It went smoothly, all things considered. And, the only surprise had been a welcome one. Xan and Callista had returned from the deepest regions of space, their own quest on hold for the time being. Xan brought along his personal ship and his padawan. Callista brought her padawan, and her healing expertise; something Myk feared they would be sorely needing in the following weeks.

Callista and Xan had strode into the room as the small council of war discussed hierarchy and structure. She cast a glance at Steffan, and a wordless exchange passed between the two. They'd need more healers, they'd need anyone and everyone they could find. With some arguing, Steffan managed to volunteer himself for a search and rescue mission at the Jedi Temple.

Callista soon found her home aboard New Hope in the medical wing. Xan threw himself into helping service and maintain the small Jedi fleet, and Myk made him the "official" intelligence officer.

Things were moving, if slowly, they were at least moving.


A good week had passed since Arie had landed on the forest planet of Myrkr to gather Ysalamari should they be needed in the coming Sith war.

The planet had been remotely quiet, animals and wildlife moving about the brush and trees, ignoring her presence on the planet. Without the Force to aid her, Arie found that she could not heal the scratches she endured when climbing the tall trees the ysalamari made their nests in. The lizards, although lazy and slow to move, proved to be harder to gather due to the tree heights in which they nested.

"For the love of…" Arie swore to herself as she descended a tree with two lizards on her back.

Arie brushed herself off and adjusted the pack strapped across her back. She noticed the forest had grown suddenly quiet and the birds were no longer chirping.

Something is watching me... Arie thought to herself, her hand falling instinctively to her blaster. She scanned the forest floor, her eyes squinting to see in the shadows between bushes, but without the Force, she found it was more difficult to noticed ever so slight movements of local wildlife.

Then she saw it...two Vorsnkrs were hiding in the bushes, their long tails silently whipping through the air.

I've got you now. Arie thought as she silently unholstered her blaster and leveled it on the two crouching predators about two-hundred feet in front of her. She stood in the tall waving grass that was taller than she, her little tunic and robes flowing in the wind. Brink was nearby somewhere but she had lost sight of him in the tall field of grass. They were being hunted and she could hear the heavy paws and deep growls of the Thorus Sounders slowly surrounding her and Brink somewhere in the field.

"Brink! Over here! Quick, they are hunting us!" Arie called out and suddenly a hand grabbed hers. It was Brink and they took off running through the tall grass back towards the Luxkert house. A Thorus Sounder cut them off and was preparing to lunge when Arie caught the snap-hiss of a blue lightsaber blade slicing the wolf-like hound in half. She looked up to see her father, a dead serious look upon his face as he frowned at her.

"Have't I told you children that it isn't safe to play in the Forest of Linwoh? There are Sounders out here and they can easily take you down and make a meal out of you. Now get back to the house." Ter-lon Luxkert commanded, his deep brown beard hiding his displeasure at their actions.

Arie nodded at her father and she and Brink ran back towards the house, her father following.

Arie shook the fleeting memory from her mind as she noticed out of the corner of her eye the third Vorsnkr that had been in the hunting group, lunging at her from her left flank, its claws digging into her skin and tearing it.

The weight of the animal's attack pushed her over and she fell to the ground, the creature ontop as she tried to force its weight off of her. It dug its claws in deeper, its stinging barb on its tail flicking across her legs and once across her cheek, leaving a burning whelp on her left cheek.

Arie tried to roll the beast off of her, but it was too heavy and she did not have the Force to aid her. She fought to keep its snarling teeth away from her face, enduring grazing teeth marks on her left forearm as she brought her blaster to the animals head and shot it. The attack stopped and the animal rolled off of her with ease, being quite dead.

Arie quickly was to her haunches and visually scanned the forest floor for the other two predators, but they were gone. She got to her feet, sharp pain hitting her as she inhaled. She laid a hand across her stomach and arms and found warm blood oozing from the claw wounds. Great...no way to heal myself and I have to rely on a damned medkit to patch myself up with.~Arie thought as she walked back to her transport to fetch the medkit.


Myk-Ron Dinn rubbed his eyes and leaned back in the pilot's chair aboard the Firebird. He'd been staring at the numbers for hours; trying to will them to grow larger on his side of the battle...it wasn't working. They didn't even have a tenth of the Armada the Sith had conjured, and Jedi were certainly not wealthy people. The stores on the Bird had been drained within a week. Myk smiled at the memory of his friends' faces when he popped open a few of the hidden compartments aboard his ship. He had to remind them all that in another life, he had been a smuggler...and a fairly good one at that.

With the credits he'd stashed aboard his baby, they were able to purchase a run-down Lancer-class frigate, another squadron of XJ-3's, and two Corellian Corvettes. Their combined "fleet" now consisted of one Mon Cal Cruiser designated New Hope – it would serve as the command ship unless or until they found something better, one Lancer-class frigate called Resilience, two Corellian Corvettes - Nova Burst and Sun Flare, two squadrons of XJ-3's, the Firebird, the Valiant, White Squall, and Blue Talon. They were hurting for ships to say the least.

