The Lord of Light

by Darth Marrs

Where the hell is Harry now? Third in the Forever Mage trilogy begun by HP and the Four Founders and continued in Forever Mage. How will Darth Vader and the Emperor deal with a wizard born long ago in a galaxy far, far away?

36. Bonus: DLOL Chaps 11 thru 15

Chapter Eleven: Tired

Grand Moff Wilhuf Tarkin thrummed with rage. It was a struggle to keep from screaming aloud, so instead he resorted to pounding his fist against his thigh—to an extent his thigh now hurt. But the pain was a necessary distraction to keep from mulling over his anger. Never in his years of service to the Empire or the Republic before had he felt such overwhelming outrage.

"Fire control units report the blaze is contained in Quadrant 3," General Moradmin Bast said. Though not as confident as Motti, and not as skilled as Tagge, the general was the best Tarkin had to replace his top lieutenants. "They report however that they cannot extinguish it at present due to heavy radiation leaks. I've redirected fire control to Sector 24 or Quadrant four. We are working on a way to evacuate the atmosphere from the whole Quadrant."

"Very well," Tarkin said. "Status of our hyperdrive?"

"General Tastiin reports that there is sufficient damage to our structural integrity to interfere with the formation of a hyperspacial window. He is planning a patch that will cut down on the Cronau radiation drag."

Tarkin nodded and looked back out at the raging battle. He was surprised at a shaky voice saying, "I wish to return to my duty station, Governor."

He turned to see Admiral Motti enter the command deck in a mobile repulsor chair.

"Admiral Motti, what are you doing up?" Tarkin tried not to shudder in disgust at the condition they found Motti in an hour ago. His bed was thrown against one all, but he himself was tied to his desk and bleeding profusely in a most undignified way, as if he had been violated by a monster.

"I wish to do my duty, Moff Tarkin," came the proud, but jittery reply. "I will not let that traitor Shaddix make a mockery of me."

"I applaud your dedication, Admiral," Tarkin said. "Please resume your duties. General Bast, any more word?"

"Yes, sir," Bast said. "We've received news that the approaching Sector fleet came under attack from elements of 2nd Fleet operating under independent orders. The attack was sufficient in strength to force the Sector Fleet out of hyperspace to deal with it. Elements from the 10th Heavy Attack squadron are also en route, but are a day away at best."

Across the room, Tarkin heard Motti sputter. "What?"

"Admiral?" Tarkin asked.

"Sir, my apologies. I've just learned that we have lost more than fifty percent of our fighters, with only twenty percent losses to the enemy. They now actually outnumber us!"

The floor beneath them shook. "Are we having any effect on targeting the enemy capital ships?" Tarkin demanded.

"Not any more, sir," Motti said. "They have moved beyond our effective firing range. However, they are continuing to fire at us. Due to the sheer size of the station, they're fire is getting through while we are missing entirely. Their attack was sufficiently damaging to prevent us from using the primary weapon. We're sitting ducks here, Excellency. I want them dead more than any other, but if we continue like this, there is a danger they could do real damage to the ship's engines."

"Best speed to the Alderaan Sector Fleet, then," Tarkin decided.

The door opened again, but he was so engrossed in the station's troubles he did not turn until he heard the distinctive snap-hiss of duel lightsabers. He spun around and saw Shaddix standing just inside the door.

The young man was disheveled and clearly exhausted, but he wore a dark, manic grin. "Good evening, Wilhuf. And Admiral Motti, I'm so glad to see you're up and about. It must mean you're ready for more."

General Bast gasped and then with a pop became something else—a massive, horned quadruped. Motti made a strangled sound and started driving his hoverchair away, while the beast followed him with loud snorts.

"So, who dies first?" Shaddix asked.

Around the room, every entrance slammed shut and the lights overhead turned red. It was the emergency lockdown, Tarkin realized. "Shaddix, you realize you are a dead man."

"You just killed two billion innocent people, you son of a Gamorrean sow," Shaddix said. "I don't mind dying, so long as I know you die first."

Terrified naval personnel opened fire. Shaddix did not even look their way as he easily batted their blaster bolts back at them, one after the other. On the far side of the room, Motti's screams increased in pitch while the water buffalo grunted. Tarkin refused to even look. Instead, he calmly walked to the body of a now dead ensign and lifted the man's side arm.

He walked back to the center of the command deck and stared at Shaddix. "You, sir, are a traitor. And one way or the other, you will die a traitor."

He fired. Shaddix batted the blaster bolt aside, and it struck a fascinated tech. The tech cried as he collapsed. Tarkin did not even notice as he fired again and again. Every shot was deflected, and another one of the command staff died, until they thought to actually duck down. Shaddix walked slowly toward Tarkin, batting his blaster bolts away.

Tarkin stood his ground, his stern face cold and determined. The determination did not crack until, with a single flick of his blade, Shaddix sent the Moff's gun hand sliding away. The Grand Moff stumbled them, moaning in pain as he clutched as the stump where his hand used to be.

"I want to hate you so badly," Shaddix said. "People like you infuriate me. You have such a casual disregard for life. You just killed two billion innocent beings. Men, women and children. Two billion futures wiped out with a single word from you. And you don't care. Even now, facing your own death, you don't care."

Tarkin stumbled back into a seat—he looked down and saw a dead lieutenant on the floor. Nearby, he saw Motti being viciously brutalized by the alien beast.

"I want to hate you," Shaddix continued, "but then, I'm afraid I would be like you. And frankly, Tarkin, people like you are better off dead than alive."

The last thing Tarkin saw was a flash of red, then an odd sensation of falling and a painful thump. With his last seconds of consciousness, he saw his own headless body slumping out of the seat before the darkness came.

Shaddix took a deep breath. "Everyone else leave now."

The surviving techs and soldiers did not hesitate and ran for one of the doors. With a thought directed at the security panel, Shaddix unlocked a single side entrance just long enough for them to evacuate, before caused it to close and lock again. Shaddix then walked over to the sobbing Motti and grunting water buffalo. With a wave of his hand, the buffalo turned back into Bast, who found himself in a most undignified position over the rear of Admiral Motti.

The general stumbled back in disgust, only to die quickly of a broken neck.

Shaddix knelt down beside the sobbing, broken Motti. "You will never touch a woman again," he said.

Again, a brief flick of his blade, and Motti died.

Shaddix walked back to the row of control panels. He kicked a body aside and sat down at the navigation station. With a few quick keystrokes the powerful navicomp brought up a schematic of the Alderaan System. The nearest world was Raisa, an unoccupied rock close to the sun.

He tapped his comlink. "Nogdra, this is Shaddix."

"M'lord! Are you well?"

"Tarkin and Motti are dead," he said tiredly. "What's your status?"

"All loyal ships suffered heavy damage during our assault on the station, sir, but are still battle worthy. We've suffered thirty percent losses in all fighter squadrons but we now have full space superiority. However, Captain Dietert was killed while trying to slow the Sector Fleet. The Sector Fleet is back en route and will be here in three hours."

Shaddix nodded, expecting as much. "Captain, I've gained control of the Master Command Deck on board the station. I am entering coordinates to ram it into Raisa. It's the only thing I can think off to destroy it."

"What of you, m'lord?"

Shaddix sighed. "I'm pretty tired, Dael. I think I may have overdone it a bit. But its worth it making sure Palpatine doesn't get to keep this monstrosity."

"M'lord…Shaddix…there are two young women here who appear to be very worried about you. Are you sure you don't want to come back?"

"They're victims, Dael. Of me. And the Emperor. Frankly, they'll be better off without me. But don't worry, I'm not giving up yet. Stay with the station as I lead it toward the planet."

"We'll stay with you, m'lord."

Shaddix smiled at the dedication in the captain's voice. "Thank you, Dael. Thank you for believing in me. I'm sorry we weren't able to make our dreams a reality, but this…this is worth dying for. When we're done, I suggest our people join the Alliance."

"I agree. With everything, my friend," came the thoughtful reply.

Shaddix brought up the two powerful Sepma 30-5 sublight engines to full power. The Death Star broke away from the still glowing remnants of Alderaan and flew sunward at a parabolic trajectory to the first planet in the Alderaan system.

The navicomp immediately detected the collision course and tried to compensate, but again Imperial paranoia overcame common sense, and Shaddix was able to stop the automated override with the push of a button.

He sat back and closed his eyes to rest. The sad thing was, he still had no answers. He was going to die not even know what his real name was. Who was Harry? But, he told himself, at least Leia and Mara would be free of him. Both were young, strong and beautiful. They had incredible futures ahead of them. He could not imagine how hard their lives would be around him.

He must have slept some. When his comlink beeped, he sat up in bleary-eyed surprise. "Nogdra?"

"This is Leia," came the hesitant voice.

"Is Mara there as well?" Shaddix asked.

"I'm here," came the other voice. Shaddix realized with a start that he had never heard her speak, before today.

"Are you both okay?" he asked.

"As good as can be," came Leia's response. "Why are you doing this, Shaddix? Are you doing this because of guilt?"

"I have plenty to be guilty about," he said with a grim chuckle. "But no, I'm doing this because machines like this have no place in any civilization. Ever. And sometimes it falls to one or two people to make sure those machines are destroyed. Frankly, I'd rather it be me than anyone else."

"The Alliance could help you."

"But not in time. This has to be done now. This moment is a shatter point, Leia: a single moment in time that can affect the future forever. If I have to die so that you and Mara can live free, then it's a fair trade."

It was a testament to how powerful the sublight engines were that he could already see Raisa, if only a pinprick in the screen.

"We need to talk though," Leia said. "About everything. About you and I and Mara. And that strange vision we had. Mara remembered a man who might even know who you really are."

Shaddix closed his eyes. "Leia, it wasn't right of me to form that bond with you. I had no right. Even if I didn't know it was happening, it's not fair to you or Mara. If I walk out of here and come back to you, that bond isn't going to go away. Is that really what you want?"

The voice that answered was strained. "Yes."

Shaddix went very still as the answer swept across from him. "Leia?" he whispered.

He heard a ragged breath on the far side. "We need to talk, Shaddix," she said. "All three of us. We need to talk to you. We will never, ever forgive you if you get yourself killed. I don't care how just your cause is. You come back, because we need to talk to you. Both of us. About what happened. About why I…why we feel this way."

"I…" Shaddix swallowed in a suddenly thick throat. "Is that what you really want?"

"It's what we want," came the voice of Mara. "Everyone is telling me I'm your wife, but I don't even know who you are. Come back."

Shaddix was surprised to feel moisture run down his cheek. "I'll come back. I owe you both too much not to try, if that's what you want."

The navicomp was beeping. Raisa was more than just a speck now—it was a fast approaching planet. He looked at his comlink and was startled at how much time had passed just since he set the course. It had been an hour—an hour that sped by.

He stood from the chair and sighed at the carnage he caused. So much death at his hand. It did not make him feel strong or justified. It made him feel sad and dirty. He concentrated, and with a pop he was somewhere else.

All sense of order on the station was lost. Though he muted the alarm clarion in the command deck, on the rest of the station a proximity alert was ringing loudly. Storm troopers, marines, soldiers and civilian contractors ran about desperately looking for a means to escape the massive station. He moved about completely unnoticed by the panicked populace.

This was his fault, he realized. If these people didn't find a way off in twenty minutes, they were all going to die. He just couldn't… he tapped his comlink. "Nogdra, I will try to get off, but I'm going to organize the evacuation first. It's chaos over here. Watch for me."

"Good luck, m'lord."

He grabbed the arm of a running lieutenant. "Where is the nearest communications substation?" he demanded.

"I… there!" the lieutenant said, pointing.

"Listen to me; no one's going to get off if we don't organize the evacuation. Come with me, now!"

