"As a journalist I always tried to look for the personal side of every story. I tried to find interesting individuals and write about them as individuals instead of actors in some big drama- political drama, social drama, whatever. By the time the Empire rolled around I wasn't a journalist any more and to be honest I think I'd stopped thinking about individual actors too. When I started fighting Palpatine I forgot that even in his Empire, there were still some decent beings who were simply trying to do what they thought was right."

Jan Dodonna was genuinely surprised by how quickly men and supplies arrived at N'zoth. The post-battle recovery and subsequent reconstruction of the shipyards appeared to be the Emperor's top priority. It seemed like half the construction crews from Anaxes had been sent his way.

It took some of the sting off the battle itself, but only some. In the end, they'd lost three capital ships, including the stolen Leveler, as well as two complete pylons extending from the station hub, and nearly five thousand servicemen. The enemy had gotten away without a single casualty, and Syne's current location was unknown. No matter what, the shame would be with Dodonna for a long time.

The Koornacht Cluster and Black Fifteen fell under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Home Fleet, now the largest naval group in the Empire. Based out of Anaxes, the Home Fleet was charged with securing Coruscant and nearby valuable worlds. For the moment, that also included the Empire's nascent presence in the Deep Core, which meant that the man Jan Dodonna had to answer to in his shame, the man who was providing him with so many capable repair crews, was Admiral Terrinald Screed.

Screed had always been a hands-on commander, and Dodonna was fully unsurprised when the Admiral messaged to say he was coming to N'zoth personally. Dodonna also knew the man was not overly big on ceremony, so he prepared an honor guard of only one squadron of clone troopers to welcome the admiral into a private hangar bay.

When the shuttle landed, Dodonna was at the front of the troop column, waiting to meet his commander. When the ramp came down, he saw that Screed had brought four guards of his own, more clone troopers. Finally, the admiral himself came slowly down the ramp.

Dodonna hadn't seen the man since the end of the war almost two years previously, but he seemed unchanged from the day when the two of them had received the Holt Cross for their actions against Dua Ningo's fleet. Screed's flagship had been torn open in the fighting and so had Screed himself. When they'd gone up for their award, he'd hobbled with a cane in one hand and his other on Dodonna's shoulder.

Screed still had the cane with him, and he still moved with a stiff limp. The right side of his face was scarred from an even older battle, and his eye replaced by an electronic processor. He seemed to have lost some weight, but his scarred and battered dignity was mistakable.

Dodonna smiled. Despite everything that had happened at N'zoth, he was glad to see his friend.

He flattened the smile and snapped a salute. "Admiral Screed, I welcome you to Black Fifteen, future home of Black Sword Command. I wish it could be under better circumstances."

Screed returned the salute, a little lazily, then said, "I wish it too. Still, it's good to see you, General."

"Thank you, sir. I've prepared quarters on the station for you, if you'd like to see them."

"I'll have my men move my things there. Right now I'd like to talk to you."

"Very good. I've prepared a place."

After giving instructions to Screed's guards, Dodonna led the admiral down a set of white hallways to a small conference room. One wall contained a broad transpari-steel viewport that looked out on the bright lights of the Koornacht Cluster. The colorful starfield made the dark drifting construction vessels even easier to see.

They sat down at the table and Dodonna began to explain the situation. He was sure Screed had already read much of this information in reports, but he went through it again anyway; the admiral was always a stickler for the details.

Once he'd gone over most of his summary, Screed asked, "How long do you think the attack will set back completion of Black Fifteen?"

"I'm not sure, sir. It might be a year, even more. The help you've sent us from Anaxes is more than I expected but, to be honest, our biggest problem might be closer to home."

"And what is that?" Screed raised the one eyebrow he had left.

"The natives, sir. I don't know how much you've read about the Yevetha."

"Jan, you don't have to call me 'sir,' not in private." Screed sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "But yes, I have read about the Yevetha. Nasty pieces of work. I'm glad we got them under our thumb before they started causing trouble for us."

"You have a point, but I don't like using them for labor."

"From what I've read they seemed reasonably intelli-gent. Some say they have a special talent for machinery."

"They have displayed good engineering skills. They're fast learners, especially with technical matters, and I'm afraid that's part of the problem."

"Sabotage?"

Dodonna nodded.

"Have you been able to catch the perpetrators?"

"Most of the time, yes. When the sabotage has resulted in Imperial or civilian deaths, we've had them privately executed. The rest have been sent to prison."

Screed frowned. "I know you won't like this, Jan, but it may be best to execute all saboteurs. Publicly."

Dodonna's throat went dry. "That's a good way to burn bridges. If the Emperor is serious about putting up Black Sword Command here, we're going to have to live with the Yevetha for a long time."

"From what I've read, these aliens may be clever with technology, but the only thing they really understand is violence."

"The Yevetha revere their martyrs, Terrinald, especially when they die fighting another race. The more martyrs I make, the more will come charging in."

"And you think speaking nicely with the Yevetha will change their species' in-bred nature?" Screed's voice was incredulous, even mocking.

