he confirmed. He frowned as he sent his own feelers out, and turned to the others. "There aren't any clones in the area. Not for quite a ways."

"That's good- right?" Suriah ventured hesitantly, but she could see from the frowns on the faces of all four men that they had their suspicions.

Whe-too shook his head slowly. "It makes no sense. This is a planet-wide movement. Neglecting one part of the city makes absolutely no-"

The old Jedi cut off as Suriah cried out, clutching at her head. A distant explosion boomed across the city almost simultaneously, and a second later the other two Jedi winced as they felt a large number of lives snuffed out.

The group ran out to the street, and could see, off towards the capital, smoke rising. And something else. Fighters.

"They're attacking," Suriah gasped. "Killing people." Because of us, she thought, though she didn't voice the thought aloud. She hardly needed to, the grim expressions on the faces of her companions said it all.  

From the way Wee-too glanced sidelong at her, she knew her disguise had dropped with the mental shock. Suriah felt her hands shaking. She clenched her fists, and took a moment to regain her control and center herself. She knew, in that moment, that this was only going to get worse. More people would die, and she needed to shield herself from it.

More explosions followed, first one, off to the east, then another, closer.  

Suriah flinched both times, clenching her fists. She found the group looking at her uncertainly, and realized she must look terrified. She shook her head.

Rask came back from the mouth of the alleyway. "We need to move, now." He commanded harshly. "This is a perfect-"

The whine of twin sets of engines cut him off, and a pair of what must be fighters flew overhead, fast and low. The sound almost deafened them. They barely had time to react.

A huge explosion rocked the ground beneath them as a building barely one block down collapsed in a cloud of dust and fire.

They all stared at one another for a moment, their ears ringing, while the gravel settled. Then all hell broke loose.

Screams tore through the air, and people ran down the street past their hiding place in a panic.

Suriah felt numb.

Rask swore savagely. "Now! We go now. Before they blow up anything else."

Lyton glanced up at the sky where the fighters had flown, and looked at Lucious. "Those are new."

Lucious kept a straight face, but Lyton could see the worry. "This way," he gestured, and followed Rask into the flood of people moving away from the bomb site.

Suriah felt the Jedi grab her arm and pull her with them out into the street, but she was barely aware of her legs working. All she could feel was the continued assault of the fear and pain of the people around them. It took all her focus to keep it at bay.

It was becoming obvious why the academy hadn't focused very hard on her lightsaber training.

They ran with everyone else down the shadowed side of the street. They went with the flow of people running away from the explosion for a block or two. There they ducked into another dark alley between the huge corporate structures, and finally slowed a bit. Rask led the way, Lucious close behind.

"I hope you know where you're going, Rask."

"Not far," he grunted. "We've had to go off course, so we'll have to double back."

Lyton dropped back to make sure they weren't followed, leaving Suriah with Whe-too. He put a kindly hand on her arm as they walked quickly away from the main street. "Breath, child."

Suriah found herself listening to him, and the ringing in her ears faded.

They had taken a number of twists and turns at this point, and she was no longer sure where they were. It was dim, nearly pitch black, in the narrow corridors between the buildings. No architects had bothered to put windows here. She supposed it was to their advantage.

Rask finally stopped in front of some storage crates, mostly full of junk parts. They were stacked on one another fairly high, and the whole arrangement was carefully haphazard.

He began lifting and moving a few crates in the middle of the mess. "Help me. Just these here." He pointed to a number in succession, near the crate he had already moved. "Don't touch any others. We'll all regret it."

Suriah helped the others, and eyed the rest of the large pile warily. She wondered what they'd hidden in the mess of junk.

"Well, now we know why there weren't any clones in the area," Lucious commented.

Lyton nodded. "I don't even hear any emergency sirens," he said quietly.

"Are you sure your friends are still going to want to help you?" Rok muttered darkly.

"As long as you've got the creds," Rask retorted. "After this, they might be inclined to add a bit more to your tab."

They finished moving the crates in silence.

Behind the crates was a doorway cut into the foundations of the building. Stairs led down into the dark.

"That could have gone better," Rok commented as he followed the group down the stairs.

"And could have gone much worse," Whe-too smiled wryly.

Re: After The Fall

The group made their way down the stairs, into the basement of the building, where they found another door. Where the first door had been more or less normal, this one was obviously meant to deter anybody who'd gotten this far without a legitimate (or illegitimate, as it were) reason. It was the kind they used for bank vaults and other high security locations. Lyton wondered briefly what sorts of smuggled goods warranted this kind of security, especially on a backwater like Terrick, but knew better than to ask. He probably didn't want to know anyway.

Rask tapped at the keypad that was set into the door, producing a series of beeps and finally a green light. There was a thunk, and the door swung open. Lyton looked around the room as they entered it, noting the recessed lighting, the reinforced walls and ceiling. This wasn't just a basement, it was a bunker. Crates of various shapes and sizes were stacked in haphazard piles around the large room, some covered with tarps, some cracked open with puffs of packing material poking out. A folding poker table sat in the open center of the room, a folding chair on either side.

"Have a seat," Rask told them as he closed and locked the security door behind them. "I've got to get ahold of the people who own this place."

"How long will that take?" Lucius demanded, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"Depends," the Bothan shrugged. "Gotta avoid the clone patrols. And I know where I can find him… eventually. It's just a matter of how long he takes to show up."

"What is it he does?"

"He's got a stake in the local planetary media," Rask explained. "It's enough to make him rich by local standards."

Lyton leaned against one cold wall and sighed. This sneaking about and hiding bothered him, as it always had. Part of him longed for a stand up fight, like during the Clone Wars. Of course, back then he was commanding clones, not getting shot at by them. How times changed…

He caught Suriah's flicker of shock and surprise a split second before he heard her cry out. He turned quickly, hand going to his lightsaber hilt as he caught sight of the girl. She was near one of the tarp covered piles, backing away quickly. The tarp was sliding away, and as it fell to the ground with a 'whoosh' Lyton found himself staring at something he hadn't seen in months - a Separatist Destroyer Droid, more commonly known as a Droideka.

The reaction from the group at large was instantaneous. Lyton drew and activated his lightsabers in one quick motion, positioning them before him in a defensive posture.

Lucius dove to one side, rolling behind a stack of crates and eager to avoid whatever mayhem was about to erupt.

Rok had his blaster out and trained on the battle droid faster than Lyton would have expected.

Whe-too's hand disappeared into the many folds of his beggar disguise, possibly going for a weapon, but it stayed only briefly. When his hand reappeared it was still empty, and his head was tilted to one side.

Rask, after the initial surprise of both seeing a battle droid and seeing just about everybody else draw a weapon, threw his hands up and started shouting. "Woah! No no no no! It's not active!"

"What the frell is one of those things doing in here?" Rok demanded, lowing his weapon and giving Rask a harsh look.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" he asked, looking extremely relieved that nobody had damaged the droid.

"No…" Lucius stood and dusted himself off with as much dignity as he could muster, "No, I don't believe you did. Why don't you do that now?"

"I recognize these," Lyton said, kicking open another nearby crate. It was filled with blaster rifles of a distinct design… the kind used by Separatist battle droids during the Clone Wars. He looked up at Rask, lightsabers safely back on his belt. "What's going on here?"

"One of the reasons I know I can trust my friend here, and one of the reasons I know he won't turn you in, is because of this. He sells old Separatist weaponry to people who have no love for this new Empire. They left a lot of it lying around, you know, back when they surrendered. I guess not all of them were ready to stop fighting."

Rok grunted, a sound that might have held a tone of agreement.

Lyton was exasperated. An arms dealer? Selling droidekas and who knew what else to rebellious factions? There was a time when the Jedi would have been all over that, shutting down the operation for the safety of the Republic's citizens. Of course, the Empire had seen to it that there were no more Jedi. The irony hardly escaped him.

"Give him my card, won't you?" Lucius said, smiling tightly. "May come a time I'll be needing his services." At this, Suriah shot Lyton a look that said 'and this is what you're signing up for'.

"Might I suggest we get on with what we're here for?" Whe-too inquired.

"Right," Rask agreed. "Look, just stay here. I'll be back as soon as I can. Just… don't touch anything else, ok? Please?"

*********

Hendricks wasn't just mad. Mad would have meant his face was two shades lighter. Currently, it was approaching purple, making appear as if the large man was either being strangled or having a heart attack. And the second option wasn't too far off. "They bombed my city!" he bellowed, slamming his hand down on the table. It jumped from the impact, sending cups and classes clattering over the edge. "They killed innocent civilians! They killed… even the damn Separatists didn't do that!"

"I don't see that there's much we can do about it, boss," the twi'lek who had wired their explosive speeder looked longingly at the puddle of expanding liquor that had been his drink just moments ago. "They've got bombers, right? Fighters. A frelling capital ship and a whole army a' clones! Whadda we got? Speeders packed with explosives, and some small arms. What are we gonna do?"

"Well, we've gotta do something, Kaplin" Hendricks growled, rubbing his chin. "Can't just let the sons a' banthas get away with this."

