"Only a fully trained Jedi Knight, with the Force as his ally, will conquer." - Jedi Master Yoda

ISD Stormwatch,
In orbit over Varnus,
Varnus

"...and before I realised 'BALM'," the operator slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand, recreating the training exercise for his friend, "Billbob scored a direct hit, vaping me in a second."
"Heh, heh, well you should have known better than to go up against him. Wait, what's this?" The screen flickered and showed a ship that had come out of Hyperspace and was now heading straight for Varnus "Unidentified vessel this is the 'Stormwatch' you have just entered Varnusian space, please identify yourself."
"This is the 'Pride of Karno' requesting permission to land on Varnus."
"And what is your reason for staying?"
"I'm looking for someone," the reply came, "Amleth Uiara."

Amleth's temporary quarters,
Vortigern Wing,
Royal Palace,
Vectur

Amleth Uiara sat on his bed practising his levitation. A cup, an empty blaster and an unopened packet of instant caf sat on the floor in front of him. Ozie, his companion R2 unit, watched him from the corner of the room, lights flickering, wondering what this strange human was doing. Amleth Concentrated hard on these three objects. His skills at levitation were nothing to be envied. He stared at the objects, willing them to rise. The last time he attempted this the cup flew across the room and hit Ozie on the head. The door behind him slid open but Amleth was oblivious to the event.
"You know, staring at them wont make them rise." the voice at the door said.
Amleth spun around and faced the intruder.
"Oh! Hello Paan," Gui-Sun Paan, Lothair of House Vortigern lent up against the side of the doorway, "what brings you to these parts?"
"Just checking up on some members of Vortigern before I leave for Moro in a few hours. So how's everything?"
"Not too bad." he said, "Just trying to improve on my levitation skills for my meeting with Sauron tomorrow." This would be the first time Amleth would meet the Grand Master of the organisation that he had joined little over a year ago and he wanted to make sure that he didn't send the cup against his head like he did Ozie's. "Unfortunately levitation is not one of my specialist skills."
The Lothair laughed at that. "So your nervous then?"
"Well, not yet but ask me again tomorrow."
"Heh, heh Ok."
Returning to his objects Amleth, again, attempted to lift them from their lifeless state when his attention was again interrupted.
"A message for you sir." Varanus Templar knocked at the door that was still being slightly blocked by Paan. "It's from the landing pad, a visitor for you."
"Varanus, come in my friend." Amleth lept from his kneeling position and extended his hand towards his friend. "How are you? I haven't seen you in ages."
"Well being two different ranks in two different houses on two different worlds doesn't help." With that the Novice smiled at the man who had recruited him into the Society.
Amleth returned the smile as they locked hands in and patted each other on the back.
"I'll leave you two alone." Paan joked as he left as silently as he had entered.
"Bye Paan. " Amleth turned and laughed with his friend. " So a visitor for me? Hmm." Amleth became concerned, the only people he knew outside the society were smugglers or from his home planet Sinorel. "This should be interesting. You coming?"
"Sure, why not." The two friends left the room and headed toward the Society's main landing pad beside the palace followed intently by the astromech who whistled and beeped as he followed his master.

Main Landing pad,
Royal Palace,
Vectur

Sheona Noire stood beside her recently stolen Incom 'Raptor' as she waited for the person she had come for. She had spent a long time tracking him down and now that she was finally here she didn't want to be stood up by him...again. The doors across the pad from her slowly opened to reveal two men. They were both wearing the uniform of the Society but one was more decorated than the other. This man she recognised instantly. A green and white R2 unit was trailing behind them both. She ran toward the lead man and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Sheona? Is that really... Ooof!" Amleth let out a large sigh as she pushed off of him and punched him straight in the stomach. "What was that for?"
"For leaving me, for not saying goodbye and for not telling me the truth."
"What?" He said, still doubling over with the pain.
"You left Sinorel without a trace. I thought you were dead! You have no idea how many sleepless nights I've had worrying about you!" the woman shouted.
"But I had to go. Tains was after me." Varanus and Ozie stood back from the exchange chuckling to themselves. "Did you just want me to stay and be executed like my father?"
"No, I guess not, the least you could have done was call me."
"I was in hiding for the next three years, I just couldn't make social calls when I felt like it." He finally stood up straight and got a proper look at the woman. She was the same age as Amleth but a few inches smaller. Blonde hair cut at her shoulders and a small, hardly noticeable, burn mark underneath her ear. Her light grey jump-suit held no insignia and it complimented her figure in every way.
"OK. I'm sorry." Sheona told him.
"It's all right. So why are you here? Apart from wanting to punch me in the stomach. I thought I'd never see anyone from home again."
"Yea, well speaking of home..."
"What? Is everything all right?"
"Things are worse now than when you left. Tains has blockaded Sinorel. No one is allowed on or off the planet." she sighed "And most people still don't know what's going on."
"Most people?"
"Some documents were leaked to a few people." she explained, "And a rebellion soon started, but lack of arms and publicity meant that it was soon crushed by Tains. Now there is only a small underground rebellion who can do nothing against Tains. He's going to get away with murdering those people, again."
The sadness in her eyes was evident and she tried to suppress a tear that, uncontrollably, rolled down her cheek. Amleth too was saddened by these revelations. "Why have you come to me?" the taller of the two asked.
"Because you are the only one who can help us to defeat Tains."
"I don't know what I can do," he said, a look of concern on his face, "Besides I'll have to ask the Grand Master for leave and maybe some help."
"Could you do that?" Sheona said excitedly.
"I don't know," Varanus spoke up, "I don't think Sauron would like you going off on your own especially at this busy time."
"Oh! Yes, Sheona this is Varanus Templar, a friend of mine, Varanus this is Sheona, a very good friend of mine." Amleth said with a slight smile and a wink. "I guess I could try and ask Sauron for some leave, I mean, what's the worst thing he could say...?"

