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Originally posted by Asydian Kir

---Central Business District (Old Kathol Republic City, Kathol)---


Although showing a confident face, one quite used to business meetings with foreign business associates, the nervous glances and frequent finger tapping betrayed the older mans nerves. Sitting upright on one of the more luxurious couches located in the foyer, the vast dimensions of the V'Kora skyscraper left him feeling a little uneasy, though he had every right to be considering the circumstances. V'Kora Industrial Supplies was the largest corporation this side of Kathol, with connections that spread far and wide in the political and social landscape, and in less than 15 minutes he was going to be informing their Head honchos that their leader was more than just liaising with the Tarvian Syndicate, he was spying for them. It was not going to end well, at least that was what kept going through the man's mind. For years the Tarvian's had refused to speak to their bitter rivals, after dozens of personnel went missing in an incident which came about over the disputed rights to a new polymer melding process. Only recently had communications opened up once more after a new Tarvian leader was elected, in hope of restoring some stability to the markets. It was speculated that this event could spell the end of rivalries between the two factions...but that would soon be squashed. Either way, he wouldn't be hanging around in the aftermath, he was intent on getting off the planet as soon as the meeting was over.

Reaching inside his pocket the man retrieved his datapad, noting the time and quickly scanning for any new messages. 13 minutes til showtime, he thought. Taking in a deep breath and wiping the perspiration from his brow, he surveyed the foyer entrance and up to the many hoverlifts shuttling employees between offices. As he drew his gaze back to the seat across from him, he noticed the woman just sitting down. She was about the same height as he was, average, but her clothing was tight-fitting and she wore a rather simple headdress with white and red tailings. Intertwined in her hair were two long needles, and her face was dotted with tiny skin pockets. Not super attractive, but that had never stopped Fezin before. He sat there, looking her up and down, making a point of letting her see what he was looking at. Just as he began to open his mouth she spoke.

"You look like you could use a drink." She flashed him a cheeky grin and nodded over her shoulder at the employee lounge. His chest pounded with excitement, his fear of what he had to do soon evaporating as he left his seat and walked with her to the bar. What am I doing? This is crazy, I've got a meeting in 10 minutes! he thought. He pushed the thought aside as she slowly seated herself on an empty stool, every curve in her thin frame just bursting out at him.

"You seem like you know your way around here," He grinned at her, motioning with his eyes at the bar around them. "What did you say you name was?"

"I didnt, but since when has that ever mattered." She tilted her head slightly, letting a strand of hair fall across her cheek. Returning his smile she motioned him forward as the bartender emerged. "So what will it be cowboy?"

"Dehanty scotch, and none of that counterfeit shit either." He left his gaze lingering on the bartender, a dark skinned Coruscanti, noting the mans missing left ear. Tipping his head slightly, the bartender looked in the direction of the woman.

"I'll have the Angel Delight." As the man prepared the drinks she continued. "So what brings you here today? Business...or pleasure."

"Business at first, but maybe I can fit in some pleasure before I go off-planet." He looked at her body once more. "Travel can be very stressful you know."

"Oh I can imagine. Where are you planning on visiting?"

"Well, now thats kind of confidential. I've got big dealings after I meet with these V'Kora slugs today." She giggled as she saw he suddenly realised she may work here. "Well obviously not you of course. Do you? Work here I mean?"

Her eyes shifted slightly as their drinks were placed in front of them. "No, dont worry...these slugs are just helpful sometimes. I hope they arent causing you too much stress."

"Nothing I cant handle. But I do have a meeting that I really must attend. I hope you wont be offended. May we continue this when I'm finished?"

"Well I suppose so, just dont leave me waiting too long," She flashed a devilish smile, watching with amusement as he reacted nervously. "Here's to you coming back soon." She downed her drink in once fell swoop, watching with interest as he did the same. Man, shes getting my chest all jumpy. His heart was beating fast, but something else felt like it was beating inside him...or more like moving. He clutched at his chest as the sensational became painful. Looking back up at the woman, she no longer had her smile and her eyes seemed to glow a faint blue.

Bracing himself on the bar bench he fell awkwardly on the stool next to her. "Whaat...is..thisss...?"