"Did you hear?" One of the other conspirators sat heavily into a chair. "They stopped all the emergency vehicles at their damn roadblocks."

"What're the newsies gonna say about that?" Hendricks wondered. Whatever the Imperials wanted, he answered himself.

"I don't know, but lots of people aren't happy," The twi'lek, Kaplin, replied.

"You're not kidding," A woman watching the door put in, "I've got a friend in the police force, right? Said they were ordered to cooperate with the clones. They had our own people there at the checkpoints, stopping ambulances."

"Frellin' traitors," the third conspirator grumbled.

"Enough o' that," Hendricks snapped.

"It's not like they wanted to," The woman said darkly. "It was either obey orders or get shot, right? What would you have done?"

The man muttered down into his glass noncommittally.

"Hey," Kaplan mused, "You've got friends on the force?"

"Yeah…"

"And they're not happy with what's going on, right?"

"Well, no…"

Kaplan turned to Hendricks and smiled. "Hey boss, I just got an idea about how we can get some better weapons."

"Not bad," Hendricks nodded. "If they're willing. But even the police don't have stuff heavy enough to fight the war I'm lookin' to start." He glowered at the table in general, as it were responsible for all of Terrick's problems. "What they did, we've gotta hit 'em back hard…"

"Scholtz is coming," the woman at the door called back into the room. Hendricks perked up. Scholtz had been out on the streets, keeping an eye open for anything interesting. "Looks like he's got news."

A few moments later, Scholtz came sauntering into the back of the bar. He pulled up a seat and smiled. "Boss, you're not gonna believe this. Roadblock near Mueller Ave just got nailed. Same kinda job as ours, looks like. Smaller 'splosion, though. Fewer crisped clones, but the message is there."

"We're not the only ones fightin' the good fight, eh?" Hendricks mused. "Good to know…"

*******

Rask hadn't been gone long… a few hours, at most, but the wait had seemed like forever. And despite his request, Lyton had taken the time to look through a few more crates. So far as he could tell, there was only the one droideka. But there was a plethora of everything else - pistols, rifles, shoulder mounted missile launchers, mines, grenades, missiles for the missile launchers… it was enough weaponry to start the next clone wars. And it was all right there. Lyton had to resist the urge to help himself to a few extra bits of weaponry. It wasn't easy.

When Rask returned, he didn't come along. An urbane looking human was with him. The man's expression was tough to read, but if he let the force do the looking Lyton could tell the man was worried. "Hello," Lucious was the first to introduce himself. "Who might you be?"

"Sal Conroy," the stranger lowered his head in greeting. "Mr. Ne'Teya tells me you're in need of safekeeping." He looked over the group, his expression revealing nothing until he came to Suriah, at which point he raised an eyebrow. "That can be arranged, for the right amount of money. Rask tells me you're good for it, and I trust him. Of course, he also tells me that you plan on stealing an Imperial spacecraft. I'm curious, how do you plan to go about doing that?"

"Well," Rok mused with an evil grin, "There is a droideka in the corner…"

Sal raised his other eyebrow.

Re: After The Fall

Imperial Center
Hospital Plaza, former Galactic Senate Medcenter

Raspy and painful-sounding breathing echoed through the sterile room, and the scent of bacta and human decay sickened Landon Williams’ stomach, but he only leaned over and took the fragile claw of a hand reaching out for him.  “Father.”

“Son.”  Rusty, or formally Ryushin Williams, looked back at his child with pain-glazed eyes that held a vast emptiness.  “You should go outside.  Get some fresh air.”

“Like there’s any place that would compare to home on this steel-ridden planet,” Landon tried to joke but his voice broke subtly.  It killed him to bring his dying father away from the lush and beautiful home they had on Naboo onto this stale planet, but the best doctors in the Galaxy resided at the chosen home of the Emperor and therefore Landon would also.

“Your mother was fond of the Imperial Gardens,” Rusty rasped softly, his eyes dimming.  “She loved the flowers.”

“I know.”  Landon blinked back tears at the sight of the once-strong man now laying helpless on a foreign planet and longing for the love of his life.  “I know, Father.  We have every investigator in the Galaxy looking for her.”

“No use.”  Rusty started coughing, a sound that frightened his son to the depths of his soul from the hacking that seemed to tear his frame apart.

“Don’t you give up on me.”  It hurt him to keep this false cheeriness up, but he had to make his father fight for whatever time he had left.  Rusty Williams had lived a full eighty-plus years and he could live another decade if he so desired.

Rusty simply shook his head.  His hair in the past year had gone from a dignified salt-and-pepper to full white from the shock of Mitra Nodaii Williams’ disappearance.

A year ago, Mitra had left Naboo by herself to meet with Rusty on then-Coruscant for a lovely vacation together on Zeltros.  Landon had stayed at home to look over his part of the family’s mercantile business, of which he had only recently been allowed to be named a partner.  Then Mitra’s ship disappeared.

It didn’t float off into space.  It didn’t crash on a meteor or nearby planet.  It simply vanished.

Immediately both Williams men started every means that money could buy to find Mitra, from paying an exorbitant amount of credits to the military to do extra sweeps of the area to hiring the best private investigators in the Galaxy to search for any trace or clue of what happened.  But every effort proved futile, and now Rusty was dying of heartbreak from losing his one and true love.

One and true love.  Landon fought back the cynical bitterness that filled his soul at the idea.  After his mother’s disappearance he thought he found that figure for himself in a woman he met, and now…

“Gods above, Landon, are you going to stay here all day?!”  The screeching voice of Jadis Merdai grated on Landon’s nerves as she swept into the room.

Landon watched his wife broodingly, studying with dull interest the glittering golden-brown eyes that had once entranced him, and the lithe figure that once made him instantly full of tenderness and desire only bored him now.  The only reason he didn’t divorce her was because of his religious beliefs in the sacrament of marriage.

“Aren’t we going to do anything fun for a change?” Jadis whined.

Sometimes his religious principles made him want to become an atheist.

“Jadis!” he only reprimanded shortly, glancing at his father with an apologetic look.  But Rusty waved a veined hand.

“Perhaps you can convince him to take a quick walk outside, Jadis,” Rusty spoke kindly to his daughter-in-law.  Jadis inched away from him, her distaste for his age and illness apparent in her body language.  “It’ll do you both good.”

“Father…”

“C’mon, Landon!”  Jadis grabbed his arm and dragged him out before he could utter another protest.  “Honestly, why we have to stay in this awful place all day…”

“My father happens to be dying, Jadis, in case you forgot.”  But the words had emptiness behind them.

“But we’re on Imperial Center!  This is just the place to launch our name into society and never go back to that backwater planet of Naboo.  I mean, this is the place to be, Landon!”

Landon thought achingly of the clear-water lakes and the crisp green foliage of his homeworld, and the smell of the water.

In his mind he remembered floating on top of the lake in front of his home with his mother’s calm voice as she held him in her arms.  “There is a force of life in every being, Landon.  Even in every tiny leaf on a tree…”

But suddenly in his mind the picture changed to him holding a child, with long dark hair and a wide smile, listening to him say the words.

He could hear the soft but happy laughter, and his voice responding.  “Petra…”

“Landon?” Jadis interrupted his thoughts.  “You look a million lightyears away.”

“Jadis,” Landon paused then spoke quietly.  “Did you ever think of children?”

“Yes, of course.  Perhaps one so it doesn’t ruin my figure. I’d like a girl to dress up and teach how to dance and flirt,” she started prattling a mile a minute.  

Simply tuning her out with a practiced ear, Landon murmured, “Yes, a little girl.  I’d like a daughter someday.”

Re: After The Fall

The bombs fell on Terrick, their shock waves sending out ghostly rings of tortured air. TIE Bombers streaked overhead, black objects against an amber sky. The area where the targets were designated were bloody with the smoke and dust of the unexpected attack on its citizens. The ground was pocked with craters, and in the near distance wrecked speeders smoldered, trailing black smoke. Crushed buildings lay scattered on the raw earth like broken eggshells, black jelly that might once have been sentient beings oozed through the rubble from collapsed structures.

Tyrell Dunn stood by Captain Dodonna, his face in shock at what he just witnessed.

Thankfully, President Turokano and his ministers could not smell the destruction from where they were standing, their caffas ignored entirely from watching the spectacle. Only the stink of his own sweat and a slight tang of hot metal reached his nostrils. This, he reflected, was the horror of war. The unspeakable wonder, the sights that could never be forgotten, burned into his brain to emerge in the nightmares of tomorrow.

Turokano struggled for air, tried twisting his face to the side to watch no more. He couldn't think of anything else for several seconds as he finally began to gain control of himself and spoke out. "Wh… what is the meaning of this?!"

Captain Dodonna stepped forward and folded his hands behind his back. "I think you understand my meaning well, Mr. President. Think of it as merely a sign of things to come if your government does not step up it's standards to help the Empire in its purpose."

