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<blockquote data-quote="Beretta" data-source="post: 4603930" data-attributes="member: 12260"><p><strong>The Sunken Mesa</strong></p><p></p><p>Another uneventful night is spent resting up from the rigours of the previous day. Upon resuming their journey, it is not long before they come across two banthas grazing on scrub brush growing around the base of a 20-meter-tall plateau. A makeshift crane with cables leading up the side of the mesa is affixed to the top of the cliff.</p><p></p><p>“It looks like we’ve found what we’re looking for,” says Khail. The group moved up to the plateau’s base, looking for a means of scaling its sides. “Hmm,” he muses, closely examining the rocky surface. “These look like handholds carved into the wall.” There is a sudden flash, and the smuggler staggers back with a cry. Thalo also yells in a mixture of pain and surprise. Luckily, both have only been grazed by the blaster-fire.</p><p></p><p>“Snipers!” Fenri shouts. “Up there in the cleft!” Barely visible, a pair of rough-looking fringers are leaning out from their position of concealment and taking aim with their blaster rifles. “Get behind cover!” shouts the soldier as he runs to the north, while the rest of the group runs west, following the curve of the plateau and out of the sniper’s line of sight.</p><p></p><p>Blaster bolts explode into the ground around their feet as they run, though one finds its mark again in Khail. Out of the line of fire, he sinks to the ground in obvious pain and pauses to collect his breath.</p><p></p><p>When he has recovered sufficiently, Khail speaks into his comlink for the benefit of Fenri, who has run off in the other direction is now separated from the group. “Here’s the plan. You find another way on to the top of that plateau while Renei and I distract them by drawing their fire.”</p><p></p><p>“Got it,” is the soldier’s terse reply.</p><p></p><p> Khail and Renei take cover at the edge of the sniper’s line of sight and begin shooting up at their position. The fringers promptly return fire, and the rest of the group heads westwards to meet up again at the opposite side of the plateau.</p><p></p><p>“Anything?” Cyan asks the soldier, and Fenri shakes his head in the negative. The Jedi sighs. “We didn’t see anything either. The top is only 20-meters up. Why don’t we combine the contents of Thalo’s and my liquid cable dispensers, tie the ropes together and attach them to this grappling hook?”</p><p></p><p>“I don’t like your chances of hurling that thing 20-meters straight up, but there’s no way we’re going to get up there without some kind of help. Let’s give it a try.”</p><p></p><p>Their comlinks beep and Khail’s voice can be heard against a backdrop of heavy blaster fire. “If you can hurry things up it would be appreciated! We’ve got a couple more of them shooting at us, plus our blasters are running low on power. We’ve each got a spare power pack but I don’t know how much longer we can keep up the diversion.”</p><p></p><p>The two Jedi fire their liquid-cable dispensers onto the ground, creating two coils of a heavy rope-like substance. Tying the two together and attaching the grappling hook, Thalo attempts to throw the makeshift grappling iron high enough to catch on the plateau’s edge. On the third try, the hook lands on the top of the ledge and snags tight.</p><p></p><p>Using the wall as a brace, the three of them ascend to the top of the plateau. Once there they can see that the mesa is not flat-topped at all, its center having collapsed long ago to form a 10-meter deep depression. A staircase winds its way up to the top of the plateau on the opposite side, and beneath the crane, partially covered by a tarp, is a Z-95 Headhunter.</p><p>Pulling up the rope, Fenri re-secures the grappling hook and drops the rope down into the interior of the mesa. The soldier rappels down, with the two Jedi right behind him.</p><p></p><p>“Ok, let’s take care of those snipers,” he growls. “Keep those lightsabers off until we get there – I don’t want to risk them hearing or seeing us until we’re ready to strike.”</p><p></p><p>Cyan and Thalo nod, following close behind Fenri as he runs towards the opposite wall of the mesa. They pass by the fringer’s tents and the concealed starfighter, and upon reaching the stairway take the steps two at a time. The sounds of blaster fire increase as they reach the top of the mesa, where a tunnel passes through the wall to the exterior. At the tunnel’s opposite opening, four rough-clad individuals are firing their sporting blaster rifles down at Khail and Renei below.