The Things We Leave Behind 4

Coruscant had not changed much at all.  It was as busy and as cluttered as ever. We cleared through customs with an ease that made Ged raise his eyebrows at me.

My answer was tart. “I told you so.” 

He nodded. “Yes you did so I owe you a drink.”

For much of the trip he had questioned the plan I had put into place because it wasn’t military or strategic enough. I had told him that the last thing we needed was anything that smacked of either military or strategy. Civilians in an old beat up civilian ship would not have any idea of military strategy of any sort. We needed to seem harmless and somewhat clueless. It was not so easy to convince a man with Ged’s brilliance to act like a moisture farmer form Tatooine on his very first trip to the core. Eventually he gave up arguing, especially when I told him that the ship’s various disguises had all be previously set up by the best there was. “Trust me, “I had said, “No one is going to look twice at us, they have bigger banthas to chase.”

I navigated the ship through the traffic and landed quietly at the building Thrawn and I had once lived in. I had contacted Shiv to let him know I was coming for a visit and he had let me know that the codes had not changed but that both he and Ynyth would be off world. I was sad to miss them but at the same time it would make things a lot easier for Ged and myself.  At least I would not have to explain Ged’s presence to Shiv because that would have been difficult. 

As we stepped into the flat I was both happy and sad to be there. It had changed significantly. All vestiges of Thrawn’s personality had been replaced by Shiv and Ynyth’s and it was lovely. On the dining room table was a note which said “Food in the fridge, spare room all set up you, useable cred chip the desk drawer for you if you need it, you know where everything is. Make yourself at home. Sorry we won’t be there but it’s a family thing so we can’t get out of it. Have fun. – love Shiv and Ynyth”

I watched as Ged dropped his pack on the floor and looked around.  “Nice place.”

I smiled. “Yes it is.” I glanced around. There were a lot of memories tied up here and most of them were extraordinarily happy ones.  I glanced at the chrono on the wall and took note of the time.

“We should eat before we head out. Where we are going doesn’t have a decent cantina.” I said as I unpacked my gear and laid it all out on the floor, looked it over then repacked it again. “We have two choices, we can order out or I can cook and I don’t recommend option number two. If it’s still around I knew a really great Zabraki place that delivers.

“I keep forgetting you used to live here and Zabraki sounds good.” He said sitting down and hauling out his datapad.

“When are you meeting your contact?”

“In just over an hour.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

“Yes very. He’s taking a risk meeting me as it is and your face was once splashed across all sorts of holo and news vids along with Grand Admiral Thrawn’s and you have a memorable face Merly no matter what you might think or what your crazy uncle did to delete you from the records people here knew you so no you don’t get to come with me.” He said. “Now order us some food and we can finalise the plans. I do not want to spend too much time on this planet. If we can’t find Behl or can’t get him out within the next forty-eight hours then we need to make sure we don’t get caught here ourselves.”

“Why the strict deadline?”

He wavered for a second and then said. “Because I don’t want to get caught and I need to get back to my ship.” He spoke the truth but he was hiding something behind it. He watched my face carefully and knew that I had caught him.

“I don’t know how Vader or Thrawn ever put up with you; just take my word for it we need to leave here in forty eight hours.”

I sighed and he glared at me.

“Okay, okay.” I said giving him a mock salute and went to order food, which felt familiar and strange all at the same time.  While Ged checked his own gear and changed into clean clothes that would help him blend in, I set the table and tried to shake the weird sense of having done this all before as well as the feeling of impending doom. I was quite certain that Thrawn, Uncle Vahlek as well as Navaari would have some choice words for this plan and my involvement in it but they were not here and I was and, as Ged had pointed out, Jarack was someone I cared about, never mind all the other secret spy stuff that made it an imperative to get him back.  When the food arrived we ate in silence, locked in our own thoughts preparing for what it was we were going to try and do.

