"Sir, we've received a message from the SoroSuub Corporation."

"What does it say?"

"Apparently, an unknown Corellian ship has entered the planet's atmosphere."

"Just as Jerec predicted! Let them give us coordinates for bombing the place down."

Maw was excited. Finally, the waiting would come to an end.

"Coordinates received, sir."

"Let's make the jump into the Sullust system!"

Wedge landed in the cave as assigned by Nil'Ss. The general mood was tense. They had all seen the Imperial battle cruiser named Vengeance through the window. What did it mean? Were they now detected? Under attack? Things on the planet were no different. The moment they stepped outside the ship, members of the Clan came to greet them. They had received the message from Nil'Ss and were prepared for their arrival.

"Battle is imminent," said Rel Mook as he embraced his Clanmates with his one remaining arm. "We were starting to get worried."

"What is that Imperial cruiser doing out there?" asked Han rudely.

Rel Mook looked sheepishly at the man. "I don't believe we've met."

Han scoffed. "There's no time for formalities, we were told we'd be safe here, so what's the deal?"

Nil'Ss gestured Rel Mook not to speak. Instead he turned around to face Han. "Patience, my friend. We will find out soon enough." He turned to Rel again. "I must speak to Manolan."

The Kel Dor scrutinisingly eyed Han before he nodded and gestured them to follow him.

"Na-quam, Lando, follow me," said Han. "The rest must stay with the ship. Chances are we need a quick evac." To his surprise, Robuk also followed them, but Na-quam gestured to let him.

Desann was speaking with Manolan.

"Yes," said Manolan. "I think he earned our trust. Here is his lightsabre." He handed Desann the weapon.

"I'm going to miss him…," Desann said with a sadness in his voice.

"He was never one of us, my friend," said Manolan as he put his hand on Desann's shoulder. "He is a brave man, but he was always an outsider every moment he was here. He belongs out there."

"We could use his help," tried Desann.

"No, my friend," said Manolan. "He can use our help." And when Desann did not seem to understand, he added, "I have seen that this man is the key to the future. Whatever happens next, I know that Jaden must survive."

Desann eyed the High Chief with great curiosity. What was it that Manolan had seen during his meditations? He wanted to ask, but knew that the visions were never specific. "Are we meant to sacrifice ourselves?" He hadn't meant to sound so desperate, but for the first time in a long time, he actually feared the future.

Manolan turned away in a dramatic manner. "We must secure his escape."

"High Chief!" a female voice shouted.

Manolan and Desann turned to the source. Manolan smiled at Chadrina and saw that Nil'Ss and Rel followed soon after. "Good to see you!"

"What happened to Yent?" asked Desann.

Chadrina closed her eyes for a moment. "Yent was shot down on Coruscant."

"Desann!" shouted Na-quam. He hurried towards his former padawan and embraced him. "So good to see you…"

"Likewise, Master… likewise…" Desann felt tears in his eyes. It became a bit too much for him. Jaden leaving, seeing his old Master again, but most of all… he sensed his imminent death. He had spoken about it to Manolan. The High Chief was not at all worried. "If that is the way of the Force," he had said, "then there is nothing you can do about it. Stop fighting it. If you die, you will be reborn in the Living Force. There is no greater honour." Desann had heard those words before at his initiation ceremony. Whatever they had meant at the time, he wasn't sure if he believed them now.

Jonvidis approached the scene. "A family reunion?" he said mockingly.

Desann shot him an angry look and growled aggressively.

The officer laughed. "Down, boy, I'm just trying to lighten the mood here."

"Imperials, here?!" said Lando as he drew his blaster. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Easy!" shouted Manolan as he stepped between the three. "No more fighting amongst ourselves! These officers have defected and will not kill you." He turned towards Jonvidis. "Officer, these are Jedi and former politicians of the New Republic. I believe they may be of use to you."

Jonvidis smiled at Lando. "Let us not get off on the wrong foot, rebel. There is much to decide in very little time. We have stolen the battle cruiser Vengeance from underneath the Emperor's nose. It will not be long before the army reaches Sullust. I will invite you aboard the cruiser as we make our way to form a remarkable force."

