The Remains of the Imperial Bunker had been transformed into a massive Fortress according to Jack's design. 25,000 men and fourteen ships were under his command including his newest prise. The Victory Class Destroyer "Death's Hand" which he had named after a famous battleship of olden days. He sat in his chair and contemplated his next move.

"Sir!" a Pirate saluted to him. "Modifications to the Destroyer are underway. Within a few days it should be ready to lift off." he said to him. Jack nodded and surveyed a galactic map. "Where shall we strike first?" he asked Jack. Jack waved his hand and an image of Ryloth appeared. "Ryloth is rich in spice. I hope the New Republic doesn't take too much notice of our activities."

Cammir Faerlain brought his ship in towards Hoth. He and about ten other pirate ships had just come out of hyperspace.

They’d left the Imperial Remnant after Tinder’s message had gotten around. As much as the cocky and stubborn Captain Cammir hated to admit it, the girl had some points. Why were they supporting anyone but themselves? It was what they’d always done, so why had they abandoned it to support some Sith Lord? They were all very good questions, none of which Cammir knew the answer to. However, he did know that he and his friends were going back to the way they liked things.

Rumors had reached his ears about a couple of shady characters settling down on Hoth with intentions of taking over the Spice Trade. Cammir had come with the intention of determining the truth of the rumor. If it was true, he would demand that they include him and his friends in on their plan. If it was false, he would use Hoth for himself and use it as a smuggler’s base. There pirates and smugglers would be safe from Republic and Imperial intervention, at least until they were discovered.

As they entered the atmosphere, Cammir saw that the rumors had been true, or that there was someone else on Hoth that he didn’t know about. Either way, whoever was there should be aware of their presence by now. All he had to do was wait.

Now Cammir was in the hanger working on his beloved ship, The Phoenix. After all the years he’d used her, she was starting to look dingy and Cammir decided that she needed a good cleaning. The floor around him and the ship was soaked with soap and water, as was Cammir himself. He was just about finished when a sharp voice interrupted him.

He looked up from his ship to see a young blonde woman leaning against the wall across the hanger. She was good looking, but obviously angry about something. “What’d you say?” Cammir asked, as he hadn’t heard what she said the first time.

She glared at him and repeated her words, “I want to know what makes you think you can declare yourself our leader.” Her voice was full of scorn and her blue eyes narrowed as she looked at him.

“Why, only the fact that I’m the only one that would step up and get things going,” he answered, flashing one of his crooked smiles, the kind most girls went crazy over.

The blonde wasn’t impressed. “You think you’re better than the rest of us, Faerlain,” she said and began to move towards him. “Don’t you?”

Cammir laughed. “I don’t think I’m better than you,” he corrected her. “I know it, sweetheart.”

Now that little comment really set her off. “Sweetheart?” she snarled, running towards him. “Why, you’re nothing but a-!”

But Cammir never found out what, exactly, the blonde woman thought he was. Just as she was about to finish her sentence, she slipped on the soapy water surrounding Cammir and the Phoenix. There was a soft thud as she fell flat on her back. Cammir’s mocking laughter filled the hanger, but he went over anyway. “You got a name, sweetheart?” he asked her as he reached down to help her up.

She wasn’t pleased. The blonde did take his hand, but, instead of using it to regain her footing, pulled him down onto the soapy wet floor with her. Now it was her turn to laugh as Cammir rubbed the back of his head. “My name’s Soleil,” she told him. “Captain Soleil LeBlanc of The Spirit of Freedom.”

Cammir looked over at her and grinned. Now that she was no longer fuming with anger over his decision to take over, she was a lot prettier. “So what’s this problem you’ve got with my taking over?” he asked. “Nobody’s making you stay.”

“Where else do I have to go?” Soleil answered. “I want in on your power.”

Cammir shook his head. “Absolutely not,” he said firmly.

She pouted and tried to look sad and adorable. “You wouldn’t even share power with a pretty girl like me?” she whined.

Cammir laughed out loud and stood up. “Let me tell you something, sweetheart,” he said, looking down at her. “If I had one Republic credit for every pretty girl that wanted me, I wouldn’t need to be a pirate anymore. I’d be able to pay off all my debts and whoever the hell’s ruling the galaxy these days.”

Soleil rose stubbornly and brushed off some soap bubbles. “Fine,” she snapped. “I always like a challenge.” And without waiting for a reply from Cammir, she left the hanger.

