The Eldritch Arrow

”COURSE LAID IN, PREPARING FOR HYPER-JUMP CAPTAIN” said the deckhand before again consulting his station. "All hands, this is the captain, prepare for hyper speed” the harsh voice of Desmond Quint echoed the words of the deckhand and proceeded with setting the comm.-unit aside and returning his gaze towards the ships main observation window. The ship distended into the blackness of space and with a glint it disappeared into hyperspace. Stars streaked past and collectively it appeared as the ship was travelling through a long corridor leading to the doorstep of their destination. Captain Desmond R. Quint stared out the observation window unflinching; he had long since abandoned hyperspace sickness and any of its, according to him, juvenile sister-symptoms.

“Captain?” inquired a nearby droid. “Yes, what is it?” replied Desmond with a slight tone of annoyance as the metallic voice disrupted his train of thought. “We will arrive at our destination, the planetary body collectively referred as “Thule”, in two hours, fifty-two minutes and forty-four seconds, granted that we do not run into anything unexpected” it stated precisely. “Thank you G-66, I will require no more updates on our current trajectory unless inquired for” Desmond stated, knowing exactly what to say to keep the droid silent. With another brief glance out of the observation window he turned on the heels of his boots and monitored his bridge, taking pride in the efficiency of his trained and hand-picked crew. These were no collection of rag-tag mercenaries; these were the very men and women that make the mighty fleet of the Empire so feared and powerful. Desmond R. Quint swelled with pride at the thought of what missions the Eldritch Arrow had completed while sustaining minimal damage; then again Desmond R. Quint was not known for modesty when it came to pride or even boasting.

His grey jacket buttoned tight accompanied by the common grey trousers tucked into the glossy shining black leather boots, Desmond took of his hat and eyed the emblems attached to it representing his rank as captain. He replaced his hat and began an almost parade-like march down the centre isle of the bridge. “I shall be in my quarters should my attention be required” he stated as the doors to the bridge parted with a hiss. He heavily stepped down the corridor and as his boots clanked towards the metal his mind returned to many years ago when Desmond R. Quint had not been a captain and the Eldritch Arrow was probably still in a dry-dock under construction. Those days had indeed been challenging for Desmond, competing with many other cadets for the chance to prove his worth. Evidently he had emerged victorious and somewhere along the way Desmond R. Quint had become what he had always wanted to be, a captain, a strategist and the commander of a ship referred to as his own.

As he reached his quarters and the metallic door carrying his name slid to the side he took a breath of the cool recycled air with a faint scent of leather probably originating from both the chair placed behind his desk as well as the very exquisite looking twin seat placed right under a painting depicting a meadow in the sunset on the captains home world, it wasn’t a masterpiece and could really resemble any other meadow on any other planet akin to the aforementioned home world. The leather chair made the distinct sound of air escaping as Desmond sat down in it. He was not an overly heavy man; in fact his physique wasn’t far from impressive and was but one of the reasons that his status could be seen as respectable. After clicking a few buttons, dragging his fingers over a couple of touch pads and intently eyeing the screen embedded in his desk he leaned back and let the music which was now flowing through various speakers placed in the room calm him down. Nearly three hours until the Eldritch Arrow reached its destination and Captain Quint would spend them calm, reflecting on his assignment and the intelligence provided to him regarding Thule. He opened a drawer and pulled out a small metallic container and withdrew a cigarra from it. He lit it and placed it in his mouth. After taking a deep breath he released the smoke from his lungs and for a moment, the feeling of relief, the music and the faint leathery scent of his quarters felt overwhelmingly satisfactory.

An hour passed, perhaps two, and as Desmond R. Quint leaned forward to check the time he jolted forward over his desk from the abrupt removal of the Eldritch Arrow from hyperspace. He stood up and quickly made his way to the comm-unit by the door. “This is the captain, would you care to enlighten me as to why the frag my ship just exited the Hyperspace corridor without warning? What’s going on up there XO?” He almost yelled into the detached unit, frustrated over the fact that he had just, quite literally, vaulted across the room. “We’re not quite sure yet Captain, it is as if the ship acted on its own accord, we certainly didn’t authorize or carry out such an action” crackled the voice of Captain Quints self appointed XO. The captain remained silent for a brief moment contemplating the current situation, he knew the XO well and the chance of him lying was as small as an escape-pod jettisoning out on its own. “Stay the course, I shall be with you momentarily” concluded Desmond and cut the link, replacing the unit onto the wall.

The twin doors of the bridge hissed open and as the Captain came through them a droid scurried up behind him holding out a data-slate. Desmond grabbed it without a word and monitored the file displayed. “This is unacceptable! Simply unacceptable!” he exclaimed and empathically waved the data slate above his head. “You’re all professionals in your field and you should have every angle mapped and under control” he continued his venting with. “Captain?” the deckhand at the radar station inquired. “Don’t interrupt me deckhand! You all know I expect the very best of you. The Eldritch Arrow’s record is untarnished by failure and I aim to keep it-“ Desmond was interrupted before he could finish the sentence. “Captain!” cried the deckhand once again. “A star better be going supernova deckhand or you’ll be eating your next meal in the brig for disobedience” Desmond said as he headed over to the man’s station. “Multiple contacts sir, I read three ships heading towards us” stated the man and suddenly Captain Desmond R. Quint realized what this was. It wasn’t some screw-up by the crew it was an outside source, maybe even sabotage. The captain sprinted towards his command station and brought to bear his comm-unit. “All hands this is the captain, battle stations, I repeat, battle stations.” He barked into it and the bridge, which had so recently been calm, orderly and unmoving, erupted into the running and shouting of the deckhands. “Plot a firing solution for the nearest ship” commanded the captain and searched the observation window for any sign of the potential threat. The entire ship shook as the first shots hit and few of the deckhands lost their footing falling flat onto the metal floor. A sleek ship zoomed past the left side of the Eldritch Arrow and only for a split-second could Desmond keep his eyes upon its rather intriguing form before his attention was ripped away from the observation window. “Firing solution plotted captain!” yelled a nearby deckhand and returned his glare to the fat gunmetal colored console he stood by. “What are you waiting for then?!” cried the captain. “I don’t care if these are republic troops or aliens from another blimmin’ dimension! FIRE!” the conclusion of the captains sentence was all the bridge needed. What had been chaos melded into a professional and chilly atmosphere as the red shots which were the Eldritch Arrow’s weapons fire streaked past the observation deck. The first rounds of shots were absorbed by the blue deflector barrier wrapped around the ship but as it performed a maneuver the second volley blasted clear of the shield. An explosion blossomed up as the larger ship which had eagerly struck the first blows main engines were obliterated, taking half the ship with it in lethal white flames.


“I read several smaller contacts heading towards us at maximum speed. Sir, they show no intention of stopping. We must assume they are boarding crafts” called a crewman. Desmond moved his hands over the screen adjacent to the command station and brought up the radar-screen. Several small red dots were travelling above average speed towards the shape of the Eldritch Arrow. “Engines halt! Full reverse and ninety degrees turn! Full engine power after turn!” he called and jerked slightly forward as the ship’s propulsion system came to a halt. The Eldritch Arrow turned swiftly and what would’ve been a successful boarding operation was cut short as the majority of boarding pods were incinerated in the fires of the mighty engines of the Oppressor class battleship. Those that weren’t immediately destroyed passed the ship and drifted off into space.


“The two remaining ships are increasing speed; they’re coming up on both sides. Suggest evasive maneuver” the deckhand by the radar station said. “No, remain; the first ship is coming up slightly faster. When it arrives on our side fire a series of full broadsides concentrated on its bridge and upper regions, I doubt their shields will be able to withstand a full barrage.” commanded the captain. “That will leave our other flank vulnerable sir” the deckhand stated. “I am well aware of the risk, carry out the order. The other ships weapons are not capable of breaking through our shields in such short time and even if they do our hull can withstand it. Personally I would like some answers before these raiders greet their maker. Prepare a boarding crew!” the captain concluded with a yell.

The front of the second ship was blasted into smithereens as the third broadside made contact, breaching whatever was left of the ships shields. With its command deck disabled the crew would most probably attempt an evacuation, this raid had gone incredibly poorly but what outcome could they have expected thought Desmond R. Quint. He viewed the magnificence of the explosion wither and die away into the cold blackness of space. A fully armed ship the size of the Eldritch Arrow was more than capable of fending off a few attackers. He dismissed his worries as futile and concluded that they were desperate. These were hard times indeed for some, life had been hard in the outer rim before the appearance of the Sith Empire and he felt no need to comment on what some citizens had to say about the aforementioned ability to govern. The third ship made its way up onto the side of the Eldritch Arrow and opened fire. Desmond felt insulted that such a ship would even attempt to overcome his own ship as he watched the pathetic fire be absorbed by the powerful shields enveloping the Eldritch Arrow. The third raider looked like it had been drafted from some spaceport filled with smugglers and scum; it certainly did not have enough firepower to provide a noticeable contribution to any battle. The captain brought up a portside view and saw the boarding crafts carrying the Sith emblem shoot out from bellow heading for the third craft. All ten of the boarding pods impacted on various locations on the ship and the troopers within would soon see to the swift takeover of the last enemy raiding vessel.

CALLISTA FENIX DETACHED THE SHOCK-HARNESS AND BEGAN CLAMBERING OUT OF THE BOARDING POD. The circular door was made up of several pointed metal pieces and they slid open like the maw of some hungry predator. With a leap she jumped out of the pod and scanned the area for any immediate threats. There were no crewmen present and she called to the other troopers in her pod. Four other troopers made their way out of the pod and hit the deck with a clang, their armor making them land heavily on the metal. “This is Sigma squad, no threats detected. Proceeding towards bridge” she spoke into her comm-bead and set of down the corridor which the boarding pod had crashed into. The ship shook slightly as it fired its batteries towards the Eldritch Arrow but Callista didn’t think much about it, Omicron & Beta squad would have the batteries disabled within moments. Callista held her rifle aimed towards the floor as she moved up the corridor in a rapid pace. A member of her squad shot past and turned his weapon followed by his head around the corner of the corridor, he held his hand motioning towards her that there were two individuals further up the corridor. Callista flicked her wrist and in a blurr of motion she rolled out into the corridor and discharged her rifle at the first guard who fell to the floor convulsing. The trooper who had stood by the corner had moved out of cover and placed a precise shot in the chest of the second guard who had only managed to discharge one round, hitting the ceiling above Callista, still trying to comprehend what had happened. Callista moved forward and shouldered her rifle. She pulled a sidearm and put an end to the suffering of the first guard. "Sir, we've found our way to the bridge" a trooper notified her as she replaced her sidearm in its holster. "You two, stay here, we'll clear the bridge. We're not here for prisoners, we'll let Omega deal with that" she said.

The lift opened immediately and Callista stepped inside along with the two members of her squad, the other two would be stationed by lift should any crew from the command manage to get past them but Callista was confident that the three of them could handle the bridge. The lift door closed and slid up the shaft and within seconds they had reached their destination. The absent hiss and sliding of doors created a rather stale atmosphere in the lift. Callista took the first step forward and encountered not much more than she had expected, the bridge looked standard and in parallel to the ship it was small. By the command station stood a bewildered captain oblivious to the appearance of the three troopers, he waved his arms around shouting orders to the left as well as the right. The other crewmen however were far to captivated with the arrival of the enemy troops to carry out any further orders from their erratic captain. Callista aimed her weapon towards the captain and the distinct whirring sound of the energy-cell within in powering up finally got his undivided attention. “What is this? Who are you?!” the captain yelled, furious that a weapon had been pointed towards him on his own bridge. “We were about to ask you the same questions captain” countered Callista, the last word intoned with a grotesque amount of sarcasm. “Oh you have some nerve” began the captain, “although I assume you are not here for formalities.” He continued. “That’s correct, we wish to know why you attacked, how you brought our vessel out of hyperspace and who you are” Callista said, knowing her inquires could just as well have been offered to a concrete wall. “I would much rather die than-“ the captain started but before he could end his sentence Callista fired her weapon and the energy round impacted on the captains forehead, spattering the contents of his upper head on the observation window behind him painting it red. “I’d be glad to oblige you” she said, answering the now very dead captain. The two other troopers opened fire on the small collection of crewmembers, the bridge was not fully manned, and due to the fact that no arms were present on the bridge, aside from on the corpse of the captain, the slaughter was concluded swiftly. Callista ordered her men to the consoles to search for any information as to who the crew was and where they had appeared from. “This is Sigma one, command deck secured, all personnel neutralized” she spoke into the comm-bead. “Roger that Sigma one, any information retrieved?” replied the comm-sergeant of the Eldritch Arrow. “Negative command, two and five are working on it now although ship records appear to have been purged before the attack” she said. ”It is possible information of the liking was kept any of the other two ships as well” she suggested without receiving an answer.

