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[Marc Stratus]

Scenario Briefing said:

Red Scenario - Approval: James Stratus, Lead Admin

The Familiar Dawn Scenario is an official scenario that will be part of the Imperial Republic's official canon timeline. It is Scenario 1 of the series of Return from the Shadows scenarios that will soon be beginning. For this first scenario, there is a order of events clearly defined and therefore posting will be restricted to those involved in the initial scenario.

It was a cold dreary day on Kuat. Marc Stratus, Governor-Prince of Kuat, was meditating inside the family's secret temple located inside Mount Dagoon. Mount Dagoon was a lot of things. Very few people in the whole galaxy knew what it was, let alone that it even existed. Even fewer knew how to get to it, and fewer had access. It was not listed or published anywhere nor a tourist attraction. It was part of restricted space. Only passersby knew it existed. The public Kuatis knew it simply as a mountain on Royal territory that was part of an overall huge territory unexplored and restricted. The Force Temple and Fortress was indeed a place Marc visited on rare occasions though more than any other members of the family, being the only one who remained on Kuat. Ashlee was off exploring the outer-rim on dangerous flights and expeditions, and Nicole was on Corellia supervising Stratus Industries and Jim.....well....Jim's status was unknown. Marc had not heard from Jim in years. He saw him off when departed on his long mission to the Kathol Rift and beyond, where he would visit the Aing-Tii monks and others. He had not even thought of Jim for a long time. The Imperial Republic had changed much in Jim's absence. The Dowager Empress Layha Solo had made significant changes in the government and was on the brink of either insanity, or breakdown. She had gone through a lot in her own life that had affected who she was. She had changed. It was not a change Marc was thrilled about, but he still regarded her fondly and as part of his extended family. It was interesting watching events transpire in her life as she took on the role of Throne Regent. The Royal Family had supported her thus far in all her decisions, trusting that she was doing what was best.


As he meditated, a vision came to him. He found himself among the Noghri on their somewhat distant planet. Standing around him were Noghri warriors and leaders of the various Noghri clans that protected the Royal Family. The Noghri race have had an unchallengeable allegiance to the royal family as a result of a great love they developed for them for liberating them from Sith oppression and saving their race from extinction. They are a backup and private guarding Force (“in the shadows”) to members of the House Stratus and sometimes close friends. Four clans are each assigned to a family member to protect, the Overclan being dormant, having formerly protected James until he left – though a few close associates volunteered and insisted on going with him to the Shadows. He saw himself and Noghri warriors traveling to Kuat and arriving in huge forces, being smuggled in to the Palace. What did this mean? He had only one way to find out. He would have to travel to Wayland.

[Revan Centurion]

Earlier that morning...

Revan's patience was indeed becoming very thin as he sat in on the operational intelligence brief for the day. It appeared that having been the Director of the Imperial Republic Intelligence Service had done very little to acclimate Revan to the unfortunately bureaucratic process that was intelligence management these days. Between executing all of his various duties and spending time with his family, it was a wonder that Revan even managed to survive the previous day. Yes - he had ways of manipulating the very force of life around him to help sustain him from day-to-day, but that was hardly a practical pursuit. Unlike many of those he had met in the past, Revan knew that staying fit, sharp, and sane required him to use the force as little as possible. If an individual allowed their use of the force to become habit, they could very well lose their innate senses altogether. Still, it was important to keep the mind and body sharp both with and without the force.

"In conclusion, it would appear that the vast majority of our resources are finally beginning to stabilize thanks to the allocation of discretionary funds pulled from previous missi--"

Revan's mind blanked briefly before he was assaulted with an array of images. At first, he struggled to make any sense of the images. Eventually, he was able to focus his efforts strongly enough to turn the streaming images into a coherent picture. As a 'story' seemed to unfold before Revan's very eyes, he paid close attention. He was surrounded by Noghri of all things. Perhaps they were finally there to kill him for his less than enthusiastic attitude towards them following him around in the past. They were talking but did not appear to be speaking directly to him. As the image shifted slightly to the right, Revan's vision centered on Prince Marc Stratus. Marc Stratus was presently the Governor of Kuat. Revan had first met the Prince during a trip to Kuat with Kaidlen Shan. A trip which ended in a rather deadly clash of forces between the IR and the now recluse DCC. As the vision began to fade, Revan could hear one of the Noghri speak something very discreetly to him. "You bring honor to a name that was associated with much pain and bloodshed in days of old, Centurion. We will protect and follow you to Coruscant and beyond for that reason." The image quickly began 'fast-forwarding' through a long journey back to Coruscant where Revan found himself standing at the head of a sizable Noghri contingent.

Opening his eyes, Revan came to his feet as numerous faces stared at him with confusion and concern. "Gentlemen, I'm afraid I need to depart early. See to it that a copy of the written report is forwarded to my Intelligence Advisor immediately. That will be all." The individuals in the room quickly came to attention as Revan departed. Once he was in the corridor, Revan turned to his executive assistant, Denise, who was at his side nearly instantly. "Dispatch a message to Port Authority. I'm leaving to an undisclosed location and I need the emergency departure route clear of all traffic. Send a secure message, personally, to Kuat Port Authority and inform them of my impending arrival. Inform the Empress I'm leaving to see Prince Marc immediately."

After noting all of Revan's instructions, Denise left his side to carry out his orders. Revan made his way immediately to his personal shuttle, the Legatus. It would carry him to Kuat with the most haste and least public notification. His task force would remain behind on this one.

Several Hours Later, Kuati Palace

As the Legatus touched down gently on the concrete landing pad outside the Kuati Palace, personal residence of Prince Stratus, Revan immediately began shutting down all systems. Standing from his seat, he through his crimson and black overcoat on and descended the loading ramp. The heels of his boots clicked very softly against the concrete landing pad as he made his way towards a number of waiting Royal Guards. "I need to speak with the Prince, it is urgent." For now, Revan waited for a response. Revan's own Royal Guards remained vigilant behind him.

[Marc Stratus]

The comlink on Marc's desk chimed. He sighed. He never seemed to be able to do anything without interruptions. Especially whenever he was about to depart on a secret mission. He had contacted his royal family emergency travel agent at Stratus Industries and a trade ship had arrived at the palace and was now loading up various supplies that Marc decide to take with him to give to the Noghri. He of course, was not on the manifest, but would be smuggled on the ship, as this was an unofficial and secret trip. He would have to allude the guard, which would create some concern, but quite frankly he didn't care. He was not happy with the new royal guard that had been put in place. Layha had authorized changes of the guard, but he was sure it did not come from her directly, as he sensed she too was a bit uncomfortable with the changes once in place. He keyed the comm. "Yes?" he asked.

"Your Highness, you have a visitor." It was the voice of his guard.

"I'm not interested in visitors at the moment," he responded. He paused. The guard would not trouble him with random visitor requests. He did not have any appointments. Usually his secretary announced visitors, but she had left for the day. Still the fact that they were informing him of a visitor they had admitted was curious, and meant it was probably someone important. If they hadn't dismissed the visitor already, then it was probably someone he should at least entertain initially. "Oh well, send in the visitor, but this is the last one for today. I am tired."

"Yes Your Highness."

