The Rebel Faction

Tissuss: Outpost Control Center

After a few moments a tall man entered the control center, who saluted the Admiral and gave a polite nod to Naosha.

“Lieutenant Edmund of the Bravo Stealth fighter Squadron reporting sir.” He said and after the Admiral nodded for him to go head he started his report.

“First I am pleased to report that Colonel Lissuss and her children have been located: they safe in the hospitality of the…” He glanced over at Naosha. “Other half of the Separatist Movement. The Separatist’s had assisted in the rescue of Lissuss’ daughter, who was in the hands of one of Clans that was a supportive of the Council.
“Second things seemed to be getting tease with the Council, for they have recalled what was left of their fleet to guard the planet itself. One of our agents has also reported a successful strike against one of the pirate’s leaders, whom had just left a meeting with the Speaker Above All.
“The last thing that may interest you sir is that just before I left the Council conducted an airstrike on a facility within the capital city.” Naosha felt her blood freeze: did that facility contain her mate and her fellow Separatist? “The facility was the Headquarters of a mercenary group and not the location the Separatists were hiding in.”

Naosha breathed a sigh of relief, but found the last bit of information curious. “There is only one mercenary group that has their headquarters in Hsskhor…and that one is headed by Besk, a former member of my mates Clan and staunch supporter of the Council. Why would the Council fire on one of their own?”

The stealth pilot thought this over a moment. “One of our agents did also report that a tracking device was discovered on agent Kysh, one of Lissuss’ children.”

Naosha nodded. “Riss would have had one of our own agents dispose of it in a way to mislead our enemies. It’s likely our spy replanted it on one of Besk’s own mercenaries.”

“Which would explain the airstrike. The Speaker must not have wanted to take any chances.”

“Provided he bothered to check on what the facility was before ordering the airstrike.” Naosha pointed out. “ Hyossk is the paranoid type, hell most T’Doshok are paranoid when their power base is threatened. If I know my mate right, Riss will have everyone lay low for a bit to make Hyossk think he is safe, then strike a major blow to him when he least expects it.”

“Then here is another tidbit for you. That half of the Separatist Movement recently acquired the Speakers son, Russis, who supports your cause.”

Naosha folded her hands in front of her and rested her chin on them, a smile on her face. It was almost a perfect situation. With Hyossk’s heir on their side it would only be a matter of time before Hyossk would lose his position. However there was still a lot of ‘gaps’ in the information flow: did Hyossk even know Russis was against him? If he did he would disown him, leaving Russis with no right to assume Hyossk’s position.

Medical Bay

Silliss stopped what he was doing and moved around in front of her. “Whut hupponod te him?” He asked in Clan Dialect, looking at her in the eyes. He knew the Clan Holder was having problems emotionally, but didn’t know the depth of them. Before he wouldn’t have been so noisy, but by her tone he realized this could be something that threatened the whole Clan.

Varcanna tried to look away, realizing her slip and bit her lip. His golden eyes were boring into hers though and she couldn’t look away. “Durk Sido….” She said finally with a sigh. “I four ho hus fullon te tho Durk Sido…und tho K’Satizitus is tuking him evor….”

Silliss cast his eyes to the ground, absorbing this new information. If Trazu had fallen to the dark side, he would be a danger to everyone. “How long have you kept this to yourself?” He asked, but not in an accusing tone.

“Since before the Movement officially started.” Varcanna said quietly. “I cannot confirm my suspicions…for I” There was a slight crack in her voice. “….can’t feel him anymore. Either he or the K’Satizitus have blocked me.”

That was a good length of time Sillis realized. “Have you told anyone else?” He asked.

“Only Rissonik and that was before I lost the ‘connection’. I haven’t told even him about that…”

“You should have…this…this could affect everything we are trying to do here.”

“What could we have done Silliss?” Varcanna snapped. “Trazu wouldn’t let us, his own family, help him. Not even me. I don’t even have a clue as to where he could be now.”

“We need to find out then. If you are right…he could come back to Trandosha and assist our enemies. We need to find him and turn him back to our side.”

“How?” Varcanna asked. “From the dreams I’ve had the K’Satizitus already has a firm grip on him. The only way we are likely to save him is to end the curse itself.”