Suddenly an alarm started blaring and a red light above the exit began flashing angrily. “This is Gamma one calling all detachments. A self-destruction sequence has been triggered from engineering, depart ship immediately.” Spoke a voice in the comm-bead and Callista quickly waved her two troopers to the exit lift suddenly wondering if the other two had made contact with any other crew. The lift slid down the shaft and as it opened Callista burst out of its doors, her rash movements accompanied by the blaring sounds and lights was enough of an explanation for the two troopers stationed by the lift to follow her. The five swerved around the corner and for a few moments stood face to face with a gathering of crew from the enemy ship. With a few shouts the crewmen broke into a run away from the boarding-pod, realizing that they wouldn’t stand a chance in the firefight armed only with hand blasters and wrenches. The four troopers swiftly took up a formation in front of Castilla, brought their rifles to bear and cut down the crewmembers in a magnificent display of disciplined fire. The Sigma detachment made its way to the boarding pod and climbed back into it. After securing the shock-harness Callista closed the maw like door of the pod and fired up the detaching sequence which would allow the boarding pod to depart from the ship to be picked back up by the Eldritch Arrow. As the pod dislodged itself from the vessel the hole it had created began leaking air, a body flew through the hole and smacked into the pod before drifting off into the cold black vacuum. Callista saw eight other pods releasing themselves, one after one, activating their frontal engines to thrust themselves towards the Eldritch Arrow. The tenth pod containing the Gamma detachment broke free from the hull of the ship but was to late do escape unscathed. In a stunning display of colors and released energy the rear of the raider ship exploded first leading to chain explosion of its energy reactors and weapons storage. Within seconds the entire ship was destroyed leaving only small pieces of hull fragments to testify that it had ever been there. The pod of Gamma squad was blasted away by the energy venting into space and if it hadn’t been for the tractor beam of the Eldritch Arrow it would most probably have been, literally, lost in space.

“RAIDERS AND SMUGGLERS I CAN TAKE BUT WHEN THEY DON’T LEAVE A CALLING CARD, THAT’S WHAT FRUSTRATES ME!” exclaimed Desmond R. Quint and vented his emotion by hammering his fist down onto his console almost cracking the glass of its screen. “With all due respect sir, minimal damage was caused to the ship, only two of the boarding troopers were eliminated, three wounded and we destroyed three ships within half of an hour, I do not see how the current situation calls for any amount of rage” G-66, the droid, smartly added. The droids comment only served to frustrate the captain further although he managed to stomach his rage, G-66 was right; there was no need to be angry. This battle had been yet another splendid example of the power and efficiency of his Arrow and they had even managed to grab two prisoners from the last ship. “XO, begin debriefing of the boarding-troopers and report back to me, put the prisoners in the brig. I shall confer with the science-officer as to why the Arrow came out of hyperspace prematurely. I know of few devices capable of bringing a ship the size of ours out and I seriously doubt that such a device would be present on one of the ships we just destroyed” just as Desmond finished the sentence the bridge doors parted revealing a man brandishing a white coat and a concrete expression of annoyance. “Speaking of the devil, did you enjoy the show doctor?” Desmond asked with renewed vigor, not really taking any notice to the obvious frustration of the science-officer. “Not only was my studies rudely interrupted and several of my laboratory projects smashed when the ship exited the hyperspace corridor but during whatever transpired after, the guards you so willingly stationed outside my quarters refused my leaving. I want a damn good explanation captain. Why did we stop to pursue a few raiders? Did you feel the bloodlust rise in you?” the doctor openly mocked the captain. “Doctor, I did not order the stop, we were brought out of hyperspace unexpectedly and we were attacked, we did not pick a fight” Desmond slowly explained, utilizing more patience than he really had in store for the doctor. The doctor displayed what would’ve been described as a rather abrupt mood swing. “Brought out of hyperspace? Captain, few ships are capable of such a feat and we managed to best them without a struggle?” he said with a ting of worry in his voice. “Doctor we are not certain exactly how we were brought out of hyperspace and I am fully aware of the odds of a collection of ships like the ones we bested being equipped with a device capable of taking the Arrow out of hyperspace which leaves only one plausible option.” The captain paused and anticipation of his conclusion grew. “Sabotage” the word seemed to stop activity on the bridge and for a moment everyone’s eyes were fixated upon the captain. “But who?” the doctor inquired, well knowing that nobody on the ship would dare raise a finger against the captain let alone commit sabotage causing the ship to fall into an ambush, not a successful ambush but an ambush nonetheless. “We do not know Doctor D’harr but we are conducting security sweeps of the engineering deck along with investigations of the hyperdrive as we speak, more clarity will be brought to this matter shortly”. Captain Desmond R. Quint turned from the doctor and stared out the observation window, a few pieces of wreckage were still aflame, lighting up the endless, cold night of space.

DAYS LIVING LIKE SOME TYPE OF CRETIN, CRAWLING THROUGH AIR DUCTS AND ACCESS SHAFTS NOT TO BE SEEN. There had been many close calls though, thought the boy as he unscrewed yet another panel to reveal the tiny space between it and the wall of the corridor, and he had indeed been lucky to avoid detection. It was here he would sleep he told himself. He did not know exactly how the battle had faired but he knew that the Eldritch Arrow had either been victorious or withdrawn from combat. A Sith ship does not run from combat easily, he knew that. But the boy did not wish to face the more obvious conclusion: the defeat of the three raiders which had, since he could remember, been his home. The clank of metal brought him out of thought and into concentration. He held the panel in mid air and listened, the clanking had stopped which could only mean one thing, whoever was walking on the other side of the wall had heard him. After a few moments of holding his breath without any movement, creating what would to an observer appear to be a stasis field around him, the boy was relieved to hear the sound resume. He silently placed the panel down leaning towards the inner wall and adjusted to a more comfortable pose. The Eldritch Arrow was a very dangerous ship; he had known that from the moment he saw it in the spaceport. The options however had been slim, all other ships had either been too small, worthless or just plainly not worth the attention of the raiders. The captains had known that the Eldritch Arrow had been a risky bet but if they would succeed the rewards could’ve been grand; who knew what a ship like the Eldritch Arrow was carrying. Aside from weapons and equipment there was always the question of classified material and information that some would pay heftily to get a whiff of, these were war times and nothing was easy. You either risked it all or lived a life of mediocrity in fear and under oppression. In this instance it would appear that the boy’s side had come out the losing one and in a life like his it wasn’t all too uncommon to experience loss, although you couldn’t blame him as he curled up and started sobbing. He was only a nine year old boy at the mercy of the universe, alone, afraid and overall insignificant against the forces which had caused the death of all he knew.

THE DOCTOR STOOD BENT OVER HIS WORK, DEEPLY IN THOUGHT OF SEVERAL MATTERS. He was both concerned with his current work but also the predicament that the Eldritch Arrow had escaped virtually unscathed from. If a device which could pull a ship out of hyperspace had indeed been in possession of the raiders then who could not purchase or lay hands on such a device? He dismissed his worries and pondered the only other explanation, sabotage. He froze in his work and suddenly realized that the contents of the tube he was holding had bubbled up and spilt half its contents over his gloved hand, luckily the substance wasn’t corrosive and the doctor swiftly placed it away into a rack and removed his glove, throwing it into the trash container behind him. He began restarting his experiment but the comm-unit on his wall buzzed and swiftly he placed down his work, eager to find out anything else about the supposed sabotage. “Speak” he eagerly answered the call with. “Hello Doctor” began the captain, feeling the need to accentuate the necessity of formalities. “Any news captain?” the doctor inquired. “It would appear that the hyperspace unit was somehow deactivated manually which caused the transit back to normal space. The security records have not yet provided any clarity as to whom deactivated the unit but there’s a lot to view through, we are having some problems with re-enabling the hyperdrive and I think we’ll need your hand with it. Report to engineering doctor” concluded the captain. “Certainly” said the doctor, eager to get out of his lab, but his reply went unheard as the captain cut the line immediately after his own sentence.

Having removed his white coat the doctor looked quite casual striding through the corridor dressed in a common black jacket and brown slacks tucked into leather boots. He passed several crewmembers; none of them acknowledging him. Out of his lab and customary white coat his status as science-officer wasn’t really accentuated so he didn’t think much of it. Engineering was swarming with people and not only the lowly knuckle-draggers tasked with taking care of the engines and primary function of the ship. There were troopers, officer and the doctor even spotted the captain engaged in a heated discussion with a couple of engineers. The doctor made his way through the chaos of the engine deck towards the captain. “You requested my presence?” he began. “Yes, I appreciate you appearing so swiftly and I believe us rather lucky to have you onboard when this happened. The hyperdrive is right over here” explained the captain, making sure not to show his annoyance with the current situation even though it was rather evident due to his current scruffy look which normally was very neat; his jacket was at the top unbuttoned, his hair hung above his face where it would usually be neatly combed backwards. Stepping over to the hyperdrive control console the doctor immediately noticed that it had been tampered with. The thick block of machinery which usually was so compact had wires hanging out of it and hatches open but he suspected that most of the damage had been conducted by the engineers as they attempted to analyze exactly what had gone wrong. “Oh you poor thing” murmured the doctor, addressing the hyperdrive. The captain eyed him suspiciously not really seeing the point in talking to a block of metal and wires. The doctor called the knuckle-draggers which had tampered with the drive over and began a strict examination of exactly what they had done. He ordered them to reattach and restore the hyperdrive console to what it was before they tampered with it before he would touch it.

The murmur had died down and most of the crew had vacated the engineering deck by the time the console had been reassembled into its former glory but the doctor had remained there nonetheless, monitoring the every move of the engineers. The captain had vacated the deck and returned to the command deck to attempt communication with the Sith stationed by Thule, what had been a by-the-book journey had quickly turned into a serious delay with the deactivation of the hyperdrive and in war times, delay could mean catastrophe. “Would there be anything else sir?” inquired the two engineers who had struggled to retrace the steps they had taken. “No, I can handle this just fine, you can leave” he said abruptly, hoping that there would be no further disturbances. He began consulting the hyperdrive, monitoring its basic function at first, they all seemed to be intact and running. So why couldn’t the ship enter hyperspace he wondered. The doctor started walking towards the fusion generator located further into the engineering deck which modified the gamma radiation collected to enable the hyper jump; he doubted that something had been done with it. The only way to prevent hyperspace through the fusion generator was to shut it down and it was clearly running.

As he returned from the reactor he noticed something rather odd, a screw lying on the floor. Granted this was the engine deck but a screw lying free of where it belonged could mean disaster. His frown of disappointment in the engine-crew turned into some small relief as he saw where the bolt had probably come from. A panel in the wall close to the hyperdrive control unit looked loose and was missing a screw. He shrugged and replaced the screw, fastening it with a screwdriver from the toolkit he had borrowed. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks, considering just why this panel had been loosened, he had seen no engineers over by this wall and frankly the gap behind one loose panel wouldn’t have been large enough for anyone of the engine crew to crawl through. He began unfastening the panel and discovered that the second screw had only been loosely fastened. As he pulled the panel out to investigate he suddenly realized something. He stuck his head through the gap and looked around, there were several panels removed in the access corridor running behind the wall. Many compartments behind the panels contained hardware and technology vital for safe hyperspace travel and as he rose his head to look towards the hyperdrive console the doctor discovered a panel lying on the floor of the access corridor, wiring hanging from the gap it had created in the superstructure of the console. Several wires of different colors were connected together and an unfamiliar device had been connected to two of them, lying on the floor. He crawled out and started removing the panels above the lower one. The access corridor was high enough for a tall man to stand in it straight but not very wide which made entry to it impossible if not all the panels were removed. He sidestepped into the corridor and nudged himself towards the back of the hyperdrive control console. After a few moments he lifted up the comm-unit attached to his belt and spoke into it. “Captain, this is the science-officer. I think I’ve just found the reason we can’t jump. Request the assistance of an engine-crew. It will take a while to fix this one.”

