Survival, Dark Times 3

[RobbyL9]

Blades was still stuffing his pockets and tossing assault rifles to the guys with the arms boxes a solid minute and a half later. This was sure to be a real haul. Maybe they wouldn't have enough to outfit every Resistance cell like this, but enough to outfit a private special forces regiment? That they had.

That was the last of the crates with the black squares. They still had some room and hopefully more time. Blades' eyes darted around the room rapidly, looking for something that caught his eye. Before long, he noticed some more crates, this time with neon yellow squares. That looked pretty important, may as well give the big taste a little variety.

Blades kicked the lid off of the crate and his eyes widened at what he saw. An entire crate full of AA-7D slugthrower carbines. These weren't just any normal type of slugthrower, these were the type that were specially chambered to be able to throw special ammunition. Acid rounds.

Picking one up and holding it, Blades called over his shoulder. "Guys! Come over here, get a load of this."

[hk47fan]

R7-43

The fighting continued while the new reenforcements arrived, and my sensors could detect that the physical strength of the Resistance soldiers was slowly failing; they were beginning to get weaker and more strained due to the large amount of fighting. They continued to fire their blasters at the New Republic forces, and the New Republic soldiers fired back, each side continuing to kill a fair number of the other side's soldiers.

"This is getting too much for us," the soldier who had spoken to me moments ago said. He looked at me. "R7, get into the armory and tell everyone we have to move!"

I gave an affirmative beep, and rolled inside the armory, searching as fast as possible for the soldiers that had been sent inside the armory to complete the main goal of this mission. It did not take long for me to find them in the process of retrieving or destroying the New Republic's weapons, and now, it seemed that most of them were in the process of gathering around the newest Resistance soldier.

"The New Republic has sent additional reenforcements outside the armory," I beeped as I rolled over beside them. "The team outside cannot continue this current strategy for much longer."

My sensors examined the weapons that these soldiers seemed to be focused on, and it registered as a type of weapon that had rarely been seen; it was notable that my sensors even recognized them. "These carbines are particularily rare," I announced. "They can be found in few places of the New Republic, the criminal underworld, or the Resistance. It should be considered a rare finding that they are at this armory."

[RobbyL9]

Blades

The astromech came in and delivered the news to a mostly inattentive audience. On its way in, a bit had transpired and a lot had been learned. Mainly, the use of this armory in the event of catastrophic failure on Taris.

"So you mean to tell me this arsenal was meant to outfit the security forces in the event of a separatist victory." Blades said, staring at the acid weapon with a mix of astonishment and anger.

"Intelligence told us this place was going to be used if things took a turn for the worse. There could be others, I'd bank on it." The point man responded, shutting the arms coffers "However... I never knew that.. they were planning on using those. I didn't even know the NR was going that low."

The other soldiers chimed in. "There was a time those things used to be illegal. Used to only find them in pirate strongholds." one behind Blades said, shaking his head. "See guys? I told you. The New Republic HATES freedom and the Taris way of life. And this is their way of showing it." One of the wounded said from the floor, clutching his chest. Kind of a hypocritical statement, considering Taris' own past, but the guy was on the right path.

Just one slug from this kind of weapon was enough to scar a person and disfigure them for life. It fired a corrosive round that exploded on impact and could melt steel. That's if you were lucky enough to be wearing proper BDUs and armor when you got shot. Blades had been to warzones and ports where pirates had taken root. Children with no shoes would end up having to amputate a foot or worse because they stepped in a puddle. And he didn't want to think about the ones that accidentally drank the runoff that managed to hit the water before becoming neutral.

Even now as he thought of it, the very idea of the weapon just looked and felt absolutely sinful. Even the Militant Spirit saw no sense in hurting those who were not involved in a battle. It took nothing more than that to make up Blades' mind. Grabbing a clip, he slid it in and cocked the slide.

"Step back boys. I'm shooting that crate and getting rid of the merch. Any one of you tries to stop me, I recommend joining the other side."

Nobody but the point man did, and all he did was raise his hand as if about to say something. But he didn't and Blades didn't even notice. Slipping the safety catch off, Blades opened fire. One. Two. Three. Within seconds the room was filled with the sound of sizzling and glass shattering.

The crate warped and distorted slightly, but was obviously meant to survive the acid. Instead of turning to goo, it became a bowl of glowing toxic stew. Blades tossed his rifle in and carefully slipped the lid back on to contain any fumes. That ought to make a nice present for the cronies cleaning up this mess.

"Let's go boys. Our work is done here." Blades said, walking to the door with an arms coffer in each hand "Grab any grenades you can carry. The outside's sure to be hot as hell."

[hk47fan]

R7-43

As the soldiers began to retrieve whatever spare weapons that they could that had been left over after the destruction the newest soldier had wrought, the Resistance team began to leave the armory. It was time for extraction; I sent a message to the transport, alerting them to the near-completion of the mission and urging them to return to the armory.

We all found ourselves outside soon enough, and the amount of soldiers present had fallen from a ratio of 14:9 to an approximate ratio of 7:3. Many Resistance soldiers had either been fallen or killed, and few remained standing to fight the New Republic soldiers. However, I detected many dead New Republic soldiers, as well.

"Okay, you all got everything done in there?" the soldier that had sent me inside asked the team as they walked out.

