“All passengers for flight TA Eighteen please report to gate five for boarding”

Sat at one of the many seats facing the viewing bay windows was a lean figure, quite tall at almost 6’2. He had a rugged appearance, not quite muscular, but then again certainly not thin, what stuck out was his commanding presence even as he leant against a window gazing out. He seemed a character you wouldn’t want to cross, his brown eyes, usually warm and friendly, seemed dull, almost glinting with hidden frustration, the few people who had tried to share his bench had merely been glared at before they got the hint. The figure sighed; he hated travelling if it meant having to spend time in one of these places. The place in question was a Starport, with all the usual crowds and groups they tend to attract. Belgevain, or Bel as most of his friends called him was used to travelling aboard his own ship, a heavily customized YKL-37R Nova Courier called the Knave, not really built for comfort, it at least gave him solace from the crowds, despite sharing the cramped ship with his two companions Bevo and Nestor. He grinned thinking of his unlikely accomplices, Nestor was a Bothan with light brown fur that seemed almost golden in places. Bothans, a dog-like species that usually kept to themselves, had very high self-worth, almost bordering on narcissistic in some of the upper class, although Nestor had certain traits that had made him almost an exile from his pack, amongst them an eagerness for adventure, for the simple thrill, rather than for any material profit, and the lack of an political ambitions. That was of course before he began to make his name amongst those who would bring about the end of the Empire, then they wanted to know about him, but he had remained faithful to Belgevain over the years despite his aggressive behaviour, there were few Bel would rather have beside him in a fight. Bevo on the other hand was a human of slight build short scruffy brown hair and piercing blue eyes, he seemed to be out of place on a combat vessel but he too had a purpose, as he was almost unbeatable in his own realm, that being engineering and electronics. Bevo was the Engineer and designer of most of the Knave’s more interesting tricks. Belgevain sighed again and snapped out his reverie, cocking his head to listen to that stupid android drone on about flights again then straightened suddenly.

“This a final call for passengers travelling on flight TA Eighteen. I repeat; this is the final call for passenger Melom Vegab, please make you way immediately to gate five.”

Bel stood up, and began to make his way to gate five. Travelling under an alias; yet another thing to make his life a hassle. He got to the gate with moments to spare, the guard at the terminal gave him a withering look, and was about to give him a lecture on delaying an entire ship from a prompt departure when Bel shrugged collected his electronic data pad with the boarding pass and stepped past him onto the ship; an old Gallofrey GR-45 transport. He’d expected that, after all not many ships go to Talus, most ships go straight to Corellia, Talus was just another Moon in the busy sector, with its highly xenophobic culture it's not what a tourist would describe as an ideal holiday destination, let alone safe, it was however ideal for someone looking to hide…


During the flight as other passengers eagerly peered at the windows as the ship broke orbit and headed for deep space, Bel or ,as his alias suggested, Melom, sat relaxed in one of the rickety chairs, with a bored look on his face. He didn’t even bother to look out a view port as the ship shuddered into the hyperspace jump, to him this was a routine occurrence, not to mention that he disliked the idea of being piloted by an unknown pilot. The jump was only a short one of a few hours, but they seemed to drag for Bel as children wailed, parents chatted and discussed what was, for most, their first space flight. He tried to drift off to sleep, but kept getting rudely awakened by the child sat directly behind him, who insisted on repeatedly kicking the chair, Bel gritted his teeth, sorely tempted to throw the child out of the air-lock. Three hours later he was relieved to hear the Captain report that were beginning their descent onto Talus, and would be landing at Dearic within the next ten minutes, he moved his hand over the holster under his jacket, wishing he hadn’t had to stow his blaster in the hold, as a soldier he hated being unarmed, and carried the blaster with him at all times. His blaster; a DL-44, was about the only link he still had to his family, crafted under licence on Alderaan. It was an enigma almost as much he was, after all Alderaan was supposedly a peaceful planet.

