And We Were gods, Once

[Hera]

Hera's mood was morose in the extreme.

The view from her window of the planet below did little to dispell the morbid thoughts that had been the staple occupation of her mind for months and years on end.

The glory days of Sith domination and darkside force superiority where but shadows and fast fading memories. In the beginning, the whole-scale slaughter of Force users had not touched her too much. The main targets had been the Jedi, and Hera had been amused by it all.

Then came reports of darksiders, both familiar and unfamiliar to her, who had been destroyed. Hunted and killed by any hired hand who could pull a laser trigger and read a wanted hololist. Suddenly times had changed - betrayers and whistleblowers gave up long time associates, and even friends, to the tune of a few fast credits. It all wasnt quite so amusing any more.

And now, after her enforced sojourn on Myrkyr, Hera cursed again the place that had kept her safe from apprehension. She cursed many things these days. The Imperials, whom she detested for what they had brought her, and those like her, to; the Jedi, because they were always so deserving of her hatred' but especially she cursed Myrkyr and the damnable yslarimi, whose prolific presence excluded all detection of her location, but also over time had deadened the very driving force that had made it necessary for her to hide in the first place.

"Frakked up galaxy"

She cursed out loud. Again. The passengers in the chair next to her changed seats.

She glowered at them.

They changed seats again, further up.

Hera shrank down into her seat and pulled her touque down hard on her ears, trying to stiffle the anger and frustration that months of personal impotency had left smouldering.

Her coming to Coruscant - or Imperial Center, as it is now known - was going to be a very different experience than in times past. Hera must remember she is still the fugitive and be wary of every single living being she encounters.

Under her breath this time, she curse once more.
"Frakked up galaxy"

[Baralai Lotus]

Baralai watched as the girl sat looking out the window. She was contorting her face, getting angry over something and is if that wasn't enough he smiled when she cursed outloud. Such hate, such anger for something she didn't understand. The galaxy. . .

Baralai stood from his seat and came to sit beside her. He came close to her hood and whispered in her ear, "Baralai Lotus is the name, if I may ask why is it you hate something you don't understand?" Baralai sat back up in his seat and pulled his coat out a little, showing his lightwhip handle. He sat, knowing now she wouldn't strike out, waiting for a response.

[Hera]

Hera stiffened in her seat as Baralai's voice intruded on her thoughts.

Her first reaction was to snap at him for presuming to join her, but a quick glance at the revealed weapon handle beneath his coat gave her pause. Her natural distrust, amplified by her present circumstances, made her question the reasoning for such an obvious display.

It could just as easily be a deliberate set up, as a fortuitous meeting. Hera had heard of many that had been lulled into trust by those posing as fellow-force users only to find they had been baited. With out her force-sensitivity, she had no way to tell. She was flying blind in matters of the force, and the floundering sensation made her feel physically ill. A light sheen of sweat prickled her skin.

After a long moment, she found her voice to reply as casually as she could.

"Oh..I just hate flying is all. And landing in particular."

Belatedly, she added a weak smile.

[Baralai Lotus]

Baralai smirked at her, "I have a feeling it's much more than that. Cursing the galaxy is a bit odd if you just hate flying. I think something else is bothering you, the question is. . .what?" Baralai motioned in on her, observing her clothing and her face, or what he could see of it.

He watched her give a weak smile, "Such a weak smile. . ." he smirked and sat back. "What is it that makes you afraid of flying?" He knew he had to change the subject if he wanted to get anywhere with this woman.

[Hera]

She shrugged, continuing the pretense of casual nocommittance.

"Public transport - you never know what kind of mook is in the driver seat."

She eyed him a tad more closely.

"You fly, do you?"

[Baralai Lotus]

"Flying is not one of my favorite things in the world, but sometimes it's best to get a look at everything. See just how small everything and everyone is." He smirked, "But it seems you have the better view. In a way, it's almost like you're a God, staring down upon what you created. Makes you feel powerful doesn't it? Or maybe, it just makes you realize how truly insignificant one life or one problem is among the galaxy."