"Hush now, Fezin. Words are of no use to you now." She gestured with her hand and Fezin suddenly went limp, his head flopping hard against the bars hard surface. Blood trickled gently from his open mouth.

Casually straightening her headdress and standing up from the bar, she placed a credchip on the counter and slowly made her way from the building. Two Falleen females noticed the dead man, screamed and ran to security as the alarms started blaring...

The door of the conference room slammed shut back into its lock as the clicking of heeled shoes echoed through the spacious corridor of the V'Kora Industrial Supplies building. Scornful laughter ascended from behind the closed door. The young high-heeled lady muttered some unintelligible words as she stopped and checked her pocket for her datapad. She continued her fast pace down the hallway while scrolling through her contact list. She selected Ganner from the list, and called a hoverlift while her datapad attempted to make a connection. As the doors to the hoverlift opened, the massive Central Business District emerged in front of her through the transparisteel shielding of the lift.

"Hello?", it sounded on the other side of the com-link, the man's voice cracking slightly as if disturbed in his mid-day nap. A brief moment of silence passed.

"Hey... Ganner." The Nautolan girl paused, looking for words. "Eyyy-it's Jools... I got turned down again."

The static background noise of the com-link came alive as no words were spoken for several seconds. Then a slightly irritated sigh broke through the static. "... it's okay, Jools. We'll find someone who is up for the job." Jools bit her lower lip, trying to fight back the tears as Ganner comforted her. She choked up.

"Ah, don't cry, Jools...", Ganner responded concerned, "Hey, guess what, I got me a new can of Hoth Chocolate. How 'bout you come over here and-"

Suddenly the hoverlift stopped moving downwards abruptly, the intercom emitting a few very loud beeps before the intercom switched to a pre-recorded female voice stating, "Attention, all visitors of V'Kora Industrial Supplies, there has been a security lockdown on levels 142 to 167. Please remain at your current position until the issue has been addressed."

"Jools? Jools! What's going on?!" Ganner's voice went, vaguely audible above the sound of the wailing alarms.

Jools' attention got caught by her view at the side of the building, being in one of the outside hoverlifts. She could clearly see how there was a lot of commotion a few floors below her, and she could see people panicking and running into the same direction. "I... I'm here, Sharp", Jools responded absent-minded, staring out her hoverlift. "Something's going on here... I don't know what yet, but...", Jools paused, as she saw paramedics running in the opposite direction of the crowd, until they went out of her view.

"... but", she continued, "I do know that I'm stuck in this hoverlift now..." Jools looked up at the display, taking note of the floor she was on.

"It seems I'm stuck between the 151st and 152nd floor..."

"Are you hurt?", Ganner asked.

"Nah, I'm fine, hun... don't worry 'bout me. I'll have to call you back later, I think I hear some people coming. Hopefully they can get me out of here! I'll cash in that Hoth Chocolate soon though!", Jools smirked slyly. "Bye, Ganner."

"Alright, don't be gettin' in any trouble, missy!", Ganner joked, then terminated the com-link.

Jools started knocking on the hoverlifts' doors. "Hello?!", she yelled, "Can anybody get me outta here?!"

The waiter dashed away from the table knowing he should avoid aggravating the type of client sat at table 12. The restaurant on floor 152 was very quiet, the way Malnot liked it. 'Business is always much easier when there aren't too many people to clean up' he thought as he looked around to check he couldn't be heard. The restaurant was fairly large, with a rather crater like appearance with the tables and chairs seeming to fall into the floor. The air was very clean, cutlery and plates gleaming in the noon sunlight. The waiters ran around ferrying plates and drinks around the room. Malnot was sat rather relaxed in his chair slowly sipping a green cocktail. His fringe slowly waving in the cross wind of the air conditioning, his hair was mainly black but was beginning to show signs of greying. He was a young man but a man of knowledge and skill. His shirt collar baring the four studs of his rank, Lieutenant Commander. Looking back towards the person sat opposite him at the table, he leant forward.

"You are sure of this information?" The Chiss placed is dark red eyes upon the small blood shot eyes of the small and slightly rounded Pau`an, his heart racing at the thought of the knowledge he had just been given.

