Oh...You didn't know? Well, now you know....(Lady Kay)

[Koshka Scalvez]

A mysterious message: Come see me. 2 o'clock PM. Chandrila, Match City, Cithaka's Diner. I shall meet every day at the given time for about two weeks. Sincerely, an old friend.

An important recipient: [member="Lady Kay"]

This was all that was known of the electronic envoy that showed up in her drop box without any reply info. The missive was short and bare bones descriptive, making it seem, at first, shady as all get out. Nonetheless, the ball was now in the Lady's court.

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Dark Swarm Narrator"]

It was an odd message. And it just seemed to have popped up from nowhere. Kay read it over and over. An old friend....She had plenty of those. Both friends that she'd known for a long time, as well as friends that were much older than she was. There was no way for her to send a message back. The only response that she could give was to decide whether or not to show up. And she had two weeks to decide....

*******************************

Five days later, Kay arrived at the diner on Chandrila, her satchel over her shoulder like always, and her face half covered with a light scarf. All of her work was being taken care of by her new droid, courtesy of her good friend James Justice.

Her eyes scanned the crowd. It was almost 2pm. Kay walked over to the counter and ordered herself some tea.

 

[The Page Master]

A man of age walked into the bar with a briefcase in his right hand. He stopped to pull a pocket watch from his breast pocket and look at the time.

1:56

He didn't know why he was so anxious. It was the fifth day he'd come to wait. She may very well still be on her way. Hyperspace travel coupled with politics was long like that. However, he felt like she would be coming right about now if she was actually going to come. Regardless, he went over to his normal spot and took a seat. The lunch rush was waning right now, which made it a much better time to hold a confidential talk.

He sat down in his booth seat and laid the briefcase down on the table. He lifted his head, smoothed his white hair, placed the hat back on his head and then took off his glasses so he could start cleaning them with his glasses cloth in one of his other pockets. A waitress came over and asked him what he'd like to order, to which he replied,

"That's alright. I'm waiting for someone...again. I'll order in a while, though."

"Still waiting for your friend?? You've been doing that a lot recently, sir. Are you sure they're coming?" She sounded concerned. To her, this may very well be a confused old man with Alzheimer's.

"Yes, yes. She's very busy, so she keeps...rescheduling. Besides; where else am I going to get chocolate chip pancakes after lunch?" He then smiled at her and she smiled back and left him in peace.

When she left his smile quickly faded. "Where are you, Kay?..." mumbled The Page Master to himself as he started fumbling for his pocket watch.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay collected and paid for her tea. As she turned her back to the counter, cradling her cup in her hands, she spotted a strangely dressed man. He was an older gentleman and he seemed to be waiting. The waitress went by, but after they spoke, she didn't take his order before leaving. That could only mean one thing. Hopefully her suspicions were correct.

She approached his table, being sure that she was visible at all times to him, rather than just popping up from behind him. Kay still had most of her face covered, leaving only her eyes and some of her hair visible. It was better to be safe than sorry. She cleared her throat as she addressed [member="The Page Master"]. "Excuse me, sir? Mind if I join you?"

 

[The Page Master]

He was reading his menu when he heard [member="Lady Kay"]. He sighed with relief, but didn't look up. He could tell who it was by the voice alone. With a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his face (covered from view by the menu), he replied,

"Don't mind if you do. I was expecting a young whipper snapper such as you, anyhow...How's office, Lady Kay?" he smiled mischievously as he lowered the menu and looked straight at her.

The smile faded as he remember the topic he had called her here for. He then said,

"Listen, Kay. There's not much time and what I have to tell you...is of the utmost importance...."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay sat herself down, lowering her scarf a bit so that she could sip her tea. Of course it would be [member="The Page Master"] ! Such a message was cryptic, yet inviting enough to spark her interest. "Office work is....very trying right now."

She stopped speaking as soon as he lost his smile and turned very serious. Kay lowered her cup, but still held it in her hands. Of course this means that something bad was about to happen. They had been down this road before. "What is it, my friend?..."

 

[The Page Master]

"Darkness, Kay. It's coming to grip our galaxy in a most unnatural way. I'm not just talking about all of the hullabaloo that's been going on between the super powers in this galaxy. I'm talking about a threat that people don't see coming. We're not prepared, but they're getting ready."

It was evident that The Page Master was very nervous. His eyes were wide and he spoke fervently.