[Hera]

Insignificant - is that what she was now? Was she nothing more now than one of these cravens crawling the planet below them. The thought was distateful, but not new to her. She felt the familiar knot of shame twist in her gut.

It brought a bitter retort to her lips.

"What would you know about power?"

Now her eyes raked him, daring him to state his real purpose for approaching her.

[Baralai Lotus]

Baralai looked at the woman, "I know many things about power. In my studies I have seen true power, the power to create life. Although I do not posess it yet, I soon will. It is only a matter of time and patience. Why do you ask?"

[Hera]

"I ask, because anyone can speak as though they are knowledgeable of certain things. It doesn't always mean a whole lot. Words are cheap"

She shifted to relax back in her chair, as if dismissing his claim as just that - cheap talk. "I'd be careful if I were you" she advised casually, "you sound like some kind of force-user." She leaned forward as if sharing a little known secret, "They've been killing those types the past few years, dont'chya know."

The man certainly was giving her alot of signals as to what he was, but that in itself could be read as alarming. Why? They had never met. He may perhaps recognise her from some sort of contract on her. She had been out of sight for a great while, but some may still be hunting her.

Or he could be genuine and somehow want to make contact. He could be someone as lost as she was, though he didn't seem to have the same hunted look about him as she did.

This soon in the game, Hera was not prepared to commit herself one way or the other. Especially not in a transport barge that had not yet docked to port, with nowhere to escape.

[Baralai Lotus]

Baralai smirked at her, reading her body language. She was so closed up, "They've been killing force users. Most likely the ones who use it to get what they need. I speak. . .of the Sith, of us." He said as he pointed his fingers at himself and at her.

"Words may be cheap, but actions are worth thousands. I have no desire to hurt you girl, just trying to get you to open up. . ."

[Hera]

Her stomach lurched, then dropped with sickening sensation.

She would like to tell herself that it was just the transporter thrusters reversing in preparation for landing, but her mind was racing too furiously in six different directions to preceive how this man could have discovered who she was. All other considerations were overwhelmed.

Her eyes flicked to the faces of the passengers around her - across the aisle forward and back, those to the side of Baralai, a quick twist of her neck to those seated behind. All appeared disinterested in the interaction between this man and herself, and were busying themselves collecting up magazines, bags, water flasks and other miscellanea that would hasten their departure from the craft.

Hera felt her breath force out between her compressed lips - she did not realise she had been holding it.

"You dont know anything about me" she snapped out, her voice waspish and deliberately cutting.

She stood up, grabbing her dufflebag from its place on the seat besider her. She zipped it closed and hooked it over one shoulder.

"You're welcome to get yourself killed with all your talk, but Ive got other plans."

The transport touched to port, rocking the craft slightly as it did so. Hera paused momentarily, catching her hand to Baralai's shoulder breifly to keep her balance, and then moved to push passed this dangerous new aquaintance.

[Tear]

"Thats them. Yes, I heard them talking. Terrible things this one is for sure." The elderly woman tapped the ships passenger manifest. She repeatedly tapped two pictures of the passenger list, a women with striking blue eyes and blonde hair the other picture of a man brown eyes, brown hair but with a smirk that taunted those that took the picture.

"Now you're sure they were talking abo-,"

"Yes, yes! I heard them! Both of them" The eldery woman began to panic now pointing back to the transport whos passengers where still disembarking. "My son, you know, he enlisted in the armed forces just like you." The elderly woman smiled, softing her wrinkled features. "I'm so proud. I wont let any harm come to him so if you catch these two he'll be safer out there wherever he is, please catch them." The aged womans hand's trembled softly while they

The storm trooper gave a slight nod before turning and walking back to his squad captain."Dunno sir, she seems a little out of it. She said she has a son in the forces maybe shes just worried for him. My mom does the same thing. Been sending me messages to my barracks everyday since she got news of Endor." The storm trooper shrugged his shoulders the only real sign that a human being was incased under the bone white armor of a stormtrooper.

