Survival, Dark Times 3

[Revan Jast]

Selas

"You're one to talk of betrayal," he said, his eyes going dark. "You act as if we've stabbed you in the back, Sora. But to us, it's like you're the one who has done the stabbing. You're not the first person to lose someone so close to them. We all have; and we've all dealt with the pain. You, though... you've let it ruin you, Sora. It's changed you, and destroyed almost all of your friendships."

He sighed. "You talk of family, and how your children have left you. Well, you were like a brother to me, and we never left you. You left us."

----------

Kurt

The merc looked extremely surprised at Rhynna's order. He looked from Naos to her, back to Naos, back to her, and finally back to Naos again. If he didn't pull his weapon out, he'd be in major trouble. He could only hope she didn't ask him to shoot the Jedi. He didn't know if the former Grandmaster would be fast enough to escape that.

He scowled and pulled out his pistol, aiming it right for Naos' head. "You better do everything she says," he said, swallowing hard.

[Rain]

Leia

"Selas has put it better than I ever could." I said to Sora, "I lost her too. And then there was Luke. And if you keep going down this path, then I will have lost you too. Believe me, I don't want that to happen. None of us do. Please Sora, just please see sense! What you're doiing here is wrong! You think my mother woudl have wanted this?"

[hk47fan]

Sora

"I left you?" I repeated. I could feel the anger and pain surging up again; this was just like the last time they confronted me, and it was worse because now Leia was here. Selas, Kossk, and Leia had all turned on me. They were some of the people I was closest to. "You left me when you chose to steal my ship and go into hiding for all of these months, and now you're doing this."

I looked at Leia. "You were the reason I almost believed the lie about surrendering; I had faith in you to be smart and show Selas the truth, but I guess I was wrong, again. I don't want to lose you, Leia, but it seems you are giving me no other choice. Your mother would want peace and freedom, and I am trying within everything in my power to bring that back to the New Republic. Has being with Han for all of this time, a man I also once thought better than this, turned you against the values that you once had?"

"Former Captain, look at what is emerging from your mouth!" Kossk hissed. Even he looked stunned. "Your heart and mind has turned against the values it once had, and your mind is intent on making itself believe that our minds are the traitors."

"Kossk, my mind knows what's true and what isn't," I snapped. I stared at all of them. "This is your last chance: Come back to reality. Use the brains that I know all of you have and see why I am doing this!"

Naos

I was relieved that Kurt had chosen to hold me at gunpoint; if he hadn't, and defied Rhynna so soon, it would have been bad for us all. He had to keep his act up for the sake of everyone involved; him and Winter gave all of us a lot more insight into what Sora was doing. And now, it was evident to me that we needed it more than ever.

"So, this is what it has all come down to," I said, looking at the pair. "New Republic forces holding a Jedi Master at gunpoint if he doesn't cooperate?"

"These are dark times," Rhynna said passively.

"I've been hearing that one for years, and the NR was never forced to resort to this," I shot back.

"If you think I want to do this, you're wrong, but the Supreme Admiral needs the Jedi Order on his side, and he commanded that we make sure that you re-ally with the NR, one way or another," Rhynna said. "The Jedi forced themselves into this position."

"I beg to differ," I remarked under my breath.

"You're a former Grandmaster, and it appears that you are still a Jedi Master; you have power, so you can tell all of the transports to surrender to Supreme Admiral Trok," the head of security continued, very calm but firm in how she spoke. "I suggest you do so."

"How can the Jedi joining forces with the NR help anyone? Grandmaster Offee left Coruscant for a reason," I argued.

"The Jedi support peace and stability above all else, just as the New Republic does. It is beneficial for everyone," she responded.

"It is not beneficial for the Jedi to return to a democracy that is quickly turning into a chaotic dictatorship led by a man stricken with grief," I snapped, growing more firm in my own tone of voice. This idea seemed more and more insane to me. "The only person that should have resigned from the NR is Sora himself. Take it from someone who knows: It's much better than continuing on. How can you not see that what he's doing is wrong?"

"It's not my duty to give opinions. Just to serve," she said. She definitely was not lying; I could feel that her opinions or feelings played no role here. "And if the New Republic reverts back to what it was before the Supreme Admiral took control, then it will spiral deeper into madness, and we'll all lose. I can't see how you would want that."

