Static hissed through the comm receiver inside the small room. Narska Plo’kre slammed his furred hand on a button, killing the static.

“Plo‘kre, do you read?” a voice asked. A sly, alien voice that carried a hint of subtle danger.

“I read,” Narska replied, annoyance creeping it‘s way into his voice. “I wasn’t expecting your call for another two days.”

“Plans have changed. The operation has to go forward, and it has to go forward now. You have a week.”

Narska’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious!” he shot back. “I...I need more time. This is a huge operation and it’s hard enough on the time schedule I’ve set for myself! It’s impossible to do it any other way.”

“Perhaps,” the voice said back. “But impossible is what Rogues do best, right? And you are a Rogue, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” he said sternly.

“But more importantly, what are you?” the voice asked.

Narska locked his jaw. “I’m a Bothan.”

“Good. Lots of people are depending on you, Plo’kre. Don’t fail.”

Narska nodded, even though he knew he couldn’t be seen. The comm abruptly shut off and left Narska sitting alone in the dark. He closed his eyes and sighed.

Things were so different now. A while back he thought he had his career figured out. He had a promising spot in Page’s Commandoes as a demolitions expert, and a best friend in Rarkaas Nel, a Rodian. But he and Rarkaas had been transferred out of the commandoes and into Rogue Squadron. Soon after that Rarkaas had been killed during a dogfight when the Rogues had teamed up with Sith Squadron to fight Ysanne Isard’s forces.

After the Command Staff found out that the fighter squadron hunting the Rogues was made up of Force-strong individuals, they pulled Narska aside and told him that he had latent Force potential. At first he had been angry that they had withheld information like that from him, but as they laid out their plan to destroy Sith Squadron his anger subsided. They placed Narska under “house arrest” and essentially waited for the Siths to come and take him away. It didn’t take long. The compound, which they left purposely unguarded, was raided by the Siths and Narska was taken away.
Much to his surprise, he was taken aboard a Super Star Destroyer and after a while, Reno “persuaded” him to join their cause. Reno himself taught Narska beginning Force techniques: sensing living beings, force chokes, lifting objects, and the like. But he didn’t let him build a lightsaber yet.

Everything had seemed to be going fine...until out of the blue Reno asked for a loyalty test. He told him that he was going to lure the Rogues to a system, then engage them by himself in a dogfight. Not wanting to kill his friends, during his distress signal he put in a hint to use droid controlled X-wings with falsified life signs to fool them. Those X-wings had a mark on the back, so Narska knew which ones to blow up and which to avoid. After he had “killed” a few Rogues, he hyped back to the SSD, where he was more or less met with open arms. They accepted him. They liked him.

And that was really the problem.

The Siths liked and appreciated him more than anyone else ever had. All the security forces he had worked for, Page’s Commandoes, even the Rouges... none had treated him as well as the Siths had. As each day went by, he found himself more and more enjoying their company.

But what they’re doing is wrong, he told himself. They’re evil, they want nothing but to dominate. To destroy.

But is that really true? He had been with them for at least three months now, and while they definitely used the Dark Side, they didn’t seem that bent on taking control. They seemed more content with drinking and taking in bounties. Which essentially made them mercenaries more than anything else. But extremely dangerous mercenaries, and threats to the New Republic. He had a sworn duty to protect the New Republic. He had to fulfill that duty, at all costs.

Besides, that wasn’t it. He had a duty to the New Republic, yes, but also to the Rogues. And more importantly, he had a responsibility to his people. But the Rogues weren’t around anymore. They were disbanded a few days after Thunder’s stint on Adumar. In that time he hadn’t had any contact with the remaining Rogues, only through his “new superior.” Sighing again, Narska stood up and returned to his work station. He looked at the object on his desk. He didn’t have all the parts he needed to complete it, yet. It might even take weeks to finish it...

...but weeks you don’t have, he reminded himself. You have days, if that. Now stop whining and get to work.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Seven confidently swaggered into the bar, a huge grin on his youthful face. His nose was still slightly bent from the break he had received on a mission to Coruscant. Courtesy of Palin, of course.

Speaking of which...

The bar was surprisingly empty. Star and Skate were off in a corner with a deck of sabaac cards, Gimmer was at the bar downing a mug of Whyrens, but that was really it. No sign of Ryvo, Sky, Fox, Reno, Jace, Thunder or Jen. In fact, there was only one other person in the bar, and as it happened it was the only person he wanted to see.

