Survival, Dark Times 3

[hk47fan]

Duskbringer

Dawn took off, and I looked at Alsia. "He's right, lets get back to the speeder and head out. We're running out of time," I told her, breaking out in a run myself.

She followed, and within seconds, we were both back at the speeder. The others were still awake, but were probably too tired to even move much at this rate.

I swung back into the driver's seat, and began to follow Dawn. Both of us kept on the trail of the Tusken footsteps, and I had to wonder why the group would willingly travel with a group of savages...something was very off.

"I see the camp in the distance," I said to Dawn, picking it up on my scanner.

[Revan Jast]

"Indeed," Dawn said, now running for the settlement at full speed. "We'll approach with caution, but keep your weapons up if we need to go that route."

The large cyborg slowed to a halt once he was about 100 feet away. The outer guards had spotted him, and were conversing with one another in low growls and grunts. He activated his translator and listened in.

"Machines are coming," the one on the right said.

"Humans with them. Perhaps they are here for the injured?" That was the other guy.

"Indeed," Dawn said in their language, his growls sounding with a mechanical tinge. "You have our people with you?"

[hk47fan]

Duskbringer

The Tusken Raiders nearly jumped ten feet in the air, and screamed out, after Dawn spoke to them. They immediately grabbed their gaffi sticks, and looked ready to attack, but luckily the rest of us came up at just the right time.

"We're not here to harm you, if you cooperate," I said, also speaking in the Tusken tongue now. "We are just looking for some friends and allies...are they alright? Are they here?"

The Tuskens looked at one another, no doubt suspicious, but finally looked back to us. "Yes, we have them...we were there to kill them for slaying our kin earlier in the day, but our chief took pity upon them. One woman is very ill, and another is critically injured."

"Critically injured? I know one of them was sick, but I don't recall another having problems," I commented, raising my eyebrow.

"We are not sure of the details, we just know that both are near death. It is likely due to our tribe that they have lived this long."

I nodded. "Your species is alot kinder than I initially percieved...we're here to take them off of your hands, and get them all help. Can you take us to them?"

"Yes," one responded, nodding at the other.

"Whats going on?" Marlena asked.

I began to speak Basic again. "They have given them shelter...very generous, especially considering that they're Sand People. They mentioned Jenn being very sick, but mentioned another being critically injured."

"What? I don't remember anyone getting injured," Alsia said.

"I guess we'll see when we go inside. Come on."

We all got out of the speeder, and followed the Tuskens inside their camp.

[Rain]

Daron

The screaming woke me up. "It's too early, just let me sleep a while longer..." I said, still in dreamland. It took me a few moments to remember where I was. I sat up and exitted the warm tent, recoiling as the fierce cold hit me. I looked and seen a group, heading with the Tuskens to the otehr tent, the one Jenn, Jan and the doc were in. It was Alsia and the rest of our group! And with them Dawn and Dusk. It looked like rescue came.

I ran over beside them. "You guys finally made it then, huh. Does anyone have a jumper?"

[hk47fan]

Duskbringer

I smirked at him. "Sorry, but no...don't worry, though, we'll be out of here in no time. We just have to talk to the chief and check on the two endangered ones." I told him.

"Thank goodness, all of this is almost over," Marlena said with a breath of relief. "It feels more real now."

The chief came out from the tent, and bowed slightly at us. "Greetings...my fellow tribe members told me that you are here to collect your friends. We have been able to keep the two injured ones alive, but they need more help than we can give them."

"We'll get them that help. May I see them?" I asked.

He nodded, and led all of us inside the tent...I also saw Naos come up to our side, and he looked nervous. Once in the tent, my eyes widened at what I saw: These two did look to be near death.

"Jan! What the hell?!" Allison screamed, running to her side.

"What happened to her?!" Marlena gasped.

"Blame me," Naos said, looking down to the ground. "I...I got angry and shoved her up against a rock. It was accidental, but I still did it...I just want her to live."

"You what?! You bastard, you what?!" Allison yelled.

"You always were a hothead," I said to Naos, proceeding to switch to a mode that could examine Jenn and Jan's health more indepthly. I crouched down, staring at them both.

"Wait...." I said, glancing at Jan. "Did you know that she's-"

"No." Allison hissed, giving both Dawn and I a death glare. I glanced to Dawn, but then looked back at Allison, and slowly nodded.

