Thayla and Jon sprinted into the hangar just as the guns along the Shilrakaen's outskirts began to open fire.

"So, it really has started," Thayla whispered to herself. Somewhere deep down in her soul, she had held onto the hope that the Bloods would back off before the shooting started and they would all get to go home.

Clearly, that wasn't going to happen.

The hangar began filling with the sounds of firing engines, as two nearby ARC-99's began to take off. Another unoccupied fighter was sitting nearby, alongside one of Ahor's refueling ships. It may have even been the same one that picked up Jon's speeder.

"Get in!" a man shouted, from the ramp. He turned to Jon as the two Jedi approached. "Ahor said you know how to fly a 99."

"Let's hope so" he responded. "Thayla."

She turned away from the ship to face Jon and quickly found his lips pressed up to hers. She was surprised at first, but quickly melted as his arms wrapped around her.

After several moments, the two of them finally fell apart with somber looks etched on their faces.

"If something happens to me, take care of-"

"It won't," Thayla, stated, before turning away. "Let's go."

All four ships were in the air moments later. The two ARC-99's that had taken off previously had simply hovered outside the hangar door, waiting to escort the rest of them.

Jon followed closely behind, fighting to recount the manuals and diagrams Ahor had sent him to study.

Meanwhile, Thayla took a look around the refueling ship she would be riding on, finding that much of the space had been retrofitted to fit a very different purpose. The cargo bay was still spacious, as was the massive spare fuel tank. However, both had been cut in half in order to make more room for generators and energy cells, powering the massive cannons mounted on the ship's front and the swivel turret in the rear.

"I'm Darson, by the way," said the man who had called her from the ramp. He was now seated in the pilot's chair, next to his second in command.

"I'm Mel. Welcome aboard, Jedi," the girl said. She couldn't have been much older than eighteen, but she kept every knob and dial on the dashboard finely tuned, while the pilot turned the ship upward.

"I'm Thayla," the Jedi said, nervously, as she strapped herself into an open chair behind the crew.

However, her nerves abated a bit, when a friendly face suddenly appeared.

A long series of excited beeps and boops caught her attention, beside a control panel on the far side of the spacious cockpit.

"D0-1T?" Thayla smiled.

"We found him in the hangar and he said he was yours," said the captain. "I figured he could be useful."

She started to respond, but suddenly went mute when she turned back to see bright flashes of light screeching past her view.

Flaming objects continued to burn their way through the atmosphere, accelerating at amazing speeds. Most were shot down by anti-aircraft guns above the city and others by the copilot in front of her, but a few were coming a bit too close for Thayla's comfort.

"Can you get the temperature on that thermal coupler down to six-five?"

"No, it's fine at seven-five."

"Seven-five is way too hot."

"Better seven-five on departure than reentry. We need to ration our coolant. I can vent that engine compartment once we're in orbit"

The two pilots kept spewing techno-jargon as they rose through the atmosphere. Thayla only understood about a third of what they were saying, but she certainly understood what it meant when flaming streaks began to come within inches of their windshield, further causing her stomach to sink.

"Didn't you run calculations for planetary departure?"

"I did," Mel screamed, "The trajectory of those objects must be changing."

"Well, then run the calculations again and make sure you take atmospheric turbulence into account."

"I did the first time, I swear!"

They continued to argue as they dodged in and around the fireballs hurtling toward them.

Despite her fear and despite knowing she could be blasted into pieces at any moment, Thayla Creed sucked in a breath and centered herself, stretching out with her feelings and plunging her mind into the swirling mass of energy around her.

Instantly, she could feel something cold. It was a presence unlike any she had felt before, monstrous in its size and overflowing with hatred and despair.

"I'm here."

She was startled by the sudden presence of another mind reaching out to hers, but it turned out to be Jon, in his nearby fighter.

"Focus on flying," she told him. "Keep yourself safe."

His presence diminished, but remained in the back of her mind, helping to give her the confidence to face whatever it was that was out there.

"What are you?" she asked, searching for an answer that she wasn't sure she wanted to know.