When they had joined up with Jace, they exchanged stories on the way to Ryvo's apartment. Jace had gone to the office of the prefect-commissioner and one of Ryvo’s paternal uncles, Brettu Lorell. Jace had reported that after "arranging" an impromptu meeting with the local politician, he had learned that Brettu didn't care for, maybe even harbored ill will, for Ryvo Lorell. Apparently, Ryvo had supplied false information to the planetary government that implicated Brettu's two sons in a local spice-selling ring. Not only that, but he had constantly harassed Brettu's position of power with propaganda and public vocalization, both bordering on libel and slander, respectively. Jace had determined that the man was telling the truth and that he was of no use as ransom. He did tell Jace that Ryvo's parents probably still lived on Celalon, so that was something.

     Jace had grimaced at some parts of the two women’s story but had been satisfied, if not downright enthusiastic, with the results. With Jace, it was so difficult to tell.

     Making it into the apartment was easy enough, as the door was secured by a simple lock. All three Sith had agreed that they were being watched, and had discovered an overcurious neighbor, who was promptly rid of by Force suggestion. It struck Skate that impeding a nosy neighbor was a skill millions of beings in the galaxy envied, and it made her feel lucky to posses it.

     It appeared as if the apartment had been burglarized, with the thieves leaving nothing of value behind, save for a few pieces of plush furniture. Toiletries, cooking articles and some foodstuffs were the only things left. The only bedroom had been stripped of everything save for the bed. A closet in the refresher only held bath towels.

     "He cleared the place out in a hurry," Skate observed.

     "No shit, Olie," Jen said. "Judging from the dates on this food, he didn't do it too long ago, either. Four days, give or take."

     "So he knew someone was coming," Jace said, going through a drawer in the kitchen. "But how?"

     "I don't know," Jen answered, shaking her head.

     Skate noticed something shiny on the floor near the bar that bordered the kitchen. She knelt down and moved a stool to get to the object. It was made out of what looked to be pure silver, and was shaped in a rounded, triangular form with a short piece jutting out from one point. After turning it over in her hands a few times, she realized that it was a fancy bottle opener.

     "Find something, Skate?" Jen asked.

     "No. Just a bottle opener."

     "I wonder if he made it in shop class," Jen said dryly.

     "Look at this," Jace said, holding up a small, rectangular piece of flimsi. "Membership card for some kind of club. Doesn't indicate if it's local. We can take it back to the SSD and run a check. In fact, let's load up all this stuff." He tossed each woman one of several large plastic bags he had found in a drawer. "Maybe it can be examined for clues."

     Skate started loading up her bag with drawer contents, but slipped the bottle opener in her pocket. It was to be a reminder of what Ryvo Lorell had done, and what had to be done about it.

     "The planetary infonet has information on the Vetter system that doesn't even resemble that of the SSD's databanks." Thunder punched a few buttons on her datapad. "Information sent to your datapads."

     Skate brought up the information and took a look at it.

Skate scrolled down to the summary, which claimed that no bodies in the system were habitable by humans. This, coupled with the fact that the data claimed there was no Imperial governor, meant that, without a shadow of a doubt, the SSD's databanks had been altered.

     "Then it's confirmed," Jace said, looking up. "Somebody or something went in and changed the information."

     "I have a feeling that it's the latter," Thunder said. "Ane's HRD could have easily done that."

     "Possibly."

     "I think it's more than possible," Thunder argued. "I'd say likely."

     "So you concede guilt and take full responsibility?" Narska Plo'kre, the Bothan, said. He tilted his head back and eyed Thunder.

     "What are you talking about?" Thunder asked, narrowing her eyes.

     "You are the one that allowed the ersatz Baron Reno aboard." The Bothan opened his hands, and clasped them again.

     "That was part of a plan!"

     "A plan that may have had serious side effects," Narska countered. "Or, should I say 'likely' had serious side effects?"

     "Why you-"

     "Enough," Jace cut in. "Right now, whose fault it is doesn't matter as much as who--or what--did it. Whoever did it is our link to Reno's captors, or at least, our link to Ryvo Lorell. Speaking of which, the intelligence techs examined the items we brought up. Only the card we found was useful. The only information on the card was the numeric code of his membership. Nothing in the way of personal information. They ran a check and only three Bottomless Bottle's came up. One on Bimmisaari, one on Ovres and one on Sova."

