Since the reformation of the Jedi Council under Master Luke Skywalker, a group of elite Jedi was assembled to conduct missions outside the normal expanse of Jedi operations. Known as the Ranger Corps, they are few in number, never numbering more than fifty at a time. Armed with lightsabers and an array of blasters, they are sent in as search and rescue teams or used for recovery missions to retrieve lost or stolen items. Always up for the challenge, the group has, for last six years, been led by three highly decorated Jedi: Kendor Nishio, Mace Rannick and Zadok Starfire. These are some of the stories from this elite group, and while many of their deeds are kept secret, some have slipped out into public knowledge...
Flynn Kel'Drago stood in the driving rain, waiting for the drop ship to land. His hood was up, protecting his head from the stinging drops. He heard the engine whine as the large, steel-grey vessel dropped into sight through the storm clouds. Lightning flickered over the ocean stretched out before him, and thunder rumbled in the distance. The wind picked up as the drop ship came down on the platform.
A hot blast of air hit his face, but it was a welcome change in temperature. The ship touched down and the ramp lowered. Kel'Drago walked up the ramp into the warm air of the ship. He dropped his cloak on a chair and sat down in a chair ahead of it. A man in an Imperial uniform, reminiscent of the Empire under Emperor Palpatine, approached him.
"What did you find, Kel'Drago?" the man asked. He was wearing a gas mask that hid his face.
"Not much, Lord Irras," Flynn replied, wiping water from his bald head and face. "Just small remnants of Jedi presence. Mainly the remains of an old outpost."
The other nodded. Lord Rookin Irras was a remnant of the old Empire. Force-sensitive, he wanted to restore the Empire of the Hand to it's former glory, with himself as Emperor, and surround himself with others like him. As a young man, he had commanded troops of the 44th Artillery Group, which was one of the groups that had deployed during the Battle of Hoth that saw the end of General Maximilian Veers and the destruction of the Rebel base. He remembered the bitter cold of the planet every day for the last twenty years.
Irras had recruited Flynn, who had been trained in the Force by a fallen Jedi named Koler Whitesand. A Dark Jedi, he followed no leader but himself, and worked for someone only if the price was right. And in Irras' case, it was more than worth it. He was being paid two million credits for his services, which suited the Dark Jedi just fine.
"But….. I did find this," Flynn said, extracting a small datacard from the satchel he wore across his chest. "I used my datapad and discovered it's a prototype superweapon the Rebel Alliance was developing that never seemed to materialize."
He handed the datacard to the older man, and settled in for the ride back to the flagship that was in orbit above the planet.
At the Jedi Temple on Yavin 4, Kayla Dolvan was finally healthy and strong enough to leave the med ward for the first time in two months. She had been rescued from a Hutt gangster hideout on Tatooine by three Jedi Rangers after being held captive for ten years.
Mace Rannick stood by her side as she checked out of the ward and put on her utility belt. Mace handed her her lightsaber, which she clipped to the belt by its D-ring.
"So, the medic says I'm ready to resume my training," she said as they walked down the corridor towards the dining hall.
"That's good," Mace said, turning his gaze towards her.
Her brown hair was tucked behind her ears, and her soft featured were accentuated by the light coming through the windows above them. She was beautiful.
They walked slowly down the hall, talking about what she had missed in the last ten years. The Jedi Order starting the Ranger program, the loss of Jacen and Anakin Solo and Chewbacca… too many things.
When she heard of the loss of Tenshi Nishio, she began to cry. Unbeknownst to Mace, Kayla and Tenshi had been friends during their early days at the Temple.
"She was a good Jedi," Kayla said, wiping tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her tunic.
"And a better friend," Mace replied.
They stopped walking, and she leaned her head against his shoulder.
"This is too much to digest," she said, wrapping her arms around his left arm.
"I know. The worst part is losing friends you were sure you could save. I thought Tenshi could be saved. I thought I could save her."
He felt a stabbing pain in his heart as he thought back to the last time he had spoken to Tenshi. The moment before Kendor, her brother, drove his lightsaber through her heart. But she had tried to kill them. She'd used Force lightning and explosives to kill many Jedi and destroy outposts and much of the Temple they were standing in. He felt he could have said something – done something – to bring her back from the Dark Side. He'd seen it happen before. When Anakin Solo had died, the grief had driven his sister, Jaina, to the Dark Side. But she'd been brought back. Their uncle, Grand Master Luke Skywalker, had walked the same path. He'd seen the Dark Side and it'd nearly killed him. But he'd been brought back.
It killed Mace inside that he had failed the love of his life. Before she had become a Sith, Tenshi and Mace had been an item, and even when the relationship had ended, they'd remained close until she abandoned the Order and became a Sith.
"I'm sorry," Kayla said softly.
"Me, too." They continued to walk in silence.
Zadok Starfire and Kendor Nishio were waiting for Mace and Kayla near the dining hall's entrance.
The old Imperial shuttle reached the Star Destroyer Tonga a half-hour later. It settled into one of the massive docking bays and landed. Dropping the ramp, Flynn and Irras exited the ship. A garrison of Stormtroopers snapped to attention as the duo walked past. This ship wasn't part of the new Empire's fleet of naval vessels. It had been bought by a private party - which, it turned out - was Lord Irras acting as in conjunction with another, more sinister, ally.
"Have you received word from Skadd Wernox?" Irras demanded as they reached the
bridge.