"Why should I trust you, Imperial dog!" shouted Lando.

Jonvidis sighed and rolled his eyes. He threw his arms into the air.

Na-quam approached Lando and whispered into his ear. "Careful, he might be exactly what we need right now. Imagine if we had a battle cruiser. The rebellion would be so much stronger."

Jonvidis turned around. "I hear you, Master Jedi. That is exactly what I mean. We should work together to make the Emperor fall."

"What is your plan?"

"Shall we discuss that when we're out of here? I do not intend to remain here and discuss everything in detail while the army is approaching." The Colonel felt something buzz in his pocket. He took out the portable com-device. A hologram appeared. "Yes, Corporal?"

"Sir, the army has dropped out of hyperspace! What should we do?"

Jonvidis' eyes grew larger instantly. "Hang on, we are coming up instantly!"

"But sir, they-" Suddenly the connection was broken. Jonvidis looked alarmed.

"High Chief, what has happened up there? Do your sensors still see the Vengeance?"

Manolan looked up from a conversation with Desann. The latter walked away. Manolan checked a computer system near the wall. "No, it is destroyed. Debris is falling all over the planet."

Jonvidis fell to his knees. There was his plan… completely in ruins. The lives of all the men they had gathered, destroyed just like that. How would they be leaving the planet now? Would this be the end? He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Lando.

"No worries, officer," he said. "We'll take you and the men you have left with us. We have a ship here."

Desann had found Jaden, patrolling in front of the court room.

"Manolan gives you permission to leave." He didn't look at him as he returned his lightsabre.

"Thanks." Jaden tried to make eye contact.

"Just leave, my friend. Our old Master has arrived in the main hall. You'll reach them in time if you go now."

Jaden nodded. "Thanks for everything, friend." He started running.

Desann headed for the courtroom. Kyle Katarn was still there, waiting impatiently. His three guards were a bit restless.

"Desann," said a Sullustan man named Amiko. "What is going on out there?"

Desann did not reply instantly, but saw that Kyle Katarn was grinning widely. Just as he wanted to say something the whole cave shook. Desann lost his balance and hit the ground. The others had fallen too, but Kyle was still standing.

Kyle saw his chance. He noticed that Amiko had dropped his sabre in the fall. He concentrated on the Force and saw it rolling towards his hands. As soon as it reached him he activated it and freed his arms from the binders. The smell of ozone filled the chamber.

"Well, it was starting to burn," he said. He pointed the sabre at Amiko, who was still on the ground.

Desann and the others had risen and drew their sabres as well. "The battle may have started," grunted Desann, "but you will not see the end of it."

"We'll see how that works out, shall we?" asked Kyle with a smile.

Na-quam would have sworn he saw Jaden Korr near the back of the main hall just before the whole cave shook. Part of the ceiling had come down, separating them from where he thought he had seen Jaden.

"Come on, Na-quam," shouted Han as he pulled the old Jedi to his feet. "We must leave, now!" Na-quam agreed and followed them. Jonvidis gathered his men and told them to follow them too.

Manolan was caught under the debris. His legs were trapped underneath the rocks, but it didn't demotivate him. He quickly gave orders to those near him.

Chadrina obeyed her orders. Together with a few others, she headed towards one of the hangar bays and entered a fighter. Hers was a stolen X-wing model. She had once found it abandoned near a battleground. It was in a perfect state. Now it was her duty to fly it to defend their ground. She took off and left the caves. It was dark outside. She saw ten other fighters soar into the sky, heading for space.

"All right, Reborn, in the name of the Living Force!" sounded a voice through the com-channel. Loud cheers followed.

Immediately they were taking fire.

"I'm hit!" said a woman's voice Chadrina recognised as Melina's. One of the fighters immediately crashed on the surface.

"Where is that fire coming from?" asked someone else.

"It seems to be coming from the planet! The SoroSuub is targeting us!" Indeed, power turrets on the planets were firing at all outgoing fighters.

"We need to go to open space as soon as possible!" shouted Chadrina.

