FIRST STORY- Feel free to contribute. ANYONE MAY PLAY

FINTI

Finti looked around the Main Hall, the battle was over and easily won. The dead bodies of the ministers and former nobility laid scattered around the entire courthouse, not a single survivor of the opposition. Finti used his wristband communicator "Courthouse clear, commander Raik or should I say Duke Raik sole protector of the New Gard system."Finti moved into the shadows as he continued his conversation with Raik. "You need to declare Martial law at once, if you are in control of the province, soon reinforcement will arrive and the entire planet will be surrounded by a star fleet. Are your elitetroopers in control Duke Raik?" "Yes Finti", the Duke replied, "I have stationed them around the entire place and a couple of thousands awaits further orders. This coupe went rather well don`t you think"
"We are in control of the sovereign system of New Gard, but it`s merely a beginning" Finti answered.
Finti return to the Main Hall of the courthouse and aura of fear followed his steps. Reports of the Star ship armada being in place started to come in.
"Is there an update on the whereabouts of the jedi" Finti yelled into the communicator. "If not get some and quick"

Raik decleared Martial law all over the newley decleared republic of New Gard, with himself as sovereign leader of the planet. Duke Raik.
It had only just begun Finti moved around the corthouse eager for news about the jedi.

Ushgarak kept low and inconspicuous. Behind the pain, he was having that uncomfortable feeling again.

This was an odd move. What was going on here? By the sound of things, the Courthouse had turned into a war zone. There was more than one faction at work here, that was for sure. This was a puzzle that needed unqrapping. And the Council muast be warned of the new disruption! Ushgarak could only hope that queeq and Gundark had not run into similar trouble... though they could both take care of themselves.

A plan formed in Ushgarak's mind. He must get to this Toydarian, who seemed friendly, and use a long-range communicator. Then, he had to get back to the spacepoert, and the safety of his ship, the Eye of the Moon...

GUNDARK

Gundark was quietly eavesdropping on a group of a half dozen or so Gard militia men when a comlink sounded. A dark haired man, as facially scarred as he was heavily armed answered the comlink. Gundark strained to hear the exchange from her hiding place around the corner from the group. "Martial law has been declared in Marakith and Gard. Commander Raikk has been put in control by the Norseman. You are to assert complete control of the population of Gard and maintain curfew in the area," ordered the authoritative voice on the opposite end. "Yes sir," the scarred man answered. He looked at the group around him and smiled an unnatural smile, sending a shiver down Gundark's spine. "Deploy the troops," he commanded. The group dispersed, drawing blasters and reaching for their own comlinks. Three of them turned around and headed right toward Gundark's hiding place. She looked around for an escape route, saw none, and drew her lightsaber. So much for a good hiding place, she thought. As soon as she was spied, one of the militia men shouted, "Halt. Who are you ?" Then he saw her lightsaber ignite. "Jedi. Spying on us ?, " he asked with a sneer, bringing up his blaster and firing. Gundark answered with her saber, blocking the bolt and those of the other two men. The close quarters enabled Gundark to quickly dispatch the second and third man, and she used the Force to yank the first man's blaster from his grasp. He stared at his empty palm, then grabbed his comlink. Gundark deactivated her saber and ran. Fast.

QUEEQ

Coruscant. As the sun is setting none of Coruscant's air traffic seems to slow down. At the Jedi Temple a black clad man with a long black cape enters the large hallway which leads to the turbo elevator. He is stopped by a young Jedi dressed in traditional robes. "Halt. What is your business." His voice revealed his inexperience but also a great calmth and confidence. He made not the tiniest gesture towards the light sabre stuck in his tunic. The black clad stranger that appeared so out of place removed his hood and looked the young Jedi straight in his eyes.
"Master queeq. I need to see the Council. NOW!"
The young Jedi looked at him calmly. "Master queeq you say? Master of what?" queeq looked at him sharply: "I have no time for this." And passed the young Jedi, who suddenly stood before him again using Force Speed. He held his unignited light sabre in his hand. queeq moved close up to the young Jedi, whose left eyelid flinched only a little. "A crisis has arisen on planet Ulva. Two Jedi may be in great danger. I MUST see the Council now."