Palin.

As was usual for her, she sat alone at a table far off in the corner. Seven smiled as he walked over to her. Palin hardly looked up as he stood in front of her table.

“So...what’s cookin’, good lookin’?”

Palin looked up at him sourly. “Do you even realize how pathetically lame that was?”

Seven grinned like an idiot. “Yup. So, buy you a drink?”

She sighed and lowered her head. “The drinks are free, numbnuts.”

“Oh I know that, but the flirtation is still fun.”

“Hmph,” Palin muttered. “Says who?”

Regardless of her cold attitude, Seven took the seat opposite of her. He rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward.

“Okay, look, I came here for a reason,” Seven blurted out.

Sighing, Palin shook her head. “No, I won’t go to bed with you.”

“Actually that wasn’t it,” he said back. “I wanted to thank you.”

“For what?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink.

“During that mission on Coruscant to get Sky, I was about to get mobbed by that shop keeper. I was hurt and kinda out of it, I couldn’t have defended myself. But you came and saved me. So... thanks.”

Palin leaned back in her chair and looked around the room. “Look...don’t flatter yourself, okay? I didn’t do it because I have any feelings whatsoever towards you. Got it?”

“Uh huh,” Seven said. “Yeah, sure, I understand. Then, uh...why’d you do it? Why‘d you save my life?”

Palin pushed herself up from the table and started to leave the bar. Before she left she turned around and looked back at Seven.

“I hate paperwork.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Just as Palin left the bar, Jace Sidrona wandered in. He looked back at Palin once, who was stalking down the hall, and let out a short laugh. Back inside, Seven had taken a seat next to Gimmer at the bar. Jace walked over and joined them.

“I’m tellin’ ya, kid,” Gimmer was saying to Seven. “She is never going to go for you. She’s about as warm and fuzzy as cold vacuum.”

Jace laughed sharply as he took a stool and butted in the conversation. “Gimmer’s right, Seven, Hoth will melt a helluva lot sooner than she will.”

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad,” Seven said in defense. “She cares. She just doesn’t know how to show it.”

“Is that right?” Gimmer laughed.

“Yeah, it is,” Seven responded. “She hasn’t really had many opportunities in the past to open up to people, so she just doesn’t know how. But I’ll teach her.”

Jace and Gimmer exchanged glances, then roared in laughter. “Oh man, I needed that laugh,” Gimmer said. With that he downed the last of his drink and stood up. “All right, I need to get back down to the fighter bay. Nice talkin’ to ya, kid. You just keep hoping...I’m sure some day you’ll get Palin sober enough to actually talk to you.”

Seven didn’t even bother responding. As Gimmer left, Seven started to bang his head on the bar. “Oh man, is it really that bad?” he asked Jace.

“’Fraid so, Seven.”

“Damn,” he muttered dejectedly.

“Look, don’t worry...”

Just then Nuprin burst into the bar, a look of anger on his little, yellow face. He stalked up to the bar and hopped on the seat that Gimmer had been sitting on.

“Nuprin want ghedre!” he yelled, not even acknowledging Seven or Jace. The two Siths exchanged a look, then glanced over at Nuprin.

“Uh...Nupe? You okay?” Seven asked.

The alien turned and glared at them. “Nuprin not okay! Nuprin tired. All Sith do is ask. Nuprin get this, Nuprin get that. Nuprin not want get tampons anymore. And Narska...hmph, unreasonable little furball.”

Jace narrowed his eyes. “What does Narska want?”

“Components. Not know what for. Not care. But Bothan not reasonable. Want parts now. Nuprin not have parts now. Get parts, Bothan says. Bite Nuprin, Nuprin says. Nuprin need drink. Where Nuprin‘s ghedre!?”

“Jeez, calm down, Nupe,” Seven said.

Jace could tell Seven was holding back laughter, but Jace himself wasn’t too amused. What could Narska be building? Why would he need parts?

“Nuprin,” Jace asked. “Can I see the list of the parts Narska asked for?”

Nuprin gave him a sour look. “Why? You want help Nuprin find stuff?” he muttered sarcastically.

“Well, maybe,” he said back. “I’ll never know unless I see the list.”

Nuprin nodded and took out his datapad. He pressed some buttons and handed it over to Jace.