"I won't allow the Jedi Order to be crippled again because of one man's clouded judgement," I snapped. I was determined and wouldn't let Rhynna bring me down, no matter what she did. "A lot of my friends died to defeat the Imperials, and Sora's slowly becoming just as destructive as they were."

[Revan Jast]

Selas

"Sora, you fail to realize that no one has turned us against you. We support peace and freedom just as much as you do," he said. He began to walk in a semi-circle to Sora's right, causing the other to move towards the door. Selas paid no mind, however. He was too deep in what may possibly be his last sane conversation with his former greatest friend.

"The difference, of course, is that we don't use Imperialistic means to acquire it," he snapped. He had to make Sora see sense, or this was going to end badly for all of them.

-------

Kurt

His aim never wavered, but in his heart he agreed with every word Naos said. He looked at Volt, and mused to himself that, in a way, she was nothing but a lower ranking female version of Sora himself. Dedicated to the cause, methods be damned. Perhaps he was too harsh on her; perhaps that, if given a better leader, she would be a better person, but he had learned over the years to never give people too much credit.

He waited to see what Rhynna would say next.

-------

Dawnbringer

Halfway to the capital ship now, he kept track of the timer of the device on the other ship as he floated through the empty blackness of space. He looked behind him just as the bomb went off, sending a blast of electromagnetic waves outward from the bridge. The ship came to a complete halt and the lights went out one by one, in quick succession. If he could have smiled, he would have.

Returning his focus to Sora's vessel, he wondered why it had not gone off yet. Suppose they had been delayed? If that were the case, he had to cause some sort of distraction to keep Sora from stopping them.

Slowly, carefully, he engaged his shoulder cannons and began to charge them up, aiming for one of the large windows on the bridge.

[Rain]

Leia

Perhaps I was still slightly hormonal from the pregnancy, or perhaps I was just in a very bad mood. Either way I didn't hear a word that Selas or Kossk said. Sora just insulted Han, criticizing his moral standing, accusing him of leading me down the wrong path. That made me furious.

Without thinking I walked right up to him and slapped him. "Don't you dare speak about the father of my children. Don't even mention his name. I came here thinking that you could be redeemed. But you are a different man now."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dawn accelerating towards us through the transparisteel. I looked back at Sora, right into his eyes. "I didn't want it to end like this, but you have brought it on yourself."

Han

"Alright, we're here Threepio. Open the door." I said into the comlink to the droid. A second later it slid down. "Okay, we don't have time to waste. You should get onboard."

I heard Chewie grunt something.

"Huh? What do you mean you're going back?"

He growled a quick response, and immediately bolted off. I looked at Olee.

"He's going back for Naos..."

"Chewbacca, wait! This isn't what Naos wants!" Olee shouted, but it was too late. Chewie had made his mind up, and he was too far for us to catch him.

"I'm going too." I said as I pulled out my blasters.

"Han, no!" Olee protested. "You can't! What if something happens? We need you to pilot the Falcon."

"I can't just let him go and get himself killed!"

"Han listen to me! You need to be the one to get us out of here!" Olee exclaimed, "I'll go." Olee began to run, but I stopped her.

"No. You're right." I admitted. "I don't like it, but you're right. Chewie can take care of himself. He's ten times more resourceful than me, that's for sure. He will come back. Along with Naos." I gritted my teeth. Although I believed the words I was saying, a whisper of doubt still remained. "We have to stop him..."

"Han, there's no way we could catch up with him."

"Not Chewie." I said calmly, "Sora. He's dangerous.He has gone way too far. He has the blood of dozens of Jedi on his hands. We didn't see him coming this time, but I sure as hell won't make that same mistake twice. Right now, I believe Sora Trok is capable of anything. We have no choice, we have to stop him. Or at least we have to try..."

[hk47fan]

Sora

My cheek stung from the vicious slap that Leia, a woman I considered my daughter, had just taken at me. I turned my head back towards her, and as she spoke, we both stared into each other's eyes. I saw so much of Padme in her physically, but obviously not emotionally. "I was willing to believe that you, a member of my family, were still on my side, but obviously not. You've become just like them," I snapped in a low tone, sadness filling my voice.