On the flight to Coruscant we had discussed the plans so much I could recite them in my sleep. It had seemed simple on paper but not so simple now that we were here.  We had an approximate time of Jarack’s disappearance, and a fairly good guess about where he was being held but apart from that there wasn’t much to go on.  Ged’s people on Coruscant had begun a search on the quiet, looking for clues and possible indications that the rebels, or better to call them, the New Republic government, really did have some sort of secret detention center and they found it or at least they believed they had found it. Now it was up to me and Ged to confirm it and rescue Jarack because anyone else going on this crazy hair brained mission was not something Ged would allow. Apparently a couple of agents had already attempted a rescue mission and had failed spectacularly. Ged would not give me any details which meant it must have been a complete and utter mess. These had been trained professionals who had failed at their job and now he had chosen me instead to back him up. I wasn’t worried about this or anything, no not at all.

“How long will you be?” I asked as Ged got ready to leave.

“I don’t know.”

“You’ll need this to get back in here then.” I handed him a card-key.

“Thanks.” He said with a nod and then he left.

I left out the breath I felt I had been holding since the moment we had arrived on the planet and sank down into the couch. It had been well over two weeks since I had said goodbye to Thrawn and now I was here on Coruscant, right back where I had started.

The last I had heard about Thrawn’s campaign was that it was advancing. He had been successful in taking Generis and had been planning his next move which was rumoured to involve Bilbringi but I didn’t know what that was and Ged had been taciturn about the entire subject on the trip to Coruscant. I had been kept out of the loop for most of the campaign and while sometimes I wished I knew more, for the most part I was almost glad I didn't.

Thrawn’s entire campaign had been a series of hit and run style attacks. He knew he did not have the manpower to just come in and sweep the galaxy clear of the rebels so he devised a different tactic.  It was only after he had recovered much of the lost Katarn fleet and found success with the cloning facility on Mount Tantiss that things started to speed up. Now I knew he was planning his final push although I didn’t know when or exactly how only that he would be headed here and when that happened I hoped I wasn’t on the planet or anywhere near it. I must have drifted off to sleep because it was late and dark when Ged came in.

“Grab your gear.” He said shaking my shoulder. “We need to go now.”

I woke up instantly, grabbed my satchel and before I even had time to really think about it we were out the door and on our way to catching public transport. We had dressed to blend in and we did, slipping into the crowds like ghosts. It was odd to be back on the planet, even stranger to see how much things had changed and yet had stayed the same.  The Emperor had been dead for over nine years and Coruscant had been under New Republic rule for six. There were remnants of the Emperor’s rule to see if you really looked for them but they were far and few between.  The government had changed and people had accepted the change and moved on with their lives. It was exactly as Thrawn had once told me, as long as things worked and people were warm and fed they didn’t really care who was in charge.

We took one of the more crowded commuter shuttles that routed through the industrial part of the city before heading into COCO town and then onto what used to be known as the Imperial Center. It was a roundabout way to get to where we wanted to go but if anyone was watching us Ged thought this would confuse them. I kept my senses wide open but I never got the feeling anyone cared about us or what we were doing. To the rest of the world we looked like two ordinary people heading home from work. I guessed it was a good thing I had gotten so little sleep on the flight to Coruscant, it added to that overworked, stressed out all I want to do is go home and sleep look I was sort of going for.

We got off the red line shuttle a few blocks from where Lord Vader’s residence had been and walked the rest of the way. I was surprised when we found the building still standing; I was even more surprised that it appeared to be unused. Prime real-estate on Coruscant usually did not lie empty for long.

“People think it’s haunted.” Ged whispered as though he had been reading my mind. “They tried developing the building for apartments and it didn’t quite work out they way they had hoped.”

“Good for us.” I muttered under my breath and led him to the one door I hoped no one had bothered to mess about with much. I held my breath while Ged looked around us to keep watch and punched in my code. I nearly jumped out of my skin when the door opened with an audible thunk.  Not waiting to hang around and see if we’d set off any alarms I grabbed Ged’s sleeve and yanked him inside  allowing the door to shut tightly behind us.

The place smelled musty and unused. I switched on a small flashlight and took a few seconds to remember the layout of this place in my head. “Come on, this way.” I whispered.

