The Rebel Faction

[size=2]Trandosha: Streets of Hsshkor

No matter how hard he tried, he could not believe his life had taken such a drastic turn for the worse.

Besk sat in the shadows of the alleyway, watching as another military patrol passed by. Not so long ago he didn’t have to hide like this, from those he considered allies. But over the last couple of days a cruel deception has resulted in his reputation taking a nose dive. Now he was hunted just like the Separatists were, his former allies not believing him and yet still hated by those that sympathized with the rebels.

Even worse, he was with little means to even start to repair his reputation. The remaining contacts he had in the city were all found dead and the few he had in other Dosha cities weren’t talking to him anymore. Worse still, someone managed to hack into his bank account and drained him dry. He was a man caught in the no mans land between factions, hated by both sides, with nothing but the clothes on his back and his weapons.

But that’s all he needed…wasn’t it? With a low growl he rose to his feet, his moment of despair replaced by bitter hate. There was one way he could get back into Hyossk’s favor: bring him Rissonik’s head. Now that he thought about it, his situation was more of a blessing: he didn’t have to get permission to do anything, or conform to any rules. He could do what was necessary to get the job done.

They accused him of being a Separatist, so be it, only he intended to use his new found outcast status to hunt the Separatist down.

And eliminate them.

Warehouse

"I see." Rissonik said, a slight frown forming on his lips. The Keshir before him had just given him an update on Besk’s situation and while the news brought him some comforting, he realized this could lead to trouble.

"You are not pleased by this Sha’tor?" The Keshir asked. "I found it rather amusing."

"Yes and no." Rissonik said, rising to his feet. "Unseating an enemy from his place of power is always a good thing, but at the same time makes that individual more dangerous. He won’t have to abide by certain rules anymore and is free to do as he wishes to do whatever it takes to regain power.

"Our people have a tendency to crave power and when their power base is threatened or removed, they become desperate individuals. You only have to look at Hyossk to see the result of that. No doubt Besk will set his sights even more firmly on us, knowing that our elimination will be his ticket back into a favorable light with the Council.""

The Keshir nodded, understanding the situation. "So what should we do Sha’tor?"

"Keep an eye on him whenever and as unobtrusively as possible. If he catches sight of you or any of your contacts, we risk losing not only the secretiveness of our current hideout but our lives as well."

"Wouldn’t just killing him be easier?" One of the K’Satikur warriors asked.

"It would…if one, it wasn’t against our reasons for the movement to start with and two, if it could be done without losing any of our warriors in the process. Do remember Besk was formerly a member of our Clan and a K’Satikur warrior at that."

The warrior nodded grimly: one sure thing that was a match against a K’Satikur warrior was another K’Satikur warrior.

Sarendevis HQ: Rancor den

Trissan was trapped and scared shitless. He was really regretting sneaking off this time and wondered if he will live to even learn from his mistake. At least the rancor hasn’t tried to eat him yet: it was just staring at him…maybe pissing on himself was making it have second thoughts?

He knew he couldn’t stick around to find out, but where could he go? Then he saw his chance to get out of this corner: the rancor had lifted it’s head a bit. Without hesitation Trissan bolted under the Rancor, passing right between it’s legs…

Hallways

Varcanna was torn. Should she try to locate Trissan, whom she had no doubt caused the alarms to go off. Or should she continue to the medic bay to check on Silliss who may be dying as she stood there debating?

Logically she knew she could do little to help either of them. Trissan was likely in an area she wouldn’t have access too in the first place, hence the alarms and Silliss condition required specialized care. But at least in Silliss’ case she could provide comfort. However, her mother instincts were conflicting with her developing feelings for Silliss, making determining her priorities difficult.

Finally logic won out and Varcanna continued on her way to the medic bay, having to dodge another group of guards along the way. When she got there, she discovered that Silliss was placed in a sterile room, where only people who were fully suited up and ‘decontaminated’ could approach him. He was resting comfortably in a bed, with a multitude of monitors hooked up to him. She felt a shudder go down her spine when she remembered his comment about not wanting to live in a ‘box’ all his life. It was a wonder he wasn’t trying to get out of there, but from his pale coloration she gathered he didn’t have the strength.

The doctors were paying no attention to her: they seemed to be a bit agitated about the alarms. Cautiously she approached them.