"I not going to ever pretend to be some all-mighty entity, Kay. I don't even understand myself or what I am. However, my skills allow me to get in and out of many places. I've been able to watch many events throughout my life. Even with all of my tricks and ways, I only came upon this by mistake..." He put a hand on the briefcase to show her what he was speaking of. He then turned his attention to it and used both hands to undo the clasps.

"There was this ship. It was just floating dead in space. I happened to be in that area at that specific time in space because the Zoolouian tribe...never mind. That's a long story for another time. I entered the derelict ship, but it wasn't dead at all. I mean, all the systems were powered completely off and I couldn't sense any living thing until...until I got close enough to...it....There was a shirtless man sitting in a chair. He looked like he was sleeping even though the life support wasn't on. He had this briefcase next to his chair. I bent over to pick up the suitcase and...I saw this large, symmetrical, black crystalline structure attached to and inside the man's back like a parasite! I picked the briefcase up and...his eyes snapped open! He grabbed me, Kay! ME! That's supposed to be impossible unless I'm switched to corporeal. He grabbed me by my throat and started choking me."

He opened the briefcase and started to pulling out the contents one by one and showed her. The first object was an archaic e-reader filled with many pictures of dissections of black, disgusting eel-like creatures and more backs that had undergone the same crystalline implantation.

"Needless to say, I smacked him a good one with the briefcase and got out of Dodge fast without so much as a Yipee Kai Aye to boot! The briefcase is what's unsettling me the most...Pictures of midnight black creatures simply labeled as Dark Swarm and Heralds. My Lady, I've never seen these before in my entire life! I can tell you all 157 names of the species of Trufflepuffs and I could tell you how to get safely inside the Deep Core...but this! I don't bloody know, Kay, and that's what scares me. I can feel it in my bones: they aren't natural to this galaxy or probably even our fabric of reality...as we know it."

The next thing he pulled out was an electronic "black box".

"I took a peek inside and it's filled with an incredible amount of encrypted data. It's going to take an enormous amount of time to decode, but I was able to see right through it. It's a giant list separated by star systems in the galaxy. It's a giant hit list. Men, women, children, aliens and humans of all kinds are on that list. What's the thing tying these names together? They're important people and I'm not just talking about prime time actresses here. I'm talking about leaders: politicians, crime lords, sheriffs, military commanders, you name it. People with actual control in this galaxy and can use it...and that's largely all I have. The rest of it is obscure clues."

He turned the briefcase around to show the rest of the seemingly mundane stuff in there: a file labeled "ARC", a simple silver necklace that ended at the neck with a solid metal oblong charm, a dirty datapad with a burnt-out CPU processor unit and a cracked screen and finally...an empty box of "Mike and Ike's Lemonade Blends" candy. 2spooky4me The Page Master took out a handkerchief and dabbed his beaded brow. When he put that away back in his pocket, he seemed to visibly relax.

"Well, now that the end of the galaxy news is out of the way, I think it's the perfect time to order some food. Hungry?" He turned in his seat and signaled for the waitress.


[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay always listened carefully to the stories that [member="The Page Master"] had to say. The way he told the stories was always entertaining. But this one was different. She had never seen her friend scared before. She furrowed her brows as she looked at each of the items that he had brought out for her. The hit list was the most intriguing of all.

But then he asked for food. "I suppose a little something would be all right. I'll have a sandwich, if I may." She pondered about her adventure in the Mirrorverse and what had happened there. Was he there? Yes...she thought that she had felt him.

Kay had another sip of her tea. No longer worried about showing her face. It was more than likely safe here, lest the Page Master would warn her otherwise. "This....hit list, and the people on it...Do you suppose that the ones that created it are from the future? What if killing certain people sets off a series of events that changes the future into what they want it to be? Maybe some on that list are ones that they can infect?...I have a friend that can help decrypt what's in there. He's a droid and very well adapted to working on such puzzles."

 

[The Page Master]

(Your signature looks very nice)

[member="Lady Kay"]

He chuckled a bit at her ideas of what the list could mean. Not because they were dumb or anything like that. He encouraged creative solutions and ideas. He said to her,

"This isn't Terminator 3, my lady. The past is far behind us. The future doesn't exist." He sniffed once, looked at his menu once more and he left it at that.

"French toast and nerf bacon, please," said The Page Master to the waitress. He gave her his menu and turned back to Lady Kay.

