Tholatin, Unknown Facility.

2:00 am :

It had just turned two in the morning and Donovin still hadn't moved from the desk he had been occupying for almost three hours now. His eyelids were heavy, his mind exhausted from all the reading he had done.

It was just another day of research.

He woke up always relaxed and refreshed and ended his days within the preceding very early hours of what would be the next day, usually having to wake up on most mornings between six and seven.

Donovin had only stirred from his chair four or five times within the last three hours, but still his legs and lower back felt stiff, not to mention a bit sore.

He would have called it a day by now if it weren't for what awaited him in nine hours.

Borleias.

Another diplomatic mission.

So there he still sat, studying the holodocumentary: Battle of Borleias:

The documentary did not seem to interest him in the least bit, but he owed it to himself to at least pay as much attention to it as he possibly could, after all, it was a piece of history, and a part of Borleias.

Besides, he needed as much help as he could get, he wasn't exactly a diplomat, but he had enough experience to hopefully get him going in the right direction, at least Kamon was counting on him to do just that, anyway.

There was still a lot of planning to be done, and not much time to do it in.

He'd do some catching up in the morning, after all, he had a trip to Borleias where he would do nothing but sit and wait around. Reading more on Borleias would help him pass the time while gaining him some much needed knowledge.

Setting all of the documents and books into his business case, Donovin stood up with a large stretch.

"I have a very bad feeling about this," he mumbled to himself as he tiredly left the facility, heading back for his quarters.

Darn his Jedi intuitions. At least he would not be going alone… or at least he hoped not, anyway.

It was three in the morning before Donovin drifted off to sleep.

8:06 am: Intelligence Headquarters: Tholatin.

"Riker, have you seen my schedule? I can't find it anywhere and Kamon said he would leave it on my desk for me."

"If it's not on your desk it should be in the back room, check there."

Riker chuckled lightly as he looked up from his papers to glance over at Cole's desk.

"What?"

Cole looked up from his search to lock gazes with Riker.

Riker's laughter was cut short by Donovin's unlikable gaze.

"Nothing.. its just one has to wonder if you ever actually do find what you’re looking for under all that clutter.”

Donovin shook his head and went back to searching his desk as he spoke.

"Yeah, yeah... I don't really have the time to stop and organize. It's either be unorganized or lose my job.."

Ricker let out a jovial laugh.

"... If you don't get yourself organized that's just what will happen. Trust me, I speak from experience."

Cole grunted in annoyance.

"Hey.. you going to help me out here or what?!"

Riker frowned, shaking his own head once in turn before getting up to head toward the back room.

Five minutes later the intelligence operative was back at Donovin's desk, schedule in hand, a smug look settling into the features of his face.

"Yeah, you're welcome.."

Cole snatched up his schedule from Riker's outstretched hand, his green eyes warning Riker.

"Don't even think about it.. don't even."

Riker enthusiastically shoved Donovin in the arm.

".. Ah.. but I have to, Donovin.. I have to.. and I can. You owe me one," Riker said with a small grin as he made his way back to his desk.

"For finding my schedule?!"

Donovin waved his hand at Riker, stopping the man before he could speak.

"I have to get going.. I'm already late. I should have boarded the shuttle about an hour ago."

"Later. Let me know how it all went, will ya?"

Cole gave a quick wave to his comrade before heading toward the door.

"Yeah sure, will do. Good luck on your own endeavors," he said as he headed out the door.

Donovin got halfway toward the docking bay when he realized that he had left his business case behind.

"I bet Riker's lovin' that," he said grumpily as he sharply turned back around to head back to headquarters.

Opening the door he met up with an amused Riker, business case in hand to which he willingly handed over to Donovin.

"Don't say it."

Riker raised up both of his hands as if in defeat.

"Not a word.. but Donovin..."

"No Riker!" Donovin said as he hurriedly made his way back to the docking bay finally.

Riker shouted after him.

"Donovin! Hey man! I was just going to say that maybe you should take a vacation after this! You seem like you need it, bad!"

"I don't have time for a vacation," Donovin grumbled quietly.

Twenty minutes later he was boarding his private shuttle, on his way to Borleias.

On route to Borleias...

Cole sat within his own personal space, his small cabin locked for the moment so that he could catch up on reading before he and his crew made it to Borleias.

His cabin was very limited on capacity, every object within the secured room cramped close to other items, leaving Donovin not much room to walk around in. He had his rectangular table, one cushioned chair, the area was considered his work place even though it housed none of the basic tools he used when occupied with his duties. Whatever items he planned to use on such trips, he kept within his business case.

Setting his case off to his right as he sat down, Donovin took out his datapad and a sleeve of paper that was filled with information on Borleias, information which Cole would implement into his datapad, so that it could be used as a memory bank, should he forget a note or two.

