Open Space and Hyperspace

Opoku System, Planet Gamorr, Jugsmuk Station


After they're return Ga'ab and Rygal had elected to make camp at The Marsh Haunt, which had a reputation as the nicest hotel on Gamorr. As the winter season began in earnest Matron Kufbrug's fortress would soon be filled with squeeling Gamorrean piglets and that was something both Ga'ab and Rygal respectfully wished to avoid. The two had rented the "penthouse" which on a core world would've been considered a slum-house but it was private, they paid up front and they had the run of the place. After taking some time to decompress after the mission to the Bahalian Shipyards the two seated themselves at the room's single small table and began their small council of war.

It was clear from the beginning that Rygal had not been calmed and instead had been incensed by the success of his portion. He spared no detail in his description of his people's terrible living conditions as well as labor abuses and threats to the clan-family's children if they did not cooperate. Rygal was more committed than ever to immediately return and free his people and stated as much as often as he could. "The time to act is now while Matron Kufbrug still honors us for our victory in the campaign. Who knows what she will care about in a month and every day we wait my people suffer." Rygal said, giving another impassioned plea.

"Rygal's impatience will lead us to disaster." Counseled Riel silently in Ga'ab's head. Ga'ab responded to Riel with mental pings of agreement.

"We have to keep the Matron seperate from this Rygal. Our purcahse of the snubfighters was a legitimate cover and in order to maintain our deniability neither us or the Gamorreans can be involved. You know better than I do what the Tenloss Syndicate is capable of if they seek revenge." Cautioned Ga'ab.

"They're not your family! if they were, you wouldn't be able to sit on your hands like this. If we can't do something now I'm chartering a ship offworld and I'll hire bounty hunters to help me." Said Rygal darkly.

Ga'ab threw up his hands with exasperation. "You'd need a commando unit to break into that place and free your people and I know you don't have the credits for that. Now clear your mind and lets try to look at this problem from a different angle." Ga'ab had been silently conversing with Riel. Both Ga'ab and his AI knw that Rygal was too important to lose, he was resilient, intelligent, and Ga'ab considered him a friend. But a misstep here on such a sensitive issue as saving family from slavery, Riel suggested something that would placate Rygal until they had the time to come up with an extraction plan. Riel's databanks of the original Gabriel Solomon's history contained a detailed entry of the planetoid Contruum 6 which Gabriel had made use of as a base and private retreat.

Rygal had not even bothered to respond to Ga'ab and had thrown his chair to the ground as he marched angrily for the door. Ga'ab said loud enough to get Rygal's attention. "Contruum Six!"

The Ryn turned still frowning, "Contruum Six?" He asked skeptically.

"Um, it's a moon in the expansion region, as far as I know its sparsely populated and relatively unimportant." Ga'ab began but he had already lost Rygal's interest. Quickly changing gears Ga'ab fired a last shot. "Even if we extract your people, they and everyone involved with their rescue will be hunted by the Tenloss Syndicate maybe forever. Contruum Six could be a home for your people, a sanctuary. At very least it could be a place for a few hundred newly freed Ryn to lie low for awhile while you reorganize"

Rygal considered his friend's words and knew that there was truth there. He didn't want to admit to himself that patience and planning would serve his people best, especially as each moment they did not act was another moment his family suffered. Rygal did not come quite back to the table but he had stepped back into their room. "Go on."

"We've got two problems we gotta solve to save your family. First, is a flawless covert extraction because Tenloss will do everything in their power to capture us and make an example of us in the most brutal way imaginable. The second, is a place to hide, which I think we've already got a lead on. We can't bring them back here and every bounty hunter and slaver within 10 systems will be trying to find a clan of Ryn in this part of space."

"I think I have an idea how to get my people off the station... But there'd have to be a pretty big distraction." Rygal said slowly. The gears of his mind were turning as he began to piece together information he had gleaned from his mission. His clan-family had been tasked with repairing and refitting an old Nebulon B Frigate for the Tenloss Syndicate's private navy, and as he discovered in his infiltration of the station, the emergency escape routes that would allow Tenloss's indentured workers to escape in the event of a disaster had been locked...
"If... If we cause the Shipyards to be evacuated they'll leave behind their laborers in the rush to escape. When I found my family, their barrack's escape routes had been sealed and I suspect it is the same elsewhere... So if all the staff and security are off-station we could free my family and commandeer the frigate, it is large enough to accommodate us."

Ga'ab had been nodding slowly as realization dawned on him. "We'll have to make contact with your family again, explain the plan and hopefully as they work on the ship they can prepare it for a premature departure."