"The level of intricacy I witnessed looked like it took both time and effort to integrate the crystal. I'm not sure about an infection so much as it seems like a willing symbiosis with these...foul creatures. There were some scientific notes that I was able to glean in this brief case and it talked about the Dark Swarm being highly territorial and aggressive. If there is to be an invasion, I fear it will only end in extinction for us or them..."

 

[Kay-Larr]

(Aww, thanks. I had a few picked that people made for me. They are all so talented )

Kay sipped her tea and just asked the waitress for a couple of biscuits. She listened to [member="The Page Master"] . With the experiences of being in other dimensions, she wasn't sure what was possible and what wasn't anymore.

She just sat there and contemplated. "So the hosts...allowed themselves to be taken over? Maybe it's in hopes of gaining more power, or maybe they are blackmailed into choosing between that or death? But we'd have to figure out if there's a way to remove the creatures without killing the host..." She didn't want to get into the situation where one of her friends was taken over. She didn't want to be forced to have them killed.

 

[The Page Master]

"Well, whatever the case may be," started The Page Master, "I hope it can be dealt with in a timely manner before too much bloodshed takes place..."

He spread his fingers out on the table and quietly drummed them to dissipate the nervous energy he had.

"So, what's been going on in the galaxy while I've been in Bermuda?"

(About the Mirrorverse event, I was trying to set up a story plot revealing a bit of The Page Master's origin, but I got side-lined by school work and other priorities. Sorry about that.)

 

[Kay-Larr]

((No worries It happens. I'm sure that I'll learn about it another day))

Kay nodded. She didn't want much bloodshed either. Or any for that matter. But when did she ever get her way? Only when it involved herself alone.

She had no idea where Bermuda was, but then again, there were so many planets both discovered and not, that it was hard to memorize them all. Kay leaned back in her seat. "A lot. At least on my end of things. On the plus side my bounties are voided now. Bad thing was that I had to get brutally captured and held for it to be done. Also there has been an election going on in the Republic after our old leader tried to overthrow the entire government in a coup. Only two candidates are up and if the pirate wins, I will more than likely lose my seat in the Senate. What I would do afterwards? I don't know. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. A lot of people hate the Republic right now, they think of it as evil and won't give the new government a chance. It's....disheartening to say the least."

She chewed the inside of her cheek. She had other good adventures with her friends, even got 'adopted' by one of them as his sister. But she wasn't sure how close she would let anyone get to her, for fear of losing them to death. Keeping everyone at arms length was the best way to go about it.

"How was Bermuda?"

[member="The Page Master"]

 

[The Page Master]

"I'm happy to know that you escaped such a horrid ordeal with savage captors."

"A pirate! You can't trust a pirate, Kay. They have unhealthy obsessions with parrots and citrus!...Then again, maybe it'll require an experienced sea hand to turn this ship around...Hmm! I don't know. But, regardless of the circumstances, isn't that always the subliminal exciting element? The unknown?"

"That is the quandary that is the Republic, Kay. They've set themselves up as "what is right in the galaxy". That's what the Republic has stood for and what it's supposed to stand for. If it were to falter from this paragon paradigm, critics and the laymen will gladly set about demonizing it. It doesn't matter that a faction such as the One Sith exist if the Republic is being naughty. It's expected that the One Sith will be evil. These expectations are proof that people have become desensitized to them...."

"Bermuda was wonderful. You see, it's an island of beautiful beaches. The island proper itself is nothing to sneeze at, but I wasn't there for that. On some of the beaches, the water comes far up the beach front at a very shallow incline. There's plenty of water to wade in at slowly differing levels until the sand finally starts to decline sharper. It doesn't become immediately deep, though. Just a bit so that the water becomes green. Then, it becomes the deep rich blue farther out. The sea life out there is amazing! Peepers, Rabbit Rays, Cutes, Oculi, Mesmers and much more. Simply beautiful."

He paused in his ramblings for a little bit and thought to himself. Then, he finally asked,

"What did our adventure do for you, Lady Kay? Was it like a vacation? Was it horrible? Was it just plain confusing? You know...you're the only person I've been able to keep in touch with ever since that time at the book shop...."


[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="The Page Master"] had great insight and she always appreciated it. Hearing things from an outside perspective was always refreshing. She nodded here and there, especially when he spoke of people demonizing the Republic.

