STAR WARS

Hi Admiral. It’s been a bumpy week and a half. Things have a way changing so very quickly. One day, you could be on top of the world, sipping your favorite drink, curled up in your favorite chair, watching your favorite holovid… The next day, you could be stranded, abandoned, on a little planet in the middle of nowhere with no family… no home… no friends… no nothing.

I have to admit I’m feeling a little like that now.

About ten day ago, we came out of hyperspace right into the asteroid field around Dyyra. The Broken Spanner’s spastic astrogation computer dropped us in the fourth ring instead of the eight. We were immediately bombarded by thousands of tiny and not so tiny rocks. Yes, we were damaged badly. So bad, we had to abandon ship while the Dyyra Planetary Defense Frigate - PDF 42 was in the middle of rescuing us.

It was amazing. Captain Garryn and his crew rescued us and then treated us with kind efficiency. Apparently, that asteroid belt around Dyyra has claimed many numerous ships. We stayed on the PDF-42 for three days and were treated as honored guests the whole time. At first, I was extremely suspicious of such good hospitality…. Figuring it to be some sort of trap.

*soft laugh* Funny how a person changes. Four months ago, I would have expected this hospitality and probably would have sniffed in disdain at my accommodations. Now, it felt like utter luxury and therefore not to be trusted.

Then, I remembered my schooling about Dyyra. It’s part of the Baradon Confederation - an independent trade federation of 10-20 systems. This particular system has an extremely light Imperial presence and a rather lazy attitude towards the Empire. Mostly a lot of nodding and agreeing and then doing what they really want to do… including assisting the rebellion.

We were incredibly lucky.

I didn’t realize just how lucky until we had dinner with Captain Garryn that first night. After dinner, he dismissed all the officers, leaving just us. Of course, I got nervous. I’ve become so paranoid lately - with good reason. I wasn’t sure what to expect when he turned to me and said, “So… Senator.” Yahnna had given him our real names. She apologized to me but it wasn’t needed.

The Captain explained that they had heard, all the way out here on Dyyra, 80% of the way to the Galactic Rim, about all of us on the Imperial network. Apparently, Meric and Maire and I are all wanted alive. The rest are all wanted dead or alive. I have to admit, that didn’t make me feel very good. He went on to explain Dyyra’s position in regards to the Empire and allowed us to use false names and forgot that we had any others.

We discussed the fact that the Broken Spanner was indeed completely broken, beyond repair. The Captain suggested someone to sell it to as salvage. During that after dinner conversation, Captain Garryn told me about my family. The moment the news broke on the Imperial net, my family disowned me. I didn’t react much then. It was to be expected. They had to - to protect the family. But, I can’t help wondering if it’s for real. If my father was so disappointed in me, that I had made such a mess of things, that he disowned me because of that, too.

I have no home anymore.

I have no family I can go to without endangering them.

I have no ID.

I’m trying so hard not to panic. I really am.

Ok. Just keep calm. Just tell what happened. Ok. *pause* OK.

Right. OK. Captain Garryn dropped us off in Cardan Spaceport - the spaceport controlled by his Duke of House Sawa. We’ve been given accommodations at the Spacer’s halfway house until we can get back on our feet.

Yahnna went to the trader Jela’han, a Twi’lek. She sold the Broken Spanner and split the profits between she and Dev. She gave the rest of us a small part of her share. An unnecessary, but much appreciated gesture. The ship belonged to those two. Then, Dev sold the cargo. That was split evenly between me, Geehan, Dev and Travers. Some breathing room, at least.

Yahnna also brought back a job from Jela’han - to steal a Lambda shuttle from a small Imperial port on Moorja, a neighboring planet. The payment? A hyper-modified space vessel worth half a million credits. It’s a difficult mission, but I was immediately interested in it because it gave us a very nice ship.

Unfortunately, two things have happened now that have completely screwed up any plans for a leisurely decision.

