Camera pans slowly down towards a desk. A blonde secretary is seated behind the secretary's desk, as is their way. She is looking down at her nails stereotypically, completely ignoring the tall, handsome man in front of her.

*Ahem* The man coughed subtly.

"Hello? Can I help you?"

"I have an appointment."

"Mr . . .?"

"Darillian."

"One moment please." The secretary looked down at her datapad. "Ah, yes, the 12.05. The Doctor's with another patient at the moment. If you'd take a seat."

"Yes. And thank you," the dark-haired man said. "I can see you're very busy."

The secretary looked up from her nails and smiled prettily, then got back down to filing them once more. Darillian sat heavily down on one of the leather armchairs.

There were a few moments of silence. The ticking of an old-fashioned clock could be heard coming from the digital wall-clock, counting: 12.04, 12.05, 12.06, 12.07, 12.08, 12.09, 12.10 . . .

"Look," the man said, getting up and moving back to the secretary. "I really haven't got all day." You couldn't tell the man was lying. It was as though he were an actor. "And I spoke on the comm to Doctor," he stretched out the title, "Phanan, and he said 12.00 would be fine, and that he was free all day."

"It will be just one moment longer, sir," the secretary replied.

"Oh, for SITH'S SAKE!" Darillian raised his voice, leaned over the table and pressed the comm. "Phanan, get your metallic posterior out here and fire your secretary!"

A moment later, Dr. Phanan sauntered out of his office, a remarkable feat considering his prosthetic leg. "Ah, Darillian," he drawled. "Sorry about the wait. Please, step into my office."

"Will you be needing anything, Doctor?" the secretary asked in a perky voice with bored undertones.

"No, thanks, Mish. Hold all calls." At that, the blonde went back to filing her nails. Darillian wondered idly how her nails managed to stay so long if she spent all her time filing them.

Phanan sauntered back into his office with Darillian trailing behind him, fuming.

[I]There is another blonde in Phanan's office. This one is obviously the nurse; she wears a white hat and a short white skirt. [/I]

"Kat, will you leave me with Mr. Darillian here, please?" Phanan asked in a smooth tone.

The nurse, who had been sitting perched on the corner of Phanan's desk, slid off and left the room wordlessly with a charming pout.

Phanan sat behind his desk in an impressive leather chair and motioned for Darillian to take one of the uncomfortable-looking metal chairs in front of the desk. Darillian sat down. He immediately started shifting in his seat, trying futilely to find a relaxing position.

"So what is it you're doing here?" Phanan asked bluntly, abandoning the silky tone he had used with his employees.

Darillian hesitated. Where to start, he wondered. Ah yes, how to explain his sudden appearance, as the reader was only just aware of the fact that he is Captain Darillian and not Face Loran, as was previously hinted? Or perhaps that he is, only this particular author doesn't want to divulge this information just yet. Aw, to sith with that: "I'm looking for a woman," he said.

The Doctor's eyes widened. Well, his one eye, that is. The red-glowing orb that served for his other eye just brightened in intensity somewhat. "A woman?" Phanan repeated.

Darillian nodded. "A woman."

"What do you need a woman for?" Phanan asked. "Apart from the obvious, of course. I mean, I can't help you find one, but . . . If you need hints from the most wonderful and devastatingly handsome doctor in the bizz, well, you've found him." He smirked.

"You haven’t understood me, Doctor, you see, it's only the one woman I'm looki-"

The comm unit buzzed. "Dr. Phanan to the reception area." Mish's voice came through loud and clear.

Dr. Phanan sighed and pressed his comm in the manner of someone who'd been caught out one too many times. "Is it really important?" he asked, adopting those smooth tones again.

"Yes, doctor." Kat's voice.

"If you'll excuse me," Phanan said to Darillian. "I think my employees are up to their old tricks again." Without another word, Ton up and left, glancing back at the uncomfortably seated Darillian as he closed the door.

"What is it?" Phanan asked Kat and Mish, who were now both seated behind the reception desk, concern plastered on their faces. The theme music from SG-1 played softly in the background, coming from the small holoscreen they'd obviously just been watching.

"Ton . . . It's your Glass Prowler," Kat said, tears forming in her eyes. Mish passed her a tissue.

