"A Traitor By The Heart"

[Mei]

((It will help to have read "Call of the Wind" before reading this. ))

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"A Traitor By The Heart"

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Everything in his heart told him this was right.

Gung'chul Areum sat at his desk and poured himself another glass of whiskey and hit the replay button on his holocommunicator. He went through the heavy encryptions with ease and glanced out his office window at the Coruscant night skyline as the message loaded.

He looked down and read the message again: "You've been given an offer to defect."

The mere thought was treason.

Once again, he looked out at the capital world. It was beautiful. Even more so at night where the stars above were met with the twinkling lights below.

He'd never see it again.

This was right, his gut was telling him.

But it was treason. He had fought against the Empire, against the Sith. They had killed his friends, his men, his family. He loved the Republic, but the Republic that he loved no longer existed.

Everything had changed. Everything he believed in had changed. Zakuul had destroyed the Republic that he loved.

What was right, was right.

Mei'li had changed everything he was taught to believe. The Sith should die. She was Sith. She married a Sith Pureblood, forever uniting the bond.

Blood was thicker than anything. Blood meant more to him than any Republic.

What did he have to lose? His entire family had defected to the Empire, and they were safe... Well... safe until the Sixth Line were twisted into an extremist group.

Gung'chul rested his head in his hands.

He had been resisting this for years. Ever since Sihnon defected. He had been angry with his sister. Furious only because the loyalty the Republic taught him was at war with his bloodline. He could not fight against his family... and yet he had to.

Then Ke'rii came and his world changed.

The Jedi... no, not the Jedi... Xia'li and her extremist Sixth Line radicals... they were blackmailing his nephew and targeting his family. Gung'chul learned so much when Ke came to him. Not all Sith were murdering bastards. Not all Imperials were treacherous snots. The Empire was not evil.

"This is not where I belong..." Gung'chul mumbled to himself. He lifted his head and poured himself another glass.

Clumsily, he picked up the holocom and began composing a message. He sighed at all the encryption warnings, but was thankful Ke'rii had a way to secure any line of communication.

"Good grief, kid, who the hell taught you this shit," he mumbled, shaking his head.

Finally, he was able to compose his message. He held his thumb on the 'send' button and found himself holding his breath.

This was it. One button and he would be a marked man. A traitor.

Every event that lead up to this moment flashed in his mind's eye. Ke'rii a victim of torture at the hand of Xia'li. The day he heard of Xia'li and the Sixth Line's attack on the Coruscant spaceport. Every meeting with Republic officials. Hoban'ji on his death bed. And the last straw... when he received news the little girl, Sartori'li, had been infected with the same black death that had killed his brother-in-law.

Everything in his heart told him this was right.

He hit the button and began securely transmitting the message back to his nephew.

For a moment Gung'chul sat there, his eyes scanning around his office. He waited. Waited for them to burst through the doors and make a public example out of him. He unhooked his blaster and set it on top of his desk, his finger on the trigger. He aimed it towards the door.

If Xia'li were around... in whatever the hell dead-Jedi Force wearing form she could take... he'd be dead in minutes.

Keeping one hand on his blaster, he poured the rest of his whiskey into his glass and gulped it down.

Sound was silent, save for the swooshing of speeders outside.

He jumped when his holocom beeped. Looking down, he hit the button to receive the message and had never been more relieved to go through all the irritating levels of secure encryption.

The message simply read: Hoth.

Gung'chul found difficulty swallowing. He was doing this. He was really doing this. He blinked away tears he had no idea were forming and took a deep breath. He holstered his blaster, pocketed his holocom, and left his office for the last time...

[Mei]

* * * * * * * * * *

Dromund Kaas was cold and dreary, yet despite this, Sartori'li Bluedark had a smile on her face as she watched her uncle, Ke'rii, from her partially enclosed medical bed. At six years of age, she didn't fully understand the extent of her illness, and didn't quite understand why everyone was making such a fuss over a simple cold.

If only it were just 'a simple cold.'

All she knew is that her uncle was making her a toy. She had never seen a toy made before, and she was fascinated. In fact, everything about her uncle Ke-ke (as she called him) was something of intrigue. He hadn't been around in her growing up days, but she had heard stories of him from her cousin, Keiko. And he certainly lived up. Tonight he was amusing her by making a tiny robotic tauntaun toy out of spare droid parts.

Sartori studied how his hands tinkered away at the gadgets. How did he know what he was doing? she wondered, then looked him over. He was a rough sight, which was something out of the norm for her. He had a patch covering his right eye, but she had overheard talk that his old cybernetics had 'sparked up' on Ord Mantell.

