Unraveling the Replicant Mystery

Cymrych · Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:05 pm Post subject: Unraveling the Replicant Mystery

The questions that needed to be answered had begun to almost overwhelm me. I needed to clear my head and find a way to relax. This investigation was getting nowhere and I was getting frustrated. I traveled to Nym’s starport and launched the LawDawg. Flying was always relaxing as the stars looked so peaceful with the midnight sky as a backdrop. All the chaos that existed on each could be put away for awhile and I could just enjoy the view.

As I sat I pondered why nothing had been reported in regards to the replicants recently. Caelen filed his initial report and has not been heard from since. At last contact he was in the medical center in Nocturnus recovering. I heard he was released, but no one knows where he has gone. Tachmonite has not returned from leave so I am missing my two best investigators. As interim head of Noc/Sec I decided I need to hold a meeting and have all available officers’ report in for assignments. Could I trust those members of Noc/Sec with detailed information? If so, which leads should I assign them to investigate? I typed a note in my datapad, reminding myself that I need to schedule a meeting with all Noc/Sec personnel. I would make a last second judgment on information I would provide to them, till I can find out for sure who I can trust.

Reports from Novall on the Mercs security patrols through Nocturnus have not turned up any activity. Colonel Bacca and his Imperial command have not reported anything unusual during their patrol either. Were things calming down? Were the replicants focused on other things? Were they waiting for suspicions to subside before the moved forward with their plans?

Just then, my comm. jumped to life. I was not in the mood to be disturbed. It was Nyvveck and he was reporting that the prisoner I wanted to question was finally well enough to travel and I could acquire him for questioning. This made my adrenaline jump to life again. This might be the break I needed! I replied to Nyvveck that I was in space and I would meet him and the prisoner at Nym’s momentarily to make the exchange. As I headed for the landing station I thought about how I could get the Inquisitor to share the information he gathered from the prisoner with me. Nyvveck was unaware of my Rebel standing and only knew me as the Information Commissioner of Nocturnus. He knew I was in the middle of the investigation into this replicant matter and thus willing to transfer the prisoner to me. I needed to find a way to convince him we could work together on this replicant matter. I was sure he was not a replicant himself or he would not be turning this prisoner over to me, nor would he have tortured him to get the information. So my trust would be higher in him, even as an Imperial, than it would be in others that I could not confirm were or were not replicants themselves. I made another note in my data pad to offer a meeting to Nyvveck possibly to exchange thoughts on the prisoner after I had the opportunity to question him.

Arriving at Nym’s, Nyvveck and I exchanged greetings and he offered the prisoner without hesitation. I accepted and Nyvveck was off in hurry without any pleasantries. Feirith stood before me beaten badly although his eyes did not show that of pain and suffering. It was rumored that this man was a replicant himself and I was about to find out. I did not know if I needed to change to my armor and take a defensive stand or approach this without prejudice. I informed Mr. Braun we would be traveling to Nocturnus. He nodded and I asked him to join me in my AV-21 in order to make the trek across Lok. I was unsure if he would try to escape or run, so I was ready should I need to detain him. On our journey from Nym’s to Nocturnus I introduced myself and told him my intentions as to me acquiring him from the Inquisitor. He seemed distant and closed off which I hoped would change as I needed to get as much out of him as I could. During this journey I pulled out my comm. and tried to reach the Kiva. She had met with me and informed me she wished to talk to this prisoner when I had acquired him from Nyvveck. She informed me that she had already made contact with Mr. Braun and had a connection with him. Although I wanted to question him alone, my thoughts were he would open up more if she were present.

“I have acquired the prisoner we spoke of my lady. Are you available to meet with us?”

“I’m available, where are you headed? I can meet you there,” came her reply.

“I’m currently in route to my office in Nocturnus. You can meet us there.”

I looked at the man seated next to me, trying to read his demeanor. He asked if he would be tortured again. I told him my intentions were not to torture him, but asked if that was necessary to get him to answer the questions I needed answered. I did not want to give him the impression I was going to be soft on him, in case I needed to be forceful to gather the info. His reply was that he could discuss the matter with the knowledge he had, but that Nyvveck had been unhappy with the extent of the knowledge thus the torture. Again my thoughts drifted to meeting with Nyvveck after this interview to see if he was able to find out anything more than I am going to.

My next thought was to call for a doctor to make Mr. Braun feel like I was offering my compassion and trying to help him. I opened my comm. again and asked Nurian if he could report to my office in order to attend to my guest. He said he could, to just give him a few moments.

Upon reaching my office everything was progressing better than I had expected. I was sure that at some point in our journey Mr. Braun would attempt to escape from me. As we talked on the way I was more and more certain he was a replicant. We entered my office and sat down. I told him to begin with the information he was willing to volunteer to me.

I mentioned to Mr. Braun that a friend was on the way if he did not mind, but in the interim to proceed with his story. He said he would welcome a friendly face and then he began describing him self as the “last” command replicant. The rumors were true and I sat before a man now confirmed to be a replicant. What should I expect? I reached for my carbine stuck under my desk to confirm it was ready should I need it. He informed me he was in search of the “loudest voice” which he referred to as his master. About this time the Kiva arrived. I asked Mr. Braun to wait and I went to meet the Kiva at the door. I was not expecting others, but she had brought Batak with her. I did not ask, but I assumed he was there as a guard should something happen. I welcomed them and lead them into my office where Mr. Braun still remained. He and the Kiva exchanged greetings and she made sure he was okay. He was as well as expected with the beatings he had taken. I asked that Feirith continue with his story.

I was able to learn much in questioning Mr. Braun. I trusted the Kiva and I knew that she was seeking the same thing I was. Batak had little to say during the entire time we questioned Mr. Braun and I wondered about his intentions. Could he be a replicant? Mr. Braun informed us that 42,129 beings had been processed by the replicants. This number made me cringe as I did not realize the exposure was so high. I needed to determine how I could tell a replicant, but no matter the question I asked I could not get Mr. Braun to tell me how. He said he himself could not tell if anyone was a replicant. I did not however believe this, and wondered had I been alone with him, would I have pressed the issue. I felt myself creating new questions, without finding answers to old ones.

The information I gathered I knew I could only release to personnel I could trust. I would keep as much of this classified as I continued my investigation into this matter. I looked at those in the room with me. The Kiva, Batak, and Doctor Nurian and wondered if they could be trusted? Nearing the end of our interview, Isleh-lin arrived and exchanged greetings with Mr. Braun. It appeared they too, knew each other. Isleh was unhappy I had not notified her of the meeting. She did not realize my trust was not fully with her yet, having been a replicant herself. She also brought a stranger whom I had not seen before and was not introduced to. I’m curious as to his involvement and why he was lead to this meeting? Should all these people have access to Mr. Braun and the knowledge he was sharing with us? I had to assume the worst and proceed being extremely cautious. I told Isleh that I would file a report with her on what I was able to learn. I pondered giving her everything I was able to gather from Mr. Braun. The Kiva would surely fill her in, so as not to raise her distrust in me at this point I would send her a full report.