"Nothing yet, my Lord," the communications officer, Commander Davos, replied.
"When he contacts us, let me know immediately," Irras said.
"Yes, sir!" The officer responded.
The Republic Star Destroyer Emissary came out of hyperspace in the Orthalian System, carrying a large contingent of New Republic soldiers and engineers, intent on rebuilding the base that had once stood on Orlan 7, the largest planet in the chain of twelve that inhabited the system. Orlan 7 was also the only planet with a ring of asteroids big enough to punch a hole in a Destroyer's hull if the ship was in the wrong place.
"We're in orbit over Orlan 7, sir," Lieutenant Cor Dexlan said to the blue holograph in front of him.
"Good. Land the engineers immediately. We need to have an operational base as soon as possible if we're to hold off any more of those Kamasian ships."
"Yes, sir," Dexlan said and the image faded away.
One hundred drop ships filled with sixty engineers and soldiers each dropped from the Star Destroyer's belly cargo hold and proceeded towards the planet's largest land mass, known as Arabine, and the site of the old Republic outpost. The site had been abandoned some thirty years ago, during the height of the Empire's reign.
The Emissary held its orbit as the drop ships scurried over the asteroid belt and down to the planet. A sudden, blaring alarm started clanging, and a radar operator came running down the bridge.
"Sir! Sir! We've got approaching ships! They look like Kamasian destroyers!"
"How many?" Dexlan asked, turning to face the young officer.
"A dozen at least!"
The first blast rocked the Emissary's starboard side, knocking out the sublight engines and killing the ship's power. Emergency lights came on as more alarms began sounding. More than a dozen proton torpedoes slammed into the bridge and upper hull as the Kamasian destroyers unleashed a flurry of fire. When the torpedo lucky enough to find the bridge hit, the entire bridge crew disappeared in a blinding flash.
The last thought that ran through Dexlan's mind was: "Thank the Force the shuttles are away…."
Inside the Number Seven transport, Zayne Tanis suddenly felt very sick. He felt the destruction of the Emissary and knew that mission of his Ranger team had suddenly changed. If the crew of the Star Destroyer had been eliminated, then that could mean that someone was coming after them, too, assuming they had been spotted.
The other Jedi aboard felt the same sensation and looked at one another. As they entered the atmosphere, the transports shook violently for about thirty seconds as they crossed the barrier. The ships landed in waves, dropping their Jedi and construction crews before turning to land in a nearby field to set up temporary camps. The crews were all aware of the destruction of the Destroyer, as an emergency transmission had been sent out before the bridge had exploded. The ship pilots hoped and prayed that they would make the planet's surface before they were detected by the incoming ships. Zayne willed the ships to go faster, but he knew the pilots were doing what they could.
It wasn't long before they had cleared the atmosphere and were racing towards the landing site. A collective sigh of relief went up amongst the pilots and their human/alien cargos. The ships all made safe landings in the rainy field, but the pilot of the lead ship had seen a silver streak shoot away from the site as they came through the clouds.
The pilot of the drop ship looked over his shoulder and shouted to his passengers.
"Lord Irras! There are over a hundred unknown ships coming down towards the temple!"
The two men in the rear leaned forward and looked at each other.
"Keep us on course, pilot!" Irras replied coolly. "Our work here is done!"
"Yes, sir!" the pilot replied and punched the throttle. The two men felt themselves sinking back into their seats a little more as the speed increased.
Deep on Yavin 4, in the Jedi Temple, Luke Skywalker received word on the demise of the Emissary and her crew. He sat with his head in his hands, leaning against the table, wondering if the work crews and Jedi teams sent with them had made it off the ship. Beside him, Mace Rannick and Magena Kaster were in shock. The two Rangers knew that some of their friends were on the Emissary and both hoped they weren't on board.
"What do we do, Master?" Magena asked, folding her hands together and leaning forward, sliding her arms on the smooth stone surface.
Luke sat quietly for a moment, wondering the same question. Mace stroked his goatee and closed his eyes, silently searching for an answer himself.
"First of all," Luke finally said, "we send a force of Republic Star Destroyers and your team. Then we complete our mission and try to recover what we can of the Emissary, if there's anything to recover."
"When do we leave?" Mace said, opening his eyes. He smoothed out his moustache and eyed his Master.
"Pack for a long mission. You leave in four hours. I'll have the Whiplash restocked and ready for your team. Good luck, and may the Force be with you."
The two Rangers stood, and left Luke by himself.
After delivering the news to the rest of their team, Magena and Mace retired to their rooms to pack. In her room, Magena fought the urge to vomit. The thought of all those people, thousands of lives, snuffed out in the blink of an eye, made her physically ill.
She fought back the urge, and grabbed her clothes.
In his room, Mace touched the trinket he wore around his neck. Kendor's sister, Tenshi, had given it to him on his birthday many years before, when they had been dating. Before she left the Jedi Order and joined the Sith. He wore it to remind himself of his failure to help her. To keep himself grounded, and remind him that he can always do better than he had done with her.
A knock at the door startled him.
"It's open!" he called.
The door slid open and Kendor Nishio entered the room. He leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms. Mace turned around to look at him.
"Still holding onto that?" Kendor said, noticing the necklace.
"Yeah. I don't want to fail again. Not like that."
Kendor nodded and stepped deeper into the room.