And then he spoke of Bermuda. She imagined it as he described it and wondered what it would be like to wade in those waters. Would it be warm? Or cool? What did some of those creatures that he spoke of look like?

His question on their adventure snapped her out of her imagination. "Our adventure? It was really strange at first. But then it got fun, followed by scary. And then...when you died in my arms..." She hadn't thought about it for a while, but it still had an impact on her for her eyes began to swell with tears, "...It was so very sad. I thought that I lost you forever." She reached over to squeeze his hand. "But here you are. Alive and well. I...also have not seen the others. I don't quite know what has happened with them."

 

[The Page Master]

The food came and time went on. The pair continued to catch up, enjoying their conversation and food (if that's alright with you). Time slipped by and it became dark out. The last few rays of sunlight were dipping down past the city skyline when The Page Master looked up and took notice.

"Goodness, Kay. We've tarried for far too long. We should go." The meal had been paid for already, so The Page Master left a generous tip and guided [member="Lady Kay"] outside and into the street. As soon as they stepped outside, he stopped and cocked his ear to the side. It was faint and it was distant...but, he could hear...he could hear the tell tale clicking sound of a hunting Herald.

He turned to her and said, "Where is your ship? We must make haste and escape!"

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay rather enjoyed the evening with [member="The Page Master"] . He was good company to have and she missed him. He was probably the closest thing to a father figure that she had. Family. Only recently had she allowed herself to get close to people again. Still she worried for their safety, but she was starting to trust in their abilities to protect themselves.

She followed him out of the restaurant and as soon as he asked for her ship, her eyes darted around to look for any visual signs of the threat headed their way. Kay frowned slightly. "I don't have a ship. I came here on a transport. I usually travel that way so that I'm not so easily tracked.." There were times when that was beneficial, and other times such as this one when it wasn't so much.

 

[The Page Master]

The Page Master put his hat on his head. Did he have a hat beforehand? Well, he did now. It was a nice hat.

He took Lady Kay by the hand and said,

"This way!" as he ushered her to the transport station.

"More people means more light! More light means less sneak attacks!" He knew which direction that the transport station was. He took a left into a nearby alley...and immediately turned and lead them both out of it.

"Not that way..." he mumbled. He took a light, but very sturdy and solid frying pan out of nowhere and passed it to [member="Lady Kay"].

"When the time comes, you'll know what to do with this..." He then grabbed a creme pie out of nowhere and kept it ready in his free hand. They were now prepared to fight eels from Hell. The dolphin clicking was now closer. It was loud enough for Kay to hear. They ran uphill on the sidewalk. The transport station was near the top. They had to stay near the lights for the best protection, but it wouldn't stop an attack by itself.

 

[Kay-Larr]

The clicking sound grew louder and as they ran up the hill, Kay would look over her shoulder to see if she could see them. But there were too many people around. Maybe that was a good thing.

She hurried along with [member="The Page Master"] , sticking to the lights as much as possible. It seemed to be going well. That is until the lights started going out behind them. It was almost as if someone was shooting at the bulbs to knock them out. Or maybe something was playing with the electricity? She couldn't tell.

"This doesn't look good! What if there's no power when we get to the station? Or if we're in between transport times? Have you got a bug light in your bag of tricks to make these parasites think that it's daytime?" Worth a shot. She read it in a story once and that worked perfectly.

 

[The Page Master]

[member="Lady Kay"]

The spectacle of an old man with a pie in each hand and a lady with a frying pan drew attention from all directions. Yet, the odd pair kept running, still. They didn't look at the gawkers. If they had left any later, then they would have been in trouble. However, they were able to reach the indoor safety of the brightly lit shuttle station. At the front door, The Page Master turned and tossed his pies at the shadows.

"Take that, you brigands!" A cry of surprise sounded from the shadows and a man with a business suit, now soaked in cream, stumbled out of the dark.

"What the frell, man!" The Page Master sheepishly waved and chuckled nervously.

"I'm, uh, sorry, pal...I thought you were an eel!" With that, he ducked inside and guided Kay over to the ticket line.

"We should be safe here, Kay."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was quite glad that they were safe. She lowered the frying pan as soon as [member="The Page Master"] reassured her. "Thank the Force." As they were lined up, she couldn't help but look over her shoulder from time to time, eyeing the shadows and dark spaces amongst the crowd. Her eyes played tricks on her at times for she thought that she saw some of the shadows move. But that could be just her being fearful too. "Where are we going to go?"