Its Jan's business...not mine. I'll leave it be.

"What were you gonna say?" Alsia asked curiously.

"That she needs to get medical help as quickly as possible. So does Jenn, for that matter...their stats show that they're alive, but just barely. You're lucky that the Tuskens got there when they did, but they still need to get to an actual MedBay. We'll have to drop them off at a facility in Mos Eisley,"

"Thats probably for the best...I don't think we had any intentions of joining up with the NR, either," Allison said. "Arthren and I can watch over them."

"We can't waste any time, then. Lets get Caleb and Arthren, and get out of here." I told them, standing up. I looked at the Tusken leader. "Thank you."

[Revan Jast]

Caleb rubbed his eyes as he awoke, the noises in the other rooms startling him. Was that a robot talking?

Jumping up, he pushed his way through the tanned bantha hide that served as a curtain/door drape and froze. "Holy hell, you found us!"

Dawn stepped froward and patted Caleb on the shoulder. "Of course we did. We weren't called super weapons for no reason."

Caleb grinned. "Arthren, wake up! The calvery is here!"

"I'm sure your wife will be glad to know you're alive and well," Dawn said. "She was quite worried. Unusual to see that emotion in her."

"Oh, she's a peach when she wants to be," Caleb replied with a wink. "How're the girls?"

"Stable, for now. They both need more medical attention, though. As advanced as we are, we're no good when it comes to healing the injured."

[hk47fan]

Duskbringer

"Yes, we were brought back as cyborgs to do just about everything but healing. That wasn't what the Empire had in mind with us," I told Caleb with a sigh. "We just need to get them out of here."

"Whoa," Arthren said, rubbing her eyes as she walked out of the tent. "This must be a dream. A mirage."

"Far from it," Marlena said with a small laugh. "We've been found. This is finally over."

"We're taking Jenn and Jan to Mos Eisley, Arthren. They need to be at an actual facility as soon as possible...I was thinking we could stay there with them." Allison told her friend.

"Sounds good. Didn't wanna stick around the rest of you, anyway, no offense...just not my type." Arthren said.

"We understand," Alsia told her, turning around to watch as some Tuskens lifted the two women and carried them out to the speeder, with help and advice from Uli.

We all walked outside the camp, and watched as they gently placed them inside the speeder. Everyone slowly began to board the speeder, and Alsia turned back to the chief, who had come out with us. "Thanks for all your help. Last thing I expected from a Tusken Raider," she said.

"She's really grateful for you and your tribe helping us...we all are. A couple of us may be dead if it weren't for you," I translated, in the Tusken language.

"It was no trouble. We are not as rough and evil as some out here perceive. We're just territorial...I'll admit, we had intentions of killing you, but we just couldn't do it. We were glad to help you and all of your friends." the chief said.

I went back to Basic. "He says no problem, and that Sand People may be territorial, but they're not all bad."

Alsia smiled, and nodded. "I guess its time for us to go...thanks again, and bye."

She turned and walked over to the speeder, and I followed her. Soon enough, we were all inside the speeder...and we were very lucky that it was large enough to hold all of us. Dawn was beside us, and we all looked at the tribe of Tuskens one last time.

We waved at them, and they waved at us. I started up the engines, and within seconds, we were all on our way.

Dawn and I would have to tell them about the chaos in the NR eventually...but right now, they just needed to rest, and we had to get Jan and Jenn to a hospital.

"Well, everybody, lets go home." I finally said.

Even if its not the place you think it is.

[RobbyL9]

Blades and Sticks

Surrounded by the sounds of whirring engines and the clatter of rain against the shuttle window Blades and Sticks sat around, patiently awaiting their arrival to their latest mission. Sticks still hadn't quite forgiven Blades for forcing them to leave Nar Shaddaa so suddenly and accidentally murdering an innocent hooker in the process, but they had to work together so he put it behind him. The look still showed on Sticks' face, though: deeply contemplative with a light scowl of seriousness.

"You doin' okay man? You haven't said much since we boarded." Blades asked, his expression turning friendly.

Sticks didn't shift and continued looking at nothing "Yeah. Fine." he practically muttered.