     "There isn't a way to narrow it down?" Palin, Sith Eight, asked.

     "The information on the exterior of the card was too sketchy to compare to the information on the three sources. The card only has the name and a slogan: 'cut a rug, take a glug'. Does anybody know what that could mean?"

     "On Orcania, in Cani in particular, 'cutting a rug' means dancing," Star explained. "I think it's more of a Core colloquialism. And of course, glugging means to drink."

     "Sova is a planet dedicated to entertainment. It seems logical that such a clever catchphrase would be the product of a business in a sea of competition. But we can't be sure. Myself, Ten and Eleven will head to Sova. Two, take Three and Eight to Ovres. Seven, Nine and Twelve will go to Bimmisaari. Ask the employees, patrons for any information on Ryvo Lorell. Erase their memory of the questioning and if any trouble goes down, use your brains. If anything is found, do not act. Return to the SSD and await my return. Any questions?"

     "Yeah, can I trade with Twelve?" Rick asked. "Bimms are just funny."

     "You're not lying," Seven said, laughing. "Ever been to Bespin?"

     "I think Thunder is too angry with me to have me on her team, Three," Narska said.

     "You're damn right I'm angry!"

     "I'm sorry, but is it my fault that stating the apparent angers you?" Narska asked.

     "Kinda odd how the place is called the Bottomless Bottle," Seven observed randomly. "They used to call me the Bottomless Bladder, among other things."

     "If I can just be serious for a moment, I can add something I forgot. If and when the correct location is found and we all return to the SSD to plan our next move, Thunder will take Three and Eight to Celalon. They are to locate Ryvo Lorell's parents and scope them out. That way, if this plan comes to a dead end, we can still move in and take his parents."

     "I thought for sure you'd go to Celalon right away," Jen said.

     "If he ditched his residence on Kiffu, then he probably moved his parents, too," Jace reasoned. "But we can't be sure of that. I am sending Thunder's team there as insurance. Besides, I have a gut feeling about this club thing. Go prep for your missions. Dismissed."

       As Skate made her way to her cabin, a random thought of Wrenn Valto entered her mind. She hadn't talked to him in several days, and what with all the duty, she didn't even have the time to think of him. It surprised her that she acutally missed talking to him, but when she thought about it, it made sense. He really seemed to understand her, and relate to her stories. That was something she rarely found among people, even the other members of Sith Squadron. Not only that, but he was kind to her. Well, as kind as somebody could be over subspace radio.

     She rounded a corner and almost ran right into Lieutenant Trebaum.

     "My apologies, Lady Skate," the tall man said, slightly bowing his head to her.

     "No, it was my fault. My mind was wandering."

     "I think all of ours are in this terrible time."

     "Yeah," Skate agreed, knowing that he was referring to Reno's absence. "Good to see you are over your sickness, though."

     "Thank you. Good to be over it." Trebaum smiled. "I must be on my way. Good day, Lady Skate."

     "Bye."

     Skate watched him go for a moment, and then continued to her quarters. For some reason, he was hiding something from her, and he had done it well. Perhaps he was hiding his feelings for me. She almost kicked herself for thinking that thought. That's wishful thinking at best. I'm giving myself too much credit there. Or am I? What else could he have been hiding from her? Trebaum had always acted modest around her, but she didn't know if that was out of respect for her as a woman or her as a Sith. She'd like to think it was the former, but there was no way to tell, save for a deep mind probe. The feelings she did get from him seemed like respect for her opinion of him. Maybe she was just reading him wrong. Then again, maybe he did have a fancy for her, but was too afraid to approach her because of her position.

     When she arrived to her cabin, she checked her console and saw that Wrenn Valto had left her a message. She brought it up and read it, smiling. She then punched in his frequency and scramble code. There was no answer, so Skate sent a short message back to him. After returning from her mission to Kiffu, she hadn't had the time until this point to try and contact him, and was saddened that they had missed each other.

     Skate began loading up her pack for her mission to Sova.

     The fact that they were able to fly into the Sova system in their snubs spoke volumes on the amount of autonomy the New Republic gave individual governments as compared to the Empire. During the short but boring trip through hyperspace, Skate had gone into hibernation trance for the first half, and read up on Sova on the second.