Smiling, Cammir returned to cleaning his ship.

/It's about time you found yourself a mate,/ Woolbaar growled, laughing heartily at the expression on Cammir's face. /She's tiny, for a human, but she'll bear you fine children,/ he roared. He knew Cammir was about as ready to settle down as Mon Calamari were ready to go to Tatooine.

Suddenly, the cocky space pirate felt as if he was going to faint. The Force rushed over him and he reached out for the Phoenix to steady himself. His hand slipped on the wet surface and he fell to the floor. Something was terribly wrong. His eyes widened in shock as images of his twin sister inundated his mind. One thing was clear. Something bad had happened to Tierva.

He groaned in frustration and swicthed on the HoloNet, hoping that it would help to take his mind off the Jedi. He was not so fortunate. The words of Lord Xarkun filled the room. The Sith Lord was going on about his take over of Coruscant and the Republic. The pirate snorted in disgust. The last thing this galaxy needed was another tyrannical lunatic. The door to the room slid open and a familiar voice was heard over Xarkun's rantings.

"Change your mind yet?" asked Soleil LeBlanc.

"Nope," Cammir answered bluntly. "And I'm not going to. I do not share power."

Pouting, Soleil came over and sat down on the desk in front of Cammir. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Cammir told her wearily. "Now if you would please leave me alone..."

She cocked her head and looked at him curiously. "What's bothering you, Faerlain? That's not the cocky persona that I've heard about."

"None of your bloody business," he snapped irritably.

"What were you watching on the HoloNet?"

Cammir's eyes flicked over to the screen. Xarkun's speech was over. "Just some crazy Sith Lord," he answered, standing and looking down at her. "Now leave."

Soleil smiled and hopped off the desk, staring up at the space pirate. "Touchy, aren't we?" she teased.

Furious, Cammir pointed to the door. "Get out," he growled. "I have had enough of you."

She laughed and quickly kissed him on the cheek. "Are you sure, Faerlain?" she asked just before disappearing into the hallway.

Raging, Cammir fell back into his chair and glared at the screen that was still projecting the HoloNet. As he applied the Force, the screen cracked and shards of it fell to the floor. Now she was another thing troubling his mind, one that he didn't want or need in addition to the other two. Stupid girl!

Angrily he threw his empty bottle of Danbri whiskey against the wall inside the cockpit, where it smashed into a million pieces. All he had done, all his fighting against slavers, all gone... now the entire galaxy was in slavery, they just didn't know it yet. But they soon would...

Kashyyyk. They would be hit hardest... that which had been made illegal and lightly enforced in the New Republic would now undoubtedly become legal and strongly enforced in this Empire. His people would be taken from their land, the great wroshyr trees desecrated by Imperial troops... no Wookiee would be safe. It had come down to this.

Woolbaar tilted his head back, and howled, howled with all the rage he felt inside. This atrocity, this must not happen to his people... he would not let it. No matter how great the odds were against him, he would fight to protect his people... even if it meant death.

(Okay, I left it ambiguous so you could say Cammir was doing any number of things before Woolbaar got to his desk and he got the message from Chris, okay, SwimAngel?)

Cammir's eyes darted quickly from Woolbar to the beeping comlink on his desk. Rimera? Last time he'd seen that pirate was on Tatooine. He was busy chasing after some Senator. Come to think of it, that was the last time he's seen Tierva as well. That premonition he'd had several days ago came rushing back to him. Maybe Chris could tell him what happened to Tierva.

"Whatta you want, Rimera?" he asked, not bothering to hide his amusement. "And what in the bloody hell are you doing on the Democracy?"

Chris answered the comm, looking around quickly to see if anybody was around. "Took ya long enough, didn't it? I need somewhere to refuel. You able to give me a hand? I'm here by a bad stroke of luck, Faerlin. And it just keeps gettin worse...Now are ya able to help us or not? And stop the laughin, it ain't funny." He leaned back and thought about the past few days...

/The Force has brought you to us,/ she growled softly. She looked at him. /You may not accept that fact, but I do. And, I would like to thank you for listening to its call./

With that, Lo got up and walked out of the cockpit. Destiny seemed to prick at her... soon she would find out where the current of Fate would take them next.

/Old friend?/ he growled, questioning.

