SOJOURN
The waterspeeder sped over the ocean onto the beach that held Hego Damask's resort home.
One human, a Muun, and two Twi'leks emerged from the craft, with Damask and Ultor dragging the unconscious Malten with his arms around their shoulders. The surrounding area was silent except for the waves crashing against the shore.
"The Jedi has already escaped," Plagueis noted, seeing that Kira's freighter was no longer on the beach.
Once the Sith arrived in Plagueis's laboratory underneath the mansion, Ultor and Plagueis set Malten against the wall and let him slump onto the floor.
Ultor and Talon gazed curiously around the laboratory, studying the preserved bodies of the Sith Lords of the past.
"This is what you've been doing all these years?" Ultor asked with a genuine awe uncharacteristic of him, "You've been collecting Sith Lords and bringing them here?"
"I am able to bring them back to life at will," Plagueis replied, "Lord Malten here was the Master of my Master."
"How do we know he wasn't already alive?" Talon asked suspiciously, "Some more proof might be necessary for us to fully believe you."
At that moment, Savage came staggering blindly down the corridor leading from the main living room into the secret chamber.
He immediately noticed the three Sith and demanded, "Where am I? What have you done to me?"
"Take it easy, Savage," Plagueis said gently, "You've been brought back to life by midichlorian manipulation. Do you remember dying?"
"I remember...being killed..." Savage replied, "After that...my memory is blank."
"That's because you were in the Netherworld," Plagueis replied, "Or at least your spirit was."
"Are you going to...kill me again?" Savage asked, sounding meeker than his size and gruff voice suggested.
"No, not when there is good use for you," Plagueis replied.
Suddenly, Plagueis used the Force to push Savage hard against the wall of the laboratory, causing his head to strike the metal and his body to crumple unconscious on the floor.
To Ultor and Talon, he said, "These Sith here will be the new army that assumes the fight against the Jedi and the Republic. Not those criminals and thugs that are the Coalition."
"They will be dealt with soon enough," Ultor replied, "Once Tatooine is taken over, there will be no use for the Hutts or their minions."
"Together, we will unleash my creation across the galaxy," Plagueis rasped with a menacing grin, "The Jedi will be crushed like never before, and the light side will be extinguished forever."
"The Sith will forever reign supreme," Ultor added, "Soon, we will claim victory where Darth Sidious could not, and declare a new era to last forever. The ways of the Force will altered forever."
Inwardly, however, Ultor knew that he could not fight alongside a being with so much more power than himself. He would either have to learn Plagueis's secrets before killing him, or kill him before Plagueis could begin to use his own power against Ultor.
TATOOINE
The Millennium Falcon was docked atop Beggar's Canyon, which overlooked the city of Anchorhead.
A small group stood on the canyon over the dune sea that led to the old settlement, with Grand Master Skywalker surveying the landscape with a pair of macrobinoculars.
"How bad is it?" Tionne asked.
"The mercenaries and hired thugs taking over the public transports," Luke replied. Through the lenses, he could see a unit of armored Nikto, Rodian, Trandoshan guerrillas ordering several dozen travelers at blaster-point to exit the long Repulsor Train that had been en route from Anchorhead to Mos Espa.
In the city itself, banks, businesses, and public services were also under siege, with Coalition mercenaries ransacking them for their assets and wealth.
"They'll have the entire planet under siege soon if we don't act," Tionne said, "Their blockade won't allow free ships to exit. We can't take on their cruisers without the help of the Republic fleet."
"The Republic would never help us now," Jysella pointed out bitterly, "We're just as bad as the Coalition to Omas and his ilk."
"And it's only a matter of time before one of the Coalition scout units pick up on our presence," Glut added.
"I know it seems hopeless, but the Jedi have faced worse odds and won," Luke replied.
"With all due respect, Master, but you had the help of the Rebel Alliance in the fight against the Empire," Glut said, "We have no such support here."
"There are more Jedi this time," Luke replied, "and the people will see the good of our cause in the end. If the Republic is true, then that will make the difference in their actions.l
"For now, we should stay focused on the present," Tionne advised, "We have people to liberate."
Luke nodded in acknowledgment, knowing that the larger picture of their situation would have to wait.
