Ossa-Prime

*Ignoring the comment about the ship in scraps, Chief Warrent Officer Ohbyren nodded.*



*He stood, offering his hand to them.*

"We'll be there," *Arie said with a wide grin. They each stood and shook his offered hand--Ariel thanking him--then left the building. The weather had not changed much; Eli hadn't expected it to. She shivered in the brisk gust of wind, looking at Arie.*

"Now what?" *she asked.*

"Well . . . we could always go shopping, or, or looking rather." *Ariel winced, the lameness of her own words loud and clear. Eli sighed.*

"Nah. I think I'll go brood in the hot--" *Something bumped into her leg, and not just once, but several times. Eli turned to see who or what decided that she would be the target of their annoyingness. An R5 unit, the dark forest green paint all scratched up and scorch marks on its metal body, stood behind her and looked at her almost expectantly. She studied it for a moment before recognising the droid.*

"Imp!" *She threw her arms around the silent astromech, not caring if anyone saw or not. When she finally stood, she faced Ariel and for once was smiling.* "I guess we have a third member of our party now."

"I guess so. Well, come on, let's go back to the hotel."

Former Rear Admiral Gaerus Marthik, recipient of the Corellian Star, commandant of a private merchant fleet and security force numbering 10,000 individuals and captain of the Black Tear was overcome with a thirst for alcohol. Atmospheric re-entry had such an effect on him quite often- give him smooth sailing in space or solid ground over atmospheric flight any day.

His trio of bodyguards followed him at a leisurely pace- this was after all a Jedi world- and eagerly awaited the old bear to find a suitable place to sit and sip.

The chosen establishment was an open bar, partly sheltered by what was a traditional building while the exterior held a number of iron tables in the cool evening air.

"This will do stupendously," the old bear said. The guards nodded to one another and set about securing a seat and drinks. A moment later, Marthik had his customary iced rum and wine before him while he set about preparing his mobile command center- a datapad and small holoprojector. This was going to be a long evening if the call he expected to receive came through.

*Not being a picky eater Shihab stopped at the first establishment with tables outside, the evening was to nice to spend inside.*

*I glide over the town, looking for a suitable place to eat, see an establishment with tables out side I circle around and come down to street level, pulling up and braking with my wings just before I flew into a table. Looking around I See a man sitting at a table by himself in front of a data-pad and a portable holo-projector, and three other uninformed men sitting at a table near him sipping drinks and surreptitiously watching me. Either security or military personnel of some sort, if they all acted more or less the same throughout the galaxy. Greet both parties, as I walk towards them form the street.*

Good evening to you sirs, I trust this coming night finds you all quite well, yes?

The trio of guards shuffled suspiciously, eying Shihab with their hands on their blasters. It could have become a rather tense situation had Gaerus not interrupted their jobs with a barking laugh. The rotund, aged admiral swiped his hand at them with a "rusty gauntlet" beverage in hand.

"You three aren't good for sniffing out assassins- not to discourage you from the job however. But the Union wouldn't walk right up to me calm as you like and shoot me. They're much more artful."

The guards took a moment to gawk at their tipsy charge before making room for Shihab to edge past if he so chose. The Admiral was multitasking, one hand manipulating datapoints on his console while the other swirled his drink.

"A good night? I think so. But a grim morning come the dawn- which is why one needs to enjoy the wine, women and songs while one can!"

*I grin as I walk past the guards, and take a seat with the Admiral. Just before I sit I reach out a hand and introduce myself.*

I am Shihab Mahir, and why should the morning be grim? As night turns to day, hope is renewed; and so it it with every morning. And what is this Union you speak of, and why would they want you dead? You didn't insult the local hutt did you?

*A waitress droid came out to refill the admiral's drink and take Shihab's order while Shihab was talking.*

*I order nerf-steak and a cup of iced, sweet tea, a local blend I don't recognize, called Stuac Tea. And sit back and await the Admiral's response to my last couple of questions.*

The Admiral barked a sharp laugh, neither mocking nor amused by Shihab. He quickly finished his drink before offering it to the serving droid.

"You I like! No bothering that the sun rises it might be a nuclear explosion on the horizon rather than the sun. But at least you still have the optimism. The local Hutt can kiss the choobies of my star cruiser for all I care. No, I'm more worried about an alliance of genetic slavers collapsing planetary economies like they're houses of cards- much better superweapon than any Death Star if you ask me."

The admiral chuckled as he scooped up a steamed mushroom by his fork and chomped it down.

