Tales From the Battlefront, a Star Wars story

by Laser921

Serving as the prequel to The Imperium War, these stories were inspired by the battlefront series and provide background into the main characters of the Imperium War. WodiQuix is co-author

Tales from the BATTLEFRONT

By: Laser921 and WodiQuix

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away . . .

It is a period of civil war. Across the galaxy, the GALACTIC CIVIL WAR rages, an explosive conflict between the evil forces of the GALACTIC EMPIRE and the freedom fighters of the ALLIANCE TO RESTORE THE REPUBLIC. Striking quickly and decisively, the ALLIANCE has managed to win a decisive battle on the volcanic planet of SULLUST, shutting down the mighty factories driving the powerful Imperial war machine.

But the EMPIRE is far from defeated. Retaliating with awesome force, the EMPIRE has driven the ALLIANCE into the farthest reaches of known space, determined to crush their foe once and for all. Barely managing to evade their pursuers, the rebel ships have temporarily bought time for the brave leaders of the ALLIANCE to plan their next move.

Aboard the rebel star cruiser INVINCIBLE FAITH, the brave soldiers and leaders of the ALLIANCE hatch a daring plan to cripple the EMPIRE even further . . .

Dramatis Personae:

Jevin Corso, Human male: Hailing from Carida, Corso made his mark early in the galaxy. In his late teens to early twenties, he had a stint as a bodyguard, eventually having lucrative contracts protecting high-level executives of corporations like BlasTech, Sorosuub, and Kuat Drive Yards. During a job, he received word his parents were brutally murdered by the Empire during a peaceful protest on Carida. After this, he joined the Rebellion, becoming a captain in Leia Organa's Honor Guard.

Wodi Quix, Human male: An orphan from Breental IV who saw his parents killed in a pirate attack, Wodi Quix started out in a local resistance group, eventually making his way to the Rebellion. Here he would show promise as a special forces soldier and would eventually end up in a squad along with his friend Amminius Sinan commanded by a soldier of some repute, Jevin Corso. Wodi received his nickname "Wishbone" after banging his head on a Y-wings jet engine.

Amminius Sinan, Human male: Born on Dantooine, Sinan worked as a freight hand at a local spaceport. After discovering a cache of supplies and a crate of BlasTech E-11s, along with several suspicious characters, Sinan followed them to a secret rebel base on the planet, where he learned of the Rebel Alliance. Joining their ranks, Amminius would soon befriend Wodi Quix and later serve in a special forces squad alongside him commanded by Jevin Corso.

Cade Valdarin, Human male: A child from Chandrila and the son of two survivors of the Jedi Purge, Cade Valdarin was raised by his Jedi parents until shortly before the Battle of Scarif, when Vader tracked them down and killed them. Cade was secreted away by a Bothan friend of the family and eventually found his way to his aunt, Mon Mothma, Chancellor of the Rebellion. A powerful Force user, Cade trained himself to become the Jedi his parents wanted him to be.

Sid, Sullustan male: Joining the Alliance with his fellow gun runner, Nien Nunb, Sid would realize his passion for being a chef and serve a special forces squad as its cook. A soldier and gifted chef, Sid would be instrumental to the morale of Jevin Corso's squad.

Jevin Corso - Aboard the Alliance MC80 Liberty type star cruiser Invincible Faith, Outer Rim Territories

We've done it, we've taken Sullust. The battle was long and arduous. Many friends were lost along the way, but the galaxy burns brighter for their sacrifice. Princess Leia personally fought on the field and as squad leader of Honor Guard Unit Alpha, we were in the thick of the fighting to take the Imperial hangars. Our other forces targeted the factories and barracks, trying to keep the stormtroopers off balance. Now that we've taken a key manufacturing planet from them, the Empire is all the more determined to root us out. Our fleet barely managed to evade their Star Destroyers. We've lost them near the Salin Corner hyperspace route when our captain took a clever detour. We're regrouping inside a large asteroid cluster, restocking on supplies. Our officers are expecting a coded transmission to come in any day now from High Command, giving us our new orders. I've heard rumors of Imperial forces tightening their grip over Tatooine and Daxam IV, Outer Rim worlds near the Rimma Trade Route. We're going to do something about it. And to have control of a major trade route would give us a greater edge against the Imps, allowing us to push into the Core Worlds, where we can really do some damage. Soon, Admiral Ackbar will launch a strike on the Imperial ships over Tatooine, while Alpha Unit and the Forty-First Fury Battalion rush in and storm the planet groundside. We've reached a turning point in the war, I can feel it.

Jevin Corso - Aboard the Alliance MC80 Liberty type star cruiser Invincible Faith, Outer Rim Territories

Alpha unit has returned from their recon on Bespin. It's worse than we thought, the bounty hunter Dengar is with the Imperials there. He's leading them in some gas siphoning operation. For now, High Command is having us wait on the intel. The next big push in the war is being aptly named: Operation Wookiee's Fist. The goal is to punch a huge hole in the Imperial lines at Tatooine and Daxam IV in order to have access to the Rimma Trade Route before further pushing into Imperial space. Being closer to Tatooine, Alpha's being moved there. We are to move in along with the Fourth Army, the unit that helped us secure Sullust. Several other notable soldiers are joining the assault. Vresrei, a Zabrak and excellent soldier and able tactician, will be heading recon. One of our ace pilots, Kaelara Starlight, is leading our fighter support: Blue and Green Squadrons, in the skies. Another top soldier in the Fourth Army, Wodi Quix, is going to lead a commando team, Rancor Team, to give us fire support. There are many others, far too numerous to name, but they are all heroes, every one of them. Chancellor Mothma is about to deliver the briefing as we speak . . .

Jevin Corso - Jundland Wastes, Tatooine, Outer Rim Territories

We've been cut off from Rancor Team. The Imps have an amazingly brilliant tactician among them. Rumor from the ranks is it's a Shadow Guard, an elite royal guard and Force user, no less, if the rumors are to be believed. A portion of the Imperial forces managed to pin us down at Mos Espa. All looked lost until one voice stood up among us. Through the dust and blaster fire, we heard a determined shout, "Our friends are counting on us! Push them back!" And there she was, Princess Leia, standing tall among the soldiers. And seeing her fierce determination, we joined her. As captain of Alpha unit, I ordered the men to move forward no matter the cost. Wodi Quix was counting on us! We managed to push the Imps back and into a retreat. Then we began moving out towards the Jundland Wastes, where the bulk of our forces were. Along the way, Commander Starlight and the remains of Green Squadron came just in time to bail us out of trouble. TIE interceptors were harassing us as we fought. Green Squadron, combined with Blade Squadron's B-wings gave us heavy cover; they even managed to take down a Star Destroyer by knocking out its engines! After that, we came into the Wastes and joined up with a cluster of ragged-looking soldiers holding off stormies with a couple of turrets and E-webs. I got on the comm as fast as I could: "Sergeant Quix, this is Captain Corso, come in!" Nothing comes back but static. I lower my comlink in mild annoyance. Seeing my expression, Leia smiles. "What? You want to live forever? Let's go get 'em!" And with that we join in the fray, finally meeting up with Rancor Team, together pummelling the Imperial lines . . .

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix – Jundland Wastes, Tatooine, Outer Rim Territories

What's left of our division has just landed outside of the strike zone. The Imps threw their big guns at us right off the start. Heavy armor: AT-ATs, AT-STs, and TIE interceptors, plus a full battalion of stormtroopers. Their heavy turbolasers knocked out one of our troop transports before it even broke atmosphere. It crashed somewhere in the Dune Sea. I heard garbled transmissions about survivors, but I can't be sure. Blue Squadron is being sent on a rescue mission. Our reconnaissance force went dark at 09:00 hours. Before the transmission cut off, I heard someone yell something about black-armored stormtroopers. Green Squadron took a pretty bad hit, with most of their Y-wing bombers out for the count. Thankfully Kaelara Starlight made it out. Her and Green Three are back at base along with the remainder of their pilots, restocking supplies and dressing their wounds. Me and my guys are holed up in our depot, fending off sandtroopers. Luckily, we have a few E-webs at our disposal that aren't damaged. We had to fall back from the uplinks due to superior numbers. The Imps have most likely destroyed them. It's relatively quiet now; the only constant sound being the Imperial walkers' thunderous footsteps a few kilometers away. Kriff, it's dislodging dust from the ceiling. I fear that they may be massing for another attack. I'm scared, but also grateful for the peace and quiet, at least for now. Jevin said help was coming, but I haven't heard anything from him since. We lost three of Rancor Team to snipers during the fighting. Kriffing scouts. My best friend Amminius took a round in the shoulder from an E-11. He's shaking it off, but I know it must hurt like hell. A bacta patch from the medics and he'll be good as new. I listened to some Imp transmissions, and it seems that some hotshot in black royal guard armor is calling the shots. Force-user too. Our only hope now is for the heavy troops to delay the chicken-walkers, AT-ATs, and bucket-heads, and for Jevin to arrive with the Princess and the rest of our backup. Force help us. On the positive side, we have enough rations to hold out for a little while. We had plenty more, but the Imps lobbed a gas grenade into our stock house. We had to quarantine the area and seal off the blast doors, but the good news is we managed to save some supplies. Our company cook, Sid, is at work making my team's favorite: blue milk flatcakes. Nothing like flatcakes to take your mind off a bad day. And kriff, has our day been bad. Sid just came in with the flatcakes. I'm going to end this transmission here. May the Force be with us . . .

Jevin Corso - Jundland Wastes, Tatooine, Outer Rim Territories

We slam into the Imperial lines, Princess Leia taking out stormies left and right. All of a sudden, we see an X-wing above us burst into flame, but nothing hit it! We see the pilot eject but moments later she is snatched out of the air, like magic. Leia murmurs an expletive, and when that happens, you know something's going down. Right away myself, Sergeant Kals and Lieutenant Vons rush over to the crash sight, only to find the pilot dead, blaster bolt to the forehead. Then we see Quix . . . Quix just flying through the air headfirst into a wrecked B-wing. And then we see him; a nightmare come to life. A sinister Royal Guard, only in black armor with a red visor, with a lightsaber pike to top off the horror. Looks like the rumors are true! He sees us and starts coming toward us, a mocking laugh emanating from that mask . . . a laugh that makes my blood run cold. Leia, bless her heart, starts blasting the freak, putting him on the defensive. Thanks to her, we're able to rush to Wodi's aid. "Sergeant!" I yell, putting a gloved hand behind his helmeted head, "Wodi!" With a bacta pad, and a good slap to wake him up, Wodi comes back from the brink. He insists he's combat capable and we rush back to Leia's defense. There's no way she can take out the Shadow Guard on her own, but with combined blaster fire, we're able to drive him back. That is, until a trio of AT-ATs come out from behind the mountains, blaster cannons pointed directly at us. All looks lost now . . . and all I can say is where is Kaelara Starlight when you need her?

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix – Jundland Wastes, Tatooine, Outer Rim Territories

Our backup has arrived! Alpha's got our back, and the rest of the Fourth Army is pushing up. We have them now. The air is hot with blaster bolts and flying shrapnel going in all directions. A TIE goes down in a ball of fire, hit by one of our X-wings, taking out a chicken-walker as it skids across the sand, trailing debris. I let out a 'whoop' and continue to press forward with Rancor. Ahead of us, leading the charge, is Princess Leia. She sure is a sight to behold, taking down stormies left and right. I flank left with two of my men, blasting a trooper manning an E-web with my A280. An X-wing swoops by over our heads . . . and then I hear the ear-piercing sound of screeching metal . . . it's being torn apart, but nothing is hitting it! What in the blazes? The pilot ejects from her doomed fighter, but is literally torn from the air almost immediately afterward, as if by an unseen hand. She lands by us, still strapped to her chair by its crash webbing, screaming in terror as she clutches her temples. My men and I run to her, looking for injuries . . . there are none. She screams at us to get it out of her head. "Get it out, get it out!" She yells frantically, her eyes wild and scared. Get what out? Then one of my men falls to the ground, spasming violently. I rush over to him, elevating his head with my hands, thinking he's having a seizure, but no, he's clutching his head and screaming too. My remaining teammate goes to get a medic . . . he doesn't get far when . . . a pike erupts from his chest. Standing behind him is what I can only describe as a demon, flanked by two shadow troopers, dressed in black armor and helmet with a red visor. He slowly turns his helmeted head to look at me. I go cold, suddenly sweating all over. I find I am unable to move. I hear a cold, dark voice inside of my head, whispering things to me. I try to fight it. It asks my name, and what our plans are for the Empire. I'm shaking from head to foot. But I keep my mouth and brain on lockdown. Bad move. He points at me, and I'm suddenly lifted into the air and hurtling towards the wreckage of a B-wing, head first . . .The last thing I see before it all goes black are the two shadow troopers silencing the pilot and my spasming buddy . . .

Jevin Corso - Jundland Wastes, Tatooine, Outer Rim Territories

Well we did it. We won the Battle of Tatooine. For a second, it looked like we were going to die. That Shadow Guard, Lord Xander, I think I heard a trooper call him, had captured what was left of us. We were all lined up for execution. Just when all looked lost and the order to fire was given . . . there was a cannon blast. I opened my eyes, and to everyones surprise, the rear AT-AT was firing on its own! As soon as our would-be executioner had his back turned, I rushed him, snapping the trooper's neck. Wodi, Leia, and the rest grabbed their rifles and had the stormies at their mercy. Xander, it seems, is not a fan of having his plans foiled. He let out this enraged howl. I will never forget that sound, like a wounded animal and an extremely vicious predator in one. He commandeered a speeder bike and sped off. I look at Wodi and we both share a look: we know he'll be back. Like the monsters from horror stories; the ones that always come back and never seem to die, no matter how many times you hit them . . .

But for now, we head back to our new base on planet 5251977 for a quick respite. Leia takes to celebrating with the men. Wodi and I, along with the remains of Rancor Team and Alpha unit, sit back and enjoy our drinks and blue milk flatcakes, thanks to our company cook, Sid. As the night goes on, my thoughts wander back to Tatooine and Xander. I can't help but shiver. That Xander, I just have a feeling that he will be back, again and again. The celebration is interrupted by a trio of smartly-dressed officers. Our next orders have come in: we're to backup Commander Tek and his forces on Daxam IV, and we're heading out tomorrow. And guess what? Our spies in the area reported seeing a modified Lambda shuttle heading there . . . and it was matte black. A bad feeling in my gut starts. "Well that's perfect" I say, shaking my head. Getting up with the others, we head back to the barracks to turn in for the night.

Looking around, I pull one of the guards over and ask, "Where's Chancellor Mothma's boy, Cade, I think his name is?" The guard says he left and the flight information only pointed to one place, Daxam IV. Again, I look to Wodi and to Sid as well. Cade is a strong Force-user no doubt; fighting with the Force for five years straight will do that. But he's also only eight years old. That monster Xander will destroy him. "Going off to sleep," I say to Sid and Wodi before jogging off back to my room. Better get some sleep if we're leaving first thing in the morning. As I make my way back, I think of Cade. Cade may be just a boy, but he may be extremely valuable and vital to the Alliance once the Empire is destroyed. I hope nothing bad happens to him.

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix – Jundland Wastes, Tatooine, Outer Rim Territories
Jevin had pulled me back from the brink of death . . . only to have landed me in a far worse situation. The stormies have taken a toll on our forces, cutting us down to about twenty-five soldiers, plus the Princess. We fought on though, determined to push through their lines. . . until from behind the mountains lumbered three AT-AT walkers, their thunderous footsteps shaking the ground, kicking up sand. Seeing them stopped us dead in our tracks. The stormtroopers, seeing their backup force, pushed us back until they had us all in a tight group, huddled together. The black guard laughs, a horrible sound that puts my teeth on edge. A commando beside me starts to raise his hands in surrender, and I give him a jab in the ribs. If we're going out, it's not as cowards. We will face our enemies showing no fear. "Drop your weapons, scum!" Orders a stormtrooper sergeant, his voice amplified through his helmet speakers. We do as he says. Our blasters hit the dirt, kicking up a cloud of sand. Our next orders are to get in a line. Again, we do as we are told. A commando stumbles as he is being pushed, falling to the dirt. He attempts to get up, but is yanked off his feet again, brought hovering in front of the black clad guard. The thing inspects its catch, turning the commando in the air as if on a display. With a laugh, he jerks his hand, and I hear the man's spine crack. I wince as he falls to the ground with a thud, dead. I turn a fiery gaze on the figure, willing him to drop to the sand. He returns my gaze. I'm frozen in place. Then I'm abruptly shoved backwards, as if pushed by an invisible hand, falling into the arms of my comrades. The black guard turns away and motions several stormtroopers forward. A firing squad. "Maybe they'll miss." Amminius whispers next to me. I chuckle. "You wish." I whisper back. My thoughts drift to my parents. A feeling of calm envelops me; I'll be with them soon. I stare at the troopers, into those soulless faceplates. They raise their rifles, and I close my eyes . . . ready. I hear the shots. BAM! BAM! Those aren't blaster shots! I open my eyes to see . . . an AT-AT toppling to the sand, its command cockpit destroyed. The stormtroopers whirl around, as confused as I am. The rear AT-AT fires again, hitting the other remaining walker first in the knee joint, then in the head. It then focuses its laser cannons on the Imps, blasting about thirty troopers into nothingness. Am I seeing this right? Maybe I hit my head on that B-wing a little harder than I thought. The Imps are scrambling, trying to get out of the blast zone. They fire on the walker, which continues its course toward our position. The black guard is standing there tense . . . he has no idea what's going on. Then he lets out a bellow of anger! Next thing, he's kicking a fleeing scout trooper off his speeder bike, wrenching the scout off and disappearing into the dunes in a cloud of sand and grit. Turning tails and running. Typical high-up Imp. The remaining troopers, with their leader gone, and who are heavily outgunned, literally, have no idea what to do. So we help them decide. "Get on your knees and drop your blasters!" I order, picking up my A280C. The rest of my team follows suit, training their weapons on the remaining troopers. The stormies obey. The walker, finally reaching us, kneels on its massive legs, putting its cockpit a few feet from us. "I figured you could use a hand!" Says an all-too familiar voice. I laugh, seeing an orange flight suit-clad Kaelara Starlight climbing down from the cockpit. She gives us a huge grin, and claps me on the shoulder. "You're late, Starlight!" Amminius says, smirking. "What kept you?" "Oh, you know," Kaelara laughs, "I couldn't find a walker I liked, the usual thing." Our whole group bursts out laughing. "Now let's get off this dust ball!" Our whole group cheers, giddy with happiness and relief. "What about that black guard?" Jevin asks. "Who, Xander? Oh, he'll be back. I would have loved to see the look on his face once he sensed me in the walker!" Replies Kaelara, grinning. We're headed off to Daxam IV . . . one dust ball after another, to reinforce Commander Tek and his forces. But for now we're back at our newest headquarters, planet 5251977. A small, obscure place no one even bothered to give a name. Since the planet rotates so slowly, days and nights here are the equivalent of several weeks on most other planets. It's hidden pretty well, though. Sid has made his customary blue milk flatcakes in celebration of our victory. I can already smell them. I'll update the log once we reach Daxam. I do have to wonder where that Xander character went off to though. I have a feeling we'll be seeing him again real soon. But this time, we'll be ready . . .

Jevin Corso - Preparing to leave planet 5251977, Alliance Headquarters

We leave early, not even halfway through the planet's rotation. Several Mon Cal star cruisers, fighter squads, and a couple of Nebulon-B's join up with us halfway. Just as we enter the Daxam system, alarms blare all over the Sentinel, the task force flagship. Right away, Sid whistles and says, "Hey boss, we entered a real gundark nest." I walk over to the bridge, looking out at space, where several imposing Star Destroyers sit, backed by two heavy cruisers and a Super Star Destroyer. Tek's ships are still putting up a fight against them. I'm a soldier, not a spacer. I don't belong up here. "What're you doing here?" Our Quarren admiral, Kerex, hollers at us, as if reading my thoughts. "You only get one drop window. Get to your transport, the escort is ready!" With that, Wodi, Sid, and I, joined along the way by several other commandos, rush to the waiting transport.