“Which…” Silliss said with a heavy sigh. “No one knows how to do.”

“And the resources that may help us figure it out are back on Trandosha…”

“Which means, unless we succeed, we may never have access to those resources again…”

Trandosha: Hyossk’s Chambers

Everytime he looked at it he got a chill down his spine and was reminded why such fear was induced by this thing.

The skull of the K’Satizitus hung on the wall in front of him, it’s fleshless maw seemed to grin maliciously down at him. He had it plucked from the K’Satikur Clan’s temple, figuring it would be a suitable trophy for his apparent victory over the Separatists. He would have preferred Rissonik’s…or even better, Naosha’s, head, but since those are lacking this will have to do.

Hyossk shook his head, shrugging off the paranoia. Personally he doubted the K’Satizitus ‘stuck around’ after it was slain all those generations ago, thinking the supposed ‘possession’ as nothing but a bluff to deter their enemies. He had to admit it was very effective and the fact that the proof of the beasts existence was hanging right in front of him made it even more effective.

Still, he wondered if it was a mistake to put in here, where it’s empty sockets stared right through him and gave him the feeling of being watched whenever he walked into the room….

The sound of someone knocking on the door made him nearly jump out of his skin. “Come in.” He said, after steadying his nerves.

A high ranking marine entered and bowed to him respectfully. “The sweep of the strike zone has been completed Speaker.” He said. “Nearly a hundred bodies were found and one survivor whom we took into custody for interrogation.”

“Good, that one no doubt can tell us where the rest of them may be hiding.” Hyossk said with a smile. “Any idea who it is?”

“Why yes sir, it’s Besk.”

Hyossk took a step back in shock. Besk…a Separatist? How ridiculous!

Or is it?

He thought back to all the conversations he had with the mercenary, how he would tease him and show lack of any respect toward him. It quickly didn’t seem so ridiculous. Besk had it in for him all along…probably working in league with another Councilor, or perhaps even his own son, in a bid to topple him from power and increase his own power base. Besk’s staunch stance against Naosha and her pose was likely just an act to keep his trust…and was working with her on the sly. That mercenary was a crafty and sly one, half the time even he didn’t know what Besk was up to. Yes…it made perfect senses to him now…

“However.” The marine’s voice broke through his thoughts. “He is still unconscious and may be a while before he wakes up.”

“Let me know when he awakens then.” Hyossk said a slight growl in his voice. “I want to ensure he feels every ounce of pain I have dealt to him during the interrogation.”

Tissuss: Outpost Control Center

“By now I am sure everyone would want to get off this planet, especially since the night has a nasty habit of spawning some rather nasty creatures.” Naosha said with a nod. “However not all of my supporters are accounted for here in the Outpost. Some of them are still trapped in the Triton. If Lumier wasn’t injured as she was I believe she and the others would have rescued them. I do not know what they were doing over there beyond that, besides that fight with that rogue cyborg, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to do a sweep of the place to clear it of traitors. From the amount of gore I saw on Tiskus…I believe that is a safe bet, though how successful they were remains in question.”

Medic Bay

The next few minutes between them was agonizingly quiet as Silliss went back to cleaning her wounds. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what it was like to carry the burden she did, knowing…yet not knowing the fate of her brother. While his mind screamed at him that they should go search for him at once, she was right. The only way they could help him was to free him of the curse, something no one has figured out how to do yet. Plus with their current isolation from the homeworld and the resources it had to find the means to end it, they were helpless to help him anyway.

The train of thought they were on was too depressing, so he decided to try to change the topic.

“You work very well with kids I’ve noticed.” He said. “I’m surprised you haven’t had a clutch of your own yet…”

He felt her tense and immediately he realized he struck a bad cord with her. “I want to…” She said, sorrow in her voice. “But I am…unable.”

“Oh…I…didn’t know. I’m sorry.” He said softly. That does explain a lot… He thought, knowing that most fertile females typically didn’t even think of going for one of the more aggressive professions.

“I want so much to know what it’s like to be loved by someone…” She continued softly. “but…no male would give me a second glance because I am sterile….because that’s all they see us females as being good for: producing eggs.”