"Yes, sir. We found one or two...unexpected surprises, and we have everything we need; we destroyed everything else. This arsenal's done for," one soldier replied as all of the weapons were carried out of the armory.

The first soldier fired off another blaster bolt, killing a New Republic soldier. "Good," he said. "We need to get out of here."

"The transport is on its way," I informed everyone in a series of beeps.

"Now we just need to make it through these NR guys and to the exit," the soldier grunted. He did not sound too optimistic about the idea.

[RobbyL9]

Blades

As soon as Blades popped out from the armory he recoiled from the odds he was facing. Diving behind a crate stack, he dropped the arms coffers and un-slung his assault rifle, pressing a fresh charge pack into it. Going prone, he peeked around the stack and took in the enemy line with his HUD.

Red signatures popped up on his enhanced laser vision like it was the tree on Wookiee Life Day. No less than ten were lined up, using a light armored vehicle and the environment around the gate for cover. Horrible odds for any normal man, but the belt full of thermal detonators gave Blades a superhuman feeling in his gut.

Shooting a sharp breath through clenched teeth, Blades took one last look at the scenery. There was another crate stack a few yards away that would put him just inside of effective tossing distance. With another sharp breath, he charged out from cover.

Dodging a couple of bolts on his way over to the crates, Blades dropped to his knees and slid into cover. Driven by forward momentum he shifted into overkill mode, emerging from cover and laying down full auto fire in a wide cone in front of him. The line of soldiers across from him either dove into cover or were hit.

But it wasn't over by a long shot. As soon as he heard the dull click of his weapon dry firing, Blades pressed the release for his charge pack and held his rifle under his left arm. In a smooth and practiced series of motions, he reached for the thermal detonator on the right side of his belt and tossed. Then the left. Then the rear. By the time the third detonator had hit the ground, he was already sliding in his next charge pack.

Firing rapidly in a wide cone again, Blades cried out in a rage. The thermal detonators exploded in near perfect succession, lighting a wall of fire which inflamed and scorched anything not taken by the initial shock wave. The light armored vehicle soon failed and lit ablaze itself in a catastrophic explosion.

For the briefest of moments, Blades stood and admired his work. The only colorful marks showing on his HUD now were thermal markers for the massive conflagration he had just made. Getting back into cover, he signaled for the advance.

"C'mon boys! That hurt 'em bad! Get in better range and see if you can get that astromech up here to put out that fire!" he yelled behind him. It would only be a matter of time before the enemy found a new angle to assault them from and that gate was some prime real estate.

[hk47fan]

R7-43

In an instant, the newest soldier had managed to take out all of the attacking organics that the other soldiers had not yet turned their attention to. At his words, all of us began to move, trying to transport the weapons as safely and quickly as possible.

"You heard the man, R7! Get that fire out!" one soldier yelled to me, and I beeped in obedience.

Quickly rolling forward before the rest, I activated my extinguisher, and began to put the fire out. The fire that the new soldier had started was three feet in length, and had a temperature of two thousand degrees celcius. It would be vital to extinguish before moving forward.

I worked at optimal capacity, and within approximately a minute, the fire had been put out, aside from a small group of four or five flames. As I extinguished them, the Resistance soldiers moved past me and for the extraction point.

After finishing, I followed all of them, approaching the gate.

[Mandalorian]

Wey

Wey sat sipping a Correllian ale in a nearly deserted cantina. the last few of the customers where leaving and he couldn't keep him self from smiling at how early he had gotten here. he had not only beaten every one else here, the cantina hadn't even closed yet for the private party, although the bar tender was now starting to move the last few stragglers out the door. Han wasn't supposed to be here for atleast another two hours and he had no idea when the others where going to be here but he hadn't drank in along time let alone been to a cantina.

He had spent the last few hours drinking beers and watching the customers interact around him.There really was no better hobby then people watching, especially drunk people watching. He had seen two couples break up, one bar fight, and three or four people leave who he had an idea where going to be horrified by who lay beside to them the next morning. he sighed heavily as he leaned back in his chair and took another swig of his beer, he did miss parts of his old life at times it was a lot of the reason he had enjoyed watching the other patrons so much. he glanced at his chrono and sighed again when the hell are the rest of the people who are coming to this party going to start showing up?

[RobbyL9]

Blades

The astromech had put out the fire and the squad was moving out. For a moment, it appeared to Blades like he had finally managed a relatively stable job. No trouble with the guards, the backup gave the others some trouble but he chewed through them like a dustcrepe and now the gate was hanging open, just waiting for them to run through to the dropship.

But once he exited, he saw the true extent of the backup. More personnel carriers, carrying two more squads of enemies. The gate was almost immediately covered in a spray of blaster volleys. Blast points threw permacrete dust and smoke into the air.

Taking cover in the gatehouse, Blades fired through the hole he had created. The enemy was pretty bunkered up though and he couldn't get a clear shot off. To make matters worse, behind him everyone who could still walk was either dragging a body or an arms coffer, slowing them down immensely.

"SHIT!" he yelled, tossing aside his charge pack and reloading "It's no good, we're pinned. We're never going to reach the dropship with our lives unless we let go of the wounded or the weapons. Maybe even both."

