The second that Narska Plo'kre woke up Baron Reno burst into his holding cell. ThunderingSilence and JeniViolet had already left on their mission, Seven was still trying to hit on Palin, and Sidrona was off somewhere trying to make himself a better Sith. That left him alone with Narska Plo'kre. The Bothan became immediately on guard and jumped to his feet, despite the fact that his hands were binded behind his back. As Reno stepped forward Plo'kre bared his sharp teeth in a menacing frown.

"Come to give me a beating, have you?" the Bothan grunted. "How very brave of you, fighting someone whose arms are tied behind his back! Why don't you take these off and even it up a bit?"

Reno eyed the Bothan. "Calm down, really, no one is going to hurt you."

"You'll forgive me if I don't believe you," the Bothan spat.

"Then here, let me prove my good intentions." Reno motioned with his right hand and the binders that were holding Plo'kre's hands together fell to the ground.

"Good intentions?" Narska laughed. "You kidnapped me! You sent an assault force after me. What kind of good intentions can come from that?"

Reno smiled. "All in good time, young Plo'kre, all in good time. I merely came in to check up on you...see if you needed anything?"

"Oh, well, now that you mention it," he started sardonically. "I could use something to drink, maybe a little food, and...oh yeah....GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

Reno didn't even bother answering him. He just turned around and left the holding cell. Once Plo'kre had calmed down and became a bit more cooperative Reno would go back. But for now he would just let the Bothan attack the walls in a vain attempt to escape. But escape was an impossibility. Plo'kre would soon find that out.

Narska Plo'kre paced back and forth in the holding cell that he had been forced into. Who were these people? Where was he? Why was he here? Too many questions raced through his mind to answer them all. Who was that man with the long black hair that had removed the binders from him? And how the hell had he done that? He hadn't even touched the binders and they had fallen off...and he didn't have any type of remote in his hand. Weird.....

Narska took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Obviously they weren't going to hurt him.....they wouldn't have gone through all that trouble of kidnapping him if they just wanted him dead. They wanted him for something, but for what he couldn't figure out. What had the man said....All in good time? All in good time what?

As Narska sat down on his bed the door hissed open. Once again the long haired man walked in, a look of amusement on his face. What was he up to?

"Feeling a little less hostile, are we?" he asked.

Narska didn't bother answering, he just silently nodded.

"Good, then maybe we can get down to business. First of all, introductions. My name is Reno. Lord Baron Reno to you. And you are Narska Plo'kre, born on Bothwaui twenty eight years ago. Graduated from the Martial Academy at the age of twenty two, left Bothwaui for four years and served a variety of military type posts around the galaxy. It seems that each time you were fired from your job for reckless behavior and insubordination. Let's see...spent two years serving in Lieutenant Pages Commandos but was once again kick out because of reckless behavior and insubordination. Most recently joined Rogue Squadron and within two weeks is already on suspension for reckless behavior and insubordination. Are you catching a trend here?"

"Not really, you wanna help me out here?" he mumbled sarcastically.

"It seems that in each of your posts you had human superiors. Nelfour, Jarceen, Page, Antilles...the list just goes on and on."

"What's your point?" he grunted.

"I'm going to be blunt about this, Mr. Plo'kre. Don't you think it's a little odd that you are being punished for what happened on Rudrig while Wes Janson isn't."

Truth was that Narska had been thinking that since the punishment had been laid on him. Janson had almost ruined the entire mission with his antics, yet he didn't even get reprimanded. And why? Narska had assumed because Janson and Antilles were friends. Was there more to it?

"To be truthful, Lord Baron, I haven't given it much thought."

"Your feelings betray you, Plo'kre, I can sense the duplicity in your voice. Don't think you can lie to me...you can't. Now I'll ask again. Don't you think it is a little odd that you were punished when Wes Janson wasn't?"

Narska grimaced. "It might have crossed my mind once or twice," he finally muttered.

"Good, progress. Now would you like the truth?"

Narska nodded.