Concern now began to plaster itself on Phanan's face. "What is it?" he asked again, slightly crestfallen.

"It's - it's . . ." Kat began, passing the metaphorical baton over to Mish. Phanan reflected she looked quite, quite, lovely, yet vulnerable in her nurse's outfit, but then switched his attention over to his secretary. Mish's eyes were also looking more on the red side of things, like she'd just been crying. Surely it couldn't be that bad? He took a moment to detail how Mish would look in the nurse's outfit, and mentally slapped himself for losing concentration in the light of seeing his two blonde and incredibly attractive employees.

"It's sick, Ton," Mish said, and brought out the small tank that the Glass Prowler lived in from under the receptionist desk. This in itself was an oddity, as the tank was usually kept upon the counter, so that Mish would have something to look at when there were no clients cluttering up the waiting room. Well, what else do receptionists do?

Phanan looked over the small insect. It was turning an unfetching shade of yellow. Definitely not a happy camper. "I want to find out how to cure this thing, and I want to find out how to do it NOW," the Doctor said in commanding tones, which sent a shiver of admiration and respect up both his employees’ spines.

"Yes Doctor," Kat and Mish said at the same time.

Phanan turned away, a lump in his throat. If there was one thing he didn't want to see die, it was his Storini Glass Prowler. Ran, the security guard, ought to be able to look into this for him. How could a remarkably cute insect held in a plastic container in a Doctor's surgery that was impeccably clean get ill? Phanan wasn't sure, but he had a feeling it had something to do with . . . Darillian.

Of course, he had no evidence to back this claim up, but what is evidence, once you get down to it?

Deep breath.

"Sorry about that, Darillian." Phanan opened the door of his room and sauntered in, swinging himself casually into his leather chair, whilst simultaneously checking his desk out for things Darillian might have 'relocated' while he was dealing with Mish and Kat. "You were saying?"

"I'm looking for a woman."

"Ah, yes. Well, there are two outside. They're both in need of comfort. I don't really want to see them go, but if you're desperate and if you can convince one of them to go with you, I guess I could accept that."

Darillian sighed. "No, I'm looking for one particular woman."

"Oh, really? Which one? And why did you come to me?" Phanan was slightly intrigued.

"Her name is Dr. Vitrum Cimex. She's the galaxy's foremost expert on insectoid diseases." Darillian looked carefully at the Doctor, gauging his response.

Phanan's eyes glazed over. Ah, Vitrum, he remembered her well. They'd had a marvelous time together on… well, he forgot the planet name. He hadn't seen much of it. But he remembered her. He'd seen a lot of her.

He shook his head, clearing the reverie from his mind. "Why are you looking for her?"

"There's been an epidemic of some sort. No one is sure what has happened or why, but several species of insects have been nearly wiped out. There's almost no connection between the affected species, but…" Darillian trailed off. He wasn't quite sure how Phanan would take the upcoming news, but he had a suspicion, and that made him wish to put off the announcement as long as possible.

"But? Out with it, Darillian. What's the connection?"

Darillian hesitated. "All the affected species are related to the Glass Prowlers of Storinal."

Phanan's natural eye narrowed, and the cyborg one's red glow became somehow more malevolent. At the same time, there was a tinny female gasp. Darillian looked down to see that the comm was on.

The Doctor stormed out of the room. Darillian scrambled out of his chair and followed out into the waiting room. Kat and Mish were both peering intently into the Glass Prowler's tank. They looked up at the two men. "Ton, we heard," Mish began.

"I know," Phanan said grimly. "We have to find Vitrum. I REFUSE to let this bug die!"

"Time for a mission?" Kat asked. Phanan nodded. "Come on, Mish," the nurse continued. "Let's go get ready."

Darillian indulged himself in watching the two women walk out of the room, then turned to Phanan. "Umm… are you sure you want those two searching the galaxy for Dr. Cimex?"

Phanan snorted. "You bet I do. All you saw were the beautiful faces and the stereotypical behaviour. I'll have you know that my secretary and nurse are two of the deadliest, most accomplished Intelligence agents in the galaxy. They've both done time with ImpIntel and the NRI. And now they work for me."

Darillian carefully didn't let his surprise show on his face. Those two? Their entire demeanor screamed 'ditsy blondes'. But then, maybe that was the point. A thought struck Darillian. "Wait. Why do you need your hotshot spies to go after the Doctor?"

