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| - Three days later, the return holocomm call from Tendrando Arms came. Laera, who was just dressing after having taken a long, exquisite bath in heated mineral water, emerged from the luxurious refresher at Silas's beckoning. A cursory glance around their quarters with her Force-awareness indicated that Asyr and Ooryl had taken off on another one of their sojourns through Diamond Level, which had the side effect of giving the two some privacy. Laera, however, had wanted them to be there, as she considered them to be full partners in this enterprise and valued their input. Ari was alone in her own room, meditating over the components that she had purchased upon their arrival aboard the Errant Venture. The image on the device was that of two middle-aged Humans, a dark-skinned man whose short, close-cropped hair was turning silver and a tall, long-haired woman whose long blonde hair bore just a hint of gray. Both were dressed for success, with the male wearing a sort of hip cloak with what he thought to be a roguish air over his shimmersilk business suit. “Greetings, friends,” he said in a smooth, cheerful voice. “I am Lando Calrissian, and this is my wife, Tendra.” “Charmed,” the woman added, offering a regal sort of nod. “We understand that you are looking to open an account with us.” “Some old friends recommended you,” Laera replied. “I am Laera Reyolé, and my companion is Silas Dan'kre.” “Any relation to Liska Dan'kre?” Lando asked, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I get that a lot,” Silas deadpanned, shaking his head fractionally. Lando waved it away. “Forget I mentioned it, then. Based on what you forwarded to us, we'll just go on the assumption that these old friends aren't out for our blood. Your comm address also speaks well of our prospects for a bright future.” “Very well indeed,” Laera said coyly. “Though I have to ask, is this line secure?” The Calrissians shared a furtive look that Laera and Silas only barely caught. “Our end is strictly enforced,” Lando said, some of the cheeriness leaving his voice. “And so is yours. Long experience has made sure of that.” Laera inclined her head. “So I see. My apologies.” “Think nothing of it,” Tendra assured them. “We are given to understand that there are some rather unusual circumstances regarding you two, though we are also assured that your credit is good.” Laera and Silas both nodded a mute acknowledgment. After having decided on their course of action at their initial meeting, Booster had sent an encrypted communiqué to the Tendrando Arms headquarters, containing all that the proprietors needed to know—for the moment, at least. The roundabout way of greeting had been, at least to Laera, something of a touchstone, to ensure that everyone knew that this was serious business. Since neither she nor Silas had much business experience, they had had to trust the elder Terrik's ability to be discreet. Ever since then, when they weren't planning the anti-pirate mission with Mirax, the two had been plotting out how they would make the initial order. “You have our marker, then?” Silas asked, to which Tendra nodded. “So, let's get down to it,” Lando said gamely as his image clapped its hands together. “What kinds of things did you wish to acquire?” “We're hoping to organize a sort of militia,” Laera began after taking a deep, calming breath. “I'm sure you've heard of such groups as the Antarian Rangers or Freedom's Sons? Our overall goal is to emulate their organization and purpose.” “Mercenaries with a conscious, eh?” Lando quipped. “Something like that,” Silas replied dryly. “We're hoping to do some good in the galaxy.” “For that we'll need weapons, transportation, logistical support, combat and general-purpose droids, and a base of operations,” Laera added. “I've already got a world in mind, to which any deliveries will be made once we've had a chance to go there and scout out a preferred location.” “You're forgetting one key element,” Lando said. “People.” “We haven't forgotten,” Silas corrected him. “We're just working on the preliminaries for the moment.” “If you don't mind my asking, just what kind of people were you looking to recruit?” Tendra asked, her voice gentle but slightly dubious. “Unless the two of you are secretly Jedi Masters, you're not going to get much done by yourselves.” “Indeed we won't,” Laera replied, managing to clamp down on her urge to burst out laughing. “As to who we want, ideally it would be current or former members of the military who are or have become dissatisfied with doing things the way Daala and her ilk would have preferred. We're also interested in able-bodied beings who are looking to enter