"Shihab Mahir. A good name. An exotic name. Much better than Gaerus Marthik, I think."

*I accepted my glass of iced Stuac Tea from the waitress droid and sipped it. Aaahhhhh, a strong, yet not over powering, brew rich in flavor.*

Ahh, yes economics. A powerful tool, and an easy enough environment to hide in as well. As for the nuclear explosion, are not stars massive chain reactions that contain many such explosions? Then every such explosion is a sun on the horizon, is it not? Only, some are less.... mature than others. They, the immature stars, may burn and poison much but this world will survive and recover; though you and I might not. Tell me though, why is it that they wish you dead? Have you rebuilt these card houses behind the Union?

*I smile at his generous praise for my name and nod acknowledgment.*

Thank you kind sir. My name may be more exotic of the two, but I believe Gaerus Marthik is the stronger of the pair.

*I continue to sip my tea periodically as I wait for my nerf-steak to arrive.*

*The steak arrives and I eat quickly. My companion seems to have gotten lost in his data-pad, no matter, he has his own problems to take care of, as I have mine. After finishing my meal, and paying my bill, I step back out into the street past the guards, and, stretching my wings as I leap from the ground, take to the sky once more. I fly back to the Biron.*

*Rroth stalked the streets, standing head and shoulders taller than most sentient beings here. Work had been slow, especially since his dearest friend mysteriously disappeared. He growled low in his throat, causing the people walking closest to him to give him a wider berth. As if the weapons attached to him didn't entice them to do so already. The days of protecting his friend├óÔé¼ÔÇØthe misguided and headstrong Arra Starren├óÔé¼ÔÇØwere dark things to remember. But they were past. He had to look to his future.

And right now, his future included a couple of drinks at the nearest bar.*

*Like his Rhommamoolian counterpart, the diplomat sent to Osarian makes his way to the head government building once landing. He has a slightly better time of it, however he can tell things might get difficult, considering what he is proposing.*

*Zacaiah piloted the Whitecloak fighter down through the planet's atmosphere and to Ossa-Primes spaceport, where she landed the fighter in a landing bay. She got up out of the pilot seat and passed by the 2 Tailring's which jumped up onto her shoulders as she made her way to the lowered boarding ramp and out of the ship into the hangar bay. Now that she was here, she just needed to find the Elementis brothers ship, since they usually operated out of it and very rarely boarded at a local hotel.

Though knowing the brothers, she probably wouldn't have to go far before one of their guards found her, since they should be expecting her arrival. She lifted her left arm and opened the cover on the gauntlet mounted datapad and input a couple commands on the display before her HUD showed up a minimap displaying scans produced by the ship's onboard scanning equipment. With her minimap now displaying, she headed off towards the exit of the hangar bay to go in search of the ship*

*Siberian stepped out into the doorway into the hangar bay Zacaiah had landed in and was about to leave. him and his brother Skorch had landed on Osarian a couple weeks beforehand and had been finishing up their plans for Zion's downfall. They had requested assistance for the execution of this particular plan, since Zion's recent progress had proven his memory was coming back to him around people he knew, so they didn't want to risk Zion remembering them and compromising their plan.
They had seen Zacaiah's ship on their scanners as it had come in for a landing, so Siberian had decided to come out and greet her personally instead of sending one of the Shadow Guard. Although they had heard glowing reports from Brithomar, they needed to be sure of this woman personally, since their past subordinates had not been the most reliable at ensuring success*

*Siberian would then lead Zacaiah through the spaceport to some of the larger hangar bays where the Wayfarer-class medium transport was currently landed. He would then take her in through the airlock into the Lounge area*

*Skorch turned towards the door as Siberian entered the ship with Zacaiah. He was seated at the head of the table, with a couple Shadow Guard's were relaxing on the couch just behind the table. Her clothing choices were rather interesting, but then again she was a hunter much like him and his brother, and he knew that the less you wore the better it was since you had less inhibiting your movements. There was also the interesting Tailring's that sat perched on her shoulders like silent guardians. Skorch motioned for Zacaiah to take a seat*

*Of those she was expecting to meet her, Siberian was definitely not on that list of people. Perhaps the Shadow Guards were all busy, or she really was important enough for them to deign to grace her arrival with their presence. Zacaiah would have liked to ask, but knew better of it and nodded to Siberian before following him through the spaceport to the hangar bay where the Elementis brothers ship was.