The next few minutes I will never forget. I'm used to fighting, been doing it for a long time throughout my bodyguard career. On the ground, you can see the enemy shooting you. You rely on your own wits to get you through. In the cramped cabin of a shaking troop transport, unable to shoot back at whoever's shooting you, that's another thing. You have to leave it up to the pilot to make sure you don't end up as frozen meat floating in space. On the way down, Sid cheers us up by saying if we survive, next breakfast is all you can eat flatcakes. Everything is going smoothly, for the most part when . . . BOOM! We've been hit!

The shuttle took a TIE fighter cannon blast to the engines. Our shuttle was going down! "Brace for impact!" Yells the pilot as the sandy ground outside our viewport grows closer and closer. We hit the sand with a tremendous lurch, sending supplies and bodies flying about the cabin. A piece of debris finds the back of my head. Then everything goes silent. The next thing I know, I see Wodi pulling off a sheet of metal; one of the transport doors, the sun glaring behind his head, a gash across one cheek. "Welcome to paradise," he says sarcastically as he helps me out onto the dunes. About a dozen other soldiers are out there with him. The rest lie dead inside the wrecked transport. I look out at our surroundings. Debris is strewn everywhere, scattered across the sand dunes. A downed Corellian Corvette lies in the distance, a furious firefight going on underneath it. The Super Star Destroyer sits in atmosphere pummeling our ships, and several AT-ATs are harassing our ground forces."Well, let's move out," I say. We gather what little we can salvage and set out across the sand. I have a slight limp from the crash but walk it off. Suddenly, two shuttles fly over our heads in formation, touching down on a sand dune in the distance. I hold out my hand to a sniper, "Binocs, now!" and peer through them. Two Imperial Lambda-class shuttles, one a standard light gray, the other a matte black version. Then I see their passengers disembark. Down the ramp of the standard shuttle comes a compliment of shadow troopers. Out of the other shuttle walks the shadow guard, Xander. Wodi and Sid look at me and Sid, ever the optimist, declares, "Well this should be fun. Fifty flatcakes to the one who can get that black armor!" We chuckle and head out, our scanner homing in on Commander Tek's radio signal. Just then, TIEs blast the Corvette and we see a wave of dust from underneath. That's where the signal was coming from. Fearing the worst, we double-time to the wreck. I signal to Kerex, "Have General Rieekan send Derlin and the rest of the Fourth, now! We'll need them!" And with that, we set out, every now and then checking behind us for Xander.

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix - Daxam IV, Outer Rim Territories
"Watch out!" A wrecked TIE fighter, flames spewing from its whining engines, smashes into the sand dune a few feet from us, kicking up a huge whirling cloud of sand and debris. Our group is immediately blasted with stinging grains and hot flak. I'm knocked down, sprawling face first into the sand. My ears are ringing and my vision goes foggy. X-wings and TIE fighters roar over our heads. I notice something white in my cloudy peripheral vision. I turn my head groggily, looking at it. A half-buried stormtrooper helmet. Its exposed eye lens seems to be gazing at me. I shake my head and take Jevin's hand, allowing him to hoist me up on my feet. I grab my A280 from where I dropped it and we keep going, Jevin constantly checking his locator. "We gotta keep moving," he shouts, "that signal is close." We sprint across the sand, trying not to get blown to shrapnel. Another TIE goes down, its engine making a horrible screeching sound. I shield my eyes as I run, looking up at the sky at the battle that continues to rage above Daxam. A group of stormtroopers tries to flank us from the left, but a pair of A-wings head them off, blowing them skyward. My A280 is burning in my hands, but I don't stop firing. I blast a trooper in the chest, burning a black hole in his white plastoid armor. He screams, his E-11 flying out of his hand, and falls to the sand in a heap. Another trooper tries to lob a detonator at us. Amminius puts a smoking hole in his helmet before he can toss it. The thermal drops to the sand and goes off at the trooper's feet, blasting him into oblivion. My legs are on fire, a sensation I know I am not alone in feeling, but I keep sprinting, fueled by adrenaline, lighting up stormtroopers as I go. We finally take a break behind an outcropping, all of us breathing hard. We all look to Jevin, who slaps his locator in his gloved hands. "The signal is weak, but it's definitely coming from a position near that Corellian Corv-". At that moment, a cannon blast from a TIE fighter hits the downed corvette's engines, turning the ship into an inferno. "Bloah!" Jevin curses, bringing his locator up to his face. The screen is dark, but then . . . blip, blip, blip. "A signal, they're alive!" Shouts Sid excitedly. "Then let's go!" A commando yells excitedly, starting to move out from our outcropping. The very next moment, he's knocked off his feet, a sizzling hole in his chest. "Sniper!" Another commando yells. We drop to the sand, just as a green bolt arcs over our heads, striking a piece of shrapnel jutting out of the dunes. "Where?" I yell. A second bolt whizzes by us, hitting the sand next to me. "Get to cover!" Jevin shouts, gesturing toward another hunk of twisted metal sticking out of the sand. We run for it, flattening ourselves against the hot surface. "All here." I report to Jevin. "Binocs!" He says, gesturing impatiently. A commando hands him a pair. Jevin quickly peeks out, scanning the terrain. "Over there-" he starts to say, just as the pair of macrobinoculars are blasted out of his hands, landing in the sand, a chunk missing from them. "Aaaagh!" he screams, yanking his hands back. "Kriffing sniper!" "Maybe we can try to flank him." A commando suggests. One thing was clear, we couldn't stay cowering behind cover. "We have to get to that signal!" Jevin affirms, tapping his locator for emphasis. I'm about to offer a suggestion when my wrist comlink chirps. I activate it and a high-pitched child's voice comes over the channel: ". . . odi, Jevin, Sid, are you out there?" "Cade!" I shout excitedly. "Wodi?" The voice asks. "Yes!" I shout in answer. "Thank the Force you're alive. Are you alright? Where's Tek and Ralen?" "Here." A gruff Ishi Tib voice says in answer. "Commander," Jevin interrupts, not in the mood for idle talk, "we're pinned down by a sniper in quadrant zero-three, can you give us a hand?" "Don't worry Jevin," Cade says. "I'll take care of him." "Fine," Jevin says into my wrist comm, "just make it quick!" I peek out from our cover, peering out of my A280's scope just in time to see a scout trooper, a smoking hole in his chest armor, fly off the edge of a debris riddled sand dune. An Ishi Tib and a Weequay walk out after a small boy in sandy robes, who grasps a Tusken Cycler Rifle in his hands. "He's a better shot than you are!" I jokingly tell Jevin. "Not bad . . . for a kid." He replies. "You're all clear Rancor." Tek's gravelly voice comes over my wrist comm, giving us a wave. We sprint out from our cover, running for the debris-pocked dune where Tek, Ralen, and Cade wait. In the distance, AT-ATs continue their relentless march toward the Fourth's position . . .

Jevin Corso - Daxam IV, Outer Rim Territories

We've managed to rendezvous with Commander Tek and his team. Captain Solo does good work, keeping them alive. For now, we're on the move, all carrying heavy packs with scavenged supplies; even Cade is keeping up. I guess a Jedi can use the Force to fight down exhaustion. A Weequay, Ralen, is leading the way, his expertise in scouting being put to good use. In the distance, the AT-ATs are still coming toward us.

"We've got to make it to base camp," Solo says. We all grunt in agreement, too tired to say anything. Then Cade suddenly perks up and looks behind us, like hearing something none of us can. He scans the horizon where he took out the sniper . . . and stops cold. "Uh guys, take a look." Tek hands me a pair of binocs and I look through them to see Xander standing on the cliff edge, his gloved hand raised to the sky. He had removed his cloak and helmet, revealing short black hair and a nasty looking scar going diagonally across his whole face, most likely caused by a lightsaber or vibroblade. But it was what he was doing that worried me. Wodi grabs the binocs from me and looks as well. "Sith's blood!" he shouts. "We've got to move!" Lafco goes ahead to find a position to cover us from.

Worried what having his arm upraised meant, I take the cycler rifle from Cade's pack, line up the shot, and aim directly for that nasty scar. With a thud I fire the slug. What happened next is something I'll never forget. The slug was about to hit Xander when all of a sudden, it stopped! Right in front of his face! I peer through the scope, looking at him, baffled. Xander, with his right arm still outstretched towards the sky, was pointing a crooked finger at the slug . . . seemingly effortlessly stopping it from hitting him. And then he makes a flicking motion with his finger, and the slug comes flying back. "Cover!" I shout, and we all duck left or right. Thwack!

We all hear a moan and I look behind me. Sid had taken the slug to the knee. "I'm fine," he says, his large eyes narrowed in pain. "It just stings!" We set him down and examine him. The knee isn't broken, the slug just grazed the skin, leaving a bloody mark, but nothing too bad. I glance back at Xander and see his body is physically struggling with something, the exertion causing his body to tremble. Peering through the scope again, I see two stormtrooper officers leading men down the cliff and then we hear it . . . a massive, scraping sound, like metal being torn apart. But this sound is so loud, I feel as if my head is being split in two. I look again at Xander and see him now pulling his hands down. Cade, being the Jedi he is, suddenly gasps and looks at me, a grim look on his face that belies his youth; he looks nearly thirty years older. "Jev, look up." "What?" I say, and he just repeats, "Look up." Struggling against the noise, we all look skyward, and see the unbelievable . . .

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix - Daxam IV, Outer Rim Territories"Look up," Cade says. We gaze skyward to where he points. Our eyes fall on the MC80 Mon Calamari Cruiser Sentinel. A horrified gasp ripples through our group. The cruiser, at the head of our reinforced fleet, begins to plummet toward the planet. The engines moan and whine, fighting the force of gravity, creating a horrible groaning sound loud enough for my teeth to rattle and my ears to hurt. Frantic radio chatter bursts over our comms as the flight crew and techs aboard the Sentinel struggle to keep their star cruiser in the air. "He's pulling down the ship!" Shouts Jevin frantically, gesturing wildly at the guard, Xander, who stands on a sand dune with his arm outstretched. A commando raises his T-21B, prepared to squeeze off a shot at the creep. I stay his hand, reminded of the slug pellet he deflected earlier. We sit there, helpless, watching the doomed cruiser getting closer and closer to the dunes. Suddenly, shiny round objects begin to jettison from the ship. Escape pods! They don't get far. TIE fighters swoop in, tearing apart the pods with their cannons before focusing on the Sentinel. With one last burst of static, the comms aboard the Sentinel cut off, sparing us from the screaming of her lost crew. As the cruiser hits the dunes, she scrapes one of our command centers, demolishing some of the structure. An immense cloud of sand is kicked up, engulfing the command base before being sent flying away from the point of impact. "Look out!" Amminius shouts, and we dive for cover as the newly created sandstorm rips over us. When it all settles, we look back out over the sand dunes. The Sentinel lies slightly on its side, largely intact, smoke billowing from its super-heated exterior. I look to the spot where Xander was standing . . . he is no longer there. All I see is the half-buried form of the dead sniper on another dune a few meters away. A feeling of anger mixed with sadness wells up inside me. A gloved hand touches my shoulder: it's the Weequay, Ralen. "We should go." He says softly to me. I look to see that the rest of our group has already moved off. Ralen and I jog to catch up. "He'll pay for this!" Jevin seethes, gripping his A280 hard. "Yes, he will," Tek soothes in a surprisingly calm voice, "but our chief concern is to clear the way for the rest of our forces to move in." He points a green, three-fingered hand in the direction of the lumbering AT-ATs. "Right," Sid grunts, "let's go. The best way to grieve, I think, is to cover the ground with dead stormtroopers." I give him a small smile, and all the commandos nod in agreement. "Is it wise to have him with us?" A commando hikes a thumb at Cade. "We aren't baby-sitters." Cade glares at her, retorting "I'm not a baby!" Before anyone can reply, a sharp chirp sounds from Tek's wrist comlink, and a bubbly Quarren voice begins to speak: " . . . can anyone hear me, this is Admiral Kerex of the star cruiser Sentinel, we require aid immediately. I have thirty-five injured crewmen and twelve in dire need of medical attention, . . . we have crashed in quadrant . . . kshhh . . . multip . . . kshhh. . . mtroopers headed . . . kshhh . . . way." "Admiral!" Tek shouts into his comm, "this is Commander Tek, do you copy?" " . . . I repeat; this is Admiral Kerex of the star . . . kshhh . . . entinal . . . we require . . ." Our signal wasn't getting through to them! "Bloah!" curses Jevin. "They're sitting mynocks out there!" "Jevin, Wodi, lead the rest of the group on," Commander Tek tells us, "myself, Donir, Solo, Malogaan, Kelrian, Glam, and Endel will go to the crash site and assist the Admiral. " We nod in understanding. Before he leaves with his rescue force, Tek takes me, Jevin, and Sid aside. "Protect Cade. Please. Make sure no harm comes to him. He is a strong boy but I fear the effects of the war on him." With that, the commander and his team move out, sprinting between cover, moving towards the far-off cruiser nestled in the sand dunes. "Right," I say to the remaining commandos, "we have a job to do, let's go!" With that we move off toward the rendezvous point . . .

Jevin Corso - Daxam IV, Outer Rim Territories

There it is. He's brought down the Sentinel with the Force. I've seen plenty of ships go down in my time, but never while they were perfectly functional. We split off from Tek's team; they're going to the remains of the Sentinel to get Kerex and his crew. We can't afford to lose a tactician like Kerex. He might be the best fleet officer we've got, besides Ackbar, of course. Our team is heading on to the rendezvous site, where Commander Skywalker is coordinating a counterattack. Everyone seems to be in a daze. Seeing a ship crash, especially one of the beautifully created Mon Cals, is hard to see. Everyone's keeping a good pace. Farani is leading the group through the canyons. Cade is slightly falling behind; it's hard to tell if he is tired or just in shock. I shout at Cade to kick into high gear. Wodi comes over to me and murmurs, "Lay off just a tad Jevin, we just saw a lot." I ask "Why, if he's going to be a soldier, might as well start now." "Well, aside from the fact that he is not a soldier," Wodi says in a disapproving tone, "he's Mothma's nephew. He's just a kid. Not that I'm saying he wants special attention, but he's strong with the Force. And think about it, if the Force lets him feel all this chaos out here," he gestures out at the debris pitted dunes with his arm, "imagine what he's going through now." Feeling suddenly regretful, I backtrack to Cade. "I'm sorry for that. How are you holding up?" Cade replies "Holding. Wodi's right you know. I can sense Luke feeling the same thing. All this death." We carry on in silence.

It's quiet. Too quiet. All of a sudden, TIE Interceptors rush overhead, lasers striking the dunes very near us. I yell for the others to dash to cover, desperately wishing we had air support. As we are in cover, Cade reaches into my pack and grabs a portable rocket launcher. "I said stay in cover!" I say in protest. In response, Cade holds up a hand to shut me up. He brings the launcher up . . . and closes his eyes! Wodi glances at him, alarmed. "What are you doing? You're out in the open!" Cade then fires, the rocket blast kicking up sand. We watch the rocket clip the Interceptor on the wing, causing it to spin out of control and into another passing TIE fighter, destroying both craft in a ball of fire. We all look back to Cade with faces of awe. He gives us a small smile and says, "Let's move on." There are more TIEs and a Sentinel shuttle coming straight toward our position, however. Right when it seems we are all dead, a group of Y-wings fly in, led by one of our best pilots, Tan Gua'arsh. They zoom in, and in brilliant flashes, the shuttle bursts into flames, crashing into the dunes along with the other TIEs. "You're all clear Captain Corso. Good thing we were passing through." "Acknowledged," I reply. "Thanks." We keep going toward the rendezvous. We're nearly there when we hear another engine shriek. Just then, we see the matte Lambda-class shuttle heading toward the base. Cade suddenly whispers, "Xander is on that shuttle." I look to Ralen, Wodi, Sid, and the rest. Sid, ever optimistic, says, "Let's move it! I've got to get back to my blue milk flatcakes!" And with that we move out. I say, in a gruff voice, "For all these near-death encounters, we all deserve promotions." Everyone grunts in agreement . . .

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix - Daxam IV, Outer Rim Territories
Sid, Cade, and three commandos have elected to stay behind from our group to make sure that Commander Tek and his rescue team have returned safely with the Admiral and his crew. They will meet up with us at checkpoint kappa. The remainder of our group, including myself, Jevin, Amminius, Ralen, and the five remaining Rancor commandos: Rast Makinen, Marcus Farlander, Janev Tomax, Tanner Bendix, and Orin Langley have continued onward toward the Fourth's position. It's midday, and Daxam's twin suns are high in the sky burning down on us, making our trek all the more taxing. I remind my team to ration their water supply, making sure to make stops under the bits of wreckage that litter the landscape for re-hydration and rest breaks. It's eerily quiet in this area; the battle that took place here has moved elsewhere. If I strain my ears, I can hear the faint echoes of blaster fire in the distance. Even so, we must be cautious; the ground is littered with corpses and wreckage that strews the sand dunes. One misstep could end in sprained ankle, or worse. Comms are patchy at best this far out. I hear a curse and look back to see Jevin recovering from stumbling over the half-buried form of a stormtrooper. He glares at it angrily before moving on. "I suggest we take another rest, Wodi." Ralen advises me a few minutes later. I agree, and we take shelter behind the metal carcass of an AT-ST. I lean against its metal surface, and quickly retract my burning hand and arm. Smart move, Wodi, I think to myself as I unhook my water bottle from my belt and take a swig. After our quick respite, we trek onward. I pass by a downed TIE Interceptor, still smoking from its crash, and pause when I hear a faint banging noise. I look to the TIE, and hear the noise again. I walk over to it, peering into the grimy viewport. I wipe away some of the grit to get a better view of the interior when . . . a black-gloved fist pounds against the inside of the viewport. I reel backwards, tripping over my legs and landing in the sand. Makinen pulls me to my feet, and carefully, the rest of the group approaches the downed fighter to stand beside me. "Looks like the pilot survived the crash," Bendix comments. "Pity." Langley replies, making the others snigger. He, along with the rest of my group, starts to move away from the TIE. "Hey," I yell to them, "what are you going to do, leave him here to bake?" "He's an Imperial," Jevin says bluntly, "he deserves no better. Besides, if his kind came across one of our pilots in distress, they'd just blast him in the face before moving on." His words roll around in my head for a moment. "Well," I reply, making up my mind, "we aren't Imperials." With that, I take the butt of my A280 and slam it against the TIEs viewport repeatedly until cracks spider web outwards and the transparisteel shatters. Using my blaster's barrel, I make a hole large enough for me to climb through. Tangles of exposed wire hang everywhere. Moving carefully into the wreckage, I lay my eyes on the pilot. He sits slightly sideways in his seat, part of his crash webbing still holding him in place. He turns his helmeted head a fraction to look at me before turning it away again to rest on the back of the seat. Holding my hands up to show him I mean no harm, I sling my A280 by its strap over my shoulder and carefully untangle the rest of his body from his crash webbing. He offers little resistance, but gasps and cringes visibly when I move him from his seat. Bracing against his weight, I carefully help guide him out of his fighter's ruined cockpit. My group watches me as I position him against the cool side of his fighter's wing sticking out of the sand a few feet from the cockpit. I bring my hands back to find that my gloves are slick with crimson blood. In his dark fighter, I could not gauge his injuries, but now that it's lighter I see the full extent of the damage. I try to hide my horror. A particularly large piece of shrapnel juts out from his abdomen. The surrounding torn black flight suit is smeared in red. "Medic," I yell back to my group, gesturing at the pilot. When no one moves, I yell frantically "Medic! Where's the kriffing medic?" Tomax, being the medic, hastily steps from our group and comes to my side, examining the Imperial, making sure to first take the pilot's blaster out of its holster and throw it off into the sand. I glare at him. The pilot resists Tomax's touch at first, but soon relaxes. After a while, Tomax looks at me and shakes his head, silently mouthing 'no'. The pilot fumbles with his helmet, trying to remove it. I assist him, taking off his mask to reveal a man not much older than me. He has short black hair and dark skin that is deathly pale due to the amount of blood loss. A thin line of blood runs out of his mouth and down his lips. I suddenly realize that Amminius and Ralen have joined me and Tomax. The pilot struggles to focus on us, coughs, and then speaks: ". . . Please, in my flight suit . . . pocket, there's a round holo . . . projector. Get it for me." I locate the pocket on his thigh and extract the holoprojector and hand it to him. He depresses the button and a blue image flickers to life, showing a beautiful young woman and little girl smiling and waving. Tears well in his eyes as he gazes at them. The pilot's eyes flick up to us before focusing on me. "There is a code cylinder on my . . . belt. Give it to them . . . please. I recorded a . . . m-message." "What's your name?" I ask him. "Travar . . . Luss." I retrieve the cylinder from his belt and place it in my flak jacket pocket securely. He nods a silent 'thank you' and looks at our group before giving us all a weak smile. "You . . . rebel scum aren't so bad after all." His eyes return to his family, continuously smiling and waving. He lets out a contented sigh. It's the last sound he ever makes. Amminius reaches over and replaces his helmet on his head before gently turning off the air supply hoses that connect his life support chest piece to his helmet. I sit there on my haunches, trying to process my emotions. Finally, I say to nobody in particular, "I want to bury him." I stand up and notice my whole group has gathered around the fallen pilot, heads bowed. Ralen takes a large piece of shrapnel out of the sand and hands it to me, touching my arm gently. With my makeshift shovel, I dig a hole in the soft sand deep enough to lay Travar in. With Amminius' help, we gently lay the pilot, his gloved hands grasping his holoprojector over his chest, into the hole. Ralen replaces the loose sand and compacts it, creating a little grave. Using the sharp end of a piece of shrapnel, I inscribe Travar's name on a piece of metal before sticking it in the sand at the head of his grave. We stand there silently for a few moments before Jevin taps me on the shoulder, speaking softly. "We should go. The others should already be at checkpoint kappa." With that, we move off, leaving the smoldering wreckage of the TIE Interceptor behind us . . .

