Obi-Wan Kenobi

The bridge was a bustle of activity as they were still in the middle of combat. The ship shook and the lights flickered with each successive hit to the shields, the nervous crew glanced up, the officers and the Captain trying to keep them steady and the minds focused on their tasks.

"Captain," One of the techs reported overly calm, wearied from the constant stress over the last thirty five minutes. "I am detecting a Cruiser analog, they have made it through our picket screen, fighters are nowhere to be seen."

"Damn." General Maier sighed, glancing up at the master board.

The Captain descended into the pit and looked over the tech's shoulder. "What is the status of our shields?"

"Captain, shields are beginning to buckle slightly, our power reserves are straining under the enemy fire." The tech reported.

"Damn," The Captain thumped the desk, "shunt more power to the shields, do whatever it takes to keep them stable, gunners target the enemy vessel, stand by Missile strike, follow it up with Turbo Lasers."

The tech and other gunners nodded.

"Here we go." Maier said clenching the railing.

Galen shot him a look, "seriously?"

Maier shrugged, "why not?"

The Ship shook as angry red bolts of energy shot from the deep black darkness of space. The bridge crew could just barely make out the enemy Cruiser from where they were standing, as the enemy unleashed a full salvo at their ship. The shields flared to life briefly, an opaque blueness just visible for a second, as the impact point of the enemy shots flashed a near blinding yellow.

The Solo class Battle Cruiser returned the fire with instant vengeance. Eight orbs shot out of the Solo's bow and maneuvered to the enemy cruiser, they were trailing pale blue tails of energy, stretching nearly from the Solo to the enemy ship.

The ordinance slammed into the enemy vessel, making the shields flare to life, causing the ship to flash on their screens. Then the Kenobi's own Turbo Lasers came to life and hit the enemy ship, depleting their almost stripped shields severely, before gutting the enemy ship from stem to stern.

Main Command Center-Outer Hull

On the outer hull two battered, and bruised, XT Class X-Wings put down, silently, activating maneuvering thrusters and their repulsorlifts landing lightly on the surface.

There they made hard seals with the outer hull and cut their way through, the two pilots slid down the breaching locks.

When they got down they unclipped their weapons from their belt, a Blue and a Yellow beam spread out from them.

"Ready for this Amann?"

Amann grinned. "Ready as I will ever be."

They fought their way to the command center, trying to get there.

Main Command Center- Another Location

So far John and Death met minimal resistance, and any they met they had cut through. They were out in the middle of the deck, aimlessly making their way to a linking corridor, a stairwell, an emergency access chamber, or a lift of some sort.

John was concerned by this, he was beginning to believe that too much of a good thing usually meant that something bad was about to happen. He was clenching his Lightsaber, and had a hand on his activation plate, waiting for the slightest sign. They came to another corner, he made sure that Death was still behind him, they nodded at each other. He cautiously peeked around the corner and a shot rang out, he flew back around just as the blaster bolt plowed into the bulkhead.

John nodded at Death again, he a acknowledged back. They both took a deep breath, and together turned on their Lightsabers, they hummed to life.

They both went around the corner at the same time, the two Lightsabers swimming into position to deflect the shots. John bought his up horizontal, and Death swung his from top to bottom. The two bolts deflected off the energy blades and flew right back at the enemy droids, who sparked and crumpled.

"Does that look like an elevator to you?" John gestured with his head to the doors at the end, holding his Lightsaber in a relaxed position.

Death nodded.

They both ran over to it, their Lightsabers humming in their hands, they got to the door and it whooshed open for them.

"Damn locked down." Death slammed his hand into the door in frustration.

"Easy we will just have to find another way up." John tried to calm his friend down.

"Yeah, I suppose you are right." Death nodded, and then hulked in the other direction.

John followed him, around yet another corner.

The next corridor was long and straight, continuing on into almost nothing, but at one end of the hallway there was a gathering of droids and enemy officers.

Death came around the corner as well and his eyes widened at the display, he nodded to John and they both began to stalk over to the enemy, Lightsabers secured to the belt.

"We will not tell you the codes to our Command Ship's shields." Amann's voice drifted out of the center of the group defiantly.

"Yeah, what he said." Renate repeated lamely, sounding weary.

John shot Death a quizzical look who just shrugged, they then continued on quickening their pace slightly.

"Well if you will not give me the codes then we will kill your precious master." One of the officers scoffed.

A feeling of apprehension pierced John's heart through the Force like a stun bolt, freezing him in place. He suddenly knew, knew that this was a dangerous situation, knew what was going to happen, knew that Amann did love his Master and the consequences of her death. He judged the distance and wondered if they could make a last lunge at it. Death tapped him on the shoulder and furiously shook his head in the negative. John nodded reluctantly.

The group in front of them suddenly parted and John witnessed Renate and Amann exchange a look.

John and Death again picked up their pace, just on the edge of making noise. They were rushing into it, Amann saw them and his eyes widened.

"Hey what the?" The lead officer caught on and spun around to the group.

John pounced the rest of the distance, his Lightsaber blazing to life, piercing the officer's stomach.

