Chapter 12

I didn't realize that I ended my last transmission by calling Tyree and Yun my family. I guess it shouldn't surprise you then, that after a year with her, I finally married Tyree. I have to say that at the time, it was the most wonderful day of my life. The wedding, I mean. It was...I don't think words can describe it. Just try to imagine being a piece of a missing puzzle, and after years of searching for the puzzle you belong to, you find it and fit right in place. That's probably the best I can do.

I was worried, at first, how Yun would react. To my surprise, and my appreciation, he liked having me around, though he couldn't call me 'dad' or 'father.' It was always 'Rusl.' Not that I blamed him, of course. I mean, how could I? He was a child. Still is one. And besides, I haven't exactly been the father he deserves all the time, try as I might. I still love the kid, and he loves me. We truly were a happy family.

Unfortunately, my marriage got in the way of my work. Well...more accurately, it got in the way of my co-workers. My team seemed to take offense with my attempts to 'settle down', despite the fact that that wasn't what I was doing. I never quite understood it, but they eventually went on to do their own things. As such, my mercenary work ran dry. I did my best working with Tyree and her small business, but I was not a good salesperson or an accountant. What was worse, someone had been silencing some of my contacts, and there was no doubt in my mind that Am'ithiel was close to finding me. For a time, I was deeply concerned for the safety of my family.

That's when...they showed up.

I'd actually received a job offer by an anonymous source. I was told to meet this source late one evening. Naturally, I came fully armed in the event that this was a trap. And at first, I was almost positive it was. The fact that we were meeting at an abandoned warehouse certainly had me on my toes, but what really threw me off was that the person I was meeting was a sith.

I could tell that this wasn't one of those wannabes like Lindru. He was the real deal. A tall, strong pureblood in metallic black armor. There was something in his stance that, for a while, I was actually intimidated by him. I don't say that lightly. Few people can do that to me. Anyway, he was waiting for me to appear, and once I realized that he was a sith, I didn't bother hiding anymore. He would've been able to sense me had I tried.

"I've been waiting for you, Rusl Hymark." He said in his booming voice. "Don't let it happen again."

I was still too startled to find his comment as absurd as it was. I kind of just stood their in silence for a little while, waiting to see if he had anything else to say.

I doubted he was working with Am'ithiel since she wouldn't have brought a sith to deal with me, but I didn't want to assume he did not have a separate reason for wanting me dead. My blaster hand twitched a couple times, despite the fact that I knew it would be worthless against someone with such mastery of the Force.

"You have a mission for me?" I finally breathed.

"More than that." He claimed as he finally turned to face me. His eyes glowed a fiery red, but his smile was what set me off. It wasn't one of gloating, rather of appeasement. "I have a job for you; full-time one at that."

My first thought was that he wanted me back in Imperial Intelligence, but that couldn't have been right. "What kind of job are we talking about?"

His smile got even wider than before. "To kill the Emperor and create a new order in the Empire."

I couldn't suppress a chuckle when he said that, but he was still giving off an air of sincerity. He also didn't waver when he heard my laugh. That worried me. "How do you expect to do that?"

The sith held up a warning finger. "Details will come if you accept."

"Then forget it. I'm not interested." Even if he was part of a rogue faction of the Empire, I didn't believe for a second that the new leadership could possibly be any better than the old one. I also didn't think that the missions I'd be sent on would be any better than those I'd previously done with the Empire. As such, there was little question in my mind how to answer his request. But he wasn't done, and just as I was about to leave, he called me back.

"We understand someone has been hunting you." That paused me in my tracks. "And if we were able to find you, how long do you think it will take for that person?"

I noticed he didn't use a gender pronoun at the end. Yeah, I know it's an odd thing to pick up on, but that told me a little about him. Still I chose to turn around and face him once more. "You think you can offer me anonymity?"

"No. We're giving you a better hiding place. It's because you've chosen to stay here with your family that your stalker is catching up to you. With us, you'll always be on the move. So long as you continue to show the same level of caution, that should keep your friend away."

He was right. Since I'd settled down, I was making myself an easier target. But I didn't like the idea of leaving my family behind, or taking them traveling with people I didn't know and probably couldn't trust. But there was one thing I knew I couldn't deal with: Am'ithiel. If I did wait around and do nothing, she would certainly find me, and I shuddered to think about what she might do to my family.

"You'll offer refuge for my family?"

"Of course." The sith said without a second hesitation.

"And what kind of work will I be doing?"

"Whatever you're best at."

"Your offer sounds to good to be real."

"Would you like for me to make it less so?"

Sarcasm from a sith. It felt as though I'd seen everything. "How do I even know that this offer is legit?"

"My word of honor."

That was surprisingly unsettling. I really thought I'd seen everything then. But no, there would be many things for me to see with those sith that would trounce all of this. But I couldn't accept just yet. I told the sith I would think about it, and he said that the offer would stand for as long as it took.

So I talked things over with Tyree, and she was of course very suspicious about the whole thing. Not only did she not trust the sith either, she didn't want to take Yun out of his class while the school year was still going. Yet, she too feared when Am'ithiel might catch up to us. In the end, I agreed to take the offer, but Tyree and Yun would only come when the school year was over and if it looked to be safe.

So started the beginning of the end of my story.