"Certainly, I would not be here risking all that I have worked hard for, my family's and my own life if I was not certain!" The Pau`an was beginning to get a little agitated at the constant barrage of questions doubting his abilities. "He is at the location I have just told you and will be for the next ten days, trust me."

Malnot stared deep into the eyes of his informant, he had found in the past that the dark shining red of his eyes against the background of his sapphire blue skin made even the most skilled liars crumble. The Pau`an didn't flinch, he was speaking the truth. The Chiss leant back again smiling. "Excellent, you have done very well my friend, you won't regret it. Now if you'll excuse me I only have ten days to find him."

The pilot stood up, he was a tall man and stood proud. He pulled on his jacket; this clearly showed the Krath Dynasty colours and his rank. Many ribbons decorated his left breast; it was obvious that he was an experienced pilot. Gold ribbons on his shoulders displayed his position as a commander within the fleet. Beginning to walk out he was shocked as a hand grabbed his arm. Looking round it was the Pau`an. "Have you not forgotten something?"

"If I must. Carn pay him" A tall, well built Chiss walked over from the restaurant entrance. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out two angular green crystals. With total disregard he threw them onto the table in front of the small man. "Don't spend it all at once" the guard said as he began to laugh.

"Nova crystals? Nova crystals! What am I supposed to do with these useless pieces of rock?"

Malnot just smirked in his usual fashion and shouted back, "Be inventive!" Then glancing at his guard, "Let's go."

Malnot walked out in his proud manner, taking no account of whether someone stood in his way, followed by Carn. "Finally Carn, I have him! Message Shauna and tell her to prepare the ship for assent we're heading straight out."
"Very good sir."

The Chiss guard took out his datapad and began speaking to the pilot on the other end. As the two Chiss walked towards the lift Malnot noticed a crowd gathering on one of the floors below. 'What the...' Before he could contemplate what was going on sirens began to scream around him, "Attention, all visitors of V'Kora Industrial Supplies, there has been a security lockdown on levels 142 to 167. Please remain at your current position until the issue has been addressed."

"You have to be kidding me! We can't have delays, not now!" Malnot ran to the lift and began hitting the buttons, only to be met by no response. Looking down he saw that the lift was only a short bit from his floor. "Carn get over here now! Slice into that control unit and get that lift moving!" The guard ran to the control unit and began tapping away at the screen.

Malnot looked out over the busy city. It was the usual scene, freighters shipping materials from mine to build site. Many smaller vehicles shooting the many citizens and business men from building to building. The Krath pilot began to tap his hands against the window in a repeating rhythm. At this moment Carn began to work ever quicker realising what was happening, then it did. "Carn! I'm getting annoyed now! Move!" Malnot had a habit of tapping, a different rhythm with a different emotion, all his staff recognised the most common rhythm, it was the one he had just done. Malnot did not mean to be an impatient man, in fact he had great respect for all his staff and tried to treat them as friends. The way Malnot was raised was to be very focused on accomplishing his goals, which sometimes resulted in a rather brash attitude.

A couple of moments later, the lift began to move. "Well done Carn!"

The lift moved up to floor 152 and the doors opened. Malnot rushed into the lift as soon as the gap in the doors was wide enough, suddenly coming to a halt nearly stumbling over a Nautolan lady directly in front of him. Her sweet perfume filled his nostrils, Malnot could not take his eyes off her two large, beaming eyes; they were so welcoming and warm. Her figure was stunning, 'Definatly has all the right curves in all the right places. If only she was blue, green is not for me.' Malnot thought. Her black suit and skirt complemented her perfectly. Something about her seemed familiar but he could not tell...

The streets bustled with the repetitive drone of business as usual. Sentient after faceless sentient brushed by each other, heedless of the others around them, either busy with their comlink, data pad, or general monotony of things. Immediately outside the V'Kora skyscraper, crowds were more congested than elsewhere. A Twilek wearing sharply pressed business attire, barking orders to his smaller Duros assistant as they walked briskly into the building. Several rough looking characters of various races milling about the entrances to some of the more enclosed alleys, looking with silent amusement through the crowd, perhaps for more discreet and unsavory business deals. More security guards than were likely necessary stood sentry along the perimeter of the building, looking tired, but nervously alert in the swarm of activity.

