Disclaimer: I did not invent the outer-space dogfight.

Meetra stood next to Mandalore as the hangar doors slid open. The Basilisk war droid looked like a durasteel beetle. Two pairs of wings were folded back above and below the fuselage. Mandalore began leading Meetra around the vessel. "Your main armament is blaster cannon: two pair in mounts on either side of the cockpit. Under the upper wings, you've got swarm missiles." He chuckled. "We designed them to hit those damned Paladins of yours. They fire in volleys with smart targeting. They can blanket an area to hit enemies in formation, track down separate targets, or surround a single target to ensure one or two hits. The pods hold sixty each. I suggest letting your droid handle the targeting, but it's up to you. The lower wing pods are a jammer and decoy launcher." He opened the hatch and pointed Meetra to the pilot's seat. "The controls look complicated, but they're actually fairly easy; the Bes'uliik handles a lot like a space suit thruster pack, only faster and more agile. Your arms go in there, and you grip the handles like so. Pitch and roll is your right hand, directional thrusting your left, yaw is the foot pedals. The thumb sticks control the cannon; you've got about thirty degrees of traverse from center. The HUD will show you a reticle for each gun mount, and they can be aimed independently." Mandalore backed out of the way so that Meetra and T3 could enter the cockpit. "Take care, Surik. Your shields and armor are much heavier forward than aft. Mandalorians don't turn our backs during a fight."

Meetra nodded. "Thank you, Mandalore."

T3 tooted and rolled into the cockpit; Meetra stopped and looked back. Mandalore followed her gaze to her other companions, who were preparing to search the jungle. "They'll be all right, Surik."

Meetra heaved a deep sigh and nodded, then turned and climbed into the Basilisk. Mandalore jumped down and headed to his shuttle, where Kreia, Bao-Dur, and HK were waiting. "Get yourselves situated. Zabrak, you're on the tail gun. Droid, there's no artificial gravity in the cargo compartment; you'll need to use the webbing to secure yourself."

"Reply: Acknowledged, Mandalorian," HK said. "I will be ready when we land." He stepped into the cargo bay and lay down, pulling the hatch shut. Mandalore led the way into the G-wing's cabin, pointing Bao-Dur to the rear-facing gunner's seat. The ground crew uncoupled fueling hoses, pulled arming pins, and cleared the way for both craft to take off.

Meetra gripped the control sticks and took a deep breath. She had dozens of combat missions in Star Sabers and Paladins, and had some flight time in Stingers, Aureks, and Chelas. The basics were always the same. Meetra powered on the repulsorlifts and gave the Basilisk a little thrust to float out of the hangar. Once clear, she added power and began to climb. The powerful main engines slammed Meetra into the seat, despite the inertial dampers. The war droid had similar handling characteristics to most other craft its size, but that was because the wings were still folded for atmospheric flight. According to Mandalore, once she hit vacuum, everything would change. Meetra kept an eye on her gauges. The backup analog dials were all in Mandalorian, but T3 had programmed the screens and HUD to display in Basic. Mandalore's shuttle was trailing in formation, about a kilometer back. The sky ahead was clear, for the moment.

The sound of rushing air quieted as the Basilisk left the atmosphere. The wings unfolded, and the war droid transformed from a beetle to a silver butterfly. The engines now pointed in four different directions diagonally, not directly aft. They worked with the thrusters to give Meetra incredible agility. She tried a series of maneuvers and grinned-the Basilisk handled like a dream. Meetra called up full thrust and accelerated toward Onderon. Mandalore swore in her headset-she was leaving him behind. Meetra chuckled to herself and throttled back to half power.

Mandalore pulled up alongside her. "Having fun, Surik?"

"Oh, yes." Meetra snapped the Basilisk through three complete rolls. "I haven't flown anything with this much spirit in years."

"I hope you're not rusty," Mandalore said. "Check your sensors, Jedi."