</p><p></p><p>“Go!” Fenri whispers fiercely, and the two Jedi begin running down the tunnel. As he raises his blaster and takes aim, one of the snipers flinches back from a diversionary blaster shot that explodes against the tunnel entrance nearby. His peripheral vision catches the movement of the Jedi as they rapidly approach, and he cries out in a mixture of surprise and warning. As the ruffian struggles to bring his rifle to bear, Fenri squeezes the trigger of his own blaster and sends a shot punching through the sniper’s chest and out the other side. As the body falls backwards out of sight, the Jedi ignite their lightsabers and bear down on the remaining ship thieves, who are whirling around to face the new threat. </p><p></p><p>The body of the first fringer hits the ground with a sickening thud, and Khail gratefully holsters his almost drained blaster. He begins his ascent up the rough handholds of the mesa’s exterior, Renei on his heels. </p><p></p><p>Thalo leaps towards one of the fringers, swinging his lightsaber up and around to deflect a well-aimed blaster bolt. The backswing of the weapon shears through the mid-section of the shooter, and the top half of his body topples back. Khail and Renei are forced to hug the mesa wall as the hapless fringer’s upper torso tumbles through the air past them. A third ruffian crumples to the ground, his abdomen smoking from a direct hit from Fenri’s blaster. </p><p></p><p>Cyan slashes her lightsaber in an argent blue arc at the last sniper, who is a bit slow in twisting away in an attempt to avoid the attack. He cries out in pain as the tip of the lightsaber burns a shallow cut across his arm and chest. </p><p></p><p>Desperately, the ruffian triggers his weapon point-blank at Cyan. There is no time to bring her lightsaber back to deflect the blast, so she instead reflexively raises her free hand towards the rifle’s muzzle. Instead of the blaster bolt burning a hole through her hand and body, there erupts a shower of sparks as the energy of the attack is completely absorbed. Indeed, to the fringer’s utter amazement, he sees the cuts and scrapes on the Jedi’s exposed flesh miraculously heal and disappear in seconds. </p><p></p><p>Cyan levels the azure blade of her lightsaber at the sniper’s throat. “Drop your weapon and surrender, and we’ll let you live.”</p><p></p><p>The sniper glances behind him at the 20-meter drop to the ground below, and then back at his three opponents. One seems to be immune to blasters, the other able to predict the path of blaster fire and knock it aside, and the last is a crack shot who doesn’t miss his target.</p><p></p><p>He drops the blaster to the ground. “Alright, I surrender.”</p><p></p><p>Khail’s head appears over the edge of the mesa to see Cyan binding up the last sniper with mesh tape. Renei comes up close behind, exclaiming loudly in happiness at the sight of her Z-95. </p><p></p><p>“Let’s go get your ship repaired,” says Khail, leading her towards the stairway. </p><p></p><p>As they move down to the mesa floor, Thalo turns to the prisoner. “Time for some answers,” he says. “Where’s the rest of your band?”</p><p></p><p>“Go suck on a wamp-rat,” the prisoner spits in defiance. </p><p></p><p>“Don’t make us do this the hard way.”</p><p></p><p>“You’re a Jedi,” the fringer sneers. “You wouldn’t harm an unarmed prisoner.”</p><p></p><p>Thalo sighs. “No, you’re right. I wouldn’t.” The jedi focusses the power of the Force into the outlaw’s mind and speaks again, making the same hand gesture as he did back in the cantina. “Where’s the rest of your band?” he repeats.</p><p></p><p>The fringer, his mind now under the influence of the Force, answers. “Our leader went with two others to The Junkyard to find a buyer for the Z-95.”</p><p></p><p>Thalo nods. “I see. When can we expect them to return?”</p><p></p><p>The fringer shakes his head in bewilderment. “How the hell would I know? He’s been gone most of the day. If he found a buyer he could be back any time now. If he didn’t, well, he might not be back for a few days.” The man squirms around uncomfortably. “Look, how about letting me go?”</p><p></p><p>“Sure - later. In the meantime we have things to do.”</p><p></p><p>Fenri strolls towards the sniper’s ledge. “I’ll keep an eye out for his friends.”</p><p></p><p>Leaving the prisoner, Thalo heads down to the supply crates. After </p><p>rummaging through them for a few minutes, he manages to uncover very little of interest. Most of the equipment is broken, though there are a few items of use.</p><p></p><p>He returns to where Cyan is keeping an eye on the prisoner and Fenri is on lookout. The Jedi hands the soldier a pair of macrobinoculars he found in the crates. “Here, take these - they might come in handy,” he says. Fenri grunts in thanks.</p><p></p><p>An hour passes, and Khail has finished fixing the ship’s circuitry that had blown, which also damaged several other vital systems. All that is left now is to fix the hull damage sustained in the crash landing.</p><p></p><p>He has barely made a start when Fenri suddenly perks up from where he is scanning the horizon with his newly acquired macrobinoculars. “Contact. Three humanoids - one’s a red-scaled Trandoshan. Must be our guys.”