THE CAPTAIN CURSED LOUDLY AS THE MESSAGE FROM THE SCIENCE-OFFICER WAS CONCLUDED. The Eldritch Arrow was already late for its rendezvous with the Sith troops stationed in orbit around Thule and the hyperdrive down for serious repairs would certainly not speed them up. “Send an engine-crew to the hyperdrive immediately! If they’re sleeping wake them up, we have no time to spare!” he barked at a deckhand who retreated back to his station immediately to carry out the command. Captain Desmond R. Quint wiped his brow with his hand, buttoned up his jacket and departed for his quarters. The situation at hand would be solved as soon as the hyperdrive was active, that would take, as the doctor has stated, “a while” which was exactly how long Desmond R. Quint felt he needed to rest for. Just as he reached the door of his quarters he heard the comm buzz on the other side of it. He didn’t want to answer but against his will he did. “Captain Quint, sir?” inquired the voice on the line. “Yes” he replied tiredly. “This is security officer Fenix, I have just discovered a stowaway, request your orders?”[i] the harsh yet still feminine voice of Fenix spoke.

SHE HAD NO IDEA WHERE THE KID HAD COME FROM, she had been on route to the canteen on the lower deck of the ship for a drink and he had just materialized out of thin air like she was dreaming. He had still not said a word and his silence gave her a feeling of unease, as if he knew something he wasn’t telling. Take him to the brig officer the captains order echoed in her head as she lead the child on, feeling that a containment cell was hardly the place for a boy. He looked no older than ten but she couldn’t say he looked innocent. When she looked into his eyes felt a cold sensation crawling up her spine, they were dark red and the longer she looked into them the more unnerved she became. He didn’t seem to be expressing any feeling whatsoever. Callista suddenly realized that she was staring and that he, in his ever-silent contemplation, was staring back at her. “Come on” she urged, breaking the uncomfortable atmosphere. The child walked slowly, barefoot his feet made a sound against the metal soft on the ears and very unlike the normal clank of boots or armor. Callista wanted to look at the child and feel no worry, be calmed and believe his innocence but as soon as she met those red, deep eyes she could only fabricate visions of death, pain and a stolen childhood. After what had seemed an eternity she reached the brig and brought the child inside. The trooper stationed in the brig saluted and led them along a corridor leading in between four containment rooms. Stopping before the firs Callista flashed her ident badge over the reading field which registered and lowered the containment field making up the door of the cell. “In” she instructed the boy and he, without as much as a sigh, slowly stepped inside and sat down on the floor. There was something about this boy that was just not right, Callista could feel it in her gut but she could hardly base an investigation on a gut feeling. How had this boy made it onto the Eldritch Arrow? Her thoughts were cut short as the captain walked through the brig-door, the expression on his face conveying the fact that he was looking for something to vent his feelings on. He stepped towards the containment cell and as he passed Callista she could sense the heavy scent of sweat on the man and it became apparent to her just how much strain the captain had gone through the last day of stranding. “So this is the boy who managed what many grown men would never even dare to think of” began the captain, well aware of the containment fields ability to disrupt sound. “It beats me sir, one second I’m thinking about pazzak and the next this boy is standing in front of me” she said, stepping up behind him. Reliving the memory brought a chill sensation up her spine. “He shall receive no additional treatment because of his age, I want him processed and ready for interrogation until the repairs of the hyper drive are completed” he said and Callista could feel his eagerness to conclude this business and leave. “Don’t expect to get to much out of him sir, he hasn’t uttered a word since I found him” Callista said in a low voice. “I didn’t ask for your advice officer, I gave you an order and frankly if I could just flush him out the air-lock I would do so but the recovery of the Arrow is paramount and we’ll deal with this cretin as well as the other prisoners when we’re back en route” he replied in a harsh tone.

“PERMISSION TO SPEAK FREELY” CALLISTA FENIX SAID. Desmond was already annoyed with her rash and frankly disrespectful tone but decided to let her speak, he nodded towards her. “There’s something about the boy that just isn’t right sir. How could a boy who isn’t even ten years old sneak onto a ship like ours undetected? His eyes, there’s something wrong with them… I just don’t-“ Castilla began, describing her feelings with her hands. “That’s enough of that officer. You need some rest, I suggest you begin the processing and then proceed with going to your quarters” Desmond interrupted her. Callista nodded slowly and Desmond felt some small relief that he did not have to order her to her quarters. He didn’t know if Callistas participation in the boarding action had made her tired and perhaps even delusional but he was sure that this stowaway, this child, was just some little bastard who had snuck on to the wrong ship. Desmond glared with contempt through the containment field and the child lifted his head and glared back. For an instant Desmond felt what his security-officer had been trying to describe, a sense of dark foreboding just waiting to spring out and cause disaster. He dismissed the feeling as a nuisance and decided to contact Doctor D’harr and see how the repairs were progressing.

LOCKED INSIDE A CAGE… AT LEAST IT WAS MORE SPACIOUS THAN AN AIR DUCT or an access shaft thought the boy as he pushed himself towards the far wall. He noticed that the scruffy-looking man who had entered was staring at him. He stared back, trying to help the man in seeing what was so captivating about him. After a few moments the man on the other side of the containment field broke eye-contact and turned, walking out of the room. He couldn’t see anyone else from where he sat and he decided that should any progress to his current situation be made he would most probably be notified. He closed his eyes and let sleep grab him in its clutches.

CALLISTA REALIZED HAD SHE HADN’T SLEPT SINCE BEFORE THEY HAD GONE TO HYPERSPACE as she tiredly had begun processing the child with only the humming of the monitor to accompany her. Name, species, height, age, the words on the screen slurred up in front of her and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to complete the file before she had some rest. She didn’t know his name, his age or even if he was fully human and personally she didn’t want to go the way back to the brig, wake him up and ask him the questions. The captain himself had suggested she have some rest and she doubted rather drastically that the matter of processing the child was as crucial as repairing the hyperdrive. The world around Callista became hazy and she knew that if she would stay much longer she would fall asleep. The console remained on for a short period of time and the last thing she saw before the unwavering glare of the screen turned black was the subject number designated to the child. 36809, the numbers would in later years mean more to the child than she could ever imagine they would mean to anybody. She departed the room heading for her rack already anticipating what dreams sleep would bring her way.

THE CELL WAS SO SMALL, SO VERY SMALL. HE WANTED OUT, NOW. Deimos couldn’t remember how long it had been since they had thrown him in here but it couldn’t have been more than a day. Or had it? The battle had been over so quickly, he hadn’t believed his ears when he heard that the Rapid had been lost after doing the initial attack run. Nobody had expected firepower of that magnitude, not even from a Sith ship, then again they hadn’t raided ships of such monolithic size before. Deimos tried flexing his leg once again but as the pain shot up from his knee up his thigh and even reaching his waist he concluded that something in there must be broken or torn. He leaned back towards the wall and stared against the ceiling, returning to the battle.

The little he had seen of the Sith ship's outside had been titanic and with weapons firing he had believed it to be the last thing he would see. Deimos had been in engineering when the boarding pods hit, the ship had shook and they had believed it to be sporadic weapons fire until the captain’s voice echoed from the speakers announcing that enemy troops were on the ship. He had out of instinct found himself hurrying to the weapons locker along with many other of the engine-crew, they had all seen a fight or two before but they had never been boarded before. Somehow a rifle had found its way to Deimos’ hand and before he knew it the shots were flying. Needless to say not only the guns of the Sith ship were titanic in strength but also the discipline and efficiency of its troops. The only shelter had been the iron boxes and superstructure of the ship itself and it was swiftly chewed away under the concentrated fire of the enemy. Deimos covered his face with his hands as he remembered seeing Cynan turn and run only to be punctured by the streaks of laser, his chest rupturing, collapsing only a few feet away from cover. Deimos had done the only thing sensible, he had run, and he wasn’t proud of it. The cries of agony and anger of his crewmates had echoed in the halls as he ran but they had quickly exchanged for brashly yelled commands and the heavy footfalls of the pursuing troops. He had swerved around a corner and hid, rifle loaded and as the troops came around he had…what had he done? He could barely remember the encounter. It was as if he had been taken over by some primal rage. The butt of the rifle had found its way to the head of the trooper, knocking him back, and as he had tried to regain his bearings it had been discharged in his face, ending his life swiftly, not even strong armor like such could repel a rifle shot at point blank range. The rifle had flicked on to full-auto fire and the entire energy cell had been dispended towards what he had thought be the oncoming troops. Then… then everything had turned black and the only thing Deimos remembered was a horrific shake and then he had woken up in the cell. He knew he had killed at least one of them and if they had any sense they would probably want blood for blood. Deimos drifted off to an uncertain and haunted sleep, his bloody and pummeled friends calling out for him to join them.


Deimos awoke with a gasp, sweaty and lying in a small pool of his own saliva. He lifted himself from his face but collapsed right back down, white hot pain flaring in his right leg as he remembered that it was damaged. Carefully rolling over he managed to place himself back towards a wall but not with any little pain. He turned his face towards the containment field that made him a prisoner and was surprised to see something in the cell opposed to his. Sitting in the same position as he was a child, he looked no older than ten and was probably asleep. As he looked closer the child raised his head and opened his eyes, staring back at him and he immediately recognized him for who he was. Both amazed and slightly worried Deimos looked on. The boy was alive, granted, but he was in a cell, he had probably been captured. But, he was alive. If the Sith had caught him red-handed he would probably have been executed on the spot but yet there he was, staring back at Deimos with those red eyes. Maybe… thought Deimos. Maybe the Sith hadn’t found out his reason for being on the ship. Yes, that was probably it. The clever bastard had probably let himself get caught as a stowaway, oh it was genius! Maybe he would even get away intact and undamaged. Suddenly Deimos thought of his own fate. He had killed one of the boarding troops and he had been captured. He shivered at the thought of what would most likely be done to him. It wouldn’t be a swift and painful death … oh no. Deimos diverted his eyes from the boy, not wanting to see the terror which he really felt.

CAPTAIN DESMOND R. QUINT FINGERED HIS RAZOR. After looking in the mirror one last time he let the metal touch his skin as he began his shave. He hadn’t realized just how scruffy he had looked until he had reached his quarters, his reflection in the mirror almost screaming at him to do something. Stripped to his waist Desmond relished the cool metal of the razor against his face, along with the music playing on low volume it was a much needed calm. Desmond suddenly flinched, cutting himself. He cursed loudly grabbing a towel hanging on the wall nearby and held it against his cheek. He swiftly finished up the last of his shave and dried his face. He smiled and looked in the mirror again, there was the same good-looking and well maintained Desmond R. Quint he knew. His mood swung around as the cut turned red again, a drip of blood rolling down his cheek. He held the small towel against his cheek, its soft textile surface feeling good on his newly shaven skin. After a few minutes the blood had stopped and although mildly annoying Desmond decided to not do anything about the cut, simply pretending as if it weren’t there.

Stepping out of the bathroom the cool leathery air of his quarters brought his mind away from his mistake and onto matters more pressing. He grabbed onto his grey jacket and swung it on, buttoning it up. He looked in the mirror once more and after deeming that his looks were as respectable as a captain’s looks might be he proceeded with heading out of his quarters. The door slid open and Desmond took a deep breath before crossing the threshold. Earlier when he had departed the brig and went to confer with the doctor (who had later politely asked for Desmond to not disturb) he had decided to have some rest and now that he had he was eager to find out about the state of the hyperdrive. As he walked the long way towards engineering he observed that the ship was very quiet, he drew the conclusion that most of the crew were getting rack time, catching up on the sleep they had lost during and after the battle and he didn’t really blame them.

He found Doctor D’harr deep in thought with his hand on the hyperdrive control unit. The doctor lifted his head and greeted the captain as he heard the clanking of his boots like clockwork on the metal. Down in engineering steps like that could only mean the captain. “Would you like the bad news first or the good news first Captain?” inquired the doctor, well aware that the good news he had was a very small consolation for the bad news. “I’ve no time for games doctor, what needs doing and when can we resume our course for Thule?” Desmond promptly said. “Well, we’ve allocated what needs doing to re-enable the hyperdrive again captain but in your absence I received a rather disturbing report from your XO” The doctor concluded, letting the statement hang in the air for a while, building the anticipation. The captain eyed him intently as if saying ‘go on’. “It would appear that whatever modification carried out to the hyperdrive altered our course trajectory. The rough two and a half hours we spent in hyperspace carried us further away from Thule instead of towards it” concluded the doctor, almost wanting to back away. Captain Desmond R. Quint was not for taking bad news with a smile and a nod. Desmond bit back an insult and after a few moments of thought and trying to stomach his anger he opened his mouth. “How long will it take us to repair the drive and how far away from our destination are we now?” he said, his calm voice rendering the Doctor quizzical at first. “The engine-crew should, if no further problems are found, have the drive repaired within the hour” began the doctor, monitoring the captain’s response. His expression remained adamantly emotionless. “With assistance from the ships nav-computers as well as G-66 we have determined that, travelling at normal hyper speed, we are a rough ten hours from our destination” he continued. “Do what you can to speed up the process doctor, we need to resume our course as quickly as possible” Desmond said “We appreciate you being here doctor, without your sharp eye we would have probably been scratching our heads at a tore up hyperdrive” he finished and turned. Desmond left engineering leaving behind him a perplexed doctor wondering if Desmond R. Quint had actually taken bad news with a nod and a thank you instead of loud yelling.