This sort of tension never changed their mission. They were mercenaries and soldiers of a two-man platoon. Sworn by a non-existent oath based largely on money to protect each other and accomplish the mission at all costs. And this mission was looking like a tough one.

They had been hired through an agent to be drop-shipped onto a hostile environment on the fringes of space. Their mission was to find a pirate base there and destroy anything they saw. With the exception of the pirates' loot; for some reason their already rich employer wanted this stuff confiscated.

Their main target: A trandoshan pirate by the name of Skosska. Despite being relatively new and small-time, he'd already made a name for himself raiding freighters. He'd send in an advance party in disguise to scout out, then warp in on his targets and attack in force, leaving without any prisoners. His most brutal crimes, however, were reserved for his attacks on wookiee strongholds. All the wookiees he ever scalped were now a part of the cape around his neck.

With all this information in their hands, it presented a good reason to take him down. But it certainly didn't do anything for the lack of knowledge they had on the terrain. Blades and Sticks' special training would have to come into play during this mission.

The shuttle continued flying and Blades checked his watch.

He gave his blood brother a light slap on the shoulder. "Time to suit up, bro. It's jump time."
Sticks nodded and reached down to grab his wookiee skull mask.

[Revan Jast]

"I trust you understand what you need to do?"

Dropping his cigarette to the ground and stamping it out, Kurt nodded and smiled a bit. The figure of the hologram seemed pleased. Kurt didn't always like getting his missions via holo-network, mostly because it could be spotty and he could miss vital details. It'd been completely secure so far, though, and that suited the battle-hardened merc just fine.

"Good. Because I would hate to repeat myself."

Kurt's smiled widened. They weren't Kurt's choice, of course. The holograms, that is. Everyone else preferred to keep him on a world that wasn't theirs when they dealt with him. He wasn't well known by any means, at least not to the eye of the galaxy. But in higher up circles of friends, the kind of friends that worked behind the curtains, they called him the Hunter.

Hunting was pretty much what he did, although his prey wasn't any animal... well, unless you consider human scum to be animals. Back in the day he used to kill anyone as long as the money was good and he didn't get caught, but things came pretty close to a clusterfuck on a certain mission and he'd changed his rules from that moment on. Money wasn't an issue anymore, he had enough. These days, it was the sport of the kill. The feel of the kill. The thrill of the kill.

Sometimes he was asked to do other things as well, like tonight. Xizor wanted him to raid a pirate compound for supplies and kill everyone he came into contact with, then blow the place to hell. That was fine with him. He'd grab the items first, and then go for the blood. Or maybe mix it up a little...

Easy as cake.

Kurt shut the holo-emitter off and walked up the ramp of his personal ship and took a seat in the cockpit. He'd be there in no time.

---------------

Kurt had gone to Chandrila, as per Winter's lead, and found nothing, at first. Not much of a lead, he'd thought. Had he been 5 years younger, he would have then thought: what a let down! But that was 5 years ago, and he knew better than to just let it go. So he snooped around... and he turned up a couple interesting things. The first of these (and the least important) was cash; the second was an actual mission. He accepted it without too much thought, keeping in mind that this one was definitely staying out of the record books... and Winter's office.

[RobbyL9]

The light in the cabin flashed red, signaling the two mercenaries to rise to their feet. Both had by now put on their wet gear and blast-proof vests. As they snapped their parachutes into place, they went over the mission plan one last time before the green light.

"Okay objectives, go!" Sticks said, tightening the straps on his chute.

"Target is one pirate, Skossa. His resume includes ship looting, murder, wookiee scalping and using said scalps to make a cape. He is to be killed and his compound blown up." Blades ran through the mission file in his head.

"What about his crew?"

"They're all fair game. The real objective is to remove all evidence of installation. I'd say that includes people who've worked there before."

The shuttle shook and the two leaned back as it climbed higher. They caught themselves on the overhead rails and continued tying their chutes after they caught their footing.

Sticks put the finishing touches on and continued "But that's not all, is it?"

"Hell no." Blades responded pulling the last strap tightly "Contact says that any enemy property is to be confiscated and removed from the installation via skiff before detonation."

The overhead light turned yellow, signaling the open of the bay door. Wind and a heavy rain rushed in from outside. Almost no visibility this high up. This was going to be a tough jump, not to mention dangerous, to pull off in the rain. But it had to be done to avoid being shot down.