He was looking better, she thought, in comparison to his first night here. Perhaps it was because he acquired new cybernetics at the hands of trustworthy Imperial technicians.

Yes, that had to be it. But that didn't explain why he wore a mask to cover his mouth and nose every time he came to see her. She merely had a cold. She shook her head at her own thoughts. Adults could be so silly sometimes. Colds went away in no time.

A flash of lightening lit up the sky outside, catching the young girl's attention momentarily. Dromund Kaas was pretty, she thought. Especially the view of the mountains from her window in the medical bay.

Thunder clapped and she winced. The pain of the vibration hurting deep in her ear.

Ke'rii looked up at her and smiled as he held up the little toy tauntaun. He tapped a button to turn it on and the little forearms began to wiggle up and down.

Sartori giggled. "Oh! Lemme hold him!" she cried out with delight.

Ke handed her the little toy, proud. "Custom made, just for you."

Sartori laid the toy on her stomach and watch it. The forearms were still moving, but nothing else. Her head tilted in wonder, and she looked back over at her uncle.

"Why won't he walk?"

Ke chuckled. "When you were first born, did you walk?"

"Of course," she confirmed, as if it were a true fact.

"Well," he started, shaking his head with a quiet laugh. "I guess this little guy just isn't as amazing as you are." He leaned forward a bit. "He's still a work in progress, little one."

Sar sighed and shook her head, then held the little robot out to him. "Well... hop to it," she demanded firmly.

He laughed and loved her spirit. "I would if I could, but I need the parts first."

"Well, where are they?" She just didn't understand why this couldn't happen right then and there. After all, it was just a tiny toy, how hard could it be?

"I'll have them when I get back."

Her smiled turned to a pout. "Everyone goes somewhere but me," she complained quietly and fidgeted with the tauntaun. She looked over at him, wiping her runny nose with the back of her hand. Her eyes were a little too sad. "Will you be gone long?"

Ke handed her a tissue. "Not at all," he assured her, then fell silent as he watched her blow her nose.

The poison that was coursing its way through her body seemed to be working slowly. Her symptoms were misleading to the danger she was actually in. Had no one been aware of the attack on Yavin, and had they not noticed the paling of her skin at the impact point, they would believe she merely had the common cold. But that was far from the truth. This poison--this biological weapon--had been the same substance that killed the young girl's grandfather just a week earlier.

"I'll be back before you know it," Ke continued. "Just going away long enough to bring your great uncle here."

Great, Sartori thought of the 'title'. “What makes him great? Is he greater than you?”

He loved how blunt she was sometimes.

"Well... Arguably... yeah." He smiled.

Sartori giggled and looked back as her new toy.

“You see," he started to explain. "He's mine and your mom's uncle, which makes him your grandmother's brother, making him your great uncle."

Sar set the robotic tauntaun on her stomach and looked at him. “So… he's a grand uncle? Like a grandmother?”

Ke nodded. “Grand, great… same thing.”

“Can't I go with you?”

He shook his head. “You have to stay here, but I won't be long. I promise.”

“I'm tired of being in bed," she whined softly.

Ke gently took hold of her hand. She felt warmer than she should. “I know, little one,” he said, trying not to sound too worried. “But you need to get better.”

Sartori’li sighed and nodded. She kept hearing that, but didn't understand. “Can you sing me a nigh-night song?” she changed the topic.

Ke laughed softly. “Who said I know how to sing?"

Sartori shrugged. "Mommy sings, so... don't everybody sing?"

Ke made an overly pensive expression and slowly nodded. "I suppose so," he looked directly at her and leaned in. "But I doubt I'm hardly as good as your mother."

Sar nodded in agreement. "Yeah, probably. But I still like songs."

For a moment Ke sat there. He mainly knew drinking songs, but that probably wouldn't fly too well with her. He chuckled quietly to himself and shook his head.

"I know an oldie but a goodie..." he said and saw Sar's eyes light up. "I can sing it in Basic, or..." he smiled slyly at her...

"In the old?" Sar wanted to sit up, but was restricted by the glass encasing most of her body.

Ke nodded. "Yeah... in the old."

"Oooh yes! Please!"

Sartori was so much like his little sister sometimes. He laughed and shook his head.

"All right, all right... but you gotta get comfy and promise me you'll sleep."

Sartori nodded her head, her movements over exaggerated. "Oh yes, I promise."

Ke helped tuck her in and placed the robotic tauntaun up high on her pillow and out of the way.