A resistance trooper next to him looked angry as he blind-fired out the hole "Merc, are you seriously suggesting that we leave the wounded behind? You had better not be suggesting that or I will shoot you myself!"

More shots resounded against the gatehouse. Its integrity was beginning to fail. "WHY?! Because I'm trying to get us out of here with our lives? If I could get everyone out, I would." he fired two more times "But it's looking like a bit of a foregone conclusion unless one of us can think of something."

"Great so all that stuff about a soldier's honor? Where I come from, soldiers don't leave their own behind, mercenary!"

Blades stopped firing and looked at the soldier. Shots were still pounding against the gatehouse. Flipping up his mask Blades looked out at the enemy position. Nothing but open ground for a while. There was a good stack of crates that would put him in better range, but he'd be in serious jeopardy trying to reach it. Unless...

Blades flipped his mask back down. "The name's Blades. Remember it well." he uttered, pressing his comm bead "I'm gonna need a coordinated volley on that first APC in a second or two. I'm gonna sprint to those boxes and try to draw their fire and give you guys a chance to go."

Holding his rifle tightly to him, Blades waited for the signal.

The point man called out in a steady rhythm, raising his hands and signalling the men around him "First rank... Second rank... READY, FIRE!!!!" At his order, everyone opened up rapidly, suppressing the enemies gathered around the first APC and splitting the fire of the rest thin. Seeing his chance, Blades shot toward the boxes.

Not slowing to fire until he got there, Blades jumped on top of the boxes and grabbed his last thermal detonator. He ducked into the cover and pressed the fuse button. Laying his rifle on top of the boxes and unloading with one hand into the squad still showing, the mercenary tossed with all his might to try and land the detonator under the pinned squad's APC.

The grenade arched and flew through the air, but he ducked into cover again when he heard his rifle dry fire. No more charge packs. Blades slung his rifle around his shoulders and drew his pistols, clinging onto them tightly and waiting for the sound.

[hk47fan]

R7-43

The newest organic soldier took the lead, and managed to take out several NR soldiers. He threw his thermal detonator underneath the New Republic carrier, and the entire team waited for no less than two seconds before it exploded. A massive amount of light overwhelmed my photo-receptory sensors for 0.1 milliseconds, and the temperature in the area increased drastically by normal measuring standards. The carrier had been set on fire, and I had picked up no fewer than fifteen New Republic casualties due to the explosion.

There were still, in a rough estimation, fourteen to seventeen left. However, examining the battlefield, this did seem to give us an opening to leave, as the newest soldier had anticipated.

"Okay, that carrier's down! We just cut down a lot of the NR's men by that stunt," one of the leaders yelled. "This is our chance! Go, and watch out for fire from the remaining troops, they'll be on our tail!"

"They seemed to have turned most of their attention to Blades," I beeped as the entire team began to move, transporting all of the confiscated weaponary and the wounded organics. "However, we should still proceed with caution."

"What about Blades?!" one of the soldiers yelled as the entire team, including myself, hurried through the area at a pace that was fast by organic standards, getting closer in meters to the gate. "I mean, I know we've had our disagreements with him, but we can't just leave him!"

"That man just gave us the one chance we have," one of the leaders responded, firing out three shots at the New Republic soldiers. Many others did the same, killing four as we approached the gate. "His sacrifice won't be in vain; we'll be back to get him. Don't you worry about that."

"We don't leave men behind," another chimed in. Based on my statistic analyzation, the newest soldier's plan to distract the enemy had won him the favor of some of the soldiers here. More favor than what he had. "No matter who they are."

"You're right," the leader replied again. "We'll honor him, and we'll be back. Right now...if we stay here, it'll be a disservice to him and this entire mission."

There were no more words said on this subject as we continued towards the gate, and the rate of blaster bolts increased dramatically. I tried to keep my own frame from being damaged, as that would only cause further problems for the Resistance team. We made it to the gate and began to quickly leave through the hole we entered; some New Republic soldiers had focused on us and tried to stop us, but the newest soldier was fighting without any pause, my sensors confirmed, therefore continuing to draw most of their attention.

"Someone take him out already!" one New Republic soldier shouted. While we continued to transition all of our objectives and wounded organics through the gate, I noticed a thermal grenade being thrown through the air; if it landed close to an organic, it could cause substantial injury, or possibly even death. That chance was increased if not armored properly. The significant heat detection landed on top of the crate stack that the newest soldier had been using for cover, and it quickly exploded.

The objects that he had been hiding behind were destroyed, and my sensors could detect that he had fallen to the ground due to the blast, but was still alive; however, he had lost consciousness.

There was no more time to focus on this as the team finished exiting through the gate, going at a rapid pace so that the New Republic organics would not pursue. The transport was just arriving and landed at the appointed extraction point. The leaders shouted for the team to hurry as they put the weapons and the wounded organics on board, while holding off any approaching New Republic soldiers. Five to ten had turned their attention to us, now.

At a faster pace than what was performed at the gate, likely due to the decreased amount of time we had before being overrun, all of the wounded organics and retrieved weapons were on board the transport, and all of us boarded next. I rolled on board, in the midst of all of the other soldiers.

"Come on, boys, let's get in here! Go!" one soldier shouted. As we all gathered inside the ship, I could still detect blaster bolts being fired outside, before the last three organics, including one of the leaders, came onboard at a rapid pace. I could also detect the ramp shutting.