A tall dark figure with a crimson-black overcoat was admitted into his office. He recognize him immediately. Revan Centurion, Executor of the Imperial Republic. He was fond of Revan. He had fought alongside Revan in the Battle for Kuat when the rebel group attacked. The was the battle in which Jim had been injured and Marc's wife, Amie, had gone insane and was arrested. She had since passed away. That was a while ago. Despite Jim's absence, the High Council had remained loyal to the Royal Family, as had the Throne. Revan was no exception. And here he was, standing in his office, unannounced, just as Marc was about to embark on a secret mission.... This could get interesting, he thought. Putting all those thoughts aside, he greeted the Executor.

"Executor Centurion! Welcome! What brings you to Kuat?"

[Revan Centurion]

Revan was happy to see that the guards had at least elected not to give him unnecessary trouble. As he was guided through the elaborate corridors of the Palace, Revan's mind began flashing back to his last visit to the large estate. He recalled a very abrupt arrival followed by a brief run... Of course, who could forget the end of the 'episode'. The High Prince's military aide had put a quick stop to the Princess Amie's antics with a surprisingly deceptive manipulation of a nearly invisible lightsaber. Revan could certainly appreciate the young woman's methods of discretion. They were all careful, and they all knew that public display of their abilities could well lead to an unfortunate destabilization of the populace's confidence in the Imperial Republic Government. Revan certainly good not blame Imperial Republic society for that - force users were the primary reason for so much of the galaxy's past...turmoil.

"Executor Centurion! Welcome! What brings you to Kuat?"

Revan had slipped so deep into his day-dream, that he hadn't even realized he had arrived in Marc's office. Lowering his head slightly, Revan afforded the Prince a polite bow before responding. "Your Highness, I sincerely apologize for the lateness of the hour. Naturally, I am not one to belabor a point or conduct visits for business that could have been handled via hololink." Revan glanced back to his Royal Guards, indicating that they should depart the office for now. As his gaze swept back to the Prince, he smirked slightly. "So naturally I've come regarding something important, and I think you know what that is...Your Highness..." Revan's facial expression said more than words could possibly hope to in this instance. Still - he emphasized the point with a message hidden in the subtle nuances of the force. *I've had a vision...concerning myself, Noghri, and you. Logic can only dictate that the force has likely sent you similar insight into future situations...*

[Marc Stratus]

Marc raised his eyebrows. This was indeed an interesting turn of events. Marc had not foreseen taking anyone from the government with him, especially a Force-sensitive one. The fact that one was standing in front of him now was very interesting. Revan was sent here too. He did need someone to take some of the Noghri he would be picking up to Coruscant and sneak them in without anyone noticing. Now that Revan was here, he was probably the perfect one for the job. How this was all being orchestrated and playing out Marc did not know. Whoever had helped to influence all this was probably a genius. His only hope was that it was not a Sith Lord, because they would only be playing into his hands. The Noghri's loyalty was unquestionable, and so for that he saw nothing but good coming from what he was about to do. He nodded to Revan and indicated he was about to embark on a somewhat longer trip. He motioned towards the wall behind his desk in a Shall we go? sort of way. (PM: Revan might be confused but he's pretty smart he'd probably expect Marc to have a secret passageway in his office, as the wall behind Marc's desk is just that.) He walked over to his desk and slid his thumb in a certain spot under his desk. As the thumbscan completed, he pressed in the scanner and the wall behind his desk slid open at a slight angle, admitting those near to a secret passageway, the Palace's hidden tunnel system. He had not told the guards of this tunnel system, though the few Noghri currently on Kuat patrolled it themselves. He extended his hand again towards it and led the way. The wall closed behind them and immediately lights in the tunnel clicked on after the wall's airtight seal closed. They eventually came to a point with many tunnels and paths to choose from. Marc paused for a moment and then selected one to head down. "I hope you brought everything you are going to need for the next week. If you didn't, well..it's probably too late now. We need to get on that freighter before it takes off, and before anyone notices we are gone. Glad to have you along," he added. "This will be an interesting trip." He sighed and then with a quiet and concerned tone he added, "A storm is rising."

[Nicole Mcfayden]

Jedi Temple, Corellia

With objects floating in the air around her, Nicole Mcfayden searched hard to locate the mental presence of her friend, and mentor, Aji'kli Fentoba. The object in this exercise was to sharpen mental awareness and detect the presence of individuals hiding in stealth while many other things were taking place all around her. She came often to the Jedi Temple on Corellia to meditate, and to improve her present skills and discover new ones. Nicole often received help and training from Aji'kli, who was Ieyena Cohean's first padawan, though now herself a Senior Knight?Master(undecided). Nicole often struggled with this exercise, which was presently frustrating to her. It was one of her weaker areas. Her husband had suggested she work on this as it would be a key skill likely need in the future. She wanted to find Aji'kli's presence on her own, without having Aji'kli give herself up. Suddenly everything went blank.

She was no longer in the meditation hall with Aji'kli but rather in the Jedi Temple's library. How did I get here? she thought. "Aji'kli?" she called out. There was no response. It must be a test. As she perused through the datacards, she seemed to be led to a particular place and a particular card. She pulled out a card marked SI, for Stratus Industries. She placed it into her datapad. It read Stratus Industries is a large corporation of many functions. They manufacture a variety of products and provide a variety of services including transportation, security, information brokering, trade services, accounting, staffing services....the list went on. The first sentence combined with the first two listed services, transportation and security, were heavily on her mind. She recognized immediately that this was not a regular information datacard, as it appeared to any public user. It appeared to have general and contact information for Stratus Industries various divisions and departments. Being on the board of directors of Stratus Industries, she knew exactly what was on this particular brand of card. They had several of them placed strategically throughout the galaxy, each with unique information about that particular area, including an emergency travel agent contact for the area. SISAFET was the Stratus Industries-Security Agency-Family Emergency Travel department. It arranged for discrete and immediate transportation for members of the Royal Family upon request. She then found herself in Mount Dagoon on Kuat, the Royal Family's hidden Force Temple near the Palace. She detected someones presence and heard the sound of a familiar voice calling her name....

"Nicole? Nicole?" she woke up on a cold stone floor to see the face of Aji'kli looking down at her. "Are you alright, Princess?" Aji'kli asked as she regained consciousness.

"What happened?" Nicole asked.

"You blanked out and fell, or so we think," Aji'kli responded.

We? She looked over to see a medical droid tending to her. Aji'kli had not called the guards who were waiting for her outside the temple. She was grateful for that. She realized she had just had a vision. "I must go," she said as she stood up on her feet.

Aji'kli raised her eyebrows in question.

"Don't ask me, I can't tell you now, but I have to go. Don't tell anyone anything. Just say I left after our exercise and you did not see me leave and do not know where I went, because its the truth."

Aji'kli nodded, understandingly. Nicole raced to the temple's library, making herself almost unnoticed by anyone, which required much concentration. She found the datacard in her vision, and went to one of the temple's private comm centers, as comlinks did not work inside the temple, they were forbidden. She keyed in the frequency code.

"Hello?" a voice answered.

"This is Nicole, SIBD."

"Yes, what would you like to drink today?" The voice asked.

"Kuati granite," she responded.

"Yes ma'am, we'll bring it right to you. ETA 5 minutes."

