Breckin rounded a corner and immediately heard voices. He listened intently, but the conversation was one-sided, and he was about to move on.

Until he heard Wesley cry out in pain.

Breckin checked the charge on his blaster. Only two shots. Better make them count. I can't afford to miss.

He edged closer to open the door.

"Now you die," Espen said happily.

Wesley winced at the tone of his voice. This was not how he had intended this meeting to go at all.

Just outside the door, Breckin took a deep calming breath, then entered the room. He aimed carefully for the man's heart.

Wesley closed his eyes, unaware of Breckin's presence. "I'm sorry, Bushroot," he whispered.

The trigger was pulled.

Espen had seen Breckin, and changed his target. Now both men dropped to the floor.

Wesley opened his eyes with a gasp as Espen fell on top of him. He shoved the bigger man aside as he got up. He kicked the gun away from Espen's reach, then looked around for his savior.

"Oh, shit," Wesley ran to Breckin, lying in the doorway. "Lance, man, talk to me!" he shook him, trying to revive him. "This isn't funny, man!" he checked for a pulse.

It was weak, but it was there.

Espen had missed Breckin's heart by mere centimeters.

A shot buried itself into the wall next to Wesley's head.

"Damn," Espen swore, aiming more carefully. "Try that again."

Wesley grabbed Breckin's blaster. "I don't think so," he shot Espen in the forehead, right between the eyes.

The other fell back against the floor, dead.

"Nice shot," Breckin murmured. "Let's go now, okay?"

Wesley nodded. "You got it."

He helped Breckin to his feet, and, using each other for support, they made their way back to the Watcher's Light.


Lou lifted her hand, which glowed red once more, to the Statue of Ongrel. Palpatine was holding the tray and smiling. Park watched in horror, but was unable to do anything to stop it. The energy had been completely drained from him.

The Statue took on the same glow as Lou's hands, and then the sides clicked and opened down.

Palpatine's laugh grew, echoing off the walls.

A single tear rolled down her cheek, a symbol of her defeat.

She knew what was to come.

The doors swung open, and Maul entered, running, lightsabre ablaze. "Jareena, come away from there!" he ordered.

"It's too late, Maul," Palpatine stated, setting the platform and statue on the table at the centre of the room. He then turned on his former apprentice, eyes full of contentment. "You, Sir, have caused me more trouble in the past couple of days than the effort worth putting forth to kill you."

Maul's lightsabre was thrown from his hand, as blue Force lightning wracked his body relentlessly.

"No!" Lou screamed, but this time she did not open her eyes to find herself elsewhere. Her mind raced. What could she do? Somehow she had to harness her power and direct it at Palpatine as she had done to Caylon.

But how did I do that?

Palpatine ceased his barrage on Maul. He turned to Lou, "Aren't you going to help him, Jareena? As you did your friend Park?"

Lou met Maul's gaze, but she could not read his expression. I don't know what to do, she mouthed.

He mouthed back, Distract him.

Palpatine was too busy laughing to catch the response.

Lou turned to the Emperor's cold eyes. She had an idea, but she had to make it good; Palpatine would know that she was lying. "Your new heart is dying, Palpatine."

He cast a look at the Statue. "It is not."

"Yes, it is," she closed her eyes, 'connecting' with the organ. "It cannot survive in this air. It has been inside the pyramid for so long, it can't adapt. If you're going to make the switch, it had better be now."

The Emperor probed her mind for any sign of deception.

He found none.

He nodded to the man in the black robes, who then hurried away to get the needed tools and help.

"Very well."

Maul rolled, picking up his weapon in the process. He charged at Palpatine, both ends of the lightsabre lit.

But the Emperor knew he was coming. He grabbed Lou off the throne, and held her before him as protection.

Maul skidded to a halt, turning off his sabre just before he stabbed her.

"Throw it away, Maul," Palpatine commanded. The other did not move. "I can crush her skull just by thinking it. Now, toss your weapon away."

Maul did as he was told.

Three men dressed in identical black robes lined with silver entered. Each carried a slew of surgical utensils. They stopped dead in their tracks.

"Get everything ready," the Emperor told them.

Park crawled over to the table where the Statue of Ongrel awaited attention. He peered at the heart over the edge. That withered old thing is the source of all our troubles?

Wrinkling his nose in disgust, he picked up the heart.

"My liege - " the three men pointed as one at Park and the heart.

Palpatine whirled around, throwing Lou to the floor. He realized too late what was happening.

Park dropped the heart, and proceeded to stomp on it until it was nothing more than useless mush.

"No!" through his panic, Palpatine could not muster the Force to counter Park's actions.

Maul grabbed Lou's arm, pulling her to her feet. "Are you alright?" he asked, making sure she was behind him when Palpatine found his rage.

She nodded. "Help Morty."

Maul held out his hand, and his lightsabre flew to it. He kissed her briefly, then turned to Palpatine, who had indeed found his rage, and was focussing it on Park.

"Let him go," the Sith ordered.

"Shortly. He won't last much longer."

This glib remark sparked the anger in Lou. She directed a red ball of her own energy at the Emperor, causing him to collapse to his knees.

Park gasped, filling his lungs with air.

"Let's go," Lou told Maul. "His plans are foiled, there's nothing more he can do."

"There is lots he can and will do," Maul hissed through clenched teeth.

Lou helped Park to his feet, supporting him. "We've all had enough of this, Maul. Let's find the others and get out of here."

"You'll never make it off this floor," Palpatine growled as the alarm began to sound.


"Oh, now it goes off," Wesley shook his head, as he and Breckin crossed into the first row of bushes in front of the Imperial Palace.

"Yeah, it does seem kinda late," the other agreed.

Ahead of them, the pair could see Lindsey, Nordat, and Taggart.

"Oh, good, they're alright," Wesley said. "But where's Maul?"

"I'm sure he's on his way with Lou, Park, and Jenkens," Breckin replied with a shrug.


Maul sliced the Imperial Guard in half. The three of them were almost to the exit; he could see it in his mind's eye just around the next corner.

And so were two dozen more Guards.

"This is not going to be easy," he told Lou. He tossed her one of the slain men's blasters. "I'll protect you, but just in case I miss one."

She charged the weapon. "Or two."

"There won't be two."

They entered the main foyer, and Maul set to work, cutting down every guard in his path. Lou and Park waited for their path to be cleared out of harm's way.

A guard whom Maul had thought dead got to his feet behind the Sith.

Lou aimed and fired.

One.

And then they were all dead. Maul turned to Lou and smiled. "I told you there would not be two."

"You do good work," Park conceded to Maul.

Ten minutes later they reached the Watcher's Light, where everyone was waiting outside.

Wesley and Breckin were the first ones onboard, followed closely by Lindsey, who hurried to the Bridge.

Deanna's eyes brimmed with tears at the sight of her brother and boyfriend - ? - using each other as a crutch.

"I brought him back," they said in unison, then laughed.

Deanna smiled, hugging them both. "Let's get you two fixed up," she said.

"What happened to Jenkens?" Nordat asked.

"He didn't make it," Park responded quietly.

"Oh."

"Where's your Med deck?" Lou asked Deanna. "Morty needs some attention, too."

"Yeah, follow me."

Maul went to the Bridge, anxious to say goodbye to this loathesome planet.