As the transport finally settled onto its landing skids Bel rose to his feet and began to make his way to the exit, keen to be off the ship and away from the crowds. He stepped out of the ship and into the cool Talus evening, breathing in the cool air, glad to be out of the stuffy transport. He began to make his way to the terminal, anxious to get his belongings and get out of the city. If the Alliance wanted him to disappear for a few weeks, and were prepared to provide him with accommodation and a fake identity to protect him, the least he could do was comply with their requests, much as he despised being apart from his crew and ship. Making his way hurriedly through security and customs he collected his large case, he was about to make his way out of the Starport when he noticed one of the Starport security guards looking at him, a human female of slight build with shoulder length light brown hair, and a kind smile, even as she watched the crowds.

Belgevain picked up his case from the baggage and made his way to the exit past the security. He’d noticed on the way off the transport they’d been making random checks of passengers as they left the building, so when he was called over to have his bag checked he grimaced slightly but went over to get his details checked, he just hoped his details and Ident card would pass the scrutiny of the staff, which included the female guard he’d seen smiling earlier.

“Ident card please” Asked the female guard, now he was closer he could read her name Badge as “Kiret”
“Here you are Kiret” He said passing over the forged Ident card, hoping they wouldn’t want to dig too deeply, it may be good, but even good forgeries had mistakes…
Kiret glanced over it, any surprise of him knowing her name didn’t show on her face as she scrutinized the details on her data-pad, she glanced up quickly, taking note of his empty holster
“Strange for a farmer to be carrying a weapon… I trust it’s stowed in your luggage?”
Belgevain grimaced slightly, of the careers to be given… A farmer… His thoughts snapped back to the matter at hand, and he grinned somewhat cheekily;
“It was... Uh… a present from an Uncle” he smiled rubbing the back of his neck “He says it’s a good blaster but to be honest I’ve not used it that much….”
Kiret arched an eyebrow and passed him back his Ident card, “What brings you to Talus” she asked
“Visiting family near Axium, hope they might be able to help me get a stake of my own” he smiled, hoping that if he gave her enough information she’d let him leave, even as he took his Ident card. He paused, waiting for another question.
Kiret looked at him and gave him an obviously forced grin “Well, we hope your enjoy your stay, good luck!”, and passed back his details. Bel, somewhat surprised, took them and made his way to the exit, keen to be out of the hellish Starport. He vaguely noticed Kiret watching him leave, as he looked back at her out of the corner of his eye he also noticed a few thugs heading toward him in the crowd, a quick glance showed them to be members of the Ragtags, one of the many hoodlum gangs on Talus. Bel groaned inwardly, the Ragtags hated foreigners, and were likely to be at the Starport simply to cause trouble, and his alter ego Melom Vegab appearing to be bumbling farmers son, he’d be easy picking… It wasn’t that Bel couldn’t deal with them; its just he’d rather not blow his cover… Another surreptitious glance over his shoulder revealed Kiret watching with interest to see how it would play out. Bel gave a small grin and slowed his pace a bit making it appear as if he was looking for a taxi, he paused a moment, letting the two goons get right behind him, then he whirled round, swinging his case wide, appearing to be simply searching for a taxi, but his heavy case swung round and connected heavily with the first goons knees, knocking him over.
“I’m so sorry!!” Bel blurted, dropping the case on the seconds goon foot, with a sickening crunch as it landed square on his toes. He bent forward as if to help the first Ragtag back to his feet, seemingly accidentally falling against the second Ragtag, causing him to fall back even though his foot was still trapped, with a slight crack the bone snapped and the ragtag fell back onto his back, shrieking in agony at his leg.
“Are you ok?!” Bel continued to play the part of the bumbling idiot, and tried to help, grabbing his case swinging round of his foot straight into the face of the first Ragtag, there was a thud and he fell down, out for the count.