such an organization; we already have a training methodology in mind and we can set up a camp either at our base or elsewhere.” “Fair enough,” Tendra said, nodding. “At some point you will have to embark on an advertising campaign in order to get the right sort of folks to join; though we are primarily an arms manufacturing concern, we can also handle such a task.” “Where were you hoping to set up shop?” Lando inquired. “A planet in Ojoster sector, Rimward of Taris,” Larea said, then offered a set of coordinates. There was a moment of silence as someone on the other end of the line punched the numbers into an unseen datapad. After a minute or so of quiet contemplation, the Calrissians' looks became somewhat concerned. “Not a good place to be setting up an operation these days,” Lando warned. “Raider activity is up in the area, and from what our sources have heard, these clowns prefer to shoot first.” Laera and Silas exchanged a look, then broke out in identical smiles. “As a matter of fact, we're looking into the problem,” she replied. “I've lived on Bad Alshir for a few years, and I know the place like the back of my hand.” “Bad Alshir?” Lando and Tendra asked in unison. “Is that a problem?” Lando cleared his throat. “Not if you're looking into the pirate problem. Fringe rumors say there's an outlaw colony there, possibly the same colony where those raiders are staging from. Dunno why you two would want to set up on such a barren world, but then I've never worked as a mercenary.” “He means the kind that shoot people for profit, not the corporate kind,” Tendra added playfully, eliciting a grimace from her husband. Laera nodded, then plugged her datapad into the comm terminal and tapped a few commands. “At least that's something for us to start on. I'm sending you a biography along with our account information, you might find it enlightening. In the meantime, we would greatly appreciate it if your people could start preparations to move a construction crew and supplies to Bad Alshir—we'll signal you when everything is clear. When they arrive, we will have secured the location for our primary base and come up with a preliminary set of plans.” “That's no small order, but you've got the credits,” Lando remarked. “And there we have it. Is there anything else my people should bring?” Silas shot Laera a look out of the corner of his eye, to which she nodded. “As a matter of fact, yes,” he said. “If you have any master weaponsmiths in your employ, bring him or her and a selection of modern infantry small arms. Also, have a master droid technician bring in a selection of software and hardware upgrades for protocol and astromech droids.” “And a vocoder suitable for installation into the latter,” Laera added. “Hmm, now those are interesting requests,” Lando said, his brow beetled in concentration. “That shouldn't be a problem; we'll add the cost to your tab.” “We didn't expect this to be cheap,” Laera acknowledged. “Cost isn't the issue here, but quality, and we've been told that your company is the best.” Lando chortled and his wife beamed. “That, my lady, is as safe a bet as there is in this galaxy.” — — — “I still say this is a helluva risk,” Booster muttered as the Challenger's boarding ramp lowered with a soft thud. “Go ahead, keep underestimating us,” Laera retorted, though she acknowledged the businessman's concern with a nod. “At any rate, part of our plan is that these raiders will do the same.” The five-being crew, ready to depart the Venture after a week of staying aboard and living in the lap of luxury, was saying its farewells to Booster and Mirax, who were joined this time by Nawara Ven. The gray-skinned Twi'lek wore a dark brown suit of fine cloth over a light beige tunic, his lekku draped artfully around his neck. Over the last few days he had spent rather a lot of time with Ooryl and Asyr, which was understandable given their history, and they had commiserated the long years in one of Diamond Level's more secluded pubs. Laera and Silas had left them to it, the latter seeing to a few modifications to their ship as the former worked with Ari to assemble and practice with her brand-new lightsaber. All in all, it had been a good week. “However this works out, we're glad you came aboard,” Mirax said. “The Skate really isn't equipped for this sort of thing and I would prefer to give Ojoster sector a wide berth for the foreseeable future.” Asyr looked from Booster to Mirax, then shrugged. “You know, something just occurred to me. Why didn't you tell Corran about what happened?” Mirax hoisted a look on her face that communicated volumes of data to Laera; she didn't need the Force to see that. “You know what he's like, Asyr,” she said irritably, posting