Across the canyon, hidden behind a large boulder, Durge waited for his hovering scout droid to return with the images of the Jedi scouts.
He returned silently to his Novasword fighter, which was built to suit a pilot that was nine feet tall, as Durge was.
The Gen'Dai hunter climbed into his cockpit and began to send a transmission.
Far below the canyon, hidden within a dark, shadowed gorge, a group of Tusken Raiders watched the proceedings from their Bantha mounts.
"So the rumors are true," the leader said, his face and body covered by heavy layers of wrapping and a harsh mask adapted for the worst desert conditions. "About the Coalition, and about the Jedi's presence."
"She must be here then too," a second Tusken Raider replied, "The defector."
"That girl is no clan member of ours," the first Tusken grunted, "And her blood parents know it. No Tusken who shows her face or joins the outsiders can remain a part of the tribe."
"Then she must face the consequences just as any enemy would," the second Tusken replied.
SOJOURN
Three vessels, a vintage Sith Infiltrator belonging to Talon, Ultor's Herald shuttle, and a Damask Holdings Valcyn, flew into the lower entrance of the Phantom Revenge's hangar.
A second Coalition cruiser had joined Ultor's personal command ship, operated by a silent army of Shadowtroopers.
"All stations, stand by," the cloaked Shadow Officer ordered as the new-coming cruiser halted alongside its lead ship.
Once the Sith arrived aboard the hangar of Ultor's ship, they exited their crafts with 11-4D beside Plagueis.
"Will your Sith army follow our lead to Tatooine?" Ultor asked the elder Dark Lord.
"I have put Lord Malten under an ancient alchemical spell to ensure his obedience," Plagueis replied, "Once I revive the remaining Sith, I will deliver them to join us in the battle."
A Shadowtrooper approached the huddled Sith.
"Master, you have a message from Tatooine," the helmeted soldier reported, "A request from the bounty hunter Durge."
"Patch him to me," Ultor replied.
A few minutes later, Ultor was alone in his private quarters, addressing the towering hologram.
"What do you want, hunter?" Ultor growled.
Durge did not seem to have any visible reaction to the Dark Master's tone.
"My lord, I have discovered the Jedi on Tatooine, hiding from both the Coalition and the Republic," Durge replied, "Both parties will be searching for them with high prices on their heads."
"The Jedi belong to me and the Sith," Ultor snarled savagely, "You will not hand them over to anybody else."
"I will gladly detain them for you, your excellence," Durge replied.
Ultor severed the communication and exited his quarters, his eyes glowing red and yellow with deepened hatred.
CHANDRILIA
A heavy presence of Republic vessels had arrived on Chandrilia, swarming around the planet.
On the outskirts of the capital of Hanna City, a garrison had been installed, with a battalion of Brigadiers undergoing a series of drills in the fields by the lake.
Accompanied by robed Senate guards from Coruscant, Grand Vizier Omas was surveying the multi-species troops as they battled against holographic Imperial stormtroopers.
To Colonel Brea Kargill, he said, "They'll need to adapt to the unpredictable tactics of the Coalition, but their aim is on point."
"The pace of the war is escalating, Supreme Commander," Kargill replied, "It will not be long before the Coalition attempts a retaliation strike."
"It is not just the Coalition that we have to contend with," Omas replied, "The Jedi deserters managed to evade Hoff Praxium's men during the battle here as well."
Omas gazed towards the battle-damaged capital city and asked, "Have your troops secured the city's perimeter?"
"They will be able to detect any Jedi presence here," Kargill replied, "And the activities of Senator Mothma are being strictly monitored."
From her office in the administrative building in Hanna City, Mon Mothma patched a communication to Omas and Kargill via holotable.
"Senator Mothma, I trust that you are safe with the added security in the city?" Omas asked.
"The people here are intimidated by your troops," Mothma replied, "They have no freedom with the constant military presence. I request that you recall your units from the interior of Hanna City."
"With respect, Senator, that is something we cannot do," Omas replied, "With the recent presence of the Jedi, we must take extra precautions to ensure that they do not escape justice again."
Omas's sneer suggested more than he was saying, concealing an accusation against the Senator.