"Remember Blades. Arrow fall. Fifteen seconds, pull the cord." Sticks cautioned, flipping his mask down.

"Thanks bro! See you on the other side!" Blades called over the howling wind, flipping down his mask.

The light flashed green and the jump alarm sounded. Without a second thought, the two mercenaries threw themselves out of the shuttle at the same time. They held their bodies aerodynamically to fall quickly and counted the seconds to pull their cords. Time to go to work again.

[Revan Jast]

Kurt exited out of hyperspace, bringing the ship to a slow pace. The world of Gobindi spread out before him, the surface covered in large 'patches' of dark green, light green, and some blue that he assumed to be large bodies of water. He removed his headset and set the ship on autopilot towards the surface of the planet, activating the cloaking device. The engines quietened at once, giving Kurt a slight chill. He'd never been too fond of space.

He moved to the back of the ship and armored up completely, also making sure all his weapons were loaded. The computer suddenly beeped at him; something was on the radar!

Rushing to the cockpit, he took a look at the screen. Just in time, too: a dot that could only be a small shuttle As he watched, a pair of dots appeared on the edge of the map and just as quickly they vanished again, making him feel slightly puzzled. What was that?

No matter, he had more important things to attend to. He landed the ship carefully, as to not send up a huge cloud of dust. Once completed, he unbuckled his restraints and grabbed his weapons. It was quiet, so that meant he hadn't been found. Good.

The air wasn't that bad, but he'd tasted better. Inserting filters into his nostrils for a better smell, he set off for the stronghold to complete his mission. Get in, get the stuff, and blow the place to hell.

All there was to it.

[RobbyL9]

The drop into the danger zone was successful and linked up after locating their drop point equipment with their rifles and equipment. Blades had his usual dual pistols, E-3 assault rifle and Rose at hand. Sticks however, took a much more heavy-handed approach this time and upgraded his weapons to suit the task. He now carried a heavy pistol, assault rifle and a Plex missile launcher.

"Ain't no pirates gonna be left after that thing goes off, huh?" Blades quipped loading his guns. Sticks exhaled and nodded his head in agreement, the two of them headed off.

According to their map, the two were still a few clicks west of the target compound. It was unapproachable from any closer because there were Plex turrets surrounding the area. No longer a threat, however, these turrets would be disabled once the base blew and the shuttle would be able to pick them up with no trouble.

The planet was certainly a good place to disguise a pirate base. The rain forest covered ninety-some percent of the surface and the rain was very consistent, giving the surface a thick canopy to shield it from prying eyes. The surface of the planet even reminded the two of them of home. Except there didn't seem to be any flesh-melting swamp fish disguised as rocks.

After getting underway and navigating over hills and through raging rivers, they were alerted by their map that they had breached the estimated outer boundaries of the compound. Guards would now be an issue.

Before they went any further, they decided to rest and have some rations. Maybe it was the gravity or something in the air, but they both felt more tired than usual. They pulled out their military surplus MREs at random and held them upside down to play a little game.

"Ready, go." Blades whispered. Simultaneously, they ripped open the string on the casing and opened their rations at the same time. Blades got dried fruit slices and Sticks crackers and jam. They sat there and ate, Sticks still unusually quiet. His mask was only partially flipped up, obscuring all but his mouth from view which still had a serious look.

"All right Sticks, talk to me babe. Something is definitely bothering you and we can't have that." Blades leaned in and whispered to avoid being drowned out by the sound of the rain. After a few seconds of silence, Sticks closed his MRE and flipped his mask all the way up.

"Blades. Remember when we were first cadets?" Blades shrugged slightly and nodded. He opened his mouth to continue when a tiny zinging sound hit Sticks' ear and slowly got louder. Acting on instinct, he tackled Blades to the ground. "GET DOWN!"

His instincts were correct, just as they hit the ground a bolt hit the tree next to them, sending sparks into the air. The two flipped their masks down and rushed down the hill in front of them to get cover.

"What in the hell was that?" Blades whispered angrily.

"Dunno, but they obviously detected us for some reason." Sticks whispered back frantically.

Blades stayed low to the ground "You have the missile launcher but I have the charges, we separate the lock from the key and split up."