Another matter arose and I had to excuse myself and leave the meeting. Mr. Braun agreed to stay at NRC for a while so I could converse with him further and keep him safe. The Kiva agreed with this decision. Upon my leaving the Kiva asked if they could stay and continue to talk with Mr. Braun. I unwillingly agreed and in leaving wondered if they would fill me in with everything they learned from him in my absence. Again I made a note in my datapad to set up a meeting with the Kiva in order to discuss the information as well as see if she was able to get Feirith to tell her more. I knew from the information I just got from Feirith I needed to meet with the Jedi council. I typed a quick message in my datapad asking Batak if he might be able to set up such a meeting. As I left, I focused on new questions that would need to be answered.
_________________

Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

Cymrych · Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:57 pm Post subject:

My first meeting opportunity to follow up on this replicant matter was with the Inquisitor, Nyvveck. After a recon trip to Nym’s investigating the issue of the replicants trying to take control of it I was returning to Nocturnus and met him at the shuttle port. There was another present at the time, Zerai (SP). Had Nyvveck not said her name aloud I would not have recognized her. I asked Nyvveck if he would accompany me to the Desert Angel and allow me to buy him a drink as we discussed this matter. He agreed and we left Zerai behind.

The barkeep was MIA so without the drink we went forward in our discussion. I informed Nyvveck that I thought it was necessary we combine our efforts in the investigation of the replicants. Without first agreeing he asked me why I thought this. I offered him some of the information I was able to get from Feirith Braun. Nyvveck seemed to have gotten the same thing out of Mr. Braun. This again lead me to believe that these replicants did not pay that much attention to pain and the torture did not get Nyvveck any further than I had gotten. We agreed on most points and the information we had was very similar. We agreed that there was indeed the feeling that a battle was nearing and we would need to be ready. We did not yet know who would fight and where the line would be drawn without knowing who was a replicant.

I felt uneasy sitting next to the Imperial Inquisitor and discussing the opportunity to work together with him. I felt my finger twitch itching to grab my carbine and see if I could best him striking a huge blow to the Empire. Still, I knew this was not the time and place for that fight. There was something more threatening than the Empire at this moment. I’ve always heard that you should keep your enemies close, but maybe this was too close. Could I trust him long enough to get through this replicant threat? I still felt he was not a replicant himself and thus my feelings kept leading me to welcome his help. I decided to offer him something that I knew would get his attention.

“The replicants seek the same thing as you,” I told him with a chill going down my spine.

“Oh yeah, and what is that?”

“They seek those with the gift.”

“Ah, the force users. Do they seek to kill them or replicate them?”

I knew at this point that this was new information to him and I questioned myself for offering this to him. Yet, I knew I needed to give him something that would lead to him and me working together.

“From what I gather they seek to replicate them. This would not be good for any of us. We must find a way to stop that from happening.” I knew his mind and his adrenaline were flowing now. He must be thinking this could lead him to the death of all the force users.

“This is very informative,” came his reply and the grin on his face stretched from ear to ear.

“So, do we have a deal to work on this together,” I asked not wanting to offer any more to him as he had not yet offered me anything I didn’t already know.

After a long pause came his reply. “Based on recent activities I have declared martial law throughout Lok. We are going to strictly enforce all laws and those breaking them will be punished accordingly.”

“I’ve heard this rumor and I understand your thoughts on this.”

“Your end of the deal is to make sure that I am present for any trials in regards to this.”

“I understand and will see that you are present should this happen. I trust you more than others at this point, not knowing who is a replicant.”

“I am glad you have faith in the Empire,” came his reply.

Whew, those words made me cringe to even here someone tell me I had faith in the Empire. “Should things work out well during this cooperative effort, my faith may grow,” I replied and couldn’t believe the bad taste those words put in my mouth. I wished the barkeep was there so I could wash that taste out of my mouth.

He said we have a deal then and agreed to offer me his comm. link channel so we could communicate with each other if the need arises. I offered mine in exchange and was pleased that we, at least on some level, had come to agreement that working together may help us both.

He then said he would like to talk about another matter. He questioned me about one of my investigators, Caelen. He explained that Caelen had held a gun on him recently and wondered if I had anything to do with this since Caelen claimed he worked for me. I told him that I had sent Caelen into the field to locate a stranger I was searching for at that time and he was questioning locals about his whereabouts. He must have only wanted to question you and may not have recognized you if he pulled a gun. I explained that I told him to use force to question someone if the need arose. Nyvveck smirked and said that Caelen indeed knew who he was. He explained he went easy on him last time, but that Caelen would not be so lucky next time, if there was a next time. I offered my apologies and told him I would discuss the matter with Caelen.

As we exchanged pleasantries and got up to leave the cantina, Nyvveck noticed Zerai standing in the doorway. He asked if everything was okay. Her reply was that everything was fine and it was a quiet night in Nocturnus. I wondered how long she had been there, and wondered if she was a replicant spy. I left thinking I would have to deal with that later.

I was still waiting on Batak to get back to me about meeting with the Jedi council. His delayed response made me again question whether he was a replicant. He knew this information was time sensitive and the Jedi needed to be aware that the replicants were seeking them. Why was he not moving faster to make the arrangements? As well I still needed to meet with the Kiva to discuss the Temple and it’s involvement in the replicant plans.

I needed to get ready for something I knew was coming. But what, a battle? Were the replicants going to attack? Why? Did they seek to regain control of the Temple? This brought multiple suspicions to the surface. Isleh had been replicated and after her reunion with Mr. Braun my distrust she was no longer tied to the replicants was growing. Batak was the battle commander for Temple, and Isleh’s husband, was he compromised and now a replicant? E-bo was linked to the first ordeal with the replicants and I had yet to question her and know how she fit into this. And the Kiva seemed to have a way to calm Feirith. All these members of Temple I had growing questions that I needed to figure out how to answer. I felt the Temple and all those that were followers was somehow the key to unlocking this.
_________________

Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

Cymrych · Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:01 pm Post subject:

I received a transmission from my brother asking how I was. I started to reply and then thought, nah I will travel to see him. My brother was a great outside source and had helped me piece the puzzle of some former investigations together. I wanted to run the information I had past him and see if he could help me fit the pieces together better than I already had.

We sat talking next to the water while fishing at his house on the river just outside of Theed, Naboo. I had explained the replicant threat to him and how the investigation was going. We began to talk things out further with his offerings of insight when my comm went off.

“Sir, will you give me authority to kill the prisoner?”

“Caelen, I fear that is not a good idea at this point as I think he has more to offer us.”

“You have a plan for him,” came his reply.

“Something like that. I feel that he is more important to us alive and we have the opportunity to learn more from him. Are you with Mr. Braun now?”