her hands on her hips. “The only reason he became a Jedi in the first place was because I went and got myself kidnapped by a bunch of crazed pseudo-Sith cultists. If I told him I got ambushed by pirates, he would be insufferable until he had personally run them all to ground.” “Luke told me about that,” Laera said, shooting Mirax a grin. “Obliquely, of course. You have my sympathies.” “At least he's trainable,” Mirax admitted. “Does yours still leave dirty socks all over the house?” Silas, ignoring the jibe, stared at an overhead catwalk while Laera let out a small giggle. “Nah, we never had that problem. The Corps tends to hammer such bad habits out of a person, quite forcefully in fact.” “Women, eh?” Booster muttered, clopping Silas on the shoulder. “Anyway, you folks be careful out there. Ain't no shame in running if you've bitten off more than you can chew.” “Of course,” Silas replied, a roguish half-grin sliding onto his face. “It's the only reason we're still alive.” “More true than we would all care to admit,” Nawara put in. “It was a pleasure to see you again Asyr, Ooryl.” “Likewise,” the Gand replied. “Prosperity be yours.” “And may all your cases go well,” Asyr added. Everyone shook hands save for Barrlatokk, who simply nodded. Laera gave Booster's hand another hard squeeze, making the gesture a promise that they would be in touch eventually. With that, the assemblage of characters broke apart, the Terriks heading back to their own haunts with Nawara in close pursuit as Laera's crew boarded the Challenger. Once the hatch sealed, they made their way to the cockpit, Asyr taking the helm and Silas sliding into the co-pilot's seat. “So, is everyone clear on what we're up against?” Laera asked from her own seat as the two Bothans initiated the preflight sequence. During the time they had been aboard the Venture, it had since left orbit of Elshandruu Pica and had moved on to another world, this one significantly closer to their ultimate destination of Bad Alshir. This was not by design, however; rather, this particular planet was one of several that the vast ex-warship visited as part of its semi-regular route through the galaxy's less well-traveled hyperlanes. In addition, word of more raids in the vicinity of Taris had reached Booster's people, their approximate locations seeming to support the idea that the former outpost was now serving as a piratical staging area. Unfortunately, there was still no information available on the raiders' true strength, beyond the ships that the Pulsar Skate had run afoul of: a half-squadron of surplus K-wing bombers, modified with hyperdrive motivators and backed up by an IPV-1 system patrol craft. Since all aboard were keenly aware that no plan survives contact with the enemy, the initial trip out would take them to an uninhabited system several parsecs Coreward of Taris. From there, they would follow one of several courses through the sector that would mimic the path taken by the Skate and other independent freighters, hoping to lure the bandits into battle. Failing that, they would make a covert approach to Bad Alshir, this last leg having been mapped out from memory by Laera, who knew the system best. If by some happy coincidence they were able to evade detection, then Challenger would make for the coordinates of the old Marine outpost, which would hopefully be unoccupied. “Rogue Squadron has gone up against pirates before,” Ooryl pointed out. “We were one of the lead units in the hunt for the Invidious, another Star Destroyer that formed the backbone of a much larger gang of raiders.” “I think I remember reading about that,” Silas said thoughtfully. “It was all mixed up in that Jensaari business Mirax mentioned. Master Horn ended up being a key figure in the downfall of Leonia Tavira, head of the Invids.” “That's right,” Ooryl affirmed. “We ran afoul of him during a much larger skirmish in the Xa Fel system; he couldn't risk his cover, so he had to fight us. Ooryl...didn't win.” “A fact he's rather glad of, I'm sure,” Asyr teased. “We're go for launch, just waiting on the controller to acknowledge our departure.” “I am sure we will be ready,” Ari said after several moments of quiet contemplation, her voice subdued. “Though I am not so sure of what good I can be in a space battle, if it comes to that.” Asyr offered up a sympathetic shrug. “I can only imagine how new all of this is to you. I'm not sure what to say.” “You've touched all of our minds, Ari,” Laera assured the Sa'ari. “When trouble starts—not if—I would like very much for you to serve as a sort of battlemaster. Silas and I are fully-qualified gunners, so we'll take the turrets while Ooryl helps Asyr in flying the ship. With your abilities, you