“Oh dear” Bel stood up looking at the mess he’d made as Kiret and the other guard ran over to sort the commotion, Bel stood there rubbing the back of his neck looking bashful.
“I’m not … Um… I’m not in trouble am I?” He asked the guard, as Kiret knelt to check the two Ragtags?
“Well seeing you just badly injured two civilians I’d say you could be in quite a bit of trouble!” Kiret spoke, glaring at Bel, obviously annoyed he’d caused a commotion on her shift.
“But… But I… But I didn’t do anything!” Bel proclaimed, fully acting the part of the bumbling idiot
“Lets not be to hasty!” The second guard spoke quietly, obviously finding the situation amusing, “You saw it Kiret, it was accident, the poor fellow was just looking a for a taxi, I saw we send him on his way, no reason to keep him” He looked directly at Kiret, Kiret stood slowly obviously annoyed with Bel and her superior, she glared for a second then said
“Of course Sir,” Then to Bel “Take care Mr Vegab, wouldn’t want you to cause anymore accidents…” Still trying to protest his innocence Bel was shown to a taxi and sent on his way, and the two thugs taken to Dearic hospital. Kiret slowly made her way back to her post, swearing under her breath. For the rest of her shift she couldn’t stop thinking about that man. She’d seen the way Melom had carried himself, the way he’d timed it just right to swing the case… It had been no accident, he’d done it deliberately, there was definitely more to him than met the eye... She sighed... She’d probably never see him again, and she hated an unresolved mystery, but there was something nagging her, something he’d said and she hadn’t registered… She got in her XP-38, a gift from her parents when she got her job as Starport guard with Fed-Dub, and headed back towards her home in Axium…


In Axium
Bel climbed out of the speeder and picked his metal case out of the boot, and sighed as he saw the small dent in the side from where it had collided with the Ragtags
“Can’t be helped…” He hefted his case and made his way to the hotel to drop his belongings off, checking in, he went up to his room. It wasn’t luxurious, and the room shook every time a fast speeder went past, but it was better than accommodation he’d get in the field so he couldn’t complain. He got his DL-44 out of his case and sat it in its holster, checked his appearance, then made his way to the Cantina, might as well enjoy himself, not to mention life up to his cover of being a bumbling farmer’s son looking to get his own plot…
He stepped into the Cantina and watched as every face turned to look at the newcomer, he grimaced internally, then put on his dim witted smile and spoke;
“Hey guys!” He walked over to the counter looking around the room, for all appearances taking in the atmosphere, but actually looking for hidden dangers. He stepped up to the Cantina;
“Corellian Ale mate!” He grinned at the bar-keep, “You don’t happen to know where I could find Bernard Vegoa would you?” A man sat next to him glared at him;
“Who wants to know” The man half snarled.
“I’m Melom Vegab, I’m his second nephew, my dad said he might be able to help me get my first plot…”
“What do you plan on growing?” Another drinker demanded
“Well my father says to stick with fruit plants, but I’d say the soil here is better suited for grain” Bel responded evenly, thankful for the crash course in agriculture from Bevo. The tense atmosphere disappeared and the patrons nodded approvingly. Bel found himself getting swamped by questions of his old farm, his intentions, when he’d last head from his Uncle Bernard (“He’s been dead for a year you know” someone had told him “Not to worry, most of his land hasn’t been claimed yet, so we’ll help you out” Another man winked). Bel began to tell them a story of his childhood on the farm. It was a carefully rehearsed story littered with humours events; it had taken Bevo, Bel and Nestor several hours to perfect one that would answer most questions yet still remain believable. Bel hated it; it made him seem to be a complete meatlump… But if that’s what it took to hide out, so be it. The alternative didn’t bear thinking about…  

Also in Axium
Kiret drove her XP-38 as fast as she could; work had been stressful, if she’d had to deal with Melom Vegab everyday she’d probably have gone mad… She began to calm down, she’d finished work, now to get a drink at the Cantina and relax. She pulled up outside the Cantina and climbed out of her speeder, from inside she could hear laughter, not all that unusual in itself, but it was more common for it to be quiet, must be a special occasion of sorts. She shrugged and headed in, inside everyone was sat round one end of the bar listening to a man who was faced away from her who was telling them a tale, accompanied by lots of wild gestures, making them howl with laughter at every punch line. Kiret saw her parents sat at table near the door, as she made her way over to them, her father had tears of mirth around his eyes and he started talking before Kiret was even seated.
“This guy is a genius! You remember ole’ Bernard who had that allotment on the eastside of town? This guys his second Nephew! You should hear some of his stories from his father’s farm over on the other side of the Kystes' Spine! He’s a right gem!” He laughed again as the character continued his story. Kiret looked over at the figure, as he turned to face her side of the Cantina; she stared not believing her eyes, and then placed a hand over her face…
“Not him again…” she groaned, the figure was none other than Melom Vegab from the Starport…