"Everyone and everything's on board! Let's get out of here!" the leader shouted to the cockpit. The transport lifted off, while the New Republic continued to fire at it from outside, and it began its travel back to the Resistance base.

The organic that had been directing us during most of this mission gave an audible sigh, wiping his forehead in a very organic manner. "That...was not pretty," he remarked. "Let's contact Captain Ailim, tell him what happened. Hopefully they'll figure out what to do about all of this once we're back at the base. At least we got what we came for."

[RobbyL9]

Blades

He had no idea how it had happened. One minute he was fighting, the next everything went black. After that, things were just incredibly fuzzy. One minute he was being slapped awake and the next a pair of stun-cuffs were being slapped on him. Blades was forced to his feet and put in the APC.

His memory didn't really become regular until later. It could have been the same day or possibly the next. Somehow it felt like it was earlier in the day. Whatever happened to Blades, it must have knocked some righteous shit out of him.

The stun cuffs were still on him but now they had been joined to a set of leg restraints and he was being filed in a chain gang onto a transport. His weapons were missing and his vest had been unzipped. Blades didn't want to get on the transport, in fact he felt like collapsing. But for the prisoners who broke stride, their only reward was a stun baton to the hind quarters.

"Move along, knuckleheads! In the transport when you are told. Stop when you are told. Do as you are asked." A particularly angry guard at the front called over the prisoners. When someone reached the front, they were unhooked from the chain gang and checked for concealed contraband.

Blades slowly made his way up the chain gang, hanging his head. So this was it. He had traded one prison for another. And all for the sake of that damned raid. Bet those assholes didn't waste any time getting away. All these thoughts and more collided in the mercenary's head until he simply shuffled to the front of the line, dead on his feet.

"Prisoner, face me." the angry guard ordered, pressing a magnetic lock into Blades' leg restraints. Blades simply did as he was told, silent and facially emotionless.

The guard patted down Blades' pockets and pouches, which had all been emptied of charge packs and ammo. As he was searching, however, Blades felt his vest get pushed aside and the one place he was hoping would not get searched was suddenly invaded. The secret pouch on the inside of his vest, right over his heart, where he kept the pictures...

Removing the pictures, the guard checked them over with a vague air of annoyance. "What's this trash?" he said. Blades felt his teeth clench. The part of his brain that controlled rage felt like someone had just smashed a window.

Eerily silent for a second or two, he looked the guard in the eye. "That's my daughter." he leaned forward, not blinking "Sir."

"Well I don't care if it's some fold-out pinup of Shalera the fucking Hutt. Personal possessions are stored in the belly of the transport and confiscated on arrival, if need be."

Blades considered his options. He was surrounded by scatterguns and shock batons. If he started a fight to get those pictures back, he would get nowhere fast and they might just end up throwing them out anyway.

"Fine." Blades uttered, his eyes narrowing "Just as long as you understand that I WILL be getting that back."

"You Resistance hicks telling me what I'm gonna be doing? Huh?!"

This was all just an act, it had to be. There was no way this guard seriously thought he would last two minutes if the situation were equal. Blades considered the thought and cracked a smile "Yeah. You heard me." he said as he was shuffled on board by two other guards. Before boarding, Blades noticed the pictures going into the guard's shirt pocket.

From there, Blades was marched down the aisle of the transport and placed in his seat. One of the guards looked at him and sighed as he buckled the restraints. "Keep cool, son." the guard reassured him "I'll make sure he doesn't throw it out. Old Percival's by-the-book but he can be kind of a jerk sometimes."

Blades looked up at this new guard, his gaze baring into the man. "Tell him he can hold it for now. But if he damages either one, it is seriously a done deal for him. Comprehend me, private?"

The guard just looked away and got back to work without another word. Blades settled into his seat as much as he could. Spirits only knew just what kind of facility he was headed to now, or what kind of punishment awaited. But it was the end of the line whatever happened. In this age, death was the fate of all traitors.

Pretty soon the shuttle ramp was closing and the transport was getting ready to lift off. I'm sorry my little bee. Please take care of yourself.

[Rain]

Memah

"You want another?" I asked Wey. The Solos would be coming in shortly for a meal, and afterwards, there would be a surprise party. A few people had gathered out back including Sky, Daron, Trika and Caleb who were still busy making preparations after Sky's speeder held them back, a few remained in the cantina itself, including Wey and Serra.

Before Wey answered, Lando and Bria Calrissian entered. They were here for the meal too.

"They're on their way." Bria told us.

"Alright, Wey, you wanna make your way through the back and wait for the big surprise moment with the others? I think Olee is arriving with the kids shortly, and you'll have a lot of company out there." I asked. I almost felt like I was overstepping my boundaries. Not only was I telling a great warrior like Wey to essentially clear off, but I also had two of the three founders of the Resistance in the back under the same orders. Not that any of them minded of course, but still. "Serra, go get Daron. You two can help me behind the bar." I added.

A few moments later, Anakin and jis younger brother Ben came running in, followed by Jacen, Jaina, Chewie, Leia and trailing along at the end, looking just as grumpy as Anakin had said, Han himself.