“Not all…” Silliss said, feeling slightly insulted. “You shouldn’t lump us all together in one group just because you’ve been turned down by one or two. Besides…” He sighed. “I’m…kind of in the same boat you are….”

“How so?” She asked, looking back at him.

“Well…it’s not that I am not capable, just not allowed to.”

Varcanna gave him a puzzled look: as far as she could see…he was a prefect specimen. “Why not?” She asked.

Silliss sighed, a slight tremor to his breath. “Because I…have a condition that is very undesirable to pass on to the next generation.”

A barely audible ‘oh’ from her was all he could hear and he felt his heart start to sink: did he just ruin any chance he had with her by revealing part of his secret? “I really do want to have kids someday…” He said softly. “But I can’t stand the thought of even one of my children…’inheriting’ what I have and they suffer as I have suffered…”

“You…won’t even try?” She asked.

“No. It’s just…wrong to create a life knowing you have a ‘problem’ that can be passed on to that life and making them suffer as well. It’s nothing short of being just plain selfish in my eyes.” Another sigh. “Some days…I wonder why dad even let me live.”

She turned toward him fully. “What is so wrong with you that you would say something like that?” She asked bluntly.

There was a long pause before Silliss cast his eyes to the ground with long sad sigh. “My body has problems producing white blood cells.” He confessed finally. “Meaning that when I get sick…I am sick a lot longer then most, with a high risk of it killing me. Every six months or so to give what immune system I have a boost, I get a transfusion of donor white blood cells. That’s what enabled me to get to where I am today, though the docs doubt I will even make it to middle age.”

Varcanna stared at him, mouth slightly agape. She couldn’t imagine the burden…hell even the stigma of having such a condition. Knowing you’re not likely to live very long must be disheartening. “H…how do you go on…knowing this?” She asked.

“By setting goals…and working as hard as I can to achieve them.” Silliss said. “I admit my father nearly had a heart attack when I told him I wanted to join the K’Satikur, my mother freaked. Humph…” He snorted. “My mother wanted to keep me in a plastic cube all my life…to keep her ‘precious son’ from ever getting sick. I didn’t want that life…that’s not living. The gods gave me this life and I wanted to get as much as I could out of it.”

“So…now you are as high as you can go in the Clan. What is your goal now?”

“Other then helping the Councilor succeed with the Separatist Movement…I….” He tried to get the words out, but they got stubbornly caught in his throat. It was so frustrating, knowing…and wanting to say what was in his heart, but was unable. Maybe if he spoke generally…

“I wanted to find someone to pair up with.” He said after taking a moment to claim his nerves. “Someone I could have relaxing evenings with and saw past my…problem and understood my reasons for not wanting to have kids.
“I’ve…been attracted to one individual I believe would be the one for some time now, but I am not sure what she thinks of me…” He looked up at her. “Especially now.”

Varcanna felt the cold chill of shock shoot through her body, the pupils of her eyes widening. Was he being completely honest with her about being attracted to her? It sounded too good to be true and while it was something she desperately wanted, she feared getting burned.

“Varca…I…” Silliss started but she put a finger to his lips to silence him.

“For so long…I wanted to hear someone say that to me.” She said softly. “But for so long…no one would because of my own ‘problem’. After being turned down so many times I….lost hope of ever finding someone that would accept me. And now…now that…that someone has finally appeared, I don’t know what to think…or feel, besides fear. This is so…sudden….unexpected.” She paused a moment before adding. “Give me some time…please…to sort out my feelings on this.”

With that she slipped off the table and started to put on her vest. She paused a moment to regard him, who had almost a pleading look in his eyes. “Thank you for your assistance.” She said, wanting to say more but found she couldn’t. With a sigh she turned and left the room, leaving Silliss alone with his thoughts and his wishes, knowing all he could do was wait…

Tissuss

Tiskus looked up at the tower that held the control center and the cyborg he thought he had destroyed perched on top of it. I can’t get up there… He thought with a frustrated snarl, the cybernetic parts of his body not having been designed for jumping. And climbing wouldn’t get him there before the b-tch ripped through the roof.

“Tiskus!” He heard Varcanna say as she ran up to him. “What was that explosion?”

“Our friend miss cyborg somehow came kack.” Tiskus said. “And she’s trying to get into ke control center.”

