Do I Live For Nothing (Page 8 of 25)

Rane notices Yi'shar's "greeting". He moves his hand and barely touches the lightsaber hanging from his own hip, smiling warmly. He looks back at Vector.

"Experience, eh?" He makes a small side glance at Sara with a somber look, the question is visible in his eyes. She nods her head slightly. No.

The somber look is gone almost as soon as it appeared. He makes a small motion with his right hand and the four soldiers walk away without a second's hesitation. He loops his arm in Sara's. "This way, we can talk in my office."

He starts the trek, with Sara at his side, towards the security complex.

Up ahead of them Sara and Rane talk.

Sara smiles. "Well?"

Rane frowns. "I don't like them and I can sense the feeling is mutual."

He pauses, somewhat happy about his first impressions on both Jedi. Myabe they'll take the hint... even without Sara playing along he thinks to himself, hesitating. It's best for her he reassures himself. She doesn't need another broken heart...

"You told them I was a Sith," he continues.

"I told them you used to be a Sith," Sara corrects.

"That's just as bad. To Jedi Sith are always Sith, not matter what bullshit they feed you about 'redemption'."

Sara smiles faintly. "Not all Jedi are alike."

Rane looks over at her briefly. "You're the only one I've meet so far who's different. All the others are just the same." A sigh. "But maybe it's just because you know me better than anyone else ever will... I don't let people get close at all. You were the first person I shared all my secrets with and I'm pretty sure you'll be the only to know about the adventuruos life of Rane Soral." He chuckles, then another frown. "It's just I still have those trust issue hang ups."

A somber look comes across her face. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

Rane smiles, trying to avoid that conversation. "Plus you're too brainwashed by my dashing good looks and charm to care."

She hits him playfully, laughing. "Ah, you wish. So over you."

He grins wickedly. "Don't think you can lie to me, Sara."

Sara blushes and looks away from him. "Who says I'm lying?" she asks denfensively.

He points to her cheeks. "That little blush of yours."

Don't know if they have Bibles in Star Wars... but hell, no one escapes the Gideons. 
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Rane senses Yi'shar's thoughts and looks at him, hiding his true emotions. "When did Noah build the ark, Yi'shar?" He smiles. "Before the rain. Before."

Sara glances back at Yi'shar and Vector, shurgging, before her attention is quickly pulled back to Rane. He begins to walk down a hall lined with soldiers on each side. "Down here."

They all walk into a very large office, the doors closing behind them. Rane motions to some chairs. "Take a seat and we'll talk."

Sara sits down on the sofa, looking around. "Nice place you got here, Rane." She leans back, looking at him. "Certainly have moved up in the world." She smiles.

lol I think they're still trying to figure out who's turn to talk it is. Sion says it's Cratus's and Cratus says it's Sion's.
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Rane sits down next to Sara. "After four years of being an ex-Sith... I'm used to it. Jedi come in here all the time." A somber look, and for a moment his emotions are clear. Then it's all gone... before anyone can pass his walls.

He looks over at Vector. "Jedi Knight Cratus?"

After sending out the fake transponder readings, the Score's Eagle lands on Tatooine. Cratus returns to the cockpit. "Now, the plan is as follows: Atrox, you will find the Jedi here. Do it discretely, and tell me if you locate any masters through the watch radio, as I feel our telepathy is underdeveloped. Jester, you shall try to locate a Republic Pilot who lives here. He is supposedly very unloyal to the Republic due to their failure to help his home planet of Parmic. He owns the loyalty of many other Republic Soldiers as well. Do not use the fore to persuade him to our cause, as false loyalty is not what I require. I myself shall seek the ancient holocrons hidden in the Dune Sea with my Padawan. Shi'Ki shall stay here with younglings. Now, disperse." Cratus said and left with Zhoe to the Dune Sea.

It's really long. Be prepared.
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Rane lets out a slow breath. "We have Force users coming through here all the time. Jedi, Sith, Yakaz; you name 'em, I've seen 'em. We rarely have problems though. Zoist's strict justice system and my men keep even the Sith quiet. But I remember-" he trails off, closing his eyes.

Sara glances over at Vector then looks back at Rane as he suddenly opens his eyes, standing. He walks over to his desk, pressing a comm button. "Arae, I need those files I told you to hold on my desk ASAP."

A woman's voice comes over the comm: "You mean the ones on burn notice?"

"Those are the ones," Rane replies.

"Right away, Rane," comes the voice again.