     The system had a population of well over fifty billion on a total of eight bodies. It's namesake planet had the highest population, at twenty-seven billion, and was home to the Asova, the first of two sentient species native to the system. The second intelligent species was the Durigan, from a moon of the same name in orbit around Sova. Duros had settled the third planet in the system, Hurah, which was was part of S.H.A.R., the system's government. The Sova-Hurah Allied Republic also included Sova's four moons, Hurah's single moon and a moon around the gas giant Vazo to form a state that was linked politically, economically and military-wise.

     Soon after the Empire's loss at Endor, a guerilla force with an intricate cell network rallied civilians to take up arms and attack the Imperial installations on the planet. A great number of agents from the Law Enforcement, Defense and Justice department joined in the fight against the Imperials. Bloody riots ensued and eventually the Imperials surrendered due to pure overwhelming odds, as they were greatly outnumbered. In space, the Imperial patrol craft were attacked by L.E.D.J. forces, who had a comparatively small space force to that of the Imperials, but had held out until the surrender was issued. Each and every Imperial had been imprisoned and were still being tried in Sovan courts. Sova joined the newly founded New Republic as a full allied member not long after that.

     During the Imperial rule over Sova, there were eight Imperial garrisons, several system patrol craft and five Skipray Blastboats, plus L.E.D.J.'s force of two domestically manufactured corvettes and a wing of Vosse “Edge" starfighters. Now the system had eight corvettes, 4 wings of Edge fighters, and all of the procured Imperial ships. Skate didn't know whether such a big defense force or hospitality was the reason three rogue starfighters were allowed to enter the system without an alarm being raised. She hadn't gotten that far in her reading, so she conjectured that it was a combination of the two.

     "Unknown fighter group, welcome to the Sova system! I am Zobel Tarey, captain of the S.H.A.R.C.E. patrol craft Siljeenu. Please identify yourselves and state your purpose for visiting our system."

     "This is-" Jace's voice began.

     "Unknown fighter group, ignore request by Siljeenu. This is S.H.A.R.P. patrol craft Strong Arm, please identify."

     "This is-" Jace began again.

     "Strong Arm, on whose authority do you intercede here?" came Captain Tarey's voice, this time with a bit of an edge in it.

     "This is clearly not S.H.A.R.C.E. responsibility. These three starships are obviously not cargo vessels."

     "Not cargo vessels? Does that matter? Do you know what they could bring in on those small ships?"

     "The S.H.U.T.T.L.E. states that any vessel with less than ten metric tons of cargo space is under police dominion."

     Shark? Sharp? Shuttle? What are they talking about? Skate asked herself.

     "It also states that if no S.H.A.R.P. craft are in range of incoming extrasystem traffic, no matter the size, then they are subject to customs enforcement craft," Tarey shot back.

     "After notifying the nearest S.H.A.R.P. craft or base of doing so," the Strong Arm skipper said in a triumphant tone.

     "While you two argue, can we just move on to Sova?" Jace asked.

     "No!" both Sovan ship commanders said in unison.

     "Look, I would have contacted you, but I didn't see you on my scopes-" Tarey started.

     "Listen! If both of you don't stop arguing, you can forget about S.H.A.R.C.E.'s, S.H.A.R.P.'s and S.H.U.T.T.L.E.'s, because you'll be dealing with S.H.I.T.!" Jen said viciously.

     "S.H.I.T.?"

     "Set, homed, incoming torpedo!" Jen exclaimed. "All we want to do is make our way to Sova and have a good time. Please leave us out of your petty quarrel and grant us access, hokay?"

     "Fair enough," Tarey said after a short pause. Skate's board rang with incoming data. "Access codes sent."

     "Thank you," Jen said.

     "As I was saying, if I had seen you-" Tarey said, resuming his argument with the Strong Arm captain, but Skate rolled her eyes and switched over to the Sith Squadron private frequency.

     "Nice work, Jen!" Skate praised.

     "Thanks."

     "Lead?" Skate called out to Jace.

     "Yeah, good job."

     "Oh, how sincere," Jen said sardonically. "Anyways, I think this system is up to its six in red tape."

     "What's with all the sh'sh's?" Skate asked curiously.

     "Didn't you read the information?" Jace asked.

     "I didn't finish it," Skate admitted.