Nicole waited for her pickup. They would have to meet her at a location a bit distant from the temple, so as the guards and other security forces would not notice. She traveled quickly to the appointed landing pad, after sneaking out of the temple unnoticed by her guards. A lone man stood at the bottom of the landing gear of the newer Corellian YT-510, one of the fastest light freighters in the galaxy. She boarded and they immediately took off.

[Revan Centurion]

Silence...

In another life it probably would have irritated Revan slightly, but he hadn't been one to let such things get to him in...quite some time. Perhaps in his older age Revan was becoming somehow...tamed, controlled. No...if anybody is to blame for that, it's my son. Without patience, Revan probably would have had the urge to throw the boy into a river multiple times by now. It wasn't that Revan disliked his son. While he did accept the fact that Jayden's place was on Naboo, preparing to lead their people, Revan did not exactly like being so far removed from his only child. Besides, Jayden and Revan tended to have somewhat of a 'playfully physical' relationship. ...maybe I haven't aged all that much after all, mentally anyways. The thought caused Revan to laugh ever so slightly, but he managed to play it off as a reaction to Marc activating a secret passageway. "It's funny how many people have these kinds of things in their homes now. At least...those that have a need to be able to disappear from the galaxy."

"I hope you brought everything you are going to need for the next week. If you didn't, well..it's probably too late now. We need to get on that freighter before it takes off, and before anyone notices we are gone. Glad to have you along," he added. "This will be an interesting trip." He sighed and then with a quiet and concerned tone he added, "A storm is rising."

Revan nodded slightly with a somewhat sour expression. "Seems the galaxy is constantly in a state of flux where the balance between good and evil is concerned. I remember stories from my Uncle...stories about days when the galaxy was very much black and white. That isn't the case anymore. Gray seems to be the dominating color of most people in this society, myself included. I hide behind the title of a Shadow Jedi...perhaps it gives legitimacy to my case." It really did make him wonder at times. Revan could sense that something was on the horizon, but he just couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. There was something clouding the future from his sight. He wondered if the galaxy would ever truly stabilize again. Doubt it...a galaxy in true balance just doesn't exist anymore. Perhaps it never really did...

[Ashlee Gourdine]

Outer Rim, Near IR Border

The Blue Diamond sped swiftly across space in the Outerim Rim F-4 sector, part of the IR Outer Rim territory. Ashlee Gourdine was an explorer. She liked to travel all over the galaxy and discover its mysteries. Much to her family's dismay, she particularly liked to travel in the Outer Rim and Unknown Space, near and sometimes beyond the Imperial Republic border. It was very dangerous terrain. Her husband, Captain Travis Gourdine, commanded an interdiction line on the IR border near the Vashon sector. He was often concerned for her safety, and rightly so. She was strong-willed and wanted to be close to her husband, who had volunteered for this normally frowned upon duty in the Outer Rim. She met Travis when she was touring and inspecting fleets in the Outer Rim. She visited his unit often which led to their courtship and eventual marriage. It was only a few years ago. Jim missed it. She wished her brother had been at the wedding, so he could meet Travis, but he was off somewhere, "in the Shadows", as the family often refered to it.

The Blue Diamond, a blue YT-2210 (a newer version of the old 1210), had a crew of five, including herself. Her husband would not let her travel alone, so she had a small crew tat would look after her and try to keep her out of trouble. Try, being the key word. One was a royal guardsman, handpicked and loyal to her. The other a marine, permanently assigned to her by the Minister of Defense. She had a technical specialist from Koranchs Enterprises, and then there was Gaal Din, a former smuggler. They all rotated tasks aboard the ship and two always accompanied her when she left the ship. This particular mission was going to be tricky. They were going to a somewhat shady planet where pirates often frequented. The planet itself, however, was one of great beauty. It flowed with all kinds of rare gems and crystals, some rarer even than those found on Hapes. Since she was a member of the Royal Family, the Ministry of Defense authorized and equipped her with military grade weapons and equipment for her ship.

While traveling to their jump point, Ashlee pondered about this trip. She had been looking forward to it for a long time. She had to go through all kinds of arguments before Travis would let her go. The Blue Diamond had even undergone upgrades by the military to provide better protection. The lights dimmed and she found herself not on the Blue Diamond at all, but on Agathom a smuggler base. It was a hideous and filthy place, not at all the beauty she was expecting at Circaligee . She was surprisingly by herself, not with the guard, smuggler, or marine, or even the technical specialist. That much surprised her. She found her way over to an old run-down building. It was very weird being alone. She soon realized, however, that she was not alone at all. Standing in front of her were four people with blasters aimed at her. Without a pause she grabbed her blasters through the Force and tossed them away, pulling out her blaster and firing before they could pull out their backup weapons. An older man, armed, was soon at her side firing at her assailants.

"We warned you old man! Mind your own affairs!" an assailant shouted.

"Leave the girl alone, you dirty thieves." Before they could respond, a sniper on the ceiling also joined them in the conflict, and knocked out two of them, leaving the other two still in the conflict. The old man shot the remaining two and wounded them enough to put them out of commission for the interim. "Come on, before their friends come too!" he shouted. He led the Princess to a medium freighter, heavily armed, and they immediately took off, several pursuers behind. After a quick run and small dogfight, the ship jumped to hyperspace and eventually arrived at Kuat. Kuat was towards the middle of the Imperial Republic space. Why am I so far away from where I was, and at my homeworld? They landed at the spaceport and she found herself inside "the Mountain".

OOC: I know this is all confusing - I can't seem to find a better way to rewrite it so we'll assume she ended up somewhere she did not intend in the process of being assleep may edit later.

[Nicole Mcfayden]

En route to Kuat

Nicole felt a thump as the Fast Rider came out of hyperspace once again. It was not at all the smooth ride she had expected. "How many more of these jumps do we have to do, Captain?" she asked.

"Just one more, Your Highness," came his reply. "Standard procedure for secure travel. Pirates and other ruffians often lay in wait to intersect us on the frequently traveled routes, not to mention the Imperial Republic's interdiction lines that seem to be highly active on this travel path. The Navy seems to have a high concentration here, which is unusual. Perhaps you could tell me why?"

Nicole shook her head. She did not know, actually. "How do you know there are interdiction lines on this route, seeing as we haven't hit any?" she asked with her eyebrow raised.

He smiled. "It's my business to know these things ma'am. Those of us in my department have our sources You should know that. We work closely with your own IRIS."