Rygal felt relief and hopefulness. He picked up his chair and sat it back upright. "Yes, I think that with a few more details this will be a very good plan. Thank you, my friend."

After a few more days of planning and acquiring supplies, Ga'ab and Rygal bid eachother farewell. Ga'ab took the Lambda Class Shuttle to the expansion regions to set up a camp on Contruum 6 and Rygal took a battered Cloakshape starfighter back towards the Astal Sector.

Astal Sector, Bahalian Shipyards

Upon receiving word that the first squadron of twelve Z-95 Headhunters had been completed, Ga'ab had an oppurtunity to return to the Bahalian Shipyards to perform another critical step in his and Rygal's mission to free his clan from indentured servitude. At great expense, the remainder of his and Rygal's loot from the previous war-season, had been spent on a sophisticated slicer-program with a single, heavily encrypted program. Ga'ab would need to access the Shipyard's overseer, Sc'eran Tha's, personal computer system and covertly replace a emergency management datacore with a slightly altered one that was tucked snugly into his Mur'ghruk armor. The landing procedure this time around was much smoother, adding to Ga'ab's confidence and general peace of mind. Allowing the station's tractor beams to envelope his shuttle and guide it into the landing bay Ga'ab only needed to activate the landing gear and fold up the shuttle's wings. Take-offs and landings were the moments his missed a co-pilot the most, but with Rygal hidden on the station already and with depleted coffers Ga'ab had to contend with piloting alone.

After shutting down the engines and leaving the rest of the ship in low-power mode, Ga'ab collected his retinue of Gamorrean guards in the shuttle's main cabin and marched them down the boarding ramp. Instead of the armed security guards that had surrounded them on their first trip, Ga'ab's party was welconed by two shipyard officials shortly after disembarking. The unluckier of the two had the duty of escorting the Gamorreans to the nearest station cantina while Ga'ab followed the other on the walk and lift-rides to Sc'eran Tha's office or at least that is where Ga'ab thought he was going. Instead the lift stopped a level short of the executive suite and Ga'ab was ushered into a lower-tier business-manager's office. Confused but unwilling to protest too heavily, Ga'ab consented to sit opposite from an attractive Zeltron woman who flashed a more than charming smile.
Ga'ab however was non-plussed, "My apologies, I thought I would be meeting with the Overseer."

"Master Tha expresses his regret but a larger project is nearing completion that requires his full attention." She said apologetically. "However I am more than capable of handling your requests." She said with a hint of flirtation.

Ga'ab smiled awkwardly, "With respect I am certain the Overseer can find the time for a client who is planning on continuing his patronage."

At this the Zeltron's smile disappeared and her body language became noticably more rigid. "With respect to you, whoever your name is, a 1.2 million credit order of" She checked her screen and giggled "36 Z-95 Headhunters doesn't even put you in the top 50% of our clients, so how about we get down to business or if you'd like, you could deal with a Rodian."

Ga'ab was a bit dumbfounded by the sudden turn. And he stumbled a bit before replying, still trying to figure out a way he could get into Sc'eran's office. He should have anticipated he'd be fobbed off to an underling, and she was right, his purchase was relatively modest and probably didn't merit another meeting with the overseer of the entire shipyard. However too much was riding on this critical piece of the plan to back out now. The timetable demanded he install the datacore this trip. "Well when we inspect the Headhunters can I expect to see him maybe in the halls or the production floor?"

The Zeltron woman rolled her eyes, but she figured any human who lived with Gamorrean would have to be just as dumb as they were so she replied with mock slowness, "He is in the repair yards all day and that isn't the same as the snubfighter construction bay." She had confirmed that at very least Sc'eran's private office would be empty. "Now, can we get on with this? I've got other meetings today."

"Fine. After you." Ga'ab said dejectedly.

Back in the turbolift Ga'ab made his move. As the doors began to close, Ga'ab waved his hand in front of the Zeltron's face. She frowned and reached to intercept the hand but Ga'abs force suggestion froze her in place, caught between her reaction and his command. "You will take this elevator to the snubfighter construction bay. You will stop at every level." Commanded Ga'ab verbally and through the force. After a brief moment her mental resistance crumbled and she nodded robotically and began to press the commands. Nodding to himself and hoping he'd be quick enough he used the force to cut the alarm-trigger on the turbolift's escape hatch. Moving aside the top of the hatch with the force he leapt nimbly through the opening and on top of the turbolift. He felt the shudder as the Zeltron woman sent their turbolift down a level, with no time to lose Ga'ab force leaped up the chasm to small overhang that sat below the exec level's turbolift entryway. With the force guiding him he managed to land firmly against the ledge and he flattened himself against the door. Another exertion in the force triggered the door release and they slid open, Ga'ab fell in with relief.