A rough, black scaled Barabel wearing fairly nondescript, leather combat armor and a heavy utility belt sat on a stone bench directly in front of the skyscraper’s main doors. His normally imposing physical stature and appearance being very purposefully subdued as he kept his head down and deceptively interested in a data pad of his own. Uthar Ridian smiled to himself, barring his teeth in a way that many find unsettling, as he thought of how ingrained his recon habits had become. As a ranking member of the Krath military, and not on any official business that might warrant discreet actions, he had no real need to remain hidden among the crowd. Still, he thought looking to his Pau’an medic that accompanied him on almost every outing, you never know.

“Anything to report,” Uthar rasped in a whisper to his unusually tall healer.

Ellia Daqemef replied in a rather curt tone, “I wasn’t aware I was on sentry duty, sir.” Staring with a brief pause as if to gauge her employers reaction, “And frankly, I’m not completely sure why we’re even here.” Then quickly added, “Are you?”

Uthar sissed with reptilian laughter, trying hard to conceal the outburst. “Your lucky I’ve taken up brawling in my spare time, or you would find yourself out of work very quickly.” Thinking to himself how glad he was to have Ellia along on several occasions when he could have been very well near death. “And come now, it just wouldn’t do if I didn’t keep tabs on my pilot every so often. Besides, I still haven’t properly thanked Mr. Oheagra for my Krathmas present,” Uthar said as he patted an oversized pocket in his utility belt.

Suddenly, a mass of movement caused both of them to look towards the entrance of the V'Kora Skyscraper. Sentients streamed out of the doors in a semi-panicked state as the security officers moved to keep things orderly and non-violent. Judging by the lack of complete chaos, Uthar guessed that it was the result of an isolated incident and thus he stood a much better chance of getting in relatively unnoticed.

“Follow me,” Uthar said sharply as he started to move towards the entrance, then jokingly muttered under his breath “Malnot, what have you done now?” Despite being the only two moving against the crowd, they slipped into the main lobby before any security warranted them to be of enough interest to bar their passage.

Something wasn’t quite right. He had been here before; at least it felt like it. Some things felt familiar, others felt out of place. It was like walking around in a déjà vu trance. Suddenly he realized someone was following him and spun around just in time to dive out of the way of a blaster bolt whizzing by. He instinctively pulled his blaster as he rolled and spun behind cover. He was in a dark, musty warehouse where he was supposed to meet his contact. Things like this had been going wrong a lot lately it seemed. Poking his head just barely above a crate, Ganner tried to get a visual on his attacker. He saw something move off towards his left just as a blaster came from the right blowing away the corner of the box. Still hunched over, Ganner quickly made his way to another crate by an opening into an aisle. He realized that his assailants were trying to corner him. The exit was about 20 meters away, with at least one mystery opponent between him and the door. He figured there was no sense in letting them continue to advance on him so he made a break for another crate closer to the door, while firing off two shots in the direction of where the shots had come from previously. He continued to take a couple of random shots in the general direction of where he thought the other were. He was just about to the exit when suddenly he heard a chime. He ignored it and made it to the door while three blaster shot scorched the wall where his head was just seconds ago. The chime came once more as he opened to door and leapt out. He was glad to be out of the dank smelling warehouse and into the fresh air, until he realized that air was now rushing past him at an alarming rate. He was falling.

The chime came once more…

Ganner sat up rather startled. He looked around, slightly dazed while he adjusted to his surroundings. He was sitting at a makeshift desk onboard the Baudo-class star yacht “Bauzzini Messenger” he started to recall. It was just a dream; a bad one, but a dream none the less. The stress was starting to get to him perhaps. He was exhausted, having spent long days and nights trying to help his friend get her tavernship idea off the ground. Club Boszychnik, the brainchild of the young, female Nautolan Jools Noctru, would be one of the premier traveling entertainment spots around. It would include luxurious suites, top shelf drinks, room for all types of entertainment ranging from gambling to shows, music and dance of all types. A place where high rollers, and debutants can mingle and hopefully drop a load of cash, right into Jools and Ganner’s laps.

The chime came once more…

“Jools” he said aloud as he thumbed his comlink. Still half asleep he answered it. “Hello?”

