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Message: <blockquote data-quote="LostSoul" data-source="post: 739415" data-attributes="member: 386">Late spring turned into summer.  It was long and hot and the days went by fast.  The nights took longer and in them Troy felt as though he were missing something of himself.  It was a strange feeling that had always been with him but now he listened to it and let it grow in his heart.Money still came and went, like women and wine, from cards played at the tables on Kalarba.  It was more calculated than ever now and Troy was much better at it but the winning pleased him less.  It was his way to study the people but sometimes this was too much and he felt like he knew them too well.  It was something that he wanted to stay away from.Summer gave way to fall.  Troy always liked the change.  The heat and light of summer never agreed with him and only the nights were pleasant.  Fall was a different matter.  There was a fresh crispness in the air and along with the death of the natural world there was a promise for something more, something new and alive to take its place.  In these months tensions had grown between the two houses on planet.  King Dormanov was ailing and the royal counsellors took a heavier hand in preparing Arthur for the crown.  Troy didn't see Arthur much and when he did the prince was hard to talk to.  Their time together was spent mostly apart, if not in person then in feeling.  They both looked forward to a trip off planet.Arthur pulled some strings and got Troy a job as a croupier.  Troy didn't mind the job and he used it to get to know the inner workings of the casino business.  It was nothing different than any other profession except that the vices were not hidden by any formality or falsehood.  At the casino everything was out in the open - gaudy displays of wealth, half-naked serving girls and boys, and displays of controlled brutality masking themselves as sport.  Troy liked it here because a man could be himself without having to live by society's standards.The job didn't last long.  Too many nights of booze and drugs, too many friends, too much personality.  Troy didn't mind leaving the tables behind.  He preferred to be on the other side.  There the only rules were the ones you brought with yourself.It was the middle of fall and death was on the air.  Trees had lost their leaves and left only barren skeletons clawing towards the impotent sun hidden behind the clouded sky.  It rained with fierce winds and the rain stung Troy's face where he walked along side the street without an umbrella.  The package in his right hand was beginning to soak through.His apartment was dry but cold and there was a dusty feeling in the air although it was clean.  He slipped off his shoes and hung up his jacket and walked towards his window to watch the rain falling over the city and the shattered lights reflecting off the puddles on the street.  He enjoyed the rain and how the lights seemed to stand alone when you looked at them but in the water they all blended together.  Troy unwrapped his package and pulled out a sandwich and a cup of coffee.  The coffee was still warm and the sandwich dry but bland.He sat there looking out into the rain for a long time after he finished his meal.  These times he liked best, when there was a quiet light in the room and no nearby noise but outside you could hear the rain falling gently and the spashes of the cars going by and you could watch the people running back and forth trying to keep dry.  It made you feel warm and cozy and it took Troy's mind away from everything else.Troy's mind wandered onto Brooke.  It had been months since he had seen her and nothing had happened between them, but he still thought about her.  No, he thought, that's not right.  Something had happened.  His mind went back to her and their nights together and wondered what it was about her that kept her in his mind.  Why did he feel like this?  It had been like this with Leelu but that had turned out to be nothing in the end.  Was that going to be it with Brooke?  He wondered if that was a bad thing.  He was probably not going to see her again.The rain was falling heavier now.  He could see her, of course, if he wanted to.  He wasn't sure what held him back, just as he wasn't sure what drew him forward.  He felt stuck in a middle ground, torn between his thoughts and feelings and he wasn't used to it.  It was like a weight on him that needed to be pushed off but at the same time it was as comforting as a warm blanket.And so he sat there, watching the rain and the evening grey get darker and darker until he could see his face in the window.  He got up and turned off the light and poured himself a drink of whiskey and sat back down at the table.  He lit a guntha stick now and that lit him up in the window when he inhaled and it was nice.  Once the guntha stick was out he drank the rest of the whiskey and fell asleep in the chair.When he woke up the rain was still falling and the sky was a light shade of grey.  