((It never fails; right as an RPG starts, 50 million things come up. So sorry for not jumping in before))

Ambassador Natasi had been calmly stolling alongside the Queen, maintaining a neutral-but-pleasant expression, when all hell broke loose in the large plaza. A member of her own security team pushed her to the ground, narrowly avoiding one of the many blaster bolts streaming through the air. Even as the Jedi sprung into action and the security teams began firing, Rina already found herself swarmed with concerned medics. Stars' end! She hadn't even been injured! Brushing them all off with a dismissive wave of her hand, Rina slowly got to her feet and straightened her robes.

"Supper sounds excellent," she replied, smiling tiredly and brushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She'd faced far worse in her lifetime, after all. A failed assassination attempt was nothing to fret over; it merely meant that they would have to be more careful in the future. "Shall we, then?"

Xanzi crouched at point of his team. They were going up stairs. Oh, how he hated stairs, way too many places for people to hide, but safer than turbolifts. He tought that he saw a shimmer off to his right, and panned over in that direction. "Check right," he said, motioning to the area where the shimmer had been.

As soon as they began moving towards there, the air shimmered and a droid materilized on their left. The squad opened fire at the same time, but a little too late. The droid got off some blasts first, and Canno fell to the ground, a smoking hole where his heart would have been. No time to mourn now, Xanzi thought as the group retreated down the stairs. Their blasters slowly wore throught the droid's armor plating and hit its power core, blowing the droid to bits, sending a concussive shockwave along with tons of tiny shards of shrapnel at the squad.

Unfortinuatly, the droid took the landing above them along with it, so they had to navigate thier way across the building to the other staircase, and resumed their treck upwards. As they went, Xanzi spoke to the other squads, "Watch your backs, they have droids with cloaks on them. And watch out for when they die, they explode." They reached the top without further incident and found the first sniper's weapons. Xanzi checked the rifle. "SCRV-98 modle, expensive; X5, X10, and X20 scope; precision calibrated, probably by hand; custom stocks and barrel. Darn, this cost someone a lot of money to just leave lying around," Xanzi packed it up into the carrying case next to the weapon. "And here is how he got past security."

As his team headed down, Xanzi spoke into the comm, "All teams, check in."

"Team two here, we've got one man here, looks to be one of the snipers."

"Team four here, same deal."

Team three didn't check in. "Team three, do you read? Repeat, team three, do you read?" Xanzi swore, slung the rifle case across his back and motioned for the other to follow him as he headed for the building that team three was sent into.

***

Karrok took his E-24 blaster off of the rack beside of him and turned back to the inspectors, "No problem. And I'm the only one on my ship." He motioned them to the door once it was aparent that they were done, "Now, if you don't mind, I have things to do and don't need you in my ship all day, so if you'll excese me..."

The inspector's looked oddly at his choice of weapon, but they didn't specify what type of weapon it could be, so they couldn't argue. "Sorry for taking so much of your time, but we can't let assassins in you know."

Karrok grunted as they left, neither an affirmitave or a negative, but was privatly thinking of them as fools. If it is this easy to get by your security, a ten year old Mando could do it, he thought as he picked up his kit bag. The idiots had forgotten to scan this, which contained basic equiptment nessiary for his trade: food, restraints, weapon cleaning equiptment, thermal detinators, weapons, and other things like that. As he left the ship, he activated the ships automated defense system, another curtosey of Prince Xizor. The defenses bacically tuned the Virago into first a automated self-targeting turret, and then a high-yeild bomb if it took off without a voice overide from Karrok himself.

The Mando secured the straps of his kit bag over his shoulders and took a quick glance at his surroundings. He saw one man with a New Republic insigna on his uniform looking around for something, or someone. As much as he disliked the NR, their credits were still good. He began to make his way over to the man.

_________________
Four Gods wait on the windowsill,
Where once eight Gods did war and will,
And if the Gods themselves may die,
What does that say for you and I?

Now, three Gods wait on the windowsill
Where one God's blood was lately spilled
While black tongues lap at the spreading pool
And build the strength they need to rule.

Karrok flicked his eyes twice in rapid sucession at a T-shaped symbol in the upper-right corner of his HUD at the mention of his name. This icon activated his helmet's 360 degree veiwing mode. He saw who was behind him and assumed that he was the one who spoke his name, "Ah, Leren, still alive I see."