The lieutenant did not even ask who he was; he just followed in Shaddix's wake as he ran into the abandoned communications node. He entered his still valid command codes and turned on the station-wide intercom. "Attention, this is General Bast," he lied, sure his own name would cause more harm than good. "The station is on a collision course with a local planet. We must evacuate the station. All sector commanders are to coordinate through this node. We need to get people to the drop ships. Abandon the walkers and concentrate on people. Respond!"

One by one, frantic sector commanders checked in, desperate for a higher voice to tell them what to do. Shaddix acted the part of that voice, organizing evacuation routes and quickly, hastily drawn procedures. He doubted everyone would get out, but from he saw a good number would.

When the worst of the crush was over, he turned to the lieutenant. "Get out of here. Run to hangar 245-BG. An assault shuttle is waiting for you."

"Thank you, General!" He turned and sprinted out of the room. Shaddix went through the list of transports and saw a small blastboat available still on the northern hemisphere near the pole in an executive bay. Since all the executive staff were dead, it was unlikely anyone even knew of it. He closed his eyes and pulled on his greatly diminished power.

He appeared with a loud pop and stumbled with exhaustion, only to find a blaster pistol pointed at him. He looked up and saw a pilot without his helmet, a Twi'lek civilian, a Mirialan in prisoner bracelets but very nice clothes, and an older human male.

"Have room for one more?" Shaddix asked.

"Find your own," the pilot said. "We're not going back."

Shaddix picked himself up. Even as exhausted as he was, he could have killed them all—he just did not want to. "Defectors," he said.

"The Empire betrayed its own people when it destroyed Alderaan," the pilot said. "Lord Shaddix had the right idea."

He couldn't help his grin. "Well, Lord Shaddix could use a ride off the station if you have room. I pretended to be Bast to organize the evacuation, but I waited because I thought this ship would be available."

"You are Shaddix," the human male said. "I recognize you now."

"I really am. I've set the station for the collision course. Tarkin and the command crew are dead, and I have a few star destroyers waiting fifty thousand klicks away. You get me there, I'll be glad to trade a larger shuttle for the blastboat, and you can go wherever you want."

"It's a trick," the Mirialan said.

"I don't think so," the Twi'lek responded.

Shaddix shrugged, pulled his sabers to the fear of every, and casually tossed them away. "I'm not Sith any more—I don't need those. We have three minutes."

"Fine!" the pilot said. They all ran into the blast boat, the five of them. Shaddix took the co-pilot's seat while the others settled in. They blasted out of the small, executive hangar and immediately found themselves skirting over the barren world of Raisa. The pilot began cursing as he pulled the Skipray up and away from the planet.

"Everyone hang on," he shouted.

The planet of Raisa had a diameter of just under 5000 kilometers. It was made of mostly silicates, nickel and iron.

The Death Star was 160 kilometers in diameter and composed primarily of a quadanium steel superstructure which was a whole order of magnitude denser than iron. More importantly, the Death Star was wrapped around a core of hypermatter that produced more energy than a typical star.

The station struck Raisa at two thirds the speed of light. From the perspective of the many escaping craft, it looked as if the planet were a human's head, shot at point blank by a very large bullet.

The Death Star slammed into the surface. The initial kinetic release sent a plume of fiery ejaculate far out into space, and the plume only grew larger as the rest of the station collapsed into the surface of the already dead planet. A second later the hypermatter reactor ruptured and then exploded.

Half of Raisa and all of the station disappeared in a flash of terrible brilliance.

The Twi'lek screamed as the Skipray began flipping out of control before the shockwave and planetary debris. The flip ended in a bone-cracking impact. Even the pilot grunted in surprise when all sense of motion ended and the fighter went completely still.

"Okay, what the hell happened?" the pilot demanded.

Their exterior hatch opened and a head popped in. "Are you guys okay?"

"Where are we?" the pilot asked.

"The Fury. This thing just popped out in the middle of the hangar in a big flash of fire. Almost took out a fighter. Looks like you took some serious fire back here too—your engine assembly is melted! Hey, is that Lord Shaddix?"

The pilot looked and saw Shaddix hanging unconscious from the safety straps. "Yeah, looks like," the pilot said.

"Well, let's get you people out. I'll let Captain Nogdra know he's here. We were worried when he stayed on the station to direct the evacuation."

The pilot looked to the Mirialan. "You all right, Teela?"

"Yeah," she said with a wan smile. "Did we make it, Villian?"

"Looks like it," the pilot, Villian, said. "Doctor Divini, you okay?"

"Fine."

"How 'bout you, Roothes?"

The Twi'lek nodded. "Fine."

The four defectors undid their straps, and then together Villian and Divini undid Shaddix's straps and eased the ex-Sith to the floor of the fighter. "No obvious injuries," Divini said. "Looks dehydrated. But we need to get him checked out to see if there are any internal injuries."

Just then another head popped into the blastboat, this one wearing a captain's cap. "Is…" He sighed. "Is Lord Shaddix alright?"

"As far as I can see. I'm Doctor Kornell Divini."

"Captain Dael Nogdra. Welcome aboard the Fury. I'm afraid we are not going to be returning to any Imperial facilities, Doctor. However, we'll be glad to give you a shuttle if you wish to return."

"With all due respect captain," Villian said, "we aren't planning on going back. Not ever."

Nogdra nodded. "Neither are we, Captain. Now, let's see about Lord Shaddix, shall we?"

*This last section is an homage to the novel Death Star.

---

Chapter Twelve: Bonding

"Bail?"

Bail Organa groaned but did not raise his head from the cradle of his arms. He felt a hand on his shoulder—a gentle hand from an indomitable person. He knew Mon meant well, but sometimes she just didn't understand when to leave a man alone to his grief.

"Bail, she's alive."

He jerked his head up, and then instantly regretted it as the room spun around him. "Urrgh," he groaned. "What?"

Mon Mothma sat in the other chair at his table, while silhouetted against the frame of his suite aboard the Liberty stood his friend Garm Bel Iblis. "Bail, didn't you see the holoreports? The Death Star has been destroyed."

"How?"

Garm stepped into the room and took the final seat at the small bistro table. "Shaddix. He turned on the Empire. There was an open insurrection on the station and Shaddix killed the whole command staff before he personally rammed the station into Raisa."

"More importantly," Mon said, "our listening post on AX-256 received a coded communication from Leia asking for a rendezvous. She's alive, Bail. Leia is alive."

Bail could no more hide his tears of relief than he could have stopped Mon from hugging him in response. "What's happening now?"

"From what our listening posts have been able to determine," Garm said, "Shaddix's fleet is being hounded by the Empire. They have almost an entire Sector Fleet chasing them. They're not out of the woods yet. But Rieekan has an idea. He's suggesting that we designate Hoth as the rendezvous spot, only we're going to mine the hell of the asteroid field that occupies the system with manual trigger mines. We let Shaddix's squadron get through and then trigger the mines. Between the explosions and the debris from the asteroids, it should buy Shaddix's ships enough time to disburse."

"Where is Leia exactly, do we know?"

Mon said, "She said she is on Shaddix's flagship. Evidently the Dark Lord hurt himself trying to save a handful of deserters leaving the station right before it hit Raisa. Your home system has lost two worlds, Bail, but the Death Star is destroyed."

Bail stood, suddenly energized by the news that his daughter was alive. "All right, first thing—I need a detox pill. Second thing, let's go talk to Rieekan. I want to know if this plan can actually work or not."

"Fire control stations report we've lost the aft reactor. All weapons and shields are gone aft of sections Theta Two," Lieutenant Graphis said.

Leia Organa held no rank in the Empire. She was technically a senator, but a senator in a disbanded senate, accused of treason. She should not have been giving orders on a star destroyer. But with the death of the executive officer in the last Imperial ambush, she simply stepped in. At first Captain Nogdra was unsure. After ten minutes his uncertainty was no more, and Leia effectively took over as executive officer of the ship.

"Evacuate all personnel from the unshielded section," she said.

"Navigation, report," Nogdra said from the far side of the burned command deck. The starboard side of the deck was blackened with fire, the transparisteel viewports were gone and the heavy blast shielding was now all that kept atmosphere in the deck. "Time to coordinates?"

"Three minutes, captain," Navigation said. "Tactical reports that enemy vessels are in close pursuit and will emerge from hyperspace within forty seconds of our return. The Vengeance reports they have lost all aft shielding. Their hyperdrive is just barely hanging on."

"Order the Terminator to close ranks with the Vengeance to post cover. Do we have any mines left?"

"Ten, sir. Squadron reports over all we have less than a hundred."

"It will have to do. Have all ships release mines as soon as we revert to hyperspace. Make sure all continue ahead at full sublight."

"Aye, captain."

He walked over to Leia. "The situation is dire, Princess. Any word from your people?"

"Not yet, but…" Both stopped as the communications officer almost jumped out of her station. "Captain, Highness, we're receiving a signal from the rebels! They are setting rendezvous coordinates at…the Hoth System. Just inside a heavy asteroid belt."

"We're only two systems away," Leia said. "Knowing Rieekan, it's probably rigged with mines. It might be enough to break the pursuit."

Nogdra found himself admiring the princess—he saw now why Shaddix was so fascinated by her. "Very well. Tactical, send to all ships—we are changing coordinates. Remain in hyperspace."

The blue vortex outside the remaining viewports shifted as the massive warship changed direction. Tactical suddenly let out a whoop. "Sir, I just got a burst of com traffic. Looks like we just out-flanked a squadron of interdictors that was waiting for us."

"It appears you're good luck, highness," Nogrda said. He smiled, and said, "It will be another hour until we reach Hoth. You've been working nonstop for several hours."

"So have you, Captain."

"Ahh, but you see, I am the captain. I'm trained to do so. However admirably you've filled the role, you are not an officer. Just a very capable, skilled leader. When you come back, I'll have plenty for you to do. But for now, I would breathe easier if you could check on Lord Shaddix for me."

"Fine," Leia said. Truth was, she was exhausted. It wasn't just the past nine hours spent in a state of high alert on the bridge while they fled from a wrathful Empire. It was the days of torture before it, and the emotional turmoil caused by Shaddix. "Thank you. Please contact me before we reach Hoth."

"I will, princess. Rest, now."

She nodded, spared the emergency control officer she worked with a smile, and stumbled across the smashed deck to the still intact command quarters. She stepped around a slick spot where Commander Kaeli died.

The command quarters were stunningly quiet after the constant noise and frenetic pace of the command deck. One of the walls in the living area was blackened and bent from the last attack, but otherwise intact. She walked into the bedroom where Shaddix rested. She was not surprised to find Mara on the bed next to the Dark Lord, sleeping as soundly as he did.

Near the bed, Doctor Kornel Divini read from a hand-held while lounging in a repuslor chair. He looked up with a tired smile. "Well, he's going to be fine, as far as I can tell."

She crossed the room and stood beside the doctor, who was reading over the results of the medical scan they did when they recovered the unconscious Shaddix from the blastboat. Since the ship's own doctor was busy with a load of injuries, the Death Star surgeon agreed to look after Shaddix.

"Why is he unconscious, then?"

"At a guest, I'd say he exhausted whatever power he was using to do the things he did."

"I don't understand. He's a human Sith—he used the Force. Father said Sith and Jedi don't exhaust the Force because it's endless."

Divini looked up at the princess with an exhausted smile. "I've heard that too. I also heard that there was a connection between the Force and midi-chlorians. All life in this galaxy has midi-chlorians, from the most basic single-celled bacterium to rancors and Gamorrean sows. Every life form, that is, except Lord Shaddix."

"What?"

"He does not have a single midi-chlorian in his body. And after scanning him, I'm not convinced he's human, either. Near human, to be sure. But he has a structure in his brain I've never seen before, and his body is producing some type of bioelectrical field at a wavelength I've never encountered. Only, it was very, very low. In fact, it was almost nonexistent during the first scan. It's been steadily building up, which leads me to think that this field is where he derives his power, and he simply exhausted it."