If looters had ever come here hoping to find anything of value they would have been sorely disappointed. Lord Vader had lived sparsely in this place. It had been one of the things I had commented on when he had been in a sociable mood which had never been very often. Jix Wrenga, one of Vader’s go-to guys, had also joked about the lack of decor with me whenever he was around, commenting that it was such a waste of space to not fill up with clutter like the Emperor.  Now I was grateful for Vader’s sparse decorating style it meant less to trip up on and fall over in the semi darkness.

We walked quickly and kept quite. Conversation could wait until we had reached the underground passageways that led from this building to the Imperial Palace. We did not want to attract any unwanted attention. I kept all of my senses open but felt nothing unusual or strange. No one had been here for a long time and somehow that made me melancholy. While I had never been overly fond of this place I had liked the man who had lived here and in that moment I suddenly missed him even though he had been dead for over nine years.  Ged, who always seemed to have the ability to pick up on my feelings, touched my hand lightly with his.

“Are you alright?” He asked in a hushed voice.

“Old ghosts.” I explained and kept on moving.

Through a series of hallways and stairwells we eventually reached the entrance to the series of tunnels that led to the palace.  I had always thought that calling them tunnels was a misnomer since they were more like back alleyways through a variety of hidden passages that went through parts of buildings no one knew or much cared about. At the height of the Empire, when Vader actually spent time here all, of the surrounding area was mainly used by imperial workers and housed offices, now I wasn’t sure what they were but I was certain no one had figured out the incredibly labyrinth of passageways that utilized the entire area.

I guided us down through the one I remembered being the least used. It was small and over the years a lot of dust had gathered telling me that I had made the right choice this time and after what felt like an eternity we found our way into the Imperial Palace.

To say that the Imperial Palace was huge would be an understatement. People had gotten lost in the building only to be found year later after having died. When I had lived here I had loved it but now it was like returning to a beloved home after many years to find it had been taken over by a new family and changed.

I led Ged through a series of maintenance tunnels which appeared not to have been used in a very long time. They had their own turbo lifts leading down into the basements and subbasements so that workers could go about their business without disturbing the palace dwellers or people who worked there. I had used this system of tunnels before and the memory of that wasn’t an overly happy one. When we were deep enough into the building that I was sure no one would discover us we stopped to drink some water and rest a bit.

“Okay, so tell me what happened with your contact?” I asked as I studied the data-pad with the blue prints.

“He said they were planning on moving all the detainees tomorrow night. There have been some problems at the palace a break in or some such nonsense; attempted kidnapping of Leia Organa Solo’s babies and security has been increased. The people in charge of the detention center apparently don’t want anyone stumbling on their dirty little secret. So if we are going to accomplish the mission it has to happen now.”

“Nothing like a deadline to make a person motivated.” I said making a face. “You really think he’s still alive?”

“I sure as hell hope so.” Ged said with a snort. “The last good intel I had said he was, but of course that could have changed and totally accurate information is difficult to come by. The rebs have some good security here and already they’ve managed to ferret out three of my agents.”

“Maybe your agents are just bad at their jobs.”

“Well these days good help is hard to get.” Ged replied flippantly. “Actually it’s more like I still have traitor issues to deal with. Okay so what’s next.”

I tapped the data-pad. “We need to go here. Isard had her offices here and here there should be a small intelligence prison complex.” I said, “But the problem is we’ll have to actually cross some more open areas to do so but at this time of night and so deep down into the building I doubt there will be many people around. Then, if your people’s information is correct, we should be looking at finding those detention centers somewhere here, if they still exist. All of the infrastructure needed to detain and interrogate people would be in place and not that many people would ever come down here. Isard made sure that this part of the palace was difficult to get to and well guarded.”

“Okay, let’s get on with it.” Ged said and we did.

We walked quickly; keeping quiet and, as we crossed areas more open to scrutiny, we stayed in the shadows with our eyes open. I was surprised at how deserted the palace now felt. When the Emperor had been in place it had bustled with workers, droids and all manner of beings, now there was no one and nothing around, not even any cleaning droids to see and if the dirt and dust that lay around was anything to go by no one had cleaned down here in a good while. It felt as though we were gone for days, wandering around in circles although that was not the case.  We knew when we’d found the right place because suddenly, according to the sensor readings on the data-pad Ged had there were people nearby and I had a really bad feeling about it all.