"You and General Praxium both seem far more concerned about punishing the Jedi for a perceived slight than you do fighting the Coalition," Mothma retorted.
"As long as such a powerful force runs loose in the galaxy, the Republic cannot be truly secure," Omas replied, "You will understand once the Jedi have been tried and brought to justice."
HYPERSPACE
A large, Rho-class Republic shuttle departed from the top entrance to the Black Ring, which remained in line with the rest of the fleet preparing to launch.
Inside it, Hoff Praxium sat in the passenger seat of the cockpit beside a lieutenant and the pilot, with rifle-carrying specialized bodyguards standing informally on either side of the entrance to the cockpit.
After Praxium's shuttle came out of lightspeed in the Chandrilia system, the general activated the holoprojector built into his ship's cockpit.
The hologram of Colonel Kargill appeared before him.
"General Praxium," the short, red-haired woman said with a routine salute.
"Colonel, has Cal Omas made contact from Coruscant?" Praxium asked.
"He is here on Chandrilia surveying the troops before they are deployed," Kargill replied.
"Excellent, we can speed up the trial then, instead of shipping the prisoner all the way to the Senate."
"You've captured a prisoner, General?" Kargill asked curiously .
"A traitor, caught communicating with a Jedi fugitive," Praxium replied, "Major Sam Praxium."
Hoff wondered if he should start referring to his son by his ex-wife's last name of Fel, which Sam had preferred. He certainly hated to admit relation to the boy at this point, when he had committed a serious offense against the war effort.
A small, rickety freighter followed Hoff's shuttle from a long enough distance behind to avoid detection.
Kira glared at the shrinking ship with determination as it crossed into the surface of Chandrilia.
Her animosity had primarily been directed at Darth Ultor, but now Kira could spare a drop of resentment for the Republic, which had taken Sam away from her in more than one respect.
That was not to mention it forcing the Jedi to go into hiding for the second time in fifty years, turning much of the galactic population against them out of partisan spite.
Hoff's shuttle disappeared into the white, terrestrial clouds of Chandrilia, flying high over the wrecked skyscrapers of Hanna City, which still had several dozen gunships passing within it and units of Brigadiers patrolling the streets.
Hoff Praxium was the first to exit his shuttle, flanked by his bodyguards.
Next came two masked Republic Brigadiers, each of them holding on to one of Sam's bindercuffed arms.
Sam did not dare look at any of the young trainees drilling in the field, or at Colonel Kargill and Vizier Omas.
He allowed himself to leave reality and ignore his own existence as he was dragged into the barracks and led towards the holding cells down the metal stairs.
Finally, the guards shoved Sam into one of the cells, all of which wereotherwise vacated. Sam stumbled against the wall before regaining his balance, facing his captors defiantly. His defiance was all he had left.
Before sliding the door shut, General Praxium turned to his son and said, "I wish it could have beendifferent, Major, but you made your choice."
Kira began to lower her freighter along the mountain range that bordered the city with the long traffic route to its next neighbor.
She breathed deeply as she landed the craft, pulling the switch to shut down the engine. As the ship's systems began to wind down, Kira attempted to stave off the rage that she felt lingering within her.
She had realized the magnitude of the midichlorian manipulation's effects on her soul, but Kira still felt compelled to exercise the power she had felt inside. It seemed to be the appropriate outlet for her rage. And why shouldn't she let it out? The universe had been cruel to her- starting with Ben's death but costing her her friends and family that lived as well.
Kira's internal battle prevented her from sending the danger ahead as she exited her craft.
Down below, Kira saw the Republic garrison, with the troopers boarding the gunships that would deliver them to the many battlefields across the civilized galaxy.
She crept down the grassy mountain trail towards the medium-sized structure, not noticing the Firespray ship descending from the clouds of dusk.
Ailyn Fett said from inside her cockpit, "I've got you, Jedi girl."
Kira turned around in surprise at the laser cannons firing at her docked freighter.
Instinctively, Kira dove for her lightsaber, bringing its blue blade to life as her ship caught fire before erupting in a fiery ball of rubber.
Kira widened her stance and remembered the basics of lightsaber combat Form III, which was best suited to deflect against heavy volleys of laserfire.
