Chapter 9
"I hope you realize," Sparrow said, "that this, as with everything else we possibly can, is your personal choice. The transformation is too risky to force anyone into it unless there is a pressing medical reason for it."
"I do realize that Sparrow. The fact is, though, I have met someone and I think the relationship might really be going someplace. If that is true I want, as much as possible, to get to know him as I will be for our time together. I don't want him too used to this face."
"Fair enough, I obviously agree." Pointing down at his changed form. "Who is this man of yours, do I know him?"
She laughed, "Of course you know him, our group is still not that big. It's Raul. Once Miley took up with Tony he was sort of at loose ends and he and I got to talking."
"I am thrilled to hear it, I obviously think the world of you both. I was seriously impressed with that pair as well, although I had no idea that he and Miley had hooked up."
"You've been busy with your own hook up lately I think." She tossed back teasingly.
"Fair enough." He easily agreed.
"Now for the other thing." she said carefully. "I've been really feeling useless since the escape. All of you have amazing skills and abilities and I was feeling like just a useless copy of a lost girl. I ended up hanging around with the new clones. Over time I started helping with their knowledge and training. That's how I met Lyssandra, when she came recruiting."
"That name sounds familiar, but remind me again who Lyssandra is?"
"I was a security agent for my people, back before the sith came." A new voice interjected from the door.
An eldrie came in. While not as beautiful, (at least to Sparrow), as Casse she was certainly an attractive woman, with her lovely face, black skin, and purple hair and eyes. She was also a physical specimen, toned and cut, several scars decorated her,
"While we never had an army as such, we did have a criminal element, we in the security department were the ones trained and tasked with apprehending the criminals and keeping the population at large safe."
She hung her head and he saw tears glisten in her eyes. "Sadly, when our greatest challenge came, the sith lab, we failed our people."
Tao now came into the office behind her and took her in her arms. He comforted her for a second and the familiar, easy way he did it showed that the two were well acquainted.
Once she had recovered a bit she continued.
"It is because of that failure that I have been driven to recruit and train new security agents, drawn from the batches of clones that have been being created."
"We now have a group of 30, all female, who are completely trained in hand to hand and weapons combat, escape and evasion, tactics, and interrogations."
"In other words, while I created spies she created secret agents. Women who could infiltrate and attack from within."
"And now she and I are ready to lead them into an attack against our enemies the pirates." Kitten said.
"Wait, you want to go to?" Sparrow asked.
"I have been both one of her earliest, and one of her best trainees." The clone said proudly as Lyssandra nodded in agreement.
"But you will be severely outnumbered on the pirate ship." Sparrow said, "I had planned to conduct a direct assault once we get medical clearance."
"A direct assault is workable, I am sure, and would even be part of our plan, but we have a way to get an advanced team in and able to be working on freeing and saving the captives the pirates are holding for either workers, transports, or other uses." The woman frowned and Sparrow did the same when he realized what she was referring to.
"The plan is to go in as a cargo of slaves, Darby is already in some hot water because he hasn't brought in any and is trying to convince the pirates that he is killing them all."
"Bringing in a shipful of attractive females will go a long way towards making his reputation." Tao said in a frustrated tone. While he had apparently been convinced to give his backing to the plan it was clear he didn't like it.
"Yes, and once we are onboard our looks should help ensure that we are treated with a certain amount of care. No self respecting pirate is going to put such a slave to work building ships in deep space." Kitten said.
"But the use they will put such a woman to I simply will not tolerate." Sparrow replied.
"Believe me, neither will we." Lyssandra said with authority. "The breakout and attack will be timed, but the threat of one of us being used in such a way will instantly trigger it."
"The plan will be to stage our arrival close to when the legion attacks. Then we can use the confusion to sow some chaos and save the innocents, hopefully while taking down the pirates from within." Kitten said.
"And doing it this way will greatly reduce the amount of collateral damage that needs to happen to the pirates vessels and equipment, I think we can all agree that the Legion can certainly put them to better use." Lyssandra grinned.
"They won't be going in alone either, I have talked it over with Omni and they will get full synth support. With that kind of help it should be fairly easy to get free from whatever cells they are placed in and begin sowing chaos."
"While we begin that another pirate corsair will dock and we can offload another complement of troops. Ideally we can take the pirates from within instead of having to fight a costly space battle."
"How will this other corsair manage to get permission to dock?"
"We're working on a plan right now." Tao said with an evil smirk.
Darby and his crew put down on Mivina 2, a somewhat popular planet among the pirates. The place was a festering swamp of corruption and flaunted it's lack of laws, (and simple decency).