I looked at Selas. "I hoped, since you were the one surrendering, that maybe one of my oldest friends had finally seen the truth. Maybe my crew, a crew that I trusted with my life, and my daughter were finally returning to my side. You all are too far gone, though; it hurts my heart. You all know that I hate Imperialistic means more than anyone else in this Galaxy, and yet you accuse me of using them? Maybe my methods aren't the wisest, but I will do whatever it takes to protect the Republic and its people. Protecting it from the Empire, Xizor, Mona, the Hutts...."

I took a hard gulp. A cold realization had dawned on me in that instant. "And if I must, I will protect it from all of you."

Naos

Rhynna didn't make any movements at all; her face remained rather solid and stoic, and her body did the same. "Master Redgrave, we are running out of time; you need to give the Jedi an order to surrender to the Supreme Admiral. If you don't, you know that you're going to die. I shouldn't have to explain the power of the gun that is aimed at you, and the Force has been removed from the equation."

Ah, yes, I couldn't use the Force at a time like this, thanks to the creature strapped to Rhynna's back. She had used it to storm through the ship and was trying to use it to force me into submission. It wouldn't work.

"What a cowardly way to fight; you feel as if you have to cut off our abilities in order to beat us," I growled.

I glanced at the gun. Would Kurt fire? I remember what it did to Selas, and we didn't exactly have any surgeons around this time; I couldn't blame Kurt if he did fire, because that was his job. I had a son back at home that needed me, so I wasn't ready to die, as much as I'd felt like I was lately. Still, though, the Jedi would not be joining forces with Sora any time soon.

I turned around and walked over to the comm, carefully watching Rhynna and Kurt out of the corner of my eye. I activated the comm, and made sure that it was tapped into every other comm in this sector. Every ship here, whether a Jedi transport or a New Republic battle ship, could hear me.

"Fleet, this is Grandmaster Redgrave," I said. I felt as if I needed to take back my old title, if just for this one moment. "I command that the Jedi Order resist Sora Trok and his demands at all cost, for the honor and very core values of the Jedi. We are above the New Republic's nonsense, and as long as these actions continue, we will never have a part in anything that Sora does. We are not surrendering."

I immediately shut off the console, and turned back to Rhynna, who still looked fairly well composed, but this obviously got under her skin.

"You know what, Rhynna, you were right," I said, walking towards her. "These definitely are dark times, and we intend to keep surviving them."

She was silent for a moment, before simply glancing at Kurt. "Jervada, shoot him."

Sora

I heard Naos' message play to the entire bridge, and I scowled once it finished. Despite all of our efforts, he had chosen to blast the New Republic and refused to let the Order surrender. It seemed that he, as well as all of the Jedi, had chosen to turn on me once and for all as well.

I glanced behind me, only to see something approaching the viewport of the bridge at a furious rate; I raised an eyebrow, staring closer at it.

"Uh, sir..." one of the officers said, growing concerned as it got closer.

My eyes locked on it, and I finally figured out what it was: Dawnbringer. The cyborg, also a member of my old crew, was on a collision force.

"Sir, we've also lost contact with the Gage," another officer said, speaking of the other capital ship. "It's been totally disabled."

Now it made sense. Dawn had taken out one, and the people here planned to take out the other. I didn't have time to confront them about it, though; Dawn was heading straight towards us, and I had to get out of here.

"Supreme Admiral, we have to do some-" another officer said. The bridge was quickly being thrown into panic.

On instinct, I took a quick dart for the door, shoving my way past Selas, Leia, R2, Kossk, Serra, and anyone else in my way. I opened the door and leapt through it, before it shut behind me. I turned around, and stared at the door. A very cold idea entered my mind at that instance.

I had to try to save myself, and the rest of the ship. The NR needed me. If I could seal the bridge off, then perhaps the damage that Dawn will do wouldn't effect anyone else. The entire bridge crew was still inside, as well as my former friends, but perhaps this was a necessary sacrifice.

And my friends hadn't given me much reason to save their lives.

I punched in a code on a keypad to the right of the door, effectively locking it; they wouldn't be able to get it open from the other side in enough time.