Meetra glanced down at her displays. There was a large group of fighters moving into position to block their path to the planet. The group was a mix of Stingers and Sith Interceptors, dozens of them. Meetra gripped the sticks tightly. "Here we go. Mandalore, hang back. I want you to stay out of a ten-kilometer radius until I'm out of missiles. After that, close in and try to keep my tail covered."

"Understood, Surik. Give them hell." Mandalore cut his engines and dropped back.

Meetra took a deep breath and watched the enemy fighters approach. Missile range was fifty klicks-less than a minute, at the rate they were closing. The Stingers were in the center of the formation; the faster interceptors would try to spread out and surround her. Twenty seconds. "All right, T3," Meetra called. "Lock them up and knock 'em down!"

The astromech whistled excitedly. Diamonds began overlaying the squares on the HUD. T3 marked targets for two volleys of twelve missiles each. Ten seconds. Five. T3 bleeped, and Meetra heard the roar of rockets right through the droid's hull. The missile pods fired out to the sides; each pod launched two bursts of six, five seconds apart. Smoke trails curved gracefully through the darkness as the swarm of missiles roared toward the enemy. The PDF and Sith fighters popped decoys, but to no avail. The missiles were not aimed at individual targets, but at predetermined points in space. Half a minute after launch, the warheads began exploding within the fighter formation. Shrapnel cut down at least ten ships. Meetra slammed the throttle to full and blazed in toward the cloud of fighters, another dozen missiles racing ahead of her. The second missile launch wiped out most of a Sith squadron, but three fighters closed in. Meetra tapped the left stick and the Basilisk thrust laterally, jumping aside to avoid the incoming fire. Meetra twisted around and pulled the trigger on her guns. The twin cannon in each mount fired alternately with a solid thud-thud-thud. One hit was enough to wreck the lead interceptor; Meetra tapped the rudder pedal and shot down the other two before they could break away.

T3 screeched a warning and fired another salvo. More fighters were closing in from above. Meetra responded instinctively with a combination roll and flip. She fired the guns separately, almost like aiming two pistols. An alarm blared; a squadron of Stingers was locking proton torpedoes. Meetra launched her own decoys, but there too many torps coming at her.

Meetra kicked in full throttle again, then spun and flew the Basilisk backwards. "T3, lock on to the torpedoes!"

The astromech twittered understanding and fired his last volley. The small, agile swarm missiles took out all but four of the incoming torps. Meetra began shooting, but had trouble hitting them with her slow-firing cannon. She dropped one torpedo, then another… and then the last pair fell to a storm of fire from below. Mandalore roared past in his G-wing, and Bao-Dur waved from the rear gunner's station.

"Nice timing," Meetra deadpanned. "Mandalore, we're making a run for Iziz. Bao-Dur can hold them off until we set down."

Mandalore acknowledged and came around, staying behind Meetra where the tail gun could cover them both. They blazed away with their cannon, cutting a path through the remaining fighters. The guns of Iziz opened up as they descended. Meetra twisted through a series of evasive maneuvers, dodging enemy fire and nearly colliding with a speeding fighter as she dove for the deck. The war droid rocked as it was hit. T3 shut down the cannon and transferred power from the weapons system to reinforce the shields. More and more AA fire slammed into Meetra's ship. The shields failed with a loud pop and Meetra started taking hits on the hull. She held her course, aiming for the large plaza in front of the Palace. Another hit, and T3 wailed in alarm: the repulsorlifts were damaged and the Basilisk was losing altitude. Meetra folded the wings for some lift and searched for a closer landing site. She banked towards the market square. There was barely enough power left in the repulsorlifts to soften the landing. The Basilisk hit and slid, tearing up paving stones. The ship ground to a halt and Meetra unstrapped from the pilot's seat. The hatch was jammed, so she slashed her way out. T3 rolled up to the opening, and Meetra lifted him down to the ground. A pair of Onderonian troopers arrived, took one look at her sabers, and ran.

Mandalore flared the G-wing to a landing next to Meetra; his passengers piled out and gathered between the ships. Meetra ran up to them. "Nice work. Which way to the Palace?"