Fury replaced shock. "Wha.. what?!" Turokano began to clentch his fists. "And you demonstrate your point by killing <I>innocent</i> civilians?!"

"Innocent?" Dodonna questioned. "I think not, Turokano. Every citizen who withholds information in helping to locate the Jedi are considered guilty in the eyes of the Galactic Empire. This is merely a warning to them."

"If… if you bomb one more cityblock, or any of our cities, I'll.. I'll.."

Dodonna smiled. "Careful, Mr. President. I just might take those words as a threat against our Emperor. That would be more than enough for me to arrest you and your cabinet. I have no reservations with replacing you with an Imperial Governor under a regional Moff." He paused then, staring down at him and, even though the light of sunset was getting dim, Turokano was aware he would make his word true, those sharp eyes under that officer's cap didn't betray anything.

Turokano glared. "Well, either arrest me, or talk. But make the right choice. Otherwise, the consequences will be quite unpleasant."

The Imperial captain gave a short bark, a laugh that was somehow forced. "I trust you to make the right choice, instead. I know you wish to remain in power, so I am sure you will cooperate with us."

He smirked. "What do you want?"

"What I want is quite easy." Dodonna's tone was all brisk business now. "All I ask is that you mandate your police force to coorperate with the Empire in hunting down the Jedi. I want your men to infiltrate your own citizens and turn in any who are suspicious of harboring them. Our Imperial agents would easily be spotted by the Jedi, so that is why you must help us."

"So now my own police force is being controlled? Have– " He broke off. It was bad enough he would have to accept these losses of his own citizens in his own conscience. He didn't want to lose more. "Very well. I shall comply. But I will direct my men…"

Dodonna nodded. "If you wish to play it that way. But remember, <I>I</I> give the orders and <I>you</i> take them. Otherwise, matters will be adjusted. Trust me."

It was on the tip of Turokano's tongue to tell him just exactly where he could go, but he bit the impulse back. "I will do as the Emperor says, Captain Dodonna," he replied, and managed not to growl.

"Now, see? That wasn't so hard," he said. Then, seriously, "I expect the first batch of arrested citizens to be gathered at the end of the week. I want to know leads on any Jedi that have been hiding here."

That got his attention. "And what if I don't have leads?"

"Honestly, do you need to think what would happen if I am not provided with anything to work with?" Dodonna retorted. "The sooner I get my Jedi, the sooner we leave your planet. How is that for motivation?"

There it was again, that little hesitation, something that was almost… Turokano's eyes narrowed. "I shall begin our investigation today, Captain."

"Excellent, Mr. President," Dodonna smiled, then gestured Tyrell Dunn to the exit of the room. "I will expect a full arrest report and list of suspects by the end of the week. My officers will take charge of the interrogations."

And before President Turokano could say anything more, both men had left his presence and were gone.

Re: After The Fall

Tyrell was quiet while their shuttle flew towards the huge battleship. The self-pleased smile that was playing around the lips of his friend made him angry. People had been killed and Maximillian was looking as if the whole situation was amusing him only. Tyrell wanted to scream at the Captain, but he was raised that a Dunn kept their countenance in every public situation. If he started a fight now both of them would lose faces in front of the shuttle’s pilots. So he waited for the right moment.

He remained silent until they reached Dodonna’s private quarters on the <i>Eradicator</i>. Maximillian filled two glasses with Corellian whiskey. The amber-coloured liquid was shimmering in the light as the Captain handed one to Tyrell. “To our victory!” he announced as he rose his drink for the toast. Tyrell didn’t reply nor sipped some of the expensive Whyren’s Reserve. Dodonna frowned. “What’s wrong, Tyrell?” His friend took a deep breath. “How can you be in such cheery mood? People died because of our… demonstration.” The Captain took another mouthful of whiskey  before answering. “Because they have been enemies of the Empire. And because your ships work as excellent as expected.” Tyrell sighed. “I didn’t know that you would go that far for a test. Killing people… “ Maximillian laughed, but it was a humourless sound. “Tyrell, I never knew that you are that naive. You can’t make credits with constructing war machinery but then expect that the fleet doesn’t use it. Lord Vader made it clear that he wanted us to test if your TIEs are fully functional. We can’t wait for a battle to find out about potential faulty design.”

Tyrell emptied his glass with one big gulp, trying to swallow down his anger about the not very subtle insult. It didn’t work. “And what’s with the arrested suspects? Shall we gather them on the middle of a free plaza and then bomb them from above? For the Imperial weal?” Tyrell grabbed the bottle, refilling his glass. Maximillian crossed his arms. “You should stop drinking, Tyrell. Obviously you had enough already.” The Engineer rose an eye-brow. “Pardon?” Dodonna’s blue eyes looked icy. “You are talking dangerously. Sometimes you and your wife sound like separatists.” Tyrell turned around. “Rubbish. You know very well, that my family and I supported Palpatine from his beginning as senator. I’m worrying only that this whole <i>witch hunt</i> will escalate. Innocent people died today.”

Dodonna shook his head slightly. “We have to take action against those rebels. The Clone Wars brought enough harm to the Galaxy. The New Order will bring peace. And that can be achieved only by finding the agitators.” Tyrell rubbed his face. “What will you do, when Turokano presents them to you? Execute all of them?” Again Dodonna shook his head. “No, they will be send to Kessel or other planets where we need cost-efficient production.” Tyrell’s eyes widened. “<i>Cost-efficient production?!</i> You are talking about slavery! It is against the law!” Maximillian took another sip before answering. “Not any longer. The Emperor made some amendments last week. It’s a merciful alternative to everything that would be necessary otherwise. Forced to labour they can make a positive contribution to the Empire.” With a smirk he added. “Maybe Dunn Industries needs some cheap workers? I’m sure you will not complain about saving money. And there will be no trouble with any unions at all.”  

***

Later that night Tyrell was lying awake in his bunk, staring at the grey ceiling. Maximillian’s words were running through his mind. He was right, that the war had been very profitable for Dunn Industries, making them one of the top players of armaments industry. The credits they had made with ships and weapons needed by the Grand Army allowed his family a more than comfortable lifestyle. Should he risk this life for some ethical values? He wasn’t as naive as his friend had called him. Tyrell knew very well, what his constructions were capable of. But knowing it or watching some clips about destruction in the news was totally different to seeing it happen in front of his own eyes. But he trusted Maximillian. They knew each other since almost fifteen years now. Dodonna was a hard man, the typical model naval officer, but he wasn’t cruel. He would never give orders for unneeded bloodshed.

Turning around in his bed Tyrell was wondering what Lanah and Traven were doing right now. He didn’t know even what time it was on their home planet, newly named Imperial Center. But he knew that he missed them.

Re: After The Fall

"Well," Rok mused with an evil grin, "There is a droideka in the corner…"

Sal raised his other eyebrow. "You," he finally said into the resulting speculative silence, "Are going to need a good deal more credits than initially discussed." He glanced sidelong at Lucious.

Lucious pulled a wry face and sighed. He glanced around at the group. "I expect you will all attempt to figure out a way to do this without employing the droideka?"

Lyton shrugged slightly, and glanced at the other two men. They returned his shrug. "It would make a marvelous distraction." Lyton knew Lucious was good for it- especially with three Jedi in his care.

Lucious looked as though he'd swallowed something awful, but glanced over at Sal. "Shall we retire to discuss terms?" He suggested as cheerfully as he could manage.

"We'll work on it," Lyton pacified Lucious with a nod as the two men left the room.

The Bothan, Rok, and the other two Jedi began to discuss options for nabbing an Imperial ship. Suriah sat at the far end of the table they'd all gathered around, feeling patently useless. These were all men used to military action, and she really had no part in the planning. It left her without much to dwell on besides the obvious holes in their plan, everything that was left to chance, and all the things that could possibly go wrong. Her gaze kept being drawn back to the droideka in the corner- she'd known, academically, that the machines existed, but she'd never seen one up close.

She really had no desire to see its capabilities demonstrated.

What Rok saw as the perfect distraction would end the lives of many. It felt wrong to her, even though they were the enemy.

A wave of homesickness, or something similar, gripped Suriah. A sense of incorrect timing. She wasn't meant for this series of events- for what amounted to war. She'd had no exposure, not enough training. A kind of fear was gripping her as she realized she would be more of a liability than a help to anyone she came across. She briefly clenched her fingers around the contents of the pouch at her side. The holocrons, full of knowledge that would likely be otherwise lost to the Jedi after the next few years. Her responsibility.

She was sure the Force had led her here for a reason, but she couldn't see it.

"You okay?" Lyton queried suddenly, his eyebrows drawn together in concern.

Suriah looked up at him, startled, and nodded slowly. She hadn't realized their conversation had come to a halt. "Yeah… yeah. Just the tension out there…" she trailed off, her voice sounding strained even to her ears. She met Lyton's eyes and saw a worried understanding there. Whe-too frowned. The Rask and Rok exchanged a glance as if to say "Jedi."