Grand Master Sauron's office,
Royal Palace,
Vectur

"No."
"What?"
"I said 'No.'" Sauron became agitated at having to repeat himself.
"But I have to go." Amleth pleaded with the Grand Master. In his newly washed uniform Amleth stood before Saurons desk the room was devoid of other life except for the sound of a cat rummaging around in places Amleth could not see. The Grand Master sat at his desk, his hands locked together under his chin, his elbows resting on the desk's surface.
"The answers still no." Sauron said raising his voice at having to repeat himself a third time.
"Why can't I go?" This Hunter was persistent.
"We need all the manpower we can muster, there's still a lot of work to be done here on Varnus to prepare for the war with the AD, besides," the Grand Master paused, "I've heard that you've been having a few problems with your newly attained force skills."
"Nope, no problems at all." Amleth said trying to fool his master.
"Oh yes? Well, try to lift this with your perfect force powers then." Sauron held up a small glass half filled with water.
Amleth concentrated hard on the glass, trying to lift it so that the Grand Master would believe him. SMASH! The glass shattered into a thousand different pieces spilling the water all over Sauron. "Yes, perfect powers indeed."
Amleth turned on his heel and quickly left the room not wanting Sauron to see his disgust at himself. He slammed the door and half-ran back to the Vortigern wing.
A shadow suddenly appeared over Sauron.
"Well? What do you think of him?"
"He's impatient and a little reckless," T-Rex replied, He had been hiding in the room until Amleth left, "but he's not incompetent."
"But will he go back to Sinorel?"
"Oh yes, most defiantly. Your orders wont stop him from doing what he thinks is right. He'll need help though."
Hmmm, your right." The Grand Master paused for a second. "Who can we send after him?
"Gui Sun would be my choice. He knows Amleth and he could do with the field training."
"Send Delta1 with him, I think it may be good for him to get out."
"A good suggestion. I'll go tell them to get ready." And with that the Dean of Shadows disappeared again.

Amleth Uiara's temporary quarters,
Vortigern Wing,
Royal Palace,
Vectur

"Well? What did he say?" Sheona stood at the door awaiting Amleth's return.
"He said 'No' but I'm not going to let that stop me. Come on, We're leaving now."
"Then I'm coming too," Varanus stood out from behind Ozie to address them both, "I can't let you go off and have all the fun."
"Varanus, I can't let you get involved."
"I think I already am." Varanus said with a smile.
"Very well then, we leave in one hour. I'll meet you at the landing pad after I've got all my things ready."

Main Landing pad,
Royal Palace,
Vectur

Under the cover of darkness, the three friends and a little R2 unit set off in their Raptor heading for home. Two other figures watched them lift off and so began to follow them in their newly acquired TIE Avatars. The two parties headed off to an uncertain future.
||||||||
Hyperspace,
En-route to New Marsia

"So, you two have a bit of a history then do you?"
You could say that." Sheona replied as she inspected her blaster.
"So what happened?"
"We were engaged to be married but he left Sinorel before we got around to doing it." she replied without even flinching. They sat in the cargo hold to the rear of the ship. Amleth was piloting us through Hyperspace and Ozie was up on the bridge helping him with the navi-computer.
"Wow! Engaged? for how long?"
"Two years." She replied.
"What age were you both?"
"We were sixteen when it was decided but we had to wait for a few years but it never happened."
"What did happen?" Varanus asked her, hoping to get some information.
"It's a long story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"
"Sure I'm sure. Begin from the beginning."
"All right." She said as she sat up into a more comfortable position...

Four years ago,
The Royal Palace in Sinorel,
Sinorel

Amleth Uiara walked slowly through the corridors of the royal palace, his Fathers belongings in his arms and his head hung low. His mind swirling, trying to comprehend all that had happened in the past few weeks. The killings, the accusations, the trial and the execution, all muddled in his mind making him go crazy or at least feel that way. As he walked past the Kings personal study he almost missed the conversation between Tains, the King, and his new High Chancellor Nedes. He moved in closer to hear them.

"Ha, ha, Tains you've certainly done it this time. The perfect crime, fraud, stealing money and even murder and you still got away with it. I applaud you, Sir."
"Well, not quite, you were the one who did the killings my friend."
"True, true, but it was your idea."
Amleth's stomach turned inside him, he had to force himself not to be sick.
"But you were right about getting away with it," the King replied, "not a soul knows and those who do have been generously paid off or...well lets just say they wont be talking." Tains clinked his glass against Nedes' and toasted this perfect crime.
Amleth could take no more. He burst into the room attempting to lunge at Tains but Nedes reacted quickly, grabbing me by the arms and presenting me to Tains. He was a well rounded man, Tains, and he appeared to be slightly taller than Amleth. His white royal suit was stained with the wine he had spilled when Amleth came rushing in.
"Ahh, Mr Uiara, so nice of you to join us." He laughed as Amleth tried to wriggle from Nedes' grip. Nedes was a tall, well built, man who towered over both Tains and Amleth. His iron grip held Amleth in place.
"You murderous sons of b...!"
"Ah, ah, now no need for that kind of language." Tains said as he wrapped his hand over Amleth's mouth.
"Hmm...this complicates things now, Nedes," Tains said as he tapped his finger on his mouth, "what can we do with him now? He wont be paid off, after all it was his father that we blamed, and his sudden disappearance will look suspicious. So what can be done?"
"Shall we throw him into the dungeons until we decide? I hear the new torturer hasn't had any victims, I mean visitors, yet." Nedes smiled at Amleth with, what seemed to be, all-knowing eyes.
Amleth managed to wrestle Nedes' hand from his mouth
"You haven't heard the last of me, Tains, I swear I will come for you even if it's the last thing I ever do!"
"How cliché. Guards!" Tains yelled and two royal guards entered. "Take this thief to the dungeon and tell the torturer to do his worst."
Amleth was whisked away by he guards and led towards the dungeons. As they passed the door, however, he noticed that the box of his Fathers belongings was gone. As the stairs began to descend, Amleth couldn't help thinking of his Mother and of Sheona, his betrothed...