"It is allright, Shamas." Ki-Adi Mundi walked up to the two Jedi with a smile, embraced queeq and turned to the young Jedi who clearly looked more relaxed now. "You should be thankful to be still alive, hehehehehe."
queeq's face was stoic as ever. "My master, I must see the Council about a matter of grave importance." The smile disappeared on Ki-Adi's face, "I have felt it."

High up in the tower of the Jedi Temple only six members of the Council are present. queeq has seated himself in one the Council's seats when Yoda arrives. He sees queeq unappropriately sitting in Mace Windu's seat. "Aha, comfortable you have made yourself." queeq replied with calmth. "I have no time for formalities, my Master. I have just returned from Ulva and I sense a great crisis taking place on that planet."
Yoda didn't seem surprised. "A disturbance we sensed in the Force. In trouble Ushgarak is, hmmmm?"
"I believe matters are worse than that. I need an audience with the Supreme Chancellor. Hutt warships are lying in ambush just off planet for any unwanted departures from the planet."
Yoda eyes squinted. "Hutt warships. Not heard of space agression by Hutts I have. But reveal this you must to the Chancellor. To us not."
"I believe matters are worse than criminal warlords explanding their activities to space piracy. I sensed not only a disturbance in the Force because of Ushgarak's trouble, but a large tremor in the Force. Dark, elusive. there is a force behind this sudden Hutt activity."
Yoda sighed deeply. "What request you have to the Council?"
queeq determinedly replied: "I request the assistence of a Jedi, well trained in the Jedi arts. Lightsabre and fighting experience. You can send him after I leave Coruscant, for I must return soo..."
Yoda interrupted him. "Gundark on Ulva is. Her you take."
queeq was silent for a moment. Yoda looked at him. "Your indifferences forget you must."
"I don't know where she is. Whether she is still alive. I'm going after Ushgarak first, so I don't think teaming up with Gund..."
"Gundark you take." Yoda's word seemed final.
Another Jedi entered the Council room and whispered into Ki-Adi's ear.
Ki-Adi sighed and looked at queeq. "We have just reveived word that Gard is under martial law. That was all we received before communications were cut off."
queeq got up. "I will see the Chancellor now." He started to walk off, but Yoda spoke again. "Still not wear Jedi robes you will. That defiance you need not." queeq turned and smiled dryly to Yoda. "May the Force be with you, my Master." Yoda's face showed a slight smile. "May the Force be with you.... queeq."

Meanwhile, the wounded Ushgarak stumbled into Thrax's workshop...

THRAX

Thrax lay under a large speeder. Tools littered around him, a small droid stood by handing them to him when he shouted the appropriate insult.

"Tri-phase spanner you fool, that's a bi-focal widget!"

Thrax heard a thump from the front of his shop.

"We're closed, go away."

Nothing but silence was the reply he got.

"What don't you understand, the go or the away?"

Thrax flapped out from under the speeder to see a barely concious Ushgarak on the floor.

"Uh, what, does this look like a hospital. Droid, go fetch a med kit."

The small droid hovered off and moments later returned with a small silver metal box. Thrax withdrew a medival looking device and spiked Ushgaraks arm with it.

"There, a stimulant to help you heal. I suppose I should dress your wounds but this gives me a perfect oppurtunity to test the med droid I fixed this morning."

Thrax made his way across the room and pressed a button at the back of a rather old looking droid and uttered a few instructions to it in Toydarian.

"We'll have you patched up in no time."

5 minutes later and a small amount of grimacing on the behalf of Thrax Ushgaraks wounds were dressed, as well as the rest of him, leaving what could have been mistaken for an ancient egyptian mummy. If of course there was such a place called Egypt.