"It's because you're a Bothan, my friend. When you worked for security on Darknell who fired you? A human. What about your post on Corellia? Same thing. Lieutenant Page fired you, Commander Antilles has you on suspension...and for what? From what I've read you didn't do anything that warranted these accusations. On Rudrig you probably saved your squad mates lives with that exploding car, but they put you on suspension for it. A typical case of human oppression. Anything to say?"

"Well I can't deny the validity of what you're saying, but I don't think it's true. Commander Antilles is not prejudiced, nor is Lieutenant Page."

"What?" Reno mocked. "A Bothan who isn't crying about human oppression. That's odd. Never seen one of those before."

Narska admitted to himself that despite what the New Republic said about equality, humans did run the show. Their chief-of-state, their diplomats, their ministers...most were humans. Aliens with actual power in the Republic were sparse and few. And what Reno was saying was true. In just about every one of his jobs over the last few years he had been fired by humans. But what did Reno care? Narska had recognized the name the instant that Reno had said it. Antilles had mentioned Lord Baron Reno in the briefing after the incidents at Rudrig and Endor. Reno was the leader of a squadron of Dark Side pilots, Sith Squadron if he remembered correctly. So what did Reno want with Narska? Why was he even here...wherever here was? Might as well ask, he thought, the worst he can do is say no.

"What is it you want from me, Lord Baron? I seriously doubt you went through all this trouble to bring me here just to tell me that I've been discriminated against."

"So very perceptive of you, Mr. Plo'kre. I'm going to be blunt about this. I want you to join me, Mr. Plo'kre."

Not that he hadn't been before, but now Narska was even more cautious. Say what!? Join him? Join an evil Dark Side squadron? Why the hell would he want to do that? Wait a second...does that mean....no, no it couldn't be.

Narska couldn't be Force-strong...could he?

"Ahhh," Reno said, also realizing what the Bothan was. "I see that you understand now. Yes, Mr. Plo'kre, you are Force-strong. And quite so, might I add."

Narska couldn't talk...couldn't speak..couldn't do anything! Had Reno used some Force trick to subdue him? No, Narska was just completely caught off guard. Force-strong? Him?

"You're....you're..."

"What?" Reno asked. "Wrong? Lying? To what ends? Why would I lie to you, Mr. Plo'kre? Why would I risk four members of my squadron to bring you here just to lie to you? Would you like the answer?"

"What?"

"I wouldn't," he said adamantly, flatly. "I don't joke around, Plo'kre, I don't play games. You have potential, Plo'kre, you have a great amount of potential. I don't want to see that wasted."

Narska, still trying to gather his wits, answered, "Don't you mean you don't want the opportunity to use me to further your own ends wasted? Don't think I don't know your type, Lord Baron...you lie, cheat, steal, manipulate...anything to get what you want. Peoples lives mean nothing to you. My life doesn't mean anything to you...and don't pretend it does. I'm not stupid."

"Perhaps not, but you are blind. Blind to the Force. If you learn to use it, to harness it, you could sense the truth of what I say. There is no duplicity in me, Narska Plo'kre, of that I promise."

"I'm sure you can guess exactly what your promises mean to me," Narska growled.

Reno sighed and turned his back on the Bothan. For a second Narska contemplated attacking the man, but he instantly quelled that thought. Hanging on Reno's waist were two long handles, lightsabers no doubt. Narska had no weapons. It would be a futile attempt. He would end up dead.

"I'm surprise at you, Narska Plo'kre," Reno softly said, his back still facing Plo'kre. "You have more self control than I thought you did. It was a wise choice, not to attack me...you would have really regretted doing so."

"So I imagined."

"I grow tired of this, Plo'kre, I really do. I want you in my squadron, that's more than I can say for others. Nelfour didn't want you....Jarceen didn't want you......Page didn't want you.....even Antilles doesn't want you.......but I do! You have skills, Narska, valuable skills. Not only in a fighter but on the ground! You could be one of the greatest Siths in the galaxy...your name would go down in history! You could return to Bothwaui, a place that treated you like dirt and spit you out, and you could rule it. No one could oppose you."