"Better to be safe then sorry, Denaro. You recieved the same briefing I did, its martial law now. If there were any Jedi left out there, now will be the time they think we are at our weakest. Cant afford to let one of those fanatics on Coruscant. Its too late anyway I've already made the call."

"Aye sir..." Private Denaro stiffened at the thought. The Inquisitors were on they're way.

"Until they arrive set a parameter and order the passengers to stay onboard until quarantine is completed. Inform them martial law has been declared and certain protocals need to be adhered too. Well? Move out." The Captain smacked the nearest trooper in the side of the head, snapping the rest into motion as they moved in on the transport.

[Baralai Lotus]

Baralai looked out the window and saw the storm troopers speaking with another. Some woman had ratted them out. . .Baralai looked at Hera. Seeing the storm troopers rack up in attention he tapped her and whispered in her ear.

"You see those people out there," he pointed to them, "they're going to kill us unless we kill them. Now then, you know about the new law, killing all force users. If we fight together we can get out of here alive." Baralai reached into his coat and placed a hand on his whip handle, this was going to get ugly. . .fast.

He looked over at Hera, "What's it gonna be? Die here or get out of here and have a chance to get back at me later?"

[Hera]

"Maybe you weren't paying attention when I told you I had other plans" she hissed over her shoulder at him.

Hera had been correct in her assumption that this man was dangerous, but she had not calculated that his recklessness in approaching her so obviously would have put her in such immediate and unavoidable danger. The encircling Stormtroopers forming up outside was about as unavoidable as it gets.

The frell if she would entrust her escape to him, or help him get out of the fix he'd got them both into.

Slipping her fingers into an outter pocket of her duffle, Hera took out a small magnetically-mountable thermal detonator. The bomb was encased in a pliable modified clay, not unlike childs plastisine, that made the explosive inside difficult to detect by the generic weapons-detectors upon boarding.

Scrapping away a small portion of the clay, Hera deftly attached it to the underside of a passenger seat armrest and popped the 1 minute timer.

"You got 60 seconds" she told Baralai.

She then flashed him a cold hard stare.

"Dont follow me. If you get out of this, I promise to come pay you a visit."

Her tone left no doubt that the visit would not be of a friendly nature.

She pushed passed a Bothan lifting his young offspring to his hip, jostling him so he banged his head on the overhead compartment.

With a final glance at the Sith behind her, she then pushed forward, losing herself in the shuffling throng as they all surged toward the forward section of the craft.

[Y'roth Helghast]

"Sir! Master Helghast, Sir!"

The dull lights of the room flickered on as IMP-IPN-X7 activated them. Helghast squinted before stretching in the simple cot he slept in. languishly moving to sit up, he rubbed his eyes and then ran his hand through his hair slowly. There was never a real rush or emergency. Even when the Battle of Endor had occured, the Inquisitoriate, at least the deeper departments of it, had not been phased. But IMP had been designed with efficiency and thus often exerted a false sense of urgency as the general concept of most military functions was "hurry up and wait."

"Report IMP."

"Sir! The Inquisitoriate network is active with a reported arrival of two possible force users. I've tracked the report and prepared a summary for you. I also made sure that it made its way to Inquisitor Valten. A detachment is preparing to quarantine the area as soon as possible."

"Stall any other unit from taking the job until I get word from Valten. Simulations can only bear the squad's morale for so long. Send him word they we are already prepped to move out. Notify and activate the rest of the squad. No longer than 15 minutes to be in gear and deployable."

"Sir, it is done."

* * *

The lights in the PN barracks flickered on a floor below Helghast's seperate room. IMP's automated voice came over the intercom in a loud blare.

"Project Nightmare is code red in 15, repeat, Project Nightmare is code red in 15."

