He had seen the Duchess on the holonet feed in Ruby's restaurant in the Coruscant under levels, and it had given him an idea - not to mention that the woman was beautiful, which in his mind justified existence in itself. What was the Force, if not beauty? What was the intricate velocity of a Makashi training routine, what was disemboweling that unworthy peon that he had just humbled, if not beauty? He shook his head as the thought began to run with a mind of its own almost.

He missed her, even though he had never met her. He wondered as he climbed up the ladder that he would kick off in a few minutes once he was ready for take off, after "Toad" had finished the preparations. The stores were loaded, the coordinates and route calculated. Coruscant air control had already approved his takeoff vector, and customs had already been bought so that they would soon erase any record of his having been on Coruscant. The Calipsa family did have a certain amount of connections, after all. He heard "Toad" chirping that the loading machine had dropped the purple plated droid into his socket, and that he was loaded up and ready to go. Tarodal reached over with a gloved hand, and pushed the ladder off so that it clattered to the ground, as he pressed the key that brought the canopy of the cockpit down, pressurizing the cabin as he keyed up the pre flight checks that were done from the controls.

"You ready Toad?" There was an affirmative beep in reply, as Tarodal pulled the helmet down on his head, flicked down the visors that protected his eyes from the harsh light that came with flying around the skyscrapers of Coruscant, and the Y Wing lifted up and was on its way, destination known, purpose?

That hung in the balance, as things often do.

Added (17 Feb 2010, 7:02 Pm)
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One week prior to the events of Murder Is Just A Word

"So what is it you're really after Tarodal? You're the best bodyguard the family has ever had, which is why I've approved you asking for so much time off...You know, if you just married my daughter, you wouldn't have to ask for time off..."

"I really am sorry, I can't curse any woman with the wander I've got in my blood. Soon enough it will be time for me to leave the sector, and keep moving."

"You say wander like you're not really on some mission..You've got that look about you, kid, you're about something big..but what? I don't know."

"I'd say you're more astute than most, Juark. But you know I like to keep to myself."

"I know, considering my daughter cries herself to sleep every night because you won't marry her."

"I haven't given her the wrong idea, have I m'lord? I've done the job I have because I care about your family..but it isn't, hasn't been romantic...."

"I think she'd be happier if you did give her the wrong idea, so she could at least pretend." The older man sighed. "So where are you going from here?"

"First to Coruscant on that errand you asked me to run. I'll have some business there I think as well, and then from there? I'm not sure. But I will return to Tapani when I am needed again, should you summon me."

"I know..and I'll try to use that sparingly. The attempts have decreased exponentially since we got admitted into the Republic Senate as a sector, and well, since you've been here. Assassins aren't quite so ready to fail it seems. Can I ask you a personal question, Tarodal?"

"Of course, m'lord."

"Who broke your heart?"

He pauses for a few long moments, before looking at Lord Calipsa for what seems like minutes that are really only awkward seconds, it as if he's trying to decide how much of Tes'dra to reveal to the man that has been his employer, friend and confidante for the last few months. "She died, sir...."

Now.

He was sprawled out somewhat in the spacious, well, more than usual sized, and actually present storage / supply compartment on the modified Y Wing that allowed for what passed as a sleeping arrangement, "Toad" was in control of supervising the Y Wing's circuitous route through the various hyperspace routes that mingled to make up a path to Kalevala, he had a blue and brown woven blanket over his form, his head smushed comfortably against his arm as he laid there staring at the panel next to his face, wondering why he wasn't able to sleep. He had an ear piece on, patching him to the purple plated droid.

"Toad?"

Mischevious chirp.

"Just checking." He rolled over, and closed his eyes again, knowing that if he was going to first navigate the space lanes that would very quickly become dangerous, but he knew that the Force would come to him with answers were he to encounter a roving Imperial, Republic or Mandalorian patrol. He didn't doubt his ability to navigate difficult situations, but the answers would come when he needed them. It came with living in the now. He knew deep in his soul, that everything he did, had to, just had to lead towards his ultimate goal; but he knew that his most immidiate plans came from the promptings he had learned to just follow, starting as just a child what felt like so many years ago to him.

He hoped that Herak, formerly Cobra, would be soon leaving the hospital's care and making arrangements to travel to an Imperial world. He didn't expect great things from the minorly gifted individual, but it hadn't been in the cards for him to end that life....yet. Much was yet to be seen in the story, that would hopefully, have Herak as a valued and trusted subordinate and student...if not? Well...Things are what they are.

Added (20 Feb 2010, 6:51 Am)
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He was sitting once more at the controls of his Y-Wing after a refueling stop at a space station along the route, he had a personal holopad in front of him, holding it like a handheld game console as he let Toad continue to monitor their progress towards Kalevala. It had on its display screen an image of the Duchess from one of the public broadcasts, and as he filtered through several of the feeds he had downloaded at the last space station, some of the Republic Senate discussions that happened to be public record. His face was expressionless as he watched the woman speaking - he had muted the recording, instead wanting to focus on how the woman held herself, her body language. He had found in his travels, that a person's bearing said more about them than what they said, actions speak louder than words.