"I don't think you failed, Mace. Made a mistake? Perhaps. But fail? No. I know you fought to get Tenshi to come back. I know you did. But… what happened to my sister was beyond your control. You want to blame someone? Blame the Council for not doing things the right way. They were the ones who failed her. I'm still here because I believe in the teachings of the Jedi. I fight and do my duty for the laws, not for the Council. The only one I still respect after all these years is Grand Master Skywalker. The others…. No. They can all go walking in the Dune Sea of Tatooine and get swallowed by a Sarlacc. And I never joke about how I feel about them."
Mace zipped his gear bag up and tossed it next to the chair at the front of the room. His duster sat folded on that chair.
"I know how you feel about the Council, Ken. And I agree with you."
"You feeling okay, pal?" Kendor asked, eyeing his friend.
"Something seems... off," Mace replied, unsure of what was really nagging at
him.
"About what?"
"I don't really know. About this mission, I guess. We don't have all the information, and Luke's sending us into the fray without all the details. Sure, we'll get backup, but something's not right."
"Well, keep that feeling handy. We may yet discover what's bothering you, man."
"Will you please get ready? We've only got another hour before we leave."
"Bro, I've already got my stuff stowed aboard the Whiplash. Been there for the past hour."
Mace smiled and slipped on his boots. "Well then, I've gotta use the fresher before we go. I'll see you on board."
Kendor chuckled and gave Mace a small salute. "See you soon, then."
He turned and left, the door sliding shut behind him with a soft hiss. He turned back towards the fresher and washed his face.
The team assembled at the foot of the ramp to the Whiplash. Zadok, Ilam and Alteen were waiting for Kendor and Mace. Luke was standing with them, Kayla at his side. As the two approached, Luke stepped out to meet them.
"Gentlemen, you'll be having some company on this mission."
The two looked at each other. Then, they spotted Kayla. Smiling to himself, Mace was happy that his new friend was going to be joining them. Kendor nudged Mace's arm, letting the latter know the former was feeling his friend's enthusiasm.
"She'll be coming for training. I'm putting Magena in charge of training her since she and Mace seem to have a connection I don't think will be good for this mission. Is that clear, Mace?"
"Yes, Master." Mace could feel himself turn red as Luke tried to embarrass him.
Ilam and Alteen grinned broadly at their leaders from behind their master's back. Kayla blushed too. Magena smiled to her new protégé, and put her hand on the other's shoulder.
"You all have your mission. Good luck, and may the Force be with you."
Luke turned and disappeared down a corridor to their left. The team boarded their ship and headed for the planet.
At the landing site, word spread of the other ship that had been seen leaving the platform over the water. A small band of Jedi and New Republic soldiers went to investigate and clear the ruins. Zayne and his second in command, Lorna Karr, led the way through the ruins. As the approached the ruins, the Jedi all felt something unexpected.
"Where's that coming from?" Zyll Hamar asked as they drew near. They all felt that a Force-sensitive being was nearby. But where was it?
A tall Rodian named Rendo Skoon was the first to draw his blaster and pick up the trail.
"Post cover around the entrance," he said to the soldier in charge. The sounds of the others drawing their weapons was suddenly heard.
The Jedi quickly, silently, moved to the ruins and covered each other as they made their way inside. They worked their way through the mounds of stone and durasteel rebar that littered the ground. Somewhere below them, they could feel the Force getting stronger from whatever or whoever it was emanating from. Taking point, Tove Santee moved down a set of dilapidated stairs, her blaster rifle tight against her shoulder. She was almost at the landing below when the stair she was on caved in and she fell forty feet to the floor below.
"Tove!" Zayne shouted as she fell. They heard the sickening crunch of bone as she broke both her legs and smashed her head against a retaining pillar, knocking her out. The Rangers still on the stairs leaped the gap and raced to the bottom. They pulled out and lit their glow rods.
They saw blood on the floor, and could see bones protruding from both of Tove's legs. The medic, Koren Kell, set to work trying to splint his friend's legs. Adari Othone dropped down next to Kell and helped him out.
"Get her back to the medic ship," Zayne said.
"We don't have a litter," Adari said, looking at her boss.
Zayne looked around the hallway they were in. There was nothing that could be used.
"You're going to have to move her anyway, Adari. Is she okay to move, Koren?"
The medic looked at the unconscious form before him. He quickly scanned her with a portable device from his belt, and shook his head.
"No. There's a hairline fracture in her neck. Moving her without complete immobilization could kill her."
Zayne swore under his breath. He sent Misam Novawar and Acamar Odan-Urr back to the medical transport to retrieve a litter and a way to repair the step.
Zyll and Rendo were dispatched to search for the source of the Force. They moved quickly but stealthily down the hallway. Soon, they came to a large anteroom, with hallways leading in three other directions. They heard voices down one of the passages. They shut off their glow rods and raised their blasters. They moved quietly into the room, and as they were about to make the first hallway, the sounds of numerous blasters being readied was heard all around them. A dozen armed humans came into the room, weapons at the ready.
They froze, raising their hands up.
"Drop the blasters," a voice came from somewhere above them. They did so, and their weapons clattered to the floor.
But in doing so, they also revealed their lightsabers. In a flash, they were drawn and ignited in the dimly-lit anteroom.
Suddenly, the voice above them changed tones.
"Jedi?
"That's right!" Zyll said, looking around above them for the source of the voice.
"Stand down, Rangers. They are friends."