The loud clank of Desmond R. Quint’s footfalls on the deck did not put him at ease with memories of the past this time around. Instead the captain had, with the news of further delay, started dreading what would transpire on his arrival to Thule. Captains had lost their status for less in the past and despite the near flawless record of his ship Desmond R. Quint didn’t believe he would be an exception. While being subject to raider attacks wasn’t an unusual case sabotage certainly would be. He had heard of infiltrators and agents working and becoming integrated many years before they became “active” so to speak but he couldn’t grasp anyone on the Arrow being such an agent. The ship had held on to the same crew for many years (with exceptions of killed deckhands and engineers being replaced by workforce from other ships) but nobody had joined up recently. This didn’t feel like an act of the republic, he knew that they had agents of their own but to task an agent with the deactivation of one ships hyperdrive for it being subject to the attack of a small raider fleet seemed unlikely… if this hadn’t been a small piece of a greater plan. Desmond shook his head; he realized he was becoming paranoid. All that had happened had been a raider attack, the potential sabotage hadn’t been explained but it didn’t need to. The mission they were on was merely a relay mission masked as a routine visit, it wasn’t crucial and he immensely doubted that the Republic would strike against a system like Thule, it was insignificant… But what if they had found out… No! He quickly dismissed the thoughts and focused at the task at hand. He lifted his comm-unit from his belt and contacted Castilla Fenix; the prisoners were well overdue for a little chat…

WHILE THE ELDRITCH ARROW'S HYPERDRIVE HAD BEEN CRIPPLED it was still capable of sublight speed and although it wasn’t nearly as quick as travelling through the alternate dimension of the hyperspace corridor it was still more capable than many other ships. The ship had taken minimal damage in the battle with the raiders but several scorch marks of laser impacts were still visible around the ship, new ones and old ones. As the crew of the Arrow had plotted firing solutions for obvious tactical locations on the enemy raiders, such as the engines or the command deck, the returned fire had seemed random, sporadic and without any coordination. Damage control had reported minimal damage and evaluated the Arrow’s condition as close to unharmed. The five mighty engines at the stern of the ship flared with furious blue energy, propelling the ship towards its destination, although with this speed it would take them several weeks before they reached Thule. The bulky battle scarred shape of the Eldritch Arrow slid through the blackness of space, invisible but for the black rupture it created amongst the lights of the universe. A star in the distance fluttered and died, the light of its final moments reaching the [/i]Arrow many hundred years after its death.

“WHO ARE YOU AND WHY DID YOU ATTACK US?!” SHE SHOUTED. “My name is Deimos, but I’ve already told you that at least three times” he said, his tongue desperately searching the cavity of his mouth where a tooth had only a few minutes ago been. “And do you have a last name Deimos?” inquired the woman in grey. “No actual-“ he began positively before she flung her fist at his cheek again. The pain vibrated through his skull and he spat blood onto the floor, obviously the woman had been sarcastic. Flexing her hand once she looked at Deimos, a ting of disgust evident in her eye. He wasn’t going to tell her anything and he was quite sure that he wasn’t the only one who knew that. “Well Deimos, you are not very co-operative” began the woman “So unless you open that mouth of yours and start spewing out whatever I want to know, I’ll have to do very bad things to you” she said, relishing the moment when the arrogance in his eyes fluttered for a moment showing that behind it all he was really just another raider ready to piss his pants. Deimos blinked, the arrogance returning, he opened his mouth “My name is Deimos, that’s all you’re getting you Imperial whore!” he hissed, spitting in the face of the woman. The woman slowly backed away and wiped her face on her coat arm, signaling for the interrogation droid to enter.


The blood dripped onto the floor from his face and along with the sound of his boots being dragged behind him Deimos was a poor sight to behold. Numb from the pain and focusing every ounce of his energy on remaining conscious Deimos could barely speak. The two troopers dragging him stopped abruptly to lower the field for his containment field and threw him inside. Deimos landed face first on the metal floor of the cell and remained down. He turned his head and stared out the cell. The woman stepped up in the doorway and looked at Deimos for a few seconds, “Pathetic” she said and returned his gesture by spitting at him. Deimos had not turned his head to see the woman; his eyes were still intently focused on the child in the other room who stared back at the almost unrecognizable Deimos. You’re still safe… he mouthed without sound, assuring the child that he had not given in. “All hands, this is the captain, prepare for re-entry into hyperspace” the speaker in the brig echoed and the woman swiftly reactivated the containment field and headed out of the brig. The entire ship shook and after a few moments of turbulence the Arrow had concluded its transit into hyperspace.

“TRANSIT COMPLETE CAPTAIN, ALL SYSTEMS FUNCTIONING AT FULL CAPACITY and all hands have reported ready. We will arrive at our current trajectory in nine hours, forty seven minutes and thirty six seconds” the metallic voice of G-66 affirmed. The Captain stood by his command station not really paying attention to the silver plated droid by his side. Suddenly he snapped out of thought and nodded at the droid with a content expression, “Thank you G-66, notify me if any change occurs” he said. “Wake the XO up and tell him to report for bridge duty in fifteen minutes, I have someone to attend to” Desmond said promptly before returning to the thought of what nuggets of information Callista Fenix would’ve dug out of the prisoner, eager to put an end to the business of identifying the raiders. He lifted his comm-unit from his belt and spoke into it, “Security-officer Fenix, respond”. After a few seconds of silence Desmond tried again, “Security-officer Fenix, this is Captain Quint, do you read?” he spoke into the comm-unit. “This is officer Fenix” the harsh voice of Callista responded, fuzzy and even hard to hear over the static of the comm-unit. “What news of the raiders, officer?” the captain inquired. “Precious little information sir, he’s a tough bastard, the droid wasn’t able to get anything out of him while still keeping him alive” her voice replied. Desmond cursed under his breath, realizing that the question of identity wouldn’t have an easy answer. “We can begin interrogation of the other prisoners at your command sir” the comm-unit said. “Very well officer, begin the interrogation of the other prisoners. Supervise it personally, I don’t want anyone dead before they give us what we want” he said. “I shall join you after I have spoken with Doctor D’harr” Desmond concluded and switched his comm-unit off.

DESMOND R. QUINT LIFTED HIS HAND AND STROKED HIS NEATLY COMBED HAIR. If it was one thing he was obsessed with, it was his looks. On his arrival at the laboratory of Doctor D’harr he had been informed that the good doctor was sleeping. Desmond had been annoyed with the fact but also understanding, at least so he thought, since he hadn’t yelled at the trooper outside the laboratory for very long. He had sent the trooper to fetch the doctor while he waited by the laboratory, he was now pacing outside the door. Desmond didn’t care if he had gone to sleep, the matter of the hyper drive sabotage was of utmost importance and he needed every detail possible. Desmond suddenly stopped and held up his ident-card in front of the door panel and the door slid open, he didn’t think that the doctor would panic if he waited inside the laboratory. Stepping inside the spacious room Desmond’s eye was immediately caught by the wide variety of test-tubes, substances and jarred creatures spread around the room. The laboratory was chilled and sterile, contained would be the word Desmond would choose to describe it. He walked closer to one of the larger containers and peered inside it, whatever was kept in it seemed to still be alive. Slowly moving his hand up Desmond wanted to poke the little creature, even though the seemingly thick glass was in between the two. The cylindrical container had been placed on the lab counter like a miniature medical bacta-tank and Desmond put his finger against it whatever was inside it twitched. Captivated by its form Desmond tried to get a better look at it, it looked like a tiny fleshy creature without any distinguishable elements. “I wouldn’t touch that if I was you” the voice of Doctor D’harr interrupted and Desmond quickly removed his hand and took a step back from the container. “Why? What’s in it?” Desmond asked, as inquisitive as a little child. “If you know what the Derriphan-class battleship was named after I think that you wouldn’t be too happy to see the creature in that tube out of its fleshly body” explained the doctor, quickly moving past the captain, administering a tube containing some type of sedative to the creature to assure that it wouldn’t stir from the captain’s curiosity. “I’m here now captain, you requested my presence so you better have a good explanation for tearing me out of bed” said the doctor, reminding Desmond of whatever business he had come for. “Yes doctor, I am trying to bring some light into the recent suspected sabotage and I’m searching for details. Anything that could lead to the capture or forward the investigation” Desmond said. “Suspected sabotage captain? Wires were torn out and tampered with, there’s no doubt about whether or not it was sabotage.” The doctor corrected, flicking on a variety of switches which made the laboratory come out of its sterile state. “Yes, that’s been noted. What exactly did you find doctor?” the captain said, moving the conversation along. “Well, aside from the wires being tampered with, we found a small device. It’s a simple switch device programmed to connect the wires brought through it to each other when activated, we found four wires connected through it and along with other modifications the connection of these wires was what caused our transit out of hyperspace.” the doctor explained quickly. “So you’re saying that anyone could just crawl in behind the console and connect a couple of wires and bring our entire cruiser out of hyperspace?” the captain wondered. He had no deep knowledge of the hyperdrive but he knew for sure it wasn’t simple to reconfigure one. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. There had been hundreds of tiny modifications made to the hyperdrive as well as adjacent systems. The switch device was simply what triggered it. Let me try to explain it to you as simply as I can…” the doctor paused, either not caring or not noticing the captain flustering at the insult. “A device works one way when all the right wires are connected. The same device can work in a similar way with such small difference that you won’t notice when its insides are tangled up and connected in another way. Of course connecting a device in such a way is extremely volatile and I don’t think I have to point out to you that hyperspace technology is already very volatile. Hell the device can still be tangled up on hundreds of places captain” the doctor said, not even stopping for a breath in between. “Doctor, I thought you said you repaired the drive” said Desmond. “No captain, I re-enabled our transit into hyperspace again as you asked. I didn’t go through the entire ships systems searching for modifications. We have restored the hyperdrive to the best of our abilities, it will take us where we want without dropping us in a star or in a black hole, granted that your navigation crew knows what they’re doing” he explained, assuring the captain of their safety. “What about this switch device, there could be more in our systems, one could just be waiting to flick over and perhaps take our shields down and expose the entire cruiser to the alternate reality!” the captain bursted out, sounding much more paranoid than he had planned to. “Captain, you should calm down. Whoever administered the changes to our hyperdrive would hardly have had enough time to tamper with all of our systems. The likelihood of a cataclysmic event like you are suggesting is extremely small even with modifications.” the doctor said slowly, making sure to employ a tone of reason. “The likelihood is small, but it still exists doesn’t it?” the captain counter-argued. “Possibilities like this always exist.” Began the doctor, “Hyperspace travel is like a house of cards captain, you just need to glue it together the best you can. Whoever tampered with our systems is highly skilled in hyperdrive technology, probably equally or more skilled than myself and if he has any reason he would’ve departed the ship long ago. Just give the search up captain, kill your hostages and tell your superiors that navigational errors caused your delay. Even if he’s still on this vessel you won’t catch him. He’s a clever bastard that’s for sure” the doctor concluded before lighting a cigarra he had taken out of his pocket. The captain stood for a few moments in contemplation and then decided to take the doctor’s advice. “We’re sending the prisoners out into hyperspace” he said, staring at the doctor. “Good decision” the doctor agreed and breathed out a ring of smoke.

THE BOY SLOWLY STOOD UP AND WALKED TOWARDS THE CONTAINMENT FIELD. He was familiar with shield technology and a containment field was practically a shield incorporated to keep the vermin locked in. He eyed the form of the man in the cell opposite to his and for a moment he felt compassion, the man had withstood such horrendous amounts of pain that he hadn’t enough energy to even speak. In a way he owed the man his life because if the Sith found out why he had really been on their cruiser he would most probably get a chance to greet the alternate dimension of hyperspace himself… through an airlock. The boy pulled out the tiny laser cutter he had hidden in his pants and weighed it in his hands. The woman who had put him in the brig hadn’t bothered with searching a lightly dressed boy. What harm could he do anyway? There were several possible ways to proceed and all he had to do was decide which one would be best. The boy pointed the laser cutter for the wall and set it for low power, taking the first step towards achieving his plan.