“Yes, I am at headquarters with him now.”

“Stay there, I’m on the way.”

I shook hands with my brother and told him we would have to continue this another time. He told me to be careful and watch my back as I left.

As I landed at Nym’s I sent a comm to Caelen asking if the shuttle port was clear in Nocturnus. If the transmission I worked on decoding the day before was correct, I was now a target of the replicants. I suited up in my armor in case they lay in wait for my arrival. Caelen responded that everything was clear when he had arrived and that made me feel better. And yet, how long ago had he arrived? My arrival in Nocturnus went unnoticed as there was nobody near the shuttle port when I stepped off the shuttle. I jumped on my bike and high tailed it to NRC headquarters. I had announced earlier that day I was going to place NRC on lockdown and needed to enter the override code to do so.

My arrival at NRC was just in time. Xyryn, the Kiva, and Tsarg where there attempting to enter NRC. I entered the override code just in time and sealed the door. I then walked outside and asked what business they had there. The Kiva was carrying a gun, but Tsarg looked unarmed. I felt uneasy as the Kiva rarely carries a weapon openly. I glanced at Tsarg as if asking what was going on. Tsarg had been communicating with me over the last week or so in regards to joining the ranks of NRC. We had bumped into each other at a few functions and fought beside each other on the battlefield once or twice and he wrote a letter to me inquiring about NRC. My response was short due to my time being focused on the replicant matter but I promised him a meeting to discuss the matter further. At this point I had no reason not to trust him, the Kiva however was walking on thin ice with all the talk I had been hearing about her. She finally replied that they would wait to speak to Fierith and began to walk off. She motioned for Tsarg to follow her and they both left.

Caelen asked me what was going on and that seeing the Kiva with a gun was a rather odd sight. I agreed and was unsure what her intentions were. However, I dismissed it for now and told Caelen we need to speak to Fierith. Caelen filled me in on what he had got from him so far that evening. He gave me the names of Cioynites (SP), Ekade, and Adaks and asked me if I knew any of them. He mentioned Fierith had accused him of starting a war. With this information I turned my attention to Fierith. Caelen said he needed to run an errand and since I was there with the prisoner he left.

Fierith recognized me as the Cymrych unit when I removed my helmet. We then began discussing the names Caelen had mentioned. I asked if they were in fact the masters. Fierith replied that they were. I asked if he was seeking them or had any contact with them lately. I heard rumors of Cioynites involvement in the last replicant threat and that he had been killed. Ekade was a new name that I knew nothing about. Adaks, sounded really familiar although I could not place it off the top of my head, and I thought I was finally getting somewhere. Fierith then asked if he could see the Kiva. I wanted to proceed with my own interview as I had not had the opportunity to question him alone yet, but I knew the Kiva had a way of getting him to talk and since he had begun to open up, I didn’t want to loose the opportunity. I sent out a comm. to her asking if she was still in the area and if she would be willing to return per Fierith’s request. I said I would only allow her to enter. She said she was trying to take care of another issue but would return shortly.

As I waited I went on questioning Fierith. He began to tell me he was focused on communications with the hive in regards to the war I had started. I tried to inform him it was not my war as I had yet to even take a causality on either side. I was merely investigating the issue as it was a threat to the citizens of Nocturnus and it was my duty to protect them. He claimed we had begun to wipe out his people and that they were not going to stand down any longer. The war had begun. I offered him a peace offering to bring all his people to my headquarters where I could protect them until the issue could be sorted out. His reply was expected as he said that he could not give me the names of his people nor did he trust me to protect them. I was backed into the corner and left no options but war. I agreed with him that the recent events had set something in motion that neither of us could undo. I told him it was not by choice, but that we were at war with each other. He then went on about receiving his directives and was trying to pass on the contingency plan to the hive. I felt a chill go down my spine as I knew when he said he was a command replicant he would be the one to send the order. I sent a comm. to Caelen that I needed him ASAP as I was now in agreement that we needed to kill the prisoner. No response and Fierith was continuing to communicate with the hive. I sent a comm. to the Kiva asking her ETA to return. I knew what I had to do. The only way I knew that might stop this communication was to kill him, and I was not even sure that would work. Already in my armor I pulled out my carbine and fired upon Fierith. He did not offer much of a fight. I ran outside and jumped on my bike heading to the cloner to see if he would show up there. As I mounted my bike my comm. went off, it was the Kiva telling me she was now on the way. I did not have time to reply. Arriving at the cloning facility in Nocturnus only proved what I already knew, that he was not going to be there. I went back to NRC wondering the repercussions this was going to have with the citizens of Nocturnus with all the paranoia already going around.

There on the doorstep stood the Kiva and Caelen, both too late. I told the Kiva that Fierith was dead and sent Caelen to search the surrounding area’s cloning facilities for him. I briefly explained what had transpired to the Kiva when we were interrupted by her comm. link. She began whispering into the comm. and then asked that I take a walk with her. She did not have Tsarg with her and since she was alone I agreed to go and protect her. I asked where we were heading and she replied we were going to meet Tsarg and Shensen. My heart almost jumped out of my chest. I had heard so many rumors of this man called Shensen and knew that recently the Kiva had been seen with him on multiple occasions. The Inquisitor had recently announced that Shensen was a replicant and someone had also placed a bounty for his capture. She was taking me to meet him? I recalled the description that was provided on him as I felt the hair on my neck stand straight up as a chill went down my spine. And Tsarg was with him? Was the attempt by Tsarg to seek membership at NRC a farce and he was involved in this replicant matter? I still had my armor on and was walking close to the Kiva not knowing if a battle lay ahead. I asked her if these men were safe. Maybe I had misunderstood her and she said something that sounded like Shensen as I was still shaken from killing Fierith.