Troy felt the stubble on his face.  He got undressed and took a shower.  When he was done, he saw a blinking light on his answering machine."Troy, Arthur here.  Meet me at Bessie for lunch."  Arthur was planning on sneaking away from the counsellors and attendants that always seemed to be around him these days.  Bessie was his ship, bought on the sly, that they used whenever they wanted to get off planet without any fanfare.  Troy got dressed quickly.  He was excited about the trip.  The past few months something had been gnawing at him and he wanted to get away from it all, as if leaving his home and his usual hangouts could take him away from himself.  He packed a light bag with a single change of clothes, his cards, and his credit slip.He went downstairs and ducked out of the rain into Atcus' cafe.  The old man was sitting on a stool behind the bar watching the rain fall.  Troy went up to the bar and sat down.  Atcus nodded to him and slowly went to the coffee maker and poured him a drink."Going somewhere?" Atcus asked."Hope so."  Troy took a sip of the still steaming coffee.  "Can I grab a sandwich?"Atcus nodded and wandered off.  Troy sat there and read the news.  More trouble in the inner and outer systems.Atcus came back with a plate of food.  Troy dug into it."You could probably use some time away from here," Atcus said."Yeah," Troy replied, swallowing a mouthful.  He washed it down with some coffee.  "Things are slow around here.""You know what you're looking for?""Escape.""You and everyone.  It's hard to get away from ourselves."Troy nodded.  "Arthur needs this trip bad.  I haven't seen him much lately, and when I do he's messed up."Atcus grinned.  "It's good to know that our future leader is taking care of himself.""This trip will help.""Things get hard when you realize that you're not the only one out there.  And you have to decide if the pain of responsibility is worth it.""I wonder what the point is.  There won't be anything left for me.  When I'm gone, that is.""Life's a bitch.  You have to decide for yourself what it means for you.""I guess."Troy finished the rest of his meal in silence.  The cafe was quiet and cool and dry and with the rain outside it was nice.  The food and coffee warmed Troy up and left him feeling tired.  He sat there for a while, sipping coffee and letting his thoughts wander.  A cool breeze entered the cafe with a businessman in a rush.  The wind woke Troy and he got up from the stool."I'll see you when I get back," Troy said.  Atcus nodded and went to serve the new customer.Bessie was docked in a run-down part of the city.  Arthur had chosen this place because the people there could be silenced with small sums.  When you didn't want anyone to ask questions it was best to stay around people who kept to their own business.  People who were more worried about what you noticed about them or were too afraid to take note of you.Troy was waiting there when Arthur showed up.  He came in a run-down cab that he must have picked up somewhere in these slums.  He had changed cars more than once, then; slipping away and Arthur's commitment to it were more than Troy had expected.  Arthur stepped out of the cab without a bag."You ready?" Arthur asked.  He was in a rush.  He unlocked the ship and Troy followed him in."Where to?" Troy asked."Socarro Six.""Casino Royale," Troy said and nodded.  "Good choice.""Let's get this thing off the ground.  I don't know how much time we have.""That's good with me," Troy said.The Casino Royale orbiting Socarro Six was a tribute to the commonality of vice.  You could find beings here from all races and walks of life, as long as they had more money than sense.  The Casino had a hard look to it that couldn't be taken away by the flashing lights and holograms.  The veneer of enjoyment was barely plastered over the reality of the place - a place where money, lives, and loves were lost and dashed upon the hardness of space.  To Troy it was like a second home.Arthur piloted Bessie down into one of the more luxurious docking bays.  As usual, no questions were asked.  The men who ran the Casino didn't care who you were, just as long as you brought money.  The Casino was a good place to find second-hand ships.  It was where Arthur bought Bessie.  Ships were always an easily source of liquid credits.Reservations were made and Bessie was locked down under the care of the Casino maintenance crew.  Here, in the more expensive sections, you had real people working for you, not the second-rate droids down on the common decks.  The same was true of nearly everything on the Casino.  In some ways it was a fair and just place.  There were no special treaments for people born right and nobody looked down on you if you had the wrong parents or came from the wrong planet.  All that mattered here was money.The first two days went as they had expected.  