That didn't surprise her too much, but she did not know that. Perhaps it was something Jim had set up. She was the Acting Chairman of Stratus Industries, and so she kept very busy. There were many aspects of the government she had distanced herself from and not had time to pay attention to as she had in the past. As a member of the Royal Family, she did have access to all those things, but she was not in the loop currently. The ship jumped to hyperspace one last time only to immediately revert back to realspace. She recognized her surroundings immediately, though it had been quite some time since she had been here. There in front lay the view of the planet Kuat itself. Off to the right viewport was the Kuat Drive Yards, a series of space stations devoted to producing military and government ships, and others as well. She had mixed feelings about the place. It was her homeworld, though she did not spend much of her life there, but rather much on Hapes and Corellia. She hadn't talked with her siblings in a long time since Ashlee's wedding, and Jim had not been there. Ashlee was off exploring and Marc stayed mostly on Kuat, serving as the head of the sector government. He had made this his home. She was excited to see him. Coming into her view were parts of the Kuat Naval Guard, the Reinforced Sector Fleet that protected that whole area. She had heard that Admiral OVERMIND frequented visits here as this place produced a good amount of the Navy's capital warships, and housed Naval Headquarters. Marc and the admiral had had many visits and conversations, but she did not know the admiral very well. She wondered if he was here this time. As she reached out through the Force she could not sense Marc's presence. He did not seem to be in reach, which meant he must be off somewhere farther away. She didn't know he was going anywhere. That was odd. He usually did not travel except occasional trips to Corellia, Coruscant, and a few others. He rarely went to Hapes, due to their unfriendliness towards the male gender. She and her sister, Ashlee, on the other hand, went to Hapes fairly often and were always well received, being members of the Hapan Royal Family as well, by adoption. As they approached, she sensed she would need to sneak to the palace from the spaceport. The comm beeped. They were being hailed by either the Port Authority or the Naval Guard. "Captain, I think you better identify ourselves before we meet that fleet faster than we want."

He nodded and switched on the comm. "Fast Rider to Port Authority, requesting clearance to land at Stratalia Spaceport. My wife and I are visiting family." They waited for a response.



SOMEONE TO POST PORTAUTH/NAVALGUARD CLEARANCE INSTRUCTIONS, ETC. (OM or someone Navy)

[Khyron Overmind]

"Fast Rider to Port Authority, requesting clearance to land at Stratalia Spaceport. My wife and I are visiting family" was the transmission heard by Lieutenant Marcus in his comm unit. He took a glance at his displays and no flight path had been presented for such a ship.

"Fast Rider, this is Port Authority. We do not have a flight plan logged, so submit your authorization codes and set your transponder to mode S. Stand-by for clearance."

[Ashlee Gourdine]

EN ROUTE TO KUAT

As the Blackfin sped across space at maximum speed, Ashlee turned to her rescuers who were piloting the ship. "Princess, you have two options. You can either get in that gun turret or you can take the copilot's chair, though I would prefer you do the latter," the old man, who was piloting the ship, instructed. She looked at him and took the copilot's seat, and the sniper went back to the gun turret.

"Who are you and how do you know who I am?" she asked.

"Name's Jacen Kast. We're with SISAFET."

"You're...how did you know I would be there? And where are you taking me?"

"Wherever you want, Princess. That's our job. We got a hint you were going to be in the area, and we made sure we were ready just in case. We didn't expect you on Rameumtus though. We just happened to be stationed there. We were about to head to Circaligee and be on hand for your trip there but you showed up on UGLYPLANET unexpected and we spotted your ship on the way in. So...where to?" he asked.

She nodded and reflected for a moment. The Mountain.... She remembered her vision. "Kuat. Take me to Kuat."

"Wow, that's a long trip. Should we pick up your ship and team first?"

"No time, besides, our friends back there will be waiting for us."

"That's true. Kuat it is then. We may have to stop somewhere to refuel. That will be quite a trip, but this thing is fast."

[Nicole Mcfayden]

"Port Authority, clearance code NSM-35621. Transponder on. Last minute flight, plan not logged due to time constraints and urgency of family visit."

[Khyron Overmind]

Lieutenant Marcus verified the authorization code and made sure it was up to date. Satisfied it was, he trasmitted:

"Fast Rider, proceed to Stratalia Spaceport using approach path alfa theta one six niner. Proceed with standard descent and then maintain flight level 95 until you reach waypoint Needle. From then on, contact local approach on frequency one two four point seven five for landing instructions. Keep your transponder on at all times and have a safe flight. Port Authority over."

One less ship to vector in and several hundreds more during the remaining of his shift.

[Nicole Mcfayden]

EN ROUTE TO KUAT

The Fast Rider, having recieved clearance, though after a bit of delay, arrived at the Stratalia Spaceport in the capital city of Kuat. Nicole had disguised herself as someone else, and did her best to keep from being noticed. A hovercab drove her and her pilot to a home where their "family" lived. It was actually a place housed by a married couple, older, who worked for Stratus Industries. Their only job was to lay low, live a normal city life, and be on hand to facilitate travel and lodging in situations just like this, no questions asked. Nicole was dropped off and another agent, disguised to look like the person Nicole pretended to be, went back to the spaceport with the captain of the Fast Rider. Nicole took a speeder to the palace to go on a "tour". She made herself scarce and slipped through a hidden passageway to Marc's room. He was definitely not in the Palace, nor on Kuat as far as she could tell. She took the tunnel series and arrived at a speeder. It was a long ways to the mountain. There were several speeders there, keyed to operate only by certain people. She found the one she knew was designated for her and hopped in. A deep catlike voice spoke from behind her. She jumped, pulling out her blaster and spun around to find two Noghri sitting in the back, one of which had joined her up front.

"Princess," the Noghri said, "it is alright. We have been following you since you arrived in Stratalia. You are safe with us. We will go with you to the Mountain."

She was not overly surprised. Jim had placed a cadre of Noghri warriors in the tunnel system and arond the mountain to prevent intruders and to protect the family along the way. Though this was the first sighting of them. They were really good at hiding. They would have been guarding the first passageway too, but they must have identified her and allowd her to pass without them revealing themselves to her. Detection of people lurking in the shadows was one of her weak points, and it frustrated her. They traveled to the mountain , and there she waited at the monitoring station to keep an eye out for anyone who would approach.

[Ashlee Gourdine]

2 Days After Nicole's Arrival - KUATI APPROACH

"Your Highness, approaching Kuat now. If you have any special codes, you might want to issue them now - otherwise we are about to be intercepted by that fleet of yours. You see - we are not exactly a legally registered vehicle, not to mention our excess military-grade weapons - that will get their attention fast."

"You mean you brought me into Imperial Republic space on a stolen ship?" she asked, with a dark tone in her voice.

"Not exactly stolen...it's just that we have been working out in the Outer Rim and the Unknown Regions and this isn't exactly registered with the Port Authorities of the IR, nor is the equipment authorized by the Ministry of Defense. We rarely work in IR-territory." He paused and looked at the screen. "It looks like your friends are already on there way." He pointed to the screen. It showed a fighter compliment and a couple small patrol shpis heading their way.

Ashlee opened a channel to the fleet. "This is a diplomatic vessel. I would like to speak to your fleet commander on a secure channel."

[Khyron Overmind]

The MoD Fleet was visiting Kuat in one of its customary trips, so when the unidentified ship appeared in the Kuati space, the MoD Fleet was the closest to them, since they were rarely in close orbit to the planet. The Tactical officer onboard the Avenger was informed about the approaching vessel and he had just redirected a squadron of fighters to intercept it and he was going to ask the Comm officer to open a channel with them when the ship contacted them.

The Comm officer got the message and replied in turn.

"Unidentified vessel, this is the Battleship Avenger. Please turn your transponder on and transmit your ID and registration."

[Ashlee Gourdine]

Avenger...Ashlee thought. That was OVERMIND's ship. I sure hope he is on board that ship. My identity must not be compromised, except to him if necessary. "Avenger, this is an unregistered Diplomatic vessel coming from AFAR. Proper authorization will be transmitted in private to your Fleet CO. I must speak with him."