As we rounded the corner of the building I saw Tsarg and another man that fit the description I had of Shensen. My heart now pumping at top speed, my hand inched towards my carbine. Was this indeed Shensen? Was he a replicant as the Inquisitor has informed me? As well my old bounty hunter instinct pondered the $250,000 bounty for the capture of Shensen. From everything I heard about this man, that figure seemed too low and since I now represented the community as an elected commissioner I could not allow myself to attack based on the bounty. I had too many thoughts running through my mind and my heart was pumping too fast that when the Kiva asked if I wanted to know how to cleanse someone and verify they were not a replicant, I replied sure without thinking. She then said, “Well, Shensen?” Again calling him Shensen, still I wondered if it was really him. Before I could say anything I heard the hum of a lightsaber and watching it spring to life in front of me. The man in question lunged towards the Kiva, instinctively I grabbed my carbine and fired on him. What was this attack on the Kiva? I glanced at Tsarg to see if he would respond with an attack on me. Instead he was yelling for me to stop. I was too close to everyone to use my traps, as they would hit the Kiva and Tsarg and for now I was only focused on the man with the lightsaber. He killed the Kiva easily with his saber and I questioned the fact that she put up little resistance. He turned and blocked a few of my shots before the swipe of his saber grazed my armor. Everything moved so fast that it was now I paused and asked Tsarg confirmation to stop. While I paused and looked at Tsarg for approval the man continued to attacking me, so after a brief pause I again laid into him. Since the Kiva was killed I began to run in an attempt to get out of the range of his saber. While I ran I laid my traps and opened my entire arsenal on him. I could not believe that this night had lead me to a battle with one of the most dangerous men around. I felt I was going to loose this battle as not many were able to stand and fight against Shensen, but soon he was down and almost amazed at myself I delivered the deathblow not noting Tsarg still yelling at me to stop shooting. Was this Shensen? I would have never thought I could best him alone. Tsarg than began to explain what he was not able to tell me during the chaos of the battle. Shensen killed the Kiva to show me how to cleanse someone and verify they were not in fact a replicant. In my defense when she asked if I wanted to know this process she did not mention anything about being killed. I told her I would protect her, and that was what I was trying to do. If she was going to allow Shensen to kill her she should have explained that more clearly. Shensen returned from the cloner, and I wanted to know for sure it was him. I asked his name and wanted to hear it from his mouth, not just assume the Kiva hold told me the truth. I felt I had won the fight with him too easy for this to be the Shensen I had heard about. After Tsargs explanation, I apologized to the man in front of me. I realized that since the Kiva put up no fight Tsarg must be telling the truth. Tsarg and Shensen said they had checked the cloning facility and it was clean and uncompromised so sending the Kiva through was a way to make sure she was not a replicant. They said they had cleansed Jabe the same way previously. Ah yes, Jabe rang a bell. Based on what I leanred earlier I asked them to confirm his last name. Indeed they said it was Adaks. Was he the master? The man in front of me said it best that I not know who he was and did not confirm he was Shensen. I asked Tsarg is he was trustworthy and with Tsarg vouching for him, I lead them back to my office for a more private discussion.
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Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

Cymrych · Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:02 pm Post subject:

The Kiva made her return from the cloner as well and met us at the door. Her return was longer than Shensen and I was unclear of why. As we entered Caelen returned from his search for Fierith which yielded nothing. Having Caelen back made me feel a little better as I was still unsure of things and having backup made my heart slow down a little. Shensen now offered his name behind closed doors. Confirming it was him did not make me relax. Had he been a replicant? Was he cleansed when I killed him? Was the Kiva a replicant and now cleansed? I told Shensen that I would not turn him in, thinking I was better off trusting him knowing (hoping anyway) I had cleansed him, then others that I had not witnessed as cleansed. Plus, I was tired and beat from the previous fight and felt I could not defeat him again and I knew he would not go easily. They told me what I already knew that the Imperial command in Nocturnus and declared the cloner off limits and had verified it was clean and nobody was to enter. Was this true? Every answer only brought a new question. For now, I felt they were not replicants and offered what information I had to them.

I explained the situation with Fierith and why I felt I had to kill him. I could not allow him to send the communication to the hive. Not sure if killing him had accomplished that, but it was my only option. They agreed and did not seem to upset over what I had done. We then discussed some coordinates that Tsarg explained had come from an intercepted message. 919482, 2231, -4876 was what the Kiva gave me. We all agreed that this must be looked into as a priority. I informed them about the info Fierith gave me and Caelen about the masters. Shensen seemed to know the names as I offered them. As I mentioned the last name, Adaks, the Kiva and Shensen both seemed shocked. I asked if they thought it was Jabe. We then discussed the possibilities of such as well as mentioning that he was cleansed, or at least thought to be. The Kiva brought up something about Coiynite being killed by his brother Jabe near a Volcano. Then she mentioned the name of another brother, Kushiel. We all agreed that we needed to launch a search for Kushiel and I told them I would place my best men on the hunt. Only having the last name of Adaks made locating the brother important. We discussed what we knew of the hive and the technology behind it, which wasn’t much. We all thought the coordinates might have something to do with the hive and it needed to be located.

I offered them the information that Nyvveck had given me via a transmission. I had sent word to Nyvveck earlier in the day asking for confirmation about how he knew Shensen and Serek where replicants and thus placed them on the wanted list. His reply was that they had intercepted a transmission from one replicant to another discussing both Shensen and Serek as replicant agents. He claims the transmission was sent from Tatooine and thought to be going to Nocturnus. He said the replicants seem to use conventional transmissions when communicating from planets away. This was odd compared to what Fierith had told me. It seemed from him the hive was always a point of communication. Shensen seemed to know Nyvveck in a more personal way and as I said I had asked for the names on the transmission he knew Nyvveck would not release them. Shensen said he would never release them. I tried to explain that someone other than Nyvveck had them as he referred to “we” in every transmission. Shensen did not believe Nyvveck would be so careless and even referred to his career being in jeopardy and him needing something to regain the Emperor’s favor. The question of Nyvveck being a replicant was brought to the forefront. Had he placed Shensen and Serek as wanted only to use the replicant issue for his own benefit? I assured Shensen that even though Nyvveck and I had a current agreement I would not inform him of this meeting.

Tsarg and Caelen had left during the meeting and I was alone with Shensen and the Kiva. I felt had they in fact been replicants they had the opportunity to kill me sending me to the cloner to become one as well. So I felt sure that they had both been cleansed or were never replicants to begin with. The Kiva mentioned this to Shensen that they still did not know for sure if I was indeed a replicant since I had killed Shensen and not gone to the cloner myself. I felt a possible fight coming again, but my response of assuring them I was not a replicant and had not been through a cloning facility in some time as well as not wanting to compromise the investigation wanting to stay out of any cloning facility. Shensen told the Kiva that he could sense I was telling the truth and I took a deep breath and finally relaxed. I told them I needed to file some reports on what had transpired and I then retire for the evening. I bid them farewell and told them I would share any new info with them. I told the Kiva to give Shensen my personal comm channel.

As they left I fell into my chair. I was exhausted having fought Shensen and all the emotions that had gone through me that evening. Was this the break I needed? I knew trouble was on the horizon and I hoped Shensen and the Kiva would prove worthy of my trust. And what about Fierith saying the war had begun? I now had to focus on the meeting set with the Jedi council. I felt they were suspicious of Shensen and would now question me if the news of this meeting got to them. Could I convince them I had cleansed Shensen? Should I even mention his name at the meeting? I had to rest.
_________________

Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

Shensenn · Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 6:42 pm Post subject:

Shensen arrived in Mos Eisley without incident. The Kiva would be holding the schola tonight, so the meeting Cymrych had invited he and Serek to was a welcome distraction since very fiber in him wanted to pull him back to the Temple. Back to her. He met Cymrych and Serek in the starport and greetings were made briefly before they were on their speeders following Cymrych to an undisclosed location.