It was true, she realized. She hadn't been monitoring her feelings as she should have been. The fear and tension of everyone on the planet was soaking into her like bad water into earth, and she couldn't let it affect her like this. "I'll be fine. I just need to focus a bit."

Whe-too stood up. "You need to remember your training now, more than ever," he chided gently. He glanced at the others. "So, we're going to scout out the temporary landing sites, correct?"

Lyton nodded. "It's a good first step. We need to fix on the best target. Rask doesn't think Sal will have any information that can help us, so our best bet is to find it on our own, and quickly."

They all stood, and began checking equipment. Suriah stood as well, reaching somewhat automatically for the lightsaber she still wore bound to the small of her back. She paused at Lyton's hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you stay here?"

Suriah opened her mouth to protest- they might need her to help sneak past sentries, or anyone too interested.

He forestalled her. "We can handle this," Lyton said quietly. "And we'll need you at your best when we're actually ready to do this thing. Stay. You'll be safe here."

The other members of the party were already moving towards the door. Whe-too grasped her arm and gave her a somewhat mysterious look. "Trust the Force. It is no accident we all found each other here." Suriah watched the man leave, slouching back down into his street gutter disguise. Her doubts had been projecting themselves loudly.

With a sigh, she settled down into a chair as the door closed behind them. She was alone in the small room. Suriah knew she should probably sleep or meditate, as she had no idea when she would get a chance like this again. She felt too muddled to sleep, so she settled on the floor into a mediative position and breathed deeply, bracing herself for the mental impact that would come when she opened herself fully to her surroundings. Suriah focused on the buzzing always in the back of her skull, and the pain, fear, and collective barely controlled panic that was spreading over the surface of the planet assaulted her senses. Under it all was a disturbing sense of satisfaction trampling some murmuring doubts- the Imperials were pleased with themselves. But not all of them. Struggling to take it all in without letting it take over, she envisioned her control panel again. Slowly, one by one, she began to dial the knobs back until she felt collected again.

The old exercise helped, probably as much for its familiarity as anything else. However, even calm, she couldn't forget the severity of the emotions that had assailed her. She could restore balance for herself- but what could she do for the people of this planet? She had been taught that her abilities were hers for a reason, and that she should always trust them.

At the moment, everything in her was screaming that she should be finding a way to rid the people of this planet of all those emotions. Restore their balance too. She could, of course, project courage and strength, but that was a short term fix, and something she could not keep up for long.

What would happen to this place when they escaped? What would the Empire do? Were the lives of three Jedi worth so much suffering for so many innocent people?

You are some of the last.

It echoed in her mind in the voice of her old Master, and tears sprang to her closed eyes as she acknowledged the truth of it. It was the natural way of life to struggle to exist and live, and the Jedi had that right as much as any other being in the galaxy. The Jedi would need the knowledge she carried in her and with her, and they would need fighters like Lyton and Whe-too to help protect those who were left. But without the fighters- that knowledge would never survive.

Suriah let out a long slow breath and opened her eyes. She had been slowly forming a decision, and now she knew what it was.

She carefully untied the knots that held the small sack of holochrons to her belt. She held them for a moment, and focused on her decision before laying them down on the table. She pulled her com unit off her belt, and flipped it to record mode.

Her voice was soft and calm. "These holochrons contain all the knowledge of my Master and our research. If anything should happen to me, protect these at all cost, and get them to whatever Jedi you may find. It is vital what we know isn't lost." She hesistated for a moment, but left it at that. If they knew what she planned to do, they may try to come after her or stop her. By the time they realized what she'd done, she hoped it would also be too late for them to even think about trying a rescue. She figured she could count on Lucious to talk sense into all of them, if only to ensure the safety of the two Jedi he still had.

She tucked the com unit inside the bag, and left it in the center of the table. While she was at it, she took off anything else unnecessary, and left it in the corner of the room- everything except her lightsaber. She held it tightly for a moment, and then decided she couldn't leave it. It would be more convincing if she went in armed.

She had to leave now, before anyone returned.

The Empire was holding the planet ransom for a Jedi. And she'd give them one.

They had come here following Lyton- he'd obviously been in trouble from the moment he showed up. There was a decent chance they may have suspicions about her already. They didn't know Whe-too was here, she was nearly certain.

Most importantly, she was the one of the three with the right talent to make the Empire's officials believe that Lyton was already dead. It would be the first time she had used her empath skills to tell a lie when it truly mattered- but she knew from experience that it was easier to get people to believe what they already wanted to believe. If she could stall them long enough for the rest of the party to get off the planet, or better yet, convince them and get them to let up their seizure of the planet, it would be worth it. The people of this place would suffer less.

If she failed- well, she was but a single blade of grass.

Taking a deep breath, she walked up the stairs and out into the alleyway.

Re: After The Fall

It had been very hard to leave that fine military hardware behind… even if armaments like it had been used against me for years, Sepheron added silently.  But weapons had no masters; indeed, they were but tools - it was the people who used them who were the weapons, the killers, the destroyers.

The one-time soldier put the philosophies of his "favourite" spec-ops trainer out of his mind and concentrated on looking like just another frightened city-dweller.  While some parts of the city were firmly under the white bootheel of the Empire, others were still free - if by 'free' one meant scared, paniced and often angry.  It was these areas that were the best candidates for locating a procurable vessel.  Sepheron purposely left the word "easily" out of that description, as he knew it would be anything but.

The two landing sites they had scouted so far had been much too far removed from "easily" that any attempt to secure the shuttle on the landing pad would have been suicidal, especially since the attention it would have drawn would have made the trip lethally short.  The fact that they were situated on pads previously used by local law enforcement craft, and that the inhabitants were giving them a wide berth, made them too risky.

Sepheron would have been more than happy to unleash the droideka they had found on the clones guarding the ships, or even on anyone else who happened by as a distraction; but he knew his allies would almost certainly never go for it.  Jedi tended to be sticklers for avoiding unnecessary deaths and suffering, which was often, to his mind, inconvenient.  Jian-Han had frequently spoken about his attitude in this regard, with little success.  Sepheron suspected his friend had always known he had tempered his wilder instincts only to avoid censure, rather than out of a real determination to change for the 'better'.

Besides, he might need that cut-throat attitude to get out of this mess, and then…  How am I ever going to find that last clone during this invasion, anyway? Sepheron thought in disgust.  So much for that vital mission.  That thought filled him with more anger than he would have believed possible.

He watched the backs of his three comrades as they forged a path through the crowd around them, people scattering as they carried their most precious belongings in the hope of outrunning the Imperial invasion force.  The same expression was on everyone's face - fear.  The Jedi had a saying about fear, Sepheron recalled.  No doubt it would be proven true before long.  He wondered if the Jedi, the Bothan and the old beggar would notice or care if he abandoned them to finish his own mission.

Just ahead of him, Lyton turned around and frowned at him.  "Keep up," the other said before continuing on himself.  Sepheron muttered something unflattering and followed.  Survival before pleasure.


"It's definitely better than the last two," Lyton conceded.  He handed the macrobinoculars back to Sepheron.  "It's a civilian landing site rather than a military or paramilitary one.  Less defences."  Looking again, Sepheron nodded.

"I concur," he murmured, taking another glance around the target.  They had a good view of the area from their vantage point on the top of a small building just down the road from it.  Their position on the roof was concealed by the old metal lean-to set in the lea of the stairway access.  How Whe-too knew where all these places were amazed him, even though he was well aware of the benefits of being completely familiar with one's 'home' territory.  "The only problem is that it is a medical facility, and likely to be a focus point for terrified and injured locals."

"All the better to be concealed yet in the open," the whifty old Jedi put in, his voice calm like that of a lecturer of strategy.  "To take advantage of the chaos by hiding our ordered purpose within it."  He was sat behind them, apparently not bothering to use his eyes to reconnoitre the target.

"I still think a proper distraction would help," Sepheron said almost hopefully, his desire to cause a little mayhem struggling with his self control.  Inflicting a little damage could be almost soothing.  The look Lyton gave him was almost one of disgust, and as usual Sepheron was unsure if the man was reacting to his spoken or unspoken words.  Instead of responding, he turned back to looking over the target.

Two-storey building, open area out front for groundcars and speeders, covered parking area for ambulances, a queue of sick and injured people leading into the atrium with it's cracked glass ceiling, and the emergency landing pad beyond.  On that, a troop transport - one of the newer CR20s - and a small complement of clone troopers.  Assessment of mission: to secure the medical facility for Imperial use if fighting in that sector produced enough losses to warrant commandeering local resources.

In other words: best to get there and take the ship before more soldiers arrived, injured and with backup.

Something about the troopers made Sepheron frown and dial the magnification up further.  The leader…  The white helmet with it's menacing, blank eyes suddenly filled his vision, and he felt as if he could have seen it as clearly even without the binocs.

Blue bars, for a lieutenant.  23rd Regiment, by his unit markings.  Batch 4, column 3, row 5.  Designation Deca.

It's him.

