Hang on kid, Tapper says, reassuringly, we'll fix you right up and we'll get out of here before the authorities show up.

As tapper helped Vanya with her injuries, Cabur wandered through the bar, helping the few that were injured.

When Vanya had recovered enough to leave the three headed towards the spaceport, Cabur and Tapper talking in hushed tones, Vanya could hear the odd word, but nothing that made any sense. She did get the understanding that there was another brother that couldn't make it, sends his greetings to Tapper, with the hope he had recovered well and doing well for himself. Tapper had shrugged, making a comment that it wasn't too bad on the outside.. not bad enough to rob cantinas, anyway.. The two clones laughed.

As they approached the docking bays, the two clones embraced, and said their good byes, Cabur nodding to her as he departed.

Tapper joined her and together they walked to the ship, Alright, let's go find your waterfall... can't be more than a few trillion out there, he said with a grin, Any idea on where to start?

Vanya shrugged hesitantly, Maybe.. I think once we're in orbit, something will let me know.

Tapper looked at her skeptically as the boarded and shrugged. I've seen Jedi in action a few times, before.... my accident.. They could do some unbelievable things.. so I'm willing to give it a try.

Vanya looked at him as the secured themselves in the cockpit, Mind if I ask about your.. um, accident?

Tapper paused , then worked the controls, preparing for take off.. I got blown up. he said at last, lost both legs above the knee, serious head injury too.. I remember my brothers, my training.. just about everything up to the explosion.. but there are bits I can't remember. They found me a hospital in the city we were under siege in.. I guess I recovered enough to be moved when our lines were over run. I think most of the hospital staff didn't make it, no one in the Grand Army knew I survived.. My brothers kept it that way, they even tracked down our old training sergent. He's the one that got me patched up the rest of the way.. Now I run around doing intelligence gathering for my brothers, about CIS movements and ... he glances at her, A special project we're working on ... He quietly went back to the displays, tweaking the controls, clearly finished with his explanation..

I'm sorry..

Tapper shook his head, Don't be, it comes with the job.. there's always a risk. You just don't think it can happen to you.. until it does..

As Vanya scanned through the star-chart, she suddenly felt an urge to look towards Bothan space... No that's not it... Near, then... Nexus Ortai... That's it. Great. All the way on the other side of the galaxy ...

Vanya sent the coordinates to the navicomputer and Tapper's station. The Navicomputer beeped in acknowledgement and hummed as it processed. I think we're headed to Nexus Ortai, near Bothan space..

Tapper nodded as he looked it over, Grid Q-14.. It'll take a little time, but we can get there.

As Tapper started the calculations for the jump, a display pinged. He glanced at the readout and chuckled Of course it is.. That waterfall your looking for in the hart of a planet held by the Confederacy.

Vany swore quietly. Tapper, I need to do this, no matter who's in charge of the planet. I need to know what this is calling to me..

Tapper mulled it over..The thought of the investigation he and his brothers were conducting struck a similar cord as Vanya's Yeah.. I can relate. He said. Ok.. looks like it'll take 54 hours, so we'll have plenty of time to prepare.

When the navicomputer chimed and the calculations scrolled across the navigation monitor, Tapper reached over and pulled the control switches back. The stars elongated to lines, and burst into a swirl of color as the jumped.

More than two days later, they drop out of hyperspace, confronted with a large fleet consisting of several Munificent-class frigates, two Providence-class destroyers, and a Lucrehulk battleship. Immediately, they are approached by a quartet of vulture droids that form up around them as they receive a hail from the fleet, in the nasally voice of a B-1 battle droid. "Unknown ship make Sleipnir , state your cargo and business. Be warned, you will be scanned."

Tapper keyed the comms, Sleipnir here, ATC.. just need to resupply and maybe a little sight seeing, we were told that Nexus Ortai had beautiful natural landscapes. Beyond that, I currently don't have any freight, just running low on food and water.

"You may proceed. Sending guide coordinates now. Prepare for scanning." As you pass through the scanning gate, the Vultures peel off and the B-1 gets back on the line. "You've been cleared. Everything is in order, you may proceed to the planet. Sending guide coordinates for the spaceport now."

Thank you ATC, Sleipnir out. he replied, switching off the comm. Tapper turned on the passive sensor recorder and proceeded to follow the beacon towards the planet. Alright, first we'll do our resupply so we don't attract any attention and then find your waterfall.

What's that? Vanya asked, indicating the passive sensor display.

Passive sensor recording system, it isn't hardwired into the ship so it's near impossible to find in a scan. But since it only records through passive scanners anyway, they most likely won't know what I'm doing since ships use those senors routinely so they don't collide with other ships or obstacles, he explained. You generally don't get a lot of detail with passive sensors, but we'll get numbers of ships, their make or type and whatever weapon defense system that's actively scanning.