DEIMOS COULDN’T MOVE, HE DIDN’T WANT TO EITHER. The blood from the various gashes and cuts had now coagulated but before it did the wounds had leaked quite a respectable amount. He knew that life was hard and he had been prepared to meet his maker ever since he had joined the crew of the raiding ship, what he had hoped for, however, was for his passing to be painless and quick. His breaths were shallow and he had not enough energy to even lift his head, he just lay there, staring at the wall. He had learned that there were many ways to keep a prisoner alive until the desired knowledge had been withdrawn and he dreaded the next time they would come for him. For a moment he wondered what the fate of the boy would be. He was aware of the child’s ability and intelligence and he was confident that he could make it off the cruiser but what would he do after that? Deimos decided not to dwell upon it any longer as he was confident that the boy would make it somehow. He suddenly heard the sound of the containment field behind him deactivate. “You, up” a trooper said and even though Deimos wanted to retort with an arrogant insult he couldn’t, he could barely move a finger.

CALLISTA FENIX WALKED WITH THE CAPTAIN AND THE DOCTOR TOWARDS THE BRIG. A couple of troopers had gone ahead to assess the state of the prisoners so they could know if it would be easier to just throw them in an incinerator instead of ejecting out into hyperspace. There had been little conversation so far and Callista was slightly annoyed with how brashly they were ending the situation. No more interrogation, no more investigation, simply throwing the prisoners out the airlock. “Sir” she began but the captain raised his hand and countered her before she could speak as if he had read her mind. “Officer Fenix, this decision is not yours and after conferring Doctor D’harr and I have agreed that the best solution is to dispose of the raiders and not speak of the matter anymore, we will be arriving to Thule within the hour and I will not arise complications by appearing with prisoners” he said in a stern voice. Callista nodded, seeing the captains decision as just. After a few minutes they reached the brig and the troopers had gotten one prisoner out of the cell and ready for evacuation, the second one was battered but still alive and the third one, the first to be subject to interrogation, was not even moving. Callista stepped up to the cell and stared down at the man, lying flat on his stomach with his head towards the wall. The man tried to angle his eyes to get a look at the woman but from his position it wasn’t easy. The doctor seemed to be taking interest in the cell opposite to the man and Callista turned around to see if she could assist him. On the floor of the second cell lied the boy but something was definitely wrong. He was no longer wearing a shirt and his pants were in tatters, all over his body there were cuts and gashes, some of which were still bleeding. The doctor stared through the containment field and narrowed his eyes. “What is this child doing in here?” he inquired with a slight ting of annoyance in his voice. Callista met the doctor’s eyes as he turned his head towards her, “That’s the stowaway we found sir”[/i she said, being careful not to start speculating. “He’s obviously been wounded, who did this to him?” asked the doctor quickly, turning his head looking for someone to assume responsibility. The captain stepped up to the side of the doctor and eyed the child. “Officer Fenix, what exactly have you been doing? I only authorized interrogations of the prisoners from the raider ship” he said. “Me sir?” she wondered. “I have been doing just that, interrogating the prisone-“ she began before she was cut off. “I don’t care what personal grudge or paranoia you might have for the child but he is clearly wounded. As security-officer it is your responsibility Fenix. Lower the containment field, I need to have a look at the child.” the doctor instructed and Callista had no choice but to flash her ident-badge in front of the field lock. The doctor stepped into the cell and kneeled down in front of the child, turning him over. His face was caked in dried blood and he looked at the doctor with weak eyes. Stretching out his hand the child opened his mouth and a weak rasping voice came out of it. “P-… please…” the child whispered, “Don’t… hurt…” he said. The doctor looked at the child and was immediately captivated by the deep dark red eyes. “Captain, take your security-officer with you and eject the prisoners, I shall evaluate the child’s physical health and mental state. This is fascinating…” he traced of. “Sir, you came with us to be a witness to the execution of the prisoners” the captain began, for the first time recognizing the doctors rank as above his own. “That’s an order captain” he said distantly, still staring into the red eyes of the child. The captain made a hand-gesture and two troopers stepped past him and into the cell of the man, picking him up by the arms to drag him. Callista eyed the situation; not exactly sure of what had just happened. She decided to not think of it and carry out the orders of the captain.

DEIMOS DIDN’T FEEL THE PAIN FROM HIS BROKEN LIMBS AND FRACTURED BONES as the troopers picked him up. His senses had been worsened and he could barely see or hear. As the troopers stepped out of the cell to drag him he looked into the cell opposite of him. The child lied pummeled and wounded in front of another man who seemed utterly captivated by the child. The boy turned his head for Deimos and as their eyes met the boy silently mouthed the two words which was all Deimos needed. Thank you he saw and as the troopers turned and dragged him out of the brig he couldn’t care less of his own fate, he had lived long enough in this age of strife. The future was not for him. Deimos summoned all his strength and turned his head to see the man who had been crouching in front of the boy come out of the cell carrying him before his vision was blocked by the woman and the man following the prisoners to their doom. He finally let his head hang and while the third prisoners struggled for his freedom Deimos was ultimately ready to die.

THE LINEAR AND BULKY SHAPE OF THE ELDRITCH ARROW FLEW through hyperspace it’s only protection from the vicious energies its thin invisible shields. The hyperspace corridor seemed endless and as the three men were ejected from the ship little changed. The vacuum between the ship and its shields killed the young man who had fought for his life and failed. The two others, wounded and without energy, managed to stay alive long enough to pass beyond the shields of the Arrow. What they saw is impossible to say for the energies of hyperspace are lethal and maddening to any sane man. The Eldritch Arrow propelled forwards through the corridor, uncaring and oblivious of the titanic primal energies raging just beyond its shields.


REAL-SPACE DISTORTED AND FROM SEEMINGLY NOWHERE THE SHAPE OF THE CRUISER CAME INTO FOCUS. Having finally reached its destination the Eldritch Arrow flew through space powered by its five mighty engines which would’ve, if not in vacuum, roared with the power being extruded from them. The cruiser aligned a course for Thule and passing around the planets brother Enenpa it witnessed the full power of the two planets sun. The Eldritch Arrow made its way for Thule and its mission, under the unwavering blaze of Thurra.

COMMANDER DESMOND R. QUINT STOOD BY THE RAIL OF HIS BALCONY, EYEING THE TRAFFIC OF SHUTTLES and personnel craft streaming through the city. The constant sound of engines and vehicles passing through air was utterly captivating to him and for a long period of time he simply stood there staring. The sound of footsteps snatched his attention away from the myriad of crafts and made him turn around. Leaning on his cane Desmond took a few steps forward to greet the newcomer. The polished wood and metal handle of his cane reflected the light of the setting sun on the horizon. Even in with his old age Desmond R. Quint spared no expense when it came to his looks and a cane of lesser quality would sincerely spoil his image. He lifted his hand and stroked through his grey, white-streaked hair. “I didn’t expect you to show up” he said with little optimism, apparently not impressed with the newcomers appearance. “Recent realization called for it commander, I need your help” said the new man, his voice cracked, a poor reflection of its former self. “And what exactly can I offer you?” said Quint with genuine curiosity. “Protection commander” he began and Quint snorted. “Why would I offer you protection, after what you did to me?” he said, relating to some event which had obviously bred mistrust between the two. “Because the one who is out to end my life, also wants to end yours” the man said, introducing something that would surely turn the commander over. “I’ve been thinking about the past much recently, I often ask myself what would’ve happened if he had gone out the airlock just as the others” Quint said. “We certainly wouldn’t be in half the @%&# we are now” said Doctor Tobias D’harr, lighting a cigarette. Desmond R. Quint took a deep breath and by mistake inhaled the smoke from the doctor’s cigarette. It didn’t bother him, it made him remember.

“WOULD YOU PUT THAT DAMN THING OUT?” DESMOND SAID ANGRILY ALREADY ANNOYED with the delay of the response from Thule. The Eldritch Arrow had been in range for long range comm’s for almost fifteen minutes now and they had still received no response to their hails. The Doctor was present on the deck as was the captain and the normal collection of crewmen. The Doctor had for a long period of time consulted tabac in times of stress, uncertainty or simply for relief, Desmond knew this, and he supposed this moment was no exception. “Hail the Sivvi station” Desmond instructed the comm’s officer after the apparent failure to respond from Thule itself. “Sivvi Station, this is The Eldritch Arrow we are on trajectory towards Thule, respond” the comm’s officer spoke into the headset. After a few moments of silence the comm crackled and an apparently relieved voice responded. “Eldritch Arrow, this is Sivvi station. We thought you weren’t coming” the voice spoke with minor static disturbances. “Sivvi station, prepare for our arrival” the comm’s officer spoke and cut the link, even him slightly aggravated at the playful insult of the station. The bulky oppressor-class warship made its way ever closer to Thule.

“Something bothering you?” the doctor inquired after putting out his cigarette. “Is it not obvious doctor? The station replied but the surface of Thule remains silent. There is no apparent reason why any of the garrisons on Thule would be under radio-silence” Desmond said, summing up his worries. “Is the great Captain Desmond R. Quint really worried? What could have happened? Their equipment is probably malfunctioned and even if some insurgent force has chosen to take up arms they cannot dream to match the power of the Arrow.” the doctor began musing, appealing to the egotistical side of the captain. “I simply believe we should exercise caution in approaching Thule. Lower our speed by sixty percent, hail the Sivvi station again” he commanded. The comm’s officer began the process to hail the station but before he could complete the action the doctor raised his voice. “Belay that command; proceed on current trajectory at full speed. There is nothing to worry about. This is hardly a location which would be considered strategically important”. The captain turned for the doctor, an expression of pure revulsion spread over his face. Captain Desmond R. Quint hated aliens, after aliens change and uncleanness but a close third came when someone belittled him or rendered him powerless. Doctor D’harr, ranking above the captain, had done the latter. Desmond had nothing to say and even if he had he wouldn’t have said it, talking back to your superior would lead nowhere, he knew that. Doing so when the Doctor had practically assumed command of the Arrow would have even worse results. As the distance between Sivvi, the only moon of Thule, and the Arrow continued to shrink the comm’s unit crackled and instructed them where they could land their shuttles. “Power down engines, assume orbit around Sivvi and assemble three teams of troopers” the doctor instructed. “Captain, you will accompany me to the station” the doctor instructed bluntly. Desmond nodded in silence. “XO, you have the bridge, establish a scrambled channel linked to our shuttle, if any trouble presents itself I shall inform you” he said before motioning for Desmond to follow him. The two departed for the bridge heading for a docking bay where several shuttles were awaiting their arrival.

Stepping through the large hangar doors of docking bay three Desmond and the Doctor made their way for a shuttle. It was the first in the row of three shuttles of bulky design with one engine attached to their right sides. The two didn’t exchange any words on their way to the shuttle. The Doctor didn’t have anything of importance to say while everything the captain had to say would probably only see him thrown in the brig with the current mood of the doctor. The three shuttles burst out of the hangar bay, flanked by two escort-fighters, accelerating to reach their destination within minutes. Desmond turned his head and eyed the Sith station on Sivvi through an observation slit. It looked like most other building complexes created to keep the blackness of space out; a series of spherical and cylindrical constructions connected on ground level by various corridors and passageways dotted here and there by the viewports and windows letting the inhabitants of the station glare out into the void of space. The Doctor and Desmond sat immobilized by shock harnesses along with six other troopers whose names Desmond had not memorized, he hadn’t wanted to either. The shuttlecraft began decelerating as it approached the station and within a few moments it had entered the docking bay which was, compared to the Eldritch Arrow’s two bays, relatively small. The door of the shuttle ascended, revealing the hangar bay of the station. Standing at attention were two rows of troopers and before the shuttle stood what presumably, was the commanding officer of the station flanked by his closest. He was a little man by normal standards and he was obviously nervous with the arrival of Desmond and the doctor. Desmond appeared in the entrance of the first shuttle and took a step out, acknowledging the officer on the deck with a nod. The doctor quickly stepped out and walked past Desmond, signaling with his hand for him to follow as if he was his pet. “Officer Lucian, walk with us” the Doctor said, exercising no formalities. The little man began walking next to the doctor, leaving the detachment of troopers and his sergeants behind, rendered quizzical by the prompt arrival which had expected to be pompous. “We were aware that you were arriving Doctor D’harr however we have been given precious little information as to the purpose of your visit” Lucian said, trying to keep up with the brisk pace of the two visitors. “Details have been kept sparse for a reason Lucian, I shall brief you on the outline of our mission but I’m afraid that I cannot fully unveil the reason of our arrival to you” the doctor elaborated, Desmond keeping a keen ear on the information which had even from him been kept concealed.
The three reached what was supposed to be passed for a briefing room but in such a secluded place like Thule little attention was given to causes military. Aside from keeping a potentially rebellious population at bay little action was required and so stations like the one on Sivvi were often prone to decline. “Captain, I’ll need you to wait outside I’m afraid” the doctor said and the sentence only proved to infuriate Desmond further. He was forced to swallow it however as the two entered the room. Desmond decided to evaluate the capability of the Sivvi station while attempting to vent some of his anger, it would be a while before the Doctor had briefed the officer of the Sivvi station of the current situation.