Narska thought long and hard about what Reno was saying. Some of it was true, he admitted. He did believe that the humans of the Republic, while not as bad as their counterparts in the Empire, did have a dislike of aliens, Bothans in particular. Nobody cared about the Bothans who risked their lives to get the plans for the Emperor's second Death Star..no one cared about those who died. They only cared about the Antilles and Calrissians...the humans. But on the same hand....

"You make a good case, Lord Baron, but you forgot something." He waited a few seconds for a dramatic effect. "You are a human. You are no different from any other human I've met, either. Worse, in fact, because you fight for the wrong side...the Dark Side. In my eyes you are lower than the average Imperial....and that's pretty damn low. And as for Antilles not wanting me....you're mistaken there too. Yes I was put on suspension, and I still don't think it's fair, but that's life. Had you not kidnapped me I'd be back flying with the squad in a few days, this little suspension thing hardly even a blemish on my record."

Narska could see the anger in Reno's eyes, the outrage. Suddenly Narska thought that angering the Sith Lord probably wasn't the best of ideas he's ever had. But to Narska's relief Reno closed his eyes and slowly regained his composure. "You make a good case yourself, Narska Plo'kre, but you are also wrong about several things. First of all, the Dark Side is not what you think it is. What you hear in stories, in legends, in holo dramas...that is all make believe. A fantasy...a propaganda tool, if you will, created by people who don't understand us and what we do and what we believe. Lies, to put it simply, to cover the truth."

"And what truth is that?" Narska asked. "Your truth?"

"There is only one version of the truth. What I have told you is true, all of it." Reno started for the door and opened it. Stopping in the doorway he turned his head slightly backwards and gave Narska a side glance. "I have not lied to you, Narska. I want you in my squadron, and Antilles does not. In fact, he is happy that you're gone."

"Can you prove that?" Narska challenged.

To Narska's surprise Reno smiled and said, "Yes, I can."

Wedge Antilles walked slowly down the dark street, his eyes darting back and forth at every alley. The attack on the Rogues base a day ago had put everyone on full alert, expanding even the most paranoid man's suspicion. Back at the base the turbolasers, or what was left of them, were being manned every second of the day. The base commander, a small, balding man named Thelnar, had more than doubled the guards around the perimeter and even had some spaceborne defenses ready.

The only problem was that he was a day late.

The sloppiness of the base defenses were made plainly obvious yesterday. An old Lambda shuttle had snuck into the perimeter and made a sneak attack on the base. Two people had emerged from the shuttle, attacked several guards, and kidnapped a member of Rogue Squadron all before any alarms had gone off. The only reason that an alarm had gone off at all was that a squad of twenty troops had been returning to a garrison and accidentally stumbled upon somebody wielding a lightsaber. A lightsaber....

Wedge instantly knew what that meant. Their old friends at Sith Squadron were on the prowl again. But what did they want? No, that wasn't much of a question. Wedge knew exactly what they wanted.

During the battle Narska Plo'kre had been kidnapped, taken against his will by the two Sith pilots. Holo cameras that watched the hallways captured him trying to fight off one of them, a young woman that perfectly fit the description of one of Janson's stalkers on Rudrig. Definitely Sith Squadron...but why did they want Plo'kre?

Tycho Celchu, the Alderaanian standing next to him, suddenly asked. "So, you got any clues on this mystery?"

"None," Wedge responded.

"Why would they want to kidnap Plo'kre? It just doesn't make any sense."

"I don't know what to tell you, Tycho, it's got me baffled. Narska was clearly what they wanted. Besides blocking off the hanger they didn't try to damage our fighters, they didn't make attempts to kill or kidnap any of the other Rogues, and they didn't try to blow up the base. They were there to steal Plo'kre."

"Maybe..."

Tycho was interrupted as a small person with a dark robe walked into their path about ten feet down the road. The hood covered it's face and Wedge couldn't make out a species, but he was instantly on guard. Especially with Sith recently involved on the planet. He hand dropped down to the blaster on his leg, but he didn't draw. Instead he just unclipped the snap and rested his hand on the weapon. Tycho did likewise.