     "S.H.A.R.C.E. is Sova-Hurah Allied Republic Customs Enforcement. S.H.A.R.P. is Sova-Hurah Allied Republic Police. S.H.U.T.T.L.E is Sova-Hurah Unifed Treaty on Trade Laws and Embargoes. The Asova seem to be obsessed with acronyms. They have an acronym for almost everything, it seems. They even started naming their children in acronym form about two hundred standard years ago, which is, not coincidentally, when the Old Republic first made contact with them."

     "Weird."

     "Very. Get ready for the short hop to Sova."

     By the time they landed, Skate had figured out that if Sova was indeed up to its six in red tape as Jen had speculated, then it was mostly confined to official channels, as they had made it to the surface with little or no scrutiny. In fact, every official they had spoken with had been quite friendly.

     After setting down in R.U.C.O.S.S., they had set out to find the Bottomless Bottle. The Recognized Urban Capital Of the Sova System being the bustling city that it was, that was no small feat. The card found in Ryvo Lorell's apartment on Kiffu hadn’t provided an address, and finding their way through the crowds to the establishment was a problem. After two hours of shouldering past other beings and passing countless bars, casinos, theaters, arcades, dance halls, concert halls, among other outlets of diversion, they made it to the Bottomless Bottle. Jace had taken up a position in an alley across the street while the two women had entered the club.

     The place was quite fancy, with flashing multicolored lights decorating the sign, and more of the same type adorning the interior. Red and gray tables, chairs and booths surrounded a central dance floor, with three bars on as many walls. A curtain and bandstand sat in one corner. A great assortment of species danced, drank and conversed. The place wasn't at full capacity, but it was still busy.

     When Skate and Jen had entered, they were asked for club memberships. Whether because a membership wasn't required or the bouncer had admitted them because they were women, Skate didn't know. She reasoned that it was probably the latter, since that was a common practice at clubs throughout the galaxy.

     Skate and Jen sat at different bars, avoiding the one with a Toydarian tender. The man behind Skate's bar was in his mid to late forties, had graying hair and a scar over his left eye. He handed a large blue drink with white cream at the top to a couple of unidentifiable aliens and then turned to her. 

     "Good evening. I am Bran Klinn. I will be your server tonight." He smiled at Skate as he spoke. "What can I start you off with?"

     "Whyren's?" Skate asked hopefully.

     "Oh, sorry, no Whyren's Reserve in stock. How about some other good Corellian whisky?"

     "No, just give me some Bespin Port."

     "What year?"

     "The best you've got."

     Bran Klinn nodded and retrieved the bottle from under the counter. He watched her as he popped open the Port and filled her glass. "What's a pretty young lady like you doing drinking all by yourself?"

     "Does the commentary come free with the Port, or is it extra?" Skate asked dryly.

     "It depends. Flattering isn't free, but rude remarks come cheap." Bran set the drink in front of Skate on a napkin.

     "Seems like you'd stick with the flattering then. More profit." Skate took a sip of her Port.

     "You're smart."

     "And I don't need a barkeep to remind me of that." Skate locked her eyes with his. "You will tell me all the information you know about Ryvo Lorell."

     "Ryvo Lorell…" Bran repeated. He reached under the counter and at first Skate tensed, but then realized that she didn't sense any danger. When his hand reappeared, it held a datacard. He set it on the bar in front of her.

     Skate pulled her datapad from her jacket and slid the datacard in. The data loaded and she was stunned at what she saw. Hyperspace coordinates, terrain information, location map . . . on where Reno was being held. There was text, giving detailed information, advice and warnings. Most prominent was one instructing not to reveal who or where the information came from. And at the bottom, it was signed by Ryvo Lorell.

     Skate swallowed. She didn't know what to make of any of it. It could well be a trap, and if it weren't, it would be a dangerous undertaking. Either way, she couldn't let her fellow squadron mates rush into this risky situation. She felt responsible for Reno's kidnapping and didn't want to endanger any of her friends. Her wildnerness survival skills would aid her in the mission, and anyone accompanying her would only slow her down. Skate slipped the datacard into a pocket and took another sip of her drink. Soon after, Jen approached her.

     "Find anything?" Jen asked.

     "No, nothing. You?"

     "Nope." Jen looked down, shaking her head. "It's so frustrating. I really thought we would find something here."