"Welcome!" I greeted them with a smile. Anakin had left no longer than half an hour ago. Han I hadn't seen in about a week or so, which was fairly normal. He, Selas and Miss H didn't grace that cantina as frequently as they used to, but they still managed to pop in every now and again. I liked that about them. Even after all these years and the position of power they've been placed in, they were still grounded individuals. Grounded individuals with extremely busy schedules.

"Nice to seey ou Memah." Han said, brightening up a bit, "And you two!" He looked at Lando and Bria, "Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a family affair?" He joked.

"You old pirate, are you saying I'm not family? Ha! Don't forget who's paying for this!" Lando replied with a laugh. Bria punched him his arm.

"Actually, it's on the house, courtesy of Memah." She clarified, "What he meant to say was happy birthday!"

Daron took them over some menus and they ordered their food. Soon enough the meal was over, and after Leia insisting on paying me, the group said their thanks and goodbyes. Of course, Han was the only one who actually believed he was going home. The kids shared smirks with each other as he went to push the door open. What greeted him was a loud cheer of many voices in unison.

"SURPRISE!"

[hk47fan]

Marlena Gash

I smiled as all of us screamed at Han, who seemed a little taken off guard by all of this. As smart as he was, I doubted he expected this; this was the first time that we'd all thrown him a surprise birthday party, but this was a landmark. His 40th birthday; after all Han did for us and his family, he deserved it. Perhaps it wasn't a good landmark, but it was a landmark nonetheless.

Everyone clapped, including myself, as we all watched his expressions. Trika was the first to walk up to him and give him a slap on the arm. "About time you got here, you old man," she told him. "We've been preparing for this for a while. I thought you'd all never get here."

"Yes, Captain Solo, Princess Leia and your children have been planning this for quite some time!" C-3PO exclaimed happily, also walking into the cantina. "It was very hard for R2 and I to not say anything to you!"

R2 gave an argumentative series of beeps.

"Well, perhaps it was just me that had the problem with keeping it a secret, but I knew it was for your benefit!" Threepio responded.

"It was the big four zero, Han," Alsia Fel chimed in with a chuckle as everyone walked into the Jade Sky. "How could we not go all out for you?"

"So, Dad," Jacen Solo, Han's eldest son, said, looking up at his father. "Do you like it?"

Caitlin

I felt guilty. No, in fact, I felt borderline horrible. I wasn't one to go on too many crusades, but I did stand up for what I believed; I had some strong viewpoints at times and I didn't hesitate to let them be known. This time, though, I did go on a crusade. I got Blades, a mercenary who I barely knew, freed on the condition that he work for the Resistance, at least for a while, and now he was captured by the New Republic. All because I believed that he deserved to be freed, and because I insisted that he was.

"This isn't right!" I exclaimed, standing in Captain Ailim's office. I was about to pull my hair out. I was very stressed and guilt-ridden. "I can't believe this."

"Caitlin, we've already sent a team to rescue him. We've worked on tracking down the transport he'd be on since the team that stole the NR's arsenal reported back," Ailim re-assured me. "Get ahold of yourself. We'll get him back."

I sighed. "I know, I'm sorry," I told him. "It's just...I was the one pushing for him to do this, and now this happens..."

"Trust us. We succeeded in the last mission, and we'll succeed in this one," Ailim told me. "If it is any consolation: He did well on the mission. His sacrifice, which was his decision, was what caused us to bring so many men back alive, as well as the weapons. Because of his assistance, we struck a New Republic stronghold on Taris. You were wise to help him."

"It wasn't about his skills, really," I said. That was comforting, but not too much.

Ailim nodded. "I am aware, and I am not asserting that it is, but he did help. And we will honor him for that and bring him back. Don't worry, doctor," he said. "Now, speaking of the men that returned, there are many wounded to attend to. I suggest you get to it."

I nodded, and quickly left. Soon, I was in the Medical Bay, starting to get everything I needed to make sure that the wounded men from the most recent assault were comfortable and in stable health. However, everything with Blades continued to weigh on me; it was practically all I could think about.

I didn't even hear someone greeting me, and after the third time, I looked up to see the man who was like my co-chief around here, Uli. "Oh, sorry, Uli," I told him. "Sorry I've kind of been leaving a lot of this up to you...there's been some stuff on my mind the past couple of hours."

[Rain]

Darovit

I thought the boredom would go away once Karrde got back from his meeting. I was wrong. I missed Li and Sem. And Nines and Mayko too. Of course Karrde and Aves were cool and everything but they were really busy with everything that was going on. And now they were going to a party for Han Solo.

"Would you lighten up!" Aves laughed, "I don't know about you, but I for one am glad to get off Nar Shaddaa."

"Thats only because Grogga the Hutt wants your head" I retorted.

He shrugged. "True. But all that business that was accidental!"

"How do you accidentally throw a spear through someones eye?" I asked rhetorically. "Never mind. And I like the whole change of scenery thing, but I don't know anyone here."

"Well, simple solution to that kid." Karrde chimed in, "Quit moping about here and come to Han's party with us."

"I'll pass. I'm not big on crowds."

Karrde sighed. "Teenagers... Alright suit yourself. How 'bout you Zannah?"

"I'm good here." My cousin replied.

"Alright, well theres a holomap in the cockpit if you change your mind. Aves and I better get going, this things already started I think."