They went about their same routine on the Casino, Troy playing and winning while Arthur whored and drank and caught himself up in the tactile vices that were available.  Troy didn't feel that anything had changed here.  He hadn't changed.  The same feeling was hanging over him here.  All that was different was the location.It was night on the third day and Troy was milling about one of the higher stakes gaming rooms.  There was money to be won here if you could play it right.  That was something Troy was used to and did well.  He ordered himself a drink and stood back by the bar watching for an opening.  The right table and the right faces could make all the difference.He picked a table with a group of businessmen.  Nobody too powerful that taking from them would be dangerous.  He played the numbers and watched faces.  One of them caught his eye.  It was Brooke.She walked up to one of the men sitting at the table.  He didn't see her through the smoke and the light until she was there, standing behind one of the game's lesser losers."How's the game going?" she asked.  Her voice was as seductive as ever.  Time hadn't changed that either."Lousy," the man said.  He was tall and lean and had an expensive haircut.  Troy thought he looked like a piece of polished <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />.  "This newcomer is going to send us all to the spice mines."  The man had a smile on his face when he said this, and Troy knew that he had not pushed too far too fast.Brooke looked at Troy.  "The Lady's found you tonight," she said.  Her eyes were dull and lacked life through the smoke.  She smiled but it was a mask and meant nothing.  Troy nodded.Brooke stayed for the rest of the hand.  Troy lost big.  The Polished Man gathered the chips.  "She can't stay with you all night!" he said and lit a cigar."Exciting," Brooke said to the Polished Man.  "If you see our friend tell him that I'll be in our room."  She patted him on the shoulder and stepped back out of the light.  The Polished Man nodded and Brooke left."How did the old man catch someone like that?" one of the others said.  The numbers left Troy's mind and he focused on the faces."How do you think?" the Polished Man said and held a chip between to fingers.  They all laughed.Troy won big in the next few hands.  He drew them all out, the Polished Man more than any other.  Troy didn't use the carefully practiced words or smiles when he won.  He let them all know that it was a personal matter and the chips were only a way of keeping score.  It wasn't long before they had enough of it."I'm done with this!" the Polished Man said and stood up.  "Fleece money from somebody else!"  He handed his chips to a nearby counting droid and put the results on his credit slip.  This broke up the game and soon Troy was sitting there alone.  He downed his drink and lit another guntha stick, filling the air with more of the sweet smelling smoke."You got the cash?"  It was a greasy voice that lived in the shadows."You got the Regal's guest list?"  Troy asked.  There was a threat in the words and he wasn't bluffing."Yeah, yeah, right here."  The greasy man pulled out a data pad and slipped in a small round chip.  A small visual display appeared.  "You got the money?"Troy put an unmarked credit chip on the table.  The greasy man took it and handed Troy the data chip.  He smiled, a wide toothy grin that revealed neglected teeth, worn away from years of hard drinking and smoking.  The teeth were almost as yellow as his eyes.Troy walked out of the underground club.  It was hot and humid deep in the core of the Casino Royale and Troy had his sleeves rolled up.  He had a blaster strapped to his wrist and in it there was a small hold-out blaster there.  Troy had learned how to shoot along with Arthur but hadn't taken a shot since his last lesson years ago.  He hoped he wouldn't have to again.Once he was back up to street level he unrolled his sleeves and put his jacket back on.  He looked up at the dark night sky and the holograms and lights that obscured the stars.  Night, always night here.  It made everything seem so much easier and took away inhibition.  He moved to the street and hailed a cab."Where to?" the driver droid said in its tinny voice."The Regal," Troy said."Yes sir."  The droid started the cab and it made its way towards the hotel.The Regal Hotel was run by Dean Regal, the owner of the largest casino at Casino Royale and a galaxy-wide superstar swoop racer.  The hotel wasn't the tallest nor the most opulent but it had a look of class that the other lacked.  It had been built before the Casino took off and became well known, just after the Clone Wars.  It lacked the crass lines and gaudy displays that the other hotels used to lure people in.  It was simple and full of style.Troy walked into the hotel.  The lobbey was small but furnished in the old style.  Troy took a seat.  He knew that if he waited long enough he'd find what he was looking for.  He sat in a targan-hide chair and lit a guntha stick.  