The mercenary turned around, "And you brought some friends along this time, too. How quaint." Karrok held his blaster rifle lightly in both hands, but was ready to bring it up into firing position if needed, and it very well might be. The last time he met Leren, they hadn't parted on good terms. The reason was that they had partnered up to capture a mark. After the mark was captured, Karrok sabatauged Leren's ship by destroying the engines and then took the mark away in the Virago to collect the bounty all by himself.

He looked at a icon representing his ship and blinked rapidly three times, starting a silent power-up sequence, and then murmered something into his comm system, directly to his ship's systems, "Target slave to my view, targeting controls to my HUD." He looked at Dan's weapon, "Nice, but I prefer smaller and more accurate weapons."

***

Xanzi commed the other teams as his squad made their way to the next building, "Drop you prisioners off at the palace and go to the other buildings that the shots came from."

"Understood," both teams replied.

_________________
Four Gods wait on the windowsill,
Where once eight Gods did war and will,
And if the Gods themselves may die,
What does that say for you and I?

Now, three Gods wait on the windowsill
Where one God's blood was lately spilled
While black tongues lap at the spreading pool
And build the strength they need to rule.

Xeric and Ashay had to contact the Jedi councila bout the assasination attempt.

"I'll handle the report, you just stay close to the Ambasador." Xeric told Ashay.

"Gladly." Ashay smiled. He would do pretty mucha nything over giving reports and such.

_________________




Visit The Varsian Kingdom!

(FYI the snipers are all Imadi (probably from the same house) who are opposed to their planet having anything to do with the New Republic, so they believe in absolute Imadi sovereignty.)

"Excellent." Justyna nodded. "I will see you shortly, then." She turned, and accompanied by her aides and a few bodyguards, made her way to her private rooms. Along with all the other dinner attendees, she had to dress for the meal, which would involve very little eating and not much meaningful conversation. It was, indeed, all a show.

Once behind closed doors, she pulled out her comm link, contacting her Guard Captain on a secure channel. "Xanzi, update. Whoever it was, I want them caught and shut down. This is an embarassment to our security, and we're very, very fortunate that it didn't turn out worse. What have you got so far?"

As the queen was talking, she eyed her chambermaid suspiciously. The woman had produced a black dress which looked extremely formal - but which she knew was also extremely uncomfortable. Justyna shook her head and made a face, determined not to wear it. The chambermaid, however, looked equally insistent that she would.

==========

Jasson kept his eyes open, looking for anyone that could be out of place among the ships' crews and maintenence teams. His blaster wasn't drawn yet, but that wasn't a problem. He was fast on the draw and faster on the sight.

A movement off to his far left caught his attention - was that his target? The conjecture was confirmed a second later, when bright red streaks blazed his way, giving him scant time to hit the ground, yelling "Down!" for the benefit of innocent bystanders. Party time.

He scrambled behind a maintenence speeder, his blaster already laying down fire, forcing the sniper under cover. That done, the pilot stopped and waited. Patience ...

His opponent finally peered out from behind the column where he had taken refuge. Wait, wait ... oh, yes. Two quick bursts and the sniper was down, having sustained wounds to the firing shoulder and corresponding knee. Not only could he not shoot, but he was also in great pain and unable to run. Jasson stood and walked cautiously over, keeping his blaster trained on the man.

_________________


<center>Nothing but the Rain</center>

Karina was dressed in an emerald green dress, which was simple enough for an aide. Her hair was braided and wrapped in a bun. Karina leaned against the wall and sighed heavily. The dinner was something she was not looking forward too. She hated making small talk.

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<center>

[font=Times New Roman]
Hello, I'm Amoniel
[/font]</center>

Rydina followed in Xeric's wake as he moved off to contact the Council. Who did he think he was, not even bothering to talk to her? Though she was young, she was not to be walked over. Her walk resembled a stalking cat.

"Excuse me, Master Xeric, but don't you think you ought to wait until some news of the attack is received from the Guard-Captain?" She tried to keep her face smooth and voice calm. After all, the longer it took to let the Council know of the assassination attempt, the less time they would have to meddle, and the more time she would have to plan.

_________________
going on a journey through my old claims

"Ashay will keep me aprised." Xeric answered,not stopping his walk.

Then he turned, sensing the emotion in Rydina.

"I'm sorry, but I must report this matter. There are matters here more deep I feel than we precieve."