I studied the readout for a long moment and then looked at Ged. “Now what?” I asked.

“Now we go find our man and get him the hell out of here.” Ged replied.

.

The Things We Leave Behind 3

“Are you utterly out of your mind?” I asked once I could catch my breath.

Ged smiled and settled back in his chair. “No, I don’t believe so.”

“You can’t expect me to believe that you seriously want to go to Coruscant to infiltrate the Imperial palace  to look for secret prisons?”

“Belief or not it needs to be done. Extracting Jarack Behl is not just something I want to do it’s something I must do.”

“Must?”

“He is one of our best covert agents and he has information vital to my mission.”

“Which is?”  I interrupted.

“That’s need to know and ...”

“And what...I don’t need to know?” I finished for him. I got up to pace around the room and sighed.  “You know what Thrawn told me I would be doing here? He told me that I would be fixing ships not flying into enemy territory. If you want me to go with you on some crazy hell bent mission of mercy I had better damned well know why.”

“I thought that you knew Jarack?” Ged asked ignoring my sarcasm. “Thrawn told me you were close with the man.”

“Does Thrawn know what you want to do? What you want me to do?” I avoided his question because he was right.

“No I felt that given how shall I put this, how protective of you he is it would be better if he did not have this to worry about while he was trying to reclaim the Empire.”

“Great.” I muttered under my breath. “Ged, you cannot seriously be planning this.”

“I can, I am and I am asking for  your help.”

I stared at him for a very long time assessing his words and weighing what he was suggesting with just turning around and heading back to Nirauan. I knew he was right about Jarack and that he was also my friend, a friend whom I had given up for dead was really alive and imprisoned by the enemy. While I might argue loudly I had already made my mind up but I also knew that Thrawn would not be happy about this, not at all. He had sent me here with the idea of keeping me out of harm’s way not so that I could fly straight into the heart of enemy territory.

“So you have a plan?” I eventually asked.

“More or less. It will depend on your knowledge of the palace.”

I nodded, “Okay well then I need to get some things from my ship and I will need a data pad.”

Ged smiled picked up the one which had been sitting on the tray and handed it to me. “It has already been coded to you.”

“How wonderful.” I took it. “Give me an hour.”

“I have some work to attend to anyway so let me know when you are done. We can meet for supper in my private dining room. It’s so much more civilised to discuss plans over good food, don’t you think? We have an excellent chef on board. Do you have any preferences?”

“No Corellian spiced cake.” I told him.

He gave me a smile that lit up his whole face and I suddenly remembered how handsome he was. He opened his mouth to say something then thought the better of it.

“What is it?” I asked.

He pursed his lips for a moment then said, “I wanted to say I was sorry.”

“For what?”

“I heard from your doctor when he transferred copies of all your medical files about your miscarriage. I’m sorry.”

“Ah.” I said suddenly having to swallow down a sharp pang of sorrow.

“You should have told me you know.” He pressed. “That the reason you refused the mission I was offering was legitimate.”

I felt a little flash of anger. “I should not have to justify anything to you. I am a civilian. I do not have to do anything you ask me nor do I have to tell you about any private medical information. My just saying no is a legitimate answer and if you don’t like that then you need rethink your strategy about having me help you.”

He stared at me for a second and then nodded. “Yes, of course. Forgive me.”

I looked at him. “You need to know I would have refused to help you regardless of being pregnant or not. I made a promise that I wouldn’t just run off and do stupid stuff anymore so what you are asking me to do is not only save a friend but betray a promise I made to my bond mate.”

“I understand.” He drew a deep slow breath then nodded slightly.  “All the same I am sorry about your child.”

I had to clamp down on my sudden and inexplicable fury. “Ged, I like you, I really do, but you need to listen to me and really understand what I am about to say okay?”

“Okay.”

“Do not bring up the topic of my baby again, do you understand me? Not ever.” I spoke through gritted teeth and my fury rolled off me in waves. I know he felt this because he took an involuntary step back from me.