"Trust your feelings to evade their fire."

Though her left window, Chadrina saw another fighter rise up from the surface. She recognised Desann's ship, the Chief. Why would Desann be ordered to fly? He would be necessary among the ground troops so they could get the shield up.

"Hi Desann, good of you to join us!" she said hesitantly.

It took a while before a relevant answer came. "I'm not Desann."

"Who are you? Why are you flying Desann's ship?"

"I'm Jaden, you've probably seen me around. It was the only ship I could find. Please tell Desann I'm sorry."

"I haven't-", but she was interrupted by her Clanmates.

"We understand, Jaden. May the Force be with you!"

"And with all of you. Hopefully we'll meet a- Whoa!" A huge explosion sounded on the com-channel. "I'm hit!"

One of the Clanmates replied. "Hang in there, Jaden, I'll come for you."

"No!" said Jaden. "Protect your base, I'll be fine."

"Ok then…"

As the fighters reached space they finally saw what they were up against. Five battle cruisers all targeted the base. Hundreds of TIE fighters closed in on them. Chadrina felt her heart sink. They had merely eleven fighters, one of which had already crashed. The battle was lost before it even began.

"All right, everyone… let's take out as many as we can. We will be reborn in the Living Force. See you on the other side!" They all cheered, but they all felt that same doubt.

"Forcefield established!" said Kathra as she arrived in the main hall. Rel and Nil'Ss used the Force to lift the debris off of Manolan.

"Good," said the High Chief as he attempted to stand. He instantly fell down with a cry of pain. "I'm useless," he said. "Form a perimeter. Close all entrances to the cave except for one. They will now want to fight on the surface. Prepare! Leave me here, I'll be fine."

The various Clanmates surrounding the scene all instantly started moving around, taking action.

Amiko was killed instantly. Desann and the other two had jumped at Kyle right after. One of them, a Duros man by the name of Onslau, slashed with full force, but Kyle jumped backwards, resulting in the man slicing some furniture in two.

Desann held back for a moment while the other two pursued their captive. He looked at the court room. It was a very large room, full of benches and chandeliers. Desann preferred to fight in an empty arena. He assembled Force energy and blasted it at the furniture in the direction of Kyle. The benches bombarded Kyle, who was pushed into the wall by the blast, but also the two Clanmates did not remain standing. The second one, another Sullustan, named Poin, shot Desann an irritated look. Desann ignored it. Kyle had to be stopped by any means necessary.

But Kyle wasn't stopped just yet. He needed a few seconds to recover, but was not blind to the fast approaching Desann, whose attack he blocked instantly. Also Onslau and Poin jumped back to their feet, and rejoined the fight. Kyle knew he could not hold for long against three opponents. He had to separate them somehow. He jumped over the three of them and sprinted towards the other side of the room, near the door.

Desann feared he tried to escape, but instead Kyle turned around and threw his sabre at the ceiling. Debris fell down instantly, covering the poor Onslau who had begun running after Kyle.

"NO!" shouted Desann.

Poin coughed and waved away the sand freed by the falling of the rocks. He gestured Desann to go left around the debris, while he himself would go right. Desann agreed. He ran around the debris on the left side and found Kyle, waiting and grinning.

"Now you're already down to two," he said triumphantly.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," breathed Desann. "We still outnumber you!"

Kyle laughed. "It's not about numbers, you reptile. It's about skill! It's time you let me see yours."

Desann wondered where Poin was, but he could not stall the fighting any longer. His anger made him jump at Katarn, who dodged without too much effort and Force pushed him to the wall. Desann fell, but quickly got up.

"Impressive…," taunted Kyle. "On to lesson two, shall we?"

"Your arrogance is misplaced, Katarn!"

"Much like your swing of the sabre just now," Kyle laughed.

Desann made another attempt and the two engaged in battle.

"Come on!" shouted Han as he waited for the last of the defected Imperials to board their ship. They had to leave before the ground troops would arrive. As soon as the last one had entered he too jumped aboard.

"Thank you," said Jonvidis to Lando. "I don't know what to say."

"Thank me when we get out of here alive," replied Lando.