Jevin Corso - Daxam IV, Outer Rim Territories

We leave the smoldering TIE Interceptor behind, a solemn feeling over the rest of the group. I walk on, still showing a visible frustration. "You know," Wodi says, "if there were more Imperials like Travar, this war would be over a lot sooner." With that, I spin around, a slow anger boiling inside of me. How could Wodi say that? I was born in the last years of the Republic and had been fighting this war longer than any of them. "No, if it wasn't for Palpatine and his sycophants, we wouldn't be fighting this war. His troops are just as bad as he is!" With that, we trek on silently through the cold desert climate, heading to Kappa checkpoint and toward Gamma base. Ralen chimes in, "That distress signal is still going. What do you think it is? I thought the Imperials were still concentrated elsewhere." "Who knows?" I reply. "But we'll soon find out. I have a bad feeling about it."

We finish our march through the sand and there it is, Gamma Base. Odd thing is though, the base looks untouched. No blast marks, no missing pieces of building, no signs of explosions."Rifles up," I say in a low voice. We cautiously walk in through the open door to the base's interior, and are met with . . . nothing. "Tek," I say into my wrist comm. "Tek here. Whatcha got?" Comes back the response. "The kriffing base is empty." "What? That's not possible. The distress signal said they were under heavy attack?" "I know," I say. "We'll check it out. Make sure Kerex and his men live, otherwise this will all be for nothing." "Affirmative, Donir is heading over your way with some guys we crossed paths with. May the Force be with you, old friend." He clicks out. We continue through the deserted base until we hit the personnel quarters, a nasty stench filling our noses. Looking in, we see bodies, lots of bodies . . . dead bodies. But there are no blaster marks. They look like nothing hit them. Wodi goes over to examine one. "Check this out, lightsaber marks." "Well great, that narrows it down. Xander must be in here." Amminius speaks up, "We'd better disable the beacon, or someone else might come looking for these guys." "You and Langley find the command center and turn off the signal.""Got it." He and Langley head off back down the corridor. Wodi, myself, and the rest continue on. The amount of dead keeps growing, a pit growing in my stomach at the same time. One man did all this? Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. I saw holos of what Vader did on his own to unfortunate rebels. Finally we come to the medical ward of the base.

There, sitting cross-legged and facing away from us, is Xander. More rebel bodies are strewn about him. "Welcome," he says in a gravelly voice. His cloak and helmet are back on, giving him a slightly modulated voice. "I assume you came looking for these?" He says, gesturing to the bodies around him. Wodi grabs my arm, trying to pull me back, but I shrug him off. Turning around and whispering to him I say, "Take the others, get that signal offline, and get off planet. I'll cover you." Slowly, the look of realization shines in his eyes. "No, oh no, there is no way we're leaving you here with that . . . that thing!" Looking Wodi directly in the eyes and grabbing his shoulders, I tell him, "That's an order Sergeant, my time is done." Wodi protests but when it's evident I'm set on this, he gives up. I give him my rifle, bandoleer, and pack. With one last look at me, he says "Force be with you Jevin," and leads the commandos back down the hallway.

With that, I turn to Xander, still sitting there, silent. "Xander, you and me," I yell at him, "hand-to hand, no Force, no lightsaber!" He stands, taking off the cloak and helmet and turns, smiling. "Very well, if you wish death so much, my nemesis, then I will oblige." He throws his pike in a corner and we charge. The next events are too fast to describe. I managed to land a blow on him. Thanks to years of training under the Battle Masters of Espirion and experience from the Galactic Civil War, I had learned a few tricks. I was managing to fight Xander evenly. That is, until a hard open-palmed hit to the face. My vision going blurry, I pull out a military issue combat knife. Through the blood in my eyes, I can see him smile, his yellow eyes burning in my vision. We tumble again and going for a desperate move, I somersault past him and jam the knife in his right thigh.

I roll away from him and stand back up, combat ready. He just stands there, the knife in his leg. He regards it for a moment before lightly taking it out and throwing it aside. If there was any pain, he did not show it. We charge again, but I make a mistake. He jams a foot into my ankle, causing me to trip forward, then grabs my neck and, with the momentum, slams me back into the ground.

Spitting blood out while looking at him I yell, "Finish it!" determined not to go out like a coward. He smiles, those yellow eyes still burning. "As you wish." He summons the lightsaber pike to him with a flick of his hand and walks slowly toward me, smiling with relish.

Jevin Corso - Gamma Base, Daxam IV, Outer Rim Territories

I close my eyes and see my parents. Hiss. The lightsaber ignites. I listen intently to hear the motion of the pike. And at the last second, I roll to the right, springing to my feet, my ankle on fire. I hear the enraged snarl of Xander at the denial of an easy kill, but he just stands there and says, "Run, little tooka." I'm wobbling my way through Gamma Base, my only thought being that Wodi and Cade made it off this pit of a planet. I risk a glance behind me to see that Xander intends to make a game of this. He's following, but walking at a leisurely pace. "Sithspit!" I say as I trip over some wiring. A dark laugh emanates from behind me.

I keep wandering through the base, looking for the command center. If I can't take him down the old way, I'll just blow him to Malachor. I enter the command center, Xander still slowly following. I slam the blast door shut and barricade it, hoping it'll give me some time. I look for it, where is it? Rap Rap. A polite knock? I hesitantly glance towards the door. Xander's on the other side, not even trying to open the door. He clearly wants me to try what I'm planning, if only to show that he is unstoppable.

"You know, even if you kill me," he says, "my master is still here. He will destroy your friends and end this insignificant Rebellion." "Kriff it!" I yell at him, hearing a slight chuckle in response. I find the self-destruct command terminal and prime it for a voice activation, using my authentication codes and back up toward a wall. Many rebel bases were built with secret escape hatches that were specially sealed to protect the occupants from anything short of a Star Destroyer.

Just then, the blast doors are wrenched open, Xander clearly having lost his patience. Hissing at me he says, "You will not stand in the way of my destiny! I will be ruling by my master's side!" Glancing at him through bloodied eyes, I say in a hoarse voice, "Did you forget about Vader?" He just chuckles again, a deep, sinister sound. He advances, clearly missing the activated terminal, his focus solely on me. But he stops when he sees the smug expression on my face. Looking up, he says, in a half threatening, half nervous voice, "You wouldn't." Glaring at him, I think of all the atrocities committed by the Empire, and more importantly, by the Sith who ruled it. I see my parents corpses strewn on Carida, Alderaan's destruction, the enslavement of thousands of beings . . . and with a snarl I respond, "You kriffing bet I do!" And with that I say, "Corso Alpha One!" "Code acknowledged, base self destruct in five seconds." With that I dive into the escape hatch, sealing the exit to the base . . . "one." The next few seconds are all a blur. All I remember is seeing a lightsaber jam through the hatch and the BOOM! I black out, thinking there's no way he survived but with that nagging feeling that he'll be back.

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix - Daxam IV, Outer Rim Territories
After our team disables the signal in Gamma Base, we get out of there, rendezvousing with Tek and his team before heading to our extraction point on the other side of the dunes. 'It's a mess out there', I'm told by a Duros lieutenant when we arrive at the extraction point, his blue head covered in sweat and grit. The Imperials have been relentlessly pushing our guys back, coming at them with walkers, TIEs, and heavy weapons. Our numbers are being relentlessly cut. Kriff, it's Tatooine all over again. The Imperials continue to dominate the sky, and it's by sheer luck that one of our MC80s managed to send three GR-75 medium transports to our location. About twelve dozen battered rebel troops are shuffling into the transports, some being helped by their comrades and others wheeled up the boarding ramps on hover-gurneys. Bendix, Tomax, and Farlander separate from our little group, aiding in the loading of troops and what's left of the supplies. A small squad of X-wings sits by the transports, ready to take off and defend the retreating troops. We wait another two hours on the hot dunes as more rebel troops get to our position and are put on the transports. A small band of medics and droids assist the most critically injured. I keep checking my chrono, watching the minutes drag by. Ralen, Amminius, Langley, Makinen, and I help the worn-out troops and commandos that come to the checkpoint, giving them water, encouragement, and comfort. Even though none of us say it, we are all waiting in anticipation to hear from Jevin. Tek and I make eye contact a couple of times, and each time, he shakes his green head. Nothing. Our whole team is anxious. Sid gets my attention while I'm lifting a crate, giving me an inquiring look. I shake my head. The stream of troops outside our transports gradually thins, until it's just me, Ralen, Amminius, Lafco, Sid, Tek, Malogaan, Endel, Kelrian, Glam, Makinen, Farlander, Tomax, Bendix, Langley, and Cade standing out in the sand with the Duros lieutenant. He taps Tek on the shoulder, saying to our group "That's it. Anyone not aboard the transports didn't make it. I'm sorry." He ascends the boarding ramp. "Well . . . kriff," says Malogaan after the Duros has gone, "maybe Jevin's on his way and just forgot to check in." Our group remains silent. Cade stands absolutely still with his eyes closed. Poor kid, I think to myself. "It's . . . extremely unlikely." I eventually say. I motion to the others. It's time to go. "Come on!" I prompt my team. "Let's get on the transport." We start to head toward the last GR-75 when Cade yells, "We can't just give up on Jevin!" Sid kneels down, grunting as he places pressure on his injured knee, to Cade's level and says sympathetically, "Look Cade, we'd all like to believe that he's alive, but-" Cade interrupts Sid, saying with intensity, "I know he's alive! I can feel him!" Our whole group turns toward Cade, hopeful. Could it be? "Are you sure, son?" Inquires Tek. "Yes," Cade nods assuredly, "I can feel his life through the Force. It's faint, but it's there." "Back at Gamma Base?" I ask him. I suddenly hear booted feet rapidly approaching our group and turn to see Kaelara Starlight with Admiral Kerex. "Yes," she answers, "I can feel him as well. The Admiral gestures over a dune with his webbed hand: "We have a stolen Lambda shuttle and are at the ready to assist you. Myself and Starlight can get you there. Just say the word." "Well then, what are we still doing here then?" Shouts Sid excitedly. "Let's go!" We all race after the eager Sullustan, with Tek speaking into his wrist comlink: "Yes, you heard me right, take off now. We have some business to attend to and will meet up with the fleet at the rendezvous point." Behind us, the ion engines of the GR-75s and X-wings roar to life, kicking up sand. We board our rescue shuttle with Kerex and Starlight at the controls. We all strap ourselves in. With a soft whine, the engines come to life and we're off, headed back towards Gamma. "Hang on Jevin," I say softly to myself, "we're coming." . . .

Jevin Corso - Unknown planet

It's cold. The last thing I remember before the excruciating pain and darkness was the explosion in the command center on Daxam IV. It actually worked as I had planned. Xander, of course, survived. How, I don't know. The Force sure is something. I open my eyes. I'm in a lab of some kind, strapped to a cold table. The walls look like they are made up of some kind of jet black rock. I look around. To my relief, there aren't any tubes or wiring in me. Thank the Force I'm not being experimented on. "Ah, finally my prisoner awakens," says a dark, ominous voice. "You were out for quite a while there." Xander is standing right next to me.

"Kriff you!" I yell at him. "What do you want?" He gives me a look and responds with a gesture to my forehead. "I want what's in here. You are a Captain in Princess Leia's honor guard, that means you are entitled to some big secrets of the Alliance." I gaze at him with a straight face,"There's nothing in there that'll be of use to you." Laughing lightly, he just says, "Let's find out." Little does Xander know, but I had a cybernetic implant that I received before Tatooine. It was an idea by Alpha unit and Rancor Team, in case of capture. Unfortunately, due to limited funds, I was the only one able to get the implant. While Xander gets secrets out of me, the implant transmits my location. I only hope he doesn't sense the implant. Xander raises a hand and places his fingers on my temples. They're cold as ice. Then, the pain starts. First as an unpleasant feeling, then a full-on force of unending tendrils of twisted fire. I cry out, the sound echoing throughout the cavernous room. A long time passes.

"Your friends will come," Xander says after an eternity, "but I have...methods for intruders." He displays a devilish grin. "I will destroy you and your little Rancor Team in one fell swoop, finally ridding the Empire of another thorn in its side. And then we will crush the Rebellion, Skywalker, and your precious Princess Leia!" He walks away to check on his personal ship, a one-of-a-kind TIE Hunter. I can see him on a nearby monitor. I glance around, trying to see if there is some way I can break free, but the restraints are rock solid. My only hope now is that the implant is transmitting to the Falcon, a secret deal Han and I agreed on. In the meantime, I'll practice the meditation techniques Cade taught me and bide my time until there's an opening. I glance out a window in the lab, to a jungle scene. A storm is raging outside. Hurry guys, please, I hope you are getting the information from the implant. I don't know how much more mind probing I can stand.

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix - Planet X8656367, Unknown Regions

"There's your planet," Han Solo remarks to our small rescue team, assembled in the confined cockpit and interconnecting hallway of the Falcon, looking at the freighter's main computer screen. "X8656367." We all look out the viewport to see a planet almost entirely covered in green. Even the atmospheric tint looks to be of a forest color. "Looks like intel was correct," Amminius remarks, clipping his E-11 to his belt, "It's almost entirely a jungle world." I smile at this. We had researched the planet Jevin's signal had been coming from before making the voyage to the Unknown Regions. The results were next to non-existent. "There's no telling what'll be waiting for us on the surface," I say, turning back to my team, "so be extra careful. We'll be wearing Roamer-6 breath masks, just in case the planet's atmosphere is poisonous, given that it's Type II." I clip my mask to my belt while checking the oxygen gauge on the small tank. "Should we risk open comms once planetside?" Asks Malogaan, tapping his wrist-comlink. "No," I say, "keep them scrambled and on a separate frequency. On my mark, scramble and set to channel three . . . Mark!" We all scramble and set our comlinks to channel three. A two-beep tone sounds to confirm the change. An alarm sounds on the Falcon's control board, alerting us that we have breached the planet's atmosphere. "Here we go." Han says. I strap on my helmet and slip my trusty EC-17 scout pistol into its small holster. "Ready?" I ask my team. Heads nod all around. We look out the viewport again to see giant, towering trees obscuring much of the forest floor. A grayish mist covers the entire area, making the scanners all but useless. "Looks like we're flying blind." Han mutters, easing the Falcon over a break in the foliage. I nod to my teammates, who strap their breath masks over their faces. Blasters are primed with full charges, and equipment is given one final check. "I hope Tek and the others on Elara are alright." Says Endel. "Last I heard, the Empire was planning to send a particularly nasty assault force their way." "They'll be fine." Says Sid, sheathing a long vibroblade. "Tek's a good leader. He and Lafco will look after the others." A soft bump reverberates through the ship. We've landed. We gather around the closed boarding ramp, ready. Han joins us after powering down the Falcon, strapping his own breath mask to his face. "Let's hope this planet smells a little nicer than that space slug, huh?" He says to us, his voice a little muffled from the mask. I don't know what he's talking about, but shrug and nod, pressing the button to lower the ramp. The ramp descends and we cautiously file out. My first reaction as I step out is to gag. This planet smells worse than a waste disposal unit. "Ugh," Glam retches, "it smells awful." "Well, what do you expect a planet that's harboring a crazed Sith to smell like?" Amminius jokingly replies. I grin. His humor never fails. As we stand there, surveying the jungle, another thing becomes apparent. It's hot. Really hot. The humidity doesn't help things either, making the heat and smell even more unbearable. I gesture to Endel, who takes a pair of green painted macrobinoculars from around his neck and hands them to me. I look through them, scanning the terrain. "See anything?" Han asks me at my shoulder. "No, all I can really see from here are leaves and fog." I reply. I adjust the magnification. Still nothing. I hand the binocs back to Endel. "Before we set off on your wild bantha chase, help me camouflage the Falcon." Han says to our group. We all grab giant leaves and ferns to cover the ship. Once that is accomplished, we set off, Ralen off to my right checking his scanner. The trek is something else. Roots and dead branches constantly threatened to trip us up, with slick, bluish moss covering about every surface. I have to catch Sid's arm so as not to have him fall flat on his face. Apart from the normal sounds in a forest, everything is eerily quiet. Our footsteps on the dead twigs and underbrush sound like cannon blasts. We see a clearing ahead in the forest and head for it. "Maybe we'll have a better sense of the surroundings if we go through-" I start to say when we enter the clearing and I stop talking. The clearing we just entered, while not particularly large, is strewn with bodies in dirty white armor. I walk over and examine one of the white-armored figures. The armor is decorated with faded orange paint, with black lines running down the torso and lower body. A symbol adorns the mostly orange shoulder armor of each figure: a starbird. The knee and elbow armor is segmented, bringing to mind clone troopers. But these fallen soldiers are definitely not clone troopers. The helmet, while having a T-shaped visor, does not have a fin on top. The visor appears broader than that of a clone's as well. I look to the soldiers' armored thighs, where a large, capital H adorns the side of the grimy white belt spats. Strewn around the orange troopers are pieces of ancient debris and rusted and corroded shrapnel of droids, models I don't recognize. The droids are black. "This battle happened long before the rise of Palpatine's Empire," says Ralen softly, "I doubt even he was even alive when this happened." I nod, staring in awe at this ancient carnage. I notice a scrap of droid at my feet. A red symbol covers much of the surface. I pick it up and examine it more closely. The symbol reminds me of the Imperial insignia, but in the shape of a hexagon instead of a circle. I drop the fragment and motion to my team to keep moving. We exit the clearing and continue on through the jungle, Ralen checking his scanner. At least it's not below freezing here, I think to myself, my thoughts drifting towards the others stationed on Elara . . .