Mandalore brought out a map. "The gun towers and wall defenses are connected by the Sky Ramps. We need to get up onto the walkways and then follow them northeast to the Palace. There are several checkpoints we will need to pass. If they're in royalist hands, it shouldn't be a problem. If not, we'll have to break through." He hefted his big repeater. "Let's move."

They were crossing the market square when Vaklu's people showed up in force. A pair of APCs and four trucks rumbled into the plaza; forty or fifty troopers dismounted and began spreading out. The APCs' cannon swung to point directly at Meetra.

"Drop your weapons!" The voice came from a loudspeaker on one of the APCs. "You have ten seconds, Jedi. Surrender or be shot!"

Kreia chuckled dryly. "I will silence this one."

She raised her arms; the armored vehicles lifted off the ground, flipped, and crashed to the ground upside-down. The troopers jumped in shock, then shouted and began shooting. HK and Mandalore stood their ground and returned fire. Meetra blasted a push ahead of her, then charged into the fray with Bao-Dur right behind her. They ripped through the PDF platoon in two minutes, then headed for the Sky Ramp. The checkpoint was held by a squad, backed up by several heavy repeater turrets. The fire was too heavy even for Meetra to block, and she was forced to take cover behind a pile of rubble. HK stepped out and fired, destroying the turrets one after another. The squad fell back; Meetra and the others charged, but the separatists powered on a force field to block the way. Meetra tried to stop from a full sprint and shocked herself on the force field. A PDF trooper on the other side grinned and made a rude gesture.

Meetra snapped her fingers. "Bao-Dur?"

The big Zabrak grinned and slammed his repulsor fist into the barrier, which flickered out. The separatist squad was dead in seconds. Meetra led the way up to the walkways high above the city. They made good time from the Merchant Quarter to the central district. Up ahead, several Sky Ramps met at a junction, a landing pad sticking out from one of the turret towers. There was a battle underway on the pad. A large group of masked separatists were besieging a bunker full of royalists. They had set up durasteel blast shields for cover, and were leaning out to shoot at the bunker's firing slits. Meetra and her companions tore into the PDF troopers from behind, catching them completely by surprise. They wiped the separatists out quickly.

The bunker door slid open and a royalist officer waved. "Get in, quick!" He pointed upward; two Aurek fighters were coming in on a strafing run. The group dove into the bunker as cannon fire tore up the pad.

The officer closed the door and sealed it. "Nice to see you again, Jedi." Captain Riiken turned and grinned at Meetra. "Someone wants to talk to you-let me get them on comm." He worked at a terminal for a moment, and the screen came on.

Xaart was wearing Republic armor now. "Good afternoon, General Surik. I'm glad you made it. We saw your shuttle coming in, but Vaklu's people were between you and us, so we couldn't provide any support." He began typing; a hologram of the city appeared in front of Meetra. "This is the situation: Vaklu's forces have almost total control of the city. His followers include most of the PDF as well as Tobin and his Lancers, and he's got Sith allies, including Dark Jedi. They are holding the turret towers, using them as fortresses to control the streets. Queen Talia is supported by her royal guard-the Paladins-and the Onderonian Navy. The PDF has control of the air, and all the turret towers but the one I'm in now. Vaklu's people are already fighting inside the outer hallways of the Palace. The Paladins are putting up a good fight, but they can't hold him forever. Vaklu has called for more reinforcements from the city, and the Palace is being bombarded by artillery from the Gatehouse-the major PDF fortress in the wall. Right now, that bunker you're standing in is the only thing keeping the separatist forces in the city from moving up the Sky Ramp and overrunning the Palace."

Xaart crossed his arms. "So here's the plan. I am with a group of PDF who support the Queen, but we're near the Gatehouse, twenty kilometers away from you. Admiral Daynar is landing troops from orbit to take the Gatehouse and stop the shelling. After that, we'll take the city, one tower at a time. Surik, your people and Captain Riiken are the only ones close enough to get to the Palace before the Paladins are wiped out. You have to take the turret tower first; you need protection from PDF fighters, or they'll get you when you're exposed on the last ramp to the Palace. There is a mix of PDF and Sith holding the Palace entrance; Vaklu and Tobin are both inside, fighting their way to the Queen. Good luck."