As the creature stumbled forward Wedge became even more aware of what was happening. It was dark out and he was in a sparsely populated part of the town. This..whatever it was in the cloak...could just walk up to Wedge and Tycho, stick a knife in them, then be on his way like a ghost vanishing in the night. He was two seconds away from drawing his blaster when the creature stumbled and fell to the ground. The hood fell backwards as the creature rolled on the ground, revealing a long, furred snout. A Bothan.

Narska Plo'kre was his first thought, but this Bothan had brown streaked with black, unlike Plo'kre's black and white striped fur. It wasn't his squad member, but Wedge also wasn't aware of any other Bothans on this planet, at least not this part.

The Bothan in the cloak clumsily got to his feet and stumbled over towards Wedge and Tycho.

"Please," the alien mumbled. "Could you spare some change...Gre'van just need a little..."

Wedge shook his head. "No I don't."

"Oh come now, Gre'van don't believe that," the Bothan said. "Please, Gre'van only need a little. Just enough to buy something to drink." To Wedge it sounded like the Bothan had already had a few drinks in him.

"Go away," Tycho sternly said.

"Gre'van won't!" the Bothan yelled. "Gre'van is staying right here until you give Gre'van some change."

"Get out of our way right now," Tycho said, increasing the amount of contempt in his voice. But the drunk Bothan stood his ground.

"You're real mean, ya know." The Bothan looked at Tycho and started talking with a musical note in his voice. "Can't even give an old Bothan some change. Change...change...la la...change...change change, Gre'van want change! And you, you won't give Gre'van none."

"Look, if you dont leave us alone right now we're going to summon the police," Wedge sternly said. "Now you don't want that, and I don't want that. So just leave us along and go bug someone else." Wedge was sure that would work, but it just proved futile.

"You wanna call the police on ol' Gre'van...go 'head. Gre'van doesn't care. Gre'van just wants a drink, does he."

"Fine," Tycho interrupted. "Then how about we shoot you now, then suspend you from that lamp pole up there, and then call the police? Those are your choices..chose wisely."

While Wedge didn't really agree with Tycho's second option, he also knew the Alderaanian was bluffing. Tycho was even tempered enough that if he were to actually do that he would have to be pushed extremely far. Much further than this Gre'van was aiming for.

But Gre'van either was calling his bluff or was too drunk to understand the implications of what Tycho was saying. "Gre'van not budging. You go ahead and call the police on Gre'van."

Wedge shrugged and grabbed his comlink. "This is Commander Wedge Antilles of Rogue Squadron. I need two MP's right now. I don't know the street name where I am, just trace the signal."

"Affirmative, Antilles. An MP will be along presently."

"Thanks." Wedge clipped the comlink back to his waist and stared at the old Bothan in front of him. "Are you happy now? The police are coming."

"Good, let them come and take Gre'van away. Maybe they give Gre'van some change, eh?"

Wedge nodded, but sent Tycho a side glance. What was up with this guy? Why wouldn't he just go? Tycho shook his head in response to the unanswered question. Three minutes later a female MP from the base arrived and grabbed Gre'van. Surprisingly enough she didn't have any type of transport, she came in on foot. Well, not so odd, he thought, the base wasn't that far away. And they hardly had transports to spare just to bring in some drunk alien.

When they were out of sight Wedge turned to Tycho and laughed.

"Man, I thought that Bothan was never going to leave."

Tycho laughed back. "Tell me about it," he said. "If he stayed here one more second I was going to shoot him."

"He just wouldn't go away, even though we clearly hinted for him to."

"Maybe we were just too subtle about it?" Tycho suggested.

"Nah, the suspension thing wasn't subtle it all. It said clear as transparisteel....get away from us before we hurt you!"

"Well I thought so," Tycho said. "Obviously he didn't. What I can't believe is that it took someone to drag him away from us."

"It doesn't matter. The important thing is that he's gone now. With any luck we won't ever see him again."

Wedge and Tycho continued down the dark street, not giving the incident so much as another thought.

ThunderingSilence smiled as she put the holocam down. That couldn't have gone more perfectly if she'd scripted the damn thing. The Bothan they had hired to bump into Antilles and Celchu had done his job nicely, and because of it he would be rewarded nicely.