The two Jedi swapped confused glances. The weapons were lowered, but the lightsabers remained up.
"You don't need those, Jedi," the voice said, this time from behind them.
They turned to see a young woman dressed in blue cargo trousers and a T-shirt cut off above her belly standing behind them.
"Who are you?" Rendo demanded.
"My name is Katitos. We are Antarian Rangers."
"Antarian Rangers?" Zyll asked the woman. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We've been here for the last year-and-a-half hiding."
"From who?" Rendo asked, lowering his lightsaber.
"We don't know who they are," one of the Antarians said. "All we know is that they ambushed our cruiser and blew it apart. We barely managed to escape with the company you see around you."
"There's just twelve of you here?" Zyll said, looking at the man who had just spoken.
"Thirteen, including Katitos," the man replied. "I'm Tyndal Biggs."
"Zyll Hamar," he replied, putting his hand out. Katitos shook it first. Tyndal next. "This is Rendo Skoon."
Same deal.
"Can you help us?" Katitos asked, looking Zyll in the eyes.
"We've only got a small force of Jedi Rangers here," Rendo replied. "But there's a survey and construction team up top with some supplies."
"How many soldiers or Jedi are left?"
"A good sized force," Zyll responded.
In the tunnel, Zayne and his remaining Rangers waited. After about a half-hour, he pulled out his comlink and contacted Zyll.
"Zayne..." Zyll's image was shaky, and breaking up.
"Where are you?" Zayne asked.
"...Antarian Rangers... down hall... link up..."
Antarian Rangers? What were they doing here? There was no record of them being on this world.
"Bring them here," he ordered.
Zyll nodded as the hologram cut out completely.
Misam and Acamar returned with a litter and several soldiers who quickly began laying out a metal ramp for the Jedi to come up on. With Tove on a litter, Koren and Acamar raced her back to the medical transport. The rest of the team waited for Zyll and Rendo.
When they finally showed up, they were accompanied by thirteen new people.
Zayne eyed the female in charge, who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his men.
"Zayne, this is Katitos, commander of this Antarian Rangers team," Zyll said, eyeing his boss.
"I'm Zayne Tanis," he said, holding out his hand.
"I know who you are, Jedi Tanis," Katitos replied warmly. "I knew your parents. They would frequent my parents' market stand on Geodol 8. I liked them very much. It is sad what happened to them."
A smile crept over his face. It was nice to hear someone remember his parents.
"Thank you for the kind thought. But what are you and your team doing here? This base was supposed to have been abandoned for decades."
"Yes," she replied coldly. "We were on our way to assist the Jedi on Tantus 12, when our cruiser was ambushed by an unknown ship and we were forced to abandon ship. Our shuttle was the only one to make the planet's atmosphere. The rest were destroyed by laser fire or with the cruiser."
Flynn Kel'Drago held a lightsaber crystal in his hand, feeling the power emanating from it. Lord Irras would be using this for his own lightsaber, but Flynn knew he must give the Imperial more instruction in the Force before they began lightsaber training. The older man was growing seemingly more impatient as he was taught, but that was fine with Flynn. He was in this for the money. As long as it kept coming his way, he would deal with whatever Irras did, short of trying to kill him.
He took the crystal with the thumb and forefinger of his other hand and held it up to the light of his room aboard the star cruiser they were now on. It was a blood-red color, and the light reflected across his face. He slipped it into his trouser pocket and laid down on his bed. He drifted off to sleep a short time later.
On the cruiser's bridge, Irras sat in the command chair, drumming the fingers of his left hand on the arm of his chair.
The starlines were blurred as they shot through hyperspace. They still had another eight hours to go before they reached the Carrous System and the old Imperial base on Shinova Major. The planet was a barren, desert wasteland, which was perfect for an Imperial outpost because so few travelers knew of its existence.
Suddenly, there was a loud BOOM! and the ship ground to stop, the lines becoming individual stars once again.
"What was that?" Irras demanded as they slowed to a stop.
"Hyperdrive generator's gone, sir!" one of the helmsmen replied as warning lights and claxons sounded.
"Well, fix it!" Irras screamed.
In the belly of the ship, the exploding generator had killed four crewmen and injured another dozen. Portable extinguishers were used to quench the fire, but the damage was already done. They would have to limp into the nearest shipyard for repairs.
In his room, Flynn was wrenched out of his bed by the sudden explosion and deceleration of the ship. He hit the floor and slid to the desk on the other side of the room.
"Son of a gundark!" he growled, climbing to his feet.
He felt the ship begin to pitch again slightly, but it was gradual.
Staring at the nav computer, Magena and Zadok began plotting the course for their hyperspace jump. The Whiplash was sitting next to The North's Thunder, which was Zayne's transport ship. At the helm of the second ship, was Caredus Dugra, commander of Ranger Team 3, and Zayne's best friend. Beside him, was his Zabrak second in command, Pollux Zestra. They, too, were plotting the hyperspace jump points, and soon, both ships were screaming through the stars.
"Okay, flight time is four hours, twenty minutes," Pollux announced to the other six Rangers behind them. The North's Thunder went into autopilot after they made the initial jump. The Whiplash was on their radar, but they had no visual contact. During the flight, most of the team caught up on sleep, but Turil Freem, a Twi'lek, kept her eyes on the nav computer, as it was her turn to stand watch.
