Even through the shielding and the durasteel hull, there was a noticeable chill that washed over them, when they crossed into the vacuum of space.

Thayla had fought a hard battle to keep her concentration intact, but things became much easier for her when the threat of debris was finally lifted by lack of gravity.

The fighters continued blasting the larger pieces, but anything that hit them harmlessly bounced off of their deflector shields, like it was made of foam.

"Departure successful," Mel said, with a sigh of relief. "I'm starting realignment."

Jon and Thayla felt a sense of ease floating between them, as the Jedi and the pilots released a tension they didn't know they were holding onto.

However, whatever levity they had experienced was shattered when the ship finished its rotation and an intense yellow light streamed directly into their eyes.

The captain quickly turned a knob on his left and the viewport dimmed to compensate.

"ETA?"

"Two minutes."

It had somehow seemed smaller when they had looked at it from below the clouds, and it hadn't seemed small then. All of a sudden, it really hit them that this ship was large enough to ensnare a planet.

Thayla felt the tendrils of the dark side disappear into the void, leaving nothing between them their destination.

"The reports were right. Scans show a complete lack of armament."

Darson double checked her work, before confirming it to his passenger. "Yeah, it's defenceless."

"Don't be so sure."

Thayla's cryptic warning puzzled the pilots, but they quickly got back to work.

"Can I talk to Jon?"

"Sure." Mel held down a button. "Razin 3, this is Hessing 1. Copy?"

No one answered.

"Razin 3, do you copy?"

"OK, I guess I'm Razin 3." Jon said. "That would have been nice to know earlier."

Thayla smiled as she pictured him rolling his eyes. "Jon, what are you sensing?"

"Nothing now. I felt the same thing feeling as when we unearthed that old lightsaber below Nordic, but now it's gone."

"I felt exactly the same way."

"Does that change our plan?"

"No." Thayla looked at Darson. "What is our plan?"

"To hurt this thing however we can," he replied, pointing to the central ring of the ship. "We think they're jamming us somehow, because our scans show their generators and life support moving all over the ship, but always rotating around this hollow center of the station."

"The Gangrene."

"How do you know the name?" the captain asked.

Jon's reply was fumbled and embarrassed. "I don't know. I just did."

Darson swatted Mel's hand off the button. "It's weird Jedi stuff. Keep an eye on that one." He brought his hand back down on the control and broadcast to the other fighters as well. "Ten seconds to entry."

"Copy, Hessing 1."

"Razin 2 is ready for anything."

Thayla watched one of the orange craft easily puncture the strange film that covered the center, the last barrier between them and whatever the Sith Lord had planned.

She looked over at the droid running calculations in the corner, the fighters crossing ahead of them and even reached out to touch Jon's mind for comfort one last time.

"May the force be with us."