A sound behind Thunder caught her attention and she turned around sharply. Standing in the alley way was JeniViolet, still wearing the uniform of New Republic military police. She was still holding her lightsaber in her hand and a grim look of anger on her face.

"I take it you gave Gre'van the reward we promise him?" Thunder asked.

That elicited a smile from Jen. "Yes, he won't ever have to worry about getting money for liquor again."

"Good." Thunder knew that they couldn't have any witnesses. Gre'van had seen two Siths...and only the fact that he had done his job well kept him from dying a slow and painful death. Thunder glanced at Jen again and found that she was still grinning sadistically. "You took joy in killing that Bothan, didn't you?"

Jen sobered again. "It wasn't the Bothan I wanted."

"Oh stop your whining already," she admonished. "You know that Reno wants him in the squad. He's tired of telling you that, and frankly so am I. This conversation is getting repetitive. If I hear even one more comment from you about it you'll be demoted down to refresher cleaner. And before you tell me that I don't have the authority to do that, think again. That was straight from Reno's mouth. Got it?"

"Of course, Captain," she murmured sarcastically.

"Good, now let's get out of here. I wanna be off this dirtball before they find Gre'van." Thunder glanced at JeniViolet's anger twisted face and grimaced. She finished, ".....or what's left of him."

Smiling as he walked into Narska Plo'kre's temporary holding cell, Reno was just oozing with confidence. In his hand he held it, the key to winning Plo'kre over, the proof he needed to convince the Bothan to join their crusade. If this didn't convince him, nothing will.

ThunderingSilence had said the plan went off without a hitch. The Bothan they had used to set up Antilles had been eliminated, and they hadn't left any trace that they had even been there. Gone like they were never there...his Siths were improving. The good thing about the holocam tape they had was that it didn't have to be altered in any way. Thunder's main concern with Reno's plan had been that if they doctored footage they would lose what little credibility they had in Plo'kre's eyes. The Bothan no doubt had experience in slicing, if there was false or edited footage then he would find out and the Siths new recruit would have to be killed. Such a waste it would've been, too. But luckily that needn't be necessary. The footage they had was genuine. He could let Plo'kre fiddle with it for hours...for days....it didn't make a difference. The only thing he would find was that Reno was telling the truth about everything, and that was exactly what Reno wanted.

He could tell that the Bothan was instantly on guard. Not only did his demeanor change but he also put himself mentally on guard. A wise decision. Of course, Narska obviously had misconceptions about the Force. Reno couldn't actually read his mind, only pick up surface thoughts and emotions. He could force his way deep into the Bothan's mind, but that would put a strain on both participants. Anyway, Reno didn't need to force his mind on Narska Plo'kre to influence him, for once the truth, or as close to that as a Sith could get, would do.

"What are you so jubilant about?" Narska asked as he looked at Reno's wide grin.

"You wanted proof, right?" he asked. "Proof that Antilles doesn't want you in his squadron, proof that no one wants you there. I've got it."

"Where?"

Reno waved the little tape in his hand and his grin widened.

But Plo'kre didn't look convinced.

"Just watch this and you'll be convinced, trust me. It's a conversation that we recorded immediately following the...raid." Reno reached behind his back for a datapad. Putting it on the table he slipped in the small tape. There was a hiss of static and an image sprung to life. It showed Wedge Antilles and Tycho Celchu walking in what looked like the capitol of Thanara. Or at least the slums of it.

"Man, I thought that Bothan was never going to leave," Antilles said.

Tycho laughed back. "Tell me about it," he said. "If he stayed here one more second I was going to shoot him."

"He just wouldn't go away, even though we clearly hinted for him to."

"Maybe we were just too subtle about it?" Tycho suggested.

"Nah, the suspension thing wasn't subtle it all. It said clear as transparisteel....get away from us before we hurt you!"

"Well I thought so," Tycho said. "Obviously he didn't. What I can't believe is that it took someone to drag him away from us."

"It doesn't matter. The important thing is that he's gone now. With any luck we won't ever see him again."