5 days later...

Amleth lay on the duracrete floor, contemplating his life in prison. His newest round of torture had left him exhausted to the point of insanity. He could still feel the sharp pain inflicted on him by the neutralizer which was the torturer's newest toy. It pulsed small electrical shocks all over the victims body giving the person many pin-like pricks all over them. He had been in it for five hours. All his attempts at escape were futile. Guards were posted everywhere. Apparently Tains wanted to keep him there as long as possible. As he lay there he had a vision, he was led out of the window of the cell. It led to the palace courtyard which led to the main landing bay and the hanger. There he found a row of X-Wings, unattended he climbed into one and made his escape. Amleth came back to reality. "If only." He said to himself. Although it did seem real, maybe he had been here before? He stood up, his muscles still aching, and climbed up to the window. Sure enough there was the courtyard and, in the distance, he could just make out the side wall of the hanger. Amleth pushed the old, and rusty, iron bars aside and began to climb from his cell. Running across the courtyard, a guard spotted him. He ran after him firing his blaster. Amleth ran faster. He reached the first X-Wing and climbed in. An R2 unit was in the back making some minor adjustments. Amleth closed the canopy and began to lift off. Reaching the safety of space he could feel that the Royal dreadnaught's were too far away to catch up with him. The R2 unit began to speak to Amleth and the translation came up onto the screen.
"I'm afraid not, er...Ozie, we wont be going back to the royal palace again."
Ozie replied with an excited and happy wail.
"Lets set a course for the Outer-rim shall we?"
Ozie beeped an affirmative and the X-Wing shot off into the unknown phenomenon of hyperspace....

New Marsia Colony,
Moro System,
Home of House Vortigern

"So why have we set down here?" Sheona asked.
"I have no idea." Varanus answered. They were both sitting on the landing platform a few feet away from where 'The Pride of Karno' had put down. People of all ranks were rushing about, preparing ships and getting ready for the War.
"This is some planet to call home." She said as she surveyed the terrain.
"I don't know, there are some far worse places to be."
Ozie was fiddling around with the 'Pride,' a favourite past-time of his apparently. Amleth's X-Wing hadn't broken down once since he left Sinorel.
"Well I hope he doesn't take long," she said, folding her arms, "I can't stand being in desolate planets like this."
Just at that moment a large, mechanical, figure approached them. They stood up expecting an attack. Ozie on the other hand was continuing on with his work. Sheona and Varanus both pulled out their blasters and aimed at the mechanical demon.
"Hey! Don't shoot! Its only me!" Amleth said as his head popped out from the hatch.
"That wasn't funny you know! You could've been anyone, or anything."
The huge AT-PT stopped in front of them, crouched down as to let Amleth off. Its head and body was painted green while the drive joints and feet were painted red.
"What's this for?" Sheona said, reholstering her blaster.
"Well, you never know when your going to need one do you?" He said with a slight grin.
"When, and where, did you get this?" Varanus said, admiring the walker.
"We got them to patrol the planet, much quicker and more effective than on foot."
"Now that we have everything can we go?" Sheona said, motioning them toward the 'Pride.'
"Why of course." Amleth said.
They soon walked the AT-PT into the cargo hold and they began powering up to leave.

Meanwhile two TIE Avatars waited, just outside the planet's gravitational pull, for the 'Raptor' to emerge. The tracking device placed on the ship was working perfectly and they waited for them to plot their course...

Hyperspace,
En-route to Sinorel

"So what other things did you bring along?" Varanus sat in the hold with Amleth checking through his bag.
"Some things that we'll need."
Varanus emptied the contents onto the deck. It's contents included a large package whose contents he didn't recognise.
"What's this?" He asked, holding it in the air.
"It's a camouflage net." He said matter-of-factly.
"And we need this why?"
"To hide the ship while on Sinorel. It has two distinctive parts. One hides the ship's systems and electronics from detection. The second helps to hide the ship from a visual detection."
"Ahh." Varanus said, placing the package back into the bag. "What about these?" He said, holding up a bunch of electrical equipment.
"Those are tools I use for slicing. Which reminds me," Amleth got up and reached forward, grabbing hold of one of the diagnostic apparatus'. "I have to change the transponder code of the 'Pride' so that we can slip back into Sinorel." Amleth stood up and went forward into the bridge. Varanus followed close behind.
"Where did you get all this stuff anyway?"
"Off a guy called Ghent, who worked for Talon Karrde."
"Who?" Varanus replied.
"Oh yes, Sheona didn't know what happened to me after I left so she couldn't have told you. Very well..."
"Hang on!" Varanus said. "How did you know that she told me your story?"
"I overheard you talking in the cargo-hold"
"Oh. Ok. Please continue."
Amleth crouched down and pulled back a part of the lower bulkhead revealing circuits and multicoloured wires. "...I suppose it all started about a year after I arrived in the Outer rim..."