The smoke helped him from fidgiting.Troy waited there for hourse before he saw what he was looking for.  The elevator doors opened and a group of people walked out - all well dressed, all of them with the knowledge that they were better than most.  Brooke was with them.  She was dressed in a fine evening gown and walked with her head high.  Her smile was on her face but it was the same smile that Troy noticed earlier - lacklustre, full of nothing but dead emotion.  Troy watched Brooke as she walked with her group - with Red Face!  He was with her and they were holding hands.  Troy felt his hatred for the man grow.Troy made eye contact with Brooke and for a second anger crossed her face.  She continued walking to the door.  Once there, she stopped and said something, laughing the words out.  The rest of the group exited the hotel.  Brooke walked straight for Troy.  Troy stood up."Hi," he said.  He glared at her."What the <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> are you doing here?" she said.  The anger was no longer concealed."Thought I'd see a friend.  Though she might be out of my price range."Brooke slapped him, hard.  "You don't have a clue, do you?  Look, this is bigger than you - than us.  You don't know what you're dealing with.""I thought I was dealing with you."Brooke calmed down.  "Look, Troy, I can see you later - but not now.  This is important."Troy looked at her.  Anger was on his face."Later," she said, and left the hotel.Troy slumped back into the chair.  What the <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> am I doing here?  What the <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> does she matter to me?  Just another piece of high-class trash, a whore by another name.  Who does she think she is?Why not me?It was late when Troy got back to the hotel room.  The lights were out and it was quiet.  Arthur must have been out.He threw his jacket onto a chair and crashed into bed.  He flicked on the holo-vision.  The Casino Royale ad came up.  Fake faces with false beauty covering them looked out from the screen at him.  They laughed and shared enjoyment that came at a price.  Once the ad was over Troy switched through the menu to a violent sporting event.He opened the mini bar next to his bed.  It was mostly empty but there was still some liquor.  Troy poured himself a drink and sighed.The fight was short and bloody.  It left Troy feeling empty.  Feelings built up in him like an itch deep inside, something that he couldn't scratch at or get rid of no matter how hard he tried.  The itch was him.The door opened.  Troy sat up.  Arthur entered the room, looking somewhat sober and worried."Get any calls?" Arthur asked."Not that I've heard," Troy said."Good," Arthur said.  "Hopefully they haven't found me yet."  Troy cocked his head and furrowed his brow.  "Royal guards.  From Kalarba.  They're looking for us here.  I guess they didn't approve of our vacation.""It was only a matter of time, I guess.""<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> that!  We can lay low here.  They haven't found us yet.  Maybe they'll leave if they don't find us."Troy leaned back and looked at the ceiling.  "Whatever," he said."What's your problem?" Arthur asked."Nothing.  I'm just sick of all this running around.  Why don't you just stand up to them like a man?  You're the <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />ing crown prince.  You'd think they'd have to listen to you.""Piss off," Arthur said and left the room.  Troy stared at the ceiling, laying there until he fell asleep.Troy was sitting on a dry floor, looking up at an old man.  Everything was washed out and faded, especially the man's face.  But the feelings were alive and Troy felt like he could touch them, hold them, like they wrapped Troy in a warm blanket.  The old man's eyes, blue eyes, strong and piercing and full of nobility and purpose, looked at Troy with a loving peace.  Troy looked at the wrinkles in the eyes when the old man smiled at him.  Troy was holding a flight helmet in his hands.  The old man reached down and took it from him, rubbing Troy on the head.  Troy was just a boy.  The old man was wearing a flight suit like the kind Troy had seen in pictures and films.  The old man stood up and looked out the window.  A ray from the setting sun fell on his face and the old man covered his eyes.  Then the old man walked to the door.A void opened up in Troy and he felt like he was falling.  His world collapsed beneath him.  He tried to say something, tried to move, but something held him back and kept him down.  He couldn't do anything though that was all he wanted from the world.Troy woke in a cold sweat to the beeping of his phone.  He sat up and took in reality and wiped off his face."Yeah?" Troy said into the phone."Troy," the voice said.  It was Brooke.  What the hell was she doing calling him?  "Troy, I'm going to send you some data.  Keep it safe.""Brooke - what -"  Troy was cut off by a squeal of incoming data.  