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Thread: An Overdue Call

  1. #1
    TheHolo.Net Poster

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    Jedi An Overdue Call

    Byl had told her again and again not to make calls. Been sighted by the Inquisitorate. They'll be looking for us. Don't use the comm. And she hadn't used the comm.

    After a week went by and nothing had happened; no stormtroopers had knocked down the door of the dank hotel they were staying in, he'd begun to relax a bit. And then the two women had shown up, looking for James. They were Rebels, not Imperials.

    They'd asked questions about Byl, had she seen him, no o' course not. Byl was on edge again of course. And James had to make a call.

    She slipped into the public comm outside of a grocery store near the hotel, and dialed up Barton Henning's commlink number. Hopefully he hadn't changed it since they'd last spoken - just before he'd taken off from Cloud City on his ship, the Knightfall.

    She should have told the Alliance agents when they'd been there, but she'd been scared and didn't want to make things worse in case the women hadn't been Rebels and instead had been undercover Imps.

    The transmission went fuzzy, and then connected.

    and if you go, furious angels will bring you back to me

  2. #2
    Barton Henning
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    Barton was hunched over the main communication desk of the Knightfall, trying to work through a glitch in the system. Lyanie, the ships mechanic, had offered to fix the problem but the Captain had decided he needed something occupy his mind and it couldn't be a bad thing to develop a better understanding of the freighter's insides.

    He wriggled a connector into place, and what had moments ago been muffled static suddenly became clear. Glancing up sharply from beneath the control panel, Barton was pleasantly surprised to see that the light which signified an incoming communication was blinking. He punched a button to accept the call.

    “Knightfall.”

  3. #3
    TheHolo.Net Poster

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    She felt instantly paranoid, like a thousand eyes were staring at her through the semi-translucent plastoid walls of the public comm booth. But this was Copperline, and the only thing people watched were their animals, their crops, and the skies.

    "Barton? Its James. Prent. Ah, remember me?"

  4. #4
    Barton Henning
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    “James?”

    The top of Henning's head cracked against the ships dashboard. He sucked in a breath and fought the urge to curse as he pulled himself up into the pilot's chair and poised over the comm's receiver. James Prent was coming through loud and clear enough that Barton was almost sure he could hear some ill-ease in her voice.

    “Of course. Long time.. no speak. How's the galaxy treating you?”

  5. #5
    TheHolo.Net Poster

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    "Ah, well, can't complain. Well, I can.. but what... I mean t' say..." James halted, took a deep breath and continued almost desperately, "When our mutual 'friends' left Bespin... it was kinda inna rush. An' I helped Serena sell her ship, y'know, that cause all th' trouble? An' the Imps got her. I jus' barely got away. I can't talk much longer, 'cause I'm not sure I'm not bein' followed still.

    "I know it was like a month ago, but I jus' haven't had a chance t' talk to anyone 'til now, an' yours is the only number I know, connected t' our... 'friends.'" James looked around, over her shoulder, and willed herself to breathe. Was that farmer looking at her, there across the street?

    She heard a bit of static on the line again, and whispered, "Barton? Y' still there?"

  6. #6
    Barton Henning
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    The Empire had blown an ill-wind through all of Cloud City. The military presence had forced a number of Jedi out of the safe houses that the city provided, but in doing so they had become unified aboard the Wheel. Yet, they had not all made it out together. Only a matter of days ago he had been talking with the old preacher Solomon, wondering what had become of Serena Laran – and musing on the mystical, coincidental nature of the Force...

    Blinking, Barton shook himself out of that thought. “I'm here. Do you need anything? A ride somewhere? It would probably be helpful.. to talk in person.”

  7. #7
    TheHolo.Net Poster

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    She tried to think, but she couldn't make any sort of decision like that without talking to Byl. "I - maybe. I gotta go. I'll be in contact though. Thanks. I mean, I jus' wanted to know that someone else knew what happened t' her. She was really sweet t' me. You'll let the right people know, right?

    "Bye, Barton." James disconnected the call and slid out of the booth, trying to walk as nonchalantly as she could back to the hotel room.