Reno looked at Narska Plo'kre's stoic face. It betrayed the emotions that Reno knew were swirling through his head. Hate...anger.....betrayal.....vengeance.....all were the power behind the Sith, all were present in Plo'kre's mind.

Victory! The Bothan was his!

"I'm going to leave you this, Narska. I realize that you won't take my word that this footage is real. So here, use it to your hearts content. " he said, touching the datapad on the table. Reno had also made sure to call him Narska, not Plo'kre or Mr. Plo'kre. By calling him by his first name he induced a suggestion of friendship and camaraderie. He wanted Narska Plo'kre to think of him as not only a savior, but as a friend. Someone he could trust. Reaching into his pocket he took out his comlink. "Here, also take this. When you have reached a decision, whatever it may be, call me. This will go to my personal comlink. Call me and we'll.....talk."

Narska couldn't believe his eyes...couldn't believe his ears....couldn't believe anything! When Reno had first told him that Wedge Antilles hated the Bothan and wanted him out of the squadron he had dismissed it almost outright. Maybe, he thought, there might have been a little discrimination in his decisions, but not much. Not enough for something like this.

Narska walked over to the table that Reno had set the datapad on and quickly got to work on it. Narska wasn't the best slicer in the galaxy, but he was good enough to spot doctored footage. If that scene was either created or patched together from other things recorded then Narska would find out. But what bothered him about it was Reno's attitude, his nature. Obviously he knew Narska was an amateur slicer....then why would he leave him with a datapad and the footage?

Unless it was all true.

Unless Reno was telling the truth about everything.

Unless Wedge Antilles was the biggest hypocrite in the galaxy.

But Narska wasn't willing to believe that, at least not yet. He was going to check out that footage in every way possible. If there was anything false, anything false in that document then he swore to himself that the next time he saw Reno he would try to kill the man. He would fail, of course, but at least he would go down fighting. Just as a Rogue should.

But if the footage was real. If what he saw was the truth, then.......Narska sighed. If that was the case then he had no idea what he was going to do.

"So now what do we do?" JeniViolet grumbled. The whole of Sith Squadron was present inside in the briefing room. She and Thunder had returned from Thanara a little over two hours ago. The second she had returned she made her way to her quarters for some rest. Well, actually she had just wanted to avoid Baron Reno. She told her secretary, Tyros Dakon, to stand guard at the door and not let anyone through. Of course, Jen didn't really think that Tyros could stop the Lord Baron. He might've once been a member of Palpatines Royal Guard, but Reno was a Sith Lord.

"Now we wait," Reno said.

"So we're just going to sit around and do nothing until that stupid Bothan makes up his mind?"

Reno eyed Jen. "You want something to do?"

"Yes," she said back.

"Then go and clean the refreshers on Diamond Level."

"But-!"

"You want something worse?"

Jen locked her jaw and glared daggers. "Thank you, no. I think I'd rather stay here and listen to our great fearless leader." The sarcasm in her voice was not lost on Reno, but he didn't care.

"A wise decision. Now on to why I called you all together. Last week we lost six pilots when we tried to kill Rogue Squadron. Six unnecessary losses. The Rogues are good, no doubt, but they're good in space. We lost half of our squad on the ground during that mission. Why did we lose half our squad?"

"Because the Rogues are just better on land than we gave them credit for?" Seven suggested.

"No."

"Because we allowed ourselves to be distracted and let our goals slip out of our hands?" Thunder said.

"...yes, but that's not what I was looking for. The reason that we lost so much during the Isard Debacle is because somewhere along the lines we became a fighter group first and Sith Lords second. It's supposed to be the other way around. We are the forefront of the returning Sith Empire, we are the spark that will ignite a raging inferno of like the galaxy has never seen. That is what I wanted when I set out to create Sith Squadron. I wanted a group of people that were strong in the Force but who could also pilot fighters and lead an armada. What we've got right now is half a group of extraordinary fighter pilots whose Force talents are so-so at best.