To top it all off, personnel was something of a shortage as well. They had just enough Jedi to run full crews on all the capital ships, the two squadrons of XJ-3's had their pilots, and the freighters could run with full crews as well...thing was, after all that, they only had enough Jedi for one more fighter squadron. How soundly they were outnumbered had never truly sunk in until Myk had gone over the numbers three times. It would take something more than a miracle to give them even a fighting chance.

The Rogue lit up a cigarette and stood, stretching. There was nothing he could do with the numbers, and staring at the console would only make him go blind. Sighing a quiet sort of sigh, he headed aft to the boarding ramp. The Firebird was tucked neatly inside the Mon Cal's hangar bay for the time being to facilitate Council meetings. That, and somehow it had gotten out that Myk was a decent mechanic, which meant he got tasked with organizing the repair work needed on the old warship. It was hard work, but the sense of urgency sped it along. New Hope was running strong, all her turbolasers ready for battle, and her shields holding strong.

Most of the ship was asleep as Myk strolled down the curved hallways of the cruiser. If memory served him correctly, he was heading for the officers' lounge. On a Mon Cal Cruiser, it was the only area of the ship with a view of space that wasn't a battle station.

He found it with little trouble and entered the darkened chamber. The bar rode the wall nearest the entrance and couches with low tables were spread out nearby. Towards the back of the room was a large open space usually used for ship-held dances and such. Behind this large empty bit of room was a huge transparisteel viewport that took up most of that wall. Ithor hung like a picture in the frame of the viewport, a large black ball against a black backdrop and surrounded by stars. Myk tossed the t'bac in a nearby ash receptacle and crossed the room to stand in the center of the open floor.

He could still feel the life on Ithor and its battle to spread. The Mother Jungle would return, he knew. He just wished he could help her on her path to recovery somehow...

In a way, he felt, that grove on Ithor was very much like the Jedi in their current situation; a tiny patch of green in a veritable ocean of cinder. The Mother Jungle and the Jedi were vastly outnumbered. The Jedi, like Ithor, could probably use a great deal of help.

He was about to turn and leave when something outside the viewport caught his eye. There was the slightest of flickers of pseudo-motion, and a small fleet of battleships dropped into space around Ithor. Fearing the worst, Myk bolted to the command deck, using the Force to enhance his speed. He was a back and white blur as he raced down the curved hallways of the cruiser.

He burst onto the bridge in time to catch the tail end of what he thought was a hailing call. "...we would like to speak with him, as soon as possible."

Two of the Councilors were at the helm of the ship, and they turned as Myk made his way forward. "Well, here he is now," One said with a smile. "Master Dinn, the commander of the fleet that just dropped out of hyperspace would like a word."

Myk used the Force and steadied his breathing before stepping up to the comm. "This is Myk-Ron Dinn," He said. "To whom am I speaking?"

"I am Meldroma Va'yle," Came a distinguished female voice. "Clan Matriarch of the Witches of Dathomir, and commander of the fleet you see before you. We have felt your plight, Conduit, and we offer our aid."

"Any help is more than appreciated, Matriarch," Myk-Ron replied, barely able to contain the sense of giddiness bubbling up inside him. "Might I ask where you obtained such an impressive fleet?"

"Much has changed on Dathomir since you and your Master last visited, Myk-Ron Dinn," Va'yle answered. "Our people have grown to love space travel and being among the stars. This fleet is my clan's home, and only a few remain on Dathomir for the sake of tradition."

"You were there?" Myk asked in disbelief. "You remember me and my Master, Erb-Wehttam Reylas?"

The Matriarch laughed lightly. "I would have to be very old indeed to remember such a thing, Conduit. No, I was not there...but my grandmother was, and she always spoke very highly of the Jedi who came to our rescue all those years ago. We repay that debt now in your time of need. Our fleet is yours to command."

"I thank you, Matriarch Va'yle," Myk-Ron bowed. "You honor me and the Jedi as a whole by joining us today. At your convenience, I would have you and your officers join us at tomorrow's council of war to help decide how best to deploy your fleet."

"As you wish it, Conduit," The Matriarch bowed in turn. "We shall be ready for your council tomorrow."

The transmission ended, and Myk-Ron let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"You certainly have powerful friends, Master Dinn," One of the two Council members patted the Rogue on the back. "Perhaps we misjudged you before. You have honor, and that is something the Jedi and a Rogue can both agree on."

"And it's not even my birthday," Myk sighed, and this time it was a sigh of relief. "Ya know, I take back that whole 'arrogant windbag' thing, you guys aren't half-bad."

"Oh, it pleases us to no end that we have your friendship," The Councilor smirked.

