I warned you [Tobias Wraith/Jedi Academy]

[Nisha Decrilla]

Yavin's red hue filled the viewscreen of the Femme Fatal as it dropped out of hyperspace. Anaya's fingers drummed on the arm of her chair and she felt the glances her way as her crew waited for her decision of their next move. Alastair, moved to her side crouching so as not to speak down at her. "M'lady, this is..."

"I'm aware of where we are. I am surprised he was foolish enough to come here." she rose from the chair and stepped closer to the screen as they moved round the planet and Yavin IV came into view. "Maybe I should have removed a finger or two before sending him on his way."

"May I speak freely, may lady?"

"If you must."

"We are wasting resources chasing this boy. His debt, while significant, is not worth all this." tension rippled across the bridge as Anaya turned to face her Captain. She stepped forward. "Are you afraid, Alastair?"

"I..."

"Do you not know me? Money is an excuse, I chase this boy because his father was Darron Wraith, Grandmaster of the Jedi Order that served the Republic. This was never about money, this is just entertainment." She moved past him, anger glittering in her eyes "Keep the Fatal in orbit of the gas giant. Ready a sleuth" A flurry of movement saw her commands followed out.

"This serves no purpose!" Alastair called to her, though when she looked at him, it was evident on his face that he regretted speaking. He lowered his gaze and dropped to one knee. "Forgive me, I didn't mean-"

"Shut up, and do your job. Keep this ship in orbit."

***

The jewel resting in her belly button felt warm to the touch as it worked to change her appearance. Shifting her from the tattooed lethan to a pale blue twi'lek as she stepped into the hangar bay. She'd wanted to take her Aleph fighter, but its ties to the Old Empire would instantly raise questions. The A36 Sleuth was more common and would make life a little easier upon landing. Someone brought her a case, slipping it into her hand as she ascended the ramp into the ship, palming the switch behind her. She set the briefcase onto a console and left it there while she guided the ship out of the hangar bay.

Anaya never really had anything particular against Jedi. In the time of the Sith Empire, they were nothing more than soldiers. Enemies in the way of the Empires goals and as such it was a requirement to kill them. That had been a long time ago and she'd made a point of being quiet. Oh she had her moments of insanity that peaked interest her way, like the events on Annaj, but otherwise she stayed off their radar. Flicking the ship to autopilot, destination Port Shardock, she moved her attention to the case.

She ran her fingers over the edge, nudging the lock with the force, it clicked open to reveal a glass vial filled with green liquid and embedded in protective foam. Trihexalon, hard to come by and extremely expensive since Omega seized the main supply, but anaya had acquired a few vials. Beside it, a droid of her own making, scorpion in shape, its purpose was normally to inject people with drugs. Today, it had a different use. She attached the vial to the scorpion and set it upon her palm.

"Lets see what reaction you get, my little friend." she purred at it before letting it slip into a pocket inside her cloak where it would be safe. She drew the force around her, twisting and warping her signature with ease, appearing to those who would reach for her in the force as a Jedi Knight. Her lightsaber rested at the small of her back and the comms began to chat as she reach the port. Sliding back into the pilot's chair, Anaya took control of the ship and landed, chatting amicably with the comm officer that had hailed her.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Anaya Fen"]

There was no amicable chatter; there was no landing.

Port Shardrock, Yavin IV, and indeed the entire Yavin system were under the control and protection of Clan Rekali. The terms of the Jedi Academy's presence on Yavin were explicit: no heavily armed personal or group ships, not as guests, not as anything. Port Shardrock was not open to all and sundry. A three hundred metre vessel with a couple of dozen capital weapons emplacements and hangar capacity just wouldn't be allowed to take up a permanent orbit of Yavin Prime. As the A-36 Sleuth began its approach to Yavin IV, it was intercepted by a pair of Tegaanalir patrol ships long before it hit atmosphere. Four more converged on the Femme Fatale, surrounding it.

"This is Captain Iryn Rekali," said a male voice over the comms. "Please state your identity and purpose or get the kark out of our system one piece at a time. You have thirty seconds to convince me."

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

"Fething Rekali's" Anaya muttered before responding. "My name is Eleena Miho and I'm looking for Jedi by the name of Sardun, I was told I might find him here."

She smiled slightly, wondering what had happened to the man. "I'm not looking for trouble," she opened the comms to the Femme Fatal simultaneously. "The Fatal was simply my ride here, its leaving now. I'll hand over this ship once we land but it's imperative I find Michael." she paused, injecting a touch of emotion into her voice.