Ga'ab remembered where Sc'eran's office lay at the end of the hallway and down to the right. He wished he had done a better job casing the hallways for security cameras, but fortunately Riel had a photographic memory and access to everything Ga'ab felt, thought and saw. The AI relayed silent commands to his Miraluka host and the two managed to make their way to Sc'eran's office without triggering any alarms. Once safely inside the dimly lit and empty offices Ga'ab made his way to the Overseer's desk console. It was an intimidating system from a technical perspective, it supported a secure system whose workaround was a physical intrusion which Ga'ab was attempting, however the console's chassis was particularly sturdy. Any normal slicer might have burnt through precious minutes using conventional tools to painstakingly unscrew nano-screws and pop out the bolts that kept the valuable internal systems safe. However Ga'ab had the force at his command and over a week of practice on a similar system. Ga'ab was unsure at his force potential, Riel recalled that the progenitor was not known for large displays of force ability, but Ga'ab did know that he was competent enough at finite manipulations of the force that his current task was manageable.

He kneeled before the Overseer's desk and dropped his hands into his lap. He slowed his breathing and lost touch with the physical world as he opened himself to the force. Trusting that he had both time and secrecy on his side Ga'ab focused solely on looking at the console through the force. It was not visible in the same way organics were, but much like how darkness and light contrast, so too does the absence of life energy reveal itself. He poured all his focus and attention on small and smaller dimensions and with a great effort that caused sweat to bead on his brow, he extended both hands. It was as if time itself had spun backwards as the desk and console began to shudder and then slowly small pieces began to be removed, the screws and pins that held larger pieces in place, and then the desk and console components were lifted away by the force to float hovering in a mass before Ga'ab. With his left hand still extended he used his right to fish out the replacement datacore which he sent floating into the mass of the console's constituent pieces while at the same time withdrawing the original datacore. With the transfer complete Ga'ab began to reassemble the desk and console. As the last piece fell into place, Ga'ab rose shakily to his feet and began to make his way back to where he came in but a pang of warning shot through the force. Sensing the approach of indivduals, Ga'ab looked frantically for a way out and his eyes centered on a fake portion of wall that his optical sensors had pinged as flimsy. Racing to the wall Ga'ab felt depserately for a secret release or button but he found none.

With his danger sense growing more acute Ga'ab could waste no more time. With fear and frustration nagging at his mind he gripped the fake wall with the force and twisting his body he wrenched the secret door open along its track with a terrible screech. There was an immediate reaction in the force as the sentients approaching Sc'eran's office heard the din. Cursing to himself Ga'ab ducked into the hallway which he assumed was Sc'eran's escape hatch and with another force pull, he sealed the fake wall behind him.

Rygal had been sneaking on and off station for the past several weeks, delivering supplies and orders to the members of his clan-family whom the Tenloss Syndicate had trapped in indentured servitude. The Tenloss Syndicate was cruel and effective but unimaginative and their security left much to be desired. Rygal was therefore able to make his way throughout the station by utilizing the maintenance and emergency pathways which station security seemed oblivious too. Overseer Sc'eran Tha's inelgenat solution to the emergency and maintenance tunnels was to illegally seal the passageways as he had done with the Ryn Barrack's eveacuation doors, but that had been one of the first things Rygal had amended. He now easily pulled open the emergency hatch and dropped down into the cramped barracks that housed his clan-family.
The conversations hushed as he entered and they all looked at his expectantly.
"Prepare yourselves, we are leaving tonight."

The Ryn did not allow themselves to cheer but there was a noticeable change to the mood and Rygal's chest began to swell. His wife, Ariceli pushed her way through the crowd and into his arms. They embraced for a moment while others held their own private celebrations. "When I activate the alarms, we must be patient. We must allow the entire station to empty if we have any hope of escaping to hyperspace. We all know the plan. Our priority is life support, engine power, steering control and astro-navigation. Our only chance is a quick escape."

