Here y'ar, lord vadar.



Chapter Sixteen: Escape From The Esx



"Okay, let's do it." Tymen sounded first, followed by similarly concuring statements from the others.

"Excellent." Seraph smiled, then activated her wrist comm.

"Ducky, how are the repairs comming?" She asked, trusting she was somewhere near the cockpit.

"Okay, I guess," she replied through mountians os static and her own reGrow mechanical voice,

"They already took out all the old cores, and are bringing the new ones in. They're repairing the turrets, and are going to repair the blaster damage."

"Estimated time?" The captian asked coldly.

"They say about two hours." Ducky stated.

"Good, keep us posted." Seraph deactivated the comm. and looked up to the others.

"Guys, we've got two hours to burn." Seraph turned to them, awaiting a solution. They all shrugged in unison.

"Fine, everyone, go do something, but we meet back here in 200 hours, understood?"

"Aye!" They all saluted, and then dispersed.

"I'm gonna go be a street urchin, anyone wanna come?" BlackSheep asked, and Juiso walked up beside her.

"Street urchin, tell me more." They walked into the writhing crowd in the streets.

"I'm getting something to eat." Tyio stated, and began walking off, and Seraph ran and caught up with him.

This left Tymen, Kovu and Louie still standing outside the mapreader's shop.

Then they all leered at one another, and crept into the innards of the city.



In her large mechanical body, Ducky lumbered around the Penultimate, watching the nimble Tuberans repair the ship, mumbling things about antiques. Tuberans where not natural inhabitants of the planet, thease lythe, staticly charged beings moved here (through the good courtesy of the ruling Rabbit Empire) after there planet was destroyed by the Eanstansem in the western quadrant. They where sly, talented people, a intresting tradmark being the use of there static powers to create paintings. Sadly, thirty years earlier there entire existance was threatened during the Rancorian invasion, but thanks to the Diamondians and Medivians, they made it through well enough.

Standing between the two quarters, Ducky issued commands.

"Be careful! Hey, that's high priced leather! DON'T PUT YOUR TOUNGE ON IT!"



"A carrot ale, please...and the soup of the day, light on the 'shrooms." Tyio said, as a large, frothing mug of red liquid was slammed down infront of him.

"An' fer the lass?" A very bulk, tall Tuberan asked.

"A Rigelion SynthAle Carrot Beer, with extra juice...and some fried Diamondian sand fish."

"All right, yer food 'll be with ya in a minute." He placed the mystic fluid of the Rigelion SynthAle Carrot Beer infront of Seraph. Spinning in there stools, Tyio offered a thought,

"Y'know, this place reminds me of the War Tavern..."

"The what?" Seraph asked, sipping the SynthAle.

"The War Tavern. I only went there once, it was on the Emerald Coast...on the other side of the Bourn, that is." Seraph sneered,

"My clans operations never went that far north, except during the attack of Carrotous City but...my father never allowed me to go anywhere..."

"You're father?" Tyio asked, intrigued.

"Yes, my father, Konitus the V," She snickered," may his soul rest in *agony!* If it weren't for that idiot, things would be a lot better off on Carrotous, let me tell you."

"Sure..."



The music blared through the glass city, as BlackSheep and Juiso slunk through it.

"Street Urchin, lesson two, never look before you leap." BlackSheep stated. Suddenly, the two of them where approached by several tall...well, there skin was blue, but they had no fur, and there ears where small and on the sides of there heads.

"Hello, would you happen to know someone by the name of BlackSheep?" He said, with a heavy british accent.

"Well yea...that's me..." BlackSheep wondered, who could be looking for her?

"Well that's good, 'cause I have a present for ya." Suddenly he reeled back and punched her straight in the face, hard, knocking her to the cement. More filed in, and one seeped in from the crowd and, with two large blasters, blasted Juiso into the building behind him.

"The Esx have arrived, mate."



As Tymen, Kovu, and Louie walked through the skyscape of the lofty city of Ranhaften, a red ship sped by, then landed on the outcropping(on the building) they where standing on, and out jumped more of thease furrless beings. Immediatley the tallest of them smacked Tymen across the face, while two others fired a stream of blaster fire at Kovu and Louie, who ducked in a alley between two buildings, glass shattering all the way. The tall one was giving Tymen a hard time. He punched to Tymen's left, but the latter dove right. However, at the last second, all of the cretures energy shifted, and it turned into a left punch. Dazed, Tymen ducked when he saw the creature about to kick him, but at the last moment it somersaulted up and elbowed him in the face. He then drew two wooden sticks, using the same confuse technique with them. Tymen fell over, the menacing Esx preparing to give the final blow, when Tymen activated his comm.

"Seraph, where under attack!" He managed, before blacking out. Tyio looked over at Seraph, wondering what the message could've been, while still eating his soup.

"Forget the meal, Tyio, Tymen is in trouble." Seraph said, tossing the Tuberan some Carrots. As they walked through the crowd, she again picked up her comm.

"BlackSheep, BlackSheep pick up!....Juiso, you there?"

"Yea..."

"What's going on!?"

"Thease furless freaks just knocked out BlackSheep, and there trying to blast me!"

"Where are you at?" Seraph questioned, as they exited the resurant.

"Right below you, love." He stated, before his comm. went out. Seraph looked over the side of the building, see, very faintly, a unconcious BlackSheep. Seraph saw a old Forenma(a race of ostrich like flightless birds) in a hovercycle. With Tyio in suit, she ran over to it, pussing the Forenma off, saying,

"In the name of galactic peace I'm commandering this vessel!" Once both of them where well situated aboard the hovercycle, they flew down, firing blaster bolts at the blue creatures circling BlackSheep.

"Juiso, get over here!" Tyio scooped up BlackSheep, who was becoming concious again, with the Esx detered for a moment.

"Righto!" Juiso ran out of the hole in the building, but not before firing a blast over his should at the Esx he knew was pursuing him. Quickly he climbed on, and, as they flew to where Tymen's comm. had been traced, Seraph called Ducky.

"Ducky! What's the status report?!" She shouted, with the hovercycles engine roaring loudly.

"About half an hour."

"You've got ten minutes, we've got bogies comming in!"



Up next, Chapter Seventeen: Revelations