Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 20:51:32 -0500 (EST)
From: Tenandys Qural <beattier@river.it.gvsu.edu>
Subject: Qural Halloween Special Part the second.
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[Continued...]

	Tenandys Qural was an Imperial Combat Engineer, one of the most 
dangerous and secretive positions in the Ubiqtorate.  On a given 
assignment, he would make the drop onto a planet, assess its weaknesses, 
and set about throwing the government and planetary defenses into chaos.  
His position was part pathfinder, part agent provocateur, and part 
assassin.  It normally took him less than a month's time to throw the 
social order into chaos for the Imperial forces to crush.
	Combat Engineers were trained in a wide array of skills in an 
attempt to allow them to function in any situation.  If the assignment 
called for a Combat Engineer to move through the social circles of a 
planet's aristocracy, they could handle it with the same grace as when 
infiltrating a key military base.  It was always a matter of assessment 
and adaptation.
	That was the deal that Qural had cut.  In the face of impossible 
odds, staring down a future of imprisonment and torture as a Rebel spy, 
he had changed the rules.
	He had evaded the Moff's elite guard for longer than anyone had 
ever done, going so far as to call in a vendetta to craft his escape - 
reasoning that he stood a better chance against one lone Jedi Slayer than 
against a hundred of the Moff's elite troops.  When he had finally been 
hauled in front of the Sector Governor some time later, he had thought 
his options had finally run out.
	Instead, inspiration pushed him into the stragnest ploy he had 
ever concieved of:  if he were spared, they could put him to use on their 
side.  He had already proven himself more competent than the elite; look 
at what they stood to gain in the deal.
	It had been an arduous process, from indoctrination to brutal 
tests of loyalty, but he had pulled through it all somehow.  And here he 
was, an alien in service to the Empire.  Toppling governments, preparing 
planets for invasion, and looking death square in the face.

	Tenandys flattened himself against a pillar, muttering a variety 
of colorful oaths to no one in general.  The riots that had raged in the 
streets over the last week had unexpectedly had the side effect of 
stripping all available cover from the park.  Now he was pinned down in a 
structure at the very center, watching as the mob gathered to lynch him.
	"A little bit of bad luck doesn't merit this," he growled to himself.
	"I would hardly call the public assassination of the planet's 
leader a bit of bad luck, came the digital reply.
	"Who asked you?"  Qural glared at the intricate sculpture that 
was his left forearm.  "How in the hell was I supposed to know that his 
suite was monitored, VX?"  He paused, scowling.  "Or that it was going to 
be simulcast on the planet's telecomm network?  I don't think that even 
Geist could have second guessed that one."
	"Geist wouldn't be in this mess."
	Qural rolled his eyes, wondering if it wasn't time for a full 
system wipe on this droid.  But VX was right:  Geist wouldn't have gotten 
himself in this far.  But then, Geist was capable of the impossible.  
Tenandys Qural, Lord Khanjheira, was not.  He was just damne good at 
surviving.  Most of the time.
	"Speaking of which..."  He took careful inventory of his 
surroundings, muttering.  It was time he started putting some effort into 
the concept of continued existence.  It was rather doubtful that he could 
say anything to sway the mob's opinion, leaving him two final options:  
fight or flight.  And since he was outnumbered by a couple of thousand to 
one, flight was his preferred plan of action.
	Not that he couldn't make a sizable dent in this mob.  Perhaps 
enough to break their morale and send them running.  With the explosives 
that he had planted in and around the park and city, he could do quite a 
bit of damage.  All that would do, however, would be to make them dig in 
and fight harder.  That was not the solution he was looking for.
	So he'd have to pull back for a while and reassess the weak 
points until he could figure out where to strike next.  He was good at 
adapting, and he still had a little margin for error on his timetable.  
When he finally called the Imperial Forces in, the planet would be ready 
for takeover.
	That was, of course, assuming he lived through all of this.

[To be continued...]

	Tenandys