____________________________________________________________________________

Meera Zarin couldn't sleep. Her mid was fixated on what had transpired just a few hours ago. In a rash decision she was even now second and triple guessing, she had allowed a saboteur to escape with impunity. She had done so to get ahead of course. In the moment she had convinced herself that she was the one with leverage over him, that she had his name... well... she actually didn't know what his name was, that was odd. But she did know his employer, a Gamorrean, and she knew his face, she could have him plastered on the walls of very bounty office from here to the Mid-Rim. However all that seemed unimportant because her ;everage was not immediate. At the end of the day he had left casually and now was for all intent and purposes, out of reach. How could she have been so stupid? She chastised herself as she rolled around in her bed, trying to find comfort and sleep.

Her mental anguish was cut short with the bellow of the station's catastrophic alarms. Unlike other alarms signifying decompression or on-station fires, this deep bellow was the death wails of space-stations and warships alike, only activated in the event if a situation was terminal. Meera jumped out of bed and would have flicked her lights on if the station's emergency protocols had not done so already. She began to dress hastily as she waited for orders on the PA system. An automated voice played over the speakers, Attention Station Personnel. Attention. High velocity impact with deep-space object imminent. Please proceed to assigned evacuation stations. I repeat. High velocity impact is imminent.

Fully clothed, she exited her small apartment and entered a mass of mid-level station personnel who were all crowding into the hallways. As she took a step out she was cought in the sea of sentients who were moving steadily towards the emergency indicator lights. She dug in and began to push back against the crowd. She didn't want to go down to the hangar bays, she wanted to go up, up to Sc'eran's office. She knew what this was about and her blood boiled. That half-witted, scruffy looking, nerfherder in her office had played her for a fool. She seethed with anger as she snaked her way to the nearest stair-well and began the unforgiving climb to Sc'eran's office.
Exiting the stairwell onto the executive floor she was met with scene of absolute chaos. Executives, their aides and station security were ransacking the place! There was no order, only chaos as sentients ran to and fro with priceless works of art, chests and datacards. Meera was a bit taken aback and she wrinkled her nose with disgust. At least the guards outside of Sc'eran's office still had their dignity, if not their pride, Meera thought as she approached the detachment of guards who were all but shaking in their boots with fear. The center-most guard was the Quarren she had black-mailed the day before and she was let through.

Inside Sc'eran's office, if she had hoped to find an island in the sea of chaos she was sorely disappointed. Sc'eran's office was almost empty, a few aides remained packing up chests of what looked like hard currency, near a million in Huttese Peggats. Her eyes lingered on them before Sc'eran's accusatory tone brought her back to reality.
"How dare you enter my office! Get out!" He said from behind his desk. He was typing furiously at his desk-console.

"What are you doing sir?" She asked nodding towards the looting.

"Are you an idiot? I'm leaving, which is what you should be doing, though its probably too late for you." He said musing over the last point for a moment.

Meera's eyes narrowed as she approached him. "What do you mean?"

"There's no escape pods." He said with a bitter laugh.

Meera's heart sunk into her stomach. That was unbelievable. "I don't understand."

"You are an idiot." He spat. His wrinkled eyes looked her over, up and down. "But I suppose I could use the company." He said with obvious implication.

Pink Zeltron skin grew red with anger. To think she was could have handed this perverted old man his salvation had he shown just an ounce of integrity. But now, now she was content to make him bleed and leave him for the Firaxan sharks. "Go to hell. You better hope this station is obliterated Sc'eran, because if its not, I'll feed you your manhood." She bit back with fericity that only earned her a contempitble laugh.

"Oh there is not doubt the station will be destroyed, so spare me your empty threats." Sc'eran rose from his desk and without another word he departed through a secet passageway that Meera had never seen before. The last of Sc'eran's aides hastily shut the secret doorway and the wall slid back into place, blocking all pursuit.

______________________________________________________________________________

Rygal watched from the darkened bridge of the Nebulon B Frigate that had been his people's working prison for many months. Through the viewscreen and discernible against the blackness of space were the drive signatures of a myriad of ships fleeing the shipyards. The slicer program had worked as advertised and the entire station from long-range sensors to sentients had been spoofed and fooled into believing a meteorite was hurtling towards the station, an almost impossible improbability, but one that would destroy the entire station on kinetic impact alone. The Ryn had waited an appropriate amount of time before emerging from their barracks and making their way hurriedly to the docked frigate. The Ryn new the path to the ship well and made quick time through the abandoned hallways. Once inside the Ryn formed into two teams, one headed towards the engines and one to the bridge. Their only ally in their flight was the element of surprise for while the Ryn had spent many months repairing and retrofitting the warship few had experience with a vessel of her size and even with all 403 Ryn, men, women, and children working together they were barely adequate to make up the ship's skeleton crew.