COMMANDER DESMOND R. QUINT... The title seemed somewhat surreal to him as he stared at the uniform kept in the display cabinet. The doctor had told him of the danger the two were in and before departing for a safer location Desmond had convinced him for a moment of reminisce and reflection. Desmond stepped over the glossy wood floor of his study over to his desk which was absent of everything but one folder. The doctor hadn’t been the only one with sparked interest in the subject, definitely not. Even though Desmond had begun compiling all the information he could find on the matter years later than the doctor he suspected that their levels of knowledge was quite the same. There really wasn’t much information and the little that could be found was very cryptic and trivial. He let his hand slide over the heavy desk and in a casual movement he swiped up the unexpectedly light folder. The heavy steps of his shoes echoed in the hallway beyond accompanied by the absent sound of his cane against the wood floor as he exited his study and headed out of the complex which had for the closest part of the past been his home. Desmond stepped into the lift and instructed it to carry him higher to launch ramp D-3 where the doctor’s shuttlecraft was awaiting his arrival. The lift slid up the shaft and just as swiftly as the doors had closed they opened once more letting in the wavering light of a distant sunset. The Doctor awaited him standing at the deck-door showing no interest in exiting the complex. “Good, you’re here. I have determined that we cannot stay in these territories, wherever the Sith have influence he will know we are.” The doctor explained making quite a logical point. “So you’re saying we are to travel towards Republic territory?” Desmond inquired, showing little confidence in the strategy. “It would be the most logical move. With all due respect Commander, your glory days as a member of the navy are over, troopers will not be able to distinguish you. As for me, I have my contacts” the doctor said. Desmond bit back a retort; there wasn’t any need to accentuate the traitorous nature of the doctor. He had long ago known the man had secured his future should the war go badly on either part. “Well? Let us depart” suggested the doctor and promptly turned for the exit. Desmond followed him and watched him wave to the man hired to pilot their craft, there was something vaguely familiar about the man, perhaps the man had served under him or something similar. The man entered the shuttle and began warming up its engines while the two other men waited inside the corridor. It was an aged craft no doubt; newer crafts wouldn’t require the warm up process. It was a fact that riding in elegance would attract the wrong kind of attention and Desmond decided to make no verbal notes of the derelict model of the shuttle. “I have contacted a frigate currently in orbit, it carries a collection of crewmen which will carry us anywhere we wish” Desmond explained. “Good, if you would contact them as we approach the landing field we will make our departure quickly” the Doctor continued, stressing the fact that a swift disappearance was imperative. Desmond suddenly lunged for the doctor, tackling him to the ground as the glass of the observation window shattered in a myriad of shards. “We’ve got to go now doctor” he shouted over the noise of the outside invited by the breaking of the window. Allowing the shooter no time to re-acquire his targets Desmond hurried with the doctor out of the corridor and into the shuttle while several more shoots richoched of the landing pad into the building complex. The shooter seemed desperate to hit the two before they boarded the shuttle and disappeared in the swarm of crafts exiting the city. “Go, go, go!” the doctor shouted when they were inside and the pilot took of the platform. A loud clank was heard as a shot impacted on the bulky form of the shuttle. Due to the older and heavier shuttle it did not penetrate the hull and Desmond for a moment praised the doctor’s choice of vessel. The craft shook and suddenly Desmond was back at Thule, where this had all begun.

DESMOND RETURNED TO THE WAKING WORLD AS THE CRAFT SHOOK and stared out the viewport. Thule was growing ever larger and soon they would enter its atmosphere. It had taken a few hours before they could depart off the Sivvi station due to the heavy thunder storms surrounding the planets capital, Kessia. Desmond glared to his right and spotted the boy. The doctor has insisted on bringing the boy to the surface for reasons of his own, he had obviously taken quite the liking to the unclean little bastard. The boy looked back and Desmond was reminded of just how contaminated the boy was as he stared into the red eyes. The boy seemed oblivious to the expression of disgust which Desmond spared no expense in displaying. “What exactly is it you so vociferously despise about this boy Captain?” the Doctor inquired. “He’s not human. You know my feelings on that subject. He’s the spawn off relations between human and alien, something that should be declared illegal. We need not contaminate the human race by co-mingling with lesser species” he said, summing up his disgust. “The boy is superior to both you and me biologically Captain. His Chiss eyes provide him with better vision in the dark for instance” the doctor suggested. “I care little for such petty details, he is unclean and such offspring should be disposed off. I cannot see why you keep him around.” Desmond said openly expressing his desire to rid of the child in front of him. “He is biologically fascinating Captain. I have encountered cross-breeds before however not this untouched by the Chiss heritage. At first look could you really tell that he is not entirely human?” the doctor inquired. “I suppose not.” Desmond grudgingly agreed. “It is only further cause to rid ourselves of him, before we know it there will be more cross-breeds than humans and we will not be able to tell the difference! Cross-breeds will be the death of me!” Desmond exclaimed. Any further conversation was cut short as the shuttlecraft entered the turbulent and rather dangerous atmosphere of Thule. The noise escalated and the craft began shaking violently as the approached their destination. They had not waited for a stop in the thunder storms; such an occurrence was not known to happen frequently. They had waited for the storms to lessen to a more agreeable level than before, agreeable being aggressive compared to most other systems thunderstorms. The shaking of the craft subsided slightly but Desmond knew that turbulence would occur, it didn’t worry him. He turned his head for an observation slit and managed to get a glimpse of a lightning bolt hitting the shuttle next to theirs, it shook slightly but shuttlecraft built for transit through space were sturdy constructions. Little could be seen out of the slit aside from the occasional flash of light which revealed the other shuttles locations to the visual spectrum. Radar was the most reliable source and without it the pilot would be next to blind. “I am aware that most business is confidential doctor but why do you require my presence in Kessia?” the captain wondered, his voice barely audible. “We have come to Thule to investigate a matter which may end the war and secure Sith domination” the doctor revealed, quickly getting Desmond’s undivided attention. “However, considering the volatile nature of such a matter we have chosen to keep it confidential and in the guise of a routine visit for conscription and administration” the doctor continued, rendering the captain musing about exactly who ‘we’ could be. “You will be required to hold the guise up while I myself as well as a collection of troopers carry out the investigations.” The doctor said, revealing first now that Desmond’s role wasn’t as desirable as he had probably hoped. “And what of the boy?”[i] Desmond inquired, sincerely hoping that the alien bastard wouldn’t be left in his care while the doctor was away. [i]“He will accompany me on my endeavor; he might even prove to be useful.” The doctor said. Desmond pondered if the boy knew more about the matter which had brought them here than he did for a second but rather swiftly dismissed the notion as nonsensical. The shuttle burst out of a cloud formation and in what could be referred to as an eye of a storm the spires and taller buildings of Kessia became visible, likening a collection of pikes, uninviting and intent on harming anyone travelling to close.
Growing larger and larger by the seconds Desmond was intrigued by the city. He hadn’t previously visited Thule but imagined that akin to many other outer rim cities Kessia would be ripe with crime and villainy, even though it had once been a Sith stronghold during the Great War. The craft had decelerated rather suddenly and touched down on a landing pad close to ground level. As the shuttle door slid open the sounds of the thunderstorms was greatly increased, truly revealing to the visitors the might of Thule’s elements. There was no rain but the terrain of Thule was charred black from the constant hammering of the lightning. Desmond stepped out of the shuttle and eyed the small party of uniformed troopers and officials come to greet them. Stepping to the side, Desmond allowed the Doctor to step outside flanked by the boy. The doctor swiftly stepped forwards and greeted the collection come to meet them. Desmond quickly stepped after and before he could introduce himself the party began moving towards the large building in front of them. Desmond managed to snap up a few nuggets of information from the conversation between the Doctor and a small chubby man dressed in luxurious robes. He wasn’t revealing any details of their true purpose, simply masking his coming along as an expedition to investigate species of luminescent moss native to Thule.

Once inside the Doctor had quickly managed to excuse himself and left for another landing pad holding an atmospheric craft for him, his detachment of troopers as well as the boy. After his departure the officials quickly noticed the previously invisible Desmond R. Quint who really had shown no desire to socialize with the aforementioned herd. “It is a privilege to receive a visit from such distinguished men as you and Doctor D’harr captain” the chubby man was quick to add, relying on the egotistical features of Desmond’s personality which had lately been quite overpowered and not at all as influential as before. Maybe it was best that way Desmond wondered but quickly replied not to raise any suspicion. “Yes, well, the feeling is mutual general” he said unenthusiastically, the chubby little man taking much pride in his given rank. Desmond knew very well that when a general had done his share of duty or was considered bested by other rising talent they were quite literally banished to planets like Thule for a “prestigious” role of isolation in the planetary government. Thule’s was governed by an oligarchy of eight generals, all of them past their glory day. The chubby man to his left did not seem to miss war and drilling, his physical condition could testify to that. Desmond walked with the men through the halls of the building, climbing higher up in the tower as they went along. The conversation was utterly dull to him, news about the war with the republic, how excellently Thule was contributing to the war machine and the ever constant sucking up to himself and the Doctor. He wondered for a few moments what Doctor D’harr was doing and how the “investigation of the luminescent moss” was progressing.

“KILLED FOUR YEARS AGO BY RAIDERS, KILLED SIX MONTHS AGO IN A SHUTTLE COLLISION, killed six years ago by cardiac arrest” Desmond read out loud, his hand breaking into a slight shake as he read. The evidence was building up; he had been killing of everyone that knew who he was and where he had come from. Right now neither the Doctor nor he knew of anyone else, apart from themselves, which had any detailed information about him and where he had appeared from. “Do you see the danger now?” the Doctor said. “Without a good look and knowing who these people were there really is no way of telling the difference between accidents and orchestrated deaths” Desmond began, continuing to scan the papers. “Yes, he’s taken great care in dispatching them, spanning their deaths over many years” the Doctor continued. “Have you found any details on Fenix?” Desmond asked, wondering what had become of his old security-officer. “She was given command of a frigate but she and her entire crew died as the frigate translated to hyperspace with deactivated inertial dampeners” the Doctor said. Desmond felt a chill up his spine, a horrible death it would’ve been being smashed to nothing by the immense forces of the ship accelerating to many times the speed of light. “After Thule, what transpired between you and him? How long was he in your care?” Desmond inquired, knowing precious little details of how well the Doctor had known the man who was now out to claim his life. “He stayed with me for a few years before he was brought away by the military. What exactly they did to him I do not know, any details on him are either classed confidential or simply do not exist. I have access to more information than a Grand-Moff and after many searches what information that was kept is either higher than I can reach or has been deleted from the records. Whatever the case, it would appear as if he is attempting to achieve a tabula rasa so to speak” the Doctor summed his sentence up with. “A rather morbid way of doing it” Desmond commented. “Yes. It would be effective though. Just imagine the things you could do with his skills and anonymity”Desmond said and placed the files to his side having had enough of summaries of deaths and ‘accidents’. He wondered how life would’ve been had the boy never been found.