“Understood.”

“Okay then.” I said relieved. “Now if you’ll excuse me I need to get to work.” And before either of us could say anything else I spun around and stalked off to the docking bay furious without knowing exactly why.

Later after I had retrieved the data from my ship’s on-board computer and had unpacked my stuff into my new quarters I made my way to Ged’s dining room mentally preparing for dinner.

The meal was very good and the conversation polite and inoffensive.  Once we were done eating, the dishes all cleared away and the stewards dismissed leaving us with a large caraf of fresh stim’caf we got down to business.

I placed the datapad on the table and turned it on. “These are blue prints of the Imperial palace including the hidden passages and secret places.”

“Do I even want to know how you came by these?” Ged asked.

“They were a gift from the late Emperor.” I told him flatly.

Ged gave me an ‘are you kidding me’ look.

“It’s a very long story and maybe one day I will get drunk enough to tell you but not now.” I said shuddering at the memory of the man who had once terrified me.

Ged nodded, “The intel that I have says that there is a secret prison somewhere deep under the Imperial palace and that is where the rebels detain their most highly prized prisoners.” He said. “We at least had the good grace to keep ours in a secret prison ship somewhere other than the palace.”

I shot him a look but kept my opinions on that to myself. “I don’t recall any secret detention centers but that doesn’t mean they are not there. It could be the rebels converted space in one of the subbasements for that use. I thought they were touting themselves as the good guys. Don’t they have this big campaign about not being like the Empire? ” I couldn’t keep the bitterness out of my voice as I said those words.

“The good guys?” Ged snorted. “There is no such thing. Every government gets their hands dirty. You think these guys are any different? Maybe on the outside they all seem squeaky clean but somewhere in the halls of the hallowed principles there are shadowy figures with very grubby hands.”

I tapped the datapad. “There are passages that go under the main buildings. They lead to a lot of different places including the Jedi temple and Lord Vader’s main Coruscant residence. There are a number of subbasements as well as secret passages in between the walls and in the middle of the palace there are also some pretty big secrets. I am willing to bet the rebels haven’t figured half of them out yet.” I said. “So how do you know about Jarack anyway? I mean I thought he was on some super secret undercover mission and no one knew where he was or how to reach him?”

“I have agents on the ground and all of our agents have a tracking chip implanted.”  He said. “I knew when Behl went missing because his reports stopped.  I have people looking for him because his chip is still sending transmissions this means he is alive but he’s too valuable to leave in the hands of the enemy.”

“Thrawn said he was looking to uncover a possible rebel agent here?”

Ged’s jaw tightened. “That was part of his work. Information was getting off this ship that shouldn’t have been. His job was to find out how and it led him to a cell on Coruscant. His last transmission stated that he was close to finding the leader and that was the last I heard of him. After that I had my people on the ground start looking for him.”

“Your people on the ground?”

“I have spies everywhere.”  He said with such a grin I wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not. “Really, it’s part of my job.”

“So what does that mean that you are the spy master?”

This made him laugh. “I suppose that’s one way to put it.” Then he took a sobering breath. “I have intel on where Behl could be and intel on his last location.” He said as he input the data into the pad. “So that puts him somewhere here.” He tapped the pad again and the image enlarged to show me.  I synched the information and laid it over the blue prints I had.

“So, in theory, he should be somewhere here.” I said pointing to the general area. I looked at the blue prints and recalled the palace layout. “I can get you in there if things haven’t changed a lot and providing that Vader’s residence hasn’t been torn down. It would be easier to go from there than to try and get into the old Jedi Temple. I am pretty sure that Luke Skywalker has made that place more difficult to get in and out of.”

Ged looked at me and then he proceeded to tell me his plan. After about half way through I held up my hand to stop him.

“You really are out of your mind.” I said more rudely than I had planned.  “If we do as you suggest we’ll be caught in seconds. Your whole demeanour screams Imperial officer and if you think taking a disguised shuttle is going to get us past Coruscant Space Control you have another thing coming.”