Three Years Ago,
'The Wild Karrde

Amleth pushed the bulkhead back into place.
"And that's how you change the transponder code of a ship." Ghent rose from his crouching position and gathered in his equipment. "If you'd like I could give you some of my old stuff so you could practice."
"That would be great." Amleth replied. Talon Karrde walked over to them.
"I see Ghent has been teaching you a few new tricks, Amleth."
"He has, Sir, I thought they may come in handy some day." The young man smiled at him. He had worked with Karrde and his organisation for three months now but it was only in the recent weeks that he really got to know the boss of this vast smuggling organisation.
"Well, you listen to him. You can't go too far wrong with our Ghent here." The third man blushed a bit and, excusing himself, he went about his duties. "So, Amleth, how are you fitting in here on the 'Wild Karrde?'"
"Fine, just fine, although your second in command, Mara Jade, doesn't seem to like me."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." Karrde chuckled. "She's just like that with some people. Anyway, I'll let you get on with your work."
"Thank you, Sir." Amleth said as he walked back to his room. Before he reached there, however, a klaxon rang out throughout the ship. Knowing that he was needed on the bridge, Amleth ran back the way he came. Just as he entered the message from the attackers ended. "What's going on?" He asked.
"Three Dreadnaughts just came out of hyperspace in front of us." Karrde told him. Amleth's stomach began to wrench even before Karrde finished. "And they're demanding that you should be handed over to them immediately." Amleth's heart sank. After a year of running Tains had finally caught up with him.
"Oh well, I guess that's it." Amleth stood straight. "I guess I'm going back to Sinorel."
"Not if we can help it." Karrde said. "Quickly run to the docking bay! Your X-Wing is still there, remember, so too is your R2 unit. If we act fast you may be able to escape. Now run!" Amleth stood there for a split second, taking in what Karrde had said, and ran back toward his room.
"Here." Ghent cried. "Take these. They may be useful." He threw his bag of equipment to Amleth as he hurried out the door.
"Thanks Ghent." He replied. Running as fast as he could, Amleth gathered his stuff and climbed into his X-Wing. Suddenly a medium sized bag came towards him.
"Here." A soft voice followed. "You may need this." Mara Jade told him as he took the camouflage net from her. "And don't forget to let the force guide you."
He looked at her with a puzzled gaze. "Thanks Mara." Amleth strapped in and closed the canopy. "Well Ozie, It looks like its just you and me again." The astromech beeped at him as he got ready for flight and soon glided himself out of the 'Wild Karrde.' Looking at the ship for the last time brought a lump to his throat that he soon banished. It had been his most permanent home over the last twelve months and he knew he was going to miss it.
"I assure you, er...Nedles, I have never heard of this Amleth."
"It's Nedes, Karrde, and I know he's there. We've been watching your every move and he has been spotted many times with your little group." The voice over the comlink sounded confidant. "If you give him up now I may just let you live."
"Well, Nedles, if you leave now I may just let you live." Karrde told him. Just then Amleth's X-Wing took off from the hanger and the charade was over. Cutting the comlink Karrde immediately issued battle orders. "Open fire on that lead Dreadnaught, we may be able to disable it so that Amleth can escape. Mara get up to the <gun>. Plot a course out of here though, we'll need a quick escape."
Amleth immediately charged up his guns. Locking his S-Foils he began to asses the situation. Heading straight for the lead dreadnaught, which was by now covered with laser fire from the 'Wild Karrde.' "Alright Ozie get ready to make a microjump out of here once I give the signal, Ok?" Ozie warbled an agreement. The second and third dreadnaught were now coming up behind them, bearing their turbolasers down on them. Switching to proton torpedo's Amleth began to paste the side of the lead dreadnaught with scorch marks. Patches of the shields were showing damage but it wasn't enough. The 'Wild Karrde' began to take a battering as the two dreadnaught's came into range. This, together with the fire from the lead, brought down their shields also.
"Karrde," Amleth called him, "It's no use, you can go. Please, save yourselves."
"We can't leave you Amleth."
"Please, just go. I'm going to surrender in return for your safety."
"Alright." The reply came. The 'Wild Karrde's' systems now began to fail. "Good luck Amleth in everything you do and if you ever escape feel free to drop by."
"I Will." And with that the 'Wild Karrde' disappeared into hyperspace.
Amleth was just about to call in his surrender when. "Ozie, target the bridge." He began emptying his torpedo bay onto the lead and its shields came down in an instant. Putting full power to the sublight engines, he zoomed passed the dreadnaught which was now sufficiently damaged that Amleth could escape. The other two dreadnaught's were lagging behind. "Now, Ozie, hit the hyperdrive." And with that stars turned into starlines and they were away.
Ten seconds later they reverted into real space. "Whew! That was lucky. Thank goodness I noticed the shields were weak there. Now where are we?" He looked at the navigational charts searching for a quiet planet to set down on. When he noticed a small system far into the Outer-Rim called Varnus. Amleth had a good feeling about that place and so he plotted a course. "Alright, Ozie, looks like were going to Varnus...."

Orbiting above Gustak,
Karno System,
On board 'The Pride of Karno'

...The planet Sinorel hung in space like a great blue and green marble, Sinorel minor was just about to eclipse it as the 'Pride of Karno' waited and assessed the situation. "Well, there it is, Sinorel. The place of my birth and the place from which I am exiled."
"What are we doing orbiting this lowly planet then? Should we not just go to Sinorel and get this Tains guy?" Varanus said looking on at Sinorel minor which had now fully eclipsed Sinorel itself.
"Well first of all we'll have to wait for Sinorel minor to get out of the way, and second we need a plan for getting past those three Dreadnaught's orbiting Sinorel." Sheona told him.
"That's another thing 'Sinorel minor?' It must be about twice, if not three times, the size of Sinorel itself. What's the deal?"
"Well," Amleth began, "Sinorel minor was he first planet discovered by our scholars many years ago and because it looked much smaller from Sinorel than it actually was they called it Sinorel minor. You see?"
Varanus rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. "Hmm...I think I do. Anyway what's the plan for getting in?"
"Well," Amleth began, "I guess we just go up and ask. The new transponder codes I installed shows us to be the smuggler ship 'Free and Easy Wanderer' en-route to Sinorel from Kessel. We just approach the planet and hope for the best."
"Good plan." Varanus said with a slightly sarcastic tone.
"When do we leave?" Sheona said.
"No time like the present." Amleth said throttling up the newly renamed ship.