LOOKING UP AT THE DOCTOR THE BOY WONDERED WHY HE HAD REALLY BEEN BROUGHT ALONG for his business. Four of the troopers were accompanying them in the transport and six more were following them in another one. “You’re quizzical” the Doctor said with an intrigued voice. “Yes” the boy replied. “I’m wondering why exactly you have brought me” he said. He had chosen not to talk to anyone but the Doctor who had many hours earlier made it clear to him that hurting ‘such a fine specimen’ was the last he would want. The doctor brought his hand up to his face and stroked his unshaved chin in thought, probably not quite sure himself. “Well boy” he began, “Should I have let you stay behind you would most probably have ended up in a holding cell once again and considering what transpired during your last visit to such a place I think it would be mutually beneficial if I kept an eye on you”. The boy remembered just how painful the cuts had been and began musing about their appearance under the thick tunic and slacks he was wearing. Thankful for the pain-killers he had gotten he flexed his leg which had already begun falling asleep. “Do you remember your parents?” The doctor absently asked. The boy remained silent in thought and after about a minute he opened his mouth again. “No” he said quietly, supposedly not taking any pride in his faulty memory. The doctor seemed to take pity on the boy as he did not ask any more questions during the flight. The shuttle slowed down and touched down on a pad outside a less glamorous building. The oligarchy had showed no restraint on glorifying their own residences while leaving the less commercial districts in disrepair. The static atmosphere of Kessia remained as the detachment of troopers exited the shuttle before the doctor and the boy. When the two exited the shuttle took off again and the next one landed allowing the six other troopers to follow the others. The twelve stepped forward and entered the building ahead of them. The boy was oblivious as to what the doctor had arrived searching for and exactly how far he would go to find it.

Well into the building the troopers spread out around the room covering every angle of it. The boy didn’t know exactly who they were meeting but he could assume that whoever it was, they were not to be trusted. The door on the far end of the room slid open and a rather short figure, taller than the boy of course but short by human standards, slowly walked inside. His facial features concealed behind a mask detailed with a visor it was hard to make out exactly what species the man was. No skin was visible and the man looked akin to some nomad wearing many layers of cloth and a harness of leather. Some type of heavily modified blaster was hanging from a thick leather strap over his shoulder but the man didn’t seem like he had come for a fight. If the new arrival was unnerved by the troopers he did not show it, simply stepping forwards towards the doctor and the boy.
“Have you brought what I wanted?” the newcomer said, his voice being replicated by the mask as a metallic reflection of its former self. “Yes” the doctor said. “Boy, come forward” he said and curiously the boy did what he had been instructed. “Mhm…” the newcomer said, the voice-replicator not managing to catch any of the emotion. The man’s steps were stiff and the boy began musing on what injury could’ve caused such disability. “A curious specimen indeed” the newcomer observed, taking a step towards the boy. The boy, confused by what exactly was happening simply stood dumbstruck and silent. “Where is the information?” the Doctor said and after the man searched through his satchel he pulled out a metallic folder probably containing documents. With a hand-gesture from the doctor the ten troopers trained their weapons on the newcomer. “I had a feeling this would end this way” the man said. “Finding such a fine specimen of alien-human interbreeding did you really believe I would give him up to you X’evit?” the Doctor said, acknowledging for the first time that he knew the newcomer. “Tobias, you are even more transparent than before” the newcomer said followed by a sound probably supposed to resemble a laugh. Doctor Tobias D’harr flicked his wrist and in a concentrated salvo of laser fire the newcomer was almost completely disintegrated. The doctor took a few steps forward towards the corpse of the former man and nudged at the visor mask with his foot. The bone-chilling sound of mechanically produced laughter echoed through the room again and the Doctor trained his eyes on the mask once again. “Tobias, I thought you knew me better than that” the metallic voice rang. “Your documents are worthless; the folder in which they are carried was rigged with… ‘the oldest one in the book’ I believe you would call it. Instead of the documents you requested you will simply find ashes” the voice revealed mockingly. The Doctor produced a laser-cutter and swiftly destroyed the lock on the folder, ripping it open emphatically. He cursed loudly when he saw exactly what the voice had described to him, grey worthless scraps of former paper along with a remote detonated laser cell. “I regret to inform you that those were the last copies of the documents and not even the collective powers of the force could procure you new ones.” The voice continued, adding to the scorn and futility of the situation. [color=white]“Goodbye Tobias”[/b] the voice concluded, and the link was cut. As the Doctor picked through the corpse the boy suddenly realized why the man’s movements had been so stiff. Lying in the centre of the room were the remains of a protocol droid.

THE MAN WHO WAS AFTER THE LIVES OF A COMMANDER AND A DOCTOR PONDERED HIS POSSIBILITIES of ending this quicker. Having rigged their shuttlecraft with either explosives or simply tampered with the controls certainly would’ve been easier he mused as he, with one hand steering his shuttlecraft, felt for the blaster he had embedded in his side holster. He took it out of its holster and eyed the power cell, it had been fully charged and was ready to commit the deed. ‘No, not yet’ he thought ‘Have patience, don’t submit to rush and improper execution, not after this long’. The man blinked and replaced the blaster in his side holster, his lips curled into a malicious smile as he continued to muse over the moment it would happen. He felt his blaster once again and was brought back to the day he had first killed someone.

THE DOCTOR WAS CLEARLY NOT AMUSED BY THE TURNOUT OF THE MEETING AS HE STORMED OUT TOWARDS the shuttle. Rain had begun to fall and the thunder storms in the distance now looked almost natural. The boy followed close behind the Doctor as he hurried into the shuttle after the four troopers. The shuttle took off before its door had even slid closed and headed for a new trajectory. The Doctor had not expected to be so bluntly outsmarted by his old acquaintance but everything had not yet been lost. Hidden in the lower districts of Kessia was, as on most outer rims worlds, a black market. Even if it was a shallow notion the Doctor believed that some knowledge could be acquired.

Setting down not too far away from the secluded building in which the meeting had taken place the door of the shuttle slid open and the lower districts of Kessia were revealed. Colorful signs and advertisements lit the narrow walkways where people flocked to get out of the rain which had only recently begun to fall. The Cantinas would be crowded to the limits but the Doctor knew that if any knowledge existed on this dreg of a world it would be in the lower districts of Kessia, all the inhabitants of the more commercial and richer regions were too concerned with how to buy their way into the oligarchy instead of focusing on the details that really mattered. He had visited Thule before and was well aware of the bristling black market located in the cavities under Kessia itself. The Doctor instructed his troopers through a comm-unit and the four set out before him paving a way through the crowd. Two took up position on his sides and four followed behind. The Doctor knew that public opinion was a dangerous thing and in a place like Kessia on a planet like Thule the murder of officials could easily go unnoticed, he wouldn’t set out without security. Humans & aliens parted before the twelve as they made their way towards their destination and those who didn’t were pushed aside or to the ground. A few offensive remarks vibrated through the air but the Doctor had no time to set examples and simply kept moving.

The detachment stopped promptly outside a specific cantina. 'The Unmasked Ubese' the sign shone carrying the visor mask that was commonly worn by the Ubese. The entrance was wide and stepping inside the wet cool air was exchanged for air sweaty and damp, spiced with the distinctive scent of tabac mingling with other scents common for any Cantina. Seven troopers remained outside but even with only three troopers the Doctor was given much attention as he entered the cantina. Stepping through the drinking and somewhat disoriented crowd he, the boy and the troopers made their way for the far end where a door was located.


In front of the door stood some type of cross-breed alien shouldering a heavy blaster probably more for looks than for shooting. The Doctor pulled out a small token and showed it to the alien; he nodded in approval and allowed the doctor, the boy and two troopers inside. The third trooper was tasked with remaining; assuring that the entrance could be used as an exit should disaster occur. Well through the door the doctor was faced with a heavy metallic blast door in front of a lift. As he stepped up to it he placed the token in some type of identification device. A slit opened and a voice could suddenly be heard. “Why do you deserve entrance?” the voice inquired. “So it is wanted where the power lies” the Doctor replied remembering the response to the much used phrase for entry. The heavy door slid open and revealed a lift which the four quickly stepped into. The lift began lowering and the boy prepared himself for the vilest of sights. After a few moments the lift ground to a halt and the doors slid open. Unexpectedly, the room beyond was soundless. Less like a room more like a hall the cavern which had not naturally been made stretched out before them, a prime location for any shady business. There was evidence of recent activity but whoever had been here had recently packed up and left. A sudden clapping noise snatched the attention of all four individuals. Stepping out from a cavity in the rock, clapping his hands, was someone looking oddly familiar. “Bravo Tobias” the stranger said, his voice metallic and highly emotionless. “X’evit” the Doctor said, his lips curling into a smirk.

“I should’ve expected you here” he continued. “But I expected you here first! Which leads us to the next order of business” the newcomer X’evit said, waving his hand. Five other aliens revealed themselves, coming out of their rather obvious hiding places which had in the hurry the Doctor had been in given no attention to. The Doctor was apparently not very good at reading his former acquaintance. Their weapons trained on the four new arrivals the aliens advanced. “I’m not here to kill you Tobias” X’evit continued, taking a few steps towards the Doctor. “The subject you have procured is most interesting and even though our little deal crashed and burned I would still very much like to find out what… makes him tick… to put it bluntly” X’evit said and if behind his mask a face still existed a malicious smile would most certainly have spread. “Very well” the Doctor said, placing a hand on the back of the boy, shoving him forwards. The troopers had their weapons trained on the aliens but against five heavy blasters they would not last very long. “Come here boy” X’evit said, beckoning the boy over towards him. The alien was not carrying any visible weapons, his heavy blaster given to the decoy droid lost as it was destroyed by the troopers. “You destroyed my blaster Tobias. That blaster was very dear to me. I have noticed that his subject is very dear to you so just like you took something from me, so shall I take something from you” X’evit said practicing the most basic of norms. The boy reached the alien who turned his head and eyed his new possession curiously. “I wonder why you came out the way you did… You truly are a rose amongst us thorns” he mumbled absently. “There, transaction complete, would that be all?” the Doctor inquired sarcastically. “Actually, it isn’t. You showed very well that you would kill me to find out more about this device you’re searching for… And now that we are even and all I think I can to the same to you without feeling we have any unfinished business” X’evit began and the Doctor knew very well where this way leading. The aliens renewed their grips on their rifles, preparing for the inevitable command from their employer. The boy stood next to the masked alien, face towards the Doctor and as the Doctor met his eyes the most peculiar thing occurred. The boy winked to him. “Kill-“ X’evit began but before he knew it he was unexpectedly cut short. Having reached under the robes of the masked alien the boy had grabbed a hold of, and unholstered, the small blaster he now had pointed towards the head of his new ‘owner’. “It would appear the tables have turned, old friend” the Doctor said. “You are just full of surprises, aren’t you boy?” X’evit said. “What do you want? Freedom? You want us to pack up and let you leave without a scrap?” the alien wondered, trying to read the highly unpredictable boy. “No, I want you dead.” the boy said and pulled the trigger of the blaster sending the highly volatile laser bolt straight for the head of the alien. In a cascade of sparks and blood the half-mechanic alien was no more. Stunned by the demise of their employer the other aliens did not quite know what to do, most of them were still staring at the headless body of the former X’evit in the process of toppling to the ground. “Kill them!” the Doctor yelled and the troopers, without a flinch, opened fire on the still stunned aliens. Two of the aliens were cut down immediately; a third trained his rifle on the Doctor but was struck in the shoulder by another discharge from the hand blaster which had dispatched his employer. Screaming, the alien fell onto his knees clutching his charred arm. The fourth fell face first into the dirt, his upper chest a mess of flesh and visible organs as the fifth threw his blaster onto the ground raising his hands in a futile attempt to give up. A trooper discharged his rifle, severing the fifth aliens arm. “Give me your sidearm trooper” the Doctor said and swiped it as it was presented. He walked up to the two mercenaries who had not yet died. He spat on the ground and fired the blaster twice in each body, ending their lives swiftly. The boy still stood by the body of the former X’evit, the blaster trained for the still sparking remains as if he expected the body to lunge for him in an act of revenge. The Doctor stared for a good time at the boy before the boy lift his head from the man he had just killed. “Let’s go?” the boy asked and the Doctor couldn’t help but smile at him, oblivious to being covered in alien blood. “Yes, let’s go” he said, turning for the lift. Their little firefight would probably not have been heard from upstairs but it would not doubt attract attention eventually, dwelling around six bodies of aliens you had just killed rarely ended well.

The departure from the cantina had been swift and eventless. After contacting the trooper stationed by the exit of the cavern he had swiftly dispatched the bulky alien cross-breed probably hired by X’evit to ensure them not escaping. The Cantina had erupted into screams and panic but after a few discharges of laser the Doctor’s exit had been allowed. The twelve managed to avoid much attention walking through the streets, aside from that given to a group of ten fully armed Sith troopers, and made it to the launch-pad unscathed. As the shuttlecraft returned to the higher echelons of Kessia and the governmental building the rain had begun to approach storm levels. Awaiting them on the landing pad outside the building was a wet, and rather poorly humored, Desmond R. Quint.