"Amazing," Leia whispered.

"Doctor Forshad has more work than he can handle. Whatever his circumstances are, I believe Lord Shaddix is going to fully recover. Strangely enough, that energy field of his actually increased more quickly when that pretty girl of his climbed onto the bed next to him. Who knows, if you join them he might actually wake up. Until then, I'm going to see where else I'm needed."

"Thank you, doctor."

He nodded and left the room. Leia walked over to the bed, noticing it was wide enough for her as well as the others. She was tired—more tired than any point she could remember. The exhaustion sapped her muscles and even made the bones in her legs hurt. With a sigh, she laid down on the bed, facing him.

"What am I going to do with you, Shaddix?" she said softly.

Before she was even aware of it, her eyes closed and she fell into a deep, profound sleep. Almost immediately, she began to dream. She stood in the dark, naked and alone. Given the events of the past two days, the dream should have been a nightmare, but her nudity did not make her feel insecure or scared. Rather it made her feel fresh and free. The darkness did not hint at terrors, but rather comfort and peace.

Ahead, a white light formed. She walked toward it, drawn by the beauty and purity of the light. She grew closer, and across from the light she saw Mara approaching, as naked and beautiful as Leia herself felt. Between them lay a strange image. It was Shaddix, laying on the bed unconscious, and above him a spark of brilliant light.

She saw motion to her right and saw a shadow stand beside her. The shadow was obviously feminine in shape, but she could not make out any features. To her left, another feminine shadow appeared. A third shadow stepped to Mara's side.

As with her own nakedness and the darkness around them, the shadows did not make Leia feel frightened or unsure. Rather, she felt as if she had known these shadows for the whole of her life. That she loved them with a love so pure it was as beautiful as the light that hung over Shaddix.

"We are for him," the shadows said. Leia spoke the words right along with them. "Our souls anchor him. Our wills guide him. Our minds shape him. Our love gives him purpose. We are for him."

Leia climbed onto the bed, as did Mara. The other shadows followed, and the brilliant white light began to descend into Shaddix's chest, only to flicker and fade. "Not enough," one of the shadows said with a sad moan. "Not enough."

Leia cried bitterly as the brilliant light rose up while growing dimmer, until it disappeared from view. She felt so lonely, even though she was holding Shaddix and kissing him and moving her leg over his manhood as her desire mounted and…holy gods of Alderaan, what was she doing?

Leia almost jumped off the bed when she realized she was half out of her white robes and that Shaddix himself was almost completely disrobed. Moreover, she could see on the other side of the still unconscious man, Mara was in a similar state of undress.

The red head blinked tired and sat up. "What's wrong?"

Leia sputtered. "Look at yourself and ask that again."

She looked down at her undone tunic, and then blushed. "Oh. But wow, that was some dream. I wonder what those shadows meant?"

Leia was in the process of fixing her robes when she looked up in shock. "You had the same dream?"

"With Shaddix on the bed, the light and the three shadow ladies? Yeah. I'm almost sad you woke me up." She looked down at Shaddix and Leia could see the lust in the redhead's eyes, because she was feeling the same exact thing. "I want him so badly. Don't you?"

"It isn't proper," Leia insisted, despite her own overwhelming desire. "Especially not with both of us."

Mara shrugged and fixed her tunic. "Too bad. I think it would be incredible with us both."

Before Leia could respond, the chime announced a visitor. The two women went to the door and saw Captain Nogdra. "Ahh, good, your both awake. We're a few minutes from Hoth. I thought you'd both like to see what's happening?"

"Hoth?" Mara asked.

"The Alliance got through to us. I'm hoping they've set a trap."

"Oh. Goody."

Leia took the younger woman's arm and led her to a corner of the command station. "What?" Mara demanded.

"I need to know you're not going to betray the Alliance," Leia said. "I realize you've been through a lot in the past day. We all have. But I am not going to endanger my father and the rest of the Alliance by bringing a saboteur into their ranks."

Mara jerked her arm free. "Don't worry yourself, princess. I'm not going to do anything stupid."

"Mara," Leia said, "you realize that Shaddix was going to overthrow the Emperor, don't you?"

"I figured that out all on my own, Princess," Mara said with a roll of her eyes. "He was going to fail. My master is the most powerful Sith there ever was."

"You're master condemned you to two years of stasis," Leia pointed out. "He laughed at your loyalty."

The redhead's expression sank. "I know," she said, softly this time.

"Please, just don't do anything without checking with Shaddix or me first, okay? My father is on the Executive Council for the Alliance, and I have some influence myself. Please just trust us."

"Because trusting people has worked out so well for me," Mara said.

"We're dropping out of hyperspace," navigation reported. The two women turned in time to see the swirling blue tunnel of hyperspace fade. Suddenly a field of rocks soared into view.

"All ships, evasive action," Nogdra shouted. "Weave through the field. It looks like this is a less dense area. Slow to one tenth sublight."

The squadron of three star destroyers, four Nebulon-B frigates and five heavy assault cruisers slowed to a fraction of their previous speed as they entered the asteroid field. Not a minute later, tactical announced that the enemy ships of the pursuing sector fleet had also dropped out of hyperspace.

Leia walked to the tactical pit and saw a force that could have destroyed the Alliance with ease in a pitched battle—ten star destroyers and hundreds of smaller frigates and assault cruisers. It was, as far as she knew, the largest massing of ships since the Clone Wars.

"We're breaking through the field," navigation said.

Tactical, a heartbeat later, said, "Pursuing ships are entering the field."

Leia felt Mara step up beside her as they watched the holographic tactical map of the enemy fleet. "The Emperor is really, really mad at Shaddix," Mara whispered.

When a full third of the enemy fleet was in the field, the first mines went off. Void-9 seismic charges ripped even the largest of the asteroids apart, sending massive shockwaves and ship-sized debris into the vulnerable fleet. Mile-long star destroyers bounced about like children's playthings while smaller frigates and cruisers crumpled under the huge explosions.

"Nice," Mara said with open admiration. "Whoever is commanding that fleet is a dead man for flying right into that trap."

"Indeed," Nogdra said. He nodded to communications. "Give the word, all ships are to disburse and then rendezvous in twelve hours at the coordinates previously supplied."

"Yes, Captain!"

One by one, star destroyers, frigates and cruisers broke ranks and flew in different directions, until at last only the Fury remained. The tactical map showed that surviving enemy ships were already clearing the mind field by simply blasting their way through.

"Weapons control," Nogdra said. "Fire a single heavy concussion missile at the lead enemy ship. Program it for the command deck if you will." The captain turned to the two women. "Something to remember us by."

"Missile launched," weapons control said.

"Navigation, take us on course 256 by 246 by 234 for thirty seconds, then redirect to our programmed course heading."

The star destroyer blew into hyperspace, going north of the Hoth System ecliptic and avoiding the asteroid belt entirely. Thirty seconds of hyperspace took them out of the system proper into free space. The ship came to a halt, and seconds later was again going through space.

Just then Colonel Celchu stepped onto the deck, his cheeks smeared with blood. "Captain," he said with a sharp salute. "We have the injured stowed."

"What's our casualty count?"

The Alderaanian man's face fell. "Over six thousand killed, another five thousand injured. Many of those are not expected to make it. We've converted two hangar bays into infirmaries."

Leia tried not to gasp at the horrendous numbers. The captain nodded grimly. "I suspected it would be high. We took a pounding. When's the last time you slept, Colonel?"

"I've had five hours in the last twelve. I'm good."

"Excellent. I am going on my second day without sleep. You're in command. Wake me when we reach our rendezvous point." With that, Captain Nogdra nodded to his command staff, Leia and Mara, and then walked resolutely into his quarters next to the Command Quarters.

Celchu did not even blink an eye. "Everyone who has been on duty for more than twelve hours, contact your shift change. If you're shift change staff has been injured or killed, let me know and we'll work something out. We need to all get some rest while we can."

Leia watched as her fellow Alderaanian quietly and confidently worked out a shift change to give the exhausted command crew a much-needed rest. Her one hour did wonders for her, but already the adrenaline from the escape was wearing out.

She felt a hand on her arm and turned to see Mara looking at her with a serious expression. "I've had plenty of sleep. Why don't you go lay down."

Too tired to argue, Leia nodded and left the command deck. When she was gone, Mara turned to Celchu. "Nobody goes in that room. Now, I'm rated for all positions on this deck—where do you need me?"

In the room, Leia once more collapsed on the bed next to the still unconscious Shaddix. She noted that his uniform was still undone from the naughty dream she and Mara had. His slacks were half off, revealing the black underclothes. His exposed chest bore a crisscrossing of scars that looked as if they were only a year or so old.

My master enjoys giving pain, he told her during that last confrontation on the Death Star. She could see now what he meant. She pulled the rest of his tunic off, rolling him where she had to, until she could see he had more scars on his back. She let him lay back on the bed and removed his slacks. He lay on the bed, clad only in his undergarments. The scars continued onto his legs but ended at his knees, as if whoever gave him the scars wanted to make sure only his soft flesh was struck or cut.

Looking at him as she was, she was almost overcome with a sudden, almost painful desire. She wanted him so badly she ached with the need. Instead, she sighed, pulled off her own fouled senatorial robes, and stepped into the shower. Unlike most quarters on a ship, these quarters had a real water shower. She sighed in relief as two days of accumulated filth washed away.

When she emerged, she looked at herself in the mirror, examining her body. There were no scars, just her. She remembered the dream again, how free and wonderful it felt. She started to wrap herself in the towel, but stopped for some reason not even she could articulate. Instead, she walked back out of the fresher to the man on the bed.

"What am I doing?" she whispered to herself, even as she climbed onto the bed. She laid down next to him, intimately aware of the feel of his skin against her breasts. Almost as soon they touched, she felt a stabbing sensation of white heat in her loins. Only, it did not hurt. It left her gasping, but not with pain. Rather, it was intense pleasure.

She watched as his chest reddened, and the flush ran up his neck into his face, proof he too was feeling the contact. With a sudden intake of breath, his eyes popped open. "Leia!" he breathed.

He spun and saw her laying there, and she could see shock, recognition, and then a smoldering desire flit through those brilliant green eyes. He did not ask where they were, or what was happening. Instead, he rolled onto his side to face her, and with one gentle hand he caressed her cheek.

"Is this real?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I…" He swallowed. "I hurt you so badly."

"You did."

"And while I was hurting you, I fell in love with you," he continued. "You were so strong and so beautiful. So perfect. I never imagined anyone could be so strong. I hated myself for hurting you. I wanted to die because of what I did to you. But you stopped me—you beat me and made me realize everything I was told was a lie. You saved me."

"You saved me too," she said. "I don't know if this is love I feel or not. But I do want you. I will never forgive you if you leave me, Shaddix. Not now. Not until I understand what is happening."

"I…" He stopped talking when Leia leaned forward and their lips met. The white-hot power surged through her again, and all thought of restraint fled. Trembling hands fought against the fabric of his under garments. She pushed him back onto his back, kissing his mouth, neck and chest, even as her hand sought for and found his manhood.

He slid into her, and the sheer, abiding ecstasy of it made her scream. He moaned as well as the two began moving frantically against each other, caught in the power of their coupling. The climax came so powerfully Leia almost convulsed with it, moaning now as she didn't have the strength to scream.

Still shaking with the pleasure of her climax, she rolled off him. Somehow, she was not surprised to find Mara there, as nude as they were, her eyes glassy with desire. "Please," she whispered before she leaned down to kiss him.