She looked to R6, who seemed to be rolling along a little slower. Probably the cold had his wheels sticking. She would have to oil them later.

Quickening her pace, she came up to where Elisabeth was standing, waiting for her, and took her master's hand. She had been talking to Logargh, and it was all about politics and treaties, and terribly important things that Ora didn't have the slightest clue about. She assumed she would be trained in such things, being Elisabeth's padawan and all. She hoped it was at least as interesting as ships were...

She looked back, and called out to R6. "Come on, R6. If you stop moving, you'll freeze," she joked, but it had the desired effect. With many beeps and buzzes, at which she laughed, R6 came barrelling up to them as they walked.

Elisabeth turned to Ora for a moment, "I'll teach you all about politics and how to handle diplomacy in addition to your Jedi training. In this case, we need to go talk with the leader and find out what he wants." She led Ora towards where Chris had disappeared to.

Cammir was about to answer Chris when the two men noticed a short brunette walking towards them with a little girl, Wookiee, and a droid in tow. Chris watched as his friend looked Elisabeth up and down. Dressed in her white snowsuit and vest, grey boots, and white gloves with her hair braided around her head, she looked extremely diplomatic. "I am looking for the leader here. Do either of you know where I can find this person?" she stood in front of them, her hands at her hips. Ora walked over and joined Chris and they both watched the Senator and the pirate. It was going to be a good show.

She looked the pirate over. He was easy on the eyes--handsome. Just the kind of people that Elisabeth had imagined Chris hanging around with. But he looked like trouble, a person who belonged in the hive of villany known as Mos Eisley.

Her eyes stopped at his belt--a lightsaber clearly visible.

This was one person who she was most definatly not going to get along with.

(Sorry, I fixed my double post....)

She couldn't wait to learn how to do that.

And it was at about that moment that Soleil was passing through the hanger on the way to her ship. Naturally, she noticed the informal meeting going on between Cammir and the group of strangers. Curious and nosy as ever, she made her way over to the group. "What's going on?" she asked. Cammir, however, ignored her.

Elisabeth looked at him and shot him another death glare, "Like you'd be caught in the Senate."

"You're right. Too stuffy for me," he replied with a grin. Cammir went about what he was doing, and all ignored the girl that had now joined them.

"Why you concieted--" Elisabeth started.

"May I remind you, Senator, that you might want to fit in. Right, Faerlin?" Chris interrupted, trying to snap his friend out of whatever reverie he was in.

"Wait?!" she said after doing a double take on his friend's name, "did you just say Faerlin?"

"Yeah, sweetheart, why?" Ora and Chris looked at Elisabeth inquistively. Elisabeth was sure that Ora could somewhat sense what she was feeling at that moment. All of a sudden, Elisabeth felt faint.

/Tierva Faerlain was a good friend of ours,/ she said, laying a hand on Elisabeth's shoulder, which was trembling, either from the cold, or from her emotions. The way Ora moved over to her took Elisabeth's hand, bright eyes looking up at her master, told her it was the latter. Lo turned back to Cammir, who was looking agitated, and continued. /She was killed fighting a battle against the Sith,/ she growled.

Despite his strong feelings over the death of Tierva, the pirate was determined to remain professional rather then get emotional. He looked back up at the newcomers. "Tierva Faerlain," he informed them gravely, "was my sister."

She felt a bit less disgust towards the man...

Soleil quickened her stride so she could walk alongside him. "What's going on?" she asked, repeating her ignored question from earlier.

"Go away," Cammir growled as he led the group out of the hanger and down a hallway. "This doesn't concern you."

"Not yet," she pointed out, "but when you finally decided to share your power, I'm going to need to know what's happening with these people."

"I am never going to share my power," he told her firmly. "I really am in no mood for this."

"Because of your sister?"

Cammir didn't answer her, as they had reached the door to his office. "Go and find Woolbaar," he told Soleil, "And I'll let you in."

"Fine," the blonde scowled, going off to find the wookiee.

Then Cammir opened the door and turned to Chris, Elisabeth, Ora and Lo. "Here we are."

"Here we are," Cammir said, holding open the door for them all.