</p><p></p><p>“What’s the plan?” Cyan asks.</p><p></p><p>“I’ve got an idea. There’s a lot of open ground around this mesa, and I’m going to make them think twice about trying to cross it.”</p><p></p><p>Fenri shoulders the Sporting Blaster Rifle and sights down the barrel at one of the fringers flanking the Trandoshan. At a range of about 350-meters, he squeezes the trigger gently. A lethal burst of energy streaks from the muzzle of the blaster and his target flies backward, landing in a crumpled heap. The Trandoshan and his remaining henchman dive to the ground, but with blaster bolts melting the dirt around them into glass, they quickly realise that it is only a matter of time until they are hit. Getting up, the two ship-thieves start running back the way they came. </p><p></p><p>The sodlier smiles. “They’ll be back later, undoubtedly under the cover of night. We should be long gone by then.”</p><p></p><p>The rest of the repairs go smoothly, and when they are complete Khail jumps into the Z-95’s cockpit. Firing up the engines and the diagnostic systems, he is pleased to see green lights flash up on the console.</p><p></p><p>“She’s good to go. Time to head back to Great Rock and get my ship.” </p><p></p><p>Renei looks at Khail expectantly. When he continues to sit there she sighs in exasperation, “Are you going to hop out and let me fly my ship or what?”</p><p>Khail shakes his head. “There isn’t really room for two in here, and to be honest you’re smaller and lighter than me. You get to sit in my lap, not the other way around.”</p><p></p><p>“Fine,” Renei sighs again. “Let’s get your payment sorted out first.” The girl pulls out the credit chip she retrieved from the Headhunter earlier and makes the necessary transfers as the group gathers around her.</p><p></p><p>“Well, I guess this is goodbye,” Reni says. “You know, you all handled yourselves pretty well in the last few days.” She smiles sheepishly. “I must admit, I wasn’t completely honest with you. In addition to being an explorer, I also occasionally recruit help for the New Republic.</p><p></p><p>“Our presence and influence in the Outer Rim is still pretty weak, but we’re making progress every day. Anyway, if you’re interested I can introduce you to some influential people who can point you in the right direction. You’ll get paid well for your efforts – the New Republic has the money, but not the ships or manpower.</p><p></p><p>“So, what do you say? Want to help us restore freedom to the rest of the galaxy?”</p><p></p><p>The companions look at each other. “We’re not Jedi Knights yet,” Thalo answers. “We have to answer to our Master.”</p><p></p><p>Khail shrugs. “Look, I don’t know. If you aren’t in too much of a rush, why not wait until Lor-Zan returns and everyone can talk about it then?”</p><p></p><p>Renei smiles, though it’s clear she’s disappointed. “Okay. Let’s get back to Great Rock then meet up back here. It will give you some time to consider my offer.”</p><p></p><p>Khail sets the Z-95 down outside the spaceport. “See you back at the mesa.”</p><p>Renei straps herself into the pilot seat.</p><p></p><p>“Sure thing,” she replies with a wink. </p><p></p><p>The Z-95 soars back into the sky as Khail enters the settlement cautiously, all too aware of the threat the thug had made in the cantina. Surprisingly, he arrives at the <em>Bellerophon </em>without incident, and starts the pre-flight sequence. When everything has checked out he settles back comfortably in the pilots couch, and has only just started to relax when the comlink beeps. He thumbs the switch.</p><p></p><p>“Khail here.”</p><p></p><p>“Captain Khail,” answers the voice of Lor-Zan Magnus. “I’m ready to return to the ship. Are you there or should I meet up with you somewhere else in the settlement?”</p><p></p><p>“Uhm, there was a bit of an incident. I’m currently aboard the ship; everyone else is at a mesa in the Mantellian wilderness. Come on board and I’ll fill you in on the details on the way there…”</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Corva Sector and the Outer Rim</strong></p><p></p><p>Renei leans back against the nose of her starfighter. “So that’s it. Our assignment is to keep an eye on the activities of various factions of the Imperial Remnant operating in Corva and other nearby sectors of space.”</p><p></p><p>Lor-Zan strokes his chin thoughtfully. “That’s an intriguing offer, Renei. My padawans have learned all they can in the structured confines of the Academy. It is time for the galaxy to be their classroom now. We will assist you – at least for a while.”</p><p></p><p>All eyes turn to Khail and Fenri. “Fenri and I have talked it over, and we’ve decided to join up too - but only for so long as it suits us to do so. We have no love for the Imperials, and perhaps by helping you we can also settle a few scores of our own.”