Death's green blade came to life as well as the blades of Amann and Renate. A clash of blades and blaster bolts buzzed through the air, along with screams and yells of shock and terror. One of them was decidedly female.

The dust was cleared and the casualties were tallied.

"Renate!" Amann screamed in grief.

She was on the floor, wincing, her hand covering her chest, a hole burned in her stomach.

"Let me see." Amann offered his hand and removed hers, there was another hole burned in her chest as well. Amann moaned.

She blinked at him. "Amann that you?"

"Yes, I am here." He said clenching her hand.

"Be strong, in the face of adversary, be patient, but most importantly…." Pain wracked through her body…"be good." Pain continued to arch through her body as she looked up at the sky, past them, past them all, with unseeing eyes. Amann closed them and tried to stifle a sob.

John came over to him, figuring it was better to have Amann on his mission, and get his mind off the grief, put him to practical use. He put his hand on Amann's shoulder. "Amann, come on Amann, we have to go. We need to go."

Amann shook his hand off. "Get off of me!" He raged, now holding his master.

John was now spiked with terror for someone he considered a friend. "Come on Amann, you cannot stay here we can get her later."

"No!" he raged.

"But-" He began.

"John, leave him, he will be ok, we have to go too." Death warned.

"Alright." John sighed, the two of them went back to looking for the elevator to take them to the nerve center.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

The Kenobi was in the hen house. A broad side of Turbo Laser shots slammed into one of the ship yards ripping it apart, and then she launched a spread of torpedoes which destroyed four more defense platforms.

On the bridge Galen Zaun looked at the view port, his eyes glinting intelligently as he felt something. A sense of great sadness pierced his soul through the Force, he probed it. It was not John, or Death, but it did feel oddly familiar.

"Galen what's wrong?" The General turned to him.

Galen snapped out of it "Nothing". "Nothing at all," he repeated softer, knowing it was not true but not knowing the cause of it.

Command Center- Main Center

The two Jedi, John and Death, reached the top floor of the main base.

Death got out and led the way, his senses were on edge to ensure that they could not be seen by anyone or anything as they got out, he took the Lightsaber off his belt.

The pathway sloped upwards just a bit into the main command center for the entire ship yards. Death squared his shoulders as the two of them marched up the path.

They arrived in the spacious command center and looked around slightly, at all the controls and the wide windows that showed the battle raging outside the walls.

There were three figures cloaked in black, they all turned around as one at the presence of the two Jedis.

One of them was human, the other two were of an unknown alien.

"Death." The woman in the middle greeted.

Death cocked his head quizzically. "You know me?"

She grinned amused at the thought. "No, but I knew your father."

"My father?" Death asked.

"Easy Death, don't trust these people, I think she is the one that is running this operation." John warned.

Her grin only widened. "Ah yes and John Zaun, your reputation of that of your father precedes you."

John glared right back at her.

"Look I do not know what this is about," Death started, "but you are under arrest for threatening Republic planets and you will be taken to discuss your actions to the Supreme Chancellor."

She laughed heartily, her eyes sparkled in malicious mirth. "Do you now? Well before that the two of us have something to talk about, but I think we should do so in private."

"Careful Death…" John warned again moving forward.

The person in front of them used the Force to flick a control down, John yelped as the floor beneath him opened and he fell through.

"What was that?" Death snarled to the leader of the group, he brought his Lightsaber to hand and turned it on.

The two guards on the left and right also brought their sabers to hand, their crimson blades shining in the light.

"As you can see you are outnumbered." The woman cocked her eyebrow.

"Numbers matter not." Death defiantly barked.

"Please please." She held her hands out in a placating gesture, palms forward, "all we want to do is talk with you."

"About what?" Death spat back at her.

"About your father." She returned.

"What about him?" Death replied sarcastically.

"Did you know you have been lied to?" The leader asked.

"What?" Death's eyes widened.

"Galen Zaun, he lied to you. He was the one to kill Death, he was no friend of your father." She explained.

"And how do you know this?" Death simply asked.

"I have my sources." She returned.

"Well then I see we have reached an impasse." Death replied, he clutched his blade and charged.

The Under Levels

John Zaun crashed in the water, making splashes and waves, he rebounded to the top and gasped for breath, his robes threatening to pull him under again. He saw a ladder at the other end of the pool and began to swim for it.

But he was pulled under, something was grasping at him, grabbing at him, threatening to pull him under. He could feel a strange tug on his body, on his mind, and on his soul, the water around him bubbled and boiled as he tried to free himself from the tear.

A creature peeked it's head out at him, squawked fiercely before slipping back under the waves. It seemed to be a large head with green spike like protrusions on the sides of it.

John gasped and began swimming much faster, his legs pumped and kicked through the water at a fast pace.

He reached the ladder and tried to climb up, desperately towards the top to reach the hatch. Splashing noises happened behind him as the creatures reached for his legs. A telepathic probe breached his mind, massaging it, begging it to give into them.

He gasped and kicked out again trying to struggle. It was speaking in the voices of Devylyn and Sora, begging him to give into it, massaging his mind attempting to make it malleable to it's will. He was slipping, losing his grip on the railing and on reality.