"I'll take the north, you go south and hopefully we lose them. We meet up and signal with two pings."

The exchange took place so quickly that by the time the perimeter guards arrived, they had already split. Several guards got a visual on Blades and followed him southwest. They obviously were much more used to the terrain because even at a sprinting pace, they closed in on Blades and began to shoot. Skillfully, he dodged and weaved around trees.

This continued for a couple miles and Blades found a place which seemed good for making a stand. Vaulting over a large boulder, he readied his rifle and fired in the direction of the incoming pirates.

[hk47fan]

Duskbringer

It had been a day since we rescued the stranded team on Tattooine...now, we were on a private transport, and were almost back to Bespin. We dropped Jenn, Jan, Allison, and Arthren off at a Mos Eisley medical bay, and said goodbye to the former Black Sun allies.

I just hope Jenn and Jan make it out okay.

Dawn and I had given the entire team time to rest and recooperate from that insane experience. After all, they spent days in the desert, and all of them looked like they were ready to just collapse.

Naos was the main one that stayed awake, though. It was obvious that he felt bad for what happened with Jan...I didn't know whether I should feel sympathy for him or not.

There was also the baby I detected...but I don't know the details of that. Allison was Jan's friend, and she'd know what she wanted better than any of us.

We had yet to inform any of them of Sora's actions, but everyone was arousing now, and we'd be to Bespin very soon.

Now was the time.

We all stood in a fairly large room, and Alsia looked up at both Dawn and I suspiciously.

"I think its time you tell us what the hell is going on. You've been acting strange ever since we left Tattooine," she finally said.

"You're right," I agreed, glancing to everyone. "I think its time we explain everything to you. While you were away...alot happened on Coruscant. More than you can imagine."

Allison

Arthren and I stood outside Jenn and Jan's rooms, which were right next to each other, in this Mos Eisley medical facility that the NR people had helped us find...we'd been here constantly throughout the past day, as the two got treated.

I had been wondering if Jan would want me to tell Naos about the baby...we discussed it several times. She acted like she was doing to do it, but the fact was, she never did...and they were around each other for a few days straight. She never told him in all of that time, and I wasn't going to out-step my boundaries. I had hope that she'd be alright, too.

We had parted ways with everyone from the NR. They had left Tattooine right after leaving the medical facility, and it made me realize how interesting all of this had been. Were those people my friends? No. Comrades? Not really. But they weren't enemies either. I had no love for them or the New Republic...none. At this point, though, I wasn't sure if I had any hatred for them, either. Not after all of this.

Except maybe for Redgrave. I wanted to throttle him, and it sounded like Arthren's initial reaction was the same way. However, we both knew that Jan wouldn't want that.

It also felt good to be around civilization again. For so long, I had been working with these groups, and was only around them and their allies. Now, though, I was free at long last, and was actually in a town for more than a quick trip.

Not to mention, we found out what Dusk subtly hinted at when she and Dawn first found us in the desert: The Chief-of-State had been removed from power, along with Han...and apparently, word was that they had fleed Coruscant and were now common criminals, along with all of Sora Trok's other friends. He was now Supreme Admiral, or some big fancy status, too.

Basically, Emperor with a less-blunt title.

Personally, it made me even more grateful that we hadn't left with the NR...or the people that used to be the NR. That was a mess that I wanted to stay far away from.

My eyes darted to the door that led into Jan's room, when it opened and the doctor stepped out. He smiled lightly at both of us.

"Any news, doctor?" I asked, trying to be as polite as possible. "How are they? We're dying for updates."

He gave a smile, but it was one of those smiles that wasn't one of joy, just a polite one. He proceeded to sigh. "There's alot of good news...more good news than bad. But the bad news is pretty big in itself."

I glanced at Arthren. "Good news first," I said.

"Jenn is doing considerably well. She was very bad when you first brought her in, but she's getting better. Jan's alive, and her condition is fairly stable, but she took a very bad hit on that rock. She was forced into it so hard that it cut deep into her head. I fear that she may not wake up." the doctor explained to us both.

"What?" I asked, my jaw dropping in shock. "Like, a coma?"

"Yes, a deep one. Its not out of the question for her to wake up, and we're still uncertain, but it doesn't look likely. Her wounds will heal, but even when they do, I worry that she'll still be unconscious."