</p><p></p><p>Renei smiles happily. “That’s great! Let me upload the astrogation co-ordinates to your navicomp. We’ll link our systems so that we arrive at the destination together. It can get a little awkward otherwise.”</p><p></p><p>Boarding their respective ships, the tramp freighter and Z-95 lift off from the surface of Ord Mantell and head out into space. With a flicker of pseudomotion, both ships jump to lightspeed.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Beretta, post: 4603930, member: 12260"] [B]The Sunken Mesa[/B] Another uneventful night is spent resting up from the rigours of the previous day. Upon resuming their journey, it is not long before they come across two banthas grazing on scrub brush growing around the base of a 20-meter-tall plateau. A makeshift crane with cables leading up the side of the mesa is affixed to the top of the cliff. “It looks like we’ve found what we’re looking for,” says Khail. The group moved up to the plateau’s base, looking for a means of scaling its sides. “Hmm,” he muses, closely examining the rocky surface. “These look like handholds carved into the wall.” There is a sudden flash, and the smuggler staggers back with a cry. Thalo also yells in a mixture of pain and surprise. Luckily, both have only been grazed by the blaster-fire. “Snipers!” Fenri shouts. “Up there in the cleft!” Barely visible, a pair of rough-looking fringers are leaning out from their position of concealment and taking aim with their blaster rifles. “Get behind cover!” shouts the soldier as he runs to the north, while the rest of the group runs west, following the curve of the plateau and out of the sniper’s line of sight. Blaster bolts explode into the ground around their feet as they run, though one finds its mark again in Khail. Out of the line of fire, he sinks to the ground in obvious pain and pauses to collect his breath. When he has recovered sufficiently, Khail speaks into his comlink for the benefit of Fenri, who has run off in the other direction is now separated from the group. “Here’s the plan. You find another way on to the top of that plateau while Renei and I distract them by drawing their fire.” “Got it,” is the soldier’s terse reply. Khail and Renei take cover at the edge of the sniper’s line of sight and begin shooting up at their position. The fringers promptly return fire, and the rest of the group heads westwards to meet up again at the opposite side of the plateau. “Anything?” Cyan asks the soldier, and Fenri shakes his head in the negative. The Jedi sighs. “We didn’t see anything either. The top is only 20-meters up. Why don’t we combine the contents of Thalo’s and my liquid cable dispensers, tie the ropes together and attach them to this grappling hook?” “I don’t like your chances of hurling that thing 20-meters straight up, but there’s no way we’re going to get up there without some kind of help. Let’s give it a try.” Their comlinks beep and Khail’s voice can be heard against a backdrop of heavy blaster fire. “If you can hurry things up it would be appreciated! We’ve got a couple more of them shooting at us, plus our blasters are running low on power. We’ve each got a spare power pack but I don’t know how much longer we can keep up the diversion.” The two Jedi fire their liquid-cable dispensers onto the ground, creating two coils of a heavy rope-like substance. Tying the two together and attaching the grappling hook, Thalo attempts to throw the makeshift grappling iron high enough to catch on the plateau’s edge. On the third try, the hook lands on the top of the ledge and snags tight. Using the wall as a brace, the three of them ascend to the top of the plateau. Once there they can see that the mesa is not flat-topped at all, its center having collapsed long ago to form a 10-meter deep depression. A staircase winds its way up to the top of the plateau on the opposite side, and beneath the crane, partially covered by a tarp, is a Z-95 Headhunter. Pulling up the rope, Fenri re-secures the grappling hook and drops the rope down into the interior of the mesa. The soldier rappels down, with the two Jedi right behind him. “Ok, let’s take care of those snipers,” he growls. “Keep those lightsabers off until we get there – I don’t want to risk them hearing or seeing us until we’re ready to strike.” Cyan and Thalo nod, following close behind Fenri as he runs towards the opposite wall of the mesa. They pass by the fringer’s tents and the concealed starfighter, and upon reaching the stairway take the steps two at a time. The sounds of blaster fire increase as they reach the top of the mesa, where a tunnel passes through the wall to the exterior. At the tunnel’s opposite opening, four rough-clad individuals are firing their sporting blaster rifles down at Khail and Renei below. “Go!” Fenri whispers fiercely, and the two Jedi begin running