“@#%$! That’s where mother is!” Varcanna said as she started to run for the control center, but Tiskus grabbed her.

“You would ke no match against it in melee combat.” He said. “Kut I kave an idea. In ke field kere is a Skipray named Gory Teek, my old ship. It’s equipped wik an ion cannon, go and use it against kat kitch kile.”

“Would an ion cannon even work on her?”

“She kas computers in ker doesn’t she? So I don’t see ky not. At ke very least it will slow ker down enough to kuy me time to get up kere and train the planetary ion cannons on ker….and vaporize ke kitch once and for all…”

Varcanna nodded and ran off. She quickly found the Gory Teeth and jumped into the cockpit. After taking a moment to orient herself to the controls, she flipped on the engines and flew to the control center, where the cyborg was busily ripping into the roof.

“Take this b-tch!” Varcanna screamed as she fired the ion cannon, only for it to hit just behind the cyborg. “@#%$…the sight is off.” She growled. Oh well…she got the ‘borg’s attention anyway.

…

Meanwhile Tiskus had tracked down Merendez.

“Merendez..I need ke codes you and Lumier made up for ke planetary ion cannons.” He said.

“What for?” Merendez said, who had no idea what was going on.

“To make a certain cyborg kat decided to come kack from ke dead dead again.” Tiskus said bluntly.

…

Varcanna continued to fire at the cyborg, most of her shots missing. However to her frustration the shots that did hit didn’t seem to effect her.

“Damn….either the calibration on the ion cannon is wonked or this b-tch has some serious shielding.” Varcanna growled, debating on whether to risk using the turbolasers. She knew that if this thing still have brain it would eventually figure out she was only being a distraction and start to ignore her, so if she could make herself a threat to it…

Let’s hope the sight isn’t @#%$ up on the lasers as welll… She thought as she pressed the trigger. Bingo! That actually did damage! A smoking dent could now be seen in the ‘borg’s caste. Now of course…it was pissed off and it leveled the rocket launcher at her.

“Oh @#%$…” Varcanna whined. She had no time to dodge and could only hope the shields on the ship were fully functional. The shot struck the ship solidly, but the shields held so well that the ship didn’t even rock from the impact. Cool…I wonder if Tiskus will let me keep her… Varcanna thought, remember her frantic vow to get a Skipray during her ‘fight’ with Besk not so long ago.

…

“There was no way for either of us to know that thing would come back Admiral.” Naosha said as calmly as she could. The sound of the cyborg ripping through the roof had ceased, but for how long? “I suggest we leave this room while that thing is distracted…”

Just then Tiskus burst into the room, Merendez right behind him. Both beelined for the control panel that controlled the planetary ion cannons.

“Got her in the sights.” Merendez said. “Got all four trained on her…is that too much?”

“Nope.” Tiskus said as he changed the beam mode to ‘kill’.

Just before they were going to fire though, they watched horrorified when the cyborg leaped onto the Skipray that was pestering it.

“Damn! We can’t shot without killing Varca!” Merendez said frustratingly.

Naosha felt her blood turn to ice…

…

“Ipe!” Varcanna yelped when the ‘borg took a flying leap at her and landed top of the cockpit. The borg was just out of reach of the lasers and was punching at the hull. Fortunately the ships thick hull was holding…for now. The bigger problem was that the sudden increase in weight threw the ship off balance and Varcanna was having a hard time keeping altitude: with her only very basic knowledge of the ship controls she didn’t want to risk trying to throw it off by doing a roll. It wasn’t long before the ship was barely ten feet above the ground….

….

Silliss had just come out of the building when he saw the situation. While he recognized the ship, he didn’t know who was piloting it beyond it being a fellow T’Doshok, but realized that pilot was in trouble. Running at full tilt, he whipped out his vibrolance and threw it with all this strength.

What happened next was better then he hoped: the lance struck and penetrated a weak point in the ‘borg’s caste, severing a few important wires in the process.

….

Something had happened, though what Varcanna couldn’t immediately tell. All she knew was that suddenly there was a metallic scream, the cyborg lurching upwards and into range of the laser. She didn’t hesitate one second as she took the opportunity to fire that laser and blow the thing off the ship.