[Khyron Overmind]

"Unidentified ship stand-by."

The Comm officer contacted the officer of the bridge, as neither the captain nor the XO were on duty at that time.

"Sir, there is an unidentified ship claiming to be a diplomatic vessel and state that they will only produce proof of that when talking to the Fleet CO."

"Have you dispatched a squadron to intercept?" he asked to the Tactical officer.

"Yes sir, they will arrive there in 60 seconds. Standard rules of engagement for the time being."

"Good. I will contact the Admiral."

Moments later....

"Sir, this is Commander Phineas from the bridge. There is an unidentified ship claiming to be a diplomatic vessel and state that they will only produce proof of that when talking to the Fleet CO."

"Ok, open a secure channel and patch it to my quarters."

"This is Grand Admiral OVERMIND. Identify yourself at once or we will have to intercept and board you for inspection."

[Ashlee Gourdine]

"Admiral OVERMIND. It is a pleasure to speak with you once again, after quite some time. You must understand that I was never here. We never had this conversation. I am here on an emergency travel visit aboard a SI ship to visit my family. OVERRIDE AUTHORIZATION CODE SEVEN-GOURDINE-ALPHA-NINER." She hoped he would recognize her voice. Either way, that was a very special code that would allow her, (combined with her voice and provided the person she provided it to believed her), as a member of the Royal Family, access to anything as well as getting out of sticky situations. She hoped that the admiral would run the code through his computer and allow her passage without any problems. She tried to reach out to him through the Force so that he would recognize her. She was surprised when she met a strong mental block and a powerful mind. The Admiral must have been practicing, as he had indeed grown in skills. It wasn't too surprising though, that a military commander would have such a strong mind. Her other hope was that he would not pass on the nature of the code, because it could be traced to her and she did not want IRIS or anyone to be alerted to her presence here, especially the Royal Guard.

[Khyron Overmind]

The Admiral heard the voice and indeed it sounded familiar but he was not able to pinpoint it to a face. He was sure that he had heard it a long time ago, but could not say where or when, nor who he was speaking to. He decided to run the code to his computed. While he was doing that, he sensed that a mind was trying to reach him. He resisted it since he could not risk to lower his guard unless he was positive who was on the other side of the transmission. Moments later, he knew why the voice seemed familiar. However, even if he had recognized it in the first place, he was obliged to validate the code. Voices could be copied but getting the appropriate authorization codes was extremely difficult.

"Your Highness, my apologies. I had not recognized your voice. Do not worry, nobody will know you were here. Since your ship is passing as a diplomatic ship, I shouldl arrange for a diplomatic escort to the planet. However, since it appears that you want to keep a low profile, I will keep them off, just close enough to jump in if there are any troubles. Do let me know if there is anything else I can assist you with."

[Ashlee Gourdine]

After getting confirmation from the Admiral, Ashlee felt relieved. They touched down directly at the Palace landing pad, having used a clearance code the admiral had transmitted to the Port Authority overriding all other clearances required for such a destination, allowing her to arrive uninterrupted, though with a small compliment of EID-Fighters as an honor guard escort. She disguised herself as the leader of some distant government. The sniper went in with her as a guard. She had Palace Security agents escort her as an honor guard on the ground to her quarters. When she was finally alone, she slipped into the hall, having made sure her guards were asleep, and found her way to a tunnel entrance, as there was none in the guest quarters. She was "greeted' immediately by the Noghri shadow guards. They smelled her bloodline as she approached and identified her immediately, despite her disguise. They would not have let her pass, otherwise. They escorted her to the Mountain where she found someone waiting for her at the entrance. Someone she knew.

"Nicole?" Someone called out.

"Ashlee? Is that you?" It was a sweet reunion. They hugged each other and began catching up. They both looked around.

"So....what brings you here?" Nicole asked.

"I was going to ask you that. Where is Marc?" Ashlee asked.

"I don't know," Nicole responded. "I can't find him. The Noghri said he and his guards are gone so he must be okay....." There was a pause. "I had a vision." she said quietly. "I came here to find the missing pieces."

Ashlee nodded. "So did I."

[Marc Stratus]

The freighter carrying Marc Stratus and Revan Centurion landed at the Noghri complex on Wayland. The Noghri stood by as supplies were unloaded. As Marc and Revan descended the ramp, everyone halted and looked up. They were not expecting any dignitaries, especially these particular ones. They smelled Marc's bloodline immediately and a call went out which notified others of their arrival. Several of them approached.

"Greetings to the Prince. We were not expecting you Your Highness. You honor us with your presence. To what do we owe this great honor?"

"I must speak to your clan leaders. It is a matter of urgency and great importance."

The Noghri nodded and pulled out his comlink and spoke into it. "The clan leaders will meet you at the Grand Dukha. We will escort you and noble Centurion there."

Marc had not introduced the Executor, but they must have known what he smelt like too, because they had identified him depsite his disguise.

As they arrived at the Grand Dukha in New Nystao, the Clan Dynasts and Maitrakhs were waiting anxiously. They rose from their seats as the Prince and Executor entered in the audience chamber. "Annoucning the arrival of His Royal Highness, Prince Marc of the House Stratus, and Revan Centurion, Baron of Naboo and Executor of the Imperial Republic." There was an applause and then a hush of silence as Marc stepped up to the center podium.

"To the leaders of the Noghri Clans, the House Stratus extends our appreciation and thanks for your loyalty and devotion in protecting our family and assisting us in many different ways. I apologize for not announcing my visit here. There were certain...complications involved, and what I will tell you I must have your assurance that it will be kept a secret and not disclosed to any non-Noghri parties and on a need-to-know basis." He turned to dynast of the overclan.

The dynast, Vor'corbakh, spoke up in his gravely voice. "All present here now swear to secrecy the important message from our esteemed guests, including his presence here. Aknowledge."

There came many cries from the Noghri leaders acknowledging, until all were accounted for. The dynast motioned for the Prince to continue.

"I have had a vision through the Force. I cannot elaborate too much details on it, but I continue to see battles and wars. The House Stratus is in danger, and we need your help. I see in my vision Noghri warriors rising to defend the House Stratus, and the House Stratus being attacked on all fronts from within. What I have come for here today is to ask that the Noghri assemble warriors to travel with myself to Kuat, and with the family's trustee Revan Centurion to Coruscant. You will plant yourselves in shadow mode, hiding within the passageways and throughout the families' residences, offices, etc. We will need additional warriors to Coruscant and possibly Kuat than what will be available presently, so we will have to send Revan back for more at a later time. This is an urgent matter. I do not know what danger we will face, or when. I just know we must be ready now. The dark side of the Force clouds everything. As spokesman for the House Stratus I request your assistance and ask you to establish a contigent of Forces to place at our disposal for an unknown period of time. I am sorry to even ask for this. The House Stratus will do what we can to recompensate you for your services. Whatever it is you need or want, you name it, we will provide it. Even if you need more construction droids or if you want payments in credits or goods, whatever you need, just ask us, we will give it to you."