     Skate didn't answer. She hid her deception from Jen, but felt her stomach twist with guilt. That guilt had to be stomached for the time being. Soon, all would be well and she could tell Jen and the rest of the squadron everything.

     "Come on," Jen said, heading for the door.

     "Where are we going?" Skate said, tossing some credits on the counter.

     "To talk to Jace."

     "You are so binary!"

     "Come on!" Jen pleaded. "Everyone is tired from this whole mess. This planet has something for everyone. We can bring down everyone else."

     "That will only slow us down," Jace argued.

     "Or fatigue will. Take your pick."

     "And Thunder is supposed to take her team to Celalon," Jace said, ignoring Jen's comment.

     "Three days. I ask no more of you."

     Jace looked down at the ground. "All right. Three days. No more."

     Jen squeezed Jace's forearm and smiled.

     "Hey guys, I can go back to the SSD and tell the rest of the squad," Skate offered. "You two can stay here . . . together. What do you think?"

     Jen gave Skate the "it's okay" signal. "It stinks." Jen smiled. "But it sounds like a plan to me."

     "This is all depending on what the other two teams find out," Jace added. "If either of them do find something, I want you to contact me. I am heading straight there with Eleven."

     "Understood. I am anxious to hit some casinos, so the sooner I leave, the sooner I get back."

     "See you soon."

     While waiting for the rest of the squadron to return so that she could notify them about the shore leave on Sova, Skate had retreated to her quarters. She loaded a pack with survival gear, both practical and high tech. As she crammed dry rations into the already full pack, her comm pinged.

     She walked over to the unit and glanced at the display. Subspace radio signal. She flicked a switch. "Skate."

     "It's about time I caught you."

     "Hey! How are you, Wrenn?"

     "I can't complain. And you?"

     "Good," Skate answered, and then paused. "But I don't know for how long. I am going on a dangerous mission."

     Wrenn's tone turned serious. "You've found Reno?"

     "I think so. I can't tell you much. Sorry."

     "That's okay. Just be careful."

     "I will. I know I am going to succeed, but that doesn't mean I won't come back injured." Skate paused. "I have to succeed, Wrenn."

     "I hear a lot of 'I' and not much 'we'. Don't forget that you have a squadron of exceptional people on your side, Skate."

     "No. I am going alone."

     "What?" Wrenn asked incredulously.

     "I don't want the others to risk their lives. This whole situation is my fault."

     "How do you figure?"

     "I told Reno about the information you gave me," Skate said. "It wasn't good enough for him and he opted for a different source."

     "That's absurd. By your logic, you aren't the one at fault. I am!"

     "Maybe the way I presented it made it undesirable," Skate argued.

     "No. The info was from me. You're shooting the messenger. You're shooting yourself. Please don't do this. Do the smart thing and tell everyone about whatever you've uncovered."

     "Look, I know that I wasn't the information source, but I feel guilty. I feel as if I am the one solely responsible for Reno's kidnapping. If I bring my friends with me and any of them are killed, then I will have to live with that guilt, too. Look, Wrenn, I appreciate your caring, but promise me one thing."

     "What is it?" he asked.

     "Don't contact the SSD and tell them."

     There was a long pause. "Okay. I won't. But I still think this is a stupid thing for you to do."

     "The stakes are high," Skate agreed. "But I am all about the risk, remember?"

     "Right. But again, just be careful. It takes a lot longer to build up the hand pot than it does to lose it."

     "I'll remember that. I have to go, so I hope I talk to you soon."

     "Good luck," Wrenn said.

     "Thanks. Goodbye."

     "Really?"

     "Yes," Skate answered. "Three days! There are all kinds of places to have fun there."

     "Leave . . ." Thunder looked off into the cavernous hangar.

     "Well, I will have your snubs fueled for you, if you want to go get ready," Skate offered.

     "Very good," Thunder answered. "So, you guys didn't find anything?"

     Skate winced, but played it off as disappointment in coming up empty-handed. In reality, she had been hoping Thunder wouldn't ask that question, so she wouldn't have to lie to her.

     "No."

     "Us, either. What about Seven's team?"

     "No, nothing."

     "Well, I am off to my quarters." Thunder turned and walked away. When she had passed through the doors, Skate turned to a tech.

     "Fuel all Sith fighters. Prepare my X-wing for launch."

     "Yes, ma'am."

     Skate headed for her X-wing where Ante was working in an open access panel.