Rane remains by his desk, looking back at the group and rubbing the nap of his neck. "Cratus was here not too long ago. His walls were easy to penetrate but it was nothing interesting... at first. After a while he started broadcasting his 'master plan' to every damn Force user on this planet and probably the next."

"Trying to draw followers more than likely," Sara adds. "Or daring someone to oppose him."

Rane smiles, lowering his hand, "Exactly." He hesitates. "I thought about killing him; knew I could, that I should... but someone like me can't just kill at will. I mean imagine that: 'Zoist Security Commander kills Sith and cronies'." He sighs. "World like that gets around in all sorts of nooks and crannies. And with my past... I don't want any of it coming back to get me. It would have dire consequences and not just for me."

He comes and sits back down next to Sara. "I let him go," he smiles, "but I put a tracking device on his ship. Unfortunetly he dumped the ship a few planets later."

"He knew he could have a tailer. Cratus wasn't- isn't- dumb," Sara inserts.

Rane looks at her, another more-than-friendly smile coming across his face. He turns his attention back to Vector only to have his next words interrupted as a beautiful young woman comes into the office with a few datapads.

Rane stands to greet her, politely taking the datapads from her and placing them on the table which was in front of the sofa. He looks back at her and says something in an alien languauge, smiling.

The woman blushes faintly, smiling, before replying amd quickly leaving. The doors of the office close behind her.

At the woman's blush Sara's emotions flare and for a quick moment her walls don't hide anything from anyone.

Rane faces her as the woman leaves, smiling warmly. "So you do still love me, don't you, Sara?" he asks through the Force, blocking their conversation from Vector and Yi'shar. "The Jedi couldn't break you, could they? Couldn't make your love for me disappear. Sure they weakened it, but it is still there none the less..."

Sara didn't know what to say. She didn't dare blush.

He chuckled to himself, reading her thoughts before she mustered what she needed to answer him. Do not worry about her or anyone else, mi karta... he replies, sitting back down beside her. "You have and will always be the only one for me."

Sara can't help it this time. She looks away before anyone can see her blushing.

Rane smiles to himself and picks up a datapad, looking secretly over at Vector. He wonders to himself just what she feels for the Jedi and what he feels for her in return. She he could read at least to some extent. He taught her how to build her surface walls so he easily passed them. Her surface thoughts and emotions were clear and he didn't like the facts. What scared him more is what may lie deeper.

Vector was a different story. Although some of his thoughts were readable he was careful not to let his guard down. He hid behind more walls than Sara. Then suddenly he understood. He felt it... a pulse. He has been touched, tainted by the darkside.

It wasn't much now but he could tell when it first tried to dig its claws into him it had been strong... very, very strong. And its call could be again. Just being in the Jedi's presence brought shivers down Rane's spine. The darkside still had its affects on him every now and then and being in his presence brought back desires.

Rane made himself focus. He knew what this little rogue Jedi group was getting into more than they did... and if Vector wasn't careful that one ember could start an unstoppable fire.

He couldn't let Sara go with them alone. It was asking for trouble. Sara had her own ember that Corlas had tried to put out long ago... but had failed as did the ones at the Academy. It flickered every now and then, the only thing keeping her in the light was knowing that he would have hated to see her fall. Should she become exposed to a massive amount of dark energy though that wouldn't help her any.

Rane smiles to himself. He had a plan.

"You can go to the planet where he dumped his old ship. Going there will help you catch his scent better than almost anything else," he continues from where he last left off.

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"mi karta" is Mando'a for "my heart" or when used as a term of endearment it means "my love".

Thanks. ^_^
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Rane clasps his hands together. "When he came here I knew right off he was a Sith. You can tell it all by the way they walk, talk, act, everything. He caused... some serious problems for me. I lost over twenty men in one day because he said he was in a 'bad mood'. Now mind you all my men know how to deal with Sith. We've seen more than our share of battles. Trust me when I say his bite is much bigger than his bark."

He sighs. "Cratus had much bigger plans. He tried to hide them from me at least... but it didn't work." He looks up at Vector. "You don't know what you're getting into here."

Rane smiles, hiding his true emotions. "Sure thing. Come back to me when you're ready to leave. I'll hook you up."

He stands and so does Sara.

Sara nods. "Hey, I'm a Jedi too you know. Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I can't kick ass or protect myself. Ask Rane if you don't believe me." She smiles. "I'm coming. Plus, there's no way anyone else is flying my ship... and trust me, you'll be needing her."