Seluthon sat down, breathing heavily. With the communications knocked out, he wasn't able to warn anyone about the sudden onslaught. He hoped the others fared better than he had.

The few survivors from the forward outpost huddled around him, casting weary and defeated glances around the carnage from the battle. Slowly, a few more joined them. All stunned and quiet from the battle, grouping in the only place not completely devastated form the fighting.

Seluthon was surprised at how many shuffled in, some by themselves, others in small groups, and a few bringing injured soldiers as well. Seluthon himself had taken a bolt to his side, but it had only managed to hold him down a moment.

The loud, distinct noise of a drop ship was heard, and most of the assembled troops gazed upwards. A small number of ships flew into view, and circled overhead, before one by one, they landed.

Sunset was the first one out of the ship, and as tired as she was, ran over to where Seluthon was sitting. Behind her, Macedon was shouting orders.

"oh thank the Force you are alright! When no one heard from you, everyone thought you had fallen." Sunset exclaimed, laying a hand on his shoulder. Seluthon gave a sad smile.

"I was lucky enough to make it through one more battle, but it was not one I want to repeat. We lost a lot of good men. How bad were the others hit?" he asked, concern taking over his features. He tried to stand up, but he winced, his hand straying to his wounded side as he sat back down. He was hit a bit worse than he thought.

"Not as hard as here. General Zethos was hit pretty bad, but they held. Everyone held the line." Sunset informed him, and Seluthon sighed in relief. He had prepared himself for the worst, and was glad he had been proven wrong.


The next day was bright and sunny, with few clouds. Sunset thought it was and odd day to say goodbyes on. The Republic reinforcements were landing and moving out to their designated areas. Every now and then, Sunset would see a Therrian soldier stop and wave at her, troops she had fought alongside often stopped to shake her hand. And lastly, Seluthon met her and Macedon right before boarding the shuttle back to the Jedi Temple.

"Well Lioness, I can't thank you enough for what you have done for me and my countrymen. I hope we will meet again someday. And take care of Macedon, he was acting as old as I was this morning." The three shared one last laugh, before saying their final goodbyes.

As the ship lifted off the ground, the only thing Sunset felt was sorrow for leaving her new found companions behind.


On the return trip, Sunset was feeling a bit uneasy. She paced around her quarters, restless and anxious. Macedon was Co-pilot, so he hadn't been down to talk to her the past few hours. Sunset saw her little bundle of belongings, and caught sight of a strip of familiar material. Reaching out with the Force, Sunset grabbed hold of the holster that held the small blaster.

Holding it brought more memories of the Therrian soldiers to mind, so she placed it on her hip, getting some comfort from the familiar feel of it. She had only worn it for her time on Therrian, but only now did she realize she felt incomplete without it.

A small light flashed from her bundle, the small message tablet coming to life with a flash. Another message from Corinth, she guessed. Despite the uneasy feeling still persisting in her gut, Sunset smiled. She sat down on her cot, grabbing the little tablet, navigating the system to find the new message. A loud shout stopped her before she could open it.

"Stop him!"

Sunset was up in an instant, a lightsaber in one hand, and the side arm in the other. Her door hissed open for a split second, and a small metal sphere was tossed into her small room. Sunset's eyes widened as the grenade flashed red. Without a second to waste, Sunset grabbed the small explosive in the Force, and let her instincts take over, closing her eyes.

A few more seconds passed, and nothing happened. Peeking one eye open, she smiled inwardly, surprised at herself. The grenade now hung suspended in dozens of tiny parts, and Sunset let them fall harmlessly to the floor, and lunged off her cot towards the door.

As it hissed open to let her into the hallway, a squad of Republic troopers ran passed, and Sunset joined them without hesitation.

"What is going on?" Sunset asked the soldier in front of her, who seemed relieved to have her show up.

"Bounty hunter snuck aboard, he's killed two already, and Macedon is hurt. Tried to blow up the cockpit." The trooper tried to say something else, but Sunset was already pulling ahead, quickly taking point of the squad, and asking where the bounty hunter had gone. The lead trooper pointed her left, and Sunset surged ahead, anger building up from hearing Macedon was injured.