Leia should have felt a stab of jealously as she watched this beautiful young woman kiss and then mount the man she just gave herself to, but like in the dream there was none. Rather, she felt somehow as if it were right to have Mara there as well, moaning as she made love to their common man.

She was too lost in the power of the moment to question it. And when they finished, she curled up next to him just as Mara did, and he held them both tightly.

Only then, when the worst heat of passion faded, did her intellect finally catch up. "How am I going to explain this to my father?"

---

End Part I

Part II: Gods and Monsters

Chapter Thirteen: Taloo, Talla, Talay!

Captain Kyle Katarn made a single wave with his left hand, and a squad of four SpecForce soldiers rushed passed him in a running duck, taking cover behind a row of spent tabanna gas canisters. His own squad followed a moment later with their intel agent a step behind.

The steady rain which had fallen unceasingly since they landed interfered with Kyle's hearing, and dampened the effectiveness of the thermal monocle that hung down from his helmet visor. "Motion tracker?' he asked.

Behind him, agent Jan Ors checked her handheld and shook her head. "Nothing," she said in a quiet tone that actually travelled less distance than a typical whisper. "All the base's point defenses are inactive. Not a single blast mark. No indication of fire at all."

"They were shooting at something," Kyle muttered. The parade ground in front of the base was blackened and cratered with laser canon fire. But Jan was right—the base showed no sign of receiving fire from whatever landed. On the other hand, they had only received one message—that Tak Base, the rebel fortification on the planet Talay, was going into secure lock down due to an enemy attack.

"As far as I can see, the area is clear of all enemy activity. No motion. No EM readings indicating attack droids."

"Fine," Kyle said. He stood while the rest of his men staying under cover, and walked nervously across the killing zone in front of the base until he reached the main entrance. The security pad was flashing red, indicating the base was still in lockdown.

When no enemy fire came, Kyle motioned and the rest of his two squads followed. They took up position on either side of the door with their weapons at the ready. Kyle took the Command Override crystal out and slipped it into the security pad.

The flashing red panel turned green, and the heavy door groaned as it began to lower. Kyle stepped back and gripped his own rifle to be at the ready. A wave of air rushed out of the entrance, bringing with it the gagging smell of rancid, decaying flesh and death.

"Force preserve us," Jan muttered. "What is that stench?"

"Secure for biohazard," Kyle ordered. He reached up and tapped the edge of his helmet. Biogauze popped out from around the rim with a static seal around the edge which connected to and secured itself against the collar of his uniform. He sealed the space between his gloves and the sleeves of his uniform, and then activated the small air scrubber in his backpack.

It took him less than sixty seconds. The others were all ready at around the same time. "This is when I miss storm trooper armor," he muttered. "On three, secure all zones. One, two, three, go go go!"

The eight soldiers, Kyle and Jan rushed through the door and assumed positions that formed a hemisphere which covered every angle within the door. "Clear," the soldiers said quietly, one area by another, until they visually cleared the entrance.

"Looks like the interior has been locked down," Jan quickly said. "Every door is secured."

"Good, we can clear them out door by door. Sholly, secure the front. Set up the e-web. Friend or foe recognitions on, please. I'd rather not get shot by my own guns."

"Come on, it'd be fun," Sholly said.

Something else stormtroopers never did—Rebel soldiers talked back.

Kyle couldn't deny they were good, though. They went to the first door on their left and entered the override. With their biohazard gauze up, they could not smell the air any more, but it was thick enough he could almost see the stench.

"What the hell happened here?' he asked as the nine of them once again assumed the hemisphere position. Lights overhead were flickering on and off. It actually hung from the ceiling, as if something had struck it.

One they cleared the room, they left the door open and crossed through to the next door. It opened, and they found their first body, or at least a part of it. In fact, it was a torso and half a head, and one arm. The rest was smeared across the floor, as if it had been dragged. The insignia on the torn uniform indicated the woman—for the torso had obviously been female—held the rank of second lieutenant.

"E chu ta!" Jan muttered. "Kyle, you feeling any ju-ju?"

Kyle closed his eyes, trying out his fledging Force skills. "All I sense is dark."

"Dark as in the lights aren't working, or dark as in trying to eat your guts and suck your souls out through your noses."

"Uh, the latter."

"E chu ta chaoi!" she said. "So, what next?"

"We need to get to the command room and get the base log to find out what happened," he said. "What's the most direct route?"

"Back the way we came, then right two rooms, then a turn left."

"Fine, let's move out.

Sholly was waiting for them, alert and nervous. "What's up?"

"Something in this place farkled-up a lieutenant beyond recognition."

"You couldn't make out her face?'

"She didn't have one," Kyle said. "We're going straight to the command center to get the surveillance crystals, then we're going to blow the base and leave. Be on alert—there was something very not nice here, and it feels like it may still be here."

They went to the room Jan indicated and overrode the lock. The door opened and the first trooper started to move in when a large gray claw slashed out, impaling the man in the stomach and then ripping up with a wet, tearing sound. The body flew back into one of his companions while the rest of the soldiers jumped back in terror.

A monstrosity jumped out of the room, snarling and snapping massive jaws. It appeared roughly bipedal, with slick, heavily veined gray skin and massive claws for hands. Its head was a misshapen lump with two huge nose slits and two tiny eyes on either side of them. It roared and surged toward Kyle.

Training overcame paralyzing fear. He did not fire his blaster; he pulled his lightsaber and slashed in five quick strikes, just as Master Kenobi had taught him.

Whatever the creature was, it was not immune to the tool of the Jedi, even one only a year into his training. The monster fell in pieces to the floor and did not move.

"Stans is gone!" a soldier over the body said.

"What was that?" Kyle snapped.

"I think that was a rakghoul," Jan said in a shaky voice.

"A what?" Kyle said.

Sholly from the door said, "We are so farkled."

"Shut it!" Kyle said. "Our objective has not changed. We go in tight and ready for action. Four ahead, one on either side, the rest facing back. Shoot anything that moves. Open up your guns to full power and don't be afraid of using your plasma charges."

They quickly assembled and stepped into the room. The walls were coated in blood, and in a corner they could see bones and other body remnants, including an oddly intact, even pristine left foot.

They tried not thinking about it and unlocked the next room. The room was occupied, but the rakghoul was on the far side of the room, eating what looked like a human arm. It looked up with a snarl, only to be met with the concentrated fire of eight very scared soldiers. Even so, it still managed to stand and take a step forward before it died.

"One more room to clear, then the command room," Jan said.

Kyle stared to override the door, but paused. "What is it?" Jan asked.

"A feeling," he said. "The kind of feeling that got me out of your trap on AX-456." He backed off from the door. "Dannis, Chubbs, heavy weapons on the door. I'm not sure I can do this, but I don't want anyone next to that door when it opens."

Kyle closed his eyes to center himself, while his men and Jan fell silent. When Kyle opened his eyes, the override crystal in his hand lifted gently into the air, and floated toward the door panel. "Get ready," he said.

He used the Force to guide the crystal into the door. The light when from red to green, and the door opened.

The rakghouls poured out roaring. Dannis and Chubbs opened up with their heavy blaster repeaters, while the rest fired their assault rifles. The first rakghoul through the door took three stutter steps before it fell, but immediately behind it another monster burst out. Chubbs screamed but continued firing into the creature's chest. A third jumped toward Dannis, only to stop mid air and fly back into the door to meet a fourth still trying to get out.

Kyle dropped his hand, pulled his blaster rifle and shot the creature that had its jaws around Chubbs' face directly in the head. It fell off Chubbs, who was moaning in agony. Dannis continued firing, and Jan cocked a plasma charge into her rifle's secondary launcher and fired. The plasma charge hit the forth rakghoul in the chest and blew the creature apart, splattering the room beyond it, while the third faltered and died under Dannis' withering fire.

When no more rakghouls came through, they stopped firing and turned to Chubbs.
"Mikales," Kyle said softly, "take his weapon. Chubbs, can you hear me?"

"Eeerrrgh," came the grunted reply. The rakghoul's jaw encompassed the whole of the man's head, with puncture wounds at the top of his skull and in his chin.

Jan knelt down and applied bacta patches to the wounds. "You hang in their Chubbs," she said. "We'll get you on the way back and you'll be just fine." After the patches were on, she injected him with a general antibio regimen and painkiller cocktail developed for field injuries.

She stood and shivered. "How could this happen?" she whispered. "There hasn't been a rakghoul plague in thousands of years. I didn't even know they still existed other than myths to scare naughty children."

"Hell, these things scare naughty commandos," Kyle muttered. "Is everyone else ready? Next room after this one is the command room. We grab the crystal, and then we get the hell out."

They stepped into the cleared room and walked toward the transparisteel windows that let them see into the command room. As they did so, Kyle felt sick. The whole room was covered not just in blood, but what looked like assorted organs, limbs, heads and other body parts. He could recognize a few of the heads from the briefing they received on the way to investigate why the Alliance lost contact with the base.

Moving through the carnage were almost a dozen rakghouls.

"Yep, we're farkled," Jan muttered. "Just four of those broke through our heavy weapons."

"I know," Kyle said. Strangely, the rakghouls didn't even seem aware of the observers on the other side of the room. Perhaps because they couldn't smell them. "Jan, where are the surveillance crystals?"

"See that computer console on the far side, second one from the wall?"

"Yeah."

"The crystals are inside that. I don't think you could use the Force to get them."

"Well, didn't hurt to ask."

Kyle looked around the room and saw what looked like a snack box. "Let's move that box over to the window."

Once the box was moved, Kyle stepped up onto the meter wide box, and used his lightsaber to burn a six centimeter wide hole. The moment he put away his lightsabers, the rakghouls began howling and running about the room.

"I think they can smell us now," Jan said.

"Joy," Kyle muttered. "Get your thermal detonators out."

Each of them carried two detonators. Kyle started with his own. He reached up and slipped the detonator into the hole, and clicked the delayed start on it, but did not push it through. He raised a hand, using the Force to guide the detonator into the room. He moved it directly into the path of a rakghoul. The monster paused to sniff at it just as it detonated.

The blast knocked Kyle off the box, though it did not break through the transparisteel. When the smoke cleared, his target rakghoul and another one close by were dead, and the others were already feeding.

"I am going to be sick," Jan said.

"Later!" Kyle said. He slipped two more detonators through, activated them, and guided both directly into the hive of feeding monsters. He braced himself better this time and hopped down on his own as the two explosives detonated. When the smoke cleared, the rakghouls were dead.

"And that's how it's done," Kyle said. He entered the override, and they rushed into the room with weapons ready. The only movement came from one twitching rakghoul with no legs. Dannis put it down without hesitation, while Jan ran toward the surveillance console. Kyle stood watch over her, his lightsaber in one hand and his blaster rifle in the other.

She had the console open and was digging into its guts in seconds. "Got them!" she said. "Base recordings since we lost contact, and it looks like we even have a couple of sentry logs as well. Let's… Kyle, what is that?"

Kyle followed her gaze at what looked like a black armored storm trooper, only one unlike any he'd ever seen. For one, it was a droid—a droid the rakghouls had obviously torn apart. But the concerning part of it was that it was clearly of Imperial design, including the assault rifle a few feet from it.

Kyle grabbed the rifle. "We'll look at this once we get back to base. In the meantime, let's get the hell out of here."

They all turned to go, but froze.

Chubbs stood in the doorway, only it wasn't Chubbs. His face looked as if it were melting, with black ooze running from his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Already his mandible jutted out far further than it should have, and his hair was falling out even as they watched. "Help me!" he growled. They heard a snapping sound and it looked if something squashed his head. His face jutted forward violently while the crown of his skull dropped. He seemed to swell, and they all heard the tearing sound as slick, vein-riddled gray skin expanded underneath the clothes.

"Chubbs," Kyle whispered. "Dannis, take him out!"