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix - Planet X8656367, Unknown Regions

"Do you hear that?" Malogaan asks our group suddenly. We all stop dead in our tracks, listening intently. All I can hear are the sounds of the jungle. I am about to tell Malogaan so when CRACK, CRACK, CRACK. "Something's coming!" Amminius says in a hoarse whisper. Without a word, I gesture to my team to take cover. Han and I take cover behind a massive, mossy tree trunk while the others do likewise among other jungle foliage. More cracks can be heard. I see Endel cautiously scanning the terrain with his macrobinoculars. "Maybe it's an animal." Sid suggests, his voice coming through softly on my comm. Either way, we all have our blasters at the ready, waiting. Endel is still scanning the terrain when, slightly off to our right, five metallic forms make their way through the underbrush. I catch my breath. They're droids. And by the looks of it, three of them are the exact kind we saw dismantled back in the clearing. The droids stand on four legs, low to the ground. A pair of arms jut out from their torsos, each sporting a nasty looking double-barreled blaster cannon. The head is large and boxy, with a menacing red photoceptor at the front. They remind me of Separatist droidekas from the Clone Wars, but of a much older design. The other two droids are unmistakable however. Tall and humanoid looking, painted black, red, and gray, with two red photoceptors, complete with head cowls and knee-length tattered capes. Magnaguard droids. Each Magnaguard carries a long staff. "Kriff", I mutter under my breath. The droids continue forward, seemingly unaware of our presence. I carefully pull a thermal detonator from my belt, waiting for them to pass our position. Once the clanking of the droids' limbs fades, I peak out of cover to see . . . a pair of red photoceptors gazing at me. "Bloah!" I yell, falling backward. The action saved my life. The magnaguard punches the area of tree where my head just was, splintering the bark and leaving a dent in the wood. Han shoots the droid in the head with his DL-44, sending up a shower of sparks. The droid falls to the ground. The other droids are coming, hurrying back to our position. Han pulls me to my feet and we take cover behind the tree again. The droids crash through the foliage, shooting off a volley of red lasers. We duck back in cover, the lasers splintering the tree bark. Malogaan and Ralen lay down covering fire as I prime and lob my detonator. It bounces off one of the four-legged droids' heads before exploding, sending out a wave of heat and destruction. Two of the droids fall to the ground in a pile of melted metal and circuits. That leaves one magnaguard and the last droideka-like droid. The others pour fire into the last four-legged droid. It's tough, but it eventually falls to the forest floor. I quickly unhook my MPL-57 grenade launcher from my belt and fire off a volley at the last droid, but it dodges my grenades easily. It jumps and vaults off of a tree trunk, using its momentum to slam into Glam and Sid. An "oof" issues from both Glam and Sid as they are knocked to the ground. Endel fires on the magnaguard, but quickly ducks back into cover when a trio of red lasers comes his way. Looks like the last "droideka" still has some fight left in it. Han shoots it right in the photoceptor. The magnaguard is on top of Glam now. It ignites its staff, and I see purple electricity emanating from its tips. Without thinking, I charge forward, determined to knock the droid off Glam. I tackle the thing, pinning it against the ground. Sid quickly helps Glam to his feet. With surprising strength, the magnaguard throws me off it, sending me flying into a rotting log. I hit it and immediately get the wind knocked out of me. The droid walks toward me, its staff raised for the kill when a volley of blaster fire hits it right in the chest. The droid comes to a halt, and then falls to its knees. Sid runs up and jams his vibroblade into the top of the droids' head. The magnaguard's photoceptors go dark. It then topples onto the log beside me. Sid retrieves his blade, wiping off the oil from the tip. He heaves me to my feet, saying "You owe me one Quix." We survey the destroyed droids before Amminius says, "These bolt bags must have been sent by Xander." I nod and look around before my eyes come to rest on a tall black tower I hadn't seen before due to the mist and trees. I point at it, remarking, "If I had to guess where Xander was hiding, I'd wager it'd be there." "I wonder if Xander can see what's happening through the droids' eyes" Sid says. He walks over to a droid head, picks it up, and gives a very inappropriate hand gesture in front of its photoceptor. I roll my eyes, suppressing a smile. "Come on, let's go!" We move off, heading towards the tall black tower framed by fog and foliage in the distance. I can't shake the feeling that we are being watched, however . . .

Jevin Corso - Planet X8656367, Unknown Regions

"Your friends are resourceful, I'll give them that." Xander says as he walks back into the room. "Several of the Sith droids, they managed to handle. But I have a new surprise for them." He smirks. "In the meantime, let us resume the interrogation." He presses a button on a remote, and I scream.

. . .

Several hours later, Xander is gone. Quickly, I fidget with my hands, still shackled. Suddenly, they release! It was too easy, the restraints weren't even loose. But, knowing time was of the essence, I get out and stumble into the dark hallway. Little did I know, I was playing into Xander's trap. I wobble myself to an armory. There's a fully charged RT-97C sitting on a cluttered table. I grab it, along with several spherical detonators, and exit back into the corridor. Suddenly, I hear a roar. A ferocious roar that shakes the walls. And I see it. A giant, mutated Rancor heading out into the jungle from the base of the tower. They're real!? I thought Sithspawn were only a bedtime story to scare children. I hope Rancor Team stays out of its way. That thing looks like it's impervious to anything short of a lightsaber.

"Well done, my friend." Xander laughs over an intercom. "Now let's see how a lone, wounded man fares against my droids." And with that, several slots on the walls open and out come droids that look like Separatist Magnaguards. Throwing a detonator and falling back, my only hope is that Rancor Team will make it in time to help. Xander's right on one thing: A lone fighter against these things has no chance.

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix - Planet X8656367, Unknown Regions

The heat and smell from the alien forest seems to grow more unbearable and foul as the blue sun rises higher in the sky. Perspiration runs down from my forehead, drenching my face and making my eyes sting. My clothes are drenched from sweating and my equipment seems to weigh one hundred kilos. I look back to my comrades. They don't seem to be faring any better than I am. I give them all an encouraging thumbs up sign and a cheerful "We're almost there!" As we trek closer to the looming black tower, the air grows clammier. There are more breaks in the trees and ground cover now, and debris from the ancient battle that occurred here grows more numerous. We pass by destroyed starfighters, droids, and many more soldiers clad in filthy white and orange armor. The trees here are still scarred from blaster bolt burns and explosive marks. Chunks of flak are buried in the ruined bark, and long black horizontal slashes frequent the surface. We step carefully around the carnage, but apparently not carefully enough. With an "oof" Sid falls to the ground next to a rotting corpse wearing a tattered black cloak. Amminius helps him to his feet, Sid muttering curses at the object that tripped up his feet. He picks it up. "This blasted shiny cylinder . . ." Sid hits the long cylinder with his free hand. With a snap-hiss, a crimson blade comes to life from one end. "Whoa, that's a lightsaber." Says Endel in awe. Our whole group gathers around Sid, but not too closely, to admire his find. "Careful with that thing, you'll lop your hand off." Han says to him. With a shrug, Sid deactivates the saber and clips it to his belt next to his vibroblade. "Let's move on" I say to our group, "we have to find Jevin." I take a step forward, and the ground shakes. "Whoa Quix, you gotta lay off the nerf steak!" Jokes Sid. Another shiver through the ground causes some debris off to our left to clatter to the ground. "What the?" Glam remarks when a terrifying roar shatters the silent forest. "What the kriff is that?" We all back into a defensive circle, blasters primed and at the ready. "I'll tell you one thing" Han replies, his DL-44 sweeping the trees, "it isn't a grazing bantha." Amminius starts to say something witty when a gigantic beast crashes through the trees. "Rancor!" Shouts Ralen. We scramble out of the charging animal's path, taking cover behind wreckage and foliage. The rancor, like the surrounding trees, is green in color. Its gaping maw contains hundreds of sharp teeth, and its short tail slams the ground angrily. Its beady eyes scan the forest, searching for its prey. Us. "That's like no rancor I've ever seen." Says Amminius in a whisper. He peers out from behind a gap in some branches with his E-11, looking at the beast through his scope. He's right. The rancor's body is covered in needle spikes and other strange grafts. Its eyes burn with a fierce intelligence uncommon in the species. It is also considerably larger than what is considered normal. I gaze at the creature, in a mix of fascination and fear. I adjust my footing, and my boot snaps a twig. The beast's monstrous head turns our way, and I stop breathing. With a bellow, the rancor charges toward our hiding spot. "Scatter!" I yell. We dive out from our cover just as the rancor makes contact with it, splintering the trees and metal. Immediately, we begin to pour blaster fire into the beast. The rancor shakes its head and lets out an angry howl. "We're just making it angrier!" Yells Malogaan. Even so, we continue to blast the creature. I pull out my MPL-57, launching a volley at the rancor. The detonators explode, shattering some of the spikes, but otherwise having no effect. The rancor turns toward me, an enraged gleam in its eyes. It swipes a clawed hand at me, but I duck out of the way. "Aim for the eyes!" Han yells at us. We follow his advice. The rancor bellows in pain, slamming its fists against the ground. Glam and Endel fall to their knees, knocked back by the shock wave. They get up, but Endel isn't quick enough. The rancor grabs him in its talons, lifting Endel off the forest floor. Endel screams, beating the rancor's clawed fingers with his A280 stock. Ralen uses his jump pack to rocket up, firing a volley into the monster's head. The rancor bellows, letting go of Endel, causing him to fall to the forest floor, thankfully into a bed of moss. Glam runs to Endel and helps him up. The enraged rancor swipes at Ralen as he lands, making contact with the Weequay, sending him flying into the trunk of a tree. Amminius and I begin to run to his position, but are swiped off our feet by a giant raking hand. We tumble into the brush. A moment later, three rotting white and orange armored troopers land on top of us, sent flying by the rancor's fist. Their ancient weapons land with them. An old heavy blaster lands next to me. I shove off the dead troopers with difficulty and pick up the heavy blaster, firing it at the rancor. With a loud ka-chunk, a blue plasma bolt rockets toward the beast, hitting it in the side of the head. The rancor bellows and lumbers toward us, its footsteps shaking the ground. Amminius is still pinned under two armored corpses. I attempt to drag them off when a howl deafens me. Stunned by the noise, I fall over into the brush once more. The rancor lowers itself until its head is directly in front of us. Its eyes glitter with malice and its mouth opens wide, its dagger teeth dripping with saliva. Amminius and I close our eyes, waiting for the needle-sharp teeth to sink into us. We hear a snap-hiss and smell the acrid odor of burning flesh. We open our eyes to see Sid with his arm in the creature's mouth, his lightsaber's crimson blade embedded into the beast's throat. The rancor lets out a gargled howl, and then falls silent. The spark of life leaves its beady eyes, and the lifeless corpse topples sideways, loudly thudding to the ground. "Well . . . that wasn't so hard." Han remarks as he and Sid pull Amminius and I to our feet. Our whole group gathers around the dead rancor, Malogaan supporting a limping Ralen. We are all panting. We stand there for a moment, catching our breath. I lean on my new heavy blaster. After a few minutes of silence, we move off again, coming out of the jungle to face the tall black tower to where Jevin is being held, and where Xander is waiting . . .

Jevin Corso - Planet X8656367, Unknown Regions

All I feel is searing pain in my shoulder and back. I had taken two electrostaff hits there. Hard enough to draw blood. I've been steadily falling back, shooting down the droids when I can. I even took one on hand-to-hand, managing to take its electrostaff and jam it the the photoreceptors. When, without warning, the ground shook. A massive death knell followed by a massive quake. The sithspawn must of been taken down somehow.

"Your friends are quite resourceful," Xander says again over the intercom, his voice like silk. "They managed to take down my pet, with a salvaged lightsaber no less. No matter, they still cannot save you." More droids enter and then it hits me. They aren't hunting me, they're pushing me to a certain spot. Looking back, I see what looks like a command room. Glancing in front of me again, I see the Magnaguards just standing there. Too tired to worry if it was a trap, I rush to the room, sealing the door behind me. Putting my ear to the wall, I hear mechanical footsteps growing fainter. The droids left? I turn around and stop cold. No, that's not possible. There's another one! I was looking at schematics for a new, bigger, badder Death Star and a manifest. Parts were being sent through a secret hyperspace lane to some place called the Sanctuary Moon. I quickly grab a nearby datacard and download all the information I can. Intel or the Bothan Spynet can use it. I open the door again to see all the droids have left. I walk down the hall to find what looks like a communication area. I can't figure out how to activate it. Must be powered by Force energy or something. Then I see flimsi files compiled on a desk. They are records on all of us, with one in particular being blank with only a name: Cade Valdarin. Xander, for some reason, seems fixated on Cade. Maybe since he's a Jedi, he is seen as a threat? Doesn't matter at this point. Grabbing the files, I make way to the ground floor. My one thought being where did Xander go? Did he purposefully make me find these schematics?

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix - Planet X8656367, Unknown Regions

We enter the structure cautiously through a set of ancient stone doors, moving into the tower in a defensive circle, backs pressed against one another. As we move further away from the entrance, the air becomes significantly cooler and the available light wanes. The organic smells of the alien jungle are replaced with a musty smell, as if this place had not seen fresh air in decades, maybe even centuries. We move down the dim corridor, our footsteps echoing in the eerily silent tower. Ralen checks his locator, but the signal is patchy, making the screen break out in static. He mutters a curse and hits it. We continue down the hallway, the dark volcanic walls appearing to change shape and texture. Eerie sculptures and carvings line the walls, depicting shadowy figures locked in combat. A little further down, I order my team to turn their blaster flashlights on. Lights flicker on, making our immediate area bright. All of a sudden, I hear a stifled scream, and quickly turn to see Malogaan standing in place staring at the wall. Hanging there, impaled by a metal spike, is one of the white and orange armored troopers we had seen outside. The spike had gone clean through the chest armor, pinning the corpse in place. I sweep the walls a little farther down to see three other suspended figures, each with a spike protruding through the chest. The corridor ahead of us thins out considerably, only a few feet wide. "I've got a bad feeling about this." Han softly remarks. I nod. "It's a trap," I tell my team, "wander too close to the walls, and you're done for." To prove my theory, I pick up a blaster the impaled trooper closest to us must have dropped and hurl it at one of the three other corpses down the hallway. It strikes the armored figure, making the trooper fall sideways. With a clang, another spike shoots out of the rocky wall, impaling the corpse through the armored shoulder. I turn back to the rest of my team. "Move through the corridor in single file on your stomach, as close to the center as possible." I instruct them. We all get down on our stomachs and begin to move slowly down the narrow corridor. The whole way I'm sweating. I want to look back to see my team's progress, but don't dare to turn and raise my head. Finally, the corridor widens considerably. I get up from the ground and crouch by the wall, waiting for the others to join me. Glam is the last one to join us. Even though we are all present, I do a headcount anyways. Once completed, I motion with my hand for us to move on. We continue forward, stepping even more carefully than before, eventually reaching a long flight of stairs. We climb them to find another corridor. "Oh great, now what?" Han says sarcastically. The ground is covered with more armored bodies, with a few brown cloaked corpses among them. "This is starting to dark me out," Endel says, "whoever ran this place obviously didn't like intruders." We step carefully over the bodies, the smell of rot and decay making my throat constrict and my eyes water. Suddenly, we hear a soft hiss coming from above us. We all freeze and look up. A green mist is coming down from the ceiling, slowly descending toward us. " Poison gas!" Sid shouts. "Check breath mask seals!" I frantically shout to my team. My gloved hands fly to the small tank hooked to my belt, checking the small readout display. Sealed. I give a thumbs up sign to my team, indicating that my mask is sealed. Thumbs up from the others confirms their masks are working as well. Just then the gas reaches us, alighting on our uniforms and equipment. We all stand unmoving, frozen in place, waiting. A few seconds pass. Then a few minutes. "Did they work?" Han inquires, checking his tank again, then looking to the green coated floor. "I . . . think so." I reply hesitantly. "Well, we're not on the floor, so that's a good sign." Says Amminius, surveying the corpses, also coated in the toxic green mist. After a few seconds, we continue onward, stopping first to clean our gear and clothes, before climbing the flight of stairs at the end of the corridor. We repeat this action until we are halfway up the tower, the dimness slowly growing brighter. Surprisingly, no more traps snap out to kill us. On this floor, we are met with a different sight. "Those are destroyed magnaguard droids." Says Sid. Strewn around the corridor are several magnaguards, each one in various stages of dismemberment. "Jevin must have been through here," I say, "these droids are still smoking." We scan the area, looking for signs of more attackers. There are none. Suddenly we hear rapid footsteps coming from around a bend. I make a motion with my hand, and we all crouch down, our blasters primed. I gaze through my A280's sight, ready to blast the next thing that moved from around the bend when . . . Jevin comes running around the corner at a dead run. "Hold!" I yell to my team. We stand up and I approach my friend. He is out of breath, his eyes a little wild. His hair and beard are unkempt, and his forearms and face are covered in bruises and scratches. In his hands he clutches an RT-97C heavy blaster and a stack of vanilla flimsi files under his arm. "Jevin," I shout, unable to control my excitement and relief, "it's so good to see y-" "Not now, "he barks agitatedly, interrupting me, "you have to see this!" He shoulders his blaster and takes a datacard from the stack of files. Activating it, he holds out the image for all to see. "This was in a room along with the files. It's another Death Star!" We all gasp in astonishment and horror. "That's . . . that's not possible." Says Glam disbelievingly. "It is possible!" Jevin affirms angrily. "We have to get this to Alliance High Command. To Mothma, Madine, and Ackbar!" I nod. "Alright Rancor, we got what we came here for. Let's get off this planet!" "This place is full of traps; probably some we haven't encountered yet," Sid reminds us, "how are we going to get out of here without tediously working our way through to the exit?" "There's a secret exit," Jevin says, "I saw Xander use it when he left with a company of shadow troopers." "Xander left?" I ask him. "Where did he go?" "I don't know, but it doesn't matter, we have to deliver these plans." Jevin says. I nod once more and we make our way down the tower and through the jungle towards the Falcon. Once we clear the foliage disguise and step onboard, Han primes the engines and my team settles in the crew hold for the long journey home. I send a transmission to Commander Tek and Commander Lafco, updating them on the situation. Lafco gives me their own situation. We all listen as he tells of the losses on Elara. "We need you here!" Lafco finishes, his voice full of urgency. "But, sir, the plans!" Jevin says frantically. "I have arranged for the Bothan Spynet to rendezvous with your ship. They will get the plans and deliver them to Mothma." Lafco assures him. "May the Force be with you all. We'll see you on Endor." Says Tek in his gravelly voice, and the transmission ends. Amminius and I join Han in the cockpit, telling him our newest assignment. "Here we go again." Says Han with one of his lopsided grins. He pushes a lever on the control panel, and the Falcon jumps into hyperspace . . .

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix – Forest Moon of Endor, Outer Rim Territories

"Shuttle Tydirium, deactivation of the shield will commence immediately. Follow your present course." The crisp military voice of the Imp technician comes over the Tydirium's comms again, and I audibly sigh in relief. "I thought that outdated code would do us in for sure." Says Amminius next to me, equally relieved. I nod and look around the crew cabin of the shuttle. The blue lights of the shuttle's interior bathe us in a cool blue hue, and I see each one of my team's faces relaxing as the built-up tension of a few moments ago dissipates. We made it. "See, I told you it was gonna work." Says Han from the cockpit to the others. Malogaan grins across from me. I grin as well, shaking my head. I bring my battered A280 up to eye level, checking the power pack. Full. Satisfied, I shoulder my weapon and settle back in my seat, my backpack frame digging into my back. A few seconds later, a light strobes, letting us know that our shuttle is making its landing. I nod to my team. A bump reverberates through the cabin. We've landed on Endor. Everyone gets up, gathering at the closed boarding ramp. We are joined shortly by General Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, Commander Skywalker, all in forest gear, and the two droids. "Here we go." Says Han as he lowers the ramp. We exit cautiously, checking our surroundings. We make our way through the forest, following Han and the others single file.