"What about the baby?" I asked, concern visible in my voice. I knew that baby mattered to Jan, I could see it in her eyes, I heard it when she spoke. I didn't want it to suffer just because it's father has a temper problem.

"The baby, actually, is still healthy. Growing fine, from what the tests show. If you had waited too much longer to bring her in, then it may have been lost, but as long as Jan's on life support, the baby should be fine. Even if she remains in a coma for the rest of her life, she can still give birth to it...she just won't be conscious to see it." the doctor told us.

I looked to the floor.

Jan like that for the rest of her life? Unconscious, hooked up to tubes constantly? Not being able to raise her own child?

I glanced at Arthren. "At least...at least Jenn's doing well," I said, though the sadness could definitely be heard in my voice.

Sora

I sat in my office, reading the latest Intelligence reports. As Supreme Admiral, I got every single one...maybe a stray one would float Solon or Volt's way once in awhile, but I recieved them, for the most part. And that was yet another advantage of my new position. I could oversee many operations in the NR personally.

And this report had a lead that I had been direly hoping for.

Someone knocked on my door, and I looked up from the file. "Come in," I said.

Rhynna walked in, looking at me plainly. "Supreme Admiral, you called for me?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied with a nod. "Our latest intelligence has found a suspected contact of Daala's right on Coruscant. Apparently, some calls she made have been traced back to Imperials, and she's made a few visits to a system that some of Daala's Remnant has been spotted at in the past. She lives a cover life, probably with a fake family, here...we believe her to be a spy. Go there, and apprehend her."

"I'm on it. And take her to HQ?"

Again, I nodded. "Yes...she needs to be interrogated immediately. She may have critical information that could help us ifnd out how to stop Daala's part of the Remnant, and lead us to Daala herself. This is critical, Head-of-Security Volt...you can't let the New Republic down."

"How much pressure should I put on her?" Rhynna asked.

I was silent for a brief moment...I had an answer to that, but it was not one that felt good for me to say. It was yet another thing that was necessary, but would be a first for me...however, if I ever wanted to accomplish my goals, then I had to continue to put everything else aside and forge forward with the proper and right actions. The ones that I knew, deep down, were correct.

This isn't some innocent civillian. A suspected spy, an employee of the enemy...I cannot hesitate.

"Be as brutal as possible. Stop at nothing to get what we need out of her." I finally ordered, gulping as I did so, but knowing that there was no other way.

[Rain]

Xandyr

I slowly opened my eyes, and tried to sit up.

"Oh, careful sir!" I heard a mechanical voice say. I looked over to see a 2-1B Medical Droid in the corner. "If you sit up too fast you might rip your stitches. It is highly advisable for your to remain in your current position for at least another two hours."

I was in the hospital!

"Wh-" I began, but stuttered due to the fact I was so parched, "What happened to me?"

"It seems you were attacked, sir." The droid replied, "A critical blood vessel was ruptured. We had to operate quickly to seal it off. You are lucky that the young Nurse Foxx found you when she did. Another half hour and you almost certainly would have been dead."

"Nurse Foxx?" So Mara found me. I remembered it all now. The Dark Warrior. His name was no sounding less tacky, and far more serious. Why had he attacked me? Was he that angry over coming in third place? And how had he managed to defeat me so easily. True I was weaponless and caught off guard, but I used to be a Jedi. Something about him... it just seemed so familiar! "Where is she now?"

"She is in the canteen, sir. Believe it or not she is on her first break. She stayed with you all through the night."

[hk47fan]

Mara

"I can't believe you just found him there," Vania told me, while we sat at a table inside the canteen and I took a sip of water. "Your first 24 hours and you've already treated a patient in critical condition. Most new nurses don't usually do that...you know you could've passed him off to someone else."

"No, no," I told her, shaking my head. "I needed to treat him...I already did, earlier in the night. No sense for me to stop just because he's a little worse off. And hey, its good practice, right?"

However, despite the attempt at humor, my voice was a very bland one right now. Seeing the sight of Xandyrr injured and nearly dead was awful, horrible...but it was nothing I hadn't seen before. What alarmed me was the fact that it had happened in the first place.