“Well then, do you have a better idea?” He asked folding his arms across his chest in that manner men do when their pride has been bruised.

“As a matter of fact I do.” I said and began to lay it all out for him. When I was done it was his turn to shake his head.

“And you call me insane?”  He said.

“It will work and it’s way better than pretending to be smugglers in a stolen imperial shuttle.” I replied gathering up my datapad.

He thought about it for a bit and then nodded. “Very well then I guess this means you are in charge.”

I smirked. “Aye aye Admiral.”

“So can I tempt you with a brandy?”

I smiled as I picked up my datapad. “No. I’m tired and I have a lot to think about.”

“Of course.” He said as we both stood up. “We will have plenty of time together on the flight to Coruscant.”

I didn’t say anything to that as I left the dining room but I was pretty sure that Thrawn would be unimpressed by this entire situation and suddenly I missed him so much it hurt.

Three days later we were ready to go.

“Are you sure this thing can fly?” Ged asked for the tenth time and I went through my preflight check.

“Are you sure your ship can run without you there?” I countered. “This pretty unusual you know.”

“I have capable officers and a very capable captain they can do without me for a few days.” He answered dryly.

“Uh huh.” I said. “Flight this is the Ahnkeli ’Su’udelma requesting permission to clear docking.”

“Ahnkeli ’Su’udelma you are cleared.”

“Roger that. See you in a few days Virulent. Try not to wreck the ship while we’re gone.” I grinned shutting the com off before Ged could say anything about my unorthodox chatter and flew out of the docking bay into the beauty of space. As soon as I could I set hyper drive in the direction of Coruscant and then we vanished into the eerie light of hyperspace.




.

The Things We Leave Behind 2

After he had dropped his bomb about sending me back to work on the Virulent under Ged the conversation had been cut short when a comm call had come through which required his immediate attention. He had left me to lie in bed and consider all the reasons for his decision, especially given what had happened the last time I had been on board Ged’s ship but I fell asleep before he returned. When I awoke the next morning he was already up and had breakfast ready. I ignored him to go and shower first to clear the sleep from my brain. After I had dressed and then joined him at the table we ate in our customary quiet. Mornings were never big conversation times for us. He preferred his quiet and I was usually still waking up. Only after we had finished with food and were sipping our caf did the conversation begin.

“Where’s Rukh these days?” I asked. “Usually he’s trailing you around like a creepy shadow.”

It was not the first question he had expected from me and it irritated him. His eyebrow arched slightly and the almost imperceptible tick at the corner of his mouth let me know Rukh was not a topic he really wished to speak about so I was surprised when he answered.

“He has remained on board the Chimaera. It did not seem appropriate to have him follow me here unless of course you wish to have an observer to our nocturnal activities.”

I gave him a tight smile. “No. I rather like to keep that private.” I replied then before he could move on to a different subject, “But you’re unhappy with him.”

The slight twitch at the corner of his mouth turned into a slight smile. “I do so often forget about your rather remarkable talents for observation. No, it is not that I am displeased or unhappy with him but shall we say I am finding the loyalty of his people questionable.  He and the Noghri are great warriors but I do not need his talents here, after all my dear, I have you.”

I sipped my caf and regarded him from over the brim of my cup. “Not for much longer, you’re sending me away remember?”

“You do not have to go but I do think it would be better if you did.” He countered.

“The last time you, Ged and I were on the same ship I do believe you had what the Doc would call a major meltdown. What is to stop that from happening again?”

“As you are so fond of pointing out I have nothing to be jealous about and Admiral Larsen has requested your presence. He feels you can be of use to him.”

"Doing what exactly?"

 "That, my dear, you will have to ask him when you see him."

I made a face and poured more caf in both our cups trying to decipher what it was he was not telling me then, after a lengthy silence, said. “You’re not coming back to the base once you leave this time, are you? That’s why you want me somewhere else, somewhere safe and kept busy.”

“The campaign has reached its critical point. My work here, for the time being, is done and yes, you are right, I do not plan on returning until after Coruscant has been retaken.”

“Were you going to tell me this or were you just going to ship me off and leave it at that?”