She reminded him of someone that he'd been trying to forget for a decade.

Brought up as a warrior, he could sympathize with the Mandalorians, and had indeed in the past crossed paths with several of them and had always liked them. He appreciated that with a warrior of the old ways, there was very little deception - perhaps misdirection while in combat, but you knew what he was about - and you knew that if you crossed his ideals, there would be war. It was a simpler way of life, one that led to less difficult decisions, if at the expense of more violence. Peace, diplomacy, negotiations, alliances - these things are many shades of gray.

He took off the mute, and the audio came back on. The Duchesses' words, "I will visit the homeworld of Mandalore, alone and unprotected."

"So I wonder where you're going to be when I arrive. What is our ETA anyways, Toad?"

A series of chirps garbled over the intercom in reply.

"Got it." He set the holopad down and rubbed his hands across his face, wiping some of the sleep away. This was going to require some detective work, perhaps if the Duchess wasn't on Kalevala.

"I'm going to drop us back into subspace, Toad, I've got to connect to the holonet and do some research. Be ready to full power the engines if we drop somewhere exciting."

There were some agitated beeps.

"I know, I know, I'm not the one outside with the laser fire." He laughed. He pulled on his flight headset, sliding a visor down in front of his face in preparation for the brightness that accompanied dropping from hyperspace. He keyed in several commands on the control pad to his right as he took hold of the yoke with his left, and there was a resounding whir from his engines as he reentered subspace.

"Get the sensors going Toad." A hint of urgency in his voice, alone and in a Y Wing not designed for combat, they had to be extra vigilant. This was a lesson they had only to encounter once, before making it the rule.

A chatter of beeping garbled again over the intercom.

"I'm connecting to the holonet now." He said, as he watched the bars float back and forth across the screen of his HUD as the Y Wing's transceiver searched for, found and connected to the nearest holonet connection point. He brought up a search engine, keyed in "Kalevala", "Duchess" and "official travel", submitted it and then waited again as the remote holonet connection was after all, rather slow.

.....
.....
.....
.....
0 Matches for your search.

"So if you've gone somewhere, the press doesn't know. Or you just haven't gone anywhere. Well..Hmm.." As he began to key in another command amidst Toad's irritated chirping on the intercom.

"Yes, I'll hurry, even if droids can't get post traumatic stress disorder."

More beeps.

Search
"Duchess", "Palace", "Maps" "Kalevala", "spaceports"

.....
.....
.....
.....

Added (21 Feb 2010, 3:33 Am)
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A couple of things popped up on his latest search for information about Kalevala via the holonet uplink his Y Wing had established after dropping out of hyperspace. He scratched the bit of stubble that was growing on his chin with an idle hand as he watched what claimed to be a 'Mandalorian Death Watch Overlord' promise some kind of oblivion styled war. He hit replay on it another few times, muting the audio as he just watched the warrior woman speak. He was beginning to think there was something in the water of Mandalore, or whatever worlds these warriors came from - first the Duchess, and now this Overlord.

All very easy on the eyes.

"Hmmm.." He mused quietly, before Toad beeped several times over the intercom jolting him from what had turned into an idle daydream.

"Almost done my purple plated partner." He had a smile on his face, his aunt would have appreciated the alliteration.

This wasn't the life she had wanted for him, after all.

Well, we'll save you for later Ca'tra Odai. He thought as he keyed in a command to save the broadcast to the Y Wing's hard drive for later review, as he was thinking that someday he may need to locate this woman and dispose of her. Or maybe this was the path he would need to take rather than the Duchess, to establish a foothold in this sector of space. Who knew? He wasn't sure yet, as always, the will of the Force isn't always clear or easy to decipher, even for the skilled.

The next hit on the search was a tourists's map of Kalevala, with large attractions detailed and blurbed for the ease of a tourist. Spaceports, hotels, government buildings. He took a cursory glance at it, before saving it as well to the Y-Wing's hard drive so he'd be able to view it while back in hyperspace. He spoke into his headset.

"Toad, do you have the jump coordinates ready?"

Indignant beep.

"Alright." He keyed in several commands on his console, before he felt Toad active that hyperdrive and off they went.

Added (21 Feb 2010, 4:52 Pm)
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In the Tapani sector, they were referred to as 'Saber Rakes'. Young nobles with a penchant for hacking each other to pieces with their amateurish 'lightfoils'. He knew from his own education and training, that a Sith faction had once made the particular weapon just for use with Makashi, but he also knew that the light foils produced currently by the Tapani infatuated with them were of lesser caliber than any lightsaber made by a trained Jedi or Sith, they were suitable for hacking another light foil, but not much else, ie blaster bolts, true lightsabers, etc. He had seen several Tapani nobles with them, even his charge, Jind'al carried one, she didn't use it, but it was more for fashion than anything else. From the history he knew, and his own experience crafting his personal lightsaber, he reasoned that he could make a light foil, one that would be superior to the ones currently used, and it would be able to function as a lightsaber, if far narrower than his current green bladed lightsaber. It would serve the function of appearing to be more Tapani himself, and allow him to openly carry a lightsaber equivalent weapon and save him the risk of his being discovered on his person and revealing his talents. So, this would be something to begin construction of on the planet Kalevala, he would need to visit several different locations and see what components he could gather here.