All night, while I treated him, I wracked my brain trying to figure out who would do this. It wasn't just some random gang; Xandyrr could easily deal with them.

"And the fact that the guy was Snow Villiers is even more shocking..." Vania muttered.

I blinked. "You know of Snow Villiers?" I asked.

She chuckled. "I know swoop racing is illegal and pretty far down in the underworld, but my old boyfriend used to take me to the races. Up until we broke up recently, I'd seen many swoop races in my time, with him in them. I'm not some crazed fan, but there are plenty who are."

"Don't I know it," I mumbled to myself.

Wait...the swoop race. When Xandyrr first came in to see me, he was talking about how some new guy got mad and gave him those first scrapes and bruises.

"Hey," I began, wanting to ask Vania something. "At those races....do you know of some rookie who is easily angered? Makes other racers crash?"

Vania blinked. "No...actually, and you may not believe me when I tell you this, most of the races looked quite fair. Especially the ones with Snow in them...it was just good competing, nothing dangerous or vindictive."

I sighed, not sure what to think. This was just too strange for me, but hopefully Xandyrr would be conscious by now, and maybe he'd have some answers.

"I think I'm going to go check on him. My break's about up, anyway. I'll see you later," I told Vania, standing up and exiting the canteen.

Rhynna

I marched through the streets of Coruscant, with a rather large security team at my side. One of them was Winter, who I ordered to come with me...we were on the approach to the apartment where this spy lived.

All civillians got out of the way as we passed by, knowing by how well-equipped we were, that we meant business.

Finally getting to the door, I looked to another officer. "Bust it open," I said coldly.

He nodded, and immediately raised his foot, kicking the door down as hard as he could. It immediately flew open, and several security officers rushed inside.

We heard a few yell of surprises, and walked into the living room of an apartment, where four children, a man, and a woman sat. They all looked horrified.

The security officers ran forward, grabbing the kids, causing them to scream in surprise and protest.

"Hey, what are you doing?!!?" the woman yelled. "Those are our children!"

The kids screamed out for their parents as the officers kept a tight grip on them, and began to haul them out, while they kicked and cried.

"Get them to a safe facility. They're under government custody, for now," I told the officers. I turned back to the other security officers inside, and the couple. "Get the fake husband out of here."

"Fake husband?! What the he-get your hands off of me!" the man exclaimed, while two officers grabbed him. He struggled with them, and they shoved him up against the wall. He groaned in pain.

"Wha-what are you doing to my family?!" the woman yelled, tears visible in her eyes.

"You, ma'am, are under arrest for working with Admiral Daala and the Imperial Remnant. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law," I told her, walking over to her and firmly grabbing her wrist. "You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you."

"Get your hands off my wife, bitch!" the man yelled, breaking free of the others' tight hold on him and lunging for me.

I shoved the woman to the ground, and immediately took out my taser. I slammed it right into his shoulder, and he screamed as he got a large jolt of shock. He collapsed to the ground, and the officers didn't waste any time in grabbing him again.

"You can be arrested too, for taking part in this cover-up. So you had best keep quiet," I warned him, then turned back to the woman.

"What cover up?! I don't even know that name that you just spouted off! Let my family and I go, please!" the woman screamed.

"Not a chance," I scowled, picking her up, as tears streamed down her face. I looked at Winter. "Come on, lets get out of here."

Marlena

I'd been so happy to be out of that desert...I had not been that happy in some time. I was now well rested, but there were still some concerns on my mind. Naos was planning to step down as Grandmaster once we returned to Coruscant, and seemed to be in utter despair over what happened with Jan. I tried to comfort him, but I could tell that wasn't enough.

And now, there was this subject that Dusk and Dawn had not dared to talk about...there was a sinking feeling inside of me. Like it was something far more shocking than we could think of.

"So, spit it out already. I'm more than ready to hear this," Alsia said to Dusk in a serious manner.

"Well...all of you know how Sora has been unstable since Padme died. He was very angry for awhile, then he calmed down, but still remained...distant. In that time, he stopped having random outbursts of anger, but did something unthinkable," Dusk said with a sigh, glancing at Dawn again. She then looked back to us. "He relieved Miss H and Han from their duties."

My jaw dropped in shock. Sora? Sora? Doing this? I saw his attitude...perhaps it shouldn't surprise me, but I didn't think he'd go that far.