He drew a deep breath. “Yes, I would have told you but now I do not need to.” Then he added, “I have learned that it is unwise to try and hide such things from you. It tends to lead to you going off and doing something foolish.”

His answer felt wrong somehow but I just nodded. Sometimes pressing the point got me answers but more often than not it just led to an argument and I wasn’t up to arguing so instead I asked again. “So what is it that I am going to the Virulent to do?”

“That is entirely up to you and Admiral Larsen although he did mention that he would not be unhappy to have another capable mechanic on the ship. I am quite sure you will not be bored but you are also free to refuse and remain here, as I have said.”

I gave him a withering look. “The fact that you keep giving me this option means it would be better that I don’t.”

He smiled.

“Besides,” I added, “I would drive everyone here crazy.”

 His smile turned into a slight smirk. "Yes, you would."

“I do have to wonder why being on board the Virulent would be safer than being here. Won’t Ged and his fleet joining your campaign?” I asked.

“No.” He said. “Larsen has different orders and I would take it as a kindness if you would not ask me anything further on this topic.”

“Okay.”  I said. I figured I could ask Ged about that later, he was far more likely to give me an answer anyway. “When am I supposed to meet him? Is he coming here?”

“I’ve arranged for you to rendezvous with him at Bastion. I’d like you to take the Ahnkeli ’Su’udelma. I think it would be better for you to travel in a civilian ship rather than an Imperial one. I know you like the lambda class shuttle but right now is not a good time to by flying around in one of them. Given the options I'd prefer you take that rattletrap of yours instead.” He teased.

“I like my civilian rattletrap ship. It was a gift and I’m rather fond of its quirks” I retorted.

Thrawn smiled. “Then it’s settled. You leave early tomorrow morning which will give you enough time to sort out what you need to here and make the rendezvous with some time to spare should you run into trouble.”

“Then I guess I had better get my day started then.” I said getting up from the table. “Will we have some time together later on?”

“Of course my dear. Barring any unforeseen complications I should be done by twenty-hundred-hours. I had hoped we could share an evening meal and then....” he shrugged ever so slightly and smiled.

“Then I shall see you here later.” I said as I kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Now I have to get my ship ready!”

“Try not to pester my Quartermaster too much.”  He replied  lightly. “He has quite enough on his to do list as it is.”

“As you wish.” I grinned and left, heading to the hanger bay to make sure the Ahnkeli ’Su’udelma was in good flying shape.

I spent most of my day crawling around the ship’s engines making sure all the systems were in perfect condition. In spite of Thrawn’s request I did drive the quartermaster to distraction with my requests and questions but he was more than used to this from me.  I wanted to be certain that I was ready for every and all eventualities that may occur. I had been caught out once before and it had almost cost me my life. By the time I made it back to the quarters I shared with Thrawn I was covered in engine grime which meant that by the time Thrawn was done for the day I was soaking in the bath.

Our time together was short but full of passion and tenderness. This time he made certain to remind me of what I would be missing once we went our separate ways and it was bitter sweet. When we had finally fallen asleep I had been plagued by terrible dreams which left me sad and uneasy when I awoke.

In the quiet of predawn I threaded my fingers through his as we said our goodbyes in private. Deep down inside of my soul I had a terrible feeling of finality. Suddenly I didn’t want to leave him or to have him leave me but I knew nothing I could do or say would change the inevitable so I said nothing but that did not mean he could not see what I felt written all over my face.

“I am quite certain that Larsen will keep you apprised of the campaign advancements and I promise to send word when I am able to do so.” He said gently.

All I could do was nod and look away. My eyes filled with unwanted tears and as much as I did not want to cry I couldn’t help it. This parting had such a feeling of finality to it that it terrified me.

He lifted my chin upward with the crook of his finger. “I promise. I have taken every precaution. We will not fail.”

I nodded.

He brushed the tears off my face. “You worry too much. You place far too much faith in these dreams of yours and far too little in me. Once this final push is over we will have time together but until then you need to trust that I know what I am doing and I promise to trust that you won’t run off with Admiral Larsen.” He said with a teasing smile and before I could find any sort of suitable answer he kissed me long and hard pushing any retort far out of my brain.