Karrde left, with Aves in two, leaving only Zannah and I onboard. My cousin and I were like brother and sister, we were best friends, yet we rarely had any small talk. We had this connection, from what happened thousands of years ago, and we constantly knew what the other was thinking. That kind of made conversation obsolete. With no one to talk to, I was left with my thoughts. I hated thinking. It was like my brain always short circuited so that I would reminisce through the few bad memories I had and completely jump past the countless good ones. Bug, Ruusan, Bane, Githany, the thought bomb... all these unwelcome memories would flood back. And then there was the more recent memories. Little Aria and her mother Yraelle...

"You're thinking about them again." Zannah stated somewhat indifferently.

"Yeah. So?" Zannah didn't get it. None of them did, not even Sem.

"Just saying." She replied, "I mean it was sad and everything, but come on Tomcat that was over two years ago now. You need to move on."

"And you need to keep your nose out of my business!" I snapped. It was a sensitive subject. Not to mention I hated being told what to do by anyone. "I know we have this bond and everything, but the least you could do is not blurt out my thoughts. I mean how would you like it if I started talking about how you think Li is so hot?"

"Relax, theres no one here. And by the way if you tell anyone that, then your thoughts will be the last of your problems!"

There was silence for a minute or so before Zannah spoke again.

"I'm sorry." She said, "I'm not gonna pretend to understand why you got so attached to them, but you're right, none of my business."

I sighed. "No, don't be sorry. I know the only reason you brought it up was because you wanted to distract me from thinking about it too much."

She smiled. "It worked didn't it."

I tried not to smile, but failed. "Whatever. Anyways, I think I'm gonna take Karrde's advice and get out of here. You coming?"

"Nope." She replied, "I'm fine, you know I love my solitude."

"Alright. Well, I'll probably be back before Karrde and Aves, so I'll see you in a bit!"

Winter

"Well this is just great!" Mayko wasn't happy, "Just kriffing great! What in the name of Rhen Var were you thinking?"

"You should relax Mayko." I told her, putting my hand out to invite her to calm down, "Mara has given us shelter in her home when she could have easily turned us away, and for good reasons too! She deserves your trust."

"Oh don't worry, I trust Black Widow over here, it's this mysterious aunt that I don't trust!! The smuggler replied, only slightly calmer than before, "I mean come on she is Schutta Trok's sister-in-law!"

"You would be surprised at how many of Sora's family members have remained loyal to the Resistance." I informed her, "I will agree that it was a risk, but it was one that needed to be taken. We have no other plans or options at this stage."

"Mara," Li asked, "What do you think will happen now?"

Jaden

"It's fine." I reassured, "Honestly, don't worry about it."

"Pfft, get in trouble all you like kids!" Takk... or rather Mr Whiteraven scoffed, "Some of the biggest holostars out there have got where theyare by having that infuriating yet ultimately lovable rebellious streak. Ever seen that flick about Luke Skywalker? What's it called again... Shadows of Mindor I think. Yeah, that was a huge success! And what was Luke Skywalked? That's right, a Rebel!"

"Yeah but that wasn't actually Luke Skywalker in the movie!" For some reason I was pointing out flaws in Takk's statements, as if I was taking the whole acting teacher thing seriously, "It was an actor."

"True. But it's life imitating art. Or, the other way around or something, anyways my point is still valid."

"Uh... yeah I guess." I wasn;t going to argue further, "So... you guys want anything to eat or drink?"

Kitty

I never knew Tine could be so emotional. I had never seen her this way. But then again I rarely brought up the sensitive subjects. I wasn't really big on the whole heart-to-heart thing.

"You'll see them both again." Nilia said as she took Tina's hand. "One day."

"Yeah." I added with a comforting smile. Tina knew that I was being supportive. She knew I wasn't one for soothing words, and she also knew I only smiled when smiling was worth it.

"I've got to get back to work in a few hours." Nilia stated, "So, between now and then we need to figure something out."

"Then let's get to it." I affirmed. I was glad of Nilia's help, and I was glad Tina finally had someone she could talk to more openly. She was a great friend, but I realised she could only do so much. I would have liked to have a lot more firepower at our disposal, so that when events turned sour, Tina would still be safe. Someone like that guy we met in that cell. He seemed pretty formidable, for a prisoner. Unfortunately, men like that tended to be untrustworthy, so there was no point dwelling on it. "Any ideas?"

Uli

"Don't worry, it happens to the best of us." I reassured Caitlin, "You're worried about that mercendary aren't you?"

I didn't need to wait for a reply to know I was correct.

"I just heard what happened to him." I told her. "I never spoke to the man, but from what I heard he seemed like he was tough as Valaryian steel! I have no doubt he has been through worse. I'm sure he'll get out of it. I mean if you think about it, not so long ago he was in the same predicament, except it was with us instead of the NR. You can't blame yourself for such things. You did what was right, and I for one agreed with you. I have a feeling your friend will be just fine."

Jade Sky Cantina

Han tried to be grumpy. He wanted to be grumpy. Forty? Even though people lived into their hundreds with ease these days, forty was way too old! But it warmed his heart how everyone had gathered to celebrate. And passing up the opportunity to have a party these days was unforgivable.

He ruffled his son's hair. "I do, kid. Thanks. Thanks to all of you! It means a lot."