Vanya nodded.. So you'll have data on numbers, but not names of ships.. and I guess we won't know about any weapon system that is hidden and not broadcasting a sensor array.

Exactly, but in warfare, anything you can do to get past the fog of war and get a bigger picture of enemy activity is worth the tiny details you can gather.

After a brief stop in the spaceport to refuel and replenish their supplies, they asked about nature preserves and other interesting landmarks. They were initially met with skepticism, but Tapper explained that once one has experienced over a dozen spaceports and their surrounding urban areas, the only places to experience anything new was to go outside of the metropolitan sprawl and go explore the country side. After that, many of the security and other spaceport employees stopped being overly suspicious and treated them rather dismissively, one even asked them to take their ship on their nature quest, so it would free-up a bay space for actual customers. Tapper and Vanya were more than happy to comply.

Tapper brought Sleipnir out of the spaceport and set a lazy low altitude course that meandered across the country side, away from urban and military installations. When they had enough distance from the spaceport, Tapper put the ship in hover and indicated the controls to Vanya. All yours, do you're thing and point us in the direction you need to go..

Thank you, Tapper. she said, placing her hands on the controls and closing her eyes...

Slowly, Vanya manages to feel that nudge again.. She gives a gentle adjustment to the controls to get it just right... I think.... I think I have it, it's on this vector.. I'll let you know when we arrive.. she says, releasing the controls. Tapper takes them and accelerates down the vector, keeping it with in a degree or two.. after about an hour of travel Vanya announced they had arrived. Tapper looped around the area, doing his best to scan the area. Looks clear. He says, making a pass over a small clearing a few meters down river from the waterfall.

As he lands the shuttle, Vanya feels the nudge vanish. They are here. She steps through the trees and looks out over the river. The forest on both sides is a verdant green, filled with life. The rushing water spills and rushes chaotically towards the falls in stark contrast to the peaceful forests surrounding her. Her eyes turn towards the waterfall and she sees the rock, tipping perilously over the edge, as if about to fall. Beyond it, the vapor rises up in a cloud, the morning sun making a rainbow through the mist. As she makes her way towards the rock, Tapper steps up beside her, scanning the river. He thought he saw something... like a ripple that wasn't supposed to be there.

Hmm... I think I'll stick with you while we're here. Tapper said quietly, You don't need to be a Jedi to follow your instincts.

Vanya looked over the landscape, Did you see something?

Maybe.. I dunno.. he pointed towards the falls, Go find out what you need to know, I won't be too far.

Vanya carefully wades through the the water to the rock, fighting against the current to make sure she doesn't lose her footing and fall off the edge. When she gets to the rock, she climbs up, sitting down cross-legged and trying to shut everything out and meditate.

After nearly a quarter of an hour, Tapper sees a rock slip beneath the surface and start moving towards Vanya. As he looks closer he sees that it is a gray, scaly creature, nearly 5 meters from snout to tail. It has a long, broad snout and six long, brawny arms ending in webbed hands with vicious claws.

Tapper moves to get between Vanya and the creature, swearing under his breath.. Firfeck, you better not be the one in her head.. I'd hate to shoot you over a misunderstanding...

The creature snarls and moves closer, Oh kark it! Tapper sighs, firing a few shots into the creature

As the blaster bolts sear its flesh, it roars and surges up onto the rock, knocking Tapper off his feet. Tapper's head slams into the rock, dazing him, as the creature sinks its teeth into his hip. Vanya seems completely unaware of the chaos around her.

Tapper yells out in pain and staggers back, trying to get some distance and switches the carbine's firing selector to auto fire. Tapper opens fire, putting his pain into an angry howl in an attempt to scare off the creature, his shots miss the creature, impacting into the water all around it.

The creatures lets out a hissing roar and clambers up further onto the rock, rearing up on its four hind legs and striking Tapper with its front claws, cutting a nasty gash into his chest and bowling him over. It lets out a triumphant hiss and opens its jaws...

Watching the gaping maw of the creature coming towards him, time seems to slow.. For some reason a memory of his time in training floated to the surface of the haze of memories lost since the blast.. His training Sergeant instilling in them the tenacity to keep fighting past the point when other men would quit and die...

Adrenaline surged, and a guttural roar that left his throat raw, Dar'shab'rudur Ram'ika!! As he shoved the barrel of his carbine into the beast's mouth and pulling the trigger until bolts erupted from the back of its head, collapsed in a heap next to Tapper....

Tapper fell back against the rock, the adrenaline fading, leaving him shaking.. fighting to catch his breath... then he started laughing.. he survived for another day..