Rygal put his short-wave commlink, one of the devices he had smuggled onto the station, to his lips, "Reactor team, status report?"

A burst of static followed and then a reply, "Reactor here, she's warming up, slower than we'd like but we'll be ready to begin a gradual power-up of critical systems in a few minutes."

That was longer than Rygal wanted, but there was nothing he could say over the comms that would make them work any faster or harder. Everyone knew how important this was. Rygal's prehensile tail twitched nervously

Astal Sector, Bahalian Shipyards


With agonizing slowness the frigate's reactor began to hum, sending power across the ships. At first shipboard lights and terminals flickered dimly but soon enough entire systems within the ship began to come online. "Seal the bulkheads and turn off life-support in unoccupied areas." Ordered Rygal from the ship's bridge. If the Ryn would have any chance of escaping they would need every ounce of power they could spare for the engines. The bridge's heavy blast doors slammed shut with an ominous thud and some Ryn clan mates exchanged worried glances.

"This is the engine room, we're ready to slag this place with the afterburn captain."

"Disengage docking clamps." Ryn gripped the frigate's main control yoke, his fingers hovering over the command to engage their sublight engines. There were distant booms that reverberated across the ship as the explosive bolts that had tethered the Frigate to the shipyard were released. From the bridge's forward viewport the stars drifted almost imperceptibly as the now freed frigate drifted imperceptibly slowly from its berth. With the practice that came from dozens of hours of simulation programs Rygal kicked on the frigate's substantial block of engines and it lurched forward. Despite the suggestion from the engine room Rygal and his clan-family had no time for revenge, their only objective was clear enough distance and jump to hyperspace. "Navigation?" Asked Rygal, hoping for a status report.

The bridge was a flurry of activity as the Ryn managed ship systems and directed all power from redundant and unused systems to the engines which blazed behind the frigate like a rocket. The hard burn away from the station would have created significant g-force had it not been for the inertial dampeners, nonetheless Rygal could hear the ship's speed through the hum vibrating through the ship's superstructure.

"Astro-navigation is synchronizing now. Shouldn't be much longer until its confirmed our position and can feed us coordinates." Replied a female Ryn from the comm station.

Rygal grimaced, ever since the ship's main reactor began to operate at full power the frigate would have lit up nearby sensors and scanners. Even as Rygal was contemplating these dark thoughts a quartet of vicious looking starfighters were vectoring in on the nebulon frigate.

______________________________________________________________________

"I didn't know the frigate was spaceworthy. Good thing we could evacuate her." Was the comment said off-hand by one of Sc'eran Tha's aides that made the old man's stomach drop. From inside the cramped cabin of his Kom'rk escape ship. Sc'eran immediately pushed his aide's head out of the way and peered through the viewport, catching the telltale glow of a large engine block leaving the shipyard. "Pilot!" He all but screamed. "Disable the frigate immediately!" The pilot quickly complied and the Kom'rk fighter and it's escort of 3 TransGalMeg Ixiyen heavy starfighters followed suit. Sc'eran had gotten up and had perched himself near the pilot's shoulder, he was peering forward at the approaching frigate and yelling orders in the pilot's ear. It was a race but not a particuarly tight one. The Kom'rk and Ixiyen starfighters were slow compared to A-wings and TIE interceptors but they packed a bigger punch and as they entered within firing range their laser canons opened up on the engine cluster with spectacular effect. the frigate's shield's had not bee raised and an engine caught the brunt of enemy fire, melting through its insulating couplings and causing the engine's own energy to melt it into plasma. As Sc'eran's starfighters shot over the ship and turned to make another pass, the continued onward, its resolve apparently unshaken.

"Be careful. I want the frigate disabled not destroyed." Chastised Sc'eran as his eyes cleared the sun-burst remains of the exploding engine.

"Yes sir." The pilot said slowly. "But it looks like they're making a run for hyperspace."
The starfighter and it's escort in formation flew across the length of the frigate, their guns burning off chunks of armor and outboard sensors and systems that weren't heavily armored. The squadron began another lazy loop.
Sc'eran laughed bitterly. "Those idiot Ryn never completed repairs to the guidance system. Good riddance that those filthy creatures will die on the station."
As the Kom'rk targetting computer locked in another attack run, the frigate disappeared in a flicker of psuedo-motion.
"Where did it go?!" Demanded Sc'eran. Nobody within his ship dared to say aloud that Sc'eran had been wrong, that the frigate had jumped to hyperspace.