"And a sense of humor?" Myk laughed. "Where did that come from?"

Laughter echoed down the corridors as the night went on.


Myk sank into the pillows on his bunk that night with a smile on his face. He rolled over to put his arm around his wife, and his smile faded. He missed her. He'd had enough time to think things through, and while he knew that he had indeed been right about a number of things, he also knew that he could have handled it differently. He wasn't angry with her anymore, and he was ready to make up. And now that he found himself alone in his quarters aboard the Firebird, he found that he was worried about where she might be and what was taking so long.


Coruscant – Midnight – Local Time

"Now remember," Steffan told Ter-lon as he finished making sure he had everything he needed. "Only use the comm in a state of emergency. I know no one is expecting us to be here; but with the heightened state of alert, I'm sure they're going to be keeping a lookout for stray transmissions."

"And, why don't I just go with you?" Ter-Lon asked as Ainar came into the compartment, checking all his items. Both of them had opted to leave their robes on the ship since it would attract unwanted attention.

"Because you haven't had any training on infiltration like this," Ainar told him, holding up a hand to stop Ter-lon's argument. "Yes, I know your father was special forces, but you still haven't undergone the tests that you need for this kind of mission."

"It shouldn't take too long for us to activate the beacon once we're in the Temple," Steffan told him as he opened the hatch. "But in any case, there's no telling what trouble is waiting for us. If you don't hear from us in two hours, be ready for immediate departure back to Ithor. If we're not back in four, get out of here."

"But Master Ka..." Ter-Lon started to say.

"I mean it, Ter-Lon," Steffan told him. "May the Force be with you."

He looked over and Ainar, who nodded and proceeded out of the ship and Steffan followed behind him and closed the hatchway. "Northeast," Steffan said as they started in a jog towards the Jedi Temple.

Slowly, the two entered the doors of the Jedi Temple. There was no telling what was left behind, so Steffan and Ainar were cautious to use the stairs and not the turbolifts.

"I know I've been out for a year," Ainar said as they hugged the wall as they went up. "So kinda run me through this again."

"After everything that happened during the invasion, Master Skywalker made good sense in thinking that the ties with other disciplines of the Force should be strengthened."

"The Fallanaasi and Jensaari?" Ainar asked as they kept an eye out for anything suspicious. Steffan nodded as he checked the door.

"What we're hoping to get to is a signal that contacts not only them but others that are separate from the order...rouges like Myk," Steffan said as they walked down the door. "We both have to enter an access code, give them the meeting coordinates for Ithor, and activate it. Once it's started, there's no way to jam the signal or shut it down."

"So it's just a case of activating it," Ainar said as they reached the computer core. "Sounds pretty straight forward to..."

They walked into the room, but there were terminals smashed all over the space.

"Now what?" he asked as Steffan looked around.

"See if there's a terminal still in good condition," Steffan said as they started looking.

"Steffan! Here's one." Ainar called over the room as he activated a terminal with a cracked monitor.

Steffan started running over to his side when the terminal suddenly caught fire and black smoke filled the air.

Ainar jumped out of his chair and started coughing. "Nope..guess I was wrong," Ainar said grinning at his friend.

Steffan just shook his head and laughed. "This is not going very well."

"Alright, we've checked every blasted terminal in the room, and nothing, it's all ruined.." Steffan said, rubbing his temples.

"No...not exactly..." Ainar said, suddenly remembering something, he stood up and ran over to the far wall.

Steffan started moving in his direction, "What have you got?"

Ainar sat down on a chair, going through the rubble until he stopped, pulling out a spherical object.

"This..is the main terminal link," Ainar said, handing the object over to Steffan.

"So this is what links the terminal to the central core?" Steffan asked, examining the object.

"Aye, via a wireless transceiver array, encrypted with top-level access, meant for accessing data only meant for the Council."

"Yeah yeah, in Basic if you don't mind, but I get it, it's the connection to the core," Steffan said grinning.

"Exactly..and I'm pretty sure that we can find a desktop terminal in one of the offices downstairs, and I'm pretty sure I can get it to work from there," Ainar explained, gathering a few tools from a nearby drawer.

"Pretty sure?" Steffan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Pretty sure."

"My quarters," Steffan said as they started back towards the stairwell. "The computer there should still be in working order. It hasn't been that long since it'd been in use."

"I'm right behind you," Ainar said as he grabbed his comm. "Ter-lon, we're checking Steffan's quarters for a terminal. Begin prep."

"Acknowledged."

"Three flights up," Steffan said as they went up the staircase. "Is this seeming a little too easy still to you?"

"A bit," Ainar said as they reached the level that Steffan's quarters were on. Steffan quietly opened the door and led the way to his study and activated the terminal. He watched for trouble as Ainar began to access the files.

"Okay, we're ready," he said as Steffan came over. "After you."

"Computer," Steffan said as he started the file. "Access and execute program 'Beacon One', set rendezvous coordinates for Ithor."