Scothis snapped up from his top bunk in the small room he shared with Crestmere. He was a light sleeper and had been waiting for another drill like this. He always liked the urgent ones with little time to waste, gave it a sense of more real proportions. Reaching into his own locker, he withdrew the first layer of the Nightmare gear and slid it on while he did a systems check on everything else.

"C'mon Crestmere, drilling to do."

"This is not a drill, repeat this is not a drill!"

"Yeah whatever, 'nother test. Let's move."

The rest of the squad awoke as well, suiting up and running systems checks with practiced efficiency. Helghast knew that 15 minutes gave them time to spare.

[Baralai Lotus]

Baralai looked at Hera as she walked out. . .60 seconds she had said. He smirked and began walking outside, lighting a cigarette up as he headed out of the ship. He saw the storm troopers gathered there and approached one. He looked at him, "Hey, there's two people in there claiming to be force users, thought you might want to know." The storm trooper made no attempt to run inside the ship, but instead kept his eyes on Baralai.

"This is a military lockdown sir. Martial law has been declared, we are not allowed to let anyone leave the area."

Great, Baralai thought. . .just great. He walked as far away as possible from the ship and kept his hand tight on his whip. The several storm troopers circled the ship and walked around it staring at it. A few went inside.

"3. . .2. . .1. . ." with one loud boom the ship went up in flames. Baralai looked around, not running, not making it seem as though he did anything. However, he did act suprised the ship had blown up. That in and of itself was amazing. So Hera had done something. Well, Baralai looked at the storm troopers hoping that he would be able to get out with something.

He stood awaiting anything that came his way, his hand tight on his whip.

[Tear]

"Least we know the call wasnt a false alarm." Tear said, smiling as he watched flaming chunks of debris scream into the air from the landing bay.

The gunship veered back on course, the pilot having been momentarily scared off it by the sudden explosion. "Haha! You ready?" Tear screamed over the pulsating beats of the engine. Various clicks, zips, echoed back to their commander and cheif as the Inquisitoriate troopers nodded with weapons ready. "Good." A single foot from each trooper began to stomp the ground in unison, like wardrums of old.

Black smoke seeped into the sky like thick oil but like a silver needle the attack ship pierced through dipping down close to the wrecked transport.

The drum beats silenced suddenly as crimson clad soldiers fell a short distance from the sky. "Form a parameter around the storm troopers. No one leaves, Civilian, soldier or otherwise if they try..." The Grand Inquisitor didn't need to finish the sentance, an elderly woman was stumbling from the flaming wreckage that surrounded the transport. She crumbled suddenly to the ground, a soft tail of smoke trailing from the side of her face, Tear holstered his blaster.

The Inquistior's cold blue eyes surveyed the scene as he stalked forward, flanked by two of his soldiers. Storm troopers were standing their ground, however shaky it was, they were holding the are around the ship. Charred bodies of both storm trooper and passengers laid in pieces around the ship, filling the air with the stench of burned flesh.

Then something caught his eye. Most of them were trying to flee, cowering in fear, sobbing desperately, trying to save loved ones all except that one. The Grand Inquisitors eyed slid to a man who was standing defiantly his hand in his coat. He was ready for something but what was it?

Another step closer and his face was recognized from the crew manifest. "The male has been spotted." Tears lips peeled back into a toothy grin, briefly puckering his lips as he blew the man a kiss. A gloved hand lazily dropped to his waist plucking the metallic cylinder that had been hanging there.

"You're in trouble now."

[Baralai Lotus]

Baralai watched as the man stepped closer. . .well then, this was going to get interesting. Baralai grabbed his whip and in one quick motion he cracked it on the ground and the blade lit up. He stared at Tear, his eyes glaring.

"Do it. . .and I swear you'll regret it." Baralai threw his cigarette to the side. They'd found him out, but he wouldn't go out of here easy. He smirked as the whip scratched the ground. He looked at Tear awaiting any move he would make.