  8. #8
    Barton Henning
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    “B-”

    The tranmission light winked out and Barton stood for a moment staring at the control panel in from of him. In the silence, he began to process what he had just been told. Serena Laran had been taken by the Galactic Empire, over a month ago. His jaw tightened as he thought about what might have happened to her, in that time. He dropped tools onto the grating of the cock-pit floor and made for the Knightfall's boarding plank.

    The others had to be told. Even if there was nothing to be done about it, they had to be told.

    Without comm frequencies for all of the Jedi aboard the Wheell, Barton took a more direction approach. He had heard that there was a training class being held in one of the Whaladon's cargo bays. Long strides carried him through the ship's corridors to his destination.

  9. #9
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    Abarai Loki's Avatar
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    "You."

    The voice cut cleanly through the din, a relentless click-clack of thick wooden sparring swords, and the students immediately ceased all activity to turn first to their tutor and then to the young lady at whom he was pointing. She froze, her flushed face quickly drained of all colour.

    "Drop that stick and come here."

    In the pressing silence she approached, wincing apologetically at the sudden clatter of her sword, and kept her eyes fixed forward to avoid the stares of fellow classmates. Once she reached the front, Loki unclipped a training saber which hung at his right hip and tossed it to the padawan. The class gasped.

    He took his own lightsaber to hand, watching the student rush through a barrage of mixed feelings before finally steeling her nerves and raising her gaze to meet him. No words, he raised his weapon in readiness and she answered. Blades of blue sprung forth and the duel began.

    The clash of lightsabers drew the attention of another class from across the expansive room. It was a familiar exciting scene, student and teacher locked in combat, rolling through seamless sequences of slashes, parries, thrusts, dodges, and blocks, each engagement always introducing something new. The young apprentice, Taia, responded rapidly to Loki's advances, blades intercepting with a sizzle and crack, and pressed forward with her own confident attacks. Then suddenly she leapt, clearing the boy's humble height and twisted in the air for a decapitating blow. Weapons hissed in angry greeting and she fell to one knee, enough time for her opponent to land his foot squarely against her chest, forcing her to the floor. She moved to stand.

    "It's finished," Loki declared simply, much to her bewilderment, "You are incapacitated."

    Taia opened her mouth to object when the smell of burnt cloth arrested her attention. Thin trails of smoke snaked from her robes where four black holes exposed both her knees and shoulders. A growl of frustration was all she could manage.

    "Stand, padawan," said the boy, returning his lightsaber to its rightful place, "You were blinded with confidence and aggression, and failing to read your opponent correctly, made a critical mistake. There are no rewards for recklessness, a Jedi must demonstrate patience and control, yet you possess neither."

    Visibily, Taia deflated, shrinking under the weight of his judgement. Arms folded, he continued.

    "What you do possess is skill. Determination and skill. You have a sound grasp of all basic moves, your posture is strong, your footing confident, and you're already developing a keen sense of style: Ataru, I believe. And it is on these merits alone I deem you worthy of intermediate training."

    Her face, once a picture of stoic disappointment, now beamed with delight. The class errupted into cheer and applause but Loki ensured that display was made short with a single look. He returned his attention to Taia:

    "The lesson begins in an hour, I suggest you use the time to wash and mend your clothes."

    They bowed and Taia departed, Loki's eyes followed her long enough to notice the medic enter the room wearing a rather urgent look on his face, he ordered his class to continue and the clap of wooden swords resumed. He broke away and made a beeline for...

    "Henning, isn't it?"

  10. #10
    Barton Henning
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    It was difficult to forget a boy like Abarai Loki. In the aftermath of the Imperial assault upon the Wheel, Loki had made certain his voice was heard as the Jedi debated their future.

    “Yes. I've just had some news from a friend of the Alliance.”

    He looked beyond Loki, to the young Jedi running through their training drills and wondered whether this was the right place to pass on James' message. As his gaze shifted back to the stoic Jedi Knight once more, Barton thought Loki couldn't have been a year or two older than he himself had been, when the Purge had brought an abrupt end to his training.

    “It's about Serena.. one of the Jedi we lost on the way out of Cloud City.”