Dannis was too paralyzed by fear to move. It was Mikales, carrying Chubbs repeater blaster, who stepped forward and opened fire in a long, continuous spray that splattered the mutating Chubbs all over the wall behind him.

"Sholly!" Jan whispered.

"Lets go, flank!" Kyle shouted. The seven of them left the command center and ran through the other rooms in time to hear a man screaming in terror and pain. They emerged in the main entrance to see the creature that had once been Stanns ripping Sholly's head off while burying its face in his torn abdomen to feed.

"Bastard!" Dannis screamed. He opened fire, and Mikales followed. In seconds, the last rakghoul was dead, leaving only seven of the ten left.

"Come on," Kyle said darkly. "We're getting the hell of this rock, and we are burning this base into atoms!"

Shaddix looked odd with blond hair and brown eyes. With a little makeup to give the illusion that his cheekbones were more pronounced, the minor alterations completely changed the appearance of his face.

Mara knew her appearance was altered just as much. Her bright red hair had been dyed a thick, raven black. She too had minor prosthetics to change the contours of her face so that the security scanners could not easily recognize her.

The two of them walked along the promenade that surrounded Imperial University. In its different incarnations, the University was one of the oldest continuous organizations still in existence, approaching 15,500 years of operations. Though the Republic had fallen, the University merely changed its name and accepted a new Imperially-appointed chancellor. Certain subjects of study were taboo, and COMPNOR had a larger role in the development and oversight of the curriculum, but many of the professors that taught were the same professors teaching when the Republic fell.

The campus was a place of idyllic, serene beauty. The promenade encompassed almost two hundred square kilometers in various gardens and walkways in the upper levels of the city, with tall, ivory and glass towers rising high over the surrounding cityscape. Only the distant dark mountain of the Imperial Palace rose higher, and no building rose higher than Palpatine's palace.

Students, primarily human or near human, walked leisurely about, debating the philosophies of beings who would have spat at their discussions, while a kilometer under their feet sentient aliens starved and huddled in shadows to hide from their human oppressors.

"Lofty minds thinking lofty thoughts while people starve below," Shaddix whispered softly.

"I take it you didn't go to University either, then?"

"If I did, I can't remember," he said with a wry smile.

Mara took his hand, and as had been the case for the last six months of their lives together, the contact caused a thrill of excitement to run through her. Just touching the man excited her like nothing she ever dreamed. There was no question in her mind that she loved him; and she knew despite her protestations, Leia felt the exact same way.

They had to speak softly since they had no idea which of the students was a card-carrying member of the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order or not. COMPNOR was not just the official political party of the Empire, it was the umbrella organization that controlled the Imperial Security Bureau, with a charge to maintain the morals or loyalty of all Imperial citizens. It flooded every educational institution in the Empire with members of the Coalition for Progress, a sub-party that acted as a secret police.

It was one of the many reasons their being on campus was such a risk.

"Do you think the Chair is even in?" Shaddix asked.

"The directory said he was," Mara said. "We can't risk a name search in case he's under observation. This is a big enough risk as is."

"But you think he knows who I am," Shaddix said. It was not a question; rather it was the answer and the reason. "I just hope he's here."

"From what I gathered, he never leaves the department. He maintains an apartment in the same building. He hasn't actually left the campus in two years," Mara said.

"Paranoia?"

"It's not paranoia…"

"If they really are after you," Shaddix said with a dark chuckle. "No need to quote me to myself. So, this is it, right?"

The Department of Antiquities was housed in a pyramidal tower that rose from a grove of modified Bosshhk evergreen trees. The two made their way to the main entrance, undergoing a quick security scan to confirm neither carried weapons. The security droid merely beeped at them to continue into the broad, open atrium. The size of the building itself was impressive, especially considering they had an ancient Sith starfighter from over three thousand years previous on display, among many other ancient starfighters and other artifacts.

The walls were paneled in ancient stone or metal reliefs lifted from archeological sites around the galaxy. With the rows of trees that ran down the length of the triangular atrium, it gave the whole atrium the feel of an historical park.

"You'd better let me handle this part," Mara said with a smirk as she walked to the white reception desk. A bored undergraduate student sat pretending to read a holopad while at the same time playing soltar on the department monitor. A silver protocol droid stood nearby.

"Excuse me," Mara said. The young man looked up and blinked at her.

"Er…yes?"

"I was wondering if it would be possible to make an appointment with Professor Hastlebrandt?"

"Professor doesn't take appointments with non-students," the boy blurted by rote.

Mara leaned over the desk, knowing full well that her shirt's neck-line was cut low enough to give the young man a show. She was not disappointed when his eyes dropped. "He…he really doesn't…"

"I have something for him, though," Mara said with a light, plaintive tone. "I am a former student and I've always wanted to come show him how much I appreciated his recommendation. He helped get me into the graduate program on Chandrila."

The boy stammered a moment, and then said, "TC?"

The droid shook its head, and in gender-neutral voice said, "Professor Hastlebrandt is in his office at the moment. Shall I tell him a young lady is here to pay her respects?"

"Errr…yeah."

Mara saw the boy's earpiece turn red to indicate he was speaking to someone. "Yeah," was all he said. Mara never heard the question, but suspected it had something to do with her general appearance.

The boy's cheeks reddened a little. "He said go on up. Second elevator on your right, through there."

"Thank you," Mara said. She straightened and walked to the elevator with an extra sway to her hips. She suspected the boy was forwarding images of her to the expectant professor—at least she hoped so.

Shaddix was already waiting for her by the elevator when it opened. She walked brazenly inside, while Shaddix managed to slip in under the security eye that viewed the majority of the car. They emerged in a large, luxuriously appointed foyer just off the turbolift at the very top level of the tower. The level was not large, being at the top of a pyramidal tower, and so they could see through slanted windows a breath-taking view of the city to either side.

"Ready for action?" Shaddix asked.

"Yes," Mara said.

The doors opened and Professor Hastlebrandt stepped out with a greasy, expectant smile. The smile froze when he saw Shaddix. "Hello, Professor," Shaddix said. He held out a hand and with a flick of power sent the professor flying back through the doors of his office with a loud, "Umph!"

Mara quickly moved in and closed her eyes as she extended her senses. "Three monitors—they know we're here. We don't have much time."

Shaddix raised a hand, and around the office three devices sparked and died. He closed the door behind him and locked it. "Professor, we don't have much time. So I'm going to be blunt."

He grabbed the man and lifted him off the floor with one Force-empowered arm. "Who am I?"

"I don't…" The gangly professor with the thin, rapidly graying hair gasped. "Shaddix!"

He turned and stared at Mara as if seeing her for the first time. "And you…you're alive. I was so scared you wouldn't survive."

Shaddix let the man drop. "Tell me what happened. Who am I? Why can't I remember?"

Hastlebrant sank into one of the two repulsor chairs in front of his desk. "You can't remember because you don't have enough wives."

"What?" Mara sputtered. "What does that have to do anything?"

"It has everything to do with it," Hastlebrandt said. He turned and gazed into Shaddix's eyes. "If only I could give you the book. But he took it, and when he found out I made a copy he…punished me."

"The Emperor," Shaddix said. "I don't have time, Hastlebrandt. Tell me. Who am I?"

"You're the Forever Mage. The Lord of Light. You're a…."

It was too good to be true, Shaddix knew. Somehow, he shouldn't have been surprised when the Emperor chose that moment to strike in the form of a Tenloss disruptor. A thin beam of yellow light sliced into the professor's head. He made an odd gurgling noise before the molecules in his body lost their cohesion and he quickly vaporized into gas.

"Down!" Shaddix yelled. He dove and tackled Mara just as another beam sliced through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the office and burned a small hole in the wall. The Tenloss weapon could burn through objects, but it only vaporized organic matter, making it an ideal assassin's weapon.

"Can you sense him?" Mara asked.

"He's in a speeder a hundred feet out the window," Shaddix said. He closed his eyes, and outside they heard a loud explosion. Mara stuck her head out the window to see a speeder spiraling down into the base of the tower.

The doors of the office bulged before a harsh kick, but held.

"Damn," Shaddix muttered. "Damn, damn, damn! We were so close! I'm so tempted to just teleport in there and kill the old bastard!"

"You're not that powerful," Mara warned, half-afraid he actually would. "There was a coup attempt when I was nine. Almost a full legion of clones broke past the crimson guard. He killed them all, Shaddix. All at once."

The doors bulged again, and then sparked before a blaster bolt. Evidently Hastlebrandt had been very paranoid—his doors were reinforced.

"Fine, we run," he growled. He stood, raised a hand to the windows, and they exploded out as a rush of wind pushed at them. "You ready?"

"What are you…?"

He grabbed Mara, slung her into his arms, and then jumped through the shattered window. She couldn't help the cry of surprise and fear as they fell down the sides of the tower. Somehow, Shaddix bunched his feet and kicked off the sloping wall, throwing them even further out into the open air. The ground rushed at them, until she felt a surge of power that slowed them both.

They landed with barely a bending of his knees, and he immediately let her go. Not far away, a transport began unloading more storm troopers as students and faculty fled in terror. Shaddix grabbed the transport with his mind and slung it, half-full of troopers, into one of the many oversized statues of Palpatine that littered the university grounds.

The two started running away from the remaining troopers toward the speeder they arrived in. "Well," Shaddix said as he ran, "there goes that lead."

"Could be worse," Mara said. "He could have said you were really Palpatine's bastard."

"Mara, I love you, but have I ever told you how sick you can be?"

She laughed as she ran, thrilled to hear him say that he loved her. Yes, things could get worse.

---

Chapter Fourteen: The Infamous Princess

Leia sat up in bed with a sigh. "Lights."

The lights came on, revealing what she already knew. The bed was empty; she was alone.

Six months ago, she had never shared a bed with anyone, lover or friend. But then Shaddix came blazing into her life, and all that changed. Now she found she could not sleep without Shaddix and Mara there.

She climbed out of bed and looked at her chrono. It was only an hour before she planned to wake anyway, so she decided to begin her day early. After her morning toilet, she made her way into General Vernan's office to get a copy of the daily intelligence reports. Once she had the secure download, she made her way to the cantina for breakfast and caf.

She settled into her normal seat to read. The first report was about the loss of the Tak Base on Talay. She read through Katarn's and Ors' separate reports each twice. Katarn came to the Alliance with Shaddix's highest recommendation and a suggestion that he was a Force-potential, and Vernan quickly put him into the field with a commission after an intensive, three month Force-training program conducted by Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Knight Ylenic It'kla. If the reports from Katarn and Ors were correct, the commission was well deserved. Rakghouls—just the thought made her shiver. She noticed they had a clue they were following up on.

Before she could read more, an intruder sat down across from her. "Hi!"

She sighed. "Good morning, Luke."

"That's all you have to say for your brother?"

"Good morning, dear brother," she said, smiling in spite of herself.

She had a brother. Somehow, she had a brother. Obi-Wan and Luke had appeared at the base on day a week after they arrived, and Obi-Wan quickly told the true story of Luke, Leia and Darth Vader. The irony was not lost on Mara and Shaddix, either.

"So, let me get this right. After two years of the Empire believing I'm the secret love child of Anakin Skywalker, it turns out that I'm not, but you are?" Mara said when Obi-Wan told them the story of Anakin Skywalker, a story that was rendered less pertinent with the death of Darth Vader.

Luke smiled that infectious smile of his until she smiled back. "Sorry, long night."

He nodded. "'Cause Shaddix and Mara are gone?"

Luke was at once observant and obtuse. It was an irritating facet of her brother that he could see right to the heart of any matter concerning those around him, while at the same time missing anything pertinent to himself. He had a deep, abiding crush on Mara. He knew that Leia loved Shaddix. So somewhere in his thick skull was an insane belief that Mara would leave Shaddix for him, and the two couples would live happily ever after.