Unsuspectingly Baralai reached out throught the force and picked up a stormtrooper chucking him at Tear. As the storm trooper flew at him, he picked the whip up and swung it at Tear, the blade flying at him. Baralai stepped forward swinging the whip with each step, attempting to land a hit on Tear.

[Hera]

The explosion burst up and outward with devestating effect.

An enormous gaping hole in the rear section of the craft billowed oily smoke and balls of flame. Those unfortunate enough to be in its epicenter were obliterated upon detonation. Those in the immediate vicinity did not have even that small mercy.

Individual wounds were horrendous. Limbs severed or destroyed beyond repair, bodies shattered with hot peices of twisted metal and debris. Blood everywhere. Moans of pain and cries for help began and grew in a building, heartbreaking chorus.

The shockwave from the contained blast felled other luckier passengers further up the aisle floor, with only some of them catching the hurtling shrapnel in their backs, or having their ears bleed from burst drums.

Everyone was scrambling for safety. Disorientated and shocked numb, they all retained somehow the flight instinct common to all living creatures and were locked in desperate struggle to escape the wreckage.

In such confined quarters as the hulk of the transport, the mayhem was total.

Hera hung back at the foward exit, allowing the more mobile to flee ahead of her. From her vantage point, she saw Baralai cross the hangar floor and speak to a stormtrooper. Her immediate reaction was that he had, indeed, been a plant to draw out force-users. However, it was clear in a few short moments that was not the case as he took a very deliberate defensive stance, dropping his hand to his whiphilt.

That was all she had time to see of him before the Port Authority Emergency Response Units arrived, their sirens blaring and lights whirling in a frenzy. Their vehicles crossed the Stormtrooper line, breaking their formation momentarily, much to the angry protests of a lead Trooper officer. After a short, but unbending explaination by the Ports OIC that dealing with the disaster took precendence to an arrest where the Port Authority was concerned - there could be more explosions, everyone was still in danger. Had the Stormtooper Officer thought of that? The EMR personel filed out of their units and up into the smoking craft unhindered.

Outside the transport, hoverships had arrived and were spraying flame retardant green foam into the broiling fire and smoke of the detonation site, coating everything and everyone in thick wet green froth.

Hera saw her opportunity and moved back deeper into the craft to the wreckage. Stooping to a young woman, whose gapping wounds in chest and head were still, but just barely, pumping deep red blood from her body, Hera dipped the side of her head and half her face in the dark pool. Doing similar with her shirt, Hera looked as if she had been mortally wounded. Moving still further into the wreckage, she got partially covered in the green foam. She was now nearly unrecognisable as the same person of a moment ago. Taking a place in between two grotesquely twisted passenger chairs, she watched. And waited. The young woman whose blood she'd borrowed stared back at her with the now lightless black eyes of the dead.

[Victor Crestmere]

Victor jumped out of bed just as Scothis began his yelling. Running straight for his gear, Victor began suiting up. They were only given 15 minutes to get ready and Victor had got done in 10. He loved the rush of the call. No room for error. You had to be their on time or you didn’t go. Then, if you didn’t go, you had to answer to the Inquisitor Valten, which meant you were frecked.

"C'mon Scothis! Major Helghast wanted us geared up and ready move out 10 minutes ago."

Master-Sergeant Bren’lar Scothis may have been ahead of Victor rank wise, but Victor didn't care. Victor would treat anyone, above or below him, the same way if they were holding up a mission. Taking one last look at Scothis before leaving the room, Victor said, "If your not up there in 3 minutes, we're leaveing without you." Scothis turned around and shouted, "Shut up! And move out Crestmere!" And with that, Victor slipped on his helmet and started making his way towards the briefing room. Tapping his comm to Helghast channel, Victor said. "Major Helghast. Status report: Scothis is still getting ready and I am on my way to the briefing room now. Crestmere out!"