Ignoring the troopers shouts, Sunset lost them and soon caught up with the bounty hunter. The alien before her was giant. It towered over her by at least a foot and a half, and four arms protruded from its sides, all sporting muscles the size of Sunset's head.

Regret at leaving the troopers in the dust instantly washed over her, but Sunset refused to back down. She holstered her fire arm in exchange for her second saber, igniting the twin purple weapons as she called out a warning.

"Surrender, before things get ugly." Sunset tried to put as much intimidation into her voice as possible, but assumed she failed when the Bounty Hunter laughed.

"Out of my way, puny Jedi, or I will squash you like I did him." He replied in a deep voice, and one of his limbs gestured behind him. A Republic trooper was slumped against the wall, unmoving and quiet. Sunset narrowed her eyes, studying her opponent, not quite sure how to take him down best. He decided for her by charging.

Sunset didn't have a lot of room to maneuver around, especially wielding two lightsabers, all she could do was spin, narrowly avoiding being pummeled into the ground. She lunged after the alien, his back turned to her. He must have done this many times, because with practiced fluidity, he pulled two blasters from his belt, and began firing blindly behind him.

Sunset halted her lunge, deflecting the streaks of energy, backing up to allow just a smidge more time to react. Two blasters were no problem. Sunset was glad Macedon had put together that grueling training course with six bots, two now seemed like a piece of cake. And then the Bounty Hunter turned around, drawing another two blasters.

Sunset swore, cursing her bad luck, and was irritated to hear the alien chuckle. Without warning, the Bounty Hunter shouted in rage, and turned to face the hallway Sunset had come from. The squad of troopers had finally caught up, and already three singed rings marked the Bounty Hunter's back. Sunset was shocked when he didn't show signs of slowing.

With friendly soldiers in front of her, Sunset had to be more careful where she deflected the blaster shots to. A cruel smile graced her lips as she deflected the Bounty Hunter's shots back at him, and wide shots from the troopers were sent into his side as well.

The alien lurched sideways, a grim look in his eyes, knowing he was defeated, he dropped one of his blasters, and grabbed a small object from his belt. He raised his thumb, and Sunset let instinct gain control once more. She felt a saber fly from her hand, and watched as it sailed through the narrow corridor, leaving glowing singes on the metal until it sliced clean through the detonator. The Bounty Hunter roared in pain as the blade passed through his hand, and he made no more motions to do anything other than stay where he sat.

Sunset stalked over to him, and with a small hand motion, Forced her saber back to her hand. She stopped in front of the downed alien, who stared down at the floor.

"I yield, jedi. I am beaten." He rasped, his voice seemed heavier and more labored. He was close to passing out from the pain and shock, but he held consciousness. Sunset gave a dark look, and the troopers around her glanced uneasily amongst one another. With an odd orange glint in her usually teal eyes, Sunset lifted the Bounty Hunter off his feet with the Force, and slammed him up against the wall.

Without out realizing fully what she was doing, Sunset began choking the alien, staring into his fear filled eyes.

"You tried to kill me, and my master. You killed Republic soldiers, and fought when given the chance of surrender. And now you yield? Expect me to arrest you? You had your chance." Sunset raised one of her sabers, ready to strike, when another Republic trooper ran into the hallway.

"Sunset, mam, Macedon has regained consciousness, and is demanding to see you." He stated, throwing confused glances around the assembled group.

Sunset snapped back from her rage, dropping the Bounty Hunter to the floor, and spun on her heel to face the new arrival. Suddenly, the weight and realization of what had just happened dawned on her, and she slowly turned back to the groaning figure on the ground.

"Get him secured, and something to heal him up. Where is Macedon?" she asked, and was met by the confused glances of the troops around her, surprised by her sudden change in mood. The one who brought the news of Macedon pointed her to where he was being tended to, and Sunset slowly walked down the hall. She could feel the eyes follow her until she was out of sight.

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to clear her mind, Sunset slowed her pace, contemplating on why she kept losing her control. The answer was either elusive, or something inside of Sunset kept it hidden. Sighing in defeat, the troubled padawan continued her trek through the ship to where Macedon waited.

A/N: Hey guys, another chapter down, and some more soon on the way! I'd like to apologize for the lasts few chapters, I felt they were lacking in quality, so hopefully this one will be better. Let me know what you think, and I hope you enjoyed reading!