"What?! Is that even...how did he do that?!" Alsia asked.

"Supposedly, as the only living creator of the NR, he has alot more influence. He fired them, declared himself Supreme Admiral of the NR, and replaced Miss H with Hunter Solon. No clue who he replaced Han with," Dusk explained to us, looking down at the floor.

"Hunter Solon? Crap. Haven't heard good things about him..." Alsia said.

"This is insane...shortly before I left for the mission, I saw Sora for a few minutes, and he did look distressed. But I never thought he'd do this," Naos commented in shock.

"Well, this isn't the worst of it," Dusk continued. "After he removed the two, we confronted him....he didn't listen to us, no matter how hard we tried to plea with him. He kept going on about how what he did was needed. Selas just mentioned something in passing about rebelling, and Sora sent his new security forces after us all. He wanted every single one of us arrested....so, with the help of Kurt Jervada and Winter, we broke free and ran."

"Wait...what about the Order? Where are they in all of this? We don't get involved in politics, but still..." Naos said.

"Master Offee wanted to flee Coruscant at first, but Sora talked her out of it for awhile...she decided to reserve full judgement, but after the arrest warrants were put out, she and the Order left. They even helped us slightly," Dusk replied.

"So how did you all escape?" Wey inquired. "This is...shocking, to say the least."

"Well, we were running around Coruscant, and Sora had impounded the Killer and Millenium Falcon. Winter was still on Coruscant Security, and decided to stay there, to watch over everything...but she managed to help us get to the quarantine bay, and snatch the ships."

"You all stole the Killer? The Falcon, I get....but the Killer? You stole Sora's ship that he had for years and years?" Naos asked, his eyes wide.

"We had no choice. The Falcon couldn't carry us all, and the Killer was the quickest ship we could get to." Dusk explained. "We don't like it anymore than anyone else...but it was what we had to do."

"Where'd you go? Where are we going? Not back to Coruscant, I'm assuming," Wey said.

"Bespin. Lando Calrissian and Bria offered us shelter there, and we aren't stupid enough to say no. Everyone's there right now, or mostly everyone, anyways. A few other things have happened, too. Olee was captured by Jabba the Hutt, when she, Trika, Leia, and Kurt all went to his ship, thinking it belonged to Mona. Han and a team went out to rescue her, but we left before we could find out how it went." Dusk told us.

"Oh my. I hope she's alright, but Han is quite good at rescue missions," I said with a small chuckle. "I've seen him in action on Ryloth, and when he saved Olee from Lumiya...a few things may go wrong, but in the end, he turns it all around. I don't understand why Sora would think its best to fire him, especially in a time like this, where the NR was already in enough chaos."

"Did the Order go to Bespin, as well? I need to find them," Naos asked.

Dusk nodded. "They are there, awaiting your return," she replied. "And in the midst of everything, there is some good news: Leia gave birth to twins."

"What?!" I yelled, a small smile forming on my face. "Thats wonderful! I didn't even know she was pregnant, but thats spectacular. A blessing for both Han and Leia."

"Funny how you knew it was Han's," Alsia said with a snort. "Can't say I'm surprised, either, though."

"Oh, believe me, I think we all knew Han and Leia had a romantic relationship," I commented with a chuckle. "Though sometimes I was a little too public with my thoughts about it, but nonetheless, I am glad to see that it worked out in the end. I'm so happy for them."

Dusk nodded, but a solemn look covered her entire face. She looked at me, and sighed. "Now, finally, Marlena...there's something we need to tell you."

That sinking feeling returned after those words escaped her mouth.

"What?"

"Declan escorted us throughout Coruscant...he was kind enough to offer to help us fight off the security forces. However, Sora was so intent on capturing us, that he sent an entire hord of them after us...they almost had us as we were entering a passage way to the quarantine bay. We knew that we couldn't let them see us, or Winter, so...Declan..." she slowly trailed off.

"What?" I asked with concern. "What happened to my husband?"

"Declan sacrificed himself...he stayed behind and held them off as long as he could, while we got away. He could have lived, but I doubt it...not with that many troops on him, and he knew that he wouldn't." Dusk finished, frowning. "I'm so sorry, Marlena."

My heart sank, as all those dreams and visions that I had finally made sense.