Five minutes later,
On board Royal Dreadnaught 1

"Chancellor, Sir."
"What is it Captain?" Nedes replied with a tired voice.
"A ship has just exited from hyperspace and is headed to Sinorel. It's an Incom 'Raptor' Sir, like the one that left a week or two ago."
"Thank you Captain. Monitor the ship and ask them for the password."
"Yes Sir." The Officer turned on his heals and left the room. Nedes leaned over to his Comm and punched in the code.
"Tains? She's back..."

On board 'Free and Easy Wanderer,'

"Erm...Run into a slight problem here. They're asking for a password."
"Varanus, get up to the main gun. Sheona...make something up. I'll get ready to run for the planet."
"Okay...Er...This is 'Free and Easy Wanderer' the password is..." Sheona waited for Amleth to give her the all go. "...Nerf herder."
"That password is incor....Hey! Wait!"
Amleth powered up the engines and headed for the surface. Varanus began pounding the Dreadnaught's shields with laser fire. Red bolts of power began painting the shields but they failed to make any devastating effect. The Dreadnaught tried to get a lock on them with a tractor beam. Varanus, still pounding the Dreadnaught which had now turned to face them, managed to knock the projector out. Laser fire began raining down on them and the shields soon began failing.
"We cant take much more of this." Varanus said.
"Were nearly there, just a few more seconds." Amleth began cursing the controls for more speed.
"Quickly!" Sheona shouted.
"Were there!" Amleth declared as they reached the planets outer atmosphere. "They wont be able to follow us now that were in atmosphere."
"Erm...Are we going to stop though?" Varanus had climbed back down into the cockpit and began pointing at the ground getting closer and closer.
"I don't know. The repulsor's are damaged. I'll have to deploy the S-Foils to try and slow us down." Fighting with the controls and the spinning craft, Amleth managed to slow their descent and land them in a forest 50 Km from the city of Sinorel.
"Well, that went well." Varanus said. They had landed on a small hill and the slight inclination made Varanus look like he had too much Corillian ale and was beginning to feel the affects. The dense forest seemed to go on forever around them.
"We'll set up camp here then." Amleth said. "We're quite a bit from the city so it'll be a while before any on-foot patrols come along and the forest will give us some protection but speeders could make a couple of passes and they may be able to see us. They'll be coming pretty soon so we'll need the camouflage nets up. Come on Varanus, give us a hand. Sheona, shut down everything and prepare the camp. We've a lot of work to do." And with that the two friends went outside and began to hide themselves from the Royal forces of Sinorel.

Orbiting Sinorel,
The Karno System

"Keep your eyes peeled, D1, we could have some trouble here."
"Nothing I cant handle, Sir."
The Comm came to life. "Unidentified craft, you have entered Sinorel space, power down your systems and prepare to be taken aboard."
With the wave of his hand, Gui Sun spoke to the operator.
"We are traders on our way to the planet, you will let us through."
The reply came. "I will let you through."
"Thank you." Delta1 smiled as they headed toward the planet.

Crash Site,
Sinorel

"Lets just hope it protects us from detection." Varanus said as they finished fastening the camouflage net to the ground.
"It should. At least for a while." The two walked back into the 'Pride' and met with Sheona. "Any luck with decoding their messages?"
"A bit. Here. Listen to this." She passed him some headphones and he began to listen. The voice speaking was interrupted by spells of crackling.
"...That was the last we saw of them...flown into the fores...search par...being organised now..."
"We'll have to act soon. They're on their way." Amleth said as he put the headphones down. "Varanus, organise some supplies for the trip. Sheona, continue to monitor the messages. Get Ozie to help. Varanus and I will be going into the city, scope out the area."

"Are we nearly there yet?" Varanus said, exasperated by the long walk.
"Nearly, and stop whining."
"Sorry I'm just tired. The constant training has me exhausted."
"You and me both." Amleth smiled. "We don't even know who were up against. Only that were inferior in both firepower and technology."
"I know. After the battle of Varnus and the destruction caused we'll have a tough time on our hands." Varanus reflected on his statement. "A very tough time indeed."
"Yep, there's no doubting that. Look!" Amleth pointed ahead "There's the outskirts of the city. We'll need to find some local clothes. Our SoH uniforms will stick out. I'll go and do that." Within ten minutes Amleth had returned with two brownish green shirts and pants to match.
"Where did you get those?" Varanus said looking at them in disgust.
"Somebody had a washing line, just over there, and I swiped them. We shouldn't be noticed in these." Amleth said as he attached his belt around his waist. "Hide your blaster though. It'll make you look suspicious."
The two, now brown coloured, friends walked into the city streets. The muddy streets were filled with people of all shapes and sizes as land speeders travelled up and down, delivering goods to shops and vendors. They noticed a few guards hanging around the corners, always in two's, carrying blasters. They had dark blue armour and they wore a red cap on their heads. They surveyed the streets but they didn't notice the two trainee Jedi walk right passed them.
"So, what's our plan of action?" Varanus said.
"WE should check out the Palace first and plan our attack then. Meanwhile we should look for somewhere to stay. I know, or knew, of a hostel around this corner. We should check it out..."
"It's you!" An old woman had walked up to them and began pointing at Amleth. "You're the one who killed those people."
"Er...I'm afraid you have the wrong person, Madam." Amleth looked around and the two guards started making their way towards them. A crowd also started gathering. "Come on. Lets go." They began to walk away and around the corner.
"Murderer!" The old woman shouted. She also began walking away. She pointed to another man and shouted. "It's you!..."