"Okay," he started and Sar began to giggle. "Shh..." he soothed. "It's quiet time." He waited for her to settle before starting to sing. He noticed her feet wiggling under the blankets, and simply shook his head. The old language didn't come as naturally to him as it did his sister, but he still remembered the words. "Gan shang liuxing bing ba ta fang zai ni de koudai li... Yongyuan buyao rang ta xiaoshi..."

"What are you saying?" Sartori whispered, so not to interrupt him all the while... interrupting him.

Ke laughed, then repeated the lyrics in Basic. "Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket... Never let it fade away... Gan shang liuxing bing ba ta fang zai ni de koudai li... Jiang qi baocun yi bei you-you-youqu de... de," he stumbled over the words; they had to be wrong... "de yitian..."

He paused and Sar encouraged him with her expression to tell her the meaning. With a chuckle, he sang the translation. "Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket... Save it for a rainy day..."

"Oooh I love it!" Sar exclaimed. "More!"

A laugh came from the door way and Ke'rii looked up to see Mei'li. He wondered how long she had been standing there.

"Now she'll never let you go," Mei said with a soft laugh as she entered the medical bay. Her arms were wrapped around her waist to keep the chill of the room away. "And..." she smirked at her brother. "It goes: Jiang qi baocun yi bei bushi zhi xu... That means to save it for a 'rainy day'. You said 'funny day'... or at least something close to that."

Sartori giggled from her bed.  Her feet wiggling again.

Ke raised a brow and shook his head. "Smart ass."

"Language, please," Mei said, frowning at him. Her frown disappeared when she came into view of her daughter. "And are you sleepy now, my sweet?"

Sartori shook her head. "Not one bit. Uncle Ke-ke said I could go with him."

Mei sat on the edge of the bed. "That's not what I heard," she said with a smile. "But he'll be back before you know it."

Sartori sighed heavily and her smile turned upside down. "But I'm tired of being in bed," she sniffled. "I'm tired of being tired and sick." She started to cry.

Thunder rolled again outside as Mei leaned towards her. She noted how her baby girl winced as the thunder shook the stronghold windows. She kissed her gently on the forehead, not caring that she wasn't wearing a medical mask.

Ke stood up, suddenly alarmed that his sister wasn't protecting herself. The toxin was target specifically to their bloodline. There was no telling how or if it could be transmitted... but he was too late to stop her.

"Shh..." Mei soothed and wiped away her daughter's tears. "You'll be able to play again soon."

"Mei," Ke said, stern.

Mei rested her head against Sartori's and glanced back at her brother. He was pointing at his mask. She closed her eyes, quietly counting her anger away before looking back down at her little girl.

"Sleep now, my little angle," she said softly, running a hand over Sartori's forehead. The will of the Force easily washing over the child. She waited until her eyelids closed before moving away from her.

Quietly, Ke took her by the arm and led her out of the room. He waited until the door shut before letting out a heavy sigh.

"No one needs the both of you being sick. We don't even know if there is a cure." He was angry, and didn't seem to care that he upset her. "Even if--and that is a huge if... we find one, we may not even have the time to save her. "

Mei drew in a sharp breath and looked away from him. She couldn't hear that now. She just couldn't, and hated that he lifted her chin, forcing her to look back at him. He held her firmly by the shoulders as he spoke. His words hot with anger, yet controlled.

"You still have Wei," he continued, blinking away his own tears. "And Hell only knows if your husband is even okay. For all we know the Sixth Line targeted him too." He tightened his grip on her shoulders when he felt her tremble. "Wei needs you too, Mei. So don't you go making an orphan out of him. Do you understand me?"

Mei was barely able to nod, every muscle in her tense, as she tried to stop herself from crying. Ke pulled her into an embrace and she melted, sobbing as she buried her face into him.

"I'm sorry," he said quiet, softer now. He kissed the top of her head. "Life is a piece of shit sometimes. And I wish like hell that this feeling were new to us, but that isn't the case." He drew in a deep breath to compose himself. "We've made it through a lot, and we'll make it through this too."

He tightened his arms around her and looked up, seeing Wei from the other side of the room. The young boy was holding onto one of Mei's swords, the blade too heavy to hold up so it rested on the floor. Ke smiled at him and gave a nod to assure him everything was all right. But even from where he was standing, he could see the tears in the young boy's eyes.

Ke loosened his hold on Mei and looked down at her as he drew in another deep breath. He forced himself to smile. "I'll be back sooner than you think," he promised, glancing again at Wei. "And you've got your little warrior here to protect you," he smiled. "Isn't that right, Wei?" he called him over.

Wei took his cue and came over, trying his best to lift his mother's sword. "That's right," the boy said firmly, a stubborn determination in his voice.