"Well you deserve it." Leia told him, squeezing in beside him and Jacen. "I know you're usually a stuck up, half-witted, scruffy looking Nerf herder, but you have your moments. Not many, but you do have them!"

Her husband grinned. "Whose scruffy looking?" He joked before kissing his wife.

The crowd cheered, as Daron yelled "Let the party begin!"

"Ugh... gross." Ben Solo commented as he turned away and went over to the food. Olee Starstone was there with her two sons Tylan and Hudson.

"Hey Ben!" Tylan, who was Ben's best friend, exclaimed.

"Hi." Ben could barely manage an audible reply with a mouth full of the free cuisine. Olee laughed at how much the boy reminded her of Han. He swallowed his food, and he laughed nervously. "Uh... sorry. Mom's always telling me not to talk with my mouth full."

"Your mother's a smart woman!" Olee replied with a smile, "But it'sa party, so table manners pretty much go out the window!"

"Really?" The boy asked.

"Yeah. Just look at Daron!" Olee pointed across the room to one of the other food tables, where Daron was quite literally stuffing his face whilst having a conversation, or at least attempting to have a conversation, with Sky.

"I'm just making a point Skivv, you really need to sort that speeder out-"

"Woah, dude, say it don't spray it!" Sky held up his hands to block in incoming assault, "And how many times do I have to say it? Sky! Call me Sky!"

Ben laughed as he looked on. "I guess you're right Olee!"

"Oh, theres your dad." Olee said to her sons as she spotted Wey. "Come on boys."

"Is it OK if I stay here and hang out with Ben?" Tylan asked.

"Of course." His mother answered, "Just don't go getting into trouble OK? Your father, brother and I will be right over there if you need us." She and Hudson left to join Wey at the other end of the room.

"Ty, you gotta try this cake! It's unreal!" Ben exclaimed.

Ben's 11 year old big brother Anakin appeared as Tylan took a slice of the cake from the platter. "Its great isn't it!" Anakin agreed, "Serra made it earlier today. If you ask me, she should become the full time chef! Oh and hey Tywalker!" He said to Tylan, after noticing the boy was there. Anakin was also good friends with Tylan, and almost always referred to him as Tywalker. Leia had a holocube that she kept on the Millenium Falcon of a podrace from decades ago, which was won by her father Anakin Skywalker when he was just a boy. He was very similar in appearance to Tylan, and after Anakin noticed the similarities, the nickname stuck.

"Wow, this is good!" Tylan acknowledged as he took a bite.

"Told ya!" Said Ben as he wiped some crumbs from his mouth.

"So, what's this Ben has told me about some girl you like?" Anakin asked, playfully teasing Tylan. Tylan went bright red.

"Lili." Ben confirmed her name. "She's Ty's little girlfriend!"

"She isn't my girlfriend!" Tylan protested, "She's just a friend!"

Anakin laughed. "Sure she is! Anyways, less talk more cake!"

Serra Keto smiled to herself as she passed the boys and made her way towards the bar. "I have to say, this is quite a bash!" She said to Memah, who was working behind the bar.

"It is indeed." Memah concurred. "I just hope we don't have a repeat of the last party we had!"

Serra laughed. "Yeah let's hope not! Hey Trika, do you remember that? It was Lando and Bria's 10th anniversary, you temporarily forgot I was a cyborg and challenged me to a drinking contest. I've never seen someone throw up as much in my life. Poor Caleb was dripping in the stuff!"

"OK, I think that's my que to leave!" Memah snorted, "You know I get all squeemish when it comes to vomit!" The Twi'lek exitted the bar and made her way towards Han. Before she got there, she was almost run over by his daughter Jaina.

"Oh, oops! Sorry!" Jaina exclaimed in embarassment of having run into someone. Being the victim of clumsiness was something that seldom happened to a Jedi Padawan.

Memah giggled. "Don't be silly, theres no need to apologise! It is a party after all!" Memah told Jaina as the girl managed to move past the embarassment and laugh herself, "You're lucky you didn't run into Dusk or Dawn. That would have hurt a lot more!"

"Yeah it would have!" Jaina replied, laughing again.

"Whats the hurry anyways?"

"Oh, yeah, I left my holorecorder at home." She explained, "I'm running back to get it!" With that she scurried off out the door.

Memah continued on towards Han. "Happy birthday Solo!" She congratulated as he gave him a tight hug, "For a minute there I thought you were going to keep up that whole doom and gloom act! Forty, huh? Quite a milestone!"

"Don't remind me." Han uttered in his familiar sarcastic tone, "But yeah, thanks again Memah. I really appreciate all this."

"Don't mention it. Like Leia said, you deserve it!"

Han smiled. "You know what... I think we all do!"

[Mandalorian]

Wey

Wey smiled widely when he saw Olee and Hudson. He may think wistfully of the old chaotic days on occasion but whenever he saw Olee and his kids those thoughts flew away. He knew he was happier in this new life and being a father... it helped him come to terms with his past

as she walked over he said to her just loudly enough he knew Han would over hear "so this party is awfully lively, considering it's for a old man" immediately afterwards he threw a wink in Han's direction.