As she settles down on the rock, she clears her mind and blanks out all influence. The roar of the falls fading into the back of her mind like a distant memory, before disappearing altogether…
She opens her eyes, finding herself surrounded by the now almost familiar void. She feels the presence, sees the light, and for the first time since before Taris, hears the whisper. As she sits down and meditates in the void, the light and the presence get closer, and the whisper gets louder…
It is telling her to reflect..? To remember..? She thinks of her sisters, mourning their loss, but remembering the joy...
The light and the presence surround her, each making a semi-spherical barrier around her, spinning violently in competition as they mingle…
The whisper has an almost musical quality to it... a sort of hum…
She focuses more deeply…
The slavers she killed… Hatred, revenge…
The swoop ganger she spared… Compassion, mercy…
But the slavers she killed would have continued enslaving, and the swoop ganger she spared then shot her friend…
She feels the confusion clouding her mind and she reaches out to the whisper, the one thing that isn’t embroiled in the mad maelstrom around her…
The hum grows to a whistle, showing her the light and the black, the chaos and the harmony, the violence and the peace…
And she sees the middle ground between. Kill the slavers if she must, but without revenge. Spare the swoop ganger if she can, but end the threat quickly before others can be hurt…
The whistle crescendos to song as she sees the center, it shows her the balance, the center, the balance is the message of the whisper…
The whisper, the hum, the whistle, the song, it’s…
IT’S THE FORCE...
___________________________________________________________

The beginning......

Part Two: Rakan Kowl.
Chapter One: Pandora's Planet

The Ainik-class ship Prometheus slowly orbits an uncharted planet. Just one more stop on their journey through the Unknown Regions, charting systems and planets for the New Republic. Well, for a private company who'd sell the information to the New Republic at least.

Rakan hears a light tap-tap on his door, and the slightly muffled voice of Nadriana Juna, the team xenologist, coming from the other side of the door, "Mr. Kowl? We've found life-sign readings on a planet in this system. Mr. Beshenal is preparing a ground team and would like to brief you on the ground conditions and get your advice."

Rakan loaded up the vial of Glitterstim into the small mechanical inhaler. He hated this stuff, it was... incredible... it boosted his already keen senses to yet another level, and that felt amazing, but he still hated it. He hated the hold it had over him these past years. It felt as if being held like a rat in a cage, unable to escape and being force fed something it disliked yet so very much needed. He wanted to be free of it, to live a life among the stars, his own boss, not adhering to someone else's orders or someone else's vision, but his own.

The Glitterstim shot up the snout of the Shistavanen, his dark grey fur bristled and his body shook for a brief moment as the drug coursed through, winding around his nervous system like a snake ensnaring its prey. His yellow eyes widened and he let out a low growl.

The moment was interrupted by the familiar voice of Nadriana, the Pantoran woman. Disgustingly formal Rakan scowled. He didn't much like authority, nor did he like having authority, nor did he enjoy the polite formalities that seemed to permeate through the New Republic and the Empire before it. A bunch of high minded worlds all boosting and fellating each others importance and ego's. Not Shistavaneans. Not this guy.

"Yes!" He snapped through the door. Then paused, calming his voice. "I'm coming."

He put away the inhaler, gave his effects a once over, checking everything was in its place, then pushed the door control and stepped out.

Nadriana was already retreating back down the hall, her nose buried in a datapad, but she turned when Rakan left his room, "Oh, Mr. Breshenal is in the meeting room with the holoprojector, not on the flight deck. I should have mentioned." before turning and continuing on her way. Up in the meeting room, Kerrick Breshenal, Melenia Sorotai, and Darryn Shapris were already gathered around the table, an opaque hologram of the planet projected above the surface. It was a state-of-the-art technology, presenting the hologram as a opaque, colored model rather than the translucent blue of most. At first glance, it doesn't seem too out of the ordinary. Purple areas of heavy vegetation, a couple large oceans, a river here and there, but what really sticks out is the large storm systems on the planet. Sorotai looks up as Rakan enters, "Hey, Rake! Looks like this'll be a fun one." Breshenal covertly rolls his eyes and gestures for the Shistavanen to take a seat.

Making his way to the top deck of the Prometheus Rakan prepared himself to once again tolerate the presence of humans. He wasn't so fond of their smell. They smelled weak and brittle, like prey, like food, but food that had gone bad years ago. It's a wonder such a feeble species has been able to last so long. How are they the most prominent in the whole galaxy?

As he entered the meeting room the familiar scent hit him like a bat and he wrinkled his nose in disdain. He got brief glance at the hologram, interesting looking world, though nothing extraordinary, should be easy. That's how these things go right? Wrong. They never go that way. He eyed the Humans and the Chagrian, giving them them a subtle nod.

"Fun." The shistavanen repeated. "If fun means deadly. Then I'll look forward to getting off this damned boat for a little while."

He looked between the Humans. For all the misgivings he had about their disgusting species, he respected them for their ambition and smarts.

"So, what've we got?"