Hyperspace went by too quickly - I slept most of the way, but I am still terribly sore after the “little” mishap with Sprend's aim. I think he feels a bit guilty about it, but I do not blame him at all - I was sprinting fast, and when one is looking through a scope peripheral vision tends to be less than ideal. In any case, I will not be sprinting for a while longer yet.

While we were out chasing Var Narek, Dash arrived at the base, fresh off of his training, and delivered a gift from High Command - a useful (used) YV-929 freighter. Very functional, often used by the smugglers, pirates and Rebels it was designed to combat. Fitting. The Alliance must have some solid connections with the CEC.

Dash had some assignment at the base, and so stayed behind as we headed for Ord Odama, Narek's apparent destination; the closest Imperial-controlled world and his homeworld. We were assigned an R2 unit for astrogation, but I do not see the need. Tor is smart enough; droids cannot be trusted.

R2-X1 messed up the first jump, and our ship took some damage as we exited hyperspace, straight into a nebula. Later jumps went smoother - I suppose my comments about restraining bolts and the scrap heaps of Balmorra had a motivating effect.

Ord Odama was pretty as we arrived - it looked rather purple from orbit. Apparently it has changed allegiances several times, and is an important transport hub. We headed into Livien Magnus, its capital.

On arrival, we were queried as to our purpose, so I made up some story about a vacation. Sprend wanted to do some hunting anyway, and it is technically true - hunting for Var Narek. Sprend tracked down a painter - Slim Spanner. He offered to spruce up our ship, and seemed quite pleased with our money. We asked about some local restaurants or hangouts, and he pointed us in a few directions.

I also spoke to an administrator at the docking bay, and managed to convince him to check for information about any Jumpmasters; I realized after that I probably should not have dropped my surname to him - if he is interviewed later, that may well come back to haunt me. I need to learn to control my tongue better. But I found what I needed - we had some time, since no Jumpmasters had arrived this week.

The Scarlet Sword sounded like the place to find our unofficial Rebel contact, Haril Zense, out in the Commerce District. As we approached and I saw the rundown exterior, I quickly flipped my holocostume to the street clothes I wore to Fox's ill-fated “party.”

The inside was typical - depressed workers, drunk patrons despite the early hour, and an air of decay. The barkeep was a friendly woman, though; Ryssa Sarat. I cautiously discussed local matters with her until I was sure she was not an Imperial sympathizer, and I dropped enough information for her to understand my position.

It turns out Zense was in a back room - we had managed to track down a rebel cell on our first try - not bad. The Force is obviously strong with us. Zense filled us in with the situation - a bombing blamed on the Rebels a while back, but in reality he suspects an Imperial set-up. We updated him on our mission, and while he was checking his intel, I had a very nice talk with Ryssa at the bar - she has a pretty smile and a pleasant laugh. I was not just flirting to try to gauge Damaria's reaction - I do enjoy the company of people.

It was not long before Zense got back to us. Nareks are apparently a former political family, and it seemed like the explosions may have targeted them. He suspects a larger plot. We decided to split up - Damaria and I to a ritzy Imperial and governmental restaurant, and Sprend with Tor to try to crack into the Imperial database.

I switched back to my political robes from Balmorra, and grabbed my Staff of Office sheathe from the ship. May as well go all in. Borrigan's was guarded by the typical men in suits, and I did not want to wait 3 months for an invitation, so I “convinced” them that the Baron Swift did, indeed, have the necessary documents.

Once inside, we split up, Damaria speaking with the Imperial officers, and I went to the political leaders. They were obviously two separate groups, which I find hopeful. It means that despite the outward submission to the Empire, there may be at least some independent political will left here.

I gathered a fair amount of information - they were all willing to talk when they found out who I was. I had the cover of being here for trade investigations, and it passed. Right in the middle of the conversation my comm started going off, but thankfully it was on vibrate and I had to ignore it.

The Nareks seem to be in disgrace, and while they were quite reluctant to talk, a bit of Influence soothed over their fears and I managed to get Var's former address. I made sure to grab some hors d'ouvres for the road as we left. I am not sure Damaria did much other than make eyes at some young Imperial officer. Maybe he will come in handy later if we have to infiltrate further.

It turns out Sprend and Tor had some difficulty with their mission and had been kidnapped. Thankfully it was some fellow rebels. I believe Sprend barely escaped being “taken care of” in his stormtrooper outfit.

Zense called with information about a Jumpmaster entering orbit, so Damaria and I quickly rented a speeder, picked up Sprend and headed out. Tor wanted to remain behind to gather more intel - he had not found the data about Var that we wanted. Risky, but a good thing he did, or else things may have turned out differently.

As we left town, we noticed behind us some Imperial troop transports. I punched it, and we arrived at the forlorn mansion with some time to spare. As we arrived, my head almost got taken off by a snipe from the second floor - a good thing my reactions are enhanced by the Force!

Damaria and I went in while Sprend held off the Imps at the gates. With her Sense ability we managed to track down Var. Tor called in with some important data - the Imps did indeed set up Var, and instead of a gunfight, we managed to talk him down upstairs.

With blasting at the gate, Var told us that Hayes was in an outbuilding, and he seemed to be a bit worried. We rushed out of the mansion, with the sounds of blaster fire at the gates…

To be continued…