He just didn't understand—Leia loved Mara as much as she loved Shaddix. She missed them both.

"They're scheduled to return today," she said.

Her morning routine was then disrupted into complete disarray when her father arrived. "Good morning, dear," he said with a kiss to her forehead as he settled into a seat at her table with his own palm reader and a cup of caf. "Good morning, Lieutenant Skywalker."

"Good morning, sir."

"I understand you are training with Master Kenobi," Bail Organa said. "How goes it?"

"It's amazing, sir!" Luke said.

"I'm glad to hear it. Lieutenant, I was hoping to have a moment alone with my daughter this morning. Would you be willing to excuse us?"

"Of course sir!" Luke said. He stuffed his morning roll into his mouth, swigged his caf, and gave a brief wave at Leia before turning to leave.

Leia smiled in farewell and then pointedly returned to her reader. Without looking at her father, she said: "Well, it's been at least three weeks since the last time, so I'm assuming you wanted to talk about my love life again?"

Bail sighed tragically. "Leia, you are a Princess of Alderaan. An Organa of House Organa. Even if our world is no more, we continue! It is not appropriate for you to be in a polygamous relationship. It is against the law!"

"On Alderaan," Leia said softly. "Father, I know you don't understand. And I know I've not done well explaining it. I'm sorry. But…I love them both. I haven't slept since they left, I miss them so. There is no jealousy. Do you realize we have never once actually had a fight? Do you remember Baron Delstin, the boy you tried to set me up with when I was fifteen?"

"A good, handsome, intelligent boy."

"He was," Leia acknowledged of the now dead nobleman from Alderaan. "And frankly, he probably would have been a good match if things had gone differently. I really did like him, father. But we fought all the time. Over little things. With Shaddix, we don't fight. We can feel what we each need and want. He asks so little of me, and gives so much. Did you know he can cook? Not just hitting the food prep buttons, but actually preparing ingredients and mixing them over fire to create meals. He cooks for us at night when he's here. Better than anything we get in the cantina. He makes me happy."

She looked up from her reader and gave her father a long, imploring look. "Please stop trying to take that away from me, father. Please."

Bail sagged in his seat. "I can't help it, Lelila. I love you so much, it just drives me insane sometimes to see you with that man. I know he treats you well. It's the fact he treats that Jade woman well too that bothers me so much."

"I know, father." She reached across the table to take his hand. "Would you like me to show you something I've learned from him?"

"What?"

She smiled, looked in his eyes, and shared. Bail gasped, flushing a little as the wash of foreign emotions overcame him. She stopped after a second. "That's just a glimpse, father," she said softly. "A glimpse of what it's like just to hold his hand. Anything more than that, and I'm afraid I'd give you a heart attack.

He took a deep, ragged breath. "It's hard to argue with emotions like that," he acknowledged. "So, they're due back today?"

"Yes."

"And they wouldn't tell you what they're doing? They wouldn't tell Vernan or even Shaddix's own people."

"He went to Imperial Center with Mara to hunt down a possible lead as to who he was, before the Emperor took his memory."

"Ah."

Her comlink beeped. "Highness," came a tech's voice. "You asked to be informed when Lord Shaddix's ship was making its final approach. It should land in ten minutes."

"Thank you!" She clicked it off and stood, flushed now just with the thought of seeing him again. "Father…"

"Go ahead," he said in a resigned tone. "I need to speak to Mon anyway."

Leia smiled at her father, and then leaned down to kiss his bearded cheek. "You know, you should stop worrying so much about my love life and look to your own. I've seen the way she looks at you."

"It's an old crush, Leia. Nothing to think about."

"Father, it's been years since mother died. Don't you think she'd want you to be happy? After all, Mon is a remarkable woman."

"She is at that. Now go meet your…companions."

Leia sighed at his obstinacy and left the cantina at a fast walk. Now that she knew they were approaching, she reached out and felt them. They appeared in her mind as distant but vibrant stars.

By the time she reached the tarmac, the blastboat they used had already landed and a ground crew was carting it into the base. Shaddix and Mara were both walking toward her, as if they could sense her as well.

Leia felt eyes on her, and knew the whole base was watching her. The relationship she shared with these two was the stuff of legends. It was a miracle the Emperor didn't try to make something of it just to embarrass the Alliance.

And yet, when he and Mara smiled at her, all of her worries just seemed to melt away, and before she knew it his arm was around her waist and his lips were melting passionately into hers. Nothing else in the galaxy mattered except that moment.

"Miss me?" he asked.

"Stars yes," she said. She then hugged Mara. "You too. You're hair looks atrocious."

Mara laughed. "It does, doesn't it? Shaddix?"

He placed a hand on her locks and stroked it. Where his hand passed, her natural red locks shone through. He continued until the last of the dye was gone.

Leia knew from Obi-Wan that what he did just then was not a Force power. In fact, the Jedi on the base were certain that what Shaddix did was not really Force power at all, though he was obviously capable of using the Force. The fact he had no midi-chlorians just seemed to reinforce the Jedi's belief that he was not himself a Force-sensitive, but something else entirely.

"So?" she asked.

"Nothing," Shaddix said with a frown. "He knew. He was starting to speak to us, when the Emperor's agents got to him. Shot him with a disrupter."

"I'm not certain he knew what he was talking about anyway," Mara said in an off-hand manner. "The fool was saying Shaddix couldn't remember because he didn't have enough wives."

"Wives?" Leia asked archly. She looked at Shaddix. "Is that what we are?"

He shrugged. "Call it what you will—all I know is that I can't imagine living without you."

She sighed. "It's hard to even pretend to be angry at you, you know that, right?"

He grinned. "What can I say? Great power, overwhelming beauty, the most gorgeous women in the galaxy at my side—it's a hard life."

"I'm sure," Mara said, though she was smiling as she said it.

A corporal came jogging out of the hangar bay toward them and came to a stop, saluting. "Admiral Shaddix, sir, the Executive Council is beginning its session and requests your presence."

"I thought you were on the council," Mara said to Leia.

"Could be why they're asking for him," Leia pointed out.

Mara blew a raspberry.

"Thank you, corporal," Shaddix said. "Oh, before you go, did you call me admiral?"

The corporal, who appeared to be in his late teens, blushed. "That's how General Dodonna asked me to address you, sir."

"Thank you."

They followed along after the corporal. "You know, it does make sense," Leia said. "You command a full squadron of ships, even if you're not with them all the time."

"It's silly, though. Nogdra commands the squadron, and I just occasionally make suggestions to him."

"Which he takes religiously, because you are never, ever wrong," Mara pointed out.

He looked as if he were about to start arguing with her, but chose not to.

By the time they reached the executive meeting room, the session was already going. Leia noted that a fourth seat at the high table was available and smiled despite herself. When Shaddix joined the Alliance, he brought more military power with him than any of the original three, and so they had little choice but to grant him an equal say in Alliance policy, even if he rarely exercised the right.

He did now, nodding greetings and making small talk like a practiced politician, though he could not have been more than twenty years old.

Then again, Leia was just now twenty, and was already a former senator.

"Thank you for joining us on such short notice," Bail Organa said with cool courtesy.

Shaddix smiled at a man who was, for all intents and purposes, his father in law. "I was glad to make it in time. Thank you for inviting me." He sat down, while Leia took her seat at a second table reserved for ranking members of the Alliance. Though she did not officially have a military rank, she was considered a civilian leader just under the council members themselves and part of the larger council itself.

Mara sat beside her, since her intimate knowledge of the Emperor was tapped more than once during the last six months. The first order of business was Taq Base on Talay, and the reports of rakghouls there.

General Vernon finished the report by saying, "I've given Katarn another company, bringing his total strike force to a hundred men. It's the largest of the SpecForce teams, but the man is perfectly suited for this type of command. Admiral Shaddix was not exaggerating his potential one whit."

Shaddix nodded and didn't comment on the admiral rank. Leia knew it was because of her—if she approved of something, he generally accepted it, unless he had a very good reason not to.

"I do have some news," Shaddix said. "While my mission to Imperial Center was something of a wash, we rendezvoused with the Fury for a conference. We were able to destroy the taskforce en route to Mon Calamari. Admiral Ackbar reports that the ship yards are now in full production, and he anticipates the first three converted cruisers should be available within six months."

"Very good work!" Mon enthused.

"I wish I could take credit, Madame, but in truth Captain Nogdra discovered the task force and dealt with it accordingly. While I accept the rank you've given me, for the sake of administrative ease, I think his rank should also reflect his true responsibilities. I believe the rank of Commodore should apply at the least."

"He has been an incredible asset," Garm bel Iblis said. "I second the recommendation."

"All agreed?" Bail said.

The council members voted, and like that Nogdra was promoted.

"Admiral," Bail said, "I understand that you actually went to Imperial City in order to find clues to your past. You indicated it was a wash?"

Shaddix nodded, no longer smiling. "Before the Emperor forced her to bond with me, Mara remembered the man who evidently found me. We don't know any details and were hoping he did. He was the chair of the Department of Antiquities at Imperial University. A man named Hastlebrandt."

As Shaddix spoke to the council, Leia was looking at the rest of the occupants in the room, gauging faces, dedication, and capability. At the name of Hastlebrandt, she saw General Vernan almost jerk out of his seat. He did not say anything, but he very casually turned and looked Leia in the eyes.

He knew something.

She nodded, and knew she and the general would be speaking very soon.

She led the way into Vernan's section of the base with Shaddix and Mara a step behind. The staff, which at the moment was composed of five analysts and several dedicated droids, looked up in surprise at the infamous trio.

Leia ignored them as she continued through the stacks of holopads and flimsiplasts, until she reached the general's office. Leia was surprised to find her father in the room with the Vernan, along with the Camaasi Jedi, Ylenic It'kla.

"We were wondering when you would show up," Vernan said. He motioned to a wide sofa just inside the door. "Please, close the door and have a seat. We have much to discuss. Threepio, drinks please."

Leia was surprised to see the family droid working for Vernan, but decided this was the perfect place for a protocol droid with his language programming. The golden droid fetched a tray and served cups of water or blue fizz.

Shaddix took the blue fizz. While a brilliant tactician and an inspiring leader, he had the dietary preferences of a teenager.

"I recognized the name Hastlebrandt from a debrief I did a few years ago," Vernan began. "In fact, it was one our very first Imperial defectors to the Alliance as it now exists."

"Captain Juno Eclipse," Bail said. "Leia, you met her on Kashyyyk."

"I remember her!" Leia said. "I remember she was heartbroken when Marek died. I haven't seen her since before we even began Project Skyhook. Where is she?"

"She left the Alliance at my suggestion shortly after the Battle of Dantooine," Ylenic It'kla said. "It was my belief that she had great potential in the Force, and at that time we did not know the status of General Kenobi, so we sent her to the only other Jedi Master I felt could help her reach her true potential."

"We sent her to Master Yoda," Bail explained.

Leia noticed how both Shaddix and Mara sat up. "Yoda is alive?" Shaddix said. "The Emperor cursed his name almost daily. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Yoda wished to remain hidden," Organa said. "Frankly, the only reason we think Juno found him was because she hasn't returned yet. She was a dedicated soldier—she would have come back if she couldn't be trained as a Jedi."

"The point of this as it concerns you, though, is that three years before Dantooine fell, she was ordered by Darth Vader to personally fetch five young women from Dathomir. Dathomiri witches, I believe they are called. She flew them to Imperial Center into an archeological dig that was being done in the center of a refuse pit in the northern quadrant of the planet. Inside, she witnessed the Emperor, Darth Vader, and a man named Hastlebrandt, coerce the young women into performing a strange, ancient rite to summon a spirit. The rite involved blood and spoken vows to die for the spirit."