There was something in the boy's eyes that made Ke think that he blamed himself somehow. Was that a Bluedark gene or an Ogasawara one? he wondered.

Mei found her smile as she turned and wiped her tears. She knelt down as Wei came over and brought her son into her arms and kissed him.

"I'll keep us safe from the black mist," Wei said, resting his head on his mother's shoulder as he looked up at Ke.

"Yes, you will," Mei said, really struggling not to cry in front of her son. Keep it together, she told herself internally.

Wei parted from her and looked up at Ke'rii. "There's no time to waste. You need to leave now."

Ke nodded and grinned. Wei really was a 'little big man'. "I'll be back sooner than you can spit," he promised, trying his best to find sincere smiles on their faces.

"Be careful," Wei cautioned.

[Mei]

* * * * * * * * * *

The Shengli shuddered as Ke'rii pulled her out of hyperspace. As the starlines drew back and Hoth rushed into view, Ke felt another unusual jolt from his ship. He sat still a moment to gauge her health... she was old and in need of a few upgrades, but she'd make it through this trip. Eventually, she smoothed her trajectory towards the ice planet and felt as good (or as good enough) as any other flight.

The ship rattled as Ke navigated through atmo, heading towards the dark side of the planet. He punched the coordinates into the ship's navicomputer. He was thankful to see clear skies. Storms on Hoth were known to crash starships that were never seen again.

Could it be that, finally, something had gone his way?

He hoped it wasn't a fluke, or a misleading trap. Any other mission; fine, whatever, trap him.

But, please, not this one.

The ship rattled again as he drew closer to his location. He strained to look out the cockpit window and could see the rendezvous point. The location he had chosen was proving to be ideal (for once), and especially for a night arrival. The volcanic fires not only gave a visual clue to where he should be, but the natural heat would take an easier toll on his old ship.

The Shengli touched down, crunching softly into the freshly fallen snow. She hit solid ice, securing her properly and safely to the surface.

Ke gazed out the window a moment and smiled. As much as he could complain about Hoth, he did have several fond memories of this place. He'd never admit it, but it felt good to be back... even if for such a short duration.

He unbuckled himself from his seat, grabbed his cold weather gear from the co-pilot's seat and headed down the bridge, down the stairs and opened up the hull. The breeze seeped in quietly. The winds were calm this night, and Ke walked out into the snow.

He looked up at the night sky and just stood there. Even out in the darkness of the Dune Sea he couldn't see this many stars. Too much dust in there air there, but here... the air was so crisp and clear you could probably see all the way to Coruscant.

Yeah... he was in love with this rock... as crazy as that was.

He looked over at the makeshift shelter his uncle had put together and made his way over. He could feel the volcanic heat as he trudged along. Being this deep in the icy canyon enclosed the warmth.

Rounding the edge of the tent, Ke blinked. There, sitting in short sleeves with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and Shento cigar in the other was his uncle Gung'chul Areum.

"You know," Ke said, shaking his head. "It's still frickin' freezing out here."

Gung'chul smiled at him and held up his bottle. "Been keepin' me warm," he explained, his cheeks red from the cold, and laughter in his voice. "Come! Sit! Drink!"

Ke wondered just how drunk he was and found himself looking for more bottles as he sat down. To his surprise, none were found.

"You go ahead and drink without me," Ke chuckled. "I still have to fly us out of here."

"Very good!" he drank straight from the bottle. "More for me!"

Ke laughed. He was a happy drunk, that was for sure.

"Did you have any trouble getting here?" Ke asked, shivering as he readjusted the hood of his parka to cover his ears more. He held his gloved hands out to the fire.

Gung'chul chuckled. "Secretary practically begged me to stay! Ha! Said her husband didn't compare!" He laughed again and slapped Ke on the back so hard it nearly knocked him over.

"I hope that's another drunk embellishment," he knew it was. "I really hope you didn't tell anyone you were leaving."

Gung looked at him and smiled. "'Course not, boy. I'm no fool. But I did leave her and her good husband a good amount of severance pay."

Ke nodded. "That'll help out with their new baby. How old is Anoon again?"

"Two years now, and growing up right quick."

Ke smiled fondly. He'd miss them too... and slowly his smile faded as it dawned on him that his uncle was the last real tie to the Republic... well, except for... his expression deepened and became more evident.

Gung'chul watched him as he drank another sip of his whiskey. He knew that look on his nephew's face. He had seen it more times than the guy would ever admit.

"You're thinkin' of Lara again, ain't ya?" Gung'chul said.