But he shook his head and clamored on in desperation up. He kicked off again, as he stripped his wet robes down to his under clothes that were also dripping wet. This shook off some of the creatures as he scrambled the rest of the way up. Another creature leapt for him and he slashed his Lightsaber out, bringing it active as it was arching through the air. The tip connected with it's nose causing it to lose it's grip and fall to the water below.

He reached the hatch and waved his hand in front of it, causing it to open. He cautiously leapt through.

Startling a sentient and a couple of droids, he pumped his fists straight in the air, his Lightsaber shining and dripping as it made a crackling buzz. His clothing dripping water profusely his hair a shambled mess.

"Blast him!" The non commissioned officer yelled pointing while drawing his own pistol.

John charged, his Lightsaber flashed out in a twirl of energy deflecting all three bolts back at their owners.

He quickly whirled past and headed towards one of the elevators.

Command Center

Green and red shafts collided in mid air in a deadly symphony of color and sound. Death pivoted on one foot and spun on the other, being erratic and unpredictable, swinging with strength and catching each opponent off guard. He did not know how much longer he could keep it going.

"Why do you deny it, you know it to be true, you cannot have felt comfortable with what was going on. You should have known something was up, you are more powerful than any mere Jedi!" Their leader in her dark robes grunted as they clashed their blades together, her blond hair fluttering.

"Liar!" He raged pushing her off, only to be kneed in the gut, causing him to double over and then he was whacked with the hilt of a Lightsaber.

He collapsed to the decking and then rolled out from under the blow that was about to descend upon him.

He got up and charged again, snarling ferally.

Just Outside Command Center

John's lift stopped, rushed out, only to have his head nearly taken off by a barrage of blaster bolts. He grunted as he flattened himself against the bulkhead. He readied his Lightsaber and with one swift move he raged in a battle yell and charged forward. Hefting his Saber in a defense pattern, he held it straight out, and then slashed through the air. The corridor sparked around him as bolts skated in every direction.

He charged and was soon on top of the enemy.

The Command Center

Death and the leader, their blades now locked in a bitter embrace, looked at the door as the sparking and screams of shock penetrated it.

"You have got to be kidding me, I would have thought he would have succumbed by now!" She squeaked.

"Succumbed?" He asked her.

She swung her saber hilt up and swiftly bashed him on the head.

He fell to the ground hard and bounced away, rolling back to his feet. He was still defiant, as they came on.

They leveled a series of kicks, beats, and blows upon his body, striking him at a furious pace.

The door at the end of the compartment opened up, and his three assailants leapt back at the new threat.

John came through and attended to his friend. "You ok? You up for this?" John Zaun asked concerned, holding his Saber out in defense.

He nodded. "Yes, yes I am John," he got up and squared his shoulders, "well if we are going to do this, we might as well get this over with."

John nodded. "Let's."

The two of them swung into action, bringing their blades through, in a fury. Now there were two of them together, they really evened the odds out, and turned the tide. Their enemies proved to be no match for their furious strikes and blows and unrelenting attack.

It worked, they got through the defenses as Death cleaved one in two at the waist, and John impaled the other through the heart.

The two of them advanced on the last remaining master in the room, their leader. Upon approach their Lightsabers clashed together. She was in full defense as she leapt and spun and slashed her Lightsaber at them, bringing them around defiantly: Death and John pressed their advantage, wearing her down, and finally John pierced her through the chest.

Her eyes widened in pained shock as she pales and collapses on the decking.

"Death, you ok?" John now breathless, reached for the shoulder of his dear friend.

"Yeah, yeah I am." Death nodded wearily, trying to sound confident.

"You sure? You do not believe what she said about Galen, do you?" He pressed.

Death hesitated. "No, no I don't", he gestured to the control board, "we should figure out how to sabotage the stations."

"Right." John acknowledged moving closer to the consoles. "This looks like the master control board", he motioned with his finger, "here is the dockyard facilities, and here is the defensive turrets." John glanced at death for confirmation.

"Right, I will take care of that, why don't you get into contact with the Kenobi and let them know what we are up to." Death ordered pointing at the communications panel.

John agreed, and then moved over to the console opening a channel. "Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi this is Lt. John Zaun, come in please."

He heard static and a tuning signal, and then the voice of the Captain. "Good to hear from you Lt, report."

"Captain, we are shutting down the rest of the facilities. You can stop firing and scuttle them at a later date." John reported glancing at Death who was hunched over his own console.

"Very good to hear Lt. We were beginning to lose power. Anything else to report?" The Captain queried.

"Negative, not now anyways, I need to speak to the Commodore and the General…in private. Also we need a shuttle, if we can determine how, we are going to set this place to self destruct."

"Right Lt., we are sending one right away, meet us there in about twenty minutes." The Captain ordered.

"Copy and check, over and out." John signed off as he turned to Death eagerly, "all set?"

"Yeah everything is all powered down." Death nodded.

"We need to go back for Amann and the body of his Master and then get the hell out of here." John decisively ordered.

Death's gaze met John's without hesitation he followed along with him.