“Now go and stay out of trouble.” He said giving me a little shove away from him.

I did as he asked. I walked toward my ship with a heavy heart and, although it was considered bad luck by the Dantassi, I looked back over my shoulder to see him watching me with an expression I couldn’t decipher but definitely didn’t like. This all felt horribly wrong final somehow and suddenly all I wanted to do was turn around to run back to him to never leave his side again. Instead I boarded my ship and began the obligatory pre flight check. If Thrawn stayed to watch me leave I never knew and once I was on my way I tried as hard as hell to exorcize the feeling of dread in my heart. If I was going to work with Ged Larsen I was going to need my wits about me. He was charming and intelligent and I had almost fallen for that once. That wasn’t going to happen a second time. I had a two day trip to ready myself, plenty of time I hoped, to shake off the terrible feeling that something awful was going to happen to Thrawn and that I would never see him again. I was certain that all women who had stupidly attached themselves to military men felt the same way every time their loved one left to fight on some war but somehow this thought didn’t make me feel any better. The trip to rendezvous with the Virulent felt like one of the longest I had ever experienced and I was very glad when I landed on board in one of the the smaller docking bays to be met by a sour faced officer and a rather nervous looking ensign.

“Welcome on board the Virulent Miss Gabriel. Admiral Larsen apologises for not meeting you in person but has asked me to extend every courtesy to you and to show you to your quarters. So if you will follow me.” The officer said tartly. The young ensign simply gathered my bags in silence.

I wanted to tell him to go away and that I needed to sort out my ship first but the look on his face said that even if I had tried to argue with him it would be in vain. I nodded and let him lead me through the vast ship to the quarters that Ged had chosen for me. At least this time they were more spacious and pleasant than the last time I had been stationed on board this ship.

“The Admiral requests that you remain in your quarters until such time as he can debrief you.” The officer whose name I didn’t know or care about said.

Again I nodded. I was too tired to argue. Seeing that I wasn’t going to give him any grief the officer left curtly and the ensign who had carried my luggage did the same. Once the door had closed I went over to the viewport and stared out at the planet below. Bastion, one of the Empire’s secret places, spun beneath us like a coloured jewel. I felt rather than heard the destroyers engines rev up and marveled as we left the planet’s orbit. Once we were out of the gravity well we jumped into hyperspace . I had no idea where we were going nor did I much care, suddenly I was exhausted so rather than sit and wait for Ged to show up I decided to take a nap not really expecting to sleep but I did. Hours later the chiming of the door woke me up and looking like something a jax had dragged in I answered it to find Ged standing there with a grin on his face and a protocol droid at his side bearing a covered tray.

“Welcome back Merlyn.” He said as he walked in uninvited to my quarters motioning for the droid to set the tray down on the table and then leave. “I thought you might be hungry and I brought some tea. We have much to discuss and not a lot of time.”

Still trying to blink sleep out of my eyes I stared at him. “Did you cut your hair?” I asked stupidly.

He just grinned. “See I knew you couldn’t resist my charms for long and yes, I did.” And with that he motioned for me to sit down on the small couch while he poured tea. 

“I’ll just skip the small talk okay?” He said. “I have a job for you, for us both actually and I need you to listen carefully.”

“I’m listening.” I said accepting the steaming cup he handed me carefully.

“How well do you know your way around Coruscant’s Imperial Palace?”

I frowned. “Well enough I guess. Why?”

“Well enough to get in without anyone knowing?”

“I think so but it’s been a long time and who knows what the rebels have changed.” I said as the dopiness of the nap left me to be replaced by a slow feeling of dread. “Why?” I asked again.

“Because I need you to help me break into the palace grounds without being caught or seen.”

“What? Why would you even consider doing that?”

“I’m mounting a rescue mission and since no one else seems to be able to get the job done properly I am doing it myself, with your help.”

“Rescue? Who are we going to rescue?”

He grinned. “Your friend Jarack Behl.”

And that was when I choked on my tea.







.