Knowing what will be happening next, she quickly moved the ship out of the way…

Tissuss

“Keep ker”

Varcanna looked at Tiskus with a surprised look. Yes she was hoping she could keep the Gory Teeth but wasn’t expecting for the owner to give her up so quickly. “You sure?” She asked.

“Yes. If I was still ‘normal’ I wouldn’t ke so willing to give ker up, kut I obviously can’t even fit into ker now.” Tiskus said, a hint of sorrow in his synthesized voice.

“I’ll take good care of here then. Are you coming with us?”

“I…don’t know…” The cyborg looked about at the area around him. “Kere were many times I just wanted to get off kis planet…yet…now kat I kave ke chance, I am unsure. Kis kas keen my kome…”

“But you won’t be alone anymore…” Silliss said. “And you’ll be among members of the Clan again. The lab is destroyed, so you have no real reason to protect this place anymore.”

“And I am sure the Admiral’s people will use this place for good things.” Varcanna added.

There was a long moment of silence, before Tiskus said with a small smile. “It would ke ketter if I informed ke kigher ups about ke planet’s defense systems flaws in person.”

“Glad to have you stay with us.” Silliss said patting the large cyborg on the arm. Tiskus just smiled and made his way to one of the shuttles. A moment later Tiosk approached them.

“Well, it’s long past time for me to return to my ship.” He said. “But the Bloodfang and her two new escorts will accompany you to where ever you are going.”

“I’ll let the Admiral know that so the rest of his fleet doesn’t try to blast you out of space.” Varcanna said with a chuckle.

“I would appreciate that madam.” Tiosk said with a polite bow, then turned toward Silliss. “Take care of yourself son. You know I worry about you.”

“I will father.”

Tiosk leaned close to Varcanna and whispered. “Keep an eye on him for me will you madam? He tends to get himself into mischief.”

“DAD!”

Varcanna giggled and nodded, Silliss folding his arms and looking insulted. Tiosk chuckled and headed toward his shuttle. “Oh and…” Tiosk said, pausing his stride. “Hunters Way will be kept in good condition for you for when you wish to retrieve her.”

“Thank you Captain. I will keep that in mind.” Varcanna called back.

“So…now that you got the Gory Teeth…” Silliss said as they walked toward said ship. “What will you do with Hunters Way?”

“Not sure.” Varcanna confessed. “I know Skiprays are limited in how many coordinates they can carry, since they are primarily a fighter class ship. I may be able boost that, but I am not sure. I guess I’ll need to decide if I want to stick to being a shuttle pilot or change to being a pure fighter pilot.”

“Guess you could fly the Gory Teeth when you want to make an entrance.” Silliss said. “Besides, with all the work you put into modifying Hunters Way it would be a shame to have her set in a dock all the time.”

“Yes it would…I’d rather give her to someone that could use her rather then just let her sit and rust.”

“Maybe when he’s old enough…Trissan can take over ownership.” Silliss suggested.

Varcanna laughed. “He has many years before he’ll be old enough to fly, but I’ll keep that in mind. After all it would be good to keep it in the family. By the way…what did you do with your lance? You usually have it with you…”

“Well…it kind of got blown up with the cyborg.”

“Oh…” Varcanna said, realizing it was him that enabled her to knock that ‘borg off the ship. “My own staff had a bad run it with that b-tch, got nearly bent in half when I tried to smack her with it before I was captured.”

“Guess we both need new weapons then.” Silliss said with a chuckle as they reached the Gory Teeth. “Um…mind if I ride with you?”

Varcanna gave him a look, reminding him of what she told him earlier.

“I won’t try anything…” He said defensively. “Besides, I may be of help helping you get to know all the controls: Tiskus showed me everything earlier when we were in the hanger.”

Varcanna thought it over a moment, then nodded and a short while later the Gory Teeth lifted off to join the shuttles in space.

….

Naosha sat in the shuttle, Trissan asleep in her lap and his three sisters dozing in the seat next to her. Many thoughts were going through the older Trandoshan’s head, thoughts of worry, thoughts of fear, but most importantly…thoughts of hope.

Even if the movement fails…we will have an organization we know will accept us. She thought. The alliance will be beneficial to us no matter what happens.

(ooc: Next up: Separatist: Alliance)