down the tunnel. As he raises his blaster and takes aim, one of the snipers flinches back from a diversionary blaster shot that explodes against the tunnel entrance nearby. His peripheral vision catches the movement of the Jedi as they rapidly approach, and he cries out in a mixture of surprise and warning. As the ruffian struggles to bring his rifle to bear, Fenri squeezes the trigger of his own blaster and sends a shot punching through the sniper’s chest and out the other side. As the body falls backwards out of sight, the Jedi ignite their lightsabers and bear down on the remaining ship thieves, who are whirling around to face the new threat. The body of the first fringer hits the ground with a sickening thud, and Khail gratefully holsters his almost drained blaster. He begins his ascent up the rough handholds of the mesa’s exterior, Renei on his heels. Thalo leaps towards one of the fringers, swinging his lightsaber up and around to deflect a well-aimed blaster bolt. The backswing of the weapon shears through the mid-section of the shooter, and the top half of his body topples back. Khail and Renei are forced to hug the mesa wall as the hapless fringer’s upper torso tumbles through the air past them. A third ruffian crumples to the ground, his abdomen smoking from a direct hit from Fenri’s blaster. Cyan slashes her lightsaber in an argent blue arc at the last sniper, who is a bit slow in twisting away in an attempt to avoid the attack. He cries out in pain as the tip of the lightsaber burns a shallow cut across his arm and chest. Desperately, the ruffian triggers his weapon point-blank at Cyan. There is no time to bring her lightsaber back to deflect the blast, so she instead reflexively raises her free hand towards the rifle’s muzzle. Instead of the blaster bolt burning a hole through her hand and body, there erupts a shower of sparks as the energy of the attack is completely absorbed. Indeed, to the fringer’s utter amazement, he sees the cuts and scrapes on the Jedi’s exposed flesh miraculously heal and disappear in seconds. Cyan levels the azure blade of her lightsaber at the sniper’s throat. “Drop your weapon and surrender, and we’ll let you live.” The sniper glances behind him at the 20-meter drop to the ground below, and then back at his three opponents. One seems to be immune to blasters, the other able to predict the path of blaster fire and knock it aside, and the last is a crack shot who doesn’t miss his target. He drops the blaster to the ground. “Alright, I surrender.” Khail’s head appears over the edge of the mesa to see Cyan binding up the last sniper with mesh tape. Renei comes up close behind, exclaiming loudly in happiness at the sight of her Z-95. “Let’s go get your ship repaired,” says Khail, leading her towards the stairway. As they move down to the mesa floor, Thalo turns to the prisoner. “Time for some answers,” he says. “Where’s the rest of your band?” “Go suck on a wamp-rat,” the prisoner spits in defiance. “Don’t make us do this the hard way.” “You’re a Jedi,” the fringer sneers. “You wouldn’t harm an unarmed prisoner.” Thalo sighs. “No, you’re right. I wouldn’t.” The jedi focusses the power of the Force into the outlaw’s mind and speaks again, making the same hand gesture as he did back in the cantina. “Where’s the rest of your band?” he repeats. The fringer, his mind now under the influence of the Force, answers. “Our leader went with two others to The Junkyard to find a buyer for the Z-95.” Thalo nods. “I see. When can we expect them to return?” The fringer shakes his head in bewilderment. “How the hell would I know? He’s been gone most of the day. If he found a buyer he could be back any time now. If he didn’t, well, he might not be back for a few days.” The man squirms around uncomfortably. “Look, how about letting me go?” “Sure - later. In the meantime we have things to do.” Fenri strolls towards the sniper’s ledge. “I’ll keep an eye out for his friends.” Leaving the prisoner, Thalo heads down to the supply crates. After rummaging through them for a few minutes, he manages to uncover very little of interest. Most of the equipment is broken, though there are a few items of use. He returns to where Cyan is keeping an eye on the prisoner and Fenri is on lookout. The Jedi hands the soldier a pair of macrobinoculars he found in the crates. “Here, take these - they might come in handy,” he says. Fenri grunts in thanks. An hour passes, and Khail has finished fixing the ship’s circuitry that had blown, which also damaged several other vital systems. All that is left now is to fix the hull damage sustained in the crash landing. He has barely made a start when Fenri suddenly perks up from where he is scanning the horizon with his newly acquired macrobinoculars. “Contact. Three humanoids - one’s a red-scaled Trandoshan. Must be our guys.” “What’s the plan?” Cyan asks. “I’ve got an