Two figures from the shadow of a side street looked out at the commotion.
"Well that wasn't too hard., was it?" Delta1 said as he looked at Gui Sun.
"No it wasn't. I knew they'd be easy to find. That Amleth, always causing trouble."
The figures walked along the streets following, waiting to see where they'd go.

Amleth and Varanus walked quickly towards the hostel when they heard a sound.
"Psst." They looked around. "Over here!" A voice said. An old man was standing in the doorway of an antique shop. "Through here." The old man pointed into a back room. Hoping to get away from the crowd, they followed him into it.
"Who are you?" Amleth spoke.
"An old friend." He answered with a smile. "I worked in the palace when your father was there. I saw you being captured by Tains' men. I've kept this here waiting to see if you'd come back." The old man opened a trapdoor in the floor and pulled out a box that looked familiar to Amleth.
"That's what happened to it." He shouted, ecstatic that he'd found it.
"What is it? Varanus said peering over Amleth's shoulder who was now searching through the box.
"It's my father's stuff from the palace."
"Oh." Varanus said.
Amleth began pulling objects out of the box. Pens, data pads, pictures, all sorts of stuff.
Varanus picked up a piece of cloth from the box. "What's this?" He asked.
"It's my family crest. I didn't know there were any still left."
"And this?" Varanus said holding up a crystal.
"I dunno. Some sort of 'flimsy-weight' I guess."
"That's no 'flimsy-weight." The old man said. "That's Danite, a crystal found around these parts. It's mainly used in Lightsabers."
"What did my father want with it?" Amleth asked
"Your father knew of his, and your, Jedi heritage but he couldn't express it because of the Empire. He kept this crystal in the hope that, one day, someone could use it. I guess you could."
Amleth stood up. "Who are you and How did you know who I am?"
The old man stood straight. "My name is Skorzeny and that is not important. What is important, though, is the fact that you're a trainee Jedi and you'll be needing a Lightsaber. Here take this." Skorzeny handed them some money. "Go to that hostel and find yourselves a room. You'll be needing all your strength for the palace."
Amleth and Varanus turned and left the shop, taking the box with them, and headed toward the hostel. Amleth looked back at the shop again. Skorzeny looked back, his eyes gazing at the younger man. Amleth walked on in the direction of the hostel.

Royal Palace of Sinorel,
Sinorel

"I told you she'd come back." Nedes stood in front of Tains in the throne room.
"You were right, Nedes, we must prepare the trap. Are the guards looking for the ship?"
"Yes Sir, they are on foot and we are preparing some speeders for a more extensive search of the area."
"Good. Make sure that all prisoners are kept alive."
"I'll see to it personally, Sir." Nedes turned towards the door and headed to his office.

Crash Site,
Sinorel

"I think we got the short stick Ozie." Sheona said as she tried a different code. Ozie beeped an affirmative to her. "Well we've definitely lost the signal. I don't understand though. There's nothing there but static and no more codes left to try."
Suddenly Ozie began rocking from side to side, whaling and bleeping.
"What is it Ozie?"
"Hey I think I found it. Over here!"
Sheona could hear a voice from outside the ship.

"I think its under this net. Here, gimmie a hand." The guards began tearing down the camouflage net. "Yep," the lead guard said, "That's her all right. Lets get her opened."
Before they could prize the hatch open the cargo doors opened by themselves releasing Sheona in the AT-PT.

"Whoa! This thing is hard to handle. Ozie see if you can target those guards." Ozie rolled towards the computer port and plugged himself in. "Jeez this cockpit is a bit cramped. I've got a lock and what I think is the fire control so here it goes." Sheona began firing at the guards who were by now running from the walker. Laser bolts began creating craters in the ground as many of the shots missed their intended targets. Some of the guards began firing back at the AT-PT. "I think I'm getting the hang of this." Sheona's aim was getting better." Two of the five guards were down. Another shot rang out from the blaster and hit a third guard in the chest. His two companions began intensifying their fire. The AT-PT's armour was too strong for their hand-held weapons and the damage was cosmetic. "Amleth's going to have to get a new paint job done on his walker." Sheona smiled as the fourth and fifth guard finally fell. She turned the AT-PT around and made here way back to the camp. "Ozie, call Amleth. I think he'll want to know about this."

Royal Palace of Sinorel,
Sinorel

"You're far too calm about this Tains." Nedes was, once again, in front of the King. "I've sent out a whole battalion of troops to find them and so far nothing. One group hasn't been heard from since."
"Don't worry. Things are moving along nicely. Soon we will have Uiara and all ties between us and the incident will be tied up. Yes..." Tains sneered at the thought "...things are going according to plan."

Sinorel City,
Sinorel

"And you're sure there's no more of them?"
Sheona's voice came back to Amleth over the comlink. "For the moment, yes."
"That's a relief." Varanus said, listening in on the conversation.
"Their getting close that's for sure. There'll be more of them coming soon as well. Especially after loosing five guards."
"I think I'll be able to hold them off though." Sheona said. "That transport of yours is a tough machine."
"Yes but they'll send more out now. No. We'll have to make our move on the palace tonight."
"Are you sure? Shouldn't you wait a while?" Sheona replied.
"No, things are too risky now. The sooner the better. Amleth out." Amleth turned off the comlink and turned towards Varanus. "Are you up for it, Pal?"
"Lead the way, Amleth."