The gigantic trees dwarf us, and the sun lances down through the gaps in the leaves, bathing us in golden light. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Jevin says, walking next to me for a moment. "It is." I agree. Birds fly high overhead us, singing a pretty melody. I look up at them, and my eyes are drawn to the giant, mostly finished gray orb in the sky. The Death Star. I shudder despite the warmth and lock my eyes straight ahead. We continue to trek through the knee-high grass and ferns until Han gives a motion with his hand. Stop. We immediately halt and crouch down in the foliage, our green camo making us all but invisible. Han, Leia, Luke, and Chewbacca creep up to a fallen log, peering down at a little clearing in the trees. I creep forward as well and look down. Four white-armored figures stand by speeder bikes, unloading gear from the saddles. Scout troopers. I see the others by the log moving down towards the scouts, ready to deal with them. Han and Chewbacca get behind a tree directly behind the four troopers. Han steps forward, his DL-44 out, and his boot snaps a twig. I wince. The scout in front of him turns around and reacts instantly, immediately knocking Han back into a tree with his arm. But Han is not going down without a fight. He grapples with the trooper, slamming him against the tree trunk. "Go for help. Go!" Yells the scout to his partners. One scout jumps on his bike and takes off, but is soon dispatched when Chewbacca fires a bolt from his bowcaster into the engine of the speeder bike, sending the speeder and its rider smashing into a tree trunk. The other two troopers get on their bikes and gun the engines, roaring off into the trees. Luke and Leia jump on the remaining bike, riding after the escaping troopers. "Hey, wait!" I hear Han yell. The scout takes advantage of the distraction, grabbing Han, but Han flips the scout on his back. Chewbacca then runs to Han's side, firing a bolt into the stunned trooper's chest armor. The two make their way back to our position. "My bet was on the scout." Amminius jokes to him when they arrive. Han gives him a look before leaning back against a tree. He stands there for a minute before turning to us. "We'd better wait here in case Luke and Leia come back. Wouldn't want them to get lost." "Good idea." I agree. "Alright everyone, take five." We all sit down and remove our packs. I take out some rations and my canteen from my belt. Jevin, Amminius, and Sid move over to sit beside me, also taking out their canteens. We sit and talk for a while, enjoying the rest. Sid and I are just getting into a debate regarding how thick a stormtrooper's skull is when the golden protocol droid, 3PO, suddenly exclaims, "General Solo, somebody's coming!" We all stop what we're doing, put our packs back on, and crouch in the brush, waiting, our blasters primed. Suddenly Luke comes through the foliage. Jevin, who is hiding behind a tree trunk, comes out and gives a signal. We stand down, getting up from our positions. Han walks up to Luke. "Luke, where's Leia?" He asks. Luke, looking confused, replies, "What, she didn't come back?" Han looks a little miffed. "I thought she was with you." "We got separated," Luke says, "we'd better go look for her." Han nods and turns to me. "Take the squad ahead, we'll meet you at the shield generator at 0300. I nod and motion with my hand, and our team moves off through the forest. "I hope the Princess is alright." Says Jevin to me. "I hope so too." I say. We continue towards the shield generator. I check my sides constantly. It feels as if we are being watched . . .

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix – Forest Moon of Endor, Outer Rim Territories

Our group meets up with Han and the others at the rendezvous point at precisely 0300. Accompanying them, barely coming up to Han's knees, are two little Ewoks. They slip through the foliage as silently as ghosts, leading us to a ridge overlooking a bunker. Guarding the entrance are four scout troopers. Nearby are four speeder bikes. The troopers stand in a group by the door, conversing with one another, their blaster pistols holstered. Amminius clicks the safety off his E-11, lining up his scope on the nearest scout. I quickly put my hand on his blaster barrel, pushing it down lightly, silently mouthing 'no.' We move stealthily down the ridge to a position off to the right of the bunker entrance and the four scouts. We are hidden by a thicket of bushes and a few trees. I am contemplating how we should take out the troopers without causing a loud racket when 3P0 speaks. "Oh my, Princess Leia . . ." Leia quickly places a hand over the droids' mouth to make him talk quieter. 3PO continues: "I'm afraid our furry companion has gone and done something . . . rather rash." We all look to see one of our guides creeping toward one of the speeders. Chewbacca lets out a soft rumble. "Oh no." Leia sighs. "There goes our surprise attack." Han mutters. The Ewok climbs up on the bike, grasping the steering handles, and starts the engine. With a roar, the speeder comes to life. The scouts immediately whirl around toward their bikes. "Look, over there! Stop him!" One yells as three of the scouts start running towards our guide. The Ewok guns the throttle and the bike shoots off into the trees. The three scouts jump on their speeders and quickly race after the Ewok, leaving the last trooper alone at the bunker. Han turns back to our group, grinning. "Not bad for a little fur ball, there's only one left." He turns to the remaining Ewok and the two droids. "You stay here. We'll take care of this." Han leads our group to the side of the bunker. "Watch this." He grins and sneaks around the back of the bunker. Amminius gives me a questioning look and I shrug. "Hey!" I hear the remaining trooper yell. A moment later Han comes running around the front of the bunker back to our position. The scout charges around the corner after him, but stops dead in his tracks when he sees our group. Before the scout has any time to react, Glam and I jump him, knocking him out. I quickly remove the armor and black body glove of the unconscious scout, turning to one of our team scouts, Nik Sant. "Here, put this on. If those scouts come back, they won't suspect anything." Nik nods and suits up. Jevin, Amminius, Malogaan, and myself move to the bunker entrance with Han, Chewbacca, and Leia, leaving the others to watch the unconscious Imperial. Han takes out his DL-44 and shoots the door lock, causing it to slide open. Our group cautiously enters. Nik positions himself in front of the bunker as the doors close back up. We move silently through the halls toward the control center, Jevin and I carrying the boxy containers holding the charges slung across our shoulders. We come to the control room door, with Solo entering first. We enter to see four Imperials in black tunics and navy helmets at control consoles with one officer, also in a black tunic, standing at a monitor. They turn, most likely expecting their comrades. How wrong they were. "Up!" Han yells in an authoritative voice, gesturing them into a corner by some orange barrels, "Quickly, quickly." The Imperials eye us and Chewbacca warily, but do as they are told. Once the Imperials are herded into the corner, Chewbacca keeps guard, making sure they won't try anything funny. We take out the charges, moving around the room. I start to enter an adjacent room where a catwalk lines some generators when another Imperial officer steps out from around the corner. Immediately my fist goes up, punching the officer square in the jaw. He goes down. I stick the charges to the walls and framework of the bunker. When my box is empty, I go back to Han and the others. All of a sudden I hear "Freeze!" I turn to see the officer I had knocked down earlier. Han throws the remaining charge box at him, hitting the Imperial square in the chest. With a cry, the man goes over the railing of the catwalk. I suddenly hear booted feet charging over the metal floor of the bunker. Half a dozen stormtroopers and an officer charge into the control room, blasters aimed at us. "You rebel scum." The officer scoffs at us. He and the stormtroopers quickly collect our blasters and remaining charges and lead us out of the bunker. We exit to find a frightening sight. The clearing where the bunker sits is completely infested with stormtroopers, scout troopers, and other Imperial personnel. An AT-ST stands in the middle, its head turning to look at us as we exit. Also in the middle of the clearing is the rest of our strike team, their green uniforms in stark contrast in the sea of white and black uniforms. They stand in a tight circle with hands above their heads. Nik is still dressed in his stolen scout trooper armor. The stormtroopers roughly herd us into the circle as well. Kriff, I think to myself, as I stand with my hands above my head, it'll take a miracle to get us out of this one . . .

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix - Forest Moon of Endor, Outer Rim Territories

"Stormtroopers incoming!" Amminius shouts, bringing up his E-11 blaster rifle. He crouches behind a fallen tree and squeezes a shot off at an approaching stormtrooper. The bolt hits the trooper in the chest, causing him to scream and crumple to the forest floor, his blaster flying out of his gloved hands. "Good shot!" I yell to him. Our unit is entrenched behind fallen logs, engaging a steady flow of Imperials trying to break through our lines. So far, they have been unsuccessful. We crouch in a shallow stream, in a large clearing ringed by tall trees. The stormtroopers' white uniforms have made them almost too easy of targets. Suddenly, more troopers come at us from the tree line. "Change positions!" Yells Jevin off to my right. Commandos run around behind me, taking up new positions. Mud splatters my face and jacket.

How we had gotten here, I can only marvel at. The Imperials had had us all rounded up in a circle, ready to do us in. There must have been more than a hundred of them gathered in the clearing, blasters pointed right at us. Our chances were next to none. All of a sudden, up on a ledge, the two droids C-3PO and R2-D2 had appeared, momentarily distracting the stormtroopers. Unfortunately, their distraction didn't seem to be working. The troopers were preparing to bring the droids back into our clearing when, all of a sudden, a piercing trumpet call had echoed from somewhere high above us in the trees. Another one answered. And then, from out of the foliage, high up on tree branches, and right behind the Imperials, emerged Ewoks. Hundreds of them, all brandishing spears and bows and arrows. Then all hell broke loose. The Ewoks attacked! Stormtroopers fell left and right, arrows and spears sticking out of the gaps in their armor. Our group took advantage of the chaos and took out our closest guards, grabbing dropped blaster rifles from the forest floor and joining the fray, chasing the remaining stormtroopers back into the forest.

A blaster bolt whizzes above my head, striking a nearby tree, sending up a shower of sparks and splintered wood. "Whoa, that was close!" Yells Malogaan. He directs his DH-17 blaster pistol at an incoming trooper, blasting the Imperial in the helmet. Only a few more stormtroopers are left to engage us. As I'm picking off a stormtrooper popping up from behind a tree stump, I hear a roar of vehicle engines. A scout trooper whizzes toward us on a speeder bike, lasers arcing from the blaster cannon. "Look out, speeder bike!" I yell. A commando brings up her rifle, firing off a volley at the scout. It hits the trooper right in the chest, sending him flying with a cry off his bike. The riderless speeder continues forward, smashing into the trunk of a tree behind us, sending out a wave of heat and shrapnel. We all duck, avoiding the metal shards. Sid and another commando, who are closest to the tree, cover their faces and dive out of the way. The remaining stormtroopers start to retreat."Whooh, we're pushing 'em back!" Sid shouts. Glam laughs. Suddenly, an AT-ST walker stomps out from behind a tree. We all freeze. The walker's head turns to look at us. "Move!" I yell frantically. We scramble out of the way as the walker fires. Sid and a commando take cover behind a log near the walker. The commando lifts a portable shield generator out from her pack and slams it onto ground, activating it. The blue shield envelops their position. "Shield in place!" She yells to Sid, clapping him on the shoulder. "Laying down some heavy fire NOW!" Sid shouts. He rockets out from the shield with his jump pack, jumping over the walker. As he descends, he fires a rocket into the side of the walker's head. It explodes, and the AT-ST topples sideways in a shower of smoke and sparks. "Walker destroyed, walker destroyed!" Endel shouts, pumping his fist in the air. Sid nods, smiling. He drops his empty rocket launcher to the forest floor, its ammo spent. "That showed 'em!" A heavy thud causes the surrounding trees to shake. Our celebration stops. We turn to where the stormtroopers fell back... A huge, metal foot crashes through the trees, followed by the armored head and body of an AT-AT walker. I stare up at the giant machine in horror. Jevin starts to say something when the walker fires. Three of my team are sent flailing in the air. "Take cover!" Yells Amminius. We scramble behind the trees and logs. Stormtroopers advance ahead of their walker, also firing at us. The walker fires again, taking out two more soldiers. Jevin and I flatten ourselves against a tree. "We gotta call in the bombers!" He shouts at me. I raise my wrist comlink to my mouth. "Take 'em out!" I peek out from behind the tree. I see Amminius taking cover behind a rock. He sees me and gives me a shaky thumbs up. We fire on the stormtroopers, taking out a few. Then I hear a familiar sound, ion engines roaring in from above. "Y-wings inbound." A rebel technician's voice comes over through my comm. I grin. A torpedo hits the walker directly in its head. More torpedoes are launched from the attacking bombers, striking the walker in the side and the jointed knees. The cockpit of the AT-AT explodes in a shower of fire and sparks. With a mighty groan, the thing starts to topple forward. All of us, Imperial and rebel, scramble to get out of the way of the doomed walker. Amminius, Jevin, and I run together, sprinting for the tree line. With a mighty crash, the walker falls to the ground. I'm knocked down by the shock wave. Debris and dust fly from the point of impact. I cover my face with my arms. A few seconds pass. I slowly get up and survey the scene. Other members of my unit are also getting to their feet, checking themselves over. Near me, I hear a groan. I look to see Amminius struggling to his feet. I run to help my friend. "Everyone alright?" I hear Jevin inquire. A chorus of 'yeahs' and 'I'm goods' follow. About twenty of us are left. We pick around the clearing, stopping to check fallen comrades. "Looks like that's all they could throw at us!" Sid says. "Yeah," Bendix agrees, "I think we're in the clear!" We let out a "whoop!" of joy and relief. "My friends . . . I'm afraid your troubles are just beginning!" Says a chilling voice from the far treeline. Out from the foliage comes Xander, clad in his black armor, his crimson lightsaber humming . . .

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix – Forest Moon of Endor, Outer Rim Territories
Xander steps into the clearing, his black armor glowing from the light of the brush fire created by the toppled walker. The smoke seems to part for him, swirling around his black combat boots and cape. The color drains from my face. A female commando, one of the first to recover from the shock of our new guest, raises her DH-17, ready to blast the creep in his face mask. Xander turns to her with an outstretched arm, his gloved hand forming a fist. The commando lets out a surprised yell, which quickly turns into choking. Her DH-17 falls to the ground as she clutches her throat, gasping for breath. Veins stand out on her neck and forehead. A few seconds later, I hear a sickening crunch. Xander lowers his arm, and the commando falls limply to the forest floor. I wince, as do several others. I don't remember raising my rifle, but suddenly, blaster fire pours from our weapons at the demon. Seemingly unphased, Xander charges. "Watch ou-" Langley starts to yell, but is abruptly cut off. Cut is the right word for it. With one sweep with his lightsaber, Xander cleaves him and Farlander in half. We continue firing, backing away from his blade. With a howl of insane delight, Xander lifts Bendix off his feet. Bendix screams, flailing his arms and legs. Blue lightning shoots from Xander's fingertips, electrocuting poor Bendix. His screams of fear are transformed into hideous screams of anguish. Xander flings his body into two other commandos with such force that I hear the splintering of bone. "You kriffing monster, I'll kill you!" Jevin screams, and before I can stop him, charges Xander's exposed flank. Xander steps out of his path with ease, sending Jevin crashing into a clump of ferns. "Bloah!" Yells Engel, our scout. He curses, firing blindly at Xander's chest. Xander goes on the defense, his crimson blade whirling a defensive pattern around his body. Our blaster bolts whiz back at us; I dive out of the way as one comes at me. It's a miracle none of us got hit. "Watch your cooldown Engel!" I yell at him, but Engel continues to fire. Smoke rises from his blasters barrel from the overheated galven circuitry. He suddenly drops his rifle, gripping his burned hand. Xander, sensing the opening, strikes, sending a force blast so powerful Engel's way that the man literally disintegrates. We stop firing, backing away from Xander, staring disbelievingly at the spot where Engel once stood. My vision narrows, and all I see is the demon marching toward us with confident strides. "For the murder of my lord, Emperor Palpatine, I sentence you all to death!" Hearing those words kick starts my brain into action. I raise my A280 and fire, my team doing the same. Xander deflects a shot back at me, the bolt hitting my blaster. It explodes, the shrapnel peppering my face. "Agghh!" I shout, dropping the ruined rifle. Another bolt whizzes toward me, but I roll out of the way, bringing my arms up to cover my face. Amminius, standing next to me, squeezes off shot after shot from his E-11 at Xander, trying to penetrate his defenses. He dodges incoming bolts reflected at him, continuing to suppress Xander. Xander steps forward, seeming to teleport right next to Amminius and sweeps his blade across Amminius' thigh. The acrid smell of charred flesh singes my nostrils. Amminius falls to the ground unconscious, his leg thankfully still attached to his body. I want to run and help my friend, but realize that if I do, it'll be death for the both of us. Instead, I retreat into the dense foliage with Sid, Malogaan, Kelrian, Glam, Endel, and the two remaining commandos, our green camouflage rendering us nearly invisible. We run through the trees, twigs and leaves whipping past us. Breathing hard, I finally slow down. We stop at a large tree. I brace myself against the large trunk, panting. I then turn to look at the surviving members of Rancor Team. Sid speaks up first. "We should go back and get Jevin and Amminius. No telling what Xander will do to them." I nod in agreement. "How?" Malogaan inquires. "Xander's gonna have the whole area under lock down." "We have to try," I say to him, "how would you feel if-." I stop talking. I hear the rustling of foliage and boots crunching twigs. Kelrian, closest to me, hears it too. "It's Xander," he says, his eyes wide, "he's come to finish us off!" I motion down with my hand. We crouch down behind the large tree, blasters ready. I pull out my scout pistol from its holster, leaning out ever so slightly, training the pistols mini scope on the foliage. The sound of running through trees grows louder. My finger hovers over the trigger, my eyes fixed on the cluster of leaves and ferns opposite us. They part suddenly, and through them emerges . . . "Cade?" I say a little too loudly. I quickly motion with my hand, and I hear the click of blaster safeties being reengaged. We immediately stand up and move towards the young Jedi. He smiles at us, saying "I bested Xander. Hurled him right into a tree. We should go back for the others." "We were just discussing that." I say to him. I walk up next to the young boy and ruffle his hair. "Get off!" He complains, barely suppressing a grin. I turn to the others. "Let's go! Rancor, form up!" We move back toward the clearing, Cade chattering excitedly about his victory over Xander and the destruction of the Death Star. . . .

I stand in the medical ward of our flagship Home One with my hand flat against a bacta tank, palm touching the cool transparisteel. In it floats Amminius, a rebreather connected to his face. A steady stream of bubbles rises from the mask to the top of the tank. "You did well today." I tell him, although I'm positive he can't hear me. "I'm proud to call you an ally and a friend." I clip his E-11 to my belt, patting it with my free hand. "You'll get this back as soon as you're out." I stand there for a few minutes silently, listening to the whir of the medical droid and the bubbles from the blue bacta. I glance over at the tanks next to Amminius, where Bendix and another commando from our group are similarly suspended. I rub my eyes. The celebration on Endor lasted longer than I expected. But I wasn't complaining. The happiness from our victory was still inside of me. Those little Ewoks sure knew how to throw a party. Our boys in the sky had put on a dazzling display of fireworks, and an Ewok band had performed a musical concert on scavenged stormtrooper helmets, using them as makeshift drums. A hand touches my shoulder. I turn to see Commander Tek, Lafco Donir, Jevin, and Ralen. Tek offers me the equivalent of an Ishi Tib smile, saying, "You did well today Wodi, I am very proud of you." Lafco nods in agreement. Ralen speaks up. "Chancellor Mothma is holding a meeting in the briefing room. Don't want to be late." "Right!" I say. I gaze upon Amminius and the others one last time before walking out of the medical ward with everyone. Sid waits for us in the hallway, bouncing excitedly. "Let's go Wishbone. Chop chop. Don't want to miss out on all the shiny medals they'll give us!" Tek chuckles and Jevin rolls his eyes, smiling. We head toward the briefing room, chatting with each other, ready for our next assignment . . . Jevin Corso - Forest Moon of Endor, Outer Rim Territories We did it. We won Endor. The battle was intense, to sum it up in one word. After being knocked out of the fray by Xander, the next thing I remember is hearing a large thump against a tree. When I came to, Xander was gone and Cade and Wodi came through the foliage. Walking away as the ruins of the battle station fell in the distance, I ask Cade, "You didn't kill him, did you?" He looks at me, regret in his eyes. "No, and I should have. He's an evil that must be purged. But that look of pure fear . . . I just couldn't." Staring down at him, I say, "Cade, it takes a strong man to know when to offer mercy." He looks at me pleadingly,"Jevin, the Force has destinies for us all. I can't tell the future but I know he will be in mine, me in his. And whatever it is it'll will be big . . ." And with that we head to Home One, where Mon Mothma is having a celebration.