Access code one: flashed on the screen and Steffan looked at Ainar.

"Access code one...one, one, alpha, two, beta," Ainar recited and looked at the screen as he saw the request for the second code on the screen.

"Access code two," Steffan said as he went over the second group. "Two, alpha, tango, three, seven, one."

"Here we go," Ainar said right when the computer asked for the final code. "Final code?"

"Seran, nine, five, two, zeta," Steffan said as he closed his eyes. "Execute."

Beacon One activated...tranmission commencing...

"Come on," Steffan muttered as they were fixed on the screen. "Come on."

Transmission accepted...transmitting coordinates...

"They're getting it," Ainar said with a new sound of hope.

Coordinates recieved...transmission complete.

"Here we go," Steffan said as they both got up, but not before Ainar caught another line on the terminal.

"Steffan..."

WARNING: transmission detected...

WARNING: transmission detected...

"Whoever they are, they're on to us," Steffan said as they left the room quickly. "Ter-lon, warm them up. We're coming in, but there may be some trouble."


The Council of War with the Witches of Dathomir went well. The attack pattern of their fleet was straightforward, and, if history served any indication, very effective in a fight. Their strongest ships would fly point in a V formation with New Hope nestled between the "wings" as the command ship. Myk-Ron had been asked to take command of the old Mon Cal cruiser but declined. He could still command the fleet, but he'd rather do it from the Firebird, where he could also inflict the most damage on the enemy armada. In the chance that he died, the next in the chain of command would take his place, and so on. Currently, that chain put Matriarch Va'yle in the position to assume command if Myk-Ron should fall.

With those matters settled, the fleet began practicing battle maneuvers and Myk made sure the pilots got plenty of sim time. The Jedi techs had come up with an excellent sim of the Sith Starfighter from the holo-footage Myk and Arie had taken in their encounter with them. And, Talon Karrde had come through with the information Myk had requested. They had a fully functional Sith Starfighter aboard New Hope, and the techs already knew every component. Seeing as Myk had spent the last credit he had on outfitting the fleet, Talon waived the information fee on the condition that if the ship was still intact after all was said and done, he could have the Sith Starfighter. Myk had happily agreed...looking at the numbers, he knew they were still going to be soundly beaten, but it would almost be a fight now...as opposed to an all-out slaughter.

They were going to need something more, and Myk-Ron could only hope that Steffan and Ainar were having success in their mission to find help.


"Master," A soldier called from the comm station aboard the Executor. "I have discovered that the Jedi are broadcasting a transmission from their temple on Coruscant."

"What is this transmission?"

"It appears to be a beacon, milord," The soldier replied. "They are calling for help. The triangulation indicates they are calling the Fallanassi, the Jenssari, and various others that we cannot account for."

"Rogues."

"Aye, milord. Orders?"

"None, soldier," The Master replied. "Let them gather all the help they can. This is to be a war. Let us show them our honor by allowing them a fighting chance. Contact our men on Coruscant and order them to stand down and return to the fleet. Relay that order to all of our soldiers."

"As you will it, milord."


Most of the organization was complete. The Jedi fleet was working well as a unit, and for the first time since this whole thing started, Myk found he had little more to do. Which gave him time to think. Arie had been gone for some time now, and it was really starting to worry the Rogue. Something wasn't right, and now that he could take a break from managing this ragtag fleet of Jedi, he was going to find out what.

He got in contact with Livda traffic control and had them send him her exit vector. From what he could tell, she'd headed to Myrkr...which had him puzzled for a bit. Why she'd visit that abandoned planet was beyond him. She hated that world. Her step-brother, Grand Admiral Thrawn had been there for a time, and she despised anything that reminded her of him...like ysalmiri...

"Damn that woman," Myk cursed when he realized what she'd done. "Going to harvest a forest's worth of furry lizards on her own..."

He called the hangar and had them prep the Firebird. He left Va'yle in charge of keeping the pilots in the sims, and the fleet on their toes, and he blasted out of New Hope like a mynock with its tail on fire.


Myrkr

Myrkr hung in the blanket of space like a thousand other worlds, a bluish green orb amidst pinpricks of light. He'd downloaded the location of Karrde's old base to the navicomputer of the Firebird so he'd have some sort of bearing for searching the planet. Knowing Arie, he set up a search grid on the far side of the planet from the older smuggler's den, and, after piloting down through the atmosphere, set the computer to work flying a low grid over the area.

It was trying work, as he couldn't just reach out and sense her through the Force, and the high metal content of the forests of Myrkr made technological scanning difficult. After three hours of searching, however, the robust equipment aboard the 'Bird managed to pick up a visual on a transport bearing NR markings. It was nestled in a clearing deep within the forest.

"There's my girl," Myk grinned as he took back control of the Firebird and set her down next to the transport.