Crash site,
Sinorel

Under the cover of darkness two figures moved silently towards the ship. Creeping between the undergrowth they moved towards the outline of the ship covered in the camouflage net. Of course it was useless against them.
Reaching the door the first figure placed his hand on the panel and the door slowly slid open. They crept inside, blasters at the ready, searching for movement. The place was silent now, the noises they had heard earlier were now long gone. They could see no movement in the ships hold only a creepy stillness.
Suddenly a weary beep was heard from the far side of the hold. Moving towards it the two figures found an astromech droid, badly beaten with a blaster scar on its torso.
"Oh no, Ozie!" Gui Sun looked at the droid. "What happened?"
The droid bleeped back at him but the Jedi could not understand.
"Hang on, Ozie, well get you hooked up to the ship."
Gui Sun and Delta1 carried Ozie to the cockpit where they found a socket to which Ozie could be plugged in. "Now, tell us what happened?"
The droid whistled and booped at the two Jedi as his story was related onto a screen in the cockpit. The story had a few omissions but the Jedi understood.
"So there was blaster fire and you think she was taken to the palace but you can't be sure because you were shot. Is that right?"
Ozie beeped an affirmative.
"Ok, Delta1, lets get this ship in the air. We have some rescuing to do."

Royal Palace of Sinorel,
Sinorel

Outside the palace the two, would be, Jedi stood, watching the guards at the front gate. Amleth could see two guards but they were backed up by two gun turrets on the palace walls. They were well placed to stop both a frontal attack from the gate and any aerial attack.
"Well those turrets will have to be the firs things to go." Varanus said as he looked through the microbinoculars.
"Yes but that'll quickly raise the alarm. Our safest bet would be to be admitted to the palace as guests."
"How are we going to do that?" Varanus asked, looking puzzled.
"With a little Jedi trick I recently learned. Come on." The two walked calmly towards the gate. the guards had spotted them and had raised their blasters as they moved nearer to the gate.
"Good evening, Gentlemen." Amleth said approaching the two guards. "My name is Aviney and this is my associate, Broth. We are travelling transpirasteel salesmen and we have an appointment with his majesty, King Tains."
"At this hour of the night? and where are your samples?" The second guard said.
"This is when we do most of our work. Best time of the day to be selling transpirasteel. Here, you want to see one of our brochures? What type of transpirasteel do you have? I'd bet it doesn't keep out the cold nights here on Sinorel?"
"OK, OK, I believe you." The second interjected to try and shut Varanus up.
"I don't know," said the first, "I'm going to have to see some authorisation."
"But you've already seen our authorisation." Amleth said imposing his mind on this guard.
"Well I guess you check out then. Go on through." And with that, the second guard opened the gates and let them through. The door to the palace itself opened when they got there. Another guard was there to meet them. Amleth waited until the door was safely secured before un-holstering his blaster and pointing it in the guards back.
"Where's Tains?" Amleth said in a hushed voice. By now Varanus had removed the guards own blaster and was pointing it at the guard while looking around for any others.
"Eh, up those stairs and through those large doors." The guard pointed to a set of doors that nearly reached the ceiling of the second floor.
"And Nedes' office?"
"Through that door there." He said, pointing to a door on his right.
"Much obliged." Varanus said as he stunned the guard.
"OK, Varanus, you go to Nedes' office and find any files relating to my fathers death and the massacre. I'll go and get Tains. Meet back here in ten minutes, OK?"
"Sure thing." Varanus turned and ran towards the door that the guard had pointed.
Amleth moved the slumped figure of the guard to a small alcove and hid him behind the curtains. Blaster in hand, he crept up the long winding stairs that led to a large open landing above the main hall.
Reaching the door he listened in and was surprised to hear nothing. He was also surprised that no other guards had appeared. He faced the door and, with one kick, swung it open and lept inside only to be faced with Tains, surrounded by guards all pointing their blasters at him. Tains also had a blaster in his hands but it wasn't pointed at Amleth. It was pointed at Sheona who was tied to a chair in the middle of the floor.
"So Amleth Uiara, we meet again. As you can see I seem to have the upper hand in the situation so I suggest that you drop your weapon and we can talk like civilised people."
Amleth looked around at the dozen guards in the room and at Sheona, tied and gagged. She wasn't struggling but Amleth knew from the look in her eyes that she was angry at being tied up and helpless.
He dropped his blaster and the look in her eyes changed to one of disgust.
"A wise choice, young Uiara."
With that an arc of blue raced towards him. Instantly, he became numb and blacked out...