She nodded to Skorch as he greeted her, before taking a seat across from Skorch at the table. The 2 Tailrings remained perched on her shoulders as they sniffed the air, checking for any signs of a possible trap. Zacaiah then activated the external speakers for her helmet, uncertain of how long exactly she would be hanging around for*

*She wasn't much one for formalities and pleasantries, much preferring to get straight to business when it came to people like the Elementis brothers, knowing that otherwise it'd basically be a giant ego rubbing orgy for a while. Better to skip all that for now and just please herself later with a job well done, plus she hated being cooped up in a city doing nothing but talking*

*Skorch chuckled as Zacaiah got straight to business, it was good to work with someone who didn't care for small talk. Too many times in the past had they worked with men who had silver tongues, perhaps a women would succeed where the men had failed*

*Skorch got up from the table and lead Zacaiah through a set of doors to her left and then into the far corridor and through the hidden door to the secret storage compartment common aboard the Wayfarer-class. Skorch turned to Zacaiah in the darkness of the room*


*Siberian followed behind Zacaiah as Skorch lead the way to the secret storage compartment. As Skorch turned towards Zacaiah, Siberian hit a button which activated the lighting for the room, revealing two cryostasis tubes in the corner. Inside of them was clones of Zion's deceased sisters, though these one's were alive just merely in a cryo sleep for the time being*

*Skorch ushered Zacaiah over to the cryotubes so she could get a good look at their occupants. He brushed aside some of the frost on the outside of the glass*

*What could not be seen on Skorch's mostly hidden face, could be seen in his eyes and the way they looked at the clones. He was proud of these creations and he held a lot of confidence in them*

*Zacaiah followed Skorch as he lead the way through the ship into a small room. Her HUD noted the slight temperature drop and switched to it's heat seeking mode, revealing two large blue objects in the corner. The HUD changed back to normal view as Siberian turned on the lights to reveal the room and the two tubes in the corner.

As Skorch ushered her closer, she inspected one of the tube's contents through the cleared area in the frost that he had made for her. She couldn't believe what she did see in the tube though. There was no way it could be those two, they had been killed several years ago, their deaths had caused Zion to relentlessly chase Yahweh down. But from what Skorch had just said, it looked like the Elementis brother's had gotten a hold of their DNA and cloned them*

*If this was their all time best and final plan, then Siberian and Skorch must be really scratching the bottom of the barrel for ideas. There was no way Zion would believe his sisters were still alive. Perhaps Brithomar was right to have charged her with making sure Zion died, since she was certain this plan was doomed to fail before long. How these two were the best the Cinn Ion had to offer in the way of hunters was beyond her understanding*

*Siberian walked up besides Zacaiah as she asked if it was really the Morviael sister's in the tubes and how they had managed it. It was no easy task, but years of patience had paid off for them*


*Skorch then took over. Oh it had been a wondrous day when Gabriel had stabbed those two girls in the back. After years of tracking them down and toying with Zion, they had managed to deliver a crushing blow to him*


*Siberian nodded in agreement with Skorch. He was well aware of Zacaiah's doubts, but this was not their first attempt at taking out Zion, they had been planning this for years*


*Skorch paced the room a little as Siberian explained part of the plan and the work they had done so far. It was one of their finer plans so far where Zion was concerned.*

*Zacaiah continued to study the clones as Siberian and Skorch explained their plan, pointing out how they were going to cover up the fact Zion saw his sisters die, how she would help reinforce the story they had constructed. perhaps it was plausible enough to work, even for a little while, if not long enough for her to do what the Elementis Brother's had been tasked with doing for all these years.

She just nodded her head in agreement as Skorch finished explaining her role. This was going to triumphantly succeed or fail miserably, but the end result would be the same for Zion. If their plan failed, it was unlikely they would receive any sort of punishment for it, however she would be given some credit for the success, however they would claim it was their plan that got her close enough to succeed, thus meaning they would win either way*

*It was going to be weird working with two girls whom had been hunted and hated by the Cinn Ion for so many years, hell she was then going to have to work with Zion Morviael, who was like almost enemy No. 1 to the Cinn Ion. She may have to tread very lightly when working with him, especially if they ran into other Cinn Ion which they be forced to kill. Though surely Brithomar and the Elementis Brothers would not put her in a situation in which she could be viewed as a traitor because of her actions and those of Zion. Maybe this was just some ploy to get rid of her, perhaps they knew her secret. No, she couldn't assume anything other than that they were unaware and this was not just a set-up*