Slave II disappeared behind the summit of the peak nearest to Kira, who started to run in its direction, eager for the fight.
Kira propelled her speed with the Force as she ran down the mountain slope, her lightsaber blade scorching the grass along her pathway.
As soon as she crossed into the valley, Kira heard the whooshing sound of a jetpack and looked up to see Ailyn Fett flying down towards her, armed with two Sacros blaster pistols.
"I knew you'd come for your handsome friend, Solo," Ailyn shouted from above, "Too bad he's finished."
"You're about to be," Kira growled at the bounty hunter.
She charged at her airborne foe as Ailyn opened fire. Kira grabbed onto her cylinder hilt with her other hand as well, strengthening its precision as it batted away the blaster bolts raining down on her.
Kira used the Force to dash closer to Ailyn's direction, squatting her knees down slightly before pushing herself high into the air.
Kira held her lightsaber above her head as she leapt after Ailyn, aiming for the Mandalorian bounty hunter's legs.
Ailyn quickly put one pistol in its holster before clicking a gauntlet on the sleeve of her armor.
Kira gagged as fire and ash came spouting from Ailyn's built-in flame thrower, tumbling back onto the valley's slope with a thud.
As soon as her back struck the dirt, Kira continued flicking her blade back and forth, smelling the burns of the blaster bolts as they hit her saber before flying into the distance.
Ailyn lowered herself to get a better shot at Kira, who hopped onto her feet as the bounty hunter reached the ground.
Kira knew that every second she spent fighting this bounty hunter was a second wasted, when Sam was still a prisoner and the Sith still needed to be destroyed.
As Ailyn fired at Kira, the young renegade raised her hand, imagining that it was seizing the woman by the throat and squeezing.
Ailyn's throat tightened, and she dropped her pistol in surprise and reached for her own neck.
Kira clenched her hand tighter, further depriving Ailyn of air. The bounty hunter struggled, her eyes and mouth wide with a sudden fear.
Kira approached her and squeezed even harder, locking Ailyn's air supply until the bounty hunter lost consciousness. Kira then let her fall to the ground lifeless before turning to run back up the mountain slope towards the garrison.
SOJOURN
Down on the surface of Sojourn, night had nearly fallen.
Malten and Savage stood alongside Plagueis in his laboratory as he used the Force to open the tanks containing all of the Sith.
There were about thirty Dark Lords and Apprentices in total, assembled like machines as their eyes glowed from the spell that Plagueis had spread among them.
"Lords of the Sith," Plagueis growled, waving both of his arms upward as he grabbed their attention with his dark powers, "Each of you is now in the service of the dark side of the Force. Only together can we destroy the Jedi once and for all. Our predecessors failed us, as did the Empire. But now, there is a new order of darkness, once that transcends death and has achieved immortality!"
The Sith Lords let out a loud war cry as the spell of dark alchemy continues to take control of their minds.
Plagueis withdrew several lightsabers that he had collected over time from a safe in his laboratory, surveying the rows of revived Sith as he passed one to each.
On Tatooine, on the cliff overlooking Anchorhead Luke Skywalker gripped his forehead as he staggered forward.
"Master, are you all right?" Tionne asked, catching his arms gently.
"I feel a dark disturbance," Luke replied, "An evil like no other is spreading. There is a sinister power that the Jedi have never seen before, revealing itself."
"We have to stop it then," Tahiri replied, growing scared at the sight of Luke's deepening worries
"We have a job to do first," Tionne reminded her former Padawan.
As he armed each Sith who was resurrected, Plagueis stopped in front of the last one, in front of the back row.
This Sith was a bald man with a black scar up and down his eye, in fact, he was the very same Sith who had told Ultor of his true destiny.
"I will entrust you to command the Brotherhood of Darkness while I join the Dark Master on his flagship, Lord Bane, do you accept the task?"
"I live to serve the darkness," Bane replied in his trance- unaware of his own free will.
Aboard the Phantom Revenge, Ultor turned to Talon and asked, "Do you feel it? The sheer and raw power, the roots of the Force being seized from the ground in which they lie?"
"Yes, my Master," Talon replied with a nod, "But are we certain that Plagueis will show us his secrets as he promised he would?"