“Hey… Ganner” a small female voice replied. "Eyyy-it's Jools... I got turned down again."

Ganner’s face fell a bit. He was frustrated for Jools. They had been turned down several times by people saying that it was too much risk to be involved, or too much money to invest, or even too much work to see a profit. It was taking its toll on Jools. She was getting upset, and he hated seeing her upset. "... it's okay, Jools. We'll find someone who is up for the job."

While trying to comfort Jools, Ganner was cut off by some feedback and alarms blaring. "Jools? Jools! What's going on?!"

There was severe static during the long pause, but the Nautolan finally answered "I... I'm here, Sharp" It was a nickname she gave him. He didn’t really prefer she used it, but given the circumstances he wasn’t going to make a fuss over it either.

It seemed she was stuck in a turbolift, but was otherwise unharmed. Ganner finished their conversation when he knew she would be fine for now and moved quickly to the cockpit. He began to power up the ship and switched the scanners and holofeed on to try and pick up and moniter the situation where she was. He cursed aloud as he pounded the control panel. The sensor suite and communications package, though upgraded, was still not up to what Ganner was used to. Jools had convinced him to take the Baudo as opposed to his personal YT-2300 Sidewinder. She had argued that the Baudo was more suited to their purposes as a business and diplomatic ship than his ship. He had argued that the speed weapons and advanced feature he had installed could be useful in a pinch. She countered that his ship “looks like plates of hull welded together” and he ultimately couldn’t argue with that. It was moments like this though where he longed for his comfortable instruments. He shifted in the pilot’s seat trying to get settled. He ran a hand through his blond hair, still messy from his impromptu nap, and grasped the yoke to lift off as soon as the readouts told him all systems were a go.

The ship lifted from its space in the docking area of the industrial portion of the city. Ganner was here for some of his own meetings with a few contacts. Contacts that usually like to stay out of the public eye, and meetings that were certainly not help in boardrooms. He lifted clear of a few of the surrounding builds, and into the afternoon sun. The viewport tinted slightly to reduce the glare, and the sun gleaned of the shiny exterior of the ship. He checked the counter-scanner readouts to make sure he wasn’t being scanned before turning towards his destination, made a visual scan for what he could see, and took off towards V'Kora Industrial Supplies tower where Jools was to have her meeting today. He flowed effortlessly into a traffic lane and was on his way. Ganner hoped Jools was free of her predicament and they could continue business as usual and figure out their next move, and hopefully get some much needed rest.

Originally posted by Asydian Kir

As the Kathol sun came to its daily conclusion and the last fragments of light disappeared behind the skyscrapers to the east, Asydian Kir sat with his Selkath aide discussing the recent trade markets with an old associate. His associate wasn't with them in person, as he was never one to be pinned down, but his deep gravelly voice was easily recognisable from the com-link. To those that knew the Gungan well, Ool Dann'ra or 'Dan' as he was more commonly referred to, was one of those hard done-by traders who often got the wrong end of the stick through no fault of his own. His atrocious luck both with himself and to those around him often lended to his other nickname of the 'Broken Tradesman', with many deals falling flat on the floor, mostly in the literal sense. Stray blaster rounds from a nearby mob, crashed speeders, falling cargo containers, these were just some of the methods by which his trade partners had found a grisly end just by being in his presence. Probably another reason why he preferred not to have face to face meetings. That and the fact he drank like a depressed Gamorrean.



"How do you even know your contact wasn't pulling this outta his tail?" inquired Asydian, giving a wry smile to his colleague across the table. The Selkath grinned and shook his head, taking a small solid metal ball from a nearby ornament and rolling it around on the office desk.

Dann'ras response was a typical one. "THATS NONE OF YA DAMN BUSINESS YA KRIFFIN DROOL BRAIN!!! Just take it from me that girl was no run-of-the-mill assassin, she was a kriffin force-user! Her eyes don't lie my friend and they can't fool me." Asydian was only stirring him up of course, Dan was always quick to defend his pride as well as his bottle of ale.

"Alright, alright. Say she was a force-user, whats going on down there now? Did she leave the building?"