There was a lot of discussion in the Noghri language between the dynasts and maitrakhs. Then finally the dynast of the overclan spoke. "Your Highness, this is a great undertaking you ask of us. However the Noghri people are forever in debt to your family, and we will continue to serve and protect you. We will provide what you ask of us, and we will appreciate whatever you can provide to us in return. We hold you at your honor to provide what you see fit and if a specific item is needed we will ask. We will assemble warriors for immediate departure. If this is as serious as you imply, we will need to act quickly indeed. More batches of troops will be available for transport within the next couple weeks. We will need to do some training and provide equipment to them."

The Prince nodded. "The House Stratus thanks you again for your service. We will provide whatever equipment you desire, or provide the funds to purchase them. We have special funds set aside just for this purpose. Thank you for your sacrifice." After he was done speaking the Executor said a few words about his vision and answered some questions, to give the Noghri a better idea of what to prepare for. They were escorted to a temporary quarters to wait until they would launch.

*****
Later the next day

Noghri troops were assembled and ready to launch. A small drop ship transport was ready for the Executor to take to Coruscant, and another waited for Marc. Marc turned to Revan. "Don't tell anyone at Coruscant about this. Lead them into the Palace, and let them plant themselves from there. You will be our point of contact on Coruscant for the Noghri, so some will accompany you wherever you go. When the time comes that they are needed, you will recognize that and will know what to do." With that the Prince shook hands with the Executor and ascended the boarding ramp of his transport with troops leading the way and following behind.

****
At Kuat
A drop ship transport arrived in the Kuat system. It had filed a flight plan, and upon its arrival in system, Marc transmitted emergency clearance codes so that they would avoid all inqueries and headed straight for a private landing pad just outside the palace. He would have to help smuggle them in throught the tunnel system without the guards noticing them, and would have to reappear in his office or quarters. Doubtless the Royal Guards were anxiously searching for Marc now, not knowing where he was, and would perhaps even have alerted Coruscant to that fact. He would have to play dumb and lay low for a while.

Edited by James Stratus, 28 July 2008 - 04:16 PM.
Completed post.

[Revan Centurion]

Revan stood silently beside the Governor-Prince of Kuat as he entered into an exchange with one of the Noghri. While Revan certainly was curious to see what became of these events, he was also a bit weary of what this could mean. Was there something that was going to happen on Coruscant? Kuat? Was it the force’s way of saying yet another conflict was getting ready to engulf the galaxy? Then one of the Noghri spoke his name. Suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised… After all, Revan had been working with Noghri…well…around them at least – for the better part of some ten or so years now.

Even as all of these thoughts rattled around Revan’s brain, his biggest question remained…why him? Why did he receive this vision, and why was he seemingly duty-bound to lead a force of Noghri into what he could only assume would become conflict. Too many things had changed as of late…the galaxy needed stability now more than ever. Revan was jarred from his thoughts when he and Marc were ushered towards the Grand Dukha to meet with the clan leaders.

As was the case with most meetings, much was said. The Noghri seemed more intrigued by the visions of himself and Marc than concerned per say. Not that I should be surprised by that either… When all was said and done, Marc took his own freighter back to Kuat with a medium-sized contingent of Noghri. The larger force would accompany Revan to Coruscant. Seeing as how his own vessel was still at the Kuati Palace…along with the guards that had accompanied him there, Revan was forced to board one of the transports already on Wayland. It was a fairly large freighter bordering on the size of a small capital ship, but that was to be expected given the number of Noghri accompanying Revan back to Coruscant. The design…seemed familiar to Revan, but he could not exactly place his finger on its manufacturer.

As the vessel lifted off the ground with surprisingly few vibrations of the hull, Revan leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes. Briefly, he expanded his presence outward, allowing it to flow through the force until he touched the presence of both his son and fiancée. With the uncertainty of the times, he worried for their safety – even if he did not necessarily need to. They were all well, of course. That in itself was enough reason for him to smile somewhat warmly in the cool atmosphere of the spacecraft.

[Kaidlen Shan]

Back on Coruscant.......
Kaidlen Shan lay curled up in her bed within her home, sleeping. Every so often, her body would twitch, in reaction to whatever the catlike woman was dreaming.
_{Kaidlen was exploring a mountainous place, climbing up the sides of cliffs with someone who had a strong resemblance to herself. She looked up the cliff face, and spotted a dark hand reaching down to give her some assistance up. The white haired woman accepted the hand, and was pulled upwards to the top of the cliff. Standing in front of her was a Noghri, who was holding her hand. Kaidlen reconised the being standing in front of her, it was someone she worked with in her duties to the Throne. Turning around, Kaidlen saw that she was standing on Kuat among other Noghri.}

The Lieutenant Colonel sat up in her bed, suddenly awake. She quickly rose and made her way over to the holocomm and contacted the Palace.
"Please connect me to Her Imperial Highness, the Empress." Kaidlen requested. She waited a moment while she was put through. "Ma'am, this is Lieutenant Colonel Shan. I'm requesting permission to go inspect the troops over on Kuat."

Edited by Kaidlen Shan, 28 July 2008 - 09:59 AM.

[Khyron Overmind]

Somewhere in the Outer Rim, Lieutenant Quesot was checking his logs once again and saw that the ship belonging to Princess Ashlee had not arrived at her planned destination as expected and no contact or motive for the delay had been provided. He had realized the ship had not arrived earlier that day, but it was within the operational parameters the IRPA had established. In the case of civil vessels, they declared a ship missing her port of call after 24 hours of their estimated time of arrival. In the case of military and government ships, the time lapse was reduced to 12 hours. In this case where the Royal Family was involved, the time window was even smaller: 6 hours.

Since it was just over the six hours, he called his superior officer.

"Sir, I believe we have a situation here."

"What do you have Lieutenant?"

"The ship of Princess Ashlee has not arrived as planned. It has been 6 hours since the ETA and no contact has been received explaining the delay or providing a new ETA."

"Ok, we will follow protocol. I will notify the Navy, RG, IRIS and IRSB. One of the last three should be able to tell us if there was any modification of her flight plan and we can suspend the search and rescue party. Also, Captain Gourdine should be informed too. Being the Princess' husband, he needs to know."

Edited by OVERMIND, 29 July 2008 - 12:02 AM.

[Ashlee Gourdine]

Outer Rim F-4 Border Patrol Interdiction Line

Aboard the Imperial Republic Omega-class Cruiser Vanguard, Lieutenant Carson responded to a communication from the Port Authority. "Vanguard acknowledges classified message. First officer, out." The lieutenant cringed. He did not want to deliver the message he must now deliver to the captain. It was not the first time he had to deliver similar messages, but in all situations it was never good, though it seemed to always end okay. He took the turbolift to the command deck on the bridge from the secure communications center. There at the heat of action stood Captain Travis Gourdine, line commander of the interdiction line, recently married to the Princess Ashlee Stratus. "Captain Gourdine, we've recieved an urgent message from the Port Authority."

The captain nodded. "Proceed, Lieutenant."

"It's a private message, Sir." The captain's countenance darkened as he nodded and motioned for the lieutenant to follow him off to the side.

"Well? What's this all about. Please don't tell me..." his voice trailed off as he knew the answer by the look on the lieutenant's face.

"PortAuth says that the Princess' vessel did not arrive in the expected system. They are not sure where she is. IRIS and the RG report that no one has seen her for some time now since she departed from this vessel. I'm sorry...Sir."