He skimmed the papers very briefly, taking only the highlights to place into his datapad. Quietly he spoke on his findings, he found that reading out loud to himself was productive for him, at least when he was alone.

"Terrain: Jungle.. fourth planet in the Pryia System.. Borleias is considered favorable for hyperspace crossing..."

In his readings he acquired what was a point of interest for the planet; it went into his data pad.

Alderaan Biotics Facility.

Perhaps he would take to looking at it if it was still around. He was not entirely sure what he would find once he set foot onto the planet, if he was able to set foot onto the planet.

"Sure wish Kamon could have come with me..."

Cole was still a bit troubled over the premonitions he had had about Kamon, Donovin still could not find the pieces to put all the events he had foreseen together. If he could put everything together, then perhaps there still resided some small chance to keep the events from happening or to keep the future events from becoming as ominous as he had seen them to be; yet there was no true telling.

He wondered privately just what it was about Borleias that intrigued Kamon enough to want the planet to be scouted. Cole liked to think that it was the terrain, but who really knew for sure. He would take the time to ask Kamon when he returned from the diplomatic adventure, if he found himself actually coming back.

Deciding that he had done enough reading for a while, Donovin placed all of his material back into his business case, stood up and then moved on toward the small folding up cot that was within the cabin.

He needed to catch up on his sleep. He was already grouchy, anymore lack of sleep and he'd be a walking zombie. He would have liked to think that sleep was the thing that would alleviate him of his bad temper, but he knew better. What the Jedi needed was a vacation. Sleep would have to be his substitute for the time being.

Twenty minutes later Donovin was in deep sleep, he didn't awake until an hour's length of arrival time.

Donovin awoke to the sound of his communications unit beeping insistently. The small size of his cabin allowed for the smallest of noises to appear boisterous in comparison to what should have been minute to the ear, at least in a not so confined area.

Normally, the sound of his communications unit would not have bothered him, as Donovin was rather easy going, and not much ever seemed to rattle the man from his relaxed behavior.

... Except this time.

"Give it a rest already!" He shouted, his words coming out muffled as he projected his words into his pillow, still groggy.

Of course the unit continued to persist, beckoning him to answer. Reluctantly, he eventually got up, dynamically pressing the call back button on the device once her reached it.

"I'm here.. fire at will, Cober.."

Donovin's tone seemed a bit aggravated and it made the flight officer on the other end a little nervous.

".. Er.. didn't mean to disturb you.. Sir.. It's just... Sorry, they need you up here, Mr. Donovin. We'll be arriving within an hour's time..."

Donovin sighed, though it could not be heard through the speaker.

"Is it urgent? I requested that I not be disturbed unless it was a matter of strict urgency."

"..Y.. Yes.. it rather is, sir.. You see.. it's about the shuttle.. it's.."

There was a pause, the last of Donovin's patience fusing out within the moments pause. His bottom lip twitched out of control for a very brief moment before he came to relax at the sound of Cober's voice.

".. there seems to be a malfunction of some sort and we can't figure out its source. We've tried for several hours, but to no avail."

Donovin's brow rose in bewilderment and wonder, but of course no one was made to witness it. He had not sensed any inappropriate activity up until now.

"What exactly has faltered?"

Another pause, Cober sighed, troubled by the news he was giving.

"Most of the main controls, sir. It's your shuttle.. nothing happens without your word.. and well.. we need to run some options by you..."

"I'm on my way..."

Approximately twenty-five minutes later..

".. Are you meaning to tell me that our only option is to try and crash-land on Borleias???"

"Yes, I am sorry to say, that is exactly what I am telling you, Mr. Donovin. If there were any other option.."

".. No.. it's too dangerous... I won't all.."

".. Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but there is no other way.."

Captain Ridel shook his head in despair as Donovin, very briefly, mused over what was being told to him.

".. Prepare the crew then.."

Cober entered to find Cole and the captain both staring at the controls in bafflement.

".. It was fine an hour ago, sir. I don't know what went wrong."

"Make sure that everyone aboard is fastened in securely, we're going to crash-land."

Distress caught Cober's gaze, and Donovin grimaced in reaction.

"Nothing we can do, Cober.. please.."

".. I'll tell them, sir.."

The officer rushed off hurriedly.

"You'd better get to your seat as well, Donovin. It won't be but a few more minutes before we land."

Donovin looked as if he were about to disagree, but obliged the captain anyway.

"Good luck, Captain," he said with a subtle nod turning around to head back toward the seats of the shuttle, however, before he could, the captain stopped him.

"I don't suppose that mind of yours could help us out with this matter.."

Both men looked to one another and smiled sheepishly at the same time.

".. Nothing to it, Captain.. nothing to it.."

".. See you on land, Ridel.."

"Likewise.."

Fate was cruel.

Seventeen minutes prior to the crash landing...

Captain Ridel's voice came to enter into Cole's comm unit; Donovin flinched as if being directed to by cue.