Alek Thar

Alek sat in his private quarters aboard his flagship Thar's Dominion and was lost in thought. He was trying to decide if now was the time to move and he was starting to believe it was. He had tried to break away from Imperial control and form his own leadership once already and that attempt had not gone well but with the situation between the New Republic and the Resistance he thought that now may be the best chance he would get.there wouldn't be any going back from this attempt though, it was all or nothing the Empire would not accept him back with open arms after what he planned on doing.

He sighed deeply well no time like the present he composed his face and then hit the record button on his desk.

"Hello Sora, my name is Alek Thar Grand Admiral of the Empire's third fleet. I have kept a careful eye on what has been happening in the New Republic sense you have taken command and honestly sir i respect what i see. I joined the Empire originally so that i could see the universe, but in seeing it i realized how mistreated most of it was. I continued with the Empire and advanced within it for the goal of trying to rectify these problems and possibly bring a measure of peace to our galaxy. However i was obviously wrong in my decision."

"so now i have an offer for you that i sincerely hope you will accept and i have gone to great trouble to find a way i could directly send this message to you because i wanted you to hear this for yourself. I honestly believe that your government now stands as the best way to bring peace and safety to the citizens of our galaxy and as such i offer to you all of my personal forces which are sizable and my own service as their leader. not only that but i bring with me vast amounts of information on the Imperial Military and information on our ships, commanding officers, and current military research. included in this message i am sending you as a sign of good faith the schematics of our Tie Defender, and a breakdown of all of our military forces and where they are currently stationed. I hope at the very least you will consider my offer sir"

He hit the end recording button and then leaned back in his seat and activating his computer and attached the appropriate files to the message and then taking a deep breathe and knowing there was no going back after this point sent the message.

[hk47fan]

Mara

I had to grit my teeth and try not to make a snappy remark. I looked at Li, trying to keep calm. Now was not the time to get into an argument, especially with Sora Trok's sister-in-law on her way over; they did have a point. We had to be careful, even if Vania was a friend of mine. Her and I were never particuarily close, so this wasn't exactly a for-sure thing.

"Well, Vania should be here any minute; I'm not sure how far she is, but it can't be long," I began, trying to figure out how exactly to handle this. We didn't have long. "If we can just keep all of you hidden, and manage to get Emma and Demlan out with Vania as soon as she gets here, we should be okay. I doubt she'll want to stick around, and whether Sora's kids do or not, she'll probably drag them out of here with how he reacted."

Emma

"Our dad always says that it depends on the situation," Demlan interrupted. Here we went again; everything my dad said often contradicted with what friends like Jaden or his family would say. Or even our aunt Vania. I wished Demlan wouldn't even say anything. "He says it's not good to be a rebel right now, because uhh...whatever he does is good for us or something like that, and rebels today just cause trouble. He says they're not the good guys anymore, but they used to be, or something like that. Hey, Emma, didn't dad used to be a rebel?"

"He doesn't like to talk about it," I replied. It was true; we'd heard our dad talk a little bit about when he took down the old government or whatever, and we learned about it in history class, but we really didn't know many details.

I decided to change the subject. "Anyway, yeah, some juice would be nice or something, maybe. Thanks."

Tina

I smiled at both Nillia and Kitty. "Oh, thank you, both of you; I mean, I haven't known either one of you for years and years, and I haven't even seen you for years until now," I said, looking at Nillia. "but both of you mean so much to me. I've never really had true friends before, not really. You two are my first, I have to say, and I appreciate you both helping me."

I knew that they were right, too; I would see them again one day, I'd make sure of it! And they were also right in saying that we had to figure out a plan. "I don't know what we can do!" I exclaimed honestly. "But I need somewhere to hide that I can stay...well, for awhile. I mean, I don't want to keep running, but I don't know what else to do."

Caitlin

I smiled at Uli. Uli probably knew me better than most people did; a lot of people were my friends, my very good friends, but Uli and I had worked together for thirteen years together. We saw each other every day, and in all honesty, I believed we were the best doctors in the business. "Thank you. I don't even know what I think of the guy; he just seemed genuine, and I still think he was if he sacrificed himself for the rest of the team; I guess he could've been trying to get back to the NR, but...no, my gut tells me otherwise. I just feel guilty because all of this was because of me."

I sighed. "You're right, though; he probably will be fine, and I just need to leave it to the rest. They'll get it done, and I need to do my job; there are a lot of wounded from that mission that need to be taken care of."

Marlena

I walked up to Han, smiling. "Happy Birthday," I told him softly and happily. "Forty isn't so bad, believe me, I've hit worse; you're still young, raising children. Enjoy it while you can. You have a long way to go, believe me."

"Marlena's got a point," Alsia remarked, walking up beside me. "You probably haven't matured since the day I met you and that was...what, how many years ago now? Haven't changed a bit."

"Mom, can I go hang out with Jacen or something? Now that we finally got this over with," Jamie Fel, Alsia's young, thirteen year old son said with a groan. I didn't know him well, but he always seemed a bit awnry, and a little bit rebellious. Then again, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been, and that was what made children fun to raise.

"Stop complaining, it's Han's birthday," Alsia replied, slightly irritated. "But yeah, go."

"Yes!" Jamie said, a bit more enthusiastic. "Thanks, mom! And happy birthday, Mr. Solo!"

"Anyways," Alsia continued. "Look at it this way, Han: You've still got a pretty young wife, too."