Opoku System, Planet Gamorr, Jugsmuk Station


Ga'ab's Lambda class shuttle had landed at Jugsmuk station's slowly improving docking bays. While his guard's rushed down the Lambda's boarding ramp with all the enthusiasm of Gamorreans who were happy to be home in their swamps, Ga'ab took a more leisurely pace. He wanted to inspect the work that had been started In the weeks he had been off-world. Crews of Ugnaughts and other immigrant species, brought in to perform construction and technical work on Gamorr's only spaceport and non-indigenous settlement, were everywhere. Before his departure, Matron Kufbrug had allowed Ga'ab to convince her of the necessity of improving the town to draw more offworlders. By turning Jugsmuk station into a smuggler's den, a safe haven for the fringe elements of the galaxy they would then charge exorbitant docking fees and bleed the planet's visitors with marked-up amenities and a soon-to-be-built casino. The planet's location on the edge of Hutt space made it the perfect stopping off point for those about to try their fortunes with the Hutts or those who were fleeing their wrath.

Having been satisfied with what he had seen, Ga'ab dutifully made his way to Matron Kufbrug's fortress which loomed over the rest of Jugsmuk Station. He was allowed entry without harrassment and inside he was greeted warmly by the Gamorreans who took notice of him. It was winter, the mating and child rearing season and unfortunately for Ga'ab the fortress was more pungent than usual. He made his way to the Matron's throne room with as much speed as respect would allow. As he entered the semi-circular throne room and approached the throne the background chatter quieted. "Warlord. Welcome home." Grunted Matron Kufbrug in the language of the Gamorreans.

Ga'ab bowed respectfully. "Matron, I would have arrived earlier but I was inspecting the construction. I expected the contractors to be dragging their feet but they seem quite motivated."

Kufbrug who was lounging upon her throne, attended by the most attractive male Gamorrean boars, gave a bellow of laughter which was echoed by the other Gamorreans in the room. "They think we are dumb. They thought they could trick us. We took their ships and removed a few heads and now they do not try to trick us."

Ga'ab would have raised an eyebrow with surprise if the upper half of his face were not covered with cybernetics. "Every decision proves your wisdom, Matron."

She snorted in agreement before continuing. "Building is expensive. Starfighters are expensive. Pilots are expensive. More expensive than you said. You are to take a winter war party and pillage."

"Of course Matron. We shall depart in a few days after I have selected my war-band." This wasn't necessarily what Ga'ab had wanted to do. HBut he had been hurting for credits and the renovations to Jugsmuk station and the building of its planetary defense force was an absolute necessity to Ga'ab's long term plans.

___________________________________________________________________________________


That evening Ga'ab retired to his room at the Marsh Haunt. As he entered the dimly lit dwelling he was grateful that soon enough Jugsmuk Station's as of yet unnamed Casino would soon be built and with it, his penthouse suite. He sunk into a too lumpy couch and cleared his mind. His constant companion was there waiting for him in the silence.

"Things will begin to get messy soon if you do not extricate yourself from this web of associates." Cautioned Riel, the AI unit that was buried in Ga'ab's brain. "Your face and name will become known before too long."

Ga'ab agreed quietly, but he was more interested in levitating a bottle of brandy and a glass into his outstretched hands. His fingers closed around each vessel in turn and he poured himself a drink. "Well I say we compartmentalize."

"Elaborate."

Swirling his drink, Ga'ab spoke his thoughts, he always found that easier than talking in complete silence to Riel. "Rygal, Kufbrug, Meera, and Bixby know me as Ga'ab of Jugsmuk, a white haired young man with visible cybernetic augmentations, wielding an Arg'gorok and armored in Gamorrean plate, there's not much to be done about that." 

"You were foolish to be caught by Meera, you should have killed her in the office." Chastised Riel. Ga'ab was taken aback by the AI's cold assessment.

"Was the progenitor known for murdering intelligent women?" Responded Ga'ab with a bit of challenge.

"I have no record of that specifically."

"Moving forward, I'm going to need a disguise an a fake identity. Here in the lawless fringes of the Outer Rim I will be Ga'ab of Jugsmuk, warlord and raider, and proprietor of Jugsmuk Station. When I operate out of our base on Contruum 6 I will be Baga Monslo, information broker. I've found a picture of a gunslinger from antiquity who I can emulate in my role as Baga. We'll have to find an armor-smith and a tailor to create the custom pieces, and a weapon-smith for new personal weapons. As much as I hate to say it, the armor design's going to have to be mandalorian, and I might as well buy my weapons from them as well."

"We have had a complicated history with the Mandalorians."