"We'll take this one," Sepheron stated flatly, his tone allowing no room for argument.  He carefully lowered the macrobinoculars and loosened his grip on them before he accidentally crushed them in his hands.  "And we will need the commander alive… for the clearance codes," he added, as the truth of it hit like a physical blow.

Re: After The Fall

A heavy mist blanketed the surface of Terrick like a shroud as the sun began to fall and evening began to set in. Standing a solitary watch was a rigid figure. Dressed in casual clothes, Tyrell Dunn listened to the lonely cry of the peko peko, a native bird of Naboo, imported by the Terrick government to stimulate growth of wildlife on the planet. It was a serene picture, especially when he recalled tossing and turning in his bunk aboard the <I>Eradicator</i> the other night.

Terrick's president had extended an invitation and insisted they both resided in his palace until the investigations were concluded, or so he hoped they did. Of course, Captain Dodonna accepted.

For some reason, the sound reminded him of a woman wailing. Even though he smelled the rain coming, he didn't seek shelter, as though he wasn't worthy of any protection from the elements. Or perhaps, it was because he didn't seem to feel anything anymore.

"Mr. Tyrell Dunn?" a deep voice called.

Tyrell turned about and marched off the stone balcony into a lushly carpeted hallway. The gold-trimmed crimson rug was meant to look sumptuous, but now it reminded Dunn of a river of blood– and no matter where he turned, he had to walk through it. Standing in the center of the hall was his friend, Maximillian Dodonna, and one of the president's servants. His uniform still remained crisp in olive-drab with his officer's cap. The only sound besides the beginning of the rainfall was his own breathing.

"Sir, he was insistant. I tried to–" the Twil'lek servant spoke up.

Dunn rose his hand to cut him off. "It's fine, Narudo. Please leave us." As soon as the servant left, he folded his arms. "Yes, Captain? Is there something I can do for you this time of hour?" he asked respectfully.

"Tyrell, I came here to simply apologize for my behaviour," Dodonna began without preamble.

Dunn lowered his head. "No need, my friend. I understand what needs to be done, despite on how my feelings reflect on it."

"I'm sorry it has come to this, but we are still at war with the Seperatists," he insisted heavily. "Now is not the time to show the Empire has developed a soft underbelly."

"Even when it comes with a price," Dunn said, raising his head to stare into the bearded face of his friend, which hid the scar he received months back during a fierce fleet battle.

Dunn stood for some time in Dodonna's presence. Not a word was uttered.

"I have orders from the Emperor himself," Dodonna eventually continued, as he started walking down the hallway, "and so do you from Lord Vader." He paused and waited for Dunn to walk by his side. "You knew the capabilities of these fighters and what havoc they can cause," Dodonna continued.

"But I never intended them to be used on civilians." Dunn shot back.

"And that is why you never became a soldier, Tyrell," the Captain explained. "Once we joined the academy, we both went our seperate ways. I became a military tactician and you became a design specialist in our TIE program. We both show great promise but you wanted to engineer, while I…" He left the statement unfinished.

"You became a military man and eventually, we both married," Tyrell continued, "and now here we both are with someone to look forward to seeing back home."

"Yes, and I miss her." Dodonna breathed. "I never meant to become a monster, Tyrell. I'm merely just following orders."

"Yes," Tyrell said, almost tripping over the words. "War becomes the worst of us."

They walked in silence again. Eventually, Tyrell stopped and looked at him. "Why don't you just quit the Imperial Navy? You can come with me. Help me with my designs. You no longer have to be put in these situations again, Max. With you at my side, our company can thrive with your experience and I am sure our military contracts will double."

Captain Dodonna stared at Tyrell for a long time before he spoke. "I wish it could be that simple, my friend," he eventually said. "When I joined the Navy it is what I wanted to do. The galaxy and our Chancellor needed the best to stop this Seperatist movement and I was more than obliged to help. I guess it is in my blood that I must–" The comlink suddenly chimed at his belt.

Dodonna nodded and listened in for a few seconds. "I see," he hissed. "Very well," he said after a brief pause, "we are done for now, Tyrell."

Dunn cocked his head as his curiousity had gotten the better of him. "What is it, Max?" he asked.

"Our clone troopers have taken a Jedi prisoner. Actually, it was reported that she turned herself in." There was no mistaking the chill in his tone. Dodonna walked back to Tyrell and looked at him. "I plan to interrogate the prisoner and find out what she knows," he began, "if you wish to join me, you can– but I do not plan to be lenient to her."

"But Max, you don't know–"

"I'm in full jurisdiction of this matter. I will hear no more of this. Again, I am willing to let you join me. For now." And with that, he turned and departed.

Tyrell didn't know what to make of the captain's pronouncement. He wandered and found himself back on the balcony, watching the clouded sky darken as night drew near.

Re: After The Fall

<i>Meanwhile on Imperial Center</i>

Lanah Dunn wasn’t sure about her appearance as she checked herself in the mirror. The cut of the suit was perfectly her style, haute couture produced by her favourite fashion designer Gaeriel Bonheur. But the <i>Imperial Grey</i>, which seemed to be the colour of the season, made everybody look so uniformed. Maybe that was the reason behind it. A kind of “Support our troops” for the high society.

A knock at her room’s door let her turn around. As Lanah opened, Sirannon Dodonna was waiting for her. Sira was dressed in a similar colour, but opposite to Lanah’s her suit wasn’t custom-built. The Dodonna family was more wealthy than the average Imperial citizen, but couldn’t reach the league the Dunns were <i>playing</i>. Nevertheless the two women had become very good friends over the years. “Sira, are you doing better?” Lanah hugged her friend carefully. The other woman looked a little pale still, but nodded. “Yes, the tea, your butler served, helped against the nausea.” Lanah smiled. “It was my miracle medicine while I was pregnant with Traven.”

They began to wander downstairs. “Did you and Max decide over a name already?” Lanah asked, while she was linking arms with Sira. “No.” The blonde woman shook her head. “Since I’m with child we have seen each other for maybe three days at all. And something like that should be discussed in person, not via holo-messages.” Lanah nodded slowly, sighing. “Yes, this war seems to go on and on. Tyrell is gone since two weeks already too. I miss him terribly and obviously he isn’t allowed to send any messages.” Sira watched her friend, always surprised that Lanah and her husband had such a deep connection despite their arranged marriage. Maybe it was having a child that deepened it, but Sira had noticed it earlier when seeing the Dunns together. She had missed Maximillian always more, when witnessing it, wishing he wouldn’t be away that often. But right now Lanah was experiencing exact the same. Both of them didn’t know where their husbands were at the moment, but Sira knew that no news were good news in such situation. Better than a letter of sympathy from Fleet command.

Sitting down in the library they  waited for the guests that would come to the soiree and charity auction, Lanah was giving for the benefit of war orphans. As Norah brought Traven to them, their topic was of course the child, the progresses he was making, the future that would be wide open for him and the young Dodonna. Suddenly Lanah sighed. “Sira, are you sure that a bright future is waiting for our sons?” Sira frowned. “What do you mean?” Lanah answered seriously. “It is one year since the Clone Wars ended, but there are still fights. They are hunting still Jedi, their sympathisers and separatists. Will that ever end?” Sira smiled, touching her friend’s shoulder. “You must have faith in the Emperor. The New Order will work perfectly very soon. And you can be proud that Tyrell’s TIE fighters will be a part of it, that will secure the safety of the Galactic Empire.”

***  

The auction was a full success. All art items from different periods of Galactic history were sold, bringing a lot of credits that would support the orphanages. Lanah was mingling with the guests, who were enjoying now the opulent buffet. All of them congratulated her to the perfect organisation of the event, also mostly the females told her how adorable her son was as he joined them after some of the guests asked for him. Now he was sitting on the floor nicely, playing with some toy starships. Or so Lanah thought as she was distracted by a Nabooan woman in a clinging simmer silk dress who was flirting at the bar with Lord Angier, an attractive but married man. <i>Lady Angier will not be happy about that.</i>

The couple at the bar was watched by a tall dark-haired bearded man, who had his own thoughts about the scene. His face darkened slightly. Landon Williams was used that his wife wasn’t faithful to him, but it was new that she was flirting with another man right in front of him. Too many drinks he presumed. A sudden tug at his trouser leg drew off his attention from the embarrassing behaviour of Jadis. Landon looked down into the serious face of a toddler, who tried to pull himself up to his feet.

Landon chuckled as he kneeled down, almost on eye-sight with the child. “Well, hello there, Sir.” His hands helped the boy to steady his still swaying stand. The serious look on the boy’s face turned into a first shy, then wider smile. Obviously he was proud that he had accomplished his self-imposed mission of getting up from the floor. Landon couldn’t but smile in return.

The child giggled as Landon tickled his sides, but the movement made him fall on his bottom again. The boy’s eyes widened, his lower lip shivering slightly. “Oh, sorry, young Master.” Landon picked him up on his arms quickly, causing that the smile returned on the toddler’s face. “Let’s look where your Mommy is.”