"No frakkin idea. Last images I saw show her moving outside into the hologardens, but after that nothin, nadda, zip." The sound of something hammering a desk came through the comm, a sure sign the Gungan had reached his information limit and wanted no further questions. Either that or he was sluggin down the drinks much faster than Asydian dared to imagine.

"We'll check it out then. Can't have a rogue force-user running around on Krath territory can we. If you get anything else that might be of use let me know." A grunt came from the other end of the line, followed by another heavy slam.

As the transmission cut-off the seated Selkath rose and shuffled to the office window. Staring out into the rapidly darkening city skyline, he flexed his broad shoulders, turned and lent his back on the glass. "V'Kora won't take this lightly. There's gonna be repercussions, and it wont involve any bureaucratic nonsense," Asydian nodded. "The Tarvian's are gonna be quick to press the advantage too."

"Then we better hope for a miracle. Better yet we need to find out who that girl was and why she's workin for the Tarvian's. She's not gonna be easy to find though, and even if we do locate her shes not gonna come quitely."

"Plus shes a frakkin force-user!" The Selkath had never understood how the force worked, but he was quick to realise its potency in a fight.

"Well we're not sure of that just yet. I wouldn't take Dan's word just yet," Asydian motioned a drinking gesture and the two broke out into laughter. After a good minute the laughter subsided. "Ahhh, he's funny. Better make a call to the local authorities in the area, see whats going on. I'll ready the Dark Rogue for takeoff."

As they both left the office, the darkness of night began to creep into the city. There would now be even more holes for the assassin to crawl into, that was assuming killing that businessman was her only objective.

Jools gave up. It seemed nobody could hear her cry for help. She let out a sigh and leaned against the transparisteel glass shielding. Her feet felt sore, and slowly she sliding down against the glass, until she sat on the floor of the turbolift. Her legs stretched out into the light of the late afternoon sun, her black stiletto shoes glimmering in the light. Jools decided to take her shoes off while waiting for help. She loosened her straps on by one, and just as she was taking her shoes off, the turbolift slowly started moving. She could hear faint voices gradually grow stronger as the lift slowly rose half a floor. Jools reached for her shoes to carry them before getting up. The doors opened, but before Jools could respond and get up, a Chiss nearly fell over her legs as he rushed into the turbolift.

"Wow, buddy, hold your horses! There's somebody down here..." Jools said as she got up.

She noted the man's clothes. It was a uniform, and by the looks of it, it was one of Krath's fleet uniforms. Judging by the ribbons pinned onto his chest, he wasn't a mere ensign either. Jools eyed the Chiss up and down for a second.

"I, uh..."

Jools looked over her shoulder to see another Chiss waiting in the lift's entrance, his broad build blocking her way out. She felt slightly intimidated. Turning back to the Chiss in the elevator, she noticed he had been thoroughly examining her.

"Do I... know you?" Jools asked carefully.

Looking back over her shoulder again, she asked "Am I in trouble?", then looked the Tetan officer straight in his vivid red eyes.

"Do I... know you?" The Nautolan asked carefully.

She peered over her shoulder towards Carn and asked "Am I in trouble?", her gaze returned to Malnot, she seemed to be staring him right in the eyes.

“Huh, you have no idea!” the Chiss guard said with a smile across his face reacting to the last question of the girl. “Silence Carn!” Malnot said abruptly, he raised his hand in the air signalling to the guard to stand down. Malnot continued in a softer tone, “Ma’am let me apologise for my guard, he does not know his place.”

“Pff” Carn looked away rolling his eyes.

“Also, sorry about my rush, you see I need to use this lift immediately. Carn take us down to the ground floor.”

“Sir.” The deep voice of the Chiss guard confirmed what he was to do though with a slight sarcastic tone to it. He placed his rifle in his back holster, and began to slice into the control unit of the turbolift.

Malnot moved further into the lift and leaned against the back window facing towards the Nautolan and the doors. He glanced back to the sentient remembering what she had just asked him. “Do you know me? Good question, I thought the same thing, you don’t happen to work for a Krath organisation do you? I mean even if you did the chances would be slim of us ever have meeting as I am in space for most of my time. You’re definitely not military either.” Malnot began looking the woman up and down thinking, ‘She’d hate it in the military especially with Korvan around...’