USHGARAK

A little while later, Ushgarak had made contact with Coruscant. Luckily, no-one had shut down the comms on the planet. He was talking to his Master, Imorthorn.

"Queeq has already returned here," Imorthorn was saying. "It seems he caused quite a stir... The Council is unsure about what to do. The Senate is hesistant to get involved in a full scale war, and if they really do want independance there..."

"This is going to be Damagran all over again," finished Ushgarak.

"Indeed. I may try and send you some help, my old friend. Until then, do what you can to stablize the situation."

Ushgarak cut the link.

"Thankyou," he said, to Thrax. hrrax was just holding out hios hand. Ushgarak rolled his eyes, and reached for his money belt. Republic credits WERE still good here, thank God.

THRAX

"I'm afraid I don't take republic credits"

USHGARAK

"But credits will be fine!"

THRAX

"No, they won't"

USHGARAK

"No, credits WILL be fine!"

THRAX

"What? You think your some kind of Jedi...oh, never mind.."

USHGARAK

Eventually, Thrax and Ushgarak decided that the Knight owed the businessman a favour...

Feeling better, Ushgarak slipped back into the streets of Marakith, to try and unravel this mystery...

GUNDARK

Gundark knew she had two things to do; get back to Marakith and find Ush, then get to her ship and try to contact queeq, who she knew was still off-world as she could not sense his presence anywhere here on Ulva. And Gundark knew queeq's presence above all others. Evading the swarming militia as they rounded up the populace was becoming increasingly difficult as she made her way to the ground transport station. Gundark found an unguarded shuttle when she sensed a commotion behind her. "You there ! Halt !" a voice shouted. Pulling her saber and igniting it in a smooth motion, Gundark spun toward her attackers. Eight men running straight at her, firing. What happened to asking questions first, Gundark thought. She blocked the blaster bolts one after another, and jumped backward into the pilot's seat of the small four passenger craft. She glanced at the controls and fired the converters. The moments distraction was all one of the militia troopers needed and his shot found its target. The laser beam pierced uncaringly through Gundark's clothing and into her upper right arm. She cried out in pain, the smell of burnt flesh filling her nose. She dropped her lightsaber into her lap and hit the thrusters on the shuttle at the same time. The shuttle soared out over the surface of Ulva, towards Marakith, Gundark gripping her arm and trying to mask her pain that she knew was calling out through the Force. She didn't want Ush or queeq to know she was hurt, everybody already had their hands full already. Then the black presence of the Norse began to beat at the back of her mind.....

FINTI

Finti stood in the Main hall looking at the beat up seal of the planet Ulva. He had received information about intercepted communications with Coruscant, one of them from a wounded jedi. "So it`s Ushgarak, good I think he had a rendezvous with the dark side some time ago. He might be tempted of the good life again" Finti grinned as he now knew who the jedi is. Finti knew about the presence of a jedi named Gundark, but she was in Gard at the moment.
Finti contacted Raikk again. "Duke Raikk, contact the Galactic senate and declear independence. That will wake up those corrupt powerhungry senators and maybe they will be able to act upon it within our lifetime. Make sure you provoke them enough to send a force to stop our independence plans. Let them know of their failure with Senator Vendant, also be sure to let them know that all the minerals and riches of this planet no longer will be theirs, ever. And for really ticking them off tell them you plan to contact other systems to join you to create a competing governmental body."
Finti talked a couple of words with his troop commander in the courthouse. He then turned to the communicator"Find the jedi fast, he is wounded and should be of no match for a platoon, search all junkyards and pay off the junkowners that`s the only language they understand."
Finti moved into the mobile communication center which had extremely long range. After a while a hologram appeared on the table. It was off a young man dressed in the clothes of a jedi. "Ah-wen-gah", Finti said. "Activate the bomb in the Galactic Senate, and make sure they understand that The New Gard Independence Movement(NGIM) are responsible for this attack. Then blend inn at the jedi temple, they never sort you out our skills in hiding our dark force abilities are to clever, and keep me posted on the jedi`s movements."
Finti retreated to the darkness of the shadows, it was time for face 2.