Arie had bandaged her wounds as best as she could with a medkit on her ship, but knew without the Force to aid her that she would need to get off-world before long in her T-wing slaved to the transport in order to heal herself without the Ysalamiri inhibiting her healing abilities.

She set the medkit down and turned to set the lizard she had been carrying on her back when the vorsknyrs had attacked her only to find a muzzle of a blaster in her face. She looked up to see what appeared to be three fringe rat trashy smugglers and a Sith adept cloaked in black in front of her. The lead smuggler had the blaster in her face.

"If you would ever so kindly hand over your weapon, General Dinn." The Sith adept hissed with venom as he stared at Arie with glowing eyes.

"Fine. What's the occasion? Couldn't get me alone in my home on Livda or was that too far out of your way?" Arie sarcastically replied, vaguely placing the face of the Sith as the one she had seen in her nightmares only a week and a half ago. She threw her blaster and her lightsaber to the smuggler's feet. One of them picked up her blaster and leveled it on her. The other handed the hilt of her lightsaber to the Sith.

"On your feet." The lead smuggler said, one of his cronies jerking Arie to her feet by her elbow.

"Easy now, I'm a lady." Arie returned giving the smuggler a scowl.

"You are the New Republic's highest ranking officer and the Phoenix, wife of the Conduit and were once known as the Wrath." The Sith answered in a cold voice.

"I may be a general, but I'm no Jedi," Arie returned, spitting her words at the Sith as the smuggler began to lead her through her transport to the boarding ramp.

"But you once were and are still considered a Coshackian Guardian and that makes you a threat to our race. We cannot allow you to reunite with the Conduit," The Sith returned evilly grinning.

"Oh, so that's your plan? Keep me stranded on a planet I hate, away from my husband, hoping I'll die of dehydration?" Arie sarcastically replied, rolling her eyes as the lead smuggler lead her out of the transport and one took out a pair of binders for her hands.

"Not dehydration...the vorsknyrs will smell your blood and come for you long before you die of thirst, Phoenix." The Sith said as he motioned for the second smuggler holding Arie to pull her hands behind her back so the third could put the binders on. She could feel one hand being locked into the binder, but before her other hand could be restrained...

"I see..." Arie began ducking low and head-butting the smuggler behind her and then landing a hard roundhouse in the third smuggler's chest, sending him flying behind her. The first smuggler who had the blaster fired off several shots but Arie quickly backflipped away from the blasterfire, avoiding any fatal hits. Once near shot grazed her right shoulder but was not a serious wound.

She backsprung off her hands once more and landed on her feet, her right hand quickly pulling her tikki blade from her left boot and turning over her left shoulder, she threw the blade at the smuggler with the blaster, the blade landing neatly in his throat.

He dropped the blaster as blood began to flow from the wound in his throat and out his mouth. He desperately clawed at his throat to remove the blade but was unable to and quickly fell into shock from blood loss, falling to the ground.

She pulled her secondary blaster that she kept hidden in her right boot cuff and fired at the second and third smugglers who were picking themselves up off the ground and searching for their blasters in their holsters. They were slow enough to unholster their weapons that Arie's shots hit them before they could look up to notice the weapon in her hand.

She rose to her feet and turned to face the Sith, but he was gone. She did a quick 360-turn but saw no trace of the Sith or where he had disappeared to in the forest.

Arie strode over to the three dead smugglers that had obviously been hired by the Sith to capture her and leave her for dead on Myrkr. She bent over the one with the blade in his throat and she planted one boot on the dead man's chest and bent down to extract the blade. Wiping the blood on her pant leg, she resheathed the knife in her left boot where she always kept it and walked over to the second smuggler. She riffled through his vest and found her blaster.

"I believe this is mine," Arie said to no one, holstering her weapon. She found the binder key and removed the binder that had been cuffed on her left wrist. The binders fell atop of the dead man and she walked back to the ship to recover her pack.

Without warning, she was pushed to the forest floor, a male vorsknyr digging its claws into her right shoulder deeply and its teeth into her left arm as she moved into a defensive position. She wrestled with the beast, desperately trying to get a boot up under the creature's belly to kick it off of her. She managed to get her boot where she wanted, but the creature suddenly moved and she was forced to wrap her legs around the vorsknyr's throat and with a quick move of her tightened thigh muscles and a sickening crack, the creature's neck broke and she pushed the dead animal off of her, breathing hard.

"Damn this wretched planet and its creatures to hell!" Arie shouted out-loud, sending a flock of local birds into the air from the nearby treeline. She brushed herself off and touched her shoulder and rib wounds tenderly, finding the claw marks deeper this time. She pulled a small suture kit from her pack and with a sterilized needle and several winces of sharp pain, she managed to put five stitches into her gaping side wound over her ribs and two in her shoulder. She knew the stitches would not hold for more than a day, but that would be long enough to finish gathering ysalamiri and then get off-world where she would have the Force to aid her healing.