"Evidently," Bail continued, "the rite was successful. She told us that a young man emerged from a solid round stone, nude and covered in a slime not too dissimilar to the birth of a child. She said the Dathomiri witches were immediately drawn to him. That they seemed almost to be falling in love with him before he even woke. He did wake briefly, before the Emperor had all five women killed."

Leia could almost feel Shaddix wince in pain, as if some small part of him remembered.

"What happened next?" he asked.

"This young man collapsed, and Captain Eclipse flew everyone out and then, under Vader's direct orders, shot a torpedo into the dig site. All trace of the site is most likely destroyed. It is the only report we have ever seen mentioning the name Hastlebrant. However, since the meeting this morning I did a very brief search on him and found that six months after the events of Eclipse's report, Yanosh Hastlebrant was appointed chair of the department, displacing a well respected scholar who was forced to retire abruptly, and being elevated over twenty more qualified, tenured professors. There was, in fact, a rash of resignations in protest over his promotion, but nothing ever came of it."

"He was being rewarded," Mara said. "I wonder if he was…" She closed her eyes. "He is the one. He told the Emperor to send me to Shaddix. That's why he was so sad when I went there. It's all I remember—that he looked sad."

"The dream," Leia whispered.

"Dream?" Bail said.

"We had a dream, when Shaddix was unconscious right after the Death Star," Mara said.

"Both of you?" Vernan asked.

"We have common dreams all the time now," Leia said, dismissing something that made all three beings—even the Jedi—look askance at. "Anyway, we had a dream that there were three shadow women with us and Shaddix. And there was this light."

"It was beautiful," Mara interjected.

"It was going down into Shaddix," Leia continued with a nod. "But then it started to fade and go away, and the shadows said there were not enough."

"That's what Hastlebrandt said!" Mara said. "He said that Shaddix couldn't remember because he didn't have enough wives. What'd he call you? Eternal magician or something?"

"Forever mage," Shaddix said softly, lost in thought. "Lord of Light. Like I was special." He looked up to Vernon, Bail and It'kla. "What does it mean?"

"It means you are more than just a Sith or Jedi," It'kla said. "What precisely we do not know. But I think it might benefit you all to speak to Captain Eclipse. And, I daresay, Yoda himself. The Grand Master was over nine hundred years old when the order fell. His knowledge of Jedi Lore and history was second to none, as was his power in the Force. If there is anyone who could assist you with finding your secrets, it is he. He's on Dagobah."

Vernan's desk comlink beeped. "General!" a frantic voice called. "Perimeter defense caught an Imperial prove droid. It managed to get a signal out before we destroyed it!"

Vernan looked at Bail. "I'll contact General Dodonna to begin the evacuation procedures. We're not going to let Yavin turn into another Dantooine!"

---

Chapter Fifteen: The Battle of Yavin

When the Alliance to Restore the Republic arrived on Yavin, they did so as a beaten and dejected group. The pounding that Shaddix inflicted on them on Dantooine did more than just bruise their spirits—it bereft them of a huge amount of ordinance and supplies. Dantooine was a truly crushing defeat.

After Alderaan, though, things changed. For one, many systems that tolerated the Empire but held no love for it saw the destruction of a sovereign Core World as the ultimate insult and threat. For the first time, at least to many of these worlds, the Empire's true colors were finally exposed. The New Order was nothing more than a dictatorship.

Individual worlds throughout the galaxy openly revolted, some with more success than others. The water world of Mon Calamari was the most successful of these, being a planet with a well-established shipyard that historically produced luxury liners. Under the leadership of Ackbar—a former slave of Moff Tarkin's whom the Alliance freed—the Quarren and Mon Calamari banded together and converted their luxury liners into ships of war, and then built dedicated war cruisers able to go toe-to-toe with even Star Destroyers, if only for a while.

The Empire's effort to crush the Mon Calamari revolt ended with Captain—now Commodore—Nogdra's ambush and Ackbar's stunning defense.

Recruitment and Imperial defections to the Alliance sky-rocketed, and with people came credits and supplies. Within two months, the Alliance at Yavin was a completely different group than the one that arrived.

Moreover, the Alliance now had on its Executive Council a former apprentice of the Emperor who was intimately familiar with Imperial operating procedure and command protocols.

Still, compared to the combined might of the Empire, the Alliance could rarely afford to make large-scale commitments. Yavin was a perfect example. The Empire arrived in huge numbers—a heavy attack line of four hundred ships, led by ten newly minted Imperial-II class star destroyers.

At first, it seemed as if there was not going to be any opposition. The space around Yavin IV was clear, save for the distant sister moon of Yavin III, which was an uninhabitable, barren rock. The Imperials did detect a powerful energy shield over the base, and so the Admiral in command did the proper thing and ordered a ground assault.

Huge drop ships fell out of the bellies of the even larger capital ships of the attack line, a hundred in all. They entered the atmosphere of the verdant moon, and only then did they encounter their first signs of resistance.

Old Confederacy of Independent System vulture droids swarmed the drop ships by the hundreds. Many of the pilots, born after or during the Clone Wars, had never seen the old droid attack ships and so had no idea what they were. The older line officers in orbit, however, knew exactly what they were.

TIE fighters were launched to gain air superiority, over four hundred strong. Meanwhile, the vulture droids continued to wreak havoc on the vulnerable drop ships.

The TIE fighters swooped down on the droids. The difference in technology soon became apparent as the TIEs proved vastly superior to the Vulture droids, destroying ten of the droids for every TIE destroyed.

The droids programming switched, and instead of acting as fighters, the droids became missiles. They accelerated to top speed and slammed into the drop ships, one after the other, until all the droids were destroyed.

In their rush, they eliminated almost half the drop ships.

Still, fifty drop ships landed and disgorged their cargo. Forty AT-ATs and twenty two-legged AT-STs began blasting their way through the thick jungle to the outer defensive perimeter, only to trip and fall over.

Ordinary command protocols called for infantry to accompany AT-ATs to look for any obstructions that could impede the walkers. The Imperial admiral, in his infinite wisdom, believed this to be an unnecessary step since the AT-ATs were designed to trample over anything.

Unfortunately, Shaddix knew the admiral. He knew the man's haphazard approach to attacks, because he had never been in a conflict in which he did not have vast numerical superiority. The jungle was laced with small forcefield emplacements anchored into the granite just under the forest surface. The AT-ATs did not hit every one, but when one of the walkers hit one mid-step, the stabilizing gyros could not compensate and the huge beast tumbled down to the jungle floor. At least ten were destroyed in such a method.

The Admiral, infuriated, sent TIE bombers to begin strafing the rebel position. As soon as the large, unwieldy bombers were in the atmosphere, the first true Alliance resistance appeared.

Air speeders flew out of the Rebel ziggurats, fifty of them in five squadrons of ten craft, each specifically designed for atmospheric operations, as opposed to TIE fighters, which were space superiority craft forced to operate in the atmosphere by the economics of the Empire.

The bombers never reached the base.

"Like shooting mynocks!" Han solo roared to his fellow pilots.

By this time, the Admiral, a man named Graeta Holtar, began to realize this was not going to be as easy a victory as he desired.

He gave the order and the infantry finally left the AT-ATs in scout bikes and personal one-man walkers. They climbed out of the fallen AT-ATs and assembled, ten thousand strong, to begin the assault on the base.

They were met by a defensive line of only two hundred Alliance soldiers led by Shaddix, Mara, and Jedi Knight Ylenic It'kla, all on their own modified swoop bikes.

"Sure you can handle that bike, Shaddix?" Mara asked.

The former Sith laughed. "I may be pants at piloting fighters, but give me a swoop, and you'll see something worth cheering about."

"Yeah, yeah, less talking, more flying."

With a shout to his two companies of bikers, a liberal mix of defected storm troopers and swoop enthusiasts who just happened to join the Alliance, Shaddix led the charge to meet the incoming infantry.

Unfortunately, in almost any battle, there came a point when strategy and tactics had to give way before the chaotic nature of combat itself. Shaddix and Dodonna did all they could to prepare for the enemy, and wreaked devastating destruction on the attacking force, but in the end they were still vastly outnumbered.

The Battle of Yavin was never about defeating the Empire. It was about making the Empire bleed while escaping alive.

"Shaddix!" Leia's voice came over their hands-free comlink. "The first transport is ready. Dodonna is waiting to launch all transports at the same time for the flock effect."

"He's a smart man," Shaddix said as he banked hard around a thick tree, and came around to cut into a formation of storm troopers. A scout walker started tracking him with its laser cannons, only to have Mara come up behind it and cut one of its legs out with her lightsaber. "What type of formation are we looking at over the planet?"

"The fleet is concentrated directly over us."

"Holtar is a fool then, and the Emperor is going to have his head on a pike. We're taking losses out here. Let us know the minute the last transport is ready to receive us."

He heard her disconnect just as a heavy laser cannon from an AT-AT plowed the jungle floor in front of him. He had no choice but to launch himself from his bike as it slammed into a shattered trunk.

Shaddix gathered himself in mid flight, pulled his newly constructed blue lightsabers, and landed in a roll right in the middle of an entire battalion of storm troopers. "Hi, there!" he said brightly, before he started cutting.

Men screamed as troopers were mysteriously blown into the air. Only a fraction actually died as a result of Shaddix's lightsabers. Far more died from massive bursts of blue force lightning, or from the blunt force trauma of being thrown against a tree at sixty klicks an hour.

The frantic calls of the storm troopers attracted even more troopers, drawing attention away from the already tired and overstretched defensive line. This gave Mara and It'kla time to reform the line further back. It also gave the Jedi knight an opportunity to see Shaddix fight.

"He does not fight like any Jedi or Sith I have ever seen," Ylenic said in open wonder.

"I think we've established he's not either," Mara said. She was proud of him, even as some small part of her was afraid of him.

"I think even Admiral Shaddix will have trouble with that," the Caamasi Jedi said, nodding to an approaching pair of AT-ATs.

"I'll take that bet," Mara said.

"Sadly, Jedi do not gamble."

"Too bad."

In the middle of the fight, surrounded by over a hundred living troopers and twice as many dead, Shaddix suddenly, inexplicably disappeared just as a massive volley of laser cannon fire from the two AT-ATs decimated their own men. It was, Mara knew, typical Imperial practice to sacrifice soldiers to take out an important target.

One of the AT-ATs suddenly stopped walking. A moment later, the head of the walker turned toward its companion and opened up with everything it had. The second AT-AT took the powerful volley directly into its cockpit a moment before the head exploded.

A moment later, the head of the first walker also exploded. Shaddix appeared with a pop next to Mara, and stumbled. "Well, that was fun," he said with a deep breath. "How are we doing?"

"We've got breaches in the south," Mara said. "We were able to redirect some of the men from here because of your distraction, but they're still breaking through."

"We knew they would eventually," Shaddix said. He tapped his own link. "This is Shaddix to Command. We're pulling back to perimeter two." He switched channels. "All forces, this is Shaddix. Pull back to P2. Pull back to P2."

"Shaddix," Leia's voice came back, "transport two is loaded and transport three is nearly there. Last two transports are holding for ground forces."

Shaddix climbed onto Mara's bike, sitting snugly against her while she and It'kla pulled back to the second defensive line around the tarmac of the ziggurats themselves. "Solo, Celchu, Skywalker, do you read?"

The three pilots responded. "Come on home. Time to switch birds."

"Acknowledge," the three said. Overhead, the speeders broke off their dogfights and retreated to the base. A quick count showed there were a lot less returning than what went out.

The second perimeter was a dry moat that ran around the two ziggurats that made up the base. The moats were filled with Alliance soldiers with heavy laser cannon emplacements and missile pods. The bikers emerged from the forest line first, followed by a few running squads of troopers, before the Imperials broke through the tree line completely.