     "Almost ready?"

     Ante beeped an affirmative. Good, because I want to get out of here before I have to deceive anyone else.

     Skate pushed the lever forward and brought her X-wing into realspace. The distant globe of the star MH-77542-JL-4957's third planet hung in space ahead and to port of her orientation. At this distance, it looks about the size of her smallest fingernail held at arm's length. She checked her primary sensor screen for any data the passive sensors might pick up. Only natural phenomena.

     "Ante, run a sensor scan, but don't extend the sphere too close to the planet." The droid beeped an inquiry. "I don't know. Don't get any closer than one hundred thousand klicks."

     After waiting several moments, she had determined that there were no ships in the area. The information on the system she had retrieved from the SSD's computer had indicated that the planet had no moons, and enhanced visual analysis confirmed it.

     "Ante, I am going to take us in, full throttle. Maintain sensors scan, but decrease the sphere as we approach."

     The astromech tootled compliance as Skate brought the sublight engines to power. She kept an eye on her sensor screen as she moved the snubfighter toward the planet. Minute after minute passed, and the sensors still didn't pick up anything anomalous. After almost an hour, Skate stopped the active sensor scan.

     "Maintain monitoring of passive sensors, Ante."

     The planet now almost filled her forward canopy. It was mostly white, with bits of dark green peeking out through the cloud cover. Skate brought up an infrared view on her visual enhancer to find the appropriate continent for her descent. As she looked at the image of a small continent slowly passing by, suddenly it went black, replaced with blue electricity.

     "Stang! Ion hit! Can you get me maneuvering jets, Ante?" The droid blatted a skeptical response, but Skate couldn't be sure of what he had said, since all her screens were out. "Just try to get me maneuvering jets. Repulsorlifts would be nice, too."

     People could say what they wanted about the superiority of R2 units to its successors, but there was no other astromech as adept at repairing ionization damage than an R5 unit.

Skate looked around her in all directions for the ship that had fired on her. She didn't see anything but stars on the black background of space. Why hadn't her sensors picked up the ship? It was all a trap, she thought. Lucky the whole squadron didn't come along.

     A few of her screens came back online, but so sensor data came up, as sensors were still knocked out. She punched up a damage control report and took a look. Weapons, propulsion, repulsorlifts, sensors, almost everything out.

     "Ante? Those maneuvering jets?" The droid beeped positively. Skate glanced at the translation screen.

     Estimating 1.24 minutes.

     Skate exhaled uneasily as she looked at the planet growing in her forward canopy. If  Ante was wrong in his estimation, it could very well mean her death, burning up with her ship if it hit the atmosphere. She checked the damage control report again to see if ejection systems were operational. They were, but she figured ejecting wouldn't put her in a much better situation. Ante suddenly beeped, indicating that the maneuvering jets were online.

     "This is going to be tough without sensors," Skate said more to herself than to Ante.

     First, she slowed her velocity as best she could with the jets. Then she closed her eyes. Relaxing her hands on the flight stick, she opened herself to the Force. She could see the planet in her mind's eye, without the outline of the canopy, as if she was flying in space without the use of a starship. Feeling where to aim her ship, she moved her control yoke in that direction. In her mind, a spot on the atmosphere was bordered in red, her entry vector. She passed through it without incident and opened her eyes. Sweat was beaded on her forehead.  

     "Ante? Those repulsorlifts?" The droid moaned skeptically. Skate glanced at her altimeter and prepared for ejection. "Ante, try to get those repulsorlifts back up. If you can't, then eject. I am going to eject very soon."

     Skate waited until the altimeter read a comfortable number and pulled the overhead loop that made the explosive bolts blow off the canopy. Rockets mounted on the bottom of the seat propelled her from the starfighter. The fuel ran out, killing the rockets and she pulled the switch to deploy the para-foil. Luckily, she wasn't over one of the planet's few bodies of water. Instead, she was falling towards a lush, dark green grassland, with a forest to the north. The fall was slow, and gave Skate time to consider her situation. She was stranded on a strange planet, with somebody who had shot her down in the vicinity. The former she wasn't afraid of, as she had her Antarian Rangers background to aid her. As for the people who had shot her down, she didn't know what to think. It could have been a ship with two people or a ship with two hundred people. There hadn’t been any sign of them before or after she was hit with the ion blast.