Meric and Maire had to leave on the first day we were here on Dyyra. After some pressing from Yahnna and Dev, I made a copy of the Jedi Journal - which, I still can’t decrypt. This is really frustrating. And I kept enough light saber parts for two light sabers with two extra crystals. The rest, I wrapped up with the original journal and gave the whole package to Meric to return to where ever it needed to go.

They gave us information on how to contact them and I asked Meric to let Val know that I would be looking for him. That I still wanted to apprentice under him. I felt a catch in my throat as they left. I felt like… I don’t know… they were abandoning me. I know that’s not right to think. They owe me nothing. But … I can’t help it. I have so few people I know I can trust now.

Then, Travers came back from his little walkabout and calmly told me when I was fretting about getting a new identification that I should just go do what he did - which was go down to local temp agency, apply for a job and an ID. All they need is a genetic sample… which Travers so easily, and carelessly, handed over. I couldn’t believe it. With Empire red flagging us all over the place, he just wanders away to do whatever he wants, going through normal channels and not covering his tracks. He has no regard for anyone, but himself.

We figure we have less than three days to decide what we’re going to do and how get off this planet before the Relentless arrives.

But, I digress. Yahnna offered us the Lambda mission. I said yes. She said yes. Dev said he had to report to the Rebellion first. Travers called us all pirates and other assorted names. Geehan was imminently agreeable.

Suddenly, it looked like we were splitting up. I started talking to Dev about maybe going with him to the Rebellion… this is how I got into this mess to begin with… but his Headhunter only takes two people and, apparently, Dev is going to take Travers with him back to the Rebellion to be a hacker. There’s no room for me. In an odd sort of way, it felt like being abandoned again. And again, Dev owes me nothing.

So, I went back to Yahnna and asked her if she wanted me and her to do the mission. Alone if we had to. We ended up having a strong discussion about the whole thing. She wanted me to just run back to the Rebellion - which, honestly, I don’t know how to do. I don’t know where to even start. Then, once I proved to her satisfaction that I really did want to go with her so I had some time to thing about what it was I was going to do… and let’s face it, everyone else had just walked away from me… we had another strong discussion about the percentage of the ship and who would own what. It finally came down to it, if it’s just me and Yahnna, she’ll own the lion’s share of the ship and I’ll be her XO.

But, we’re going to ask Geehan to go with us. I don’t know what he’ll want as payment for the mission, but it’s not going to be a percentage of the ship. There’s only one other we’ll give a percentage of the ship to and that’s Dev. And since Yahnna is making me fight to stay with her and continuously prove myself, she’s given me the task of convincing Dev to work with us.

I had a talk with him… a long talk… and we seem to have hit an impasse.

Dev, to suit his sense of honor and self, feels he must report into the Rebellion and either get leave or new instructions. He has agreed that if any of us can find a rebel cell on Dyyra before we, meaning me, Yahnna and Geehan, if he decides to go with us, can get our alternate IDs and have to ship out to Moorja, he’ll report into the Rebel cell here and do what he feels he needs to do.

The big sticking point for Dev, beyond not being considered AWOL by the rebellion, is that he feels if he’s on Rebellion time when we do this Lambda mission, he’ll have to consider his portion of ship to be owned by the Rebellion. This is why he has to do it on HIS own time and not Rebellion time.

Dev did suggest an alternative, but we both believe time is a major factor in it. We could give Dev a written agreement to give to his higher ups, stating that we’ll work together as freelance Rebellion cell if Dev is allowed to be assigned to this new ship as part of the cell. However, how long is it gonna take Dev to get to his rebel higher ups and back? Time is of the essence since Travers so easily handed over his DNA to be ‘cleared’ for that ID.

I talked to Yahnna about it and she absolutely refuses to be part of a Rebellion cell. However, she did say that she would agree to be a hired on mercenary attached to a particular Rebellion cell if it contained me, Dev and Geehan.

So, now Dev and I are desperately searching for signs of the Rebellion here. If we could just contact someone in the Rebellion and get Dev the leave he needs, I’m sure, together, we could pull off this Lambda mission. I don’t know if we can do it without him and his Headhunter.

End Log: 78135.215.20:03

(c) 1999 - Eden Blackthorn