[ April 09, 2001: Message edited by: Ushgarak ]

In the sewers, Ushgarak heard the commotion as the guards searched above. It was turning into a ngihtmare out there, quickly. Closing his eyes, he tried to fell the thoughts of those above... they were searching for him. Ushgarak hoped that the Junkyard owners hatred for the authorities was in excess of their greed... but he doubted it. Who were they working for? They were ordered by Duke Raikk... and there was another man somewhere a... damn! Too difficult to see.

Ushgarak wanted to return to the Courthouse, but he was not yet well enough to face trouble. His ship, then. They would have looked there for him already, of course, and it would be guarded now. It was unsafe to go there, but if he didn't go there soon they may destroy his beloved ship and then Ushgarak may never escape.

Ushgarak sighed., The Will of th Force was strong indeed. He wanted to chase down the hag Shareth, but obviously it was not to be...

He headed towards the spaceport.

QUEEQ

Coruscant. A middle aged Gardian is thrown to the floor before Supreme Chancellor Heboam. "We caught him trying to place this bomb in te Galactic Senate." The Senate captian reported in the Chancellor's chamber. "All Gardian representatives and their employess have been incarcerated."
"Well done." Heboam replied and then turned to the dark figure behind him. "Many thanks, Jedi Master."
queeq stepped out of the shadows and walked up to the Gardian still lying on the floor. He grabs him by his jacket, lifts him off the floor and peers deep into his eyes. "I see right through you. Answer me: who gave you your orders." The Gardian shivered but refused to answer. His fear to reveal the identity was greater than the one he had for the menacing Jedi. But his consciousness could not withstand reflecting on the Dark Lord whose anger would be unrelenting after him being discovered like this.

queeq suddenly dropped him and turned to the Chancellor. "I just return to Gard" queeq said and walked off. "May the Force be with you", Chancellor called after him.

At the exit of the Chancellor's chambers Ki-Adi Munid was waiting. queeq stopped for only a second. "Dark Jedi", queeq reported and left, leaving a trouble Ki-Adi behind.

FINTI

Ah-wen-gah looked around the jedi temple, alitle smile occured on his face. The decoy bomber had been found, the real one couldnt be found. The explosive was injected into a aid to the Malastare senator. Unawere of the danger within his body this aid would be with his Senator in the senate later on. When the news of independance for New Gard anger would errupt. These flow off adrenalin emotion would trigger off the explosive and The Malastare senator box together with the nearest senator boxes would be blown up. The casulties will be a few but the action itself will be the biggest blow to the Senate. No doubt will revenge be sought and executed, but at New Gard they were ready for it.
The New Gard Elitetroopers were well trained and skilled in inter galactic warfare. They just had to wait for the attack and then the trap would fold on the attackers.
finti

GUNDARK

Gundark stared at the fuel gage reading on the shuttle control panel. Nearly empty. She was beginning to regret her trip to Gard. Not your best choice for a vacation destination, she thought grimly. Gundark cut the shuttle speed to conserve fuel and ignored the Marakith skynet controller who barked at her through the com. The blaster wound throbbed badly and a tingling numbness had spread down her arm into her hand. At least her saber arm, her left, wasn't wounded. But it took two hands in a fight. Gundark turned slapped the com switch down, cutting off the skynet controller's voice in mid-command. Deciding she was in no shape to deal with the militia welcoming committee that she knew was waiting for her with a 'blasters first, questions later' attitude, she landed the shuttle in the outskirts, away from the Marakith ground transport station. The last dregs of fuel barely landed the small craft in rough clearing about a half kilometer outside the Marakith square. Well, not quite a clearing. Having taken out three or four small trees on the way down, it could now be considered a rough clearing, thought Gundark wryly. She clambered out of the craft and collapsed on the ground. Any landing you could walk away from was a good landing, especially when you were out of fuel, she told herself. Trouble was, walking away was made a little more difficult now by her leg that had slammed into the underside of the control panel on her landing. It wasn't broken; she knew that, as she could put some weight on it as she forced herself to stand. Gundark sighed. At least the pain in her leg now took her mind off the pain in her arm. She looked the shuttle. Well, that one was ready for the junk dealer. The afternoon had fled and the sun had dropped well in the sky. Knowing full well the skynet had tracked her landing, Gundark limped through the woods toward the towering permacrete buildings of Marakith. She sensed Ush's presence, still in the city, somewhere. Gundark also sensed the overwhelming evil that she had felt earlier in the shuttle. She continued slowly, mentally preparing herself to confront whatever darkness awaited her in Marakith, but physically she was drained. She did not have the precious time needed to heal herself with the Force, and until she sought medical attention, a confrontation with a Norse Sith was the last thing she needed. She wondered if queeq had reached Coruscant......