     As she neared the grassy surface, she used telekinesis to soften the landing. Even with the para-foil, it still packed quite a wallop to hit the ground. She set the seat down softly, the para-foil settling over her. As she began to unstrap, she heard a hum that seemed to be getting louder by the second. She got up from the seat and lifted the para-foil to take a look.

     From the forest to the north came at least two dozen battle droids flying what she remembered as being called STAPs. She had never seen a STAP--or a battle droid for that matter--in person until now, but had read about them. Behind them came a speeder truck and a CSA GX12 Hovervan.

     As the STAPs circled her and the larger vehicles stopped, Skate's stomach twisted. From the rear of the truck came at least twenty more battle droids. The side folding hatch on the left side of the hovervan came down and two humans debarked. One was a young man with dark hair in a gray uniform. The other wore a similar uniform, with a black sash hanging from his left shoulder. He had a long, thin face, ending in a pointy chin. Curly gray hair along with a gray mustache and goatee contrasted to the shorthaired, clean-shaven youth at his side. All of this, but mostly the battle droids, assured Skate, without a shadow of a doubt, of whom she was dealing with.

     "So we finally come across yet another member of Sith Squadron," the older man said with a malignant smile. "Skate, isn't it? I am Veego. My master will be happy to know you payed us a visit, however you found us."

     "It's not a social call," Skate said dryly.

     "It could very well be. That I will have to determine."

     "There is nothing to determine," Skate bit out.

     "You were the one that came, so don't be angry with me for your ineptitude! Lieutenant, disarm and bind her. Load her onto my vehicle."

     "Yes, Chief," the lead battle droid said in its mechanical voice.

     Skate thought, only for a second, about making a fight of it. That brief inspiration was shattered when common sense told her that there was no way out.

     Jen winced at the sound coming from the stage before her. She looked over at Jace, who seemed to be enjoying the music, as far as she could tell. The waitress stopped at the table, but Jace, immersed in the music, didn’t even notice her. Jen just pointed at his glass and then at hers, and both were promptly filled with their respective concoctions.

     “Don’t you ever get tired of this jizz?” Jen asked over the clamor.

     “Jatz. This is jatz.” Jen read Jace’s lips more than she heard him, as the band had just hit a high note.

     “Whatever,” she said at a normal volume. At least he’s enjoying himself.

     Jen took a look at the band. There was but two humans on the stage, a man and a woman. The rest were an assorted lot of nonhumans. A Bith played a huge, curved, horn-looking instrument, which rested on the ground. A Quarren and Twi’lek female played thin, meter long instruments. An Ithorian held an intricate instrument with two mouthpieces, one for each of its mouths. Behind a keyboard sat a Chadra-Fan, with a Snivvian next to him who sat behind a box with a conical structure atop it. The human male, in front of the rest of the group, played the only instrument Jen recognized, a Kloo horn.

     What caught her attention, though, was the human female. It wasn’t her playing of the small, hand-held instrument, but her hair. Long, intricately braided. A hairstyle common to Kiffar females.

     “Jace,” Jen called over the music.

     “Yeah?”

     “That woman is Kiffar.”

     “The one playing the synchronica?” Jace asked.

     “Uh, I guess.”

     Jace took a good look at the woman. “She certainly looks like it. I know what you’re getting at, but Kiffar are common in this area of the galaxy.”

     “No shit, Olie, but something tells me there’s more.”

     “Is that something the Force?” Jace asked, taking a sip of his drink and looking back at the band.

     “Could be.”

     The song ended and the band started filing through a curtain at the rear of the bandstand. They took the smaller instruments with them, as leaving them on the stage would make them fair game for shadier patrons of the tap cafe. Jen took her drink and clicked it against Jace’s then went to take a gulp, but was interrupted by a man’s voice.

     “Nice to know we have some appreciation around here,” the Kloo horn jockey said, approaching the table.

     “Excuse me?” Jace asked, turning around to look at the man.

     “The entire crowd was ignoring us. Except for you. Benny Nedran.” The man offered Jace his hand.

     “Jace Sidrona.” Jace met his hand, but it wasn’t a simple handshake. Benny switched his grip on Jace’s hand in a complex pattern, finishing with a light tap of the fists. Jen found it amusing to watch Jace follow along as best he could. 

     “And is this your lovely wife? Girlfriend?”