Han looked around. Most of the imperials just sat down on the floor in groups and tried to stay out of their way. Some offered to help, but there was just nothing left to do except for Wedge to once again prove how he got his reputation as a pilot.

Na-quam was sitting on the floor, babbling to himself, holding his head in his hands. Han knelt down and put his hand on the Jedi's shoulder. Nebba also approached.

"I swear I saw him," he told them. "I didn't even know he was still alive. How can this be?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Han.

"In the cave, just before the explosion," the old Jedi babbled. "There he was."

"Who?" Han repeated.

"Jaden Korr… there is no way he could have survived…"

Nebba seemed to know this Jaden Korr, Han figured, for she looked alarmed. "Master," she said, "I know a way to find out." She got up and tapped one of the officers on the shoulder. The man had tears in his eyes. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to disturb…"

"It's ok." The officer forced a smile. "I had spent many years on that ship… first as a Corporal, then a Captain, finally an Admiral… So many memories. You'd think the Vengeance was just another battle cruiser… but no. It had a distinct smell, you know? It was my battle cruiser."

Nebba swallowed. She felt conflicted about this. One the one hand she felt sorry for the guy, on the other hand she knew that the Vengeance, and thus this ex-Admiral, was responsible for many Republican casualties. In the end, she felt it wasn't hers to decide how to respond, so she ignored it. "It's ok. Could you answer a question for us?"

The man nodded.

"Does the name Jaden Korr mean anything to you?"

The man's eyes widened. "You better sit down. There's quite a story to this one."

Meanwhile, Wedge lifted the ship off the ground.

"You should not have any trouble leaving the scene," said Jonvidis.

Lando replied. "Judging from what we've seen at the battle of Coruscant, we'd be lucky if we can even fly our own ship."

"You don't have to worry about that," said the former Colonel. "That was Jerec demonstrating his power. Nowadays, he is too proud to even leave his palace. I assume he has sent either Maw or Boc, with possibly Boc's apprentice Rosh. You might even know that Rosh kid. He was once a learner at the Academy."

"Perhaps one of the Jedi might," Lando said shortly.

Wedge flew the ship out of the cave. Immediately, the cave collapsed behind them.

"Looks like the Reborn are digging themselves in," said Lando.

"Incoming fire, hang on!" shouted Wedge as he did his best to avoid blaster fire from the SoroSuub.

Maw refused to stay on board of the battle cruiser as the Admiral advised. His place was on the field, slaughtering Reborn. The shuttles almost reached the atmosphere.

"SoroSuub, take down your turrets. We're entering the atmosphere," an officer ordered through the radio.

As the shuttles moved down towards the cave entrances, Maw spotted a Corellian ship soaring past them and leaving the planet.

"Tell the cruisers to blast that ship to oblivion!" he growled. He sensed a disturbing presence aboard that vessel, but knew that his primary concern was on the surface.

"All entrances, but the North-wing have been closed off," Nil'Ss reported to the High Chief.

"The demi-initiates have been moved to the Southern-most wing," said Kathra.

"All warrior initiates have arrived here," said Rel Mook. "Except for Desann, Amiko, Poin, and Onslau. I sent Lienna to the court room to check upon them."

Manolan sat against the wall, breathing heavily, sweating horribly. "Right," he said. "And the spiritual initiates?"

"They've positioned to the second line of defence, as you ordered," replied Rel.

"Good." He tried to sit up a bit more straight. The others appeared to be worried. "Worry not, my friends," said the High Chief. "If I don't make it, I will be reborn in the Living Force. That is where we will meet again. Concentrate upon the here and now. They will be here shortly. Feel their presence." He sighed. "Anticipate their movements. You are superior! You know the gift and privilege of the Living Force! It's time to squash these ignorant fools like natural selection has always intended us to!"

His words were met with thunderous roars by the few dozens of warriors and the couple of dozens of spiritual initiates further back in the cave.

At that very moment, the North entrance was bombarded with fire and the pieces of the door flew through the cave. Stormtroopers marched in, blasting as they went.