Captain Gourdine shook his head. "She'll turn up somewhere, she always does. She'll be okay," he said in an unconvincing tone. He walked away. The lieutenant knew that deep down, he was really worried. He assumed the captain's post as the captain left the bridge.

[Layha Solo]

Layha had been back on Coruscant for less than an hour when she was bombarded with reports from all levels. One report that ignited her inner anger was that Revan had left the capital planet without another Throne member being present. “When did he leave?” her voice was cold. The officer in front of her trembled as he spoke. “A few days ago Empress. He said there was trouble. I can put you in touch with is office, I am sure they can…” Layha slammed her hand into the desk. “Not acceptable!!! One Throne member is to remain always here on Coruscant.” She shook her head as the door hissed open. “Empress I think this will explain it.” Her old body guard stepped forward and handed her a data pad. Layha quickly strolled through it, catching up on the events she had missed. The last one caught her attention. She raised a brow. “Why was I not aware of this the moment reports came in? I should have been the first to know about all of this. And why did the Executors office not alert me on Hapes? I leave for a month and everything goes to hell! So does some body want to explain what is going on right now?” Layha throw up her hands. “On second thought all of you get out. Just get out.” The office cleared in a matter of moments. A sudden dark feeling made her shiver. “Bad news from Kuat.” Layha rolled her eyes. “I am seriously not in the mood for you right now. Leave me.” Kennedy pulled back his hood revealing his face. “I can help you Layha.” Layha narrowed her eyes. “No I don’t want your help. Get out.” At that moment Layha’s desk comm went off. “Empress its Lieutenant Colonel Shan, shall I put her through.” Layha glared at Kennedy, “Patch it through.” A moment of silence before Layha saw the connection light blink. “Lieutenant Colonel Shan what can I do for you?” "I'm requesting permission to go inspect the troops over on Kuat." Layha shook her head and let loose a gesture of frustration. Kennedy stood with a smile on his face. "Permission granted, Kaidlen. Proceed. Let me know if anything is out of the ordinary." She disconnected and moved over to Kennedy. “What the hell is going on? What are you up to Sean… I swear if you bring this government down around me I will kill you myself.” A deep mocking laugh erupted from Kennedy. “Layha, you really have no idea do you?” Layha growled. “With you, I never do. Nor do I think any body else does.” Kennedy grabbed Layha’s hand. “I am only ever doing things for the betterment of the IR.” Layha snatched her hand back. "And you think by killing Jim… that will improve the IR how?” Kennedy sighed, “Layha for once… just trust me.” Layha begain to shake her head, but stopped. Kennedy was up to something and she intended to find out what it was. “I need you decision Layha. Are you with me or against me?” Layha took her time replying as she skirted around to the other side of the desk. “I’m in, but only on one condition… I kill Jim.” Kennedy smiled and pulled his hood back on his head. “Of course Layha, after all… this will be the final test as a Sith. When you have done this there will be no more I can teach you.” Layha smiled. “Perfect.”

[Kaidlen Shan]

Kaidlen got her clearance to head for Kuat, and grabbed up her gear. Moving at a brisk pace, the young Lieutenant Colonel headed to the docking platform where her personal ship was kept. It was not located that far from where she lived, luckily. Within a few minutes, Shan was crossing the platform to her ship.
She gazed at the craft with a loving look, pleased to see that the hull looked to be in excellent shape. Kaidlen made sure that it was kept in excellent condition, as the ship was extremely old, and not made any longer. Still, the lines of it were very classy looking.
The Colonel pressed the button to lower the ramp, and once it was down, made her way up it. As soon as she reached the interior, she quickly closed the hatch, and started the gankplank upwards. Making her way towards the cockpit, she tossed her gearbag into her suite, giving just enough of a push to make sure that it landed on her bunk. A moment later, she strapped herself into the pilot's seat, and began warming up the engines. She quickly filed a flight plan for Kuat.
"Port Authority, this is Colonel Shan of the Void Echo requesting clearance for departure." Kaidlen stated.
A moment later, a male voice replied. "Colonel Shan, you are cleared to depart. Your outward vector is 725.6. Have a safe flight, Colonel."
"Thank you. Void Echo out." Kaidlen smiled to herself. She was on her way home.

[Revan Centurion]

Crystal Reins’ cheerful expression immediately turned to a frown as she received the report. ”What do you mean the Princess’ Ashlee and Nicole are missing…?”

”Port Authority dispatched a flash message to us, IRSB, and the Royal Guard. Apparently their vessels never arrived at their intended location. What’s more…we’ve not had any contact with their protective units. It is possible they are suffering from some sort of communications blackout in their area.”

Crystal, however, was not entirely convinced that was the case. Sitting presently as the Deputy Director of IRIS and therefore…Acting Director in Director Jaden’s absence, Crystal was rapidly beginning to consider an early retirement. She’d seen far too many instances of administration within the Imperial Republic’s Intelligence Service. ”Perhaps…has the Royal Guard released any information regarding this?” Crystal didn’t expect that they had. In general the Royal Guard cooperated fairly well with IRIS…if it was in the Royal Guard’s best interest. Which, to Crystal, meant they probably had established contact with the respective security details.

”Not as of yet ma’am.”

Crystal sighed heavily as she nodded her head. ”Very well, get me on the line with Executor Centurion.”

”He still hasn’t returned from his urgent departure to Kuat.” There were only a very select amount of people capable of tracking high-ranking government officials operating under classified, urgent travel clearances. Still…they all knew that if the Executor had not wanted to be tracked…they would have had quite a difficult time circumventing his wish.

”He’s still at the Kuati Palace? Alright…I want to speak to the head of his detail, now.” The aide merely nodded his head before going to connect the Deputy Director to the Protector in charge of the Executor’s security detail. When the communicator on her desk began beeping, Crystal picked it up and waited from the encrypted connection to be made.

”Protector Arwyn.”

”Deputy Director Reins, IRIS. Are you in sight of the Executor?”

”He’s been in and out of private meetings with Prince Stratus for…an exceptionally long time now, ma’am. We haven’t been permitted to observe…neither has the detail assigned to Prince Stratus.”

”So the Executor of the Imperial Republic could very well be laying in a pool of his own blood somewhere right now….and you’d have no idea?” Crystal’s impatience was readily beginning to show through the static connection.

The Protector’s response, however, was even and controlled. ”Prince Stratus is a member of the Royal Family. His authority, particularly on Kuat, supercedes my own. If the Royal Family meant the Executor harm, there would be nothing anybody could do about it – the Empress included.”

Crystal knew it was true, but that did not mean she had to like it. ”Thanks for the ‘help’, Protector.”

The Protector replied with his ever-calm voice, ”Anytime, Deputy Director.” The connection was severed and Crystal cursed loudly as she slammed the communicator down. Quickly, she began dispatching a flash action message to the Empress and Executor. Crystal knew that the Executor wasn’t necessarily supposed to ‘leave’ Coruscant, so she decided to leave out the part about his trip for now. After all, the only present security alert had to do with the missing Princesses. The Protector was right – there was nothing to be done if the Prince wanted to meet privately with the Executor.

Classification: URGENT – Eyes Only

Routing: Throne

Loss of contact with subjects:

Princess Ashlee
Princess Nicole

Royal Guard unable to report any knowledge of activities or believed location. Status of missing subjects is unknown at this time – will report any further developments.