Kiret tried to speak with her father as they made their way to the bar, trying to explain that Melom wasn’t who he said he was, but as they worked their way through the crowd, Melom’s eyes caught hers, and if she hadn’t been staring she wouldn’t of noticed the sudden tightness around his eyes as he recognized, before hiding it, he spoke;
“Well y’all, I best be getting some sleep now, don’ wanna be late to see me holdins’!” He went to tip his hat, then realized he wasn’t wearing one, and attempted to hide the move by rubbing the side of his head, playing the part of the buffoon perfectly, then slowly making his way to the exit. Kiret glanced round the Cantina, everyone appeared to have completely taken his story in, and were busy chattering away about this newest addition to the towns agriculture community. Kiret shook her head, she’d never understand the appeal of farming, she was much more interested in what was out amongst the stars, not what was under the soil. She pushed open the cantina door and stepped out into the night air, and walked down the steps before suddenly realizing she couldn’t see Melom.
“I’m sorry” She heard a soft voice behind her, she turned to face the voice and was blinded by a bright blue bolt, and everything faded to black. She dimly saw a figure lean over her just as her vision faded completely…


Melom’s Room
As Kiret slowly struggled back to consciousness, she became aware of two things; firstly she was gagged and bound, secondly her head hurt… badly. She blinked a few times then looked across the room; Melom was sat in a chair reading a datapad, Kiret tried to move but the bounds were too tight. Melom looked up, a look of humour, yet also pity on his face;
“I wouldn’t bother trying to get free; I’d hate to have to stun you again…” His only answer was a sullen glare.
“Hey count yourself lucky I’m keeping a low profile, otherwise it mightn’t have been on stun… Now can you promise me you won’t scream if I take the gag off?” Kiret looked back at him, and then slowly nodded. He reached forward and untied the gag, and took it off. He propped Kiret into a sitting position then sat down again. Kiret glared at him, but he merely raised an eyebrow appearing for all purposes to be waiting for something.
“Not very talkative are you?” He asked, Kiret took a deep breath, causing Melom to raise the eyebrow again. Kiret screamed, Melom sat in the chair merely watching, an amused twinkle in his eye, he waited for Kiret to pause for breath, then spoke;
“You do realise that this suite is soundproofed? Unless you plan to deafen me into submission, might I suggest we return to more suitable vocal levels?”
“What do you want with me? Why are you masquerading as farmer? Why are you here? Who are you!?” She fired the questions off rapidly, keen to get the answers. Melom chuckled;
“You my dear are the victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, as for who I am? That I think I can answer best by explaining on how I came to end up here….”


Melom settled himself in his chair, and looked at Kiret in the eye, “What I tell you know isn’t to leave this room, I...” Melom paused as Kiret spoke
“Oh sure, and what’s to prevent you from spinning me some story, proclaiming your innocence, and use me to cover you up!”
Melom sighed, “Well I was hoping you’d take me at face value.” He raised a hand to stop her before she began another tirade of complaints “If you let me finish, I can explain…”
Kiret glared at him, but went silent.
Melom chuckled, “If looks could kill I’d be dead man…”
“Quit the comments and just give me the details” Kiret snapped
“Yes Ma’am” Melom’s eyes twinkled as he grinned “As you may have already guessed, I’m not a farmer”
Kiret rolled her eyes “Really, I’d never of guessed.”
Melom looked at he amusedly, “You know this’d go a lot faster if you just stayed quiet?” His only reply was a sullen glare; he grinned again “I’ll continue then shall I? As I was saying, I’m not a farmer, well, not anymore anyway. Also my name isn’t Melom Vegab; my real name is Belgevain Iomea, I’m a Commander in the Rebel Alliance Military.”
“You mean you’re a terrorist?” Kiret gasped
“Yes… That’s me, now where did I leave my balaclava and durni skewer?” Belgevain replied drolly “It’s true the Empire describes us as terrorists, but I submit to you that one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter” Kiret looked set to interrupt him, but he carried on, “Look, I’m not going to argue semantics with you, I disagree with the Empire, and I’m prepared to fight for my beliefs. Now as for how I ended up here, that’s a story which begins just over a month ago…”

To be Continued…