"Form a line!" shouted Rel. The warriors formed a line, deflecting blasts with their sabres as they went. They had formed little barricades all over the main hall, which allowed them additional cover. The spirituals blew Force energy at the troopers from a distance. Many troopers were blasted into the air.

The troopers also started building barricades near their point of entry.

A roar sounded through the main hall as Maw made his way to the front. He speeded right into one of the barricades made by the Reborn. It flew backwards a couple of feet, taking a few Reborn with it. Maw slashed and smashed around him like a maniac, supported by the troopers, who took advantage of this distraction to position themselves better and to run in guns blazing.

Desann pushed Kyle back. Finally he had the upper hand. He was on the verge of finishing him, when Kyle ducked and tackled Desann with his feet.

They were briefly distracted by a distant roar. Kyle recognised Maw's voice and grinned. Desann got back on his feet and jumped backwards to avoid Kyle's new attack. Where was Poin? He should have been here by now.

"Don't worry about your friend," said Kyle as if he knew what Desann was thinking. "I'm sure he won't be worrying about you either after I impaled his head on some debris from the ceiling."

Renewed anger made Desann attack again. Kyle had anticipated it, but Desann's anger did not unbalance him at all. It made him focused. Kyle blocked a couple of attempts, but then fell backwards as he tripped over a rock. Desann pointed his sabre at Kyle's throat.

"Any last wishes?" he asked as he saw Kyle's genuinely fearful look.

At that moment, someone came in. "Where are you guys? The battle has started!"

Desann turned around to see who it was. Kyle saw his chance and rolled away from Desann only to tackle him again with his feet.

Lienna saw the danger and joined the duel. For a moment Kyle was outnumbered again, but it didn't demotivate him. He defended against both opponents.

The ship had reached open space. Five battle cruisers awaited them.

"Quickly! Evasive manoeuvres!" shouted Lando.

"Yeah, yeah," replied Wedge, annoyed by his friend stating the obvious. Blasts were coming from the nearest cruiser, but their ship was fast. "I'll try to make the jump to lightspeed!"

TIE fighters were coming in.

The warriors around him quickly jumped on Maw, who spun around like a madman in mid-air. The spirituals threw two Force blasts at the Boltrunian, who was hit and fell to the floor. The three Reborn close to him saw their chance and jumped at him, ready to strike. Maw also assembled Force energy, rammed his fists on the floor and saw the Reborn fly. He grinned demonically.

Nil'Ss felt his head as the blast made him crash into the wall. He looked around him. The troopers weren't doing too much damage yet as they were too busy devising a way to shield from the incoming blasts of Force energy. Maw, the halfman, was the big danger. Two brothers and one sister had already fallen. He gestured to one of the others who had flown away to try again.

Maw was prepared and was awaiting their next attempt while warding off some incoming Force blasts. As they jumped upon him, he lowered himself, glided underneath them and slashed upward. Nil'Ss was severed in half when he reached the floor.

More chaos among the Reborn arose when the entrance was widened by a big explosion. AT-STs marched in, blasting all around them as they entered.

"Retreat!" shouted Kathra, who had now assumed command. She gestured Rel to take Manolan with them.

"No!" said Manolan as Rel approached him. "Leave me here. It is over for me. You have a better chance without me."

Katarn kicked Desann away and battled Lienna alone for a while. She was feisty and a difficult opponent. They duelled for some time, when Kyle felt he needed to try something different. He jumped backwards, ensuring himself of some distance, and concentrated hard on the Force. Lightning shot from his hands. Lienna had not expected it and was hit in the chest. With a cry, she fell down to her knees instantly and felt her chest. Kyle hit her another time and now she fell to the ground. Kyle kicked her sabre out of her hand and laughed.

Desann had caught up with them again and knew he had to defend Lienna, who was still on the ground. Kyle had anticipated his jump and dodged it without too much trouble. Desann, who had expected Kyle to aim a slash towards Lienna, flew right over her, but rolled quickly to his feet. Kyle grabbed Lienna's hair and pointed his sabre at her throat.

"No!" shouted Desann as he stormed at him once more.