Ubiqtorate Sends
IRIS Authorization AW19

With the task complete, Crystal came to her feet. While the situation wasn’t overly extreme, Crystal was unwilling to take chances. Far too much had happened to the Imperial Republic as of late…

[Kaidlen Shan]

The Void Echo arrived in Kuati space several hours later. Kaidlen arrived into the cockpit and sat down in her seat. Flipping a series of switches and toggles, she examined the various sensors and readouts. When she was satisfied with what she was seeing, the Colonel activated the comm.
"Kuat Port Authority this is the Void Echo requesting permission to enter Kuati planetary airspace." Kaidlen sent. "Authorisation code: Stratus aura delta one."
Kaidlen knew that those back on Coruscant were expecting her to head for the military sections of the vast orbiting stations where the majority of the Kuati population lived. However, her course would take her down to the planet surface instead, and to the Palace.
"Welcome home Lieutenant Colonel Shan. Permission granted for entry. What course will you be following, or is that classified?" replied a voice over the comm.
"Classified. If you would, please reserve a landing pad for me at the military installation." Kaidlen requested. "If you would, please also contact His Highness, Prince Marc and let him know that I am incoming. My eta is 2 hours."
"Landing pad 681 is reserved for you, Ma'am. And your message will be sent. Anything else?"
"No thank you. Void Echo out." Kaidlen cut contact. She laid in her new course, which would take her into the atmosphere and towards the Palace.

Edited by Kaidlen Shan, 01 August 2008 - 02:05 PM.

[Ashlee Gourdine]

OOC: to be edited after kaidlen's post.

[James Stratus]

The Dawn Treader soared through hyperspace. "It's going to be different, isn't it? Being back in the center of things, amongst many changes." It was the voice of Captain Megan De`Soto, longtime captain of the Prince's Royal Guard. She had been with James Stratus since the foundation of the Imperial Republic.

"Yes Megan, it certainly will be different. Though I dare say it will probably not be pleasant. There is much trouble ahead. The Dark Side of the Force surrounds the Imperial Republic. Something is about to unfold, and when it does, it could change the entire circumstance of the government."

A gravely voice spoke from the back. "The Noghri will of course be ready to provide whatever assistance you require." It was the voice of one of his two Noghri guards that had chosen to accompany him on the long journey. He had traveled only with the two royal guards, the two most loyal to him whom he trusted above all, and two stubborn Noghri who had always been at his side on previous missions.

"This is it! Prepare for reversion to realspace. Buckle in! There's no telling what to expect." The Dawn Treader reverted to realspace and the screen began beeping with all sorts of alerts. The ship had been disguised and its transponders modified so that it would not be recogized. It was running on stealth mode so that it would not be detected immediately. There were a few surprises installed as well. Immediately he felt the presence of several powerful beings nearby. He looked at the screen. Both Command Fleets were in the system. That would explain one of the presences he felt, Admiral OVERMIND. He could also feel...his family..they had gathered at Kuat. They had responded to the images he sent them in a vision.

"Alright, let's execute this code sequence before we are discovered, it's only a matter of time now. We must be precise exactly in every way for this to work, or else we're fried gungan." James Stratus activated the transmitter and a series of code sequences were transmitted, afterwhich the Dawn Treader simply vanished from view. The cloaking device activated. "Increase engine power! We must do this fast!" The Prince piloted the ship himself, with Megan as his copilot. The ship bursted forward and soared past the three fleets guarding the system. As they approached the planet, the shield opened up at a timed sequence in a specific place, where the Prince had transmitted for it to open. It was unlikely such an opening in the shield for a brief period would be detected, but it was possible. The experts maintaining the field were just that, experts. Luckily all his failsafe security codes were still in place and active. They were hidden well. He was not heading for the Palace. This must be quick and timely, he thought. I will have to decloak to transmit to the mountain to open a portal to recieve me before I am noticed. He held his breath, and pressed a series of buttons. The ship decloaked, and the transmitter began. A very small port opened in the mountain and he zoomed in as the portal closed behind him. He was the only one who had the codes and knowledge on how to get inside the mountain from outside the Palace. The ship landed, and the Royal Family, as well as a contigent of Noghri warriors with weapons at the ready, waited for the ship to land. They waited anxiously as the boarding ramp descended.

[Khyron Overmind]

The Tactical officer was scanning his screens when he noticed a strange reading on the edge of the system. The readings were brief, but he was definitely sure that something had created a disturbance in the realspace around the system. He was not sure what was it, but protocol established that he informed his superior officer about it, Commander Phineas.

"Commander, I have detected an abnormal reading on the edge of the system. I am not sure what it is yet though."

"Who do we have out there?"

"That would be Striker squadron sir."

"Ok, sent them to investigate and put a yellow alert on the Fleet. It might not be something, but we better be sure. And Lieutenant, do analyze that reading and see if you can find out what is it about."

"Yes sir, will do."

[Revan Centurion]

Revan himself had received a number of messages the moment his vessel had reverted to realspace. Well…it wasn’t even his vessel, but that was hardly a point of consideration at the moment. What was important…was the fact that apparently a number of individuals had gone missing. Amongst those reported were not himself or Prince Stratus. Ordinarily, Revan would be somewhat concerned, but her surmised that it all had something to do with the visions Marc had discussed with him. Complicating matters was the Empress’ rather…unexpected…return to Coruscant. ”Lovely – it would appear she is finished playing with the Hapans.” Revan had his own thoughts about Layha’s ‘priorities’, but it mattered little at this point.

As the vessel carrying him and a sizeable contingent of Noghri warriors reached the first checkpoint, Revan entered his clearance code into the ship’s broadcast system. Not much in the way of communications were exchanged, but the military did remain vigilant as escorts quickly formed up beside the small capital ship. Even as they began re-entry procedures, Revan could feel a rather distinct sense of…something. He couldn’t quite characterize it other than…darkness, mystery. It was as if the very fabric of the force was being pulled in two completely different directions at the same time. He could feel Layha’s presence of course…but it seemed somehow larger than usual – not overly so but enough to raise questions. Kennedy…no doubt.

For the time being, Revan chose not to act on his ‘hunch’. Within moments, the large vessel was making its final approach to the palace. Revan dispatched a message briefly to Crystal Reins. He knew that his former associate would likely be initiating a witch hunt to find out what was going on if he did not…

[Bryan Dugaan]

It was another interesting day, but then again every day was interesting, for every day was different. Especially since he had just been promoted to his new position, just a few weeks ago. As he was sitting in his office in the COMPNOR Tower, he was kind of shocked when he read the message that had popped up on his screen. He read over it once before sending a reply on the IRSB system to the other Taskforce Commanders of the Enforcement Directorate.

"Enforcement Commanders,

While the news of this situation may be of great interest to the Imperial Republic, please remember that she can not be declared missing unless a substanial claim of missing is filed, or a period of 24 hours lapses. Until then the only IRSB divison allowed to look into it is the Security Protection and Detail Taskforce.

Thanks,

Brigadier General Bryan Dugaan
Senior Taskforce Commander - National Security Taskforce -Enforcement Directorate - IRSB
High Minister of Management, Policy, & Operations - COMPNOR"