“This is a trap…I just know it.” Serek shouted from his speeder next to Shensen.

“We will see. I suspect it is just nerves from recent events.” Shensen replied.

They rode on in silence over the sand and rock of tattooine until they finally arrived at a large building out in the middle of nowhere…about 6k meters from Eisley. Shensen inwardly groaned at having to have been through Eisley yet again.

As they rounded the first corner inside, he noticed a hooded figure hiding behind a tapestry. He kept going until they were inside looking at Hashum. Shensen nodded in greeting.

“Hidden guests.” Serek muttered.

“Not that well hidden.” Shensen replied to him with a grin.

He heard the snap-hiss of a lightsaber and barely dodged a swipe. Using the force he ran like the wind out of the building, telling Serek to do the same over his comm. He didn’t know what became of Cymrych. He only saw Serek and himself being attacked and thought briefly that the man had led them into a trap.

Calling his AB-1, he went to see if he could pick Serek up. He started to catch up to them some time later and saw Safia and…Tsarg, yes it was him – chasing Serek through the sands. Shensen closed the distance – together they could repel the two. Jumping from his speeder he was mid-air when Serek was able to jump on his own speeder and take off. Shensen landed and layed into them, but he was alone and couldn’t fight them off…..
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Shensenn · Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 7:41 pm Post subject:

“Dammit.” Shensen muttered as he tried to shake the grogginess that came with the cloning process.

He thought about going back out there to give them a piece of his mind, but decided he would probably fare worse in his weakened condition. They needed to come up with another plan.

“You make it out alright?” He asked Serek over his comm.

“Yeah, how are you?” Came the reply.

“I’m alright. We need to come up with a plan. Where do you want to meet?”

“I’m in the sanctuary in Nocturnus.”

“Be right there.” He replied turning off his comm. As he traveled and thought about it more, the sanctuary might not be the best place. The schola was happening right across the street and the Imperials were likely to have patrols out looking for them as well.

“On second thought, lets meet at Club Midnight – it’s farther from the Temple and the schola and should be a safer location out of eye and earshot.”

“Sounds good.”

Shensen arrived in Nocturnus and scanned the streets as he stepped off of the shuttle. He had brought Jabe with him. He knew Jabe was clean now and might need the backup should they run into any trouble or in case Hashum and Safia had followed them. Serek was waiting for him. Serek and Jabe exchanged greetings and some small talk.

“Come, let’s get off the streets. It’s dangerous for us to be out in plain sight like this.” Shensen said mounting his speeder. He rode on without looking back and headed to the club to wait for them.

He entered to find the Kiva inside along with the twins.

“Greetings my dear.” He said smiling. She returned his smile and bowed. “What are you doing in here? Don’t you have a schola to attend to?” He asked.

“You’ve been killed recently, you know what that means.” She responded.

“The cloners are clean and I –“ He was cut off as the familiar sound of a lightsaber brought flashbacks to his earlier encounter. Again he ran and put enough distance between them and himself to call his speeder and take off. He didn’t know how many there were, but looking over his shoulder revealed they were not giving up the chase that easily.

He rode on for several thousand meters passing a few small outpost towns trying to lose his hunters. Finally looking back he only saw one still in pursuit.

“Time to end this. If they want a fight they’ll get one – I’m sick of this.” He thought to himself as he brought his speeder to a halt and dismounted. His pursuer was also dismounted in the distance. He sped his step up and ignited his saber just before coming into range. It was one of the twins. Their sabers clashed, but in the end she received a trip to the cloner for her trouble. “Good, hopefully they will stop and think about what they’re doing.” He thought to himself.

He then caught the sound of footsteps and turned in time to block a strike from Serek. Apparently he had not given up the chase either. Their fight ended as the previous one did and Shensen returned to Nocturnus only to find out that the Kiva was not responding to her comm. and supposedly she was being held by someone. He was able to get a fix on her position and rode out, stopped well short to get a look. There were six or seven people around her, but the scene didn’t look threatening…to her at least.

The longer he sat there and thought of it the more he started to think they were not holding her against her will – they were guarding her…from him. No doubt she still had the fool idea he was a replicant and had spread the paranoia around. He was relieved to find she was not in the hands of the Inquisitor. She should be safe enough among her friends…for now. Shensen decided he should return to town and let everyone out there calm down and start thinking rationally again.

Shensen boarded a shuttle looking back at Nocturnus one more time. He supposed he would have to stay away or come at his own risk now. The list of people trying to kill him just got a lot longer while his will to be the nice upstanding one got a little smaller.
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Cymrych · Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:35 pm Post subject:

I awoke the next morning again hoping that everything was a dream. I tried to sit up in bed and my stiff body reminded me that the fight last night with Shensen was real. My stomach still felt uneasy and I knew today’s events were not going to give me the opportunity to relax. I had the meeting with the Jedi council tonight and was not looking forward to it. I needed to warn them of the replicants seeking those with the gift. But I couldn’t help but ask myself what if the replicants beat me to it. There were rumors around town about everyone being accused as a replicant even those I was supposed to meet with tonight.

As I reviewed the replicant information stored in my databank I had a thought after last night’s events. I knew that going to this meeting alone was a bad idea, but who did I trust enough to take? I decided I would ask Shensen to accompany me to the meeting. I sent him a transmission and told him of my meeting and asked for his thoughts on going with me. I would have asked the Kiva as well, but felt this was too dangerous a meeting to bring her along. I then continued to review all the replicant information in my databank. I was still trying to put the pieces of this puzzle in the right order. I remembered Fierith’s words the night before about the war had begun. A war, well as a Rebel Colonel I had options, but with the Alliance stretched so thin fighting the Empire I did not want to request Rebel troops as back up for a threat I could not yet identify. The alliance was focused on Restuss and the events taking place there. They had even requested my presence and I made one trip to fight in the initial battle for the city. I felt the Allaince had won that battle and could hold the city and hoped I was not needed again. Plus, Nocturnus was not aware of my current standing in the Alliance and bringing in troops would only open me to more problems. I still had Nyvveck on my side and did not want to start fighting with him and his men when focused on the replicants. I still felt I could handle things with my own men and my new allies.

Later that afternoon I received a response from Shensen. He said that he would indeed go with me to this meeting and said he would bring Serek as well. He told me of some bad blood between him and those I was going to meet so he warned me of this creating an unstable environment. I laughed as I felt things were already unstable and that having back-up with me was more important than some old grudge. Although I did not know Hashum personally, his reputation preceded him as a calm and reasonable man and I felt as a master Jedi he would see past the emotions and focus on a more dangerous threat in the replicants. So it was set, I was to attend this meeting with Shensen and Serek as back-up. They were both still wanted by the Imperials and bounties remained on both as well. I was worried I would end up wanted, and possibly have a bounty placed on me if I was seen with them. The Kiva had been able to avoid that in running with Shensen and Serek over the last few days, so I figured what they heck. I knew Shensen was clean as I performed the cleansing myself and had to trust in that.

