Tarakus Deadmerit: Time Frame/CH. 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Royal Palace, Slokana, Tristchana

Harlan paced in his office, while his Secretary of War and his Secretary of Defense sat in chairs in front of Harlan's desk. "Ok, Gentlemen, I have a question for you. What could happen, if Moorshavin followed through with his invasion, and he did actually stage for a Sith Takeover of that galaxy?" "Well, The Sith would have quite a unique position, occupying the galaxy, with opportunities to strike ours within a matter of days or weeks. Right now, it just looks like Warbird is just moving his ships through the Gamma Turae System, to gloat at your brother, for missing out on the action." The Secretary of War replied. "Ok, What about the fate of the Jedi?" "Up in the air, at this point. There's a distinct possibility that Moorshavin could send the Jedi into exile, before they have a chance to go to action." The Secretary of Defense answered. "Well, that's very bad news." Harlan said, picking his head up. He walked over to his chair and sat down, a deep concern written on his face. In the Force, he could sense a lot of apprehension between the two officers. "Indeed it is, Your Highness. There is a very high risk of invasion, if they do come back." "Inform the Ordinance High Defense Council, as soon as you can. That will be all."

- - - - - - Tepagastra Sandman en route to Lorrd

As Tarakus continued to study the map on his datapad, Mirandall sat near Piastall, with a slight worry in his tone. "I think this search for his wife is driving him beyond obssession. If he keeps this up, he'll be on the dark side, before we know it." "Thanks for that warning, Mirandall. I'll take that into consideration, and bring it up the next time I speak to him." A brush of relief crept up onto Mirandall's face, as he gave Piastall a small smile. "Thanks, Piastall. I knew you'd listen." Mirandall said, patting Piastall on the shoulder. Piastall shook his head and sighed, when Mirandall walked past, and looked down. "I don't know, Tarakus. That kid's got some bravado, thinking you're going dark." "Thanks for your concern, Piastall. That's reassuring." Tarakus said, with a lot of dry humor hinted in his voice. "Boy, you'd think that humor of yours would hit you like a ton of durasteel." "I'm so flattered." Tarakus said, keeping his focus mainly on the map. "If Terephon is the last stop, where else would we go?" He asked, pulling the datapad away from his face, a confused expression entering his face. "That's where you got me, Tarakus. I really couldn't tell you." Piastall said, tilting his head to the side a little. ''Wow. That came out of nowhere.'' He thought. What seems to be on his mind, lately? Tarakus turned to Piastall. "Something doesn't quite add up. If we discovered that crystal in her apartment, and it was supposed to be the last clue, why did that other relic point us to her apartment, if that's where we were supposed to go, second to last?  It doesn't quite make sense to me." "Your wife's logic is quite sound, but you do have a point there. Why didn't she send us to Lorrd in the first place?" Tarakus shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Lately, I think that execution was starting to sound good to me. This is a wild bantha chase." "Yeah. I hear you.  At least we don't have any kriffin' sandscales after us with nasty ambitions and rotten dreams." Tarakus let out a little sigh, and said, "Yeah. Agreed."