I felt some remorse, feeling as if this was very wrong, especially because of the bridge crew. I would normally never do this, but this was an emergency situation.

And my former friends, my former family, had gotten themselves into this mess. Now they could get themselves out.

I turned around and darted off; I felt a tugging, deep down, telling me to turn around and get all of those people out of there, but I knew I couldn't do it. Despite all of my inner conflict, I kept marching on, assuring myself that this was the best decision.

[Revan Jast]

Selas

He cursed under his breath and slammed the bridge door with his fists. "Damn that man," he said, turning to face the others. He was about to say something else, but that was when he saw Dawn floating through space towards them. A second later there was a flash of red light... and then the bridge became a storm.

The window exploded outwards, and anything not bolted down headed for the gaping hole where the thick glass had once been. Selas dropped down on knee and grabbed Leia with his left hand, using the Force to hold himself to the floor. Kossk and Serra were both holding onto computer stations; R2 was most likely using magnets to keep himself down.

He glanced at the hole just as a pair of bridge crew members flew out into the vast expanse of space. "R2, there's an emergency panel over there! We need you to force the blast shield down!"

Just as he finished speaking and R2 beeped his confirmation, Dawn flew into the ship. a loud clunk sounding as his feet connected to the metal hull. He ran down the side of the ship slowly and boosted onto the bridge, attaching himself to the floor. The small protocol droid beeped angrily as he detoured around the steel giant, his tools out and messing with wires and other complicated things on the wall.

A few moments later the blast shield descended with a thud, and Serra and Kossk fell to the floor. Selas let go of Leia and sighed. "Goddamn if we don't have mini adventures on every single one of our adventu-"

"BOMB!" Dawn yelled, dropping to one knee and activating a shield around himself. A split second later, there was a WHOOMP sound as the device activated... and then everything went dark.

Kurt

He looked at Volt and swallowed. He couldn't say anything lest she think he wasn't going to go through with this, and he didn't have time to delay either.

I'm sorry, Naos, he thought to himself. As he focused on the Jedi, he saw something large barreling towards them through the glass door to his right, and that was when the lights went out. A moment later the glass door exploded, and it was total chaos.

[Rain]

Chewbacca

I raced down the hallway and through the glass, keeping up my momentum. Once through I noticed that Kurt had his blaster pointed at Naos. I knew that Kurt was loyal to us, so he must have been ordered to shoot Naos by the woman who took over Han's job. From the looks of it, my timing couldn't have been any better.

I continued forward, banging into Kurt on the way past. The collision was not enough to hurt him, but it would be enough to knock him off balance, preventing Naos from being shot, and giving the mercenary a solid excuse for not firing.

I then came up towards the woman. Grabbing her shoulder, I threw her against the wall. She hit it with a loud thud, and the lizard came free from her back. I immediately turned my attention to Naos, growling at him and indicating that we needed to leave through the glass door I had just shattered. As I went to make my exit, I glanced back briefly. Something caught my eye. It was the lizard. It's eyes. The creature was frightened.

I knew what it was like to be held in captivity, and I could empathise with the lizard. I made up my mind. I ran back quickly and scooped it up, before growling again to Naos. It was time to go...

Leia

My ears were ringing, and I couldn't hear much. I didn't expect that EMP device to pack that much or a punch.

I sat up groggily.

"Well... that was fun..." Serra muttered sarcastically across the room. "But hey, at least the door's open."

I looked behind me and realised she was correct. The EMP had fried all teh circuits on the birdge, and thus disabled the majority of the ships electronics. The locking mechanism no longer worked.

I looked around the bridge, trying to spot everyone. "Is anyone hurt?"

[hk47fan]

Naos

I expected to feel a bullet pierce into my skin, a feeling that not many felt in this day and age, but instead, havoc broke loose. In the matter of two seconds, Chewie had made appeared and shoved Kurt out of his way, before throwing Rhynna against the wall and taking the lizard that was blocking my usage of the Force. Both of Sora's soldiers were momentarily dazed after this; Chewie was right. It was time to leave.

The Wookiee and I both made a dash for the smashed exit, heading out into the corridors. I still couldn't use the Force because of the lizard being so close, but both Chewie and myself were physically fit enough to make a mad dash for the Falcon without any assistance.