"Please, I owe him my life."

[member="Alec Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Anaya Fen"]

"Stand by."

Captain Iryn Rekali -- one of the lesser Rekalis, but a Dathomiri-trained Vahla nonetheless -- scratched his leg through the bodyglove of his beskar'gam, then connected with the Rekali patrol networks. He cross-listed Fatale with the ship's description and contacts in Mandalorian territory, or former Mandalorian territory, and came up with a few contacts. Apoleia of Apoleia Inc., associated with the Wheel and a chain of bars and casinos. Heck, he'd been to the Apoleia place on the Wheel. Good times. And a corporate magnate would have reason to own a ship that size, armed that well. One of the boys had seen Apoleia once -- red twi'lek, hotter than hell.

And the lady on the comm sounded hot too. Not many people could hitch a ride on some shiny custom private frigate, or afford -- or dispose of -- an A-36 Sleuth. Not many people had that kind of pull or aesthetics.

"Miz Apoleia, I presume?" A shot in the dark, but two or three bits of weak evidence at least deserved looking into, and if he was wrong, he'd just look stupid.

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya had to do some very quick thinking. If she admitted to being Apoleia, and it worked to get her on the ground she'd have to revert to her actual appearance in order to verify. Perfectly fine, provided there weren't any Jedi about that had seen or met her as Anaya Fen. The minute she was spotted it was game over. She could however continue her facade of simple jedi girl trying to find her saviour. The question was, would potential business get her on the ground or sentimentality?

"Well aren't you a smart cookie." she purred. "Your discretion would be appreciated, my reasons for being here remains the same. As does my offer of the confiscation of this ship."

[member="Alec Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Anaya Fen"]

"Stand by."

So: a few points of weak evidence had become strong evidence. He searched the name 'Eleena Miho' and found...remarkably little. Something about holocams and documentary crew -- dead end. For curiosity's sake he pulled up an image of the Apoleia -- her HoloNet fan community was small, dedicated, and omega as feth. A low whistle escaped him, hopefully muffled by his buy'ce.

The fact remained, though, that she'd attempted to land on Yavin under false pretenses. She'd lied to Clan Rekali patrol forces. Celebrity status or not, that wasn't done. What was less clear was what he should do about it. VIP attempting to sneak into Port Shardrock? Sort of unprecedented so far as SOP went, though there was probably some rule or other.

But she hadn't been trying to sneak into Port Shardrock; at least, that wasn't her final destination. She'd been trying to sneak into the Jedi Academy. Apart from the no-big-nasty-ships provision of the tenancy agreement, that raised a very specific kind of red flag, a holdover from when the Order of the Grey had gotten themselves evicted.

"I'm not unsympathetic to a life debt, Miz Apoleia," said Iryn Rekali at last, "but the fact remains that you've brought a frigate into our space and lied about it when you got called on it. You can send a comm to the Academy transceiver, I'll give you the code, but protocol says you're not allowed at Yavin Four. And that's you gettin' off easy." So to speak.

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya rolled her eyes. Should have gone with her gut instinct and stayed hidden. Still, tomorrow was another day and now she knew what she was up against, it would seem she'd need to hitch a ride in with another Jedi. If she made a call to the temple it was highly unlikely they would let her in. She'd have to maintain who she was truthfully and she'd run across enough Jedi for them to know her by her true name and what Jedi in their right mind would let a Sith in, unless...

Unless she was looking for redemption.

She snorted derisively at herself before responding.

"Thank you, Mister Rekali, I would appreciate that. I assume though, that you still wish for myself and my ship to depart this system?"

[member="Alec Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Anaya Fen"]

"It's Captain Rekali, actually," said Iryn evenly. "I'm sending you the Academy's subspace comm ID now. I'd recommend making the call from outside the Yavin system." He sat back, pleased with himself. Iron fist, velvet glove. Who said Mandos couldn't be diplomatic?

The four Tegaanalire around the Femme Fatale shifted positions, allowing the Sleuth a clear lane back to the frigate -- and allowing the frigate clear access to the vector it had used to get here. The Tegaanalir was, in Iryn's opinion, the gem of the Mandalorian naval forces. Disruptor torpedoes, advanced sensors, very good engines and high-grade jamming beams, the support ship to end all support ships. There was a reason it was the Rekali patrol ship of choice.

And then there were the two battleships, the 1600m mining barge, and the 800m Sith prison ship in orbit over Yavin Prime, courtesy of Mandal Hypernautics. To say nothing of the Rekalis' own cruisers.