Phanan smirked mysteriously. "Well… Vitrum sort of went into hiding a couple years back."

"Really? I knew she was hard to find, but I thought I just wasn't looking in the right places. Why is she in hiding?"

"Ticked off the wrong people. She has powerful enemies."

Darillian wondered how in the galaxy an insect veterinarian ticked off powerful people, but he was too polite to ask the question.

"Is there anyone else who might be able to help my Glass Prowler?" Phanan asked. It struck him as odd that, after several years, he hadn't named the insect. He brushed that thought aside. "I can get my security guard on the case, too."

Darillian mulled over the question for a second. "I don't think so. Or at least, if there is, my superiors haven't told me about them." He had expected Phanan to ask about his superiors, and he was looking forward to telling the Doctor that it was classified information. When Phanan merely gave him another smirk, Darillian felt a twinge of disappointment. He should have known that he couldn't hide anything from the man who knew everything. He wasn't known as "The Superior Intellect" for nothing. "Anyway," Darillian went on, "thank you for your time."

"It wasn't a problem. And don't worry, We'll find her. Mish and Kat are the best."

Darillian nodded and was about to go when Phanan added, "Darillian… if there's something you're not telling me, you should do it now. Kat and Mish are loyal to me, and only to me, and if there's something you're not telling me…" The Doctor trailed off.

Darillian hesitated, then left.
 

Phanan sat behind his desk in the now-empty office. He sighed. Why did he always feel slightly at a loss when he sent Kat and Mish off to run an 'errand' for him?

He still wasn't sure why Darillian had come to him. And who the sith were his superiors? He'd pretended he knew, but he had no idea who would be sending Darillian to find an insect veterinarian. There were a bunch of things that seemed off. But Mish and Kat would figure it out, he was sure.

He leaned back in his chair and idly swung one of those small metal ball things, where you lift one ball, and that hits another, and then another and then the third which then hits the fourth, and continues the pattern. Ton didn't really understand the point of the office-toy, but kinda liked it 'cause it looked official. Also Kat had bought it for him for his last birthday. Mish had bought him one of those tubes you turn upside down and blue gunk falls out of the top in bubbles and falls down a slide to the bottom. He turned this over, watching the blue bacta-like goo fall, and sighed. What was he supposed to do with all this spare time? He was almost desperate enough to borrow some golf-clubs off someone and go and play golf.

He wondered if maybe Kat and Mish would let him come on the mission with them. It wasn't like he'd be a total liability . . . he'd done covert missions before. And in the unlikely even that one of the blonde spies got hurt, he could fix them up. He’d enjoy playing doctor with them . . .

The double doors to his office burst open and the dramatic lighting made two familiar shadows cast themselves into the office. They were both female, and held guns. The dramatic music playing in Phanan's head cut off when one said, "Well, I think we're almost ready, Ton."

"I was thinking," Ton began. "How would you two like it if I joined you on this mission?"

Mish's expressive eyebrows raised. "Don't you have a surgery to look after?" she asked.

Ton shrugged. "Ran can keep watch over it. And it's not like I have any patients to worry about."

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Mish asked, then shrugged. "I'm sure Ran will appreciate the Work-Experience."

"You really want to come, Ton?" Kat asked. "It could be dangerous. And if you get hurt again . . ." She trailed off.

Phanan thought about this. If he got hurt again . . . well, that'd be another piece of metal in his side. He replied smoothly, "I don't get hurt."

Kat and Mish looked at each other. Ton was sure they were communicating in some way, but he couldn't tell how. They turned back to him. "Sure, you can come," Kat told him.

"I never doubted you'd make the right decision," Ton said, still playing smooth. "After all, I do have a Superior Intellect."

Kat looked at Mish. Mish rolled her eyes. Their boss was so amusing sometimes.

Kat looked at Ton sternly. "You know that if you're coming, you have to listen to us and do what we say. Right?"

Phanan whistled a jaunty tune. "Sure, sure," he said, getting up and walking through to the reception with the two girls.

"Hey, Ton, what about the Glass Prowler?" Mish asked.