"We can never trust the word of anyone, let alone another Sith," Ultor replied, "That is why our alliance with him will only last as long as this war."
A long YV-929 freighter flew from the orb of Sojourn towards the awaiting Sith cruiser, which orbited the planet beside the Phantom Revenge.
The freighter was piloted by 11-4D and contained the resurrected Brotherhood of Darkness, the entirety of Sith Lords who had lived between Darth Bane and Darth Tenebrous.
A battalion of Shadowtroopers waited with their blasters and artillery cannons ready as the Sith carrier entered the ship.
The lead Shadow Officer approached the hatch of the freighter as it docked on the hangar floor, with several columns of smoke emitting from the bottom.
"Who's there?" he snarled through the harsh vocabulator of his mask, "Reveal yourselves now, or be executed!"
The door to the ship's hatch came crashing to the steel floor with a deafening crash, and the soldiers who had approached the freighter backed away in horror.
"Check it out in there," the officer said to his guards, who crept towards the entrance to the freighter.
Nothing was visible inside the docked ship except for pitch black. Not until the first red bladed lightsaber ignited amid the blackness, and then a chorus of lightsaber ignitions followed, lighting up the inside of the freighter.
The Coalition special operations backed away, raising their blasters to fire as the Sith began to advance.
TATOOINE
As the residents huddled together in the sand outside the train, they looked on fearfully as the Coalition guerrillas marched through it.
A Trandoshan and a Whiphid stood with heavy-artillery rifles aimed at the hostages, ready gun down any who dared resist.
"Over there!" a Rodian child pointed towards the Jundland Wastes, where about seven cloaked figures were rapidly approaching the crime scene.
Six of them rode swoop bikes, while Luke rode in the old landspeeder.
The Trandoshan turned his blaster towards the approaching Jedi, while the Whiphid kept his trained on the Anchorhead travelers.
"Give us your valuables or die," the Whiphid threatened.
The group of newcomers dismounted from their rides and reached for their lightsabers in unison, which none of them activated.
Luke, however, approached the two guerrillas and said, "Stand down and let them go. This does not have to end in violence."
"You don't understand how we operate around here, do you?" the Trandoshan taunted.
He opened fire at Luke, who waved his hand to bat the laser streak aside, leaving a small hole in the sand.
Both the Whiphid and Trandoshan continued to shoot.
Luke used the Force to deflect their shots again before finally activating his lightsaber.
"Surrender and leave," he said firmly, giving the thugs a cold stare that was not quite threatening, but warning them nonetheless.
The rest of the Coalition platoon came out of the train through the windows and doors, sending several volleys of laserfire at the Jedi.
The remainder of them activated their sabers as well, standing in place as they returned fire, until each and every one of the hired goons had been struck dead by their own fire.
Luke deactivated his lightsaber and motioned for the others to do the same.
The multicolored lightsaber glows went silent, and the Jedi approached the apprehensive refugees.
"You're safe now," Tionne told them, "We're here to protect you all from the Coalition."
"We're ever grateful for the Jedi," a human woman said, "No matter what the Republic says."
"The Jedi of old was bound to the Republic, neglecting those who needed help beyond it," Luke said, "We won't make the same mistake."
"What about the city?" Tahiri asked, "The Hutts still have an army inside."
"We'll deal with them," Master Tionne promised.
Suddenly, a shadow overtook the huddled community, and the Jedi turned to find the hulking Durge standing before them, a heavy blaster-cannon strapped on his shoulder.
"Jedi scum," he boomed, "Lay down your weapons and surrender, or I open fire on the civilians."
Durge was in the optimal position to kill five people with one shot.
The Jedi looked between him and the cowering refugees, pondering on what to do.
Finally, Luke set his lightsaber gently down on the sandy dune.
Tionne raised her eyebrows in questioning, but understood and did the same.
As soon as the rest of the Jedi disarmed themselves, Durge said, "The Dark Master will be pleased to see you. This will be my biggest bounty yet."
Luke raised his hands in the air as if surrendering, but summoned a powerful wave with the Force and gave Durge a hard push.
The giant bounty hunter let out a boom as he flew backwards, firing a heavy cannon blast into the sky.