Toad chirped several times to let him know they were dropping out of hyperspace finally, near Kalevala's orbit.

"Go ahead and transmit that message I prepared for the Tapani senator."

There was a beep or two.

"Well, you can just give yourself an oil bath on your own then."

A remorseful beep.

"That's a good droid." As the console in front of Tarodal indicated that the message had been transmitted to the Senator's public in box, considering that as a Tapani citizen, Tarodal would have access to such an address.

Toad beeped again several times excitedly as the droid connected the communications it had just received from Kalevalan flight control.

Cackling with static in the ear of his headset,

"Pilot of an unidentified Y Wing, switch to frequency one one one niner and identify, over."

Tarodal turned the dial on his console to comply with the instruction.

"Transmitting you my transponder info currently, over." He keyed in another command.

"Received and acknowledged, Mr. Navlon. You are directed to take incoming vector three three eight, do you copy."

"Vector three three eight, copy."

"Cleared for entry, over." And the transmission channel quieted down as Tarodal took hold of the yoke of his Y Wing and began to guide the craft to the correct nav points for the entry vector he had been given. They landed in a public spaceport, with the custom's officer and his protocol droid approaching the Y Wing as Tarodal popped up the canopy.

"30 credits a day to stay here, sir." The short, burly custom's officer toned as Tarodal was sliding down the ladder now propped against the side of his Y Wing.

"Toad, pay the man." Tarodal said with a gregarious smile on his face, as the a lifting machine took Toad out of his slot behind the cockpit of the Y-Wing. The droid beeped and chimed, and produced a credit chip from its inards with a grabbing tool, and rolled over and extended it to the custom's officer.

"So where's the best place to stay around these parts, Mr...?" He asked, glancing to the man's badge. "Mr. Hav'ri."

"There's a hotel down the street from here that isn't bad..but if you've got the credits, there's the Duke Hotel."

"Which way is that?" Tarodal asked, as he unzipped the top part of his dark blue flightsuit, glancing back to the man after a moment, as the white t shirt he wore under the flightsuit was visible, giving him some air, he found it a bit warm in the spaceport. The custom's officer pointed, indicating the way and then after instructing Toad to 'guard the ship', off he went.

Added (25 Feb 2010, 3:41 Am)
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The announcement on the holonet screen in his hotel room on Kalevala within the capital city made him laugh out loud - almost. He wasn't one prone to responding to stimuli like that when alone, but it did make him consider Eriadu in his future plans. Perhaps an academy, to train Force sensitive agents? Or perhaps an assassination mission against this Johannse fellow? He shook his head as he let the thought run tangent to his present objectives for a few more moments. He wasn't a fan of self gratification, but perhaps the time would come when it was expedient to deal with those opposed to the way.

On the table at several boxes from several different stores within the capital city's limits, various mechanical devices and components that he would deliver back to Toad and the Y Wing when he had a chance for future use in constructing a lightfoil, when he had located a satisfactory focusing gem for the weapon. He was after all, intending to build a lightsaber in disguise. He breathed out a big sigh as he got up from where he was sitting, and went and stood by the table, leaning forward and pressing his palms down on the table top as he looked over the various boxes for a few moments, letting himself have a few idle moments of not wanting to get up and go. On his various travels he often saw people who were living mundane, regular lives. A daily task. A wife. Children. Friends. These were things that he knew of, understood, and sometimes desired; but it was not in his destiny. He was on a sacred task, a charge given to his family, passed down over generations. The great evil was coming, the end of the Force, and he had been taught since he was a child to prepare the galaxy to defend itself. His personal life was forfeit, compared to the scope of what he had to do.

He wasn't going to be able to disguise himself as a Mandalorian here on this world, there was a language barrier and the matter of him not having any armor. It wouldn't suit him either to disguise himself as a New Mandalorian, because he wasn't from here either and didn't have enough intimate knowledge of their ways to be believable, and well, any Mandalorian wouldn't go walking up to the Kalevala palace, wanting an audience with the Duchess. It was public knowledge that the New Republic and Kalevala were in negotiations over a treaty, but that ruled out pretending to be a NR representative, because surely the involved diplomats would be around, and already known to the Kalevalans. Perhaps a Jedi persona this time? If it became an incident, it would draw more attention to his trail, with another 'false jedi' in the news. No, perhaps it was best to simply be himself? Or rather, to be Marlin.