"Excuse me. How is he?" She asked.

"Stable, but unless we drop out of alarm state soon we may lose him." One of the doctors said grimly.

"Why is that?" Varcanna asked, having to force the question out of a tightening throat.

"The white blood cell transfusion he needs to save his life is stuck on a ship just outside of the base turrets firing range. With the current base alert no ship, allied or not, can approach the base." Varcanna gasped and looked back at Silliss through the window. "We have injected him with chemicals designed to slow the virus’ spread in his body, but that will only last for so long. Viri have a nasty habit of becoming immune to such things."

Varcanna was barely listening to him now. Her face was pressed against the window overlooking into Silliss’ room. Don’t you die on me…don’t you even dare… She thought. Please…prove to me that my feelings for aren’t some cruel joke of the gods…

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[size=2]Trandosha: Streets of Hsskhor

She only just happened to be in the area when she saw the kid, a kid she remembered seeing before in the Sykir territory. After overhearing him she could only shake her head, hardly believing this kid was willing to go up against Besk by himself.

"No sane individual would go toe to toe with Besk." She commented. "Unless they had a clear advantage over him. Even then…the odds are against them."

The kid stiffened and looked around wildly. "Who’s there?" He asked, clutching his items close to his chest. She was cloaked, so he couldn’t see her.

"Just another poor soul that has been wronged by that mercenary." She replied. "Only this poor soul has managed to topple him from his high perch….and intend to keep him that way."

He looked a bit confused. "I thought the Separatists were the ones that did that…you are a Separatist…right?"

"No. The Separatists had an indirect hand in it, namely whatever it was that caused the Councilor to bomb Besk’s own group." She chuckled pleasantly at the memory. "Indeed if it wasn’t for their…assistance…it would have taken me a lot longer to get Besk the way he is now."

She watched as the kid took a wary step back and could safely assume why. "I work for no one kid." She said calmly. "I have little love for the government and as I stated before I am no Separatist. I am just an assassin on a mission of revenge…for personal reasons."

"You must not be sane then…going after Besk."

She chuckled. "My sanity may be in question, but I am smart enough to know that going against him directly is the desire of a person with a death wish. No my little friend, I don’t intend to die by his hands by acting recklessly. Instead I intend to weaken him first before confronting him."

"How? According to the Separatist leader, Besk is even more dangerous now that he is a fugitive from the government."

She thought a moment. She did have an idea, but it was one that would be difficult to do by herself without I backfiring on her. It was unlike her to ask someone to help her, especially someone she didn’t know, but if this lad hated Besk as much as she did and was smart enough to stay out of his sight….

"I have an idea of how to do it." She said finally. "But it requires at least two people for it to work. It is risky, but will be fun as well. Are you interested?"

She watched as the kid thought this over a moment, then shook his head "I’m interested. However….my original intentions were to divert patrols…"

"To help the Separatist stay hidden no doubt. Admirable…but you forgot about one thing. It may work for awhile, especially with the dimwits they use for soldiers these days, however, the higher ups will start to see a pattern when they view the patrols reports…and react accordingly."

"I…didn’t think of that." Kysh’s expression suddenly hardened, a look of suspicion on his face. "How do I know you really are not working for the government and are just trying to trick me?"

In response, she deactivated her cloaking device, revealing herself. He took a step back in shook when she saw her white scales. "The color of my scales is proof enough that I don’t work for the government kid." She said in a low hiss. "The government will never hire an outcast…hell no one in T’Doshok society would in it’s present state. An even bigger kick in the teeth in my case is that I wasn’t born like this…"

Pirate base: Space Battle

The fighting was intense…and a bit desperate. Three Trandoshan Destroyers against a dozen pirate ships of various sizes and types. Tiosk knew that if they spread out their fire power they would lose, so he forced everyone to concentrate on one ship at a time. The pirates weren’t fighting so intelligently, but then they had them out numbered four to one. With the three destroyers concentrating on one ship at a time, the pirates ships were going down fairly quickly. However, they were getting a beating and Tiosk knew they won’t hold out much longer. He couldn’t risk using the Bloodfang’s main gun, for it would knock out their hyperdrive: he needed the hyperdrive online so he could get them out of there, which he was heavily considering at the moment. You couldn’t help the Separatist Movement if you were dead after all…

Relief finally came when several Sarvendivus ships arrived and started their attack run. Instead of pulling back though, the stubborn Trandoshan ships stayed in the fight until every last pirate ship was blown out of the sky.