The flight went without a hitch, and both ships saw the devastation that at above the planet as they came out of hyperspace. No other warships were visible, only the hulking remains of the flagship Emissary and her small defense force.
After a quick scan for any life, they found none. The ships located quickly the landing site and old temple. The Whiplash followed the Thunder down through the asteroid belt and atmosphere to the landing site.
As the ships touched down, they saw two Jedi carrying a third on a stretcher as soldiers raced into the temple. The rain was still coming down, but was beginning to lighten up as the landing ramps lowered into the damp grass.
"What's going on?" Magena called to a nearby passing soldier.
"We've got a group of Antarian Rangers down in the depths of the temple. Looks like a scouting party."
Caredus and his team went out to help the landing teams with their setup. Mace and his team went with the soldiers into the temple. As they approached the mouth of the ruins, Zayne and his team, along with a dozen others, came out of the opening.
"Is everyone accounted for?" Zayne shouted to the soldier at the rear of the group.
"Yes, Master Tanis!" was the reply.
"Good! We've got to get these survivors back for medical eval."
Zayne stopped as he saw Kendor among the group coming towards him. "They sent you guys?" he asked with a huge grin on his face.
"You know it, Zayne," Mace replied. "You guys okay? We got worried when the Emissary went quiet. Saw the wreckage above the asteroid field."
"Yeah. There was talk that Kamasian ships were in the area. I guess they were the ones who brought the ship down."
As the Jedi regrouped with Zayne and his team, an alarm on Alteen's datapad began sounding. He quickly checked the datapad.
"Guys, I've got an incoming vessel and it looks like it's a Kamasian ship."
Curses from several Rangers went up.
"Okay," Caredus said. "Time to evacuate the site. If those are the guys who downed the Emissary and stranded the Antarians here, then we need to get out of here. If they have that kind of firepower..."
His sentence was interrupted by a beam of energy that shot through the atmosphere and into the remains of the old temple. The structure exploded. People began scrambling for cover.
"EVACUATE THE PLANET!" Kendor screamed, and the call was repeated across the site. The beam swept across the forest, and several transports were destroyed. Workers and soldiers scrambled to remaining drop ships as the Jedi evacuated to theirs. The Antarian Rangers climbed aboard the Whiplash.
As they settled into the cockpits, they could see a dozen or so more ships explode as the beam cut across their hulls.
"GO! GO! GO!" Magena cried, punching the controls of the Whiplash and shooting skyward, heading away from the Kamasian ship. The drop ships that made it off the surface shot past the Jedi ships and punched it into light speed. The North's Thunder was coming up on the Whiplash's left and they prepared to jump together. But as Magena's hand went to the throttle, the planet exploded behind them, and the shock wave and debris slammed into both ships as they jumped.
Inside the ships. the Jedi who weren't in the cockpit were subjected to objects crashing down on them as the ships were buffeted by the shock waves.
In the cockpits, alarms blared and warning lights flashed steadily.
"Zayne!" Magena said into the radio. "We've gotta set down at the nearest port. We've taken a lot of damage to our hyperdrives!"
"Us too, Mags," was the reply she got. "Looks like Corellia is the closest system to us."
"Okay. Let's set course to Corellia."
Ilam began feeding the coordinates into the nav computer and they began their course for Corellia.
They came out of hyperspace with a rocky bump as the hyperdrive generator began sputtering on the Thunder. They were lucky to have come out of hyperspace safely. The Whiplash followed the Thunder down through the atmosphere and began calling in mayday calls to the control towers. They were directed to a pair of empty docking platforms on the far side of a terminal in the heart of Coronet, the capitol city of Corellia.
Several Mandalorian ships were docked nearby. The two ships put down with hard thumps and several mechanics hustled out to meet the Jedi and Antarian crews.
"What happened?" one mechanic, dressed in blue coveralls, asked Caredus as he came down the landing ramp.
"Shock wave hit us as we were making a hyperspace jump," he replied. "Also took some debris hits that knocked around the hyperdrives on both ships."
"Okay. We'll take 'em to Hanger 72 for repairs. You can clear up the logistics with the guys inside."
Mace nodded as he passed, and the Jedi and Antarians headed inside. The mechanics began preliminary inspections of the two massive ships.
Zadok and Ilam sat in the diner, sipping at blended, spiced tea from Corellia. They were still shaken from the sudden explosion of the planet that had killed so many of the New Republic's soldiers and engineers. The Antarian Rangers and the other two Ranger teams had suffered casualties too. Mace was in the bacta tank, badly injured. Magena and Kendor were off-world visiting Naboo and her sister, the Queen.
"Have you heard any news of who launched that attack?" Ilam asked between sips of tea.
"Master Skywalker says he has a theory, but he's not sharing. I still think it's an Imperial weapon, like the Death Star."
Zadok shook his head and took a long sip of the tea. A tall, heavy-set, four-armed Besalisk named Dax approached their table with trays of food.
"Here ya go, boys," he said with a cool, even, gruff voice. The food was still steaming. "Fresh off mah grill!"
Zadok took another pull of his drink. The big alien set the food down before the two Jedi and told them to enjoy the food. He also told them the food was on the house. A sort of "thank you" to them for saving Dax's hide during a gunfight that had erupted outside the diner a week before. They thanked him and he sauntered off back to the kitchen.
They ate in silence, until Ilam began watching a female Twi'lek that had entered the restaurant. She had a look about her that put him on edge.