Now...enough disturbances for one day...back to harvesting those furry bastards... Arie thought to herself, swinging the pack back over her left shoulder to avoid putting weight on her right where the stitches were freshly sewn. She began walking back into the woods and found another conifer tree that the lizards frequented.


Arie stumbled over a tree root that had so sneakily jumped out and grabbed her foot. The trek was bad enough, and, combined with the amount of blood she'd lost, she found she was getting a bit dizzy. The transport wasn't far now, and, after steadying herself on a nearby tree and dumping the two ysalamiri she'd been carrying, she set off once more.

A twig snapped somewhere off to her left and she froze in place. Her deadly friends had returned. The smell of blood from her make-shift sutures had attracted them, and as she strained her ears she could make out the raspy cackle-purrs of at least four vorsknyrs. She could almost see the clearing ahead, but she dared not move lest she give away her position completely.

She tried desperately to steady her ragged breath, but the exertion of the trek and the blood loss was starting to get to her. She silently swore to herself, wishing the Force was there to aid her. There was nothing for it. If she stayed put, it would only be a matter of time before the beasts found her. Bolting would let them know exactly where she was, but if she could just make it up the ramp of the transport she would be safe.

~C'mon girl, just like out-running the Sounders back home...You did it before, you can do it again.~ Arie told herself. But the sickening realization that she had been a small child, with a lightsaber on her belt and the Force to aid her speed, reminded her that she was on her own now with no help. It would be life or death...

A sharp twinge of pain from her left rib wound reminded her that blood was still seeping through the stitches. Her mind made up, she took a calming breath and ran for it. Instantly, the low cackle-purrs from before erupted into all-out howls as the vorsknyrs picked up her trail.

They were close. She could hear their feet as they chased her, but the clearing was in plain sight now. If she could just hold on for a few more minutes... Suddenly, one of the beasts leaped out of the tree-line in front of her and blocked her path. She began to couch to flip over the animal but stopped. She was surrounded. Five of the creatures now circled her, pawing the ground, their tails whipping through the air silently.

Slowly, she drew her blaster, trying to make as little noise as possible. But her hands were shaky with fatigue and the beginning signs of shock, and there was a distinctive clink as the barrel bumped against a buckle on her belt holster. One of the vorsknyrs charged, and she raised her blaster as quick as she could, but knew it was going to be close. Her eyes closed in anticipation of the pain she knew she was going to endure...they opened just as fast when she heard the whine of a heavy blaster being fired. A familiar blaster.

The beast that had leapt at her hit the ground hard and rolled about a meter, very much dead. At once, the remaining four beasts turned to where the shot had come from. Silhouetted against the light of the setting sun was a man, and, from Arie's standpoint, it looked like he was coaxing the animals to follow him. The vorsknyrs were quick to oblige and charged the man where he stood. Two shots took down the first two beasts, and then the other two were on him. He ducked the leap of the first and there was the distinctive snap-hiss of a lightsaber being ignited.

The world felt like it was spinning as Arie tried to focus her eyes on the man before her, watching as the four beasts charged head on with viciousness and venomous tails flying. Arie began to stumble toward the transport, her blaster still in her hand. Head swimming, she vaguely recognized the color of the newcomer's blade as one of the beasts lunged toward him.

A silver blade ripped through the flesh of that beast and it landed in a crumpled heap behind the man. The last one went to slash at this strange newcomer, and lost a paw to the silver blade of his saber. With a howl, the last vorsknyr took off with its tail between its legs. Arie managed to stumble a few meters forward to the transport before the world spun into dark oblivion and she felt herself hit the hard ground, going unconscious.


He'd patched her up as best as he could with the supplies he'd found on the transport. She lay on one of the bunks in the small crew quarters, for all intents and purposes, asleep. Her breathing was normal, and the wounds had all began to clot. She'd be fine after a day or two of rest, or a Jedi healing trance. He knew once he got her back into open space away from the ysalamiri, the Force would return to her and she would heal herself in no time. She was just exhausted. She had been unconscious for over three hours and Myk-Ron was worried that she might have suffered a concussion from the fall to the ground.

He had wet her lips with cool water and removed her ripped clothing to better clean and dress her wounds as well as inspect for signs of infection. He found none, save the wound in her right shoulder. It was deep and beginning to show redness and swelling, signs of a bacterial infection setting into the deep claw marks. He found a syringe with a strong dose of Republic antibiotic and injected her left hip with the needle. The medicine would ward off any further infection and help fight the one she was sustaining.

Myk-Ron placed a cool towel on her forehead and stroked her hair. Her eyes fluttered open, and he smiled down at her. "Always getting yourself into trouble, huh?" Myk whispered.