QUEEQ

Coruscant. Security has been tripled and everyone entering the Senate or any of the other official buildings are undergoing scanning. It's almost as if Coruscant is under martial law.

At the spaceport queeq makes sure AKA 1138 has repaired the damage he sustained from the space battle. "Blasters working again?", queeq asked. "Okidoki. Work like charms. Ha ha ha ha." Aka replied. "Get ready then, we have to leave."

FINTI

Coruscant. Senate in session,message about New Gards declaration of independence is displayed. After a short but heated debate the bomb goes off. When the smoke clears the Malastare senate box is demolished, the nearest boxes suffered minor damages and injuries the rest of the senate are in shock. Some cry out in agony some in anger.

Ushgarak was underneath the space port by now. He could sense the guards above, and was still unclear how he could actually get to the ship safely. he was probably going to have to risk a fight.

"Still alive, Jedi?" came a voice, the same one that had taunted him before.

"I'd heard youi were dead," said Ushgarak, suspicously. Thrax had told him of the demise of theman in yellow armour.

"You don't know much about me, Jedi. As I said, I'm a professional. We have certain... issues to work out here, Jedi, but be certain- Shareth isn't finished with you."

"She'll be finished when this is over," said Ushgarak. There was no reply, and Ushgarak could sense no-one nearby. A robot? A race immune to mind sense? Perhaps just a projected voice? A mystery, certainly.

Ushgarak briefly felt a short empathic sting of pain. Someone was hurt... he'd concentrate more on it later. He had too much to think about. Slowly, he made his way upwards to the space port.

GUNDARK

Dusk was pressing as Gundark dragged her weary body from the woods and into the outskirts of Marakith. The streets were filled with troops and she had to maneuver her way carefully from building to building to avoid attention, holding her lightsaber carefully in her left hand, her right arm now hanging limply at her side, useless now, as a result of the untreated blaster wound. Eventually, Gundark reached the edge of the square in the center of the city. She gasped at the sight. The place was nearly in ruins, the area filled with smoke and debris, and despite the faltering light, saw entire platoons of troops, clearly in control of the courthouse and the square. The presence of the Norse left a metallic taste on her tongue. The pain in her arm and her leg were oppressive. Gundark knew the evil would feel her out, this near, this close to confrontation...

Ushgarak, in the ventilation systems at the starport, had made his way along to where his ship was. It still seemed intact, thank the Force. Some twenty guards were posted around it. But...wait... what exactly was going on down there...

XIZOR

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine scowled in the darkness of his Coruscant chambers. He digested the information Finti had transmitted, pleased with the outcome, yet unable to show pleasure on his scarred visage.
Palpatine turned to a figure shrouded in darkness: "They've taken over the system and declared independance, soon the weak senate will be in an uproar and the Jedi most vulnerable."

"Yes, my lord"

"I give you command of a Strike Cruiser and three battleships Admiral. Take five legions of our special forces and rendevous with Lord Finti. Assist him in every capacity. Give him support on the ground and in the air as you prepare for the Jedi offensive. I trust you know what to do...."