Meetra nodded to herself and turned to Riiken. "How many men do you have left?"

"Seventeen," the captain replied. "What are your orders?"

"Tower's easy enough," said Meetra. "Let us handle it; take the time to get your people ready to move out."

Meetra stepped out of the bunker and headed for the tower. Bao-Dur spread out to her left, Kreia to her right, with HK, T3, and Mandalore following behind. The soldiers inside began shooting out of firing ports in the door; the Jedi deflected the bolts without even breaking stride. The Aureks were back, diving in to blast the landing pad. HK stopped and took aim as the others kept running. He fired at the lead fighter; the armor-piercing dart tore through the Aurek's canopy and killed the pilot. The fighter went out of control and plummeted into the city; the second fighter had to pull up to avoid a collision. Meetra reached the tower, stuck her sabers into the door, and began cutting around the locking mechanism. The lock fell out of the door; Bao-Dur grabbed the edge and slid the door open. Mandalore tossed in a grenade and Meetra dashed inside a second after the blast. The few troopers who had survived the grenade were still stunned, and Meetra finished them before they could recover.

"Let's get these guns going." Meetra gestured; T3 tooted and rolled up to the control console. The tower had a twin blaster cannon turret at the top and a quad repeater on each side. All five turrets opened fire, forcing the PDF and Sith fighters to stay clear. The separatists had no more air cover over the Palace.

"General Surik!" Riiken ran up with his squad behind him. "You need to get going now. Xaart just sent a warning: the separatists have just pulled out of the Gatehouse. There's a reinforced battalion on the way here, a mix of PDF and Lancers with armor and air support. They mean to break through and reinforce Vaklu at the Palace; they'll be here in ten minutes." The captain glanced back at the Sky Ramps leading into the city. "We can't delay them for long, Jedi. You have to go."

Mandalore glanced at HK and nodded; the assassin loaded a fresh magazine. "Statement: Master, take the royalist soldiers with you. The Mandalorian and I will hold this crossroads."

"Two against a battalion?" Riiken shook his head. "That fight is completely one-sided!"

"You're right." Mandalore hefted his repeater. "They'll need more men."

Riiken chuckled. "Well, I love your enthusiasm." He waved to his men. "We'll give you a hand getting set up."

The royalist squad took a few minutes to reposition the blast shields. They moved them into an irregular line in front of the tower and bunker, with plenty of open ground for a kill-zone. Meetra and the rest left to break the siege. HK and Mandalore loaded up on grenades and settled down to wait. They didn't wait long; HK spotted movement down one of the ramps. A squad of infantry was coming up the ramp from the Market District. The pair took cover behind the walls at the edge of the pad, crouching out of view of the approaching troops.

"HK, I don't know what the current state of your memory is," Mandalore said quietly. "I wonder if you remember the game we used to enjoy."

HK-47 looked over at the Mandalorian. "Query: Is the meatbag referring to 'Who's the better killer?'"

Beneath the mask of Mandalore, Canderous Ordo smiled. "Let's play."

They popped out from behind the wall, firing into the approaching soldiers. There was no real cover on the ramp, so the troopers dropped prone to avoid Mandalore's repeater. That just made them easy targets for HK, who began eliminating the squad one man at a time. He'd have gotten them all, had he not been forced to cover by more soldiers firing from another ramp to the left. Mandalore pivoted to take on the new arrivals, and the pair fell back to their hasty defenses.

HK shot a pair of troopers who were moving to flank, then dropped behind a blast shield. "Alert: Reloading!"