"My, my, aren't you a gentleman," she said sarcastically, walking in past the man, and taking a seat in one of the chairs in the office. "Faerlin, on behalf of the Republic remnant, I would like to extend thanks for the temporary refuge. We would like to enlist your help, not only diplomatically, but also in hiding the remnant of the Republic fleet. In return, we are offering a partnership and possible retrobution. The Republic remnant has little to offer at this point. You all can be a most valuable ally. Freedom is something that all of us want--and democracy is a form of that. It would be most advantageous to go up against the Sith in an alliegance. Therefore, I propose that we form, right here, right now, the Freedom Alliance. Do we have an accord?" Ora had sat in the chair next to Elisabeth and listened intently.

Cammir looked at Chris, who pointed innocently at him, "Don't look at me. It's all her." A tense and thick silence filled the air.

Returning her mind to the business at hand, she looked from Cammir to Elisabeth, and back. /If you agree, all decisions concerning the Freedom Alliance would be jointly made, between you and whoever you wished to represent you, and us. You would not be paid hands... we would work together to bring freedom back to the galaxy,/ she said.

/It is the Jedi's war with the Sith that has caused Xarkun to take over. Don't think I don't know this. If we join this Freedom Alliance of yours, you will only bring the Sith's attention here, to us! We will have a hard enough time cleaning up your mess.../ he growled, and noticed how the female Wookiee simply watched him peacefully... so unlike his people.

/Soon, the Empire will make its presence felt on Kashyyyk. My people will be enslaved... again! The Republic couldn't prevent it, and now it is gone. The Jedi have stirred the kinrath nest, with no thought to the others who would be hurt by their carelessness!/ he roared, and slammed his fists down on the table. /And now you wish us to join you? When all you will do is stir the nest some more? Perhaps cause these Sith to destroy the entire galaxy?!/

Then, he spoke, and it took every lesson Tol had ever taught her to remain calm. The Jedi responsible for Xarkun? What madness was this? Still, she patiently waited for him to finish before answering.

/The Sith strive for power, no matter who gets in their way. The Jedi have kept them at bay until now. These 'kinrath' have chosen the entire galaxy for their nest, and will eat at the worlds until there is nothing left of them, until someone drives them away. We are at least willing to try, with your help, if you will give it,/ she growled, doing her best to keep her voice steady.

Woolbaar scowled at her. /Have you been at the Temple too long to remember your roots, Jedi ? While you fight your war, my people... our people, will suffer! Does that mean nothing to you?/ he demanded.

/So, you do have some spirit, then, Jedi . And I thought it was all trained out of you!/, Woolbaar growled, settling down all of the sudden. He looked Lo over for a moment. /Is this Freedom Alliance of yours willing to help free those bound in slavery on Kashyyyk?/ he asked Elisabeth.

(Sorry that was so long, guys. I needed to set up Lo and Woolbaar, and it is so close to the end...)

/I will also go,/ she growled, to the surprise of both Elisabeth and Woolbaar (I'll explain...)

Woolbaar cocked his head. /You would risk slavery and death yourself by going with me?/ he challenged, more than asked. Going to Kashyyyk was a slavery sentence for any Wookiee these days.

Lo nodded. /I swear to you I will,/ she said, meeting his eyes. Her people took such oaths very, very seriously.

Woolbaar looked over at Cammir, who remained silent, then back to Lo. /I have quite a few ships,/ he said, revealing something only Cammir knew about him. /They are in a safe place. I have... acquired them, from slavers, over many years. I've been fighting slavery on Kashyyyk ever since the days of the Old Republic,/ he sighed. /If you will stand beside me in battle on Kashyyyk, then my small fleet will be at your disposal when the time comes for you to fight against this new Empire,/ he growled, and held out his paw.

Lo grasped his forearm, sealing the deal, and he grasped hers. It was a long moment before they parted...

His eyes fell on Elisabeth as he continued, "I hope you did not come here in hopes of stunning me with your loquacious and eloquent speech, for it has been quite a long time since I last spoke to a Jedi in a friendly manner. I was one of them once; you may have noticed the only token that I keep from those days on Coruscant." He gestured to the lightsaber on his belt. "I found their philosophies dated and irrelevant. As a result, I left the Order, much to my sister's disapproval. Ever since, I have continued to harbor a dislike and distrust for the Jedi. Therefore, I assure you that if you came here on a different occasion, I would have sent you away empty handed."

"However, recent events have persuaded me to consider your request," Cammir told them. "In the days of your Republic, my kind have fared well and been profitable. I will not allow the galaxy to fall into the hands of the Sith, not after they murdered my twin."

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