“Here go. Some Nuprin can get. Some Nuprin never heard of.”

Jace took the datapad and glanced down the list. He shook his head and sighed. He handed it back to Nuprin and jumped off the bar stool. “Thanks, Nuprin.”

“Something wrong, Jace?” Seven asked.

“No, nothing,” he casually said back.

“Where ya going then?”

“None of your business, kid,” he said. “I’ll see you later.” With those words Jace ran out of the bar.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Seven didn’t waste any time leaving the bar after Jace. Something was up. He knew it. And he didn’t want to be left out again. There was something Jace had seen on that list that had startled or scared him, or at least set off warnings in his head. And whatever it was, Seven wanted in on it.
Despite not being as strong as Jace was in the Force, he had no problems following the Sith by focusing in on his presence. Not that he really needed to do that. He was fairly sure that Sidrona was going straight to Narska’s quarters. Which was exactly where he went.

Seven peered around the corner and watched as Jace banged on Narska’s door. The Bothan opened the door and Jace burst in, not even waiting for an invite. All he said was, “We need to talk.”

“Damn,” Seven muttered as he turned and walked away. Something was up. He knew it. And whatever it was, he was going to find out.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

“Yes, come right in,” Narska sarcastically muttered as Jace pushed by him and sat down on the Bothan’s couch. “Please, make yourself at home, Jace.”

“Thanks, I’ll do that,” Sidrona muttered. “So I saw that you asked Nuprin to pick you up a few things. Some of them rather odd.”
The Bothan visibly froze and immediately regretted doing so. Sidrona could pick up on his emotions. And he probably had. Which meant...

“Yes. I did.”

“I don’t suppose you’d tell me what it is you need them for?”

Narska eyed Jace suspiciously. “Now it isn’t really your business, is it?”

“And...if I told you that I could get you some of these parts that you need. Would it be my business then?”

Narska stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the young human. What was he playing? He obviously knew what the components were, else he wouldn’t be here talking to Narska. But what game was he playing? Was this just a trick to lure Narska out, or did he actually want to help him?

It suddenly hit him. If Jace was telling the truth, then he could be a great ally to have right now. Narska had seven days before his mission was scrubbed. The “dead” Rogues would come out of hiding and when that happened, the Siths would figure everything out. Which meant he had till then to get the parts he needed, put them together, and set it off. And by that time he had to be off the SSD. The help of Sidrona could really increase his chances of success... if he could be trusted, that is.

“I really couldn’t say if it is your business or not until I have the parts I need. IF you can get them for me, then perhaps we can talk. Until then...” Narska pushed a button and the door to his quarters slid open. “...you can have a nice day.”

Jace smiled and stood up. “I’ll see what I can do about those parts.”

Then he left.

Narska let out a sigh of relief as the door slid closed. What was his game? What was Jace up to? Why would he want the SSD destroyed? Why would he want Sith Squadron gone? Why would he want Reno dead? Too many questions to be answered, and now wasn’t the time to ponder them. If Jace got the parts then he could ask them, but not until. For now...he still had things to do.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Jace smiled as he left Narska’s quarters. Exactly as he had thought. The Bothan was up to something. Something sneaky. Hmph, figures. You just can’t trust Bothans. You never truly know where their loyalties lie.

But this was perfect for him. If Jace played this just right...

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Over the next three days Seven watched Narska closely, and Jace even closer. They had been spending time together, he noticed. A lot more time than they usually did. Which led Seven to believe that he was right. Something was up.

Jace had gone to the junkpiles with Nuprin, as well, helping him scavenge for some of the things that Narska had asked for. Which also led Seven to believe that Jace was up to something. Sidrona wasn’t usually so... helpful. Sure he had gone out on his own to save Reno, but that had been his Master, someone he had known for years. Narska was still a rookie. He didn’t even have a lightsaber yet.

He thought about telling Reno that something odd was going on, but he didn’t want to unless he had sound proof. Besides, Reno, Thunder and Jen had all left the day before on a mission. Seven hadn’t been at the briefing, but he had heard second hand they had gone somewhere. He really didn’t know Ryvo, Sky, Skate and Star well enough to seek their help. And considering how Star often looked at Jace, he wasn’t sure he could fully count on her help. And Fox was too young to make himself useful. That really only left one person that he thought he could rely on...