As they passed one of the numerous brothels staffed with slaves and indentured servants a young palliduvan came running out, pursued by a trandoshan holding a whip.
The girl was practically a skeleton, obviously underfed and Darby's reaction was instinctive. He put a shot into the trandoshan's head, dropping him in his tracks.
As soon as the scumbag hit the ground the door burst open and a Muun came out, followed by a few guards of various species.
"I see the idiot threatened you. It is good that you stopped his theft of my property." The man said.
"I am not his." The shivering girl said, just loudly enough to be heard.
"Grank was trying to sell me to him but he said I was too scrawny and ugly to be worth any money."
"By pirate law anything that belonged to Grank now belongs to Captain Darby." One of Darby's "pirates" volunteered.
"Captain, I think this individual is trying to steal from you." He continued as he loosened his blaster in it's holster.
Darby could feel the tension ramping up. He and his team were here for a reason but that didn't mean they would pass up an opportunity to conduct a little clean up on the side.
Darby was about to start the dance when the Muun started speaking.
"Never let it be said that Leonis Gravis did not trade well and fairly with all!" He said loudly. He approached Darby then and, just loud enough for the clones advance hearing said "burc'ya."
Then he lightly grabbed the clones arm and led the pirates inside the bordello.
Darby gave his men a subtle signal and they eased down and followed the Captain inside.
Back on Nathea Sparrow woke up feeling better than he thought he ever had. He was in his cabin on the Pride, and his new wife was in bed beside him.
He chuckled softly as he remembered his friends finally pulling him aside and telling him he had to go ahead and have the wedding, before someone got seriously hurt.
As the bond had grown stronger while the pair continued to resist Sparrow had gotten more and more distracted and short tempered. He had taken to snapping at people who tried talking to him and had done some serious damage to not only some of the combat droids but some of his other sparring partners as well.
He had settled into his new body and gotten to know it's limitations. Constant sparring had sharpened his abilities until they at least matched up with where he had been before the last change. He was every bit as strong and fast as before, even if in a slightly smaller package. His healing was, if anything, a bit faster. In fact, he healed so well he was amazed the sith virus had managed to be fatal to these people.
He looked at her again. Speaking of sparring...
A few hours later Deux contacted him over their internal link.
"Are you guys finally ready to rejoin us?" The synth asked cheerfully, "after all, its been 4 days now."
"I think so, I can finally think clearly again." Sparrow confirmed.
Right then Casse came strolling out of the fresher, delightfully naked. Suddenly rushing back to work seemed not so great an idea.
She spotted the look in his eye and held up her hands as if to keep him away.
"NO!" She said laughingly, "We need some food and some rest from such activities!"
He gave her a full on pout, sticking out his bottom lip and givng her sad puppy eyes.
"Seriously my riduur, I am a bit worn out from such play. Besides," she rubbed her lower belly meaningfully, "You already got the job done."
"Job done?" He asked, confused.
"I took seriously what you poked me with in fun?"
She said, giggling.
He stared for a second, processing, and then the clues came together.
He shouted in glee as he jumped up and grabbed her and spun her around the room.
"A baby! We're going to have a baby! We need to tell everyone! We need a house! And a crib!"
"You need to put me down and stop spinning me so fast or I am going to be sick on you!" She hollered, just as happy.
"All of that can wait, well, most of it. We will let people know soon. I want to get checked out in medical first. Also, I don't mind living here at all, it's not like there isn't plenty of room to expand."
She thought for a second.
"One thing though, if we are having a child I want to try and fire back up our automaton factories. I love our synth friends but those droids are ugly. They will scare the poor thing."
Deux gave a chuckle inside his head and Sparrow realized the news was, sort of, already out.
As usual the synth was way ahead.
"Don't worry Sparrow, I wouldn't dream of letting out your secret. In fact, I have a present for you two."
The door to their suite opened and then there was a knock at the bedroom door. Sparrow and Casse threw on robes and hollered for Deux to come in.
The droid walked straight to Casse and held up its palm, in it rested a synth.
"In order to celebrate your budding I offer you this gift. It is a newly budded synth of your own. It will bond with you as i have with him and then be constantly alert and aware of your needs."
She gasped in surprise. "That is an incredible gift. I thank you, what is it's name?"
"She has chosen Julieta." He told her.
"Well come Julieta and join me." She held out her hand and the new synth crossed to her skin and then slid up her arm and across her shoulder, reaching the ear it slid inside her.