"If you want to go over my head, I can send you the comm for the Aliit'buir as well. Ember Rekali? Or you could try making the call via Larraq."

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya laughed as she turned the Sleuth around.

"Oh wouldn't that be grand." she mused shaking her head. The last time she and Ember had met, hadnt exactly been on the greatest of terms. For one, he kicked her ass, and for another he handed her over to the prison on Myrkr. "Send the codes to the Fatal and I'll get out of your hair and make the calls I need to elsewhere. Thank you again, Captain Rekali. Should you ever visiist one of my establishments, consider your drinks on the house."

She ended the call and make the short trip back to the Fatal, where Alastair was waiting for her in the hangar. "My lady?"

She smirked at his conused face. "Today is not the day, Alastair. Get us out of here, I need to make a call." She swept past him heading for her quarters, where she brooded alone until they were clear of the Yavin system. she stared at the codes she'd been given. Ember was smart and not easily swayed, certainly not by a sith. Still it would be amusing, nonetheless.

She settled herself into the leather chair of her desk, tucking one leg up underneath her and made the call to Ember.

[member="Alec Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Anaya Fen"]

By the time Anaya made the call, Ember had been briefed. His cousin Iryn still wasn't entirely sure he'd come out on the right side of it.

"Miss Apoleia," said the old Mandalorian Field Marshal. He'd taken the call on audio; no point in letting people see that he wasn't what he'd once been. The last few years had been good to him, but age caught up with everyone. "I figure you've learned that the Yavin system doesn't welcome uninvited capships. That said, I'm sorry for Captain Rekali's attitude. He went over and above what he should have."

He wore what might charitably be called a bathrobe; this was, after all, his home, here at the subterranean Lost City of the Jedi. The comm signal went underground by hard-line to a distant transmitter, which then bounced its signal off a few others before it reached Anaya. The slight lag suggested he was out of the system.

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya smiled slightly at the lag, wondering where he could be hiding. "That's quite alright, Mister Rekali, he was just doing his job. I can't fault that. I must say I'm disappointed I don't get to see your handsome face." Sweet talk would get her nowhere, but she couldn't help herself. It was all a game after all, and if she got any reaction from it, be it good or bad, she would be entertained nonetheless.

"How's the family?"

[member="Alec Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Anaya Fen"]

Ember's jaw knotted as he recognized the voice. Anaya Fen had been...verbose during her defeat and captivity. The recordings of the comm conversation had gotten him thinking, and now-

Well, now things got interesting. Not just because how's the family had just gone from throwaway pleasantry to deliberate knife thrust, but because now he had leverage.

"Master Fen," he said, doing his level best to relax in his armchair. "I thought it might be you when I heard the comm logs. Now I'm..."

After a moment's silence, he smiled faintly, though she couldn't see it. His eyes flicked to the armor on display, the same armor he'd worn during their fight.

"What were you tryin' to do at the Jedi Academy?"

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya chuckled and clapped her hands. "I knew you'd be pleased to hear my voice." she purred. "I was attempting to conduct business. We all have to make a living somehow, no?"

Anaya was swivelling in the chair like a child, giggling slightly. "You never answered my question."

[member="Alec Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Anaya Fen"]

"Master Fen," said the old Field Marshal, leaning forward so the comm would catch his voice clearly, "you're right. I never did. You told my cousin you were looking for a Jedi named Michael Sardun. Prisoner of war, former Jedi Council member and used to be leader of the Army of Light along with it. What does Master Sardun have to do with it? And are you talking about your business as Anaya Fen, or your business as Apoleia, Queen of Bars?"

From where Alec was sitting, on the other side of the office, he looked alive again, for the first time in years. Alive, and quietly furious. Probably not a good sign. She settled a little deeper into the armchair and set aside her Astronautical Academy homework, a research paper on supertransport thrusters. Par for the course, when aiming for a comprehensive certification in all civilian vessels. That had been her deal with the old man, after the Chiloon Rift took her youth: she could fart around with the Underground and study at the Academy until she'd gotten whatever piece of ornate plast she wanted. Then she'd come home permanently and take over the family business. And sometimes circumstances required her to put the clan before her education, even this far ahead of schedule. For the moment, she said nothing, but the look in Ember's purple eyes suggested she might want to come up with an opinion on something relevant.