"I'd say I owe you a life debt," I remarked. "You just saved my life. Thanks."

Kossk

My body stood up, and regained its bearings after that quick but critical incident that the cyborg brought upon us. It looked like our mission had been a success, despite the former Captain's descent into deeper darkness; his body had left ours to die. That said much about the state of his soul.

However, our minds had bigger matters to attend to.

There were very few bodies of the Bridge crew members left; any bodies that were left had been knocked unconscious. My body would never leave theirs to die, because their bodies were now victims as well, but my mind knew that they would be fine.

"My body is alright," I said, still glancing around the dark room. "It seems to be time for our bodies to leave this place."

Then, a realization hit my mind. "Some of our bodies may have to carry the astromech droid; I believe his mechanical body was disabled by the bomb."

Barriss

I stood in the main hold of the Falcon, along with the rest of the Council; we were all trying to remain calm and examine the situation as best as we could. There was nothing much that we could do at the moment, though; we could only hope that the Order escaped from the New Republic's wrath.

I'd heard Naos' announcement over the comm, and that made me proud; Naos had reclaimed his title as Grandmaster and stood up to Sora and his forces. That was enough to make this battle a success.

My comlink buzzed, and I activated it. "Master Offee," I said.

"Master Offee," a Jedi's voice began, likely from another one of the transports. "The New Republic's capital ships are still here, but our scanners are showing that they have been disabled; they can't move, and their fleet is starting to fall apart. Commander Antilles has suggested that we use now as a time to escape."

"Excellent," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. It was a miracle. "Order all of the transports to make the jump to hyperspace as soon as possible. We will have to leave the Valor for now, and travel with Captain Solo on the Millenium Falcon; we'll be leaving as soon as the last few manage to board the ship."

Unfortunately, most of the Jedi on board the Valor had been killed by Sora's forces, and anyone left was on the Falcon, or on the way. It was best to leave the disabled transport.

"Alright, Master," the Jedi replied, before cutting off communication.

I turned to the Council, and smiled. "The NR's flagships have been disabled; the Jedi Order will live to see another day. Our transports are about to leave for Tython."

Sora

I ran throughout the Viper, and had made it to the hanger areas; alarms were starting to go off in some places, and I could tell that the systems around the ship were starting to maulfunction. Dawn had used his EMP on the Bridge, and although it didn't disable the ship entirely, taking out the Bridge and its surrounding areas were enough to send everything into chaos.

With both of the flagships disabled, the Jedi would have an opening to escape; as much as I hated it, I would have to retreat this time. All thanks to people that had once been my family.

I took out my comlink, and keyed in Rhynna's frequency. I continued to storm through the hallways, trying to find a suitable shuttle, and waited for her to answer; it was taking a while.

Damnit, Rhynna, where are you?

Finally, she answered. "Supreme Admiral," she said, sounding very disoriented.

"Rhynna, our capital ships have been disabled, thanks to the effort of my former crew; the fleet is going to come apart in no time. We have no choice but to retreat. Leave the Valor and head for Coruscant."

"Affirmative," she replied.

I shut off my comm, and glanced out the windows that I was breezing past, gazing into the docking bays. I stopped when I came to one in particular.

I looked out below me, and saw the Killer before me. It was just sitting there, unoccupied.

They had stolen that ship from me; a freighter that I'd used and commanded for years. This was my chance to reclaim it, return it to its rightful captain....

No. As much as I loved the ship, it had been tainted. Tainted by them. The traitors, and all of the memories of them that were on that ship; there were many good memories on it, memories of me and my wife, but those so-called friends had occupied it for far too long.

It would have to stay in my past as well.

I continued on my way, heading for a shuttle.

Someday, they'd regret this.

Rhynna

After I finished talking with the Supreme Admiral, I looked around the Council chambers, trying to ignore my pounding head. My entire body was pounding; the Wookiee had used an un-humane amount of force, and I was feeling the consequences of it.

He'd managed to save Master Redgrave, and apparently, the lizard as well, but it was of no matter; we didn't need either of them, and now we were being forced to retreat. The tides had turned rather quickly.

Disgruntled, but trying not to let it show, I looked at Jervada. "Our capital ships have been disabled by the Jedi's allies; they are able to escape, and the Admiral has ordered that we retreat. Come on, let's get back to our own transport."