can serve as a conduit for our senses and sensitivities as we fight, allowing us to better anticipate each others' movements and actions. At any rate, it'll be a while before we arrive at our first destination, so we'll have ample time to practice.” “Are you sure that is wise?” Ari asked as she fidgeted with her belt, now slightly heavier on her right side with the weight of her lightsaber. Silas let out a low chuckle. “You were hoping to train someone in the Force, Laera. Too bad it's not me.” Laera punched him lightly on his shoulder as Ari's concerned look became a rueful smirk. “Freighter Challenger, you are clear to depart on outbound vector,” the voice of the controller crackled over the comm channel, cutting the conversation short. Asyr continued flicking switches as the sound and vibrations of the freighter's engines increased in volume and intensity. “Challenger acknowledges, Control. We've got two lit and in the green, commencing launch procedures.” — — — “Remember, balance is key,” Laera said as she faced Ari, their lightsabers up and ignited. The Sa'ari, working with plans that Laera had culled from Revan's holocron and with her help while still aboard the Venture, had constructed a hilt which was somewhat longer than the norm to account for her proportionally-larger hands. The blade, too, was longer, the shaft of bright green extending some one hundred fifty centimeters from emitter to tip. Ari held the weapon somewhat awkwardly, as though she had never before had cause to pick up a sword, much less one whose blade possessed no mass. The former Marine drill instructor wasn't surprised at this, and had known that the tall blue woman would need to start completely from scratch. This wasn't their first lesson, but it was the first time they had attempted to practice in such tight quarters; neither of their weapons had a training setting. Silas and Asyr hadn't been too happy about the idea, but they had agreed to give them a wide berth, as had Ooryl. Slowly, Laera moved her blade through a set of infinity loops while Ari attempted to follow. “Stretch out with your feelings,” she said earnestly, her voice modulated low and slightly hypnotic—the way Master Vrook had spoken during his instructions. “Feel the currents of energy as they oscillate through your hands, through the hilt, into the blade to its tip, and back again.” Ari did her best to comply, but the fluid grace that her kind seemed to naturally possess just didn't seem to be there. “I'm...trying...” Laera could feel the Sa'ari attempting to probe her mind, to feel out how the Jedi Knight did it rather than working it out herself. In response, Laera hardened her mental defenses and continued. “Mind to yourself, Ari,” she chided gently. “Concentrate on the blade and how you maneuver it, not me. Feel it as a part of your physical self, as an extension of your body.” Ari closed her eyes, and Laera could feel it as she attempted once more to make the connection. She wanted Ari to succeed in mastering this most basic of Jedi techniques, because Ari had first asked her about it while en route to Booster Terrik's personal Star Destroyer. The two had agreed to enter into a master and apprentice relationship, though Laera had hesitated at allowing herself to be called Master. Perhaps it was time to change that— “Why can we not simply share these lessons mentally, as you did with Bellinega?” Ari asked as she deactivated her lightsaber and held it limply at her side. Laera could feel the spark of irritation in her aura; it wasn't so much directed at the lesson or the teacher, rather at the petulance in her voice as she had asked the question. Laera shook her head sadly. “Even if that had been the purpose behind our communions, I would not presume to do so for you,” she explained calmly. “What we shared was more along the lines of information, ideas, and possibilities, which you will learn in time. And the best way for any being to learn is by doing. This is an essential element in lighter training, is it not?” Ari seemed to ponder that for a moment, then reactivated her weapon. “I...I think I understand, though I am not sure if such swordplay is for me.” “You already have an excellent grasp of the Force, Ari,” Laera assured her. “No matter what your people call it, the basic principles are identical. Once mastered, the lightsaber is more useful, both as a tool and as a defensive weapon, than any firearm or blaster could ever be.” “Defensive weapon?” Laera nodded. “Indeed. A Jedi uses their strength for knowledge and defense. Never for attack. Fear, anger, hate...they will deceive you and lead you to the blackness—to the dark side...”
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