“Oh, you found Traven.” A woman next to him said relieved. Landon Williams handed the child back to his mother. “Traven… that is a good, strong name, my Lady.” Lanah smiled. “Thank you, Sir. It is a family tradition of the Dunns, that the name of the male heir starts with the letter T. Don’t ask me why. My husband couldn’t answer it.” Landon bowed his head. “Lady Dunn, it’s an honour to meet you in person finally. We haven’t met yet. I’m Landon Williams…”

***

<i>On Terrick </i>

Tyrell was feeling cold as he watched the nightfall. And it wasn’t only the low nocturnal temperatures, that made him shiver. His friend was about to interrogate a Jedi. Tyrell wasn’t sure how far Maximillian would go, but while this mission he had seen a different side of the Captain. A merciless streak. So he was sure, that torture was more than an option. Maybe years of war did that to a man. As an engineer who had lived in luxury while others were dying for his freedom, Tyrell wasn’t in the position to judge his friend’s comportment in this situation. But he wished he wouldn’t know about it.

Re: After The Fall

Suriah's cell was large, as far as cells went– large enough to hold several people and give them room to maneuver. Scraps of food from past prisoners lay scattered around the floor. Green and blue smears of slime oozed down the walls. Tiny dripping sounds were the only noises she could hear. She looked down and struggled again with the Force cuffs applied around her wrists. Her action was in vain. Her lightsaber was also missing.

The young Jedi suddenly heard the click and hum of the deactivation field around the cell doors, and then a grating whirr as hydraulic lifts hauled the huge door upward. As the door raised, garish white light flooded into the room. Suriah clapped her hands over her eyes. She hadn't realized the cell was so dim.

The tall figure in Imperial uniform standing in the door was obviously the leader of this witch hunt on Terrick. As Suriah's eyes adjusted to the light, she could see four other guards behind Captain Dodonna, wearing the standard issued armor of clone troopers with red striping across their bodies.

"I trust you appreciate our hospitality… Jedi?" Dodonna asked.

She merely looked away. "Prisoners would never have been treated like this by the Republic. Let alone Jedi."

Dodonna smiled for just an instant; then his face took on a stern composure again. "Times change. Our Emperor has declared you as all traitors, it is our duty to make sure none of you threaten the stability of the Empire ever again." He glared to one of his troopers. "I hope my troops treated you well. It's important that you are healthy enough to withstand interrogation. We want to learn exactly why you came to Terrick and how many others are here to overtake this government."

"I've told you already they are all <I>dead</I>!," Suriah cried, trying to spread out her hands, but the Force cuffs zapped her. She drew in another long sputtering breath. "I volunteered to surrender so you can stop harassing the natives of this planet and leave. You killed them all and you have me. There is no reason for you to remain here, anymore."

"So you expect me to believe all the Jedi with you were all killed by our bombing runs?" he drew back a sneer on his face. "I find it hard to believe my men were that good at eliminating all of them except you."

She felt her heart pound and subtly stretched out with the Force. "What I speak is the truth. If there were other Jedi here on Terrick, I would have sought them out and found shelter with them. You exterminated the last of them, and there is no reason for me to keep Terrick's citizens tormented because of me. So here I am. You have won. You can now take me back to your Emperor and leave Terrick."

Captain Dodonna stepped backward, clasping his hands behind him. "You may be telling the truth." He shook his head. "But I am still not convinced that you are."

She lowered her voice and planted a suggestion. "You <I>know</I> what I say is the truth. When you bombed the city, one of the explosions wiped out the last of them. There was nothing I could do. It was through the Force that I am still alive."

<I>She may be right. I could finally be done with this mission and go home to Sirannon…</I> Squeezing his eyes, Dodonna waved a hand in dismissal to clear his mind of doubts. "I do not want to hear anymore, Jedi. You may have convinced my officers that indeed you are the last survivor here, but I need to see proof." He steeled his jaw. "I will dispatch my men to find the bodies of these Jedi. Then I will believe you."

"You won't find any. They were vaporized by the bombings…" she whispered another suggestion.

The Imperial captain scowled. He stared at Suriah in silence for a moment. "You assume too much." He reached into the pocket of his tunic and withdrew a small chrono, which he opened to display the time.

"I will be back in a few hours to investigate your claims," he declared. "If I do not find any evidence, I will make sure I will get the truth out of you. Think about it, Jedi, and save yourself from being interrogated by changing your statement anytime."

He stepped out of the cell accompanied by his troopers as the door hissed shut and the field rekindled to full power.

Re: After The Fall

<b>Meanwhile on Imperial Center</b>

“I’m Landon Williams.”  Landon shook the dark-haired woman’s hand firmly while keeping a pleasant expression on his face; he had hoped to meet Tyrell during his stay on Imperial Center, and now, perhaps, he could finally have a face to put with the man that now oversaw Dunn Enterprises.  Since his father handed over the reins of Williams Mercantile Incorporated over to him he still struggled with reaping financial success to the level of the Dunn Empire.

Lanah’s face lit up in recognition as she returned the handshake.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Williams.  My husband will be so disappointed that he wasn’t able to meet you tonight.”

His eyebrow arched upwards in response.  “Your husband left you to host alone?”  Behind him he could hear the flighty laughter of his inebriated wife, making his ears burn with embarrassment.  <i>Jadis, please!  I’m trying to make a suitable impression to an important networking potential!</i>

Apparently Traven had decided that he wanted to be placed back down and explore because he started to reach for one of his mother’s earrings that was encrusted with delicate crystals.

Before he could help himself, Landon’s hand shot out quickly and he grabbed the child’s wrist in a firm yet gentle hold.  “No.”  For a moment, small hazel eyes fierce with stubborn intent locked with Landon’s dark and solemn brown.  Then, finally, Traven reluctantly let go and let his lip jut out slightly in a pout.

“I think we know who to call now if we need help with babysitting,” Lanah managed to say with a laugh, but her eyes rounded with shock from the speed and control Landon managed to put on her son.

“Landon!”  Before he could reply, a female voice shrilled at him and Landon fought a wince as Jadis stumbled over, landing with her full weight on his shoulder.  She was a small woman, but her intoxicated state seemed to weigh down her limbs, making Landon almost stumble but catch her at the last moment.  “I hope my hussband’ss not mono… moni… monop’lizing you,” Jadis managed to slur out with a giggle punctuating the end.

“Milady, my wife Jadis,” Landon managed despite his face turning bright red from Jadis’ antics.  Jadis only laughed with more gusto and slapped his shoulder as if flirting.  The people standing around them seemed to be pausing their conversations to watch and wonder at the strange alcoholic woman from Naboo, but Landon only wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist and spoke loud enough for people to hear, “I’m afraid my wife is still very exhausted from visiting my father this afternoon.  If you don’t mind…?”

“Of course not, Lord Williams,” Lanah quickly helped cover him with a brilliant smile before guiding him towards a side door, signaling for Donal to hurry to Landon’s side and help with Jadis.

Once inside one of the smaller sitting rooms, Landon disposed of his wife’s limp body on the sofa with an unenthusiastic flop.  Inwardly he felt a little sadistic pleasure at her limbs flailing a little before she settled and started snoring from the alcohol in her system.

“For once you couldn’t try to stay sober?” Landon muttered to himself, rubbing his face and beard with a sigh before turning and forcing a pleasant expression on his face.  “Lady Dunn, I apologize for my wife’s behavior.”

Lanah shook her head along with a hand gesture.  Meanwhile, Traven had been put down and crawled over towards the couch to examine the figure on it, pulling himself up to a standing position using the leg and staring with wide eyes at the “Sleeping Alkie” there.

“Lord Williams,” Lanah hesitated before trying to ask graciously the burning question in her mind, “how, may I ask, did you decide to marry… your wife?”  It was common knowledge that most of aristocratic Naboo still believed in arranged marriages, which would explain a lot about the mismatched pairing of educated Landon Williams and his very unsuitable bride of less than a year.

Used to this type of question, Landon only uttered, “It was a love match.”

“Oh-”

“LANDON!”

Both Landon and Lanah spun around to find Jadis shrieking while Traven fell backwards onto his diapered rump and started bawling with frightened hysterics.  Jadis started swearing (thankfully in Nabooan) and Lanah hurried to pick up and comfort her still-weeping son and Landon wished himself on the other end of the Galaxy.

Re: After The Fall

<b>Imperial Center</b>

The sitting room became quiet again after two of the servants, instructed by Donal, guided Lady Jadis Williams to one of the guest suites of the Dunn estate. Lanah handed Traven to Norah to prepare him for bedtime. As the nanny left the room, the silence between Lanah and Landon Williams felt awkward. “I am glad, that you accepted my offer.” Lanah said finally with a friendly smile. Landon looked embarrassed. “You are too generous, Milady. Jadis will feel better after some sleep. I think that she…” He was looking for the right words. “… was lured into temptation by the many allurements of Imperial Center?” Lanah  finished the sentence for him. “I’m sure she will feel bad about the incident tomorrow.” She added, well knowing that it was a lie. Although one born in courtesy.