Ke didn't reply and started looking for food he might have stashed away in his pockets. He found nothing to aid him in avoiding the topic.

"Have you asked her to defect?"

Ke hated where this conversation was going. "She'd never," he sighed and looked over at the other. "What'd'ya say we get out of here? There's food on the ship."

Gung'chul looked at him for a moment. There was no use prodding him about his feelings. He would have to let it go for now.

"Let's see if the old lady is still space ready," he said, slapping Ke hard on the back one more time as he stood up.

* * * * * * * * * *

The Shengli had good insulation and was remarkably warmer than Gung'chul thought she would be. She wasn't much, but she was comfortable when she needed to be. His eyes wandered around the hull as Ke placed a plate of sizzling quor'sav steak in front and a cup of coffee.

"To sober you up," Ke explained as he sat across from his with his own cup. He stared at the stacks of paper documents that had been piled up on the table between them.

"There a reason we're not leavin' yet?" Gung'chul said, looking across the table.

Ke shook his head and pointed at the files.

"There a reason none of that is digital?" he took a sip of his own coffee.

Gung'chul smiled. "You kids and your technology," he chuckled as he cut into his steak. "Tell me, how hard was it to get all that data from Ord Mantell?"

Ke saw where this was going. "Well I fried my cybernetics trying to get it."

The other swallowed his bite and picked up his cup of coffe. "But you would say it was more or less easy to get your hands on? Probably could've done it remotely, right?"

Ke nodded. "But I can actually grab these files," he pointed out.

"This is true," Gung'chul nodded, "But tell me; what is the best way to keep something out of reach of prying eyes?"

Ke thought as he looked at the piled of paper. Out of curiosity, he leaned forward and opened one. He stared a moment, then looked across the table at the other.

"You wrote all of these?" he blinked and his uncle nodded. He was silent for a moment and watched him eat. Then he realised... "So no one could trace your work."

He fell back in his chair, the file resting on his lap.

Gung'chul cut at the meat, the fork and knife scraping against the plate. He shoved a large piece in to his mouth and nodded.

"My encryption capabilities are a joke compared to you, Ke," he admitted as he swallowed his food. "I had to rely on the Republic's techs to do that stuff for me. You really think I was authorised to investigate this group? Hell no. No one was. It was officially funded by the Galactic Republic. You think they'd want someone like me pointing out their good credits were going to a bad cause?" He shook his head and shipped his coffee. Damn the boy could brew, he thought. "They slip this kind of thing right under the rug. And where the hell would that leave us? You're father already died because of this, what do you think would come of Mei's little one? Hm? And me? Abusing my power to exploit truth and access."

Ke looked again at the pile of files. There were so many.  This was everything they could possibly know about these people.

"But the Sixth Line... they..." Ke sighed and shook his head. "They are so far removed from what the Republic had in mind. I mean, Xia twisted them into terrorists. Weren't they supposed to be some sort of Jedi operative group? How'd they..." he still had a hard time wrapping his mind around this. "Are you saying Saresh stands behind terrorism now? I mean, she has to know that they were the bombing on Coruscant, right? You know the one... the spaceport."

Gung'chul shrugged and shook his head as he ate. He looked up and pointed his knife at Ke. "Isn't there some old saying from your dad's ancestors? Don't they have sayings for all sorts of things?"

Ke thought and downed the rest of his coffee. "Bing bu yan zha," he mumbled under his breath and stood up. "Nothing is too deceitful in war," he translated as he cracked his knuckles and started for the staircase.

"Yeah, that one," Gung'chul said. "Tell me..."

Ke stopped, one hand on the rail as he looked back at his uncle.

"The Empire," he inquired. "Am I making the right choice?"

Ke'rii was silent as he pondered his uncle's question. "I... I can't answer that for you. For me, it was right..." a lopsided grin washed over him. "Of course I was equally a pain in the ass to both sides, but..." his eyes met his uncle's. "Government's change. I don't agree with everything the Empire stands for, but they have treated me and my family equally and fairly. They gave me a clean slate, so..." he shrugged and gave a small smile before heading up to the bridge.

Gung'chul took his nephew's words into consideration and nodded before going back to work on his dinner.

"And I think you'll like Minister Heermann," Ke called down from above. "You both already agree that I should straighten up!"

"Good to hear!" Gung'chul called up and chuckled.

"Yeah! You both think I should be in uniform!"

Gung'chul shook his head and chuckled. It was about time this man settled down and straitened up. Already, he was feeling respect for this Heermann authority figure.

The Shengli lifted from the ground, a little shaky, a little rocky. She needed maintenance, but she would hold together... at least until they were back home...

The End.