Mandalore nodded and unleashed a continuous burst from his heavy repeater, suppressing the enemy. HK slammed in a new magazine and stood up shooting. The PDF threw grenades, but HK shot them out of the air. More fire came from the right-a group of Lancers was hammering away with repeating carbines. Mandalore swung around and pinned them down with heavy fire. The PDF regulars on the left tried to rush him, but HK gunned them down methodically. The Lancers fell back down the ramp; there was a momentary lull in the fighting. Mandalore and HK both shifted position to different blast shields. The second wave began with the Lancers coming back up the right side. PDF troopers came from three other ramps at once. A Lancer produced a grenade launcher and began destroying the blast shields one by one. HK shot him before he could find the right target. He tossed a grenade into the Lancers, killing three and wounding at least twice that many. Mandalore swept his stream of repeater fire back and forth, shredding the charging soldiers. The infantry broke and ran, leaving more than sixty dead lying on the pad.

The pair was getting ready for the next wave when Mandalore's comm chirped; it was Xaart. "Brace yourselves. The main force is about to reach your position. It's a mechanized column with a lot of air support. The Navy is sending fighters to cover you, but it will be a few minutes before they arrive."

Mandalore swore and ran to the group of dead Lancers. He grabbed the grenade launcher and bandolier, then ran back to the line. HK reloaded his rifle and took cover. T3 shrilled a warning; eight Aureks were zooming in. They spread out to divide the tower's fire and dove toward the pad, opening up with their cannon. The heavy fire forced the defenders to hunker down until the fighters had made their first pass. T3 kept up a steady stream of fire from his turrets, knocking down two of the Aureks as they swept past. Then the ground forces arrived. Two light speeders came up the ramps with a platoon of infantry behind. They closed in, shooting. Mandalore blasted one of the speeders with the grenade launcher; HK killed the gunner on the other. Both defenders fired into the infantry, cutting them down as they tried to advance. The remaining Aureks came in for another strafing run. They forced the defenders to cover but T3 shot them all down. A trooper hopped onto the back of the second speeder and manned the gun. Mandalore popped up and blew the speeder to pieces. He took cover and began reloading the launcher. The infantry tried to rush him, but HK forced them back with well-aimed fire.

Four APCs climbed up onto the pad with dozens of troopers behind them. They began blasting away with their cannon. Mandalore fired his last four shells for the launcher, but the grenades didn't penetrate the vehicles' armor; he swore and switched to his repeater. The APCs dropped their ramps and Lancers poured out, blazing away with carbines. Mandalore threw a frag into the open ramp on one of the carriers, which blew sky-high. HK tossed smoke grenades and the pair fell back. Mandalore headed for the bunker; HK ran into the tower and pulled the damaged door most of the way shut, leaving a small slit to fire through. The remaining APCs kept shooting; more light speeders arrived to pour fire onto the defenders. HK emptied clip after clip at the huge number of infantry swarming up the ramps. Mandalore's repeater overheated and vented its coolant with a loud hiss; he dropped it, drew his disintegrator, and kept firing. The armor closed in to blow open the bunker.

Blaster fire slammed into the separatist forces from above. A flight of Navy Aureks screamed overhead, then came around for another pass. Vaklu's people were caught in the open with no cover; the fighters tore them up. The gunners on the light speeders shifted their fire to the sky, trying to drive the Aureks off. This took the pressure off Mandalore, who got fresh coolant into his repeater and opened fire. The separatists wavered and began to fall back towards the ramps. Then the ground started to shake. A PDF tank rolled up the center ramp and onto the pad. It blasted the tower top and knocked out the guns. A squadron of PDF Stingers arrived on the scene and engaged the Aureks, forcing them to stop strafing and defend themselves. The tank moved in, spraying the bunker with repeater fire. Mandalore hit the floor just before the tank blew a gaping hole in the bunker. He slung his repeater and scrambled outside, firing his pistol one-handed on the run.