"And this is my fault, don't get the impression that I'm blaming you for anything. I have neglected furthering your own training not because of a lack of time or inclination, but because I figured us already infallible. I thought since we were Sith, no one could stand against us. My mistake lay in the fact that by not teaching you properly you never really were Sith Lords, just a bunch of pilots who could us the Force to move objects with their mind and sense danger a few seconds before they get hit in the face. That is not what I want."

"So, what?" Thunder asked. "Is that it? You're just going to say 'oh well, we tried, time to go home?' Cuz if that's the case let me be the first to go over there and knock some sense into your head. We may not be full Sith Lords be we had worked too damn hard for you to just throw it all away so easily!"

"Calm down, Thunder. No one is giving up on anything. What I'm saying is that I'm going to restart everyones training. If you can all remember back to when I brought you into squadron, then you'll remember that I told each of you about your strengths and weakness. Now instead of trying to balance your powers so you're equal in strength, I'm going to focus just on your strong point. So can anyone even remember what I told them?"

ThunderingSilence was the first to answer. "I have strong TK ability, but.am pretty weak in mind persuasion."

Reno nodded. "Seven?"

"My danger sense is stronger than anyone elses. Also, when I concentrate I can see a little into the future...or into a possible future."

"Very good. Eight?"

"Mind tricks. You said that I have strong mental abilities, such as scanning minds and influencing decisions."

"Correct. Eleven? Would you mind sharing with the rest of us what it is that you are good at?"

JeniViolet sighed. "I have the rare ability to actually convince people they saw something when they really didn't. I can project images into peoples minds, essentially. It's a very rare skill, though it's common among Corellian Jedi, and it generally comes at some cost. I have little or no TK ability, which really sucks but what're ya gonna do?"

His apprentice, Jace Sidrona, looked around slightly confused. "You never told me anything, Master?"

"That is because you haven't been trained enough for you to have any one special skill. Don't worry, though, we'll correct that mistake."

"As you wish, Master."

Reno smiled, despite himself. Always count on Sidrona's blind loyalty....

"Now here's what we're going to do. I'm going to spend time each day training one of you. Eventually your powers will reach their limit, and together we will be unstoppable. Now-"

BEEP B t outside the holding cell, Thunder. Depending on what Plo'kre says I may or may not ask you to come in and kill him. And I also want some back up out here. He is a slippery little Bothan, if he somehow escaped I'd like to have you here to catch him."

"Can do, sir."

When they finally reached the door to Plo'kre's small holding cell Reno rested his hand on the button next to the door. "Well, no we see if he was worth all the trouble we went through to get him."

Thunder wisely didn't answer.

Reno opened the door and confidently strode through, his dark cape swinging gallantly behind him. Narska Plo'kre sat on his billet, his eyes deadlocked on Reno. Good, he's focused, concentrated.....but is he focuses on joining Reno or killing him? Never find out if I just stand here and stare like an idiot.......

"Well?" he said simply.

Narska took a deep breath. "I've analyzed the footage that you've given me, and I checked it out back and forth."

"And?"

"It's real. I couldn't detect any trace of doctoring. And I know it wasn't created. The footage itself is real. You were telling the truth, Antilles does not want me in his squadron, he wants me nowhere near it. He's a liar, he's a hypocrite, and he's lower than an Imperial I've ever met."

Reno nodded as the Bothan spoke. Through the Force Reno could pick up some hints of reservation in his voice, but not much. What Plo'kre was saying he truly did believe on some level. These weren't just words to appease Reno..he meant them. He truly and honestly meant them. Excellent......

"I told you that I could be trusted, Mr. Plo'kre, and that Wedge Antilles could not be. He has lied to you, I haven't. Now there is one last question, and this is the really important one......are you with us, with people who would accept you and welcome you...or are you against us, swearing allegiance to that alien-hating Wedge Antilles?"

Reno had really expected more hesitation from Narska, or at the very least a little more time before he answered. Instead the Bothan said, "If I join you will I get a chance to kill Rogue Squadron?"

Reno smiled. "Of course."

Narska Plo'kre let out a feral smile. His sharp edged teeth bared and he let out a low hiss. "I'm in."

Continued...