Kyle grinned. He cut off Lienna's head and threw it at Desann, who caught it without trying, but dropped it as he realised what it was. Kyle held out his left hand and caught Lienna's sabre. "And now, my friend, you are outmatched."

Desann breathed heavily. Four more deaths at the hand of the Dark Jedi. Precious lives they were. He closed his eyes for a moment. The event he had helped prevent was about to occur after all, just not with the Jedi. He sensed how many of his Clanmates were dying. He felt sadness overwhelming him. He opened his eyes. Kyle was still grinning. He was the messenger of evil. It was his fault that all of this happened. Desann spat at him. He readied his sabre and lunged forward.

Kyle had a new toy to play with. He had next to no experience with Jar'Kai, the dual lightsabre technique, but he found it easier to make the fight difficult for Desann by swinging the sabres around threateningly.

Desann was challenged by this new development. He did his best to block Kyle's every strike, but the pain inside had tired him. Kyle's left sabre sunk into Desann's leg. He screamed and then fell.

Kyle smiled contently. "Not so tough now, are you?"

The Chistori breathed heavily, but rolled to his back and stared Kyle right in the eye. "You, monster! This is the second time you're massacring my people! Mark my words, the end is near for your Emperor! Our sacrifice may seem petty to you, but we've secured the way to a brighter future. We've set in motion the wheels of your doom…"

The Dark Jedi cleared his throat. "Round it off, would you? I have many more of your brothers to kill."

Desann forced a sarcastic chuckle. "Don't you wish to know why Jaden left you?"

Kyle had to admit that he was intrigued by the matter. "What about it?" He realised he suddenly sounded a bit obtuse.

"Jaden never was one of you, Katarn, no matter how he tried."

"How would you know?"

Desann let out exaggerated laughter. "I know Jaden, much better than you will ever have been able to. You think your Emperor is so powerful now he has swallowed up the Valley nexus, but you fail to overlook one crucial thing. Jaden is the living proof of that."

"Speak up, what is it?" Kyle demanded.

"Don't you see, Katarn? The Force betrays you!" shouted Desann.

Kyle stepped backwards for a while. He knew deep inside that Desann was only spewing out these words to confuse him or destabilise him, but the words had a certain ring to them. Spoken with a sense of earnest. As if they had meaning.

"The Force betrays you," echoed Desann.

The more Kyle thought about it, the more his words seemed to echo through his head. Kyle screamed loudly and finished Desann off. The echoes stopped. Kyle fell down on his knees. He considered the things Desann had said. What if they were true? He had to find Jaden, it was the only way. Jerec should not know that the Force betrays him, Kyle reckoned. Confused, not even certain if the Force would indeed betray them, or what it even meant, he stumbled away.

The remaining Reborn cheered as the first AT-ST had collapsed under the pressure of the Force. A few warriors tried to get close to them to cut off their legs, but they were still being shot at by the troopers, which made things difficult.

As the warriors were still pulling back a few lines, Maw speeded at them.

"Come back, you cowards!" He paused when he saw Manolan sitting against the wall, still wounded. He slowly drifted towards him, held his sabre at the ready, planning to make it a quick one, when someone jumped in front of him.

"You will not, coward," said Kathra.

Maw grinned. Finally a duel! "Persuade me."

She jumped around him, delivering a few stabs in his direction every time she hit the ground. Maw had no trouble defending himself. He was rather bored with her after a very short while. He spun around with all his might and heard a scream. When he stopped spinning he saw that she was cut in three parts. Horrified, Manolan had watched the whole scene. He closed his eyes as Maw now came for him and stuck a sabre through his heart.

Robuk fell to his knees as they had regrouped with the spiritual initiates. This was not at all what he had imagined. He would join them for their philosophy, not to engage in massacre on the receiving end! He felt his heart, he was panicking.

Rel Mook knelt down by his side. "Are you all right, young one?"

Robuk nodded, but was visibly not so.

"I'm afraid the fight is not over yet. They'll reach us soon. Are you with us?"

The Rodian sighed. "I'm not even a Reborn yet, what's the point?"