Lanah didn’t know Landon good enough to take the liberty of adjudicating the man. But his words that his marriage had been a love match shocked her. How could such a well-mannered intelligent man choose such a primitive simple-minded woman?

Lanah remembered the words of her own mother as her parents organised her first meeting with Tyrell and his parents. ”Romance is something for plays or holomovies. Something for novelists. But the first amorousness, the excitement of seeing the other,  disappears quickly. While in an arranged marriage you know from the beginning the facts of what you will get. You’ll know that you are assured of a good future with a rich man. If you get along with him, it is nice addition. If not, there are arrangements for such cases. And your place will be big enough, to avoid each other.” Her mother’s forthrightness had shocked the young Lanah. She had been scared as she met Tyrell finally. Five years her senior he wasn’t the most handsome man on the planet, no woman would turn her head around to look at him, but gladly he was good-looking enough, especially as he smiled at her. They had felt a connection, enjoying the company of each other. Now after three years of marriage Lanah admired his deliberateness, intellect and his often dry wit. He appreciated that she was more than just a pretty face, but had her own opinion and mind. Their love and understanding had grown out of the arrangement their parents had made. Lanah knew that she had been lucky. She had seen other arranged marriages in which the men spend more time with their mistresses than with their wives, who lived in their golden cages.

And now there was Landon Williams, a living example that marriages founded on love could went worse even. Lanah commiserated with him. “I am sure that nobody noticed the incident, Landon. And even if, they will find something more interesting to talk about tomorrow. That’s how it works in the upper class here. Most of them have a capacity for remembering as good as a gooberfish.” Her comment made Landon smile again. She returned it, taking his arm gently.

“Now let us return to the party. I want to introduce you to some of my friends.”

***

<b>Meanwhile on Terrick</b>

Tyrell stopped pacing in his room. The suite began to have something oppressive. The more his anger grew the closer the walls seemed to be. Finally he dressed in his commander uniform again, using the disguise the Empire had chosen for him. Maybe outside he would calm down.  

The hallways of the palace that hosted Terrick’s government before, now serving as headquarter for the Imperial interim authority, were quiet. Most people were sleeping as this time of the night. Except the few ones who guarded the building. The ones whose helmet-distorted voices Tyrell heard before walking around the corner.

”Did you hear, that the Captain is showing that Jedi bitch who’s the boss?”

The other voice laughed. “Yes, maybe he’s showing her something else. I know I would teach her how to use my <i>lightsaber</i>.” Now the first man joined the laughter too. “We can ask if we can take over the watch when he’s done. And have some fun.”

Hardly controlling his anger now Tyrell stepped around the corner. “Captain Dodonna will not be pleased when I tell him about your little conversation.” The trooper sprang to attention. “Yes, Commander, Sir. We… we just talked, Sir. It was just meant as a joke.” Tyrell gave them an icy look. “Oddly that I don’t laugh then. And I don’t want excuses from you, Trooper. Where can I find Captain Dodonna?” Still standing at attention one of the soldiers answered: “The Captain is at one of the local security buildings, Sir. It is the one at the end of the street, Sir.”

It was just five minutes later as Tyrell arrived at the building. The night air hadn’t cool down his mind as he passed the guards at the entry. Opposite to the government palace this place was bustling with activity. Imperial officers and troopers filled the rooms and hallways. Tyrell realised that this was the true center of the planet’s occupation.

One door opened and a tired-looking Dodonna stepped outside. Surprised he noticed his friend, waiting for him. “Tyrell, what are you doing here at this night-time?” Tyrell growled almost. “Max, what is going on here? What kind of methods do you and your men use?” Dodonna frowned. “What are you talking about?” Tyrell took a deep breath. “Do you allow your men to rape prisoners? Or do you simply look into the other direction?” Dodonna’s look became piercing. “Because you are my friend since many years, I’ll overhear what you have said right now, Tyrell. What the hell is your problem? You are a technical advisor only. It shouldn’t be your problem how we do our job. We are following our orders and the Imperial law.”

Tyrell crossed his arms. “This Empire becomes a dictatorship, Max. Palpatine is changing the laws as it pleases him. As it serves his goals the best. He is…” Max grabbed Tyrell’s arm, pulling him into an empty office, closing the doors behind him.

“Are you crazy? This is nothing you should discuss in public.”

***

<b>Three hours later on Imperial Center</b>

Lord Darth Vader strode through the throne room towards the Emperor who was watching the panorama outside. Palpatine turned around on his chair slowly, looking down at the Sith Lord kneeling in front of him. “Raise, my apprentice. What news do you bring?”

Vader’s voice, so much different to the one he had owned just one year ago, sounded as dark as his armour. “We got news from Terrick, my Master.” Palpatine looked interested. “Ah, the test area for your new toy. How are the TIEs doing in reality? As good as you imagined.” Vader ignored the mockery, answering seriously. “The fighters are doing excellent. We can begin with mass production soon. But the engineer, Tyrell Dunn… It seems that he nourishes anti-Imperial ideas.”

“Dunn?” The Emperor rubbed his chin. “His family has been supporting my election campaign. This sounds implausible, Vader.” The dark Lord looked directly at his master. “We have the information from our agents who are among the crew of the <i>Eradictor</i>, my Master. We need to make an example. With your permission we will imprison him, taking over his company and…” The Emperor shook his head slightly. “Do not be too hasty, my young apprentice. Dunn has too many connections to other loyal families. The Rochands, Siranas… to name only a few. Even his competitor Sienar will be outraged because he would fear that the Empire would take over all <i>free</i> companies and enterprises. It wouldn't be wise to have their combined economical power against us. We have to be more… subtle.”

The mask was hiding Vader’s disappointment about his master’s decision. “So what is your plan, my Emperor?” Palpatine’s yellow eyes sparkled almost as he explained. “I think, it is about time, that Mr. Dunn will learn that the Empire and the New Order will bring stability and peace to the galaxy, while other parties just mean to bring chaos. We will teach a lesson to Mr. Dunn. A painful one…”

Re: After The Fall

With the doors sealed behind them, Captain Dodonna expressed his concerns. "Are you crazy? This is nothing you should discuss in public." He then added in a low whisper, "talk like that will get you killed." It was a warning to his friend.

"Or worse?" Tyrell added.

"Tyrell, please do not attempt to strain our friendship. You know I have my duty and you have yours. Do not question mine or the Emperor's any further." Dodonna replied, observing his friend's apparent discomfort. He decided to let him think his words over and so remained silent.

"I'm sorry, Captain. I meant no disservice to you, my friend. I was just expressing my concerns–"

"Then express them to your wife, Lanah," Dodonna interrupted coldly. "At least she wouldn't have the duty to turn you in if you speak against our Emperor or his acts. You know all that you need to know and nothing more or less, like the rest of us. To serve the Emperor is to trust in him completely and question nothing."

Tyrell's thin lips twitched in growing displeasure, but remained silent.

"The war is far from over, my friend," Dodonna stated. "We do have the strength and the power to crush the Rebels; that much is obvious. However, the Jedi are devious, and like fanned rawls they have hidden themselves well and fashioned nests and lairs at the highest level of power. Only when we drive them out and exterminate those hidden in our midst will victory truly be ours."

But before Tyrell could pursue the discussion further, a clone trooper chimed to be let in. The captain opened the door. "Yes?"

"Sir." The clone trooper saluted. "A transmission from Coruscant has been received by the <I>Eradicator</I>. It is Lord Vader. He wishes to see both of you in three hour's time."

"Did he say what it concerns?" Dodonna questioned. Tyrell moved in next to him.

"Just that he asks both of your presence. That is all."

The captain nodded. "Very well. Have the <i>Eradicator</I> beam his transmission here in the Governor's palace. I will receive him there."

"Yes, sir. Right away!" The clone saluted and dismissed himself.

+++

<B>Three hours later</B>

The wiry hairs on Dodonna's arms rose as the blue holoimage of Darth Vader appeared before him and Tyrell. As the image compiled itself sharply into the Dark Lord's visage, Tyrell felt his stomach turn. The tall figure was covered from head to toe in obsidian armor. On his chest plate, a series of devices blinked blue and red, in time with his breathing and his hearbeat. His face was covered by that grotesque, helmeted breath mask that resembled the skull of some dark god. His black cape billowed behind him.

"My Lord Vader," Captain Dodonna greeted with just the right amount of reverence.

"Captain Dodonna and Tyrell Dunn," Lord Vader replied with a deep, rich voice, his words punctuated by his unmistakable mechanized breathing. "The Emperor wishes to know how you both are progressing." It was a demand, not a request.

After a few moments of silence that were distinctly uncomfortable for Dodonna, he addressed the Dark Lord. "Progress continues on Terrick, my Lord. Our troops have taken the capital city with no conflicts. Several arrests have been made concerning a few Jedi sympathizers, but my best news to report is that we have a Jedi in custody."

"A Jedi in your custody? For how long?" the distorted voice demanded, and Dodonna knew he would not ask the question a second time.