Ga'ab finished the last sip in his glass before pouring himself another. "Their occupation on Contruum seemed benign enough. Anyway, Kaine's been dead for decades, we already checked the holonet. Look, the disguise'll work. It's rooted in ancient history, obscures my face without drawing attention to cybernetics, covers my hair, and the armor will change my profile, and I'll feel a lot better with Mandalorian caliber weapons and armor."

"We can only hope Rygal and his people have escaped..."

"Agreed" Said Ga'ab solemnly.

Opoku Sector, Planet Gamorr

The trip from Tammuz-An to Gamorr had taken a bit longer than Ga'ab would have liked. Dragging a heavily laden fuel transport through hyperspace with only boarding clamps had been a dangerous undertaking to begin with and Ga'ab had only travelled at a modest 3.0 hyperspace rating. Finally, however, the beeping of the navicomputer indicated that the trip was nearing its end. Ga'ab stretched in his pilot's chair and reached out to the control board to silence the alarm. He placed a firm hand on the shuttle's control stick while he decelerated. The starlines soon formed into white beads of light in the darkness of realspace. Ga'ab's escort of Z-95 Headhunters had exited hyperspace several minutes before his slower shuttle but they quickly assumed escort position around the Lambda Shuttle as Ga'ab angled the ship towards the green-brown world that was looming in the forward viewport. 

The most difficult part of the mission would be the landing. The Tammuz-An fuel transport had had their engines destroyed in the fight so it was up to Ga'ab to guide the interconnected ships through planetary entry without breaking up and killing everyone aboard both ships. Ga'ab activated the comm system, "Tusk squadron, this is Tusk lead. Break off your escort and head back to Jugsmuk station, we'll be coming in behind you."

"Want us to start a bucket-chain?" Responded Tusk3 jokingly, implying that Ga'ab's risky upper atmosphere maneuvers would end in a crash.

"Not necessary, but if you'd like to stand in the docking bay and guide us in with an emergency flare, I promise not to blast you with the repulsofield as I come in to land." Replied Ga'ab, eliciting laughter from the other merc pilots.

As the Z-95 Headhunters broke formation and began their uninhibited return to the planet Ga'ab was left to focus on his own landing. Gripping the stick with one hand Ga'ab eased both ships downwards towards the planet. While the clamps had held firm in space, Ga'ab knew that the introduction of air and its subsequent friction could rip both ships apart. Ga'ab grimaced as the ships began to shudder as it passed through the magnetosphere. Ga'ab increased the area of the shuttle's shields, hoping to cover the fuel transport with a protective blanket of energy that would help dissipate the heat of an overladen re-entry. As the entered the planet proper, once weightless ships were now heavy weights, that threatened to drag Ga'ab too an all too quick reunion with the Gamorr soil. Perspiration was beading on Ga'ab's forhead as he gripped the stick with one hand, trying to keep both ships steady, while his other hand flew across the control board to balance other ship systems.

A fiery red glow had become to creep up the shuttle's forward viewscreen. Ga'ab could sense the threat of it through the force and saw the flickers in the energy shield as it struggled to absorb the heat of planetary re-entry. A quick glance at the shield indicator showed a worrying trend as each second sheered away more protective energy. A strong, upper-atmosphere wind caught the side of the Lambda shuttle's large, sail-like wings and both ships were wrenched hard to the left. Ga'ab was thrown in his pilot's chair as the ship's course was altered and he grimaced as he heard the screech of metal.

"Ga'ab! Our ship is melting!" Snorted the voice of Gamorrean, Mard'rog.

Ga'ab didn't bother with a reply, in fact, he barely heard the fear in the Gamorrean war-leader's voice. Ga'ab was surrendering himself to the force, trying to open himself up to the energy of the planet below. He saw himself not as Ga'ab but as the ship itself. From his view through the force, he looked down at the interconnected shuttle and transports and reached out with both hands. He gripped them both between his palms and like a massive avatar of force energy, he lowered the ships through the atmosphere. Of course, this was all within Ga'ab's mind's eye. In reality he was sitting in the pilot's chair his hands gripped on, the force flowing through him and guiding him through a series of micro-corrections and cut-backs that reduced both ship's speeds as they approached Jugsmuk station.