Not waiting for a response, I stormed out of the chambers.

[Revan Jast]

Selas

He winced as Dawn activated a bright light that emitted from his chest. Groaning, he stood and looked around the bridge. "The Trando is right. Dawn, I don't suppose you'd be willing to carry our tin can friend down to the ship for us?"

"Certainly," he replied, picking up the droid as if it were nothing.

Selas looked around. "Everyone okay? Looks like it," he answered himself.

Kurt

He holstered his pistol and trotted behind Volt as they ran for their own ship. He was thankful that the wookie was not his enemy. Armor or not, he was sure Volt would be feeling it tonight.

[Rain]

OOC: Sorry guys, I know Ive been mega distant lately

Chewbacca

I grunted a response to the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order. I took his comment in jest. He didn't owe me a life debt, I was just doing what any sentient being with the strength of a Wookiee would do. These were dark time, we had to look out for each other.

We kept running and soon enough we arrived at the Falcon.

"You brought the lizard?" Han asked, with a look of puzlement on his face.

I told him why in a brief series of growls.

"Alright, alright. Take it easy. I'm just glad you're back in one piece - both of you." He turned around and headed up the loading ramp, motioning for us to follow him. "We're ready to leave, so we shouldn't waste any time. The sooner we get back to Bespin, the sooner we can start talking about our next move."

Leia

"The Killer!" I exclaimed, coming to a sudden realisation, "We need to get back to it. Sora could easily take it back, and I don't know about you guys, but I want off this ship."

[hk47fan]

Kossk

"Agreed," I said with a nod to the Princess' body. "The former Captain's body may use it as an escape route, and as a form of revenge against our own bodies, so our legs must make haste. Come, let us return our bodies to the Killer."

That being said, all of our bodies departed from the Bridge, making a desperate run for the Killer.

[Rain]

Leia

We made it back to the Killer in good time, and thankfully it was still there.

"I wonder why he didn't take it?" Serra thought out loud.

"Who knows." I answered, "But we should get back."

The others agreed, and we boarded the ship to make our exit.

[Revan Jast]

Selas clapped one of the squad members on the shoulder and smiled, although it was not a particularly good-humored smile. "Good work, men."

He pushed past the others and took his seat behind the controls, flipping the proper switches to start the engines. The ship lifted up slowly and turned 180 degrees before zooming out of the hanger.

"Re'turcye mhi," Selas muttered as they departed.

[hk47fan]

Miss Haltzilakas

Night had fallen over the planet of Bespin; it was actually rather late, and most of the residents of Cloud City were probably in bed by now. However, for some of us, rest was the last thing on our minds; the battle between the Jedi and Sora's forces had ended. Selas, Han, and our other friends and allies had prevailed against the New Republic.

What Sora had tried to do defied everything that the New Republic had once stood for; he had crossed a line. Even though the Jedi were now safe on Tython, free to run their Order there, the fact that he went so far was more alarming than anything else.

I worried that this moment was coming, and now, it was here.

The Killer and the Falcon had both returned to Cloud City late in the evening, after dropping the Jedi Council off on Tython and ensuring that everyone got there safely; once they returned, all of us agreed to have an emergency meeting at the city capital. Thankfully, since Lando was the Baron, it wasn't too hard.

Something had to be done. We had to take action.

I sat at a large, round table inside a meeting room; also at the table were the people that had gone on the mission, those people being Selas, Han, Leia, Kossk, Serra, Naos, Chewbacca, and Olee. Also joining us were Lando and Bria. Everyone that had just come back from the battle looked composed, yet very shaken, and understandably so. Also, to the side of the room, Kurt and Winter were present, in hologram-form. Thankfully, they were able to contact us on a secure channel when Sora wasn't breathing down their shoulders.

"I think we all know why we're here," I said calmly, starting us off. I had to remain controlled myself, just like I did in the Senate. "Sora has taken a step too far with his actions; he's taken this far beyond simple grief or anger at us. However, I was not present at the battle, therefore I am not qualified to decide on what action we should take. I need the opinion of the witnesses, the people that were actually there."

I glanced at everyone, waiting for someone to speak up.