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Palin regretted coming out of her quarters the second she opened the door. Standing there, perpetual grin on his face, was Seven. She thought about Force-shoving him into the wall behind him, but dismissed it. Then she thought of just punching him in the face, which brought a slight grin to her face.

Stang! He probably thinks I grinned at him!

Palin wiped the smile off her and face and pushed him out of the way. “What do you want?”

“I need to talk to you again,” he said.

“Oh c’mon, Seven, for the last time. I am not going to bed with you,” she sternly said. “Ever.”

“No no, not that !” he said, then he stopped and squinted. “...ever?”

“What do you want?” she repeated.

“Look, can we go somewhere more private than the hallway?” he asked.

Palin sighed. “If this is just some lame excuse to get inside my quarters...”

“No no, nothing like that!” he said in defense. “Please.”

It was then that Palin became curious. Seven was hardly ever the kind to use manners of any sort. Let alone say “please”. And he did seem a little more jittery than normal. She motioned back for her quarters and the door opened. Inside she took a seat and likewise told him to take one. Once he was seated she looked harshly at him.

“Five minutes. Make it good.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

It had been three days since Jace first confronted Narska with an offer of help, and Jace had spent just about every moment of them scavenging and scrounging the junkpiles with Nuprin. But after those three days of hard work, Jace finally had all the parts that Narska needed to complete his “project.” Jace had been as careful as he could to conceal his part, though there was no way he could hide it from Nuprin. But Nuprin was never one to ask questions, so Jace didn’t mind him knowing.

Over the course of the three days he had taken the parts to Narska one by one, and been as discreet about it as possible. He made sure no one was following him, nor paying any attention whatsoever. And now, with this last part, it was all complete. Now hopefully Narska would tell him his plan, although Jace could pretty much guess what it was.

“I did my part, Narska,” he told the Bothan as he strode into the alien’s quarters. “I got you all the parts you needed. Now it’s your turn. What do you plan on doing with this?”

Narska shot him a sarcastic glance. “You’re not stupid, Jace, don’t pretend to be. You know what I do, you know what it is, and you know what I plan on doing with it. What I can‘t figure out is why you are helping, what your stake in all of this is.”

“You want the truth?”

“No, I want you to lie out of your teeth,” he muttered. “Of course I want the truth.”

“Reno destroyed my life, Narska. He killed my parents, and forced me to become something I didn’t want to be. He has destroyed countless lives, and sadly, most of them unintentionally. It’s not always his targets he destroys, sometimes it’s his friends... if you can even call them that. He is a disease, a shadow of death. Everything he touches dies. He needs to be eradicated, for the good of everyone.”

“And I am to take your word for this?” Narska asked.

“You have the Force, Narska,” Jace shot back. “Use it. Look into me. Everything I said is absolutely true. I want Reno dead. I want the SSD in pieces. I want Sith Squadron in shambles.”

Narska closed his eyes and reached out with the Force and dove into Jace’s mind. Without his walls up, Jace’s mind lay open to Narska. The first thing he caught was images. Random ones. Reno attacking a much younger Jace on Tatooine. A lightsaber duel between Xanthis, Jace, and Reno. Jace burning out Xanthis’ eyes with the tip of his saber. Jace in a prison cell with a strange looking, tattooed human who seemed to be pulling off a piece of his skin. The last thing Narska caught was Jace and Xanthis standing together on a floating platform on what looked like Coruscant. A conversation.

When he opened his eyes again he looked at Jace, who sat with a grin on his face. Narska took a deep breath. He could sense in Jace the desire to kill Reno, to destroy Sith Squadron. How he kept such powerful emotions hidden from everyone was beyond Narska. But he knew one thing for certain: He could trust Jace.

Narska smiled. “Welcome aboard, Jace. If this plan works, I’m sure the Alliance will pin a few medals on you.”

“Medals don’t concern me, and I am not doing this for the Alliance. I only want Reno dead. I want his dreams shattered. And I will do anything to see his hopes and desires crushed.”

“We have a small time table to work with,” he told Jace. “The mission is scrubbed in 4 days. We have till then.”

“Plenty of time,” Jace told him. “Reno and the others won’t be back from their mission for five days.”

“Wait, what about the others?” Narska asked. “There are still seven Siths here.” Seven, Palin, Star, Skate, Fox, Ryvo, and Sky were all still on board. They could be a serious problem.