The Chiss’ attention was quickly diverted as he saw a squad of armoured marines heading towards the lift. He began to smile and stood up straight, “You asked me another question, what was it again?” Malnot thought to himself, “Ahh that’s it, are you in trouble?” Malnot’s smile grew into a small but kind laugh, “No my dear you are not in trouble with me, those guys though, well we’ll just have to see.” He gestured to the oncoming marines so as to draw the attention of the guard and Nautolan girl. Carn quickly reacted by grabbing his rifle and loading, “Orders sir!” His voice still deep and calm. “Now now Carn, remember this is Karth territory and I probably out rank all these men, hold yourself.”

Malnot moved to the doors of the elevator which Carn had not yet managed to close, “Drop your weapons!” The cry of one of the marines cut Malnot off just before he could speak, “Bad move slug.” Carn said smiling. He knew that to cut Malnot off was a very bad move. Malnot smiled also at this remark, “Good afternoon gentlemen, could one of you point out your commanding officer here?” Malnot was met only by another barrage of “Drop your weapons.” Reluctantly Carn placed his rifle on the ground in front of him as Malnot gave him a stern look. “Now, commanding officer!” Malnot began to grow impatient with the crouched, what he would consider, rookies.

The marine to the far right of the squad spoke up, “You’re under arrest for breaking the quarantine of these floors.” This caused Malnot to grow ever more impatient. “Look, who is your CO?!” The marine who had spoken up again spoke. “I am the Weapons Sergeant here.” Malnot smiled. “Very good sergeant. Now do you know who I am?” Silence. “No? Ok I’ll tell you. I am Lieutenant Commander Malnot Oheagra of the First Task Force War Hawks and I am telling you fine sirs to stand down! I am here upon official business of the Admiral himself! So I suggest you allow me to continue on my way.”As he explained he pointed out his ribbons and collar which displayed the four studs of his rank. “If you really want to be sure you can contact the Lord Marshal, though I doubt he will be best pleased.”

The sergeant looked to his second and exchanged a few quiet words before returning with, “Very good sir, forgive us, we are only doing our job. There has been an incident on one of the other floors of high emergency.” With this the marines stood down and walked away from the lift. Malnot re-entered, “Get on with it Carn!”

He once again faced the Nautolan. “Politics of the military, I would never recommend it. Anyway, where were we? Ahh yes, no you’re not in any trouble with me. It would appear though that something has happened in this building which is cause for concern, however not my concern.” Malnot smiled.

Suddenly the lift jerked upwards and began moving up. “Carn! We need down!” Malnot shouted pointing aggressively downwards. Carn fiercely began rewiring sections with success. The elevator began to slow to a stop before moving downwards. “Done sir, though I can’t get it any quicker, should take us a few minutes to reach the ground floor.”

“Thank you Carn. Now my dear, I didn’t catch your name?”

The two figures scanned the vast lobby, made much easier by the superior height of both Barabel and Pau’an in comparison to many other sentient races. The dull grays that seemed to flood the room were highlighted by clean black trim wherever a door or hallway led to another section of the building. The atmosphere of business décor was slightly offset and accented by the considerably oversized fountain centrally located in the main foyer. Indented at regular intervals along the longer stretches of wall were small alcoves containing what was likely highly overpriced abstract sculpture.

“What do you see Ellia?” Uthar questioned in a tone that suggested he might have been training her in detective work.

“I see a large reception area full of business people that look more worried about how this interruption will affect their profit margin than they are about any actual danger,” she replied with a disgusted look on her face.

“True,” Uthar noted “but that’s not quite pertaining to our purpose here.” He paused then glanced and nodded towards the tubolifts and stairwells visible from where they were as he continued, “This lobby is much emptier than you might expect from a building wide evacuation and I haven’t seen anyone either going in or coming out of those lifts. There must be a lockdown on some of the upper floors.”

Ellia nodded in agreement. “So what you’re saying is that for all your genius incognito sleuthing, we’re not finding Malnot without bearing rank?”

Uthar, looking slightly defeated, thought for a moment. He searched the room desperately looking for a way up that would satisfy his ego. Then, after seeing a bruised Ugnaught being looked at by the receptionist who’d likely been trampled in the confusion, his eyes widened in delight.