"What is it?" Zadok said, resting the heel of his hand on his lightsaber.
"See that Twi'lek over there? At the counter?"
Zadok turned to look. The woman in question had dark-green skin and her clothes gave her a bounty-hunter look. The large blaster on her thigh reinforced the look.
"That's Karem Adesh. She's a bounty hunter looking for trouble. I have contacts that keep tabs on her and she is ruthless. She loves to pick fights so she can kill someone."
"She someone you knew in the past?"
"Had my run-ins with her. Also heard she was hunting my brother for some Hutt gangster."
"What do you plan to do?"
Ilam leaned back in his seat, and casually drew his blaster. Instantly, Zadok's hand pounced on the weapon.
"Are you crazy?!" he whispered, tension riding high in his voice.
"I don't want her killing my brother, man!" The Jedi's eyes glowed with intense passion.
"Take it easy," Zadok replied, gently sliding the blaster from Ilam's grip.
Suddenly, a blaster bolt sizzled past the table, and both Jedi drew their lightsabers, igniting them as they stood. They saw the bounty hunter lying on her back, a smoking hole in her chest. Across the diner, they saw a burly Zabrak with yellow skin and black tattoos covering his face. He held a large pistol in his hand, and stood there, snarling.
"I told ya never to show your face in this part of town!" he growled at the dead woman.
Then his attention turned to the Jedi.
"Not your concern, Jedi," he said, holstering the blaster.
They watched him sit down and finish his food. They closed down their lightsabers and walked over to the gunman.
"What's your problem?" the man said. "I told you to leave it alone."
"You just gunned down that woman without provocation," Ilam said, leaning in close to him.
"Woman? You mean scum of the bounty hunting world?" His voice was flat.
"Explain yourself," Zadok said, sliding into the seat across from the man.
"You have any idea who that was?"
"Karem Adesh," Ilam said.
"Very good," the man replied. "She's been nothing but trouble in this sector. I told her she was a dead woman if she showed her face in this area again. She had no morals, no scruples. She was a ticking time bomb, waiting to kill again for the fun of it. No respectable bounty hunter does that."
Neither man could argue that point, but they couldn't just leave this unresolved.
"You have committed an act of murder," Zadok said, staring the man down. "You have to answer for your actions."
"Are you gonna make me?" the man said, standing up. He towered above Ilam. Zadok stood, too. He may have still be shorter than the man, but the Jedi were ready. The man reached for Zadok's coat, but the Jedi grabbed his wrist and with a swift movement, kicked the back of the man's left leg behind the knee, buckling the leg. The man went down hard, and Zadok kept steady pressure on the wrist. He bent it back with ease, and the man yelped. The diner was silent, everyone watching.
The Jedi ignored those around them. "This has to be more than you just not wanting her around here. Who are you working for?"
"I'm not telling you... gyah!" Zadok applied almost enough pressure to snap the man's wrist. He sank onto his other knee and Zadok saw his pale skin begin to turn bright red with frustration and pain.
"Who are you working for?" Zadok asked again.
"Some guy named Irras!" the man almost screamed. Zadok eased the pressure on his wrist.
"Where can we find this guy?" Ilam asked.
"I don't know! He gets in touch with me! Never even seen his face!"
"You know, I've heard of this guy," Zadok said, letting go. They watched the man cradle his throbbing hand. "He's one of the few remnants of the old Empire who still wants things to be as they were under Palpatine. He's supposed to be dangerous."
"This just keeps getting better and better," Ilam said.
"Time to go," Zadok replied. "Call the authorities," he said to alien cashier behind the counter.
With that, they exited onto the crowded Corellian street.
The North's Thunder and the Whiplash sat in the repair hanger, with local crews looking over the hyperdrives of both ships. Their jumps away from the exploding planet had somehow caused cracks in the drive cores and the closest system was the Corellian System. It was also Zadok's home planet.
Zayne and Mace stayed behind with their ships as their teammates went off to find food and lodging for the night. The ships would need a couple of days in the repair hanger.
"Been a hell of a journey, these last few days," Zayne remarked.
"Indeed it has," Mace replied. "I just have the feeling that whoever destroyed Orlan 7 is looking for us."
"Well, considering that they were using hit-and-run tactics, I'd say whoever it is is sticking close to home. They seem to have stuck close to the system, if not struck from somewhere inside the system itself. First, the Antarians said they were stranded on the planet after they lost their ship. Then, we show up in the Emissary and we lose her. Now, the planet itself is gone. But to destroy the entire planet, they'd need a super weapon like the Death Star. And we didn't see anything on the flight out that would indicate something that size was near the planet."
"True." Mace scratched his goateed chin. "What if - and this is a HUGE if - the planet was rigged to explode." Zayne stared blankly at his friend. "Hear me out. Imagine if there was a nuclear device that had been placed into the planet itself. Of course, the device would have to have been drilled down close to the planet's core. Then, when we were all on the planet, it was set off. Someone was trying to hide something, I think."
"Couldn't have been the Antarians. They had no equipment to do that."
"I wouldn't be so sure. We never saw the rest of the planet. They could have been faking everything when they saw you coming. I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. I really hope I am."
He sat back, leaning against the cool stone of the hanger wall. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and let out a long, controlled breath. When he opened them again, he saw a slender, red-skinned human walking towards them in coveralls. He was one of the chief mechanics at the shop.