Troy waited silently for the download to finish.  When it was done, Brooke spoke again."Don't tell anyone about this.  Just keep that safe.""Brooke, what's going on?""I can't - <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />!" Brooke yelled.  Through the phone Troy heard yelling and shouting and the sound of feet hitting hard against steel grating.  Then a blaster bolt rang out through the phone.  Troy jumped back at the loud, sudden noise and dropped the phone.  When he picked it up again it was dead."So that's why you were all pissy, eh?" Arthur said.  "This chick sure makes you moody.""Yeah, yeah.  Let's try and figure out what happened to her."  Troy and Arthur were sitting at a table.  They had the phone's data recording there before them.  It was flashing a green light, indicating it held something."She could be anywhere.  She could have been taken off the Casino.  We don't have a clue.""Maybe there's something here."  Troy picked up the data disc."You know how to get into encrypted files?  I don't.""This is Casino Royale, remember?  You can get anything here for a price.""You think it's worth it?"Troy glared at Arthur."Okay, okay.  I guess we're going down below then.""Yep."  Troy took the disc and slipped it into a pocket.  He picked up the hold-out blaster and put it into his wrist holster, then adjusted it until it felt right, then put his jacket on."Let's go."It took longer than expected for the splicer to get through the encryption.  "Tough <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />ing work," the splicer said, "but that's what you pay for.  It's got a high-level encryption that's more expensive than a virgin whore.  What you guys got here is either Imperial or Rebel Alliance."Troy and Arthur looked at each other.  Troy threw the splicer a billfold stuffed to the brim with credits.  The splicer took it and flipped through the cash."I'm sure it's all here, but I've got to make sure.  No offense."  When the splicer was done counting, he gathered up his tools and smiled.  "If you guys want anything else, you know who to ask for.""Just forget you saw us," Arthur said.  He leaned so that his jacket would open and reveal the blaster holstered under his arm."Gotcha," the splicer said, and left the room."What are we dealing with?" Arthur said.  "What'd you get me into?""Let's find out."  Troy took the cracked data disc and slipped it into a portable computer.  The computer flashed for a second and then a display came up.  Ships and troop listings and supplies covered the screen.  All of it Imperial."Holy <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />," Arthur said.  "You know what this is?"Troy nodded.  He played with the listings.  They showed the location of the ships and the troops that they carried.  And they showed their destination."The Empire's planning to invade Kalarba," Troy said.Brooke was strapped to a cold steel chair in a dark and wet room.  She had been stripped naked and beaten.  She knew there were two men in the room but not where.  Even if she could open her eyes, the drugs would have made vision impossible.  She had prepared for torture as best you could, but all the preparation in the world doesn't leave you ready for the real thing."There's no point in holding out, you know," one of the men said.  She recognized his voice as the brutalizer.  There was something famliar in his voice, something that reminded her of her father.  "You're only prolonging the pain."There was a sharp prick in her arm.  She had been injected, again.  Her addled mind knew that this meant they were desperate.  They'd kill her soon enough.She felt a hand at her face.  "You were such a pretty thing," he said.  "I would have liked to have known you.  Under different circumstances."  There was a cold feeling on her face.  Cold steel.  The Brutalizer held a knife on her.  "Such a shame..."  Brooke felt the knife bite into her left breast.  Her back arched involuntarily with the pain.  She heard a voice scream out in pure agony and terror and despair, the kind of cry that you have nightmares about for the rest of your life if you've ever heard it.  Something in her told her it was she who cried.Death wasn't far off now, she thought.  Either the drugs or the knife.The Brutalizer sat down on her lap.  He smelled of sweet spices and sweat.  His breath was heavy with smoke.  She felt the knife between her legs.  "I don't have time for games.  Tell me!"  Brooke had forgotten what he was asking about.  She whimpered.  "Fine," the Brutalizer said with a sigh of resignation.  He jerked back his hand and plunged the knife deep into her belly.  Nerves exploded with red-hot pain, nerves already frayed and hyper-sensitized by the drugging.  The pain rushed through her body and all she felt was pain, all her universe was pain.Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard herself scream.  No!My baby!Brooke's world turned black.</blockquote>

Verification