"I don't know," Dodonna admitted, "But as ranking officer at N'zoth it's my choice to make, and I'll stay with it until I decide otherwise."

"Very well, then."

An awkward silence passed between them. Dodonna wasn't used to awkward silences with Screed; back during the Clone Wars, chasing Dua Ningo, they'd alternately finished each other's sentences or lulled simultaneously into comfortable quiets.

There were plenty of ways to break it. Dodonna asked, "Can you give me any updates on Jereveth Syne?"

Screed shook his head. "No, because there are none to give."

"Then you have no idea where her fleet is?"

"If we did, I'd be out there with half the Home Fleet chasing her down. After the mess at Bavinyar we were hoping she'd scattered along with the rest of her refugees, but given that she's just stolen a star destroyer, I guess we were kidding ourselves. As it is, we don't even know if she's still allied with Slayke. He's done only a few minor hit-and-runs since Bavinyar."

"Have we been able to trace what happened to the Bavinyari refugees?"

"Not many. We think some of them may have joined the Doreans. Have you heard of them? More stubborn aliens, on the Outer Rim. Dornea isn't a priority for the Empire right now, so we haven't put any effort into subduing them. Frankly, I was hoping Syne had camped her fleet with them. At least then we'd know where to find her when we wanted to. Right now she could come from any-where, hit anywhere."

"I wish someone would have told me about that destroyer." Dodonna scowled. "When it first showed up, claiming to be Javelin but an hour early, I knew some-thing was wrong. They had the codes- stolen, somehow, probably- but I still wasn't convinced."

Screed made a face. Dodonna asked, "You knew about Valediction?"

Screed nodded slowly. "The circumstances of its hijacking are… complicated. I agreed- with Moff Tarkin and the Emperor- that it was best kept quiet for now. For troop morale."

Dodonna didn't know whether to feel angry or very, very tired. "You couldn't just tell me?"

"I can't just bend rules for friends, Jan."

"I know. I know." Dodonna sighed. "Still, I'm the ranking officer of an important new military base. For the sake of doing my job, I need to know about things like Valediction, and whatever other secrets you're hiding."

Something rattled in Screed's throat. He said, "I'm sorry, Jan, but it's just a matter of need to know. It was like that under the Republic, it's even more like that under the Empire. It's not my fault."

"I know, I'm sorry." Dodonna slumped a little in his chair. "This mess could have been prevented. Leveler could have been secured. Five thousand lives could have been saved."

"Yes. But not by you."

Dodonna sighed again. "I felt more under control during the war. I don't want the war back, but… I don't like sitting here, waiting for it come to me either."

"Hunting Syne and Slayke isn't your job."

"Whose is it?"

Screed didn't give an answer. Instead he said, "She won't attack the same place twice. It's not her way. Jan, your job is to oversee the repairs and continued construct-ion of this base. Will you do that?"

"You know I can."

"Jan, you're the best damn officer I ever served with and maybe the best man. I know you can do it, but will you?"

"Of course." Dodonna felt offended but wasn't sure why. "What else do you think I'd do?"

Screed shrugged a little. "A lot of men have retired since the Separatists surrendered."

"I'm not old enough to retire."

"No, but you're not young either. Neither of us are. Personally, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to lay down your badge and find a pretty woman before you really do get old."

Dodonna chuckled once. "I guess that option isn't completely unattractive. Have you been tempted?"

"Tempted by what?" Screed scrunched his scarred face and rapped one fist against his stomach; knuckles rattled against the metal plates that held his body together. "No woman's going to bunk with me unless I pay her good money first, Jan. Lucky for me the new rank came with a pay raise."

Dodonna looked down, embarrassed and a little ashamed of his own good luck. "So you're in it for the long haul, then? A career officer?"

"It's all I ever wanted to be," Screed kept smiling, but the bitterness didn't go away.

The awkward silence returned. Dodonna's mind thrashed around for something to say. "Captain Nahm's here. He's still commanding Starwind. Saved us from taking even more damage from Syne, too."

"Is that a fact?" Screed said evenly.

"Yes. I put in a notice for him. I hope he gets a task force of his own one day. He certainly deserves it."

"It's possible. Without the war, advancement doesn't come as quickly as it used to."

"True," Dodonna admitted, then added with a smile, "It's a good thing we got our big promotions in already, isn't it?"

"Yes," Screed smiled back. Instead of bitter, it seemed a little sad.

"I was wondering if you'd like to for Captain Nahm to join us for dinner tonight. My personal quarters, and kitchen, are undamaged."

"It's all right, Jan. The trip from Anaxes was… tiring. I'll be retiring early tonight."

"I see." Dodonna fought a frown. Screed was not an old man, but the damage he'd taken in multiple battles had taken a toll on him physically and mentally. They'd been apart for so long that Dodonna had forgotten that simple fact about his friend.

"Well," he said, "If you'd like, I can show you to your quarters. I promise they'll be quite comfortable."

"I'm sure they will be. Thank you, Jan." Screed put both hands on the table pushed himself upward. Dodonna fought the urge to help him up. When he was stable Screed looked to him and said, "Please, lead the way."