"Gentlemen, I suggest you retire to your quarters for the night," the mechanic said. "Your generator cores will be delivered tomorrow afternoon. We will continue with the other repairs throughout the night. Go rest."
"If you don't mind," Zayne said, "we'd like to sleep here. Be close to our ships."
"That's up to you," the mechanic said, shrugging. I'm sure we have some cots or something around here you could sleep on."
He turned and walked back towards the ships.
About a block away, the rest of the Rangers and their Antarian counterparts were settling in for the night at a local inn. Zadok and Ilam had returned from the diner and were recounting what they had seen and learned to the others.
The others added what they knew about Lord Irras and his operation. Soon, everyone retired to their rooms and were all soon asleep.
Sometime near dawn, an explosion and blaster fire erupted on the street down the road. The sounds of screaming woke the Rangers and they quickly made their way to the street. The Antarians, blaster rifles in hand, lead the way outside.
They took positions on both sides of the street, dodging blaster bolts that ripped past them as they fanned out.
"Got Mandos down the way!" Pollux shouted from the far side of the street. He was using his macrobinocluars to see down the way. "Counting twelve total!"
"Aw, Sithspit..." Alteen heard someone curse nearby.
The Antarians were holding their fire until they had clear visual confirmation of their opponents. Through his binos, Pollux saw several bodies laying in the street. Blaster fire from nearby buildings zipped through the predawn air. The Mandalorians down the street were systematically eliminating the shooters with their rockets. Several more bodies went down in a hail of blaster fire.
Suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the building where Pollux and some Antarians were posted. The top floor exploded and rained debris across the groups. Kitrex Lythe was hit with a chunk of duracrete in her face. She fell hard against a pillar beside her. Quinn Talox was crushed by a large slab of the roof. Magena and Kendor began pushing the Antarians back inside the inn. Pollux disappeared in a shower of duracrete chunks. Several others scrambled away as more of the building collapsed. Zadok grabbed Kitrex under her arms and dragged her inside.
"Defensive positions!" Alteen yelled as another explosion rocked the street outside.
His massive frame ducked into a doorway as a blaster bolt sizzled through the hallway.
"Ken! Get Mace and Zayne on the comm! We need their help!"
"Zadok, we're not getting any signal!" Kendor called from down a hallway to Zadok's right.
Zadok cursed under his breath as several Antarians opened fire on the Mandalorians.
"Movement right!" came a yell from above Zadok's position.
Suddenly, Mace and Zayne appeared across the street from behind the ruined building. Their blasters were holstered, but both carried heavy blaster rifles. They lay down in the rubble and angled their rifles towards the main fight. Using their superior sight and the cover of the ruins, they began engaging the bounty hunters. Two went down right away. One used his rocket pack to blast off and come towards them. Mace picked him off as he was leveling his blaster rifle. More blaster fire from the inn began scattering the Mandos.
"Push up through the side allies!" Zayne shouted to Caredus.
"We already have a team of A.R.s on the way up!" Caredus called back.
Zayne gave him a thumbs-up and turned back to his weapon. A bolt hit him in the shoulder as he hefted the blaster back into firing position.
"Damn it!" he cried out. "I'm hit!"
"Just stay low," Mace said. He poured on more fire at the Mandos who popped their heads out to fire back.
Koren, Tyndal, Katitos and Turil made their way along an alleyway that led to the building beside the main Mandalorian group. They loaded heavy rocket launchers and aimed them at their targets. At the same moment, they launched the missiles and watched them streak into the street. Four simultaneous explosions killed most of the bounty hunters, but one in blue armor, Skadd Wernox, managed to blast off before the rockets impacted. He fired his wrist-launcher and watched a small but powerful missile zip towards the new attackers. The Jedi scattered as the missile worked its way at them. At the last second, Katitos turned and fired her blaster, hitting the little missile and blowing it up at the edge the of the street. The blast knocked her off her feet and sent her flying into the duracrete wall behind her. Tyndal grabbed her and yanked her out of the way as several rapid-fire blaster bolts sizzled into the wall. Koren unleashed a torrent of blaster fire at the remaining Mandos.
"Fall back!" Turil said as Tyndal slung Katitos over his shoulders and neck and began to retreat down the alley.
At the inn, Zadok and Mace raced down a hallway, shouting to clear out of the inn. Fire had engulfed the structure and Rangers and Jedi alike were scrambling to escape out of windows and doorways. The innkeeper was lying dead on the floor of smoke inhalation. His body had been moved to clear the walkway for fleeing Rangers.
The building cleared in minutes, and it didn't take long for four of the five remaining Mandalorians to flee the carnage. They left their dead as the blaster fire picked up.
Only Skadd Wernox remained behind, hidden in a collapsed building. He carefully calculated his remaining supplies and weaponry and began a slow, methodical walk towards the gathered Rangers. He made his way along the dark alley on the far side of the street, and as he came to the edge of the last building, began scanning the group for Katitos and Mace. He found them near the rear of the group, talking. Drawing his blaster pistol, he loaded a durasteel-tipped arrow with a fast-acting poison into the muzzle and leveled it. He drew a bead on Katitos' chest and fired.
"We need to get back to our ships," Mace said. "I need you to make sure your people are ready for whatever's next."
"We're ready for whatever happens," Katitos replied. Suddenly, she jerked a bit, and they both looked at the arrow sticking out of her chest. Blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. "That's different," she whispered, then dropped to the ground, dead.