----------------------------------


Ashay twirled her lightsaber in her hand, up and behind her head as she tossed it throught he air in a perfect arch.

She let it loose, whiling it across the room as if the blade were extended and a foe infront of her and then pulled it back.

Master Xeric had given her instructions to stay inside to be sure no one got in while the security was outside. She believed it was really just becaus he didnt want her out there looking on her own.. he didn't trust her. "But then again... Ihave given him reason not to." she said softly to herself with a sigh of boredom.

_________________




Visit The Varsian Kingdom!

Xanzi and his team moved towards their target building when the other teams commed in. “Team 2 here, the emergency response teams at one of the building you told us to secure have captured two people, one of them wounded and in critical condition. They are currently taking them to the palace with us.”

“Team 4, the emergency team here caught one person, killed another, and are also coming to the palace with us.”

“Understood,” Xanzi replied just as his personal comm. Activated.

Queen Justyna’s voice emanated from it, “Xanzi, update. Whoever it was, I want them caught and shut down. This is an embarrassment to our security, and we’re very, very fortunate that it didn’t turn out worse. What have you got so far?”

“We’ve caught 5 snipers, one of them wounded, but have lost contact with one of our teams and my team has one man down. Teams two and four are coming to the palace with the prisoners. At least one sniper escaped before we got there, and possibly one or two more from team three’s building. We’re going there to investigate now,” Xanzi signaled for the emergency response teams to cordon off the building. “This building is the only one where shots came from that has not been secured, so if anyone, including the Jedi, is coming to help, this is where they’ll need to be.”

He turned to the teams around the building and the two men from his team, “All of you, stay out here. Make sure nobody, besides my team”-he motioned to the rest of the bodyguards coming towards them after they had dropped off the prisoners-“is allowed in or out. We will not be using the turbolifts, so arrest anyone you see using them. Get ready to move in.”

***

Karrok still had his 360 degree viewer on when the New Republic solider shouted, “Down!” The Mando kept a casual eye on the encounter, not really caring how it turned out, though he would be lying if he said that he didn’t want the New Republic soldier to loose.

_________________
Four Gods wait on the windowsill,
Where once eight Gods did war and will,
And if the Gods themselves may die,
What does that say for you and I?

Now, three Gods wait on the windowsill
Where one God's blood was lately spilled
While black tongues lap at the spreading pool
And build the strength they need to rule.

(I think on my next post I'm going to move this forward several days, when the talks have been going on awhile and the ambassador is starting to look for *other* options. So wrap up with present stuff and we'll start developing the main plot )

Well... the chambermaid had won and was preparing to inflict the dress upon Justyna. "Thank you, Captain," she replied into her comm link. "I assume that precautions are already being taken to prevent a repetition of this, so I'll leave you to do your job."

She thumbed the device off and prepared to succumb to the woman's ministrations, reflecting that she much prefered her tailored suits to stiff, brocaded formals.

Finally finished, the queen proceeded to the High Supper, accompanied by the usual suspects: aides, bodyguards, and the like. As a member of House Viridan, entertaining guests was no joke: the state dining table alone seated eighty-five, and was built to bear the weight of ten-course meals. For this occasion, it was placed on a broad third-floor terrace, so that participants could enjoy the traditional view of the lowering sun, sinking in a golden puddle beneath the horizon.

Despite the amount of food, Justyna usually went away hungrier than when she had entered, and tonight was no exception. Talking about nothing to the people who kept her in power didn't leave much time for eating - at least politely. She had a private supper sent to her apartments five hours later, eating while she reviewed part of the data the New Republic ambassador had exchanged with her. She would need it during the talks tomorrow. At about midnight, the queen and her foreign policy advisors met in her library to further flesh out the Imadi response to the New Republic's proposal. Ruling a planet was no small task.

==============

The man was disabled, all right. Upon reaching him, Jasson flipped him over into a more vulnerable position, with his belly to the ground, and proceded to hold him down with a Gaht-Nohr lock, just to be on the safe side. "Feel like talking?"

The man grunted, in pain more than in defiance.

Jasson looked up, realizing that he had drawn a small group of spectators. He waved them off. "It's fine. He owes me money." His blaster, brandished appropriately, helped convince them. "One more time. Talk to me or somebody else."