  11. #11
    TheHolo.Net Poster

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    Reading his hesitance correctly, Loki called to a zabrack man engaged in a velocity excercise and beckoned him from his training. He gestured to his class behind them.

    "Padawan Degall, I trust you remember your basic training. Oversee the lesson."

    An obedient bow and the padawan departed, leaving both Barton and Loki at liberty to leave the cargo bay. Once clear of the door, Loki asked:

    "She has made contact?"

  12. #12
    Barton Henning
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    “Not exactly. I spoke to James Prent. She's a relative of one of the Rogue Squadron pilots.. though I first met her a while ago when the Alliance was using Cloud City as a safe-house.”

    It seemed like such a long time ago. In the clinic he had operated, Barton had routinely treated sympathisers of both the Empire and the Rebellion, but it was the latter – contrary to the Baron Administrator's statements to the contrary – that had the largest presence on the floating city. Even today, Barton heard word of occasional reports coming in from Bespin.

    “James said that she helped Serena sell her ship, the Serenity, since it was drawing some heat onto the Cloud City Jedi - but when the rest of us got out, the Imps managed to get ahold of Serena.”

  13. #13
    TheHolo.Net Poster

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    It took an effort not to grumble about having another Prent inside the Rebellion. Instead, Loki chewed over Barton's tale for a moment. While he had been in no way affiliated with any of the Jedi prior to their arrival at the Wheel, the boy made a point of investigating their backgrounds as thoroughly as possible using both official records and word-of-mouth statements, and consequently, of the events on Bespin he was not ignorant. This Serena issue, however, was a new development.

    "And is there any evidence to support the claims of this Prent woman?"

  14. #14
    Barton Henning
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    “Only her word.”

    For Barton, that was enough – but whether Loki could put his faith a woman he'd never met was another matter. He shook his head, thinking back on the times he had met Serena Laran. She was a vague, blurry figure in his mind when he thought back to the days of the Clone Wars. All he could picture was details: the red hair, the angular yet noble profile.

    “Serena was a woman of.. vision, from what I know of her. She was there before the Republic fell, and I don't think she wanted anything more to see it rise again. I just.. can't see her having run off on her own, so to me at least.. this is the only explanation that makes a lick of sense.”

  15. #15
    TheHolo.Net Poster

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    "We have made the Wheel exceptionally difficult to locate, even for another Jedi, despite ramblings of... fate."

    He uttered the last word with distaste; the idea that he was not in control of his own future didn't sit well with Loki and it puzzled him why beings as able and wise as the Jedi often lent themselves to notions of predetermination. On the other hand, their numbers were growing and it seemed fortune, if there was such a thing, favoured their cause. And if Serena was indeed such an idealist...

    "However, even if Serena Laran, a Jedi Knight, has indeed been captured then it is also highly possible your James Prent has fallen into the Empire's hands."

    Glancing up at Barton inquisitively, he added: "Who else have you informed of this?"

  16. #16
    Barton Henning
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    The boy was right. That so many of them had made it to the Wheel was nothing short of unbelievable. Henning wasn't a romantic, by any stretch, but he wanted to believe that both women had escaped persecution. At least, he hoped they had. Neither of them deserved to suffer or struggle any more than they already had done.

    “Not a soul. I came right here from my ship, where the message come through.”

  17. #17
    TheHolo.Net Poster

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    "Good."

    After a moment of silence Loki turned suddenly on Barton, bringing them both to a halt. The space between them had shrunk considerably and he looked up, measuring the man before him.

    "Captain Henning, it is imperative that you refrain from divulging this information to another person. I shall bring this matter before the Jedi and we will decide what to do with it. Is this understood?"

  18. #18
    Barton Henning
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    Henning nodded. He was no stranger to keeping secrets.

    “Yes. That's why I came here first. Do you need me.. to come along with you?”

  19. #19
    TheHolo.Net Poster

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    "This is a Jedi affair."

    The words rolled out immediatly and Loki had anticipated using them.

    "Do you want to come along?"

  20. #20
    Barton Henning
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    The boy didn't know what he was – what he'd been, rather. That didn't matter as much as getting James' message passed on.

    “I could speak on James Prent's behalf, if needs be. Provide a little background to her part in all this, and the Cloud City affair.”

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