Onboard the MC80a star cruiser Home One The celebration is in full swing aboard the ship. Before the festivities begin, a eulogy is given by us commanders. Myself, Ackbar, Kerex, Wodi, and Tek, to name a few, say a few words. We honor our dead and look forward to the future. Afterwards, Mothma promotes Rancor Team up on stage. Myself to Major, Wodi to a Lieutenant, Amminius to a Sergeant, and so on. Also, a new unit is created, Vanguard Battalion. A new, semi-independent unit that will serve as both special forces and as supplements to larger army units. As Major, I am commanding officer and Wodi is the commanding field officer. Next is a surprise to the troops. Mothma calls Cade to the stage. It looks odd, seeing a little kid up there, but he earned it as much as we did. Mon Mothma hands him a green kyber crystal, some kind of family heirloom crystal. The room ripples with awe and applause. "With this crystal, may you and Luke Skywalker be the burning beacons that restore hope to this galaxy." With that we all disperse. Mon Mothma and Colonel Bel Iblis, who will be my superiors in Vanguard Battalion, come over to me and Wodi. "So," the gruff Corellian says, "have you decided on an emblem yet?" Looking to see Cade and Luke conversing by the viewport, I reply, "Yes sir, I think I have." The next day, we have it, an image of two green lightsabers crossed over each other, as a symbol of the new Jedi and their bond with us. And then we have our orders. Vanguard Battalion is going to move on Bespin and hold out until the rest of the Fourth Army can arrive.

Cade Valdarin - Anoat System We exit hyperspace. The mottled white fades and the star lines return, eventually forming into dots again. And there in front of us through the canopy is the orange world of Bespin. Colonel Iblis hovers over the comm board. "All ships, check in." The three YT-2400s all report; Jevin is on the Firebird,Wodi on the Ghost,and myself and Garm on the Warhawk. Flying escort is the newly formed Black Squadron, a New Republic fighter group meant for special missions. Jevin asks, "Do we know if New Republic Intelligence's trick to incite a rebellion worked?" "Affirmative Jevin," Garm replies. "Intel shows that several fringe elements have risen up against the Imperial occupation of Bespin and the Anoat system under the control of Governor Adelhard and Dengar. We should have an opening. There's a grunt from Jevin over the comm, followed by,"Should being the operative word." Garm looks at me, "You sensing anything?" I shake my head. There's too many people on the planet. I'm not that well trained yet. "Well, we'll just deal without intel then. We've done it before." He smirks and returns to the display. I sense a change in his emotions. Perking up, I ask what's up. "I'll be dipped. We have two friendlies joining the party." Over the comm comes static and then . . . "Colonel Bel Iblis? This is Lando Calrissian. Myself and Captain Han Solo respectfully request permission to join your assault." There's the roar of a Wookiee in the background and then Han Solo's agitated voice, "Of course that means you too, Chewie!" Garm asks, "What about Skywalker?" Lando sighs heavily, "He's unable to, still recovering from his fight aboard the Death Star." I grimace, remembering having felt the surge of power when Palpatine started torturing Luke. "Understood," Garm says, and clicks out. Through the viewport, the Falcon and Lando's personal ship, the Lady Luck, a luxury yacht, come into view. Brandishing my lightsaber in my hand, I relish the warm power coursing through me. The Valdarin crystal in the hilt reflecting my presence in the Force, feeling neither warm or cold, like a Jedi or Sith, but rather in between, like something else. Jevin puts on a blast helmet and dons a green tunic aboard the Firebird, Wodi brandishes a BlasTech Industries EE-4. Garm himself lugs a T-21 heavy blaster. He always did like the roar of the gun. "We're ready Lando, let's do it!" And with that we enter orbit. The view is breathtaking. In the briefing, we had all seen what Bespin looked like: clouds colored orange in the sunset, and a pearly white floating city, but in person it was another thing entirely. It was beautiful. I can see why Lando wanted to take this place back. Well, that and the fact that we needed Tibanna for the fleet. Especially with reports of the Imperials consolidating their presence over Jakku. As soon as we break orbit, local TIE fighters engage the Falcon. "Chewie and I will deal with these kriffers, Lando, do your thing. Good luck buddy." With that, the yacht speeds off towards a landing pad while the Falcon goes evasive and begins blasting TIEs near one of the gas platforms. The Warhawk lands with Lady Luck, and Garm and I exit the same time Lando does. Garm pulls up his wrist comm, "Major Corso, Lieutenant Quix, report in." "We're here," they both reply. Lando reaches for his own comlink, "Lobot, patch me in through the communications system, all frequencies." "Attention Bespin, the Empire is attacking the city." As TIEs wheel overhead, two Destroyers show up in orbit. Our ships race towards a landing platform overlooking a parade ground, where our forces are already fighting stormies. We all jump out and gather on the platform, where several of Lando's blue-uniformed Bespin Wing Guards stand, waiting. "And I've got a score to settle," Lando mutters to himself, smirking. And with that, we run off with Lando towards the Administrator's Palace, in order to turn off the system jamming our bombers, allowing the New Republic Third Fleet to enter the system to even the odds. "Careful," I warn Garm and the others through the comlink, "I sense the bounty hunter Dengar is close by." We enter the main courtyard and charge down the ramp, Lando using his specially modified X-8 pistol to take out a damaged AT-ST walker. The Liberation of Bespin has begun.

Amminius Sinan - Dac, Outer Rim Territories"All hands, this is Admiral Kerex. We have exited hyperspace and are preparing to orbit Dac." The Admiral's bubbly Quarren voice notifies us through the Perseverance's overcoms. I make my way through the MC80 cruiser's crowded hallway, heading toward the hangar deck, helmet tucked under one arm. I finger my rank badge attached to my flak jacket, smiling to myself. Sergeant. A furry hand touches my shoulder, and I turn to see Tor Ponith. The Bothan General offers me a smile, showing off his canine teeth. 'Good luck down there, Sergeant. We're sending you in along with Blue and Black Squadron, so you'll have plenty of cover fire." I nod in understanding. "This could be the key to beating the Imps," he continues, "Make sure you get there first." Ponith claps me on the shoulder before moving off down the hallway, stopping to converse with a passing technician. I enter the hangar to see my squad already assembled, waiting for me. They stand by our battered GR-75 transport, flanked by two X-wings with blue trim, leaning against fuel crates. Arix Glam sees me approaching. He gives me a casual salute, directing the others attention. Immediately, they form a semicircle. "What's the word, Sarge?" Asks Teris Darksword as I walk up. "Are we a go?" I look to her and the others assembled. I grin. "We have a green light! Operation 'get the plans and get back in time for supper' is a go!" The others let out an excited 'whoop!' I unhook a small holoprojector from my belt. Thumbing the activation switch, I hold it at arm's length for all to see. A small image flickers to life of a Mon Cala factory. "As you know, Mon Calamari Shipyards has begun fabricating schematics for a new type of cruiser in secret: The Mediator-class. They planned on giving us these ships to combat the remains of the Empire with. Unfortunately, the bucket-heads somehow got this intel, and are planning on raiding the shipyard for the plans. Our job, is to get them first." The others nod. "They've set up several garrisons across the planet, and are attempting to siege the factories where the plans were developed." A section of the factory in the hologram strobes red. "The Imperials have overrun this portion of the facility and are pushing farther in." A small yellow dot strobes near the outside of the factory in the projection. Pointing to it, I continue. "This is our insertion point. We'll be deployed close to the dry docks. The rest is relatively straightforward." Otara Menuk, a blue Twi'lek, smiles at me. "Straightforward. Right!" She teases. I return her smile, a funny, fluttery feeling starting inside of me. I stare at her for a few more seconds than necessary before Rubis Zione addresses me. "Sergeant!" I start, quickly turning to look at him. 'What?" The Ishi Tib nods his large green head towards a woman walking quickly toward us, followed by a Rodian and a small squad of soldiers. "Sergeant Sinan, " says Colonel Elisa Daru, "I'm glad I caught you in time. This is Neero, our technician." She gestures to her Rodian companion. "He'll be accompanying you on your mission. Along with a team of my best." She offers me a wry smile. "So, don't louse it up." "Thank you m'am! Holding my hand on this mission too, eh?" I say, grinning. Daru smiles and shakes her head, herding us all aboard the GR-75. Eeth Brangwin and Leeadra Nuwest are the last to enter. "Here we go!" I say to my team. Outside, I hear the X-wings ion engines roar to life. Flight technicians scramble around the hangar, making last minute checks. Our boarding ramp closes, and we take our seats. I sit next to Otara. "Ready?" I ask her. She gives me a grin. "Of course!" I smile, looking around at Rancor Team. The smile leaves my face. "Something wrong?" Otara asks me. I turn to her. "I just hope I can get them all back in one piece." A slight bump reverberates throughout the ship as it takes off from its landing struts. Otara smiles at me again. "Don't worry. You'll do alright! Drinks on me tonight if we make it back in one piece!" I grin. Kerex's voice comes over my wrist comm, as well as through the onboard speakers: "Good luck teams. May the Force be with you!" . . .

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix - Bespin, Cloud City, Outer Rim Territories
I'm starting to really hate Cloud City. "What's your progress, Lieutenant?" Garm Bel Iblis's gruff voice comes over my wrist comm. Firing my EE-4 with one hand, I shout into the comm, "Not good, sir. The Imperials have this area and the last uplink locked down pretty good!" A stormtrooper attempts a charge at our position. I line up my EE-4, firing a quick burst into the trooper's chest. He goes down. I turn my attention back to the comm. "We're pinned down in the courtyard, and the opposition is getting tougher!" Jevin peeks out from our cover, a wrecked TIE/LN starfighter, hosing a group of Imps with his DH-17. A stray blaster bolt hits the duracrete ground near me, sending up chunks of the stuff. I cover my eyes as bits of it rain down on us. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a black shape moving in towards us from a position off to our left. I whip around and squeeze off a burst in that direction. With a cry, the flanking shadow trooper falls to the ground in a heap. "Nice one, Wodi!" Shouts Malogaan next to me. He raises his DLT-19, spraying it at the balcony of a circular building. I see white helmets duck down behind the balcony's low wall, avoiding the laser fire. Red bolts come back at us as the stormtroopers take pot-shots. "Lob a grenade their way!" Jevin yells in my ear. I unhook one from my belt, arm it, and hurl it at the balcony. A few seconds later, several charred white-armored bodies fly into the air. "Good one!" A glint of green catches my eye. "Pulse Cannon! Get down!" We bite the duracrete as a green bolt flies toward our position, striking one of the TIE's ruined wings. "We've got bigger problems!" Yells Endel, next to Jevin, pointing. I look to see an AT-ST walker making its way toward us. "Kriff!" I spy a disruptor rifle near a fallen rebel soldier and snatch it up, aiming it at the walker. "Look out!" Glam yells. I'm suddenly hit by a wave of heat and debris from the sky. I look up, shielding my eyes. The walker stops its advance to look up as well. BOOM! A blue Cloud Car, in flames, smashes into it, turning the AT-ST's cockpit into a hunk of twisted metal. The thing topples to the duracrete, making the ground shudder. Two orange Cloud Cars fly in formation above our heads. They split off from each other, targeting the stormtroopers on the balconies and in the courtyard. We let out a cheer. "Way's clear Lieutenant!" Glam shouts excitedly. "Shift it Quix, that opening won't last long!" Garm barks through my comm. I motion with my hand toward a ramp leading to the circular building housing the last uplink. "Go, go, go!" We sprint for the ramp, charging up it and into the building. "That walker is causing our landing party some trouble, activate that last signal to call in Y-wing support!" We are in a clean, neatly furnished circular room, a turbolift in the center, a bar ringing the inner wall. "I don't like the looks of this." Says Jevin. He motions with his blaster at the four blast doors leading into our room. "Vanguard, watch our flank." I instruct. The others nod, training their blasters on the four doors. I walk to the uplink, ready to activate it. The door off to my right hisses open, and I hear Endel let out a surprised gasp. I bring up my EE-4 and look to see . . . the bounty hunter Dengar, flanked by five shadow troopers carrying T-21s. "Looks like it's your unlucky day, scum," he grins, hefting a DLT-19 into firing position, "you're done for." . . .

Cade Valdarin-Bespin, Cloud City, Outer Rim Territories

The cloud cars swoop overhead. Thud Thud. Garm is with me, firing off his T-21, having to flush its heat every few seconds. "Shift it Quix, that opening won't last long!" Garm yells into a comlink as an AT-ST is destroyed. After more blaster fire, Jevin and Wodi's group charges into a circular building. "They made it Garm, I think we'll be okay." I should have known, you never, ever say that. At that moment, out of the shadow of the Administrator's Palace comes an AT-AT, pummeling everything in its path. Garm swears, shouting a particularly offensive Corellian expletive. "Our troops have no cover from that thing!"

Handing Garm my DH-17 side arm, I grip my lightsaber, the Valdarin crystal inside coursing its power through my veins. "Cade, what are you doing?" I look at Garm, smiling. "If I'm going to be a great Jedi like my forebears, I must sacrifice myself for others." And with that, I Force-leap toward the walker. I land slightly in front of it, its fire still aimed above and away from me. Several troopers see me and start in surprise. "It's a Jedi!" one says, raising his blaster. "But Skywalker isn't here!" another cries. "Blast him!" a third says, but it's useless. I active the blade, the white-green light reflecting off of their white armor.

In the distance, Jevin and Wodi run out of the building with some Vanguard soldiers, with Dengar hot on their heels. Tapping into the Force, I grip the stormtroopers closest to me and fling them in Dengar's direction, the troopers slowing him down. I return to the task at hand, weaving into more troopers, my lightsaber a blur. One tries to use a jetpack to flee but isn't fast enough; I slice through his leg, causing him to lose balance and crash into the ground.

As I'm cutting through the troopers, the AT-AT turns its head toward me, finally. Hearing my father's voice in my head, "Trust the Force Cade, it'll will protect you," I deactivate the saber. The AT-AT fires a full power blast from its chin cannons. I hold up my hands. Using the ancient technique of Tutaminis, the art of absorbing energy, taught to me by my father, I absorb the full blast. Feeling the huge surge of energy, I channel it outward, the wave blasting away the stormtroopers near me. I next turn my attention to the AT-AT. Grabbing it with the Force, I concentrate, slowly beginning to close my grip. The sides of the walker start to cave in, a massive groaning sound coming from it. With a final gesture of my hands, I slam the walker to the ground, a huge wave of dust emanating from it.

"Holy Malachor!" Garm exclaims in amazement as he comes up to me. I just nod, the concentration and Force technique having exhausted me. "I just need . . . to catch my breath." I say. Far off in the distance I see Jevin and Wodi leading their group toward the Bioniip laboratories. "Well, we won't live forever, let's move!" Garm commands to the men and women gathering around us. The man loves his troops and loves to fight alongside them. He'll be a great military leader. I swear I can see a ship land at the labs. Just barely in my peripheral vision, it looks almost like a . . . TIE Hunter. . . .

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix – Bespin, Cloud City, Outer Rim Territories
"Quix, move to secure Bioniip. Myself and the rest of my unit will join you shortly." I look back at the toppled AT-AT to the group of figures gathered in the courtyard, dwarfed by the mammoth walker. They stand in a tight circle around Dengar and the three surviving shadow troopers. "Copy that, sir." I acknowledge over my wrist comm. " Good luck with that bounty hunter. I hear he's a handful!" "Noted." The Corellian general replies. In the background, I can hear various Huttese curses being shouted. I smile. Clicking off my comm, I motion with my hand to our small group for us to move. We walk carefully through the deserted city courtyard, looking around. "This place gives me the creeps." Malogaan says in a low voice, nervously toying with his DLT-19's safety switch. "Yeah," agrees Endel, "where is everybody?" "If they're smart, far away from here." Says Jevin bluntly. I nod, offering no comment. All my senses are on high alert, my EE-4 sweeping the buildings and alleyways we pass. The duracrete in this area is charred and cracked from explosions and blaster fire. White-armored bodies lie sprawled everywhere, along with Rebel commandos in blue and gray. "What's at Bioniip again?" Glam asks. "Why is it so important?" "Tibanna generators." I reply. "And they're not just at Bioniip. There are generators located in the Administrator's Palace and Carbon Freezing Chamber as well. For our job to be done here, those generators must be destroyed." "Intel suggests that there are three generators at each location, so a total of nine." Jevin adds. "The Imps are using the generators to power tractor beams, preventing our transports from leaving. So as long as those generators are up and running, we're not getting off this planet." "That is correct, Jevin." We all jump as Garm, Cade, and a handful of commandos merges with our small group. "Kriff, General," I say, "a little warning next time." My heart's still beating fast. The man grins, slapping me on the shoulder. "How long were you following us?" Demands Jevin. "For the past few minutes." Cade chimes in. "I was using a Force technique to shield us from your eyes and muffle our footsteps on the ground." Jevin gives him a glower. Cade just shrugs. Garm gestures with his T-21 towards a cluster of circular buildings, largely undamaged from the fighting. "There's Bioniip. Let's go." I'm about to say something when a blue cloud car shoots over our heads, turning back around for a strafing run. "Move!" I shout and we scramble out of the way. The cloud car throttles for us, when, suddenly, a burst of blue light hits it on one of the engines. The cloud car shakes visibly, and hurtles into the ground. BOOM! I dive for the ground, covering my face with my hands as chunks of duracrete and metal debris rain down. I hear a laugh from my wrist comm, followed by: "Amazing piece of tech, this ion neutralizer!" Garm brings his comm up to his mouth, angrily saying: "Next time, try not to flatten us, Sid!" "Roger!" The Sullustan replies. I hear the sound of a jump pack, and a few seconds later, Sid lands in front of our group. "Let's go!" He says. Garm rolls his eyes, but follows after the Sullustan. Our group, now thirty-two strong, follows the general towards the labs . . .

Cade Valdarin - Bespin, Cloud City, Outer Rim Territories

We meet up with Jevin and Wodi's group and now, with thirty-two soldiers, are moving through the facility. "I don't like this," Jevin says, the place being deserted. "General, this place is too quiet. And congrats on the field promotion by the way." Garm peers around a circular building, his trigger finger twitching, " Thanks. Cade, you sensing anything?" I look around, close my eyes, and open again. "I got nothing Garm, this place is empty."

We walk on when Wodi runs off towards alcove. "Lieutenant, what have you got? Garm asks, the authority in his voice clear. "Don't know sir," Wodi replies. We come over and there we see it. A Bioniip worker, slain, with a hole clean through his abdomen. "Now I'm no expert," Sid says in a sarcastic voice, "but I'm pretty sure the only thing that can do that and not leave a massive amount of blood is a lightsaber. I shudder and Garm notices. "Cade, what is it?" I glance around, trying to sense something but oddly enough, something is blocking me. "I saw, that is I think I saw, a TIE Hunter on the way here." Jevin perks up. "When Xander took me to Takara, he had a TIE hunter." "Sithspit!" Garm curses. Wodi looks to me, "How possible is it that Xander is here?" "Well," I reply, "I don't think he is. Xander wouldn't reveal himself until he's ready and it's only been a few months since Endor. No, this is someone else."