"Follows me like a plague," she replied with a small grin. The realization that her husband was there with her, soothed her worried mind. She could feel the wounds and the tightly dressed bandages on her arms, shoulder, and ribs as she breathed, but the feeling of her husband sitting beside her on her bunk made the pain a small comparison. She smiled at him, her eyes half-open from exhaustion. "Hello, my Rogue." she breathed out, laying her hand in his.

"Hi, Princess."


A day later in orbit above Myrkr. Arie's transport in slaved-transmitted orbit below the Firebird.

"I'm just saying I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean for us to split up over it. I just want you to take time off from work...you are pregnant after all." Myk-Ron said, Arie sitting up in the bunk and re-taping her bandages.

"You know me, love...I just can't do that...When I contact Maxell and the fleets to arrive at Ithor..." Arie began.

"No military. No civilians. Just Jedi." Myk cut her off. Arie looked up from her place on the bunk.

"We are greatly outnumbered and they have already flanked us...it would be a..." Arie started again.

"A losing war. That may be, but it is our fight, no non-Jedi. I won't have their blood on my hands," Myk-Ron argued.

Arie sighed in defeat. There was no way around it, and she still didn't quite have the energy to argue the point. Aside from that, she was done arguing. Being apart had only reminded her how much she loved the Rogue, and how much his stubbornness was just another part of him that she loved.

He gently laid a hand on her left shoulder, being sure not to touch her stitches. She had been slowly, but aggressively healing them with Coshackian techniques, but did not wish to be put in a healing trance.

Arie took his hand from her shoulder and laid it on her abdomen. She smiled at him when a look of surprise crossed his face. He could feel through the Force the tiny heartbeat of the child growing within her. It was too soon for the child to begin kicking yet, but the midicholorians were there and growing strong. "It's going to be a girl..." Arie whispered to her husband. He smiled and kissed her.

"My little princess..." Myk-Ron softly said, laying a hand on his wife's cheek as he kissed her.


Coruscant – Jedi Temple

Steffan and Ainar boarded the ship at a quick pace.

"How did it go?" Ter-Lon asked as the two came into the cockpit, Ter-Lon had already lifted them from the Temple landing pad.

"It's sent," Steffan said as they leaned into the chairs that were in the cabin. "Let's get back to Ithor and wait."


Ithor

"We're there, hon," Myk called from the cockpit. "Come see what I did while you were off collecting lizards."

They had left a good portion of the furry little beasts on Myrkr, cramming four in the aft cargo hold of the ship. They lizards really didn't bother Myk-Ron much. They just negated the Force, and he had lived without it for the first fifteen years of his life. He knew what it was like to be normal, and he could survive just fine. He also knew how the Jedi, and other Force-users felt about them. To those who grew up in the Force, being near one was like going blind and deaf all at once.

Arie came into the cockpit laughing. "Come see what you did?" She asked between laughs. Then she looked out the forward viewport. "By the stars! Where did you find all of those?"

Fifty-seven capital ships hovered in space around Ithor, three of which Myk-Ron owned. They sat in a perfect cone formation with New Hope nestled inside, and Myk grinned. Va'yle must have been keeping them on their toes.

"Well," Myk replied. "To be honest, fifty-four of them found me. I had enough cash aboard the Firebird to buy two Corvettes and a Lancer-class frigate."

"Where did they come from?"

"You mean the fifty-four?" Myk asked. "They came from Dathomir. Apparently, they're descendants of a clan of witches Master Erb and I rescued all those years ago..."

Arie studied the scene for a few more moments before shaking her head. "It's still not enough."

"I know," Myk sighed. "But it's something. We've got two more weeks to build up, and Steffan and Ainar have gone on a mission to find more help."

"They'd better hurry it along."

"I know."

Arie took the copilot's seat as Myk eased the ship through the formation and into New Hope's hanger bay. The two squads of XJ-3's had been moved to two of the forward gunships for quicker deployment. Which made for plenty of landing space in the old Mon Cal cruiser.

"Welcome aboard the Mon Cal cruiser, New Hope," Myk smiled as he shut down the engines. "Command ship for this little ragtag fleet."

"This is my flagship?" Arie asked as she peered out the viewport at the interior of the hangar. It had seen better days...much better days.

"Actually, no," Myk replied as he got up from the pilot's chair. "I guess, technically, this is my flagship. Even though I'll be commanding from the Firebird."

"Excuse me?"

"I know it's a bit unorthodox, but I want to be somewhere where I can do the most damage and still lead this little expedition," The Rogue said as he headed down the boarding ramp. A couple of the Jedi mechanics nodded in his direction. He threw them both a sloppy salute.

"No, nerfherder," Arie said as she caught up and fell in step with Myk-Ron as he continued into the corridor outside the bay. "You said this was your flagship?"

"Yeah..."

"You're commanding this fleet?"

"Is there something wrong?" Myk asked as he opened the door to the quarters he'd been using on the cruiser.

"Don't you think there's someone a bit more qualified here?" Arie asked as the door slid shut behind her.