I was preparing for my travel to the meeting and strapping on my armor when my comm. went off.

“Cymrych, Shensen said we are going to attend a meeting with you this evening. Where should I meet you?”

“Serek, the meeting we are to attend is on Tantooine, please meet me in Mos Eisley.”

“Roger, I’ll see you there.”

As I left for Eisley my thoughts were on the meeting. My first thought was would I survive this? My second, would I be able to draw out a replicant if one of the Jedi had been processed? With Shensen and Serek teaming with me I felt the odds of that were higher. I did not understand the ways of the force, but I felt they might be able to use it to help me determine if one of the Jedi was indeed a replicant. I landed in Eisley and found Serek waiting for me. He said Shensen was on his way. While we waited Serek began to tell me of his suspicions regarding Hashum and some of the other Jedi. He felt that Hashum was somehow connected to the bounties placed on Shensen and him. That no Jedi would hire a bounty hunter to accomplish such a task and thus he felt Hashum might be a replicant. He felt others close to Hashum might be compromised as well. As I tried to process this info Shensen arrived. I was late for my meeting so with a quick greeting I lead them off to the location Hashum told me to meet him.

As we traveled on our speeders I heard Serek and Shensen exchange thoughts on this meeting.

“This is a trap…I just know it.” Serek told Shensen.

“We will see. I suspect it is just nerves from recent events.” Shensen replied.

I did not reply as I too felt this may be a trap. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was leading all of us to a very dark place and if so, I knew I would regret this.

Arriving at the location we found a large building out in the middle of nowhere. I quickly scanned the perimeter and found it clear. I lead my new friends inside. Shensen on my left, Serek on my right. As we entered I heard them say…

“Hidden guests.” Serek muttered.

“Not that well hidden.” Shensen replied.

I assumed it had something to do with the force and them sensing the others. As the building opened up into a large room I found Hashum alone. I greeted him and felt as if he was focused on those behind me as he gave me a quick nod. The next thing I knew Hashum sprung his saber to life and lunged towards Shensen. I was then almost knocked over as three more people came from nowhere. As I gained my balance and grabbed my carbine to fire back Shensen and Serek were retreating outside. I laid chase and recognized one of the men as Tsarg. They had all pasted me and were attacking Shensen and Serek. This did not look good. As I exited the building Serek went left and Shensen went right. My team was split, who should I follow? My trust was in Shensen so I gave chase to his attackers. It was hard trying to keep up as they ran with amazing speed. I was in shape and thought I was fast, but this was ridiculous. I sent a comm. to Tsarg…

“Why are you attacking us?”

“We need to make sure Serek is cleansed,” came his reply.

“Okay, I can see that but why are they attacking Shensen?”

Nothing but static followed. I was falling out of range and knew I needed to do something fast. I fired my snare at the closest target I could see in range. He slowed and I managed to catch up, to find it was Hashum. I started to ask about the attack when he turned his saber on me. My heart must have stopped for a few seconds as I was shocked by this. I began to fight back not knowing what had happened to Shensen and Serek. I had completely lost sight of everyone but the man I was engaged with. The battle was fierce and raged on stirring up dust everywhere in the middle of the desert. And then I was down. Hashum stood over me, and I knew this was it. I felt my eyes close as if to prepare for my death. I feared what I might find on the other side. And then I heard the crash of two lightsabers as they met. I opened my eyes and strained through the dust to see that Tsarg had come back and had now engaged Hashum as well. I reached for my carbine that was knocked from my hand and jumped up firing at Hashum again. With Tsarg now there we were able to take down Hashum. Tsarg said we need to cleanse him, but I forced him to stop short.

“We need him alive! This is the first one we have been able to capture.”

After he agreed and we both caught our breath I asked…

“What happened with the others? How did you know to come back?”

“I lost track of everyone else so I do not know what happened. I sent you a comm. to which you did not answer so I came as quickly as I could.”

I had not even realized my comm. had gone off during the fight with Hashum. But no matter I was glad Tsarg had showed up.

“Thanks for saving my bacon. I think you have just earned your entrance to NRC.”

I told Tsarg we needed to escort the prisoner back to NRC as quickly as we could, things here were too dangerous. We set off for Eisley and I hoped we could reach Nocturnus without further incident. I sent two comms as we traveled.

“Serek, you there?”

“Shensen, you there?”

I did not receive a reply from either. I was worried about what had happened to them, but needed to focus on the prisoner before me.

We arrived in Nocturnus without incident as I had hoped. However I felt getting from the shuttleport to NRC was going to be an issue. I knew the town was going to be busy with Schola going on at the temple. I also felt I needed to notify the Kiva about the events. But I wanted to wait till the prisoner was in his cell. As we began to walk towards NRC, I saw Ms. Mott heading towards me. I was fearful that a distraction would lead to the prisoner trying to escape. I told her to clear the streets that I had a prisoner I needed to get locked up immediately. Another man showed up as well and he and Isleh watched as Tsarg and I escorted Hashum down the street. I still was unclear if Isleh was a replicant or truly cleansed so I was ready should she try to free Hashum. As we rounded the corner and headed down the next street another man showed up. I did not recognize him so carried on and ignored him. Tsarg was trailing me and the prisoner and sent me a comm….

“Someone is following us, what do you want to do?”

“If they do not attack, leave them alone. We must get Hashum locked up before attending to others.”

We reached NRC, and I lead Hashum to the basement and placed him in the cell. I then tried to reach the Kiva.

“My Lady, I know you are busy this evening with Schola but I have an urgent matter. Tsarg and I have been able to capture a prisoner.”

“A prisoner? Who would that be?”

“Hashum. We are in NRC and I think you need to come here ASAP.”

“I am actually out in the wilderness and have stumbled across something odd.”

“Odd, what do you mean?”

“Shensen would not let me kill him. You find that odd?”

“Hum, I replied, that is a little odd.”

“Would you let me kill you, Cymrych?”

I did not want to get involved in this cleansing stuff for no reason. My investigation needed to be legit and I did not want any opening for suspicions. However if she needed to see me die to believe I was not one…

“Sure.” This was followed by a long silence.

“I have been detained by many. They feel I should not come there and will not allow me to leave.”

“Detained? Do I need to come assist you? “

“No.”

“Tsarg and I can question Hashum and send you a report. I just felt that you would want to be here for this and not learn from the report.”

“They will not let me go. Please proceed.”

I looked at Tsarg and told him she would not be coming. We both wondered about her being held and feared it might be something bad. But why had she not asked me to come? With no reply from my comms to Shensen and Serek and the Kiva saying something about seeing Shensen and him not allowing her to kill him worried me. I told Tsarg to stand guard at NRC, and I headed out to see if I could locate Shensen or Serek.
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Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

Isleh · Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 3:49 am Post subject:

It's madness. The city has turn on itself like a pack of starving wild animals. The Kiva, Xyryn seemed to be the worst. She spoke of the Goddess as a spirit of retribution and judgment as An'drew had phrased it. It was nothing she had ever learned from the previous Kivas.