Phanan paused. "Should we maybe bring it with us? It can't be left alone, especially if it's sick. I don't trust Ran to take care of my pet."

"Remember what happened last time?" Kat added.

Ton nodded, looking slightly morose.

Ton hadn't gone on a mission with Mish and Kat for over a year. He'd taken the Glass Prowler with him that last time. Unfortunately, they'd ended up on a planet that worshiped invisible bugs.

It had not gone well.

Ton shook his head. They'd only just gotten out of that one . . . But leaving Ran with his faithful, sick Glass Prowler? That really didn't work. Ran was an ace security guard, and could look after the office in the meantime, but Ton didn't trust him with a sick insect. Thoughts of miniature Glass Prowler steaks on the barbeque made Phanan shudder internally.

"So, we're taking it then?" Mish interjected his thoughts, before they could get any more morbid.

Phanan nodded and took out the travelling case from the bottom drawer of Mish's reception desk. He picked up the Glass Prowler carefully and put him inside, after making sure he was comfy and giving him some bedding etc, of course. Ton looked into the transparisteel window of the travelling case. The Prowler didn't look happy, but then, he hadn't looked very happy in his regular tank. "Should we feed him?" the Doctor asked, concerned.

"If he'll eat something," Mish said. "He's quite pedantic at the best of times." She leaned over the desk and pulled out a small bottle of 'green speck things', and handed it to the Doctor. "He only likes the lighter green ones!" Mish explained, as Phanan peered in the bottle, perplexed.

Ton carefully shook out some of the light green speck things. The Glass Prowler, visible because of its sick yellow tinge, looked at the food and then looked away again disdainfully, or so it seemed to Phanan.

Mish went "Aww…" under her breath. She hated to see her 'adopted baby' like this, and seeing Phanan look at the Glass Prowler so forlorn made her sad too. She coughed gently, to clear her throat. "You coming?"

Ton lifted the travelling case. "Yeah, I'm coming. So, have you worked out identities for this mission? Who do I get to be?"

"Earnest the Wonder Ewok," Mish replied levelly.

"EXCUSE ME???" Ton choked out. "How the sith am I supposed to be an Ewok, let alone a Wonder one?!?!"

Kat replied, "It's easy, Phanan. All we have to do is bunch you up really small into an Ewok suit - we borrowed one off one of your old X-Wing buddies, Janson - and cover all those metallic plates of yours with fur. And paint your nose so it's a cute little button-nose."

Phanan gaped for several moments. He bore a strong resemblance to a fish. "Well then, who are you two supposed to be??"

"Ria and Lia Amber, a pair of bounty hunters we've used before," Mish told him.

Phanan looked them over, trying to decide if they looked the bounty hunter part. Both women wore tight leather jumpsuits - Kat's navy blue, Mish's hunter green. They had holsters at back, waist, thigh, and ankle, all of them filled with weaponry. Their blonde hair had been slicked back, Mish's away from her face, and Kat's into a ponytail.

Yeah, he could buy them as bounty hunters.

"So why would two bounty hunters be travelling with an Ewok?" Ton asked. He thought that maybe the Ewok thing was a joke. But then again, this was Kat and Mish. And last month Janson had visited, with a large parcel for Mish and Kat. Ton had brushed it off at the time. After all, it wasn't surprising when a notorious flirt had presents for two extremely good-looking females. But in hindsight, the parcel looked ominous . . . very ominous.

Kat's eyes widened at Phanan's question. "You mean you haven't heard of the notorious criminal Earnest the Wonder Ewok?" she asked.

Phanan turned to Mish.

She shrugged semi-apologetically. "That was the first galaxy-class bounty I could think of."

"Wait, wait, wait," Ton said. "Is this Wonder Ewok guy real, and do I have to be him?"

"Of course he's real," Mish told him.

"But we'll find someone else for you to me if you don't want to be Earnest," Kat added.

Well . . . Maybe it wouldn't be that bad . . . No, Phanan decided, he should be someone else. Impersonating an Ewok was a felony on some worlds. "Okay. I'll be someone else. You're sure this is alright?"

The two blondes shrugged. Mish leaned over and whispered something to Kat.

Phanan thought maybe he'd caught her words. But no, he couldn't have.

Mish couldn't have said, "Missions were getting too easy anyway."

It was inconceivable.