(OOC: I am really trying to improve my writing so feedback very welcome.  Comments and criticisms greatly appreciated.)

Part I - It Begins

"You're not having second thoughts again are you?"  Taylisha called out from the bedroom.  Arturus was standing over the last of the baggage to be put aboard the ship.  He had been standing there in deep thought for about five minutes pondering whether or not to go through with what they had planned.

"No."  He replied softly after a minute.  "It's about time I did this and I am glad I have someone like you to take along."  He continued turning towards Taylisha who was standing in the doorway.  There was a bit of an awkward silence that was quickly disturbed by Art's comm.

"I hope you aren't going to answer your calls while we're away."  Taylisha moaned as Art picked up.  Arturus was a man who was truly dedicated to his work.  Dedicated perhaps was not even strong enough to describe it.  Addicted was probably not an entirely inaccurate term to describe Art's utter devotion to his work and what many would consider a strange love of it.  Throughout his life he had always keep long hours working and when he wasn't working he spent time thinking and reading.  Given the fact that he spent so much time absorbed in these activities it sometimes seemed odd that Taylisha remained so committed to him.

"As of now I am no longer on call as long as we are away."  Arturus said light-heartedly after hanging up.  "Shazam has given me longer than I had expected so we might even have time for a little vacation getaway before returning."  He said with a coy smile.  Taylisha smiled back but didn't say anything.  Both knew that such vacations had been few and far between and Taylisha was not going to get her hopes up yet.  Arturus was a wealthy man who loved the expensive lifestyle his personal finances could provide but he rarely had an opportunity to provide it for Taylisha given the demands of their jobs.

Arturus reached down and slipped his pistol into his shoulder holster that he was wearing under his sport jacket.  After grabbing the other pistol that he had cleaned and loaded, Arturus ordered one of his droids to have the rest of the gear brought down to the ship.  Since they would be travelling all over the galaxy Arturus decided that for their safety and ease of travel that a more expensive and elaborate ship would create too many problems.  As a result, he had bought a YT-2000 specifically for this trip.  It had been modified for a larger bedroom at the expense of some of the cargo area but even Taylisha couldn't fill the cargo hold with all of her things.

The two made their way out of Art's room and headed for the hanger.  Ever the caffeine addicted, Arturus insisted they stop to pick up a coffee to go.  Taylisha had been trying to reduce his coffee intake to the level that she consumed but he had only half-heartedly tried.  It had become more of a joke than anything among them.  Romance can change people but even that was not a powerful enough force to completely overhaul a person entirely.  Since meeting Taylisha, Arturus had become more open and even slightly more emotional at points  at least in terms of open emotion  which given his former demeanour was quite a remarkable change indeed.  When Taylisha had met him, she had encountered an angry man who had nothing but contempt for most beings.  Since then, Arturus had mellowed although his natural distrust of everyone except those he deemed to be his true friends had never vanished completely nor was it ever likely to.

Fifteen minutes later and Art and Taylisha were making the last minute preparations in the hanger to depart.  The odour within the ship hit them instantly as they climbed the ramp.  Everything about the ship was brand new and the smell inside was a powerful combination of cleaners, oil, and fresh grease.  On the outside, Art had taken to make the ship appear older and more worn than it was.  He had made scorch marks with a blaster that he had lowered the power on and there were grease marks, small dents, and other markings of an older craft visible.  While he wanted something new for his collection, given the circumstances he had opted for a more modest ship but his sense of taste demanded that it be a new one.  Marking up the outside was worth it to him in order to have the enjoyment of the brand new ship inside.

"Why don't you take a look at the bedroom while I do the pre-flight checks?"  Arturus called out.  He placed the two bags he was carrying down on the floor next to the controls for the ramp and made his way towards the cockpit.  Passing the small lounge area he spotted their other bags placed down neatly with two compact assault rifles, two smaller blasters, and three cases of ammunition sitting near the front.  He picked up the two blasters and a case of ammunition and brought them with him towards the cockpit.  Just before entering, he flipped open a small fake panel near the door and typed in a three digit code.  A quiet beep followed a second later as a larger panel opened on the other side.  He slipped the two weapons into the gun rack and emptied a third of the ammunition case, placing the cartridges alongside the weapons.  The rest of the ammunition he placed beside some of the emergency supplies in the small cockpit closet that contained tools, backup computer software, and some other small devices that could be useful in a time of need.

The ship roared to life as Art engaged the systems.  A quick system check-up showed everything was in order  he wouldn't have expected otherwise in a new ship.  Satisfied, he made his way back to see if everything was set.  Art bumped into Taylisha just as he was passing the lounge.  "So?"  He asked in regards to the bedroom.