"Look, babe," Myk replied as he lit up a cigarette. "This isn't your navy. These aren't your people. Hell, we don't even have a system of rank we're going by. I got the job partly because the council thought it was a good idea, partly because I've been the biggest contributor of ships (by proxy) to this fleet, and partly because I've been organizing this thing from day one. Switching leadership now wouldn't just be difficult, it would probably be detrimental to the war effort."

"But you don't know the first thing about leading a fleet," Arie protested. She looked around the room she and Myk were in. "You don't even know where the command quarters are on this ship!"

Myk arched an eyebrow. "I don't know a thing about leading?" He asked. "I was a Commander, babe. I lead my squadron through fifty missions with only five casualties. Name one person, besides Wedge, who could do that well. And, I know these aren't command quarters. I had some men clear that over-sized apartment out and refit it as a mass briefing room."

"You're leading me on..."

"I'm sorry, princess," Myk sighed as he tossed the cigarette in an ash can. "I'm not."

"Tell me I'm your second in command at least," She said.

"Actually," Myk hesitantly replied. "The Clan Matriarch of the Dathomir Witches, Meldroma Va'yle, already has that position...and by the looks of things, she's done a great job so far."

"So what would you have me do?!" Arie asked, exasperated.

"First, calm down," Myk replied. "I don't know what I want you to do just yet aside from that. Things don't work like they do in the Navy around here. Everyone chips in wherever they can. I may be in command of this fleet, but I'm also a mechanic, a janitor, a medic, a communication tech, a pilot, and, sometimes, a cook."

"Okay, hot shot," Arie said with her arms folded and a stern look on her face. "How do you plan to effectively employ project Alpha in this coming war?"

"Well, first, I'm going to have to know what 'Project Alpha' is," Myk replied. "We can go over full schematics and technical readouts in the council of war tomorrow. I can tell you right now that if it's any kind of bioagent we are not using it."

Arie wasn't happy, that much he could see in her stance.

"Look," he soothed. "It's been a long day for the both of us. We're running on Ithorian time here, which means the council will be meeting in about nine hours. I think we both could use a little sleep before then."

"Fine," Arie said as she kicked her boots off and unstrapped her gun belt.

"Oh, and after the council, you and I are going dirtside."

"What the hell for?"

"You'll see," Myk replied. "Don't worry, it's important."

"Oh goody," Arie rolled her eyes.


"Coming out now," Ter-lon announced as the rest entered the cabin. The fleet was still holding a good formation, from Steffan's impression, which was a good sign.

"Any word of Myk?" he asked.

"Firebird landed with a ship in tow an hour or so ago," Ter-Lon told him as he pulled up the channel to New Hope. Arie's there with him now."

"Now what in the Force had Master been up to for so long?" Ainar started asking as they approached.

"Mykyr," Steffan said as he stepped back a moment. "Ter-lon, stay clear of your grandmother's shuttle when you land."

"Ysalamiri?" Ainar asked with concern.

"A lot of them," Steffan answered as they landed inside New Hope's landing bay and started opening the hatch.

"Better get used to it," Dilan yelled from the deck as the four started to make their way down from the ship. "She's got some kind of purpose for them, but kriff if she's not telling the rest of us."

"Well, she always has a reason," Steffan said as he slung his pack over his shoulder. "How's everyone else holding up?"

"Spirits are pretty good," Dilan said as they walked down the deck. "Ryneas is doing some maintenance on White Squall right now. Andrea's staying with mother and Catharine and Edward's looking after all of them."

"Just as long as he doesn't overdo it," Steffan joked.

Dilan laughed and added to it. "I think Andrea said something about him keeping a squadron of Nighthawks on standby...but I don't know if she was joking or not."

Ainar couldn't help but wince and laugh at the same time. "I think your son-in-law is going to be just like you along with his father, Steffan."

"Actually, I was thinking he'd have kept a battlegroup in orbit," Steffan chuckled.

"Actually," Dilan said, looking over the group. "Since Master Dinn didn't want anyone but Force-users in this fight, our home fleet doesn't know what else that they can do...so, they're staying in our systems. Second group is actually in orbit of Cataan and the forest moon Catain."

"Sounds like he's pretty serious," Ainar said as they exited the hangar deck.

"He's Cataani alright," Ter-lon joked, then started getting a look from Dilan. "Hey, it's all in good fun. You said the same about me the other day about my parents."

"Aye, I did," Dilan said as they walked. "Oh, by the way, Dad...council meeting is set for a few hours."

"Well, we slept on the flight in," Steffan said as he stood there. "I want to put my mobile suit through a diagnostics before things happen."

"I went ahead and did it three hours ago," Dilan said as he stretched. "I'm so used to Commenor time, Ithor time just hasn't suited me yet. But anyway, Myk's wanting to hold it in the new briefing room he set up."

"Alright, in a few hours then."