"Young Rodian," spoke Rel, "you stayed to defend our sacred grounds even though you don't even know us. It is therefore unavoidable for you to become one of us. Fight with us to the bitter end, and you shall be reborn in the Living Force with the rest of us."

Robuk forced a smile. He knew that the Kel Dor was right. Perhaps not in the specifics of the afterlife, but there was no other destiny now than to fight the battle. He got up with a roar, raised his sabre hand and screamed loudly. The remaining warriors joined his gesture and screamed too.

"So barbaric," said a voice. They all looked to the direction of where the AT-STs would emerge from, but there was no one there. "Over here, you fools." They looked back at the direction they thought would lead only to the civilians and families. Kyle Katarn emerged from the dark, holding one sabre in his hand and Desann's head in the other.

Rel looked at the head of his brother-in-arms and then at Kyle. He didn't speak, but he knew his eyes told of his loathing. Suddenly he screamed of rage and ran at Katarn. He was joined by Robuk. The others wanted to join as well, but at that point the AT-STs emerged from around the corner and they were needed elsewhere.

Kyle dropped Desann's head on his foot and kicked it at Rel Mook. He used his free hand to shoot lightning at the two coming at him. Rel blocked the lightning with his sabre, but Robuk was hit and fell down with a scream.

Maw had heard the battle screams of the Reborn and decided to end their pleasure. He speeded towards the back of the main hall and found the AT-STs wreaking havoc and occupying most of the Reborn. The troops were right behind them, shooting at anything that moved. The Reborn were falling one by one. The Boltrunian slowly drifted towards the field, looking for an unsuspecting prey.

He saw Kyle Katarn all the way at the back. Maw grinned. He speeded at the opponent he was fighting. With a huge force he rammed into Rel Mook, who flew into the wall. As if that wasn't enough, Maw took his sabre and slashed it through his skull.

"No!" shouted Robuk.

Maw approached him slowly. "Well, well, what have we here?" He drifted towards the Rodian, who was still on the ground. "You are not wearing a Reborn robe, slimeface. I know what this means." He drew even closer. "The Jedi survivors are here too!"

"Were here," said Robuk as he activated his sabre and lunged at Maw from the ground.

Maw had no difficulty dodging it and as a reflex killed the Rodian. He grunted and spat at his victim.

"My, my," said Kyle as he realised what had happened. "Good to see you here, Maw."

Maw turned around. "Katarn, what took you so long?"

"A pair of binders and a prison, I'm afraid."

"Jerec will want to know."

Kyle chuckled. "Then let's make it out of here together, shall we?"

Maw simply growled.

Kyle laughed. How he loved Maw in battles. He was an untameable lump of pure rage. Too blunt for a duel, but truly in his element during messy and chaotic battles like these.

They were now behind the defensive line of the Reborn. The attention of the Reborn spiritual initiates was aimed at the AT-STs. Nobody was watching Maw and Kyle.

"Watch me," said Maw. He gestured Kyle to keep a distance and started spinning around. When he was at full speed, he rammed into the Reborn barricades from behind. Several initiates were cut in half, others were rammed aside, again others were now exposed and immediately became a target for the Stormtroopers.

Kyle smirked. He loved Maw's efficiency. In essence, his flying ability was something he had absolutely mastered when it came to battle, and thus he used it whenever he could. Kyle quickly followed him and started attacking more spirituals from behind.

It had an enormous effect on the battle position of the Reborn. The spirituals started dividing their attention, but their numbers went down rapidly. The warriors felt that their Force artillery support had disappeared. The AT-STs could now fully focus on the ground troops. The warriors could not handle it all. The numbers of the AT-STs and the ground troops were just too overwhelming. One by one they fell.

Maw and Kyle had single-handedly overpowered the rear defence. "Hey Maw, guess what," Kyle said with a smirk.

The Boltrunian seemed annoyed.

"All right, all right, I'll tell you," Kyle laughed. "I've seen families from my cell. These are only their main defensive forces. They must have put their spouses and children somewhere else."

Maw grinned. "I'm on it!" He flew away to further back in the cave.