"It's enormous for a ship this size.  How much of the cargo space was cut out?"  Taylisha demanded in her usual rational tone.  Both of them were the perfect match for each other in so many ways.  Calculating and rational to a fault and both failing to express too much emotion, neither of them would have ever been happy with anyone else.  Getting pleasure out of being with such a person would seem like a chore for most but for the two of them it was perfect.  Life wasn't about pure romance and emotion although these two things were not at all completely shunned.  Life was about rational decisions made on calculations based upon fundamental principles they held and the best knowledge and facts available.  Emotion was secondary in all regards.  This wasn't to say that both acted like robots.  Both were capable of emotional outbursts of sadness and anger but on the whole both believe in the fundamental importance of reason as the prime force in life.  They enjoyed life this way and both were reasonable successful at what they did.  Arturus was a decent pilot and a great tactician while Taylisha, who had just been promoted to Lieutenant Commander, was an effective member of the tactics and operations team onboard the ship.

"About a quarter was eliminated.  However, it is very unlikely that we will need even a third of the cargo space on board this ship and beside&"  Arturus said with a coy smile on his face, "some of these trips between planets are long.  We need to have somewhere to be."  Arturus may have been a cold calculating person but he also did have a bit of a romantic side.  Taylisha smiled back and kissed him.

"Alright Corran, get us underway and get back quick.  How long until we reach Corellia?"  She asked.

"About fifteen hours."  He replied on his way back towards the cockpit.

"Well get back fast then or we won't have enough time."  She urged playfully.

"We never do."  Arturus said with a smile and a laugh before turning to head for the cockpit.  The journey they were to undertake was going to be a very stressful and emotional one in many ways.  As far as Arturus was concerned, he may as well try and enjoy the time before it as much as possible  and being in bed with Taylisha was always enjoyable  as once they arrived in Corellia he had no idea what stress this journey would bring.

For months now, Taylisha had been pestering Art to take a leave, even on medical reasons.  He had never been able to remember his past but over the past few months Art had begun to relive his past in his dreams.  The dreams always seemed to be in the form of riddles and clues; often they were gruesome and haunting leaving Art unusually distressed and troubled at times.  The fact that he was distressed or troubled at all, at least publicly, was unusual which showed the extent to which this was affecting him.  Having grown tired of seeing her partner distressed  and certainly be jolted awake in the middle of night at points due to his unrest or screams in his sleep  Taylisha wanted to help Art solve the riddle, find his past, and end what had been troubling him.  For a long time, Art had resisted but finally, after the last dream in which he saw a decapitated head that had been chopped in half change faces and move he decided that enough was enough and that he finally had to put the issue to rest.

Planning was difficult.  Neither of them knew where it would ultimately lead and so much of the voyage was to be unscripted.  Anything that was outside of strategy or combat and wasn't scripted concerned both of them.  Both Art and Taylisha planned long in advance and tried to script much of their life where they could.  All they knew was that Corellia should be the starting point as Art had lived there until his seventeenth birthday.  Going back to his parent's old business they were hoping that something might remind him of where to go next.  If not then it was to the computers to trace departures from the planet around the time in which he would have departed assuming that he did indeed leave.  Art remember leaving but given that he couldn't remember anything else, he didn't place full faith in his memory that he did leave immediately.  At this point proof of everything was needed in order to convince him.  However, the sceptic in him created the possibility that he might never believe anything he found out.  Nevertheless, it was worth a try and if successful it would benefit both of them in the long run.

The all clear signal came quickly and within seconds the YT-2000 freighter had lifted off and headed towards the exit.  Five minutes later Arturus launched the ship into hyperspace and gave a long sigh as he engaged in a little bit of self reflection.  They were off on the voyage now; there was no backing out of it now.  He was about to confront what had been bothering him  the thought filled him with nervous anticipation and fear.  He had no idea what he was about to discover but he knew that he had put off facing it long enough.  The time of truth was arriving at last.


-----------------------
WAJ/ESN Corran "Arturus" Hargraves/M-SSD Atrus/VE/VEN/(=A=)(=SA=)(=*MA*=)(=JCPA=)(=SCPA=)[MC:1](x2)[SV][BRC][VC:B][LSM][LoC]


"The way of war is a way of deception. When able, feign inability; when deploying troops, appear not to be. When near, appear far; when far, appear near. Lure with bait; strike with chaos. If the enemy is full, be prepared. If strong, avoid him. If he is angry, disconcert him. If he is weak, stir him to pride. If he is relaxed, harry him; if his men are harmonious, split them. Attack where he is unprepared; appear where you are unexpected. This is victory in warfare; it cannot be divulged in advance. Victory belongs to the side that scores most in the temple calculations before battle. Most spells victory; least spells defeat; none, surer defeat. I see it in this way, and the outcome is apparent." -- Sun Tzu

"Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting." -- Sun Tzu