idea. There’s a lot of open ground around this mesa, and I’m going to make them think twice about trying to cross it.” Fenri shoulders the Sporting Blaster Rifle and sights down the barrel at one of the fringers flanking the Trandoshan. At a range of about 350-meters, he squeezes the trigger gently. A lethal burst of energy streaks from the muzzle of the blaster and his target flies backward, landing in a crumpled heap. The Trandoshan and his remaining henchman dive to the ground, but with blaster bolts melting the dirt around them into glass, they quickly realise that it is only a matter of time until they are hit. Getting up, the two ship-thieves start running back the way they came. The sodlier smiles. “They’ll be back later, undoubtedly under the cover of night. We should be long gone by then.” The rest of the repairs go smoothly, and when they are complete Khail jumps into the Z-95’s cockpit. Firing up the engines and the diagnostic systems, he is pleased to see green lights flash up on the console. “She’s good to go. Time to head back to Great Rock and get my ship.” Renei looks at Khail expectantly. When he continues to sit there she sighs in exasperation, “Are you going to hop out and let me fly my ship or what?” Khail shakes his head. “There isn’t really room for two in here, and to be honest you’re smaller and lighter than me. You get to sit in my lap, not the other way around.” “Fine,” Renei sighs again. “Let’s get your payment sorted out first.” The girl pulls out the credit chip she retrieved from the Headhunter earlier and makes the necessary transfers as the group gathers around her. “Well, I guess this is goodbye,” Reni says. “You know, you all handled yourselves pretty well in the last few days.” She smiles sheepishly. “I must admit, I wasn’t completely honest with you. In addition to being an explorer, I also occasionally recruit help for the New Republic. “Our presence and influence in the Outer Rim is still pretty weak, but we’re making progress every day. Anyway, if you’re interested I can introduce you to some influential people who can point you in the right direction. You’ll get paid well for your efforts – the New Republic has the money, but not the ships or manpower. “So, what do you say? Want to help us restore freedom to the rest of the galaxy?” The companions look at each other. “We’re not Jedi Knights yet,” Thalo answers. “We have to answer to our Master.” Khail shrugs. “Look, I don’t know. If you aren’t in too much of a rush, why not wait until Lor-Zan returns and everyone can talk about it then?” Renei smiles, though it’s clear she’s disappointed. “Okay. Let’s get back to Great Rock then meet up back here. It will give you some time to consider my offer.” Khail sets the Z-95 down outside the spaceport. “See you back at the mesa.” Renei straps herself into the pilot seat. “Sure thing,” she replies with a wink. The Z-95 soars back into the sky as Khail enters the settlement cautiously, all too aware of the threat the thug had made in the cantina. Surprisingly, he arrives at the [I]Bellerophon [/I]without incident, and starts the pre-flight sequence. When everything has checked out he settles back comfortably in the pilots couch, and has only just started to relax when the comlink beeps. He thumbs the switch. “Khail here.” “Captain Khail,” answers the voice of Lor-Zan Magnus. “I’m ready to return to the ship. Are you there or should I meet up with you somewhere else in the settlement?” “Uhm, there was a bit of an incident. I’m currently aboard the ship; everyone else is at a mesa in the Mantellian wilderness. Come on board and I’ll fill you in on the details on the way there…” [B]Corva Sector and the Outer Rim[/B] Renei leans back against the nose of her starfighter. “So that’s it. Our assignment is to keep an eye on the activities of various factions of the Imperial Remnant operating in Corva and other nearby sectors of space.” Lor-Zan strokes his chin thoughtfully. “That’s an intriguing offer, Renei. My padawans have learned all they can in the structured confines of the Academy. It is time for the galaxy to be their classroom now. We will assist you – at least for a while.” All eyes turn to Khail and Fenri. “Fenri and I have talked it over, and we’ve decided to join up too - but only for so long as it suits us to do so. We have no love for the Imperials, and perhaps by helping you we can also settle a few scores of our own.” Renei smiles happily. “That’s great! Let me upload the astrogation co-ordinates to your navicomp. We’ll link our systems so that we arrive at the destination together. It can get a little awkward otherwise.” Boarding their respective ships, the tramp freighter and Z-95 lift off from the surface of Ord Mantell and head out into space. With a flicker of pseudomotion, both ships jump to lightspeed. [/QUOTE]
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