"Don’t bother giving me a damage report…" Tiosk said when they finally dropped out of battlestation mode. "I already know we’ll be doing repairs for a long time."

Sarvendevis HQ

Naosha was already heading for the Rancor Den, her escort having a bit of trouble keeping up with her, when she got the request to come there. When she arrived she turned pale at what she saw at the screen. She saw Trissan running like crazy, just managing to stay out of the Rancor’s reach.

"What can we do to get him out of there?" She asked. "He maybe a two year old with seemingly boundless energy but he won’t be able to keep running forever."

"If an adult tries to go in there he will eat them." Fikan said. "However, if we open the door just enough for the kid to get through."

Naosha’s brows furrowed. "Why didn’t you do that to start with?" She interrupted with a hiss, her protective mother instincts taking over.

"And risk him running off and disappearing before we can stop him?" Fikan said. "As terrified as he is, he’ll likely not stop running until he finds a nice dark cubby hole who knows where on the base."

"Of course…" Naosha said, logic taking over. "You need someone to play catcher, one with good reflexes. Well I may be getting on in years, but when it comes to catching naughty children they don’t have much of a chance against me."

He was getting tired and the Rancor wasn’t. Of course it didn’t help when you had to take a fifty strides to the Rancor’s one. Still, unless he found a way out of here, he would be a snack for the monster. But during each ‘lap’ around the den he found no way out, save for the big massive doors on either side, both of which were tightly shut.

Then by some miracle, one of the doors opened a bit. But the Rancor was inbetween him and the door. In an act of desperation, Trissan leaped at the Rancor just as it lunged at him. He caught hold just between the rancor’s eyes and if he was a position to see them he would see a very surprised look indeed.

Knowing better then to ‘hang around’, Trissan scrambled on top of the Rancor’s head, then started to scamper down the length of it’s body. The Rancor, never having had this stunt pulled on it before, lurched upward and tried to knock the youth off it’s back, but it’s arms lacked the flexibility to reach that far back.

The sudden steep decline of the Rancor’s body made Trissan lose his grip and he slid, tumbled at one point, down the rest of the way. Fortunately the tip of the monster’s tail wasn’t that far off the ground, unfortunately the landing left the young Trissan stunned for a moment.

Just as the Rancor turned around, a green arm reached out, grabbed Trissan by the tunic and yanked him out of the room, the door shutting immediately after.

"You…young man…" Naosha said as she held up the meek looking child up by the tunic. "Are in serious trouble…" A nasty odor reached her nose then and she had a feeling it wasn’t just from having physical contact with the Rancor. "And you need a bath…"

Trissan’s young face screwed up into his typical stubborn expression. "No bath." He whined.

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[size=2]Sarendevis HQ: Medical Bay

Oh how relieved she was when the red alert dropped. Soon there was a bustle of activity as the doctors received what they needed to save Silliss and Varcanna watched as they started the transfusion process.

Thank the gods…you’ll be ok. She thought with a smile. However, her joy was shortl ived when it suddenly felt like something was nearly ripped out of her chest. With a gasp she collapsed, barely catching the sill of the window to steady herself. Still, she was forced to kneel on the ground, as her legs refused to support any of her weight now.

As she knelt there trembling, she realized it wasn’t something that was physically wrong with her, for the feeling wasn’t the same as physical pain. No this was both mental and spiritual, like someone she cared deeply for was in peril. It could only mean one thing: something happened to Trazu. She was just blocked from him before, now there was almost an emptiness in her heart. Her instincts told her he wasn’t dead, at least not yet, but something very bad did happen to him.

A telepathic message then came in, one that confirmed her suspicions and worse fears: ‘His bedy is mino new.’