We continue on to what must be the actual lab where the cybernetics are created. And once there, the buzzing Force presence is even louder. Instinctively gripping my saber I warn, "Something's here," and as if on cue, a roar sounds through the deserted building, making us jump. With that we rush towards the sound. "Sounds like a Wookiee," Garm says, "I would say young adult male by the sound of it." Igniting the saber I add, "And it sounds like he's in trouble." We rush into the building, ready to help. There is nothing to be seen at all. "Strange," one of our group mutters.

"Alright, General, I suggest we split up into teams, take the separate hallways. Quix and I will take a team toward the processing area." Jevin suggests and with that we split. It's a few hours before we hear anything on the comlink, but the first to call is Malogann. "General, it's Malogann, we need help!" "Son, calm down, tell me what it is!" Garm replies over the comm, the worry clear in his voice. "There's something in here! It took Endel and Sid!" I split off from my group, following the Force signature I had sensed earlier. It feels strange. Like a warped presence of a trained Force user; it feels unnatural.

Then, over the comm, Malogann screams. "Private! Private report, what is going on?" Jevin shouts. Then Wodi cries out. "There's something in here with us!" Garm responds first. "What is it Quix?" "I don't know! One second I'm here with Maskin, the next he's gone! And I'm seeing something in my peripherals but when I turn it's gone." "What's it look like?" Quix seems to hesitate and then responds," A bluish shade maybe, I don't know." Our resident sniper, a Weequay named Moro, chimes in. "Could be a personal cloak device." "Don't be absurd," Jevin responds, "cloaking devices that powerful are theoretically impossible." The Force presence is a lot stronger now. I say into the comlink, "Jevin, Moro's right, something is in here, I can feel it." And with that I start hunting, like a Vornsk hunting ysalamiri, I use the Force, following the warped presence until I come to a peculiar sight. There stands the Wookiee we had heard earlier, young by Wookiee standards, staring at a bluish shade. The Wookiee snarls and without warning a lightsaber activates from the shade. That's all the warning I need. Igniting my own green blade, I Force run in front of the Wookiee, holding the blade in a low ready position. And suddenly the shade materializes into a black form. The black armor, ebon black, is a stark contrast to the white walls. In the chest of the armor sits a green crystal; I can only guess a kyber crystal or something similar. The Wookiee rumbles something and, with the Force, I'm able to understand and tell him to stay behind me. And with that the black form lunges at me. I parry the strike and launch my own offensive, our sabers tearing through wall and building components, causing sparks to fall everywhere . . .

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix – Bespin, Bioniip Laboratories, Outer Rim Territories
"What do you think killed him? That Bioniip worker?" Asks Vrieska in a low voice to no one in particular. We move in a tight group down the deserted hallways of the labs, Kelrian and Linaki sweeping the empty rooms with handheld scanners. I can hear Malogaan nervously toying with his safety switch again. "Not sure," replies Endel, "but whatever it was, it still might be here, so keep your fingers on the trigger." "Great, that's comforting." Says Nosh Ker Raisuun, hefting his DLT-19 heavy blaster in his webbed three-fingered hands. We continue, the steady beep of the scanners breaking the eerie silence. A whir from inside a room off to our left makes us all jump. Immediately, all weapons are trained at the closed doorway. I motion for everyone to stack up on opposite sides of the closed door. I count down on my fingers, and when I reach 'one,' I toggle the panel switch on the wall, causing the door to slide open. We rush inside, blasters up and ready for trouble. The occupant of the room starts at our sudden appearance and raises its arms. Kelrian lets out a relieved chuckle. "It's only a medical droid." The 2-1B stares at our group with its white, unblinking photoceptors for a few moments before moving off further into the room to continue its tasks, muttering something in droid speak. I shake my head and chuckle. "Move off." We exit the room and continue on our way towards the processing area. "You know," says Linaki, "when the war is over I might settle down here. Cloud City is a pretty nice place." "It is," agrees Mentel, "very beautiful. Very different from what I'm used to, though." I look to the Twi'lek and smile. "Ryloth's not as pristine as this, eh Loysia?" She grins back at me. "Right you are, Lieutenant!" "This city is a little too dry for my taste." Chimes in Raisuun. "Flood the place and I'm in." We all laugh. As we walk further through the labs, the hallway dips down, creating a slight incline. "We must be close to the processing chamber." Jevin says. "If my hunch is correct, I believe we'll find the first Tibanna generator there." "Good!" Vrieska grins, palming a proximity charge.

We continue downward until we enter the processing chamber, and, sure enough, a small generator sits in the middle, letting out a soft hum. I take my scout pistol from its small holster, sweeping the room. Cautiously, Vrieska and two of Garm's unit, Maskin and Calhuu move to the generator, sticking their charges to its metal surface. "Now we wait for detonation." Says Jevin. Sid, having been silent for most of the trip, suddenly turns his head toward a dark corner of the room leading off to an adjacent corridor. "Hold on. I think I saw something over there." He and Endel move toward the area, blasters up. They enter the adjacent corridor. "See anything?" I call softly. No answer. I raise my voice slightly. "Sid. Endel. See anything?" Silence. "Why aren't they answ-" I start to say to Malogaan next to me when a piercing shriek cuts me off. Everyone starts. "Sid! Endel!" I yell. Our group immediately gets up and charges into the dimly lit corridor, forgetting about the generator, coming face to face with . . . nothing. We scan the corridor. All my senses are on high alert. I take a step forward, and my boot catches on something. I look down to see Sid's A280C. I pick up the weapon, giving it a look over. Continuing down the corridor, we enter a large circular warehouse. "Spread out and look for them. Be careful. Whatever got Sid and Endel could still be in here." I motion to Malogaan to send off a message. He speaks nervously into his wrist comm. "General, it's Malogaan, we need help!" We move off in groups of four. Myself, Maskin, Calhuu, and Raisuun take one side of the warehouse. Large boxes and dusty pieces of machinery lie scattered everywhere.

Malogaan's scream cuts through the air. "Malogaan!" I yell. I hear Jevin yell something frantically over the comm. I look to the others next to me. "We need to move!" All of a sudden, Maskin vanishes right in front of my eyes. "Bloah!" I shout in surprise. Raisuun lets out a curse in his native Quarren tongue. Calhuu gasps. We sprint and dive behind some shipping crates. "There's something in here with us!" I yell to the others throughout the warehouse. Garm's voice comes over my wrist comm: "What is it Quix?" I raise my wrist comm to my mouth: "I don't know! One second I'm here with Maskin and the next he's gone!" Something catches my eye, moving quickly around the equipment. I try to track the moving shape with my EE-4, but to no avail. I speak into my comm again. "And I'm seeing something in my peripherals but when I turn it's gone." "What's it look like? I squint, trying to catch a glimpse of the shape again. There! "A bluish shade maybe, I don't know." I hear running footsteps and turn to see Garm, Cade, and the rest of the group enter the warehouse. A few moments later, the lights are turned on. We get up from our position and look to see Cade with a large Wookiee. It must have been the one we heard earlier. But what holds my gaze is the bluish shadow shape. It holds a shimmering crimson lightsaber. Cade charges at the thing, his own green blade activated, clashing with the shape. The thing materializes into . . . a shadow trooper, but like none I've ever seen before. "Go! Arm the other generators!" Yells Cade, locked in combat with the trooper. I nod. "Let's go! Hurry!" Shouts Garm.

"Move! Move!" Jevin yells, diving behind a piece of lab equipment. The last Tibanna generator explodes, making my ears ring. The blast knocks the attacking group stormtroopers off their feet. We jump from behind our cover, dispatching them before exiting the room. "We have to get to the platform!" I yell to my group. "The GR-75 is already there." We sprint through the white hallways, dodging laser fire. I blast a trooper with my EE-4, causing him to wheel backwards into two of his fellows. Sid sprays them with his A280. "I can see the transport!" Shouts Raisuun excitedly. "The others are already there." "Good!" Shouts Vrieska. "Let's move!" Yells Garm, laying down fire with his T-21. Several stormtroopers try to cut us off from an adjacent hallway. Cade and his new Wookiee companion turn their way. The Stormies don't stand a chance. I grimace as a bloody stump of an arm, still encased in white armor, flies past me. I almost retch when a helmet hits the wall next to me, its contents bouncing down the hall, leaving a red smear. We run through the doors to the landing pad where the GR-75 sits, the other saboteur teams laying down fire with E-webs under it. "Make way!" A commando yells as our group runs past. "Here they come!" Another one shouts. The pursuing stormtroopers pour from the doorway, firing their E-11s. The teams board the waiting transport. I turn back and fire my EE-4 into their ranks. "Come on, Wodi!" Yells Garm. He helps a wounded commando into the transport. I run up the boarding ramp, the door closing behind me. "All here!" A pilot says over the intercom. I can hear laserfire hit the hull of the GR-75 as the stormtroopers attempt to shoot us down. With a roar of ion engines, the transport takes off. I can hear a WHOOMP as our escort of X-wings bombs the landing platform. Everyone in the transport breathes a collective sigh of relief. "That," says Garm, "is how we get it done! Good work everyone!" A cheer rises up. I feel a thump on my shoulders and look to see Jevin, smiling at me. "Good work, Wishbone. We got 'em." I nod, too exhausted to speak. "Time for the sanisteam and a drink!" Someone shouts. We all laugh and cheer! I catch Cade's face in the crowd. He gives me a grin. I grin back. I look through the crowd to see the faces of those who disappeared when in Bioniip. All are back now, safe and sound. We made it. That's two strikes against the Empire!

After the Liberation of Bespin

Jevin Corso - Chandrila, Core Worlds, Jakku briefing

All the top brass are gathered here in the military command center where Republic Command is discussing how to deal with Jakku, "We have to strike the Empire now, while we still have the momentum!" Ackbar says loudly. "This is our only chance to finally break the Empire." General Ponith, his coarse fur rippling, speaks up. "Yes, but let's not forget that the Imperial Fleet is still very dangerous, Admiral." Ackbar swivels his salmon-colored head toward the Bothan, "That is why the full Second and Fourth Fleets will launch the attack." He looks to Kerex, who takes his cue.

"We are also going to provide cover for the Third and Fourth Army, under High General Rieekan, General Iblis, and General Ponith, to get their forces on the ground. You up for that Carlist?" Rieekan steps forward. "Absolutely sir. We're ready to bring the pain." Colonel Tav Voren, a tall Chagrian male, of the Forty-Second Land Division, a large unit of the Third Army, chimes in. "The Forty-Second is ready for anything sir." "That goes for Vanguard Battalion as well," I pitch in. The officers over the other land divisions also voice agreement. It'll be something to see. The land division is the largest New Republic Army unit, consisting of 40,000 soldiers plus light and heavy armor units with both repulsorcraft and walkers, and reconnaissance units. And with the full Third and Fourth Armies, that means eight land divisions in total, attacking Jakku.

High General Madine, head of New Republic Special Forces, steps forward. "A volunteer has come forward and offered to lead a strike team to take the star destroyer Inflictor. His intimate knowledge of their construct will make him invaluable." And with that Thane Kyrell, a crack pilot, steps forward. "I will only take volunteers, there's a chance this will be a one way trip." Amminius, looks at Thane, grinning. "Rancor has your back, Kyrell. Always wanted to take a Destroyer!"

"Major Corso, is Vanguard ready?" Ponith asks me. Tor Ponith is well on his way to becoming the greatest army commander we have. There's talk that the Senate is debating creating a wartime position to be equivalent to Grand Admiral; the position of High Marshal. But of course we are too busy to worry about that right now. "Yes sir!" I reply crisply. Looking to the other majors in the room, and to Colonel Voren and the other higher up officers, they all nod and I look to General Ponith and Fleet Admiral Ackbar, "We're ready."

Ackbar looks to Cade, the nine year old boy looking even smaller with his new Wookiee bodyguard Salurra standing behind him. "Master Valdarin, will you assist us in this battle?" And I can see on Cade's face a pained look. "Sorry Admiral, I can't. I'm going to look for something." A murmur again goes through the room. "But Cade, even one Jedi, no matter the age, can turn the tide of a battle," High General Rieekan says, "We could use your help." "I realize that sir, but that shadow trooper we ran into on Bespin a year ago is still on my mind. I can't explain it but I could feel Xander's presence when I fought the trooper. Xander is alive and somewhere out there, waiting to strike back at the Republic. And with Xander's power and influence with the empire, he'll most likely have amassed a huge force by now. I have to try and find him and eliminate him now. You understand." Ackbar grunts but replies, "Yes, I do. The Force directs all of our destinies. All I can say is may the Force be with you Master Valdarin." Smiling, Cade turns and he and Salurra exit, moving towards their YT-2400 transport, the large Wookiee's huge Ryyk Blades catching the light from an overhead light.

"Very well, we will have to do this without Jedi help. It'll take good old fashioned ingenuity to win this battle. Lieutenant Quix, your team and Aurek Team will be the first ground units planetside. Your job is to establish a beachhead until Corso can get the rest of Vanguard there. You'll then clear the way for the Forty-Second and Fifty-Fourth Divisions. Quix salutes and replies crisply, "You got it Admiral. I will do everything I can to ensure our success."

"Alright, you have your assignments. Commander Antilles, are the fighter squadrons ready?" Antilles straightens, a confident aura about him. "Yes sir, all commanders report their squads are ready, and assignments have been given for transport escort." "Understood Commander. Alright, you all know the mission and what is at stake, but I want you all to know that there isn't anyone else I would want to fight beside. May the Force be with us all."

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix - Chandrila, Hanna City military complex, Core Worlds
"May the Force be with us all." Concludes Admiral Ackbar. The Mon Calamari nods his large head to everyone assembled in the briefing room. Immediately, quiet discussion breaks out. A chime sounds, letting us know that we have been dismissed. "We're gonna need more than the Force to be with us this time around." Mutters Tyros Voddher, dressed in his orange flight suit, standing next to me. I nod. We walk out of the briefing room together and down the crowded hall. "I can't believe the Empire's making their last stand on Jakku." I say, shaking my head in amazement. Tyros grins. "Yeah." He frowns, blowing out a puff of air through his cheeks. "Can you believe the size of the fleet gathered over Jakku. I'd reckon not even Ackbar and Kerex combined have seen that many Destroyers." I nod again. "It's gonna be a tough one. We routed them at Endor and Bespin, and now they have one last card to play." I see Amminius a little farther down the hall, chatting with Otara Menuk, both dressed in their tan combat uniforms like me. Tyros and I make our way over to them. Amminius sees us and gives a little wave. Otara turns and smiles. "So, you're going to get up close and personal with Captain Cienna Ree and the Inflictor, huh?" I say to them. Both nod. "It's pretty low on the list of things they'll expect us to do." Otara says. "If we catch them off guard, that's our first step towards winning Jakku." "Just imagine the look on the Imperials faces when the Inflictor turns on them!" Amminius says, grinning. He stands up a little straighter, stroking an imaginary beard. "I always wanted to captain a ship!" We all laugh. Amminus imitates the clipped tone of an Imperial officer, pretending to give orders to passing troops. Most who pass us by give him a strange look, but a few play along, saluting him before rushing off again. I brace my gloved hand on the wall, wiping my streaming eyes. My sides hurt from laughing. Amminius finishes his imitation and bows. We all catch our breath. Amminius turns to Tyros, grinning. "I'm trusting you and the rest of Zerek to get us in and out in one piece. Can you do that, Voddher?" Tyros smiles. "Of course! After we deal with the endless stream of TIEs!" Amminius' comlink chirps. He looks at it. "It's Kyrell. He'll be wanting to brief us about our mission." Amminius looks to Otara, who smiles at him. "After you!" She gives him a playful kick with her boot. "Let's go!" The two give us one final wave before jogging off. "Good luck!" I call after them. Amminius gives a thumbs up. Tyros chuckles. "He's something else, isn't he?" I laugh. "You said it!" I check the chrono on my wrist. "Kriff, I gotta get ready! Lots to pack." Tyros grins, indicating my holstered scout pistol. "Well, you're halfway there! I hear you're pretty handy with that!" I smile. A technician's voice comes over the complex intercom: "All pilots report to hangar bay three for pre-flight inspections. All pilots report to hangar bay three for pre-flight inspections." Tyros turns to me. "Gotta go! Good luck, Wodi, I'll see you on the other side." He gives me a casual salute and jogs off, catching up with Orin Brintt and Tendra Keller, also in orange flight suits, further down the corridor.

"Ready, Wodi?" Asks Jax Malogaan, strapping his backpack on. He gives his DLT-19 one more look over. I peer through my A280C's scope, checking the calibration. "Yep. Let's get this done!" Aurek Team and I sit in our barracks, getting our equipment ready. I check my bandolier and belt pouches, going through a mental list of necessary items. Laid out on my bunk are my DH-17, RT-97C, MPL-57, and bowcaster, along with my backpack, filled to the brim with items. "Hey Raisuun, got any extra ration cubes?" The Quarren looks up from his own pile of equipment on his bunk, and tosses me a pack of the stuff. "Of course! Wouldn't want you to starve, Lieutenant!" He replies in his bubbly voice. "Thanks!" I tuck the extra rations into a pouch next to my canteen. I pick up each of my weapons in turn, giving them one final check. Satisfied, I pick up my helmet, sitting next to me, wiping the tinted blast shield at the top with a rag. I notice a few extra scratches in its surface than before. A few bunks over, Crix Vrieska says "I hope Amminius and the others aboard the Inflictor will be alright." "They will be." Affirms Malani Linaki. "They've got Zerek Squadron and Thane Kyrell watching their backs." "Let's hope that's enough this time." Chimes in Lannik Endel. He switches out the power pack for his E-11, exposing the galven circuitry. "The Imps are desperate." "Good!" Says Loysia Mentel. The Twi'lek stands up, clipping extra pouches to her belt. "That means we'll be able to break them easier." She turns to Crix Vrieska. "Hey Crix, toss me a couple extra thermals." Crix grins, tossing two thermal detonators her way. Antar Kelrian covers his head, pretending to be frightened. "Watch it!" He says, laughing. Loysia catches them in midair, adding them to her stash. Nosh Ker Raisuun hefts his DLT-19, pointing it at the ceiling. "Why couldn't the Imperials have made their last stand on a planet with at least a little water? I'm gonna have dry skin for months!" His remark makes us all laugh. I clip my MPL to my belt and shoulder my backpack. Malogaan helps me fasten the straps in the back. Next, I shoulder my RT-97C by its strap. I stand up, all my gear on. I pick up my helmet, holding it in my gloved hands, "Everyone ready?" Each of Aurek Team stands, fully dressed for combat. I look at each of them in turn. "I just want to say that it's been an honor and a pleasure serving with every one of you. I expect to see you all back here for Corellian spirits and blap biscuits. Is that understood?" "Yes Lieutenant!" I grin. "Let's get this done!" Everyone gathers around me. I place my hand in the middle, and the others do likewise. "One, two, three, Aurek . . . ready?" "One, two, three, AUREK!" We raise our hands in the air, cheering.

Exiting hyperspace: Jakku space aboard the Perseverance

"All hands, we have exited hyperspace and are making our approach towards Jakku. Make your way to your designated landing crafts." Aurek and I run through the crowded hallways past soldiers, technicians, and droids, making our way to hangar bay eleven, where our GR-75 and fighter wing escort sit. I look through a large viewport off to my left to see Jakku. And the large blockade of Star Destroyers. Great. "This'll be fun!" Shouts Malogaan, also glancing out the viewport. We make our way to the hangar to see it bustling with activity. Soldiers and pilots are everywhere, running under the three GR-75 medium transports sitting in docking bays, their boarding ramps down, admitting soldiers and the last caches of supplies and equipment. Droids make last minute repairs to starfighters, fixing welding seams, adding to the noise. Out of the corner of my eye I see Jevin Corso standing by himself at a viewport, away from the activity. I turn to my team. "Get to the transport. I'll be with you shortly." The others nod and continue further into the hangar towards the waiting GR-75s. I run over to Jevin, dodging droids and pilots. "Hey, you ready Blastzone?" Jevin turns to me, grimacing. He puts on a brave face, offering me a small smile. "Nearly. I'm just thinking about what this battle is going to mean for us. But I'm good to go." Down a small hallway, I see Colonel Tav Voren making his way towards us. I offer the Chagrian a crisp salute, and he nods. Jevin turns away from the viewport, facing the Colonel. "Major Corso!" Voren says loudly to be heard over the din, "Your battalion is giving the Forty-Second Division backup." Jevin nods in understanding. "I assume we are hitting the Imps' main line?" Voren smirks. "We're in the thick of it." He motions us toward the GR-75s.