Jace just smiled. “Leave them to me.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Lord Pilot Thunder tried her best to follow Reno down the not so crowded streets of PX4-978, the planet so far out of civilization it didn’t even get a real name. Reno was walking quickly, and with a purpose. Kind of the opposite of the “who gives a vrelt’s ass” attitude he used to have.

Reno wasn’t the same, that much was obvious to anyone who had known him for even a day. Ever since his capture by TOS, he just wasn’t the same Reno. He was a lot stricter, adhering to rules. Yeah...rules...since when did Reno ever make people follow rules? Since when did they even have rules?

He had hardly ever went out on missions before, yet he had gone on every one since returning. He usually just gave out orders, then retreated to his quarters to do... to do Sadow even knows what. If he wasn’t in his quarters, then he was on the bridge staring off into space. But now... he was always out. He never sat back anymore. He was involved in everything. If there was a mission, he was at the head of it. He didn’t delegate duties. Everything was his. He... just wasn’t the same.

And probably the most shocking thing was that for the first time Thunder could remember, when Reno opened his mouth, logic and reason came out. Sometimes. It wasn’t just a bunch of incoherent rambling. Well... sometimes. But then there were his somewhat violent mood swings. One second he could be totally in control of his emotions and thinking rationally, and the next he would be screaming his head off with stuff so obscure and pointless that it made his old Reno Rambles seem like stuff worth listening to. These days, more than anything else, he seemed to be a walking contradiction. If Thunder didn’t know better she would swear it must be that time of the cycle for him.

“Do you sense him?”

Thunder shook her head.

“Damnit...” Reno picked up the comlink on his waist. “Eleven, do you have anything?”

“Sorry, not a thing,” she said back over the comlink. Thunder knew that her fellow Sith chick was at their mark’s apartment. Or at least what they thought was his apartment. “I’m not even picking up any kind of trace. He wasn’t here.”

“He was,” Reno demanded.

“You’re not listening...” Jen tried. Tried, but failed. Reno just didn’t listen these days. To anyone.

“No you’re not listening to me!” he yelled, causing several civilians to stare. “He was there. My sources said he was there, he was there.”

“Your sources suck,” she blatantly shot back. “He’s not here. I’d bet Whyrens to credits he never was.”

“When I want your opinions on matters, I’ll say ‘Jen, what do you think?’” he muttered sarcastically. “But until then, shut up, listen to what I say, and do what I say. And I say, look harder.”

He shut the comlink off and attached it to his waist. He shot a glance at Thunder, who was staring at him.

“What?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Reno walked down the street. Thunder sighed inwardly. Definitely not the same....

Not for the first time, Thunder wondered just what had happened to Reno during his time with TOS.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

“Look harder...” Jen muttered as she looked through the empty apartment. This was ridiculous. If someone was here, anyone, she could sense them. The only thing she sensed where the rodents running around.

Screw this...

Jen turned sharply and walked out of the door. Their mark wasn’t here. Reno had been duped, sent on a wild goose chase. And likely he wouldn’t be in a good mood for a while. Not that he ever was anymore. He seemed to be eternally stuck in “Jackass” mode these days. Jen would probably get in trouble for just leaving, but she didn’t care. She could take a little punishment.
She made her way down to the streets. It hadn’t taken Jen long to realize that PX4-978 was a total waste of a planet. The place was small, boring, sparsely populated, boring, hot, boring, and it smelled funny. Now wonder no one cared enough to give it a real name.

Wonder where the closest bar is...

Then she saw him. She almost hadn’t. Her attention had been focused on the buildings nearby, looking for anything that remotely resembled a pub. He was walking from the direction of the spaceport, a quick, brisk, urgent walk.

Though he had a cloak covering his face, Jen could feel him. She didn’t need to see his face, she could feel him through the Force. The same presence she had felt a couple times before. The presence of someone she had thought was lost forever:

Wes Janson.

Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. The brutal, harsh reality of the situation. Narska Plo’kre had been the one to “destroy” Wes’s snubfighter. None of the Siths had been present, they had watched it all via relays. No, she told herself, I have to be wrong. I SAW his ship blow up. He’s dead. He’s dead.

Then how the hell is he here?

Her hand clumsily reached down to her waist. “Thunder?”

“What?” came her voice.

“We got a problem.”

Continued...