No… Her now numb fingers let go of the sill and she fell to the floor, sobbing. It was worse then death. The K’Satizitus has succeeded in taking over Trazu’s body…and Trazu was likely to be lost to them for good…

Outside the Rancor Den

"Oh I am really tempted to do just that, believe me." Naosha said, holding Trissan at arms length away from her as they traveled back down the corridors. "Problem is, this one seems to have a knack for slipping in and out of places without being seen. If he was old enough I’d have him put in for the spy corps. But at the rate he is going…" She added with a sneer, to which Trissan cringed. "He may not live long enough…"

Suddenly she froze, her eyes going wide and dropping Trissan. Trissan, not wanting to get into any more trouble today and realizing something must be wrong, didn’t try to run off.

"What’s wrong?" Fikan asked, concerned.

"Something’s wrong…" Naosha said, her mother’s instincts going haywire. "Something is wrong with one of my children…"

Trandosha: Streets of Hsskhor

"No I wasn’t. My scales were once green…and my eyes orange." She said bitterly, a part of her not really wanting to reveal her past.

"What happened?" Kysh asked curiously, not doubting her claim. Natural born albinos are cast out into the wilderness the moment they are born and don’t survive as a result. The fact she was an adult was proof enough of her claim.

She snarled. "Let’s just say I was an unwilling part of an experiment…one Besk ‘volunteered’ me for…and it changed not only how I look…but how I must live.[/size]

[size=2]Sarendevis HQ

"I…I will be…" Varcanna managed to whispter. "But someone I am close to is not…"

The nurse looked a bit puzzled. "You’re friend in there is already showing signs of recovering…" She said.

"I speak not of Silliss…" Varcanna said shaking her head. With a bit of will power, she was able to force herself back up to her feet. "But my brother…"

"Where is he then? We can see about sending a team…"

Varcanna was shaking her head the moment she started speaking. "Nothing medical can help him now…for it’s not really ‘physical’ in nature. I need to find mother…" She staggered forward, the side effect what she just felt not having subsided completely yet. She felt a tinge of regret in her heart: was she wrong to keep her suspicions from her mother all this time? She held no doubts that with her mother’s instincts, Naosha already likely knew something was amiss…and would come to her to find out exactly what that was.

Another question on her mind was whether she would survive the tongue lashing her mother will no doubt give her, but even more worrying about telling her this was: will the Separatist Movement survive this knowledge coming forth?

…

"I only have two children Admiral." Naosha said softly. "One is on the base, Varcanna, the other is my son Trazu, father to my grandchildren, whom I have no idea on where he is. But his sister…may be able to tell me, if it is not her that is in trouble."

"Where is she then?" Fikan asked.

"Medical bay was the last place I know she was heading, to check up on Silliss." As she spoke she heading in that direction, dragging Trissan along with her.

Trissan didn’t mind: it meant it will be longer before he had to take that damn bath.

…

When they found her Varcanna was still trying to make her way down the hall, having to use the wall for support: the doctor constantly insisting she should rest wasn’t helping.

"Varca! Whut huppon!?" Naosha demanded in Clan dialect, grasping her daughter by the shoulders.

"Speak not in the Clan tongue mother…" Varcanna said, slightly weak. "They…" She jerked her head in the direction of Fikan and the guards. "Deserve to know this…"

Naosha felt her mouth go dry: if Varcanna felt those outside of the Clan must know what she did, it must be very bad. Hesitantly she asked. "What is it then?"

Varcanna cast her eyes to the floor, knowing she had no real choice but to tell her now. "The K’Satizitus…has succeeded in taking over Trazu’s body."

The news hit her like a sledgehammer. She felt terror, shock and grief all at once. She knew her son was having a hard time dealing with his mate’s death…but for his will to grow weak enough for this to happen…

It was too much. She felt herself start to fall to the floor, but had no strength to stop her fall…

Trandosha: Streets of Hsskhor

She smiled. "So here’s my idea." She said. "It’s simple really, but will take time: not to mention the high risk of getting caught. The idea is to keep him awake…though any means necessary."

"What good will that do?" Kysh said.

"Those that are sleep deprived can’t focus as well, are more prone to making mistakes, and lose coordination. When he is thoroughly deprived of sleep…I may have a chance at finishing him off." With the last statement she revealed her weapon. She had her arms folded before so it couldn’t be seen as easily, but on one hand was a wicked looking glove adorned with foot long blades. Kysh recognized it as the weapon Rissonik showed him and his mother in the hideout earlier: a K’Zur.

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