The tower doors slid open; HK and T3 powered on shields and came out shooting. The commander's cupola atop the tank's turret swung to engage them with a repeater. HK was hit, but his shields took the brunt of it. He jumped onto the top of the turret and smashed the cupola's vision blocks. HK stood on the turret hatch and fired his flamethrower through the smashed cupola. There were screams and a frantic hammering on the hatch, then silence. HK got clear of the tank just before its ammunition cooked off and the turret blew into the air. Mandalore and T3 came up alongside, spraying the remaining infantry with rapid fire. A pair of Chelas dove on the Stingers from above; three PDF fighters fell and the rest scattered. The Aureks returned to ground attack with the Chelas flying top cover. It was too much; the separatists routed and fled down into the city.

Mandalore set his repeater on the ground, took a sip from his helmet's beverage tube, and let out a long sigh. "Water will do for now. Could use a few pints of ne'tra gal, though."

"Statement: We have driven off the separatist reinforcements," HK said. "Query: Shouldn't we link up with the Jedi at the Palace?"

Mandalore shook his head. "We've done our job." He chuckled. "Besides, Surik doesn't need our help. She's going to tear Vaklu apart."

Meetra walked slowly and calmly up the Sky Ramp. Bao-Dur and Kreia were abreast of her to the left and right. Riiken and his men followed behind; they had secured four repeating carbines from dead Lancers back at the turret tower. Another force field blocked access to the plaza in front of the Royal Palace. Bao-Dur bashed right through it and the Jedi stepped out onto the plaza. A company of PDF troopers was waiting behind a line of blast shields, rifles aimed. They opened fire at Meetra as soon as she came into view. The Jedi began a series of precise saber movements, deflecting the incoming fire back at their attackers. Riiken and his men spread out behind them and began engaging the PDF force. Kreia threw a push and flipped one of the blast shields, crushing three troopers. The two men nearest the flipped barricade lost their nerve and ran back toward the Palace. They skidded to a stop as a masked woman in black robes stepped out the front gate. The Sith Master choked one man, lifting him clear off the ground. She blasted the other with lightning, then let the first man fall to the pavement.

The Sith drew a double-blade as another Master and two warriors emerged from the Palace. "Hold the line. Cowards will be dealt with."

The PDF infantry stood their ground; they were more afraid of the Sith behind them then the Jedi in front. Riiken's repeater gunners began suppressing the barricade. Bao-Dur leapt forward, smashing down into the PDF line and scattering the troopers. Meetra was right behind him, cutting down soldiers left and right. The troopers were forced out of cover where Riiken's men could hit them. They had no choice but to charge and hope for the best. When the wild melee was over, the PDF were all dead, but the four Sith stood silently, waiting.

"We'll handle this." Meetra gestured to Riiken to keep his men back; they took cover among the blast shields. "Kreia, take the second Master. Bao-Dur, stay close; we've got the other three."

The big Zabrak nodded and brought his saber up. The four Sith walked forward slowly. The lead Master was a female humanoid a little shorter than Meetra; she really could have been any of two dozen species behind her mask. She drew a pair of shotos. The two Sith warriors were wearing black fiber armor and masks. They spread out to either side of the leader. The second Master was a big, dark-skinned man in heavy armor wielding a double-blade. He snarled and advanced on Kreia. The old woman raised her saber defensively, daring the Sith to attack first. He came on with a diagonal slash from above. Kreia parried, feinted low, then struck shoulder-high. The Sith blocked with his second blade. Kreia sidestepped and circled toward his off hand, then blew him into the air with a whirlwind. The Sith flipped forward and landed behind Kreia, slashing at her back. She stopped the strike and backpedaled, saber up and her left arm behind for balance. The big Sith smiled cruelly and raised his saber for another attack.