The figure moved, light hit his pale blue skin, his red eyes glistened: "Of course my lord.... kill the Jedi."

The young Admiral bowed and marched off to the sound of the Supreme Chancellors wheezing cackle.

Ushgaraks' ship was surounded by a dozen security guards,and a number of automatic defences. Tricky. But more men were arriving- Shareth's men! There seemd to be an arguement starting down there.

So then... a definite split in the forces of evil here. This situation could be exploited... but Ushgarak needed a ship. He could not get to the Eye of the Moon with all that attention there. Where could he find another ship, in...

Gundark. Gundark's ship. Of course! He would ave to contatc her somehow. And... wait... Gundark was hurt.

Ushgarak felt the flow of the Force for a few moments. Then he set off to look for his friends.

XIZOR

"Entering real space now Admiral," The Strike Cruiser's Luitenant gave a stiff nod and briskly marched back to his post.
The Admiral gazed out the main view point at the Gard system. Beautiful and peaceful on the outside it was in inner turmoil. Thrawn smiled to himself, such chaos would always work to the master strategists advantage.
In diamond formation the Cruiser and it's escort of 3 battleships cut through space, bristling with weapondry.
Thrawn turned to his comm officer "Try to make contact with Lord Finti, I'd like to discuss my arrival."

GUNDARK

Finding no trace of Ush amidst the rubble of the Marakith square, Gundark decided to try to make her way back to the spaceport, get off-world and back to Coruscant so she could tell the council of the dire circumstances erupting here. Her mind stretched in three desparate directions; her sense of Ush, that she still felt as a tiny prick of light in the evil blackness that swirled around the Norseman; queeq, whos absence in this wretched chaos engulfing this world frustrated her beyond words; and lastly, the unyielding pain in her arm and leg. Gundark knew the last would be her undoing unless she dealt with it. Fast. Slipping into an alcove in a crumbling building, temporarily safe from the troops that were policing the area in droves, she sat on the cold stone, injured leg outstretched and pulled her Jedi robe close around her and brought the Force in with it. Gundark took all of the pain and focused it into a tiny circle which she deposited in the back of her mind, back behind a thin wall that she knew, when it toppled, would unleash its fury doubly upon her. The Force swam through her with its numbing power, deliciously now, and Gundark stood without pain. Lightsabre in hand, she continued picking her way toward the spaceport in the failing light.

Ushgarak had a vague sense that Gundark was nearby, but he was not powerful enough to pick her out from all the millions of minds around- minds full of fear and panic. And there was something else now, making the fear worse... Ushgarak knew nothing yet of the coming invasion.

Move on move on... Ushgarak had to keep moving...

The walkways of Marakith were full of crowded, panicking people. The new authorities were still restoring order, and there were a lot of old scores to be settled as those from Gard took control. Ushgarak tried to oush past the throngs of crowds...

And then it seemed he was alone on a walkway. Standing, some twenty feet away from him, was a man dressed in a dark blue robe, twirled around him. Six men, three either side of him, were dressed in the same yellow armour that Ushgarak had seen before.

"End of the road, Jedi?" said the man in White.

'If this person is as professional as he says', wandered Ushgarak to himself, 'why doesn't he stop talking and start shooting?'

Still in pain from his wound, Ushgarak drew his sabre. The man in White just laughed.

"You won't win here today, Jedi!" he said. Strange... Ushgarak could still feel nothing from him. And in the men in yellow, he just sensed sharp, focussed minds that would not be distracted.

"Tell Shareth that her time is coming..." said Ushgarak. He ran towards the men, who had their blasters levelled at him. Ushgarak slid under their fire, with the speed of the Force. Closing to one, he brought his sabre up, slicing easily through the man, Twirling, he deflected more bolts. If he could stay balanced on hos good side...

Lazily, the man in White flicked a hand, and sent Ushgarak reeling over the edge of the walkway...