The Lambda Shuttle and Tammuz-An fuel transport were locked together, lower hull to lower hull, with the Tammuz-An transport being upright according to the orientation of the planet. This was necessary since the transport's engines were destoyed, they'd be hard pressed to enter the planet's atmosphere upside down and reorient themselves on reulsorlifts alone. Therefore, it was Ga'ab's lambda shuttle that was now upside down relative to the quickly passing landscape of swamps and grasslands. Ga'ab made a large loop around Jugsmuk station to bleed more speed, and then he drove both ships higher in the skies above the city. "This is Ga'ab, I'm taking us up. Prepare to disengage the clamps."
At around 40,000 feet Ga'ab triggered the clamp release and with a thud both ships became seperated. Ga'ab immediately kicked his engines to full power and dove towards the town below in order to sperate and give the less maneuverable fuel transport freedom to make its descent.
Ga'ab grunted with the effort as he pulled his shuttle out of its dive with only dozens of meters to spare. Free from the transport and now cruising comfortably over the town of Jugsmuk Station, Ga'ab released a sigh of relief. The rest of the landing was mundane in comparison...

Aderon, who was at this point running down the hall cursing his luck that he was on the one Separatist transport that would be ambushed by an enemy power, barely managed to stop before he crashed into the massive, demonic form of The Fallen. A bit startled, he took a few steps back before leveling his lightsaber at the near-human. His light blue lightsaber blade humming with his newfound power. Assuming a Makashi En Garde stance, Aderon prepared to drop his cloak in order to duel this man and his female companion.

"And you would be?"

The Fallen. He had never heard of whoever this was before, which greatly surprised him, since any faction that could command a vessel the size of the one attacking them would have to be of considerable size. Still staying in his en garde, ready in case of an attack, he looked to his left and right, ensuring that there would be no droids nearby to hinder his movement.

"Where to begin... you see, these droids used to belong to me. But now they don't. Suffice to say I was betrayed."

Whoever this "Fallen" was, he was clearly well versed in the arts of the Force. Specifically, the Dark Side of the Force. However, even though Aderon's lightsaber may have been blue, both he, the demon, and the archer would have been able to sense the taint of darkness that had corrupted him. At one point, Aderon would have been a crusader for the light, but he had fallen increasingly off the path of the light. Similarly to his distant relative, Darth Tyrannus.

He could hear the distant clanking of battle droid feet as he stood poised against the two of them. Still, he did not budge, knowing full well that one wrong move would end with an arrow in his head and a lightsaber through his chest.

"And who am I? The Count of Serenno. Well, formerly, anyway. Now I suppose I am just The Count. And what I seek at the moment is a way off this ship."

Lowering his lightsaber, he turned around as he heard the arrival of several new droids. They immediately recognized their former prisoner and the hostile entities, opening fire on the three of them. Several lightsaber strikes and bow impacts later, the small group of droids lay in pieces on the floor, sparking and hissing. Aderon turned towards his newfound 'rescuers'.

"Well, it's not like I have a choice. Lead the way."

The greenlit, dark, and industrial corridors of the ship rocked violently as fighters swarmed over the surface of the craft. Several sections of the ship were already sealed off, due to extensive damage tearing into the superstructure and exposing rooms, corridors, and gun emplacements to open space. Aderon knew it was likely that the ship would not be much time before the ship became unable to support its own weight, and began tearing itself apart. He intended to be off the vessel before that happened.

Just then, a massive explosion tore through the ship from one of the gun emplacements. Nuclear fire enveloped a large portion of the ship, throwing it off balance. The rear of the vessel near-instantly imploded, with doors rushing to seal it off from the rest of the craft only torn off their destroyed rails into space. All throughout the ship, a lockdown had been engaged, with the power flickering off for the last time. Aderon was rocked heavily by the blast, and just barely managed to maintain his balance, immediately recognizing what had happened from a great deal of time spent aboard these types of vessels when he had been working to build a faction that used them as their primary frontline warship.

"We've got to move! NOW!"

It seemed as though one of the Phaedra's shots had caught one of the armories that held the high-density proton shells that the ship used, setting them all of simultaneously while within the ship. Fires blazed as the back of the ship began to physically tear off from the rest of the vessel, completely destroyed. The keel of the ship had been cut, and the disintegration would start soon. Explosions rattled the ship as a chain reaction of exploding munitions and fighters began tearing the vessel apart. Thankfully, they had been near the hangar when the catastrophe had started, so they wouldn't be cut off from their method of escape by the damage being wrought around them.

Not wasting any time, Aderon sheathed his lightsaber and began sprinting down the corridor that The Fallen had gestured to, assuming the two of them would be following him soon enough. Not that he would wait around and see; he was more concerned with preserving his life then with two people that he had just recently met. However, he knew that they would have the sense to heed his warning to leave before it was too late.