Shaddix and Mara both let their speeder go to one of the running men and ran themselves to the moat.

"Where's Derlin?" Shaddix asked.

"Here!" Major Derlin shouted back. The major waved, and Shaddix made his way to the major's line command point.

"Report!" Shaddix said.

"We've got contact along five points of the inner perimeter," Derlin said. "There's no possibility we can hold them. We're just trying to slow them down."

"That's all we can do, Major." Shaddix had to continue shouting as the air over their heads came alive with blaster bolts and explosions. Both men looked up to see a heavy turbolaser emplacement halfway up the ziggurate fire on an AT-AT. Armor that could stand up to heavy laser cannons did less well against a weapon designed for capital ship engagements.

Two AT-ATs exploded with sufficient energy to flatten surrounding scout walkers, and vaporize the infantry under them. The rebels ducked under the walls of the moat as the concussion wave ripped by overhead. More than a few helmets were blown off, though thankfully the heads under them remained attached to the bodies. The shaking ground, though, was enough to make even Shaddix nervous.

Unfortunately, there were many other AT-ATs, and every one zoned in on the turbolaser. A rain of laser cannon fire pelted the ziggurate, blowing away the stepped pyramid until the turbolaser exploded, taking a good portion of the ziggurat with it.

"Shaddix!" Leia shouted over the com. "We're ready! Pull back!"

Shaddix immediately echoed the order. "All forces pull back! Pull back. Full retreat! Make to your transports."

Soldiers gave up all pretense of fighting and turned to run for their lives. Fortunately, they turned and ran not over the tarmac of the base, but the tunnels that ran underneath it. Shaddix stood at the nearest tunnel entrance, directing foot traffic. Mara stood nearby, and twice had to deflect blaster fire with her lightsaber as storm troopers reached the moat.

"That's it!" she said.

"Right, come on!" The two turned and ducked into the tunnel. As they did so, Shaddix hit a large red button wired into the stone wall. He counted aloud, "Ten, nine, eight, seven…"

The first storm troopers reached the tunnel entrance right as Shaddix reached "zero". The tunnel entrance disappeared before a billow of fire. The concussion of the blast knocked Shaddix into Mara, and then into the straggling soldiers in front of them, until they all tumbled to the ground.

"Get up!" Shaddix roared at the men. "Run like you have an Imperial army coming to vape your asses!"

The soldiers, winded from the fight and the sprint, nodded and ran ahead with Shaddix and Mara on their heels the entire time.

They reached the massive underground hangar, which was already littered with debris blown down from the ceiling. In formation floated four GR-75 medium transport ships, the grunts of the Alliance Navy.

Shaddix and Mara both spotted Leia by the fourth transport, directing traffic while loader droids moved the last of the speeders into their cargo pods. Nearby, pilots were running to their X-Wings.

"Do we ride the transport or take the Skipray?" Mara asked.

"You're the pilot," Shaddix said. "You tell me."

"Why ride when we can fly?" she said. She grinned at him, her eyes alight with the heady rush of terror and confidence. She looked absolutely beautiful.

Then the wall behind them exploded.

In all the different scenarios Shaddix envisioned, he never foresaw the Empire blasting through the ground itself to attack the hangar. The explosion caught him completely by surprise and threw him somersaulting through the air. He landed with a bounce and was back on his feet, his ears ringing but otherwise okay.

He looked around the hangar, disoriented, and saw Leia screaming soundlessly as she pointed. He didn't understand why she wasn't making any noise when she was obviously screaming. He followed where she was point at and felt his heart skip a beat.

In the center of the hangar, in an unmoving heap, lay Mara. And bearing down on her was a juggernaut tank very nearly as large as the transports the Alliance was loading up. Each wheel in and of itself was larger than an X-Wing fighter, and such a wheel was bearing down at her as the Empire breached the hangar. The dozens of laser cannons that covered the behemoth started tearing into the transports, while still it rolled toward Mara.

"No," he said, though he could not hear his own voice, save through a distant muffle. He realized the explosion must have damaged his ears, but it didn't matter.

Nothing mattered if he lost Mara.

Desperation fueled his power. He lurched forward and pushed with both hands.

The juggernaut ground to a gear-grinding halt.

Suddenly Ylenic It'kla zoomed past him, moving with a speed not even a human Jedi could have matched. Long, furred legs carried him toward the unmoving heap that was Mara. He scooped her up and then immediately turned and started running back to the transports.

Shaddix saw the many laser cannon turrets scanning to see what was happening; he felt danger in the Force and knew they realized why they had stopped. Regardless of his power, he could not continue to hold the tank with them shooting at him. He was just running out of time. With an angry scream at the thought of the injury his wife suffered, he pulled power from the air and from within him. The air around his body shimmered as he reached out with everything he had and lifted the massive tank completely off the floor.

For a moment, all activity in the hangar paused as both Rebels and Imperials watched the fifty-meter long, sixty ton monster levitate into the air, and then fly side-ways toward the breach just as a second juggernaut tank was climbing down the blasted slope in the hangar. The first broke its back on the second, effectively destroying both.

Shaddix sagged to his knees from the effort. Soothing hands grabbed his arm and he looked up to see Leia. "Hi," he said.

She spoke, but all he heard were muffled sounds. Still, her intent was clear. The first transport was already lifting off, accompanied by ten X-wing fighters. He stumbled but Leia caught him. Behind them, storm troopers were forcing their way past the wreckage.

Leia surprisingly did not lead him to the transport. Instead, they ran toward one of smuggling freighters the Alliance contracted with. He saw It'kla ahead of them with Mara, also carrying her to the freighter.

He didn't care which ship they were on, so long as he had a chance to be with Mara and Leia.

The second transport was away and the third was moving to launch. Small weapons fire from the storm troopers did little to damage the transports. However, the whole base was vibrating from the approach of the AT-ATs. It was time to go.

They stumbled into the freighter. Leia continued to lead him to a small cabin. Mara was already there, unconscious, pale and bleeding. It'kla was tending her. Without a word, Shaddix stumbled to the bed past the startled Jedi, climbed over the red-head, and just collapsed next to her.

"Princess, she's hurt," It'kla said. "I cannot treat her like this."

"Master It'kla," Leia said tiredly, "you don't have to. Please, go to the cockpit and assist Captain Dantels. We'll be okay."

The Caamasi looked concerned, but acceded to her wish. He caught a brief glimpse of Leia climbing onto the bed and snuggling into Mara just as Shaddix did before he left and walked to the cockpit.

Captain Nera Dantels was a smuggler by profession, but through her relationship with Biggs Darklighter had joined the Alliance full time. She was an able pilot, and in fact was the one who Obi-Wan Kenobi hired on Tattoine. They flew into Alderaan's remnants an hour after the Death Star exploded. Fortunately, Dantels had communication codes and was able to obtain the coordinates to get Kenobi and his companion, Luke Skywalker, safely to Yavin.

Now she was blasting off with another Jedi, and still more odd passengers in the back.

"Have a seat," she said brusquely. Outside the viewport, It'kla could see that the Starduster was already moving toward the hangar door.

The atmosphere was thick was laser cannon fire as the X-wing fighters fought desperately to hold back the TIEs sufficiently to allow the transports to make orbit. Unfortunately, lining the sky was the Imperial blockade.

"I hope Admiral Shaddix's contingency plan works," It'kla said.

They broke through the atmosphere, and once in the clear of space, they could see that Shaddix's plan was indeed working. The Imperial fleet was breaking up under the fire of planetary ion cannons fired not from Yavin IV, but from the nearby moon of Yavin III. Further compounding the Imperial's problems, three Mon Cal heavy cruisers dropped out of hyperspace almost directly on top of the blockade ships that were attempting to prevent the transports from leaving.

A flash of light caught the Camaasi's eyes. He leaned forward to see the surface—a sizable mushroom cloud was spreading across the spot they just left. The base self destruct had ignited, taking a large portion of the Imperial ground forces with it.

He trembled at the thought of so much death, and for a moment was thankful he would not pass on his experiences to his children. Caamasi were not pacifists just due to philosophy, but to the fact that genetic memories haunted them for generations.

He turned back to see the Mon Cal cruisers tearing into the unprepared flanks of the heavy cruisers that were all that kept the transports from safety. Even with the ion cannon fire; even with the Mon Cal cruisers blasting away—the Empire had too much fire power to completely escape. The fourth transport took increasingly heavy fire, until the magnetic locks holding its cargo pods failed. It looked as if a giant beast had been gutted as pods began to fall out.

A Nebulon-B frigate swooped in underneath the heavy cruisers and fired a concerted volley. The transport blossomed into orange flame. Secondary explosions went off in white staccato flashes as the munitions in the pods also exploded.

"There went our speeders," Dantels muttered.

"And many of our soldiers," It'kla whispered.

Dantels looked startled, but then nodded. "Damn, you're right. Most of the last line loaded into the fourth transport. Gods of my ancestors, how many do you think we lost?"

"Too many."

The Starduster was actually much faster than any of the transports. Its smaller size also leant it increased maneuverability. With a capable pilot such as Dantels, the freighter had little trouble making it past the occupied blockade.

The Mon Cal heavy cruisers broke off their attack, skirting the atmosphere of the planet in their attempt to make a retreat. It'kla caught sight of a massive star destroyer bearing down on the last of the three, pelting it with heavy turbolaser fire and proton torpedos.

He prayed to the Force that the ship made it. Though the Alliance bled the Empire dearly, the cost was heavy.

"I'm jumping to hyperspace," Dantels said.

It'kla nodded and left the bridge. In the main lounge of the ship, he discovered a squad of twenty exhausted and injured troopers—the very last men who couldn't make it to the doomed fourth transport. They already had the freighter's limited medical supplies out, so It'kla did what he could to treat them and ease their wounds.

He lost track of time, not pausing until the last man was made as comfortable as possible. Only then did he look up and realize it had been six hours.

He called on the Force to renew his tired muscles, and then went to check on Shaddix. The door opened at his touch, but the Camaasi paused to enter.

The three inside were quite nude, and though they were soundly asleep, the air itself smelled of human sex.

Of course, as a Camaasi It'kla found naked human skin to be faintly disturbing. Camaasi had beautifully patterned fur, and the pale, naked flesh of a human being was not even remotely appealing. And yet, as he stepped in to check on them, there was a serenity, and even an innocence, in their positions that washed away the inappropriateness of the strange relationship.

Bail, It'kla knew, would be having a heart attack.

Still, the Jedi entered the room for a reason. He gently stood over the sleeping Mara and sensed her presence with the Force. It felt strong and healthy, and despite the fact she must have suffered significant wounds, she showed no sign of it on her mostly exposed body.

Shaddix still had crusted blood along his ears where his eardrums ruptured from the explosion, but like Mara his presence was strong in the Force.

Bright green eyes opened and considered It'kla.

"I was checking on Mara," the Jedi said softly, so as not to wake the others. "She is well. How are you?"

"I'm fine," Shaddix whispered. "We heal each other when we are together."

"I can see that. I'm sorry to have intruded."

"Don't be. You saved Mara's life. I will always be indebted to you for that. Thank you."

"It was both my duty and my honor to help you," the Jedi said. He turned to leave, but paused when Shaddix spoke.

"Master It'kla, could you ask the freighter captain if she would be willing to take us to Dagobah? I very much wish to speak to Juno. During the fight, I felt as if I should have been able to do more."

"My young friend, of all Jedi alive, only Yoda could have done what you did today."

"That's just it—I am sure I should have been able to do more. I need to know who I am. Juno Eclipse is my last hope."

It'kla nodded. "I shall ask. If she cannot, then I'm sure a craft will be made available when we rendezvous with the fleet. In the meantime, you and your mates should rest."

"Thank you, my friend."

It'kla bowed again, and the left the room.