"...so Tains, I've got your man. Now where's my payment?"
Amleth woke up to find himself tied to a chair. His head was sore and he attempted to turn his head towards the talking figures. As he did he realised that there was someone else tied to another chair behind him.
"Hi Varanus, got you too?"
"Yep, Nedes was waiting with a bunch of guards as I entered his office."
"Same happened to me." Amleth turned his head again and looked, this time, in the direction of the voices. There he saw Tains and Nedes standing beside the door talking to a third person, someone he recognised instantly.
"Sheona?" Amleth said, shock and pain in his voice. "What's going on?"
"What? You haven't figured it out yet? I'm a bounty hunter now, Amleth, and Tains hired me to find you and to bring you to him. I must say though, you were the easiest merchandise I've ever had to capture." Sheona looked at Amleth with a smirk on her face.
"I can't believe this, after all we've been through together, you'd just hand me over to him. And to think, I trusted you, and loved you."
"Oh well, better to have loved and lost than to be tied to a chair, Eh Amleth." Tains interjected. "Here's your money and the order giving you passage off of Sinorel."
"Thanks." Sheona took the credits and the datapad from Tains. "Good luck, Amleth, I hope the torture and imprisonment doesn't kill you. You too, Varanus."
"It's been a pleasure knowing you, Sheona, and may all your bounties earn you no profit." Varanus replied.
Sheona left the room, slamming the wooden door behind her. Amleth stared at the now closed door, a look of disbelief on his face.
"Well, now that all that unpleasantness is over, we can get down to business. I've waited for this for a long time, Amleth Uiara, finally all loose ends will be tied." Tains rubbed his hands in glee as Nedes pulled out his blaster. He set it for stun, both Amleth and Varanus braced themselves against the blue arc that would be floating its way towards them.
However, the bolt never came. Instead the whine of a Y-wing fighter could be heard followed closely by a great explosion and a crash into the room that they were in. The explosion knocked everyone to the ground and freed both Amleth and Varanus when their chairs broke from the impact.
They were quick to react and Amleth dived for Nedes' blaster. He grabbed it and rolled over on his back. His momentum took him behind a table and he overturned it. Now in a kneeling position, Amleth switched the setting to kill and began firing. Varanus soon joined him behind the table. He too had picked up a blaster from somewhere and also began firing. The two comrades began picking off guards, one by one, as blaster fire cannoned into the thick wooden table.
Nedes had grabbed another blaster and began making his way towards the table. He circled the room using the guards to cover his tracks. Tains had taken cover behind the, now fallen, door and guards began flowing into the room.
"We won't be able to hold out much longer."
"I know." Varanus shouted back, the whine of blaster fire and the crashing sound of explosions in other parts of the immense palace made communication difficult. "We'll have to think of something. WATCH OUT!" Suddenly Nedes had jumped up from his crouching position beside them. It wasn't long before he was baring down on them, blaster at the ready. Varanus was quick to react. He began firing at Nedes just before Nedes started firing at Amleth. Varanus hit him right in the mid-section and Nedes was stopped dead.
"You saved my life." Amleth exclaimed.
"All in a days work." Varanus replied.
Just then, a bolt of deadly laser fire hit Varanus on the shoulder.
"Aagghh!" he shouted.
Amleth turned towards his friend.
"Is it bad?"
"No. I'll be all right."
Amleth turned back towards the gunfire and began shooting again. Tains had moved from his position behind the door and began running towards the hallway behind him. Amleth spotted him and fired at his back. He caught him on his shoulder. He stumbled a bit but he didn't stop. He ran out of Amleth's view. Amleth continued to fire at the crowd of guards. He knew that the odds were building up against them.
"We can't hold out much longer. My clip is almost empty."
"Mine too." Varanus replied.
Just then a loud whine was heard from the gaping hole in the wall. Amleth thought that the Y-wings had returned. However as he looked out he recognised the ship outside the palace. The 'Pride' had began firing into the room, taking out whole groups of guards. The loading hatch was now open and a familiar figure was seen inside the ship.
"You coming, Amleth, or are you going to stay there forever?" Delta1 shouted at Amleth.
"D1, boy, am I glad to see you!" Amleth looked up from behind the table and saw that only a few guards were left. "OK, buddy," he said to Varanus, "can you make it?"
"Of course I can. Just point me in the right direction."
Amleth stood up and began pouring covering fire at the guards. Varanus made it into the ship and Amleth also began moving towards the hole, firing frantically as he moved. Jumping into the ship Delta1 closed the hatch and they began moving towards space.

After a few moments they had reached the coldness of space. It was also a chance to see what exactly was going on. A Calamari cruiser was orbiting the planet, firing on the three royal dreadnaughts.
"What's going on?" Amleth asked.
"We picked up a transmission earlier, apparently that," Gui Sun pointed towards the cruiser, "is the 'Mon Verdonda' and is responding to a signal from the Sinorel underground forces for assistance in freeing their planet."
"Oh. Were there any other ships taking off from the planet?"
"Not that we know about."
"OK. I'll be in the cargo hold if you need me." Amleth turned, his head down, and made his way to the back of the ship. Varanus was already recovering from his injuries with a quick bacta patch but it would be a while before he would be fully fit again. Amleth sat down on an empty crate, thinking of the failed mission, his imminent scolding and of his lost love...

Grand Master Sauron's office,
Royal palace,
Vectur

"Sorry."
"What?"
"I said 'sorry Grand Master.'" Amleth stood before Sauron, his chin nearly touching his chest.
"Is that all you have to say."
"I know my actions were reckless and that I disobeyed an order."
"That is correct. Not only this, however, you put your life and the lives of others in danger. At this time we can not afford to loose good people. Varanus' services will be missed and he will have to miss out on some training while he is recovering. Because of this, you will take over all his duties around the palace and you will also loose all of your privileges for one month. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir."
"Get out of my sight then."
Amleth gave a weak salute and turned on his heel. He walked slowly out the door.
Sauron slumped back in his chair, the burdens of being Grand Master weighed heavily on him.
"He's a handful, isn't he?"
"Oh!" Sauron jumped up. "Will you please stop doing that!"
T-Rex stood beside Sauron, a concerned look on his face.
"Yes, he is. And to think, Paan has recommended him to be the next Lothair of House Vortigern."
"I think this little adventure will put him in his place, though. He won't do anything like this again." Replied T-Rex.
"I'm not so sure, We will have to keep a close eye on him..."

The End

© (copyright) Amleth Uiara Vortigern. All Rights Reserved.

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