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

"I never conduct business under my true name, Master Rekali. However, the next time you get an opportunity to take a long hard look at Apoleia you may find there is more than meets the eye. Queen of bars, indeed." She picked up the green vial from her desk twirling it between her thumb and forefinger. "Someone owes me money. A padawan at this temple. They were offered the choice of paying up, or working it off. They declined both options. I may be what you people call 'unhinged' but I'm fair. Michael Sardun has nothing to do with it, he just happened to be the first person that popped to mind to use as a way in."

She set the vial down and smirked. "No one would have been harmed, of course. I'm not in the habit of making enemies with Jedi." She leant forward, forearms resting on the desk and tilted her head. "Did you ever find your slug of a son? I do miss him."

[member="Alec Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Anaya Fen"]

That hit harder than it should have. She could see it from across the room. His mouth opened, closed-

"Master Fen, this is Captain Alec Rekali." She didn't have to work hard to give her voice an edge. Ember met her eyes, just for a moment; she glimpsed resignation. She pressed on, impelled by the kind of rage that saw a straight line between Point A and Point Shut Her the Feth Up. "Rach Kol-Rekali was my father. I ran into the Sith Master who had trapped his soul, and I set it free. So yeah. We found him. And let's get something straight, schutta. The only reason there's not a public bounty out there for Apoleia slash Anaya Fen slash Eleena Miho is that I don't escalate unless there's a pressing need. I don't see a pressing need.

"But you keep poking around what we've lost? You keep rubbing our face in our pain? Yeah. One more snide remark about our family and you'll have a metric karkton of Mandos knocking on every cantina door from here to Terminus. One more scummy little underhanded play in our territory and I'll burn the heart out of you."

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya was quiet for a long moment a hand held over her mouth, torn between delight and sadness. She'd lost track of Rach a long time ago, it wasn't necessary to keep an eye on him, so the fact that he was well and truly gone from this galaxy was enough to silence her. "I wasn't poking at what you've lost, child. I was poking to see what had happened. Had I wanted the might of the mandalorians on my head I would have done something on Yavin. I still might, less you shut that vile mouth of yours and stop waving threats at me." There was an acidic tone in her voice, she'd lost the joy of the game now slipping all too easily into anger.

Why? Because she was afraid. She knew the might of the mandalorians well enough.

"Tell me something, what does the Jedi Academy do about past debts when they take scumbags into their ranks?"

[member="Alec Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Anaya Fen"]

"Threats are natural consequences. And what I'm serving up are conditional threats. Keep your nose clean and they never need to happen." She thought of a remark about vile mouths, but opted to avoid that particular bit of escalation. Barely. "As for what the Academy does with its own? That's the Academy's business...right up until someone's dirty laundry brings trouble to our door.

"At which point it becomes my business.

"Give me a name and I'll be looking into it. Give me the right name, and all the verifiable detail I need, and you'd better believe something will get done. What Padawan owes you money, how much money are we talking, how'd they incur the debt, what work did you offer as an option, what's the interest rate, and are you going to freeze that interest while I sort this out?"

Across the room, Ember nodded once.

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya pinched the bridge of her nose and swatted a vase off her desk. The distinct sound of shattering clay echoed over the comm link.

"[member="Tobias Wraith"]. Gambling debts. Earned in string of my casinos." She managed to maintain an even tone. "It was at a nice little thirty thousand, but with the fact that he's been dodging my debt collectors for some time, its gone up to fifty thousand. I picked him up on Contruum. Offered him the chance to work it off, unfortunately he's as stubborn as his father and refused before we could discuss precisely what work. Something about not wanting to be a slave. Little schutta doesn't know a damn thing."

She stopped her rant and took a deep breath. "I'll freeze it for twenty four hours, after that the interest rate will be at fifty percent for each week it's not repaid. Should be more than enough time for you to find him and settle this. If I don't have him, or the monies owed within that time...well, lets just say there'll be some natural consequences. And I'm not fussy about collateral damage."

[member="Alec Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Anaya Fen"]

Twenty-four hours before a serious escalation. An irrevocable escalation, really.

"I'll make use of those twenty-four hours," Alec bit out, "but you want to seriously consider whether you're ready to go to war over fifty thousand credits and a scumball Padawan if this doesn't pan out. If collateral damage happens anywhere in the Yavin or Dathomir systems, we'll have no choice but to respond in kind. Anywhere else, go nuts, reap what you sow, take your chances with the other clans. Stay out of the Yavin system, stay off Dathomir. You're a known quantity now, Fen. Maybe it hasn't clicked for you the kind of leverage we'll bring to bear if any of our people get so much as a skinned knee off your vendetta, but since you're allergic to hearing truth, go ahead and mull it over. I wouldn't want to be accused of anything as crass as a threat."