Mace drew his blaster and fired a volley of shots at the direction the arrow had come from.
"To the hanger!" Mace cried out.
From behind the last building across the street, the group watched a lone figure shoot into the night sky and fly away.
"Leave the dead!" one of the Antarians said as one of his friends tried to pick up a fallen Ranger.
All of the Jedi were still alive, but the Antarians had lost more than half of their group. They were down to five men.
"We never leave fallen Rangers behind," Sharo Arpa said to the Ranger.
"But Pollux and his team are buried in that rubble!" Adari protested.
"We will retrieve your friends," Caredus said. "Get to the ships. We'll meet you there soon."
Sharo, a natural leader in his own right, led the rest of his people and most of the Jedi back to the hanger. But as they approached the repair hanger, they saw flames and heard small explosions coming from inside the burning hanger.
"There goes our ships!" Ilam said, anger rising in his voice. "I think we've been set up!"
"Mandos?" Zayne asked.
Ilam nodded. The attack on the inn, it seemed, had been a diversion. So that meant there were more than those twelve running around the city.
Magena used her comlink to inform Caredus' team of their new predicament.
"What do we do now?" Alteen asked.
"If the Mandos are looking for us, I think I know where we can hold up," Zadok said. A wry smile crossed his face.
The next morning, Leesan Horn checked in on the small camp in the middle of her father's moisture farm. She held her infant daughter in her left arm as she touched Zadok on the shoulder as she came up behind him. They were sitting in an alcove overlooking the camp. The sun was coming up behind
"How are your people doing?" she asked, gently bouncing the two-month-old against her chest.
"Considering the losses the Antarian team took, we're okay. Where's your father? I want to thank him for helping us out.
"Dad's been out at the evaporators all morning. Left before sunrise like he always does. She's getting big, isn't she?"
"Yeah," he replied. "I sensed her as you two walked up. I told your father he'd always have a little piece of me to hold onto."
The baby eyed her father and smiled. He took her in his arms and gently touched her head. "What's her name?"
"Reyna," Leesan said. "Reyna Starfire."
"You gave her my last name?"
"Seemed fitting. I'm hoping she'll become a Jedi like her father."
"I wouldn't want this life for her. At least not yet. It's a very hard and dangerous life. I wouldn't want that for her."
"What about us?"
"Us? I want nothing more than for us to be happy. I just need to straighten out some ruffled edges. Especially with Master Skywalker."
"Doesn't he know?"
"No. He and I haven't exactly been chatty with one another lately. There are some things about me that you may not like, so until I can fix them, I want you, your father and the baby to be safe."
"What about Coran? Does he know?"
"Your cousin does know about us. But in regards to my personal dealings, no."
Below them, the rest of the teams were waking up. They had slept on the hard-packed dirt and they all seemed very stiff as they sat up or stood up. Blankets littered the ground.
The couple watched as groans filled the air and joints cracked as they were stretched.
Deva sat at the head of the dining room table, with the Jedi team leaders and Sharo around the rest of the table.
"First of all," Deva said, folding his hands on the table, "it is my pleasure to host your people on my farm. But I would like to express concern over the fact that you believe that Mandalorian mercenaries are looking for you."
"Deva," Caredus said, "we are not entirely sure that's what we are assuming because of the loss of our ships. That's not to say that is what's happening. We could be wrong. Maybe something went wrong when the ships were being repaired. We don't know. But we just have to hold out until Master Skywalker can send rescue ships for us. That shouldn't be more than a day or so. We have our best people standing sentry around the farm, watching for trouble. We heard about the last time Zadok was here."
"We were lucky he was here," Deva responded. "I would have lost this place if it weren't for him."
"Getting to our point, sir," Mace said, "we are grateful for your hospitality and we promise to keep you safe as long as we're here. I just hope trouble doesn't come looking for us. But we are at your disposal if you need us. We don't want to stay here and impose on you."
"Just keep your sentries posted and I think we'll be okay."
Near dusk, Leesan and Zadok sat watching the sunset with the baby cooing in his arms. He rocked her gently and looked into her big, blue-grey eyes. She was perfect and he could tell she was strong in the Force.
"I feel so blessed, Leesan, to have you and this baby in my life. Not to mention a wonderful father like yours."
"So, what do we do now?" she asked, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Now? I don't know. I hadn't thought that far ahead." He kissed the top of her head. "I've seen so much death and destruction over the last few days... I need a break."
Leesan chuckled. "Should we get married?"
She lifted her head and looked at Zadok. "I think so. But at the Jedi Temple, once I've straightened everything out."
She nodded. They kissed. And they watched the sun fall behind a distant mountain ridge.
The following evening, a large Republic drop ship with Jedi markings appeared on the horizon and landed just outside the farm. The Ranger teams loaded up on the ship and Zadok found himself looking out a window at his little family waving as the ship lifted up and banked over the farm.
"She's a good-looking baby," Zayne said, breaking into Zadok's thoughts.
"Yeah. And she's strong in the Force. Leesan wants her to become a Jedi like me."
Zayne nodded and leaned back in his seat. "You gonna marry her?"
"Yes. But I have a lot to clear up with Master Skywalker first."
"Better do it soon before you head off on another mission. You may not have another chance."
"I know. I will."
He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. For now, all was well in his mind. No thoughts of the events of the last few days. Just a tiny baby, a beautiful woman and her kind, loving father. He couldn't ask for more.