Our transport rocks back and forth from the turbulence of entering Jakku's atmosphere. My teeth are rattling inside my head. The GR-75 creaks, its shields taking a hit, and I hold on to my restraining strap a little tighter. The overhead lights flicker. "I'm beginning to doubt this transport's ability to get us to the surface in one piece," says Crix next to me nervously, looking up at the ceiling. I nod, gripping my restraining strap. I look to Jevin, sitting across from me. He gives me a thumbs up. I return the gesture. "There's a lot of ground fire." The pilot's voice comes over the intercom, his voice crackling with static. "It'll be tricky finding a safe landing zone." The lights flicker again, momentarily throwing the cabin into darkness. More creaking. I can hear the rush of wind whipping past the outer hull. A new voice comes over the intercom: "This is Thane. My team and Rancor are moving in on the Inflictor. We'll take that ship for the Republic." "Good luck boys." I hear Voren mutter. I silently offer up my luck to them as well. A bump reverberates through the crew cabin. "All right grunts, this is it!" Yells Voren. "Transport is down." Yells the pilot. "Go. Go. Go!" The boarding ramp descends, letting in the harsh Jakku sunlight. I squint, covering my eyes. Sand blows through the opening, flying around about the cabin. Voren and Jevin bark out orders as the troops prepare to disembark. I yell orders to Aurek. "Move towards the rally point. The downed Corellian Corvette!" We rush out of the transport and into the hot desert wind, sprinting for the Corvette. In the distance, I see other transports offloading troops, their unit commanders undoubtedly giving the same orders. Sand whips around my boots. We run in tight formation, the wind and flying sand making it difficult for us to advance. A commando trips and almost face plants into the dunes, but I grab a hold of his arm, lifting him back on his feet. I can see small white-armored figures around and beneath the Corvette scurrying around. "Imperials!" I yell, pointing. Endel takes out his macrobinoculars, peering at the Corvette. "And lots of 'em!" He adds. Red laserfire begins to whiz past our heads as the stormtroopers attempt to suppress us."Watch that laserfire!" Yells Jevin, firing his A280C. I fire my own weapon, the barrel quickly heating up. I see some white-armored figures topple to the ground, but more quickly take their place. A T-47 scores a hit on an AT-AT off to our right, tripping up its legs with a tow cable, causing the mighty walker to topple. We take cover inside the skeletal frame of a bombed-out walker, laserfire pinging against its metal surface, popping back out to down stormtroopers. A thermal detonator thrown inside at our feet makes us frantically dash out. The dunes around us are already littered with debris from the sky battle. We take cover again behind fallen crates and twisted hunks of metal up on a ridge, continuing to fire upon the Imperials. A Rodian corporal goes down, a smoking hole between his large glassy eyes. Another commando wheels backward, her chest blackened. A pulse cannon shot lifts a commando off his feet, sending him flying backwards. "Sniper!" Yells Malogaan next to me, spraying the ground beneath the Corvette with his DLT-19. "Make way!" I hear someone shout. Two rebel soldiers lug an E-web repeating blaster up to the front, quickly setting it up. Jevin leaps on the repeating blaster, immediately beginning to fire. Kelrian kneels next to him, calling out targets, as well as monitoring the small power generator, making sure it doesn't overheat. "Do you think we'll make it to the rally point?" Yells Crix, dodging a blaster bolt flying past him. "We might!" I yell. "If we're smart and stick together!" I chance a look up at the sky. Destroyers are everywhere, exchanging fire with our MC80s, corvettes, and Mark One Starhawks. Thousands of red and green lasers crisscross the sky, looking like a light show. A deadly light show. Rebel and Imperial fighters, seeming like small pinpoints, zoom around the sky, dodging and weaving as they meet one another; a deadly dance. Capital ships engage each other from a distance, explosions dotting their gigantic metal surfaces as laserfire connects with them. A Star Destroyer, its engines in flames, falls from the sky, doomed to crash in the Goazon dunes. A Nebulon-B cruiser soon follows suit, breaking in half with the sheer force of gravity. Many more like it already dot the barren landscape. I return my focus to the encroaching stormtroopers, blasting a few more into oblivion. Suddenly, I hear a tremendous groaning sound and look up again. Uh oh! . . .

Jevin Corso - Battle of Jakku

"Hey, you ready Blastzone?" Wodi yells as he runs into the hangar. I stand there, looking out the viewport at the dust bowl of a world, seeing all those we have lost during this war. Grimacing, I reply, "Nearly. I'm just thinking about what this battle's going to mean for us. But I'm good to go." "Major Corso! Your Battalion is giving the Forty-Second Division back up!" Colonel Tav Voren yells down the hall at me, his Chagrian head tails bobbing. "Got it. I assume we are hitting the Imps' main line?" I reply. Voren smirks at me, his forked tongue flitting at me. "We're in the thick of it."

"Attention all New Republic forces, this is Admiral Ackbar. Commence the attack, and may the Force be with us all." With that, the whine of engines starting up fills the hangar. Most of the Forty-Second Division and Vanguard Battalion board the GR-75s. One of Wodi's troopers, Malogaan, mutters, "Too bad both our Jedi friends aren't here." "Cut the chatter," Wodi chimes in. He glances at me, then at Voren. "Major, Colonel, Vanguard is ready. We'll win this thing." And with that, the transport exits the hangar.

"All ships, this is Admiral Kerex," the Quarren's bubbly voice comes over the comm, "watch it out there. We're picking up a Super Star Destroyer, the Ravager. Zerek Squadron, move in with the Guardian and Liberator and take it out." "Copy, Admiral."

The ride planetside is full of turbulence, the shield of the transport buckling under enemy fire. Several times the lights in the transport buzzed, the transport making creaking sounds. "This is Thane. My team and Rancor are moving in on the Inflictor, we'll take that destroyer for the Republic."

Finally we touch the ground with a thud. "All right grunts, this is it!" Voren yells over the noise. The blast shield doors open, letting the blinding Jakku sun peer through. After the flash goes away, Voren and I bark out orders and the troops began racing towards our objective, Sunspot Ridge. We can use that as a rally point as we make a major push against the imperial line. Across the desert, multiple transports are landing and disembarking troops, the unit commanders barking out orders to their troops.

The Battle of Jakku has begun . . .

Jevin Corso - Battle of Jakku

"Turbolaser fire, move!" I yell as a torrent of green falls from the sky like a deadly green rain. We scatter away from the ridge, the orbital strike reducing it to nothingness. Wodi hefts me up from the scorching sand saying, "We're not doing good here, Blastzone!" "I know! But we aren't giving up!" We scramble out of our positions, running across the desert. There's an Imperial communications center that is coordinating their forces. If we can take it out, it'll throw them in disarray.

"Malogaan! Get on the comms and get a strafing run on the comms center!" I yell out and in the next few minutes, a wing of B-wings swoop in, blasting the center's defenders, an AT-ST walker and several E-webs, allowing us to move in. Moving up to the doors, Wodi and I pull out our bowcasters. Malogaan pulls the doors open and in we go, blasting the defenders to bits.

"Charges set sir!" Wodi yells out. "Alright, let's move it!" I yell. We exit the building just in time to see it erupt in flames. "Attention all ground forces, this is General Ponith. The Ravager has been taken out. It's current trajectory is the Goazon Badlands, quadrant three. All forces in that area, clear out of there now!" Even before the transmission ends, we see it, the massive ship slowing falling from the sky, chunks missing here and there; our ships still pummeling it with turbolaser fire. "Here it comes!" Endel yells out and with a crash that is ear splitting and a massive wave of sand, the Star Destroyer hits the planet.

I pop up from our hiding position, "OK, it's clear, let's push the Imps back." "All forces, move in!" Ponith says over the comm. Looking to our right, we see AT-ATs bearing down on our position, cannons aimed directly at us, and all looks lost. In that moment, a YT-2400 appears in the sky, a familiar emblem of the old Jedi order symbol on it. "No . . . it can't be. Cade?" I ask out loud. And then out of the ship three beings jump; a Wookiee, Skywalker, and Valdarin, ryyk blade and lightsabers out. The three land on top of the head of one of the walkers, cutting into it. All of a sudden, its cannons turn on another walker, blasting its side into crumpled metal. "Now's our chance," Voren yells, "Move it!"

Meanwhile, in orbit . . .

"All ships, this is Kyrell, we've made it aboard the Inflictor, standby." The cruisers Perseverance and Guardian swoop in over a Star Destroyer, blasting its shields away and causing it to break apart from withering turbolaser fire. Kerex peers out the viewport, directing ship movements from a tactical holomap when the Inflictor begins falling to the planet. "Kyrell what's going on over there?" No answer. "All ground forces, this is Kerex. Thane's mission did not go as planned, the ship is falling from orbit, clear the blast zone!"

Back on the ground . . .

We meet up with Cade and Luke after they blasted the other AT-ATs to slag. "I thought you two weren't going to make it?" Luke and Cade look at each other, "We weren't." Luke replies. ""But Cade came back from his mission to find Xander, saying that being here was more important at the time."

"All ground forces, this is Kerex. Thane's mission has not gone as planned, the Inflictor is falling from orbit. Clear the blast zone!" And we see it, the massive ship slowly falling, an unbelievable sight. "You heard the man," Cade says, "Let's go!"We hightail it out of the area, rushing towards the designated evac sight. All across the planet, firefights still rage. "Here it comes!" And with a massive ground quake, the Inflictor hits the ground nearly on top of us, waves of sand and debris flowing out from it.

"Wishbone! Where are you?" I yell, my voice hoarse with grit. "Here, sir!" Wodi relies, pushing over a sheet of metal that had pinned his leg. The rest of the troops are more or less fine, a few burns and scrap here and there but no casualties from the impact. "Good, lets-" I begin saying when my wrist locator starts pinging. "There's a distress signal coming in. And it's coming from under the ground . . . here. Help me dig!" And with that, Wodi and I start digging through the dirt, eventually hitting the metal of an Imperial escape pod. We prop the door open and our medic, Jobin, asks Thane, the pods occupant, if he needs assistance. "I'd take care of her first." Thane says. We all aim our blasters as soon as we see her. "What the?" Thane says, alarmed. The woman with him is Ciena Ree, commander of the Inflictor.

Wodi "Wishbone" Quix - Jakku, Graveyard of Giants, Outer Rim Territories

The Star Destroyer Inflictor hits the Goazon dunes with a massive thud and sound of screeching metal. Sand and debris is sent flying in all directions in a giant whirlwind of sand. I'm peppered with flecks of hot metal and stinging sand as I sprint away from the mutilated Destroyer. I run on unsteady legs as the shock wave ripples over me. Several times I almost stumble, but keep going out of pure adrenaline. My calves are on fire from the exertion. Suddenly, I trip over an object buried in the sand and do a faceplant into the dunes, the barrel of my shouldered RT-97C smacking against the back of my helmet. Groggily, I look to see what my boots caught on. A half-buried stormtrooper helmet. Its exposed eye lens seems to be staring at me. I shake my head to clear it and attempt to get up, but my leg is caught under a piece of metal. " Wishbone! Where are you?" I hear Jevin call. Pushing the sheet of metal off with an effort, I stand up. "Here sir!" Jevin runs over to me, caked in dust, but no more worse for wear than I am. Looking around, I see the other troops getting to their feet, checking for any injuries. I see Nosh Ker Raisuun getting unsteadily to his feet. I move to help the Quarren. "You alright?" I ask him. Raisuun nods. "It'll take more than a Destroyer to put me out of action, Lieutenant!" I grin at my friend. We move through the stream of dazed and dust-caked troops together, helping where we can. While I walk, I do a silent headcount of my team. Raisuun, Malogaan, Vrieska, Kelrian, Mentel, Endel, and Linaki. All here. I let out a small sigh of relief. Unclipping my canteen from my belt, I take a much-needed swig of water. Raisuun goes off to join Kelrian and Vrieska, and I walk back to Jevin. Nearby, Voren is already shouting orders, his voice clear and crisp. Jevin gives me a thumbs up. "Good, let's . . ." he starts to say, but is interrupted by the chirp of his wrist locator. "There's a distress signal coming in." I lean over and look at the indicator. A small red blip pulsates on the mini screen. "And it's coming from under the ground." Jevin walks a few paces to my left, stopping at a sand dune. "Here. Help me dig!" Getting on our hands and knees, Jevin and I dig until we uncover the hatch of an escape pod. A few soldiers gather around the pod, watching as we pry the door open to expose . . . "Thane Kyrell!" I shout. Thane peers at our group from inside the cramped pod, shading his eyes from the harsh sun. "Do you need assistance, sir?" Our unit's medic, Olan Jobin, asks, a medpac already in his gloved hand. "I'd take care of her first. She needs immediate medical attention." Thane replies, maneuvering an unconscious dark-skinned woman out of the pod. She is dressed in an Imperial officer's tunic. Cienna Ree. Immediately all blasters, including mine, are brought to bear on the unconscious Imperial. Jevin walks forward towards the unconscious Ree, snapping a pair of magnetic binders around her wrists. Thane's face is one of anger, then understanding. Without a word, our group moves off towards the rendezvous point.

We gather on a ridge overlooking a vast expanse of debris-ridden sand. In the distance, I see several Imperial AT-ATs, and at least one full battalion of stormtroopers. Not good. I spy Amminius in the crowd of soldiers already there. I race to my friend. He sees me coming and rushes to meet me, his face breaking out in a grin. "Wishbone! Still here are ya?" I grasp his gloved hand. "Wouldn't want to miss the final push!" I gesture out at the Imperials. He nods, gripping his E-11 a little harder in his gloved hands. "I hear things didn't go as planned on the Inflictor." I say. "What happened?" Amminius shrugs, smiling. "I guess I need a bit of practice piloting a Destroyer!" I laugh, cuffing him good-naturedly on the arm. Colonel Tav Voren makes his way to the front of the crowd, followed by Jevin and General Bel Iblis. "Alright, listen up!" The Chagrian begins. "I know many of you are wondering when this war will come to an end. I come before you to say it ends NOW!" A cheer erupts. "Long have you fought against the mighty Imperial war machine. You have all fought hard, with bravery and courage. You have sacrificed much. It is time to see this thing to the end!" Voren raises his rifle into the air, yelling: "For the Rebellion!" "FOR THE REBELLION!" We cry out. Amminius gives me a thumbs up. I return the gesture, my heart pounding against my ribcage. Here we go. "Chaaaarge!" A commando near me yells, brandishing an E-11 rifle and pointing towards the Imperial lines across the expanse of debris-littered sand. Our troops rush forward, ready to meet the Imperials head on. Blaster fire is everywhere. A Sullustan next to me goes down, hitting the sand face first. "We've got Imperials approaching!" Yells Endel, firing his DH-17. "Stand together! Take 'em down!" I hear over my comm. The stormtroopers rush to meet us, their forces bolstered by an AT-ST. I yank out my MPL-57 ion torpedo, aiming it at the head of the walker. The torpedo strikes the walker just above its chin cannon, turning the AT-ST into shrapnel. "Nice one!" Yells Amminius, blasting a stormtrooper in the chest with his E-11.

X-wings fly overhead, engaging the wings of TIE fighters. I see Tyros Voddher in his custom X-wing with green trim, blowing away a TIE interceptor. I let out a whoop and continue on, lighting up stormtroopers with my A280C. "This is it!" I hear Jevin yell. He runs next to me, blasting troopers left and right. "Flank left! Flank left!"... "Watch your tail!"... "Fire in the hole!"... "Man down!"... "Chicken-walker taken out!"... "Hold for support!"... "All wings, this is it!"... "We have 'em now!"
. . .

The last AT-AT topples to the sand with an almighty crash, its drive motor destroyed. The ground is littered with white-armored bodies of fallen stormtroopers. Near me, a dozen commandos guard a battered group of Imperials, magnetic binders over their armored wrists. Up in the sky, the last few Star Destroyers slowly fall planetward, belching smoke and fire. We let out a cheer that shakes the stars, brandishing our blasters in the air in victory as X-wings fly over us. We've won! Jakku is ours! The Galactic Civil War is over! Soldiers everywhere are clapping, hugging, and crying. I see Otara Menuk rush into Amminius' arms, planting a large kiss on his lips. I grin. I find Aurek and the rest of Rancor Team. We get in a huge group hug, laughing. A tap on my shoulder makes me turn around. Zerek Squadron, Cade, and Jevin stand there. "Come here!" I grin, bringing the lot of them into our big, sweaty hug. I don't think I've been happier in my life. Or more caked in grit.

Epilogue, Wodi "Wishbone" Quix, Coruscant: Two years after Jakku

I run my fingers over my old combat helmet, feeling each scratch and burn mark. Its tan surface and black blast visor are full of them. Taking out a rag from my pants pocket, I carefully wipe it down. Next to me on my bunk are my old A280C rifle, RT-97C heavy blaster, and DH-17 pistol. On the floor is my old field backpack. I give each weapon a thorough cleaning, taking them apart and carefully swabbing out the small parts inside. "Having fun, Wishbone?" I turn to see Amminius standing in the doorway, dressed in his New Republic Special Forces Infiltrator uniform, grinning. "You bet!" I smile at my best friend. "You look quite dapper!" Amminius bows. "Courtesy of New Republic R&D!" He walks over and sits next to me, picking up and re configuring my RT-97C. "You did it wrong!" I tease him. "The barrel's supposed to go on THIS end!" Amminius laughs and tosses it back to me. We sit in silence for a few moments, enjoying each other's company. Eventually, Amminius breaks the silence. "I'm going out on a date with Otara tonight to some fancy restaurant." "Yeah?" I say, attaching the sight back on my A280. "You and Amara are more than welcome to come. I've got something special planned." He says, smiling. I put down my blaster and look at him for a few moments before a huge grin breaks out across my face. "No way!" Amminius grins back, holding up a small hinged box. "Picked it up this morning at the jewelers!" "Finally!" I yell, cuffing him on the arm and lightly tussling his hair good-naturedly. "Took you long enough." Amminius loses his grin, looking a little nervous. "Do you think she'll say yes?" He asks, wringing his hands together. "Of course!" I say. "She loves you!" Amminius nods. "I'm just nervous is all." Lannik Endel suddenly peeks his head into the room. "Wodi, Lady Ordo wants us all for another training session." I smile. "Tell her I'll be along in a minute." Endel grins. "If I have to cover for your absence one more time . . ." I shoo him off, laughing. "You won't! Now go!" Endel gives me a casual salute. "Yes, Captain!" I turn back to Amminus. "It's only natural to be nervous. You can't be any worse than me! Kriff, the first time I asked Amara on a date, I could barely stand!" Amminius laughs. "Yeah, I remember that!" He nods in affirmation. "If I could handle Jakku, then I can definitely handle this!" I clap him on the shoulder. "That's the spirit!" I look at my chrono. "I better be off." I grin at him, shouldering my weapons. "I'll see you tonight!" I give Amminius one final salute before exiting my quarters and walking off down the hallway. "Hey, Wishbone!" I turn back to see Amminius walking out after me. "Don't forget this!" He grins, tossing me my EC-17 scout pistol. "And this!" He hands me my new weapon, an X45A. I smile at him. "Always watching my back!" "Just like old times," he grins back, "now get going!"

The GALACTIC CIVIL WAR has ended, but our heroes' stories are far from over. A new threat against the NEW REPUBLIC has risen, and it will take every ounce of courage and daring to defeat it. Read on!