The Knave's Crusade

Beguile: 19

Krekor pulled back the levers and pressed buttons as the Guardian soared through the emptiness of the galaxy, Vass steered the ship. Yarla hummed to herself with Raeth seated next to her as he cleaned his blaster. Alta was bent over some droid parts trying to fix it. There was one empty seat by Alta, it was untouched but not forgotten.

Vass commed to Sheb'ika, "I might have some information for you, Sheb'ika. We gathered intel about Bankole and the others being spotted on Coruscant."

"Do you know where?" snidely said Sheb'ika.

Vass laughed loudly, "No, the whole planet is a city with too many layers. It would be a miracle if I knew where, however we do know they were last seen on the top twenty layers."

"Excellent, we will be there in due time. We will meet at base on Coruscant," reported Sheb'ika before he disconnected.

Raeth nearly leapt from his place. "Ooooohhhhh! We get to go to Coruscant!"

"I hate that place. It smells like pollution and waste," mumbled Krekor, his brows furrowed.

"You always have to ruin the fun, Krekor." complained Raeth, "Are you excited, Yarla?"

"Over the moon. It's been awhile," contemplated Yarla as she leaned back.

Vass announced with a smile blooming, "We should be there soon. It's a miracle that we haven't died yet."

"It's one time that I nearly flew the Guardian into a sun. Plus, steering is different from pressing buttons," Krekor defensively remarked.

A lazy smile appeared on Vass' face, soon a faint laughter filled the Guardian, and they were gone.

---

A few weeks have passed since Tels became a Captain again, Kulan was a Lieutenant, and Pascal was, well, Agent Bankole. Don't worry, the Tempest was left in charge of babysitting Frank. The three worked together to create elaborate lies about why they were gone for so long. They chalked it up to being lost in the large galaxy without any credits which was sufficient for now. Amidst the chaos in Coruscant's Imperial Headquarters, as the Tempest had said they were invited to a dinner party, one that was held in the former Jedi Temple.

In their private room Tels and Pascal were seated at a table, Kulan was off visiting his brother. There was a tranquil silence that filled the air, the purr of the air cooling system blended into the tapping of Tels' hands. She quickly drew with her finger across the tablet screen, trying to replicate an engine of a freighter. Across from Tels was Pascal who was reading some reports.

"I don't think that I can do it," Pascal quietly admitted to Tels.

Tels looked up from her work, she met Pascal's hazel eyes. "What do you mean?"

"The Jedi Temple."

"I will be there with you the whole time and I won't leave you," Tells offered calmly, she began to reach across the table for Pascal.

"I know if I don't go the Empire will become suspicious," stated Pascal, her voice rough like gravel. Pascal met Tels' hand in the middle and hung onto her, their fingers interlace, their heart beat as one.

Tels gently said, "We'll take this one step at a time. If it makes you feel better, Kulan will be there, too. He can be a buffer for you against the other guests."

"Great, I can have Kulan protect me from the hoards of sentient beings there. I heard there would be about three hundred attending," sarcastically snapped Pascal, her usual fierceness returning to her eyes.

Tels squeezed Pascal's hand. "As I said you won't be alone. We'll be there with you, Pascal."

"I know. We should start going now since dinner is in a few hours," suggested Pascal as she stood up and let go of Tels.