Meetra angled her sabers, taking a deep breath. Bao-Dur was lined up against the Sith warrior on the left, and Meetra was facing the Master. That left the second warrior loose; she had to be wary of an attack from her flank. The sneak attack came as expected. Meetra blocked it easily, but it was a diversion. The Master switched places with the first Sith warrior and went after Bao-Dur. The pair of warriors came on hard and fast, pinning Meetra between them. They were very skilled and aggressive, working in perfect unison to keep her on the defensive. She couldn't break out of the duel; the Zabrak was on his own against a Sith Master. The Master moved in with a furious flurry of attacks. Bao-Dur backed up a step, spinning his saber to ward off his opponent. He countered with a flat slash, but only hit air. The Sith feinted low, then went for the throat with her off hand. Bao-Dur had to retreat again; the Master was pushing him further away from Meetra. He blocked two quick strikes but took a hard kick to the ribs. The Sith choked him; Bao-Dur's remote flew forward and stung the Sith with its laser, briefly distracting her. The Zabrak went on the offensive with a series of powerful swings, hammering the Sith's guard.

The two Sith warriors were giving Meetra all she could handle. Their technique was brilliant; she had to work to make an opening to get in attacks of her own. Meetra managed to spin around one of her opponents and connect with an elbow to the jaw. The man's mask absorbed some of the impact, but he still briefly stunned. Meetra kicked him in the stomach, then attacked the other warrior full-force, driving him back. She let loose a huge wave of the Force, blew the warriors into the air, and threw her lightsabers at them. Both warriors shot lightning before the sabers hit; the Sith were killed, but Meetra was badly shocked. She cried out and fell to the ground. Meetra tried to get to her feet, to move at all, but her nerves were screaming and her limbs were numb. She could only watch helplessly as Bao-Dur fought a Sith Master completely alone. He was on the attack and slamming the Sith backwards with every hit, but it couldn't last. Bao-Dur was making the same mistake as when they'd dueled on Dantooine: he was hitting with tremendous strength, but at the expense of speed. The Sith was much faster than him, and it was only a matter of time before she found an opening and struck home. Bao-Dur wound up for a diagonal slash. Meetra saw the kill coming, but she couldn't call out a warning. The Sith parried with her left hand and sliced at the Zabrak's throat with her right.

Bao-Dur blocked with his mechanical arm, then clamped his left hand on the Sith's right wrist. He forced her arms apart and delivered a powerful headbutt. She staggered backwards and Bao-Dur followed up with a massive uppercut. The Sith's head snapped back; she fell to the pavement and didn't get up. Meetra felt a wash of relief as the Zabrak jogged over to her. "Master Meetra! Kreia, is she all right?"

"She has been paralyzed. Give thanks that your master has such strength; a lesser woman would have been killed instantly." Kreia knelt by Meetra's side. "I can heal her, Iridonian, but I need time. You must defend us."

Bao-Dur nodded, then waved to the loyalist squad. Riiken and his men ran over. Four men took a knee near Meetra while the rest formed a line. They got set up just in time; a Sith apprentice charged out of the palace leading about thirty troopers armed with blasters and blades-and a dozen boma beasts. Bao-Dur took another huge leap and landed fist-first. The shockwave tossed Sith like toys, and the royalists opened up on them. Bao-Dur attacked the bomas, wielding his saber one-handed and fending off the beasts with his left arm. Riiken's repeater gunners focused fire on the troopers, keeping them pinned down while the Zabrak finished the bomas. The apprentice tried to take him on with two troopers backing him up. Bao-Dur pressured them with a series of startlingly fast, light attacks. The troopers fell in moments; the apprentice did a little better, but Bao-Dur got a low strike in and wounded him in the lower leg, then spun and took his head off.

Meetra got to her feet, smiling. "Well done, Bao-Dur. Don't scare me like that-I thought that Master had you for sure."

"She almost did." The big Zabrak grinned. "I hope it's never that close again. When I built my arm, I used some phrik alloy in the plating, but that was to protect the mechanicals from the repulsor beam. I wasn't sure it would stop a full-power saber blade."

Meetra stretched, the last of the numbness leaving her body. "No time to rest. Let's get in there and finish this."

A/N: I loved writing this part. KotOR focuses heavily on the Jedi, so it was fun to take a moment aside and throw in a Macross-style dogfight, and a couple of badasses with guns holding off a whole damn army. Did you enjoy it? Please, leave a review!