     “No. Friends. I’m Jen.” Benny offered her his hand, but she only smiled. “I think I’ll pass. Have a seat, though?”

     Benny seated himself. “Yeah, the people around here are mostly residents. If they were tourists, they’d be enjoying themselves. We only play this place a few times a month.”

     “Really?” Jace asked, surprised. “You haul that chindinkalu around often?”

     “Sure. It can be a grekking pain, so we use an anti-grav unit on it.”

     “Smart thinking,” Jace said, nodding. “Can’t be lost in the wastes.”

     “You’re from Tatooine!” Benny’s face lit up.  “Man, I haven’t been there for a while. We usually get a warm reception.”

     “Good jizz or jatz is always appreciated there,” Jace said, nodding.

     “But the muggings aren’t appreciated by us off-worlders.”

     “Don’t blame Tatooine, blame yourselves,” Jace said, with a stiff face, which slowly turned into a smile.

     “Jace is an avid fan of jatz, but that isn’t the only reason he was so attentive,” Jen said. “He likes one of the girls.”

     Benny chuckled. “It isn’t the Twi’lek girl, is it? Because that’s my wife, Nesha.”

     “No, it’s the human girl,” Jen corrected while Jace look at her incredulously.

     “Oh, Jalia. Kiffar girl. She is very sweet. She has a boyfriend, but I can put a good word in for you. Her man is nice, but doesn’t even know the difference between jizz and jatz.”

     “That’s all right,” Jace said, kicking Jen under the table. “No thanks.”

     Jen frowned at Jace and turned to Benny. “Kiffar, eh? Her boyfriend wouldn’t happen to be named Ryvo, would he?”

     Benny sobered. “Ryvo? How do you know Ryvo?”

     “It is her boyfriend then?”

     “Her cousin. How do you know him?”

     “I met him on Obroa-skai,” Jen said.

     “I see.” The musician was silent for a moment. “I gotta go. Nice to meet both of you.”

     “Wait,” Jace said as Benny started to rise from his seat.

     “Look, let’s cut to the point.” Benny looked at Jace and then at Jen. “You’re looking for information on Ryvo. He knew you’d be coming and left some information for you in a bar called the Bottomless Bottle. Go there and talk to Bran Klinn. He should have something for you. Now I told you all I know, so I ask that you leave me and my band to be.”

     Jen thought for a moment. Ryvo Lorell’s cousin would make great ransom, as she was from his mother’s side of the family. It was the only choice, as what the man had told them had to be a lie, for she had already investigated that lead.

     “We will,” Jace said.

     What? Jen thought. How could Jace let such an opportunity go?

     “Thank you,” Benny said, turning to leave. “Nice to meet you, really. See you around.”

     When Benny was out of earshot, Jen locked her brown eyes on Jace.

     “He wasn’t lying,” Jace said, not waiting, not needing for her to say anything.

     “And how can you be so sure?”

     “How can I not be so sure? For one, there’s the Force. Two, is it a coincidence that he directed us to our only solid lead? That club card had to have been left by Lorell purposely for us to find. We come here, get whatever it is he left at Bottomless Bottle, and leave him to be.”

     “Why not just contact us and tell us?” Jen asked.

     “Well, why didn’t he just never set up Reno to be captured in the first place?” Jace rubbed his chin. “Either he had a change of heart and didn’t want to contact us directly because of fear, shame or some other reason, or…he didn’t want Xanthis or whoever hired him to know he tipped us off.”

     “It all makes sense, but Jace, we’ve already been there. We came up with nothing.” Jen shrugged.

     “Did you?” Jace asked suspiciously.

     “Yes!” Jen exclaimed, somewhat irritated with Jace’s inference.

     “Did she?”

     Jen’s heart sank into her stomach. The very thought of Skate hiding something so important and even lying to her face sickened Jen like Kubaz cuisine. “You don’t think she’d do that, do you?”

     “I know that she was anxious to return to the SSD,” Jace said. “You don’t remember getting any kind of sense of deception from her?”

     “No.”

     “Pretty soon she should be due back with the rest of the squad,” Jace observed. “We can hit Bottomless Bottle in the meantime and see what we come up with.”

     “And if she doesn’t return with the rest of the Sith?” Jen asked, hoping that possibility wouldn’t come to pass.

     “We look for her.”