Heading out of the shuttle the captain stepped up towards them. “Any luck in your search Doctor?” he inquired. “Further investigation is required captain, there isn’t much more we can do. Right now, I want to depart this barren, forsaken rock” he said, summing up the feelings of the captain in the latter part of his sentence. The rain swarmed like thin silver needles from the dark sky above. Needles reaching even the lowest, most secluded parts of Kessia.
IT HAD BEGUN RAINING WHILE THEY WERE TRAVELLING AND AS THEY TOUCHED DOWN ON THE OUTSKIRTS of the city and the pilot killed the engines they could hear the heavy impact of the rain on the outside of the shuttle. Commander Desmond Richard Quint stepped out of the shuttle onto the landing pad and, as if oblivious to the rain, scouted their surrounding for the ship that had, according to the pilot been called upon to carry them off-world. The Doctor followed Desmond out paying as little attention to the rain as him. “Where is the frigate Desmond?” the Doctor said. The two stood on a landing pad on the outskirts of the city, hardly any ships passing by. Below the landing pad a large metal plane stretched out. The plane was empty of any ship though, absent of any vessel aside from the shuttlecraft they had arrived in. “I instructed the pilot to contact the Sagitarion while we were travelling, they would certainly not be late” Desmond explained, trailing off as the footsteps of the pilot heading out of the craft could be heard. “Doctor Tobias D’harr, Commander Desmond Richard Quint, standing together in the rain once again with me by your side. Only this time, I am not the one who is clueless” the pilot inquired, rendering both Desmond and the Doctor quizzical. His lip was curled into a faint smile and as he removed the helmet which had before covered his eyes Desmond’s eyes widened and realized where he had recognized the man from. “You…” began Desmond. “I am wholeheartedly surprised it has taken you this long to realize” the pilot said, addressing Desmond rather than the Doctor whom still stood quite stunned with it all. “You’ve… worked for me for years” the Doctor trailed off. “Hardly Tobias” the pilot began, making use of the man’s first name which he knew he hated. “It simply goes to prove just how unobservant you are. You said it yourself; just imagine what someone like me can do with anonymity.” He said and smirked. “What are you going to do?” Desmond asked. “The once great Desmond R. Quint, rendered helpless and afraid” the pilot said, playing with the insulting concept. “I’ve been aware of your attempts to avoid me for some time and what better way to render the world clueless of my existence than to wait for you to gather up all information about me and carry it with you. Kill two birds with one stone I believe is the right expression, in your case it's quite literal” the pilot said and smiled, hinting at the imminent fate of the two. The Doctor suddenly realized that the man was right. All information, including where it had come from was compiled inside the shuttlecraft and as both him and the captain had feared, they were the only two left whom could provide a reliable account on ever knowing the man. “Before this business is concluded I must express my gratitude to you both for helping me so greatly, it would’ve taken me at least a year to find all his information unaided. My most heartfelt gratitude goes to you, Tobias D’harr, for preventing this mongrel” he said, motioning for Desmond “from sending me out the air-lock upon discovery”.

“I BELIEVE IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO INQUIRE IF YOU HAD ANY LAST WORDS?” THE PILOT SAID, addressing the two men standing in the heavy rain. Desmond simply looked at the pilot and spat on the ground, “I have nothing to say to alien scum like you” he said. “As you wish commander. You once said that a cross-breed would be the death of you, I suppose that you were correct” the pilot said and pulled the trigger of the blaster. Commander Desmond Richard Quint died before his body touched the ground. It fell unto its knees and collapsed onto the landing pad, the blood thinned out by the rain going almost unnoticed on the dark and rusty metal of the landing pad. “What about it Tobias?” the pilot asked. “I would want to know one thing before I am sent to the same place” the Doctor said. “And what would that be?” the pilot wondered, a slight tone of sarcasm in his voice, as if serving a distinguished customer one final meal. “Why all this? Why kill everyone?” he said, the three lettered word had plagued him since he had realized the man had been killing his past. “It’s simple Doctor. A man without a past, can untroubled mould his future” the pilot said and again raised his blaster. The Doctor took a deep breath and looked to the dark skies. “Goodbye Tobias” echoed the voice in his head and everything turned black. The flash of the blaster shone up the landing pad and for a moment the eyes of the pilot were visible. They were red; red akin to a fully bloomed rose, fragrant, alluring, convincing yet carrying many concealed sharp thorns.

A CONCEALED CRAFT TOOK OFF FROM THE LANDING FIELD ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY, leaving the burning wreckage of an old shuttle behind. The shuttle’s fuel system had failed and ignited the fuel causing the shuttle to explode in a cascade of liquid flames cooking its crew alive and eventually causing the craft to collapse on itself, the fires inside weakening the superstructure of the derelict model. The two crewmembers would be indentified as one Commander Desmond Richard Quint, known for his flawless record of commanding the Oppressor-class Warship The Eldritch Arrow, and one Doctor Tobias D’harr who would, years later, be revealed to have been conspiring with Republic forces in times of war.


Carelessly the newer model craft flew towards the city before turning upwards and in a stunning display of speed bursting out through the atmosphere into the cold reaches of space. The small craft seemed to stretch out into a needle and disappeared with a glint into the alternate dimension of hyperspace.

Epilogue

The Eldritch Arrow silently drifted through space, away from Thurra and it's children. Away from a mission which would never be mentioned. Not until thousands of years later would someone return in search of what the Eldritch Arrow had arrived for. Thousands of years later a man who's title was named after tyrants would arrive on Thule. He would succeed where the Doctor had failed and ressurect a reaper of souls. Kessia would be razed and the tyrant would be defeated by a man claimed to be chosen by the force.

Thousands of years later the reaper which could've brought an end to any war would be ultimately destroyed for a second time...

First part of the short-story up!

I hope you enioy the read and I would very much appreciate anything you had to say about the story, positive and negative.

I'll start working on further parts when I can find the time but hopefully it won't take as long as it took to write this one.

I'll wait for the abridged version thank you very much

Nah great work here Axel I'll get reading it tonight.

That was a great read Axel, I think you hit everything right on the head, characters are believable and well defined and story is exicting and interesting

I like the way you've added pictures to break up the text as well, but one thing for me was the header was a bit to big, i kept having to guess the words on the right hand side of the screen becuase they were cut off and I couldn't be bothered to move the perspective over

Looking forward to the rest though!

That was a great read Axel, I think you hit everything right on the head, characters are believable and well defined and story is exicting and interesting

I like the way you've added pictures to break up the text as well, but one thing for me was the header was a bit to big, i kept having to guess the words on the right hand side of the screen becuase they were cut off and I couldn't be bothered to move the perspective over

Looking forward to the rest though!

Cor! That's a lot, but as I said before, pictures really help writing (especially long pieces like this) which came through here and the quality is excellent.

Oh, and: T-t-t-trrrripple Post from PJK!

Mr mistake pointy outer wrote:

Oh, and: T-t-t-trrrripple Post from PJK!

*facepalm*

EDIT: (LW)

PrioryJK wrote:

That was a great read Axel, I think you hit everything right on the head, characters are believable and well defined and story is exicting and interesting

I like the way you've added pictures to break up the text as well, but one thing for me was the header was a bit to big, i kept having to guess the words on the right hand side of the screen becuase they were cut off and I couldn't be bothered to move the perspective over

Looking forward to the rest though!

Thanks for the positive feedback, really appreciate it.

I'll downsize the header a bit. I suppose everyone doesn't have a 20'' laptop screen

Just downsized the header by 25%. Smaller or is that alright?

I also made up a little bit of a teaser for you, hope you like it.

Aye that looks much better cheers Axel. I have a 37" tv screen for my monitor and it still didn't all fit before!

I'm deliberately not commenting yet as I haven't finished reading it, but what I've read so far is most excellent

That was a cracking good read. Bravo!

All I can do is echo PJK's praise. The characters are thoroughly believable; Quint and Fenix are brilliantly realised, as are D'harr and the boy - and even G-66! I really liked the space combat you described too. The larger Eldritch Arrow came across like a submarine with it's more cumbersome movement, which is just how med/large ships are visually portrayed in the films. Nice Touch. And your descriptions of the explosions are brilliant! And I wasn't expecting the twist at the end.

All in all a very professionally written story and an excellent read. I recommend that everyone take the the time to read this!

If you're ever planning on playing an alt character for the Republic faction please let Lunarwolf or myself know! lol

Harewood wrote:

That was a cracking good read. Bravo!

All I can do is echo PJK's praise. The characters are thoroughly believable; Quint and Fenix are brilliantly realised, as are D'harr and the boy - and even G-66! I really liked the space combat you described too. The larger Eldritch Arrow came across like a submarine with it's more cumbersome movement, which is just how med/large ships are visually portrayed in the films. Nice Touch. And your descriptions of the explosions are brilliant! And I wasn't expecting the twist at the end.

All in all a very professionally written story and an excellent read. I recommend that everyone take the the time to read this!

If you're ever planning on playing an alt character for the Republic faction please let Lunarwolf or myself know! lol

Thanks for the response! I really appreciate it! I'll have the second part up in couple of days, granted that I can shove some school work out of the way.

I'm thinking of playing Jonah (My RP alt) as a republic Smuggler although if he dies or is otherwise occupied in the roleplay on this forum I'll figure something else out. Anyway, the Trooper and Smuggler have really caught my eye so when I play republic (it definately will happen) I'll play one of them and get in touch with you without a doubt!

Thanks again!
Cheers!

Just finished reading part one and I thought it was awesome To reemphasize on what others have already said its an engaging and interesting read with excellent characters in it.

Is it odd that I feel sorry for the young 'Subject 36809' though? I sincerely hope he kills the captain.

This is another great example of some of the excellent stories and RP's we have around the forums at the moment and I'm really looking forward to the next installment

Lunarwolf wrote:

Is it odd that I feel sorry for the young 'Subject 36809' though? I sincerely hope he kills the captain.

Thanks for the remark LW! Always appreciated.

Not at all. I can't say much of his future, it will be unveiled in the next installment. I've began writing it and eventhough it isn't flowing as fast as the first one I am confident it'll be out before long.

I might break up the rest of the story into two parts (hence the "potential reservation").

Part II is posted. I couldn't find a wide variety of pictures to suit the writing so it's a bit harder on the eyes this time around. I'm semi-happy with the result and the text may become subject to some change.

Anyway, I hope you like and and if there's anything wrong with it go ahead and tell me!

Cheers 36809, I'll read this tonight! (right now I'm 30mins from finishing my night shift and I can barely see straight )

Lunarwolf wrote:

(right now I'm 30mins from finishing my night shift and I can barely see straight )

Hah, fair enough. I'm not to energetic myself... I'm pretty hungover

Anyway, I hope you like part two!

Gah, at first I was like "omg, tl;dr..." but after seeing the nice comments you got I feel I must. I'll be back and give you some nice critique when I've finished reading it all (don't worry, it'll probably only take me about 2 years =P). This just reminds me of that I have to finish my own character and story -_-

Viking wrote:

Gah, at first I was like "omg, tl;dr..." but after seeing the nice comments you got I feel I must. I'll be back and give you some nice critique when I've finished reading it all (don't worry, it'll probably only take me about 2 years =P). This just reminds me of that I have to finish my own character and story -_-

Haha, "Wall of text crits you for 99999". I wouldn't really promote my own work since I'm never to happy with anything that I write but I can say that if you want to get to know 36809 better as well as his background I recommend the read, eventhough it at first doesn't have much to do with him it is like a prologue or an introduction of him.

I would very much appreciate reading of your character Viking so don't delay it to much will you

Hmm, we'll, i've read most of it and... Jeez, it's excellent dude d(^.^)b You should write a novel or summin', was a very interesting read, and introduced you characters in a very good way. Now I really feel the pressure on myself ^^' Well, I'll try to not keep you all waiting. At least I'll finish her Wiki page as soon as possible -_-

Secret message: Bra jobbat grabben =D

Heh, thank's mate. I've tried writing extended texts but I usually end up deleting it all. Don't feel any stress mate, you've got plenty of time before the game comes out, I've just expressed my interest in reading something and I will if you write it! I've read the wiki part and it's very intriguing. I'm trying to write something myself but so far I've just managed to confuse myself.

Secret Message: Man tackar, man tackar

I chucked up a teaser for part III!

Hopefully part III will restore the sense of quality I felt with part one. I don't know if you agree but I personally felt that part II was a bit of an underachiever, but that's only me and my perfectionist ways... Heh.

Oh pants I fogot to read the second part
I'll read it tonight for sure and comment! don't worry even if its a bit underpar for your standards it'll still rock as your standards are pretty high it seems

Any comments on the second part? I can't quite put my finger on what I don't really think is up to standards. Would sincerely appreciate -any- feedback!