"Take cover!" Tahiri yelled, ushering the citizens into the hijacked train to avoid the blast as it came in a projectile motion back onto the sand, leaving a medium sized hole in the wake of its explosion.
The Jedi turned their lightsabers back on as Durge charged, with Glut Nodlad being the first to reach him.
Durge grabbed Master Nodlad's blade with his fist, which was completely unaffected.
He casually tossed the Master aside and laughed,
"Tahiri, you and the other Knights take the people back into Anchorhead for cover," Luke ordered, "We'll stay here and handle this."
The three younger knights ushered the people to run for safety, taking the rear to deflect the shots coming from Durge's built-in arm blasters.
Luke swung his blade towards the bounty hunter's rifle cannon and sliced it in two, once again pushing Durge far away with the Force.
"We can't stay here for long," Luke said, urging his fellow Masters to return to their speeders.
Up above, two units of Sycks and Vipers appeared from the nearest Dor'bulla, swarming in the direction of the Jedi.
Luke scrambled into his speeder and pulled the lever, taking off with another blast from Durge's arm cannons sailing over his head.
Dusk was setting on Tatooine, with the twin suns glowing red and violet in the sky.
Luke hardly had time to appreciate the beauty of the sunset as he sped off alongside his fellow Jedi scouts, but he hoped that by the next sunset, peace would have been restored.
It seemed to be an unlikely goal, but the sight of the binary sunset reminded Luke of the ideals that he had come to fight for, after a lifetime of seeking adventure. He had once longed to leave his life of routine for a dose of action- and now Luke felt as though he had experienced far too much.
CHANDRILIA
Cal Omas was already seated aboard the large transport carrier that would deliver him and the rest of the boarding party back to Coruscant.
Sam was marched out of the garrison, still wearing the bindercuffs he had arrived in, with two riflemen on either side of him.
General Praxium and Colonel Kargill followed a short distance behind, with the rest of the battalion standing at attention.
"What's that?" one of the guards asked, pointing up at the roof on top of the barracks.
Everybody turned to the sound of a lightsaber igniting.
Kira somersaulted down from the roof twenty feet onto the pathway to the carrier, landing in front of Sam and the others.
Kira raised her hand and used the Force to undo Sam's cuffs.
He stated for a brief second with shock, which was immediately replaced by joy.
"Kira!" he exclaimed, "I can't believe you're here!"
He was immediately hit by a rifle, and the entire present company turned their weapons towards Kira, ready to open fire.
"We've got you right where we want you, Jedi," Hoff Praxium growled.
Kira Force-leapt over Sam and landed in front of Praxium. She held her lightsaber to his neck and said, "One move and he dies!"
Kira moved behind the Republic general, keeping her lightsaber at his throat. Then, holding onto his shoulder, Kira began to guide Praxium away from the battalion and barracks.
"Come on, Sam, let's get out of here," Kira urged.
"I can't believe it," Sam repeated.
The Brigadiers slowly followed as Sam ran to join Kira, their weapons still trained on their targets.
Kira glared back at them fiercely, waving her lightsaber in front of Praxium's face in warning. The general's wide eyes shined a hint of blue with the rest of his face as the ozone from Kira's blade drifted into his nostrils.
Colonel Kargill gaped at the scene, then turned to the Brigadiers.
"Hold your fire," she ordered them.
"You'll never get away with this, either of you," Praxium said.
Kira ignored him, leading him and Sam towards Ailyn's ship, which Kira had flown closer to the garrison for a sooner takeoff.
"Where have you been all this time?" Sam asked as he followed his rescuer and her hostage to the docked Slave II.
"I'll tell you about it later," Kira said, "We have to get away from these people first."
"You call yourself a soldier, boy?" Praxium yelled, determined to cause whatever damage he could in atonement for his humiliation, "You're nothing but a sniveling runt, needing to be rescued by a little girl! And you, without your glowing stick, you're just a heartbroken good for nothing little harpy!"
Kira could not speak, but instead she dug her palm into the general's round cheek, trembling with hatred.
Praxium stopped his enraged ramble and went limp, gasping for breath as his midichlorians began to fail him.
"Kira, what are you doing?" Sam asked, looking into his friend's eyes with fear and alarm. Something had changed in her, he realized, something alarming. Kira's eyes began to glow with a twinkle that seemed alien and disturbing.