The talk of clensing sickened her. They were heading off to kill Shensen because he could, maybe, be a replicant. Xyryn's fear was driving her to murder on a guess and Isleh couldn't do it. She refused to help and in stunned silence, she watched the Xyryn march off to kill someone she cared a great deal for.

"I can't let this happen" she thought and then spoke outloud.

They gave chase and during that chase, they ran into Cymrych escorting Hashum. Hesitating for a moment, and with a mental "later", she moved on. The rest of the crowd who stood in stuned silence on the steps of the Temple following, searching, trying to stop Shensen's murder.

They had found Xyryn. Distraught that Shensen wouldn't let her kill him.

"She's gone completly insane. This is got to stop."

She took a deep breath and started a transmission. It would seek out specific accounts as destroy the data contained within. It was pretty easy to do, the accounts that contained the information was her's. She watched as the data was erased and she had second thoughts severl times at the process progressed.

80%... 85%... 90%... 95%... 97%... 100%... done.

E-bo was safe for now. She could tell them, now that her clone data had been destroyed and there was no chance that the information would fall into the hands of the replicants through her.

"I have a way to detect replicants.... "

She told them. She told them that E-bo could hear echos of the voices. That it could maybe be used to find a replicant. She also told them that she would not tell them E-bo's location. That she understood E-bo's fear, of being clensed. That fear is one of the reasons why she never said anything.

Tsarg · Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 6:38 am Post subject:

- "He is a replicant and must be stopped. We cannot allow him or his group to take over what we swore to protect"

He just could not believe his interlocutor´s words, he was there last night with Cymrych when they were talking about making progresses against the replicants. They had discovered so much information about them by coming across a lost transmission that seemed to have some kind of coordinates encrypted into it and that could mean a great advance for them in their cause against the replicant menace.

No, Cymrych couldnt have been one of them.

- "You dont believe what i tell you Tsarg?? do you have doubts in your mind about me??"

That was a direct qwuestion Tsarg did not want to answer. Even though he had always trusted master Hashum he was not fully convinced that master Hashum would behave in that way.

The scene we just described was taking place in a remote and hidden base somewhere in the sands of tatooine. The room was completely filled with a strange energy that came from both, master Hashum and master Safia´s body. Their control of the force was completely amazing even for an advanced padawan soon to be knight, such as Tsarg, but this time there was something more, something ...... neutral about this force that sorrounded him. It was not natural ... the force that used to sorround his masters was a good aura and this was just not it.

The shadows in the corners of the rooms seemed to try to hide or run away from both jedi masters. It was as if they feared them both. Wherever they walked there were strange things happening like if the force they were trying to control could escape their grasp. And their eyes ..... they were just not right. Their eyes were filled with an unusual emptyness that made Tsarg uneasy.

- "We will clean them once they arrive here. I am sure Cymrych will not come alone. The replicant cowards dont dare to go out if its not in numbers to avoind being eliminated so im sure he will bring the other replicant Shensen with him"

Well there was something he was sure of .... and that was that Shensen was cleansed last night right before his eyes so he could not be posibly a replicant. Even though he wanted to tell that to Hashum .... he held his tongue and did not say a word. Too many things were at risk if the things he knew were to fall in the wrong hands.

Time went by faster than he thought. By the time he completely recovered full awareness of that which was around him hashum was signaling him to hide behind a banner in the entrance of the installation. It was a previously agreed signal and he knew what to do without Hashum telling him anything. The banner would cover most of his body, however even if he was discovered the objective was to jump at the first ocasion saber ready to eliminate any threat.

He sensed a very strong force getting closer and soon he discovered that not only Shensen had come to the meeting but also Serek had joined Cymrych as a loyal bodyguard would. While Shensen and Cymrych were clear of any doubt from being replicants, that was not the case for Serek Vandal. The fact that Tsarg had never trusted him made things worse, so by the time Hashum and safia launched the attack, Tsarg already had picked a target.

- “Hidden guests.” Serek muttered.

- “Not that well hidden.” Shensen replied.

At that time all hell broke loose. Tsarg already knew what was going to happen ... it was going to be a fierce war between both groups. The fight started as soon as Hashum drew his Lightsaber aiming for Cymrych, on his side Shensen saw what was happening and turned to an evasive maneuver surely trying not to hurt his old friends. Meanwhile Tsarg and Safia had already managed to draw first blood, and it was Serek´s blood, who cought up by surprise had no chance but to take the same action as Shensen did and he rapidly left the building. Tsarg had to make a choice in a fraction of a second and his instincts worked for him even before his brain started sending the instructions to his body.

He decided to follow Serek and leave Shensen get away from the fight to save his own skin. He trusted the trandoshan would show the wisdom he had to not get back into the battle.

Serek managed to flee and escaped mounted on his BARC but suddenly a lightsaber came out of nowhere to hit safia´s back. Instincts once more awokened the need in Tsarg to defend his longtime master and one of his must trusted friends, so he simply chose to attack the person who was threatening his master. With Serek gone Shensen was fighting master and Apprentice all together by himself. Safia had practiced her fighting style with Tsarg countless times so they both well understood each other in battle and knew how to cover each others back. Even with the incredible skills Shensen owned with a lightsaber .... this fight was lost for him.

After a coupple of minutes of fight that seemed like an eternity to the young padawan, Shensen was beaten and lying in the floor with still a grasp of breath in his lungs. Tsarg knew very well that they should let him recover his health and then explain everything. He thought that maybe now he had time to explain Safia what had happened last night. Shensen is clean and he does not need to be killed. However before he could prevent it his master slashed with such speed as he had never seen before in any being, human or not, and slith Shensen´s body from side to side terminating any life inside it, or so he thought, but he was not sure about it. He felt bad about Shensen, but more than anything he felt perturbed that Safia would perform such an action so mercilessly against someone she had known for such a long time and with whom she shared strong bonds.

However Tsarg did not have any time to loose. There was another battle taking place not far from there, and he had to do something to prevent that what just happened to Shensen would not happen to Cymrych. He looked at Safia and saw her picking up Shensen´s body. The image was terrifying, he could not believe Shensen was dead and that he had somehow participated in his death. However for just a fraction of a second he could swear to anyone that he saw Shensen´s hands moving as if he was still alive. Anyways he couldnt do much more there, he needed to get to Cymrych on time before Hashum killed him.

He decided to send a comm mesage to Cymrych to ask him his position and tell him that he believed Hashum was a replicant. No response came from Cymrych commlink which worried him. Was he already too late to help him?? could it be that Hashum was indeed a replicant and would make Cymrych join his ranks?? How bad was this situation really??
_________________
''I have a prayer, and I hope it's yours.... that we don't become a monster in order to defeat a monster. That is my prayer."