“Correction, we’re not getting up without you bearing rank,” Uthar spouted.

Ellia eyed Uthar warily as she waited for him to continue his explanation, which he then obliged.

“Chances are in any situation that requires a building to be locked down, there’s going to be somebody injured or at the very least likely to become injured” Ellia nodded in understanding as Uthar continued, “and being that you’re a skilled medical doctor with several specializations, you’re a necessary asset and our ticket into those turbo lifts.” He finished with a triumphant looks on his face.


Ellia still had a doubtful look on her face, but knew she would be resigned to agree with the plan. “Very well, let’s get on with it shall we.”

Uthar turned and started walking toward the turbolifts, motioning Ellia to follow. The space in the immediate area surrounding the lifts was relatively clear of people as the security stationed around the doors issued warnings to any who ventured too close. Several heads turned as the imposing Barabel marched straight towards them with purpose in his stride. The nearest officer to the pair took one step towards them and stuck out his palm.

“Stay clear of the lifts, they are on lockdown and nobody is allowed up or down until further notice” The officer announced sternly.

“I’m aware of the ssituation” Uthar hissed, heavily accenting his speech to play of his species dangerous reputation. “and you will be making an exception for Doctor Daqemef!”

Ellia played off Uthar’s lead and cut in with a more controlled and pleasant tone, “Please excuse him, he is more or less a protective measure to ensure I reach my destination. I am Doctor Ellia Daqemef and I’ve received a medical alert from a patient of mine located in this building. I would appreciate any assistance in locating him” then added, “and would certainly accept an escort if that is necessary.”

The questioning officer looked doubtful, but after seeing the apprehension of the other guards’ faces, which were glued to the dark scaled Barabel, gave in to the proposal with a sigh. He briskly walked to the control panel and input a security clearance code, motioning the party inside the lift as the door slid open.

The turbolift jutted into motion, leaving the military squad behind of the 152nd floor of the V'Kora skyscraper. Jools was a little overwhelmed by the recent events and time seemed to have passed at a faster pace than usual. Before she could even speak a single word, the commanding Chiss had ordered the squad to stand down, and they were on their way down again.

"Now my dear, I didn't catch your name?", the Chiss addressed her.

Jools snapped back to reality, "Oh, excuse me..." She extended her arm to shake hands. "Jools Noctru. Pleased to meet you. I have been leader of a weapons manufacturing company in the Minos-Cluster. We are affiliated with The Krath Dynasty, so yes, you were right about that. Recently I have been transfered back to my old position in the company, filling the Head of Production position and Second-in-Command. My father returned to his position as the true leader of MMM."

Jools paused a moment as the turbolift raced down, sinking lower into city. Shadows overcast the turbolift as they moved out of the Shesharile Stars sight. Jools felt the warm sensation of the starlight fade instantly as they entered the shadow of the building across the street. They were nearing ground level for sure...

"To be honest I wish we could talk more, but I think I want to get out of this building as soon as possible!", Jools continued.

"So, Mr Lieutenant Commander Malnot Oheagra of the First Task Force War Hawks," Jools said with a mocking tone while reaching for her purse, "I'm going to give you my business card, and we can continue our little conversation some other time perhaps?"

The turbolift slowly came to a halt. With a light thud it touched down, and the doors slid open. Jools stuck her business card in Malnot's chestpocket and smiled, then walked out the lift. She turned around and started putting on her shoes again.

"Lets see how well I can blend into this crowd", she said half bent over, looking at Carn. Leaning against the wall she fastened the straps of her shoes.

"Bye guys!"

Jools observed the crowded lobby and noticed the majority move into the direction of the exit. She figured she could just blend in without a problem and play it cool until she was outside. Surprisingly the people seemed to remain calm, unaware of what might have happened about 150 floors up. She also noticed the military arriving in the lobby, one commander sending groups of men to the various turbolift entrances around the gathering hall. "I have to act quickly", she thought to herself as she started following a group of Zeltrons towards the exit.

Jools blended into the crowd, and managed to get outside just fine. Fortunately nobody had seen her exit the turbolift, and was not halted for inspection. She wondered how Malnot managed as she walked down the stairs in front of the building.

"Hm... where would Ganner be right now...?"