Chasing Shadows
2002 short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-seven
years after Episode IV – A New Hope Sometimes I wonder why I ever got involved with Galactic Alliance Intelligence. The GAI has not been the same since the destruction of most of Coruscant. The Yuuzhan Vong attack force destroyed most of the planetary surface and took countless lives. No wonder the Galactic Alliance had difficulty accepting the situation here in Setnin. Luckily Setnin itself was not a target of the Vong, otherwise more people would have died and I would not have seen her. She is tall, of muscular build and middle aged. Her armour protects her from the prying eyes of the world and she assumes that is all the protection she needs. I guess she is very sure of herself. My name is Critchek Skumul and this is my job, tailing people, being a snoop. I catch her following individuals, tracking them like I track them, and I wonder if she knows I am here. I suspect she does, but has no reason to care about it. On the odd occasions that she gets within visual range, she backs into the shadows and disappears. I wish I knew who she was. She intrigues me. How do I know it’s a female? I managed to intercept one of her vocal transmissions, and locked down on thirty seconds of her speech. Analysis shows she is a human, probably middle-aged, possibly very analytical and used to getting results. Why am I interested in her? Well, she was there on the day that Chancai fell, and she was watching my targets. Plus she has a great figure, even disguised by all that body armour. So what has happened since we last met? Let me tell you a story. First off, I am sitting in a Tap Café, facing the door behind which I know the council is meeting. Thanks to some highly advanced, yet highly secret bugging devices, I am able to hear most of what goes on inside. I am puzzled by what I hear. The so-called Galactic Alliance negotiator, Sheu Ho-Travi, is a joke. This man should be locked up and the key thrown away. I know he is up to something but I am obliged to stay out of his business. It’s not my case. Then there is a recess and the delegates exit the hall and start to mingle on the viewing balcony. I notice the woman again. She seems to melt out of the shadows and it’s almost as if, for a moment, I can see right through her. Then she starts to move off, away from the delegates. She stops for a moment, examining something upon a panel on her wrist. For a moment, just a brief second, she seems unsure. Then her head snaps up and she is staring straight at me. I stare back at her, unflinching. I can feel some of her emotions, even at this distance, and there is some anger directed straight at me. Then she heads for the service shafts and I cannot keep up with her. At that moment all hell breaks loose, and the Ki-Ki invasion becomes a reality for the citizens of Chancai and Zelon. I have a hard time keeping up with Lomona, he runs like a demon when he has a purpose. I just manage to catch up with him as he makes it to docking level 15. His lover, Terrie Saffra, waits for him at the bottom of his ships ramp. There are a lot of intense and mixed emotions from Lomona, which are soon drowned out by the approaching crowds. I pivot on the balls of my feet as I move away from the edge of the pad where my ship sits, one level above Lomona’s own. Then I see her again, as she strides purposefully towards the small, modified transport that sits on the small pad next to mine. This time she is carrying a weapon under a tarpaulin. It is a gun of some sort, but like none I have ever seen. Large, and with several customised pieces of tracking equipment, this is a custom job. Might be a Grabby special, possibly to a unique design. It looks heavy, but she has no problem carrying it. This time all I sense is a deep feeling of satisfaction from her. Then I remember my mission and curse as I once again turn back to Lomona. He isn’t there. Damn. I swear and curse as I replay where he might be. Saffra is ushering people onboard the Berone Sunrise, and there is an old Jedi there as well. He seems to be calming the crowd. No sign of Lomona though, and no one visible in the cockpit either. I have lost him, and this time I curse loudly. Then it occurs to me that whatever Lomona is doing, he will return to his lover and his ship, two possessions I believe he adores in equal measure. I smile as I jump towards my scout ship, remotely activating the engine warm-up sequence. I also lock the small bay behind me, knowing that although my small craft could carry six others, it would cost me my mission if I did. Then I pause, and a thought pops into my head. My dog Spacer is sitting behind me in the cockpit, and I realise he is talking to me. I cringe at his request, but know that to ignore him would be inhumane. I exit the ship, leaving him to boost the weapons and gingerly open the docking bay doors. People are running past, ignoring the smaller pads and heading towards the larger ships. I see a woman struggling with a group of children and call her over. She sees me and my Galactic Alliance scout uniform and the look of relief that fills her face is a joy to my heart. Seven children, of differing races, and the nanny. I guide them on to my craft and Spacer immediately starts acting the fool. He intends to relax the children and his ploy works. I give him a withering glance as I strap them down into the acceleration couches. I call the nanny to one side. “My ship is fast but lightly armed and I doubt that the Ki-Ki will be looking to let a Galactic Alliance craft through its defences without first inspecting it. This is going to be rough.” She nods as I motion her to the co-pilots chair. “Where are you from and whose are those kids?” She looks aft, into the small lounge. “I am Jena, those are my charges. I am a day carer at the Bank of Zelon. I can’t believe that they left their children like that!” The anger explodes out of her and causes me to wince. I see stars for a few seconds then recover. “People in the grip of fear do a lot of wrong things with their lives.” The roar of my engines dwarfs her answer as I pull my ship up into the group that has formed behind the Sunrise and her Jedi protectors. I stretch out my mind to the Jedi and there is some surprise as they feel me touch their growing union. Then acceptance as they allow me to listen in on their plans. Then we are off. The rest is history. Chasing Shadows
2002 short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-seven
years after Episode IV – A New Hope
Histories – The tale of what Galactic
Alliance investigator Critchek Skumul was up to during the fall of Chancai. Once
again with his dog Spacer, we learn that he was on a mission to tail Terrie Saffra,
but upon whose instruction he was acting we do not know…yet.
Cast of Characters Critchek SkumulSpacerJan Lomona Terrie Saffra Jena |