Bono

Tsarg · Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 6:57 am Post subject:

He ran as fast as the force allowed him to run and he got just on time where the battle was taking place. Cymrych is a great warrior in any means, however all his knowledge could not match the ancient training of a master jedi with the knowledge and understanding of the force as Hashum. When unleashed, his energy could be matched by only a few beings in the galaxy, but none of those beings was present at that time to help Cymrych. It was only a young child as he seemed at that moment. It was a David vs Goliath fight between the wisest master and the most advanced apprentice of the academy. However Tsarg did not hesitate and started getting closer to the heat of the battle.

Cymrych was struggling to get out of Hashum´s reach and kept firing him with his carbine. Hashum was so concentrated in the fight against Cymrych that he never felt Tsargs presence. Tsarg was about to speak the words that could make Hashum stop his attack, but right before he could, Hashum murmured something about turning Cymrych into one of them. He called him a good asset for the cause.

Then he saw Cymrych´s carbine being knocked out from his hands and his body falling to the floor. He was still alive but that was about to change as Hashum´s lightsaber began an eliptic movement aimed straight at the downed man´s throat. Tsarg quickly snapped out of his dizzyness and without hessitation joined Cymrych´s flank to aid him in the battle against someone that looked like Hashum, but could never be him. Tsarg´s first blow was not an offensive one, he aimed his saber directly to cut his masters saber trajectory and avoid Cyrmrych from being killed. That attack from Tsarg caught Hashum by surprise to the point that he lost his balance for a second or two. That was everything an expert combattant such as Cymrych, head of the NRC, needed to turn the tide of the battle. With a fast move he leaned towards his carbine and picked it up as fast as he could. A coupple of blaster shots well aimed to the unprotected part of Hashum´s body were all needed to slow him down. The jedi master was now hurt and knew he could actually loose this fight if he was not careful.

Their life depended on this battle against Hashum so Tsarg did everything he could to stop his old masters replica from beating down his friend. He had fought alongside of Cymrych one or two times before and he kew what he was capable of doing. The odds told the truth and both the NRC leader and the young padawan bested the master. Tsarg´s emotions were raging inside him. He knew this man was not Hashum but he couldnt forgive himself for what he was about to do.

- "We need to kill him, its the only way"

- “We need him alive! This is the first one we have been able to capture.” Cymrych said hastingly getting into Tsargs thoughts before he could deliver the final blow.

He knew Cymrych was right about that, so with all his inner strenght he managed to control himself and lower his saber. He took Hashum´s lightsaber and set it up on his belt. There it would be safe.

- “What happened with the others? How did you know to come back?” asked the ex-bounty hunter.

- “I lost track of everyone else so I do not know what happened. I sent you a comm. to which you did not answer so I came as quickly as I could.” Tsarg replied.

After checking his commlink to certify if Tsarg was telling the truth, Cymrych smiled at the padawan and extended his hand as if to shake hands with the young one.

- “Thanks for saving my bacon. I think you have just earned your entrance to NRC.”

They then proceeded to take the prisoner back to NRC headquarters where he would then be questioned and searched for more information regarding the replicants that were trying to take over The entire planet.

The learning of a padawan had just ended ...... the life of a law enforcer had just begun and with it the battle against one of the deadliest foes anyone could ever imagine.
_________________
''I have a prayer, and I hope it's yours.... that we don't become a monster in order to defeat a monster. That is my prayer."

Bono

Isleh · Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 3:05 am Post subject:

Isleh sat in the comm chair, the voices on the edge of her hearing clawing at her mind, trying to find a way in were less here in Kessel space. Away from Lok, she had the quietness she needed to work on the data Hojo recovered from Nyms.

Isleh looked around her.

Half of the Sublime Dance was taken up by data banks and code breaking computers and still nothing. She rubbed her temple and looked at the garbage scrolling across her holoprojecter and sighed. She glanced at the setative that promised dreamless sleep.

"I guess some sleep won't hu... "

She stoped in mid thought. Hanging in the middle of the holo, surrounded by a torrent of garbage text and symbols in 7 million languages hung a word.

"wafers"

She could see the peices fall into place now as the data banks now had something to work from. Slowly at first than quicker and quicker as the layers of the encription that protected the data were stripped away.

She half smiled as she prepared the information... a broadcast of the information was tempting but risky. Nocturnus would be attacked immediately...

So tempted was she to simply throw caution to the wind. A voice in her head was saying to her "Now's the time to see who is a friend and who is an enemy" and her hand moved to the control that would tap into the Nocturnus comm channels and broadcast all of it.

An image of the chaos that would erupt in the outer rim entered her mind. The empire would move in and take direct control of Corillia and Corellian space. She hesitated and withdrew her hand. Doubt clouded her mind. Was it her own voice in her head that wanted these things? She did not know. Instead, she prepared individual reports to the following people.

NocSec and NRC Commander, Cymrych.
The Kiva Xyryn of the Temple of the Goddess.
The Kaki'Vati Captian, Batak Sai'nu.
The Scoundrel Hojo.
The Renegade Whar.

<< Begin Transmission >>

The encrypted data recovered from Nym's stronghold reveals a pattern of secret shipments being made to Lok and are apparently originating from Corellian space. These operations have continued for several months unknown to even most of Nym's men.

Nym has closed off and is maintaining tight control over his most heavily armed high-speed shipping lanes in the Karthakk system leading to Lok.

Standard approach vector delta has been deemed off limits to all vessels with the exception of a series of Imperial escorts reported missing by the Empire several months ago. A small cargo craft with the appearance of a luxury yacht has been known to be the subject of the escorting vessels.

Over the past several months, various shipments have been staged to several random and secret landing areas on the surface of Lok. Nym has personally overseen that all of these shipments take place smoothly and without interruption. In addition, Nym has forbidden access to the vicinity of the approach vector delta maintaining the highest security possible.

The manifest of past shipments was not included in the data wad recovered by Hojo. However the next shipment which is due to arrive on... :O)(*&OO%e$%ie#%a# ...has a large quantity of one item in it's manifest. The only description is as follows: "wafers".

Vector delta is known to be most commonly used by ships approaching from Corellian space. The wad of data also includes manual override codes to control the shipping vessel in the case of the Imperial escorts being taken out by an enemy force.

<< End Transmission >>

Isleh · Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 3:13 am Post subject:

As Isleh watched the data being sent, she scanned the channels and saw something that caught her eye.

*Encrypted Alliance broadcast*

I, Whar Sloth, your esteemed consul have uncovered the following information regarding Replicants. What you are about to read is my formal report:

After extensive computer analysis and manual observation of the replicant creation cycle, a great amount of information has been discovered on the process of replication....

So much for caution... she thought.