Kira continued to speak to Praxium's midichlorians, which were far fewer than either Tenebrous or Savage's.
Praxium soon lost his breath and slumped unconscious against his captor.
"Kira, what did you do?" Sam asked, looking at his father's lifeless body in horror.
"No time to explain, let's go!" Kira replied, just as horrified now that she saw what her abilities had just done.
"Open fire!" Colonel Kargill yelled, seeing her superior's body.
"Grab his arm!" Kira yelled.
Sam took hold of his father's arm that Kira was not clutching, and they both ran into the open hatch of Slave I.
The Brigadiers shot to kill, striking the Firespray as Kira slammed on the button to close the hatch.
Sam let his father drop onto the floor and followed Kira as she sped to the cockpit. He didn't make it as far as the doorway before she was in the pilot's seat, pulling the throttle to take off with all the sheer strength that her arm could manage.
"Kira, you just killed my father!" Sam said, standing in the doorway to the cockpit, looking between Kira and Praxium's body.
"I'll fix it in just a second," Kira replied, "I just need to get us out of here."
Down by the garrison, Colonel Kargill and her Brigadiers began to return to the barracks once Slave II was out of sight.
Supreme Commander Omas emerged from his shuttle with the Senate guards and additional armed protection.
"Vizier, did you see what the Jedi did?" Colonel Kargill asked, "It was General Solo's daughter."
"I'm afraid so," Omas replied with a grim nod, "It looks like we'll have to begun a hunt for Kira Solo for the murder of General Praxium."
Once the Firespray exited Chandrilia's atmosphere, Sam grabbed Kira's arm and pulled her from the cockpit.
"My dad!" he said, shaking her, "You didn't even touch him with your lightsaber, and he dropped dead. Did you do it on purpose?"
"No!" Kira insisted. "Well, sort of. I'll explain in a second."
She flicked the switch to bring the ship into autopilot and hurried back out of the cockpit.
"He's definitely dead?" Sam asked as Kira felt his pulse.
"I can bring him back," Kira replied, "It's his midichlorians!"
"His what?" Sam demanded, thoroughly confused.
"Just keep it shut until I figure this out!" Kira snapped, starting to come to her senses. She had spoken with Anakin about the dangers of midichlorian manipulation, and as soon as she was provoked, she had used it on an enemy. And not to mention using the dark side against the bounty hunter...
Kira gently put her hand on Praxium's chest and concentrated hard, screaming through the Force at his midichlorians.
Come back, she told them, come back.
She had to make this work, for Sam's sake. As much as Sam was at odds with his father, she could tell that he didn't want the man dead. And this was just ad much for Kira's own sake, she realized, otherwise she'd just committed her first cold blooded murder.
Finally, Hoff's organs began to awaken, starting with the nervous system and his blood began to flow.
Kira listened with desperation, screaming at him to breath again. Finally, his stomach moved up and down, and air came out of his nostrils.
"He's alive!" Kira exclaimed, the giant boulder in her chest crumbling into bits. She felt like crying with relief amongst her lingering rage.
Hoff began to wake up, blinking wildly as he looked between Kira and Sam.
"What did you do to me?" he asked weakly, now a shadow of his former self.
Kira seized Praxium by the collar and hoisted him up.
She pushed him into the cargo hold of Slave II and slammed the door shut as soon as he staggered inside.
"Okay, you have a lot of explaining to do," Sam said with no small degree of wonder and awe.
"How about thanking me for coming to save you," Kira suggested, "It's the least you could do after not saying goodbye to me."
"Fair enough," Sam replied, "Thank you, Kira, really. I'm sorry I just left, I just didn't..."
"Hey, forget about it," Kira replied, throwing her arms around her friend, "We're here together now and that's all that matters."
As Sam returned Kira's embrace, she realized with a jolt of horror that she felt the same rush of power that she had back in the laboratory. Kira felt powerful controlling the life force of others, and she wanted more of it.
Recognizing these harmful desires, Kira struggled to them push them out of her mind as her heart remained filled with rejuvenated warmth. Finally, Kira could do nothing to stop the tears from flowing with her many conflicting emotions.