It would not be long now, he knew. He knew exactly what the captain was going to say even before he announced it.

"Fifteen minutes until touch down.."

Donovin let the breath that he had been holding in, out, before responding back.

"Everyone back here is all set, Captain," he spoke into the hand held unit, his voice shaking only slightly.

"How's that head of yours, Donovin?"

Leave it to the captain to make a rough situation, a little less stressful.

The Jedi chuckled slightly as he responded.

"Still intact.. just like the shuttle.."

There was a pause, a moment of awkward silence settling in.

".. that's right, just like the shuttle... Ten minutes.."

The shuttle landed far from intact.

A loud resonating sonic boom, (the shuttle shattering into thousands of peaces) was the last thing Donovin heard as his whole world went black...


Only six passengers survived the crash landing, Captain Ridel and Flight Officer Cober among the fatalities.

Twenty-eight hours after the crash landing..


Cole awoke to the sound of many clicks and beeps, his eyes barely coming to flutter open as he tried to get a glimpse at his surroundings.

It wasn't long before Donovin was able to open his eyes fully to look around him.

He was in a medical wing, the rhythmic beeping and clicking he recognized as the use of medical equipment fast at work.

His whole body ached with pain, especially his right arm, which was tightly bandaged. He wasn't sure how long he had slept, though he could recall drifting in and out of consciousness as he was rushed from the crash sight, straight for a bacta tank.

How long he had been in the healing device he didn't know.

The pain that soared through his body did not leave him all that inclined to want to move about. Sleep still seemed to call to him.

He would have drifted off to sleep again if it hadn't been for the droid that noticed him fully awake and rather alert.

"Oh! Good Sir! You're awake! You gave us a bit of a scare there... We had to revive you...."

The droid continued to speak but Cole seemed to tune everything else out after the droid had mention that he had been brought back to life.

He'd died and didn't even know it!

"Sir??? Sir?? Are you listening?"

"Wha..? Oh sorry..?"

"You're lucky to be alive. There wasn't much left of the shuttle... so they say."

".. and the people that were aboard the vessel?"

"Only six of you survived."

He didn't bother to make much conversation after that, too disappointed to say much of anything.

".. You'll need to stay another day before we can let you move about again.. for observation means, of course."

Donovin offered the droid a quiet nod, but his gaze seemed far away.

"... Rest sir... Someone will be in to check on you soon."

Donovin quickly drifted off to sleep again, surprisingly, despite the tragedy, the man slept soundly.

It would be a while before he could expect to return to Tholatin again.

Sovereignty Destroyer Intruder - Edge of Pyria System


Captain McInnis woke with a start as the comm system in his private quarters bleeped wildly. He looked at the transmission sender, and scowled.

How dare the bridge wake me up at... He checked the chrono three in the morning! How many times do I have to tell them, 'Don't wake me up'?

He twisted in his bed, bringing his large feet to the floor and stumbled over to the comm transmitter/receiver unit, "This is McInnis. Whomever this is better give me a damn good reason for waking me up this early."

"Don't give me that, Mac. They woke me up first." Came the reply. McInnis's demaneor softened a bit as he heard it. That was the voice of Commander Locke, his second-in-command on the Intruder. She knew better than anyone not to wake him up unlessabsolutely necessary. If she woke him up, it was for a good reason.

"What is going on?"

"About ten derelict Tholatin-class Star Destroyers, and two of their newest big ships, thats what." Locke replied.

"Derelict? They are just sitting there?" McInnis asked.

"Yeah. That confused me too. They are just sitting there, devoid of any people or anything. They are powered down, completely, and some are damaged." Came the reply.

"I'm on my way."



*



The Tholatin-class Star Destroyers and the two Neron-class Xyto Cruisers just hung there, in the backdrop of space, unmoving. Like a silent warning.

In his hand, McInnis held the Black Hand report on Tholatin-class Star Destroyers. They were hardy, tough, one-thousand meter vessels and when used in large numbers, could pack quite a punch. The Black Hand report on the Tholatin Republic fleet reported that ten of the ships had mysteriously dissapeared three months before. No explanation was every given for their dissapearance.

It was speculated that TTR sent them away to be used as secret reserve for the war with the Empire. Kind of like the Katana fleet was for the Old Republic. Send the ships away, and when you need them, recall them.

But it didn't explain why they were here without any crew.

"Where is the nearest world?" McInnis asked.

"Borleias."

"Status there?"

Locke called up the report, "It is under a newly elected indepenant government who has petitioned for ORS and TTR emissaries to join them for possible talks on joining one of the two governments. TTR has an emmissary on the way, and the Mediator is already there, and has been negotiating with the Borleias government to join the Sovereignty."

"Set a course. Maybe we can get in touch with the Tholatin ambassador and see about those ships."

"Yes sir."