The man grunted again. The pilot shrugged and lifted his blaster, then slammed it into his prisoner's temple. He went limp. Rolling him over, Jasson got a good look at his face and attire before reaching for his comm link. "Master Xeric, I've got one of the snipers here. He's a little sleepy at the moment, but I have a feeling you could wake him up. The Imadi will probably want to question him."

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<center>Nothing but the Rain</center>

Xerik got the call over his com-link. he was in the middle of his report tot he Jedi so he decided to send Ashay.

"My apprentice will be there soon." he replied.



-----------------------------------

Ashay hurried down tot he prisoner and helped them move him to the interogation room. With a wave of her hand over his face the man slowly came to as the force rekindled his mind. Now it was just a question as to whether he woudl talk.

_________________




Visit The Varsian Kingdom!

Xanzi and his team scoured the building, but they couldn't findthe team of their comrades or the sniper. However, they did find pocketmarks that looked as though they were made from blaster bolts striking walls. He sent the guards back to their posts and went to clean up.

He stripped off his clothes and showered, taking great care not to make the shrapnel wounds on his face and arms any worse b rubbing them. After his shower, he metcously cleaned each would, making sure to take all of the metal out before appling bacta. The Imadi placed bacta patches on the wounds that would be covered by his new uniform, his old one was torn and bloody, and bacta cream on more visible woulds. Then he dressed in a new uniform and went to the formal dinner, but remained outside until it was over, it would be impolite to interupt it.

Xanzi and four bodyguards accompanied the Queen to the library meeting, but remained outside, covering all of the entrances.

***

Karrok ingnored the NR soldier and the other man as soon as it became apparent that the conflict was over, and turned his attention back to Leren.

"We're not coming for revenge you know. Just a quiet drink. Perhaps you'll join us." Leren laughed.

Karrok grunted noncommitaly. Your just here for a quiet drink, he thought, and I'm the Mando'ade. He powered down the Virago, relieved that he didn't have to make a scene with her, and also moved off to the center of the city in search of the contact that had been recommended to him.

_________________
Four Gods wait on the windowsill,
Where once eight Gods did war and will,
And if the Gods themselves may die,
What does that say for you and I?

Now, three Gods wait on the windowsill
Where one God's blood was lately spilled
While black tongues lap at the spreading pool
And build the strength they need to rule.

((I'm still alive, I promise. This week has just been crazy, and I've hardly had time to think up a post. I will do my very, very best to post tomorrow with something for both the ambassador and a bio/intro for my other character))

Ashay was getting no where with the prisoner. It didn't seem like he wanted to talk.
She turned around, contemplating some sort of torture in her mind. "Nothing harmfull..." she assured herself.

"Ashay. Never let such thoughts enter your mind. They only lead on place and it's a very dark place." Xeric scolded firmly as he walked in the room.

"I'm sorry master." Ashay hung her head. "But his mind is to strong my powers have no effect."

"Perhaps there is another way." Xeric thought out loud

_________________




Visit The Varsian Kingdom!

(****fast forward a few days... roughly a week****)

Justyna woke with a start as the siren went off, then groped groggily for the alert chrono's 'Deactivate' switch. Maybe she could find it without opening her eyes... Yes. The unearthly wail shut off abruptly. She knew without looking at the display that the time was 0625 - just five minutes before she had to start her morning routine. And she had to get out of bed. Now. Before she fell asleep again.

Grumbling incoherently to herself, she pushed the covers aside and went to change into workout clothes. At 0630 precisely, she was down in one of the palace basement rooms, ready for her daily training session. Ah-ha. For once, Xanzi was late. Unless, of course his chrono was thirty seconds behind hers, but that wasn't likely.

(I'll probably edit this or post more tomorrow, but this should be enough to get you all going. Basically the ambassador is getting frustrated because the Imadi are being slightly resistant to her mission and so she is starting to, erm, explore other options.)

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<center>Nothing but the Rain</center>

(lol sounds like what I feel like in the morning)

The truth serum plus the mind powers of both the jedi had proved to much for the prisoner over the long days of interogation. He finally divulged a location but what the location was... they didn't know.

Xerik contacted Xanzi Seros imediately.

"Xanzi, this is Xerik Tan. The prisoer gave us a location but he wont say what is for. At the moment his mind is weekened by the serum. I'm afraid this is all we wil be able to get from him." Xerik said as he transfered the location.

_________________




Visit The Varsian Kingdom!