"My Lord," he began, "It has only been a few hours, maybe a day. We've questioned her, but we seem to be getting nowhere. She refuses to tell us anything if there are more Jedi here or any nearby system. She claims she is the only one here on Terrick."

"Do you think that is the case?" Vader replied. Dodonna thought he could almost hear the sarcasm in the Sith Lord's voice.

"No, my Lord. I am planning to increase our troop patrols and question our suspects again. I could attempt to interrogate her with more precise methods if you wish."

Only Vader's mechanized breathing could be heard echoing in the room. "No, Captain. Leave her to me. I'll will see to this personally."

"My Lord?" Dodonna was momentarily at a loss for how to proceed.

"Captain Dodonna, you will hand over the Jedi to Tyrell Dunn to escort back to Imperial Center," the Sith Lord eventually continued, "Dunn will be returning. His work there is finished."

Tyrell swallowed hard. "Lord Vader, don't you think the TIE program will need more time? I've only tested the basics–"

Vader regarded him stonily before he raised a gauntleted finger to point accusingly at the CEO. "Do you think I am being unfair for giving you so little time?" he demanded.

"No… No, my Lord. I believe these tests are enough for now. I will return to Imperial Center as you ordered, with the Jedi prisoner in tow," he promised, barely hiding the quiver in his voice.

Vader stared a moment longer and then finally spoke. "Good. Then it is settled. Captain Dodonna, make sure a shuttle is readied for Tyrell Dunn and have a squad of your best troops accompany him with the prisoner in Force cuffs. I do not want the Emperor's prize escaping."

"It will be done, Lord Vader." Dodonna stated, his voice growing stronger with every passing moment.

The image of Darth Vader shimmered away into blackness as the holoprojecter cut off it's transmission.

Re: After The Fall

The farewell between the two old friends had been frosty. The blatant threat in Dodonna’s words wasn’t something Tyrell would forget that easily. They had gone a long way since they had met as teenagers on Carida. But now their friendship was put to the test. There had been a reason why Max had chosen a military career, while Tyrell returned to his civilian life. <i>”Politics and religion are no topics for a party. There will be a dispute always.”</i> Tyrell remembered his mother’s word. Obviously it was correct in case of his friendship to Maximillian too. Maybe the Empire was right with politics. But while the official news said that the war was over thanks to the wise Emperor, Tyrell had seen the truth behind it. People were dying, the martial law still active.

Still wearing the uniform of an Imperial Commander Tyrell walked through the hangar towards the Curich-Class-shuttle, that was waiting to bring him and the Jedi prisoner back to the capital of the galaxy. How ironic that the ship was build by Sienar Fleet Systems, Dunn Industries biggest competitor. Nevertheless Tyrell liked the design of the shuttle, but was sure that he could improve some details of it. Two troopers were guarding the ramp, saluting as Tyrell passed them. He returned the greeting, addressing the one he recognised as Sergeant by the olive-green colour marking of his armour. “Is the prisoner on board already?” The trooper shook his head slightly, any other reaction hidden by the helmet. “No, Sir, my troop is escorting her right now from the detention area to the hangar. They will be here any minute, Sir.” Tyrell looked into the direction of the still closed door, that connected the ship to the hangar. “Good. When they arrive I want that you bring her to the passengers lounge.” The trooper tilted his head, obviously confused. “But our orders say to bring her into the cargo hold, Sir.” Tyrell gave him an icy stare. “And I change those. After all I am in charge of this mission, Sergeant.” The trooper saluted again. “Yes, Commander, Sir.” So his disguise was good for something. And Tyrell planned to treat the prisoner like they would have done in the Republic. Presuming her innocent, until her guilt was proved.

The Jedi looked calm as the trooper brought her in, but the dark rings under her eyes spoke volumes about the events of the last days. Tyrell offered a seat to her. She sat down carefully, her hands still bound by the force-cuffs. “You can leave us alone.” The Sergeant hesitated by Tyrell’s words. “Sir, we have our orders.” Tyrell rose an eye-brow. “I think, I don’t have to fear anything from Jedi Tihan.” It sounded almost as if the soldier cleared his throat before speaking. “Sir, the order is from the highest authority. Lord Vader himself ordered that we have to watch her all the time. He didn’t mention that he was concerned about your safety.”

At least the Sergeant decided that it was enough when two men guarded the prisoner, while the rest of his troop retreated to other rooms of the shuttle. Tyrell watched the two remaining clones over the rim of the data-pad, he pretended to read. He wondered how they could stand stock-still for so long. Either it was a part of their training or the Kaminoans had bred them that way. The Jedi was motionless too. But she seemed to meditate or being in a kind of trance. Sipping some Kopi tea from his thermajug, a smile formed around Tyrell’s lips as he noticed the incoming message from Lanah on his datapad, an answer to his own one, he had send some hours ago, informing her that he was on his way home. Reading her short message, telling him about a meal in a fancy restaurant she had planned for his homecoming, Tyrell realised again, how much he missed her. He checked his chrono. Just one more hour before they would reach Coruscant. <i>”No, Imperial Center."</i> Tyrell corrected himself in his mind. He began to wonder how the generation of his son, who have been born as Coruscanti, would name themselves when they would be older. The media was using the term Imperial Citizen at the moment. But as long as his son could grew up in peace, Tyrell didn’t care.

The Jedi opened her eyes slowly. “You really think that Palpatine will bring peace to the galaxy, Mr. Dunn? He just wants power and will manipulate people to reach it. Do you want that future for your son?” Tyrell’s jaw dropped. “What the frak?!” The Jedi looked at him serious. “Your thoughts were too loud. I can tell that you are a good man, so why are you…” Tyrell jumped up, stopping her mid-sentence as he shouted at her. “I treated you fairly and as thank for that you are crawling into my mind?” The Jedi tried to explain. “I didn’t meant to. I…” But Tyrell was too furious to listen. “Trooper, bring the prisoner to her cell. I don’t want to see her near me for the rest of our journey.”

***
The Emperor’s Hand bowed deeply as he received his orders from his Master’s representative, Lord Vader. “You know from the intercepted message where they will meet. The Emperor’s <i>wish</i> is, that Dunn will witness it. Make him believe that the Jedi are behind it.” The other man looked up to the masked face of the Sith. “Yes, my Lord. It will be done as the Emperor has planned. His wish is my command.” With another bow he was gone, as silent as a shadow.

***

Lanah smiled, satisfied about her newest buying as they left the gallery. “I was looking for that kind of Alderaanian art since so long.” Sirannon, walking next to her, shook her head in disbelief. “But 12000 Credits? Lanah, do you think that thing is worth that? So much money. Max would be mad if I would spend that much. What will Tyrell say?” Before she answered, Landon Williams came to her rescue and replied. “As a businessman he will be glad about it. The artist is not that popular yet, but it will change quickly, when people say that the Dunns display some of his art in their estate. The prices will raise quickly and its worth will double at least.” Sirannon rolled her eyes about their new friend, who had joined them today. “What chance do I have against the two of you?” “Awww, Sira.” Lanah hugged her pregnant friend. “You know that I think highly about your opinion. Just not when it comes to art.”

Norah, her son’s governess, was following them with Traven in his perambulator. An armed bodyguard completed their <i>entourage</i>. Tyrell insisted on a guard, when she left the estate. Especially when Traven was with her. Lanah didn’t like the thought, but she could see her husband’s point. The heir of Dunn Industries would be a profitable goal for a kidnapper. She turned around to them as she heard her son becoming restive. Since he had learnt to walk on his own, Traven disliked being forced to sit nicely.  

Carefully Lanah took him into her arms. The child looked around curiously, enjoying the sight he had now as well as the attention he got from the adults.

***
<i>"All too easy."</i> The Emperor’s Hand thought as he watched the scene through the telescopic sight of his sniper gun. Hidden on an balcony above them, he had observed them since they had left the gallery. The restaurant they wanted to meet with Tyrell Dunn was near. This was too perfect.

***

Tyrell stepped out of the elevator on the mall’s level where the restaurant was located. He started to smile as he saw his family and their friends not far away from him. “Lanah!” He called his wife, who turned around by the sound of his voice.

“Go and welcome your husband befittingly.” Sirannon winked at Lanah, reaching out to take Traven from his mother into her arms to give her friend the chance to walk faster towards Tyrell. But then suddenly everything went fast. A red blaster bolt coming from above hitting Sirannon Dodonna, who was now at the place Lanah and the boy had been just a second before. “Nooooooo!” They heard Tyrell scream as he started to run towards them. Landon reacted faster than the bodyguard, jumping, pulling down Lanah and Traven into cover. The guard drew his own blaster, firing into the direction the shot had come. To the surprise of all of them the assassin ignited a lightsaber, blocking the bolts easily. Then he disappeared.

Some other customers shouted for security and emergency already as Tyrell reached his wife and son. Lanah was crying as he wrapped his arms around her and Traven. “Sira… is she…?” Tyrell just nodded. “It was a Jedi. They will pay for this.”